Yeshayah 48:16

16 Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I have not spoken baseter (in secret) merosh (from the first); from the time that it takes place, there am I; and now Adonoi Hashem, and His Ruach [Hakodesh], hath sent Me [Moshiach, the Eved Hashem; see Isaiah 42:1; see Hashem’s Kedushah HaMeshulleshet here].

Yeshayah 48:16 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 48:16

Come ye near unto me, hear ye this
An address to the Jews, to attend the ministry of Christ, and hear the doctrine he had delivered to them: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the beginning of his ministry; which be exercised not in private houses, but in the synagogues of the Jews, and in the temple, whither a large concourse of people resorted, ( John 18:20 ) : from the time that it was, there am I;
from the time that his ministry began there, he was in the same places, in Judea and Galilee, always publicly preaching the Gospel, and doing good: or rather, "before the time that it was, there was I" ^F14; Christ existed before his incarnation, before he appeared as the great Prophet in Israel; he existed as the Word and Son of God from all eternity, and was with God his Father from everlasting; he was by him, and brought up with him, and lay in his bosom so early: and now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me;
in the fulness of time, in the likeness of sinful flesh, to preach the Gospel, fulfil the law, and to redeem and save the Lord's people. Here is a glorious testimony of a trinity of Persons in the Godhead; Christ the Son of God is sent in human nature, and as Mediator Jehovah the Father and the Spirit are the senders of him; and so is a proof of the mission, commission, and authority of Christ, who came not of himself, but was sent of God, ( John 8:42 ) , it may be rendered, "and now the Lord God hath sent me and his Spirit" ^F15; both were sent of God, and in this order; first, Christ, to be the Redeemer and Saviour; and then the Spirit, to be the Convincer and Comforter; see ( John 14:26 ) ( 15:26 ) ( John 16:7 John 16:8 )

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 (htwyh tem) "ex tempore antequam fieret", V. L. "nondum existente tempore horum eventuum", Forerius.
F15 (wxwrw ynxlv) "misit me et spiritum ejus", Lutherus, Castalio; "et spiritum suum", Cocceius, Vitringa.

Yeshayah 48:16 In-Context

14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and listen. Which among them [the pesilim, idols] hath declared these things? Hashem hath loved him [i.e., Cyrus], he will do His chafetz (pleasure, will) on Babylon, and His zero’a shall be on the Kasdim (Chaldeans).

15 I, even I, have spoken; indeed, I have called him [i.e., Cyrus]; I have brought him, and He shall make his derech successful.

16 Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I have not spoken baseter (in secret) merosh (from the first); from the time that it takes place, there am I; and now Adonoi Hashem, and His Ruach [Hakodesh], hath sent Me [Moshiach, the Eved Hashem; see Isaiah 42:1; see Hashem’s Kedushah HaMeshulleshet here].

17 Thus saith Hashem, thy Go’el, the Kadosh Yisroel; I am Hashem Eloheicha thy Melamed (Teacher) of doing that which profiteth, thy Madrikh (Guide, Instructor) in the Derech that thou shouldest go.

18 O if only thou hadst paid heed to My mitzvot! Then had thy shalom been like a nahar, and thy tzedakah as the waves of the yam;