_Listen, O isles_, &c. “Hitherto the subject of the prophecy has
been chiefly confined to the redemption from the captivity of Babylon,
with strong intimations of a more important deliverance sometimes
thrown in; to the refutation of idolatry, and the demonstration of the
infinite power, wisdom, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword_ As he hath made me the
great Teacher of his church and of the world, so he hath assisted me
by his Spirit, and made my word or doctrine _quick and powerful_, and
_sharper_ than any two-edged sword, killing men's lusts, convincing,
humbling, and converting t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then I said_ By way of objection; _I have laboured in vain_ Lord,
thou sayest thou wilt be glorified by my ministry; but I find it
otherwise. _I have spent my strength for naught_ Without any
considerable fruit of my word and works. “The words,” says
Vitringa, “contain the complaint of the Son of G... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now, saith the Lord_ These are the words of the Father,
addressing his Son, now become incarnate for the redemption of
mankind; _that formed me from the womb_ This refers to the human
nature of Christ formed in the womb of the Virgin by the Holy Ghost;
_to bring Jacob again to him_ To convert t... [ Continue Reading ]
_To him whom man despiseth_ To Christ, to whom, in the days of his
flesh, this description most truly and fully agreed, being the same in
effect with that Isaiah 53:3, for men, both Jews and Gentiles, among
whom he lived, did _despise him_ from their hearts; and _the nation_,
of which he was a membe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord_ God the Father unto Christ; _In an acceptable
time_ Hebrew, רצון בעת, _in the season of acceptance_, as
Bishop Lowth renders it, or, _in a time of good-will_, according to
others: in that time when God shall, in a special manner, manifest his
good-will to the sons of men; in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_That thou mayest say_ Namely, with power and effect, as when God
said, _Let there be light; to the prisoners_ To the Gentiles, who are
fast bound by the cords of their sins, and taken captive by the devil
at his will. _Go forth_ Come forth to the light, receive divine
illumination. _They shall feed... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, these shall come from far_ My people shall be gathered from
the most remote parts of the earth. He speaks here, and in many other
places, of the conversion of the Gentiles, with allusion to that work
of gathering and bringing back the Jews from all parts where they were
dispersed, into thei... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Zion said_, &c. This is an objection against all these glorious
predictions and promises. How can these things be true when the
condition of God's church is now so sad and desperate? Most
commentators understand by _Zion_ here, the Jewish Church, and suppose
that the complaint which she is here... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can a woman forget her sucking child_ God is often represented as
bearing a fatherly affection toward his people, but here the
comparison is raised higher, and he speaks of himself as having a
tenderness for them, similar to that which a mother hath toward the
fruit of her womb. “The image is commo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy children_ Or, as some, with equal propriety, render בנין,
_thy builders;_ which rendering is favoured by the next clause, where
the _destroyers_ are opposed to them, but the following verse favours
the former interpretation: the sense, however, is the same, for the
church's children are her bui... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lift up thine eyes round about_ And behold numbers flocking unto thee
from all quarters. _All these shall gather themselves unto thee,_ &c.
Namely, the Gentiles. Thy church, O Zion, shall not only be restored
and established, but vastly enlarged and adorned by an accession of
converts from various... [ Continue Reading ]
_For thy waste and desolate places_, &c. He alludes to the land of
Judea lying waste during the Babylonish captivity. Thus the church of
God was in a waste, desolate, and barren state, till the coming of the
Messiah, the introduction of the gospel, and the conversion of the
Gentiles; _and the land o... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles_ I will call them to me; _and
set up my standard to the people_ As generals do, to gather their
forces together. _And they shall bring thy sons_ Those who shall be
thine by adoption, who shall own God for their Father, and Jerusalem
for their mother; _in their... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shall the prey be taken from the mighty_ Here an objection is started
against the forementioned promises, probably, 1st, Against the promise
of the release of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, suggesting
that it was a thing not to be expected: for, Isaiah 49:24, they were a
prey in the hand... [ Continue Reading ]