Isaia 40:9 Commento

It was promised (Isa 40:5) that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed; that is it with the hopes of which God's people must be comforted. Now here we are told, I. How it shall be revealed, Isa 40:9. 1. It shall be revealed to Zion and Jerusalem; notice shall be given of it to the remnant that are left in Zion and Jerusalem, the poor of the land, who were vine-dressers and husbandmen; it shall be told them that their brethren shall return to them. This shall be told also to the captives who belonged to Zion and Jerusalem, and retained their affection for them. Zion is said to dwell with the daughter of Babylon (Zac 2:7); and there she receives notice of Cyrus's gracious proclamation; and so the margin reads it, O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, etc., meaning the persons who were employed in publishing that proclamation; let them do it with a good will, let them make the country ring of it, and let them tell it to the sons of Zion in their own language, saying to them, Behold your God. 2. It shall be published by Zion and Jerusalem (so the text reads it); those that remain there, or that have already returned, when they find the deliverance proceeding towards perfection, let them proclaim it in the most public places, whence they may be best heard by all the cities of Judah; let them proclaim it as loudly as they can: let them lift up their voice with strength, and not be afraid of overstraining themselves; let them not be afraid lest the enemy should hear it and quarrel with them, or lest it should not prove true, or not such good tidings as at first it appeared; let them say to the cities of Judah, and all the inhabitants of the country, Behold your God. When God is going on with the salvation of his people, let them industriously spread the news among their friends, let them tell them that it is God that has done it; whoever were the instruments, God was the author; it is their God, a God in covenant with them, and he does it as theirs, and they will reap the benefit and comfort of it. "Behold him, take notice of his hand in it, and look above second causes; behold, the God you have long looked for has come at last (Isa 25:9): This is our God, we have waited for him." This may refer to the invitation which was sent forth from Jerusalem to the cities of Judah, as soon as they had set up an altar, immediately upon their return out of captivity, to come and join with them in their sacrifices, Ezr 3:2-4. "When the worship of God is set up again, send notice of it to all your brethren, that they may share with you in the comfort of it." But this was to have its full accomplishment in the apostles' public and undaunted preaching of the gospel to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. The voice crying in the wilderness gave notice that he was coming; but now notice is given that he has come. Behold the Lamb of God; take a full view of your Redeemer. Behold your King, behold your God. II. What that glory is which shall be revealed. "Your God will come, will show himself," 1. "With the power and greatness of a prince (Isa 40:10): He will come with strong hand, too strong to be obstructed, though it may be opposed. His strong hand shall subdue his people to himself, and shall restrain and conquer his and their enemies. He will come who is strong enough to break through all the difficulties that lie in his way." Our Lord Jesus was full of power, a mighty Saviour. Some read, it, He will come against the mighty one, and overpower him, overcome him. Satan is the strong man armed; but our Lord Jesus is stronger than he, and he shall make it to appear that he is so, for, (1.) He shall reign in defiance of all opposition: His arm shall rule, shall overrule for him, for the fulfilling of his counsels, to his own glory; for he is his own end. (2.) He shall recompense to all according to their works, as a righteous Judge: His reward is with him; he brings along with him, as a returning prince, punishments for the rebels and preferments for his loyal subjects. (3.) He shall proceed and accomplish his purpose: His work is before him, that is, he knows perfectly well what he has to do, which way to go about it, and how to compass it. He himself knows what he will do. 2. "With the pity and tenderness of a shepherd," Isa 40:11. God is the Shepherd of Israel (Psa 80:1); Christ is the good Shepherd, Joh 10:11. The same that rules with the strong hand of a prince leads and feeds with the kind hand of a shepherd. (1.) He takes care of all his flock, the little flock: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. His word is food for his flock to feed on; his ordinances are fields for them to feed in; his ministers are under-shepherds that are appointed to attend them. (2.) He takes particular care of those that most need his care, the lambs that are weak, and cannot help