ISAIAH 46 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Gods of Babylon

1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idols are borne by beasts of burden.[a]

The images that are carried about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

1.BARNES, Bel boweth down - Bel or Belus ( bel, from beel, the same as baal was the chief domestic god of the Babylonians, and was worshipped in the celebrated tower of Babylon (compare Jer_50:2; Jer_51:44). It was usual to compound names of the titles of the divinities that were worshipped, and hence, we often meet with this name, as in Bel-shazzar, Bel-teshazzar, Baal-Peor, Baal-zebub, Baal-Gad, Baal-Berith. The Greek and Roman writers compare Bel with Jupiter, and the common name which they give to this idol is Jupiter Belus (Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxxvii. 10; Cic. De Nat. Deor. iii. 16; Diod. ii. 8, 9). Herodotus (i. 181-183) says, that in the center of each division of the city of Babylon (for the Euphrates divided the city into two parts) there is a circular space surrounded by a wall. In one of these stands the royal palace, which fills a large and strongly defended space.

The temple of Jupiter Belus, says he, occupies the other, whose huge gates of brass may still be seen. It is a square building, each side of which is of the length of two furlongs. In the midst, a tower rises of the solid depth and height of one furlong; on which, resting as a base, seven other turrets are built in regular succession. The ascent on the outside, winding from the ground, is continued to the highest tower; and in the middle of the whole structure there is a convenient resting place. In this temple there is a small chapel, which contains a figure of Jupiter in a sitting posture, with a large table before him; these, with the base of the table, and the sear of the throne, are all of the purest gold. There was formerly in this temple a statue of solid gold, twelve cubits high. This was seized, says Herodotus, by Xerxes, who put the priest to death who endeavored to prevent its removal.

The upper room of this tower was occupied as an observatory. The idol Baal, or Bel, was especially the god of the Phenicians, of the Canaanites, of the Chaldeans, of the Moabites, and of some of the surrounding nations. The most common opinion has been, that the idol was the sun (see the notes at Isa_17:8-9), and that, under this name, this luminary received divine honors. But Gesenius supposes that by the name Jupiter Belus was not denoted Jupiter, the father of

the gods, but the planet Jupiter, Stella Jovis, which was regarded, together with Venus, as the giver of all good fortune; and which forms with Venus the most fortunate of all constellations under which sovereigns can be born. The planet Jupiter, therefore, he supposes to have been worshipped under the name Bel, and the planet Venus under the name of Astarte, or Astareth (see Gesenius, Commentary zu Isaiah, ii. 333ff, and Robinsons Calmet, Art. Baal). The phrase boweth down, means here, probably, that the idol sunk down, fell, or was removed. It was unable to defend the city, and was taken captive, and carried away. Jerome renders Confractus

est Bel - Bel is broken. The Septuagint, Epese Bel - Bel has fallen. Perhaps in the language there is allusion to the fact that Dagon fell before the ark of God 1Sa_5:2-3, 1Sa_5:7. The sense is, that even the object of worship - that which was regarded as the most sacred among the Chaldeans - would be removed.

Nebo stoopeth - This was an idol-god of the Chaldeans. In the astrological mythology of the Babylonians, according to Gesenius (Commentary zu Isaiah ii. 333ff), this idol was the planet Mercury. He is regarded as the scribe of the heavens, who records the succession of the celestial and terrestrial events; and is related to the Egyptian Hermes and Anubis. The extensive worship of this idol among the Chaldeans and Assyrians is evident from the many compound proper names occurring in the Scriptures, of which this word forms a part, as Neb-uchadnezzar, Neb-uzaradan: and also in the classics, as Nab-onad, Nab-onassar. Nebo was, therefore, regarded as an attendant on Bel, or as his scribe. The exact form of the idol is, however, unknown. The word stoopeth, means that it had fallen down, as when one is struck dead he falls suddenly to the earth; and the language denotes conquest, where even the idols so long worshipped would be thrown down. The scene is in Babylon, and the image in the mind of the prophet is that of the city taken, and the idols that were worshipped thrown down by the conqueror, and carried away in triumph.

Their idols were upon the beasts - That is, they are laid upon the beasts to be borne away in triumph. It was customary for conquerors to carry away all that was splendid and valuable, to grace their triumph on their return; and nothing would be a more certain indication of victory, or a more splendid accompaniment to a triumph, than the gods whom the vanquished nations had adored. Thus in Jer_48:7, it is said, And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, with his priests and his princes together (compare Jer_44:3, margin.)

Your carriages - That is, they were laden with the idols that were thus borne off in triumph.

They are a burden - They are so numerous; so heavy; and to be borne so far. This is a very striking and impressive manner of foretelling that the city of Babylon would be destroyed. Instead of employing the direct language of prophecy, the prophet represents himself as seeing the heavy laden animals and wagons moving along slowly, pressed down under the weight of the captured gods to be borne into the distant country of the conqueror. They move forth from Babylon, and the caravan laden with the idols, the spoils of victory, is seen slowly moving forward to a distant land.

2. CLARKE, Their carriages were heavy loaden Their burdens are heavy - For

nesuotheychem, your burdens, the Septuagint had in their copy nesuotheyhem, their burdens.

3. GILL, Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,.... These are names of the idols of Babylon. Bel is by some thought to be the contraction of Baal, the god of the Phoenicians, called by them

Beel; so "Beelsamin" (h), in the Phoenician language, is Lord of heaven: but rather this is the Belus of the Babylonians, who was a renowned king of them, and after his death deified; whom Nebuchadnezzar, according to Megasthenes (i), calls Belus his progenitor, and by whom Babylon was walled about. This idol is, no doubt, the same with Jupiter Belus, who had a temple in Babylon with gates of brass, and which was in being in the times of Herodotus (k), as he reports. This name is sometimes taken into the names of their kings, as Belshazzar or Beltesbazaar. Nebo was another of their idols, an oracular one, from whom, by its priests,

prophesies of things future were pretended to be given out; for it may have its name from , "to prophesy", and answers to the Apollo or Mercury of other nations. The Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint has very wrongly, instead of it, Dagon the god of the Philistines; and so the Arabic version "Dsagon". This name Nebo was also taken into the names of the kings of Babylon, as Nabonassar, Nabopalassar, Nebuchadnezzar, and others. As Bel is the same with Belus, so Nebo is the same with Beltis, the queen Megasthenes or Abydenus speaks of in the same place;

and Bel may design the sun, and Nebo the moon, which may have its name from , "to bud forth", or "make fruitful", as the moon does; see Deu_33:14. It is said of both these deities, that they "stooped" or "bowed down"; being taken down from the high places where they were set upright, and looked grand and majestic, and where they might be seen and worshipped by the people. Jarchi gives the words another sense, that it represents in a sarcastic way these idols, as through fear, in a like condition that men are in, in a fit of the colic, who not being able to get to the solid stool, are obliged to bend their knees, and ease themselves as they can (l). Aben Ezra seems to refer to the same signification of the word, when he says the sense was well known, but it was not fit to write it. The prophet goes on in the derision of these idols: their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle; that is, being taken down, and broke to pieces for the sake of the silver, and gold, and brass that were about them, or they were made of, they were put into sacks by the Persians, and laid upon camels, and mules, and horses, and transported into Media and Persia. Jarchi interprets it, their idols are like to beasts, which defile themselves with their dung as they do; and so the Targum renders it, "their images are "in" the likeness of serpents and beasts.'' These were the forms of them: your carriages were heavy loaden, they are a burden to the weary beast; this seems to be spoken to the Persians, who loaded their carriages, and their beasts, with this lumber, that their wagons were ready to break down, and their cattle groaned under the weight of it; a sarcastic jeer at the idols which were become the plunder and prey of the soldiers. It was usual at the taking of cities to demolish the idols of them; and this was typical of the demolition of Heathen idols, and the cessation of Heathen oracles in the Gentile world, through the spread of the Gospel in it, in the first times of Christianity.

