Isaiah 48

me.] The foregoing part of the verse shews that the words are spoken by God; and since it is here affirmed, that the Lord God hath sent Him, we can understand the words of none other but the second Person of the blessed Trinity; who was sent into the world by his Father, and amounted to his prophetic office by the Holy Spirit: see chap. xi. 2; xlii. 1; lxi. 1; Zech. ii. 10, 11. W. Lowth. 21. — they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: &c.] Another instance of allusion to the departure from Egypt, in describing the gracious care and protection, which God vouchsafed to his people in their return from Babylon. Bp. Lowth.

&c.] How exactly does this passage suit the Messiah, who is represented as having “a sharp two-edged sword going out of his mouth,” Rev. i. 16, who is Himself Christ is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises. Before CHRIST about 712. Or, my reward. Or, That Israel may be gathered to him, and I may, &c. Or, Art thou lighter than that thou shouldest, &c. Or, circulations, a Chap. 42. 6. Or, to him that is despired in soul.

the Word of God; which “word is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” Heb. iv. 12. See note on chap. xi. 4. This mighty agent and instrument of God, “laid long up in store with Him, and sealed up among his treasures,” is at last revealed, and produced by his power, and under his protection, to execute his great and holy purposes; He is compared to a polished shaft stored in his quiver for use in his due time. The polished shaft denotes the same efficacious word, which is before represented by the “sharp sword.” The doctrine of the Gospel pierced the hearts of its hearers, “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” The metaphor of the sword and the arrow, as applied to powerful speech, is bold, yet just: it has been employed by the most ingenious heathen writers. Bp. Lowth.

3. And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. That by “Israel” in this place is not meant either Jacob or the people that came from him, but the Messiah, will be very evident from comparing what is said afterwards. Bp. Kidder.

Isaiah 48:22

22. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.] All the great promises which God has made to his Church, to his people, to the families or nations of his true worshippers, are evidently to be so all along understood, as that wicked persons, of whatever family, nation, or profession of religion they be, shall be excluded from the benefit of those promises, shall be cut off from God’s people; and the good and righteous of all nations, from the east and from the west, from the