Isaiah 49

Christ declareth unto all nations his calling, ver.1. He complaineth of the Jews unbelief, 4. And speaketh of the calling of the Gentiles, 6. And comforteth the prisoners and afflicted ones 9. He promiseth to remove all things that may hinder their coming to him. 11. He comforteth the dejecteth Jews, 14. With a promise of increasing their Nursing-fathers. 23. And he promiseth that he will deliver them from the hand of their enemies, both temporal and spiritual, 24.

1. Hearken to me, [Christ speaketh this] ye Isles, [See above chap.41.ver.1.] and listen ye nations from far, the LORD hath called me [to wit, to be a Mediator and Saviour of his people] from the womb, from the bowels of my mother [that is, as soon as my mother conceived me, and brought me into the world. See Math.1.20,21. Luke 1:31. and 2.9.] hath he made mention [to wit, to his chosen people in Juda. See Luke 1:70.] of my Name. [that is, of me.]

2. And he hath made [Heb. Set] my mouth like a sharp sword, [That is, he hath commanded me to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins, and he worketh so by my sermons, as that they cut and pierce the rough the hearts of the hearers. Compare Luke 24:32. Act.2.37. Heb.4.12. Revel.1.16.] under the shadow of his hand [Or, or with the shadow of his hand, etc. See below chap.51.16.] hath he covered me: [that is, he hath kept and protected me against the wiles and subtitles of the Scribes and Pharisees, that they could not apprehend and kill me against my own will, and before my time was come] and made me a pure arrow, [a pure smooth arrow pierceth easier through anything, then a rusty one doth. Arrow or shaft signifieth here as much as sword a little before. See Psal.45.6.] in his quiver hath he hid me.

3. And he said unto me, Thou art my servant Israel, [See above chap.42. 1. And below chap.51.16. The meaning of these words is, O Christ, thou art not only my servant, but thou art also the true Israel, who striving and wrestling with God and with his mighty anger, shalt obtain the victory, whereof Jacob was but a type, when wrestling with the Angel, he overcame him, from whence he got the name of Israel [Or, in whom] I will be glorified. The name of Israel [Or, in whom] I will be glorified. [Others, Israel (is he) of whom I will glory by thee. The meaning is, I command thee that thou first of all offer and tender my glorious word unto the Israelites, or that thou first of all preach and publish my glory among them. See Matth.10.6. and 15.24. Acts 13:46. and 28.25, &c.]

4. But I said, [I, to wit, the Lord Christ, who complaineth here of the unbelief and wickedness of the greatest part of the Jews] I have laboured in vain, [to wit, with my sermons preached to the obstinate and hardened Jews] I have spent [Heb. Wasted; that is, used] my strength unprofitably [Heb. In waste] and in vain surely [or yet] my judgement [that is, my reward, which doth of right belong unto me] is with the LORD, and my wages [Heb. Properly work, or labour, and it is properly taken for reward, or wages of ones labour, or which a man hath deserved by his labour. See Jerem.22.on ver.13.] is with my God. [As if Christ had said, Although my labour hath not produced such fruits and effects as I indeed desired, yet I do comfort my self therewith, that I have done true and faithful service unto my heavenly Father in the office and duty which he hath imposed upon me, and he also knoweth it well. Compare Matth.23.37.]

5. And now saith the LORD that formed me from (my mothers womb) to be his servant, that I might bring Jacob [That is, the Jews] again to him: but Israel will not suffer himself to be gathered: [turning unto me. Matth.23.37. Joh.1.11. Others, Israel gathereth not himself. Others, and Israel shall be gathered unto him] yet shall I be glorified in the eyes of the LORD, [the meaning is, Notwithstanding the impenitency of the greatest part of the people of Israel, yet my faithful labour and diligence in the execution of my ministerial office is and shall be accepted and highly esteemed of my heavenly Father] and my God shall be my strength [that is, God doth comfort me by his holy Spirit against the unthankfulness of the Jews. Compare Matth.11.ver.25,26. Joh.6.36,37. And chap.10.ver.26,27. Others read the context, and Israel that is not gathered that I may be glorified in the eyes of the LORD, and that my God may be glorified in the eyes of the LORD, and that my God may be my strength. Israel that is not gathered; that is, the dispersed or scattered Israel. See Matth.23.37.]