4. HENRY, We are here told,

I. That the false gods will certainly fail their worshippers when they have most need of them,

Isa_46:1, Isa_46:2. Bel and Nebo were two celebrated idols of Babylon. Some make Bel to be a

contraction of Baal; others rather think not, but that it was Belus, one of their first kings, who

after his death was deified. As Bel was a deified prince, so (some think) Nebo was a deified

prophet, for so Nebo signifies; so that Bel and Nebo were their Jupiter and their Mercury or

Apollo. Barnabas and Paul passed at Lystra for Jupiter and Mercury. The names of these idols

were taken into the names of their princes, Bel into Belshazzar's, Nebo into Nebuchadnezzar's

and Nebuzaradan's, etc. These gods they had long worshipped, and in their revels praised them

for their successes (as appears, Dan_5:4); and they insulted over Israel as if Bel and Nebo were

too hard for Jehovah and could detain them in captivity in defiance of their God. Now, that this

might be no discouragement to the poor captives, God here tells them what shall become of

these idols, which they threaten them with. When Cyrus takes Babylon, down go the idols. It was

usual then with conquerors to destroy the gods of the places and people they conquered, and to

put the gods of their own nation in the room of them, Isa_37:19. Cyrus will do so; and then Bel

and Nebo, that were set up on high, and looked great, bold, and erect, shall stoop and bow down at the feet of the soldiers that plunder their temples. And because there is a great deal of gold

and silver upon them, which was intended to adorn them, but serves to expose them, they carry

them away with the rest of the spoil. The carriers' horses, or mules, are laden with them and

their other idols, to be sent among other lumber (for so it seems they accounted them rather

than treasure) into Persia. So far are they from being able to support their worshippers that they

are themselves a heavy load in the wagons, and a burden to the weary beast.

5. JAMISON, Isa_46:1-13. Babylons idols could not save themselves, much less her. but God can and will save Israel: Cyrus is his instrument. Bel the same as the Phoenician Baal, that is, lord, the chief god of Babylon; to it was

dedicated the celebrated tower of Babylon, in the center of one of the two parts into which the city was divided, the palace being in the center of the other. Identical with the sun, worshipped on turrets, housetops, and other high places, so as to be nearer the heavenly hosts (Saba) (Jer_19:13; Jer_32:29; Zep_1:5). Gesenius identifies Bel with the planet Jupiter, which, with the planet Venus (under the name Astarte or Astaroth), was worshipped in the East as the god of fortune, the most propitious star to be born under (see on Isa_65:11). According to the Apocryphal book, Bel and the Dragon, Bel was cast down by Cyrus. boweth ... stoopeth falleth prostrate (Isa_10:4; 1Sa_5:3, 1Sa_5:4; Psa_20:8).

Nebo the planet Mercury or Hermes, in astrology. The scribe of heaven, answering to the Egyptian Anubis. The extensive worship of it is shown by the many proper names compounded of it: Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzar-adan, Nabonassar, etc.

were upon that is, were a burden (supplied from the following clause) upon. It was customary to transport the gods of the vanquished to the land of the conquerors, who thought thereby the more effectually to keep down the subject people (1Sa_5:1, etc.; Jer_48:7; Jer_49:3; Dan_11:8).

carriages in the Old English sense of the things carried, the images borne by you: the lading (Act_21:15), carriages, not the vehicles, but the baggage. Or, the images which used to be carried by you formerly in your solemn processions [Maurer]. were heavy loaden rather, are put as a load on the beasts of burden [Maurer]. Horsley

translates, They who should have been your carriers (as Jehovah is to His people, Isa_46:3, Isa_46:4) are become burdens (see on Isa_46:4).

6. K&D, There follows now a trilogy of prophecies referring to Babylon. After the prophet has shown what Israel has to expect of Cyrus, he turns to what awaits Babylon at the hands of Cyrus. Bel sinketh down, Nebo stoopeth; its images come to the beast of burden and draught cattle: your litters are laden, a burden for the panting. They stopped, sank down all at once,

and could not get rid of the burden; and their own self went into captivity. The reference to

Babylon comes out at once in the names of the gods. Bel was the Jupiter of the Babylonians and, as Bel-Merodach, the tutelar deity of Babylon; Nebo was Mercury, the tutelar deity of the later Chaldean royal family, as the many kings' names in which it appears clearly show (e.g., Mabonassar, Nabo-polassar, etc.). The pryamidal heap of ruins on the right bank of the Euphrates, which is now called Birs Nimrud, is the ruin of the temple of Bel, of which Herodotus gives a description in i. 181-183, and probably also of the tower mentioned in Gen 11, which was dedicated to Bel, if not to El = Saturn. Herodotus describes two golden statues of Bel which were found there (cf., Diodorus, ii. 9, 5), but the way in which Nebo was represented is still unknown. The judgment of Jehovah falls upon these gods through Cyrus. Bel suddenly falls headlong, and

Nebo stoops till he also falls. Their images come to (fall to the lot of) the chayya'h, i.e., the camels,

dromedaries, and elephants; and behema'h, i.e., horses, oxen, and asses. Your , gestamina, the prophet exclaims to the Babylonians, i.e., the images hitherto carried by you in solemn procession (Isa_45:20; Amo_5:26; Jer_10:5), are now packed up, a burden for that which is wearied out, i.e., for cattle that has become weary with carrying them. In Isa_46:1, as the two participial clauses show, the prophet still takes his stand in the midst of the catastrophe; but in Isa_46:2 it undoubtedly lies behind him as a completed act. In Isa_46:2 he continues, as in Isa_46:1, to enter into the delusion of the heathen, and distinguish between the numina and simulacra. The gods of Babylon have all stooped at once, have sunken down, and have been unable to save their images which were packed upon the cattle, out of the hands of the conquerors. In Isa_46:2 he destroys this delusion: they are going into captivity (Hos_10:5;

Jer_48:7; Jer_49:3), even their ownself (naphsha'm), since the self or personality of the beingless beings consists of nothing more than the wood and metal of which their images are composed.

7. BI, Bel and Nebo

Bel and Nebo are the Jupiter and Mercury of the Babylonian pantheon (they are represented by these planets), and were the supreme deities in Babylon at this time. Bel (Bilu) is the Babylonian form of the Hebrew Baal (= lord), and like that word is a generic name applicable to any deity. When used as a proper name it usually denotes Merodach (Marduk), the tutelary divinity of the city of Babylon (Jer_50:2; Jer_51:44); although there was an older Bel, who is spoken of as his father. The elevation of BelMerodach to the chief place among the older gods, as recorded in the mythical Chaldean account of the Creation (Tablet 4.1 ff.), is the legendary counterpart of the ascendency acquired by Babylon over the more ancient cities of the Euphrates valley. Nebo (Nabu) was the son of Merodach; the chief seat of his worship being Borsippa, in the vicinity of Babylon. His name, which is supposed to be from the same root as the Hebrew nabi, prophet, seems to mark him out as the speaker of the gods (another point of contact with Mercury, the chief speaker Act_14:12). He was also regarded as the inventor of writing. The frequency with which the Chaldean kings are named after him (Nabo-polassar, Nebu-chadnezzar, Nabo-nidus) has been thought to show that he was the patron deity of the dynasty. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)

A contrastidols and God

1. This is an incident in the fall of Babylon. Cyrus has broken in, and the mighty city lies open to the Persian army, exasperated by long waiting at her gates. The blood of her nobles has flowed freely over the marble floors of her palaces; most of her defenders are slain. Women and children are cowering in the inmost recesses of their homes, or filling the streets with screams of terror and appeals for help, as they fly from the brutal soldiery. The final and most sanguinary conflicts have taken place within the precincts of the idol temples; but all is still now. The priests have fallen around the altars which they served; their blood mingling with that of their victims, and their splendid vestments are become their winding sheets. And now, down the marble staircases, trodden in happier days by the feet of myriads of votaries, 1 o, the soldiers are carrying the helpless idols. The stern monotheism of Persia would have no pity for the many gods of Babylon; there are no idol-shrines in the land of the sun-worshippers where they could find a niche: but they are borne away as trophies of the completeness of the victory. There is Bel, whose name suggested that of the capital itself. How ignominiously it is handed down from its pedestal! And Nebo follows. The hideous images, lavishly inset with jewels and richly caparisoned, are borne down the stately steps, their bearers laughing and jeering as they come. The gods get little respect from their rude hands, which are only eager to despoil them of a jewel. And now, at the foot of the stairs, they are loaded up on the backs of elephants, or pitched into the ox-waggons. In more prosperous days they were carried with excessive pomp through the streets of Babylon, wherever there was plague or sickness. Then the air had been full of the clang of cymbals and trumpets, and the streets thronged with worshipping crowds; but all that is altered. The things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity (Isa_46:12, R V). So much for the gods of Babylon being borne off into captivity.

2. Close on this graphic picture of the discomfiture of the gods of Babylon, we are invited to consider a description of Jehovah, in which the opposite to each of these items stands out in clear relief. He speaks to the house of Jacob, and to all the remnant of the house of Israel, as children whom He had borne from the birth, and carried from earliest childhood. Their God needed not to be borne, He bore; needed no carriage, since His everlasting arms made cradle and carriage both. Such am He had been, He would be. He would not change. He would carry them, even to hoar hairs. He had made and He would bear; yea, He would carry and deliver.

