The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 42
Chapter XLII · Vol. III, pp. 1196–1198
1 The mission of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy. 5 God's promise to him. 10 An exhortation to praise God for his gospel. 18 He reproveth the people of incredulity.
1 Behold mya servant, whom I buphold; minec elect, in whom my soul ddelighteth: Ie have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
a Mat.12.18-21. ch.49.3;52.13;53.11. Phi.2.7. Jn.4.34;10.18.
b ch.49.8. Jn.16.32; 17.2. ch.50.4,7,9. Ac.10.38. Jn.11.42.
c ch.43.10. Jn.6.27. 1 Pe.1.20; 2.4. Ps.89.19,20,3,4. Pr.8.23. ch.49.1,5.
d Mat.3.17; 17.5. Jn.3.35;5.20; 15.9. Ep.1.4,6;2.14,18. Col.1.13.
e ch.11.2-5,10;2.2-5; 61.1-6. Jn.1.33,34; 3.34. Ro.15.8-12. Ps.72.8-11. Ac.i.-xx.
2 Heg shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.1
g Mat.12.16-20; 11.29. Zec.9.9,10. Ep.2.17. 2 Ti.2.24. 1 Pe.2.23.
1 He shall produce no turbulent commotions, make no complaints when injured.—C.
3 Ah bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking2 flax shall he not quench:3 he ishall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He jshall not fail nor be discouraged,4 till he have set judgment in the earth: and kthe isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the LORD, lhe that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein;
6 I the LORD nhave called thee in righteousness, and will ohold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give pthee for a covenant of the people,5 for qa light of the Gentiles;
7 To ropen the blind eyes, to sbring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
r ch.35.5. Mat.11.5. Ac.26.18. 2 Co.4.4,6. Ep.1.17,18. Re.3.18. Col.1.9,12. Ep.5.8.
s 1 Pe.2.9. ch.28.18; 35.5;61.1;9.2;49.9. Zec.9.11. Ps.142.6. Lu.4.18-21. He.2.14,15. 2 Ti.2.26.
8 I amt the LORD; that is my name: and my gloryu will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
t Ex.3.14,15;6.3;15.3. Ps.83.18.
u ch.48.11. Ex.20.3,5.
9 Behold, vthe former things are come to pass, and wnew things do I declare; xbefore they spring forth I tell you of them.
A.M. cir. 3296. B.C. cir. 708.
v Jos.21.45; 23.14. 1 Ki.8.23,24.
w ch.44.7,8;46.9,10. 1 Pe.1.10-12. He.1.1. Jn.13.19. ch.41.23.
x Ac.15.18.
10 Singy unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein;6 the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
11 Letz the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that aKedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing; let them shout from the top of the mountains.
z ch.35.1-10;43.21; 44.23;49.13. Ps.72.8-10,17. Ro.15.9-13. Re.5.9,10;7.9-12;14.1-4;15.2-4;18.20;19.1-7. Lu.2.10-14. 1 Pe.4.11. Ep.3.20,21.
13 Thec LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy7 like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall 8prevail against his enemies.
14 Id have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I ecry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour9 at once.
15 Ig will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
16 Andh I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things 1straight. These things will I do unto them, and inot forsake them.
h Ho.2.14. Ep.5.8. Je.31.9. Ps.98.2,3. ch.29.18,24; 9.2; 35.5,8,10; 48.17;54.13; 60.1,2,19,20;58.10. Ps.107.4. He.10.20. Lu.1.78,79.
1 Heb. into straightness.
i Je.32.39,40. Jn.13.1. He.13.5. See ch. 41.9,17.
17 They shall be jturned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
18 Hear, kye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
k ch.6.9,10. Je.4.22. Eze.12.2. Ro.1.20. Mar.7.34,35.
19 Who is blind, but lmy servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect,2 and blind as the LORD's servant?
l Je.5.21. Eze.12.2. Je.5.31;23.14. ch.56.10; 43.27. Ro.11.25. Mat.15.14. 2 Co.3.14. Ro.2.17-23. Jn.7.49; 9.40,41, with Ex.19.6. Eze.16.8-10. De.32.10,11.
2 Perfect. 'Perfectly instructed.'—Lowth.
20 Seeingn many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
n ch.1.3, with Ps.107.43; 106.7-39. ch.58.2. Je.42.2,5,6; 5.21; 6.10. Eze.12.2; 14.3; 33.30,31. Ro.2.22, with Ps.147.19,20. De.4.3-5,8; 29.2,3.
