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Lyrics
1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful
garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no
more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of
Zion.
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and
ye shall be redeemed without money.
4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into
Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without
cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is
taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl,
saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know
in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth!
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together
shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall
bring again Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem:
for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of
our God.
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean
thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the
vessels of the LORD.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the
LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Bible Commentary
13
This prophecy, which begins here and is continued to the end of the
next chapter, points as plainly as can be at Jesus Christ. The
ancient Jews understood it of the Messiah, though the modern Jews
take a great deal of pains to pervert it; but Philip, who hence
preached Christ to the eunuch, has put it past dispute that of him
speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man, (Acts 8:34,
35). Here, God owns Christ to be both commissioned and qualified for
his undertaking. He is appointed to it. "He is my servant, whom I
employ and therefore will uphold.’’ In his undertaking he does his
Father’s will, seeks his Father’s honour, and serves the interests
of his Father’s kingdom. He is qualified for it. He shall deal
prudently, he shall be prosperous and successful in his work; for
the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, (ch.
11:2). The word is used concerning David when he behaved himself
wisely, (1 Sa. 18:14).2 The Messiah would humble
Himself, but God would highly exalt Him. The great men of earth
would marvel that a man so insignificant by human standards could
have so tremendous an influence on men’s thinking, on their lives,
and on the course of history.3 God shall exalt him, men
shall extol him, and with both he shall be very high, higher than
the highest, higher than the heavens.2
14 Men stand in amazement that one
so highly honoured as the Son of God should have voluntarily humbled
Himself as Christ did in His mission to the earth. Jesus veiled His
divinity in humanity in order than men might be attracted to Him,
not because of outward glory, but because of the beauty of His
character. The Jews were perplexed that one who assumed no high
honours, but lived the humble life that Jesus lived, could be the
Messiah of prophecy. Upon returning from His conflict with Satan in
the wilderness of temptation, and during the greater conflict with
the powers of darkness in Gethsemane, Jesus was so altered in
appearance that even His friends scarcely knew Him.3
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Many wondered to see what base usage he met with, how inveterate
people were against him, how inhuman, and what indignities were done
him: His visage was marred more than any man’s when he was buffeted,
smitten on the cheek, and crowned with thorns, and hid not his face
from shame and spitting. Never was man used so barbarously; his
form, when he took upon him the form of a servant, was more mean and
abject than that of any of the sons of men. Those that saw him said,
"Surely never man looked so miserably, a worm and no man,’’ (Ps.
22:6). The nation abhorred him (ch. 49:7), treated him as the
off-scouring of all things. Never was sorrow like unto his sorrow.2
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15
The Messiah suffered, and died, and so sprinkled many nations; for
in his death there was a fountain opened, (Zec. 13:1). He shall
sprinkle many nations by his heavenly doctrine, which shall drop as
the rain and distil as the dew (Deu. 32:2). He shall do it by
baptism, which is the washing of the body with pure water, (Heb.
10:22). So that this promise had its accomplishment when Christ sent
his apostles to disciple all nations, by baptizing or sprinkling
them. The gospel brings to light things new and unheard of, which
will awaken the attention and engage the reverence of kings and
kingdoms.2
The kings shall be silent before him out of profound humility,
reverence, and admiration of his wisdom. For they shall hear from
his mouth many excellent doctrines, which will be new and strange to
them. And particularly that comfortable doctrine of the salvation of
the Gentiles, which was not only new to them, but strange and
incredible to the Jews themselves.5 Much had been said
in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah; much had been told
them, and they had heard it. But, as the queen of Sheba found
concerning Solomon, what they shall see in him, when he comes, shall
far exceed what had been told them. Christ disappointed the
expectations of those who looked for a Messiah according to their
fancies, as the carnal Jews, but outdid theirs who looked for such a
Messiah as was promised.
2
References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. The
Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Bible - http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries
3.
SDA Bible Commentary Vol.
4 pgs.
288 - 289
4. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871). Commentary by A. R. FAUSSETT
- http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries
5.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
- http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries
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 About
Isaiah 52 |
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BIBLE AUTHOR |
| The prophet
Isaiah was the author of the book called by his name. |
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Music
Composed |
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The music was composed in
2003 and 2006 |
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Music
for Isaiah 52 |
 A
2 minute audio clip for Isaiah 52 is currently available in the
members area. This song
is expected to be recorded in a future
Isaiah Servant Songs album.
Visit
Music page for more song previews.
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Quotes
on Isaiah 52 |
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The Bible Quotes
pages provide counsel,
direction, encouragement and help from God's word to life's
questions.
These pages include Bible Quotes & Promises, Inspirational
Quotations and audio clips. Isaiah 52 features in: |
Government |
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Puzzles
on
Isaiah 52 |
 Play
interactive crosswords, quizzes,
jumbled up verses, mix and match,
and word searches. Isaiah 52:13-15 is featured on the following pages: |
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Chapter
Division in wrong place |
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The chapter
division should come between vs. 12 and 13 rather than after
v. 15, for
ch. 53:1 continues the line of thought without
interruption.3,4 |
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WAS JESUS
PROPHESIED? |
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The correspondence with the life
and death of Jesus Christ is so minute, that it could not
have resulted from conjecture or accident. An individual
is plainly described: he suffers voluntarily, innocently,
patiently, and as the efficient cause of the righteousness
of His people, which holds good of none other but Messiah
(Isaiah 53:4-6,9,11). An impostor
could not have shaped the course of events so as to
have made his character and life appear to be a fulfilment
of it. The writing is, moreover, declaredly prophetic.
The quotations of it in the New Testament show: (1) that it
was, before the time of Jesus, a recognized part of the Old
Testament; (2) that it refers to Messiah (Matt 8:17, 15:28;
Luke 22:37; Jn 12:38). The genuineness of the passage is
certain; for the Jews would not have forged it, since
it is opposed to their notion of Messiah, as a
triumphant temporal prince. The Christians could not
have forged it; for the Jews, the enemies of Christianity,
are "our librarians".4 |
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Other
Interpretations of Prophecy |
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The Jews try
to evade the force
of this prophecy by the figment of
two Messiahs, one a suffering Messiah (Ben Joseph), the
other a triumphant Messiah (Ben David). HILLEL maintained
that Messiah has already come in the person of Hezekiah.
BUXTORF states that many of the modern Rabbins believe that
He has been come a good while, but will not manifest Himself
because of the sins of the Jews. But the ancient Jews, as
the Chaldee paraphrast, Jonathan, refer it to Messiah; so
the Medrasch Tauchuma (a commentary on the Pentateuch). Some
explain it of the Jewish people, either in the Babylonish
exile, or in their present sufferings and dispersion.
Others, the pious portion of the nation taken collectively,
whose sufferings made a vicarious satisfaction for the
ungodly. Others, Isaiah, or Jeremiah [GESENIUS], the
prophets collectively.4 |
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