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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 42:10 - 42:17
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The Joy Over the Judgment of Condemnation upon the Ungodly
v. 10. Sing unto the Lord a new song, Psa_33:3; Psa_40:3, a hymn of praise in honor of the new things promised, a psalm lauding His mercy in the Savior, and His praise from the end of the earth, so that the whole earth resounds with it, ye that go down to the sea, the seafaring inhabitants of the isles and coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and all that is therein, all the marine animals being called upon to join in this praise of the Lord; the isles and the inhabitants thereof, that is, all the people of the earth.
v. 11. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof, the great Arabian Desert with its commercial centers, lift up their voice, the villages, the fortified camps, that Kedar doth inhabit, the second son of Ishmael, Gen_25:13, being named as representative of the nomad tribes of the East; let the inhabitants of the rock, of mountainous Idumea, sing; let them shout from the top of the mountains, with a voice which carries far and wide.
v. 12. Let them give glory unto the Lord and declare His praise in the islands, the entire exhortation being summarized here.
v. 13. The Lord, in carrying out His counsel of salvation, shall go forth as a mighty man, like a hero; He shall stir up jealousy, the indignation and fury in His own heart, like a man of war, an invincible warrior; He shall cry, yea, roar, with a fearful battle-cry; He shall prevail against His enemies, boasting of His victory over all His enemies. The entire section is built up so that there can he no question of Jehovah's final triumph. The Lord now takes up His proclamation in person once more.
v. 14. I have long time holden My peace, not interfering with the ways of men; I have been still and refrained Myself, purposely holding Himself back; now, when patience and forbearance could no longer be practiced, will I cry like a travailing woman, I will destroy and devour at once, groan, pant, and gasp.
v. 15. I will make waste mountains and hills, thereby destroying the enemies, and dry up all their herbs, as a preliminary act of the final annihilation; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools, thereby making their land uninhabitable. The final Judgment of the world is always included in prophecies like that here given, where one act of the preliminary punishment is sketched. But while the enemies feel the wrath of the Lord, the believers feel the riches of His blessing.
v. 16. And I will bring the blind, those who realize the condition of blindness with which they are suffering, by a way that they knew not, which they never would and could find on account of the natural perverseness of their hearts, Joh_9:39-41; I will lead them in paths that they have not known, Psa_32:8; I will make darkness light before them, so that they will not stumble and fall, and crooked things straight, removing all obstructions and making level paths everywhere, all this proclaiming the sure deliverance of the children of God. These things will I do unto them and not forsake them, for the Lord is ever by the side of those who believe in Him. By way of contrast He now refers to the unhappy condition of the idolaters, of the ungodly.
v. 17. They shall be turned back, reeling in a stupor of disappointment, they shall be greatly ashamed, heaped with disgrace, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. That is ever the lot of the idolaters, no matter whether their idolatry is openly practiced or held in secret only. The religion of Jesus Christ is the only true, the absolute religion.