9Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.
10I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
11I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
11 I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have planned. I will also do it.
KJVKing James Version
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
9 Remember the former things of old: that I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me;
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying: 'My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do';
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed, I will also do it.
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
How many gods are there?Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and New Testament passages repeatedly assert strict monotheism, with YHWH alone and no other gods beside him.
Proverbs 19:21(v10)There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.
Psalms 33:11(v10)The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Ephesians 1:9-11(v10)making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to an administration of the fullness of…
Isaiah 43:13(v10)Yes, since the day was, I am he. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?”
Proverbs 21:30(v10)There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
Show all 59 cross-references
Isaiah 45:21(v10)Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I,…
Psalms 135:6(v10)Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
Isaiah 44:7(v10)Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare…
Numbers 23:19(v11)God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
Acts 5:39(vv10–11)But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!”
Isaiah 46:11(v10)I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have…
Isaiah 45:21-22(v9)Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I,…
Hebrews 6:17(v10)In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an…
Isaiah 42:9(v9)Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”
Psalms 111:4(v9)He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful.
Isaiah 46:5(v9)“To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal, and compare me, as if we were the same?
Daniel 4:35(v10)All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants…
Acts 4:27-28(v10)“For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant,…
Isaiah 14:24-27(v11)Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will…
Romans 11:33-34(v10)Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!…
Deuteronomy 33:26(v9)“There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies.
Genesis 49:10(v10)The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the…
Deuteronomy 32:7(v9)Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell…
Job 23:13(v11)But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does.
Isaiah 45:18(v9)For Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed…
Numbers 24:17-24(v10)I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through…
Genesis 12:2-3(v10)I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and…
Isaiah 41:2(v11)Who has raised up one from the east? Who called him to his foot in righteousness? He hands over nations to him and makes him rule over…
Isaiah 65:17(v9)“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Ephesians 1:11(v11)We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel…
Deuteronomy 4:24-31(v10)For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been…
Nehemiah 9:7-37(v9)You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, found his heart faithful…
Isaiah 45:5-6(v9)I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me, that they may know…
Acts 15:18(v10)“All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.
Genesis 3:15(v10)I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise…
Ezra 1:2(v11)“Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a…
Psalms 119:24(v11)Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
Isaiah 38:15(v11)What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
Isaiah 41:22-23(v10)“Let them announce and declare to us what will happen! Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the…
Isaiah 48:14-15(v11)“Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to…
Deuteronomy 28:15-68(v10)But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which…
Psalms 76:10(v11)Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
Isaiah 13:2-4(v11)Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have…
Isaiah 41:25(v11)“I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name, and he shall come on rulers as…
Isaiah 44:28–45:6(v11)Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the…
Isaiah 45:13(v11)I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free,…
Jeremiah 23:7-8(v9)“Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that they will no more say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of…
Jeremiah 50:45(v11)Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the…
Ephesians 3:11(v11)according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Genesis 49:22-26(v10)“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall. The archers have severely grieved him, shot at…
Isaiah 45:14(v9)Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you, and they will be…
Jeremiah 50:29(v11)“Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp against her all around. Let none of it escape. Pay her back…
Jeremiah 51:20-29(v11)“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms. With you I will…
Ezekiel 39:4(v11)You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds…
Daniel 9:6-15(v9)We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people…
Acts 4:28(v11)to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.
Psalms 105:1-45(v9)Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his…
Isaiah 21:7-9(v11)When he sees a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of donkeys, a troop of camels, he shall listen diligently with great attentiveness.” He…
Acts 3:23(v10)It will be that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
59 distinct cross-references across this passage (60 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v11That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as…
That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as a bride, and fight against Babylon.
