mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 45.xml

<div2 id="Is.xlvi" n="xlvi" next="Is.xlvii" prev="Is.xlv" progress="16.97%" title="Chapter XLV">
<h2 id="Is.xlvi-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xlvi-p0.2">CHAP. XLV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xlvi-p1" shownumber="no">Cyrus was nominated, in the foregoing chapter, to
be God's shepherd; more is said to him and more of him in this
chapter, not only because he was to be instrumental in the release
of the Jews out of their captivity, but because he was to be
therein a type of the great Redeemer, and that release was to be
typical of the great redemption from sin and death; for that was
the salvation of which all the prophets witnessed. We have here, I.
The great things which God would do for Cyrus, that he might be put
into a capacity to release God's people, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.1-Isa.45.4" parsed="|Isa|45|1|45|4" passage="Isa 45:1-4">ver. 1-4</scripRef>. II. The proof God would hereby
give of his eternal power and godhead, and his universal,
incontestable, sovereignty, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.5-Isa.45.7" parsed="|Isa|45|5|45|7" passage="Isa 45:5-7">ver.
5-7</scripRef>. III. A prayer for the hastening of this
deliverance, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.8" parsed="|Isa|45|8|0|0" passage="Isa 45:8">ver. 8</scripRef>. IV. A
check to the unbelieving Jews, who quarrelled with God for the
lengthening out of their captivity, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.9-Isa.45.10" parsed="|Isa|45|9|45|10" passage="Isa 45:9,10">ver. 9, 10</scripRef>. V. Encouragement given to the
believing Jews, who trusted in God and continued instant in prayer,
assuring them that God would in due time accomplish this work by
the hand of Cyrus, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.11-Isa.45.15" parsed="|Isa|45|11|45|15" passage="Isa 45:11-15">ver.
11-15</scripRef>. VI. A challenge given to the worshippers of idols
and their doom read, and satisfaction given to the worshippers of
the true God and their comfort secured, with an eye to the
Mediator, who is made of God to us both righteousness and
sanctification, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.16-Isa.45.25" parsed="|Isa|45|16|45|25" passage="Isa 45:16-25">ver.
16-25</scripRef>. And here, as in many other parts of this
prophecy, there is much of Christ and of gospel grace.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xlvi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45" parsed="|Isa|45|0|0|0" passage="Isa 45" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xlvi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.1-Isa.45.4" parsed="|Isa|45|1|45|4" passage="Isa 45:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlvi-p1.9">
<h4 id="Is.xlvi-p1.10">Prophecies Concerning Cyrus. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p1.11">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlvi-p2" shownumber="no">1 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p2.1">Lord</span> to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand
I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the
loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the
gates shall not be shut;   2 I will go before thee, and make
the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of
brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:   3 And I will give
thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p2.2">Lord</span>, which call <i>thee</i> by thy name,
<i>am</i> the God of Israel.   4 For Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have
surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p3" shownumber="no">Cyrus was a Mede, descended (as some say)
from Astyages king of Media. The pagan writers are not agreed in
their accounts of his origin. Some tell us that in his infancy he
was an outcast, left exposed, and was saved from perishing by a
herdsman's wife. However, it is agreed that, being a man of an
active genius, he soon made himself very considerable, especially
when Crœsus king of Lydia made a descent upon his country,
which he not only repulsed, but revenged, prosecuting the
advantages he had gained against Crœsus with such vigour that
in a little time he took Sardis and made himself master of the rich
kingdom of Lydia and the many provinces that then belonged to it.
This made him very great (for Crœsus was rich to a proverb)
and enabled him to pursue his victories in many countries; but it
was nearly ten years afterwards that, in conjunction with his uncle
Darius and with the forces of Persia, he made this famous attack
upon Babylon, which is here foretold, and which we have the history
of <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.5" parsed="|Dan|5|0|0|0" passage="Dan. 5">Dan. 5</scripRef>. Babylon had now grown exorbitantly rich and strong. It
was forty-five miles in compass (some say more): the walls were
thirty-two feet thick and 100 cubits high. Some say, They were so
thick that six chariots might drive abreast upon them; others say,
They were fifty cubits thick and 200 high. Cyrus seems to have had
a great ambition to make himself master of this place, and to have
projected it long; and at last he performed it. Now here, 210 years
before it came to pass, we are told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p4" shownumber="no">I. What great things God would do for him,
that he might put it into his power to release his people. In order
to this he shall be a mighty conqueror and a wealthy monarch and
nations shall become tributaries to him and help him both with men
and money. Now that which God here promised to do for Cyrus he
could have done for Zerubbabel, or some of the Jews themselves; but
the wealth and power of this world God has seldom seen fit to
entrust his own people with much of, so many are the snares and
temptations that attend them; but if here has been occasion, for
the god of the church, to make use of them, God has been pleased
rather to put them into the hands of others, to be employed for
them, than to venture them in their own hands. Cyrus is here called
God's <i>anointed,</i> because he was both designed and qualified
for this great service by the counsel of God, and was to be herein
a type of the Messiah. God engages to hold his right hand, not only
to strengthen and sustain him, but to direct his motions and
intentions, as Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands when he
was to shoot his arrow against Syria, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.13.16" parsed="|2Kgs|13|16|0|0" passage="2Ki 13:16">2 Kings xiii. 16</scripRef>. Being under such
direction,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p5" shownumber="no">1. He shall extend his conquests very far
and shall make nothing of the opposition that will be given him.
Babylon is too strong a place for a young hero to begin with; and
therefore, that he may be able to deal with that, great additions
shall be made to his strength by other conquests. (1.) Populous
kingdoms shall yield to him. God will <i>subdue nations before
him;</i> when he is in the full career of his successes he shall
make nothing of a nation's being born to him at once: yet it is not
he that subdues them; it is God that subdues them for him; the
battle is his, and therefore his is the victory. (2.) Potent kings
shall fall before him: <i>I will loose the loins of kings,</i>
either the girdle of their loins (divesting them of their power and
dignity) or the strength of their loins, and then it was literally
fulfilled in Belshazzar, for, when he was terrified by the
handwriting on the wall, <i>the joints of his loins were
loosed,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.5.6" parsed="|Dan|5|6|0|0" passage="Da 5:6">Dan. v. 6</scripRef>. (3.)
