Chapter XLIII
Ver. 1-28. A Succession of Arguments wherein Israel MAY BE Assured that, notwithstanding tueir Perversity towards God (ch. 42. 25), He will Deliver AND Restore them. 1. But now— Notwithstanding God's past just judgments for Israel's sins, created—not only in the general sense, but specially created as a peculiar people unto Himself (v. 7, 15,21; ch. 44.2,21,24). So believers, "created in Clirist Jesus" (Ephesians 2. 10), "a peculiar people" (1 Peter 2. 9). redeemed—a second argument wliy they should trust Him besides creation. The Hebrew means to ransom by a price paid in lieu of the cap-
light," &c., implies that the glorious issue would only be known by the event itself. [Vitbinga.] The same holds good of the individual believer (ch. 30. 21 ; Psalm 107. 7; cf. Hosea 2. 6, li ; Ephesians 5. 8 ; Hebrews 13. 5). 17. tiinied back . . . ashamed— disappointed in their trust; the same phrase occurs. Psalm 35. 4. 18. deaf—tiiz., to tlie Toice of God. blind—to your duty and interest; wilfully
BO(D. 20). In this they differ from "tlie blind" (w. 16). The Jews are referred to. He had said, God would destroy the heatlien idolatry; here he remembers that even Israel,
his "servant" (v. 19), from whom better things miglit have been expected, is tainted with this sin. 19. my servant viz., Israel. Who of the heathen is so blind? Considering Israel's high privileges, the heathen's blindness was as nothing compared with that of Israelite idol-
tives (cf. V. 3). Babylon was to be the ransom in this case,
i. e., was to be destroyed, in order that they might be delivered; so Christ became a curse, doomed to deatii, that we miglit be redeemed, called . . . by name—not merely "called" in general, as in ch. 42. 6; 48.12; 51. 2, but designated as His own peculiar people (cf. ch. 45.3, 4; Exodua 32.1; 33.12; John 10. 3). 2. rivers . . . not overflow thee —so in passing Jordan, though at Its "overflow," when itn "swellings" were especially dangerous (Joshua 3. 15; Jeremiah 12. 5). waters . . . Are—a proverbial plirase for the extremest perils (Psalm 66. 12; also Psalm 138. 7). Lit. ful-
aters, my messengei . . . sent—Israel was designed by God to be the herald of His truth to other nations, perfect— furnislied witli institutions, civil and religious, suited to their perfect well-being. Cf. the title, " Jeshurun," the perfect one, applied to Israel {cf. ch. 44; 2), as the type of Messiah. [Vitringa.] Or translate, the friend ot God, which Israel was by virtue of descent from Abraham, who was so called (ch. 41. 8). [Gesenius.] The language, "my servant" (cf. ij. 1 )," messenger" (Malachl
filled at the Red iS'ea (Exodus 14.), and in the case of the three youths cast into the fiery furnace for conscience' sake (Daniel 3. 25, 27). 3. Egypt for thy ransom—either Egypt or Is'rael must perish ; God chose that Egypt, though so much more mighty, should be destroyed, in order that His people might be delivered; thus Egypt stood, instead of Israel, as a Ivind of "ransom." The Hebreiv, kophvr, means properly that with which anything is overlaid, as the pitch with wliicli the ark was overlaid ; hence that which covers over sins, an atonement. Nebuchadnezzar had subdued Egypt, Ethiopia (Hebrew, Cush), and Saba (descended from Cusli, Genesis 10.7, probably Meroe of Ethiopia, a great island formed by the Astaboras and the Nile, conquered by Caniby.ses, successor of Cyrus). Cyrus received these from God with tlie rest of the Babylonian dominions, in consideration of his being aoout to deliver Israel. However, the reference may be to the three years' war in which Sargon overcame these countries, and so had his attention diverted from Israel (see Notes, ch. 20). [Vitringa.) But tlie reference is probably iviore general,
3. 1), " perfect" (Romans 10. 4 ; Hebrews 2. 10 ; 1 Peter 2. 22), can, in the full antitypical sense, only apply to Christ. So t). 21 plainly refers to Him. "Blind" and "deaf" in His case refer to His endurance of suffering and reproach, as tliougli He neitiier said nor heard (Psalm 38. 13, 14). Thus tliere is a transition by contrast from the moral blindness of Israel (v. 18) to the patient blindness and deafness of Messiah. [Hobsley.] !J0. observest—thou dost not keep tliem. Tlie "many things" are the many proofs which all along from the first God had given Israel of His goodness and His power (Deuteronomy 4.32-38; 29.2-4; Psalm 78.; 105). he—transition from the second to the third person. "Opening . . . ears," i. e., though he (Israel) hath his ears open (Note, ch. 6. 10). This language, too (Note, V. 19), applies to Messiali as Jehovah's servant (ch.
