_A.M. 3266. B.C. 738._ In this chapter we have a prophecy concerning Messiah, the prince, and his kingdom. His rise out of the house of David, and his qualifications for his important office, Isaiah 11:1. The justice and equity of his government, Isaiah 11:3. The peaceableness of his kingdom, Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_, &c. The fifth section of the fifth discourse begins here, and concludes with the next chapter. It is two-fold: in the first part the kingdom of Christ is described; in what manner, arising from the smallest beginnings, it should go on to increase, till, at length, it attained the highest perf... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Spirit of the Lord_ The Holy Ghost, by which he was anointed, (Acts 10:38,) and by whose power his human nature was formed in the womb of the virgin, (Luke 1:35,) _shall rest upon him_ Shall not only come upon him at certain times, as it came upon the prophets, but shall have its constant a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And shall make him of quick understanding_ Hebrew, והריחו, shall make him of _quick scent, smell_, or _perception;_ or, _of quick discernment_, as Bishop Lowth renders it; _in the fear of the Lord_ In things which concern the worship and service of God, and every part of religion. Or the meaning ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_With righteousness_ With justice and impartiality; _shall he judge the poor_ Whom human judges commonly neglect and oppress, but whom he shall defend and deliver; _and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth_ Shall condemn their malicious enemies, and give sentence for them. He calls them _me... [ Continue Reading ]
_And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins_ It shall adorn him, and be the glory of his government, as a girdle was used for an ornament, Isaiah 3:24; and as an ensign of power, Job 12:18; and it shall constantly cleave to him in all his administrations, _as a girdle cleaveth to a man's loi... [ Continue Reading ]
_The wolf shall dwell with the lamb_, &c. “We have here the illustrious consequence of the economy of this divine kingdom, this kingdom of righteousness, equity, faith, and grace.” The expressions which describe it are metaphorical: they represent the subjects of it under the figure of a flock, lyin... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain_ Here the prophet himself gives us a key wherewith to open his meaning in the three preceding verses. By the _holy mountain_ he means, the Christian Church, frequently termed _Zion, Jerusalem_, and God's _holy mountain_, in the writings of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And in that day_, &c. We have here the latter part of this prophecy, which sets forth some more illustrious events of this kingdom, with their consequences. The events are set forth Isaiah 11:10, and are three. 1st, The remarkable conversion of the Gentiles, Isaiah 11:10. 2d, The calling of the dis... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall come to pass in that day_ As this chapter contains a general prophecy of the advancement which Christ's kingdom should make in the world, and as this advancement was to be made by different steps and degrees, so the several parts of this prophecy may be supposed to point at different a... [ Continue Reading ]
_The envy also of Ephraim shall depart_, &c. Ephraim here stands for the ten tribes and the prophet alludes to the great emulations and contentions which had subsisted between them and Judah: but his intention is to set forth the spiritual state of the Jews after their conversion to the faith of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord shall utterly destroy_ Shall not only divide it, as of old, but shall quite dry it up, that it may be a highway; _the tongue of the Egyptian sea_ The Red sea, which may well be called the Egyptian sea, both because it borders upon Egypt, and because the Egyptians were drowned in it. It... [ Continue Reading ]