Him by whom I have appointed to execute that which I have determined.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for…
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,
Ver. 9. Remember the former things of old.] Again he calleth upon them to remember who had so foully forgot themselves in the days of Ahaz and Manasseh, and would do so again in Babylon, where they kept not themselves from idols. Papists unman themselves, or otherwise they could not be such gross idolaters.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Remember the former things of old; what I have…
Remember the former things of old; what I have done for you, and in the world, my evident predictions of future things justified by the event, and those other miraculous works whereby I have abundantly proved my Divinity.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Remember the former things of old,.... The things that…
Remember the former things of old,.... The things that were from the beginning, or the ancient things done by the Lord, whether as the effects of power, wisdom, and goodness, or in wrath, or in mercy; such as the creation of the heavens, and the earth, and all things in them; the destruction of the old world, and of Sodom and Gomorrah; the bringing of Israel out of Egypt through the Red sea and wilderness, to Canaan's land, and all the wondrous things then done for them; which are so many proofs of the true deity of the God of Israel, in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles:
for I am God, and there is none else; as he must needs be what did the above things:
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I am God, and there is none like me; for greatness or goodness, or that has done the like things; not one of the gods of the Gentiles.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv10–11Declaring - Foretelling from the beginning of the world,…
Declaring - Foretelling from the beginning of the world, future events which should happen in succeeding ages, even to the end of the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v11Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east…
Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east - "Calling from the east the eagle"] A very proper emblem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly because the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, ΑΕΤΟΣ χρυσους, the very word עיט ayit, which the prophet uses here, expressed as near as may be in Greek letters. XENOPH. Cyrop. lib. vii. sub. init. Kimchi says his father understood this, not of Cyrus, but of the Messiah.
From a far country - "From a land far distant"] Two MSS. add the conjunction ו vau, ומארץ umeerets; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v9Isa 46:9-11. Remember the former things — What I…
Isa 46:9-11. Remember the former things — What I have done for you and in the world, my evident predictions of future things, justified by the event; and those other miraculous works, whereby I have abundantly proved my divinity. Declaring the end from the beginning — Foretelling from the beginning of the world, or from the beginning of your nation, those future events which should happen in succeeding ages, even to the end of the world, or to the end of your commonwealth; for such predictions we find delivered by Moses, the first founder of their state. My counsel shall stand — As I will not, so no other power can, disappoint my purposes and predictions. This is another argument urged for the divinity of the God of Israel, namely, his foreknowledge and prediction of future events, of which the prophet subjoins a particular instance in the next words. Calling a ravenous bird, or eagle, from the east — From Persia, as Isa 41:2. “There can be no doubt that Cyrus is here meant. Kings and princes are often compared in Scripture to eagles, Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3. But it has been thought that there is a peculiar propriety in this application to Cyrus, as the eagle well denotes the magnanimity, the quickness of judgment, the celerity in all his expeditions and motions, for which Cyrus was so remarkable. We are also told by Plutarch, that Cyrus had an aquiline nose; and Xenophon expressly relates, that his standard was a golden eagle; which yet continues, says he, to be the standard of the Persian kings.” — Vitringa.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Remember the former things ... - Bear in mind…
Remember the former things ... - Bear in mind the repeated and constant proofs that have been given that Yahweh is the true God - the proofs derived from the prediction of future events, and from the frequent interpositions of his providence in your behalf as a nation.
For I am God - (See the notes at Isa 44:6).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v11Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet)…
Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet) --- He chose a golden eagle, with wings expanded, for his standard. (Xenophon vii.) --- Christ came from heaven to redeem the world, Psalm xviii. 6., and Malachias iv. 2. (Calmet) --- He was the orient, adored by the eastern sages, to whom the prophet refers. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv9–11former--namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from…
former--namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from predictions fulfilled, and interpositions of God in behalf of Israel (Isa 45:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v1111. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the…
11. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the sun rising.
A ravenous bird — Cyrus was rapid in movement and execution; quick, keen sighted, strong. He is said to have taken for his ensign a golden eagle standing with outstretched wings. XENOPHON, Cyrop., Isa_7:1.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv9–119. former things of old] See on Isa_41:22. The…
9. former things of old] See on Isa_41:22. The emphasis here lies less on the predictions than on the events themselves, which are of such a nature as to demonstrate that Jehovah alone is truly God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv9, 11(9) I am God.—The first predicate is El, the…
(9) I am God.—The first predicate is El, the mighty and strong one, the second Elohim, the one true object of worship. The verse that follows asserts what in modern language would be called the omniscience and the omnipotence of God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv9–11Vers. 9-11. A FURTHER ADMONITION GROUNDED ON OTHER MOTIVES.…
Vers. 9-11. A FURTHER ADMONITION GROUNDED ON OTHER MOTIVES. Israel is exhorted to continue firm in the faith
(1) by the recollection of God"s mercies in the past (ver. 9);
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(2) by the consideration of his prophetic power (ver. 10); and
(3) by a renewed promise of coming deliverance through Cyrus (ver. 11).
Manliness in relation to religion.
