Transgression the cause A. M. 3294. he heareth not. B. C. 710. 20 Seeing many things, " but thou | who will hearken, and hear 11 for the A. M. 3294 21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 8 22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses; they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for 10 a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? it not to heart. Rom. ii. 21. Or, him.-9 Or, in snaring all the young men of them. y They are all of them snared in holes, &c.—They have been taken in snares made by their own hands, and, by God's just judgment, delivered into the hands of their enemies, and by them cast into pits, or dungeons, and prisons. And none saith, Restore extremities. Who will give ear to this-0 that he may be understood as speaking sarcastically, and terming them perfect,or, perfectly instructed, because they pretended to greater knowledge and piety than others, to a more perfect acquaintance with, and conformity to, the divine will, proudly calling themselves rabbis and masters, and despising the peo--None afforded them either pity or help in their ple as cursed and not knowing the law, John vii. 49; and deriding Christ for calling them blind, John ix. 40. And blind as the Lord's servant ?-Which || title, as it was given to the Jewish people in the first clause of the verse, may be here given to the priests, because they were called and obliged to be the Lord's servants, in a special manner. Seeing many things, but thou observest not-Thou dost not seriously consider the plain word and wonderful works of God. Verse 21. The Lord is well pleased, &c.-Although thou art a wicked people, that rebellest against the clearest light, and therefore God might justly destroy thee suddenly, yet he will patiently wait for thy repentance, that he may be gracious; and that not for thy sake, but for the glory of his own faithfulness, in fulfilling that covenant which he made with thy pious progenitors. He will mag-tions, subject to the insolence of conquerors, shut up nify the law-He will maintain the honour of his law, and therefore is not forward to destroy you, who profess the true religion, lest his law should, upon that occasion, be exposed to contempt. Thus the verse may be interpreted according to the present translation. in prison, trod upon, abused and punished in such a manner as may justly raise the greatest commiseration. Their history, since the crucifixion of the Redeemer, supplies us with one continued detail of their miseries and afflictions; yet, which is most astonishBut it may be rendered dif-||ing, who among them giveth ear? who heareth ferently, as it is by Vitringa and Dr. Waterland, for the time to come?-Who among them consithus: "The Lord took delight in him for his right- dereth the cause of their sufferings, and becometh eousness' sake; he hath magnified him by his obedient to the law of Christ ?"-Dodd. law, and made him honourable." God liberally provided for his people whatever was needful or useful, in order to their salvation and the stability of their state. "He had given them excellent laws; he had increased and honoured them; had made, and was willing to make them glorious among their neighbours. But they had been wanting to themselves, had despised his laws, and incurred his just vengeance."-Dodd. Verses 22-24. But this is a people robbed and spoiled-Notwithstanding the great respect which God hath had, and still hath, for his people, it is evident he hath severely scourged them for their sins. Verse 25. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury, &c.-Most grievous judgments. It hath set him on fire round about-This was literally fulfilled when the Chaldean army took their city, and burned both it and their temple. Yet he knew it not-Considered it not: they were secure and stupid under God's judgments; neither fearing them when threatened, nor truly sensible of God's hand in them, of the causes of God's displeasure, or of the means of cure. The reader will easily observe, that "the force and elegance of the metaphor in this verse are very great. Of all natural evils which affect the human mind, which arouse and awaken it, God will preserve ISAIAH. Israel in tribulation. none do so with greater quickness than fire, than a and ought to think kindled by God, they inquired mighty flame encompassing a man on every side. not into the causes of this judgment. They knew No sleep, no lethargy is so great, which this will not them not, nor considered them; but, persisting in shake off; and yet the stupor and insensibility of their impenitence and stupidity, applied not to God the Jews are here represented to be so great, that in || in faith and repentance, nor humbled themselves the midst of the fire and flame, which they might || before him." See Vitringa. CHAPTER XLIII. After the threatenings recorded at the close of the foregoing chapter, God here revives his people with encouraging declarations and promises. (1,) As the Creator, Redeemer, and Lord of Israel, he engages to be present with them in their manifold afflictions, to support them under and deliver them out of them, and to protect and enlarge his church, 1–7. (2) He challenges idolaters to produce among their gods any that could vie with him in knowledge and power, and appeals to his people as witnesses, 8-13. (3,) He encourages them to expect deliverance from Babylon, and a new state of things, from the consideration of what he did for their fathers when he brought them out of Egypt, 14-21. (4,) To humble and bring them to repentance, and thereby prepare them for the reception of such great mercies, they are reminded of, and reproved for, the sins whereby they had provoked God to send them into captivity, and to continue them so long therein, NOTES ON CHAPTER XLIII. Verses 1, 2. But now, thus saith the Lord-But, notwithstanding thy gross insensibility under former judgments, for which I might justly send far heavier calamities upon thee, yet I will deal mercifully with thee. That created thee, O Jacob, &c. -Who made thee his people, and that in a manner as miraculous as if he had created thee a second time out of nothing; and therefore he will be gracious to his own workmanship. Fear not; for I have redeemed thee-From the Egyptians and divers other enemies; and therefore I will redeem thee again. I have called thee by thy name, &c.-The name of God's people, which was as proper and peculiar to them as the name of Israel. Or, "I have made a particular choice of thee for my peculiar people, and singled thee out from the rest of the world, and ever since have treated thee with uncommon instances of kindness and familiarity." When thou passest through the waters, &c.-"I will support and deliver thee when thou art in the greatest straits and difficulties. To pass through fire and water is a proverbial expression, to signify being exposed to all kinds of dangers." Thou shalt not be burned, &c.—Though I will chastise thee for thy sins, yet I will not suffer thine enemies utterly to destroy thee. Verses 3, 4. I gave Egypt for thy ransom-Some think this was fulfilled when God smote the firstborn and others in Egypt, and afterward drowned Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, for the safety and benefit of his people. But it is more "commonly referred to the time of Sennacherib's invasion; who, when he was just ready to fall upon Jerusalem, soon after his entering Judea, was providentially diverted from that design, and turned his arms against the Egyptians; and their allies the Cushean Arabians, with their neighbours the Sabcans, probably joined with them, under Tirhakah: see chap. xx., and xxxvii. 9. Or, as there are some reasonable objections to this opinion, perhaps it may mean, more generally, that God had often saved his people at the expense of other nations, whom he had, as it were, in their stead, given up to destruction."-Bishop Lowth. Since thou wast precious, &c., thou hast been honourable-That is, from the time that I chose thee for my precious and peculiar treasure and people, I have had a great esteem and affection for thee. Bishop Lowth translates the clause, Because thou hast been precious in my sight, thou hast been A. M. 3294. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: Ip will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name : for I have created him for my glory, m I have formed him; yea, I have made him. goodness of God. 9 Let all the nations be gathered to- A. M. 3294. gether, and let the people be assembled: B. C. 710. ° who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen that ye may know and believe me, and understand Bring forth the blind people that have that I am he: before me there was 2 no God eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 8 iChapter xli. 10, 14; xliv. 2; Jeremiah xxx. 10; xlvi. 27. Chap. Ixii. 19; James ii. 7. Psa. c. 3; Chap. xxix. 23; John iii. 3, 5; 2 Cor. v. 17; Eph. ii. 10.- m Verse 1. honoured, &c. Vitringa thinks the prophet refers to the deliverance from Sennacherib, whereby God abundantly showed that the Jewish nation was precious and honourable in his sight; and the men, in the last clause, refers to the Assyrians, and the people to the Chaldeans. The Assyrians suffered a fearful slaughter (chap. xxxvii. 