Isaiah 42:13

13 The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies:

Isaiah 42:13 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 42:13

The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man
In the ministry of the word, conquering and to conquer;
girding his "sword" on his thigh; causing his "arrows" to be sharp in the hearts of his enemies; clothing the word with power; making the weapons of warfare,
put into the hands of his ministering servants, mighty,
to pull down the "strong holds" of sin and Satan, to cast: down the proud "imaginations" of men's hearts, and to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of
himself; or in the army of Constantine, whom he used as his instrument for the destruction of the Pagan empire, and of Paganism in it, and for the establishment of Christianity: he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war;
or "a man of wars" ^F24; that has been used to fight battles; Christ is represented as a warrior, ( Revelation 19:11 ) , his church is in a warfare state; his subjects are soldiers; his ministers are his generals under him, and with them he goes forth, and stirs up his own jealousy, his wrath and fury against his enemies, and takes vengeance on them, and the jealousy of his ministers and people, for his own glory: he shall cry, yea, roar;
not only shout aloud, as soldiers do, when they make an onset, but make a hideous noise, as the old Romans did, to frighten and dispirit their enemies. Christ, in the ministry of the word, not only cries, and calls, and invites souls, sensible of themselves and their condition, to come unto him, and partake of his grace; but he roars as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and threatens impenitent and unbelieving sinners with his wrath and vengeance: he shall prevail against his enemies:
he shall conquer and subdue them by his Spirit and grace, and make them his willing people in the day of his power; and such who will not have him to reign over them, he will rule them with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces as a potter's vessel.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (twmxlm vyak) "sicut vir bellorum", Montanus; "vir bellicosissimus", Junius & Tremcellius, Piscator.

Isaiah 42:13 In-Context

11 Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.

12 Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.

13 The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies:

14 “I have kept silent from ages past; I have remained quiet and restrained. But now I will groan like a woman in labor; I will at once gasp and pant.

15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.