Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 41:10

Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

10. be not dismayed ] lit. “look not round” in terror.

I will strengthen ] The perf. tense used in the original expresses the unalterable determination of the speaker’s will; Driver, Tenses, 13.

the right hand of my righteousness ] Either “my righteous right hand,” or, “my right hand of righteousness.” See Appendix, Note II.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Fear thou not – This verse is plain in its meaning, and is full of consolation. It is to be regarded as addressed primarily to the exiled Jews during their long and painful captivity in Babylon; and the idea is, that they who had been selected by God to be his special people had nothing to fear. But the promise is one that may be regarded as addressed to all his people in similar circumstances, and it is as true now as it was then, that those whom God has chosen have nothing to fear.

For I am with thee – This is a reason why they should not be afraid. God was their protector, and of whom should they be afraid. If God be for us, who can be against us? What higher consolation can man desire than the assurance that he is with him to protect him?

Be not dismayed – The word rendered here dismayed ( tsh^etta) is derived from shaah, to see, to look; and then to look about as one does in a state of alarm, or danger. The sense here is, that they should be calm, and under no apprehension from their foes.

For I am thy God – I am able to preserve and strengthen thee. The God of heaven was their God; and as he had all power, and that power was pledged for their protection, they had nothing to fear.

I will uphold thee – I will enable you to bear all your trials.

With the right hand of my righteousness – With my faithful right hand. The phrase is a Hebrew mode of expression, meaning that Gods hand was faithful, that it might be relied on, and would secure them.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 41:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee

Fear thou not!

I.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH GOD ADDRESSES HIS PEOPLE. They are poor and needy. It is necessary that God should have room in which to work. Emptiness to receive Him; weakness to be empowered by Him. It is into the empty branch that the vine-sap pours; into the hollowed basin that the water flows; the weakness of the child gives scope for the mans strength.

II. THE ASSURANCES THAT HE MAKES TO THEM. No height, however bare, nor depth, however profound, can separate us from His love.

III. THE DIVINE PROVISION FOR THEIR NEED. Life is not easy for any of us, if we regard the external conditions only: but directly we learn the Divine secret, rivers flow over bare heights in magnificent cascades; fountains arise in the rock-strewn sterile valleys; the wilderness becomes a pool (Isa 41:17-18). To the ordinary eye it is probable that there would appear no difference. Still the tiny garret, and the wasting illness; still the pining child; still the straitened circumstances–still the deferred hope. But the eye of faith beholds a paradise of beauty, murmuring brooks filling the air with melody, leafy trees spreading their shade. What makes the difference? What does faith see? How is she able to work such transformations?

1. Faith is conscious that God is there, and that His presence is the complement of every need. To her eye common desert bushes burn with His Shechinah

2. Faith recognises the reality of an eternal choice, that God has entered into a covenant which cannot be dissolved, and that His love and fidelity are bound to finish the work He has commenced.

3. Faith knows that there is a loving purpose running through every moment of trial, and that the Great Refiner has a meaning in every degree of heat to which the furnace is raised; and she anticipates the moment when she will see what God has foreseen all the time, and towards which He has been working.

4. Faith realises that others are learning from her experiences lessons which nothing else would teach them; and that glory is accruing to God in the highest, because men and angels see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isa 41:20). (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

No fear for Gods people

I. THE SPEAKER. The words derive all their importance from this. So many are our enemies, so mighty, so subtle, so malignant, so ceaseless in their attacks, that all finite beings would be powerless to help. We want Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence on our side. A patience, a compassion, a pity, a love that belongs only to God. We want One to help who embraces all being, all time, all eternity. We want even more than this. We want One who has engaged all these perfections on our behalf. We want even more than this: One who stands in the tenderest relation to us in all these. And such is the Speaker of these words.

II. THE PERSONS TO WHOM SPOKEN. Literally to His ancient people. But spiritually to all the people of God, the true descendants of Jacob, everywhere, in all ages. They need them in every stage of their journey, every moment of their lives, every step they take. They are strangers on the earth. The world is a strange place to them, and they are strangers in it. The path which their are treading was never trod by them before. The religion of the world is not theirs; its habits, amusements, principles, practice, are all foreign to them. It is a strange land, and hostile too, for there is much in it that opposes them. They are sailors on a stormy ocean, where sun and stars in many days appear not, and no small tempest lies on them. They are soldiers in a field of hard fighting; their enemies vastly out-number them, overmatch them, and besides this, in themselves they are but weak, yea, powerless, and, unless perpetually encouraged, timid.

III. THE WORDS THEMSELVES. Fear not. He says it more than seventy times in the Scripture. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

Fear not

Three times within the compass of a few verses, the exhortation, Fear not, is given.

I. THE EXHORTATION. Fear not. A great honour comes to anyone who is thus addressed by God. It shows that God cares for that person, and desires to live on terms of intimacy with him; for God binds His friends to Him by ties of love as well as reverence. True religion differs from false in this respect. How wonderful to hear God say to any man, Fear not; because all have reason to fear Him. Ever since Adam hid himself in the garden, fear has been characteristic of our attitude towards God. We sin against Him. He hates and punishes sin. Does it not look like mockery for us sinners to be told, Fear not? Terror often disappears as a fuller knowledge is gained of the object which caused it. Friday trembled all over on first meeting Robinson Crusoe; but soon his terror vanished. Much of our fear of God arises from ignorance; and will vanish when the light of the knowledge of God in Christ dawns on our souls.

II. THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS INJUNCTION IS BASED. Remember that God never gives His children a stone when they ask Him for bread. If He says, Fear not, He means it. Why Fear not? I am with thee, He assures Israel How tenderly God speaks to Israel in Isa 41:8-9. His voice is like that of a mother crooning to her child–Israel, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend, I have taken thee, and called thee, and chosen thee, and not cast thee away. God is nearer to us than He was to even the Old Testament saints. Immanuel means God with us.

III. THIS TEACHES US TO CLING TO CHRIST ALL THROUGH LIFE. Lord Chamberlain Leslie was once riding through a dangerous ford with the Queen of Scotland sitting behind, in the old fashion, and fastened to him by a belt. As she slipped backwards during the steep ascent, out of the river, the Lord Chamberlain shouted encouragingly, Grip fast. Ay, said Her Majesty, gin the buckle baud They landed safely, and to make security double sure in the future, two additional buckles were sewed on to the belt. Gods command to us regarding Christ is, Grip fast. The bond that binds a believing sinner to Him will never break. Why, then, should we fear? (D. A.Mackinnon, M. A.)

Encouragement not to fear

I. THE TEMPER OF SPIRIT that the Lord aims to reduce His people unto. Fear not; be not dismayed. Quietness, settledness, and undauntedness of spirit.

II. THE COURSE HE TAKES to reduce them to it. A proposal of motives and arguments of sufficient effect and prevalency to pull down vain fear out of the heart. (T. Crisp, D. D.)

Fear, and its remedy.

I. WHAT IT IS FOR A PERSON NOT TO FEAR, nor be dismayed. Fear is a very distracting, disturbing, confounding passion; it is a kind of besetting passion that makes men lose themselves, especially if it be in the extremity of fear; it ariseth from an apprehension of some unavoidable, insupportable evil growing upon a person, and occasioned either by some symptoms of that evil, or by some messenger or other relating it, or by some foresight of it in the eye. Now, as evil appears greater or lesser, and more or less tolerable, so the passion of fear is more or less in persons.

II. WHAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD SHOULD NOT FEAR. There is a threefold fear; a natural, a religious, and a turbulent fear. A natural fear is nothing else but such an affection as is in men by nature, that they cannot be freed from; such a fear was in Christ Himself, without sin. A religious fear is nothing but an awful reverence, whereby people keep a fit distance between the glorious majesty of God and the meanness of a creature. A turbulent fear is a fear of disquietness. Now all disquieting fear is that which the Lord endeavours to take off from His people.

