Isaiah 40–66

We might therefore have expected that chapter 40 would begin on a mournful note, calling for misery and tears rather than comfort. But no — "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." He says this in view of the main theme, which the remaining chapters develop. In the earlier part, Isaiah 1-35, the main theme has been the sinful state of Israel and of the surrounding nations, and God's judgments on them all... God's controversy with Israel still continues, both over their idolatry and over their rejection of their Messiah. But now the main theme is His coming, both in suffering and in glory.

Surely to the people these words will come with unusual sweetness: "Comfort, comfort." He had known their trouble and distress then, and now He would comfort them. "My people" is what He calls them here. So He has restored them to His favour, after having to disown them for their sins. When their God speaks to them like this, He also sets before them who He is: the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who does not faint or grow weary, and whose understanding no one can search out. How different He is from all the idols people invent!

These opening verses plainly display God's disposition towards His earthly people Israel. The marginal reading of "comfortably" is "speak to the heart," and this is the correct rendering. It is a call designed to stir the affections of God's people in view of the coming of their Messiah.

The twenty-seven chapters begin with, "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." After the first thirty-nine chapters, with their many condemnations and woes, we might wonder where the comfort is. Isaiah 53 points it out in full. If we believe the report and discover the mighty "arm of the LORD" in the suffering "Servant," the comfort will flow into our hearts in abundant measure.

God is here found addressing those whom He would use in this blessed service. Then we read three messages that they are to speak for His people's comfort. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem" (the margin reads: to the heart of Jerusalem — He cares for our affections), "and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." Here we have the first drop in the cup of comfort: the testimony from God Himself that every question between Himself and them is eternally and divinely settled. To that nation this is doubtless future; to us it is present.

Chapter 40 stresses two important points in this ministry of comfort. One is the complete inability and weakness of the flesh (vv. 6-8). The other is the glory and majesty of God: a pardoning God (v. 2); a God of glory (v. 5); a God whose word lasts for ever (v. 8); a God of power (v. 16); affectionate and full of tenderness (v. 11).

The first eight verses of chapter 40 show in a remarkable way the principles on which God acts. His grace flows from His own heart, once His chastisements have been fully inflicted. God would comfort His people. He speaks to the heart of Jerusalem, telling her that her warfare is accomplished.

In his earlier messages he repeated warning and threat to the enemy, as in Isaiah 8:9-10. Now he speaks with no less force, but with deep tenderness to the people, after painful affliction and shame for their sins. His heart goes with God's message of comfort.

Job 7:1 seems to give an entrance into the force of the word: "Is there not an appointed time to man? His days also as the days of a hired worker?" So also chapter 14:14, and Isaiah 40:2 — from which I gather that its force is "an appointed time" of subjection to evil.

It is not that their iniquity is excused or made light of. Rather, its "double," or fitting punishment, has been exacted, and so it has been pardoned. The time of "warfare," or suffering, is over. The verse does not state how this "double" from the Lord's hand has been received.

That "double" was used for something indefinitely great, in good or in evil, one sees in Matthew 23, Revelation 18:6, as in Isaiah 40:2.

Bad as Jerusalem's sins were, she had, in His reckoning of love, suffered double what her sins deserved under His government. He is not looking at the sins of Jerusalem apart from Christ, but as it were through Him. If no suffering Messiah were connected with Jerusalem, only one thing would remain: the judgment of her sins, to her everlasting shame and ruin. But God always looks at Christ on her behalf, and can therefore say, "Comfort, comfort." He disowned Israel as not His people, and that holds good through the times of the Gentiles, which have not yet ended. But He will acknowledge them once more, and for ever, under Messiah and the new covenant.

As to the government of God working in this world, they receive it to the full in heavy chastisement, as indicated in Isaiah 57, 58 and 59. As to the more serious matter of God's eternal judgment on sin, they receive it in the sufferings of their Messiah and Saviour, who suffered in their place. They once rejected Him. We see this in Isaiah 53, where they say in prophecy, "Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace," since "The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

The day is coming when the Lord will say that Jerusalem has received from His hand double for all her sins. He will apply to them the blood of Christ, which can outweigh the ten thousand talents, and more. But the unbelieving generation of Israel is cast into prison and will never come out. The remnant will come out, by the grace of God, and the Lord will make of the remnant a strong nation.

They were determined to have an answer, and he gives them one. They would compel him to speak of himself, and he does so. But look at his answer! Who or what was he? Nobody. He was only "a voice." This is morally lovely. The self-emptiness of this most honoured servant is beautiful… Here was a man of real power and dignity, one of Christ's most outstanding servants, in the very highest position. His preaching had stirred the hearts of thousands. Angels had announced his birth. Prophets had foretold his ministry. He was the herald of the kingdom, the friend of the King. Yet when this remarkable man was forced to speak of himself, all he would say was, "I am a voice." Not even a man, but only a voice.

What makes him morally great is that he is less than nothing in his own eyes. This is not because he tries to hide himself, but because for him Christ fills heaven, earth, eternity, and his own heart… He might have said, "I am the mouthpiece of God"; but no, an instrument might even think itself something. "I am the voice of one crying" — that, so to speak, takes away his personality. "Crying in the wilderness" — a voice that wakes an echo, worth nothing in the hearing of men.

This is why John the Baptist does not appeal to the people as a whole, like the prophets who came before him. He says, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness." Israel was a wilderness for God. From now on his appeal rests on their ruin beyond repair. The older prophets always assumed the nation could still return to Jehovah… Like them, John the Baptist had preached repentance, but a repentance founded on ruin without remedy.

Jehovah's word to Malachi is, "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me." The Spirit applies these words to Christ… Jesus of the New Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. The second quotation from Isaiah speaks of preparing the way of the LORD. So again it is Jehovah whose way is prepared — for Jesus is Jehovah.

All Scripture confirms the truth that Jesus is Jehovah. John the Baptist was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord" — that is, Jehovah (Isa. 40).

Repentance was certainly a first necessity in this preparation. It meant facing honestly the sin that had dishonoured God. The Lord's paths had to be made straight. He would allow no twisting deceit in men's minds. They could not come to Him while they were dishonest.

It was not the person nor the work of Israel's hope in power. For Israel as a whole was blind and deaf; the testimony was interrupted, the Messiah refused. So there was only a partial application… The way of Jehovah was not yet prepared. There was no straight highway in the desert for God. God put man on his own responsibility, and man heard the cry only to sin the more. But in time God will make it all good in grace by His own power.

Only the Spirit of God in Luke takes care to give it the fullest breadth… We do not have this anywhere else. In Matthew, Mark, and John the quotation stops short of it. But Luke, though he begins with the Jew, does not end with him; he clearly goes out to all the nations. So the Spirit adds expressions here that give largeness and breadth.

In this chapter Jehovah steps in and announces that He has come to comfort His people... Verse 3 opens the warning that prepares the way, but it is about Jehovah showing Himself... The Eternal presents Himself to His people, and this is how the remnant becomes known.

The world as we see it today is only a barren wilderness. Nothing in it satisfies the heart of God or meets the need of man. In it the lowly are oppressed, the proud are lifted up, and unrighteousness prevails... When the glory of the LORD is revealed, He will deliver His downtrodden people, for He will lift up those of humble position — "every valley shall be lifted up." He will humble all the pride of man — He will bring down the mighty from their thrones — "every mountain and hill be made low." He will rebuke unrighteousness, for "the uneven ground shall become level." And He will end the time of suffering, for He will feed the hungry with good things, and so make "the rough places a plain."

The crooked (perverted principles commonly accepted) would be made straight, and rough ways (the paths in which sin has caused trouble and sorrow) would be made smooth, for sin would be judged.

The people asked him, "What shall we do then?" He answered, "Whoever has two coats must share with him who has none, and whoever has food must do the same." So the mountain and the hill were made low and the valley lifted up. Next, tax collectors came and asked the same question. He said, "Collect no more than you are authorised to." Here we see how the crooked were to be made straight. Then the soldiers asked too, and he said, "Do not use violence or false accusation against anyone, and be content with your wages." So we see the rough places made smooth.

John's testimony was a call to repentance, because the Messiah was coming... But Israel as a whole was blind and deaf. The testimony was interrupted and the Messiah refused. So there was only a partial application. The people's unbelief cut off the thread of God's ways, while His purposes stand unbreakable... God left man under his own responsibility, and man heard the cry only to sin the more. But in time God will make it all good in grace by His own power.

The everlasting kingdom of Christ can only be established when all evil has been judged. To set up this kingdom, unrighteousness must disappear. Everything that lifts itself up against the Ruler of the whole earth must be cast down and brought low. The way of the Lord can only be prepared by bringing low every high mountain. Then the whole world will know the glory of the Lord and be filled with it.

These were words of encouragement to everyone to take a low place now. Those who exalt themselves now will be brought low in the day of judgement. The Bible is full of this sentiment. The Lord Jesus "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:8,9). Paul says to us all: "Have this mind among yourselves." The lesson from the valley is humility.

The reference to John is plain. Yet verse 5 carries us on to what Christ will fulfil at His second coming. The glory of the Lord was indeed revealed at His first coming. It proved to be "glory as of the only Son from the Father" (John 1:14). But the same verse says, "we have seen his glory." The context shows that most of the people did not see it. The disciples were the exception to the rule. Not until His second coming will "all flesh" see it. Revelation 1:7 declares how public that coming will be. So the prophecy here, as often in the Old Testament, has both comings in view... A single star shines in our night sky, but through a telescope it proves to be two. In the clearer light of the New Testament, this promised coming of Jehovah in the person of the Messiah proves to be two comings.

Every difficulty — depths, heights, rough or crooked — must disappear, for God still means to make this earth the scene of His glory. It is a most blessed prospect. The sin, misery, and weakness of man, the groaning of all creation around, the schemes and power and presence of Satan must all vanish. They do not give place to the grace of God revealed in Christ, which has already shone (we know) in the despised man from Nazareth. They give place to the revealed glory of Jehovah, when all flesh shall see it together. It cannot refer to the day when the dead are judged. Then it will not be "all flesh," nor any flesh at all, but the dead raised before the great white throne. Here it is a question of man living in his natural body on the earth.

When the glory of the LORD is revealed, He will deliver His down-trodden people, for He will lift up the lowly. He will humble all the pride of man. He will rebuke unrighteousness, and He will bring the time of suffering to an end... The pride and unrighteousness of man are not going to triumph for ever. The godly will not always be a downtrodden and suffering people. Humility ends in exaltation, and suffering leads to glory.

In Luke you will find the prophecy carried further... "and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." The range of Luke is wider... His task was to show the grace of God that brings salvation, and that has appeared to all men. So the Holy Spirit leads him to fasten on the words that show how wide God's goodness to man reaches.

Luke connects the testimony with the moral preparation for the way of the Lord, which Isaiah had foretold as the object of John's mission, adding, as suited to the character of the Gospel, from a later passage in the prophet (Isa. 52:10), "All flesh shall see the salvation of God."

But how do we know this? What guarantee do we have that it will come to pass? "The mouth of the LORD has spoken." We rest in the unchangeable word of God. Here is our comfort and hope. "The word of our God will stand forever." Not the smallest part of His word will fail. God will be faithful to His spoken word, and we who believe wait patiently for it to be fulfilled. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." How do we do that? By turning them again to the word of God, which is completely reliable.

Before God begins, He must cause it to be understood that all flesh is as grass.

If God will comfort His people, what does the Lord say? "All flesh is grass," and so on. It must begin there. The grass is withered, because the Spirit of the Lord has blown upon it. But the word of God will stand for ever. That was the foundation of hope. If anyone could have gained anything, it would have been the Jews, who had everything. But they were no more than the grass of the field — the grass that withers.

Here follows the substance of John the Baptist's testimony, though it may be seen still more clearly at the end of this age. "All flesh is grass"; it is man morally and universally. "And all its beauty is like the flower of the field" (v. 6). Could a man use this to think well of himself? Verse 7 cuts down all boasting — "The grass withers, the flower fades: because the Spirit (or, breath) of Jehovah blows upon it." God is pointing to its frailty, not its beauty. The moment God tests what it is, even by the breath of His nostrils, all flesh comes to nothing.

The question between God and every soul is this: is man as bad as God's testimony says he is? The starting point in preaching the gospel is God's declaration: "All flesh is grass." Take man in every state of moral and intellectual improvement, and he is grass. "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" (the flower is a much more fleeting thing than the grass itself).

God has chastised Jerusalem enough, and the Lord speaks to her heart. But with that comes this solemn truth — "All flesh is grass." The people, God's own people according to the flesh, come under this description — "the people are grass." That withers, but it does not stop their full blessing. Only they must know that "God's word abides for ever," and that is what secures the promises and their fulfilment.

This is the first part of the message that leads to lasting comfort. If the servants of God obey His commands and stay true to their commission, they will lift up their voices and "cry" this solemn truth. They will not play the devil's gospel of evolution to the people, or join in that deceptive talk about the natural goodness in man… They will tell the truth: the very best that man can produce is like the poppy in a summer cornfield, bright and attractive for a day, and then — withered and gone.

We must remember that the word of God covers more than the gospel that saves men. It also includes the solemn truth Peter quotes from Isaiah 40:6 (in chapter 1:24), a word that declares the condition of men. When this word about himself comes home to a man, it produces repentance towards God in him, and he is ready to put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must truly be brought to the end of everything that self has anything to do with. Until then, God cannot show Himself. But we can never get to the end of our plans until we are brought to the end of ourselves. We must see that "all flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field."

Verse 7 cuts down all boasting — "The grass withers, the flower fades: because the Spirit (or, breath) of Jehovah blows upon it." God is pointing at its frailty, not its beauty. The moment God tests what it is, all flesh comes to nothing — even if He tests it only by the breath of His nostrils. And God says this sentence over and over. The first repetition seems to be there to underline the judgement on "the people," that is, the Jews.

The question between God and every soul is this: is man as bad as God's testimony says he is? The starting-point in preaching the gospel is God's declaration: "All flesh is grass." Take man in every state of moral and intellectual improvement, and he is grass. "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" (the flower is a much more fleeting thing than the grass itself).

Put to the test "all flesh is grass," and any natural "goodliness" that man has is but a flower that fades. This is true not only of the Gentiles – "all flesh" – but of the people God favoured most, the Jews, for the prophet adds "the people is grass." The Jew has lost his kingdom. The nation is scattered. The Gentiles have failed completely in government. Still, "the word of our God shall stand for ever."

From now on the prophet's appeal rests on their ruin beyond recovery. The appeal of the older prophets always assumed the nation could still return to Jehovah… Like them, John the Baptist did preach repentance. But it was a repentance founded on ruin without remedy… What remains of man? Nothing. The wrath of the Lord has blown upon him. From then on, repentance meant admitting that a man must judge himself in God's presence.

If God will comfort His people, what does the Lord say? "All flesh is grass"… It must begin there… That is why there is such confusion in the heart of a newly converted man, and even of a Christian, if he does not pay attention to it. The word comes to tell him the grass has withered, and that the flesh cannot produce anything good. But he does not yet rest on this: that the word of the Lord endures for ever, and that the blessing therefore cannot fail to His own. Two things must come first. We must stop trying to get good out of the flesh, and we must be sure that the word of the Lord endures for ever. Until then we shall always be troubled and weak under the enemy's attacks.

Men cannot do it; the best of men will fail. In the past there were great men whom the people trusted. They were only the flower of the summer cornfield. Their influence did not last. They came and went, and left the world no better than they found it… "The grass withers, the flower fades." Nothing men achieve lasts, because they leave God out of their plans.

If God will comfort His people, what does the Lord say? "All flesh is grass," and so on. It must begin there... But the word of God will stand forever. That was the foundation of hope... We must stop trying to get good out of the flesh. We must be sure that the word of the Lord lasts forever. Until then, we will always be troubled and weak when the enemy attacks.

Verse 7 cuts down all boasting — "The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows on it." God is not pointing to its beauty but to its frailty. The moment God tests its character, even if He only breathes on it, all flesh comes to nothing. This is true in Israel too, not only among the nations: "surely the people are grass."

The people, God's own people according to the flesh, come under this description — "the people are grass." That withers, but it does not stop their full blessing. We only have to know that "God's word abides forever." That is what secures the promises and brings them to pass.

What are you resting on? Everything is fast breaking up. People in the world know that well. The feeling everywhere today is one of general insecurity. People trust nothing. How blessed then is this truth of God: the word of our God will stand forever. I commend that word to you tonight. That word will show you what your poor heart is looking for. It reveals Christ, salvation, everything your soul needs.

Even now the men of the world are making great strides in material things; but they will yet do greater things. And the devil will develop and display his plans as they have never been seen in the world before. What then will be the security of faith? "The word of our God shall stand for ever."

The word that has reached us as good news is the word of the Lord which lasts forever. So our salvation and our peace are as stable as the word they rest on. If all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass, then what are the arguments of unbelievers worth? They are as worthless as withered grass or a faded flower.

The word of God is the instrument used, that is the seed of God, and it is the only thing that lasts forever. This passage comes from Isaiah 40, and everything there is grass... Israel grass, the nations grass, all of us grass; all perishable, none lasting at all. Is there anything on earth that will last? Yes, the word of God will last, that will stand; if you are born of that, you will last forever.

People have burned the Bible a thousand times over! ... His word lives on. And now the devil, disguised as an angel of light, under the name of "devout scholarship" and "reverent criticism," tries it again. His word lives on! Emperors and popes, philosophers and unbelievers attacked the Bible. They are gone. The Bible is still with us.

The revelation of the glory of the Lord brings to light, as nothing else does, the sinfulness and frailty of man. Yet "good tidings" are also brought, and this is what supplies the "comfort" for "My people." Zion and Jerusalem are pictured as lifting up the voice and saying to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

Here we turn to the special earthly object of God's affection — Zion. It is the symbol of the grace of God working in Israel, and also the centre of the royal glory that is about to be revealed here below… The person who came of old, and who will come in the future, is Christ. In a word, the same Jesus is not only Christ but Jehovah. He is spoken of here as the God of Israel, Jehovah, whose reward is with Him and His work before Him.

Is it really so that they regard that little and feeble return as fulfilling, "Behold, your God!" and all that follows? It was the king of Persia who took the initiative… Ezra, an inspired man, saw no such way prepared through the wilderness as matched the bright promise.

This prophecy, it is true, includes the coming of the King of Israel in power, for deliverance and blessing. It includes the setting up of the kingdom in glory. But even so, Jehovah Jesus was there. He brought to Zion, in His own person, the good tidings of His presence, and He began to announce them in Galilee of the Gentiles.

Faith looks on to the time when the good tidings will go out from Zion, God's earthly centre. The cry to the cities of Judah will be "Behold your God." And when He comes it will be with a "strong hand" to put down the mighty from their seats. With "His arm" He will make the crooked straight, by His "rule" in righteousness. Then He will reward the meek. Every hard circumstance of life will be met, for "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom."

In Matthew we are reminded of the word, Behold your King (Zech. 9:9); in Mark, Behold My Servant (Isa. 42:1); in Luke, Behold the Man; but with John it is, Behold your God (Isa. 40:9).

About the sixth hour on the day of the crucifixion Pilate brought Jesus out and said to the crowd in Jerusalem, "Behold your King!" (John 19:14). This provoked the violent cry, "Away with Him, crucify Him." In our Scripture the prophet sees the same wonderful Person, but coming in the splendour of Deity with a "strong hand." This will be good tidings indeed, after the painful display of sin and utter weakness on the part of men.

There can be no doubt about it: the person who came long ago and will come again is Christ. In a word, the same Jesus is not only Christ but Jehovah. Here He is called the God of Israel, Jehovah, whose reward is with Him and His work before Him. First comes His coming in power. Next comes His tenderness of heart, as One who has compassion on them because they are defenceless and exposed.

It is the Lord Jehovah who is coming with might, but it is "His Arm" who will rule for Him. Isaiah's later chapters present the Lord Jesus as the Arm of Jehovah some ten or twelve times. Under this title He is the One who carries out in power all the will and purpose of Jehovah. Isaiah also presents Him as the "Servant," who does the even more wonderful work of bearing sin and suffering. The passages that call Him the Servant look ahead to His first coming in grace. The passages that call Him the "Arm" carry our thoughts on to His second coming in glory.

The arm is the part of the body that can lift burdens and defend the person. It stands as a symbol for the power and strength of God on behalf of His saints… The Old Testament speaks often of the arm of Jehovah. It redeemed, Exodus 6:6; gathers His own, Isaiah 40:11; and rules for Him, Isaiah 40:10, as in the kingdom.

The Arm is going to rule for Jehovah rather than suffer for Him. He will give reward and recompense to others in the day of His glory… As we look around the earth today, we see how badly a strong hand is needed to rule, and men want to grasp that power so they can rule in their own interests. The Arm of Jehovah will rule "for Him." What a day that will be, when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven!

When He comes it will be with a "strong hand" to pull the mighty down from their seats. With "His arm" He will make the crooked straight, by His "rule" in righteousness. Then He will reward the meek, and He will deal with all the hard circumstances of life.

