1 O Jehovah, my God `art' Thou, I exalt Thee, I confess Thy name, For Thou hast done a wonderful thing, Counsels of old, stedfastness, O stedfast One.
My strength and song is JAH, And He is become my salvation: This `is' my God, and I glorify Him; God of my father, and I exalt Him.
My God Thou `art', and I confess Thee, My God, I exalt Thee.
Much hast Thou done, Jehovah my God; Thy wonders and Thy thoughts toward us, There is none to arrange unto Thee, I declare and speak: They have been more than to be numbered.
God `is' not a man -- and lieth, And a son of man -- and repenteth! Hath He said -- and doth He not do `it'? And spoken -- and doth He not confirm it?
I greatly rejoice in Jehovah, Joy doth my soul in my God, For He clothed me with garments of salvation, With a robe of righteousness covereth Me, As a bridegroom prepareth ornaments, And as a bride putteth on her jewels.
Declaring from the beginning the latter end, And from of old that which hath not been done, Saying, `My counsel doth stand, And all My delight I do.'
Exalt ye Jehovah our God, And bow yourselves at His footstool, holy `is' He.
Jehovah made void the counsel of nations, He disallowed the thoughts of the peoples. The counsel of Jehovah to the age standeth, The thoughts of His heart to all generations.
And I saw the heaven having been opened, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth he judge and war,
and they sing the song of Moses, servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, `Great and wonderful `are' Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty, righteous and true `are' Thy ways, O King of saints,
And David blesseth Jehovah before the eyes of all the assembly, and David saith, `Blessed `art' Thou, Jehovah, God of Israel our father, from age even unto age. To Thee, O Jehovah, `is' the greatness, and the might, and the beauty, and the victory, and the honour, because of all in the heavens and in the earth; to Thee, O Jehovah, `is' the kingdom, and he who is lifting up himself over all for head; and the riches, and the honour `are' from before Thee, and Thou art ruling over all, and in Thy hand `is' power and might, and in Thy hand, to make great, and to give strength to all. `And now, our God, we are giving thanks to Thee, and giving praise to Thy beauteous name; yea, because, who `am' I, and who `are' my people, that we retain power to offer thus willingly? but of Thee `is' the whole, and out of Thy hand we have given to Thee; for sojourners we `are' before Thee, and settlers, like all our fathers; as a shadow `are' our days on the land, and there is none abiding. `O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build to Thee a house, for Thy holy name, `is' out of Thy hand, and of Thee `is' the whole. `And I have known, my God, that Thou art trying the heart, and uprightness dost desire; I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these: and now, Thy people who are found here I have seen with joy to offer willingly to Thee. `O Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this to the age for the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee; and to Solomon my son give a perfect heart, to keep Thy commands, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do the whole, even to build the palace `for' which I have prepared.' And David saith to all the assembly, `Bless, I pray you, Jehovah your God;' and all the assembly bless Jehovah, God of their fathers, and bow and do obeisance to Jehovah, and to the king.
and they sing a new song, saying, `Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and didst make us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth.' And I saw, and I heard the voice of many messengers round the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders -- and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands -- saying with a great voice, `Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!' and every creature that is in the heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and the things that are upon the sea, and the all things in them, heard I saying, `To Him who is sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, `is' the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the might -- to the ages of the ages!' and the four living creatures said, `Amen!' and the twenty-four elders fell down and they bow before Him who is living to the ages of the ages.
in which God, more abundantly willing to shew to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, did interpose by an oath, that through two immutable things, in which `it is' impossible for God to lie, a strong comfort we may have who did flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before `us',
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this secret -- that ye may not be wise in your own conceits -- that hardness in part to Israel hath happened till the fulness of the nations may come in; and so all Israel shall be saved, according as it hath been written, `There shall come forth out of Sion he who is delivering, and he shall turn away impiety from Jacob, and this to them `is' the covenant from Me, when I may take away their sins.' As regards, indeed, the good tidings, `they are' enemies on your account; and as regards the choice -- beloved on account of the fathers; for unrepented of `are' the gifts and the calling of God;
The signs and wonders that God Most High hath done with me, it is good before me to shew. His signs how great! and His wonders how mighty! His kingdom `is' a kingdom age-during, and His rule `is' with generation and generation.
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in former days, By the hand of My servants, prophets of Israel, Who are prophesying in those days -- years, To bring thee in against them? And it hath come to pass, in that day, In the day of the coming in of Gog against the land of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Come up doth My fury in My face, And in My zeal, in the fire of My wrath, I have spoken: Is there not in that day a great rushing on the land of Israel? And rushed from My presence have fishes of the sea, And the fowl of the heavens, And the beast of the field, And every creeping thing that is creeping on the ground, And all men who `are' on the face of the ground, And thrown down have been the mountains, And fallen have the ascents, And every wall to the earth falleth. And I have called against him, to all My mountains a sword, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, The sword of each is against his brother. And I have been judged with him, With pestilence and with blood, And an overflowing rain and hailstones, Fire and brimstone I rain on him, and on his bands, And on many peoples who `are' with him. And I have magnified Myself, and sanctified Myself, And I have been known before the eyes of many nations, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah!
`Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power, and by Thy stretched-out arm; there is nothing too wonderful for Thee: Doing kindness to thousands, and recompensing iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their sons after them; God, the great, the mighty, Jehovah of Hosts `is' His name, Great in counsel, and mighty in act, in that Thine eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of Adam, to give to each according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: In that thou hast done signs and wonders in the land of Egypt unto this day, and in Israel, and among men, and Thou dost make for Thee a name as `at' this day. `And Thou bringest forth Thy people Israel from the land of Egypt, with signs and with wonders, and by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great fear, And thou givest to them this land that thou didst swear to their fathers to give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey, And they come in, and possess it, and they have not hearkened to Thy voice, and in Thy law have not walked, all that which Thou didst lay a charge on them to do they have not done, and Thou dost proclaim `to' them all this evil. `Lo, the mounts -- they have come in to the city to capture it, and the city hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence; and that which Thou hast spoken hath come to pass, and lo, Thou art seeing;
Even this from Jehovah of Hosts hath gone out, He hath made counsel wonderful, He hath made wisdom great!
O Jehovah our God, lords have ruled us besides Thee, Only, by Thee we make mention of Thy name.
A memorial He hath made of His wonders, Gracious and merciful `is' Jehovah.
They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men. For He hath satisfied a longing soul, And a hungry soul hath filled `with' goodness. Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron, Because they changed the saying of God, And the counsel of the Most High despised. And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper. And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them. He bringeth them out from the dark place, And death-shade, And their bands He draweth away. They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men. For He hath broken doors of brass, And bars of iron He hath cut. Fools, by means of their transgression, And by their iniquities, afflict themselves. All food doth their soul abominate, And they come nigh unto the gates of death, And cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them, He sendeth His word and healeth them, And delivereth from their destructions. They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men, And they sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, And recount His works with singing. Those going down `to' the sea in ships, Doing business in many waters, They have seen the works of Jehovah, And His wonders in the deep. And He saith, and appointeth a tempest, And it lifteth up its billows, They go up `to' the heavens, they go down `to' the depths, Their soul in evil is melted. They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up. And they cry to Jehovah in their adversity, And from their distresses He bringeth them out. He establisheth a whirlwind to a calm, And hushed are their billows. And they rejoice because they are quiet, And He leadeth them to the haven of their desire. They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men, And they exalt Him in the assembly of the people, And in the seat of the elders praise Him. He maketh rivers become a wilderness, And fountains of waters become dry land. A fruitful land becometh a barren place, For the wickedness of its inhabitants. He maketh a wilderness become a pool of water, And a dry land become fountains of waters. And He causeth the hungry to dwell there, And they prepare a city of habitation. And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, And they make fruits of increase. And He blesseth them, and they multiply exceedingly, And their cattle He doth not diminish. And they are diminished, and bow down, By restraint, evil, and sorrow. He is pouring contempt upon nobles, And causeth them to wander in vacancy -- no way. And setteth on high the needy from affliction, And placeth families as a flock. The upright do see and rejoice, And all perversity hath shut her mouth. Who `is' wise, and observeth these? They understand the kind acts of Jehovah!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 25
Commentary on Isaiah 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 25
Isa 25:1-12. Continuation of the Twenty-fourth Chapter. Thanksgiving for the Overthrow of the Apostate Faction, and the Setting Up of Jehovah's Throne on Zion.
The restoration from Babylon and re-establishment of the theocracy was a type and pledge of this.
1. wonderful—(Isa 9:6).
counsels of old—(Isa 42:9; 46:10). Purposes planned long ago; here, as to the deliverance of His people.
truth—Hebrew, Amen; covenant-keeping, faithful to promises; the peculiar characteristic of Jesus (Re 3:14).
2. a city … heap—Babylon, type of the seat of Antichrist, to be destroyed in the last days (compare Jer 51:37, with Re 18:1-24, followed, as here, by the song of the saints' thanksgiving in Re 19:1-21). "Heaps" is a graphic picture of Babylon and Nineveh as they now are.
palace—Babylon regarded, on account of its splendor, as a vast palace. But Maurer translates, "a citadel."
of strangers—foreigners, whose capital pre-eminently Babylon was, the metropolis of the pagan world. "Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise" (Isa 29:5; Eph 2:12; see in contrast, Joe 3:17).
never be built—(Isa 13:19, 20, &c.).
3. strong people—This cannot apply to the Jews; but other nations on which Babylon had exercised its cruelty (Isa 14:12) shall worship Jehovah, awed by the judgment inflicted on Babylon (Isa 23:18).
city—not Babylon, which shall then be destroyed, but collectively for the cities of the surrounding nations.
4. the poor … needy—the Jews, exiles from their country (Isa 26:6; 41:17).
heat—calamity (Isa 4:6; 32:2).
blast—that is, wrath.
storm—a tempest of rain, a winter flood, rushing against and overthrowing the wall of a house.
5. Translate, "As the heat in a dry land (is brought down by the shadow of a cloud, so) thou shalt bring down the tumult (the shout of triumph over their enemies) of strangers (foreigners); and as the heat by the shadow of the cloud (is brought low), so the branch (the offspring) of the terrible ones shall be brought low." Parkhurst translates the Hebrew for "branch," the exulting song. Jerome translates the last clause, "And as when the heat burns under a cloud, thou shalt make the branch of the terrible ones to wither"; the branch withering even under the friendly shade of a cloud typifies the wicked brought to ruin, not for want of natural means of prosperity, but by the immediate act of God.
6. in this mountain—Zion: Messiah's kingdom was to begin, and is to have its central seat hereafter, at Jerusalem, as the common country of "all nations" (Isa 2:2, &c.).
all people—(Isa 56:7; Da 7:14; Lu 2:10).
feast—image of felicity (Ps 22:26, 27; Mt 8:11; Lu 14:15; Re 19:9; compare Ps 36:8; 87:1-7).
fat things—delicacies; the rich mercies of God in Christ (Isa 55:2; Jer 31:14; Job 36:16).
wines on the lees—wine which has been long kept on the lees; that is, the oldest and most generous wine (Jer 48:11).
marrow—the choicest dainties (Ps 63:5).
well refined—cleared of all dregs.
7. face of … covering—image from mourning, in which it was usual to cover the face with a veil (2Sa 15:30). "Face of covering," that is, the covering itself; as in Job 41:13, "the face of his garment," the garment itself. The covering or veil is the mist of ignorance as to a future state, and the way to eternal life, which enveloped the nations (Eph 4:18) and the unbelieving Jew (2Co 3:15). The Jew, however, is first to be converted before the conversion of "all nations"; for it is "in this mountain," namely, Zion, that the latter are to have the veil taken off (Ps 102:13, 15, 16, 21, 22; Ro 11:12).
8. Quoted in 1Co 15:54, in support of the resurrection.
swallow up … in victory—completely and permanently "abolish" (2Ti 1:10; Re 20:14; 21:4; compare Ge 2:17; 3:22).
rebuke—(Compare Mr 8:38; Heb 11:26).
9. And it shall be said in that day, &c.—"After death has been swallowed up for ever, the people of God, who had been delivered from the hand of death, shall say to the Lord, Lo, this is our God, whom unbelievers regarded as only a man" [Jerome]. "The words are so moulded as to point us specially to the person of the Son of God, who 'saves' us; as He vouchsafed to Israel temporal saving, so to His elect He appears for the purpose of conferring eternal salvation" [Vitringa]. The Jews, however, have a special share in the words, This is our God (see on Isa 25:6).
we have waited—"Waited" is characteristic of God's people in all ages (Ge 49:18; Tit 2:13).
we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation—compare Ps 118:24, which refers to the second coming of Jesus (compare Ps 118:26, with Lu 13:35).
10. rest—as its permanent protector; on "hand" in this sense; compare Ezr 7:6, 28.
Moab—while Israel is being protected, the foe is destroyed; Moab is the representative of all the foes of God's people.
under him—Rather, "in his own place" or "country" (Ex 10:23; 16:29).
for the dunghill—Rather, "in the water of the dung heap," in which straw was trodden to make it manure (Ps 83:10). Horsley translates either, "in the waters of Madmenah," namely, for the making of bricks; or as the Septuagint, "as the threshing-floor is trampled by the corn-drag" (see Margin; Mic 4:11-13).
11. he—Jehovah shall spread His hands to strike the foe on this side and on that, with as little effort as a swimmer spreads forth his arms to cleave a passage through the water [Calvin]. (Zec 5:3). Lowth takes "he" as Moab, who, in danger of sinking, shall strain every nerve to save himself; but Jehovah (and "he") shall cause him to sink ("bring down the pride" of Moab, Isa 16:6).
with the spoils of … hands—literally, "the craftily acquired spoils" of his (Moab's) hands [Barnes]. Moab's pride, as well as the sudden gripe of his hands (namely, whereby he tries to save himself from drowning) [Lowth]. "Together with the joints of his hands," that is, though Moab struggle against Jehovah hand and foot [Maurer].
12. fortress—the strongholds of Moab, the representative of the foes of God's people [Barnes]. Babylon [Maurer]. The society of infidels represented as a city (Re 11:8).