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THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD 
 
THE SERVANT OF THE LORD 
 
 IN ISAIAH XL-LXVI, 
 
 BECLAIMED TO ISAIAH AS THE AUTHOR 
 
 ^rgumenf^ ^ftucture+ an^ ©afe 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN FORBES, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF ORIENTAL LANGUAGES, ABERDEEN 
 
 EDINBUEGH 
 
 T. & T. CLAEK, 38 George Street 
 
 1890 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is with feelings of the deepest and most sincere 
 gratitude I give thanks to Ahiiighty God, that health 
 and strength have been granted me, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-seven, to complete at length my Com- 
 mentary on Isaiah's Last Prophecy of the " Servant 
 of the Lord " in chaps, xl.-lxvi., and to reclaim for 
 Isaiah its authorship, now denied by almost every 
 bibhcal scholar on this side of the Atlantic, Dr. 
 Delitzsch no longer forming an exception. 
 
 Knowing from my own experience how difficult it is 
 to overcome long-cherished opinions, I cannot expect 
 those who have arrived at an opposite conclusion after 
 careful examination to assent to my views ; but I do 
 cherish the hope that the arguments adduced for the 
 genuineness and authenticity of the Prophecy as a 
 writing of the time of Isaiah will be found sufficient to 
 convince younger scholars, who approach the question 
 without prepossession, of the utter untenableness of 
 the prevalent opinion that the Prophecy is the work 
 of an author who wrote at the time of Cyrus ; and to 
 prove that, so far from being a "desultory composition, 
 often interrupted and obscured by retrocessions and 
 resumptions," as even Dr. Joseph Addison Alexander 
 affirms, the Prophecy forms a continuous and most 
 symmetrically arranged whole, in every respect worthy 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 of the great and most highly gifted writer to whom 
 from the earHest times it has been ascribed. 
 
 One of the fairest and most successful attempts I 
 have seen to trace the line of argmnent in what, for 
 shortness' sake, has been designated II. Isaiah, or 
 Deutero-Isaiah, is that of Kev. Canon S. E. Driver, in 
 his Isaiah : his Life and Times. I am happy to find 
 substantial agreement between his analysis of the 
 argument and that given in. the following pages. He 
 has avoided the fatal error of explaining away whatever 
 seems at first sight contrary to his views, as interpola- 
 tions {e.g., chaps. Ivi. -Iviii. ; see Ewald and Prof 
 Cheyne, pages 21, 22) or as omissions (see Prof Cheyne, 
 page 23). We must accept and account for all the 
 elements of the problem laid before us. 
 
 Let us, then, strive to realize to ourselves as clearly 
 and vividly as possible the point on which, in the first 
 great division or book of the Prophecy (chaps, xl.-xlviii.), 
 the decision is rested as to Who has a right to the title 
 of Godhead — Jehovah, or the gods of the idolators ? 
 This is distinctly stated by Canon Driver : " Here the 
 prophet imagines a judgment scene. The nations are 
 invited to come forward and plead their case with 
 Jehovah. The question is. Who has stirred up the 
 great conqueror Cyrus ? Who has led him on his 
 career of victory .? " ^ 
 
 As the attainment of the truth on the important 
 question now before us — of the authorship of II. Isaiah 
 — must be the desire of every sincere and impartial 
 inquirer, I have now to confess, when too late to make 
 any alteration (as the greater part of my volume is 
 already in the hands of the printer), that I see I have 
 
 ^ Isaiah, his Life and Times, by Rev. Canon S. R. Driver, page 139. 
 
PEEFACE. Vll 
 
 fallen into a similar mistake to that of our modern 
 critics, in not fully recognizing the force of the argu- 
 ments for the opposite opinion. I have attributed too 
 exclusively to Isaiah the credit of supporting the faith 
 and hopes of Israel under the severe trial to which they 
 must have been put by their sojourn and oppression in 
 Babylonia, without adverting to the rejoinder the 
 modern critics might make, that Jeremiah's prophecies, 
 limiting the duration of their exile to seventy years, 
 were those that sustained their faith. This now ex- 
 plains to me what before had puzzled me to understand, 
 how intelligent men could regard as a prediction of a 
 future event the utterances (Isaiah xli. 2-4 and 25) of an 
 author whom they considered to be writing at the time 
 the event was taking place. But, as predicted by 
 Jeremiah, the assurance that Israel's exile would ter- 
 minate at the end of seventy years would undoubtedly 
 tend in part to " comfort " them under their afflictions. 
 Yet we must guard against resting satisfied with this 
 as a sufficient explanation of the difficulties of the 
 problem before us. For to what, at best, do the revela- 
 tions made by Jeremiah amount but to the assurance, 
 " Though I make a full end of all the nations whither 
 I have scattered thee, I will not make a full end of 
 thee" (Jer. xxx. 11)? There was nothing new in 
 Jeremiah's predictions (except what related to the dura- 
 tion of the time) that had not been foretold by Moses 
 more than a thousand years before in the Song which 
 he left as his dying legacy to his people, warning them 
 that after his " death they would utterly corrupt them- 
 selves . . . and evil will befall you in the latter days ; 
 because ye will do evil in the sight of the Loed to pro- 
 voke Him to anger " (Deut. xxxi. 29). This Song he 
 enjoined them, in the name of the Loed, to ''command 
 
VIU PEEPACE. 
 
 your children to observe to do all the words of this law" 
 (= instriLction, doctrine, Gesenius' Lexicon) — ending, 
 however, with the comforting assurance, " The Loed 
 shall judge His people, and then repent Himself for 
 His servants, when He seeth that their power is gone 
 . . . and He shall say, Where are their gods, the rock 
 in which they trusted ? . . . Let them rise up and help 
 you. See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no 
 god with Me. I kill, and I make alive : I have 
 wounded, and I heal " (verses 86-39) : the whole con- 
 cluding with a call on all the Gentiles to come and 
 partake in the blessings which He has destined for 
 them through the instrumentality of His elect people 
 Israel, " Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people " 
 (verse 43). 
 
 Is this theory, which everyone could gather for him- 
 self from Moses' words, and which amounts to little 
 more than this : Ye have been sent to Babylon and shall 
 be brought bach again, the substantial amount of the 
 Poem (prophecy in no proper sense of the word can it 
 be called) which a writer of consummate ability and 
 intelligence (as everyone must acknowledge the author 
 of the so-called Deutero-Isaiah to be) set himself dowm 
 deliberately to compose at the close of the Babylonish 
 captivity, when any lessons which God designed to 
 teach Israel by its disciplinary training must already 
 have been learned ? — consequently, as it would seem, 
 without any conceivable aim or purpose ! If such be 
 the theory we are called upon to accept, is the judg- 
 ment which we have felt constrained to pass upon it 
 too severe, that it represents the writer to have been 
 either a fool, or a forger who wished to pass off his own 
 lucubrations as an ancient and genuine document '? 
 
 A highly important object must have been in view 
 
PEEFACE. IX 
 
 that led an author to sit down and indite the longest 
 and most remarkable prophecy on one continuous sub- 
 ject contained in Scripture. Nor have we far to seek 
 to discover what that object must have been. The 
 most momentous change in the belief and practice of 
 Israel was effected as the result of their exile in 
 Babylon, in the utter renunciation, from that time 
 forth, of idolatry, to which they had all along been so 
 addicted from the time of Moses, that all God's severe 
 disciplinary judgments had hitherto been powerless to 
 cure, and to lead to the acknowledgment of the sole 
 Godhead of Jehovah. This great change was evidently 
 brought about by the fulfilment of their predicted de- 
 liverance and restoration to their own land. 
 
