ISAIAH 48 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Stubborn Israel

1 Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel

and come from the line of Judah,

you who take oaths in the name of the Lord

and invoke the God of Israel

but not in truth or righteousness

1.BARNES, Hear ye this - This is an address to the Jews regarded as in Babylon, and is designed to remind them of their origin, and of their privileges as the descendants of Jacob, and having the name of Israel (compare the notes at Isa_43:1).

And are come forth out of the waters of Judah - This metaphor is taken from a fountain which sends forth its streams of water, and the idea is, that they owed their origin to Judah, as the streams flowed from a fountain. A similar figure is used by Balaam in describing the vast increase of the Jews: Num. 34 He shall pour the waters out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. So in Deu_33:28 : The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine. So Psa_68:26 :

Bless ye God in the congregations, Jehovah, ye that are of the fountain of Israel.

Margin

The idea is, that Judah was the fountain, or origin of the people who were then exiled in Babylon. The ten tribes had revolted, and had been carried away, and the name of Benjamin had been absorbed in that of Judah, and this had become the common name of the nation. Perhaps Judah is mentioned here with honor as the fountain of the nation, because it was from him that the Messiah was to descend Gen_49:10 : and this mention of his name would serve to bring that promise to view, and would be an assurance that the nation would not be destroyed, nor the power finally depart until He should come.

Which swear by the name - Who worship Yahweh, and acknowledge him as the only true God (see the notes at Isa_19:18; Isa_45:23; compare Isa_48:1; Isa_65:16).

And make mention - That is, in your prayers and praises. You acknowledge him, and profess to worship him.

But not in truth - In a hypocritical manner; not in sincerity. Compare Jer_5:2 : And though they say, The Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely.

2. CLARKE, Are come forth out of the waters of Judah Ye that flow from the

fountain of Judah - mimmey, from the waters. Perhaps mimmeey, from the

bowels, So many others have conjectured, or meniyehudah, or meyhudah, from

Judah. - Secker. But see Michaelis in Praelect, not. 22. And we have eynyaakob, the

fountain of Jacob, Deu_33:28, and mimmekoryishrael, from the fountain of Israel, Psa_68:27. Twenty-seven MSS. of Kennicotts, six of De Rossis and two of my own, with six

editions, have meymey, from the days; which makes no good sense.

3. GILL, Hear ye this, O house of Jacob,.... Who were of the house and family of Jacob, his descendants and posterity; and who were of the house of the God of Jacob, had a name and a place there, at least in profession: which are called by the name of Israel; a name given to Jacob, because of his prevalence with God in prayer; but these had only the name, not the thing, however not as yet; they were neither praying Jacobs, nor prevailing Israels; they were not Israelites indeed: and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; that is, were of the seed of Judah, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi interpret it; these were waters out of his buckets, as Jarchi observes from Num_24:7, so we read of the fountain of Jacob, Deu_33:28. These were streams from thence; they were of the tribe of Judah, to whom the kingdom belonged; from whence was the chief ruler, the Shiloh, the King Messiah; they were of these waters, though not born again of water and of the Spirit: which swear by the name of the Lord God; own him for their God, acknowledge him their Lord and King, and solemnly promise to serve him, and yield obedience to him: and make mention of the God of Israel; or "remember" him (z) in their religious exercises; invoke his name, sing his praises, ask of him the ordinances of righteousness, honour him with their lips, speak honourably of him, and profess to remember his works of old at their solemn feasts: but not in truth, nor in righteousness; not according to the will of God, nor truth of things; nor in the integrity of their hearts, but in an hypocritical way, and not in sincerity and uprightness; in word and tongue only, not in deed and in truth; worshippers of God they were externally, but not in spirit and truth.

4. HENRY, I. The hypocritical profession which many of the Jews made of religion and relation to God. To those who made such a profession the prophet is here ordered to address himself, for their conviction and humiliation, that they might own God's justice in what he had brought upon them. Now observe here,

1. How high their profession of religion soared, what a fair show they made in the flesh and how far they went towards heaven, what a good livery they wore and what a good face they put upon a very bad heart. (1.) They were the house of Jacob; they had a place and a name in the visible church. Jacob have I loved. Jacob is God's chosen; and they are not only retainers to his family, but descendants from him. (2.) They were called by the name of Israel, an honourable name; they were of that people to whom pertained both the giving of the law and the promises. Israel signifies a prince with God; and they prided themselves in being of that princely race. (3.) They came forth out of the waters of Judah, and thence were called Jews; they were of the royal tribe, the tribe of which Shiloh was to come, the tribe that adhered to God when the rest revolted. (4.) They swore by the name of the Lord, and thereby owned him to be the true God, and their God, and gave glory to him as the righteous Judge of all. They swore to the name of the Lord (so it may be read); they took an oath of allegiance to him as their King and joined themselves to him in covenant. (5.) They made mention of the God of Israel in their prayers and praises; they often spoke of him, observed his memorials, and pretended to be very mindful of him. (6.) They called themselves of the holy city, and, when they were captives in Babylon, purely from a principle of honour, and jealousy for their native country, they valued themselves upon their interest in it. Many, who are themselves unholy, are proud of their relation to the church, the holy city. (7.) They stayed themselves upon the God of Israel, and boasted of his promises and his covenant with them; they leaned on the Lord, Mic_3:11. And, if they were asked concerning their God, they could say, The Lord of hosts is his name, the Lord of all; happy are we therefore, and very great, who have relation to him!

2. How low their profession of religion sunk, notwithstanding all this. It was all in vain; for it

was all a jest; it was not in truth and righteousness. Their hearts were not true nor right in these professions. Note, All our religious professions avail nothing further than they are made in truth

and righteousness. If we be not sincere in them, we do but take the name of the Lord our God in vain.

5. JAMISON, Isa_48:1-22. The things that befall Babylon Jehovah predicted long before, lest Israel should attribute them, in its obstinate perversity, to strange gods (Isa_48:1-5).

the waters of Judah spring from the fountain of Judah (Num_24:7; Deu_33:28; Psa_68:26; Margin). Judah has the fountain attributed to it, because it survived the ten tribes, and from it Messiah was to spring.

swear by ... Lord (Isa_19:18; Isa_45:23; Isa_65:16).

mention in prayers and praises.

not in truth (Jer_5:2; Joh_4:24).

6. K&D, This third portion of the trilogy (Isa_46:1-13, Isa_47:1-15, 48) stands in the same relation to Isa_47:1-15, as Isa_46:3. to Isa_46:1-2. The prophecy is addressed to the great body of the captives. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have flowed out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of Jehovah, and extol the God of Israel, not in truth and not in righteousness! For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel, Jehovah of hosts His name. The summons to hear is based

upon the Israelitish nationality of those who are summoned, to which they still cling, and upon the relation in which they place themselves to the God of Israel. This gives to Jehovah the right to turn to them, and imposes upon them the duty to hearken to Him. The blame, inserted by the way, points at the same time to the reason for the address which follows, and to the form which it necessarily assumes. The house of Jacob is not all Israel, as the following words clearly show, but, as in Isa_46:3, the house of Judah, which shared in the honourable name of Israel, but have flowed out of the waters, i.e., the source of Judah. The summons, therefore, is addressed to the Judaean exiles in Babylon, and that inasmuch as they swear by the name of

Jehovah, and remember the God of Israel with praise (hizkr b' as in Psa_20:8), though not in truth and not in righteousness (1Ki_3:6; Zec_8:8), i.e., without their state of mind (cf., Isa_38:3; Jer_32:41) or mode of action corresponding to their confession, so as to prove that it was sincerely and seriously meant. The praise bestowed upon the persons summoned, which is somewhat spoiled by this, is explained in Isa_48:2; they call themselves after the holy city (this title is applied to Jerusalem both here and in Isa_52:1, as well as in the books of Daniel and Nehemiah). We may easily supply here, that the holiness of the city laid an obligation upon its citizens to be holy in their character and conduct. They also relied upon the God of Israel, whose

name is Jehovah Zebaoth; and therefore He would require of them the fullest confidence and deepest reverence.

7. BI, Gods appeal to Israel

The lessons of Gods method of prophetic revelation which Israel is to lay to heart. (A. B. Davidson, D. D.)

The waters of Judah

The people, by natural figure, are described as streams from the fountain of Judah (Psa_68:26). (J. A. Alexander.)

Hollow profession

Here is

I. PRIVILEGE.

II. FORM.

III. PROFESSION.

IV. YET NO REAL RELIGION. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

Hear ye this

I. How? Place yourselves in a hearing posture, that the intense application of your minds may be discovered in your attitude and gestures. Listen with diligence and candour.

