The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 41
Chapter XLI · Vol. III, pp. 1195–1196
1 God expostulateth with his people, about his mercies to the church, 10 about his promises, 21 and about the vanity of idols.
1 Keep silencea before me, O bislands;1 and letc the people renew their strength:2 let them come near, then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
B.C. cir 708.
a Zec.2.13. ch.49.1; 52.15.
b Ge.10.5. ch.11.11; 42.4; 49.1; 24.14,15; 40.15;51.5. Ps.72.10. Zep.2.11.
1 The word rendered 'islands' signifies also 'maritime countries,' and sometimes 'distant countries,' without any specific reference to their physical position. Here it seems to signify 'heathen lands.'—P.
c Job 38.3;40.7; 23.4; 9.19,20. ver.21.
2 By 'waiting upon the Lord,' ch. 40. 31.—C.
2 Who draised up the righteous3 man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings?4 he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.5
d Ge.15.6; 11.31; 12.1;14.14,15. Ro.4.3. He.11.8, or ch.44.28;45.1-6,13;46.11; ver.25. Ezr.1.1,2. Je.51.9; 50.41,42; 23.5,6. Ps.72.8-12. ch.63.1-4, or Ac.13.2; 26.17,18. Ro.15.19.
3 Heb. righteousness.
4 See note * below.
5 Exemplified in Abraham's conquest of four kings, Ge. 14. 1-16.—C.
* This remarkable passage has been variously interpreted. Some think the righteous one refers to the Messiah; others think Cyrus is intended; others suppose it must mean Abraham. Gesenius and some later German writers translate the passage in another way altogether. They maintain that the Hebrew word rendered 'righteous man,' or 'righteous one' cannot be so translated; that it can only mean 'righteousness;' and that it is not the object of the verb in the first clause but the subject of the verb in the second.—'Who hath raised up from the east? Righteousness shall call him to its foot; it shall give nations before him, and cause him to tread upon kings.'—P.
3 He pursued them, and passed safely;6 even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
6 Heb. in peace.
4 Who hath wrought and done it, ecalling the generations7 from the beginning? I the LORD, the gfirst, and with the last; I am he.
e ch.46.10. Da.4.34,35. Ro.4.17. Ac.17.26. Da.2.21.
7 Predicting the permanence and multiplication of Abraham's posterity, which none but God could verify.—C.
g ch.43.10; 44.6; 48.12. Re.1.11,17;22.13;2.8. Ps.102.28.
6 They ihelped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.8
i Ex.15.5,6,9. 1 Sa.4.6-9. Ps.64.5.
8 Heb. be strong.
7 Soj the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith,9 and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote1 the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering:2 and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
j ch.40.19,20; 44.12. Ac.19.25.
9 Or, founder.
1 Or, the smiting.
2 Or, saying of the soder, It is good.
9 Thou nwhom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art omy servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fearp thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: qI will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
p ver.13,14; ch.43.1,2,5. Lu.12.31,32. Ro.8.31. Zec.10.12. Mat.28.20. He.13.5. De.31.6,8; 33.27-29. Phi.1.6; 4.13; 2.13. Col.1.11. 2 Co.12.9,10. Ep.1.19. Ps.118.6,7;27.1,14. 1 Co.16.13.
q ch.40.29.
11 Behold, rall they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee3 shall perish.
12 Thous shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with 4thee: they that war against thee5 shall be tas nothing, and as a thing of nought.
14 Fearv not, thou xworm Jacob, and ye 6men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy yRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp zthrashing-instrument having teeth:7 thou ashalt thrash the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.8
z ch.21.10;28.27. Je.51.33. Hab.3.12.
7 Heb. mouths.
a ch.2.2,14;42.15;25.10; 17.13; 40.4. Re.11.15. Mi.4.10,13. Zec.4.7. Ps.18.42. Da.2.35. Re.8.8. Joel 3.14. Ps.18.22. 2 Co.10.4,5. Phi.4.13.
8 The thrashing-instrument was a heavy flat piece of wood, about the size and shape of an ordinary door, but slightly turned up in front, and studded over on the lower side with knobs of flint or iron, not unlike the nail-heads in the door of a prison. These knobs, or 'teeth,' when drawn over the grain in the thrashing-floor, cut and tear the straw to pieces, in the end reducing it to powder.—P.