3. This contrast is a perpetual one. Some people carry their religion; other people are carried by it. Some are burdened by the prescribed creeds, ritual, observances, exactions, to which they believe themselves to be committed. Others have neither thought nor care for these things. They have yielded themselves to God, and are persuaded that He will bear them and carry them, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that they go, until they come to the place of which God has spoken to them Deu_1:31; Isa_63:9). (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

Israels infancy and maturer life

From the womb and from the lap point back to the time when the nation whose existence began with Abraham, marching from Egypt, was born, so to speak, to the light of the world; from that time it has lain like a willingly assumed burden on Jehovah, who carries it as a nurse the babe (Num_11:12); as a man his son (Deu_1:31); as an eagle its young (Deu_32:11). The seneetus and canities in Isa_46:4 are self-evidently the nations, but not as if this were at present in a senile state, but the yet future and latest days of its history. Up to that moment Jehovah is He, i.e the Absolute One, and always the same (chap. 41:4). As He has done hitherto, He will act in the futurebearing and saving. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)

National lifeits stages

The general analogy between the life of individuals and that of nations, is sufficiently obvious, and is finely expressed by Florus, in his division of the Roman history into the periods of childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. (J. A. Alexander.)

Idols found wanting, but Jehovah found faithful

The confidence of Babylon is buried among her heaps of rubbish, for her gods have fallen from their thrones. As for us, our trust is in the living God, who lives to carry His chosen.

I. FALSE CONFIDENCES PASS AWAY.

1. The Lord has made a full end of false gods and their worship. Bel boweth down, &c. Not only concerning Bel and Nebo, but concerning many a set of heathen deities, a note of exultant derision may be taken up. The idols He shall utterly abolish.

2. The like thing has happened unto false systems of teaching. If you are at all readers of the history of religious thought, you will know that systems of philosophy, and philosophical religions, have come up, and have been generally accepted as indisputable, and have done serious injury to true religion for a time; and yet they have vanished like the mirage of the desert.

3. It will be just the same with us if we trust in false confidences of any sort; such, for instance, as our experiences, or attainments, or services, or orthodox belief.

II. OUR GOD ABIDES ALWAYS THE SAME. Even to your old age I am He. He is always the same in Himself, and always the same to His people.

1. We rightly expect trials between here and heaven; and the ordinary wear and tear of life, even if life should not be clouded by an extreme trial, will gradually wear us out. What saith our God concerning the days of decline and decay? He says to us, I am He. He will not grow weak. His eye will not be dim. His ear will not be heavy.

2. If life should flow never so smoothly, yet there are the rapids of old age, and the broken waters of infirmity, and the cataract of diseaseand these we are apt to dread; but why? Is it not sure that the Lord changes not?

3. In the course of years, not only do we change, but our circumstances change. If you are where you ought to be, your confidence is in God now, and you will have the same God then, and He will still be your guardian and provider. His bank will not break, nor His treasury fail.

4. Ah! say you, but what I most mourn is the death of friends. Yes; that calamity is a daily sorrow to men who are getting into years. But the Lord says, I am He, as much as to say, I am left to you, and will not fail you.

5. Some trouble themselves more than there is need concerning prophetic crises which are threatened. We know so little of the future that to worry about it will be the height of unwisdom. The Lord took care of the world before we were here to help Him, and He will do it just as well when we are gone. We can leave politics, religion, trade, morals, and everything else with Him. What we have to do is to obey Him, and trust Him, and rejoice in Him.

6. Still, says one, there are such evil tokens in the Church itself as must cause serious apprehension to godly men. But never despair of the Church of God, for of her it is true, Even to hoar hairs will I carry you; to your old age I am He. The Head of the Church never alters. His choice of His Church is not reversed. His purpose for His Church is not shaken. We shall see better days and brighter times yet, if we have but faith in God and importunity in prayer.

III. WHILE FALSE CONFIDENCES PASS AWAY, GOD WILL FOR EVER BE THE SAME. His former mercies guarantee to us future mercies.

1. He says, I have made. It is well to remember the mercy of God to us in our formation, and in the first days of our birth and infancy. But God made us in another sense. He new-made us.

2. Then He also tells us that He has carried us; and if we have been carried by Him, He will carry us the rest of the way. What a great care has our gracious God, since none of His children can run alone without His power, His love, His grace!

3. Practically, Gods mercies through life are always the same. Notice two things which are always herethe same God and the same mercy. There is nobody else here but the Lord alone with His people. You and your God; and you are nobody but a poor thing that has to be carried. Gods great I, and that alone, fills up the whole space. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

8. PULPIT, THE FALL OF THE GODS OF BABYLON. Among the direct consequences of the victories of Cyrus will be the downfall, in a certain sense, of the Babylonian idolatry. The prophet expresses the downfall by material imagery, graphically describing the fate of the idols themselves. But we must regard him as exulting mainly in the thought of the blow that would be dealt to idolatry in general, and to the Babylonian fond of it in particular, by the substitution of the non-idolatrous and almost monotheistic Persians for the polytheistic and grossly idolatrous Babylonians, in the sovereignty of the Asiatic world. The Babylonian religion no doubt maintained itself at Babylon until and beyond the time of Alexander; but it had lost all its prestige. From the state religion of the chief empire of Western Asia, it had sunk to the position of a provincial cult. Isa_46:1

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth. In the later Babylonian period, to which Isaiah's prophetic vision transports him, Bel and Nebo (if we understand by Bel, Bel-Merodach) were decidedly the two principal gods. Of the seven kings of the last dynasty, three had names in which Nebo, and two names in which Bel or Merodach, wad an element. Bel-Merodach and Nebo are the chief gods worshipped by Nebuchadnezzar and Neriglissar. Bel, Nebo, and Merodach are the only three Babylonian gods that receive acknowledgment from Cyrus in the so-called 'Cyrus Cylinder.' Bel is, in the Babylonian, "Bil," or "Belu," and means simply "lord." There was an ancient god of the name, one of the First Triad (Anu, Bel, and Hen or Hod), who came by degrees to be identified with Merodach, the tutelary deity of Babylon. Bel-Merodach was the (Belus) of the Greeks and Romans, who was worshipped in the great temple of Babylon, now represented by the ruin called "Babil."His name forms an element in those of Bel-lush, Bel-kudur-azur, Bel-ipni. Bel-zakir-isknn, and Belshazzar, all of them kings or viceroys of either Babylonia or Assyria. Nebu was the Babylonian god of learning, and has therefore been compared to Mercury. He was the special deity of Borsippa. The name is thought to be etymologically connected with the Hebrew nabi, prophet. The "bowing" and "stooping" of Bel and Nebo has primary reference to the overthrow of their images by the conqueror; but includes also the idea of the fall of the gods themselves in the opinions of men. Their idols were upon the beasts. The Chaldean images generallynot only those of Bel-Merodach and Nebo, but also of Ann, and Hen, and Beltis, and Ishtar, and Nergal, and Sin, and Shamas, and Gula, and otherswould be torn from their shrines, and placed upon the backs of beasts of burden, to be carried off by the conquerors. No doubt this was the case with a large number of the images, which

were among the most precious of the spoils seized by the soldiers. But it appears that numerous exceptions were made. Neither Cyrus nor Cambyses touched the famous golden image of Bel-Merodach at Babylon, which was first carried off from the great temple by Xerxes (Herod; 1.183). Cyrus, moreover, restored various idols, which Nabonidus had taken to Babylon from provincial towns, to the temples to which they of right belonged. But though their fate was in tiffs way often delayed, ultimately it is probable every valuable idol was carried off and committed to the melting-pot. Your carriages were heavy loaden; rather, the things that ye carried (in procession) are now borne along heavily. The allusion is to the contrast between the light-hearted carrying of the images on festal occasions by their votaries (Isa_45:20), and their slow transport to foreign lands on the backs of wearied beasts.

9. MEYER, GODS SALVATION SHALL NOT TARRY

Isa_46:1-13

Here is a startling contrast! Babylon is broken up. An invading army of stern monotheists have slain the idolatrous priests at their altars and are engaged in carrying out the idols for the bonfire. And as the Jewish remnant is witnessing the extraordinary spectacle, they are reminded that their God does not require to be borne. Nay, on the contrary He has borne His people from the earliest days and will continue to bear them till the heavens have passed away.

The contrast is a perpetual one. Some people carry their religion; others are carried by it. Some are burdened by minute prescriptions and an external ritual; others yield themselves to God, to be borne by Him in old age as they were in the helplessness of childhood. They are persuaded that He will bear them as a man doth bear His son, in all the way that they go, until they come to the prepared place. See Deu_1:31; Isa_63:9. God immediately responds to a trust like that, and His salvation does not tarry.