 Now where do we find these predictions ? In this 
 Prophecy of Isaiah alone. There are five different 
 points which would contribute to this change, if re- 
 garded as previous predictions, long fondly cherished 
 by the exiles who brought with them copies from Jeru- 
 salem, and studied ever more carefully for the con- 
 firmation of their faith and hopes, as the time drew 
 near for their fulfilment. These, however, could have 
 no influence to this effect, if they were but the un- 
 authorized utterances of a nameless author, now for 
 the first time propounded. 
 
 Briefly stated, these five points (which will be found 
 fully stated in the following pages) are : 
 
 1. The wording of Cyrus' decree in Ezra i. 1, 2, in 
 which he acknowledges the supremacy of Jehovah as 
 having " given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and 
 charged me to build the house of Jehovah, the God of 
 Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem ". The words 
 are copied from Isaiah, chaps, xliv. 27, 28, and xlv. 1-3. 
 Now, can it be believed that unless the most convincing 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 evidences of the genuineness and antiquity of Isaiah's 
 prophecies had been furnished by the Israehtes, so 
 shrewd a man of the world as Cyrus would ever have 
 issued such a decree "throughout all his kingdom"? 
 Of the reality of this decree, as will be shown, we have 
 the strongest evidence, since it was afterwards ques- 
 tioned by the adversaries of the Jews in the reign of 
 Darius, who caused investigation to be made, and the 
 decree was found at Achmetha (Ecbatana) ; and may 
 we not hope, amidst the many interesting memorials 
 lately discovered, that a copy of the original decree may 
 yet be brought to light ? 
 
 2. The importance and emphasis laid on the specifi- 
 cation of the name of the predicted Deliverer of Israel, 
 "I am the Lord which call thee by tliy name" — "I 
 have called thee by thy name : I have su7'named thee, 
 though thou hast not known Me " (Isaiah xlv. 3, 4), 
 could only have proceeded from an author who lived 
 ages before the birth of Cyrus. Such specification 
 would be utterly ludicrous if made by one who wrote 
 at the close of the Babylonish captivity. 
 
 3. The writer of II. Isaiah has indelibly identified 
 his age with that of Hezekiah (c/. xli. 5-13 ; see pp. 89-92) 
 and his queen, Hephzibah (c/. Ixii. 4, 5 ; see page 92). 
 
 Further, the fondness of the writer, here shown, 
 for Paronomasia, or allasion to the symbolical import 
 of Proper names, speaks strongly for his identification 
 with the Proto-Isaiah who arranged his first great 
 prophecy so as to bring out successively the import of 
 the names of his sons and himself, "Immanuel, Maher- 
 shalal-hash-baz, Shear-jashub, Isaiah ". A later writer, 
 had such been the author of II. Isaiah, would most 
 carefully have avoided such an apparent identification 
 of himself with his predecessor. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 4. The Prophecy, xl.-lxvi., as it now stands, forms 
 but a part of the whole prophecies of Isaiah. Thus 
 only can we explain the transposition of the four prose 
 chapters, xxx\d. to xxxix. The first two, xxxvi., xxxvii., 
 which chronologically should succeed xxxviii., xxxix., 
 are so placed as most appropriately closing the Assyrian 
 period, and proving the truth of Isaiah's earlier pro- 
 phecies against them. The Assyrian king, unconscious 
 that he was but " the rod in Jehovah's hand" (chap. x. 
 5) for the chastisement of His people, had by the mouth 
 of his captain, Rabshakeh, magnified himself against 
 Jehovah, saying, " Who are they among all the gods of 
 the lands that have delivered their country out of my 
 hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my 
 hand?" (xxxvi. 20). In reply to his proud boastings 
 the LoED sent forth His angel, and " smote in the camp 
 of the Assyrian a hundred and fourscore and five thou- 
 sand " (verse 36). 
 
 On the other hand, the last two chapters, xxxviii., 
 xxxix., which narrate Hezekiah's sickness and recovery, 
 and the Loed's message to him on his ostentatious 
 display of all his treasures to the ambassadors of 
 Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon — All these shall 
 be carried to Babylon, and " thy sons shall be eunuchs in 
 the king's palace " — prepare the reader for the Baby- 
 lonian period and its very diversified results. 
 
 The prophecies of Isaiah are thus closely welded to- 
 gether, the prose chapters forming the connecting link 
 between the Earlier and the Later Prophecies — con- 
 stituting, if the Earlier and Later Prophecies be counted 
 each as but a single member, a perfect Three, or Triad, 
 with the prose portion ; or again, if the Earlier Pro- 
 phecies, consisting, as Dr. Delitzsch has shown, of 3 
 Syzigies or Pairs, be counted as 3, and so correspond 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 to the 3 Books of the Later Prophecies — constituting 
 a perfect Seven, or Heptad. 
 
 5. There Hes a fundamental objection on its very face 
 to the hypothesis that Isaiah xl. to Ixvi. is the produc- 
 tion of an independent writer, and not of Isaiah. 
 Whatever opinion of the nature and origin of prophecy 
 may find favour with modern critics, one indispensable 
 condition to its acceptance by Israel as a prophecy 
 was that it must begin and be prefaced by the distinct 
 claim, as its authorization, that "The word of Jehovah 
 came to" the prophet. To this rule there is no 
 exception in all the prophets. " Comfort ye, comfort 
 ye," &c. (xl. i.), therefore, cannot be the beginning of 
 a new prophecy. For its authorization we must look 
 back to the preceding chapter, xxxix. 5, " Hear the 
 word of the Lord of Hosts ". There is here a slight 
 difference from the form of expression in every other 
 prophet, but merely verbal, yet deserving observation, 
 as it occurs in both the Earlier and Later Prophecies ; 
 thereby identifying the author of I. Isaiah with the 
 author of 11. Isaiah, while it differentiates him from 
 all the other prophets. 
 
 The absence of the usual form of authorization in 
 Isaiah is, however, amply compensated for by equivalent 
 forms. Thus in the Earher Prophecies the introductory 
 form is, " The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz which 
 he saw concerning Judah," &c., and "Hear the word 
 of Jehovah'' (verse 10); but above all, by the special 
 honour conferred on Isaiah by his call at a very youthful 
 period to the prophetic office, in the vision vouchsafed 
 to him in chap, vi., when, in response to his profound 
 sense and confession of his unworthiness, a seraph is 
 sent to touch his lips with a live coal from off the altar 
 and to " purge his sin," and the commission is given 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 him by the Lord of Hosts, "Go and tell this people, 
 Hear ye indeed, but understand not," &c. (vi. 9, 13). 
 
 In the Later Prophecies, again, we have in the two 
 chapters which preface them, " In those days was 
 Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet 
 the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him. Set 
 thine house in order ; for thou shalt die and not Hve. 
 . . . And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word 
 of the Lord unto Isaiah, saying. Go and say to Hezekiah, 
 Thus saith the Lord," &c. (xxxviii. 1 to 5). And, 
 again, in chap, xxxix., when Isaiah came to Hezekiah, 
 after he had shown all his treasures to the ambassador 
 of Merodach-Baladan, " Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, 
 Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts " (verse 5). 
 
