Isaiah 41:4

“Who hath wrought and done it, &c.] Contrived and effected it, formed the scheme, and brought it to pass; namely, raising up the righteous man from the east, and succeeding him in the manner described: calling the generations from the beginning? or rather here begins the answer to the above question, which may be rendered, he that calleth the generations from the beginningf786; he has wrought and done this; and to this agree the Syriac and Arabic versions; even he that knew them from all eternity, before they were, and all the men that would be in them, and could call them by their names; and who calls things that are not, as though they were; and who calls them into being at the appointed…”

“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).”

“Who hath wrought and done it? - By whom has all this been accomplished? Has it been by the arm of Cyrus? Has it been by human skill and powers. The design of this question is obvious. It is to direct attention to the fact that all this had been done by God, and that he who had raised up such a man, and had accomplished all this by means of him, had power to deliver his people. Calling the generations from the beginning - The idea here seems to be, that all the nations that dwell on the earth in every place owed their origin to God (compare Acts 17:26). The word ‘calling’ here, seems to be used in the sense of commanding, directing, or ordering them; and the truth taught is, that all the…”

“Calling - Them out of nothing, giving them breath and being: disposing and employing them as he sees fit. From the beginning - All persons and generations of mankind from the beginning of the world. I - Who was before all things even from eternity, and shall be unto eternity. Isaiah 41:5”

“41:4 each new generation from the beginning of time: God is sovereign over all things. From the beginning he has unfolded each stage of history according to his plan. • In the book of Revelation, Jesus identifies himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev 1:8, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13). • I alone am he: The Lord alone is God (see also Isa 43:10, 13; 46:4; 48:12; Deut 32:39). Jesus used similar expressions for himself (see John 6:35; 8:12, 24; 9:5; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5).”

“hath: Isa 41:26, Isa 40:12, Isa 40:26, Isa 42:24 calling: Isa 44:7, Isa 46:10, Isa 48:3-7; Deu 32:7, Deu 32:8; Act 15:18, Act 17:26 I the Lord: Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6, Isa 48:12; Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17, Rev 2:8, Rev 22:13 with the: Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4; Mat 1:23, Mat 28:20 Isaiah 41:5”

“The great fact of the present time, which not one of the gods of the heathen can boast of having brought to pass, is now explained. Jehovah is its author. "Who hath wrought and executed it? He who calleth the generations of men from the beginning, I Jehovah am first, and with the last am I He." The synonyms פּעל and עשׂה are distinguished from each other in the same way as "to work" (or bring about) and "to realize" (or carry out). Hence the meaning is, Who is the author to whom both the origin and progress of such an occurrence are to be referred? It is He who "from the beginning," i.e., ever since there has been a human history, has called into existence the generations of men through His…”