mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 40.xml

<div2 id="Is.xli" n="xli" next="Is.xlii" prev="Is.xl" progress="14.44%" title="Chapter XL">
<h2 id="Is.xli-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xli-p0.2">CHAP. XL.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xli-p1" shownumber="no">At this chapter begins the latter part of the
prophecy of this book, which is not only divided from the former by
the historical chapters that come between, but seems to be
distinguished from it in the scope and style of it. In the former
part the name of the prophet was frequently prefixed to the
particular sermons, besides the general title (as <scripRef id="Is.xli-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.1 Bible:Isa.7.3 Bible:Isa.13.1" parsed="|Isa|2|1|0|0;|Isa|7|3|0|0;|Isa|13|1|0|0" passage="Isa 2:1,7:3,13:1"><i>ch.</i> ii. 1; vii. 3; xiii.
1</scripRef>); but this is all one continued discourse, and the
prophet not so much as once named. That consisted of many burdens,
many woes; this consists of many blessings. There the distress
which the people of God were in by the Assyrian, and their
deliverance out of that, were chiefly prophesied of; but that is
here spoken of as a thing past (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.52.4" parsed="|Isa|52|4|0|0" passage="Isa 52:4"><i>ch.</i> lii. 4</scripRef>); and the captivity in
Babylon, and their deliverance out of that, which were much greater
events, of more extensive and abiding concern, are here largely
foretold. Before God sent his people into captivity he furnished
them with precious promises for their support and comfort in their
trouble; and we may well imagine of what great use to them the
glorious, gracious, light of this prophecy was, in that cloudy and
dark day, and how much it helped to dry up their tears by the
rivers of Babylon. But it looks further yet, and to greater things;
much of Christ and gospel grace we meet with in the foregoing part
of this book, but in this latter part we shall find much more; and,
as if it were designed for a prophetic summary of the New
Testament, it begins with that which begins the gospels, "The voice
of one crying in the wilderness" (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.3" parsed="|Isa|40|3|0|0" passage="Isa 40:3"><i>ch.</i> xl. 3</scripRef>), and concludes with that
which concludes the book of the Revelation, "The new heavens and
the new earth," (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.22" parsed="|Isa|66|22|0|0" passage="Isa 66:22"><i>ch.</i> lxvi.
22</scripRef>). Even Mr. White acknowledges that, as all the
mercies of God to the Jewish nation bore some resemblance to those
glorious things performed by our Saviour for man's redemption, so
they are by the Spirit of God expressed in such terms as show
plainly that while the prophet is speaking of the redemption of the
Jews he had in his thoughts a more glorious deliverance. And we
need not look for any further accomplishment of these prophecies
yet to come; for if Jesus be he, and his kingdom be it, that should
come, we are to look for no other, but the carrying on and
completing of the same blessed work which was begun in the first
preaching and planting of Christianity in the world.</p>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xli-p2" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have, I. Orders given to preach
and publish the glad tidings of redemption, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.401 Bible:Isa.2" parsed="|Isa|401|0|0|0;|Isa|2|0|0|0" passage="Isa 401,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. II. These glad tidings introduced
by a voice in the wilderness, which gives assurance that all
obstructions shall be removed (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.3-Isa.40.5" parsed="|Isa|40|3|40|5" passage="Isa 40:3-5">ver.
3-5</scripRef>), and that, though all creatures fail and fade, the
word of God shall be established and accomplished, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.5-Isa.40.8" parsed="|Isa|40|5|40|8" passage="Isa 40:5-8">ver. 5-8</scripRef>. III. A joyful prospect
given to the people of God of the happiness which this redemption
should bring along with it, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.9-Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|9|40|11" passage="Isa 40:9-11">ver.
9-11</scripRef>. IV. The sovereignty and power of that God
magnified who undertakes to work out this redemption, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.12-Isa.40.17" parsed="|Isa|40|12|40|17" passage="Isa 40:12-17">ver. 12-17</scripRef>. V. Idols therefore
triumphed over and idolaters upbraided with their folly, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.18-Isa.40.26" parsed="|Isa|40|18|40|26" passage="Isa 40:18-26">ver. 18-26</scripRef>. VI. A reproof given
to the people of God for their fears and despondencies, and enough
said, in a few words, to silence these fears, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p2.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.27-Isa.40.31" parsed="|Isa|40|27|40|31" passage="Isa 40:27-31">ver. 27-31</scripRef>. And we, through patience and
comfort of this scripture, may have hope.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xli-p2.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40" parsed="|Isa|40|0|0|0" passage="Isa 40" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xli-p2.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.1-Isa.40.2" parsed="|Isa|40|1|40|2" passage="Isa 40:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p2.10">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p2.11">Evangelical Predictions. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p2.12">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p3" shownumber="no">1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your
God.   2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,
that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:
for she hath received of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p3.1">Lord</span>'s
hand double for all her sins.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p4" shownumber="no">We have here the commission and
instructions given, not to this prophet only, but, with him, to all
the Lord's prophets, nay, and to all Christ's ministers, to
proclaim comfort to God's people. 1. This did not only warrant, but
enjoin, this prophet himself to encourage the good people who lived
in his own time, who could not but have very melancholy
apprehensions of things when they saw Judah and Jerusalem by their
daring impieties ripening apace for ruin, and God in his providence
hastening ruin upon them. Let them be sure that, notwithstanding
all this, God had mercy in store for them. 2. It was especially a
direction to the prophets that should live in the time of
captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins; they must encourage the
captives to hope for enlargement in due time. 3. Gospel ministers,
being employed by the blessed Spirit as comforters, and as helpers
of the joy of Christians, are here put in mind of their business.
Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p5" shownumber="no">I. Comfortable words directed to God's
people in general, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.1" parsed="|Isa|40|1|0|0" passage="Isa 40:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>. The prophets have instructions from their God (for he
is the <i>Lord God of the holy prophets,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.6" parsed="|Rev|22|6|0|0" passage="Re 22:6">Rev. xxii. 6</scripRef>) to comfort the people of God;
and the charge is doubled, <i>Comfort you, comfort you</i>—not
because the prophets are unwilling to do it (no, it is the most
pleasant part of their work), but because sometimes the souls of
God's people refuse to be comforted, and their comforters must
repeat things again and again, ere they can fasten any thing upon
them. Observe here, 1. There are a people in the world that are
God's people. 2. It is the will of God that his people should be a
comforted people, even in the worst of times. 3. It is the work and
business of ministers to do what they can for the comfort of God's
people. 4. Words of conviction, such as we had in the former part
of this book, must be followed with words of comfort, such as we
have here; for he that has torn will heal us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p6" shownumber="no">II. Comfortable words directed to Jerusalem
in particular: "<i>Speak to the heart of Jerusalem</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.2" parsed="|Isa|40|2|0|0" passage="Isa 40:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>); speak that which will
revive her heart, and be a cordial to her and to all that belong to
her and wish her well. Do not whisper it, but <i>cry unto her:</i>
cry aloud, to show saints their comforts as well as to show sinners
their transgressions; make her hear it:" 1. "That the days of her
trouble are numbered and finished: <i>Her warfare is
accomplished,</i> the set time of her servitude; the campaign is
now at an end, and she shall retire into quarters of refreshment."
Human life is a warfare (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.7.1" parsed="|Job|7|1|0|0" passage="Job 7:1">Job vii.
1</scripRef>); the Christian life much more. But the struggle will
not last always; the warfare will be accomplished, and then the
good soldiers shall not only enter into rest, but be sure of their
pay. 2. "That the cause of her trouble is removed, and, when that
is taken away, the effect will cease. Tell her that <i>her iniquity
is pardoned,</i> God is reconciled to her, and she shall no longer
be treated as one guilty before him." Nothing can be spoken more
comfortably than this, <i>Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be
forgiven thee.</i> Troubles are <i>then</i> removed in love when
sin is pardoned. 3. "That the end of her trouble is answered:
<i>She has received of the Lord double for</i> the cure of <i>all
her sins,</i> sufficient, and more than sufficient, to separate
between her and her idols," the worship of which was the great sin
for which God had a controversy with them, and from which he
designed to reclaim them by their captivity in Babylon: and it had
that effect upon them; it begat in them a rooted antipathy to
idolatry, and was physic doubly strong for the purging out of that
iniquity. Or it may be taken as the language of the divine
compassion: <i>His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xli-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.10.16" parsed="|Judg|10|16|0|0" passage="Jdg 10:16">Judges x. 16</scripRef>), and, like
a tender father, <i>since he spoke against them he earnestly
remembered them</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.20" parsed="|Jer|31|20|0|0" passage="Jer 31:20">Jer. xxxi.
20</scripRef>), and was ready to say that he had given them too
much correction. They, being very penitent, acknowledged that God
has <i>punished them less than their iniquities deserved;</i> but
he, being very pitiful, owned, in a manner, that he had punished
them more than they deserved. True penitents have indeed, in Christ
and his sufferings, <i>received of the Lord's hand double for all
their sins;</i> for the satisfaction Christ made by his death was
of such an infinite value that it was more than double to the
demerits of sin; <i>for God spared not his own Son.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xli-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.3-Isa.40.8" parsed="|Isa|40|3|40|8" passage="Isa 40:3-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p6.6">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p6.7">Evangelical Predictions. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p6.8">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p7" shownumber="no">3 The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p7.1">Lord</span>, make straight in the desert a highway for
our God.   4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain
and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain:   5 And the glory of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p7.2">Lord</span> shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see <i>it</i> together: for the mouth of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p7.3">Lord</span> hath spoken <i>it.</i>   6 The voice
said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh <i>is</i>
grass, and all the goodliness thereof <i>is</i> as the flower of
the field:   7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because
the spirit of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p7.4">Lord</span> bloweth upon
it: surely the people <i>is</i> grass.   8 The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand
for ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p8" shownumber="no">The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time,
having come, the people of God must be prepared, by repentance and
faith, for the favours designed them; and, in order to call them to
both these, we have here <i>the voice of one crying in the
wilderness,</i> which <i>may</i> be applied to those prophets who
were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when
they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon
them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties
which stood in the way of their deliverance should be got over. It
is a good sign that mercy is preparing for us if we find God's
grace preparing us for it, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.17" parsed="|Ps|10|17|0|0" passage="Ps 10:17">Ps. x.
17</scripRef>. But it <i>must</i> be applied to John the Baptist;
for, though God was the speaker, he was <i>the voice of one crying
in the wilderness,</i> and his business was to <i>prepare the way
of the Lord,</i> to dispose men's minds for the reception and
entertainment of the gospel of Christ. The way of the Lord is
prepared,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p9" shownumber="no">I. By repentance for sin; that was it which
John Baptist preached to all Judah and Jerusalem (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.2 Bible:Matt.3.5" parsed="|Matt|3|2|0|0;|Matt|3|5|0|0" passage="Mt 3:2,5">Matt. iii. 2, 5</scripRef>), and thereby <i>made
ready a people prepared for the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.17" parsed="|Luke|1|17|0|0" passage="Lu 1:17">Luke i. 17</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p10" shownumber="no">1. The alarm is given; let all take notice
of it at their peril; God is coming in a way of mercy, and we must
prepare for him, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.3-Isa.40.5" parsed="|Isa|40|3|40|5" passage="Isa 40:3-5"><i>v.</i>
3-5</scripRef>. If we apply it to their captivity, it may be taken
as a promise that, whatever difficulties lie in their way, when
they return they shall be removed. This voice in the wilderness
(divine power going along with it) sets pioneers on work to level
the roads. But it may be taken as a call to duty, and it is the
same duty that we are called to, in preparation for Christ's
entrance into our souls. (1.) We must get into such a frame of
spirit as will dispose us to receive Christ and his gospel:
"<i>Prepare you the way of the Lord;</i> prepare yourselves for
him, and let all that be suppressed which would be an obstruction
to his entrance. Make room for Christ: <i>Make straight a highway
for him.</i>" If he prepare the end for us, we ought surely to
prepare the way for him. Prepare for the Saviour; <i>lift up your
heads, O you gates!</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.24.7 Bible:Ps.24.9" parsed="|Ps|24|7|0|0;|Ps|24|9|0|0" passage="Ps 24:7,9">Ps. xxiv. 7,
9</scripRef>. Prepare for the salvation, the great salvation, and
other minor deliverances. Let us get to be fit for them, and then
God will work them out. Let us not stand in our own light, nor put
a bar in our own door, but find, or make, a highway for him, even
in that which was desert ground. This is that for which he waits to
be gracious. (2.) We must get our hearts levelled by divine grace.