1. The people of God need not be afraid of their sins. I do not say they must not be afraid to sin (Rom 8:1).

2. Neither ought we to fear the sins of others. They cannot do Gods people any hurt.

3. They that have God for their God must not be afraid of men.

III. WHAT THE FRUIT OF FEAR IS; or what prejudice or disadvantage fear and dismayedness bring along with them.

1. Fearfulness of spirit casts many slanders upon God. Upon His power, His faithfulness, His care and providence, the freeness of His grace, the efficacy of the sufferings of Christ.

2. As it respects Gods service.

(1) It is the cut-throat of believing.

(2) It is prejudicial to all religious duties: it is a damper to prayer.

It makes all duties merely selfish. Fear puts a man beside his wits, that while he is in such a passion, he is to seek for common ways of safety; so that, whereas men think that fear will help them to avoid danger, commonly, in amazement, you shall have people stand still, not able to stir to save themselves. Besides, this fear is such a torment, that commonly those evils so much feared, prove not so hurtful nor evil to a person as the present fears; and, besides this, it many times doth not only daunt the spirit of a man in himself, but proves very dangerous to others.

IV. GODS MOTIVES, by which He attempts to prevail over the spirits of His people, not to be afraid or dismayed, come what can or may. God is our God.

1. What is it for God to be our God? While you have all things else but this, you have the rays of the sun; while you have this, you have the sun itself in its brightness and lustre. I am thy God, is as much as to say, Thou hast a propriety in Me. Gods all-sufficiency reaches beyond all wants.

2. What a person hath in this. There are three particulars whereby specially you may observe what great treasure people have in having God.

(1) In regard of the quality of the treasure.

(2) In regard of the virtue of it. The quintessence of all virtues is in Him.

(3) In regard of the sovereignty, universality, and variety of help in it.

3. How it is so well with those that are the Lords. God, in giving Himself unto persons, gives Himself to be communicated unto them at sundry seasons, and in divers kinds and measures, and yet so that He will be the judge of the fitness of the time.

4. How He becomes their God, and upon what terms. The gift of Him is as cheap as it is rich. He never looks the creature should bring anything that he might procure it.

5. How He will be found of them. The way of finding out God efficiently to be our God, is the Spirit of the Lord. God makes Himself known passively to be the God of His people, by the word of His grace, and faith laying hold upon it revealed, and more subordinately in prayer, fasting, receiving of the Lords supper, and such ordinances, so far as they are mixed with faith. (T. Crisp, D. D.)

Fear conquered.

Many good people are full of fears. Bunyan says of Mr. Fearing, He was a man that had the root of the matter in him, but he was one of the most troublesome pilgrims that I ever met with in all my days. Many things may help us to conquer our fears.

I. IT IS WRONG TO FEAR. We are quite safe in Gods hands, and fear is really unbelief. It dishonours God.

II. IT PREVENTS US FROM DOING OUR DUTY. If a gardener is afraid to sow his seed he will have no flowers, or if the farmer is afraid to plough he will have no crop. If a boy is afraid it is of no use to try for the prize, he will not get it. Fear is ruinous to our work.

III. IT DISCOURAGES OTHERS (Num 13:31-33; Num 14:1). Fear kept the Israelites out of the promised land.

IV. IT IS UNNECESSARY. We are afraid because the dangers seem so great, or the work so hard, and ourselves so weal But we forget who is for us–more than all that can be against us.

1. God is with us.

2. God is our God. What a possession God is!

(1) Vast.

(2) Rich.

(3) Secure.

(4) Everlasting.

3. God will strengthen us as He did David and Samson.

4. He will hold us up by His right hand. Who then can lay us low? Away then with fear for ever. (R. Brewin.)

Never despair

I. GODS PEOPLE PASS THROUGH ADVERSITY.

II. TRIBULATION STRENGTHENS GODS PEOPLE.

III. GOD IS WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THE DAY OF THEIR TROUBLE.

IV. A PERSONAL ENCOURAGEMENT. I am with thee.

1. Your fellow-men may ridicule you because you have become religious.

2. In your trade you may have to pass through much tribulation.

3. You may have felt much fear about making a profession of your faith.

4. Temporal calamity often visits the people of God.

5. There may be affliction and pain coming to you.

V. AN INVITATION TO SINNERS. You say this invitation is not in the text. Never mind, I must go over hedge and ditch to call the sinner to Jesus. (W. Birch.)

Missionary encouragement

The missionary could not take with him a higher word of manifold comfort than is here contained.

I. THE COMMAND.

1. Fear not, thou. Fear throws a paralysis over the senses and faculties of man, so that flight and safety are more thought of than holding ones ground, or making headway against the enemy.

2. Be not dismayed. If one have fear, he loses both courage and hope; and in this state no valuable work can be done. The soldiers of the first French Revolution Were destitute of fear, and by nothing dismayed; hence, all the armies of Europe prevailed not against them, until, in the terms of Carlyle, they had provoked all men, and the Gaelic fire had kindled another kind of fire–the Teutonic kind.

II. ITS GROUND.

1. I am with thee. God promised Moses that His presence should go with him; and without that, said Moses, send me not up.

2. For I am thy God. It is Jehovah that speaks, who created the universe and governs it still.

3. I will strengthen thee. God will renew not merely such strength as is natural to us, but a surplusage of strength for special service. In the strength of heavenly food and drink Elijah went forty days and forty nights.

4. Yea, I will help thee. Joseph in Egypt, or Daniel in Babylon, would have been destroyed by their enemies, and would never have become prime ministers but for the Divine interposition.

5. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. The right hand is an emblem of power–here, of omnipotent power–so that the work of righteousness which you do shall never cease. Truth is omnipotent, and shall rule the eternal years.

III. ITS ENCOURAGEMENT.

1. If God be for us in mission work, who can be against us?

2. If He favour and command it, how can it ever cease? Deus vult, said Peter the Hermit, and for two centuries the Crusades flamed on high.

3. If truth and righteousness he eternal, how bold and hopeful ought the missionary to be! The Gospel is stronger than the strongest battalions. (Homiletic Review.)

The Christians fears and the Christians encouragement

I. THE CHRISTIANS FEARS. It may be asked why does the Christian fear? I answer, because of his knowledge. Do you say, If this be so, then ignorance is bliss? I answer, No. I do not say that our knowledge causes our danger, I only say it produces our fear. I may be in danger and not know it; but my ignorance does not diminish my danger; it rather increases it. See Captain Williams in the Atlantic. He is asleep in his cabin; maybe dreaming of wife, and home, and joys to come. He knows nothing of the rocks ahead on which, in a few moments, the vessel may dash, and where many a precious life will soon be gone for ever. If he were awake, there would be agony in his face instead of a smile; but there would be a chance of escape. His knowledge would produce fear, but might lead to safety. So with the sinner; he enters upon this year amidst smiles and songs, and little dreams that ere the next year comes he will be in eternity. If he were to awake there would be deep anxiety, but that anxiety might end in life and heaven. The Christian, however, is awake.

1. He knows that he is on trial for eternity.

2. That he is surrounded by enemies.

3. He knows himself: every day he lives he makes discoveries of his character that fill him with shame and sorrow. His constant acknowledgment is, By the grace of God I am what I am.

4. He knows that many a fellow-soldier has fallen.

II. THE CHRISTIANS ENCOURAGEMENT.

1. There is the assurance of Gods presence.

2. There are several exceeding great and precious promises. Conclusion–To whom wilt thou flee for help? and where wilt thou leave thy glory? Talk about destitution, there are none so destitute as those who have no God. (C. Garrett.)

Courage

There is no virtue more highly and widely esteemed than courage, and no vice more generally detested than cowardice. Courage makes heroes, and amongst the ancients, at least, heroes were second in rank to the gods. Amongst savage tribes it may almost be said that courage is the only virtue, for without it all other good qualities lose their value, and where it exists it covers a multitude of sins. This is also the virtue which children most admire. Jack the Giant Killer is a story of perennial interest to the children. Nor is hero-worship a thing unknown among older people.

