O Lord, thou art my God, I will exalt thee, and give glory to thy name: for thou hast done wonderful things, thy designs of old faithful, amen.

“The "wonders" of Isaiah were the promises to the Gentiles, and not to Israel, of anointing with sweet-smelling oil and myrrh. They naturally received the name of Christian from this anointing. In addition he promises the "wine of joy" to the Gentiles, using a shadow to allude to the sacrament of the new covenant of Christ, which is now openly celebrated among the Gentiles.”

“My God. The first person singular refers to the prophet, or these are the words which every one of the ancients is represented speaking (24:23). עצות מרחוק Counsels of old. Objective case governed by עשית thou hast done.—The counsels of oldare the plans of God predicted by the prophets. אמונה אמן With faithfulness and truth. As to the repetition אמונה אמן comp. עזי ומעזי my strength and my fortress (Jer. 16:19).”

“O Lord God. Here the giving of thanks is set forth: and first, concerning the exaltation of the people; second, concerning their justification: ch. 26: in that day; third, concerning the Father's correction: ch. 27: in that day. The first is divided into two. In the first, the giving of thanks is set forth: I will exalt you, in preaching you loftily among others; I will confess, in giving thanks within myself. Ps. 9: I will confess to you, Lord, with my whole heart. Second, the matter of the thanksgiving is set forth: for you have done. And first, in general, as to the greatness of the deeds: wonders. Job 9: who does great things, etc. As to the fulfillment of the promises: faithful. Ecclus. 36: give a reward, Lord, to those who wait for you, that your prophets may be found faithful. Amen, that is, truly. Second, in particular: for you have made; and first, the works that pertain to the putting down of evils; second, those that pertain to the exaltation of good things: and the Lord will make. Concerning the first, three things. First he threatens the scourge of punishment; second, the fruit of the punishment: upon this; third, the manner of the punishment: as. He says therefore first: the city. Of Jerusalem; of strangers, estranged from God, namely of the Jews; it shall not be rebuilt forever: for neither afterward in the same place, above, 17: behold, Damascus shall cease to be a city. Micah 3: Zion shall be as a field. Ezek. 27: you have been brought to nothing. Or, of Babylon, or of any other city of the Gentiles opposing them. Upon this. Here he sets forth the fruit, in the subjection of men to God. And first he sets forth two signs of subjection. Praise: the strong shall praise you, however much subject to you; or, the Gentile people, strong in sufferings. Fear: whatever city shall fear you. Below, 60: the strength of the nations shall come to you. Second, he assigns the reason, which he first sets forth: for you have been made; to the poor, who has little though sufficient for himself; to the needy, who is in want. Ps. 93: the Lord has become for me a refuge, and my God the help of my hope. Second, he sets forth a comparison: hope, of defense, from the whirlwind, on account of the violence of the persecutor; a shelter, of consolation, from the heat, on account of the affliction of persecution. Below, 32: a man shall be as. Third, he sets forth the exposition. Spirit, that is, indignation and pride. Above, 21: as whirlwinds come from the south, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. As the heat. Here he sets forth the manner of the punishment as to affliction: as heat in thirst, it afflicts. Tumult, proud clamor, as to barrenness. And as heat under a cloud, gathered from the south wind, by which also sometimes, on account of excessive heat, the fruits of the vine are destroyed. James 1: the sun arose with burning heat, and dried up the grass, and its flower fell. And the Lord will make. Here he sets forth the things that pertain to the exaltation of the good: and this in three ways. First, as to the abundance of honor, which he describes under the metaphor of a feast, which is prepared from fat animals and refined wine, on this mountain, because there Christ suffered, whence all good things have come to us; or because there he will judge, as is said, Matt. 22: behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatlings are killed. Second, as to the removal of evils: and he will cast down, as to the punishment of death, which he calls a bond insofar as we are bound to it by sin, and (the web) insofar as it is ordained by the just sentence of God. 1 Cor. 15: death is swallowed up in victory. Hosea 13: I will be your death, O death; your bite, O Hell. The sadness of sorrow, and he will take away. Rev. 21: God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saints. The shame of confusion: and reproach. Above, 4: take away, etc. Some refer this to the judgment rendered in the death of Holofernes, who came against all nations; and likewise concerning the feast. And he sets forth the giving of thanks. And they shall say: we have waited, expecting patiently. Ecclus. 