II. WHAT?

1. To the reproofs I administer.

2. To the arguments I adduce.

3. To the duties I inculcate.

4. To the assurances I give you.

III. WHY ?

1. That your obdurate hearts may be mollified.

2. Your consciences convinced.

3. Your conversion from your evil ways effected. (R. Macculloch.)

A two fold charge against Israel

God chargeth them with hypocrisy in that which is good, and obstinacy in that which is evil (Isa_48:1-8). (M. Henry.)

Religious profession

Observe

I. HOW HIGH THEIR PROFESSION OF RELIGION SOARED.

II. HOW LOW THEIR PROFESSION OF RELIGION SANK FOR ALL THIS. (M. Henry.)

8. MEYER, THE OBSTINATE AND INSINCERE REBUKED

Isa_48:1-16

We are meant to be for Gods praise and glory; but we may delay the realization of His high purpose. Our neck iron, our brow brass, we trust in idols and refuse to open our ear. It is necessary, therefore, to send us to Babylon, where, as in a furnace for silver, the dross and alloy are purged away. Many of us are in furnaces which have been rendered needful through our evil ways.

Notwithstanding our sins, God comes to the furnace mouth and chooses us there. For His own sake, His own sake, He does it that His name may not be polluted. He cannot give His glory to another. You cannot account for Gods grace to you personally. He must have known all, from the first. Then dare to believe that the reason that prompted Him at the first will suffice to the end. He is not the son of man that He should repent. He who was the first will be the last. Jesus is Omega as well as Alpha; the end as well as the beginning! Fear not! Rev_1:17.

9. PULPIT, THE FIRST ADDRESS consists mainly of expostulation and complaint. Israel has not

called on God "in truth and righteousness" (Isa_48:1). They have had "necks of iron" and "brows of brass"

(Isa_48:4). God has given them prophecies of different kinds (Isa_48:3-7); yet they have neither "heard"

nor "known;" they have "dealt treacherously" and been "transgressors from the womb" (Isa_48:8). God

might justly have "cut them off" for their rebellion, but he has "deferred his anger," and "refrained"

himselfnot, however, for Israel's sake, but for his own honour.

Isa_48:1

Jacob 0 Israel (camp. Isa_40:27; Isa_41:8, Isa_41:14; Isa_43:1, Isa_43:22; Isa_44:1, etc.). "Jacob" is

the natural and secular designation; "Israel" is a spiritual or covenant name (Cheyne). Both terms being

appropriate to the ten tribes no less than to the two, and the present address being intended especially

for the Jewish captives, a further designation is appendedwhich are come forth out of the waters of

Judah. Which swear by the Name of the Lord. Swearing "by the Name of the Lord" is an evidence of

true religion, to a certain extent (Deu_6:13; Deu_10:20). It indicates that there has been, at any rate, no

open apostasy. Still, it does not necessarily prove more than this; and, in the present case, it scarcely

showed anything beyond mere outward formal conformity. The bulk of the captives "swore by the Name

of Jehovah, and made mention of the God of Israel" (camp. Jos_23:7), but did so not in truth, nor in

righteousness; i.e. "without their state of mind or mode of action corresponding to their confession, so as

to prove that it was sincerely and seriously meant" (Delitzsch). The condition of the majority of the exiles

was that expressed in the words, "This people honoureth me with their lips, but in their hearts are far from

me" (Mat_15:8).

10. CALVIN, 1.Hear this, O house of Jacob. He now addresses his discourse to the Jews; whom also

he had chiefly in his eye, in the whole of the preceding chapter; for he was not sent to the Babylonians,

but addresses them in such a manner as to wish that the Jews, to whom he had been especially

appointed, should hear him. Accordingly, he foretold the destruction of the Babylonians, that the Jews

might calmly wait for deliverance, and at the same time might not be terrified by the greatness and power

of their enemies, (234) and that, relying on these promises, they might stand unmoved against all

temptations. But because the Jews were obstinate, and did not believe those promises, and because

Isaiah foresaw how great would be their hard-heartedness and obstinacy during their captivity, for that

reason he reproves them with greater severity. Ezekiel shews still more clearly how inveterate was their

unbelief, when they murmured against God, and cast away all confidence, and cared no more about the

promises of God than about empty fables. It was not without reason, therefore, that Isaiah made use of

such vehement language, in order to shew that they offered the highest insult to God by refusing to rely

on his grace.

Who are called by the name of Israel. He addresses but that which was actually spurious, and which at

that time had nothing more than the name of for he does not employ this honorable name for the sake

of mentioning them in a respectful manner, but rather in order to put to shame their false boasting,

because they had no riglit to glory in this empty title, from the truth of which they were widely estranged.

Why did God honor Jacob with this name, but because he proved himself to be courageous and invincible

in adversity? This appeared from that wrestling in which he contended with God; for when the Lord tries

by various afflictions, he enters, as it were, into debate with us. (Gen_32:25.) How, then, did this name

apply to his posterity, if they were cast down and threw away all hope in adversity?

Who have come out from the.waters of Judah. He next reproaches them with being descended from the

holy fathers, and yet being utterly unlike them. By waters of Judah, he means metaphorically the source

and fountain from which the Jews proceeded; for I do not approve of the childish attempt of the Jewish

writers to explain the metaphor, which is borrowed in a highly natural manner from waters which flow from

a distant place.

Who swear by the name of Jehovah. Having censured them for being the degenerate and wicked children

of holy fathers, he adds that they falsely pretend to the worship of God, and to a semblance of piety from

which they are widely distant. Now, as is a kind of worship of God, he here puts one department for the

whole class, by a figure of speech, in which a part is taken for the whole. As idolaters offer an insult to

God, when they swear by their idols, in like manner do the sincere worshippers of God render honor to

God, by employing his name in oaths; for they acknowledge that they have one God, in whose name they

glory. But here he attacks hypocrites who, with open mouth, loudly boasted of the name of God, and

frequently mentioned his name, and yet in their hearts were greatly opposed to him. On this account

he says, not in truth nor in righteousness, he employs the word to denote integrity and sincerity of

heart, without which nothing can be acceptable to God; or rather and are synonymous terms; as if he

had said, that it was mere pretense and hypocrisy to profess that they were the people of the true God,

because their treachery openly proclaimed their falsehoo

2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city

and claim to rely on the God of Israel

the Lord Almighty is his name:

1.BARNES, For they call themselves of the holy city - Of Jerusalem (see Isa_52:1;

Neh_11:1; Mat_4:5; Mat_27:53; Rev. 21:2-27). The word rendered for here, ( k6y) means, as it often does, although; and the sense is, although they call themselves of the holy city, they do not worship God in sincerity and truth. Jerusalem was called the holy city, because the temple, the ark, and the symbol of the divine presence were there, and it was the place where God was worshipped. It was deemed sacred by the Jews, and they regarded it as sufficient proof of goodness, it would seem, that they had dwelt there. Even in Babylon they would pride themselves on this, and suppose, perhaps, that it entitled them to divine protection and favor.

And stay themselves upon the God of Israel - In time of danger and trial they profess to seek him, and to commit their cause to him.

The Lord of hosts is his name - (See the notes at Isa_1:9). The object of the prophet in here mentioning his holy name is, probably, to show them the guilt of their conduct. He was Yahweh, the source of all existence. He was the God of all the hosts of heaven, and all the armies on earth. How wicked, therefore, it was to come before him in a false and hypocritical manner, and while they were professedly worshipping him, to be really offering their hearts to idols, and to be characteristically inclined to relapse into idolatry!

2. PULPIT, For they call themselves of the holy city. It is an indication of their real want of truth and

righteousness, that they lay such stress upon what is so entirely outward and formal, as the fact of their

belonging to" the holy city," Jerusalem. Compare the boast of the Jews in our Lord's time, "We be

Abraham's seed" (Joh_8:33). Stay themselves upon the God of Israel. Not resting upon him in real

faith and true humble dependence, as those Israelites who are mentioned in Isa_10:20. but trusting to the

facts that they were "Israel," and that God was "the God of Israel," and therefore bound to protect them.

God reminds them that, if he is "the God of Israel," he is also "the Lord of hosts"a term, as Dr. Kay

notes, especially connected with the holiness of God.

3. GILL, For they call themselves of the holy city,.... The city Jerusalem, so called because the temple, the place of divine worship, was in it, the residence of the Holy One of Israel: they valued themselves, not only upon their being of the family of Jacob, and of the tribe of Judah, but that they were inhabitants of Jerusalem, the holy city; as many now call themselves fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, when they are strangers both to God and his people in the experimental knowledge of things: and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; professed to trust in the Lord, and lean upon him, and rely upon his power and providence, his mercy and goodness, and expect all needful things from him, renouncing all confidence in the creature; and yet at the same time acted an hypocritical part, their faith was feigned: see Mic_3:11. The Lord of hosts is his name; whom they professed to be their God and Father, their Lord and Husband, their Saviour and Redeemer; who has all power in heaven and in earth, and does according to his will in both worlds, having the hosts of angels and armies of men at his command, and therefore so called.