Great cities shall surrender themselves into his hands, without
giving him or themselves any trouble. God will incline the keepers
of the city to <i>open before him the two-leaved gates,</i> not
treacherously nor timorously, but from a full conviction that it is
to no purpose to contend with him; and therefore the gates shall
not be shut to keep him out as an enemy, but thrown open to admit
him as a friend. (4.) The longest and most dangerous marches shall
be made easy and ready to him: <i>I will go before thee,</i> to
clear the way, and to conduct thee in it, and then the <i>crooked
places,</i> shall be made <i>straight;</i> or, as some read it, the
hilly places shall be levelled and made even. Those will find a
ready road that have God going before them. (5.) No opposition
shall stand before him. He that gives him his commission <i>will
break in pieces the gates of brass</i> that are shut against him,
<i>and cut asunder the bars of iron</i> wherewith they are
fastened. This was fulfilled in the letter, if that be true which
Herodotus reports, that the city of Babylon had 100 gates all of
brass, with posts and hooks of the same metal.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p6" shownumber="no">2. He shall replenish his coffers very much
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.3" parsed="|Isa|45|3|0|0" passage="Isa 45:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>I will
give thee the treasures of darkness,</i> treasures of gold and
silver, that have been long kept close under lock and key and had
not seen the light of many years, or had been buried under ground
by the inhabitants, in their fright, upon the taking of the city.
The riches of many nations had been brought to Babylon, and Cyrus
seized all together. <i>The hidden riches of secret places,</i>
which belonged either to the crown or to private persons, shall all
be a prey to Cyrus. Thus God, designing him to do a piece of
service to his church, paid him richly for it beforehand; and Cyrus
very honestly owned God's goodness to him, and, in consideration of
that, released the captives. <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.1.2" parsed="|Ezra|1|2|0|0" passage="Ezr 1:2">Ezra i.
2</scripRef>, <i>God has given me all the kingdoms of the earth</i>
and thereby has obliged <i>me to build him a house at
Jerusalem.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p7" shownumber="no">II. We are here told what God designed in
doing all this for Cyrus. What Cyrus aimed at in undertaking his
wars we may easily guess; but what God aimed at in giving him such
wonderful success in his wars we are here told.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p8" shownumber="no">1. It was that the God of Israel might be
glorified: "<i>That thou mayest know</i> by all this <i>that I the
Lord am the God of Israel;</i> for I have <i>called thee by thy
name</i> long before thou wast born." When Cyrus should have this
prophecy of Isaiah shown to him, and should there find his own name
and his own achievements particularly described so long before, he
should thereby be brought to acknowledge that the God of Israel was
the Lord, Jehovah, the only living and true God, and that he
continued to own his Israel though now in captivity. It is well
when thus men's prosperity brings them to the knowledge of God, for
too often it makes them forget him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p9" shownumber="no">2. It was that the Israel of God might be
released, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.4" parsed="|Isa|45|4|0|0" passage="Isa 45:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>.
Cyrus knew not God as the God of Israel. Having been trained up in
the worship of idols, the true God was to him an unknown God. But,
though he knew not God, God not only knew him when he came into
being, but foreknew him, and bespoke him for his shepherd. He
called him by his name, <i>Cyrus,</i> nay, which was yet great
honour, he surnamed him and called him his <i>anointed.</i> And why
did God do all this for Cyrus? Not for his own sake, be it known to
him; whether he was a man of virtue or no is questioned. Xenophon
indeed, when he would describe the heroic virtues of an excellent
prince, made use of Cyrus's name, and many of the particulars of
his story, in his Cyropædia; but other historians represent him as
haughty, cruel, and bloodthirsty. The reason why God preferred him
was <i>for Jacob his servant's sake.</i> Note, (1.) In all the
revolutions of states and kingdoms, the sudden falls of the great
and strong, and the surprising advancements of the weak and
obscure, God is designing the good of his church. (2.) It is
therefore the wisdom of those to whom God has given wealth and
power to use them for his glory, by showing kindness to his people.
Cyrus is preferred that Israel may be released. He shall have a
kingdom, only that God's people may have their liberty; for their
kingdom is not of this world, it is yet to come. In all this Cyrus
was a type of Christ, who was made victorious over principalities
and powers, and entrusted with unsearchable riches, for the use and
benefit of God's servants, his elect. <i>When he ascended on high
he led captivity captive,</i> took those captives that had taken
others captives, and <i>opened the prison to those that were
bound.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xlvi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.5-Isa.45.10" parsed="|Isa|45|5|45|10" passage="Isa 45:5-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlvi-p9.3">
<h4 id="Is.xlvi-p9.4">The Divine Dominion. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p9.5">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlvi-p10" shownumber="no">5 I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p10.1">Lord</span>, and <i>there is</i> none else, <i>there
is</i> no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known
me:   6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and
from the west, that <i>there is</i> none beside me. I <i>am</i> the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p10.2">Lord</span>, and <i>there is</i> none else.
  7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and
create evil: I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p10.3">Lord</span> do all these
<i>things.</i>   8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let
the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p10.4">Lord</span> have created it.   9
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! <i>Let</i> the potsherd
<i>strive</i> with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say
to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath
no hands?   10 Woe unto him that saith unto <i>his</i> father,
What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought
forth?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p11" shownumber="no">God here asserts his sole and sovereign
dominion, as that which he designed to prove and manifest to the
world in all the great things he did for Cyrus and by him.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p12" shownumber="no">I. How this doctrine is here laid down
concerning the sovereignty of the great Jehovah, in two things:—
1. That he is God alone, and there is no God besides him. This is
here inculcated as a fundamental truth, which, if it were firmly
believed, would abolish idolatry out of the world. With what an
awful, commanding, air of majesty and authority, bidding defiance,
as it were, to all pretenders, does the great God here proclaim it
to the world: <i>I am the Lord, I the Lord, Jehovah,</i> and
<i>there is none else, there is no God besides me,</i> no other
self-existent, self-sufficient, being, none infinite and eternal.
