“soul (0), nor say, "Is there not a lie (p) "in my right hand? 21. Remember "these, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou "art my servant (q): I have formed "thee (q), thou art my servant: O Israel, "thou shalt not be forgotten of me: “22. I have (r) blotted out, as a thick "cloud, thy transgressions, and as a "cloud thy sins: return unto me, for I "have redeemed (s) thee. 23. Sing (t), "O ye heavens; for the LORD hath "done it shout ye lower parts of the "earth; break forth into singing ye "mountains, O forest, and every tree "therein: for the LORD hath redeemed "Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel." "24. Thus saith the LORD thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from "the womb, "I am the LORD that

66

(o)" Deliver his soul," i. e. "extricate "himself from this delusion."

(p) "A lie, &c." i. e. perhaps, "Is not "my strength, what I make my right hand, "that on which I depend, falsehood."

am

(q) v. 21. "My servant," "I have formed "thee, &c." The repetition of these and similar expressions, intimates a strong anxiety on God's part to keep them to the true worship, and deter them from idolatry. (r) v.22. "Have blotted," or " blot,"" ready to blot," or "have made thy transgressions vanish as a cloud, and thy sins as a vapour. Bp. Lowth. Sept. and Heb." (s) "For I have redeemed," or "that I 66 may redeem. Pole." "And I will re"deem. Sept."

(t) v. 23.*" Sing, &c." A spirited apostrophe to heaven and earth, the inanimate parts of the creation, to celebrate the deliverances God would affect; calling upon them to join in thanksgiving and praise, as though the event had already happened, and intimating the greatness of the deliverance from the joy it would produce. See Milton's Morning Hymn, and ante, 332. note on Ps. lxv. 14.-379. note on Ps. xcvi. 11. and post, note on Is. liv. 12.

(u) v. 25. "The liars," i. e. probably, "heathen astrologers and magicians: pre"tenders to divine inspiration." The Chaldeans were notorious for the practices of astrology and magic, and for pretensions to the powers of prophecy; and in the Babylonish captivity to which this chapter looks forward, they would be able to judge of the Chaldean gods by observing how far any of their pretended predictions came to pass.

"maketh all things, that stretcheth "forth the heavens alone; that spread"eth abroad the earth by myself; "25. That frustrateth the tokens of "the liars (u), and maketh diviners mad; "that turneth (r) wise men backward, "and maketh (y) their knowledge fool"ish; 26. That confirmeth (z) the word "of his servant, and performeth the "counsel of his messengers; that saith "to Jerusalem, "Thou shalt be inha"bited;" and to the cities of Judah, ""Ye shall be built, and I will raise up "the decayed places thereof:" 27. That "saith to the deep, "Be dry (a), and I "will dry up (6) thy rivers." 28. That "saith of Cyrus (c), "He is my shep"herd, and shall perform all my plea

66

sure, even (d) saying to Jerusalem,

(x)" Turneth, &c." i. e. " by disap"pointing the expectations they had "raised: by frustrating their predictions."

(y)" Maketh, &c." i. e. "by exposing "the folly of their pretended knowledge." (z) v. 26. "Confirmeth, &c." "making plain the distinction between his servants, "and pretenders."

66

(a) v. 27. "The deep, be dry," or "the "abyss (i. e. Babylon) be desolate. Sept." 3 Hales, 109. Two ideas are then expressed, the desolation, and the drying up of the waters: without this alteration, what is there to shew that Babylon was contemplated?

(6) "Dry up, &c." It was by turning the course of the Euphrates, making its channel dry, and marching his troops through it, that Cyrus, about 173 years after this prediction, took Babylon, and rescued the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Jeremiah has predictions referring to the same event. In speaking of Babylon, Jer. 1. 38. he says, "A drought "is upon her waters, and they shall be "dried up;" and Jer. li. 36. "I will dry "up her sea, and make her springs dry, "and Babylon shall become heaps, &c."

(c) v. 28. "Cyrus." So that God mentioned him by name above 100 years before his birth; and in the next chapter, Is. xlv. 4. he assigns this reason, "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."

(d)" Saying," i. e. "Cyrus saying," (and in so doing performing God's pleasure).

""Thou shalt be built (e)," and to the "temple, "Thy foundation shall be "laid."