For the wicked the reward will come as judgment. But the same "Arm" will be gracious, acting with the tenderness of a shepherd toward the smallest and weakest of the Lord's true sheep.

In Isaiah 40:10 we see the Arm of the Lord in its governmental authority. In verse 11 we see it in its loving activity, gathering the lambs and folding them to His bosom. There He carries them safely, and there they know the warmth of His love.

Do they really think that small, weak return fulfilled the words, "Behold your God!… behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him"? The king of Persia was the one who began it… Ezra was an inspired man, and he saw no road prepared through the wilderness to match that bright promise. He would have called it blasphemy to say that the remnant's return in his day was the triumphal march of Israel's king.

"Say to the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with might, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him" (vv. 9-10). There can be no doubt that the One who came long ago and will come again is Christ. In a word, the same Jesus is not only Christ but Jehovah. First comes His coming in power. Next comes His full tenderness of heart, as One who takes pity on them because they are defenceless and exposed.

It is clear from those Old Testament Scriptures which speak of the Shepherd that He is God the Creator. Take Isaiah 40 as an example... Can the lowly Nazarene, whom the people despised, really be this Shepherd? Can He be so great beyond measure, and yet so good and gentle, as this glorious Scripture describes? Well, in our chapter twice over He says, "I am the good Shepherd," and in so saying He declared that He was God.

The sea lies in the hollow of God's hand, and His power restrains all its fierce rage. In the same way He held us and restrained us in those days... His hand upholds creation, but His bosom is the place of rest for His lambs. All creation must acknowledge His power. His bosom is open for the weakest of His lambs, and they know His love. And if He has restrained us by His mighty hand, it is that we might know the rest and the safety and joy of His bosom.

Used symbolically for the seat of deep affection. John speaks of the Lord Jesus as the only begotten Son "in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18)... With a loose robe and a belt, people regularly carry many things in the bosom, even a lamb. Isa. 40:11.

The prophet Isaiah likens God's people to a flock that God delights to feed. The lambs of the flock are the ones the enemy can scatter most easily. He gathers them with His arms of power and holds them close in His heart of love... The wolf may seek to scatter the lambs, but the great Shepherd of the sheep will gather them with His protecting arm. The enemy may seek to bring about their fall, but the Shepherd will carry them, and bring them home to glory at last.

The royal Shepherd of Israel cares for the lambs of His flock... He cared for the weakest of the flock when He led His people Israel out of Egypt and through the sea. "Not a hoof was left behind." He gave food to them all, around their tents each morning, as they travelled through the empty, howling desert.

In Isaiah 40:11 it is said of the Lord Jehovah that He feeds His flock like a shepherd and carries the lambs in His bosom. Here He Himself goes much further. He proves Himself the Good Shepherd by laying down His life for the sheep. No one else would do it. And if you could imagine another doing it, it would not count with God or for man.

From verse 12 on, when we ask who this great and loving Deliverer is, we find He is no petty conqueror — not the kind the Rabbis imagined, or the kind Israel's earthly desires craved so long and so eagerly. He is the Creator. How strange that such a height of glory should be unwelcome! ... The Spirit of God first identifies the Messiah with God. He sets out what He is: the eternal, Almighty and only wise One, the Creator and Governor of all things, the Holy One, Jehovah of Israel.

God is so great that the mighty oceans lie in the hollow of His hand like a few drops of water. The expanse of the heavens, which has no limit for us, is only the span of His hand. The dust of the earth, the mountains and the hills are small things, weighed in His scales.

Every human measuring instrument falls short of the vastness and perfection of His works.

We have only been learning to find deeper truth than we were at all aware of in the prophet's challenge: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand ... and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" What science knew anything about such measurement in the day when that question was asked? How many centuries has it taken to bring man's slow feet to where the prophet stood? But we can now see that we may take this as true in the fullest sense: God weighs and measures every bit of the earth's dust.

We live in a day when nations rise up, assert themselves, and arm to the hilt to enforce their will. What are they in the presence of God? They are like a small drop that may hang on a fingertip when lifted out of a bucket of water. Or like the small dust left on the scales after someone removes the thing weighed in them — so small that no one pays attention to it. He counts the nations that look so imposing and threatening to us as "less than nothing, and emptiness." It is good for us to measure them by God's standards and not by our own.

People go into the edge of outer space at enormous cost, labour and risk. But God covers the whole of the heavens with the span of His hand. He holds the seas, with all their power and vastness, in the hollow of that same mighty hand. And that hand of power is the hand of love: "He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom." No wonder this precious chapter begins, "Comfort, comfort My people, says your God."

There have been times in our lives when we were self-willed and seemed impossible to tame, like the great sea... The sea lies in the hollow of God's hand, and His power holds back all its fierce anger. In the same way He held and restrained us in those days. We were in the hollow of His hand. We felt the restraint, chafed at it and tried to break free from it, but we could not... How shall we bless for ever that mercy which held us within bounds and kept us back from destruction?

The verses from 12 on tell us who this great and loving Deliverer is. He is no minor conqueror, such as the Rabbis pictured and Israel's earthly desires craved so long and so eagerly. He is the Creator. How strange that such a height of glory should be unwelcome! Even then, God's warning of His judgement on idolatry is the first great question in this part of Isaiah's prophecy — and it concerns Israel even more than the nations. His people would turn away from the LORD more and more and follow the nations in their worship of idols. But before the Spirit of God deals with this evil, He first identifies the Messiah with God, and dwells on what He is: the eternal, Almighty and only wise One, the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Holy One, the LORD of Israel.

The waters beneath, the heavens above, and the earth with its mountains and hills all bear witness that He is nothing less than the Creator of the universe. The universe does tell of a God of counsel and judgment, a God of knowledge and understanding. But who directed the Spirit of the LORD? Clearly the wisdom of God is behind the universe. It is just as clear that no one is behind God. In creation God is alone.

Not so God. The Creator can learn nothing from His creation. The universe was conceived in His infinite mind, and He cannot receive any instruction from it… "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" (Rom. 11:34)… He has not, as some suppose, been doing the best He can from the start. He has not been fighting off the advances of evil, meeting the opposing power as well as He is able, and always improving on the past as His intelligence grows. "You thought that I was one like yourself" (Ps. 50:21) is the charge He makes against the wicked, and all are guilty of that charge who have not learned Him in Jesus.

However great their power and importance in the eyes of man, when seen in the presence of the majesty of God they are but "a drop from a bucket" and "as the dust on the scales". The isles of the Gentiles are for God only "fine dust" that He can take up and use at His pleasure. They may defy God and at times oppress His people, but before God they are "as nothing", and indeed counted as less than nothing, for they are emptiness.

What makes it even more striking is the application the apostle adds from Isaiah 40:13. There the prophet insists on the supremacy of the LORD's intelligence, as he had already insisted on His infinite goodness and power. God searches all things, yet no one can search Him: "Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?" In divine things the Christian is just as free from man's measuring and instruction, and this through the Spirit of God living in him… the apostle credits the Christian with the mind, the intelligence, of Christ, in whom God's wisdom is. So he makes ours now by grace, as people who have the Holy Spirit, what belongs to God by nature — wholly independent of man, and beyond man's discovery.

When we obey and walk in the mind and word of God, He puts us in the path that this infinite, all-embracing wisdom has arranged. No creature without a will of its own ever leaves that path; only self-will departs from it. God does not reveal His wisdom as something our minds can take in, because then we would not be in our place in it. Simply receiving His word gives us our place and our duty, according to the perfect wisdom that has ordered it all and understands it all.

The verses from 12 tell us who this great and loving Deliverer is. He is no petty conqueror, such as the Rabbis imagined and the sinful desires of Israel craved so long and so eagerly. He is the Creator. How strange that such a height of glory should be unwelcome! ... But before the Spirit of God deals with this sin of idolatry, He first identifies the Messiah with God. He dwells on what He is: the eternal, Almighty, and only wise One, the Creator and Governor of all things, the Holy One, Jehovah of Israel.

The waters beneath, the heavens above, and the earth with its mountains and hills all stand as witnesses that He is none less than the Creator of the universe. The universe does indeed tell of a God of counsel and judgment, a God of knowledge and understanding. But who directed the Spirit of the LORD? Clearly the wisdom of God is behind the universe, but it is just as clear that there is no one behind God. In creation God is alone.

The Creator can learn nothing from His creation. The universe came out of His infinite mind. He could never receive any instruction from it... He has not, as some suppose, been doing the best He can from the start. He has not been struggling against the spread of evil, meeting the opposing power as well as He is able, and always improving on the past as His intelligence grows. "You thought that I was one like yourself" (Ps. 50:21) is the charge He makes against the wicked, and it is a charge of which all are guilty who have not learned Him in Jesus.

What makes it even more striking is the application the apostle adds from Isaiah 40:13. For there the prophet insists on the supremacy of Jehovah's intelligence, as he had before insisted on His infinite goodness and power. He is unsearchable Himself, yet He searches everything: "Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows Him His counsel?" The Christian is just as free from man's measuring and teaching in divine things, and this through the Spirit of God living in him... For the apostle credits the Christian with the mind of Christ, in whom God's wisdom is. So he claims for us now by grace, as those who have the Holy Spirit, what belongs to God by nature and lies wholly beyond man's reach and discovery.

His thoughts are guided by the Spirit and still run along the lines of that gospel-preaching prophet. So he takes up Isaiah's language, as given in the Greek Old Testament, and asks boldly, "Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" (See Isa. 40:13-14.) These are questions worth asking... How small man appears! God works for His own glory.

Who has been HIS counsellor? Who showed HIM the way of understanding? HE makes known to us HIS counsels, and directs our minds in the way of understanding, as we wait on Him. His thoughts, not the ones that start in our minds, are to remain! His strength, not ours, will prevail; and it is this which He wants us to have.

We live in a day when nations are rising up and asserting themselves, and arming to the hilt, to enforce their will. What are they in the presence of God? They are like a small drop that hangs on a finger-tip when you lift it out of a bucket of water. Or like the little dust left on the scales after someone takes off the goods that were weighed there — so slight that no one pays it any attention. The nations that look so grand and threatening to us He counts as "less than nothing and emptiness." It is good for us to measure them by God's standards and not by our own.

Having caught a vision of the Creator, the prophet turns to view the nations in the light of His glory. In the eyes of man their power and importance may be great. But in the presence of the majesty of God they are only "a drop from a bucket" and "the dust on the scales". The coastlands of the nations are for God only "fine dust" that He can take up and use as He pleases. They may defy God and at times oppress His people, but before God they are "as nothing", and indeed counted as less than nothing, for they are emptiness.

The good news centres in their divine Messiah, who will feed His flock like a shepherd, the Ruler and Judge of all the earth. His wisdom and power have already shone in creation, and they reduce all the nations to zero compared with Him. That is without even mentioning their folly in likening Him to a carved image, or Israel's unbelief of His watchful eye and effective help. He will surely appear at the right moment.

Note that Isaiah 40, in comforting Israel, shows the nothingness of flesh (in Israel as elsewhere) and of the nations of idols compared with God. But the power and tirelessness of God secures Israel in grace. He who waits on Him, the LORD, renews his strength.

How great He is. He never wearies or faints. But here lies our comfort: His heart is as tender toward His own people as His arm is strong in creation. Behold your God, you fearful saints, and take fresh courage. "He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom" (v. 11). His arm upholds creation, but His bosom is the resting place for His lambs.

He rolled the mountains together. He laid valleys, seas and rivers in their places. He calls all the stars by name, so that not one is missing. This is the God who loves me! Our hearts bow down before the wonderful wisdom, skill and greatness of such a God. And this God, who spans the heavens and measures the sea in the hollow of His hand, describes Himself as One who notices the falling sparrow and counts the hairs of His people's heads (Matthew 10:29).

From verse 12 on we learn who this great and loving Deliverer is. He turns out to be no petty conqueror, such as the Rabbis imagined and Israel's earthly desires craved so long and so eagerly. He is the Creator. How strange that such a height of glory should be unwelcome! ... Before the Spirit of God deals with this wickedness, He first identifies the Messiah with God. He dwells on what He is: the eternal, Almighty, and only wise One, the Creator and Governor of all things, the Holy One, Jehovah of Israel.

The cedar is a majestic tree. It speaks of the elite of mankind, high up in their pride. But the Lord breaks them down by His voice, as indeed He will humble all the pride of man.

Man can never make God his debtor, though he is always trying to do so. Psalm 50, the first chapter of Isaiah, and Acts 17 all prove the same thing. Man, whether Jew or Gentile, keeps trying to give something to God. But the effort is wasted. God's reply to the man who tries to make Him his debtor is, "If I were hungry, I would not tell you." God must be the giver, man the receiver.

He is supreme above all, and only in this way can He be near to all. He does not live in temples made by hands, which shut Him in. Human hands do not serve Him, as if He needed anything. He is enough in Himself, the Source and Centre of all. Life and breath and all things are only His gift. So no one can make Him his debtor, or give Him anything except what is already His own.

What then could he do for One who needs no help from His creatures? For Him, "Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering." How could he repay Him? There could be only one way — to receive the cup of salvation and call on the name of Jehovah. He could not add one ray to God's glory. He was to receive from Him and so glorify Him.

The redemption which God has paid for us is no amount of perishable things, such as silver and gold. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. Nothing less than the precious blood of Christ would do. God valued our salvation at no less cost than the pouring out of His soul unto death.

The sacrifice can only be what the person is, or the victim offered. If the offering is a bull or a goat, the sacrifice can only be finite. It makes nothing perfect as to sin before God, for God is infinite. In other words, a finite offering cannot meet the claims of the infinite God.

The bread and wine, and the blessing of the priest of the Most High God, had raised Abram to such a height that he could, in one sweeping glance, take in the vast possessions of heaven and earth, and then look down from there on the contemptible proposal of the King of Sodom and reject it.

The waters below, the heavens above, and the earth with its mountains and hills all stand as witnesses. They testify that He is nothing less than the Creator of the universe. The universe does tell of a God of counsel and judgment, a God of knowledge and understanding. But who directed the Spirit of the LORD? Clearly the wisdom of God stands behind the universe. Just as clearly, no one stands behind God. In creation God is alone.

They are like a small drop hanging on a fingertip, lifted out of a bucket of water. Or like the fine dust left on the scales after the weighed goods are taken off — so small that no one takes any notice of it. He counts the nations that look so impressive and threatening to us as "less than nothing and emptiness." It is good for us to measure them by God's standard and not by our own.

Having caught a vision of the Creator, the prophet turns to look at the nations in the light of His glory. Their power and importance may be great in the eyes of man. But seen in the presence of the majesty of God, they are only "a drop from a bucket" and "the dust on the scales". The islands of the nations are for God only "a very little thing" that He can pick up and use as He pleases. They may defy God and at times oppress His people. Yet before God they are "as nothing" — counted as less than nothing, for they are empty.

So God is great beyond all our thoughts, as verse 18 shows. In the presence of His glory, how foolish and worthy of scorn are the makers of carved images that cannot even move, as verses 19 and 20 say. And how weak and small men are, appearing only as grasshoppers, with their princes and judges as nothing and emptiness, like stubble before a whirlwind... We do well to think hard about this magnificent passage. For this God of indescribable power and majesty has made Himself known to us in Christ as our Father.

His glory and power serve His goodness to His people. So they will rejoice that their Shepherd is nothing less than Jehovah, who counts all creation a very little thing, and the nations less than nothing. What a death-blow to any likeness of Him — to an image carved by man!

How great He is. He never wearies or faints. But here lies our comfort: His heart is as tender toward His own people as His arm is strong in creation. Behold your God, you fearful saints, and take fresh courage... His arm upholds creation, but His bosom is the resting place for His lambs.

Even the nations look large now, with their conflicts and their skill in destruction. To Him they are the fine dust on a balance. "All the nations are as nothing before Him," and empty! He counts them as less than a zero (v. 17)! WAIT UPON HIM!

If God is so great and man so small, the prophet challenges those who in their folly attempt to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" Yet neither riches nor poverty will keep men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol from some enduring wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness of the Creator from the beginning — from the foundations of the earth?

It is impossible for man's thoughts to get beyond himself. So any image of God he makes can only be a reflection of himself. That drags God down to man's own likeness. Job asks a question that no one can answer: "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?" Whatever the witness of creation may be — true witness as it is — God never really left man to that. As Scripture assures us, He declared Himself at the beginning. It was man who chose to get away from this, banishing himself into the darkness and distortion of his own thoughts.

The root of all idolatry is self-will. It is making a god of our own. It is starting with self and fashioning a god, not necessarily out of silver, and not necessarily with our hands... there is a tool more cunning and skilful than the hands, and that is the intellect of man. Wherever self takes the place of the will of God, you will find the human mind busy making a god to please itself. And it does this in the name of the Lord, in the name of the true God.

God first made man in His own likeness. The fall spoiled that likeness, and the true knowledge of God was lost. As a result men have groped after God. They tried to know Him by resemblances or likenesses, and it ruined them. So we are warned against the attempt to liken God to anything in Scriptures such as Isaiah 40:18, 25 and 46:5-7. On the other hand, the names "Father" and "Son," used of God, work by analogy. Their meaning would have been lost on us if we did not know something of fatherhood and sonship in the relationships of this life.

Christ is the image of God, in fullness and perfection; He alone showed us the invisible God. Tradition never revealed the true God. Philosophy, on the contrary, made matters worse, as did the resources of human religion... It is utterly impossible that man should see Him who is invisible. Man needed someone to bring God down to him, and to display His word and ways, and Christ is that one image of the invisible God.

How great He is. He never wearies or faints. But here is our comfort: His heart is as tender toward His own people as His arm is strong in creation. Behold your God, you fearful saints, and take fresh courage. "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom." His arm upholds creation, but His bosom is the resting place for His lambs.

In the first division of this portion of Isaiah, we find references to idols in every chapter, and this in connection with Israel. It becomes evident that the leading subject is God's controversy with Israel as to their idolatry.

If then God is so great and man so small the prophet challenges those who in their folly attempt to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" Yet sadly, neither riches nor poverty will preserve men from this folly. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard?

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands," says the psalmist (Ps. 115:4). "Their land is filled with silver and gold … their land is filled with idols," says the prophet (Isa. 2:7-8). That which man considers most precious, which his heart craves and which adds to his glory, he makes into a god. That is the root of idolatry. God is displaced and man exalted, in the exaltation of his idol. The result is a terrible degradation, as the first chapter of Romans tells us (Rom. 1:25).

God is great beyond all our thoughts, as verse 18 shows. In the presence of His glory, the makers of carved images look foolish and deserve contempt, as verses 19 and 20 say — images that cannot even move. And how feeble and small are men! They look like grasshoppers. Their princes and judges are nothing and emptiness, like stubble before a whirlwind.

So idols stand in contrast with Jehovah, yet you cannot compare them with the true God for a moment. Jehovah is the Maker; an idol has to be made. Once made, it carries no one; someone has to carry it. Once set in its place, it cannot move. It cannot answer a cry for help, and it cannot save anyone from trouble.

Christ is the image of God, in fullness and perfection. He alone has shown us the invisible God. Tradition never revealed the true God. Philosophy made matters worse, and so did everything human religion could offer. Christ, and Christ alone, has truly represented God to man, as He alone was perfect man before God.

If anyone tries, by any effort of his mind or work of his imagination, to form an image of God or of Christ, that is nothing but idolatry. To reach any knowledge of God or of Christ except by Scripture is nothing but mysticism and confusion. More than that, it puts us straight into the devil's hands, to be led by him into the wildest, darkest and deadliest delusion.

The contrast exists around us today. It is still a fitting question — Do you go your way, carrying the things that you idolize, or does your God carry you? The idols of the modern English-speaking world are not images. They are subtler things, such as money, pleasures and desires. Yet as life draws to its end they let you down. The God whom we know, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ, carries us through to the finish, for His love holds us and will never let us go.

In the first division of this portion of Isaiah, we find references to idols in every chapter, and this in connection with Israel (see Isa. 40:18–25; Isa. 44:9–20; Isa. 46:1–7). So it becomes clear that the leading subject is God's controversy with Israel as to their idolatry.

Then He challenges the folly of those that set up graven images as entitled to resemble or to represent Him. "To whom then will you liken God? and what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman casts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains. He that is impoverished so that he has no offering chooses a tree that does not rot; he seeks him a skilled workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved."

God is so great and man so small. So the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" Yet sadly, neither riches nor poverty will preserve men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol from some enduring wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness of the Creator from the beginning — from the foundations of the earth? … What folly, then, to liken God to an image made by human hands!

Human nature shows itself in the blindness and folly of its religious side. It will make a god rather than not have one, and is not competent to estimate the value of a god so made… Not liking to retain God in his knowledge, man makes Him what he wishes Him to be — the reflection of his own passions and desires. These are what already control him, and in his idol he merely yields himself to their control. A further power comes in when many people take up that first choice, and time hides where it came from. Then the idol gains authority over the conscience as well as power over the heart.

Idols stand in contrast to Jehovah, but cannot for one moment be compared with the true God. Jehovah is the Maker; an idol has to be made. Once made, it does not carry others — it has to be carried. Set in its place, it cannot move, cannot respond to the cry of need, and cannot save from trouble.

