Isaiah 41:8-10

8-10. The sarcasm is now that of silence; the idol does not speak. There is therefore no farce of waiting for a reply, but Jehovah turns his address at once to Israel, who recognises the sole invisible deity in his own Lord Jehovah of Israel.

Thou, Israel, art my servant The Lord’s address is in terms of affection. The collective body of Israel is God’s servant, chosen servant, in the person of their ancestor Abraham, Jehovah’s friend, or the one (literally) loving Jehovah. Special protection and care over Israel along his whole history is here asserted. Selected first from Mesopotamia, then rescued from base slavery in Egypt, now to be delivered from exile in Babylon, the people may well be said to be taken from the ends of the earth, the sides or corners thereof not from chief men, as in our version. From all the places where the lot of Israel has been cast, God has hitherto rescued them, and there can now be no reason for fear, for the right hand the power, in other words, of omnipotence is underneath to uphold.