And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 19:15.) The double office of the Word of God-saving and damnatory-is implied (Isaiah 50:4; John 12:48; Hebrews 4:12).
A polished shaft - (Psalms 45:5.) "Polished" - i:e., free from all rust-implies His unsullied purity, which gives such keenness and power to His words, whether of grace or of condemnation.
In his quiver hath he hid me. Like a sword in its scabbard, or a shaft in the quiver, Messiah, before His appearing, was hid with God, ready to be drawn forth at the moment God saw fit (Hengstenberg): also, always protected by God, as the arrow by the quiver (Isaiah 51:16).