,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,editor of ,the ,expositor1 etc4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,isaiah4 ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 ,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdcccxc4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-hh4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,samuel1 ,i4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,samuel1 ,,ii4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-hi4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4-,,xxxix4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,b4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-ia4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,isaiah ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 ,minister of ,queen's ,cross ,church1 ,aberdeen ,,in ,,two ,,volumes4 ,,vol4 ,,ii4--,,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,,with ,a ,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,israel ,,from ,,isaiah ,,to ,,the ,,exile4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdcccxc4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,table ,,of ,,dates viii ,,introduction ix ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,exile4 ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 #c ,,ii4 ,,from ,,isaiah ,,to ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,jerusalem #bf #gja-ehg ,b4,c4 ,,iii4 ,,what ,,israel ,,took ,,into ,,exile #cf ,,iv4 ,,israel ,,in ,,exile #dh ,,from #eig ,,till ,,about #eej ,b4,c4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,deliverance4 ,v4 ,,the ,,prologue3 ,,the ,,four ,,herald ,,voices #ga ,,isaiah xl4 #a-aa4 ,,vi4 ,,god3 ,a ,,sacrament #hg ,,isaiah xl4 #ab-ca4 ,,vii4 ,,god3 ,,an ,,argument ,,from ,,history #ajf ,,isaiah xli4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,passion ,,of ,,god #acb ,,isaiah xlii4 #ac-ag4 ,,ix4 ,,four ,,points ,,of ,a ,,true ,,religion #adc ,,isaiah xliii4-xlviii4 ,x4 ,,cyrus #afb ,,isaiah xli4 #b1 #be2 xliv4 #bh-xlv4 #ac2 xlvi4 #aa2 xlviii4 #ad1 #ae4 ,,xi4 ,,bearing ,,or ,,borne #agg ,,isaiah xlvi4 ,,xii4 ,,babylon #ahi ,,isaiah xlvii4 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,call ,,to ,,go ,,forth #bje ,,isaiah xlviii4 ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,israel ,,and ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,god #bad ,,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord4 ,,xv4 ,,one ,,god1 ,,one ,,people #bcf ,,isaiah xli4 #h-bj1 xlii4-xliii4 ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord #beb ,,isaiah xli4 #h-bj2 xlii4 #a-g1 #ah ff42 xliii4 #e-aj2 xlix4 #a-i2 l4 #d-aa2 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,,in ,,the ,,new ,,testament #bgh ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,service ,,of ,,god ,,and ,,man #bij ,,isaiah xlii4 #a-g4 ,,xix4 ,,prophet ,,and ,,martyr #cac ,,isaiah xlix4 #a-i2 l1 #d-aa4 ,,xx4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant #ccf ,,isaiah lii4 #ac-liii4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,,the ,,restoration4 ,,xxi4 ,,doubts ,,in ,,the ,,way #cha ,,isaiah xlix4-lii4 #ab4 ,,xxii4 ,,on ,,the ,,eve ,,of ,,return #cig ,,isaiah liv4-lvi4 #h4 ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,rekindling ,,of ,,the ,,civic ,,conscience #djh ,,isaiah lvi4 #i-lix4 ,,xxiv4 ,,salvation ,,in ,,sight #dbh ,,isaiah lx4-lxiii4 #g4 ,,xxv4 ,a ,,last ,,intercession ,,and ,,the ,,judgement #dde ,,isaiah lxiii4 #g-lxvi4 ,,index ,,of ,,chapters #dfi ,,index ,,of ,,subjects #dga ,,table ,,of ,,dates4 ,b4,c4 #gba4 ,fall of ,samaria4 ,captivity of ,northern ,israel4 #gja4 ,deliverance of ,jerusalem from ,sennacherib4 #fif8-fda4 ,reign of ,manasseh4 ,supposed time of ,isaiah's death4 #fcj4 ,josiah's ,reformation begun4 #fbi or #fbh4 ,jeremiah called to be a prophet4 #fba4 ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy discovered4 #fjg4 ,fall of ,nineveh and ,assyria4 ,babylon supreme4 ,,the ,,exile4 #eii-eih4 ,siege of ,jerusalem by ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,first ,captivity of the ,jews4 #eid4 ,ezekiel begins to prophesy in ,chaldea4 #ehg4 ,destruction of ,jerusalem by ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,second ,captivity of the ,jews4 ,flight of many ,jews with ,jeremiah to ,egypt4 #ehe4 ,battle of the ,eclipse4 ,triple ,league3 ,babylon1 ,media1 ,lydia4 #efa4 ,nebuchadrezzar dies4 ,evil-,merodach succeeds4 #eei4 ,neriglissar succeeds ,evil-,merodach4 #eed4 ,nabunahid or ,nabonidos usurps the throne of ,babylon4 ,harder times for the ,jews4 #edi4 ,fall of ,median monarchy before ,cyrus4 #ede4 ,cyrus attacks ,babylonia from the north1 and is repulsed4 ,invades ,lydia1 and takes ,sardis and ,king ,crsus4 #ech4 ,cyrus captures ,babylon4 ,permission to the ,jews to return and rebuild ,jerusalem4 ,zerubbabel1 ,joshua4 99 99 99 99 99 #ebi4 ,cyrus dies4 ,cambyses sole king4 #ebb4 ,cambyses dies4 #eba4 ,babylon revolts4 ,retaken by ,darius4 #dhf4 ,xerxes succeeds ,darius4 #dff4 ,artaxerxes ,longimanus4 #deh4 ,second great return of ,jews4 ,ezra4 #dja4 ,revolt and defeat of ,cyrus4 ,the ,anabasis4 _/ ,,introduction4 ,this volume upon ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 carries on the exposition of the ,book of ,isaiah from the point reached by the author's previous volume in the same series4 ,but as it accepts these twenty-seven chapters1 upon their own testimony1 as a separate prophecy from a century and a half later than ,isaiah himself1 in a style and on subjects not altogether the same as his1 and as it accordingly pursues a somewhat different method of exposition from the previous volume1 a few words of introduction are again necessary4 ,the greater part of ,isaiah i4-xxxix4 was addressed to a nation upon their own soil1--with their temple1 their king1 their statesmen1 their tribunals and their markets1--responsible for the discharge of justice and social reform1 for the conduct of foreign policies and the defence of the fatherland4 ,but chs4 xl4-lxvi4 came to a people wholly in exile1 and partly in servitude1 with no civic life and few social responsibilities3 a people in the passive state1 with occasion for the exercise of almost no qualities save those of penitence and patience1 of memory and hope4 ,this difference between the two parts of the ,book is summed up in their respective uses of the word ,righteousness4 ,in ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 or at least in such of these chapters as refer to ,isaiah's own day1 righteousness is man's moral and religious duty1 in its contents of piety1 purity1 justice and social service4 ,in ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 righteousness 7except in a very few cases7 is something which the people expect from ,god--their historical vindication by ,his restoral and reinstatement of them as ,his people4 ,it is1 therefore1 evident that what rendered ,isaiah's own prophecies of so much charm and of so much meaning to the modern conscience--their treatment of those political and social questions which we have always with us--cannot form the chief interest of chapters xl4-lxvi4 ,but the empty place is taken by a series of historical and religious questions of supreme importance4 ,into the vacuum created in ,israel's life by the ,exile1 there comes rushing the meaning of the nation's whole history--all the conscience of their past1 all the destiny with which their future is charged4 ,it is not with the fortunes and duties of a single generation that this great prophecy has to do3 it is with a people in their entire significance and promise4 ,the standpoint of the prophet may be the ,exile1 but his vision ranges from ,abraham to ,christ4 ,besides the business of the hour1--the deliverance of ,israel from ,babylon1--the prophet addresses himself to these questions3 ,what is ,israel8 ,what is ,israel's ,god8 ,how is ,jehovah different from other gods8 ,how is ,israel different from other peoples8 ,he recalls the making of the nation1 ,god's treatment of them from the beginning1 all that they and ,jehovah have been to each other and to the world1 and especially the meaning of this latest judgement of ,exile4 ,but the instruction and the impetus of that marvellous past he uses in order to interpret and proclaim the still more glorious future1--the ideal1 which ,god has set before ,his people1 and in the realisation of which their history shall culminate4 ,it is here that the ,spirit of ,god lifts the prophet to the highest station in prophecy--to the richest consciousness of spiritual religion--to the clearest vision of ,christ4 ,accordingly1 to expound ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 is really to write the religious history of ,israel4 ,a prophet whose vision includes both ,abraham and ,christ1 whose subject is the whole meaning and promise of ,israel1 cannot be adequately interpreted within the limits of his own text or of his own time4 ,excursions are necessary both to the history that is behind him1 and to the history that is still in front of him4 ,this is the reason of the appearance in this volume of chapters whose titles seem at first beyond its scope--such as ,from ,isaiah to the ,fall of ,jerusalem3 ,what ,israel took into ,exile3 ,one ,god1 ,one ,people3 ,the ,servant of the ,lord in the ,new ,testament4 ,moreover1 much of this historical matter has an interest that is only historical4 ,if in ,isaiah's own prophecies it is his generation's likeness to ourselves1 which appeals to our conscience1 in chs4 xl4-lxvi4 of the ,book called by his name it is ,israel's unique meaning and office for ,god in the world1 which we have to study4 ,we are called to follow an experience and a discipline unshared by any other generation of men2 and to interest ourselves in matters that then happened once for all1 such as the victory of the ,one ,god over the idols1 or ,his choice of a single people through whom to reveal ,himself to the world4 ,we are called to watch work1 which that representative and priestly people did for humanity1 rather than1 as in ,isaiah's own prophecies1 work which has to be repeated by each new generation in its turn1 and to-day also by ourselves4 ,this is the reason why in an exposition of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi41 like the present volume1 there should be a good deal more of historical recital1 and a good deal less of practical application1 than in the exposition of ,isaiah i4-xxxix4 ,at the same time we must not suppose that there is not very much in ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 with which to stir our own consciences and instruct our own lives4 ,for1 to mention no more1 there is that sense of sin with which ,israel entered exile1 and which has made the literature of ,israel's ,exile the confessional of the world2 there is that great unexhausted programme of the ,service of ,god and ,man1 which our prophet lays down as ,israel's duty and example to humanity2 and there is that prophecy of the virtue and glory of vicarious suffering for sin1 which is the gospel of ,jesus ,christ and ,his ,cross4 ,i have found it necessary to devote more space to critical questions than in the previous volume4 ,chs4 xl4-lxvi4 approach more nearly to a unity than chs4 i4-xxxix43 with very few exceptions they lie in chronological order4 ,but they are not nearly so clearly divided and grouped3 their connection cannot be so briefly or so lucidly explained4 ,the form of the prophecy is dramatic1 but the scenes and the speakers are not definitely marked off4 ,in spite of the chronological advance1 which we shall be able to trace1 there are no clear stages--not even1 as we shall see1 at those points at which most expositors divide the prophecy1 the end of ch4 xlix4 and of ch4 lviii4 ,the prophet pursues simultaneously several lines of thought2 and though the close of some of these and the rise of others may be marked to a verse1 his frequent passages from one to another are often almost imperceptible4 ,he everywhere requires a more continuous translation1 a closer and more elaborate exegesis1 than were necessary for ,isaiah i4-xxxix4 ,in order to effect some general arrangement and division of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 it is necessary to keep in view that the immediate problem which the prophet had before him was twofold4 ,it was political1 and it was spiritual4 ,there was1 first of all1 the deliverance of ,israel from ,babylon1 according to the ancient promises of ,jehovah3 to this were attached such questions as ,jehovah's omnipotence1 faithfulness and grace2 the meaning of ,cyrus2 the condition of the ,babylonian ,empire4 ,but after their political deliverance from ,babylon was assured1 there remained the really larger problem of ,israel's spiritual readiness for the freedom and the destiny to which ,god was to lead them through the opened gates of their prison-house3 to this were attached such questions as the original calling and mission of ,israel2 the mixed and paradoxical character of the people2 their need of a ,servant from the ,lord1 since they themselves had failed to be ,his ,servant2 the coming of this ,servant1 his methods and results4 ,this twofold division of the prophet's problem will not1 it is true1 strike his prophecy into separate and distinct groups of chapters4 ,he who attempts such a division simply does not understand ,second ,isaiah4 ,but it will make clear to us the different currents of the sacred argument1 which flow sometimes through and through one another1 and sometimes singly and in succession2 and it will give us a plan for grouping the twenty-seven chapters very nearly1 if not quite1 in the order in which they lie4 ,on these principles1 the following exposition is divided into ,four ,books4 ,the ,first is called ,,the ,,exile3 it contains an argument for placing the date of the prophecy about #eej ,b4,c41 and brings the history of ,israel down to that date from the time of ,isaiah2 it states the political and spiritual sides of the double problem to which the prophecy is ,god's answer2 it describes what ,israel took with them into exile1 and what they learned and suffered there1 till1 after half a century1 the herald voices of our prophecy broke upon their waiting ears4 ,the ,second ,book1 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,deliverance1 discusses the political redemption from ,babylon1 with the questions attached to it about ,god's nature and character1 about ,cyrus and ,babylon1 or all of chs4 xl4-xlviii41 except the passages about the ,servant1 which are easily detached from the rest1 and refer rather to the spiritual side of ,israel's great problem4 ,the ,third ,book1 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord1 expounds all the passages on that subject1 both in chs4 xl4-xlviii4 and in chs4 xlix4-liii41 with the development of the subject in the ,new ,testament1 and its application to our life to-day4 ,the ,servant and his work are the solution of all the spiritual difficulties in the way of the people's ,return and ,restoration4 ,to these latter and their practical details the rest of the prophecy is devoted2 that is1 all chs4 xlix4-lxvi41 except the passages on the ,servant1 and these chapters are treated in the ,fourth ,book of this volume1 ,,the ,,restoration4 ,as much as possible of the merely critical discussion has been put in ,chapter ,i41 or in the opening paragraphs of the other chapters1 or in foot-notes4 ,a new translation from the original 7except where a few verses have been taken from the ,revised ,english ,version7 has been provided for nearly the whole prophecy4 ,where the rhythm of the original is at all discernible1 the translation has been made in it4 ,but it must be kept in mind that this reproduction of the original rhythm is only approximate1 and that in it no attempt has been made to elegance2 its chief aim being to make clear the order and the emphases of the original4 ,the translation is almost quite literal4 ,having felt the want of a clear account of the prophet's use of his great key-word ,righteousness1 ,i have inserted for students1 at the end of ,book ,,ii41 a chapter on this term4 ,summaries of our prophet's use of such cardinal terms as ,mishpat1 ,r'ishonoth1 ,the ,isles1 etc41 will be found in notes4 ,for want of space ,i have had to exclude some sections on the ,style of ,isaiah1 xl4-lxvi41 on the ,influence of ,monotheism on the ,imagination1 and on ,what ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 owes to ,jeremiah4 ,this debt1 as we shall be able to trace1 is so great that ,second ,jeremiah would be a title no less proper for the prophecy than ,second ,isaiah4 ,i had also wished to append a chapter on ,commentaries on the ,book of ,isaiah4 ,no ,scripture has been so nobly served by its commentaries4 ,to begin with there was ,calvin1 and there is ,calvin1--still as valuable as ever for his strong spiritual power1 his sanity1 his moderation1 his sensitiveness to the changes and shades of the prophet's meaning4 ,after him ,vitringa1 ,gesenius1 ,hitzig1 ,ewald1 ,delitzsch1 all the great names of the past in ,old ,testament criticism1 are connected with ,isaiah4 ,in recent years 7besides ,ngelsbach in ,lange's ,bibelwerk7 we have had ,cheyne's two volumes1 too well known both here and in ,germany to need more than mention2 ,bredenkamp's clear and concise exposition1 the characteristic of which is an attempt--not1 however1 successful--to distinguish authentic prophecies of ,isaiah in the disputed chapters2 ,orelli's handy volume 7in ,strack and ,zckler's compendious ,commentary1 and translated into ,english by ,professor ,banks in ,messrs4 ,clarks' ,foreign ,theological ,library71 from the conservative side1 but accepting1 as ,delitzsch does in his last edition1 the dual authorship2 and this year ,dillmann's great work1 replacing ,knobel's in the ,kurzgefasstes ,exegetisches ,handbuch series4 ,i regret that ,i did not receive ,dillmann's work till more than half of this volume was written4 ,english students will have all they can possibly need if they can add ,dillmann to ,delitzsch and ,cheyne1 though ,calvin and ,ewald must never be forgotten4 ,professor ,driver's ,isaiah3 ,his ,life and ,times is a complete handbook to the prophet4 ,on the theology1 besides the relevant portions of ,schultz's ,alt-,testamentliche ,theologie 7#dth ed41 #ahhi71 and ,duhm's ,theologie der ,propheten1 the student will find invaluable ,professor ,robertson ,smith's ,prophets of ,israel for ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 and ,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson's papers in the ,expositor for #ahhd on the theology of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 ,there are also ,krger's able and lucid ,essai sur la ,thologie d',isae xl4-lxvi4 7,paris1 #ahhb71 and ,guthe's ,das ,zukunftsbild ,jesaias1 and ,barth's and ,giesebrecht's respective ,beitrge zur ,jesaiakritik1 the latter published this year4 ,in conclusion1 ,i have to express my thanks for the very great assistance which ,i have derived in the composition of both volumes from my friend the ,rev4 ,charles ,anderson ,scott1 ,b4,a41 who has sought out facts1 read nearly all the proofs and helped to prepare the ,index4 ,,book ,i4 ,,the ,,exile4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,the problem of the date of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 is this3 ,in a book called by the name of the prophet ,isaiah1 who flourished between #gdj and #gjj ,b4,c41 the last twenty-seven chapters deal with the captivity suffered by the ,jews in ,babylonia from #eih to #ech1 and more particularly with the advent1 about #eej1 of ,cyrus1 whom they name4 ,are we to take for granted that ,isaiah himself prophetically wrote these chapters1 or must we assign them to a nameless author or authors of the period of which they treat8 ,till the end of last century it was the almost universally accepted tradition1 and even still is an opinion retained by many1 that ,isaiah was carried forward by the ,spirit1 out of his own age to the standpoint of one hundred and fifty years later2 that he was inspired to utter the warning and comfort required by a generation so very different from his own1 and was even enabled to hail by name their redeemer1 ,cyrus4 ,this theory1 involving as it does a phenomenon without parallel in the history of ,holy ,scripture1 is based on these two grounds3 first1 that the chapters in question form a considerable part--nearly nine-twentieths--of the ,book of ,isaiah2 and second1 that portions of them are quoted in the ,new ,testament by the prophet's name4 ,the theory is also supported by arguments drawn from resemblances of style and vocabulary between these twenty-seven chapters and the undisputed oracles of ,isaiah2 but1 as the opponents of the ,isaian authorship also appeal to vocabulary and style1 it will be better to leave this kind of evidence aside for the present1 and to discuss the problem upon other and less ambiguous grounds4 ,the first argument1 then1 for the ,isaian authorship of chapters xl4-lxvi4 is that they form part of a book called by ,isaiah's name4 ,but1 to be worth anything1 this argument must rest on the following facts3 that everything in a book called by a prophet's name is necessarily by that prophet1 and that the compilers of the book intended to hand it down as altogether from his pen4 ,now there is no evidence for either of these conclusions4 ,on the contrary1 there is considerable testimony in the opposite direction4 ,the ,book of ,isaiah is not one continuous prophecy4 ,it consists of a number of separate orations1 with a few intervening pieces of narrative4 ,some of these orations claim to be ,isaiah's own3 they possess such titles as ,the vision of ,isaiah the son of ,amoz4#a ,but such titles describe only the individual prophecies they head1 and other portions of the book1 upon other subjects and in very different styles1 do not possess titles at all4 ,it seems to me1 that those1 who maintain the ,isaian authorship of the whole book1 have the responsibility cast upon them of explaining why some chapters in it should be distinctly said to be by ,isaiah1 while others should not be so entitled4 ,surely this difference affords us sufficient ground for understanding1 that the whole book is not necessarily by ,isaiah1 nor intentionally handed down by its compilers as the work of that prophet4#b ,now1 when we come to chs4 xl4-lxvi41 we find that1 occurring in a book which we have just seen no reason for supposing to be in every part of it by ,isaiah1 these chapters nowhere claim to be his4 ,they are separated from that portion of the book1 in which his undisputed oracles are placed1 by a historical narrative of considerable length4 ,and there is not anywhere upon them nor in them a title nor other statement that they are by the prophet1 nor any allusion which could give the faintest support to the opinion1 that they offer themselves to posterity as dating from his time4 ,it is safe to say1 that1 if they had come to us by themselves1 no one would have dreamt for an instant of ascribing them to ,isaiah2 for the alleged resemblances1 which their language and style bear to his language and style1 are far more than overborne by the undoubted differences1 and have never been employed1 even by the defenders of the ,isaian authorship1 except in additional and confessedly slight support of their main argument1 viz4 that the chapters must be ,isaiah's because they are included in a book called by his name4 ,let us understand1 therefore1 at this very outset1 that in discussing the question of the authorship of ,second ,isaiah1 we are not discussing a question1 upon which the text itself makes any statement1 or into which the credibility of the text enters4 ,no claim is made by the ,book of ,isaiah itself for the ,isaian authorship of chs4 xl4-lxvi4 ,a second fact in ,scripture1 which seems at first sight to make strongly for the unity of the ,book of ,isaiah1 is that in the ,new ,testament1 portions of the disputed chapters are quoted by ,isaiah's name1 just as are portions of his admitted prophecies4 ,these citations are nine in number4#c ,none is by our ,lord ,himself4 ,they occur in the ,gospels1 ,acts and ,paul4 ,now if any of these quotations were given in answer to the question1 ,did ,isaiah write chs4 xl4-lxvi4 of the book called by his name8 or if the use of his name along with them were involved in the arguments which they are borrowed to illustrate 7as1 for instance1 is the case with ,david's name in the quotation made by our ,lord from ,psalm cx471 then those who deny the unity of the ,book of ,isaiah would be face to face with a very serious problem indeed4 ,but in none of the nine cases is the authorship of the ,book of ,isaiah in question4 ,in none of the nine cases is there anything in the argument1 for the purpose of which the quotation has been made1 that depends on the quoted words being by ,isaiah4 ,for the purposes1 for which the ,evangelists and ,paul borrow the texts1 these might as well be unnamed1 or attributed to any other canonical writer4 ,nothing in them requires us to suppose that ,isaiah's name is mentioned with them for any other end than that of reference1 viz41 to point out that they lie in the part of prophecy usually known by his name4 ,but1 if there is nothing in these citations to prove that ,isaiah's name is being used for any other purpose than that of reference1 then it is plain--and this is all that we ask assent to at the present time--that they do not offer the authority of ,scripture as a bar to our examining the evidence of the chapters in question4 ,it is hardly necessary to add that neither is there any other question of doctrine in our way4 ,there is none about the nature of prophecy1 for1 to take an example1 ch4 liii41 as a prophecy of ,jesus ,christ1 is surely as great a marvel if you date it from the ,exile as if you date it from the age of ,isaiah4 ,and1 in particular1 let us understand that no question need be started about the ability of ,god's ,spirit to inspire a prophet to mention ,cyrus by name one hundred and fifty years before ,cyrus appeared4 ,the question is not1 ,could a prophet have been so inspired8--to which question1 were it put1 our answer might only be1 ,god is great6--but the question is1 ,was our prophet so inspired8 does he himself offer evidence of the fact8 ,or1 on the contrary1 in naming ,cyrus does he give himself out as a contemporary of ,cyrus1 who already saw the great ,persian above the horizon8 ,to this question only the writings under discussion can give us an answer4 ,let us see what they have to say4 ,apart from the question of the date1 no chapters in the ,bible are interpreted with such complete unanimity as ,isa4 xl4-xlviii4 ,they plainly set forth certain things as having already taken place--the ,exile and ,captivity1 the ruin of ,jerusalem1 and the devastation of the ,holy ,land4 ,israel is addressed as having exhausted the time of her penalty1 and is proclaimed to be ready for deliverance4 ,some of the people are comforted as being in despair because redemption does not draw near2 others are exhorted to leave the city of their bondage1 as if they were growing too familiar with its idolatrous life4 ,cyrus is named as their deliverer1 and is pointed out as already called upon his career1 and as blessed with success by ,jehovah4 ,it is also promised that he will immediately add ,babylon to his conquests1 and so set ,god's people free4 ,now all this is not predicted1 as if from the standpoint of a previous century4 ,it is nowhere said--as we should expect it to be said1 if the prophecy had been uttered by ,isaiah--that ,assyria1 the dominant world-power of ,isaiah's day1 was to disappear and ,babylon to take her place2 that then the ,babylonians should lead the ,jews into an exile which they had escaped at the hands of ,assyria2 and that after nearly seventy years of suffering ,god would raise up ,cyrus as a deliverer4 ,there is none of this prediction1 which we might fairly have expected had the prophecy been ,isaiah's2 because1 however far ,isaiah carries us into the future1 he never fails to start from the circumstances of his own day4 ,still more significant1 however--there is not even the kind of prediction that we find in ,jeremiah's prophecies of the ,exile1 with which indeed it is most instructive to compare ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 ,jeremiah also spoke of exile and deliverance1 but it was always with the grammar of the future4 ,he fairly and openly predicted both2 and1 let us especially remember1 he did so with a meagreness of description1 a reserve and reticence about details1 which are simply unintelligible if ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 was written before his day1 and by so well-known a prophet as ,isaiah4 ,no3 in the statements1 which our chapters make concerning the ,exile and the condition of ,israel under it1 there is no prediction1 not the slightest trace of that grammar of the future in which ,jeremiah's prophecies are constantly uttered4 ,but there is a direct appeal to the conscience of a people already long under the discipline of ,god2 their circumstance of exile is taken for granted2 there is a most vivid and delicate appreciation of their present fears and doubts1 and to these the deliverer ,cyrus is not only named1 but introduced as an actual and notorious personage already upon the midway of his irresistible career4 ,these facts are more broadly based than just at first sight appears4 ,you cannot turn their flank by the argument that ,hebrew prophets were in the habit of employing in their predictions what is called the prophetic perfect--that is1 that in the ardour of their conviction that certain things would take place they talked of these1 as the flexibility of the ,hebrew tenses allowed them to do1 in the past or perfect as if the things had actually taken place4 ,no such argument is possible in the case of the introduction of ,cyrus4 ,for it is not only that the prophecy1 with what might be the mere ardour of vision1 represents the ,persian as already above the horizon and upon the flowing tide of victory2 but that1 in the course of a sober argument for the unique divinity of the ,god of ,israel1 which takes place throughout chs4 xli4-xlviii41 ,cyrus1 alive and irresistible1 already accredited by success1 and with ,babylonia at his feet1 is pointed out as the unmistakable proof that former prophecies of a deliverance for ,israel are at last coming to pass4 ,cyrus1 in short1 is not presented as a prediction1 but as the proof that a prediction is being fulfilled4 ,unless he had already appeared in flesh and blood1 and was on the point of striking at ,babylon1 with all the prestige of unbroken victory1 a great part of ,isa4 xli4-xlviii4 would be utterly unintelligible4 ,this argument is so conclusive for the date of ,second ,isaiah1 that it may be well to state it a little more in detail1 even at the risk of anticipating some of the exposition of the text4 ,among the ,jews at the close of the ,exile there appear to have been two classes4 ,one class was hopeless of deliverance1 and to their hearts is addressed such a prophecy as ch4 xl43 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye ,my people4 ,but there was another class1 of opposite temperament1 who had only too strong opinions on the subject of deliverance4 ,in bondage to the letter of ,scripture and to the great precedents of their history1 these ,jews appear to have insisted that the ,deliverer to come must be a ,jew1 and a descendant of ,david4 ,and the bent of much of the prophet's urgency in ch4 xlv4 is to persuade those pedants1 that the ,gentile ,cyrus1 who had appeared to be not only the biggest man of his age1 but the very likely means of ,israel's redemption1 was of ,jehovah's own creation and calling4 ,does not such an argument necessarily imply that ,cyrus was already present1 an object of doubt and debate to earnest minds in ,israel8 ,or are we to suppose that all this doubt and debate were foreseen1 rehearsed and answered one hundred and fifty years before the time by so famous a prophet as ,isaiah1 and that1 in spite of his prediction and answer1 the doubt and debate nevertheless took place in the minds of the very ,israelites1 who were most earnest students of ancient prophecy8 ,the thing has only to be stated to be felt to be impossible4 ,but besides the pedants in ,israel1 there is apparent through these prophecies another body of men1 against whom also ,jehovah claims the actual ,cyrus for ,his own4 ,they are the priests and worshippers of the heathen idols4 ,it is well known that the advent of ,cyrus cast the ,gentile religions of the time and their counsellors into confusion4 ,the wisest priests were perplexed2 the oracles of ,greece and ,asia ,minor either were dumb when consulted about the ,persian1 or gave more than usually ambiguous answers4 ,over against this perplexity and despair of the heathen religions1 our prophet confidently claims ,cyrus for ,jehovah's own4 ,in a debate in ch4 xli41 in which he seeks to establish ,jehovah's righteousness--that is1 ,jehovah's faithfulness to ,his word1 and power to carry out ,his predictions--the prophet speaks of ancient prophecies which have come from ,jehovah1 and points to ,cyrus as their fulfilment4 ,it does not matter to us in the meantime what those prophecies were4 ,they may have been certain of ,jeremiah's predictions2 we may be sure that they cannot have contained anything so definite as ,cyrus' name1 or such a proof of ,divine foresight must certainly have formed part of the prophet's plea4 ,it is enough that they could be quoted2 our business is rather with the evidence which the prophet offers of their fulfilment4 ,that evidence is ,cyrus4 ,would it have been possible to refer the heathen to ,cyrus as proof that those ancient prophecies were being fulfilled1 unless ,cyrus had been visible to the heathen1--unless the heathen had been beginning already to feel this ,persian from the sunrise in all his weight of war8 ,it is no esoteric doctrine which the prophet is unfolding to initiated ,israelites about ,cyrus4 ,he is making an appeal to men of the world to face facts4 ,could he possibly have made such an appeal unless the facts had been there1 unless ,cyrus had been within the ken of the natural man8 ,unless ,cyrus and his conquests were already historically present1 the argument in xli4-xlviii4 is unintelligible4 ,if this evidence for the exilic date of ,isa4 xl4-xlviii4--for all these chapters hang together--required any additional support1 it would find it in the fact that the prophet does not wholly treat of what is past and over1 but makes some predictions as well4 ,cyrus is on the way of triumph1 but ,babylon has still to fall by his hand4 ,babylon has still to fall1 before the exiles can go free4 ,now1 if our prophet were predicting from the standpoint of one hundred and forty years before1 why did he make this sharp distinction between two events which appeared so closely together8 ,if he had both the advent of ,cyrus and the fall of ,babylon in his long perspective1 why did he not use the prophetic perfect for both8 ,that he speaks of the first as past and of the second as still to come1 would most surely1 if there had been no tradition the other way1 have been accepted by all as sufficient evidence1 that the advent of ,cyrus was behind him and the fall of ,babylon still in front of him1 when he wrote these chapters4 ,thus the earlier part1 at least1 of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4--that is1 chs4 xl4-xlviii4--compels us to date it between #eee1 ,cyrus' advent1 and #ech1 ,babylon's fall4 ,but some think that we may still further narrow the limits4 ,in ch4 xli4 #be1 ,cyrus1 whose own kingdom lay east of ,babylonia1 is described as invading ,babylonia from the north4 ,this1 it has been thought1 must refer to his union with the ,medes in #edi1 and his threatened descent upon ,mesopotamia from their quarter of the prophet's horizon4#d ,if it be so1 the possible years of our prophecy are reduced to eleven1 #edi-ech4 ,but even if we take the wider and more certain limit1 #eee to #ech1 we may well say that there are very few chapters in the whole of the ,old ,testament whose date can be fixed so precisely as the date of chs4 xl4-xlviii4 ,if what has been unfolded in the preceding paragraphs is recognised as the statement of the chapters themselves1 it will be felt that further evidence of an exilic date is scarcely needed4 ,and those1 who are acquainted with the controversy upon the evidence furnished by the style and language of the prophecies1 will admit how far short in decisiveness it falls of the arguments offered above4 ,but we may fairly ask whether there is anything opposed to the conclusion we have reached1 either1 first1 in the local colour of the prophecies2 or1 second1 in their language2 or1 third1 in their thought--anything which shows that they are more likely to have been ,isaiah's than of exilic origin4 #a4 ,it has often been urged against the exilic date of these prophecies1 that they wear so very little local colour1 and one of the greatest of critics1 ,ewald1 has felt himself1 therefore1 permitted to place their home1 not in ,babylonia1 but in ,egypt1 while he maintains the exilic date4 ,but1 as we shall see in surveying the condition of the exiles1 it was natural for the best among them1 their psalmists and prophets1 to have no eyes for the colours of ,babylon4 ,they lived inwardly2 they were much more the inhabitants of their own broken hearts than of that gorgeous foreign land2 when their thoughts rose out of themselves it was to seek immediately the far-away ,zion4 ,how little local colour is there in the writings of ,ezekiel6 ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 has even more to show2 for indeed the absence of local colour from our prophecy has been greatly exaggerated4 ,we shall find as we follow the exposition1 break after break of ,babylonian light and shadow falling across our path1--the temples1 the idol-manufactories1 the processions of images1 the diviners and astrologers1 the gods and altars especially cultivated by the characteristic mercantile spirit of the place2 the shipping of that mart of nations1 the crowds of her merchants2 the glitter of many waters1 and even that intolerable glare1 which so frequently curses the skies of ,mesopotamia 7xlix4 #aj74 ,the prophet speaks of the hills of his native land with just the same longing1 that ,ezekiel and a probable psalmist of the ,exile#e betray1--the homesickness of a highland-born man whose prison is on a flat1 monotonous plain4 ,the beasts he mentions have for the most part been recognised as familiar in ,babylonia2 and while the same cannot be said of the trees and plants he names1 it has been observed that the passages1 into which he brings them1 are passages where his thoughts are fixed on the restoration to ,palestine4#f ,besides these1 there are many delicate symptoms of the presence1 before the prophet1 of a people in a foreign land1 engaged in commerce1 but without political responsibilities1 each of which1 taken by itself1 may be insufficient to convince1 but the reiterated expression of which has even betrayed commentators1 who lived too early for the theory of a second ,isaiah1 into the involuntary admission of an exilic authorship4 ,it will perhaps startle some to hear ,john ,calvin quoted on behalf of the exilic date of these prophecies4 ,but let us read and consider this statement of his3 ,some regard must be had to the time when this prophecy was uttered2 for since the rank of the kingdom had been obliterated1 and the name of the royal family had become mean and contemptible1 during the captivity in ,babylon1 it might seem as if through the ruin of that family the truth of ,god had fallen into decay2 and therefore he bids them contemplate by faith the throne of ,david1 which had been cast down4#g #b4 ,what we have seen to be true of the local colour of our prophecy1 holds good also of its style and language4 ,there is nothing in either of these to commit us to an ,isaian authorship1 or to make an exilic date improbable2 on the contrary1 the language and style1 while containing no stronger nor more frequent resemblances to the language and style of ,isaiah than may be accounted for by the natural influence of so great a prophet upon his successors1 are signalised by differences from his undisputed oracles1 too constant1 too subtle1 and sometimes too sharp1 to make it at all probable that the whole book came from the same man4 ,on this point it is enough to refer our readers to the recent exhaustive and very able reviews of the evidence by ,canon ,cheyne in the second volume of his ,commentary1 and by ,canon ,driver in the last chapter of ,isaiah3 ,his ,life and ,times1 and to quote the following words of so great an authority as ,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson4 ,after remarking on the difference in vocabulary of the two parts of the ,book of ,isaiah1 he adds that it is not so much words in themselves as the peculiar uses and combinations of them1 and especially the peculiar articulation of sentences and the movement of the whole discourse1 by which an impression is produced so unlike the impression produced by the earlier parts of the book4#h #c4 ,it is the same with the thought and doctrine of our prophecy4 ,in this there is nothing to make the ,isaian authorship probable1 or an exilic date impossible4 ,but1 on the contrary1 whether we regard the needs of the people or the analogies of the development of their religion1 we find that1 while everything suits the ,exile1 nearly everything is foreign both to the subjects and to the methods of ,isaiah4 ,we shall observe the items of this as we go along1 but one of them may be mentioned here 7it will afterwards require a chapter to itself71 our prophet's use of the terms righteous and righteousness4 ,no one1 who has carefully studied the meaning which these terms bear in the authentic oracles of ,isaiah1 and the use to which they are put in the prophecies under discussion1 can fail to find in the difference a striking corroboration of our argument--that the latter were composed by a different mind than ,isaiah's1 speaking to a different generation4#i 99 99 99 99 99 ,to sum up this whole argument4 ,we have seen that there is no evidence in the ,book of ,isaiah to prove that it was all by himself1 but much testimony which points to a plurality of authors2 that chs4 xl4-lxvi4 nowhere assert themselves to be by ,isaiah2 and that there is no other well-grounded claim of ,scripture or of doctrine on behalf of his authorship4 ,we have then shown that chs4 xl4-xlviii4 do not only present the ,exile as if nearly finished and ,cyrus as if already come1 while the fall of ,babylon is still future2 but that it is essential to one of their main arguments that ,cyrus should be standing before ,israel and the world1 as a successful warrior1 on his way to attack ,babylon4 ,that led us to date these chapters between #eee and #ech4 ,turning then to other evidence1--the local colour they show1 their language and style1 and their theology1--we have found nothing which conflicts with that date1 but1 on the contrary1 a very great deal1 which much more agrees with it than with the date1 or with the authorship1 of ,isaiah4 ,it will be observed1 however1 that the question has been limited to the earlier chapters of the twenty-seven under discussion1 viz41 to xl4-xlviii4 ,does the same conclusion hold good of xlix4 to lxvi48 ,this can be properly discovered only as we closely follow their exposition2 it is enough in the meantime to have got firm footing on the ,exile4 ,we can feel our way bit by bit from this standpoint onwards4 ,let us now merely anticipate the main features of the rest of the prophecy4 ,a new section has been marked by many as beginning with ch4 xlix4 ,this is because ch4 xlviii4 concludes with a refrain3 ,there is no peace1 saith ,jehovah1 to the wicked1 which occurs again at the end of ch4 lvii41 and because with ch4 xlviii4 ,babylon and ,cyrus drop out of sight4 ,but the circumstances are still those of exile1 and1 as ,professor ,davidson remarks1 ch4 xlix4 is parallel in thought to ch4 xlii41 and also takes for granted the restoration of ,israel in ch4 xlviii41 proceeding naturally from that to the statement of ,israel's world-mission4 ,apart from the alternation of passages dealing with the ,servant of the ,lord1 and passages whose subject is ,zion--an alternation which begins pretty early in the prophecy1 and has suggested to some its composition out of two different writings#aj--the first real break in the sequence occurs at ch4 lii4 #ac1 where the prophecy of the sin-bearing ,servant is introduced4 ,by most critics this is held to be an insertion1 for ch4 liv4 #a follows naturally upon ch4 lii4 #ab1 though it is undeniable that there is also some association between chs4 lii4 #ac-liii41 and ch4 liv4#aa ,in chs4 liv4-lv4 we are evidently still in exile4 ,it is in commenting on a verse of these chapters that ,calvin makes the admission of exilic origin which has been quoted above4 ,a number of short prophecies now follow1 till the end of ch4 lix4 is reached4 ,these1 as we shall see1 make it extremely difficult to believe in the original unity of ,second ,isaiah4 ,some of them1 it is true1 lie in evident circumstance of exile2 but others are undoubtedly of earlier date1 reflecting the scenery of ,palestine1 and the habits of the people in their political independence1 with ,jehovah's judgement-cloud still unburst1 but lowering4 ,such is ch4 lvi4 #i-lvii41 which regards the ,exile as still to come1 quotes the natural features of ,palestine1 and charges the ,jews with unbelieving diplomacy--a charge not possible against them when they were in captivity4 ,but others of these short prophecies are1 in the opinion of some critics1 post-exilic4 ,cheyne assigns ch4 lvi4 to after the ,return1 when the temple was standing1 and the duty of holding fasts and sabbaths could be enforced1 as it was enforced by ,nehemiah4 ,i shall give1 when we reach the passage1 my reasons for doubting his conclusion4 ,the chapter seems to me as likely to have been written upon the eve of the ,return as after the ,return had taken place4 ,ch4 lvii41 the eighteenth of our twenty-seven chapters1 closes with the same refrain as ch4 xlviii41 the ninth of the series3 ,there is no peace1 saith ,jehovah1 to the wicked4 ,ch4 lviii4 has1 therefore1 been regarded as beginning the third great division of the prophecy4 ,but here again1 while there is certainly an advance in the treatment of the subject1 and the prophet talks less of the redemption of the ,jews and more of the glory of the restoration of ,zion1 the point of transition is very difficult to mark4 ,some critics#ab regard ch4 lviii4 as post-exilic2 but when we come to it we shall find a number of reasons for supposing it to belong1 just as much as ,ezekiel1 to the ,exile4 ,ch4 lix4 is perhaps the most difficult portion of all1 because it makes the ,jews responsible for civic justice in a way they could hardly be conceived to be in exile1 and yet speaks1 in the language of other portions of ,second ,isaiah1 of a deliverance that cannot well be other than the deliverance from exile4 ,we shall find in this chapter likely marks of the fusion of two distinct addresses1 making the conclusion probable that it is ,israel's earlier conscience which we catch here1 following her into the days of exile1 and reciting her former guilt just before pardon is assured4 ,chs4 lx41 lxi41 and lxii4 are certainly exilic4 ,the inimitable prophecy1 ch4 lxiii4 #a-f1 complete within itself1 and unique in its beauty1 is either a promise given just before the deliverance from a long captivity of ,israel under heathen nations 7ver4 #d71 or an exultant song of triumph immediately after such a deliverance has taken place4 ,ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv4 implies a ruined temple 7ver4 #aj71 but bears no traces of the writer being in exile4 ,it has been assigned to the period of the first attempts to rebuild ,jerusalem after the ,return4 ,ch4 lxv4 has been assigned to the same date1 and its local colour interpreted as that of ,palestine4 ,but we shall find the colour to be just as probably that of ,babylon1 and again ,i do not see any certain proofs of a post-exilic date4 ,ch4 lxvi41 however1 betrays more evidence of being written after the ,return4 ,it divides into two parts4 ,in verses #a to #d the temple is still unbuilt1 but the building would seem to be already begun4 ,in verses #e to #bd1 the arrival of the ,jews in ,palestine1 the resumption of the life of the sacred community1 and the disappointments of the returned at the first meagre results1 seem to be implied4 ,and the music of the book dies out in tones of warning1 that sin still hinders the ,lord's work with ,his people4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this rapid survey has made two things sufficiently clear4 ,first1 that while the bulk of chs4 xl4-lxvi4 was composed in ,babylonia during the ,exile of the ,jews1 there are considerable portions which date from before the ,exile1 and betray a ,palestinian origin2 and one or two smaller pieces that seem--rather less evidently1 however--to take for granted the ,return from the ,exile4 ,but1 secondly1 all these pieces1 which it seems necessary to assign to different epochs and authors1 have been arranged so as to exhibit a certain order and progress--an order1 more or less observed1 of date1 and a progress very apparent 7as we shall see in the course of exposition7 of thought and of clearness in definition4 ,the largest portion1 of whose unity we are assured and whose date we can fix1 is found at the beginning4 ,chs4 xl4-xlviii4 are certainly by one hand1 and may be dated1 as we have seen1 between #eee and #ech--the period of ,cyrus' approach to take ,babylon4 ,there the interest in ,cyrus ceases1 and the thought of the redemption from ,babylon is mainly replaced by that of the subsequent ,return4 ,along with these lines1 we shall discover a development in the prophecy's great doctrine of the ,servant of ,jehovah4 ,but even this dies away1 as if the experience of suffering and discipline were being replaced by that of return and restoration2 and it is ,zion in her glory1 and the spiritual mission of the people1 and the vengeance of the ,lord1 and the building of the temple1 and a number of practical details in the life and worship of the restored community1 which fill up the remainder of the book1 along with a few echoes from pre-exilic times4 ,can we escape feeling in all this a definite design and arrangement1 which fails to be absolutely perfect1 probably1 from the nature of the materials at the arranger's disposal8 ,we are1 therefore1 justified in coming to the provisional conclusion1 that ,second ,isaiah is not a unity1 in so far as it consists of a number of pieces by different men1 whom ,god raised up at various times before1 during1 and after the ,exile1 to comfort and exhort amid the shifting circumstance and tempers of ,his people2 but that it is a unity1 in so far as these pieces have been gathered together by an editor very soon after the ,return from the ,exile1 in an order as regular both in point of time and subject as the somewhat mixed material would permit4 ,it is in this sense that throughout this volume we shall talk of our prophet1 or the prophet2 up to ch4 xlix41 at least1 we shall feel that the expression is literally true2 after that it is rather an editorial than an original unity which is apparent4 ,in this question of unity the dramatic style of the prophecy forms1 no doubt1 the greatest difficulty4 ,who shall dare to determine of the many soliloquies1 apostrophes1 lyrics and other pieces that are here gathered1 often in want of any connection save that of dramatic grouping and a certain sympathy of temper1 whether they are by the same author or have been collected from several origins8 ,we must be content to leave the matter uncertain4 ,one great reason1 which we have not yet quoted1 for supposing that the whole prophecy is not by one man1 is that if it had been his name would certainly have come down with it4 ,do not let it be thought that such a conclusion1 as we have been led to1 is merely a dogma of modern criticism4 ,here1 if anywhere1 the critic is but the patient student of ,scripture1 searching for the testimony of the sacred text about itself1 and formulating that4 ,if it be found that such a testimony conflicts with ecclesiastical tradition1 however ancient and universal1 so much the worse for tradition4 ,in ,protestant circles1 at least1 we have no choice4 ,litera ,scripta manet4 ,when we know that the only evidence for the ,isaian authorship of chs4 xl4-lxvi4 is tradition1 supported by an unthinking interpretation of ,new ,testament citations1 while the whole testimony of these ,scriptures themselves denies them to be ,isaiah's1 we cannot help making our choice1 and accepting the testimony of ,scripture4 ,do we find them any the less wonderful or ,divine8 ,do they comfort less8 ,do they speak with less power to the conscience8 ,do they testify with more uncertain voice to our ,lord and ,saviour8 ,it will be the task of the following pages to show that1 interpreted in connection with the history out of which they themselves say that ,god's ,spirit drew them1 these twenty-seven chapters become only more prophetic of ,christ1 and more comforting and instructive to men1 than they were before4 ,but the remarkable fact is1 that anciently tradition itself appears to have agreed with the results of modern scholarship4 ,the original place of the ,book of ,isaiah in the ,jewish canon seems to have been after both ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1#ac a fact which goes to prove that it did not reach completion till a later date than the works of these two prophets of the ,exile4 ,if now it be asked1 ,why should a series of prophecies written in the ,exile be attached to the authentic works of ,isaiah8 that is a fair question1 and one which the supporters of the exilic authorship have the duty laid upon them of endeavouring to answer4 ,fortunately they are not under the necessity of falling back1 for want of other reasons1 on the supposition that this attachment was due to the error of some scribe1 or to the custom which ancient writers practised of filling up any part of a volume1 that remained blank when one book was finished1 with the writing of any other that would fit the place4#ad ,the first of these reasons is too accidental1 the second too artificial1 in face of the undoubted sympathy which exists among all parts of the ,book of ,isaiah4 ,isaiah himself plainly prophesied of an exile longer than his own generation experienced1 and prophesied of a return from it 7ch4 xi474 ,we saw no reason to dispute his claims to the predictions about ,babylon in chs4 xxi4 and xxxix4 ,isaiah's1 too1 more than any other prophet's1 were those great and final hopes of the ,old ,testament--the survival of ,israel and the gathering of the ,gentiles to the worship of ,jehovah at ,jerusalem4 ,but it is for the express purpose of emphasizing the immediate fulfilment of such ancient predictions1 that ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 were published4 ,although our prophet has new things to publish1 his first business is to show that the former things have come to pass1 especially the ,exile1 the survival of a ,remnant1 the sending of a ,deliverer1 the doom of ,babylon4 ,what more natural than to attach to his utterances those prophecies1 of which the events he pointed to were the vindication and fulfilment8 ,the attachment was the more easy to arrange that the authentic prophecies had not passed from ,isaiah's hand in a fixed form4 ,they do not bear those marks of their author's own editing1 which are borne by the prophecies both of ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel4 ,it is impossible to be dogmatic on the point4 ,but these facts--that our chapters are concerned1 as no other ,scriptures are1 with the fulfilment of previous prophecies2 that it is the prophecies of ,isaiah which are the original and fullest prediction of the events they are busy with2 and that the form1 in which ,isaiah's prophecies are handed down1 did not preclude additions of this kind to them--contribute very evident reasons why ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 though written in the ,exile1 should be attached to ,isa4 i4-xxxix4#ae 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus we present a theory of the exilic authorship of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 within itself complete and consistent1 suited to all parts of the evidence1 and not opposed by the authority of any part of ,scripture4 ,in consequence of its conclusion1 our duty1 before proceeding to the exposition of the chapters1 is twofold3 first1 to connect the time of ,isaiah with the period of the ,captivity1 and then to sketch the condition of ,israel in ,exile4 ,this we shall undertake in the next three chapters4 ,,note ,,to ,,chapter ,i4 ,readers may wish to have a reference to other passages of this volume1 in which the questions of the date1 authorship and structure of ,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 are discussed4 ,see pp4 #fe-fh1 #aab1 #adf f41 #bab1 #bbc2 ,introduction to ,book ,,iii42 opening paragraphs of ch4 xviii4 and of ch4 xix41 etc4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,chs4 i41 ii41 etc4 ,the only title that could be offered as covering the whole book is that in ch4 i41 ver4 #a3 ,the vision of ,isaiah the son of ,amoz1 which he saw concerning ,judah and ,jerusalem1 in the days of ,uzziah1 ,jotham1 ,ahaz1 and ,hezekiah1 kings of ,judah4 ,but this manifestly cannot apply to any but the earlier chapters1 of which ,judah and ,jerusalem are indeed the subjects4 #b ,there are1 it will be remembered1 certain narratives in the ,book of ,isaiah1 which are not by the prophet4 ,they speak of him in the third person 7chs4 vii41 xxxvi4-xxxix471 while in other narratives 7chs4 vi4 and viii47 he speaks of himself in the first person4 ,their presence is sufficient proof that the ,book of ,isaiah1 in its extant shape1 did not come from ,isaiah's hands1 but was compiled by others4 #c ,matt4 iii4 #c1 viii4 #ag1 xii4 #ag2 ,luke iii4 #d1 iv4 #ag2 ,john i4 #bc1 xii4 #ch2 ,acts viii4 #bh2 ,rom4 x4 #af-bj4 #d ,driver's ,isaiah1 pp4 #acg1 #aci4 #e ,psalm cxxi4 #f ,driver's ,isaiah3 ,his ,life and ,times1 p4 #aia4 #g ,calvin on ,isa4 lv4 #c4 #h ,so quoted by ,driver 7,isaiah1 etc41 p4 #bjj71 from the ,british and ,foreign ,evangelical ,review1 #ahgi1 p4 #cci4 #i ,see p4 #bbc4 #aj ,professor ,briggs' ,messianic ,prophecy1 #cci ff4 #aa ,ewald is very strong on this4 #ab ,including ,professor ,cheyne1 ,encyc4 ,britann41 article ,isaiah4 #ac ,according to the arrangement given in the ,talmud 7,baba bathra1 f4 #ad1 col4 #b73 ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 ,isaiah1 the ,twelve4 ,cf4 ,bleek1 ,introduction to ,old ,testament1 on ,isaiah2 ,orelli's ,isaiah1 ,eng4 ed41 p4 #bad4 #ad ,robertson ,smith1 ,the ,old ,testament in ,jewish ,church1 #aji4 #ae ,it is the theory of some1 that although ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 dates as a whole from the ,exile1 there are passages in it by ,isaiah himself1 or in his style by pupils of his 7,klostermann in ,herzog's ,encyclopdia and ,bredenkamp in his ,commentary74 ,but this1 while possible1 is beyond proof4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,from ,,isaiah ,,to ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,jerusalem4 #gja-ehg ,b4,c4 ,at first sight1 the circumstances of ,judah in the last ten years of the seventh century present a strong resemblance to her fortunes in the last ten years of the eighth4 ,the empire of the world1 to which she belongs1 is again divided between ,egypt and a ,mesopotamian power4 ,syria is again the field of their doubtful battle1 and the question1 to which of the two shall homage be paid1 still forms the politics of all her states4 ,judah still vacillates1 intrigues and draws down on herself the wrath of the ,north by her treaties with ,egypt4 ,again there is a great prophet and statesman1 whose concern is righteousness1 who exposes both the immorality of his people and the folly of their politics1 and who summons the evil from the ,north as ,god's scourge upon ,israel3 ,isaiah has been succeeded by ,jeremiah4 ,and1 as if to complete the analogy1 the nation has once more passed through a puritan reformation4 ,josiah has1 even more thoroughly than ,hezekiah1 effected the disestablishment of idols4 ,beneath this circumstantial resemblance1 however1 there is one fundamental difference4 ,the strength of ,isaiah's preaching was bent1 especially during the closing years of the century1 to establish the inviolableness of ,jerusalem4 ,against the threats of the ,assyrian siege1 and in spite of his own more formidable conscience of his people's corruption1 ,isaiah persisted that ,zion should not be taken1 and that the people1 though cut down to their roots1 should remain planted in the land1--the stock of an imperial nation in the latter days4 ,this prophecy was vindicated by the marvellous relief of ,jerusalem on the apparent eve of her capture in #gja4 ,but its echoes had not yet died away1 when ,jeremiah to his generation delivered the very opposite message4 ,round him the popular prophets babbled by rote ,isaiah's ancient assurances about ,zion4 ,their soft1 monotonous repetitions lapped pleasantly upon the immovable self-confidence of the people4 ,but ,jeremiah called down the storm4 ,even while prosperity seemed to give him the lie1 he predicted the speedy ruin of ,temple and ,city1 and summoned ,judah's enemies against her in the name of the ,god1 on whose former word she relied for peace4 ,the contrast between the two great prophets grows most dramatic in their conduct during the respective sieges1 of which each was the central figure4 ,isaiah1 alone steadfast in a city of despair1 defying the taunts of the heathen1 rekindling within the dispirited defenders1 whom the enemy sought to bribe to desertion1 the passions of patriotism and religion1 proclaiming always1 as with the voice of a trumpet1 that ,zion must stand inviolate2 ,jeremiah1 on the contrary1 declaring the futility of resistance1 counselling each citizen to save his own life from the ruin of the state1 in treaty with the enemy1 and even arrested as a deserter1--these two contrasting figures and attitudes gather up the difference which the century had wrought in the fortunes of the ,city of ,god4 ,and so1 while in #gja ,jerusalem triumphed in the ,lord by the sudden raising of the ,assyrian siege1 three years after the next century was out she twice succumbed to the ,assyrian's successor1 and nine years later was totally destroyed4 ,what is the reason of this difference1 which a century sufficed to work8 ,why was the sacredness of ,judah's shrine not as much an article of ,jeremiah's as of ,isaiah's creed1--as much an element of ,divine providence in #fjj as in #gjj ,b4,c48 ,this is not a very hard question to answer1 if we keep in our regard two things--firstly1 the moral condition of the people1 and1 secondly1 the necessities of the spiritual religion1 which was identified for the time with their fortunes4 ,the ,israel1 which was delivered into captivity at the word of ,jeremiah1 was a people at once more hardened and more exhausted than the ,israel1 which1 in spite of its sin1 ,isaiah's efforts had succeeded in preserving upon its own land4 ,a century had come and gone of further grace and opportunity1 but the grace had been resisted1 the opportunity abused1 and the people stood more guilty and more wilful than ever before ,god4 ,even clearer1 however1 than the deserts of the people was the need of their religion4 ,that local and temporary victory--after all1 only the relief of a mountain fortress and a tribal shrine--with which ,isaiah had identified the will and honour of ,almighty ,god1 could not be the climax of the history of a spiritual religion4 ,it was impossible for ,monotheism to rest on so narrow and material a security as that4 ,the faith1 which was to overcome the world1 could not be satisfied with a merely national triumph4 ,the time must arrive--were it only by the ordinary progress of the years and unhastened by human guilt--for faith and piety to be weaned from the forms of an earthly temple1 however sacred2 for the individual--after all1 the real unit of religion--to be rendered independent of the community and cast upon his ,god alone2 and for this people1 to whom the oracles of the living ,god had been entrusted1 to be led out from the selfish pride of guarding these for their own honour--to be led out1 were it through the breaches of their hitherto inviolate walls1 and amid the smoke of all that was most sacred to them1 so that in level contact with mankind they might learn to communicate their glorious trust4 ,therefore1 while the ,exile was undoubtedly the penance1 which an often-spared but ever more obdurate people had to pay for their accumulated sins1 it was also for the meek and the pure-hearted in ,israel a step upwards even from the faith and the results of ,isaiah--perhaps the most effectual step which ,israel's religion ever took4 ,schultz has finely said3 ,the proper ,tragedy of ,history--doom required by long-gathering guilt1 and launched upon a generation which for itself is really turning towards good--is most strikingly consummated in the ,exile4 ,yes3 but this is only half the truth4 ,the accomplishment of the moral tragedy is really but one incident in a religious epic--the development of a spiritual faith4 ,long-delaying ,nemesis overtakes at last the sinners1 but the shock of the blows1 which beat the guilty nation into captivity1 releases their religion from its material bonds4 ,israel on the way to ,exile is on the way to become ,israel after the ,spirit4 ,with these principles to guide us1 let us now1 for a little1 thread our way through the crowded details of the decline and fall of the ,jewish state4 ,isaiah's own age had foreboded the necessity of exile for ,judah4 ,there was the great precedent of ,samaria1 and ,judah's sin was not less than her sister's4 ,when the authorities at ,jerusalem wished to put ,jeremiah to death for the heresy of predicting the ruin of the sacred city1 it was pointed out in his defence that a similar prediction had been made by ,micah1 the contemporary of ,isaiah4 ,and how much had happened since then6 ,the triumph of ,jehovah in #gja1 the stronger faith and purer practice1 which had followed as long as ,hezekiah reigned1 gave way to an idolatrous reaction under his successor ,manasseh4 ,this reaction1 while it increased the guilt of the people1 by no means diminished their religious fear4 ,they carried into it the conscience of their former puritanism--diseased1 we might say delirious1 but not dead4 ,men felt their sin and feared ,heaven's wrath1 and rushed headlong into the gross and fanatic exercises of idolatry1 in order to wipe away the one and avert the other4 ,it availed nothing4 ,after an absence of thirty years the ,assyrian arms returned in full strength1 and ,manasseh himself was carried captive across the ,euphrates4 ,but penitence revived1 and for a time it appeared as if it were to be at last valid for salvation4 ,israel made huge strides towards their ideal life of a good conscience and outward prosperity4 ,josiah1 the pious1 came to the throne4 ,the ,book of the ,law was discovered in #fba1 and king and people rallied to its summons with the utmost loyalty4 ,all the nation stood to the covenant4 ,the single sanctuary was vindicated1 the high places destroyed1 the land purged of idols4 ,there were no great military triumphs1 but ,assyria1 so long the accepted scourge of ,god1 gave signs of breaking up2 and we can feel the vigour and self-confidence1 induced by years of prosperity1 in ,josiah's ambition to extend his borders1 and especially in his daring assault upon ,necho of ,egypt at ,megiddo1 when ,necho passed north to the invasion of ,assyria4 ,altogether1 it was a people that imagined itself righteous1 and counted upon a righteous ,god4 ,in such days who could dream of exile8 ,but in #fjh the ideal was shivered4 ,israel was threshed at ,megiddo1 and ,josiah1 the king after ,god's own heart1 was slain on the field4 ,and then happened1 what happened at other times in ,israel's history when disillusion of this kind came down4 ,the nation fell asunder into the elements of which it was ever so strange a composition4 ,the masses1 whose conscience did not rise beyond the mere performance of the ,law1 nor their view of ,god higher than that of a ,patron of the state1 bound by ,his covenant to reward with material success the loyalty of ,his clients1 were disappointed with the results of their service and of ,his providence4 ,being a new generation from ,manasseh's time1 they thought to give the strange gods another turn4 ,the idols were brought back1 and after the discredit which righteousness received at ,megiddo1 it would appear that social injustice and crime of many kinds dared to be very bold4 ,jehoahaz1 who reigned for three months after ,josiah1 and ,jehoiakim1 who succeeded him1 were idolaters4 ,the loftier few1 like ,jeremiah1 had never been deceived by the people's outward allegiance to the ,temple or the ,law1 nor considered it valid either to atone for the past or now to fulfil the holy demands of ,jehovah2 and were confirmed by the disaster at ,megiddo1 and the consequent reaction to idolatry1 in the stern and hopeless views of the people which they had always entertained4 ,they kept reiterating a speedy captivity4 ,between these parties stood the formal successors of earlier prophets1 so much the slaves of tradition that they had neither conscience for their people's sins nor understanding of the world around them1 but could only affirm in the strength of ancient oracles that ,zion should not be destroyed4 ,strange is it to see how this party1 building upon the promises of ,jehovah through a prophet like ,isaiah1 should be taken advantage of by the idolaters1 but scouted by ,jehovah's own servants4 ,thus they mingle and conflict4 ,who indeed can distinguish all the elements of so ancient and so rich a life1 as they chase1 overtake and wrestle with each other1 hurrying down the rapids to the final cataract8 ,let us leave them for a moment1 while we mark the catastrophe itself4 ,they will be more easily distinguished in the calm below4 ,it was from the ,north that ,jeremiah summoned the vengeance of ,god upon ,judah4 ,in his earlier threats he might have meant the ,scythians2 but by #fje1 when ,nebuchadrezzar1 ,nabopolassar of ,babylon's son1 the rising general of the age1 defeated ,pharaoh at ,carchemish1 all men accepted ,jeremiah's nomination for this successor of ,assyria in the lordship of ,western ,asia4 ,from ,carchemish ,nebuchadrezzar overran ,syria4 ,jehoiakim paid tribute to him1 and ,judah at last felt the grip of the hand that was to drag her into exile4 ,jehoiakim attempted to throw it off in #fjb2 but1 after harassing him for four years by means of some allies1 ,nebuchadrezzar took his capital1 executed him1 suffered ,jehoiachin1 his successor1 to reign only three months1 took ,jerusalem a second time1 and carried off to ,babylon the first great portion of the people4 ,this was in #eih1 only ten years from the death of ,josiah1 and twenty-one from the discovery of the ,book of the ,law4 ,the exact numbers of this first captivity of the ,jews it is impossible to determine4 ,the annalist sets the soldiers at seven thousand1 the smiths and craftsmen at one thousand2 so that1 making allowance for other classes whom he mentions1 the grown men must alone have been over ten thousand2#af but how many women went1 and how many children--the most important factor for the period of the ,exile with which we have to deal--it is impossible to estimate4 ,the total number of persons can scarcely have been less than twenty-five thousand4 ,more important1 however1 than their number was the quality of these exiles1 and this we can easily appreciate4 ,the royal family and the court were taken1 a large number of influential persons1 the mighty men of the land1 or what must have been nearly all the fighting men1 with the necessary artificers2 priests also went1 ,ezekiel among them1 and probably representatives of other classes not mentioned by the annalist4 ,that this was the virtue and flower of the nation is proved by a double witness4 ,not only did the citizens1 for the remaining ten years of ,jerusalem's life1 look to these exiles for her deliverance1 but ,jeremiah himself counted them the sound half of ,israel--a basket of good figs1 as he expressed it1 beside a basket of bad ones4 ,they were at least under discipline1 but the remnant of ,jerusalem persisted in the wilfulness of the past4 ,for although ,jeremiah remained in the city1 and the house of ,david and a considerable population1 and although ,jeremiah himself held a higher position in public esteem since the vindication of his word by the events of #eih1 yet he could not be blind to the unchanged character of the people1 and the thorough doom which their last respite had only more evidently proved to be inevitable4 ,gangs of false prophets1 both at home and among the exiles1 might predict a speedy return4 ,all the ,jewish ability of intrigue1 with the lavish promises of ,egypt and frequent embassies from other nations1 might work for the overthrow of ,babylon4 ,but ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel knew better4 ,across the distance which now separated them they chanted1 as it were in antiphon1 the alternate strophes of ,judah's dirge4 ,jeremiah bade the exiles not to remember ,zion1 but let them settle down1 he said1 into the life of the land they are in1 building houses1 planting gardens1 and begetting children1 and seek the peace of the city whither ,i have caused you to be carried away captives1 and pray unto ,jehovah for it1 for in the peace thereof ye shall have peace--the ,exile shall last seventy years4 ,and as ,jeremiah in ,zion blessed ,babylon1 so ,ezekiel in ,babylon cursed ,zion1 thundering back that ,jerusalem must be utterly wasted through siege and famine1 pestilence and captivity4 ,there is no rush of hope through ,ezekiel4 ,his expectations are all distant4 ,he lives either in memory or in cold fancy4 ,his pictures of restoration are too elaborate to mean speedy fulfilment4 ,they are the work of a man with time on his hands2 one does not build so colossally for to-morrow4 ,thus reinforced from abroad1 ,jeremiah proclaimed ,nebuchadrezzar as the servant of ,jehovah1 and summoned him to work ,jehovah's doom upon the city4 ,the predicted blockade came in the ninth year of ,zedekiah4 ,the false hopes which still sustained the people1 their trust in ,egypt1 the arrival of an ,egyptian army in result of their intrigue1 as well as all their piteous bravery1 only afforded time for the fulfilment of the terrible details of their penalty4 ,for nearly eighteen months the siege closed in--months of famine and pestilence1 of faction and quarrel and falling away to the enemy4 ,then ,jerusalem broke up4 ,the besiegers gained the northern suburb and stormed the middle gate4 ,zedekiah and the army burst their lines only to be captured on an aimless flight at ,jericho4 ,a few weeks more1 and a forlorn defence by civilians of the interior parts of the city was at last overwhelmed4 ,the exasperated besiegers gave her up to fire--the house of ,jehovah1 the king's house1 and every great house--and tore to the stones the stout walls that resisted the conflagration4 ,as the city was levelled1 so the citizens were dispersed4 ,a great number--and among them the king's family--were put to death4 ,the king himself was blinded1 and1 along with a host of his subjects1 impossible for us to estimate1 and with all the temple furniture1 was carried to ,babylon4 ,a few peasants were left to cultivate the land2 a few superior personages--perhaps such as1 with ,jeremiah1 had favoured the ,babylonians1 and ,jeremiah was among them--were left at ,mizpah under a ,jewish viceroy4 ,it was a poor apparition of a state2 but1 as if the very ghost of ,israel must be chased from the land1 even this small community was broken up1 and almost every one of its members fled to ,egypt4 ,the ,exile was complete4 ,,footnote3 #af ,the figure actually mentioned in #b ,kings xxiv4 #ad1 but1 as ,stade points out 7,geschichte1 p4 #fhj71 vv4 #ad1 #ae interrupt the narrative1 and may have been intruded here from the account of the later captivity4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,what ,,israel ,,took ,,into ,,exile4 ,before we follow the captives along the roads that lead to exile1 we may take account of the spiritual goods which they carried with them1 and were to realise in their retirement4 ,never in all history did paupers of this world go forth more richly laden with the treasures of heaven4 #a4 ,first of all1 we must emphasize and define their ,,monotheism4 ,we must emphasize it as against those who would fain persuade us that ,israel's monotheism was for the most part the product of the ,exile2 we must analyse its contents and define its limits among the people1 if we would appreciate the extent to which it spread and the peculiar temper which it assumed1 as set forth in the prophecy we are about to study4 ,idolatry was by no means dead in ,israel at the fall of ,jerusalem4 ,on the contrary1 during the last years which the nation spent within those sacred walls1 that had been so miraculously preserved in the sight of the world by ,jehovah1 idolatry increased1 and to the end remained as determined and fanatic as the people's defence of ,jehovah's own temple4 ,the ,jews who fled to ,egypt applied themselves to the worship of the ,queen of ,heaven1 in spite of all the remonstrances of ,jeremiah and him they carried with them1 not because they listened to him as the prophet of the ,one ,true ,god1 but superstitiously1 as if he were a pledge of the favour of one of the many gods1 whom they were anxious to propitiate4 ,and the earliest effort1 upon which we shall have to follow our own prophet1 is the effort to crush the worship of images among the ,babylonian exiles4 ,yet when ,israel returned from ,babylon the people were wholly monotheist2 when ,jerusalem was rebuilt no idol came back to her4 ,that this great change was mainly the result of the residence in ,babylon and of truths learned there1 must be denied by all who remember the creed and doctrine about ,god1 which in their literature the people carried with them into exile4 ,the law was already written1 and the whole nation had sworn to it3 ,hear1 ,o ,israel1 ,jehovah our ,god2 ,jehovah is ,one1 and thou shalt worship ,jehovah thy ,god with all thine heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with all thy strength4 ,these words1 it is true1 may be so strictly interpreted as to mean no more than that there was one ,god for ,israel3 other gods might exist1 but ,jehovah was ,sole ,deity for ,his people4 ,it is maintained that such a view receives some support from the custom of prophets1 who1 while they affirmed ,jehovah's supremacy1 talked of other gods as if they were real existences4 ,but argument from this habit of the prophets is precarious3 such a mode of speech may have been a mere accommodation to a popular point of view4 ,and1 surely1 we have only to recall what ,isaiah and ,jeremiah had uttered concerning ,jehovah's ,godhead1 to be persuaded that ,israel's monotheism1 before the beginning of the ,exile1 was a far more broad and spiritual faith than the mere belief that ,jehovah was the ,sovereign ,deity of the nation1 or the satisfaction of the desires of ,jewish hearts alone4 ,righteousness was not coincident with ,israel's life and interest2 righteousness was universally supreme1 and it was in righteousness that ,isaiah saw ,jehovah exalted4#ag ,there is no more prevailing witness to the unity of ,god than the conscience1 which in this matter takes far precedence of the intellect2 and it was on the testimony of conscience that the prophets based ,israel's monotheism4 ,yet they did not omit to enlist the reason as well4 ,isaiah and ,jeremiah delight to draw deductions from the reasonableness of ,jehovah's working in nature to the reasonableness of ,his processes in history1--analogies which could not fail to impress both intellect and imagination with the fact that men inhabit a universe1 that ,one is the will and mind which works in all things4 ,but to this training of conscience and reason1 the ,jews1 at the beginning of the ,exile1 felt the addition of another considerable influence4 ,their history lay at last complete1 and their conscience was at leisure from the making of its details to survey it as a whole4 ,that long past1 seen now by undazzled eyes from under the shadow of exile1 presented through all its changing fortunes a single and a definite course4 ,one was the intention of it1 one its judgement from first to last4 ,the ,jew saw in it nothing but righteousness1 the quality of a ,god1 who spake the same word from the beginning1 who never broke ,his word1 and who at last had summoned to its fulfilment the greatest of the world-powers4 ,in those historical books1 which were collected and edited during the ,exile1 we observe each of the kings and generations of ,israel1 in their turn1 confronted with the same high standard of fidelity to the ,one ,true ,god and ,his holy ,law4 ,the regularity and rigour1 with which they are thus judged1 have been condemned by some critics as an arbitrary and unfair application of the standard of a later faith to the conduct of ruder and less responsible ages4 ,but1 apart from the question of historical accuracy1 we cannot fail to remark that this method of writing history is at least instinct with the ,oneness of ,god1 and the unvarying validity of ,his ,law from generation to generation4 ,israel's ,god was the same1 their conscience told them1 down all their history2 but now as ,he summoned one after another of the great world-powers to do ,his bidding1--,assyria1 ,babylon1 ,persia1--how universal did ,he prove ,his dominion to be6 ,unchanging through all time1 ,he was surely omnipotent through all space4 ,this short review--in which1 for the sake of getting a complete view of our subject1 we have anticipated a little--has shown that ,israel had enough within themselves1 in the teaching of their prophets and in the lessons of their own history1 to account for that consummate expression of ,jehovah's ,godhead1 which is contained in our prophet1 and to which every one allows the character of an absolute monotheism4 ,we shall find this1 it is true1 to be higher and more comprehensive than anything which is said about ,god in pre-exilic ,scriptures4 ,the prophet argues the claims of ,jehovah1 not only with the ardour that is born of faith1 but often with the scorn which indicates the intellect at work4 ,it is monotheism1 treated not only as a practical belief or a religious duty1 but as a necessary truth of reason2 not only as the secret of faith and the special experience of ,israel1 but also as an essential conviction of human nature1 so that not to believe in ,one ,god is a thing irrational and absurd for ,gentiles as well as ,jews4 ,god's infinitude in the works of creation1 ,his universal providence in history1 are preached with greater power than ever before2 and the gods of the nations are treated as things1 in whose existence no reasonable person can possibly believe4 ,in short1 our great prophet of the ,exile has already learned to obey the law of ,deuteronomy as it was expounded by ,christ4 ,deuteronomy says1 ,thou shalt love ,jehovah thy ,god with all thine heart1 with all thy soul1 and with all thy strength4 ,christ added1 and with all thy mind4 ,this was what our prophet did4 ,he held his monotheism with all his mind4 ,we shall find him conscious of it1 not only as a religious affection1 but as a necessary intellectual conviction2 which if a man has not1 he is less than a man4 ,hence the scorn1 which he pours upon the idols and mythologies of his conquerors4 ,beside his tyrants1 though in physical strength he was but a worm to them1 the ,jew felt that he walked1 by virtue of his faith in ,one ,god1 their intellectual master4 ,we shall see all this illustrated later on4 ,meantime1 what we are concerned to show is1 that there is enough to account for this high faith within ,israel themselves--in their prophecy and in the lessons of their history4 ,and where indeed are we to be expected to go in search of the sources of ,israel's monotheism1 if not to themselves8 ,to the ,babylonians8 ,the ,babylonians had nothing spiritual to teach to ,israel2 our prophet regards them with scorn4 ,to the ,persians1 who broke across ,israel's horizon with ,cyrus8 ,our prophet's high statement of monotheism is of earlier date than the advent of ,cyrus to ,babylon4 ,nor did ,cyrus1 when he came1 give any help to the faith1 for in his public edicts he owned the gods of ,babylon and the ,god of ,israel with equal care and equal policy4 ,it was not because ,cyrus and his ,persians were monotheists1 that our prophet saw the sovereignty of ,jehovah vindicated1 but it was because ,jehovah was sovereign that the prophet knew the ,persians would serve ,his holy purposes4 #b4 ,but if in ,deuteronomy the exiles carried with them the ,law of the ,one ,god1 they preserved in ,jeremiah's writings what may be called the charter of the ,,individual ,,man4 ,jeremiah had found religion in ,judah a public and a national affair4 ,the individual derived his spiritual value only from being a member of the nation1 and through the public exercises of the national faith4 ,but1 partly by his own religious experience1 and partly by the course of events1 ,jeremiah was enabled to accomplish what may be justly described as the vindication of the individual4 ,of his own separate value before ,god1 and of his right of access to his ,maker apart from the nation1 ,jeremiah himself was conscious1 having belonged to ,god before he belonged to his mother1 his family1 or his nation4 ,before ,i found thee in the belly ,i knew thee1 and before thou camest out of the womb ,i consecrated thee4 ,his whole life was but the lesson of how one man can be for ,god and all the nation on the other side4 ,and it was in the strength of this solitary experience1 that he insisted1 in his famous thirty-first chapter1 on the individual responsibility of man and on every man's immediate communication with ,god's ,spirit2 and that1 when the ruin of the state was imminent1 he advised each of his friends to take his own life out of it for a prey4#ah ,but ,jeremiah's doctrine of the religious value and independence of the individual had a complement4 ,though the prophet felt so keenly his separate responsibility and right of access to ,god1 and his religious independence of the people1 he nevertheless clave to the people with all his heart4 ,he was not1 like some other prophets1 outside the doom he preached4 ,he might have saved himself1 for he had many offers from the ,babylonians4 ,but he chose to suffer with his people--he1 the saint of ,god1 with the idolaters4 ,more than that1 it may be said that ,jeremiah suffered for the people4 ,it was not they1 with their dead conscience and careless mind1 but he1 with his tender conscience and breaking heart1 who bore the reproach of their sins1 the anger of the ,lord1 and all the agonizing knowledge of his country's inevitable doom4 ,in ,jeremiah one man did suffer for the people4 ,in our prophecy1 which is absorbed with the deliverance of the nation as a whole1 there was1 of course1 no occasion to develop ,jeremiah's remarkable suggestions about each individual soul of man4 ,in fact1 these suggestions were germs1 which remained uncultivated in ,israel till ,christ's time4 ,jeremiah himself uttered them1 not as demands for the moment1 but as ideals that would only be realised when the ,new ,covenant was made4#ai ,our prophecy has nothing to say about them4 ,but that figure1 which ,jeremiah's life presented1 of ,one ,individual--of ,one ,individual standing in moral solitude over against the whole nation1 and in a sense suffering for the nation1 can hardly have been absent from the influences1 which moulded the marvellous confession of the people in the fifty-third chapter of ,isaiah1 where they see the solitary servant of ,god on one side and themselves on the other1 and ,jehovah made to light on him the iniquities of us all4 ,it is true that the exiles themselves had some consciousness of suffering for others4 ,our fathers1 cried a voice in their midst1 when ,jerusalem broke up1 ,our fathers have sinned1 and we have borne their iniquities4 ,but ,jeremiah had been a willing sufferer for his people2 and the fifty-third chapter is1 as we shall see1 more like his way of bearing his generation's guilt for love's sake than their way of bearing their fathers' guilt in the inevitable entail of sin4#bj #c4 ,to these beliefs in the unity of ,god1 the religious worth of the individual and the virtue of his self-sacrifice1 we must add some experiences of scarcely less value rising out of the ,,destruction ,,of ,,the ,,material ,,and ,,political ,,forms--the temple1 the city1 the monarchy--with which the faith of ,israel had been so long identified4 ,without this destruction1 it is safe to say1 those beliefs could not have assumed their purest form4 ,take1 for instance1 the belief in the unity of ,god4 ,there is no doubt that this belief was immensely helped in ,israel by the abolition of all the provincial sanctuaries under ,josiah1 by the limitation of ,divine worship to one temple and of valid sacrifice to one altar4 ,but yet it was well that this temple should enjoy its singular rights for only thirty years and then be destroyed4 ,for a monotheism1 however lofty1 which depended upon the existence of any shrine1 however gloriously vindicated by ,divine providence1 was not a purely spiritual faith4 ,or1 again1 take the individual4 ,the individual could not realise how truly he himself was the highest temple of ,god1 and ,god's most pleasing sacrifice a broken and a contrite heart1 till the routine of legal sacrifice was interrupted and the ancient altar torn down4 ,or1 once more1 take that high1 ultimate doctrine of sacrifice1 that the most inspiring thing for men1 the most effectual propitiation before ,god1 is the self-devotion and offering up of a free and reasonable soul1 the righteous for the unrighteous--how could common ,jews have adequately learned that truth1 in days when1 according to immemorial practice1 the bodies of bulls and goats bled daily on the one valid altar8 ,the city and temple1 therefore1 went up in flames that ,israel might learn that ,god is a ,spirit1 and dwelleth not in a house made with hands2 that men are ,his temple1 and their hearts the sacrifices well-pleasing in ,his sight2 and that beyond the bodies and blood of beasts1 with their daily necessity of being offered1 ,he was preparing for them another ,sacrifice1 of perpetual and universal power1 in the voluntary sufferings of ,his own holy ,servant4 ,it was for this ,servant1 too1 that the monarchy1 as it were1 abdicated1 yielding up to ,him all its title to represent ,jehovah and to save and rule ,jehovah's people4 #d4 ,again1 as we have already hinted1 the fall of the state and city of ,jerusalem gave scope to ,,israel',s ,,missionary ,,career4 ,the conviction1 that had inspired many of ,isaiah's assertions of the inviolableness of ,zion1 was the conviction that1 if ,zion were overthrown and the last remnant of ,israel uprooted from the land1 there must necessarily follow the extinction of the only true testimony to the living ,god which the world contained4 ,but by a century later that testimony was firmly secured in the hearts and consciences of the people1 wheresoever they might be scattered2 and what was now needed was exactly such a dispersion1--in order that ,israel might become aware of the world for whom the testimony was meant1 and grow expert in the methods by which it was to be proclaimed4 ,priesthood has its human as well as its ,godward side4 ,the latter was already sufficiently secured for ,israel by ,jehovah's age-long seclusion of them in their remote highlands--a people peculiar to ,himself4 ,but now the same ,providence completed its purpose by casting them upon the world4 ,they mixed with men face to face1 or1 still more valuably to themselves1 on a level with the most downtrodden and despised of the peoples4 ,with no advantage but the truth1 they met the other religions of the world in argument1 debating with them upon the principles of a common reason and the facts of a common history4 ,they learned sympathy with the weak things of earth4 ,they discovered that their religion could be taught4 ,but1 above all1 they became conscious of martyrdom1 the indispensable experience of a religion that is to prevail2 and they realised the supreme influence upon men of a love which sacrifices itself4 ,in a word1 ,israel1 in going into exile1 put on humanity with all its consequences4 ,how real and thorough the process was1 how successful in perfecting their priesthood1 may be seen not only from the hopes and obligations towards all mankind1 which burst in our prophecy to an urgency and splendour unmatched elsewhere in their history1 but still more from the fact that when the ,son of ,god ,himself took flesh and became man1 there were no words oftener upon ,his lips to describe ,his experience and commission1 there are no passages which more clearly mirror ,his work for the world1 than the words and the passages in which these ,jews of the ,exile1 stripped to their bare humanity1 relate their sufferings or exult in their destiny that should follow4 #e4 ,but with their temple in ruins1 and all the world before them for the service of ,god1 the ,jews go forth to exile upon the distinct ,,promise ,,of ,,return4 ,the material form of their religion is suspended1 not abolished4 ,let them feel religion in purely spiritual aspects1 unassisted by sanctuary or ritual2 let them look upon the world and the oneness of men2 let them learn all ,god's scope for the truth ,he has entrusted to them1--and then let them gather back again and cherish their new experience and ideas for yet awhile in the old seclusion4 ,jehovah's discipline of them as a nation is not yet exhausted4 ,they are no mere band of pilgrims or missionaries1 with the world for their home2 they are still a people1 with their own bit of the earth4 ,if we keep this in mind1 it will explain certain apparent anomalies in our prophecy4 ,in all the writings of the ,exile the reader is confused by a strange mingling of the spiritual and the material1 the universal and the local4 ,the moral restoration of the people to pardon and righteousness is identified with their political restoration to ,judah and ,jerusalem4 ,they have been separated from ritual in order to cultivate a more spiritual religion1 but it is to this that a restoration to ritual is promised for a reward4 ,while ,jeremiah insists upon the free and immediate communication of every believer with ,jehovah1 ,ezekiel builds a more exclusive priesthood1 a more elaborate system of worship4 ,within our prophecy1 while one voice deprecates a house for ,god built with hands1 affirming that ,jehovah dwells with every one who is of a poor and contrite spirit1 other voices dwell fondly on the prospect of the new temple and exult in its material glory4 ,this double line of feeling is not merely due to the presence in ,israel of those two opposite tempers of mind1 which so naturally appear in every national literature4 ,but a special purpose of ,god is in it4 ,dispersed to obtain more spiritual ideas of ,god and man and the world1 ,israel must be gathered back again to get these by heart1 to enshrine them in literature1 and to transmit them to posterity1 as they could alone be securely transmitted1 in the memories of a nation1 in the liturgies and canons of a living ,church4 ,therefore the ,jews1 though torn for their discipline from ,jerusalem1 continued to identify themselves more passionately than ever with their desecrated city4 ,a prayer of the period exclaims3 ,thy saints take pleasure in her stones1 and her dust is dear to them4#ba ,the exiles proved this by taking her name4 ,their prophets addressed them as ,zion and ,jerusalem4 ,scattered and leaderless groups of captives in a far-off land1 they were still that ,city of ,god4 ,she had not ceased to be2 ruined and forsaken as she lay1 she was yet graven on the palms of ,jehovah's hands2 and her walls were continually before ,him4#bb ,the exiles kept up the register of her families2 they prayed towards her2 they looked to return to build her bulwarks2 they spent long hours of their captivity in tracing upon the dust of that foreign land the groundplan of her restored temple4 99 99 99 99 99 ,with such beliefs in ,god and man and sacrifice1 with such hopes and opportunities for their world-mission1 but also with such a bias back to the material ,jerusalem1 did ,israel pass into exile4 ,,footnotes3 #ag ,see vol4 i41 p4 #ajj f4 #ah ,jer4 xlv4 #ai ,this is especially clear from ch4 xxxi4 #bj ,having read through the ,book of ,jeremiah once again since ,i wrote the above paragraph1 ,i am more than ever impressed with the influence of his life upon ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 #ba ,psalm cii4 #ad4 #bb ,isa4 xlix4 #af4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,israel ,,in ,,exile4 ,,from #ehi ,,till ,,about #eej ,b4,c4 ,it is remarkable how completely the sound of the march from ,jerusalem to ,babylon has died out of ,jewish history4 ,it was an enormous movement3 twice over within ten years1 ten thousand ,jews1 at the very least1 must have trodden the highway to the ,euphrates2 and yet1 except for a doubtful verse or two in the ,psalter1 they have left no echo of their passage4 ,the sufferings of the siege before1 the remorse and lamentation of the ,exile after1 still pierce our ears through the ,book of ,lamentations and the ,psalms by the rivers of ,babylon4 ,we know exactly how the end was fulfilled4 ,we see most vividly the shifting panorama of the siege1--the city in famine1 under the assault1 and in smoke2 upon the streets the pining children1 the stricken princes1 the groups of men with sullen1 famine-black faces1 the heaps of slain1 mothers feeding on the bodies of the infants whom their sapless breasts could not keep alive2 by the walls the hanging and crucifixion of multitudes1 with all the fashion of ,chaldean cruelty1 the delicate and the children stumbling under heavy loads1 no survivor free from the pollution of blood4 ,upon the hills around1 the neighbouring tribes are gathered to jeer at the day of ,jerusalem1 and to cut off her fugitives1 we even see the departing captives turn1 as the worm turns1 to curse those children of ,edom4 ,but there the vision closes4 ,was it this hot hate which blinded them to the sights of the way1 or that weariness and depression among strange scenes1 that falls upon all unaccustomed caravans1 and has stifled the memory of nearly every other great historical march8 ,the roads which the exiles traversed were of immemorial use in the history of their fathers2 almost every day they must have passed names which1 for at least two centuries1 had rung in the market-place of ,jerusalem--the ,way of the ,sea1 across ,jordan1 ,galilee of the ,gentiles1 round ,hermon1 and past ,damascus2 between the two ,lebanons1 past ,hamath1 and past ,arpad2 or less probably by ,tadmor-in-the-,wilderness and ,rezeph1--till they reached the river on which the national ambition had lighted as the frontier of the ,messianic ,empire1 and whose rolling greatness had so often proved the fascination and despair of a people of uncertain brooks and trickling aqueducts4 ,crossing the ,euphrates by one of its numerous passages--either at ,carchemish1 if they struck the river so high1 or at the more usual ,thapsacus1 ,tiphsah1 the passage1 where ,xenophon crossed with his ,greeks1 or at some other place--the caravans must have turned south across the ,habor1 on whose upper banks the captives of ,northern ,israel had been scattered1 and then have traversed the picturesque country of ,aram-,naharaim1 past ,circesium and ,rehoboth-of-the-,river1 and many another ancient place mentioned in the story of the ,patriarchs1 till through dwindling hills they reached ,his--that marvellous site which travellers praise as one of the great view-points of the world--and looked out at last upon the land of their captivity1 the boundless1 almost level tracts of ,chaldea1 the first home of the race1 the traditional ,garden of ,eden4 ,but of all that we are told nothing4 ,every eye in the huge caravans seems to have been as the eyes of the blinded king whom they carried with them1--able to weep1 but not to see4 ,one fact1 however1 was too large to be missed by these sad1 wayworn men2 and it has left traces on their literature4 ,in passing from home to exile1 the ,jews passed from the hills to the plain4 ,they were highlanders4 ,jerusalem lies four thousand feet above the sea4 ,from its roofs the skyline is mostly a line of hills4 ,to leave the city on almost any side you have to descend4 ,the last monuments of their fatherland1 on which the emigrants' eyes could have lingered1 were the high crests of ,lebanon2 the first prospect of their captivity was a monotonous level4 ,the change was the more impressive1 that to the hearts of ,hebrews it could not fail to be sacramental4 ,from the mountains came the dew to their native crofts--the dew which1 of all earthly blessings1 was likest ,god's grace4 ,for their prophets1 the ancient hills had been the symbols of ,jehovah's faithfulness4 ,in leaving their highlands1 therefore1 the ,jews not only left the kind of country to which their habits were most adapted and all their natural affections clung2 they left the chosen abode of ,god1 the most evident types of ,his grace1 the perpetual witnesses to ,his covenant4 ,ezekiel constantly employs the mountains to describe his fatherland4 ,but it is far more with a sacramental longing than a mere homesickness that a psalmist of the ,exile cries out1 ,i will lift up mine eyes to the hills3 from whence cometh mine help8 or that our prophet exclaims3 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings1 that publisheth peace2 that saith unto ,zion1 ,thy ,god reigneth4 ,by the route sketched above1 it is at least seven hundred miles from ,jerusalem to ,babylon--a distance which1 when we take into account that many of the captives walked in fetters1 cannot have occupied them less than three months4 ,we may form some conception of the aspect of the caravans from the transportations of captives which are figured on the ,assyrian monuments1 as in the ,assyrian basement in the ,british ,museum4 ,from these it appears as if families were not separated1 but marched together4 ,mules1 asses1 camels1 ox-waggons1 and the captives themselves carried goods4 ,children and women suckling infants were allowed to ride on the waggons4 ,at intervals fully-armed soldiers walked in pairs4#bc ,i4 ,mesopotamia1 the land in the middle of the rivers1 ,euphrates and ,tigris1 consists of two divisions1 an upper and a lower4 ,the dividing line crosses from near ,hit or ,his on the ,euphrates to below ,samarah on the ,tigris4 ,above this line the country is a gently undulating plain of secondary formation at some elevation above the sea4 ,but ,lower ,mesopotamia is absolutely flat land1 an unbroken stretch of alluvial soil1 scarcely higher than the ,persian ,gulf1 upon which it steadily encroaches4 ,chaldea was confined to this ,lower ,mesopotamia1 and was not larger1 ,rawlinson estimates1 than the kingdom of ,denmark4#bd ,it is the monotonous level which first impresses the traveller2 but if the season be favourable1 he sees this only as the theatre of vast and varied displays of colour1 which all visitors vie with one another in describing3 ,it is like a rich carpet2 emerald green1 enamelled with flowers of every hue2 tall wild grasses and broad extents of waving reeds2 acres of water-lilies2 acres of pansies4 ,there was no such country in ancient times for wheat1 barley1 millet1 and sesame2#be tamarisks1 poplars1 and palms2 here and there heavy jungle2 with flashing streams and canals thickly athwart the whole1 and all shining the more brilliantly for the interrupting patches of scurvy1 nitrous soil1 and the grey sandy setting of the desert with its dry scrub4 ,the possible fertility of ,chaldea is incalculable4 ,but there are drawbacks4 ,bounded to the north by so high a tableland1 to the south and south-west by a superheated gulf and broad desert1 ,mesopotamia is the scene of violent changes of atmosphere4 ,the languor