Thus saith the Lord - This commences, as I suppose (see Analysis), the argument to prove that Yahweh is the only true God, and that the idols were vanity. The object is, to show to the Jews, that he who had made to them such promises of protection and deliverance was able to perform what he had pledged himself to do.
The King of Israel - (See the notes at Isaiah 41:21).
And his Redeemer - (See the notes at Isaiah 43:1).
The Lord of hosts - (See the notes at Isaiah 1:9).
I am the first - (See the notes at Isaiah 41:4).
And I am the last - In Isaiah 41:4, this is expressed ‘with the last;’ in Revelation 1:8, ‘I am Alpha and Omega.’ The sense is, that God existed before all things, and will exist forever.
And besides me there is no God - This is repeatedly declared (Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 4:39; see the note at Isaiah 43:10-12). This great truth it was God‘s purpose to keep steadily before the minds of the Jews; and to keep it in the world, and ultimately to diffuse it abroad among the nations, was one of the leading reasons why he selected them as a special people, and separated them from the rest of mankind.