God is great beyond all our thoughts, as verse 18 shows. In the presence of His glory, how foolish and contemptible are the makers of graven images, as verses 19 and 20 say — images that have not even the power of motion… He who created all things has no equal and cannot be likened to any other. We do well to ponder this magnificent passage. This God of unspeakable power and majesty has been made known to us in Christ as our Father.

See the folly of idolatry, shown up so strongly in these chapters! See the dishonour to God! See the debasing effect on the idolaters themselves! Notice, too, the terrible effects of idolatry and superstition in the Christian world; just compare them with the results of faith. The differences are wide and plain to those who are able to see. The true believer needs neither idol nor image. For him the Son of the Father's love, our Lord Jesus Christ alone, is the image of the invisible God.

If God is so great and man so small, the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" But sadly, neither riches nor poverty will keep men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol made from some lasting wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness of the Creator from the beginning — from the foundations of the earth?

Creation is the earliest witness of God to man. As soon as man fell, he needed more than that — and in the mercy of God he found it. If men turned their back on that witness, or corrupted it with their own folly, it still remained. They could not silence it. "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20).

God is great beyond all our thoughts, as verse 18 shows. In the presence of His glory, how foolish and contemptible are the makers of graven images, as verses 19 and 20 say — images that cannot even move. And how feeble and unimportant are men! They appear as nothing more than grasshoppers, and their princes and judges as nothing and vanity, and as stubble in the face of a whirlwind. We do well to think over this magnificent passage. This God of indescribable power and majesty has made Himself known to us in Christ as our Father.

The ancients believed that the earth rested on the shoulders of a mythical giant named Atlas. Egyptian philosophy was putting forward the "flat earth" theory. Isaiah, meanwhile, stated that God sits on the circle of the earth and marks out a circle on the face of the deep, proclaiming the rounded shape of the earth.

So Israel had the witness of creation to the power and glory of God, and yet they are rebuked for their unbelief in turning to idols. They acted as if their way, with all its difficulties, was hidden from God, and as if He was indifferent to the rights of His people. What folly! The God with whom His people have to do is everlasting, and ever present as Jehovah — the I AM. He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.

How great He is. He never wearies or faints. But here lies our comfort: His heart is as tender toward His own people as His arm is strong in creation. Behold your God, you fearful saints, and take fresh courage. "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom" (v. 11). His arm upholds creation, but His bosom is the resting place for His lambs.

Then comes the contrast between Jehovah and idols. Princes shall be brought to nothing. He is the Creator of the heavens. Why does Israel distrust Him?

The ancients believed that an imaginary giant named Atlas carried the earth on his shoulders. Job knew, a thousand years before Socrates, that the earth is balanced in space and held in orbit by gravity. "He hangs the earth on nothing" (Job 26:7) was his inspired statement. Egyptian philosophy was putting forward the "flat earth" theory. Meanwhile Isaiah stated that God sits above the circle of the earth and marks out a circle on the face of the deep. He was declaring that the earth is a sphere.

If God is so great and man so small, the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question: "To whom then will you liken God?" Sad to say, neither riches nor poverty will keep men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol made of some lasting wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness to the Creator from the beginning — from the foundations of the earth? Is there no witness to the One before whom the inhabitants of the earth are mere grasshoppers? What folly, then, to liken God to an image made by human hands!

And how feeble and insignificant men are. They appear as no more than grasshoppers. Their princes and judges are nothing and vanity, like stubble before a whirlwind. We may also lift up our eyes and look at the mighty creation beyond our little earth. He has numbered and named it all, and He upholds it too, so that not one fails. He who created them has no equal and cannot be likened to any other. We do well to think about this magnificent passage. This God of indescribable power and majesty has made Himself known to us in Christ as our Father.

He "stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in" (Isa. 40:22). Even the stormy wind carries out His word (Ps. 148:8). The nations are counted as a drop from a bucket, and as the fine dust on the scales (Isa. 40:15). He rolled the mountains together and set valleys, seas and rivers in their places. He calls all the stars by name, so that not one is missing (Ps. 147:4). This is the God who loves me!

Great and small are only terms used among men. They cannot apply to Him "who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven," as well as "the things that are on earth." All are alike to Him "who sits above the circle of the earth." Jehovah can count the stars, and while He does so He can notice a falling sparrow. He can make the whirlwind His chariot and a broken heart His dwelling place. Nothing is great or small with God.

If God is so great and man so small, the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" ... What folly then to liken God to an image made by human hands!

How feeble and insignificant are men! They appear only as grasshoppers. Their princes and judges are only as nothing and vanity, like stubble in the face of a whirlwind. We may also lift up our eyes and look at the mighty creation outside our little earth. He numbers and names it all, and He upholds it too, so that not one fails. He who created them has no equal and cannot be likened to any other. We do well to ponder this magnificent passage, for Christ has made this God of unspeakable power and majesty known to us as our Father.

The knowledge of God's power everywhere at work on our behalf is meant to produce confidence in our hearts towards Himself. But the whole moral world is under His control as well. He rules or overrules the hearts of all men, and the whole realm of human thought and action. He rules or overrules public opinion in all its forms, at all times, with all the characters great and small who appear in it. So He orders the rise and fall of nations, the course of their histories and the extent of their territories.

It is not man that governs in any case, but God. God is sovereign, and therefore acts according to His own will. It is not a question of the party that has the most strength or the most wisdom. It was not because of their superior power that Babylon, or Persia, or Greece, or Rome won the empire of the world. Most of them had small beginnings.

His glory and power serve His goodness to His people. So they will rejoice that their Shepherd is none less than the LORD, who counts all creation a very little thing, and the nations less than nothing. What a death-blow to any likeness of Him! — to an image carved by man!

How great He is. He never wearies or faints. But here lies our comfort: His heart is as tender toward His own people as His arm is strong in creation. Behold your God, you fearful saints, and take fresh courage. "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom" (v. 11). His arm upholds creation, but His chest is the resting place for His lambs.

The majesty of God must always fill the fallen creature with terror. But that terror connects itself with the different states and positions of men in relation to the moral rule of God. Those who were deaf to God's claims could hear such words from Him only with pure terror. The godly, those in whom there was a work of God, felt godly fear combined with a sense of divine mercy.

If God is so great and man so small, the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question, "To whom then will you liken God?" Yet neither riches nor poverty will keep men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol made from some lasting wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness to the Creator from the beginning — from the foundations of the earth? Is there no witness to the One before whom the people of the earth are mere grasshoppers? Before Him the great ones of the earth are as nothing and vanity. His power makes the greater ones wither, and carries them away like stubble. What folly then to liken God to an image made by human hands!

God is great beyond all our thoughts, as verse 18 shows. In the presence of His glory, how foolish and contemptible are the makers of graven images, as verses 19 and 20 say — images that cannot even move. And further, how feeble and small are men! They appear only as grasshoppers. Their princes and judges are as nothing and vanity, and as stubble in the face of a whirlwind. We do well to ponder this magnificent passage, for this God of unspeakable power and majesty has been made known to us in Christ as our Father.

This is often referred to in the Old Testament as one of the means God uses in His judgements on the earth. It is twice connected with the south. Job 37:9; Isa. 21:1; Isa. 40:24; Isa. 41:16; Jer. 23:19; Jer. 30:23.

Isaiah 40:1-8 is introduction. Jerusalem has been chastened enough, and the Lord speaks to her heart. But that comes with this solemn truth — "All flesh is grass." God's own people, according to the flesh, come under this description too: "the people are grass." Grass withers. That does not stop their full blessing. But they must know that "the word of our God will stand forever." That word secures the promises and their fulfilment... Then comes the contrast between Jehovah and idols. He brings princes to nothing. He is the Creator of the heavens. Why does Israel distrust Him? The strongest shall faint — "they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength."

Note that Isaiah 40, in comforting Israel, shows the nothingness of flesh (in Israel as elsewhere) and of the nations of idols compared with God. But the power and tirelessness of God secures Israel in grace. He that waits on Him, Jehovah, renews his strength.

God is so great and man so small. So the prophet challenges those who in their folly try to make a likeness of the living God. He opens and closes his challenge with the same searching question: "To whom then will you liken God?" Sadly, neither riches nor poverty will keep men from this folly. The rich will set up an idol from some lasting wood. But can such people plead ignorance? Have they not known? Have they not heard? Has there been no witness of the Creator from the beginning?

The name "Holy One of Israel" means that the God of Israel stands completely apart from all evil, for His eyes are too pure to look at evil. The seraphim say the same thing when they cry out in front of His throne: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts."

Others have noted that truth about things we do not know may reach us either by resemblance or by analogy. Man was first made in the likeness of God, but the fall badly spoiled that likeness, and men lost the true knowledge of God. So they have groped after God and tried to gain some knowledge of Him by resemblances or likenesses, and that to their ruin. This is why Scripture warns us against trying to liken God to anything, in passages such as Isaiah 40:18, 25; 46:5-7. On the other hand, the names "Father" and "Son," as used of the Godhead, work by analogy. Their meaning would have been lost on us if we had not known something of fatherhood and sonship in the relationships of this life.

We may also lift up our eyes and look at the mighty creation outside our little earth. He numbers and names it all, and He upholds it too, so that not one fails. He who created them has no equal and cannot be likened to any other. We do well to think long about this magnificent passage, for Christ has made this God of unspeakable power and majesty known to us as our Father.

The Son, then, is eternally divine. An inspired prophet teaches us that one attribute of Godhead is Creator... He, then, who created all things is Jehovah. So in this first aspect of the Son we have the clearest possible proof that He is "from everlasting."

Creation itself witnesses to the power and glory of God. In the face of that witness, Israel is rebuked for turning to idols in unbelief, as if their way, with all its difficulties, was hidden from God and He did not care about the rights of His people. What folly! The God with whom His people have to do is everlasting, and ever present as Jehovah — the I AM; He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.

God is great beyond all our thoughts. In the presence of His glory, how foolish and contemptible are the makers of carved images that cannot even move. How feeble and small are men too. They appear only as grasshoppers, and their princes and judges as nothing and worthless, and as stubble in the face of a whirlwind. We may also lift up our eyes and behold the mighty creation outside our little earth; all numbered and named by Him, and upheld by Him too, so that not one fails. He who created them has no equal and cannot be likened to any other. We do well to ponder this magnificent passage, for this God of indescribable power and majesty has been made known to us in Christ as our Father.

There is no elaborate argument in proof of the existence of God. The Holy Spirit could not take up anything of that kind. God reveals Himself. He makes Himself known by His works… Who but "God" could "create" anything? "Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?"

He is next described as "upholding the universe by the word of His power." He is the God of providence as well as the Creator. This is no mysterious pagan deity that we believe in along with all mankind. If only the God of providence were more widely recognised as our Saviour and Redeemer too. He it is who upholds all things, who brings forth the heavenly hosts, calling them all by their names, for He is strong in might; not one fails. But you say, "It is God, surely." Yes, but God the Son, blessed be His name.

This was an expression of His rights as Lord of Israel. He had title to take their number, for they were all His own. If He had no right to them, and no prospects in them, He would not have counted them. The same divine title appears in another part of His dominions: "He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names." This is the expression of His sovereignty among the heavenly hosts.

Those heavenly bodies display His power by their immensity. They also display His wisdom and skill in the harmony with which they follow their appointed courses. He who created them holds them fast in their orbits of unthinkable greatness. "Not one fails." There is no discord, no clash — all makes melody as they declare His glory.

His glory and power serve His goodness to His people. So they will rejoice that their Shepherd is none less than Jehovah, who counts all creation a very little thing, and the nations less than nothing. What a death-blow to any likeness of Him! — to an image carved by man! He marshals the host of heaven and calls each by name. He also gave poor Jacob his princely name. He never faints; He gives power to the faint. Those who wait for Him shall renew their strength, as Israel will in that day.

In the presence of creation's witness to the power and glory of God, Israel is rebuked for turning to idols in unbelief. They acted as if their way, with all its difficulties, were hidden from God, and as if He did not care about the rights of His people. What folly! The God His people are dealing with is everlasting, and always present as Jehovah — the I AM. He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.

Finally, the Lord falls back on what He has been to His own from the beginning… He cannot deny Himself. He will never fail to strengthen the weakest who wait on Him. But the great public display of His ways will come at the end of the age. Then He will deliver His people from that evil heart of unbelief, which has been fatal to them all through their history.

A dark mystery seems to hang over God's dealings with you. Things are not as in days past when His candle lit up your darkness and His sun shone on your path. You prayed then and were heard… But now clouds, darkness, difficulty, sorrow and helplessness surround you, and your heart is crushed. And the painful experience continues. If it lasted only one night, and joy and deliverance came in the morning, you could bear it. But that deliverance does not come.

Why this tide of sorrow, loss, bereavement, misery? The question may be unanswerable, at least by man; nor is he, in his limitations, able to ease your sorrow or lift your load. But how, oh how, can your way be hidden from Him? All things are naked and open before Him. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up, and He numbers the very hairs of your head.

Let not one of those whom God calls "My people" say, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God." The everlasting God does not change, He cares for all His own and does not faint. No detail of their lives is too small for His notice. He bears with their waywardness and frailty and does not grow weary.

Note this: the explanation of His ways with you will be given in good time, but not today. Does not the greater part of your difficulty lie in wanting that explanation now? Most probably. Must God explain to us the reasons behind His discipline? Is that necessary to us? Must we give our children the reason why we see fit to correct them? And if God gave us the deep secret of His corrections, would we be any better for it?

What is the remedy? To wait on the Lord. Is that all? Yes; but if you wait on the Lord, you abandon every other refuge you could imagine. You reach the glorious Fountain Head, where the heart is at rest and satisfied for evermore.

Faith and hope and patience must have their place in our souls in this matter. Otherwise we may be tempted to say, like faithless Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God." But confidence in the Lord will keep us right.

Creation itself bears witness to the power and glory of God. In the face of that witness, God rebukes Israel for their unbelief in turning to idols — as if their way, with all its difficulties, were hidden from Him, and as if He did not care about the rights of His people. What folly! The God His people have to do with is everlasting, and ever present as Jehovah — the I AM; He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.

So in our passage we meet the Everlasting God, the Lord Jehovah — the One who is, who ever was, and who is ever to come (Rev. 1:4). He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. We are told HE does not faint nor grow weary. He is the limitless source of power and life, the One who can know no change, no deterioration, no fading, no flux. What a comfort it is to fall back on God, whose knowledge is so great that even a sparrow does not fall to the ground without His notice.

What a contrast we see here between the greatness of God and man, who at his best is only like the flower of the grass. And the word of the gospel invites us who hear to turn away from man, and to take our hopes and confidence off him. It invites us to put our trust, without fear or doubt, in this great and wonderful God who is from everlasting to everlasting. He is unchanging in His years and almighty in His power, and He is also infinite in His pity.

The identification of Jesus with Jehovah — of the wearied Man (John 4:6) with the unwearied Creator (Isa. 40:28) — is a subject of profound interest.

We are instructed by an inspired prophet that one attribute of Godhead is Creator... He, then, who created all things is Jehovah. We have, therefore, in this first aspect of THE SON, the clearest possible proof of His being "from everlasting."

In the Psalms we hear the godly man more than once crying out, "How long?" How long will the wicked flourish? How long before righteousness is vindicated? We in our day may cry out "How long?" as we long for the promised coming of the Lord Jesus. But with Isaiah we have to know that "the everlasting God … does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable." His way and His time are perfect. With this let us be content.

Note this: the explanation of His ways with you will be given in good time, but not today. And does not the greater part of your difficulty lie in the desire to get that explanation now?

Moreover, not only is there infinite power and wisdom with God, but in grace He can give power to His needy people... If He gives strength, though, we on our side have to learn our need of strength. We must learn that mere natural strength cannot sustain the people of God in the trials they meet... It is often a hard lesson to learn that the strength of nature cannot keep us in the path of faith.

When Isaiah spoke, everything in Israel was weakness and confusion. Their condition was sad in the Lord's sight. Yet in the riches of God's grace the Holy Spirit gave the prophet memorable and reassuring words ... He called them back to the inexhaustible source of strength found in Himself. Their youths and young men, the very people you would expect to be strong and full of life, had failed completely, and everything had collapsed.

If He gives strength, we on our side have to learn our need of strength. We must also learn that mere natural strength cannot sustain the people of God in the trials they have to meet. So we read that the "youths" and the "young men" will faint and grow weary and "fall exhausted." These are the people who represent nature in its freshness and strength. It is often a hard lesson to learn that the strength of nature cannot keep us in the path of faith.

Human energy is good in itself. But if it is not exercised in dependence upon God, Satan can and will use it against God's revealed will. To those who wait upon the Lord divine power comes in, and God strengthens us to obey where human energy proves itself powerless.

When nature fails, where can we turn for help? Only to the Spring, the unchanging Source of all life and force, the One in whom there is no change. The river is fed by the never-failing springs of the hillside. It would soon run dry if it had no such source of constant supply. So believers have a constant source of supply. God gives power to the faint, and to those who have no strength He increases might.

Hands that hang down, and knees that are feeble, may well speak of hands seldom lifted up in prayer, and knees seldom bent in prayer. Long ago the prophet had said, "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:30-31). Are we not too often powerless in public because we are prayerless in private?

The youth who trusts merely in his own vigour faints and grows weary. The young man who seems so tireless in his natural energy shall fall. But those who wait upon God find strength that never fails. Nature fails, but God does not fail. Weariness and fainting are unknown to Him. He gives strength to those who look to Him alone. So they may rise above the distractions of this world; or better still, run through them without any weariness; or better still, walk quietly with God despite them, and not faint.

Creation itself testifies to the power and glory of God. Yet Israel turned to idols. God rebukes that unbelief. They acted as if their road, with all its hardships, was hidden from Him, and as if He did not care about the rights of His people. What folly! The God His people deal with is everlasting. He is always present as the LORD — the I AM. He is also the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no place hidden from Him.

The word "wait" in Isaiah 40:31 means looking to Him and to no one else. It also carries waiting for Him, and expecting from Him. It is a very full word. That is why translators render it in different ways. One English word cannot hold all of its meaning. So we are to wait on God alone. We are to look to Him, wait for Him, and expect from Him only. As we do this, we grow in knowing what is on God's mind. That knowledge pushes out the things we had on our own minds that do not match His.

Hands that hang down, and knees that are feeble, may well speak of hands seldom lifted up in prayer, and knees seldom bent in prayer. Long before, the prophet had said, "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:30-31). Are we not, too often, powerless in public because prayerless in private?

But if He gives strength, we for our part have to learn that we need it. We also have to learn that our own strength cannot hold up the people of God in the trials they meet. So we read that the "youths" and the "young men" — the picture of human nature at its freshest and strongest — will faint and grow weary and "stumble and fall". It is often a hard lesson to learn that the strength of nature cannot keep us in the path of faith.

Their youths and young men were the ones you would expect strength and energy from. They had failed completely, and everything had collapsed. Then came the clear and blessed promise, no less for us than for Israel: "they who wait for the LORD shall renew, or change, their strength."

Low moments come. Weakness makes itself felt. Our circumstances look too hard to handle. In that weakness we wait on the Lord. We bring the low mood and the weakness into His presence, and they pass away. They cannot survive there. We get up off our knees with new strength — not in the body, but in the soul.

Mounting up with wings like eagles gives the idea of power over the elements themselves — life at its most vigorous. Running does not carry the easy, graceful mastery over gravity that flying does. It suggests real effort instead, and real effort still points to strength. Walking is slow, sedate, step by step. The one that runs is not weary, the one that walks does not faint.

so that they may rise above the distractions of this world; or better still, run through them without tiring; or better yet, walk quietly with God despite them, and not faint.

"they shall mount up with wings like eagles" — rising in triumph over every difficulty and low mood. "they shall run and not be weary" — never tiring in their errands of service and mercy for the Lord to others. "and they shall walk and not faint" — treading the upward road with steady endurance.

If this chapter is not a second part, with the chapter before it as the first, it is at least a most fitting sequel. The LORD has opened His plans for Jerusalem and its comfort, which come after many troubles and setbacks, when He arrives in power and glory. Now He turns to the nations, challenging them to meet Him in judgment.

There are no islands near to Palestine. Cyprus is the nearest, and that is about seventy miles from the nearest point of Syria, far to the north. So the Bible sometimes uses the term "the isles" in a general way for places or nations far off. We read of "the isles which are beyond the sea," "the isles afar off," and "isles of the Gentiles." In some passages in the prophets, some think the sea-coasts, or countries along the coast, are meant.

God has just revealed His glory. In view of that, chapter 41 opens with a call to all mankind. The word "people" in verse 1 should be in the plural, "peoples." God will reason with them about His ways of government in the earth.

As always, God warns before He acts in judgment. So before He judges the idolatrous nations, He invites them to "keep silence" and listen to Him. We have just heard that "they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength." Now He encourages the "peoples" to "come near" and "renew their strength."

The chapter begins with a summons to the islands and peoples. Isaiah 1 shows that this is the prophet's style. The LORD stoops to plead! "Let us together draw near for judgment." It is once more a question between the true God and empty images.

Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he appeared? Who else could describe events still future as though they had already happened? In their fear the nations will turn to idols, but it will do them no good. The carpenter and the goldsmith will encourage one another to make fresh idols.

"Set out your case, says the LORD; bring your strong reasons, says the King of Jacob… Tell us what is going to happen later, so that we may know that you are gods. Do something, good or bad, so that we may be dismayed and see it together. Look, you are nothing, and your work is nothing." The oracles are silent, and even reason is put to shame.

Whoever they are, God favours them, and marks them out in a remarkable way. "Keep silence before Me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength; let them come near," He says to them in Isaiah 41:1. Again, "The isles shall wait for His law."

Cyrus is meant though not yet named. It is no question of a past name of renown, but of a future deliverer, of whom God knew all: man and his idols could say nothing. Before the far-seeing eye of the prophet stands the mighty conqueror of Babylon. None but the true God, Who made him the instrument of His designs in providence, had anticipated his rise.

God raised up Cyrus to overthrow the Babylonian idolatry, and also to restore Israel to the land. Righteousness called him to its foot (Isaiah 41:2). This is the first mention of this great warrior king. The last is in Isaiah 48, where we are told he "shall perform his purpose on Babylon."

They are then warned that God has raised up a mighty conqueror from the East to scourge the nations for their idolatry. In a later chapter (Isaiah 45:1) we shall learn that this is Cyrus. Before his irresistible power the nations will be mere stubble. But behind Cyrus there will be the directing power of the LORD. He is the One who knows the whole history of the generations from the beginning… Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he arrived? Who else could describe events still future as if they had already happened?

The rabbis' idea was not so unreasonable — and strange to say, Calvin, Bengel and others adopted it. They thought the reference was to Abraham, a righteous man called out of Mesopotamia. But this idea fails. Abraham made one exceptional attack on the kings of the east… Does that answer to the defeat of nations and the subjugation of kings, to a sword that turns them to a column of dust and a bow that drives them like stubble in unstoppable progress?

In the case of Babylon, a gate of the city was opened. We know the splendid description of that city in Isaiah, with its doors of bronze and bars of iron. All of it had to yield to righteousness from the east. God called Cyrus to his foot, and gave kings as the dust of his sword, as driven stubble to his bow. When the moment came, the difficulty vanished. The Persians turned the Euphrates into another channel and entered the imperial city through its dried bed.

This shows that the eye and heart of God are always on His people and their interests. It shows that the public events of the world — the rise and fall of kingdoms, the arrival of mighty conquerors — are only the instruments of His power. Through them He works on through the governments of the world to fulfil His own purposes toward His earthly people. How calmly, then, the children of God may rest in the middle of political confusion and strife!

Cyrus is, as the chosen instrument, a type of the Messiah, Christ. A comparison of Cyrus with Christ, the work Cyrus did for Israel and the work Christ will do at His second coming, is interesting.

Cyrus is meant though not yet named. It is no question of a past name of renown, but of a future deliverer, of whom God knew all: man and his idols could say nothing. The prophet already sees the mighty conqueror of Babylon standing before him. None but the true God, Who made him the instrument of His designs in providence, had anticipated his rise. The LORD describes him here, but as a shadow — this is the way of the prophetic Spirit — of one greater than Cyrus. That greater One will overturn the idols of the nations for ever, judge their pride, and deliver the people of Israel from every place they were scattered to, and from the sins that brought them under wrath in the righteous ways of the LORD.

Verse 2 mentions a king, coming from the east of Palestine, who should be a conqueror, ruling over kings. It seems that this was a prophecy for the day when Isaiah wrote. It came true in Cyrus, whom Isaiah names in the verse that opens Isaiah 45. God raises up whom He pleases to carry out His designs in the earth.

He will pass in victory into lands where he had never before set foot. But behind Cyrus there will be the directing power of the LORD — the One who knows the whole history of the generations from the beginning. He is the first, before all, and He will be the last. Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he came? Who else could describe events still future as if they had already happened?

Let us pause for a moment. Whatever things look like on the outside, the Lord holds the hearts of all men in His hands and turns them wherever He will. He uses men of every rank to carry out the purposes of His will. The very mention of Cyrus carries us a step further back.

The Rabbinical idea was not so unreasonable, and a number of later writers took it up: they thought the words pointed to Abraham, a righteous man called out of Mesopotamia. But this idea fails. Abraham made one exceptional attack on the kings of the east. Who could think that this matches the defeat of nations and the conquest of kings, with his sword like a column of dust and his bow like driven stubble in unstoppable progress?

God used him in the way foretold here, and that is now a matter of history. But there is a deeper meaning in it for us. Cyrus is a picture of Him who comes out of heaven on the white horse in Revelation 19: THE KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. He will overthrow the idolatrous kings and their armies of the future; the beast, the false prophet, and their evil associates.

In contrast to Cyrus who overwhelms the terrified nations with all the pomp of war, this Servant will come in lowly grace. The victorious career of Cyrus may carry out the government of God on idolatry, but he was no delight to God.

Cyrus is meant though not yet named. It is not a question of a past name of renown, but of a future deliverer, of whom God knew everything: man and his idols could say nothing. Before the prophet's foreseeing eye stands the mighty conqueror of Babylon. None but the true God, who made him the instrument of His designs in providence, had anticipated his rise. The Lord describes him here. But He describes him, in the manner of the prophetic Spirit, as the shadow of someone greater than Cyrus. That greater One would for ever overturn the idols of the nations, judge their pride, and deliver the people of Israel from all their scatterings, and from the sins that brought them under God's anger.

Verse 2 mentions a king, coming from the east of Palestine, who would be a conqueror, ruling over kings. It seems that this was a prophecy for the day in which Isaiah wrote, and Cyrus fulfilled it. Isaiah 45 opens by naming him. God raises up whom He pleases to carry out His designs in the earth. In contrast, men in their folly and blindness make their own idols, as verses 6 and 7 say.

"I am He" should read "I am the Same," meaning the self-existing One... Twelve verses in the Old Testament and two in the New mention Him as the Same, and they are full of instruction for those who seek to grow by the true knowledge of God.

It has been pointed out that "The Same" is really a name of God. It occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament, though translated differently. Isaiah 41:4 and 46:4 are examples, where "I am He" is the same expression. Every creature is changeable: only the Creator does not change.

This is essentially a divine title. The Lord claims it three times for Himself alone in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12). Christ claims it three times in the same way in Revelation (Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13). Applying this title of the Lord to the Son of Man is absolute proof of His Deity. It points to eternal self-existence and, with it, absolute supremacy... As the "FIRST," He is before all, and above all, and from whom all proceed. As the "LAST," He is after all, and in Him all things centre.

His title, first of all, is that of a divine Person as against Satan. The Spirit claims for Jesus here what Isaiah had before claimed for the Lord (Isaiah 41:4)... What a comfort for those who were in trial! Who is it that speaks to them in their tribulation? The One who had been in the deepest sorrow and had gone through death itself. He who was the First and the Last, and who had formed all — He was the One who had died and was alive again.

John said, "When I saw Him I fell at His feet as though dead" (Revelation 1:17). Who was it he saw shining in such supreme judicial majesty? The One who loved us and died for us! Notice what He says to John, as He lays His right hand on him: "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades" (Revelation 1:17-18). This is Jesus, our Lord, our Saviour; this is He. His precious word to the believer's heart is therefore "Fear not."

The LORD has opened His counsels about Jerusalem and its comfort, which comes after many troubles and reverses, at His coming in power and glory. He now turns to the Gentiles, challenging them to meet Him in judgment... Now He says (v. 1), "Keep silence before me, islands, and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near, then let them speak; let us draw near together to judgment."

They are then warned that God has raised up a mighty conqueror from the East to punish the nations for their idolatry. In a later chapter (Isa. 45:1) we shall learn that this is Cyrus. Before his irresistible power the nations will be mere stubble... Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he arrived? Who else could describe events still future as if they had already happened?

Why were the gods of the nations silent and powerless? Why did the oracles they boasted about say nothing? Suppose the fall of Judah... made His power questionable in a Gentile's eyes. Then let them learn from the downfall of Babylon that His righteousness and wisdom were no less than His power, and that the chastised Jews were the people of His choice. The Jews alone knew of that downfall generations beforehand, even to the name and nation of the man who was its instrument.

But who are the "isles"? They are not only the ones inside the Mediterranean Sea. Whoever they are, God favours them, and marks them out in a remarkable way. He says to them in Isaiah 41:1, "Keep silence before Me, O islands... let them come near." Again, "The isles shall wait for His law" (Isa. 42:4)... Isaiah 40 describes His greatness in wonderful majesty, and there it says, "Behold He takes up the isles as an atom" (v. 15).

God raises up whom He pleases to carry out His designs in the earth. In contrast with this, men in their folly and blindness manufacture their idols, as stated in verses 6 and 7.

The LORD describes him here as a type — this is the way of the prophetic Spirit — the shadow of someone greater than Cyrus. That greater One would overturn the idols of the nations for ever, and judge their pride. He would deliver the people of Israel from every place they were scattered to, and from the sins that brought them under wrath in the righteous ways of the LORD.

Because they failed, they have come under the judgment of God. But because God chose them in His sovereignty, they will be blessed in the end. But their blessing depends wholly upon God and His grace. So God can say, "I am with you"; "I am your God"; "I will strengthen you"; "I will uphold you."

As always, God warns before He acts in judgment. So before He judges the idolatrous nations, He invites them to "keep silence" and listen to Him. We have just heard that "they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength"; now He encourages the "peoples" to "come near" and "renew their strength."

God then warns them that He has raised up a mighty conqueror from the East to punish the nations for their idolatry. A later chapter (Isa. 45:1) tells us this is Cyrus. Before his unstoppable power the nations will be mere stubble... In their fear the nations will turn to idols, but it will do them no good. The carpenter and the goldsmith will encourage one another to make fresh idols.

God raises up whom He pleases to carry out His plans on the earth. In contrast, men in their folly and blindness manufacture their idols, as verses 6 and 7 show.

Why were the gods of the nations silent and powerless? Why were their much-praised oracles mute? ... If the fall of Judah made God's power look doubtful in a Gentile's eyes, let them learn from the downfall of Babylon. The Jews alone knew of that downfall generations beforehand — even the name and family of the man who would be God's instrument in it. Let them learn that His righteousness and wisdom were no less than His power, and that the Jews He had disciplined were the people of His choice.

Here idols stand in contrast to Jehovah, and they bear no comparison with the true God for a moment. Jehovah is the Maker, but an idol has to be made. Once made, it does not carry others; it has to be carried. Once set in its place it cannot move. It cannot answer the cry of need, and it cannot save anyone from trouble.

God called Cyrus to honour along the way, but that was no change in His purposes or His affection towards Israel. Not Cyrus but Israel was His servant... "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'"

What a warning all this is! What a sad mistake it is to lean on human strength! And yet how easily we all do so in one way or another! We lean on another human being instead of leaning on the living God. In the end we find we have been trusting a broken reed.

This seems to be a prophecy for the day in which Isaiah wrote, and Cyrus fulfilled it. Isaiah 45 opens by naming him. God raises up whom He pleases to carry out His plans in the earth. Men, by contrast, in their folly and blindness make their idols, as verses 6 and 7 say. This dispute with Israel over their constant turning to idols runs on to the end of Isaiah 48.

They are then warned that God has raised up a mighty conqueror from the East to punish the nations for their idolatry... But behind Cyrus there will be the directing power of the LORD – the One who knows the whole history of every generation from the beginning... The nations, in their fear, will turn to idols, and it will be useless. The carpenter and the goldsmith will encourage one another to make fresh idols.

Same as soldering, joining by a fused metal.

Why were the gods of the nations silent and powerless? Why did their famous oracles say nothing?... Let them learn from the downfall of Babylon that His righteousness and wisdom were no less than His power, and that the chastened Jews were the people of His choice. The Jews alone knew of that downfall generations beforehand, even to the name and family of the man who carried it out.

In the rebellion of the people, human nature shows itself in the blindness and folly of its religious side. It will make a god rather than not have one, and it is in no position to judge the worth of a god made that way... Man does not like to keep God in his knowledge, so he makes Him what he wishes Him to be — the reflection of his own passions and desires.

With the words "But you, Israel" God turns from the nations to address the Jewish nation. They have failed badly, and God has disciplined them for their idolatry. Yet they are the people of God's sovereign choice, the seed of Abraham the friend of God. They were "called" out from the great ones of the earth, and "chosen" to be God's servant to witness for Him. God may indeed chasten His people, but He will not cast them off.

In the verses that follow we find the most reassuring words of encouragement and support. If they had only received them in faith, those words would have lifted them far above any reliance on idols. God would hold them up and put their enemies to shame. The Holy One of Israel would be their Redeemer.

With the words "But you, Israel" God turns from the Gentiles to address the Jewish nation. They have failed, and God has disciplined them as their Ruler for their idolatry. Yet they are still the people of God's sovereign choice, the offspring of Abraham the friend of God. He "called" them out from the great ones of the earth, and "chose" them to be His servant to witness for Him. God may indeed chasten His people, but He will not cast them off.

If the fall of Judah — a moral necessity, unless God was to approve His own dishonour among His people and support them in giving His glory to a carved image — made His power questionable in a Gentile's eyes, let them learn from the downfall of Babylon, which the Jews alone knew about generations beforehand, down to the name and race of the man who would be its instrument, that His righteousness and wisdom were no less than His power, and that the chastised Jews were the people of His choice.

Here in Isaiah 41:8 we have "Israel my servant." Israel was responsible to bear witness to the one living God against idolatry. But Israel failed completely, and so became captive in Babylon, the old champion of image-worship... Even here, though, and earlier (Isaiah 42:1-4), care was taken to point out a "Servant" far greater than Israel, Cyrus, or anyone else. He would come in meekness, but He would not fail or be discouraged until He has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for His law.

God made this favoured people His agents. They received and guarded His holy words. They set forth the worship of the One and Only God. They were the seat of God's government on earth among the nations. Because of the service they owed in these and other ways, Israel had to be faithful to this trust.

This servant nation is "the offspring of Abraham" (v. 8), for it is promised that through his offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. We know that personally our Lord Jesus Christ is the Offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ (Galatians 3:16). So the nation must first be truly brought to Christ, raised from among the dead — offspring of David and offspring of Abraham. Then it will become the honoured national servant, according to God's purpose for them.

People often say that to a servant we speak of things that concern his work. But to a friend we speak of what we may be about to do, even if it has no direct concern with our friend. Here God treats Abraham as a friend, for He says, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" The reason God treats him as a friend is very blessed. The Lord says, "I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice." The one whom the Lord treats as a friend not only believes in the Lord. He also orders his household in the fear of the Lord.

It was faith that secured Abraham this splendid title... "and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'—and he was called a friend of God" (James 2:23). No earthly title can eclipse that heavenly honour, "The Friend of God." Let us all go in for it. It is a great thing to be God's man, and God's friend, in a day of decline such as this.

Israel is reminded that as the offspring of Abraham, who is honoured as "My friend," they are a chosen people and called to be the servant of God. How foolish then this turning to idols! And in the following verses we find the most reassuring words of encouragement and support, which, if only received in faith, would have lifted them far above any reliance on idolatrous things.

With the words "But you Israel" God turns from the Gentiles to address the Jewish nation. They have failed, and their idolatry has brought them under God's hand in government. Yet they are the people of God's sovereign choice, the seed of Abraham the friend of God. They are "called" out from the great ones of the earth, and "chosen" to be God's servant to witness for Him. God may, indeed, chasten His people but He will not cast them off.

The call of God first means separation. Abram had to go "out of … from … from …". It meant breaking links — not only national links, but social and even family ones. By this time the infection of idolatry had spread from Babel in many directions, and so we read, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River'" (Joshua 24:2-3). God called Abraham out of these idolatrous surroundings, so the separation His call involved was drastic and thorough. The man who would later be called "the friend of God" must not be left in any friendship with the idolatrous world.

This book plainly shows Israel first of all as the servant of Jehovah (see Isa. 41:8-9; Isa. 44:21-26; Isa. 45:4), but He then introduces Messiah as His Servant, saying in Isa. 42:1, "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold". This, as we have seen from Matthew 12, speaks of Christ, for He is the One in whom God finds His delight. Where Israel had failed as God's servant, Messiah showed His perfections in obedience, and in carrying out all His will.

It is most needful to mark, at such a point as this, the difference between God's ways in government with His people, and His ways in grace. Under the righteous government of God, the Jews have been and still are under His chastening hand, because of their sins and their refusal to repent. But the grace and love of His heart towards them never change… "They were broken off because of their unbelief … But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Rom. 11)

God foreknew His people when He chose and called them; and, knowing all their evil beforehand, He certainly will not cast them off. He has not done so, as Paul's own case proved. Paul was no small example. He had shared in the nation's guiltiest prejudices, its most bitter unbelief, and its rejection of Jesus. Yet God had called him.

Isa. 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It is still unaccomplished. The return mattered, but it was only a pledge of Israel's glorious hope… The promised blessing of the people comes after tribulation like nothing known before.

With the words "But you, Israel" God turns from the Gentiles to address the Jewish nation. They have failed, and God has disciplined them for turning to idols. Even so, they are still the people He chose. They are the children of Abraham, the man God called His friend. God "called" them out from the great ones of the earth and "chose" them to be His servant and witness. God may indeed chasten His people, but He will not cast them off.

In verses 8 and 9 of this chapter God reminds Israel who they are. They are the children of Abraham, the man He calls "My friend." They are a chosen people, called to be God's servant. How foolish, then, to turn to idols! The verses that follow hold the most reassuring words of encouragement and support. If Israel had only taken them by faith, those words would have lifted them far above any trust in idols.

Because of their failure, they have come under God's judgment. But because God chose them, they will be blessed in the end. But their blessing depends wholly upon God and His grace. So God can say, "I am with you"; "I am your God"; "I will strengthen you"; "I will uphold you."

In Isaiah, God declares that He will act toward His people in this righteousness. He will raise up Cyrus, the king He uses to bring them back to their own land, and so keep His promise. He will also hold up that failing people in their last weakness and distress with the right hand of His righteousness. David and Daniel do the same when they confess their sin: they ask God for help on the ground of His righteousness.

In Isaiah we find that wonderful passage where God speaks of "upholding them by the right hand of His righteousness." That great hand of power is there for His people at all times. We have all known it in one way or another.

Scripture tells us plainly that every nation that opposes Israel will end in shame and disgrace, and perish. Those that war against Israel will come to "nothing." Not that Israel has any strength, but because the LORD, Israel's God, will "hold" and "help" Israel.

At the end of their time of trial, the guilty people are bowed down under God's judgment. They are disciplined and sorry for their sin, but close to despair. Then they hear the words, "Comfort, comfort my people!" And the words "Fear not" come back to them again and again, echo after echo. Fear not, my love will comfort you, I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will be with My servant. Have I not redeemed you? Am I not with you? Fear not, I will refresh you. Fear neither shame, nor insult, nor reproach. You are Mine, and I have received you in grace.

The Word of God gives us the support we need day by day to live the Christian life… What a wonderful promise to take hold of! He who gives life also sustains it. We are "guarded through faith" by God's power. Indeed, all our springs are in Him. Our sufficiency is from God. If we trust in His precious Word we will never be put to shame.

Isaiah 41 begins the historical details that prove this. Who raised up Cyrus to overthrow idolatry? But while he was destroying it, Israel is the elect servant of God, the seed of Abraham. This title of "servant" is a key to the rest of the book. He is not to fear: God will uphold him, and those who strive with him shall perish.

The honour to which Cyrus was called along the way was no change in His purposes or affections toward Israel. Not Cyrus, but Israel, was His servant.

We are plainly told that all the nations that oppose Israel will in the end be ashamed, confounded, and perish. Those that war against Israel will come to "nothing." Not that Israel has any strength, but because the LORD, Israel's God, will "hold" and "help" Israel.

Their weakness is most pointedly owned (14); yet by virtue of their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, they would thresh mountains and hills.

With the words "But you, Israel," God turns from the Gentiles to address the Jewish nation. They have failed badly, and God has disciplined them for their idolatry. Yet they are still the people of His sovereign choice. They are the seed of Abraham, the friend of God, "called" out from the great ones of the earth, and "chosen" to be God's servant to witness for Him. God may indeed chasten His people, but He will not cast them off.

In verses 8 and 9 of our chapter, Israel is reminded that as the seed of Abraham, who is honoured as "My friend," they are a chosen people, called to be the servant of God. How foolish, then, this turning to idols! The verses that follow give the most assuring words of encouragement and support. If only they had received them in faith, those words would have lifted them far above any reliance on idols. They should be upheld and their enemies confounded.

These last words leave no reasonable doubt. The prophet is looking far beyond his own day. He does not describe the Jews living under their Persian or other Gentile rulers. He describes days still future, when Israel will take captive those who once held them captive, and will rule over their oppressors. The description here and Nehemiah's words cannot belong to the same period: "Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers... behold, we are slaves."