And again (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.6" parsed="|Isa|45|6|0|0" passage="Isa 45:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>),
<i>There is none besides me;</i> all that are set up in competition
with me are counterfeits; they are all vanity and a lie, for <i>I
am the Lord, and there is none else.</i> This is here said to
Cyrus, not only to cure him of the sin of his ancestors, which was
the worshipping of idols, but to prevent his falling into the sin
of some of his predecessors in victory and universal monarchy,
which was the setting up of themselves for gods and being idolized,
to which some attribute much of the origin of idolatry. Let Cyrus,
when he becomes thus rich and great, remember that still he is but
a man, and there is no God but one. 2. That he is Lord of all, and
there is nothing done without him (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.7" parsed="|Isa|45|7|0|0" passage="Isa 45:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>I form the light,</i> which
is grateful and pleasing, and <i>I create darkness,</i> which is
grievous and unpleasing. <i>I make peace</i> (put here for all
good) and <i>I create evil,</i> not the evil of sin (God is not the
author of that), but the evil of punishment. <i>I the Lord</i>
order, and direct, and <i>do all these things.</i> Observe, (1.)
The very different events that befal the children of men. Light and
darkness are opposite to each other, and yet, in the course of
providence, they are sometimes intermixed, like the morning and
evening twilights, <i>neither day nor night,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.6" parsed="|Zech|14|6|0|0" passage="Zec 14:6">Zech. xiv. 6</scripRef>. There is a mixture of joys and
sorrows in the same cup, allays to each other. Sometimes they are
counterchanged, as noonday light and midnight darkness. In the
revolution of every day each takes its turn, and there are short
transitions from the one to the other, witness Job's case. (2.) The
self-same cause of both, and that is he that is the first Cause of
all: <i>I the Lord,</i> the fountain of all being, am the fountain
of all power. He who formed the natural light (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.3" parsed="|Gen|1|3|0|0" passage="Ge 1:3">Gen. i. 3</scripRef>) still forms the providential light.
He who at first made peace among the jarring seeds and principles
of nature makes peace in the affairs of men. He who allowed the
natural darkness, which was a mere privation, creates the
providential darkness; for concerning troubles and afflictions he
gives positive orders. Note, The wise God has the ordering and
disposing of all our comforts, and all our crosses, in this
world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p13" shownumber="no">II. How this doctrine is here proved and
published. 1. It is proved by that which God did for Cyrus:
"<i>There is no God besides me,</i> for (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.5" parsed="|Isa|45|5|0|0" passage="Isa 45:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>) <i>I girded thee, though thou
hast not known me.</i> It was not thy own idol, which thou didst
know and worship, that girded thee for this expedition, that gave
thee authority and ability for it. No, it was I that girded thee, I
whom thou didst not know, nor seek to." By <i>this</i> it appears
that the God of Israel is the only true God, that he manages and
makes what use he pleases even of those that are strangers to him
and pay their homage to other gods. 2. It is published to all the
world by the word of God, by his providence, and by the testimony
of the suffering Jews in Babylon, that all may know from the east
and from the west, sunrise and sun-set, that the Lord is God and
there is none else. The wonderful deliverance of the Israel of God
proclaimed to all the world that <i>there is none like unto the God
of Jeshurun, that rides on the heavens for their help.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p14" shownumber="no">III. How this doctrine is here improved and
applied.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p15" shownumber="no">1. For the comfort of those that earnestly
longed, and yet quietly waited, for the redemption of Israel
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.8" parsed="|Isa|45|8|0|0" passage="Isa 45:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>Drop
down, you heavens, from above.</i> Some take this as the saints'
prayer for the deliverance. I rather take it as God's precept
concerning it; for he is said to <i>command deliverances,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.44.4" parsed="|Ps|44|4|0|0" passage="Ps 44:4">Ps. xliv. 4</scripRef>. Now the precept
is directed to heaven and earth, and all the hosts of both, as
royal precepts commonly run—<i>To all officers, civil and
military.</i> All the creatures shall be made in their places to
contribute to the carrying on of this great work, when God will
have it done. If men will not be aiding and assisting, God will
produce it without them, as he does the dews of heaven and the
grass of the earth, which <i>tarry not for man, nor wait for the
sons of men,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.7" parsed="|Mic|5|7|0|0" passage="Mic 5:7">Mic. v. 7</scripRef>.
Observe, (1.) The method of this great deliverance that is to be
wrought for Israel. <i>Righteousness</i> must first be wrought in
them; they must be brought to repent of their sins, to renounce
their idolatries, to return to God, and reform their lives, and
then the salvation shall be wrought for them, and not till then. We
must not expect salvation without righteousness, for they spring up
together and together the Lord hath created them; what he has
joined together, let not us therefore put asunder. See <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.85.9-Ps.85.11" parsed="|Ps|85|9|85|11" passage="Ps 85:9-11">Ps. lxxxv. 9-11</scripRef>. Christ died to
save us from our sins, not in our sins, and is made redemption to
us by being made to us righteousness and sanctification. (2.) The
means of this great deliverance. Rather than it shall fail, when
the set time for it shall come, the <i>heavens shall drop down
righteousness, and the earth shall open to bring forth
salvation,</i> and both concur to the reformation, and so to the
restoration, of God's Israel. It is from heaven, from above the
skies, that righteousness drops down, for every grace and good gift
is from above; nay, since the more plentiful effusion of the Spirit
it is now <i>poured</i> down, and, if our hearts be open to receive
it, the product will be the fruits of righteousness and the great
salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p16" shownumber="no">2. For reproof to those of the church's
enemies that opposed this salvation, or those of her friends that
despaired of it (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.9" parsed="|Isa|45|9|0|0" passage="Isa 45:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): <i>Woe unto him that strives with his Maker!</i> God
is the Maker of all things, and therefore our Maker, which is a
reason why we should always submit to him and never contend with
him. (1.) Let not the proud oppressors, in the elevation of their
spirits, oppose God's designs concerning the deliverance of his
people, nor think to detain them any longer when the time shall
come for their release. Woe to the insulting Babylonians that set
God at defiance, as Pharaoh did, and will not let his people go!
