4 and even to old age I am he, and even to gray hairs will I carry you. I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry, and will deliver.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And even to old age. Here I explain the copulative v (vau) to mean therefore; and the reasoning ought to be carefully observed, for he argues thus, "I have begotten and brought you forth;" and again, "Even when you were little children, I carried you in my arms, and therefore I will be the guardian of your life till the end." Thus also David reasons, "Thou art he who brought me out of the womb; I trusted in thee while I hung on my mother's breasts; I was cast upon thee from my birth; thou art my God from my mother's womb." (Psalm 22:10.) He therefore promises that he will always be a Father to the Jews; and hence we see that we ought to cherish assured confidence of salvation from the time that the Lord hath once begun it in us, for he wishes to continue his work till the end. "The Lord," says David, "will complete what he hath begun;" and again, "O Lord, thy loving-kindness is eternal, and thou wilt not forsake the works of thy hands." (Psalm 138:8.) I am the same. The Hebrew word hv' (hu) is, in my opinion, very emphatic, though some interpreters render it simply by the demonstrative pronoun He; [1] but it means that God is always "the same" and like himself, not only in his essence, but with respect to us, so that we ourselves shall feel that he is the same. When he says, "Even to old age," [2] it might be thought absurd; for we ought to become full-grown men after having been carried by God from infancy. But if any one shall examine it properly, it will be found that we never make so great progress as not to need to be upheld by the strength of God, for otherwise the most perfect man would stumble every moment; as David also testifies, "Forsake me not in the time of old age, withdraw not from me when my strength faileth." (Psalm 71:9.) I have made and will carry. He again argues in the same manner. God does not regard what we deserve, but continues his grace toward us; and therefore we ought to draw confidence from it, "Thou didst create us, not only that we might be human beings, but that we might be thy children; and therefore thou wilt continue till the end to exercise continually toward us the care of a father and of a mother."
1 - "I (am) he." (Eng. Ver.) This is the literal rendering. -- Ed.
2 - "When thou shalt be old, and thy strength shall fail, (for thou hast no merits or works of righteousness,) I am the same as to my mercy and kindness, to keep, and carry, and bear, and deliver;' for the Prophet had said of the idol that it is carried about, and cannot rid itself of its own burden, and therefore God says here, I am He who carry others and bear my own burden.'" -- Jarchi.
And even to your old age, I am he - Or rather, I am the same. I remain, unchangeably, with the same tenderness, the same affection, the same care. In this the care of God for his people surpasses that of the most tender parent, and the most kind nourisher of the young. The care of the parent naturally dies away as the child reaches manhood, and he is usually removed by death before the son or daughter that excited so much solicitude in infancy and childhood, reaches old age. But not so with God. His people are always the objects of his tender solicitude. Age does not make them less dependent, and experience only teaches them more and more their need of his sustaining grace. The argument here is, that he who had watched over the infancy of his people with so much solicitude, would not leave them in the exposures, and infirmities, and trials of the advanced years of their history. The doctrine is, first, that his people always need his protection and care; secondly, that he will never leave nor forsake them; thirdly, that he who is the God of infancy and childhood will be the God of age, and that he will not leave or forsake his people, who have been the objects of his care and affection in childhood, when they become old. For though this passage refers primarily to a people, or a community as such, yet I see no reason why the principle should not be regarded as applicable to those who are literally aged. They need the care of God no less than childhood does; and if they have walked in his ways in the vigor and strength of their life, he will not cast them off 'when they are old and gray-headed.' Hoary hairs, therefore, if 'found in the way of righteousness.' may trust in God; and the 'second childhood' of man may find him no less certainly a protector than the first.
And [even] to [your] old age I [am] he; and [even] to gray hairs will I carry [you]: (f) have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver [you].
(f) Seeing I have begotten you, I will nourish and preserve you forever.
And even to your old age I am he,.... The same he ever was, the eternal and unchangeable Jehovah; the same in his love and affections; in his sympathy and care; in his power and protection; in his promises, truth, and faithfulness to his people, in their last days, as at the first moment of their conversion; and therefore they are safe; see Psalm 102:27,
and even to hoar hairs will I carry you (n); which is doing more than the most tender parent does, or can, or need to do! God will not leave his people in the decline of life, when pressing infirmities are upon them, and they stand in as much need as ever of being bore up, supported, and carried: wherefore it follows,
I have made; these persons, not merely as creatures, but as new creatures; they are formed for myself; they are my sons and daughters, the works of my hands: I have an interest in them,
therefore I will bear, even I will carry: from the first of their regeneration, to their entrance into glory; See Gill on Isaiah 46:3;
And will deliver you; out of all affliction; out of all temptations; out of the hand of every enemy; from a final and total falling away; from a body of sin and death; from death eternal, and wrath to come; and even at last from the grave and all corruption.
(n) This seems to express more than old age, as Ben Melech observes hence the Jews say, a man sixty years old is come to old age, and one of seventy to hoary hairs.
old age--As "your"--"you"--"you," are not in the Hebrew, the sentiment is more general than English Version, though of course it includes the Jews from the infancy to the more advanced age of their history (Isaiah 47:6).
I am he--that is the same (Psalm 102:27; John 8:24; Hebrews 13:8).
I will bear . . . carry--Not only do I not need to be borne and carried Myself, as the idols (Isaiah 46:1).
*More commentary available at chapter level.