Isaiah 50:7

For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. FOR THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME; THEREFORE SHALL I NOT BE CONFOUNDED. Sample of His not being "discouraged" (; ). THEREFORE HAVE I SET MY FACE LIKE A FLINT - I have set myself resolutely not to be daunted from my work of love by shame or suffering (Ezekiel 3:8: cf. ). [kai autos to prosoopon autou esteerixe.]...

7._For the Lord Jehovah will help me. _The Prophet declares whence comes so great courage, which he and the other servants of God need to possess, in order to withstand courageously the attacks of every one. It comes from God’s assistance, by relying on whom he declares that he is fortified against all the attacks of the world. After having, with lofty fortitude, looked down contemptuously on all that was opposed to him, he exhorts others also to maintain the same firmness, and gives what may be called a picture of the condition of all the ministers of the word; that, by tuming aside from the world, they may tum wholly to God and have their eyes entirely fixed upon him. There never will be a contest so arduous that they shall not gain the victory by trusting to such a leader. _Therefore I have set my face as a flint. _By the metaphor of “a flint” he shews that, whatever may happen, he wi...

4-9 As Jesus was God and man in one person, we find him sometimes speaking, or spoken of, as the Lord God; at other times, as man and the servant of Jehovah. He was to declare the truths which comfort the broken, contrite heart, those weary of sin, harassed with afflictions. And as the Holy Spirit was upon him, that he might speak as never man spake; so the same Divine influence daily wakened him to pray, to preach the gospel, and to receive and deliver the whole will of the Father. The Father justified the Son when he accepted the satisfaction he made for the sin of man. Christ speaks in the name of all believers. Who dares to be an enemy to those unto whom he is a Friend? or who will contend with those whom he is an Advocate? Thus St. Paul applies it, Romans 8:33....

Verse Isaiah 50:7. _THEREFORE HAVE I SET MY FACE LIKE A FLINT_] The Prophet Ezekiel, Ezekiel 2:8, has expressed this with great force in his bold and vehement manner: "Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, And thy forehead strong against their foreheads: As an adamant, harder than a rock, have I made thy forehead; Fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, Though they be a rebellious house....

FOR THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME - That is, he will sustain me amidst all these expressions of contempt and scorn. SHALL I NOT BE CONFOUNDED - Hebrew, ‘I shall not be ashamed;’ that is, I will bear all this with the assurance of his favor and protection, and I will not blush to be thus treated in a cause so glorious, and which must finally triumph and prevail. THEREFORE HAVE I SET MY FACE LIKE A FLINT - To harden the face, the brow, the forehead, might be used either in a bad or a good sense - in the former as denoting shamelessness or haughtiness (see the note at Isaiah 48:4); in the latter denoting courage, firmness, resolution. It is used in this sense here; and it means that the Messiah would be firm and resolute amidst all the contempt and scorn which he would meet, and would

EXPOSITION This chapter seems to be made up of short fragments, which the collector, or collectors, of Isaiah's writings regarded as too precious to be lost, and which they consequently here threw together, though in reality they were detached utterances, and are not even connected in subject-matter. Verses 1-3 are a rebuke to the exiles for deeming themselves wholly rejected, and not rising to the occasion now that deliverance is at hand. Verses 4-9 carry on the account of "the Servant of the Lord" from Isaiah 49:12, further describing his humiliation, and declaring his steadfastness and his faith. Isaiah 49:10, Isaiah 49:11 are an exhortation to weak believers generally, and contain an encouragement and a

FOR THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME,.... As he promised he would, and did, Psalms 89:21, which is no contradiction to the deity of Christ, nor any suggestion of weakness in him; for he is the true God, and has all divine perfections in him; is equal to his Father in power, as well as in glory, and therefore equal to the work of redemption, as his other works show him to be; but this is to be understood of him as man, and expresses his strong faith and confidence in God, and in his promises as such; and in his human nature he was weak, and was crucified through weakness, and in it he was made strong by the Lord, and was held and upheld by him: and this shows the greatness of the work of man's redemption, that it was such that no mere creature could effect; even Christ as man needed help and assistance in it; and also the concern that all the divine Persons had in it: therefore shall

Isaiah 50:1. _Thus saith the LORD,_ There is always something weighty coming when you have this preface. If God speaks, we ought to hear with reverence, with attention. Isaiah 50:1. _Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you?_ God is here addressing his ancient people; they had been given up, as it were, left, forsaken. They compared themselves to a wife who had been divorced by her husband, or to children who had been sold by their father because of his extreme poverty. The Lord says, «Now, tell me, have I really put away my chosen people as a man in a pet puts away his wife? Have I really sold you to profit by you? What benefit is it to me that you are carried away captive, and that you a

CHAPTER 50 The Servant Speaks of His Determination and Suffering (Isaiah 50:1 belong to the preceding chapter.) 1. _The cause of Zion's present desolation (Isaiah 50:1)_ 2. _The Servant's self-witness (Isaiah 50:4)_ 3. _His obedience and His suffering (Isaiah 50:5)_ 4. _His victorious triumph (Isaiah 50:7)_ 5. _The two classes: Those who fear Him and those who reject Him (Isaiah 50:10) _ The Suffering One is speaking. Little commen

THE CONFIDENCE OF THE SERVANT IN YAHWEH (the third Servant Song). Here, as in Isaiah 49:1, the Servant is the speaker. Yahweh has given me the eloquence of a disciple that I may know how to answer the godless with upright words. Every morning He imparts instruction to me as to a disciple, nor have insult and cruelty caused me to shrink from the tasks He has set me. Through His help I have not been overwhelmed; upon me, confident that I shall not finally be put to shame, these cruelties have made no more impression than though I had been flint. My vindication is near. Let any accuser come forward and we will submit our case to Him. He will help me who will pronounce me wrong? My adversaries shall perish like a moth-eaten garment. ISAIAH 50:4. The text is certainly corrupt. For SUSTAIN, a gue