Isaiah 49:6

“And he said, &c.] Or “even he said”; namely, the Lord his God, that called, appointed, and strengthened him for his service: it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; the tribes of Jacob and the preserved of Israel are the elect of God among the Jews; though the characters agree with all the chosen of God of other nations, who, are distinguished from the rest of the world, and are “preserved in Christ”, (<650101>Jude 1:1), where they are preserved before they are redeemed and called; not from falling in Adam with the rest of mankind, nor from the general corruption of nature, nor from actual sins and…”

“It is a light thing--"It is too little that Thou shouldest," [HENGSTENBERG], that is, It is not enough honor to Thee to raise up Jacob and Israel, but I design for Thee more, namely, that Thou shouldest be the means of enlightening the Gentiles (Isa 42:6-7; Isa 60:3). the preserved--namely, those remaining after the judgments of God on the nation--the elect remnant of Israel reserved for mercy. LOWTH, with a slight but needless change of the Hebrew, translates for "tribes" and "preserved," the "scions"--the "branches."”

“And he said - That is, Yahweh said in his promise to the Messiah. It is a light thing - Margin, ‘Art thou lighter than that thou,’ etc. Lowth renders it, ‘It is a small thing.’ Hengstenberg, ‘It is too little that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob.’ The sense is, that God designed to glorify him in an eminent degree, and that it would not be as much honor as be designed to confer on him, to appoint him merely to produce a reformation among the Jews, and to recover them to the spiritual worship of God. He designed him for a far more important work - for the recovery of the Gentile world, and for the spread of the true religion among all nations. The Septuagint…”

“He - The Lord. It is - This is but a small favour. The tribes - That remnant of them which shall survive all their calamities. My salvation - The great instrument and author of that eternal salvation which I will give to the Gentiles. Isaiah 49:7”

“49:6 a light to the Gentiles: As the Messiah, the servant’s mission would have a worldwide reach (see 11:10, 12; 42:6). The apostle Paul explained his apostolic mission to the Gentiles on the basis of this prophecy (Acts 13:47; 26:23).”

“It is a light thing that: or, Art thou lighter, than that, etc. Kg2 3:18, Kg2 20:10 preserved: or, desolations I will also: Isa 42:6, Isa 60:3; Luk 2:32; Joh 1:4-9; Act 13:47, Act 26:18 that thou mayest: Isa 11:10, Isa 24:14-16, Isa 46:13, Isa 52:10; Psa 98:2, Psa 98:3; Luk 24:46, Luk 24:47 Isaiah 49:7”