Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Isaiah 40

Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Comfort ye

The first two verses of Isa 40 give the key-note of the second part of the prophecy of Isaiah. The great theme of this section is Jesus Christ in His sufferings, and the glory that shall follow in the Davidic kingdom. (See "Christ in O.T.," sufferings, Gen 4:4; Heb 10:18; glory, 2Sa 7:8-15; Zec 12:8.) Since Israel is to be regathered, converted, and made the centre of the new social order when the kingdom is set up, this part of Isaiah appropriately contains glowing prophecies concerning those events. The full view of the redemptive sufferings of Christ (e.g. Isa 53) leads to the evangelic strain so prominent in this part of Isaiah (e.g. Isa 44:22, 23; 55:1-3).
The change in style, about which so much has been said, is no more remarkable than the change of theme. A prophet who was also a patriot would not write of the sins and coming captivity of his people in the same exultant and joyous style which he would use to describe their redemption, blessing, and power. In Jhn 12:37-44 quotations from Isa 53 and 6 are both ascribed to Isaiah.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness

Isa 40:3-5; Mat 3:3; Mar 1:3; Luk 3:4-6; Jhn 1:23.

Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

All flesh is grass

Isa 40:6-8; Jas 1:10; 1Pe 1:24, 25.

Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

spirit

Holy Spirit. Isa 40:7, 13; Isa 42:1. (Gen 1:2; Mal 2:15.)

Isa 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Kingdom (O.T.). Isa 40:9-11; Isa 62:10-12. (Gen 1:26; Zec 12:8).

Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

like a shepherd

Cf. Jhn 10:11, 14-16; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25; 5:4.

Isa 40:13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

Who hath…taught him

Rom 11:34; 1Co 2:16.

Isa 40:15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

isles

i.e. coasts.

Isa 40:17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

All nations before him are as nothing

Dan 4:35.

Isa 40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

To whom then will ye liken God?

Isa 40:25; Isa 46:5; Act 17:29.

Isa 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

Psa 19:1; Act 14:17; Rom 1:19, 20.

Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

the circle of the earth

A remarkable reference to the sphericity of the earth. See, also, Isa 42:5; 44:24; 51:13; Job 9:8; Psa 104:2; Jer 10:12.

Isa 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

whom then will ye liken me

Isa 40:18; Deu 4:15.

Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

he calleth them all by names

Psa 147:4.

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

shall renew their strength

Psa 103:5.