9. CALVIN, 1.Bel hath bowed down. Isaiah continues the same subject; for we need not trouble

ourselves about the division of chapters, which have not always been accurately divided; but we ought to

examine the statements themselves, which agree with each other in the manner which I have pointed out.

Yet if any prefer to view this as the commencement of a new discourse, because immediately afterwards

he prophesies concerning the destruction of Babylon, I shall not greatly quarrel with him.

Nebo is cast down. and were idols which were worshipped by the Babylonians, and probably were

their chief patrons; as idolaters always have some particular gods, under whose protection, above all

others, they consider themselves to be placed. It may be conjectured that this was a sort of inferior god

that was added to the chief god as Mercury was to Jupiter. Under their names he includes also the rest

of the idols, and declares that all the superstitions and false worship of the Gentiles shall be overthrown,

when God shall lay low and triumph over their worshippers; because it shall then be manifest that he is

the righteous avenger of his Church.

Their idols shall be on the beasts. The Babylonians having haughtily boasted of the protection of false

gods, the Prophet rebukes that vain confidence, because the God of Israel will not only bring utter ruin on

that wicked nation, but also will cast down and treat disdainfully their gods. The reason why he says that

they shall be burdens of is, that they shall be laid on waggons and removed from one place to another,

and shall even be huddled together without any respect, as the waggoners think proper. This is what is

meant by cast down, for the robbers shall collect into a large heap those gods which formerly occupied

an elevated station.

There can be no doubt, indeed, that this was fulfilled when the Persians and Medes took Babylon by

storm; for when the monarchy was removed, these idols were taken away as a part of the booty. But

Isaiah, though he predicted this, looked farther, that is, to the coming of Christ, who was to overtum and

destroy all false worship; for, when his kingdom has been established, all idols immediately fall to the

ground, and it is impossible that false religion and superstition can exist along with the knowledge of him.

By his brightness he dispels all darkness, so as to leave no room for false gods or superstitions; for, as

Paul says,

hath Christ to do with Belial? What hath light to do with darkness?

(2Co_6:14.)

At the same time it ought to be observed, that the Prophet had his eye on the time when the Jews were

held in captivity; for they saw the Babylonians offer incense to idols, and ascribe to them supreme power,

as if the government of affairs depended on them; while the God of the Jews was treated with scorn, as if

he could not defend his people, or as if he cared nothing about them. For this reason he shews that there

will be so great a revolution, that the gods of the Babylonians, which were elevated so high, shall be laid

low, and God, who appeared to he low, shall rise up and avenge his people.

10. P KRETZMANN, 1-7, The Fall of Babylon's Idols

v. 1. Bel, the highest deity of Babylon, boweth down, is fallen, Nebo, another Babylonian idol, the

tutelary deity of the reigning house of Chaldea, stoopeth, collapsing, or falling prostrate, namely, in the

plundering of the city; their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle, when the beasts of

burden dragged them away as a part of the conqueror's booty. Your carriages were heavy loaden, they

are a burden to the weary beast, that is, the statues of their idols, otherwise carried about by the priests

in solemn procession, were seen by the prophet as loaded upon pack-animals, which dragged along,

weary with the heavy load.

11. KELLY, The chapters 46 - 48. close this section of the prophecy, the discussion of Israel's guilty

love of idols in presence of the doom of Babylon, the patron of idolatry and the instrument of the

punishment of the Jews for that sin.

Chapter 46 in the most spirited way contrasts the fall of the helpless objects of Babylonish worship

with God's gracious care over Israel. "Bel [their chief god, answering to the Zeus of the Greeks]

boweth down, Nebo [answering to the Greek Hermes] bendeth: their idols are upon the beasts, and

upon the cattle: your loads are lifted up, a burden to the weary [beast]. They bend, they bow down

together, they could not deliver the burden, and themselves are gone into captivity" (vv. 1, 2). Thus,

chief or subordinate these false deities could do nothing for their votaries, and could not deliver

themselves. The victorious foe carries them off as part of the spoil. The Persians detested idols.

On the other hand, Jehovah had carried Israel from their national birth to their old age: "Hearken unto

me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne [by me] from the

belly, who have been carried from the womb: even to old age I [am] He, and to hoary hairs will I carry

[you]: I have made and I will bear; and I will carry and will deliver" (vv. 3, 4).

Next follows the challenge to whom they would liken the God of Israel. As for the Chaldean gods, it

was but a question of gold and silver, which the goldsmith made up, and the people fell down and

worshipped. "To whom will ye liken me, and make [me] equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, hey hire a goldsmith, and he

maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him,

and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, [one] shall cry unto

him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. Remember this, and show yourselves

men: bring [it] again to mind, ye transgressors" (vv. 5-8).

Nor is this the only appeal. It was well to bethink them that the gods of the nations were beneath

those that adored them: but the prophet adds, "Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God,

and there is none else; I [am] God, and there is none like me. declaring the end from the beginning,

and from ancient times [the things] that are not done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all

my pleasure, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far

country. Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do it" (vv. 9-11).

Cyrus is here again cited as a striking proof of the reality of God's dealings with His people, and this

both in foreknowledge, in declared purpose, and in providential ways. This leads to the concluding

call: "Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that [are] far from righteousness: J bring near my

righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will give salvation in Zion

unto Israel my glory" (vv. 12, 13). Such is the end of Jehovah, and He is very pitiful and of tender

mercy. He Who carried His people as a nurse through the wilderness at the beginning will manifest

unfailing grace at the end. In the face of their long and manifold wanderings from Him Who did them

nothing but good, He will deliver. Yet will His salvation be no more sure than His righteousness. This

we know now in the gospel, as Israel also will when the kingdom comes in display.

2 They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.

1.BARNES, They stoop - Bel, and Nebo, and all the Babylonian gods (see Isa_46:1).

They could not deliver the burden - The word burden here, probably means the load of metal, wood, and stone, of which the idols were composed. The gods whom the Babylonians worshipped had not even power to protect the images which were made to represent them, and which had now become a heavy burden to the animals and wains which were carrying them away. They could not rescue them from the hands of the conqueror; and how unable were they, therefore, to defend those who put their trust in them. The Vulgate renders this, They could not deliver him that bare them. The Septuagint, You are carrying them like a burden bound on the weary, faint, and hungry; who are all without strength, and unable to escape from battle; and as for them, they are carried away captives!

But themselves - Margin, as Hebrew, Their soul. The sense is, that the gods thus worshipped, so far from being able to defend those who worshipped them, had themselves become captive, and were borne to a distant land.

2. CLARKE, They could not deliver the burden They could not deliver their own charge - That is, their worshippers, who ought to have been borne by them. See the two next verses. The Chaldee and Syriac Versions render it in effect to the same purpose, those that

bear them, meaning their worshippers; but how they can render massa in an active sense, I do not understand.

For lo, not, velo, and they could not, is the reading of twenty-four of Kennicotts,

sixteen of De Rossis, and two of my own MSS. The added vau gives more elegance to the passage.

But themselves Even they themselves - For venaphsham, an ancient MS. has

kinaphsham, with more force.

3. GILL, They stoop, they bow together,.... Either the beasts under their burdens, or other idols besides those mentioned; or rather the Babylonians themselves, who were obliged to submit to the conquerors: they could not deliver the burdens; the idols could not save themselves from being laid as burdens upon the beasts, any more than they could save their worshippers: so the Targum understands this and the preceding clause of them; "they are cut off, and cut to pieces together, they could not deliver those that carried them;'' or else the Babylonians are designed, who could not save their gods from being used in this shameful manner: but themselves are gone into captivity, or "their souls" (m); what were as dear to them as their own souls, their idols; to whom also souls may be ascribed by way of derision, being inanimate as well as irrational; and it is not unusual for idols to be said to be carried captive; hence those words of Tertullian, "manent et simulachra caplira": or rather the Babylonians, who went into captivity themselves, and so could not save their idols: thus they who had led captive the Jews are led captive themselves; and thus it will be with mystical Babylon, Rev_13:10.

4. HENRY, The idols cannot help one another (Isa_46:2): They stoop, they bow down together. They are all alike, tottering things, and their day has come to fall. Their worshippers cannot help them: They could not deliver the burden out of the enemy's hand, but themselves (both the idols and the idolaters) have gone into captivity. Let not therefore God's people be afraid of either. When God's ark was taken prisoner by the Philistines it proved a burden, not to the beasts, but to the conquerors, who were forced to return it; but, when Bel and Nebo have gone into captivity, their worshippers may even give their good word with them: they will never recover themselves.

