 |  |
We observe the parallels:
'Prepare ye the way of the
'Prepare ye the way of the
Lord' (40:3).
people' (62:10).
'Make straight ... a highway
'Cast up the highway' (62:10).
for our God' (40:3).
'The crooked shall be made
'Gather out the stones' (62:10).
straight, and the rough places
plain' (40:4).
'Lift up thy voice with
'Lift up a standard for the
strength; lift it up' (40:9).
people' (62:10).
'Say unto the cities of Judah,
'Say ye to the daughter of
Behold your God ... will come'
Zion, Behold thy Salvation
(40:9).
cometh' (62:11).
'His reward is with Him, and
'His reward is with Him, and
His work before Him' (40:10).
His work before Him' (62:11).
In the near context of Isaiah 62 is a parallel with Isaiah 40:2:
'She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins' (Isa. 40:2).
'For your shame ye shall have double ... therefore in their land they shall
possess the double' (Isa. 61:7).
There is much in these parallels to lead us to conclude that the
passage we are considering, namely Isaiah 40:9,10, is a proclamation of good
tidings 'to Zion', as the Revised Version indicates, rather than one made 'by
Zion', as the Authorized Version gives it, and so far as we are concerned,
this parallel passage decides the matter for us.
We now turn our attention to the structure of the passage as a whole.
Isaiah 40:1 -11
A
40:1,2.
Message of comfort to Jerusalem.
Pardon.
B
40:3 -5.
The Voice. The Forerunner.
'A highway for our God'.
The mouth of the Lord hath spoken.
B
40:6 -8.
The Voice. The Prophet.
'The word of our God'.
The word of our God shall
stand for ever.
A
40:9 -11.
Good tidings to Zion.
Protection.
'Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God' (Isa. 40:1). It is
with such words that the glorious prophecy of restoration opens. The first
chapter saw Israel in a condition in which neither bandage nor ointment were
of use. Nothing but desolation and distress awaited this disobedient and
gainsaying people. When the 'Voice' is first heard (Isa. 6:8) it is to
commission the prophet to utter such words of desolation that he could only
cry, 'Lord, how long?' Yet, the reader will remember, that, with all its