"Remember this, and show yourselves men." The prophet calls on the people of God to show themselves to be men, either by exercising their powers of recollection and reason in remembering the facts and arguments he has adduced, or by taking appropriate, manly action in the recollection and realization of these convincing and constraining reasons. Religion is a manly thing in both these aspects. So far from its being the childish or effeminate thing which its enemies have been pleased to call it, it is a sphere of thought and of action in which the very highest and noblest attributes of our humanity have fullest scope.
I AS A SPHERE OF HUMAN THOUGHT.
1. It is the most elevated. All objects of creation are worthy of regard, and the study of them is full of recompense. But they differ in the degree of their worthiness; there is an ascending scale, and they culminate in the Divine. The noblest study of mankind is God his nature, his character, his will, his kingdom.
2. It is the most obligatory. Men, as men, should consider that which most claims their attention, should dwell on those themes which most demand their thought and care. And these are found in Divine blessings, Divine dealings, Divine messages, Divine beauties and excellences. We are never doing anything more worthy of our manhood than when we are recalling and realizing what God is, what he has done, what he has been to our race and to ourselves, what sovereign and supreme claims he has on our reverence and love.
II As A SPHERE OF HUMAN ACTION. If there be anything which can be said to be manlier than patient and earnest thought on the highest themes, it is:
1. Deliberate choice of the wisest and best course the determination, at all costs and spite of all inducements, to take that course which commends itself to our judgment as the right and the wise one. This is exactly what men do when they surrender themselves to the will of God, to the service of Jesus Christ.
2. Resolute and persistent pursuit of it. Where does manliness find nobler illustrations than in the persistent worship of God under cruel persecution, the immovable adherence to sacred conviction under the wearying and worrying assaults of worldly and frivolous associates, the steadfast endeavour to extend the kingdom of righteousness and to raise the condition of the degraded, notwithstanding all the discouragements that await the Christian workman? C.
Ver. 9. Remember the former things of old; i.e. God"s wonderful dealings with Israel in times past the miracles in Egypt, the passage of the Red Sea, the deliverances from Midian, and Ammon, and the Philistines, and Zerah, and Sennacherib which proved him God in a sense in which the word could be applied to no other. I am God... I am God. In the original, "I am El... I am Elohim. El is "the Mighty One," "the Omnipotent;" Elohim, "the Godhead" in all its fulness.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv9–10Remember the former things of old
Isa_46:9-11
Remember the former things of old
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The purposes of God
I.
When we come to look at THE PURPOSES OF GOD, we must not be misled by words. The word purpose, with us, supposes several things, which have nothing to do with the same term when applied to God. There is, with God, no ignorance previously to the formation of His purposes; no new light thrown on circumstances, out of which His purpose arises; no period in His past eternity, when His purposes were not formed; no consulting either with Himself or with others, with regard to their formation. Perhaps you may be ready to say, if we are to look at the purpose of God in this way, it is not a purpose at all, in the sense in which we use the term. And it certainly is not, as you will perceive. We accommodate human language to the infinite characteristics of the Divine nature; but we must do it with caution, and must be careful what measure of idea we associate with our common terms, when we are applying them to God. If not, we shall be deceived in the conclusions we draw and the doctrines we believe. If the purpose of God is to be viewed as it really is, we take it to be simply this: Gods foreknowledge of everything that is to come to pass, together with the operation of His influence upon that foreknowledge, in connection with those things. His foreknowledge had no beginning; His resolution, as to what He was to do, could have no beginning. From the moment He foresaw, He resolved or purposed. Such appears to be the meaning of the word purpose as applied to God. If it should be said, This is a view of purpose altogether foreign from the view we take of it, we grant it. But why? Because the nature of God is altogether foreign from ours. Ours is a finite and limited nature in itself; His is infinite and unlimited.
II. THE APPLICATION OF GODS PURPOSE IN REFERENCE TO MAN.
1. Are we to regard the purposes of God as involving in them the charge of originating immorality and sin? Did God purpose that man should be a sinner? If His purposes are to be taken and explained, as we take and explain our own, then this was the case. If He foresaw that man would fall before He made him, yet had not determined whether He should permit this or not, and then permitted it, we should say that the purpose of God implies in it a part at least of the moral guilt of His creature. But He had formed no such purpose as this. He foresaw that man would fall; He foresaw the provision that was to be made for his case; but there was no period in eternity when He had not foreseen this, and hence no purpose arose out of the mere incident of the liability of man to fall. He was left to the working of those powers which God gave him: and with the working of those powers the purposes of God never interfered.