36) for the sake of the Jews, and the empire of the Chaldees was to be overturned by the Medes and Persians to procure their deliverance. In both which instances God abundantly testified that his church was precious,|| and honourable in his sight, and much beloved by || him. formed, neither shall there be after me. the Maccabees; exactly in the same manner as in chap. xi. 12, which should be compared with this place. The 7th verse plainly shows that the spiritual seed of Israel is spoken of. Every one that is called by my name, means, every one who is truly my son; for to be called by the name of any one is to be his son." See chap. xlv. 5, and Vitringa. Verses 8-10. Bring forth the blind people, &c.— O ye idolatrous Gentiles, bring forth your false gods, which have eyes but see not, and ears but hear not. Let the people be assembled To plead the cause of their idols with me. Who among them can declare this-This wonderful work of mine in bringing my people out of captivity. And show us former things Verses 5–7. I will bring thy seed from the east, &c.-Although the Jews, for their sins, shall be car--Such things as shall happen long before the return ried captives out of their own land northward and from the captivity, which yet your blind idols cannot eastward into Babylon, and the adjacent countries; foresee. See on chap. xli. 22. Let them bring forth and others of them shall flee southward and west- their witnesses-Who can testify the truth of any ward, and shall there pine away in their iniquities, such predictions of theirs, that they may be owned as I have threatened; yet I will bring back their for true gods; or if they can produce no evidence posterity into Canaan, from all the places where of any such thing, let them confess that what I say they are dispersed. I will say to the north, Give is truth, that I am the only true God. Ye are my up-Thou, who hast so long held my people in bond- witnesses-They can produce no witnesses for themage, resign them to me, and permit them to return selves; but you, my people, are able to witness for to their own land. He speaks to the countries by a me, that I have given you many plain demonstraprosopopœia. Bring my sons from far-Not only tions of my certain foreknowledge of future events. permit, but assist and further their return. Every|| And my servant whom I have chosen-Either Isaiah one that is called-Rather, every one is called, or, and other prophets, the singular word being put colthey are all called, by my name—I own them for lectively, or, the Messiah, as not only Christians, but my people and children; and, therefore, what kind- the Chaldee paraphrast understands it; who was ness or cruelty you exercise toward them, I take it thus described, (chap. xlii. 1,) and who is the most as done to myself. I have created him for my glory eminent witness in this cause; and that on two ac-And therefore I will glorify my power, and good-counts; 1st, As he was the chief subject of prophecy, ness, and faithfulness in delivering them. I have|| formed him-I have not only created them out of nothing, but I have also formed and made them my peculiar people. We must observe, however, that while Isaiah" appears to speak of one thing only, two are understood: the less includes the greater. Speaking literally and properly of the collection of the dispersed church from Babylon,-a more noble collection, the spiritual one, of the converted Jews and Gentiles to the church of Christ, was in his view; and this is described in expressions taken from the external collection of the church from Babylon, and the restoration of the republic under || and the various particulars foretold concerning him came exactly to pass; and, 2d, As many future things were predicted by him, of which we have many examples in the New Testament. That I am heHe whom I have affirmed myself to be, namely, the true God. Before me there was no God formedThe gods of the heathen neither had a being before me, nor shall continue after me. Wherein more is understood than is expressed; that whereas Jehovah is God from everlasting to everlasting, these false pretenders to deity were but of yesterday, and should shortly be abolished. And withal he calls them formed gods, by way of contempt, and to show the The people encouraged to expect A. M. 3294. 11 I, even I, sam the LORD; and || nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry A. M. 3294. u 13 Yea, before the day was, I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall 3 let it? 14 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their Chap. xlv. 21; Hos. xiii. 4.- Deut. xxxii. 16; Psa. lxxxi. 9. Chap. xliv. 8; Verse 10.- Psa. xc. 2; John viii. 58. Heb. turn it back? X B. C. 710. