Isaiah 44:1-8
THE REASSURANCE OF GOD'S COVENANT FAITHFULNESS... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REASSURANCE OF GOD'S COVENANT FAITHFULNESS... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet now hear, namely, over against the lamentable condition pictured at the end of the last chapter, O JACOB, MY SERVANT, AND ISRAEL, WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, the assurances of the Lord's affection serving as a tender invitation to the true members of His people:... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord that made thee and formed thee from the womb, who had chosen and established Israel as His people of old, WHICH WILL HELP THEE, with a steady assistance, with unvarying certainty of protection: FEAR NOT, O JACOB, MY SERVANT, AND THOU, JESURUN, the upright and pious one, a term of... [ Continue Reading ]
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, those in need of spiritual refreshment, Matthew 5:6, AND FLOODS UPON THE DRY GROUND; I WILL POUR MY SPIRIT UPON THY SEED, the children of the Church, AND MY BLESSING, that of His mercy in the Word, UPON THINE OFFSPRING;... [ Continue Reading ]
and they, the spiritual children of Israel, SHALL SPRING UP AS AMONG THE GRASS, in rich luxuriance, AS WILLOWS BY THE WATERCOURSES, like the juicy and strong poplars along the banks of the Euphrates, the reference being to the luxuriant spiritual growth of the newly converted, with the fervor of the... [ Continue Reading ]
One shall say, I am the Lord's, proud of his privilege in being permitted to worship the true God; AND ANOTHER SHALL CALL HIMSELF BY THE NAME OF JACOB, praising the name of the patriarch, as the ancestor of the spiritual Israel; AND ANOTHER SHALL SUBSCRIBE WITH HIS BAND UNTO THE LORD, mentioning the... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, whose relation to His people is one of dignity combined with love, AND HIS REDEEMER, He who delivers from all enemies, THE LORD OF HOSTS, who is clothed with mighty power: I AM THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LAST, the one true God from everlasting to everlasting; AN... [ Continue Reading ]
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, the Lord's challenge being to all men to produce one equal to Him in prophetic wisdom, SINCE I APPOINTED THE ANCIENT PEOPLE? As long as the world is in existence, there has never been any other who, like Himself, could fore... [ Continue Reading ]
Fear ye not, neither be afraid, with mistrust toward Jehovah, on the one hand, and dread of the heathen gods, on the other. HAVE I NOT TOLD THEE FROM THAT TIME AND HAVE DECLARED IT? namely, the utter vanity of the heathen idols. YE ARE EVEN MY WITNESSES, who must admit the truth of this assertion. I... [ Continue Reading ]
They that make a graven image, those who manufacture idols, ARE ALL OF THEM VANITY, nothingness, desolation; AND THEIR DELECTABLE THINGS, the idols for which they profess such a deep affection, SHALL NOT PROFIT, not being able to help them in any way; AND THEY ARE THEIR OWN WITNESSES; THEY SEE NOT N... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VANITY OF IDOLATRY OVER AGAINST JEHOVAH... [ Continue Reading ]
Who hath formed a god or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? The answer which is implied would clearly state: No one while he is in his right mind.... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, all his fellows, the entire guild of idol-makers, SHALL BE ASHAMED, AND THE WORKMEN, those who direct the work, THEY ARE OF MEN, themselves creatures and therefore unable to make a real god. LET THEM ALL BE GATHERED TOGETHER, LET THEM STAND UP, to make an issue of their claim to recognition... [ Continue Reading ]
The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals and fashioneth it with hammers, rather, in the impersonal form of the original, "One fashioneth iron with the cold-chisel, and causeth it to glow in coals, and with hammers formeth it," AND WORKETH IT WITH THE STRENGTH OF HIS ARMS; YEA, HE IS HUNGRY... [ Continue Reading ]
The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, again impersonal, "One felleth trees, draweth his line," in order to cut a piece of wood of the required size; HE MARKETH IT OUT WITH A LINE, HE FITTETH IT WITH PLANES, marking off the figure with a stylus, AND HE MARKETH IT OUT WITH THE COMPASS, so that the ou... [ Continue Reading ]
He heweth him down cedars and taketh the cypress and the oat, rather, "In order to have the finest wood, he chooseth the helm-oak and the common oak," both of them distinguished for the excellence of their wood, WHICH HE STRENGTHENETH FOR HIMSELF AMONG THE TREES OF THE FOREST, carefully nurturing su... [ Continue Reading ]