of the flat country1 the stagnancy and sultriness of the air1 of which not only foreigners but the natives themselves complain1 is suddenly invaded by southerly winds1 of tremendous force and laden with clouds of fine sand1 which render the air so dense as to be suffocating1 and produce a lurid red haze intolerable to the eyes4 ,thunderstorms are frequent1 and there are very heavy rains4 ,but the winds are the most tremendous4 ,in such an atmosphere we may perhaps discover the original shapes and sounds of ,ezekiel's turbulent visions--the fiery wheels2 the great cloud with a fire infolding itself2 the colour of amber1 with sapphire1 or lapis lazuli1 breaking through2 the sound of a great rushing4 ,also the ,mesopotamian floods are colossal4 ,the increase of both ,tigris and ,euphrates is naturally more violent and irregular than that of the ,nile4#bf ,frequent risings of these rivers spread desolation with inconceivable rapidity1 and they ebb only to leave pestilence behind them4 ,if civilisation is to continue1 there is need of vast and incessant operations on the part of man4 ,thus1 both by its fertility and by its violence1 this climate--before the curse of ,god fell on those parts of the world--tended to develop a numerous and industrious race of men1 whose numbers were swollen from time to time both by forced and by voluntary immigration4 ,the population must have been very dense4 ,the triumphal lists of ,assyrian conquerors of the land1 as well as the rubbish mounds which to-day cover its surface1 testify to innumerable villages and towns2 while the connecting canals and fortifications1 by the making of them and the watching of them1 must have filled even the rural districts with the hum and activity of men4 ,chaldea1 however1 did not draw all her greatness from herself4 ,there was immense traffic with ,east and ,west1 between which ,babylon lay1 for the greater part of antiquity1 the world's central market and exchange4 ,the city was practically a port on the ,persian ,gulf1 by canals from which vessels reached her wharves direct from ,arabia1 ,india and ,africa4 ,down the ,tigris and ,euphrates rafts brought the produce of ,armenia and the ,caucasus2 but of greater importance than even these rivers were the roads1 which ran from ,sardis to ,shushan1 traversed ,media1 penetrated ,bactria and ,india1 and may be said to have connected the ,jaxartes and the ,ganges with the ,nile and the harbours of the gean ,sea4 ,these roads all crossed ,chaldea and met at ,babylon4 ,together with the rivers and ocean highways1 they poured upon her markets the traffic of the whole ancient world4 ,it was1 in short1 the very centre of the world--the most populous and busy region of ,his earth--to which ,god sent ,his people for their exile4 ,the monarch1 who transplanted them1 was the genius of ,babylonia incarnate4 ,the chief soldier of his generation1 ,nebuchadrezzar will live in history as one of the greatest builders of all time4 ,but he fought as he built--that he might traffic4 ,his ambition was to turn the trade with ,india from the ,red ,sea to the ,persian ,gulf1 and he thought to effect this by the destruction of ,tyre1 by the transportation of ,arab and ,nabathean merchants to ,babylon1 and by the deepening and regulation of the river between ,babylon and the sea4 ,there is no doubt that ,nebuchadrezzar carried the ,jews to ,babylon not only for political reasons1 but in order to employ them upon those large works of irrigation and the building of cities1 for which his ambition required hosts of labourers4 ,thus the exiles were planted1 neither in military prisons nor in the comparative isolation of agricultural colonies1 but just where ,babylonian life was most busy1 where they were forced to share and contribute to it1 and could not help feeling the daily infection of their captors' habits4 ,do not let us forget this4 ,it will explain much in what we have to study4 ,it will explain how the captivity1 which ,god inflicted upon the ,jews as a punishment1 might become in time a new sin to them1 and why1 when the day of redemption arrived1 so many forgot that their citizenship was in ,zion1 and clung to the traffic and the offices of ,babylon4 ,the majority of the exiles appear to have been settled within the city1 or1 as it has been more correctly called1 the fortified district1 of ,babylon itself4 ,their mistress was thus constantly before them1 at once their despair and their temptation4 ,lady of ,kingdoms she lifted herself to heaven from broad wharves and ramparts1 by wide flights of stairs and terraces1 high walls and hanging gardens1 pyramids and towers--so colossal in her buildings1 so imperially lavish of space between6 ,no wonder that upon that vast1 far-spreading architecture1 upon its great squares and between its high portals guarded by giant bulls1 the ,jew felt himself1 as he expressed it1 but a poor worm4 ,if1 even as they stand in our museums1 captured and catalogued1 one feels as if one crawled in the presence of the fragments of these striding monsters1 with how much more of the feeling of the worm must the abject members of that captive nation have writhed before the face of the city1 which carried these monsters as the mere ornaments of her skirts1 and rose above all kingdoms with her strong feet upon the poor and the meek of the earth8 ,ah1 the despair of it6 ,to see her every day so glorious1 to be forced to help her ceaseless growth1--and to think how ,jerusalem1 the daughter of ,zion1 lay forsaken in ruins6 ,yet the despair sometimes gave way to temptation4 ,there was not an outline or horizon visible to the captive ,jew1 not a figure in the motley crowds in which he moved1 but must have fascinated him with the genius of his conquerors4 ,in that level land no mountain1 with its witness of ,god1 broke the skyline2 but the work of man was everywhere3 curbed and scattered rivers1 artificial mounds1 buildings of brick1 gardens torn from their natural beds and hung high in air by cunning hands to please the taste of a queen2 lavish wealth and force and cleverness1 all at the command of one human will4 ,the signature ran across the whole1 ,i have done this1 and with mine own hand have ,i gotten me my wealth2 and all the nations of the earth came and acknowledged the signature1 and worshipped the great city4 ,it was fascinating merely to look on such cleverness1 success and self-confidence2 and who was the poor ,jew that he1 too1 should not be drawn with the intoxicated nations to the worship of this glory that filled his horizon8 ,if his eyes rose higher1 and from these enchantments of men sought refuge in the heavens above1 were not even they also a ,babylonian realm8 ,did not the ,chaldean claim the great lights there for his patron gods8 were not the movements of sun1 moon1 and planets the secret of his science8 did not the tyrant believe that the very stars in their courses fought for him8 ,and he was vindicated2 he was successful2 he did actually rule the world4 ,there seemed to be no escape from the enchantments of this sorceress city1 as the prophets called her1 and it is not wonderful that so many ,jews fell victims to her worldliness and idolatry4 ,,ii4 ,the social condition of the ,jews in ,exile is somewhat obscure1 and yet1 both in connection with the date and with the exposition of some portions of ,second ,isaiah1 it is an element of the greatest importance1 of which we ought to have as definite an idea as possible4 ,what are the facts8 ,by far the most significant is that which faces us at the end of the ,exile4 ,there1 some sixty years after the earlier1 and some fifty years after the later1 of ,nebuchadrezzar's two deportations1 we find the ,jews a largely multiplied and still regularly organised nation1 with considerable property and decided political influence4 ,not more than forty thousand can have gone into exile1 but forty-two thousand returned1 and yet left a large portion of the nation behind them4 ,the old families and clans survived2 the social ranks were respected2 the rich still held slaves2 and the former menials of the temple could again be gathered together4 ,large subscriptions were raised for the pilgrimage1 and for the restoration of the temple2 a great host of cattle was taken4 ,to such a state of affairs do we see any traces leading up through the ,exile itself8 ,we do4 ,the first host of exiles1 the captives of #eih1 comprised1 as we have seen1 the better classes of the nation1 and appear to have enjoyed considerable independence4 ,they were not scattered1 like the slaves in ,north ,america1 as domestic bondsmen over the surface of the land4 ,their condition must have much more closely resembled that of the better-treated exiles in ,siberia2 though of course1 as we have seen1 it was not a ,siberia1 but the centre of civilisation1 to which they were banished4 ,they remained in communities1 with their own official heads1 and at liberty to consult their prophets4 ,they were sufficiently in touch with one another1 and sufficiently numerous1 for the enemies of ,babylon to regard them as a considerable political influence1 and to treat with them for a revolution against their captors4 ,but ,ezekiel's strong condemnation of this intrigue exhibits their leaders on good terms with the government4 ,jeremiah bade them throw themselves into the life of the land2 buy and sell1 and increase their families and property4 ,at the same time1 we cannot but observe that it is only religious sins1 with which ,ezekiel upbraids them4 ,when he speaks of civic duty or social charity1 he either refers to their past or to the life of the remnant still in ,jerusalem4 ,there is every reason to believe1 therefore1 that this captivity was an honourable and an easy one4 ,the captives may have brought some property with them2 they had leisure for the pursuit of business and for the study and practice of their religion4 ,some of them suffered1 of course1 from the usual barbarity of ,oriental conquerors1 and were made eunuchs2 some1 by their learning and abstinence1 rose to high positions in the court4#bg ,probably to the end of the ,exile they remained the good figs1 as ,jeremiah had called them4 ,theirs was1 perhaps1 the literary work of the ,exile2 and theirs1 too1 may have been the wealth which rebuilt ,jerusalem4 ,but it was different with the second captivity1 of #ehi4 ,after the famine1 the burning of the city1 and the prolonged march1 this second host of exiles must have reached ,babylonia in an impoverished condition4 ,they were a lower class of men4 ,they had exasperated their conquerors1 who1 before the march began1 subjected many of them to mutilation and cruel death2 and it is1 doubtless1 echoes of their experience which we find in the more bitter complaints of our prophet4 ,this is a people robbed and spoiled2 all of them snared in holes1 and hid in prison-houses3 they are for a prey1 and for a spoil4 ,thou1 that is1 ,babylon1 didst show them no mercy2 upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke4#bh ,nebuchadrezzar used them for his building1 as ,pharaoh had used their forefathers4 ,some of them1 or of their countrymen who had reached ,babylonia before them1 became the domestic slaves and chattels of their conquerors4 ,among the contracts and bills of sale of this period we find the cases of slaves with apparently ,jewish names4#bi ,in short1 the state of the ,jews in ,babylonia resembled what seems to have been their fortune wherever they have settled in a foreign land4 ,part of them despised and abused1 forced to labour or overtaxed2 part left alone to cultivate literature or to gather wealth4 ,some treated with unusual rigour--and perhaps a few of these with reason1 as dangerous to the government of the land--but some also1 by the versatile genius of their race1 advancing to a high place in the political confidence of their captors4 ,their application to literature1 to their religion1 and to commerce must be specially noted4 #a4 ,nothing is more striking in the writings of ,ezekiel than the air of large leisure which invests them4 ,ezekiel lies passive2 he broods1 gazes and builds his visions up1 in a fashion like none of his terser predecessors2 for he had time on his hands1 not available to them in days when the history of the nation was still running4 ,ezekiel's style swells to a greater fulness of rhetoric2 his pictures of the future are elaborated with the most minute detail4 ,prophets before him were speakers1 but he is a writer4 ,many in ,israel besides ,ezekiel took advantage of the leisure of the ,exile to the great increase and arrangement of the national literature4 ,some ,assyriologists have lately written1 as if the schools of ,jewish scribes owed their origin entirely to the ,exile4#cj ,but there were scribes in ,israel before this4 ,what the ,exile did for these1 was to provide them not only with the leisure from national business which we have noted1 but with a powerful example of their craft as well4 ,babylonia at this time was a land full of scribes and makers of libraries4 ,they wrote a language not very different from the ,jewish1 and cannot but have powerfully infected their ,jewish fellows with the spirit of their toil and of their methods4 ,to the ,exile we certainly owe a large part of the historical books of the ,old ,testament1 the arrangement of some of the prophetic writings1 as well as--though the amount of this is very uncertain--part of the codification of the ,law4 #b4 ,if the ,exile was opportunity to the scribes1 it can only have been despair to the priests4 ,in this foreign land the nation was unclean2 none of the old sacrifice or ritual was valid1 and the people were reduced to the simplest elements of religion--prayer1 fasting and the reading of religious books4 ,we shall find our prophecy noting the clamour of the exiles to ,god for ordinances of righteousness--that is1 for the institution of legal and valid rites4#ca ,but the great lesson1 which prophecy brings to the people of the ,exile1 is that pardon and restoration to ,god's favour are won only by waiting upon ,him with all the heart4 ,it was possible1 of course1 to observe some forms2 to gather at intervals to inquire of the ,lord1 to keep the ,sabbath1 and to keep fasts4 ,the first of these practices1 out of which the synagogue probably took its rise1 is noted by our prophet1#cb and he enforces ,sabbath-keeping with words1 that add the blessing of prophecy to the law's ancient sanction of that institution4 ,four annual fasts were instituted in memory of the dark days of ,jerusalem--the day of the beginning of ,nebuchadrezzar's siege in the tenth month1 the day of the capture in the fourth month1 the day of the destruction in the fifth month1 and the day of ,gedaliah's murder in the tenth month4 ,it might have been thought1 that solemn anniversaries of a disaster so recent and still unrepaired would be kept with sincerity2 but our prophet illustrates how soon even the most outraged feelings may grow formal1 and how on their days of special humiliation1 while their captivity was still real1 the exiles could oppress their own bondsmen and debtors4 ,but there is no religious practice of this epoch more apparent through our prophecies than the reading of ,scripture4 ,israel's hope was neither in sacrifice1 nor in temple1 nor in vision nor in lot1 but in ,god's written ,word2 and when a new prophet arose like the one we are about to study1 he did not appeal for his authorisation1 as previous prophets had done1 to the fact of his call or inspiration1 but it was enough for him to point to some former word of ,god1 and cry1 ,see6 at last the day has dawned for the fulfilment of that4 ,throughout ,second ,isaiah this is what the anonymous prophet cares to establish--that the facts of to-day fit the promise of yesterday4 ,we shall not understand our great prophecy unless we realise a people rising from fifty years' close study of ,scripture1 in strained expectation of its immediate fulfilment4 #c4 ,the third special feature of the people in exile is their application to commerce4 ,at home the ,jews had not been a commercial people4#cc ,but the opportunities of their ,babylonian residence seem to have started them upon those habits1 for which1 through their longer exile in our era1 the name of ,jew has become a synonym4 ,if that be so1 ,jeremiah's advice to build and plant#cd is historic1 for it means no less than that the ,jews should throw themselves into the life of the most trafficking nation of the time4 ,their increasing wealth proves how they followed this advice1--as well as perhaps such passages as ,isa4 lv4 #b1 in which the commercial spirit is reproached for overwhelming the nobler desires of religion4 ,the chief danger1 incurred by the ,jews from an intimate connection with the commerce of ,babylonia1 lay in the close relations of ,babylonian commerce with ,babylonian idolatry4 ,the merchants of ,mesopotamia had their own patron gods4 ,in completing business contracts1 a man had to swear by the idols1#ce and might have to enter their temples4 ,in ,isa4 lxv4 #aa1 ,jews are blamed for forsaking ,jehovah1 and forgetting ,my holy mountain2 preparing a table for ,luck1 and filling up mixed wine to ,fortune4 ,here it is more probable that mercantile speculation1 rather than any other form of gambling1 is intended4 ,,iii4 ,but while all this is certain and needing to be noted about the habits of the mass of the people1 what little trace it has left in the best literature of the period6 ,we have already noticed in that the great absence of local colour4 ,the truth is that what we have been trying to describe as ,jewish life in ,babylon was only a surface over deeps in which the true life of the nation was at work--was volcanically at work4 ,throughout the ,exile the true ,jew lived inwardly4 ,out of the depths do ,i cry to ,thee1 ,o ,lord4 ,he was the inhabitant not so much of a foreign prison as of his own broken heart4 ,he sat by the rivers of ,babylon2 but he thought upon ,zion4 ,is it not a proof of what depths in human nature were being stirred1 that so little comes to the surface to tell us of the external conditions of those days8 ,there are no fossils in the strata of the earth1 which have been cast forth from her inner fires2 and if we find few traces of contemporary life in these deposits of ,israel's history now before us1 it is because they date from an age in which the nation was shaken and boiling to its centre4 ,for if we take the writings of this period--the ,book of ,lamentations1 the ,psalms of the ,exile1 and parts of other books--and put them together1 the result is the impression of one of the strangest decompositions of human nature into its elements which the world has ever seen4 ,suffering and sin1 recollection1 remorse and revenge1 fear and shame and hate--over the confusion of these the ,spirit of ,god broods as over a second chaos1 and draws each of them forth in turn upon some articulate prayer4 ,now it is the crimson flush of shame3 our soul is exceedingly filled with contempt4 ,now it is the black rush of hate2 for if we would see how hate can rage1 we must go to the ,psalms of the ,exile1 which call on the ,god of vengeance and curse the enemy and dash the little ones against the stones4 ,but the deepest surge of all in that whirlpool of misery was the surge of sin4 ,to change the figure1 we see ,israel's spirit writhing upward from some pain it but partly understands1 crying out1 ,what is this that keeps ,god from hearing and saving me8 turning like a wounded beast from the face of its master to its sore again1 understanding as no brute could the reason of its plague1 till confession after confession breaks away and the penalty is accepted1 and acknowledged guilt seems almost to act as an anodyne to the penalty it explains4 ,wherefore doth a living man complain1 a man for the punishment of his sins8 ,if thou1 ,jehovah1 shouldest mark iniquity1 who shall stand8 ,no wonder1 that with such a conscience the ,jews occupied the ,exile in writing the moral of their delinquent history1 or that the rest of their literature which dates from that time should have remained ever since the world's confessional4 ,but in this awful experience1 there is still another strain1 as painful as the rest1 but pure and very eloquent of hope--the sense of innocent suffering4 ,we cannot tell the sources1 from which this considerable feeling may have gathered during the ,exile1 any more than we can trace from how many of the upper folds of a valley the tiny rivulets start1 which form the stream that issues from its lower end4 ,one of these sources may have been1 as we have already suggested1 the experience of ,jeremiah2 another very probably sprang with every individual conscience in the new generation4 ,children come even to exiles1 and although they bear the same pain with the same nerves as their fathers1 they do so with a different conscience4 ,the writings of the time dwell much on the sufferings of the children4 ,the consciousness is apparent in them1 that souls are born into the wrath of ,god1 as well as banished there4 ,our fathers have sinned and are not1 and we bear their iniquities4 ,this experience developed with great force1 till ,israel felt that she suffered not under ,god's wrath1 but for ,his sake2 and so passed from the conscience of the felon to that of the martyr4 ,but if we are to understand the prophecy we are about to study1 we must remember how near akin these two consciences must have been in exiled ,israel1 and how easy it was for a prophet to speak--as our prophet does1 sometimes with confusing rapidity of exchange--now in the voice of the older and more guilty generation1 and now in the voice of the younger and less deservedly punished4 99 99 99 99 99 ,our survey of the external as well as the internal conditions of ,israel in ,exile is now finished4 ,it has1 ,i think1 included every known feature of their experience in ,babylonia1 which could possibly illustrate our prophecy--dated1 as we have felt ourselves compelled to date this1 from the close of the ,exile4 ,thus1 as we have striven to trace1 did ,israel suffer1 learn1 grow and hope for fifty years--under ,nebuchadrezzar till #efa1 under his successor ,evil-merodach till #eei1 under ,neriglassar till #eed1 and then under the usurper ,nabunahid4 ,the last named probably oppressed the ,jews more grievously than their previous tyrants1 but with the aggravation of their yoke there grew evident1 at the same time1 the certainty of their deliverance4 ,in #edi1 ,cyrus overthrew the ,medes1 and became lord of ,asia from the ,indus to the ,halys4 ,from that event his conquest of ,babylonia1 however much delayed1 could only be a matter of time4 ,it is at this juncture that our prophecy breaks in4 ,taking for granted ,cyrus' sovereignty of the ,medes1 it still looks forward to his capture of ,babylon4 ,let us1 before advancing to its exposition1 once more cast a rapid glance over the people1 to whom it is addressed1 and whom in their half century of waiting for it we have been endeavouring to describe4 ,first and most manifest1 they are a ,people with a ,conscience--a people with the most awful and most articulate conscience that ever before or since exposed a nation's history or tormented a generation with the curse of their own sin and the sin of their fathers4 ,behind them1 ages of delinquent life1 from the perusal of the record of which1 with its regularly recurring moral1 they have just risen3 the ,books of ,kings appear to have been finished after the accession of ,evil-merodach in #efa4 ,behind them also nearly fifty years of sore punishment for their sins--punishment1 which1 as their ,psalms confess1 they at last understand and accept as deserved4 ,but1 secondly1 they are a ,people with a ,great ,hope4 ,with their awful consciousness of guilt1 they have the assurance that their punishment has its limits2 that1 to quote ch4 xl41 ver4 #b1 it is a set period of service3 a former word of ,god having fixed it at not more than seventy years1 and having promised the return of the nation thereafter to their own land4 ,and1 thirdly1 they are a ,people with a ,great ,opportunity4 ,history is at last beginning to set towards the vindication of their hope3 ,cyrus1 the master of the age1 is moving rapidly1 irresistibly1 down upon their tyrants4 ,but1 fourthly1 in face of all their hope and opportunity1 they are a ,people ,disorganised1 ,distracted1 and very ,impotent--worms and not men1 as they describe themselves4 ,the generation of the tried and responsible leaders of the days of their independence are all dead1 for flesh is like grass2 no public institutions remain in their midst such as ever in the most hopeless periods of the past proved a rallying-point of their scattered forces4 ,there is no king1 temple1 nor city2 nor is there any great personality visible to draw their little groups together1 marshal them1 and lead them forth behind him4 ,their one hope is in the ,word of ,god1 for which they wait more than they that watch for the morning2 and the one duty of their nameless prophets is to persuade them1 that this ,word has at last come to pass1 and1 in the absence of king1 ,messiah1 priest1 and great prophet1 is able to lift them to the opportunity that ,god's hand has opened before them1 and to the accomplishment of their redemption4 ,upon ,israel1 with such a ,conscience1 such a ,hope1 such an ,opportunity1 and such an unaided ,reliance on ,god's bare ,word1 that ,word at last broke in a chorus of voices4 ,of these the first1 as was most meet1 spoke pardon to the people's conscience and the proclamation that their set period of warfare was accomplished2 the second announced that circumstances and the politics of the world1 hitherto adverse1 would be made easy to their return2 the third bade them1 in their bereavement of earthly leaders1 and their own impotence1 find their eternal confidence in ,god's ,word2 while the fourth lifted them1 as with one heart and voice1 to herald the certain return of ,jehovah1 at the head of ,his people1 to ,his own ,city1 and ,his quiet1 shepherdly rule of them on their own land4 ,these herald voices form the prologue to our prophecy1 ch4 xl4 #a-aa1 to which we will now turn4 ,,footnotes3 #bc ,if we would construct for ourselves some more definite idea of that long march from ,judah to ,babylon1 we might assist our imagination by the details of the only other instance on so great a scale of exile by administrative process--the transportation to ,siberia which the ,russian ,government effects 7it is said1 on good authority7 to the extent of eighteen thousand persons a year4 ,every week throughout the year marching parties1 three to four hundred strong1 leave ,tomsk for ,irkutsk1 doing twelve to twenty miles daily in fetters1 with twenty-four hours' rest every third day1 or three hundred and thirty miles in a month 7,century ,magazine1 ,nov4 #ahhh74 #bd ,for the above details1 see ,rawlinson's ,five ,great ,monarchies of the ,ancient ,eastern ,world1 vol4 i4 #be ,herodotus1 ,bk4 ,i42 ,memoirs by ,commander ,james ,felix ,jones1 ,i4 ,n41 in ,selections from the ,records of the ,bombay ,government1 ,no4 ,,xliii41 ,new ,series1 #aheg2 ,ainsworth's ,euphrates ,valley ,expedition2 ,layard's ,nineveh4 #bf ,perrot and ,chipiez1 ,histoire de l',art d',antiquit1 vol4 ii42 ,assyrie p4 #i4 #bg ,the ,book of ,daniel4 #bh ,isa4 xlii4 #bb1 xlvii4 #f4 #bi ,records of the ,past1 second series1 vol4 i41 ,m4 ,oppert's ,translations4 #cj ,mr4 ,st4 ,chad ,boscawen's recent lectures1 of which ,i have been able to see only the reports in the ,manchester ,guardian4 #ca ,ch4 lviii4 #b4 #cb ,ch4 lviii4 #ac1 #ad4 #cc ,see vol4 i41 p4 #bib ff4 #cd ,jer4 xxix4 #ce ,records of the ,past1 first series1 ix41 #ie seq4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,deliverance4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,prologue3 ,,the ,,four ,,herald ,,voices4 ,,isaiah xl4 #a-aa4 ,it is only ,voices which we hear in this ,prologue4 ,no forms can be discerned1 whether of men or angels1 and it is even difficult to make out the direction from which the ,voices come4 ,only one thing is certain--that they break the night1 that they proclaim the end of a long but fixed period1 during which ,god has punished and forsaken ,his people4 ,at first1 the persons addressed are the prophets1 that they may speak to the people 7vv4 #a1 #b72 but afterwards ,jerusalem as a whole is summoned to publish the good tidings 7ver4 #i74 ,this interchange between a part of the people and the whole--this commission to prophesy1 made with one breath to some of the nation for the sake of the rest1 and with the next breath to the entire nation--is a habit of our prophet to which we shall soon get accustomed4 ,how natural and characteristic it is1 is proved by its appearance in these very first verses4 ,the beginning of the good tidings is ,israel's pardon2 yet it seems not to be the people's return to ,palestine which is announced in consequence of this1 so much as their ,god's return to them4 ,prepare ye the way of ,jehovah1 make straight a highway for our ,god4 ,behold the ,lord ,jehovah will come4 ,we may1 however1 take the way of ,jehovah in the wilderness to mean what it means in the sixty-eighth ,psalm1--,his going forth before ,his people and leading of them back2 while the promise that ,he will come to shepherd ,his flock 7ver4 #aa7 is1 of course1 the promise that ,he will resume the government of ,israel upon their own land4 ,there can be no doubt1 therefore1 that this chapter was meant for the people at the close of their captivity in ,babylon4 ,but do not let us miss the pathetic fact1 that ,israel is addressed not in her actual shape of a captive people in a foreign land1 but under the name and aspect of her far-away1 desolate country4 ,in these verses ,israel is ,jerusalem1 ,zion1 the cities of ,judah4 ,such designations do not prove1 as a few critics have rather pedantically supposed1 that the writer of the verses lived in ,judah and addressed himself to what was under his eyes4 ,it is not the vision of a ,jew at home that has determined the choice of these names1 but the desire and the dream of a ,jew abroad3 that extraordinary passion1 which1 however distant might be the land of his exile1 ever filled the ,jew's eyes with ,zion1 caused him to feel the ruin and forsakenness of his ,mother more than his own servitude1 and swept his patriotic hopes1 across his own deliverance and return1 to the greater glory of her restoration4#cf ,there is nothing1 therefore1 to prevent us taking for granted1 as we did in the previous chapter1 that the speaker or speakers of these verses stood among the exiles themselves2 but who they were--men or angels1 prophets or scribes--is lost in the darkness out of which their music breaks4#cg ,nevertheless the prophecy is not anonymous4 ,by these impersonal voices a personal revelation is made4 ,the prophets may be nameless1 but the ,deity who speaks through them speaks as already known and acknowledged3 ,my people1 saith your ,god4 ,this is a point1 which1 though it takes for its expression no more than these two little pronouns1 we must not hurriedly pass over4 ,all the prophecy we are about to study may be said to hang from these pronouns4 ,they are the hinges1 on which the door of this new temple of revelation swings open before the long-expectant people4 ,and1 in fact1 such a conscience and sympathy as these little words express form the necessary premise of all revelation4 ,revelation implies a previous knowledge of ,god1 and cannot work upon men1 except there already exist in them the sense that they and ,god somehow belong to each other4 ,this sense need be neither pure1 nor strong1 nor articulate4 ,it may be the most selfish and cowardly of guilty fears1--,jacob's dread as he drew near ,esau1 whom he had treacherously supplanted1--the vaguest of ignorant desires1 the ,athenians' worship of the ,unknown ,god4 ,but1 whatever it is1 the angel comes to wrestle with it1 the apostle is sent to declare it2 revelation in some form takes it as its premise and starting-point4 ,this previous sense of ,god may also be fuller than in the cases just cited4 ,take our ,lord's own illustration4 ,upon the prodigal in the strange country there surged again the far-ebbed memory of his home and childhood1 of his years of familiarity with a ,father2 and it was this tide which carried back his penitent heart within the hearing of his ,father's voice1 and the revelation of the love that became his new life4 ,now ,israel1 also in a far-off land1 were borne upon the recollection of home and of life in the favour of their ,god4 ,we have seen with what knowledge of ,him and from what relations with ,him they were banished4 ,to the men of the ,exile ,god was already a ,name and an ,experience1 and because that ,name was ,the ,righteous1 and that ,experience was all grace and promise1 these men waited for ,his ,word more than they that wait for the morning2 and when at length the ,word broke from the long darkness and silence1 they received it1 though its bearers might be unseen and unaccredited1 because they recognised and acknowledged in it ,himself4 ,he who spoke was their ,god1 and they were ,his people4 ,this conscience and sympathy was all the title or credential which the revelation required4 ,it is1 therefore1 not too much to say1 as we have said1 that the two pronouns in ch4 xl41 ver4 #a1 are the necessary premise of the whole prophecy which that verse introduces4 99 99 99 99 99 ,with this introduction we may now take up the four herald voices of the ,prologue4 ,whatever may have been their original relation to one another1 whether or not they came to ,israel by different messengers1 they are arranged 7as we saw at the close of the previous chapter7 in manifest order and progress of thought1 and they meet in due succession the experiences of ,israel at the close of the ,exile4 ,for the first of them 7vv4 #a and #b7 gives the subjective assurance of the coming redemption3 it is the ,voice of ,grace4 ,the second 7vv4 #c-e7 proclaims the objective reality of that redemption3 it may be called the ,voice of ,providence1 or--to use the name by which our prophecy loves to entitle the just and victorious providence of ,god--the ,voice of ,righteousness4 ,the third 7vv4 #f-h7 uncovers the pledge and earnest of the redemption3 in the weakness of men this shall be the ,word of ,god4 ,while the fourth 7vv4 #i-aa7 is the ,proclamation of ,jehovah's restored kingdom1 when ,he cometh as a shepherd to shepherd ,his people4 ,to this progress and climax the music of the passage forms a perfect accompaniment4 ,it would be difficult to find in any language lips that first more softly woo the heart1 and then take to themselves so brave a trumpet of challenge and assurance4 ,the opening is upon a few short pulses of music1 which steal from heaven as gently as the first ripples of light in a cloudless dawn-- ,nhmu1 nhmu ammi3 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye my people3 ,dabbru al-lev ,yerushlam4 ,speak upon the heart of ,jerusalem4#ch ,but then the trumpet-tone breaks forth1 ,call unto her2 and on that high key the music stays1 sweeping with the second voice across hill and dale like a company of swift horsemen1 stooping with the third for a while to the elegy upon the withered grass1 but then recovering itself1 braced by all the strength of the ,word of ,god1 to peal from tower to tower with the fourth1 upon the cry1 ,behold1 the ,lord cometh1 till it sinks almost from sound to sight1 and yields us1 as from the surface of still waters1 that sweet reflection of the twenty-third ,psalm with which the ,prologue concludes4 #a4 ,comfort ye1 comfort ye ,my people1 saith your ,god4 ,speak ye home to the heart of ,jerusalem1 and call unto her1 ,that accomplished is her warfare1 that absolved is her iniquity2 ,that she hath received of ,jehovah's hand double for all her sins4 ,this first voice1 with the music of which our hearts have been thrilled ever since we can remember1 speaks twice3 first in a whisper1 then in a call--the whisper of the ,lover and the call of the ,lord4 ,speak ye home to the heart of ,jerusalem1 and call unto her4 ,now ,jerusalem lay in ruins1 a city through whose breached walls all the winds of heaven blew mournfully across her forsaken floors4 ,and the heart of ,jerusalem1 which was with her people in exile1 was like the city--broken and defenceless4 ,in that far-off1 unsympathetic land it lay open to the alien2 tyrants forced their idols upon it1 the peoples tortured it with their jests4 ,for they that led us captive required of us songs1 ,and they that wasted us required of us mirth4 ,but observe how gently the ,divine ,beleaguerer approaches1 how softly ,he bids ,his heralds plead by the gaps1 through which the oppressor has forced his idols and his insults4 ,of all human language they might use1 ,god bids ,his messengers take and plead with the words with which a man will plead at a maiden's heart1 knowing that he has nothing but love to offer as right of entrance1 and waiting until love and trust come out to welcome him4 ,speak ye1 says the original literally1 on to1 or up against1 or up round the heart of ,jerusalem1--a forcible expression1 like the ,german ,an das ,herz1 or the sweet ,scottish1 ,it cam' up roond my heart1 and perhaps best rendered into ,english by the phrase1 ,speak home to the heart4 ,it is the ordinary ,hebrew expression for wooing4 ,as from man to woman when he wins her1 the ,old ,testament uses it several times4 ,to speak home to the heart is to use language in which authority and argument are both ignored1 and love works her own inspiration4 ,while the haughty ,babylonian planted by force his idols1 while the folly and temptations of heathendom surged recklessly in1 ,god ,himself1 the ,creator of this broken heart1 its ,husband and ,inhabitant of old1#ci stood lowly by its breaches1 pleading in love the right to enter4 ,but when entrance has been granted1 see how ,he bids ,his heralds change their voice and disposition4 ,the suppliant lover1 being received1 assumes possession and defence1 and they1 who were first bid whisper as beggars by each unguarded breach1 now leap upon the walls to call from the accepted ,lord of the city3 ,fulfilled is thy time of service1 absolved thine iniquity1 received hast thou of ,jehovah's hand double for all thy sins4 ,now this is no mere rhetorical figure4 ,this is the abiding attitude and aim of the ,almighty towards men4 ,god's target is our heart4 ,his revelation1 whatever of law or threat it send before1 is1 in its own superlative clearness and urgency1 ,grace4 ,it comes to man by way of the heart2 not at first by argument addressed to the intellect1 nor by appeal to experience1 but by the sheer strength of a love laid on to the heart4 ,it is1 to begin with1 a subjective thing4 ,is revelation1 then1 entirely a subjective assurance8 ,do the pardon and peace which it proclaims remain only feelings of the heart1 without anything to correspond to them in real fact8 ,by no means2 for these ,jews the revelation now whispered to their heart will actually take shape in providences of the most concrete kind4 ,a voice will immediately call1 ,prepare ye the way of the ,lord1 and the way will be prepared4 ,babylon will fall2 ,cyrus will let ,israel go2 their release will appear--most concrete of things6--in black and white on a ,persian state-parchment4 ,yet1 before these events happen and become part of ,his people's experience1 ,god desires first to convince ,his people by the sheer urgency of ,his love4 ,before ,he displays ,his ,providence1 ,he will speak in the power and evidence of ,his ,grace4 ,afterwards1 ,his prophets shall appeal to outward facts2 we shall find them in succeeding chapters arguing both with ,israel and the heathen on grounds of reason and the facts of history4 ,but1 in the meantime1 let them only feel that in ,his ,grace they have something for the heart of men1 which1 striking home1 shall be its own evidence and force4 ,thus ,god adventures ,his ,word forth by nameless and unaccredited men upon no other authority than the ,grace1 with which it is fraught for the heart of ,his people4 ,the illustration1 which this affords of the method and evidence of ,divine revelation1 is obvious4 ,let us1 with all the strength of which we are capable1 emphasize the fact that our prophecy--which is full of the materials for an elaborate theology1 which contains the most detailed apologetic in the whole ,bible1 and displays the most glorious prospect of man's service and destiny--takes its source and origin from a simple revelation of ,grace and the subjective assurance of this in the heart of those to whom it is addressed4 ,this proclamation of ,grace is as characteristic and dominant in ,second ,isaiah1 as we saw the proclamation of conscience in ch4 i4 to be characteristic of the ,first ,isaiah4 ,before we pass on1 let us look for a moment at the contents of this ,grace1 in the three clauses of the prophet's cry3 ,fulfilled is her warfare1 absolved her guilt1 received hath she of ,jehovah's hand double for all her sins4 ,the very grammar here is eloquent of grace4 ,the emphasis lies on the three predicates1 which ought to stand in translation1 as they do in the original1 at the beginning of each clause4 ,prominence is given1 not to the warfare1 nor to the guilt1 nor to the sins1 but to this1 that accomplished is the warfare1 absolved the guilt1 sufficiently expiated the sins4 ,it is a great ,,at ,,last which these clauses peal forth2 but an ,at ,last whose tone is not so much inevitableness as undeserved grace4 ,the term translated warfare means period of military service1 appointed term of conscription2 and the application is apparent when we remember that the ,exile had been fixed1 by the ,word of ,god through ,jeremiah1 to a definite number of years4 ,absolved is the passive of a verb meaning to pay off what is due4#dj ,but the third clause is especially gracious4 ,it declares that ,israel has suffered of punishment more than double enough to atone for her sins4 ,this is not a way of regarding either sin or atonement1 which1 theologically speaking1 is accurate4 ,what of its relation to our ,articles1 that man cannot give satisfaction for his sins by the work of his hands or the pains of his flesh8 ,no3 it would scarcely pass some of our creeds to-day4 ,but all the more1 that it thus bursts forth from strict terms of dealing1 does it reveal the generosity of ,him who utters it4 ,how full of pity ,god is1 to take so much account of the sufferings sinners have brought upon themselves6 ,how full of grace to reckon those sufferings double the sins that had earned them6 ,it is1 as when we have seen gracious men make us a free gift1 and in their courtesy insist that we have worked for it4 ,it is grace masked by grace4 ,as the height of art is to conceal art1 so the height of grace is to conceal grace1 which it does in this verse4 ,such is the ,voice of ,grace4 ,but1 #b4 ,hark1 ,one calling6 ,in the wilderness prepare the way of ,jehovah6 ,make straight in the desert an highway for our ,god6 ,every valley shall be exalted1 ,and every mountain and hill be made low3 ,and the crooked grow straight1 ,and rough places a plain3 ,and the glory of ,jehovah be revealed1 ,and see it shall all flesh together2 ,for the mouth of ,jehovah hath spoken4 ,the relation of this ,voice to the previous one has already been indicated4 ,this is the witness of ,providence following upon the witness of ,grace4 ,religion is a matter in the first place between ,god and the heart2 but religion does not1 as many mock1 remain an inward feeling4 ,the secret relation between ,god and ,his people issues into substantial fact1 visible to all men4 ,history vindicates faith2 ,providence executes ,promise2 ,righteousness follows ,grace4 ,so1 as the first ,voice was spoken to the heart1 this second is for the hands and feet and active will4 ,prepare ye the way of the ,lord4 ,if you1 poor captives as you are1 begin to act upon the grace whispered in your trembling hearts1 the world will show the result4 ,all things will come round to your side4 ,a levelled empire1 an altered world--across those your way shall lie clear to ,jerusalem4 ,you shall go forth in the sight of all men1 and future generations looking back shall praise this manifest wonder of your ,god4 ,the glory of ,jehovah shall be revealed1 and see it shall all flesh together4 ,on which word1 how can our hearts help rising from the comfort of grace to the sense of mastery over this world1 to the assurance of heaven itself8 ,history must come round to the side of faith--as it has come round not in the case of ,jewish exiles only1 but wheresoever such a faith as theirs has been repeated4 ,history must come round to the side of faith1 if men will only obey the second as well as the first of these herald voices4 ,but we are too ready to listen to the ,word of the ,lord1 without seeking to prepare ,his way4 ,we are satisfied with the personal comfort of our ,god2 we are contented to be forgiven and--oh mockery6--left alone4 ,but the word of ,god will not leave us alone1 and not for comfort only is it spoken4 ,on the back of the voice1 which sets our heart right with ,god1 comes the voice to set the world right1 and no man is godly who has not heard both4 ,are we timid and afraid that facts will not correspond to our faith8 ,nay1 but as ,god reigneth they shall1 if only we put to our hands and make them2 all flesh shall see it1 if we will but prepare the way of the ,lord4 ,have we only ancient proofs of this8 ,on the contrary1 ,god has done like wonders within the lives of those of us who are yet young4 ,during our generation1 a people has appealed from the convictions of her heart to the arbitrament of history1 and appealed not in vain4 ,when the citizens of the ,northern ,states of the ,american ,republic1 not content as they might have been with their protests against slavery1 rose to vindicate these by the sword1 they faced1 humanly speaking1 a risk as great as that to which ,jew was ever called by the word of ,god4 ,their own brethren were against them2 the world stood aloof4 ,but even so1 unaided by united patriotism and as much dismayed as encouraged by the opinions of civilisation1 they rose to the issue on the strength of conscience and their hearts4 ,they rose and they conquered4 ,slavery was abolished4 ,what had been but the conviction of a few men1 became the surprise1 the admiration1 the consent of the whole world4 ,the glory of the ,lord was revealed1 and all flesh saw it together4 #c4 ,but the shadow of death falls on everything1 even on the way of the ,lord4 ,by #eej ,b4,c4--that is1 after thirty-eight years of exile--nearly all the strong men of ,israel's days of independence must have been taken away4 ,death had been busy with the exiles for more than a generation4 ,there was no longer any human representative of ,jehovah to rally the people's trust2 the monarchy1 each possible ,messiah who in turn held it1 the priesthood1 and the prophethood--whose great personalities so often took the place of ,israel's official leaders--had all alike disappeared4 ,it was little wonder1 then1 that a nation accustomed to be led1 not by ideas like us ,westerns1 but by personages1 who were to it the embodiment of ,jehovah's will and guidance1 should have been cast into despair by the call1 ,prepare ye the way of the ,lord4 ,what sort of a call was this for a people1 whose strong men were like things uprooted and withered6 ,how could one be1 with any heart1 a herald of the ,lord to such a people6 ,hark one saying ,call4#da ,and ,i said3 ,what can ,i call8 ,all flesh is grass1 ,and all its beauty like a wild-flower6 ,withers grass1 fades flower1 ,when the breath of ,jehovah blows on it4 ,surely grass is the people4 ,back comes a voice like the east wind's for pitilessness to the flowers1 but of the east wind's own strength and clearness1 to proclaim ,israel's everlasting hope4 ,withers grass1 fades flower1 ,but the word of our ,god endureth for ever4 ,everything human may perish2 the day may be past of the great prophets1 of the priests--of the ,king in his beauty1 who was vicegerent of ,god4 ,but the people have ,god's word2 when all their leaders have fallen1 and every visible authority for ,god is taken away1 this shall be their rally and their confidence4 ,all this is too like the actual experience of ,israel in ,exile not to be the true interpretation of this third1 stern ,voice4 ,their political and religious institutions1 which had so often proved the initiative of a new movement1 or served as a bridge to carry the nation across disaster to a larger future1 were not in existence4 ,nor does any ,moses1 as in ,egypt of old1 rise to visibleness from among his obscure people1 impose his authority upon them1 marshal them1 and lead them out behind him to freedom4 ,but what we see is a scattered and a leaderless people1 stirred in their shadow1 as a ripe cornfield is stirred by the breeze before dawn--stirred in their shadow by the ancient promises of ,god1 and everywhere breaking out at the touch of these into psalms and prophecies of hope4 ,we see them expectant of redemption1 we see them resolved to return1 we see them carried across the desert to ,zion1 and from first to last it is the word of ,god that is their inspiration and assurance4 ,they1 who formerly had rallied round the ,ark or the ,temple1 or who had risen to the hope of a glorious ,messiah1 do not now speak of all these1 but their hope1 they tell us1 is in ,his word2 it is the instrument of their salvation1 and their destiny is to be its evangelists4 #d4 ,to this high destiny the fourth ,voice now summons them1 by a vivid figure4 ,up on a high mountain1 get thee up1 ,heraldess of good news1 ,o ,zion6 ,lift up with strength thy voice1 ,heraldess of good news1 ,jerusalem6 ,lift up1 fear not1 say to the cities of ,judah3-- ,behold1 your ,god4 ,behold1 my ,lord ,jehovah1 with power ,he cometh1 ,and ,his arm rules for ,him4 ,behold1 ,his reward with ,him1 ,and ,his recompense before ,him4 ,as a shepherd ,his flock ,he shepherds2 ,with ,his right arm gathers the lambs1 ,and in ,his bosom bears them4 ,ewe-mothers ,he tenderly leads4 ,the title which ,i have somewhat awkwardly translated heraldess--but in ,english there is really no better word for it--is the feminine participle of a verb meaning to thrill1 or give joy1 by means of good news4 ,it is used generally to tell such happy news as the birth of a child1 but mostly in the special sense of carrying tidings of victory or peace home from the field to the people4 ,the feminine participle would seem from ,psalm lxviii41 the women who publish victory to the great host1 to have been the usual term for the members of those female choirs1 who1 like ,miriam and her maidens1 celebrated a triumph in face of the army1 or came forth from the city to hail the returning conqueror1 as the daughters of ,jerusalem hailed ,saul and ,david4 ,as such a chorister1 ,zion is now summoned to proclaim ,jehovah's arrival at the gates of the cities of ,judah4 ,the verses from ,behold1 your ,god1 to the end of the ,prologue are the song of the heraldess4 ,do not their mingled martial and pastoral strains exactly suit the case of the ,return8 ,for this is an expedition1 on which the nation's champion has gone forth1 not to lead ,his enemies captive to ,his gates1 but that ,he may gather ,his people home4 ,not mailed men1 in the pride of a victory they have helped to win1 march in behind ,him1--armour and tumult and the garment rolled in blood1--but a herd of mixed and feeble folk1 with babes and women1 in need of carriage and gentle leading1 wander wearily back4 ,and1 therefore1 in the mouth of the heraldess the figure changes from a warrior-king to the ,good ,shepherd4 ,with ,his right arm ,he gathers the lambs1 and in ,his bosom bears them4 ,ewe-mothers ,he gently leads4 ,how true a picture1 and how much it recalls6 ,fifty years before1 the exiles left their home 7as we can see to this day upon ,assyrian sculptures7 in closely-driven companies1 fettered1 and with the urgency upon them of grim soldiers1 who marched at intervals in their ranks to keep up the pace1 and who tossed the weaklings impatiently aside4 ,but now1 see the slow and loosely-gathered bands wander back1 just as quickly as the weakest feel strength to travel1 and without any force or any guidance save that of their ,almighty1 ,unseen ,shepherd4 ,we are now able to appreciate the dramatic unity of this ,prologue4 ,how perfectly it gathers into its four ,voices the whole course of ,israel's redemption3 the first assurance of ,grace whispered to the heart1 co-operation with ,providence1 confidence in ,god's bare ,word1 the full ,return and the ,restoration of the ,city4 ,but its climax is undoubtedly the honour it lays upon the whole people to be publishers of the good news of ,god4 ,of this it speaks with trumpet tones4 ,all ,jerusalem must be a herald-people4 ,and how could ,israel help owning the constraint and inspiration to so high an office1 after so heartfelt an experience of grace1 so evident a redemption1 so glorious a proof of the power of the ,word of ,god8 ,to have the heart thus filled with grace1 to have the will enlisted in so ,divine a work1 to have known the almightiness of the ,divine ,word when everything else failed--after such an experience1 who would not be able to preach the good news of ,god1 to foretell1 as our prophet bids ,israel foretell1 the coming of the ,kingdom and ,presence of ,god--the day when the ,lord's flock shall be perfect and none wanting1 when society1 though still weary and weak and mortal1 shall have no stragglers nor outcasts nor reprobates4 ,o ,god1 so fill us with ,thy grace and enlist us in ,thy work1 so manifest the might of ,thy word to us1 that the ideal of ,thy perfect kingdom may shine as bright and near to us as to ,thy prophet of old1 and that we may become its inspired preachers and ever labour in its hope4 ,amen4 ,,footnotes3 #cf ,see p4 #dg4 #cg ,from the sequence of the voices1 it would seem that we had in ch4 xl4 not a mere collection of anonymous prophecies arranged by an editor1 but one complete prophecy by the author of most of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 set in the dramatic form which obtains through the other chapters4 #ch ,every one who appreciates the music of the original will agree how incomparably ,handel has interpreted it in those pulses of music with which his ,messiah opens4 #ci ,see ch4 liv41 where this figure is developed with great beauty4 #dj ,lev4 xxvii4 #da ,the technical word to preach or proclaim4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,god3 ,a ,,sacrament4 ,,isaiah xl4 #ab-ca4 ,such are the ,four ,voices which herald the day of ,israel's redemption4 ,they are scarcely silent1 before the ,sun ,himself uprises1 and horizon after horizon of ,his empire is displayed to the eyes of ,his starved and waiting people4 ,from the prologue of the prophecy1 in ch4 xl4 #a-aa1 we advance to the presentation1 in chs4 xl4 #ab-xli41 of its primary and governing truth--the sovereignty and omnipotence of ,god1 the ,god of ,israel4 ,we may well call this truth the sun of the new day which ,israel is about to enter4 ,for as it is the sun which makes the day1 and not the day which reveals the sun2 so it is ,god1 supreme and almighty1 who interprets1 predicts and controls ,his people's history1 and not their history1 which1 in its gradual evolution1 is to make ,god's sovereignty and omnipotence manifest to their experience4 ,let us clearly understand this4 ,the prophecy1 which we are about to follow1 is an argument not so much from history to ,god as from ,god to history4 ,israel already have their ,god2 and it is because ,he is what ,he is1 and what they ought to know ,him to be1#db that they are bidden believe that their future shall take a certain course4 ,the prophet begins with ,god1 and everything follows from ,god4 ,all that in these chapters lends light or force1 all that interprets the history of to-day and fills to-morrow with hope1 fact and promise alike1 the captivity of ,israel1 the appearance of ,cyrus1 the fall of ,babylon1 ,israel's redemption1 the extension of their mission to the ends of the earth1 the conversion of the ,gentiles1 the equipment1 discipline and triumph of the ,servant ,himself1--we may even say the expanded geography of our prophet1 the countries which for the first time emerge from the distant west within the vision of a ,hebrew seer1--all are due to that primary truth about ,god with which we are now presented4 ,it is ,god's sovereignty which brings such far-off things into the interest of ,israel2 it is ,god's omnipotence which renders such impossible things practical4 ,and as with the subjects1 so with the style of the following chapters4 ,the prophet's style is throughout the effect of his perfect and brilliant monotheism4 ,it is the thought of ,god which everywhere kindles his imagination4 ,his most splendid passages are those1 in which he soars to some lofty vision of the ,divine glory in creation or history2 while his frequent sarcasm and ridicule owe their effectiveness to the sudden scorn1 with which1 from such a view1 scattering epigrams the while1 he sweeps down upon the heathen's poor images1 or ,israel's grudging thoughts of his ,god4 ,the breadth and the force of his imagination1 the sweep of his rhetoric1 the intensity of his scorn1 may all be traced to his sense of ,god's sovereignty1 and are the signs to us of how absolutely he was possessed by this as his main and governing truth4 ,this1 then1 being the sun of ,israel's coming day1 we may call what we find in ch4 xl4 #aa-xli4 the sunrise--the full revelation and uprising on our sight of this original gospel of the prophet4 ,it is addressed to two classes of men2 in ch4 xl4 #ab-ca to ,israel1 but in ch4 xli4 7for the greater part1 at least7 to the ,gentiles4 ,in dealing with these two classes the prophet makes a great difference4 ,to ,israel he presents their ,god1 as it were1 in sacrament2 but to the ,gentiles he urges ,god's claims in challenge and argument4 ,it is to the past that he summons ,israel1 and to what they ought to know already about their ,god2 it is to the future1 to history yet unmade1 that he proposes to the ,gentiles they should together appeal1 in order to see whether his ,god or their gods are the true ,deity4 ,in this chapter we shall deal with the first of these--,god in sacrament4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the fact is familiar to all1 that the ,old ,testament nowhere feels the necessity of proving the existence of ,god4 ,that would have been a proof unintelligible to those to whom its prophets addressed themselves4 ,in the time when the ,old ,testament came to him1 man as little doubted the existence of ,god as he doubted his own life4 ,but as life sometimes burned low1 needing replenishment1 so faith would grow despondent and morbid1 needing to be led away from objects which only starved it1 or produced1 as idolatry did1 the veriest delirium of a religion4 ,a man had to get his faith lifted from the thoughts of his own mind and the works of his own hand1 to be borne upon and nourished by the works of ,god1--to kindle with the sunrise1 to broaden out by the sight of the firmament1 to deepen as he faced the spaces of night1--and win calmness and strength to think life into order as he looked forth upon the marshalled hosts of heaven1 having all the time no doubt that the ,god who created and guided these was his ,god4 ,therefore1 when psalmist or prophet calls ,israel to lift their eyes to the hills1 or to behold how the heavens declare the glory of ,god1 or to listen to that unbroken tradition1 which day passes to day and night to night1 of the knowledge of the ,creator1 it is not proofs to doubting minds which he offers3 it is spiritual nourishment to hungry souls4 ,these are not arguments--they are sacraments4 ,when we ,christians go to the ,lord's ,supper1 we go not to have the ,lord proved to us1 but to feed upon a life and a love of whose existence we are past all doubt4 ,our sacrament fills all the mouths by which needy faith is fed--such as outward sight1 and imagination1 and memory1 and wonder1 and love4 ,now very much what the ,lord's ,supper is to us for fellowship with ,god and feeding upon ,him1 that were the glory of the heavens1 and the everlasting hills1 and the depth of the sea1 and the vision of the stars to the ,hebrews4 ,they were the sacraments of ,god4 ,by them faith was fed1 and the spirit of man entered into the enjoyment of ,god1 whose existence indeed he had never doubted1 but whom he had lost1 forgotten1 or misunderstood4 ,now it is as such a minister of sacrament to ,god's starved and disheartened people that our prophet appears in ch4 xl4 #ab-ca4 ,there were three elements in ,israel's starvation4 ,firstly1 for nearly fifty years they had been deprived of the accustomed ordinances of religion4 ,temple and altar had perished2 the common praise and the national religious fellowship were impossible2 the traditional symbols of the faith lay far out of sight2 there was at best only a precarious ministry of the ,word4 ,but1 in the second place1 this famine of the ,word and of ,sacraments was aggravated by the fact that history had gone against the people4 ,to the baser minds among them1 always ready to grant their allegiance to success1 this could only mean that the gods of the heathen had triumphed over ,jehovah4 ,it is little wonder that such experience1 assisted by the presentation1 at every turn in their ways1 of idols and a splendid idol-worship1 the fashion and delight of the populations through whom they were mixed1 should have tempted many ,jews to feed their starved hearts at the shrines of their conquerors' gods4 ,but the result could only be the further atrophy of their religious nature4 ,it has been held as a reason for the worship of idols that they excite the affection and imagination of the worshipper4 ,they do no such thing3 they starve and they stunt these4 ,the image reacts upon the imagination1 infects it with its own narrowness and poverty1 till man's noblest creative faculty becomes the slave of its own poor toy4 ,but1 thirdly1 if the loftier spirits in ,israel refused to believe that ,jehovah1 exalted in righteousness1 could be less than the brutal deities whom ,babylon vaunted over ,him1 they were flung back upon the sorrowful conviction that their ,god had cast them off2 that ,he had retreated from the patronage of so unworthy a people into the veiled depths of ,his own nature4 ,then upon that heaven1 from which no answer came to those who were once its favourites1 they cast we can scarcely tell what reflection of their own weary and spiritless estate4 ,as1 standing over a city by night1 you will see the majestic darkness above stained and distorted into shapes of pain or wrath by the upcast of the city's broken1 murky lights1 so many of the nobler exiles saw upon the blank1 unanswering heaven a horrible mirage of their own trouble and fear4 ,their weariness said1 ,he is weary2 the ruin of their national life reflected itself as the frustration of ,his purposes2 their accusing conscience saw the darkness of ,his counsel relieved only by streaks of wrath4 ,but none of these tendencies in ,israel went so far as to deny that there was a ,god1 or even to doubt ,his existence4 ,this1 as we have said1 was nowhere yet the temptation of mankind4 ,when the ,jew lapsed from that true faith1 which we have seen his nation carry into exile1 he fell into one of the two tempers just described--devotion to false gods in the shape of idols1 or despondency consequent upon false notions of the true ,god4 ,it is against these tempers1 one after another1 that ch4 xl4 #ab-ca is directed4 ,and so we understand why1 though the prophet is here declaring the basis and spring of all his subsequent prophecy1 he does not adopt the method of abstract argument4 ,he is not treating with men1 who have had no true knowledge of ,god in the past1 or whose intellect questions ,god's reality4 ,he is treating with men1 who have a national heritage of truth about ,god1 but they have forgotten it2 who have hearts full of religious affection1 but it has been betrayed2 who have a devout imagination1 but it has been starved2 who have hopes1 but they are faint unto death4 ,he will recall to them their heritage1 rally their shrinking convictions by the courage of his own faith1 feed their hunger after righteousness#dc by a new hope set to noble music1 and display to the imagination that has been stunted by so long looking upon the face of idols the wide horizons of ,divine glory in earth and heaven4 ,his style corresponds to his purpose4 ,he does not syllogize2 he exhorts1 recalls and convicts by assertion4 ,the passage is a series of questions1 rallies and promises4 ,have ye not known8 have ye not heard8 is his chief note4 ,instead of arranging facts in history or nature as in themselves a proof for ,god1 he mentions them only by way of provoking inward recollections4 ,his sharp questions are as hooks to draw from his hearers' hearts their timid and starved convictions1 that he may nourish these upon the sacramental glories of nature and of history4 ,such a purpose and style trust little to method1 and it would be useless to search for any strict division of strophes in the passage4#dd ,the following1 however1 is a manifest division of subject1 according to the two tempers to which the prophet had to appeal4 ,verses #ab to #be1 and perhaps #bf1 are addressed to the idolatrous ,jews4 ,but in #bf there is a transition to the despair of the nobler hearts in ,israel1 who1 though they continued to believe in the ,one ,true ,god1 imagined that ,he had abandoned them2 and to such vv4 #bg to #ca are undoubtedly addressed4 ,the different treatment accorded to the two classes is striking4 ,the former of these the prophet does not call by any title of the people of ,god2 with the latter he pleads by a dear double name that he may win them through every recollection of their gracious past1 ,jacob and ,israel 7ver4 #bg74 ,challenge and sarcasm are his style with the idolaters1 his language clashing out in bursts too loud and rapid sometimes for the grammar1 as in ver4 #bd2 but with the despondent his way is gentle persuasiveness1 with music that swells and brightens steadily1 passing without a break from the minor key of pleading to the major of glorious promise4 #a4 ,,against ,,the ,,idolaters4 ,a couple of sarcastic sentences upon idols and their manufacture 7vv4 #ai1 #bj7 stand between two majestic declarations of ,god's glory in nature and in history 7vv4 #ab-ag and #ba-bd74 ,it is an appeal from the worshippers' images to their imagination4 ,who hath measured in his hollow hand the waters1 and heaven ruled off with a span8 ,or caught in a tierce the dust of the earth1 and weighed in scales mountains1 and hills in a balance8 ,who hath directed the spirit of ,jehovah1 and as man of ,his counsel hath helped ,him to know8 ,with whom took ,he counsel1 that such an one informed ,him and taught ,him in the orthodox path1 and taught ,him knowledge and helped ,him to know the way of intelligence8 ,the term translated orthodox path is literally path of ordinance or judgement1 the regular path1 and is doubtless to be taken along with its parallel1 way of intelligence1 as a conventional phrase of education1 which the prophet employed to make his sarcasm the stronger4 ,lo nations6 as a drop from a bucket1 and like dust in a balance1 are they reckoned4 ,lo the ,isles6#de as a trifle ,he lifteth4 ,and ,lebanon is by no means enough for burning1 nor its brute-life enough for an offering4 ,all the nations are as nothing before ,him1 as spent and as waste are they reckoned for ,him4 ,when he has thus soared enough1 as on an archangel's wings1 he swoops with one rapid question down from the height of his imagination upon the images4 ,to whom then will ye liken ,god1 and what likeness will ye range by ,him8 ,the image6 ,a smith cast it1 and a smelter plates it with gold1 and smelts silver chains4 ,he that is straitened for an offering--he chooseth a tree that does not rot1 seeks to him a cunning carver to set up an image that will not totter4#df ,the image shrivels up in face of that imagination2 the idol is abolished by laughter4 ,there is here1 and for almost the first time in history1 the same intellectual intolerance of images1 the same burning sense of the unreasonableness of their worship1 which has marked all monotheists1 and turned even the meekest of their kind into fierce scorners and satirists--,elijah1 ,mohammed1 ,luther1 and ,knox4#dg ,we hear this laughter from them all4 ,sometimes it may sound truculent or even brutal1 but let us remember what is behind it4 ,when we hear it condemned--as1 in the interests of art and imagination1 its puritan outbursts have often been condemned--as a barbarian incapacity to sympathise with the sthetic instincts of man1 or to appreciate the influence of a beautiful and elevating cult1 we can reply that it was the imagination itself which often inspired both the laughter at1 and the breaking of1 images1 and that1 because the iconoclast had a loftier vision of ,god than the image-maker1 he has1 on the whole1 more really furthered the progress of art than the artist whose works he has destroyed4 ,it is certain1 for instance1 that no one would exchange the beauties of the prophecy now before us1 with its sublime imaginations of ,god1 for all the beauty of all the idols of ,babylonia which it consigned to destruction4 ,and we dare to say the same of two other epochs1 when the uncompromising zeal of monotheists crushed to the dust the fruits of centuries of ,christian art4 ,the ,koran is not often appealed to as a model of poetry1 but it contains passages whose imagination of ,god1 broad as the horizon of the desert of its birth1 and swift and clear as the desert dawn1 may be regarded as infinitely more than compensation--from a purely artistic point of view--for the countless works of ,christian ritual and imagery which it inspired the rude cavalry of the desert to trample beneath the hoofs of their horses4 ,and again1 if we are to blame the ,reformers of ,western ,christendom for the cruelty with which they lifted their hammers against the carved work of the sanctuary1 do not let us forget how much of the spirit of the best modern art is to be traced to their more spiritual and lofty conceptions of ,god4 ,no one will question how much ,milton's imagination owed to his ,protestantism1 or how much ,carlyle's dramatic genius was the result of his ,puritan faith4 ,but it is to the spirit of the ,reformation1 as it liberated the worshipper's soul from bondage to artificial and ecclesiastical symbols of the ,deity1 that we may also ascribe a large part of the force of that movement towards ,nature and the imagination of ,god in ,his creation which inspired1 for example1 ,wordsworth's poetry1 and those visual sacraments of rainbow1 storm1 and dawn to which ,browning so often lifts our souls from their dissatisfaction with ritual or with argument4 ,from his sarcasm on the idols our prophet returns to his task of drawing forth ,israel's memory and imagination4 ,have ye not known8 ,have ye not heard8 ,hath it not been told you from the beginning8 ,have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth8 ,he that is enthroned above the circle of the earth1 and its dwellers are before ,him as grasshoppers2 who stretcheth as a fine veil the heavens1 and spreadeth them like a dwelling tent--that is1 as easily as if they were not even a pavilion or marquee1 but only a humble dwelling tent4 ,he who bringeth great men to nothing1 the judges of the earth ,he maketh as waste4 ,yea1 they were not planted2 yea1 they were not sown2 yea1 their root had not struck in the earth1 but immediately ,he blew upon them and they withered1 and a whirlwind like stubble carried them away4 ,to whom1 then1 will ye liken ,me1 that ,i may match with him8 saith the ,holy ,one4 ,but this time it is not necessary to suggest the idols2 they were dissolved by that previous burst of laughter4 ,therefore1 the prophet turns to the other class in ,israel with whom he has to deal4 #b4 ,,to ,,the ,,despairers ,,of ,,the ,,lord4 ,from history we pass back to nature in ver4 #bf1 which forms a transition1 the language growing steadier from the impetuosity of the address to the idolaters to the serene music of the second part4 ,enough rebuke has the prophet made4 ,as he now lifts his people's vision to the stars1 it is not to shame their idols1 but to feed their hearts4 ,lift up on high your eyes and see6 ,who hath created these8 ,who leads forth by number their host1 and all of them calleth by name1 by abundance of might1 for ,he is powerful in strength1 not one is amissing4 ,under such a night1 that veils the confusion of earth only to bring forth all the majesty and order of heaven1 we feel a moment's pause4 ,then as the expanding eyes of the exiles gaze upon the infinite power above1 the prophet goes on4 ,why then sayest thou1 ,o ,jacob1 and speakest1 ,o ,israel8 ,hidden is my way from ,jehovah1 and from my ,god my right hath passed4 ,why does the prophet point his people to the stars8 ,because he is among ,israel on that vast ,babylonian plain1 from whose crowded and confused populations1 struggling upon one monotonous level1 there is no escape for the heart but to the stars4 ,think of that plain when ,nebuchadrezzar was its tyrant2 of the countless families of men torn from their far homes and crushed through one another upon its surface2 of the ancient liberties that were trampled in that servitude1 of the languages that were stifled in that ,babel1 of the many patriotisms set to sigh themselves out into the tyrant's mud and mortar4 ,ah heaven6 was there a ,god in thee1 that one man could thus crush nations in his vat1 as men crushed shell-fish in those days1 to dye his imperial purple8 ,was there any ,providence above1 that he could tear peoples from the lands and seas1 where their various gifts and offices for humanity had been developed1 and press them to his selfish and monotonous servitude8 ,in that medley of nations1 all upon one level of captivity1 ,israel was just as lost as the most insignificant tribe2 her history severed1 her worship impossible1 her very language threatened with decay4 ,no wonder1 that from the stifling crowd and desperate flatness of it all she cried1 ,hidden is my way from ,jehovah1 and from my ,god my right hath passed4 ,but from the flatness and the crowd the stars are visible2 and it was upon the stars that the prophet bade his people feed their hearts4 ,there were order and unfailing guidance2 for the greatness of ,his might not one is missing4 ,and ,he is your ,god4 ,just as visible as those countless stars are1 one by one1 in the dark heavens1 to your eyes looking up1 so your lives and fortunes are to ,his eyes looking down on this ,babel of peoples4 ,he gathereth the outcasts of ,israel4444 ,he telleth the number of the stars4#dh ,and so the prophet goes on earnestly to plead3 ,hast thou not known8 ,hast thou not heard8 that an everlasting ,god is ,jehovah1 ,creator of the ends of the earth4 ,he fainteth not1 neither is weary4 ,there is no searching of ,his understanding4 ,giver to the weary of strength6 ,and upon him that is of no might1 ,he lavisheth power4 ,even youths may faint and be weary1 and young men utterly fall2 but they who hope in ,jehovah shall renew strength1 put forth pinions like eagles1 run and not weary1 walk and not faint4 ,listen1 ears1 not for the sake of yourselves only1 though the music is incomparably sweet6 ,listen for the sake of the starved hearts below1 to whom you carry the sacraments of hope1 whom you lift to feed upon the clear symbols of ,god's omnipotence and unfailing grace4 ,this chapter began with the assurance to the heart of ,israel of their ,god's will to redeem and restore them4 ,it closes with bidding the people take hope in ,god4 ,let us again emphasize--for we cannot do so too often1 if we are to keep ourselves from certain errors of to-day on the subject of ,revelation--the nature of this prophecy4 ,it is not a reading-off of history2 it is a call from ,god4 ,no deed has yet been done pointing towards the certainty of ,israel's redemption2 it is not from facts writ large on the life of their day1 that the prophet bids the captives read their ,divine discharge4 ,that discharge he brings from ,god2 he bids them find the promise and the warrant of it in their ,god's character1 in their own convictions of what that character is4 ,in order to revive those convictions1 he does1 it is true1 appeal to certain facts1 but these facts are not the facts of contemporary history which might reveal to any clear eye1 that the current and the drift of politics was setting towards the redemption of ,israel4 ,they are facts of nature and facts of general providence1 which1 as we have said1 like sacraments evidence ,god's power to the pious heart1 feed it with the assurance of ,his grace1 and bid it hope in ,his word1 though history should seem to be working quite the other way4 ,this instance of the method of revelation does not justify two opinions1 which prevail at the present day regarding prophecy4 ,in the first place1 it proves to us1 that those are wrong who1 too much infected by the modern temper to judge accurately writers so unsophisticated1 describe prophecy as if it were merely a philosophy of history1 by which the prophets deduced from their observation of the course of events their idea of ,god and their forecast of ,his purposes4 ,the prophets had indeed to do with history2 they argued from it1 and they appealed to it4 ,the history that was past was full of ,god's condescension to men1 and shone like ,nature's self with sacramental signs of ,his power and will3 the history that was future was to be ,his supreme tribunal1 and to afford the vindication of the word they claimed to have brought from ,him4 ,but still all this--their trust in history and their use of it--was something secondary in the prophetic method4 ,with them ,god ,himself was first2 they came forth from ,his presence1 as they describe it1 with the knowledge of ,his will gained through the communion of their spirits with ,his ,spirit4 ,if they then appealed to past history1 it was to illustrate their message2 or to future1 it was for vindication of this4 ,but ,god ,himself was the ,source and ,author of it2 and therefore1 before they had facts beneath their eyes to corroborate their promises1 they appealed to the people1 like our prophet in ch4 xl41 to wait on ,jehovah4 ,the day might not yet have dawned so as to let them read the signs of the times4 ,but in the darkness they hoped in ,jehovah1 and borrowed for their starved hearts from the stars above1 or other sacrament1 some assurance of ,his unfailing power4 ,jehovah1 then1 was the source of the prophets' word3 ,his character was its pledge4 ,the prophets were not mere readers from history1 but speakers from ,god4 ,but the testimony of our chapter to all this enables us also to arrest an opinion about ,revelation1 which has too hurriedly run off with some ,christians1 and to qualify it4 ,in the inevitable recoil from the scholastic view of revelation as wholly a series of laws and dogmas and predictions1 a number of writers on the subject have of late defined ,revelation as a chain of historical acts1 through which ,god uttered ,his character and will to men4 ,according to this view1 ,revelation is ,god manifesting ,himself in history1 and the ,bible is the record of this historical process4 ,now1 while it is true that the ,bible is1 to a large extent1 the annals and interpretation of the great and small events of a nation's history--of its separation from the rest of mankind1 its miraculous deliverances1 its growth1 its defeats and humiliations1 its reforms and its institutions2 in all of which ,god manifested ,his character and will--yet the ,bible also records a revelation1 which preceded these historical deeds2 a revelation the theatre of which was not the national experience1 but the consciousness of the individual2 which was recognised and welcomed by choice souls in the secret of their own spiritual life1 before it was realised and observed in outward fact2 which was uttered by the prophet's voice and accepted by the people's trust in the dark and the stillness1 before the day of the ,lord had dawned or there was light to see ,his purposes at work4 ,in a word1 ,god's revelation to men was very often made clear in their subjective consciousness1 before it became manifest in the history about them4 ,and1 for ourselves1 let us remember that to this day true religion is as independent of facts as it was with the prophet4 ,true religion is a conviction of the character of ,god1 and a resting upon that alone for salvation4 ,we need nothing more to begin with2 and everything else1 in our experience and fortune1 helps us only in so far as it makes that primary conviction more clear and certain4 ,darkness may be over us1 and we lonely and starved beneath it4 ,we may be destitute of experience to support our faith2 we may be able to discover nothing in life about us making in the direction of our hopes4 ,still1 let us wait on the ,lord4 ,it is by bare trust in ,him1 that we renew our strength1 put forth wings like eagles1 run and not weary1 walk and not faint4 ,put forth wings--run--walk6 ,is the order correct8 ,hope swerves from the edge of so descending a promise1 which seems only to repeat the falling course of nature--that droop1 we all know1 from short ambitions1 through temporary impulsiveness1 to the old commonplace and routine4 ,soaring1 running1 walking--and is not the next stage1 a cynic might ask1 standing still8 ,on the contrary1 it is a natural and a true climax1 rising from the easier to the more difficult1 from the ideal to the real1 from dream to duty1 from what can only be the rare occasions of life to what must be life's usual and abiding experience4 ,history followed this course4 ,did the prophet1 as he promised1 think of what should really prove to be the fortune of his people during the next few years8--the great flight of hope1 on which we see them rising in their psalms of redemption as on the wings of an eagle2 the zeal and liberality of preparation for departure from ,babylon2 the first rush at the ,return2 and then the long tramp1 day after day1 with the slow caravan1 at the pace of its most heavily-laden beasts of burden1 when they shall walk and not faint should indeed seem to them the sweetest part of their ,god's promise4 ,or was it the far longer perspective of ,israel's history that bade the prophet follow this descending scale8 ,the spirit of prophecy was with himself to soar higher than ever before1 reaching by truly eagle-flight to a vision of the immediate consummation of ,israel's glory3 the ,isles waiting for ,jehovah1 the ,holy ,city radiant in ,his rising1 and open with all her gates to the thronging nations2 the true religion flashing from ,zion across the world1 and the wealth of the world pouring back upon ,zion4 ,and some have wondered1 and some scoff1 that after this vision there should follow centuries of imperceptible progress--five-and-a-half centuries of preparation for the coming of the ,promised ,servant2 and then--,israel1 indeed gone forth over the world1 but only in small groups1 living upon the grudged and fitful tolerance of the great centres of ,gentile civilisation4 ,the prophet surely anticipates all this1 when he places the walking after the soaring and the running4 ,when he says last1 and most impressively1 of his people's fortunes1 that they shall walk and not faint1 he has perhaps just those long centuries in view1 when1 instead of a nation of enthusiasts taking humanity by storm1 we see small bands of pioneers pushing their way from city to city by the slow methods of ancient travel1--,damascus1 ,antioch1 ,tarsus1 ,iconium1 ,ephesus1 ,thessalonica1 ,athens1 ,corinth and ,rome1--everywhere that ,paul and the missionaries of the ,cross found a pulpit and a congregation ready for the ,gospel2 toiling from day to day at their own trades1 serving the alien for wages1 here and there founding a synagogue1 now and then completing a version of their ,scriptures1 oftentimes achieving martyrdom1 but ever living a pure and a testifying life in face of the heathen1 with the passion of these prophecies at their hearts4 ,it was certainly for such centuries and such men that the word was written1 they shall walk and not faint4 ,this persistence under persecution1 this monotonous drilling of themselves in school and synagogue1 this slow progress without prize or praise along the common highways of the world and by the world's ordinary means of livelihood1 was a greater proof of indomitableness than even the rapture which filled their hearts on the golden eve of the ,return1 under the full diapason of prophecy4 ,and so must it ever be4 ,first the ideal1 and then the rush at it with passionate eyes1 and then the daily trudge onward1 when its splendour has faded from the view1 but is all the more closely wrapped round the heart4 ,for glorious as it is to rise to some great consummation on wings of dream and song1 glorious as it is1 also1 to bend that impetus a little lower and take some practical crisis of life by storm1 an even greater proof of our religion and of the help our ,god can give us is the lifelong tramp of earth's common surface1 without fresh wings of dream1 or the excitement of rivalry1 or the attraction of reward1 but with the head cool1 and the face forward1 and every footfall upon firm ground4 ,let hope rejoice in a promise1 which does not go off into the air1 but leaves us upon solid earth2 and let us hold to a religion1 which1 while it exults in being the secret of enthusiasm and the inspiration of heroism1 is daring and ,divine enough to find its climax in the commonplace4 ,,footnotes3 #db ,see xl4 #ba1 ,have ye not known8 #dc ,that is in the sense1 in which our prophet uses the word1 of salvation4 ,see ,ch4 ,,xiv4 of this volume4 #dd ,some intention of division undoubtedly appears4 ,notice the double refrain1 ,to whom will ye liken1 etc41 of vv4 #ah and #be2 and then at equal distance from either occurrence of this challenge the appeal1 ,dost thou not know1 etc41 vv4 #ba and #bh4 ,but though these signs of a strict division appear1 the rest is submerged by the strong flood of feeling which rushes too deep and rapid for any hard-and-fast embankments4 #de ,see p4 #aji4 #df ,if an idol leant over or fell that was the very worst of omens2 cf4 the case of ,dagon4 #dg ,when ,john ,knox was a prisoner in ,france1 the officers brought to him a painted board1 which they called ,our ,lady1 and commanded him to kiss it4 ,they violently thrust it into his face1 and put it betwixt his hands1 who1 seeing the extremity1 took the idol1 and advisedly looking about1 he cast it into the river1 and said1 ',let ,our ,lady now save herself2 she is light enough2 let her learn to swim6' ,after that was no ,scotsman urged with that idolatry4--,knox1 ,history of the ,reformation4 #dh ,psalm cxlvii4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,god3 ,,an ,,argument ,,from ,,history4 ,,isaiah xli4 ,having revealed ,himself to ,his own people in ch4 xl41 ,jehovah now turns in ch4 xli4 to the heathen1 but1 naturally1 with a very different kind of address4 ,displaying ,his power to ,his people in certain sacraments1 both of nature and history1 ,he had urged them to wait upon ,him alone for the salvation1 of which there were as yet no signs in the times4 ,but with the heathen it is evidently to these signs of the times1 that ,he can best appeal4 ,contemporary history1 facts open to every man's memory and reason1 is the common ground on which ,jehovah and the other gods can meet4 ,ch4 xli4 is1 therefore1 the natural complement to ch4 xl4 ,in ch4 xl4 we have the element in revelation that precedes history3 in ch4 xli4 we have history itself explained as a part of revelation4 ,ch4 xli4 is loosely cast in the same form of a ,trial-at-,law1 which we found in ch4 i4 ,to use a ,scotticism1 which exactly translates the ,hebrew of ver4 #a1 ,jehovah goes to the law with the idols4 ,his summons to the ,trial is given in ver4 #a2 the ground of the ,trial is advanced in vv4 #b-g4 ,then comes a digression1 vv4 #h-bj1 in which the ,lord turns from controversy with the heathen to comfort ,his people4 ,in vv4 #ba-bi ,jehovah's plea is resumed1 and in the silence of the defendants--a silence1 which1 as we shall presently see by calling in the witness of a ,greek historian1 was actual fact--the argument is summed up and the verdict given for the sole divinity of ,israel's ,god4 ,the main interest of the ,trial lies1 of course1 in its appeal to contemporary history1 and to the central figure ,cyrus1 although it is to be noted that the prophet as yet refrains from mentioning the hero by name4 ,this appeal to contemporary history lays upon us the duty of briefly indicating1 how the course of that history was tending outside ,babylon1--outside ,babylon1 as yet1 but fraught with fate both to ,babylon and to her captives4 99 99 99 99 99 ,nebuchadrezzar1 although he had virtually succeeded to the throne of the ,assyrian1 had not been able to repeat from ,babylon that almost universal empire1 which his predecessors had swayed from ,nineveh4 ,egypt1 it is true1 was again as thoroughly driven from ,asia as in the time of ,sargon3 to the south the ,babylonian supremacy was as unquestioned as ever the ,assyrian had been4 ,but to the north ,nebuchadrezzar met with an almost equal rival1 who had helped him in the overthrow of ,nineveh1 and had fallen heir to the ,assyrian supremacy in that quarter4 ,this was ,kastarit or ,kyaxares1 an ,aryan1 one of the pioneers of that ,aryan invasion from the ,east1 which1 though still tardy and sparse1 was to be the leading force in ,western ,asia for the next century4 ,this ,kyaxares had united under his control a number of ,median tribes1#di a people of ,turanian stock4 ,with these1 when ,nineveh fell1 he established to the north of ,nebuchadrezzar's power the empire of ,media1 with its western boundary at the river ,halys1 in ,asia ,minor1 and its capital at ,ecbatana under ,mount ,elwand4 ,it is said that the river ,indus formed his frontier to the east4 ,west of the ,halys1 the ,mede's progress was stopped by the ,lydian ,empire1 under ,king ,alyattis1 whose capital was ,sardis1 and whose other border was practically the coast of the gean4 ,in #ehe1 or two years after the destruction of ,jerusalem1 ,alyattis and ,kyaxares met in battle on the ,halys4 ,but the terrors of an eclipse took the heart to fight out of both their armies1 and1 ,nebuchadrezzar intervening1 the three monarchs struck a treaty among themselves1 and strengthened it by intermarriage4 ,western ,asia now virtually consisted of the confederate powers1 ,babylonia1 ,media and ,lydia4#ej ,let us realise how far this has brought us4 ,when we stood with ,isaiah in ,jerusalem1 our western horizon lay across the middle of ,asia ,minor in the longitude of ,cyprus4#ea ,it now rests upon the gean2 we are almost within sight of ,europe4 ,straight from ,babylon to ,sardis runs a road1 with a regular service of couriers4 ,the court of ,sardis holds domestic and political intercourse with the courts of ,babylon and ,ecbatana2 but the court of ,sardis also lords it over the ,asiatic ,greeks1 worships at ,greek shrines1 will shortly be visited by ,solon and strike an alliance with ,sparta4 ,in the time of the ,jewish exile there were without doubt many ,greeks in ,babylon2 men may have spoken there with ,daniel1 who had spoken at ,sardis with ,solon4 ,this extended horizon makes clear to us what our prophet has in his view1 when in this forty-first chapter he summons ,isles to the bar of ,jehovah3 ,be silent before me1 ,o ,isles1 and let ,peoples renew their strength1--a vision and appeal which frequently recur in our prophecy4 ,listen1 ,o ,isles1 and hearken1 ,o ,peoples from afar 7xlix4 #a72 ,isles shall wait for ,his law 7xlii4 #d72 ,let them give glory to ,jehovah1 and publish ,his praise in the ,isles 7xlii4 #ab72 ,unto me ,isles shall hope 7li4 #e72 ,surely ,isles shall wait for me1 ships of ,tarshish first4#eb ,the name is generally taken by scholars--according to the derivation in the note below--to have originally meant habitable land1 and so land as opposed to water4 ,in some passages of the ,old ,testament it is undoubtedly used to describe a land either washed1 or surrounded1 by the sea4#ec ,but by our prophet's use of the word it is not necessarily maritime provinces that are meant4 ,he makes isles parallel to the well-known terms nations1 peoples1 ,gentiles1 and in one passage he opposes it1 as dry soil1 to water4#ed ,hence many translators take it in its original sense of countries or lands4 ,this bare rendering1 however1 does not do justice to the sense of remoteness1 which the prophet generally attaches to the word1 nor to his occasional association of it with visions of the sea4 ,indeed1 as one reads most of his uses of it1 one is quite sure that the island-meaning of the word lingers on in his imagination2 and that the feeling possesses him1 which has haunted the poetry of all ages1 to describe as coasts or isles any land or lighting-place of thought which is far and dim and vague2 which floats across the horizon1 or emerges from the distance1 as strips and promontories of land rise from the sea to him who has reached some new point of view4 ,i have therefore decided to keep the rendering familiar to the ,english reader1 isles1 though1 perhaps1 coasts would be better4 ,if1 as is probable1 our prophet's thoughts are always towards the new lands of the west as he uses the word1 it is doubly suitable2 those countries were both maritime and remote2 they rose both from the distance and from the sea4 ,the sprinkled isles1 ,lily on lily1 that o'erlace the sea ,and laugh their pride1 where the light wave lisps1 ',greece4' ,but if ,babylonia lay thus open to ,lydia1 and through ,lydia to the isles and coasts of ,greece1 it was different with her northern frontier4 ,what strikes us here is the immense series of fortifications1 which ,nebuchadrezzar1 in spite of his alliance with ,astyages1 cast up between his country and ,media4 ,where the ,tigris and ,euphrates most nearly approach one another1 about seventy miles to the north of ,babylon1 ,nebuchadrezzar connected their waters by four canals1 above which he built a strong bulwark1 called by the ,greeks the ,median wall4 ,this may have been over sixty miles long2 ,xenophon tells us it was twenty feet broad by one hundred high4#ee ,at ,sippara this line of defence was completed by the creation of a great bason of water to flood the rivers and canals on the approach of an enemy1 and of a large fortress to protect the bason4 ,alas for the vanity of human purposes6 ,it is said to have been this very bason which caused the easy fall of ,babylon4 ,by turning the ,euphrates into it1 the enemy entered the capital through the emptied river-bed4 ,the triple alliance--,lydia1 ,media1 ,babylonia--stood firm after its founders passed away4 ,in #eee1 ,crsus and ,astyages1 who had succeeded their fathers at ,sardis and ,ecbatana respectively1 and ,nabunahid1 who had usurped the throne at ,babylon1 were still at peace1 and contented with the partition of #ehe4 ,but outside them and to the east1 in a narrow nook of land at the head of the ,persian ,gulf1 the man was already crowned1 who was destined to bring ,western ,asia again under one sceptre4 ,this was ,kurush or ,cyrus ,,ii4 of ,anzan1 but known to history as ,cyrus the ,great or ,cyrus the ,persian4 ,cyrus was a prince of the ,akhmenian house of ,persia1 and therefore1 like the ,mede1 an ,aryan1 but independent of his ,persian cousins1 and ruling in his own right the little kingdom of ,anzan or ,anshan1 which1 with its capital of ,susan1 lay on the rivers ,choaspes and ,eulus1 between the head of the ,persian ,gulf and the ,zagros ,mountains4#ef ,cyrus the ,great is one of those mortals whom the muse of history1 as if despairing to do justice to him by herself1 has called in her sisters to aid her in describing to posterity4 ,early legend and later and more elaborate romance2 the schoolmaster1 the historian1 the tragedian and the prophet1 all vie in presenting to us this hero le plus sympathique de l'antiquit#eg--this king on whom we see so deeply stamped the double signature of ,god1 character and success4 ,we shall afterwards have a better opportunity to speak of his character4 ,here we are only concerned to trace his rapid path of conquest4 ,he sprang1 then1 from ,anshan1 the immediate neighbour of ,babylonia to the east4 ,this is the direction indicated in the second verse of this forty-first chapter3 ,who hath raised up one from the east8 ,but the twenty-fifth verse veers round with him to the north3 ,i have raised up one from the north1 and he is come4 ,this was actually the curve1 from east to north1 which his career almost immediately took4 ,for in #edi ,astyages1 king of ,media1 attacked ,cyrus1#eh king of ,anshan2 which means that ,cyrus was already a considerable and an aggressive prince4 ,probably he had united by this time the two domains of his house1 ,persia and ,anshan1 under his own sceptre1 and secured as his lieutenant ,hystaspes1 his cousin1 the lineal king of ,persia4 ,the ,mede1 looking south and east from ,ecbatana1 saw a solid front opposed to him1 and resolved to crush it before it grew more formidable4 ,but the ,aryans among the ,medes1 dissatisfied with so indolent a leader as ,astyages1 revolted to ,cyrus1 and so the latter1 with characteristic good fortune1 easily became lord of ,media4 ,a lenient lord he made4 ,he spared ,astyages1 and ranked the ,aryan ,medes second only to the ,persians4 ,but it took him till #edf to complete his conquest4 ,when he had done so he stood master of ,asia from the ,halys to perhaps as far east as the ,indus4 ,he replaced the ,medes in the threefold power of ,western ,asia1 and thus looked down on ,babylon1 as v4 #be says1 from the north 7xli4 #be74 ,in #ede1 ,cyrus advanced upon ,babylonia1 and struck at the northern line of fortifications at ,sippara4 ,he was opposed by an army under ,belshazzar1 ,bel-shar-uzzur1 the son of ,nabunahid1 and probably by his mother's side grandson of ,nebuchadrezzar4 ,army or fortifications seem to have been too much for ,cyrus1 and there is no further mention of his name in the ,babylonian annals till the year #ech4 ,it has been suggested that ,cyrus was aware of the discontent of the people with their ruler ,nabunahid1 and1 with that genius which distinguished his whole career for availing himself of the internal politics of his foes1 he may have been content to wait till the ,babylonian dissatisfaction had grown riper1 perhaps in the meantime fostering it by his own emissaries4 ,in any case1 the attention of ,cyrus was now urgently demanded on the western boundary of his empire1 where ,lydia was preparing to invade him4 ,crsus1 king of ,lydia1 fresh from the subjection of the ,ionian ,greeks1 and possessing an army and a treasure second to none in the world1 had lately asked of ,solon1 whether he was not the most fortunate of men2 and ,solon had answered1 to count no man happy till his death4 ,the applicability of this advice to himself ,crsus must have felt with a start1 when1 almost immediately after it1 the news came that his brother-in-law ,astyages had fallen before an unknown power1 which was moving up rapidly from the east1 and already touched the ,lydian frontier at the ,halys4 ,crsus was thrown into alarm4 ,he eagerly desired to know ,heaven's will about this ,persian and himself1 who now stood face to face4 ,but1 in that heathen world1 with its thousand shrines to different gods1 who knew the will of ,heaven8 ,in a fashion only possible to the richest man in the world1 ,crsus resolved to discover1 by sending a test-question1 on a matter of fact within his own knowledge1 to every oracle of repute3 to the oracles of the ,greeks at ,miletus1 ,delphi1 ,ab2 to that of ,trophonius2 to the sanctuary of ,amphiaraus at ,thebes2 to ,dodona2 and even to the far-off temple of ,ammon in ,libya4 ,the oracles of ,delphi and ,amphiaraus alone sent an answer1 which in the least suggested the truth4 ,to the gods of ,delphi and ,amphiaraus1 ,crsus1 therefore1 offered great sacrifices1--three thousand victims of every kind2 and on a great pile of wood he burned couches plated with gold and silver1 golden goblets1 purple robes and garments1 in the hope that he would thereby gain the favour of the god yet more4444 ,and as the sacrifice left behind an enormous mass of molten gold1 ,crsus caused bricks to be made1 six palms in length1 three in breadth and one in depth2 in all there were #aag bricks4444 ,in addition there was a golden lion which weighed ten talents4 ,when these were finished1 ,crsus sent them to ,delphi2 and he added two very large mixing bowls1 one of gold1 weighing eight talents and a half and twelve min1 and one of silver 7the work of ,theodorus of ,samos1 as the ,delphians say1 and ,i believe it1 for it is the work of no ordinary artificer71 four silver jars1 and two vessels for holy water1 one of gold1 the other of silver1 circular casts of silver1 a golden statue of a woman three cubits high1 and the necklace and girdles of his queen4#ei ,we can understand1 that for all this ,crsus got the best advice consistent with the ignorance and caution of the priests whom he consulted4 ,the oracles told him that if he went against ,cyrus he would destroy a great empire2 but he forgot to ask1 whether it was his own or his rival's4 ,when he inquired a second time1 if his reign should be long1 they replied3 ,when a mule became king of the ,medes1 then he might fly from his throne2 but again he forgot to consider that there might be mules among men as among beasts4#fj ,at the same time1 the oracles tempered their ambiguous prophecies with some advice of undoubted sense1 for when he asked them who were the most powerful among the ,greeks1 they replied the ,spartans1 and to ,sparta he sent messengers with presents to conclude an alliance4 ,the ,lacedmonians were filled with joy2 they knew the oracle which had been given ,crsus1 and made him a friend and ally1 as they had previously received many kindnesses at his hands4#fa ,this glimpse into the preparations of ,crsus1 whose embassies compassed the whole civilised world1 and whose wealth got him all that politics or religion could1 enables us to realise the political and religious excitement into which ,cyrus' advent threw that generation4 ,the oracles in doubt and ambiguous2 the priests1 the idol-manufacturers1 and the crowd of artisans1 who worked in every city at the furniture of the temple1 in a state of unexampled activity1 with bustle perhaps most like the bustle of our government dockyards on the eve of war2 hammering new idols together1 preparing costly oblations1 overhauling the whole religious ordnance1 that the gods might be propitiated and the stars secured to fight in their courses against the ,persian2 rival politicians practising conciliation1 and bolstering up one another with costly presents to stand against this strange and fatal force1 which indifferently threatened them all4 ,what a commentary ,herodotus' story furnishes upon the verses of this chapter1 in which ,jehovah contrasts the idols with ,himself4 ,it may actually have been ,crsus and the ,greeks whom the prophet had in his mind when he wrote vv4 #e-g3 ,the isles have seen1 and they fear2 the ends of the earth tremble3 they draw near and they come4 ,they help every man his neighbour1 and to his brother each sayeth1 ,be strong4 ,so carver encourageth smelter1 smoother with hammer1 smiter on anvil2 one saith of the soldering1 ,it is good3 and he fasteneth it with nails lest it totter4 ,the irony is severe1 but true to the facts as ,herodotus relates them4 ,the statesmen hoped to keep back ,cyrus by sending sobbing messages to one another1 ,be of good courage2 the priests by making a particularly good and strong set of gods4#fb ,while the imbecility of the idolatries was thus manifest1 and the great religious centres of heathendom were reduced to utter doubt that veiled itself in ambiguity and waited to see how things would issue1 there was one religion in the world1 whose oracles gave no uncertain sound1 whose ,god stepped boldly forth to claim ,cyrus for ,his own4 ,in the dust of ,babylonia lay the scattered members of a nation captive and exiled1 a people civilly dead and religiously degraded2 yet it was the faith of this worm of a people1 which welcomed and understood ,cyrus1 it was the ,god of this people who claimed to be his author4 ,the forty-first chapter looks dreary and ancient to the uninstructed eye1 but let our imagination realise all these things3 the ambiguous priests1 oracles that would not speak out1 religions that had no articulate counsel nor comfort in face of the