Chapter 42
42:1 Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delights in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
42:2 He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad.
42:3 The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
42:4 He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth, and the islands shall wait for his law.
42:5 Thus says the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched them out: that established the earth, and the things that spring out of it: that gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon.
42:6 I the Lord have called you in justice, and taken you by the hand, and preserved you. And I have given you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:
42:7 that you might open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
42:8 I the Lord, this is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
42:9 The things that were first, behold they are come: and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.
42:10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of the earth: you that go down to the sea, and the fullness thereof: you islands, and you inhabitants of them.
42:11 Let the desert and the cities thereof raise: Cedar shall dwell in houses: you inhabitants of Petra, give praise, they shall cry from the top of the mountains.
42:12 They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.
42:13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal: he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.
42:14 I have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labor: I will destroy, and swallow up at once.
42:15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and will make all their grass to wither: and I will turn rivers into islands, and will dry up the standing pools.
42:16 And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight: these things have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.
42:17 They are turned back: let them be greatly confounded, that trust in a graven thing, that say to a molten thing: You are our god.
42:18 Hear, you deaf, and, you blind, behold that you may see.
42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? Or deaf, but he to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, but he that is sold? Or who is blind, but the servant of the Lord?
42:20 You that see many things, will you not observe them? You that have ears open, will you not hear?
42:21 And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and exalt it.
42:22 But this is a people that is robbed and wasted: they are all the snare of young men, and they are hid in the houses of prisons: they are made a prey, and there is none to deliver them: a spoil, and there is none that says: restore.
42:23 Who is there among you that will give ear to this, that will attend and hearken to things to come?
42:24 Who has given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? Has not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they would not walk in his ways, and they have not hearkened to his law.
42:25 And he has poured out upon him the indignation of his fury, and a strong battle, and has burnt him round about, and he knew not: and set him on fire, and he understood not.
817 . Behold my servant . Here he shows divine love from the Son, whom he promised: God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son (John 3:16).
And first, from such a benefit, he shows the love of God;
second, the perversity of the Jews: these things have I done to them (Isa 42:16).
Concerning the first, he does three things;
first, he foretells the coming of the Son of God;
second, the fall of the wicked: the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man (Isa 42:13);
third, the resurrection of the good: and I will lead the blind (Isa 42:16): behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel (Luke 2:34).
Concerning the first, he does three things:
first, he describes the condition of the one who is to be sent;
second, he foretells the sending: thus says the Lord God (Isa 42:5);
third, he invites to thanksgiving: sing to the Lord (Isa 42:10).
818 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he shows his fullness of grace as to the grace of union: I will uphold him ; my servant , according to his human nature: he has upheld Israel his servant (Luke 1:54); as to the grace of the head: my elect , that he may be the head of the Church, chosen out of thousands (Song 5:10); blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to you (Ps 64:5[65:4); my soul delights in him : this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt 17:5); as to the habitual grace, which was in him alone: I have given my spirit , above: the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa 11:2).
819 . Second, he shows the equity of his judgment as to three things:
namely, the authority to judge, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles : give to the king your judgment, O God (Ps 71:2[72:1]); the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). To which he joins his meekness: he shall not cry : the words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools (Eccl 9:17).
Second, he shows the equality of the judge: nor have respect to person : God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34); to which he joins his piety in coming to help: neither shall his voice , the voice of his preaching, be heard abroad , outside Judea, so that he should first come to the aid of those to whom he was sent (Matt 15:24): to day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Ps 94[95]:8). And in dissembling: the bruised reed , namely, the kingdom of the Jews, smoking flax , of the priests: that which was broken you have not bound up (Ezek 34:4).
Third, he shows the truth of his judgment: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth : he shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth (Ps 95[96]:13). To which he joins his pleasantness: he shall not be sad , in his heart, nor troublesome , in his face, for he was always cheerful and pleasant, keeping evenness of mind, even if, as to the sensible part, there was the suffering of sadness, not indeed of necessity, but of will; thus, my soul is sorrowful even unto death (Matt 26:38); the joyfulness of the heart (Sir 30:23[22]).