16 Thou shalt bfan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou cshalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 When dthe poor and needy seek ewater, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD gwill hear them, I the God of Israel hwill not forsake them.
d Ps.68.10,18; 72.4,12-14; 102.17; 107.4. 1 Co.1.26. ch.11.4. Re.3.17,18. Mat.9.13.
e ch.12.3. Jn.4.10,14; 7.37-39. Re.22.1,7.
g Ps.102.17; 107.5,6; 34.6. 2 Co.12.9.
h Ge.28.15. Jos.1.5. Ps.37.28;94.14. 1 Sa.12.22. He.13.5. ver.9.
18 I will open irivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
i ch.35.6,7; 44.3; 48.21;30.25; 43.19. Ps.105.41; 107.3,35. Joel 3.18. Eze.47.1-11. Re.22.1. Zec.14.8, with Ps.78.15,16.
19 Ij will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together;
j ch.55.13;58.11. Re.22.2. Eze.47.12. ch.60.13,21. Ps.92.13,14, with 121.6. ch.25.4,5; 32.2; 61.3,11. Ca.4.12-14.
20 Thatk they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
22 Let them bring them forth, and lshow us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider 1them, and know the latter end of them: or declare us things for to come.
l ch.44.7; 45.21; 46.10;48.14. Jn.13.19.
1 Heb. set our heart upon them.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, nthat we may know that ye are gods: yea, odo good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
24 Behold, pye are of nothing,2 and your work of nought:3 an abomination is he that chooseth you.
p ver.29. 1 Co.8.4. Je.10.8,14,15;51.17,18. ch.44.9;40.17;59.5.
2 Or, worse than nothing.
3 Or, worse than of a viper.
25 Iq have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name; and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.
q ver.2; ch.44.28; 45.1-6,13; 46.11; xiii.xxi. Je.l.li. Ezr.1.2. Mi.7.10. Je.51.23,28.
26 Whor hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth; yea, there is none that declareth; yea, there is none that heareth your words.
A.M. cir. 3296. B.C. cir. 708.
r ver.22; ch.43.9; 44.7; 45.21; 46.10; 48.6,14. Hab.2.18,19. 1 Co.8.4; 12.2. Ps.115.4-8. 1 Th.1.9.
27 The first shall say4 to Zion, Behold, behold them:5 and I will give to Jerusalem sone that bringeth good tidings.
28 For I beheld, and tthere was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer6 a word.
t ch.46.8. Je.10.7,8,14. ch.63.5;44.25. Da.2.10,11;4.7;5.8.
6 Heb. return.
29 Behold,u they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
u Ps.39.5. ch.40.17-23;44.9-20;45.19,20; 41.7. Ps.115.4-8;97.7; 135.15-18. Je.10.2-16. Hab.2.18,19. 1 Co.8.4.
Notes
Ver. 1, 2. Attentively hear my challenges, ye heathens; muster up all the arguments you can in your own defence. Who but myself called Abraham to his travels from his native country, enabled him to conquer the eastern kings, and his seed to conquer the Canaanites? Who besides me disposed and enabled Cyrus to execute my righteous judgments on the Chaldeans, and to grant deliverance to my people? Who raised up the all-conquering Immanuel, or enabled Saul the persecutor and other apostles irresistibly to conquer the nations to Christ by the preaching of the gospel? 4, 5. Who hath disposed of all the generations of mankind? Have not I, the eternal God? Observing with dread my wonderful works, the heathens have consulted together how to preserve themselves and their idols. 8-16. Ye Jews, being mine by special covenant, whom I originally brought from among your neighbours in Chaldea to Canaan, and notwithstanding your repeated rebellions, have never rejected, ye must not worship idols. Indulge no slavish or desponding fears, for I am your infinite All in All; and I will strengthen, help, and uphold you by my almighty power, manifested in the righteous destruction of mine adversaries and deliverance of my people. All your enemies shall quickly be overwhelmed with confusion and ruin; for I will guide, strengthen, and keep you from falling. And however weak, despised, and oppressed you may be, I will enable you to subdue your most lofty, proud, and powerful adversaries, and make you to rejoice in and glorify me, as the author of all your privileges. 17-20. When poor indigent sinners are reduced to the most wretched condition, I will grant them comfort and relief; and will spread the gospel, and plant the ordinances thereof, and persons eminent for gifts and graces, among both Jews and Gentiles, in such a manner as will manifest my infinite power and holiness to every observer. 25-27. I foretell that Cyrus the Medo-Persian shall subdue the Chaldean and other empires. But which of your idols can manifest their true divinity by foretelling anything? It is only I, the eternal God, who can represent things future as if they were present, and enable prophets to foretell temporal or spiritual deliverances to my church.
