How God Sharpens Our Tongues for Service

JESUS WAS A POLISHED ARROW
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah49:2 2He made my mouth like a sharpened
sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made
me into a polishedarrow and concealedme in his
quiver.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Fitness ForGod's Service
Isaiah49:2
R. Tuck
The generalidea of this sectionof Isaiah's prophecies needs to be borne in
mind. In it "Israelhimself, in all his contradictorycharacteristics, becomes
the engrossing subjectofthe prophet's meditations. His restoration, still
future, but indubitable, is celebratedin ch. 50. by an ode somewhatsimilar to
that on the fall of Babylon in the preceding part. But the nearerthe great
event arrives, and the more the prophet realizes the ideal Israelof the future,
the more he is depressedby the low spiritual condition of the actualIsrael.
Strange to say, this combination of apparently inconsistent data - the
splendour of the future and the misery of the present - supplies the material
for a specimenof dramatic description surpassing anything in the rest of the
Old Testament" (Cheyne). By the "servantof Jehovah" we may understand

those sent forth by Godas the prophets and teachers of eachage, bearing
Divine messagesofwarning and of duty. These are personified, as it were, in
the one greatDivine Teacher, the Messiah. It was one of the most important
features of the ministry in every age that it should convict of sin; therefore the
work of the mouth is likenedto that of a "sharpsword" (comp. Hebrews 4:12,
"The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword,... and is a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart"). Pindar
employs the metaphor of the arrow in applicationto powerful eloquence. And
the metaphor of a sword and an arrow, both in the best state of preparation,
aptly sets forth the penetrating and subduing efficacyof the gospel. This one
feature of fitness for doing God's work in the world - the eloquent, persuasive,
convincing tongue - may introduce to us the generalsubjectof "fitness for
God's service."
I. IT LIES IN ENDOWMENT. The true servant of God is a gifted man - one
to whom specialpowers have been committed, which powers indicate his
work, and make him responsible for the doing of it. The proper idea of a
Christian ministry is the separationto the work of preaching and teaching of
all those who are evidently divinely endowed for preaching and teaching
work. The right of a man to do any particular kind of work in the world is
simply the right which comes from the divinely given capacityfor doing it. If
God made us painters, we must paint; if he made us poets, we must shape
beautiful thoughts in verse;if he made us preachers, we must preach. Canon
Liddon eloquently describes the endowed teacher. "Picture to yourselves a
teacherwho is not merely under the official obligationto say something, but
who is morally convincedthat he has something to say. Imagine one who
believes alike in the truth of his message, andin the reality of his mission to
deliver it. Let this teacherbe tender, yet searching;let him win the hearts of
men by his kindly humanity, while he probes, ay, to the quick, their moral
sores. Lethim pursue and expose the latent evil of the human heart through
all the mazes of its unrivalled deceitfulness, withoutsullying his own purity,
and without forfeiting his strong belief in the present capacityof every human
being for goodnessClearly, such a teachermust be a moral power;" a "sharp
sword." One thing greatlyneeded in our day is quickness to recognize Divine

endowments in men, and brotherly aid to all endowed men in the due exercise
of their gifts.
II. IT LIES IN THE DIVINE CALL. For the factof possessing poweris not,
standing alone, authority for its being put forth and exercised. There must be
the inward Divine call, which may or may not be heard through the voice of
outward circumstances. This is the lessontaught by the records of the
prophets - Elijah, Isaiah, Jonah, etc. They were endowed, but they did not act
until they were called. The distinction is expressed, poetically, in Psalm 39:3,
"While I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue." Illustrate
from apostles, who were endowedwith the Holy Ghost, symbolized in tongues
of fire; but who were also sentones. It is one thing to be able to speak, it is
quite another to be calledto speak.
III. IT LIES IN RESPONSIVE GOOD WILL. A man may actually deliver
God's message unwillingly and grumblingly, as Jonah did, but it is clearthat
this cannotbe regardedas fit service. Only when we say, "Lord, just what
thou wouldst have me do is exactly what I desire to do," canwe be regarded
as servants indeed. This does not say that our goodwill towards what is God's
will for us involves no effort, no conflict with sell The way of earthly
prosperity may be the way of our own will; and the way of lifelong disability
may be the way of doing God's will and work. Many a man has given up every
earthly prospectto preach Christ to his fellow-men. And he is no fit preacher
who does not preach with goodwill - preachfrom the heart. He should preach
because he must; he should preachbecause he wishes to.
IV. IT LIES IN CULTURE OF GIFT. This is the human element in the
fitness, which is as truly essentialas the Divine clement, the natural
endowment. We cannot give the gift, but we cantrain it into efficiency. It has
to be prepared for the work of a particular age, and for the demands of a
particular sphere. The swordhas to be furbished and sharpened. The "gift"

has to use instruments; it must gain skill in the use of instruments. The culture
properly takes two forms.
1. Self-culture, the whole responsibility of which lies on the would-be minister.
2. Culture by agencies, whichcan be securedby those who recognize in the
would-be minister the Divine "gift." Let the endowedand cultured man wait
on God, and of this we are sure - he will find both his place and his work. -
R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.
Isaiah49:2
A sharp sword

W. Hay Aitken, M. A.
1. God does not undo, in His relationship to us as Re-creator, the work which
He has already performed as Creator. He does not strip us of our natural
faculties, and endow us with others altogetherdistinct from these. Our natural
faculties are in themselves neither goodnor bad, but in every case are capable
of development, either in the direction of goodor of evil. When first the grace
of God finds us, the powers of evil have more or less infected our nature, and
most of our faculties (if not all of them) have exhibited a downward
inclination; our members have become "instruments of unrighteousness,"the
weapons which Satanhas used to do his own fell work. It is upon these
dishonoured faculties that God lays His hand when He enters and takes
possessionof the new-createdsoul. What He demands on our part is, that
these members should be surrendered to Him, as they formerly were to the
powers of darkness.
2. The prophet here speaks ofone important faculty which exercisesan
influence for goodor evil secondto none that affects society — the tongue.
The faculty of speechis one of the noblest endowments of humanity,
distinguishing us, as it does, from all the loweranimals, rendering sociallife
possible, and binding humanity into one. How much of evil originates with the
tongue! And yet what a mighty engine for goodlanguage may be! Surely God
has put no small honour on human speechwhen He permits His own Sonto be
describedas "the Word" of God.
3. How many of us have endeavouredto use our tongues in the service of God,
and yet our efforts have been singularly weak and unsuccessful. Let us not be
discouraged, but listen to this word of power: "I have made thy mouth a
sharp sword" — sharp no longer for sarcasmand cutting scorn. The
withering scoff, the poisonedslander, the bitter reproach, are no longer to
proceed, like a sharp two-edgedsword, from those consecratedlips of thine;
but, if thou wouldst but believe it, a new power has been communicated, in
virtue of which that very member, which was of old so keen-edgeda weapon
in the hands of the destroyer, is now to be equally sharp and pointed in the

graspof its Divine Master. But have we yet begun to be discontentedwith our
want of sharpness? Are we ready to be used by God as a sharp sword? Have
we counted the cost? Are we prepared for the consequences?If we are, our
weakness matters not. Godcan use us. "Fearnot, thou worm Jacob;I will
make thee a sharp threshing instrument, having teeth, and thou shalt break in
pieces the mountains." How many of our well-meant efforts fail for want of
teeth!
4. What is required in order to render us efficient instruments in the hands of
God?(1)Definiteness ofpurpose. The man whose mouth is a sharp sword will
speak, not for speaking's sake, norto ease his conscience,but to reachthe
heart.(2) Incisiveness oflanguage. Our words need not be ungentle nor severe,
and yet they may be pointed.(3) Earnestness.(4)One other characteristic will
be embodied in the word "now." The man who speaks forGod will ever
remember that "the King's business requires haste." "The Holy Ghostsaith,
To-day";and he who speaks in the Spirit will speak as the Spirit.
(W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
A sharp sword in God's hand
W. Hay Aiken, M. A.
Two young men were educated togetherin an American university. The one
was possessedofvery considerable talents, and subsequently became the
popular minister of a large and fashionable congregation;the other was a
man of humble abilities, but possessedby an ardent desire to win souls, and
therefore ready to adapt his means to the attainment of this end. Years rolled
on, and the popular preacher had occasionto pay a visit to the parish of his
old acquaintance. After witnessing all that was going forward in connection
with his friend's congregation, he could no longer repress his astonishment. "I
cannot understand how it is," he said, "that everything in your district and

congregationseems to flourish. Your church seems full of really converted
souls. The number of your communicants is astonishing, and the amount of
work that seems to be going on all round fills me with amazement. How can it
be that I, preaching the same truth, yet see scarcelyany definite result of my
labours? I can scarcely point to any who have been turned from darkness to
light as the result of my ministry." After much conversation, his friend
requestedhim to try an experiment. "Will you," he said, "take one of my
sermons (which in style and compositionare by no means to be compared to
your own), and deliver it to your ownflock? Make it a matter of prayer
beforehand that God will make use of it," not only for their good, but as a
lessonto you in your own ministry, if it is intended to be so. Then watch the
results. He agreedto do so, and on returning to his flock, delivered with much
feeling one of his friend's fervid discourses. The effectwas evident, and to him
astonishing. It was clearthat many in the congregationwere deeply stirred by
what they had been listening to. At the conclusionof the service he was sent
for by a lady, whom he found remaining behind in the church, in a state of
considerable agitation. "If," she exclaimed, "my dearsir, what I have heard
from you to-day is true, then I am all wrong!" "My dear madam," he replied,
with greatconsternation, "whatis the matter? I hope I have said nothing that
has hurt your feelings!"
(W. Hay Aiken, M. A.)
The Word of God as a sword
W. Day, M. A.
1. Becauseit pierceth the very heart (Acts 2:37; Acts 7:54).
2. Becauseit separatethbetweenvirtue and vice, by teaching what is goodand
what is evil.
3. Becauseit cutteth off sin, by the threats which are therein contained against
sinners, and by the promises which are thereby made to those who forsake sin.

