Isaiah 41:18

18 "I will open 1rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make 2the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.

Isaiah 41:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 41:18

I will open rivers in high places
Which is not usual; but God will change the course of nature, and work miracles, rather than his people shall want what is necessary for them; thus he opens to them his everlasting and unchangeable love, and makes it manifest, and shows it to them, and their interest in it, which is a broad river, that cannot be passed over; this is in high places, it flows from the throne of God, and of the Lamb; and of this river of pleasure he makes his people to drink, the streams whereof make glad the city of our God; likewise the fulness of grace in his Son, whose grace is as rivers of water in a dry land, exceeding abundant, and very refreshing; also the graces of his Spirit, which he gives in great abundance, and are those rivers of water he causes to flow forth from them that believe in Christ, in the comfortable exercise of them; see ( Psalms 36:8 ) ( 46:4 ) ( Revelation 22:1 ) ( Isaiah 32:2 ) ( John 7:37 John 7:38 ) , and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
God himself is the fountain of life, and of living waters; Christ is the fountain of gardens, and in him are wells of salvation; the grace of the Spirit is a well of living water, springing up unto eternal life; and of these, humble souls, comparable to the lowly valleys, are partakers, ( Psalms 36:9 ) ( Song of Solomon 4:15 ) ( Isaiah 12:3 ) ( James 4:6 ) : I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of
water;
respecting either the Gentile world, which was like a wilderness and dry land before the Gospel came into it, but by that was watered and made fruitful; or the state and case of the people of God being in a wilderness condition, when the Lord takes notice of them, and supplies them with everything necessary, so that they are like a watered garden, whose springs fail not, ( Revelation 12:14 ) . This passage is applied by the Jews to the times of the Messiah F23.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 1. 4. fol. 212. 3.

Isaiah 41:18 In-Context

16 "You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD , You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 "The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD , will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
18 "I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.
19 "I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20 That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 30:25; Isaiah 43:19
  • 2. Psalms 107:35; Isaiah 35:6, 7
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