I. THE NEED FOR COURAGE. Courage is the quality which enables one to resist. It is the power to say No.

II. THE NATURE OF COURAGE. Courage displays itself in many ways. It may be seen on the battlefield, and in the quiet endurance of difficulties in the home. It may be seen in maintaining unpopular opinions amid difficult or dangerous circumstances, or in meeting death with unblanched cheek. What is courage?

1. Courage is not blindness to danger. It is no virtue to be unconcerned in the presence of dangers, about which one is totally ignorant. The greatest courage often goes along with the keenest sense of danger. The young officer who was fighting by the side of an old veteran was surprised to find his face blanched with fear. The young man being reckless of danger himself, asked with considerable surprise, You are not afraid, are you? I am afraid, was the reply; and if you were half as afraid as I am you would run. Two of our Lords disciples once displayed the courage of ignorance. When Christ asked them if they were able to drink of the cup which He should drink, and be baptized with His baptism, they readily replied that they were able. They -were unconscious of the greatness of the task to which they were willing to pledge themselves.

2. Courage is a true estimate of dangers. Knowledge is the antidote to fear. Courage is equality to the problem before us. Socrates was condemned to drink the hemlock cup because he taught the youth of Athens noble truths about God, which were esteemed by the authorities as heresy. He might have won his life by a recantation, or an apology to his judges. He preferred death, when the executioner brought in the poison cup, the friends who were gathered round him wept, and Socrates alone was calm. He explained to them that he knew it was a dangerous thing to tell a lie; but that it might even be a blessing to die. At least he would not do what he knew to be evil, in preference to suffering what might possibly be evil, or what might even prove a blessing. The lie was the greater danger.

III. MOTIVES FOR COURAGE. The possession of such courage is to be coveted. How is it to be gained? what motive can be found sufficient to inspire one to such acts of bravery?

1. Pity for the oppressed.

2. Consciousness of companionship.

3. Knowledge that the cause is Gods. (R. C. Ford, M. A.)

Fear and dismay–an antidote

There is no doubt of the fact that we have all some fears, and that there are moments when we are dismayed, for life stands connected not only with to-day and man, but with God and eternity. The words of our text come to those who are faithful.

I. THE REASONS WHY SOME OF GODS PEOPLE HAVE OCCASION AT TIMES TO FEAR AND EVEN TO BE DISMAYED.

1. Our own nature is our enemy. In its depravity, in its ungodliness, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other.

2. Then there are these things that surround us, and those people who constitute the world around.

3. Then there is the great enemy. God often teaches us our inability. Is it not a solemn thing to stand in the midst of these enemies with that other world coming., and Christ to be the Judge? Is it not a solemn life when we think of all its responsibilities, if we are not found looking to the true source and finding the true power?

II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE TEXT.

1. Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Do not imagine for a moment that it is your wants that bring to you this succour. The tendency with us all is always to make it our doing. Let us lay aside the thought that we have any power, and remember that from first to last it is all of grace. The first encouragement, then, is found in the Divine presence: I am with thee.

2. But there is yet a deeper depth. Sometimes the spirit of dismay comes over us. What will be the end? Cast away? What does the prophet tell us in regard to our covenant-keeping God? Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. Here is the most endearing relationship in the universe! There is not an angel in heaven but feels as he thinks of God that he is all safe. Now it is the same relationship between us and God; nay, it is a more sanctified one, for it is a relationship which exhibits the infinitude of His love, the unspeakableness of His mercy.

3. I am thy God, I will strengthen thee. One of the finest things that one finds after affliction is when the strength is returning and weakness is departing. There is a gladness and a gratitude in connection with such an experience as this which only those who have been afflicted can know. The downcast ones who are in the depths and ready to perish, ready to faint by the way, in that condition hear a voice; and what does it say to them? I will strengthen thee.

4. That is not all. I will help thee. Now this implies one step further. It implies that you and I have a burden, and as we are going through the world we are carrying it; but the burden is too heavy for us. We are tired; we are overloaded, and there is one Traveller by our side who can help us.

5. Then His support is effectual. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. There is no left-hand work with God; no sinister work; it is all right-hand work with Him. And then all that is with it and all that it introduces is righteousness. I know of no encouragement like this text if we properly appreciate it. (A. M. Brown, LL. D.)

Gods all-sufficiency a reason for fearlessness

God can be God and fearless, but we can scarcely be creatures and fearless. Still less is it likely that sinful creatures should be fearless. It is more than the Father looks for under the present mode of our existence. But when the fearful thing is coming down, or when the children see it looming in the distance and are frightened, and they catch the Fathers countenance, and see that He is not frightened, it wonderfully reassures the poor children to see a fearlessness on the Fathers face. Heaven is full of Fear nots. And if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, it will break out of your midnight, and up from your deepest valley too, that voice of the Father, the All-in-all.

I. The meaning of the word is that GOD IS OUR ALL-SUFFICIENCY, and not dis-related, but related to us.

II. CONSIDER THE USE THE CHILDREN SHOULD MAKE OF THIS SUFFICIENCY OF THEIR FATHER. See what liberties we take with Gods earth–We get stones wherever we like. They are not our stones. And we get gold wherever we like, and we get iron wherever we like, and we get coal wherever we can. I hope the day will come when, even without thought or intention, we shall, from the new nature of our being, take up God as easily as the blade of grass takes up atmosphere and light. Let us enter our home–enter and be comforted, as all helpless things are, to find their source ofsupply so near. And let us not leave our nest and then fret that our rest is gone, but abide encircled by the everlasting strength. (J. Pulsford.)

The sweet harp of consolation

We sometimes speak very lightly of doubts and fears; but such is not Gods estimate of them- Our Heavenly Father evidently considers them to be great evils, extremely mischievous to us, and exceedingly dishonourable to Himself, for He very frequently forbids our fears, and as often affords us the most potent remedies for them. Fear not is a frequent utterance of the Divine mouth. I am with thee is the fervent, soul-cheering argument to support it. Martin Luther used to say, that to comfort a desponding spirit is as difficult as to raise the dead; but, then, we have a God who both raises the dead from their graves and His people from their despair. Saul was subject to fits of deep despondency, but when David, the skilful harper, laid his hand among the obedient strings, the evil spirit departed, overcome by the subduing power of melody. My text is such a harp.

I. WE SHALL NOTE THE TIMES WHEN ITS SWEET STRAINS ARE MOST NEEDED. Occasions when comfort is needed are many; for some there be, who, like the willow, will only flourish in a soil which is always wet with consolation. If their mothers did not bear them with sorrow, like Jabez, they commenced very early on their own account to accumulate a heritage of woe. As John Bunyan would say, they need not be afraid of the Slough of Despond, for they carry a slough within their own hearts, and are never out of it, or it is never out of them. They are plants which flourish best in shady places, among the damps of sorrow. They delight most to dwell in the Valley of Humiliation; and when they are journeying through that peaceful vale, like Mr. Fearing, they could lie down and kiss the flowers, because the place is so suitable to their meek and lowly spirit. There is something sadly weak about this state of experience, though there is also much to admire: these are they whom the Master carries in His bosom, and doth gently lead. More or less, believers need consolation at all times, because their life is a very peculiar one.

1. Yet are there special occasions when the Comforters work is needed, and one of these certainly is when we are racked with much physical pain. Many bodily pains can be borne without affecting the mind, but there are others whose sharp fangs insinuate themselves into the marrow of our nature, boring their way most horribly through the brain and the spirit: for these much grace is wanted

2. When the trouble comes in another shape, namely, in our relative sorrows, borne personally by those dear to us.

3. When all the currents of providence run counter to us.

4. Some of us know what it is to hear this voice of God in the midst of unusual responsibilities, heavy labours, and great enterprises.

5. Did you ever stand, as a servant of God, alone in the midst of opposition? Have you heard the clamour of many, some saying this thing, and some the other–some saying, He is a good man, but others saying, Nay, but he decieveth the people? Did you never feel the delight of saying, The best of all is, God is with us; and, in the name of God, instead of folding up the standard, we will set up our banners. If you have ever passed through that ordeal, then have you needed the words, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God. Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass?

