John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:6
I will say to the north, give up: and to the south, keep not back ,.... That is, give up, and not retain, those that belong to the Lord; here the winds are spoken to by a personification; or the inhabitants of the northern and southern climates are called upon to deliver up the Lord's people to him, for whose sake the Gospel was sent into these parts, to find them out, and bring them home; by the "north" may be meant the Goths, Swedes, Muscovites, and those northern isles of ours, with... read more
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:5
Fear not, for I am with thee ,.... With thy ministers that preach the everlasting Gospel, to make it effectual to the conversion of many everywhere, as well as to bear thee up under all trials, and to cause thee to stand against all opposition: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west ; which is to be understood not literally of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for these several quarters, east, west, north, and south, will hardly agree with... read more