(2.) Let not the poor oppressed, in the dejection of their spirits,
murmur and quarrel with God for the prolonging of their captivity,
as if he dealt unjustly or unkindly with them, or think to force
their way out before God's time shall come. Note, Those will find
themselves in a woeful condition that strive with their Maker; for
none ever hardened his heart against God and prospered. Sinful man
is indeed a quarrelsome creature; but <i>let the potsherds strive
with the potsherds of the earth.</i> Men are but earthen pots, nay,
they are broken potsherds, and are made so very much by their
mutual contentions. They are dashed in pieces one against another;
and, if they are disposed to strive, let them strive with one
another, let them meddle with their match; but let them not dare to
contend with him that is infinitely above them, which is as
senseless and absurd as, [1.] For the clay to find fault with the
potter: <i>Shall the clay say to him that forms it, "What makest
thou?</i> Why dost thou make me of this shape and not that?" Nay,
it is as if the clay should be in such a heat and passion with the
potter as to tell him that <i>he has no hands,</i> or that he works
as awkwardly as if he had none. "Shall the clay pretend to be wiser
than the potter and therefore to advise him, or mightier than the
potter and therefore to control him?" He that gave us being, that
gave us this being, may design concerning us, and dispose of us, as
he pleases; and it is impudent presumption for us to prescribe to
him. Shall we impeach God's wisdom, or question his power, who are
ourselves so curiously, so wonderfully, made? Shall we say, <i>He
has no hands,</i> whose hands made us and in whose hands we are?
The doctrine of God's sovereignty has enough in it to silence all
our discontents and objections against the methods of his
providence and grace, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.20-Rom.9.21" parsed="|Rom|9|20|9|21" passage="Ro 9:20,21">Rom. ix. 20,
21</scripRef>. [2.] It is as unnatural as for the child to find
fault with the parents, to say to the father, <i>What begettest
thou?</i> or to the mother, "<i>What hast thou brought forth?</i>
Why was I not begotten and born an angel, exempt from the
infirmities of human nature and the calamities of human life?" Must
not those who are children of men expect to share in the common lot
and to fare as others fare? If God is our Father, where is the
honour we owe to him by submitting to his will?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xlvi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.11-Isa.45.19" parsed="|Isa|45|11|45|19" passage="Isa 45:11-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlvi-p16.4">
<h4 id="Is.xlvi-p16.5">The Power of God; Encouragement to the
People of God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p16.6">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlvi-p17" shownumber="no">11 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.1">Lord</span>, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask
me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of
my hands command ye me.   12 I have made the earth, and
created man upon it: I, <i>even</i> my hands, have stretched out
the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.   13 I have
raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he
shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price
nor reward, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.2">Lord</span> of hosts.
  14 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.3">Lord</span>, The
labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans,
men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:
they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and
they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto
thee, <i>saying,</i> Surely God <i>is</i> in thee; and <i>there
is</i> none else, <i>there is</i> no God.   15 Verily thou
<i>art</i> a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
  16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them:
they shall go to confusion together <i>that are</i> makers of
idols.   17 <i>But</i> Israel shall be saved in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.4">Lord</span> with an everlasting salvation: ye
shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.   18
For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.5">Lord</span> that created
the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be
inhabited: I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.6">Lord</span>; and
<i>there is</i> none else.   19 I have not spoken in secret,
in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob,
Seek ye me in vain: I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p17.7">Lord</span> speak
righteousness, I declare things that are right.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p18" shownumber="no">The people of God in captivity, who
reconciled themselves to the will of God in their affliction and
were content to wait his time for their deliverance, are here
assured that they should not wait in vain.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p19" shownumber="no">I. They are invited to enquire concerning
the issue of their troubles, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.11" parsed="|Isa|45|11|0|0" passage="Isa 45:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. <i>The Holy One of Israel, and
his Maker,</i> though he does not allow them to strive with him,
yet encourages them, 1. To consult his word: "<i>Ask of me things
to come;</i> have recourse to the prophets and their prophecies,
and see what they say concerning these things. Ask the watchmen,
What of the night? Ask them, How long?" Things to come, as far as
they are revealed, belong to us and to our children, and we must
not be strangers to them. 2. To seek unto him by prayer:
"<i>Concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands,</i>
which as becomes them submit to the will of their Father, the will
of their potter, <i>command you me,</i> not by way of prescription,
but by way of petition. Be earnest in your requests, and confident
in your expectations, as far as both are guided by and grounded
upon the promise." We may not strive with our Maker by passionate
complaints, but we may wrestle with him by faithful and fervent
prayer. <i>My sons, and the work of my hands, commend to me</i> (so
some read it), bring them to me and leave them with me. See the
power of prayer, and its prevalency with God: <i>Thou shalt cry,
and he shall say, Here I am; what would you that I should do unto
you?</i> Some read it with an interrogation, as carrying on the
reproof (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.9-Isa.45.10" parsed="|Isa|45|9|45|10" passage="Isa 45:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9,
10</scripRef>): <i>Do you question me concerning things to
come?</i> and am I bound to give you an account? <i>And concerning
my children, even concerning the work of my hands, will you command
me,</i> or prescribe to me? Dare you do so? <i>Shall any teach God
knowledge,</i> or give law to him? Those that complain of God do in
effect assume an authority over him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p20" shownumber="no">II. They are encouraged to depend upon the
power of God when they are brought very low and are utterly
incapable of helping themselves, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.12" parsed="|Isa|45|12|0|0" passage="Isa 45:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Their <i>help stands in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth,</i> which he mentions
here, not only for his own glory, but for their comfort. The
heavens and earth shall contribute, if he please, to the
deliverance of the church (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.8" parsed="|Isa|45|8|0|0" passage="Isa 45:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), for he created both, and therefore has both at
command. 1. He <i>made the earth, and created man upon it,</i> for
it was intended to be a habitation for man, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.115.16" parsed="|Ps|115|16|0|0" passage="Ps 115:16">Ps. cxv. 16</scripRef>. He has therefore not only
authority, but wisdom and power sufficient to govern man here on
this earth and to make what use he pleases of him. 2. His <i>hands
have stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts he
commanded</i> into being at first, and therefore still governs all
their motions and influences. It is good news to God's Israel that
their God is the creator and governor of the world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p21" shownumber="no">III. They are particularly told what God
would do for them, that they might know what to depend upon; and
this shall lead them to expect a more glorious Redeemer and
redemption, of whom, and of which, Cyrus and their deliverance by
him were types and figures.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p22" shownumber="no">1. Liberty shall be proclaimed to them,
<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.13" parsed="|Isa|45|13|0|0" passage="Isa 45:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Cyrus is the
man that shall proclaim it; and, in order hereunto, God will put
power into his hands: <i>I have raised him up in righteousness,</i>
that is, in pursuance and performance of my promises and to plead
my people's just but injured cause. He will give him success in all
his enterprises, particularly that against Babylon: <i>I will
direct all his ways;</i> and then it follows that he will prosper
him, for those must needs speed well that are under a divine
direction. God will make plain the way of those whom he designs to
employ for him. Two things Cyrus must do for God:—(1.) Jerusalem
is God's city, but it is now in ruins, and he must rebuild it, that
is, he must give orders for the rebuilding of it, and give
wherewithal to do it. (2.) Israel is God's people, but they are now
captives, and he must release them freely and generously, not
demanding any ransom, nor compounding with them for price or
reward. And Christ is anointed to do that for poor captive souls
which Cyrus was to do for the captive Jews, to proclaim the
<i>opening of the prison to those that were bound</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.1" parsed="|Isa|61|1|0|0" passage="Isa 61:1"><i>ch.</i> lxi. 1</scripRef>), enlargement from
a worse bondage than that in Babylon.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p23" shownumber="no">2. Provision shall be made for them. They
went out poor, and unable to bear the expenses of their return and
re-establishment; and therefore it is promised that the labour of
Egypt and other nations should <i>come over to them and be
theirs,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.14" parsed="|Isa|45|14|0|0" passage="Isa 45:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>.