Those that are hindered from comfort in Christ by their dejections
and despondencies are the valleys that must be exalted. Those that
are hindered from comfort in Christ by a proud conceit of their own
merit and worth are the mountains and hills that must be made low.
Those that have entertained prejudices against the word and ways of
God, that are untractable, and disposed to thwart and contradict
even that which is plain and easy because it agrees not with their
corrupt inclinations and secular interests, are the crooked that
must be made straight and the rough places that must be made plain.
Let but the gospel of Christ have a fair hearing, and it cannot
fail of acceptance. This prepares the way of the Lord; and thus God
will by his grace prepare his own way in all the vessels of mercy,
whose hearts he opens as he did Lydia's.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p11" shownumber="no">2. When this is done <i>the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.5" parsed="|Isa|40|5|0|0" passage="Isa 40:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. (1.) When the captives are prepared for deliverance
Cyrus shall proclaim it, and those shall have the benefit of it,
and those only, whose hearts the Lord shall stir up with courage
and resolution to break through the discouragements that lay in
their way, and to make nothing of the hills, and valleys, and all
the rough places. (2.) When John Baptist has for some time preached
repentance, mortification, and reformation, and so made ready a
people prepared for the Lord (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.17" parsed="|Luke|1|17|0|0" passage="Lu 1:17">Luke i.
17</scripRef>), then the Messiah himself shall be revealed in his
glory, working miracles, which John did not, and by his grace,
which is his glory, binding up and healing with consolations those
whom John had wounded with convictions. And this revelation of
divine glory shall be <i>a light to lighten the Gentiles. All flesh
shall see it together,</i> and not the Jews only; they shall see
and admire it, see it and bid it welcome; as the return out of
captivity was taken notice of by the neighbouring nations,
<scripRef id="Is.xli-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.126.2" parsed="|Ps|126|2|0|0" passage="Ps 126:2">Ps. cxxvi. 2</scripRef>. And it shall
be the accomplishment of the word of God, not one <i>iota</i> or
tittle of which shall fall to the ground: <i>The mouth of the Lord
has spoken it,</i> and therefore the hand of the Lord will effect
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p12" shownumber="no">II. By confidence in the word of the Lord,
and not in any creature. <i>The mouth of the Lord having spoken
it,</i> the voice has this further to cry (he that has ears to hear
let him hear it), <i>The word of our God shall stand for ever,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xli-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.8" parsed="|Isa|40|8|0|0" passage="Isa 40:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p13" shownumber="no">1. By this accomplishment of the prophecies
and promises of salvation, and the performance of them to the
utmost in due time, it appears that the word of the Lord is sure
and what may be safely relied on. <i>Then</i> we are prepared for
deliverance when we depend entirely upon the word of God, build our
hopes on that, with an assurance that it will not make us ashamed:
in a dependence upon this word we must be brought to own that
<i>all flesh is grass,</i> withering and fading. (1.) The power of
man, when it does appear against the deliverance, is not to be
feared; for it shall be as grass before the word of the Lord: it
shall wither and be trodden down. The insulting Babylonians, who
promise themselves that the desolations of Jerusalem shall be
perpetual, are but as grass which the spirit of the Lord blows
upon, makes nothing of, but blasts all its glory; for the word of
the Lord, which promises their deliverance, shall stand for ever,
and it is not in the power of their enemies to hinder the execution
of it. (2.) The power of man, when it would appear for the
deliverance, is not to be trusted to; for it is but as grass in
comparison with the word of the Lord, which is the only firm
foundation for us to build our hope upon. When God is about to work
salvation for his people he will take them off from depending upon
creatures, and looking for it from hills and mountains. They shall
fail them, and their expectations from them shall be frustrated:
<i>The Spirit of the Lord shall blow upon them;</i> for God will
have no creature to be a rival with him for the hope and confidence
of his people; and, as it is his word only that shall stand for
ever, so in that word only our faith must stand. When we are
brought to this, then, and not till then, we are fit for mercy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p14" shownumber="no">2. The word of our God, that glory of the
Lord which is now to be revealed, the gospel, and that grace which
is brought with it to us and wrought by it in us, shall stand for
ever; and this is the satisfaction of all believers, when they find
all their creature-comforts withering and fading like grass. Thus
the apostle applies it to <i>the word which by the gospel is
preached unto us, and which lives and abides for ever as the
incorruptible seed by which we are born again,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.23-1Pet.1.25" parsed="|1Pet|1|23|1|25" passage="1Pe 1:23-25">1 Pet. i. 23-25</scripRef>. To prepare the
way of the Lord we must be convinced, (1.) Of the vanity of the
creature, that all flesh is grass, weak and withering. We ourselves
are so, and therefore cannot save ourselves; all our friends are
so, and therefore are unable to save us. All the beauty of the
creature, which might render it amiable, is but as the flower of
grass, soon blasted, and therefore cannot recommend us to God and
to his acceptance. We are dying creatures; all our comforts in this
word are dying comforts, and therefore cannot be the felicity of
our immortal souls. We must look further for a salvation, look
further for a portion. (2.) Of the validity of the promise of God.