4. HENRY,

5. JAMISON, For Ye deserve these reproofs; for ye call yourselves citizens of the holy city (Isa_52:1), but not in truth (Isa_48:1; Neh_11:1; Dan_9:24); so the inscription on their coins of the time of the Maccabees. Jerusalem the Holy.

6. CALVIN, 2.For from the holy city they are called. He continues the same subject, and by different

words exposes their false boasting; for they falsely boasted that they were the citizens of holy city,

which they defiled by their vices and crimes. Jerusalem ought to have been for God had consecrated

her to himself; but she had prostrated herself to iniquities, so great and so numerous, that she scarcely

retained any holiness. We see in Psa_15:2, what the true citizens of Jerusalem ought to be; but because

the Jews were not ashamed of mocking God, they reckoned it enough to be protected by the shadow of

the Temple.

And rely on the God of Israel. When he says that they on Jehovah, he does not speak of sincere belief,

but of empty confidence; for, as good men rely on God, and trust him with their whole heart, so hypocrites

falsely make pretensions to his name, and are intoxicated by unfounded belief, and fearlessly despise

everything, and even boast confidently of these words, will assist us, he will not cast off his people; as if

God wished to encourage their wickedness. In a word, by trampling him under their feet, they loudly

declare that they rely on themselves for safety; but, lest they should think that they will not be punished

for this mockery, the Prophet assures them that God loses nothing of his authority, when he is thus

misrepresented by hypocrites; for, when he calls him Jehovah of hosts, he adds this by way of

threatening, that they might know that God, under whose name they falsely sheltered themselves, was

strong enough to punish them, and at length would not permit them to make him the subject of mockery.

3 I foretold the former things long ago,

my mouth announced them and I made them

known;

then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

1.BARNES, I have declared the former things - That is, in former times I have predicted future events by the prophets, which have come to pass as they were foretold. Though the fulfillment might have appeared to be long delayed, yet it came to pass at the very time, showing it to be an exact fulfillment of the prophecy. The design of thus referring to the former predictions is, to remind them of their proneness to disregard his declarations, and to recall to their attention the fact that all that he said would be certainly accomplished. As a people, they had been prone to disbelieve his word. He saw that the same thing would take place in Babylon, and that there also they would disbelieve his prophecies about raising up Cyrus, and restoring them to their own land. He therefore endeavors to anticipate this, by reminding them of their former unbelief, and of the fact that all that he had foretold in former times had come to pass.

From the beginning - In regard to this, and the meaning of the phrase, the former things, see the notes at Isa_41:22; Isa_43:9. The phrase. former things, refers to the things which precede others; the series, or order of events.

I did them suddenly - They came to pass at an unexpected time; when you were not looking for them, and when perhaps you were doubting whether they would occur, or were calling in question the divine veracity. The idea is, that God in like manner would, certainly, and suddenly, accomplish his predictions about Babylon, and their release from their captivity.

2. PULPIT, I have declared the former things from the beginning

(comp. Isa_41:26; Isa_43:9, Isa_43:10; Isa_44:7, Isa_44:8, etc.). "Former things" are here contrasted with

the "new things" of Isa_48:6. Two cycles of prophecy seem to be intendedone of comparatively ancient

date, the other quite freshboth equally showing forth the power of God and his infinite superiority to the

idols. It is difficult to determine what the two cycles of prophecy are. Delitzsch suggests that "the former

things are the events experienced by the people from the very earliest times down to the times of Cyrus,"

while "the new things embrace the redemption of Israel from Babylon, the glorification of the people in the

midst of a world of nations converted to the God of Israel, and the creation of a new heaven and a new

earth." Dr. Kay thinks that the "former things" are those mentioned in the prophecies concerning Babylon

generally, the "new things those about to be announced in Isaiah 49-56. I did them suddenly; rather,

suddenly I wrought.

3. GILL, I have declared the former things from the beginning,.... From the time of their first ancestors, from the time of Abraham their father, to whom was declared what should befall his posterity; that they should sojourn in Egypt, be afflicted there, and come out from thence with great substance; that they be brought into the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of it being driven out before them, Gen_15:13. And they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; they were told to Abraham by word of mouth; they were shown to him in prophecy: I did them suddenly, and they came to pass; for very quickly these things began to take place, even in Abraham's time; for his seed being a stranger in a land not theirs, and afflicted near four hundred years, must be reckoned from the birth of Isaac; and all which exactly came to pass as was foretold; not one thing which the Lord had spoken of failed; all was punctually fulfilled, Jos_21:45.

4. HENRY, The means God used, and the method he took, to keep them close to himself, and

to prevent their turning aside to idolatry. The many excellent laws he gave them, with their

sanctions, and the hedges about them, it seems, would not serve to restrain them from that sin

which did most easily beset them, and therefore to those God added remarkable prophecies, and

remarkable providences in pursuance of those prophecies, which were all designed to convince

them that their God was the only true God and that it was therefore both their duty and interest

to adhere to him. 1. He both dignified and favoured them with remarkable prophecies

(Isa_48:3): I have declared the former things from the beginning. Nothing material happened to their nation from its original which was not prophesied of before - their bondage in Egypt,

their deliverance thence, the situation of their tribes in Canaan, etc. All these things went forth out of God's mouth and he showed them. Herein they were honoured above any nation, and even their curiosity was gratified. Their prophecies were such as they could rely upon, and such

as concerned themselves and their own nation; and they were all verified by the accomplishment

of them. I did them suddenly, when they were least expected by themselves or others, and therefore could not be foreseen by any but a divine prescience. I did them and they came to pass; for what God does he does effectually. The very calamities they were now groaning under in Babylon God did from the beginning declare to them by Moses, as the certain consequences of

their apostasy from God, Lev_26:31, etc.; Deu_28:36, etc.; Deu_29:28. He also declared to

them their return to God, and to their own land again, Deu_30:4, etc.; Lev_26:44, Lev_26:45.

Thus he showed them how he would deal with them long before it came to pass. Let them

compare their present state together with the deliverance they had now in prospect with what

was written in the law, and they would find the scripture exactly fulfilled.

5. JAMISON, former things which have happened in time past to Israel (Isa_42:9; Isa_44:7, Isa_44:8; Isa_45:21; Isa_46:10).

suddenly They came to pass so unexpectedly that the prophecy could not have resulted from mere human sagacity.

6. K&D, After this summons, and description of those who are summoned, the address of Jehovah begins. The first I have long ago proclaimed, and it has gone forth out of my mouth, and I caused it to be heard. I carried it out suddenly, and it came to pass. Because I knew that thou art hard, and thy neck an iron clasp, and thy brow of brass; I proclaimed it to thee long ago; before it came to pass, I caused thee to hear it, that thou mightest not say, My idol has

done it, and my graven image and molten image commanded it. The word in itself signifies simply priora; and then, according to the context, it signifies prius facta (Isa_46:9), or prius praedicta (Isa_43:9), or prius eventura (Isa_41:22; Isa_42:9). In the present passage it refers to earlier occurrences, which Jehovah had foretold, and, when the time fixed for their accomplishment arrived, which He had immediately brought to pass. With a retrospective glance at this, we find plural masc. suffixes (cf., Isa_41:27) used interchangeably with plural fem. (cf., Isa_48:7 and Isa_38:16); the prophet more frequently uses the sing. fem. in this neuter sense (Isa_41:20; Isa_42:23, etc.), and also, though very rarely, the sing. masc.

(Isa_45:8). On gd, a band, a sinew, but here a clasp (cf., Arab. kaid, a fetter), see Psychology, p.

233. Nechu-sha.h is a poetical equivalent for necho-sheth, as in Isa_45:2. The heathen cravings of Israel, which reached into the captivity, are here presupposed. Hengstenberg is mistaken in his supposition, that the prophet's standpoint is always anterior to the captivity when he speaks in condemnation of idolatry. We cannot draw any conclusion from the character of the community that returned, with regard to that of the people of the captivity generally. The great mass even of Judah, and still more of Israel, remained behind, and became absorbed into the heathen, to whom they became more and more assimilated. And does not Ezekiel expressly state in

Eze_20:30., that the golah by the Chaboras defiled themselves with the same abominations of idolatry as their fathers, and that the prevailing disposition was to combine the worship of Jehovah with heathenism, or else to exchange the former altogether for the latter? And we know that it was just the same with the exiles in Egypt, among whom the life and labours of Jeremiah

terminated. Wherever the prophet speaks of and , these names invariably include a tendency or falling away to Babylonian idolatry, to which he describes the exiles as having been addicted, both in Isa_66:17 and elsewhere.