4. Becauseit cuts off error and heresyby teaching the truth.
(W. Day, M. A.)
In the shadow of His hand hath He hid Me.
Seclusions
W. A. Gray.
These words refer in the first place to Him who is the central figure of all
prophecy, the coming Messiah. Perhaps they point to His pre-existent state,
and denote the concealmentofthe Eternal Word before it was made flesh. Or
the words may contain an allusion to certain aspects andexperiences of
Christ's earthly history, and notably the first thirty years of it. What holds
goodwith regard to the Master, holds goodalso with regardto the servants.
As He was in this world, so are they. It is not so much the expressionof a
generaland abiding relationship we have here, as of a specialand occasional
experience. Every believer lies lockedin the closedhand of God, nor shall any
pluck him out of it. But it is not of a hiding such as this that the text speaks. It
is rather of what is temporary and repeated. What, then, are some of the ideas
involved in the specialfigure of the text?
I. We have God's love brought before us as an influence to PRESERVE AND
PROTECT. And it preserves us in a specialway, it protects us through a
specialprocess — by withdrawal. That, of course, is not always God's plan.
He has other ways of arranging in providence for the safety of His people,
than by removing them from the sphere of their danger. When opposition
threatens or temptation assails, He may keepmen face to face with the foes
that encompass, andseek to educate and to strengthen them by the process. At
such times as these they are calledto comport themselves as goodsoldiers of
Christ. But at other times it is not incitement that the Christian needs, nor the
strength that enables him to do and to dare. It is shelter, screening, quiet, and

removal. And when such seasons are needed, they are given. And what a hand
it is to retreat to! Think of all that the Scripture reveals to us of its power.
II. The text leads us to think of God's care as a PREPARING influence. It
trains, as well as protects. He quenches not the smoking flax; on the contrary,
He fosters and fans it. And for this end He covers it with the shadow of His
arched hand, till it brightens from a smouldering spark to a clearand steady
flame. Sometimes these seasons of concealmenttake place atthe beginning of
a man's life-work. Take Paul, the newly-converted. When the due time came,
and study and seclusion, meditation and silence, had accomplishedtheir work,
the hand was unclosed, the shadow was withdrawn. God drew the shaft He
had polished from its quiver, and Paul came forth from his retreat, ready to
do and to speak, to suffer and to dare for the cause ofChrist. And what
happens at the outsetof a believer's life, happens often in its course;and many
an active Christian life has been cleft in twain by the silence and the pause it
imposes. There is a specialillustration in the history of Luther. The man had
attained the very climax of his immense activities. The nations had wakened
from the sleepof ages atthe thunder of his lips. Hither and thither he had
been moving; here attacking, there defending, yonder restraining. And now
every nerve was strung to tenseness by the strain, every faculty wrought to
fever in the whirl. And what does God do with him? He suddenly bears him
off out of view, takes him from pulpit and from councils, hushes and encloses
him in the Wartburg, and leaves him there in imprisonment and isolationfor
a time. Had Godno purpose in view, in thus plunging His servant into the
darkness awhile — apart from the work that he loved so well? Assuredly He
had. The Church of Christ was all the better of this temporary withdrawal of
its one outstanding defender. It was reminded thereby that the cause was
God's and not man's. And it was taught that the cause couldgo on, though the
man who was its agentwas removed. Luther himself was all the better of the
discipline too. And when Luther emergedfrom the shadow, in God's good
time, to achieve and withstand, to struggle and to conquer, once more, he did
so as a stronger, because a wiserand a calmer man. And a year's or a month's
time spent in quiet waiting in the shadow of His hand, may do more to ripen
the soulfor its future existence with Himself than half-a-century of busy

labour amidst the outward activities of life. The believer passes from the
sphere of active work to the sphere of quiet waiting, that the discipline of
service may be supplemented by the discipline of submission, and the God of
peace be enabled through the training to sanctify him wholly. The shadow
where the life disappears is only the shadow of the hand. And when the hand
is unclosedon the other side death, the light it has coveredwill be found to be
all the more steady and brilliant for the discipline, and shall shine in God's
holy place, as the stars in the firmament, for ever and for ever.
III. Pass from the protecting and preparing influences of God's hand, to its
CHASTENING. Foryou have the idea here not only of isolation, but of
pressure;pressure and pain. It does not always lie gently round about us, this
hand of God. There are times when it contracts more tightly, darkens more
deeply, impinges more closely. And it does so in many ways — does so even
when we are leastready to realise the source whence the pressure arises. If
ever a Christian is tempted to think his trials come from another source than
the wise and tender Fatherhoodof God, it is when they shape themselves in
the words and deeds of sinful men. Yet the shadow which they caston the life
is only the shadow of the hand, and the pain the experience gives us only its
contracting pressure. And of other trials than these, it is still the same. There
are complications ofadversity at times so persistent and perplexing that they
almost seemto argue the operationof some malignant fate. You are in dark
places, But it is only the shadow of the hand. Lie quiet, and bear it as wellas
you can. And He who at presentcontracts His hand will in due time open it,
and setyou in a large room once more.
IV. The text speaks of the INDIVIDUALISING influence of God's care. While
I rest in the shadow of the hand, God of course has the whole of me; but there
is another side to the relationship: I have the whole of God.

V. The text reminds us of the hand of God in its REMOVING influences.
When lover and friend are put far away from us, and our acquaintance are
hid in darkness, they are only removed by the same loving hand, and covered
awhile in its shadow, but blessedand safe where they rest, awaiting the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. And what of the body itself?
(W. A. Gray.)
A polished shaft.
A polished shaft
I. The prophet speaks ofthe servant of the Lord under the figure of A
POLISHED SHAFT. There are not wanting some who, in their eagernessto
deliver their souls, and to be faithful to their responsibilities, outstepthe limits
of Christian courtesy. They have their ownblunt way of working for God, and
they are disposed to flatter themselves that it is the best way, because it is
most in accordance withtheir own natural dispositions;but the Lord seeks
polished shafts for His quiver. No sword was everso sharpenedas were the
words of Jesus;and yet how gentle He was, how considerate!But, you say, we
have all our natural peculiarities, and we must continue to be what nature has
made us. Not so, my dear brother. Thou art to be perfected by grace, notby
nature. Cut a rough stick from a hedge:if it be tolerably straight, and a spike
be stuck in the end of it, it may serve, on an emergency, in the place of an
arrow at a short range. But every little notch, every distinguishing peculiarity,
of that rough stick is an impediment to its flight. We need not fear for the skill
of the GreatArcher who keeps His saints in His quiver; but we must
remember that when we assertour natural peculiarities of disposition, instead
of surrendering ourselves to Him to be polished according to His will, the fault
is ours, not His, if we miss the mark. We have no right to be content with
doing the Lord's work in a "rough and ready," bungling, clumsy fashion,
effecting perhaps a little goodand a greatdeal of harm. "He that wins souls is

wise";he that seeksmerelyto relieve his own conscience canaffordto do
things in a blundering way. What does it matter to him, so long as it is done?
But surely if the work is to produce its proper effect, we need much tact, much
delicacyof feeling, much tenderness of sympathy; we need to learn when to
hold our tongues, and when to speak. It is quite true that Godmay bless our
very blunders when He sees they are committed with true sincerity of
purpose, and arise rather from ignorance and bad taste than from wilful
carelessness;but that does not warrant us in continuing to blunder, still less in
regarding our blunders as almostmeritorious, and reflecting self-
complacentlythat it is "our wayof working." We shrink from the polishing
process;but He who desires to see us so polished that we shall reflect His own
glory, not exhibit our own peculiarities, will take care that the means for our
polishing are forthcoming. It is by friction that the arrow is polished, and it is
by friction that our idiosyncrasies are to be worn away. This friction is
provided in different ways. Perhaps it will be supplied by failures and
disappointments, until, like Gideonof old, we are ready to say, "If the Lord be
with us, why is it thus with us?" Perhaps it will be supplied by the violent and
bitter antagonismwhich our inconsiderate roughness and unwisdom has
stirred in the hearts of those whom we seek to benefit. Sometimes it is
provided in our common intercourse with others, not unfrequently in our
intercourse with fellow-Christians. PossiblyHe may subjectus to the severest
discipline of trial before the work of polishing is complete; but polished in one
way or another the shafts must be which He is to use for His own glory.
II. THE SHAFT IS POLISHED ONLY TO BE HIDDEN. It might seemthat
when once the process ofpolishing had been completed, the arrow would be a
proper objectfor display, and here is a peril which even polished shafts are
exposedto. There is so much of the beauty of the Lord impressed upon some
of His servants, that men cannot withhold their admiration. Christians are
lavish of their love, and there are hidden perils concealedunder this
favourable esteem. Sharpenedand polished, how apt are we to display
ourselves, evenas the Assyrian axe of old "boastedagainsthim who hewed
there with." "But," says the greatapostle (himself a polished and sharpened
arrow), "we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." And so it is that
the polished shaft has to be hidden. Your attention is not directed to the arrow

while it is waiting to be used; it is concealedwithin the quiver. The eye is not
caught by it when it is in the hand; it is hidden under the shadow of the hand.
Another moment, it rests on the bow; another moment, and it speeds to the
mark. Neither in the quiver, nor in the hand, nor on the bow, nor in its flight,
is the arrow conspicuous. The more swiftly it flies, the more invisible it is.
Thus the archerwins all the applause, and the arrow is nothing; yet it is by
the arrow that he has done his work. And while man is not attractedto the
arrow, the greatArcher Himself is. It is upon it that He bends His eye. It is to
it that He gives the credit of the victory: "Thou art My servant, O Israel, in
whom I will be glorified." Yes, there is a specialjoy in His heart when He can
truly say of us, "Thou art My servant." How near we are to His sacredPerson
when we are thus hidden in God's hand, concealedin His quiver! And how
much truer and deeper the joy of such service than the momentary excitement
of human applause!And then the thought that it is possible for God to be
glorified in us as the archeris glorified in the arrow, that the intelligences of
heaven shall gaze down and admire the work that God hath wrought by
instruments once so unpromising, and shall praise Him for it; that men on
earth shall be constrainedto admit that this is the finger of God, and to take
knowledge ofus that we have been with Jesus;that the devils in hell shall
recognise in our lives the presence ofOmnipotence, and tremble as they see
the mighty Archer draw us from the hiding-place within the quiver! "Hidden
in God's hand!" Hidden from the graspof Satan. He fain would snatch us out
of God's keeping;but his hostile hand cannever touch those who are
concealedin God's quiver. Hidden from the desecrating touchof the world to
which we no longer belong. Hidden above all from ourselves — our morbid
self-consciousness, ourinflated self-esteem, ourgloomy self-depression.
The pride that apes humility
W. Hay Aiken, M. A.