Ver. 2. The righteous man. Abraham, who 'believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness,' Ro. 4. 3. C.
Ver. 5. The isles. The original word does not necessarily signify places surrounded by water, but places bordering on the sea.—Saw it. They saw God's power and judgment in the deliverance of his people, and judgment of idolatrous nations, as in the case of Abraham (see note on ver. 2), the exodus and possession of Canaan, &c.—The ends of the earth were afraid. They were not moved to 'the fear of the Lord,' but to the fear of the Jews, and the overthrow of their beloved idolatry. C.
Ver. 6. They helped every one his neighbour. The nations associated against the truth, and in support of idolatry. See Ps. 83. 2-8, 12. C.
Ver. 9. Thou whom I have taken, &c. The address is here to Israel, as the 'seed of Abraham—taken from the ends of the earth—chosen, and not cast away;' consequently it is prophetic of an event yet to come, not descriptive of an event that is past. That event to come is the restoration of the Jews to the possession of their land, ver. 9, political power, ver. 11, 15, and the knowledge of Jesus the Holy One of Israel, ver. 16. C.
Ver. 11. That the destruction of their Babylonian and Syro-Grecian oppressors is the commencement of a series of events by which this prophecy will be accomplished, there can be no doubt—but the series does not conclude until the time of the national conversion of Israel to 'the truth as it is in Jesus,' ver. 16. C.
Ver. 15. The 'mountains and hills' are the prophetic emblems of those empires and kingdoms by which the Jews have been, or shall be, persecuted and oppressed, and which are doomed to fall, as a punishment for their infidelity, cruelty, and pride. C.
Ver. 17. The poor, are the 'poor in spirit,' Mat. 5. 3; the water, is the word of truth, 'springing up into everlasting life,' Jn. 4. 14. C.
Ver. 19. In the garden of Eden God himself planted 'every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food;' and put Adam into that garden 'to dress it, and to keep it.' And since that hour, wherever the Spirit of God renews the heart of man, that same Spirit renews the face of nature. So evident is this fact, that in several parts of Europe the progress of the Reformation can be traced by the progress of improvement in dwellings, plantings, and cultivation. C.
Ver. 21. Produce your cause. This is addressed to the confederate idolaters, ver. 6-8, and the nations by whom Israel was persecuted and oppressed, ver. 11, 12; and their gods are challenged to establish their claims to worship by any word of prophecy or any act of power, ver. 22-24. C.
Ver. 25. I have raised up one from the north. This has been interpreted as descriptive of Cyrus coming from Media, which lay north from Babylon. But is it not rather spoken of Messiah, who came with glad tidings to Jerusalem, ver. 27, from Nazareth in Galilee, in the north of the Holy Land? And is it not prophetic of his coming as King, in providential power and judgment, to smite the nations for their rebellion against his authority? Ps. 2. 9-12. C.
Ver. 28. There was no man. No man found in the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness—the essential characteristic of a true man. C.
Reflections.—The enemies of Jesus and the gospel may do their worst, it will but issue in their own confusion. The truths of the Bible will bear the strictest scrutiny. And since it is God who founds and protects the church, and assists her helpers, it is in vain for idolaters to unite in their efforts against her. But what fightings without, and fears within, have the people of God to encounter! Nothing but almighty power and grace can enable to conquer them, or can afford comfort under them. And seasonably does Jesus relieve his people in their extremity, and plant ordinances and true converts where he pleases. Be still then, my soul, and consider the insignificancy of every idol which thou hast put in Jehovah's room. How late is their existence! how short-lived and uncertain their continuance! how limited their knowledge! how small their power, and unimportant their work! God forbid I should make that my god which did not make me out of nothing; and which cannot warn me of every danger, protect me from every enemy, and through eternity be my all-sufficient portion.—But let Jesus, and Jehovah in him, be my All in All: my Friend to love me at all times; my Companion to guide me to glory; my Helper to assist me in every work; my Captain of salvation to slay my foes, and make me in all things more than a conqueror; my Supplier and my Provision; my Comforter and my Consolation.—What have I to do any more with idols? Let me cast them to the moles and to the bats—cast them away as a menstruous cloth—as vanity and confusion.