To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
The Holy One declares that He has no equal and nothing can be likened to Him. His proof is that He created the heavens and brings out the starry host by number, calling each by name so that by His great might none fails. On earth He measured the waters and the dust, stretched out the heavens, sits above the circle of the earth, and counts the nations as a drop of a bucket and as nothing while princes pass away. As the everlasting Creator He does not faint or grow weary, He sees that the way of His people is not hidden from Him, and He gives power to the faint and renewed strength to all who wait upon Him. Therefore He is not to be likened to the gods and idols of the nations, no image of Him is to be made for worship, He alone is to be reverenced, trusted and worshiped as Creator, and the Sabbath keeps that truth in memory.
Holy One Without Equal
The Holy One Himself declares as fact that no one and nothing can be likened to Him or made equal to Him, for He stands uniquely sovereign without rival. His incomparability rests in His power and understanding as Creator, which surpass all comparison and exceed all finite human measure. Earth with its nations and all created things are insignificant beside Him.
The proof is that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and of all their host, who made the heavens and commands them. He brings out the starry host by number, calls each by name, numbers and sustains them, and by greatness of might and strength not one of them fails or falls. His might and understanding in this work are unsurpassed and cannot be searched out.
On earth the same proof holds, for He measured the waters in His hand and measured the dust, meted out heaven, and weighed the mountains and hills. He stretches the heavens as a curtain, sits above the circle of the earth with its inhabitants as grasshoppers, and counts the nations as a drop of a bucket and as nothing. Human rulers, princes and judges pass away and are brought to nothing before Him.
His creative power and understanding are beyond searching, so His works and ways exceed the understanding of finite beings. Finite men cannot comprehend His ways, works, wisdom and purposes, but can only speculate about their mysteries. No crafted image made by human hands can be compared with Him or represent Him.
In this setting the unmatched power, greatness and majesty belong to the royal Messenger, the Son of God and Redeemer, who created and commands the heavenly host. The questions are directed to people now as well as to Israel.
Strength for the Weary
As the everlasting Creator He does not grow faint or weary. His unfailing might is shown in that He created the heavenly host, brings them out by number, calls each by name, and by greatness of might and strength lets none fail or fall, while His understanding cannot be searched out. Therefore Israel's way is not hidden from Him, their troubles are not hidden from Him, and their cause is not overlooked. He gives power to the faint and to them that have no might, and those who wait upon Him receive renewed strength to persevere and endure without fainting.
Isaiah 40 is a declaration from the Lord giving the correct lesson in true higher education. It was written for comforting true believers amid afflicting judgments near the close of earth's history, when earthquakes and storms on land and sea and heavy calamities by sea and by railroad come upon the world. Its assurance holds though Lucifer, the fallen angel who perverted his higher education, wars against God and all who exalt Him and brings calamity. Its assurance holds though many who greatly sinned perish physically, while sincere, humble, righteous followers of Christ feel the result upon the rebellious and are themselves afflicted. Its words are precious, certain assurance to be taken for all possible encouragement in these latter days, so that those who fulfill them place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised.
His unmatched power assures those who choose Christ that no human wisdom or strength can overthrow the power they have joined, and that God will help and uphold them, with strength given to His own people. Isaiah 40 is to be studied in connection with Isaiah 42 and Second Peter, because their truths prepare hearts to receive God's messages and to carry forward the work in deeply spiritual lines. They call for Spirit-worked men of clear understanding to lead thorough reformation with no haphazard work.
Worship Trust and Remembrance
The Holy One has no equal and cannot be likened to the gods or idols of the nations, because He alone created all things and all beings owe their existence to Him, and His creative power is the evidence for His claim to reverence and worship above them. No created thing can be compared to the Creator, so no image must be made to picture God, and no image of any creature must be made to represent God or to be used in any way in the worship of God, since no crafted image can represent Him. The Sabbath keeps this truth of God as Creator and ruler in memory as a sign that the Lord is God, keeping His creative power and care before people.
The Lord alone is to be trusted because none is like Him or equal to Him, so men are not to trust in men or make flesh their arm. He will not be trifled with, and He calls His people to diligent, most earnest work for repentance. He is the infinite One whose judgments and purposes are past finding out, whose wisdom is unsearchable, and whose love cannot be explained upon natural principles. He reveals Himself only by shrouding Himself in thick cloud of mystery, concealing more of Himself than He makes known, and in revelation He gives incomprehensible mysteries to command faith.
If men could fully understand and explain what He has done or can do, they would no longer believe Him to be infinite and supreme or give Him reverence and fear. Because skeptics cannot comprehend His infinite power with finite minds they doubt His existence, deny His claims, neglect their souls, and ascribe infinite power to nature, while the mysteries of nature and revelation call people to faith and humility rather than proving that God does not exist. Even the common things of daily life, nature, and the mechanism of the human body present mysteries that baffle the most intelligent. Yet every drop of rain, flake of snow, spire of grass, leaf, flower, and shrub testifies of Him and teaches that nothing is beneath His notice and nothing too small for His attention. The Creator knows and sustains what He has made, and His works in the heavens and all nature bring comfort and draw people into communion with Him, and He ever seeks to instruct finite men to exercise faith in Him and trust themselves wholly in His hands.