Cyrus, having conquered those countries, out of their spoils
provided for the returning Jews; and he ordered his subjects to
furnish them with necessaries (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.1.4" parsed="|Ezra|1|4|0|0" passage="Ezr 1:4">Ezra i.
4</scripRef>), so that they did not go out empty from Babylon any
more than from Egypt. Those that are redeemed by Christ shall be
not only provided for, but enriched. Those whose spirits God stirs
up to go to the heavenly Zion may depend upon him to bear their
charges. The world is theirs as far as is good for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p24" shownumber="no">3. Proselytes shall be brought over to
them: <i>Men of stature shall come after thee in chains; they shall
fall down to thee, saying, Surely God is in thee.</i> This was in
part fulfilled when many of the people of the land became Jews
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Esth.8.17" parsed="|Esth|8|17|0|0" passage="Es 8:17">Esther viii. 17</scripRef>), <i>and
said, We will go with you,</i> humbly begging leave to do so,
<i>for we have heard that God is with you,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.23" parsed="|Zech|8|23|0|0" passage="Zec 8:23">Zech. viii. 23</scripRef>. The restoration would be a
means of the conviction of many and the conversion of some. Perhaps
many of the Chaldeans who were now themselves conquered by Cyrus,
when they saw the Jews going back in triumph, came and begged
pardon for the affronts and abuses they had given them, owned that
God was among them and that he was God alone, and therefore desired
to join themselves to them. But this promise was to have its full
accomplishment in the gospel church,—when the Gentiles shall
become obedient by word and deed to the faith of Christ (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.15.18" parsed="|Rom|15|18|0|0" passage="Ro 15:18">Rom. xv. 18</scripRef>), as willing captives to
the church (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>),
glad to wear her chains,—when an infidel, beholding the public
worship of Christians, shall own himself convinced that <i>God is
with them of a truth</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.14.24-1Cor.14.25" parsed="|1Cor|14|24|14|25" passage="1Co 14:24,25">1 Cor.
xiv. 24, 25</scripRef>) and shall assay to join himself to
them,—and when those that had been <i>of the synagogue of Satan
shall come and worship before the church's feet,</i> and be made to
<i>know that God has loved her</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.9" parsed="|Rev|3|9|0|0" passage="Re 3:9">Rev.
iii. 9</scripRef>), and the <i>kings of the earth and the nations
shall bring their glory into the gospel Jerusalem,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p24.7" osisRef="Bible:Rev.21.24" parsed="|Rev|21|24|0|0" passage="Re 21:24">Rev. xxi. 24</scripRef>. Note, It is good to be
with those, though it be in chains, that have God with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p25" shownumber="no">IV. They are taught to trust God further
than they can see him. The prophet puts this word into their
mouths, and goes before them in saying it (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.15" parsed="|Isa|45|15|0|0" passage="Isa 45:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>Verily, thou art a God
that hidest thyself.</i> 1. God hid himself when he brought them
into the trouble, <i>hid himself and was wroth,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.17" parsed="|Isa|57|17|0|0" passage="Isa 57:17"><i>ch.</i> lvii. 17</scripRef>. Note, Though
God be his people's God and Saviour, yet sometimes, when they
provoke him, he hides himself from them in displeasure, suspends
his favours, and lays them under his frowns: but let them <i>wait
upon the Lord that hides his face,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.17" parsed="|Isa|8|17|0|0" passage="Isa 8:17"><i>ch.</i> viii. 17</scripRef>. 2. He hid himself when
he was bringing them out of the trouble. Note, When God is acting
as Israel's God and Saviour commonly <i>his way is in the sea,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.77.19" parsed="|Ps|77|19|0|0" passage="Ps 77:19">Ps. lxxvii. 19</scripRef>. The
salvation of the church is carried on in a mysterious way, by the
Spirit of the Lord of hosts working on men's spirits (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.4.6" parsed="|Zech|4|6|0|0" passage="Zec 4:6">Zech. iv. 6</scripRef>), by weak and unlikely
instruments, small and accidental occurrences, and not wrought till
the last extremity; but this is our comfort, though God hide
himself, we are sure he is <i>the God of Israel,</i> the
<i>Saviour.</i> See <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.35.14" parsed="|Job|35|14|0|0" passage="Job 35:14">Job xxxv.
