Isaiah 42:2 says, "He will not cry out, nor lift up His voice, / Nor make His voice heard in the street." This verse is quoted in Matthew 12:19, where it is applied to the Lord Jesus in His ministry on earth. In His ministry the Lord did not strive with others, and He did not promote Himself. He did not seek to make Himself known to people on the streets. In a sense He was very hidden. When the Lord Jesus was living on earth, He never made Himself great. Rather, He always kept Himself small. This is what it means to say that He did not cry out, lift up His voice, or make His voice heard in the street.
Isaiah 42:3 and 4 go on to say, "A bruised reed He will not break; / And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; / He will bring forth judgment in truth. / He will not faint, nor will He be discouraged, / Until He has established justice in the earth; / And the coastlands will wait for His instruction." Not only did Christ make no noise in the street; He did not break a bruised reed nor quench a smoking flax. This indicates that He was full of mercy.
The Jews often made flutes of reeds. When a reed was bruised and no longer useful as a musical instrument, they broke it. They also made torches of flax to burn with oil. When the oil ran out, the flax smoked, and they quenched it. Some of the Lord's people are like a bruised reed that cannot give a musical sound; others are like smoking flax that cannot give a shining light. Yet the Lord Jesus will not "break" the bruised ones who cannot give a musical sound, nor "quench" the ones like dimly burning flax that cannot give a shining light.
In 42:5 we are told that this is of God Jehovah, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and what springs up from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk on it. His glory should not be given to another, nor His praise to idols (v. 8).
According to 42:10-12, for this all the peoples should sing a new song to Jehovah. They should sing His praise from the end of the earth, lift up their voices and sing for joy, shout from the tops of the mountains, give glory to Jehovah, and declare His praise.
Because of this, Jehovah will rise up to deal with His enemies, to expose the vanity of the idols, and to discipline and instruct His blind and deaf servant, Israel (vv. 13-25).
Verse 19 says, "Who is blind except My servant, / And as deaf as My messenger, whom I will send?" The word servant here refers to Israel, typifying Christ as the Servant of Jehovah. Israel was blind and deaf, having no understanding or power of perception. Therefore, Israel could not hear God's word nor see His vision. However, in the restoration Israel will become one with Christ and thus, being able to see and hear, will have the power to perceive and the ability to understand.