Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49:1-6

The deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish yale, and the prophecies going before concerning it, were designed to direct their eyes to the greater salvation which the Messiah was ordained to accomplish for his people. In this chapter we have, 1. The designation of Christ to his office as Mediator, ver. 1—3. 2. The assurance given him of the justice of his undertaking among the Gentiles, ver. 3—8. 3. The redemption that should be wrought by him, and the progress of that redemption, ver. 9—12.—4. The encouragement given from home to the afflicted church, ver. 13—13. 5. The addition of many to it, and the setting up of a church among the Gentiles, ver. 18—23. 6. A ratification of the prophecy of the Jesus release out of Babylon, which was to be the figure and type of all these lozings, ver. 24—26.

1. LISTEN, O iltes, 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. 2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft, in his quiver hath he hid me. 3. And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain, yet lately my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. 5. And now saith the LORD, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldst 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.

The former chapter related chiefly to the salvation of the Jews; this looks much farther, even to the salvation of Gentiles as well as Jews, through the preaching of the gospel.

1. The iltes are summoned to attend the word of their God and Saviour, which should go forth into all lands; and distant realms are called to bear the glad tidings of salvation through a Redeemer, v. 1.

2. His mission and authority are set forth. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from eternity, to be a prophet, priest, and king to his people; from, or before, the benefit of my mother hath he made mention of my name, his name Jesus being given him by the angel, before his conception. And he hath made my mouth as a sharp sword; so piercing and powerful his word, that the powers of darkness fell down before it, and deep conviction forced the sinners hearts; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, during the days of infancy, when Herod sought to destroy him; and made me a polished shaft, or choice serene, height and sharp. In his quiver hath he hid me, till the fulness of time come that he should be manifested in the flesh; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, (for in this form he condemned to appear) O Israel, the representative and covenant head of his people, in

whom I will be glorified, God’s perfections being never so eminently displayed, as in the salvation wrought out by his incarnate Son.

3. He complains of the little effect his preaching produced on the Jewish people: he laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought. They paid no attention to his miracles, nor were convinced by his word; yet God knew the fidelity with which he discharged his truth, and his work was approved, and would be rewarded by him, v. 4. Note, (1.) It is no uncommon complaint munitions make, that to the most of their congregations they labour in vain. (2.) We must not be discouraged if we see not all the success we hoped for: the work is God’s; when we are conscious of our own simplicity, we may quietly leave the matter in his hand. (3.) It is not always lost labour, where the effects are not immediately seen: the first Christ sowed in his life grew most plentifully after his death. (4.) Our success enters one into our reward, but our fidelity.

4. With two encouraging promises God answers his complaints. He had formed him to be his servant, and appointed him to seek and save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But though the people in general rejected his gospel, yet, (1.) He should be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and God would be his strength, to carry him through all the difficulties of his arduous work. Thus we see him attended by angels at his birth, ministered to by them in his agency, transfigured on the mount, ascending from the dead, and exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high. (2.) He should not merely be a Saviour to the preserved of Israel, and raise up God’s elect among the Jews, but on the Gentiles his light should arise, and his salvation be spread to the ends of the earth, from whence converts would be gathered into the church, unspokably more numerous than those of his own nation who should reject him: and this we see in part fulfilled, and fulfilling daily, till the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. Note, (1.) The soul is in utter darkness till Christ in his gospel enlightens the eyes of our minds, and guides us into paths of peace. (2.) God’s Israel are preserved for him, kept by eternal love, and none can separate them from him. (3.) Christ is the only salvation for lost man; out of him there is no hope.

5. Thus saith the LORD the Redeemer of Israel, and his holy One, to him: whom man despiteth, to him: whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 8. Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9. That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Sheer yourselves; they shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 10. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun finite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall be guide them. 11. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my high-ways shall be exalted. 12. Behold, these shall come from far: and lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Shum.

Isaiah 49:7-12

We have here,

1. The humiliation and exaltation of the Lord Jesus. God the Father, the Redeemer of Israel, encourages his dear Son under his abatement: in the days of his death he would be despised of men, abhorred of his own nation, and crucified; a servant of rulers, inflicted by the Jewish and Roman chiefs: yet great was the glory to which he should be advanced: the kings of the earth should do him homage, and princes bow down to him; as was the case, when the Roman empire under Constantine embraced the profession of Christianity, and will be more abundantly fulfilled, when all nations shall come and worship before him.

2. God promises him all support in the day of his trouble. He will answer his prayers, and help him in the trying hour, when on the cross he hung, accomplishing the salvation of his people, v. 8. Note, (1.) Whenever a soul is inclined to look up in prayer to God, he will find it an acceptable time. (2.) God never forsakes his chosen in their distress, but will succour and save them at their cry.