820 . Third, he shows the power of the Lord: till he set the final judgment , or his precept, by the preaching of the Apostles; his law , the Gospel: he shall be the expectation of nations (Gen 49:10), below: for, the islands wait for me (Isa 60:9). Others explain these things of Darius the king of the Persians, who was meek, just and peaceful, and whom the Lord chose to liberate the Jews.
821 . Thus says the Lord God . Here he foretells the sending.
And first, he sets out the power of the one who sends as to the creation of heavenly things: that created the heavens ; as to the disposition of earthly things: that established the earth ; as to the animation of living things: that gives breath , of natural life, and spirit , freely: the Lord, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man in him (Zech 12:1).
Second, he foretells the sending, setting out the exaltation of the one sent: I the Lord have called you , my Son, from eternity predestining to the unity of the divine person, in justice , that is, that I may be just, fulfilling my promise: who was predestined the Son of God (Rom 1:4); and taken you by the hand , as to his working: the Father who abides in me, he doth the works (John 14:10), and preserved you , lest you be detained by death: nor will you give your holy one to see corruption (Ps 15[16]:10), below: I have called him and brought him (Isa 48:15).
He also sets out the injunction of his office: and I have given you for a covenant , as a mediator: I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant (Gen 9:13), for a light , as an illuminator, above: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen (Isa 9:2); that was the true light (John 1:9).
He also shows the use of his office against faithlessness: that you might open the eyes of the blind : for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39); against the slavery of sin: and bring forth the prisoner out of prison : you also by the blood of your testament have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit (Zech 9:11).
Third, from the sending he deduces the singularity of the divine majesty as to power: I the Lord : make a way for him who ascends upon the west: the Lord is his name (Ps 67:5[68:4]); my name Adonai (Exod 6:3); my glory , by which I am called Lord: glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14). And as to knowledge: the things that were first , etc., below: I foretold you of old (Isa 48:5). They also refer this to Darius.
822 . Sing to the Lord . Here he invites to thanksgiving.
And first, he enjoins praise, and especially upon the rustic, whether because of the distance of their habitation: from the ends of the earth , above: from the ends of the earth we have heard praises (Isa 24:16); or because of they are confined by the sea: you that go down to the sea , namely, sailors, and the fullness thereof , namely, of the sea, that is, let everything with which it is filled praise God: they that go down to the sea in ships (Ps 106[107]:23–24).
Or because their way of life is in the desert: let the desert , that is, its inhabitants, especially as to the Ishmaelites, raise , its voice in praise of God; Cedar , the son of Ishmael, shall dwell in houses , according to the custom of other nations, for they were formerly wanderers through the desert, above: the land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice (Isa 35:1); or because their habitation is in the mountains: give praise, you inhabitants of Petra , the city in Palestine, which is built in the rocks; or any mountain, below: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise (Isa 55:12); and he invites these who seem less likely to be turned to praising God.
Second, he foretells the spreading of divine praise: they shall give glory to the Lord , in others, not only in themselves, below: I will send of them that shall be saved, to the Gentiles (Isa 66:19). Mystically, all this refers to the conversion of the gentiles to the faith.
823 . The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man . Here he foretells the coming fall of the wicked through the coming of Christ; and concerning this, he sets out four things.
First, power: the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man , to fight against the Jews through the Romans: the Lord is as a man of war (Exod 15:3); zeal , for vengeance: the zeal and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge (Prov 6:34);
second, he sets out wrath: he shall shout , through the tribulations which he sends upon them; against what is said above, he shall not cry (Isa 42:2); for he first shows meekness when he comes, but he shows indignation to those who disdain him: he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty (Job 37:4).
Third, he sets out justice, for it is just that when he has long waited for the impenitent, he should swallow them all up at once: I have always held my peace : have I not dissembled? Have I not kept silence? (Job 3:26), I have been patient , above: therefore the Lord waits that he may have mercy on you (Isa 30:18); as a woman in labor , I will bring forth hidden pain, as a woman brings forth the infant she has conceived, or because as a woman in labor , I will be pained at such a grave penalty.
Fourth, he sets out the punishment as to men: I will lay waste the mountains , the great, hills , the middle ranks, grass , the common people: and I will make mount Seir waste and desolate (Ezek 35:7); and as to the removal of every teaching or consolation, I will turn rivers into islands : he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground (Ps 106[107]:33). This can also be referred to the destruction of the enemies of the Jews by Darius.
