Isaiah 49:21

Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? THEN SHALT THOU SAY IN THINE HEART, WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE, SEEING I HAVE LOST MY CHILDREN? - Zion's joyful wonder at the unexpected restoration of the Ten tribes. Secondarily, the accession of spiritual Israelites to the mother-church of Jerusalem from the Gentiles is meant. This created surprise at first (Acts 10:45; Acts 14:27; Acts 15:3). AND AM DESOLATE, A CAPTIVE, AND REMOVING TO AND FRO - or, 'and removed;' i:e., pu...

21._And thou shalt say in thy heart. _By these words he declares that the restoration of the Church, of which he now speaks, will be wonderful; and therefore he represents her as wondering and amazed on account of having been restored in a strange and unexpected manner. And truly a description of this sort is not superfluous; for, as a new offspring grows up among men every day, by which the human race is propagated, so the children of God and of the Church are born, who, “not from flesh and blood,” (John 1:13,) but by the secret power of God, are formed again to be new creatures. By nature we have no share in the kingdom of God; (10) and therefore, if any man contemplate this new and uncommon work, and in what manner the Church is increased and maintained, he will be constrained to wonder. _Who hath begotten me these? _He shews that this

18-23 Zion is addressed as an afflicted widow, bereaved of her children. Numbers flock to her, and she is assured that they come to be a comfort to her. There are times when the church is desolate and few in number; yet its desolations shall not last for ever, and God will repair them. God can raise up friends for returning Israelites, even among Gentiles. They shall bring their children, and make them thy children. Let all deal tenderly and carefully with young converts and beginners in religion. Princes shall protect the church. It shall appear that God is the sovereign Lord of all. And those who in the exercise of faith, hope, and patience, wait on God for the fulfilment of his promises, shall never be confounded....

Verse Isaiah 49:21. _THESE, WHERE_ HAD _THEY_ BEEN - "These then, where were they?"] The conjunction is added before אלה _elleh_, that is, ואלה _veelleh_. in thirty-two MSS. (nine ancient) of _Kennicott's_, and fifty-four of _De Rossi's_, and so the _Septuagint, Chaldee_, and _Vulgate_. See on Isaiah 49:12....

THEN SHALT THOU SAY IN THINE HEART - Thou shalt wonder at the multitude, and shalt ask with astonishment from where they all come. This verse is designed to describe the great increase of the true people of God under the image of a mother who had been deprived of her children, who should suddenly see herself surrounded with more than had been lost, and should ask in astonishment from where they all came. WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE - The idea here is, that the increase would be from other nations. They would not be the natural increase of Zion or Jerusalem, but they would come in from abroad - as if a family that had been bereaved should be increased by an accession from other families. I HAVE LOST MY CHILDREN - Jerusalem had been desolated by wars, and had become like a widow that was bereft of all her sons (compare the notes at...

SECTION III. THE MISSION OF THE SERVANT OF THE LORD (CH. 49-53). EXPOSITION The connection of the present section is especially with Isaiah 42:1, where the mission of the Servant of Jehovah was first announced. That mission was there described with extreme brevity. It has now to be fully set forth, for the instruction, consolation, and comfort of all Israel, which is represented as sunk in despondency, deeming itself forgotten of God and forsaken by him (Isaiah 42:13, Isaiah 42:14). In the present chapter Jehovah's at

THEN SHALT THOU SAY IN THINE HEART,.... In, a way of admiration, secretly within herself, astonished at the numerous crowds flocking in; WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE? not their natural parents, nor they themselves; FOR THEY ARE NOT BORN OF BLOOD, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH; nor ministers of the Gospel, though they are instruments, yet not the cause; but God only, Father, Son, and Spirit, to whom regeneration is only ascribed: regeneration is a wonderful work of God; it is unaccountable to the natural man; it is amazing to the saints themselves; and it is matter of astonishment to the church of God; especially when on a sudden, and without means, and in great numbers, men are born again; and particularly when these come from among the Gentiles, which seems to be the case here: SEEING I HAVE LOST MY CHILDREN; by captivity and the sword, by the tyranny and cruelty...

Isaiah 49:1. _Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;_ Our Lord Jesus, that great Prophet of the Church, was in a special manner the Lord's in the matter of his birth. A wondrous holy mystery hangs about his birth at Bethlehem, he was, in that respect, the Lord's in a very remarkable sense. «He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.» You know how our Lord's mouth, or the Word of his gospel that issues from his mouth, is like a sharp sword how it conquers, how it cuts its way, how, wherever it comes, it pierces «even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the tho

2. THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH, HIS SUFFERING AND HIS GLORY (49-57) CHAPTER 49 The Servant of Jehovah and His Mission 1. _The servant speaks of himself (Isaiah 49:1)_ 2. _He complains of failure (Isaiah 49:4)_ 3. _Jehovah's answer to him (Isaiah 49:5)_ 4. _Zion speaks (Isaiah 49:14) Jehovah's answer (Isaiah 49:15) _ This entire chapter is the key to the whole section. The Servant of Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, stands in the foreground. He is seen as the Rejected One, who complains that He has labored in vain. The ultim

JERUSALEM SHALL BE FORTHWITH REBUILT AND REPEOPLED. Zion has believed herself forgotten of Yahweh. But though a mother should forget her babe He will not forget Zion. His plan for rebuilding it He has cut upon the palms of His hands that it may be ever before Him. Zion's builders (_mg._) shall speedily get to work, while her destroyers shall haste out of the city. From all sides the dispersed people return; they shall be to the newly-built city as ornaments to a new-made wife. Though all the waste places be made habitable (?) still the people shall more than fill them. Oppressors shall be far away. Those born while the city lay desolate are so many as on their return to strive in Zion's hearing for room. And Zion shall ask herself in bewilderment, Who hath borne and reared me these when I was childless? (_cf._ Genesis 16:2)....