We must be convinced that the word of the Lord can do that for us
which all flesh cannot—that, forasmuch as it stands for ever, it
will furnish us with a happiness that will run parallel with the
duration of our souls, which must live for ever; for the things
that are not seen, but must be believed, are eternal.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xli-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.9-Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|9|40|11" passage="Isa 40:9-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p14.3">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p14.4">Evangelical Predictions. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p14.5">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p15" shownumber="no">9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee
up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings,
lift up thy voice with strength; lift <i>it</i> up, be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!   10 Behold,
the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p15.1">God</span> will come with strong
<i>hand,</i> and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward
<i>is</i> with him, and his work before him.   11 He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his
arm, and carry <i>them</i> in his bosom, <i>and</i> shall gently
lead those that are with young.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p16" shownumber="no">It was promised (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.5" parsed="|Isa|40|5|0|0" passage="Isa 40:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>) <i>that the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed;</i> that is it with the hopes of which God's
people must be comforted. Now here we are told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p17" shownumber="no">I. How it shall be revealed, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.9" parsed="|Isa|40|9|0|0" passage="Isa 40:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. 1. It shall be revealed
to Zion and Jerusalem; notice shall be given of it to the remnant
that are left in Zion and Jerusalem, the poor of the land, who were
vine-dressers and husbandmen; it shall be told them that their
brethren shall return to them. This shall be told also to the
captives who belonged to Zion and Jerusalem, and retained their
affection for them. Zion is said to <i>dwell with the daughter of
Babylon</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.2.7" parsed="|Zech|2|7|0|0" passage="Zec 2:7">Zech. ii. 7</scripRef>);
and there she receives notice of Cyrus's gracious proclamation; and
so the margin reads it, <i>O thou that tellest good tidings to
Zion,</i> &amp;c., meaning the persons who were employed in
publishing that proclamation; let them do it with a good will, let
them make the country ring of it, and let them tell it to the sons
of Zion in their own language, <i>saying to them, Behold your
God.</i> 2. It shall be published by Zion and Jerusalem (so the
text reads it); those that remain there, or that have already
returned, when they find the deliverance proceeding towards
perfection, let them proclaim it in the most public places, whence
they may be best heard by all the cities of Judah; let them
proclaim it as loudly as they can: let them <i>lift up their voice
with strength,</i> and not be afraid of overstraining themselves;
let them not be afraid lest the enemy should hear it and quarrel
with them, or lest it should not prove true, or not such good
tidings as at first it appeared; let them say to the cities of
Judah, and all the inhabitants of the country, <i>Behold your
God.</i> When God is going on with the salvation of his people, let
them industriously spread the news among their friends, let them
tell them that it is God that has done it; whoever were the
instruments, God was the author; it is <i>their</i> God, a God in
covenant with them, and he does it as theirs, and they will reap
the benefit and comfort of it. "Behold him, take notice of his hand
in it, and look above second causes; behold, the God you have long
looked for has come at last (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.9" parsed="|Isa|25|9|0|0" passage="Isa 25:9"><i>ch.</i> xxv. 9</scripRef>): <i>This is our God, we
have waited for him.</i>" This may refer to the invitation which
was sent forth from Jerusalem to the cities of Judah, as soon as
they had set up an altar, immediately upon their return out of
captivity, to come and join with them in their sacrifices,
<scripRef id="Is.xli-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.3.2-Ezra.3.4" parsed="|Ezra|3|2|3|4" passage="Ezr 3:2-4">Ezra iii. 2-4</scripRef>. "When the
worship of God is set up again, send notice of it to all your
brethren, that they may share with you in the comfort of it." But
this was to have its full accomplishment in the apostles' public
and undaunted preaching of the gospel to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem. The voice crying in the wilderness gave notice that he
was coming; but now notice is given that he has come. <i>Behold the
Lamb of God;</i> take a full view of your Redeemer. Behold your
King, behold your God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p18" shownumber="no">II. What that glory is which shall be
revealed. "Your God will come, will show himself,"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p19" shownumber="no">1. "With the power and greatness of a
prince (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.10" parsed="|Isa|40|10|0|0" passage="Isa 40:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>):
<i>He will come with strong hand,</i> too strong to be obstructed,
though it may be opposed. His strong hand shall subdue his people
to himself, and shall restrain and conquer his and their enemies.
He will come who is strong enough to break through all the
difficulties that lie in his way." Our Lord Jesus was full of
power, a mighty Saviour. Some read, it, <i>He will come against the
mighty one,</i> and overpower him, overcome him. Satan is the
strong man armed; but our Lord Jesus is stronger than he, and he
shall make it to appear that he is so, for, (1.) He shall reign in
defiance of all opposition: <i>His arm shall rule,</i> shall
overrule <i>for him,</i> for the fulfilling of his counsels, to his
own glory; for he is his own end. (2.) He shall recompense to all
according to their works, as a righteous Judge: <i>His reward is
with him;</i> he brings along with him, as a returning prince,
punishments for the rebels and preferments for his loyal subjects.
(3.) He shall proceed and accomplish his purpose: <i>His work is
before him,</i> that is, he knows perfectly well what he has to do,
which way to go about it, and how to compass it. <i>He himself
knows what he will do.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p20" shownumber="no">2. "With the pity and tenderness of a
shepherd," <scripRef id="Is.xli-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|11|0|0" passage="Isa 40:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>.
God is the <i>Shepherd of Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.80.1" parsed="|Ps|80|1|0|0" passage="Ps 80:1">Ps. lxxx. 1</scripRef>); Christ is the good Shepherd,
<scripRef id="Is.xli-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:John.10.11" parsed="|John|10|11|0|0" passage="Joh 10:11">John x. 11</scripRef>. The same that
rules with the strong hand of a prince leads and feeds with the
kind hand of a shepherd. (1.) He takes care of all his flock, the
little flock: <i>He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.</i> His
word is food for his flock to feed on; his ordinances are fields
for them to feed in; his ministers are under-shepherds that are
appointed to attend them. (2.) He takes particular care of those
that most need his care, the lambs that are weak, and cannot help
themselves, and are unaccustomed to hardship, and <i>those that are
with young,</i> that are therefore heavy, and, if any harm be done
them, are in danger of casting their young. He particularly takes
care for a succession, that it may not fail or be cut off. The good
Shepherd has tender care for children that are towardly and
hopeful, for young converts, that are setting out in the way to
heaven, for weak believers, and those that are of a sorrowful
spirit. These are the lambs of his flock, that shall be sure to
want nothing that their case requires. [1.] He will gather them in
the arms of his power; his strength shall be made <i>perfect in
their weakness,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.12.9" parsed="|2Cor|12|9|0|0" passage="2Co 12:9">2 Cor. xii.
9</scripRef>. He will gather them in when they wander, gather them
up when they fall, gather them together when they are dispersed,
and gather them home to himself at last; and all this with his own
arm, out of which none shall be able to pluck them, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:John.10.28" parsed="|John|10|28|0|0" passage="Joh 10:28">John x. 28</scripRef>. [2.] He will carry them
in the bosom of his love and cherish them there. When they tire or
are weary, are sick and faint, when they meet with foul ways, he
will carry them on, and take care they are not left behind. [3.] He
will gently lead them. By his word he requires no more service, and
by his providence he inflicts no more trouble, than he will fit
them for; for he considers their frame.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xli-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.12-Isa.40.17" parsed="|Isa|40|12|40|17" passage="Isa 40:12-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p20.7">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p20.8">Evangelical Predictions. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p20.9">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p21" shownumber="no">12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of
his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the
dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in
scales, and the hills in a balance?   13 Who hath directed the
Spirit of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p21.1">Lord</span>, or <i>being</i>
his counsellor hath taught him?   14 With whom took he
counsel, and <i>who</i> instructed him, and taught him in the path
of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of
understanding?   15 Behold, the nations <i>are</i> as a drop
of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.   16
And Lebanon <i>is</i> not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts
thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.   17 All nations
before him <i>are</i> as nothing; and they are counted to him less
than nothing, and vanity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p22" shownumber="no">The scope of these verses is to show what a
great and glorious being the Lord Jehovah is, who is Israel's God
and Saviour. It comes in here, 1. To encourage his people that were
captives in Babylon to hope in him, and to depend upon him for
deliverance, though they were ever so weak and their oppressors
ever so strong. 2. To engage them to cleave to him, and not to turn
aside after other gods; for there are none to be compared with him.