824 . And I will lead . Here he sets out the resurrection of the good as to three things:
first, as to the restoration of action: I will lead the blind , namely, the gentiles, into the way , Christ, or the precept of the law, or also the Jews, according to another explanation: I will lead you by the paths of equity (Prov 4:11);
second, as to the illumination of the intellect: I will make darkness light before them : to enlighten them that sit in darkness (Luke 1:79);
third, as to the direction of the affections: and crooked things , namely, their hearts, straight , above: the crooked shall become straight (Isa 40:4).
825 . These things have I done to them . Here he shows the perversity of the Jews.
And first, he shows that they are ungrateful toward his benefits;
second, that they are hard-hearted toward his precepts: hear, you deaf (Isa 42:18);
third, obstinate between scourges: who is there among you (Isa 42:23).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he shows their ingratitude: these things , namely, the aforementioned benefits. They are turned back , from me: you have forsaken me, says the Lord, you are gone backward (Jer 15:6);
second, he calls down confusion on them: let them be greatly confounded : let all them be confounded (Ps 24:4).
826 . Hear, you deaf . Here he shows that they are hard-hearted or disobedient toward his precepts.
And first, he shows their hard-heartedness, calling them deaf and blind unitedly: for their own malice blinded them (Wis 2:21), though they may have the eyes and ears of the body, which shows that those who see take heed and those who have the ears of their hearts open obey. He that is sold , as a slave of sin for love of temporal good: you are sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord (1 Kgs 21:20). You that have ears open : hear, O foolish people, and without understanding: who have eyes, and see not: and ears, and hear not (Jer 5:21); above: blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy (Isa 6:10).
Second, he shows the foolishness of the hard-hearted, because the Lord intended what is found in the precepts for their own advantage. Hence he sets out the intention of the Lord: and the Lord was willing to sanctify him , the people, both that the people themselves should magnify the law of God in their hearts by keeping it, and that the Lord should exalt the people: for this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess 4:3).
And he also shows their contradiction, because they sinned against themselves: but this is a people that is robbed , by demons through various sins, and therefore they are wasted , by enemies, above: from a people rent and torn in pieces (Isa 18:7); also by others who furnished the occasion of sin: the snare , that is, the occasion of sin, of young men , the foolish: you have been a snare to them (Hos 5:1); and because they hid their sins in the houses of prisons , that is, in the secret of their hearts: with a double heart have they spoken (Ps 11:3[12:2]).
Third, he sets out the punishment: they are made a prey , and there is none to deliver them , by the power of wars, and there is none that says , in the insistence of prayer: they compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me (Sir 51:10); or the punishment begins where it says: in the houses of prisons , so that this is explained literally.
827 . Who is there among you . Here he shows that they cannot be corrected by scourges, because they do not even recognize the cause of the scourges; and concerning this, he does three things.
First, he seeks those who perceive rightly, intimating their scarcity; things to come , which I foretell concerning your punishments: who is wise, and he shall understand these things? (Hos 14:10).
Second, he determines the truth as to the doer of the punishment: who has given Jacob for a spoil , the Lord kills and makes alive (1 Sam 2:6); as to the fault: has not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned : and they have not known his justices, nor walked by the ways of God’s commandments (Bar 4:13). And as to the punishment, and he has poured out : pour out your indignation upon them (Ps 68:25[69:24]), “pouring out” signifies its abundance.
Third, he excludes knowledge of the truth: and has burnt him , namely, with material fire through the wasting by their enemies, and he knew not , that he was punished by God for his sins: they have not known nor understood (Ps 81[82]:5).
828 . There is the cry (see 42:2),
of devout prayer: with a strong cry and tears (Heb 5:7);
of attentive preaching: and on the last festival day, Jesus cried (John 7:37);
of strife and contention, above: I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isa 5:2).
Christ is given for a covenant (see 42:6),
of preserving salvation: I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of my covenant (Gen 9:13);
of fulfilling the promise: for all the promises of God are in him (2 Cor 1:20);
of divine love: God so loved the world (John 3:16);
of the law to cease: burnt offering and sin offering you didst not desire (Ps 39[40]:7).