7. CALVIN, 3.Long ago have I declared the former things. He accuses the Jews of ingratitude,

because they distrust God, who has given every possible proof of his goodness, in order to establish

them in sincere confidence; and therefore he takes away from them every excuse, by saying, that

declared the former things. He appears to speak not of their deliverance from Babylon, but of other

benefits which the Lord had bestowed on that nation; as if he had said that God began, long before this,

to foretell to his people what would happen, and never promised anything which he did not perform, and

yet that his people, after having received so many proofs, did not place confidence in his certain and

infallible truth.

It may also be said, that the Prophet did not merely address those who lived at that time, but those who

should afterwards live during the captivity, in order that, when this certainty arrived, they might consider

that it had been already foretold. God intended that this prediction should be widely known, in order that,

during their captivity, they might know that these things did not happen by chance, and that they might

obtain some consolation. Isaiah therefore rebukes them, because, after having learned the truth of this

matter from the event itself, still they cannot acknowledge the work of God, or place confidence in him.

And justly does he severely reprove and accuse them of obstinacy; for they resisted God, who stretched

out his hand to them, and rejected his grace; they did not believe that they would have liberty to return to

Judea, and, when the way was opened up, there were very few who had courage to return. Some thought

that it would be better to remain in Babylon than to undergo the annoyances and dangers of the joumey.

Others suspected that Cyrus had made a crafty proclamation of liberty to return, in order that, having

ascertained their dispositions, he might oppress them or treat them with severity; and they did not take

into account that God had foretold these things, and that they must unavoidably happen, and that no

power of men could prevent them. Accordingly, I understand those predictions of which the Prophet

speaks so as to include, indeed, the ancient prophecies by which God foretold to Abraham (Gen_15:13)

that his seed would be held captive, and would afterwards be restored to their former freedom, but that

afterwards, in their due order, other predictions are added, which also followed at different times; for this

also was frequently fulfilled, partly at one time, and partly at another. He shews, therefore, that the Lord

predicted nothing which was not justified by the event.

4 For I knew how stubborn you were;

your neck muscles were iron,

your forehead was bronze.

1.BARNES, Because I knew that thou art obstinate - I made these frequent predictions, and fulfilled them in this striking manner, because I knew that as a people, you were prone to unbelief, and in order that you might have the most full and undoubted demonstration of the truth of what was declared. As they were disinclined to credit his promises, and as he saw that in their long captivity they would be prone to disbelieve what he had said respecting their deliverance under Cyrus, he had, therefore, given them these numerous evidences of the certainty of the fulfillment of all his prophecies, in order that their minds might credit what he said about their return to their own land.

That thou art obstinate - Margin, as Hebrew, Hard, The sense is, that they were obstinate and intractable - an expression probably taken from a bullock which refuses to receive the yoke. The word hard, as expressive of obstinacy, is often combined with others. Thus, in Exo_32:9; Exo_34:9, hard of neck, that is, stiff-necked, stubborn; hard of face Eze_2:4; hard of heart Eze_3:7. The idea is, that they were, as a people, obstinate, rebellious, and indisposed to submit to the laws of God - a charge which is often brought against them by the sacred writers, and which is abundantly verified by all their history as a people (compare Exo_32:9; Exo_33:3-5; Exo_34:9; Deu_9:6-13; Deu_31:27; 2Ch_30:8; Eze_2:4; Act_7:51).

Thy neck is an iron sinew - The word giyd means properly a cord, thong, or band; then a nerve, sinew, muscle, or tendon. The metaphor is taken from oxen when they make their neck stiff, and refuse to submit it to the yoke.

And thy brow brass - Thy forehead is hard and insensible as brass. The phrase is applied to the shameless brow of a harloi Jer_3:3; Eze_3:7, where there is an utter want of modesty, and consummate impudence. A brow of brass is an image of insensibility, or obstinacy (so in Jer_6:28).

2. PULPIT, I knew that thou art obstinate; literally, hard, or stiffthe adjective used in the phrase

translated in our version "stiff-necked." The idea is still more forcibly expressed in the following clause

thy neck is an iron sinew; or rather, a band of iron, as stiff as if it were made-of the hardest metal. And

thy brow brass. The exact simile here used does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It seems to be the

origin of our expressions, "brazen,) brazen-faced," "to brazen a thing out." The forehead may be

hardened for a good or for a bad purpose; in obstinacy or in a determination to resist evil

(comp. Isa_1:7 and Eze_3:8 with Jer_5:3; Eze_3:7; Zec_7:12). Here the hardening is evil, marking

defiance and self-will.

3. GILL, Because I knew that thou art obstinate,.... Or "hard" (a), hard hearted, an obdurate and rebellious people, contradicting and gainsaying: and thy neck is as an iron sinew; stiffnecked, inflexible, not compliant with the will of God, and his commands; unwilling to admit his yoke, and bear it: and thy brow brass; impudent, not ashamed of sin, nor blushing at it, refusing to receive correction for it, having a whore's forehead. This the Lord knew and foreknew, and therefore declared before hand what would come to pass unto them; who otherwise would have had the assurance to have ascribed them to themselves, or their idols, and not to him.

4. HENRY, Because he would leave them inexcusable in their obstinacy. Therefore he took this pains with them, because he knew they were obstinate, Isa_48:4. He knew they were so

obstinate and perverse that, if he had not supported the doctrine of providence by prophecy,

they would have had the impudence to deny it, and would have said that their idol had done that

which God did. He knew very well, (1.) How wilful they would be, and how fully bent they would

be upon that which is evil: I knew that thou wast hard; so the word is. There were prophecies as well as precepts which God gave them because of the hardness of their hearts: Thy neck is an iron sinew, unapt to yield and submit to the yoke of God' commandments, unapt to turn and look back upon his dealings with thee or look up to his displeasure against thee; not flexible to

the will of God, nor pliable to his intentions, nor manageable by his word or providence. Thy brow is brass; thou art impudent and canst not blush, insolent and wilt not fear or give back, but wilt thrust on in the way of thy heart. God uses means to bring sinners to comply with him,

though he knows they are obstinate.

5. JAMISON, obstinate Hebrew, hard (Deu_9:27; Eze_3:7, Margin).

iron sinew inflexible (Act_7:51).

brow brass shameless as a harlot (see Jer_6:28; Jer_3:3; Eze_3:7, Margin).

6. PULPIT, The revealing truth.

"I knew that thou art obstinate." We blame this in a child. We sometimes falsely call it firmness in a man.

This is a mistake. Firmness is only in a Moral sense such, when it is infused by faith, governed by reason,

approved by conscience, and consecrated to some noble and godlike end.

I. HERE IS A REVELATION OF HUMAN POWER. Man can stand out against God. This is marvellous,

but it is at the basis of all moral freedom and responsibility. The original Hebrew means "hard"so hard

that the tenderest revelations of Divine love cannot melt the heart; so hard that the spectacle of the ruin

and misery which rebellion everywhere brings does not create repentance and "returning."

II. HERE IS A REVELATION OF DIVINE KNOWLEDGE. "I knew." Man cannot see his brother's inner

countenance. God can. "Thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass." Let not man say that any law of

necessity has compelled his defiant course. Let him not say that it has been demanded of him by the

idols of fashion and custom. "Before it came to pass I showed it thee, lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol

hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them." God knows that

the soul has stood out against all Divine warnings, invitations, rebukes, and interpositions. "O Israel, thou

hast destroyed thyself!"W.M.S.

7. CALVIN, 4.For I knew that thou art obstinate. Literally it is, account of my knowing, or, nay

knowing. Here the Lord solemnly declares by the Prophet, that it was on account of the hard-

heartedness of the people that he spake of future events; as if he had said that he acted more liberally

towards them than he ought to have done. Not that this was the only end which he aimed at; for we know

that the chief use of doctrine belongs to believers, who gently submit themselves and cheerfully obey; but

Isaiah, who had to deal with obstinate men, justly says that, if their depravity had not been incurable, God

made use of an excellent remedy, by uttering many successive predictions for the purpose of ratifying his

Law. Thus as he had foretold future events to the fathers, so he shews that he follows the same course,

in order to conquer or soften the obstinacy and hard-heartedness of the people.

And thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead is of brass. He calls their neck iron sinew, because it

cannot be bent. are indeed hard, but still they are capable of being bent; here, he says, there is no

bending, because they are untameable. He next mentions brazen forehead, to denote their impudence.

