Isaiah 42

“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.

He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.

He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.

He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands wait for his law.”

God the LORD, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says:

“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations,

to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.

“I am the LORD. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.

Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”

Sing to the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.

Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains!

Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.

The LORD will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.

“I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.

I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.

I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.

“Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.

“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.

Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace, and as blind as the LORD’s servant?

You see many things, but don’t observe. His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.

It pleased the LORD, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law and make it honorable.

But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become captives, and no one delivers, and a plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore them!’

Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?

Who gave Jacob as plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Didn’t the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law.

Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle. It set him on fire all around, but he didn’t know. It burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter presents a profound revelation of God’s chosen Servant, through whom justice, liberation, and divine faithfulness will be established among the nations. It unfolds with God’s declaration of His anointed One, marked by the Spirit and entrusted with a mission of quiet strength and compassion, especially toward the vulnerable. The passage moves from this portrait of the Servant to God’s sovereign power as Creator and Redeemer, then confronts the spiritual deafness and blindness of His people, exposing their disobedience and the judgment that followed, while still offering hope for restoration.

Flow.

God introduces His Servant—chosen, upheld, and filled with His Spirit—whose mission is to bring true justice to the nations with meekness and perseverance.
The Lord, as Creator and Sustainer of all, reaffirms His covenant purpose in the Servant, naming Him a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, tasked with freeing the spiritually and physically imprisoned.
God asserts His exclusive glory and authority, declaring His foreknowledge of new redemptive acts, prompting a call for all the earth to sing a new song of praise.
The passage shifts to divine judgment: God will no longer remain silent but will act powerfully, yet promises to guide the blind and rebuke idolaters, before confronting Israel’s spiritual failure and the consequences of their sin.

Connections.
Following chapter 41, which contrasted the futility of idols with the sovereign rule of God over history, chapter 42 deepens the redemptive promise by unveiling the means of God’s victory: His Servant. Where chapter 41 ended with Israel as a remnant trembling before God’s justice, chapter 42 reveals the instrument of mercy who will accomplish what the people could not. The portrait of the Servant here prepares the way for chapter 43, which begins with “But now thus says the LORD…”, affirming redemption and restoration despite judgment, grounded not in Israel’s faithfulness but in God’s electing love and the work of His appointed One.

What it teaches.
This passage reveals the coming Servant of the LORD, uniquely endowed with the Spirit (WCF 8.2) and destined to fulfill God’s redemptive purposes by bringing justice and deliverance to the nations. He embodies the covenant mercy of God, fulfilling the role of a true Israel—obedient where the nation was not (WCF 7.4)—and acts as a light to the Gentiles (HC LD 19, Q&A 52). God’s absolute sovereignty and holiness are declared in His creation, His control over history, and His refusal to share His glory with idols (WCF 2.1; Nicene Creed). The blindness and deafness of the people contrast with the Servant’s obedience, underscoring that salvation comes from the LORD’s action, not human merit (Canons of Dort, II.3).

Apply.
The Servant’s faithfulness in establishing justice and leading the blind assures those who are broken and lost that they are not beyond the reach of God’s guiding hand.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.