2. But if we look not merely to the connection between the purpose of God and the origin of evil, but also to the connection between the purpose of God and the free agency of man, we have another field opened to us, in examining which we must very carefully recollect the views that we have taken of the Divine purpose. When God created man, He gave him powers and faculties which He intended to commit to his trust, and which He aid commit to his trust. He foresaw what use he would make of them, and how far he would abuse them; but He did not destroy them, in order that they might not be abused. There is an entire freedom in the operation of our faculties, so far as our own consciousness is concerned; are they not also exhibited to us as free, in the Word of God? Are we not addressed upon the subject of our shortcomings and our sins, as if we were held strictly free by the God that addresses us? Are we not hailed to return from our iniquity, as if we were free to return? Are we not invited to lay hold on the hope set before us in the Gospel, as if we were free to accept the invitation? Let us look next at the view that men take of our capacity; and we shall find, that except when they are induced to quarrel with the Word of God, except when they are induced to throw difficulties in the way of their own salvation, they too act upon the principle that man is free.
3. But let us look at the purpose of God in reference to mans responsibility. If man were not free, on what ground could he be held to be responsible? and does any one doubt of his responsibility to God? The responsibility of man arises out of the very nature of his faculties, just like the proof of his free agency in the use of them. And we find the Word of God harmonising with the view, which our own faculties would alone give us, in holding the responsibility of man. Then what has the purpose of God to do with our responsibility? It merely foresees the consequences of that responsibility, and purposes to leave the man to those consequences. Reject and neglect the great salvation, and you cannot be saved: such is the announced purpose of God. Accept that salvation, and he that believeth shall be saved: such is also the announced purpose of God. His purpose, therefore, in all these respects, is nothing more than His foreknowledge, connected with His determination respecting what He foresees; both the foreknowledge and the determination how He shall act in reference to what He foresees, being eternal.
4. Regarding the purpose of God in this light, we may take yet another view of its application, namely, its connection with the Gospel of Christ. With your belief, or your unbelief, the purpose of God has nothing to do, except so far as that purpose determines to reward the one, and to punish the other.
(1) Remembering these things, which of you would be disposed, in the face of the nature of God, in the face of his own consciousness, in the face of the settled opinions of all men and all ages, in the face of the Word of God itself, to say that he is not held responsible for the exercise of the powers which God has given him? In everything but religion, we act upon this consciousness of freedom and responsibility.
(2) Let us associate our own salvation with the determined purpose of God, that they who come to Him shall in no wise be cast out, and that he that believeth shall and must be saved. (J. Burner.)
A fourfold aspect of the Infinite
I. AS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD. I am God, and there is none else. The Bible establishes the doctrine of monotheism. This doctrine--
1. Agrees with our spiritual nature. The whole soul, both in its searches after truth and love, one for the intellect, the other for the heart, struggles after unity; it turns to the centre, as the needle to the pole, as the flower to the sun
2. Explains the harmony of the universe. How is it that all things in their constitution fit into each other, and in their operations are so harmonious and uniform? The whole machine shows in all its parts and revolutions that it had but one Architect.
3. Makes clear human obligation. If there be but one God, His will should be the supreme law of all our activities; His being should be the centre of our sympathies and love. Were there more gods than one we might be distracted on the question as to who should have our love and obedience.
II. AS ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THE FUTURITIES OF THE UNIVERSE. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. There is one mind in the universe, and only one, whose infinite glance comprehended all, swept over all space, and over all durations. Though such a fact baffles all our attempts at comprehension, its denial would undeify God. The whole history of the universe, from beginning to end, was in His mind before it took active shapes, or concrete embodiments. Hence--
(1) He can have no surprises.
(2) He can have no disappointments.
III. AS PURPOSING NOTING THAT CAN BY ANY POSSIBILITY FAIL. My counsel shall stand, &c.
1. God has a concern for His pleasure. The apostle calls His pleasure a good pleasure. What is it? The pleasure of disinterested benevolence.
2. All Gods purposes point to His pleasure. Whatever will make His creatures happy is His pleasure; and the whole universe is constructed on this principle.
3. None of Gods purposes shall fail. My purposes shall stand. The special purpose here referred to was terribly realised (Dan_5:30). Our purposes are constantly being broken; the vast shore of human history is crowded with the wrecks of broken purposes. Our purposes are broken sometimes--
(1) Through the lack of power to carry them out.
(2) Through the lack of time to carry them out. God has ample power and ample time to carry out His purposes.
