Isaiah 46:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-4

We are here told, I. That the false gods will certainly fail their worshippers when they have most need of them, Isa. 46:1, 2. Bel and Nebo were two celebrated idols of Babylon. Some make Bel to be a contraction of Baal; others rather think not, but that it was Belus, one of their first kings, who after his death was deified. As Bel was a deified prince, so (some think) Nebo was a deified prophet, for so Nebo signifies; so that Bel and Nebo were their Jupiter and their Mercury or Apollo.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

And even to your old age I am he ,.... The same he ever was, the eternal and unchangeable Jehovah; the same in his love and affections; in his sympathy and care; in his power and protection; in his promises, truth, and faithfulness to his people, in their last days, as at the first moment of their conversion; and therefore they are safe; see Psalm 102:27 , and even to hoar hairs will I carry you F14 This seems to express more than old age, as Ben Melech observes hence the Jews say,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-4

Men bearing gods, and God bearing his people. The pitiable and even ludicrous insufficiency of idolatry is admirably drawn in this picture. We see the beasts bowed down with the images of the helpless deities of Chaldea In what striking and glowing contrast does the relation of Jehovah to his people appear! From the very infancy of Israel God had borne them in the arms of his faithfulness and power; and his tender kindness in the past would extend to the furthest future. Even to old age he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-11

The effect of God's temporal judgments upon nations on the religious history of the world. In the ancient world, where religions had no revealed or historic basis, but had been evolved by degrees from the thought or imagination of each people, the fate of a religion depended greatly upon the course of secular history, and the success or failure that attended upon the arms of the nation professing it. As no people could have a rational, or, consequently, a firm belief in a system based upon... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:1-13

The religion of Jehovah contrasted with idolatry. I. THE HUMILIATION OF BEL AND NEBO . These were the tutelar gods of Babylon and its suburb, Borsippa. Merodach, or Marduk ( Jeremiah 50:2 ), is another name of a being closely related to or identical with Bel. The idols of the Chaldeans are given up to the beasts, and the images once carried in solemn procession by the priests and nobles are put upon the backs of beasts of burden. Herodotus and Diodorus tell us of the golden... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:3-8

AN ADMONITION TO ISRAEL . Israel should learn from the fate of the Babylonian idols to trust in Jehovah, who can and will deliver them, rather than in gods of gold and silver, which can give no aid, either to themselves or others. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

Even to your old age I am he; even to hoar hairs , etc. The nurse—even the mother—soon grows tired of carrying the child, and leaves him to shift for himself. But God's tender care for his people lasts from their infancy, through their boyhood and manhood, to their old age. The everlasting arms never weary. God's watchfulness, his providence, his protection, never fail. I have made, and I will bear . The maker of a thing has naturally regard to what he has made, loves it, desires its good,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

God's care for the aged. "And even to your old age I am he," etc. What a contrast between God and man! Concerning how many may it be said that they are forgotten in old age! Sometimes even children are faithless to their parents, and age has died in a workhouse, when children have been well-to-do. But change comes, too, in other relationships. The world does not want us when we are worn out. Its sweet songs can charm no more. The cunning of the worker's hand fails. The preacher faints. A new... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 46:4

Grace for a long life. "Even to boar hairs will I carry you." Reference is made more especially to the prolonged life and varied experience of the nation; but the promise and assurance are equally applicable to the individual—they exactly match other assurances which are addressed to individuals. And Israel may always be regarded as the type of the godly man. For us all life is full of changes, surprises, and calamities. We have nothing absolutely stable and unchangeable, nothing always... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 46:4

And even to your old age, I am he - Or rather, I am the same. I remain, unchangeably, with the same tenderness, the same affection, the same care. In this the care of God for his people surpasses that of the most tender parent, and the most kind nourisher of the young. The care of the parent naturally dies away as the child reaches manhood, and he is usually removed by death before the son or daughter that excited so much solicitude in infancy and childhood, reaches old age. But not so with... read more

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