6. Moreover he said, It is too mean (a thing) that thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up [To wit, by the preaching of the Gospel] the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved I Israel: [that is, these whom hitherto I have kept and preserved with great care and diligence, they being as it were mine inheritance, yea the apple of mine eye, Deut.32.10.] I have also given thee for a light of the Gentiles, [this is a clear and plain prophesy concerning the conversion of the Gentiles unto Christ. See above chap.42.6. Luke 2:32. Acts 13:46,47. And 26.17,18.] to be my salvation [that is, a salvation of the Gentiles, appointed and ordained by me] unto the end of tiles, appointed and ordained by me] unto the end of the earth. [It is too mean (a thing) &c. Heb. It is too light. As if he had said, the dignity or worthiness of thy person, thou being the eternal and onely Son of God the father; as also the high office whereunto I have called thee, requireth somewhat more, & more excellent things, then that thou shouldest onely raise up & restore the people of Israel to their right; I have also appointed and ordaineth thee for a Saviour of all the world. Therefore though the greatest part among the Jews will not know nor receive thee; yet there shall be many found among the Gentiles that shall do it: And the Christian Church shall not be the less or fewer for it; but shall be thereby much more increased and enlarged.]

7. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his holy one, [That is, he that is the holy One of Israel, as above chap.10.ver.17.] to the despised soul, [Heb. O the despised in soul: That is, to Christ, who was despised in this world by all wicked ones, who were at all times by far the greatest part of the world. Others, to him whom everyone despiseth. Others, to (him) whom the soul (that is, almost every man, the greatest and chiefest part of the Jews,) despiseth. See below chap.53.3. Joh.7.48. Matth.27.ver.22,23.29,40.] to him whom the people [to wit, the wicked people of the Jews] abhorreth, to the servant [that is, to Christ, who came into this world in the form of a servant] of them that rule; [to wit, at Jerusalem, as Herod, Pontus pilate, &c.] kings shall see it, Or, shall see thee; that is, shall know and honour thee for the Saviour and redeemer of the world. See Psal.72.10,11.] and rise up, [to wit, in token of reverence, as Levit.19.32.] (also) Princes, and they shall bow themselves (before thee) :[Or, and shall worship thee] for the LORDS sake, [honouring God the Father in the Son] and he is faithful, [Who will faithfully keep his promise concerning the sending of his Son Jesus Christ in the flesh] the holy One of Israel, [that is, for his sake who is the holy one of Israel. See above in this verse] that hath chosen thee. [To wit, for his servant, and to be the Mediator of the Elect. Here is a change or alteration of the third person, here he speaketh to him in the second person.]

8. Thus saith the LORD, [To wit, God the Father] In the time of Acceptance [that is, in the time when I would manifest my grace and mercy by the preaching of the Gospel, and I sent thee for a Saviour of the world, to suffer for the sins of my people. 2 Cor.6.2.] have I heard thee, [O Christ. This is spoken as of a thing past, but it is to be understood as to come] and in the day of salvation [This is the same in other words that was said immediately before] have I helped thee: [that is, I have upheld and supported thee when thou wast in the torments of hell, and have kept thy body from corruption when thou layest in the grave: yea I have raised thee from the dead, and set thee at my right hand. See 2 Cor.6.2.] and I will preserve thee, [to wit, against all thine enemies, that thou be not overcome by any of them] and I will give thee for a covenant [that is, for a Mediator of the Covenant, as above chap.42.6.] of the people, [to wit, of the people of God] to raise up the earth, [That is, the inhabitants of the earth; to wit, the elect. The meaning is, that thou, Jesus Christ, mayest raise up again and restore thy Church which is thine inheritance, and dwell in it [to cause to inherit the desolate heritages [By the desolate heritages may here be understood the land of Canaan, which was made desolate in the time of the Babylonian Captivity: (see ver.12.) and consequently salvation, of which the Devil endeavoured to bereave and disinherit the elect, and to make it waste and desolate unto them.]