6. We shall want this word of comfort most of all when we go down the shelving banks of the black river.

7. After death, we read in this Word of great events, what shall happen to us; but we feebly comprehend the revelation. Solemnities shall follow which may well strike a man with awe as he thinks upon them. What about that future? Why, faith can look forward to it without a single tremor; she fears not, for she hears the voice of the everlasting God saying to her, I am with thee. Thus have I mentioned a few of the occasions in which this harp sounds most sweetly. All through life I may picture the saints as marching to its music, even as the children of Israel set forward to the notes of the silver trumpets.

II. We come to you, harp in hand, and pray you DISTINCTLY TO HEAR ITS NOTES. The sweetness of all the notes melt into each other, but now we shall touch each string severally and by itself, and if you have an educated ear you will hear that which will solace your souls. Fear thou not; for I am with thee. What does it mean?

1. I am with thee in deepest sympathy. When you suffer, you suffer not a new pang; Christ knew that pain long ago.

2. The Lord is with us in community of interests. That is to say, if the believer should fail, God himself would be dishonoured. Luther rejoiced greatly whenever he felt that he had brought God into his quarrel. Well, said he, if it were I, Martin Luther, and the Pope of Rome who had to fight it out, I might well despair; but if it be the Pope against Martin Luther and Martin Luthers God, then woe be unto Antichrist. God is in the quarrel of the man who attacks error; God is in the quarrel of the man who is trying to do good, to reclaim his fellow-creatures from sin, and to establish the kingdom of Christ. Ay, and when you can quote a Divine promise, God is engaged in your affairs, because if He do not keep that promise, He is not true. It is with us as it is with the timid traveller in the Alps, who is attended by a faithful guide. He shivers as he passes under overhanging cliffs, or glides down shelving precipices, or climbs the slippery steeps of glaciers, but if his guide has linked himself with him he is reassured. The guide has said, You are trembling, sir, but the way is safe; I have passed it many a time with many a traveller as weak as you are. But to reassure you and make you feel how safe you are, see here! and he straps a rope round the traveller and round himself. Now, says he, both of us or neither. We shall both get safely home or neither.

3. The next string of the harp gives this sound, I am with thee in providential aid. In the old days of the post horses, there were always relays of swift horses ready to carry onward the kings mails. It is wonderful how God has His relays of providential agents; how when He has done with one, there is always another just ready to take his place.

4. God is with us in secret sustaining power. He well knows how, if He do not interpose openly, to deliver us in trouble, to infuse strength into our sinking hearts. I have read of those who bathe in those baths of Germany which are much impregnated with iron, that they have felt after bathing as if they were made of iron, and were able in the heat of the sun to cast off the heat as though they were dressed in steel. Happy indeed are they who bathe in the bath of such a promise as this, I am with thee!

5. There is a way by which the Lord can be with His people, which is best of all, namely, by sensible manifestations of His presence, imparting joy and peace which surpass all understanding.

III. MEDITATE MUCH UPON THE SWEETNESS OF THOSE NOTES.

1. The comfort of my text excels all other comfort under heaven.

2. There is all the comfort here that heaven itself could afford. The Manx people have for their motto three legs, so that whichever way you throw them they are sure to stand; but as for the saints, it is impossible for them to be thrown down by misfortune, or even by the infernal powers. We shall stand, for God upholds us. Now divide the words, and view them separately. I AM. Know you what this meaneth? God is selfexistent, eternal, independent, sitting on no precarious throne, nor borrowing leave to be. It is no other than JEHOVAH, JAH, I AM. who has become the Friend of His people. Note the tense of it–not I was, not I shall be, but I am. We have yesterday, to-day, and for ever, the same great I am. I am–what? I am with thee, poor, feeble thing as thou art.

IV. Though I have spoken of my text as a harp yielding rarest music, yet IT NEEDS THAT THE EAR BE TUNED BEFORE ITS MUSIC CAN BE APPRECIATED. It is not every man that understands the delights of harmony, even in ordinary music. So there are tens of thousands of men who know nothing at all of what it is to have God with them. Yea, this would be their dread; they would be glad to escape from God if they could. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Fear and its antidote

To whom are these words spoken? We must not steal from Gods Scripture any more than from mans treasury. They were spoken–

1. To Gods chosen ones (Isa 41:8).

2. To those whom God has called (Isa 41:9).

3. They are Gods servants, doing His will (Isa 41:8).

4. They are those whom He has not rejected from His service, in spite of the imperfections of which they are penitently conscious (Isa 41:9). To these every honey-dropping word of this text belongs.

I. A VERY COMMON DISEASE OF GOOD MEN–FEAR.

1. This disease came into mans heart with sin (Gen 3:8).

2. Fear continues in good men because sin continues in them.

3. Fear coming in by sin, and being sustained by sin, readily finds food upon which it may live.

4. If fear finds food within, it also readily finds food without. Poverty, sickness, etc.

5. In certain instances the habit of fearing has reached a monstrous growth.

6. Even the strongest of Gods servants are sometimes the subjects of fear 1Ki 19:4).

II. GODS COMMAND AGAINST FEAR. Fear thou not; be not dismayed. That precept is absolute and unqualified; we are not to fear at all Why?

1. Because it is sinful. It almost always results from unbelief, the sin of sins.

2. It feeds sin.

3. It injures yourself.

4. It weakens the believers influence and so causes mischief to others.

III. THE PROMISES WHICH GOD GIVES TO PREVENT PEAR AND DISMAY.

1. Many a man fears because he is afraid of loneliness. You are not alone, because God is with you.

2. Men fear they may lose all they have in the world, and they know very well that if they lose their property they usually lose their friends. Your goods may go, but your God will not.

3. Fear sometimes arises from a sense of personal weakness. I will strengthen thee. God can, if He wills it, put Samsons strength into an infants arm.

4. Some fear that friendly succour will fail. If the work on which we have set our hearts is Gods work, He will send to our aid all the succour we need.

5. Many a child of God is afflicted with a fear that he shall one day, in some unguarded moment, bring dishonour upon the Cross of Christ. This is a very natural, and in some respects a very proper fear. I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Helpful presence

It was said of Simpson, the discoverer of chloroform, that his presence in a sick-room half cured his patients. Pain lost half its terror, and seemed to expect its dismission, once he stood by the sick. (J. A.Davies, B. D.)

A trinity of Divine forces

Strengthen, help, uphold, a trinity of Divine forces, a triple wall of Divine protection. If God be for us, who can be against us? (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)

A grand staircase

When the late Dr. William Anderson lay dying, his friend, Mr. Logan, read this passage to him, and the noble old man at once seized it, and looking at his friend, said with great emphasis, What a grand staircase that is up which to go to God! (C. Garrett.)

Security in Gods company

If Caesar could say to the fearful ferryman, in a terrible storm, Be of good cheer; thou carriest Caesar, and therefore canst not miscarry, how much more may he presume to be safe that hath God in his company! A child in the dark fears nothing while he hath his father by the hand. (J. Trapp.)

The protection of Gods presence

Zwingle, in spite of all the machinations of his enemies, went about unharmed. It was as though an unseen bodyguard encompassed him, and his enemies despaired of attaining their end. God is with me, he said; and with Him on my side I fear my enemies as little as the crag fears the oceans foam. (Sunday School Chronicle.)

God a background

Dr. Dale of Birmingham, towards the close of his life, made the following entry in his diary: Of course, when Sir Andrew Clark was sent for, and–and–came, I understood that my position was regarded as critical. I was too weak, however, to be much moved by it–too weak to find much direct consolation in the eternal springs of strength and joy. God was a kind of background to everything–hardly discerned, but there; this was all. (Life of R. W. Dale.)

General Gordons faith

I go as alone, wrote General Gordon, as he started from Cairo to Khartoum, with an infinite almighty God to direct and guide me, and I am so called to trust in Him, as to fear nothing, and, indeed, to feel sure of success. (Sunday School Chronicle.)

I will help thee

Gods I wills

I will, I will, I will. Oh, the rhetoric of God! Oh, the certainty of the promise! (J. Trapp.)