conqueror who was crushing up the world before him1 but only sobs1 solder and nails2 and our heart will leap as we hear how ,god forces them all into judgement before ,him1 and makes ,his plea as loud and clear as mortal ear may hear4 ,clatter of idols1 and murmur of muffled oracles1 filling all the world2 and then1 hark how the voice of ,,jehovah crashes ,his oracle across it all6 ,keep silence towards ,me1 ,o ,isles1 and let the peoples renew their strength3 let them approach2 then let them speak3 to the ,law let us come4 ,who hath stirred up from the sunrise ,righteousness1 calleth it to his foot8 ,he giveth to his face peoples1 and kings ,he makes him to trample2 giveth them as dust to his sword1 as driven stubble to his bow4 ,he pursues them1 and passes to peace a road that he comes not with his feet4 ,who has wrought it and done it8 ,summoner of generations from the source1#fc ,i ,jehovah the ,first1 and with the ,last2 ,i am ,he4 ,crsus would have got a clear answer here1 but it is probable that he had never heard of the ,hebrews or of their ,god4 ,after this follows the satiric picture of the heathen world1 which has already been quoted4 ,and then1 after an interval during which ,jehovah turns to ,his own people 7vv4 #h-bj71--;for whatever be ,his business or ,his controversy1 the ,lord is mindful of ,his own1--,he directs ,his speech specially against the third class of the leaders of heathendom4 ,he has laughed the foolish statesmen and imagemakers out of court 7vv4 #e-g72 ,he now challenges1 in ver4 #ba1 the oracles and their priests4 ,we have seen what these were1 which this vast heathen world--heathen but human1 convinced as we are that at the back of the world's life there is a secret1 a counsel and a governor1 and anxious as we are to find them--had to resort to4 ,timid waiters upon time1 whom not even the lavish wealth of a ,crsus could tempt from their ambiguity2 prophets speechless in face of history2 oracles of meaning as dark and shifty as their steamy caves at ,delphi1 of tune as variable as the whispering oak of ,dodona2 wily-tongued ,greeks1 masters of ambiguous phrase1 at ,miletus1 ,ab1 and ,thebes2 ,egyptian mystics in the far off temple of ,lybic ,hammon1--these are what the prophet sees standing at the bar of history1 where ,god is ,challenger4 ,bring here your case1 saith ,jehovah2 apply your strong grounds1 saith the ,king of ,jacob4 ,let them bring out and declare unto us what things are going to happen2 the first things#fd announce what they are1 that we may set our heart on them1 and know the issue of them2 or the things that are coming1 let us hear them4 ,announce the things that are to come hereafter1 that we may know that ye are gods4 ,yea1 do good or do evil1 that we may stare and see it together4 ,lo6 ye are nothing1 and your work is of nought2 an abomination is he who chooseth you4 ,which great challenge just means1 ,come and be tested by facts4 ,here is history needing an explanation1 and running no one knows whither4 ,prove your divinity by interpreting or guiding it4 ,cease your ambiguities1 and give us something we can set our minds to work upon4 ,or do something1 effect something in history1 be it good or be it evil1--only let it be patent to our senses4 ,for the test of godhead is not ingenuity or mysteriousness1 but plain deeds1 which the senses can perceive1 and plain words1 which the reason and conscience can judge4 ,the insistance upon the senses and mental faculties of man is remarkable3 ,make us hear them1 that we may know1 stare1 see all together1 set our mind to them4 ,but as we have learned from ,herodotus1 there was nobody in the world to answer such a challenge4 ,therefore ,jehovah ,himself answers it4 ,he gives ,his explanation of history1 and claims its events for ,his doing4 ,i have stirred up from the north1 and he hath come2 from the rising of the sun one who calleth upon ,my ,name3 and he shall trample satraps like mortar1 and as the potter treadeth out clay4 ,who hath announced on-ahead#fe that we may know1 and beforehand that we may say1 ,right6 ,yea1 there is none that announced1 yea1 there is none that published1 yea1 there is none that heareth your words4 ,but a prediction--or predicter1 literally a thing or man on-ahead 7r'ishn corresponding to the me-r'osh of ver4 #bf7--;a prediction to ,zion1 ,behold1 behold them1 and to ,jerusalem a herald of good news--,i am giving4 ,the language here comes forth in jerks1 and is very difficult to render4 ,but ,i look and there is no man even among these1 and no counsellor1 that ,i might ask them and they return word4 ,lo1 all of them vanity6 and nothingness their works2 wind and waste their molten images4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us look a little more closely at the power of ,,prediction1 on which ,jehovah maintains ,his unique and sovereign ,deity against the idols4 ,jehovah challenges the idols to face present events1 and to give a clear1 unambiguous forecast of their issue4 ,it is a debatable question1 whether ,he does not also ask them to produce previous predictions of events happening at the time at which ,he speaks4 ,this latter demand is one that ,he makes in subsequent chapters2 it is part of ,his prophet's argument in chs4 xlv4-xlvi41 that ,jehovah intimated the advent of ,cyrus by ,his servants in ,israel long before the present time4 ,whether ,he makes this same demand for previous predictions in ch4 xli4 depends on how we render a clause of ver4 #bb1 declare ye the former things4 ,some scholars take former things in the sense1 in which it is used later on in this prophecy1 of previous predictions4 ,this is very doubtful4 ,i have explained in a note1 why ,i think them wrong2 but even if they are right1 and ,jehovah be really asking the idols to produce former predictions of ,cyrus' career1 the demand is so cursory1 it proves so small an item in ,his plea1 and we shall afterwards find so many clearer statements of it1 that we do better to ignore it now and confine ourselves to emphasizing the other challenge1 about which there is no doubt1--the challenge to take present events and predict their issue4#ff ,crsus had asked the oracles for a forecast of the future4 ,this is exactly what ,jehovah demands in ver4 #bb1 declare unto us what things are going to happen2 in ver4 #bc1 declare the things that are to come hereafter1 that we may know that ye are gods2 in ver4 #bf 7spoken from the standpoint of the subsequent fulfilment of the prediction71 who declared it on-ahead that we may know1 and beforehand that we may now say1 ,right6 ,yea1 there is none that declared1 yea1 there is none that published1 yea1 there is none that heareth your words4 ,but a prediction unto ,zion1 ,behold1 behold them1 and to ,jerusalem a herald of good news--,i give4 ,i give is emphatically placed at the end1--,i ,jehovah alone1 through my prophets in ,israel1 give such a prediction and publisher of good news4 ,we scarcely require to remind ourselves1 that this great challenge and plea are not mere rhetoric or idle boasting4 ,every word in them we have seen to be true to fact4 ,the heathen religions were1 as they are here represented1 helpless before ,cyrus1 and dumb about the issue of the great movements which the ,persian had started4 ,on the other hand1 ,jehovah had uttered to ,his people all the meaning of the new stir and turmoil in history4 ,we have heard ,him do so in ch4 xl4 ,there ,he gives a herald of good news to ,jerusalem1--tells them of their approaching deliverance1 explains ,his redemptive purposes1 proclaims a gospel4 ,in addition1 ,he has in this chapter accepted ,cyrus for ,his own creation and as part of ,his purpose1 and has promised him victory4 ,the ,god of ,israel1 then1 is ,god1 because ,he alone by ,his prophets claims facts as they stand for ,his own deeds1 and announces what shall become of them4 ,do not let us1 however1 fall into the easy but vulgar error of supposing1 that ,jehovah claims to be ,god simply because ,he can predict4 ,it is indeed prediction1 which ,he demands from the heathen2 for prediction is a minimum of godhead1 and in asking it ,he condescends to the heathen's own ideas of what a god should be able to do4 ,when ,crsus1 the heathen who of all that time spent most upon religion1 sought to decide which of the gods was worthiest to be consulted about the future and propitiated in face of ,cyrus1 what test did he apply to them8 ,as we have seen1 he tested them by their ability to predict a matter of fact3 the god who told him what he1 ,crsus1 should be doing on a certain day was to be his god4 ,it is evident1 that1 to ,crsus1 divinity meant to be able to divine4 ,but the ,god1 who reveals ,himself to ,israel1 is infinitely greater than this4 ,he is not merely a ,being with a far sight into the future2 ,he is not only ,omniscience4 ,in the chapter preceding this one ,his power of prediction is not once expressed2 it is lost in the two glories by which alone the prophet seeks to commend ,his ,godhead to ,israel1--the glory of ,his power and the glory of ,his faithfulness4 ,jehovah is ,omnipotence1 ,creator of heaven and earth2 ,he leads forth the stars by the greatness of ,his might2 ,supreme ,director of history1 it is ,he who bringeth princes to nothing4 ,but ,jehovah is also unfailing character3 the word of the ,lord standeth for ever2 it is foolishness to say of ,him that ,he has forgotten ,his people1 or that their right has passed from ,him2 ,he disappoints none who wait upon ,him4 ,such is the ,god1 who steps down from ch4 xl4 into the controversy with the heathen in ch4 xli4 ,if in the latter ,he chiefly makes ,his claim to godhead to rest upon specimens of prediction1 it is simply1 as we have said1 that ,he may meet the gods of the heathen before a bar and upon a principle1 which their worshippers recognise as practical and decisive4 ,what were single predictions1 here and there1 upon the infinite volume of ,his working1 who by ,his power could gather all things to serve ,his own purpose1 and in ,his faithfulness remained true to that purpose from everlasting to everlasting6 ,the unity of history under ,one ,will--this is a far more adequate idea of godhead than the mere power to foretell single events of history4 ,and it is even to this truth that ,jehovah seeks to raise the unaccustomed thoughts of the heathen4 ,past the rude wonder1 which is all that fulfilled predictions of fact can excite1 ,he lifts their religious sense to ,himself and ,his purpose1 as the one secret and motive of all history4 ,he not only claims ,cyrus and ,cyrus' career as ,his own work1 but ,he speaks of ,himself as summoner of the generations from aforehand2 ,i ,jehovah1 the ,first1 and with the ,last2 ,i am ,he4 ,it is a consummate expression of godhead1 which lifts us far above the thought of ,him as a mere divining power4 ,now1 it is well for us--were it only for the great historic interest of the thing1 though it will also further our argument--to take record here that1 although this conception of the unity of life under ,one ,purpose and ,will was still utterly foreign1 and perhaps even unintelligible1 to the heathen world1 which the prophecy has in view1 the first serious attempt in that world to reach such a conception was contemporary with the forty-first chapter of ,isaiah4 ,it is as miners feel1 when1 tunnelling from opposite sides of a mountain1 they begin to hear the noise of each other's picks through the dwindling rock4 ,we1 who have come down the history of ,israel towards the great consummation of religion in ,christianity1 may here cease for a moment our labours1 to listen to the faint sound from the other side of the wall1 still separating ,israel from ,greece1 of a witness to ,god and an argument against idolatry similar to those with which we have been working4 ,who is not moved by learning1 that1 in the very years when ,jewish prophecy reached its most perfect statement of monotheism1 pouring its scorn upon the idols and their worshippers1 and in the very ,isles on which its hopes and influence were set1 the first ,greek should be already singing1 who used his song to satirize the mythologies of his people1 and to celebrate the unity of ,god8 ,among the ,ionians1 whom ,cyrus' invasion of ,lydia and of the gean coast in #edd drove across the seas1 was ,xenophanes of ,colophon4#fg ,after some wanderings he settled at ,elea in ,south ,italy1 and became the founder of the ,eleatic school1 the first philosophic attempt of the ,greek mind to grasp the unity of ,being4 ,how far ,xenophanes himself succeeded in this attempt is a matter of controversy4 ,the few fragments of his poetry which are extant do not reveal him as a philosophical monotheist1 so much as a prophet of ,one greatest ,god4 ,his language 7like that of the earlier ,hebrew prophets in praising ,jehovah7 apparently implies the real existence of lesser divinities3-- ,one ,god1 'mongst both gods and men ,he is greatest1 ,neither in shape is ,he like unto mortals1 nor thought4#fh ,xenophanes scorns the anthropomorphism of his countrymen1 and the lawless deeds which their poets had attributed to the gods3-- ,mortals think the gods can be born1 have their feelings1 voice and form2 but1 could horses or oxen draw like men1 they too would make their gods after their own image4#fi ,all things did ,homer and ,hesiod lay on the gods1 ,such as with mortals are full of blame and disgrace1 ,to steal and debauch and outwit one another4#gj ,our prophet1 to whose eyes ,gentile religiousness was wholly of the gross ,crsus kind1 little suspected that he had an ally1 with such kindred tempers of faith and scorn1 among the very peoples to whom he yearns to convey his truth4 ,but ages after1 when ,israel and ,greece had both issued into ,christianity1 the service of ,xenophanes to the common truth was recounted by two ,church writers--by ,clement of ,alexandria in his ,stromata1 and by ,eusebius the historian in his ,prparatio ,evangelica4 ,we find1 then1 that monotheism had reached its most absolute expression in ,israel in the same decade1 in which the first efforts towards the conception of the unity of ,being were just starting in ,greece4 ,but there is something more to be stated4 ,in spite of the splendid progress1 which it pursued from such beginnings1 ,greek philosophy never reached the height on which1 with ,second ,isaiah1 ,hebrew prophecy already rests2 and the reason has to do with two points on which we are now engaged1--the omnipotence and the righteousness of ,god4 ,professor ,pfleiderer remarks3 ,even in the idealistic philosophy of the ,greeks 444 matter remains1 however sublimated1 an irrational something1 with which the ,divine power can never come to terms4 ,it was only in the consciousness1 which the prophets of ,israel had of ,god1 that the thought of the ,divine omnipotence fully prevailed4#ga ,we cannot overvalue such high and impartial testimony to the uniqueness of the ,hebrew doctrine of ,god1 but it needs to be supplemented4 ,to the prophets' sense of the ,divine omnipotence1 we must add their unrivalled consciousness of the ,divine character4 ,to them ,jehovah is not only the ,holy1 the incomparable ,god1 almighty and sublime2 ,he is also the true1 consistent ,god4 ,he has a great purpose1 which ,he has revealed of old to ,his people1 and to which ,he remains for ever faithful4 ,to express this the ,hebrews had one word1--the word we translate righteous4 ,we should often miss our prophet's meaning1 if by righteousness we understood some of the qualities to which the term is often applied by us3 if1 for instance1 we used it in the general sense of morality1 or if we gave it the technical meaning1 which it bears in ,christian theology1 of justification from guilt4 ,we shall afterwards devote a chapter to the exposition of its meaning in ,second ,isaiah1 but let us here look at its use in ch4 xli4 ,in ver4 #bf1 it is applied to the person whose prediction turns out to be correct3 men are to say of him right or righteous4 ,here it is evident that the ,hebrew--ssaddq--is used in its simplest meaning1 like the ,latin rectus1 and our right1 of what has been shown to be in accordance with truth or fact4 ,in ver4 #b1 again1 though the syntax is obscure1 it seems to have the general sense of good faith with the ability to ensure success4 ,righteousness is here associated with ,cyrus1 because he has not been called for nothing1 but in good faith for a purpose which will be carried through4 ,jehovah's righteousness1 then1 will be ,his trueness1 ,his good faith1 ,his consistency2 and indeed this is the sense which it must evidently bear in ver4 #aj4 ,take it with the context3 ,but thou1 ,israel1 ,my servant1 ,jacob whom ,i have chosen1 seed of ,abraham who loved ,me1 whom ,i took hold of from the ends of the earth and its corners1 ,i called thee and said unto thee1 ,thou art ,my servant4 ,i have chosen thee1 and will not cast thee away4 ,fear not1 for ,i am with thee4 ,look not round in despair1 for ,i am thy ,god4 ,i will strengthen thee2 yea1 ,i will help thee2 yea1 ,i will uphold thee with the right hand of ,my righteousness4 ,here righteousness evidently means that ,jehovah will act in good faith to the people ,he has called1 that ,he will act consistently with ,his anciently revealed purpose towards them4 ,hitherto ,israel has had nothing but the memory that ,god called them1 and the conscience that ,he chose them4 ,now ,jehovah will vindicate this conscience in outward fact4 ,he will carry through ,his calling of ,his people1 and perform ,his promise4 ,how ,he will do this1 ,he proceeds to relate4 ,israel's enemies shall become as nothing 7vv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,israel himself1 though a poor worm of a people1 shall be changed to the utmost conceivable opposite of a worm--even a sharp threshing instrument having teeth--a people who shall leave their mark on the world4 ,they shall overcome all difficulties and rejoice in ,jehovah4 ,their redemption shall be accomplished in a series of evident facts4 ,the poor and the needy are seeking water1 and there is none1 their tongue faileth for thirst2 ,i1 ,jehovah1 will answer them1 ,i the ,god of ,israel will not forsake them4 ,and this shall be done on such a scale1 that all the world will wonder and be convinced1 vv4 #ah-ai3 ,i will open on the bare heights rivers1 and in the midst of the plains fountains4 ,i will make the desert a pool of water1 and the dry ground water-springs4 ,i will plant in the wilderness cedars and acacias and myrtles and oil-trees2 ,i will plant in the desert pines1 planes and sherbins together4 ,do not let us spoil the meaning of this passage by taking these verses literally1 or even as illustrative of the kind of restoration which ,israel was to enjoy4 ,this vast figure of a well-watered and planted desert the prophet uses rather to illustrate the scale on which the ,restoration will take place3 its evident extent and splendour4 ,that they may see and know and consider and understand together1 that ,jehovah hath done this1 and the ,holy ,one of ,israel hath created it4 ,the whole passage1 then1 tells us what ,god means by ,his righteousness4 ,it is ,his fidelity to ,his calling of ,israel1 and to ,his purpose with ,his people4 ,it is the quality by which ,he cannot forsake ,his own1 but carries through and completes ,his promises to them2 by which ,he vindicates and justifies1 in facts so large that they are evident to all mankind1 ,his ancient word by ,his prophets4#gb ,this lengthened exposition will not have been in vain1 if it has made clear to us1 that ,hebrew monotheism owed its unique quality to the emphasis1 which the prophets laid upon the two truths of the ,power and the ,character of ,god4 ,there was ,one ,supreme ,being1 infinite in might1 and with one purpose running down the ages1 which ,he had plainly revealed1 and to which ,he remained constant4 ,the people1 who knew this1 did not need to wait for the fulfilment of certain test-predictions before trusting ,him as the ,one ,god4 ,test-predictions and their fulfilment might be needful for the heathen1 from whose minds the idea of ,one ,supreme ,being with such a character had vanished2 the heathen might need to be convinced by instances of ,jehovah's omniscience1 for omniscience was the most ,divine attribute of which they had conceived4 ,but ,israel's faith rested upon glories in the ,divine nature of which omniscience was the mere consequence4 ,israel knew ,god was ,almighty and ,all-true1 and that was enough4 ,,note ,,upon ,,jehovah',s ,,claim ,,to ,,cyrus4 ,in ver4 #be a phrase is used of ,cyrus which is very obscure1 and to which1 considering its vagueness even upon the most definite construction1 far too much importance has been attached4 ,the meaning of the words1 the tenses1 the syntax--perhaps even the original text itself--of this verse are uncertain4 ,the ,english revisers give1 ,i have raised up one from the north1 and he is come2 from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon ,my ,name4 ,this is probably the true syntax4#gc ,but in what tense is the verb to call1 and what does calling upon ,my name mean8 ,in the ,old ,testament the phrase is used in two senses1--to invoke or adore1 and to proclaim or celebrate the name of a person4#gd ,as long as scholars understood that ,cyrus was a monotheist1 there was a temptation to choose the former of these meanings1 and to find in the verse ,jehovah's claim upon the ,persian1 as a worshipper of ,himself1 the ,one ,true ,god4 ,but this interpretation received a shock from the discovery of a proclamation of ,cyrus after his entry into ,babylon1 in which he invokes the names of ,babylonian deities1 and calls himself their servant4#ge ,of course his doing so in the year #ech does not necessarily discredit a description of him as a monotheist eight years before4 ,between #edh and #edf--the probable date of ch4 xli4--a prophet might in all good faith have hailed as a worshipper of ,jehovah a ,persian who still stood in the rising of the sun1--who had not yet issued from the east and its radiant repute of a religion purer than the ,babylonian2 although eight years afterwards1 from motives of policy1 the same king acknowledged the gods of his new subjects4 ,this may be2 but there is a more natural way out of the difficulty4 ,is it fair to lay upon the expression1 calleth on ,my name1 so precise a meaning as that of a strict monotheism8 ,some have turned to the other use of the verb1 and1 taking it in the future tense1 have translated1 who shall proclaim or celebrate ,my name1--which ,cyrus surely did1 when1 in the name of ,jehovah1 he drew up the edict for the return of the ,jews to ,palestine4#gf ,but do we need to put even this amount of meaning upon the phrase8 ,in itself it is vague1 but it also stands parallel to another vague phrase3 ,i have raised up one from the north1 and he is come2 from the sunrising one who calleth on ,my name4 ,taken in apposition to the phrase he is come1 calleth on ,my name may mean no more than that1 answering to the instigation of ,jehovah1 and owning ,his impulse1 ,cyrus by his career proclaimed or celebrated ,jehovah's name4 ,in any case1 we have said enough to show that1 in our comparative ignorance of what ,cyrus' faith was1 and in face of the elastic use of the phrase to call on the name of1 it is quite unwarrantable to maintain that the prophet must have meant a strict monotheist1 and therefore absurd to draw the inference that the prophet was incorrect4 ,a way has been attempted out of the difficulty by slightly altering the text1 and so obtaining the version1 ,i have raised up one from the north1 and he is come2 from the sunrise ,i call him by name4#gg ,this is a change which is in harmony with ch4 xlv4 #c1 #d1 but has otherwise no evidence in its favour4 ,,footnotes3 #di ,media simply means the country4 ,it is supposed1 that of the six ,median tribes only one was ,aryan1 holding the rest1 which were ,turanian1 under its influence4 #ej ,there were1 besides1 a few small independent powers in ,asia ,minor1 such as ,cilicia1 whose prince also intervened at the ,battle of the ,eclipse2 and the ,ionian cities in the west4 ,but all these1 with perhaps the exception of ,lycia1 were brought into subjection to ,lydia by ,crsus1 son of ,alyattis4 #ea ,vol4 i41 p4 #ib4 #eb ,other passages are3 xli4 #e1 ,isles saw and feared1 the ends of the earth trembled2 xlii4 #aj1 ,the sea and its fulness1 ,isles and their dwellers2 lix4 #ah1 ,he will repay1 fury to ,his adversaries1 recompence to ,his enemies3 to the ,isles ,he will repay recompence2 lxvi4 #ai1 ,the nations1 ,tarshish1 ,pul1 ,lud1 drawers of the bow1 ,tubal1 ,javan1 the ,isles afar off that have not heard my fame4 ,the ,hebrew is '1 and is supposed to be from a root awah1 to inhabit1 which sense1 however1 never attaches to the verb in ,hebrew1 but is borrowed from the cognate ,arabic word4 #ec ,of the ,philistine coast1 ,isa4 xx4 #f2 of the ,tyrian coast1 ,isa4 xxiii4 #b1 #f2 of ,greece1 ,ezek4 xxvii4 #g2 of ,crete1 ,jer4 xlvii4 #d2 of the islands of the sea1 ,isa4 xi4 #aa and ,esther x4 #a4 #ed xlii4 #ae3 ,eng4 version1 ,i will turn rivers into islands4 #ee ,anabasis #b1 #d4 #ef ,there were two branches of the ,persian royal family after ,teispes1 the son of ,akhmenes1 the founder4 ,teispes annexed ,anshan on the level land between the north-east corner of the ,persian ,gulf and the mountains of ,persia4 ,teispes' eldest son1 ,cyrus ,i41 became king of ,anshan2 his other1 ,ariaramnes1 king of ,persia4 ,these were succeeded by their sons1 ,kambyses ,i4 and ,arsames4 ,kambyses ,i4 was the father of ,cyrus ,,ii41 the great ,cyrus1 who rejoined ,persia to ,anshan1 to the exclusion of his second cousin1 ,hystaspes4 ,cyrus the ,great was succeeded by his son1 ,kambyses ,,ii41 with whom the ,anshan line closed1 and the power was transferred to ,darius1 son of ,hystaspes4 ,cf4 ,ragozin's ,media1 in the ,story of the ,nations series4 #eg ,halvy1 ,cyrus et le ,retour de l',exil1 tudes ,juives1 ,i4 #eh ,inscription of ,nabunahid4 #ei ,herodotus1 ,book ,i4 #fj ,herodotus explains this by his legend of ,cyrus' birth1 according to which ,cyrus was a hybrid--half ,persian1 half ,mede4 #fa ,herodotus1 ,book ,i4 #fb ,sir ,edward ,strachey4 #fc ,lit4 from the head1 da capo4 ,i am not sure1 however1 that it does not rather mean beforehand1 like our on ahead4 #fd ,see p4 #aba4 #fe ,this seems to me to be more likely to be the meaning of the prophet1 than the absolute from the beginning4 ,it suits its parallel beforehand1 and it is more in line with the general demand of the chapter for anticipation of events4 ,it is literally from the head1 da capo1 cf4 p4 #aag4 #ff r'ishonth is a relative term1 meaning head things1 things ahead1 first things1 prior things1 whether in rank or time4 ,here of course the time meaning is undoubted4 ,but ahead of what8 prior to what8--this is the difficulty4 ,ewald1 ,hitzig1 ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,driver1 etc41 take it as prior to the standpoint of the speaker2 things that happened or were uttered previous to him1--a sense in which the word is used in subsequent chapters4 ,but ,delitzsch1 ,hahn1 ,cheyne1 etc41 take it to be things prior to other things that will happen in the later future1 early events1 as opposed to of the next clause1 which they take to mean subsequent things1 things that are to come afterwards4 ,i think ,dr4 ,davidson's reasons 7see ,expositor1 second series1 vol4 vii41 p4 #bef7 are quite conclusive against this view of ,delitzsch1 that in this clause the idols are being asked to predict events in the near future4 ,it is difficult1 as he says1 to see why the idols should be given a choice between the earlier and the later future3 nor does the of the contrasted clause at all suggest a later future2 it simply means things coming1 a term which is as applicable to the near as to the far future4 ,nevertheless1 ,i am not persuaded that ,dr4 ,davidson's own view of r'ishonth is the correct one4 ,the rest of the context 7see above7 is occupied with predictions of the future only4 ,and r'ishonth does not necessarily mean previous predictions1 although used in this sense in the subsequent chapters4 ,it simply means1 as we have seen1 head things1 things ahead1 things beforehand1 or fountain-things1 origins1 causes4 ,that we are to understand it here in some such general and absolute sense is suggested1 ,i think1 by the word which follows it1 their result or issue1 and is confirmed by 1 r'ishn 7masc4 singular7 of ver4 #bg1 which is undoubtedly used in a general sense1 meaning something or somebody on ahead1 an anticipator1 predicter1 forerunner 7as ,cheyne gives it71 or as ,i have rendered it above1 neuter1 a prediction4 ,if r'ishn in ver4 #bg means a thing or a man given beforehand1 then r'ishonth in ver4 #bb may also mean things given beforehand1 predictions made now1 or at least things selected and announced as causes now1 whose issue1 1 may be recognised in the future4 ,in a word1 r'ishonth would mean things not necessarily previous to the speech in which they were allowed1 but simply things previous to certain results1 or anticipating certain events1 either as their prediction or as their cause4 #fg ,ueberweg1 ,history of ,philosophy1 ,english translation1 i41 #ea4 #fh ,quoted by ,clement of ,alexandria1 ,stromata1 ,bk4 ,v41 ch4 iv41 and by ,eusebius1 ,prp4 ,evang4 xiii41 #ac4 #fi ,ibid4 #gj ,quoted by ,ueberweg1 as above4 #ga ,pfleiderer1 ,philosophy of ,religion3 ,contents of the ,religious ,consciousness1 ch4 i4 7,eng4 trans41 vol4 iii41 p4 #bia74 #gb ,see further on the subject the chapter on the ,righteousness of ,israel and of ,god1 ,chapter ,,xiv4 of this volume4 #gc ,and that which runs3 444 he is come1 from the rising of the sun he calleth upon ,my name 7,bredenkamp7 is wrong4 #gd ,the former of these in ch4 lxiv4 #g2 the latter in xliv4 #e4 #ge ,translation of the ,cyrus-cylinder in ,cyrus et le ,retour de l',exil1 by ,halvy1 ,revue des tudes ,juives1 ,no4 #a1 #ahhj4 #gf ,ezra i4 #b2 #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #bb1 #bc4 #gg for 4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,passion ,,of ,,god4 ,,isaiah xlii4 #ac-ag4 ,at the beginning of ch4 xlii4 we reach one of those distinct stages1 the frequent appearance of which in our prophecy assures us1 that1 for all its mingling and recurrent style1 the prophecy is a unity with a distinct1 if somewhat involved1 progress of thought4 ,for while chs4 xl4 and xli4 establish the sovereignty and declare the character of the ,one ,true ,god before ,his people and the heathen1 ch4 xlii4 takes what is naturally the next step1 of publishing to both these classes ,his ,divine will4 ,this purpose of ,god is set forth in the first seven verses of the chapter4 ,it is identified with a human ,figure1 who is to be ,god's agent upon earth1 and who is styled the ,servant of ,jehovah4 ,next to ,jehovah ,himself1 the ,servant of ,jehovah is by far the most important personage within our prophet's gaze4 ,he is named1 described1 commissioned and encouraged over and over again throughout the prophecy2 his character and indispensable work are hung upon with a frequency and a fondness almost equal to the steadfast faith1 which the prophet reposes in ,jehovah ,himself4 ,were we following our prophecy chapter by chapter1 now would be the time to put the question1 ,who is this ,servant1 who is suddenly introduced to us8 and to look ahead for the various and even conflicting answers1 which rise from the subsequent chapters4 ,but we agreed1 for clearness' sake1#gh to take all the passages about the ,servant1 which are easily detached from the rest of the prophecy1 and treat by themselves1 and to continue in the meantime our prophet's main theme of the ,power and ,righteousness of ,god as shown forth in the deliverance of ,his people from ,babylon4 ,accordingly1 at present we pass over xlii4 #a-i1 keeping this firmly in mind1 however1 that ,god has appointed for ,his work upon earth1 including1 as it does1 the ingathering of ,his people and the conversion of the ,gentiles1 a ,servant1--a human figure of lofty character and unfailing perseverance1 who makes ,god's work of redemption his own1 puts his heart into it1 and is upheld by ,god's hand4 ,god1 let us understand1 has committed ,his cause upon earth to a human agent4 ,god's commission of ,his ,servant is hailed by a hymn4 ,earth answers the proclamation of the new things which the ,almighty has declared 7ver4 #i7 by a new song 7vv4 #aj-ac74 ,but this song does not sing of the ,servant2 its subject is ,jehovah ,himself4 ,sing to ,jehovah a new song1 ,his praise from the end of the earth2 ,ye that go down to the sea1 and its fulness1 ,isles1 and their dwellers6 ,let be loud1--the wilderness and its townships1 ,villages that ,kedar inhabits6 ,let them ring out1--the dwellers of ,sela6 ,from the top of the hills let them shout6 ,let them give to ,jehovah the glory1 ,and publish ,his praise in the ,isles6 ,jehovah as hero goes forth1 ,as a man of war stirs up zeal1 ,shouts the alarm and battle cry1 ,against his foes proves ,himself hero4 ,the terms of the last four lines are military4 ,most of them will be found in the historical books1 in descriptions of the onset of ,israel's battles with the heathen4 ,but it is no human warrior to whom they are here applied4 ,they who sing have forgotten the ,servant4 ,their hearts are warm only with this1 that ,jehovah ,himself will come down to earth to give the alarm1 and to bear the brunt of the battle4 ,and to such a hope ,he now responds1 speaking also of ,himself and not of the ,servant4 ,his words are very intense1 and glow and strain with inward travail4 ,i have long time kept my peace1 ,am dumb and hold myself in3 ,like a woman in travail ,i gasp1 ,pant and palpitate together4 ,remember it is ,god who speaks these words of ,himself1 and then think what they mean of unshareable thought and pain1 of solitary yearning and effort4 ,but from the pain comes forth at last the power4 ,i waste mountains and hills1 ,and all their herb ,i parch2 ,and ,i have set rivers for islands1 ,and marshes ,i parch4 ,yet it is not the passion of a mere physical effort that is in ,god2 not mere excitement of war that thrills ,him4 ,but the suffering of men is upon ,him1 and ,he has taken their redemption to heart4 ,he had said to ,his ,servant 7vv4 #f1 #g73 ,i give thee 444 to open the blind eyes1 to bring out from prison the bound1 from the house of bondage the dwellers in darkness4 ,but here ,he ,himself puts on the sympathy and strain of that work4 ,and ,i will make the blind to walk in a way they know not1 ,by paths they know not ,i will guide them2 ,turn darkness before them to light1 ,and serrated land to level4 ,these are the things that ,i do1 and do not remit them4 ,they fall backwards1 with shame are they shamed1 ,that put trust in a ,carving1 ,that do say to a ,cast1 ,ye are our ,gods4#gi ,now this pair of passages1 in one of which ,god lays the work of redemption upon ,his human agent1 and in another ,himself puts on its passion and travail1 are only one instance of a duality that runs through the whole of the ,old ,testament4 ,as we repeatedly saw in the prophecies of ,isaiah himself1#hj there is a double promise of the future through the ,old ,testament3--first1 that ,god will achieve the salvation of ,israel by an extraordinary human personality1 who is figured now as a ,king1 now as a ,prophet and now as a ,priest2 but1 second also1 that ,god ,himself1 in undeputed1 unshared power1 will come visibly to deliver ,his people and to reign over them4 ,these two lines of prophecy run parallel1 and even entangled1 through the ,old ,testament1 but within its bounds no attempt is made to reconcile them4 ,they pass from it still separate1 to find their synthesis1 as we all know1 in ,one of whom each is the incomplete prophecy4 ,while considering the ,messianic prophecies of ,isaiah1 which run upon the first of these two lines1 we pointed out1 that1 though standing in historical connection with ,christ1 they were not prophecies of ,his divinity4 ,lofty and expansive as were the titles they attributed to the ,messiah1 these titles did not imply more than an earthly ruler of extraordinary power and dignity4 ,but we added that in the other and concurrent line of prophecy1 and especially in those well-developed stages of it which appear in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 we should find the true ,old ,testament promise of the ,deity in human form and tabernacling among men4 ,we urged that1 if the divinity of ,christ was to be seen in the ,old ,testament1 we should more naturally find it in the line of promise1 which speaks of ,god ,himself descending to battle and to suffer by the side of men1 than in the line that lifts a human ruler almost to the right hand of ,god4 ,we have now come to a passage1 which gives us the opportunity of testing this connection1 which we have alleged between the so-called anthropomorphism of the ,old ,testament1 and the ,incarnation1 which is the glory of the ,new4 ,when ,god presents ,himself in the ,old ,testament as ,his people's ,saviour1 it is not always as ,isaiah mostly saw ,him1 in awful power and majesty--a ,king high and lifted up1 or as coming from far1 burning and thick-rising smoke1 and overflowing streams2 causing the peal of ,his voice to be heard1 and the lighting down of ,his arm to be seen1 in the fury of anger and devouring fire--bursting and torrent and hailstones4#ha ,but in a large number of passages1 of which the one before us and the famous first six verses of ch4 lxiii4 are perhaps the most forcible1 the ,almighty is clothed with human passion and agony4 ,he is described as loving1 hating1 showing zeal or jealousy1 fear1 repentance and scorn4 ,he bides ,his time1 suddenly awakes to effort1 and makes that effort in weakness1 pain and struggle1 so extreme that ,he likens ,himself not only to a solitary man in the ardour of battle1 but to a woman in her unshareable hour of travail4 ,to use a technical word1 the prophets in their descriptions of ,god do not hesitate to be anthropopathic--imparting to ,deity the passions of men4 ,in order to appreciate the full effect of this habit of the ,jewish religion1 we must contrast it with some principles of that religion1 with which at first it seems impossible to reconcile it4 ,no religion more necessarily implies the spirituality of ,god than does the ,jewish4 ,it is true that in the pages of the ,old ,testament1 you will nowhere find this formally expressed4 ,no ,jewish prophet ever said in so many words what ,jesus said to the woman of ,samaria1 ,god is spirit4 ,in our own prophecy1 spirit is frequently used1 not to define the nature of ,god1 but to express ,his power and the effectiveness of ,his will4 ,but the ,jewish ,scriptures insist throughout upon the sublimity of ,god1 or1 to use their own term1 ,his holiness4 ,he is the ,most ,high1 ,creator1 ,lord1--the ,force and ,wisdom that are behind nature and history4 ,it is a sin to make any image of ,him2 it is an error to liken ,him to man4 ,i am ,god and not man1 the ,holy ,one4#hb ,we have seen how absolutely the ,divine omnipotence and sublimity are expressed by our own prophet1 and we shall find ,him again speaking thus3 ,my thoughts are not your thoughts1 neither are your ways ,my ways1 saith the ,lord4 ,for as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,my ways higher than your ways1 and ,my thoughts than your thoughts4#hc ,but perhaps the doctrine of our prophet which most effectively sets forth ,god's loftiness and spirituality is his doctrine of ,god's word4 ,god has but to speak and a thing is created or a deed done4 ,he calls and the agent ,he needs is there2 ,he sets ,his word upon him and the work is as good as finished4 ,my word that goeth forth out of ,my mouth1 it shall not return unto ,me void1 but it shall accomplish that which ,i please1 and shall prosper in the thing whereto ,i sent it4#hd ,omnipotence could not farther go4 ,it would seem that all man needed from ,god was a word1--the giving of a command1 that a thing must be4 ,yet it is precisely in our prophecy1 that we find the most extreme ascriptions to the ,deity of personal effort1 weakness and pain4 ,the same chapters which celebrate ,god's sublimity and holiness1 which reveal the eternal counsels of ,god working to their inevitable ends in time1 which also insist1 as this very chapter does1 that for the performance of works of mercy and morality ,god brings to bear the slow creative forces that are in nature1 or which again 7as in other chapters7 attribute all to the power of ,his simple word1--these same ,scriptures suddenly change their style and1 after the most human manner1 clothe the ,deity in the travail and passion of flesh4 ,why is it1 that instead of aspiring still higher from those sublime conceptions of ,god to some consummate expression of ,his unity1 as for instance in ,islam1 or of ,his spirituality1 as in certain modern philosophies1 prophecy dashes thus thunderously down upon our hearts with the message1 scattered in countless1 broken words1 that all this omnipotence and all this sublimity are expended and realised for men only in passion and in pain8 ,it is no answer1 which is given by many in our day1 that after all the prophets were but frail men1 unable to stay upon the high flight to which they sometimes soared1 and obliged to sacrifice their logic to the fondness of their hearts and the general habit of man to make his god after his own image4 ,no easy sneer like that can solve so profound a moral paradox4 ,we must seek the solution otherwise1 and earnest minds will probably find it along one or other of the two following paths4 #a4 ,the highest moral ideal is not1 and never can be1 the righteousness that is regnant1 but that which is militant and agonizing4 ,it is the deficiency of many religions1 that while representing ,god as the ,judge and almighty executor of righteousness1 they have not revealed ,him as its advocate and champion as well4 ,christ gave us a very plain lesson upon this4 ,as ,he clearly showed1 when ,he refused the offer of all the kingdoms of the world1 the highest perfection is not to be omnipotence upon the side of virtue1 but to be there as patience1 sympathy and love4 ,to will righteousness1 and to rule life from above in favour of righteousness1 is indeed ,divine2 but if these were the highest attributes of divinity1 and if they exhausted the ,divine interest in our race1 then man himself1 with his conscience to sacrifice himself on behalf of justice or of truth1--man himself1 with his instinct to make the sins of others his burden1 and their purity his agonizing endeavour1 would indeed be higher than his ,god4 ,had ,jehovah been nothing but the righteous ,judge of all the earth1 then ,his witnesses and martyrs1 and ,his prophets who took to themselves the conscience and reproach of their people's sins1 would have been as much more admirable than ,himself1 as the soldier who serves his country on the battle-field or lays down his life for his people is more deserving of their gratitude and more certain of their devotion1 than the king who equips him1 sends him forth--and himself stays at home4 ,the ,god of the ,old ,testament is not such a ,god4 ,in the moral warfare to which ,he has predestined ,his creatures1 ,he ,himself descends to participate4 ,he is not abstract--that is1 withdrawn--,holiness1 nor mere sovereign ,justice enthroned in heaven4 ,he is ,one who arises and comes down for the salvation of men1 who makes virtue ,his ,cause and righteousness ,his ,passion4 ,he is no whit behind the chiefest of ,his servants4 ,no seraph burns as ,god burns with ardour for justice2 no angel of the presence flies more swiftly than ,himself to the front rank of the failing battle4 ,the human ,servant1 who is pictured in our prophecy1 is more absolutely identified with suffering and agonizing men than any angel could be2 but even he does not stand more closely by their side1 nor suffer more on their behalf1 than the ,god who sends him forth4 ,for the ,lord stirreth up jealousy like a man of war2 in all ,his people's affliction ,he is afflicted2 against ,his enemies ,he beareth ,himself as a hero4 ,so much from the side of righteousness4 #b4 ,but take the equally ,divine attribute of love4 ,when a religion affirms that ,god is love1 it gives immense hostages4 ,what is love without pity and compassion and sympathy8 and what are these but self-imposed weakness and pain8 ,christ has told us of the greatest love4 ,greater love than this hath no man1 that a man lay down his life for his friends2 and the cost and sacrifice in which ,he thus outmatched man is one that the prophets before ,he came did not hesitate to impute to ,god4 ,as far as human language is adequate for such a task1 they picture ,god's love for men as costing ,him so much4 ,he painfully pleads for ,his people's loyalty2 ,he travails in pain for their new birth and growth in holiness2 in all their affliction ,he is afflicted2 and ,he meets their stubbornness1 not with the swift sentence of outraged holiness1 but with longsuffering and patience1 if so in the end ,he may win them4 ,but the pain1 that is thus essentially inseparable from love1 reaches its acme1 when the beloved are not only in danger but in sin1 when not only the future of their holiness is uncertain1 but their guilty past bars the way to any future at all4 ,we saw how ,jeremiah's love thus took upon itself the conscience and reproach of ,israel's sin2 how much distress and anguish1 how much sympathy and self-sacrificing labour1 and at last how much hopeless endurance of the common calamity1 that sin cost the noble prophet1 though he might so easily have escaped it all4 ,now even thus does ,god deal with ,his people's sins2 not only setting them in the light of ,his awful countenance1 but taking them upon ,his heart2 making them not only the object of ,his hate1 but the anguish and the effort of ,his love4 ,jeremiah was a weak mortal1 and ,god is the ,omnipotent4 ,therefore1 the issue of ,his agony shall be what ,his servant's never could effect1 the redemption of ,israel from sin2 but in sympathy and in travail the ,deity1 though omnipotent1 is no whit behind the man4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have said enough to prove our case1 that the true ,old ,testament prophecy of the nature and work of ,jesus ,christ is found not so much in the long promise of the exalted human ruler1 for whom ,israel's eyes looked1 as in the assurance of ,god's own descent to battle with ,his people's foes and to bear their sins4 ,in this ,god1 omnipotent1 yet in ,his zeal and love capable of passion1 who before the ,incarnation was afflicted in all ,his people's affliction1 and before the ,cross made their sin ,his burden and their salvation ,his agony1 we see the love that was in ,jesus ,christ4 ,for ,jesus1 too1 is absolute holiness1 yet not far off4 ,he1 too1 is righteousness militant at our side1 militant and victorious4 ,he1 too1 has made our greatest suffering and shame ,his own problem and endeavour4 ,he is anxious for us just where conscience bids us be most anxious about ourselves4 ,he helps us1 because ,he feels when we feel our helplessness the most4 ,never before or since in humanity has righteousness been perfectly victorious as in ,him4 ,never before or since1 in the whole range of being1 has any one felt as ,he did all the sin of man with all the conscience of ,god4 ,he claims to forgive1 as ,god forgives2 to be able to save1 as we know only ,god can save4 ,and the proof of these claims1 apart from the experience of their fulfilment in our own lives1 is that the same infinite love was in ,him1 the same agony and willingness to sacrifice ,himself for men1 which we have seen made evident in the ,passion of ,god4 ,,footnotes3 #gh ,see ,introduction4 #gi ,so the grammar of the original4 #hj ,vol4 i41 pp4 #add1 #ccd4 #ha ,isa4 xxxi4 #hb ,hosea xi4 #i4 #hc ,ch4 lv4 #h1 #i4 #hd ,ibid4 ver4 #aa4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,four ,,points ,,of ,a ,,true ,,religion4 ,,isaiah xliii4-xlviii4 ,we have now surveyed the governing truths of ,isa4 xl4-xlviii43 the ,one ,god1 omnipotent and righteous2 the ,one ,people1 ,his servants and witnesses to the world2 the nothingness of all other gods and idols before ,him2 the vanity and ignorance of their diviners1 compared with ,his power1 who1 because ,he has a purpose working through all history1 and is both faithful to it and almighty to bring it to pass1 can inspire ,his prophets to declare beforehand the facts that shall be4 ,he has brought ,his people into captivity for a set time1 the end of which is now near4 ,cyrus the ,persian1 already upon the horizon1 and threatening ,babylon1 is to be their deliverer4 ,but whomever ,he raises up on ,israel's behalf1 ,god is always ,himself their foremost champion4 ,not only is ,his word upon them1 but ,his heart is among them4 ,he bears the brunt of their battle1 and their deliverance1 political and spiritual1 is ,his own travail and agony4 ,whomever else ,he summons on the stage1 ,he remains the true hero of the drama4 ,now1 chs4 xliii4-xlviii4 are simply the elaboration and more urgent offer of all these truths1 under the sense of the rapid approach of ,cyrus upon ,babylon4 ,they declare again ,god's unity1 omnipotence and righteousness1 they confirm ,his forgiveness of ,his people1 they repeat the laughter at the idols1 they give us nearer views of ,cyrus1 they answer the doubts that many orthodox ,israelites felt about this ,gentile ,messiah2 chs4 xlvi4 and xlvii4 describe ,babylon as if on the eve of her fall1 and ch4 xlviii41 after ,jehovah more urgently than ever presses upon reluctant ,israel to show the results of her discipline in ,babylon1 closes with a call to leave the accursed city1 as if the way were at last open4 ,this call has been taken as the mark of a definite division of our prophecy4 ,but too much must not be put upon it4 ,it is indeed the first call to depart from ,babylon2 but it is not the last4 ,and although ch4 xlix41 and the chapters following1 speak more of ,zion's ,restoration and less of the ,captivity1 yet ch4 xlix4 is closely connected with ch4 xlviii41 and we do not finally leave ,babylon behind till ch4 lii4 #ab4 ,nevertheless1 in the meantime ch4 xlviii4 will form a convenient point on which to keep our eyes4 ,cyrus1 when we last saw him1 was upon the banks of the ,halys1 #edf ,b4,c41 startling ,crsus and the ,lydian ,empire into extraordinary efforts1 both of a religious and political kind1 to avert his attack4 ,he had just come from an unsuccessful attempt upon the northern frontier of ,babylon1 and at first it appeared as if he were to find no better fortune on the western border of ,lydia4 ,in spite of his superior numbers1 the ,lydian army kept the ground on which he met them in battle4 ,but ,crsus1 thinking that the war was over for the season1 fell back soon afterwards on ,sardis1 and ,cyrus1 following him up by forced marches1 surprised him under the walls of the city1 routed the famous ,lydian cavalry by the novel terror of his camels1 and after a siege of fourteen days sent a few soldiers to scale a side of the citadel too steep to be guarded by the defenders2 and so ,sardis1 its king and its empire1 lay at his feet4 ,this ,lydian campaign of ,cyrus1 which is related by ,herodotus1 is worth noting here for the light it throws on the character of the man1 whom according to our prophecy1 ,god chose to be ,his chief instrument in that generation4 ,if his turning back from ,babylonia1 eight years before he was granted an easy entrance to her capital1 shows how patiently ,cyrus could wait upon fortune1 his quick march upon ,sardis is the brilliant evidence that when fortune showed the way1 she found this ,persian an obedient and punctual follower4 ,the ,lydian campaign forms as good an illustration as we shall find of these texts of our prophet3 ,he pursueth them1 he passeth in safety2 by a way he almost treads not with his feet4 ,he cometh upon satraps as on mortar1 and as the potter treadeth upon clay 7xli4 #c1 #be74 ,i have holden his right hand to bring down before him nations1 and the loins of kings will ,i loosen1--poor ungirt ,crsus1 for instance1 relaxing so foolishly after his victory6--to open before him doors1 and gates shall not be shut1--so was ,sardis unready for him1--,i go before thee1 and will level the ridges2 doors of brass ,i will shiver1 and bolts of iron cut in sunder4 ,and ,i will give to thee treasures of darkness1 hidden riches of secret places 7xlv4 #a-c74 ,some have found in this an allusion to the immense hoards of ,crsus1 which fell to ,cyrus with ,sardis4 ,with ,lydia1 the rest of ,asia ,minor1 including the cities of the ,greeks1 who held the coast of the gean1 was bound to come into the ,persian's hands4 ,but the process of subjection turned out to be a long one4 ,the ,greeks got no help from ,greece4 ,sparta sent to ,cyrus an embassy with a threat1 but the ,persian laughed at it and it came to nothing4 ,indeed1 ,sparta's message was only a temptation to this irresistible warrior to carry his fortunate arms into ,europe4 ,his own presence1 however1 was required in the ,east1 and his lieutenants found the thorough subjection of ,asia ,minor a task requiring several years4 ,it cannot have well been concluded before #edj1 and while it was in progress we understand why ,cyrus did not again attack ,babylonia4 ,meantime1 he was occupied with lesser tribes to the north of ,media4 ,cyrus' second campaign against ,babylonia opened in #eci4 ,this time he avoided the northern wall from which he had been repulsed in #edf4 ,attacking ,babylonia from the east1 he crossed the ,tigris1 beat the ,babylonian king into ,borsippa1 laid siege to that fortress and marched on ,babylon1 which was held by the king's son1 ,belshazzar1 ,bil-sar-ussur4 ,all the world knows the supreme generalship by which ,cyrus is said to have captured ,babylon without assaulting the walls from whose impregnable height their defenders showered ridicule upon him2 how he made himself master of ,nebuchadrezzar's great bason at ,sepharvaim1 and turned the ,euphrates into it2 and how1 before the ,babylonians had time to notice the dwindling of the waters in their midst1 his soldiers waded down the river bed1 and by the river gates surprised the careless citizens upon a night of festival4 ,but recent research makes it more probable that her inhabitants themselves surrendered ,babylon to ,cyrus4 ,now it was during the course of the events just sketched1 but before their culmination in the fall of ,babylon1 that chs4 xliii4-xlviii4 were composed4 ,that1 at least1 is what they themselves suggest4 ,in three passages1 which deal with ,cyrus or with ,babylon1 some of the verbs are in the past1 some in the future4 ,those in the past tense describe the calling and full career of ,cyrus or the beginning of preparations against ,babylon4 ,those in the future tense promise ,babylon's fall or ,cyrus' completion of the liberation of the ,jews4 ,thus1 in ch4 xliii4 #ad it is written3 ,for your sakes ,i have sent to ,babylon1 and ,i will bring down as fugitives all of them1 and the ,chaldeans in the ships of their rejoicing4 ,surely these words announce that ,babylon's fate was already on the way to her1 but not yet arrived4 ,again1 in the verses which deal with ,cyrus himself1 xlv4 #a-f1 which we have partly quoted1 the ,persian is already grasped by his right hand by ,god1 and called2 but his career is not over1 for ,god promises to do various things for him4 ,the third passage is ver4 #ac of the same chapter1 where ,jehovah says1 ,i have stirred him up in righteousness1 and1 changing to the future tense1 all his ways will ,i level2 he shall build ,my city1 and ,my captivity shall he send away4 ,what could be more precise than the tenor of all these passages8 ,if people would only take our prophet at his word2 if with all their belief in the inspiration of the text of ,scripture1 they would only pay attention to its grammar1 which surely1 on their own theory1 is also thoroughly sacred1 then there would be to-day no question about the date of ,isa4 xl4-xlviii4 ,as plainly as grammar can enable it to do1 this prophecy speaks of ,cyrus' campaign against ,babylon as already begun1 but of its completion as still future4 ,ch4 xlviii41 it is true1 assumes events as still farther developed1 but we will come to it afterwards4 ,during ,cyrus' preparations1 then1 for invading ,babylonia1 and in prospect of her certain fall1 chs4 xliii4-xlviii4 repeat with greater detail and impetuosity the truths1 which we have already gathered from chs4 xl4-xlii4 #a4 ,and first of these comes naturally the omnipotence1 righteousness and personal urgency of ,jehovah ,himself4 ,everything is again assured by ,his power and purpose2 everything starts from ,his initiative4 ,to illustrate this we could quote from almost every verse in the chapters under consideration4 ,i1 ,i ,jehovah1 and there is none beside ,me a ,saviour4 ,i am ,god--,el4 ,also from to-day on ,i am ,he4#he ,i will work1 and who shall let it8 ,i am ,jehovah4 ,i1 ,i am ,he that blotteth out thy transgressions4 ,i ,first1 and ,i ,last2 and beside ,me there is no ,god--,elohim4 ,is there a ,god1 ,eloah1 beside ,me8 yea1 there is no ,rock2 ,i know not any4 ,i ,jehovah1 ,maker of all things4 ,i am ,jehovah1 and there is none else2 beside ,me there is no ,god4 ,i am ,jehovah1 and there is none else4 ,former of light and ,creator of darkness1 ,maker of peace and ,creator of evil1 ,i am ,jehovah1 ,maker of all these4 ,i am ,jehovah1 and there is none else1 ,god1 ,elohim1 beside ,me1 ,god-,righteous1 ,el ,ssaddq1 and a ,saviour3 there is none except ,me4 ,face ,me1 and be saved all ends of the earth2 for ,i am ,god1 ,el1 and there is none else4 ,only in ,jehovah--of ,me shall they say--are righteousnesses and strength4 ,i am ,god1 ,el1 and there is none else2 ,god1 ,elohim1 and there is none like ,me4 ,i am ,he2 ,i am ,first1 yea1 ,i am ,last4 ,i1 ,i have spoken4 ,i have declared it4 ,it is of advantage to gather together so many passages--and they might have been increased--from chs4 xliii4-xlviii4 ,they let us see at a glance what a part the first personal pronoun plays in the ,divine revelation4 ,beneath every religious truth is the unity of ,god4 ,behind every great movement is the personal initiative and urgency of ,god4 ,and revelation is1 in its essence1 not the mere publication of truths about ,god1 but the personal presence and communication to men of ,god ,himself4 ,three words are used for ,deity--,el1 ,eloah1 ,elohim--exhausting the ,divine terminology4 ,but besides these1 there is a formula which puts the point even more sharply3 ,i am ,he4 ,it was the habit of the ,hebrew nation1 and indeed of all ,semitic peoples1 who shared their reverent unwillingness to name the ,deity1 to speak of ,him simply by the third personal pronoun4 ,the ,book of ,job is full of instances of the habit1 and it also appears in many proper names1 as ,eli-hu1 ,my ,god-is-,he1 ,abi-hu1 ,my-,father-is-,he4 ,renan adduces the practice as evidence that the ,semites were naturally monotheistic1#hf--;as evidence for what was never the case6 ,but if there was no original ,semitic monotheism for this practice to prove1 we may yet take the practice as evidence for the personality of the ,hebrew ,god4 ,the ,god of the prophets is not the it1 which ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold so strangely thought he had identified in their writings1 and which1 in philosophic language1 that unsophisticated ,orientals would never have understood1 he so cumbrously named a tendency not ourselves that makes for righteousness4 ,not anything like this is the ,god1 who here urges ,his self-consciousness upon men4 ,he says1 ,i am ,he1--the unseen ,power1 who was too awful and too dark to be named1 but about whom1 when in their terror and ignorance ,his worshippers sought to describe ,him1 they assumed that ,he was a ,person1 and called ,him1 as they would have called one of themselves1 by a personal pronoun4 ,by the mouth of ,his prophet this vague and awful ,he declares ,himself as ,i1 ,i1 ,i1--no mere tendency1 but a living ,heart and urgent ,will1 personal character and force of initiative1 from which all tendencies move and take their direction and strength4 ,i am ,he4 ,history is strewn with the errors of those1 who have sought from ,god something else than ,himself4 ,all the degradation1 even of the highest religions1 has sprung from this1 that their votaries forgot that religion was a communion with ,god ,himself1 a life in the power of ,his character and will1 and employed it as the mere communication either of material benefits or of intellectual ideas4 ,it has been the mistake of millions to see in revelation nothing but the telling of fortunes1 the recovery of lost things1 decision in quarrels1 direction in war1 or the bestowal of some personal favour4 ,such are like the person1 of whom ,st4 ,luke tells us1 who saw nothing in ,christ but the recoverer of a bad debt3 ,master1 speak unto my brother that he divide the inheritance with me2 and their superstition is as far from true faith as the prodigal's old heart1 when he said1 ,give me the portion of goods that falleth unto me1 was from the other heart1 when1 in his poverty and woe1 he cast himself utterly upon his ,father3 ,i will arise and go to my ,father4 ,but no less a mistake do those make1 who seek from ,god not ,himself1 but only intellectual information4 ,the first ,reformers did well1 who brought the common soul to the personal grace of ,god2 but many of their successors1 in a controversy1 whose dust obscured the sun and allowed them to see but the length of their own weapons1 used ,scripture chiefly as a store of proofs for separate doctrines of the faith1 and forgot that ,god ,himself was there at all4 ,and though in these days we seek from the ,bible many desirable things1 such as history1 philosophy1 morals1 formulas of assurance of salvation1 the forgiveness of sins1 maxims for conduct1 yet all these will avail us little1 until we have found behind them the living ,character1 the ,will1 the ,grace1 the ,urgency1 the ,almighty ,power1 by trust in whom and communion with whom alone they are added unto us4 ,now the deity1 who claims in these chapters to be the ,one1 ,sovereign ,god1 was the deity of a little tribe4 ,i am ,jehovah1 ,i ,jehovah am ,god1 ,i ,jehovah am ,he4 ,we cannot too much impress ourselves with the historical wonder of this4 ,in a world1 which contained ,babylon and ,egypt with their large empires1 ,lydia with all her wealth1 and the ,medes with all their force2 which was already feeling the possibilities of the great ,greek life1 and had the ,persians1 the masters of the future1 upon its threshold1--it was the god of none of these1 but of the obscurest tribe of their bondsmen1 who claimed the ,divine ,sovereignty for ,himself2 it was the pride of none of these1 but the faith of the most despised and1 at its heart1 most mournful religion of the time1 which offered an explanation of history1 claimed the future and was assured that the biggest forces of the world were working for its ends4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,king of ,israel1 and his ,redeemer ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,i ,first1 and ,i ,last2 and beside ,me there is no ,god4 ,is there a ,god beside ,me8 yea1 there is no ,rock2 ,i know not any4 ,by itself this were a cheap claim1 and might have been made by any idol among them1 were it not for the additional proofs by which it is supported4 ,we may summarise these additional proofs as threefold3 ,laughter1 ,gospel and ,control of ,history1--three marvels in the experience of exiles4 ,people1 mournfullest and most despised1 their mouths were to be filled with the laughter of ,truth's scorn upon the idols of their conquerors4 ,men1 most tormented by conscience and filled with the sense of sin1 they were to hear the gospel of forgiveness4 ,nation1 against whom all fact seemed to be working1 their ,god told them1 alone of all nations of the world1 that ,he controlled for their sake the facts of to-day and the issues of to-morrow4 #b4 ,a burst of laughter comes very weirdly out of the ,exile4 ,but we have already seen the intellectual right to scorn which these crushed captives had4 ,they were monotheists and their enemies were image worshippers4 ,monotheism1 even in its rudest forms1 raises men intellectually1--it is difficult to say by how many degrees4 ,indeed1 degrees do not measure the mental difference between an idolater and him who serves with his mind1 as well as with all his heart and soul1 ,one ,god1 ,maker of heaven and earth3 it is a difference that is absolute4 ,israel in captivity was conscious of this1 and therefore1 although the souls of those sad men were filled beyond any in the world with the heaviness of sorrow and the humility of guilt1 their proud faces carried a scorn they had every right to wear1 as the servants of the ,one ,god4 ,see how this scorn breaks forth in the following passage4 ,its text is corrupt1 and its rhythm1 at this distance from the voices that utter it1 is hardly perceptible2 but thoroughly evident is its tone of intellectual superiority1 and the scorn of it gushes forth in impetuous1 unequal verse1 the force of which the smoothness and dignity of our ,authorised ,version has unfortunately disguised4 #a4 ,formers of an idol are all of them waste1 ,and their darlings are utterly worthless6 ,and their confessors#hg--they6 they see not and know not ,enough to feel shame4 ,who has fashioned a god1 or an image has cast8 ',tis to be utterly worthless4 ,lo6 all that depend on't are shamed1 ,and the gravers are less than men3 ,let all of them gather and stand4 ,they quake and are shamed in the lump4 #b4 ,iron-graver--he takes#hh a chisel1 ,and works with hot coals1 ,and with hammers he moulds2 ,and has done it with the arm of his strength4 --,anon hungers1 and strength goes2 ,drinks no water1 and wearies6 #c4 ,wood-graver--he draws a line1 ,marks it with pencil1 ,makes it with planes1 ,and with compasses marks it4 ,so has made it the build of a man1 ,to a grace that is human-- ,to inhabit a house1 cutting it cedars4#hi #d4 ,or one takes an ilex or oak1 ,and picks for himself from the trees of the wood2 ,one has planted a pine1 and the rain makes it big1 ,and 'tis there for a man to burn4 ,and one has taken of it1 and been warmed2 ,yea1 kindles and bakes bread1-- ,yea1 works out a god1 and has worshipped it6 ,has made it an idol1 and bows down before it6 ,part of it burns he with fire1 ,upon part eats flesh1 ,roasts roast and is full2 ,yea1 warms him and saith1 ,aha1 ,i am warm1 have seen fire6 ,and the rest of it--to a god he has made--to his image6 ,he bows to it1 worships it1 prays to it1 ,and says1 ,save me1 for my god art thou6 #e4 ,they know not and deem not6 ,for ,he hath bedaubed1 past seeing1 their eyes1 ,past thinking1 their hearts4 ,and none takes to heart1 ,neither has knowledge nor sense to say1 ,part of it burned ,i in fire-- ,yea1 have baked bread on its coals1 ,do roast flesh that ,i eat1-- ,and the rest o't1 to a ,disgust should ,i make it8 ,the trunk of a tree should ,i worship8 ,herder of ashes1#ij a duped heart has sent him astray1 ,that he cannot deliver his soul1 neither say1 ,is there not a lie in my right hand8 ,is not the prevailing note in these verses surprise at the mental condition of an idol-worshipper8 ,they see not and know not enough to feel shame4 ,none takes it to heart1 neither has knowledge nor sense to say1 ,part of it ,i have burned in fire 444 and the rest1 should ,i make it a god8 ,this intellectual confidence1 breaking out into scorn1 is the second great token of truth1 which distinguishes the religion of this poor slave of a people4 #c4 ,the third token is its moral character4 ,the intellectual truth of a religion would go for little1 had the religion nothing to say to man's moral sense--did it not concern itself with his sins1 had it no redemption for his guilt4 ,now1 the chapters before us are full of judgement and mercy4 ,if they have scorn for the idols1 they have doom for sin1 and grace for the sinner4 ,they are no mere political manifesto for the occasion1 declaring how ,israel shall be liberated from ,babylon4 ,they are a gospel for sinners in all time4 ,by this they farther accredit themselves as a universal religion4 ,god is omnipotent1 yet ,he can do nothing for ,israel till ,israel put away their sins4 ,those sins1 and not the people's captivity1 are the ,deity's chief concern4 ,sin has been at the bottom of their whole adversity4 ,this is brought out with all the versatility of conscience itself4 ,israel and their ,god have been at variance2 their sin has been1 what conscience feels the most1 a sin against love4 ,yet not upon ,me hast thou called1 ,o ,jacob2 how hast thou been wearied with ,me1 ,o ,israel4444 ,i have not made thee to slave with offerings1 nor wearied thee with incense 444 but thou hast made ,me to slave with thy sins1 thou hast wearied ,me with thine iniquities 7xliii4 #bb-bd74 ,so ,god sets their sins1 where men most see the blackness of their guilt1 in the face of ,his love4 ,and now ,he challenges conscience4 ,put ,me in remembrance2 let us come to judgement together2 indict1 that thou mayest be justified 7ver4 #bf74 ,but it had been agelong and original sin4 ,thy father1 the first had sinned2 yea1 thy representative men--literally interpreters1 mediators--had transgressed against ,me4 ,therefore did ,i profane consecrated princes1 and gave ,jacob to the ban1 and ,israel to reviling 7vv4 #bg1 #bh74 ,the ,exile itself was but an episode in a tragedy1 which began far back with ,israel's history4 ,and so ch4 xlviii4 repeats3 ,i knew that thou dost deal very treacherously1 and ,transgressor-from-the-womb do they call thee 7ver4 #h74 ,and then there comes the sad note of what might have been4 ,o that thou hadst hearkened to ,my commandments6 then had thy peace been as the river1 and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea 7ver4 #ah74 ,as broad ,euphrates thou shouldst have lavishly rolled1 and flashed to the sun like a summer sea4 ,but now1 hear what is left4 ,there is no peace1 saith ,jehovah1 to the wicked 7ver4 #bb74 ,ah1 it is no dusty stretch of ancient history1 no long-extinct volcano upon the far waste of ,asian politics1 to which we are led by the writings of the ,exile4 ,but they treat of man's perennial trouble2 and conscience1 that never dies1 speaks through their old-fashioned letters and figures with words we feel like swords4 ,and therefore1 still1 whether they be psalms or prophecies1 they stand like some ancient minster in the modern world1--where1 on each new soiled day1 till time ends1 the heavy heart of man may be helped to read itself1 and lift up its guilt for mercy4 ,they are the confessional of the world1 but they are also its gospel1 and the altar where forgiveness is sealed4 ,i1 even ,i1 am ,he that blotteth out thy transgressions for ,mine own sake1 and will not remember thy sins4 ,o ,israel1 thou shalt not be forgotten of ,me4 ,i have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions1 and as a cloud thy sins2 turn unto ,me1 for ,i have redeemed thee4 ,israel shall be saved by ,jehovah with an everlasting salvation2 ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end4#ia ,now1 when we remember who the ,god is1 who thus speaks1--not merely ,one who flings the word of pardon from the sublime height of ,his holiness1 but1 as we saw1 speaks it from the midst of all ,his own passion and struggle under ,his people's sins1--then with what assurance does ,his word come home to the heart4 ,what honour and obligation to righteousness does the pardon of such a ,god put upon our hearts4 ,one understands why ,ambrose sent ,augustine1 after his conversion1 first to these prophecies4 #d4 ,the fourth token1 which these chapters offer for the religion of ,jehovah1 is the claim they make for it to interpret and to control history4 ,there are two verbs1 which are frequently repeated throughout the chapters1 and which are given together in ch4 xliii4 #ab3 ,i have published and ,i have saved4 ,these are the two acts by which ,jehovah proves ,his solitary divinity over against the idols4 ,the publishing1 of course1 is the same prediction1 of which ch4 xli4 spoke4 ,it is publishing in former times things happening now2 it is publishing now things that are still to happen4 ,and who1 like ,me1 calls out and publishes it1 and sets it in order for ,me1 since ,i appointed the ancient people8 and the things that are coming1 and that shall come1 let them publish4 ,tremble not1 nor fear3 did ,i not long ago cause thee to hear8 and ,i published1 and ye are ,my witnesses4 ,is there a ,god beside ,me8 nay1 there is no ,rock2 ,i know none 7xliv4 #g1 #h74 ,the two go together1 the doing of wonderful and saving acts for ,his people and the publishing of them before they come to pass4 ,israel's past is full of such acts4 ,ch4 xliii4 instances the delivery from ,egypt 7vv4 #af1 #ag71 but immediately proceeds 7vv4 #ah1 #ai73 ,remember ye not the former things--here our old friend ri'shonth occurs again1 but this time means simply previous events--neither consider the things of old4 ,behold1 ,i am doing a new thing2 even now it springs forth4 ,shall ye not know it8 ,yea1 ,i will set in the wilderness a way1 in the desert rivers4 ,and of this new event of the ,return1 and of others which will follow from it1 like the building of ,jerusalem1 the chapters insist over and over again1 that they are the work of ,jehovah1 who is therefore a ,saviour ,god4 ,but what better proof can be given1 that these saving facts are indeed ,his own and part of ,his counsel1 than that ,he foretold them by ,his messengers and prophets to ,israel1--of which previous publication ,his people are the witnesses4 ,who among the peoples can publish thus1 and let us hear predictions8--again ri'shonth1 things ahead--let them bring their witnesses1 that they may be justified1 and let them hear and say1 ,truth4 ,ye are my witnesses1 saith ,jehovah1 to ,israel 7xliii4 #i1 #aj74 ,i have published1 and ,i have saved1 and ,i have shewed1 and there was no strange god among you2 therefore--because ,jehovah was notoriously the only ,god who had to do with them during all this prediction and fulfilment of prediction--ye are witnesses for ,me1 saith ,jehovah1 that ,i am ,god 7id4 ver4 #ab74 ,the meaning of all this is plain4 ,jehovah is ,god alone1 because ,he is directly effective in history for the salvation of ,his people1 and because ,he has published beforehand what ,he will do4 ,the great instance of this1 which the prophecy adduces1 is the present movement towards the liberation of the people1 of which movement ,cyrus is the most conspicuous factor4 ,of this xlv4 #ai ff4 says3 ,not in secret have ,i spoken1 in a place of the land of darkness4 ,i have not said to the seed of ,jacob1 ,in vanity seek ye ,me4 ,i ,jehovah am a speaker of righteousness1#ib a publisher of things that are straight4 ,be gathered and come in2 draw together1 ye survivors of the nations3 they have no knowledge that carry about the log of their image1 and are suppliants to a god that cannot save4 ,publish1 and bring it here2 nay1 let them advise together2 who made this to be heard1--that is1 who published this1--of ancient time8 ,who published this of old8 ,i ,jehovah1 and there is none ,god beside ,me3 a ,god righteous1--that is1 consistent1 true to ,his published word1--and a ,saviour1 there is none beside ,me4 ,here we have joined together the same ideas as in xliii4 #ab4 ,there ,i have declared and saved is equivalent to a ,god righteous and a ,saviour here4 ,only in ,jehovah are righteousnesses1 that is1 fidelity to ,his anciently published purposes2 and strength1 that is1 capacity to carry these purposes out in history4 ,god is righteous because1 according to another verse in the same prophecy 7xliv4 #bf71 ,he confirmeth the word of ,his servant1 and the advice of ,his messengers ,he fulfilleth4 ,now the question has been asked1 ,to what predictions does the prophecy allude as being fulfilled in those days when ,cyrus was so evidently advancing to the overthrow of ,babylon8 ,before answering this question it is well to note1 that1 for the most part1 the prophet speaks in general terms4 ,he gives no hint to justify that unfounded belief1 to which so many think it necessary to cling1 that ,cyrus was actually named by a prophet of ,jehovah years before he appeared4 ,had such a prediction existed1 we can have no doubt that our prophet would now have appealed to it4 ,no3 he evidently refers only to those numerous and notorious predictions by ,isaiah1 and by ,jeremiah1 of the return of ,israel from exile after a certain and fixed period4 ,those were now coming to pass4 ,but from this new day ,jehovah also predicts for the days to come1 and ,he does this very particularly1 xliv4 #bf1 ,who is saying of ,jerusalem1 ,she shall be inhabited2 and of the cities of ,judah1 ,they shall be built2 and of her waste places1 ,i will raise them up4 ,who saith to the deep1 ,be dry1 and thy rivers ,i will dry up4 ,who saith of ,koresh1 ,my ,shepherd1 and all ,my pleasure he shall fulfil3 even saying of ,jerusalem1 ,she shall be built1 and the ,temple shall be founded4 ,thus1 backward and forward1 yesterday1 to-day and for ever1 ,jehovah's hand is upon history4 ,he controls it3 it is the fulfilment of ,his ancient purpose4 ,by predictions made long ago and fulfilled to-day1 by the readiness to predict to-day what will happen to-morrow1 ,he is surely ,god and ,god alone4 ,singular fact1 that in that day of great empires1 confident in their resources1 and with the future so near their grasp1 it should be the ,god of a little people1 cut off from their history1 servile and seemingly spent1 who should take the big things of earth--,egypt1 ,ethiopia1 ,seba--and speak of them as counters to be given in exchange for ,his people2 who should speak of such a people as the chief heirs of the future1 the indispensable ministers of mankind4 ,the claim has two ,divine features4 ,it is unique1 and history has vindicated it4 ,it is unique3 no other religion1 in that or in any other time1 has so rationally explained past history or laid out the ages to come upon the lines of a purpose so definite1 so rational1 so beneficent--a purpose so worthy of the ,one ,god and ,creator of all4 ,and it has been vindicated3 ,israel returned to their own land1 resumed the development of their calling1 and1 after the centuries came and went1 fulfilled the promise that they should be the religious teachers of mankind4 ,the long delay of this fulfilment surely but testifies the more to the ,divine foresight of the promise2 to the patience1 which nature1 as well as history1 reveals to be1 as much as omnipotence1 a mark of ,deity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these1 then1 are the four points1 upon which the religion of ,israel offers itself4 ,first1 it is the force of the character and grace of a personal ,god2 second1 it speaks with a high intellectual confidence1 whereof its scorn is here the chief mark2 third1 it is intensely moral1 making man's sin its chief concern2 and fourth1 it claims the control of history1 and history has justified the claim4 ,,footnotes3 #he ,from to-day on1 ,ez4 xlviii4 #ce2 but others take it ,also to-day ,i am ,he4 #hf ,renan's theory of the natural monotheism of the ,semites was first published in his ,histoire des ,langues ,semitiques some forty years ago4 ,nearly every ,semitic scholar of repute found some occasion or other to refute it4 ,but with ,renan's charming genius for neglecting all facts that disturb an artistic arrangement of his subject1 the overwhelming evidence against the natural monotheism of the ,semite has been ignored by him1 and he repeats his theory unmodified in his ,histoire du ,peuple d',israel1 i41 #ca1 published #ahhh4 #hg ,literally witnesses--i4e41 of the idols4 #hh ,this word is wanting in the text1 which is corrupt here4 ,some supply the word sharpeneth1 imagining that has fallen away from the beginning of the verse1 through confusion with the which ends the previous verse2 or they bring itself1 changing it to 4 ,but evidently begins the verse2 cf4 the parallel which begins ver4 #ac4 #hi ,here1 again1 the text is uncertain4 ,with some critics ,i have borrowed for this verse the first three words of the following verse4 #ij ,perhaps feeder on ashes4 #ia ,chs4 xliii4 #be2 xliv4 #ba1 #bb2 xlv4 #ag4 #ib ,see ch4 xiv4 of this volume4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,cyrus4 ,,isaiah xli4 #b1 #be2 xliv4 #bh-xlv4 #ac2 xlvi4 #aa2 xlviii4 #ad1 #ae4 ,cyrus1 the ,persian1 is the only man outside the covenant and people of ,israel1 who is yet entitled the ,,lord',s ,shepherd1 and the ,,lord',s ,messiah or ,christ4 ,he is1 besides1 the only great personality1 of whom both the ,bible and ,greek literature treat at length and with sympathy4 ,did we know nothing more of him than this1 the heathen who received the most sacred titles of ,revelation1 the one man in history who was the cynosure of both ,greece and ,judah1 could not fail to be of the greatest interest to us4 ,but apart from the way1 in which he impressed the ,greek imagination and was interpreted by the ,hebrew conscience1 we have an amount of historical evidence about ,cyrus1 which1 if it dissipates the beautiful legends told of his origin and his end1 confirms most of what is written of his character by ,herodotus and ,xenophon1 and all of what is described as his career by the prophet whom we are studying4 ,whether of his own virtue1 or as being the leader of a new race of men at the fortunate moment of their call1 ,cyrus lifted himself1 from the lowest of royal stations1 to a conquest and an empire achieved by only two or three others in the history of the world4 ,originally but the prince of ,anshan1 or ,anzan1#ic--;a territory of uncertain size at the head of the ,persian ,gulf1--he brought under his sway1 by policy or war1 the large and vigorous nations of the ,medes and ,persians2 he overthrew the ,lydian kingdom1 and subjugated ,asia ,minor2 he so impressed the beginnings of ,greek life1 that1 with all their own great men1 the ,greeks never ceased to regard this ,persian as the ideal king2 he captured ,babylon1 the throne of the ancient ,east1 and thus effected the transfer of empire from the ,semitic to the ,aryan stock4 ,he also satisfied the peoples1 whom he had beaten1 with his rule1 and organised his realms with a thoroughness unequalled over so vast an extent till the rise of the ,roman ,empire4 ,we have scarcely any contemporary or nearly contemporary evidence about his personality4 ,but his achievements testify to extraordinary genius1 and his character was the admiration of all antiquity4 ,to ,greek literature ,cyrus was the ,prince pre-eminent1--set forth as the model for education in childhood1 self-restraint in youth1 just and powerful government in manhood4 ,most of what we read of him in ,xenophon's ,cyropdia is1 of course1 romance2 but the very fact1 that1 like our own ,king ,arthur1 ,cyrus was used as a mirror to flash great ideals down the ages1 proves that there was with him native brilliance and width of surface as well as fortunate eminence of position4 ,he owed much to the virtue of his race4 ,rotten as the later ,persians have become1 the nation in those days impressed its enemies with its truthfulness1 purity and vigour4 ,but the man1 who not only led such a nation1 and was their darling1 but combined under his sceptre1 in equal discipline and contentment1 so many other and diverse peoples1 so many powerful and ambitious rulers1 cannot have been merely the best specimen of his own nation's virtue1 but must have added to this1 at least much of the original qualities--humanity1 breadth of mind1 sweetness1 patience and genius for managing men--which his sympathetic biographer imputes to him in so heroic a degree4 ,it is evident that the ,cyropdia is ignorant of many facts about ,cyrus1 and must have taken conscious liberties with many more1 but nobody--who1 on the one hand1 is aware of what ,cyrus effected upon the world1 and who1 on the other1 can appreciate that it was possible for a foreigner 7who1 nevertheless1 had travelled through most of the scenes of ,cyrus' career7 to form this rich conception of him more than a century after his death--can doubt that the ,persian's character 7due allowance being made for hero-worship7 must have been in the main as ,xenophon describes it4 ,yet it is very remarkable1 that our ,scripture states not one moral or religious virtue as the qualification of this ,gentile to the title of ,jehovah's ,messiah4 ,we search here in vain for any gleam of appreciation of that character1 which drew the admiring eyes of ,greece4 ,in the whole range of our prophecy there is not a single adjective1 expressing a moral virtue1 applied to ,cyrus4 ,the righteousness1 which so many passages associate with his name1 is attributed1 not to him1 but to ,god's calling of him1 and does not imply justice or any similar quality1 but is1 as we shall afterwards see when we examine the remarkable use of this word in ,second ,isaiah1 a mixture of good faith and thoroughness1--all-rightness4#id ,the one passage of our prophet1 in which it has been supposed by some that ,jehovah makes a religious claim to ,cyrus1 as if the ,persian were a monotheist--he calleth on ,my name--is1 as we have seen1#ie too uncertain1 both in text and rendering1 to have anything built upon it4 ,indeed1 no ,hebrew could have justly praised this ,persian's faith1 who called himself the servant of ,merodach1 and in his public proclamations to ,babylonia ascribed to the ,babylonian gods his power to enter their city4#if ,cyrus was very probably the pious ruler1 described by ,xenophon1 but he was no monotheist4 ,and our prophet denies all religious sympathy between him and ,jehovah1 in words too strong to be misunderstood3 ,i woo thee1 though thou hast not known ,me4444 ,i gird thee1 though thou hast not known ,me 7ch4 xlv4 #d1 #e74 ,on what1 then1 is the ,divine election of ,,cyrus grounded by our prophet1 if not upon his character and his faith8 ,simply and barely upon ,god's sovereignty and will4 ,that is the impressive lesson of the passage3 ,i am ,jehovah1 ,maker of everything2 that stretch forth the heavens alone1 and spread the earth by ,myself 444 that say of ,koresh1 ,my shepherd1 and all ,my pleasure he shall accomplish 7xliv4 #bd1 #bh74 ,cyrus is ,jehovah's1 because all things are ,jehovah's2 of whatsoever character or faith they be1 they are ,his and for ,his uses4 ,i am ,jehovah1 and there is none else3 ,former of light and ,creator of darkness1 ,maker of peace and ,creator of evil2 ,i1 ,jehovah1 ,maker of all these4 ,god's sovereignty could not be more broadly stated4 ,all things1 irrespective of their character1 are from ,him and for ,his ends4 ,but what end is dearer to the ,almighty1 what has ,he more plainly declared1 than that ,his people#ig shall be settled again in their own land8 ,for this ,he will use the fittest force4 ,the return of ,israel to ,palestine is a political event1 requiring political power2 and the greatest political power of the day is ,cyrus4 ,therefore1 by ,his prophet1 the ,almighty declares ,cyrus to be ,his people's deliverer1 ,his own anointed4 ,thus saith ,jehovah to ,his ,messiah1 to ,koresh3 444 ,that thou mayest know that ,i am ,jehovah1 ,caller of thee by thy name1 ,god of ,israel1 for the sake of ,my servant ,jacob and ,israel ,my chosen4 ,and ,i have called thee by thy name4 ,i have wooed thee1 though thou hast not known ,me 7xlv4 #a1 #c1 #d74 ,now to this designation of ,cyrus1 as the ,messiah1 great objections rose from ,israel4 ,we can understand them4 ,people1 who have fallen from a glorious past1 cling passionately to its precedents4 ,all the ancient promises of a deliverer for ,israel represented him as springing from the house of ,david4 ,the deliverance1 too1 was to have come by miracle1 or by the impression of the people's own holiness upon their oppressors4 ,the ,,lord ,himself was to have made bare ,his arm and ,israel to go forth in the pride of ,his favour1 as in the days of ,egypt and the ,red ,sea4 ,but this deliverer1 who was announced1 was alien to the commonwealth of ,israel2 and not by some miracle was the people's exodus promised1 but as the effect of his imperial word--a minor incident in his policy6 ,the precedents and the pride of ,israel called out against such a scheme of salvation1 and the murmurs of the people rose against the word of ,god4 ,sternly replies the ,almighty3 ,woe to him that striveth with his ,moulder1 a potsherd among the potsherds of the ground6 ,saith clay to its moulder1 ,what doest thou8 or thy work of thee1 ,no hands hath he8 ,woe to him that saith to a father1 ,what begettest thou8 or to a woman1 ,with what travailest thou8 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,holy of ,israel and his ,moulder3 ,the things that are coming ask of ,me2 concerning ,my sons1 and concerning the work of ,my hands1 command ye ,me6 ,i have made ,earth1#ih and created man upon her3 ,i1 ,my hands1 have stretched ,heaven1 and all its host have ,i ordered4 ,in that universal providence1 this ,cyrus is but an incident4 ,i have stirred him up in righteousness1 and all his ways shall ,i make level4 ,he--emphatic--shall build ,my ,city1 and ,my ,captivity he shall send off--not for price and not for reward1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts 7xlv4 #i-ac74 ,to this bare fiat1 the passages referring to ,cyrus in ch4 xlvi4 and ch4 xlviii4 add scarcely anything4 ,i am ,god1 and there is none like ,me4444 ,who say1 ,my counsel shall stand1 and all ,my pleasure will ,i perform4 ,who call from the sunrise a ,bird-of-prey1 from a land far-off the ,man of ,my counsel4 ,yea1 ,i have spoken1 yea1 ,i will bring it to pass4 ,i have formed1 yea1 will do it 7xlvi4 #i1 #aj1 #aa74 ,bird-of-prey here has been thought to have reference to the eagle1 which was the standard of ,cyrus4 ,but it refers to ,cyrus himself4 ,what ,god sees in this man to fulfil ,his purpose is swift1 resistless force4 ,not his character1 but his swoop is useful for the ,almighty's end4 ,again3 ,be gathered1 all of you1 and hearken2 who among them hath published these things8 ,jehovah hath loved him3 he will do ,his pleasure on ,babel1 and his arm shall be on the ,chaldeans4 ,i1 ,i have spoken2 yea1 ,i have called him3 ,i have brought him1 and will cause his way to prosper1 or1 ,i will pioneer his way 7xlviii4 #ad1 #ae74 ,this verb to cause to prosper is one often used by our prophet1 but nowhere more appropriately to its original meaning1 than here1 where it is used of a way4 ,the word signifies to cut through2 then to ford a river--there is no word for bridge in ,hebrew2 then to go on well1 prosper4#ii ,in all these passages1 then1 there is no word about character4 ,cyrus is neither chosen for his character nor said to be endowed with one4 ,but that he is there1 and that he does so much1 is due simply to this1 that ,god has chosen him4 ,and what he is endowed with is force1 push1 swiftness1 irresistibleness4 ,he is1 in short1 not a character1 but a tool2 and ,god makes no apology for using him but this1 that he has the qualities of a tool4 ,now we cannot help being struck with the contrast of all this1 the ,hebrew view of ,cyrus1 with the well-known ,greek views of him4 ,to the ,greeks he is first and foremost a character4 ,xenophon1 and ,herodotus almost as much as ,xenophon1 are less concerned with what ,cyrus did than with what he was4 ,he is the ,king1 the ideal ruler4 ,it is his simplicity1 his purity1 his health1 his wisdom1 his generosity1 his moral influence upon men1 that attract the ,greeks1 and they conceive that he cannot be too brightly painted in his virtues1 if so he may serve for an example to following generations4 ,but bring ,cyrus out of the light of the eyes of this hero-worshipping people1 that light that has so gilded his native virtues1 into the shadow of the austere ,hebrew faith1 and the brilliance is quenched4 ,he still moves forcibly1 but his character is neutral4 ,scripture emphasizes only his strength1 his serviceableness1 his success3 ,whose right hand ,i have holden1 to subdue nations before him1 and ,i will loosen the loins of kings2 to open doors before him1 and gates shall not be shut4 ,i will go before thee1 and make the rugged places plain4 ,i will shiver doors of brass1 and bars of iron will ,i sunder 7xlv4 #a1 #b74 ,that ,cyrus is doing a work in ,god's hand and for ,god's end1 and therefore forcibly1 and sure of success--that is all the interest ,scripture takes in ,cyrus4 ,observe the difference4 ,it is characteristic of the two nations4 ,the ,greek views ,cyrus as an example2 therefore cannot too abundantly multiply his morality4 ,the ,hebrew views him as a tool2 but with a tool you are not anxious about its moral character1 you only desire to be convinced of its force and its fitness4 ,the ,greek mind is careful to unfold the noble humanity of the man1--a humanity universally and eternally noble4 ,by the side of that imperishable picture of him1 how meagre to ,greek eyes would have seemed the temporary occasion1 for which the ,hebrew claimed that ,cyrus had been raised up--to lead the petty ,jewish tribe back to their own obscure corner of the earth4 ,herodotus and ,xenophon1 had you told them that this was the chief commission of ,cyrus from ,god1 to restore the ,jews to ,palestine1 would have laughed4 ,identify him1 forsooth1 with those provincial interests6 they would have said4 ,he was meant1 we lift him up1 for mankind6 ,what judgement are we to pass on these two characteristic pictures of ,cyrus8 ,what lessons are we to draw from their contrast8 ,they do not contradict1 but in many particulars they corroborate one another4 ,cyrus would not have been the efficient weapon in the ,almighty's hand1 which our prophet panegyrises1 but for that thoughtfulness in preparation and swift readiness to seize the occasion1 which ,xenophon extols4 ,and nothing is more striking to one familiar with our ,scriptures1 when reading the ,cyropdia1 than the frequency with which the writer insists on the success that followed the ,persian4 ,if to the ,hebrew ,cyrus was the called of ,god1 upheld in righteousness1 to the ,greek he was equally conspicuous as the favourite of fortune4 ,i have always1 ,xenophon makes the dying king say1 seemed to feel my strength increase with the advance of time1 so that ,i have not found myself weaker in my old age than in my youth1 nor do ,i know that ,i have attempted or desired anything in which ,i have not been successful4#ajj ,and this was said piously1 for ,xenophon's ,cyrus was a devout servant of the gods4 ,the two views1 then1 are not hostile1 nor are we compelled to choose between them4 ,still1 they make a very suggestive contrast1 if we put these two questions about them3 ,which is the more true to historical fact8 ,which is the more inspiring example8 ,which is the more true to historical fact8 ,there is no difficulty in answering this3 undoubtedly1 the ,hebrew4 ,it has been of far more importance to the world that ,cyrus freed the ,jews than that he inspired the ,cyropdia4 ,that single enactment of his1 perhaps only one of a hundred consequences of his capture of ,babylon1 has had infinitely greater results than his character1 or than its magnificent exaggeration by ,greek hero-worship4 ,no one who has read the ,cyropdia--out of his school-days--would desire to place it in any contrast1 in which its peculiar charm would be shadowed1 or its own modest and strictly-limited claims would not receive justice4 ,the charm1 the truth of the ,cyropdia1 are eternal2 but the significance they borrow from ,cyrus--though they are as much due1 perhaps1 to ,xenophon's own pure soul as to ,cyrus--is not to be compared for one instant to the significance of that single deed of his1 into which the ,bible absorbs the meaning of his whole career1--the liberation of the ,jews4 ,the ,cyropdia has been the instruction and delight of many1--of as many in modern times1 perhaps1 as in ancient4 ,but the liberation of the ,jews meant the assurance of the world's religious education4 ,cyrus sent this people back to their land solely as a spiritual people4 ,he did not allow them to set up again the house of ,david1 but by his decree the ,temple was rebuilt4 ,israel entered upon their purely religious career1 set in order their vast stores of spiritual experience1 wrote their histories of grace and providence1 developed their worship1 handed down their law1 and kept themselves holy unto the ,lord4 ,till1 in the fulness of the times1 from this petty and exclusive tribe1 and by the fire1 which they kept burning on the altar that ,cyrus had empowered them to raise1 there was kindled the glory of an universal religion4 ,to change the figure1 ,christianity sprang from ,judaism as the flower from the seed2 but it was the hand of ,cyrus1 which planted the seed in the only soil1 in which it could have fructified4 ,of such an universal destiny for the ,faith1 ,cyrus was not conscious1 but the ,jews themselves were4 ,our prophet represents him1 indeed1 as acting for ,jacob ,my servant's sake1 and ,israel's ,my chosen1 but the chapter does not close without proclamation to the ends of the earth to look unto ,jehovah and be saved1 and the promise of a time when every knee shall bow and every tongue swear unto the ,god of ,israel4 ,now put all these results1 which the ,jews1 regardless of the character of ,cyrus1 saw flowing from his policy1 as the servant of ,god on their behalf1 side by side with the influence which the ,greeks borrowed from ,cyrus1 and say whether ,greek or ,jew had the more true and historical conscience of this great power1--whether ,greek or ,jew had his hand on the pulse of the world's main artery4 ,surely we see that the main artery of human life runs down the ,bible1 that here we have a sense of the control of history1 which is higher than even the highest hero-worship4 ,some may say1 ,true1 but what a very unequal contest1 into which to thrust the poor ,cyropdia6 ,precisely2 it is from the inequality of the contrast1 that we learn the uniqueness of ,israel's inspiration4 ,let us do all justice to the ,greek and his appreciation of ,cyrus4 ,in that1 he seems the perfection of humanity2 but with the ,jew we rise to the ,divine1 touching the right hand of the providence of ,god4 ,there is a moral lesson for ourselves in these two views about ,cyrus4 ,the ,greeks regard him as a hero1 the ,jews as an instrument4 ,the ,greeks are interested in him that he is so attractive a figure1 so effective an example to rouse men and restrain them4 ,but the ,jews stand in wonder of his subjection to the will of ,god2 their ,scriptures extol1 not his virtues1 but his predestination to certain ,divine ends4 ,now let us say no word against hero-worship4 ,we have need of all the heroes1 which the ,greek1 and every other1 literature can raise up for us4 ,we need the communion of the saints4 ,to make us humble in our pride1 to make us hopeful in our despair1 we need our big brothers1 the heroes of humanity4 ,we need them in history1 we need them in fiction2 we cannot do without them for shame1 for courage1 for fellowship1 for truth4 ,but let us remember that still more indispensable--for strength1 as well as for peace1 of mind--is the other temper4 ,neither self nor the world is conquered by admiration of men1 but only by the fear and obligation of ,god4 ,i speak now of applying this temper to ourselves4 ,we shall live fruitful and consistent lives only in so far as we hear ,god saying to us1 ,i gird thee1 and give ourselves into ,his guidance4 ,admire heroes if thou wilt1 but only admire them and thou remainest a slave4 ,learn their secret1 to commit themselves to ,god and to obey ,him1 and thou shalt become a hero too4 ,god's anointing of ,cyrus1 the heathen1 has yet another lesson to teach us1 which religious people especially need to learn4 ,this passage about ,cyrus lifts us to a very absolute and awful faith4 ,i am ,jehovah1 and none else3 ,former of light and ,creator of darkness1 ,maker of peace and ,creator of mischief2 ,i ,jehovah1 ,maker of all these things4 ,the objection at once rises1 ,is it possible to believe this8 ,are we to lay upon providence everything that happens8 ,surely we ,westerns1 with our native scepticism and strong conscience1 cannot be expected to hold a faith so ,oriental and fatalistic as that4 ,but notice to whom the passage is addressed4 ,to religious people1 who professedly accept ,god's sovereignty1 but wish to make an exception in the one case against which they have a prejudice--that a ,gentile should be the deliverer of the holy people4 ,such narrow and imperfect believers are reminded that they must not substitute for faith in ,god their own ideas of how ,god ought to work2 that they must not limit ,his operations to their own conception of ,his past revelations2 that ,god does not always work even by ,his own precedents2 and that many other forces than conventional and religious ones--yea1 even forces as destitute of moral or religious character as ,cyrus himself seemed to be--are also in ,god's hands1 and may be used by ,him as means of grace4 ,there is frequent charge made in our day against what are called the more advanced schools of theology1 of scepticism and irreverence4 ,but this passage reminds us that the most sceptical and irreverent are those old-fashioned believers1 who1 clinging to precedent and their own stereotyped notions of things1 deny that ,god's hands are in a movement1 because it is novel and not orthodox4 ,woe unto him that striveth with his ,moulder2 shall the clay say to its moulder1 ,what makest thou8 ,god did not cease moulding when ,he gave us the canon and our creeds1 when ,he founded the ,church and the ,sacraments4 ,his hand is still among the clay1 and upon time1 that great potter's wheel1 which still moves obedient to ,his impulse4 ,all the large forward movements1 the big things of to-day--commerce1 science1 criticism--however neutral1 like ,cyrus1 their character may be1 are1 like ,cyrus1 grasped and anointed by ,god4 ,therefore let us show reverence and courage before the great things of to-day4 ,do not let us scoff at their novelty or grow fearful because they show no orthodox1 or even no religious1 character4 ,god reigns1 and ,he will use them1 for what has been the dearest purpose of ,his heart1 the emancipation of true religion1 the confirmation of the faithful1 the victory of righteousness4 ,when ,cyrus rose and the prophet named him as ,israel's deliverer1 and the severely orthodox in ,israel objected1 did ,god attempt to soothe them by pointing out how admirable a character he was1 and how near in religion to the ,jews themselves8 ,god did no such thing1 but spoke only of the military and political fitness of this great engine1 by which ,he was to batter ,babylon4 ,that ,cyrus was a quick marcher1 a far shooter1 an inspirer of fear1 a follower up of victory1 one who swooped like a bird-of-prey1 one whose weight of war burst through every obstruction1--this is what the astonished pedants are told about the ,gentile1 to whose ,gentileness they had objected4 ,no soft words to calm their bristling orthodoxy1 but heavy facts1--an appeal to their common-sense1 if they had any1 that this was the most practical means for the practical end ,god had in view4 ,for again we learn the old lesson the prophets are ever so anxious to teach us1 ,god is wise4 ,he is concerned1 not to be orthodox or true to ,his own precedent1 but to be practical1 and effective for salvation4 ,and so1 too1 in our own day1 though we may not see any religious character whatsoever about certain successful movements--say in science1 for instance--which are sure to affect the future of the ,church and of ,faith1 do not let us despair1 neither deny that they1 too1 are in the counsels of ,god4 ,let us only be sure that they are permitted for some end--some practical end2 and watch1 with meekness but with vigilance1 to see what that end shall be4 ,perhaps the endowment of the ,church with new weapons of truth2 perhaps her emancipation from associations which1 however ancient1 are unhealthy2 perhaps her opportunity to go forth upon new heights of vision1 new fields of conquest4 ,,footnotes3 #ic ,identified by ,delitzsch as ,east1 ,halvy as ,west1 and ,winckler as ,north1 ,elam4 ,cyrus1 though reigning here1 was a pure ,persian1 an ,akhmenid or son of the royal house of ,persia4 #id ,the parallel which ,professor ,sayce 7,fresh ,light from the ,ancient ,monuments1 p4 #adg7 draws between the statement of the ,cyrus-cylinder1 that ,cyrus governed in justice and righteousness1 and was righteous in hand and heart1 and ,isa4 xlv4 #ac1 ,jehovah raised him up in righteousness1 is therefore utterly unreal4 ,it is very difficult to see how the ,deputy-,professor of ,comparative ,philology at ,oxford could have