I remember once overhearing the remark from the lips of one whom long
experience and keen observationhad taught more of the subtlety of the
human heart than most men ever discern: "Ah, my dear brother, the truth is
that we are all full of self; only some of us have the goodtaste not to show it,
and some have not." The words may appearalmost cynical, but a little
reflectionwill show us how true they are.
A polished arrow
Mark Guy Pearse says thatthe crestfor the Lord's workeris "anarrow"
polished and feathered, content to be in the quiver until the Masteruses it;
lying on the string for His unerring fingers to send it forth, then going strong,
swift, sure, smiting through the heart of the King's enemies, and with this for
the motto, "I fly where I am sent."
COMMENTARIES
Fitness ForGod's Service
Isaiah49:2
R. Tuck
The generalidea of this sectionof Isaiah's prophecies needs to be borne in
mind. In it "Israelhimself, in all his contradictory characteristics, becomes
the engrossing subjectofthe prophet's meditations. His restoration, still
future, but indubitable, is celebratedin ch. 50. by an ode somewhatsimilar to
that on the fall of Babylon in the preceding part. But the nearerthe great
event arrives, and the more the prophet realizes the ideal Israelof the future,

the more he is depressedby the low spiritual condition of the actualIsrael.
Strange to say, this combination of apparently inconsistent data - the
splendour of the future and the misery of the present - supplies the material
for a specimenof dramatic description surpassing anything in the rest of the
Old Testament" (Cheyne). By the "servantof Jehovah" we may understand
those sent forth by Godas the prophets and teachers of eachage, bearing
Divine messagesofwarning and of duty. These are personified, as it were, in
the one greatDivine Teacher, the Messiah. It was one of the most important
features of the ministry in every age that it should convict of sin; therefore the
work of the mouth is likenedto that of a "sharpsword" (comp. Hebrews 4:12,
"The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword,... and is a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart"). Pindar
employs the metaphor of the arrow in applicationto powerful eloquence. And
the metaphor of a sword and an arrow, both in the best state of preparation,
aptly sets forth the penetrating and subduing efficacyof the gospel. This one
feature of fitness for doing God's work in the world - the eloquent, persuasive,
convincing tongue - may introduce to us the generalsubjectof "fitness for
God's service."
I. IT LIES IN ENDOWMENT. The true servant of God is a gifted man - one
to whom specialpowers have been committed, which powers indicate his
work, and make him responsible for the doing of it. The proper idea of a
Christian ministry is the separationto the work of preaching and teaching of
all those who are evidently divinely endowed for preaching and teaching
work. The right of a man to do any particular kind of work in the world is
simply the right which comes from the divinely given capacityfor doing it. If
God made us painters, we must paint; if he made us poets, we must shape
beautiful thoughts in verse;if he made us preachers, we must preach. Canon
Liddon eloquently describes the endowed teacher. "Picture to yourselves a
teacherwho is not merely under the official obligationto say something, but
who is morally convincedthat he has something to say. Imagine one who
believes alike in the truth of his message, andin the reality of his mission to
deliver it. Let this teacherbe tender, yet searching;let him win the hearts of
men by his kindly humanity, while he probes, ay, to the quick, their moral
sores. Lethim pursue and expose the latent evil of the human heart through

all the mazes of its unrivalled deceitfulness, withoutsullying his own purity,
and without forfeiting his strong belief in the present capacityof every human
being for goodnessClearly, such a teachermust be a moral power;" a "sharp
sword." One thing greatlyneeded in our day is quickness to recognize Divine
endowments in men, and brotherly aid to all endowed men in the due exercise
of their gifts.
II. IT LIES IN THE DIVINE CALL. For the factof possessing poweris not,
standing alone, authority for its being put forth and exercised. There must be
the inward Divine call, which may or may not be heard through the voice of
outward circumstances. This is the lessontaught by the records of the
prophets - Elijah, Isaiah, Jonah, etc. They were endowed, but they did not act
until they were called. The distinction is expressed, poetically, in Psalm 39:3,
"While I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue." Illustrate
from apostles, who were endowedwith the Holy Ghost, symbolized in tongues
of fire; but who were also sentones. It is one thing to be able to speak, it is
quite another to be calledto speak.
III. IT LIES IN RESPONSIVE GOOD WILL. A man may actually deliver
God's message unwillingly and grumblingly, as Jonah did, but it is clearthat
this cannotbe regardedas fit service. Only when we say, "Lord, just what
thou wouldst have me do is exactly what I desire to do," canwe be regarded
as servants indeed. This does not say that our goodwill towards what is God's
will for us involves no effort, no conflict with sell The way of earthly
prosperity may be the way of our own will; and the way of lifelong disability
may be the way of doing God's will and work. Many a man has given up every
earthly prospectto preach Christ to his fellow-men. And he is no fit preacher
who does not preach with goodwill - preachfrom the heart. He should preach
because he must; he should preachbecause he wishes to.

IV. IT LIES IN CULTURE OF GIFT. This is the human element in the
fitness, which is as truly essentialas the Divine clement, the natural
endowment. We cannot give the gift, but we cantrain it into efficiency. It has
to be prepared for the work of a particular age, and for the demands of a
particular sphere. The swordhas to be furbished and sharpened. The "gift"
has to use instruments; it must gain skill in the use of instruments. The culture
properly takes two forms.
1. Self-culture, the whole responsibility of which lies on the would-be minister.
2. Culture by agencies, whichcan be securedby those who recognize in the
would-be minister the Divine "gift." Let the endowedand cultured man wait
on God, and of this we are sure - he will find both his place and his work. -
R.T.
Biblical Illustrator

And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword.
Isaiah49:2
A sharp sword
1. God does not undo, in His relationship to us as Re-creator, the work which
He has already performed as Creator. He does not strip us of our natural
faculties, and endow us with others altogetherdistinct from these. Our natural
faculties are in themselves neither goodnor bad, but in every case are capable
of development, either in the direction of goodor of evil. When first the grace
of God finds us, the powers of evil have more or less infected our nature, and
most of our faculties (if not all of them) have exhibited a downward
inclination; our members have become "instruments of unrighteousness,"the
weapons which Satanhas used to do his own fell work. It is upon these
dishonoured faculties that God lays His hand when He enters and takes
possessionofthe new-createdsoul. What He demands on our part is, that
these members should be surrendered to Him, as they formerly were to the
powers of darkness.
2. The prophet here speaks ofone important faculty which exercisesan
influence for goodor evil secondto none that affects society — the tongue.
The faculty of speechis one of the noblest endowments of humanity,
distinguishing us, as it does, from all the loweranimals, rendering sociallife
possible, and binding humanity into one. How much of evil originates with the
tongue! And yet what a mighty engine for goodlanguage may be! Surely God
has put no small honour on human speechwhen He permits His own Sonto be
describedas "the Word" of God.
3. How many of us have endeavouredto use our tongues in the service of God,
and yet our efforts have been singularly weak and unsuccessful. Let us not be
discouraged, but listen to this word of power: "I have made thy mouth a
sharp sword" — sharp no longer for sarcasmand cutting scorn. The
withering scoff, the poisonedslander, the bitter reproach, are no longer to

proceed, like a sharp two-edgedsword, from those consecratedlips of thine;
but, if thou wouldst but believe it, a new power has been communicated, in
virtue of which that very member, which was of old so keen-edgeda weapon
in the hands of the destroyer, is now to be equally sharp and pointed in the
graspof its Divine Master. But have we yet begun to be discontentedwith our
want of sharpness? Are we ready to be used by God as a sharp sword? Have
we counted the cost? Are we prepared for the consequences?If we are, our
weakness matters not. Godcan use us. "Fearnot, thou worm Jacob;I will
make thee a sharp threshing instrument, having teeth, and thou shalt break in
pieces the mountains." How many of our well-meant efforts fail for want of
teeth!
4. What is required in order to render us efficient instruments in the hands of
God?(1)Definiteness ofpurpose. The man whose mouth is a sharp sword will
speak, not for speaking's sake, norto ease his conscience,but to reachthe
heart.(2) Incisiveness oflanguage. Our words need not be ungentle nor severe,
and yet they may be pointed.(3) Earnestness.(4)One other characteristic will
be embodied in the word "now." The man who speaks forGod will ever
remember that "the King's business requires haste." "The Holy Ghostsaith,
To-day";and he who speaks in the Spirit will speak as the Spirit.
A sharp sword in God's hand
W. Hay Aiken, M. A.
Two young men were educated togetherin an American university. The one
was possessedofvery considerable talents, and subsequently became the
popular minister of a large and fashionable congregation;the other was a
man of humble abilities, but possessed by an ardent desire to win souls, and
therefore ready to adapt his means to the attainment of this end. Years rolled

on, and the popular preacher had occasionto pay a visit to the parish of his
old acquaintance. After witnessing all that was going forward in connection
with his friend's congregation, he could no longer repress his astonishment. "I
cannot understand how it is," he said, "that everything in your district and
congregationseems to flourish. Your church seems full of really converted
souls. The number of your communicants is astonishing, and the amount of
work that seems to be going on all round fills me with amazement. How can it
be that I, preaching the same truth, yet see scarcelyany definite result of my
labours? I can scarcelypoint to any who have been turned from darkness to
light as the result of my ministry." After much conversation, his friend
requestedhim to try an experiment. "Will you," he said, "take one of my
sermons (which in style and compositionare by no means to be compared to
your own), and deliver it to your ownflock? Make it a matter of prayer
beforehand that God will make use of it," not only for their good, but as a
lessonto you in your own ministry, if it is intended to be so. Then watch the
results. He agreedto do so, and on returning to his flock, delivered with much
feeling one of his friend's fervid discourses. The effectwas evident, and to him
astonishing. It was clearthat many in the congregationwere deeply stirred by
what they had been listening to. At the conclusionof the service he was sent
for by a lady, whom he found remaining behind in the church, in a state of
considerable agitation. "If," she exclaimed, "my dearsir, what I have heard
from you to-day is true, then I am all wrong!" "My dear madam," he replied,
with greatconsternation, "whatis the matter? I hope I have said nothing that
has hurt your feelings!"
The Word of God as a sword
W. Day, M. A.
1. Becauseit pierceth the very heart (Acts 2:37; Acts 7:54).
2. Becauseit separatethbetweenvirtue and vice, by teaching what is goodand
what is evil.

