Isaiah 51:12-13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 51:9-16

In these verses we have, I. A prayer that God would, in his providence, appear and act for the deliverance of his people and the mortification of his and their enemies. Awake, awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Isa. 51:9. The arm of the Lord is Christ, or it is put for God himself, as Ps. 44:23. Awake! why sleepest thou? He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; but, when we pray that he would awake, we mean that he would make it to appear that he watches over his people and is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:12

I, even I, am he that comforteth you ,.... This is an answer to the prayer of the prophet, or the church by him, in which the Lord promises not only assistance and help, but comfort; not only to exert his power and show his great strength by making bare his arm; but to open his heart, unbosom himself, and show his great love and strong affection for them; and so administer divine comforts unto them, giving more than was asked for: and he promises to do it himself, not by his prophets and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:13

And forgettest the Lord thy Maker ,.... That he is thy Maker, and therefore is able to protect and preserve thee; when the fear of man prevails God is forgotten, his power, his providence, his promises, and past instances of divine favour and goodness; were these more frequently recollected, considered, and thought of, they would prove an antidote against the fear of men; and especially when it is observed, that he that is our Maker is he that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 51:13

Of the oppressor, as if he, etc. - "The כ caph in כאשר keasher seems clearly to have changed its situation from the end of the preceding word to the beginning of this; or rather, to have been omitted by mistake there, because it was here. That it was there the Septuagint show by rendering המציקך hammetsikech θλιβοντος σε , of him, that oppressed thee. And so they render this word in both its places in this verse. The Vulgate also has the pronoun in the first instance; furoris... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:7-13

A sure criterion of character, etc. This address of Jehovah to the good and worthy among his people contains— I. A SURE CRITERION OF CHARACTER . 1 . It is well to be hearers of God's Word. All the Jews were that; they were all the children of privilege. This, however, was by no means sufficient to prove that they were the children of God. 2 . It is better to know his Word and to understand his will. It says something for us if we can be thus addressed, "Ye that know... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:7-13

Fear, and Fear not. "Fear ye not the reproach of men;" "Afraid of a man that shall die;" "Forgettest the Lord thy Maker." It has been said, "Fear God, and thou shalt have none else to fear." And the apostle, glorifying the fear of God by calling it love , says, "Perfect love casteth out fear." The immediate connection of the passage is Israel's fear of the Babylonians. But they need not have feared if they had looked to the "Lord as their Defence, and to the God of Jacob as their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12

I am he that comforteth you (comp. Isaiah 51:3 , and the comment ad loc ) . Who art thou? Art thou a poor, weak, powerless, unprotected people, which might well tremble at the powerful Babylonians: or art thou not rather a people under the special protection of Jehovah, bound, therefore, to fear no one? As grass (comp. Isaiah 37:27 ; Isaiah 11:6-8 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12

God the Comforter. "I, even I, am he that comforteth you." All depends upon who it is that comforts us in the great crises of life. We are so apt to lean on those that excuse our weaknesses and comfort us in our sins. I. GOD HIMSELF IS A COMFORTER . This is his nature. There is emphasis in it. "I even I "—the Lord of hosts; the God of whom it is said, "There is nothing too hard for the Lord." We gain comfort when we gain confidence. It is faithlessness that makes us feeble.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

AN ADDRESS OF GOD TO HIS CAPTIVE PEOPLE . There is no very clear connection between this passage and the preceding, to which it is certainly not an answer. God comforts the captives under the oppression which they are suffering read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

A just confidence in God is a security against cowardly fears. Men "fear continually every day" because of the emnity, or fury, or malignity, or cunning, of those who oppress them, or of those who would fain oppress them. They tremble before the wrath of men; they give little thought to the wrath of God. Half the sins that are committed spring from cowardice—a short-sighted cowardice, which consists in fearing those who can, at most, "kill the body," and not fearing him who after death can... read more

Group of Brands