50.5; Psalm 40.(5). 21. his righteousness—not His people's, but His own ; v. 24 sliows that they had no righteousness
(oh. 4.5.24; 59.16). God is well pleased with His Son ("in whom my soul delighteth," v. 1), "who fulfils all righteousness" (Mattiiew 3. 15) for them, and witli tliem for His sake (cf. v. 6 ; Psalm 71. 16, 19 ; Mattiiew 5. 17 ; Romans 10.
viz., to all tlie instances in which Jehovah sacrificed mighty heathen nations, when the safety of Israel required
it. 4. Since—All along from the beginning; for there was never a time wlien Israel was not Jehovah's people. The apodosis should be at, "I will give." "Since ever thou wast precious In my sight, honourable, and that I loved thee, I will give," &c. [Mauber.] Gesenius, as English Version, takes Since to mean, Inasmuch as.
3,4; Pliilippians 3.9). Perliaps in God's "righteousness" here is included His faithfulness to His promises given to Israel's forefatliers [RosenmullebJ; because of this He
is well pleased witli Israel, even tliough displeased witli
tlieir sin, wliicli He here reproves; but that promise could only be based on tlie riyMeousness of Messiah, tlie promised seed, wliicli is God's righteousness. HH, holes—caught by tlieir foes in the caverns where they had sought refuge. [BABNE.S.) Or bound in subterranean dungeons. [Mauker.] prison houses—either literal prisons, or their mvn houses, whence tliey dare not go forth for fear of the enemy. The connection is. Notwithstanding God's favour to His people for His righteousness' sake (v. 21), they have fallen into misery (the Babylonish and Romish captivi-
If the apodosis be as In English Version, "Since thou wast precious" will refer to the time when God called His people out of Egypt, manifesting tlien first the love whlclj He had from everlasting towards them (Jeremiah 31.3; Hosea 11.1); "honourable" and "loved,"
refer to outward marks of honour and love from God, men . . . people — oWier nations for thee (so v. 3). thy life—thy person. 5, (Deuteronomy 30. 3.) seed-descendants scattered in all liuids. Vitringa understands it of the spiritual " seed" ot the Church produced by mystical regeneration: for the expression is, "bring," not "bring back." This sense is perhaps Included, but not to the exclusion of the literal Israel's restoration (Jeremiah 30. 10.
ties, and their present dispersion), owing to their disregard of the Divine law: spiritual imprisonment is included (u. 7). none salth, Restore—Tliere Is no deliverer
11; Amos 9.9; Zechariah 2. 6-13). •>• Give up— my people, sons . . . daughters—the femiulno Joined to tltfe
'(ch. 5). 23. A call that they should be warned by the VUit Judgments of God to obey Him for the time to come.
The, Full of Babylon Foretold. ISAIAH XLIII. The People^s Sins Inexemable.
many, which shall refresh, not the bodies as formerly, but the souls of the thirsty, so that the proplu cy shall be ful-
masculine expresses the complete totalUy of anything (Zechariah 9. 17). 7. called by my name—belong to
Israel, whose people, as sons of God, bear the name of
filled : "Witli joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." [Jerome.] "A way" often stands for t?ie true religion (Acts 9. 2; 18. 26). " Rivers" express tlie influences of tlie Holy Spirit (Jolin 7. 37-39). Israel's literal restoration hereafter is included, as appears by comparing ch.
their Father (eh. 44. 5; 48. 1). for my glory— (u. 21; ch. 29.
23.) 8. Solemn challenge given by God to the nations to argue with Him the question of His superiority to tlieir
Idols, and His power to deliver Israel (ch. 41. 1). blind people—the Gentiles, who also, like Israel (ch. 42. 19), are
11. 15, 16. !40. beast—image of Idolaters, defiled with blood and pollutions, dwelling like dragons, &c., in the wastes of Gentile ignorance: even they shall be converted. Or
blind (spiritually), though having eyes, i. e., natural facul-
ties, whereby they might know God (Romans 1. 20, 21). [LowTH.] Or else, the Jews. [Vitkinga.] 9. who . . .
else, lit., such copious floods of water shall be given by God in the desert, that the very beasts shall (in poetic language) praise the Lord (Psalm 148.10). [Jerome.] dragons serpents : OT else jackals {Note, ch. 13. 22). owls—ratlier, ostriches. 21. This people—viz., The same as "my people, my chosen" (see v. 1,7; Psalm 102. 18). my praise—on account of the many and great benefits conferred on them, especially their restoration. 23. But—Israel, )iow-
call declare tills—who among the idolatrous soothsayers hath predicted this, i. e., as to Cyrus being the Deliverer
of Israel 7 former—predictions, as in ch. 42. 9. [Maureb.]