14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p26" shownumber="no">V. They are instructed to triumph over
idolaters and all the worshippers of other gods (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.16" parsed="|Isa|45|16|0|0" passage="Isa 45:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>Those who are makers of
idols,</i> not only who frame them, but who make gods of them by
praying to them, <i>shall be ashamed and confounded,</i> when they
shall be convinced of their mistakes and shall be forced to
acknowledged that the God of Israel is the only true God, and when
they shall be disappointed in their expectations from their idols,
under whose protection they had put themselves. They shall go to
confusion when they shall find that they can neither excuse the sin
nor escape the punishment of it, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.97.7" parsed="|Ps|97|7|0|0" passage="Ps 97:7">Ps.
xcvii. 7</scripRef>. It is not here and there one more timorous
than the rest that shall thus shrink, and give up the cause, but
<i>all of them;</i> nay, though they appear in a body, though hand
join in hand, and they do all they can to keep one another in
countenance, yet <i>they shall go to confusion together.</i> Bind
them in bundles, to burn them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p27" shownumber="no">VI. They are assured that those who trust
in God shall never be made ashamed of their confidence in him,
<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.17" parsed="|Isa|45|17|0|0" passage="Isa 45:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. Now that God
was about to deliver them out of Babylon he directed them by his
prophet, 1. To look up to him as the author of their salvation:
<i>Israel shall be saved in the Lord.</i> Not only their salvation
shall be wrought out by his power, but it shall be treasured up for
them in his grace and promise, and so secured to them. They shall
be saved in him; for his name shall be their strong tower, into
which they shall run, and in which they shall be safe. 2. To look
beyond this temporal deliverance to that which is spiritual and has
reference to another world, to think of that salvation by the
Messiah which is an everlasting salvation, the salvation of the
soul, a rescue from everlasting misery and a restoration to
everlasting bliss. "Give diligence to make that sure, for it may be
made sure, so sure that <i>you shall not be ashamed nor confounded
world with out end.</i> You shall not only be delivered from the
<i>everlasting shame and contempt</i> which will be the portion of
idolaters (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.12.2" parsed="|Dan|12|2|0|0" passage="Da 12:2">Dan. xii. 2</scripRef>), but
you shall have everlasting honour and glory." [1.] There is a world
without end; and it will be well or ill with us according as it
will be with us in that world. [2.] Those who are saved with the
everlasting salvation shall never be ashamed of what they did or
suffered in the hopes of it; for it will so far outdo their
expectations as to be a more abundant reimbursement. The returning
captives owned that to them did <i>belong confusion of face</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.9.7-Dan.9.8" parsed="|Dan|9|7|9|8" passage="Da 9:7,8">Dan. ix. 7, 8</scripRef>); yet God
tells them that they shall not be confounded, but shall have
assurance for ever. Those who are confounded as penitents for their
own sin shall not be confounded as believers in God's promise and
power.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p28" shownumber="no">VII. They are engaged for ever to cleave to
God, and never to desert him, never to distrust him. What had been
often inculcated before is here again repeated, for the
encouragement of his people to continue faithful to him, and to
hope that he would be so to them: <i>I am the Lord, and there is
none else.</i> That the Lord we serve and trust in is God alone
appears by the two great lights, that of nature and that of
revelation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p29" shownumber="no">1. It appears by the light of nature; for
he made the world, and therefore may justly demand its homage
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.18" parsed="|Isa|45|18|0|0" passage="Isa 45:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): "<i>Thus
saith the Lord, that created the heavens and formed the earth, I am
the Lord,</i> the sovereign Lord of all, <i>and there is none
else.</i>" The gods of the heathen did not do this, nay, they did
not pretend to do it. He here mentions the creation of the heavens,
but enlarges more upon that of the earth, because that is the part
of the creation which we have the nearest view of and are most
conversant with. It is here observed, (1.) That he formed it. It is
not a rude and indigested chaos, but cast into the most proper
shape and size by Infinite Wisdom. (2.) That he fixed it. When he
had made it he established it, <i>founded it on the seas,</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.24.2" parsed="|Ps|24|2|0|0" passage="Ps 24:2">Ps. xxiv. 2</scripRef>), <i>hung it on
nothing</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.26.7" parsed="|Job|26|7|0|0" passage="Job 26:7">Job xxvi. 7</scripRef>)
as at first he made it of nothing, and yet made it substantial an
hung it fast, <i>ponderibus librata suis—poised by its own
weight.</i> (3.) That he fitted it for use, and for the service of
man, to whom he designed to give it. <i>He created it not in
vain,</i> merely to be a proof of his power; but <i>he formed it to
be inhabited</i> by the children of men, and for that end he drew
the waters off from it, with which it was at first covered, and
made the <i>dry land appear,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.6-Ps.104.7" parsed="|Ps|104|6|104|7" passage="Ps 104:6,7">Ps.
civ. 6, 7</scripRef>. Be it observed here, to the honour of God's
wisdom, that he made nothing in vain, but intended every thing for
some end and fitted it to answer the intention. If any man prove to
have been made in vain, it is his own fault. It should also be
observed, to the honour of God's goodness and his favour to man,
that he reckoned that not made in vain which serves for his use and
benefit, to be a habitation and maintenance for him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p30" shownumber="no">2. It appears by the light of revelation.
As the works of God abundantly prove that he is God alone, so does
his word, and the discovery he has made of himself and of his mind
and will by it. His oracles far exceed those of the Pagan deities,
as well as his operations, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.19" parsed="|Isa|45|19|0|0" passage="Isa 45:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>. The preference is here placed in three things:—All
that God has said is plain, satisfactory, and just. (1.) In the
manner of the delivery of it it is plain and open: <i>I have not
spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth.</i> The Pagan
deities delivered their oracles out of dens and caverns, with a low
and hollow voice, and in ambiguous expressions; those that had
familiar spirits whispered and muttered (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.19" parsed="|Isa|8|19|0|0" passage="Isa 8:19"><i>ch.</i> viii. 19</scripRef>); but God delivered his
law from the top of Mount Sinai before all the thousands of Israel,
in distinct, audible, and intelligible sounds. Wisdom <i>cries in
the chief places of concourse,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.20-Prov.1.21 Bible:Prov.8.1-Prov.8.3" parsed="|Prov|1|20|1|21;|Prov|8|1|8|3" passage="Pr 1:20,21,8:1-3">Prov. i. 20, 21; viii. 1-3</scripRef>. The
vision is written, and made plain, so that he who runs may read it;
if he be obscure to any, they may thank themselves. Christ pleaded
in his own defence what God says here, <i>In secret have I said
nothing,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:John.18.20" parsed="|John|18|20|0|0" passage="Joh 18:20">John xviii.
