Isaiah 49:1

Listen, O isles, unto me,.... These are not the words of Cyrus, as Lyra mentions; nor of the Prophet Isaiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and other Jewish writers think; but of Christ, calling upon the

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.

ISAIAH CHAPTER 49 Christ, being sent to the Jews, complaineth of them, . He is sent to the Gentiles with.gracious promises, . God’ s love to his church perpetual, . The ample restoration of the church, and its enlargement, , Powerful deliverance out of captivity, . Listen, O isles. God having in the last words secretly signified the wickedness of the Jewish nation, after so glorious a deliverance, and foreseeing that, for their wickedness, he should cast them off, he here turneth his speech to the nations of the Gentiles, who are frequently described in this prophecy and elsewhere under the title of isles, as hath been formerly noted, and inviteth them to hearken to those counsels and doctrines which the Jews would reject. Unto me; unto Christ; for it is apparent from , and other passages of this chapter, that Isaiah speaks these words ill the name of Christ, by whose Spirit they were dictated to him, , and unto whom alone they belong, as we shall see. So this chapter is a prophecy of Christ, which also is very proper and seasonable in this place. The prophet having at large prophesied of the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, he now proceeds further, and prophesieth of the redemption of the world by Christ, of which that deliverance out of Babylon was a type and forerunner. Hearken, ye people, from far; which live in countries far from Judea, now the only place of God’ s special presence and worship. It is evident from the foregoing clause, and many other passages following, that he speaks of distance of place, not of time. The Lord hath called me from the womb: this or the like expression is used of Jeremiah, , and of Paul, ; but it was far more eminently true of Christ, who, as he was chosen to this great office of redemption from eternity, so he was separated and called to it before he was born, being both conceived and sanctified by the Holy Ghost in his mother’ s womb, and sent into the world upon this errand; of which see , &c.; it. 11, &c. Made mention of my name; called by my name, and by such a name as signified my office and work, in the places now mentioned.

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.Ver. 1. Listen, O isles, unto me,] i.e., Ye foreigners; for wicked Israel will not, and therefore have no true peace. Unto me.] Understand it of Isaiah, but especially of Christ: for from hence to the end of this book, as the Jewish doctors also acknowledge, are visions and sermons set down concerning Christ’ s twofold kingdom, viz., of patience and of power. See Acts 13:47 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 : 2 Kings 7:10. The Lord hath called me from the womb.] Called me and qualified me, appointed and anointed me to the office of a mediator. Thus those that attend not, though never so remote, are deeply guilty before God.

XLIX. (1) Listen, O isles . . .—The argument against idolatry has been brought to its close, and a new section opens, and with it there is a new speaker, the mysterious “Servant of the Lord,” (Isaiah 42:1), at once identified with Israel (Isaiah 49:3), in fulfilling its ideal, and yet distinguished from it, as its Restorer and Redeemer. “Isles” as before stand vaguely for “far off countries.” The invitation is addressed to the heathen far and wide. The Lord hath called me from the womb.—The words indicate a predestined vocation. (Comp. Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:15; Luke 1:41; Galatians 1:15.) Admitting the thought of a Divine order working in human history, the idea of such a vocation follows in inevitable sequence.

CHAPTER XLIX In this chapter the Messiah is introduced, declaring the full extent of his commission, which is not only to be Saviour to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. The power and efficacy of his word is reprehended by apt images; the ill success of his ministry among the Jews is intimated, and the great success of the Gospel among the Gentiles, 1-12. But the prophet, then casting his eye on the happy, though distant, period of Israel's restoration, makes a beautiful apostrophe to the whole creation to shout forth the praises of God on the prospect of this remarkable favour, 13. The tender mercies of God to his people, with the prosperity of the Church in general, and the final overthrow of all its enemies, make the subject of the remaining verses, 14-26. NOTES ON CHAP. XLIX Verse 1. Listen, O isles, unto me - "Hearken unto me, O ye distant lands"] Hitherto the subject of the prophecy has been chiefly confined to the redemption from the captivity of Babylon; with strong intimations of a more important deliverance sometimes thrown in, to the refutation of idolatry, and the demonstration of the infinite power, wisdom, and foreknowledge of God. The character and office of the Messiah was exhibited in general terms at the beginning of Isa 42:1 c. but here he is introduced in person, declaring the full extent of his commission, which is not only to restore the Israelites, and reconcile them to their Lord and Father, from whom they had so often revolted, but to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, to call them to the knowledge and obedience of the true God, and to bring them to be one Church together with the Israelites, and to partake with them of the same common salvation procured for all by the great Redeemer and Reconciler of man to God.

Ch. Isaiah 49:1-13. The Servant of Jehovah: His Fidelity amidst Discouragements, and the ultimate Success of His MissionThe beginning of ch. 49 seems to mark a distinct advance in the development of the prophet’s conceptions. “The controversial tone, the repeated comparisons between Jehovah and the idols, with the arguments based upon them, disappear; the prophet feels that, as regards these points, he has made his position sufficiently secure. For the same reason, allusions to Cyrus and his conquest of Babylon cease also; that, likewise, is now taken for granted” (Driver, Isaiah 2, pp. 148 f.). In the remaining discourses (ch. 49–55) the author concentrates his attention almost exclusively on his central message of consolation, and the glorious future in store for Israel. His treatment of this theme moves along two lines, which alternate with each other as the manner of the writer is. The first is represented by the idea of the Servant of the Lord, the second by the figure of Zion, both being personifications, although in very different senses, of the people of Israel (see on ch. Isaiah 40:1). The Servant represents the ideal Israel as Jehovah’s instrument, first, in restoring the unity and prosperity of the nation, and second, in extending the knowledge of God to the nations of the world. Zion, on the other hand, is the representative of Israel in its passive aspect, as deserted and humbled in the present, but at the same time the recipient of the blessings which accrue from the work and sufferings of the Lord’s Servant. The opening section consists of:— i. A new description of the mission and experience of the Servant of Jehovah (cf. ch. Isaiah 42:1-4) in the form of an address by the Servant to the nations (Isaiah 49:1-6). These verses form the second of the four “Servant-passages” which occur in the book. ii. A promise of speedy restoration to Israel, obviously based on the preceding description (Isaiah 49:7-12). iii. A hymn of gratitude to Jehovah, called forth as usual by the prospect of deliverance (Isaiah 49:13).

Listen - This is the exordium, or introduction. According to the interpretation which refers it to the Messiah, it is to be regarded as the voice of the Redeemer calling the distant parts of the

1. Listen — An earnest call-word, because something of importance is to be communicated. O isles — Literally, coastlands; islands and maritime regions, generally westward from the scene of the speaker.