Or, tJiings that shall first come to pass (Note, eh. 41. 21, 22). [Baknes.] let them bring forth tbeir witnesses-as I do mine (v. 10). justified—declared veracious in their pretended prophecies, or—rather, and.- let men hear their prediction and say, from the event. It is verified (Note,
cver, is not to think that these Divine favours are due to their own piety towards God. So the believer (Titus 3. 5). but—rather, for. weary of me—(Amos 8. 5, 6 ; Malachi 1.
ch. 41. 26). 10. Ye—The Jews, to whom I have given pre-
dictions, verified by the event; and In delivering whom
I have so often manifested my power (see r. 3, 4; ch. 44. 8). and my servant i. e., the whole Jewish people (ch. 41. 8). believe—trust in. formed—before I existed none of the
13), though "I have not wearied thee" (v. 23), yet "thou hast been weary of me." 33. small cattle—rather, the lamb or kid, required by the law to be daily oflTered to God (Exodus 29.38; Numbers 28.3). sacrificesottered any way ; whereas the Hebrew for holocaust, or " burnt ofl'ering," denotes that which ascends as an ofl'ering consumed by flre. I have not caused thee to serve i. e., to render the service of a jtoue (Matthew 11. 30; Romans 8. 15; 1 John
false gods were formed. "Formed" applies to the idols, not to God. Revelation 1. 11 uses the same language to prove tlie Godhead ofJcsits, as Isaiah here to prove the Godheadiof Jehovah. 11. l.ord—Jehovah, saviour—tempor-
ally, from Babylon : eternally, from sin and hell (Rosea
4. 18; 5.3). offering—bloodless (Leviticus 2. l,2j. wearied —antithetical to v. 22, "Thou hast been weary of me." Though God In the law required such offerings, yet not so as to "weary" the worshipper, or to exact them in cases where, as in the Babylonish captivity, tliey were physically unable to render them; God did not require them, save in subordination to the higher moral duties (Psalm
13. 4; Acts 4. 12). The same titles as are applied to God are applied to Jesus. 13. declared-predicted the future
(ch. 41. 22, 23). saved—the nation, in past times of danger. sHowed—142., that I was God. wlien ... no strange god, &o.—to whom the predictions uttered by me could
be assigned. "Strange" means /oretg'n. Introduced from abroad. 13. hetore—lit., from the time of the Urst existenceofday. let—Old English for Wnder (ch. 14.27). Rather,
50. 8-14 ; 51. 16, 17 ; Micah 6. 3, 6-8). 34. bought—lor " s v/eet cane" (aromatic calamus) was not indigenous to Palestine, but had to be bought from foreign countries (Jeremiah 6. 20). It was used among the Hebrews to make the sacred ointment (Exodus 30. 23). It is often offered as a mark of hospitality, filledsatiated (Jeremiah
translate/' undo it. ' [Horsley.] 11. gent—uiz., the Medes and Persians (ch. 10. 5, 6; 13. 3). brought down—made to go down to tlie sea (ch. 42. 10), In order to escape the impending destruction of Babylon, nobles—rather, fugi-
tives: viz., the foreigners who sojourned in populous Babylon (ch. 13. 14), distinct from the Chaldeans. [MauBER.] whose cry is in the ships exulting in their ships with the joyous sailors—cry, boastingly; their joy heretofore in their ships contrasts sadly with their present panic in fleeing to them (ch. 22.2; Zephaniah 2.15). Babylon was on the Euphrates, which was joined to the Tigris by a canal, and flowed into the Persian Gulf. Tlius it was famed for ships and commerce, until the Persian monarchs, to prevent revolt or Invasion, obstructed navigation by dams across the Tigris and Euphrates. 15. creator of Israel—(u. 1.) your—proved to be specially yours by delivering you. 16, 17. Allusion to the deliverance of Israel, and overthrow of Pharaoh In the Red Sea, the standing illustratiou of God's unchanging character towards His people (Exodus 14). the power—the might of the enemies' liost, every mighty warrior, they shall lie down together—as Pliaraoh's army sank "together" in a watery grave. 18. So wonderful shall be God's future interpositions in your behalf, that all past ones shall be forgotten in comparison. Plainly the future restoration of Israel is the event ultimately meant. Thus the " former things" are such events as the destruction of Sennacherib and the return from Babylon. " Things of old" are events still more aucient, the deliverance from Egypt and at the Red Sea, and entry into Canaan. [Vitkinga.] 19. new—unprecedented in its wonderful character (ch.