2: you who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy. And he sets forth the reason: for he shall rest, with whom no evil can be. Ps. 131: this is my rest for ever and ever. Third, as to the oppression of enemies, namely of the Moabites, who on account of sleep were especially hostile to them. And first he sets forth their affliction: it shall be threshed. Amos 1: they threshed Gilead with iron wagons. Second, their complete subjection: he will stretch out his hands, as one prostrate, and seeking mercy or aid. Below, 49: he shall come; and the destruction of the fortifications, and the fortresses, concerning which see above, 16. Note, on that word, I will confess to the name, that confession is manifold. The first, of humility. James, last chapter: confess your sins to one another. The second, of truth. Rom. 10: with the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The third, of praise. Ps. 32: confess to the Lord on the harp. The fourth, of thanksgiving. Above, 12: I will confess to you, Lord, for you were angry with me: your fury is turned away, and you have comforted me. Also, note on that word, amen, that amen is Hebrew: and sometimes it is a verb, that is, let it be done. Deut. 27: and all the people shall say, amen. Sometimes an adverb, that is, truly. John 6: amen, amen, I say to you. Sometimes a noun, that is, truth. Rev. 3: these things says the Amen. Sometimes it is Greek, without defect, from a, which is without, and mene, which is defect. Rom. 9: who is God blessed forever, amen. Note on that word, a feast of fat things, that there is a threefold feast. The first, the household feast of the Church militant: in which he sets forth three things. First, the bitterness of the passion. Exod. 12: you shall eat it with wild lettuce. 1 Cor. 11: as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, you shall proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Second, the sweetness of love. Wis. 16: you provided them bread from heaven without labor, having in itself every delight, and the sweetness of every taste. Third, fatness, as to its effect. Ps. 22: you have made my head fat with oil. The second is the private feast of the soul: in which he sets forth three things. First, the wine of love. Song 1: your breasts are better than wine. Second, the honey of contemplation. Ps. 118: how sweet are your words to my palate. More than honey to my mouth. Third, the milk of purification, and this for growing unto perfection. 1 Pet. 2: as rational ones, without guile, desire milk. The third is the solemn feast of the heavenly court; in which he sets forth three things. First, wine unto inebriation. Song 5: eat, friends, and drink, and be inebriated. Second, honey unto satiety. Ps. 16: I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear. Third, milk unto the perfection of body and soul. Song 5: your eyes are as doves.”

“It is said in the close of the foregoing chapter that the Lord of hosts shall reign gloriously; now, in compliance with this, the prophet here speaks of the glorious majesty of his kingdom (Psa 145:12), and gives him the glory of it; and, however this prophecy might have an accomplishment in the destruction of Babylon and the deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity there, it seems to look further, to the praises that should be offered up to God by the gospel church for Christ's victories over our spiritual enemies and the comforts he has provided for all believers. Here, I. The prophet determines to praise God himself; for those that would stir up others should in the first place stir up themselves to praise God (Isa 25:1): "O Lord! thou art my God, a God in covenant with me." When God is punishing the kings of the earth upon the earth, and making them to tremble before him, a poor prophet can go to him, and, with a humble boldness, say, O Lord! thou art my God, and therefore I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name. Those that have the Lord for their God are bound to praise him; for therefore he took us to be his people that we might be unto him for a name and for a praise, Jer 13:11. In praising God we exalt him; not that we can make him higher than he is, but we must make him to appear to ourselves and others than he does. See Exo 15:2. II. He pleases himself with the thought that others also shall be brought to praise God, Isa 25:3. "Therefore, because of the desolations thou hast made in the earth by thy providence (Psa 46:8) and the just vengeance thou hast taken on thy and thy church's enemies, therefore shall the strong people glorify thee in concert, and the city (the metropolis) of the terrible nations fear thee." This may be understood, 1. Of those people that have been strong and terrible against God. Those that have been enemies to God's kingdom, and have fought against the interests of it with a great deal of strength and terror, shall either be converted, and glorify God by joining with his people in his service, or at least convinced, so as to own themselves conquered. Those that have been the terror of the mighty shall be forced to tremble before the judgments of God and call in vain to rocks and mountains to hide them. Or, 2. Of those that shall be now made strong and terrible for God and by him, though before they were weak and trampled upon. God shall so visibly appear for and with those that fear him and glorify him that all shall acknowledge them a strong people and shall stand in awe of them. There was a time when many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them (Est 8:17), and when those that knew their God were strong and did exploits (Dan 11:32), for which they glorified God. III. He observes what is, and