_Yet now hear, O Jacob_ Although I have chastised thee for thy sins,
and had just cause utterly to destroy thee, yet in judgment I will
remember mercy, and will still own thee for my servant and chosen
people. _Thus saith the Lord, that formed thee from the womb_ “He
speaks of the Jewish people unde... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will pour water_ My Spirit, as it is expounded in the latter part
of the verse, frequently compared to water in the Scriptures; _upon
him that is thirsty_ That is destitute of it, and that sincerely and
earnestly desires it; _and my blessing upon thine offspring_ All the
blessings of my covenant,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord_, &c. Here God renews his contest with idols,
which he insists an so often, and so much, because his own people were
exceeding prone to idolatry. _And who_ Which of all the heathen gods;
_shall call, and shall declare it_ Shall, by his powerful call, cause
a future event to be,... [ Continue Reading ]
_They that make a graven image are vanity_ Hereby discover themselves
to be vain, empty, and foolish men. _And their delectable things shall
not profit_ Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. _They
are their own witnesses_ They that make them are witnesses against
themselves and against t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The smith_, &c. “The sacred writers,” says Bishop Lowth, “are
generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry: they treat
it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the
strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah far exceeds any thing that
ever was written upon the subje... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have not known_, &c. They want common discretion, and have not
the understanding of a rational being in them. For what an absurdity
is it for a man to dress his meat and make his god with the same piece
of wood! Or to think that a log of timber hath any more divinity in it
than it had before,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember these_ These things, the deep ignorance and stupidity of
idolaters. _O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten_ I will not forget
nor forsake thee; therefore thou shalt have no need of idols. _I have
blotted out as a cloud_, &c. As the sun arising disperses the clouds,
and causes them to vanis... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am the Lord that maketh all things_ And therefore I can save thee
without the help of any other gods, or any creature; _that frustrateth
the tokens of the liars_ Of the magicians and astrologers, who were
numerous and greatly esteemed in Babylon, and who had foretold the
long continuance and pros... [ Continue Reading ]
_That saith of Cyrus_ Whom God here mentions by his proper name, two
hundred years before he was born, that this might be an undeniable
evidence of the exactness of God's foreknowledge, and a convincing
argument to conclude this dispute between God and idols. _He is my
shepherd_ Him will I set up to... [ Continue Reading ]