Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 42
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 42
Matthew Henry Commentary
Isaiah 42
"Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law." — Isaiah 42:1-4 (ASV)
This prophecy was fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 12:17). Let our souls rely on him, and rejoice in him; then, for his sake, the Father will be well-pleased with us. The Holy Spirit not only came, but rested upon him, and without measure. He patiently bore the contradiction of sinners.
His kingdom is spiritual; he was not to appear with earthly honours. He is tender of those oppressed with doubts and fears, as a bruised reed; those who are as smoking flax, as the wick of a lamp newly lighted, which is ready to go out again. He will not despise them, nor lay upon them more work or more suffering than they can bear.
By a long course of miracles and his resurrection, he fully showed the truth of his holy religion. By the power of his gospel and grace he fixes principles in the minds of people, which tend to make them wise and just. The most distant nations wait for his law, wait for his gospel, and shall welcome it. If we would make our calling and election sure, and have the Father delight over us for good, we must behold, hear, believe in, and obey Christ.
"Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up [their voice], the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands." — Isaiah 42:5-12 (ASV)
The work of redemption brings humankind back to the obedience they owe to God as their Maker. Christ is the light of the world. By his grace, he opens the minds Satan has blinded and sets them free from the bondage of sin.
The Lord has supported his church. And now he makes new promises, which will be fulfilled just as certainly as the old ones were. When the Gentiles are brought into the church, he is glorified in them and by them.
Let us give to God those things that are his, being careful that we do not serve the creature more than the Creator.
"Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up [his] zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: [now] will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods." — Isaiah 42:13-17 (ASV)
The Lord will appear in his power and glory. He will cry, in the preaching of his word. He will cry aloud in the gospel woes, which must be preached with gospel blessings, to awaken a sleeping world.
He will conquer by the power of his Spirit. And those that contradict and blaspheme his gospel, He will put to silence and shame; and that which hinders its progress will be taken out of the way.
To those who by nature were blind, God will show the way to life and happiness by Jesus Christ. They are weak in knowledge, but He will make darkness light. They are weak in duty, but their way will be plain. Those whom God brings into the right way, He will guide in it.
This passage is a prophecy, and is also applicable to every believer; for the Lord will never leave nor forsake them.
"Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace [with me], and blind as Jehovah`s servant? Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not. It pleased Jehovah, for his righteousness` sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable. But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart." — Isaiah 42:18-25 (ASV)
Observe the call given to this people, and the character given of them. Multitudes are ruined by failing to observe what they cannot help but see; they perish, not through ignorance, but carelessness. The Lord is well-pleased in making known his own righteousness.
For their sins they were stripped of all their possessions. This was fully realized in the destruction of the Jewish nation. There is no resisting or escaping God's anger. See the harm sin causes; it provokes God to anger.
And those not humbled by lesser judgments, must expect greater. Alas! how many professed Christians are as blind as the unenlightened heathen! While the Lord is well-pleased in saving sinners through the righteousness of Christ, he will also glorify his justice, by punishing all proud despisers. Since God has poured out his wrath on his once-favored people because of their sins, let us fear, lest, a promise of entering into his rest being left to us, any of us should be found to come short of it.
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