CHAP. XLVI. (g)

“BEL (7) boweth down, Nebo (h) stoop"eth, their idols were upon the beasts, "and upon the cattle: your carriages "were heavy loaden, they are a burden (i) "to the weary beast. 2. They stoop,

66

they bow down together, they could "not deliver the burden, but themselves "are gone into captivity. 3. Hearken "unto me, O house of Jacob, and all "the remnant of the house of Israel, "which are (k) borne by me from the "belly (1), which are carried (k) from "the womb (7). 4. And even to your "old age (1) I am he, and even to hoar "hairs will I carry (k) you: I have made, " and I will (k) bear; even I will "and will deliver you. 5. To whom "will ye liken me, and make me equal "and compare me, that we may be like? "6. They lavish gold out of the bag, "and weigh silver in the balance, and "hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a "god: they fall down, yea, they wor

carry

(e) "Thou shalt be built, &c." God afterwards promised the Jews by Jeremiah, "after seventy years be accomplished at "Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my "good word towards you, in causing you "to return to this place. Jer. xxix. 10." See also Jer. xxv. 12, 13. Shortly before the expiration of this period, Darius the Mede, the father-in-law of Cyrus, took Babylon; and in the 70th year, 536 years before the birth of Christ, Cyrus authorized the Jews to return to Judea to rebuild the temple and the city, and ordered them supplies. Ezra i. 2 to 4.-Josephus, B.11. c. 1.3 Hales, 108.

(g)" The weakness of idols contrasted with the power and foreknowledge of God. (h) v. i. “ Bel," "Nebo." Two Babylonian idols.

(i) "Burden." So far from being gods, they cannot move themselves, nor can they exempt from fatigue those who carry them.

(k) v. 3, 4. "Borne," and "carried." Expressions intimating God's kindness to

ship. 7. They bear him upon the "shoulder, they carry him and set him "in his place, and he standeth; from "his place shall he not remove: yea, one

66

shall cry unto him, yet can he not an66 swer, nor save him out of his trouble. "8. Remember this, and shew your"selves men (m): bring it again to mind, "O ye transgressors. 9. Remember "the former things of old, for I am God, " and there is none else; I am God, and "there is none like me, 10. Declaring (n) "the end from the beginning, and from "ancient times the things that are not "yet done, saying, "My counsel shall "stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" "11. Calling a ravenous bird (0) from "the east, the man (o) that executeth

66

my counsel from a far country: yea, "I have spoken it, I will also bring it "to pass; I have purposed it, I will "also do it. 12. Hearken unto me ye "stout-hearted, that are far from right66 eousness. 13. I bring near my right

66

eousness (p); it shall not be far off, " and my salvation shall not tarry: and "I will place (q) salvation in Zion for "Israel my glory."

CHAP. LI. (r)

"HEARKEN to me ye that follow after "righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: "look unto the rock (s) whence ye are "hewn, and to the hole (s) of the pit "whence ye are digged. 2. Look unto "Abraham your father, and unto Sarah "that bare you; for I called him alone (t), "and blessed him and increased him. "3. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: "he will comfort all her waste places, "and he will make her wilderness like "Eden (u), and her desert like the garden "of the LORD: joy and gladness shall be "found therein, thanksgiving, and the "voice of melody. 4. Hearken unto "me, my people (x), and give ear unto 66 me, O my nation (a): for a law (y)

"shall proceed from me, and I will "make my judgment to rest (z) for a light of the people. 5. My righteous

"ness (a) is near; my salvation is gone "forth, and mine arms shall judge the people (b): the isles (6) shall wait upon

(r) An exhortation to confidence in God, calling to mind his works of former times, and promises of deliverance.

(s) v. 1. "Rock," i. e. "Abraham," from whom, on account of his age, there was no more prospect of children, than of produce from the barren rock; and "hole

of the pit whence ye are digged;" referring to Sarah, from whom there was still less chance of offspring. The meaning is, if God could in that instance go so far beyond all human probability, he can do as = great things now. In Rom. iv. 19. there is a similar allusion to the state of Abraham and Sarah at the time when a son was promised them, (Gen. xviii. 10.) "he (Abraham) "considered not his own body, now dead, "when he was about an hundred years old, "neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb, "but was strong in faith, being fully per"suaded, that what God had promised, he "was able also to perform." This miraculous conception by Sarah might be intended as a type, to lead the more readily to a belief in the miraculous conception by the Virgin Mary: each was equally against the course of nature. See 1 Chrys. Hom.