21 Theo LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make 3it honourable.4
o De.4.6,7. Ps.71.16,19; 147.19,20. Eze.20.11. Ne.9.13. Ro.9.4; 10.3,4. Phi.3.9. 2 Co.3.7,8. Ga.6.2, or Mat.3.17. 2 Co.5.19-21.
3 Or, him, Jn.17.1.
4 'Yet Jehovah loveth him for his own truth's sake; he will exalt and make honourable the law.'—Boothroyd, Lowth.
22 Butp this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared5 in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses; they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil,6 and none saith, Restore.
p 2 Ch.28.5,6,17,19. ch.18.2;36.1. 2 Ki.17.6-17. ch.9.12-21. Je.50.17,33. Lu.19.42-44; 21.20-24. Mat.23.35-39.
A.M. cir. 3296. B.C. cir. 708.
5 Or, in snaring all the young men of them.
6 Heb. a treading.
24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the rrobbers? did not sthe LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
r 2 Ki.17.5-23;18.13; xxiv. xxv. 2 Ch.xxviii. xxxii. xxxiii. xxxvi. ch.10.5,6;33.1;21.1. Je.50.7,17,33;51.34,35.
s ch.45.7. Ju.2.11-14; 3.12; 4.1,2. Ne.9.26,27. 2 Ki.17.7-17. 2 Ch.15.6;36.16. Ps.75.7. Ho.4.1,2. Am.3.6. La.1.8; 3.38. Da.9.5-14. De.29.24-28.
25 Thereforet he hath poured upon him8 the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet uhe knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
t Le.26.15-39. De.28.15-68. 2 Ch.29.8. Da.9.5-16,27. De.32.22-28. Mat.23.35-39. Lu.21.20-24. 1 Th.2.16. Lu.16.23,24. Ps.79.6.
8 Poured upon him—that is, upon Jacob, ver.24.—C.
u Je.5.3; 35.13-15. Ho.7.9. Re.9.18-21;16.8.
Notes
Ver. 1-4. With wonder and love contemplate and believe on Jesus Christ, my eternal Son, whom I have appointed my Servant, as Mediator for the salvation of sinful men; whom I will assist in his work, and furnish with all gifts and graces without measure, that, in consequence of his finishing the undertaking, he may effectually spread the gospel tidings of his redemption among the Gentiles, and render them his peculiar people. Not with carnal contention or pompous ostentation, but in a meek, humble, and peaceful manner, shall he make his personal appearance, and erect his kingdom on earth. He shall not discourage the broken-hearted, nor cast off such as have but very weak grace, but shall encourage, strengthen, and deal kindly with them: and while he renders his word effectual, he shall judge every person uprightly and impartially. No difficulty shall in the least discourage him, nor hinder his finishing his work, or his spreading the gospel of men's salvation, erecting his spiritual kingdom among them, and subduing the opposers thereof. And all nations, particularly those along the coast of the Mediterranean and in the islands, shall readily embrace his truths, and become his obedient subjects.—5-9. I, the eternal Jehovah and almighty Creator, have called him to his work for the manifestation of my righteousness and faithfulness, and will conduct, assist, and preserve him in it. I set him forth as the Mediator, Surety, and Administrator of the promise of grace to men, that he may endue with saving knowledge, and may conduct to everlasting happiness, poor ignorant sinners of mankind, and deliver them from their spiritual thraldom to Satan and their lusts.—As I am being itself, and do give being to every creature, and fulfil every promise, I will, by him, through the gospel, abolish idolatry out of the world. I have already fulfilled multitudes of my promises, and now give you new promises of release from Babylon, and of redemption from sin, that, when they are accomplished, you may believe that I am the only true God.—13-17. After long forbearing to take judgment, I will, in the most sudden and certain manner, destroy the Chaldeans and other enemies of my church, and remove every hindrance of my glory and my people's salvation; and will enlighten, renew, and direct them as their need requires. 18-20. Attend ye careless, ignorant, and obstinate sinners: for none are so blind and obstinate as you my professed people, who reckon yourselves the only enlightened and righteous persons. Notwithstanding all my revelations given to you, and the wonderful works which I have wrought for you, ye never duly consider any. Notwithstanding all your pretences to hearken, ye never regard what is said. 21. While I, in the honourable fulfilment of my promises, have continued my favours to you, or will magnify my word in accomplishing my threatenings upon you, Jesus shall, by his complete righteousness, fulfill divine justice, and restore with advantage to the holy law whatever honour it had lost by men's sin. 22. For the obstinate disobedience of most of you, ye shall be rendered inexpressibly miserable by the Romans and others, and yet shall be so stupified as never to search out, or repent, of the sinful causes of your trouble.
Ver. 1. Judgment. The true interpretation of the divine law, whose typical sacrifices are all realized in Christ, so that the Gentiles are admitted as fellow-heirs with the Jews, and set free from any yoke of bondage to the rites of the ceremonial law, Ac. 15. 1, 12-29; Ep. 2. 11-19; Ga. 5. 1-6. C.
Ver. 3. The heart that, by reason of sorrow for sin, is as 'a bruised reed,' he will bind up and heal. The purpose of repentance that is ready to expire, like the 'smoking flax' in the lamp, he will not, in judgment, quench because of its smoke and offensiveness, but gently guard, till it kindles into a flame of love. C.
Ver. 4. 'The isles;' i.e. distant nations—nations which lie on the shores of the sea, and beyond the sea. They shall wait for and long for the blessings and civilizing influences of his law. The prophecy was fulfilled in the spread of Christ's gospel over the world. The fulfilment will reach away forward still into the distant future. P.
Ver. 7. Most probably an allusion to the cruel custom of putting out the eyes of prisoners, as illustrative of the cruelty of 'the god of this world,' blinding the mind of them who believe not, 2 Co. 4. 4. C.
Ver. 10. A new song. It is new, because it is the dictation of a new spirit, Eze. 11. 19, the outpouring of a new heart, Eze 18. 31. C.
Ver. 11. 'The wilderness,' or midbar, is a pastoral, as contradistinguished from an agricultural country. Arabia is chiefly referred to. Though most of its inhabitants were nomads, roaming about in tents from pasture to pasture, yet it had always a considerable number of towns; it has them still in the very heart of the so-called desert. To these towns reference is here made. P.——Kedar. Arabians dwelling in movable tents, Ps. 120. 5; and these are contrasted with 'the inhabitants of the rock'—the people of Petra, who had the most permanent habitations cut in the sides of the mountains. And in these places was the blessed gospel preached by Paul, Ga. 1. 17. C.——The word translated 'rock' is Sela, which is the ancient name of the 'rock city' of Petra, the capital of Idumea. It is probable that the word is here used as a proper name; and if so, the concluding clause of the verse is very expressive. Petra is situated in the very heart of the mountains; and some of its rock-hewn temples and houses are high up on the sides of the wild cliffs. P.
Ver. 14. At once the Lord overwhelmed the world by a flood: at once he destroyed Sodom; at once he smote the first-born in Egypt; at once he gave up Jerusalem to plunder, the temple to fire, and the remnant of the nation to death or exile: and at once he will smite Gog and Magog, and lay spiritual Babylon in ruins. C.
Ver. 15. The meaning is, that the mountain and hill sides, now covered with terraced vineyards and orchards, would be left desolate; that the streams, whose abundant waters irrigated and fortilized vast tracts of country, would be left completely dry; that the pools or cisterns, in which water was collected during the rainy season for the wants of man and beast, would be entirely exhausted. P.
Ver. 19. Who is blind but my servant? Who is this servant? Is he the servant upheld, even Christ? ver. 1; or is he Jacob, Israel personified? ch. 43. 22, comp. with ver. 10. Jacob is expressly called the chosen servant of the Lord, 1 Ch. 16. 13; see also Is. 44. 1, 2: 45. 4; 48. 20. Wherefore, considering how difficult, if not impossible, it is to apply blind and deaf to Messiah; and how easy, natural, and consistent with fact is their application to Jacob, it follows that of Jacob the passage is to be interpreted. C.
Ver. 20. Thou observest not. Observest them not—as evidences of the being, perfections, grace, and judgment of God.—Opening the ears. Opening the outward ears of others by the preaching of the law, but shutting his own inward ear against the love and the power of it. C.
Ver. 25. Knew not—considered not the real origin of his calamities; ascribed them to secondary causes and agents, and forgot to trace them to the righteous judgments of God. C.
Reflections.—Infinite is the excellency of Jesus Christ! How dear to his Father and useful to men! How glorious the nature and end of his mediation! And with tenderness, fidelity, courage, and success, he executes it. Grand and irreversible is his commission; and his character is answerable to our infinite needs. What ground of gladness is this to sinners, the wildest Arabs and most distant islanders not excepted! And infinitely offensive to Jehovah, and ruinous to men, must be the rejection of him. By the most fearful shaking of nations does Jesus often introduce his kindest favours. And with earnestness, power, and grace he convicts and calls sinners to himself. But, alas! how dreadful is it to have the god of this world blinding our minds and hardening our hearts, that the light of the gospel may not shine into them, nor the love of it captivate them to the obedience of faith! And fearful will be the issue when they who have the best means of grace, have them least blessed and profit the least by them.