20</scripRef>. (2.) In the use and benefit of it it was highly
satisfactory: <i>I said not unto the seed of Jacob,</i> who
consulted these oracles and governed themselves by them, <i>Seek
you me in vain,</i> as the false gods did to their worshippers, who
sought <i>for the living to the dead,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.19" parsed="|Isa|8|19|0|0" passage="Isa 8:19"><i>ch.</i> viii. 19</scripRef>. This includes all the
gracious answers that God gave both to those who consulted him (his
word is to them a faithful guide) and to those that prayed to him.
The seed of Jacob are a praying people; it is the <i>generation of
those that seek him,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p30.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.24.6" parsed="|Ps|24|6|0|0" passage="Ps 24:6">Ps. xxiv.
6</scripRef>. And, as he has in his word invited them to seek him,
so he never denied their believing prayers nor disappointed their
believing expectations. He said not to them, to any of them,
<i>Seek you me in vain;</i> for, if he did not think fit to give
them the particular thing they prayed for, yet he gave them such a
sufficiency of grace and such comfort and satisfaction of soul as
were equivalent. What we say of winter is true of prayer, It never
rots in the skies. God not only gives a gracious answer to those
that diligently seek him, but will be their bountiful rewarder.
(3.) In the matter of it it was incontestably just, and there was
no iniquity in it: <i>I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare
things that are right,</i> and consonant to the eternal rules and
reasons of good and evil. The heathen deities dictated those things
to their worshippers which were the reproach of human nature and
tended to the extirpation of virtue; but God speaks righteousness,
dictates that which is right in itself and tends to make men
righteous; and therefore he is God, and there is none else.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xlvi-p30.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.20-Isa.45.25" parsed="|Isa|45|20|45|25" passage="Isa 45:20-25" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xlvi-p30.8">
<h4 id="Is.xlvi-p30.9">The Folly of Idolatry; Salvation in
Christ. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p30.10">b. c.</span> 708.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xlvi-p31" shownumber="no">20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near
together, ye <i>that are</i> escaped of the nations: they have no
knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto
a god <i>that</i> cannot save.   21 Tell ye, and bring
<i>them</i> near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath
declared this from ancient time? <i>who</i> hath told it from that
time? <i>have</i> not I the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p31.1">Lord</span>?
and <i>there is</i> no God else beside me; a just God and a
Saviour; <i>there is</i> none beside me.   22 Look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I <i>am</i> God,
and <i>there is</i> none else.   23 I have sworn by myself,
the word is gone out of my mouth <i>in</i> righteousness, and shall
not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall
swear.   24 Surely, shall <i>one</i> say, in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p31.2">Lord</span> have I righteousness and strength:
<i>even</i> to him shall <i>men</i> come; and all that are incensed
against him shall be ashamed.   25 In the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xlvi-p31.3">Lord</span> shall all the seed of Israel be justified,
and shall glory.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p32" shownumber="no">What here is said is intended, as
before,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p33" shownumber="no">I. For the conviction of idolators, to show
them their folly in worshipping gods that cannot help them, and
neglecting a God that can. Let all <i>that have escaped of the
nations,</i> not only the people of the Jews, but those of other
nations that were by Cyrus released out of captivity in Babylon,
let them come, and hear what is to be said against the worshipping
of idols, that they may be cured of it as well as the Jews, that
Babylon, which had of old been the womb of idolatry, might now
become the grave of it. Let the refugees assemble themselves and
come together; God has something to say to them for their own good,
and it is this, that idolatry is a foolish sottish thing, upon two
accounts:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p34" shownumber="no">1. It is setting up a refuge of lies for
themselves: <i>They set up the wood of their graven image;</i> for
that is the <i>substratum.</i> Though they overlay it with gold,
deck it with ornaments, and make a god of it, yet still it is but
wood. They <i>pray to a god that cannot save;</i> for he cannot
hear, he cannot help, he can do nothing. How do those disparage
themselves who give honour to that as a god which cannot, as a god,
give good to them! How do those deceive themselves who pray for
relief to that which is in no capacity at all to relieve them!
Certainly those have no knowledge, or are brutish in their
knowledge, who take so much pains, and do so much penance, in
seeking the favour of a god that has no power.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p35" shownumber="no">2. It is setting up a rival with God, the
only living and true God (<scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.21" parsed="|Isa|45|21|0|0" passage="Isa 45:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>): "Summon them all; tell them that the great cause
shall again be tried, though once adjudged, between God and Baal.
