fication by his righteousness, with every other ;-this
the inhabitants of the. islands, or distant countries, the
Gentiles, should be desirous of hearing, readily em-
_brace and receive, and trust in Christ, made known to
them in it. The Septuagint version is, and in his name
shall the Gentiles trust; and so in Matt. xii. e0. see
Acts xxviii. 28. and xiii. 4e, 48.
Ver. 5. TItus saith God the Lord, &c.] The God
of the world, as the Targum. This, with what fol-
lows, is a preface to the call of Christ, to the great
work of redemption; setting forth the greatness of God
as a Creator, that calls him to it, and thereby encou-
raging him as man and Mediator in it, as well as the
faith of his people to regard hint as their Saviour and
Redeemer, and believe that this work he was called
unto should be performed by him; for what is it that
God, the Creator of all things, cannot do? he that
created the heavens, and stretched them out: he first
madethem outof nothing, and stretched out the firma-
ment of them as a curtain and canopy over the earth,
and them usa tent for himself to ,dwell in, ch. xl. 22:
he that spread forth the earth; into the length and
breadth it has, for man and beast to dwell on it: and
that which cometh out of it; grass, herbs, and trees,
which he has spread all over it: he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it; as he did to man at first, he
breathed into him the breath of life, and as he gives to
all since, Gen. ii. 7. Acts xvii. 25: and spirit to them theft
ú walk therein; not only breath in common with the
beasts of the field, and other creatures, but a rational
spirit, or a reasonable soul, an intellectire faculty,
a capacity of understanding things, as brutes have not.
Jarchi interprets this of the Holy Spirit, which God
gives to them that walk before him.
Yet. 6. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,
&c.] Not the Prophet Isaiah, as Jarchi and A. ben
Ezra interpret it; nor the people of Israel, as Kimcbi;
but the Messiah, whom Jehovah called to the office of
Mediator, in a righteous way and manner, consistent
with his own perfections; and not against the will of
Christ, but with his full consent: or, unto righteous-
hess, as some"; so the A. rabic vetslon; to fulfil his
righteous purposes, concerning the welfare and salva-
lion of his people; to perform his righteous promises
of his coming, and of good things by him; to shew hii
strict vindictive justice against sin, in the punish-
merit of it; and to bring in an everlasting righteousness
for his people: or it may be rendered, 1 have called
thee with righteousness o; Christ came a righteous Per-
son, holy in his nature., harmless in his life, and truly
deserved the character of Jesus Christ the righteous:
and will ,hold thine hand: denoting his presence with
him, and .nearness unto him; his favour and affection for.
him; his counsel and direction of him; the support
and assistance he .gave him; and the strength he re-
ceived from him as man, to go .through his work: and
will keep thee; as the apple of his eye, being dear unto
him; from being hurt by his enemies tilt the time came
to be delivered into their hands; and from miscarry-
ing in his work; and from the power of the grave, so
as to be long detained in it: and give thee for a cove-
nant of thepsople; Christ is a covenantee, a party con-
cerned in the covenant of grace; the representative of
his people in it; the surety, Mediator, messenger, and
ratifier of it; the great blessing in it; the sum and sub-
stance of it; all the blessings and promises of it are in
him, and as such he is given; it is of God's free grace
that he was appointed and intrusted with all this in
eternity, and was sent in time to confirm and secure it
for the people; given him of his Father, redeemed by
him and to whom the Spirit applies the blessings and
promises of the covenant; even the elect of God, both
among Jews and Gentiles, especially the latter, as fol-
lows:for a light of the Gentiles; who were in the
dark as to the true knowledge of God and Jesus Christ,
and the .way of righteousness and salvation by him,
and of all divine and spiritual things; now Christ,
through the ministry of the word by his spirit, was a
light unto them; by which they were enlightened
into their own state and condition by nature, and into
the knowledge of himself, and the mysteries of grace.
Vet. 7. To open the blind eyes, &c.] Of the idola-
trous Gentiles, who werespiritually blind, and knew
not the wretchedness of their case; the exceeding sin-
Fulness of sin; their need of. a Saviour, and who he
was; as they did, when their eyes were opened by
means of the GOspel sent among them, through the
energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of
almighty power and efficacious grace: to bring out the
the prison; who were concluded in sin,
shut up in unbelief, and under the law, the captives
of Satan, and held fast prisoners by him and their
own lusts, under the dominion of which they were:
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house: of
sin, Satan, and the law; being under which, they were
in a state of darkness and ignorance as to things di-
vine and spiritual. The allusion is to prisons, which
are commonly dark places. Vitringa, by the prisoners,
understands the Jews shut up under the law; and by
those in darkness the Gentiles, destitute of all divine
knowledge.
Vet. 8. I am the Lord, that is my name, &c.] Je-
hovah, a name expressive of his self-existence, eter-
nity, and iramutability; a name by which be made
himself known to Israel of old, and which is peculiar to
him, and does not belong to another, and so distin-
uishes him from all false gods; see Exod. iii. 14. and
vi. 3. Psal. !xxxiii. 18. or, Hu is my nameP; to which
\~autov\~, he himself the same, answers; see Psal. cii. 27, com-
pared with Heb. xiii. 8. and this is one ofthe names of
God with the Jews{q}; as Hou is with the Turks to this
day.; which, in Arabic, signifies him: that is, God, as
Monsieur Therenot {r} observes; see oh. xiviii. I2: and
my glory will I not give to another; that is, to another
god, to a strange god, to an idol; as that has not the
nature, it ought not to have the name of deity, nor di-
vine worship given to it: this the Lord will not admit
of, but will punish those, be they Heathens, or are
called Christians, that give the glory to idols that is
due unto his name. This is not to be understood to

{n} Ad, sive in justitiam, Sanctius.
{o} \^qdub\^ cum justitia, Piscator, Forerius, Cocceius.
{p} \^ymv awh\^
{q} Seder Tephillot, fol. 1, 2. & 4, 1. Ed. Basil.
{r} Travels, part 1. B. 1. ch. 31. p. 41.