What is the context?
The Servant’s introduction is followed by a call for praise from the ends of the earth. Sea travelers, islands, desert settlements, Kedar and Sela are included. The Lord’s glory is to be declared far beyond a single city.
The song celebrates His action against His enemies. A warrior’s shout is followed by the image of a woman in labor after a long silence. Mountains, hills, rivers and marshes all appear in the picture of decisive change.
Within that upheaval, the Lord promises to guide the blind along unfamiliar ways, turn darkness into light and make rough ground level. He will not forsake them. The contrast is with those who trust manufactured images and are finally put to shame.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry and Wesley connect the song with the good news spreading among the nations. They read the Lord’s victory as removing opposition to His work, and the guidance of the blind as the giving of truth and light.
Gill particularly applies the leading of the blind to Gentiles coming to know God through Christ. He reads the long silence and decisive action through the overthrow of pagan opposition and the spread of the gospel.
These explanations join praise with the Lord’s power to guide people who could not find their own way. The judgment on idols stands beside His commitment not to abandon those He leads.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
A new song is heard in Revelation 5:9–14, praising the Lamb because His blood has purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation. The song widens into the praise of every creature.
This is a well-supported parallel with Isaiah’s worldwide invitation, rather than a claim that Revelation directly quotes Isaiah 42. The New Testament makes the saving work at the center of that praise explicit: the Lamb was slain and has made a people to serve God.
God’s purpose therefore reaches beyond the defeat of an enemy. People from the world’s many communities are gathered into worship, giving glory to the One who has rescued them.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.