The Holy One declares that He has no equal and nothing can be likened to Him. His proof is that He created the heavens and brings out the starry host by number, calling each by name so that by His great might none fails. On earth He measured the waters and the dust, stretched out the heavens, sits above the circle of the earth, and counts the nations as a drop of a bucket and as nothing while princes pass away. As the everlasting Creator He does not faint or grow weary, He sees that the way of His people is not hidden from Him, and He gives power to the faint and renewed strength to all who wait upon Him. Therefore He is not to be likened to the gods and idols of the nations, no image of Him is to be made for worship, He alone is to be reverenced, trusted and worshiped as Creator, and the Sabbath keeps that truth in memory.
Holy One Without Equal
The Holy One Himself declares as fact that no one and nothing can be likened to Him or made equal to Him, for He stands uniquely sovereign without rival. His incomparability rests in His power and understanding as Creator, which surpass all comparison and exceed all finite human measure. Earth with its nations and all created things are insignificant beside Him.
The proof is that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and of all their host, who made the heavens and commands them. He brings out the starry host by number, calls each by name, numbers and sustains them, and by greatness of might and strength not one of them fails or falls. His might and understanding in this work are unsurpassed and cannot be searched out.
On earth the same proof holds, for He measured the waters in His hand and measured the dust, meted out heaven, and weighed the mountains and hills. He stretches the heavens as a curtain, sits above the circle of the earth with its inhabitants as grasshoppers, and counts the nations as a drop of a bucket and as nothing. Human rulers, princes and judges pass away and are brought to nothing before Him.
His creative power and understanding are beyond searching, so His works and ways exceed the understanding of finite beings. Finite men cannot comprehend His ways, works, wisdom and purposes, but can only speculate about their mysteries. No crafted image made by human hands can be compared with Him or represent Him.
In this setting the unmatched power, greatness and majesty belong to the royal Messenger, the Son of God and Redeemer, who created and commands the heavenly host. The questions are directed to people now as well as to Israel.
Strength for the Weary
As the everlasting Creator He does not grow faint or weary. His unfailing might is shown in that He created the heavenly host, brings them out by number, calls each by name, and by greatness of might and strength lets none fail or fall, while His understanding cannot be searched out. Therefore Israel's way is not hidden from Him, their troubles are not hidden from Him, and their cause is not overlooked. He gives power to the faint and to them that have no might, and those who wait upon Him receive renewed strength to persevere and endure without fainting.
Isaiah 40 is a declaration from the Lord giving the correct lesson in true higher education. It was written for comforting true believers amid afflicting judgments near the close of earth's history, when earthquakes and storms on land and sea and heavy calamities by sea and by railroad come upon the world. Its assurance holds though Lucifer, the fallen angel who perverted his higher education, wars against God and all who exalt Him and brings calamity. Its assurance holds though many who greatly sinned perish physically, while sincere, humble, righteous followers of Christ feel the result upon the rebellious and are themselves afflicted. Its words are precious, certain assurance to be taken for all possible encouragement in these latter days, so that those who fulfill them place themselves where the Lord will surely do all He has promised.
His unmatched power assures those who choose Christ that no human wisdom or strength can overthrow the power they have joined, and that God will help and uphold them, with strength given to His own people. Isaiah 40 is to be studied in connection with Isaiah 42 and Second Peter, because their truths prepare hearts to receive God's messages and to carry forward the work in deeply spiritual lines. They call for Spirit-worked men of clear understanding to lead thorough reformation with no haphazard work.
Worship Trust and Remembrance
The Holy One has no equal and cannot be likened to the gods or idols of the nations, because He alone created all things and all beings owe their existence to Him, and His creative power is the evidence for His claim to reverence and worship above them. No created thing can be compared to the Creator, so no image must be made to picture God, and no image of any creature must be made to represent God or to be used in any way in the worship of God, since no crafted image can represent Him. The Sabbath keeps this truth of God as Creator and ruler in memory as a sign that the Lord is God, keeping His creative power and care before people.
The Lord alone is to be trusted because none is like Him or equal to Him, so men are not to trust in men or make flesh their arm. He will not be trifled with, and He calls His people to diligent, most earnest work for repentance. He is the infinite One whose judgments and purposes are past finding out, whose wisdom is unsearchable, and whose love cannot be explained upon natural principles. He reveals Himself only by shrouding Himself in thick cloud of mystery, concealing more of Himself than He makes known, and in revelation He gives incomprehensible mysteries to command faith.
If men could fully understand and explain what He has done or can do, they would no longer believe Him to be infinite and supreme or give Him reverence and fear. Because skeptics cannot comprehend His infinite power with finite minds they doubt His existence, deny His claims, neglect their souls, and ascribe infinite power to nature, while the mysteries of nature and revelation call people to faith and humility rather than proving that God does not exist. Even the common things of daily life, nature, and the mechanism of the human body present mysteries that baffle the most intelligent. Yet every drop of rain, flake of snow, spire of grass, leaf, flower, and shrub testifies of Him and teaches that nothing is beneath His notice and nothing too small for His attention. The Creator knows and sustains what He has made, and His works in the heavens and all nature bring comfort and draw people into communion with Him, and He ever seeks to instruct finite men to exercise faith in Him and trust themselves wholly in His hands.