themselves, and are unaccustomed to hardship, and those that are with young, that are therefore heavy, and, if any harm be done them, are in danger of casting their young. He particularly takes care for a succession, that it may not fail or be cut off. The good Shepherd has tender care for children that are towardly and hopeful, for young converts, that are setting out in the way to heaven, for weak believers, and those that are of a sorrowful spirit. These are the lambs of his flock, that shall be sure to want nothing that their case requires. [1.] He will gather them in the arms of his power; his strength shall be made perfect in their weakness, Co2 12:9. He will gather them in when they wander, gather them up when they fall, gather them together when they are dispersed, and gather them home to himself at last; and all this with his own arm, out of which none shall be able to pluck them, Joh 10:28. [2.] He will carry them in the bosom of his love and cherish them there. When they tire or are weary, are sick and faint, when they meet with foul ways, he will carry them on, and take care they are not left behind. [3.] He will gently lead them. By his word he requires no more service, and by his providence he inflicts no more trouble, than he will fit them for; for he considers their frame.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 40 This chapter treats of the comforts of God's people; of the forerunner and coming of the Messiah; of his work, and the dignity of his person; of the folly of making idols, and of the groundless complaints of the church of God. The consolations of God's people, by whom to be administered, and the matter, ground, and reason of them, Isa 40:1. John the Baptist, the harbinger of Christ, is described by his work and office, and the effects of it; it issuing in the humiliation of some, and the exaltation of others, and in the revelation of the glory of Christ, Isa 40:3, then follows an order to every minister of the Gospel what he should preach and publish; the weakness and insufficiency of men to anything that is spiritually good; their fading and withering goodliness, which is to be ascribed to the blowing of the Spirit of God upon it; and the firmness and constancy of the word of God is declared, Isa 40:6, next the apostles of Christ in Jerusalem are particularly exhorted to publish fervently and openly the good tidings of the Gospel; to proclaim the coming of Christ, the manner of it, and the work he came about; and to signify his faithful discharge of his office as a shepherd, Isa 40:9, the dignity of whose person is set forth by his almighty power, by his infinite wisdom, and by the greatness of his majesty, in comparison of which all nations and things are as nothing, Isa 40:12 and then the vanity of framing any likeness to God, and of forming idols for worship, is observed, Isa 40:18, and from the consideration of the divine power in creation and upholding all things, the church of God is encouraged to expect renewed strength and persevering grace, and is blamed for giving way to a distrustful and murmuring spirit, Isa 40:26.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings,.... Or, "O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion (n)"; which rendering of the words is more agreeable to the latter part of the verse, say unto the cities of Judah, &c. and to some parallel places, Isa 41:27 and to the type, the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon; the tidings of which came from Babylon to Zion, or Jerusalem; and to the Targum which paraphrases the words thus, "O ye prophets, that bring good tidings to Zion;'' and so may be applied to Gospel ministers, who bring the good tidings of the good will, grace, and favour of God, to men, through Christ; of the grace of Christ, in his suretyship engagements and performances; in his incarnation, sufferings, and death, and in his advocacy and intercession; and of the good things that come by him, as peace, pardon, righteousness, salvation, and eternal life: get thee up into the high mountain; to declare these good tidings, in the most open and public manner, that all might hear and receive them, and rejoice at them; it may also point at the place, the church of God, comparable to a high mountain for its visibility and immovableness, where the Gospel is to be published: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings: the church of God so called, to whom the faith of the Gospel is delivered, which is the pillar and ground of truth; which receives, retains, and maintains it, and sends forth ministers to proclaim it; particularly the first church at Jerusalem, where it was first preached, and from whence it went forth into other parts of Judea, and into all the world; here the apostles of Christ were, and from hence they set out, and published the Gospel all the world over, and who seem to be chiefly meant; for the words