ought to be, the matter of this praise. We and others must exalt God and praise him; for, 1. He has done wonders, according to the counsel of his own will, Isa 25:1. We exalt God by admiring what he has done as truly wonderful, wonderful proofs of his power beyond what any creature could perform, and wonderful proofs of his goodness beyond what such sinful creatures as we are could expect. These wonderful things, which are new and surprising to us, and altogether unthought of, are according to his counsels of old, devised by his wisdom and designed for his own glory and the comfort of his people. All the operations of providence are according to God's eternal counsels (and those faithfulness and truth itself), all consonant to his attributes, consistent with one another, and sure to be accomplished in their season. 2. He has in particular humbled the pride, and broken the power, of the mighty ones of the earth (Isa 25:2): "Thou hast made of a city, of many a city, a heap of rubbish. Of many a defenced city, that thought itself well guarded by nature and art, and the multitude and courage of its militia, thou hast made a ruin." What created strength can hold out against Omnipotence? "Many a city so richly built that it might be called a palace, and so much frequented and visited by persons of the best rank from all parts that it might be called a palace of strangers, thou hast made to be no city; it is levelled with the ground, and not one stone left upon another, and it shall never be built again." This has been the case of many cities in divers parts of the world, and in our own nation particularly; cities that flourished once have gone to decay and are lost, and it is scarcely known (except by urns or coins digged up out of the earth) where they stood. How many of the cities of Israel have long since been heaps and ruins! God hereby teaches us that here we have no continuing city and must therefore seek one to come which will never be a ruin or go to decay. 3. He has seasonably relieved and succoured his necessitous and distressed people (Isa 25:4): Thou has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy. As God weakens the strong that are proud and secure, so he strengthens the weak that are humble and serious, and stay themselves upon him. Nay, he not only makes them strong, but he is himself their strength; for in him they strengthen themselves, and it is his favour that is the strength of their hearts. He is a strength to the needy in his distress, when he needs strength, and when his distress drives him to God. And, as he strengthens them against their inward decays, so he shelters them from outward assaults. He is a refuge from the storm of rain or hail, and a shadow from the scorching heat of the sun in summer. God is a sufficient protection to his people in all weathers, hot and cold, wet and dry. The armour of righteousness serves both on the right hand and on the left, Co2 6:7. Whatever dangers or troubles God's people may be in, effectual care is taken that they shall sustain no real hurt or damage. When perils are most threatening and alarming God will then appear for the safety of his people: When the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall, which makes a great noise, but cannot overthrow the wall. The enemies of God's poor are terrible ones; they do all they can to make themselves so to them. Their rage is like a blast of wind, loud, and blustering, and furious; but, like the wind, it is under a divine check; for God holds the winds in his fist, and God will be such a shelter to his people that they shall be able to stand the shock, keep their ground, and maintain their integrity and peace. A storm beating on a ship tosses it, but that which beats on a wall never stirs it, Psa 76:10; Psa 138:7. 4. That he does and will shelter those that trust in him from the insolence of their proud oppressors (Isa 25:5): Thou shalt, or thou dost, bring down the noise of strangers; thou shalt abate and still it, as the heat in a dry place is abated and moderated by the shadow of a cloud interposing. The branch, or rather the son or triumph, of the terrible ones shall be brought low, and they shall be made to change their note and lower their voice. Observe here, (1.) The oppressors of God's people are called strangers; for they forget that those they oppress are made of the same mould, of the same blood, with them. They are called terrible ones; for so they affect to be, rather than amiable ones: they would rather be feared than loved. (2.) Their insolence towards the people of God is noisy and hot, and that is all; it is but the noise of strangers, who think to carry their point by hectoring and bullying all that stand in their way, and talking big. Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise, Jer 46:17. It is like the heat of the sun scorching in the middle of the day; but where is it when the sun has set? (3.) Their noise, and heat, and all their triumph, will be humbled and brought low, when their hopes are baffled and all their honours laid in the dust. The branches, even the top branches, of the terrible ones, will be broken off, and thrown to the dunghill. (4.) If the labourers in God's vineyard be at any time called to bear the burden and heat of the day, he will find some way or other to refresh them, as with the shadow of a cloud, that they may not be pressed above measure.”