been reminded of the one passage by the other1 for in ,isa4 xlv4 #ac righteousness neither is used of ,cyrus1 nor signifies the moral virtue which it does on the cylinder4 #ie ,see note to ch4 vii4 #if ,the following are extracts from the ,cylinder of ,cyrus 7see ,sayce's ,fresh ,light from the ,ancient ,monuments1 pp4 #ach-adj73--;,cyrus1 king of ,elam1 he 7,merodach7 proclaimed by name for the sovereignty4444 ,whom he had conquered with his hand1 he governed in justice and righteousness4 ,merodach1 the great lord1 the restorer of his people1 beheld with joy the deeds of his vicegerent1 who was righteous in hand and heart4 ,to ,babylon he summoned his march1 and he bade him take the road to ,babylon2 like a friend and a comrade he went at his side4 ,without fighting or battle he caused him to enter into ,babylon1 his city of ,babylon feared4 ,the god 444 has in goodness drawn nigh to him1 has made strong his name4 ,i ,cyrus 444 ,i entered ,babylon in peace4444 ,merodach the great lord 7cheered7 the heart of his servant4444 ,my vast armies he marshalled peacefully in the midst of ,babylon2 throughout ,sumer and ,accad ,i had no revilers4444 ,accad1 ,marad1 etc41 ,i restored the gods who dwelt within them to their places 444 all their peoples ,i assembled and ,i restored their lands4 ,and the gods of ,sumer and ,accad whom ,nabonidos1 to the anger of the lord of gods 7,merodach71 had brought into ,babylon1 ,i settled in peace in their sanctuaries by command of ,merodach1 the great lord4 ,in the goodness of their hearts may all the gods whom ,i have brought into their strong places daily intercede before ,bel and ,nebo1 that they should grant me length of days2 may they bless my projects with prosperity1 and may they say to ,merodach my lord1 that ,cyrus the king1 thy worshipper1 and ,kambyses his son 7deserve his favour74 #ig ,why so sovereign a ,god should be in such peculiar relations with one people1 we will try to see in ch4 xv4 of this volume4 #ih ,earth here without the article1 but plainly the earth1 and not the land of ,judah4 #ii ,cf4 with this ,hebrew word the ,greek 1 to beat or cut a way through like pioneers2 then to forward a work1 advance1 prosper 7,luke ii4 #eb2 ,gal4 i4 #ad2 #b ,tim4 ii4 #af74 #ajj ,cyropdia1 ,book ,,viii41 ch4 vii41 #f4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,bearing ,,or ,,borne4 ,,isaiah xlvi4 ,chapter xlvi4 is a definite prophecy1 complete in itself4 ,it repeats many of the truths which we have found in previous chapters1 and we have already seen what it says about ,cyrus4 ,but it also strikes out a new truth1 very relevant then1 when men made idols and worshipped the works of their hands1 and relevant still1 when so many1 with equal stupidity1 are more concerned about keeping up the forms of their religion than allowing ,god to sustain themselves4 ,the great contrast1 which previous chapters have been elaborating1 is the contrast between the idols and the living ,god4 ,on the one side we have had pictures of the busy idol-factories1 cast into agitation by the advent of ,cyrus1 turning out with much toil and noise their tawdry1 unstable images4 ,foolish men1 instead of letting ,god undertake for them1 go to and try what their own hands and hammers can effect4 ,over against them1 and their cunning and toil1 the prophet sees the ,god of ,israel rise alone1 taking all responsibility of salvation to ,himself--,i1 ,i am ,he3 look unto ,me1 all the ends of the earth1 and be ye saved4 ,this contrast comes to a head in ch4 xlvi4 ,it is still the eve of the capture of ,babylon2 but the prophet pictures to himself what will happen on the morrow of the capture4 ,he sees the conqueror following the old fashion of triumph--rifling the temples of his enemies and carrying away the defeated and discredited gods as trophies to his own4 ,the haughty idols are torn from their pedestals and brought head foremost through the temple doors4 ,bel crouches--as men have crouched to ,bel2 ,nebo cowers--a stronger verb than crouches1 but assonant to it1 like cower to crouch4#aja ,their idols have fallen to the beast and to the cattle4 ,beast1 that is1 tamed beast1 perhaps elephants in contrast to cattle1 or domestic animals4#ajb ,the things with which ye burdened yourselves1 carrying them shoulder high in religious processions1 are things laden1 mere baggage-bales1 a burden for a hack1 or jade4 ,the nouns are mostly feminine--the ,hebrew neuter--in order to heighten the dead-weight impression of the idols4 ,so many baggage-bales for beasts' backs--such are your gods1 ,o ,babylonians6 ,they cower1 they crouch together 7fall limp is the idea1 like corpses72 neither are they able to recover the burden1 and themselves6--literally their soul1 any real soul of deity that ever was in them--into captivity are they gone4 ,this never happened4 ,cyrus entered ,babylon not in spite of the native gods1 but under their patronage1 and was careful to do homage to them4 ,nabunahid1 the king of ,babylon1 whom he supplanted1 had vexed the priests of ,bel or ,merodach2 and these priests had been among the many conspirators in favour of the ,persian4 ,so far1 then1 from banishing the idols1 upon his entry into the city1 ,cyrus had himself proclaimed as the servant of ,merodach1 restored to their own cities the idols that ,nabunahid had brought to ,babylon1 and prayed1 ,in the goodness of their hearts may all the gods whom ,i have brought into their strong places daily intercede before ,bel and ,nebo1 that they should grant me length of days4 ,may they bless my projects with prosperity1 and may they say to ,merodach1 my lord1 that ,cyrus the king1 thy worshipper1 and ,kambyses1 his son 7deserve thy favour74#ajc ,are we1 then1 because the idols were not taken into captivity1 as our prophet pictures1 to begin to believe in him less8 ,we shall be guilty of that error1 only when we cease to disallow to a prophet of ,god what we do allow to any other writer1 and praise him when he employs it to bring home a moral truth--the use of his imagination4 ,what if these idols never were packed off by ,cyrus1 as our prophet here paints for us8 ,it still remains true that1 standing where they did1 or carried away1 as they may have been later on1 by conquerors1 who were monotheists indeed1 they were still mere ballast1 so much dead-weight for weary beasts4 ,now1 over against this kind of religion1 which may be reduced to so many pounds avoirdupois1 the prophet sees in contrast the ,god of ,israel4 ,and it is but natural1 when contrasted with the dead-weight of the idols1 that ,god should reveal ,himself as a living and a lifting ,god3 a strong1 unfailing ,god1 who carries and who saves4 ,hearken unto ,me1 ,o ,house of ,jacob1 and all the remnant of the ,house of ,israel2 burdens from the womb1 things carried from the belly4 ,burdens1 things carried1 are the exact words used of the idols in ver4 #a4 ,even unto old age ,i am ,he1 and unto grey hairs ,i will bear--a grievous word1 used only of great burdens4 ,i have made1 and ,i will carry2 yea1 ,i will bear1 and will recover4 ,then follow some verses in the familiar style4 ,to whom will ye liken ,me1 and match ,me1 and compare ,me1 that we may be like8 ,they who pour gold from a bag1 and silver they measure off with an ellwand--gorgeous1 vulgar ,babylonians6--they hire a smelter1 and he maketh it a god--out of so many ells of silver6--they bow down to it1 yea1 they worship it6 ,they carry him upon the shoulder1 they bear him1--again the grievous word1--to bring him to his station2 and he stands2 from his place he never moves4 ,yea1 one cries unto him1 and he answers not2 from his trouble he doth not save him4 ,remember this1 and show yourselves men--the playing with these gilded toys is so unmanly to the monotheist 7it will be remembered what we said in ch4 iii4 about the exiles feeling that to worship idols was to be less than a man#ajd7--lay it again to heart1 ye transgressors4 ,remember the former things of old3 for ,i am ,god1 ,el1 and there is none else2 ,god1 ,elohim1 and there is none like ,me4 ,publishing from the origin the issue1 and from ancient times things not yet done2 saying1 ,my counsel shall stand1 and all ,my pleasure shall ,i perform2 calling out of the sunrise a ,bird-of-prey1 from the land that is far off the ,man of ,my counsel4 ,yea1 ,i have spoken2 yea1 ,i will bring it in4 ,i have purposed2 yea1 ,i will do it4 ,hearken unto ,me1 ye obdurate of heart--that is1 brave1 strong1 sound1 but too sound to adapt their preconceived notions to ,god's new revelation2--ye that are far from righteousness1 in spite of your sound opinions as to how it ought to come4 ,i have brought near ,my righteousness1 in distinction to yours4 ,it shall not be far off1 like your impossible ideas1 and ,my salvation shall not tarry1 and ,i will set in ,zion salvation1 for ,israel ,my glory4 ,it is evident that from the idolaters ,jehovah has turned again1 in these last verses1 to the pedants in ,israel1 who were opposed to ,cyrus because he was a ,gentile1 and who cherished their own obdurate notions of how salvation and righteousness should come4 ,ah1 their kind of righteousness would never come1 they would always be far from it6 ,let them rather trust to ,jehovah's1 which ,he was rapidly bringing near in ,his own way4 ,such is the prophecy4 ,it starts a truth1 which bursts free from local and temporal associations1 and rushes in strength upon our own day and our own customs4 ,the truth is this3 it makes all the difference to a man how he conceives his religion--whether as something that he has to carry1 or as something that will carry him4 ,we have too many idolatries and idol manufactories among us to linger longer on those ancient ones4 ,this cleavage is permanent in humanity--between the men that are trying to carry their religion1 and the men that are allowing ,god to carry them4 ,now let us see how ,god does carry4 ,god's carriage of man is no mystery4 ,it may be explained without using one theological term2 the ,bible gives us the best expression of it4 ,but it may be explained without a word from the ,bible4 ,it is broad and varied as man's moral experience4 #a4 ,the first requisite for stable and buoyant life is ground1 and the faithfulness of law4 ,what sends us about with erect bodies and quick1 firm step is the sense that the surface of the earth is sure1 that gravitation will not fail1 that our eyes and the touch of our feet and our judgement of distance do not deceive us4 ,now1 what the body needs for its world1 the soul needs for hers4 ,for her carriage and bearing in life the soul requires the assurance1 that the moral laws of the universe are as conscience has interpreted them to her1 and will continue to be as in experience she has found them4 ,to this requisite of the soul--this indispensable condition of moral behaviour--,god gives ,his assurance4 ,i have made1 ,he says1 and ,i will bear4#aje ,these words were in answer to an instinct1 that must have often sprung up in our hearts when we have been struggling for at least moral hope--the instinct which will be all that is sometimes left to a man's soul when unbelief lowers1 and under its blackness a flood of temptations rushes in1 and character and conduct feel impossible to his strength--the instinct that springs from the thought1 ,well1 here ,i am1 not responsible for being here1 but so set by some ,one else1 and the responsibility of the life1 which is too great for me1 is ,his4 ,some such simple faith1 which a man can hardly separate from his existence1 has been the first rally and turning-point in many a life4 ,in the moral drift and sweep he finds bottom there1 and steadies on it1 and gets his face round1 and gathers strength4 ,and ,god's ,word comes to him to tell him that his instinct is sure4 ,yea1 ,i have made1 and ,i will bear4 #b4 ,the most terrible anguish of the heart1 however1 is that it carries something1 which can shake a man off even that ground4 ,the firmest rock is of no use to the paralytic1 or to a man with a broken leg4 ,and the most steadfast moral universe1 and most righteous moral governor1 is no comfort--but rather the reverse--to the man with a bad conscience1 whether that conscience be due to the guilt1 or to the habit1 of sin4 ,conscience whispers1 ,god indeed made thee1 but what if thou hast unmade thyself8 ,god reigns2 the laws of life are righteousness2 creation is guided to peace4 ,but thou art outlaw of this universe1 fallen from ,god of thine own will4 ,thou must bear thine own guilt1 endure thy voluntarily contracted habits4 ,how canst thou believe that ,god1 in this fair world1 would bear thee up1 so useless1 soiled1 and infected a thing8 ,yet here1 according to ,his blessed ,word1 ,god does come down to bear up men4 ,because man's sunkenness and helplessness are so apparent beneath no other burden or billows1 ,god insists that just here ,he is most anxious1 and just here it is ,his glory1 to lift men and bear them upward4 ,some may wonder what guilt is or the conviction of sin1 because they are selfishly or dishonestly tracing the bitterness and unrest of their lives to some other source than their own wicked wills2 but the thing is man's realest burden1 and man's realest burden is what ,god stoops lowest to bear4 ,the grievous word for bear1 sabal1 which we emphasized in the above passage1 is elsewhere in the writings of the ,exile used of the bearing of sins1 or of the result of sins4 ,our fathers have sinned1 and are not1 and we bear their iniquities1#ajf says one of the ,lamentations4 ,and in the fifty-third of ,isaiah it is used twice of the ,servant1 that ,he bore our sorrows1 and that ,he bare their iniquities4#ajg ,here its application to ,god--to such a ,god as we have seen bearing the passion of ,his people's woes--cannot fail to carry with it the associations of these passages4 ,when it is said1 ,god bears1 and this grievous verb is used1 we remember at once that ,he is a ,god1 who does not only set ,his people's sins in the awful light of ,his countenance1 but takes them upon ,his heart4 ,let us learn1 then1 that ,god has made this sin and guilt of ours ,his special care and anguish4 ,we cannot feel it more than ,he does4 ,it is enough3 we may not be able to understand what the sacrifice of ,christ meant to the ,divine justice1 but who can help comprehending from it that in some ,divine way the ,divine love has made our sin its own business and burden1 so that that might be done which we could not do1 and that lifted which we could not bear8 #c4 ,but this gospel of ,god's love bearing our sins is of no use to a man unless it goes with another--that ,god bears him up for victory over temptation and for attainment in holiness4 ,it is said to be a thoroughly ,mohammedan fashion1 that when a believer is tempted past the common he gives way1 and slides into sin with the cry1 ,god is merciful2 meaning that the ,almighty will not be too hard on this poor creature1 who has held out so long4 ,if this be ,mohammedanism1 there is a great deal of ,mohammedanism in modern ,christianity4 ,it is a most perfidious distortion of ,god's will4 ,for this is the will of ,god1 even our sanctification2 and ,god never gives a man pardon but to set him free for effort1 and to constrain him for duty4 ,and here we come to what is the most essential part of ,god's bearing of man4 ,god1 as we have seen1 bears us by giving us ground to walk on4 ,he bears us by lifting those burdens from our hearts that make the firmest ground slippery and impossible to our feet4 ,but ,he bears us best and longest by being the spirit and the soul and the life of our life4 ,every metaphor here falls short of the reality4 ,by inspired men the bearing of ,god has been likened to a father carrying his child1 to an eagle taking her young upon her wings1 to the shepherd with the lamb in his bosom4 ,but no shepherd1 nor mother-bird1 nor human father ever bore as the ,lord bears4 ,for ,he bears from within1 as the soul lifts and bears the body4 ,the ,lord and ,his own are one4 ,to me1 says he who knew it best1 ,to me to live is ,christ4 ,it is1 indeed1 difficult to describe to others what this inward sustainment really is1 seating itself at the centre of a man's life1 and thence affecting vitally every organ of his nature4 ,the strongest human illustration is not sufficient for it4 ,if in the thick of the battle a leader is able to infuse himself into his followers1 so is ,christ4 ,if one man's word has lifted thousands of defeated soldiers to an assault and to a victory1 even so have ,christ's lifted millions3 lifted them above the habit and depression of sin1 above the weakness of the flesh1 above the fear of man1 above danger and death and temptation more dangerous and fatal still4 ,and yet it is not the sight of a visible leader1 though the ,gospels have made that sight imperishable2 it is not the sound of ,another's ,voice1 though that ,voice shall peal to the end of time1 that ,christians only feel4 ,it is something within themselves2 another self--purer1 happier1 victorious4 ,not as a voice or example1 futile enough to the dying1 but as a new soul1 is ,christ in men2 and whether their exhaustion needs creative forces1 or their vices require conquering forces1 ,he gives both1 for ,he is the fountain of life4 #d4 ,but ,god does not carry dead men4 ,his carrying is not mechanical1 but natural2 not from below1 but from within4 ,you dare not be passive in ,god's carriage2 for as in the natural1 so in the moral world1 whatever dies is thrown aside by the upward pressure of life1 to rot and perish4 ,christ showed this over and over again in ,his ministry4 ,those who make no effort--or1 if effort be past1 feel no pain--,god will not stoop to bear4 ,but all in whom there is still a lift and a spring after life3 the quick conscience1 the pain of their poverty1 the hunger and thirst after righteousness1 the sacredness of those in their charge1 the obligation and honour of their daily duty1 some desire for eternal life--these1 however weak1 ,he carries forward to perfection4 ,again1 in ,his bearing ,god bears1 and does not overbear1 using a man1 not as a man uses a stick1 but as a soul uses a body1--informing1 inspiring1 recreating his natural faculties4 ,so many distrust religion1 as if it were to be an overbearing of their originality1 as if it were bound to destroy the individual's peculiar freshness and joy4 ,but ,god is not by grace going to undo ,his work by nature4 ,i have made1 and ,i will bear--will bear what ,i have made4 ,religion intensifies the natural man4 ,and now1 if that be ,god's bearing--the gift of the ground1 and the lifting of the fallen1 and the being a soul and an inspiration of every organ--how wrong those are who1 instead of asking ,god to carry them1 are more anxious about how ,he and ,his religion are to be sustained by their consistency or efforts6 ,to young men1 who have not got a religion1 and are brought face to face with the conventional religion of the day1 the question often presents itself in this way3 ,is this a thing ,i can carry8 or ,how much of it can ,i afford to carry8 ,how much of the tradition of the elders can ,i take upon myself1 and feel that it is not mere dead weight8 ,that is an entirely false attitude4 ,here you are1 weak1 by no means master of yourself2 with a heart wonderfully full of suggestions to evil2 a world before you1 hardest where it is clearest1 seeming most impossible where duty most loudly calls2 yet mainly dark and silent1 needing from us patience oftener than effort1 and trust as much as the exercise of our own cleverness2 with death at last ahead4 ,look at life whole1 and the question you will ask will not be1 ,can ,i carry this faith8 but1 ,can this faith carry me8 ,not1 ,can ,i afford to take up such and such and such opinions8 but1 ,can ,i afford to travel at all without such a ,god8 ,it is not a creed1 but a living and a lifting ,god1 who awaits your decision4 ,at the opposite end of life1 there is another class of men1 who are really doing what young men too often suppose that they must do if they take up a religion1--carrying it1 instead of allowing it to carry them2 men who are in danger of losing their faith in ,god1 through over-anxiety about traditional doctrines concerning ,him4 ,a great deal is being said just now in our country of upholding the great articles of the faith4 ,certainly let us uphold them4 ,but do not let us have in our churches that saddest of all sights1 a mere ecclesiastical procession1--men flourishing doctrines1 but themselves with their manhood remaining unseen4 ,we know the pity of a show1 sometimes seen in countries on the ,continent1 where they have not given over carrying images about4 ,idols and banners and texts will fill a street with their tawdry1 tottering progress1 and you will see nothing human below1 but now and then jostling shoulders and a sweaty face4 ,even so are many of the loud parades of doctrines in our day by men1 who1 in the words of this chapter1 show themselves stout of heart by holding up their religion1 but give us no signs in their character or conduct that their religion is holding up them4 ,let us prize our faith1 not by holding it high1 but by showing how high it can hold us4 ,which is the more inspiring sight1--a banner carried by hands1 that must sooner or later weary2 or the soldier's face1 mantling with the inexhaustible strength of the ,god who lives at his heart and bears him up8 ,,footnotes3 #aja ,crouches1 ,kara2 cowers1 ,kores4 #ajb ,bredenkamp4 #ajc ,sayce1 ,fresh ,light1 etc41 p4 #adj4 #ajd ,see p4 #ci f4 #aje ,there is a play on the words 'an asth1 wa'an1 'ess'--,i have made1 and ,i will aid4 #ajf ,lam4 v4 #g4 #ajg ,ver4 #d1 second clause1 and vii4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,babylon4 ,,isaiah xlvii4 ,throughout the extent of ,bible history1 from ,genesis to ,revelation1 ,one ,city remains1 which in fact and symbol is execrated as the enemy of ,god and the stronghold of evil4 ,in ,genesis we are called to see its foundation1 as of the first city that wandering men established1 and the quick ruin1 which fell upon its impious builders4 ,by the prophets we hear it cursed as the oppressor of ,god's people1 the temptress of the nations1 full of cruelty and wantonness4 ,and in the ,book of ,revelation its character and curse are transferred to ,rome1 and the ,new ,babylon stands over against the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,the tradition and infection1 which have made the name of ,babylon as abhorred in ,scripture as ,satan's own1 are represented as the tradition and infection of pride1--the pride1 which1 in the audacity of youth1 proposes to attempt to be equal with ,god3 ,go to1 let us build us a city and a tower1 whose top may touch heaven1 and let us make us a name2 the pride1 which1 amid the success and wealth of later years1 forgets that there is a ,god at all3 ,thou sayest in thine heart1 ,i am1 and there is none beside me4 ,babylon is the ,atheist of the ,old ,testament1 as she is the ,antichrist of the ,new4 ,that a city should have been originally conceived by ,israel as the arch-enemy of ,god is due to historical causes1 as intelligible as those which led1 in later days1 to the reverse conception of a city as ,god's stronghold1 and the refuge of the weak and the wandering4 ,god's earliest people were shepherds1 plain men dwelling in tents1--desert nomads1 who were never tempted to rear permanent structures of their own except as altars and shrines1 but marched and rested1 waked and slept1 between ,god's bare earth and ,god's high heaven2 whose spirits were chastened and refined by the hunger and clear air of the desert1 and who walked their wide world without jostling or stunting one another4 ,with the dear habits of those early times1 the truths of the ,bible are therefore1 even after ,israel has settled in towns1 spelt to the end in the images of shepherd life4 ,the ,lord is the ,shepherd1 and men are the sheep of ,his pasture4 ,he is a ,rock and a ,strong ,tower1 such as rise here and there in the desert's wildness for guidance or defence4#ajh ,he is rivers of water in a dry place1 and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land4 ,and man's peace is to lie beside still waters1 and his glory is1 not to have built cities1 but to have all these things put under his feet--sheep and oxen and the beasts of the field1 the fowls of the air and the fish of the sea4 ,over against that lowly shepherd life1 the first cities rose1 as we can imagine1 high1 terrible and impious4 ,they were the production of an alien race1#aji a people with no true religion1 as it must have appeared to the ,semites1 arrogant and coarse4 ,but ,babylon had a special curse4 ,babylon was not the earliest city1--,akkad and ,erekh were famous long before1--but it is ,babylon that the ,book of ,genesis represents as overthrown and scattered by the judgement of ,god4 ,what a contrast this picture in ,genesis1--and let it be remembered that the only other cities to which that book leads us are ,sodom and ,gomorrah1--what a contrast it forms to the passages in which classic poets celebrate the beginnings of their great cities6 ,there1 the favourable omens1 the patronage of the gods1 the prophecies of the glories of civil life2 the tracing of the temple and the forum2 visions of the city as the school of industry1 the treasury of wealth1 the home of freedom4 ,here1 but a few rapid notes of scorn and doom3 man's miserable manufacture1 without ,divine impulse or omen2 his attempt to rise to heaven upon that alone1 his motive only to make a name for himself2 and the result--not1 as in ,greek legend1 the foundation of a polity1 the rise of commerce1 the growth of a great language1 by which through the lips of one man the whole city may be swayed together to high purposes1 but only scattering and confusion of speech4 ,to history1 a great city is a multitude of men within reach of one man's voice4 ,athens is ,demosthenes2 ,rome is ,cicero persuading the ,senate2 ,florence is ,savonarola putting by his word one conscience within a thousand hearts4 ,but ,babylon1 from the beginning1 gave its name to ,babel1 confusion of speech1 incapacity for union and for progress4 ,and all this came1 because the builders of the city1 the men who set the temper of its civilisation1 did not begin with ,god1 but in their pride deemed everything possible to unaided and unblessed human ambition1 and had only the desire to make a name upon earth4 ,the sin and the curse never left the generations1 who in turn succeeded those impious builders4 ,pride and godlessness infested the city1 and prepared it for doom1 as soon as it again gathered strength to rise to heaven4 ,the early nomads had watched ,babylon's fall from afar2 but when their descendants were carried as captives within her in the time of her second glory1#aaj they found that the besetting sin1 which had once reared its head so fatally high1 infected the city to her very heart4 ,we need not again go over the extent and glory of ,nebuchadrezzar's architecture1 or the greatness of the traffic1 from the ,levant to ,india1 which his policy had concentrated upon his own wharves and markets4#aaa ,it was stupendous4 ,but neither walls nor wealth make a city1 and no observant man1 with the ,hebrew's faith and conscience1 could have lived those fifty years in the centre of ,babylon1 and especially after ,nebuchadrezzar had passed away1 without perceiving1 that her life was destitute of every principle which ensured union or promised progress4 ,babylon was but a medley of peoples1 without common traditions or a public conscience1 and incapable of acting together4 ,many of her inhabitants had been brought to her1 like the ,jews1 against their own will1 and were ever turning from those glorious battlements they were forced to build in their disgust1 to scan the horizon for the advent of a deliverer4 ,and many others1 who moved in freedom through her busy streets1 and shared her riches and her joys1 were also foreigners1 and bound to her only so long as she ministered to their pleasure or their profit4 ,her king was an usurper1 who had insulted her native gods2 her priesthood was against him4 ,and although his army1 sheltered by the fortifications of ,nebuchadrezzar1 had repulsed ,cyrus upon the ,persian's first invasion from the north1 conspiracies were now so rife among his oppressed and insulted subjects1 that1 on ,cyrus' second invasion1 ,babylon opened her impregnable gates and suffered herself to be taken without a blow4 ,nor1 even if the city's religion had been better served by the king1 could it in the long run have availed for her salvation4 ,for1 in spite of the science with which it was connected1--and this wisdom of the ,chaldeans was contemptible in neither its methods nor its results1--the ,babylonian religion was not one to inspire either the common people with those moral principles1 which form the true stability of states1 or their rulers with a reasonable and consistent policy4 ,babylon's religion was broken up into a multitude of wearisome and distracting details1 whose absurd solemnities1 especially when administered by a priesthood hostile to the executive1 must have hampered every adventure of war1 and rendered futile many opportunities of victory4 ,in fact1 ,babylon1 for all her glory1 could not but be short-lived4 ,there was no moral reason why she should endure4 ,the masses1 who contributed to her building1 were slaves who hated her2 the crowds1 who fed her business1 would stay with her only so long as she was profitable to themselves2 her rulers and her priests had quarrelled2 her religion was a burden1 not an inspiration4 ,yet she sat proud1 and felt herself secure4 ,it is just these features1 which our prophet describes in ch4 xlvii41 in verses more notable for their moral insight and indignation1 than for their beauty as a work of literature4 ,he is certain of ,babylon's immediate fall from power and luxury into slavery and dishonour 7vv4 #a-c74 ,he speaks of her cruelty to her captives 7ver4 #f71 of her haughtiness and her secure pride 7vv4 #g1 #h74 ,he touches twice upon her atheistic self-sufficiency1 her autotheism1--,i am1 and there is none beside me1 words which only ,god can truly use1 but words which man's ignorant1 proud self is ever ready to repeat 7vv4 #h-aj74 ,he speaks of the wearisomeness and futility of her religious magic 7vv4 #aj-ad74 ,and he closes with a vivid touch1 that dissolves the reality of that merely commercial grandeur on which she prides herself4 ,like every association that arises only from the pecuniary profit of its members1 ,babylon shall surely break up1 and none of those1 who sought her for their selfish ends1 shall wait to help her one moment after she has ceased to be profitable to them4 ,here now are his own words1 rendered literally except in the case of one or two conjunctions and articles1--rendered1 too1 in the original order of the words1 and1 as far as it can be determined1 in the rhythm of the original4 ,the rhythm is largely uncertain1 but some verses--#a1 #e1 #ad1 #ae--;are complete in that measure which we found in the ,taunt-song against the king of ,babylon in ch4 xiii41#aab and nearly every line or clause has the same metrical swing upon it4 ,down6 and sit in the dust1 ,o virgin1 ,daughter of ,babel6 ,sit on the ground1 with no throne1 ,daughter of ,khasdm6 ,for not again shall they call thee ,tender and ,dainty4 ,take to thee millstones1 and grind out the meal1 ,put back thy veil1 strip off the garment1 ,make bare the leg1 wade through the rivers2 ,bare be thy nakedness1 yea1 be beholden thy shame6 ,vengeance ,i take1 and strike treaty with none4 ,our ,redeemer6 ,jehovah of ,hosts is ,his ,name1 ,holy of ,israel6 ,sit thou dumb1 and get into darkness1 ,daughter of ,khasdm6 ,for not again shall they call thee ,mistress of ,kingdoms4 ,i was wroth with ,my people1 profaned ,mine inheritance1 ,gave them to thy hand3 ,thou didst show them no mercy1 on old men thou madest ,thy yoke very sore4 ,and thou saidst1 ,for ever ,i shall be mistress1 ,till thou hast set not these things to thy heart1 ,nor thought of their issue4 ,therefore now hear this1 ,voluptuous1 ,sitting self-confident3 ,thou1 who saith in her heart1 ,i am3 there is none else4 ,i shall not sit a widow1 nor know want of children4 ,surely shall come to thee both of these1 sudden1 the same day1 ,childlessness1 widowhood6 ,to their full come upon thee1 spite of the mass of thy spells1 ,spite of the wealth of thy charms--to the full6 ,and thou wast bold in thine evil2 thou saidst1 ,none doth see me4 ,thy wisdom and knowledge--they have led thee astray1 ,till thou hast said in thine heart1 ,i am3 there is none else4 ,yet there shall come on thee ,evil1 ,thou know'st not to charm it4 ,and there shall fall on thee ,havoc1 ,thou canst not avert it4 ,and there shall come on thee suddenly1 ,unawares1 ,ruin4 ,stand forth1 ,i pray1 with thy charms1 with the wealth of thy spells-- ,with which thou hast wearied thyself from thy youth up-- ,if so thou be able to profit1 ,if so to strike terror6 ,thou art sick with the mass of thy counsels3 ,let them stand up and save thee-- ,mappers of heaven1 ,planet-observers1 ,tellers at new moons-- ,from what must befall thee6 ,behold1 they are grown like the straw6 ,fire hath consumed them2 ,nay1 they save not their life ,from the hand of the flame6 --',tis no fuel for warmth1 ,fire to sit down at6-- ,thus are they grown to thee1 they who did weary thee1 ,traders of thine from thy youth up2 ,each as he could pass have they fled2 ,none is thy saviour6 ,we1 who remember ,isaiah's elegies on ,egypt and ,tyre1#aac shall be most struck here by the absence of all appreciation of greatness or of beauty about ,babylon4 ,even while prophesying for ,tyre as certain a judgement as our prophet here predicts for ,babylon1 ,isaiah spoke as if the ruin of so much enterprise and wealth were a desecration1 and he promised that the native strength of ,tyre1 humbled and purified1 would rise again to become the handmaid of religion4 ,but our prophet sees no saving virtue whatever in ,babylon1 and gives her not the slightest promise of a future4 ,there is pity through his scorn3 the way in which he speaks of the futility of the mass of ,babylonian science2 the way in which he speaks of her ignorance1 though served by hosts of counsellors2 the way in which1 after recalling her countless partners in traffic1 he describes their headlong flight1 and closes with the words1 ,none is thy saviour1--all this is most pathetic4 ,but upon none of his lines is there one touch of awe or admiration or regret for the fall of what is great4 ,to him ,babylon is wholly false1 vain1 destitute--as ,tyre was not destitute--of native vigour and saving virtue4 ,babylon is sheer pretence and futility4 ,therefore his scorn and condemnation are thorough2 and mocking laughter breaks from him1 now with an almost savage coarseness1 as he pictures the dishonour of the virgin who was no virgin--,bare thy nakedness1 yea1 be beholden thy shame2 and now in roguish glee1 as he interjects about the fire which shall destroy the mass of ,babylon's magicians1 astrologers and haruspices3 ,no coal this to warm oneself at1 fire to sit down before4 ,but withal we are not allowed to forget1 that it is one of the ,tyrant's poor captives1 who thus judges and scorns her4 ,how vividly from the midst of his satire does the prisoner's sigh break forth to ,god3-- ,our ,redeemer6 ,jehovah of ,hosts is ,his ,name1 ,holy of ,israel6 ,not the least interesting feature of this taunt-song is the expression which it gives to the characteristic ,hebrew sense of the wearisomeness and immorality of that system of divination1 which formed the mass of the ,babylonian and many other ,gentile religions4 ,the worship of ,jehovah had very much in common with the rest of the ,semitic cults4 ,its ritual1 its temple-furniture1 the division of its sacred year1 its terminology1 and even many of its titles for the ,deity and ,his relations to men1 may be matched in the worship of ,phnician1 ,syrian and ,babylonian gods1 or in the ruder ,arabian cults4 ,but in one thing the law of ,jehovah stands by itself1 and that is in its intolerance of all augury and divination4 ,it owed this distinction to the unique moral and practical sense which inspired it4 ,augury and divination1 such as the ,chaldeans were most proficient in1 exerted two most evil influences4 ,they hampered1 sometimes paralysed1 the industry and politics of a nation1 and they more or less confounded the moral sense of a people4 ,they were1 therefore1 utterly out of harmony with the practical sanity and ,divine morality of the ,jewish law1 which strenuously forbade them2 while the prophets1 who were practical men as well as preachers of righteousness1 constantly exposed the fatigue they laid upon public life1 and the way they distracted attention from the simple moral issues of conduct4 ,augury and divination wearied a people's intellect1 stunted their enterprise1 distorted their conscience4 ,thy spells1--the mass of thy charms1 with which thou hast wearied thyself from thy youth4 ,thou art sick with the mass of thy counsels4 ,thy wisdom and thy knowledge6 they have led thee astray4 ,when the ,chaldean astrology found its way to the ,new ,babylon1 ,juvenal's strong conscience expressed the same sense of its wearisomeness and waste of time4#aad ,ashes and ruins1 a servile and squalid life1 a desolate site abandoned by commerce1--what the prophet predicted1 that did imperial ,babylon become4 ,not1 indeed1 at the hand of ,cyrus1 or of any other single invader2 but gradually by the rivalry of healthier peoples1 by the inevitable working of the poison at her heart1 ,babylon1 though situated in the most fertile and central part of ,god's earth1 fell into irredeemable decay4 ,do not let us1 however1 choke our interest in this prophecy1 as so many students of prophecy do1 in the ruins and dust1 which were its primary fulfilment4 ,the shell of ,babylon1 the gorgeous city which rose by ,euphrates1 has indeed sunk into heaps2 but ,babylon herself is not dead4 ,babylon never dies4 ,to the conscience of ,christ's seer1 this mother of harlots1 though dead and desert in the ,east1 came to life again in the ,west4 ,to the city of ,rome1 in his day1 ,john transferred word by word the phrases of our prophet and of the prophet who wrote the fifty-first chapter of the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,rome was ,babylon1 in so far as ,romans were filled with cruelty1 with arrogance1 with trust in riches1 with credulity in divination1 with that waste of mental and moral power which ,juvenal exposed in her4 ,i sit a queen1 ,john heard ,rome say in her heart1 and am no widow1 and shall in no wise see mourning4 ,therefore in one day shall her plagues come1 death and mourning and famine1 and she shall be utterly burned with fire1 for strong is the ,lord ,god which judged her4#aae ,but we are not to leave the matter even here3 we are to use that freedom with ,john1 which ,john uses with our prophet4 ,we are to pass by the particular fulfilment of his words1 in which he and his day were interested1 because it can only have a historical and secondary interest to us in face of other ,babylons in our own day1 with which our consciences1 if they are quick1 ought to be busy4 ,why do some honest people continue to confine the reference of those chapters in the ,book of ,revelation to the city and church of ,rome8 ,it is quite true1 that ,john meant the ,rome of his day2 it is quite true1 that many features of his ,babylon may be traced upon the successor of the ,roman ,empire1 the ,roman ,church4 ,but what is that to us1 with incarnations of the ,babylonian spirit so much nearer ourselves for infection and danger1 than the ,church of ,rome can ever be4 ,john's description1 based upon our prophet's1 suits better a commercial1 than an ecclesiastical state1--though self-worship has been as rife in ecclesiasticism1 ,roman or ,reformed1 as among the votaries of ,mammon4 ,for every phrase of ,john's1 that may be true of the ,church of ,rome in certain ages1 there are six apt descriptions of the centres of our own ,british civilisation1 and of the selfish1 atheistic tempers that prevail in them4 ,let us ask what are the ,babylonian tempers and let us touch our own consciences with them4 ,forgetfulness of ,god1 cruelty1 vanity of knowledge 7which so easily breeds credulity7 and vanity of wealth1--but the parent of them all is idolatry of self4 ,isaiah told us about this in the ,assyrian with his war2 we see it here in ,babylon with her commerce and her science2 it was exposed even in the orthodox ,jews1#aaf for they put their own prejudices before their ,god's revelation2 and it is perhaps as evident in the ,christian ,church as anywhere else4 ,for selfishness follows a man like his shadow2 and religion1 like the sun1 the stronger it shines1 only makes the shadow more apparent4 ,but to worship your shadow is to turn your back on the sun2 selfishness is atheism1 says our prophet4 ,man's self takes ,god's word about ,himself and says1 ,i am1 and there is none beside me4 ,and he1 who forgets ,god1 is sure also to forget his brother2 thus self-worship leads to cruelty4 ,a heavy part of the charge against ,babylon is her treatment of the ,lord's own people4 ,these were ,god's convicts1 and she1 for the time1 ,god's minister of justice4 ,but she unnecessarily and cruelly oppressed them4 ,on the aged thou hast very heavily laid thy yoke4 ,god's people were given to her to be reformed1 but she sought to crush the life out of them4 ,god's purpose was upon them1 but she used them for her aggrandisement4 ,she did not feel that she was responsible to ,god for her treatment even of the most guilty and contemptible of her subjects4 ,in all this ,babylon acted in accordance with what was the prevailing spirit of antiquity2 and here we may safely affirm that our ,christian civilisation has at least a superior conscience4 ,the modern world does recognise1 in some measure1 its responsibility to ,god for the care even of its vilest and most forfeit lives4 ,no ,christian state at the present day would1 for instance1 allow its felons to be tortured or outraged against their will in the interests either of science or of public amusement4 ,we do not vivisect our murderers nor kill them off by gladiatorial combats4 ,our statutes do not get rid of worthless or forfeit lives by condemning them to be used up in dangerous labours of public necessity4 ,on the contrary1 in prisons we treat our criminals with decency and even with comfort1 and outside prisons we protect and cherish even the most tainted and guilty lives4 ,in all our discharge of ,god's justice1 we take care that the inevitable errors of our human fallibility may fall on mercy's side4 ,now it is true that in the practice of all this we often fail1 and are inconsistent4 ,the point at present is that we have at least a conscience about the matter4 ,we do not say1 like ,babylon1 ,i am1 and there is none beside me4 ,there is no law higher than my own will and desire4 ,i can1 therefore1 use whatever through its crime or its uselessness falls into my power1 for the increase of my wealth or the satisfaction of my passions4 ,we remember ,god1 and that even the criminal and the useless are ,his4 ,in wielding the power which ,his ,law and ,providence put into our hands towards many of ,his creatures1 we remember that we are administering ,his justice1 and not satisfying our own revenge1 or feeding our own desire for sensation1 or experimenting for the sake of our science4 ,they are ,his convicts1 not our spoil4 ,in our treatment of them we are subject to ,his laws1--one of which1 that fences even ,his justice1 is the law against cruelty2 and another1 for which ,his justice leaves room1 is that to every man there be granted1 with his due penalty1 the opportunity of penitence and reform4 ,there are among us ,positivists1 who deny that these opinions and practices of modern civilisation are correct4 ,carrying out the essential atheism of their school--,i am man1 and there is none else3 that in the discharge of justice and the discharge of charity men are responsible only to themselves--they dare to recommend that the victims of justice should be made the experiments1 however painful1 of science1 and that charity should be refused to the corrupt and the useless4 ,but all this is simply reversion to the ,babylonian type1 and the ,babylonian type is doomed to decay4 ,for history has writ no surer law upon itself than this--that cruelty is the infallible precursor of ruin4 ,but while speaking of the state1 we should remember individual responsibilities as well4 ,success1 even where it is the righteous success of character1 is a most subtle breeder of cruelty4 ,the best of us need most strongly to guard ourselves against censoriousness4 ,if ,god does put the characters of sinful men and women into our keeping1 let us remember that our right of judging them1 our right of punishing them1 our right even of talking about them1 is strictly limited4 ,religious people too easily forget this1 and their cruel censoriousness or selfish gossip warns us that to be a member of the ,church of ,christ does not always mean that a man's citizenship is in heaven2 he may well be a ,babylonian and carry the freedom of that city upon his face4 ,to be hard on those who are down is ,babylonian2 to make material out of our neighbours' faults1 for our pride1 or for love of gossip1 or for prurience1 is ,babylonian4 ,there is one very good practical rule to keep us safe4 ,we may allow ourselves to speak about our erring brothers to men1 just as much as we pray for them to ,god4 ,but if we pray much for a man1 he will surely become too sacred to be made the amusement of society or the food of our curiosity or of our pride4 ,the last curse on ,babylon reminds us of the fatal looseness of a society that is built only upon the interests of trade2 of the loneliness and uselessness that await1 in the end1 all lives1 which keep themselves alive simply by trafficking with men4 ,if we feed life only by the news of the markets1 by the interest of traffic1 by the excitement of competition1 by the fever of speculation1 by the passions of cupidity and pride1 we may feel healthy and powerful for a time4 ,but such a life1 which is merely a being kept brisk by the sense of gaining something or overreaching some one1 is the mere semblance of living2 and when the inevitable end comes1 when they that have trafficked with us from our youth depart1 then each particle of strength with which they fed us shall be withdrawn1 and we shall fall into decay4 ,there never was a truer picture of the quick ruin of a merely commercial community1 or of the ultimate loneliness of a mercenary and selfish life1 than the headlong rush of traders1 each as he could find passage1 from the city that never had other attractions even for her own citizens than those of gain or of pleasure4 ,,footnotes3 #ajh ,cf4 ,doughty1 ,arabia ,deserta4 #aji ,the ,turanians1 who occupied ,mesopotamia before the ,semitic invasion1 were the first builders of cities4 #aaj ,babylon1 as far as we can learn1 first rose to power about the time of that ,amraphel who fought in the ,mesopotamian league against the neighbours and friends of ,abraham4 ,amraphel is supposed to have been the father of ,hammurabis1 who first made ,babylon the capital of ,chaldea4 ,it scarcely ever again ceased to be such2 but it was not till the fall of ,assyria1 about #fbe ,b4,c41 and the rebuilding of ,babylon by ,nebuchadrezzar 7#fjd-efa71 that the city's second and greatest glory began4 #aaa ,see ch4 iv41 pp4 #ec-ef4 #aab ,vol4 i41 pp4 #dji-cae4 #aac ,vol4 i41 pp4 #bge1 #bhf1 #bid4 #aad ,see especially ,satires ,,iii4 and ,,vi41 and cf4 ,bagehot's ,physics and ,politics4 #aae ,rev4 xvii41 xviii4 #aaf ,ch4 xlv4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,call ,,to ,,go ,,forth4 ,,isaiah xlviii4 ,on the substance of ch4 xlviii4 we have already encroached1 and now it is necessary only to summarise its argument1 and to give some attention to the call to go forth from ,babylon1 with which it concludes4 ,chapter xlviii4 is addressed1 as its first verse declares1 to the exiles from ,judah#aag3 ,hear this1 ,oh ,house of ,jacob1 that call yourselves by the name of ,israel1 and from the waters of ,judah have come forth3 that is1 you so-called ,israelites1 who spring from ,judah4 ,but their worship of ,jehovah is only nominal and unreal3 ,they who swear by the name of ,jehovah1 and celebrate the ,god of ,israel1 not in truth and not in righteousness2 although by the ,holy ,city they name themselves1 and upon the ,god of ,israel they lean--,jehovah of ,hosts is ,his ,name6 ,the former things ,i published long ago2#aah from ,my mouth they went forth1 and ,i let them be heard--suddenly ,i did them1 and they came to pass4 ,because ,i knew how hard thou wert1 and a sinew of iron thy neck1 and thy brow brass4 ,and ,i published to thee long ago2 before it came to pass ,i let thee hear it1 lest thou shouldest say3 ,mine idol hath wrought them1 and my ,image and my ,casting hath commanded them4 ,thou didst hear it3 look at it whole1--now that it is fulfilled1--and you6 should ye not publish it8 ,all the past lies as a unity1 prediction and fulfilment together complete2 all of it the doing of ,jehovah1 and surely enough of it to provide the text of confession of ,him by ,his people4 ,but now1-- ,i let thee hear new things--in contrast with the former things--from now1 and hidden things1 and thou knewest them not4 ,now are they created1 and not long ago2 and before to-day thou hadst not heard them1 lest thou shouldest say1 ,behold ,i knew them4 ,verily1#aai thou hadst not heard1 verily1 thou hadst not known1 verily1 long since thine ear was not open2 because ,i knew thou art thoroughly treacherous1 and ,transgressor-from-the-womb do they call thee4 ,the meaning of all this is sufficiently clear4 ,it is a reproach addressed to the formal ,israelites4 ,it divides into two parts1 each containing an explanation ,because ,i knew that1 etc43 vv4 #c-f;a1 and vv4 #f;b-#i4 ,in the first part ,jehovah treats of history already finished1 both in its prediction and fulfilment4 ,many of the wonderful things of old ,jehovah predicted long before they happened1 and so left ,his stubborn people no excuse for an idolatry to which otherwise they would have given themselves 7ver4 #e74 ,now that they see that wonderful past complete1 and all the predictions fulfilled1 they may well publish ,jehovah's renown to the world4 ,in the first part of ,his reproach1 then1 ,jehovah is dealing with stages of ,israel's history that were closed before the ,exile4 ,the former things are wonderful events1 foretold and come to pass before the present generation4 ,but in the second part of ,his reproach 7vv4 #f;b-#i7 ,jehovah mentions new things4 ,these new things are being created while ,his prophet speaks1 and they have not been foretold 7in contradistinction to the former things of ver4 #c74 ,what events fulfil these two conditions8 ,well1 ,cyrus was on his way1 the destruction of ,babylon was imminent1 ,israel's new destiny was beginning to shape itself under ,god's hands3 these are evidently the things that are in process of creation while the prophet speaks4 ,but could it also be said of them1 that they had not been foretold8 ,this could be said1 at least1 of ,cyrus1 the ,gentile ,messiah4 ,a ,gentile ,messiah was something so new to ,israel1 that many1 clinging to the letter of the old prophecies1 denied1 as we have seen1 that ,cyrus could possibly be ,god's instrument for the redemption of ,israel4 ,cyrus1 then1 as a ,gentile1 and at the same time the ,anointed of ,jehovah1 is the new thing which is being created while the prophet speaks1 and which has not been announced beforehand4 ,how is it possible1 some may now ask1 that ,cyrus should be one of the unpredicted new things that are happening while the prophet speaks1 when the prophet has already pointed to ,cyrus and his advance on ,babylon as a fulfilment of ancient predictions8 ,the answer to this question is very simple4 ,there were ancient predictions of a deliverance and a deliverer from ,babylon4 ,to name no more1 there were ,jeremiah's#abj and ,habakkuk's2 and ,cyrus1 in so far as he accomplished the deliverance1 was the fulfilment of these ancient r'ishonth4 ,but in so far as ,cyrus sprang from a quarter of the world1 not hinted at in former prophecies of ,jehovah--in so far as he was a ,gentile and yet the ,anointed of the ,lord1 a combination not provided for by any tradition in ,israel--,cyrus and his career were the new things not predicted beforehand1 the new things which caused such offence to certain tradition-bound parties in ,israel4 ,we cannot overestimate the importance of this passage4 ,it supplies us with the solution of the problem1 how the presently-happening deliverance of ,israel from ,babylon could be both a thing foretold from long ago1 and yet so new as to surprise those ,israelites who were most devoted to the ancient prophecies4 ,and at the same time such of us as are content to follow our prophet's own evidence1 and to place him in the ,exile1 have an answer put into our mouths1 to render to those1 who say that we destroy a proof of the ,divinity of prophecy by denying to ,isaiah or to any other prophet1 so long before ,cyrus was born1 the mention of ,cyrus by name4 ,let such objectors1 who imagine that they are more careful of the honour of ,god and of the ,divinity of ,scripture1 because they maintain that ,cyrus was named two hundred years before he was born1 look at verse #g4 ,there ,god ,himself says1 that there are some things1 which1 for a very good reason1 ,he does not foretell before they come to pass4 ,we believe1 and have shown strong grounds for believing1 that the selection of ,cyrus1 the mention of his name1 and the furtherance of his arms against ,babylon1 were among those new things1 which ,god says ,he purposely did not reveal till the day of their happening1 and which1 by their novel and unpredicted character1 offended so many of the traditional and stupid party in ,israel4 ,must there always be among ,god's people1 to-day as in the day of our prophet1 some who cannot conceive a thing to be ,divine unless it has been predicted long before8 ,in vv4 #c-h1 then1 ,god claims to have changed ,his treatment of ,his people1 in order to meet and to prevent the various faults of their character4 ,some things ,he told to them1 long before1 so that they might not attribute the occurrence of these to their idols4 ,but other things ,he sprang upon them1 without predictions1 and in an altogether novel shape1 so that they might not say of these things1 in their familiarity with them1 ,we knew of them ourselves4 ,a people who were at one time so stubborn1 and at another so slippery1 were evidently a people who deserved nothing at ,god's hand4 ,yet ,he goes on to say1 vv4 #i-aa1 that ,he will treat them with forbearance1 if not for their sake1 yet for ,his own3 ,for the sake of ,my ,name ,i defer ,mine anger1 and for ,my praise--or renown1 or reputation1 as we would say of a man--,i will refrain for thee1 that ,i cut thee not off4 ,behold ,i have smelted thee1 but not as silver3 ,i have tested thee in the furnace of affliction4 ,for ,mine own sake1 for ,mine own sake1 ,i am working2--for how was ,my ,name being profaned6#aba--;and ,my glory to another ,i will not give4 ,then he gathers up the sum of what ,he has been saying in a final appeal4 ,hearken unto ,me1 ,o ,jacob1 and ,israel ,my ,called3 ,i am ,he2 ,i am ,first1 yea1 ,i am ,last4 ,yea1 ,my hand hath founded ,earth1#abb and ,my right hand hath spread ,heaven2 when ,i call unto them they stand together4 ,be gathered1 all of you1 and hearken1 ,who among them--that is1 the ,gentiles--hath published these things8--that is1 such things as the following1 the prophecy given in the next clause of the verse3 ,whom ,jehovah loveth shall perform ,his pleasure on ,babylon1 and his arm shall be on the ,chaldeans4 ,this was the sum of what ,jehovah promised long ago2#abc not ,cyrus' name1 not that a ,gentile1 a ,persian1 should deliver ,god's people1 for these are among the new things which were not published beforehand1 at which the traditional ,israelites were offended1--but this general fiat of ,god's sovereignty1 that whomever ,jehovah loves1 or likes1 he shall perform ,his pleasure on ,babylon4 ,i1 even ,i1 have spoken--this1 in ver4 #ad;b1 was ,my speaking4 ,yea1 ,i have called him2 ,i have brought him1 and he will make his way to prosper4 ,again emphasize the change of tense4 ,cyrus is already called1 but1 while the prophet speaks1 he has not yet reached his goal in the capture of ,babylon4 ,some ambassador from the ,lord1 whether the prophet or the ,servant of ,jehovah1 now takes up the parable1 and1 after presenting himself1 addresses a final exhortation to ,israel1 summing up the moral meaning of the ,exile4 ,draw near to me1 hear this2 not from aforetime in secret have ,i spoken2 from the time that it was1 there am ,i3 and now my ,lord1 ,jehovah1 hath sent me with ,his ,spirit4#abd ,thus saith ,jehovah1 thy ,redeemer1 ,holy of ,israel1 ,i am ,jehovah thy ,god1 thy ,teacher to profit1 thy ,guide in the way thou shouldest go3 ,would that thou hadst hearkened to ,my commandments1 then were like the ,river thy peace1 and thy righteousness like the waves of the sea6 ,then were like the sand thy seed1 and the offspring of thy bowels like its grains6#abe ,he shall not be cut off1 nor shall perish his name from before ,me4 ,and now at last it is time to be up4 ,our salvation is nearer than when first we believed4 ,day has dawned1 the gates are opening1 the ,word has been sufficiently spoken4 ,go forth from ,babel1 fly from the ,chaldeans2 ,with a ringing voice publish and let this be heard1 ,send ye it out to the end of the earth1 ,say1 ,redeemed hath ,jehovah ,his ,servant ,jacob4 ,and they thirsted not in the deserts ,he caused them to walk2 ,waters from a rock ,he let drop for them1 ,clave a rock and there flowed forth waters6 ,no peace1 saith ,jehovah1 for the wicked4 ,we have arrived at the most distinct stage of which our prophecy gives trace4 ,not that a new start is made with the next passage4 ,ch4 xlix4 is the answer of the ,servant himself to the appeal made to him in xlviii4 #bj2 and ch4 xlix4 does not introduce the ,servant for the first time1 but simply carries further the substance of the opening verses of ch4 xlii4 ,nor is this urgent appeal to ,go forth from ,babylon1 which has come to ,israel1 the only one1 or the last1 of its kind4 ,it is renewed in ch4 lii4 #aa-ab4 ,so that we cannot think that our prophet has even yet got the ,fall of ,babylon behind him4 ,nevertheless1 the end of ch4 xlviii4 is the end of the first and chief stage of the prophecy4 ,the fundamental truths about ,god and salvation have been laid down2 the idols have been thoroughly exposed2 ,cyrus has been explained2 ,babylon is practically done with4 ,neither ,babylon1 nor ,cyrus1 nor1 except for a moment1 the idols1 are mentioned in the rest of the prophecy4 ,the ,deliverance of ,israel is certain4 ,and what now interests the prophet is first1 how the ,holy ,nation will accomplish the destiny for which it has been set free1 and next1 how the ,holy ,city shall be prepared for the ,nation to inhabit4 ,these are the two themes of chs4 xlix4 to lxvi4 ,the latter of them1 the ,restoration of ,jerusalem1 has scarcely been touched by our prophet as yet4 ,but he has already spoken much of the ,nation's ,destiny as the ,servant of the ,lord2 and now that we have exhausted the subject of the deliverance from ,babylon1 we will take up his prophecies on the ,servant1 both those which we have passed over in chs4 xl4-xlviii4 and those which still lie ahead of us4 ,before we do this1 however1 let us devote a chapter to a study of our prophet's use of the word righteousness1 for which this seems to be as convenient a place as any other4 ,,footnotes3 #aag ,bredenkamp will have it1 that the prophet here mentions first ,northern ,israel and then ,judah3 ,o ,house of ,jacob1 the general term1 both those that are called by the name of ,israel1 and that have come forth from the waters of ,judah4 ,but this is entirely opposed to the syntax1 and ,i note the opinion simply to show how precarious the arguments are for the existence of pre-exilic elements in ,isa4 xl4-xlviii4 ,the point1 which ,bredenkamp makes by his rendering of this verse1 is that it could only be a pre-exilic prophet1 who would distinguish between ,judah and ,northern ,israel2 and that1 therefore1 it might be ,isaiah himself who wrote the verse6 #aah ,former things 7ri'shonth74 ,it is impossible to determine whether these mean predictions which ,jehovah published long ago1 and which have already come to pass1 or former events which ,he foretold long ago1 and which have happened as ,he said they would4 ,the distinction1 however1 is immaterial4 #aai ,literally1 also4 ,but 1 a cumulative conjunction1 when it is introduced to repeat the same thought as preceded it1 means yea1 truly1 profecto1 imo4 #abj ,ch4 xxv41 which is undoubtedly an authentic prophecy of ,jeremiah4 #aba ,the ,hebrew has not the words ,my ,name4 ,the ,,lxx4 has them4 #abb ,a second time without article though applied to the whole world4 #abc ,giesebrecht takes this as an actual quotation from some former prophet3 a specimen of the ancient prophecies which ,jehovah sent to ,israel1 and which were now being fulfilled4 ,at least it is the sum of what ,jehovah's prophets had often predicted4 #abd ,this very difficult verse has been attributed either to ,jehovah in the first three clauses and to the ,servant in the fourth 7,delitzsch72 or in the same proportion to ,jehovah and the prophet 7,cheyne and ,bredenkamp72 or to the ,servant all through 7,orelli72 or to the prophet all through 7,hitzig1 ,knobel1 ,giesebrecht4 ,see the latter's ,beitrge zur ,kritik ,jesaia's1 p4 #acf74 ,it is a subtle matter4 ,the present expositor thinks it clear that all four clauses must be understood as the voice of one speaker1 but sees nothing in them to decide finally whether that speaker is the ,servant1 the people ,israel1 in which case ,i am there would have reference to ,israel's consciousness of every deed done by ,god since the beginning of their history 7cf4 ver4 #f;a72 or whether the speaker is the prophet1 in which case ,i am there would mean that he had watched the rise of ,cyrus from the first4 ,but cf4 ,zech4 ii4 #aj-aa1 ,eng4 ,ver41 and iv4 #i4 #abe ,or like its bowels1 referring to the sea4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,israel ,,and ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,god4 ,,isaiah xl4-lxvi4 ,in the chapters which we have been studying we have found some difficulty with one of our prophet's keynotes--right or righteousness4 ,in the chapters to come we shall find this difficulty increase1 unless we take some trouble now to define how much the word denotes in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 ,there is no part of ,scripture1 in which the term righteousness suffers so many developments of meaning4 ,to leave these vague1 as readers usually do1 or to fasten upon one and all the technical meaning of righteousness in ,christian theology1 is not only to obscure the historical reference and moral force of single passages1--it is to miss one of the main arguments of the prophecy4 ,we have read enough to see that righteousness was the great question of the ,exile4 ,but what was brought into question was not only the righteousness of the people1 but the righteousness of their ,god4 ,in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 righteousness is more often claimed as a ,divine attribute1 than enforced as a human duty or ideal4#abf ,i4 ,,righteousness4 ,ssedheq1 the ,hebrew root for righteousness1 had1 like the ,latin rectus1 in its earliest and now almost forgotten uses1 a physical meaning4 ,this may have been either straightness1 or more probably soundness1--the state in which a thing is all right4#abg ,paths of righteousness1 in ,psalm xxiii41 ver4 #d1 are not necessarily straight paths1 but rather sure1 genuine1 safe paths4#abh ,like all physical metaphors1 like our own words straight and right1 the applicability of the term to moral conduct was exceedingly elastic4 ,it has been attempted to gather most of its meaning under the definition of conformity to norm2#abi and so many are the instances in which the word has a forensic force1#acj as of vindication or justification1 that some have claimed this for its original1 or1 at least1 its governing sense4 ,but it is improbable that either of these definitions conveys the simplest or most general sense of the word4 ,even if conformity or justification were ever the prevailing sense of ssedheq1 there are a number of instances in which its meaning far overflows the limits of such definitions4 ,every one can see how a word1 which may generally be used to express an abstract idea1 like conformity1 or a formal relation towards a law or person1 like justification1 might come to be applied to the actual virtues1 which realise that idea or lift a character into that relation4 ,thus righteousness might mean justice1 or truth1 or almsgiving1 or religious obedience1--to each of which1 in fact1 the ,hebrew word was at various times specially applied4 ,or righteousness might mean virtue in general1 virtue apart from all consideration of law or duty whatsoever4 ,in the prophet ,amos1 for instance1 righteousness is applied to a goodness so natural and spontaneous that no one could think of it for a moment as conformity to norm or fulfilment of law4#aca ,in short1 it is impossible to give a definition of the ,hebrew word1 which our version renders as righteousness1 less wide than our ,english word right4 ,righteousness is right in all its senses1--natural1 legal1 personal1 religious4 ,it is to be all right1 to be right-hearted1 to be consistent1 to be thorough2 but also to be in the right1 to be justified1 to be vindicated2 and1 in particular1 it may mean to be humane 7as with ,amos71 to be just 7as with ,isaiah71 to be correct or true to fact 7as sometimes with our own prophet71 to fulfil the ordinances of religion1 and especially the command about almsgiving 7as with the later ,jews74 ,let us now keep in mind that righteousness could express a relation1 or a general quality of character1 or some particular virtue4 ,for we shall find traces of all these meanings in our prophet's application of the term to ,israel and to ,god4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,israel4 ,one of the simplest forms of the use of righteousness in the ,old ,testament is when it is employed in the case of ordinary quarrels between two persons2 in which for one of them to be righteous means to be right or in the right4#acb ,now to the ,hebrew all life and religion was based upon covenants between two1--between man and man and between man and ,god4 ,righteousness meant fidelity to the terms of those covenants4 ,the positive contents of the word in any single instance of its use would1 therefore1 depend on the faithfulness and delicacy of conscience by which those terms were interpreted4 ,in early ,israel this conscience was not so keen as it afterwards came to be1 and accordingly ,israel's sense of their righteousness towards ,god was1 to begin with1 a comparatively shallow one4 ,when a ,psalmist asseverates his righteousness and pleads it as the ground for ,god rewarding him1 it is plain that he is able with sincerity to make a claim1 so repellent to a ,christian's feeling1 just because he has not anything like a ,christian's conscience of what ,god demands from man4 ,as ,calvin says on ,psalm xviii41 ver4 #bj1 ,david here represents ,god as the ,president of an athletic contest1 who had chosen him as one of ,his champions1 and ,david knows that so long as he keeps to the rules of the contest1 so long will ,god defend him4 ,it is evident that in such an assertion righteousness cannot mean perfect innocence1 but simply the good conscience of a man1 who1 with simple ideas of what is demanded from him1 feels that on the whole he has 7slightly to paraphrase ,calvin7 played fair4 ,two things1 almost simultaneously1 shook ,israel out of this primitive and nave self-righteousness4 ,history went against them1 and the prophets quickened their conscience4#acc ,the effect of the former of these two causes will be clear to us1 if we recollect the judicial element in the ,hebrew righteousness1--that it often meant not so much to be right1 as to be vindicated or declared right4 ,history1 to ,israel1 was ,god's supreme tribunal4 ,it was the faith of the people1 expressed over and over again in the ,old ,testament1 that the godly man is vindicated or justified by his prosperity3 the way of the ungodly shall perish4 ,and ,israel felt themselves to be in the right1 just as ,david1 in ,psalm xviii41 felt himself1 because ,god had accredited them with success and victory4 ,but when the decision of history went against the nation1 when they were threatened with expulsion from their land and with extinction as a people1 that just meant that the ,supreme ,judge of men was giving ,his sentence against them4 ,israel had broken the terms of the ,covenant4 ,they had lost their right2 they were no longer righteous4 ,the keener conscience1 developed by prophecy1 swiftly explained this sentence of history4 ,this declaration1 that the people were unrighteous1 was due1 the prophet said1 to the people's sins4 ,isaiah not only exclaimed1 ,your country is desolate1 your cities are burned with fire2 he added1 in equal indictment1 ,how is the faithful city become an harlot6 it was full of justice1 righteousness lodged in it1 but now murderers3 thy princes are rebellious1 they judge not the fatherless1 neither doth the cause of the widow come before them4 ,to ,isaiah and the earlier prophets ,israel was unrighteous because it was so immoral4 ,with their strong social conscience1 righteousness meant to these prophets the practice of civic virtues1--truth-telling1 honesty between citizens1 tenderness to the poor1 inflexible justice in high places4 ,here then we have two possible meanings for ,israel's righteousness in the prophetic writings1 allied and necessary to one another1 yet logically distinct1--the one a becoming righteous through the exercise of virtue1 the other a being shown to be righteous by the voice of history4 ,in the one case righteousness is the practical result of the working of the ,spirit of ,god2 in the other it is vindication1 or justification1 by the ,providence of ,god4 ,isaiah and the earlier prophets1 while the sentence of history was still not executed and might through the mercy of ,god be revoked1 incline to employ righteousness predominantly in the former sense4 ,but it will be understood how1 after the ,exile1 it was the latter1 which became the prevailing determination of the word4 ,by that great disaster ,god finally uttered the clear sentence1 of which previous history had been but the foreboding4 ,israel in exile was fully declared to be in the wrong--to be unrighteous4 ,as a church1 she lay under the ban2 as a nation1 she was discredited before the nations of the world4 ,and her one longing1 hope and effort during the weary years of ,captivity was to have her right vindicated again1 was to be restored to right relations to ,god and to the world1 under the ,covenant4 ,this is the predominant meaning of the term1 as applied to ,israel1 in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 ,israel's unrighteousness is her state of discredit and disgrace under the hands of ,god2 her righteousness1 which she hopes for1 is her restoral to her station and destiny as the elect people4 ,to our ,christian habit of thinking1 it is very natural to read the frequent and splendid phrases1 in which righteousness is attributed or promised to the people of ,god in this evangelical prophecy1 as if righteousness were that inward assurance and justification from an evil conscience1 which1 as we are taught by the ,new ,testament1 is provided for us through the death of ,christ1 and inwardly sealed to us by the ,holy ,ghost1 irrespective of the course of our outward fortune4 ,but if we read that meaning into righteousness in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 we shall simply not understand some of the grandest passages of the prophecy4 ,we must clearly keep in view1 that while the prophet ceaselessly emphasizes the pardon of ,god spoken home to the heart of the people1 as the first step towards their restoral1 he does not apply the term righteousness to this inward justification1#acd but to the outward vindication and accrediting of ,israel by ,god before the whole world1 in their redemption from ,captivity1 and their reinstatement as ,his people4 ,this is very clear from the way in which righteousness is coupled with salvation by the prophet1 as 7lxii4 #a73 ,i will not rest till her righteousness go forth as brightness1 and her salvation as a lamp that burneth4 ,or again from the way in which righteousness and glory are put in parallel 7lxii4 #b73 ,and the nations shall see thy righteousness1 and all kings thy glory4 ,or again in the way that righteousness and renown are identified 7lxi4 #aa73 ,the ,lord ,jehovah will cause righteousness and renown to spring forth before all the nations4 ,in each of these promises the idea of an external and manifest splendour is evident2 not the inward peace of justification felt only by the conscience to which it has been granted1 but the outward historical victory appreciable by the gross sense of the heathen4 ,of course the outward implies the inward1--this historical triumph is the crown of a religious process1 the result of forgiveness and a long purification1--but while in the ,new ,testament it is these which would be most readily called a people's righteousness1 it is the former 7what the ,new ,testament would rather call the crown of life71 which has appropriated the name in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 ,the same is manifest from another text 7xlviii4 #ah73 ,o that thou hadst hearkened to ,my commandments2 then had thy peace been as the ,river1 and thy righteousness like the waves of the sea4 ,here righteousness is not only not applied to inward morality1 but set over against this as its external reward1--the health and splendour which a good conscience produces4 ,it is in the same external sense that the prophet talks of the robe of righteousness with its bridal splendour1 and compares it to the appearance of ,spring 7lxi4 #aj-aa74 ,for this kind of righteousness1 this vindication by ,god before the world1 ,israel waited throughout the ,exile4 ,god addresses them as they that pursue righteousness1 that seek ,jehovah 7li4 #a74 ,and it is a closely allied meaning1 though perhaps with a more inward application1 when the people are represented as praying ,god to give them ordinances of righteousness 7lviii4 #b71--that is1 to prescribe such a ritual as will expiate their guilt and bring them into a right relation with ,him4 ,they sought in vain4 ,the great lesson of the ,exile was that not by works and performances1 but through simply waiting upon the ,lord1 their righteousness should shine forth4 ,even this outward kind of justification was to be by faith4 ,the other meaning of righteousness1 however1--the sense of social and civic morality1 which was its usual sense with the earlier prophets1--is not altogether excluded from the use of the word in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 ,here are some commands and reproaches which seem to imply it4 ,keep judgement1 and do righteousness1--where1 from what follows1 righteousness evidently means observing the ,sabbath and doing no evil 7lvi4 #a ff74 ,and justice is fallen away backward1 and righteousness standeth afar off1 for truth is fallen in the street1 and steadfastness cannot enter 7lix4 #ad74 ,these must be terms for human virtues1 for shortly afterwards it is said3 ,jehovah was displeased because there was no justice4 ,again1 ,they seek ,me as a nation that did righteousness 7lviii4 #b72 ,hearken unto ,me1 ye that know righteousness1 a people--,my law is in their hearts 7li4 #g72 ,thou meetest him that worketh righteousness 7lxiv4 #e72 ,no one sues in righteousness1 and none goeth to law in truth 7lix4 #d74 ,in all these passages righteousness means something that man can know and do1 his conscience and his duty1 and is rightly to be distinguished from those others1 in which righteousness is equivalent to the salvation1 the glory1 the peace1 which only ,god's power can bring4 ,if the passages1 that employ righteousness in the sense of moral or religious observance1 really date from the ,exile1 then the interesting fact is assured to us that the ,jews enjoyed some degree of social independence and responsibility during their ,captivity4 ,but it is a very striking fact that these passages all belong to chapters1 the exilic origin of which is questioned even by critics1 who assign the rest of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 to the ,exile4 ,yet1 even if these passages have all to be assigned to the ,exile1 how few they are in number6 ,how they contrast with the frequency1 with which1 in the earlier part of this book1--in the orations addressed by ,isaiah to his own times1 when ,israel was still an independent state1--righteousness is reiterated as the daily1 practical duty of men1 as justice1 truthfulness and charity between man and man6 ,the extreme rarity of such inculcations in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 warns us that we must not expect to find here the same practical and political interest1 which formed so much of the charm and the force of ,isa4 i4-xxxix4 ,the nation has now no politics1 almost no social morals4 ,israel are not citizens working out their own salvation in the market1 the camp and the senate2 but captives waiting a deliverance in ,god's time1 which no act of theirs can hasten4 ,it is not in the street that the interest of ,second ,isaiah lies3 it is on the horizon4 ,hence the vague feeling of a distant splendour1 which1 as the reader passes from ch4 xxxix4 to ch4 xl41 replaces in his mind the stir of living in a busy crowd1 the close and throbbing sense of the civic conscience1 the voice of statesmen1 the clash of the weapons of war4 ,there is no opportunity for individuals to reveal themselves4 ,it is a nation waiting1 indistinguishable in shadow1 whose outlines only we see4 ,it is no longer the thrilling practical cry1 which sends men into the arenas of social life with every sinew in them strung3 ,learn to do well2 seek justice1 relieve the oppressed1 judge the fatherless1 plead for the widow4 ,it is rather the cry of one who still waits for his working day to dawn3 ,i will lift up mine eyes to the hills1 from whence cometh my help8 ,righteousness is not the near and daily duty1 it is the far-off peace and splendour of skies1 that have scarce begun to redden to the day4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,righteousness ,,of ,,god4 ,but there was another ,person1 whose righteousness was in question during the ,exile1 and who ,himself argues for it throughout our prophecy4 ,perhaps the most peculiar feature of the theology of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 is its argument for the righteousness of ,jehovah4 ,some critics maintain that righteousness1 when applied to ,jehovah1 bears always a technical reference to ,his covenant with ,israel4 ,this is scarcely correct4 ,jehovah's dealings with ,israel were no doubt the chief of ,his dealings1 and it is these1 which ,he mainly quotes to illustrate ,his righteousness2 but we have already studied passages1 which prove to us that ,jehovah's righteousness was an absolute quality of ,his ,godhead1 shown to others besides ,israel1 and in loyalty to obligations different from the terms of ,his covenant with ,israel4 ,in ch4 xli4 ,jehovah calls upon the heathen to match their righteousness with ,his2 righteousness was therefore a quality that might have been attributed to them as well as to ,himself4 ,again1 in xlv4 #ai1--;,i1 ,jehovah1 speak righteousness1 ,i declare things that are right1--righteousness evidently bears a general sense1 and not one of exclusive application to ,god's dealing with ,israel4 ,it is the same in the passage about ,cyrus 7xlv4 #ac73 ,i have raised him up in righteousness1 ,i will make straight all his ways4 ,though ,cyrus was called in connection with ,god's purpose towards ,israel1 it is not that purpose which makes his calling righteous1 but the fact that ,god means to carry him through1 or1 as the parallel verse says1 to make straight all his ways4 ,these instances are sufficient to prove that the righteousness1 which ,god attributes to ,his words1 to ,his actions and to ,himself1 is a general quality not confined to ,his dealings with ,israel under the covenant1--though1 of course1 most clearly illustrated by these4 ,if now we enquire1 what this absolute quality of ,jehovah's ,deity really means1 we may conveniently begin with ,his application of it to ,his ,word4 ,in ch4 xli4 ,he summons the other religions to exhibit predictions that are true to fact4 ,who hath declared it on-ahead that we may know1 or from aforetime that we may say1 ,he is ssaddq4#ace ,here ssaddq simply means right1 correct1 true to fact4 ,it is much the same meaning in xliii4 #i1 where the verb is used of heathen predicters1 that they may be shown to be right1 or correct 7,english version1 justified74 ,but when1 in ch4 xlvi41 the word is applied by ,jehovah to ,his own speech1 it has a meaning1 of far richer contents1 than mere correctness1 and proves to us that after all the ,hebrew ssedheq was almost as versatile as the ,english right4 ,the following passage shows us that the righteousness of ,jehovah's speech is its clearness1 straightforwardness and practical effectiveness3 ,not in secret have ,i spoken1 in a place of the land of darkness1--this has been supposed to refer to the remote or subterranean localities in which heathen oracles mysteriously entrenched themselves1--,i have not said to the seed of ,jacob1 ,in ,chaos seek ,me4 ,i am ,jehovah1 a ,speaker of righteousness1 a ,publisher of straight things4 ,be gathered and come1 draw near together1 ,o remnants of the nations4 ,they know not that carry the log of their image1 and pray to a god who does not save4 ,publish and bring near1 yea1 let them take counsel together4 ,who caused this to be heard of old8 long since hath published it8 ,is it not ,i1 ,jehovah1 and there is none else ,god beside ,me2 a ,god righteous and a ,saviour1 there is none except ,me4 ,turn unto ,me and be saved1 all ends of ,earth1#acf for ,i am ,god1 and there is none else4 ,by ,myself have ,i sworn1 gone forth from ,my mouth hath righteousness3 a word and it shall not turn2 for to ,me shall bow every knee1 shall swear every tongue4 ,truly in ,jehovah1 shall they say of ,me1 are righteousnesses and strength4 ,to ,him shall it come1#acg and shamed shall be all that are incensed against ,him4 ,in ,jehovah shall be righteous and renowned all the seed of ,israel 7xlv4 #ai-be74 ,in this very suggestive passage righteousness means far more than simple correctness of prediction4 ,indeed1 it is difficult to distinguish how much it means1 so quickly do its varying echoes throng upon our ear1 from the new associations in which it is spoken4 ,a word such as righteousness is like the sensitive tones of the human voice4 ,spoken in a desert1 the voice is itself and nothing more2 but utter it where the landscape is crowded with novel obstacles1 and the original note is almost lost amid the echoes it startles4 ,so with the righteousness of ,jehovah2 among the new associations in which the prophet affirms it1 it starts novel repetitions of itself4 ,against the ambiguity of the oracles1 it is echoed back as clearness1 straightforwardness1 good faith 7ver4 #ai72 against their opportunism and want of foresight1 it is described as equivalent to the capacity for arranging things beforehand and predicting what must come to pass1 therefore as purposefulness2 while against their futility1 it is plainly effectiveness and power to prevail 7ver4 #bc74 ,it is the quality in ,god1 which divides ,his ,godhead with ,his power1 something intellectual as well as moral1 the possession of a reasonable purpose as well as fidelity towards it4 ,this intellectual sense of righteousness1 as reasonableness or purposefulness1 is clearly illustrated by the way in which the prophet appeals1 in order to enforce it1 to ,jehovah's creation of the world4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,creator of the heavens--,he is the ,god--,former of the ,earth and her ,maker1 ,he founded her2 not ,chaos did ,he create her1 to be dwelt in did ,he form her 7xlv4 #ah74 ,the word ,chaos here is the same as is used in opposition to righteousness in the following verse4 ,the sentence plainly illustrates the truth1 that whatever ,god does1 ,he does not so as to issue in confusion1 but with a reasonable purpose and for a practical end4 ,we have here the repetition of that deep1 strong note1 which ,isaiah himself so often sounded to the comfort of men in perplexity or despair1 that ,god is at least reasonable1 not working for nothing1 nor beginning only to leave off1 nor creating in order to destroy4 ,the same ,god1 says our prophet1 who formed the earth in order to see it inhabited1 must surely be believed to be consistent enough to carry to the end also ,his spiritual work among men4 ,our prophet's idea of ,god's righteousness1 therefore1 includes the idea of reasonableness2 implies rational as well as moral consistency1 practical sense as well as good faith2 the conscience of a reasonable plan1 and1 perhaps also1 the power to carry it through4 ,to know that this great and varied meaning belongs to righteousness gives us new insight into those passages1 which find in it all the motive and efficiency of the ,divine action3 ,it pleased ,jehovah for ,his righteousness' sake 7xlii4 #ba72 ,his righteousness1 it upheld ,him2 and ,he put on righteousness as a breastplate 7lix4 #af1 #ag74 ,with such a righteousness did ,jehovah deal with ,israel4 ,to her despair that ,he has forgotten her ,he recounts the historical events by which ,he has made her ,his own1 and affirms that ,he will carry them on2 and you feel the expression both of fidelity and of the consciousness of ability to fulfil1 in the words1 ,i will uphold thee with the right hand of ,my righteousness4 ,right hand--there is more than the touch of fidelity in this2 there is the grasp of power4 ,again1 to the ,israel who was conscious of being ,his ,servant1 ,god says1 ,i1 ,jehovah1 have called thee in righteousness2 and1 taken with the context1 the word plainly means good faith and intention to sustain and carry to success4 ,it was easy to transfer the name righteousness from the character of ,god's action to its results1 but always1 of course1 in the vindication of ,his purpose and word4 ,therefore1 just as the salvation of ,israel1 which was the chief result of the ,divine purpose1 is called ,israel's righteousness1 so it is also called ,jehovah's righteousness4 ,thus1 in xlvi4 #ac1 ,i bring near ,my righteousness2 and in li4 #e1 ,my righteousness is near1 ,my salvation is gone forth2 ver4 #f1 ,my salvation shall be for ever1 and ,my righteousness shall not be abolished4 ,it seems to be in the same sense1 of finished and visible results1 that the skies are called upon to pour down righteousness1 and the earth to open that they may be fruitful in salvation1 and let her cause righteousness to spring up together 7xlv4 #h2 cf4 lxi4 #aj1 ,my ,lord ,jehovah will cause righteousness to spring forth74 ,one passage is of great interest1 because in it righteousness is used to play upon itself1 in its two meanings of human duty and ,divine effect--lvi4 #a1 ,observe judgement--probably religious ordinances--and do righteousness2 for ,my salvation is near to come1 and ,my righteousness to be revealed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to complete our study of righteousness it is necessary to touch still upon one point4 ,in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 both the masculine and feminine forms of the ,hebrew word for righteousness are used1 and it has been averred that they are used with a difference4 ,this opinion is entirely dispelled by a collation of the passages4 ,i give the particulars in a note1 from which it will be seen that both forms are indifferently employed for each of the many shades of meaning which righteousness bears in our prophecies4#ach ,that the masculine and feminine forms sometimes occur1 with the same or with different meanings1 in the same verse1 or in the next verse to one another1 proves that the selection of them respectively cannot be due to any difference in the authorship of our prophecy4 ,so that we are reduced to say that nothing accounts for their use1 except1 it might be1 the exigencies of the metre4 ,but who is able to prove this8 ,,footnotes3 #abf ,it is only by confining his review of the word to its applications to ,god1 and overlooking the passages which attribute it to the people1 that ,krger1 ,essai sur la ,thologie d',isae xl4-lxvi41 can affirm that the prophet holds throughout to a single idea of righteousness 7p4 #cf74 ,on this1 as on many other points1 it is ,calvin's treatment1 that is most sympathetic to the variations of the original4 #abg ,in ,arabic the cognate word is applied to a lance1 but this may mean a sound or fit lance as well as a straight one4 ,originem ,schult4 de defect4 hodiernis #bad-bbd ponit in rigore1 duritia1 coll4 ,arabic3 9999 lancea dura1 al4 aequabilis 7,gesenii ,thesaurus1 art4 74 #abh ,it is not certain whether righteousness is here used in a physical sense2 and in all other cases in which the root is applied in the ,old ,testament to material objects1 it is plainly employed in some reflection of its moral sense1 e4g41 just weights1 just balance1 ,lev4 xix4 #cf4 #abi ,der ,zustand welcher der ,norm entspricht4 ,schultz1 ,alt4 ,test4 ,theologie1 #dth ed41 p4 #edj1 n4 #a4 #acj ,cf4 ,robertson ,smith1 ,prophets of ,israel1 p4 #chh1 and ,kautzsch's paper1 which is there quoted4 #aca ,die ,begriffe und 444 bedeuten nun wirklich bei ,amos mehr als die juristische ,gerechtigkeit4 ,indirect gehen die ,forderungen des ,amos ber die blos rechtliche ,sphre hinaus 7,duhm1 ,theologie der ,propheten1 p4 #aae74 #acb ,gen4 xxxviii4 #bf4 ,cf4 #b ,sam4 xv4 #d4 #acc ,the first chapter of ,isaiah is a perfect summary of these two4 #acd ,but the verb to make righteous or justify is used in a sense akin to the ,new ,testament sense in liii4 #aa4 ,see our chapter on that prophecy4 #ace ,at first sight this is remarkably like the cognate ,arabic root1 which is continually used for truthful4 ,but the ,hebrew word never meant truthful in the moral sense of truth1 and here is right or correct4 #acf ,earth again without article1 though obviously referring to the world4 #acg ,sense doubtful here4 ,bredenkamp translates by a slight change of reading3 ,only speaking by ,jehovah3 ,fulness of righteousness and might come to ,him1 and ashamed1 etc4 #ach 1 the masculine1 is used sixteen times2 1 twenty-four4 ,both are used of ,jehovah3 xlii4 #ba 1 and lix4 #af 4 ,both of ,his speech3 masc4 in xlv4 #ai1 fem4 in xlv4 #bc and lxiii4 #a4 ,perhaps the passage in which their identity is most plain is li4 #e1 #f1 where they are both parallel to salvation3 ver4 #e1 ,my righteousness 7m47 is near2 ver4 #f1 ,my righteousness 7f47 shall not be abolished4 ,both are used of the people's duty3 lix4 #d1 ,none sueth in righteousness 7m472 xlviii4 #a1 ,but not in truth nor in righteousness 7f472 lvi4 #a1 ,keep justice and do righteousness 7f47 ,and both are used of the people's saved and glorious condition3 lviii4 #h1 ,thy righteousness 7m47 shall go before thee2 lxii4 #a1 ,until her righteousness 7m47 go forth as brightness2 xlviii4 #ah1 ,thy righteousness 7f47 as the waves of the sea2 liv4 #ag1 ,their righteousness 7f47 which is of ,me4 ,both are used with prepositions 7cf4 xlii4 #f with xlviii4 #a71 and both with possessive pronouns4 ,in fact1 there is absolutely no difference made between the two4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,having completed our survey of the fundamental truths of our prophecy1 and studied the subject which forms its immediate and most urgent interest1 the deliverance of ,israel from ,babylon1 we are now at liberty to turn to consider the great duty and destiny which lie before the delivered people--the ,service of ,jehovah4 ,the passages of our prophecy which describe this are scattered both among those chapters we have already studied and among those which lie before us4 ,but1 as was explained in the ,introduction1 they are all easily detached from their surroundings2 and the continuity and progress1 of which their series1 though so much interrupted1 gives evidence1 demand that they should be treated by us together4 ,they will1 therefore1 form the ,third of the ,books1 into which this volume is divided4 ,the passages on the ,servant of ,jehovah1 or1 as the ,english reader is more accustomed to hear him called1 the ,servant of the ,lord1 are as follows3 xli4 #h ff2 xlii4 #a-g1 #ah-be2 xliii4 passim1 especially #h-aj2 xliv4 #a1 #ba2 xlviii4 #bj2 xlix4 #a-i2 l4 #d-aa2 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,the main passages are those in xli41 xlii41 xliii41 xlix41 l41 and lii4-liii4 ,the others are incidental allusions to ,israel as the ,servant of the ,lord1 and do not develop the character of the ,servant or the ,service4 ,upon the questions relevant to the structure of these prophecies--why they have been so scattered1 and whether they were originally from the main author of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 or from any other single writer1--questions on which critics have either preserved a discreet silence1 or have spoken to convince nobody but themselves1--,i have no final opinions to offer4 ,it may be that these passages formed a poem by themselves before their incorporation with our prophecy2 but the evidence1 which has been offered for this1 is very far from adequate4 ,it may be that one or more of them are insertions from other authors1 to which our prophet consciously works up with ideas of his own about the ,servant2 but neither for this is there any evidence worth serious consideration4 ,i think that all we can do is to remember that they occur in a dramatic work1 which may1 partly at least1 account for the interruptions which separate them2 that the subject of which they treat is woven through and through other portions of ,isa4 xl4-liii41 and that even those of them which1 like ch4 xlix41 look as if they could stand by themselves1 are led up to by the verses before them2 and that1 finally1 the series of them exhibits a continuity and furnishes a distinct development of their subject4 ,see pp4 #cac1 #cad1 and #ccf ff4 ,it is this development which the following exposition seeks to trace4 ,as the prophet starts from the idea of the ,servant as being the whole1 historical nation ,israel1 it will be necessary to devote1 first of all1 a chapter to ,israel's peculiar relation to ,god4 ,this will be ch4 xv41 ,one ,god1 ,one ,people4 ,in ch4 xvi4 we shall trace the development of the idea through the whole series of the passages2 and in ch4 xvii4 we shall give the ,new ,testament interpretation and fulfilment of the ,servant4 ,then will follow an exposition of the contents of the ,service and of the ideal it presents to ourselves1 first1 as it is given in ,isa4 xlii4 #a-i1 as the service of ,god and man1 ch4 xviii4 of this volume2 then as it is realised and owned by the ,servant himself1 as prophet and martyr1 ,isa4 xlix4-l41 ch4 xix4 of this volume2 and finally as it culminates in ,isa4 lii4 #ac-liii41 ch4 xx4 of this volume4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,one ,,god1 ,,one ,,people4 ,,isaiah xli4 #h-bj1 xlii4-xliii4 ,we have been listening to the proclamation of a ,monotheism so absolute1 that1 as we have seen1 modern critical philosophy1 in surveying the history of religion1 can find for it no rival among the faiths of the world4 ,god has been exalted before us1 in character so perfect1 in dominion so universal1 that neither the conscience nor the imagination of man can add to the general scope of the vision4 ,jesus and ,his ,cross shall lead the world's heart farther into the secrets of ,god's love2 ,god's ,spirit in science shall more richly instruct us in the secrets of ,his laws4 ,but these shall thereby only increase the contents and illustrate the details of this revelation of our prophet4 ,they shall in no way enlarge its sweep and outline1 for it is already as lofty an idea of the unity and sovereignty of ,god1 as the thoughts of man can follow4 ,across this pure light of ,god1 however1 a phenomenon thrusts itself1 which seems for the moment to affect the absoluteness of the vision and to detract from its sublimity4 ,this is the prominence given before ,god to a single people1 ,israel4 ,in these chapters the uniqueness of ,israel is as much urged upon us as the unity of ,god4 ,is ,he the ,one ,god in heaven8 they are ,his only people on earth1 ,his elect1 ,his own1 ,his witnesses to the end of the earth4 ,his guidance of them is matched with ,his guidance of the stars1 as if1 like the stars shining against the night1 their tribes alone moved to ,his hand through an otherwise dark and empty space4 ,his revelation to humanity is given through their little language2 the restoration of their petty capital1 that hill fort in the barren land of ,judah1 is exhibited as the end of ,his processes1 which sweep down through history and affect the surface of the whole inhabited world4 ,and ,his very righteousness turns out to be for the most part ,his faithfulness to ,his covenant with ,israel4 ,now to many in our day it has been a great offence to have the curved nose of the ,jew thus thrust in between their eyes and the pure light of ,god4 ,they ask1 ,can the ,judge of all the earth have been thus partial to one people8 ,did ,god confine ,his revelation to men to the literature of a small1 unpolished tribe8 ,even most uncritical souls have trouble to understand why salvation is of the ,jews4 ,the chief point to know is that the election of ,israel was an election1 not to salvation1 but to service4 ,to understand this is to get rid of by far the greater part of the difficulty that attaches to the subject4 ,israel was a means1 and not an end2 ,god chose in him a minister1 not a favourite4 ,no prophet in ,israel failed to say this2 but our prophet makes it the burden of his message to the exiles4 ,ye are ,my witnesses1 ,my ,servant whom ,i have chosen4 ,ye are ,my witnesses1 and ,i am ,god4 ,i will also give thee for a light to the nations1 to be ,my salvation to the end of the earth 7xliii4 #aj74 ,numbers of other verses might be quoted to the same effect1 that there is no ,god but ,god1 and ,israel is ,his prophet4#aci ,but if the election of ,israel is thus an election to service1 it is surely in harmony with ,god's usual method1 whether in nature or history4 ,so far from such a specialisation as ,israel's being derogatory to the ,divine unity1 it is but part of that order and division of labour which the ,divine unity demands as its consequence throughout the whole range of ,being4 ,the universe is diverse4 ,to every man his own work is the proper corollary of ,god over all1 and ,israel's prerogative was but the specialisation of ,israel's function for ,god in the world4 ,in choosing ,israel to be ,his mediator with mankind1 ,god did but do for religion what in the exercise of the same practical discipline ,he did for philosophy1 when ,he dowered ,greece with her gifts of subtle thought and speech1 or with ,rome when ,he trained her people to become the legislators of mankind4 ,and how else should work succeed but by specialisation1--the secret as it is of fidelity and expertness8 ,of fidelity--for the constraint of my duty surely lies in this1 that it is due from me and no other2 of expertness--for he drives best and deepest who drives along one line4 ,in lighting a fire you begin with a kindled faggot2 and in lighting a world it was in harmony with all ,his law1 physical and moral1 for ,god to begin with a particular portion of mankind4 ,the next question is1 ,why should this particular portion of mankind be a nation1 and not a single prophet1 or a school of philosophers1 or a church universal8 ,the answer is found in the condition of the ancient world4 ,amid its diversities of language and of racial feeling1 a missionary prophet travelling like ,paul from people to people is inconceivable2 and almost as inconceivable is the kind of ,church which ,paul founded among various nations1 in no other bonds than the consciousness of a common faith4 ,of all possible combinations of men the nation was the only form1 which in the ancient world stood a chance of surviving in the struggle for existence4 ,the nation furnished the necessary shelter and fellowship for personal religion2 it gave to the spiritual a habitation upon earth1 enlisted in its behalf the force of heredity1 and secured the continuity of its traditions4 ,but the service of the nation to religion was not only conservative1 it was missionary as well4 ,it was only through a people that a ,god became visible and accredited to the world4 ,their history supplied the drama in which ,he played the hero's part4 ,at a time when it was impossible to spread a religion1 by means of literature1 or by the example of personal holiness1 the achievements of a considerable nation1 their progress and prestige1 furnished a universally understood language1 through which the ,god could publish to mankind ,his power and will2 and in choosing1 therefore1 a single nation to reveal ,himself by1 ,god was but employing the means best adapted for ,his purpose4 ,the nation was the unit of religious progress in the ancient world4 ,in the nation ,god chose as ,his witness1 not only the most solid and permanent1 but the most widely intelligible and impressive4#adj ,the next question is1 ,why ,israel should have been this singular and indispensable nation8 ,when ,god selected ,israel to serve ,his purpose1 ,he did so1 we are told1 of ,his sovereign grace4 ,but this strong thought1 which forms the foundation of our prophet's assurance about his people1 does not prevent him from dwelling also on ,israel's natural capacity for religious service4 ,this1 too1 was of ,god4 ,over and over again ,israel hears ,jehovah say3 ,i have created thee1 ,i have formed thee1 ,i have prepared thee4 ,one passage describes the nation's equipment for the office of a prophet2 another their discipline for the life of a saint2 and every now and then our prophet shows how far back he feels this preparation to have begun1 even when the nation1 as he puts it1 was still in the womb4 ,how easily these well-worn phrases slip over our lips6 ,yet they are not mere formulas4 ,modern research has put a new meaning into them1 and taught us that ,israel's creation1 forming1 election1 polishing1 carriage1 and defence were processes as real and measurable as any in natural or political history4 ,for instance1 when our prophet says that ,israel's preparation began from the womb1--,i am thy moulder1 saith ,jehovah1 from the womb1--history takes us back to the pre-natal circumstance of the nation1 and there exhibits it to us as already being tempered to a religious disposition and propensity4 ,the ,hebrews were of the ,semitic stock4 ,the womb from which ,israel sprang was a race of wandering shepherds1 upon the hungry deserts of ,arabia1 where man's home is the flitting tent1 hunger is his discipline for many months of the year1 his only arts are those of speech and war1 and in the long irremediable starvation there is nothing to do but to be patient and dream4 ,born in these deserts1 the youth of the ,semitic race1 like the probation of their greatest prophets1 was spent in a long fast1 which lent their spirit a wonderful ease of detachment from the world and of religious imagination1 and tempered their will to long suffering--though it touched their blood1 too1 with a rancorous heat that breaks out through the prevailing calm of every ,semitic literature4#ada ,they were trained also in the desert's august style of eloquence4 ,he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword2 in the shadow of ,his hand hath ,he hid me4#adb ,a natural prophecy1 as it has been called1 is found in all the branches of the ,semitic stock4 ,no wonder that from this race there came forth the three great universal religions of mankind--that ,moses and the prophets1 ,john1 ,jesus ,himself and ,paul1 and ,mohammed were all of the seed of ,shem4 ,this racial disposition the ,hebrew carried with him into his calling as a nation4 ,the ancestor1 who gave the people the double name by which they are addressed