All things bear record · Isaiah
12 witnesses of Christ here.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Isaiah 40:1–2
God announces comfort because His people's sins are pardoned. It opens the section of Isaiah that announces the Redeemer's coming, and the pardon points to what Christ's Atonement makes possible.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Jehovah — the covenant name, 'I AM', the Eternal One
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3
All four Gospels say this voice is John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. So 'the LORD' and 'our God' whose way is prepared is Jesus Christ. The Lord repeats the cry in the latter days to prepare for His Second Coming.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: Isaiah 40:4–5
The landscape changes and the glory of the LORD is revealed for everyone to see at once. In the Doctrine and Covenants, Christ says 'all flesh shall see me together', which shows this is His Second Coming.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: Isaiah 40:6–8
People fade like grass, but God's word lasts forever. Peter quotes this and says the word is the gospel of Christ that was preached to the Saints.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Isaiah 40:9–10
Zion carries good tidings: 'Behold your God!' The Lord GOD is coming with power and bringing His reward. In Revelation, Jesus uses these words for His own coming.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11
The coming Lord GOD is pictured as a gentle shepherd who carries the lambs close to His heart. Jesus claimed this role: 'I am the good shepherd.'
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Isaiah 40:12
The same Lord who is gentle as a shepherd holds the oceans in His hand and measures the heavens. Latter-day revelation teaches that Jehovah, Jesus Christ, created the earth under the Father's direction.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: Isaiah 40:22
Jehovah reigns above the earth and spreads out the heavens like a tent. He is the Creator whom Restoration scripture identifies as Jesus Christ.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
The Holy One — short form of Holy One of Israel
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25
The Holy One speaks for Himself and asks who could ever be compared to Him. Holy One is Isaiah's title for Jehovah, the premortal Christ.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Isaiah 40:26
The Holy One of verse 25 created the stars and knows each one by name. If He knows every star, He knows every one of His children.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Creator — the One who made all things
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. Isaiah 40:28
The LORD is called the everlasting God and the Creator, who never grows tired. King Benjamin calls Jesus Christ 'the Creator of all things from the beginning,' and the risen Christ declared, 'I created the heavens and the earth.'
How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29–31
The tireless Creator shares His strength with people who are worn out. Those who wait on the LORD, meaning they trust and hope in Him, receive the enabling power that comes through Christ's grace.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him