Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

“Consider how he who was not yet born could have a people, unless he were in being before he was born. The prophet says this in his person, "From my mother's womb he gave me my name"; because the angel foretold that he would be called Jesus. Again, concerning the plots of Herod, he says, "He … concealed me in the shadow of his arm."”

“Hear, O islands, etc. In this part he pursues the order of the liberation more specifically; and concerning this he does two things. First the people confesses the benefits received; second it receives the promise of things to come, there, I said: in vain, etc. Concerning the first, four benefits are confessed. First, the privilege of the divine election; and it continues why the prophet had above enjoined the people, that they should announce it. Whence immediately is subjoined the voice of the people announcing, and saying, Hear. From the womb, choosing me in the fathers themselves. Ps. 21: From the womb of my mother, God, etc. Second, the efficacy of prayer: and he set the mouth, prayer, as a sword, penetrating even to the ears of God and the depths of his mercy, Eph. ult.: the sword of the spirit, etc. Third, the help of divine protection: in the shadow, that is, under the protection of his power, as an archer hides a chosen arrow, to preserve it. Ps. 16: under the shadow of thy wings, etc.; Ps. 26: he hath hidden me in his tabernacle, etc. Fourth, the glory of the divine power: and he said to me: in thee will I glory; through the great things shown in thee I will appear glorious. Above, 43: every one that calleth upon my name, etc. According to others, this is the voice of Cyrus, whose name was foretold by Isaiah above, 45, before he was born; whose threatening words were as a sword, and he was protected lest his grandfather should kill him, and was kept as a chosen arrow for the appointed time; to whom it was announced that the people of Israel was the servant of God. Otherwise it is expounded of Christ; whose name was foretold by the Angel; the word of preaching, a sword piercing hearts; protected, on account of the weakness of the flesh, by the power of the divinity, and chosen among all for the fulfilling of the salvation of the human race. And he is called Israel, because he was born of the people of Israel according to the flesh. I said: here the Lord promises future benefits: and first he promises the prophet Isaiah exaltation; second, to the people liberation, there, thus saith the Lord the redeemer, etc. Concerning the first, two things. First is set down the allegation of the prophet, setting forth his labor in preaching, although through the fault of the hearers no fruit followed: and he concludes: therefore my judgment, on my behalf, is with the Lord, before him, and my work, as pleasing to him. Jer. 6: the founder hath melted in vain, etc. Second, he sets down God's response: and now thus saith the Lord: and first is signified the acceptance of the allegation, that I may bring back, as if to say: choosing me from the womb of my mother for this, that I might recall his people to him. And yet Israel shall not altogether be gathered, to him through my preaching. And yet I am glorified, etc.; Habac. 3: God, the Lord, is my strength, etc. Second, the response itself is set down, and he said: it is a small thing, as if to say: so greatly will I honor thy ministry that not only among the Jews, but among all the nations, my salvation shall be announced through thee. Rom. 3: is he the God of the Jews only? etc. This too is plainly expounded of Christ, who by his preaching and the consummation of his death made little fruit among the Jews, but enlightened and saved the nations. Likewise also of Cyrus, though more forcedly, who through his kindnesses, according to the Lord's intention, recalled the people to the worship of God, and yet did not succeed, to whom dominion over many nations was given by God. Thus saith the Lord the redeemer, etc. Here he promises liberation: and concerning this he does two things. First he promises liberation; second he excludes their doubt, there, and Sion said, etc. Concerning the first, three things. First, the things preceding liberation, namely the veneration of the Jews, which was the cause of the liberation; recalling their former contempt: contemptible, on account of the people's weakness; abominable, on account of the singularity of their worship; a servant, on account of subjection to diverse nations, above, 18: to a nation rent asunder, etc.; and he sets down the veneration itself: kings shall see the great things I will show for thee, and shall adore, as, according to the letter, Nabuchodonosor, Dan. 2, and Cyrus, and his other princes honored Esdras. Another preamble is the exaltation of the liberating king, namely Cyrus: in an acceptable time, and he does not determine the time of the exaltation: acceptable, when it shall please me to save my people, I have heard, exalting thee into a kingdom, according to thy desire, and the fruit of the exaltation: and I have preserved, etc., for the fulfilling of the covenant of my people. Be revealed, that is, be enlightened. Or of Christ, who in his passion was despised, and judged as it were a servant. Below, 53: we saw him despised, etc., but afterward, according to the letter, adored by kings. Ps. 71: all kings shall adore him, etc.; in an acceptable time, namely the time of grace. 