Chapter XLIV
Ver. 1-2,^. Continuation of the pkevious Chapter
{v. 1-5). 1. Yet—Though thou hast sinned, yet hear God's gracious pi-omise as to tliy deliverance, chosen—(Ch. 41.
8.) a. (Ch. 13. 1, 7.) formed . . . from . . . womb—(So v.
24; ch. 19. 1,5.) The sense is similar to that in ch. 1.2, " I have nourished and brought up children." Jeswnm—
diminutive term of endearment applied to Israel. The
full title of aft'ectiou was Isi-aelun ; contracted it became Jeshnrun, with an allusion to the Hebrew root, jashar,
"upriijht," "perfect" (see Note on "He that is perfect,"
ch. 42. 19) [Ghsenius] (Deuteronomy 32. 15). 3. (Ch. 41. 18.) Ulm . . . thirsty—rather, the land (ch. 35. 6, 1), fig. tor man
thirsting after righteousness (Matthew 5. 6). floods—the abundant Inllurnces of the Holy Spirit, stronger than "water." spSrit— including all spiritual and temporal
28. 13; 36. 12. I say all this to show that they are doomed
to perish with shame, which is their only lifting end. 10. Who I—Sarcastic question: "How debased the man must be who forms a god.'" It is a contradiction in terms. A made god, wox-shipped by its maker (1 Corinthians 8. 4) ! 11. his fellows—The associates of him who makes an idol ; or of the idol (see Deuteronomy 7. 26 ; Psalm 115. 8 ; Hosea 4. 17). they are ofmen—they are mortal men them.selves; what better, then, can the idol be than Its maker? gathered together . . . stand up—as in a court of justice, to try the Issue between God and them (Note, ch. 41. 1, 21). yetwrongly inserted in English Version. The issue of the trial shall be, "they shall fear," &c. 13. tongs—rather, "prepareth (tobesupplied)anrta;e," viz., with which tocutdown the tree designed as the material of the idol. Tlie "smith" {Hebrew, workmanin iron) here answers to the " carpenter" {Hebrew, workman in wood). "He worketh it (the axe, not the idol, which was wood, not metal) in the coals," Ac The axe -was wrought, not cast. The smith makes the axe
gifts, as the pai allel, " blessing," proves (ch. 11. 2; 32. 15). seed— (Ch. 59. 21.) 4. tliey— thy "seed " and "offspring"-
(v. 3j. as among—needlessly inserted in English Version. Rather, "Tliy seed shall spring up a.s willows among the
(/(ass beside canals of water." [Horsley.] Or, " They shall spring up among the grass (i. e., luxuriantly; for what grows in the tnidst of grass grows luxuriantly) as willows by the water-courses," which makes the parallel clauses
better balanced. [Mauber.] 5. The third clause answers
in parallelism to the first, the fourth to the second. I am
tlie Lord's—(.Teremiah 5l». 5; 1 Corinthians 6. 19,20; 2 Corinthians 8. 5). call Skimself by tlie name of Jacob—The Gentiles (as the result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Israel, the Lord's "seed," first) shall join themselves
to the children of Jacob, in order to worship their God (cf.
ch. 43. 7 ; Psalm 49. 11). Or, calls, i. e., invokes and celebrates
the name nj Jacob, attaches him.self to his nation and re-
for the carpenter, hungry . . . drlnketh no water—so eager is he to expedite his work while the iron is hot.
ligion [Mauuer] (Psalm 24. 6). snbscribe . . . hand unto
. . . J^ord—in solemn and public covenant, pledging hlra-
If the god were worth any thing, it would not let him grow "faint" with hunger and thirst. "Wii-j.iams, the inissionary, states, that the South Sea islanders when they make an idol abstain from food and drink. 13. After the smith's work in preparing the instruments comes the carpenter's work in forming the iilol. rule rather, line. [Barnes.] with a line—rather, u pencil. [Horsley. J Lit., red ochre, which he uses to mark on the wood the outline of the figure. [Lowth.] Or best, the
Belf to God's service (cf. Nehemiah 9. 38), before "witnesses" (Heln-ews 12. 1), after the manner of a civil con-
tract (Jeremiah 32. 10, 12, 44). .So the Christian In the sacraments. [Uarnks.] Lit., "shall fill his hand with let-
ters (Exodus 32. 15; Kzekiel 2. 10) in honour of Jehovah;" or "shall write upon liis hand, I am Jehovah's" (cf. ch.49.
16; Revelation 13. IG); alluding to the puncture with ink on the hand, whereby a soldier marked himself as bound
to his commander; and whereby the Christians used to mark themselves with the name.of Christ. [Lowth.] The former view is simpler, surname himself. . . Israel Maurer and Gesenius interpret this as the Hebrew sanc-
stylus or graver, ^yitll which the Incision of the outline is made. [Gesenius.] planes—rather, chisels or carving tooU,
for a plane would not answer for carving, compass—from a Hebrew root, to make a circle; by it symmetry of form is secured, according to . . . beauty of a man—irony. The highest idea the heathen could form of a god was one of a form like their own. Jerome says, "The more handsome the statue the more august the god was thought." The incarnation of the Son of God condescends to this anthropomorphic feeling so natural to man, but in such a way as to raise man's thoughts up to the infinite God who " is a spirit." that It may remain In . . . house—the only thing it was good for; it could net hear nor save (cf. Wisdom 13. 15). 14. Description of the material out Of which the idol is formed. C3p>res8—rather, from Hebrew
tions, answering to their rendering of the parallel second clause, "eato blandly (speaks in honourable terms of) the name of Israel." Retaining English Version, we must, from the Hebrea understand it thus, "Surname himself by the honourabli: name of Israel " (ch. 45. 4). 6. Here follows an argument for Jehovah, as the only God, and against the
idols, as vaniiy (see Notes ch. 41. 4; 43. 1, 10-12). 7. Who but God can predict future events and declare also the order and lime of each (Note ch. 41. 22, 23 ; 45. 21)? call-
open/,;/ ;>roc/«(m (ch, 40. fi) tilings to come. [Maurer.] Or,
cxxll forth tlie event; command that it happen (ch. 46. 11;
48. 15). [Harnks.J set ... In order—There is no chance or confusion; all events occur in the order best fitted to subs<'rve God's plans, for me—It Is for God that all
root, to be hard, " the holm-oak," an evergreen abundant In Palestine. [Gksenius.] slrcngtheneth- "and he getteth strength to himself In the trees of tlie forest," i. e., he layeth in a great store of timber. [Lowth.] Or,
thln^is exist and take place (Revelation 4. 11). But MauRKK translates, "Ijet him set it forth (Job 37. 19) to me." »ince '. . . nnci«-nt people—I have given the .Tews predictions of IJie future ever since I appointed them a.s my people in ancient times; therefore they were qualified to bo His witiie."iseH {v. 8). As to their being God's "ancient (everlasting) people," see Deuteronomy 32. 7-9; Jeremiah
"chooset/i," as " madest strong for thj'self," i. <?., bust chosen (Psalm 80. 15, 17). [Gksenius.] But Engti.ih Version gives a good sense ; " strengtheneth," f. e., rears to ma-
tii/rity; a meaning suitable also to the context of I'salm 80,
16, 17, where Israel Is compared to a vine plunted by Jo-
lUWEliS Of JUDEA: part Of 'lUl!^ WALLS OF HEBRON.
The Pcopie Exhorted to Praise God. ISAIAH XLV. The Church's Deliverance by Cyrus.
novah. [MAunER.] rain . . . noiirislicth It—Though
tions; prophets' coMnsei* concern the future (cf. "counsellor," ch. 41. 28). Jenisalem—regarded prophetically, as lying in ruins. 27. Referring to the Euphrates, which was turned into a different channel, close to Babylon, by Cyrus, wlio thereby took the city. " The deep" is applied to Euphrates as "sea" (Jeremiah 51. 32, 30). "Rivers" refers to the artificial canals from the Euphrates made to irrigate the country; when it was turned off into a different bed, viz., a lake, forty miles square, which was originally formed to receive the superfluous water in an inunda-
the man planted tlie tree, yet he couUl not make it grow.
In preparing lo nialie an idol, he has to depend on the
true God for rain from lieaven (Jeremiali 14. 22). 15. The same tree that furnislies the material for the god is in part used as fuel for a fire to cook his meals witli and warm
himself! tlicrcto—rather, " lie falleth down before them,"
i.e., such images. [Maui4E11.J 16. part . . . part—not
distinct parts, but t?ie same part of the wood (cf. v. 17). catetli—1. e., cof)ks so as to eat (v. 19). I liave seen—I feel
tion, the canals became dry. 28. my shepherd—tj pe of Messiah (eh. 40. 11; Psalm 23. 1; 77. 20; Ezekiel 34. 23). all my pleasure—so Messiah (ch. 42. 1; 53. 10). This is the
Its power. 18. he—God hath given them over to judicial blimlncss; not His direct physical, but His providential agency in administering His moral government, is meant
first time Cyrus is named expressly; and that, 150 years before the time when in 550 b. c. he began his reign. The name comes from the Persian Khorsdiid, ' the sun ;" kings often taking their names from the gods; the sun was worshipped as a god in Persia, saying—ratlier, "and that saith;" construed with God, not with Cyrus. God's word
(ch. G. 9, 10). "Shut," lU., daubed, plastered up; it is an East ern custom in some ca.ses to seal up the eyes of offend-
ers. 1». cousldcretli— layeth it to heart (ch. 42. 25 ; Jeremiah 12. 11). nboiulnation— tlie scriptural term for an
Idol, not merely abominable, l)ut the essence of what is so,
in the eyes of a.Jealous God (1 Kings H. 5, 7). 30. feedeth on aslics—/I'i/., for the idolater delights in what is vain (Proverbs 15. 14; Hosea 12. 1). "Feedeth on wind." There
is instantaneously efficient in accomplisliing his will, to
. . . to—or, " of Jerusalem . . . of the temple," as previously, the same Hebrew word iu translated, "of Cyrus." [Barnes.] English Version is more gi'aphic. Cyrus, according to JosEPHUS, heard of this propliecy of Isaiah delivered so long before ; hence he was induced to do that which was so contrary to Oriental policy, to aid in restoring the captive Jews and rebuilding their temple and
is an allusion, perhaps, also, to the god being made of a
tree, t!ie half of whiclr was reduced to aslies by fire {v. 15, 16,
17); the idol, it is implied, was no better, and could, and ought, to have been reduced to ashes like the other half, deceived heart—llie heart and will first go astray, then the intellect and life (Homans 1. 28; Ephesians 4. IS). He in .". . right hami—is not my handiwork (the idol) aselfdeceit? ai. lieracmtoer-"Be not like the idolaters who consider not in their heart" {v. 19). these—things just said as to the folly of idol-worship, my servant—not
city.