1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sayth your God.
2 Speake ye comfortably to Ierusalem, and cry vnto her, that her warrefare is accomplished, that her iniquitie is pardoned: for shee hath receiued of the Lords hand double for all her sinnes.
3 ¶ The voyce of him that cryeth in the wildernesse, Prepare yee the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high way for our God.
4 Euery valley shalbe exalted, and euery mountaine and hill shalbe made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plaine.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be reuealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
6 The voyce sayd; Cry. And hee sayd; What shall I cry? All flesh is grasse, and all the goodlinesse thereof is as the flowre of the field.
7 The grasse withereth, the flowre fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.
8 The grasse withereth, the flowre fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for euer.
9 ¶ O Zion, that bringest good tydings, get thee vp into the high mountaine: O Ierusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift vp thy voyce with strength, lift it vp, be not afraid: say vnto the cities of Iudah; Behold your God.
10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arme shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his worke before him.
11 He shall feede his flocke like a shepheard: he shall gather the lambes with his arme; and carie them in his bosome, and shall gently lead those that are with yoong.
12 ¶ Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? and meted out heauen with the spanne, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountaines in scales, and the hilles in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or, being his counseller, hath taught him?
14 With whom tooke he counsell, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of iudgement? and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of vnderstanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, hee taketh vp the yles as a very litle thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burne, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offring.
17 All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him lesse then nothing, and vanitie.
18 ¶ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likenesse will ye compare vnto him?
19 The workeman melteth a grauen image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it ouer with golde, and casteth siluer chaines.
20 He that is so impouerished that he hath no oblation, chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh vnto him a cunning workeman, to prepare a grauen image that shall not be mooued.
21 Haue yee not knowen? haue yee not heard? hath it not beene tolde you from the beginning? haue yee not vnderstood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth vpon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grashoppers; that stretcheth out the heauens as a curtaine, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwel in:
23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; hee maketh the Iudges of the earth as vanitie.
24 Yea they shal not be planted, yea they shall not be sowen, yea their stocke shall not take roote in the earth: and he shall also blow vpon them, & they shall wither, and the whirlewinde shall take them away as stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shal I be equall, saith the Holy One?
26 Lift vp your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, by the greatnesse of his might, for that hee is strong in power, not one faileth.
27 Why sayest thou, O Iacob, and speakest O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my iudgement is passed ouer from my God?
28 ¶ Hast thou not knowen? hast thou not heard, that the euerlasting God, the Lord, the Creatour of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is wearie? there is no searching of his vnderstanding.
29 He giueth power to the faint, and to them that haue no might, he increaseth strength.
30 Euen the youths shall faint, and be weary, and the yong men shall vtterly fall.
31 But they that waite vpon the Lord, shall renew their strength: they shall mount vp with wings as Eagles, they shal runne and not be weary, and they shall walke, and not faint.
The preaching of the gospel, and glad tidings of the coming of Christ. (1-11) The almighty power of God. (12-17) The folly of idolatry. (18-26) Against unbelief. (27-31)1-11 All human life is a warfare; the Christian life is the most so; but the struggle will not last always. Troubles are removed in love, when sin is pardoned. In the great atonement of the death of Christ, the mercy of God is exercised to the glory of his justice. In Christ, and his sufferings, true penitents receive of the Lord's hand double for all their sins; for the satisfaction Christ made by his death was of infinite value. The prophet had some reference to the return of the Jews from Babylon. But this is a small event, compared with that pointed out by the Holy Ghost in the New Testament, when John the Baptist proclaimed the approach of Christ. When eastern princes marched through desert countries, ways were prepared for them, and hinderances removed. And may the Lord prepare our hearts by the teaching of his word and the convictions of his Spirit, that high and proud thoughts may be brought down, good desires planted, crooked and rugged tempers made straight and softened, and every hinderance removed, that we may be ready for his will on earth, and prepared for his heavenly kingdom. What are all that belongs to fallen man, or all that he does, but as the grass and the flower thereof! And what will all the titles and possessions of a dying sinner avail, when they leave him under condemnation! The word of the Lord can do that for us, which all flesh cannot. The glad tidings of the coming of Christ were to be sent forth to the ends of the earth. Satan is the strong man armed; but our Lord Jesus is stronger; and he shall proceed, and do all that he purposes. Christ is the good Shepherd; he shows tender care for young converts, weak believers, and those of a sorrowful spirit. By his word he requires no more service, and by his providence he inflicts no more trouble, than he will strengthen them for. May we know our Shepherd's voice, and follow him, proving ourselves his sheep.
12-17 All created beings shrink to nothing in comparison with the Creator. When the Lord, by his Spirit, made the world, none directed his Spirit, or gave advice what to do, or how to do it. The nations, in comparison of him, are as a drop which remains in the bucket, compared with the vast ocean; or as the small dust in the balance, which does not turn it, compared with all the earth. This magnifies God's love to the world, that, though it is of such small account and value with him, yet, for the redemption of it, he gave his only-begotten Son, #Joh 3:16|. The services of the church can make no addition to him. Our souls must have perished for ever, if the only Son of the Father had not given himself for us.
18-26 Whatever we esteem or love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we make equal with God, though we do not make images or worship them. He that is so poor, that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer, yet will not be without a god of his own. They spared no cost upon their idols; we grudge what is spent in the service of our God. To prove the greatness of God, the prophet appeals to all ages and nations. Those who are ignorant of this, are willingly ignorant. God has the command of all creatures, and of all created things. The prophet directs us to use our reason as well as our senses; to consider who created the hosts of heaven, and to pay our homage to Him. Not one fails to fulfil his will. And let us not forget, that He spake all the promises, and engaged to perform them.
27-31 The people of God are reproved for their unbelief and distrust of God. Let them remember they took the names Jacob and Israel, from one who found God faithful to him in all his straits. And they bore these names as a people in covenant with Him. Many foolish frets, and foolish fears, would vanish before inquiry into the causes. It is bad to have evil thoughts rise in our minds, but worse to turn them into evil words. What they had known, and had heard, was sufficient to silence all these fears and distrusts. Where God had begun the work of grace, he will perfect it. He will help those who, in humble dependence on him, help themselves. As the day, so shall the strength be. In the strength of Divine grace their souls shall ascend above the world. They shall run the way of God's commandments cheerfully. Let us watch against unbelief, pride, and self-confidence. If we go forth in our own strength, we shall faint, and utterly fall; but having our hearts and our hopes in heaven, we shall be carried above all difficulties, and be enabled to lay hold of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.