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. b 16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. y Job ix. 12; Chap. xiv. 27.- Heb. bars.- Exod. xiv. 16, 22; Psa. lxxvii. 19; Chap. li. 10. Josh. iii. 13, 16 b Exod. xiv. 4-9, 25.- Jer. xvi. 14; xxiii. 7. ridiculousness of their pretensions to divinity, who that in later times we hear little of the commerce and are formed by the hands of men. Verses 11-13. Besides me there is no saviour None that can and does save his worshippers: wherein is implied, that the false gods were not only weak and unable to save those that trusted in them, but also were their destroyers, as being the great cause of their ruin. Ihave declared, and have saved -I first foretold your deliverance, and then effected it. And I have showed, when there was no strange god, &c.-Rather, I made it known; nor was it any strange god. So Bishop Lowth. This divine prescience and predicting of future events is thus repeatedly insisted upon, because it is the principal argument used here, and in chap. xli., to determine this controversy between Jehovah and idols. Yea, before the day was-Before all time: or, which is the same, from all eternity. I am he--I am God, and have proved myself to be so. None can deliver out of my hands-None of those that are called gods can save them whom I will destroy. Therefore they are impotent, and consequently no gods. I will work, and who shall let it?-Nor can they hinder me in any other work which I resolve to do. naval power of Babylon: for, after the taking of the city by Cyrus, the Euphrates was not only rendered less fit for navigation by being, on that occasion, diverted from its course, and left to spread over the country; but the Persian monarchs, residing in their own country, to prevent any invasion by sea on that part of their empire, purposely obstructed the navigation of both rivers, by making cataracts in them, that is, by raising dams across the channel, and making artificial falls in them; that no vessel, of any size or force, could possibly come up.—Strabo, lib. xvi. Alexander began to restore the navigation of the river by demolishing the cataracts upon the Tigris, as far up as Seleucia; but he did not live to finish his great designs: those upon the Euphrates still continued." Verses 16, 17. Which maketh a way in the sea, &c.-Who, as he formerly made a way for Israel through the Red sea, will, in a no less wonderful manner, remove all impediments out of the way of his people when they return from Babylon. Which bringeth forth-Or, rather, who brought forth, the chariots, &c.--That is, Pharaoh and his chariots, Verse 14. For your sake I have sent to Babylon-horses, and army. They shall lie down, &c. I have sent Cyrus, and the Medes and Persians with They lay down together-In the bottom of the sea, him, to war against Babylon, to this very end, that whence they never rose again to molest the Ishe might deliver you out of captivity, and restore raelites. They are quenched as tow-As the wick you to your land, according to my promise. I have of a candle is extinguished when it is put into water. brought down-From that height of power and Verses 18, 19. Remember ye not the former things glory to which they were advanced; all their nobles-But although your former deliverance out of Egypt -Their princes and great commanders. Bishop Lowth prefers the reading of the margin, (the word O properly signifying bars,) and renders the next clauses, I will bring down all her strong bars, and the Chaldeans exulting in their ships. On which he observes, "Babylon was very advantageously situated, both in respect to commerce, and as a naval power. It was open to the Persian gulf by the Euphrates, which was navigable by large vessels; and, being joined to the Tigris above Babylon, by the canal called Naharmalca, or the royal river, supplied the city with the produce of the whole country to the north of it, as far as the Euxine and Caspian seas.-Herod. i,, 194. We are not to wonder was in itself a most glorious work, which you ought always to remember and consider; yet this other work, of your deliverance out of Babylon, and those blessings which shall follow upon it, and particularly that of sending the Messiah, shall be so transcendent a favour, that, in comparison thereof, all your former deliverances are scarcely worthy of your remembrance and consideration. See two parallel texts, Jer. xvi. 14, 15, and xxiii. 