There are two ways by which we may be kept in the path of duty; first, if we are submissive and obey

good instructions or holy commandments; and secondly, if, after having fallen into any sin, we are moved

by sincere shame to repent of what we have done. When these are wanting, it is a sign of desperate

wickedness. These are two proofs, therefore, which he has brought forward to shew that the nation was

abandoned to everything that was sinful; they were refractory, and they were impudent. And yet, when

the Lord cannot cure us in any other way, he treats even our perversity with such forbearance, that he is

pleased to give us warning of future events. Thus he assumes, as it were, every possible shape, in order

to recall us to himself, and bring us back into the right path.

5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;

before they happened I announced them to you

so that you could not say,

My images brought them about;

my wooden image and metal god ordained them.

1.BARNES, I have even from the beginning declared it to thee - He had foretold future events, so that they had abundant demonstration thai he was the true God, and so that they could not be under a mistake in regard to the source of their deliverances from danger.

Mine idol hath done them - The idols and molten images had not foretold these events and when they came to pass, it could not, therefore, be pretended that they had been produced by idols. By predicting them, Yahweh kept up the proof that he was the true God, and demonstrated that he alone was worthy of their confidence and regard.

2. PULPIT, I have even from the beginning declared it (comp. Isa_48:3). The declaration here made is

that God rendered his prophecies more than ordinarily marvellous on account of Israel's obstinacy, not

punishing them for it, lint seeking graciously and lovingly to overcome it by adding to the weight of the

evidence to which he would fain hare had it yield. Had his prophecies been less astonishing, had they in a

less degree transcended ordinary human experience, Israel might conceivably have ascribed them and

the accomplishment of them to the false gods. As it was, this was barely possible. Mine idol ) my

molten image. It has been already observed (see the comment on Isa_40:18) that there was a strong

tendency to idolatry among the Jews, not only before, but during the Captivity. Ezekiel says that those

among whom he lived were "polluted after the manner of their fathers, and committed whoredom after

their abominations; made their sons pass through the fire, and polluted themselves with all their

idols" (Eze_20:30, Eze_20:31); nay, went so far as to declare boldly, "We will be as the heathen, as the

inhabitants of the countries, to serve wood and stone" (Eze_20:32). The "prevailing tendency," as

Delitzsch remarks, was "to combine the worship of Jehovah with heathenism, or else to exchange the

former altogether for the latter." We cannot conclude anything concerning the mass of the community

from the character of those who returned. Those who returned were the sincere worshippers of

Jehovahthe irreligious did not care to return. It is always to be borne in mind that it was "the great mass

even of Judah," no less than of Israel, that "remained behind" (Delitzsch); and these "became absorbed

into the heathen, to whom they became more and more assimilated'' (ibid.). Hath commanded

them; i.e. "hath caused them (the events) to take place" (comp. Psa_33:9).

3. GILL, I have even from the beginning declared it to thee,.... From the beginning of their being a people, even before they were formed into a body politic; yea, from the original of them, from the time of Abraham their ancestor, as before observed: before it came to pass I showed it thee; some hundreds of years before; first to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and then to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel: lest thou shouldest say, mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them; or my libation or fusion of wine, oil, or blood, by which, as by other things, they made conjectures of what was to come to pass; so Gussetius (b) interprets the last word; lest they should ascribe their deliverance out of Egypt to the idols they made and worshipped, being a people prone to idolatry; as they did when they made a golden calf, and danced about it, Exo_32:4. This the Lord knew before hand, and therefore to prevent this stupidity, or convince them of it, he foretold what should come to pass, which their idols were never able to do.

4. HENRY, The reasons why God would take this method with them.

1. Because he would anticipate their boastings of themselves and their idols. (1.) God by his prophets told them beforehand of their deliverance, lest they should attribute the accomplishment of it to their idols. Thus he saw it necessary to secure the glory of it to himself, which otherwise would have been given by some of them to their graven images: I spoke of it, says God, lest thou shouldst say, My idol has done it or has commanded it to be done, Isa_48:5. There were those that would be apt to say so, and so would be confirmed in their idolatry by that which was intended to cure them of it. But they would now be for ever precluded from saying this; for, if the idols had done it, the prophets of the idols would have foretold it; but, the prophets of the Lord having foretold it, it was no doubt the power of the Lord that effected it. (2.) God foretold it by his prophets, lest they should assume the foresight of it to themselves. Those that were not so profane as to have ascribed the thing itself to an idol were yet so proud as to have pretended that by their own sagacity they foresaw it, if God had not been beforehand with them and spoken first: Lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them, Isa_48:7. Thus vain men, who would be thought wise, commonly undervalue a thing which is really great and surprising with this suggestion, that it was no more than they expected and they knew it would come to this. To anticipate this, and that this boasting might for ever be excluded, God told them of it before the day, when as yet they dreamed not of it. God has said and done enough to prevent men's boastings of themselves, and that no flesh may glory in his presence, and, if it have not the intended effect, it will aggravate the sin and ruin of the proud; and, sooner, or later, every mouth shall be stopped, and all flesh shall become silent before God.

5. CALVIN, 5.I foretold to thee long ago. He again repeats the same statement, that the people, when

they had been delivered from Babylon, might acknowledge the kindness of God, and might not ascribe

this deliverance to idols or to fortune. If it be asked does the Prophet mention idols, seeing that the Jews

professed the worship of one God? I reply, They had been corrupted by associating with the Gentiles,

and had degenerated into superstitions, to such an extent, that they had entirely forgotten God. Ezekiel

complains of this, that, in the vision in which he appeared to be carried to Jerusalem, he beheld the

sanctuary of God polluted by various idols. (Eze_8:3.) Not without reason, therefore, does he recall them

to God as the only author of these events, that they may acknowledge that he has redeemed them.

Lest, perhaps, thou shouldest say. He means that the Jews will be inexcusable, if they do not

acknowledge the kindness of God, when they shall have been emancipated from slavery; for what had

been long ago foretold would not have happened by chance. God foreknowledge is therefore connected

by the Prophet with his power; and he declares that he not only foresaw, but likewise accomplished these

events. Here then, as in a mirror, we behold the wicked exercise of our understanding, which always

contrives in what way it shall rob God of the praise which is due to him. Whenever he either assists us, or

in any way is kind to us, he may be said to stretch out his hand and invite us to himself.

Yet the world, as if it purposely designed to make resistance, ascribes to others what has proceeded from

God; as we see that in Popery all God benefits are attributed to dead saints, in such a manner as if God

were sleeping a deep sleep. It is therefore necessary that the lamp of doctrine should shine, in order to

regulate our judgment; for, in considering the works of God, we shall always go astray, if he do not go

before and enlighten us by his word. But even now we find in many persons what Isaiah deplores in his

nation, that, even after having been warned, they do not cease to make idols for themselves, which they

clothe with the spoils taken from God. Peter and John loudly declared (Act_3:12) that it was not by their

own merits or excellence that they performed their miracles; but we see how the Papists load them with

miracles against their will, and in spiteof their resistance. Although God does not now foretell the events

which shall happen, yet the doctrine of the Law and of the Gospel will tend as powerfully to condemn our

ingratitude as if the prophecies had attested those works of which God there declares himself to be the

author.

6 You have heard these things; look at them all.

Will you not admit them?

From now on I will tell you of new things,

of hidden things unknown to you.

1.BARNES, Thou hast heard - You are witnesses that the prediction was uttered long before it was fulfilled.

See all this - Behold how it is all fulfilled. Bear witness that the event is as it was predicted.

And will ye not declare it? - Will you not bear witness to the entire fulfillment of the prophecy? God appeals to them as qualified to testify that what he had declared had come to pass, and calls on them to make this known as a demonstration that he alone was God (see the notes at Isa_44:8).

I have showed thee new things from this time - From this time I make known a thing which has not before occurred, that you may have a similar demonstration that Yahweh is God. The new thing here referred to, is, doubtless, the prediction of the deliverance from the captivity at Babylon - a new thing, in contradistinction from those which had been before predicted, and which were already fulfilled (see the notes at Isa_42:9; Isa_43:19).

Even hidden things - Events which are so concealed that they could not be conjectured by any political sagacity, or by any contemplation of mere natural causes. They are, as it were, laid up in dark treasurehouses (compare Isa_45:3), and they can be known only by him to whom the darkness shineth as the day, and to whom the night and the day are both alike Psa_139:12.

2. CLARKE, Thou hast heard, see all this Thou didst hear it beforehand;

behold, the whole is accomplished - For chazeh, see, a MS. has hazzeh, this; thou

hast heard the whole of this: the Syriac has vechazith, thou hast heard, and thou hast seen,

the whole. Perhaps it should be hinneh, behold. In order to express the full sense, I have rendered it somewhat paraphrastically.

