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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadSpurgeon Verse Expositions - Isaiah 43:1 - 43:19
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Isa_43:1. But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
The Lord reminds us that he first created us, and that he afterwards molded us; we are like Jacob by nature, but he has made us Israel by grace.
Isa_43:1. Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Redemption is a deep well of comfort. If the Lord has indeed bought us with his blood, he will not think lightly of us; and if he has called us by name, and declared that we belong to him, we may rest assured that he will not lose his own property, but that he will preserve it to the end.
Isa_43:2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflowr thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
The Lord does not promise us immunity from trial and trouble; we shall have to go through waters and rivers, and shall have to pass through fires and flames; it is through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of God; but he does promise that no harm shall come to us from it all. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God;” — that waters, rivers, fires, and flames bring us benefits and blessings, and that they shall none of them bring a course upon us.
Isa_43:3-4. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable,
God puts honour upon his beloved ones; they were in themselves dishonourable, for they had nothing of goodness about them until the Lord imparted it to them.
Isa_43:4. And I have loved thee:
God loved his ancient people Israel; he has always loved his Church; and he loves believers still.
Isa_43:4-5. Therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee:-
It is enough for a child that his mother is near him, or that his father is with him; then is it not enough for you, O child of God, that God is with you? Israel was scattered when Isaiah wrote this prophecy, and would be afterwards scattered far and wide over the face of the earth; so God gave this comforting assurance, “fear not: for I am with thee:” —
Isa_43:5-6. I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
God’s chosen ones have wandered very far away from him, but the great Shepherd of the sheep, who bought them with his blood, will gather them, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd.
Isa_43:7. Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Three expressions are here used concerning the man who is called by God’s name. First, “I have created him,” — made him out of nothing. Then, “I have formed him” — fashioned him, made him into his proper shape. The last sentence may be read, “Yea, I have completed him.” When God begins his work in us, we are in the rough; as he goes on working in us, we gradually take the form of his dear Son; and by-and-by he will complete us, and then we shall wake up in his likeness. Blessed be his name for this!
Isa_43:8. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
Some think that the Lord refers here to those who were once blind, but to whom he has given eyes; and to those who were deaf, to whom he has given ears. Many of us are of that order. One thing I know is that, whereas I was once spiritually blind, now I can see; and another thing I know is that, whereas I was once spiritually deaf, now I can hear the voice of God.
Isa_43:9. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled:-
As though there was to be a great debate as to who God is, and what God is, he first summons all his people whose blind eyes and deaf ears he has opened, and then he calls for all the nations to be gathered together, and gives them this challenge: —
Isa_43:9. Who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
Where else have we any true knowledge of God except in his Word and among his people? The myths and mysteries of the heathen, how dark how indistinct and shadowy they are! What true prophecy did their oracles ever give? Ask Greece and Rome, the most polished of the ancient nations, what did their so-called gods ever foretell? Let them bring any holy book of theirs which reveals the future, and which is true.
Isa_43:10. Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD,-
The chosen people of God have become witnesses for Jehovah that he, and he alone, is the true God; that he, and he alone has truly foretold the future. Let the heathen prove that their gods have done the same if they can; we know that they cannot. “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, —
Isa_43:10. And my servant whom I have chosen:
That great Servant of God, you know his name, even Christ Jesus the faithful and true Witness, bears better witness for God than the whole nation of the Jews, or the Lord’s chosen people in all ages, can bear.
Isa_43:10-11. That ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Look the whole world over, and see where there is any Saviour for sinners except Jesus Christ. Does any other religion even profess to have a Saviour? Destroyers they have, but where is their Saviour?
Isa_43:12. I have declared, and have saved,
“I said that I would save, and I have saved.”
Isa_43:12. And I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
When, in Hezekiah’s day, the idols had been destroyed, God told Hezekiah that he would deliver him from Sennacherib, and he did so.
Isa_43:13. Yea, before the day was I am he;
When there was no day, there was the Ancient of days.
Isa_43:13. And there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
(who shall hinder it?)
“
What shall his work withstand?
When he his people’s cause defends,
Who, who shall stay his hand?”
Up the broad river Euphrates, and down to the Persian Gulf, Babylon and Chaldea gloried in their greatness, but God sent the Medo-Persian power to break them in pieces for the sake of his people, that Cyrus might let them go free.
Isa_43:15-17. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
Like the wick of a lamp, soon put out. Here is, probably, an illusion to the overthrowing of Egypt at the Red Sea; they came out with their horses and chariots, but they were made to lie down together in the sea. God overcame his people’s enemies then, and he can and will do the same to the end of the chapter.
Isa_43:18. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Do not look merely upon what God has done; but look to the future, and remember that be is able to do the same again.
Isa_43:19. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
O dear child of God, have you got into the wilderness, and have you no comfort there? Are all your wells dried up? God will work a new miracle for you, you shall have a new manifestation of his gracious power.