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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth. |
Mine elect – Jesus and the Church. R3587:4; E41
His well beloved Son, the chief of all the elect. R3109:1, R5576:3
Bring forth judgment – The work of the Lord's Anointed, Head and Body, in conferring restitution blessings upon mankind during the Millennial age. R3587:4
To the Gentiles – As well as to the Jews. A58, A59
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| 2 He doth not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard, in the street. |
He shall not cry – Jesus' preaching was reasonable and delivered with dignity and meekness. R646:2, R1468:4, R3070:5
Let us, likewise, endeavor to present God's truth in all its native simplicity and beauty and trust its inherent power to win its way in due time to every heart. R651:4*
Nor lift up – "Nor call aloud" (Leeser). R646:2
Heard in the street – Neither the Bible nor sound judgment dictates street quarreling for the truth's sake. R1468:4
Like the Salvation Army of the present day. R2597:4
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| 3 A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment. |
If there be even a slight disposition to penitence, God fosters and cherishes it. R1614:5
Shall he not break – So, on the highway of holiness, if there is any tendency to appreciate divine favors, the Lord will not break off such a one at 100 years. R1772:5
So also the Lord's people who are strong in faith are taught to bear with weaker ones. R2163:4*
The smoking flax – Faith, in its beginning, is always weak; but God does not despise the day of small things. R2163:4*; F684
Shall he not quench – On the highway of holiness, if there is even a smouldering spark of love toward God, the Lord will fan it into a blaze. R1772:5
Judgment unto truth – Right, according to the truth. R527:6*
Eventually bringing every thought into captivity to the will of God. R1772:5
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| 4 He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope. |
He shall not fail – He comes to do a variety of work and shall not leave it nor return until he hath accomplished to put down all authority and power. R631:5
All God's purposes shall be accomplished. A95
Nor be discouraged – Throughout the Gospel age the various agencies of evil, the civil power and subsequently the civil and ecclesiastical powers in combination, have seemed to thoroughly block the way for the development of the living stones of the Kingdom. R3651:3
Till he have – Present enlightenment of the people and their incidental discontent are merely means toward the great end that he has in view. R1770:2
Set judgment – Having first selected and glorified his saints. R631:5
Established righteousness, justice, on a lasting basis. R770:1, R764:4, R527:5, R569:1, R1770:2
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| 5 Thus said God, Jehovah, preparing The heavens, and stretching them out, Spreading out the earth and its productions, Giving breath to the people on it, And spirit to those walking in it. |
Stretched them out – "Stretched them forth" (R.V.) Highly figurative and poetic language, not proving the firmament to be a solid structure. R1812:2
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| 6 I, Jehovah, did call thee in righteousness, And I lay hold on thy hand, and keep thee, And I give thee for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations. |
Will hold thine hand – By sending an angel to minister to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. R1801:5
And will keep thee – From falling or failure. R1801:4
And give thee – The Christ. R3109:2; Q195:4
"Against thee" (Leeser). As the world's representative, God would appoint or enter into a covenant with Jesus on behalf of the people. R3109:1
For a covenant – Sacrificed in the interests of a covenant, the New covenant. R4321:3
Not that they become the covenant, but that there could be no covenant without Christ and the Church because it is the blood of Christ that constitutes the sealing value of the New covenant. Q195:4
The New covenant is given to Israel and the world only indirectly; the Father's dealings are not with Israel, nor the world, but with the Mediator. R3109:2
As the Mediator through whom the covenant towards our race will be fulfilled. R3109:2, R4571:5
Of the people – Israel. R4321:3
Light of the Gentiles – The Hebrew nation will be lightbearers to all other nations. R5768:6
To enable them all to come under the blessings of Israel's New covenant. R4321:3
The Gospel was to be told to the Jew first, but also to the Gentiles. R3010:2
"Of the nations" (Leeser). R3109:1
Not yet dawned--waiting for the completion of the resurrection of The Christ. R751:3*
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| 7 To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth from prison the bound one, From the house of restraint those sitting in darkness. |
To open – Under the New covenant the Lord will remove their blindness. Q171:3
Our Lord must do these things at his first advent, and in a measure begin the work of restitution, so that Israel could recognize him and be responsible for rejecting him and his "works." R2000:4
The Gospel must ultimately open the eyes of the blind. R1786:4
Blind eyes – Eyes of understanding. R1396:4, R3504:5
To bring out – Applied by our Lord to himself; but he did not break open the prison-house of death and set all the captives free by resurrection immediately upon his own resurrection. R4793:2
The prisoners – Death's captives. HG137:1; R930:6; A112
From the prison – From death. E41; R4793:2, R458:4*
The tomb, sheol, hades. From this prison none can break forth, but all are prisoners of hope. SM611:1; R5151:1
Sit in darkness – By contrast with those who walk in the light and run for the prize. A25
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| 8 I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven images. |
I am the LORD – Jehovah. E41
The distinctive, personal name of the Almighty Father should not be translated; the distinctiveness is lost by its being generally translated "LORD." R338:3, R1410:6, R379:2
