Isaiah 51:12
"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
I, even I, am He who comforts you
This phrase begins with a powerful assertion of divine identity and action. The repetition of "I, even I" emphasizes the personal involvement of God in the act of comforting His people. In Hebrew, the word for "comforts" is "נחם" (nacham), which conveys a deep sense of consolation and compassion. This is not a distant or abstract comfort but a personal and intimate assurance from God Himself. Historically, this comfort is set against the backdrop of Israel's suffering and exile, reminding them that their ultimate solace comes from the Lord, who is both their Creator and Redeemer.

Who are you that you fear mortal man
Here, the focus shifts to a rhetorical question that challenges the reader's perspective. The phrase "mortal man" highlights the transient and limited nature of human beings. In Hebrew, "mortal man" is "אנוש" (enosh), which underscores human frailty and mortality. The question serves to contrast the eternal, unchanging nature of God with the fleeting existence of humans. It calls believers to reevaluate their fears and anxieties, encouraging them to place their trust in the Almighty rather than in fallible human beings.

the sons of men who are but grass?
This phrase continues the theme of human frailty by comparing people to grass. The imagery of grass is used throughout Scripture to symbolize temporariness and insignificance (e.g., Psalm 103:15-16). In the Hebrew context, "grass" (חציר, chatsir) is a common metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life. This comparison serves to remind the audience of the impermanence of human power and the futility of fearing those who, like grass, will wither and fade away. It reinforces the call to trust in God, who is eternal and sovereign over all creation.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God (Yahweh)
The speaker in this verse, emphasizing His role as the ultimate comforter and the eternal, sovereign Lord.

2. Isaiah
The prophet through whom God delivers this message to the people of Israel.

3. Israelites
The original audience of this message, who were experiencing fear and uncertainty.

4. Mortal Man
Represents humanity, emphasizing their transient and fragile nature compared to God's eternal power.

5. Grass
A metaphor for the fleeting and temporary nature of human life.
Teaching Points
God as the Ultimate Comforter
Recognize that true comfort comes from God, who is eternal and unchanging, unlike the temporary comforts of the world.

The Transience of Human Life
Understand the metaphor of grass to remind us of the fleeting nature of human life and the importance of focusing on eternal matters.

Misplaced Fear
Reflect on where we place our fear and trust. Are we fearing man, who is temporary, or God, who is eternal?

Divine Perspective
Adopt a divine perspective that sees beyond the immediate and temporary challenges, focusing on God's eternal promises.

Encouragement in Trials
In times of fear and uncertainty, remember that God is with us, offering comfort and strength to face any situation.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God as the ultimate comforter change the way you approach fear and anxiety in your life?

2. In what ways can the metaphor of grass help you prioritize your spiritual life over worldly concerns?

3. Reflect on a time when you feared man more than God. How can Isaiah 51:12 help you realign your perspective?

4. How can you apply the teaching of Isaiah 51:12 to encourage someone who is currently facing fear or uncertainty?

5. What other scriptures can you find that reinforce the message of God's comfort and the transient nature of human life? How do these scriptures deepen your understanding of Isaiah 51:12?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 103:15-16
This passage also uses the metaphor of grass to describe the brevity of human life, reinforcing the idea of human frailty.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Paul speaks of God as the "Father of compassion and the God of all comfort," connecting to the theme of divine comfort.

Matthew 10:28
Jesus teaches about fearing God rather than man, aligning with the message of Isaiah 51:12 about misplaced fear.

1 Peter 1:24-25
Peter quotes Isaiah, reiterating the transient nature of human life and the enduring word of God.

Hebrews 13:6
Encourages believers to confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" echoing the sentiment of Isaiah 51:12.
God the ComforterW.M. Statham Isaiah 51:12
A Sure Criterion of Character, EtcW. Clarkson Isaiah 51:7, 8, 12,13
Fear, and Fear NotR. Tuck Isaiah 51:7, 12, 13
Divine Comfort is StrengthIsaiah 51:12-13
Fear of Man Removed by Reflecting Upon GodR. Cattermole, B.D.Isaiah 51:12-13
Foolish and Impious FearsIsaiah 51:12-13
God More to be Feared than ManBp. Smalridge.Isaiah 51:12-13
Our True ComforterW. Birch.Isaiah 51:12-13
The Comparative Fear of God and ManH. Woodward, M.A.Isaiah 51:12-13
Expostulation Against UnbeliefE. Johnson Isaiah 51:12-16
People
Isaiah, Rahab, Sarah
Places
Jerusalem, Rahab, Tigris-Euphrates Region, Zion
Topics
Afraid, Comforter, Comforteth, Comforts, Die, Dies, Dieth, Fear, Fearest, Grass, Heart, Mortal, Poor, Shouldest, Sons
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 51:12

     4017   life, animal and plant
     4460   grass
     5805   comfort
     8754   fear
     9021   death, natural