 On the ground of the 'five points now stated no 
 feasible explanation, so far as we can see, can be given 
 of the argument and contents of Isaiah xl. to Ixvi. as 
 more fully expounded in the following commentary ; 
 and till such is given, we venture to reclaim the 
 authorship to Isaiah and his times. 
 
Authorship, Argument, and Date 
 
 OF 
 
 ISAIAH'S LAST GREAT PROPHECY 
 THE SERVANT OE THE LOED," 
 
 CHAPTEES XL.-LXVI. 
 
 The greatest achievement of the so-called " Higher Criti- 
 cism" has been the supposed discovery that the last 
 twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah (xl.-lxvi.) are not the work 
 of Isaiah, as believed for so many ages by the people to 
 whom they were addressed, but were composed by some 
 unknown prophet who wrote towards the close of the 
 Babylonish captivity. So general is the acceptance which 
 this new theory has obtained, that anyone who is bold 
 enough to maintain that these chapters, as we now possess 
 them, could have proceeded from Isaiah, is set down as 
 far behind the age. In the words of a late writer, " Only 
 the most uncompromising champions of what is taken for 
 orthodoxy now venture to deny that the Book of Isaiah is 
 the work of two persons ". Not only the great majority of 
 German critics consider the later date of chapters xl.-lxvi. as 
 incontrovertibly proved, but this conclusion claims the assent 
 of many of our own scholars, such as Dr. Samuel Davidson, 
 Dean Stanley, Mr. Matthew Arnold, Professor Driver, and 
 
 1 
 
2 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 one of the latest commentators on Isaiah, Professor T. K. 
 Cheyne.^ 
 
 Still I feel constrained to say that the more the theory is 
 examined, the more unsatisfactory does it appear. It 
 satisfies none of the requisites of a sound theory. It runs 
 counter to the main bearing of all the evidence, external 
 and internal. It compels the expositor to ignore, or explain 
 away, the facts of history, and obliges him to overlook or 
 expunge certain passages, as interpolations by later hands ; 
 but above all, in consequence of taking up a wrong stand- 
 point, it has introduced so great confusion into the argument 
 as to render it impossible for either interpreter or reader to 
 form any consistent view of the whole prophecy, or of the 
 author's aim and arrangement of his subject. 
 
 In the first place, it must be admitted, on the most 
 cursory view of the question, that the presumption is 
 strongly against the later date, which denies the authorship 
 to Isaiah. For what are we called upon to believe? That 
 a writer of transcendent genius, admitted by all competent 
 judges to surpass even the greatest writers among the 
 Hebrews, with the exception alone, if exception it be, of 
 Isaiah, grew up among the exiles in Babylon and attracted 
 to himself, as he must have done, by this remarkable 
 prediction, the attention of all his contemporaries, and yet 
 afterwards dropped so entirely into oblivion that his very 
 name and memory perished, leaving not a trace behind of 
 his separate existence ! — not a suspicion or whisper of such 
 separate existence being ever breathed till the thirteenth 
 century of the Christian era ! Yet this is but part of the 
 wonder. We are called upon in addition to believe that, in 
 the midst of a people banished from their native land, and 
 compelled to adopt the dialectic peculiarities of the language 
 of their foreign oppressors — which so mingled with, and 
 finally superseded their own, that their original tongue was 
 all but forgotten (Nehem. viii. 7, 8) — a poet was born and 
 1 See Encydojtcsdia Britannica, article ' ' Isaiah ". 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 3 
 
 "brought up, who yet attained to such purity of diction and 
 command of the ancient Hebrew as has never been surpassed, 
 if even equalled ! The arguments for the Babylonian origin 
 of this prophecy must be strong, indeed, w^hich can outweigh 
 these opposing presumptions. 
 
 But the later date is equally at variance with history. 
 "We have an historical fact of which no rational account 
 can be rendered on the supposition that II. Isaiah (as for 
 shortness' sake this portion of Isaiah has been styled) was 
 not written till within a few years before the return of the 
 Jewish captives from Babylon. In Ezra i. 1-4, we have 
 the account of a proclamation which Cyrus the Great caused 
 to be made "throughout all his kingdom," in which he 
 ascribes to "Jehovah, the God of Israel," the origin of all 
 his powder, and makes the public acknowledgment, that, in 
 deference to His command, he issues the decree for the 
 rebuilding of the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem. The 
 words of the proclamation are: "Thus saith Cyrus, king 
 ■of Persia, Jehovah, the God of heaven, hath given me all tlie 
 kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build 
 Him an house at Jerusalem w^iich is in Judah". The 
 ■expressions are evidently borrowed from Isaiah xlv. 1 : 
 "Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose 
 right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and 
 I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two- 
 leaved gates," &c, ; and (versed) " For Jacob My servant's 
 sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy 
 name ". And the charge to which the decree refers is found 
 in xliv. 28 : " That saith of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, and 
 shall perform all My pleasure ; and to the temple, Thy 
 foundation shall be laid". 
 
 Now the question which is thus raised is, what could have 
 induced a Gentile monarch, the greatest conqueror of his 
 age, to make such a public acknowledgment before all the 
 peoples of his empire, of the greatness and supremacy of 
 Jehovah, the God of a small captive people ? We have 
 
4 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 a sufficient explanation of this proceeding of Cyrus, but nob 
 otherwise, if full and unmistakable proofs, satisfactory to so 
 shrewd a judge of human nature as Cyrus, were offered to 
 him of the antiquity and genuineness of the prophecy of 
 Isaiah, as having been writtezi a century and a half before 
 his capture of Babylon, foretelling his conquests, specifying 
 his very name, and enjoining him to rebuild Jehovah's 
 temple at Jerusalem ; and, consequently, demonstrative of 
 a truly miraculous and divine foreknowledge of the future, 
 such as no heathen oracle or god could show. This, 
 accordingly, is the account of the special favour shown by 
 Cyrus to the Jews, assigned by their historian Josephus, 
 who says, " This was known to Cyrus by his reading the 
 book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies. 
 Accordingly, when Cyrus read this (the charge given to 
 him by Jehovah), an earnest desire and ambition seized upon 
 him to fulfil what was so written " (Ant., bk. xi., cap. i., § 2). 
 The decree of Cyrus and the pre-exilic date of II. Isaiah's 
 prophecy must stand or fall together ; and unless it be 
 maintained that the account as given in Ezra is a forgery, 
 and that no such decree could have been issued by a heathen 
 sovereign, we are shut up to the early date of the prophecy. 
 Of the existence of the decree, however, we have strong 
 confirmation, since we find that its execution soon came to 
 be resisted by the adversaries of the Jews, who succeeded 
 in arresting the rebuilding of the temple till the time of 
 Darius, king of Persia, when, at his command, search was 
 made for the decree of Cyrus. It was found at Achmetha 
 (Ecbatana), in consequence of which Darius renewed the 
 order for the work to be carried on, and all necessary 
 expenses to be defrayed from the royal revenues. Nor 
 does such an acknowledgment of the supremacy of Jehovah 
 (in consequence of miraculous evidence afforded of His Divine 
 prescience and power) stand alone as publicly made by a 
 heathen monarch, and who yet adhered to the worship of 
 his own gods. We find parallel instances in the similar 
 
CHAPTEES XL.-LXVI. 5 
 
 addresses "made unto all peoples, nations, and languages," 
 issued by heathen monarchs, e.g., by Nebuchadnezzar 
 {Dan. iv.), and by Darius (Dan. vi. 25-27). 
 
