Isaiah 49:2

The name Christ is not appropriate for God the Word before the generation that, as I said, was according to the flesh. If he was then not yet anointed, how could he be called "Christ"? But when the man came forth from his mother's womb, then he received the name at the same time as the generation according to the flesh. For it says that he "set his mouth like a sharp sword" … for no one can overcome his all-powerful right hand, but the Word is kept distinct from the dimensions of the humanity. For he is the Word from the Father and himself is the Lord of hosts. When he became man, the Father did not remove the power of the mystery but confirmed him in the economy of salvation.… There have been several arrows of God hidden in his quiver, in his foreknowledge, and brought out at the time prepared for each, but the chosen arrow above all others is the Christ hidden in the quiver or foreknowledge of God. For he was known before the creation of the world and brought forth in the middle of time when it was necessary that the earth be visited as it was falling into destruction.… This chosen arrow, as I said, got rid of Satan and the evil powers with him … yet he wounds in another way, for benefit and salvation. Thus it says in the Song of Songs, "I am wounded with love."

(Chapter 49—Verse 1 onwards) Listen, O islands, and pay attention, O peoples from afar: The Lord called me from the womb; from the body of my mother he remembered my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword; in the shadow of his hand he protected me. He made me like a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me: You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Second, the efficacy of their prayer: and he has made my mouth, my prayer, like a sharp sword, penetrating unto the ears of God and the heart of his mercy: and the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). Third, the help of divine protection: in …

A sword - As he made me the great teacher of his church, so he made my word, quick and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword. Hath he hid - He will protect me from all mine enemies. Made me - Like an arrow, whose point is bright and polished; which therefore pierceth deeper.

But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen. x. 5 ) and to the people from far, that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and afar off.

He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises, ver. 5-12. God's love to his church perpetual, ver. 13-17. The ample restoration of the church, and its enlargement, ver. 18-23.

quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-13/18-anchored-1-4

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword,....

Heb 4:12). shaft-- (Ps 45:5). "Polished," that is, free from all rust, implies His unsullied purity. in . . . quiver . . . hid me--Like a sword in its scabbard, or a shaft in the quiver, Messiah, before His appearing, was hid with God, ready to be drawn forth at the moment God saw fit [HENGSTENBERG]; also always protected by God, as the arrow by the quiver (Isa 51:16).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And he hath made my mouth - The idea here is, that he had qualified him for a convincing and powerful eloquence - for the utterance of words which would penetrate the heart like a sharp sword. The mouth here, by an obvious figure, stands for discourse. The comparison of words that are pungent, penetrating, powerful, to a sword, is common. Indeed the very terms that I have incidentally used, ‘pungent,’ ‘penetrating,’ are instances of the same kind of figure, and are drawn from a needle, or anything sharp and pointed, that penetrates. Instances of this occur in the following places in the Scriptures: ‘The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies’ Ecc 12:11. ‘The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow’ Heb 4:12. In Rev 1:16, probably in reference to this passage, the Redeemer is represented as seen by John as having a ‘sharp two-edged sword’ proceeding out of his mouth. So in Isa 19:15: ‘And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword.’ The bold and striking metaphor of the sword and arrow applied to powerful discourse, has been used also by pagan writers with great elegance and force. In the passages quoted by Lowth, it is said of Pericles by Aristophanes: ‘His powerful speech Pierced the hearer’s soul, and left behind Deep in his bosom its keen point infixt.’ So Pindar, Olym. ii. 160: ‘Come on! thy brighest shafts prepare, And bend, O Muse, thy sounding bow: Say, through what paths of liquid air Our arrows shall we throw?’ West A similar expression occurs in a fragment of Eupolis, in Diod. Sic. xii. […]