Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary… But is the prophet translated rightly? Our revisers have left this text exactly as, it stands in the A.V., "Mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and walk," and yet I do not think it is what the prophet meant. As we read his words the image they call up is of three modes of motion, three rates of progression — the flight of the eagle, the swift foot of the deer, and the ordinary pace of man. But the idea in his mind is not one of comparative motions. Let me translate that last word again, translate it by a word that is about as wide in its English significance as the word used by the prophet in his own time, "They shall mount up, they shall run, they shall go." The word does not say anything about the rate at which they go, and is used of the flight of the arrow through the air, or of the way of the ship driven before the wind, or of the gait of a swift-footed animal, or of the ordinary pace of man. The prophet is not speaking of three rates of motion, but he is rather speaking of the active motion and then onward continuance. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall go on and on and not faint." This is the truth on which he is insisting before these downhearted and enfeebled Babylonian captives whose hands hang down, whose knees are feeble. The man of God, the man who waits on God, is equal to any emergency, is equal to any strength. If you want the flash of a new inspiration the man of God will receive it; if you want swift progress the man of God is equal to it; if you want steady perseverance you shall find it in the man of God also. With a stronger stroke than the eagle's wing will he be able to beat the air and penetrate to the third heaven; he will run before the chariot of the king and get to the city sooner than the fleetest horses of which even the king of Israel can boast; like Asahell he shall be lissom of limb and light of foot; and when far in the trackless desert even the endurance of the camel gives out, shall the man of God hold on his way. The man who waits upon God has three cardinal qualities which above all others will tend to the conquest of the world — buoyancy of spirits, activity, and perseverance; the man who can command these is the man who will win. (F. L. Wiseman, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. |
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