3. He is assured he shall see of the travail of his soul in the salvation of his people. I will give thee for a covenant of the people, as their great covenant-head and representative, in whom they would be accepted, and entitled to the blessings of grace and glory, which by his blood and righteousness he obtained for them; to establish or raise up the earth, and cause to inherit the desolate heritages; by the preaching of his gospel, replenishing his church from the Gentile world, which

Isaiah 49:13-17

which before was desolate, and the members of it comparatively few, v. 8. that thou mayest say to the professors, On forth; to them that are in darkness, Sheu yourselves; the sinner’s loud being under the hands of iniquity, shut up in the darkness of ignorance and error, and obnoxious to the justice of God, till Christ by his pardoning word cancels our guilt, by his renewing grace enlightens our minds, and brings us forth into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, to shew forth the change he hath wronged, and therein to make his glory to appear. And whom he thus redeems, he preserves: they shall feed in the ways, in the bond and ordinances of God; and their fathers shall be in all high places, where there is plenty of nourishment, and they are safe from all attacks. They shall not hunger nor thrift, shall want no temporal or spiritual good; neither shall the host nor sun soire them; God will preserve them from the power of temptations, and cover them from the severity of perfection. For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, with all the tenderness of a thousand: even by the springs of water shall be good them, filling their souls with consolations, and, as they are under divine conduct, making them happy in divine comfort. Every obstacle in their way to glory shall be removed; I will make all my mountains a way, and my high-ways shall be reached, that the redeemed may see the strait path before them, and with safety and securely therein: and, as at Cyng’s proclamation the Jews assembled from all parts of the land of Chaldra to return to Zion, so, in greater numbers, shall converts flock into the church of Christ. Behold! the glorious fight; those shall come from far, and so, shall, from the north and from the west, and shall, from the land of Sionis; from all quarters of the globe, whither his gospel should go forth, multitudes should join themselves to the Lord, which, in the apostles days, was eminently verified, and shall be yet more abundantly free in the latter days. Note, (1.) Christ is her covenant; all the conditions of the covenant of grace were fulfilled by him, and by faith all the blessings of it are derived from him. (2.) Miserable is the sinner’s state, till Christ comes to set him free; yet how many sleep careless in their chains, and never consider that the darkness of sin must showest after in the outer darkness of hell! (3.) The redeemed are the Saviour’s peculiar care, and he will see they shall want no measure of thing that is good. (4.) The way to glory hath difficulties, but none so great but that almighty Grace can make us more than conquerors. (5.) Were we left to ourselves a moment, how quickly should we like silly sheep go afray? Blessed be God, we are not left to our own keeping, but are under the care of that watchful Shepherd, who can say of his flock, I have lost none.

13. ¶ * Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14. But Zion find, * The LORD hath forsaken me, and my LORD hath forgotten me. 15. * Can a woman forget her fucking child, * that she should not have compassion on the son of her words? * see they may forget, * yet will I not forget thee. 16. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me. 17. Thy children shall make halts; thy destroyers, and they that made thee waft, shall go forth of thee.

The deliverance of Israel from Babylon was just matter of abundant joy; but how much greater is due for the redemption of Jesus, the desire of all nations?

1. The whole creation is represented as bursting forth into song of joy on this glorious event. The afflicted are comforted, the miserable find mercy, and heaven and earth unite to celebrate the Saviour’s praise, v. 13. Note, We can never enough be thankful for redeeming love, nor will eternity suffice to speak the praise of our Lord.

2. The state of deponentness into which Zion had fallen, served to heighten the joy of their deliverance. Zion said, or had said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me: in their long captivity they were ready to faint, and despair of relief; and many a time the church of God hath been reduced so low, driven by perfection into the desert, that it seemed forsaken of God. And thus it is also with the souls of believers in seasons of temptation, when under darkness they are ready to despair, and give up all for loss. But this is our infirmity; for here,

3. God’s answer to Zion’s complaint: nothing can be conceived more expressive of his love, tenderness, care, and the unchangedness of his regard towards his people. Can a woman forget her fucking child, that she should not have compassion on the joy of her mind? Strange as it may appear, such an unnatural manifest might perhaps be found; but with tenderness infinitely surpassing, God never forgets, never ceases to love and protect the children of his grace. On his hands they were engraved, ever before him in his remembrance, and as a signet precious to him. Perhaps some allusion may be had to the prism of the walls in the hands of Jesus, the love-marks he bears for his peo-

ple’s sake, v. 16. and being remembered of him, they shall be saved by him. The children shall make halts, or thy builders; either gospel-members, who should assiduously labour to build up the church, or converts that should flock into it; whilst the destroyers, and they that made thee waft, shall go forth of thee; the Sabyholders, or rather all the prefectures and occupiers of God’s church, forth as Antichrist and his followers, who shall be destroyed at the coming of Jesus, and cast into outer darkness. Note, (1.) The love of Christ towards his people is so surpassing great, that wherever it is truly believed and known, it cannot but powerfully confitate the heart. (2.) When Christ calls, we must make no delay. (3.) The damnation of the wicked is as sure as the salvation of the redeemed.