50.

(t) v. 2." Alone," i. e. (probably) "when he had no child."

(u) v. 3. "Eden," i. e. " paradise.”

66

a garment, and they that dwell therein "shall die in like manner (d): but my sal"vation shall be for ever; and my righteousness shall not be abolished. "7. Hearken unto me, ye that know "righteousness, the people in whose "heart is my law; fear ye not the re"proach of men, neither be ye afraid of "their revilings. 8. For the moth shall "eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, "and my salvation from generation to generation. 9. Awake, awake, put "on strength, O arm of the LORD; "awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it (e) "that hath cut Rahab (ƒ) and wounded "the dragon (f)? 10. Art thou not it "which hath dried the sea (g), the wa

66

66

66

(x) v. 4. For "my people," and "O my "nation," Bp.Lowth reads, "O ye people," and "O ye nations;" and two of Dr. Kennicot's MSS. sanction the former reading, and nine the latter. He considers it as applying to the call of the Gentiles, to whom no doubt the latter part of this verse and verse 5. apply.

(y) "A law," i. e. "the gospel." "Christian covenant."

"The

(z) "To rest," or "break forth;" "to "be a light to lighten the Gentiles."

(a) v. 5." My righteousness," i. e. "the "deliverance I have promised; the gospel "dispensation."

(b)" The people," and "the isles," i. e. "the Gentiles," and "the places they in"habit."

(c) v. 6. "Lift up, &c." a contrast between the frailty of all created things, and the stability of God's promises.

(d) "In like manner," or "as an insect." (e) v. 9. "Art thou not it, &c." A spirited reference to the deliverance from Egypt, to remind them what God had done, and might still do. (f) "Rahab," i. e. " "dragon," i. e. "Pharaoh."

Egypt."

"The

(g) v. 10. "Dried the sea," i. e. "the "Red Sea, when the Israelites passed "through. Exod. xiv. 21."

"ters of the great deep; that hath made "the depths of the sea a way for the "ransomed (h) to pass over? 11. There"fore (i) the redeemed of the LORD "shall return, and come with singing "unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall "be upon their head: they shall obtain "gladness and joy, and sorrow and "mourning shall flee away. 12. I, even "I, am he that comforteth you: who art "thou that thou shouldest be afraid of "a man that shall die, and of the son of "man which shall be made as grass? "13. And forgettest the LORD thy "maker, that hath stretched forth the "heavens, and laid the foundations of "the earth; and hast feared continually

66

66

every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to "destroy? and where is (k) the fury "of the oppressor? 14. The captive "exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, "and that he should not die in the

(k) v. 13. "And where is, &c." An intimation that it should be of but short continuance.

(1) v. 15. "But I am, &c." "Let him "therefore turn to me."

(m) "The sea," i. e. "the Red Sea ;" again alluding to that signal instance of his power and protection.

(n) v. 16. Put my words, &c." i. e. "given thee my law;" another instance of peculiar favour. "What nation was "there so great, that had statutes and judgments so righteous, as the law God "set before his people? Deut. iv. 8." The superiority of the Mosaic law, the wisdom of its regulations, and their peculiar fitness for the then state of the Israelites, is admirably illustrated in Dr. Greaves's excellent lectures upon the Pentateuch.

(o)" Covered thee, &c." " in thy march "to Canaan." A strong mode of expressing God's protection! So Isaiah xlix. 2. "In the shadow of his hand hath he "hid me."

(p) "May," or "might." The allusion seems to be to the original establishment of the people of Israel after their deliver

"pit, nor that his bread should fail. "15. But I am (1) the LORD thy God, "that divided the sea (m), whose waves "roared: the LORD of hosts is his

66

name. 16. And I have put my "words (n) in thy mouth, and have "covered thee (0) in the shadow of "mine hand, that I may (p) plant the "heavens and lay the foundations of the "earth, and say unto Zion, "Thou art "my people." 17. Awake, awake (g), "stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast "drunk at the hand of the LORD the "cup of his fury; thou hast drunken "the dregs of the cup (r) of trembling, "and wrung them out. 18. There is none to guide her among all the

66

66

sons (s) whom she hath brought forth: "neither is there any that taketh ber "by the hand, of all the sons that she "hath brought up. 19. These two "things are come unto thee: who shall "be sorry for thee? desolation, and

ance from Egypt. "Planting the hea "vens," and " laying the foundation of "the earth," are figurative expressions for establishing a government. Mede, 448, 449. 616.

