Isaiah 40:10-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-26

God in creation. Creation tells of God in many ways. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork: day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge" ( Psalms 19:1 , Psalms 19:2 ). "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead" ( Romans 1:20 ). Here we have noted especially— I. GOD 'S MARVELLOUSNESS IN CREATION ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:12-31

THE MIGHT AND GREATNESS OF GOD CONTRASTED WITH THE WEAKNESS OF MAN AND THE FUTILITY OF IDOLS . If captive Israel is to be induced to turn' to God, and so hasten the time of its restoration to his favour and to its own land, it must be by rising to a worthy conception of the nature and attributes of the Almighty. The prophet, therefore, in the remainder of this chapter, paints in glorious language the power and greatness, dud at the same time the mercy, of God,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:13

Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord? Mr. Cheyne remarks, that "in Isaiah there is a marked tendency to hypostatize the Spirit;" and the remark is undoubtedly a just one (see Isaiah 32:15 ; Isaiah 34:16 ; Isaiah 48:16 ; Isaiah 61:1 , etc.). In the present place, perhaps, the introduction of "the Spirit of the Lord" arises out of the remembrance of the part in creation which is assigned to the Spirit in Genesis 1:2 . He "moved," or "brooded," upon the face of the waters, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:15

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket . "From nature," as Mr. Cheyne says, "we pass to history." If God is so great, so apart and by himself in relation to the material universe, what is he in relation to man? What are nations, compared to him, but "as a drop from a bucket," which drips from it, and is of no account? What are they, hut as the small dust of the balance, which lies on it but does not disturb its equilibrium? They are absolutely "as nothing" ( Isaiah 40:17 )—vanity... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:16

Lebanon is not sufficient to burn . Man may think that he must be of some account, since God has required of him sacrifice and burnt offering, from which he may suppose God to derive some satisfaction. But, the prophet says, even if man were to burn all Lebanon as firewood on God's altar, and offer there all the (clean) beasts of the entire tract, still God would be put under no obligation. Man would even then have paid less than his debt. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:16-26

The hopelessness and the simplicity of Divine service. "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn," etc.; "Not one faileth." If we were asked whether it was a very difficult or a very simple thing to serve the Lord, we should say, "It is both the one and the other; everything depends upon the way and the spirit in which we proceed." We learn— I. THAT MERE QUANTITY OF SERVICE IS VAIN AND FUTILE . "Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor will [all] the beasts thereof suffice... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:17

All nations ; rather, all the nations ; i.e. all the nations of the earth put together. In Isaiah 40:15 single "nations" had been declared to be of no account; now the same is said of all the nations of the earth collectively. They are accounted of God as 'ephes , nothingness, and tohu , chaos or confusion. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18

Is more the complement of what precedes than the introduction to what follows (comp. Isaiah 40:25 ). If God be all that has been said of him in Isaiah 40:12-17 , must he not be wholly unique and incomparable? Then, out of this, the thought arises of the strange, the poor, the mean "likenesses" of God, which men have in their folly set up in various times and places. It has been said that Israel in captivity did not need to be warned against idolatry, of the inclination to which the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18

Wanted, a likeness for God. "What similitude can ye place beside him?" This and similar appeals in the later portion of Isaiah bear directly upon the idolatries with which Israel was surrounded in Babylon, and exerted a most important influence on the delivery of Israel, once and for ever, from idolatrous sentiments and sympathies. Isaiah's plea is, "How should the image-deities of idolatrous Babylon be compared to the almighty and unsearchable God of Israel?" The incomparableness and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 40:18-26

The degradation of the Divine. The holy indignation of the prophet is aroused as he sees the Godhead so pitifully presented to the mind, so shamefully represented to the eyes of men. He has in view the power and majesty of the Supreme One, and places in contrast the creatures of human imagination, the fabrications of the human hand. We have the degradation of the Divine— I. AS IT APPEARED TO THE HEBREW PROPHET . He beheld: 1 . The power and the majesty of God , ... read more

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