L. (1) WHERE IS THE BILL...? — The thought seems suggested by Isaiah 49:14, but expands in a different direction. Both questions imply a negative answer. Jehovah had not formally repudiated the wife (Judah) whom he had chosen (Deuteronomy 24:1) as he had done her sister Israel (Jeremiah 3:8;·Hosea 2... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREFORE, WHEN I CAME...? — The “coming” of Jehovah must be taken in all its width of meaning. He came in the deliverance from Babylon, in a promise of still greater blessings, in the fullest sense, in and through His Servant, and yet none came to help in the work, or even to receive the message. ... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD GOD... — A new section begins in the form of an abruptly introduced soliloquy. As in Isaiah 49:4, the speaker is the Servant of Jehovah, not Isaiah, though we may legitimately trace in what follows some echoes of the prophet’s own experience. The union of the two names Adonai Jahveh (or Jeh... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD GOD. — _Jehovah Adonai,_ as before. The Servant continues his soliloquy. What has come to him in the morning communings with God is, as in the next verse, that he too is to bear reproach and shame, as other disciples had done before him. The writer of Psalms 22:7, the much-enduring Job (Job... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME. — That one stay gives to the suffering Servant an indomitable strength. (Comp for the phrase Jeremiah 1:18; Ezekiel 3:9.)... [ Continue Reading ]
HE IS NEAR THAT JUSTIFIETH — _i.e.,_ declares innocent and righteous. Appealing from the unrighteous judges of the earth, the Servant commits himself to Him who judges righteously (Luke 23:46). With that Judge to declare his innocence, what does he care for the accuser? (Comp. Romans 8:33.) WHO IS... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY ALL SHALL WAX OLD AS A GARMENT. — An echo of Job 13:28; Psalms 102:26; reproduced in Isaiah 51:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT OBEYETH THE VOICE OF HIS SERVANT. — The question may be asked of _any_ servant of Jehovah, such as was Isaiah himself, but receives its highest application in _the_ Servant who has appeared as speaking in the preceding verses. THAT WALKETH IN DARKNESS. — The words grow at once out of the prophe... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL YE THAT KINDLE A FIRE. — The words obviously point to any human substitute for the Divine light, and thus include the two meanings which commentators have given them: (1) Man’s fiery wrath, that worketh not the righteousness of God; and (2) man’s attempt to rest in earthly comforts or enjoyments... [ Continue Reading ]