2 Cor. 6: behold, now is the time, etc. Second, he sets down the things consequent upon the liberation, promising to the liberated an abundance of good things: they shall feed in the ways; that is, they shall enjoy consolations as abundantly as sheep enjoy pastures, when they are found even in the way, beyond the usual. Ezech. 34: they shall rest in the grass, etc.; as to the absence of evils, both of want, he shall not hunger, etc., and of harm inflicted, the heat, of tribulation; and the sun, the tyrant causing it. Ps. 120: the sun shall not burn by day, etc.; and he assigns the cause of both. Because he that is merciful, etc.; of waters, of consolations. Ps. 22: the Lord ruleth me. Third, he promises the liberation itself, setting down the preparation of the ways: and I will make all the mountains; that is, the princes will help you to return. Above, 40: every valley shall be filled, etc.; setting down also the return of the captives: behold these from afar, from the east, the sea, the west. Jer. 31: I will bring them from the north, etc.; he sets down also the giving of thanks: praise, ye heavens, etc.; Ps. 68: let the heavens praise him, etc. And Sion said, etc. Here he excludes their doubt: and first that which arose from the divine indignation; second that which arose from their dejection, there, and thou shalt say in the heart, etc.; third that which arose from the power of the enemies, there, shall it be taken away, etc. Concerning the first, two things. First he sets down the doubt: hath forsaken, without help; and therefore I cannot hope for liberation. Baruch 4: I am forsaken, etc.; second he excludes it by the likeness of a mother: is it possible, etc.; Jer. 31: if a son honorable, etc.; third he applies the promise concerning the restoration of the city: and first as to the rebuilding of the walls, setting down the divine purpose: behold, in my hands; as if to say: thus I hold thee in memory, as one who writes, or makes some sign on his hand, that he may be mindful of some thing. Thy walls; as if to say, now I see the rebuilding of thy walls. Job 37: he hideth in the hands, etc.; Ps. 89: a thousand years before the eyes, etc.; and the manner of the fulfillment: builders have come, that is, rebuilders, namely Zorobabel, and Jesus, and others, already in my eyes; the scatterers, the Chaldeans. Zach. 4: the hands of Zorobabel, etc. Second, as to the habitation of men: and concerning this he does three things. First, the gathering together of the citizens: lift up round about, etc.; Baruch 4: look about, Jerusalem, etc. Second, the re-inhabiting of the city, showing that it shall be inhabited. As I live, the manner of an oath; as with an ornament — as a bride with garments, so the city is adorned with citizens. Below, 61: he hath clothed me with the garment of salvation, etc.; showing that it shall be filled with inhabitants: for the desert places, as to inhabitants, the solitudes, as to the tillers, the ruins, as to the destroyed walls. Zach. 2: it shall be inhabited without a wall, etc.; he shows also that it shall be emptied of enemies: and far, etc. Third, he foretells the multitude of the inhabitants: still shall the children of sterility say, that is, those who were born when thou didst believe thyself barren, emptied of inhabitants. Below, 54: enlarge the place of the tent, etc. And thou shalt say in the heart, etc. Here he excludes the second doubt: and first he sets down the wonder, and thou shalt say, out of wonder: barren, because there were not in me men who could beget children; destitute, of divine help. Below, 66: who hath ever heard such, etc. Second he excludes the doubt, setting down the manner of the multitude of the inhabitants: thus saith the Lord: as to four things. First, as to the divine inspiration: behold I will lift up the hand, as it were making a sign; above, 11: he shall lift up a sign among the nations, etc. Second, as to the honorable bringing back: and they shall bring in the arms, in which is signified the help which they had from the nations. Kings, foster-fathers, providing for thee in necessities. Baruch 5: the Lord will bring them to thee, etc. Third, as to the exaltation of the liberated: with the face to the earth, this especially at the time of the Machabees; below, 40: they shall come to thee bowed down, etc. Fourth, he assigns the reason for this: and thou shalt know that I, etc.; Ps. 70: in thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be confounded, etc. Shall it be taken away. Here he excludes the third doubt: and first he sets it down, from the strong, Nabuchodonosor; Matth. 12: or how can one enter, etc. Second he excludes it: for thus he saith, first setting down the benefit of the liberation: the captivity, namely of the Jews. Job 29: I broke the jaws of the wicked one, etc.; second, the manner of the liberation, setting down the destruction of the enemies. But them, namely the Chaldeans, they judged, unjustly. Soph. 3: I will kill, etc.; and he sets down the determination of the punishment: and I will feed: either on account of dissension, as above, 9: every man the flesh of the arm, etc., or on account of the multitude of the dead, while the mouth of one fell upon the blood of another, as if he would drink: or on account of famine. Third, he sets down the fruit of the liberation: and all flesh shall know, etc.; above, 40: all flesh shall see, etc.”

