Isaiah 49:6

And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. IT IS A LIGHT THING THAT THOU SHOULDEST BE MY SERVANT TO RAISE UP THE TRIBES OF JACOB ... I WILL ALSO GIVE THEE FOR A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES - `It is too little that thou shouldest,' etc. (Hengstenberg) - i:e., It is not enough honour to thee to raise up Jacob and Israel, but I design for thee more-namely, that thou shouldest be the means of enlightening the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 60:3). RESTORE THE PRESERVED OF ISRAEL - namely, those remaining after the judgments of God as the n...

6._And he said, It is a small matter. _Isaiah proceeds still farther, and shews that the labor of Christ, and of the whole Church, will be glorious not only before God, but likewise before men. Although at first it appears to be vain and useless, yet the Lord will cause some fruit to spring from it contrary to the expectations of men. Already it was enough that our labor should be approved by God; but when he adds that it will not be unprofitable even in the eyes of men, this ought still more abundantly to comfort, and more vehemently to excite us. Hence it follows, that we ought to have good hopes of success, but that we ought to leave it to the disposal of God himself, that the blessing which he promises may be made manifest at the proper time, to whatever extent, and in whatever manner he shall think proper. _Therefore I have appointed thee to be a light of the Gentiles. _He now adds,...

1-6 The great Author of redemption shows the authority for his work. The sword of his word slays the lusts of his people, and all at enmity with them. His sharp arrows wound the conscience; but all these wounds will be healed, when the sinner prays to him for mercy. But even the Redeemer, who spake as never man spake in his personal ministry, often seemed to labour in vain. And if Jacob will not be brought back to God, and Israel will not be gathered, still Christ will be glorious. This promise is in part fulfilled in the calling of the Gentiles. Men perish in darkness. But Christ enlightens men, and so makes them holy and happy....

Verse Isaiah 49:6. _AND TO RESTORE THE PRESERVED OF ISRAEL _- "And to restore the branches of Israel"] נצירי _netsirey_, or נצורי _netsurey_, as the Masoretes correct it in the marginal reading. This word has been matter of great doubt with interpreters: the _Syriac_ renders it _the branch_, taking it for the same with נצר _netser_, Isaiah 11:1. See _Michaelis_ Epim. in Praelect. xix....

AND HE SAID - That is, Yahweh said in his promise to the Messiah. IT IS A LIGHT THING - Margin, ‘Art thou lighter than that thou,’ etc. Lowth renders it, ‘It is a small thing.’ Hengstenberg, ‘It is too little that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob.’ The sense is, that God designed to glorify him in an eminent degree, and that it would not be as much honor as be designed to confer on him, to appoint him merely to produce a reformation among the Jews, and to recover them to the spiritual worship of God. He designed him for a far more important work - for the recovery of the Gentile world, and for the spread of the true religion among all nations. The Septuagint renders this, It is a great thing for thee to be called my servant.’ The Chaldee proposes it as a question, ‘Is it a small thing for you that you are called my servant?’ My servant

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

AND HE SAID,.... Or "even he said"; namely, the Lord his God, that called, appointed, and strengthened him for his service: IT IS A LIGHT THING THAT THOU SHOULDEST BE MY SERVANT TO RAISE UP THE TRIBES OF JACOB, AND TO RESTORE THE PRESERVED OF ISRAEL; THE TRIBES OF JACOB AND THE PRESERVED OF ISRAEL are the elect of God among the Jews; though the characters agree with all the chosen of God of other nations, who, are distinguished from the rest of the world, and are "preserved in Christ", Judges 1:1, where they are preserved before they are redeemed and called; not from falling in Adam with the rest of mankind, nor from the general corruption of nature, nor from actual sins and transgressions; yet from the condemnation of the law, the damning power of sin, and the second death; the ground of which is, their being in the love of God, in the covenant of grace, and in the hands of Chr

In this chapter, we have not merely Isaiah speaking concerning the Christ of God; but it is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who here speaks concerning himself. Isaiah 49:1. _Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far;_ It is very remarkable how constantly the isles are spoken of in this Book of Isaiah, as if it had been foreseen that, in these far-off islands of the sea, the name of Jesus would be greatly magnified. «Listen,» says the Messiah, «O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far.» Isaiah 49:1. _The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name._ Christ Jesus our Lord was spoken of by the spirit of prophecy from his very birth, and long before it; and when he did come into th

GENTILES (_ See Scofield) - (Isaiah 42:6). _...

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