(q) v. 17. "Awake, awake, &c." After suggesting the true way of obtaining deliverance, an animated appeal to rouse them to resort to it. "Does the captive "exile hasten that he may be loosed, &c. "let him then awake, and turn to him "from whom alone come punishment and "deliverance."

(r) "The cup, &c." Bishop Lowth observes, "The bold image of the cup of "God's wrath is no where handled with

greater force than in this passage, 17"23. Jerusalem is represented in person as staggering under the effects of it, "destitute of that assistance she might

66

66

expect from her children: not one of "them able to support or lead her: They, "abject and amazed, lie at the head of 66 every street, overwhelmed with the greatness of their distress: like the oryx (or wild bull) intangled in a net, "in vain struggling to rend it and escape. "This is poetry of the first order, sub"limity of the highest proof."

(s) v. 18. "None to guide her amongst "all the sons, &c." It is from God alone therefore she can have deliverance.

"destruction, and (t) the famine, and "the sword by whom (u) shall I "comfort thee? 20. Thy sons have

:

"fainted, they lie at the head of all "the streets, as a wild bull in a net: "they are full of the fury of the LORD, "the rebuke of thy God. 21. There"fore hear now this, thou afflicted, "and drunken, but not with wine (x); "22. Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, "and thy God that pleadeth the cause "of his people, "Behold, I have "taken (y) out of thine hand the cup "of trembling, even the dregs of the

(t) v. 19. " And," or 66 even," "deso"lation by famine," and "destruction by "the sword." (2) 66

By whom," or "how."

(x) v. 21. "Not with wine," but with misery and the cup of trembling overpowered with distress, as a drunkard is with wine.

(y) v. 22. "I have taken, &c." this may refer to times not yet arrived: when the Jews shall turn with their whole hearts unto God. See Isaiah xi. 11.

(2) A prophetic account of the backwardness of man to believe that Christ was the Messiah, of the simplicity of his appearance, his rejection treatment and passion, of the cause and object of his sufferings, (to make an atonement for the sins of man, and to procure man's redemption,) of his burial, and future exaltation. The account is so plain and circumstantial that it looks almost like a history of what was past, rather than a prophecy of what was future, and yet is there no doubt of its existence long before our Saviour's appearance. Dr. Hales has given a new translation of it with Notes, 2 Hales, 440. and many parts of it are commented upon, explained and illustrated in Dr. Magee's valuable work upon Atonement and Sacrifice. See 1 Magee, notes, No. 42. Dr. Magee says of it, "That it "not only seems designed to disclose "the whole scheme and essence of the "Christian atonement, but from the fre66 quent and familiar references made to it by the writers in the New Testament, " appears to be recognised by them as "furnishing the true basis of its expo"sition." See also 2 Justin M. Basil ed.

page 42.

(a) v. 1.

"Who hath believed;" an

intimation that there would be a disinclination, not a readiness, to believe. This passage is referred to by St. John, (John xii. 37, 38.) and by St. Paul, (Rom. x. 16.) Though he had done so many miracles "before them, yet they believed not on "him, that the saying of Isaiah the pro"phet might be fulfilled, which he spake, "Lord, who hath believed our report, and "to whom hath the arm of the Lord been "revealed?" and Rom. x. 16. "But they "have not all obeyed the gospel, for "Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"

(b) "Our report," i. e. "the gospel," "the report" mentioned, Isaiah lii. 7., "of "him that bringeth good tidings, that "publisheth peace, that bringeth good "tidings of good, that publisheth salva"tion, that saith unto Zion," thy God reigneth." See Rom. x. 15.

"The

(c) "The arm of the Lord." "means God should use to bring salvation "unto man." alludes to a passage in the preceding chapter, Isaiah lii. 10. announcing the deliverance by the Messiah, "The Lord hath made (or makes) bare "his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, " and all the ends of the world shall see "the salvation of our God." The meaning therefore is, who will believe at his coming that in Jesus Christ is fulfilled the report" thy God reigneth?" and who will understand, or to whom will it be known, that in him hath the Lord made bare his holy arm, to display his salvation to the ends of the earth?

(d) v. 2. "For, &c." The reasons why belief is not readily given; because he has no grandeur pomp or outward marks of greatness, nothing the worldly-minded think attractive.

U U