IV. AS HAVING ABSOLUTE POWER TO SUBORDINATE EVEN UNGODLY MEN TO HIS SERVICE. Calling a ravenous bird, &c. In Gods great moral kingdom He has two classes of servants.
(1) Those who serve Him by their will--all holy angels and sainted men.
(2) Those who serve Him against their will--wicked men and devils.
Conclusion--What an ennobling view of our God! He is One: let us centre our souls on Him; He knows all futurities, let us trust His providence. He will fulfil all His purposes, let us acquiesce in His arrangements. He renders even His moral enemies subservient to His own will, therefore let us trust in Him who liveth for ever. (Homilist.)
Cyrus, a ravenous bird
Cyrus is compared to a ravenous bird on account of the celerity of his movements (Isa_41:3), just asNebuchadnezzar had been likened to an eagle (Jer_49:22;Eze_17:3). (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v10General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to his people.
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I announce the end from the beginning, and beforehand what has not yet happened
This basically repeats the same idea for emphasis. The verb from the first phrase may be supplied for the second. AT: "I announce the end from the beginning, and I announce beforehand what has not yet happened" (See: Parallelism and Ellipsis)
I call a bird of prey from the east
Yahweh speaks of Cyrus as if he were "a bird of prey." As a bird swiftly captures its prey, so Cyrus will swiftly accomplish Yahweh's purpose to conquer the nations. (See: Metaphor)
I have spoken; I will also accomplish it; I have purposed, I will also do it.
This repeats the same idea for emphasis. (See: Parallelism)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv10–1146:10 God knows the future before it even happens;…
46:10 God knows the future before it even happens; he has comprehensive control over all events, and all his acts match his words (41:4, 26). He is the First and the Last (44:6; 48:12).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v11 That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as…
That is, Cyrus, which shall come as swift as a bride, and fight against Babylon.
Him by whom I have appointed to execute that which I have determined.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for…
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,
Ver. 9. Remember the former things of old.] Again he calleth upon them to remember who had so foully forgot themselves in the days of Ahaz and Manasseh, and would do so again in Babylon, where they kept not themselves from idols. Papists unman themselves, or otherwise they could not be such gross idolaters.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Remember the former things of old; what I have…
Remember the former things of old; what I have done for you, and in the world, my evident predictions of future things justified by the event, and those other miraculous works whereby I have abundantly proved my Divinity.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Remember the former things of old,.... The things that…
Remember the former things of old,.... The things that were from the beginning, or the ancient things done by the Lord, whether as the effects of power, wisdom, and goodness, or in wrath, or in mercy; such as the creation of the heavens, and the earth, and all things in them; the destruction of the old world, and of Sodom and Gomorrah; the bringing of Israel out of Egypt through the Red sea and wilderness, to Canaan's land, and all the wondrous things then done for them; which are so many proofs of the true deity of the God of Israel, in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles:
for I am God, and there is none else; as he must needs be what did the above things:
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I am God, and there is none like me; for greatness or goodness, or that has done the like things; not one of the gods of the Gentiles.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Declaring - Foretelling from the beginning of the world,…
Declaring - Foretelling from the beginning of the world, future events which should happen in succeeding ages, even to the end of the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v11 Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east…
Verse 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east - "Calling from the east the eagle"] A very proper emblem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly because the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, ΑΕΤΟΣ χρυσους, the very word עיט ayit, which the prophet uses here, expressed as near as may be in Greek letters. XENOPH. Cyrop. lib. vii. sub. init. Kimchi says his father understood this, not of Cyrus, but of the Messiah.
From a far country - "From a land far distant"] Two MSS. add the conjunction ו vau, ומארץ umeerets; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v9 Isa 46:9-11. Remember the former things — What I…
Isa 46:9-11. Remember the former things — What I have done for you and in the world, my evident predictions of future things, justified by the event; and those other miraculous works, whereby I have abundantly proved my divinity. Declaring the end from the beginning — Foretelling from the beginning of the world, or from the beginning of your nation, those future events which should happen in succeeding ages, even to the end of the world, or to the end of your commonwealth; for such predictions we find delivered by Moses, the first founder of their state. My counsel shall stand — As I will not, so no other power can, disappoint my purposes and predictions. This is another argument urged for the divinity of the God of Israel, namely, his foreknowledge and prediction of future events, of which the prophet subjoins a particular instance in the next words. Calling a ravenous bird, or eagle, from the east — From Persia, as Isa 41:2. “There can be no doubt that Cyrus is here meant. Kings and princes are often compared in Scripture to eagles, Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3. But it has been thought that there is a peculiar propriety in this application to Cyrus, as the eagle well denotes the magnanimity, the quickness of judgment, the celerity in all his expeditions and motions, for which Cyrus was so remarkable. We are also told by Plutarch, that Cyrus had an aquiline nose; and Xenophon expressly relates, that his standard was a golden eagle; which yet continues, says he, to be the standard of the Persian kings.” — Vitringa.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Remember the former things ... - Bear in mind…
Remember the former things ... - Bear in mind the repeated and constant proofs that have been given that Yahweh is the true God - the proofs derived from the prediction of future events, and from the frequent interpositions of his providence in your behalf as a nation.
