_Yet now hear, O Jacob_ Although I have chastised thee for thy sins, and had just cause utterly to destroy thee, yet in judgment I will remember mercy, and will still own thee for my servant and chosen people. _Thus saith the Lord, that formed thee from the womb_ “He speaks of the Jewish people unde... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will pour water_ My Spirit, as it is expounded in the latter part of the verse, frequently compared to water in the Scriptures; _upon him that is thirsty_ That is destitute of it, and that sincerely and earnestly desires it; _and my blessing upon thine offspring_ All the blessings of my covenant,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord_, &c. Here God renews his contest with idols, which he insists an so often, and so much, because his own people were exceeding prone to idolatry. _And who_ Which of all the heathen gods; _shall call, and shall declare it_ Shall, by his powerful call, cause a future event to be,... [ Continue Reading ]
_They that make a graven image are vanity_ Hereby discover themselves to be vain, empty, and foolish men. _And their delectable things shall not profit_ Their idols, in which they take so much pleasure. _They are their own witnesses_ They that make them are witnesses against themselves and against t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The smith_, &c. “The sacred writers,” says Bishop Lowth, “are generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolatry: they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah far exceeds any thing that ever was written upon the subje... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have not known_, &c. They want common discretion, and have not the understanding of a rational being in them. For what an absurdity is it for a man to dress his meat and make his god with the same piece of wood! Or to think that a log of timber hath any more divinity in it than it had before,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember these_ These things, the deep ignorance and stupidity of idolaters. _O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten_ I will not forget nor forsake thee; therefore thou shalt have no need of idols. _I have blotted out as a cloud_, &c. As the sun arising disperses the clouds, and causes them to vanis... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am the Lord that maketh all things_ And therefore I can save thee without the help of any other gods, or any creature; _that frustrateth the tokens of the liars_ Of the magicians and astrologers, who were numerous and greatly esteemed in Babylon, and who had foretold the long continuance and pros... [ Continue Reading ]
_That saith of Cyrus_ Whom God here mentions by his proper name, two hundred years before he was born, that this might be an undeniable evidence of the exactness of God's foreknowledge, and a convincing argument to conclude this dispute between God and idols. _He is my shepherd_ Him will I set up to... [ Continue Reading ]