may be rendered, as the other clause, "O thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem (o)"; so the Targum: "lift up thy voice with strength"; or preach the Gospel with a strong voice, speak it out; do not mutter it over, or whisper it in a corner; proclaim it on the housetops, cry aloud that all may hear; lift up thy voice like a trumpet; blow the trumpet of the Gospel with all the strength thou hast; cause the joyful sound to be heard far and near: lift it up, and be not afraid; of the reproaches and revilings of men on account of it, or of their persecutions for it; or lest it should not be welcome, or be received as truth: say unto the cities of Judah; the inhabitants of them literally understood, and to the several churches and congregations of the saints everywhere: behold your God! that divine Person is come, that was promised, prophesied of, and expected; even Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh, God your Saviour, and who being God, truly God, is able to save to the uttermost; look to him with an eye of faith, and be saved; behold the Son of God, the Lamb of God, that has bore your sins, and took them away; behold him now, as your King and your God, on the throne, made and declared, Lord and Christ, crowned with glory and honour, on the same throne with his divine Father, having all power in heaven and earth; and let the echo of your faith be, my Lord and my God. The Targum is, "the kingdom of your God is revealed; see Mat 3:2.'' (n) "O quae evangelizas Tsijoni", Juntas & Tremellius, Piscator. (o) "O quae evangelizas Jeruschalaimo", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Therefore, let us transcend the works of the world, so that we may be able to see God face to face. Ascend to the mountain that proclaims Zion. If the one who proclaims Zion ascends to the mountain, how much more the one who proclaims Christ and the risen Christ? Perhaps many will see him in the body; for we have known Christ according to the flesh: but now we no longer know him.

(V. 9 and following) Ascend to the high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God!' See, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads the nursing ewes. LXX: Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem. Lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.' The choir of the Apostles is commanded to ascend to the preaching of all flesh, which is going to see the salvation of God, and to dwell in high places, about to speak about great things. Moreover, the Hebrew and other interpreters put it in the feminine gender, so that they say, 'you who preach the gospel to Zion and you who preach the gospel to Jerusalem.' This word is ambiguous according to the Greeks, so that we can understand it as either the one who announces or the one to whom the announcement is made. Therefore, whether the word of God and the saving word of the Lord are announced to Zion and Jerusalem: for the law went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah II, 3); or whether it is announced to them through the Apostles, they ought to ascend to the heights and pass over the mountains. And in a wondrous way, even though Zion itself is a mountain, as Scripture says: Mount Zion, in which you have dwelt (Psalm LXXIII, 3): it is commanded to ascend another, higher mountain, from which the prince of Tyre was wounded. And because the teachings of the Apostles were going to be greatly opposed, and they were going to be led before governors and tribunals, it is joined, exalt, do not be afraid: say to the cities of Judea, namely the synagogues and the people of the Jews, of whom the Lord spoke: I have come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). And the Apostle Paul says: It was necessary for the word of God to be proclaimed to you first (Acts 13:46). But what is it that they are commanded to say? Behold your God, whom you have always awaited: Behold the Lord God shall come in strength, whom you have despised coming in humility. And his strength shall rule, who first took the form of a servant, being obedient to the Father even unto death (Philippines III). Behold his reward is with him, and his work before him (Isaiah XL, and LXII). According to what he himself says in the Gospel: For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father and he shall render to every man according to his works (Matthew XVI, 17). As a shepherd, he will feed his flock. This one who will come later in majesty, first takes on the form of a shepherd, and he says about himself: I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and they know me, and I lay down my life for my sheep (John 10:14, 15). About this, the Father speaks in Zechariah: I will strike the shepherd; and the sheep will be scattered (Zechariah 13:7). In his arm, he says, he will gather the lambs; not bulls, and rams, and goats, and large sheep, of whom through Ezekiel (Chapter 34) he threatens that they should feed on milk and be covered with wool, and crush the weak flock, but rather the still tender lambs, and those new to Christ's infancy, who have recently been reborn in baptism, of whom the Lord himself spoke to Peter: Feed my lambs (John 21:15). And in the same Ezekiel it is written: I will raise up for them a single shepherd, and he will feed them, my servant David; he will be their shepherd, and I the Lord will be their God, and David will be their prince in their midst. I the Lord have spoken, and I will establish a covenant of peace with David (Ezekiel 34:23-25). It should be considered that after many generations, David, in contrast to the greedy and unworthy shepherds, says that our Lord, who is of the lineage of David, will rise up, gather the lambs, and nurture them in his bosom, and he himself will carry the lambs or sheep on his shoulder. As we read in the Gospel, that he carried the wandering sheep and the one remaining from the usual flock on his shoulders to the sheepfold (Luke 15). We can say that the pregnant ewes are the Apostles and the Apostolic men and all the doctors of the Church, who give birth to the salvation of many, and they say with the Apostle: My little children, whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you (Galatians 4:19). The Hebrews assert, and there is no doubt among them about this matter, that the Holy Spirit is called in their language by the feminine gender, that is, the Shekinah. And that which is said in the sixty-seventh psalm: The Lord will give the word to the preachers with great power: they understand it thus: The Lord will give the word to the preachers with great power (Ps. 122:3): namely, to those souls who have received the Holy Spirit. Also this: As the eyes of a handmaid are in the hands of her mistress, so the soul is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, both a handmaid and a mistress. But also in the Gospel written according to the Hebrews, which the Nazarenes read, the Lord speaks: Now my mother took me up, the Holy Spirit. But no one should be scandalized by the fact that in the Hebrew language the Spirit is referred to as feminine, while in our language it is referred to as masculine, and in Greek it is referred to as neutral. For in divinity there is no gender. And therefore, in the three principal languages in which the title of the Lord's Passion is written, it is referred to in three genders, so that we may understand that there is no gender that is different.

For in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the will of the Father and the Son, Peter stood with the Eleven and, lifting up his voice (according to the text, “Lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem”), captured in the spiritual net of his words about three thousand souls. So great was the grace that worked in all the apostles together, that, out of the Jews … this great number believed, were baptized in the name of Christ and continued steadfast in the apostles’ doctrine and in the prayers.

It is the chorus of the apostles that the prophetic text raises here. It is precisely for this reason that after expressing this exhortation in the singular the text shifts into the plural and says, “Lift up [the voice], do not fear.” In the same way, in his turn, Christ our Master said to the apostles, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” And again, after bringing them out from the prison, he bade them to proclaim quite freely the words of this life. Moreover, he calls “mountain” the summit of the knowledge of God.

If the Lord admonishes a prophet to rise, does he dare to preach the Lord who lies fallen through the lapse of wickedness? For this is why every preacher is commanded through Isaiah: "Go up onto a high mountain, you who evangelize Zion" (Isa. 40:9). The high mountain is the perfection of teaching and of works. Let him therefore rise who is commanded to anoint the king; let him stretch himself toward lofty things. Let him rise in lofty work, let him rise in lofty contemplation, let him rise in the wisdom of the word, let him rise in the power of charity. Indeed, he who is anointed through preaching is so great that he can scarcely be reached even from the heights. And perhaps Paul was able to anoint him because he says: "Our conversation is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20). He was able to anoint him because he had raised himself to the secrets of the third heaven and heard hidden words in paradise. Because, therefore, the Lord Jesus ought to be preached sublimely by the sublime, the prophet is commanded to rise, because he is ordered to anoint the one through whom Christ himself is signified. Lofty indeed, nay most lofty, is this virtue of perfect conduct, yet it is perfectly accomplished by many. Great indeed is this sublimity, yet holy Church possesses many who are sublime.