3. To possess all those who receive the glad tidings of redemption
by Christ with a holy awe and reverence of God. Though it was said
(<scripRef id="Is.xli-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.9" parsed="|Isa|40|9|0|0" passage="Isa 40:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), <i>Behold
your God,</i> and (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|11|0|0" passage="Isa 40:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>) <i>He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,</i> yet
these condescensions of his grace must not be thought of with any
diminution to the transcendencies of his glory. Let us see how
great our God is, and fear before him; for,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p23" shownumber="no">I. His power is unlimited, and what no
creature can compare with, much less contend with, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.12" parsed="|Isa|40|12|0|0" passage="Isa 40:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. 1. He has a vast
reach. View the celestial globe, and you are astonished at the
extent of it; but the great God <i>metes the heavens with a
span;</i> to him they are but a hand-breadth, so large-handed is
he. View the terraqueous globe, and he has the command of that too.
All the waters in the world he can <i>measure in the hollow of his
hand,</i> where we can hold but a little water; and the dry land he
easily manages, for he <i>comprehends the dust of the earth in a
measure,</i> or with his three fingers; it is no more to him than a
<i>pugil,</i> or that which we take up between our thumb and two
fingers. 2. He has a vast strength, and can as easily move
mountains and hills as the tradesman heaves his goods into the
scales and out of them again; he poises them with his hand as
exactly as if he weighed them in a pair of balances. This may refer
to the work of creation, when the heavens were stretched out as
exactly as that which is spanned, and the earth and waters were put
together in just proportions, as if they had been measured, and the
mountains made of such a weight as to serve for ballast to the
globe, and no more. Or it may refer to the work of providence
(which is a continued creation) and the consistency of all the
creatures with each other.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p24" shownumber="no">II. His wisdom is unsearchable, and what no
creature can give either information or direction to, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.13-Isa.40.14" parsed="|Isa|40|13|40|14" passage="Isa 40:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>. As none can do
what God has done and does, so none can assist him in the doing of
it or suggest any thing to him which he thought not of. When the
Lord by his Spirit made the world (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.26.13" parsed="|Job|26|13|0|0" passage="Job 26:13">Job xxvi. 13</scripRef>) there was none that directed
his Spirit, or gave him any advice, either what to do or how to do
it. Nor does he need any counsellor to direct him in the government
of the world, nor is there any with whom he consults, as the wisest
kings do with those that <i>know law and judgment,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Esth.1.13" parsed="|Esth|1|13|0|0" passage="Es 1:13">Esther i. 13</scripRef>. God needs not to be told
what is done, for he knows it perfectly; nor needs he be advised
concerning what is to be done, for he knows both the right end and
the proper means. This is much insisted upon here, because the poor
captives had no politicians among them to manage their concerns at
court or to put them in a way of gaining their liberty. "No
matter," says the prophet, "you have a God to act for you, who
needs not the assistance of statesmen." In the great work of our
redemption by Christ matters were concerted <i>before the world
was,</i> when there was one to <i>teach God in the path of
judgment,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.2.7" parsed="|1Cor|2|7|0|0" passage="1Co 2:7">1 Cor. ii.
7</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p25" shownumber="no">III. The nations of the world are nothing
in comparison of him, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.15 Bible:Isa.40.17" parsed="|Isa|40|15|0|0;|Isa|40|17|0|0" passage="Isa 40:15,17"><i>v.</i>
15, 17</scripRef>. Take them all together, all the great and mighty
nations of the earth, kings the most pompous, kingdoms the most
populous, both the most wealthy; take the isles, the multitude of
them, the isles of the Gentiles: <i>Before him,</i> when they stand
in competition with him or in opposition to him, they are <i>as a
drop of the bucket</i> compared with the vast ocean, or <i>the
small dust of the balance</i> (which does not serve to turn it, and
therefore is not regarded, it is so small) in comparison with all
the dust of the earth. <i>He takes them up,</i> and throws them
away from him, <i>as a very little thing,</i> not worth speaking
of. They are all in his eye <i>as nothing,</i> as if they had no
being at all; for they add nothing to his perfection and
all-sufficiency. <i>They are counted by him,</i> and are to be
counted by us in comparison of him, <i>less than nothing, and
vanity.</i> When he pleases, he can as easily bring them all into
nothing as at first he brought them out of nothing. When God has
work to do he values not either the assistance or the resistance of
any creature. They are all <i>vanity;</i> the word that is used for
the chaos (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.2" parsed="|Gen|1|2|0|0" passage="Ge 1:2">Gen. i. 2</scripRef>), to
which they will at last be reduced. Let this beget in us high
thoughts of God and low thoughts of this world, and engage us to
make God, and not man, both our fear and our hope. This magnifies
God's love to the world, that, though it is of such small account
and value with him, yet, for the redemption of it, he <i>gave his
only-begotten Son,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:John.3.16" parsed="|John|3|16|0|0" passage="Joh 3:16">John iii.