3. Becauseit cutteth off sin, by the threats which are therein contained against
sinners, and by the promises which are thereby made to those who forsake sin.
4. Becauseit cuts off error and heresyby teaching the truth.
(W. Day, M. A.)
In the shadow of His hand hath He hid Me.
Seclusions
W. A. Gray.
These words refer in the first place to Him who is the central figure of all
prophecy, the coming Messiah. Perhaps they point to His pre-existent state,
and denote the concealmentofthe Eternal Word before it was made flesh. Or
the words may contain an allusion to certain aspects andexperiences of
Christ's earthly history, and notably the first thirty years of it. What holds
goodwith regard to the Master, holds goodalso with regardto the servants.
As He was in this world, so are they. It is not so much the expressionof a
generaland abiding relationship we have here, as of a specialand occasional
experience. Every believer lies lockedin the closedhand of God, nor shall any
pluck him out of it. But it is not of a hiding such as this that the text speaks. It
is rather of what is temporary and repeated. What, then, are some of the ideas
involved in the specialfigure of the text?
I. We have God's love brought before us as an influence to PRESERVE AND
PROTECT. And it preserves us in a specialway, it protects us through a
specialprocess — by withdrawal. That, of course, is not always God's plan.
He has other ways of arranging in providence for the safety of His people,
than by removing them from the sphere of their danger. When opposition
threatens or temptation assails, He may keepmen face to face with the foes

that encompass, andseek to educate and to strengthen them by the process. At
such times as these they are calledto comport themselves as goodsoldiers of
Christ. But at other times it is not incitement that the Christian needs, nor the
strength that enables him to do and to dare. It is shelter, screening, quiet, and
removal. And when such seasons are needed, they are given. And what a hand
it is to retreat to! Think of all that the Scripture reveals to us of its power.
II. The text leads us to think of God's care as a PREPARING influence. It
trains, as well as protects. He quenches not the smoking flax; on the contrary,
He fosters and fans it. And for this end He covers it with the shadow of His
arched hand, till it brightens from a smouldering spark to a clearand steady
flame. Sometimes these seasons ofconcealmenttake place atthe beginning of
a man's life-work. Take Paul, the newly-converted. When the due time came,
and study and seclusion, meditation and silence, had accomplishedtheir work,
the hand was unclosed, the shadow was withdrawn. God drew the shaft He
had polished from its quiver, and Paul came forth from his retreat, ready to
do and to speak, to suffer and to dare for the cause ofChrist. And what
happens at the outsetof a believer's life, happens often in its course;and many
an active Christian life has been cleft in twain by the silence and the pause it
imposes. There is a specialillustration in the history of Luther. The man had
attained the very climax of his immense activities. The nations had wakened
from the sleepof ages atthe thunder of his lips. Hither and thither he had
been moving; here attacking, there defending, yonder restraining. And now
every nerve was strung to tenseness by the strain, every faculty wrought to
fever in the whirl. And what does God do with him? He suddenly bears him
off out of view, takes him from pulpit and from councils, hushes and encloses
him in the Wartburg, and leaves him there in imprisonment and isolationfor
a time. Had Godno purpose in view, in thus plunging His servant into the
darkness awhile — apart from the work that he loved so well? Assuredly He
had. The Church of Christ was all the better of this temporary withdrawal of
its one outstanding defender. It was reminded thereby that the cause was
God's and not man's. And it was taught that the cause couldgo on, though the
man who was its agentwas removed. Luther himself was all the better of the
discipline too. And when Luther emergedfrom the shadow, in God's good

time, to achieve and withstand, to struggle and to conquer, once more, he did
so as a stronger, because a wiserand a calmer man. And a year's or a month's
time spent in quiet waiting in the shadow of His hand, may do more to ripen
the soulfor its future existence with Himself than half-a-century of busy
labour amidst the outward activities of life. The believer passes from the
sphere of active work to the sphere of quiet waiting, that the discipline of
service may be supplemented by the discipline of submission, and the God of
peace be enabled through the training to sanctify him wholly. The shadow
where the life disappears is only the shadow of the hand. And when the hand
is unclosedon the other side death, the light it has coveredwill be found to be
all the more steady and brilliant for the discipline, and shall shine in God's
holy place, as the stars in the firmament, for ever and for ever.
III. Pass from the protecting and preparing influences of God's hand, to its
CHASTENING. Foryou have the idea here not only of isolation, but of
pressure;pressure and pain. It does not always lie gently round about us, this
hand of God. There are times when it contracts more tightly, darkens more
deeply, impinges more closely. And it does so in many ways — does so even
when we are leastready to realise the source whence the pressure arises. If
ever a Christian is tempted to think his trials come from another source than
the wise and tender Fatherhoodof God, it is when they shape themselves in
the words and deeds of sinful men. Yet the shadow which they caston the life
is only the shadow of the hand, and the pain the experience gives us only its
contracting pressure. And of other trials than these, it is still the same. There
are complications ofadversity at times so persistent and perplexing that they
almost seemto argue the operationof some malignant fate. You are in dark
places, But it is only the shadow of the hand. Lie quiet, and bear it as wellas
you can. And He who at presentcontracts His hand will in due time open it,
and setyou in a large room once more.

IV. The text speaks ofthe INDIVIDUALISING influence of God's care. While
I rest in the shadow of the hand, God of course has the whole of me; but there
is another side to the relationship: I have the whole of God.
V. The text reminds us of the hand of God in its REMOVING influences.
When lover and friend are put far away from us, and our acquaintance are
hid in darkness, they are only removed by the same loving hand, and covered
awhile in its shadow, but blessedand safe where they rest, awaiting the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. And what of the body itself?
(W. A. Gray.)
A polished shaft.
A polished shaft
I. The prophet speaks ofthe servant of the Lord under the figure of A
POLISHED SHAFT. There are not wanting some who, in their eagernessto
deliver their souls, and to be faithful to their responsibilities, outstepthe limits
of Christian courtesy. They have their ownblunt way of working for God, and
they are disposed to flatter themselves that it is the best way, because it is
most in accordance withtheir own natural dispositions;but the Lord seeks
polished shafts for His quiver. No sword was everso sharpenedas were the
words of Jesus;and yet how gentle He was, how considerate!But, you say, we
have all our natural peculiarities, and we must continue to be what nature has
made us. Not so, my dear brother. Thou art to be perfected by grace, notby
nature. Cut a rough stick from a hedge:if it be tolerably straight, and a spike
be stuck in the end of it, it may serve, on an emergency, in the place of an
arrow at a short range. But every little notch, every distinguishing peculiarity,
of that rough stick is an impediment to its flight. We need not fear for the skill
of the GreatArcher who keeps His saints in His quiver; but we must

remember that when we assertour natural peculiarities of disposition, instead
of surrendering ourselves to Him to be polished according to His will, the fault
is ours, not His, if we miss the mark. We have no right to be content with
doing the Lord's work in a "rough and ready," bungling, clumsy fashion,
effecting perhaps a little goodand a greatdeal of harm. "He that wins souls is
wise";he that seeksmerelyto relieve his own conscience canaffordto do
things in a blundering way. What does it matter to him, so long as it is done?
But surely if the work is to produce its proper effect, we need much tact, much
delicacyof feeling, much tenderness of sympathy; we need to learn when to
hold our tongues, and when to speak. It is quite true that Godmay bless our
very blunders when He sees they are committed with true sincerity of
purpose, and arise rather from ignorance and bad taste than from wilful
carelessness;but that does not warrant us in continuing to blunder, still less in
regarding our blunders as almostmeritorious, and reflecting self-
complacentlythat it is "our wayof working." We shrink from the polishing
process;but He who desires to see us so polished that we shall reflect His own
glory, not exhibit our own peculiarities, will take care that the means for our
polishing are forthcoming. It is by friction that the arrow is polished, and it is
by friction that our idiosyncrasies are to be worn away. This friction is
provided in different ways. Perhaps it will be supplied by failures and
disappointments, until, like Gideonof old, we are ready to say, "If the Lord be
with us, why is it thus with us?" Perhaps it will be supplied by the violent and
bitter antagonismwhich our inconsiderate roughness and unwisdom has
stirred in the hearts of those whom we seek to benefit. Sometimes it is
provided in our common intercourse with others, not unfrequently in our
intercourse with fellow-Christians. PossiblyHe may subjectus to the severest
discipline of trial before the work of polishing is complete; but polished in one
way or another the shafts must be which He is to use for His own glory.
II. THE SHAFT IS POLISHED ONLY TO BE HIDDEN. It might seemthat
when once the process ofpolishing had been completed, the arrow would be a
proper objectfor display, and here is a peril which even polished shafts are
exposedto. There is so much of the beauty of the Lord impressed upon some
of His servants, that men cannot withhold their admiration. Christians are
lavish of their love, and there are hidden perils concealedunder this

favourable esteem. Sharpenedand polished, how apt are we to display
ourselves, evenas the Assyrian axe of old "boastedagainsthim who hewed
there with." "But," says the greatapostle (himself a polished and sharpened
arrow), "we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." And so it is that
the polished shaft has to be hidden. Your attention is not directed to the arrow
while it is waiting to be used; it is concealedwithin the quiver. The eye is not
caught by it when it is in the hand; it is hidden under the shadow of the hand.
Another moment, it rests on the bow; another moment, and it speeds to the
mark. Neither in the quiver, nor in the hand, nor on the bow, nor in its flight,
is the arrow conspicuous. The more swiftly it flies, the more invisible it is.
Thus the archerwins all the applause, and the arrow is nothing; yet it is by
the arrow that he has done his work. And while man is not attractedto the
arrow, the greatArcher Himself is. It is upon it that He bends His eye. It is to
it that He gives the credit of the victory: "Thou art My servant, O Israel, in
whom I will be glorified." Yes, there is a specialjoy in His heart when He can
truly say of us, "Thou art My servant." How near we are to His sacredPerson
when we are thus hidden in God's hand, concealedin His quiver! And how
much truer and deeper the joy of such service than the momentary excitement
of human applause!And then the thought that it is possible for God to be
glorified in us as the archeris glorified in the arrow, that the intelligences of
heaven shall gaze down and admire the work that God hath wrought by
instruments once so unpromising, and shall praise Him for it; that men on
earth shall be constrainedto admit that this is the finger of God, and to take
knowledge ofus that we have been with Jesus;that the devils in hell shall
recognise in our lives the presence ofOmnipotence, and tremble as they see
the mighty Archer draw us from the hiding-place within the quiver! "Hidden
in God's hand!" Hidden from the graspof Satan. He fain would snatch us out
of God's keeping;but his hostile hand cannever touch those who are
concealedin God's quiver. Hidden from the desecrating touchof the world to
which we no longer belong. Hidden above all from ourselves — our morbid
self-consciousness, ourinflated self-esteem, ourgloomy self-depression.