3. GILL, Thou hast heard, see all this: and will ye not declare it?.... You have heard of all these things, how they were foretold before they were; how they came to pass exactly as they were predicted; now look over these prophecies, and compare them with the events; see the exact completion of them; and when you have so done, can you be so stouthearted and impudent as to deny them, or not own and confess them? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them; meaning the destruction of the Babylonish empire, and the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, prophesied just now in the preceding chapters; things not yet come to pass, newly revealed, which were hidden in the breast of God, and unknown to them until prophesied of; and which were typical of redemption by the incarnate Son of God, whose incarnation, and salvation by him, were new, unheard of, and wonderful things; and of the new state of things under the Gospel dispensation, when all things shall become new; the doctrines and ordinances of which are new; the whole Gospel is a hidden mystery, and unknown to men till revealed and made known by the Spirit of God.

4. HENRY, He both dignified and favoured them Thou hast heard, see all this Thou

didst hear it beforehand; behold, the whole is accomplished - For chazeh, see, a

MS. has hazzeh, this; thou hast heard the whole of this: the Syriac has vechazith, thou

hast heard, and thou hast seen, the whole. Perhaps it should be hinneh, behold. In order to express the full sense, I have rendered it somewhat paraphrastically.

with remarkable providence (Isa_48:6): I have shown thee new things from this time. Besides the general view given from the beginning of God's proceedings with them, he showed them new

things by the prophets of their own day, and created them. They were hidden things, which they could not otherwise know, as the prophecy concerning Cyrus and the exact time of their release

out of Babylon.

5. JAMISON, Thou, etc. So ye are my witnesses (Isa_43:10). Thou canst testify the prediction was uttered long before the fulfillment: see all this, namely, that the event answers to the prophecy.

declare make the fact known as a proof that Jehovah alone is God (Isa_44:8).

new things namely, the deliverance from Babylon by Cyrus, new in contradistinction from former predictions that had been fulfilled (Isa_42:9; Isa_43:19). Antitypically, the prophecy has in view the new things of the gospel treasury (Son_7:13; Mat_13:52; 2Co_5:17; Rev_21:5). From this point forward, the prophecies as to Messiahs first and second advents and the restoration of Israel, have a new circumstantial distinctness, such as did not characterize the previous ones, even of Isaiah. Babylon, in this view, answers to the mystical Babylon of Revelation.

hidden which could not have been guessed by political sagacity (Dan_2:22, Dan_2:29; 1Co_2:9, 1Co_2:10).

6. K&D, But in order to determine exactly what the former things were, which Jehovah had foretold in order that Israel might not ascribe them to this idol or the other, we must add Isa_48:6-8 : Thou hast heard it, look then at it all; and ye, must ye not confess it? I give thee new things to hear from this time forth, and hidden things, and what thou didst not know. It is created now, and not long ago; and thou hast not heard it before, that thou mightest not say, Behold, I knew it. Thou hast neither heard it, nor known it, nor did thine ear open itself to it long ago: for I knew thou art altogether faithless, and thou art called rebellious from the womb. The meaning of the question in Isa_48:6 is very obvious: they must acknowledge and attest, even thou against their will (Isa_43:10; Isa_44:8), that Jehovah has foretold all that is now confirmed by the evident fulfilment. Consequently the former things are the events experienced by the people from the very earliest times (Isa_46:9) down to the present times of Cyrus, and more especially the first half or epoch of this period itself, which expired at the time that formed the prophet's standpoint. And as the object of the prediction was to guard Israel against ascribing to its idols that which had taken place (which can only be understood of events that had occurred in favour of Israel), the former things must include the preparation for the redemption of Israel from the Babylonian captivity through the revolution brought to pass by Cyrus. Hence the new things will embrace the redemption of Israel with its attendant circumstances, and that not merely on its outward side, but on its spiritual side as well; also the glorification of the redeemed people in the midst of a world of nations converted to the God of Israel, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth; in short, the New Testament aeon

(compare , lxx 7, Isa_42:6), with the facts which contribute to its ultimate completion (f. Isa_42:9). The announcement and realization of these absolutely new and hitherto secret things (cf., Rom_16:25) take place from this time forward; Israel has not

heard of them before today (compare E, from this day forward, Isa_43:13), that it may not lay claim to the knowledge conveyed to it by prophecy, as something drawn from itself. This thought is carried to a climax in Isa_48:8 in three correlated sentences commencing with yea

(gam). G signifies patescere here, as in Isa_60:11 (Ewald, 120, a). Jehovah had said nothing to them of this before, because it was to be feared that, with their faithlessness and tendency to idolatry, which had run through their entire history, they would only abuse it. This is strange! On the one hand, the rise of Cyrus is spoken of here as predicted from of old, because it belonged to the former things, and as knowable through prophecy - a statement which favours the opinion that these addresses were written before the captivity; and, on the other hand, a

distinction is drawn between these former things and certain new things that were intentionally not predicted before the expiration of these former things, which certainly seems to preclude the possibility of their having been composed before the captivity; since, as Ruetschi observes, if the older Isaiah had predicted this, he would have acted in direct opposition to Jehovah's design. But in actual fact, the dilemma in which the opponents of the authenticity of these prophecies find themselves, is comparatively worse than this. For the principal objection - namely, that a prophet before the captivity could not possibly have known or predicted anything concerning Cyrus - cannot be satisfactorily removed by attributing these prophecies to a prophet of the time of the captivity, since they expressly and repeatedly affirm that the rise of Cyrus was an event foreknown and predicted by the God of prophecy. Now, if it is Isaiah who thus takes his stand directly in the midst of the captivity, we can understand both of these: viz., the retrospective glance at previous prophecies, which issued in the rise of Cyrus that prepared the way for the redemption from Babylon, since, so far as the prophet was concerned, such prophecies as Isaiah 13-14:23; Isa_21:1-10, and also Isa_11:10-12 (Mic_4:10), are fused into one with his present predictions; and also the prospective glance at prophecies which are now first to be uttered, and events which are now fore the first time about to be accomplished; inasmuch as the revelations contained in these prophecies concerning Israel's pathway through suffering to glory, more especially so far as they grew out of the idea of the servant of Jehovah, might really be set down as absolutely new to the prophet himself, and never heard of before. Meanwhile our exposition is not affected by the critical question; for even we most firmly maintain, that the prophet who is speaking here has his standpoint in the midst of the captivity, on the boundary line of the condition of suffering and punishment and its approaching termination.

7. CALVIN, 6.Thou hast heard. This makes it still more clear that the Prophet speaks of a future

captivity, and of the redemption by which it should be followed; thus intending to make provision for the

advantage both of the men of his own time and of posterity, that, if they who then lived received no

benefit, at least posterity might take warning and repent. It frequentlyhappens, that the doctrine of the

prophets produces little effect on those who see and hear, and sometimes is even treated by them with

contempt, while posterity receive it with better dispositions.

See all. When he bids them see, some think that the Prophet exhibits the event in such a manner as if he

had said, that God had spoken nothing which had not been made evident to be true. But I give a different

interpretation of this word , (chazeh,) see, in this manner: that the Lord hath spoken, it is thy duty to

examine the words, and to give attention. Hence we ought to observe, that it is owing to our

sluggishness or indolence that we immediately lose those things which proceed from the mouth of God,

and that in vain do many persons hold out the pretext of ignorance; because the Lord reveals clearly

enough all that is necessary to be known, if they who hear would examine it carefully, and with due

attention.

And will ye not declare it? The Lord next demands something more from his people than to understand

and consider his word; that is, that they may be a herald and witness of the miracles which they have

known by experience. And, indeed, he instructs his people on this condition, that they shall afterwards

lead others to the same confession of faith. Even now have I made thee to hear As if he had said, this

day, on which the Lord foretells to thee, by my mouth, those things which thou didst not know; for these

things cannot be perceived or foreseen by human conjecture.

7 They are created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot say,

Yes, I knew of them.

1.BARNES, They are created now - The Septuagint renders this, I nun ginetai - Done now; and many expositors interpret it in the sense that they are now brought into light, as if they were created. Aben Ezra renders it, They are decreed and determined by me. Rosenmuller supposes that it refers to the revelation, or making known those things. Lowth renders it, They are produced now, and not of old. Noyes, It is revealed now, and not long ago. But the sense is probably this: God is saying that they did not foresee them, nor were they able to conjecture them by the contemplation of any natural causes. There were no natural causes in operation at the time the predictions were made, respecting the destruction of Babylon, by which it could be conjectured that that event would take place; and when the event occurred, it was as if it had been created anew. It was the result of Almighty power and energy, and was to be traced to him alone. The sense is, that it could no more be predicted, at the time when the prophecy was uttered, from the operation of any natural causes, than an act of creation could be predicted, which depended on the exercise of the divine will alone. It was a case which God only could understand, in the same way as he alone could understand the purposes and the time of his own act of creating the world.