Get you up upon a high mountain. Here he foretells the coming comforter. And concerning this, he does three things: first, the Lord orders the prophet to announce it; in the second part, he determines the promise of his coming: behold your God; in the third, he shows the condition of the one who comes: behold the Lord God shall come with strength (Isa 40:10). Concerning the first, he determines who should announce, to whom, and how he should announce. Who, he determines to be he who has the office: you that bring good tidings: how shall they preach unless they be sent? (Rom 10:15). He designates the manner by three things: by the height of the location, so that he who announces good things will be heard from afar: upon a high mountain, mystically, Christ, or heavenly conversation and contemplation, above: come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord (Isa 2:3); below: they shall cry from the top of the mountains (Isa 42:11); by the cry of the voice: lift up your voice with strength, so that many may hear, by preaching plainly and constantly, below: cry, cease not, lift up your voice (Isa 58:1); by security of heart: lift it up, fear not: be not afraid at their presence (Jer 1:8). He determines to whom it should be announced as to three things: as to the province of the kingdom: say to the cities of Judah; as to the metropolis of the province: you that bring good tidings to Jerusalem; as to the rulers of the city: Zion, where the temple and the royal house were, below: the first shall say to Zion: behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist (Isa 41:27); to you it behooved us first to speak the word of God (Acts 13:46). Here he sets out the promise of the coming of God: behold, at hand, your God, will come, above: God himself will come (Isa 35:4).

This and the four following chapters contain a distinct account of what passed in the land of Judah from the taking of Jerusalem to the retreat of the remnant of the people to Egypt; together with the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning that place, whither he himself accompanied them. In this chapter we have an account of the enlargement of Jeremiah by Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, who advises him to put himself under the jurisdiction of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land of Judea, Jer 40:1-5. The prophet and many of the dispersed Jews repair to Gedaliah, Jer 40:6-12. Johanan acquaints the governor of a conspiracy against him, but is not believed, Jer 40:13-16.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings "O daughter, that bringest glad tidings to Zion" - That the true construction of the sentence is this, which makes Zion the receiver, not the publisher, of the glad tidings, which latter has been the most prevailing interpretation, will, I think, very clearly appear, if we rightly consider the image itself, and the custom and common practice from which it is taken. I have added the word daughter to express the feminine gender of the Hebrew participle, which I know not how to do otherwise in our language; and this is absolutely necessary in order to ascertain the image. For the office of announcing and celebrating such glad tidings as are here spoken of, belongs peculiarly to the women. On occasion of any great public success, a signal victory, or any other joyful event, it was usual for the women to gather together, and with music, dances, and songs, to publish and celebrate the happy news. Thus after the passage of the Red Sea, Miriam, and all the women, with timbrels in their hands, formed a chorus, and joined the men in their triumphant song, dancing, and throwing in alternately the refrain or burden of the song: - "Sing ye to Jehovah, for he is greatly exalted; The horse and his rider hath he cast into the sea." Exo 15:20, Exo 15:21. So Jephthah's daughter collected a chorus or virgins, and with dances and songs came out to meet her father, and to celebrate his victory, Jdg 11:34. After David's conquest of Goliath, "all the women came out of the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music;" and, forming themselves into two choruses, they sang alternately: - "Saul has slain his thousands: And David his ten thousands." Sa1 18:6, Sa1 18:7. And this gives us the true sense of a passage in the sixty-eighth Psalm, which has frequently been misunderstood: - "Jehovah gave the word, (that is, the joyful news), The women, who published the glad tidings, were a great company; The kings of mighty armies did flee, did flee: And even the matron, who stayed at home, shared the spoil." The word signifying the publishers of glad tidings is the same, and expressed in the same form by the feminine participle, as in this place, and the last distich is the song which they sang. So in this place, Jehovah having given the word by his prophet, the joyful tidings of the restoration of Zion, and of God's returning to Jerusalem, (see Isa 52:8), the women are exhorted by the prophet to publish the joyful news with a loud voice from eminences, whence they might best be heard all over the country; and the matter and burden of their song was to be, "Behold your God!" See on Psa 68:11 (note).