The best Helper

Two persons are spoken of here: I and thee. I, the person speaking, is our God and Saviour; and thee, the person spoken to, means everybody who needs His help and seeks it. There are four reasons why Jesus is the best Helper.

I. BECAUSE HE IS ALWAYS NEAR TO HELP. God is always near when people are in trouble. He always could help them if He saw it best. But sometimes He sees good reasons for not helping those who are in need.

II. BECAUSE HE IS ALWAYS ABLE TO HELP.

III. BECAUSE HE IS ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP. He may not always be willing to help us just at the time, or in the way we desire,–that may not be best; but in His own time and way He is always willing to help.

IV. BECAUSE HE IS ALWAYS KIND IN HELPING. There are some people who are willing and able to help others, and who do help them too, but it is done in a very rough manner. (R. Newton, D. D.)

Our Helper

I. WHO MAKES THE PROMISE? A promise is nothing to me unless I have good security that it will be kept. When a man makes a promise to me that he will do so and so, I value the promise according to his ability and disposition to make it good. If, now, you read from Isa 41:10, you will see who it is that promises help. It is a well-guaranteed promise. He who made you knows all about you. His knowledge of you is even more exact than is the watchmakers knowledge of the delicate machinery which he takes apart and puts together again.

II. HOW MUCH WE ALL NEED HELP. We begin to need it in many ways as soon as we are born, and we never cease to need it as long as we live. (J. W. Teal.)

Gods help

A minister was one day bringing his books upstairs into another room, for he was going to have his study on the first floor, instead of downstairs, and his little boy wanted to help father carry some of the books. Now, said the father, I knew he could not do it, but as he wanted to be doing something, to please him and to do him good by encouraging his industry, I told him he might take a book and carry it up. So away he went, and picked out one of the biggest volumes–Caryl on Job or Poli Synopsis, I should think–and when he had climbed a step or two up the stairs, down he sat and began to cry. He could not manage to carry his big book any farther; he was disappointed and unhappy. How did the matter end? Why, the father had to go to the rescue, and carry both the great book and the little man. So, when the Lord gives us a work to do, we are glad to do it, but our strength is not equal to the work, and then we sit down and cry, and it comes to this, that our blessed Father carries the work and carries the little man too, and then it is all done and done gloriously. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 10. Be not dismayed – veal tishta, “AND be not dismayed.” The vau is added by twenty-one of Dr. Kennicott’s MSS., thirty of De Rossi’s, and one of my own, and three editions. It makes the sense more complete.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Which I do and will manage with righteousness, whereby I will deliver thee, and destroy thine and mine enemies, as it follows.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

10. be not dismayedliterally,anxiously to look at one another in dismay.

right hand of myrighteousnessthat is, My right hand prepared in accordancewith My righteousness (faithfulness to My promises) to uphold thee.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Fear thou not, for I am with thee,…. Not merely by his essence or power, who is every where; or by his providence supporting, preserving, observing, ordering, and overruling all things; but in a way of special grace, to guard and protect his people, support and supply them, comfort and strengthen their hearts; wherefore they need not fear any of their enemies, nor whatsoever they may be called to suffer for his name’s sake, even though they pass through fire and water, and the valley of the shadow of death:

be not dismayed, I am thy God; through Christ, in a covenant way, as appeared by the effectual calling of them; and therefore might depend on his love, be sure of his power, expect all needful supplies, and to be comfortably carried through every service and trial they were called unto; and need fear no enemies, or be dismayed at anything that should befall them; or become weak as water, and their hearts melt like wax within them, as the Jewish commentators generally interpret the word n. The Targum is,

“be not broken;”

in spirit. The word signifies to look about, as persons in distress, and amazed:

I will strengthen thee; with strength in their souls, to perform duties, exercise grace, withstand corruptions, resist temptations, bear afflictions, suffer persecutions, and do their generation work, according to the will of God; and if God is the strength of his people, they need not be afraid of any persons or things, Ps 27:1:

yea, I will help thee; help them out of all their afflictions and temptations, and out of the hands of all their enemies; help them in the discharge of duty, in the exercise of grace, in bearing the cross, in fighting the Lord’s battles, and in their journey to another world; help them to every mercy, temporal and spiritual, to all needful supplies of grace, and at last to glory; whose help is suitable and seasonable, and may be expected, since he is able to help, either with or without means; has promised to help his people, as here, and he is faithful that has promised; he has laid help on one that is mighty, and set up a throne of grace to come to for help in time of need; and seeing he is their helper, they need not fear what men or devils can do unto them, Heb 13:5

I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness; either by his almighty power, or by his Son, the man of his right hand, made strong for himself, and the author of righteousness to his people: this is expressive of his sustentation of them, not merely in a providential way, but in a way of special grace; and of his powerful protection and preservation of them, so as that they shall stand in the grace of God, go on in his ways, and not fall finally and totally, but persevere to the end, though their trials and temptations may be great and many.

n “neque dissolvaris”, Munster; “vel ne liquefias”, Vatablus. “Verbum formatum a nomine” , “quod [ceram] significat, quae calor exposita facile dissolvitur”, Munster.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Israel Encouraged.

B. C. 708.

      10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.   11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.   12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.   13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.   14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.   15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.   16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.   17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.   18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.   19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:   20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

      The scope of these verses is to silence the fears, and encourage the faith, of the servants of God in their distresses. Perhaps it is intended, in the first place, for the support of God’s Israel, in captivity; but all that faithfully serve God through patience and comfort of this scripture may have hope. And it is addressed to Israel as a single person, that it might the more easily and readily be accommodated and applied by every Israelite indeed to himself. That is a word of caution, counsel, and comfort, which is so often repeated, Fear thou not; and again (v. 13), Fear not; and (v. 14), “Fear not, thou worm Jacob; fear not the threatenings of the enemy, doubt not the promise of thy God; fear not that thou shalt perish in thy affliction or that the promise of thy deliverance shall fail.” It is against the mind of God that his people should be a timorous people. For the suppressing of fear he assures them,

      I. That they may depend upon his presence with them as their God, and a God all-sufficient for them in the worst of times. Observe with what tenderness God speaks, and how willing he is to let the heirs of promise know the immutability of his counsel, and how desirous to make them easy: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee, not only within call, but present with thee; be not dismayed at the power of those that are against thee, for I am thy God, and engaged for thee. Art thou weak? I will strengthen thee. Art thou destitute of friends? I will help thee in the time of need. Art thou ready to sink, ready to fall? I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, that right hand which is full of righteousness, in dispensing rewards and punishments,” Ps. xlviii. 10. And again (v. 13) it is promised, 1. That God will strengthen their hands, that is, will help them: “I will hold thy right hand, go hand in hand with thee” (so some): he will take us by the hand as our guide, to lead us in our way, will help us up when we are fallen or prevent our falls; when we are weak he will hold us up-wavering, he will fix us-trembling, he will encourage us, and so hold us by the right hand, Ps. lxxiii. 23. 2. That he will silence their fears: Saying unto thee, Fear not. He has said it again and again in his word, and has there provided sovereign antidotes against fear: but he will go further; he will by his Spirit say it to their hearts, and make them to hear it, and so will help them.

      II. That though their enemies be now very formidable, insolent, and severe, yet the day is coming when God will reckon with them and they shall triumph over them. There are those that are incensed against God’s people, that strive with them (v. 11), that war against them (v. 12), that hate them, that seek their ruin, and are continually picking quarrels with them. But let not God’s people be incensed at them, nor strive with them, nor render evil for evil; but wait God’s time, and believe, 1. That they shall be convinced of the folly, at least, if not of the sin of striving with God’s people; and, finding it to no purpose, they shall be ashamed and confounded, which might bring them to repentance, but will rather fill them with rage. 2. That they shall be quite ruined and undone (v. 11): They shall be as nothing before the justice and power of God. When God comes to deal with his proud enemies he makes nothing of them. Or they shall be brought to nothing, shall be as if they had never been. This is repeated (v. 12): They shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought, or as that which is gone and has failed. Those that were formidable shall become despicable; those that fancied they could do any thing shall be able to bring nothing to pass; those that made a figure in the world, and a mighty noise, shall become mere ciphers and be buried in silence. They shall perish, not only be nothing, but be miserable: Thou shalt seek them, shalt enquire what has become of them, that they do not appear as usual, but thou shalt not find them as David, Ps. xxxvii. 36. I sought him, but he could not be found.