The pride that apes humility
W. Hay Aiken, M. A.
I remember once overhearing the remark from the lips of one whom long
experience and keen observationhad taught more of the subtlety of the
human heart than most men ever discern: "Ah, my dear brother, the truth is
that we are all full of self; only some of us have the goodtaste not to show it,
and some have not." The words may appearalmost cynical, but a little
reflectionwill show us how true they are.
A polished arrow
Mark Guy Pearse says thatthe crestfor the Lord's workeris "anarrow"
polished and feathered, content to be in the quiver until the Masteruses it;
lying on the string for His unerring fingers to send it forth, then going strong,
swift, sure, smiting through the heart of the King's enemies, and with this for
the motto, "I fly where I am sent."
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Isaiah49:2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His
hand He has concealedMe;And He has also made Me a selectarrow, He has
hidden Me in His quiver.

Zec 9:9 Mt 11:29 Mt 12:16-20 Lu 17:20 2Ti 2:24 1Pe 2:23
NET Isaiah 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the
hollow of his hand; he made me like a sharpenedarrow, he hid me in his
quiver.
MESSIAH IS QUALIFIED
FOR HIS MISSION OF SALVATION
NET Note - The figurative language emphasizes the servant's importance as
the Lord's effective instrument. The servant's mouth, which stands
metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be
an effective spokesman(ED:THE SERVANT IS A PROPHET) onGod's
behalf (see Isa 50:4). The LORD holds His hand on the Servant, ready to draw
and use Him at the appropriate time. The Servant is like a sharpened arrow
reservedin a quiver for just the right moment.
In Isaiah 49:1 the Servant is called for the Mission. In Isaiah49:2 He is
equipped for the Missionand kept for the Mission.
J Vernon McGee -The sharp swordthat went out of His mouth is the Word of
God...Itis the judgment of the nations by the Word of God.
Barnes explains that God the Father "had qualified Him for a convincing and
powerful eloquence—forthe utterance of words which would penetrate the
heart like a sharp sword."

THOUGHT - And dear preacherof the Word of God, it follows that His
Word proclaimed still has heart piercing power! Are you preaching His Word
or your words? Do you selecta passage anduse it as a "launching pad" to
further an agenda, like a building program, etc? If you want to pierce hearts,
Preachthe Word in seasonand out (2 Ti 4:2+).
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword- He who makes His mouth like a
sharp sword is Jehovah. This description is never used of nation of Israel.
What is this picture? Mouth stands for discourse or speaking. A swordspeaks
of power, in this context power when Jesus speaks -it is pointed, pungent,
pithy, probing, pricking, penetrating, powerful, prevailing. John records the
reactionof the officers "Neverdid a man speak the way this man speaks."(Jn
7:46, cf Mt 7:28, Mt 13:54, Lk 19:48+, Jn 7:15) Messiah's incisive words will
pierce hearts, even as a swordcuts (cf Peter's words, speaking God's words in
Acts 2:37+. When you preach and teachdo you do so with God's Word?).
Jesus is the Word (Jn 1:1-4+, John 1:14+) and when He speaks His Word is
like a sword, even "the swordof the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph
6:17+).
The writer of Hebrews says that "the Word of God is living and active and
sharper than any two-edgedsword, and piercing as far as the division of soul
and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all
things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
(Heb 4:12-13+)
Solomonwrites

"The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are
like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. (MESSIAH, cf Ge
49:24)(Eccl. 12:11)
For those who do not submit when piercedby His words offering redemption,
the only alternative is retribution, which John describes at the Messiah's
SecondComing as King of kings and Lord of lords in which His "sharp
sword" will vanquish ALL His enemies
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the
nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine
press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.(Rev. 19:15+)
John also mentions a similar description of Jesus as He stands in the midst of
His Church (an appearance that causedhim to fall "at His feet like a dead
man" - Rev 1:17)
In His right hand He held sevenstars, and out of His mouth came a sharp
two-edgedsword;and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. (Rev.
1:16+)
Barnes - The bold and striking metaphor of the sword and arrow applied to
powerful discourse, has been used also by heathen writers with greatelegance
and force. A similar metaphor occurs frequently in Arabic poetry. ‘As arrows
his words enter into the heart.’ In the passagesquotedby Lowth, it is said of
Pericles by Aristophanes:
‘His powerful speech

Piercedthe hearer’s soul, and left behind
Deepin his bosomits keenpoint infixt.’
So Pindar, Olym. ii. 160:
‘Come on! thy brightest shafts prepare,
And bend, O Muse, thy sounding bow:
Say, through what paths of liquid air
Our arrows shall we throw?’
WEST.
In the shadow of His hand He has concealedMe (cf. Ps 17:8; 27:5; 31:20;
64:2; Jer 36:26)The Septuagint translates concealedwith krupto which
means literally to keepsomething from being see and figuratively from being
known. The other meaning of krupto is preventing someone from being
harmed by anything and thus kept safe and protected. And so a believer's life
is safe, for our "life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3.3+)
Young writes "Whether the reference is to protectionor to concealmentis
difficult to determine, and it may be that both are intended." (The Book of
Isaiah– Volume 3)
I agree with MacArthur who writes that "Messiah, before His appearing, was
hidden with God, ready to be drawn out at the precise moment." (The
MacArthur Study Bible)
Paul writes "But when the fullness of the time came, God sentforth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who
were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." (Gal4:4, 5)

And He has also made Me a selectarrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver -
Messiahis an "arrow" in His Father's quiver, ready to shot forth at the
proper time.
Oswalton arrow...hidden - Like the swordof his mouth, the arrow of his
words is saidto be hid. Commentators have been divided over the
implications of this idea. Some have emphasized the elementof protection,
while others (e.g., Whybray) have emphasized hiddenness. But it seems
unnecessaryto choose betweenthe two. A number of implications from the
metaphor are surely apt: like an arrow, sharpenedand polished in the quiver,
or a sharp swordresting under the hand, the Servant is available for his
master’s use at any moment; the weapons are protected from the elements so
that they canbe most useful; they are out of sight until the right moment for
them to be displayed. All of this speaks aboututility, preparedness, and
effectiveness,the very opposite of a casualorhaphazard use of the weapon.
(NICOT-Isaiah)(Boldadded)
Gilbrant - Like a polished arrow He is held close in God’s quiver, that is, in
intimacy with the Father, and reservedfor a future use where He will be
effective and irresistible. (Ibid)
Wiersbe - All of God's servants should be like prepared weapons. "It is not
greattalents God blesses so much as greatlikeness to Jesus," wrote Robert
Murray McCheyne. "A holy minister [servant] is an awful weaponin the
hand of God."(Be Comforted - Isaiah).
While this passageclearlyrefers to the Servant, the Messiah, ourLord Jesus
Christ, the truth is applicable to us who have placed our faith in Him, because
by so doing we are IN CHRIST, hidden in Him (Col 3:3+) and so we can sing
"Under His Shadow" by M A Spiller...

"Under His shadow," withChrist alone
Here, love He whispers in tenderesttone,
Treasures unfolding, riches of grace
Thus for life's battle my souldoth He brace.
"Under His shadow," a nearpage of life.
Opens before me, apart from the strife
Oh! will Thou show me Masterand King
How I may glory unto Thee bring!
"Under His shadow" may life be passed
Daily and hourly on till the last,
Then no more shadows, allshall have fled
When we awake like Jesus ourHead.
Isaiah49:3 He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show
My glory."
Isa 42:1, 43:21, 44:23, 52:13, 53:10 Zec 3:8 Mt 17:5 Lu 2:10-14 John 12:28, Jn
13:31,32, Jn15:8, Jn 17:1,4 Eph 1:6 Php 2:6-11 1Pe 2:9
GOD'S SERVANT "ISRAEL"
IS THE MESSIAH

He said to Me - Yahweh addresses the Messiah, His Servant. He refers to Him
as Israel, for He was representative of Israeland the fulfillment of all that
Israelas God's ChosenPeople should have been to the heathen world. The
Servant Israelwill succeedin all the ways that Israelthe nation had failed
because ofher continued rebellion, wanton whoring and unwavering
unfaithfulness to her Husband Yahweh (Isa 54:5, Jer 31:32+). In defense of
the factthat this is not the nation of Israelbut the Servant (Messiah)is the
description that this Servant Israel is “abhorred by the nation” (Isa 49:7),
clearly indicating that this cannotrefer to the nation of Israelas some suggest.
While Young's commentary on Isaiah is a classic,it saddens my heart that he
interprets this as "the true Israel" and thus the Church. The greattheologian
Calvin made the same mistake (I saythat with deep humility and ready
acknowledgmentof Calvin's greatness)writing "In a word, the Lord honours
by this name the Church, which is the spouse ofChrist, just as the wife is
honoured by bearing the name and title of her husband."
Oswaltexplains that "the term Israelis used not so much as a name as it is a
parallel term to servant. It is as though the Lord had said, “You are my Israel,
in whom I will be glorified.” Thus it is the function, not the identity, of Israel
that is emphasized. This Servant is going to function as Israel. What was
Israel’s task, as indicated throughout the entire book, from ch. 2 onward? To
be the means whereby the nations could come to God. But how could a nation
that could not find its own way to God, a blind, deaf, rebellious nation, show
anyone else the way? This is the dilemma that the Servant has come to solve.
He will be for Israel, and the world, what Israelcould not be. Facedwith
Israel’s failure, God does not wipe out the nation; he simply devises another
way in which Israel’s servanthood could be workedout: through the ideal
Israel. (NICOT-Isaiah)

