49  Christ, being sent to the Jews complains of them, Isa 49:1-4.
He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises, Isa 49:5-12.
God's love to his church perpetual, Isa 49:13-17.
The ample restoration of the church, and its enlargement, Isa 49:18-23.
Its powerful deliverance out of captivity, Isa 49:24-26.

49:8 The Lord - God the Father unto Christ. Heard thee - Though not so as to deliver thee from death; yet so as to crown thee with glory and honour. For a covenant - To be the Mediator and surety of that covenant, which is made between me and them. To establish - To establish truth and righteousness upon earth, and subdue those lusts and passions, which are the great disturbers of human society.Desolate heritages - That desolate places may be repaired and repossessed.That Christ may possess the Heathen, who were in a spiritual sense in a most desolate condition.

49:9 Prisoners - To the Gentiles who are fast bound by the cords of their sins, and taken captive by the devil at his will. Go forth - Come forth to the light, receive divine illumination. In high places - They shall have abundant provision in all places, yea even in those which commonly are unfruitful, such are both common roads and high grounds.

49:11 A way - I will remove all hindrances, and prepare the way for them, by levelling high grounds, and raising low grounds.

49:12 These - My people shall be gathered from the most remote parts of the earth. He speaks here, and in many other places, of the conversion of the Gentiles, with allusion to that work of gathering, and bringing back the Jews from all parts where they were dispersed, into their own land.Sinim - Either of the Sinites as they are called, Gen 10:17, who dwelt about the wilderness. Or of Sin, a famous city of Egypt, which may be put for all Egypt, and that for all southern parts.

49:14 But - This is an objection. How can these things be true, when the condition of God's church is now so desperate?

5 

5:17 My Father worketh until now, and I work - From the creation till now he hath been working without intermission. I do likewise.This is the proposition which is explained Joh 5:19-30, confirmed and vindicated in Joh 5:31 and following verses.

5:18 His own Father - The Greek word means his own Father in such a sense as no creature can speak. Making himself equal with God - It is evident all the hearers so understood him, and that our Lord never contradicted, but confirmed it.

5:19 The Son can do nothing of himself - This is not his imperfection, but his glory, resulting from his eternal, intimate, indissoluble unity with the Father. Hence it is absolutely impossible, that the Son should judge, will, testify, or teach any thing without the Father, Joh 5:30, etc; Joh 6:38; Joh 7:16; or that he should be known or believed on, separately from the Father. And he here defends his doing good every day, without intermission, by the example of his Father, from which he cannot depart: these doth the Son likewise - All these, and only these; seeing he and the Father are one.

5:20 The Father showeth him all things that himself doth - A proof of the most intimate unity. And he will show him - By doing them.At the same time (not at different times) the Father showeth and doth, and the Son seeth and doth. Greater works - Jesus oftener terms them works, than signs or wonders, because they were not wonders in his eyes. Ye will marvel - So they did, when he raised Lazarus.

5:21 For - He declares which are those greater works, raising the dead, and judging the world. The power of quickening whom he will follows from the power of judging.These two, quickening and judging, are proposed Joh 5:21-22. The acquittal of believers, which presupposes judgment, is treated of Joh 5:24; the quickening some of the dead, Joh 5:25; and the general resurrection, Joh 5:28.

5:22 For neither doth the Father judge - Not without the Son: but he doth judge by that man whom he hath ordained, Act 17:31.

5:23 That all men may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father - Either willingly, and so escaping condemnation, by faith: or unwillingly, when feeling the wrath of the Judge. This demonstrates the EQUALITY of the Son with the Father. If our Lord were God only by office or investiture, and not in the unity of the Divine essence, and in all respects equal in Godhead with the Father, he could not be honoured even as, that is, with the same honour that they honoured the Father. He that honoureth not the Son - With the same equal honour, greatly dishonoureth the Father that sent him.

5:24 And cometh not into condemnation - Unless he make shipwreck of the faith.

5:25 The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God - So did Jairus's daughter, the widow's son, Lazarus.

5:26 He hath given to the Son - By eternal generation, to have life in himself - Absolute, independent.

5:27 Because he is the Son of man - He is appointed to judge mankind because he was made man.

5:28 The time is coming - When not two or three, but all shall rise.

5:29 The resurrection of life - That resurrection which leads to life everlasting.

5:30 I can do nothing of myself - It is impossible I should do any thing separately from my Father. As I hear - Of the Father, and see, so I judge and do; A because I am essentially united to him.See Joh 5:19.