throughout our prophecy1 ,jacob-,israel1 inherited with all his defects the two great marks of the religious temper4 ,jacob could dream and he could wait4 ,remember him by the side of the brother1 who could so little think of the future1 that he was willing to sell its promise for a mess of pottage2 who1 though ,god was as near to him as to ,jacob1 never saw visions or wrestled with angels2 who seemed to have no power of growth about him1 but carrying the same character1 unchanged through the discipline of life1 finally transmitted it in stereotype to his posterity2--remember ,jacob by the side of such a brother1 and you have a great part of the secret of the emergence of his descendants from the life of wandering cattle-breeders to be ,god's chief ministers of religion in the world4 ,their habits1 like their father's1 might be bad1 but they had the tough and malleable constitution1 which it was possible to mould to something better4 ,like their father1 they were false1 unchivalrous1 selfish1 with the herdsman's grossness in their blood1 and much of the rancour and cruelty of their ancestors1 the desert-warriors1 but with it all they had the two most potential of habits--they could dream and they could wait4 ,in his love and hope for promised ,rachel1 that were not quenched or soured by the substitution1 after seven years' service for her1 of her ill-favoured sister1 but began another seven years' effort for herself1 ,jacob was a type of his strange1 tenacious people1 who1 when they were brought face to face with some ,leah of a fulfilment of their fondest ideals1 as they frequently were in their history1 took up again with undiminished ardour the pursuit of their first unforgettable love4 ,it is the wonder of history1 how this people passed through the countless disappointments of the prophecies to which they had given their hearts1 yet with only a strengthening expectation of the arrival of the promised ,king and ,his kingdom4 ,if other peoples have felt a gain in character from such miscarriages of belief1 it has generally been at the expense of their faith4 ,but ,israel's experience did not take faith away or even impair faith's elasticity4 ,we see their appreciation of ,god's promises growing only more spiritual with each postponement1 and patience performing her perfect work upon their character2 yet this never happens at the cost of the original buoyancy and ardour4 ,the glory of it we ascribe1 as is most due1 to the power of the ,word of ,god2 but the people who could stand the strain of the discipline of such a word1 its alternate glow and frost1 must have been a people of extraordinary fibre and frame4 ,when we think of how they wore for those two thousand years of postponed promise1 and how they wear still1 after two thousand years more of disillusion and suffering1 we cease to wonder why ,god chose this small tribe to be ,his instrument on earth4 ,where we see their bad habits1 their ,creator knew their sound constitution1 and the constitution of ,israel is a thing unique among mankind4 ,from the racial temper of the elect nation we pass to their history1 on the singularity of which our prophet dwells with emphasis4 ,israel's political origin had no other reason than a call to ,god's service4 ,other peoples grew1 as it were1 from the soil2 they were the product of a fatherland1 a climate1 certain physical environments3 root them out of these1 and1 as nations1 they ceased to be4 ,but ,israel had not been so nursed into nationality on the lap of nature4 ,the captive children of ,jacob had sprung into unity and independence as a nation at the special call of ,god1 and to serve ,his will in the world1--,his will that so lay athwart the natural tendencies of the peoples4 ,all down their history it is wonderful to see how it was the conscience of this service1 which in periods of progress was the real national genius in ,israel1 and in times of decay or of political dissolution upheld the assurance of the nation's survival4 ,whenever a ruler like ,ahaz forgot that ,israel's imperishableness was bound up with their faithfulness to ,god's service1 and sought to preserve his throne by alliances with the world-powers1 then it was that ,israel were most in danger of absorption into the world4 ,and1 conversely1 when disaster came down1 and there was no hope in the sky1 it was upon the inward sense of their election to the service of ,god that the prophets rallied the people's faith and assured them of their survival as a nation4 ,they brought to ,israel that sovereign message1 which renders all who hear it immortal3 ,god has a service for you to serve upon earth4 ,in the ,exile especially1 the wonderful survival of the nation1 with the subservience of all history to that end1 is made to turn on this1--that ,israel has a unique purpose to serve4 ,when ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel seek to assure the captives of their return to the land and of the restoration of the people1 they commend so unlikely a promise by reminding them that the nation is the ,servant of ,god4 ,this name1 applied by them for the first time to the nation as a whole1 they bind up with the national existence4 ,fear thou not1 ,o ,my ,servant ,jacob1 saith ,jehovah2 neither be dismayed1 ,o ,israel3 for1 lo1 ,i will save thee from afar1 and thy seed from the land of their captivity4#adc ,these words plainly say1 that ,israel as a nation cannot die1 for ,god has a use for them to serve4 ,the singularity of ,israel's redemption from ,babylon is due to the singularity of the service that ,god has for the nation to perform4 ,our prophet speaks in the same strain3 ,thou1 ,israel1 ,my ,servant1 ,jacob whom ,i have chosen1 seed of ,abraham ,my lover1 whom ,i took hold of from the ends of the earth and its corners4 ,i have called thee and said unto thee1 ,my ,servant art thou1 ,i have chosen thee and have not cast thee away 7ch4 xli4 #h ff74 ,no one can miss the force of these words4 ,they are the assurance of ,israel's miraculous survival1 not because he is ,god's favourite1 but because he is ,god's servant1 with a unique work in the world4 ,many other verses repeat the same truth4#add ,they call ,israel the ,servant1 and ,jacob the chosen1 of ,god1 in order to persuade the people that they are not forgotten of ,him1 and that their seed shall live and be blessed4 ,israel survives because he serves--,servus servatur4 ,now for this service1--which had been the purpose of the nation's election at first1 the mainstay of its unique preservation since1 and the reason of all its singular pre-eminence before ,god1--,israel was equipped by two great experiences4 ,these were ,redemption and ,revelation4 ,on the former redemptions of ,israel from the power of other nations our prophet does not dwell much4 ,you feel1 that they are present to his mind1 for he sometimes describes the coming redemption from ,babylon in terms of them4 ,and once1 in an appeal to the ,arm of ,jehovah1 he calls out3 ,awake like the days of old1 ancient generations6 ,art thou not it that hewed ,rahab in pieces1 that pierced the ,dragon8 ,art thou not it which dried up the sea1 the waters of the great deep2 that made the depths of the sea a way of passage for the redeemed8#ade ,there is1 too1 that beautiful passage in ch4 lxiii41 which makes mention of the lovingkindnesses of ,jehovah1 according to all that ,he hath bestowed upon us2 which describes the carriage of the people all the days of old1 how ,he brought them out of the sea1 caused ,his glorious arm to go at the right hand of ,moses1 divided the water before them1 led them through the deeps as a horse on the meadow1 that they stumbled not4 ,but1 on the whole1 our prophet is too much engrossed with the immediate prospect of release from ,babylon1 to remember that past1 of which it has been truly said1 ,he hath not dealt so with any people4 ,it is the new glory that is upon him4 ,he counts the deliverance from ,babylon as already come2 to his rapt eye it is its marvellous power and costliness1 which already clothes the people in their unique brilliance and honour4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 your ,redeemer1 the ,holy ,one of ,israel3 ,for your sake have ,i sent to ,babylon1 and ,i will bring down their nobles1 all of them1 and the ,chaldeans1 in the ships of their exulting4#adf ,but it is more than ,babylon that is balanced against them4 ,i am ,jehovah1 thy ,god1 the ,holy ,one of ,israel1 thy ,saviour4 ,i am giving as thy ransom1 ,egypt1 ,cush and ,seba in exchange for thee1 because thou art precious in mine eyes1 and hast made thyself valuable 7lit41 of weight72 and ,i have loved thee1 therefore do ,i give mankind for thee1 and peoples for thy life4#adg ,mankind for thee1 and peoples for thy life1--all the world for this little people8 ,it is intelligible only because this little people are to be for all the world4 ,ye are ,my witnesses that ,i am ,god4 ,i will also give thee for a light to nations1 to be ,my salvation to the end of the earth4 ,but more than on the ,redemption1 which ,israel experienced1 our prophet dwells on the ,revelation1 that has equipped them for their destiny4 ,in a passage1 in ch4 xliii41 to which we shall return1 the present stupid and unready character of the mass of the people is contrasted with the instruction which ,god has lavished upon them4 ,thou hast seen many things1 and wilt not observe2 there is opening of the ears1 but he heareth not4 ,jehovah was pleased for ,his righteousness' sake to magnify the ,instruction and make it glorious1--but that--the result and the precipitate of it all--is a people robbed and spoiled4 ,the word ,instruction or ,revelation is that same technical term1 which we have met with before1 for ,jehovah's special training and illumination of ,israel4 ,how special these were1 how distinct from the highest doctrine and practice of any other nation in that world to which ,israel belonged1 is an historical fact that the results of recent research enable us to state in a few sentences4 ,recent exploration in the ,east1 and the progress of ,semitic philology1 have proved that the system of religion1 which prevailed among the ,hebrews1 had a very great deal in common with the systems of the neighbouring and related heathen nations4 ,this common element included not only such things as ritual and temple-furniture1 or the details of priestly organization1 but even the titles and many of the attributes of ,god1 and especially the forms of the covenant in which ,he drew near to men4 ,but the discovery of this common element has only thrown into more striking relief the presence at work in the ,hebrew religion of an independent and original principle4 ,in the ,hebrew religion historians observe a principle of selection operating upon the common ,semitic materials for worship1--ignoring some of them1 giving prominence to others1 and with others again changing the reference and application4 ,grossly immoral practices are forbidden2 forbidden1 too1 are those superstitions1 which1 like augury and divination1 draw men away from single-minded attention to the moral issues of life2 and even religious customs are omitted1 such as the employment of women in the sanctuary1 which1 however innocent in themselves1 might lead men into temptations1 not desirable in connection with the professional pursuit of religion4#adh ,in short1 a stern and inexorable conscience was at work in the ,hebrew religion1 which was not at work in any of the religions most akin to it4 ,in our previous volume we saw the same conscience inspiring the prophets4 ,prophecy was not confined to the ,hebrews2 it was a general ,semitic institution2 but no one doubts the absolutely distinct character of the prophecy1 which was conscious of having the ,spirit of ,jehovah4 ,its religious ideas were original1 and in it we have1 as all admit1 a moral phenomenon unique in history4 ,when we turn to ask the secret of this distinction1 we find the answer in the character of the ,god1 whom ,israel served4 ,the ,god explains the people2 ,israel is the response to ,jehovah4 ,each of the laws of the nation is enforced by the reason1 ,for ,i am holy4 ,each of the prophets brings his message from a ,god1 exalted in righteousness4 ,in short1 look where you will in the ,old ,testament1--come to it as a critic or as a worshipper1--you discover the revealed character of ,jehovah to be the effective principle at work4 ,it is this ,divine character1 which draws ,israel from among the nations to their destiny1 which selects and builds the law to be a wall around them1 and which by each revelation of itself discovers to the people both the measure of their delinquency and the new ideals of their service to humanity4 ,like the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night1 we see it in front of ,israel at every stage of their marvellous progress down the ages4 ,so that when ,jehovah says that ,he has magnified the ,revelation and made it glorious1 ,he speaks of a magnitude of a real1 historical kind1 that can be tested by exact methods of observation4 ,israel's election by ,jehovah1 their formation1 their unique preparation for service1 are not the mere boasts of an overweening patriotism1 but sober names for historical processes as real and evident as any that history contains4 ,to sum up1 then4 ,if ,jehovah's sovereignty be absolute1 so also is the uniqueness of ,israel's calling and equipment for ,his ,service4 ,for1 to begin with1 ,israel had the essential religious temper2 they enjoyed a unique moral instruction and discipline2 and by the side of this they were conscious of a series of miraculous deliverances from servitude and from dissolution4 ,so singular an experience and career were not1 as we have seen1 bestowed from any arbitrary motive1 which exhausted itself upon ,israel1 but in accordance with ,god's universal method of specialisation of function1 were granted to fit the nation as an instrument for a practical end4 ,the sovereign unity of ,god does not mean equality in ,his creation4 ,the universe is diverse4 ,there is one glory of the sun1 and another glory of the moon1 and another glory of the stars2 and even so in the moral kingdom of ,him1 who is ,lord of the ,hosts of both earth and heaven1 each nation has its own destiny and function4 ,israel's was religion2 ,israel was ,god's specialist in religion4 ,for confirmation of this we turn to the supreme witness4 ,jesus was born a ,jew1 ,he confined ,his ministry to ,juda1 and ,he has told us why4 ,by various passing allusions1 as well as by deliberate statements1 ,he revealed ,his sense of a great religious difference between ,jew and ,gentile4 ,use not vain repetitions as the ,gentiles do4444 ,for after all these things do the nations of the world seek2 but your ,father knoweth that you have need of these things4 ,he refused to work except upon ,jewish hearts3 ,i am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of ,israel4 ,and ,he charged ,his disciples1 saying1 ,go not into any way of the ,gentiles1 and enter not into any city of the ,samaritans2 but go rather to the lost sheep of the ,house of ,israel4 ,and again ,he said to the woman of ,samaria3 ,ye worship ye know not what2 we know what we worship1 for salvation is of the ,jews4 ,these sayings of our ,lord have created as much question as the pre-eminence given in the ,old ,testament to a single people by a ,god1 who is described as the one ,god of ,heaven and earth4 ,was ,he narrower of heart than ,paul1 ,his servant1 who was debtor to ,greek and ,barbarian8 ,or was ,he ignorant of the universal character of ,his mission till it was forced upon ,his reluctant sympathies by the importunity of such heathen as the ,syrophenician woman8 ,a little common-sense dispels the perplexity1 and leaves the problem1 over which volumes have been written1 no problem at all4 ,our ,lord limited ,himself to ,israel1 not because ,he was narrow1 but because ,he was practical2 not from ignorance1 but from wisdom4 ,he came from heaven to sow the seed of ,divine truth2 and where in all humanity should ,he find the soil so ready as within the long-chosen people8 ,he knew of that discipline of the centuries4 ,in the words of ,his own parable1 the ,son when ,he came to earth directed ,his attention not to a piece of desert1 but to the vineyard which ,his ,father's servants had so long cultivated1 and where the soil was open4 ,jesus came to ,israel because ,he expected faith in ,israel4 ,that this practical end was the deliberate intention of ,his will1 is proved by the fact that when ,he found faith elsewhere1 either in ,syrian or ,greek or ,roman hearts1 ,he did not hesitate to let ,his love and power go forth to them4 ,in short1 we shall have no difficulty about these ,divine methods with a single1 elect people1 if we only remember that to be ,divine is to be practical4 ,yet ,god also is wise1 said ,isaiah to the ,jews when they preferred their own clever policies to ,jehovah's guidance4 ,and we need to be told the same1 who murmur that to confine ,himself to a single nation was not the ideal thing for the ,one ,god to do2 or who imagine that it was left to one of our ,lord's own creatures to suggest to ,him the policy of ,his mission upon earth4 ,we are shortsighted3 and the ,almighty is past finding out4 ,but this at least it is possible for us to see1 that1 in choosing one nation to be ,his agent among men1 ,god chose the type of instrument best fitted at the time for the work for which ,he designed it1 and that in choosing ,israel to be that nation1 ,he chose a people of temper singularly suitable to ,his end4 ,israel's election as a nation1 therefore1 was to ,service4 ,to be a nation and to be ,god's ,servant was pretty much one and the same thing for ,israel4 ,israel were to survive the ,exile1 because they were to serve the world4 ,let us carry this over to the study of our next chapter--,the ,servant of ,jehovah4 ,,footnotes3 #aci ,wellhausen4 #adj ,revelation is never revolutionary4444 ,as a rule1 revelation accepts the fragments of truth and adopts the methods of religion already existing1 uniting the former into a whole1 and purifying the latter for its own purposes4444 ,for instance1 in the ,east each people had its particular god4 ,the god and the people were correlative ideas1 that which gave the individuals of a nation unity and made them a people was the unity of its god2 as1 on the other hand1 that which gave a god prestige was the strength and victorious career of his people4 ,the self-consciousness of the nation and its religion re-acted on one another1 and rose and fell simultaneously4 ,this conception was not repudiated1 but adopted by revelation2 and1 as occasion demanded1 purified from its natural abuses4--,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,expositor1 ,second ,series1 vol4 viii41 pp4 #beg-h4 #ada ,mr4 ,doughty1 in his most interesting account of the nomads of ,central ,arabia1 the unsophisticated ,semites on their native soil1 furnishes ample material for accounting for the strange mixture of passion and resignation in these prophet-peoples of the world4 #adb ,ch4 xlix4 #b4 #adc ,jer4 xxx4 #aj1 cf4 xlvi4 #bg2 also ,ezek4 xxxvii4 #be3 ,and they shall dwell in the land that ,i have given ,my servant ,jacob4 ,cf4 xxviii4 #be4 #add xliv4 #a1 #ba2 xlviii4 #bj1 etc4 #ade ,ch4 li4 #i1 #aj4 #adf ,ch4 xliii4 #ad4 #adg ,ib4 #c1 #d4 #adh ,robertson ,smith1 ,burnett ,lectures in ,aberdeen1 #ahhi-ij4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord4 ,,isaiah xli4 #h-bj2 xlii4 #a-g1 #ah ff2 xliii4 #e-aj2 xlix4 #a-i2 l4 #d-aj2 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,with chapter xlii4 we reach a distinct stage in our prophecy4 ,the preceding chapters have been occupied with the declaration of the great1 basal truth1 that ,jehovah is the ,one ,sovereign ,god4 ,this has been declared to two classes of hearers in succession--to ,god's own people1 ,israel1 in ch4 xl41 and to the heathen in ch4 xli4 ,having established ,his sovereignty1 ,god now publishes ,his will1 again addressing these two classes according to the purpose which ,he has for each4 ,has ,he vindicated ,himself to ,israel1 the ,almighty and ,righteous ,god1 ,who will give ,his people freedom and strength3 ,he will now define to them the mission for which that strength and freedom are required4 ,has ,he proved to the ,gentiles that ,he is the one true ,god3 ,he will declare to them now what truth ,he has for them to learn4 ,in short1 to use modern terms1 the apologetic of chs4 xl4-xli4 is succeeded by the missionary programme of ch4 xlii4 ,and although1 from the necessities of the case1 we are frequently brought back1 in the course of the prophecy1 to its fundamental claims for the ,godhead of ,jehovah1 we are nevertheless sensible that with ver4 #a of ch4 xlii4 we make a distinct advance4 ,it is one of those logical steps which1 along with a certain chronological progress that we have already felt1 assures us that ,isaiah1 whether originally by one or more authors1 is in its present form a unity1 with a distinct order and principle of development4 ,the ,purpose of ,god is identified with a ,minister or ,servant1 whom ,he commissions to carry it out in the world4 ,this ,servant is brought before us with all the urgency with which ,jehovah has presented ,himself1 and next to ,jehovah he turns out to be the most important figure of the prophecy4 ,does the prophet insist that ,god is the only source and sufficiency of ,his people's salvation3 it is with equal emphasis that ,he introduces the ,servant as ,god's indispensable agent in the work4 ,cyrus is also acknowledged as an elect instrument4 ,but neither in closeness to ,god1 nor in effect upon the world1 is ,cyrus to be compared for an instant to the ,servant4 ,cyrus is subservient and incidental3 with the overthrow of ,babylon1 for which he was raised up1 he will disappear from the stage of our prophecy4 ,but ,god's purpose1 which uses the gates opened by ,cyrus1 only to pass through them with the redeemed people to the regeneration of the whole world1 is to be carried to this ,divine consummation by the ,servant3 its universal and glorious progress is identified with his career4 ,cyrus flashes through these pages a well-polished sword3 it is only his swift and brilliant usefulness that is allowed to catch our eye4 ,but the ,servant is a ,character1 to delineate whose immortal beauty and example the prophet devotes as much space as he does to ,jehovah ,himself4 ,as he turns again and again to speak of ,god's omnipotence and faithfulness and agonising love for ,his own1 so with equal frequency and fondness does he linger on every feature of the ,servant's conduct and aspect3 ,his gentleness1 ,his patience1 ,his courage1 ,his purity1 ,his meekness2 ,his daily wakefulness to ,god's voice1 the swiftness and brilliance of ,his speech for others1 ,his silence under ,his own torments2 ,his resorts--among the bruised1 the prisoners1 the forwandered of ,israel1 the weary1 and them that sit in darkness1 the far-off heathen2 ,his warfare with the world1 ,his face set like a flint2 ,his unworldly beauty1 which men call ugliness2 ,his unnoticed presence in ,his own generation1 yet the effect of ,his face upon kings2 ,his habit of woe1 a man of sorrows and acquainted with sickness2 ,his sore stripes and bruises1 ,his judicial murder1 ,his felon's grave2 ,his exaltation and eternal glory--till we may reverently say that these pictures1 by their vividness and charm1 have drawn our eyes away from our prophet's visions of ,god1 and have caused the chapters in which they occur to be oftener read among us1 and learned by heart1 than the chapters in which ,god ,himself is lifted up and adored4 ,jehovah and ,jehovah's ,servant--these are the two heroes of the drama4 ,now we might naturally expect that so indispensable and fondly imagined a figure would also be defined past all ambiguity1 whether as to ,his time or person or name4 ,but the opposite is the case4 ,about ,scripture there are few more intricate questions than those on the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,is ,he a ,person or ,personification8 ,if the latter1 is ,he a ,personification of all ,israel8 ,or of a part of ,israel8 ,or of the ideal ,israel8 ,or of the ,order of the ,prophets8 ,or if a ,person--is he the prophet himself8 ,or a martyr who has already lived and suffered1 like ,jeremiah8 ,or ,one still to come1 like the promised ,messiah8 ,each of these suggestions has not only been made about the ,servant1 but derives considerable support from one or another of our prophet's dissolving views of his person and work4 ,a final answer to them can be given only after a comparative study of all the relevant passages2 but as these are scattered over the prophecy1 and our detailed exposition of them must necessarily be interrupted1 it will be of advantage to take here a prospect of them all1 and see to what they combine to develop this sublime character and mission4 ,and after we have seen what the prophecies themselves teach concerning the ,servant1 we shall inquire how they were understood and fulfilled by the ,new ,testament2 and that will show us how to expound and apply them with regard to ourselves4 ,i4 ,the ,hebrew word for ,servant means a person at the disposal of another--to carry out his will1 do his work1 represent his interests4 ,it was thus applied to the representatives of a king or the worshippers of a god4#adi ,all ,israelites were thus in a sense the servants of ,jehovah2 though in the singular the title was reserved for persons of extraordinary character or usefulness4 ,but we have seen1 as clearly as possible1 that ,god set apart for ,his chief service upon earth1 not an individual nor a group of individuals1 but a whole nation in its national capacity4 ,we have seen ,israel's political origin and preservation bound up with that service2 we have heard the whole nation plainly called1 by ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1 the ,servant of ,jehovah4#aej ,nothing could be more clear than this1 that in the earlier years of the ,exile the ,servant of ,jehovah was ,israel as a whole1 ,israel as a body politic4 ,it is also in this sense that our prophet first uses the title in a passage we have already quoted 7xli4 #h72 ,thou ,israel1 ,my ,servant1 ,jacob whom ,i have chosen1 seed of ,abraham ,my lover1 whom ,i took hold of from the ends of the earth and its corners6 ,i called thee and said unto thee1 ,my ,servant art thou4 ,i have chosen thee1 and not cast thee away4 ,here the ,servant is plainly the historical nation1 descended from ,abraham1 and the subject of those national experiences which are traced in the previous chapter4 ,it is the same in the following verses3--xliv4 #a ff3 ,yet now hear1 ,o ,jacob ,my servant2 and ,israel1 whom ,i have chosen3 thus saith ,jehovah thy ,maker1 and thy ,moulder from the womb1 ,he will help thee4 ,fear not1 ,my servant ,jacob2 and ,jeshurun1 whom ,i have chosen4444 ,i will pour ,my spirit upon thy seed1 and ,my blessing upon thine offspring4 xliv4 #ba3 ,remember these things1 ,o ,jacob2 and ,israel1 for ,my servant art thou3 ,i have formed thee2 a servant for ,myself art thou2 ,o ,israel1 thou shalt not be forgotten of ,me4 xlviii4 #bj3 ,go ye forth from ,babylon2 say ye1 ,jehovah hath redeemed ,his servant ,jacob4 ,in all these verses1 which bind up the nation's restoration from exile with the fact that ,god called it to be ,his ,servant1 the title ,servant is plainly equivalent to the national name ,israel or ,jacob4 ,but ,israel or ,jacob is not a label for the mere national idea1 or the bare political framework1 without regard to the living individuals included in it4 ,to the eye and heart of ,him1 ,who counts the number of the stars1 ,israel means no mere outline1 but all the individuals of the living generation of the people--thy seed1 that is1 every born ,israelite1 however fallen or forwandered4 ,this is made clear in a very beautiful passage in ch4 xliii4 7vv4 #a-g73 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 thy ,creator1 ,o ,jacob2 thy ,moulder1 ,o ,israel4444 ,fear not1 for ,i am with thee2 from the sunrise ,i will bring thy seed1 and from the sunset will ,i gather thee2 444 ,my sons from far1 and ,my daughters from the end of the earth2 every one who is called by ,my name1 and whom for ,my glory ,i have created1 formed1 yea1 ,i have made him4 ,to this ,israel--,israel as a whole1 yet no mere abstraction or outline of the nation1 but the people in mass and bulk--every individual of whom is dear to ,jehovah1 and in some sense shares ,his calling and equipment--to this ,israel the title ,servant of ,jehovah is at first applied by our prophet4 #b4 ,we say at first1 for very soon the prophet has to make a distinction1 and to sketch the ,servant as something less than the actual nation4 ,the distinction is obscure2 it has given rise to a very great deal of controversy4 ,but it is so natural1 where a nation is the subject1 and of such frequent occurrence in other literatures1 that we may almost state it as a general law4 ,in all the passages quoted above1 ,israel has been spoken of in the passive mood1 as the object of some affection or action on the part of ,god3 loved1 formed1 chosen1 called1 and about to be redeemed by ,him4 ,now1 so long as a people thus lie passive1 their prophet will naturally think of them as a whole4 ,in their shadow his eye can see them only in the outline of their mass2 in their common suffering and servitude his heart will go out to all their individuals1 as equally dear and equally in need of redemption4 ,but when the hour comes for the people to work out their own salvation1 and they emerge into action1 it must needs be different4 ,when they are no more the object of their prophet's affection only1 but pass under the test of his experience and judgement1 then distinctions naturally appear upon them4 ,lifted to the light of their destiny1 their inequality becomes apparent2 tried by its strain1 part of them break away4 ,and so1 though the prophet continues still to call on the nation by its name to fulfil its calling1 what he means by that name is no longer the bulk and the body of the citizenship4 ,a certain ideal of the people fills his mind's eye--an ideal1 however1 which is no mere spectre floating above his own generation1 but is realised in their noble and aspiring portion--although his ignorance as to the exact size of this portion1 must always leave his image of them more or less ideal to his eyes4 ,it will be their quality rather than their quantity that is clear to him4 ,in modern history we have two familiar illustrations of this process of winnowing and idealising a people in the light of their destiny1 which may prepare us for the more obscure instance of it in our prophecy4 ,in a well-known passage in the ,areopagitica1 ,milton exclaims1 ,methinks ,i see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself and shaking her invincible locks2 methinks ,i see her as an eagle mewing her mighty youth1 and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam1 444 while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds1 with those also that love the twilight1 flutter about1 amazed at what she means4 ,in this passage the nation is no longer what ,milton meant by the term in the earlier part of his treatise1 where ,england stands simply for the outline of the whole ,english people2 but the nation is the true genius of ,england realised in her enlightened and aspiring sons1 and breaking away from the hindering and debasing members of the body politic--the timorous and flocking birds with those also that love the twilight--who are indeed ,englishmen after the flesh1 but form no part of the nation's better self4 ,or1 recall ,mazzini's bitter experience4 ,to no man was his ,italy more really one than to this ardent son of hers1 who loved every born ,italian because he was an ,italian1 and counted none of the fragments of his unhappy country too petty or too corrupt to be included in the hope of her restoration4 ,to ,mazzini's earliest imagination1 it was the whole ,italian seed1 who were ready for redemption1 and would rise to achieve it at his summons4 ,but when his summons came1 how few responded1 and after the first struggles how fewer still remained1--,mazzini himself has told us with breaking heart4 ,the real ,italy was but a handful of born ,italians2 at times it seemed to shrink to the prophet alone4 ,from such a core the conscience indeed spread again1 till the entire people was delivered from tyranny and from schism1 and now every peasant and burgher from the ,alps to ,sicily understands what ,italy means1 and is proud to be an ,italian4 ,but for a time ,mazzini and his few comrades stood alone4 ,others of their blood and speech were ,piedmontese1 ,pope's men1 ,neapolitans1--merchants1 lawyers1 scholars1--or merely selfish and sensual4 ,they alone were ,italians2 they alone were ,italy4 ,it is a similar winnowing process1 through which we see our prophet's thoughts pass with regard to ,israel4 ,him1 too1 experience teaches that the many are called1 but the few chosen4 ,so long as his people lie in the shadow of captivity1 so long as he has to speak of them in the passive mood1 the object of ,god's call and preparation1 it is their seed1 the born people in bulk and mass1 whom he names ,israel1 and entitles the ,servant of ,jehovah4 ,but the moment that he lifts them to their mission in the world1 and to the light of their destiny1 a difference becomes apparent upon them1 and the ,servant of ,jehovah1 though still called ,israel1 shrinks to something less than the living generation1 draws off to something finer than the mass of the people4 ,how1 indeed1 could it be otherwise with this strange people1 than which no nation on earth had a loftier ideal identified with its history1 or more frequently turned upon its better self1 with a sword in its hand4 ,israel1 though created a nation by ,god for ,his service1 was always what ,paul found it1 divided into an ,israel after the flesh1 and an ,israel after the spirit4 ,but it was in the ,exile that this distinction gaped most broad4 ,with the fall of ,jerusalem1 the political framework1 which kept the different elements of the nation together1 was shattered1 and these were left loose to the action of moral forces4 ,the baser elements were quickly absorbed by heathendom2 the nobler1 that remained loyal to the divine call1 were free to assume a new and ideal form4 ,every year spent in ,babylonia made it more apparent that the true and effective ,israel of the future would not coincide with all the seed of ,jacob1 who went into exile4 ,numbers of the latter were as contented with their ,babylonian circumstance as numbers of ,mazzini's ,italians were satisfied to live on as ,austrian and ,papal subjects4 ,many1 as we have seen1 became idolaters2 many more settled down into the prosperous habits of ,babylonian commerce1 while a large multitude besides were scattered far out of sight across the world4 ,it required little insight to perceive that the true1 effective ,israel--the real ,servant of ,jehovah--must needs be a much smaller body than the sum of all these3 a loyal kernel within ,israel1 who were still conscious of the national calling1 and capable of carrying it out2 who stood sensible of their duty to the whole world1 but whose first conscience was for their lapsed and lost countrymen4 ,this ,israel within ,israel was the real ,servant of the ,lord2 to personify it in that character--however vague might be the actual proportion it would assume in his own or in any other generation--would be as natural to our dramatic prophet as to personify the nation as a whole4 ,all this very natural process--this passing from the historical ,israel1 the nation originally designed by ,god to be ,his ,servant1 to the conscious and effective ,israel1 that uncertain quantity within the present and every future generation--takes place in the chapters before us2 and it will be sufficiently easy for us to follow if we only remember that our prophet is not a dogmatic theologian1 careful to make clear each logical distinction1 but a dramatic poet1 who delivers his ideas in groups1 tableaux1 dialogues1 interrupted by choruses2 and who writes in a language incapable of expressing such delicate differences1 except by dramatic contrasts1 and by the one other figure of which he is so fond--paradox4 ,perhaps the first traces of distinction between the real ,servant and the whole nation are to be found in the ,programme of his ,mission in ch4 xlii4 #a-g4 ,there it is said that the ,servant is to be for a covenant of the people 7ver4 #f74 ,i have explained below why we are to understand people as here meaning ,israel4#aea ,and in ver4 #g it is said of the ,servant that he is to open blind eyes1 bring forth from prison the captive1 from the house of bondage dwellers in darkness3 phrases that are descriptive1 of course1 of the captive ,israel4 ,already1 then1 in ch4 xlii4 the ,servant is something distinct from the whole nation1 whose ,covenant and ,redeemer he is to be4 ,the next references to the ,servant are a couple of paradoxes1 which are evidently the prophet's attempt to show why it was necessary to draw in the ,servant of ,jehovah from the whole to a part of the people4 ,the first of these paradoxes is in ch4 xlii4 ver4 #ah4 ,ye deaf1 hearken6 and ye blind1 look ye to see6 ,who is blind but ,my ,servant1 and deaf as ,my ,messenger whom ,i send8 ,who is blind as ,meshullam1 and blind as the ,servant of ,jehovah8 ,vision of many things--and thou dost not observe1 ,opening of ears and he hears not6 ,the context shows that the ,servant here--or ,meshullam1 as he is called1 the devoted or submissive one1 from the same root1 and of much the same form as the ,arabic ,muslim#aeb--;is the whole people2 but they are entitled ,servant only in order to show how unfit they are for the task to which they have been designated1 and what a paradox their title is beside their real character4 ,god had given them every opportunity by making great ,his instruction 7ver4 #ba1 cf4 p4 #bdg71 and1 when that failed1 by ,his sore discipline in exile 7vers4 #bd1 #be74 ,for who gave ,jacob for spoil and ,israel to the robbers8 ,did not ,jehovah8 ,he against whom we sinned1 and they would not walk in ,his ways1 neither were obedient to ,his instruction4 ,so ,he poured upon him the fury of ,his anger and the force of war4 ,but even this did not awake the dull nation4 ,though it set him on fire round about1 yet he knew not2 and it kindled upon him1 yet he laid it not to heart4 ,the nation as a whole had been favoured with ,god's revelation2 as a whole they had been brought into ,his purifying furnace of the ,exile4 ,but as they have benefited by neither the one nor the other1 the natural conclusion is that as a whole they are no more fit to be ,god's ,servant4 ,such is the hint which this paradox is intended to give us4 ,but a little further on there is an obverse paradox1 which plainly says1 that although the people are blind and deaf as a whole1 still the capacity for service is found among them alone 7xliii4 #h1 #aj74 ,bring forth the blind people--yet eyes are there6 ,and the deaf1 yet ears have they6444 ,ye are ,my witnesses1 saith ,jehovah1 and ,my ,servant whom ,i have chosen4 ,the preceding verses 7vv4 #a-g7 show us that it is again the whole people1 in their bulk and scattered fragments1 who are referred to4 ,blind though they be1 yet are there eyes among them2 deaf though they be1 yet they have ears4 ,and so ,jehovah addresses them all1 in contradistinction to the heathen peoples 7ver4 #i71 as ,his ,servant4 ,these two complementary paradoxes together show this3 that while ,israel as a whole is unfit to be the ,servant1 it is nevertheless within ,israel1 alone of all the world's nations1 that the true capacities for service are found--eyes are there1 ears have they4 ,they prepare us for the ,servant's testimony about himself1 in which1 while he owns himself to be distinct from ,israel as a whole1 he is nevertheless still called ,israel4 ,this is given in ch4 xlix4 ,and ,he said unto me1 ,my ,servant art thou2 ,israel1 in whom ,i will glorify ,myself4 ,and now saith ,jehovah1 my moulder from the womb to be a ,servant unto ,him1 to turn again ,jacob to ,him1 and that ,israel might not be destroyed2 and ,i am of value in the eyes of ,jehovah1 and my ,god is my strength4 ,and ,he said1 ,it is too light for thy being ,my ,servant1 merely to raise up the tribes of ,jacob1 and to restore the preserved of ,israel2 ,i will also set thee for a light of nations1 to be ,my salvation to the end of the earth 7xlix4 #c-f74 ,here the ,servant1 though still called ,israel1 is clearly distinct from the nation as a whole1 for part of his work is to raise the nation up again4 ,and1 moreover1 he tells us this as his own testimony about himself4 ,he is no longer spoken of in the third person1 he speaks for himself in the first4 ,this is significant4 ,it is more than a mere artistic figure1 the effect of our prophet's dramatic style--as if the ,servant now stood opposite him1 so vivid and near that he heard him speak1 and quoted him in the direct form of speech4 ,it is more probably the result of moral sympathy3 the prophet speaks out of the heart of the ,servant1 in the name of that better portion of ,israel which was already conscious of the ,divine call1 and of its distinction in this respect from the mass of the people4 ,it is futile to inquire what this better portion of ,israel actually was1 for whom the prophet speaks in the first person4 ,some have argued1 from the stress which the speaker lays upon his gifts of speech and office of preaching1 that what is now signified by the ,servant is the order of the prophets2 but such forget that in these chapters the proclamation of the ,kingdom of ,god is the ideal1 not of prophets only1 but of the whole people4 ,zion as a whole is to be heraldess of good news 7xl4 #i74 ,it is1 therefore1 not the official function of the prophet-order which the ,servant here owns1 but the ideal of the prophet-nation4 ,others have argued from the direct form of speech1 that the prophet puts himself forward as the ,servant4 ,but no individual would call himself ,israel4 ,and as ,professor ,cheyne remarks1 the passage is altogether too self-assertive to be spoken by any man of himself as an individual2 although1 of course1 our prophet could not have spoken of the true ,israel with such sympathy1 unless he had himself been part of it4 ,the writer of these verses may have been1 for the time1 as virtually the real ,israel as ,mazzini was the real ,italy4 ,but still he does not speak as an individual4 ,the passage is manifestly a piece of personification4 ,the ,servant is ,israel--not now the nation as a whole1 not the body and bulk of the ,israelites1 for they are to be the object of his first efforts1 but the loyal1 conscious and effective ,israel1 realised in some of her members1 and here personified by our prophet1 who himself speaks for her out of his heart1 in the first person4 ,by ch4 xlix41 then1 the ,servant of ,jehovah is a personification of the true1 effective ,israel as distinguished from the mass of the nation--a ,personification1 but not yet a ,person4 ,something within ,israel has wakened up to find itself conscious of being the ,servant of ,jehovah1 and distinct from the mass of the nation--something that is not yet a ,person4 ,and this definition of the ,servant may stand 7with some modifications7 for his next appearance in ch4 l4 #d-i4 ,in this passage the ,servant1 still speaking in the first person1 continues to illustrate his experience as a prophet1 and carries it to its consequence in martyrdom4 ,but let us notice that he now no longer calls himself ,israel1 and that if it were not for the previous passages it would be natural to suppose that an individual was speaking4 ,this supposition is confirmed by a verse that follows the ,servant's speech1 and is spoken1 as chorus1 by the ,prophet himself4 ,who among you is a fearer of ,jehovah1 obedient to the voice of ,his ,servant1 who walketh in darkness1 and hath no light4 ,let him trust in the name of ,jehovah1 and stay himself upon his ,god4 ,in this too much neglected verse1 which forms a real transition to ch4 lii4 #ac-liii41 the prophet is addressing any individual ,israelite1 on behalf of a personal ,god4 ,it is very difficult to refrain from concluding that therefore the ,servant also is a ,person4 ,let us1 however1 not go beyond what we have evidence for2 and note only that in ch4 l4 the ,servant is no more called ,israel1 and is represented not as if he were one part of the nation1 over against the mass of it1 but as if he were one individual over against other individuals2 that in fine the ,personification of ch4 xlix4 has become much more difficult to distinguish from an actual ,person4 #c4 ,this brings us to the culminating passage--ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,is the ,servant still a ,personification here1 or at last and unmistakably a ,person8 ,it may relieve the air of that electricity1 which is apt to charge it at the discussion of so classic a passage as this1 and secure us calm weather in which to examine exegetical details1 if we at once assert1 what none but prejudiced ,jews have ever denied1 that this great prophecy1 known as the fifty-third of ,isaiah1 was fulfilled in ,one ,person1 ,jesus of ,nazareth1 and achieved in all its details by ,him alone4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it requires also to be pointed out that ,christ's personal fulfilment of it does not necessarily imply that our prophet wrote it of a ,person4 ,the present expositor hopes1 indeed1 to be able to give strong reasons for the theory usual among us1 that the ,personification of previous passages is at last in ch4 liii4 presented as a ,person4 ,but he fails to understand1 why critics should be regarded as unorthodox or at variance with ,new ,testament teaching on the subject1 who1 while they acknowledge that only ,christ fulfilled ch4 liii41 are yet unable to believe that the prophet looked upon the ,servant as an individual1 and who regard ch4 liii4 as simply a sublimer form of the prophet's previous pictures of the ideal people of ,god4 ,surely ,christ could and did fulfil prophecies other than personal ones4 ,the types of ,him1 which the ,new ,testament quotes from the ,old ,testament1 are not exclusively individuals4 ,christ is sometimes represented as realising in ,his ,person and work statements1 which1 as they were first spoken1 could only refer to ,israel1 the nation4 ,matthew1 for instance1 applies to ,jesus a text which ,hosea wrote primarily of the whole ,jewish people3 ,out of ,egypt have ,i called ,my ,son4#aec ,or1 to take an instance from our own prophet--who but ,jesus fulfilled ch4 xlix41 in which1 as we have seen1 it is not an individual1 but the ideal of the prophet people1 that is figured8 ,so that1 even if it were proved past all doubt--proved from grammar1 context1 and every prophetic analogy--that in writing ch4 liii4 our prophet had still in view that aspect of the nation which he has personified in ch4 xlix41 such a conclusion would not weaken the connection between the prophecy and its unquestioned fulfilment by ,jesus ,christ1 nor render the two less evidently part of one ,divine design4 ,but we are by no means compelled to adopt the impersonal view of ch4 liii4 ,on the contrary1 while the question is one1 to which all experts know the difficulty of finding an absolutely conclusive answer one way or the other1 it seems to me that reasons prevail1 which make for the personal interpretation4 4 ,let us see what exactly are the objections to taking ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 in a personal sense4 ,first1 it is very important to observe1 that they do not rise out of the grammar or language of the passage4 ,the reference of both of these is consistently individual4 ,throughout1 the ,servant is spoken of in the singular4#aed ,the name ,israel is not once applied to him3 nothing--except that the nation has also suffered--suggests that he is playing a national rle2 there is no reflection in his fate of the features of the ,exile4 ,the antithesis1 which was evident in previous passages1 between a better ,israel and the mass of the people has disappeared4 ,the ,servant is contrasted1 not with the nation as a whole1 but with ,his people as individuals4 ,all we like sheep have gone astray2 we have turned every one to his own way2 and the ,lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all4 ,as far as grammar can1 this surely distinguishes a single person4 ,it is true1 that one or two phrases suggest so colossal a figure--he shall startle many nations1 and kings shall shut their mouths at him--that for a moment we think of the spectacle of a people rather than of a solitary human presence4 ,but even such descriptions are not incompatible with a single person4#aee ,on the other hand1 there are phrases which we can scarcely think are used of any but a historical individual2 such as that he was taken from oppression and judgement1 that is from a process of law which was tyranny1 from a judicial murder1 and that he belonged to a particular generation--,as for his generation1 who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living4 ,surely a historical individual is the natural meaning of these words4 ,and1 in fact1 critics like ,ewald and ,wellhausen1 who interpret the passage1 in its present context1 of the ideal ,israel1 find themselves forced to argue1 that it has been borrowed for this use from the older story of some actual martyr--so individual do its references seem to them throughout4 ,if1 then1 the grammar and language of the passage thus conspire to convey the impression of an individual1 what are the objections to supposing that an individual is meant8 ,critics have felt1 in the main1 three objections to the discovery of a historical individual in ,isa4 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,the first of these that we take is chronological1 and arises from the late date to which we have found it necessary to assign the prophecy4 ,our prophet1 it is averred1 associates the work of the ,servant with the restoration of the people2 but he sees that restoration too close to him to be able to think of the appearance1 ministry and martyrdom of a real historic life happening before it4 7,our prophet1 it will be remembered1 wrote about #edf1 and the ,restoration came in #ech47 ,there is no room for a history like that of the suffering ,servant between the prophet's place and the ,restoration4#aef ,now1 this objection might be turned1 even if it were true that the prophet identified the suffering ,servant's career with so immediate and so short a process as the political deliverance from ,babylon4 ,for1 in that case1 the prophet would not be leaving less room for the ,servant1 than1 in ch4 ix41 ,isaiah himself leaves for the birth1 the growth to manhood1 and the victories of the ,prince-of-the-,four-,names1 before that immediate relief from the ,assyrian1 which he expects the ,prince to effect4 ,but does our prophet identify the suffering ,servant's career with the redemption from ,babylon and the ,return8 ,it is plain that he does not--at least in those portraits of the ,servant1 which are most personal4 ,our prophet has really two prospects for ,israel--one1 the actual deliverance from ,babylon2 the other1 a spiritual redemption and restoration4 ,if1 like his fellow prophets1 he sometimes runs these two together1 and talks of the latter in the terms of the former1 he keeps them on the whole distinct1 and assigns them to different agents4 ,the burden of the first he lays on ,cyrus1 though he also connects it with the ,servant1 while the ,servant is still to him an aspect of the nation 7see xlix4 #h;a1 #i;b74 ,it is temporary1 and soon passes from his thoughts1 ,cyrus being dropped with it4 ,but the other1 the spiritual redemption1 is confined to no limits of time2 and it is with its process--indefinite in date and in length of period--that he associates the most personal portraits of the ,servant 7ch4 l4 and lii4 #ac-liii474 ,in these the ,servant1 now spoken of as an individual1 has nothing to do with that temporary work of freeing the people from ,babylon1 which was over in a year or two1 and which seems to be now behind the prophet's standpoint4 ,his is the enduring office of prophecy1 sympathy1 and expiation--an office in which there is all possible room for such a historical career as is sketched for him4 ,his relation to ,cyrus1 before whose departure from connection with ,israel's fate the ,servant does not appear as a person1 is thus most interesting4 ,perhaps we may best convey it in a homely figure4 ,on the ship of ,israel's fortunes--as on every ship and on every voyage--the prophet sees two personages4 ,one is the ,pilot through the shallows1 ,cyrus1 who is dropped as soon as the shallows are past2 and the other is the ,captain of the ship1 who remains always identified with it--the ,servant4 ,the ,captain does not come to the front till the ,pilot has gone2 but1 both alongside the ,pilot1 and after the ,pilot has been dropped1 there is every room for his office4 ,the second main objection to identifying an individual in ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 is1 that an individual with such features has no analogy in ,hebrew prophecy4 ,it is said that1 neither in his humiliation1 nor in the kind of exaltation1 which is ascribed to him1 is there his like in any other individual in the ,old ,testament1 and certainly not in the ,messiah4 ,elsewhere in ,scripture 7it is averred7 the ,messiah reigns1 and is glorious2 it is the people who suffer1 and come through suffering to power4 ,nor is the ,messiah's royal splendour at all the same as the very vague influence1 evidently of a spiritual kind1 which is attributed to the ,servant in the end of ch4 liii4 ,the ,messiah is endowed with the military and political virtues4 ,he is a warrior1 a king1 a judge4 ,he sits on the throne of ,david1 ,he establishes ,david's kingdom4 ,he smites the land with the rod of ,his mouth1 and with the breath of ,his lips ,he slays the wicked4 ,but very different phrases are used of the ,servant4 ,he is not called king1 though kings shut their mouths at him1--he is a prophet and a martyr1 and an expiation2 and the phrases1 ,i will divide him a portion with the great1 and he shall divide the spoil with the strong1 are simply metaphors of the immense spiritual success and influence with which ,his self-sacrifice shall be rewarded2 as a spiritual power ,he shall take ,his place among the dominions and forces of the world4 ,this is a true prophecy of what ,israel1 that worm of a people1 should be lifted to2 but it is quite different from the political throne1 from which ,isaiah had promised that the ,messiah should sway the destinies of ,israel and mankind4 ,but1 in answer to this objection to finding the ,messiah1 or any other influential individual1 in ch4 liii41 we may remember that there were already traces in ,hebrew prophecy of a suffering ,messiah3 we come across them in ch4 vii4 ,there ,isaiah presents ,immanuel1 whom we identified with the ,prince-of-the-,four-,names in ch4 ix41 as at first nothing but a sufferer--a sufferer from the sins of ,his predecessors4#aeg ,and1 even though we are wrong in taking the suffering ,immanuel for the ,messiah1 and though ,isaiah meant him only as a personification of ,israel suffering for the error of ,ahaz1 had not the two hundred years1 which elapsed between ,isaiah's prophecy of ,israel's glorious ,deliverer1 been full of room enough1 and1 what is more1 of experience enough1 for the ideal champion of the people to be changed to something more spiritual in character and in work8 ,had the nation been baptized1 for most of those two centuries1 in vain1 in the meaning of suffering1 and in vain had they seen exemplified in their noblest spirits the fruits and glory of self-sacrifice8#aeh ,the type of ,hero had changed in ,israel since ,isaiah wrote of his ,prince-of-the-,four-,names4 ,the king had been replaced by the prophet2 the conqueror by the martyr2 the judge who smote the land by the rod of his mouth1 and slew the wicked by the breath of his lips1--by the patriot who took his country's sins upon his own conscience4 ,the monarchy had perished2 men knew that1 even if ,israel were set upon their own land again1 it would not be under an independent king of their own2 nor was a ,jewish champion of the martial kind1 such as ,isaiah had promised for deliverance from the ,assyrian1 any more required4 ,cyrus1 the ,gentile1 should do all the campaigning required against ,israel's enemies1 and ,israel's native ,saviour be relieved for gentler methods and more spiritual aims4 ,it is all this experience1 of nearly two centuries1 which explains the omission of the features of warrior and judge from ch4 liii41 and their replacement by those of a suffering patriot1 prophet and priest4 ,the reason of the change is1 not because the prophet who wrote the chapter had not1 as much as ,isaiah1 an individual in his view1 but because1 in the historical circumstance of the ,exile1 such an individual as ,isaiah had promised1 seemed no longer probable or required4 ,so far1 then1 from the difference between ch4 liii4 and previous prophecies of the ,messiah affording evidence that in ch4 liii4 it is not the ,messiah who is presented1 this very change1 that has taken place1 explicable as it is from the history of the intervening centuries1 goes powerfully to prove that it is the ,messiah1 and therefore an individual1 whom the prophet so vividly describes4 ,the third main objection to our recognising an individual in ch4 liii4 is concerned only with our prophet himself4 ,is it not impossible1 say some--or at least improbably inconsistent--for the same prophet first to have identified the ,servant with the nation1 and then to present him to us as an individual8 ,we can understand the transference by the same writer of the name from the whole people to a part of the people2 it is a natural transference1 and the prophet sufficiently explains it4 ,but how does he get from a part of the nation to a single individual8 ,if in ch4 xlix4 he personifies1 under the name ,servant1 some aspect of the nation1 we are surely bound to understand the same personification when the ,servant is again introduced--unless we have an explanation to the contrary4 ,but we have none4 ,the prophet gives no hint1 except by dropping the name ,israel1 that the focus of his vision is altered1--no more paradoxes such as marked his passage from the people as a whole to a portion of them1---no consciousness that any explanation whatever is required4 ,therefore1 however much finer the personification is drawn in ch4 liii4 than in ch4 xlix41 it is surely a personification still4 ,to which objection an obvious answer is1 that our prophet is not a systematic theologian1 but a dramatic poet1 who allows his characters to disclose themselves and their relation without himself intervening to define or relate them4 ,and any one who is familiar with the literature of ,israel knows1 that no less than the habit of drawing in from the whole people upon a portion of them1 was the habit of drawing in from a portion of the people upon one individual4 ,the royal ,messiah ,himself is a case in point4 ,the original promise to ,david was of a seed2 but soon prophecy concentrated the seed in one glorious ,prince4 ,the promise of ,israel had always culminated in an individual4 ,then1 again1 in the nation's awful sufferings1 it had been one man--the prophet ,jeremiah--who had stood forth singly and alone1 at once the incarnation of ,jehovah's word1 and the illustration in his own person of all the penalty that ,jehovah laid upon the sinful people4 ,with this tendency of his school to focus ,israel's hope on a single individual1 and especially with the example of ,jeremiah before him1 it is almost inconceivable that our prophet could have thought of any but an individual when he drew his portrait of the suffering ,servant4 ,no doubt the national sufferings were in his heart as he wrote2 it was probably a personal share in them that taught him to write so sympathetically about the ,man of pains1 who was familiar with ailing4 ,but to gather and concentrate all these sufferings upon one noble figure1 to describe this figure as thoroughly conscious of their moral meaning1 and capable of turning them to his people's salvation1 was a process absolutely in harmony with the genius of ,israel's prophecy1 as well as with the trend of their recent experience2 and there is1 besides1 no word in that great chapter1 in which the process culminates1 but is in thorough accordance with it4 ,so far1 therefore1 from its being an impossible or an unlikely thing for our prophet to have at last reached his conception of an individual1 it is almost impossible to conceive of him executing so personal a portrait as ch4 lii4 #ac-liii41 without thinking of a definite historical personage1 such as ,hebrew prophecy had ever associated with the redemption of his people4 #d4 ,we have now exhausted the passages in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 which deal with the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,we have found that our prophet identifies him at first with the whole nation1 and then with some indefinite portion of the nation--indefinite in quantity1 but most marked in character2 that this personification grows more and more difficult to distinguish from a person2 and that in ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 there are very strong reasons1 both in the text itself and in the analogy of other prophecy1 to suppose that the portrait of an individual is intended4 ,to complete our study of this development of the substance of the ,servant1 it is necessary to notice that it runs almost stage for stage with a development of his office4 ,up to ch4 xlix41 that is to say1 while he is still some aspect of the people1 the ,servant is a prophet4 ,in ch4 l41 where he is no longer called ,israel1 and approaches more nearly to an individual1 his prophecy passes into martyrdom4 ,and in ch4 liii41 where at last we recognise him as intended for an actual personage1 his martyrdom becomes an expiation for the sins of the people4 ,is there a natural connection between these two developments8 ,we have seen that it was by a very common process that our prophet transferred the national calling from the mass of the nation to a select few of the people4 ,is it by any equally natural tendency that he shrinks from the many to the few1 as he passes from prophecy to martyrdom1 or from the few to the one1 as he passes from martyrdom to expiation8 ,it is a possibility for all ,god's people to be prophets3 few are needed as martyrs4 ,is it by any moral law equally clear1 that only one man should die for the people8 ,these are questions worth thinking about4 ,in ,israel's history we have already found the following facts with which to answer them4 ,the whole living generation of ,israel felt themselves to be sinbearers3 ,our fathers have sinned1 and we bear their iniquities4 ,this conscience and penalty were more painfully felt by the righteous in ,israel4 ,but the keenest and heaviest sense of them was conspicuously that experienced by one man--the prophet ,jeremiah4#aei ,and yet all these cases from the past of ,israel's history do not furnish more than an approximation to the figure presented to us in ch4 liii4 ,let us turn1 therefore1 to the future to see if we can find in it motive or fulfilment for this marvellous prophecy4 ,,footnotes3 #adi ,a king's courtiers1 soldiers1 or subjects are called his servants4 ,in this sense ,israel was often styled the servants of ,jehovah1 as in ,deut4 xxxii4 #cf2 ,neh4 i4 #aj1 where the phrase is parallel to ,his people4 ,but ,jehovah's servants is a phrase also parallel to ,his worshippers 7,psalm cxxxiv4 #a1 etc472 to those who trust ,him 7,psalm xxxiv4 #bb72 and to those who love ,his name 7,psalm lxix4 #cf74 ,the term is also applied in the plural to the prophets 7,amos iii4 #g72 and in the singular1 to eminent individuals--such as ,abraham1 ,joshua1 ,david and ,job2 also by ,jeremiah to the alien ,nebuchadrezzar1 while engaged on his mission from ,god against ,jerusalem4 #aej ,see p4 #bdd4 #aea ,the definite article is not used here with the word people1 and hence the phrase has been taken by some in the vaguer sense of a people's covenant1 as a general expression1 along with its parallel clause1 of the kind of influence the ,servant was to exert1 not on ,israel1 but on any people in the world2 he was to be a people's covenant1 and a light for nations4 ,so practically ,schultz1 ,a4 ,t4 ,theologie1 #dth ed41 p4 #bhd4 ,but the ,hebrew word for people is often used without the article to express the people ,israel1 just as the ,hebrew word for land is often used without the article to express the land of ,judah4 7 with the article1 is in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 the ,earth47 ,and in ch4 xlix4 the phrase a covenant of the people again occurs1 and in a context in which it can only mean a covenant of the people1 ,israel4 ,some render a covenant people4 ,but in xlix4 #h this is plainly an impossible rendering4 #aeb ,meshullam is found as a proper name in the historical books of the ,old ,testament1 especially ,nehemiah1 e4g41 iii4 #d1 #f1 #cj4 #aec ,hosea xi4 #a2 ,matt4 ii4 #ae #aed ,of all the expressions used of him the only one which shows a real tendency to a plural reference is in his deaths 7ver4 #i71 and even it 7if it is the correct reading7 is quite capable of application to an individual who suffered such manifold martyrdom as is set forth in the passage4 #aee ,not one word in them betrays any sense of a body of men or an ideal people standing behind them1 which sense surely some expression would have betrayed1 if it had been in the prophet's mind4 #aef ,a4 ,b4 ,d41 in a review of the last edition of ,delitzsch's ,isaiah1 in the ,theol4 ,review1 iv41 p4 #bgf4 #aeg ,isaiah ,i4 i4-xxxix41 pp4 #acd1 #ace4 #aeh ,see p4 #db4 #aei ,see ch4 ii4 of this volume4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,,in ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,in last chapter we confined our study of the ,servant of ,jehovah to the text of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 and to the previous and contemporary history of ,israel4 ,into our interpretation of the remarkable ,figure1 whom our prophet has drawn for us1 we have put nothing which cannot be gathered from those fields and by the light of the prophet's own day4 ,but now we must travel further1 and from days far future to our prophet borrow a fuller light to throw back upon his mysterious projections4 ,we take this journey into the future for reasons he himself has taught us4 ,we have learned that his pictures of the ,servant are not the creation of his own mind2 a work of art complete through fancy's or through logic's aid4 ,they are the scattered reflections and suggestions of experience4 ,the prophet's eyes have been opened to read them out of the still growing and incomplete history of his people4 ,with that history they are indissolubly bound up4 ,their plainest forms are but a transcript of its clearest facts2 their paradoxes are its paradoxes 7reflections now of the confused and changing consciousness of this strange people1 or again of the contrast between ,god's design for them and their real character73 their ideals are the suggestion and promise which its course reveals to an inspired eye4 ,thus1 in picturing the ,servant1 our prophet sometimes confines himself to history that has already happened to ,israel2 but sometimes1 also1 upon the purpose and promise of this1 he outruns what has happened1 and plainly lifts his voice from the future4 ,now we must remember that he does so1 not merely because the history itself has native possibilities of fulfilment in it1 but because he believes that it is in the hands of an ,almighty and ,eternal ,god1 who shall surely guide it to the end of ,his purpose revealed in it4 ,it is an article of our prophet's creed1 that the ,god who speaks through him controls all history1 and by ,his prophets can publish beforehand what course it will take2 so that1 when we find in our prophet anything we do not see fully justified or illustrated by the time he wrote1 it is only in observance of the conditions he has laid down1 that we seek for its explanation in the future4 ,let us1 then1 take our prophet upon his own terms1 and follow the history1 with which he has so closely bound up the prophecy of the ,servant1 both in suggestion and fulfilment1 in order that we may see whether it will yield to us the secret of what1 if we have read his language aright1 his eyes perceived in it--the promise of an ,individual ,servant4 ,and let us do so in his faith1 that history is one progressive and harmonious movement under the hand of the ,god in whose name he speaks4 ,our exploration will be rewarded1 and our faith confirmed4 ,we shall find the nation1 as promised1 restored to its own land1 and pursuing through the centuries its own life4 ,we shall find within the nation what the prophet looked for1--an elect and effective portion1 with the conscience of a national service to the world1 but looking for the achievement of this to such an ,individual ,servant1 as the prophet seemed ultimately to foreshadow4 ,the world itself we shall find growing more and more open to this service4 ,and at last1 from ,israel's national conscience of the service we shall see emerge ,one with the sense that ,he alone is responsible and able for it4 ,and this ,one ,israelite will not only in ,his own person exhibit a character and achieve a work1 that illustrate and far excel our prophet's highest imaginations1 but will also become1 to a new ,israel infinitely more numerous than the old1 the conscience and inspiration of their collective fulfilment of the ideal4 99 99 99 99 99 #a4 ,in the ,old ,testament we cannot be sure of any further appearance of our prophet's ,servant of the ,lord4 ,it might be thought1 that in a post-exilic promise1 ,zech4 iii4 #h1 ,i will bring forth ,my ,servant the ,branch1 we had an identification of the hero of the first part of the ,book of ,isaiah1 the ,branch out of ,jesse's roots 7xi4 #a71 with the hero of the second part2 but servant here may so easily be meant in the more general sense in which it occurs in the ,old ,testament1 that we are not justified in finding any more particular connection4 ,in ,judaism beyond the ,old ,testament the national and personal interpretations of the ,servant were both current4 ,the ,targum of ,jonathan1 and both the ,talmud of ,jerusalem and the ,talmud of ,babylon1 recognise the personal ,messiah in ch4 liii42 the ,targum also identifies him as early as in ch4 xlii4 ,this personal interpretation the ,jews abandoned only after they had entered on their controversy with ,christian theologians2 and in the cruel persecutions1 which ,christians inflicted upon them throughout the middle ages1 they were supplied with only too many reasons for insisting that ch4 liii4 was prophetic of suffering ,israel--the martyr-people--as a whole4#afj ,it is a strange history--the history of our race1 where the first through their pride and error so frequently become the last1 and the last through their sufferings are set in ,god's regard with the first4 ,but of all its strange reversals none surely was ever more complete than when the followers of ,him1 who is set forth in this passage1 the unresisting and crucified ,saviour of men1 behaved in ,his ,name with so great a cruelty as to be righteously taken by ,his enemies for the very tyrants and persecutors whom the passage condemns4 #b4 ,but it is in the ,new ,testament that we see the most perfect reflection of the ,servant of the ,lord1 both as ,people and ,person4 ,in the generation1 from which ,jesus sprang1 there was1 amid national circumstances closely resembling those in which the ,second ,isaiah was written1 a counterpart of that ,israel within ,israel1 which our prophet has personified in ch4 xlix4 ,the holy nation lay again in bondage to the heathen1 partly in its own land1 partly scattered across the world2 and ,israel's righteousness1 redemption and ingathering were once more the questions of the day4 ,the thoughts of the masses1 as of old in ,babylonian days1 did not rise beyond a political restoration2 and although their popular leaders insisted upon national righteousness as necessary to this1 it was a righteousness mainly of a ceremonial kind--hard1 legal1 and often more unlovely in its want of enthusiasm and hope than even the political fanaticism of the vulgar4 ,but around the temple1 and in quiet recesses of the land1 a number of pious and ardent ,israelites lived on the true milk of the word1 and cherished for the nation hopes of a far more spiritual character4 ,if the ,pharisees laid their emphasis on the law1 this chosen ,israel drew their inspiration rather from prophecy2 and of all prophecy it was the ,book of ,isaiah1 and chiefly the latter part of it1 on which they lived4 ,as we enter the ,gospel history from the ,old ,testament1 we feel at once that ,isaiah is in the air4 ,in this fair opening of the new year of the ,lord1 the harbinger notes of the book awaken about us on all sides like the voices of birds come back with the spring4 ,in ,mary's song1 the phrase ,he hath holpen ,his ,servant ,israel2 in the description of ,simeon1 that he waited for the consolation of ,israel1 a phrase taken from the ,comfort ye1 comfort ye ,my people in ,isa4 xl4 #a2 such frequent phrases1 too1 as the redemption of ,jerusalem1 a light of the ,gentiles and the glory of ,israel1 light to them that sit in darkness1 and other echoed promises of light and peace and the remission of sins1 are all repeated from our evangelical prophecy4 ,in the fragments of the ,baptist's preaching1 which are extant1 it is remarkable that almost every metaphor and motive may be referred to the ,book of ,isaiah1 and mostly to its exilic half3 the generation of vipers1#afa the trees and axe laid to the root1#afb the threshing floor and fan1#afc the fire1#afd the bread and clothes to the poor1#afe and especially the proclamation of ,jesus1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god that beareth the sin of the world4#aff ,to ,john himself were applied the words of ,isa4 xl43 ,the voice of one crying in the wilderness1 ,make ye ready the way of the ,lord1 make ,his paths straight2 and when ,christ sought to rouse again the ,baptist's failing faith it was of ,isa4 lxi4 that ,he reminded him4 ,our ,lord1 then1 sprang from a generation of ,israel1 which had a strong conscience of the national aspect of the ,service of ,god1--a generation with ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 at its heart4 ,we have seen how ,he ,himself insisted upon the uniqueness of ,israel's place among the nations--salvation is of the ,jews--and how closely ,he identified ,himself with ,his people--,i am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of ,israel4 ,but all ,christ's strong expression of ,israel's distinction from the rest of mankind1 is weak and dim compared with ,his expression of ,his own distinction from the rest of ,israel4 ,if they were the one people with whom ,god worked in the world1 ,he was the one ,man1 whom ,god sent to work upon them1 and to use them to work upon others4 ,we cannot tell how early the sense of this distinction came to the ,son of ,mary4 ,luke reveals it in ,him1 before ,he had taken ,his place as a citizen and was still within the family3 ,wist ye not that ,i must be about ,my ,father's business8 ,at ,his first public appearance ,he had it fully1 and others acknowledged it4 ,in the opening year of ,his ministry it threatened to be only a ,distinction of the ,first--they took ,him by force1 and would have made ,him ,king4 ,but as time went on it grew evident that it was to be1 not the ,distinction of the ,first1 but the ,distinction of the ,only4 ,the enthusiastic crowds melted away3 the small band1 whom ,he had most imbued with ,his spirit1 proved that they could follow ,him but a certain length in ,his consciousness of ,his ,mission4 ,recognising in ,him the supreme prophet--,lord1 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life--they immediately failed to understand1 that suffering also must be endured by ,him for the people3 ,be it far from ,thee1 ,lord4 ,this suffering was ,his conscience and ,his burden alone4 ,now1 we cannot overlook the fact1 that the point at which ,christ's way became so solitary was the same point at which we felt our prophet's language cease to oblige us to understand by it a portion of the people1 and begin to be applicable to a single individual1--the point1 namely1 where prophecy passes into martyrdom4 ,but whether our prophet's pictures of the suffering and atoning ,servant of the ,lord are meant for some aspect of the national experience1 or as the portrait of a real individual1 it is certain that in ,his martyrdom and service of ransom ,jesus felt ,himself to be absolutely alone4 ,he who had begun ,his ,service of ,god with all the people on ,his side1 consummated the same with the leaders and the masses of the nation against ,him1 and without a single partner from among ,his own friends1 either in the fate which overtook ,him1 or in the conscience with which ,he bore it4 ,now all this parallel between ,jesus of ,nazareth and the ,servant of the ,lord is unmistakable enough1 even in this mere outline2 but the details of the ,gospel narrative and the language of the ,evangelists still more emphasize it4 ,christ's herald hailed ,him with words which gather up the essence of ,isa4 liii43 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god4 ,he read ,his own commission from ch4 lxi43 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord is upon ,me4 ,to describe ,his first labours among the people1 ,his disciples again used words from ch4 liii43 ,himself bare our sicknesses4 ,to paint ,his manner of working in face of opposition they quoted the whole passage from ch4 xlii43 ,behold ,my ,servant 444 ,he shall not strive4 ,the name ,servant was often upon ,his own lips in presenting ,himself3 ,behold1 ,i am among you as one that serveth4 ,when ,his office of prophecy passed into martyrdom1 ,he predicted for ,himself the treatment which is detailed in ch4 l41--the smiting1 plucking and spitting3 and in time1 by ,jew and ,gentile1 this treatment was inflicted on ,him to the very letter4#afg ,as to ,his consciousness in fulfilling something more than a martyrdom1 and alone among the martyrs of ,israel offering by ,his death an expiation for ,his people's sins1 ,his own words are frequent and clear enough to form a counterpart to ch4 liii4 ,with them before us1 we cannot doubt that ,he felt ,himself to be the ,one of whom the people in that chapter speak1 as standing over against them all1 sinless1 and yet bearing their sins4 ,but on the night on which ,he was betrayed1 while just upon the threshold of this extreme and unique form of service1 into which it has been given to no soul of man1 that ever lived1 to be conscious of following ,him--as if anxious that ,his disciples should not be so overwhelmed by the awful part in which they could not imitate ,him as to forget the countless other ways in which they were called to fulfil ,his serving spirit--,he took a towel and girded ,himself1 and when ,he had washed their feet1 ,he said unto them1 ,if ,i1 then1 your ,lord and ,master1 have washed your feet1 you also ought to wash one another's feet--thereby illustrating what is so plainly set forth in our prophecy1 that short of the expiation1 of which only ,one in ,his sinlessness has felt the obligation1 and short of the martyrdom1 which it has been given to but few of ,his people to share with ,him1 there are a thousand humble forms rising out of the needs of everyday life1 in which men are called to employ towards one another the gentle and self-forgetful methods of the true ,servant of ,god4 ,with the four ,gospels in existence1 no one doubts or can doubt that ,jesus of ,nazareth fulfilled the cry1 ,behold ,my ,servant4 ,with ,him it ceased to be a mere ideal1 and took its place as the greatest achievement in history4 #c4 ,in the earliest discourses of the ,apostles1 therefore1 it is not wonderful that ,jesus should be expressly designated by them as the ,servant of ,god1--the ,greek word used being that by which the ,septuagint specially translates the ,hebrew term in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4#afh3 ,god hath glorified ,his ,servant ,jesus4 ,unto you first1 ,god1 having raised up ,his ,servant1 sent ,him to bless you1 in turning away every one of you from your iniquities4444 ,in this city against ,thy holy ,servant ,jesus1 whom ,thou didst anoint1 both ,herod and ,pontius ,pilate1 with the ,gentiles and the peoples of ,israel1 were gathered together to do whatsoever ,thy hand and ,thy counsel foreordained to pass4 ,grant that signs and wonders may be done through the name of ,thy ,holy ,servant ,jesus4#afi ,it must also be noticed1 that in one of the same addresses1 and again by ,stephen in his argument before the ,sanhedrim1 ,jesus is called ,the ,righteous ,one1#agj doubtless an allusion to the same title for the ,servant in ,isa4 liii4 #aa4 ,need we recall the interpretation of ,isa4 liii4 by ,philip8#aga ,it is known to all how ,peter develops this parallel in his ,first ,epistle1 borrowing the figures but oftener the very words of ,isa4 liii4 to apply to ,christ4 ,like the ,servant of the ,lord1 ,jesus is as a lamb3 ,he is a patient sufferer in silence2 ,he is the ,righteous--again the classic title--for the unrighteous2 in exact quotation from the ,greek of ,isa4 liii43 ,he did no sin1 neither was found guile in ,his mouth1 ye were as sheep gone astray1 but ,he ,himself hath borne our sins1 with whose stripes ye are healed4#agb ,paul applies two quotations from ,isa4 lii4 #ac-liii4 to ,christ3 ,i have striven to preach the ,gospel not where ,christ was named2 as it is written1 ,to whom ,he was not spoken of they shall see3 and they that have not heard shall understand2 and ,he hath made ,him to be sin for us who knew no sin4#agc ,and none will doubt that when he so often disputed that the ,messiah must suffer1 or wrote ,messiah died for our sins according to the ,scriptures1 he had ,isa4 liii4 in mind1 exactly as we have seen it applied to the ,messiah by ,jewish scholars a hundred years later than ,paul4 #d4 ,paul1 however1 by no means confines the prophecy of the ,servant of the ,lord to ,jesus the ,messiah4 ,in a way which has been too much overlooked by students of the subject1 ,paul revives and reinforces the collective interpretation of the ,servant4 ,he claims the ,servant's duties and experience for himself1 his fellow-labourers in the gospel1 and all believers4 ,in ,antioch of ,pisidia1 ,paul and ,barnabas said of themselves to the ,jews3 ,for so hath the ,lord commanded us saying1 ,i have set thee to be a light of the ,gentiles1 that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth4#agd ,again1 in the eighth of ,romans1 ,paul takes the ,servant's confident words1 and speaks them of all ,god's true people4 ,he is near that justifieth me1 who is he that condemneth me8 cried the ,servant in our prophecy1 and ,paul echoes for all believers3 ,it is ,god that justifieth1 who is he that condemneth8#age ,and again1 in his second letter to ,timothy1 he says1 speaking of that pastor's work1 ,for the servant of the ,lord must not strive1 but be gentle towards all2 words which were borrowed from1 or suggested by1 ,isa4 xlii4 #a-c4agf ,in these instances1 as well as in his constant use of the terms slave1 servant1 minister1 with their cognates1 ,paul fulfils the intention of ,jesus1 who so continually1 by example1 parable1 and direct commission1 enforced the life of ,his people as a ,service to the ,lord4 #e4 ,such1 then1 is the ,new ,testament reflection of the ,prophecy of the ,servant of the ,lord1 both as ,people and ,person4 ,like all physical reflections1 this moral one may be said1 on the whole1 to stand reverse to its original4 ,in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 the ,servant is ,people first1 ,person second4 ,but in the ,new ,testament--except for a faint and scarcely articulate application to ,israel in the beginning of the gospels--the ,servant is ,person first and ,people afterwards4 ,the ,divine ,ideal which our prophet saw narrowing down from the ,nation to an ,individual1 was owned and realised by ,christ4 ,but in ,him it was not exhausted4 ,with added warmth and light1 with a new power of expansion1 it passed through ,him to fire the hearts and enlist the wills of an infinitely greater people than the ,israel for whom it was originally designed4 ,with this witness1 then1 of history to the prophecies of the ,servant1 our way in expounding and applying them is clear4 ,jesus ,christ is their perfect fulfilment and illustration4 ,but we who are ,his ,church are to find in them our ideal and duty1--our duty to ,god and to the world4 ,in this1 as in so many other matters1 the unfulfilled prophecy of ,israel is the conscience of ,christianity4 ,,footnotes3 #afj ,cf4 ,the ,jewish ,interpreters on ,isa4 liii41 ,driver and ,neubauer1 ,oxford1 #ahgg4 ,abravanel1 who himself takes ch4 liii4 in a national sense1 admits1 after giving the ,christian interpretation1 that in fact ,jonathan ben ,uziel1 'the ,targumist1' applied it to the ,messiah1 who was still to come1 and this is likewise the opinion of the wise in many of their ,midrashim4 ,and ,r4 ,moscheh al ,shech1 of the sixteenth century1 says3 ,see1 our masters have with one voice held as established and handed down1 that here it is ,king ,messiah who is spoken of4 7,both these passages quoted by ,bredenkamp in his commentary1 p4 #cjg47 #afa ,isa4 lix4 #e4 #afb ,id4 vi4 #ac2 ix4 #ah2 x4 #ag1 #cd2 xlvii4 #ad4 #afc ,id4 xxi4 #aj2 xxviii4 #bg2 xl4 #bd2 xli4 #ae ff4 #afd ,id4 i4 #ca2 xlvii4 #ad4 #afe ,isa4 lviii4 #g4 #aff ,undoubtedly taken from ,isa4 liii4 #afg ,cf4 with the ,greek version of ,isa4 l4 #d-g1 ,luke xviii4 #ca1 #cb2 ,matt4 xxvi4 #fg4 #afh ,in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 the ,septuagint translates the ,hebrew for ,servant by one or other of two words-- and 4 is used in xli4 #h2 xlii4 #a2 xliv4 #a ff42 xliv4 #ba2 xlv4 #d2 xlix4 #f2 l4 #aj2 lii4 #ac4 ,but is used in xlviii4 #bj2 xlix4 #c and #e4 ,in the ,acts it is that is used of ,christ3 ,an apostle is never called 7but only 7 7,meyer74 ,but ,david is called 7,acts iv4 #be74 #afi ,acts iii4 #ac1 #bf2 iv4 #bg-cj4 #agj ,acts iii4 #ad2 vii4 #eb4 #aga ,acts viii4 #cj ff4 #agb #a ,peter i4 #ai2 ii4 #bb1 #bc2 iii4 #ah4 #agc ,rom4 xv4 #bj f42 #b ,cor4 v4 #ba4 #agd ,acts xiii4 #dg1 after ,isa4 xlix4 #f4 #age ,isa4 l4 #h1 and ,rom4 viii4 #cc1 #cd4 #agf #b ,tim4 ii4 #bd4 ,we may note1 also1 how ,paul in ,eph4 vi4 takes the armour with which ,god is clothed in ,isa4 lix4 #ag1 breastplate and helmet1 and equips the individual ,christian with them2 and how1 in the same passage1 he takes for the ,christian from ,isa4 xl4 the ,messiah's girdle of truth and the sword of the ,spirit1--he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth1 and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,service ,,of ,,god ,,and ,,man4 ,,isaiah xlii4 #a-g4 ,we now understand1 whom to regard as the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,the ,service of ,god was a commission to witness and prophesy for ,god upon earth1 made out at first in the name of the entire nation ,israel4 ,when their unfitness as a whole became apparent1 it was delegated to a portion of them4 ,but as there were added to its duties of prophecy1 those of martyrdom and atonement for the sins of the people1 our prophet1 it would seem1 saw it focussed in the person of an individual4 ,in history ,jesus ,christ has fulfilled this commission both in its national and in its personal aspects4 ,he realised the ideal of the prophet-people4 ,he sacrificed ,himself and made atonement for the sins of men4 ,but having illustrated the service of ,god in the world1 ,christ did not exhaust it4 ,he returned it to ,his people1 a more clamant conscience than ever1 and ,he also gave them grace to fulfil its demands4 ,through ,christ the original destination of these prophecies becomes1 as ,paul saw1 their ultimate destination as well4 ,that ,israel refused this ,service or failed in it only leaves it more clearly to us as duty2 that ,jesus fulfilled it not only confirms that duty1 but adds hope and courage to discharge it4 ,although the terms of this ,service were published nearly two thousand five hundred years ago1 in a petty dialect that is now dead1 to a helpless tribe of captives in a world1 whose civilisation has long sunk to ruin1 yet these terms are so free of all that is provincial or antique1 they are so adapted to the lasting needs of humanity1 they are so universal in their scope1 they are so instinct with that love which never faileth1 though prophecies fail and tongues cease1 that they come home to heart and conscience to-day with as much tenderness and authority as ever4 ,the first programme of these terms is given in ch4 xlii4 #a-g4 ,the authorised ,english version is one of unapproachable beauty1 but its emphasis and rhythm are not the emphasis and rhythm of the original1 and it has missed one at least of the striking points of the ,hebrew4 ,the following version1 which makes no attempt at elegance1 is almost literal1 follows the same order as the original that it may reproduce the same emphasis1 and1 as far as ,english can1 repeats the original rhythm4 ,the point1 which it rescues from the neglect of the ,authorised ,version1 is this1 that the verbs used of the ,servant in ver4 #d1 ,he shall not fade nor break1 are the same as are used of the wick and the reed in ver4 #c4 ,lo1 ,my ,servant6 ,i hold by him2 ,my ,chosen6 ,well-pleased is ,my soul6 ,i have set ,my ,spirit upon him2 ,law to the ,nations he brings forth4 ,he cries not1 nor lifts up1#agg ,nor lets his voice be heard in the street4 ,reed that is broken he breaks not off1 ,wick that is fading he does not quench3 ,faithfully brings he forth ,law4 ,he shall not fade neither break1 ,till he have set in the ,earth#agh ,law2 ,and for his teaching the ,isles are waiting4 ,thus saith the ,god1 ,jehovah1 ,creator of the heavens that stretched them forth1 ,spreader of ,earth and her produce1 ,giver of breath to the people upon her1 ,and of spirit to them that walk therein3 ,i1 ,jehovah1 have called thee in righteousness1 ,to grasp thee fast by thy hand1 and to keep thee1 ,and to set thee for a covenant of the ,people1 ,for a light of the ,nations3 ,to open blind eyes1 ,to bring forth from durance the captive1 ,from prison the dwellers in darkness4 ,i4 ,,the ,,conscience ,,of ,,service4 ,as several of these lines indicate1 this is a ,service to ,man1 but what we must first fasten upon is that before being a ,service to ,man it is a ,service for ,god4 ,behold1 ,my ,servant1 says ,god's commission very emphatically4 ,and throughout the prophecy the ,servant is presented as chosen of ,god1 inspired of ,god1 equipped of ,god1 ,god's creature1 ,god's instrument2 useful only because he is used1 influential because he is influenced1 victorious because he is obedient2 learning the methods of his work by daily wakefulness to ,god's voice1 a good speaker only because he is first a good listener2 with no strength or courage but what ,god lends1 and achieving all for ,god's glory4 ,notice how strongly it is said that ,god holds by him1 grasps him by the hand4 ,we shall see that his ,service is as sympathetic and comprehensive a purpose for humanity as was ever dreamed in any thought or dared in any life4 ,whether we consider its tenderness for individuals1 or the universalism of its hope for the world1 or its gentle appreciation of all human effort and aspiration1 or its conscience of mankind's chief evil1 or the utterness of its self-sacrifice in order to redeem men1--we shall own it to be a programme of human duty1 and a prophecy of human destiny1 to which the growing experience of our race has been able to add nothing that is essential4 ,but the ,service becomes all that to man1 because it first takes all that from ,god4 ,not only is the ,servant's sense of duty to all humanity just the conscience of ,god's universal sovereignty1--for it is a remarkable and never-to-be-forgotten fact1 that ,israel recognised their ,god's right to the whole world1 before they felt their own duty to mankind1--but the ,servant's character and methods are the reflection of the ,divine4 ,feature by feature the ,servant corresponds to ,his ,lord4 ,his patience is but sympathy with ,jehovah's righteousness1--,i will uphold thee with the right hand of ,my righteousness4 ,his gentleness with the unprofitable and the unlovely--,he breaks not off the broken reed nor quenches the flickering wick--is but the temper of the everlasting ,god1 who giveth power to the faint1 and to them that have no might ,he increaseth strength4 ,his labour and passion and agony1 even they have been anticipated in the ,divine nature1 for the ,,lord stirreth up seal like a man of war2 ,he saith1 ,i will cry out like a travailing woman4 ,in no detail is the ,servant above his ,master4 ,his character is not original1 but is the impress of his ,god's3 ,i have put ,my spirit upon him4 ,there are many in our day1 who deny this indebtedness of the human character to the ,divine1 and in the ,service of ,man would have us turn our backs upon ,god4 ,positivists1 while admitting that the earliest enthusiasm of the individual for his race did originate in the love of a ,divine ,being1 assert nevertheless that we have grown away from this illusory motive2 and that in the example of humanity itself we may find all the requisite impulse to serve it4 ,the philosophy of history1 which the extreme ,socialists have put forward1 is even more explicit4 ,according to them1 mankind was disturbed in a primitive1 tribal socialism--or service of each other--by the rise of spiritual religion1 which drew the individual away from his kind and absorbed him in selfish relations to ,god4 ,such a stage1 represented by the ,hebrew and ,christian faiths1 and by the individualist political economy which has run concurrent with the later developments of ,christianity1 was 7so these ,socialists admit7 perhaps necessary for temporary discipline and culture1 like the land of ,egypt to starved ,jacob's children2 but like ,egypt1 when it turned out to be the house of bondage1 the individualist economy and religion are now to be abandoned for the original land of promise1--,socialism once more1 but universal instead of tribal as of old4 ,out of this analogy1 which is such ,socialists' own1 ,sinai and the ,ten ,commandments are1 of course1 omitted4 ,we are to march back to freedom without a ,god1 and settle down to love and serve each other by administration4 ,but can we turn our backs on ,god1 without hurting man8 ,the natural history of philanthropy would seem to say that we cannot4 ,this prophecy is one of its witnesses4 ,earliest ideal as it is1 of a universal service of mankind1 it starts in its obligation from the universal ,sovereignty of ,god2 it starts in every one of its affections from some affection of the ,divine character4 ,and we have not grown away from the need of its everlasting sources4 ,cut off ,god from the ,service of man1 and the long habit and inherent beauty of that ,service may perpetuate its customs for a few generations2 but the inevitable call must come to subject conduct to the altered intellectual conditions1 and in the absence of ,god every man's ideal shall surely turn from1 ,how can ,i serve my neighbour8 to1 ,how can ,i make my neighbour serve me8 ,as our prophet reminds us in his vivid contrast between ,israel1 the ,servant of the ,lord1 and ,babylon1 who saith in her heart3 ,i am1 and there is none beside me1 there are ultimately but two alternative lords of the human will1 ,god and ,self4 ,if we revolt from the ,authority and ,example of the ,one1 we shall surely become subject1 in the long run1 to the ignorance1 the short-sightedness1 the pedantry1 the cruelty of the other4 ,these words are used advisedly4 ,with no sense of the sacredness of every human life as created in the image of ,god1 and with no example of an ,infinite ,mercy before them1 men would leave to perish all that was weak1 or1 from the limited point of view of a single community or generation1 unprofitable4 ,some ,positivists and those ,socialists1 who do not include ,god in the society they seek to establish1 admit that they expect something like that to follow from their denial of ,god4 ,in certain ,positivist proposals for the reform of charity1 we are told that the ideal scheme of social relief would be the one which limited itself to persons judged to be of use to the community as a whole2 that is1 that in their succour of the weak1 their bounty to the poor1 and their care of the young1 society should be guided1 not by the eternal laws of justice and of mercy1 but by the opinions of the representatives of the public for the time being and by their standard of utility to the commonwealth4 ,your atheist-,socialist is still more frank4 ,in the state1 which he sees rising after he has got rid of ,christianity1 he would suppress1 he tells us1 all who preached such a thing as the fear of the future life1 and he would not repeat the present exceptional legislation for the protection of women and children1 for whom1 he whines1 far too much has been recently done in comparison with what has been enacted for the protection of men4#agi ,these are1 of course1 but vain things which the heathen imagine 7and some of us have an ideal of socialism very different from the godlessness which has usurped the noble name71 but they serve to illustrate what clever men1 who have thrown off all belief in ,god1 will bring themselves to hope for3 a society utterly ,babylonian1 without pity or patience1--if it were possible for these eternal graces to die out of any human community1--subject to the opinion of pedants1 whose tender mercies would be far more fatal to the weak and poor than the present indifference of the rich2 seriously fettering liberty of conscience and destitute of chivalry4 ,it may be that our ,positivist critics are right1 and that the interests of humanity have suffered in ,christian times from the prevalence of too selfish and introspective a religion2 but whether our religion has looked too intensely inward or not1 we cannot1 it is certain1 do without a religion that looks steadily up1 owning the discipline of ,divine ,law and the ,example of an ,infinite ,mercy and ,longsuffering4 ,but1 though we had never heard of ,positivism or of the ,socialism that denies ,god1 our age1 with its popular and public habits1 would still require this example of ,service1 which our prophecy enforces3 it is an age so charged with the instincts of work1 with the ambition to be useful1 with the fashion of altruism2 but so empty of the sense of ,god1 of reverence1 discipline and prayer4 ,we do not need to learn philanthropy1--the thing is in the air2 but we do need to be taught that philanthropy demands a theology both for its purity and its effectiveness4 ,when philanthropy has become1 what it is so much to-day1 the contest of rival politicians1 the ambition of every demagogue1 who can get his head above the crowd1 the fitful self-indulgence of weak hearts1 the opportunity of vain theorists1 and for all a temptation to work with lawless means for selfish ends1--it is time to remember that the ,service of ,man is first of all a great ,service for ,god4 ,this faith alone can keep us from the wilfulness1 the crotchets and the insubordination1 which spoil so many well-intentioned to their kind1 and so wofully break up the ranks of progress4 ,humility is the first need of the philanthropist of to-day3 humility1 discipline and the sense of proportion2 and these are qualities1 which only faith in ,god and the conscience of law are known to bestow upon the human heart4 ,it is the fear of ,god that will best preserve us from making our philanthropy the mere flattery of the popular appetite4 ,to keep us utterly patient with men we need to think of ,god's patience with ourselves4 ,while to us all there come calls to sacrifice1 which our fellow-men may so little deserve from us1 and against which our self-culture can plead so many reasons1 that unless ,god's will and example were before us1 the calls would never be obeyed4 ,in short1 to be most useful in this life it is necessary to feel that we are used4 ,look at ,christ4 ,to ,him philanthropy was no mere habit and spontaneous affection2 even for that great heart the love of man had to be enforced by the compulsion of the will of ,god4 ,the busy days of healing and teaching had between them long nights of lonely prayer2 and the ,son of ,god did not pass to ,his supreme self-sacrifice for men till after the struggle with1 and the submission to1 ,his ,father's will in ,gethsemane4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,substance ,,of ,,service4 ,the substance of the ,servant's work is stated in one word1 uttered thrice in emphatic positions4 ,judgement for the nations shall he bring forth4444 ,according to truth shall he bring forth judgement4444 ,he shall not flag nor break1 till he set in the earth#ahj judgement4 ,the ,english word judgement is a natural but misleading translation of the original1 and we must dismiss at once the idea of judicial sentence1 which it suggests4 ,the ,hebrew is mishpat1 which means1 among other things1 either a single statute1 or the complete body of law which ,god gave ,israel by ,moses1 at once their creed and their code2 or1 perhaps1 also the abstract quality of justice or right4 ,we rendered it as the latter in ,isa4 i4-xxxix4 ,but1 as will be seen from the note below1#aha when used in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 without the article1 as here1 it is the mishpat of ,jehovah1--not so much the actual body of statutes given to ,israel1 as the principles of right or justice which they enforce4 ,in one passage it is given in parallel to the civic virtues righteousness1 truth1 uprightness1 but--as its etymology compared with theirs shows us--it is these viewed not in their character as virtues1 but in their obligation as ordained by ,god4 ,hence1 duty to ,jehovah as inseparable from ,his religion 7,ewald71 religion as the law of life 7,delitzsch71 the law 7,cheyne1 who admirably compares the ,arabic ed-,dn7 are all good renderings4 ,professor ,davidson gives the fullest exposition4 ,it can scarcely1 he says1 be rendered 'religion' in the modern sense1 it is the equity and civil right which is the result of the true religion of ,jehovah2 and though comprehended under religion in the ,old ,testament sense1 is rather1 according to our conceptions1 religion applied in civil life4 ,of old the religious unit was the state1 and the life of the state was the expression of its religion4 ,morality was law or custom1 and both reposed upon ,god4 ,a condition of thought such as now prevails1 where morality is based on independent grounds1 whether natural law or the principles inherent in the mind apart from religion1 did not then exist4 ,what the prophet means by 'bringing forth right' is explained in another passage1 where it is said that ,jehovah's 'arms shall judge the peoples1' and that the 'isles shall wait for ,his arm' 7ch4 li4 #e74 ',judgment' is that pervading of life by the principles of equity and humanity which is the immediate effect of the true religion of ,jehovah4#ahb ,in short1 mishpat is not only the civic righteousness and justice1 to which it is made parallel in our prophecy1 but it is these with ,god behind them4 ,on the one hand it is conterminous with national virtue1 on the other it is the ordinance and will of ,god4 ,this1 then1 is the burden of the ,servant's work1 to pervade and instruct every nation's life on earth with the righteousness and piety that are ordained of ,god4 ,he shall not flag nor break1 till he have set in the earth ,law1--till in every nation justice1 humanity and worship are established as the law of ,god4 ,we have seen that the ,servant is in this passage still some aspect or shape of the people1--the people who are not a people1 but scattered among the brickfields of ,babylonia1 a horde of captives4 ,when we keep that in mind1 two or three things come home to us about this task of theirs4 ,first1 it is no mere effort at proselytism4 ,it is not an ambition to ,judaise the world4 ,the national consciousness and provincial habits1 which cling about so many of the prophecies of ,israel's relation to the world1 have dropped from this one1 and the nation's mission is identified with the establishment of law1 the diffusion of light1 the relief of