5. JAMISON, deliver from the enemies hands.

burden their images laid on the beasts (Isa_46:1).

themselves the gods, here also distinguished from their images.

6. PULPIT, They stoop, they bow down together; i.e. all the Babylonian gods would suffer equally

not one would be able to protect himself. They could not deliver the burden. A distinction is here made

between the god and the idol, which have hitherto been identified. The god was, in each case, unable to

deliver, or save from capture, the heavy "burden" of gold, or silver, or bronze (i.e. his own image) which

was carried off on the back of the "weary beast." On the contrary, the gods themselvesthe "souls" of the

images, immanent in themwere carried off with the images into captivity.

7. KRETZMANN, v. 2. They, the idols, stoop, they bow down together, they are entirely

collapsed; they could not deliver the burden, they were unable to save the burden of their own statues,

they could not bring them to a place of safety, but themselves are gone into captivity, the very gods of

the Babylonians captured and led away into exile, a sarcastic thrust at their helplessness. This

introduction prepares the way for a sharp reproof of Israel for its idolatrous leanings.

8. CALVIN, 2.They could not withdraw themselves from the burden. He ridicules the vanity of such

gods as these, which have neither strength nor motion, and cannot defend or support themselves, and, in

a word, who need the aid of beasts of burden to carry them. There is, therefore, an implied contrast

between idols and the true God, who has no need of anything whatever. I interpret these words as

applied to beasts, but the Prophet heightens the disgrace by saying that they were a heavy burden to the

beasts themselves which would willingly have cast them off, and consequently that the false gods,

besides being of no use to their worshippers, also wearied out the beasts.

And their soul hath gone into captivity. This is a Hebrew mode of expression, by which he ridicules those

gods which have neither nor understanding. He speaks ironically, therefore, against useless and dumb

idols, when he says that they shall be carried into captivity along with their soul. But we must see if these

things cannot be retorted on the true God, whose ark, by which he gave testimony of his presence, was

taken by the Philistines; for in this way it appeared as if the Lord were a captive. (1Sa_4:11.) This

objection may be easily answered; for, although the Lord intended that the ark should be a testimony of

his presence, yet he forbade the Jews to fix their whole and exclusive attention upon it, but commanded

them to raise their eyes to heaven, and there to seek and adore God. He wished to be always worshipped

in a spiritual manner, (Joh_4:24,) and the ark was not adored instead of God, but was a symbol, by which

the people were led upwards, as by the hand, to God. The Gentiles, on the other hand, fixed their

attention on their idols, and attributed to them divine power.

It might even have been said that the Philistines were at length punished for their wickedness, and

acknowledged that they had to deal with the true God. (1Sa_5:6.) But that would not have been a

sufficient answer, because the Lord sometimes permitted his ark to be treated with derision, as is evident

from other passages of the history. The true solution therefore is, that the Lord, though he holds

intercourse with us by symbols and sacraments, yet wishes to be sought in heaven. To this must be

added, that he had openly declared, by memorable predictions, that he was not dragged as a captive by

conquerors, but that of his own accord he exposed his sanctuary to the sport of enemies, in order to

punish the sins of his people. Nor could the Jews, when the Temple had been thrown down and bumt,

and when the holy vessels were carried to Babylon, doubt that the same God whom they had worshipped

was the author of this punishment, since he had so frequently threatened by his prophets what then

happened.

3 Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,

and have carried since you were born.

1.BARNES, Hearken unto me - From this view of the captive gods, the address is now turned to the Jews. The utter vanity of the idols had been set before them; and in view of that, God now addresses his own people, and entreats them to put their trust in him. The address he commences with words of great tenderness and endearment, designed to lead them to confide in him as their Father and friend.

And all the remnant - All who were left from slaughter, and all who were borne into captivity to Babylon. The language here is all full of tenderness, and is suited to inspire them with confidence in God. The idols of the pagan, so far from being able to protect their worshippers, were themselves carried away into ignoble bondage, but Yahweh was himself able to carry his people, and to sustain them.

Which are borne by me - Like an indulgent father, or a tender nurse, he had carried them from the very infancy of their nation. The same image occurs in Deu_1:31 : And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into thins place. A similar figure occurs in Exo_19:4 : Ye have seen, how I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself (so Deu_32:11-12; compare Num_11:12; Isa_63:9). All this here stands opposed to the idols of the Babylonians. They were unable to protect their people. They were themselves made captive. But God had shown the part of a father and a protector to his people in all times. He had sustained and guided them; he had never forsaken them; he had never, like the idol-gods, been compelled to leave them in the power of their enemies. From the fact that he had always, even from the infancy of their nation, thus protected them, they are called on to put their trust in him.

2. CLARKE, Which are borne by me from the belly Ye that have been borne by me from the birth - The prophet very ingeniously, and with great force, contrasts the power of God, and his tender goodness effectually exerted towards his people, with the inability of the false gods of the heathen. He like an indulgent father had carried his people in his arms, as a man carrieth his son, Deu_1:31. He had protected them, and delivered them from their distresses: whereas the idols of the heathen are forced to be carried about themselves and removed from place to place, with great labor and fatigue, by their worshippers; nor can they answer, or deliver their votaries, when they cry unto them.

Moses, expostulating with God on the weight of the charge laid upon him as leader of his people, expresses that charge under the same image of a parents carrying his children, in very strong terms: Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them? that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers; Num_11:12.

3. GILL, Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,.... The Jews, the descendants of Jacob: and all the remnant of the house of Israel; those that remained of the ten tribes that had been carried captive long ago. These may, in a spiritual sense, design those who are Israelites indeed; the household of the God of Jacob; the chosen of God, and called; the remnant according to the election of grace: which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: here the Lord distinguishes himself from the idols of the Babylonians; they were laid as burdens upon beasts, and bore and carried by them; but the Lord is born and carried by none, but bears and carries his people. The allusion is to tender parents that have compassion on their children as soon as born, and take care of them, and bear them in their bosoms, and carry them in their arms; and may have respect, in the literal sense, to the infant state of the Jews, both as a church and commonwealth, when the Lord took pity on them, and care of them, and bore them as a father bears his son; and bore with their manners too, and carried them all the days of old through the wilderness to Canaan's land; see Num_11:12. It may be applied to the care of God in the preservation of men by his providence, especially his own people, whose God he is from their mother's belly; who takes them under his protection as soon as born, and carries them through every state of infancy, youth, manhood, and old age, and never leaves nor forsakes them; see Psa_22:10, and with great propriety may be applied to regenerate persons, who, as soon as born

again, are regarded by the Lord in a very visible, tender, and compassionate manner; he "bears" them in his bosom, and on his heart; he bears them in his arms; he puts his everlasting arms underneath them; he bears with them, with all their weakness and infirmities, their peevishness and frowardness; he bears them up under all their afflictions, and sustains all their burdens; he bears them through and out of all their troubles and difficulties: he "carries" them, in like manner, in his bosom, and in his arms; he "carries" them into his house, the church, which is the nursery for them, where they are nursed and fed, and have the breasts of consolation drawn out to them; he carries on the good work of grace in them; he carries them through all their trials and exercises safe to heaven and eternal happiness; for they are poor, weak, helpless creatures, like newly born babes, cannot go alone, but must be bore up and carried.

4. HENRY, That the true God will never fail his worshippers: You hear what has become of Bel and Nebo, now hearken to me, O house of Jacob! Isa_46:3, Isa_46:4. Am I such a god as these? No; though you are brought low, and the house of Israel is but a remnant, your God has been, is, and ever will be, your powerful and faithful protector.

1. Let God's Israel do him the justice to own that he has hitherto been kind to them, careful of them, tender over them, and has all along done well for them. Let them own, (1.) That he bore them at first: I have made. Out of what womb came they, but that of his mercy, and grace, and promise? He formed them into a people and gave them their constitution. Every good man is what God makes him. (2.) That he bore them up all along: You have been borne by me from the belly, and carried from the womb. God began betimes to do them good, as soon as ever they were formed into a nation, nay, when as yet they were very few, and strangers. God took them under a special protection, and suffered no man to do them wrong, Psa_105:12-14. In the infancy of their state, when they were not only foolish and helpless, as children, but forward and peevish, God carried them in the arms of his power and love, bore them as upon eagles' wings, Exo_19:4; Deu_32:11. Moses had not patience to carry them as the nursing father does the sucking child (Num_11:12), but God bore them, and bore their manners, Act_13:18. And as God began early to do them good (when Israel was a child, then I loved him), so he had constantly continued to do them good: he had carried them from the womb to this day. And we may all witness for God that he has been thus gracious to us. We have been borne by him from the belly, from the womb, else we should have died from the womb and given up the ghost when we came out of the belly. We have been the constant care of his kind providence, carried in the arms of his power and in the bosom of his love and pity. The new man is so; all that in us which is born of God is borne up by him, else it would soon fail. Our spiritual life is sustained by his grace as necessarily and constantly as our natural life by his providence. The saints have acknowledged that God has carried them from the womb, and have encouraged themselves with the consideration of it in their greatest straits, Psa_22:9, Psa_22:10; Psa_71:5, Psa_71:6, Psa_71:17.

