Dust. Hebrew caddak, (Haydock) "as dok fallen." (Symmachus) --- It may signify an atom. (St. Jerome) --- If all nations be only like a drop, what portion of it do I occupy? (Calmet; ver. 17.) read more
12-17 All created beings shrink to nothing in comparison with the Creator. When the Lord, by his Spirit, made the world, none directed his Spirit, or gave advice what to do, or how to do it. The nations, in comparison of him, are as a drop which remains in the bucket, compared with the vast ocean; or as the small dust in the balance, which does not turn it, compared with all the earth. This magnifies God's love to the world, that, though it is of such small account and value with him, yet, for... read more
Isa_40:9 Isa_45:14 In spite of the fact that the revelation of the glory of the Lord brings to light, as nothing else does, the sinfulness and frailty of man, there is also brought "good tidings," and this it is which furnishes the "comfort" for "My people." Zion and Jerusalem are represented as lifting up the voice and saying to the cities of Judah "Behold your God!" About the sixth hour on the day of the crucifixion Pilate brought forth Jesus, and said to the crowd in Jerusalem, "Behold your... read more
Jehovah the Supreme Ruler. The connection of thought between this section and the foregoing one is this, that the majesty and glory of God over against the idolatry of the heathen nations guarantees the security and the deliverance of the believers of all times. v. 12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? fixing the quantity of all the water in ocean, seas, and streams, and meted out heaven with the span, the measure between the thumb and middle finger, and comprehended... read more
I.—THE FIRST DISCOURSEThe Prologue: the Objective and Subjective basis of RedemptionIsaiah 40:01. THE PROLOGUE OF THE SECOND PART AND OF THE FIRST DISCOURSEIsaiah 40:1-111 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,Saith your God.2 Speak ye 2comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,That her 3warfare is accomplished,That 4her iniquity is pardoned:5For she hath received of the Lord’s handDouble for all her sins.3 The voice of him that crieth 6in the wilderness,Prepare ye the... read more
Creator and Ruler of All the Earth Isaiah 40:9-17 Zion is bidden to climb the highest mountain within reach, and announce the advent of the Savior-God. When all eyes are turned to behold Him, expecting a mighty hero, lo, a shepherd conducts His flock across the waste lands, gathering the weakly lambs to His bosom and gently leading the ewes with their young. Do not be afraid of God; He has a shepherd’s heart. Words can never tell out all His tenderness; His pitying, understanding love. We... read more
We now commence the prophecies of peace, which also fall into three divisions, dealing in turn with the purpose of peace (40-48), the Prince of Peace (49-57), the program of peace (58-66). The fist eleven verses of chapter forty constitute a prologue to the whole Book. This prologue opens with a declaration which indicates the burden of all that is to follow. "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people." It then describes the making of a highway for God along which He will move toward the ultimate... read more
The Greatness Of God Proclaimed (Isaiah 40:12-31 ). And He will be able to do it because of His greatness. In this vital passage the greatness of God to do What He declares He will do is now revealed in all its fullness. He Is Over Creation. Isaiah 40:12 ‘Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? And measured the heavens with a span? And enveloped the dust of the earth in a measure? And weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?’ The first concentration is on... read more
Isaiah 40:12-Obadiah : . An Expansion of the Text Suggested in Isaiah 40:6-Ruth : . Isaiah 40:12-Esther : . The Majesty of God, in Whose Eyes the World is Insignificant.— God is the Creator, disposing of earth and heaven as very small things. No adviser instructed Him. The nations in His sight are like the drop hanging from the bucket, or the dust on the scale, too small to count in the bulk. The forests of Lebanon and the many wild beasts that range them would not provide fuel and victims... read more
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Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-18
Some have thought that the person of God the Father is here spoken of, because the Church is taught to look up to Him with peculiar reverence of character, as the Creator. But, as the church is never taught to look up to God the Father, in this glorious distinction of character, to the exclusion of the other persons of the Godhead, but always in conjunction with them, I see no reason to break the connection of the chapter, by supposing that what went before, and which is evidently spoken of the... read more