<i>Bring them near, and let them take counsel together</i> what to
say in defence of themselves and their idols. It shall, as before,
be put upon this issue: let them show when any of their gods did
with any certainty foretel future events, as the God of Israel has
done, and it shall be acknowledged that they have some colour for
their pretensions. But None of them ever did; their prophets were
lying prophets; but <i>I the Lord have told it from that time,</i>
long before it came to pass; therefore you must own <i>there is no
other God besides me.</i>" (1.) None besides is fit to rule. He is
<i>a just God,</i> and rules in justice, and will execute justice
for those that are oppressed. (2.) None besides is able to help. As
he is a just God, so he is <i>the Saviour,</i> who can save without
the assistance of any, but without whom none can save. Those
therefore have no sense of truth and falsehood, good and evil, no,
nor of their own interest, that set up any in competition with
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p36" shownumber="no">II. For the comfort and encouragement of
all God's faithful worshippers, whoever they are, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p36.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.22" parsed="|Isa|45|22|0|0" passage="Isa 45:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. Those that worship
idols pray to gods that cannot save; but the God of Israel says it
to all the ends of the earth, to his people, though they are
scattered into the utmost corners of the world and seem to be lost
and forgotten in their dispersion, "Let them but <i>look to me</i>
by faith and prayer, look above instruments and second causes, look
off from all pretenders, and look up to me, and they shall <i>be
saved.</i>" It seems to refer further to the conversion of the
Gentiles that live in the ends of the earth, the most distant
nations, when the standard of the gospel is set up. <i>To it shall
the Gentiles seek.</i> When Christ is lifted up from the earth, as
the brazen serpent upon the pole, he shall draw the eyes of all men
to him. They shall all be invited to look unto him, as the stung
Israelites did to the brazen serpent; and so strong is the eye of
faith that by divine grace it will reach the Saviour and fetch in
salvation by him even from the ends of the earth; for <i>he is God,
and there is none else.</i> Two things are here promised, for the
abundant satisfaction of all that by faith look to the
Saviour:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p37" shownumber="no">1. That the glory of the God they serve
shall be greatly advanced; and this will be good news to all the
Lord's people, that, how much soever they and their names are
depressed, God will be exalted, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.45.23" parsed="|Isa|45|23|0|0" passage="Isa 45:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. This is confirmed by an oath,
that we might have strong consolation: <i>I have sworn by
myself</i> (and God can swear by no greater, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.13" parsed="|Heb|6|13|0|0" passage="Heb 6:13">Heb. vi. 13</scripRef>); <i>the word has gone out of my
mouth,</i> and shall neither be recalled nor return empty; it has
gone forth <i>in righteousness,</i> for it is the most reasonable
equitable thing in the world that he who made all should be Lord of
all, that, since all beings are derived from him, they should all
be devoted to him. He has said it, and it shall be made good, <i>I
will be exalted,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.46.10" parsed="|Ps|46|10|0|0" passage="Ps 46:10">Ps. xlvi.
10</scripRef>. He has assured us, (1.) That he will be universally
submitted to, that the kingdoms of the world shall become his
kingdom. They shall do him homage—<i>Unto me every knee shall
bow;</i> and they shall bind themselves by an oath of allegiance to
him—<i>Unto me every tongue shall swear.</i> This is applied to
the dominion of our Lord Jesus, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.14.10-Rom.14.11" parsed="|Rom|14|10|14|11" passage="Ro 14:10,11">Rom. xiv. 10, 11</scripRef>. <i>We shall all stand
before the judgment-seat of Christ</i> and give account to him, for
it is written, <i>As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow
to me and every tongue shall confess to God;</i> and it seems to be
referred to, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.9-Ps.2.10" parsed="|Ps|2|9|2|10" passage="Ps 2:9,10">Ps. ii. 9,
10</scripRef>. If the heart be brought into obedience to Christ,
and made willing in the day of his power, the knee will bow to him
in humble adorations and addresses, and in cheerful obedience to
his commands, submission to his disposals, and compliance with his
will in both; and the tongue will swear to him, will lay a bond
upon the soul to engage it for ever to him; for he that bears an
honest mind never startles at assurances. (2.) That he will be
universally sought unto, and application shall be made to him from
all parts of the world: <i>Unto him shall men of distant countries
come,</i> to implore his favour. <i>Unto thee shall all flesh
come</i> with their request, <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p37.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.65.2" parsed="|Ps|65|2|0|0" passage="Ps 65:2">Ps. lxv.
2</scripRef>. And, when Christ was <i>lifted up from the earth, he
drew all men to him.</i> (3.) That it will be to no purpose to make
opposition to him. <i>All that are incensed against him,</i> that
rage at his bonds and cords—the nations that are angry because he
has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, that have
been incensed at the strictness of his laws, the success of his
gospel, and the spiritual nature of his kingdom—they <i>shall be
ashamed;</i> some shall be brought to a penitential shame for it,
others to a remediless ruin. One way or other, sooner or later, all
that are uneasy at Christ's government and victories will be made
ashamed of their folly and obstinacy. Blessed be God for the
assurance here given us that, whatever becomes of us and our
interests, <i>the Lord will reign for ever!</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xlvi-p38" shownumber="no">2. That the welfare of the souls they are
concerned for shall be effectually secured: <i>Surely shall one
say,</i> and another shall learn by his example to say the same, so
that all the seed of Israel, according to the Spirit, shall say,
and stand to it, (1.) That God has a sufficiency for them and that
in Christ there is enough to supply all their needs: <i>In the Lord
is all righteousness and strength</i> (so the margin reads it); he
is himself righteous and strong. He can do every thing, and yet
will do nothing but what is unquestionably just and equitable. He
has also wherewithal to supply the needs of those that seek to him
and depend upon him, upon the equity of his providence and the
treasures of his grace; nay, we may say, not only "<i>He</i> has
it," but, "In him <i>we</i> have it," because he has said that he
will be to us a God. In the Lord the captive Jews had righteousness
(that is, grace both to sanctify their afflictions to them and to
qualify them for deliverance) and strength for their support and
escape. In the Lord Jesus we have righteousness to recommend us to
the good-will of God towards us, and strength to begin and carry on
the good work of God in us. He is the fountain of both, and on him
we must depend for both, must <i>go forth in his strength, and make
mention of his righteousness,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xlvi-p38.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.71.16" parsed="|Ps|71|16|0|0" passage="Ps 71:16">Ps.
lxxi. 16</scripRef>. (2.) That they shall have an abundant bliss
and satisfaction in this. [1.] The people of the Jews shall in the
Lord be justified before men and openly glory in their God. The
oppressors reproached them, loaded them with calumny, and boasted
even of a right to oppress them, as abandoned by their God; but,
when God shall work out their deliverance, that shall be their
justification from these hard censures, and therefore they shall
glory in it. [2.] All true Christians, that depend upon Christ for
strength and righteousness, in him shall be justified and shall
glory in that. Observe, <i>First,</i> All believers are the seed of
Israel, an upright praying seed. <i>Secondly,</i> The great
privilege they enjoy by Jesus Christ is that in him, and for his
sake, they are justified before God, Christ being made of God to
them righteousness. All that are justified will own it is in Christ
that they are justified, nor could they be justified by any other;
and those who are justified shall be glorified. And therefore,
<i>Thirdly,</i> The great duty believers owe to Christ is to glory
in him, and to make their boast of him. <i>Therefore</i> he is made
all in all to us, that <i>whose glories may glory in the Lord;</i>
and let us comply with this intention.</p>
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