5. JAMISON, in contrast to what precedes: Babylons idols, so far from bearing its people safely are themselves borne off, a burden to the laden beast; but Jehovah bears His people in safety even from the womb to old age (Isa_63:9; Deu_32:11; Psa_71:6, Psa_71:18). God compares Himself to a nurse tenderly carrying a child; contrast Moses language (Num_11:12).

6. K&D 3-5, From this approaching reduction of the gods of Babylon to their original nothingness, several admonitions are now derived. The first admonition is addressed to all

Israel. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel: ye, lifted up from the womb; ye, carried from the mother's lap! And till old age it is I, and to grey hair I shall bear you on my shoulder: I have done it, and I shall carry; and I put upon my shoulder, and deliver. To whom can ye compare me, and liken, and place side by side, that we should be equal? The house of Jacob is Judah here, as in Oba_1:18 (see Caspari on the passage), Nah_2:3, and the house of Israel the same as the house of Joseph in Obadiah; whereas in Amo_3:13; Amo_6:8; Amo_7:2, Jacob stands for Israel, in distinction from Judah. The Assyrian exile was earlier than the Babylonian, and had already naturalized the greater part of the exiles in a heathen land, and robbed them of their natural character, so that there was only a remnant left by whom there was any hope that the prophet's message would be received. What the exiles of both houses were to hear was the question in Isa_46:5, which called upon them to consider the incomparable nature of their God, as deduced from what Jehovah could say of

Himself in relation to all Israel, and what He does say from onwards. Babylon carried its idols, but all in vain: they were carried forth, without being able to save themselves; but Jehovah carried His people, and saved them. The expressions, from the womb, and from the mother's lap, point back to the time when the nation which had been in process of formation from the time of Abraham onwards came out of Egypt, and was born, as it were, into the light of the world. From this time forward it had lain upon Jehovah like a willingly adopted burden, and He had carried it as a nurse carries a suckling (Num_11:12), and an eagle its young (Deu_32:11). In Isa_46:4 the attributes of the people are carried on in direct (not relative) self-assertions on the part of Jehovah. The senectus and canities are obviously those of the people - not, however, as though it was already in a state of dotage (as Hitzig maintains, appealing erroneously to Isa_47:6), but as denoting the future and latest periods of its history. Even till then Jehovah is He, i.e., the Absolute, and always the same (see Isa_41:4). As He has acted in the past, so will He act at all times - supporting and saving His people. Hence He could properly ask, Whom could you place by the side of me, so that we should be equal? (Vav consec. as in Isa_40:25).

7. CHARLES SIMEON, GODS CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE

Isa_46:3-5. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are

borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: and even to your old age I am he; and even

to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, end I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. To whom

will you liken me?

THAT men who know nothing of the One true God should form to themselves idols to represent imaginary

gods, is not so much to be wondered at: because every child of man feels himself dependent on some

superior Being, though of the nature or character of that being he has no distinct conception. But that

persons who have been instructed in the knowledge of Jehovah, and been themselves eye-witnesses of

his mighty works, should have any disposition to renounce him, and to place their dependence on idols of

wood and stone, is utterly unaccountable, on any other principle than that of mans total depravity, and

radical alienation of heart from God. But such is the fact: man is prone to idolatry: his carnal mind is

enmity against God: and from the time of the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt to the time of their

captivity in Babylon, not all the judgments or mercies with which they were visited from time to time could

keep them from indulging their favourite propensity. One would have thought that the very things which

they had seen, even the deportation of the Babylonish idols by the hands of their enemies, should have

been sufficient to convince them, that nothing formed by mortal hands could save a man. The prophet, in

Jehovahs name, here appeals to them respecting this: See, says he, what helpless things those idols

are! Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth: their idols (unable to move themselves) were upon the beasts,

and upon the cattle; your carriages were heavy loaden with them; they were a burthen to the weary

beast; and are themselves gone into captivity [Note: ver. 1, 2.]. But how different from them am I! says

Jehovah: They are carried by their votaries, yea, and by their enemies too, incapable of resistance or of

motion: whereas I carry my people: I have carried them from the very womb; and I will carry them to hoar

hairs, even to the latest hour of their lives.

That we may enter more fully into this description which Jehovah gives of himself, let us consider,

I. What he has done for his people

Jehovah addresses his people here as his children; and brings to their minds what he had done for that

whole nation in the wilderness. He had borne them in his arms as a father does his child

[In the wilderness, when the people were required to march, it must of necessity happen that many

females were not in a condition to carry their new-born infants, and more especially as the journeys were

often of long continuance. Hence the fathers are represented as carrying their children

[Note: Num_11:12.]: and under this character God represents himself as having carried them

[Note: Deu_1:31.]. Now the whole nation at that time were precisely in the state of little infants; as

ignorant of the way which they were to go; as incapable of providing sustenance for themselves; as

unable to protect themselves from enemies, or from a variety of dangers to which they were exposed.

They needed in every respect Jehovahs care, as much as a new-born infant the attention of its parents.

And all this care did God bestow upon them. From the first moment of their departure from Egypt, he went

before them in the pillar and the cloud: he sought out for them the places where they should encamp; he

regulated all their motions; he supplied them with bread from heaven, and with water from the rock; he

delivered them from every enemy; and carried them in perfect safety for the space of forty years. They

were cast upon him, as it were, from the womb; and from the womb he thus Administered to them with

parental care and tenderness.]

And in this way he still carries in his arms the true Israel

[The nation of Israel typically represented those, who, as Believers in Christ, are in a spiritual sense the

children of Abraham. And these, who are Israelites indeed, are precisely in the state of the Jews in the

wilderness, or of infants in their parents arms. Their incapacity to guide or support themselves is quite as

great, and their need of succour from on high as urgent. But God has taken the charge of them, and

administered to them whatsoever their necessities required. Look ye back, ye remnant of the house of

Israel, and say, whether God has not incessantly watched over you for good; whether he has not borne

with your weaknesses, supplied your wants, directed your ways, upheld you in your goings, and kept you

from ten thousand snares, into which you must have inevitably fallen, and by which you must long since

have perished, if he had for one hour intermitted his tender care? You cannot but acknowledge, that to

you, as well as to the Jewish nation, is that description applicable: He found him in a desert land, and in

the waste howling wilderness: he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them,

beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him

[Note: Deu_22:10-12.].]

But God further intimates,

II. What he has engaged to do for them

To the Jews he promised a continuance of his care

[The individuals whom he brought forth out of Egypt he suffered to die in the wilderness, on account of

their multiplied iniquities: but the nation, as a nation, he preserved; and those children, whom their

unbelieving parents supposed to be doomed to inevitable destruction, he brought in safety to the

Promised Land. And though, by their innumerable transgressions, the nation has brought down his

displeasure upon them, insomuch that they are scattered over the face of the whole earth, yet are they

preserved in a way that no other nation under heaven ever has been, in order that they may ultimately

enjoy all the blessings prepared for them. They are at this day living witnesses for him, that he changeth

not, but is still the same gracious and compassionate God as ever [Note: This is the import of I am he.

See Psa_102:27.].]

To the spiritual Israel also he engages that he will keep them, even to the end

[His gifts and calling are without repentance [Note: Rom_11:29.]. Where he has begun a good work, he

will carry it on, and perfect it, unto the day of Christ [Note: Php_1:6.]. If he has laid in our hearts the

foundation of his spiritual temple, he will complete it [Note: Zec_4:9.]; and be the finisher of that faith of

which he has been the author [Note: Heb_12:2.]. His ways in this respect are not like the ways of

men: they, either from impotence or versatility, often relinquish their plans: he never does. In his own

mind he considers the blessings which he bestows, not merely as a benefit conferred, but as a pledge of

future blessings: He will not forsake his people, because it hath pleased him to make them his people

[Note: 1Sa_12:22.]. Hence we are justified in founding on the experience of past benefits an assured

expectation of future: Thou hast delivered my soul from death: Wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling,

that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living [Note: Psa_56:13.]? The very repetitions in our

text strongly confirm this important truth: Even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will

bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. And to the same effect the Apostle Paul assuring us that God

will keep his engagements with us, uses in one short sentence no less than five negatives; He will never,

never leave thee; he will never, never, never forsake thee [Note: Heb_13:5-6.].]

From this statement of his own ways, he teaches us to infer,

III. His unrivalled title to our regard

To whom will ye liken me? says he to his people of old: Are any of the gods of the heathen able to effect

for their worshippers what I have wrought for you? So will I say to those who have received spiritual

blessings at his hands: To whom will ye liken him? Who in the whole universe has such a title,

1. To your confidence?

[Are there any of the sons of man that could have brought you out of darkness into light, as he has done;

or turned you from the power of Satan unto God? Could any of them have preserved you from the snares

which Satan has spread for your feet? Who amongst them is able to keep you in future? or have you any

sufficiency in yourselves, so as to direct your own paths [Note: Jer_10:23.], and to maintain your own

steadfastness? No, verily: and nothing but a curse awaits the man who trusteth in man, or who maketh

flesh his arm [Note: Jer_17:5-6.]. God alone is equal to this task [Note: 2Co_1:21; 2Co_3:5.]: in him

alone therefore must be all our hope, and all our trust ]

2. To your love

[Amongst your fellow-creatures you may have many who, both for their personal qualities and their

kindness to you, are entitled to your esteem. But to whom are you indebted, as you are to your

Redeeming God? He has come down from heaven for you: he has died upon the cross for you: he has

wrought out a salvation for you: he has by his Holy Spirit imparted that salvation to your souls: HE has

given you that measure of stability which you have already evinced; and has engaged his almighty power

to keep you even to the end. Where have you ever found such a Benefactor as he? where, one who can

vie with him in any one particular? Truly in comparison of him the whole creation is but as the dust upon

the balance: and therefore you should love him infinitely above all, and say, Whom have I in heaven but

thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee [Note: Psa_73:25.] ]

Let me then, in conclusion, address myself,

1. To those who entertain a rival in their hearts

[You can easily see how just Gods indignation was against those who worshipped graven images, in

preference to him: but know, that he is no less offended with those who provoke him to jealousy by

setting up idols in their hearts. He says, and well may say, My son, give me thine heart

[Note: Pro_23:26.]. This is his exclusive right: and if you withhold it from him, it matters not what else you

give: it is all hateful in his eyes, and never will come before him with acceptance: your very prayers will

be an abomination in his sight [Note: Pro_15:8.], and your best sacrifices only as the cutting off a dogs

neck, or offering swines blood [Note:Isa_66:3.] ]

2. To those who profess themselves to have experienced Gods tender care

[What gratitude becomes those who are so indebted to their God! Was Israel highly favoured above the

heathen? Their obligations were nothing in comparison of yours. Their blessings, though great, were

temporal: yours are spiritual and eternal But look around you and see, how many even of your

own friends and relatives are yet in bondage to their sins; whilst you have been delivered with a mighty

hand and an outstretched arm. Look also to those who have been brought out of the world for a season,

and yet been again entangled with it and overcome [Note: 2Pe_2:20.]; whilst you are yet holding on your

way. And who is it that has made the difference between you? Must you not say, By the grace of God I

am what I am? Stir up then your souls to thankfulness, and say, By Thee have I been holden up from

the womb: thou art He that took me out of my mothers bowels: my praise shall be continually of

thee [Note: Psa_7:6.].

And let your confidence in him for the future be entire. Lie in his hands precisely as a little infant in its

parents arms; and look to him, exactly as the Israelites in the wilderness did, to direct your every way,

and to supply your every want. It is not possible for your reliance on God to be too simple or too entire. In

this respect also is David an excellent pattern for you to follow: Thou art He that took me out of the

womb: thou didst make me hope, when I was upon my mothers breasts. I was cast upon thee from the

womb: thou art my God from my mothers belly. Be not far from me! for trouble is near: for there is none to

help. Be not thou far from me, O Lord! O my strength, haste thee to help me [Note: Psa_22:9-

11; Psa_22:19.]!

Let your devotion to him also be unreserved. You are not your own, but his; and therefore you should

glorify him with your bodies and your spirits, which are his [Note: 1Co_6:20.]. This is what God expects at

your hands: Ye have seen, says he, how I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself.

Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar

treasure unto me, above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of

priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of

Israel [Note: Exo_19:4-6.]. Yes, these words I do speak to you in Gods name. Your privileges are all a

delusion, if they be not productive of this effect: but if they lead to this issue, then is God glorified in you,

and ye shall ere long be glorified with him in the realms of bliss [Note: 2Th_1:11-12.].]

8. KRETZMANN, v. 3. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of

Israel, all those whom the Lord has chosen to be his own peculiar people, which are borne by Me from

the belly, which are carried from the womb, sustained and protected by the loving-kindness of the Lord

since the time when lie chose them as His people;

9. CALVIN, 3.Hear me. Here the Prophet beautifully points out the vast difference between the true

God and idols. Having formerly said that the Babylonian gods must be drawn on waggons and carts,

because they consist of dead matter, he now ascribes a widely different office to the God of Israel,

namely, that he his people, like a mother, who carries the child in her womb, and afterwards carries it in

her bosom. He addresses the Jews, that they may return an answer from their experience; for this ought

to have powerfully affected them, when they actually felt that he bore them and their burdens. He,

therefore, makes use of a highly appropriate contrast, and concludes from the preceding statements:

that I am the true God, and that I differ widely from idols, which are useless and dead weights; for you

have known and experienced my power by constant benefits, which I have not ceased to confer upon you

from the womb. God is not only powerful in himself, but diffuses his power through all the creatures; so

that we feel his strength and energy.

Who are carried from the womb. This is a very expressive metaphor, by which God compares himself to a

mother who carries a child in her womb. He speaks of the past time, when he began to give them

testimonies of his grace. Yet the words might be taken as meaning simply that God kindly nourished that

people, like an infant taken from its mother womb, and carried it in his bosom, as the Psalmist says,

was cast upon thee from the womb, thou art my God from my mother belly.

(Psa_22:10.)

But as God did not only begin to act as the father and nurse of his people from the time when they were

born, but also them (Jas_1:18) spiritually, I do not object to extending the words so far as to mean, that

they were brought, as it were, out of the bowels of God into a new life and the hope of an eternal

inheritance.

If it be objected, that God is everywhere called Father, (Jer_31:9; Mal_1:6,) and that this title is more

appropriate to him, I reply, that no figures of speech can describe God extraordinary affection towards us;

for it is infinite and various; so that, if all that can be said or imagined about love were brought together

into one, yet it would be surpassed by the greatness of the love of God. By no metaphor, therefore, can

his incomparable goodness be described. If you understand it, simply to mean that God, from the time

that he begat them, gently carried and nourished them in his bosom, this will agree admirably with what

we find in the Song of Moses,

bore them, and carried them, as an eagle carrieth her young on her wings. (Deu_32:11.)

In a word, the intention of the Prophet is to shew, that the Jews, if they do not choose to forget their

descent, cannot arrive at any other conclusion than that they were not begotten in vain, and that God,

who has manifested himself to be both their Father and their Mother, will always assist them; and

likewise, that they have known his power by uninterrupted experience, so that they ought not to pay

homage to idols.

All the remnant of the house of Israel. By calling them a he means, as we formerly remarked, that the

greater part had been alienated from the Church by their revolt, so that the hope of deliverance belonged

only to a very small number. On this account he demands from them a hearing; for unbelievers, not less

than heathen nations, were utterly deaf to his voice. Now, although the people were so far from being in

their unbroken strength, that the dispersion of them had left but a small number behind, yet God bids

them consider how wonderfully they have been hitherto preserved, that they may not doubt that he will

henceforth act towards them, as he has hitherto acted, the part of both father and mother. And when he

demands that they shall listen to him, he shews that the true and indeed the only remedy for our

distresses and calamities is, to hang on his mouth, and to be attentive to the promises of grace; for then

shall we have sufficient courage to bear every affliction; but if not, the way is opened for despair, and we

ought not to expect anything else than destruction.

4 Even to your old age and gray hairs

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

1.BARNES, And even to your old age, I am he - Or rather, I am the same. I remain, unchangeably, with the same tenderness, the same affection, the same care. In this the care of God for his people surpasses that of the most tender parent, and the most kind nourisher of the young. The care of the parent naturally dies away as the child reaches manhood, and he is usually removed by death before the son or daughter that excited so much solicitude in infancy and childhood, reaches old age. But not so with God. His people are always the objects of his tender solicitude. Age does not make them less dependent, and experience only teaches them more and more their need of his sustaining grace. The argument here is, that he who had watched over the infancy of his people with so much solicitude, would not leave them in the exposures, and infirmities, and trials of the advanced years of their history. The doctrine is, first,

that his people always need his protection and care; secondly, that he will never leave nor forsake them; thirdly, that he who is the God of infancy and childhood will be the God of age, and that he will not leave or forsake his people, who have been the objects of his care and affection in childhood, when they become old. For though this passage refers primarily to a people, or a community as such, yet I see no reason why the principle should not be regarded as applicable to those who are literally aged. They need the care of God no less than childhood does; and if they have walked in his ways in the vigor and strength of their life, he will not cast them off when they are old and gray-headed. Hoary hairs, therefore, if found in the way of righteousness. may trust in God; and the second childhood of man may find him no less certainly a protector than the first.

