See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.’

This is a further reminder that the living God is able to do what the dead gods were incapable of doing. He can accurately foretell things to come before they take place. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the wonders of Scripture and a mark of its supernatural difference from any other book.

‘Among the many amazing evidences that confirm the Bible’s divine origin, surely the wealth of fulfilled prophecies is near the top.’ Dan Hayden.

The ”new things” the Lord is declaring here concern the restoration of Israel, and-in the more distant future-the coming of the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord’.

‘The receipt of former mercies may encourage us to hope for further mercies; for God is constant in his care for his people, and his compassions are still new.’ Matthew Henry