Beloved, My Servant Israelis EMPHATICALLY not the Church! In the
context this is Messiah. Noticehow Isa 49:5-6 speaks ofthe Servant restoring
Israelto God! Clearly, if one interpreted this as the nation of Israel, it would
simply not make sense. So once againcontext enables us to make the correct
interpretation (see Keep Context King). The nation of Israelhad failed in her
mission to be a light to the nations. Yahweh now summons His Servant Who
will not fail in His mission!
While the NAS does not begin with an "and", the original Hebrew text does
have "and" as does the Septuagint ("kai" = and). What is interesting is that
even Young comments on the fact that the Hebrew text has this "and"
explaining that this and is "more than a mere continuation of the discourse;it
serves rather to set forth the more detailed preparation of the servant for his
public ministry." That is a fascinating comment by Young because he does see
the presentverse (Isa 49:3) as connectedto the previous passages.Whatis
fascinating about this is Young has this comment on Isaiah49:1-2 "He who
speaks with such compelling authority is the Messiah!" And yet here in Isaiah
49:3 he seems to disregardhis previous comment in the immediate context
which he interprets as clearlyreferences to the Messiah, not Israeland not the
Church! And keeping in mind that context is always "king" in interpretation,
My Servant Israelis clearly in the context of Isaiah 49:1-2. Can you see the
point? If one holds to allowing the contextto guide the interpretation, it would
be absurd to switch from Messiahin verses 1-2 and interpret My Servant
Israelin verse 3 as the Church. It simply does not make goodsense.
The highly regarded Keil and DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testament
interprets My Servant Israelas the Messiah, not the nation and not the
Chruch
Isa 49:3 describes, without any figure, what Jehovahhas made Him. He has
said to Him (cf., Ps 2:7b): "Thou art my servant; thou art Israel, in whom (in

quo, as in Isaiah44:23) I glorify myself."...The Servanthimself is calledIsrael.
We callto mind here the expressionin Mt 16:18, "Thouart Peter;" and the
use of the name "Israel," as the individuation of a generic name, reminds us
of the fact that the kings of a nation are sometimes calledby the name of the
nation itself (e.g., Asshur, Isaiah10:5ff.). But Israelwas from the very first the
God-given name of an individual. Just as the name Israelwas first of all given
to a man, and then after that to a nation, so the name which sprang from a
personalroot has also a personal crown. The servantof Jehovahis Israelin
person, inasmuch as the purpose of mercy, upon the basis of which and for the
accomplishmentof which Jehovahmade Jacobthe father of the twelve-tribed
nation, is brought by him into full and final realization....Inthe present
instance, where He is calleddistinctly "Israel," the factis clearlyexpressed,
that the Servant of Jehovahin these prophecies is regardedas the kernel of
the kernelof Israel, as Israel's inmost centre, as Israel's highest head. He it is
in Whom (i.e., on Whom and through Whom) Jehovahglorifies Himself,
inasmuch as He carried out through Him the counsels ofHis love, which are
the self-glorificationofHis holy love, its glory and its triumph.
John Martin - Why is the Servant here called Israel? This cannot refer to the
nation because the Servant is to draw that nation back to God. The Messiahis
calledIsrael because He fulfills what Israelshould have done. In His person
and work He epitomizes the nation. (BKC)
W A Criswell- It is clearthat the Servant in this passageis Jesus of Nazareth,
for He brings salvationto Israelas wellas to the whole world.
Hindson - Though He is calledmy servant, O Israel, it is clear that the
national title is used as a designationfor the Messiahwho shall come forth
from that nation. (King James Bible Commentary)
Gilbrant comments "Godnames the Servant “Israel.” The Servantpersonifies
ideal Israel, summing up in himself the servanthood that God intended for
Israel. Thus He becomes God’s Israel, God’s Prince and Warrior, when

natural Israelfails. God’s purpose in using Him is to bring glory to himself as
He displays God’s divine splendor." (The Complete Biblical Library – Isaiah)
NET Note - This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to
the exiled nation (cf. Isa 41:8–9;44:1–2, 21;45:4; 48:20), but in Isa 49:5–6 this
servant says he has been commissionedto reconcile Israelto God, so he must
be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal "Israel" who, like
Moses ofold, mediates a covenantfor the nation (see Isa 49:8), leads them out
of bondage (Isa 49:9a), and carries out God's original plan for Israelby
positively impacting the pagannations (Isa 49:6b). By living according to
God's law, Israelwas to be a model of God's standards of justice to the
surrounding nations (Deut 4:6–8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant,
the ideal "Israel," willsucceedby establishing justice throughout the earth.
Wiersbe - The Jewishnation was calledto glorify God and be a light to the
Gentiles, but they failed in their mission. This is why Messiahis called
"Israel" in Isaiah 49:3: He did the work that Israelwas supposedto do.
Today, the Church is God's light in the dark world (Acts 13:46-49;Matt. 5:14-
16), and like Israel, we seemto be failing in our mission to take the Good
News to the ends of the earth. We cannot do the job very effectively when only
five percent of the average localchurch budget is devoted to evangelism!(Be
Comforted).
Servant (05650)('ebedfrom 'abad = work in any sense)means a slave or
bondservant. This noun is used of Messiah, Yahweh's Servant, four times in
Isaiah49 (Isa 49:3, 5, 6, 7).
W E Vine adds that "Of prime significance is the use of My Servant for the
Messiahin Isa 42:1-7;49:1- 7; 50:4-10;52:13-53:12. Israelwas a blind and
deaf servant (Isa. 42:18-22). So the Lord called My righteous Servant (Isa
53:11 = "My Servantwill justify the many" cf Isa 42:6) The “servant” was not
a free man. He was subjectto the will and command of his master. But one

might willingly and lovingly submit to his master(Ex 21:5), remaining in his
service when he was not obligedto do so. Hence it is a very fitting description
of the relationship of man to God."
The Septuagint translates Servant('ebed) with doulos which describes one
who bound to another. Doulos conveys the idea of the slave's close, binding
ties w/ his master, belonging to him, obligated(and desirous) to do his will,
one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, HIS WILL BEING
ALTOGETHER CONSUMEDIN THE WILL OF THE OTHER (Mt 8:9;
20:27;24:45, 46). Jesus the Messiahwas the ultimate Servant, the ultimate
Doulos, declaring in the Gardenof Gethsemane the night before He is to bear
the sins of the world
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but
Yours be done.” (Lk 22:42+).
In Whom I will show My glory - Jesus is the "Israel" in Whom the Father
would be glorified. The nation should have been and could have been, but she
continually proved rebellious and unfaithful and failed to demonstrate to the
paganworld a proper opinion of Yahweh! When the Servant accomplishes
His mission of providing redemption of sinners who can now be reconciled
back to the Father, the Fatherwill be glorified and honored. This is
repeatedly alluded to in the GospelofJohn...
“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven:“I have both
glorified it, and will glorify it again.”(John12:28)

Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified,
and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify
Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. (Jn 13:31,32)
Jesus spoke these things;and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father,
the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as
You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him,
He may give eternal life. 3“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 “I (THE SERVANT)
glorified You on the earth, having accomplishedthe work (THE MISSION
DESCRIBED IN ISAIAH 49) which You have given Me to do. 5 “Now,
Father, glorify Me togetherwith Yourself, with the glory which I had with
You before the world was. (Jn 17:1-5)
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 49:1-3 - “1 Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from
afar. The Lord calledMe from the womb; From the body of My mother He
named Me. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow
of His hand He has concealedMe, And He has also made Me a selectarrow;
He has hidden Me in His quiver. 3 And He saidto Me, “You are My Servant,
Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.”” - God’s Ideal Servant Himself
Speaks Out About Himself
2.1. In chapter 42, Isaiah first introduced God’s Ideal Servant to us.
There we saw that He was the ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ servant, and that only Jesus
Christ could qualify to have the role that was prophesied about him. There
we saw that Isaiahwas introducing us to the ‘ideal servant,’howeverwhat is
different here is that the ‘ideal servant’ is introducing himself.

2.1.1. Some have referred to Isaiahchapter 42 as a biographicalchapter
concerning God’s ‘ideal servant,’and this chapter as being His
‘autobiographical’chapter, since he is introducing himself and telling us
about his mission.
2.2. God’s ‘ideal servant’ cries out to the farthest reaches ofthe earth, the
‘islands,’ for them to hear and pay attention to his declarations here.
2.3. From the outsetI want to saythat there are severalthings written in
this chapter about God’s ‘ideal servant’ that lead us to the conclusionthat he
could only be the Lord Jesus:
2.3.1. He is called‘the covenant’ of the Lord, he does not introduce or
inaugurate this covenantbut says that He is the very covenant himself.
2.3.1.1.Jesus saidto His disciples at the last supper that the wine was the new
covenantin his blood, indicating that He himself was providing the means for
the new covenant for mankind.
2.3.1.2.Jesus Himselfis our salvation, you see.
2.3.2. He is called‘the salvation’ of the Lord, he is not the one who proclaims
the means of the salvationbut rather points to himself as the means.
2.3.3. The mere fact that he points to himself as being the means of salvation
for God’s people sets himself apart from all of the other Old Testament

prophets and the nation as a whole. They all soughtto deflect attention away
from themselves and point the people to the Lord as their hope.
2.3.4. The Lord has determined to show His glory through the ‘ideal servant’
would indicate that it is in factJesus who is being prophesied.
2.3.5. There is no other prophet who was calledto be light to all of the nations
so that salvationcould go to the ends of the earth, this could only be a
reference to Jesus.
2.4. Isaiahtells us that God’s ideal servant is calledand named even from
his mother’s womb.
2.4.1. In Luke 2:21, we read that Jesus’name was given by the angel Gabriele
when he appearedto Mary (Luke 1:31) before Jesus was conceivedin Mary’s
womb, “21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His
name was then calledJesus, the name given by the angelbefore He was
conceivedin the womb.”
2.4.2. We know ofcourse from other scriptures that Jesus’going forth
(Micah 5:2) was from everlasting or eternity, before there was anything that
was created, for being the third personof the Triune God, He was also the
creatorof all that existed (Col. 1:17).
2.5. Isaiahtells us that God’s ideal servant shall have his mouth
sharpened as a sword. In John’s vision of the resurrectedJesus upon the
island of Patmos, Rev. 1:16, we see that Jesus had a sharp two-edgedsword
coming out of His mouth, “16 And in His right hand He held sevenstars;and

out of His mouth came a sharp two-edgedsword;and His face was like the
sun shining in its strength.”
2.6. Isaiahtells us that God’s ideal servant will be a ‘selectarrow’in
God’s quiver. In those days, a person would greasea specialarrow so that it
would have less air friction when being shot and thus travel faster, and then
when it hit its targetit would penetrate farther and thus be more lethal.
2.6.1. Jesus was alwaysstraightas an arrow in His setting of His face to
accomplishall that He was calledto accomplishas the Messiahwho would
purchase our salvation.
2.6.2. Jesus canalso go straightto the heart of what ails eachof us His
children and then bring that healing of our sins and encouragementofour
heart to trust Him.
2.7. We finally get to the difficult statement in this chapter. The ‘ideal
servant’ is called‘Israel.’ The Jews have of course takenthe position that it is
Israelwho is representedby the ‘ideal servant’ of Isaiah’s writings, however
though Israelwas calledto be like this ‘ideal servant’ and should have been
like him, they never were much like him. In fact, when Isaiah wrote Israel
was backsliddeninto idolatry.
2.8. Israelis really a ‘type’ of God’s ‘ideal servant’ and thus the ‘ideal
servant’ is called‘Israel’:
2.8.1. The name ‘Israel’ means “prince of God,” and Jesus the only unique
Son of God surely would be the ultimate “prince of God.”