16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p26" shownumber="no">IV. The services of the church can make no
addition to him nor do they bear any proportion to his infinite
perfections (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.16" parsed="|Isa|40|16|0|0" passage="Isa 40:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): <i>Lebanon is not sufficient to burn;</i> not the
wood of it, to be for the fuel of the altar, though it be so well
stocked with cedars; not the beasts of it, to be for sacrifices,
though it be so well stocked with cattle, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.16" parsed="|Isa|40|16|0|0" passage="Isa 40:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. Whatever we honour God with,
it falls infinitely short of the merit of his perfection; for he is
exalted <i>far above all blessing and praise,</i> all
burnt-offerings and sacrifices.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xli-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.18-Isa.40.26" parsed="|Isa|40|18|40|26" passage="Isa 40:18-26" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p26.4">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p26.5">Vanity of Idols. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p26.6">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p27" shownumber="no">18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what
likeness will ye compare unto him?   19 The workman melteth a
graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and
casteth silver chains.   20 He that <i>is</i> so impoverished
that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree <i>that</i> will not rot;
he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image,
<i>that</i> shall not be moved.   21 Have ye not known? have
ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye
not understood from the foundations of the earth?   22 <i>It
is</i> he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the
inhabitants thereof <i>are</i> as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out
the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell
in:   23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the
judges of the earth as vanity.   24 Yea, they shall not be
planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not
take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they
shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
  25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith
the Holy One.   26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who
hath created these <i>things,</i> that bringeth out their host by
number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might,
for that <i>he is</i> strong in power; not one faileth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p28" shownumber="no">The prophet here reproves those, 1. Who
represented God by creatures, and so changed his truth into a lie
and his glory into shame, who made images and then said that they
resembled God, and paid their homage to them accordingly. 2. Who
put creatures in the place of God, who feared them more than God,
as if they were a match for him, or loved them more than God, as if
they were fit to be rivals with him. Twice the challenge is here
made, <i>To whom will you liken God?</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.18" parsed="|Isa|40|18|0|0" passage="Isa 40:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>, and again <scripRef id="Is.xli-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.25" parsed="|Isa|40|25|0|0" passage="Isa 40:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. The Holy One himself says,
<i>To whom will you liken me?</i> This shows the folly and
absurdity, (1.) Of corporal idolatry, making visible images of him
who is invisible, imagining the image to be animated by the deity,
and the deity to be presentiated by the image, which, as it was an
instance of the corruption of the human nature, so it was an
intolerable injury to the honour of the divine nature. (2.) Of
spiritual idolatry, making creatures equal with God in our
affections. Proud people make themselves equal with God; covetous
people make their money equal with God; and whatever we esteem or
love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we equal with
God, which is the highest affront imaginable to him who is <i>God
over all.</i> Now, to show the absurdity of this,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p29" shownumber="no">I. The prophet describes idols as
despicable things and worthy of the greatest contempt (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.19-Isa.40.20" parsed="|Isa|40|19|40|20" passage="Isa 40:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>): "Look upon the
better sort of them, which rich people set up, and worship; they
are made of some base metal, cast into what shape the founder
pleases, and that is gilded, or overlaid with plates of gold, that
it may pass for a golden image. It is a creature; for the workman
made it; <i>therefore it is not God,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.8.6" parsed="|Hos|8|6|0|0" passage="Ho 8:6">Hos. viii. 6</scripRef>. It depended upon his will whether
it should be a god at all, and of what shape it should be. It is a
cheat; for it is gold on the outside, but within it is lead or
copper, in this indeed representing the deities, that they were not
what they seemed to be, and deceived their admirers. How despicable
then are the worst sort of them—the poor men's gods! <i>He that is
so impoverished</i> that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer to
his god when he has made him will yet not be without an enshrined
deity of his own; and, though he cannot procure one of brass or
stone, he will have a wooden one rather than none, and for that
purpose <i>chooses a tree that will not soon rot,</i> and of that
he will have his graven image made. Both agree to have their image
well fastened, that they may not be robbed of it. The better sort
have silver chains to fix theirs with; and, though it be but a
wooden image, care is taken that it <i>shall not be moved.</i>" Let
us pause a little and see, 1. How these idolaters shame themselves,
and what a reproach they put upon their own reason, in dreaming
that gods of their own making (<i>Nehushtans,</i> pieces of brass
or logs of wood) should be able to do them any kindness. Thus vain
were they in their imaginations; and how was their foolish heart
darkened! 2. See how these idolaters shame us, who worship the only
living and true God. They spared no cost upon their idols; we
grudge that as waste which is spent in the service of our God. They
took care that their idols should not be moved; we wilfully provoke
our God to depart from us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p30" shownumber="no">II. He describes God as infinitely great,
and worthy of the highest veneration; so that between him and
idols, whatever competition there may be, there is no comparison.
To prove the greatness of God he appeals,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p31" shownumber="no">1. To what they had <i>heard of him by the
hearing of the ear,</i> and the consent of all ages and nations
concerning him (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.21" parsed="|Isa|40|21|0|0" passage="Isa 40:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>): "<i>Have you not known</i> by the very light of
nature? <i>Has it not been told you by your fathers</i> and
teachers, according to the constant tradition received from their
ancestors and predecessors, even from the beginning?" (Those
notices of God are as ancient as the world.) "<i>Have you not
understood</i> it as always acknowledged <i>from the foundation of
the earth,</i> that God is a great God, and a great King above all
gods?" It has been a truth universally admitted that there is an
infinite Being who is the fountain of all being. This is understood
not only ever since the beginning of the world, but from and by the
origin of the universe. It is founded upon the foundation of the
earth. The invisible things of God are <i>clearly seen from the
creation of the world,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.1.20" parsed="|Rom|1|20|0|0" passage="Ro 1:20">Rom. i.
20</scripRef>. Thou mayest not only ask thy father, and he shall
tell thee this, and thy elders (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.7" parsed="|Deut|32|7|0|0" passage="De 32:7">Deut.
xxxii. 7</scripRef>); but <i>ask those that go by the way</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.29" parsed="|Job|21|29|0|0" passage="Job 21:29">Job xxi. 29</scripRef>), ask the
first man you meet, and he will say the same. Some read it, <i>Will
you not know? Will you not hear it?</i> For those that are ignorant
of this are willingly ignorant; the light shines in their faces,
but they shut their eyes against it. Now that which is here said of
God is, (1.) That he has the command of all the creatures. The
heaven and the earth themselves are under his management: <i>He
sits upon the circle,</i> or globe, <i>of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.22" parsed="|Isa|40|22|0|0" passage="Isa 40:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. He that has the
special residence of his glory in the upper world maintains a
dominion over this lower world, gives law to it, and directs all
the motions of it to his own glory. He sits undisturbed upon the
earth, and so establishes it. He is still stretching out the
heavens, his power and providence keep them still stretched out,
and will do so till the day comes that they shall be rolled
together like a scroll. He spreads them out as easily as we draw a
curtain to and fro, opening these curtains in the morning and
drawing them close again at night. And the heaven is to this earth
<i>as a tent to dwell in;</i> it is a canopy drawn over our heads,
<i>et quod tegit omnia cœlum—and it encircles all.</i>—Ovid.