“Here, I. An auditory is summoned together and attention demanded. The sermon in the foregoing chapter was directed to the house of Jacob and the people of Israel, Isa 49:1, Isa 49:12. But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen 10:5) and to the people from far, that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and afar off. Let these listen (Isa 49:1) as to a thing at a distance, which yet they are to hear with desire and attention. Note, 1. The tidings of a Redeemer are sent to the Gentiles, and to those that lie most remote; and they are concerned to listen to them. 2. The Gentiles listened to the gospel when the Jews were deaf to it. II. The great author and publisher of the redemption produces his authority from heaven for the work he had undertaken. 1. God had appointed him and set him apart for it: The Lord has called me from the womb to this office and made mention of my name, nominated me to be the Saviour. By an angel he called him Jesus - a Saviour, who should save his people from their sins, Mat 1:21. Nay, from the womb of the divine counsels, before all worlds, he was called to this service, and help was laid upon him; and he came at the call, for he said, Lo, I come, with an eye to what was written of him in the volume of the book. This was said of some of the prophets, as types of him, Jer 1:5. Paul was separated to the apostleship from his mother's womb, Gal 1:15. 2. God had fitted and qualified him for the service to which he designed him. He made his mouth like a sharp sword, and made him like a polished shaft, or a bright arrow, furnished him with every thing necessary to fight God's battles against the powers of darkness, to conquer Satan, and bring back God's revolted subjects to their allegiance, by his word: that is the two-edged sword (Heb 4:12) which comes out of his mouth, Rev 19:15. The convictions of the word are the arrows that shall be sharp in the hearts of sinners, Psa 45:5. 3. God had preferred him to the service for which he had reserved him: He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand and in his quiver, which denotes, (1.) Concealment. The gospel of Christ, and the calling in of the Gentiles by it, were long hidden from ages and generations, hidden in God (Eph 3:5, Rom 16:25), hidden in the shadow of the ceremonial law and the Old Testament types. (2.) Protection. The house of David was the particular care of the divine Providence, because that blessing was in it. Christ in his infancy was sheltered from the rage of Herod. 4. God had owned him, had said unto him, "Thou art my servant, whom I have employed and will prosper; thou art Israel, in effect, the prince with God, that hast wrestled and prevailed; and in thee I will be glorified." The people of God are Israel, and they are all gathered together, summed up, as it were, in Christ, the great representative of all Israel, as the high priest who had the names of all the tribes on his breastplate; and in him God is and will be glorified; so he said by a voice from heaven, Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28. Some read the words in two clauses: Thou art my servant (so Christ is, Isa 42:1); it is Israel in whom I will be glorified by thee; it is the spiritual Israel, the elect, in the salvation of whom by Jesus Christ God will be glorified, and his free grace for ever admired. III. He is assured of the good success of his undertaking; for whom God calls he will prosper. And as to this, 1. He objects the discouragement he had met with at his first setting out (Isa 49:4): "Then I said, with a sad heart, I have laboured in vain; those that were ignorant, and careless, and strangers to God, are so still: I have called, and they have refused; I have stretched out my hands to a gainsaying people." This was Isaiah's complaint, but it was no more than he was told to expect, Isa 6:9. The same was a temptation to Jeremiah to resolve he would labour no more, Jer 20:9. It is the complaint of many a faithful minister, that has not loitered, but laboured, not spared, but spent, his strength, and himself with it, and yet, as to many, it is all in vain and for nought; they will not be prevailed with to repent and believe. But here it seems to point at the obstinacy of the Jews, among whom Christ went in person preaching the gospel of the kingdom, laboured and spent his strength, and yet the rulers and the body of the nation rejected him and his doctrine; so very few were brought in, when one would think none should have stood out, that he might well say, "I have laboured in vain, preached so many sermons, wrought so many miracles, in vain." Let not the ministers think it strange that they are slighted when the Master himself was. 2. He comforts himself under this discouragement with this consideration, that it was the cause of God in which he was engaged and the call of God that engaged him in it: Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, who is the Judge of all, and my work with my God, whose servant I am. His comfort is, and it may be the comfort of all faithful ministers, when they see little success of their labours, (1.) That, however it be, it is a righteous cause that they are pleading. They are with God, and for God; they are on his side, and workers together with him. They like not their judgment, the rule they go by, nor their work, the business they are employed in, ever the worse for this. The