9. To say to them that are bound, [That is, to the prisoners, as above chap.42.7.] Go forth; to them that are in darkness, [That is to say as to live in ignorance, and spiritual sorrow or heaviness] come into the light: [Or, come pass forth, shew your selves. Heb. Properly be discovered, or revealed] they [to wit, those that shall be effectually called by thee] shall feed in the ways, [that is, in all corners and places] and their pasture shall be in all high places. [The meaning is, after they are redeemed from the spiritual captivity& thraldom of sin and Satan, they shall be richly and abundantly blessed both in foul and body, and they shall enjoy those blessings in all places.]

10. They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat not the Sun scorch them: [Heb. Smite them. That which God saith or promiseth here, the same shall be fulfilled in heaven. See Revel.7.16. The meaning is, that the elect shall suffer no sorrow nor affliction in heaven, but shall be perfectly and absolutely happy, whereof the enjoying of Manna, and of water out of the rock in the rock in the wilderness, was a type] for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, [that is, the Lord Christ shall lead them as a shepherd leadeth his sheep; as above chap.40.11.] he shall comfort and refresh them by the comfort of the holy Ghost, using besides the comfortable promises which God maketh unto those that belong unto him.

11. And I will make all mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted. [That is, will remove all lets & hinderances out of the way: and will on the contrary use all helps and means that mine elect may from all corners and quarters of the whole world, be brought to the fellowship and communion of the people of God. They are the words of God the Father.]

12. Behold, these shall come from far, and lo, these from the North, and from the west, [Heb. From the Sea. See the Annotat.Genes.12.8.] and others from the land of Sinim. [Or, of the Sinites. Mention is also made of these Genes.10.17. Some conceive that these nations might perhaps be the Sineses, or Cineses.

13. Shout ye heavens, and rejoice thou earth, [See Rom.8.19.] and ye mountains make a noise with shouting. [See above chap.44.23. and 35.1.] for5 the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14. But Zion saith, the LORD hath forsaken me; and the Lord hath forgotten me. [Zion, That is, the believing Jews, who speak this being sore pressed by the great and manifold miseries that befell them.]

15. Can also a woman forget her suckling? [Or, her sucking child, or, her little child; as below chap.65.20. [that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb] See the like phrase Prov.31.2.] though these [or, yea the same, to wit women.20.] that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? [see like the phrase, Prov.31.2.] though these [or yea, the same, to wit, women] should forget [To wit, their child, or, children. See Psal.27.10.] yet will not I forget thee. [O Zion, O Jerusalem; that is, O my Church, my people. Understand this not so much of a corporal, as of a spiritual redemption. Rom.9.ver.6 7. [Others read, yet these may forget, or, but though they forget , yet will not I, etc.]

16. Behold, I have graven [Or, written, portrayed] thee upon both the palms of (my) hands; [That is, I will always be mindful of thee, and take care for thee] thy wall [O Jerusalem] are continually before me. [As if the LORD had said, As I will repair and build up again the walls of Jerusalem that are ruined and broken down by the Chaldeans; so will I also build up again and protect the spiritual Jerusalem, my Church, which is now small, yea almost utterly decayed.

17. Thy sons shall make hast: [Thy Sons, &c. Or, children; that is, the Elect, that in thee shall be born by the seed of the word of God, they shall come speedily with a great desire to the fellowship of the church] (but) thy destroyers, and thy wasters [that is, false teachers and heretics, as Scribes and Pharisees, together with all those that by their false doctrine and scandalous life, hurt thee, and occasion tents and divisions in thee] shall go forth of the thee. [Or, from thee.]

18. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold, all these gather themselves together, they come to thee: [Or, for thy sake, (all these) Meaning the converted Gentiles, which shall increase and adorn the Church, uniting and joining themselves together under one shepherd] (As true as) I live, saith the LORD, surely, thou shall cloth thee with all these, [To wit, all the Elect, whom the Lord shall bring under his obedience and subjection, both from Jews and Gentiles] as with an ornament, [The great number of believers in Christ is the beauty and ornament of the Church] and thou shalt bind them upon (thee) like a and fasteneth them on about her, when she trim meth, or tricketh her self up.]