“O Lord, thou art my God,.... Not by creation and providence only, but by covenant and grace. This is the first and foundation blessing of grace, and secures all the rest; in this true happiness consists, and is preferable to every other enjoyment; the knowledge of it is come at in effectual calling, and by the witnessing of the Spirit; it is the highest attainment of grace to be assured of it; and though it is not always seen and known, it will always remain, and will be the glory of the New Jerusalem state, Rev 21:3. These are the words, Aben Ezra says, either of the prophet, or of the ancients, before whom the Lord will reign, Isa 24:23. Kimchi says of the latter, which seems very probable, these are the elders and representatives of the church; see Rev 11:16. I will exalt thee; the Lord God, Father, Son, and Spirit; the Father, by attributing the whole of salvation to his love and free favour; the Son, by ascribing deity to him, by making use of him in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, and by giving him the glory of salvation wrought out by him; the Spirit, in his person, and the operations of his grace. Christ, in particular, will be exalted in this state as King of saints, and because of his having taken to himself his reigning power, Rev 11:15. I will praise thy name; celebrate his perfections, confess him before men, praise him for all his benefits; this is one way of exalting him, and is the great work of New Testament saints, and especially in the latter day; see Rev 19:1. for thou hast done wonderful things; this respects not so much the wonderful things in nature and grace, either in creation and providence, or in redemption and effectual calling; but what will be done in the latter day; as the conversion of the Jews and Gentiles, the destruction of antichrist, and the glorious appearing of the kingdom of Christ: thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth; the decrees and purposes of God, which are from eternity, are all truly and faithfully performed; this is an amplification of the wonderful things which are done according to the counsel of the divine will; not only the choice of men to salvation, the redemption of them by Christ, and their effectual calling; but the calling of the Jews and Gentiles, in particular, in the latter day, and all things relating to the church to the end of time; which, as they were fixed in the eternal purpose of God, they are punctually and exactly brought about in time; these are the true and faithful sayings of God, Rev 19:9.”