5-8. From which passages laid together it appears that this latter deliverance, compared with that out of Egypt, is not to be confined to their restoration from captivity, but to be extended to the consequences thereof, and especially to the redemption of the Messiah. Indeed, other wise the deliverance from Egypt was more glorious and wonderful, in many respects, than that out of Babylon. Behold, I will do a new thing--Such a work as was never yet done in the world. Now it shall spring forth-The Scripture often speaks of things at a great distance of time, as if they were now at hand, to make us sensible of the inconsiderableness of time and all temporal things, in comparison of God and eternal things; upon which account it is said, that a thousand years are in God's sight but as one day. Shall ye not know it?--Certainly, you Jews shall know it by experience, and shall find I do not deceive you with vain hopes. I will make a way in the wilderness, &c.-I will give you direction and provision in the wilderness, where there is commonly no path, and where all necessaries are wanting; which, as it literally speaks of God's conducting them through the great desert which lay between Babylon and Judea, so it is mystically meant of those spiritual blessings which God, in and through Christ, would confer upon all his people, not the Jews only, but also the Gentiles, who, in prophetical language, are often compared to a wilderness. Verse 20. The beast of the field shall honour me -Shall have cause, if they had abilities, to honour and praise me for their share in this mercy; the dragons, &c.-Which live in dry and barren deserts. "The image," says Bishop Lowth, "is elegant and highly poetical. God will give such an abundant, miraculous supply of water to his people traversing the dry desert, in their return to their country, that even the wild beasts, the serpents, the ostriches, and other animals that haunt those adust regions, shall be sensible of the blessing, and shall break forth into thanksgiving and praises to him for the unusual refreshment which they receive from his so plentifully watering the sandy wastes of Arabia Deserta, for the benefit of his people passing through them." Verses 22-24. But thou hast not called upon me --Thou hast grossly neglected, or very negligently and hypocritically performed the duties of my worship. Thou hast been weary of me--Thou hast not i mercy of God. B. C. 710. 23 Thou hast not brought me the A. M. 3294 small cattle of thy burnt-offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. m 8 n 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, " and will not remember thy sins. h Malachi i. 13.- iAmos v. 25.-7Heb. lambs, or, kids. Heb. made me drunk, or, abundantly moistened. Chap. i. 14; Mal. ii. 17.- Chap. xliv. 22; xlviii. 9; Jer. 1. 20; Acts iii. m Ezek. xxxvi. 22.- Chap. i. 18; Jer. xxxi. 34. 19. esteemed my service to be a privilege, as in truth it is, but as a burden and a bondage. "The connection is: But thou, Israel, whom I have chosen, whom I have formed for myself, to be my witness against the false gods of the nations; even thou hast revolted from me, hast neglected my worship, and hast been perpetually running after strange gods. The Jews were diligent in performing the external services of religion; in offering prayers, incense, sacrifices, oblations; but their prayers were not offered with faith, and their oblations were made more frequently to their idols than to the God of their fathers." Neither hast thou honoured me-If thou didst not neglect sacrificing to me, thou didst perform that duty merely out of custom; or didst dishonour me, and pollute thy sacrifices by thy wicked life I have not wearied thee-Or, Although I have not wearied thee, &c. Although God had not laid such heavy burdens upon them, nor required such costly offerings, as might give them cause to be weary, nor such as idolaters did freely perform in the service of their idols. Thou hast brought me no sweet cane--This was used in the making of that precious ointment, (Exod. xxx. 34,) and for the incense, Exod. xxx. 7. See Jer. vi. 20. Thou hast been niggardly in my service, when thou hast spared for no cost in the service of thine idols. Nor filled me, &c.--Thou hast not multiplied thy thank-offerings and free-willofferings, though I have given thee sufficient occasion to do so. But thou hast made me serve, &c.— Thou hast made me to bear the load and burden of thy sins. Verse 25. I, even I—Whom thou hast thus despised, and wearied, and provoked to destroy thee; am he that blotteth out thy transgressions-Out of my book, in which they were all written, to be read unto thee, and charged upon thee at a future day. Sins are often compared to debts, (Matt. vi. 12, &c.,) written in the creditor's book, and crossed or blotted out when they are paid. For mine own sake--Being moved thereunto, not by thy merits, but by my own mere goodness and free mercy. And will not re |