Isaiah 40:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 40:3-8

The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, having come, the people of God must be prepared, by repentance and faith, for the favours designed them; and, in order to call them to both these, we have here the voice of one crying in the wilderness, which may be applied to those prophets who were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties which stood... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed ..... Christ himself, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and his own glory, as the glory of the of the only begotten of the Father; the glorious perfections of his nature, seen in the miracles wrought, and in the doctrines taught by him; the glory of the divine Father, in the face or person of Christ; and the glory of his attributes, in the work of salvation by him; all which is most clearly discerned in the glass of the Gospel, or in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:5

"The salvation of our God" - These words are added here by the Septuagint: το σωτηριον του Θεου , אלהינו ישועת את eth yesuath Eloheynu , as it is in the parallel place, Isaiah 52:10 . The sentence is abrupt without it, the verb wanting its object; and I think it is genuine. Our English translation has supplied the word it, which is equivalent to this addition, from the Septuagint. This omission in the Hebrew text is ancient, being prior to the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate Versions:... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:1-11

The prophet's commission. He is to unfold a theme of consolation, which runs through the whole of the book, introduced by this chapter. He speaks to the prophets: "Ye prophets, prophesy consolation concerning my people" (Targum of Jonathan); or, "O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem," according to the LXX . The former is probably correct. The prophets were numerous both in Isaiah's time ( Isaiah 3:1 ; Isaiah 29:10 , Isaiah 29:20 ) and during the Babylonian exile ( Jeremiah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:1-31

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:3-5

The golden age. " Every valley shall be exalted ," etc. Everything depends upon how we view the future, whether with the horoscope of history or prophecy. History says the old evils return—war, strife, wrong, selfishness. Then the heart sinks, and inspiration to duty is weakened. But when we go with the prophet to the mountain-tops, we see— I. PATHS OF PREPARATION . "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." There are the ruins of the old military roads of the Caesars, but the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:3-6

Human preparation for the Divine advent. We shall find, with very little seeking, a threefold application for these words: I. THE MANIFESTED GLORY OF GOD . This was to be displayed and has been shown in two illustrations which are now historical. 1 . The faithfulness and the power of Jehovah in the accomplishment of his people's redemption from exile. 2 . A more striking instance of Divine faithfulness, wisdom, and power, in the giving of the gospel of his grace, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:4-8

God's promises sure. With Isaiah it is enough that "the month of the Lord has spoken" a thing ( Isaiah 1:20 ; Isaiah 40:5 ). "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent" ( Numbers 23:19 ). What he has promised, he will perform; what he has said, he will do, in the sense in which he said it. It is true, his promises are of two kinds I. GOD 'S UNCONDITIONAL PROMISES ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN OF ACCOMPLISHMENT . God has promised that he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed . Then, when the preparation is complete, there shall be a revelation of the glory and might of Jehovah. The nature of the revelation is for the present shrouded in darkness; but it is a revelation which is not confined to Israel . All flesh shall see it together . It shall draw to it the attention of the human race at large. While the restoration of Israel to Palestine is the primary fulfilment of the prophecy, that restoration clearly does not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:5

Christ, as the Lord's Glory. The glory of God is his forgiving and redeeming. And it is this glory that was dimly revealed in the raising up of Cyrus to deliver Israel from the bondage of Babylon, and brightly revealed in "raising up his Son Jesus, to bless men, by turning them from their iniquities." It may be shown that God, as the great Spirit, never can be seen or known by any creature, because all creatures are put under limitations of the senses. No creature can apprehend... read more

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