2. PULPIT, Even to your old age I am he; even to hoar hairs, etc. The nurseeven the mothersoon

grows tired of carrying the child, and leaves him to shift for himself. But God's tender care for his people

lasts from their infancy, through their boyhood and manhood, to their old age. The everlasting arms never

weary. God's watchfulness, his providence, his protection, never fail. I have made, and I will bear. The

maker of a thing has naturally regard to what he has made, loves it, desires its good, seeks to defend and

save it.

3. GILL, And even to your old age I am he,.... The same he ever was, the eternal and unchangeable Jehovah; the same in his love and affections; in his sympathy and care; in his power and protection; in his promises, truth, and faithfulness to his people, in their last days, as at the first moment of their conversion; and therefore they are safe; see Psa_102:27, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you (n); which is doing more than the most tender parent does, or can, or need to do! God will not leave his people in the decline of life, when pressing infirmities are upon them, and they stand in as much need as ever of being bore up, supported, and carried: wherefore it follows, I have made; these persons, not merely as creatures, but as new creatures; they are formed for myself; they are my sons and daughters, the works of my hands: I have an interest in them, therefore I will bear, even I will carry: from the first of their regeneration, to their entrance into glory; See Gill on Isa_46:3; And will deliver you; out of all affliction; out of all temptations; out of the hand of every enemy; from a final and total falling away; from a body of sin and death; from death eternal, and wrath to come; and even at last from the grave and all corruption. (n) This seems to express more than old age, as Ben Melech observes hence the Jews say, a man sixty years old is come to old age, and one of seventy to hoary hairs.

4. HENRY, He will then do them the kindness to promise that he will never leave them. He that was their first will be their last; he that was the author will be the finisher of their well-being (Isa_46:4): You have been borne by me from the belly, nursed when you were children; and even to your old age I am he, when, by reason of your decays and infirmities, you will need help as much as in your infancy. Israel were now growing old, so was their covenant by which they were incorporated, Heb_8:13. Gray hairs were here and there upon them, Hos_7:9. And they

had hastened their old age, and the calamities of it, by their irregularities. But God will not cast them off now, will not fail them when their strength fails; he is still their God, will still carry them in the same everlasting arms that were laid under them in Moses's time, Deu_33:27. He has made them and owns his interest in them, and therefore he will bear them, will bear with their infirmities, and bear them up under their afflictions: Even I will carry and will deliver them; I will now bear them upon eagles' wings out of Babylon, as in their infancy I bore them out of Egypt. This promise to aged Israel is applicable to every aged Israelite. God has graciously engaged to support and comfort his faithful servants, even in their old age: Even to your old age, when you grow unfit for business, when you are compassed with infirmities, and perhaps your relations begin to grow weary of you, yet I am he - he that I am, he that I have been - the very same by whom you have been borne from the belly and carried from the womb. You change, but I am the same. I am he that I have promised to be, he that you have found me, and he that you would have me to be. I will carry you, I will bear, will bear you up and bear you out, and will carry you on in your way and carry you home at last.

5. JAMISON, old age As your - you - you, are not in the Hebrew, the sentiment is more general than English Version, though of course it includes the Jews from the infancy to the more advanced age of their history (Isa_47:6).

I am he that is, the same (Psa_102:27; Joh_8:24; Heb_13:8).

I will bear ... carry Not only do I not need to be borne and carried Myself, as the idols (Isa_46:1).

6. PULPIT, Even to your old age I am he; even to hoar hairs, etc. The nurseeven the mothersoon

grows tired of carrying the child, and leaves him to shift for himself. But God's tender care for his people

lasts from their infancy, through their boyhood and manhood, to their old age. The everlasting arms never

weary. God's watchfulness, his providence, his protection, never fail. I have made, and I will bear. The

maker of a thing has naturally regard to what he has made, loves it, desires its good, seeks to defend and

save it

God's care for the aged.

"And even to your old age I am he," etc. What a contrast between God and man! Concerning how many

may it be said that they are forgotten in old age! Sometimes even children are faithless to their parents,

and age has died in a workhouse, when children have been well-to-do. But change comes, too, in other

relationships. The world does not want us when we are worn out. Its sweet songs can charm no more.

The cunning of the worker's hand fails. The preacher faints. A new generation of strength and health has

won the palm. Then, mark

I. THE SURPRISE. Even. At the time when the world draws off, God comes nearer. Weakness is always

welcome to him. He loves to comfort. His infinite strength is not weakened by all outgoings of help to

others. Wherever, in age, sickness confines us, or solitude keeps us, there is our Father. Even then,

when heart and flesh faint and fail. He has not merely promised this, but the Jacobs of the world can

attest the truth: "All my life long." And apart from promise and experience, it is God's nature so to do.

II. THE REASONS.

1. "I have made." God will not, as Job says, forget us, because "thou hast a desire to the work of thy

hands."

2. "I have rescued." What else says the prophet? "I will carry and deliver you." What we could not bear

away, God, in the person of his Son, will do for us. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of

the world!' Hoar hairs may have their perfect whiteness, but hoar hearts have not, and we need a Saviour

to the end. Nor is this all. Old age has its sorrows as well as its sins. The young have not always

sympathy with the old. They do not understand what it is to feel so "alone," with buried generations

behind, who once joined in the race of life with them, and who worshipped with them in the house of God.

Those who admired and understood and loved them are gone, and a generation has risen up who know

not Joseph. Beautifully does the next verse begin, "To whom will ye liken me?" "Even to your old age I am

he." Always a Father, always a Saviour, always a Friend.W.M.S.

7.KRETZMANN, v. 4. and even to your old age I am He, the same faithful, dependable God; and

even to hoar hairs will I carry you, to the most advanced age of their history, to the very end of their

national existence. I have made, and I will bear, the fact of his having sustained them in the past being

their guarantee for the future; even I will carry and will deliver you, this deliverance being the surest

proof of his divinity.

8. CALVIN, 4And even to old age. Here I explain the copulative (vau) to mean therefore; and the

reasoning ought to be carefully observed, for he argues thus, have begotten and brought you forth; and

again, when you were little children, I carried you in my arms, and therefore I will be the guardian of your

life till the end. Thus also David reasons,

art he who brought me out of the womb; I trusted in thee while I hung on my mother breasts; I was cast

upon thee from my birth; thou art my God from my mother womb.

(Psa_22:10.)

He therefore promises that he will always be a Father to the Jews; and hence we see that we ought to

cherish assured confidence of salvation from the time that the Lord hath once begun it in us, for he

wishes to continue his work till the end. Lord, says David, complete what he hath begun; and again,

Lord, thy loving-kindness is eternal, and thou wilt not forsake the works of thy hands. (Psa_138:8.)

I am the same. The Hebrew word (hu) is, in my opinion, very emphatic, though some interpreters

render it simply by the demonstrative pronoun He; (216) but it means that God is always same and like

himself, not only in his essence, but with respect to us, so that we ourselves shall feel that he is the same.

When he says, to old age, (217) it might be thought absurd; for we ought to become full-grown men after

having been carried by God from infancy. But if any one shall examine it properly, it will be found that we

never make so great progress as not to need to be upheld by the strength of God, for otherwise the most

perfect man would stumble every moment; as David also testifies,

me not in the time of old age, withdraw not from me when my strength faileth. (Psa_71:9.)

I have made and will carry. He again argues in the same manner. God does not regard what we deserve,

but continues his grace toward us; and therefore we ought to draw confidence from it, didst createus,

not only that we might be human beings, but that we might be thy children; and therefore thou wilt

continue till the end to exercise continually toward us the care of a father and of a mother.

(216) (am) he. (Eng. Ver.) This is the literal rendering. Ed.

(217) thou shalt be old, and thy strength shall fail, (for thou hast no merits or works of righteousness,) I

am the same as to my mercy and kindness, to keep, and carry, and bear, and deliver; for the Prophet

had said of the idol that it is carried about, and cannot rid itself of its own burden, and therefore God says

here, am He who carry others and bear my own burden. Jarchi.