And not from the beginning - The events have not been so formed from the beginning that they could be predicted by the operation of natural causes, and by political sagacity.

Even before the day when thou heardest them not - The sense of this probably, and before this day thou hast not heard of them; that is, these predictions pertain to new events, and are not to be found in antecedent prophecies. The prophet did not speak now of the deliverance from Egypt, and of the blessings of the promised land, which had constituted the burden of many of the former prophecies, but he spoke of a new thing; of the deliverance from Babylon, and of events which they could by no natural sagacity anticipate, so that they could claim that they knew them.

Lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them - The taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and the deliverance of the exiles from their bondage, are events which can be foreseen only by God. Yet the prophet says that he had declared these events, which thus lay entirely beyond the power of human conjecture, long before they occurred, so that they could not possibly pretend that they knew them by any natural sagacity, or that an idol had effected this.

2. PULPIT, They are created now. The revelation to man of what has lain secret in God's counsels

from all eternity is a sort of creation. As Nagelbach well says, it converts the into

a and therefore is one step towards actual accomplishment. The mystery of "the

Servant of the Lord," and of atonement and salvation through him, had hitherto been hid away"hid in

God" (Eph_3:9), and was now for the first time to be made known to such as had "eyes to see" and "cars

to hear" by the teaching of the evangelical prophet. Even before the day when thou heardest them

not; rather, and before to-day thou heardest them not.Whatever shadows of evangelic truth are

discernible in the Law and in the earlier psalms, they did not constitute a revelation of the way of salvation

at all comparable to that contained in Isaiah's later chapters. Lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew

them. If the "new things" of Isaiah's prophecy had been revealed many centuries before, they would not

have impressed the Jews of Isaiah's time, or even of the Captivity period, as they did by having been

reserved to a comparatively late date. They would have seemed to most of them an old and trite story.

3. GILL, They are created now, and not from the beginning,.... Not that they were now done or brought into being, for as yet Cyrus was not born; though the raising of him up, and holding his right hand, and his executing the counsel of God, are spoken of as if they were already done, because of the certainty of them, Isa_45:1. Aben Ezra interprets "created" by "decreed"; though these were not now decreed by God; for no new decrees are made by him; but those which were made by him of old were now revealed and made manifest by prophecy, which is the sense of the phrase; so Kimchi observes, "the time when they went out of the mouth of God is the time of their creation.'' Thus in like manner the incarnation of Christ, his sufferings and death, and salvation by him, things decreed from eternity, are spoken of in this prophecy as if actually done, because of the clear manifestation and certainty of them: even before the day when thou heardest them not; they were in the breast of God, kept and reserved in his mind, and therefore are before called hidden things, before the Israelites heard anything of them; as were the things respecting Christ, and salvation by him; which were not only in God, who created all things by Christ, but were revealed before the Israelites had any knowledge of them, even to Adam and Eve, immediately after their fall; and were spoken of by all the holy prophets from the beginning of the world: lest thou shouldest say, behold, I knew them; lest they should ascribe their present knowledge of them to their own sagacity and penetration; as if they were not obliged to a divine revelation, but of themselves had got the secret, and became acquainted with these things.

4. HENRY, These things God created now, Isa_48:7. Their restoration was in effect their creation, and they had a promise of it not from the beginning, but of late; for to prevent their apostasy from God, or to recover them, prophecy was kept up among them. Yet it was told them when they could not come to the knowledge of it in any other way than by divine revelation. Consider, says God, how much soever it is talked of now among you and expected, it was told you by the prophets, when it was the furthest thing from your thoughts, when you had not heard it, when you had not known it, nor had any reason to expect it, and when your ear was not opened concerning it (Isa_48:7, Isa_48:8), when the thing seemed utterly impossible, and you would scarcely have given any one the hearing who should have told you of it. God had shown them hidden things which were out of the reach of their knowledge, and done for them great things, out of the reach of their power: Now, says he (Isa_48:6), thou hast heard; see all this.

Thou hast heard the prophecy; see the accomplishment of it, and observe whether the word and works of God do not exactly agree; and will you not declare it, that as you have heard so you have seen? Will you not own that the Lord is the true God, the only true God, that he has the knowledge and power which no creature has and which none of the gods of the nations can pretend to? Will you not own that your God has been a good God to you? Declare this to his honour, and your own shame, who have dealt so deceitfully with him and preferred others before him.

5. JAMISON, Not like natural results from existing causes, the events when they took place were like acts of creative power, such as had never before been from the beginning.

even before the day when rather [Maurer], And before the day (of their occurrence) thou hast not heard of them; that is, by any human acuteness; they are only heard of by the present inspired announcement.

6. CALVIN, 7.Now for the first time have they been created. The Prophet shews that he is not

reasoning about things that are known, or that have been learned by actual experience; and his object is,

not merely to correct that haughtiness which is natural to all men, (for they claim for themselves what

belongeth to God alone,) but likewise that no part of this event may be ascribed to fortune or to any other

cause. In various ways do men rob God of the glory that is due to him, and direct all their faculties

towards distributing among the creatures that which belongs to Him alone, so as to leave Him nothing but

a bare and empty name. That the people might not think that they had been vanquished by the power of

the Babylonians, or that it was by human strength or by chance that they were afterwards restored to

liberty, on this account he so frequently repeats and reiterates, that this is the work of God.

Thou hadst not heard those things. When he affirms that had not heard them, some explain this to

mean that the people rejected God warnings, and did not listen to good counsels. But I think that the

Prophet meaning was different, namely, that what could not be known by human sagacity, and what had

been unknown to the Jews, has been revealed in such a manner that they cannot defraud the Holy Spirit

of the praise which is due to him; and this is very evident from the context.

8 You have neither heard nor understood;

from of old your ears have not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous you are;

you were called a rebel from birth.

1.BARNES, Yea, thou heardest not - This verse is designed to show not only that these events could not have been foreseen by them, but that when they were actually made known to them, they were stupid, dull, and incredulous. It is not only re-affirming what had been said in the previous verses, but is designed to show that they were characteristically and constantly a perverse, hardened, and insensible people. The phrase, thou heardest not, therefore means that they did not attend to these things when they were uttered, and were prone to disregard God, and all his predictions and promises.

Yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened - The word that which is here supplied by our translators, greatly obscures the sense. The meaning is, from the first, thine ear was not open to receive them (Lowth); that is, they were stupid, insensible, and uniformly prone to disregard the messages of God. To open the ear, denotes a prompt and ready attention to what God says (see Isa_50:5), and to close the ear denotes an unwillingness to listen to what is spoken by him.

For I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously - I knew that, as a people, you are characteristically false and perfidious. This does not refer to their conduct toward other nations, but to their conduct toward God. They were false and unfaithful to him, and the sense is, that if God had not foretold the destruction of Babylon and their deliverance from it so clearly that there could have been no misunderstanding of it, and no perversion, they would have also perverted this, and ascribed it to something else than to him. Perhaps they might, as their forefathers did, when they came out of Egypt Exo_32:4, have ascribed it to idols (compare Isa_48:5), and the result might have been a relapse into that very sin, to cure which was the design of removing them to Babylon.

And wast called - This was thy appropriate appellation.

From the womb - From the very commencement of your national history; from the very time when the nation was first organized (see the notes at Isa_44:2).

2. PULPIT, Thou heardest not 0 thou knewest not. Again we seem to hear the voice of complaint, as

in Isa_48:1, Isa_48:2, Isa_48:4. Israel had not "ears to hear" to any purpose such highly spiritual truths as

those of the coming section. They had not profited by what was taught concerning Christ in the Law and

the Psalms. From that time that thine ear was not opened; rather, from that time thine ear hath not

been open. "From that time" means "from of old," or "from the beginning."

3. GILL, Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened,.... This, as Kimchi rightly observes, is said by way of reproof; showing that they were so far from knowing these things before the prophecy of them was given out, that when it was, they did not hearken or listen to them; they did not understand them, nor receive and embrace them, but turned a deaf ear to them; their hearts being hardened, and they given up blindness of mind; which was the case of the Jews, even when the Messiah, the antitype of Cyrus, came, and there was a more clear revelation of Gospel truths, as was foretold, Isa_6:9. To this sense is the Targum, "yea, thou has not heard the words of the prophets; yea, thou hast not received the doctrine of the law; yea, thou hast not inclined thine ear to the words of the blessings and curses of the covenant I made with thee at Horeb:''

for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously: with God, and with one another, as they did; and were, as Jeremiah calls them, an assembly of treacherous men; and especially so they were in Christ's time, and to him; one of his own disciples treacherously betrayed him into the hands of the Jews, and they delivered him into the hands of the Gentiles to be crucified and slain; all which he knew before hand, Joh_6:64. And so the Lord knows all the wickedness and unfaithfulness of men, and of his own people, who are by nature children of wrath, as, others; yet this hindered not the designs of his grace, and the discoveries of his love to them, after expressed: and wast called a transgressor from the womb; from the time of their civil birth, as a

people and state, God was their Father that settled and established them; in this sense they were

his children, whom he begot, brought up, and nourished; though they rebelled against him, and

as soon almost as born, soon after they came out of Egypt, which were the days of their youth, of

their infancy as a church and people; witness their murmurings and unbelief, their idolatry in

making a golden calf, and worshipping it: and this is applicable to every particular person, and

his natural birth, even to everyone of God's elect; who are all conceived in sin, and shapen in

iniquity; go astray from God from the womb; and the imagination of whose heart is evil from

their youth, and are continually transgressing the righteous law of God, and therefore justly

deserve this name.