2.8.2. ‘Israel’was calledto be a blessing to the nations, though they had never
really fulfilled that calling, howeverJesus has truly been a blessing to the
nations.
2.8.3. ‘Israel’ was calledto bring salvationto the nations, though they had
never really fulfilled that calling either, howeverJesus has brought salvation
to the nations through His death upon the cross of Calvary for the sins of the
world.
2.9. Isaiahtells us that the Lord would show His glory through the ‘ideal
servant.’ Johnwrote in John 1:14 about how that the glory of the Lord was
manifest in the life of Jesus, “14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begottenfrom the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
GENE BROOKS
THE SERVANT COMFORTSUS IN HIS PERSON ALONE (Isaiah 49:1-13)
a. Chapters 49-55 are a new sectionof Isaiah, but addressedto the Jewish
exiles in Babylon just like the words of comfort in chapters 40-48. Now Isaiah
sets before God’s people hope and confident expectationin a time when their
vision was limited. The emphasis now turns from Babylon to Jerusalem, to a
Servant who will provide a future reunited Israeland the blessing of the
nations, from comfortto the Servant who provides Comfort.
b. 49:1-7 – God’s Servant – Here we find the secondServantSong, the
Servant first presentedin 42:1-4. Even if only the law of double reference

applies here, it applies to Cyrus as a type of Christ to come in glory and of the
Messiahhimself, so the focus is the Messiah-Servant.
i. This Servant is called to his mission and named long before his
birth (49:1, 7; 41:8-9; 43:1), to display God’s splendor (49:3) but will be at
present hidden from them (49:2).
ii. This Servant, as in 42:1-4, is a prophet (cf. Jeremiah 1:5; 20:7-11)
with a powerful tongue, a sharpenedsword of the Word (49:2; Hebrews 4:12-
13; Revelation1:15;19:15).
iii. This Servant’s first efforts would be unrewarded, but that spent
strength will be renewed(49:4).
iv. This Servant, as in 42:1-4, is also a royal political leader, bringing
Israelback to God (49:5).
v. This Servant is a King of kings (“kings will see you and rise up”)
and a divine Lord of lords (“princes will see and bow down”) (49:7)
vi. This Servantwill provide salvationto all the ethnic nations (49:6;
John 1:9, 29). A Light for the Gentiles – Paul and Barnabas applied this verse
to themselves (Acts 13:47), for their mission was in the spirit of the Servant.
Israelhad light, rejectedit, and needed restoration. The Gentiles needed the
light to see their salvation.
vii. This Servant, though despisedat first by his own, will at the end
by honored by all (49:7; Exodus 12:31, 35-36).
RICH CATHERS
:1-8 Messiah’s mission

isles – 'iy – coast, island, shore, region. It speaks ofall regions beyond the sea.
As Messiahwill be rejected by the Jews, He turns to speak to the rest of the
world (including us).
:1 The LORD hath calledme from the womb;
Who is this talking about?
At first it’s a little unclear. But as we go along, we’ll see that there is only one
individual that clearly fits all the things describedin this passage.Whatwe
are reading are words spokenby Jesus the Messiah, through Isaiah.
While Mary was still pregnant, God sent angelto Joseph –
(Mat 1:20-21 KJV) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angelof
the Lord appearedunto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceivedin her is
of the Holy Ghost. {21} And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name JESUS:for he shall save his people from their sins.
Even before He was born, Jesus had a purpose. His purpose was to save us
from our sins.
Lesson
God has a purpose for you.

Jesus isn’t the only one who was calledof Godfrom His mother’s womb.
David wrote:
(Psa 139:13-18 NLT)You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and
knit me togetherin my mother's womb. {14} Thank you for making me so
wonderfully complex! Your workmanshipis marvelous--and how wellI know
it. {15} You watchedme as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was
woven togetherin the dark of the womb. {16} You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recordedin your book. Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. {17} How precious are your thoughts about
me, O God! They are innumerable! {18} I can't even count them; they
outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are
still with me!
You too have a purpose for life, one designedby God:
(Eph 2:10 KJV) For we are his workmanship, createdin Christ Jesus unto
goodworks, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Illustration
The late C.S. Lewis said that people can ask only three basic ethicalor
philosophical questions. To describe them, he used the metaphor of ships at
sea. When sailing ships leave port to embark on a journey, sailors must
determine three things, according to Lewis. First, they must know how to keep
from bumping into one another. This is a question of "socialethics."In other
words, how do we getalong with one another on this journey called life?
Second, they must know how the individual ships remain seaworthy. This is

"personalethics," and it deals with the individual’s vices and virtues - with
character. Finally, sailors must decide where the ships are going. What is their
mission and their destination? This last question is the ultimate one for us.
What is the purpose of human life? Why are we here?
-- Ed Young, BeenThere. Done That. Now What? (Broadman, 1994), p. 10.
Illustration
In a Peanuts comic strip, there was a conversationbetweenLucy and Charlie
Brown. Lucy said that life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see
where they are going;some place it so they can see where they have been; and
some place it so they cansee where they are at present. Charlie Brown's reply:
"I can't even get mine unfolded."
God has a designand purpose for eachof our lives. He has made only one you,
and He made you with specific strengths and weaknesses, relationships,
abilities, giftings, talents, all to be used for a purpose. Sometimes we don’t like
the idea that we must conform to some kind of purpose in life. Yet we won’t
find true fulfillment until we discoverthat purpose and begin to pursue it.
Illustration
I have here a guitar string. It is free. I twist one end of it and it responds. It is
free. But it is not free to do what a guitar string is supposed to do, to produce
music. So I take it, put it in my guitar and tighten it until it is taut. Only then
is it free to be a guitar string. By the same tokenwe are free when our lives

are uncommitted, but not to be what we were intended to be. Realfreedom is
not freedom from, but freedom for.
Illustration
An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s eggand put it
into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglethatched with the brood of chicks
and grew up with them. All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking he was a
prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratchedin the dirt for
seeds and insects to eat. He cluckedand cackled. And he flew in a brief
thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feetoff the
ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposedto fly. Years
passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a
magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful
majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soaredwith scarcelya beatof its
strong goldenwings. "What a beautiful bird!" saidthe changeling eagle to his
neighbor. "What is it?" "That’s an eagle—the chiefof the birds," the
neighbor clucked. "But don’t give it a secondthought. You could never be like
him." So the changeling eagle nevergave it another thought. And it died
thinking it was a prairie chicken.
- Ted Engstrom, The Pursuit of Excellence
Do you have a sense of purpose in your life? Have you settledfor the life of a
prairie chickenwhen God made you to be an eagle?
:2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword

This clearly speaksofJesus. Johnrecords,
(Rev 19:15 KJV) And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he
should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron …
:2 in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me
The Messiahexistedfrom before eternity, yet as an arrow hidden in quiver,
the Messiahwas hidden in God until the time came for Him to be revealed.
(Col 1:25-27 KJV) WhereofI am made a minister, according to the
dispensationof Godwhich is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
{26} Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations,
but now is made manifest to his saints:{27} To whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
:2 and made me a polished shaft
polished – barar – to purify, select, polish, choose,purge, cleanse ormake
bright, test or prove. This speaks ofthe purity of Jesus.
:3 Thou art my servant, O Israel
What is confusing here is that it sounds as if God is calling the nation of Israel
as this special"servant". The Jews have often takenthese "servant" passages

in Isaiah and applied them to themselves. But in verse 5, the purpose of this
"servant" is to bring the nation of Israel back to the Lord, as well as give
salvationto the world.
Israel= "Godprevails", or "prince with God". The idea here is that this
servant, the Messiah, is in a sense the "true Israel", the true Prince with God.
Jesus is all that the nation of Israelwas intended to be.
:3 in whom I will be glorified.
Jesus brought glory to the Father
Joh 14:13 And whatsoeverye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son.
:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain
You could make a case in saying that Jesus was a failure in His ministry.
(John 1:11 KJV) He came unto his own, and his own receivedhim not.
Though He attracted multitudes at times, it was the crowdthat turned against
Him yelling, "Crucify Him" (Mark 15:12-14)

After His resurrection, there were only 120 disciples left waiting for the Holy
Spirit (Acts 1:15).
Lesson
Jesus understands failure.
He knows what you’re going through.
(Heb 4:15 KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin.
You may at times feel as if you are the biggestfailure in the world. You’re not
alone. Not only have most of us felt the exactsame thing, but Jesus knows
what you’re going through.
:4 yet surely my judgment is with the LORD
Though others might considerJesus a failure, He was counting on God’s
opinion of Him, not what others thought.
Lesson
God’s standards of failure aren’t the same as ours.

