(13) The Lord shall go forth . . .--The boldly anthropomorphic image prepares the way for the yet more awful picture of Isaiah 63:1, which belongs outwardly to the same region. As if roused from slumber, Jehovah stirs up His jealous indignation against the idols, which had seemed to sleep, and rushes to the battle as with the war-cry of a mighty one.

Verse 13. - The Lord shall go forth. The exhortation to "sing unto the Lord a new song" ends with ver. 12, and now the reason or groundwork for the exhortation has to be declared. God is about to make one of the great manifestations of his power upon the earth - to "go forth" against his enemies, and destroy and devour, and easily prevail against them - not, however, simply in the way of punishment and vengeance, but with a further merciful object. He will punish Babylon, that he may deliver Israel. He has promised not to forsake his people (Isaiah 41:17). He is now about to give effect to his promise by a "new" and strange deliverance. He "will bring his people by a way that they knew not, and lead them in paths that they have not known" (ver. 16). It has been said that "in effect it is the day of judgment which is here described" (Cheyne); but this seems to be only so far true as every manifestation of God's wrath towards his enemies is a foreshadowing of the great and awful day. The event directly in view is the destruction of the Babylonian power by the irresistible arms of Cyrus. Hence the allusion to idolaters and images in ver. 17. As a mighty man... like a man of war. (For similar anthropomorpbisms, see Exodus 15:3; Psalm 24:8.) He shall stir up jealousy; i.e. his own jealousy. God is "a jealous God" (Exodus 20:5), so much SO that his very "name is Jealous" (Exodus 34:14). He is jealous for his own honour (supra, ver. 8), and jealous also for his people's honour and reputation and happiness. Occasionally he allows his jealousy to slumber (comp. Acts 12:30, "The times of this ignorance God winked at"); and this he had now done for some fifty or sixty years, since his people were carried into captivity. But the time of acquiescence has gone by - he is about to waken up his "smouldering jealousy, and stir it, till it burns up into a bright flame" (Delitzsch). He shall cry, yea, roar; rather, yea, shout; i.e. utter his battle-cry with a clear, loud voice.

42:13-17 The Lord will appear in his power and glory. He shall cry, in the preaching of his word. He shall cry aloud in the gospel woes, which must be preached with gospel blessings, to awaken a sleeping world. He shall conquer by the power of his Spirit. And those that contradict and blaspheme his gospel, he shall put to silence and shame; and that which hinders its progress shall be taken out of the way. To those who by nature were blind, God will show the way to life and happiness by Jesus Christ. They are weak in knowledge, but He will make darkness light. They are weak in duty, but their way shall be plain. Those whom God brings into the right way, he will guide in it. This passage is a prophecy, and is also applicable to every believer; for the Lord will never leave nor forsake them.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" (x); 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.

(x) "sicut vir bellorum", Montanus; "vir bellicosissimus", Junius & Tremcellius, Piscator.