“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:”
Stock. I will give fresh life to my people, as to the figure of Christ’s Church.
“One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.”
Israel. They shall no longer be ashamed of being called Israelites or Christians.
“Fear ye not, neither be afraid : have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. God; I: Heb. rock, etc”
Witnesses. The history of the true religion is its best proof, chap. xliii. 9, 10. — Known. Ruled, consequently no other can be truly God. (Calmet) — Idolaters are foolish, trusting in those who cannot announce future events. (Worthington)
“They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. delectable: Heb. desirable”
Ashamed of the origin and imbecility of their idols. (Calmet) — All this may be turned against heretics, who worship their own fictions; which the Church never does. (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
“The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. with the tongs: or, with an axe”
File. Hebrew mahatsad, (Haydock; Jeremias x. 3.) “to make an ax, with,” &c. This is the remote cause of the idol.
“The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.”
Man. To be styled afterwards a god. (Calmet) — Maluit esse deum. (Horace i. ser. 8.)
“They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. shut: Heb. daubed”
Covered. Septuagint, “darkened.” Are Catholics in the same predicament? (Chap. xl. 18.) (Haydock)
“He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Lie. Can I assert in conscience that it is a god?
“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”
Return from captivity, (Calmet) and from your former errors, Matthew xi. 26. (Haydock)
“That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;”
Mad. That people may be no longer deluded.
“That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: decayed: Heb. wastes”
Servant. The prophets and Jesus Christ, whose works never fail, Matthew xxiv. 35. (Calmet) — In all this prediction of the Church, Isaias alludes to Jerusalem destroyed, and afterwards rebuilt. (Worthington)
“That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:”
Deep. Babylon, situated amid waters, chap. xxi. 1. (Calmet) — Rivers, as Cyrus did. (Herodotus i. 191.)
“That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”
Cyrus. This was spoken 110 years before his birth, which shews the prescience and power of God, so as not to injure free-will. The parents of Cyrus could not give him this name to fulfill the prediction, as they knew nothing of it. Amon was apprised that a person called Josias would overturn idolatry; but he had no reason to suppose that it would be his son, 1 Kings xiii. 2. — My shepherd. Chaldean, “that he shall reign.” This was shewn by the Jews to Cyrus, on which account, (Calmet) he gave them leave to return, &c. (Josephus, [Jewish Antiquities?] xi. 1.) — The title of shepherd is given to Agamemnon by Homer, and it denotes a good prince, such as historians represent Cyrus to have been. He observed that kings and shepherds had the like duties to perform; (Xenophon viii.) and after his death he was bewailed as a “father.” (Herodotus iii. 89.) — At first he did not bear the name of Cyrus, (Herodotus i. 113.) which in the Persian language means “the sun.” (Ctesias.) (Plut.[Plutarch?])