19. For (in) thy waste, and thy solitary places, and thy land destroyed, [The land of Juda was destroyed both by the Babylonians, and by the Romans, and other nations] surely thou shalt now [that is, then, or soon. See the Annotat. Hos.10.on ver.3.] be straightened [Or, be thronged, pressed] of inhabitants: [to wit, when the elect Gentiles shall come in unto thee, and shall join themselves to the Church. The meaning is, the number of them that shall join themselves to the Christians Church, shall be so great, as that the Church, which was before like a waste and solitary place, shall be filled, yea shall be almost too straight and narrow to contain all Christian believers that come to it from the Gentiles: for believers shall be spread throughout the whole world] and they that devoured thee, [that is, they that formerly seemed to have a desire to devour and swallow thee up by their tyrannical persecution, and doctrine, such as were the Scribes and Pharisees, tyrants, &c.] shall get them far away from thee.

20. The children of whom thou wast bereaved, [Heb. The children of thy lack, or loss children; that is, of thy barrenness, namely the Gentiles, which indeed properly are not thy children, as being not bodily begotten or born of thee, but are now by faith become children of the Church, after that ye Jews, for your unbelief and impenitency, are for the most part to be accounted childless and barren] shall say before thine ears: [Others, render this verse thus: The children which thou shalt get, when thou wast bereaved of thy children, shall yet say before thine ears; that is, so as that thou shalt hear it] The place is too narrow for me: [This signifieth the great increase and augmentation of the Christian Church] give way to me, [Or, give me place] that I may dwell.

21. And thou shalt say in thine heart, who hath begotten me these? Seeing I was bereaved of children, and solitary: [That is, thou Jewish Church, shalt admire with thy self, and be amazed at the great multitude of Gentiles that shall be joined to the Church of God] I was gone into captivity, [to wit, into the Babylonian own country] who then hath brought up these for me? Behold, I was left alone; where were these?

22. Thus saith the Lord LORD, Behold I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and I will set up [Or cast up, or lift up] my standard to the nations: that is, I will effectually call the Gentiles by the preaching of the Gospel, and inward working of the holy Ghost] then shall they bring thy sons in (their) armes, and thy daughter shall be carried upon (their) shoulders. [That is, both young and old, men and women shall come and join themselves to the communion of faints, and they shall go one before another with good admonitions and instructions, and also with good example. Below chap.60.4. and 66.12.]

23. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, [The meaning is, that Kings shall not onely join themselves to the Church of Christ; but they shall also use their power and authority for the increase and defence of it] their princesses [that is, the wives of Kings] thy nursing women: [or milk-nurses] they shall bow (down) before thee with their face towards the earth, [that is, they shall shew civil respect unto thee, they shall humble themselves before thee, and they shall lick up the dust of thy feet: [the meaning is, they shall bow down so low unto thee, that their mouth shall almost touch the very ground, as if they intended to lick up the earth. See Psal.72.9.] and thou shalt know that I am the LORD, that they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

24. Should the prey be taken from the mighty? Or should the captives of a just man [That upon just ground, whether of war or otherwise keepeth any man close Prisoner] escape? [This the Church, persecuted and oppressed by tyrants, uttereth in respect of the violence and cruelty of her persecutors.]

25. But thus saith the LORD, Yea the captives of the mighty shall be taken away (from him,) and the prey of the tyrants shall escape: [or be released and set at liberty. Understand this to be spoken not onely of the captive Jews in the Babylonian captivity, (whom the mighty Kings of Babel by might or force of arms had so brought under their subjection and dominion, that it feemed a thing impossible to deliver them from thence:) but also to be spoken under a type and figure of the Devil, hell and death, into whose power God, in his just judgement, had delivered us up for our sins: but Christ hath redeemed us from their power, making satisfaction to God his heavenly Father for us: he is stronger then all our enemies] for I will contend with thy contenders, [See Psal.35.on ver.1.] and I will deliver, [or preserve, save] thy children.

26. And I will feed thine oppressors with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine: [That is, I will make thine enemies and persecutors (to wit, the enemies of my Church) eat their own flesh, I will cause them to tear and devour one another, I will deal with them as I have formerly dealt with the Midianites, and other enemies of mine. See Revel.16.6.] and all flesh [that is, all men of what state or condition soever they be] shall perceive, that I the LORD am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty one of Jacob.