Outwardly there was much of which the professed people could be afraid in the days of Isaiah. The northern kingdom, Israel, had been wiped out of existence by Assyrian military might, and it appeared that Judah could not long endure. The people were greatly in need of a message of comfort and hope, and Isaiah sought to inspire them with courage and cheer (see chs. 40:1, 2; 41:13, 14; 43:5; 44:2).

 The promise implicit in the name Immanuel (see on ch. 7:14), that God would be with His people, was desperately needed by them in Isaiah’s own time.