suffering4 ,i will give thee for a light to the nations3 to open blind eyes1 to bring out from durance the bound1 from the prison the dwellers in darkness4#ahc ,again1 it is no mere office of preaching1 to which the ,servant's commission is limited1 no mere inculcation of articles of belief4 ,but we have here the same rich1 broad idea of religion1 identifying it with the whole national life1 which we found so often illustrated by ,isaiah1 and which is one of the beneficial results to religion of ,god's choice for ,himself of a nation as a whole4#ahd ,what such a ,service has to give the world1 is not merely testimony to the truth1 nor fresh views of it1 nor artistic methods of teaching it2 but social life under its obligation1 the public conscience of it1 the long tradition and habit of it1 the breed--what the prophets call the seed--of it4 ,to establish true religion as the constitution1 national duty1 and regular practice of every people under the sun1 in all the details of order1 cleanliness1 justice1 purity and mercy1 in which it had been applied to themselves1--such was the ,service and the ,destiny of ,israel4 ,and the marvel of so universal and political an ideal was1 that it came not to a people in the front ranks of civilisation or of empire1 but to a people that at the time had not even a political shape for themselves1--a mere herd of captives1 despised and rejected of men4 ,when we realise this1 we understand that they never would have dared to think of it1 or to speak of it to one another1 unless they had believed it to be the purpose and will of ,almighty ,god for them2 unless they had recognised it1 not only as a service desirable and true in itself1 and1 needed also by humanity1 but withal as ,his mishpat1 ,his judgement or law1 who by ,his bare word can bring all things to pass4 ,but before we see how strongly ,he impressed them with this1 that ,his creative force was in their mission1 let us turn to the methods by which ,he commanded them to achieve it1--methods corresponding to its purely spiritual and universal character4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,temper ,,of ,,service4 #a4 ,he shall not cry1 nor lift up1 ,nor make his voice to be heard in the street4 ,there is nothing more characteristic of our prophecy than its belief in the power of speech1 its exultation in the music and spell of the human voice4 ,it opens with a chorus of high calls3 none are so lovely to it as heralds1 or so musical as watchmen when they lift up the voice2 it sets the preaching of glad tidings before the people as their national ideal2 eloquence it describes as a sharp sword leaping from ,god's scabbard4 ,the ,servant of the ,lord is trained in style of speech2 his words are as pointed arrows2 he has the mouth of the learned1 a voice to command obedience4 ,the prophet's own tones are superb3 nowhere else does the short sententiousness of ,hebrew roll out into such long1 sonorous periods4 ,he uses speech in every style3 for comfort1 for bitter controversy1 in clear proclamation1 in deep-throated denunciation3 ,call with the throat1 spare not1 lift up the voice like a trumpet4 ,his constant key-notes are1 speak a word1 lift up the voice with strength1 sing1 publish1 declare4 ,in fact1 there is no use to which the human voice has ever been put in the ,service of ,man1 for comfort's sake1 or for justice1 or for liberty1 for the diffusion of knowledge or for the scattering of music1 which our prophet does not enlist and urge upon his people4 ,when1 then1 he says of the ,servant that he shall not cry1 nor lift up1 nor make his voice to be heard in the street1 he cannot be referring to the means and art of the ,service1 but rather to the tone and character of the ,servant4 ,each of the triplet of verbs he uses shows us this4 ,the first one1 translated cry1 is not the cry or call of the herald voice in ch4 xl41 the high1 clear ,kr2 it is ssaa1 a sharper word with a choke in the centre of it meaning to scream1 especially under excitement4 ,then to lift up is the exact equivalent of our to be loud4 ,and if we were seeking to translate into ,hebrew our phrase to advertise oneself1 we could not find a closer expression for it than to make his voice be heard in the street4 ,to be screamy1 to be loud1 to advertise oneself1--these modern expressions for vices that were ancient as well as modern render the exact force of the verse4 ,such the ,servant of ,god will not be nor do4 ,he is at once too strong1 too meek and too practical4 ,that ,god is with him1 holding him fast1 keeps him calm and unhysterical2 that he is but ,god's instrument keeps him humble and quiet2 and that his heart is in his work keeps him from advertising himself at its expense4 ,it is perhaps especially for the last of these reasons that ,matthew 7in his twelfth chapter7 quotes this passage of our ,lord4 ,jesus had been disturbed in ,his labours of healing by the disputatious ,pharisees4 ,he had answered them1 and then withdrawn from their neighbourhood4 ,many sick were brought after ,him to ,his privacy1 and ,he healed them all4 ,but ,he charged them that they should not make ,him known2 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by ,isaiah the prophet1 saying1 ,behold1 ,my ,servant 444 he shall not strive1 nor cry aloud1 neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets4 ,now this cannot be1 what some carelessly take it for1 an example against controversy or debate of all kinds1 for ,jesus had ,himself just been debating2 nor can it be meant as an absolute forbidding of all publishing of good works1 for ,christ has shown us1 on other occasions1 that such advertisement is good4 ,the difficulty is explained1 by what we have seen to explain other perplexing actions of our ,lord1 ,his intensely practical spirit4 ,the work to be done determined everything4 ,when it made argument necessary1 as that same day it had done in the synagogue1 then our ,lord entered on argument3 ,he did not only heal the man with the withered hand1 but ,he made him the text of a sermon4 ,but when talking about ,his work hindered it1 provoked the ,pharisees to come near with their questions1 and took up ,his time and strength in disputes with them1 then for the work's sake ,he forbade talk about it4 ,we have no trace of evidence that ,christ forbade this advertisement also for ,his own sake1--as a temptation to ,himself and fraught with evil effects upon ,his feelings4 ,we know that it is for this reason we have to shun it4 ,even though we are quite guiltless of contributing to such publication ourselves1 and it is the work of generous and well-meaning friends1 it still becomes a very great danger to us4 ,for it is apt to fever us and exhaust our nervous force1 even when it does not turn our heads with its praise1--to distract us and to draw us more and more into the enervating habit of paying attention to popular opinion4 ,therefore1 as a man values his efficiency in the ,service of ,man1 he will not make himself to be heard in the street4 ,there is an amount of making to be heard which is absolutely necessary for the work's sake2 but there is also an amount which can be indulged in only at the work's expense4 ,present-day philanthropy1 even with the best intentions1 suffers from this over-publicity1 and its besetting sins are loudness and hysteria4 ,what1 then1 shall tell us how far we can go8 ,what shall teach us how to be eloquent without screaming1 clear without being loud1 impressive without wasting our strength in seeking to make an impression8 ,these questions bring us back to what we started with1 as the indispensable requisite for ,service--some guiding and religious principles behind even the kindliest and steadiest tempers4 ,for many things in the ,service of ,man no exact rules will avail2 neither logic nor bye-laws of administration can teach us to observe the uncertain and constantly varying degree of duty1 which they demand4 ,tact for that is bestowed only by the influence of lofty principles working from above4 ,this is a case in point4 ,what rules of logic or directions of the superior authority can1 in the ,service of ,man1 distinguish for us between excitement and earnestness1 bluster and eloquence1 energy and mere self-advertisement2 on whose subtle differences the whole success of the service must turn4 ,only the discipline of faith1 only the sense of ,god1 can help us here4 ,the practical temper by itself will not help us4 ,to be busy but gives us too great self-importance2 and hard work often serves only to bring out the combative instincts4 ,to know that we are ,his ,servants shall keep us meek2 that we are held fast by ,his hand shall keep us calm2 that ,his great laws are not abrogated shall keep us sane4 ,when for our lowliest and most commonplace kinds of service we think no religion is required1 let us remember the solemn introduction of the evangelist to his story of the foot-washing4 ,jesus knowing that the ,father had given all things into ,his hands1 and that ,he came forth from ,god and goeth unto ,god1 riseth from supper1 and layeth aside ,his garments2 and ,he took a towel1 and girded ,himself2 then ,he poureth water into the bason1 and began to wash ,his disciples' feet4 #b4 ,but to meekness and discipline the ,servant adds gentleness4 ,reed that is broken he breaks not off1 ,wick that is fading he does not quench2 ,faithfully brings he forth law4 ,the force of the last of these three lines is1 of course1 qualificative and conditional4 ,it is set as a guard against the abuse of the first two1 and means that though the ,servant in dealing with men is to be solicitous about their weakness1 yet the interests of religion shall in no way suffer4 ,mercy shall be practised1 but so that truth is not compromised4 ,the original application of the verse is thus finely stated by ,professor ,davidson3 ,this is the singularly humane and compassionate view the ,prophet takes of the ,gentiles1--they are bruised reeds and expiring flames4444 ,what the prophet may refer to is the human virtues1 expiring among the nations1 but not yet dead2 the sense of ,god1 debased by idolatries1 but not extinct2 the consciousness in the individual soul of its own worth and its capacities1 and the glimmering ideal of a true life and a worthy activity almost crushed out by the grinding tyranny of rulers and the miseries entailed by their ambitions--this flickering light the ,servant shall feed and blow into a flame4#ahe444 ,it is the future relation of the 'people' ,israel to other peoples that he describes4 ,the thought which has now taken possession of statesmen of the higher class1 that the point of contact between nation and nation need not be the sword1 that the advantage of one people is not the loss of another but the gain of mankind1 that the land where freedom has grown to maturity and is worshipped in her virgin serenity and loveliness should nurse the new-born babe in other homes1 and that the strange powers of the mind of man and the subtle activities of his hand should not be repressed but fostered in every people1 in order that the product may be poured into the general lap of the race--this idea is supposed to be due to ,christianity4 ,and1 immediately1 it is2 but it is older than ,christianity4 ,it is found in this ,prophet4 ,and it is not new in him1 for a ,prophet1 presumably a century and a half his senior1 had said3 ,the remnant of ,jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as a dew from the ,lord1 as showers upon the grass 7,micah v4 #g74ahf ,but while this national reference may be the one originally meant1 the splendid vagueness of the metaphor forbids us to be content with it1 or with any solitary application4 ,for the two clauses are as the eyes of the ,all-,pitiful ,father1 that rest wherever on this broad earth there is any life1 though it be so low as to be conscious only through pain or doubt2 they are as the healing palms of ,jesus stretched over the multitudes to bless and gather to ,himself the weary and the poor in spirit4 ,we contrast our miserable ruin of character1 our feeble sparks of desire after holiness1 with the life1 which ,christ demands and has promised1 and in despair we tell ourselves1 this can never become that4 ,but it is precisely this that ,christ has come to lift to that4 ,the first chapter of the ,sermon on the ,mount closes with the awful command1 ,be ye perfect1 as your ,father in ,heaven is perfect2 but we work our way back through the chapter1 and we come to this1 ,blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness1 for they shall be filled2 and to this1 ,blessed are the poor in spirit1 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven4 ,such is ,christ's treatment of the bruised reed and the smoking flax4 ,let us not despair4 ,there is only one kind of men1 for whom it has no gospel1--the dead and they who are steeped in worldliness1 who have forgotten what the pain of a sore conscience is1 and are strangers to humility and aspiration4 ,but for all who know their life1 were it only through their pain or their doubt1 were it only in the despair of what they feel to be a last struggle with temptation1 were it only in contrition for their sin or in shame for their uselessness1 this text has hope4 ,reed that is broken he breaketh not off1 wick that is fading he doth not quench4 ,this objective sense of the ,servant's temper must always be the first for us to understand4 ,for more than he was1 we are1 mortal1 ready ourselves to break and to fade4 ,but having experienced the grace1 let us show the same in our service to others4 ,let us understand that we are sent forth like the great ,servant of ,god1 that man may have life1 and have it more abundantly4 ,we need resolutely and with pious obstinacy to set this temper before us1 for it is not natural to our hearts4 ,even the best of us1 in the excitement of our work1 forget to think of anything except of making our mark1 or of getting the better of what we are at work upon4 ,when work grows hard1 the combative instincts waken within us1 till we look upon the characters ,god has given us to mould as enemies to be fought4 ,we are passionate to convince men1 to overcome them with an argument1 to wring the confession from them that we are right and they wrong4 ,now ,christ our ,master must have seen in every man ,he met a very great deal more to be fought and extirpated than we can possibly see in one another4 ,yet ,he largely left that alone1 and addressed ,himself rather to the sparks of nobility ,he found1 and fostered these to a strong life1 which from within overcame the badness of the man1--the badness which opposition from the outside would but have beaten into harder obduracy4 ,we must ever remember that we are not warriors but artists1--artists after the fashion of ,jesus ,christ1 who came not to condemn life because it was imperfect1 but to build life up to the image of ,god4 ,so ,he sends us to be artists2 as it is written1 ,he gave some apostles1 and some prophets1 and some pastors and teachers4 ,for what end8 ,for convincing men1 for telling them what fools they mostly are1 for crushing them in the inquisition of their own conscience1 for getting the better of them in argument8--no1 not for these combative purposes at all1 but for fostering and artistic ones3 for the perfecting of the saints1 for the building up of the body of ,christ2 till we all come unto a full grown man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,he who1 in his ,service of ,man1 practises such a temper towards the breaking and the fading1 shall never himself break or fade1 as this prophecy implies when it uses the same verbs in verses three and four4 ,for he who is loyal to life shall find life generous to him2 he who is careful of weakness shall never want for strength4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,power ,,behind ,,service4 ,there only remains now to emphasize the power that is behind ,service4 ,it is1 say verses five and six1 the ,creative ,power of ,god4 ,thus saith ,the ,god1 ,jehovah1 ,creator of the heavens1 that stretched them forth1 ,spreader of the earth and her produce1 ,giver of breath to the people upon her1 ,and of spirit to them that walk thereon1 ,i ,jehovah have called thee in righteousness1 ,that ,i may grasp thee by thy hand1 and keep thee4 ,majestic confirmation of the call to ,service6 based upon the fundamental granite of this whole prophecy1 which here crops out into a noble peak1 firm station for the ,servant1 and point for prospect of all the future4 ,it is our easy fault to read these words of the ,creator as the utterance of mere ceremonial commonplace1 blast of trumpets at the going forth of a hero1 scenery for his stage1 the pomp of nature summoned to assist at the presentation of ,god's elect before the world4 ,yet not for splendour were they spoken1 but for bare faith's sake4 ,god's ,servant has been sent forth1 weak and gentle1 with quiet methods and to very slow effects4 ,he shall not cry1 nor lift up1 nor make his voice to be heard in the streets4 ,what chance has such1 our service1 in the ways of the world1 where to be forceful and selfish1 to bluster and battle1 is to survive and overcome6 ,so we speak1 and the panic ambition rises to fight the world with its own weapons1 and to employ the kinds of debate1 advertisement and competition by which the world goes forward4 ,for this1 the ,creator calls to us1 and marshals ,his powers before our eyes4 ,we thought there were but two things1--our own silence and the world's noise4 ,there are three1 and the world's noise is only an interruption between the other two4 ,across it deep calleth unto deep2 the immeasurable processes of creation cry to the feeble convictions of truth in our hearts1 ,we are one4 ,creation is the certificate that no moral effort is a forlorn hope4 ,when ,god1 after repeating ,his results in creation1 adds1 ,i have called thee in righteousness1 ,he means that there is some consistency between ,his processes in creation1 rational and immense as they are1 and those poor efforts ,he calls on our weakness to make1 which look so foolish in face of the world4 ,behind every moral effort there is1 ,he says1 ,creative force4 ,right and ,might are ultimately one4 ,paul sums up the force of the passage1 when1 after speaking of the success of his ministry1 he gives as its reason that the ,god of ,creation and of ,grace are the same4 ,therefore seeing we have received this ministry we faint not4 ,for ,god1 who hath commanded the light to shine out of darkness1 hath shined in our hearts1 to give the light of the knowledge of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the spiritual ,service of ,man1 then1 has creative forces behind it2 work for ,god upon the hearts and characters of others has creative force behind it4 ,and nature is the seal and the sacrament of this4 ,let our souls1 therefore1 dilate with her prospects4 ,let our impatience study her reasonableness and her laws4 ,let our weak wills feel the rush of her tides4 ,for the power that is in her1 and the faithful pursuance of purposes to their ends1 are the power and the character that work behind each witness of our conscience1 each effort of our heart for others4 ,not less strong than she1 not less calm1 not less certain of success1 shall prove the moral ,service of ,man4 ,,footnotes3 #agg ,the ,english equivalent is1 nor is loud4 #agh ,this time with the article1 so not the land of ,judah only1 but the ,earth4 #agi ,bax1 ,religion of ,socialism4 #ahj ,this time arets with the article4 ,so not the land of ,judah only but the world4 #aha ,the following are the four main meanings of mishpat in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi43 #a4 ,in a general sense1 a legal process1 xli4 #a1 let us come together to the judgement1 or the law 7with the article71 cf4 l4 #h1 man of my judgement1 i4e41 my fellow-at-law1 my adversary2 liii4 #h1 oppression and judgement1 i4e41 a judgement which was oppressive1 a legal injustice4 #b4 ,a person's cause or right1 xl4 #bg1 xlix4 #d4 #c4 ,ordinance instituted by ,jehovah for the life and worship of ,his people1 lviii4 #b1 ordinances of righteousness1 i4e41 either canonical laws1 or ordinances by observing which the people would make themselves righteous4 #d4 ,in general1 the sum of the laws given by ,jehovah to ,israel1 the ,law1 lviii4 #b1 ,law of their ,god2 li4 #d1 ,jehovah says ,my ,law 7,rev4 ,ver4 judgement71 parallel to ,torah or ,revelation 7,rev4 ,ver4 law74 ,then absolutely1 without the article or ,jehovah's name attached1 xlii4 #a1 #c1 #d4 ,in lvi4 #a parallel to righteousness2 lix4 #ad parallel to righteousness1 truth and uprightness4 ,in fact1 in this last use1 while represented as equivalent to civic morality1 it is this1 not as viewed in its character1 right1 upright1 but in its obligation as ordained by ,god3 morality as ,his ,law4 ,the absence of the article may either mean what it means in the case of people and land1 i4e41 the ,law1 too much of a proper name to need the article1 or it may be an attempt to abstract the quality of the ,law2 and if so mishpat is equal to justice4 #ahb ,expositor1 second series1 vol4 viii41 p4 #cfd4 #ahc ,this might1 of course1 only mean what the ,servant had to do for his captive countrymen4 ,but coming as it does after the light of nations1 it seems natural to take it in its wider and more spiritual sense4 #ahd ,see ch4 xv4 of this volume4 #ahe ,expositor1 second series1 viii41 pp4 #cfd1 #cfe1 #cff4 #ahf ,ibid41 p4 #cff4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,prophet ,,and ,,martyr4 ,,isaiah xlix4 #a-i2 l4 #d-aa4 ,the second great passage upon the ,servant of the ,lord is ch4 xlix4 #a-i1 and the third is ch4 l4 #d-aa4 ,in both of these the servant himself speaks2 in both he speaks as prophet2 while in the second he tells us that his prophecy leads him on to martyrdom4 ,the two passages may1 therefore1 be taken together4 ,before we examine their contents1 let us look for a moment at the way in which they are woven into the rest of the text4 ,as we have seen1 ch4 xlix4 begins a new section of the prophecy1 in so far that with it the prophet leaves ,babylon and ,cyrus behind him1 and ceases to speak of the contrast between ,god and the idols4 ,but1 still1 ch4 xlix4 is linked to ch4 xlviii4 ,in leading up to its climax1--the summons to ,israel to depart from ,babylon1--ch4 xlviii4 does not forget that ,israel is delivered from ,babylon in order to be the ,servant of ,jehovah3 say ye1 ,jehovah hath redeemed ,his ,servant ,jacob4 ,it is this service1 which ch4 xlix4 carries forward from the opportunity1 and the call1 to go forth from ,babylon1 with which ch4 xlviii4 closes4 ,that opportunity1 though real1 does not at all mean that ,israel's redemption is complete4 ,there were many moral reasons which prevented the whole nation from taking full advantage of the political freedom offered them by ,cyrus4 ,although the true ,israel1 that part of the nation which has the conscience of service1 has shaken itself free from the temptation as well as from the tyranny of ,babel1 and now sees the world before it as the theatre of its operations1--ver4 #a1 ,hearken1 ye isles1 unto ,me2 and listen1 ye peoples1 from far1--it has still1 before it can address itself to that universal mission1 to exhort1 rouse and extricate the rest of its nation1 saying to the bounden1 ,go forth2 and to them that are in darkness1 ,show yourselves 7ver4 #i74 ,ch4 xlix41 therefore1 is the natural development of ch4 xlviii4 ,there is certainly a little interval of time implied between the two--the time during which it became apparent that the opportunity to leave ,babylon would not be taken advantage of by all ,israel1 and that the nation's redemption must be a moral as well as a political one4 ,but ch4 xlix4 #a-i comes out of chs4 xl4-xlviii41 and it is impossible to believe that in it we are not still under the influence of the same author4 ,a similar coherence is apparent if we look to the other end of ch4 xlix4 #a-i4 ,here it is evident that ,jehovah's commission to the ,servant concludes with ver4 #i;a2 but then its closing words1 ,say to the bound1 ,go forth2 to them that are in darkness1 ,show yourselves1 start fresh thoughts about the redeemed on their way back 7vv4 #i;b-#ac72 and these thoughts naturally lead on to a picture of ,jerusalem imagining herself forsaken1 and amazed by the appearance of so many of her children before her 7vv4 #ad-ba74 ,promises to her and to them follow in due sequence down to ch4 l4 #c1 when the ,servant resumes his soliloquy about himself1 but abruptly1 and in no apparent connection with what immediately precedes4 ,his soliloquy ceases in ver4 #i1 and another voice1 probably that of ,god ,himself1 urges obedience to the ,servant 7ver4 #aj71 and judgement to the sinners in ,israel 7ver4 #aa72 and ch4 li4 is an address to the spiritual ,israel1 and to ,jerusalem1 with thoughts much the same as those uttered in xlix4 #ad-l4 #c4 ,in face of these facts1 and taking into consideration the dramatic form in which the whole prophecy is cast1 we find ourselves unable to say that there is anything which is incompatible with a single authorship1 or which makes it impossible for the two passages on the ,servant to have originally sprung1 each at the place at which it now stands1 from the progress of the prophet's thoughts4#ahg 99 99 99 99 99 ,babylon is left behind1 and the way of the ,lord is prepared in the desert4 ,israel have once more the title-deeds to their own land1 and ,zion looms in sight4 ,yet with their face to home1 and their heart upon freedom1 the voice of this people1 or at least of the better half of this people1 rises first upon the conscience of their duty to the rest of mankind4 ,hearken1 ,o ,isles1 unto ,me2 ,and listen1 ,o ,peoples1 from far6 ,from the womb ,jehovah hath called me1 ,from my mother's midst mentioned my name4#ahh ,and ,he set my mouth like a sharp sword1 ,in the shadow of ,his hand did ,he hide me2 ,yea1 ,he made me a pointed arrow1 ,in ,his quiver ,he laid me in store1 ,and said to me1 ,my ,servant art thou1 ,israel1 in whom ,i shall break into glory4 ,and ,i--,i said1 ,in vain have ,i laboured1 ,for waste and for wind my strength have ,i spent6 ,surely my right's with ,jehovah1 ,and the meed of my work with my ,god6 ,but now1 saith ,jehovah-- ,moulding me from the womb to be ,his own ,servant1 ,to turn again ,jacob towards ,him1 ,and that ,israel be not destroyed4#ahi ,and ,i am of honour in the eyes of ,jehovah1 ,and my ,god is my strength6 ,and ,he saith1 ',tis too light for thy being ,my ,servant1 ,to raise up the tribes of ,jacob1 ,or gather the survivors of ,israel4 ,so ,i will set thee a light of the ,nations1 ,to be ,my salvation to the end of the earth4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,israel's ,redeemer1 his ,holy1 ,to this mockery of a life1 abhorrence of a nation1 servant of tyrants1#aij ,kings shall behold and shall stand up1 ,princes shall also do homage1 ,for the sake of ,jehovah1 who shows ,himself faithful1 ,holy of ,israel1 and thou art ,his chosen4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,in a favourable time ,i have given thee answer1 ,in the day of salvation have helped thee1 ,to keep thee1 to give thee for covenant of the people1 ,to raise up the land1 ,to give back the heirs to the desolate heirdoms1 ,saying to the bounden1 ,go forth6 ,to them that are in darkness1 ,appear6 ,who is so blind as not to perceive that the consciousness of the ,servant here is only a mirror in which the history of ,israel is reflected--first1 in its original call and design that ,jehovah should be glorified in it2 second1 in the long delay and apparent failure of the design2 and1 thirdly1 as the design is now in the present juncture of circumstances and concurrence of events about to be realized8#aia ,yes3 but it is ,israel's calling1 native insufficiency1 and present duty1 as owned by only a part of the people1 which1 though named by the national name 7ver4 #c71 feels itself standing over against the bulk of the nation1 whose redemption it is called to work out 7vv4 #h and #i7 before it takes up its world-wide service4 ,we have already sufficiently discussed this distinction of the ,servant from the whole nation1 as well as the distinction of the moral work he has to effect in ,israel's redemption from ,babylon1 from the political enfranchisement of the nation1 which is the work of ,cyrus4 ,let us1 then1 at once address ourselves to the main features of his consciousness of his mission to mankind4 ,we shall find these features to be three4 ,the ,servant owns for his chief end the glory of ,god2 and he feels that he has to glorify ,god in two ways--by ,speech1 and by ,suffering4 ,i4 ,,the ,,servant ,,glorifies ,,god4 ,he did say to me1 ,my servant art thou1 ,israel1 in whom ,i shall break into glory4 ,the ,hebrew verb1 which the ,authorised ,version translates will be glorified1 means to burst forth1 become visible1 break like the dawn into splendour4 ,this is the scriptural sense of ,glory4 ,glory is ,god become visible4 ,as we put it in ,volume ,i41#aib glory is the expression of holiness1 as beauty is the expression of health4 ,but1 in order to become visible1 the ,absolute and ,holy ,god needs mortal man4 ,we have felt something like a paradox in these prophecies4 ,nowhere else is ,god lifted up so absolute1 and so able to effect all by ,his mere will and word2 yet nowhere else is a human agency and service so strongly asserted as indispensable to the ,divine purpose4 ,but this is no more a paradox1 than the fact that physical light needs some material in which to become visible4 ,light is never revealed of itself1 but always when shining from1 or burning in1 something else4 ,to be seen1 light requires a surface that will reflect1 or a substance that will consume4 ,and so1 to break into glory1 ,god requires something outside ,himself4 ,a responsive portion of humanity is indispensable to ,him1--a people who will reflect ,him and spend itself for ,him4 ,man is the mirror and the wick of the ,divine4 ,god is glorified in man's character and witness1--these are ,his mirror2 and in man's sacrifice1--that is ,his wick4 ,and so we meet again the central truth of our prophecy1 that in order to serve men it is necessary first to be used of ,god4 ,we must place ourselves at the disposal of the ,divine1 we must let ,god shine on us and kindle us1 and break into glory through us1 before we can hope either to comfort mankind or to set them on fire4 ,it is true that ideas very different from this prevail among the ranks of the servants of humanity in our day4 ,a large part of our most serious literature professes for its main bearing this conclusion1 that the fellowship between man and man1 which has been the principle of development1 social and moral1 is not dependent upon conceptions of what is not man1 and that the idea of ,god1 so far as it has been a high spiritual influence1 is the ideal of a goodness entirely human4#aic ,but such theories are possible only so long as the still unexhausted influence of religion upon society continues to supply human nature1 directly or indirectly1 with a virtue which may be plausibly claimed for human nature's own original product4 ,let religion be entirely withdrawn1 and the question1 ,whence comes virtue8 will be answered by virtue ceasing to come at all4 ,the savage imagines that it is the burning-glass which sets the bush on fire1 and as long as the sun is shining it may be impossible to convince him that he is wrong2 but a dull day will teach even his mind that the glass can do nothing without the sun upon it4 ,and so1 though men may talk glibly against ,god1 while society still shines in the light of ,his countenance1 yet1 if they and society resolutely withdraw themselves from that light1 they shall certainly lose every heat and lustre of the spirit which is indispensable for social service4#aid ,on this the ancient ,greek was at one with the ancient ,hebrew4 ,enthusiasm is just ,god breaking into glory through a human life4 ,here lies the secret of the buoyancy and freshness of the earlier world1 whether pagan or ,hebrew1 and by this may be understood the depression and pessimism which infects modern society4 ,they had ,god in their blood1 and we are anmic4 ,but ,i1 ,i said1 ,i have laboured in vain2 for waste and for wind have ,i spent my strength4 ,we must all say that1 if our last word is our strength4 ,but let this not be our last word4 ,let us remember the sufficient answer3 ,surely my right is with the ,lord1 and the meed of my work with my ,god4 ,we are set1 not in our own strength or for our own advantage1 but with the hand of ,god upon us1 and that the ,divine life may break into glory through our life4 ,carlyle said1 and it was almost his last testimony1 ,the older ,i grow1 and ,i am now on the brink of eternity1 the more comes back to me the first sentence of the catechism1 which ,i learned when a child1 and the fuller does its meaning grow--',what is the chief end of man8 ,man's chief end is to glorify ,god and enjoy ,him for ever4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was said above1 that1 as light breaks to visibleness either from a mirror or a wick1 so ,god breaks to glory either from the witness of men1--that is ,his mirror1--or from their sacrifice--that is ,his wick4 ,of both of these ways of glorifying ,god is the ,servant conscious4 ,his service is ,speech and ,sacrifice1 ,prophecy and ,martyrdom4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,as ,,prophet4 ,concerning his service of ,speech1 the ,servant speaks in these two passages--ch4 xlix4 #b and l4 #d-e3 ,he set my mouth like a sharp sword1 ,in the shadow of ,his hand did ,he hide me1 ,and made me a pointed arrow2 ,in ,his quiver ,he laid me in store4 ,my ,lord ,jehovah hath given me ,the tongue of the learners1 ,to know how to succour the weary with words4 ,he wakeneth morning by morning1 ,he wakeneth mine ear ,to hear as the learners4 ,my ,lord ,jehovah hath opened mine ear4 ,i was not rebellious1 ,nor turned away backward4 ,at the bidding of our latest prophet we have become suspicious of the power of speech1 and the goddess of eloquence walks1 as it were1 under surveillance among us4 ,carlyle reiterated1 ,all speech and rumour is short-lived1 foolish1 untrue4 ,genuine work alone is eternal4 ,the talent of silence is our fundamental one4 ,the dumb nations are the builders of the world4 ,under such doctrine some have grown intolerant of words1 and the ideal of to-day tends to become the practical man rather than the prophet4 ,yet1 as somebody has said1 ,carlyle makes us dissatisfied with preaching only by preaching himself2 and you have but to read him with attention to discover that his disgust with human speech is consistent with an immense reverence for the voice as an instrument of service to humanity4 ,the tongue of man1 he says1 is a sacred organ4 ,man himself is definable in philosophy as an ',incarnate ,word2' the ,word not there1 you have no man there either1 but a ,phantasm instead4 ,let us examine our own experience upon the merits of this debate between ,silence and ,speech in the service of man4 ,though beginning low1 it will help us quickly to the height of the experience of the ,prophet ,nation1 who1 with nought else for the world but the voice that was in them1 accomplished the greatest service that the world has ever received from her children4 ,one thing is certain1--that ,speech has not the monopoly of falsehood or of any other presumptuous sin4 ,silence does not only mean ignorance1--by some supposed to be the heaviest sin of which ,silence can be guilty1--but many things far worse than ignorance1 like unreadiness1 and cowardice1 and falsehood1 and treason1 and base consent to what is evil4 ,no man can look back on his past life1 however lowly or limited his sphere may have been1 and fail to see that not once or twice his supreme duty was a word1 and his guilt was not to have spoken it4 ,we all have known the shame of being straitened in prayer or praise2 the shame of being1 through our cowardice to bear witness1 traitors to the truth2 the shame of being too timid to say ,no to the tempter1 and speak out the brave reasons of which the heart was full2 the shame of finding ourselves incapable of uttering the word that would have kept a soul from taking the wrong turning in life2 the shame1 when truth1 clearness and authority were required from us1 of being able only to stammer or to mince or to rant4 ,to have been dumb before the ignorant or the dying1 before a questioning child or before the tempter1--this1 the frequent experience of our common life1 is enough to justify ,carlyle when he said1 ,if the ,word is not there1 you have no man there either1 but a ,phantasm instead4 ,now1 when we look within ourselves we see the reason of this4 ,we perceive that the one fact1 which amid the mystery and chaos of our inner life gives certainty and light1 is a fact which is a ,voice4 ,our nature may be wrecked and dissipated1 but conscience is always left2 or in ignorance and gloom1 but conscience is always audible2 or with all the faculties strong and assertive1 yet conscience is still unquestionably queen1--and conscience is a ,voice4 ,it is a still1 small voice1 which is the surest thing in man1 and the noblest2 which makes all the difference in his life2 which lies at the back and beginning of all his character and conduct4 ,and the most indispensable1 and the grandest service1 therefore1 which a man can do his fellow-men1 is to get back to this voice1 and make himself its mouthpiece and its prophet4 ,what work is possible till the word be spoken8 ,did ever order come to social life before there was first uttered the command1 in which men felt the articulation and enforcement of the ultimate voice within themselves8 ,discipline and instruction and energy have not appeared without speech going before them4 ,knowledge and faith and hope do not dawn of themselves2 they travel1 as light issued forth in the beginning1 upon the pulses of the speaking breath4 ,it was the greatness of ,israel to be conscious of their call as a nation to this fundamental service of humanity4 ,believing in the ,word of ,god as the original source of all things1--,in the beginning ,god said1 ,let there be light2 and there was light1--they had the conscience1 that1 as it had been in the physical world1 so must it always be in the moral4 ,men were to be served and their lives to be moulded by the ,word4 ,god was to be glorified by letting ,his ,word break through the life and the lips of men4 ,there was in the ,old ,testament1 it is true1 a triple ideal of manhood3 prophet1 priest and king4 ,but the greatest of these was the prophet1 for king and priest had to be prophets too4 ,eloquence was a royal virtue1--with persuasion1 the power of command and swift judgement4 ,among the seven spirits of the ,lord which ,isaiah sees descending in the ,king-to-,come is the spirit of counsel1 and he afterwards adds of the ,king3 ,he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth1 and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked4 ,similarly1 the priests had originally been the ministers1 not so much of sacrifice1 as of the revealed ,word of ,god4 ,and now the new and high ideal of priesthood1 the laying down of one's life a sacrifice for ,god and for the people1 was not the mere imitation of the animal victim required by the priestly law1 but was the natural development of the prophetic experience4 ,it was 7as we shall presently see7 the prophet1 who1 in his inevitable sufferings on behalf of the truth he uttered1 developed that consciousness of sacrifice for others1 in which the loftiest priesthood consists4 ,prophecy1 therefore1 the ,service of ,men by the ,word of ,god1 was for ,israel the highest and most essential of all service4 ,it was the individual's and it was the nation's ideal4 ,as there was no true king and no true priest1 so there was no true man1 without the ,word4 ,would to ,god1 said ,moses1 that all the ,lord's people were prophets4 ,and in our prophecy ,israel exclaims3 ,listen1 ,o ,isles1 unto me2 and hearken1 ye peoples from far4 ,he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword1 in the shadow of ,his hand hath ,he hid me4 ,at first it seems a forlorn hope thus to challenge the attention of the world in the dialect of one of its most obscure provinces1--a dialect1 too1 that was already ceasing to be spoken even there4 ,but the fact only serves more forcibly to emphasize the belief of these prophets1 that the word committed to what they must have known to be a dying language was the ,word of ,god ,himself1--bound to render immortal the tongue in which it was spoken1 bound to re-echo to the ends of the earth1 bound to touch the conscience and commend itself to the reason of universal humanity4 ,we have already seen1 and will again see1 how our prophet insists upon the creative and omnipotent power of ,god's ,word2 so we need not dwell longer on this instance of his faith4 ,let us look rather at what he expresses as ,israel's preparation for the teaching of it4 ,to him the discipline and qualification of the prophet nation--and that means1 of every ,servant of ,god--in the high office of the ,word1 are threefold4 #a4 ,first1 he lays down the supreme condition of ,prophecy1 that behind the ,voice there must be the ,life4 ,before he speaks of his gifts of ,speech1 the ,servant emphasizes his peculiar and consecrated life4 ,from the womb ,jehovah called me1 from my mother's midst mentioned my name4 ,now1 as we all know1 ,israel's message to the world was largely ,israel's life4 ,the ,old ,testament is not a set of dogmas1 nor a philosophy1 nor a vision2 but a history1 the record of a providence1 the testimony of experience1 the utterances called forth by historical occasions from a life conscious of the purpose for which ,god has called it and set it apart through the ages4 ,but these words1 which the prophet nation uses1 were first used of an individual prophet4 ,like so much else in ,second ,isaiah1 we find a suggestion of them in the call of ,jeremiah4 ,before ,i formed thee in the belly ,i knew thee1 and before thou camest forth from the womb ,i consecrated thee3 ,i have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations4#aie ,a prophet is not a voice only4 ,a prophet is a life behind a voice4 ,he who would speak for ,god must have lived for ,god4 ,according to the profound insight of the ,old ,testament1 speech is not the expression of a few thoughts of a man1 but the utterance of his whole life4 ,a man blossoms through his lips2#aif and no man is a prophet1 whose word is not the virtue and the flower of a gracious and a consecrated life4 #b4 ,the second discipline of the prophet is the ,art of ,speech4 ,he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword1 in the shadow of ,his hand hath ,he hid me3 ,he hath made me a polished shaft1 in ,his quiver hath ,he laid me in store4 ,it is very evident1 that in these words the ,servant does not only recount technical qualifications1 but a moral discipline as well4 ,the edge and brilliance of his speech are stated as the effect of solitude1 but of a solitude that was at the same time a nearness to ,god4 ,now solitude is a great school of eloquence4 ,in speaking of the ,semitic race1 of which ,israel was part1 we pointed out that1 prophet-race of the world as it has proved1 it sprang from the desert1 and nearly all its branches have inherited the desert's clear and august style of speech2 for1 in the leisure and serene air of the desert1 men speak as they speak nowhere else4 ,but ,israel speaks of a solitude1 that was the shadow of ,god's hand1 and the fastness of ,god's quiver2 a seclusion1 which1 to the desert's art of eloquence1 added a special inspiration by ,god1 and a special concentration upon ,his main purpose in the world4 ,the desert sword felt the grasp of ,god2 ,he laid the ,semitic shaft in store for a unique end4#aig #c4 ,but in ch4 l41 vv4 #d-e1 the ,servant unfolds the most beautiful and true understanding of the ,secret of ,prophecy1 that ever was unfolded in any literature1--worth quoting again by us1 if so we may get it by heart4 ,my ,lord ,jehovah hath given me ,the tongue of the learners1 ,to know how to succour the weary with words4 ,he wakeneth1 morning by morning ,he wakeneth mine ear ,to hear as the learners4 ,my ,lord ,jehovah hath opened mine ear1 ,i was not rebellious1 ,nor turned away backward4 ,the prophet1 say these beautiful lines1 learns his speech1 as the little child does1 by listening4 ,grace is poured upon the lips through the open ear4 ,it is the lesson of our ,lord's ,ephphatha4 ,when ,he took the deaf man with the impediment in his speech aside from the multitude privately1 ,he said unto him1 not1 ,be loosed1 but1 ,be opened2 and first his ears were opened1 and then the bond of his tongue was loosed1 and he spake plain4 ,to speak1 then1 the prophet must listen2 but mark to what he must listen6 ,the secret of his eloquence lies not in the hearing of thunder1 nor in the knowledge of mysteries1 but in a daily wakefulness to the lessons and experience of common life4 ,morning by morning ,he openeth mine ear4 ,this is very characteristic of ,hebrew prophecy and ,hebrew wisdom1 which listened for the truth of ,god in the voices of each day1 drew their parables from things the rising sun lights up to every wakeful eye1 and were1 in the bulk of their doctrine1 the virtues1 needed day by day1 of justice1 temperance and mercy1 and in the bulk of their judgements the results of everyday observation and experience4 ,the strength of the ,old ,testament lies in this its realism1 its daily vigilance and experience of life4 ,it is its contact with life--the life1 not of the yesterday of its speakers1 but of their to-day--that makes its voice so fresh and helpful to the weary4 ,he whose ear is daily open to the music of his current life will always find himself in possession of words that refresh and stimulate4 ,but serviceable speech needs more than attentiveness and experience4 ,having gained the truth1 the prophet must be obedient and loyal to it4 ,yet obedience and loyalty to the truth are the beginnings of martyrdom1 of which the ,servant now goes on to speak as the natural and immediate consequence of his prophecy4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,servant ,,as ,,martyr4 ,the classes of men1 who suffer physical ill-usage at the hands of their fellow-men1 may roughly be described as three1--the ,military ,enemy1 the ,criminal1 and the ,prophet2 and of these three we have only to read history to know that the ,prophet fares by far the worst4 ,however fatal men's treatment of their enemies in war or of their criminals may be1 it is1 nevertheless1 subject to a certain order1 code of honour or principle of justice4 ,but in all ages the ,prophet has been the target for the most licentious spite and cruelty2 for torture1 indecency and filth past belief4 ,although our own civilisation has outlived the system of physical punishment for speech1 we even yet see philosophers and statesmen1 who have used no weapons but exposition and persuasion1 treated by their opponents--who would speak of a foreign enemy with respect--with execration1 gross epithets1 vile abuse and insults1 that the offenders would not pour upon a criminal4 ,if we have this under our own eyes1 let us think how the ,prophet must have fared before humanity learned to meet speech by speech4 ,because men attacked it1 not with the sword of the invader or with the knife of the assassin1 but with words1 therefore 7till not very long ago7 society let loose upon them the foulest indignities and most horrible torments4 ,socrates' valour as a soldier did not save him from the malicious slander1 the false witness1 the unjust trial and the poison1 with which the ,athenians answered his speech against themselves4 ,even ,hypatia's womanhood did not awe the mob from tearing her to pieces for her teaching4 ,this unique and invariable experience of the ,prophet is summed up and clenched in the name ,martyr4 ,martyr originally meant a witness or witness-bearer1 but now it is the synonym for every shame and suffering which the cruel ingenuity of men's black hearts can devise for those they hate4 ,a ,book of ,battles is horrible enough1 but at least valour and honour have kept down in it the baser passions4 ,a ,newgate ,chronicle is ugly enough1 but there at least is discipline and an hospital4 ,you have got to go to a ,book of ,martyrs to see to what sourness1 wickedness1 malignity1 pitilessness and ferocity men's hearts can lend themselves4 ,there is something in the mere utterance of truth1 that rouses the very devil in the hearts of many men4 ,thus it had always been in ,israel1 nation not only of prophets1 but of the slayers of prophets4 ,according to ,christ1 prophet-slaying was the ineradicable habit of ,israel4 ,ye are the sons of them that slew the prophets4444 ,o ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 killer of prophets and stoner of them that are sent unto her6 ,to them who bare it the word of ,jehovah had always been a reproach3 cause of estrangement1 indignities1 torments1 and sometimes of death4 ,up to the time of our prophet there had been the following notable sufferers for the ,word3 ,elijah2 ,micaiah the son of ,imlah2 ,isaiah1 if the story be true that he was slain by ,manasseh2 but nearer1 more lonely and more heroic than all1 ,jeremiah1 a laughing-stock and mockery1 reviled1 smitten1 fettered1 and condemned to death4 ,in words which recall the experience of so many individual ,israelites1 and most of which were used by ,jeremiah of himself1 the ,servant of ,jehovah describes his martyrdom in immediate consequence from his prophecy4 ,and ,i--,i was not rebellious1 ,nor turned away backward4 ,my back ,i have given to the smiters1 ,and my cheek to tormenters2 ,my face ,i hid not from insults and spitting4 ,these are not national sufferings4 ,they are no reflection of the hard usage which the captive ,israel suffered from ,babylon4 ,they are the reflection of the reproach and pains1 which1 for the sake of ,god's word1 individual ,israelites more than once experienced from their own nation4 ,but if individual experience1 and not national1 formed the original of this picture of the ,servant as ,martyr1 then surely we have in this another strong reason against the objection to recognise in the ,servant at last an individual4 ,it may be1 of course1 that for the moment our prophet feels that this frequent experience of individuals in ,israel is to be realised by the faithful ,israel1 as a whole1 in their treatment by the rest of their cruel and unspiritual countrymen4 ,but the very fact that individuals have previously fulfilled this martyrdom in the history of ,israel1 surely makes it possible for our prophet to foresee1 that the ,servant1 who is to fulfil it again1 shall also be an individual4 ,but1 returning from this slight digression on the person of the ,servant to his fate1 let us emphasize again1 that his sufferings came to him as the result of his prophesying4 ,the ,servant's sufferings are not penal1 they are not yet felt to be vicarious4 ,they are simply the reward with which obdurate ,israel met all her prophets1 the inevitable martyrdom which followed on the uttering of ,god's ,word4 ,and in this the ,servant's experience forms an exact counterpart to that of our ,lord4 ,for to ,christ also reproach and agony and death--whatever higher meaning they evolved--came as the result of ,his ,word4 ,the fact that ,jesus suffered as our great ,high ,priest must not make us forget1 that ,his sufferings fell upon ,him because ,he was a ,prophet4 ,he argued explicitly ,he must suffer1 because so suffered the prophets before ,him4 ,he put ,himself in the line of the martyrs3 as they had killed the servants1 ,he said1 so would they kill the ,son4 ,thus it happened4 ,his enemies sought to entangle ,him in ,his talk3 it was for ,his talk they brought ,him to trial4 ,each torment and indignity which the ,prophet-,servant relates1 ,jesus suffered to the letter4 ,they put ,him to shame and insulted ,him2#aih ,his helpless hands were bound2 they spat in ,his face and smote ,him with their palms2 they mocked and they reviled ,him2 scourged ,him again2 teased and tormented ,him2 hung ,him between thieves2 and to the last the ribald jests went up1 not only from the soldiers and the rabble1 but from the learned and the religious authorities as well1 to whom ,his fault had been that ,he preached another word than their own4 ,the literal fulfilments of our prophecy are striking1 but the main fulfilment1 of which they are only incidents1 is1 that like the ,servant1 our ,lord suffered directly as a ,prophet4 ,he enforced and ,he submitted to the essential obligation1 which lies upon the true ,prophet1 of suffering for the ,word's sake4 ,let us remember to carry this over with us to our final study of the ,suffering ,servant as the expiation for sin4 ,in the meantime1 we have to conclude the ,servant's appearance as ,martyr in ch4 l4 ,he has accepted his martyrdom2 but he feels it is not the end with him4 ,god will bring him through1 and vindicate him in the eyes of the world4 ,for the world1 in their usual way1 will say that because he gives them a new truth he must be wrong1 and because he suffers he is surely guilty and cursed before ,god4 ,but he will not let himself be confounded1 for ,god is his help and advocate4 ,but my ,lord ,jehovah shall help me2 ,therefore1 ,i let not myself be rebuffed3 ,therefore1 ,i set my face like a flint1 ,and know that ,i shall not be shamed4 ,near is my ,justifier2 who will dispute with me8 ,let us stand up together6 ,who is mine adversary8#aii ,let him draw near me4 ,lo6 my ,lord ,jehovah shall help me2 ,who is he that condemns me8 ,lo6 like a garment all of them rot2 ,the moth doth devour them4 ,these lines1 in which the ,holy ,servant1 the ,martyr of the ,word1 defies the world and asserts that ,god shall vindicate his innocence1 are taken by ,paul and used to assert the justification1 which every believer enjoys through faith in the sufferings of ,him1 who was indeed the ,holy ,servant of ,god4#bjj ,the last two verses of ch4 l4 are somewhat difficult4 ,the first of them still speaks of the ,servant1#bja and distinguishes him--a distinction we must note and emphasize--from the ,god-fearing in ,israel4 ,who is among you that feareth ,jehovah1 ,that hearkens the voice of ,his ,servant1 ,that walks in dark places1 ,and light he has none8 ,let him trust in the name of ,jehovah1 ,and lean on his ,god4 ,that is1 every pious believer in ,israel is to take the ,servant for an example2 for the ,servant in distress leans upon his ,god4 ,and so ,paul's application of the ,servant's words to the individual believer is a correct one4 ,but if our prophet is able to think of the ,servant as an example to the individual ,israelite1 that surely is a thought not very far from the conception of the ,servant himself as an individual4 ,if ver4 #aj is addressed to the pious in ,israel1 ver4 #aa would seem to turn with a last word--as the last words of the discourses in ,second ,isaiah so often turn--to the wicked in ,israel4 ,lo6 all you1 players with fire1#bjb ,that gird you with firebrands6 ,walk in the light of your fire1 ,in the firebrands ye kindled4 ,this from my hand shall be yours2 ,ye shall lie down in sorrow4 ,it is very difficult to know1 who are meant by this warning4 ,an old and almost forgotten interpretation is1 that the prophet meant those exiles who played with the fires of political revolution1 instead of abiding the deliverance of the ,lord4 ,but there is now current among exegetes the more general interpretation that these incendiaries are the revilers and abusers of the ,servant within ,israel3 for so the ,psalms speak of the slingers of burning words at the righteous4 ,we must notice1 however1 that the metaphor stands over against those in ,israel who walk in dark places and have no light4 ,in contrast to that kind of life1 this may be the kind that coruscates with vanity1 flashes with pride1 or burns and scorches with its evil passions4 ,we have a similar name for such a life4 ,we call it a display of fireworks4 ,the prophet tells them1 who depend on nothing but their own false fires1 how transient these are1 how quickly quenched4 ,but is it not weird1 that on our prophet's stage1 however brilliantly its centre shines with figures of heroes and deeds of salvation1 there should always be this dark1 lurid background of evil and accursed men8 ,,footnotes3 #ahg ,this1 of course1 goes against ,prof4 ,briggs's theory of the composition of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi4 out of two poems 7see p4 #ah74 #ahh ,this line is full of the letter m4 #ahi ,this is as the text is written2 but the ,massoretic reading gives1 that ,israel to ,him may be gathered4 #aij ,so it seems best to give the sense of this difficult line1 but most translators render despised of soul1 or thoroughly despised1 abhorred by peoples1 or by a people1 etc4 ,the word for despised is used elsewhere only in ch4 liii4 #c4 #aia ,prof4 ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,expositor1 ,second ,series1 viii41 #dda4 #aib ,page #fh4 #aic ,so ,george ,eliot wrote of her own writings shortly before her death4 ,see ,life1 iii41 #bde4 #aid ,lady ,ponsonby1 to whom ,george ,eliot wrote the letter quoted above1 confessed that1 with the disappearance of religious faith from her soul1 there vanished also the power of interest in1 and of pity for1 her kind4 #aie ,jer4 i4 #e4 #aif ,see vol4 i41 p4 #gj4 #aig ,see p4 #bdj f4 #aih ,how all their meanness1 how all the sense of shame from which ,he suffered1 breaks forth in these words3 ,are ye come out as against a robber8 #aii ,literally1 lord of my cause2 my adversary or opponent at law4 #bjj ,epistle to the ,romans1 viii41 #ca ff4 #bja ,though ,cheyne takes ,his ,servant in ver4 #aj to be1 not the ,servant1 but the prophet4 #bjb ,kindlers of fire is the literal rendering4 ,but the word is not the common word to kindle1 and is here used of wanton fireraising4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant4 ,,isaiah lii4 #ac-liii4 ,we are now arrived at the last of the passages on the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,it is known to ,christendom as the ,fifty-third of ,isaiah1 but its verses have1 unfortunately1 been divided between two chapters1 lii4 #ac-ae and liii4 ,before we attempt the interpretation of this high and solemn passage of ,revelation1 let us look at its position in our prophecy1 and examine its structure4 ,the peculiarities of the style and of the vocabulary of ch4 lii4 #ac-liii41 along with the fact1 that1 if it be omitted1 the prophecies on either side readily flow together1 have led some critics to suppose it to be an insertion1 borrowed from an earlier writer4#bjc ,the style--broken1 sobbing and recurrent--is certainly a change from the forward1 flowing sentences1 on which we have been carried up till now1 and there are a number of words that we find quite new to us4 ,yet surely both style and words are fully accounted for by the novel and tragic nature of the subject1 to which the prophet has brought us3 regret and remorse1 though they speak through the same lips as hope and the assurance of salvation1 must necessarily do so with a very different accent and set of terms4 ,criticism surely overreaches itself1 when it suggests that a writer1 so versatile and dramatic as our prophet1 could not have written ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 along with1 say1 ch4 xl4 or ch4 lii4 #a-ab or ch4 liv4 ,we might as well be asked to assign to different authors ,hamlet's soliloquy1 and the ,king's conversation1 in the same play1 with the ambassadors from ,norway4 ,to aver that if ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 were left out1 no one who had not seen it would miss it1 so closely does ch4 liv4 follow on to ch4 lii4 #ab1 is to aver what means nothing4 ,in any dramatic work you may leave out the finest passage1--from a ,greek tragedy its grandest chorus1 or from a play of ,shakespeare's the hero's soliloquy1--without seeming1 to eyes that have not seen what you have done1 to have disturbed the connection of the whole4 ,observe the juncture in our prophecy at which this last passage on the ,servant appears4 ,it is one exactly the same as that at which another great passage on the ,servant was inserted 7ch4 xlix4 #a-i71 viz41 just after a call to the people to seize the redemption achieved for them and to come forth from ,babylon4 ,it is the kind of climax or pause in their tale1 which dramatic writers of all kinds employ for the solemn utterance of principles lying at the back1 or transcending the scope1 of the events of which they treat4 ,to say the least1 it is surely more probable that our prophet himself employed so natural an opportunity to give expression to his highest truths about the ,servant1 than that some one else took his work1 broke up another already extant work on the ,servant and thrust the pieces of the latter into the former4 ,moreover1 we shall find many of the ideas1 as well as of the phrases1 of ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 to be essentially the same as some we have already encountered in our prophecy4#bjd ,there is then no evidence that this singular prophecy ever stood apart from its present context1 or that it was written by another writer than the prophet1 by whom we have hitherto found ourselves conducted4 ,on the contrary1 while it has links with what goes before it1 we see good reasons1 why the prophet should choose just this moment for uttering its unique and transcendent contents1 as well as why he should employ in it a style and a vocabulary1 so different from his usual4 ,turning now to the structure of ch4 lii4 #ac-liii41 we observe that1 as arranged in the ,canon1 there are fifteen verses in the prophecy4 ,these fifteen verses fall into five strophes of three verses each1 as printed by the ,revised ,english ,version4 ,when set in their own original lines1 however1 the strophes appear1 not of equal1 but of increasing length4 ,as will be seen from the version given below1 the first 7ch4 lii4 #ac-ae7 has nine lines1 the second 7ch4 liii4 #a-c7 has ten lines1 the third 7vv4 #d-f7 has eleven lines1 the fourth 7vv4 #g-i7 thirteen lines1 the fifth 7vv4 #aj-ab7 fourteen lines4 ,this increase would be absolutely regular1 if1 in the fourth strophe1 we made either the first two lines one1 or the last two one1 and if in the fifth again we ran the first two lines together1--changes which the metre allows and some translators have adopted4 ,but1 in either case1 we perceive a regular increase from strophe to strophe1 that is not only one of the many marks with which this most artistic of poems has been elaborated1 but gives the reader the very solemn impression of a truth that is ever gathering more of human life into itself1 and sweeping forward with fuller and more resistless volume4 ,each strophe1 it is well to notice1 begins with one word or two words which summarise the meaning of the whole strophe and form a title for it4 ,thus1 after the opening exclamation ,behold1 the words ,my ,servant shall prosper form1 as we shall see1 not only a summary of the first strophe1 in which his ultimate exaltation is described1 but the theme of the whole prophecy4 ,strophe ii4 begins ,who hath believed1 and accordingly in this strophe the unbelief and thoughtlessness of them who saw the ,servant without feeling the meaning of his suffering is confessed4 ,surely our sicknesses fitly entitles strophe iii41 in which the people describe how the ,servant in his suffering was their substitute4 ,oppressed yet he humbled himself is the headline of strophe iv41 and that strophe deals with the humility and innocence of the ,servant in contrast to the injustice accorded him4 ,while the headline of strophe v41 ,but ,jehovah had purposed1 brings us back to the main theme of the poem1 that behind men's treatment of the ,servant is ,god's holy will2 which theme is elaborated and brought to its conclusion in strophe v4 ,these opening and entitling words of each strophe are printed1 in the following translation1 in larger type than the rest4 ,as in the rest of ,hebrew poetry1 so here1 the measure is neither regular nor smooth1 and does not depend on rhyme4 ,yet there is an amount of assonance1 which at times approaches to rhyme4 ,much of the meaning of the poem depends on the use of the personal pronouns--we and he stand contrasted to each other--and it is these coming in a lengthened form at the end of many of the lines that suggest to the ear something like rhyme4 ,for instance1 in liii4 #e1 #f1 the second and third verses of the third strophe1 two of the lines run out on the bisyllable -n1 two on nu1 and two on the word ln1 while the third has nu1 not at the end1 but in the middle2 in each case1 the pronominal suffix of the first person plural4 ,we transcribe these lines to show the effect of this4 ,wehu' meholal mippesha'n ,medhukka' mewnthn ,mar shelmn alaw ,ubhahbhurtho nirpa'-ln ,kulln kass-ss'on tan 'sh ledharko pann ,wa ,jahweh hiphga b 'eth-awon kulln4 ,this is the strophe in which the assonance comes oftenest to rhyme2 but in strophe i4 h ends two lines1 and in strophe ii4 it ends three4 ,these and other assonants occur also at the beginning and in the middle of lines4 ,we must remember that in all the cases quoted it is the personal pronouns1 which give the assonance1--the personal pronouns on which so much of the meaning of the poem turns2 and that1 therefore1 the parallelism primarily intended by the writer is one rather of meaning than of sound4 ,the pair of lines1 parallel in meaning1 though not in sound1 which forms so large a part of ,hebrew poetry1 is used throughout this poem2 but the use of it is varied and elaborated to a unique degree4 ,the very same words and phrases are repeated1 and placed on points1 from which they seem to call to each other2 as1 for instance1 the double many in strophe i41 the of us all in strophe iii41 and nor opened he his mouth in strophe iv4 ,the ideas are very few and very simple2 the words he1 we1 his1 ours1 see1 hear1 know1 bear1 sickness1 strike1 stroke1 and many form1 with prepositions and particles1 the bulk of the prophecy4 ,it will be evident how singularly suitable this recurrence is for the expression of reproach1 and of sorrowful recollection4 ,it is the nature of grief and remorse to harp upon the one dear form1 the one most vivid pain4 ,the finest instance of this repetition is verse #f1 with its opening keynote kullanu--of us all like sheep went astray1 with its close on that keynote guilt of us all1 kullanu4 ,but throughout notes are repeated1 and bars recur1 expressive of what was done to the ,servant1 or what the ,servant did for man1 which seem in their recurrence to say1 ,you cannot hear too much of me3 ,i am the very ,gospel4 ,a peculiar sadness is lent to the music by the letters h and l in holie and hehelie1 the word for sickness or ailing 7ailing is the ,english equivalent in sense and sound71 which happens so often in the poem4 ,the new words1 which have been brought to vary this recurrence of a few simple features1 are mostly of a sombre type4 ,the heavier letters throng the lines3 grievous bs and ms are multiplied1 and syllables with long vowels before m and w4 ,but the words sob as well as tramp2 and here and there one has a wrench and one a cry in it4 ,most wonderful and mysterious of all is the spectral fashion in which the prophecy presents its ,hero4 ,he is named only in the first line and once again3 elsewhere ,he is spoken of as ,he4 ,we never hear or see ,himself4 ,but all the more solemnly is ,he there3 a shadow upon countless faces1 a grievous memory on the hearts of the speakers4 ,he so haunts all we see and all we hear1 that we feel it is not ,art1 but ,conscience1 that speaks of ,him4 ,here is now the prophecy itself1 rendered into ,english quite literally1 except for a conjunction here and there1 and1 as far as possible1 in the rhythm of the original4 ,a few necessary notes on difficult words and phrases are given4 ,i4 lii4 #ac3 ,behold1 my ,servant shall prosper1#bje ,shall rise1 be lift up1 be exceedingly high4#bjf ,like as they that were astonied before thee were many1 --,so marred from a man's was his visage1 ,and his form from the children of men6-- ,so shall the nations he startles#bjg be many1 ,before him shall kings shut their mouths4 ,for that which had never been told them they see1 ,and what they had heard not1 they have to consider4 ,,ii4 ,who gave believing to that which we heard1#bjh ,and the arm of ,jehovah to whom was it bared8 ,for he sprang like a sapling before ,him1#bji ,as a root from the ground that is parched2 ,he had no form nor beauty that we should regard him1 ,nor aspect that we should desire him4 ,despised and rejected of men1 ,man of pains and familiar with ailing1 ,and as one we do cover the face from1 ,despised1 and we did not esteem him4 ,,iii4 ,surely our ailments he bore1 ,and our pains he did take for his burden4#baj ,but we--we accounted him stricken1 ,smitten of ,god and degraded4#baa ,yet he--he was pierced for crimes that were ours1#bab ,he was crushed for guilt that was ours1#bab ,the chastisement of our peace was upon him1 ,by his stripes healing is ours4#bab ,of us all#bac like to sheep went astray1 ,every man to his way we did turn1 ,and ,jehovah made light upon him ,the guilt of us all4 ,,iv4 ,oppressed1 he did humble himself1 ,nor opened his mouth-- ,as a lamb to the slaughter is led1 ,as a sheep 'fore her shearers is dumb-- ,nor opened his mouth4 ,by tyranny and law was he taken2#bad ,and of his age who reflected1 ,that he was wrenched#bae from the land of the living1 ,for ,my people's transgressions the stroke was on him8 ,so they made with the wicked his grave1 ,yea1 with the felon#baf his tomb4 ,though never harm had he done1 ,neither was guile in his mouth4 ,v4 ,but ,jehovah had purposed to bruise him1 ,had laid on him sickness2 ,so#bag if his life should offer guilt offering1 ,a seed he should see1 he should lengthen his days4 ,and the purpose of ,jehovah by his hand should prosper1 ,from the travail of his soul shall he see1#bah ,by his knowledge be satisfied4 ,my ,servant1 the ,righteous1 righteousness wins he for many1 ,and their guilt he takes for his load4 ,therefore ,i set him a share with the great1#bai ,yea1 with the strong shall he share the spoil3 ,because that he poured out his life unto death1 ,let himself with transgressors be reckoned2 ,yea1 he the sin of the many hath borne1 ,and for the transgressors he interposes4 ,let us now take up the interpretation strophe by strophe4 ,i4 ,ch4 lii4 #ac-ae4 ,when last our eyes were directed to the ,servant1 he was in suffering unexplained and unvindicated 7ch4 l4 #d-f74 ,his sufferings seemed to have fallen upon him as the consequence of his fidelity to the ,word committed to him2 the ,prophet had inevitably become the ,martyr4 ,further than this his sufferings were not explained1 and the ,servant was left in them1 calling upon ,god indeed1 and sure that ,god would hear and vindicate him1 but as yet unanswered by word of ,god or word of man4 ,it is these words1 words both of ,god and of man1 which are given in ,isaiah ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,the ,sufferer is explained and vindicated1 first by ,god in the first strophe1 ch4 lii4 #ac-ae1 and then by the ,conscience of ,men1 ,his own people1 in the second and third 7liii4 #a-f72 and then1 as it appears1 the ,divine ,voice1 or the ,prophet speaking for it1 resumes in strophes iv4 and v41 and concludes in a strain similar to strophe i4 ,god's explanation and vindication of the ,sufferer is1 then1 given in the first strophe4 ,it is summed up in the first line1 and in one very pregnant word4 ,jeremiah had said of the ,messiah1 ,he shall reign as a ,king and deal wisely or prosper2#bbj and so ,god says here of the ,servant1 ,behold he shall deal wisely or prosper4 ,the ,hebrew verb does not get full expression in any ,english one4 ,in rendering it shall deal wisely or prudently our translators undoubtedly touch the quick of it4 ,for it is originally a mental process or quality3 has insight1 understands1 is farseeing4 ,but then it also includes the effect of this--understands so as to get on1 deals wisely so as to succeed1 is practical both in his way of working and in being sure of his end4 ,ewald has found an almost exact equivalent in ,german1 hat ,geschick2 for ,geschick means both skill or address and fate or destiny4 ,the ,hebrew verb is the most practical in the whole language1 for this is precisely the point which the prophecy seeks to bring out about the ,servant's sufferings4 ,they are practical4 ,he is practical in them4 ,he endures them1 not for their own sake1 but for some practical end of which he is aware and to which they must assuredly bring him4 ,his failure to convince men by his word1 the pain and spite which seem to be his only wage1 are not the last of him1 but the beginning and the way to what is higher4 ,so shall he rise and be lift up and be very high4 ,the suffering1 which in ch4 l4 seemed to be the ,servant's misfortune1 is here seen as his wisdom which shall issue in his glory4 ,but of themselves men do not see this1 and they need to be convinced4 ,pain1 the blessed means of ,god1 is man's abhorrence and perplexity4 ,all along the history of the world the ,sufferer has been the astonishment and stumbling-block of humanity4 ,the barbarian gets rid of him2 he is the first difficulty with which every young literature wrestles2 to the end he remains the problem of philosophy and the sore test of faith4 ,it is not native to men to see meaning or profit in the ,sufferer2 they are staggered by him1 they see no reason or promise in him4 ,so did men receive this unique ,sufferer1 this ,servant of ,jehovah4 ,the many were astonied at him2 his visage was so marred more than men1 and his form than the children of men4 ,but his life is to teach them the opposite of their impressions1 and to bring them out of their perplexity into reverence before the revealed purpose of ,god in the ,sufferer4 ,as they that were astonied at thee were many1 so shall the nations he startles be many2 kings shall shut their mouths at him1 for that which was not told them they see1 and that which they have heard not they have to consider1--viz41 the triumph and influence to which the ,servant was consciously led through suffering4 ,there may be some reflection here of the way in which the ,gentiles regarded the ,suffering ,israel1 but the reference is vague1 and perhaps purposely so4 ,the first strophe1 then1 gives us just the general theme4 ,in contrast to human experience ,god reveals in ,his ,servant that suffering is fruitful1 that sacrifice is practical4 ,pain1 in ,god's service1 shall lead to glory4 ,,ii4 ,ch4 liii4 #a-c4 ,god never speaks but in man ,he wakens conscience1 and the second strophe of the prophecy 7along with the third7 is the answer of conscience to ,god4 ,penitent men1 looking back from the light of the ,servant's exaltation to the time when his humiliation was before their eyes1 say1 ,yes3 what ,god has said is true of us4 ,we were the deaf and the indifferent4 ,we heard1 but who of us believed what we heard1 and to whom was the arm of the ,lord--,his purpose1 the hand ,he had in the ,servant's sufferings--revealed8#bba ,who are these penitent speakers8 ,some critics have held them to be the heathen1 more have said that they are ,israel4 ,but none have pointed out that the writer gives himself no trouble to define them1 but seems more anxious to impress us with their consciousness of their moral relation to the ,servant4 ,on the whole1 it would appear that it is ,israel1 whom the prophet has in mind as the speakers of vv4 #a-f4 ,for1 besides the fact that the ,old ,testament knows nothing of a bearing by ,israel of the sins of the ,gentiles1 it is expressly said in ver4 #h1 that the sins for which the ,servant was stricken were the sins of my people2 which people must be the same as the speakers1 for they own in vv4 #d-f that the ,servant bore their sins4 ,for these and other reasons the mass of ,christian critics at the present day are probably right when they assume that ,israel are the speakers in vv4 #a-f2bbb but the reader must beware of allowing his attention to be lost in questions of that kind4 ,the art of the poem seems intentionally to leave vague the national relation of the speakers to the ,servant1 in order the more impressively to bring out their moral attitude towards him4 ,there is an utter disappearance of all lines of separation between ,jew and ,gentile1--both in the first strophe1 where1 although ,gentile names are used1 ,jews may yet be meant to be included1 and in the rest of the poem1--as if the writer wished us to feel that all men stood over against that solitary ,servant in a common indifference to his suffering and a common conscience of the guilt he bears4 ,in short1 it is no historical situation1 such as some critics seem anxious to fasten him down upon1 that the prophet reflects2 but a certain moral situation1 ideal in so far as it was not yet realised1--the state of the quickened human conscience over against a certain ,human ,suffering1 in which1 having ignored it at the time1 that conscience now realises that the purpose of ,god was at work4 ,in vv4 #b and #c the penitent speakers give us the reasons of their disregard of the ,servant in the days of his suffering4 ,in these reasons there is nothing peculiar to ,israel1 and no special experience of ,jewish history is reflected by the terms in which they are conveyed4 ,they are the confession1 in general language1 of an universal human habit1--the habit of letting the eye cheat the heart and conscience1 of allowing the aspect of suffering to blind us to its meaning2 of forgetting in our sense of the ugliness and helplessness of pain1 that it has a motive1 a future and a ,god4 ,it took ages to wean mankind from those native feelings of aversion and resentment1 which caused them at first to abandon or destroy their sick4 ,and1 even now1 scorn for the weak and incredulity in the heroism or in the profitableness of suffering are strong in the best of us4 ,we judge by looks2 we are hurried by the physical impression1 which the sufferer makes on us1 or by our pride that we are not as he is1 into peremptory and harsh judgements upon him4 ,every day we allow the dulness of poverty1 the ugliness of disease1 the unprofitableness of misfortune1 the ludicrousness of failure1 to keep back conscience from discovering to us our share of responsibility for them1 and to repel our hearts from that sympathy and patience with them1 which along with conscience would assuredly discover to us their place in ,god's ,providence and their special significance for ourselves4 ,it is this original sin of man1 of which these penitent speakers own themselves guilty4 ,but no one is ever permitted to rest with a physical or intellectual impression of suffering4 ,the race1 the individual1 has always been forced by conscience to the task of finding a moral reason for pain2 and nothing so marks man's progress as the successive solutions he has attempted to this problem4 ,the speakers1 therefore1 proceed in the next part of their confession1 strophe iii41 to tell us what they first falsely accounted the moral reason of the ,servant's suffering and what they afterwards found to be the truth4 ,,iii4 liii4 #d-f4 ,the earliest and most common moral judgement1 which men pass upon pain1 is that which is implied in its name--that it is penal4 ,a man suffers because ,god is angry with him and has stricken him4 ,so ,job's friends judged him1 and so these speakers tell us they had at first judged the ,servant4 ,we had accounted him stricken1 smitten of ,god and afflicted1--stricken1 that is1 with a plague of sickness1 as ,job was1 for the simile of the sick man is still kept up2 smitten of ,god and degraded or humbled1 for it seemed to them that ,god's hand was in the ,servant's sickness1 to punish and disgrace him for his own sins4 ,but now they know they were wrong4 ,the hand of ,god was indeed upon the ,servant1 and the reason was sin2 yet the sin was not his1 but theirs4 ,surely our sicknesses he bore1 and our pains he took as his burden4 ,he was pierced for iniquities that were ours4 ,he was crushed for crimes that were ours4 ,strictly interpreted1 these verses mean no more than that the ,servant was involved in the consequences of his people's sins4 ,the verbs bore and made his burden are indeed taken by some to mean necessarily1 removal or expiation2 but in themselves1 as is clear from their application to ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 and the whole of the generation of ,exile1 they mean no more than implication in the reproach and the punishment of the people's sins4#bbc ,nevertheless1 as we have explained in a note below1 it is really impossible to separate the suffering of a ,servant1 who has been announced as practical and prosperous in his suffering1 from the end for which it is endured4 ,we cannot separate the ,servant's bearing of the people's guilt from his removal of it4 ,and1 indeed1 this practical end of his passion springs forth1 past all doubt1 from the rest of the strophe1 which declares that the ,servant's sufferings are not only vicarious but redemptive4 ,the discipline of our peace was upon him1 and with his stripes we are healed4 ,translators agree that discipline of our peace must mean discipline which procures our peace4 ,the peace1 the healing1 is ours1 in consequence of the chastisement and the scourging that was his4 ,the next verse gives us the obverse and complement of the same thought4 ,the pain was his in consequence of the sin that was ours4 ,all we like sheep had gone astray1 and the ,lord laid on him the iniquity of us all1--literally iniquity1 but inclusive of its guilt and consequences4 ,nothing could be plainer than these words4 ,the speakers confess1 that they know that the ,servant's suffering was both vicarious and redemptive4#bbd ,but how did they get this knowledge8 ,they do not describe any special means by which it came to them4 ,they state this high and novel truth simply as the last step in a process of their consciousness4 ,at first they were bewildered by the ,servant's suffering2 then they thought it contemptible1 thus passing upon it an intellectual judgement2 then1 forced to seek a moral reason for it1 they accounted it as penal and due to the ,servant for his own sins2 then they recognised that its penalty was vicarious1 that the ,servant was suffering for them2 and finally1 they knew that it was redemptive1 the means of their own healing and peace4 ,this is a natural climax1 a logical and moral progress of thought4 ,the last two steps are stated simply as facts of experience following on other facts4 ,now our prophet usually publishes the truths1 with which he is charged1 as the very words of ,god1 introducing them with a solemn and authoritative ,thus saith ,jehovah4 ,but this novel and supreme truth of vicarious and redemptive suffering1 this passion and virtue which crowns the ,servant's office1 is introduced to us1 not by the mouth of ,god1 but by the lips of penitent men2 not as an oracle1 but as a confession2 not as the commission of ,divine authority laid beforehand upon the ,servant like his other duties1 but as the conviction of the human conscience after the ,servant has been lifted up before it4 ,in short1 by this unusual turn of his art1 the prophet seeks to teach us1 that vicarious suffering is not a dogmatic1 but an experimental truth4 ,the substitution of the ,servant for the guilty people1 and the redemptive force of that substitution1 are no arbitrary doctrine1 for which ,god requires from man a mere intellectual assent2 they are no such formal institution of religion as mental indolence and superstition delight to have prepared for their mechanical adherence3 but substitutive suffering is a great living fact of human experience1 whose outward features are not more evident to men's eyes than its inner meaning is appreciable by their conscience1 and of irresistible effect upon their whole moral nature4 ,is this lesson of our prophet's art not needed8 ,men have always been apt to think of vicarious suffering1 and of its function in their salvation1 as something above and apart from their moral nature1 with a value known only to ,god and not calculable in the terms of conscience or of man's moral experience2 nay1 rather as something that conflicts with man's ideas of morality and justice4 ,whereas both the fact and the virtue of vicarious suffering come upon us all1 as these speakers describe the vicarious sufferings of the ,servant to have come upon them1 as a part of inevitable experience4 ,if it be natural1 as we saw1 for men to be bewildered by the first sight of suffering1 to scorn it as futile and to count it the fault of the sufferer himself1 it is equally natural and inevitable that these first and hasty theories should be dispelled by the longer experience of life and the more thorough working of conscience4 ,the stricken are not always bearing their own sin4 ,suffering is the minister of justice4 ,this is true in part1 yet it also is inadequate to explain the facts4 ,of all the sorrow which befalls humanity1 how small a part falls upon the specially guilty2 how much seems rather to seek out the good6 ,we might almost ask whether it is not weakness rather than wrong that is punished in this world4#bbe ,in every nation1 in every family1 the innocent suffer for the guilty4 ,vicarious suffering is not arbitrary or accidental2 it comes with our growth2 it is of the very nature of things4 ,it is that part of the ,service of ,man1 to which we are all born1 and of the reality of which we daily grow more aware4 ,but even more than its necessity life teaches us its virtue4 ,vicarious suffering is not a curse4 ,it is ,service--,service for ,god4 ,it proves a power where every other moral force has failed4 ,by it men are redeemed1 on whom justice and their proper punishment have been able to effect nothing4 ,why this should be is very intelligible4 ,we are not so capable of measuring the physical or moral results of our actions upon our own characters or in our own fortunes as we are upon the lives of others2 nor do we so awaken to the guilt and heinousness of our sin as when it reaches and implicates lives1 which were not partners with us in it4 ,moreover1 while a man's punishment is apt to give him an excuse for saying1 ,i have expiated my sin myself1 and so to leave him self-satisfied and with nothing for which to be grateful or obliged to a higher will2 or while it may make him reckless or plunge him into despair2 so1 on the contrary1 when he recognises that others feel the pain of his sin and have come under its weight1 then shame is quickly born within him1 and pity and every other passion that can melt a hard heart4 ,if1 moreover1 the others who bear his sin do so voluntarily and for love's sake1 then how quickly on the back of shame and pity does gratitude rise1 and the sense of debt and of constraint to their will6 ,for all these very intelligible reasons1 vicarious suffering has been a powerful redemptive force in the experience of the race4 ,both the fact of its beneficence and the moral reasons for this are clear enough to lift us above a question1 which sometimes gives trouble regarding it1--the question of its justice4 ,such a question is futile about any service for man1 which succeeds as this does where all others have failed1 and which proves itself so much in harmony with man's moral nature4 ,but the last shred of objection to the justice of vicarious suffering is surely removed when the sufferer is voluntary as well as vicarious4 ,and1 in truth1 human experience feels that it has found its highest and its holiest fact in the love that1 being innocent itself1 stoops to bear its fellows' sins1--not only the anxiety and reproach of them1 but even the cost and the curse of them4 ,greater love hath no man than this1 that a man lay down his life for his friends2 and greater ,service can no man do to man1 than to serve them in this way4 ,now in this universal human experience of the inevitableness and the virtue of vicarious suffering1 ,israel had been deeply baptized4 ,the nation had been served by suffering in all the ways we have just described4 ,beginning with the belief that all righteousness prospered1 ,israel had come to see the righteous afflicted in her midst2 the best ,israelites had set their minds to the problem1 and learned to believe1 at least1 that such affliction was of ,god's will1--part of ,his ,providence1 and not an interruption to it4 ,israel1 too1 knew the moral solidarity of a people3 that citizens share each other's sorrows1 and that one generation rolls over its guilt upon the next4 ,frequently had the whole nation been spared for a pious remnant's sake2 and in the ,exile1 while all the people were formally afflicted by ,god1 it was but a portion of them whose conscience was quick to the meaning of the chastisement1 and of them alone1 in their submissive and intelligent sufferance of the ,lord's wrath1 could the opening gospel of the prophecy be spoken1 that they had accomplished their warfare1 and had received of the ,lord's hand double for all their sins4 ,but still more vivid than these collective substitutes for the people were the individuals1 who1 at different points in ,israel's history1 had stood forth and taken up as their own the nation's conscience and stooped to bear the nation's curse4 ,far away back1 a ,moses had offered himself for destruction1 if for his sake ,god would spare his sinful and thoughtless countrymen4 ,in a psalm of the ,exile it is remembered that1 ,he said1 that ,he would destroy them1 ,had not ,moses ,his chosen stood before ,him in the breach1 ,to turn away ,his wrath1 lest ,he should destroy4#bbf ,and ,jeremiah1 not by a single heroic resolve1 but by the slow agony and martyrdom of a long life1 had taken ,jerusalem's sin upon his own heart1 had felt himself forsaken of ,god1 and had voluntarily shared his city's doom1 while his generation1 unconscious of their guilt and blind to their fate1 despised him and esteemed him not4 ,and ,ezekiel1 who is ,jeremiah's far-off reflection1 who could only do in symbol what ,jeremiah did in reality1 was commanded to lie on his side for days1 and so bear the guilt of his people4#bbg ,but in ,israel's experience it was not only the human ,servant who served the nation by suffering1 for ,god ,himself had come down to carry ,his distressed and accursed people1 and to load ,himself with them4 ,our prophet uses the same two verbs of ,jehovah as are used of the ,servant4#bbh ,like the ,servant1 too1 ,god was afflicted in all their affliction2 and ,his love towards them was expended in passion and agony for their sins4 ,vicarious suffering was not only human1 it was ,divine4 ,was it very wonderful that a people with such an experience1 and with such examples1 both human and ,divine1 should at last be led to the thought of ,one ,sufferer1 who would exhibit in ,himself all the meaning1 and procure for ,his people all the virtue1 of that vicarious reproach and sorrow1 which a long line of their martyrs had illustrated1 and which ,god had revealed as the passion of ,his own love8 ,if they had had every example that could fit them to understand the power of such a sufferer1 they had also every reason to feel their need of ,him4 ,for the ,exile had not healed the nation2 it had been for the most of them an illustration of that evil effect of punishment to which we alluded above4 ,penal servitude in ,babylon had but hardened ,israel4 ,god poured on him the fury of anger1 and the strength of battle3 it set him on fire round about1 yet he knew not2 and it burned him1 yet he laid it not to heart4#bbi ,what the ,exile1 then1 had failed to do1 when it brought upon the people their own sins1 the ,servant1 taking these sins upon himself1 would surely effect4 ,the people1 whom the ,exile had only hardened1 his vicarious suffering should strike into penitence and lift to peace4 ,,iv4 ,ch4 liii4 #g-i4 ,it is probable that with ver4 #f the penitent people have ceased speaking1 and that the parable is now taken up by the prophet himself4 ,the voice of ,god1 which uttered the first strophe1 does not seem to resume till ver4 #aa4 ,if strophe iii4 confessed that it was for the people's sins the ,servant suffered1 strophe iv4 declares that he himself was sinless1 and yet silently submitted to all which injustice laid upon him4 ,now ,silence under ,suffering is a strange thing in the ,old ,testament--a thing absolutely new4 ,no other ,old ,testament personage could stay dumb under pain1 but immediately broke into one of two voices1--voice of guilt or voice of doubt4 ,in the ,old ,testament the sufferer is always either confessing his guilt to ,god1 or1 when he feels no guilt1 challenging ,god in argument4 ,david1 ,hezekiah1 ,jeremiah1 ,job1 and the nameless martyred and moribund of the ,psalms1 all strive and are loud under pain4 ,why was this ,servant the unique and solitary instance of silence under suffering8 ,because he had a secret which they had not4 ,it had been said of him3 ,my ,servant shall deal wisely or intelligently1 shall know what he is about4 ,he had no guilt of his own1 no doubts of his ,god4 ,but he was conscious of the end ,god had in his pain1 an end not to be served in any other way1 and with all his heart he had given himself to it4 ,it was not punishment he was enduring2 it was not the throes of the birth into higher experience1 which he was feeling3 it was a ,service he was performing1--a service laid on him by ,god1 a service for man's redemption1 a service sure of results and of glory4 ,therefore as a lamb to the slaughter is led1 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb1 he opened not his mouth4 ,the next two verses 7#h1 #i7 describe how the ,servant's ,passion was fulfilled4 ,the figure of a sick man was changed in ver4 #e to that of a punished one1 and the punishment we now see carried on to death4 ,the two verses are difficult1 the readings and renderings of most of the words being very various4 ,but the sense is clear4 ,the ,servant's death was accomplished1 not on some far hill top by a stroke out of heaven1 but in the forms of human law and by men's hands4 ,it was a judicial murder4 ,by tyranny and by judgement1--that is1 by a forced and tyrannous judgement1--he was taken4 ,to this abuse of law the next verse adds the indifference of public opinion3 and as for his contemporaries1 who of them reflected that he was cut off from1 or cut down in1 the land of the living1--that in spite of the form of law that condemned him he was a murdered man1--that for the transgression of my people the stroke was his8 ,so1 having conceived him to have been lawfully put to death1 they consistently gave him a convict's grave3 they made his grave with the wicked1 and he was with the felon in his death1 though--and on this the strophe emphatically ends--he was an innocent man1 he had done no harm1 neither was guile in his mouth4 ,premature sickness and the miscarriage of justice1--these to ,orientals are the two outstanding misfortunes of the individual's life4 ,take the ,psalter1 set aside its complaints of the horrors of war and of invasion1 and you will find almost all the rest of its sighs rising either from sickness or from the sense of injustice4 ,these were the classic forms of individual suffering in the age and civilisation to which our prophet belonged1 and it was natural1 therefore1 that when he was describing an ,ideal or ,representative ,sufferer1 he should fill in his picture with both of them4 ,if we remember this1#bcj we shall feel no incongruity in the sudden change of the hero from a sick man to a convict1 and back again in ver4 #aj from a convict to a sick man4 ,nor1 if we remember this1 shall we feel disposed to listen to those interpreters1 who hold that the basis of this prophecy was the account of an actual historical martyrdom4 ,had such been the case the prophet would surely have held throughout to one or the other of the two forms of suffering4 ,his sufferer would have been either a leper or a convict1 but hardly both4 ,no doubt the details in vv4 #h and #i are so realistic that they might well be the features of an actual miscarriage of justice2 but the like happened too frequently in the ,ancient ,east for such verses to be necessarily any one man's portrait4 ,perverted justice was the curse of the individual's life1--perverted justice and that stolid1 fatalistic apathy of ,oriental public opinion1 which would probably regard such a sufferer as suffering for his sins the just vengeance of heaven1 though the minister of this vengeance was a tyrant and its means were perjury and murder4 ,who of his generation reflected that for the transgression of my people the stroke was on him6 ,v4 ,ch4 liii4 #aj-ab4 ,we have heard the awful tragedy4 ,the innocent ,servant was put to a violent and premature death4 ,public apathy closed over him and the unmarked earth of a felon's grave4 ,it is so utter a perversion of justice1 so signal a triumph of wrong over right1 so final a disappearance into oblivion of the fairest life that ever lived1 that men might be tempted to say1 ,god has forsaken ,his own4 ,on the contrary--so strophe v4 begins--,god's own will and pleasure have been in this tragedy3 ,yet it pleased the ,,lord to bruise him4 ,the line as it thus stands in our ,english version has a grim1 repulsive sound4 ,but the ,hebrew word has no necessary meaning of pleasure or enjoyment4 ,all it says is1 ,god so willed it4 ,his purpose was in this tragedy4 ,deus vult6 ,it is the one message which can render any pain tolerable or light up with meaning a mystery so cruel as this3 ,the ,,lord ,himself had purposed to bruise ,his ,servant1 the ,,lord ,himself had laid on him sickness 7the figure of disease is resumed74 ,god's purpose in putting the ,servant to death is explained in the rest of the verse4 ,it was in order that through his soul making a guilt-offering1 he might see a seed1 prolong his days1 and that the pleasure of the ,lord might prosper by his hand4 ,what is a guilt-offering8 ,the term originally meant guilt1 and is so used by a prophet contemporary to our own4#bca ,in the legislation1 however1 both in the ,pentateuch and in ,ezekiel1 it is applied to legal and sacrificial forms of restitution or reparation for guilt4 ,it is only named in ,ezekiel along with other sacrifices4#bcb ,both ,numbers and ,leviticus define it1 but define it differently4 ,in ,numbers 7v4 #g1 #h7 it is the payment1 which a transgressor has to make to the human person offended1 of the amount to which he has harmed that person's property3 it is what we call damages4 ,but in ,leviticus it is the ram1 exacted over and above damages to the injured party 7v4 #ad-af2 vi4 #a-g71 or in cases where no damages were asked for 7v4 #ag-ai71 by the priest1 the representative of ,god1 for satisfaction to ,his law2 and it was required even where the offender had been an unwitting one4 ,by this guilt-offering the priest made atonement for the sinner and he was forgiven4 ,it was for this purpose of reparation to the ,deity that the plagued ,philistines sent a guilt-offering back with the ark of ,jehovah1 which they had stolen4#bcc ,but there is another historical passage1 which though the term guilt-offering is not used in it1 admirably illustrates the idea4#bcd ,a famine in ,david's time was revealed to be due to the murder of certain ,gibeonites by the house of ,saul4 ,david asked the ,gibeonites what reparation he could make4 ,they said it was not a matter of damages4 ,but both parties felt that before the law of ,god could be satisfied and the land relieved of its curse1 some atonement1 some guilt-offering1 must be made to the ,divine ,law4 ,it was a wild kind of satisfaction that was paid4 ,seven men of ,saul's house were hung up before the ,lord in ,gibeon4 ,but the instinct1 though satisfied in so murderous a fashion1 was a true and a grand instinct1--the conscience of a law above all human laws and rights1 to which homage must be paid before the sinner could come into true relations with ,god1 or the ,divine curse be lifted off4 ,it is in this sense that the word is used of the ,servant of ,jehovah1 the ,ideal1 ,representative ,sufferer4 ,innocent as he is1 he gives his life as satisfaction to the ,divine law for the guilt of his people4 ,his death was no mere martyrdom or miscarriage of human justice3 in ,god's intent and purpose1 but also by its own voluntary offering1 it was an expiatory sacrifice4#bce ,by his death the ,servant did homage to the law of ,god4 ,by dying for it ,he made men feel that the supreme end of man was to own that law and be in a right relation to it1 and that the supreme service was to help others to a right relation4 ,as it is said a little farther down1 ,my ,servant1 righteous himself1 wins righteousness for many1 and makes their iniquities his load4 ,it surely cannot be difficult for any one1 who knows what sin is1 and what a part vicarious suffering plays both in the bearing of the sin and in the redemption of the sinner1 to perceive that at this point the ,servant's service for ,god and man reaches its crown4 ,compare his death and its sad meaning1 with the brilliant energies of his earlier career4 ,it is a heavy and an honourable thing to come from ,god to men1 laden with ,god's truth for your charge and responsibility2 but it is a far heavier to stoop and take upon your heart as your business and burden men's suffering and sin4 ,it is a needful and a lovely thing to assist the feeble aspirations of men1 to put yourself on the side of whatever in them is upward and living1--to be the shelter1 as the ,servant was1 of the bruised reed and the fading wick2 but it is more indispensable1 and it is infinitely heavier1 to seek to lift the deadness of men1 to take their guilt upon your heart1 to attempt to rouse them to it1 to attempt to deliver them from it4 ,it is a useful and a glorious thing to establish order and justice among men1 to create a social conscience1 to inspire the exercise of love and the habits of service1 and this the ,servant did when he set ,law on the ,earth1 and the ,isles waited for his teaching2 but after all man's supreme and controlling relation is his relation to ,god1 and to this their righteousness the ,servant restored guilty men by his death4 ,and so it was at this point1 according to our prophecy1 that the ,servant1 though brought so low1 was nearest his exaltation2 though in death1 yet nearest life1 nearest the highest kind of life1 the seeing of a seed1 the finding of himself in others2 though despised1 rejected and forgotten of men1 most certain of finding a place among the great and notable forces of life1--therefore do ,i divide him a share with the great1 and the spoil he shall share with the strong4 ,not because as a prophet he was a sharp sword in the hand of the ,lord1 or a light flashing to the ends of the earth1 but in that--as the prophecy concludes1 and it is the prophet's last and highest word concerning him--in that he bare the sin of the many1 and interposed for the transgressors4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have seen that the most striking thing about this prophecy is the spectral appearance of the ,servant4 ,he haunts1 rather than is present in1 the chapter4 ,we hear of him1 but he himself does not speak4 ,we see faces that he startles1 lips that the sight of him shuts1 lips that the memory of him1 after he has passed in silence1 opens to bitter confession of neglect and misunderstanding2 but himself we see not4 ,his aspect and his bearing1 his work for ,god and his influence on men1 are shown to us1 through the recollection and conscience of the speakers1 with a vividness and a truth that draw the consciences of us who hear into the current of the confession1 and take our hearts captive4 ,but when we ask1 ,who was he then8 ,what was his name among men8 ,where shall we find himself8 ,has he come1 or do you still look for him8--neither the speakers1 whose conscience he so smote1 nor ,god1 whose chief purpose he was1 give us here any answer4 ,in some verses he and his work seem already to have happened upon earth1 but again we are made to feel that he is still future to the prophet1 and that the voices1 which the prophet quotes as speaking of having seen him and found him to be the ,saviour1 are voices of a day not yet born1 while the prophet writes4 ,but about five hundred and fifty years after this prophecy was written1 a ,man came forward among the sons of men1--among this very nation from whom the prophecy had arisen2 and in every essential of consciousness and of experience ,he was the counterpart1 embodiment and fulfilment of this ,suffering ,servant and his ,service4 ,jesus ,christ answers the questions1 