“The first echo is Isa 25:1-8, or more precisely Isa 25:1-5. The prophet, whom we already know as a psalmist from Isa 12:1-6, now acts as choral leader of the church of the future, and praises Jehovah for having destroyed the mighty imperial city, and proved Himself a defence and shield against its tyranny towards His oppressed church. "Jehovah, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, that Thou hast wrought wonders, counsels from afar, sincerity, truth. For Thou hast turned it from a city into a heap of stones, the steep castle into a ruin; the palace of the barbarians from being a city, to be rebuilt no more for ever. Therefore a wild people will honour Thee, cities of violent nations fear Thee. For Thou provedst Thyself a stronghold to the lowly, a stronghold to the poor in his distress, as a shelter from the storm of rain, as a shadow from the burning of the sun; for the blast of violent ones was like a storm of rain against a wall. Like the burning of the sun in a parched land, Thou subduest the noise of the barbarians; (like) the burning of the sun through the shadow of a cloud, the triumphal song of violent ones was brought low." The introductory clause is to be understood as in Psa 118:28 : Jehovah (voc.), my God art Thou. "Thou hast wrought wonders:" this is taken from Exo 15:11 (as in Psa 77:15; Psa 78:12; like Isa 12:2, from Exo 15:2). The wonders which are now actually wrought are "counsels from afar" (mērâcōk), counsels already adopted afar off, i.e., long before, thoughts of God belonging to the olden time; the same ideal view as in Isa 22:11; Isa 37:26 (a parallel which coincides with our passage on every side), and, in fact, throughout the whole of the second part. It is the manifold "counsel" of the Holy One of Israel (Isa 5:19; Isa 14:24-27; Isa 19:12, Isa 19:17; Isa 23:8; Isa 28:29) which displays its wonders in the events of time. To the verb עשׂית we have also a second and third object, viz., אמן אמוּנה. It is a common custom with Isaiah to place derivatives of the same word side by side, for the purpose of giving the greatest possible emphasis to the idea (Isa 3:1; Isa 16:6). אמוּנה indicates a quality, אמן in actual fact. What He has executed is the realization of His faithfulness, and the reality of His promises. The imperial city is destroyed. Jehovah, as the first clause which is defined by tzakeph affirms, has removed it away from the nature of a city into the condition of a heap of stones. The sentence has its object within itself, and merely gives prominence to the change that has been effected; the Lamed is used in the same sense as in Isa 23:13 (cf., Isa 37:26); the min, as in Isa 7:8; Isa 17:1; Isa 23:1; Isa 24:10. Mappēlâh, with kametz or tzere before the tone, is a word that can only be accredited from the book of Isaiah (Isa 17:1; Isa 23:13). עיר, קריה, and אמרון are common parallel words in Isaiah (Isa 1:26; Isa 22:2; Isa 32:13-14); and zârim, as in Isa 1:7 and Isa 29:5, is the most general epithet for the enemies of the people of God. The fall of the imperial kingdom is followed by the conversion of the heathen; the songs proceed from the mouths of the remotest nations. Isa 25:3 runs parallel with Rev 15:3-4. Nations hitherto rude and passionate now submit to Jehovah with decorous reverence, and those that were previously oppressive (‛arı̄tzim, as in Isa 13:11, in form like pârı̄tzim, shâlı̄shı̄m) with humble fear. The cause of this conversion of the heathen is the one thus briefly indicated in the Apocalypse, "for thy judgments are made manifest" (Rev 15:4). דּל and אביון (cf., Isa 14:30; Isa 29:19) are names well known from the Psalms, as applying to the church when oppressed. To this church, in the distress which she had endured (לו בּצּר, as in Isa 26:16; Isa 63:9, cf., Isa 33:2), Jehovah had proved Himself a strong castle (mâ'ōz; on the expression, compare Isa 30:3), a shelter from storm and a shade from heat (for the figures, compare Isa 4:6; Isa 32:2; Isa 16:3), so that the blast of the tyrants (compare ruach on Isa 30:28; Isa 33:11, Ps. 76:13) was like a wall-storm, i.e., a storm striking against a wall (compare Isa 9:3, a shoulder-stick, i.e., a stick which strikes the shoulder), sounding against it and bursting upon it without being able to wash it away (Isa 28:17; Psa 62:4), because it was the wall of a strong castle, and this strong castle was Jehovah Himself. As Jehovah can suddenly subdue the heat of the sun in dryness (tzâyōn, abstract for concrete, as in Isa 32:2, equivalent to dry land, Isa 41:18), and it must give way when He brings up a shady thicket (Jer 4:29), namely of clouds (Exo 19:9; Psa 18:12), so did He suddenly subdue the thundering (shâ'on, as in Isa 17:12) of the hordes that stormed against His people; and the song of triumph (zâmı̄r, only met with again in Sol 2:12) of the tyrants, which passed over the world like a scorching heat, was soon "brought low" (‛ânâh, in its neuter radical signification "to bend," related to כּנע, as in Isa 31:4).”