Isaiah 51:12-13

     8722   doubt, nature of
     8764   forgetting God

Isaiah 51:12-15

     5819   cowardice

Library
August 25 Morning
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.--ISA 51:1. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity.--None eye pitied thee but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, Live. He brought me up . . . out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 26. "I Called Him Alone and Blessed Him" (Isa. Li. 2).
"I called him alone and blessed him" (Isa. li. 2). When we were in the East we noticed the beautiful process of raising rice. The rice is sown on a morass of mud and water, ploughed up by great buffaloes, and after a few weeks it springs up and appears above the water with its beautiful pale green shoots. The seed has been sown very thickly and the plants are clustered together in great numbers, so that you can pull up a score at a single handful. But now comes the process of transplanting. He first
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Awakening of Zion
'Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.'--ISAIAH li. 9. 'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.'--ISAIAH lii. 1. Both these verses are, I think, to be regarded as spoken by one voice, that of the Servant of the Lord. His majestic figure, wrapped in a light veil of obscurity, fills the eye in all these later prophecies of Isaiah. It is sometimes clothed with divine power, sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness, sometimes
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Hearken and Look; Or, Encouragement for Believers
THE second verse contains my actual text. It is the argument by which faith is led to look for the blessings promised in the third verse. It is habitual with some persons to spy out the dark side of every question or fact: they fix their eyes upon the "waste places," and they study them till they know every ruin, and are familiar with the dragons and the owls. They sigh most dolorously that the former times were better than these, and that we have fallen upon most degenerate days. They speak of "shooting
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 27: 1881

A Prospect of Revival
THE pedigree of God's chosen nation Israel may be traced back to one man and one woman--to Abraham and Sarah. Both of them were well stricken in years when the Lord called them, yet, in the fulfilment of his promise, he built up of their seed a great nation, which, for number, was comparable to the stars of heaven. Take heart, brethren; these things are written for our example and for our encouragement. His Church can never sink to so low an ebb that he cannot soon build her up again, nor in our
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

"Sing, O Heavens; and be Joyful, O Earth; for the Lord Hath Comforted his People. " -- Isaiah 49:13.
"For the Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." -- Isaiah 51:3. "Sing, O Heavens; and be joyful, O Earth; for the Lord hath comforted his people." -- Isaiah 49:13. A living, loving, lasting word, My listening ear believing heard, While bending down in prayer; Like a sweet breeze that none can stay, It passed
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

Of Inward Silence
Of Inward Silence "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before him" (Hab. ii. 20). Inward silence is absolutely indispensable, because the Word is essential and eternal, and necessarily requires dispositions in the soul in some degree correspondent to His nature, as a capacity for the reception of Himself. Hearing is a sense formed to receive sounds, and is rather passive than active, admitting, but not communicating sensation; and if we would hear, we must lend the ear
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Of Rest in the Presence of God --Its Fruits --Inward Silence --God Commands it --Outward Silence.
The soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than that of repose: for the presence of God during the day, which is the great result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be intuitive and almost continual. The soul is conscious of a deep inward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in itself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to retire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in prayer. It is astonished
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Lii. Manna. Exodus xvi. 4.
I.--Manna like salvation, because undeserved. The people murmured at the very first difficulty. If they had been grateful they would have said, "The God who brought us out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea, will not allow us to die of hunger." But instead of this they accused Moses of being a murderer. And in answer to this God said, "I will rain bread from heaven." What an illustration of Romans v. 8. II.--Manna like salvation, because it saved the people from perishing. Nothing else would
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Early Battles
Six months of joyous service amongst the Welsh miners was cut short by a telegram announcing to the sisters the serious illness of Mrs. Lee. Taking the news to their Divisional Commander, they were instructed to Headquarters. It was found that the illness was due to shock. The income from investments of the little estate left by Mr. Lee had dwindled; it now had disappeared altogether. Captain Lucy faced the matter with her usual practical decision. 'Mother, darling, there are two ways out. Either
Minnie L. Carpenter—The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men"

Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before,
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

An Appendix to the Beatitudes
His commandments are not grievous 1 John 5:3 You have seen what Christ calls for poverty of spirit, pureness of heart, meekness, mercifulness, cheerfulness in suffering persecution, etc. Now that none may hesitate or be troubled at these commands of Christ, I thought good (as a closure to the former discourse) to take off the surmises and prejudices in men's spirits by this sweet, mollifying Scripture, His commandments are not grievous.' The censuring world objects against religion that it is difficult
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Ci. Foretelling his Passion. Rebuking Ambition.
(Peræa, or Judæa, Near the Jordan.) ^A Matt. XX. 17-28; ^B Mark X. 32-45; ^C Luke XVIII. 31-34. ^b 32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem [Dean Mansel sees in these words an evidence that Jesus had just crossed the Jordan and was beginning the actual ascent up to Jerusalem. If so, he was in Judæa. But such a construction strains the language. Jesus had been going up to Jerusalem ever since he started in Galilee, and he may now have still be in Peræa. The parable
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate,
CLEARLY EXPLAINED, AND LARGELY IMPROVED, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BELIEVERS. 1 John 2:1--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." By JOHN BUNYAN, Author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms, in the Poultry, 1689. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This is one of the most interesting of Bunyan's treatises, to edit which required the Bible at my right hand, and a law dictionary on my left. It was very frequently republished;
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Death Swallowed up in victory
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory! D eath, simply considered, is no more than the cessation of life --that which was once living, lives no longer. But it has been the general, perhaps the universal custom of mankind, to personify it. Imagination gives death a formidable appearance, arms it with a dart, sting or scythe, and represents it as an active, inexorable and invincible reality. In this view death is a great devourer; with his iron tongue
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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