 But further, we have another historical fact, the force of 
 which has been strangely overlooked, and which compels us 
 to ascribe the authorship of this prophecy to Isaiah and to 
 none other, unless we would cast the greatest dishonour on 
 his memory, as a prophet unfaithful to his calling. Israel's 
 corruption and departure from God had become so invete- 
 rate as to be incurable by any but the most severe 
 judgments (Isa. i.). To testify this was the occasion of 
 Isaiah's calling from the first (chap. vi. 8-13) ; and now in 
 the chapter immediately preceding this prophecy, Isaiah is 
 commissioned, on occasion of Hezekiah's showing all his 
 treasures to the ambassadors of Merodach-Baladan, king of 
 Babylon, to announce to him and Israel that " all should 
 be carried to Babylon" (xxxix. 6). With such a denuncia- 
 tion of judgment, is it likely that any true prophet could 
 stop short, unless he would belie the special function of 
 the prophetic office, the interpretation to Israel of the 
 purpose of God's dealings with His people, and the upholding 
 of their faith under the severity of predicted judgments, by 
 the assurance that these were designed to subserve the 
 accomplishment of the high destiny promised them as 
 God's people? "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people" (xl. 
 1), was therefore the indispensable sequel to the judgment 
 now denounced. 
 
 Nor let it be objected that more than a hundred years 
 elapsed before the judgment came. This was wholly un- 
 known to Isaiah, further than that a respite was granted 
 during the fifteen years added to Hezekiah's life, on the 
 expiration of which the probability was that no longer grace 
 would be extended. Unless, therefore, the prophet proved 
 untrue to his calling, or died soon after denouncing the 
 impending judgment, he must have followed it up with the 
 necessary consolation, and consequently be the author of 
 
6 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 the chapters under review. Viewing, moreover, the evil 
 day as very close at hand, it is not to be wondered at that 
 the prophet, in order to lead all to realize the certainty of 
 the irrevocable sentence that had gone forth from the Loed, 
 for the most part throws himself and his readers into the 
 time of the captivity as if already begun. Isaiah, there- 
 fore, is speaking to his oivn time,^ and administering the 
 coiisolation and instruction which it seemed to demand ; 
 and we have no need to ascribe to some "Great Un- 
 named," who lived ages afterwards, the authorship of the 
 chapters. 
 
 Thus far the question as to the authorship and unity of 
 the so-called Deutero-Isaiah has been argued on general 
 grounds ; but no entirely satisfactory solution of the ques- 
 tion can be reached until the prevailing errors regarding the 
 argument and connection of the prophecy are removed. 
 The error, perhaps, which above all others has tended to 
 throw the whole qviestion into confusion, is the idea attri- 
 buted to the prophet that with the return from Babylon 
 God's purposes for the disciplinary training of Israel were 
 completed, and that the accomplishment of all the Divine 
 promises to them would immediately follow. Thus Dr. De- 
 litzsch's representation is : "It was not, indeed, during the 
 Babylonish captivity that the servant of Jehovah appeared 
 in Israel with the gospel of redemption ; but, as we shall never 
 be tired of repeating, this is the human element in these pro- 
 phecies, that they regard the appearance of the ' Servant 
 of Jehovah,' the Saviour of Israel and the heathen, as 
 connected with the captivity ; the punishment of Israel 
 terminating, according to the law of the perspective fore- 
 shortening of prophetic vision, with the termination of the 
 captivity ; and the final glory of Israel and the final salva- 
 tion of all mankind beginning to dawn on the border of the 
 
 ^ As is manifestly implied in the words he puts into Hezekiali's 
 mouth, "For there shall be peace and truth in my days" (Isa. 
 xxxix. 8). 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 7 
 
 captivity".^ Nay, so far does Dr. Delitzsch carry his view- 
 that he says: "In the view of the prophet himself, the 
 period immediately succeeding the captivity really would be 
 the end of time ".- Not less explicit are the words of one 
 of our most learned and accomplished exegetes,* who has 
 given much attention to this subject. " The method of 
 representation in this prophecy draws no distinction between 
 the Christian and the Babylonian redemption, or between 
 the miseries of sin and of exile. His representation is 
 massive, solid. The evils of the captivity are the last evils 
 of Israel for their sins : they are the evils of sin. The 
 restoration from the captivity is the restoration from 
 the condition of evil to the final state of glory. The 
 servant appears in the exile, amidst Israel's last troubles : 
 he works out, through his knowledge and sufferings, 
 the redemption of Israel from sin, and therefore from 
 trouble ; and the redemption is final. On the soil of 
 Babylon, at this era, concentrate themselves all the moral 
 forces that work upon the earth ; there and thus they come 
 into colhsion; there ensues the defeat of evil. Out from 
 there, through the wilderness, delivered for ever, and free, 
 marches Israel, with Jehovah, as of old, at their head, who 
 as He passes that most rancorous and persevering of His 
 kingdom's foes, Edom, treads it in the winepress under His 
 feet, sprinkling its blood upon His garments, and staining 
 all His raiment. Jerusalem, the bringer of good tidings, 
 at the sound of the approaching God gets her up into the 
 high mountain, and proclaims across the valleys to the 
 cities of Judah, ' Behold your God ! ' Thus restored, 
 Israel is the light of the world. The Gentiles come to her 
 light, and kings to the brightness of her rising." 
 
 ^ Delitzsch's Commeiitary on Isaiah, vol. ii., p. 276. T. & T. 
 Clark, Edinburgh. 
 
 - Ibid., p. 416. 
 
 '^ Rev. Professor A. B. Davidson, LL.D., " The Servant of the 
 Lord," in 2Vie British and Foreign Evangelical Revierv for October, 
 1872. 
 
8 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Now, it seeiiis impossible that any such representation 
 could have proceeded from Isaiah (or from any prophet 
 who succeeded him, unless he meant to charge his prede- 
 cessor, the proto-Isaiah, with being a false prophet), since 
 it would be inconsistent with what Isaiah at his calling to 
 the prophetic office had been ordained to testify to Israel, 
 that such and so persistent was the state of spiritual blind- 
 ness and hardness of heart which they had reached that 
 nothing but a succession of the most severe judgments would 
 suffice to open their eyes and ears. For when the prophet 
 asked, "How long?" the answer was: "Until cities be 
 waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the 
 land become utterly waste, and the Lord have removed 
 men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the 
 midst of the land " (Isa. vi. 10-12). And if it be urged that 
 thus far the Babylonian captivity was sufficient to exhaust 
 the meaning of the prophecy, we have but to look to the 
 sequel in verse 13 : " And if there be yet a tenth in it, it 
 shall again be eaten up ; as a terebinth and as an oak, 
 whose stock remaineth when they are felled, so the holy 
 seed is the stock thereof ". The only inference that can 
 justly be drawn from these words is that but a "tenth" 
 would return of Israel after the desolation from the cap- 
 tivity, and that that tenth would again be decimated, till 
 only a " stock " should remain. This, indeed, is the 
 prophet's own inference, which in order to keep fresh in 
 the remembrance of his countrymen he embodied in the 
 name he gave to his first-born son. Shear- jashub = " a 
 remnant shall return ". 
 