Then shall it be for a man to burn, that is, ordinarily such a tree will yield fuel; FOR HE WILL TAKE THEREOF AND WARM HIMSELF; YEA, HE KINDLETH IT AND BAKETH BREAD; YEA, HE MAKETH A GOD AND WORSHIPETH IT; as he does the one thing, so he does the other, not realizing how utterly foolish the latter a... [ Continue Reading ]
He burneth part thereof in the fire, for fuel to keep him warm; WITH PART THEREOF HE EATETH FLESH, using it for cooking; HE ROASTETH ROAST AND IS SATISFIED, feeling perfectly content; YEA, HE WARMETH HIMSELF AND SAITH, AHA! an exclamation expressing the height of comfort, I AM WARM, I HAVE SEEN THE... [ Continue Reading ]
and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image, what he calls his god; HE FALLETH DOWN UNTO IT, AND WORSHIPETH IT, AND PRAYETH UNTO IT, AND SAITH, DELIVER ME, FOR THOU ART MY GOD, this prayer being the very climax of foolish behavior, which, however, the idoiaters do not realize.... [ Continue Reading ]
They have not known nor understood, they do not realize the inconsistency of their conduct; FOR HE HATH SHUT THEIR EYES, rather, their eyes are daubed shut, THAT THEY CANNOT SEE, AND THEIR HEARTS THAT THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND, that they do not learn true wisdom. Cf Romans 1:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
And none considereth in his heart, so much as thinks over his act, NEITHER IS THERE KNOWLEDGE NOR UNDERSTANDING TO SAY, in reflecting upon his own conduct, I HAVE BURNED PART OF IT IN THE FIRE; YEA, ALSO, I HAVE BAKED BREAD UPON THE COALS THEREOF, upon the glowing bed of coals; I HAVE ROASTED FLESH... [ Continue Reading ]
He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, or, more emphatically, "He who watcheth over ashes a foolish heart has led him astray," THAT HE CANNOT DELIVER HIS SOUL, his idolatry leads him into eternal damnation, NOR SAY, IS THERE NOT A LIE IN MY RIGHT HAND? Spiritual blindness is al... [ Continue Reading ]
Remember these, namely, what the Lord is about to say, O JACOB AND ISRAEL, His people, FOR THOU ART MY SERVANT, not a foolish idol-manufacturer; I HAVE FORMED THEE, THOU ART MY SERVANT, by virtue of his having been chosen by Jehovah. O ISRAEL, THOU SHALT NOT BE FORGOTTEN OF ME, the admonition, Forge... [ Continue Reading ]
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, so that they are completely erased, THY TRANSGRESSIONS, even such as meant a severing of the covenant relations, AND, AS A CLOUD, THY SINS, that is, in the same way as the sun dissolves and drives away the darkness of a heavy cloud. RETURN UNTO ME, FOR I HAVE RE... [ Continue Reading ]
Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it, the deliverance has been gained; SHOUT, YE LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH, everything beneath the skies; BREAK FORTH INTO SINGING, YE MOUNTAINS, as the most prominent parts of the landscape, O FOREST AND EVERY TREE THEREIN; FOR THE LORD HATH REDEEMED JACOB AN... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, Cf v. 2: I AM THE LORD THAT MAKETH ALL THINGS, the supreme Ruler and Guide of the universe, the Sovereign of the world and all it contains; THAT STRETCHETH FORTH THE HEAVENS ALONE, 40:22; 42:5; THAT SPREADETH ABROAD THE EARTH... [ Continue Reading ]
The Promise to have Jerusalem Rebuilt This section, according to a careful analysis, belongs to the next chapter, for it takes up the deliverance of Israel as effected in consequence of the decree of Cyrus.... [ Continue Reading ]
that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, of the vain talkers, especially the necromancers, AND MAKETH DIVINERS MAD, so that they appear as fools with their false prophecies; THAT TURNETH WISE MEN BACKWARD, so that they are relegated to the background, AND MAKETH THEIR KNOWLEDGE FOOLISH, exhibiting... [ Continue Reading ]
that, by way of contrast, CONFIRMETH THE WORD OF HIS SERVANT, establishing the prophetic message which His prophets proclaimed, AND PERFORMETH THE COUNSEL OF HIS MESSENGERS, so that not one of His words falls to the ground; THAT SAITH TO JERUSALEM, THOU SHALT BE INHABITED, rising once more out of th... [ Continue Reading ]
that saith to the deep, in another exhibition of His power, BE DRY, AND I WILL DRY UP THY RIVERS, to serve His purpose at all times;... [ Continue Reading ]
that saith of Cyrus, the prophecy here giving the exact words of the Lord's command to him as it came to pass more than a century later, HE IS MY SHEPHERD, the designation referring to his leadership of nations, AND SHALL PERFORM ALL MY PLEASURE, namely, in bringing about the deliverance of Israel;... [ Continue Reading ]