      III. That they themselves should become a terror to those who were now a terror to them, and victory should turn on their side, v. 14-16. See here, 1. How Jacob and Israel are reduced and brought very low. It is the worm Jacob, so little, so weak, and so defenceless, despised and trampled on by every body, forced to creep even into the earth for safety; and we must not wonder that Jacob has become a worm, when even Jacob’s King calls himself a worm and no man, Ps. xxii. 6. God’s people are sometimes as worms, in their humble thoughts of themselves and their enemies’ haughty thoughts of them–worms, but not vipers, as their enemies are, not of the serpent’s seed. God regards Jacob’s low estate, and says, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob; fear not that thou shalt be crushed; and you men of Israel” (you few men, so some read it, you dead men, so others) “do not give up yourselves for gone notwithstanding.” Note, The grace of God will silence fears even when there seems to be the greatest cause for them. Perplexed but not in despair. 2. How Jacob and Israel are advanced from this low estate, and made as formidable as ever they have been despicable. But by whom shall Jacob arise, for he is small? We are here told: I will help thee, saith the Lord; and it is the honour of God to help the weak. He will help them, for he is their Redeemer, who is wont to redeem them, who has undertaken to do it. Christ is the Redeemer, from him is our help found. He will help them, for he is the Holy One of Israel, worshipped among them in the beauty of holiness and engaged by promise to them. The Lord will help them by enabling them to help themselves and making Jacob to become a threshing instrument. Observe, He is but an instrument, a tool in God’s hand, that he is pleased to make use of; and he is an instrument of God’s making and is no more than God makes him. But, if God make him a threshing instrument, he will make use of him, and therefore will make him fit for use, new and sharp, and having teeth, or sharp spikes; and then, by divine direction and strength, thou shalt thresh the mountains, the highest, and strongest, and most stubborn of thy enemies: thou shalt not only be at them, but beat them small; they shall not be a corn threshed out, which is valuable, and is carefully preserved (such God’s people are when they are under the flail, ch. xxi. 10: O my threshing! yet the corn of my floor, that shall not be lost); but these are made as chaff, which is good for nothing, and which the husbandman is glad to get rid of. He pursues the metaphor, v. 16. Having threshed them, thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall scatter them. This perhaps had its accomplishment, in part, in the victories of the Jews over their enemies in the times of the Maccabees; but it seems in general designed to read the final doom of all the implacable enemies of the church of God, and to have its accomplishment like wise in the triumphs of the cross of Christ, the gospel of Christ, and all the faithful followers of Christ, over the powers of darkness, which, first or last, shall all be dissipated, and in Christ all believers shall be more than conquerors, and he that overcomes shall have power over the nations, Rev. ii. 26.

      IV. That, hereupon, they shall have abundance of comfort in God, and God shall have abundance of honour from them: Thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, v. 16. When we are freed from that which hindered our joy, and are blessed with that which is the matter of it, we ought to remember that God is our exceeding joy and in him all our joys must terminate. When we rejoice over our enemies we must rejoice in the Lord, for to him alone we owe our liberties and victories. “Thou shalt also glory in the Holy One of Israel, in thy interest in him and relation to him, and what he has done for thee.” And, if thus we make God our praise and glory, we become to him for a praise and a glory.

      V. That they shall have seasonable and suitable supplies of every thing that is proper for them in the time of need; and, if there be occasion, God will again do for them as he did for Israel in their march from Egypt to Canaan, v. 17-19. When the captives, either in Babylon or in their return thence, are in distress for want of water or shelter, God will take care of them, and, one way or other, make their journey, even through a wilderness, comfortable to them. But doubtless this promise has more than such a private interpretation. Their return out of Babylon was typical of our redemption by Christ; and so the contents of these promises, 1. Were provided by the gospel of Christ. That glorious discovery of his love has given full assurance to all those who hear this joyful sound that God has provided inestimable comforts for them, sufficient for the supply of all their wants, the balancing of all their griefs, and the answering of all their prayers. 2. They are applied by the grace and Spirit of Christ to all believers, that they may have strong consolation in their way and a complete happiness in their end. Our way to heaven lies through the wilderness of this world. Now, (1.) It is here supposed that the people of God, in their passage through this world, are often in straits: The poor and needy seek water, and there is none; the poor in spirit hunger and thirst after righteousness. The soul of man, finding itself empty and necessitous, seeks for satisfaction somewhere, but soon despairs of finding it in the world, that has nothing in it to make it easy: creatures are broken cisterns, that can hold no water; so that their tongue fails for thirst, they are weary of seeking that satisfaction in the world which is not to be had in it. Their sorrow makes them thirsty; so does their toil. (2.) It is here promised that, one way or other, all their grievances shall be redressed and they shall be made easy. [1.] God himself will be nigh unto them in all that which they call upon him for. Let all the praying people of God take notice of this, and take comfort of it; he has said, “I the Lord will hear them, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them; I will be with them, as I have always been, in their distresses.” While we are in the wilderness of this world this promise is to us what the pillar of cloud and fire was to Israel, an assurance of God’s gracious presence. [2.] They shall have a constant supply of fresh water, as Israel had in the wilderness, even where one would least expect it (v. 18): I will open rivers in high places, rivers of grace, rivers of pleasure, rivers of living water, which he spoke of the Spirit (Joh 7:38; Joh 7:39), that Spirit which should be poured out upon the Gentiles, who had been as high places, dry and barren, and lifted up on their own conceit above the necessity of that gift. And there shall be fountains in the midst of the valleys, the valleys of Baca (Ps. lxxxiv. 6), that are sandy and wearisome; or among the Jews, who had been as fruitful valleys in comparison with the Gentile mountains. The preaching of the gospel to the world turned that wilderness into a pool of water, yielding fruit to the owner of it and relief to the travellers through it. [3.] They shall have a pleasant shade to screen them from the scorching heat of the sun, as Israel when they pitched at Elim, where they had not only wells of water, but palm-trees (Exod. xv. 27): “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, v. 19. I will turn the wilderness into an orchard or garden, such as used to be planted with these pleasant trees, so that they shall pass through the wilderness with as much ease and delight as a man walks in his grove. These trees shall be to them what the pillar of cloud was to Israel in the wilderness, a shelter from the heat.” Christ and his grace are so to believers, as the shadow of a great rock, ch. xxxii. 2. When God sets up his church in the Gentile wilderness there shall be as great a change made by it in men’s characters as if thorns and briers were turned into cedars, and fir-trees, and myrtles; and by this a blessed change is described, ch. lv. 13. [4.] They shall see and acknowledge the hand of God, his power and his favour, in this, v. 20. God will do these strange and surprising things on purpose to awaken them to a conviction and consideration of his hand in all: That they may see this wonderful change, and knowing that it is above the ordinary course and power of nature may consider that therefore it comes from a superior power, and, comparing notes upon it, may understand together, and concur in the acknowledgment of it, that the hand of the Lord, that mighty hand of his which is stretched out for his people and stretched out to them, has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it, made it anew, made it out of nothing, made it for the comfort of his people. Note, God does great things for his people, that he may be taken notice of.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

10. Fear not. The former doctrine having had for its aim that the people should rely on God, the Prophet concludes from the numerous blessings by which the Lord manifested his love, that the people ought not to be afraid. And we ought carefully to observe the reason which he assigns —

For I am with thee. This is a solid foundation of confidence, and if it be fixed in our minds, we shall be able to stand firm and unshaken against temptations of every kind. In like manner, when we think that God is absent, or doubt whether or not he will be willing to assist us, we are agitated by fear, and tossed about amidst many storms of distrust. But if we stand firm on this foundation, we shall not be overwhelmed by any assaults or tempests. And yet the Prophet does not mean that believers stand so boldly as to be altogether free and void of all fear; but though they are distressed in mind, and in various ways are tempted to distrust, they resist with such steadfastness as to secure the victory. By nature we are timid and full of distrust, but we must correct that vice by this reflection, “God is present with us, and takes care of our salvation.”

