Isaiah 51:13-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

Expostulation against unbelief. If the Eternal be the Pastor and the Comforter of Israel, what has Israel to fear? I. THE NATURAL TIMIDITY OF THE HEART . We are cravens, all of us. We stand in dread of our own image; we quail before "frail man that dieth, and the son of the earth-born who is given up as grass." A frown makes us tremble; a menace unmans us. We are the slaves of custom and opinion. Anxiety is ever conjuring up dangers which exist not, and forecasting calamities... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:13

And forgettest the Lord thy Maker . It is not so much apostasy as want of a lively and practical faith with which captive Israel is here reproached. They did not deny God—they only left him out of sight, neglected him, forgot him. That hath stretched forth the heavens (comp. Isaiah 40:22 ; Isaiah 42:5 ; Isaiah 44:24 ; Isaiah 45:12 , etc.). And laid the foundations of the earth (see Isaiah 48:13 ; Psalms 102:25 ; Hebrews 1:10 ). And hast feared continually … because of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:13

The nervous temperament. "Hast feared continually every day." We are not all constituted alike. The instrumentalities by which the great soul within us does its work are diverse in quality. In a material sense we are but dust, yet the dust itself has more steel in it with some than with others. Many have iron nerves and hereditary health, which make them strangers to the trepidations of others. They never walk those caves of terrible gloom in which others often are doomed to wander, nor have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed ; rather, he that is bent down hasteneth to be released; i.e. such of the exiles as were cramped and bent by fetters, or by the stocks, would speedily, on the fall of Babylon, obtain their release. They would not "die unto the pit," i.e. so as to belong to the pit and to be east into it, but would live and have a sufficiency of sustenance. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:15

But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea ; rather, for I, the Lord thy God , am he that divided the sea (comp. Isaiah 51:10 ). The reference is once more to the great miracle wrought at the Exodus, when the Red Sea was "divided" before the host of Israelites ( Exodus 14:21 ; comp. Psalms 74:13 ). Whose waves roared (see Exodus 14:27 ; Exodus 15:10 ). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:13

And forgettest the Lord thy Maker - These verses are designed to rebuke that state of the mind - alas! too common, even among the people of God - where they are intimidated by the number and strength of their foes, and forget their dependence on God, and his promises of aid. In such circumstances God reproves them for their want of confidence in him, and calls on them to remember that he has made the heavens, and has all power to save them.That hath stretched forth the heavens - (See the notes... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile - Lowth renders this, evidently very improperly, ‘He marcheth on with speed who cometh to set the captive free;’ and supposes that it refers to Cyrus, if understood of the temporal redemption from the captivity at Babylon; in the spiritual sense, to the Messiah. But the meaning evidently is, that the exile who had been so long as it were enchained in Babylon, was about to be set free, and that the time was very near when the captivity was to end. The prisoner should not die... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:15

But I am the Lord thy God - In order to show them that he was able to save them, God again refers to the fact that he had divided the sea, and delivered their fathers from bondage and oppression.That divided the sea - The Red Sea. The Chaldee renders this, ‘That rebuked the sea.’ The Septuagint, Ὁ ταράσσων ho tarassōn - ‘Who disturbs the sea.’ or, who excites a tempest. Lowth renders it, ‘Who stilleth at once the sea.’ The Hebrew word is the same which occurs in Isaiah 51:4, where it is... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:12-13

Isaiah 51:12-13. I, even I, am he that comforteth you “They prayed,” says Henry, “for the operations of his power: he answers them with the consolations of his grace; which may well be accepted as an equivalent. I, even I, he says, will do it: he had ordered his ministers to do it, chap. 40:1; but, because they cannot reach the heart, he takes the work into his own hands; he will do it himself. And those whom he comforts, are comforted indeed.” Who art thou, that thou shouldest be... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:14-16

Isaiah 51:14-16 . The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed From his captivity, and may return to his own country from which he is banished. And that he should not die in the pit Die a prisoner, through the inconveniences and hardships of his confinement; nor that his bread should fail The bread or provision allowed to keep him alive in prison. The general sense of the verse is, God is not slack, as you think, but makes haste to fulfil his promise, and rescue his captive and... read more

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