unbelief of men gives them no cause to suspect the truth of their doctrine, Rom 3:3. (2.) That their management of this cause, and their prosecution of this work, were known to God, and they could appeal to him concerning their sincerity, and that it was not through any neglect of theirs that they laboured in vain. "He knows the way that I take; my judgment is with the Lord, to determine whether I have not delivered my soul and left the blood of those that perish on their own heads." (3.) Though the labour be in vain as to those that are laboured with, yet not as to the labourer himself, if he be faithful: his judgment is with the Lord, who will justify him and bear him out, though men condemn him and run him down; and his work (the reward of his work) is with his God, who will take care he shall be no loser, no, not by his lost labour. (4.) Though the judgment be not yet brought forth unto victory, nor the work to perfection, yet both are with the Lord, to carry them on and give them success, according to his purpose, in his own way and time. 3. He receives from God a further answer to this objection, Isa 49:5, Isa 49:6. He knew very well that God had set him on work, had formed him from the womb to be his servant, had not only called him so early to it (Isa 49:1), but begun so early to fit him for it and dispose him to it. Those whom God designs to employ as his servants he is fashioning and preparing to be so long before, when perhaps neither themselves nor others are aware of it. It is he that forms the spirit of man within him. Christ was to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, that had treacherously departed from him. The seed of Jacob therefore, according to the flesh, must first be dealt with, and means used to bring them back. Christ, and the word of salvation by him, are sent to them first; nay, Christ comes in person to them only, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But what if Jacob will not be brought back to God and Israel will not be gathered? So it proved; but this is a satisfaction in that case, (1.) Christ will be glorious in the eyes of the Lord; and those are truly glorious that are so in God's eyes. Though few of the Jewish nation were converted by Christ's preaching and miracles, and many of them loaded him with ignominy and disgrace, yet God put honour upon him, and made him glorious, at his baptism, and in his transfiguration, spoke to him from heaven, sent angels to minister to him, made even his shameful death glorious by the many prodigies that attended it, much more his resurrection. In his sufferings God was his strength, so that though he met with all the discouragement imaginable, by the contempts of a people whom he had done so much to oblige, yet he did not fail nor was discouraged. An angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him, Luk 22:43. Faithful ministers, though they see not the fruit of their labours, shall yet be accepted of God, and in that they shall be truly glorious, for his favour is our honour; and they shall be assisted to proceed and persevere in their labours notwithstanding. This weakens their hands, but their God will be their strength. (2.) The gospel shall be glorious in the eyes of the world; though it be not so in the eyes of the Jews, yet it shall be entertained by the nations, Isa 49:6. The Messiah seemed as if he had been primarily designed to bring Jacob back, Isa 49:5. But he is here told that it is comparatively but a small matter; a higher orb of honour than that, and a larger sphere of usefulness, are designed him: "It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob to the dignity and dominion they expect by the Messiah, and to restore the preserved of Israel, and make them a flourishing church and state as formerly" (nay, considering what a little handful of people they are, it would be but a small matter, in comparison, for the Messiah to be the Saviour of them only); "and therefore I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles (many great and mighty nations by the gospel of Christ shall be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God), that thou mayest be my salvation, the author of that salvation which I have designed for lost man, and this to the end of the earth, to nations at the greatest distance." Hence Simeon learned to call Christ a light to lighten the Gentiles (Luk 2:32), and St. Paul's exposition of this text is what we ought to abide by, and it serves for a key to the context, Act 13:47. Therefore, says he, we turn to the Gentiles, to preach the gospel to them, because so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles. In this the Redeemer was truly glorious, though Israel was not gathered; the setting up of his kingdom in the Gentile world was more his honour than if he had raised up all the tribes of Jacob. This promise is in part fulfilled already, and will have a further accomplishment, if that time be yet to come which the apostle speaks of, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in. Observe, God calls it his salvation, which some think intimates how well pleased he was with it, how he gloried in it, and (if I may so say) how much his heart was upon it. They further observe that Christ is given for a light to all those to whom he is given for salvation. It is in darkness that men perish. Christ enlightens men's eyes, and so makes them holy and happy.”

“Listen, O isles, unto me,.... These are not the words of Cyrus, as Lyra mentions; nor of the Prophet Isaiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and other Jewish writers think; but of Christ, calling upon the inhabitants of the isles to hearken to him; by whom are meant the inhabitants of islands properly so called, as ours of Great Britain, and may be chiefly designed, being a place where the Gospel of Christ came early, and has been long; or all such that dwell in countries beyond the sea, it being usual with the Jews to call all such countries isles that were beyond sea to them; Christ is the great Prophet of his church, and is alone to be hearkened unto, and in all things, Mat 17:5, and hearken, ye people, from far; that were afar off from the land of Judea, as well as afar off from God and Christ, and the knowledge of him, and of righteousness and salvation by him; the Gentile nations are meant; see Eph 2:12, for this is to be understood of kingdoms afar off, as the Targum paraphrases it; and not of distant and future things, to be accomplished hereafter, as Aben Ezra; taking this to be the subject they are required to hearken to, and not as descriptive of persons that are to hearken: the Lord hath called me from the womb; to the office of a Mediator; to be Prophet, Priest, and King; to be the Saviour and Redeemer of men; he did not assume this to himself, but was called of God his Father, Heb 5:4, and that not only from the womb of his mother Mary, or as soon as he was conceived and born of her; but from the womb of eternity, from the womb of eternal purposes and decrees; for he was set forth, or foreordained in the purposes of God, to be the propitiation for sin; and was predestinated to be the Redeemer before the foundation of the world, even before he had a being in this world as man. So the Targum, "the Lord, before I was, appointed me;'' he prepared a body for him, and appointed him to be his salvation. The Syriac version join, the words "from far" to this clause, as do the Septuagint and Arabic versions, contrary to the accents, and renders them, "of a long time the Lord hath called me, from the womb"; even from eternity: from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name; Jarchi interprets this of Isaiah, whose name was fixed and given him by the Lord, while he was in his mother's bowels, signifying that he should prophesy of salvation and comfort; but it is much better to understand it of Christ, whose name Jesus, a Saviour, was made mention of by the Lord, while he was in his mother's womb, and before he was born, Mat 1:20, for the words may be rendered, "before the womb, and before the bowels of my mother" (r); that is, before he was in them. (r) "ante uterum----ante viscera matris meae", h. e. "antequam essem in utero, et in visceribus matris meae", Vitringa.”

“Give. This fresh discourse continues to chap. lvi. 9., relating to the Messias, who is introduced speaking to all the world, Acts xiii. 47., and 2 Corinthians vi. 2. Some apply a part to Cyrus, Isaias, or John the Baptist, as to his figures. (Calmet) — The prophet has foretold the conversion of the Gentiles, as he now does, like an evangelist. (St. Jerome) — Many Jews will embrace the gospel at the end of time. (Worthington)”

“This address is to the converted Gentiles. Islands and peoples from afar are hero identical. a The prophet was chosen from the beginning of his existence : but the words especially suit Christ Himself. "Wl^t now appears obscure to the hearers, will afterwards be made known to all nations, when the angel Gabriel shall say to Joseph, concerning the child of the Yirgin: 'Ho shall save His people.*" St Jerome.”