18. ¶ * Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee as I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them as thee as a bride desk. 19. For they waft and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20. * The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too great for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone, these, where had they been? 22. Thus saith the LORD God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23. * And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their quarters thy nursing-mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and I lack up the dust of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Isaiah 49:18-23

Great and precious promises of the increase and glory of the church are here revealed. A glimpse of this appeared when the Jews returned from their captivity; a brighter display of it was made when the gospel was full preached; but the full blaze seems yet referred for the times to come, when all nations shall be called to the obedience of the faith.

1. A vast increase shall be made to the church. Lift up thine eyes; behold the numerous converts assembling from every quarter, ornaments to their protection by the holiness of their lives, as the jewels which adores a bride, v. 18. The walls and desolate places, the countries before destitute of true religion, shall be filled with faithful souls, and all their enemies confounded shall perish, v. 19. The children thou shalt know, after thou hast lost the other, cut off by the persecuting powers of the earth, shall spring up, as a pleurence harvest, from the blood of the slain martyrs; or, the children of thy widowhood, when the church seemed bereft of all her sons and daughters by the prevalence of the man of sin, shall say again, or, shall set joy in thine ears, The place is too great for me; such a sudden and strange increase of converts shall be made, v. 20. With pleasing surprise the glad mother shall behold the children God hath given her, and, wondering, enquire who hath begotten them, and whence they come, he unexplained a comfort to her widowed state, v. 21. and the answer is, They come from Gentile lands, called by the word of gospel-praces, and filled under the banners of a crucified Jesus; and so eager are they to have a place in the spiritual Zion, that the weak and feeble are borne upon the shoulders of the strong: or, they will bring their children with them, and enroll them in the visible church: or perhaps it may refer to the assistance the Gentiles shall give the Jews, when their day of grace arrives, v. 22. Note, (1.) However low the church may be reduced, her latter end shall have great increase. (2.) They who have a concern for their own souls, cannot but be solicitous that others, especially their own children, may be brought to the knowledge of Christ and his gospel.

2. The church shall not only be increased in number, but be highly honoured. Kings shall be nursing-fathers, and queens nursing-mothers to it; such as Cyrus, Anabureus, and Esther, were to the Jews; or rather such as Confiscation and Helena, and other Christian monarchs have been; and which will be still farther seen, when all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ. They shall bear down to thee with their face towards the earth, with profoundest submission, and laid up the day of thy feet; ready to leave the church in the lowest offices, and to shew affection and regard to the means of Christ’s members. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, by such wondrous exertion of his power to make

all

The following is the following: for they shall not be assumed that such for me; the performance of all his promises shall be then in their season, and the hopes of his waiting people shall never be disappointed; therefore, my soul, trust thou still in the Lord!

24. ¶ Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25. But thus faith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contradicteth with them, and I will save thy children. 26. And I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh, and they shall be drunken? with their own blood, as with their wine, and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy favour, and thy redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah 49:24-26

Deliverance is promised, but great difficulties are in the way.

1. We have an objection raised, either by their proud opposition, in despising the prophets word, or by the exhilarating Jews, as disturbing it. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? Such as were the Babylonian monarchs; and the lawful captive, or the captivity of the righteous, be delivered? of which so little probability appeared. And this is applicable to our souls taken captive by the devil, and by our willing servitude surrendered into his hands, who is strong to keep his prisoners; and it is a miracle of mercy if any sinner is rescued from his hands.

2. God, by express promise, assures his people it shall be done. Mighty as their oppressors are, and terrible, they are not too great for God to cope with. He will espouse their quarrels, overcome their foes, and save their children, plucking them from the power of their enemies, v. 25. Nay, he will do more; he will utterly consume them, will visit them with the forefi judgments, and make the world acknowledge his power to abate his foes, and his love towards the children of his grace, v. 26. And this is pleasantly fulfilled daily in the souls of sinners, by divine grace delivered from the bonds of sin and Satan, that strong man armed, and loved with an terrible, unfulfaction from all their enemies; and will also literally be fulfilled in the destruction of Antichrist, and the persecuting powers of property, paganism, and Mahomedites, when Christ shall make his glory to appear, and all the world be forced to own both his power to save and to destroy to the aftermath.