Yet I will assist thee. אף עזרתיך (aph gnazarticha) is rendered by some in the past tense, “Yet I have assisted thee;” but I render it in the future tense, “I will assist thee.” I translate אף (aph) yet, as it is usually translated in many other passages. Yet it is not inappropriate to translate it even, and accordingly my readers are at liberty to make their choice. If the past tense of the verb be preferred, it will mean “moreover” or “also.”

With the right hand of my righteousness. Under the word “righteousness,” Scripture includes not only equity, but that fidelity which the Lord manifests in preserving his people; for he gives a display of his righteousness when he faithfully defends his people against the contrivances and various attacks of wicked men. He therefore gives the appellation of “the right hand of righteousness” to that by which he shews that he is faithful and just. Hence we ought to draw a remarkable consolation; for if God has determined to protect and defend his servants, we ought not to have any terror; because “God cannot deny himself” (2Ti 2:13) or lay aside his righteousness.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(10) Fear thou not . . .The thought of the election of God gives a sense of security to His chosen.

I will strengthen thee.The verb unites with this meaning (as in Isa. 35:3; Psa. 89:21) the idea of attaching to ones self, or choosing, as in Isa. 44:14.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

DISCOURSE: 925
THE WEAK BELIEVER COMFORTED

Isa 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

OF the contest between Jehovah and the worshippers of idols, we who have never witnessed the madness of idolaters, have no conception: and, consequently, the pains taken by Jehovah to vindicate his exclusive right to the worship of his creatures appear almost superfluous. But the pertinacity with which idol-worship was upheld, not only amongst the heathen nations around Judea, but even in Judea itself, rendered every possible effort necessary to withstand its influence, and to suppress its growth. Power and authority were for the most part on the side of idolatry; in support of which the bitterest persecutions were set on foot against the adherents of true religion. But Jehovah promises to them his support, and assures them, that, however severely tried for a season, they shall triumph at last.
This is the primary import of our text. But, when we recollect, that there is a spiritual idolatry still prevalent, and that there still exists the same contest between Jehovah and the votaries of this present world, and that his faithful servants are still greatly obstructed in their ways, and painfully persecuted too for their fidelity to him, we shall see that the encouragement in our text is as needful for them, as ever it was for his people of old.
I propose then to set before you,

I.

The grounds which the Lords people have for fear

The idea of guilt and unworthiness might well come into our view, if we were treating the subject without any reference to the context: but as the fear and dismay mentioned in our text originated only in the power of their enemies, their own inability to withstand them, and the fearful consequences of a defeat, we think it right to confine our observations to those topics.
The Lords people then have many fears as arising from,

1.

The number and power of their enemies

[It is well known that the world and all its votaries are in direct opposition to the children of God. As Gideon no sooner made a league with Joshua, than all the kings of Canaan confederated to destroy them; so no sooner does any one enter into covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ and submit to him, than the whole world account him a deserter from their cause, and use all their efforts to bring him back to their standard. Even our dearest friends will be the foremost in this warfare; and our greatest foes be those of our own household. In confirmation of this assertion, we appeal, not to the Scriptures only, but to fact and experience. Let any man set his face to seek the Lord, and all around him will put themselves in array against him, and employ all the arts of persuasion, ridicule, expostulation, and menace, in order, if possible, to divert him from his purpose. Those who, when he was going on in the ways of sin, never uttered a single word of advice to induce him to flee from the wrath to come, no sooner behold him turning into the way of righteousness, than they express the deepest concern about his welfare, and labour to the uttermost to reclaim him from what they account the most egregious folly .
In league with them will both the flesh, and the devil be; the one striving by the violence of its in-dwelling lusts, and the other by the subtlety of his devices, to draw him back into that state of guilt and bondage from which he has just escaped [Note: 2Pe 2:18.]

Such enemies, so numerous, so subtle, so inveterate, the Christian scarcely knows how to encounter: and the thought of their combined and continued efforts to destroy him, fills him not unfrequently with terror and dismay ]

2.

His utter inability to withstand them

The Christian has no idea of the extent of his own impotency to that which is good, till he comes to exert himself in the ways of God. He then finds that without aid from the Lord Jesus Christ, he can do nothing. This oftentimes greatly discourages him: If, says he, I have run with footmen, and they have wearied me, how shall I contend with horses [Note: Jer 12:5.]? If I am not able to encounter the least of all my enemies, how can I withstand the united force of all? The discouragements arising from this source are the greater, because they so continually recur. The Christian cannot address himself to any duty, but he is constrained from painful experience to acknowledge, that all his sufficiency to do, or to will, or even to think what is good, is of God alone [Note: Php 2:13. 2Co 3:5.] Verily, if it were not that he had hope in God, he would sit down in utter despair ]

3.

The dreadful consequence of a defeat

[Eternity is at stake; an eternity of bliss or woe; of bliss or woe unutterable, and inconceivable: and to those only who overcome will the prize of victory be assigned, even to those who maintain the conflict to the end, and overcome all the enemies of their souls. And how fearful the alternative! how dreadful the thought of dwelling with everlasting burnings! Can a man open his eyes to such a prospect, and not fear? Is it not sufficient to appal the stoutest heart? True indeed, some are borne up above all such fears, and are assured, that, when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, they have an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens: but all are not so privileged; or rather, all do not so fully attain the enjoyment of their privileges: and to them a doubt or suspicion of their ultimate acceptance with God is a source of the most disquieting apprehension.]
But however great be their fears, they may dismiss them all, when they are informed of,

II.

The encouragement here afforded them

Every difficulty that could harass their minds is obviated in our text, in which all their fears are anticipated, and their wants supplied. God promises them,

1.

His presence

[Were we left in the power of our enemies without any friend at hand to help us, we might well fear. But God says to the trembling soul, Fear not; for I am with thee. Now if but a fellow-creature were with us in a season of difficulty, we should take courage, especially if we knew that he was competent to afford us the protection we desired. How much more then may we be satisfied if Almighty God be with us! In the contemplation of this, David says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, God is in the midst of us: we shall not be moved. God shall help us, and that right early. The Lord of Hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge [Note: Psa 46:1-2; Psa 46:5; Psa 46:7; Psa 46:11.].

But if it be said, God may be with us as an enemy, or as an indifferent spectator: therefore it is not a mere persuasion of his presence that will satisfy our minds; he further assures his people of,]

2.

His care

[Believers are his people; and He is their God: and in this character will he be with them in all their trials. A stranger may see a person injured, and not feel himself sufficiently interested to interpose for his relief: but a husband, or a father, will not so act: he will feel the injury as done to himself; and will make the cause his own. So will God do for his people, who are authorized in all their troubles to say to him, Arise, and plead thine own cause. Whoso toucheth them, toucheth the apple of his eye: and his eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in behalf of those who trust in him: and every perfection that he possesses will he put forth for their preservation and protection
Yet, as his people are required to exert themselves, and are apt to be discouraged on account of their extreme weakness, he promises them,]

3.

His succour

[We are told that he will put strength into his people [Note: Psa 29:11.], and strengthen them with might by his power in their inward man. What then need they to fear, when the arms of their hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob [Note: Gen 49:24.]? The weakest of them all may fearlessly adopt the language of the prophet, Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song: he also is become my salvation [Note: Isa 12:2.]. Yes; the veriest stripling, with his sling and his stone, may go forth against all the Goliaths in the universe, assured of victory: for he can do all things, through Christ who strengthened! him.

Yet, because the Christians enemies are far too strong for an arm of flesh, and he is apt, notwithstanding the strength imparted to him, to be discouraged; God further engages to aid him with,]

4.

