Isaiah 42:5

Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: Previously God had spoken of Messiah; now (Isaiah 42:5) He speaks to Him. To show to all that He is able to sustain the Messiah in his appointed work, and that all might accept Messiah as commissioned by such a mighty God, He commences by announcing Himself as the Almighty Creator and Preserver of all things. SPREAD FORTH THE EARTH - (.)...

5._Thus saith Jehovah. _He confirms what he said in the beginning of the chapter about the reign of Christ, that he will renew and restore all things; and as this might be thought to be incredible, he has here added a magnificent description of the power of God, by which our faith ought to be confirmed, especially when the outward aspect of things is directly contrary. On this account he brings forward clear proofs of the power of God, that all may be aroused by the mention of them, and may be convinced that he who created all things out of nothing, who spread out the heavens, who produced vegetation, who gave life to animals, and who upholds and defends all things by his power, will easily perform what he promises concerning the reign of Christ. These forms of expression remind us that we ought always to consider the power of God, that we may be fully convinced of the authority and undo...

5-12 The work of redemption brings back man to the obedience he owes to God as his Maker. Christ is the light of the world. And by his grace he opens the understandings Satan has blinded, and sets at liberty from the bondage of sin. The Lord has supported his church. And now he makes new promises, which shall as certainly be fulfilled as the old ones were. When the Gentiles are brought into the church, he is glorified in them and by them. Let us give to God those things which are his, taking heed that we do not serve the creature more than the Creator....

THUS SAITH GOD THE LORD - This verse commences a new form of discourse. It is still Yahweh who speaks; but in the previous verses he had spoken of the Messiah in the third person; here he is introduced as speaking to him directly. He introduces the discourse by showing that he is the Creator and Lord of all things. The object of his dwelling on this seems to have been, to show that he had power to sustain the Messiah in the work to which he had called him; and to secure for him respect as having been commissioned by him who had formed the heavens and the earth, and who ruled over all. He shows that he had power to accomplish all that he had promised: and he seeks thus to elevate and confirm the hopes of the people with the assurance of their deliverance and salvation. AND STRETCHED THEM OUT - The heavens are often represented as stretched out as a veil ...

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 42:1 ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, AND THE WORK WHICH HE WILL PERFORM. There are comparatively few who deny that, in this place at any rate, the "Servant of the Lord" is the Messiah. (So the Targum on the passage; so Abar-barnel; so, among moderns, Oehler, Delitzsch, and Mr. Cheyne.) The portraiture has "so strong an individuality and such marked personal features, that it cannot possibly be a mere personified collective;" and it goes so "infinitely _beyond _anything of which a man was ever capable that it can only be the future Christ" (Delitzsch). It may be added that St. Matthew ...

THUS SAITH GOD THE LORD,.... The God of the world, as the Targum. This, with what follows, is a preface to the call of Christ, to the great work of redemption; setting forth the greatness of God as a Creator, that calls him to it, and thereby encouraging him as man and Mediator in it, as well as the faith of his people to regard him as their Saviour and Redeemer, and believe that this work he was called unto should be performed by him; for what is it that God, the Creator of all things, cannot do? HE THAT CREATED THE HEAVENS, AND STRETCHED THEM OUT: he first made them out of nothing, and stretched out the firmament of them as a curtain and canopy over the earth, and them as a tent for himself to dwell in, Isaiah 40:22: HE THAT SPREAD FORTH THE EARTH; into the length and breadth it has, for man and beast to dwell on it: and

Isaiah 42:1. _Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles._ Verily this prophecy is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Observe the title which he takes. He is called the servant of God. The Father calls him his servant. Above all others is Christ the servant of the Highest deigning to become the servant of servants, though he is the King of kings. «Whom I uphold» which may be read two ways. According to some renderings it should be, «Whom I lean upon» as if God leant the full weight of his glory upon Christ, and gave over the work of grace into his hands, that is, if the passage be read passively. If actively, it runs as in our text, «Whom I uphold.» And both are true. God leans upon Christ. Christ draws his strength from God. They co-work, and mutual is the glory. «Mine elect.»

CHAPTER 42 The True Servant of Jehovah 1. _The Servant of Jehovah and His mission (Isaiah 42:1)_ 2. _His future work among the nations (Isaiah 42:5)_ 3. _The future song of redemption glory (Isaiah 42:10)_ 4. _Jehovah's manifestation in power (Isaiah 42:14)_ 5. _The address of exhortation to the deaf and blind nation (Isaiah 42:18) _ Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 12:20) tells us that this servant is the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark t

AN EXPOSITION OF THE THEME OF ISAIAH 42:1. Yahweh the Creator, has called Israel, taken him by the hand, made him a covenant and light to the nations, to bring them forth from their prison-house of glimmering darkness. ISAIAH 42:5. GOD, THE LORD: read, Yahweh, the (true) God. Insert brought forth before THAT WHICH. Isaiah 42:6. in righteousness: _i.e._ truly, of set purpose. WILL HOLD. WILL KEEP. AND GIVE: read, have held. have formed. and have given. COVENANT OF THE PEOPLE: an obscure expression, best interpreted as a parallel to the following clause, a people embodying a covenant which Yahweh will make with the nations....

Jehovah's promise to Israel, based on the preceding description. _God_ in the Heb. _hâ-"çl_, THE GOD, the God who alone is truly God, who has created and sustains all things. _spread forth_ or "made firm." The word means to beat out into a thin surface, and probably (as in the noun "firmament") combines the ideas of density and extension (cf. ch. Isaiah 44:24; Psalms 136:6). By a strong zeugma this verb is made to govern a second object, _that which cometh out of it_, which here probably denotes "vegetation" (see on ch. Isaiah 34:1). _breath_and _spirit_are here nearly identical, the divine principle of life breathed into man at his creation;...