and ha's been long; or all sueh that dwell in countries
beyond the sea, it being usual with the Jews to call
all such countries isles that were beyond sea to them;
Christ is the great Prophet of his church, and is alone
to be hearkened unto, and in all things, Matt. xvii. 5.
Heb. iii. 7: and hearken, ye people, from far; that
were afar off' from the land of Judea, as well as afar off
from God and Christ, and the knowledge of him, and
of righteousness and salvation by him; the Gentile
nations are meant; see Ephes. ii. 12, 13. for this is to be
understood of kingdoms afar off, as the Targum pan-
phrases it; and not of distant and future things, to be
accomplished hereafter, as Aben Ezra; taking this to
be the subject they are required to hearken to, and not
as descriptive of persons that are to hearken: the Lord
hath called me from the womb; to the office of a Me-
diator; to be Prophet, Priest, and King; to be the
Saviout and Redeemer of men; he did not assume this
to himself, but was called of God his Father, Heb. v.
4, 5, 10. and that not only from the womb. of his
mother Mary, or as soon as he was conceived and
born of her; but from the womb of eternity, from
the womb of eternal purposes and decrees; for he
was set forth, or fore-ordained in the purposes of
God, to be the propitiation for sin; and was pre-
destinated to be the Redeemer before the foundation
of the world, even before he had a being in this
world as man. So the Targum," the Lord, before I
"was, appointed me ;" he prepared a body for him,
and appointed him to be his salvation. The Syriac
version join, the words from far to this claus, as do
the Septuagint and Arabic versions, contrary to the
accents, and renders them, of a long time the Lord
hath called me, from the womb ; even from eternity:
fi'om the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of
m?] name; Jarchi interprets this of Isaiah, whose name
was fixed and given him by the Lord, whilst he was in
his mother's bowels, signifying tbat he should pro-
phesy of salvation and comfort; but it is much better
to nnderstand it of Christ, whose name Jesus, a
Saylout, was made mention of by the Lord, whilst he
was in his mother's womb, and before he was born,
Matt. i. 20, 21. Luke i. 31, 35. and ii. 10, 11. for the
worsts may be ren. dered, before the womb, and before the
bowels ofmy mother{r}; that is, before he was in them.
    Ver. 2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp
sword, &c.] Or," he hath put his words in my
"mouth as a sharp sword," as the Targum; namely,
the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and
is sharper than a two-edged sword, and is said to come
out of the mouth of Christ, Ephes. vi. 17. Heb. iv. 12.
Rev. i. 16. with which he pierces into and cuts the
hearts of mcn, and lays open all their sin and unrighte-
oushess, and cuts down the worst and best in men,
and slays all his enemies; so his mouth was as a sharp
sword in the days of his flesh, to inveigh against the
sins and to refute the errors of the Scribes and Pha-
risees; as it will be, in the latter day, to smite the
nations of the earth, Rev. xix. 15, 21: in the shadow
of his hand hath he hid me; in his counsels and pur-
poses of old, and in his providence; "in the shadow
"of his power hath he protected me," as the Targum;
thus he hid, and protected him from Herod's cruelty in
his ifffancy; and from the rage and malice of the
Scribes and Pharisees, who sought often to lay hands
on him, and take away his life before hit time. The
Jews talk very much of the Messiah's being hid under
the throne of glory. Aben Ezra's remark, that the
phrase, he hath hid me, answers to the scabbard of a
sword, before mentioned, is not amiss: and made me a
polished shaft ; or, choice arrow{s}; which being polished
at the point, or well oiled, and shining, pierces the
deeper, So the doctrines of Christ, the words of his
mouth, are compared to bright and sharp arrows, which
make cutting work, and give great pain where they
come; as they sometimes do like arrows, swiftly, sud-
denly, and with great force and power, Psal. xlv. 5.
Kimchi observes, that he speaks of a sharp sword with
respect to the Jews that were near, where a sword
could reach them; and of a polished shaft or arrow
with respect to the Gentiles afar off, which must be
C3St after them: in his qtdver hath he hid me, meaning
his secret purposes, and his powerful protection, as
before; which he compares to a quiver, a case in
which arrows are put, because mention had been made
of a polished shaft or arrow before.
Ver. 3. And said unto me, &c.] Both in the ever-
lasting council, and when he made a .covenant with
him in eternity; when he found him and anointed him,
and !aid help on him; and- also when he brought him,
his first-begotten, into the world, at his incarnation:
thou art my servant; of his. choosing, appointing, call
ing, sending, bringing forth, and supporting; so he
was as Mediator, especially in his estate of humiliation,
when he appeared in the form of a servant, and came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give
his life a ransom for many; thereby to obtain redemp-
tion, which was the great work and service he was
appointed to; which he readily undertook, and will-
ingly and cheerfully engaged in, and diligently and
faithfully performed; to whom justly belong the cha-
racters of an obedient, diligent, prudent, and faithful
servant; in answcring which he shewed his regard to
his fathcr's will, his love to his people, and his great
humility and condescension: 0 Israel; a name of
Christ, anti which properly belongs to him, being the
antitype of Jacob or Israel; the Head and representative
of the whole Israel of God; who was of Israel accord-
ing to the flesh, and an Israelite indeed in a spiritual
sense, and was only sent to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. Israel is a name of the church, often given
to it in this prophecy; Christ and his church, by virtue
of the union between them, have the same names; as
she is sometimes called by his names, Christ, and the
Lord our righteousness, so he is here called by her
name Israel, 1 Cor. xii. 12. Jer. xxiii. 6. and xxxiii.
16: in whom I will be glorified; this is Jehovah's end
in all he does in nature or grace; and is what Christ
had in view iu working out our salvation; and all the
divine perfections are' glorified in it by him, the wis-
dom, power, faithfulness, holiness, justice, love, grace,
and mercy of God. Some render the words actively,

{r} \^yma yemm-Njbm\^ ante uterum--ante viscera matris meae, h. e. an-
tequam essem in utero, & in visceribus matris meae, Vitringa.
{s} \^rwrb Ux\^ \~belov eklekton\~ Sept.; sagittam electam, V. L.; 
telum elctum, Cocceius; sagittam nitidam vel electam, Vitringa.