His co-operation

[Fear not; for I will help thee, says God: I will help thine infirmities [Note: Rom 8:26. See the Greek.]. In this expression there is something deserving of especial notice. The term used imports, that when our burthen is so heavy and cumbersome that we cannot with all our exertions support it, God promises that he will take hold of it at the opposite end, and bear it together with us. Be it so then, that our burthen is too heavy for us: but is it too heavy for him also? Is there any thing too hard for the Lord? If he be for us, not all the powers of earth and hell combined can with any effect exert themselves against us [Note: Rom 8:31.].

Still, as long as any thing depends on him, the trembling believer cannot dispel his fears: and therefore, to complete the consolation afforded him, God assures him of,]

5.

His effectual support

[I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. What can the believer want more than this; to have the eternal God for his refuge; and to have underneath him his everlasting arms? O! happy indeed art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of thy help, and the sword of thine excellency [Note: Deu 33:27-29.]? After this promise, we wonder not at the assurances added to our text, Behold! all that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shall not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. Fear not, thou worm Jacob: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small as chaff, so that the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them [Note: ver. 1116.].]

And now, if, after this, any of you entertain unbelieving fears, let me expostulate with you, as God himself does

[I, even I, am he that comforteth you: Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker; and fearest every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor [Note: Isa 51:12-13.]? Do not so dishonour your Lord and Saviour: but believe him able, believe him willing, to afford you all needful succour, and to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him ]

Yet let me not conclude without adding a few words for the conviction of those who know nothing of such fears as these

[They who have never had a fear of their state, are at this moment destitute of any scriptural hope: for, What can they know of themselves? What can they know of the Christian warfare? What can they know of the Scriptures of truth? They are altogether in darkness even until now. Can it be supposed that God would use such efforts for the encouragement of his people, if they did not need encouragement? Why did Jehovah so tenderly chide his people of old for their fears, and give them such rich promises of aid, if their situation did not require such supports [Note: Isa 40:27-31.]? or why does our blessed Lord still say, Fear not, little flock; for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom [Note: Luk 12:32.]? Know of a surety, that the Christian life is attended with many difficulties: and that all the supports and consolations afforded to the believer in the Holy Scriptures, are no more than his necessities require: and, if ever you begin to serve the Lord in truth, you will find the promise in our text more precious to you than gold, and sweeter to you than honey, or the honeycomb.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Ver. 10. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. ] Cordialibus, ut ita dicam, verbls, Deus hoc eloquitur, – As long as a child hath his father by the hand, he feareth none. Quid timet hominem homo in sinu Dei positus? – What should he who lieth in God’s own bosom fear any man alive? Is not God’s presence security sufficient?

I will strengthen thee; I will help thee, &c. ] I will, I will, I will. Oh the rhetoric of God! Oh the certainty of the promises!

With the right hand of my righteousness, ] i.e., My righteous right hand, that shall right all thy wrongs.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Fear thou not. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 31:6, Deu 31:8).

be not dismayed = look not around. Some codices, with Syriac, read “and be not”, &c. It is this that dismays (see notes on Psa 73 and 77).

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.

strengthen = strength (inherent, for activity). Hebrew. ‘dmas. Not the same word as in Isa 41:1 and Isa 41:21.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Fear: Isa 41:13, Isa 41:14, Isa 12:2, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:5, Isa 44:2, Isa 51:12, Isa 51:13, Gen 15:1, Deu 20:1, Deu 31:6-8, Jos 1:9, 2Ch 20:17, 2Ch 32:8, Psa 27:1, Psa 46:1, Psa 46:2, Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Luk 1:13, Luk 1:30, Luk 2:10, Luk 2:11, Rom 8:31

for I am thy God: Isa 52:7, Isa 60:19, 1Ch 12:18, Psa 147:12, Hos 1:9, Zec 13:9, Joh 8:54, Joh 8:55

I will strengthen: Isa 40:29-31, Deu 33:27-29, Psa 29:11, Zec 10:12, 2Co 12:9, Eph 3:16, Phi 4:13

I will uphold: Psa 37:17, Psa 37:24, Psa 41:12, Psa 63:8, Psa 145:14

the right: Psa 65:5, Psa 89:13, Psa 89:14, Psa 99:4, Psa 144:8, Psa 144:11

Reciprocal: Gen 21:17 – fear Gen 26:24 – fear Gen 28:12 – ladder Gen 28:15 – I am Gen 31:3 – with thee Gen 39:2 – the Lord Gen 39:21 – the Lord Gen 42:36 – all these things are against me Gen 46:3 – fear not Exo 3:12 – Certainly Exo 14:13 – Fear ye not Exo 20:20 – Fear not Lev 26:12 – will be Num 13:30 – General Num 14:9 – the Lord Num 23:21 – the Lord Deu 1:21 – fear not Deu 3:2 – Fear Deu 7:18 – shalt not Deu 9:3 – he shall Deu 20:3 – let not Deu 28:58 – fear this glorious Deu 33:25 – and as thy Jos 1:5 – I will not Jos 8:1 – Fear not Jos 10:8 – General Jos 17:18 – for thou shalt Jdg 1:19 – the Lord Jdg 6:16 – General Jdg 7:9 – Arise 1Sa 23:17 – Fear not 2Sa 22:33 – strength 1Ki 8:57 – General 1Ki 17:13 – Fear not 2Ki 6:16 – Fear not 2Ki 19:6 – Be not afraid 1Ch 4:10 – thine hand 1Ch 11:9 – for 1Ch 28:20 – fear not 2Ch 14:11 – rest on thee 2Ch 17:3 – the Lord 2Ch 20:15 – Be not afraid Ezr 8:31 – the hand Neh 4:14 – General Neh 6:9 – Now therefore Job 22:25 – the Almighty Psa 14:5 – God Psa 17:7 – by thy Psa 23:4 – I will Psa 49:5 – Wherefore Psa 51:12 – uphold Psa 54:4 – General Psa 56:4 – in God I have Psa 60:5 – save Psa 73:23 – thou hast Psa 89:21 – mine Psa 91:15 – I will be Psa 94:18 – My foot Psa 119:116 – Uphold Psa 119:173 – Let Psa 138:3 – strengthenedst Psa 138:7 – and thy right Pro 3:25 – Be Isa 8:10 – for God Isa 35:4 – fear not Isa 37:6 – Be not Isa 40:1 – comfort Isa 43:2 – I will be Isa 44:8 – neither Isa 54:4 – Fear not Jer 15:20 – for Jer 20:11 – the Lord Jer 30:10 – fear Jer 31:1 – will Jer 42:11 – for I Jer 46:28 – for I am Lam 3:57 – thou saidst Eze 3:9 – fear Dan 10:12 – Fear not Dan 10:19 – fear not Joe 2:21 – Fear Zep 3:16 – be said Hag 1:13 – I am Hag 2:5 – fear Zec 8:13 – fear not Zec 10:6 – I will strengthen Zec 12:5 – The inhabitants Mat 8:26 – Why Mat 10:26 – Fear Mat 14:27 – it Mat 28:5 – Fear Mat 28:20 – I am Joh 6:20 – It is Joh 14:27 – afraid Joh 20:17 – your God Act 7:9 – but Act 12:24 – General Act 18:10 – I am Act 23:11 – the Lord Act 27:24 – Fear not Phi 4:9 – with 2Ti 3:11 – but 2Ti 4:17 – strengthened Heb 11:23 – and they Heb 13:5 – I will Heb 13:6 – The Lord 1Pe 3:14 – and be Rev 1:17 – Fear not

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the {k} right hand of my righteousness.

(k) That is, by the force of promise, in the performance of which I will show myself faithful and just.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Moreover, the Israelites did not need to fear because God was with them, and He had committed Himself to them (cf. Mat 28:20). They need not look one way and then another trying to find safety (cf. Isa 41:5-6). Furthermore their God promised to help them in every way with His powerful right hand, a symbol of strength, and to do what was right (cf. Isa 40:10-11).

"Even though no exiled nation had ever before in history been brought back to start life anew in their ancestral homeland, and even though the Gentile government would have no practical means of inducing the Jews to return home, nevertheless God would bring this seeming impossibility to pass." [Note: Archer, pp. 637-38.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)