For I am God - (See the notes at Isa 44:6).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v11 Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet)…
Bird; Cyrus, whose rapid conquests are thus denoted. (Calmet) --- He chose a golden eagle, with wings expanded, for his standard. (Xenophon vii.) --- Christ came from heaven to redeem the world, Psalm xviii. 6., and Malachias iv. 2. (Calmet) --- He was the orient, adored by the eastern sages, to whom the prophet refers. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–11 former--namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from…
former--namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from predictions fulfilled, and interpositions of God in behalf of Israel (Isa 45:5).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v11 11. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the…
11. Calling… from the east — Literally, from the sun rising.
A ravenous bird — Cyrus was rapid in movement and execution; quick, keen sighted, strong. He is said to have taken for his ensign a golden eagle standing with outstretched wings. XENOPHON, Cyrop., Isa_7:1.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. former things of old] See on Isa_41:22. The…
9. former things of old] See on Isa_41:22. The emphasis here lies less on the predictions than on the events themselves, which are of such a nature as to demonstrate that Jehovah alone is truly God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 (9) I am God.—The first predicate is El, the…
(9) I am God.—The first predicate is El, the mighty and strong one, the second Elohim, the one true object of worship. The verse that follows asserts what in modern language would be called the omniscience and the omnipotence of God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Vers. 9-11. A FURTHER ADMONITION GROUNDED ON OTHER MOTIVES.…
Vers. 9-11. A FURTHER ADMONITION GROUNDED ON OTHER MOTIVES. Israel is exhorted to continue firm in the faith
(1) by the recollection of God"s mercies in the past (ver. 9);
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(2) by the consideration of his prophetic power (ver. 10); and
(3) by a renewed promise of coming deliverance through Cyrus (ver. 11).
Manliness in relation to religion.
"Remember this, and show yourselves men." The prophet calls on the people of God to show themselves to be men, either by exercising their powers of recollection and reason in remembering the facts and arguments he has adduced, or by taking appropriate, manly action in the recollection and realization of these convincing and constraining reasons. Religion is a manly thing in both these aspects. So far from its being the childish or effeminate thing which its enemies have been pleased to call it, it is a sphere of thought and of action in which the very highest and noblest attributes of our humanity have fullest scope.
I AS A SPHERE OF HUMAN THOUGHT.
1. It is the most elevated. All objects of creation are worthy of regard, and the study of them is full of recompense. But they differ in the degree of their worthiness; there is an ascending scale, and they culminate in the Divine. The noblest study of mankind is God his nature, his character, his will, his kingdom.
2. It is the most obligatory. Men, as men, should consider that which most claims their attention, should dwell on those themes which most demand their thought and care. And these are found in Divine blessings, Divine dealings, Divine messages, Divine beauties and excellences. We are never doing anything more worthy of our manhood than when we are recalling and realizing what God is, what he has done, what he has been to our race and to ourselves, what sovereign and supreme claims he has on our reverence and love.
II As A SPHERE OF HUMAN ACTION. If there be anything which can be said to be manlier than patient and earnest thought on the highest themes, it is:
1. Deliberate choice of the wisest and best course the determination, at all costs and spite of all inducements, to take that course which commends itself to our judgment as the right and the wise one. This is exactly what men do when they surrender themselves to the will of God, to the service of Jesus Christ.
2. Resolute and persistent pursuit of it. Where does manliness find nobler illustrations than in the persistent worship of God under cruel persecution, the immovable adherence to sacred conviction under the wearying and worrying assaults of worldly and frivolous associates, the steadfast endeavour to extend the kingdom of righteousness and to raise the condition of the degraded, notwithstanding all the discouragements that await the Christian workman? C.