4. HENRY, How deceitful they would be and how insincere in that which is good, Isa_48:8. God sent his prophets to them, but they did not hear, they would not know, and it was no more than was expected, considering what they had been. Thou wast called, and not miscalled, a transgressor from the womb. Ever since they were first formed into a people they were prone to idolatry; they brought with them out of Egypt a strange addictedness to that sin; and they were murmurers as soon as ever they began their march to Canaan. They were justly upbraided with it then, Deu_9:7, Deu_9:24. Therefore I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously. God foresaw their apostasy, and gave this reason for it, that he had always found them false and fickle, Deu_31:16, Deu_31:27, Deu_31:29. This is applicable to particular persons. We are all born children of disobedience; we were called transgressors from the womb, and therefore it is easy to foresee that we shall deal treacherously, very treacherously. Where original sin is actual sin will follow of course. God knows it, and yet deals not with us according to our deserts.

5. JAMISON, heardest not repeated, as also knewest not, from Isa_48:7.

from that time Omit that. Yea, from the first thine ear did not open itself, namely, to obey them [Rosenmuller]. To open the ear denotes obedient attention (Isa_50:5); or, was not opened to receive them; that is, they were not declared by Me to thee previously, since, if thou hadst been informed of them, such is thy perversity, thou couldst not have been kept in check [Maurer]. In the former view, the sense of the words following is, For I knew that, if I had not foretold the destruction of Babylon so plainly that there could be no perverting of it, thou wouldst have perversely ascribed it to idols, or something else than to Me (Isa_48:5). Thus they would have relapsed into idolatry, to cure them of which the Babylonian captivity was sent: so they had done (Exo_32:4). After the return, and ever since, they have utterly forsaken idols.

wast called as thine appropriate appellation (Isa_9:6).

from the womb from the beginning of Israels national existence (Isa_44:2).

6. BI, Gods foreknowledge of mans sin

As in a looking-glass, let us see ourselves.

1. Let the unconverted man see his own picture. God has spoken quite as pointedly to you as ever He did to the seed of Israel. He has called you by providences of different kinds. As for the Bible, has it not often addressed you with a voice most clear and simple, Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die? You have, some of you, been called by the admonitions of godly parents; you were further invited to the path of holiness by loving friends in the Sabbath school. Frequently the voice of Gods minister has bidden you to come to Jesus from the pulpit; and conscience, a nearer pleader still, has echoed the voice of God. And yet it may be said, Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not, &c. Three times a yea is put in our text, as if to show Gods wonder at mans obstinacy, and the certainty that such was the state of the heart. It was certainly so. You heard, but it went in at one ear and out at the other; you heard and heard not.

2. More painful still is it to remember that in a certain degree the same accusation may be laid at the door of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even those who have received grace to become the sons of God, have not such a degree of spiritual sensibility as they should have. Having thus reminded you of your sin, trusting we may be led to confess it with deep humility, I have now an encouraging truth to tell to youthat all this folly and ignorance, and obstinacy, and rebellion on our part, was foreknown by God, and notwithstanding that foreknowledge, He yet has been pleased to deal with us in a way of mercy.

I. We shall endeavour to address the truth to THE BELIEVER.

1. The latter part of our text mentions a mournful fact, I knew that thou wouldest deal, &c. Thou art the beloved of heaven, redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on thy way to heaven, and yet thou hast dealt very treacherously; very treacherously with God, thy best friend; with Jesus, whose thou art; with the Holy Spirit, by whom alone thou canst be quickened unto life eternal. That word treacherously is one which a man would not like to have applied to himself in the common transactions of life; he would feel it to be very galling, and, if there were truth in it, very degrading. How treacherous you and I have been to our own vows and promises when we were first converted! Instead of a heavenly mind there have been carnal cares, worldly vanities, and thoughts of evil. Instead of service there has been disobedience; instead of fervency, lukewarmness; instead of patience, petulance; instead of faith, confidence in an arm of flesh. This is not all. It is not merely that we have failed in promises which were made in a period of excitement, but we have been treacherous to obligations which were altogether apart front voluntary vows on our part; we have been treacherous to the most blessed relationships which mercy could have instituted. Know ye not that ye are redeemed men and women, and therefore the property of the Lord Jesus? Have you not found yourselves full often spending your strength for self and for the world, and robbing Jesus of that which He purchased at so dear a price? Remember that we are soldiers of Christ, soldiers enlisted, sworn in for a life-long campaign. As soldiers, by cowardice, disobedience and desertion, we have been treacherous to a very shameful degree. You know what the military doom is of a treacherous soldier on earth! truly, if we had been accused, and condemned by court-martial, and ordered to be shot forthwith, we should have been dealt with most righteously. We have been armed, and carried bows and have turned back in the day of battle. Worst of

all is the fact that we have been treacherous to our Lord in a relationship where fidelity constitutes the very essence of bliss, I mean in the marriage bond which exists between our soul and Christ. We are one with Him, by eternal union one, and yet we treat Him ill! Never did He have a thought towards us that was unkind, never one faithless wandering of His holy immutable mind; but as for us, we have thought of a thousand lovers, and suffered our heart to be seduced by rivals, which were no more to be compared with Christ than darkness is to be compared with the blaze of noon.

2. We pass on to the Divine statement of the text, that all this was known. I knew. As the Lord foreknew the fountain of sin, so He knew all the streams which would gush from it. Wherein is the edification to the people of God?

(1) Adore the amazing grace of God.

(2) Our security is clearly manifest.

(3) This truth should tend very much to enhance our sense of the fulness which is treasured up in Christ Jesus.

God has provided for us in Christ, for all the necessities that can occur, for He has foreknown all these necessities.

II. I have to use the text in its relation to UNCONVERTED PERSONS. You have discovered lately the natural vileness of your heart. You have a deep regret for your long delay in seeking mercy. You are willing to acknowledge that there have been special aggravations in your case. Now, the Gospel says to you, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. All these sins, delays, aggravations, and rebellions of yours, were all foreknown to God; therefore, since He has sent the Gospel to you, be not slow to accept it since it is not possible that your sins, whatever they may be, can at all militate against the fact that if you believe and receive the Gospel, you shall be saved. For, if God had not intended to save men upon believing, then, since He foreknew these things, He would never have planned the plan of salvation at all. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

A transgressor from the womb

Native depravity

God here traces all the insincerity, stupidity, obstinacy, ignorance, and unbelief of sinners to the native depravity of their hearts, which led them to disregard His commands and to disbelieve His predictions. The text in this connection naturally leads us to conclude that mankind begin to sin as soon as they become capable of sinning.

I. WHAT WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND BY SIN. Sin is the transgression of the law. The law requires true love to God and man. The transgression of the law, therefore, must essentially consist in something which is directly opposite to pure, holy love. And there is nothing in nature more directly opposite to perfectly disinterested love, than interested love, or selfishness. So that all sin consists in the free, voluntary exercise of selfishness.

II. WHEN MANKIND BECAME CAPABLE OF SINNING. If sin be a voluntary moral exercise, they are not capable of sinning before they become moral agents. Perception, memory, and volition appear to be the essential powers or properties which constitute a free agent. Animals are free agents. They act freely and voluntarily in the view of motives. But God has endowed man with a moral faculty to discern moral good and evil. This we call conscience. Those who allow that a child four years old is a moral agent and knows what is right and wrong, will generally allow that a child two years old is a moral agent and knows what is right and what is

wrong. And where shall we stop? Why may we not suppose that a child one year old, or half a year old, is a moral agent, and knows what is right and what is wrong in some cases?

III. THEY DO SIN AS SOON AS THEY BECOME CAPABLE OF SINNING. They certainly discover, as early as possible, impatience, obstinacy, and revenge, which are sinful exercises in any moral agent that can distinguish between right and wrong. The testimony of observation on this subject is strengthened, at least, by the testimony of experience. Every person in the world is conscious of sinning, and of sinning as long ago as he can remember. And