I was looking up commentaries on Isaiah 55, and I found a commentary by G. Morgan Campbell. Here is a link to it: The Bible Book of Isaiah – Commentary by Rev. G. Campbell Morgan (Full Text and PDF). Morgan starts Part C of his commentary at Isaiah 40, which is the first chapter in the second  section of Isaiah. The first section (Isaiah 1-39) contains Prophecies of Judgment. The second section (Isaiah 40-66) contains Prophecies of Peace. I think it will be helpful to start here at Isaiah 40 and make some notes on Morgan’s commentary, which will lead up to Isaiah 55 and then we can keep talking about Isaiah 55 and the imagery of the fountain that we have been working with. I will only make a few notes or an outline of these chapters. Most of it will be making an outline of quotes of Morgan’s commentary. That is how I study. It’s important to read things in the words of the authors…exactly how they wrote it…because God was with them showing them insights into the scriptures. So that is why I use quotes…because the way they say it is so powerful. It helps me to make an outline of the main points because there is so much information in these commentaries. After reading through it, I make an outline to help process the information. Most of my outline will be quotes from Morgan so you can read it in his words. I hope you find it helpful. This part of his commentary is about Isaiah 40:1-11, which says:

Comfort for God’s People

1Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

3A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

the way for the Lord ^a ;

make straight in the desert

a highway for our God. ^b

4Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,

and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

7The grass withers and the flowers fall,

because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

Surely the people are grass.

8The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

9You who bring good news to Zion,

go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem, ^c

lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

10See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,

and he rules with a mighty arm.

See, his reward is with him,

and his recompense accompanies him.

11He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young.

Prophecies of Peace:

“We now commence the study of the Prophecies of Peace which, like the Prophecies of Judgment, fall into three sections, dealing in turn with the 1) purpose of peace; 2) the Prince of peace; and 3) the programme of peace.”

Theme: When God’s judgment is accomplished, peace will be the result.

• After the prophecies of judgment, Isaiah is instructed to comfort God’s people…telling them that judgment leads to peace
• “The opening words of this section, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,’ reveal the burden (or theme) of all that is to follow to the end of the book. As in the first division all the messages were based upon the fact that the judgment of God proceeds to peace, so in this third, the master-thought is that of the establishment of peace by the processes of judgment. The supreme note of the first division was that of judgment. The supreme note of the last is that of peace.”
• “In the prophecies of judgment the final outlook was upon world-wide desolation, followed by world-wide restoration. The last words of that section were, ‘Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ The first words of the present division are, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.’ The connection and relation is self-evident.”
• “In all the earlier messages the dominant thought was that the purpose of judgment is peace. The burden (or theme) of this last division is that when judgment is accomplished, peace will be the result.”

The Highway:

• “In figurative language the prophet then described the way by which Jehovah would proceed to the accomplishment of this purpose.”
• “the Lord is to pass through the wilderness, and find in the desert a highway for His progress.” Morgan calls it “the highway of His purpose”
• All obstructions will be removed: “The valleys of depression are to be lifted; and the obstructing mountains and hills are to be lowered; all is to be made straight and plain for the progress of Jehovah.”
• “Without entering into any details, the prophet then declared what the coming of Jehovah would mean. His glory would be revealed, and all flesh would see. The absolute certainty of these things lay in the fact that the mouth of the Lord had spoken it.”

The Commission: Ascend the high mountain to the place of vision and declare with strength, “Behold, your God.”

• “The final movement in the Prologue is one which chronicles the fact of the commission given to the prophet, and of his obedience thereto.
• Two things were necessary to the declaration of the message.
• 1) Isaiah should ascend the high mountain, that is, that he should come to the place of vision.
• 2) Isaiah should deliver his message with strength, and without fear
• “The whole burden of the message was then given to him in the one brief and inclusive declaration, ‘Behold, your God’.”
• “The eyes of the people had all too long been fixed, either upon their foes, or upon their own princes and rulers. The former had proved too strong for the latter. The latter had failed to fulfil their duties toward God and toward His people. Therefore the supreme and inclusive word of the prophecy of hope and comfort was, ‘Behold, your God’.”
• Isaiah immediately gave utterance to a twofold truth concerning Jehovah:
• 1) The Mighty One: Who is coming for active administration, and Whose might is irresistible
• This settles the question of the foes, who will be unable to stand before Him
• 2) Shepherd: is prophetic of the restoration of the people who are scattered and wounded

So we see here God instructing Isaiah to comfort His people that the process of judgment that had been prophesied would result in peace. Their desolation would be restored. And it is explained that the Lord will accomplish this restoration by finding a highway that has been prepared for Him in the desert…the highway of His purpose…the highway by which He would accomplish His purpose. All of this is imagery that we can work with. Envision the desolation…envision the mountains and the valleys…then envision everything being leveled out…the mountains are brought low…and the valleys are lifted up. As Campbell said, “all is to be made straight and plain for the progress of Jehovah.”

Throughout the Bible, there are many times that God called His people to return to Him or look to Him. Isaiah was here instructed to tell the people, “Behold, your God.”

The quote that really stood out to me when I was reading this commentary today was that the eyes of the people had been fixed on their foes and their princes…on something other than God. I think what he is talking about is that they had been longing for deliverance and had been looking anxiously at their foes and had been looking to their princes. Isaiah says, “Behold, your God.” Look to Him for deliverance. Behold Him coming to you on the highway of His purpose. In the Old Testament, when a prophet gave Israel a declaration from God, they could rest assured that whatever God declared would surely happen…they could rest in the certainty of it…they could know that it would happen simply because God had said that it would. So we are learning to fix our eyes on Him and trust in Him…trust in His Word.

But again, what I was saying about the quote that their eyes had been fixed too long in the wrong place…it made me think of the word fixed in a new way. That happens a lot when I am studying. A word that I thought I was familiar with…or thought I had a good concept of, will register in a new way…and I can form a new image associated with it in my mind. The imagery I am using gets new depth. Something about the way Morgan wrote that part of his commentary helped me think of the word “fixed” in terms of being “fixated” on something. So I started thinking about how that before we can fix our eyes on the unseen…we first need to check and see what our eyes are fixed, or fixated, on now. God saw that Israel’s eyes were fixed somewhere other than on Him…and they needed to look up and turn their attention to Him. So we can take time in our meditation today and think about that – What are our eyes fixed on? They might be fixed or fixated on something we are worried about. I am still struggling to get out of this flare up and my mind/eyes stay fixed on my health. Take time to think about if you are fixated on anything. Then remember the words of God to Isaiah, “Behold, your God.” Look up to God for help. See Him there on His throne waiting to hear from you. That’s one of the most amazing parts of praying…that when you look up to God to ask Him for help…He is already looking at you. He never takes His eyes off of you. So He is there waiting for you to ask Him. And He is ready to help you. He will show you something or give you a new insight. And when I was working with this imagery today, God was showing me that if my eyes are fixated on something else, they can’t also be fixed on Him. So I first have to develop some flexibility of thinking and start lifting my eyes up to Him…and then fix them on Him. Fix in the sense of stopping on Him…you’re looking around and you stop when you are looking at God…or you set your eyes on Him could be another way to say it. I can still think about my health…but I will think about it from a perspective of having my eyes fixed on God while I am thinking about it.

There is a hymn that is based on Isaiah 40:1 called, “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” by Johann Olearius, Translated by Catherine Winkworth – Learning to Live by Faith. You could listen to it for your meditation time with that imagery of a warm, healing light shining…or the imagery of the highway of the Lord…looking up and waiting for Jesus.