Isaiah 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It is still unaccomplished. The return, important as it may have been, was a mere pledge of Israel's glorious hope. The promised blessing of the people comes after tribulation without parallel. When they are truly repentant, the LORD will make them an instrument of judgment — "worm Jacob" and "mortals of Israel" though they are — to break down and scatter the proud power of all their foes, to God's glory.

The honour God gave Cyrus in passing changed nothing in His purposes or affections towards Israel. Not Cyrus but Israel was His servant.

They have failed badly, and God has disciplined them for their idolatry. Yet they are the people of His sovereign choice, the seed of Abraham the friend of God — "called" out from the great ones of the earth, and "chosen" to be God's servant to witness for Him. God may indeed chasten His people, but He will not cast them off.

We are told plainly that all the nations that oppose Israel will in the end be ashamed, confounded, and perish. Those that war against Israel will come to "nothing." This is not because Israel has any strength. It is because the LORD, Israel's God, will "hold" and "help" Israel.

We can find no solid ground of rest except in what He is to us, not in what we are for Him.

Isaiah 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It still has not happened. The return, important as it may have been, was only a pledge of Israel's glorious hope... The promised blessing of this people comes after tribulation like no other. Jehovah will then make them, when they truly repent, an instrument of His judgment — "worm Jacob" and "mortals of Israel" though they are.

The LORD will not only keep Israel safe during the judgment of the nations. He will also make Israel an instrument in His hands to carry out His judgment on the nations that have opposed her, and to "scatter" those who scattered her. This carries us on to the days when Israel, redeemed from all her enemies, will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Christ came to where they were to save them, and in His suffering He cried, "I am a worm" (Psalm 22:6). He had to take that way. He went to the cross, into the dust of death, before either we or Israel could be delivered.

At the end of their time of trial, the guilty people will hear these words: "Comfort, comfort my people." They are bowed beneath the judgment of God, chastened and repentant, but close to despair. And we hear this word "Fear not" repeated and echoed again and again. Fear not, My love will comfort you, I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will be with My servant. Have I not redeemed you? Am I not with you? ... This comforting word from God runs like a refrain through the whole later part of Isaiah.

The warning follows that God has raised up a mighty conqueror from the East to punish the nations for their idolatry. A later chapter (Isa. 45:1) names him: Cyrus. Before his unstoppable power the nations will be like dry stubble... But behind Cyrus stands the directing power of the LORD. He knows the whole history of the generations from the beginning. The One who is the first – before all, and will be the last. Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he came?

The honour God gave Cyrus along the way did not change His purposes or His love for Israel. Not Cyrus but Israel was His servant.

They have failed badly, and God has disciplined them for their idolatry. Even so, they are the people of His sovereign choice. They are the descendants of Abraham, the friend of God. He "called" them out from the great ones of the earth and "chose" them to be His servant and witness. God may, indeed, chasten His people but He will not cast them off.

Scripture also tells us that every nation opposing Israel will end in shame, confusion, and ruin. Those who make war on Israel will come to "nothing." This is not because Israel has any strength of its own. It is because the LORD, Israel's God, will "hold" and "help" Israel.

Left to himself Jacob is only a worm, and Israel is only a "few men," but the LORD is the Redeemer and Helper of Israel. So the LORD will not only keep Israel safe while He judges the nations. He will also make Israel an instrument in His hands to carry out that judgment on the nations that have opposed them.

Who but He could have said through Isaiah, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." We can find no solid ground of rest but in what He is to us, not in what we are for Him.

It is thus that faith is strengthened by our gracious Lord, and as He holds the hand, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness, we will keep the watch and look out for the morning, "the morning without clouds;" cheering the darkness about us with faith's cry, "All's well."

He whispered words of faith and hope. He told him to look away from himself to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to rest on the promise, "I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'" As Christian looked to Jesus, the darkness melted away. The light of his Saviour's love shone into his soul again, and he crossed the river with a song of triumph.

Scripture uses the worm as a picture of the extreme feebleness of man. Job 17:14; Job 25:6. In blessing Israel the LORD said, "Fear not, you worm Jacob," Isa. 41:14; and the Lord, to show the low state He was in, said, "I am a worm and not a man." Ps. 22:6.

God's love is free. When He pleads with His people in Malachi, He points them to the love He had shown to Jacob. He uses the name that reminds them of their father's natural character. That character was stamped on his descendants too, and it marked him before divine grace had made him Israel. Each name is used according to its own meaning when applied to his descendants... Here the name fits: it shows how little the "worm Jacob" had earned divine love.

Left to himself Jacob is only a worm and Israel only a "few men" (see margin), but the LORD is the Redeemer and Helper of Israel.

We can find no solid ground of rest except in what He is to us, not in what we are for Him. All who in their pride of heart refuse to believe, and who trust in themselves that they are righteous, will be beaten small. Only those who have Him for righteousness will rejoice and glory in Him.

The LORD redeemed the nation of Israel out of Egypt both by price and by power (Ex. 15:6, 13, 16). As their Goel, He brought them out of slavery with His "stretched out arm and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6). Centuries later the nation went into captivity. Again and again the LORD sent them promises of His deliverance by redemption. He called Himself "the LORD, your Redeemer (Goel)," and added other titles such as "the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. 41:14; Isa. 43:14; Isa. 44:6, 24...). In these and other prophecies, the LORD reminds His earthly people that He has the sole "right of their redemption."

This nation is also called, "you worm Jacob": the "new threshing instrument" to "thresh the mountains, and beat them small" (vv. 14-15). Christ came to where they were to save them, and in His suffering He cried, "I am a worm" (Ps. 22:6). He had to take that way — to go to the cross, into the dust of death — before either we ourselves or Israel could be delivered.

So God will not only keep Israel safe during the judgment of the nations. Israel will also become an instrument in the hands of the LORD. Israel will carry out His judgment on the nations that have opposed Israel, and will "scatter" those who scattered the nation. So we are carried on to the days when Israel, redeemed from all her enemies, will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Prayer is not a message to the moon... It is a petition addressed to Him who made the sun and moon and stars. It is turning to the ever-present and all-sufficient God. It is frailty fleeing to Omnipotence. It is misery at the door of mercy. It is "worm Jacob" at the foot of the ladder, and the top of that ladder in heaven.

Left to himself Jacob is only a worm, and Israel only a "few men," but the LORD is the Redeemer and Helper of Israel. So Israel will not only be preserved during the judgment of the nations. Israel will also become an instrument in the hands of the LORD, to carry out His judgment on the nations that have opposed Israel, and to "scatter" those who scattered the nation. This carries us on to the days when Israel, redeemed from all her enemies, will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

In the East this is done by oxen treading on the grain. There were also threshing "instruments," which beat the grain out. Oxen also dragged a sledge without runners over the grain, and this crushed the straw as well.

This nation is also called "you worm Jacob": the new "threshing sledge" that will "thresh the mountains and crush them" (vv. 14-15). Christ came to where they were to save them, and in His suffering He cried, "I am a worm" (Ps. 22:6). He had to take that way — to go to the cross, into the dust of death — before either we or Israel could be delivered. Not only are we saved, and all Israel will be in due time, but the proud mountains, the governments of men, are beaten small. Scientists tell us the best and most fruitful soil has all passed through the body of the worm. In the same way, Israel will deal with the great governments of the earth before they are fruitful for God's praise in the coming day.

The figure of threshing is found often in the prophets, and nearly always applied to the nations (see Isa. 21:10 with Jer. 51:33; Micah 4:13; Hab. 3:12). Israel herself will one day thresh the nations. But first she must pass through the purifying chastening herself. That will drive the chaff away and leave only the pure grain.

These last words, however, put it beyond reasonable doubt that the prophet looks far past his own day. He describes, not the state of the Jews under their Persian or other Gentile masters, but days still future. Then Israel will take captive those whose captives they were, and will rule over their oppressors… The word here stands in clear contrast, and in figurative language, no doubt. But it points to neither servitude nor the grace of the gospel — it points to triumph.

Many passages foretell that Israel will carry out God's judgments on the stubbornly wicked and rebellious. The saints of the present age could not do this work, at least while they are still on earth. The present is an age of pure, perfect grace. The Church's place is to walk in the steps of Him who suffered and took it patiently, and who on the cross cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But just as surely, an age of righteousness will follow the present age of grace.

God made this people a sharp threshing instrument, and with it He judged the nations. In the millennial day, the same people will be the channel that hands out blessing to all nations… The prophecy says, "he shall eat up the nations." But afterwards God blesses the nations and the whole earth through them. Is this not a happy answer to Samson's riddle, "Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet"?

The fan was a small shovel. A worker used it to throw wheat up into the air, so that the wind could carry away the chaff (Isaiah 30:24; Jeremiah 4:11). The fan is also a symbol of the judgments of God (Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; Jeremiah 51:2). It also pictures the sifting power of the testimony of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17).

Left to himself Jacob is only a worm and Israel only a "few men", but the LORD is the Redeemer and Helper of Israel. So the LORD will not only keep Israel safe during the judgment of the nations. He will also make Israel an instrument in His own hand. He will use Israel to carry out His judgment on the nations that have opposed her, and to "scatter" the nations that once scattered her. This carries us on to the days when Israel, redeemed from all her enemies, will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The prophets use the figure of threshing quite often, and nearly always apply it to the nations (see Isaiah 21:10 with Jeremiah 51:33; Isaiah 41:15; Micah 4:13; Habakkuk 3:12). Israel herself will one day thresh the nations. But first she herself must pass through a purifying discipline. The chaff will be driven away, and the pure grain alone will remain. During this separating time of suffering and trial, the remnant will in faith lay claim to Him who is Lord of the threshing.

These last words, however, put it beyond reasonable doubt that the prophet carries his eye far beyond the immediate occasion. He does not present the condition of the Jews under their Persian or other Gentile rulers. He presents days still future. Then Israel will take captive those whose captives they were, and will rule over their oppressors… The words here stand in clear contrast to that. They are figurative, no doubt. But they picture neither servitude nor the grace of the gospel. They picture triumph.

This nation is also called "you worm Jacob": the "new threshing instrument" to "thresh the mountains and beat them small" (verses 14–15). Christ came to where they were to save them, and in His suffering He cried, "I am a worm" (Psalm 22:6). He had to take that way — to go to the cross, into the dust of death — before either we or Israel could be delivered. We are saved, and all Israel will be saved in due time. But that is not all. The proud mountains, the governments of men, are beaten small… Then Israel will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel (verse 16).

God chose Jacob because it pleased His own goodness to do so. He did not choose him for any righteousness or strength in that poor vessel. Israel was a worm. In the loathing of His holiness God might have justly trampled on it. Instead He was pleased to beautify it with salvation, and to lift it to a princely place as the chief bearer of His praise among the nations of the earth (Isaiah 41:14–16).

This godly remnant of the nation is the "few men of Israel" (v. 14), through whom God will restore the nation. It is made up of the "poor and needy" — those who find that a world without Christ is only a "wilderness." When they turn to the LORD in their poverty and need, in their suffering and desolation, He will "hear them." The world may cast them out, but "the God of Israel will not forsake them." He will step in for them. He will turn the dry land into springs of water and the wilderness into a garden. In the end they will see, consider, and understand the ways of the LORD, and He will bring them to acknowledge that "the hand of the LORD has done this."

Isaiah 41 begins the historical details that prove this. Who raised up Cyrus to overthrow idolatry? Yet while he was destroying it, Israel is God's chosen servant, the offspring of Abraham. This title of "servant" is a key to the rest of the book. Israel is not to fear: God will uphold him, and those who strive with him will perish. God will listen to His poor, and supply their need. The idol-worshippers of the nations, so dulled in mind, know nothing of what God is about to do in judgment and for the deliverance of His people.

The afflicted and the needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue fails for thirst: I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry lands into water-springs.

Isaiah 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It is still unaccomplished. The return, important as it may have been, was a mere pledge of Israel's glorious hope... The promised blessing of the people comes after tribulation such as the world has never seen. Then, when they are truly repentant, the LORD will make them His instrument of judgment. They are only "worm Jacob" and "mortals of Israel." Yet they will break down and scatter the proud power of all their foes, to God's glory.

In Psalm 104:8 we see that "valleys" are actually a creation of God Himself... We can therefore accept our "valley" circumstances as the ordering of God, and rejoice in knowing that "He sends the springs into the valleys" (v. 10). How blessed to hear Him say to His people, "I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them, I will open... fountains in the midst of the valleys."

The first step, it seems to me, is to be conscious of the poverty, the need, and the weakness. If this is not confessed there can be no advance... To feel and acknowledge our failure, to go low in confessing it before God — this is the way of blessing, for God will meet us there. And He is the same God who presented Himself to Israel in this chapter. They could not have been poorer than they were. But when they felt that poverty and cried to the Lord in their distress, He met them — and He met them as the God of deliverances.

Refreshment from Jehovah will not fail Israel. "The afflicted and the needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them… so that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together — the hand of Jehovah has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it."

Isaiah 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It is still unaccomplished. The return, important as it may have been, was a mere pledge of Israel's glorious hope… The blessing promised to the people comes after tribulation like no other. When they truly repent, Jehovah will make them an instrument of judgment. They will break down and scatter the proud power of all their foes, to God's glory.

Where nothing but grim desert was seen for long centuries, waving fields of wheat and barley met the eye. Lucerne grass knee-deep yielded crops three times a year. The soil is light and very fertile once water is available. Irrigation is producing fruits and vegetables. Is this not a fulfilment of the prophecy…?

The curse of barrenness was partly lifted at the time of the flood, but much of it remained. The rich harvests promised to Israel depended on their obedience. Like every other blessing held on those terms, they were lost through the nation's unfaithfulness. The ground would bring forth thorns and briers — the fruits of sin. But when the reign of righteousness begins… "I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water."

In the future day of Israel's blessing God will make the wilderness and solitary place rejoice. The nation was a moral waste where nothing grew for God. That lasts until the full time for blessing comes. Then God's grace will make even the desert glad… The tree reminds us of the vigour of life in the middle of what is now dead and barren.

Nephtoah means "opening," and reminds us of the rock opened in the wilderness, and of God's words by Isaiah, "I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys"… If the split rock is meant here, the abundance is no surprise. That spring always stands for the fullness of the Spirit, which is ours because Christ died for us… A spring will fill a vessel and overflow it, unless the vessel is already filled with something else.

In Psalm 104 we see that "valleys" are actually a creation of God Himself: "the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them." We can therefore accept our "valley" circumstances as God's ordering, and rejoice that "he sends the springs into the valleys." How blessed to hear Him say to His people, "I the God of Israel will not forsake them… I will open… fountains in the midst of the valleys."

This godly remnant of the nation — the "few men of Israel" — consists of the "poor and needy." They are the people who find that a world without Christ is only a wilderness. In their poverty and need, in their suffering and desolation, they turn to the LORD, and He will "hear them." The world may cast them out, but "the God of Israel will not forsake them."

This is generally understood to be the Acacia… The wood was used a great deal in building the tabernacle. The ark, the table of showbread, and the altars were made of it too. Older translations call it the shittah tree in Isaiah 41:19.

What tree is meant by the name teashshur is not known: the ancient versions translate it "cedar, fir, poplar," and so on. It is probably a species of cedar, called sherbin in the East.

In the future day of Israel's blessing God will make the wilderness and lonely place rejoice. The nation was a moral waste where nothing grew for God. That state lasts until the full time for blessing comes, when God's grace will make even the desert glad. Then the tall, sweet-smelling cedar, the beautiful acacia, the evergreen myrtle and the fruitful olive will flourish, and the desert will blossom like the crocus. The tree is a reminder of living strength in a place that is dead and barren now.

The curse of barrenness was partly removed at the time of the flood, but it still continued in large measure… The ground was to bring forth thorns and briers — the fruits of sin. But when the reign of righteousness begins, "instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle." It "shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 55:13).

He would step in for the needy in the wilderness, even more gloriously than in the past. Then they would be sure it was His doing, and even His creating.

He will step in for them and turn the dry land into springs of water and the wilderness into a garden. As a result they will at last see, consider, and understand the ways of the LORD, and will come to acknowledge that "the hand of the LORD has done this."

Tree-planting is playing a great part in this huge plan to make the desert "rejoice and blossom like the crocus"… Can we not see in this a sign that an Old Testament prophecy is coming true?

This godly remnant of the nation consists of the "poor and needy" — those who find that a world without Christ is only a "wilderness." When in their poverty and need, in their suffering and desolation, they turn to the LORD, He will "hear them." The world may cast them out, but "the God of Israel will not forsake them." He will step in on their behalf and turn the dry land into springs of water and the wilderness into a garden. As a result they will at last see, consider, and understand the ways of the LORD, and then be brought to acknowledge that "the hand of the LORD has done this."

In the future day of Israel's blessing God will make the wilderness and the lonely place rejoice. The nation was a moral waste in which nothing grew for God. This continues until the full time for blessing comes, when God's grace will make even the desert glad. Then the tall and fragrant cedar, the beautiful acacia, the evergreen myrtle and the fruitful olive will flourish. The desert will blossom like the crocus. The tree reminds us of the strength of life in the middle of what is at present dead and barren.

Tree planting is playing a great part in this vast scheme to make the desert "rejoice and blossom like the crocus" (Isa. 35:1). In the northern Negev no fewer than 185,000,000 saplings are being planted...

Isaiah 41:8-20 was in no way fulfilled in the return. It is still unaccomplished. The return, important as it may have been, was a mere pledge of Israel's glorious hope.

The Holy One of Israel is Jehovah; He is the Redeemer of His people. "Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel" (47:4)... This Holy One is the Creator. "The Holy One of Israel has created it" (41:20). He has stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. He appeared as the Holy One among them and they did not know Him but despised Him... Isaiah predicts what will happen at His second coming. Israel will discover that the rejected and despised One is Jehovah.

The name "Holy One of Israel" means that the God of Israel is completely separated from all evil. This is because His eyes are too pure to look at evil. This is what the seraphim express too, when they cry out before His throne: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts."

The curse of barrenness was partly removed at the time of the flood, but it still continued to a large degree. The abundant harvests promised to Israel depended on their obedience, and the nation lost them through its unfaithfulness, like every other blessing held on those terms. Thorns and briers would come up instead — the fruits of sin. But when the reign of righteousness begins... "instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle."

The LORD has foretold the judgment coming upon the idolatrous nations, and the future blessing of restored Israel. In view of these dealings in judgment and grace, the LORD now challenges the Gentiles and their idols. Can their idols foretell what will happen in the future, or show what has happened in the past? Indeed, can they do anything, good or evil?

In this renewed challenge, which again points to Cyrus, though he is still unnamed, the test of prediction becomes as definite as it can be. "Bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob." What a witness to the Israel of that future day, that He is not ashamed to acknowledge them!

Nothing proves divine intelligence more clearly than telling what is to come. This is the main challenge the Old Testament makes to the false gods. No wonder it left them speechless, however loudly they had claimed before to give out oracles. As long as it was only a matter of puzzling those who asked, they could deceive with answers that pointed two ways. But Isaiah, in the sharpest and severest style, shows they were completely unable to reveal the future.

With us there is a yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but with God the most distant future is as vivid and well known as the present.

God Himself answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing" and their work "nought", and the man that puts his trust in them is an abomination in the sight of the LORD.

Who will enter the arena against the LORD of Hosts? Who will pick up the gauntlet of the Almighty, thrown down in the courts of the Gentile ruler? The magicians of Egypt tried their venture with Him in the courts of Ham, and suffered a humiliating defeat in front of their sovereign. Nearly six hundred years later, four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal entered the contest against one lone servant of the Lord on the top of Mount Carmel. They were shamefully defeated, and at the brook Kishon they fell under the righteous judgment their sin deserved.

Then the "King of Jacob" challenges the nations, and, by the hand of Cyrus (as an example), destroys the power of idolatry. He gives "good tidings to Jerusalem."

Here the challenge was beyond any follower of a false god to take up, though the demand was small compared with the prophecy of Scripture. No man could choose to speak even once about a future person or event. But the prophecies God gave by His own intent are each part of one immense web that He has woven. Traced on it, and never to be erased, is His purpose to glorify the One who gave up the glory that belonged to Him as God, so that He might become man.

The LORD then renews His challenge to the Gentiles and their idols. But now He speaks with even greater contempt — and rightly so — for their trust in a thing of nothing. Again He bases His appeal on what they do not know: the scourge of idolatry who would come from the north and east.

The LORD has foretold the judgment coming on the nations that worship idols, and the future blessing of restored Israel. In view of these dealings in judgment and grace, the LORD now challenges the Gentiles and their idols. Can their idols foretell what will happen in the future, or show what has happened in the past? Indeed, can they do anything, good or evil?

God Himself answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing" and their work "nothing", and the man who puts his trust in them is an abomination in the sight of the LORD.

Who told Nahum about the great disaster? Many in our time reject the very principle. But if God is God, it is as easy for Him to speak of the future as of the present. This was His challenge to the gods of the nations.

Here the challenge was beyond any worshipper of a false god to take up, though the demand was small compared with the prophecy of Scripture. It was beyond man's will to speak even in an isolated way of a future person or event. But the predictions God gives by His own intent are each part of an immense web He has woven. On that web He has permanently traced one purpose: to glorify Him who gave up the glory that was His as divine. He gave it up so that He might become man, and by His death and resurrection reconcile the most clashing principles and join the most opposed persons.

