I have raised up one from the north. — The north points to Media, the east to Persia, both of them under the rule of the great Deliverer.
Shall he call upon my name. — The word admits equally of the idea of “invoking” or “proclaiming.” It may almost be said, indeed, that the one implies the other. The words find a fulfilment in the proclamations of Cyrus cited in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:2-4
He shall come upon princes. — The Hebrew noun Sagan is a transitional form of a Persian (Delitzch) or Assyrian (Cheyne) title for a viceroy or satrap.
As the potter treadeth clay. — Commonly the image describes the immediate action of Jehovah. (Jeremiah 18:6; Jeremiah 19:10). Here it is used for the supreme dominance of His instrument.