Cyrus was spoken of briefly at the end of the previous chapter. Now he is addressed directly by God in a prophecy recorded several hundred years before his birth. Cyrus will be anointed by God to serve His cause and fulfil His will for the benefit of God’s remnant people among the Jews and His elect among the Gentiles of after-ages. Cyrus will be strengthened, enriched and emboldened by the Lord. His enemies will submit to his rule. Yet the purpose of all his elevation is God’s love for His church. They would be blessed and God’s name honoured.

There are a lot of trees in our chapter today. Isaiah speaks of cedar, cypress, oak and ash; all valuable trees of the forest, all prized by woodsmen and craftsmen for strength, grandeur and utility. Then the prophet speaks of another tree, the willow, not so grand or valuable, in fact, often little more than a weedy shrub. Isaiah likens God’s elect to the willow and pictures the Lord suppling the water-loving tree with all the moisture it needs. It is a type of distinguishing grace. In the gospel age, the spiritual descendants of Isaiah’s readers will be quickened with grace from heaven and ‘shall spring up … as willows by the water courses’.