“The very same person who was introduced by Jehovah in Isa 42:1. here speaks for himself, commencing thus in Isa 49:1-3 : "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye nations afar off: Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from my mother's lap hath He remembered my name. And He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me into a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He concealed me. And He said to me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, thou in whom I glorify myself." Although the speaker is called Israel in Isa 49:3, he must not be regarded as either a collective person representing all Israel, or as the collective personality of the kernel of Israel, which answered to its true idea. It is not the former, because in Isa 49:5 he is expressly distinguished from the nation itself, which is the immediate object of his special work as restorer and (according to Isa 49:8 and Isa 42:6) covenant-mediator also; not the latter, because the nation, whose restoration he effects, according to Isa 49:5, was not something distinct from the collective personality of the "servant of Jehovah" in a national sense, but rather the entire body of the "servants of Jehovah" or remnant of Israel (see, for example, Isa 65:8-16). Moreover, it cannot be either of these, because what he affirms of himself is expressed in such terms of individuality, that they cannot be understood as employed in a collective sense at all, more especially where he speaks of his mother's womb. In every other case in which Israel is spoken of in this way, we find only "from the womb" (mibbeten, Isa 44:2, Isa 44:24; Isa 56:3, along with minnı̄-racham; also Isa 48:8), without the addition of אם (mother), which is quite unsuitable to the collective body of the nation (except in such allegorical connections as Isa 51:1-2, and Eze 16:3). Is it then possibly the prophet, who is here speaking of himself and refers in Isa 49:1 to his own mother (compare אמּי in Jer 15:10; Jer 20:14, Jer 20:17)? This is very improbable, if only because the prophet, who is the medium of the word of God in these prophecies, has never placed himself in the foreground before. In Isa 40:6 he merely speaks of himself indirectly; in Isa 44:26, even if he refer to himself at all (which we greatly doubt), it is only objectively; and in Isa 48:16, the other person, into whose words the words of Jehovah pass, cannot be the prophet, for the simple reason that the transition of the words of Jehovah into those of His messenger is essentially different in this instance from the otherwise frequent interchange of the words of Jehovah and those of His prophet, and also because the messenger of Jehovah speaks of himself there, after the "former things" have come to pass, as the mediator (either in word or deed) of the "new things" which were never heard of before, but are to be expected now; whereas the author of these addresses was also the prophet of the "former things," and therefore the messenger referred to rises up within the course of sacred history predicted by the author of these prophecies. Moreover, what the speaker in this case (Isa 49:1-2) says of himself is so unique, so glorious, that it reaches far beyond the vocation and performance of any single prophet, or, in fact, of any individual man subject to the limitations of human life and human strength. There is nothing else left, therefore, than to suppose that the idea implied in the expression "servant of Jehovah" is condensed in this instance, as in Isa 42:1., into that of a single person. When it is expanded to its widest circumference, the "servant of Jehovah" is all Israel; when it only covers its smaller and inner circle, it is the true people of Jehovah contained within the entire nation, like the kernel in the shell (see the definition of this at Isa 51:7; Isa 65:10; Psa 24:6; Psa 73:15); but here it goes back to its very centre. The "servant of Jehovah," in this central sense, is the heart of Israel. From this heart of Israel the stream of salvation flows out, first of all through the veins of the people of God, and thence through the veins of the nations generally. Just as Cyrus is the world-power in person, as made subservient to the people of God, so the servant of Jehovah, who is speaking here, is Israel in person, as promoting the glorification of Jehovah in all Israel, and in all the world of nations: in other words, it is He in whom the true nature of Israel is concentrated like a sun, in whom the history of Israel is coiled up as into a knot for a further and final development, in whom Israel's world-wide calling to be the Saviour of mankind, including Israel itself, is fully carried out; the very same who took up the word of Jehovah in Isa 48:16, in the full consciousness of His fellowship with Him, declaring Himself to be His messenger who had now appeared. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that throughout these prophecies the breaking forth of salvation, not for Israel only, but for all mankind, is regarded as bound up with the termination of the captivity; and from this its basis, the restoration of the people who were then in exile, it is never separated. This fact is of great importance in relation to the question of authorship, and favours the conclusion that they emanated from a prophet who lived before the captivity, and not in the midst of it. Just as in chapter 7 Isaiah sees the son of the virgin grow up in the time of the Assyrian oppressions, and then sees his kingdom rising up on the ruins of the Assyrian; so does he here behold the servant of Jehovah rising up in the second half of the captivity, as if born in exile, in the midst of the punishment borne by his people, to effect the restoration of Israel. At the present time, when he begins to speak, coming forward without any further introduction, and speaking in his own name (a unique instance of dramatic style, which goes beyond even Psa 2:1-12), he has already left behind him the commencement of his work, which was directed towards the salvation of mankind. His appeal is addressed to the "isles," which had been frequently mentioned already when the evangelization of the heathen was spoken of (Isa 42:4, Isa 42:10, Isa 42:12; cf., Isa 24:15), and to the "nations from afar," i.e., the distant nations (as in Isa 5:26; compare, on the other hand, Jer 23:23). They are to hear what he says, not merely what he says in the words that follow, but what he says generally. What follows is rather a vindication of his right to demand a hearing and obedience, then the discourse itself, which is to be received with the obedience of faith; at the same time, the two are most intimately connected. Jehovah has called him ab utero, has thought of his name from the bowels of his mother (מעי as in Psa 71:6), i.e., even before he was born; ever since his conception has Jehovah assigned to him his calling, viz., his saving calling. We call to mind here Jer 1:5; Luk 1:41; Gal 1:15, but above all the name Immanuel, which is given by anticipation to the Coming One in Isa 7:14, and the name Jesus, which God appointed through the mouth of angels, when the human life of Him who was to bear that name was still ripening in the womb of the Virgin (Mat 1:20-23). It is worthy of notice, however, that the great Coming One, though he is described in the Old Testament as one who is to be looked for "from the seed of David," is also spoken of as "born of a woman," whenever his entrance into the world is directly referred to. In the Protevangelium he is called, though not in an individual sense, "the seed of the woman;" Isaiah, in the time of Ahaz, mentions "the virgin" as his mother; Micah (Mic 5:2) speaks of his יולדה; even the typical psalms, as in Psa 22:10-11, give prominence to the mother. And is not this a sign that prophecy is a work of the Spirit, who searches out the deep things of the counsel of God? In Isa 49:2 the speaker says still further, that Jehovah has made his mouth kecherebh chaddâh (like a sharp sword), namely, that he may overcome everything that resists him as if with a sharp sword, and sever asunder things that are bound up together in a pernicious bond (Isa 11:4; Rev 1:16; Heb 4:12); also that He has made him into chēts bârūr (not βέλος εκλεκτόν, lxx, but, as in Jer 51:11, cleaned, (Note: The comparison to purus is one that naturally suggests itself; but this, like putus, is derived from a root pū.) polished, sharpened, pointed), namely, to pierce the hearts (Psa 45:6), and inflict upon them the most wholesome wounds; and again, that Jehovah has hidden him under the shadow of His almighty hand, and kept him concealed in the quiver of His loving counsel, just girt as men keep their swords and arrows in sheaths and quivers ready for the time when they want to use them, in order that in the fulness of time He might draw out this His sword, and put this His arrow to the bow. The question whether the allusion here is to the time preceding the foreknown period of his coming, or whether it is to eternity that the words refer, does not present any great dilemma; at the same time, the prophecy in this instance only traces back the being of the person, who now appears, to the remotest point of his historical coming. Isa 49:3 describes, without any figure, what Jehovah has made him. He has said to him (cf., Psa 2:7): Thou art my servant; thou art Israel, in whom (in quo, as in Isa 44:23) I glorify myself. Schenkel's exposition is grammatically impossible: "(It is) in Israel that I will glorify myself through thee." The servant himself is called Israel. We call to mind here the expression in Mat 16:18, "Thou art Peter;" and the use of the name "Israel," as the individuation of a generic name, reminds us of the fact that the kings of a nation are sometimes called by the name of the nation itself (e.g., Asshur, Isa 10:5.). But Israel was from the very first the God-given name of an individual. Just as the name Israel was first of all given to a man, and then after that to a nation, so the name which sprang from a personal root has also a personal crown. The servant of Jehovah is Israel in person, inasmuch as the purpose of mercy, upon the basis of which and for the accomplishment of which Jehovah made Jacob the father of the twelve-tribed nation, is brought by him into full and final realization. We have already seen that Israel, as an entire nation, formed the basis of the idea contained in the term "servant of Jehovah;" Israel, regarded as a people faithful to its calling, the centre; and the personal servant of Jehovah its apex. In the present instance, where he is called distinctly "Israel," the fact is clearly expressed, that the servant of Jehovah in these prophecies is regarded as the kernel of the kernel of Israel, as Israel's inmost centre, as Israel's highest head. He it is in whom (i.e., on whom and through whom) Jehovah glorifies Himself, inasmuch as He carried out through him the counsels of His love, which are the self-glorification of His holy love, its glory and its triumph.”