Isaiah 40:26

40:18-26 Whatever we esteem or love, fear or hope in, more than God, that creature we make equal with God, though we do not make images or worship them. He that is so poor, that he has scarcely a sacrifice to offer, yet will not be without a god of his own. They spared no cost upon their idols; we grudge what is spent in the service of our God. To prove the greatness of God, the prophet appeals to all ages and nations. Those who are ignorant of this, are willingly ignorant. God has the command of all creatures, and of all created things. The prophet directs us to use our reason as well as our senses; to consider who created the hosts of heaven, and to pay our homage to Him. Not one fails to fulfil his will. And let us not forget, that He spake all the promises, and engaged to perform them.

Lift up your eyes on high; to the high and starry heaven as appears from the following words. These things which you see on high, the host of heaven, as it follows. That bringeth out; that at first brought them out of nothing, and from day to day brings them forth, making them to rise and set in their appointed and fixed times. Their host by number, as a general brings forth his army into the field, and there musters them. He calleth them all by names, as a master calleth all the members of his family. For that he is strong in power; which work is a certain and evident proof of God’s infinite power. Not one faileth, either to appear when he calleth them, or to do the work to which he sends them.

26. bringeth out … host—image from a general reviewing his army: He is Lord of Sabaoth, the heavenly hosts (Job 38:32). calleth … by names—numerous as the stars are. God knows each in all its distinguishing characteristics—a sense which "name" often bears in Scripture; so in Ge 2:19, 20, Adam, as God's vicegerent, called the beasts by name, that is, characterized them by their several qualities, which, indeed, He has imparted. by the greatness … faileth—rather, "by reason of abundance of (their inner essential) force and firmness of strength, not one of them is driven astray"; referring to the sufficiency of the physical forces with which He has endowed the heavenly bodies, to prevent all disorder in their motions [Horsley]. In English Version the sense is, "He has endowed them with their peculiar attributes ('names') by the greatness of His might," and the power of His strength (the better rendering, instead of, "for that He is strong").

26 . and behold who hath created ] Better as R.V. marg.: and see: who hath created these? The word “create” occurs fifteen times in ch. 40–55 and five times in the chapters which follow; perhaps not more than nine times in the whole of the earlier literature. No other language possesses a word so exclusively appropriated to the Divine activity. Although it may not express the metaphysical idea of creation ex nihilo , it certainly denotes the effortless production, by a bare volition, which is the manner of God’s working. Its frequent use in these chapters is significant not only of the writer’s theology, but of the great movement of religious thought in Israel about the time of the Captivity. See Introd. pp. 44, 48. For these things render simply these , i.e. “these (stars) yonder” which you see when you lift your eyes on high. The stars are likened to a great army, a host of living, intelligent beings, which every night Jehovah marshals and leads across the sky. that bringeth out ] a participial clause like those of Isaiah 40:22 f. he calleth … names ] Better: calling them all by name , i.e. not “bestowing names on them,” but calling each forth by his name. Cf. Psalm 147:4-5 . by the greatness … faileth ] Render as a single sentence: On account of Him who is great in might and strong in power not one is missing ; none dares to leave its post vacant when it hears the summons of the Almighty.

Verse 26. - Lift up your eyes , etc. Once more an appeal is made to creation, as proving God's greatness. "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these (heavens), bringing out their host ( i.e. the stars) by number, or in their full number (Cheyne), and calling them all by names" (comp. Psalm 147:4, 5 , "He telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them all by their names," which, however, is probably later than Isaiah). Omnipotence alone could have created the starry host. Omniscience is required to know their number and their names. The Israelites are supposed to have "learned that the constellations had names, in Babylon" (Cheyne, ad loc. ); but a special name for each star , which the Babylonians did not give, seems to be here intended. Not one faileth ; i.e. "not one star neglects to attend the muster when God marshals the host." The stars are viewed as his army. Isaiah 40:26

(26) Who hath created . . . —The verb may be noted as a characteristic of 2 Isaiah, in which it occurs twenty times. That bringeth out their host . . .—The words expand the idea implied in Jehovah-Sabaoth (comp. Psalm 147:4). He marshals all that innumerable host of stars, as a supreme general who knows by sight and name every soldier in a vast army, or as a shepherd who knows his flock (John 10:3).

Lift up your eyes on high - Direct your eyes toward heaven, and in the contemplation of the wonders of the starry world, and of God's power there, learn the evidence of his ability to destroy his foes and to save his friends. Lowth connects this verse with the former, and renders it: 'Saith the Holy One, Lift up your eyes on high.' The words 'on high' here are evidently synonymous with heaven, and refer to the starry worlds. The design of the passage is to convince them of the folly of idolatry, and of the power and majesty, of the true God. It is proof of man's elevated nature that he can thus look upward, and trace the evidences of the power and wisdom of God in the heavens; that he can raise his eyes and thoughts above the earth, and fix his attention on the works of God in distant worlds; and in the number, the order, the greatness, and the harmony of the heavenly bodies, trace the proofs of the infinite greatness and the wisdom of God. This thought was most beautifully expressed by one of the ancient poets. Pronaque cum spectent animalia caetera terram; Os homini sublime dedit: ccelumque tueri, Jussit et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus. Ovid, Met. i.-84-86. In the Scriptures, God not unfrequently appeals to the starry heavens in proof of his existence and perfections, and as the most sublime exhibition of his greatness and power (see Psalm 19:1-6).

And it may be remarked, that this argument is one that increases in strength, in the view of people, from age to age, just in proportion to the advances which are made in the science of astronomy. It is now far more striking than it was in the times of Isaiah; and, indeed, the discoveries in astronomical science in modern times have given a beauty and power to this argument which could have been but imperfectly understood in the times of the prophets. The argument is one that accumulates with every new discovery in astronomy; but is one - such is the vastness and beauty of the system of the universe - which can be contemplated in its fall power only amidst the more sublime contemplations of eternity. Those who are disposed to contemplate this argument more fully, may find it presented with great eloquence and beauty in Dr. Chalmers' Astronomical Discourses, and in Dick's Christian Philosopher. Who hath created these things - These heavens. This is the first evidence of the power of God in the contemplation of the heavens, that God is their Creator. The other demonstrations referred to are the fact, that he brings out their armies as if they were a marshalled host, and understands and calls all their names. That bringeth out their hosts - Their armies, for so the word 'hosts' means (see the note at Isaiah 1:9).