Isaiah 41:5

5 The islands see and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and arrive.

Isaiah 41:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 41:5

The isles saw it, and feared
Not the victory which Abraham got over the kings; nor Cyrus's expedition against Babylon, and other nations, and his deliverance of the Jews; but the progress of the Gospel, through the ministry of the Apostle Paul: the idolatrous inhabitants of the Gentile nations saw great multitudes embracing and professing the Gospel; they saw their idols neglected, and their temples abandoned; they feared what would be the consequence of all this, that their old religion their fathers retained, and they were brought up in, would be abolished; and especially a panic seized the priests on this account, whose livelihood depended upon it: the ends of the earth were afraid;
for the sound of the Gospel by him, and other apostles, went into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world, ( Romans 10:18 ) meaning the inhabitants that dwelt in the furthest parts of the earth, where ignorance and idolatry wholly reigned: they drew near, and came: not to God, nor to Abraham, or Cyrus; rather to their gods, to exert themselves in the defence of their religion; or, which is best, they got together to consult what was proper to be done on such an emergency.

Isaiah 41:5 In-Context

3 He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.

4 Who has performed and done [this], calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last-I am He."

5 The islands see and are afraid, the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and arrive.

6 Each one helps the other, and says to another, "Take courage!"

7 The craftsman encourages the metalworker; the one who flattens with the hammer [supports] the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good." He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.