See <scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.2" parsed="|Ps|104|2|0|0" passage="Ps 104:2">Ps. civ. 2</scripRef>. (2.) That
the children of men, even the greatest and mightiest, are as
nothing before him. The numerous inhabitants of this earth are in
his eye as grasshoppers in ours, so little and inconsiderable, of
such small value, of such little use, and so easily crushed. Proud
men's lifting up themselves is but like the grasshopper's leap; in
an instant they must stoop down to the earth again. If the spies
thought themselves grasshoppers before the sons of Anak (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.7" osisRef="Bible:Num.13.33" parsed="|Num|13|33|0|0" passage="Nu 13:33">Num. xiii. 33</scripRef>), what are we before
the great God? Grasshoppers live but awhile, and live carelessly,
not like the ant; so do the most of men. (3.) That those who appear
and act against him, how formidable soever they may be to their
fellow-creatures, will certainly be humble and brought down by the
mighty hand of God, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.23-Isa.40.24" parsed="|Isa|40|23|40|24" passage="Isa 40:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23,
24</scripRef>. Princes and judges, who have great authority, and
abuse it to the support of oppression and injustice, make nothing
of those about them; <i>as for all their enemies they puff at
them</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p31.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.5 Bible:Ps.12.5" parsed="|Ps|10|5|0|0;|Ps|12|5|0|0" passage="Ps 10:5,12:5">Ps. x. 5; xii.
5</scripRef>); but, when the great God takes them to task, he
brings them to nothing; he humbles them, and tames them, and makes
them as vanity, little regarded, neither feared nor loved. He makes
them utterly unable to stand before his judgments, which shall
either, [1.] Prevent their settlement in their authority: <i>They
shall not be planted; they shall not be sown;</i> and those are the
two ways of propagating plants, either by seed or slips. Nay, if
they should gain a little interest, and so be planted or sown, yet
<i>their stock shall not take root in the earth,</i> they shall not
continue long in power. Eliphaz saw the foolish taking root, but
<i>suddenly cursed their habitation.</i> And then how soon is the
fig-tree withered away! Or, [2.] He will blast them when they think
they are settled. He does but <i>blow upon them,</i> and then
<i>they shall wither,</i> and come to nothing, and <i>the whirlwind
shall take them away as stubble.</i> For God's wrath, though it
seem at first to blow slightly upon them, will soon become a mighty
whirlwind. When God judges he will overcome. Those that will not
bow before him cannot stand before him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p32" shownumber="no">2. He appeals to what <i>their eyes saw of
him</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.26" parsed="|Isa|40|26|0|0" passage="Isa 40:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>):
"<i>Lift up your eyes on high;</i> be not always poring on this
earth" (<i>O curvæ in terras animæ et cœlestium
inanes!—Degenerate minds, that can bend so towards the earth,
having nothing celestial in them!</i>), "but sometimes look up"
(<i>Os homini sublime dedit, cœlumque tueri jussit—Heaven
gave to man an erect countenance, and bade him gaze on the
stars</i>); "behold the glorious lights of heaven, consider who has
created them. They neither made nor marshalled themselves;
doubtless, therefore, there is a God that gave them their being,
power, and motion." What we see of the creature should lead us to
the Creator. The idolaters, when they lifted up their eyes and
beheld the hosts of heaven, being wholly immerged in sense, looked
no further, but worshipped them, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p32.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.4.19 Bible:Job.31.26" parsed="|Deut|4|19|0|0;|Job|31|26|0|0" passage="De 4:19,Job 31:26">Deut. iv. 19; Job xxxi. 26</scripRef>.
Therefore the prophet here directs us to make use of our reason as
well as our senses, and to consider who created them, and to pay
our homage to him. Give him the glory of his sovereignty over
them—He <i>brings out their host by number,</i> as a general draws
out the squadrons and battalions of his army; of the knowledge he
has of them—<i>He calls them all by names,</i> proper names,
according as their place and influence are (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p32.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.147.4" parsed="|Ps|147|4|0|0" passage="Ps 147:4">Ps. cxlvii. 4</scripRef>); and of the use he makes of
them; when he calls them out to any service, so obsequious are they
that, <i>by the greatness of his might, not one of them fails,</i>
but, as when <i>the stars in their courses fought against
Sisera,</i> every one does that to which he is appointed. To make
these creatures therefore rivals with God, which are such ready
servants to him, is an injury to them as well as an affront to
him.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xli-p32.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.27-Isa.40.31" parsed="|Isa|40|27|40|31" passage="Isa 40:27-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xli-p32.5">
<h4 id="Is.xli-p32.6">Jehovah's Grandeur and
Compassion. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p32.7">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xli-p33" shownumber="no">27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O
Israel, My way is hid from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p33.1">Lord</span>,
and my judgment is passed over from my God?   28 Hast thou not
known? hast thou not heard, <i>that</i> the everlasting God, the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p33.2">Lord</span>, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? <i>there is</i> no searching
of his understanding.   29 He giveth power to the faint; and
to <i>them that have</i> no might he increaseth strength.   30
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall:   31 But they that wait upon the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xli-p33.3">Lord</span> shall renew <i>their</i> strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; <i>and</i> they shall walk, and not faint.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p34" shownumber="no">Here, I. The prophet reproves the people of
God, who are now supposed to be captives in Babylon for their
unbelief and distrust of God, and the dejections and despondencies
of their spirit under their affliction (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.27" parsed="|Isa|40|27|0|0" passage="Isa 40:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): "<i>Why sayest thou, O
Jacob!</i> to thyself and to those about thee, <i>My way is hidden
from the Lord?</i> Why dost thou make hard and melancholy
conclusions concerning thyself and thy present case as if the
latter were desperate?" 1. The titles he here gives them were
enough to shame them out of their distrusts: <i>O Jacob! O
Israel!</i> Let them remember whence they took these names—from
one who had found God faithful to him and kind in all his straits;
and why they bore these names—as God's professing people, a people
in covenant with him. 2. The way of reproving them is by reasoning
with them: "Why? Consider whether thou hast any ground to say so."
