The Lord’s Chosen Servant
Isa 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Isa 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
Isa 42:4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Isa 42:5 This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
Isa 42:6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
Isa 42:7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Isa 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
Isa 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Isa 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
Isa 42:11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
Isa 42:12 Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.
Isa 42:13 The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
Isa 42:14 “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
Isa 42:15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.
Isa 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
Israel’s Failure to Hear and See
Isa 42:18 “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
Isa 42:19 Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?
Isa 42:20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
Isa 42:21 It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
Isa 42:22 But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.”
Isa 42:23 Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?
Isa 42:24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.
Isa 42:25 So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
1 The office of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy. 5 God’s promise unto him. 10 An exhortation to praise God for his gospel. 17 He reproves the people of incredulity.
Isa 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
For the setting of ch. 42, see on ch. 40:1. “Servant” is here a designation for Christ (see on ch. 41:8). In Matt. 12:18 this prophecy is specifically applied to Christ. Indeed, many expressions in this chapter can apply to no other. Jesus frequently referred to Himself as having been sent by His Father to carry out an assigned mission (John 4:34; 6:38; 14:31).
Concerning the nature of His work He declared that He “came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28) and that He was among His people “as he that servs” (Luke 22:27). Here and in the chapters that follow, Isaiah sets forth the most complete picture of Messiah and His earthly mission to be found anywhere in the OT. Largely because of these prophecies Isaiah is known as “the gospel prophet.”
My spirit upon him.
Here Isaiah clearly refers to the three members of the Godhead: “I [the Father] have put my spirit [the Holy Spirit] upon him [the “Servant,” Messiah]” (Matt. 12:18). In a special sense the Holy Spirit came upon Christ at His baptism (see on Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18; see also John 1:32, 33; Acts 10:38).
That the message of divine grace was not to be alone for the Jews, but for all men, is one of the outstanding truths uniquely set forth by Isaiah.
Isa 42:2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
The Messiah was to accomplish a mighty work in a quiet and unobtrusive way, without pomp or show.
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.
Matt. 12:20. Messiah will minister tenderly to the weak, the bruised, and the oppressed. He is a friend to the humble, contrite sinner—to every man who finds himself in need. Men who appear to themselves and to others almost beyond hope will find in Him the comfort, strength, and courage they are so much need of.
Smouldering wick. That is, a linen wick flickering and ready to go out.
Isa 42:4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
In spite of the difficulties He may have to face, Messiah will persevere toward the goal of restoring the just law of the universe to this earth.
The islands. A common OT designation for all countries bordering on the Mediterranean, here equivalent to “Gentiles.”
Isa 42:5 This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
Isa 42:6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
The plan of salvation is a means not only of rescuing men from sin but also of vindicating the righteous character of God before the entire universe. Christ was to be not only the mediator of the covenant but the covenant itself. He was its center and substance. He was not only to bring peace but to be “our peace,” that we, who were once “strangers from the covenants of promise,” might be “made nigh” to God by His precious blood (Eph. 2:12–14; Micah 5:5).
Without Christ, men grope and stumble about in darkness. But in Christ the most unfortunate and benighted have the privilege of finding the light of life (see Isa. 49:6; Luke 2:32; John 1:4–9; Acts 13:47).
Isa 42:7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
The restoration of physical eyesight upon various occasions testified that Christ had power to impart sight to men’s souls (John 9:1–9; cf. Isa. 61:1–3).
Isa 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
Isa 42:9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Predictions made by Isaiah and other prophets in earlier days had already been fulfilled. The fulfillment of these former prophecies gave weight and value to the striking predictions now set before the people (see Jer. 28:9). Prophecies are like seed. When Isaiah spoke, there was not the slightest evidence that his words would ever be fulfilled, but seven centuries later those of this passage met a glorious fulfillment in Christ.
Sing to the Lord a New Song
Isa 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
Days of darkness and discouragement had overtaken Judah, and darker days lay ahead, but Isaiah proclaimed a message of comfort and hope (ch. 40:1, 2). As the people looked forward to the glorious future they could even now rejoice and sing and thank God for His wonderful mercy and love.
