Isaiah 51:9-16

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 51:9

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ,.... The Septuagint and Arabic versions take the words to be an address to Jerusalem; and the Syriac version to Zion, as in Isaiah 51:17 , but wrongly: they are, as Jarchi says, a prayer of the prophet, or it may be rather of the church represented by him; and are addressed either to God the Father, who, when he does not immediately appear on the behalf of his people, is thought by them to be asleep, though he never slumbers nor sleeps, but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:10

Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep ,.... That is, the Red sea, and the deep waters of it; as it did, by causing a strong east wind to blow, which drove the sea back, and made it a dry land, in the midst of which the children of Israel walked as on dry land, Exodus 14:21 and the same arm and mighty power can and will dry up the waters of the river Euphrates, to prepare the way of the kings of the east, Revelation 16:12 , that hath made the depths of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:11

Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return ,.... Or "and", or "so" F17 ופדויי "et nunc", V. L. "ita", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. And Ben Melech observes, that ו "and", is in the room of כז , "thus". . In like manner, and as sure as the Israelites had a way made for them through the sea to pass over, so sure shall all those that are redeemed by the blood of Christ from sin, Satan, the law, death, and hell, be gathered out of the nations of the world, and from the... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed ,.... The time hastens on, or God will hasten the time, for the release either of the captive Jews in literal Babylon, or of his people in mystical Babylon; or they that are in exile and captivity, as soon as ever opportunity offers for their release, will take it, and make no delay: though some understand the words by way of complaint, as if the persons spoken of were impatient, and could not wait the proper time of their deliverance: and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:15

But I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves roared ,.... Referring to the dividing of the Red sea by a violent wind, at which time the waves of it doubtless roared till they were made to stand quietly, as a wall on the right and left, for the Israelites to pass through, as in Isaiah 51:10 . Or this is to be understood of the power of God at any time in stilling and quieting the sea when it rages; which signification the word F19 רגע "qui tranquillat" Gakater; "faciens... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:16

And I have put my words in thy mouth ,.... His promises and his truths, either in the mouth of his church, and people for them, both to preserve and transmit to future generations, and to publish and declare to the comfort of each other, Isaiah 59:21 or to the Prophet Isaiah, to make known to the people of Israel; or to Christ himself, the great Prophet in Israel, by whom grace and truth are come, and by whom God has spoken all his mind and will, and in whom all the promises are yea and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 51:11

They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away - Nineteen MSS. and the two oldest editions have ישגו yasigu ; and forty-six MSS. of Kennicott's and ten of De Rossi's, and the same two editions, and agreeably to them the Chaldee and Syriac, have ונסו venasu ; and so both words are expressed, Isaiah 35:10 , of which place this is a repetition. And from comparing both together it appears that the ו vau in this place is become by mistake in the present... read more

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