 Further, Isaiah must have been well aware that before 
 Zion's final establishment in glory, Israel was to be rejected 
 from being God's people, and another people to be taken in 
 their stead. This had been expressly foretold in Moses' Song 
 (Deut. xxxii.), which almost all critics (even those who 
 refer the composition of Deuteronomy as a whole to a late 
 period) consider to be anterior to Isaiah. "They have 
 
CHAPTEKS XL.-LXVI. 9 
 
 moved me to jealousy with that which is not God ; and I 
 will move them to jealousy with those which are not a 
 people" (verse 21). With evident reference, too, to the 
 prophecy, which God enjoined to be taught to the people 
 " that this song may be a witness for Me against the Children 
 of Israel" (Deut. xxxi. 19), Isaiah's elder contemporary, 
 Hosea, had been commanded to call his son " Lo-ammi " 
 [ = not My people] ; "for ye are not My people, and I will not 
 be your God " (Hosea i. 9) : a sentence affecting Judah as 
 well as Israel, and to be reversed only in the latter days, 
 when " it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was 
 said unto them, ye are not My people, it shall be said unto 
 them, Ye are the sons of the living God. x\nd the Children 
 of Judah, and the Children of Israel shall be gathered 
 together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and 
 shall go up from the land " [of their captivity] (i. 10-11). To 
 this Hosea adds, in iii. 4, 5, the remarkable description of 
 the anomalous state of Israel in the intermediate period, 
 which, when the Jewish Eabbi Kimchi wrote, he recognises 
 as so strikingly applicable to the present condition of his 
 people : " These are the days of the captivity in which we 
 now are at this day ; we have no king nor prince out of 
 Israel, for we are in the power of the nations and of their 
 kings and princes ; and have no sacrifice for God, nor image 
 for idols ; no epliocl for God that declares future things by 
 Urim and Thummim, and no teraphim for idols, which 
 show things to come, according to the mind of those that 
 believe in them ". 
 
 With these distinct predictions before him, Isaiah could 
 never have meant to represent " the evils of the captivity" 
 as being "the last evils of Israel for their sins," nor "the 
 final glory of Israel, and the final salvation of all mankind, 
 as beginning to dawn on the borders of the captivity". 
 Such a view leads to entire misapprehension of the con- 
 nection of Book I. with the two succeeding books, the 
 subjects of which, according to the mind of the prophet. 
 
10 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 are separated by a wide interval of time from the Baby- 
 lonian captivity — all reference to which ceases with Book 
 I. ; as the warning notice to Israel in the last w^ords of 
 chapter xlviii. clearly show : " Go ye forth of Babylon, flee 
 ye from the Chaldeans ". 
 
 It is now more than fifty years since Eiickert made the 
 remarkable discovery that these twenty-seven chapters had 
 been most systematical!}^ divided into three great portions, 
 or sections, of nine chapters each, marked off and separated 
 from one another by a refrain occurring at the end of each : 
 " There is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked," 
 closing chapter xlviii. ; which is again repeated in similar 
 terms at the close of chapter Ivii., while the same idea 
 amplified terminates the whole in chapter Ixvi. 
 
 Yet, strange to say, this striking arrangement has never 
 hitherto been sufficiently utilized for the main purpose 
 designed by its author, to aid the reader in tracing the 
 successive steps in the argument and in following out the 
 train of thought. The prevalent idea is that there is no 
 regular progress in the argument, nor distinct succession of 
 thought — that the prophecy is a "desultory composition " : 
 that although there may be " a sensible progression in the 
 whole from the beginning to the end, still it is often inter- 
 rupted and obscured by retrocessions and resumptions "} 
 
 But how, then, it may be asked, account for the adoption 
 of the opinion now so generally entertained ? The explana- 
 tion is not far to seek. The wave of scepticism which 
 passed over from England to Germany last century led to 
 the denial of the possibility of miracle or prophecy in the 
 true sense of the terms ; and it became necessary to elimi- 
 nate these entirely from the Old and New Testaments, and 
 to explain away whatever opposed this assumed funda- 
 mental principle. Chapters xl.-lxvi. of Isaiah, if admitted 
 to be the composition of Isaiah, formed a standing protest 
 against this assumption, since it was impossible to deny 
 ^ Dr. Joseph A. Alexander: Preface to Later Prophecies of Isaiah. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 11 
 
 that anything less than divine foreknowledge could have 
 predicted, a century and a half beforehand, the victories of 
 Cyrus the Great, and his granting permission to the captive 
 Israelites to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild their city 
 and temple — specifying even the very name of the conqueror. 
 It was necessary at all hazards to deny the authorship of 
 Isaiah and the early date of the prophecy which this 
 entailed, and to relegate its composition to a time when 
 Cyrus was already in the field, so that a surmise could 
 reasonably be hazarded of his victorious advance against 
 Babylon. This led, of course, to a minute scrutiny of these 
 twenty-seven chapters, to discover if possible some subsidiary 
 arguments to corroborate the " foregone conclusion " ; and 
 it were strange indeed if, in the longest prophecy in the 
 Bible, none such could be found. These have been so 
 frequently repeated and added to by a succession of critics, 
 that by dint of reiteration they have come to be accepted 
 almost without question,; so that a student entering on 
 the investigation of the question for the first time can 
 scarce fail to be prepossessed by the array of authorities in 
 their favour. This prepossession alone can account for other 
 scholars who believe in the inspiration of Scripture holding 
 themselves constrained, in the interests, as they conceive, 
 of truth and impartial criticism, to accept the later date. 
 
 The prophet commences at once by mapping out his 
 subject into three great divisions. By the course of disci- 
 plinary training to which Jehovah is about to subject Israel, 
 beginning with the captivity iu Babylon, Jerusalem is com- 
 forted by the assurance that three successive objects, or 
 important results, are to be attained in fulfilment of the 
 mission appointed to Israel as the ' ' servant of the Lokd " — 
 which, to mark the certainty of their ultimate accomplish- 
 ment, are represented as already fulfilled to Jerusalem by 
 the use of the prophetic Perfect instead of the Future, viz. : 
 
 I. That her warfare is accomplished. 
 
 II. That the punishment of her iniquity is accepted. 
 
12 THE SERVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 III. That she has received from the Lord's hand double 
 for all her sins. 
 
 These several objects or topics, it will be seen, carry us 
 on to the final consummation of God's purposes w^ith Israel, 
 a,nd suggest at once that the prophet's view cannot be 
 bounded by the deliverance from Babylon. This would be 
 no subject worthy of a prophet to make known. His high 
 function is not mere "vaticination" of future events — that 
 Israel was to be sent to Babylon and to be again brought 
 back, and Jerusalem to be rebuilt — but to reveal the jj?n-- 
 jMses which God designs by His dealings with His people, 
 and the part which it is theirs to contribute for their fulfil- 
 ment. So systematically is the programme sketched by the 
 prophet carried out, that each of the three topics is first 
 repeated in a different form in xl. 3-11, three verses being 
 assigned to each ; and each is then fully treated in a 
 separate Book, or Act, as we might call it, of the dramatic 
 representation placed before us, consisting of nine chapters 
 or three trilogies — the central trilogy of each being charac- 
 terized by a leading personage or actor, through whom the 
 object proposed is principally to be carried out : first, Cyeus 
 (xliii. to xlv.) ; then, Messiah (Hi. to liv.) ; finally, Zion 
 glorified, and "new heavens and a new earth created" 
 (Ixi. to Ixiii.), with a distinct allusion also made in the 
 central trilogy of each Book to the terms of the respective 
 topics as stated in the opening words. 
 
 This remarkable symmetry (be it noted) of the chapters, 
 or subdivisions, of all the three sections, in which the prophet 
 so carefully carries out the plan which he had sketched out 
 at the beginning, by dividing each section or Book into three 
 trilogies, and in the central trilogy of each i-eferring specially 
 to the topic of the Book, furnishes a sufficient refutation of 
 the fanciful theory of interpolations and emendations sup- 
 posed to be introduced by a series of soferim or scribe- 
 editors. No chapter can be added, none subtracted, 
 without destroying the sjinmetry of the whole. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 13 
 
 In further proof that the prophet had the whole plan of 
 his arrangement before his mind from the first, we find that 
 he places each of the three topics before his readers in a 
 different aspect in the succeeding nine verses (3-11) of chapter 
 xL, three verses being assigned to each ; his object being to 
 emphasize that it is to the Lord Himself and to His word 
 and power that Israel (while called upon to contribute their 
 part) must look for the certain and effective fulfilment of the 
 gracious ends to be attained by the disciplinary training to 
 which He is about to subject them. 
 
 The first eleven verses of chaptend. thus evidently form the 
 exordium, or prologue, to the whole prophecy, mai-king out 
 its division into three Books, or Acts, the relation of which 
 to each other is, as those acquainted with the significance 
 of the threefold division in Scripture know to be the usual 
 arrangement ; — 
 
 Act I. (xl.-xlviii,), or the predicted deliverance of Israel 
 from Babylon through Cyrus (demonstrative, when fulfilled, 
 of Jehovah's sole title to Godhead, and of the vanity of idols), 
 is but introductory and preparatory to 
 
 Act II. (xlix.-lvii.), which contains the great central subject, 
 the advent of the true "Servant of the Lord," whose work 
 ultimately finds its consummation in 
 
 Act III. (Iviii.-lxvi.), or the full and final restoration and 
 glory of ZioN, and the creation of " new heavens and a new 
 earth " (Ixv. 17). 
 
 So far from the truth is the prevailing idea of Isaiah's 
 message to Jerusalem in his last great prophecy (chaps, xl.- 
 Ixvi.), that it may be said to be directly the reverse. The 
 sentence had at length gone forth which the prophet was 
 commissioned to announce to Ilezekiah when, in the pride 
 of his heart, he had shown all his treasures to the ambas- 
 sadors of Merodach-Baladan,kingof Babylon, that all these 
 should be carried to Babylon, and his sons serve as eunuchs 
 in the king's palace. According to the mind of the prophet, 
 as the critics maintain, this was to be but a temporary 
 
14 THE SEKVANT OF THE LORD, 
 
 suffering which would soon pass over. The Lord would 
 quickly return at the head of His people to Jerusalem, and 
 the final glorification of Zion shortly follow.^ 
 
 So long as views like these prevail, little or no progress 
 ■can be expected in ti'acing out the connection and line of 
 argument in the last great prophecy of the evangelical 
 prophet. 
 
 The whole twenty-seven chapters (xl.-lxvi.) (as already 
 ■stated, see pp. 11, 12) are divided by the prophet, with re- 
 markable symmetry, into three sections, or books, as Ewald 
 •calls them, by the recurrence of the refrain, " No peace, 
 •saith the Lokd, to the wicked". These books consist of 
 nine chapters each ; and these, again, are subdivided into 
 three parts, consisting of three chapters each, or (to furnish 
 a simpler means of following the classification) each section, 
 or book, is divided into three trilogies, consisting of three 
 ■chapters each : 
 
 Book I. Chaps, xl. to xlii.; xliii. to xlv.; xlvi. to xlviii. 
 Book II. Chaps, xlix to li.; lii. to liv.; Iv. to Ivii. 
 Book III. Chaps. Iviii. to Ix.; Ixi. to Ixiii.; Ixiv. to Ixvi. 
 
 The subjects of this threefold division are stated at the 
 very commencement (xl. 2), showing that the prophet had 
 formed the whole plan of his argument from the first. In 
 order to comfort Jerusalem under the severe judgments 
 impending over her, it is announced that by the course of 
 severe discipline on which she was now entering, beginning 
 with the captivity of Babylon, the great purposes of her 
 calling will finally be accomplished. 
 
 In the prologue, however, which ends with verse 11, the 
 prophet, before proceeding to the proof of each topic of 
 consolation, repeats each in different words, assigning to 
 each three verses, for the purpose of enforcing on Israel the 
 certainty of their fulfilment, yet through no wisdom or 
 
 ^ See the views of Drs. Delitzsch and A. B. Davidson, quoted in 
 pp. 6, 7. 
 
CHAPTEES XL.-LXVI. 15 
 
 power of their own, but solely because "the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoken it" (verse 5) ; because " the word of our 
 God shall stand for ever" (verse 8) ; because "the Lord 
 God [Himself] shall come, and His arm shall rule for Him " 
 (verse 10). " The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and 
 all flesh shall see it together" (verse 5). But " all flesh is 
 grass " (verse 6), weak and perishable, and Israel is no 
 exception. " Surely the people is grass " (verse 7), and can 
 accomplish nothing of itself ; nevertheless, " the word of 
 our God shall stand for ever" (verse 8). 
 
 How exactly the prophet had his whole plan in his mind 
 from the first, and how systematically he carries it out, may 
 be seen from the detailed references we now give. 
 
 I. Beferences to Cyrus in the central trilogy of Book I, 
 (chaps, xliii. to xlv.). 
 
 In chap, xliii. : "For your [Israel's] sake I have sent to 
 Babylon" (verse 14). 
 
 In chap. xliv. : "That saith of Cyrus : He is My shepherd, 
 and shall perform all My pleasure ; even saying of Jerusa- 
 , lem : She shall be built ; and to the temple : Thy foundation 
 shall be laid " (verse 28). 
 
 In chap. xlv. : " Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to 
 Cyrus, I will go before Thee . . . and break in pieces the 
 doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron . . . that 
 thou mayest know that I am the Lord, which call thee hy 
 thy name. I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not 
 known My name. I am the Lord, and there is none else 
 beside Me, there is no God . . . that they [not only Thou, 
 but all the Gentile world (see Ezra i. 1-4)] may know from 
 the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none 
 beside Me (verses 1-7). I have raised him up in righteous- 
 ness ... he shall build My city, and he shall let My 
 exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of 
 Hosts " (verse 13). 
 
16 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 II. Beferences to Messiah in the central trilogy of Book 11. 
 (chaps. Hi. to liv.). 
 
 In chap. lii. : "How beautiful upon the mountains are 
 the feet of him that bringeth good tidings " (comp. xl. 9), 
 " that saith unto Zion : Thy God reigneth " (comp. xl. 9-10). 
 
 In chap. liii. (which should begin with chap. lii. 13 to 
 15, and thus show the connexion of lii. 15 with liii. 1) : He 
 shall sprinkle many nations [as their High Priest] ; kings 
 [of the Gentiles] shall shut their mouths at Him : 
 
 For that which had not been told them, they have seen ; 
 
 And that which they had not heard, they have con- 
 sidered. 
 
 Who [of us Jews] have believed what we heard ? 
 And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? 
 
 III. Beferences to Zion glorified in the central trilogy of 
 Book III. (chaps. Ixi. to Ixiii.) 
 
 In chap. Ixi., the Messiah assures Zion that the Loed 
 [Himself] hath anointed Me to preach glad tidings to the 
 meek, to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of the 
 prison to them that are bound". These are the promises 
 made to Israel in xlii. 7 (cf. verse 22), but for the attainment 
 of which they proved themselves unequal through unbelief, 
 and which, therefore, Messiah, as the true " Servant of the 
 LoBD," takes their place (xlviii. 16) to fulfil, in the first in- 
 stance, that they may be prepared, by entering into His mind 
 and spirit, to follow the example of their Head at a future 
 period (Eom. xi. 15, and 25 to 27). 
 
 In chap. Ixii. : "For Zion's sake will I not hold My 
 peace" (verse 1). "Thou shalt no more be termed For- 
 saken, neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate ; 
 but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah ( = my delight is in 
 her), and thy land Beulah ( = married) ; for the Lobd 
 delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married " (verse 4). 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 17 
 
 With chap. Ixiii. 1-6, the prophecy ends ' with the 
 destruction of Israel's most inveterate enemy, Edom 
 (exactly as in the earher prophecies, chap, xxxiv.), who, in 
 the moment of Israel's lowest depression, had raised the 
 malignant cry : " Ease it, rase it, even to the foundation 
 thereof " (Ps. cxxxvii. 7). 
 
 But how, it will be asked, could our orthodox critics have 
 been so far carried away by the representations of the 
 Naturalistic critics as to imagine that Isaiah could have 
 thought that, with the return from Babylon, all God's 
 purposes with Israel were on the eve of being accomplished ? 
 Perhaps the view propounded by Hitzig furnishes the best 
 representation of the difficulty. His view is that " prophets 
 were bounded like other men by the horizon of their own 
 age : they borrowed the object of their soothsaying from 
 their present, and, excited by the relations of their present, 
 they spoke to their contemporaries of what affected other 
 people's minds or their own, occupying themselves only 
 with that future whose rewards or punishments were likely 
 to reach their contemporaries. For exegesis the position is 
 impregnable that the prophetic writings are to be inter- 
 preted in each case out of the relations belonging to the 
 time of the prophet ; and from this follows as a corollary 
 the critical canon : that that time, those time-relations, out 
 of which a prophetic writer is explained are his time, his 
 time-relations ; to that time he must be referred as the 
 date of his own existence" (Hitzig, pp. 463-468). 
 
 A most ingenious mixture of truth and fallacy is here 
 presented to us, which it is essential to disentangle. The 
 truth w^hich it contains, and under cover of which the 
 fallacy hopes to pass undetected, we have already endorsed. 
 
 1 All that follows (chap. Ixiii. 7 to the close) is a confession of 
 Israel's sin, and a prayer for forgiveness, which the prophet offers 
 lip in their name, with the answer given him by God. Compare 
 Daniel's confession and praj'er for his people in chap, ix., and the 
 answer given him by God. 
 
 2 
 
18 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 that a prophet speaks specially to those of his own time — in 
 other words, that it will be no wiconnected event in the 
 distant future which he is commissioned to reveal, but one 
 which has a distinct and apposite bearing on the immediate 
 occasion w^hich causes him to speak. The fallacy lies in 
 asserting that "prophets were bounded by the horizon of 
 their own age," and that they can " occupy themselves," or 
 others, "only with that future whose rewards or punish- 
 ments were likely to reach their contemporaries ". This asser- 
 tion runs directly counter to what experience had taught to 
 be the general characteristic of prophecy from the earliest 
 down to the latest — namely, that scarcely any great prophecy 
 has been fulfilled in the generation to \vhich it was spoken. 
 Take, for instance, the first prophecy, in Gen. iii. 15. Was 
 the "head" of the serpent "bruised" in the lifetime of 
 Adam and Eve ? Were "all the nations of the earth blessed " 
 before the death of Abraham? In the song attributed to 
 Moses, in Deut. xxxii., we find an explicit prediction that, in 
 consequence of Israel's addiction to idolatry, provoking 
 Jehovah " to jealousy with that w'hich is not God," and by 
 their obstinate resistance to His claims to their individual 
 allegiance, the time would come when He would reject and 
 move them to jealousy with those which are not a people 
 (verse 21), by the adoption of the Gentiles in their stead, as 
 St. Paul explains it. If this canon of prophetic exegesis is 
 to be our rule, our critics have sadly erred in bringing down 
 the date of Deuteronomy only to the age of Josiah. It 
 must have been written in Christian times. Some Christian 
 Jew, living at the time when they " were moved to jealousy," 
 must have been its author, who was desirous of magnifying 
 the prophetic foresight of the great lawgiver of Israel 
 by passing off his own composition as his ! St. Paul, again, 
 in revealing the "mystery" why "blindness in part is 
 happened to Israel," in Eom. xi., where he sketches in 
 prophetic outline the whole course of Israel's history from 
 his own day down to their ultimate conversion and restora- 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 19 
 
 tion again to a place in the kingdom of God, must have 
 known that ages were to elapse before the prophecy he 
 uttered could be fulfilled, since the destruction of their city 
 had not yet taken place, nor their dispersion, which was to 
 continue until " the fulness of the Gentiles be come in " 
 (verse 25), tvhen only the time would come that " all Israel 
 shall be saved" (verse 26). How does the " critical canon " 
 square with such a prophecy, that " to that time must he 
 [the prophet] be referred as the date of his own existence " ? 
 And yet St. Paul was speaking to those of Jiis oivn time, and 
 this prediction of an event in the far-distant future had an 
 immediate bearing on those w^hom he addressed, as his own 
 words testify : " I speak ... if by any means I may pro- 
 voke to jealousy them that are my flesh, and may save 
 some of them " (verses 13, 14, Eev. Ver.). 
 
 The main object of prophecy is not to foretell the future, 
 but to prepare men for entering into the purposes of God in 
 His dealings with them, and in His government of the 
 world. Prophecy, therefore, will ever tend to pass beyond 
 the limits of the immediate future, and to point the thoughts 
 and hopes of the hearers to the final triumph of good over 
 evil, and the complete consummation of God's gracious plan 
 for the redemption of a fallen world. It is to our confining 
 our views too much to the return of the captive Jews from 
 Babylon, as if this were the principal subject of the last 
 twenty -seven chapters of Isaiah, in place of its being a 
 mere preliminary and subordinate topic, that is to be 
 ascribed in great measure, I believe, the failure to compre- 
 hend and interpret aright the grand and far-reaching con- 
 ceptions of the evangelical prophet. 
 
 One of the passages much insisted upon as carrying us 
 far beyond the age of Isaiah, is chapter Ixiv. 10, 11. " Thy 
 holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem 
 a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our 
 fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire ; and all our 
 pleasant things are laid waste." This appears at first sight 
 
20 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 formidable ; to some conclusive. But in the first place, we 
 must remember that Isaiah had already announced to 
 Hezekiah that all was to be carried to Babylon ; and it 
 scarce required any additional inspiration to assure him 
 and others that the first thing a heathen conqueror would 
 do would be to set fire to the hated temple of Jehovah (who 
 claimed Divinity as belonging to Himself alone, and who 
 branded all other gods as pretenders, mere dumb and 
 powerless stocks of wood or graven images), and to lay 
 desolate His land. But further, if it be urged that the 
 words prove that the ruin of temple and city had already 
 taken place, what are we to make of the many other 
 passages that imply the contrary ? The failure in sacrificial 
 service charged on Israel in such a passage as xliii. 23 — 
 
 )" Thou hast not brought Me the small cattle of thy burnt- 
 ofi"erings ; neither hast thou honoured Me with thy sacri- 
 fices" — it is far more natural to refer to a time when such 
 sacrifices could be offered, than to the exile, when the 
 rebuke seems pointless, if there was no temple and no altar 
 where to bring their offerings. The offering of sacrifices 
 appears to be matter of daily observance at the time of the 
 writer, if we are to judge from the words of Ixvi. 3 : " He 
 that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth 
 \ a lamb as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an 
 1 oblation as if he offered swine's blood ; he that burneth 
 ' incense as if he blessed an idol". But if it be possible to 
 explain away these passages as referring to the past, what 
 are we to make of the last clause of verse 20 of this chapter 
 Ixvi., where the future offering to be brought when "they 
 shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord 
 out of all nations" is compared to an offering brought "in 
 a clean vessel into the house of the Lord " ? This seems in 
 all fairness to admit of no other interpretation than that 
 the latter offering is at present, at the date of the author's 
 writing, in the daily habit of being brought into the temple 
 — "as the Children of Israel bring an offering [Hebr., 
 
CHAPTEKS XL.-LXVI. 21 
 
 ' the meal-offering,' ham-niiiichaJi] in a clean vessel into the 
 house of the Lord ". 
 