"And now I have told you before it takes place" — that is, this great truth about His going away to His Father. This telling beforehand was evidence of truth. Compare Isaiah 41:22-23. So too all the sorrows that seem to go against us end up confirming faith. Things that seem to discredit our hope turn out to prove the truth and strength of our hope in the Lord.

No believer need shrink from the demand of a well-known sceptic in his book The Creed of Christendom. He asks us to show: (1) what event the alleged prediction meant to point to; (2) that someone spoke the prediction in specific, not vague, language before the event; (3) that the event happened exactly, not loosely, as predicted; (4) that no human shrewdness could have foreseen it.

(Vv. 21–23). The LORD has foretold the judgment coming on the idol-worshipping nations. He has also foretold the future blessing of a restored Israel. In view of these dealings in judgment and grace, the LORD now challenges the Gentiles and their idols. Can their idols foretell what will happen in the future, or show what has happened in the past? Indeed, can they do anything, good or evil?

This is a side point, but it matters greatly for the subject we are looking at. Nothing proves divine intelligence more clearly than telling the future. This is the challenge the Old Testament mainly brings to the false gods. No wonder it left them silent, however loudly they had once claimed to speak messages about what was coming. As long as it was only a matter of confusing those who asked, they could deceive with answers that could mean two things. But Isaiah, in the sharpest and severest language, shows they were completely powerless to reveal the future.

(V. 24). God, Himself, answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing" and their work is nothing, and the person who trusts in them is an abomination in the sight of the LORD.

Here was a challenge that no worshipper of a false god could take up, though the demand was small compared with the prophecy of Scripture. No man could, of his own will, speak even once of a future person or event. But the prophecies God meant to give are each part of a vast web that He has woven. Traced on it, and never to be erased, is His purpose of glorifying the One who gave up the glory that was His as God, so that He might become man and, by His death and resurrection, reconcile the most clashing principles and unite the most opposed people.

"Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them" (Isa. 42:9). True prophecy is His claim; and it is an abiding one.

Who knows the future but God! With us there is a yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but with God the most distant future is as vivid and well known as the present. He is the great I am (Ex. 3:14), "who calls into existence the things that do not exist" (Rom. 4:17).

One of the strongest proofs that the Bible is inspired is the way its prophecies have come true. No mind, however far-seeing, can look into the coming centuries and say what they will bring. The Bible is the only book in the world that sets out to prophesy, and its prophecies have come true to the letter. That proves it was not written only by men like ourselves. A Divine Mind inspired it all.

God Himself answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing" and their work is nothing, and the man who puts his trust in them is an abomination in the sight of the LORD.

Here the challenge was more than any worshipper of a false god could take up, though what God asked was small compared with the prophecy of Scripture. No man's will could speak even one isolated word about a future person or event. But the prophecies God gives are each part of a vast web that He has woven. Traced on that web, and never to be erased, is His purpose to glorify the One who gave up the glory that was His as God, so that He might become man. By His death and resurrection He would bring together the principles that clash most sharply, and join the people most opposed to each other.

Who will enter the arena against the LORD of Hosts? Who will pick up the challenge that the Almighty throws down in the court of a Gentile king? The magicians of Egypt tried their strength against Him in their own land, and were shamefully defeated in front of their ruler. Nearly six hundred years later, four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal took the field against one lone servant of the Lord on the top of Mount Carmel. They were shamed and beaten, and then fell under the righteous judgment their sin deserved, at the brook Kishon.

The oracles have nothing to say, and reason itself is put to shame. There is nothing but senseless folly in men calling things gods that could neither speak nor hear… Human aids to devotion are the death-bed of faith. By his own inventions, now as in the past, man only succeeds in shutting himself out from the living God. Man's unbelief seals up in darkness both the mercy God reveals in His word and His judgements.

The pursuit of gain, the desire to have more, the spirit of business, the skill to make money, the drive to get on — all this is so "exalted among men" that very few are ready to see that it really is "an abomination in the sight of God." Men's thoughts shape the natural heart. It loves, adores and worships the objects that it finds in this world; and each heart has its own idol. One worships gold, another worships pleasure, another worships power. Every unconverted man is an idolater.

The One who is the First (compare verse 4) calls Zion to look at these idols in all their helplessness, and then, in contrast, to remember that the LORD will give to Zion One who will bring good news. Among the idolaters there was no man who could give advice, or who, when challenged, "could answer a word". Their idols are worthless, mere "wind and emptiness".

Now turn your attention to prophecy. Isaiah the prophet was led to triumph over pagan fortune-tellers and idol-worshipping stargazers, as Moses did over the magicians of Egypt, and Elijah over the priests of Baal.

Nothing proves divine intelligence more clearly than telling the future. This is the main challenge the Old Testament makes to the false gods. No wonder it could only strike them dumb, even if they had once claimed loudly to give out oracles. As long as it was only a matter of confusing the people who asked, they might deceive with answers that could mean anything. But Isaiah, in the sharpest and most severe style, shows that they were completely unable to disclose the future.

Who among the idols can declare the end from the beginning? Idols can neither show, nor speak, nor hear.

Behind Cyrus there will be the directing power of the LORD. He knows the whole history of the generations from the beginning. He is the first, before all, and will be the last. Who but the LORD could foretell the coming of Cyrus 200 years before he appeared, and describe events still future as if they had already happened?

Here the challenge was beyond any follower of a false god to take up, though the demand was small compared with the prophecy of Scripture. It was beyond man's will to speak even in an isolated way of a future person or event. But the prophecies God intended are each part of an immense web which He has woven. On that web He has permanently traced His purpose: to glorify Him who gave up the glory proper to Him as divine, so that He might become man and, by His death and resurrection, reconcile the most clashing principles and join the most opposed persons.

Miracles confirm a revelation at the time of its announcement. Prophecies are miracles of knowledge, and they confirm it for later times. So we are never without supernatural evidence of God's words.

There is a contrast between Israel's God and the idols of the nations. The one great proof is that the God of Israel has the power to predict future events. Read chapter 41:21–25. All this is spoken to encourage the faithful remnant of Israel to trust in Jehovah. Isaiah had announced the Babylonian captivity, and that gives this special meaning.

In this chapter we have fresh witnesses to the glory of God. The first is His dealing in judgment with the nations that worship idols (1–7). The second is His dealing in sovereign grace with Israel, bringing the nation into final blessing through a godly remnant (8–20). These predictions of judgment and blessing expose the emptiness of idols once more (21–29).

The One who is the First (compare verse 4) calls on Zion to look at these idols in all their helplessness. Then, in contrast, He calls Zion to remember that Jehovah will give to Zion One who will bring good tidings. Among the idolaters no man could give counsel. When challenged, not one of them "could answer a word." Their idols are vanity, mere "wind and emptiness."

In the renewed challenge God again points to Cyrus, still unnamed, and makes the test of prediction as definite as possible. "Bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob." What a witness to the Israel of that future day, that He is not ashamed to acknowledge them! ... Then God lifts the veil from the conqueror, whom He alone revealed — He who first, before any other, said to Zion, "Behold, behold them!"

Then the "King of Jacob" challenges the nations, and by the hand of Cyrus (as an example) destroys the power of idolatry. He gives "good tidings to Jerusalem."

We find in this opening section a great deal of the majesty and glory of the God of Israel. Here Israel's God stands in contrast to the idols of the nations. The one great proof brought forward is that the God of Israel has the power to predict future events (see 41:21–25). All this is spoken to encourage the faithful remnant of Israel to trust in Jehovah. Isaiah had announced the captivity in Babylon, so this had special meaning.

Which of them could reveal the future? Their seers might guess. They might confuse people with answers that could mean anything. God alone could speak plainly and with full certainty about what had not yet happened. And He has gladly told His children the future as He knows it.

Isaiah's prophecy refers to this day of good tidings in more places than one. First he foretells the testimony John the Baptist would give to prepare the way. Then he continues, "You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain; you who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" ... This prophecy does include the coming of the King of Israel in power to deliver and bless, and the setting up of the kingdom in glory. But even so, Jehovah Jesus was there. In His own person He brought Zion the good tidings of His presence, and He began to announce them in Galilee of the Gentiles.

Cyrus was only a picture of a greater one, and the return from Babylon was only a partial deliverance. Much more was coming.

The LORD has foretold the judgment coming on the nations that worship idols. He has also foretold the future blessing of restored Israel. In view of these dealings in judgment and grace, the LORD now challenges the Gentiles and their idols. Can their idols foretell what will happen in the future, or show what has happened in the past? Indeed, can they do anything, good or evil?

The oracles are silent, and even reason is put to shame. There is nothing but senseless folly in men calling things gods that can neither speak nor hear… Aids that people invent for their worship are the death-bed of faith. By his own inventions, now as in the past, man only shuts himself out from the living God. Unbelief seals up in darkness both the mercy He reveals in His word and His judgements.

Among the idol worshippers there was no man who could give counsel. When challenged, not one "could answer a word." Their idols are worthless, mere "wind and emptiness."

A further reference to the coming conqueror from the north-east is found in verses 25 and 26, and the chapter closes with words of contempt for the men who supported the idols and the counsels they gave.

Nothing proves divine intelligence more than telling what is still to come. This is the main challenge the Old Testament makes to the false gods. No wonder it could only strike them dumb, however loudly they had once claimed to give out oracles. While it was only a matter of confusing the people who asked them questions, they could deceive with answers that could mean two things. But Isaiah, in the sharpest and severest style, shows they are utterly powerless to reveal the future.

When God looked, there was "NO MAN," "NO COUNSELLOR" among them; NO ONE to answer God a word. They had become "vanity, their works nothing; their molten images wind and emptiness" (vv. 28-29). But when they turn back to Him, they will rejoice in THE ONE whose name is COUNSELLOR. The government will rest safely on His strong shoulder. He is THE MAN CHRIST JESUS. In Him the nation will find itself richly blessed, and He will answer every question God asks.

When the Lord sees that there is no man, and wonders that there is no one to step in and plead, then His own arm will bring salvation. Of all the sons Zion has borne, not one will guide her or take her by the hand. Her closest relative will fail her in that day. Counsel will have perished from the wise, and understanding from the sensible.

(Verses 21–23). The LORD has foretold the judgment coming on the nations that serve idols. He has also foretold the future blessing of restored Israel. In view of these dealings in judgment and grace, the LORD now challenges the Gentiles and their idols. Can their idols foretell what will happen in the future, or show what has happened in the past? Indeed, can they do anything, good or evil?

The One who is the First (compare verse 4) calls Zion to look at these idols and see how powerless they are. Then, in contrast, He calls her to remember that the LORD will give to Zion One who will bring good news. Among the idolaters there was no man who could give counsel. When challenged, not one "could answer a word." Their idols are vanity, mere "wind and emptiness."

(Verse 24). God Himself answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing," and their work is "nought." The man who puts his trust in them is an abomination in the sight of the LORD.

Away from the Lord they had sunk into an utterly vain and sinful state. When God looked, there was "NO MAN," "NO COUNSELLOR" among them; NO ONE to answer God a word. They had become "vanity, their works nothing; their molten images wind and emptiness" (verses 28–29). But when they turn again to Him, then indeed they will rejoice in THE ONE whose name is COUNSELLOR. The government will rest safely on His strong shoulder: THE MAN CHRIST JESUS. In Him the nation will find itself richly blessed, and He will answer every divine question.

This section starts with a word of comfort for God's people and for Jerusalem. All hangs upon the intervention of God in the Person of His servant. We learn from chapter 41 that Israel had failed badly as the LORD's servant.

Today people may scoff at the gods of the Chaldeans, and may see those who serve such gods as living in deep darkness. No doubt they are… To put confidence in anything but the living God is idolatry. Scripture even calls greed idolatry (Colossians 3:5), because it shows that something has taken God's place in the heart.

The chapter opens with a moving picture of Christ as the true Servant of the Lord. He is the One who will really establish the glory of God on the earth. Cyrus overwhelms the terrified nations with all the show of war. This Servant comes in lowly grace instead. The victories of Cyrus may carry out God's government against idolatry, but Cyrus was no delight to God. The moral glory of Christ, seen in the lowly grace of His perfect Manhood, was a delight to the heart of God.

This makes the opening of Isaiah 42 stand out. There the prophecy turns from Israel, the servant of God who failed, and introduces the Lord Jesus as the true Servant of God. We are to fix our attention on Him, for He is the chosen One in whom the delight of God rests. He is the One who will bring forth judgment for the nations, and not only for Israel. This prophecy was fulfilled in part at His first coming, but other details wait for His second coming.

the Lord Jesus: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect (bachir) in whom my soul delighteth." Isa. 42:1; 1 Peter 2:6. He was fore-ordained to be a mercy-seat through faith in His blood.

God invites us to look at Him, and by His Spirit He enables the freed believer to do it. Many Christians are taken up with themselves, or are struggling with sin in the flesh. They are not free enough from themselves to gaze at this lowly Servant, the One who fills the heart of God with such infinite delight. They need to know the freedom that is in Christ Jesus, through His death, where God judged sins and sin and put them away. Once a believer knows this freedom, his heart is free to rejoice in the perfections of this lowly One.

The Servant of the Lord. As such He is filled with the Spirit. "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD" (11:2)... We also see His method: He makes no show in His service.

Verse 18: Here the word "Behold" has another sense: "Behold my servant whom I have chosen." The force of it is "Look at my servant" — the only perfect Servant... "I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He will show judgment to the Gentiles." Judgment here is discriminating grace... The nations are not clever about it, but they sense that things are wrong, and they want someone to put them right. Every effort people make fails... but the Lord's personal presence will put everything right.

Here, though, it is the Servant. He is the object of the Lord's delight and the One of His choice. He is the vessel of the power of the Spirit, and He makes judgment known to the nations... His glory was beyond all rivalry, yet He showed it first in perfect, quiet lowliness. What marked Him was not a display of far-reaching power. It was meek withdrawal — not only when faced with murderous hatred, but away from the crowds that followed Him... His victory at His second coming brings this state of things to an end. Then He will set judgment in the earth, and the islands will wait for His law.

We know for certain that the Servant in this passage is Christ. In Matthew's gospel the Spirit of God applies these words to the Lord, at the moment when He refused to take any public place in the nation whose leaders were seeking to destroy Him (Matthew 12:14–21). He would make no national appeal. He would raise no flag. No one would hear His voice in the streets of the city. He would pass through the land in such lowly quietness that He would not break a reed already bruised, or put out a wick that was barely burning.

He would not quarrel or cry out. That is, He started no public movement for reform, and He never advertised Himself. He had no opportunist spirit. He never used the large crowds to lift Himself up as the champion of some cause. Hearing His voice in the streets would of course mean raising it in public protest against wrongs, real or imagined. That has been a popular political move through history, and it still is today. He avoided every such thing.

Yet His glory was beyond all competition, and He showed it first in perfect, quiet lowliness. What marked Him out was not far-reaching testimony but meek retirement. He kept out of sight when murderous hatred surrounded Him. He also kept away from the crowds that followed Him and from the admiration of those He healed, who would have spread His fame. He told them not to make Him known, so that what the prophet Isaiah said would come true: "Behold my servant …"

As the Witness of God He had to confront the world, and so He met its hatred, as we read in John (John 7:7). Yet as the Servant of God, seen here in Mark, He was hiding Himself, as far as His service allowed. Service is never perfect without that. A servant is not to know himself. He is to know only his master, and to be very willing that others likewise should not know him, but only his master. And it is so with the Lord. He goes on with His work; and if that draws notice, His way is still to go on, and, under fresh services, still to hide Himself.

But we must not lose sight of the point of the quotation. It is the lowly place Christ took when He came in grace and humiliation, before the day when He will lift up His voice in judgment.

The mighty ones of the earth have tried to bring in worldwide peace and blessing. They have failed and grown discouraged. But this perfect, lowly Man will "not faint nor be in haste" until He has set judgment in the earth and brought the nations to trust in His rule.

"A servant of the Lord must not quarrel or fight, but be gentle towards all." So the Lord had taught and lived, and the disciple is not above his teacher. But are not some people so difficult that they deserve at least a sharp word? He must still be "gentle towards all". The question is not how unpleasant people are, but how well he presents Christ. It is easy enough to wound or overthrow a man; but what if it grieves the Holy Spirit of God and dishonours Christ?

This makes the opening of Isaiah 42 stand out. The prophecy turns away from Israel, the failing servant of God, and introduces the Lord Jesus as the true Servant of God. We are to fix our attention on Him, for He is the chosen One in whom God's delight rests. He is the one who will bring forth judgment for the nations, and not only for Israel. Here again we find a prophecy that was partly fulfilled at His first coming, but waits for His second coming for the rest of its details.

Yet He, whose glory was beyond all rivals, showed it first in a perfect lowliness that drew no attention to itself. Even far-reaching power of testimony was not what marked Him out. Quiet withdrawal marked Him out. He withdrew not only when facing murderous hatred, but also from the crowds that followed Him and from the praise of those He had healed, who would have spread His fame.

Nothing is more worthless than a bruised reed, and nothing more offensive to the nose than smoking flax. The Pharisees were like both of these, but He will not break and quench them until the time of judgment arrives. Meanwhile in His name the Gentiles are learning to trust.

Israel was a bruised reed, but He would not break it; His earthly people, who should have been a flaming torch in testimony for God, had become a smoking flax that gave no light to the nations around but rather clouded them — yet He would not quench Israel.

A bruised reed is very weak, and smoking flax easily quenched. "Until" — He is going to do it in judgment by and by. What people mean when they quote it is right enough: He is tender and gentle to any poor thing. But He is going to deal with man in judgment. His grace comes out here, but it will not always be grace; He will not always be so gentle. Smoking flax speaks of something fit for judgment; we usually put it out, He left it alone.

The Lord, in His day, refuses to break the bruised reed, or to quench the smoking flax. He refuses to use His strength and authority even for the righteous judgment of His enemies (see Matt. 12). He will not argue or cry out, or let His voice be heard in the streets, but, "suffering thus far," He overcomes evil with good.

He came close to them in their sorrow and grief with all the gentleness that had always marked His dealings with them. They were the bruised reed and the smoking flax, which He would not break or quench. They were broken in heart and sore in spirit. They needed the healing of the great Physician, and He was there to point out the sickness gently and apply the cure.

He will not come like political agitators among men. He will not break bruised reeds or quench smoking flax. That is, He will not deal in judgment with such false and offensive people as the Pharisees were (see Matt. 12:14-21). Yet He will finally bring forth judgment to truth, and that will be victory. It may look as if He fails when He comes the first time in grace, but He will not fail, nor will He be discouraged. Moses failed. Elijah lost heart because he seemed to fail. But this Servant will do His appointed task perfectly.

Isaiah 42 is where Isaiah first presents the Messiah as "My servant." Israel had been given that name in the chapter before, with help soon to come through Cyrus, when God judged Babylon and its idols. But a greater than Cyrus or Israel is here, however similar the words used. "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment in truth. He shall not burn dimly nor be crushed, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law." Beyond a doubt it is the Messiah, in His blessed absence of self — a selflessness no conqueror ever showed, and one that He alone could carry through perfectly. But it looks on to the day when the nations will submit to His law, replacing every false god.

He will not fail nor be discouraged till He has set judgment in the earth and brought in the new things Isaiah 42 speaks of. Every servant of God who was only human has failed to some degree and has been discouraged. To the outward observer His course would end in what looked like the greatest failure of all.

Moses failed. Elijah grew discouraged because he seemed to fail. But this Servant will complete His appointed task perfectly.

Matthew 12:14–21 quotes this prophecy to show the lowliness and patience of His coming in grace... He was not an agitator, stirring up the crowd. The powers that were against Him were enough to make any servant of God discouraged and fail, yet He carried on His service to the end. He brought forth judgment according to truth by His sacrificial death and resurrection. But we must wait for His second coming to see judgment publicly set up in the earth, so that the most distant isle shall wait for His law.

It was not yet the hour to lift up His voice in judgment, as the blind Jews wanted, though that would have meant their own destruction... So He became a light to the Gentiles when Israel would have none of Him. He cared for the weakest and was in no way discouraged, until He has set judgment in place and the isles wait for His law, in the day of His open power and glory.

In Matthew, the isles waiting for His law in verse 4 becomes "in his name the Gentiles will hope." The prophet points more definitely to the blessing of the nations in the age of His reign. The Spirit uses the words for the principle on which they will be blessed then, and are blessed now, before that day.

He may be despised and rejected by men. Yet, after long patience, He will "set judgment in the earth." His law, which "the isles" wait for, will then be in force throughout the world. What good reason has the believer, who now knows Him as his Saviour, his Lord, and Head, to rejoice in Him? "He shall not fail!" This faithful Servant shall surely establish all that God has committed to Him.

God has called our attention to this true Servant. In verses 5-9 we have words spoken to Him by prophecy. Verse 5 stresses God's acts in creation. The heavens and the earth are the work of His hands, and so is mankind. He has given us the breath of our bodies, and also the spirit, which is what marks man out from the animals. Now this mighty Creator has called His true Servant in righteousness. He has made Him a covenant to the people and a light to the nations.

This leads Jehovah in magnificent terms to speak of what He will accomplish through His own name and glory, in contrast with graven images. "Thus says God Jehovah, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth… I am Jehovah; that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images." … Is this, or anything else, too hard for Jehovah?

About the spirits of people in the world generally, Isaiah 42:5 tells us that God "spread out the earth," and that He "gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it." The Creator who gives breath to men also gives spirit. Zechariah 12:1 then shows that He is the One who "formed the spirit of man within him." Ecclesiastes 12:7 shows that the spirit goes back to its Giver and Maker when it leaves the body: "the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." Twice Numbers calls God "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (16:22; 27:16).

Mr. Constable holds that these parallel lines simply say the same thing twice in different words. That is a false and unworthy idea of them, and it would reduce them to empty repetition. Every verse that uses such lines shows otherwise. What a poor repetition it would be to make Isaiah say, as he would: "who gives breath to the people on it, and breath (spirit) to those who walk in it."

The spirit of man is a wonderful and most important gift of the Creator. So God, who gave it, will not set it aside or make little of it in its own sphere. The spirit is what sets man apart from the animal, and by it he is made in the image of God. By it, in the place creation gave him, he is a son of God, as the animal is not; for God is "the Father of spirits" only (Heb. 12:9). So he can recognise God, and have a God, in a way completely different from the animal, which knows nothing, and is therefore not a moral being, and so can never be immoral.

The God unknown to the Athenians is the Creator of all things, the Lord of heaven and earth. Human temples are nothing to Him, and they cannot shut Him in. People do not worship Him through the works of their own hands, as though He needed man to supply Him. He is the great Giver instead. He gives the material things people care so much about, and He gives life and breath, the basic things our existence rests on.

This is Jehovah's Servant above all others, beyond any comparison. It is not Cyrus here, and not Israel, though Isaiah 41:8 calls Israel His servant. It is Christ. Only of Him does Isaiah 42:6 say that He is given "for a covenant of the people and a light of the Gentiles." This is not an ideal figure, but the real Messiah.

This highlights the opening of Isaiah 42. There the prophecy turns from Israel, the failing servant of God, and introduces the Lord Jesus as the true Servant of God. We are to fix our attention on Him, for He is the chosen One in whom God's delight rests.

Now that our attention has been drawn to this true Servant, verses 5-9 give us words spoken to Him in prophecy. Verse 5 stresses the acts of God in creation. He has given us not only the breath of our bodies but also the spirit, which sets man apart from the animals. Now this mighty Creator has called His true Servant in righteousness. He has established Him as a covenant to the people and a light to the nations. In verse 9 Jehovah declares new things, so we can see that the new covenant is predicted here.

In Isaiah 42 verse 6 we read that God gives our Lord Jesus Christ, the faithful Servant, "for a Covenant of the people." God had made an unconditional covenant with Abraham and a conditional one with Israel at Sinai. But He who centres all things in Himself is the Covenant.

So how secure, how stable, how sure everything must be in Him. In the letter to the Hebrews we read that He is "the Surety" of the new covenant, that His precious blood is "the blood of the everlasting covenant," and that He is "the Mediator" of the new covenant. But here He Himself is the Covenant. So it must be, like Himself, unfailing and perfect. Who would not rejoice in such a Saviour! Everything depends upon Him, not upon us.

When did God enter into covenant with the Gentiles? God has given Christ, the rejected Christ, as a light to the Gentiles, so that He may be His salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). But He is a covenant of the people, not of peoples. So Scripture never says the Gentiles are grafted in instead of the Jews.

This same verse shows us another shining glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is given "for a Light of the Gentiles." He is not only a Covenant for the people of God; He is given as a Light for all. High privileges belong to Israel, and higher ones still to the assembly, the body of Christ. But as the Light He shines for the world. We need to pay attention to this, for every falling away from the faith begins with wrong thoughts of Him.

His hearers still refused to believe in the Son of God. So the apostle turned the gospel invitation to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). He did this in line with what Jehovah said to His Servant, Who is His Son (Isaiah 42:6; Acts 13:47).

Israel will reject this servant, as prophecy says. But the Gentiles are to see His light and rejoice in His salvation. It is true that most of these predictions wait for His future work. When He comes again, God will give Him the Gentiles for an inheritance. But these predictions also imply what is now in force... Through Him Gentiles are saved now and when He comes again even the ends of the earth will know Him.

Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens and earth, addresses Christ. In chapter 41 God addresses Israel as the servant of Jehovah, and calls and keeps him (Isa. 41:8–10). Here Christ takes the place of Israel. God declares Him to be Jehovah's servant. He is the One called in righteousness, held, and kept — kept to carry out the promises to Israel and to bring light to the Gentiles.

Israel is in view here — "perfect," yet "blind." Their privilege was perfect, and so their responsibility was solemn; but their failure was terrible... "But this is a people robbed and plundered. They are all trapped in holes and hidden away in prison houses. They are prey, and no one rescues them."

Israel needs Him to do this for them, for they have become blind, and are "a people hidden away in prison houses" (vv. 18–22). They had sinned against the Lord and turned to idols, so Israel was useless as the Lord's national servant and messenger (v. 19). But once they are brought into contact with Christ the personal Servant, their eyes will be opened, and the works of God will be openly displayed in the nation — as they were in the one blind man of John 9, "so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Jehovah has given Him not only to be "a covenant of the people," but also "a light to the Gentiles," "to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness." He alone can do this, and He will do it with no help. What follows surely seals it: "I am Jehovah; that is My name; My glory I will not give to another."

In preaching the gospel Paul, when "the Jews saw the crowds and were filled with envy and contradicted him," said, "See, we turn to the Gentiles; for this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light of the nations" (Acts 13:47). The Light, like the gospel and the salvation of God, goes out to all people everywhere.

He questions the two blind men: do they believe He is able to answer what they ask? No doubt He does this to draw out the decision of their faith. When they answer yes, He speaks and acts according to their faith, and their eyes are opened. He is indeed the Son of David, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 42:7.

The Jews say that opening the eyes of the blind in the physical sense was kept for the Messiah. If that is so, here we see how He sent His apostle to do the work, not for the body only but for the heart. This showed itself when Gentiles heard the call of the Lord and turned from darkness to light — and, to name the source of each more exactly, from the power of Satan to God. Then came the great privileges of the gospel: the forgiveness of sins and a place among those set apart by faith in Christ.

Men may seek to restore the land to the Jew, and bring the Jews back to the land. Their efforts may seem to succeed for a time. But they will only bring the Jew back for the judgment of the great tribulation. To come back for blessing they must wait until Christ gives the word. In His time He will say to the prisoners, "Go forth," and to those in darkness, "Show yourselves"... no power will withstand His words.

God will do all this through His lowly Servant. In that light, Jehovah appeals to the nation about their idolatry. He reminds them that their God is Jehovah, the eternal I AM. He will not give His name and His glory to another. He will not let idols take the praise that is due to Him. He alone can bring about what He foretold long ago. He alone can announce what is coming before it appears.

This leads Jehovah to speak in magnificent terms of what He will accomplish through His own name and glory, in contrast with graven images.

Scripture addresses the Son directly as God and as Jehovah (Heb. 1:8-12). This teaches that His Sonship is eternal. Prophecy gives these names to the Son in His kingdom (Ps. 45), and in His suffering and humiliation (Ps. 102). Their use of Him in those settings proves that the names are His by inherent right. He did not gain them when He became man. If the Son had any right at all to the name God and the name Jehovah, He had that right from all eternity. The divine Name is not transferable: "I am Jehovah, that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another."

God will not give His glory to another; He is jealous over it. But that only underlines that the Son is one with the Father. All images that man might make can only provoke jealousy. But here is "the image of the invisible God." He is jealous for His Son, "that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father."

Everything which takes precedence of the Person of Christ is an idol. Take even the church of God, dear as it is. If its blessedness, if the "one body and one Spirit," becomes a slogan and takes even a little of that supreme place in our heart which belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ, then the church becomes an idol. Or take an evangelist who thinks and aims more at popularity, preaching himself and not the Lord. His preaching is blessed work, and God's means for the saving of souls. Even so, that too becomes an idol.

It is impossible for God to give His glory to another. If He did, He would stop being God. He cannot hand over His place to you; He cannot give you the credit that belongs to Himself alone.

God does not give His glory to another. But when He gives, He gives in such a way that it all goes back to Him, in the perfect enjoyment of Himself, to His own praise. God is steady, unmovable in His purposes of mercy. He will give blessing. And He gives it in a way that lays the blessing on the heart, so that the heart enjoys it and gives it back to God in praise.

"My glory will I not give to another" is always God's word. These are days of the church's unfaithfulness and the confusion that follows. Even so, we may depend on it: God will do His work in a way that displays His glory and makes nothing of man.

Now that our attention is on this true Servant, verses 5-9 give us words spoken to Him in prophecy. Verse 5 stresses God's acts in creation: the heavens, the earth, and mankind are all the work of His hands. This mighty Creator has called His true Servant in righteousness and established Him as a covenant to the people and a light to the nations. In verse 9 Jehovah declares new things, so we may see that He predicts the new covenant here, though not as fully as in Jeremiah 31.

In the light of all that God will do through His lowly Servant, Jehovah appeals to the nation about their idolatry. He reminds them that their God is Jehovah, the eternal I AM. He will not give His name and His glory to another, nor let idols take the praise that belongs to Him. He alone can bring to pass things already foretold, and declare the things to come before they spring forth.

Who knows the future but God! With us there is a yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but with God the most distant future is as vivid and well known as the present. He is the great I AM (Ex. 3:14), "who calls into existence the things that do not exist" (Rom. 4:17).

He does what He does because He is what He is, and in doing it He shows who He is. He tells and foretells because He knows and foreknows... He opens up the future both for blessing and for judgment, all hanging upon Himself as the divine Centre of the whole moral arena.

Isaiah 42 opens by introducing Christ as the true Servant of the Lord. He will not fail or be discouraged until He accomplishes God's will on earth. He is the One who will bring in and establish the new things that verse 9 speaks of.

As far as Isaiah goes, the new things predicted have to do with blessings on the earth. The new song they call out is from both land and sea, from the far distant isles and from the wilderness and the top of the mountains. For heavenly blessing we have to go on to the New Testament.

As far back as Isaiah 42, we had Jehovah's declaration, "new things I now declare" (verse 9), and now we discover the wide scope of it. There is to be a complete sweeping away of the old order and the creation of new heavens as well as a new earth. The verses that follow show that this speaks of the millennial age, not the eternal state, which Revelation 21:1 announces.

The Lord Jesus Christ will bring this golden age to pass, and by His work alone. Let us fix that in our minds, so that we do not meddle with present schemes to bring such an age in, whether political or otherwise. It will only come when He comes again. He came first as the Servant to suffer. He will come again as Jehovah's mighty Arm, bringing salvation for the earth by solemn judgments.

These new things will move those who enter into them to "Sing to the LORD a new song." The thought of how the Lord will show His glory, and how His praise will be sung, fills verses 10-12.

Here it is the Servant, the One Jehovah delights in and has chosen... Yet He, whose glory was so far beyond all rivalry, first showed it in perfect lowliness that drew no attention to itself... Here that state of things is brought to an end by the victory of His second coming. Then He will set judgement in the earth, and the isles will wait for His law.

In view of the blessing that the lowly Servant of Jehovah will secure, the call goes out to all the ends of the earth to praise Jehovah – to "sing to the LORD a new song". It is a foretaste of the day when praise will rise to the glory of the LORD from sea and land, wilderness and city, plain and mountain.

As far as Isaiah is concerned, the new things predicted have to do with blessings on the earth. For heavenly blessing we have to go on to the New Testament.

There are no islands near to Palestine. Cyprus is the nearest, and that is about seventy miles from the nearest point of Syria, far north. So the term 'the isles' sometimes stands loosely for places or nations far off.

The result of judgment on the Gentiles is a new song to the Lord and His praise from the end of the earth (v. 10). Matthew gives the isles waiting for His law in verse 4 as "In his name shall the Gentiles trust." The prophet points more definitely to the millennial blessing of the nations. The Spirit uses the words for the principle on which the nations will be blessed — and are blessed now, before that day.

The old song was sung by the morning stars over the foundations of the earth. It was not a conqueror's song. It did not celebrate a divine victory to redeem or avenge God's chosen. There was no theme of victory then, for no battle had been fought and won. But sin has entered since then... so at the end a new song must be awakened, a song with a new theme, to celebrate Him in this new action, this new character of glory... The song of Moses was a conqueror's song, and so is the song of the Lamb... The song over creation must give place, in range and melody, to the song over the triumphs of Jesus.

We have met with the new song in earlier Psalms (Ps. 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9); and, apart from Isa. 42:10, this term in the Old Testament appears only in the Psalms, and that for Israel. At the Red Sea they had sung a song on the morning of their redemption from the Egyptians (Ex. 15). Now, finally delivered from all opposing powers, they are to sing a new song in praise to their God.

The judgment of the nations will bring in this time of universal praise. Earlier in the chapter this One was presented in grace as the lowly Man. Now He is seen in judgment as "a Man of war" prevailing against His enemies. For a long time God has borne with idolatrous nations, but at last judgment will fall and their lands will be laid waste.

In view of the blessing that the lowly Servant of the LORD will secure, all the ends of the earth are called to praise the LORD — to "sing to the LORD a new song". It is a foretaste of the day when from sea and land, wilderness and city, plain and mountain, praise shall ascend to the glory of the LORD.

Son of Ishmael, and founder of an important tribe living in the north-west of Arabia, though the name is probably also used for Arabs generally. Gen. 25:13; 1 Chr. 1:29. The Psalmist longed for peace, because he had been living in the tents of Kedar, among those who "hated peace." Ps. 120:5-6. The references to lambs, rams, goats, flocks, camels, tents, and tent-curtains show that a nomadic people are meant, though their "villages" are also mentioned. Judgments were pronounced against them. Isa. 21:16-17; Jer. 49:28.

Man fails, great or small; the LORD abides and will reign over this earth and all the races of mankind.

The rock city of Edom. 2 Kings 14:7; Isa. 16:1. The same Hebrew word is the one usually translated "rock." Amaziah took the place and called it JOKTHEEL. It is judged to be the same as PETRA. Petra is a remarkable place. Though about two thousand feet above the sea, mountain cliffs shut it in, and a narrow ravine leads into it.

This time of universal praise will be reached through the judgment of the nations. At the beginning of the chapter He appeared in grace as the lowly Man. Now He is seen in judgment as "a Man of war" prevailing against His enemies. For a "long time" God has borne with idolatrous nations, but at last He will execute judgment and lay their lands waste.

And the nations, we know, will take their place in this coming order of glory. They will turn their swords into ploughshares; and instead of learning war, they will learn the ways of the Lord, and walk in His paths. At the appointed time they will each come with an offering to the King in Zion... Then songs to the Righteous One will be heard from the farthest parts of the earth. And then the willing hearts of all the people will answer the prophet's call.

It is not mere fertility, but the restoration of all things when that day comes on earth: every joy, fruitfulness, and beauty... The question is, what is its definite meaning?

Because of the blessing that the lowly Servant of Jehovah will secure, God calls all the ends of the earth to praise Jehovah — to "sing to the LORD a new song." It gives a taste in advance of the day when praise will rise to the glory of the LORD from sea and land, from wilderness and city, from plain and mountain.

The servant of Jehovah, the Lord Jesus, is also announced. Through Him God will carry out all He has in mind for Israel and the Gentiles, and so praise and joy are called for.

God reminds the nation that their God is Jehovah, the eternal I AM. He will not give His name and His glory to another. He will not allow the praise that belongs to Him to be given to idols. He alone can bring about what He has already foretold, and can announce things to come before they appear.

"My glory I give to no other" (Isa. 42:8) is always God's word. We can count on this: in these days, the days of the church's unfaithfulness and the confusion that follows it, God will do His work in a way that shows His glory and makes nothing of man.

But who are the "isles"? Surely not only those inside the Mediterranean Sea. Whoever they are, God favours them, and marks them out in a remarkable way… "the coastlands wait for His law" (Isa. 42:4)… Isaiah 40 describes His greatness in wonderful majesty, and there we read, "Behold, He takes up the coastlands like fine dust" (v. 15).

This time of worldwide praise will come through the judgment of the nations. At the start of the chapter the same One appeared in grace as the lowly Man. Now He is seen in judgment as "a man of war" who prevails against His enemies. For a "long time" God has put up with nations that serve idols, but at last He will carry out judgment and lay their lands waste.

The result of judgment on the Gentiles is a new song to the Lord and His praise from the end of the earth (v. 10). Matthew gives the isles waiting for His law in verse 4 as "in His name the Gentiles will hope." The prophet points more plainly to the blessing of the nations in the millennium. The Spirit uses the words for the principle on which the nations will be blessed then, and on which they are blessed now, before that day.

As far as Isaiah is concerned the new things predicted are connected with blessings on the earth. The new song they call out comes from both land and sea, from the far distant isles, from the wilderness and the top of the mountains. For heavenly blessing we have to go on to the New Testament.

This time of worldwide praise will come through the judgment of the nations. The chapter began by presenting Him in grace as the lowly Man. Now it shows Him in judgment as "a Man of war" prevailing against His enemies. For a "long time" God has put up with nations that worship idols. At last He will judge them and lay their lands waste.

It was not yet the hour to lift up His voice in judgment. The blind Jews wanted that hour, though it would have meant their own destruction. He was meek in heart. He did not seek glory, but to do His Father's will. An unbelieving people rejected Him, and He was about to go far lower to save them, or anyone. So He would be a light to the nations when Israel will have none of Him, caring for the weakest and never discouraged until He has established judgment.

The unusual title "Jehovah is a man of war" came out of their sheer amazement at the triumph. They had cried out in despair, and the enemy had shouted, "I will destroy them." Then suddenly Jehovah's arm won the victory. He was "a man of war," fighting and winning over the gods of the nations, and so He will again be known on the earth.

While they are set on murder, He carries on His work of mercy. He takes no notice, so to speak, until He brings forth judgment to victory. The moment is at hand, however, when He will turn His attention to these... Then He will say, "I have held My peace a long time. I have been still and held Myself back. Now I will cry out like a woman in labour; I will destroy and devour at once." Another prophet gives the words for that day: "The lion has roared, who will not fear?"

The deliverance does not come apart from the second coming of our Lord. The entire prophetic Word bears witness to this. "Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of battle. On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem" (Zech. 14:3–4).

Meanwhile the people, under Jehovah's judgment, were like a bruised reed and a dimly burning wick. But the true Servant steps in and secures the full deliverance. He had held His peace a long time. Now He would deliver, and that deliverance would put to shame those who trusted in idols. The result of judgment on the nations is a new song to the Lord and His praise from the end of the earth.

The deliverance under Cyrus only pointed forward to a full and final one. Meanwhile the state of the people under the Lord's judgment was like a bruised reed and a dimly burning wick. But the intervention of the true Servant secures the full deliverance. He had held His peace for a long time. Now He would deliver His people, and that deliverance would put to shame those who trusted in idols.

The judgment of the nations is the road to this time of universal praise. The chapter opened with Him in grace, as the lowly Man. Now it shows Him in judgment as "a Man of war," prevailing against His enemies. For a "long time" God has borne with the nations that worship idols. At last He will execute judgment and lay their lands waste.

Yet He, whose glory was beyond all competition, showed it first in perfect, quiet lowliness. What marked Him was not a far-reaching testimony but meek withdrawal. He withdrew from murderous hatred, and also from the crowds that followed Him and the praise of those He healed, who would have spread His fame. He "ordered them not to make Him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah." His second coming ends this state of things in victory. Then He will set justice in the earth, and the coastlands will wait for His law.

Silenced by His word and baffled by the work of His goodness, they go out and hold a council to put Him to death. While they are on the line of murder He goes on in His work of mercy, taking, so to speak, no notice, until He brings forth judgment to victory. But the moment is near when He will turn His attention to these. Then He will say, "For a long time I have held My peace, I have been still and restrained Myself; now I will cry like a woman in labour. I will destroy and devour at once."

God kept silence and bore long in patience. So men thought that all was well, and that God, like themselves, was satisfied with outward religious practices. But when God speaks, He raises the question of man's unrighteousness. "These things you have done." Man's religion is one of outward forms with nothing to disturb the conscience.

Moreover, the judgment of the nations will lead to the deliverance of Israel. At the Red Sea, the Lord led His people by a way they had not known and made the darkness light before them. He will do it again. He will lead them by a path never yet walked into light and blessing, to the utter shame of those who have trusted in idols.

God will bring this time of universal praise through the judgment of the nations. The One presented in grace at the beginning of the chapter as the lowly Man now appears in judgment as "a man of war" prevailing against His enemies. For a "long time" God has borne with idolatrous nations, but at last He will execute judgment and lay their lands waste.

A mountain as a symbol represents a kingdom (Isa. 2:2; Zech. 4:7; Jer. 51:25) or a firmly established power (Ps. 46:2; Rev. 6:14; Rev. 16:20). The key idea to grasp in these prophetic symbols is a strong, united, firmly settled power — and that power itself becomes the target of God's governmental vengeance.

In Matthew 12 the King is seen acting in mercy, and this stirs up the leaders so much that they seek to destroy Him. While they are set on murder, He goes on with His work of mercy. He takes no notice, so to speak, until He brings judgment to victory. But the moment is at hand when He will turn His attention to them. Then "the Lord will go out like a mighty man, He will stir up jealousy like a man of war… I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and held back; now I will cry out like a woman in labour."

Moreover, the judgment of the nations will lead to the deliverance of Israel. At the Red Sea Jehovah led His people by a way they had not known, and made the darkness light before them. So again the Lord will lead them by a path no one has walked before, into light and blessing, to the utter shame of those who have trusted in idols.

These new things will move those who enter into them to "Sing to the Lord a new song." Verses 10-12 are full of the thought of how the Lord will show His glory and how His praise will be sung. But the next verses show that what will bring blessing to His people will mean judgment and destruction to His foes. While the call will come to many who were once deaf and blind, that they may hear and see, the folly and judgment of those who turned to idols will be revealed.

Looking back at the prophet [Isaiah 42:1-4], we see the force of a passage that is often twisted from its true meaning. The deliverance under Cyrus only pointed on to a full and final one. Meanwhile the state of the people under Jehovah's judgment was like a bruised reed and a dimly burning wick. But the intervention of the true Servant secures the full deliverance.

Christ is His Servant in lowliness, and will be in power. He will carry out all His purposes without fail. So Jehovah will "lead the blind," and who is blind as Israel, having every opportunity and observing nothing? God will glorify His Law and ways, yet Israel is oppressed, for he has sinned. But God has formed him for Himself. He need not fear; He will deliver. Despite all his failure, Israel is not to think of the old things, but to count on this faithfulness of delivering grace.

Israel is in view here — "perfect," yet "blind." Their perfection lay in privilege, and so in solemn responsibility; but their failure was terrible.

Moreover, the judgment of the nations will lead to the deliverance of Israel. As at the Red Sea, Jehovah led His people by a way they had not known and made the darkness light before them. In the same way, the Lord will again lead them into light and blessing by a path never walked before, to the utter shame of those who have trusted in idols. Let the deaf hear and the blind see what God will do for Israel.

They are under His hand for good and not for evil. Though He leads the blind by a way they do not know, He will in the end make darkness light before them. He will turn the shadow of death into morning — "a morning without clouds."

The Lord took personal charge of the afflicted man. He took hold of him by the hand, and led him in his blindness and darkness away from the houses of men. What did this action suggest? To those whose hearts were filled with the ancient prophecies, would it not recall Jehovah's promise to the nation: "I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know ... I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground"?

In the day that is coming, the blind will look to Jehovah-Jesus so that they may see. We see a small foretaste of it in the two blind men who followed Him into the house and confessed their faith.

Such has been the way of Jehovah in chastening His rebellious people. Nor does He disguise the severity of His discipline. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been in vain, as the next chapter declares His faithful affection when they did not know it. But they will yet, and soon, learn it in His grace.

In this first section of Isaiah, we find references to idols in every chapter, and this in connection with Israel (see Isa. 40:18–25; Isa. 41:21–29; Isa. 42:17 ... Isa. 48:5). So it becomes clear that the leading subject is God's controversy with Israel about their idolatry.

The judgment of the nations will lead to the deliverance of Israel. At the Red Sea the Lord led His people by a way they had not known, and made the darkness light before them. In the same way He will again lead them by a path no one has walked before, into light and blessing. Those who have trusted in idols will be utterly ashamed. Let the deaf hear and the blind see what God will do for Israel.

Here the Lord speaks in magnificent terms of what He will accomplish through His own name and glory, in contrast with carved images: "I am the LORD; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols."

God Himself answers the challenge. These idols are "less than nothing" and their work is "nothing at all", and the man who puts his trust in them is detestable in the sight of the LORD.

From verse 18 onward we see the utter shame of those who trust in these lying, empty things. It is pressed home to touch the conscience of the guilty Jew... Could Israel as they are testify for the Lord? How could they look the nations in the face and correct their idolatries? What were they themselves, after all the kindness of the true God?

To put confidence in anything but the living God is idolatry. Scripture even calls greed idolatry (Col. 3:5), because it shows that something has displaced God in the affections of the heart.

This has been the Lord's way in disciplining His rebellious people. He does not hide how severe that discipline is. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been in vain. The next chapter declares His faithful love for them at a time when they did not know it. But they will yet, and soon, learn it in His grace.

From verse 18 onward we have the utter shame of those who trust in these lying vanities pressed home, so as to touch the conscience of the guilty Jew... Could Israel as they are testify for Jehovah? How could they look the Gentiles in the face and rebuke their idolatries? What were they themselves, after all the favours of the true God?

The people, however, did not have a circumcised ear for the messages that came to them from on high. Their attention was continually claimed by Jehovah, and the great declarations He made when they became the keepers of the divine law were introduced by that significant formula which they vainly boasted in: "Hear, O Israel"... But Israel was deaf to all the revelations made... They had a separate and favoured position given to them as a nation, and so they are described as the people "who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears," because they utterly failed to use the privileges and opportunities given to them.

God had called Israel as His servant, and they should have been a messenger to the nations on His behalf. Yet they had been blind in all essential things. As to privilege they were "perfect"; as to their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 indicates, God is not thereby defeated. His righteousness will be established and His law magnified and made honourable — doubtless in connection with His true Servant.

If the coming of Christ in power brings deliverance for His people, His coming in humiliation exposed their low moral condition, as set out in these closing verses. Christ is not only the servant of Jehovah; as such, He was a messenger to His people. In the perfection of His devotedness He was blind and deaf to all but Jehovah. Seeing many things and with opened ears, yet He never turned aside from the path of perfect obedience.

As at the Red Sea, Jehovah led His people by a way they had not known and made the darkness light before them, so again the Lord will lead them by a path never walked before, into light and blessing, to the utter shame of those who have trusted in idols. Let the deaf hear and the blind see what God will do for Israel.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is given "to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon". Israel needs Him to do this for them, for they have become blind, and a people hidden in prison houses (vv. 18-22)... But brought into contact with Christ the personal Servant, their eyes will be opened, and the works of God will be publicly displayed in the nation, as they were in the one blind man of John 9 — "that the works of God might be displayed in him."

Israel, I believe. The beginning of the chapter refers, beyond a doubt, to our Lord — the latter part to the people. Verse 19 was wrongly applied to Christ for two reasons. People assumed that "my servant" must mean the same person in both passages, and they thought that meshullam means someone who is morally perfect. On the first point, the context leaves no doubt that Israel is meant, in contrast with the idol-worshipping nations — Israel called out to be the witness of the true God. The word meshullam applies to that place of favour and responsibility, as God's friend in the world (though, sadly, unfaithful in it, "deaf" and "blind"). It does not mean the absence of sin.

Who is as "blind" and "deaf" as the Lord was on that occasion in John 8? There He took His place in the service of God's grace to sinners, not counting their trespasses against them. (See Isa. 42:19; 2 Cor. 5:19)

Israel had been called as God's servant and should have been a messenger to the nations on His behalf, yet they had been blind about everything that mattered. In privilege they were "perfect"; in their moral state they were blind.

Could Israel, as they are, be a witness for Jehovah? How could they look the nations in the face and rebuke their idol worship? What were they themselves, after all the kindness of the true God?… Their perfection lay in privilege, and so in solemn responsibility — but their failure was terrible.

Jehovah kept calling for their attention. When they received the divine law, His great declarations to them opened with the very words they proudly repeated, though their boast was empty: "Hear, O Israel"… God gave them a separate and favoured position as a nation. Yet Isaiah calls them the people "who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears" (Isa. 43:8), because they completely failed to use the privileges and opportunities He gave them.

When the glory of Jehovah appears, He who had kept silent for a long time will deliver His blind and deaf people Israel, who had not understood His ways. He will magnify His law. But why then are the people robbed and spoiled? Jehovah had given them up because of their disobedience.

They had sinned against the Lord and turned to idols. So as the Lord's national servant and messenger, Israel was useless (v. 19). But once they are brought into contact with Christ the personal Servant, their eyes will be opened. God will then display His works openly in the nation, as He did in the one blind man of John 9… Israel's eyes will be opened, and they will know the Lord and believe. So they will be His fitted witnesses (Isa. 43:10).

The beginning of the chapter refers, beyond a doubt, to our Lord — the latter part to the people. The wrong application of verse 19 to Christ arose out of two things. First, the assumption that "my servant" must refer to the same person in both passages. Second, the notion that the word means one who is morally perfect. As to the first, the context leaves no doubt that Israel is meant, in contrast with the heathen idolaters. Israel was called out to be the witness of the true God. The word meshullem applies to this position of favour and responsibility, as God's friend in the world — not to the absence of sin. Sadly, Israel was unfaithful in that place, "deaf" and "blind".

In the perfection of His devotedness He was blind and deaf to all but Jehovah. Seeing many things and with opened ears, yet He never swerved from the path of perfect obedience.

Israel had been called as God's servant and should have been a messenger to the nations on His behalf, yet they had been blind in all essential things. As to privilege they were "perfect"; as to their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 shows, God is not defeated by this. He will establish His righteousness, and He will magnify His law and make it honourable — doubtless in connection with His true Servant.

The people had no open ear for the messages that came to them from on high. Jehovah kept claiming their attention. When they became the keepers of the divine law, His great declarations opened with the formula they made their empty boast: "Hear, O Israel." But Israel was deaf to all the revelations made… God gave them a separate and favoured position as a nation, and so Scripture calls them the "people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears," since they made no use of the privileges and opportunities given to them.

Could Israel, as they are, testify for Jehovah? How could they look the Gentiles in the face and reprove their idolatries? What were they themselves after all the favours of the true God?

Our Lord Jesus Christ is given "to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon." Israel needs Him to do this, for they have become blind, a people hidden in prison houses. They had sinned against the Lord and become idolatrous, so Israel as the Lord's national servant and messenger was useless. But bring them into contact with Christ the personal Servant, and their eyes will be opened… They shall know the Lord and believe, and so they shall be His fitted witnesses against idolatry, and of the one true God.

It is a most dangerous thing to deal in truth you do not feel. It brings on a heartless indifference, a light spirit and a numb conscience, and that is appalling to people of serious piety… Far better to know a little in reality and power than to profess a mass of truth that lies powerless in the mind and shapes nothing in the life.

God had called Israel to be His servant. They should have carried His message to the nations. Instead they were blind in every essential thing. In privilege they were "perfect"; in their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 shows, this does not defeat God. He will establish His righteousness, and He will make His law great and honoured — no doubt through His true Servant. But for now everything on Israel's side was failure, so they were plundered and robbed, and their disobedience dishonoured the law.

Christ is not only the servant of Jehovah. As that servant, He was also a messenger to His people. In the perfection of His devotion He was blind and deaf to all but Jehovah. He saw many things, and His ears were open, yet He never turned aside from the path of perfect obedience. He magnified the law and made it honourable, and He was the One with whom Jehovah was "well pleased."

The servant here is Israel, I believe. The beginning of the chapter clearly refers to our Lord; the later part refers to the people. Verse 19 has been wrongly applied to Christ for two reasons. People assumed that "my servant" must mean the same person in both passages. And they thought the Hebrew word means someone who is morally perfect. On the first point, the context leaves no doubt that Israel is meant, in contrast with the idol-worshipping nations — Israel called out to be the witness of the true God. The word meshullem fits that position of favour and responsibility, as God's friend in the world (though sadly unfaithful in it, "deaf" and "blind"). It does not mean the absence of sin.

He was born under the law, and He kept it perfectly. He needed no discipline, as the nation did when they broke it (Gal. 4:4; Deut. 8:5). Where the people had failed, He did "magnify the law, and make it honourable" (Isa. 42:21). Yet His obedience went far beyond what the law required (Phil. 2:8).

The reader must judge for himself how bearing the curse by hanging on the tree, or Christ's being obedient to death, bears on the claim that Christ's keeping of the law during His life is credited to us for righteousness. Christ did magnify the law and make it honourable, both by keeping it in His life and by bearing its curse in His death. That is certainly true. But it does not touch the question of whether His law-keeping is credited to us for righteousness.

Never was the law so honoured and established as in the death of Christ. The Gospel honours it by allowing it to do its proper work of bringing in the knowledge of sin. Then the Gospel steps in and does what the law was never intended to do. It brings complete justification to the believer in Jesus.

God had called Israel to be His servant, and they should have been a messenger to the nations for Him. Yet they were blind in everything that mattered. In privilege they were "perfect"; in their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 shows, this does not defeat God. He will establish His righteousness and make His law great and honourable — no doubt through His true Servant. But for now Israel had failed completely. So they were plundered and robbed, and their disobedience dishonoured the law.

Israel was robbed and plundered. The Lord was the cause: He had given them up for their disobedience, and had poured out His anger on them. But now everything was changed. The Lord had redeemed Israel and called them by His name — they were His. He would keep them safe through every danger and bring them out of every place, for the Lord had created them for His glory.

But, in contrast to Christ, Israel had not walked in the Lord's ways, neither were they obedient to His law. Therefore, in the government of God they had become a prey to their enemies. But despite all God's dealings with them, Israel did not take it to heart.

Before they were carried away to Babylon, Israel had failed completely as the Lord's servant. Their witness was not to Him but to carved and cast images, to which they said, "You are our gods." Who was ever as blind and deaf as this people? The Lord had bared His mighty arm for them, and from heaven made them hear His voice as no other people ever did. And so the Lord gave Jacob up to be plundered, and Israel to the robbers… Under the enemy's power they were silent about Him whose praise fills the heavens, and will fill the earth and all creation.

To make his own meaning work, this writer turns into a figure whatever stands in his way. So the people "plundered and looted," "trapped in holes," "hidden in prisons," "plunder with none to rescue," "spoil with none to say, Restore" (Isa. 42:22), are said to be the people bound in the prison-house of death. And so a promise of restoration is easily found for them.

This has been the Lord's way in disciplining His rebellious people. He does not disguise how severe that discipline is. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been wasted. The next chapter declares the faithful love He had for them when they did not know it. And they will soon learn it, in His grace.

How low God's people have sunk when the Lord's discipline leaves them untouched! But will God give up His people because of that? No! … So, despite all their failure, the LORD can say to Israel, "Fear not."

From verse 18 onward the passage presses home the utter shame of those who trust in these lying vanities, so as to touch the conscience of the guilty Jew. "Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!" (v. 18). Could Israel as they are testify for Jehovah? How could they look the other nations in the face and rebuke their idol worship? What were they themselves, after all the favours of the true God? … Israel is in view: "perfect," yet "blind." Their privilege was perfect, and it laid a solemn responsibility on them. But their failure was terrible.

The people did not have an open ear for the messages that came to them from on high. Jehovah kept claiming their attention. When they became the keepers of the divine law, He introduced His great declarations with that striking phrase which they made their empty boast: "Hear, O Israel" (Deut. 5:1; Deut. 6:3-4). But Israel was deaf to all the revelations made… God gave them a separate and favoured position as a nation. So Scripture describes them as the people "who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears" (Isa. 43:8), because they made no use of the privileges and opportunities given them.

But Israel was robbed and plundered. Jehovah Himself was the cause: He had given them up for their disobedience, and He had poured out His anger upon them. But now all was changed. He had redeemed Israel and called them by His name — they were His. He would keep them safe through every danger and bring them out from every place, for Jehovah had created them for His glory.

Such has been the way of Jehovah in chastening His rebellious people. Nor does He disguise the severity of His discipline. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been in vain. The next chapter declares His faithful affection towards them while they did not know it. But they will yet, and soon, learn it in His grace.

A second lesson is that God's government of His people has one aim: that they may lay their condition to heart. This is why He uses His rod… He still acts on the same principle today, and many a chastening that falls on His people has this same purpose. And nothing shows the insensitivity of our hearts so clearly as this. We pass through trials, alone or with others. Then we pay little or no attention to the object God had in view, and flatter ourselves that all is well.

The chapter closes with an appeal to those of Isaiah's day in view of these things… Still, as verse 21 shows, God is not defeated by it. He will establish His righteousness, and He will magnify His law and make it honourable — no doubt in connection with His true Servant. But for the present all was failure on Israel's part. So they were plundered and robbed, and their disobedience dishonoured the law.

Before Babylon carried them away, Israel had failed completely as Jehovah's servant. Their witness was not to Him but to carved and cast images. They said to those images, "You are our gods." Who was as blind and deaf as this people? Jehovah had laid bare His mighty arm to them, and from the heavens He made them hear His voice as no other people ever did. And therefore Jehovah gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers.

God had called Israel as His servant. They should have been His messengers to the nations, yet they had been blind in all essential things. In privilege they were "perfect"; in their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 shows, this does not defeat God. He will establish His righteousness, and He will make His law great and honourable — no doubt in connection with His true Servant. But for the present Israel had failed in everything. So they were plundered and robbed, and their disobedience dishonoured the law.

A Hebrew concordance will show that six different Hebrew words are translated "law"… The same word appears in Proverbs 6:20, "Do not forsake the law," that is, the teaching, "of your mother." It appears again in Isaiah 42:24. There, even if others would not obey His teaching, He at least would magnify it and make it honourable, though others might despise it. "Law" here takes in, no doubt, the whole teaching of Jehovah to His people, whether in the Ten Commandments or elsewhere.

In contrast to Christ, Israel had not walked in Jehovah's ways, and they were not obedient to His law. So under God's government they became prey to their enemies. Yet despite all God's dealings with them, Israel had not taken it to heart.

There are three things in God's discipline of His people: first, the instrument; second, the enemy's malice; third, the hidden intention of God. If one looks at the instrument, it is only to accuse, or to be discontented. But even behind the malice of Satan there is the goodness of God. Sometimes the heart admits that the discipline has come because of known evil, and then would just reform itself a little. But the hand of God stays stretched out still, because there is no return to Him who smites, only the effort to appease God by a certain amount of hypocrisy. The conscience has not been put in direct relation with God.

This has been Jehovah's way in disciplining His rebellious people. He does not hide how severe His discipline is. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been in vain. The next chapter tells of His faithful love for them when they did not know it. But soon they will learn it in His grace.

We might have expected therefore that Isaiah 43 would have contained further warnings and judgments, but it opens rather on a note of grace… In the presence of their evil God falls back upon His original purpose and His redeeming work.

Israel is in view here — "perfect," yet "blind." Such was their perfection in privilege, and so in their solemn responsibility. And such was their sad failure. Jehovah, by contrast, is right in all His ways.

But, in contrast to Christ, Israel had not walked in Jehovah's ways, and they were not obedient to His law. Therefore, in the government of God they had become a prey to their enemies. But despite all God's dealings Israel had not taken it to heart.

Israel had been called as God's servant and should have been a messenger to the nations on His behalf, yet they had been blind in all essential things. As to privilege they were "perfect"; as to their moral state they were blind. Still, as verse 21 shows, God is not defeated by this. He will establish His righteousness, and He will magnify His law and make it honourable — doubtless in connection with His true Servant. But for the present all was failure on Israel's part. So they were spoiled and robbed, and their disobedience dishonoured the law.

From the close of the last chapter we learn that Israel had not only broken the law and rebelled against Jehovah. Under God's discipline, "he did not take it to heart." How low the moral condition of God's people must be when the Lord's discipline leaves them untouched!

Such is the hardening character of sin; and such is the powerlessness of judgment by itself to break the heart and bring the soul under God.

The soul that is not exercised by the trial goes through it in pride, or in its own natural strength. The heart grows hard and perhaps the conscience is deadened, and so the blessing is lost, because God wants to deal with the conscience above all… Ahaz was a man whom affliction could not soften; on the contrary, it hardened him.

Such has been Jehovah's way in chastening His rebellious people. He does not hide the severity of His discipline. The day is coming when it will prove not to have been in vain, as the next chapter declares His faithful affection at a time when they did not know it. But soon they will learn it in His grace.

We might have expected Isaiah 43 to contain further warnings and judgments. Instead it opens on a note of grace… In the presence of their evil God falls back on His original purpose and His redeeming work.

How low God's people must have sunk when the Lord's discipline leaves them untouched! But will God, therefore, give up His people? Ah no! ... So, despite all their failure, the LORD can say to Israel, "Fear not." Judged by their sad history with God, they had everything to fear. But now God will act toward them on the ground of what He has done for them in grace.

Israel had been unfaithful to His name. That brought the LORD's anger on them, though idolatry had blinded them, so they neither understood it nor felt it. In this chapter He proclaims His faithfulness — the One who had called Israel by name and made them His own.

Israel's God is the only God! He "created" Jacob! He "formed" the nation! And though, like her father, she "would surely deal treacherously, and from before birth was called a rebel" (Isaiah 48:8), He still "redeemed" her! Yes, He "called" her by her name; "you are Mine!" She can therefore witness not only against idols, but to the only God.