31. 14). God deigns to use human language to adapt Himself to human modes of thought, made me to serve—though "I have not caused thee to serve" (ti. 23). Our sin made the Son of God to become "a servant." He seived to save us from servile bondage (Philippians 2.7; Hebrews 2.14, 15). wearied me— Though I have "not wearied thee" (u. 23; see ch. 1.14). 35. (Ch. 44. 22.) I, even I—The God against whom your sin is committed, and who alone can and will pardon, for mine own sake — (Ch. 48.9,11.) How abominable a thing sin is, since
it is against such a God of grace! "Blotted out" Is an image from an account-book, in which, when a debt Is paid, the charge is cancelled or blotted out. not remember
. . . sins— (Jeremiah 31. 34.) When God forgive.-? He forgets, i. e., treats the sinner as if He had forgotten liissins. 26. Put me In remembrance—Remind me of every plea which thou hast to urge before me In thy defence. Image from a trial (ch. 1. 18; 41. 1). Our strongest plea is to remind God of His own promises. So Jacob did at Malianaim and Peniel (Genesis 32. 9, 12). God, then, instead of "pleading against us with His great power," "will put His strength" in us (Job 23.6); we thus become "the Lord's remembrancers" (ch. 62. 6, Margin). "Declare God's righteousness" vindicated in Jesus Christ "that thou mayest be justifled" (Romans 3. 26; cf. ch. 20., and Psalm 143. 2). 37. first father—collectively for " most ancient ancestors," as the parallelism ("teachers") proves. [Maurer.] Or, thy chief religious ministers or priests. [Gesenius.] A dam, the common father of all nations, can hardly be meant here, as it would have been irrelevant to mention Jiis sin in an address to the Jews specially. Abraham is equally out of place here, as he is everywhere cited as an example of faithfulness, not of sin. However, taking the passage
42.9). spring forth—as a germinating herb: a beautiful Image of the silent but certain gradual growth of events in God's providence (Mark 4. 26-28). way In . . . wilderness —just as Israel in tlie wilderness, between the Red Sea and Canaan, was guided, and supplied with water by Jehovah; but the "new" deliverance shall be attended with manifestations of God's power and love, eclipsing the old (cf. ch. 41. 17-19). "I will open a way, not merely In the Red Sea, but in the wilderness of the whole world; and not merely one river shall gush out of the rock, but
its Ultimate application to the Church at large, Adam may be meant, teachers lit., interpreters between God and man.tne priests (Job 33. 23; Malachi 2.7). 28. pro479
The Church Comforted with Promises. ISAIAH XLIV. The Vanity of Llil-y.o'ship,
31. 3; the type of the redeemed Cliurch (Ephcsians 1.4). 9. be afraid — lit., be astounded, or distracted with fear from that time—viz., from the time tliat"! appointed the ancient pe6ple" (w. 7). From the time of Abraham's
raned tlie princes—(Psalm 89.39; Lamentations 2. 2, 6, 7.)
I have estet ined, or treated, them as persons not saej-ed. I have left tlieni to sutler the same treatment as the common people, stripped of their holy office and in captivity. prUices of t!ic sanctuary—"governopsof " it (1 Chronicles
call, his family were the depositories of the predictions of the Redeemer, whereas the promise of Cyrus was not heard of till Isaiah's time; therefore, the event to the prediction and accomplishment of which God appeals In proof of His sole Godhead, is the redemption of man by a descendant of Abraham, in whose person "the ancient people" was first formally " appointed." The deliverance of the Jews, by Cyrus, is mentioned afterwards only as an earnest of that greater mercy. [Horsley.] no God Hebrew, tsur, " rock" (Deuterdnomy 32. 4), i. e., a stronghold to take refuge in, and a solid foundation to build on. 9. (Ch. 40. 18, 20; 41. 29.) delectable things—the idols In which they take such pride and delight, not profit (Habakkuk 2. 18.) they are their own witnesses—contrasted with, "Ye are witnesses" (v. 8). "They," i. e., both the makers and the idols, are witnesses against themselves, for the Idols palpably see and know nothing (Psalm 115. 4-8). that they may be asliamed—The consequence deducible from tiie whole previous argument, not merely from the words immediately preceding, as inch.
24.5); directing its lioly services: priests, cwrse—Hebrew,
Cherhii, a solemn anathema, or excommunication, reproaclies—(Psahri 123. 3, 4.)