Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”
Who--else but God? calling . . . generations from . . . beginning--The origin and position of all nations are from God (Deu 32:8; Act 17:26); what is true of Cyrus and his conquests is true of all the movements of history from the first; all are from God. with the last--that is, the last (Isa 44:6; Isa 48:12).
God opens His court and summons even the distant islands to testify. Silence falls while the case is tried between His kingdom and Satan's. The defenders of idolatry are invited to speak freely and stake all their strength against Him; but the cause of God fears no fair trial, and religion will surely carry the day.
AI summary
Commenting on Isaiah 41:1-9
Isaiah reminds us not of one act alone but of the whole stream of God's favor to Abraham and his seed ever since. When he asks who called the generations from the beginning, he means the unbroken succession of ages themselves, fathers yielding to children, children to grandchildren, all of it sustained by God's hand, not by chance. In that endless succession, His providence reigns clear.
AI summary