7 The grass withers , the flower fades , When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass . 8 The grass withers , the flower fades , But the word of our God stands forever .
9 Get yourself up on a high mountain , O Zion , bearer of good news , Lift up your voice mightily , O Jerusalem , bearer of good news ; Lift it up, do not fear . Say to the cities of Judah , " Here is your God !" 10 Behold , the Lord GOD will come with might , With His arm ruling for Him. Behold , His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. 11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock , In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom ; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand , And marked off the heavens by the span , And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure , And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales ? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord , Or as His counselor e has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding ? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding ? 15 Behold , the nations are like a drop from a bucket , And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales ; Behold , He lifts up the islands like fine dust . 16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn , Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering . 17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless .
18 To whom then will you liken God ? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? 19 As for the idol , a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold , And a silversmith fashions chains of silver . 20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering Selects a tree that does not rot ; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To prepare an idol that will not totter . 21 Do you not know ? Have you not heard ? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning ? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth ? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth , And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers , Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing , Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless . 24 Scarcely e have they been planted , Scarcely e have they been sown , Scarcely e has their stock taken root in the earth , But He merely blows on them, and they wither , And the storm carries them away like stubble .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 40:7-24
Commentary on Isaiah 40:1-11
(Read Isaiah 40:1-11)
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.
Commentary on Isaiah 40:12-17
(Read Isaiah 40:12-17)
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, John 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.
Commentary on Isaiah 40:18-26
(Read Isaiah 40:18-26)
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.