Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength,.... That is, one and everyone of these that shall be brought to submit to Christ, and to confess him, shall declare it as their faith, that in Christ alone is their "righteousness or righteousnesses" (f); that they have a full and complete righteousness in him, and which serves for many; consisting of the holiness of his nature, the obedience of his life, and his sufferings of death; by which the law is honoured, justice satisfied, God is well pleased, and they are acquainted and discharged; and which is pure, perfect, and everlasting, is given them of grace, and entitles them to eternal life; and this they have in Christ as their covenant head and representative, and which they come to have by being in him: it is not inherent in them, but is in Christ, by whom it is wrought out, and becomes theirs by the imputation of it to them, and which they receive by faith; and this is an act of faith concerning it here expressed, and which declares the certainty of it, and of interest in it, and excludes all other: for it may be rendered, "only in the Lord", &c. (g); and seems to be spoken with great joy, in an exulting way, and what may be said at all times; for this righteousness is always in Christ, and "strength" likewise to enable them to exercise every grace; to do the will and work of God; to bear afflictions; to withstand Satan's temptations, and oppose their own corruptions; and to which they have not sufficient strength in themselves, but there is enough in Christ. Some take these to be the words of the prophet, and differently interpret them. Some thus, as Abendana observes,

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This bending of the knee, this confession as an oath of homage, will be no forced one. Isaiah 45:24 "Only in Jehovah, do men say of me, is fulness of righteousness and strength; they come to Him, and all that were incensed against Him are put to shame." The parenthetical insertion of אמר לי ל, with reference to, as in Isaiah 41:7; Isaiah 44:26, Isaiah 44:28) is the same as in Psalm 119:57. אך has a restrictive sense here, which springs out of the affirmative (cf., Psalm 39:7; Psalm 73:1), just as, in the case of raq, the affirmative grows out of the primary restrictive sense. The "righteousness" is abounding (superabundant) righteousness (Romans 5:15.). עז is the strength of sanctification, and of the conquest of the world. The subject to יבוא (which is not to be changed, according to the Masora, into the more natural יבאּוּ, as it is by the lxx, Syr., and Vulg.) is, whoever has seen what man has in Jehovah, and made confession of this; such a man does not rest till he has altogether come over to Jehovah, whereas all His enemies are put to shame. They separate themselves irretrievably from the men who serve Him, the restoration of whom is His direct will, and the goal of the history of salvation. Isaiah 45:25 "In Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall become righteous, and shall glory." Ruetschi has very properly observed on this verse, that the reference is to the Israel of God out of all the human race, i.e., the church of the believers in Israel expanded by the addition of the heathen; which church is now righteous, i.e., reconciled and renewed by Jehovah, and glories in Him, because by grace it is what it is.

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Surely, shall one say - Margin, 'He shall say of me, In the Lord is all righteousness and strength.' The design of the verse is, to set forth more fully the effect of the prevalence of the true religion; and the main thought is, that there shall be an universal acknowledgment that salvation and strength were in Yahweh alone. Idols and people could not save; and salvation was to be traced to Yahweh only. A literal translation of the passage would be, 'Truly in Jehovah, he said unto me,' or it is said unto me, that is, I heard it said, 'is righteousness and strength,' that is, this would be everywhere the prevailing sentiment that righteousness and strength were to be found in Yahweh alone. The sense is, first, that it was by him alone that they could be pardoned and justified; and, secondly, that it was by him alone that they could obtain strength to meet their enemies, to overcome their sins, to discharge their duties, to encounter temptations, to hear afflictions, and to support them in death. These two things, righteousness and strength, are all that man needs. The whole of religion consists essentially in the feeling that righteousness and strength are to be found in God our Saviour. The Septuagint renders this, 'Every tongue shall swear to God, saying, Righteousness and glory shall come unto him, and all those who make distinctions among them shall be ashamed.'

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Surely, shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength "Saying, Only to Jehovah belongeth salvation and power" - A MS. omits לי li, unto me; and instead of לי אמר li amar, he said or shall say unto me, the Septuagint read, in the copy which they used, לאמר lemor, saying. For יבא yabo, He shall come, in the singular, twelve MSS. three ancient) read יבאו yabeu, plural; and a letter is erased at the end of the word in two others: and so the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read it. For צדקות tsedakoth plural, two MSS. read צדקת tsidkath, singular; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee.

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Surely, {c} shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are {d} incensed against him shall be ashamed.

(c) Meaning the faithful will feel and confess this.

(d) All the contemners of God.

45:24 In the Lord - By or from God alone, or the Messiah, who is the true Jehovah as well as man. Righteousness - To justify me from all things which I could not be justified by the law of Moses. Strength - Support and assistance to bear all my burdens, overcome all my enemies, and perform all my duties. Men - The Gentiles shall come to Christ. Ashamed - But all his implacable enemies shall be brought to shame.

Surely...: or, Surely he shall say of me, In the LORD is all righteousness and strength

righteousness: Heb. righteousnesses

24. Rather, "Only in Jehovah shall men say of me (this clause is parenthetical), is there righteousness" (which includes salvation, Isa 45:21, "a just God and a Saviour," Isa 46:13), &c. [Maurer].

strength-namely, to save.

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Isaiah 45:24 Parallel Commentaries
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