That is my name – The name Jehovah signifies the "Self-Existing One" or "The Immortal One." E40
"I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name El Shaddai (God Almighty), but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them." (Exo. 6:3) R1410:6
And my glory – My honor as the original lawgiver. E41; F396
Will I not give – The glory of the Son never has and never will eclipse the glory of the Father. The Son never attempted to diminish the Father's glory, but always to add to it. R920:1
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| 9 The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear. |
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| 10 Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, Ye who are going down to the sea, and its fulness, Isles, and their inhabitants. |
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| 11 The wilderness and its cities do lift up [the voice], The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry. |
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| 12 They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare. |
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| 13 Jehovah as a mighty one goeth forth. As a man of war He stirreth up zeal, He crieth, yea, He shrieketh, Against His enemies He showeth Himself mighty. |
LORD shall go forth – When he rises up in judgment against the nations. D549
A man of war – While the Lord forbids his people to fight with carnal weapons and declares himself to be a God of peace, he also declares himself to be a God of justice, and shows that evil shall not forever triumph in the world. D549
Shall cry, yea, roar – By means of his great army. D549
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| 14 I have kept silent from of old, I keep silent, I refrain myself, As a travailing woman I cry out, I desolate and swallow up together. |
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| 15 I make waste mountains and hills, And all their herbs I dry up, And I have made rivers become isles, And ponds I dry up. |
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| 16 And I have caused the blind to go, In a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I cause them to tread, I make a dark place before them become light, And unlevelled places become a plain, These [are] the things I have done to them, And I have not forsaken them. |
The blind – The hour is near when all the blinded ones who are now feeling after God shall have the eyes of their understanding opened and shall find the "way." R2090:6
Darkness – Ignorance. SM266:T
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| 17 Removed backward utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a graven image, Those saying to a molten image, 'Ye [are] our gods.' |
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| 18 Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look to see. |
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| 19 Who [is] blind but My servant And deaf as My messenger I send Who [is] blind as he who is at peace, Yea, blind, as the servant of Jehovah |
Who is blind – To earthly ambitions, prospects and worldly wisdom. R3176:6
With this blindness Jehovah is well pleased. R3176:6
But my servant – Our Lord Jesus, and incidentally, the Church, his Body. R3176:6
Perfect – Surrendered, devoted. R3176:6
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| 20 Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not. |
But – Omit this word. R3176:6
Observest not – Heedeth not. It is not that we do not see earthly advantages, but we purposely reject them, closing our eyes to all earthly allurements. R3176:6
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| 21 Jehovah hath delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifieth law, and maketh honourable. |
Magnify the law – Bring out its fine points. R1463:2*
Our Lord showed how far-reaching and comprehensive are its requirements. SM352:3; R5756:1
The lengths, breadths, heights and depths of the meaning of the Law were seen by none until taught by Jesus. R5286:2
Shown to have a still higher and deeper scope than was ever previously comprehended. R3176:6
Failure to perceive the spirit of the Law was one of the reasons why Israel could not get eternal life. R5071:5
Christ kept the Law in its minutest and widest sense, and proved it a just and perfect Law which a perfect man could keep; thereby proving the fault to be in man and not in the Law. R678:5, R3176:6
The Law said, "Thou shalt not kill," but Christ magnified that when he taught that whomsoever hateth his brother without a cause is guilty of murder. (Matt. 5:21,22, 27, 28) HG582:5*
Christ magnified the Sabbath law by teaching that the Jew gave God one-seventh of his time, but the Christian is to give him seven-sevenths. HG583:1*
Make it honourable – Jesus kept the Law, proving that it could be kept and that the fault lay with mankind. R5071:6, R4451:6, R1462:3, R678:5
In bringing it down to the comprehension of sinful men, God was obliged to state it in such a way as to meet the exigencies of their case; and so it abounds in commands and prohibitions. R1462:3
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| 22 And this [is] a people seized and spoiled, Snared in holes all of them, And in houses of restraint they were hidden, They have been for a prey, And there is no deliverer, A spoil, and none is saying, 'Restore.' |
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| 23 Who among you giveth ear [to] this Attendeth, and heareth afterwards. |
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| 24 Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, And Israel to the spoilers Is it not Jehovah He against whom we sinned Yea, they have not been willing in His ways to walk, Nor have they hearkened to His law. |
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| 25 And He poureth on him fury, His anger, and the strength of battle, And it setteth him on fire round about, And he hath not known, And it burneth against him, and he layeth it not to heart! |
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