Ver. 9. Remember the former things of old; i.e. God"s wonderful dealings with Israel in times past the miracles in Egypt, the passage of the Red Sea, the deliverances from Midian, and Ammon, and the Philistines, and Zerah, and Sennacherib which proved him God in a sense in which the word could be applied to no other. I am God... I am God. In the original, "I am El... I am Elohim. El is "the Mighty One," "the Omnipotent;" Elohim, "the Godhead" in all its fulness.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Remember the former things of old
Isa_46:9-11
Remember the former things of old
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The purposes of God
I.
When we come to look at THE PURPOSES OF GOD, we must not be misled by words. The word purpose, with us, supposes several things, which have nothing to do with the same term when applied to God. There is, with God, no ignorance previously to the formation of His purposes; no new light thrown on circumstances, out of which His purpose arises; no period in His past eternity, when His purposes were not formed; no consulting either with Himself or with others, with regard to their formation. Perhaps you may be ready to say, if we are to look at the purpose of God in this way, it is not a purpose at all, in the sense in which we use the term. And it certainly is not, as you will perceive. We accommodate human language to the infinite characteristics of the Divine nature; but we must do it with caution, and must be careful what measure of idea we associate with our common terms, when we are applying them to God. If not, we shall be deceived in the conclusions we draw and the doctrines we believe. If the purpose of God is to be viewed as it really is, we take it to be simply this: Gods foreknowledge of everything that is to come to pass, together with the operation of His influence upon that foreknowledge, in connection with those things. His foreknowledge had no beginning; His resolution, as to what He was to do, could have no beginning. From the moment He foresaw, He resolved or purposed. Such appears to be the meaning of the word purpose as applied to God. If it should be said, This is a view of purpose altogether foreign from the view we take of it, we grant it. But why? Because the nature of God is altogether foreign from ours. Ours is a finite and limited nature in itself; His is infinite and unlimited.
II. THE APPLICATION OF GODS PURPOSE IN REFERENCE TO MAN.
1. Are we to regard the purposes of God as involving in them the charge of originating immorality and sin? Did God purpose that man should be a sinner? If His purposes are to be taken and explained, as we take and explain our own, then this was the case. If He foresaw that man would fall before He made him, yet had not determined whether He should permit this or not, and then permitted it, we should say that the purpose of God implies in it a part at least of the moral guilt of His creature. But He had formed no such purpose as this. He foresaw that man would fall; He foresaw the provision that was to be made for his case; but there was no period in eternity when He had not foreseen this, and hence no purpose arose out of the mere incident of the liability of man to fall. He was left to the working of those powers which God gave him: and with the working of those powers the purposes of God never interfered.
2. But if we look not merely to the connection between the purpose of God and the origin of evil, but also to the connection between the purpose of God and the free agency of man, we have another field opened to us, in examining which we must very carefully recollect the views that we have taken of the Divine purpose. When God created man, He gave him powers and faculties which He intended to commit to his trust, and which He aid commit to his trust. He foresaw what use he would make of them, and how far he would abuse them; but He did not destroy them, in order that they might not be abused. There is an entire freedom in the operation of our faculties, so far as our own consciousness is concerned; are they not also exhibited to us as free, in the Word of God? Are we not addressed upon the subject of our shortcomings and our sins, as if we were held strictly free by the God that addresses us? Are we not hailed to return from our iniquity, as if we were free to return? Are we not invited to lay hold on the hope set before us in the Gospel, as if we were free to accept the invitation? Let us look next at the view that men take of our capacity; and we shall find, that except when they are induced to quarrel with the Word of God, except when they are induced to throw difficulties in the way of their own salvation, they too act upon the principle that man is free.
3. But let us look at the purpose of God in reference to mans responsibility. If man were not free, on what ground could he be held to be responsible? and does any one doubt of his responsibility to God? The responsibility of man arises out of the very nature of his faculties, just like the proof of his free agency in the use of them. And we find the Word of God harmonising with the view, which our own faculties would alone give us, in holding the responsibility of man. Then what has the purpose of God to do with our responsibility? It merely foresees the consequences of that responsibility, and purposes to leave the man to those consequences. Reject and neglect the great salvation, and you cannot be saved: such is the announced purpose of God. Accept that salvation, and he that believeth shall be saved: such is also the announced purpose of God. His purpose, therefore, in all these respects, is nothing more than His foreknowledge, connected with His determination respecting what He foresees; both the foreknowledge and the determination how He shall act in reference to what He foresees, being eternal.