Many of our foolish frets and foolish fears would vanish before a
strict enquiry into the causes of them. 3. That which they are
reproved for is an ill-natured, ill-favoured, word they spoke of
God, as if he had cast them off. There seems to be an emphasis laid
upon their saying it: Why <i>sayest</i> thou and <i>speakest</i>
thou? It is bad to have evil thoughts rise in our mind, but it is
worse to put an <i>imprimatur—a sanction</i> to them, and turn
them into evil words. David reflects with regret upon what he said
in his haste, when he was in distress. 4. The ill word they said
was a word of despair concerning their present calamitous
condition. They were ready to conclude, (1.) That God would not
heed them: "<i>My way is hidden from the Lord;</i> he takes no
notice of our straits, nor concerns himself any more in our
concernments. There are such difficulties in our case that even
divine wisdom and power will be nonplussed." A man <i>whose way is
hidden</i> is one whom <i>God has hedged in,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p34.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.3.23" parsed="|Job|3|23|0|0" passage="Job 3:23">Job iii. 23</scripRef>. (2.) That God could not help
them: "<i>My judgment is passed over from my God;</i> my case is
past relief, so far past it that God himself cannot redress the
grievances of it. <i>Our bones are dried.</i>" <scripRef id="Is.xli-p34.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.11" parsed="|Ezek|37|11|0|0" passage="Eze 37:11">Ezek. xxxvii. 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p35" shownumber="no">II. He reminds them of that which, if duly
considered, was sufficient to silence all those fears and distrust.
For their conviction, as before for the conviction of idolaters
(<scripRef id="Is.xli-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.21" parsed="|Isa|40|21|0|0" passage="Isa 40:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), he appeals
to what they had known and what they had heard. Jacob and Israel
were a knowing people, or might have been, and their knowledge came
by hearing; for Wisdom cried in their chief places of concourse.
Now, among other things, they had heard that <i>God had spoken
once, twice,</i> yea, many a time they had <i>heard it, That power
belongs unto God</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xli-p35.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.62.11" parsed="|Ps|62|11|0|0" passage="Ps 62:11">Ps. lxii.
11</scripRef>), That is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p36" shownumber="no">1. He is himself an almighty God. He must
needs be so, for he is <i>the everlasting God, even Jehovah.</i> He
was from eternity; he will be to eternity; and therefore with him
there is no deficiency, no decay. He has his being of himself, and
therefore all his perfections must needs be boundless. He is
without beginning of days or end of life, and therefore with him
there is no change. He is also <i>the Creator of the ends of the
earth,</i> that is, of the whole earth and all that is in it from
end to end. He therefore is the rightful owner and ruler of all,
and must be concluded to have an absolute power over all and an
all-sufficiency to help his people in their greatest straits.
Doubtless he is still as able to save his church as he was at first
to make the world. (1.) He has wisdom to contrive the salvation,
and that wisdom is never at a loss: <i>There is no searching of his
understanding,</i> so as to countermine the counsels of it and
defeat its intentions; no, nor so as to determine what he will do,
for he has ways by himself, ways in the sea. None can say, "Thus
far God's wisdom can go, and no further;" for, when we know not
what to do, he knows. (2.) He has power to bring about the
salvation, and that power is never exhausted: <i>He faints not, nor
is weary;</i> he upholds the whole creation, and governs all the
creatures, and is neither tired nor toiled; and therefore, no
doubt, he has power to relieve his church, when it is brought ever
so low, without weakness or weariness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xli-p37" shownumber="no">2. He gives strength and power to his
people, and helps them by enabling them to help themselves. He that
is the strong God is the strength of Israel. (1.) He can help the
weak, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p37.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.29" parsed="|Isa|40|29|0|0" passage="Isa 40:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. Many a
time <i>he gives power to the faint,</i> to those that are ready to
faint away; and <i>to those that have no might he</i> not only
gives, but <i>increases strength,</i> as there is more and more
occasion for it. Many out of bodily weakness are wonderfully
recovered, and made strong, by the providence of God: and many that
are feeble in spirit, timorous and faint-hearted, unfit for
services and sufferings, are yet strengthened by the grace of God
<i>with all might in the inward man.</i> To those who are sensible
of their weakness, and ready to acknowledge they have no might, God
does in a special manner increase strength; for, <i>when we are
weak</i> in ourselves, <i>then are we strong in the Lord.</i> (2.)
He will help the willing, will help those who, in a humble
dependence upon him, help themselves, and will do well for those
who do their best, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p37.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.30-Isa.40.31" parsed="|Isa|40|30|40|31" passage="Isa 40:30,31"><i>v.</i> 30,
31</scripRef>. Those who trust to their own sufficiency, and are so
confident of it that they neither exert themselves to the utmost
nor seek unto God for his grace, are <i>the youth</i> and <i>the
young men,</i> who are strong, but are apt to think themselves
stronger than they are. And they <i>shall faint and be weary,</i>
yea, they <i>shall utterly fail</i> in their services, in their
conflicts, and under their burdens; they shall soon be made to see
the folly of trusting to themselves. <i>But those that wait on the
Lord,</i> who make conscience of their duty to him, and by faith
rely upon him and commit themselves to his guidance, shall find
that God will not fail them. [1.] They shall have grace sufficient
for them: They <i>shall renew their strength</i> as their work is
renewed, as there is new occasion; they shall be anointed, and
their lamps supplied, with fresh oil. God will be their <i>arm
every morning,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xli-p37.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.2" parsed="|Isa|33|2|0|0" passage="Isa 33:2"><i>ch.</i> xxxiii.
2</scripRef>. If at any time they have been foiled and weakened
they shall recover themselves, and so renew their strength. Heb.
<i>They shall change their strength,</i> as their work is
changed—doing work, suffering work; they shall have strength to
labour, strength to wrestle, strength to resist, strength to bear.
As the day so shall the strength be. [2.] They shall use this grace
for the best purposes. Being strengthened, <i>First,</i> They shall
soar upward, upward towards God: <i>They shall mount up with wings
like eagles,</i> so strongly, so swiftly, so high and heaven-ward.
In the strength of divine grace, their souls shall ascend above the
world, and even enter into the holiest. Pious and devout affections
are the eagles' wings on which gracious souls mount up, <scripRef id="Is.xli-p37.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.1" parsed="|Ps|25|1|0|0" passage="Ps 25:1">Ps. xxv. 1</scripRef>. <i>Secondly,</i> They
shall press forward, forward towards heaven. They shall walk, they
shall run, the way of God's commandments, cheerfully and with
alacrity (they <i>shall not be weary</i>), constantly and with
perseverance (they <i>shall not faint</i>); and therefore in due
season they shall reap. Let Jacob and Israel therefore, in their
greatest distresses, continue waiting upon God, and not despair of
timely and effectual relief and succour from him.</p>
</div></div2>