SECOND PART OF THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. (Isa. 40:1-31) Comfort ye, comfort ye--twice repeated to give double assurance. Having announced the coming captivity of the Jews in Babylon, God now desires His servants, the prophets (Isa 52:7), to comfort them. The scene is laid in Babylon; the time, near the close of the captivity; the ground of comfort is the speedy ending of the captivity, the Lord Himself being their leader. my people . . . your God--correlatives (Jer 31:33; Hos 1:9-10). It is God's covenant relation with His people, and His "word" of promise (Isa 40:8) to their forefathers, which is the ground of His interposition in their behalf, after having for a time chastised them (Isa 54:8).

Rather, "Oh, thou that bringest good things to Zion; thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem." "Thou" is thus the collective personification of the messengers who announce God's gracious purpose to Zion (see on Isa 40:1); Isa 52:7 confirms this [Vulgate and GESENIUS]. If English Version be retained, the sense will be the glad message was first to be proclaimed to Jerusalem, and then from it as the center to all "Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth" (Luk 24:47, Luk 24:49; Act 1:8) [VITRINGA and HENGSTENBERG]. mountain--It was customary for those who were about to promulgate any great thing, to ascend a hill from which they could be seen and heard by all (Jdg 9:7; Mat 5:1). be not afraid--to announce to the exiles that their coming return home is attended with danger in the midst of the Babylonians. The gospel minister must "open his mouth boldly" (Pro 29:25; Eph 6:19). Behold--especially at His second coming (Zac 12:10; Zac 14:5).

The prophet accordingly now takes, as his standpoint, the time when Jehovah will already have come. "Upon a high mountain get thee up, O evangelistess Zion; lift up they voice with strength, evangelistess Jerusalem: lift up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God." Knobel and others follow the lxx and Targum, and regard Zion and Jerusalem as accusatives of the object, viz., "preacher of salvation (i.e., a chorus of preachers) to Zion-Jerusalem;" but such parallels as Isa 52:7 and Isa 62:11 are misleading here. The words are in apposition (A. S. Th. εὐαγγελιζομένη Σιών). Zion-Jerusalem herself is called an evangelistess: the personification as a female renders this probable at the outset, and it is placed beyond all doubt by the fact, that it is the cities of Judah (the daughters of Zion-Jerusalem) that are to be evangelized. The prophet's standpoint here is in the very midst of the parousia. When Jerusalem shall have her God in the midst of her once more, after He has broken up His home there for so long a time; she is then, as the restored mother-community, to ascend a high mountain, and raising her voice with fearless strength, to bring to her daughters the joyful news of the appearance of their God. The verb bissēr signifies literally to smooth, to unfold, then to make glad, more especially with joyful news. (Note: The verb bissēr signifies primarily to stroke, rub, shave, or scratch the surface of anything; then to stroke off or rub off the surface, or anything which covers it; then, suggested by the idea of "rubbing smooth" (glatt), "to smooth a person" (jemanden gltten; compare the English, to gladden a person), i.e., vultum ejus diducere, to make him friendly and cheerful, or "to look smoothly upon a person," i.e., to show him a friendly face; and also as an intransitive, "to be glad," to be friendly and cheerful; and lastly, in a general sense, aliquid attingere, tractare, attrectare, to grasp or handle a thing (from which comes bâsâr, the flesh, as something tangible or material). In harmony with the Hebrew bissēr (Jer 20:15), they say in Arabic basarahu (or intensive, bassarahu) bi-maulûdin, he has gladdened him with the news of the birth of a son.) It lies at the root of the New Testament εὐαγγελίζειν (evangelize), and is a favourite word of the author of chapters 40-66, that Old Testament evangelist, though it is no disproof of Isaiah's authorship (cf., Nah 2:1). Hitherto Jerusalem has been in despair, bowed down under the weight of the punishment of her sins, and standing in need of consolation. But now that she has Jehovah with her again, she is to lift up her voice with the most joyful confidence, without further anxiety, and to become, according to her true vocation, the messenger of good tidings to all Judaea.