Sometimes I think we have our eyes on the wrong things when it comes to
godly success.
Illustration
Jeremiahor Jonah?
Which prophet had the greatername, Jeremiahor Jonah?
We think of Jeremiahas being the faithful prophet, yet in one sense he would
be considereda greatfailure. All through his life of preaching and warning,
he didn’t see a lot of results. I’m not sure you could point to a single convert.
Jonahon the other hand had greatresults with numbers. When he preached,
an ENTIRE CITY repented and came to the Lord. Yet what was he known
for? For being the rebellious prophet, the one who ran from God and then
argued with God.
God isn’t looking at the numbers. He’s looking at faithfulness.
Illustration
The parable of the talents.

We might say that the master rewardedthose with the good"numbers", since
it was the man who made back five talents that was rewarded. But look for
any hint of the reward being for having "big numbers" –
(Mat 25:21 KJV) His lord said unto him, Well done, thou goodand faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
In fact, the master made a point that the man had been entrusted with "few"
things.
Even in the parallel parable of the "pounds" (or, "minas"), the Mastersays
the same thing –
(Luke 19:17 KJV) And he said unto him, Well, thou goodservant: because
thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
Be careful about how you are judging your own"success". Godis simply
looking for faithfulness. Are you remaining faithful to what God has called
you to do?
:5 to bring Jacobagainto him
The mission of Jesus Christ was to bring the Jews back to God.
:5 Though Israelbe not gathered

There is a slight difference in the Hebrew manuscripts here, giving two
opposite translations. One says "though Israelbe not gathered", the other is
the exactopposite, "though Israelbe gather".
:5 my God shall be my strength.
In all that Jesus did, He drew His strength from the Lord.
:6 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles
To God, it wasn’t enough for the Messiahto just have the purpose of bringing
the Jews back to God, He wanted the Messiahto show salvationto the whole
world, including us paganGentiles.
:7 to him whom man despiseth…princes also shall worship
Jesus was despisedatHis first coming (John 1:11), yet He will be worshipped
at His secondcoming. (Phil. 2:9-11)
(Phil 2:9-11 KJV) Wherefore Godalso hath highly exaltedhim, and given him
a name which is above every name: {10} That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; {11} And that every tongue should confess thatJesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.

:8 In an acceptable time have I heard thee …
acceptable – ratsown– pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance;a "time
of grace"
for a covenant – Jesus brought a new contract, a new agreementbetweenGod
and man.
(Isa 49:8 NLT) This is what the LORD says:"At just the right time, I will
respond to you. On the day of salvation, I will help you. I will give you as a
tokenand pledge to Israel. This will prove that I will reestablishthe land of
Israeland reassignit to its own people again.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 2
Cyrus" calling was to liberate Israel with the sword, but this speaker"scalling
was to announce words from God, piercing, incisive words that would cut like
a sword(cf. Isaiah1:20; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation1:16; Revelation19:15).
"His is an office of the mouth, his task a declarationof the Truth; for he is a
prophet par excellence, and his word is the Gospel..." [Note:Ibid.]
The Servant would be available for His Master"s use wheneverneeded. He
would not be prominent at all times but would be protected and hidden until

summoned into use. Both the swordand the arrow were offensive weapons,
the former used at short range and the latter at longerrange. Likewise this
Servant"s words would be instruments that would defeat enemies. Jesus
Christ was the embodiment of this word from God (cf. John 1:1-4; John 1:14-
15).
DR. D. L. COOPER
In verse 2 the Messiahdeclaresthat the Lord has made His mouth like a
sharp sword, that He has hidden Him in His hand, that He has made Him a
polished shaft; and that He has kept Him in His quiver. These words must be
takenseriously. They stand for reality and are by no means draperies to
adorn the prophecy. In the first place Messiahdeclaresthat God has made
His mouth like a sharp sword. What does this signify? Does it refer to the
messageofgrace and truth which He, when He appears upon the historic
scene, proclaims to the meek and lowly? Instantly one replies with a most
emphatic negative. The gospelmessage is an expressionof kindness, grace,
love, mercy. Thus in no wise could we interpret it as a reference to the
ministry of the Lord at His first coming. Could it refer to what He will
accomplishat His return? As we learn from parallel passages, we know that
the Lord will return in wrath and indignation. At that time He "... will go
forth as a mighty man [a man of war]; he will stir up his zeal like a man of
war: he will cry, yea; he will shout aloud; he will do mightily againsthis
enemies" (Isa. 42:13). In this quotation appears a prediction that the Messiah,
when He returns at the end of the Tribulation, will come as a mighty warrior
with the battle cry of vengeance againstHis enemies, whom He will slay as He
purges the world of all wickednessand sin. This interpretation is confirmed
by the fact that in 49:2 Messiahasserts thatGod has made Him "a polished
shaft," an arrow which He has hid--during the present dispensation--in the
shadow of His hand and in His quiver. Messiahis God's polished shaft and

His arrow which He at that time shoots, atthe wickedworld. Of course this is
a figurative expressionwhich is perfectly clearto all.
When Messiahis upon earth the first time, He delivers a greatmessage of
grace and truth to the people. After His rejection, crucifixion, and
resurrection, He ascends to the right hand of Godand is invisible from then
and onward so far as the world is concerned. In the language ofour passage
He, the polished shaft, the arrow, has been hidden in the shadow of God's
hand or placed in the quiver. The facts thus statedare apparent to anyone
who will study this passagein the light of those which give the whole
redemptive careerof King Messiah, whichconsists ofthe two comings,
separatedby the period during which He is at the right hand of the throne of
God. Forinstance, see Psalm110.
EXPOSITORYNOTESON
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
by
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
Copyright @ 1952
ISAIAH CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
MESSIAH DESPISED, GOD’S ANSWER
“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath
calledme from
the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
And he hath

made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me,
and made
me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me, Thou art
my servant,
O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I
have spent my
strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord,
and my work
with my God. And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be
his servant, to
bring Jacobagainto him, Though Israelbe not gathered, yet shall I be
glorious in the eyes
of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing
that thou
shouldestbe my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preservedof
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my
salvationunto
the end of the earth” (verses 1-6).
IN CHAPTER forty-nine Israelis brought before us as the Lord’s servant,
but Israelas a nation
had failed terribly in that place. And so while it is Israel who speaks andsays,
“The Lord hath
calledme from the womb . . . And said unto me, Thou art My servant,” it is
really the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself who takes the place of Israel, the true Israel. The servant
here is no longer

the nation as such, though it does speak here in these opening verses. But it is
the Lord Jesus
who takes the place of the nation.
Other scriptures indicate this. In Hosea Godspeaks ofbringing the nation out
of Egypt: “Out of
Egypt have I called My Son.” That prophecy is referred to the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself, who
as a little babe was carried down to Egypt and brought back to the land “that
it might be
fulfilled,” Matthew says, “whichwas spokenof the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Out of
Egypt have I called My Son” (Matthew 2:15).
So that in the first instance the son there was Israel, but it was the Lord Jesus,
the true Israel, who
was actually before the mind of God. We often use similar language,
substituting an individual
for the whole people. Louis the Fourteenth, that proud French monarch,
exclaimed on one
occasion:“France must rule the world, and I am France.” And Napoleon
Bonaparte said, “The
State must be supreme, and I am the State.”
If uninspired men use language in that way, how much more has Christ the
right to say, “I am
Israel, the true Israel” The very name “Israel” meant“A Prince with God,”
and it was He then
who was manifestedas the true Prince, the servant of the Lord, when Israel,
both as a nation and

individually, utterly failed.
Next comes a remarkable prophecy of Christ’s rejectionby Israeland the
calling of the Gentiles.
Messiahsays, “Ihave laboured in vain, I have spent My strength for nought”
(verse 4). That
is, as far as Israelis concerned, His work seemeda failure on earth. “He came
unto His own,
and His own receivedHim not.” But He leaves all with the Lord, and declares,
“ThoughIsrael
be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord.” For He has
said unto Him, “It
is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to
restore the preserved of Israel:I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles,
that Thou
mayest be My salvationunto the end of the earth.”
Through Messiah’s rejectionby Israel, a greaterwork would be
accomplished. The message
would go out to the Gentile world.
“Thus saith the Lord, the RedeemerofIsrael, and his Holy One, to him whom
man
despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings
shall see and
arise, princes also shall worship, because ofthe Lord that is faithful, and the
Holy One of
Israel, and he shall choose thee” (verse 7).

While in the Old Testamentwe do not have the present age brought clearly
before us, the Old
Testamentprophet is like a man looking at two mountain peaks, one some
distance beyond the
other and higher than the first one, and he was therefore unable to see the
valley betweenthem.
So the prophets testified of the sufferings of Christ at His first coming and of
the glories that
should follow the SecondComing. But they do not give us any clearteaching
and outline as to
all that goes on in between.
We know now from the New Testamentthat God had us in His heart from all
eternity to call out
from Jew and Gentile a people to His name, who should be the bride of His
Son. So that when
the Lord Jesus returns to reign in power and glory, He will not return alone.
He will have a bride
with Him who shall sit with Him upon His throne.
If Isaiah gives no definite instruction in regard to the present day as yet, it is
very evident that
such a prophecy does cover the present age as well as looking on to the
millennium. It will have
its fulfillment in millennial days, when all the kingdoms of this world will
become the kingdom
of our God and His Christ.
Then the Lord speaks to the One whom man despised, the One whom the
nation abhorreth, an

expressionnot too strong for the feeling of Israel towardthe Lord Jesus
Christ, for terms are used
concerning Him in Jewishwritings, the Talmud and others, such as the
“leper” and the “hangedone” - the one whom the nation abhorreth. They
could not understand. “Had they known,” Peter
says, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” But they did not
know.
God will glorify that One whom the nation abhorreth, the kings and princes of
the earth will
recognize Him and bow down before Him. In a remarkable sense that has
been true even during
the presentage, although unforeseenby the prophets. Becauseas the gospel
went from land to
land throughout the early centuries, whole nations were brought to profess, at
least, subjectionto
the Lord Jesus and many kings proclaimed themselves His subjects.
Downto the present time among the nations there are rulers who confess the
authority of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The rulers of GreatBritain, of Holland, and of
Scandinavia are all professed
Christians. That does not mean necessarilythat they are all born again, but
they are all professed
Christians and acknowledge, outwardlyat least, the authority of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Many leaders in the United States have takenthe same place. Franklin D.
Rooseveltwas a
professedChristian, a warden of an EpiscopalChurch. And President
Truman, after his first

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