9 For my name's sake I will defer mine anger, and [for] my praise will I refrain as to thee, that I cut thee not off. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do [it]; for how should [my name] be profaned? and I will not give my glory unto another. 12 Hearken unto me, Jacob, and [thou] Israel, my called. I [am] HE; I, the first, and I, the last. 13 Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread abroad the heavens: I call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, gather yourselves together, and hear: which among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah hath loved shall execute his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans. 15 I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and his way shall be prosperous.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 48:9-15
Commentary on Isaiah 48:9-15
(Read Isaiah 48:9-15)
We have nothing ourselves to plead with God, why he should have mercy upon us. It is for his praise, to the honour of his mercy, to spare. His bringing men into trouble was to do them good. It was to refine them, but not as silver; not so thoroughly as men refine silver. If God should take that course, they are all dross, and, as such, might justly be put away. He takes them as refined in part only. Many have been brought home to God as chosen vessels, and a good work of grace begun in them, in the furnace of affliction. It is comfort to God's people, that God will secure his own honour, therefore work deliverance for them. And if God delivers his people, he cannot be at a loss for instruments to be employed. God has formed a plan, in which, for his own sake, and the glory of his grace, he saves all that come to Him.