4. Regarding the purpose of God in this light, we may take yet another view of its application, namely, its connection with the Gospel of Christ. With your belief, or your unbelief, the purpose of God has nothing to do, except so far as that purpose determines to reward the one, and to punish the other.
(1) Remembering these things, which of you would be disposed, in the face of the nature of God, in the face of his own consciousness, in the face of the settled opinions of all men and all ages, in the face of the Word of God itself, to say that he is not held responsible for the exercise of the powers which God has given him? In everything but religion, we act upon this consciousness of freedom and responsibility.
(2) Let us associate our own salvation with the determined purpose of God, that they who come to Him shall in no wise be cast out, and that he that believeth shall and must be saved. (J. Burner.)
A fourfold aspect of the Infinite
I. AS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD. I am God, and there is none else. The Bible establishes the doctrine of monotheism. This doctrine--
1. Agrees with our spiritual nature. The whole soul, both in its searches after truth and love, one for the intellect, the other for the heart, struggles after unity; it turns to the centre, as the needle to the pole, as the flower to the sun
2. Explains the harmony of the universe. How is it that all things in their constitution fit into each other, and in their operations are so harmonious and uniform? The whole machine shows in all its parts and revolutions that it had but one Architect.
3. Makes clear human obligation. If there be but one God, His will should be the supreme law of all our activities; His being should be the centre of our sympathies and love. Were there more gods than one we might be distracted on the question as to who should have our love and obedience.
II. AS ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THE FUTURITIES OF THE UNIVERSE. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done. There is one mind in the universe, and only one, whose infinite glance comprehended all, swept over all space, and over all durations. Though such a fact baffles all our attempts at comprehension, its denial would undeify God. The whole history of the universe, from beginning to end, was in His mind before it took active shapes, or concrete embodiments. Hence--
(1) He can have no surprises.
(2) He can have no disappointments.
III. AS PURPOSING NOTING THAT CAN BY ANY POSSIBILITY FAIL. My counsel shall stand, &c.
1. God has a concern for His pleasure. The apostle calls His pleasure a good pleasure. What is it? The pleasure of disinterested benevolence.
2. All Gods purposes point to His pleasure. Whatever will make His creatures happy is His pleasure; and the whole universe is constructed on this principle.
3. None of Gods purposes shall fail. My purposes shall stand. The special purpose here referred to was terribly realised (Dan_5:30). Our purposes are constantly being broken; the vast shore of human history is crowded with the wrecks of broken purposes. Our purposes are broken sometimes--
(1) Through the lack of power to carry them out.
(2) Through the lack of time to carry them out. God has ample power and ample time to carry out His purposes.
IV. AS HAVING ABSOLUTE POWER TO SUBORDINATE EVEN UNGODLY MEN TO HIS SERVICE. Calling a ravenous bird, &c. In Gods great moral kingdom He has two classes of servants.
(1) Those who serve Him by their will--all holy angels and sainted men.
(2) Those who serve Him against their will--wicked men and devils.
Conclusion--What an ennobling view of our God! He is One: let us centre our souls on Him; He knows all futurities, let us trust His providence. He will fulfil all His purposes, let us acquiesce in His arrangements. He renders even His moral enemies subservient to His own will, therefore let us trust in Him who liveth for ever. (Homilist.)
Cyrus, a ravenous bird
Cyrus is compared to a ravenous bird on account of the celerity of his movements (Isa_41:3), just asNebuchadnezzar had been likened to an eagle (Jer_49:22;Eze_17:3). (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to his people.
Read full note →
I announce the end from the beginning, and beforehand what has not yet happened
This basically repeats the same idea for emphasis. The verb from the first phrase may be supplied for the second. AT: "I announce the end from the beginning, and I announce beforehand what has not yet happened" (See: Parallelism and Ellipsis)
I call a bird of prey from the east
Yahweh speaks of Cyrus as if he were "a bird of prey." As a bird swiftly captures its prey, so Cyrus will swiftly accomplish Yahweh's purpose to conquer the nations. (See: Metaphor)
I have spoken; I will also accomplish it; I have purposed, I will also do it.
This repeats the same idea for emphasis. (See: Parallelism)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10–11 46:10 God knows the future before it even happens;…
46:10 God knows the future before it even happens; he has comprehensive control over all events, and all his acts match his words (41:4, 26). He is the First and the Last (44:6; 48:12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.