The Lord exhorteth all nations to believe his promises 6 Christ is the salvacion of all that believe, and will deliver them from the tyrannie of their enemies.
1.Hear ye me, ô yles, and hearken, ye people from far. The Lord hath called ame from bthe wombe, and made mention of my name from my mother’s bellie.
2.And he hath made my mouth like a sharp csword · under the shadow of his hand hath he dhid me, and made me a chosen shafte and hid me in his quiver,
3.And said unto me, Thou art my servant, eIsraél, for I will be glorious in thee.
4.And I said, I have flaboured in vain: I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing: but my judgement is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
5.And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the wombe to be his servant, that I maie bring Jaakób again to him (though Israél be not gathered, gyet shal I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord: and my God shalbe my strength)
6.And he said, It is a small thing that thou shuldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jaakób, & to restore the desolations of Israél. I will also give hthee for a light of the Gentiles, that thou maiest be my salvation unto the end of the world.
7.Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israél, and his Holie one, to him that is despised in soul, to a nation that is abhorred, to a iservant of rulers, Kings shal see, and karise, and princes shal worship, because of the Lord, that is faithful · and the Holie one of Israél, which hath chosen thee.
8.Thus saith the Lord, lIn an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee, and I will preserve thee, and will give mthee for a covenant of the people, that thou maiest raise up the nearth, and obtain the inheritance of the desolate heritages:
9.That thou maiest say to the oprisoners, Go forth: and to them that are in darkness, Shewe your selves: they shal feed in the ways, and their ppastures shalbe in all the tops of the hills.
10.They shal not be hungry, neither shal they be thirsty, neither shal the heat smite them nor the sun: for he that hath compassion qon them, shal lead them, even to the springs of waters shal he drive them.
11.And I will make all my mountains, as a way, and my paths shalbe exalted.
12.Behold, these shal come from far, and lo, these from the North and from the West, and these from the land of rSiním.
13.Rejoyce, ô sheavens: and be joyful, ô earth brast forth in to praise, ô mountains · for God hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14.But Zion said, The Lord hath tforsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15.Can a woman forget her child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? though they should forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16.Behold, I have graven thee upon the palm of mine uhands · thy xwalls are ever in my sight.
17.Thy builders make yhast: thy destroyers and they that made thee waste, are departed from thee.
18.Lift up thine eyes round about and behold all these gather them selves together and come to thee, as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely zput them all upon thee as a garment, and gird thy self with them like a bride.
19.For thy desolations, and thy waste places, and thy land destroyed, shal surely be now narrow for them that shal dwell in it, and they that did devour thee, shalbe far away.
20.The children of thy barennes shal say again in thine ears, The place is straict for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21.Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I am baren and desolate, a captive and a wanderer to and fro? and who hath nourished them? behold, I was left alone: whence are these?
22.Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the aGentiles and set up my standart to the people, and they shal bring thy sons in their arms: and thy daughters shalbe carried upon their shoulders.
23.And Kings bshalbe thy nursing fathers, and Queens shalbe thy nurses: they shal worship thee with their faces toward the earth, and lick up the cdust of thy feet: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shal not be ashamed that wait for me.
24.Shal the prey be dtaken from the mighty? or the just captivity delivered?
25.But thus saith the Lord, eEven the captivity of the mighty shalbe taken awaie: and the prey of the tyrant shalbe delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children,
26.And will feed them that spoil thee, with ftheir own flesh, and they shalbe drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shal know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy redeemer, the mighty one of Jaakób.
This is spoken in the person of Christ to assure the faithful, that these promises should come to pass for they were all made in him, and in him should be performed.
He objects what the faithful might say in their long affliction, and answers thereunto to comfort them, with a most proper similitude, and full of consolation.