Geneva Bible Notes: Isaiah 44

Isaiah 44:2 ^a He created & chose thee from the beginning of his owne mercie, & before you coldest merite anie thing.

Isaiah 44:2 ^b Whome God accepteth as righteous: or which hadest occasion thereunto because of the Law, and of thine holy vocation.

Isaiah 44:3 ^c Because man of him self is as the drye and baren land, he promiseth to moisten him with the waters of his holy Spirit, {Joel 2, 18}, {Joh. 7,38}, {act 2,17}

Isaiah 44:4 ^d That is thy children and postertie shal increase wonderfully after their deliuerance from Babylon.

Isaiah 44:5 ^e By this diuersitie of speache he meaneth one thing that is, that the people shalbe holy & receiue the true religion of God, as {Psal. 87,5}.

Isaiah 44:5 ^! The Lord promiseth comfort and that he wil assemble his Church of diuers nations.

Isaiah 44:6 ^f I am alwaies like my self, that is, merciful toward my Church, and moste able to mainteine it as {chap. 41,4} & {48,12} {reuel. 1,17} & {22,13}.

Isaiah 44:7 ^g And appoint them that shal deliuer the Church.

Isaiah 44:7 ^h That is, declare vnto me how I oght to procede herein.

Isaiah 44:7 ⁱ God calleth the Israelites ancient, because he preferred them to all other in his eternal election.

Isaiah 44:7 ^k Meaning, their idoles.

Isaiah 44:8 ^l Read {Chap. 43,10}.

Isaiah 44:9 ^m Whatsoeuer thei bestowe vpon their idoles to make them to seme glorious.

Isaiah 44:9 ⁿ That is, the idolaters seing their idoles blinde, muste nedes be witnesses of their owne blindenes, and feling that thei are not able to helpe them, must confesse that thei haue no power.

Isaiah 44:9 ^! The vanitie of idoles.

Isaiah 44:10 ^o Meaning that whatsoeuer is made by the hand of man if it be estemed as God, is moste detestable.

Isaiah 44:10 ^p Whereby appeareth their blasphemie which call images the bokes of the laitie, seing that thei are not onely here called vnprofitable, but {Chap. 41,24}, abominable: and Jere calleth them the worke of errors, {Jer. 10,15}, Habak, a lying teacher {2,18}.

Isaiah 44:11 ^q That is, which by any way consent ether to the making or worshipping.

Isaiah 44:11 ^r Signifying, that the multitude shal not then saue the idolater when God wil take vengeance, althogh thei excuse them selues thereby among men.

Isaiah 44:12 ^s He describeth the raging affection of the idolaters, which forget their owne necessities to set forthe their deuocion toward their idoles.

Isaiah 44:13 ^t To place it in some Temple.

Isaiah 44:15 ^u He setteth forth the obstinancie and mailce of the idolaters, which thogh thei se by dailie experience that their idoles are no better then the rest of the matter whereof thei are made, yet thei refuse the one parte & make a god of the other, as the papists make their cake, god and the rest of their idoles.

Isaiah 44:16 ^x That is, he ether maketh a table or trenchers.

Isaiah 44:18 ^y The Prophet giueth here an answer to all them that wonder how it is possible that anie shulde be so blinde to commit such abomination, saying, that God hathe blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts.

Isaiah 44:19 ^/ Ebr. turneth.

Isaiah 44:20 ^z He is abused as one that wold eat ashes, thinking to satisfie his hungre.

Isaiah 44:21 ^a Shewing that mans heart is most enclined to idolatrie, & therefore he warneth his people by these examples, that thei shulde not cleaue to anie but to the liuing God when thei shulde be among the idolaters.

Isaiah 44:23 ^b He sheweth that the worke of the Lord toward his people shal be so great that the insensible creatures shal be moued therewith.

Isaiah 44:25 ^c He armeth them against the sothesayers of Babylon which wolde haue borne them in hand, that thei knew by the starres that God wolde not deliuer them, and that Babylon shulde stand.

Isaiah 44:26 ^d Of Isaiah & the rest of his Prophetes, which did assure the Church of Gods fauour & deliuerance.

Isaiah 44:27 ^e He sheweth that Gods worke shulde be no lesse notable in this their deliuerance, then when he broght them out of Egypt through the Sea.

Isaiah 44:27 ^! The beastlines of idolaters.

Isaiah 44:28 ^f To assure them of their deliuerance, he nameth the persone, by whome it shulde be more then an hundreth yere before he was borne.