which the prophecy raises and leaves unanswered4 ,in the prophecy we see one1 who is only a spectre1 a dream1 a conscience without a voice1 without a name1 without a place in history4 ,but in ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth the dream becomes a reality2 ,he1 whom we have seen in this chapter only as the purpose of ,god1 only through the eyes and consciences of a generation yet unborn1--,he comes forward in flesh and blood2 ,he speaks1 ,he explains ,himself1 ,he accomplishes almost to the last detail the work1 the patience and the death that are here described as ,ideal and ,representative4 ,the correspondence of details between ,christ's life and this prophecy1 published five hundred and fifty years before ,he came1 is striking2 if we encountered it for the first time1 it would be more than striking1 it would be staggering4 ,but do not let us do what so many have done--so fondly exaggerate it as to lose in the details of external resemblance the moral and spiritual identity4 ,for the external correspondence between this prophecy and the life of ,jesus ,christ is by no means perfect4 ,every wound that is set down in the fifty-third of ,isaiah was not reproduced or fulfilled in the sufferings of ,jesus4 ,for instance1 ,christ was not the sick1 plague-stricken man1 whom the ,servant is at first represented to be4 ,the ,english translators have masked the leprous figure1 that stands out so clearly in the original ,hebrew1--for acquainted with grief1 bearing our griefs1 put him to grief1 we should in each case read sickness4 ,now ,christ was no ,job4 ,as ,matthew points out1 the only way ,he could be said to bear our sicknesses and to carry our pains was by healing them1 not by sharing them4 ,and again1 exactly as the judicial murder of the ,servant1 and the entire absence from his contemporaries of any idea that he suffered a vicarious death1 suit the case of ,christ1 the next stage in the ,servant's fate was not true of the ,victim of ,pilate and the ,pharisees4 ,christ's grave was not with the wicked4 ,he suffered as a felon without the walls on the common place of execution1 but friends received the body and gave it an honourable burial in a friend's grave4 ,or take the clause1 with the rich in his death4 ,it is doubtful whether the word is really rich1 and ought not to be a closer synonym of wicked in the previous clause2 but if it be rich1 it is simply another name for the wicked1 who in the ,east1 in cases of miscarried justice1 are so often coupled with the evildoers4 ,it cannot possibly denote such a man as ,joseph of ,arimathea2 nor1 is it to be observed1 do the ,evangelists in describing ,christ's burial in that rich and pious man's tomb take any notice of this line about the ,suffering ,servant4 ,but the absence of a complete incidental correspondence only renders more striking the moral and spiritual correspondence1 the essential likeness between the ,service set forth in ch4 liii4 and the work of our ,lord4 ,the speakers of ch4 liii4 set the ,servant over against themselves1 and in solitariness of character and office4 ,they count him alone sinless where all they have sinned1 and him alone the agent of salvation and healing where their whole duty is to look on and believe4 ,but this is precisely the relation which ,christ assumed between ,himself and the nation4 ,he was on one side1 all they on the other4 ,against their strong effort to make ,him the ,first among them1 it was1 as we have said before1 the constant aim of our ,lord to assert and to explain ,himself as ,the ,only4 ,and this ,onlyness was to be realised in suffering4 ,he said1 ,i must suffer2 or again1 ,it behoves the ,christ to suffer4 ,suffering is the experience in which men feel their oneness with their kind4 ,christ1 too1 by suffering felt ,his oneness with men2 but largely in order to assert a singularity beyond4 ,through suffering ,he became like unto men1 but only that ,he might effect through suffering a lonely and a singular service for them4 ,for though ,he suffered in all points as men did1 yet ,he shared none of their universal feelings about suffering4 ,pain never drew from ,him either of those two voices of guilt or of doubt4 ,pain never reminded ,christ of ,his own past1 nor made ,him question ,god4 ,nor did ,he seek pain for any end in itself4 ,there have been men who have done so2 fanatics who have gloried in pain2 superstitious minds that have fancied it to be meritorious2 men whose wounds have been as mouths to feed their pride1 or to publish their fidelity to their cause4 ,but our ,lord shrank from pain2 if it had been possible ,he would have willed not to bear it3 ,father1 save ,me from this hour2 ,father1 if it be ,thy will1 let this cup pass from ,me4 ,and when ,he submitted and was under the agony1 it was not in the feeling of it1 nor in the impression it made on others1 nor in the manner in which it drew men's hearts to ,him1 nor in the seal it set on the truth1 but in something beyond it1 that ,he found ,his end and satisfaction4 ,jesus looked out of the travail of ,his soul and was satisfied4 ,for1 firstly1 ,he knew ,his pain to be ,god's will for an end outside ,himself1--,i have a baptism to be baptized with1 and how am ,i straitened till it be accomplished3 ,father1 save ,me from this hour1 yet for this cause came ,i to this hour3 ,father1 ,thy will be done1--and all opportunities to escape as temptations4 ,and1 secondly1 like the ,servant1 ,jesus dealt prudently1 had insight4 ,the will of ,god in ,his suffering was no mystery to ,him4 ,he understood from the first why ,he was to suffer4#bcf ,the reasons ,he gave were the same two and in the same order as are given by our prophet for the sufferings of the ,servant1--first1 that fidelity to ,god's truth could bring with it no other fate in ,israel2#bcg then that ,his death was necessary for the sins of men1 and as men's ransom from sin4 ,in giving the first of these reasons for ,his death1 ,christ likened ,himself to the prophets who had gone before ,him in ,jerusalem2 but in the second ,he matched ,himself with no other1 and no other has ever been known in this to match himself with ,jesus4 ,when men1 then1 stand up and tell us that ,christ suffered only for the sake of sympathy with ,his kind1 or only for loyalty to the truth1 we have to tell them that this was not the whole of ,christ's own consciousness1 this was not the whole of ,christ's own explanation4 ,suffering1 which leads men into the sense of oneness with their kind1 only made ,him1 as it grew the nearer and weighed the heavier1 more emphatic upon ,his difference from other men4 ,if ,he ,himself1 by ,his pity1 by ,his labours of healing 7as ,matthew points out71 and by all ,his intercourse with ,his people1 penetrated more deeply into the participation of human suffering1 the very days which marked with increasing force ,his sympathy with men1 only laid more bare their want of sympathy with ,him1 their incapacity to follow into that unique conscience and understanding of a ,passion1 which ,he bore not only with1 but1 as ,he said1 for ,his brethren4 ,who believed that which we heard1 and to whom was the arm of the ,lord revealed8 ,as to ,his generation1 who reflected 444 that for the transgression of my people ,he was stricken8 ,again1 while ,christ indeed brought truth to earth from heaven1 and was for truth's sake condemned by men to die1 the burden which ,he found waiting ,him on earth1 man's sin1 was ever felt by ,him to be a heavier burden and responsibility than the delivery of the truth2 and was in fact the thing1 which1 apart from the things for which men might put ,him to death1 remained the reason of ,his death in ,his own sight and in that of ,his ,father4 ,and ,he told men why ,he felt their sin to be so heavy1 because it kept them so far from ,god1 and this was ,his purpose1 ,he said1 in bearing it--that ,he might bring us back to ,god2 not primarily that ,he might relieve us of the suffering which followed sin1 though ,he did so relieve some when ,he pardoned them1 but that ,he might restore us to right relations with ,god1--might1 like the ,servant1 make many righteous4 ,now it was ,christ's confidence to be able to do this1 which distinguished ,him from all others1 upon whom has most heavily fallen the conscience of their people's sins1 and who have most keenly felt the duty and commission from ,god of vicarious suffering4 ,if1 like ,moses1 one sometimes dared for love's sake to offer his life for the life of his people1 none1 under the conscience and pain of their people's sins1 ever expressed any consciousness of thereby making their brethren righteous4 ,on the contrary1 even a ,jeremiah1 whose experience1 as we have seen1 comes so wonderfully near the picture of the ,representative ,sufferer in ch4 liii41--even a ,jeremiah feels1 with the increase of his vicarious pain and conscience of guilt1 only the more perplexed1 only the deeper in despair1 only the less able to understand ,god and the less hopeful to prevail with ,him4 ,but ,christ was sure of ,his power to remove men's sins1 and was never more emphatic about that power than when ,he most felt those sins' weight4 ,and ,he has seen ,his seed2 ,he has made many righteous4 ,we found it to be uncertain whether the penitent speakers in ch4 liii4 understood that the ,servant by coming under the physical sufferings1 which were the consequences of their sins1 relieved them of these consequences2 other passages in the prophecy would seem to imply1 that1 while the ,servant's sufferings were alone valid for righteousness1 they did not relieve the rest of the nation from suffering too4 ,and so it would be going beyond what ,god has given us to know1 if we said that ,god counts the sufferings on the ,cross1 which were endured for our sins1 as an equivalent for1 or as sufficient to do away with1 the sufferings which these sins bring upon our minds1 our bodies and our social relations4 ,substitution of this kind is neither affirmed by the penitents who speak in the fifty-third of ,isaiah1 nor is it an invariable or essential part of the experience of those who have found forgiveness through ,christ4 ,every day penitents turn to ,god through ,christ1 and are assured of forgiveness1 who feel no abatement in the rigour of the retribution of those laws of ,god1 which they have offended2 like ,david after his forgiveness1 they have to continue to bear the consequences of their sins4 ,but dark as this side of experience undoubtedly is1 only the more conspicuously against the darkness does the other side of experience shine4 ,by believing what they have heard1 reaching this belief through a quicker conscience and a closer study of ,christ's words about ,his death1 men1 upon whom conscience by itself and sore punishment have worked in vain1 have been struck into penitence1 have been assured of pardon1 have been brought into right relations with ,god1 have felt all the melting and the bracing effects of the knowledge that another has suffered in their stead4 ,nay1 let us consider this--the physical consequences of their sins may have been left to be endured by such men1 for no other reason than in order to make their new relation to ,god more sensible to them1 while they feel those consequences no longer with the feeling of penalty1 but with that of chastisement and discipline4 ,surely nothing could serve more strongly than this to reveal the new conscience towards ,god that has been worked within them4 ,this inward righteousness is made more plain by the continuance of the physical and social consequences of their sins than it would have been had these consequences been removed4 ,thus ,christ1 like the ,servant1 became a force in the world1 inheriting in the course of ,providence a portion with the great and dividing the spoils of history with the strong4 ,as has often been said1 ,his ,cross is ,his ,throne1 and it is by ,his death that ,he has ruled the ages4 ,yet we must not understand this as if ,his ,power was only or mostly shown in binding men1 by gratitude for the salvation ,he won them1 to own ,him for their ,king4 ,his power has been even more conspicuously proved in making ,his fashion of service the most fruitful and the most honoured among men4 ,if men have ceased to turn from sickness with aversion or from weakness with contempt2 if they have learned to see in all pain some law of ,god1 and in vicarious suffering ,god's most holy service2 if patience and self-sacrifice have come in any way to be a habit of human life1--the power in this change has been ,christ4 ,but because these two--to say1 ,thy will be done1 and to sacrifice self--are for us men the hardest and the most unnatural of things to do1 ,jesus ,christ1 in making these a conscience and a habit upon earth1 has indeed shown ,himself able to divide the spoil with the strong1 has indeed performed the very highest ,service for ,man of which man can conceive4 ,,footnotes3 #bjc ,thus ,ewald supposed ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 to be an elegy upon some martyr in the persecutions under ,manasseh4 ,professor ,briggs1 as we have noticed before1 claims to have discovered that all the passages in the ,servant are parts of a trimeter poem1 older than the rest of the prophecy1 which he finds to be in hexameters4 ,see p4 #cae4 #bjd ,i may quote ,dillmann's opinion on this last point3 ,andererseits sind nicht blos die ,grundgedanken und auch einzelne ,wendungen wie #eb1 #ac-ae4 #ec1 #g4 #aa4 #ab durch #db1 #a ff4 #di1 #a ff4 #ej1 #c ff4 so wohl vorbereitet und so sehr in bereinstimmung damit1 dass an eine fast unvernderte ,herbernahme des ,abschnitts aus einer verlornen ,schrift 7,ew47 nicht gedacht werden kann1 sondern derselbe doch wesentlich als ,werk des ,vrf4 angesehen werden muss 7,commentary #dth ed41 #ahij1 p4 #dec74 #bje ,this verb best gives the force of the ,hebrew1 which means both to deal prudently and to prosper or succeed4 ,see p4 #cdf4 #bjf ,vulgate finely3 extolletur1 sublimis erit et valde elatus4 #bjg ,the term rendered 'startle' has created unnecessary difficulty to some writers4 ,the word means to 'cause to spring or leap2' when applied to fluids1 to spirt or sprinkle them4 ,the fluid spirted is put in the accusative1 and it is spirted upon the person4 ,in the present passage the person1 'many nations1' is in the accusative1 and it is simply treason against the ,hebrew language to render 'sprinkle4' ,the interpreter who will so translate will 'do anything4'--,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,expositor1 #bnd series1 viii41 #ddc4 ,the ,,lxx4 has 4 ,the ,peschitto and ,vulgate render sprinkle4 #bjh ,and not our report1 or something we caused to be heard1 as in the ,english ,version1-- is the passive participle of 1 to hear1 and not of 1 to cause to hear4 ,the speakers are now the penitent people of ,god who had been preached to1 and not the prophets who had preached4 #bji ,tender shoot4 ,masculine participle1 meaning sucker1 or suckling4 ,dr4 ,john ,hunter 7,christian ,treasury7 suggests succulent plant1 such as grow in the desert4 ,but in ,job viii4 #af2 xiv4 #g2 xv4 #cj1 the feminine form is used of any tender shoot of a tree1 and the feminine plural in ,ezek4 xvii4 #bb of the same4 ,the ,,lxx4 read 1 infant4 ,before ,him1 i4e4 ,jehovah4 ,cheyne1 following ,ewald1 reads before us4 ,so ,giesebrecht4 #baj ,took for his burden4 ,loaded himself with them4 ,the same grievous word which ,god uses of ,himself in ch4 xlvi4 ,see p4 #ahj4 #baa ,there is more than afflicted 7,authorised ,version7 in this word4 ,there is the sense of being humbled1 punished for his own sake4 #bab ,the possessive pronoun has been put to the end of the lines1 where it stands in the original1 producing a greater emphasis and even a sense of rhyme4 #bac ,kllan so rendered instead of all of us1 in order to be assonant with the close of the verse1 as the original is1 which closes with kullam4 #bad ,that is1 by a form of law that was tyranny1 a judicial crime4 #bae ,cut off violently1 prematurely1 unnaturally4 #baf ,see p4 #cfh4 #bag ,the verbs1 hitherto in the perfect in this verse1 now change to the imperfect2 a sign that they express the purpose of ,god4 ,cf4 ,dillmann1 in loco4 #bah ,from the travail of his soul shall he see1 and by his knowledge be satisfied4 ,taking with instead of with 4 ,this reading suggested itself to me some years ago4 ,since then ,i have found it only in ,prof4 ,briggs's translation1 ,messianic ,prophecy1 p4 #cei4 ,it is supported by the frequent parallel in which we find seeing and knowing in ,hebrew4 #bai ,some translate many1 i4e41 the many to whom he brings righteousness1 as if he were a victor with a great host behind him4 #bbj ,jer4 xxiii4 #e4 #bba ,hitzig 7among others7 held that it is the prophets who are the speakers of ver4 #a1 and that the voices of the penitent people come in only with ver4 #b or ver4 #c4 ,in that case would mean what we heard from ,god 7 is elsewhere used for the prophetic message7 and delivered to the people4 ,this interpretation multiplies the dramatis person1 but does not materially alter the meaning1 of the prophecy4 ,it merely changes part of the penitent people's self-reproach into a reproach cast on them by their prophets4 ,but there is no real reason for introducing the prophets as the speakers of ver4 #a4 #bbb ,for the argument that it is ,israel who speaks here1 see ,hoffmann 7,schriftbeweis71 who was converted from the other view1 and ,dillmann1 #dth ed41 in loco4 ,a very ingenious attempt has been made by ,giesebrecht 7,beitrge zur ,jesaia ,kritik1 #ahij1 p4 #adf ff471 in favour of the interpretation that the heathen are the speakers4 ,his reasons are these3 #a4 ,it is the heathen who are spoken of in lii4 #ac-ae1 and a change to ,israel would be too sudden4 ,answer3 ,the heathen are not exclusively spoken of in lii4 #ac-ae2 but if they were a change in the next verse to ,israel would not be more rapid than some already made by the prophet4 #b4 ,the words in liii4 #a suit the heathen4 ,they have already received the news of the exaltation of the ,servant1 which in lii4 #ae was promised them4 ,this is the 1 that is news we have just heard4 is a pluperfect of the subjunctive mood3 ,who could or who would have believed this news of the exaltation we have just heard1 and the arm of ,jehovah to whom was it revealed6 i4e41 it was revealed to nobody4 ,answer3 besides the precariousness of taking as a pluperfect subjunctive1 this interpretation is opposed to the general effort of the prophecy1 which is to expose unbelief before the exaltation1 not after it4 #c4 ,to get rid of the argument--that1 while the speakers own that the ,servant bears their sins1 it is said the ,servant was stricken for the sins of my people1 and that therefore the speakers must be the same as my people3--,giesebrecht would utterly alter the reading of ver4 #h from 1 for the transgression of my people was the stroke to him to 1 for their stroke was he smitten4 #bbc and 4 ,in speaking of his country's woes1 ,jeremiah 7x4 #ai7 says3 ,this is sickness1 or my sickness1 and ,i must bear it1 4 ,ezekiel 7iv4 #d7 is commanded to lie on his side1 and in that symbolic position to bear the iniquity of ,his people1 4 ,one of the ,lamentations 7v4 #g7 complains3 ,our fathers have sinned and are not1 and we bear 77 their iniquities4 ,in these cases the meaning of both and is simply to feel the weight of1 be involved in4 ,the verbs do not convey the sense of carrying off or expiating4 ,but still it had been said of the ,servant that in his suffering he would be practical and prosper2 so that when we now hear that he bears his people's sins1 we are ready to understand that he does not do this for the mere sake of sharing them1 but for a practical purpose1 which1 of course1 can only be their removal4 ,there is1 therefore1 no need to quarrel with the interpretation of ver4 #d1 that the ,servant carries away the suffering with which he is laden4 ,matthew makes this interpretation 7viii4 #ag7 in speaking of ,christ's healing4 ,but it is a very interesting fact1 and not without light upon the free and plastic way in which the ,new ,testament quotes from the ,old1 that ,matthew has ignored the original and literal meaning of the quotation1 which is that the ,servant shared the sicknesses of the people3 a sense impossible in the case for which the ,evangelist uses the words4 #bbd ,but they do not tell us1 whether they were totally exempted from suffering by the ,servant's pains1 or whether they also suffered with him the consequence of their misdeeds4 ,for that question is not now present to their minds4 ,whether they also suffer or not 7and other chapters in the prophecy emphasize the people's bearing of the consequences of their misdeeds71 they know that it was not their own1 but the ,servant's suffering1 which was alone the factor in their redemption4 #bbe ,mystery of ,pain1 by ,james ,hinton1 p4 #bg4 #bbf ,psalm cvi4 #bc2 cf4 also ver4 #cb1 where the other side of the solidarity between ,moses and the people comes out4 ,they angered ,him also at the waters of ,strife1 so that it went ill with ,moses for their sakes 444 he spake unadvisedly with his lips4 #bbg ,see p4 #ceb4 #bbh ,isa4 xlvi4 #c1 #d4 ,see pp4 #agi1 #ahj of this volume4 #bbi ,ch4 xlii4 #be4 #bcj ,if we remember this we shall also feel more reason than ever against perceiving the ,nation1 or any aspect of the ,nation1 in the ,sufferer of ch4 liii4 ,for he suffers1 as the individual suffers1 sickness and legal wrong4 ,tyrants do not put whole nations through a form of law and judgement4 ,of course1 it is open to those1 who hold that the ,servant is still an aspect of the ,nation1 to reply1 that all this is simply evidence of how far the prophet has pushed his personification4 ,a whole nation has been called ,the ,sick ,man even in our prosaic days4 ,but see pp4 #bfh-gf4 #bca ,jer4 li4 #d4 #bcb xl4 #ci2 xlii4 #ac2 xliv4 #bi2 xlvi4 #bj4 #bcc #a ,sam4 vi4 #ac4 #bcd ,cf4 ,wellhausen's ,prolegomena1 ch4 ii41 #b4 #bce ,there is no exegete but agrees to this4 ,there may be differences of opinion about the syntax1--whether the verse should run1 though ,thou makest his soul guilt1 or a guilt-offering2 or1 though his soul make a guilt-offering2 or 7reading for 71 while he makes his soul a guilt-offering1--but all agree to the fact that by himself or by ,god the ,servant's life is offered an expiation for sin1 a satisfaction to the law of ,god4 #bcf ,cf4 ,baldensperger 7,das ,selbstbewusstsein ,jesu1 p4 #aai ff47 on the genuineness of ,christ's predictions and explanations of ,his sufferings4 #bcg ,cf4 p4 #ccj4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,,the ,,restoration4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,we have now reached the summit of our prophecy4 ,it has been a long1 steep ascent1 and we have had very much to seek out on the way1 and to extricate and solve and load ourselves with4 ,but although a long extent of the prophecy1 if we measure it by chapters1 still lies before us1 the end is in sight2 every difficulty has been surmounted which kept us from seeing how we were to get to it1 and the rest of the way may be said to be down-hill4 ,to drop the figure--the ,servant1 his vicarious suffering and atonement for the sins of the people1 form for our prophet the solution of the spiritual problem of the nation's restoration1 and what he has now to do is but to fill in the details of this4 ,we saw that the problem of ,israel's deliverance from ,exile1 their ,return1 and their ,restoration to their position in their own land as the ,chief ,servant of ,god to humanity1 was really a double problem--political and spiritual4 ,the solution of the political side of it was ,cyrus4 ,as soon as the prophet had been able to make it certain that ,cyrus was moving down upon ,babylon1 with a commission from ,god to take the city1 and irresistible in the power with which ,jehovah had invested him1 the political difficulties in the way of ,israel's ,return were as good as removed2 and so the prophet gave1 in the end of ch4 xlviii41 his great call to his countrymen to depart4 ,but all through chs4 xl4-xlviii41 while addressing himself to the solution of the political problems of ,israel's deliverance1 the prophet had given hints that there were moral and spiritual difficulties as well4 ,in spite of their punishment for more than half a century1 the mass of the people were not worthy of a return4 ,many were idolaters2 many were worldly2 the orthodox had their own wrong views of how salvation should come 7xlv4 #i ff472 the pious were without either light or faith 7l4 #aj74 ,the nation1 in short1 had not that inward righteousness1 which could alone justify ,god in vindicating them before the world1 in establishing their outward righteousness1 their salvation and reinstatement in their lofty place and calling as ,his people4 ,these moral difficulties come upon the prophet with greater force after he has1 with the close of ch4 xlviii41 finished his solution of the political ones4 ,to these moral difficulties he addresses himself in xlix4-liii41 and the ,servant and his ,service are his solution of them3--the ,servant as a ,prophet and a ,covenant of the ,people in ch4 xlix4 and in ch4 l4 #d ff42 the ,servant as an example to the people1 ch4 l4 ff42 and finally the ,servant as a full expiation for the people's sins in ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 ,it is the ,servant who is to raise up the land1 and to bring back the heirs to the desolate heritages1 and rouse the ,israel who are not willing to leave ,babylon1 saying to the bound1 ,go forth2 and to them that sit in darkness1 ,show yourselves 7xlix4 #h1 #i74 ,it is he who is to sustain the weary and to comfort the pious in ,israel1 who1 though pious1 have no light as they walk on their way back 7l4 #d1 #aj74 ,it is the ,servant finally who is to achieve the main problem of all and make many righteous 7liii4 #aa74 ,the hope of restoration1 the certainty of the people's redemption1 the certainty of the rebuilding of ,jerusalem1 the certainty of the growth of the people to a great multitude1 are1 therefore1 all woven by the prophet through and through with his studies of the ,servant's work in xlix41 l41 and lii4 #ac-liii41--woven so closely and so naturally that1 as we have already seen 7pp4 #cac f41 #ccf ff471 we cannot take any part of chs4 xlix4-liii4 and say that it is of different authorship from the rest4 ,thus in ch4 xlix4 we have the road to ,jerusalem pictured in vv4 #i;b-#ac1 immediately upon the back of the ,servant's call to go forth in ver4 #i;a4 ,we have then the assurance of ,zion being rebuilt and thronged by her children in vv4 #ad-bc1 and another affirmation of the certainty of redemption in vv4 #bd-bf2 ,in l4 #a-c this is repeated4 ,in li4-lii4 #ab the petty people is assured that it shall grow innumerable again2 new affirmations are made of its ransom and return1 ending with the beautiful prospect of the feet of the heralds of deliverance on the mountains of ,judah 7lii4 #g;b7 and a renewed call to leave ,babylon 7vv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,we shall treat all these passages in our ,twenty-,first ,chapter4 ,and as they started naturally from the ,servant's work in xlix4 #a-i;a and his example in l4 #d-aa1 so upon his final and crowning work in ch4 liii4 there follow as naturally ch4 liv4 7the prospect of the seed that liii4 #aj promised he should see71 and ch4 lv4 7a new call to come forth74 ,these two1 with the little pre-exilic prophecy1 ch4 lvi4 #a-h1 we shall treat in our ,twenty-,second ,chapter4 ,then come the series of difficult small prophecies with pre-exilic traces in them1 from lvi4 #i-lix4 ,they will occupy our ,twenty-,third ,chapter4 ,in ch4 lx4 ,zion is at last not only in sight1 but radiant in the rising of her new day of glory4 ,in chs4 lxi4 and lxii4 the prophet1 having reached ,zion1 looks back1 as ,dillmann well remarks1 upon what has become his task1 and in connection with that makes clear once more the high goal of all his working and striving4 ,in lxiii4 #a-f the ,divine ,deliverer is hailed4 ,we shall take lx4-lxiii4 #f together in our ,twenty-,fourth ,chapter4 ,ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv4 is an ,intercessory ,prayer for the restoration of all ,israel4 ,it is answered in ch4 lxv41 and the lesson of this answer1 that ,israel must be judged1 and that all cannot be saved1 is enforced in ch4 lxvi4 ,chs4 lxiii4 #g-lxvi4 will therefore form our ,twenty-,fifth and closing ,chapter4 ,thus our course is clear1 and we can overtake it rapidly4 ,it is1 to a large extent1 a series of spectacles1 interrupted by exhortations upon duty2 things1 in fact1 to see and to hear1 not to argue about4 ,there are few great doctrinal questions1 except what we have already sufficiently discussed2 our study1 for instance1 of the term righteousness1 we shall find has covered for us a large part of the ground in advance4 ,and the only difficult literary question is that of the pre-exilic and post-exilic pieces1 which are alleged to form so large a part of chs4 lvi4-lix4 and lxiii4-lxvi4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,doubts ,,in ,,the ,,way4 ,,isaiah xlix4-lii4 #ab4 ,chapters xlix4-liii4 are1 as we have seen1 a series of more or less closely joined passages1 in which the prophet1 having already made the political redemption of ,israel certain through ,cyrus1 and having dismissed ,cyrus from his thoughts1 addresses himself to various difficulties in the way of restoration1 chiefly moral and spiritual1 and rising from ,israel's own feelings and character2 exhorts the people in face of them by ,jehovah's faithfulness and power2 but finds the chief solution of them in the ,servant and his prophetic and expiatory work4 ,we have already studied such of these passages as present the ,servant to us1 and we now take up those others1 which meet the doubts and difficulties in the way of restoration by means of general considerations drawn from ,god's character and power4 ,let it be noticed that1 with one exception 7ch4 l4 #aa71bch these passages are meant for earnest and pious minds in ,israel1--for those ,israelites1 whose desires are towards ,zion1 but chill and heavy with doubts4 ,the form and the terms of these passages are in harmony with their purpose4 ,they are a series of short1 high-pitched exhortations1 apostrophes and lyrics4 ,one1 ch4 lii4 #i-ab1 calls upon the arm of ,jehovah1 but all the rest address ,zion1--that is1 the ideal people in the person of their mother1 with whom they ever so fondly identified themselves2 or ,zion's children2 or them that follow righteousness1 or ye that know righteousness2 or my people1 my nation2 or again ,zion herself4 ,this personification of the people under the name of their city1 and under the aspect of a woman1 whose children are the individual members of the people1 will be before us till the end of our prophecy4 ,it is1 of course1 a personification of ,israel1 which is complementary to ,israel's other personification under the name of the ,servant4 ,the ,servant is ,israel active1 comforting1 serving his own members and the nations2 ,zion1 the ,mother-,city1 is ,israel passive1 to be comforted1 to be served by her own sons and by the kings of the peoples4 ,we may divide the passages into two groups4 ,first1 the songs of return1 which rise out of the picture of the ,servant and his redemption of the people in ch4 xlix4 #i;b1 with the long promise and exhortation to ,zion and her children1 that lasts till the second picture of the ,servant in ch4 lii4 #d2 and second1 the short pieces which lie between the second picture of the ,servant and the third1 or from the beginning of ch4 li4 to ch4 lii4 #ab4 ,i4 ,in ch4 xlix4 #i;b ,god's promise of the return of the redeemed proceeds naturally from that of their ransom by the ,servant4 ,it is hailed by a song in ver4 #ac1 and the rest of the section is the answer to three doubts1 which1 like sobs1 interrupt the music4 ,but the prophecy1 stooping1 as it were1 to kiss the trembling lips through which these doubts break1 immediately resumes its high flight of comfort and promise4 ,two of these doubts are3 ver4 #ad1 ,but ,zion hath said1 ,jehovah hath forsaken me1 and my ,lord hath forgotten me2 and ver4 #bd1 ,shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the captives of the terrible be delivered8 ,the third is implied in ch4 l4 #a4 ,the promise of return is as follows3 ,on roads shall they feed1 and on all bare heights shall be their pasture4 ,they shall not hunger nor thirst1 nor shall the mirage nor the sun smite them3 for ,he that yearneth over them shall lead them1 even by springs of water shall ,he guide them4 ,and ,i will set all ,my mountains for a way1 and ,my high ways shall be exalted4 ,lo1 these shall come from far3 and1 lo1 these from the ,north and from the ,west1 and these from the land of ,sinim4#bci ,sing forth1 ,o heavens2 and be glad1 ,o earth2 let the mountains break forth into singing3 for ,jehovah hath comforted ,his people1 and over ,his afflicted ,he yearneth4 ,now1 do not let us imagine that this is the promise of a merely material miracle4 ,it is the greater glory of a purely spiritual one1 as the prophet indicates in describing its cause in the words1 because ,he that yearneth over them shall lead them4 ,the desert is not to abate its immemorial rigours2 in itself the way shall still be as hard as when the discredited and heart-broken exiles were driven down it from home to servitude4 ,but their hearts are now changed1 and that shall change the road4 ,the new faith1 which has made the difference1 is a very simple one1 that ,god is ,power and that ,god is ,love4 ,notice the possessive pronouns used by ,god1 and mark what they put into ,his possession3 two kinds of things1--powerful things1 ,i will make all ,my mountains a way2 and sorrowful things1 ,jehovah hath comforted ,his people1 and will have compassion on ,his afflicted4#bdj ,if we will steadfastly believe that everything in the world which is in pain1 and everything which has power1 is ,god's1 and shall be used by ,him1 the one for the sake of the other1 this shall surely change the way to our feet1 and all the world around to our eyes4 #a4 ,only it is so impossible to believe it when one looks at real fact2 and however far and swiftly faith and hope may carry us for a time1 we always come to ground again and face to face with fact4 ,the prophet's imagination speeding along that green and lifted highway of the ,lord lights suddenly upon the end of it1--the still dismantled and desolate city4 ,fifty years ,zion's altar fires have been cold and her walls in ruin4 ,fifty years she has been bereaved of her children and left alone4 ,the prophet hears the winds blow mournfully through her fact's chill answer to faith4 ,but ,zion said1 ,forsaken me hath ,jehovah1 and my ,lord hath forgotten me6 ,now let us remember1 that our prophet has ,zion before him in the figure of a mother1 and we shall feel the force of ,god's reply4 ,it is to a mother's heart ,god appeals4 ,doth a woman forget her sucking child so as not to yearn over the son of her womb8 yea1 such may forget1 but ,i will not forget thee1 desolate mother that thou art6#bda ,thy life is not what thou art in outward show and feeling1 but what thou art in ,my love and in ,my sight4 ,lo1 upon both palms have ,i graven thee2 thy walls are before ,me continually4 ,the custom1 which to some extent prevails in all nations1 of puncturing or tattooing upon the skin a dear name one wishes to keep in mind1 is followed in the ,east chiefly for religious purposes1 and men engrave the name of ,god or some holy text upon the hand or arm for a memorial or as a mark of consecration4 ,it is this fashion which ,god attributes to ,himself4 ,having measured ,his love by the love of a mother1 ,he gives this second human pledge for ,his memory and devotion4 ,but again ,he exceeds the human habit2 for it is not only the name of ,zion which is engraved on ,his hands1 but her picture4 ,and it is not her picture1 as she lies in her present ruin and solitariness1 but her restored and perfect state3 thy walls are continually before ,me4 ,for this is faith's answer to all the ruin and haggard contradiction of outward fact4 ,reality is not what we see3 reality is what ,god sees4 ,what a thing is in ,his sight and to ,his purpose1 that it really is1 and that it shall ultimately appear to men's eyes4 ,to make us believe this is the greatest service the ,divine can do for the human4 ,it was the service ,christ was always doing1 and nothing showed ,his divinity more4 ,he took us men and ,he called us1 unworthy as we were1 ,his brethren1 the sons of ,god4 ,he took such an one as ,simon1 shifting and unstable1 a quicksand of a man1 and ,he said1 ,on this rock ,i will build ,my ,church4 ,a man's reality is not what he is in his own feelings1 or what he is to the world's eyes2 but what he is to ,god's love1 to ,god's yearning1 and in ,god's plan4 ,if he believe that1 so in the end shall he feel it1 so in the end shall he show it to the eyes of the world4 ,upon those great thoughts1 that ,god's are all strong things and all weak things1 and that the real and the certain in life is ,his will1 the prophecy breaks into a vision of multitudes in motion4 ,there is a great stirring and hastening1 crowds gather up through the verses1 the land is lifted and thronged4 ,lift up thine eyes round about1 and behold3 all of them gather together1 they come unto thee4 ,as ,i live1 saith ,jehovah1 thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them all as with an ornament1 and gird thyself with them1 like a bride4 ,for as for thy waste places and thy desolate ones and thy devastated land--yea1 thou wilt now be too strait for the inhabitants1 and far off shall be they that devoured thee4 ,again shall they speak in thine ears1--the children of thy bereavement 7that is1 those children who have been born away from ,zion during her solitude71 ,too strait for me is the place1 make me room that ,i may dwell4 ,and thou shalt say in thine heart1 ,who hath borne me these1--not begotten1 as our ,english version renders1 because the question with ,zion was not who was the father of the children1 but who1 in her own barrenness1 could possibly be the mother1--,who hath borne me these1 seeing ,i was first bereft of my children1 and since then have been barren1 an exile and a castaway6 ,and these1 who hath brought them up6 ,lo1 ,i was left by myself4 ,these1--whence are they6 ,our ,english version1 which has blundered in the preceding verses1 requires no correction in the following2 and the first great ,doubt in the ,way being now answered1 for they that wait on the ,lord shall not be ashamed1 we pass to the second1 in ver4 #bd4 #b4 ,can the prey be taken from the mighty1 or the captives of the tyrant#bdb be delivered8 ,even though ,god be full of love and thought for ,zion1 will these tyrants give up her children8 ,yea1 thus saith ,jehovah1 ,even the captives of the mighty shall be taken1 and the prey of the tyrant be delivered2 and with him that quarreleth with thee will ,i quarrel1 and thy children will ,i save4 ,and ,i will make thine oppressors to eat their own flesh1 and as with new wine with their blood shall they be drunken1 that all flesh may know that ,i am ,jehovah thy ,saviour1 and thy ,redeemer the ,mighty ,one of ,jacob4 #c4 ,but now a third ,doubt in the ,way seems to have risen4 ,unlike the two others1 it is not directly stated1 but we may gather its substance from the reply which ,jehovah makes to it 7l4 #a74 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,what is this bill of divorce of your mother whom ,i have sent away1 or which of ,my creditors is it to whom ,i have sold you8 ,the form1 in which this challenge is put1 assumes that the ,israelites themselves had been thinking of ,jehovah's dismissal of ,israel as an irrevocable divorce and a bankrupt sale into slavery4#bdc ,what now is this letter of divorce1--this that you are saying ,i have given your mother8 ,you say that ,i have sold you as a bankrupt father sells his children1--to which then of my creditors is it that ,i have sold you8 ,the most characteristic effect of sin is that it is always reminding men of law4 ,whether the moral habit of it be upon them or they are entangled in its material consequences1 sin breeds in men the conscience of inexorable1 irrevocable law4 ,its effect is not only practical1 but intellectual4 ,sin not only robs a man of the freedom of his own will1 but it takes from him the power to think of freedom in others1 and it does not stop till it paralyses his belief in the freedom of ,god4 ,he1 who knows himself as the creature of unchangeable habits or as the victim of pitiless laws1 cannot help imputing his own experience to what is beyond him1 till all life seems strictly lawbound1 the idea of a free agent anywhere an impossibility1 and ,god but a part of the necessity which rules the universe4 ,two kinds of generations of men have most tended to be necessitarian in their philosophy1--the generations which have given themselves over to do evil1 and the generations whose political experience or whose science has impressed them with the inevitable physical results of sin4 ,if belief in a ,divine ,redeemer1 able to deliver man's nature from the guilt and the curse of sin1 is growing weak among us to-day1 this is largely due to the fact that our moral and our physical sciences have been proving to us what creatures of law we are1 and disclosing1 especially in the study of disease and insanity1 how inevitably suffering follows sin4 ,god ,himself has been so much revealed to us as law1 that as a generation we find it hard to believe that ,he ever acts in any fashion that resembles the reversal of a law1 or ever works any swift1 sudden deed of salvation4 ,now the generation of the ,exile was a generation1 to whom ,god had revealed ,himself as law4 ,they were a generation of convicts4 ,they had owned the justice of the sentence which had banished and enslaved them2 they had experienced how inexorably ,god's processes of judgement sweep down the ages2 for fifty years they had been feeling the inevitable consequences of sin4 ,the conscience of ,law1 which this experience was bound to create in them1 grew ever more strong1 till at last it absorbed even the hope of redemption1 and the ,god1 who enforced the ,law1 ,himself seemed to be forced by it4 ,to express this sense of law these earnest ,israelites--for though in error they were in earnest--went to the only kind of law1 with which they were familiar1 and borrowed from it two of its forms1 which were not only suggested to them by the relations in which the nation and the nation's sons respectively stood to ,jehovah1 as wife and as children1 but admirably illustrated the ideas they wished to express4 ,there was1 first1 the form of divorce1 so expressive of the ideas of absoluteness1 deliberateness and finality2--of absoluteness1 for throughout the ,east power of divorce rests entirely with the husband2 of deliberateness1 for in order to prevent hasty divorce the ,hebrew law insisted that the husband must make a bill or writing of divorce instead of only speaking dismissal2 and of finality1 for such a writing1 in contrast to the spoken dismissal1 set the divorce beyond recall4 ,the other form1 which the doubters borrowed from their law1 was one1 which1 while it also illustrated the irrevocableness of the act1 emphasized the helplessness of the agent1--the act of the father1 who put his children away1 not as the husband put his wife in his anger1 but in his necessity1 selling them to pay his debts and because he was bankrupt4 ,on such doubts ,god turns with their own language4 ,i have indeed put your mother away1 but where is the bill that makes her divorce final1 beyond recall8 ,you indeed were sold1 but was it because ,i was bankrupt8 ,to which1 then1 of ,my creditors 7note the scorn of the plural7 was it that ,i sold you8 ,nay1 by means of your iniquities did you sell yourselves1 and by means of your transgressions were you put away4 ,but ,i stand here ready as ever to save1 ,i alone4 ,if there is any difficulty about your restoration it lies in this1 that ,i am alone1 with no response or assistance from men4 ,why when ,i came was there no man8 when ,i called was there none to answer8 ,is ,my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem8 or is there in it no power to deliver8 ,and so we come back to the truth1 which this prophecy so often presents to us1 that behind all things there is a personal initiative and urgency of infinite power1 which moves freely of its own compassion and force1 which is hindered by no laws from its own ends1 and needs no man's co-operation to effect its purposes4 ,the rest of the ,lord's answer to ,his people's fear1 that ,he is bound by an inexorable law1 is simply an appeal to ,his wealth of force4 ,this omnipotence of ,god is our prophet's constant solution for the problems which arise1 and he expresses it here in his favourite figures of physical changes and convulsions of nature4 ,lo1 with ,my rebuke ,i dry up the sea1 ,i make rivers a wilderness3 their fish stinketh1 because there is no water1 and dieth for thirst4 ,i clothe the heavens with blackness1 and sackcloth ,i set for their covering4 ,the argument seems to be3 if ,god can work those sudden revolutions in the physical world1 those apparent interruptions of law in that sphere1 surely you can believe ,him capable of creating sudden revolutions also in the sphere of history1 and reversing those laws and processes1 which you feel to be unalterable4 ,it is an argument from the physical to the moral world1 in our prophet's own analogical style1 and like those we found in ch4 xl4 ,,ii4 li4-lii4 #ab4 ,passing over the passage on the ,servant1 ch4 l4 #d-aa1 we reach a second series of exhortations in face of ,doubts in the ,way of the ,return4 ,the first of this new series is li4 #a-c4 ,their doubts having been answered with regard to ,god's mindfulness of them and ,his power to save them1 the loyal ,israelites fall back to doubt themselves4 ,they see with dismay how few are ready to achieve the freedom that ,god has assured1 and upon how small and insignificant a group of individuals the future of the nation depends4 ,but their disappointment is not made by them an excuse to desert the purpose of ,jehovah3 their fewness makes them the more faithful1 and the defection of their countrymen drives them the closer to their ,god4 ,therefore1 ,god speaks to them kindly1 and answers their last sad doubt4 ,hearken unto ,me1 ye that follow righteousness1 that seek ,jehovah4 ,righteousness here might be taken in its inward sense of conformity to law1 personal rightness of character2 and so taken it would well fall in with the rest of the passage4 ,those addressed would then be such in ,israel1 as in face of hopeless prospects applied themselves to virtue and religion4 ,but righteousness here is more probably used in the outward sense1 which we have found prevalent in ,second ,isaiah1 of vindication and victory2 the coming right of ,god's people and ,god's cause in the world1 their justification and triumph in history4#bdd ,they who are addressed will then be they who1 in spite of their fewness1 believe in this triumph1 follow it1 make it their goal and their aim1 and seek ,jehovah1 knowing that ,he can bring it to pass4 ,and because1 in spite of their doubts1 they are still earnest1 and though faint are yet pursuing1 ,god speaks to comfort them about their fewness4 ,their present state may be very small and unpromising1 but let them look back upon the much more unpromising character of their origin3 look unto the rock whence ye were hewn1 and the hole of the pit whence ye were digged4 ,to-day you may be a mere handful1 ridiculous in the light of the destiny you are called to achieve1 but remember you were once but one man3 look unto ,abraham your father1 and to ,sarah who bare you3 for as one ,i called him and blessed him1 that ,i might make of him many4 ,when we are weary and hopeless it is best to sit down and remember4 ,is the future dark3 let us look back and see the gathering and impetus of the past6 ,we can follow the luminous track1 the unmistakable increase and progress1 but the most inspiring sight of all is what ,god makes of the individual heart2 how a man's heart is always ,his beginning1 the fountain of the future1 the origin of nations4 ,lift up your hearts1 ye few and feeble2 your father was but one when ,i called him1 and ,i made him many6 ,having thus assured ,his loyal remnant of the restoration of ,zion1 in spite of their fewness1 ,jehovah in the next few verses 7#d-h7 extends the prospect of ,his glory to the world3 ,revelation shall go forth from ,me1 and ,i will make ,my ,law to light on the nations4 ,revelation and ,law between them summarise ,his will4 ,as ,he identified them both with the ,servant's work 7ch4 xl4 #aa71 so here ,he tells the loyal in ,israel1 who were in one aspect ,his ,servant1 that they shall surely come to pass2 and in the next little oracle1 vv4 #g1 #h1 ,he exhorts them to do that in which the ,servant has been set forth as an example3 fear ye not the reproach of men1 neither be dismayed at their revilings4 ,for like a garment the moth shall eat them up1 and like wool shall the worm devour them4 ,it is a response in almost the same words to the ,servant's profession of confidence in ,god in ch4 l4 #g-i4 ,by some it is used as an argument to show that the ,servant and the godly remnant are to our prophet still virtually one and the same2 but we have already seen 7ch4 l4 #aj7 the godfearing addressed as distinct from the ,servant1 and can only understand here that they are once more exhorted to take him as their example4 ,but if the likeness of the passage on the ,servant to this passage on the suffering ,remnant does not prove that ,remnant and ,servant are the same1 it is certainly an indication that both passages1 so far from being pieced together out of different poems1 are most probably due to the same author and were produced originally in the same current of thought4 ,when all ,doubts in the ,way have now been removed1 what can remain but a great impatience to achieve at once the near salvation8 ,to this impatience the loosened hearts give voice in vv4 #i-aa3 ,awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,arm of ,jehovah2 awake as in the days of old1 ages far past6 ,not in vain have ,israel been called to look back to the rock whence they were hewn and the hole of the pit whence they were digged4 ,looking back1 they see the ancient deliverance manifest3 ,art thou not it that hewed ,rahab in pieces1 that pierced the ,dragon6 ,art thou not it that dried up the sea1 waters of the great flood2 that did set the hollows of the sea a way for the passage of the redeemed4 ,then there breaks forth the ,march of the ,return1 which we heard already in the end of ch4 xxxv41#bde and to ,his people's impatience ,jehovah responds in vv4 #i-af in strains similar to those of ch4 xl4 ,the last verse of this reply is notable for the enormous extension which it gives to the purpose of ,jehovah in endowing ,israel as ,his prophet1--an extension to no less than the renewal of the universe1--in order to plant the heavens and found the earth2 though the reply emphatically concludes with the restoration of ,israel1 as if this were the cardinal moment in the universal regeneration1--and to say to ,zion1 ,my people art thou4 ,the close conjunction1 into which this verse brings words already applied to ,israel as the ,servant and words which describe ,israel as ,zion1 is another of the many proofs we are discovering of the impossibility of breaking up ,second ,isaiah into poems1 the respective subjects of which are one or other of these two personifications of the nation4#bdf ,but the desire of the prophet speeds on before the returning exiles to the still prostrate and desolate city4 ,he sees her as she fell1 the day the ,lord made her drunken with the cup of ,his wrath4 ,with urgent passion he bids her awake1 seeking to rouse her now by the horrid tale of her ruin1 and now by his exultation in the vengeance the ,lord is preparing for ,his enemies 7li4 #ag-bc74 ,in a second strophe he addresses her in conscious contrast to his taunt-song against ,babel4 ,babel was to sit throneless and stripped of her splendour in the dust2 but ,zion is to shake off the dust1 rise1 sit on her throne and assume her majesty4 ,for ,god hath redeemed ,his people4 ,he could not tolerate longer the exulting of their tyrants1 the blasphemy of ,his name 7lii4 #a-f74 ,all through these two strophes the strength of the passion1 the intolerance of further captivity1 the fierceness of the exultation of vengeance1 are very remarkable4 ,but from the ruin of his city1 which has so stirred and made turbulent his passion1 the prophet lifts his hot eyes to the dear hills that encircle her2 and peace takes the music from vengeance4 ,often has ,jerusalem seen rising across that high margin the spears and banners of her destroyers4 ,but now the lofty skyline is the lighting place of hope4 ,fit threshold for so ,divine an arrival1 it lifts against heaven1 dilated and beautiful1 the herald of the ,lord's peace1 the publisher of salvation4 ,how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings1 that publisheth peace1 that bringeth good tidings of good1 that publisheth salvation6 ,hark thy watchmen6 they lift up the voice1 together they break into singing2 yea1 eye to eye do they see when ,jehovah returneth to ,zion4 ,the last verse is a picture of the thronging of the city of the prophets by the prophets again--so close1 that they shall look each other in the face4 ,for this is the sense of the ,hebrew to see eye in eye1 and not that meaning of reconciliation and agreement which the phrase has come to have in colloquial ,english4 ,the ,exile had scattered the prophets and driven them into hiding4 ,they had been only voices to one another1 like ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel with the desert between the two of them1 or like our own prophet1 anonymous and unseen4 ,but upon the old gathering-ground1 the narrow but the free and open platform of ,jerusalem's public life1 they should see each other face to face1 they should again be named and known4 ,break out1 sing together1 ye wastes of ,jerusalem3 for ,jehovah has comforted ,his people1 has redeemed ,jerusalem4 ,bared has ,jehovah ,his holy arm to the eyes of all the nations1 and see shall all ends of the earth the salvation of our ,god4 ,thus the prophet1 after finishing his long argument and dispelling the doubts that still lingered at its close1 returns to the first high notes and the first dear subject with which he opened in ch4 xl4 ,in face of so open a way1 so unclouded a prospect1 nothing remains but to repeat1 and this time with greater strength than before1 the call to leave ,babylon3 ,draw off1 draw off1 come forth from there1 touch not the unclean2 ,come forth from her midst2 be ye clean that do bear the vessels of ,jehovah4 ,nay1 neither with haste shall ye forth1 nor in flight shall ye go1 ,for ,jehovah goeth before thee1 and ,israel's ,god is thy rearward4 ,,footnotes3 #bch ,see p4 #ccd4 #bci ,the question whether this is the land of ,china is still an open one4 ,the possibility of intercourse between ,china and ,babylon is more than proved4 ,but that there were ,jews in ,china by this time 7though they seem to have found their way there by the beginning of the ,christian era7 is extremely unlikely4 ,moreover1 the possibility of such a name as ,sinim for the inhabitants of ,china at that date has not been proved4 ,no other claimants for the name1 however1 have made good their case4 ,but we need not enter further into the question4 ,the whole matter is fully discussed in ,canon ,cheyne's excursus1 and by him and ,terrien de ,lacouperie in the ,babylonian and ,oriental ,record for #ahhf-hg4 ,see especially the number for ,september #ahhg4 #bdj ,his humbled1 ,his poor in the exilic sense of the word4 ,see ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 pp4 #dcb ff4 #bda ,on the ,motherhood of ,god cf4 ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 p4 #bde ff4 #bdb ,for 1 the righteous or just1 which is in the text1 the ,syr41 ,vulg41 ,ewald1 and others read 1 as in the following verse1 terrible or terribly strong4 ,dillmann1 however 7#eth ed41 #ahij1 p4 #dch71 retains takes the terms mighty and just as used of ,god1 and reads the question1 not as a question of despair uttered by the people1 but as a triumphant challenge of the prophet or of ,god ,himself4 ,he would then make the next verse run thus3 ,nay1 for the captives of the mighty may be taken1 and the prey of the delivered1 but with him who strives with thee ,i will strive4 #bdc ,the ,english version1 ,where is the bill1 is incorrect4 ,the phrase is the same as in lxvi4 ver4 #a1 ,what is this house that ye build for ,me8 what is this place for ,my rest8 ,it implies a house already built2 and so in the text above ,what is this bill of divorce implies one already thought of by the minds of the persons addressed by the question4 #bdd ,cf4 p4 #bba4 ,dillmann's view that righteousness means here personal character is contradicted by the whole context1 which makes it plain that it is something external1 the realisation of which those addressed are doubting4 ,what troubles them is not that they are personally unrighteous1 but that they are so few and insignificant4 ,and what ,god promises them in answer is something external1 the establishment of ,zion4 ,cf4 also the external meaning of righteousness in vv4 #e1 #f4 #bde ,isaiah4 i4-xxxix41 p4 #dda4 #bdf ,cf4 p4 #cae4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,on ,,the ,,eve ,,of ,,return4 ,,isaiah liv4-lvi4 #h4 ,one of the difficult problems of our prophecy is the relation and grouping of chs4 liv4-lix4 ,it is among them that the unity of ,second ,isaiah1 which up to this point we have seen no reason to doubt1 gives way4 ,ch4 lvi4 #i-lvii4 is evidently pre-exilic1 and so is ch4 lix4 ,but in chs4 liv41 lv41 and lvi4 #a-h we have three addresses1 evidently dating from the ,eve of the ,return4 ,we shall1 therefore1 treat them together4 ,i4 ,,the ,,bride ,,the ,,city 7ch4 liv474 ,we have already seen why there is no reason for the theory that ch4 liv4 may have followed immediately on ch4 lii4 #ab4bdg ,and from ,calvin to ,ewald and ,dillmann1 critics have all felt a close connection between ch4 lii4 #ac-liii4 and ch4 liv4 ,after having spoken of the death of ,christ1 says ,calvin1 the prophet passes on with good reason to the ,church3 that we may feel more deeply in ourselves what is the value and efficacy of ,his death4 ,similar in substance1 if not in language1 is the opinion of the latest critics1 who understand that in ch4 liv4 the prophet intends to picture that full redemption which the ,servant's work1 culminating in ch4 liii41 could alone effect4 ,two keywords of ch4 liii4 had been a seed and many4 ,it is the seed and the many whom ch4 liv4 reveals4 ,again1 there may be1 in ver4 #ag of ch4 liv41 a reference to the earlier picture of the ,servant in ch4 l41 especially ver4 #h4 ,but this last is uncertain2 and1 as a point on the other side1 there are the two different meanings1 as well as the two different agents1 of righteousness in ch4 liii4 #aa1 ,my ,servant shall make many righteous1 and in ch4 liv4 #ag1 their righteousness which is of ,me1 saith ,jehovah4 ,in the former1 righteousness is the inward justification2 in the latter1 it is the external historical vindication4 ,in ch4 liv4 the people of ,god are represented under the double figure1 with which the ,book of ,revelation has made us familiar1 of ,bride and ,city4 ,to imagine a ,nation or a ,land as the spouse of her ,god is a habit natural to the religious instinct at all times2 the land deriving her fruitfulness1 the nation her standing and prestige1 from her connection with the ,deity4 ,but in ancient times this figure of wedlock was more natural than it is among us1 in so far as the human man and wife did not then occupy that relation of equality1 to which it has been the progress of civilisation to approximate2 but the husband was the lord of his wife1--as much her ,baal as the god was the ,baal of the people1--her law-giver1 in part her owner1 and with full authority over the origin and subsistence of the bond between them4 ,marriage thus conceived was a figure for religion almost universal among the ,semites4 ,but as in the case of so many other religious ideas common to the ,hebrews and their heathen kin1 this one1 when adopted by the prophets of ,jehovah1 underwent a thorough moral reformation4 ,indeed1 if one were asked to point out a supreme instance of the operation of that unique conscience of the religion of ,jehovah1 which was spoken of before1#bdh one would have little difficulty in selecting its treatment of the idea of religious marriage4 ,by the neighbours of ,israel1 the marriage of a god to his people was conceived with a grossness of feeling and illustrated by a foulness of ritual1 which thoroughly demoralised the people1 affording1 as they did1 to licentiousness the example and sanction of religion4 ,so debased had the idea become1 and so full of temptation to the ,hebrews were the forms in which it was illustrated among their neighbours1 that the religion of ,israel might justly have been praised for achieving a great moral victory in excluding the figure altogether from its system4 ,but the prophets of ,jehovah dared the heavier task of retaining the idea of religious marriage1 and won the diviner triumph of purifying and elevating it4 ,it was1 indeed1 a new creation4 ,every physical suggestion was banished1 and the relation was conceived as purely moral4 ,yet it was never refined to a mere form or abstraction4 ,the prophets fearlessly expressed it in the warmest and most familiar terms of the love of man and woman4 ,with a stern and absolute interpretation before them in the ,divine law1 of the relations of a husband to his wife1 they borrowed from that only so far as to do justice to the ,almighty's initiative and authority in ,his relation with mortals2 and they laid far more emphasis on the instinctive and spontaneous affections1 by which ,jehovah and ,israel had been drawn together4 ,thus1 among a people naturally averse to think or to speak of ,god as loving#bdi men1 this close relation to ,him of marriage was expressed with a warmth1 a tenderness and a delicacy1 that exceeded even the two other fond forms in which the ,divine grace was conveyed1--of a father's and of a mother's love4 ,in this new creation of the marriage bond between ,god and ,his church1 three prophets had a large share1--,hosea1 ,ezekiel and the author of ,second ,isaiah4 ,to ,hosea and ,ezekiel it fell to speak chiefly of unpleasant aspects of the question1--the unfaithfulness of the wife and her divorce2 but even then1 the moral strength and purity of the ,hebrew religion1 its ,divine vehemence and glow1 were only the more evident for the unpromising character of the materials with which it dealt4 ,to our prophet1 on the contrary1 it fell to speak of the winning back of the wife1 and he has done so with wonderful delicacy and tenderness4 ,our prophet1 it is true1 has not one1 but two1 deep feelings about the love of ,god3 it passes through him as the love of a mother1 as well as the love of a husband4 ,but while he lets us see the former only twice or thrice1 the latter may be felt as the almost continual undercurrent of his prophecy1 and often breaks to hearing1 now in a sudden1 single ripple of a phrase1 and now in a long tide of marriage music4 ,his lips open for ,jehovah on the language of wooing1--speak ye to the heart of ,jerusalem2 and though his masculine figure for ,israel as the ,servant keeps his affection hidden for a time1 this emerges again when the subject of ,service is exhausted1 till ,israel1 where she is not ,jehovah's ,servant1 is ,jehovah's ,bride4 ,in the series of passages on ,zion1 from ch4 xlix4 to ch4 lii41 the ,city is the ,mother of ,his children1 the ,wife who though put away has never been divorced4 ,in ch4 lxii4 she is called ,hephzi-,bah1 ,my-delight-is-in-her1 and ,beulah1 or ,married1--for ,jehovah delighteth in thee1 and thy land shall be married4 ,for as a youth marrieth a maiden1 thy sons shall marry thee2 and with the joy of a bridegroom over a bride1 thy ,god shall joy over thee4#bej ,but it is in the chapter now before us that the relation is expressed with greatest tenderness and wealth of affection4 ,be not afraid1 for thou shalt not be shamed2 and be not confounded1 for thou shalt not be put to the blush3 for the shame of thy youth thou shalt forget1 and the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt not remember again4 ,for thy ,maker is thy ,husband1 ,jehovah of ,hosts is ,his name2 and thy ,redeemer the ,holy of ,israel1 ,god of the whole earth is ,he called4 ,for as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit thou art called of ,jehovah1 even a wife of youth1 when she is cast off1 saith thy ,god4 ,for a small moment have ,i forsaken thee1 but with great mercies will ,i gather thee4 ,in an egre of anger#bea ,i hid ,my face a moment from thee1 but with grace everlasting will ,i have mercy upon thee1 saith thy ,redeemer ,jehovah4 ,in this eighth verse we pass from the figure of the ,bride to that of the ,city1 which emerges clear through flood and storm in ver4 #aa4 ,afflicted1 ,storm-beaten1 ,uncomforted1 ,lo1 ,i am setting in dark metal 7antimony1 used by women for painting round the eyes1 so as to set forth their brilliance more7 thy stones1--that they may shine from this setting like women's eyes1--and ,i will found thee in sapphires3 as heaven's own foundation vault is blue1 so shall the ground-stones be of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,and ,i will set rubies for thy pinnacles1 and thy gates shall be sparkling stones1#beb and all thy borders stones of delight1--stones of joy1 jewels4 ,the rest of the chapter paints the righteousness of ,zion as her external security and splendour4 ,,ii4 ,a ,,last ,,call ,,to ,,the ,,busy 7ch4 lv474 ,the second address upon the ,eve of ,return is ch4 lv4 ,its pure gospel and clear music render detailed exposition1 except on a single point1 superfluous4 ,one can but stand and listen to those great calls to repentance and obedience1 which issue from it4 ,what can be added to them or said about them8 ,let one take heed rather to let them speak to one's own heart6 ,a little exploration1 however1 will be of advantage among the circumstances from which they shoot4 ,the commercial character of the opening figures of ch4 lv4 arrests the attention4 ,we saw that ,babylon was the centre of the world's trade1 and that it was in ,babylon that the ,jews first formed those mercantile habits1 which have become1 next to religion1 or in place of religion1 their national character4 ,born to be priests1 the ,jews drew down their splendid powers of attention1 pertinacity and imagination from ,god upon the world1 till they equally appear to have been born traders4 ,they laboured and prospered exceedingly1 gathering property and settling in comfort4 ,they drank of the streams of ,babylon1 no longer made bitter by their tears1 and ceased to think upon ,zion4 ,but1 of all men1 exiles can least forget that there is that which money can never buy4 ,money and his work can do much for the banished man1--feed him1 clothe him1 even make for him a kind of second home1 and in time1 by the payment of taxes1 a kind of second citizenship2 but they can never bring him to the true climate of his heart1 nor win for him his real life4 ,and of all exiles the ,jew1 however free and prosperous in his banishment he might be1 was least able to find his life among the good things--the water1 the wine and the milk--of a strange country4 ,for home to ,israel meant not only home1 but duty1 righteousness and ,god4#bec ,god had created the heart of this people to hunger for ,his word1 and in ,his word they could alone find the fatness of their soul4 ,success and comfort shall never satisfy the soul which ,god has created for obedience4 ,the simplicity of the obedience that is here asked from ,israel1 the emphasis that is laid upon mere obedience as ringing in full satisfaction1 is impressive3 hearken diligently1 and eat that which is good2 incline your ear and come unto ,me1 hear and your soul shall live4 ,it suggests the number of plausible reasons1 which may be offered for every worldly and material life1 and to which there is no answer save the call of ,god's own voice to obedience and surrender4 ,to obedience ,god then promises influence4 ,in place of being a mere trafficker with the nations1 or1 at best1 their purveyor and money-lender1 the ,jew1 if he obeys ,god1 shall be the priest and prophet of the peoples4 ,this is illustrated in vv4 #d;b-#f1 the only hard passage in the chapter4 ,god will make ,his people like ,david2 whether the historical ,david or the ideal ,david described by ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel is uncertain4#bed ,god will conclude an everlasting covenant with them1 equivalent to the sure favours showered on him4 ,as ,god set him for a witness 7that is1 a prophet7 to the peoples1 a prince and a leader to the peoples1 so 7in phrases that recall some used by ,david of himself in the eighteenth ,psalm7 shall they as prophets and kings influence strange nations--calling a nation thou knowest not1 and nations that have not known thee shall run unto thee4 ,the effect of the unconscious influence1 which obedience to ,god1 and surrender to ,him as ,his instrument1 are sure to work1 could not be more grandly stated4 ,but we ought not to let another point escape our attention1 for it has its contribution to make to the main question of the ,servant4 ,as explained in the note to a sentence above1 it is uncertain whether ,david is the historical king of that name1 or the ,messiah still to come4 ,in either case1 he is an individual1 whose functions and qualities are transferred to the people1 and that is the point demanding attention4 ,if our prophecy can thus so easily speak of ,god's purpose of service to the ,gentiles passing from the individual to the nation1 why should it not also be able to speak of the opposite process1 the transference of the service from the nation to the single ,servant8 ,when the nation were unworthy and unredeemed1 could not the prophet as easily think of the relegation of their office to an individual1 as he now promises to their obedience that that office shall be restored to them8 ,the next verses urgently repeat calls to repentance4 ,and then comes a passage which is grandly meant to make us feel the contrast of its scenery with the toil1 the money-getting and the money-spending from which the chapter started4 ,from all that sordid1 barren1 human strife in the markets of ,babylon1 we are led out to look at the boundless heavens1 and are told that as they are higher than the earth1 so are ,god's ways higher than our ways1 and ,god's reckonings than our reckonings2 we are led out to see the gentle fall of rain and snow that so easily maketh the earth to bring forth and bud1 and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater1 and are told that it is a symbol of ,god's word1 which we were called from our vain labours to obey2 we are led out to the mountains and to the hills breaking before you into singing1 and to the free1 wild natural trees#bee tossing their unlopped branches2 we are led to see even the desert change1 for instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree1 and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle2 and it shall be to ,jehovah for a name1 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off4 ,thus does the prophet1 in his own fashion1 lead the starved worldly heart1 that has sought in vain its fulness from its toil1 through scenes of ,nature1 to that free omnipotent ,grace1 of which ,nature's processes are the splendid sacraments4 ,,iii4 ,,proselytes ,,and ,,eunuchs 7ch4 lvi4 #a-h74 ,the opening verse of this small prophecy1 ,my salvation is near to come1 and ,my righteousness to be revealed1 attaches it very closely to the preceding prophecy4 ,if ch4 lv4 expounds the grace and faithfulness of ,god in the ,return of ,his people1 and asks from them only faith as the price of such benefits1 ch4 lvi4 #a-h adds the demand that those who are to return shall keep the law1 and extends their blessings to foreigners and others1 who though technically disqualified from the privileges of the born and legitimate ,israelite1 had attached themselves to ,jehovah and ,his ,law4 ,such a prophecy was very necessary4 ,the dispersion of ,israel had already begun to accomplish its missionary purpose2 pious souls in many lands had felt the spiritual power of this disfigured people1 and had chosen for ,jehovah's sake to follow its uncertain fortunes4 ,it was indispensable that these ,gentile converts should be comforted against the withdrawal of ,israel from ,babylon1 for they said1 ,jehovah will surely separate me from ,his people1 as well as against the time when it might become necessary to purge the restored community from heathen constituents4#bef ,again1 all the male ,jews could hardly have escaped the disqualification1 which the cruel custom of the ,east inflicted on some1 at least1 of every body of captives4 ,it is almost certain that ,daniel and his companions were eunuchs1 and if they1 then perhaps many more4 ,but the ,book of ,deuteronomy had declared mutilation of this kind to be a bar against entrance to the assembly of the ,lord4 ,it is not one of the least interesting of the spiritual results of the ,exile1 that its necessities compelled the abrogation of the letter of such a law4 ,with a freedom that foreshadows ,christ's own expansion of the ancient strictness1 and in words that would not be out of place in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 this prophecy ensures to pious men1 whom cruelty had deprived of the two things dearest to the heart of an ,israelite1--a present place1 and a perpetuation through his posterity1 in the community of ,god1--that in the new temple a monument#beg and a name should be given1 better and more enduring than sons or daughters4 ,this prophecy is further noteworthy as the first instance of the strong emphasis which ,second ,isaiah lays upon the keeping of the ,sabbath1 and as first calling the temple the ,house of ,prayer4 ,both of these characteristics are due1 of course1 to the ,exile1 the necessities of which prevented almost every religious act save that of keeping fasts and ,sabbaths and serving ,god in prayer4 ,on our prophet's teaching about the ,sabbath there will be more to say in the next chapter4 ,,footnotes3 #bdg ,cf4 pp4 #ccf ff4 #bdh ,see pp4 #bdg ff4 #bdi ,das eigentliche ,wort ',liebe' kommt im ,a4 ,t4 von ,gott fast gar nicht vor1--und wo es1 bei einem spten ,schriftsteller1 vorkommt1 ist es ,bezeichnung seiner besondren ,bundes-liebe zu ,israel1 deren natrliche ,kehrseite der ,hass gegen die feindlichen ,vlker ist4--,schultz1 ,a4 ,t4 ,theologie1 #dth ed41 p4 #edh4 #bej ,the reserve of this--the limitation of the relation to one of feeling--is remarkable in contrast to the more physical use of the same figure in other religions4 #bea ,egre1 or sudden rush of the tide1 or spate1 or freshet4 ,the original is assonant3 ,beshesseph qesseph4 #beb ,so literally2 ,,lxx4 crystals1 carbuncles or diamonds4 #bec ,cf4 ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 pp4 #ddj ff4 #bed ,the structure of this difficult passage is this4 ,ver4 #c states the equation3 the everlasting covenant with the people ,israelthe sure1 unfailing favours bestowed upon the individual ,david4 ,vv4 #d and #e unfold the contents of the equation4 ,each side of it is introduced by a ,lo4 ,lo1 on the one side1 what ,i have done to ,david2 ,lo1 on the other1 what ,i will do to you4 ,as ,david was a witness of peoples1 a prince and commander of peoples1 so shalt thou call to them and make them obey thee4 ,this is clear enough4 ,but who is ,david8 ,the phrase the favours of ,david suggests #b ,chron4 vi4 #db1 remember the mercies of ,david thy servant2 and those in ver4 #e recall ,psalm xviii4 #dc f43 ,thou hast made me the head of nations2 ,a people ,i know not shall serve me2 ,as soon as they hear of me they shall obey me2 ,strangers shall submit themselves to me4 ,yet both ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel call the coming ,messiah ,david4 ,jer4 xxx4 #i3 ,they shall serve ,jehovah their ,god and ,david their ,king4 ,ezek4 xxxiv4 #bc3 ,and ,i will set up a shepherd over them1 and he shall feed them1 and he shall be their shepherd4 ,and ,i ,jehovah will be their ,god1 and ,my servant ,david prince among them4 ,after these writers1 our prophet could hardly help using the name ,david in its ,messianic sense1 even though he also quoted 7in ver4 #e7 a few phrases recalling the historical ,david4 ,but the question does not matter much4 ,the real point is the transference of the favours bestowed upon an individual to the whole people4 #bee ,english version1 trees of the field1 but the field is the country beyond the bounds of cultivation2 and as beasts of the field means wild beasts1 so this means wild trees1--unforced1 unaided by man's labour4 #bef ,neh4 xiii4 #beg ,the original is a hand2 a term applied 7perhaps because it consisted of tapering stones7 to an index1 or monument of victory1 #a ,sam4 xv4 #ab2 or to a sepulchral monument1 #b ,sam4 xviii4 #ah4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,rekindling ,,of ,,the ,,civic ,,conscience4 ,,isaiah lvi4 #i-lix4 ,it was inevitable1 as soon as their city was again fairly in sight1 that there should re-awaken in the exiles the civic conscience2 that recollections of those besetting sins of their public life1 for which their city and their independence were destroyed1 should throng back upon them2 that in prospect of their again becoming responsible for the discharge of justice and other political duties1 they should be reminded by the prophet of their national faults in these respects1 and of ,god's eternal laws concerning them4 ,if we keep this in mind1 we shall understand the presence in ,second ,isaiah of the group of prophecies at which we have now arrived1 ch4 lvi4 #i-lix4 ,hitherto our prophet1 in marked contrast to ,isaiah himself1 has said almost nothing of the social righteousness of his people4 ,israel's righteousness1 as we saw in our fourteenth chapter1 has had the very different meaning for our prophet of her pardon and restoration to her rights4 ,but in ch4 lvi4 #i-lix4 we shall find the blame of civic wrong1 and of other kinds of sin of which ,israel could only have been guilty in her own land2 we shall listen to exhortations to social justice and mercy like those we heard from ,isaiah to his generation4 ,yet these are mingled with voices1 and concluded with promises1 which speak of the ,return as imminent4 ,undoubtedly exilic elements reveal themselves4 ,and the total impression is that some prophet of the late ,exile1 and probably the one1 whom we have been following1 collected these reminiscences of his people's sin in the days of their freedom1 in order to remind them1 before they went back again to political responsibility1 why it was they were punished and how apt they were to go astray4 ,believing this to be the true solution of a somewhat difficult problem1 we have ventured to gather this mixed group of prophecies under the title of the ,rekindling of the ,civic ,conscience4 ,they fall into three groups3 first1 ch4 lvi4 #i-lvii42 second1 ch4 lviii42 third1 ch4 lix4 ,we shall see that1 while there is no reason to doubt the exilic origin of the whole of the second1 the first and third of these are mainly occupied with the description of a state of things that prevailed only before the ,exile1 but they contain also exilic observations and conclusions4 ,i4 ,a ,,conscience ,,but ,,no ,,god 7ch4 lvi4 #i-lvii474 ,this is one of the sections which almost decisively place the literary unity of ,second ,isaiah past possibility of belief4 ,if ch4 lvi4 #a-h flushes with the dawn of restoration1 ch4 lvi4 #i-lvii4 is very dark with the coming of the night1 which preceded that dawn4 ,almost none dispute1 that the greater part of this prophecy must have been composed before the people left ,palestine for exile4 ,the state of ,israel1 which it pictures1 recalls the descriptions of ,hosea1 and of the eleventh chapter of ,zechariah4 ,god's flock are still in charge of their own shepherds 7lvi4 #i-ab71--;a description inapplicable to ,israel in exile4 ,the shepherds are sleepy1 greedy1 sensual1 drunkards1--victims to the curse1 against which ,amos and ,isaiah hurled their strongest woes4 ,that sots like them should be spared while the righteous die unnoticed deaths 7lvii4 #a7 can only be explained by the approaching judgement4 ,no man considereth that the righteous is taken away from the ,evil4 ,the ,evil cannot mean1 as some have thought1 persecution1--for while the righteous are to escape it and enter into peace1 the wicked are spared for it4 ,it must be a ,divine judgement1--the ,exile4 ,but he entereth peace1 they rest in their beds1 each one that hath walked straight before him1--for the righteous there is the peace of death and the undisturbed tomb of his fathers4 ,what an enviable fate when emigration1 and dispersion through foreign lands1 are the prospect of the nation6 ,israel shall find her pious dead when she returns6 ,the verse recalls that summons in ,isa4 xxvi41 in which we heard the ,mother ,nation calling upon the dead she had left in ,palestine to rise and increase her returned numbers4 ,then the prophet indicts the nation for a religious and political unfaithfulness1 which we know was their besetting sin in the days before they left the ,holy ,land4 ,the scenery1 in whose natural objects he describes them seeking their worship1 is the scenery of ,palestine1 not of ,mesopotamia1--terebinths and wdies1 and clefts of the rocks1 and smooth stones of the wdies4 ,the unchaste and bloody sacrifices with which he charges them bear the appearance more of ,canaanite than of ,babylonian idolatry4 ,the humiliating political suits which they paid--thou wentest to the king with ointment1 and didst increase thy perfumes1 and didst send thine ambassadors afar off1 and didst debase thyself even unto ,sheol 7ver4 #i7--;could not be attributed to a captive people1 but were the sort of degrading diplomacy that ,israel learned from ,ahaz4 ,while the painful pursuit of strength 7ver4 #aj71 the shabby political cowardice 7ver4 #aa71 the fanatic sacrifice of manhood's purity and childhood's life 7ver4 #e71 and especially the evil conscience which drove their blind hearts through such pain and passion in a sincere quest for righteousness 7ver4 #ab71 betray the age of idolatrous reaction from the great ,puritan victory of #gja1--;a generation exaggerating all the old falsehood and fear1 against which ,isaiah had inveighed1 with the new conscience of sin which his preaching had created4#beh ,the dark streak of blood and lust that runs through the condemned idolatry1 and the stern conscience which only deepens its darkness1 are sufficient reasons for dating the prophecy after #gjj4 ,the very phrases of ,isaiah1 which it contains1 have tempted some to attribute it to himself4 ,but it certainly does not date from such troubles as brought his old age to the grave4 ,the evil1 which it portends1 is1 as we have seen1 no persecution of the righteous1 but a ,divine judgement upon the whole nation1--presumably the ,exile4 ,we may date it1 therefore1 some time after ,isaiah's death1 but certainly--and this is the important point--before the ,exile4 ,this1 then1 is an unmistakably pre-exilic constituent of ,second ,isaiah4 ,another feature corroborates this prophecy's original independence of its context4 ,its style is immediately and extremely rugged4 ,the reader of the original feels the difference at once4 ,it is the difference between travel on the level roads of ,mesopotamia1 with their unchanging horizons1 and the jolting carriage of the stony paths of ,higher ,palestine1 with their glimpses rapidly shifting from gorge to peak4 ,but the remarkable thing is that the usual style of ,second ,isaiah is resumed before the end of the prophecy4 ,one cannot always be sure of the exact verse at which such a literary change takes place4 ,in this case some feel it as soon as the middle of ver4 #aa1 with the words1 ,have not ,i held ,my peace even of long time1 and thou fearest ,me not8#bei ,it is surely more sensible1 however1 after ver4 #ad1 in which we are arrested in any case by an alteration of standpoint4 ,in ver4 #ad we are on in the ,exile again--before ver4 #ad ,i cannot recognise any exilic symptom--and the way of return is before us4 ,and one said1--it is the repetition to the letter of the strange anonymous voice of ch4 xl4 #f1--;and one said1 ,cast ye up1 ,cast ye up1 open up1 or sweep open1 a way1 lift the stumbling block from the way of ,my people4 ,and now the rhythm has certainly returned to the prevailing style of ,second ,isaiah1 and the temper is again that of promise and comfort4 ,these sudden shiftings of circumstance and of prospect are enough to show the thoughtful reader of ,scripture how hard is the problem of the unity of ,second ,isaiah4 ,on which we make here no further remark1 but pass at once to the more congenial task of studying the great prophecy1 vv4 #ad-ba1 which rises one and simple from these fragments as does some homogeneous rock from the confusing dbris of several geological epochs4 ,for let the date and original purpose of the fragments we have considered be what they may1 this prophecy has been placed as their conclusion with at least some rational1 not to say spiritual1 intention4 ,as it suddenly issues here1 it gathers up1 in the usual habit of ,scripture1 ,god's moral indictment of an evil generation1 by a great manifesto of the ,divine nature1 and a sharp distinction of the characters and fate of men4 ,now1 of what kind is the generation1 to whose indictment this prophecy comes as a conclusion8 ,it is a generation which has lost its ,god1 but kept its conscience4 ,this sums up the national character which is sketched in vv4 #c-ac4 ,these ,israelites had lost ,jehovah and ,his pure law4 ,but the religion into which they fell back was not1 therefore1 easy or cold4 ,on the contrary1 it was very intense and very stern4 ,the people put energy in it1 and passion1 and sacrifice that went to cruel lengths4 ,belief1 too1 in its practical results kept the people from fainting under the weariness in which its fanaticism reacted4 ,in the length of thy way thou wast wearied1 yet thou didst not say1 ,it is hopeless2 life for thy hand--that is1 real1 practical strength--didst thou find3 wherefore thou didst not break down4 ,and they practised their painful and passionate idolatry with a real conscience4 ,they were seeking to work out righteousness for themselves 7ver4 #ab should be rendered3 ,i will expose your righteousness1 the caricature of righteousness which you attempt74 ,the most worldly statesman among them had his sincere ideal for ,israel1 and intended to enable her1 in the possession of her land and holy mountain1 to fulfil her destiny 7ver4 #ac74 ,the most gross idolater had a hunger and thirst after righteousness1 and burnt his children or sacrificed his purity to satisfy the vague promptings of his unenlightened conscience4 ,it was indeed a generation which had kept its conscience1 but lost its ,god2 and what we have in vv4 #ae to #ba is just the lost and forgotten ,god speaking of ,his ,nature and ,his ,will4 ,they have been worshipping idols1 creatures of their own fears and cruel passions4 ,but ,he is the high and lofty one--two of the simplest adjectives in the language1 yet sufficient to lift ,him they describe above the distorting mists of human imagination4 ,they thought of the ,deity as sheer wrath and force1 scarcely to be appeased by men even through the most bloody rites and passionate self-sacrifice4 ,but ,he says1 ,the high and the holy ,i dwell in1 yet with him also that is contrite and humble of spirit1 to revive the spirit of the humble1 and to revive the heart of the contrite ones4 ,the rest of the chapter is to the darkened consciences a plain statement of the moral character of ,god's working4 ,god always punishes sin1 and yet the sinner is not abandoned4 ,though he go in his own way1 ,god watches his ways in order to heal him4 ,i create the fruit of the lips1 that is1 thanksgivings3 ,peace1 peace1 to him that is far off and him that is near1 saith ,jehovah1 and ,i will heal him4 ,but1 as in ch4 xlviii4 and ch4 l41 a warning comes last1 and behind the clear1 forward picture of the comforted and restored of ,jehovah we see the weird background of gloomy1 restless wickedness4 ,,ii4 ,,social ,,service ,,and ,,the ,,sabbath 7ch4 lviii474 ,several critics 7including ,professor ,cheyne7 regard ch4 lviii4 as post-exilic1 because of its declarations against formal fasting and the neglect of social charity1 which are akin to those of post-exilic prophets like ,zechariah and ,joel1 and seem to imply that the people addressed are again independent and responsible for the conduct of their social duties4 ,the question largely turns on the amount of social responsibility we conceive the ,jews to have had during the ,exile4 ,now we have seen that many of them enjoyed considerable freedom3 they had their houses and households2 they had their slaves2 they traded and were possessed of wealth4 ,they were1 therefore1 in a position to be chargeable with the duties to which ch4 lviii4 calls them4 ,the addresses of ,ezekiel to his fellow-exiles have many features in common with ch4 lviii41 although they do not mention fasting2 and fasting itself was a characteristic habit of the exiles1 in regard to which it is quite likely they should err just as is described in ch4 lviii4 ,moreover1 there is a resemblance between this chapter's comments upon the people's enquiries of ,god 7ver4 #b7 and ,ezekiel's reply when certain of the elders of ,israel came to enquire of ,jehovah4#bfj ,and again vv4 #aa and #ab of ch4 lviii4 are evidently addressed to people in prospect of return to their own land and restoration of their city4 ,we accordingly date ch4 lviii4 from the ,exile4 ,but we see no reason to put it as early as ,ewald does1 who assigns it to a younger contemporary of ,ezekiel4 ,there is no linguistic evidence that it is an insertion1 or from another hand than that of our prophet4 ,surely there were room and occasion for it in those years which followed the actual deliverance of the ,jews by ,cyrus1 but preceded the restoration of ,jerusalem1--those years in which there were no longer political problems in the way of the people's return for our prophet to discuss1 and therefore their moral defects were all the more thrust upon his attention2 and especially1 when in the near prospect of their political independence1 their social sins roused his apprehensions4 ,those1 who have never heard an angry ,oriental speak1 have no idea of what power of denunciation lies in the human throat4 ,in the ,east1 where a dry climate and large leisure bestow upon the voice a depth and suppleness prevented by our vulgar haste of life and teasing weather1 men have elaborated their throat-letters to a number unknown in any ,western alphabet2 and upon the lowest notes they have put an edge1 that comes up shrill and keen through the roar of the upper gutturals1 till you feel their wrath cut as well as sweep you before it4 ,in the ,oriental throat1 speech goes down deep enough to echo all the breadth of the inner man2 while the possibility of expressing within so supple an organ nearly every tone of scorn or surprise preserves anger from that suspicion of spite or of exhaustion1 which is conveyed by too liberal a use of the nasal or palatal letters4 ,hence in the ,hebrew language to call with the throat means to call with vehemence1 but with self-command2 with passion1 yet as a man2 using every figure of satire1 but earnestly2 neither forgetting wrath for mere art's sake1 nor allowing wrath to escape the grip of the stronger muscles of the voice4 ,it is to lift the voice like a trumpet1--an instrument1 which1 with whatever variety of music its upper notes may indulge our ears1 never suffers its main tone of authority to drop1 never slacks its imperative appeal to the wills of the hearers4 ,this is the style of the chapter before us1 which opens with the words1 ,call with the throat1 spare not1 lift up thy voice like a trumpet4 ,perhaps no subject more readily provokes to satire and sneers than the subject of the chapter1--the union of formal religion and unlovely life4 ,and yet in the chapter there is not a sneer from first to last4 ,the speaker suppresses the temptation to use his nasal tones1 and utters1 not as the satirist1 but as the prophet4 ,for his purpose is not to sport with his people's hypocrisy1 but to sweep them out of it4 ,before he has done1 his urgent speech1 that has not lingered to sneer nor exhausted itself in screaming1 passes forth to spend its unchecked impetus upon final promise and gospel4 ,it is a wise lesson from a master preacher1 and half of the fruitlessness of modern preaching is due to the neglect of it4 ,the pulpit tempts men to be either too bold or too timid about sin2 either to whisper or to scold2 to euphemise or to exaggerate2 to be conventional or hysterical4 ,but two things are necessary1--the facts must be stated1 and the whole manhood of the preacher1 and not only his scorn or only his anger or only an official temper1 brought to bear upon them4 ,call with the throat1 spare not1 like a trumpet lift up thy voice1 and publish to ,my people their transgression1 and to the house of ,jacob their sin4 ,the subject of the chapter is the habits of a religious people1--the earnestness and regularity of their religious performance contrasted with the neglect of their social relations4 ,the second verse1 the descriptions in which are evidently drawn from life1#bfa tells us that the people sought ,god daily1 and had a zeal to know ,his ways1 as a nation that had done righteousness1--fulfilled the legal worship1--and had not forsaken the law#bfb of their ,god3 they ask of ,me laws#bfb of righteousness1--that is1 a legal worship1 the performance of which might make them righteous1--and in drawing near to ,god they take delight4 ,they had1 in fact1 a great greed for ordinances and functions1#bfc--;for the revival of such forms as they had been accustomed to of old4 ,like some poor prostrate rose1 whose tendrils miss the props by which they were wont to rise to the sun1 the religious conscience and affections of ,israel1 violently torn from their immemorial supports1 lay limp and windswept on a bare land1 and longed for ,god to raise some substitute for those altars of ,zion by which1 in the dear days of old1 they had lifted themselves to the light of ,his face4 ,in the absence of anything better1 they turned to the chill and shadowed forms of the fasts they had instituted4#bfd ,but they did not thereby reach the face of ,god4 ,wherefore have we fasted1 say they1 and ,thou hast not seen8 we have humbled our souls1 and ,thou takest no notice8 ,the answer comes swiftly3 ,because your fasting is a mere form6 ,lo1 in the very day of your fast ye find a business to do1 and all your workmen you overtask4 ,so formal is your fasting that your ordinary eager1 selfish1 cruel life goes on beside it just the same4 ,nay1 it is worse than usual1 for your worthless1 wearisome fast but puts a sharper edge upon your temper3 ,lo1 for strife and contention ye fast1 to smile with the fist of tyranny4 ,and it has no religious value3 ,ye fast not like as you are fasting to-day so as to make your voice heard on high4 ,is such the fast that ,i choose1--a day for a man to afflict himself8 ,is it to droop his head like a rush1 and grovel on sackcloth and ashes8 ,is it this thou wilt call a fast and a day acceptable to ,jehovah8 ,one of the great surprises of the human heart is1 that self-denial does not win merit or peace4 ,but assuredly it does not1 if love be not with it4 ,though ,i give my body to be burned and have not love1 it profiteth me nothing4 ,self-denial without love is self-indulgence4 ,is not this the fast that ,i choose8 to loosen the bonds of tyranny1 to shatter the joints of the yoke1 to let the crushed go free1 and that ye burst every yoke4 ,is it not to break to the hungry thy bread1 and that thou bring home wandering poor8#bfe when thou seest one naked that thou cover him1 and that from thine own flesh thou hide not thyself8 ,then shall break forth like the morning thy light1 and thy health#bff shall immediately spring4 ,yea1 go before thee shall thy righteousness1 the glory of ,jehovah shall sweep thee on1 literally1 gather thee up4 ,then thou shalt call1 and ,jehovah shall answer2 thou shalt cry1 and ,he shall say1 ,here am ,i4 ,if thou shalt put from thy midst the yoke1 and the putting forth of the finger1 and the speaking of naughtiness--three degrees of the subtlety of selfishness1 which when forced back from violent oppression will retreat to scorn and from open scorn to backbiting1--and if thou draw out to the hungry thy soul1--tear out what is dear to thee in order to fill his need1 the strongest expression for self-denial which the ,old ,testament contains1--and satisfy the soul that is afflicted1 then shall uprise in the darkness thy light1 and thy gloom shall be as the noonday4 ,and guide thee shall ,jehovah continually1 and satisfy thy soul in droughts1 and thy limbs make lissom2 and thou shalt be like a garden well-watered1#bfg and like a spring of water whose waters fail not4 ,and they that are of thee shall build the ancient ruins2 the foundations of generation upon generation thou shalt raise up1 and they shall be calling thee ,repairer-of-the-,breach1 ,restorer-of-,paths-for-habitation4#bfh ,thus their righteousness in the sense of external vindication and stability1 which so prevails with our prophet1 shall be due to their righteousness in that inward moral sense in which ,amos and ,isaiah use the word4 ,and so concludes a passage1 which fills the earliest1 if not the highest1 place in the glorious succession of ,scriptures of ,practical ,love1 to which belong the ,sixty-first chapter of ,isaiah1 the ,twenty-fifth of ,matthew and the ,thirteenth of ,first ,corinthians4 ,its lesson is1--to go back to the figure of the draggled rose1--that no mere forms of religion1 however divinely prescribed or conscientiously observed1 can of themselves lift the distraught and trailing affections of man to the light and peace of ,heaven2 but that our fellow-men1 if we cling to them with love and with arms of help1 are ever the strongest props by which we may rise to ,god2 that character grows rich and life joyful1 not by the performance of ordinances with the cold conscience of duty1 but by acts of service with the warm heart of love4 ,and yet such a prophecy concludes with an exhortation to the observance of one religious form1 and places the keeping of the ,sabbath on a level with the practice of love4 ,if thou turn from the ,sabbath thy foot1 from doing thine own business on ,my holy day2#bfi and callest the ,sabbath ,pleasure1--the word is a strong one1 ,delight1 ,delicacy1 ,luxury1--,holy of ,jehovah1 ,honourable2 and dost honour it so as not to do thine own ways1 or find thine own business1 or keep making talk3 then thou shalt find thy pleasure1 or thy delight1 in ,jehovah1--note the parallel of pleasure in the ,sabbath and pleasure in ,jehovah1--and ,he shall cause thee to ride on the high places of the land1 and make thee to feed upon the portion of ,jacob thy father3 yea1 the mouth of ,jehovah hath spoken4 ,our prophet1 then1 while exalting the practical ,service of ,man at the expense of certain religious forms1 equally exalts the observance of ,sabbath2 his scorn for their formalism changes when he comes to it into a strenuous enthusiasm of defence4 ,this remarkable fact1 which is strictly analogous to the appearance of the ,fourth ,commandment in a code otherwise consisting of purely moral and religious laws1 is easily explained4 ,observe that our prophet bases his plea for ,sabbath-keeping1 and his assurance that it must lead to prosperity1 not on its physical1 moral or social benefits1 but simply upon its acknowledgment of ,god4 ,not only is the ,sabbath to be honoured because it is the ,holy of ,jehovah and ,honourable1 but making it one's pleasure is equivalent to finding one's pleasure in ,him4 ,the parallel between these two phrases in ver4 #ac and ver4 #ad is evident1 and means really this3 ,inasmuch as ye do it unto the ,sabbath1 ye do it unto ,me4 ,the prophet1 then1 enforces the ,sabbath simply on account of its religious and ,godward aspect4 ,now1 let us remember the truth1 which he so often enforces1 that the ,service of ,man1 however ardently and widely pursued1 can never lead or sum up our duty2 that the ,service of ,god has1 logically and practically1 a prior claim1 for without it the ,service of ,man must suffer both in obligation and in resource4 ,god must be our first resort--must have our first homage1 affection and obedience4 ,but this cannot well take place without some amount of definite and regular and frequent devotion to ,him4 ,in the most spiritual religion there is an irreducible minimum of formal observance4 ,now1 in that wholesale destruction of religious forms1 which took place at the overthrow of ,jerusalem1#bgj there was only one institution1 which was not necessarily involved4 ,the ,sabbath did not fall with the ,temple and the ,altar3 the ,sabbath was independent of all locality2 the ,sabbath was possible even in exile4 ,it was the one solemn1 public and frequently regular form in which the nation could turn to ,god1 glorify ,him and enjoy ,him4 ,perhaps1 too1 through the ,babylonian fashion of solemnising the seventh day1 our prophet realised again the primitive institution of the ,sabbath1 and was reminded that1 since seven days is a regular part of the natural year1 the ,sabbath is1 so to speak1 sanctioned by the statutes of ,creation4 ,an institution1 which is so primitive1 which is so independent of locality1 which forms so natural a part of the course of time1 but which1 above all1 has twice--in the ,jewish ,exile and in the passage of ,judaism to ,christianity--survived the abrogation and disappearance of all other forms of the religion with which it was connected1 and has twice been affirmed by prophecy or practice to be an essential part of spiritual religion and the equal of social morality1--has amply proved its ,divine origin and its indispensableness to man4 ,,iii4 ,,social ,,crimes 7ch4 lix474 ,ch4 lix4 is1 at first sight1 the most difficult of all of ,second ,isaiah to assign to a date4#bga ,for it evidently contains both pre-exilic and exilic elements4 ,on the one hand1 its charges of guilt imply that the people addressed by it are responsible for civic justice to a degree1 which could hardly be imputed to the ,jews in ,babylon4 ,we saw that the ,jews in the ,exile had an amount of social freedom and domestic responsibility which amply accounts for the kind of sins they are charged with in ch4 lviii4 ,but ver4 #ad of ch4 lix4 reproaches them with the collapse of justice in the very seat and public office of justice1 of which it was not possible they could have been guilty except in their own land and in the days of their independence4 ,on the other hand1 the promises of deliverance in ch4 lix4 read very much as if they were exilic4 ,judgement and righteousness are employed in ver4 #i in their exilic sense1#bgb and ,god is pictured exactly as we have seen ,him in other chapters of our prophet4 ,are we then left with a mystery8 ,on the contrary1 the solution is clear4 ,israel is followed into exile by her old conscience4 ,the charges of ,isaiah and ,ezekiel against ,jerusalem1 while ,jerusalem was still a civitas1 ring in her memory4 ,she repeats the very words4 ,with truth she says that her present state1 so vividly described in vv4 #i-aa1 is due to sins of old1 of which1 though perhaps she can no longer commit them1 she still feels the guilt4 ,conscience always crowds the years together2 there is no difference of time in the eyes of ,god the ,judge4 ,and it was natural1 as we have said already1 that the nation should remember her besetting sins at this time2 that her civic conscience should awake again1 just as she was again about to become a civitas4#bgcbgd ,the whole of this chapter is simply the expansion and enforcement of the first two verses1 that keep clanging like the clangour of a great1 high bell3 ,behold1 ,jehovah's hand is not shortened that it cannot save1 neither is ,his ear heavy that it cannot hear2 but your iniquities have been separators between you and your ,god1 and your sins have hidden ,his face from you1 that ,he will not