5 God the Lord, even he who made the heavens, measuring them out on high; stretching out the earth, and giving its produce; he who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who go about on it, says:
For this is the word of the Lord who made the heavens; he is God; the maker and designer of the earth; who made it not to be a waste, but as a living-place for man: I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I have made the earth, forming man on it: by my hands the heavens have been stretched out, and all the stars put in their ordered places.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man.
The word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord by whom the heavens are stretched out and the bases of the earth put in place, and the spirit of man formed inside him, has said:
But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory;
Ah Lord God! see, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm, and there is nothing you are not able to do:
It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.
To him by whom the earth was stretched out over the waters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
<A Psalm. Of David.> The earth is the Lord's, with all its wealth; the world and all the people living in it. For by him it was based on the seas, and made strong on the deep rivers.
The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Ruler of all gives me life.
And God gave the dry land the name of Earth; and the waters together in their place were named Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let grass come up on the earth, and plants producing seed, and fruit-trees giving fruit, in which is their seed, after their sort: and it was so. And grass came up on the earth, and every plant producing seed of its sort, and every tree producing fruit, in which is its seed, of its sort: and God saw that it was good.
You, Lord, at the first did put the earth on its base, and the heavens are the works of your hands: They will come to their end; but you are for ever; they will become old as a robe; They will be rolled up like a cloth, even like a robe, and they will be changed: but you are the same and your years will have no end.
But now, at the end of these days, it has come to us through his Son, to whom he has given all things for a heritage, and through whom he made the order of the generations;
Yes, by my hand was the earth placed on its base, and by my right hand the heavens were stretched out; at my word they take up their places.
Have you no knowledge of it? has it not come to your ears? The eternal God, the Lord, the Maker of the ends of the earth, is never feeble or tired; there is no searching out of his wisdom.
In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?
You are clothed with light as with a robe; stretching out the heavens like a curtain: The arch of your house is based on the waters; you make the clouds your carriage; you go on the wings of the wind: He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants. He has made the earth strong on its bases, so that it may not be moved for ever and ever; Covering it with the sea as with a robe: the waters were high over the mountains; At the voice of your word they went in flight; at the sound of your thunder they went away in fear; The mountains came up and the valleys went down into the place which you had made ready for them. You made a limit over which they might not go, so that the earth would never again be covered by them. You sent the springs into the valleys; they are flowing between the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; the mountain asses come to them for water. The birds of the air have their resting-places by them, and make their song among the branches. He sends down rain from his store-houses on the hills: the earth is full of the fruit of his works. He makes the grass come up for the cattle, and plants for the use of man; so that bread may come out of the earth; And wine to make glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face shining, and bread giving strength to his heart. The trees of the Lord are full of growth, the cedars of Lebanon of his planting; Where the birds have their resting-places; as for the stork, the tall trees are her house. The high hills are a safe place for the mountain goats, and the rocks for the small beasts. He made the moon for a sign of the divisions of the year; teaching the sun the time of its going down. When you make it dark, it is night, when all the beasts of the woods come quietly out of their secret places. The young lions go thundering after their food; searching for their meat from God. The sun comes up, and they come together, and go back to their secret places to take their rest. Man goes out to his work, and to his business, till the evening. O Lord, how great is the number of your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of the things you have made. There is the great, wide sea, where there are living things, great and small, more than may be numbered. There go the ships; there is that great beast, which you have made as a plaything. All of them are waiting for you, to give them their food in its time. They take what you give them; they are full of the good things which come from your open hand. If your face is veiled, they are troubled; when you take away their breath, they come to an end, and go back to the dust. If you send out your spirit, they are given life; you make new the face of the earth. Let the glory of the Lord be for ever; let the Lord have joy in his works: At whose look the earth is shaking; at whose touch the mountains send out smoke. I will make songs to the Lord all my life; I will make melody to my God while I have my being. Let my thoughts be sweet to him: I will be glad in the Lord. Let sinners be cut off from the earth, and let all evil-doers come to an end. Give praise to the Lord, O my soul. Give praise to the Lord.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the army of heaven by the breath of his mouth.
(For all my breath is still in me, and the spirit of God is my life;)
And the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life: and man became a living soul.
And God said, Let the earth give birth to all sorts of living things, cattle and all things moving on the earth, and beasts of the earth after their sort: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after its sort, and the cattle after their sort, and everything moving on the face of the earth after its sort: and God saw that it was good.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 42
Commentary on Isaiah 42 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 42
The prophet seems here to launch out yet further into the prophecy of the Messiah and his kingdom under the type of Cyrus; and, having the great work of man's salvation by him yet more in view, he almost forgets the occasion that led him into it and drops the return out of Babylon; for indeed the prospect of this would be a greater comfort and support to the believing pious Jews, in their captivity, than the hope of that. And (as Mr. Gataker well observes) in this and similar prophecies of Christ, that are couched in types, as of David and Solomon, some passages agree to the type and not to the truth, other to the truth and not to the type, and many to the type in one sense and the truth in another. Here is,
Isa 42:1-4
We are sure that these verses are to be understood of Christ, for the evangelist tells us expressly that in him this prophecy was fulfilled, Mt. 12:17-21. Behold with an eye of faith, behold and observe, behold and admire, my servant, whom I uphold. Let the Old-Testament saints behold and remember him. Now what must we behold and consider concerning him?
Isa 42:5-12
Here is
Isa 42:13-17
It comes all to one whether we make these verses (as some do) the song itself that is to be sung by the Gentile world or a prophecy of what God will do to make way for the singing of that song, that evangelical new song.
Isa 42:18-25
The prophet, having spoken by way of comfort and encouragement to the believing Jews who waited for the consolation of Israel, here turns to those among them who were unbelieving, for their conviction and humiliation. Among those who were in captivity in Babylon there were some who were as the evil figs in Jeremiah's vision, who were sent thither for their hurt, to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach and a proverb, Jer. 24:9. In them there was a type of the Jews who rejected Christ and were rejected by him, and then fell more than ever under the curse, when those who believed were inheriting the blessing; for they were broken, and ruined, and remain dispersed unto this day. Observe,