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Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
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| 1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples from afar. Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. |
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Isles – Islands, Republics.
Called me from the womb – The womb of the (Sarah feature of the) Abrahamic covenant. The LORD has called the New Creation.
My mother – Gal. 4:26. |
| 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hath concealed me under the shadow of his hand, and he hath made me a polished shaft: in his quiver hath he hidden me. |
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He has made my mouth like a sharp sword – Speaking of our Lord and by extension the church - spiritual Israel. Rev. 1:16; 19:15, 21
A polished shaft – A special arrow.
In his quiver – A quiver is the container for arrows. |
| 3 And he said unto me, Thou art my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself. |
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Thou art my servant – "My servants" are those for whom the book of Revelation is intended, i.e., the true church. Rev. 1:1.
Israel – Spiritual Israel.
In whom I will be glorified – John 17:11-23. |
| 4 --And I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain; nevertheless my judgment is with Jehovah, and my work with my God. |
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| 5 And now, saith Jehovah, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I should bring Jacob again to him; (though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorified in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God shall be my strength;) |
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| 6 --and he saith, It is a small thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I have even given thee for a light of the nations, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. |
It is a light thing – The raising up of Israel is a "light thing," only a small part of the entire restitution work. R542:1*, R353:4*
For a light – The hope of a resurrection. R751:2*
Not yet dawned, but waiting for the completion of the resurrection of The Christ. R751:2*
To the Gentiles – As well as to the Jews. A59
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For a light to the Gentiles – Spoken of our Lord in Luke 2:32. |
| 7 Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall worship, because of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee. |
Whom man despiseth – "He was despised and rejected of men." (Isa. 53:3) E156
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| 8 Thus saith Jehovah: In a time of acceptance have I answered thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; |
An acceptable time – Throughout the Gospel age. R858:6
Interpreted by the Apostle Paul: "Now is the accepted time ... now is the day of salvation" (See comments on 2 Cor. 6:2). R5536:5
Have I heard thee – Christ Jesus and the Church, his Body. R536:5, R858:3, R4542:2, R5536:5
Day of salvation – The great salvation to the divine nature. R4542:2, R859:1
Have I helped thee – The Body of Christ is helped or succored in its day of salvation in order that it may be the instrument of God for the blessing and releasing of those who are in the prison-house of death. HG337:1
Give thee – The entire Christ, Head and Body. R4542:2
For a covenant – As soon as the last member of the Church shall have died the New (Law) covenant with Israel will be sealed. R4453:3
By which God will bring the whole world anew into covenant relationship with himself. R4542:3
All God's people during this Gospel age serve that New covenant by getting themselves and each other ready for the future work of glory. R4542:2, R4453:2
Messiah, as a living sacrifice for sinners. R4715:1
Of the people – The world of mankind, not the Church. R4542:1
Establish the earth – Order, or rule, the earth. R536:5
Institute general Times of Restitution of all things. R4542:2
Cause to inherit – Our Lord has not yet received the heathen for an inheritance. R4542:1; SM435:2
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In an acceptable time .. helped thee – This is quoted by the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 6:2. Note there how he applies it. |
| 9 saying to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pasture shall be on all bare hills. |
Thou – The Christ, Head and Body. R858:3
To the prisoners – Death's captives. R4793:2, R536:5, R858:6; SM30:1; A112
To all the world, locked up in the prison-house of death. SM30:1; R4793:2
Go forth – The great prison-house will give up the prisoners; He who died on Calvary obtained the key of hades. OV363:5; Q329:3
"The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ... and shall come forth." (John 5:25,2 9) R4793:2
That – The Church class is chosen for the special work of accomplishing the salvation of the world in the next age--that will also be a day of salvation, for all the world. R859:2
In darkness – In the tomb. R858:6; SM31:T
Shew yourselves – A pictorial way of stating the resurrection of the dead. HG137:1
Their coming forth will be that they may manifest their real sentiments, either for righteousness or for unrighteousness. SM31:T
Come to the light, the truth. R536:5
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Thou mayest say – "Thou" in this context is the church class.
The prisoners – In the prison-house of death.
Go forth – In the resurrection. Note here that it is the privilege of the Lord's people to say this. It will be at their command that these prisoners of death will "go forth." This is the privilege of the little flock in the next age.
Them that are in darkness – Those who are in the dying condition but not yet in the grave. "Let the dead bury their dead." Matt. 8:22 - see R858:13
Show yourselves – Come into the light.
They shall feed.. – Note the change here. Now the prophet is no longer speaking of the church ("Thou"), the ones giving the blessings, but of those who receive the blessings ("They").
Isaiah 50:7
I have set my face like a flint – This was prophetically said of Pastor Russell. Compare Eze. 3:8-9.
This is also true of the Lord's people today. Our face (forehead, intellect) is set like flint. Because the Lord has graced us with an understanding of Present Truth and we know that it is indeed THE TRUTH, we are determined to be faithful to His Word, and to Him. |
| 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by the springs of water will he guide them. |
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| 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be raised up. |
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| 12 Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. |
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| 13 Shout, ye heavens; and be joyful, thou earth; and break forth into singing, ye mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted ones. |
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| 14 But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. |
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| 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even these forget, but I will not forget thee. |
Can a woman forget – From the standpoint of the divine nature, know that parental affection will have its widest scope as well as its greatest power to bless. R1211:5*
Sooner can a woman forget her infant child. R957:5
Will I not forget thee – Zion, the Church. R957:4
An assurance of tenderest love on the part of our Heavenly Father. R957:1
Service to the saints in any way the Lord will not forget. R957:4
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| 16 Lo, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. |
Palms of my hands – "Before the throne my surety stands; My name is written on his hands." R1829:5
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| 17 Thy sons shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go forth from thee. |
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| 18 Lift up thine eyes round about and behold: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt indeed clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on as a bride doth. |
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| 19 For in thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy destroyed land, thou shalt even now be too straitened by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. |
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| 20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me, that I may dwell. |
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| 21 And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they? |
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| 22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my banner to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder. |
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| 23 And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nursing-mothers: they shall bow down to thee with the face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; for they shall not be ashamed who wait on me. |
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| 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? and shall he that is rightfully captive be delivered? |
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| 25 For thus saith Jehovah: Even the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; and I will strive with him that striveth with thee, and I will save thy children. |
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| 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. |
And thy Redeemer – Jehovah is the center of the entire plan of salvation, and of its every feature. F397
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