hear4 ,there is but one thing that comes between the human heart and the ,real ,presence and ,infinite ,power of ,god2 and that one thing is ,sin4 ,the chapter labours to show how real ,god is4 ,its opening verses talk of ,his ,hand1 ,his ,ear1 ,his ,face4 ,and the closing verses paint ,him with the passions and the armour of a man1--a ,hero in such solitude and with such forward force1 that no imagination can fail to see the ,vivid1 ,lonely ,figure4 ,and ,he saw that there was no man1 and ,he wondered that there was none to interpose2 therefore ,his own right arm brought salvation unto ,him1 and ,his righteousness it upheld ,him4 ,and ,he put on righteousness like a breastplate and salvation for an helmet upon ,his head2 and ,he put on garments of vengeance for clothing1 and wrapped ,himself in zeal like a robe4 ,do not let us suppose this is mere poetry4 ,conceive what inspires it1--the great truth that in the ,infinite there is a heart to throb for men and a will to strike for them4 ,this is what the writer desires to proclaim1 and what we believe the ,spirit of ,god moved his poor human lips to give their own shape to1--the simple truth that there is ,one1 however hidden ,he may be to men's eyes1 who feels for men1 who feels hotly for men1 and whose will is quick and urgent to save them4 ,such an ,one tells ,his people1 that the only thing which prevents them from knowing how real ,his heart and will are--the only thing which prevents them from seeing ,his work in their midst--is their sin4 ,the roll of sins to which the prophet attributes the delay of the people's deliverance is an awful one2 and the man who reads it with conscience asleep might conclude that it was meant only for a period of extraordinary violence and bloodshed4 ,yet the chapter implies that society exists1 and that at least the forms of civilisation are in force4 ,men sue one another before the usual courts4 ,but none sueth in righteousness or goeth to the law in truth4 ,they trust in vanity and speak lies4 ,all these charges might be true of a society as outwardly respectable as our own4 ,nor is the charge of bloodshed to be taken literally4 ,the ,old ,testament has so great a regard for the spiritual nature of man1 that to deny the individual his rights or to take away the peace of ,god from his heart1 it calls the shedding of innocent blood4 ,isaiah reminds us of many kinds of this moral murder when he says1 your hands are full of blood3 seek justice1 relieve the oppressed1 judge the fatherless1 plead for the widow4 ,ezekiel reminds us of others when he tells how ,god spake to him1 that if he warn not the wicked1 and the same wicked shall die in his iniquity1 his blood will ,i require at thy hand4 ,and again a ,psalm reminds us of the time when the ,lord maketh inquisition for blood1 ,he forgetteth not the cry of the poor4#bge ,this is what the ,bible calls murder and lays its burning words upon1--not such acts of bloody violence as now and then make all humanity thrill to discover that in the heart of civilisation there exist men with the passions of the ape and the tiger1 but such oppression of the poor1 such cowardice to rebuke evil1 such negligence to restore the falling1 such abuse of the characters of the young and innocent1 such fraud and oppression of the weak1 as often exist under the most respectable life1 and employ the weapons of a ,christian civilisation in order to fulfil themselves4 ,we have need to take the bold1 violent standards of the prophets and lay them to our own lives1--the prophets that call the man who sells his honesty for gain1 a harlot1 and hold him blood-guilty who has wronged1 tempted or neglected his brother4 ,do not let us suppose that these crimson verses of the ,bible may be passed over by us as not applicable to ourselves4 ,they do not refer to murderers or maniacs3 they refer to social crimes1 to which we all are in perpetual temptation1 and of which we all are more or less guilty1--the neglect of the weak1 the exploitation of the poor for our own profit1 the soiling of children's minds1 the multiplying of temptation in the way of ,god's little ones1 the malice that leads us to blast another's character1 or to impute to his action evil motives for which we have absolutely no grounds save the envy and sordidness of our own hearts4 ,do not let us fail to read all such verses in the clear light which ,john the ,apostle throws on them when he says3 ,he that loveth not abideth in death4 ,whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer4 ,,footnotes3 #beh ,see vol4 i41 pp4 #cfc1 #cfd4 #bei ,so ,ewald1 ,cheyne and ,briggs4 ,ewald takes lvi4 #i-lvii4 #aa;a as an interruption1 borrowed from an earlier prophet in a time of persecution1 of the exilic prophecy1 which goes on smoothly from lvi4 #h to lvii4 #aa;b4 ,we have seen that it is an error to suppose that lvi4 #i-lvii4 rose from a time of persecution4 #bfj ,ezek4 xxi42 cf4 xxxiii4 #cj f4 #bfa ,delitzsch4 #bfb ,mishpat and mishpatim1 cf4 p4 #bii4 #bfc ,such as is also expressed by exiles in ,psalms xlii41 xliii4 and lxiii41 but there with what spiritual temper1 here with what a hard legal conception of righteousness4 #bfd ,for these see p4 #fa4 #bfe ,literally1 the poor1 the wandering4 ,it was a frequent phrase in the ,exile3 ,lam4 iii4 #ai1 ,remember mine affliction and my homelessness2 i4 #g1 ,jerusalem in the day of her affliction and her homelessness4 ,,lxx4 1 roofless4 #bff ,probably the fresh flesh which appears through a healing wound4 ,made classical by ,jeremiah1 who uses it thrice of ,israel1--in the famous text1 ,is there no balm1 etc41 x4 #bb2 and in xxx4 #ag2 xxxiii4 #f4 #bfg ,jer4 xxxi4 #ab4 #bfh ,cf4 ,job xxiv4 #ac4 #bfi ,cf4 ,amos viii4 #e4 #bgj ,see pp4 #dc f4 #bga ,ewald conceives chs4 lviii41 lix4 to be the work of a younger contemporary of ,ezekiel1 to which the chief author of ,second ,isaiah has added words of his own3 lviii4 #ab1 lix4 #ba4 ,the latter is evidently an insertion2 cf4 change of person and of number1 etc4 ,delitzsch puts the passage down to the last decade of the ,captivity1 when for a little time ,cyrus had turned away from ,babylon1 and the ,jews despaired of his coming to save them4 #bgb ,see pp4 #bai ff4 #bgc ,another slight trace reveals the conglomerate nature of the chapter4 ,if1 as the earlier verses indicate1 it was ,israel that sinned1 then it is the rebellious in ,israel who should be punished4 ,in ver4 #ah;a1 therefore1 the adversaries or enemies ought to be ,israelites4 ,but in #ah;b the foreign islands are included4 ,the ,,lxx4 has not this addition4 ,bredenkamp takes the words for an insertion4 ,yet the consequences of ,israel's sin1 according to the chapter1 are not so much the punishment of the rebellious among the people as the delay of the deliverance for the whole nation1--a deliverance which ,jehovah is represented as rising to accomplish1 the moment the people express the sense of their rebellion and are penitent4 ,the adversaries and enemies of ver4 #ah1 therefore1 are the oppressors of ,israel1 the foreigners and heathen2 and #ah;b with its islands comes in quite naturally4 #bgd ,note on mishpat and ,ssedhaqah in ch4 lix4 ,this chapter is a good one for studying the various meanings of mishpat4 ,in ver4 #d the verb shaphat is used in its simplest sense of going to law4 ,in vv4 #h and #ad mishpat is a quality or duty of man4 ,but in ver4 #i it is rather what man expects from ,god1 and what is far from man because of his sins2 it is judgement on ,god's side1 or ,god's saving ordinance4 ,in this sense it is probably to be taken in ver4 #ae1--,ssedhaqah follows the same parallel4 ,this goes to prove that we have two distinct prophecies amalgamated1 unless we believe that a play upon the words is intended4 #bge ,isa4 i4 #ag2 ,ezek4 ii4 #ah2 ,psalm ix4 #ab4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,salvation ,,in ,,sight4 ,,isaiah lx4-lxiii4 #g4 ,the deliverance from ,babylon has long been certain1 since ch4 xlviii42 all doubts in the way of ,return have been removed1 ch4 xlix4-lii4 #ab2 the means for the spiritual ,restoration of the people have been sufficiently found1 ch4 liii4 and preceding chapters on the ,servant2 ,zion has been hailed from afar1 ch4 liv42 last calls to leave ,babylon have been uttered1 ch4 lv42 last councils and comforts1 lvi4 #a-h2 and the civic conscience has been rekindled1 ch4 lvi4 #i-lix4 ,there remains now only to take possession of the ,city herself2 to rehearse the vocation of the restored people2 and to realise all the hopes1 fears1 hindrances and practical problems of the future4 ,these duties occupy the rest of our prophecy1 chs4 lx4-lxvi4 ,ch4 lx4 is a prophecy as complete in itself as ch4 liv4 ,the ,city1 which in liv4 was hailed and comforted from afar1 is in ch4 lx4 bidden rise and enjoy the glory that has at last reached her4 ,her splendours1 hinted at in ch4 liv41 are seen in full and evident display4 ,in chs4 lxi4-lxii4 her prophet1 her genius and representative1 rehearses to her his duties1 and sets forth her place among the peoples4 ,and in ch4 lxiii4 #a-g we have another of those theophanies or appearances of the--,sole ,divine ,author of ,his people's salvation1 which1 abrupt and separate as if to heighten the sense of the solitariness of their subject--occur at intervals throughout our prophecy1--for instance1 in ch4 xlii41 vv4 #aj-ag1 and in ch4 lix4 #af-ai4 ,these three sections1 ch4 lx41 chs4 lxi4-lxii4 and ch4 lxiii4 #a-g1 we will take together in this chapter of our volume4 ,i4 ,,arise1 ,,shine 7ch4 lx47 ,the ,sixtieth chapter of ,isaiah is the spiritual counterpart of a typical ,eastern day1 with the dust laid and the darts taken out of the sunbeams1--a typical ,eastern day in the sudden splendour of its dawn1 the completeness and apparent permanence of its noon1 the spaciousness it reveals on sea and land1 and the barbaric profusion of life1 which its strong light is sufficient to flood with glory4 ,under such a day we see ,jerusalem4 ,in the first five verses of the chapter1 she is addressed1 as in ch4 liv41 as a crushed and desolate woman4 ,but her lonely night is over1 and from some prophet at the head of her returning children the cry peals1 ,arise1 shine1 for come hath thy light1 and the glory of ,jehovah hath risen upon thee4 ,in the ,east the sun does not rise2 the word is weak for an arrival almost too sudden for twilight4 ,in the ,east the sun leaps above the horizon4 ,you do not feel that he is coming1 but that he is come4 ,this first verse is suggested by the swiftness with which he bursts upon an ,eastern city1 and the shrouded form does not1 as in our twilight1 slowly unwrap itself1 but shines at once1 all plates and points of glory4 ,then the figure yields3 for ,jerusalem is not merely one radiant point in a world equally lighted by the sun1 but is herself ,jehovah's unique luminary4 ,for behold the darkness shall cover the earth1 and gross darkness the peoples1 but upon thee shall ,jehovah arise1 and ,his glory upon thee shall be seen4 ,and nations shall come to thy light1 and kings to the brightness of thy rising4 ,in the next two verses it is again a woman who is addressed4 ,lift up thine eyes round about and see1 all of them have gathered1 have come to thee3 thy sons from afar are coming1 and thy daughters are carried in the arms4#bgf ,then follows the fairest verse in the chapter4 ,then thou shalt see and be radiant1 and thy heart shall throb and grow large2 for there shall be turned upon thee the sea's flood-tide1 and the wealth of the nations shall come to thee4 ,the word which the ,authorised ,english version translated shall flow together1 and our ,revised ,version lightened1 means both of these4 ,it is liquid light1--light that ripples and sparkles and runs across the face2 as it best appears in that beautiful passage of the thirty-fourth ,psalm1 they looked to ,him and their faces were lightened4 ,here it suggests the light which a face catches from sparkling water4 ,the prophet's figure has changed4 ,the stately mother of her people stands not among the ruins of her city1 but upon some great beach1 with the sea in front1--the sea that casts up all heaven's light upon her face and drifts all earth's wealth to her feet1 and her eyes are upon the horizon with the hope of her who watches for the return of children4 ,the next verses are simply the expansion of these two clauses1--about the sea's flood and the wealth of the ,nations4 ,vv4 #f-i look first landward and then seaward1 as from ,jerusalem's own wonderful position on the high ridge between ,asia and the sea3 between the gates of the ,east and the gates of the ,west4 ,on the one side1 the city's horizon is the range of ,moab and ,edom1 that barrier1 in ,jewish imagination1 of the hidden and golden ,east across which pour the caravans here pictured4 ,profusion of camels shall cover thee1 young camels of ,midian and ,ephah2 all of them from ,sheba shall come3 gold and frankincense shall they bring1 and the praises of ,jehovah shall they publish4 ,all the flocks of ,kedar shall be gathered to thee1 the rams of ,nebaioth shall minister to thee3 they shall come up with acceptance on ,mine altar1 and the house of ,my glory will ,i glorify4 ,these were just what surged over ,jordan from the far countries beyond1 of which the ,jews knew little more than the names here given1--tawny droves of camels upon the greenness of ,palestine like a spate of the desert from which they poured2 rivers of sheep brimming up the narrow drove-roads to ,jerusalem3--conceive it all under that blazing ,eastern sun4 ,but then turning to ,judah's other horizon1 marked by the yellow fringe of sand and the blue haze of the sea beyond1 the prophet cries for ,jehovah3 ,who are these like a cloud that fly1 and like doves to their windows8 ,surely towards ,me the ,isles#bgg are stretching1 and ships of ,tarshish in the van1 to bring thy sons from afar1 their silver and their gold with them1 to the ,name of ,jehovah of ,hosts and to the ,holy of ,israel1 for ,he hath glorified thee4 ,the poetry of the ,old ,testament has been said to be deficient in its treatment of the sea2 and certainly it dwells more frequently1 as was natural for the imagination of an inland and a highland people to do1 upon the hills4 ,but in what literature will you find passages of equal length more suggestive of the sea than those short pieces in which the ,hebrew prophet sought to render the futile rage of the world1 as it dashed on the steadfast will of ,god1 by the roar and crash of the ocean on the beach2#bgh or painted a nation's prosperity as the waves of a summer sea2#bgi or described the long coastlands as stretching out to ,god1 and the white-sailed ships coming up the horizon like doves to their windows6 ,the rest of the chapter1 from ver4 #aj onwards1 is occupied with the rebuilding and adornment of ,jerusalem1 and with the establishment of the people in righteousness and peace4 ,there is a very obvious mingling of the material and the moral4 ,the ,gentiles are to become subject to the ,jew1 but it is to be a voluntary submission before the evidence of ,jerusalem's spiritual superiority4 ,nothing is said of a ,messiah or a ,king4 ,jerusalem is to be a commonwealth2 and1 while her magistracy shall be ,peace and her overseers ,righteousness1 ,god ,himself1 in evident presence1 is to be her light and glory4 ,thus the chapter ends with ,god and the ,people1 and nothing else4 ,god for an everlasting light around1 and the people in their land1 righteous1 secure and growing very large4 ,the least shall become a thousand1 and the smallest a strong nation3 ,i ,jehovah will hasten it in its time4 ,this chapter has been put through many interpretations to many practical uses3--to describe the ingathering of the ,gentiles to the ,church 7in the ,christian year it is the ,lesson for ,epiphany71 to prove the doctrine that the ,church should live by the endowment of the kingdoms of this world1 and to enforce the duty of costliness and magnificence in the public worship of ,god4 ,the glory of the ,lebanon shall come unto thee1 fir-tree1 plane-tree and sherbin together1 to beautify the place of ,my sanctuary1 and ,i will make the place of ,my feet glorious4 ,the last of these duties we may extend and qualify4 ,if the coming in of the ,gentiles is here represented as bringing wealth to the ,church1 we cannot help remembering that the going out to the ,gentiles1 in order to bring them in1 means for us the spending of our wealth on things other than the adornment of temples2 and that1 besides the heathen1 there are poor and suffering ones for whom ,god asks men's gold1 as ,he asked it in olden days for the temple1 that ,he may be glorified4 ,take that last phrase3--,and--with all that material wealth which has flowed in from ,lebanon1 from ,midian1 from ,sheba--,i will make the place of ,my feet glorious4 ,when this singular name was first uttered it was limited to the dwelling-place of the ,ark and ,presence of ,god1 visible only on ,mount ,zion4 ,but when ,god became man1 and did indeed tread with human feet this world of ours1 what were then the places of ,his feet8 ,sometimes1 it is true1 the ,temple1 but only sometimes2 far more often where the sick lay1 and the bereaved were weeping1--the pool of ,bethesda1 the death-room of ,jairus' daughter1 the way to the centurion's sick servant1 the city gateways where the beggars stood1 the lanes where the village folk had gathered1 against ,his coming1 their deaf and dumb1 their palsied and lunatic4 ,these were the places of ,his feet1 who ,himself bare our sicknesses and carried our infirmities2 and these are what ,he would seek our wealth to make glorious4 ,they say that the reverence of men builds now no cathedrals as of old2 nay1 but the love of man1 that ,christ taught1 builds far more of those refuges and houses of healing1 scatters far more widely those medicines for the body1 those instruments of teaching1 those means of grace1 in which ,god is as much glorified as in ,jewish ,temple or ,christian ,cathedral4 ,nevertheless ,he1 who set the place of ,his feet1 which ,he would have us to glorify1 among the poor and the sick1 was ,he1 who also did not for ,himself refuse that alabaster box and that precious ointment1 which might have been sold for much and given to the poor4 ,the worship of ,god1 if we read ,scripture aright1 ought to be more than merely grave and comely4 ,there should be heartiness and lavishness about it1--profusion and brilliance4 ,not of material gifts alone or chiefly1 gold incense or rare wood1 but of human faculties1 graces and feeling2 of joy and music and the sense of beauty4 ,take this chapter4 ,it is wonderful1 not so much for the material wealth which it devotes to the service of ,god's house1 and which is all that many eyes ever see in it1 as for the glorious imagination and heart for the beautiful1 the joy in light and space and splendour1 the poetry and the music1 which use those material things simply as the light uses the wick1 or as music uses the lyre1 to express and reveal itself4 ,what a call this chapter is to let out the natural wonder and poetry of the heart1 its feeling and music and exultation1--all that is within us1 as the ,psalmist says1--in the ,service of ,god4 ,why do we not do so8 ,the answer is very simple4 ,because1 unlike this prophet1 we do not realise how present and full our salvation is2 because1 unlike him1 we do not realise that our light has come1 and so we will not arise and shine4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,gospel 7chs4 lxi4-lxii47 ,the speaker in ch4 lxi4 is not introduced by name4 ,therefore he may be the ,prophet himself1 or he may be the ,servant4 ,the present expositor1 while feeling that the evidence is not conclusive against either of these1 and that the uncertainty is as great as in ch4 xlviii4 #af1bhj inclines to think that there is1 on the whole1 less objection to its being the prophet who speaks than to its being the ,servant4 ,see the appended note4 ,but it is not a very important question1 which is intended1 for the ,servant was representative of prophecy2 and if it be the prophet who speaks here1 he also speaks with the conscience of the whole function and aim of the prophetic order4 ,that ,jesus ,christ fulfilled this programme does not decide the question one way or the other2 for a prophet so representative was as much the antetype and foreshadowing of ,christ as the ,servant himself was4 ,on the whole1 then1 we must be content to feel about this passage1 what we must have already felt about many others in our prophecy1 that the writer is more anxious to place before us the whole range and ideal of the prophetic gift than to make clear in whom this ideal is realised2 and for the rest ,jesus of ,nazareth so plainly fulfilled it1 that it becomes1 indeed1 a very minor question to ask whom the writer may have intended as its first application4 ,if ch4 lx4 showed us the external glory of ,god's people1 ch4 lxi4 opens with the programme of their inner mission4 ,there we had the building and adornment of the ,temple1 that ,jehovah might glorify ,his people3 here we have the binding of broken hearts and the beautifying of soiled lives1 that ,jehovah may be glorified4 ,but this inner mission also issues in external splendour1 in a righteousness1 which is like the adornment of a bride and like the beauty of spring4 ,the commission of the prophet is mainly to duties we have already studied in preceding passages1 both on himself and on the ,servant4 ,it will be enough to point out its special characteristics4 ,the ,spirit of my ,lord ,jehovah is upon me1 for that ,jehovah hath anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted2 ,he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted1 to proclaim to the captive liberty1 and to the prisoners open ways2#bha to proclaim an acceptable year for ,jehovah1 and a day of vengeance for our ,god2 to comfort all that mourn2 to offer to the mourners of ,zion1 to give unto them a crest#bhb for ashes1 the oil of joy for mourning1 the mantle of praise for the spirit of dimness2#bhc so that men may call them ,oaks-of-,righteousness1 the planting of ,jehovah1 that ,he may break into glory4 ,there are heard here all the keynotes of our prophet1 and clear1 too1 is that usual and favourite direction of his thoughts from the inner and spiritual influences to the outward splendour and evidence1 the passage from the comfort and healing of the heart to the rich garment1 the renown1 and his own dearest vision of great forest trees1--in short1 ,jehovah ,himself breaking into glory4 ,but one point needs special attention4 ,the prophet begins his commission by these words1 to bring good tidings to the afflicted1 and again says1 to proclaim to the captive4 ,the afflicted1 or the poor1 as it is mostly rendered1 is the classical name for ,god's people in ,exile4 ,we have sufficiently moved among this people to know for what reason the bringing of good tidings should here be reckoned as the first and most indispensable service that prophecy could render them4 ,why1 in the life of every nation1 there are hours1 when the factors of destiny1 that loom largest at other times1 are dwarfed and dwindle before the momentousness of a piece of news1--hours1 when the nation's attitude in a great moral issue1 or her whole freedom and destiny1 are determined by telegrams from the seat of war4 ,the simultaneous news of ,grant's capture of ,vicksburg and ,meade's defeat of ,lee1 news that finally turned ,english opinion1 so long shamefully debating and wavering1 to the side of ,god and the slave2 the telegrams from the army1 for which silent crowds waited in the ,berlin squares through the autumn nights of #ahgj1 conscious that the unity and birthright of ,germany hung upon the tidings1--are instances of the vital and paramount influence in a nation's history of a piece of news4 ,the force of a great debate in ,parliament1 the expression of public opinion through all its organs1 the voice of a people in a general election1 things in their time as ominous as the ,fates1 all yield at certain supreme moments to the meaning of a simple message from ,providence4 ,now it was for news from ,god that ,israel waited in ,exile2 for good tidings and the proclamation of fact4 ,they had with them a ,divine ,law1 but no mere exposition of it could satisfy men who were captives and waited for the command of their freedom4 ,they had with them ,psalms1 but no beauty of music could console them3 ,how should we sing the ,lord's song in a strange land8 ,they had ,prophecy1 with its assurance of the love and the power of their ,god2 and much as there was in it to help them to patience and to hope1 general statements were not enough for them4 ,they needed the testimony of a fact4 ,freedom and ,restoration had been promised them3 they waited for the proclamation that it was coming1 for the good news that it had arrived4 ,now our prophecy is mainly this proclamation and good news of fact4 ,the prophet uses before all other words two1--to call or proclaim1 kara1 and to tell good tidings1 bisser4 ,we found them in his opening chapter3 we find them again here when he sums up his mission4 ,a third goes along with them1 to comfort1 naham1 but it is the accompaniment1 and they are the burden1 of his prophecy4 ,but good tidings and the proclamation meant so much more than the mere political deliverance of ,israel--meant the fact of their pardon1 the tale of their ,god's love1 of ,his provision for them1 and of ,his wonderful passion and triumph of salvation on their behalf--that it is no wonder that these two words came to be ever afterwards the classical terms for all speech and prophecy from ,god to man4 ,we actually owe the ,greek words of the ,new ,testament for gospel and preaching to this time of ,israel's history4 ,the ,greek term1 from which we have evangel1 evangelist and evangelise1 originally meant good news1 but was first employed in a religious sense in the ,greek translation of our prophecy4 ,and our word preach is the heir1 though not the lineal descendant1 through the ,latin prdicare and the ,greek 1 of the word1 which is translated in ch4 lx4 of our prophet to proclaim1 but in ch4 xl4 to call or cry4 ,it is to the ,exile that we trace the establishment among ,god's people of regular preaching side by side with sacramental and liturgical worship2 for it was in the ,exile that the ,synagogue arose1 whose pulpit was to become as much the centre of ,israel's life as was the altar of the ,temple4 ,and it was from the pulpit of a synagogue centuries after1 when the preaching had become dry exposition or hard lawgiving1 that ,jesus re-read our prophecy and affirmed again the good news of ,god4 ,what is true of nations is true of individuals4 ,we indeed support our life by principles2 we develop it by argument2--we cannot lay too heavy stress upon philosophy and law4 ,but there is something of far greater concern than either argument or the abstract principles from which it is developed2 something that our reason cannot find of itself1 that our conscience but increases our longing for4 ,it is1 whether certain things are facts or not2 whether1 for instance1 the ,supreme ,power of the ,universe is on the side of the individual combatant for righteousness2 whether ,god is love2 whether ,sin has been forgiven2 whether ,sin and ,death have ever been conquered2 whether the summer has come in which humanity may put forth their shoots conscious that all the influence of heaven is on their side1 or whether1 there being no heavenly favours1 man must train his virtue and coax his happiness to ripen behind shelters and in conservatories of his own construction4 ,now ,christ comes to us with the good news of ,god that it is so4 ,the supreme force in the ,universe is on man's side1 and for man has won victory and achieved freedom4 ,god has proclaimed pardon4 ,a ,saviour has overcome sin and death4 ,we are free to break from evil4 ,the struggle after holiness is not the struggle of a weakly plant in an alien soil and beneath a wintry sky1 counting only upon the precarious aids of human cultivation2 but summer has come1 the acceptable year of the ,lord has begun1 and all the favour of the ,almighty is on ,his people's side4 ,these are the good tidings and proclamation of ,god1 and to every man who believes them they must make an incalculable difference in life4 ,as we have said1 the prophet passes in the rest of this prophecy from the spiritual influences of his mission to its outward effects4 ,the people's righteousness is described in the external fashion1 which we have already studied in ,chapter ,fourteen2 ,zion's espousals to ,jehovah are celebrated1 but into that we have also gone thoroughly 7pp4 #cih ff472 the restoration of prophecy in ,jerusalem is described 7lxii4 #f-i71 as in ch4 lii4 #h2 and another call is given to depart from ,babylon and every foreign city and come to ,zion4 ,this call coming now1 so long after the last1 and when we might think that the prophet had wholly left ,babylon behind1 need not surprise us4 ,for even though some ,jews had actually arrived at ,zion1 which is not certain1 others were hanging back in ,babylon2 and1 indeed1 such a call as this might fitly be renewed for the next century or two3 so many of ,god's people continued to forget that their citizenship was in ,zion4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,divine ,,saviour 7ch4 lxiii4 #a-g74 ,once again the prophet turns to hail1 in his periodic transport1 the ,solitary ,divine ,hero and ,saviour of ,his people4 ,that the writer of this piece is the main author of ,second ,isaiah is probable1 both because it is the custom of the latter to describe at intervals the passion and effort of ,israel's ,mighty ,one1 and because several of his well-known phrases meet us in this piece4 ,the speaker in righteousness mighty to save recalls ch4 xlv4 #ai-bd2 and the day of vengeance and year of my redeemed recalls ch4 lxi4 #b2 and ,i looked1 and there was no helper1 and ,i gazed1 and there was none to uphold1 recalls lix4 #af4 ,the prophet is looking out from ,jerusalem towards ,edom1--a direction in which the watchmen upon ,zion had often in her history looked for the return of her armies from the punishment of ,israel's congenital and perpetual foe4 ,the prophet1 however1 sees the prospect filled up1 not by the flashing van of a great army1 but by a solitary figure1 without ally1 without chariot1 without weapons1 swaying on in the wealth of his strength4 ,the keynote of the piece is the loneliness of this ,hero4 ,a figure is used1 which1 where battle would only have suggested complexity1 enthrals us with the spectacle of solitary effort1--the figure of trampling through some vast winefat alone4 ,the ,avenging ,saviour of ,israel has a fierce joy in being alone3 it is his new nerve to effort and victory1--therefore mine own right arm1 it brought salvation to me4 ,we see ,one great form in the strength of one great emotion4 ,my fury1 it upheld me4 ,the interpretation of this chapter by ,christians has been very varied1 and often very perverse4 ,to use the words of ,calvin1 ,violenter torserunt hoc caput ,christiani4 ,but1 as he sees very rightly1 it is not the ,messiah nor the ,servant of ,jehovah1 who is here pictured1 but ,jehovah ,himself4 ,this ,solitary is the ,divine ,saviour of ,israel1 as in ch4 xlii4 #g f4 and in ch4 lix4 #af f4 ,in ,chapter ,eight of this volume we spoke so fully of the ,passion of ,god1 that we may now refer to that chapter for the essential truth which underlies our prophet's anthropomorphism1 and claims our worship where a short sight might only turn the heart away in scorn at the savage and blood-stained surface4 ,one or two other points1 however1 demand our attention before we give the translation4 ,why does the prophet look in the direction of ,edom for the return of his ,god8 ,partly1 it is to be presumed1 because ,edom was as good a representative as he could choose of the enemies of ,israel other than ,babylon4#bhd ,but also partly1 perhaps1 because of the names which match the red colours of his piece1--the wine and the blood4 ,edom means red1 and ,bossrah is assonant to ,bsser1 a vinedresser4#bhe ,fitter background and scenery the prophet1 therefore1 could not have for his drama of ,divine ,vengeance4 ,but we must take care1 as ,dillmann properly remarks1 not to imagine that any definite1 historical invasion of ,edom by ,israel1 or other chastening instrument of ,jehovah1 is here intended4 ,it is a vision which the prophet sees of ,jehovah ,himself3 it illustrates the passion1 the agony1 the unshared and unaided effort which the ,divine ,saviour passes through for ,his people4 ,further1 it is only necessary to point out1 that the term in ver4 #a given as splendid by the ,authorised ,version1 which ,i have rendered sweeping1 is literally swelling1 and is1 perhaps1 best rendered by sailing on or swinging on4 ,the other verb which the ,revised ,version renders marching means swaying1 or moving the head or body from one side to another1 in the pride and fulness of strength4 ,in ver4 #b like a wine-treader is literally like him that treadeth in the pressing-house--,geth 7the first syllable of ,gethsemane1 the oil-press74 ,but in ver4 #c is the pressing-trough4 ,who is this coming from ,edom1 ,raw-red his garments from ,bossrah6 ,this sweeping on in his raiment1 ,swaying in the wealth of his strength8 ,i that do speak in righteousness1 ,mighty to save6 ,wherefore is red on thy raiment1 ,and thy garments like to a wine-treader's8 ,a trough ,i have trodden alone1 ,of the peoples no man was with me4 ,so ,i trod them down in my wrath1 ,and trampled them down in my fury2 ,their life-blood sprinkled my garments1 ,and all my raiment ,i stained4 ,for the day of revenge in my heart1 ,and the year of my redeemed has come4 ,and ,i looked1 and no helper2 ,i gazed1 and none to uphold6 ,so my righteousness won me salvation2 ,and my fury1 it hath upheld me4 ,so ,i stamp on the peoples in my wrath1 ,and make them drunk with my fury1 ,and bring down to earth their life-blood4 ,,footnotes3 #bgf ,literally1 on the side or hip1 the ,eastern method of carrying children4 #bgg ,or coasts4 ,see pp4 #aji ff4 #bgh ,isa4 xiv42 ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 pp4 #bha ff4 #bgi ,isa4 xlviii4 #ah4 #bhj ,see p4 #baj1 note4 ,some points of the speaker's description of himself--for example1 the gift of the ,spirit and the anointing--suit equally well any prophet1 or the unique ,servant4 ,the lofty mission and its great results are not too lofty or great for our prophet1 for ,jeremiah received his office in terms as large4 ,that the prophet has not yet spoken at such length in his own person is no reason why he should not do so now1 especially as this is an occasion on which he sums up and enforces the whole range of prophecy4 ,it can1 therefore1 very well be the prophet who speaks4 ,on the other hand1 to say with ,diestel that it cannot be the ,servant because the personification of the ,servant ceases with ch4 liii4 is to beg the question4 ,a stronger argument against the case for the ,servant is that the speaker does not call himself by that name1 as he does in other passages when he is introduced2 but this is not conclusive1 for in l4 #d-i the ,servant1 though he speaks1 does not name himself4 ,to these may be added this 7from ,krger71 that the ,servant's discourse never passes without transition into that of ,god1 as this speaker's in ver4 #h1 but the prophet's discourse often so passes2 and this1 that 1 and are often used of the prophet1 and not at all of the ,servant4 ,these are all the points in the question1 and it will be seen how inconclusive they are4 ,if any further proof of this were required1 it would be found in the fact that authorities are equally divided4 ,there hold for the ,servant ,calvin1 ,delitzsch1 ,cheyne 7who previously took the other view71 ,driver1 ,briggs1 ,ngelsbach and ,orelli4 ,but the ,targums1 ,ewald1 ,hitzig1 ,diestel1 ,dillmann1 ,bredenkamp and ,krger hold by the prophet4 ,krger's reasons1 ,essai sur la ,thologie d',isae xl4-lxvi41 p4 #gf1 are specially worthy of attention4 #bha ,literally1 opening2 but the word is always used of opening of the eyes4 ,ewald renders open air1 ,dillmann hellen ,blick4 #bhb ,any insignia or ornament for the head4 #bhc ,the same word as in xlii4 #c1 fading wick4 #bhd ,see ,isaiah i4-xxxix41 pp4 #dch-dj4 #bhe ,cf4 ,krger1 ,essai sur la ,thologie d',isae xl4-lxvi41 pp4 #aed-ee4 ,lagarde has proposed to read 1 past participle1 for and for 4 ,who is this that cometh dyed red1 redder in his garments than a vinedresser8 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,a ,,last ,,intercession ,,and ,,the ,,judgement4 ,,isaiah lxiii4 #g-lxvi4 ,we might well have thought1 that with the section we have been considering the prophecy of ,israel's ,redemption had reached its summit and its end4 ,the glory of ,zion in sight1 the full programme of prophecy owned1 the arrival of the ,divine ,saviour hailed in the urgency of ,his feeling for ,his people1 in the sufficiency of ,his might to save them1--what more1 we ask1 can the prophecy have to give us8 ,why does it not end upon these high notes8 ,the answer is1 the salvation is indeed consummate1 but the people are not ready for it4 ,on an earlier occasion1 let us remember1 when our prophet called the nation to their ,service of ,god1 he called at first the whole nation1 but had then immediately to make a distinction4 ,seen in the light of their destiny1 the mass of ,israel proved to be unworthy2 tried by its strain1 part immediately fell away4 ,but what happened upon that call to ,service happens again upon this disclosure of ,salvation4 ,the prophet realises that it is only a part of ,israel who are worthy of it4 ,he feels again the weight1 which has been the hindrance of his hope all through1--the weight of the mass of the nation1 sunk in idolatry and wickedness1 incapable of appreciating the promises4 ,he will make one more effort to save them--to save them all4 ,he does this in an intercessory prayer1 ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv41 in which he states the most hopeless aspects of his people's case1 identifies himself with their sin1 and yet pleads by the ancient power of ,god that we all may be saved4 ,he gets his answer in ch4 lxv41 in which ,god sharply divides ,israel into two classes1 the faithful and the idolaters1 and affirms that1 while the nation shall be saved for the sake of the faithful remnant1 ,jehovah's faithful servants and the unfaithful can never share the same experience or the same fate4 ,and then the book closes with a discourse in ch4 lxvi41 in which this division between the two classes in ,israel is pursued to a last terrible emphasis and contrast upon the narrow stage of ,jerusalem itself4 ,we are left1 not with the realisation of the prophet's prayer for the salvation of all the nations1 but with a last judgement separating its godly and ungodly portions4 ,thus there are three connected divisions in lxiii4 #g-lxvi4 ,first1 the prophet's ,intercessory ,prayer1 ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv42 second1 the ,answer of ,jehovah1 ch4 lxv42 and third1 the ,final ,discourse and ,judgement1 ch4 lxvi4 ,i4 ,,the ,,prayer ,,for ,,the ,,whole ,,people 7ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv474 ,there is a good deal of discussion as to both the date and the authorship of this piece1--as to whether it comes from the early or the late ,exile1 and as to whether it comes from our prophet or from another4 ,it must have been written after the destruction and before the rebuilding of the ,temple2 this is put past all doubt by these verses3 ,thy holy people possessed it but a little while3 our adversaries have trodden down ,thy sanctuary4 ,thy holy cities are become a wilderness1 ,zion has become a wilderness1 ,jerusalem a desolation4 ,the house of our holiness and of our ornament1 wherein our fathers praised ,thee1 is become for a burning of fire1 and all our delights are for ruin4#bhf ,this language has been held to imply that the disaster to ,jerusalem was recent1 as if the city's conflagration still flared on the national imagination1 which in later years of the ,exile was impressed rather by the long1 cold ruins of the ,holy ,place1 the haunt of wild beasts4 ,but not only is this point inconclusive1 but the impression that it leaves is entirely dispelled by other verses1 which speak of the ,divine anger as having been of long continuance1 and as if it had only hardened the people in sin2 compare ch4 lxiii4 #ag and lxiv4 #f1 #g4 ,there is nothing in the prayer to show that the author lived in exile1 and accordingly the proposal has been made to date the piece from among the first attempts at rebuilding after the ,return4 ,to the present expositor this seems to be certainly wrong4 ,the man who wrote vv4 #aa-ae of ch4 lxiii4 had surely the ,return still before him2 he would not have written in the way he has done of the ,exodus from ,egypt unless he had been feeling the need of another exhibition of ,divine ,power of the same kind4 ,the prayer1 therefore1 must come from pretty much the same date as the rest of our prophecy1--after the ,exile had long continued1 but while the ,return had not yet taken place4 ,nor is there any reason against attributing it to the same writer4 ,it is true the style differs from the rest of his work1 but this may be accounted for1 as in the case of ch4 liii41 by the change of subject4 ,most critics1 who hold that we still follow the same author1 take for granted that some time has elapsed since the prophet's triumphant strains in chs4 lx4-lxii4 ,this is probable2 but there is nothing to make it certain4 ,what is certain is the change of mood and conscience4 ,the prophet1 who in ch4 lx4 had been caught away into the glorious future of the people1 is here as utterly absorbed in their barren and doubtful present4 ,although the salvation is certain1 as he has seen it1 the people are not ready4 ,the fact he has already felt so keenly about them1--see ch4 xlii41 vv4 #bd1 #be1--that their long discipline in exile has done the mass of them no good1 but evil1 comes forcibly back upon him 7ch4 lxiv4 #e;b ff474 ,thou wast angry1 and we sinned only the more3 in such a state we have been long1 and shall we be saved6 ,the banished people are thoroughly unclean and rotten1 fading as a leaf1 the sport of the wind4 ,but the prophet identifies himself with them4 ,he speaks of their sin as ours1 of their misery as ours4 ,he takes of them the very saddest view possible1 he feels them all as sheer dead weight3 there is none that calleth on ,thy name1 that stirreth himself up to take hold on ,thee3 for ,thou hast hid ,thy face from us1 and delivered us into the power of our iniquities4 ,but the prophet thus loads himself with the people in order to secure1 if he can1 their redemption as a whole4 ,twice he says in the name of them all1 ,doubtless ,thou art our ,father4 ,his great heart will not have one of them left out2 we all1 he says1 are the work of ,thy hand1 we all are ,thy people4 ,but this intention of the prayer will amply account for any change of style we may perceive in the language4 ,no one will deny that it is quite possible for the same man now to fling himself forward into the glorious vision of his people's future salvation1 and again to identify himself with the most hopeless aspects of their present distress and sin2 and no one will deny that the same man will certainly write in two different styles with regard to each of these different feelings4 ,besides which1 we have seen in the passage the recurrence of some of our prophecy's most characteristic thoughts4 ,we feel1 therefore1 no reason for counting the passage to be by another hand than that which has mainly written ,second ,isaiah4 ,it may be at once admitted that he has incorporated in it earlier phrases1 reminiscences and echoes of language about the fall of ,jerusalem in use when the ,lamentations were written4 ,but this was a natural thing for him to do in a prayer1 in which he represented the whole people and took upon himself the full burden of their woes4 ,if such be the intention of chs4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv41 then in them we have one of the noblest passages of our prophet's great work4 ,how like he is to the ,servant he pictured for us6 ,how his great heart fulfils the loftiest ideal of ,service3 not only to be the prophet and the judge of his people1 but to make himself one with them in all their sin and sorrow1 to carry them all in his heart4 ,truly1 as his last words said of the ,servant1 he himself bears the sin of many1 and interposes for the transgressors4 ,before we see the answer he gets1 let us make clear some obscure things and appreciate some beautiful ones in his prayer4 ,it opens with a recital of ,jehovah's ancient lovingkindness and mercies to ,israel4 ,this is what perhaps gives it connection with the previous section4 ,in ch4 lxii4 the prophet1 though sure of the coming glory1 wrote before it had come1 and urged upon the ,lord's remembrancers to keep no silence1 and give ,him no silence till ,he establish and till ,he make ,jerusalem a praise in the earth4 ,this work of remembrancing1 the prophet himself takes up in lxiii4 #g3 ,the lovingkindnesses of ,jehovah ,i will record1 literally1 cause to be remembered1 the praises of ,jehovah1 according to all that ,jehovah hath bestowed upon us4 ,and then he beautifully puts all the beginnings of ,god's dealings with ,his people in ,his trusting of them3 ,for ,he said1 ,surely they are ,my people1 children that will not deal falsely2 so ,he became their ,saviour4 ,in all their affliction ,he was afflicted1 the ,angel of ,his ,face saved them4 ,this must be understood1 not as an angel of the ,presence1 who went out from the ,presence to save the people1 but1 as it is in other ,scriptures1 ,god's own ,presence1 ,god ,himself2 and so interpreted1 the phrase falls into line with the rest of the verse1 which is one of the most vivid expressions that the ,bible contains of the personality of ,god4#bhg ,in ,his love and in ,his pity ,he redeemed them1 and bare them1 and carried them all the days of old4 ,then he tells us how they disappointed and betrayed this trust1 ever since the ,exodus1 the days of old4 ,but they rebelled and grieved the ,spirit of ,his holiness3 therefore ,he was turned to be their enemy1 ,he ,himself fought against them4 ,this refers to their history down to1 and especially during1 the ,exile3 compare ch4 xlii41 vv4 #bd1 #be4 ,then in their affliction they remembered the days of old--the ,english version obscures the sequence here by translating he remembered--and then follows the glorious account of the ,exodus4 ,in ver4 #ac the wilderness is1 of course1 prairie1 flat pasture-land2 they were led as smoothly as a horse in a meadow1 that they stumbled not4 ,as cattle that come down into the valley--cattle coming down from the hill sides to pasture and rest on the green1 watered plains--the ,spirit of ,jehovah caused them to rest3 so didst ,thou lead ,thy people to make ,thyself a glorious name4 ,and then having offered such precedents1 the prophet's prayer breaks forth to a ,god1 whom ,his people feel no longer at their head1 but far withdrawn into heaven3 ,look down from heaven1 and behold from the habitation of ,thy holiness and ,thy glory3 where is ,thy zeal and ,thy mighty deeds8 the surge of ,thy bowels and thy compassions are restrained towards me4 ,then he pleads ,god's fatherhood to the nation1 and the rest of the prayer alternates between the hopeless misery and undeserving sin of the people1 and1 notwithstanding1 the power of ,god to save as ,he did in times of old2 the willingness of ,god to meet with those who wait for ,him and remember ,him2 and1 once more1 ,his fatherhood1 and ,his power over them1 as the power of the potter over the clay4 ,two points stand out from the rest4 ,the ,divine ,trust1 from which all ,god's dealing with ,his people is said to have started1 and the ,divine ,fatherhood1 which the prophet pleads4 ,he said1 ,surely they are ,my people1 children that will not deal falsely3 so ,he was their ,saviour4 ,the surely is not the fiat of sovereignty or foreknowledge3 it is the hope and confidence of love4 ,it did not prevail2 it was disappointed4 ,this is1 of course1 a profound acknowledgment of man's free will4 ,it is implied that men's conduct must remain an uncertain thing1 and that in calling men ,god cannot adventure upon greater certainty than is implied in the trust of affection4 ,if one asks1 ,what1 then1 about ,god's foreknowledge1 who alone knoweth the end of a thing from the beginning1 and ,his sovereign grace1 who chooseth whom ,he will8 are you not logically bound to these8--then it can only be asked in return1 ,is it not better to be without logic for a little1 if at the expense of it we obtain so true1 so deep a glimpse into ,god's heart as this simple verse affords us8 ,which is better for us to know--that ,god is ,wisdom which knows all1 or ,love that dares and ventures all8 ,surely1 that ,god is ,love which dares and ventures all with the worst1 with the most hopeless of us4 ,this is what makes this single verse of ,scripture more powerful to move the heart than all creeds and catechisms4 ,for where these speak of sovereign will1 and often mock our affections with the bare and heavy 7if legitimate7 sceptre they sway1 this calls forth our love1 honour and obedience by the heart it betrays in ,god4 ,of what unsuspicious trust1 of what chivalrous adventure of love1 of what fatherly confidence1 does it speak6 ,what a religion is this of ours in the power of which a man may every morning rise and feel himself thrilled by the thought that ,god trusts him enough to work with ,his will for the day2 in the power of which a man may look round and see the sordid1 hopeless human life about him glorified by the truth1 that for the salvation of such ,god did adventure ,himself in a love that laid itself down in death4 ,the attraction and power of such a religion can never die4 ,requiring no painful thought to argue it into reality1 it leaps to light before the natural affection of man's heart2 it takes his instincts immediately captive2 it gives him a conscience1 an honour and an obligation4 ,no wonder that our prophet1 having such a belief1 should once more identify himself with the people1 and adventure himself with the weight of their sin before ,god4 ,the other point of the prayer is the ,fatherhood of ,god1 concerning which all that is needful to say here is that the prophet1 true to the rest of ,old ,testament teaching on the subject1 applies it only to ,god's relation to the nation as a whole4 ,in the ,old ,testament no one is called the son of ,god except ,israel as a people1 or some individual representative and head of ,israel4 ,and even of such the term was seldom employed4 ,this was not because the ,hebrew was without temptation to imagine his physical descent from the gods1 for neighbouring nations indulged in such dreams for themselves and their heroes2 nor because he was without appreciation of the intellectual kinship between the human and the ,divine1 for he knew that in the beginning ,god had said1 ,let us make man in our own image4 ,but the same feeling prevailed with him in regard to this idea1 as we have seen prevailed in regard to the kindred idea of ,god as the husband of ,his people4#bhh ,the prophets were anxious to emphasize that it was a moral relation1--a moral relation1 and one initiated from ,god's side by certain historical acts of ,his free1 selecting1 redeeming and adopting love4 ,israel was not ,god's son till ,god had evidently called and redeemed him4 ,look at how our prophet uses the word ,father1 and to what he makes it equivalent4 ,the first time it is equivalent to ,redeemer3 ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 art our ,father2 our ,redeemer from old is ,thy name 7lxiii4 #af;b74 ,the second time it is illustrated by the work of the potter3 ,but now1 ,o ,lord1 ,thou art our ,father2 we are the clay1 and ,thou our potter2 and we are all the work of ,thy hand 7lxiv4 #h74 ,could it be made plainer in what sense the ,bible defines this relation between ,god and man8 ,it is not a physical1 nor is it an intellectual relation4 ,the assurance and the virtue of it do not come to men with their blood or with the birth of their intellect1 but in the course of moral experience1 with the sense that ,god claims them from sin and from the world for ,himself2 with the gift of a calling and a destiny2 with the formation of character1 the perfecting of obedience1 the growth in ,his knowledge and ,his grace4 ,and because it is a moral relation time is needed to realise it1 and only after long patience and effort may it be unhesitatingly claimed4 ,and that is why ,israel was so long in claiming it1 and why the clearest1 most undoubting cries to ,god the ,father1 which rise from the ,greek in the earliest period of his history1 reach our ears from ,jewish lips only near the end of their long progress1 only 7as we see from our prayer7 in a time of trial and affliction4 ,we have a ,new ,testament echo of this ,old ,testament belief in the ,fatherhood of ,god1 as a moral and not a national relation1 in ,paul's writings1 who in the ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians 7vi4 #ag1 #ah7 urges thus3 ,wherefore come out from among them1 and be ye separate1 saith the ,lord1 and touch not the unclean thing2 and ,i will receive you1 and will be a ,father unto you1 and ye shall be ,my sons and daughters1 saith the ,lord ,almighty4 ,on these grounds1 then1--that ,god in ,his great love had already adventured ,himself with this whole people1 and already by historical acts of election and redemption proved ,himself the ,father of the nation as a whole1--does our prophet plead with ,him to save them all again4 ,the answer to this pleading he gets in ch4 lxv4 ,,ii4 ,,god',s ,,answer ,,to ,,the ,,prophet',s ,,intercession 7ch4 lxv474 ,god's answer to his prophet's intercession is twofold4 ,first1 ,he says that ,he has already all this time been trying them with love1 meeting them with salvation2 but they have not turned to ,him4 ,the prophet has asked1 ,where is ,thy zeal8 the yearning of ,thy bowels and ,thy compassions are restrained towards me4 ,thou hast hid ,thy face far from us4 ,wilt ,thou refrain ,thyself for these things1 ,o ,jehovah8 wilt ,thou hold ,thy peace and afflict us very sore4 ,and now1 in the beginning of ch4 lxv41 ,jehovah answers1 not with that confusion of tenses and irrelevancy of words with which the ,english version makes ,him speak2 but suitably1 relevantly and convincingly4 ,i have been to be inquired of those who asked not for ,me4 ,i have been to be found of them that sought ,me not4 ,i have been saying1 ,i am here1 ,i am here1 to a nation that did not call on ,my name4 ,i have stretched out ,my hands all the day to a people turning away1 who walk in a way that is not good1 after their own thoughts2 a people that have been provoking ,me to ,my face continually1--and then ,he details their idolatry4 ,this1 then1 is the answer of the ,lord to the prophet's appeal4 ,in this ,i have not all power4 ,it is wrong to talk of ,me as the potter and of man as the clay1 as if all the active share in salvation lay with ,me4 ,man is free1--free to withhold himself from ,my urgent affection2 free to turn from ,my outstretched hands2 free to choose before ,me the abomination of idolatry4 ,and this the mass of ,israel have done1 clinging1 fanatical and self-satisfied1 to their unclean and morbid imaginations of the ,divine1 all the time that ,my great prophecy by you has been appealing to them4 ,this is a sufficient answer to the prophet's prayer4 ,love is not omnipotent2 if men disregard so open an appeal of the ,love of ,god1 they are hopeless2 nothing else can save them4 ,the sin against such love is like the sin against the ,holy ,ghost1 of which our ,lord speaks so hopelessly4 ,even ,god cannot help the despisers and abusers of ,grace4 ,the rest of ,god's answer to ,his prophet's intercession emphasizes that the nation shall be saved for the sake of a faithful remnant in it 7vv4 #h-aj74 ,but the idolaters shall perish 7vv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,they cannot possibly expect the same fare1 the same experience1 the same fate1 as ,god's faithful servants 7vv4 #ac-ae74 ,but those who are true and faithful ,israelites1 surviving and experiencing the promised salvation1 shall find that ,god is true1 and shall acknowledge ,him as the ,god of ,amen1 because the former troubles are forgotten--those felt so keenly in the prophet's prayer in ch4 lxiv4--and because they are hid from ,mine eyes4 ,the rest of the answer describes a state of serenity and happiness wherein there shall be no premature death1 nor loss of property1 nor vain labour1 nor miscarriage1 nor disappointment of prayer nor delay in its answer1 nor strife between man and the beasts1 nor any hurt or harm in ,jehovah's ,holy ,mountain4 ,truly a prospect worthy of being named as the prophet names it1 a new heaven and a new earth6 ,ch4 lxv4 is thus closely connected1 both by circumstance and logic1 with the long prayer which precedes it4 ,the tendency of recent criticism has been to deny this connection1 especially on the line of circumstance4 ,ch4 lxv4 does not1 it is argued1 reflect the ,babylonish captivity as ch4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv4 so clearly does2 but1 on the contrary1 while some passages presuppose the ,exile as past1 others refer to circumstances characteristic of ,jewish life in ,canaan4#bhi ,but this view is only possible through straining some features of the chapter adaptable either to ,palestine or ,babylon1 and overlooking others which are obviously ,babylonian4 ,sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on tiles were practices pursued in ,jerusalem before the ,exile1 but the latter was introduced there from ,babylon1 and the former was universal in heathendom4 ,the practices in ver4 #e are never attributed to the people before the ,exile1 were all possible in ,babylonia1 and some we know to have been actual there4#bij ,the other charge of idolatry in ver4 #aa suits ,babylonia1 ,cheyne admits1 as well as 7probably7 ,palestine4#bia ,but what seems decisive for the exilic origin of ch4 lxv4 is that the possession of ,judah and ,zion by the seed of ,jacob is still implied as future 7ver4 #i74 ,moreover the holy land is alluded to by the name common among the exiles in flat ,mesopotamia1 ,my mountains1 and in contrast with the idolatry of which the present generation is guilty the idolatry of their fathers is characterised as having been upon the mountains and upon the hills1 and again the people is charged with forgetting ,my holy mountain1 a phrase reminiscent of ,psalm cxxxvii41 ver4 #d1 and more appropriate to a time of exile1 than when the people were gathered about ,zion4 ,all these resemblances in circumstance corroborate the strong logical connection which we have found between ch4 lxiv4 and ch4 lxv41 and leave us no reason for taking the latter away from the main author of ,second ,isaiah1 though he may have worked up into it recollections and remains of an older time4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,last ,,judgement 7ch4 lxvi474 ,whether with the final chapter of our prophecy we at last get footing in the ,holy ,land is doubtful4#bib ,it was said on p4 #bj that1 in vv4 #a to #d of this chapter the ,temple is still unbuilt1 but the building would seem to be already begun4 ,this latter clause should be modified to1 the building would seem to be in immediate prospect4 ,the rest of the chapter1 vv4 #f-bd1 has features that speak more definitely for the period after the ,return2 but even they are not conclusive1 and their effect is counterbalanced by some other verses4 ,ver4 #f may imply that the ,temple is rebuilt1 and ver4 #bj that the sacrifices are resumed2 but1 on the other hand1 these verses may be1 like parts of ch4 lx41 statements of the prophet's vivid vision of the future4#bic ,vv4 #g and #h seem to describe a repeopling of ,jerusalem that has already taken place2 but ver4 #i says1 that while the bringing to the birth has already happened1 which is1 as we must suppose1 the deliverance from ,babylon1--or is it the actual arrival at ,jerusalem8--the bringing forth from the womb1 that is1 the complete restoration of the people1 has still to take place4 ,ver4 #ac is certainly addressed to those who are not yet in ,jerusalem4 ,these few points reveal how difficult1 nay1 how impossible1 it is to decide the question of date1 as between the days immediately before the ,return and the days immediately after4 ,to the present expositor the balance of evidence seems to be with the later date4 ,but the difference is very small4 ,we are at least sure--and it is really all that we require to know--that the rebuilding of ,jerusalem is very near1 nearer than it has been felt in any previous chapter4 ,the ,temple is1 so to speak1 within sight1 and the prophet is able to talk of the regular round of sacrifices and sacred festivals almost as if they had been resumed4 ,to the people1 then1 either in the near prospect of ,return1 or immediately after some of them had arrived in ,jerusalem1 the prophet addresses a number of oracles1 in which he pursues the division1 that ch4 lxv4 had emphasized1 between the two parties in ,israel4 ,these oracles are so intricate1 that we are compelled to take up the chapter verse by verse4 ,the first of them begins by correcting certain false feelings in ,israel1 excited by former promises of the rebuilding and the glory of the ,temple4 ,thus saith ,jehovah1 ,the heavens are ,my throne1 and earth is ,my footstool3 what is this for a house that ye will build--or1 are building--,me1 and what is this for a place for ,my rest8 ,yea1 all these things--that is1 all the visible works of ,god in heaven and earth--,my hand hath made1 and so came to pass all these things1 saith ,jehovah4 ,but unto this will ,i look1 unto the humble and contrite in spirit1 and that trembleth at ,my word4 ,these verses do not run counter to1 or even go beyond1 anything that our prophet has already said4 ,they do not condemn the building of the ,temple3 this was not possible for a prophecy which contains ch4 lx4 ,they condemn only the kind of temple which those whom they address had in view1--a shrine to which the presence of ,jehovah was limited1 and on the raising and maintenance of which the religion and righteousness of the people should depend4 ,while the former ,temple was standing1 the mass of the people had thus misconceived it1 imagining that it was enough for national religion to have such a structure standing and honoured in their midst4 ,and now1 before it is built again1 the exiles are cherishing about it the same formal and materialistic thoughts4 ,therefore the prophet rebukes them1 as his predecessors had rebuked their fathers1 and reminds them of a truth he has already uttered1 that though the ,temple is raised1 according to ,god's own promise and direction1 it will not be to its structure1 as they conceive of it1 that ,he will have respect1 but to the existence among them of humble and sincere personal piety4 ,the ,temple is to be raised3 the place of ,his feet ,god will make glorious1 and men shall gather round it from the whole earth1 for instruction1 for comfort and for rejoicing4 ,but let them not think it to be indispensable either to ,god or to man1--not to ,god1 who has heaven for ,his throne and earth for ,his footstool2 nor to man1 for ,god looks direct to man1 if only man be humble1 penitent and sensitive to ,his word4 ,these verses1 then1 do not go beyond the ,old ,testament limit2 they leave the ,temple standing1 but they say so much about ,god's other sanctuary man1 that when ,his use for the ,temple shall be past1 ,his servant ,stephen#bid shall be able to employ these words to prove why it should disappear4 ,the next verse is extremely difficult4 ,here it is literally3 ,a slaughterer of the ox1 a slayer of a man2 a sacrificer of the lamb1 a breaker of a dog's neck2 an offerer of meat-offering1 swine's blood2 the maker of a memorial offering of incense1 one that blesseth an idol1 or vanity4 ,four legal sacrificial acts are here coupled with four unlawful sacrifices to idols4 ,does this mean that in the eye of ,god1 impatient even of the ritual ,he has consecrated1 when performed by men who do not tremble at ,his word1 each of these lawful sacrifices is as worthless and odious as the idolatrous practice associated with it1--the slaughter of the ox as the offering of a human sacrifice1 and so forth8 ,or does the verse mean that there are persons in ,israel who combine1 like the ,corinthians blamed by ,paul1#bie both the true and the idolatrous ritual1 both the table of the ,lord and the table of devils8 ,our answer will depend on whether we take the four parallels with ver4 #b1 which precedes them1 or with the rest of ver4 #c1 to which they belong1 and ver4 #d4 ,if we take them with ver4 #b1 then we must adopt the first1 the alternative meaning2 if with ver4 #d1 then the second of these meanings is the right one4 ,now there is no grammatical connection1 nor any transparent logical one1 between vv4 #b and #c1 but there is a grammatical connection with the rest of ver4 #c4 ,immediately after the pairs of lawful and unlawful sacrificial acts1 ver4 #c continues1 yea1 they have chosen their own ways1 and their soul delighteth in their abominations4 ,that surely signifies that the unlawful sacrifices in ver4 #c are things already committed and delighted in1 and the meaning of putting them in parallel to the lawful sacrifices of ,jehovah's religion is either that ,israelites have committed them instead of the lawful sacrifices1 or along with these4 ,in this case1 vv4 #c1 #d form a separate discourse by themselves1 with no relation to the equally distinct oracle in vv4 #a and #b4 ,the subject of vv4 #c to #d is1 therefore1 the idolatrous ,israelites4 ,they are delivered unto ,satan1 their choice2 they shall have no part in the coming ,salvation4 ,in ver4 #e the faithful in ,israel1 who have obeyed ,god's word by the prophet1 are comforted under the mocking of their brethren1 who shall certainly be put to shame4 ,already the prophet hears the preparation of the judgement against them 7ver4 #f74 ,it comes forth from the city where they had mockingly cried for ,god's glory to appear4 ,the mocked city avenges itself on them4 ,hark1 a roar from the ,city6 ,hark1 from the ,temple6 ,hark1 ,jehovah accomplishing vengeance on ,his enemies6 ,a new section begins with ver4 #g1 and celebrates to ver4 #i the sudden re-population of the ,city by her children1 either as already a fact1 or1 more probably1 as a near certainty4 ,then comes a call to the children1 restored1 or about to be restored1 to congratulate their mother and to enjoy her4 ,the prophet rewakens the figure1 that is ever nearest his heart1 of motherhood1--children suckled1 borne and cradled in the lap of their mother fill all his view2 nay1 finer still1 the grown man coming back with wounds and weariness upon him to be comforted of his mother4 ,as a man whom his mother comforteth1 so will ,i comfort you1 and ye shall be comforted in ,jerusalem4 ,and ye shall see1 and rejoice shall your heart1 and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass4 ,but this great light shines not to flood all ,israel in one1 but to cleave the nation in two1 like a sword of judgement4 ,the hand of ,jehovah shall be known towards ,his servants1 but ,he will have indignation against ,his enemies1--enemies1 that is1 within ,israel4 ,then comes the fiery judgement1 ,for by fire will ,jehovah plead1 and by ,his sword with all flesh2 and the slain of ,jehovah shall be many4 ,why there should be slain of ,jehovah within ,israel is then explained4 ,within ,israel there are idolaters3 they that consecrate themselves and practise purification for the gardens1 after one in the middle2#bif eaters of swine's flesh1 and the ,abomination1 and the ,mouse4 ,they shall come to an end together1 saith ,jehovah1 for ,i know1 or will punish1#big their works and their thoughts4 ,in this eighteenth verse the punctuation is uncertain1 and probably the text is corrupt4 ,the first part of the verse should evidently go1 as above1 with ver4 #ag4 ,then begins a new subject4 ,it is coming to gather all the nations and the tongues1 and they shall come and shall see ,my glory2 and ,i will set among them a sign1--a marvellous and mighty act1 probably of judgement1 for he immediately speaks of their survivors1--and ,i will send the escaped of them to the nations ,tarshish1 ,put#bih and ,lud1 drawers of the bow1 to ,tubal and ,javan1--that is1 to far ,spain1 and the distances of ,africa1 towards the ,black ,sea and to ,greece1 a full round of the compass1--the isles far off that have not heard report of ,me1 nor have seen ,my glory2 and they shall recount ,my glory among the nations4 ,and they shall bring all your brethren from among all the nations an offering to ,jehovah1 on horses and in chariots and in litters1 and on mules and on dromedaries1 up on the ,mount of ,my ,holiness1 ,jerusalem1 saith ,jehovah1 just as when the children of ,israel bring the offering in a clean vessel to the house of ,jehovah4 ,and also from them will ,i take to be priests1 to be ,levites1 saith ,jehovah4 ,for like as the new heavens and the new earth which ,i am making shall be standing before ,me1 saith ,jehovah1 so shall stand your seed and your name4 ,but again the prophecy swerves from the universal hope into which we expect it to break1 and gives us instead a division and a judgement3 the servants of ,jehovah on one side occupied in what the prophet regards as the ideal life1 regular worship--so little did he mean ver4 #a to be a condemnation of the ,temple and its ritual6--and on the other the rebels' unburied carcases gnawed by the worm and by fire1 an abomination to all4 ,and it shall come to pass from new moon to new moon1 and from sabbath to sabbath1 all flesh shall come to worship before ,me1 saith ,jehovah3 and they shall go out and look on the carcases of the men who have rebelled against ,me2 for their worm dieth not1 and their fire is not quenched1 and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh4 ,we have thus gone step by step through the chapter1 because its intricacies and sudden changes were not otherwise to be mastered4 ,what exactly it is composed of must1 we fear1 still remain a problem4 ,who can tell whether its short1 broken pieces are all originally from our prophet's hand1 or were gathered by him from others1 or were the fragments of his teaching which the reverent hands of disciples picked carefully up that nothing might be lost8 ,sometimes we think it must be this last alternative that happened2 for it seems impossible that pieces so strange to each other1 so loosely connected1 could have flowed from one mind at one time4 ,but then again we think otherwise1 when we see how the chapter as a whole continues the separation made evident in ch4 lxv41 and runs it on to a last emphatic contrast4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so we are left by the prophecy1--not with the new heavens and the new earth which it promised3 not with the holy mountain on which none shall hurt nor destroy1 saith the ,lord2 not with a ,jerusalem full of glory and a people all holy1 the centre of a gathered humanity1--but with the city like to a judgement floor1 and upon its narrow surface a people divided between worship and a horrible woe4 ,o ,jerusalem1 ,city of the ,lord1 ,mother eagerly desired of her children1 radiant light to them that sit in darkness and are far off1 home after exile1 haven after storm1--expected as the ,lord's garner1 thou art still to be only ,his threshing-floor1 and heaven and hell as of old shall1 from new moon to new moon1 through the revolving years1 lie side by side within thy narrow walls6 ,for from the day that ,araunah the ,jebusite threshed out his sheaves upon thy high windswept rock1 to the day when the ,son of ,man standing over against thee divided in ,his last discourse the sheep from the goats1 the wise from the foolish1 and the loving from the selfish1 thou hast been appointed of ,god for trial and separation and judgement4 ,it is a terrible ending to such a prophecy as ours4 ,but is any other possible8 ,we ask how can this contiguity of heaven and hell be within the ,lord's own city1 after all ,his yearning and jealousy for her1 after ,his fierce agony and strife with her enemies1 after so clear a revelation of ,himself1 so long a providence1 so glorious a deliverance8 ,yet1 it is plain that nothing else can result1 if the men on whose ears the great prophecy had fallen1 with all its music and all its gospel1 and who had been partakers of the ,lord's ,deliverance1 did yet continue to prefer their idols1 their swine's flesh1 their mouse1 their broth of abominable things1 their sitting in graves1 to so evident a ,god and to so great a grace4 ,it is a terrible ending1 but it is the same as upon the same floor ,christ set to ,his teaching1--the gospel net cast wide1 but only to draw in both good and bad upon a beach of judgement2 the wedding feast thrown open and men compelled to come in1 but among them a heart whom grace so great could not awe even to decency2 ,christ's ,gospel preached1 ,his ,example evident1 and ,himself owned as ,lord1 and nevertheless some whom neither the hearing nor the seeing nor the owning with their lips did lift to unselfishness or stir to pity4 ,therefore ,he who had cried1 ,come all unto ,me1 was compelled to close by saying to many1 ,depart4 ,it is a terrible ending1 but one only too conceivable4 ,for though ,god is love1 man is free1--free to turn from that love2 free to be as though he had never felt it2 free to put away from himself the highest1 clearest1 most urgent grace that ,god can show4 ,but to do this is the judgement4 ,lord1 are there few that be saved8 ,the ,lord did not answer the question but by bidding the questioner take heed to himself3 ,strive to enter in at the strait gate4 99 99 99 99 99 ,almighty and most merciful ,god1 who hast sent this book to be the revelation of ,thy great love to man1 and of ,thy power and will to save him1 grant that our study of it may not have been in vain by the callousness or carelessness of our hearts1 but that by it we may be confirmed in penitence1 lifted to hope1 made strong for service1 and above all filled with the true knowledge of ,thee and of ,thy ,son ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4 ,,footnotes3 #bhf ,ch4 lxiii4 #ah and lxiv4 #aj1 #aa4 ,in the ,hebrew ch4 lxiv4 begins a verse later than it does in the ,english version4 #bhg ,semites had a horror of painting the ,deity in any form4 ,but when ,god had to be imagined or described1 they chose the form of a man and attributed to ,him human features4 ,chiefly they thought of ,his face4 ,to see ,his face1 to come into the light of ,his countenance1 was the way their hearts expressed longing for the living ,god4 ,exod4 xxiii4 #ad2 ,psalm xxxi4 #af1 xxxiv4 #af1 lxxx4 #g4 ,but among the heathen ,semites ,god's face was separated from ,god ,himself1 and worshipped as a separate god4 ,in heathen ,semitic religions there are a number of deities who are the faces of others4 ,but the ,hebrew writers1 with every temptation to do the same1 maintained their monotheism1 and went no farther than to speak of the angel of ,god's ,face4 ,and in all the beautiful narratives of ,genesis1 ,exodus and ,judges about the glorious ,presence that led ,israel against their enemies1 the angel of ,god's face is an equivalent of ,god ,himself4 ,jacob said1 the ,god which hath fed me1 and the angel which hath redeemed me1 bless the lads4 ,in ,judges this angel's word is ,god's ,word4 #bhh ,see pp4 #cih ff4 #bhi ,cheyne4 ,similarly ,bredenkamp1 who contends that the prophecy is ,isaianic1 and to be dated from the time of ,manasseh4 #bij ,cf4 ,dillmann1 in loco4 #bia ,among ,orientals the planets ,jupiter and ,venus were worshipped as the ,larger and the ,lesser ,luck4 ,they were worshipped as ,merodach and ,istar among the ,babylonians4 ,merodach was worshipped for prosperity 7cf4 ,sayce1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 pp4 #dfj1 #dgf1 #dhh74 ,it may be ,merodach and ,istar1 to whom are here given the name ,gad1 or ,luck 7cf4 ,genesis xxii4 #aa1 and the name ,baal ,gad in the ,lebanon valley7 and ,meni1 or ,fate1 ,fortune 7cf4 ,arabic al-manijjat1 fate2 ,wellhausen1 ,skizzen1 iii41 #bb ff41 #ahi74 ,there was in the ,babylonian ,pantheon a ,manu the ,great who presided over fate 7,lenormant1 ,chaldean ,magic1 etc41 p4 #abj74 ,instances of idolatrous feasts will be found in ,sayce1 op4 cit41 p4 #eci2 cf4 #a ,cor4 x4 #ba1 ,ye cannot partake of the table of the ,lord and of the table of devils4 ,see what is said in p4 #fb of this volume about the connection of idolatry and commerce4 #bib ,bleek 7#eth ed41 pp4 #bhg1 #bhh7 holds ch4 lxvi4 to be by a prophet who lived in ,palestine after the resumption of sacrificial worship 7vv4 #c1 #f1 #cj71 that is1 upon the altar of burnt-offering which the ,returned had erected there1 and at a time when the temple-building had begun4 ,vatke also holds to a post-exilic date1 ,einleitung in das ,a4,t41 pp4 #fbe1 #fcj4 ,kuenen1 too1 makes the chapter post-exilic4 ,bredenkamp takes vv4 #a-f for ,palestinian1 but pre-exilic1 and ascribes them to ,isaiah4 ,with ver4 #a he compares #a ,kings viii4 #bg2 and as to ver4 #f he asks1 ,how could the unbelieving exiles be in the neighbourhood of the ,temple and hear ,jehovah's voice in thunder from it8 ,vv4 #g-ad he takes as exilic1 based on an ,isaianic model4 #bic ,so ,dillmann and ,driver2 ,cheyne is doubtful4 #bid ,acts vii4 #di4 #bie #a ,cor4 x4 #bif ,so1 in literal translation of the text1 the ,one being a master of ceremonies1 who1 standing in the middle1 was imitated by the worshippers 7cf4 ,baudissin1 ,studien zur ,semitischen ,religions-geschichte1 i41 p4 #cae1 who combats ,lagarde's and ,selden's view1 that 1 one1 stands for the ,god ,hadad74 ,the ,massoretes read the feminine form of one1 which might mean some goddess4 #big ,know1 ,pesh4 and some editions of the ,,lxx42 punish1 ,delitzsch and ,cheyne4 #bih ,the ,hebrew text has ,pul1 the ,,lxx4 ,put4 ,put and ,lud occur together1 ,ezek4 xxvii4 #aj-xxx4 #e4 ,put is ,punt1 the ,egyptian name for ,east ,africa4 ,lud is not ,lydia1 but a ,north ,african nation4 ,jeremiah1 xlvi4 #i1 mentions1 along with ,cush1 ,put and the ,ludim in the service of ,egypt1 and the ,ludim as famous with the bow4 ,,index ,,to ,,chaps4 ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,the ,arabic numerals on the right-hand column refer to the pages1 the ,roman to the chapters of the volume4 xl4 #a-aa #fg1 ,v4 xl4 #ab-ca ,,vi4 xli4-xlv4 #i xli4 ,,vii4 xli4 #b #afd f4 xli4 #h-bj #bdd f41 #bef xli4 #be #ab1 #aac1 #acj f41 #ade xli4 #bf #bbe xlii4 #a-g #bfa f41 ,,xviii4 xlii4 #h-ag ,,viii4 xlii4 #ah ff4 #bfb f4 xlii4 #bb #ei xlii4-xliii4 ,,xv4 xliii4-xlviii4 ,,ix4 xliii4 #a-g #beg xliii4 #c1 #d #bdf xliii4 #h1 #aj #aeh f41 #bfc f4 xliii4 #ad #adg1 #bdf xliii4 #af-ai #aeh xliii4 #bb-bd #aef xliii4 #be #aeg xliv4 #a ff4 #bef xliv4 #g1 #h #aeh xliv4 #i-bj #aec f4 xliv4 #ba #bef xliv4 #ba1 #bb #aeg xliv4 #bd-bh #afj1 ,x4 xlv4 #a-ac ,x4 xlv4 #h #bbh xlv4 #ac #bbd xlv4 #ah #bbg xlv4 #ai #aei1 #bbd xlv4 #ai-be #bbe f4 xlvi4 ,,xi4 xlvi4 #aa #afh xlvi4 #ac #bbh xlvii4 ,,xii4 xlvii4 #f #ei xlviii4 ,,xiii4 xlviii4 #ah #bba xlviii4 #bb #ag xlix4 #a-i #bdj f41 #bfd f41 ,,xix41 #cha4 xlix4 #i-bf ,,xxi4 l4 #a-c ,,xxi4 l4 #d-aa ,,xix4 li4-lii4 #ab ,,xxi4 li4 #e #bbh lii4 #g #ej lii4 #ac-liii4 #ah1 #bfg1 ,,xx4 liv4-lvi4 #h ,,xxii4 liv4 #cig lv4 #djb lvi4 #a-h #djf lvi4 #a #bbb1 #bbi lvi4 #i-lix4 #ah f41 ,,xxiii4 lvi4 #i-lvii4 #dji lviii4 #fa1 #dad lviii4 #b #bbb lix4 #dbc lix4 #d #bbb lx4-lxiii4 #g #ai1 ,,xxiv4 lx4 #dbi lxi41 lxii4 #dce lxi4 #aj1 #bbh lxi4 #aa #bbj lxiii4 #b #bbj lxiii4 #a-f #dda lxiii4 #g-lxvi4 #ai f41 ,,xxv4 lxiii4 #g-lxiv4 #ddf lxiv4 #e #bbb lxv4 #dee lxvi4 #deh ,,index ,,of ,,subjects 7,the ,arabic numerals refer to pages1 the ,roman to chapters47 ,anshan or ,anzan1 #aab f4 ,babylon1 #ee ff42 capture of1 #adf f41 xii42 compared with ,rome1#ahi1 #aii f42 meaning of its name1 #aia2 its pride1 #aia2 early history1 #aib n42 cruelty1 #bja2 yielding to ,cyrus1 #aic2 religion1 #aic2 in the modern world1 #bjj ff42 ruin1 #aii1 #bjd2 call to leave1 #baa1 #cif4 ,babylonia1 described1 #ec2 history of1 #ajg ff41 #adf f4 ,baudissin1 #dfc4 ,belshazzar1 #aac4 ,bredenkamp argues for ,isaianic elements in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 #bd1 #bje1 #baa4 ,briggs1 ,prof41 theory of two different writings in ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 #ah1 #cae1 #ccf1 cf4 #bcd4 ,calvin1 testimony to exilic authorship of ,isa4 xl4-lxvi41 #ad f42 fair exegesis1 #bae2 ,commentary1 ,introduction4 ,captivity4 ,see ,exile4 ,chaldea4 ,see ,babylon4 ,astrology1 #aic1 #aih4 ,cheyne1 ,prof41 #ai1 #aba1 #baa1 #dce4 ,crsus1 #aac2 and the oracles1 #aad2 defeated by ,cyrus1 #add f4 ,cyropdia1 #afd1 #agj4 ,cyrus1 alleged mention of his name by ,isaiah1 #g2 not monotheist1 #dj1 #afe1 #agi2 not a prediction but a fulfilment1 #i1 #aa1 #ff1 #aaa ff42 ,jehovah's claim on1 #acj1 #aff1 #add1 #afb ff42 capture of ,babylon1 #adf1 #agh2 ,greek presentation of1 compared with ,hebrew1 #afd f41 #afi ff42 ,as ,messiah3 ,hebrew objection to1 #afg f41 #age2 a fulfilment of prediction1 #bjg f42 an elect instrument1 not the ,servant1 #bec4 ,davidson1 ,prof4 ,a4 ,b41 quoted1 #ae1 #ag1 #cjf1 #cag4 ,see also ,introduction1 #aba4 ,delitzsch1 #aba1 #baa1 etc4 ,dillmann1 #dce1 etc4 ,driver1 ,prof41 ,isaiah3 ,his ,life and ,times1 #ad1 #ah1 #aba1 #dce1 etc4 ,ewald1 #aba1 #bfi1 #ccf1 etc4 ,exile1 the ,babylonian1 reason of1 #bh ff42 ,what ,israel took into ,exile1 iii42 ,israel in ,exile1 iv42 the first deportation1 number1 and quality of exiles1 #cb ff42 second deportation1 #ce2 march to ,babylon1 #dh f42 condition of the exiles1 #ee ff42 social condition of exiles1 #eg ff42 literary efforts1 #ei f42 religious life1 #fa2 commerce1 #fb2 spiritual experience1 #fc2 traces of exile in ,jewish literature1 #fc2 condition of ,israel at end of exile1 #ff4 ,ezekiel1 compared with ,jeremiah1 #cd1 #df2 picture of captivity1 #ei2 sin-bearer1 #ceb2 and the ,messiah1 #djd4 ,face of ,god1 #dej n4 ,fasts in the exile1 #fa1 #dae4 ,fatherhood of ,god1 #dec ff4 ,giesebrecht1 #baj4 ,god and history1 #hg f41 #ajj1 #ajf ff41 #aeg ff4 ,god and the idols1 vi41 ix4 7especially #aec74 ,god1 ,his ,omnipotence and ,faithfulness1 #aba ff41 #cij4 ,god the ,saviour1 #acf2 ,personality of1 #adh f42 ,passion of ,god1 viii42 spirituality of ,jewish conception1 #acg4 ,gospel1 or ,good ,news4 ,meaning in the ,exile1 #dcg f42 development from then1 #dci f4 ,grace1 proclamation of1 characteristic of ,second ,isaiah1 #gh f42 to fulfil service1 #bij4 ,herodotus1 quotation from1 #aad f4 ,hahn1 #aba4 ,idolatry1 #ia1 #id ff41 #aaf1 #aeb ff41 #agg ff4 ,incarnation1 true ,o4 ,t4 prophecies of1 #ace ff41 #ada4 ,individualism1 #da ff4 ,isaiah1 the ,prophet3 his prophecies of exile1 #bc1 #bi f42 his connection with chs4 xl4-lxvi41 #bc1 #bd2 are there fragments by him in ch4 xl4-lxvi48 #bd2 his use of the word ,righteousness1 #baf1 #bah4 ,isaiah1 ,book of3 plurality of authors in1 #d2 on its own testimony composite book1 #d f4 ,isaiah xl4-lxvi43 their date1 i42 do not claim to be by ,isaiah1 #e2 ,new ,testament quotations from1 #f2 speak of exile and ,cyrus as actual facts1 #h1 #i2 use ,cyrus as a fulfilment of previous prophecies1 #aa1 #ab2 local colour1 #ac2 language and style1 #ae2 characteristic doctrine1 #af2 unity1 #ah f41 #ba1bab1 #bbb1 #bcd1 #cad f41 #ccf ff41 #dji1 #dda1 #ddf2 ,palestinian and pre-exilic elements1 #ah-bj1 #dji ff42 post-exilic elements1 #ah1 #dad1 #deh1 #dfe4 ,isaiah xl4-lxvi43 the double problem of the prophecy1 ,introduction1 #cgg1 #cgh4 ,isles1 or coast-lands1 #aji ff4 ,israel3 sketch of history from ,isaiah to exile1 ii41 iii41 iv42 uniqueness2 reason of election by ,god1 xv42 missionary career1 #dd f42 prominence given to1 #bcf2 elected for service1 #bcg2 qualities of nation1 #bdj ff42 ,jesus a ,jew1 #bdi f4 ,jeremiah1 his prediction of exile1 #h1 #bg1 #ff1 #gi2 teaching on this contrasted with ,isaiah's1 #bg2 ,jeremiah's significance for ,second ,isaiah1 and foreshadowing of the ,servant of the ,lord1 as suffering for the people1 #db1 #bge1 #bgg2 and for ,god's ,word1 #ccj2 and as sin-bearer1 #ceb1 #ceh2 cf4 also #cbf1 #dce n4 ,jerusalem or ,zion1 fall of1 #cj ff42 religious significance of its destruction1 #dc ff42 the exiles take the city's name to themselves1 #dg1 #gb2 personification of ,israel under name of ,zion1 #chb ff42 her restoration1 #cie1 xxiv42 the ,bride of ,god1 #cig ff42 ,city of ,judgement1 #dff4 ,jesus ,christ1 and the ,passion of ,god1 viii42 a ,jew1 #bdi2 ,his testimony as to ,his uniqueness1 #bhc1 #cfi f42 ,his example of service1 #bhd1 #bhe1 #cje ff42 called the ,servant of the ,lord in the ,acts1 #bhf2 so recognised by ,peter and ,paul1 #bhg2 ,god's will first with ,him1 #bih2 martyrs for the ,word of ,god1 #bhe1 #cca2 and the ,fifty-third of ,isaiah1 #cff ff42 as bringer of good news1 #dci4 ,john the ,baptist and the ,book of ,isaiah1 #bhb f4 ,josiah1 ,king1 #cj4 ,krger1 #dce1 #ddb4 ,love of ,god1 #gf f41 viii41 #cii f41 #dea f42 sin against it1 #dfg4 ,marriage1 figure of religious marriage use among the ,semites1 #cih ff42 purified and exalted in the ,old ,testament1 #djj2 a test of the uniqueness of ,hebrew prophecy1 #cih f41 cf4 #gf f4 ,media1 #ajg4 ,mesopotamia1 #ea ff4 ,monotheism1 #hh2 and the imagination1 #ie ff42 of ,israel defined1 #cf ff41 #abi1 #adi ff4 ,nabunahid or ,nabonidos1 ,king of ,babylon1 #fe1 #aac1 #aic4 ,nebuchadrezzar1 #cb1 #cd1 #ed1 #ajg4 ,new ,testament quotations from ,isaiah xl4-lxvi41 p4 #f and references1 #bhb1 #bhd f41 xvii4 ,persia1 #aaa4 ,pfleiderer1 quoted1 #abg4 ,positivism and the service of man1 #bid4 ,prediction1 ,jehovah's claim to1 #abj ff41 #bjh2 the ri'shonoth1 #bjf2 new things1 #bjf4 ,prophecy1 in the ,exile1 its anonymousness1 #fa2 and appeal to former scriptures1 #fb2 precedes history as well as interprets it1 #ajj2 uniqueness of ,hebrew prophecy1 #bdh1 ff41 xix41 #cba ff42 and martyrdom1 #cbh4 ,redemption of ,israel4 ,political1 fulfilled by ,cyrus1 #bga2 spiritual1 fulfilled by ,servant1 #bga1 #bgc4 ,renan1 ,natural ,monotheism of the ,semites1 #adi4 ,return from exile1 promise of1 #df2 facts of1 #eg2 call to #baa ff41 #cif1 #dje1 etc4 ,revelation1 conditions of1 #gc2 method of1 #ajj f41 #adh f4 ,see ,prophecy4 ,righteousness1 #abg f41 xiv42 root and growth of word1 #bae f42 of ,israel1 #bag2 of ,jehovah1 #bbd1 cf4 #cfe1 #cib1 #daj1 #dcf f4 ,sabbath1 #fa1 #dbb4 ,sacramental character of prophecy1 #hi f4 ,sayce1 #afc1 #afe1 #agi1 #deg4 ,sin1 its effects1 #chg2 its punishment1 #bi1 #dfe ff42 grounds of forgiveness1 #gi2 borne by ,god1 viii41 #ahc2 by ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1 #ceb2 by the ,servant1 xx4 ,sinim1 land of1 #chc4 ,socialism and the service of man1 xviii4 ,suffering1 vicarious1 ,jeremiah #dbb1 #fd2 of the ,servant1 #bgb f41 #cca4 ,the ,servant of ,jehovah1 ,god's commission of1 #acb f42 ,christ's relation to1 #adb2 possibly speaker summing moral meaning of ,exile1 #baj2 passages on1 #bcc2 his character1 #bed2 as a nation1 #bcf ff41 #bef f42 as part of a nation1 #beg ff42 as realised by one man--prophet and martyr1 #bgf2 a person1 #bgf1 etc42 a personification1 #bff2 fulfilled by ,christ1 #bfg1 #bha ff41 #cfg2 an individual1 objections answered to recognising this-- #ast1 #bgj1 #bnd1 #bgb1 #crd1 #bgd2 cf4 xx41 #dje4 ,the ,servant's office1 extended by ,paul1 #bhg f42 by ,peter1 #bhf f4 ,the ,servant's chief end1 #cag2 as prophet and martyr1 #cac ff42 as sin-bearer1 xx4 ,voice1 the human1 in ,isaiah xl4-lxvi41 #cjb1 #daf4 ,wellhausen1 #bch1 #bfi1 #deg n4 ,xenophanes1 the ,eleatic1 contemporary of ,second ,isaiah1 #abe4 ,xenophon1 portrait of ,cyrus1 #afc f4 ,,hebrew ,,and ,,greek ,,words ,,specially ,,treated4 1 #aji and 1 #bfb1 #bib1 #bih4 1 #bfb4 1 #hd1 #he1 #dcg ff4 1 #bjf4 1 #gf4 1 #bfc4 1 #bii4 1 #chd4 and 1 #agi ff41 #cdc1 #ceb4 1 #bee1 xvi4 and 1 xiv41 #cib4 1 #afh4 1 #hb4 1 #acj f41 #dcg ff4 and 1 #aba1 #bjf4 1 #aag1 #aai4 and 1 #bhf n4 ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,isaiah4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,chaps4 ,i4--,,xxxix4 ,spectator4--,this is a very attractive book4 ,mr4 ,george ,adam ,smith has evidently such a mastery of the scholarship of his subject that it would be a sheer impertinence for most scholars1 even though tolerable ,hebraists1 to criticise his translations2 and certainly it is not the intention of the present reviewer to attempt anything of the kind1 to do which he is absolutely incompetent4 ,all we desire is to let ,english readers know how very lucid1 impressive1 and1 indeed1 how vivid a study of ,isaiah is within their reach--the fault of the book1 if it has a fault1 being rather that it finds too many points of connection between ,isaiah and our modern world1 than that it finds too few4 ,in other words1 no one can say that the book is not full of life4 ,saturday ,review4--,he writes with great rhetorical power1 and brings out into vivid reality the historical position of his author4 ,record4--,he is always reverent and thoroughly ,christian in his exposition4 ,he gives us models of exposition4 ,they are full of matter1 and show careful scholarship throughout4 ,we can think of no commentary on ,isaiah from which the preacher will obtain scholarly and trustworthy suggestions for his sermons so rapidly and so pleasantly as from this4 ,prof4 ,t4 ,k4 ,cheyne in ,academy4--,here is a well-trained critical scholar coming forward to help preachers and ordinary readers to a truer comprehension of their ,scriptures4 ,in all essentials this new expositor has succeeded4 ,his work is in every sense mature1 and shows a thorough comprehension of the problem4 ,british ,weekly4--,isaiah is for the first time made perfectly intelligible to the people2 and not only is he made intelligible1 but he is reproduced and connected with so much of modern life as virtually to give him a resurrection in all his original power4444 ,mr4 ,smith has at one stride taken his place at the head of living expositors1 and opened out a new line of work in which1 perhaps1 few will be found able to follow him1 but which will do more than many arguments to reconcile a timorous and misguided public to scientific scholarship and the newer criticism4 ,this may seem extravagant praise4 ,we are quite confident that those who are most familiar with the exposition will be the readiest to endorse it4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,hodder ,,stoughton',s ,,new ,,and ,,recent ,,works4 ,a4 ,m4 ,,mackay1 ,pioneer ,missionary of the ,church ,missionary ,society to ,uganda4 ,by his ,,sister4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,h4 ,manesse4 ,third ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 ,seldom have ,i read a more fascinating volume4--,echo4 ,a most valuable storehouse of facts and original documents about ,mackay4444 ,few more engrossing or impressive works have ever been issued than this simple account of a pioneer missionary4--,record4 ,very interesting biography4--,times4 ,,sir ,,george ,,burns1 ,,bart43 ,,his ,,times ,,and ,,friends4 ,by ,,edwin ,,hodder1 ,author of ,the ,life and ,work of the ,seventh ,earl of ,shaftesbury1 ,k4,g41 ,the ,life of ,samuel ,morley1 etc4 ,with ,etched ,portrait by ,manesse4 ,now ready1 #hvo1 cloth1 price #ads4 ,mr4 ,hodder1 who is well1 and in many respects favourably known by his biographies of ,lord ,shaftesbury and ,mr4 ,samuel ,morley1 has found an equally congenial theme in the life of a man who had not a little in common with these two eminent philanthropists4--,times4 ,the wonderful story of his rapid and remarkable rise from very small beginnings to the position of one of the greatest shipowners and philanthropists of the age is narrated compactly1 discriminatingly1 and skilfully4 ,the volume abounds with racy anecdotes and interesting incidents relating to business men1 literary men1 ministers1 philanthropists1 scientists1 soldiers1 and statesmen with whom ,sir ,george ,burns was on terms of personal friendship4--,scotsman4 ,a delightful book1 abounding in interesting matter4--,liverpool ,mercury4 ,,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,,elmslie1 ,d4,d4 ,,memoirs ,,and ,,sermons4 ,memoir by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,with ,reminiscences by ,professor ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d41 ,professor ,,henry ,,drummond1 ,rev4 ,,john ,,smith1 ,m4,a41 and ,rev4 ,,james ,,stalker1 ,d4,d4 ,third ,edition4 ,with ,portrait1 crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 ,elmslie was too remarkable a man to be left without a memoir4 ,he was too bright and genial a spirit to be buried in a ponderous biographical sarcophagus4 ,dr4 ,robertson ,nicoll may be heartily congratulated on having produced a 'speaking portrait' of his friend4 ,the presentation of him is1 indeed1 dramatic1 with its keen strokes of characterisation1 its rapid action1 its bright succession of scenes1 and the success with which it enables the reader to realise the man ,elmslie1 his achievements1 his springs of action1 the atmosphere and sunshine of his life1 his speech1 and almost1 it seems1 his play of feature4--,scotsman4 ,,imago ,,christi2 ,the ,examples of ,jesus ,christ4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,stalker1 ,m4,a41 ,author of the ,life of ,jesus ,christ1 ,the ,life of ,st4 ,paul1 etc4 ,fifth ,edition1 completing #af1jjj4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #es4 ,will sustain the author's already high reputation as a thinker and literary artist4 ,it is a volume alive with interest4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,sheaves ,,of ,,ministry3 ,sermons and ,expositions4 ,by ,,james ,,morison1 ,d4,d4 #hvo1 cloth1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,natural ,,law ,,in ,,the ,,spiritual ,,world4 ,by ,professor ,,henry ,,drummond1 ,f4,r4,s4,e4 ,twenty-sixth ,edition1 completing ,one ,hundred ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,we have no hesitation in saying that this is one of the most able and interesting books on the relations which exist between natural science and spiritual life that has appeared4--,literary ,churchman4 ,one of the most impressive and suggestive books on religion that we have read for a long time4--,spectator4 ,,romance ,,of ,,psalter ,,and ,,hymnal3 ,authors and ,composers4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,e4 ,,welsh1 ,m4,a41 and ,f4 ,g4 ,,edwards1 ,author of ,united ,praise4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #es4 ,a work of more than ordinary interest and ability4--,morning ,post4 ,this handsome and interesting book4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,will charm those who take an interest in the hymnology of the ,christian ,church4--,bradford ,observer4 ,,light ,,in ,,africa4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,macdonald4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,one of the brightest and most readable books of its class produced during recent years4444 ,a book that has not a single dull or superfluous page4--,athenum4 ,,an ,,italian ,,campaign2 or1 ,the ,evangelical ,movement in ,italy1 #ahde-ahhg4 ,from the ,letters of the late ,rev4 ,r4 ,w4 ,,stewart1 ,d4,d41 of ,leghorn4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,,wood ,,brown1 ,m4,a41 ,gordon4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,rescuers ,,and ,,rescued3 ,experiences among our ,city ,poor4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,james ,,wells1 ,m4,a41 ,glasgow4 ,author of ,christ and the ,heroes of ,heathendom1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,this is a most interesting book1 written with admirable taste1 and though some of the sketches of ,glasgow low life are almost painfully realistic1 they are not in any way sensational1 and are saved from being dull and depressing by the touches of genuine pathos and humour which abound throughout4--,glasgow ,herald4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,,bruce1 ,d4,d4 #a4 ,,the ,,miraculous ,,element ,,in ,,the ,,gospels4 #hvo1 cloth1 price #abs4 ,dr4 ,bruce once more gives us a volume of great value4 ,there is no living ,apologist in whose hands the ,christian faith is so safe4--,presbyterian ,messenger4 ,it displays minute acquaintance with the modern literature of the subject1 and all forms of attack to which ,christian belief in the supernatural has been subjected4 ,the defence is able all round2 and the closing chapters--in which the miracle implied in the character of ,jesus is dwelt on1 and where the defence is for a moment changed into attack--are full of spirit and fire4--,methodist ,recorder4 ,a valuable apologetic work1 which will be a useful weapon against rationalism1 and one which should be in the library of every minister4--,ecclesiastical ,gazette4 #b4 ,,the ,,chief ,,end ,,of ,,revelation4 ,third ,edition4 ,in crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 #c4 ,,the ,,parabolic ,,teaching ,,of ,,christ3 ,a ,systematic and ,critical ,study of the ,parables of our ,lord4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #abs4 ,professor ,bruce brings to his task the learning1 and the liberal and finely sympathetic spirit1 which are the best gifts of an expositor of ,scripture4 ,his treatment of his subject is vigorous and original4--,spectator4 #d4 ,,the ,,galilean ,,gospel4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,we heartily commend this little volume as giving an outline ably drawn of the teachings of ,christ4--,spectator4 ,the product of a rich1 imaginative mind1 marked by scholarly analysis1 subtle insight and the suggestiveness of an original and unconventional thinker4--,glasgow ,herald4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,miracles ,,of ,,our ,,lord4 ,expository and ,homiletic4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,john ,,laidlaw1 ,d4,d41 ,professor of ,theology1 ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh4 ,second ,edition1 with ,new ,index4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,marked by the competent scholarship1 the sound and cautious exegesis1 the homiletic tact1 the mastery of lucid and1 at times1 beautiful style which characterise his preaching4--,theological ,review4 ,,until ,,the ,,day ,,break1 and ,other ,hymns and ,poems ,left ,behind4 ,by ,,horatius ,,bonar1 ,d4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 red edges1 price #es4 ,there is not one we could have spared2 while there are several of which it may safely be predicted that they will become universal favourites4--,christian ,leader4 ,all of them have merit as verses1 and breathe a pure and sweet spirit of ,christian piety4--,scotsman4 ,a prettier gift book we could not recommend4--,rock4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,works ,,by ,,rev4 ,,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a4 ,,the ,,first ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,corinthians4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 ,full of earnest pleading for reality in religion1 and of an intelligent interest in modern social problems4--,guardian4 #b4 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,third ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo1 cloth1 price #bs4 #f;d4 ,each book is the subject of a separate chapter1 the volume being really a series of introductions to the several ,gospels and ,epistles4 ,the authenticity1 authorship1 history1 object1 and general character of each are discussed with admirable condensation and lucidity1 and with ample critical knowledge4--,scotsman4 #c4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,genesis4 ,fourth ,edition4 #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 ,the style of the book is so simple1 the march of the thought so strong and unencumbered1 and there is in the ripe result such a perfect assimilation of varied erudition1 that none but fellow craftsmen will realise the amount of study1 industry1 and many-sided ability that was requisite to produce it4--,professor ,elmslie1 ,d4,d4 #d4 ,,the ,,parables ,,of ,,our ,,lord4 ,first ,series4 ,the ,parables recorded by ,st4 ,matthew4 ,new ,edition4 ,sixth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,there is certainly no better volume on the subject in our language4--,glasgow ,mail4 #e4 ,,the ,,parables ,,of ,,our ,,lord4 ,second ,series4 ,the ,parables recorded by ,st4 ,luke4 ,new ,edition4 ,sixth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,expositions of marvellous clearness and insight4--,glasgow ,herald4 #f4 ,,isaac1 ,,jacob1 ,,and ,,joseph4 ,fifth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,the present volume is worthy of the writer's reputation4 ,he deals with the problems of human life and character1 which these biographies suggest1 in a candid and manly fashion4--,spectator4 #g4 ,,the ,,prayer ,,that ,,teaches ,,to ,,pray4 ,sixth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 price #bs4 #f;d4 ,it is highly instructive1 singularly lucid1 and unmistakable for quiet personal use4--,clergyman's ,magazine4 #h4 ,,israel',s ,,iron ,,age4 ,sketches from the ,period of the ,judges4 ,fifth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,powerful lectures4 ,this is a noble volume1 full of strength4--,nonconformist4 #i4 ,,mohammed1 ,,budda1 ,,and ,,christ4 ,fifth ,thousand4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,to us this book is specially welcome1 as an evidence1 in addition to many others1 of a new outburst of earnest religious thought and sentiment4--,spectator4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,john ,g4 ,,paton1 ,missionary to the ,new ,hebrides4 ,an ,autobiography4 ,,first ,,part4 ,edited by his ,brother1 ,rev4 ,,james ,,paton1 ,b4,a4 ,fifteenth ,thousand4 ,with ,portrait4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 ,,john ,g4 ,,paton1 ,missionary to the ,new ,hebrides4 ,an ,autobiography4 ,,second ,,part4 ,twelfth ,thousand4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,,dawson4 ,i4 ,,the ,,threshold ,,of ,,manhood3 ,a ,young ,man's ,words to ,young ,men4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,,dawson1 ,glasgow1 ,author of ,the ,makers of ,modern ,english1 etc4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #cs4 #f;d4 ,his discourses are rich in thought1 are lighted up with a vivid imagination1 and glow with the fire of imagination4 ,young men will be charmed with the book4--,north ,british ,daily ,mail4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,makers ,,of ,,modern ,,english4 ,crown #hvo1 price #es4 ,mr4 ,dawson has evidently made a careful study of his subject1 and has read widely and with considerable range of sympathy4 ,his work contains a good deal of really useful and unpretending information1 likely to be of considerable service to the readers whose wellbeing he has at heart2 and with this is combined a sound and appreciative judgment which ought not to be unnoticed4--,guardian4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,living ,,christ ,,and ,,the ,,four ,,gospels4 ,by ,r4 ,w4 ,,dale1 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 ,characterised by ,dr4 ,dale's usual breadth of view1 strong common sense1 and clear1 forcible style4--,manchester ,examiner4 ,as a man of culture and eloquence he has put the case strongly and well1 and it will not be surprising if his book1 which is not written1 he tells us1 for ,masters of ,arts1 but in the first instance for members of his own congregation1 and then for all ordinary people who take an interest in such matters1 should be the means of convincing many that the assumptions sometimes made about late origin of the ,gospels1 etc41 are utterly unfounded4--,scotsman4 ,dr4 ,dale has enriched theological literature with many volumes full of the strenuous thinking of a man thoroughly alive with the life of his time4 ,he has given us one or two volumes which will be read when the problems of this present time have been forgotten2 but he has given us nothing which is more likely to be helpful1 both to his own and to future generations1 than ',the ,living ,christ and the ,four ,gospels4'444 ,its publication is a most helpful sign of the times4 ,it will bring light to many who have been feeling their way4 ,it will encourage many to speak out4 ,it will help to dissipate the mists begotten by spurious ,protestantism1 and to show us where we are and what the ground is that we stand upon4 ,a more significant or a more valuable book has not appeared for many a day4--,professor ,marcus ,dods1 in the ,british ,weekly4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout4