Isaiah 42:5-12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 42:5-12

Here is I. The covenant God made with and the commission he gave to the Messiah, Isa. 42:5-7, which are an exposition of Isa. 42:1; Behold my servant, whom I uphold. 1. The royal titles by which the great God here makes himself known, and distinguishes himself from all pretenders, speak very much his glory (Isa. 42:5): Thus saith God the Lord. And who are thou, Lord? Why, he is the fountain of all being and therefore the fountain of all power. He is the fountain of being, 1. In the upper... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:5

Thus saith God the Lord ,.... The God of the world, as the Targum. This, with what follows, is a preface to the call of Christ, to the great work of redemption; setting forth the greatness of God as a Creator, that calls him to it, and thereby encouraging him as man and Mediator in it, as well as the faith of his people to regard him as their Saviour and Redeemer, and believe that this work he was called unto should be performed by him; for what is it that God, the Creator of all things,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:6

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness ,.... Not the Prophet Isaiah, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it; nor the people of Israel, as Kimchi; but the Messiah, whom Jehovah called to the office of Mediator, in a righteous way and manner, consistent with his own perfections; and not against the will of Christ, but with his full consent: or, "unto righteousness", as some F14 "Ad, sive in justitiam", Sanctius. ; so the Arabic version; to fulfil his righteous purposes, concerning... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:7

To open the blind eyes ,.... Of the idolatrous Gentiles, who were spiritually blind, and knew not the wretchedness of their case; the exceeding sinfulness of sin; their need of a Saviour, and who he was; as they did, when their eyes were opened by means of the Gospel sent among them, through the energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of almighty power and efficacious grace: to bring out the prisoners from the prison ; who were concluded in sin, shut up in unbelief, and under the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord, that is my name ,.... Jehovah, a name expressive of his self-existence, eternity, and immutability; a name by which be made himself known to Israel of old, and which is peculiar to him, and does not belong to another, and so distinguishes him from all false gods; see Exodus 3:14 or, "Hu is my name" F16 הוא שמי ; to which αυτος , "he himself the same", answers; see Psalm 102:27 , compared with Hebrews 13:8 and this is one of the names of God with the Jews ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:9

Behold, the former things are come to pass ,.... Which the Lord had foretold in former times, as to Abraham, concerning the affliction of his posterity in Egypt, the bringing them out from thence, and settling them in the land of Canaan; and other things by Moses and Joshua, and other prophets; and by Isaiah; and particularly the captivity of the ten tribes, which was now come to pass in the times of Hezekiah: and new things do I declare ; as the captivity of Judah and Benjamin, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:10

Sing unto the Lord a new song ,.... On account of the new things before prophesied of, and now done; on account of redemption and salvation by Christ, and the conversion of the Gentiles through the light of the Gospel brought among them; the song of redeeming love, and for the Gospel, and regenerating grace; and not the Jews only, but the Gentiles also, are called upon to sing this song, as having a special share in the blessings, the subject of it: hence it follows, and his praise from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:11

Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice ,.... The eastern part of the world, Arabia Deserta, and the inhabitants of the cities which were in it: the villages that Kedar doth inhabit ; or the "courts" F20 חצרים "atria", Montanus; "tentoria", Grotius. , or tents, the Kedarenes inhabited, who were Arabians, and dwelt in tents, which they pitched here and there, for the convenience of their flocks; and so the Targum, "the Arabians that inhabit the wilderness... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 42:12

Let them give glory unto the Lord ,.... For all the great and good things he has done for them, in sending his Gospel to them, calling them by his grace, enlightening their minds, and revealing his Son in them, and making them partakers of the blessings of his grace, and entitling them to eternal glory and happiness: and declare his praise in the islands ; as on the western continent, and the isles of it; so on the eastern continent, and the islands of it, the islands of Greece, the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 42:6

A covenant of the people "A covenant to the people" - For עם am , two MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, and of my own, read עולם olam , the covenant of the age to come, or the everlasting covenant; which seems to give a clearer and better sense. But I think the word ברית berith , here, should not be translated covenant, but covenant sacrifice, which meaning it often has; and undoubtedly in this place. This gives a still stronger and clearer sense. read more

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