Isa 42:11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
An Arabian tribe descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:13; see Isa. 21:13, 16; Eze. 27:21). They had black tents (S. of Sol. 1:5), and kept flocks and camels (Isa. 60:7; Jer. 49:28, 29); Here they are mentioned together with “the inhabitants of the rock,” which is Sela (see on Isa. 16:1), or Petra (see on 2 Kings 14:7), as representatives of distant peoples that would hear the message of God’s grace and turn to Him with praise and singing.
Isa 42:12 Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.
Isa 42:13 The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
Isa 42:14 “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
The hour of God’s vengeance has finally come. For a long time the Lord has permitted the wicked to go their evil ways (see Eccl. 8:11). Now He will call them to account, now He will perform, “his strange work” (Isa. 28:21), now He will reward evil men according to their deeds. Here in figurative language the prophet pictures the end of divine forbearance.
Isa 42:15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
Divine vengeance on those who have despised mercy is here pictured in highly figurative language. For the literal convulsions that will shake the earth when Christ returns see Rev. 6:14–17; 16:17–21; cf. Isa. 24:1, 3, 5, 19–21.
Isa 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
That is, those who have been spiritually blind (see on v. 7). Divine retribution will fall upon those who have deliberately rejected light (vs. 13–15), whereas those who are sincere, though benighted, will come to the light, and will be given an opportunity to accept the gracious mercy of God.
Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’
When the Lord reveals Himself (v. 14) those who have trusted in false gods will have irrefutable evidence of the folly of their ways. Their gods will prove powerless to help them.
Israel’s Failure to Hear and See
Isa 42:18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
These words are addressed to the professed people of God (see v. 19), many of whom are spiritually blind and deaf. Isaiah calls upon all who acknowledge the name of the Lord, but whose spiritual perception has been impaired, to open their ears and their eyes that they may perceive the revealed will of God.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?
In the book of Isaiah blindness generally refers to spiritual blindness on the part of God’s professed people (see on ch. 6:9, 10). However, vs. 18, 20 imply that the “blind” “servant” of v. 19 does wrong in not seeing, and that God calls on him to amend his ways. The “blind” and “deaf” “servant” of v. 19 therefore designates God’s people (see Rev. 3:17–20).
Isa 42:20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
Isa 42:21 It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
Christ magnified the “law,” Heb. torah (see on Ps. 19:7; Prov. 3:1), both by precept and by example, proving it to be wise and just. Obedience to the revealed will of God always promotes righteousness, happiness, and peace among men.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ magnified the law by applying its principles to the motives of the heart as well as to the outward acts (see on Matt. 5:17, 20, 21). Christ’s life of perfect compliance with every requirement of the law confirmed all that He proclaimed concerning it (John 15:10; 17:4; Rom. 8:3, 4).
Isa 42:22 But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.”
God had warned His people that the result of disobedience would be woe and disaster (Deut. 28:15–68), and these warnings were now in process of fulfillment. The ten tribes of Israel were gone; Judah was desolate, and many of its people had been taken captive by Assyria, while others had to hide in dens and caves. A worse fate descended upon the land a century later with the repeated invasions of Nebuchadnezzar.
Isa 42:23 Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?
God had permitted trouble to come to bring the people to their senses and make them willing to hearken to Him. Would they now listen to His words of wisdom and life? Or would they follow their own counsel, like their fathers in ages past?
Isa 42:24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law.
God had permitted the Assyrian invasion (see on chs. 8:7, 8; 10:5, 6). By their stubborn refusal to obey, the people of Judah brought suffering upon themselves. When they refused to serve the Lord He withdrew His protecting hand from them and permitted the enemy to come in and devastate their land.
Isa 42:25 So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
The judgments that had come upon the nation were largely in vain. Despite their sufferings the people failed to comprehend the terrible nature of sin and the reason for their plight. Such a situation presaged further trouble. Sennacherib’s judgments were to be followed by the much more serious visitation that came upon the nation in the days of Nebuchadnezzar.