CONTENTS
This Chapter is a continuation of the former, in which the Lord
comforteth the church with assurances of salvation. An allusion is
made to Babylon, but still with reference to the rich purposes of
grace in Christ.
Isaiah 43:1
If we connect this verse, and indeed the whole opening of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Mark well the causes of the divine love; Jacob and Israel are the
objects of God's care, from every consideration: Jehovah created them,
and hath newly created them in Christ; he hath redeemed them also, and
he hath called them. He is their God in covenant; and so dear are they
to him, that he hath... [ Continue Reading ]
What a blessed provision do we find in these divine promises, for the
recovery of God's ancient people, the Jews! Neither the north nor the
south shall be able to detain the seed of Jesus, when the hour of
their deliverance shall come. There is a set time to favor Zion; and,
as in grace, so in glory... [ Continue Reading ]
Some have supposed this to be a challenge to the worshippers of idols;
but I humbly conceive, that as these verses follow the account of Him,
of whom Jehovah speaketh so gloriously, it is rather a demand, in
reference to gospel days, to bring forth the blind and the deaf,
spiritually considered, to... [ Continue Reading ]
How truly blessed are these verses in relation to the witnesses of
Jehovah! The people saved by the Lord are his witnesses, his prophets
are his witnesses, and yet, above all, the Lord Christ, as Jehovah's
servant, is his witness. So Jehovah declared him to be, when he said,
I have given him for a w... [ Continue Reading ]
The title which, upon this occasion, the Lord takes to himself, is
most gracious: for as the Church was about to be led into Babylon,
nothing could more tend to keep up the spirits of the people during
their captivity, than the recollection that still Jehovah was their
Redeemer! And, Reader, is not... [ Continue Reading ]
It is worth observing how often, under the Old Testament dispensation,
the Lord reminds the Church of that wonderful deliverance which he
wrought in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, by way of teaching the people,
in the review of past mercies, to be looking for renewed
manifestations; Micah 6:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
The last of these verses gives a full answer to the inquiry, wherefore
the Lord so favoured Israel? All is for the divine glory; and all that
glory is in Christ; Ephesians 1:10; Revelation 4:11. Oh, how truly
blessed, to behold all glory given to our glorious Head, Christ Jesus,
that all may termina... [ Continue Reading ]
Reader, do not fail to overlook the very great tenderness of this
expostulation, which the Lord makes with his people. What did the Lord
look for, and expect in his people? Evidently, from what is here said,
the Lord was jealous of their not calling upon him: Jacob, father of
the Israelites; was rem... [ Continue Reading ]
What a verse of mercy, grace, and goodness is here! One might justly
have been led to expect, after what the Lord had said in the preceding
paragraph, that for such baseness and ingratitude, punishment and
correction would have followed. But God's ways are not our ways; nor
our thoughts his thoughts... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord still dwells upon the subject of his grace, and Israel's
unworthiness, by way of pointing out his long-suffering, and the
necessity of their soul exercises. And, Reader, in this charge, you
and I may, equally with Israel, plead guilty. In all ages of the
Church, it will be found the same. I... [ Continue Reading ]
REFLECTIONS
LISTEN, my soul, to what the Lord speaks, in this most blessed and
precious chapter, to Jesus, as the Head of his church, and to his
redeemed in him. Read first, the promises, everyone of them, as made
to the Person of thy great Surety and Saviour; and then, from thy
union and interest i... [ Continue Reading ]