He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
He shall not fail - faint: man in religion may become as the almost expiring flax-wick (Isaiah 42:3), but not so HE in His purposes of grace.
Nor be discouraged - literally, be broken; i:e., checked in zeal by discouragements (cf. Isaiah 49:4-5). Nor be discouraged - literally, be broken; i:e., checked in zeal by discouragements (cf. Isaiah 49:4-5). Rosenmuller not so well translates (as the Hebrew, yaaruwts (H7533), may be derived from ruwts (H7323), to run hastily; as well as from raatsats (H7533), to break), 'He shall not be too slow on the one hand, nor run too hastily on the other.' The Septuagint and Arabic, and seemingly the Chaldaic, support the English version. The Vulgate, 'He shall not be sad nor turbulent.'
Till he have set judgment in the earth - "judgment," His true religion, the canon of His judgments and righteous reign (Isaiah 42:1, end).
Isles shall wait for his law - the distant lands beyond sea shall put their trust in His Gospel way of salvation. Matthew 12:21 virtually gives the sense, with the inspired addition of another aspect of the same thing, "In His name shall the Gentiles trust" (as "wait for" here means, Isaiah 30:18). "His law" is not something distinct from Himself, but is indeed Himself, the manifestation of God's character ("His name") in Christ, who is the embodiment of the law (Isaiah 42:21; Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 10:4). "The isles" here, and Isaiah 42:12, may refer to the fact, that the populations of which the Church was primarily formal were Gentiles of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean.