Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Ver. 1. _Comfort ye, comfort ye my people._] Hitherto hath been the comminatory part of this prophecy: followeth now the consolatory. Here beginneth the gospel of the prophet Isaiah, and holds on to the end of the book. The good people of his time h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins._ Ver. 2. _Speak ye comfortably._] Speak to the heart, as Gen 34:3 Hosea 2:14. Cheer her up, speak to her with utmo... [ Continue Reading ]
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Ver. 3. _The voice of him that crieth._] See John 1:25, _See Trapp on "_ Mat 3:3 _"_ _See Trapp on "_ Joh 1:25 _"_ but Luke citeth this text more fully than the other e... [ Continue Reading ]
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: Ver. 4. _Every valley shall be exalted._] Terms taken from the custom of princes coming into a place - viz., to have their way cleared, and passages faci... [ Continue Reading ]
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]. Ver. 5. _And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,_] _i.e., _ Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, Jam 2:1 shall appear in the flesh. Some interpreters understand this whol... [ Continue Reading ]
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field: Ver. 6. _The voice._] Or, A voice - _sc., _ in vision. _ What shall I cry? All flesh is grass._] This is taught by every philosopher, saith Sasbout: but never i... [ Continue Reading ]
_The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass._ Ver. 7. _Because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it._] Or, when the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it. God can easily blow men to destruction, dissipate them as so many vile... [ Continue Reading ]
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Ver. 8. _But the word of our God shall stand for ever,_] _q.d., _ Though the elect also as well as others are grass, frail and fading creatures, yet the grace of God wrought in their hearts by the gospel is stable... [ Continue Reading ]
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Ver. 9. _Oh Zion, that bringest good tidings._] That evangelist. The gospel i... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him. Ver. 10. _Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand._] Or, The Lord God will come against the mighty _a_ - _i.e., _ Christ against the devil and his ag... [ Continue Reading ]
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young. Ver. 11. _He shall feed his flock like a shepherd._] That good Shepherd shall, the Lord Jesus. Joh 10:11 See Psalms 23:1, _See Trapp on... [ Continue Reading ]
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Ver. 12. _Who hath measured the waters._] Who but God alone. _Totus est in hoc libro, ut... [ Continue Reading ]
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him? Ver. 13. _Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord?_] Who was then of his council when he made the universe? None but his own essential wisdom. Pro 8:30 See Romans 11:34,35. _See Trapp on "_ Rom 11:34 _"_ _See Trap... [ Continue Reading ]
With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Ver. 14. _With whom took he counsel?_] See Isaiah 40:13 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. Ver. 15. _Behold, the nations are as the drop of a bucket._] _Quota igitur es tu istius guttae particula?_ What a small parcel art thou then of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering._ Ver. 16. _And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn._] So infinitely great is God; so absolutely insufficient is man to give God satisfaction. Let those think on this who talk of setting off with God, and... [ Continue Reading ]
All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. Ver. 17. _All nations before him are as nothing._] _Agnosce ergo virium tuarum_ ουδενειαν. See therefore thine own nothingness, and learn to vilify, yea, to nullify thyself before God, as Agur, Pro 3... [ Continue Reading ]
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Ver. 18. _To whom then will ye liken God?_] A sin which the Jews were exceeding prone unto, and would be tempted to, when in captivity at Babylon; here therefore they have an antidote provided beforehand. The voice of the go... [ Continue Reading ]
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. Ver. 19. _The workman melteth a graven image._] That may be afterward graved and gilded over. _ And casteth silver chains._] To fasten it to the place; or, he raileth it in. _Et nisi homin... [ Continue Reading ]
He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved. Ver. 20. He that is so impoverished - chooseth a tree.] Which therehence may well say, - “ _Olim truncus eram ficul... [ Continue Reading ]
_Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?_ Ver. 21. _Have ye not known? have ye not heard?_] Both Jews and Gentiles went against the light; the former of the word, the latter of their own conscience... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 40:22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: Ver. 22. _It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth._] As sovereign, and is he f... [ Continue Reading ]
That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Ver. 23. _That bringeth princes to nothing._] After their part acted here a while, they go off the stage of life, and are seen no more. Augustus Caesar said, that his life was nothing else but a kind of a comedy; and... [ Continue Reading ]
Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. Ver. 24. _Yea, they shall not be planted._] They are like grass, that is neithe... [ Continue Reading ]
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Ver. 25. _To whom then will ye liken me?_] See Isaiah 40:18,19 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth. Ver. 26. _Lift up your eyes on high._] Who is there, saith a heathen, _a_ tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Ver. 27. _How sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, &c., _] _q.d., _ Fie for shame, what unbecoming language is this for such! Doth God know and order the stars, and hath he cast... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding._ Ver. 28. _He fainteth not, nor is weary._] Or, He is neither tired nor toiled, viz., as earthly judge... [ Continue Reading ]
He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Ver. 29. _He giveth power to the faint._] How then should he himself faint? or why should any good man's heart fail him? The Jews among their benedictions (whereof they are bound to say a hundred every day), have... [ Continue Reading ]
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: Ver. 30. _Even the youths shall faint._] All that trust to their own strength shall tire out. Like as the hare, that trusteth to the swiftness of her legs, is at length overtaken and torn in pieces; when the coney, that... [ Continue Reading ]
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint. Ver. 31. _Shall renew their strength._] Heb., Shall change, _quotidie seipsis fortiores prodeuntes._ By the new "supplies... [ Continue Reading ]