 If the writer of these chapters lived in Babylonia, how 
 unnatural would it be in him, as even Ewald remarks, to 
 speak of "the northern parts of the Chaldean kingdom,", 
 from which Abraham was called, as " the utmost ends of the ; 
 earth" (chap. xli. 9), and as a "far country" that from which! 
 Cyrus was called " (xlvi. 11)? Where in the alluvial plains 
 of Babylonia are the torrent ^'valleTjs" to be found under 
 the clefts of the rocks (Ivii. 5), or "the smooth stones of the 
 stream " (verse 6), or " the lofty and high mountain " whither 
 the reproach is addressed to Israel, " Thou wentest up to 
 offer sacrifice" (verse 7)? According to Ewald and Bleek, 
 ^' the whole of the discourse " in which these last passages 
 occur (Ivi. 9 down to Ivii. 11) "is a quotation from an older 
 prophet of the time of Manasseh, or soon after," and Pro- 
 fessor Cheyne adds : " The strikingly Palestinian character 
 of the scenery in Ivii. 5-7, and the correspondence of the 
 sins imputed to the people with pre-exilic circumstances, 
 give a strong plausibility to this hypothesis ". Some of the 
 facts, in short, are too stubborn and intractable to accom- 
 modate themselves to our critics' theory of the late date of 
 the prophecy. Mais tant yis i^our les faits. What will in 
 no wise explain away, must be summarily discarded as 
 interpolations. Ewald's list of passages which he denies to 
 have been written by " the Great Unnamed " are xl. 1-2 ; 
 lii. 13 to liv. 12 ; Ivi. 9 to Ivii. 11 ; Iviii. 1 to lix. 20. This, 
 Professor Cheyne considers, " cannot be complained of on 
 the score of excessive [!] analysis "} He has ready an 
 explanation of the source of all these interpolations. "It 
 is becoming more and more certain that the present form, 
 especially of the prophetic Scriptures, is due to a literary 
 class (the so-called soferim, ' scribes ' or ' scripturists '), 
 whose principal function was collecting and supplementing 
 the scattered records of prophetic revelation. This function 
 ^ Prophecies (f Is'tinh, vol. ii., p. 215. 
 
22 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 they performed with rare self-abnegation. . . . They wrote, 
 they recast, they edited, in the same spirit in which a gifted 
 artist of our own day devoted himself to the glory of 
 ' modern painters '." ^ It might have been well if Professor 
 Cheyne had given us his authorities for this new discovery, 
 unknown, as it is, to some of our best Talmudic scholars (as 
 more than one of them have assured me), and directly 
 opposed to what till lately has been the general opinion. 
 To quote only from Dr. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible under 
 Scribes: "They set their faces steadily to maintain the 
 Law and the Prophets, to exclude from all equality with 
 them the ' many books ' of which ' there is no end ' (Eccles. 
 xii. 12) ". " They would write nothing of their own, lest less 
 worthy words should be raised to a level with those of the 
 oracles of God." ^ It will require overwhelming evidence to 
 render it credible that the divinely inspired words of the 
 prophets, so deeply reverenced by the Jews, were tampered 
 with in this free and easy manner by a set of scribes, for 
 all and each of whom, too, Professor Cheyne claims Divine 
 inspiration ! A strange inspiration truly, which left the 
 original communications so imperfect and faulty as to call 
 for correction by a succession of inspired Eevisers to supple- 
 ment and alter them, and who, after all, so marred and 
 bungled the work that our advanced Higher Critics must 
 prescribe to all of them what they ought to have written ! 
 
 We cannot but entertain the hope that a scholarly critic 
 like Professor Cheyne, who has already shown his inde- 
 pendence of judgment in casting aside, in his later work on 
 Isaiah, several of the views in which he had too servilely 
 followed Ewald in his earlier volume on Isaiah, and who 
 evinces so much candour and love of truth, will be led to 
 see the necessity, for the sake of younger students, of 
 discountenancing a licence of imagination, which gives free 
 scope to the fancy of each individual, and which can never 
 attain to any conclusion that will satisfy others. The ex- 
 ^ Pro2)hecies of Isaiah, p. 214. - Taken from Jost's Judenthum- 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 23 
 
 positor disqualifies himself for coming to any sound and 
 satisfactory result, who starts with the idea " that it is 
 possible that it may some day become an approximate 
 certainty that the latter part of II. Isaiah was once much 
 shorter, and that the author, or one of the soferim, enlarged 
 it by the insertion of passages from other prophets, intro- 
 ducing, at the same time, an artificial semblance of unity 
 by the insertion of a slightly altered version of the gnomic 
 saying in xlviii. 22, as a refrain in Ivii. 21 " } The first 
 postulate, in forming a theory that will stand the test, is to 
 accept of all the facts as we find them ; and then only can 
 we flatter ourselves that we have reached the true solution 
 when we have accounted for the ivhole of the data, or ele- 
 ments of the problem. 
 
 But before proceeding even yet to try to follow out the 
 line of argument traced by the prophet, it may be of advan- 
 tage to the reader to be warned of some of the false views 
 which have misled our best modern interpreters, as well as 
 of some points which, if not borne in mind^ are apt to create 
 difficulty to the ordinary reader. 
 
 1. It is evident that if this prophecy is all the work of 
 one author, the standpoint which he takes up, and which 
 he wishes his readers to take up, will not be always the 
 same, but will vary with the object that he desires to place 
 before his readers at the time. One main object, undoubt- 
 edly, was to convince Israel of their great sin in their 
 inveterate propensity to idolatry, and of the certainty of 
 the severe sentence that had gone forth from the Lord of 
 their being driven from their land, and subjected to the 
 oppression of idolatrous Babylon, in order that they might 
 see and feel the loathsomeness of idolatry, and be taught 
 by this experience to abhor and renounce it. To impress 
 this vividly on their minds, the prophet's most usual stand- 
 point will be the soil of Babylon itself. His aim will be to 
 throw himself and his readers in medias res, as if the captivity 
 ^ Cheyne's Isaiah, vol. ii., p. 217. 
 
24 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 were already present, and, as Dr. Delitzsch expresses it, to 
 make himself and them " lead a pneumatic life among the 
 exiles".^ This, accordingly, is the standpoint which the 
 prophet takes up in the first chapter of the opening trilogy 
 (xl. to xlii.), where Israel, now regarded as in the midst of 
 their idolatrous oppressors, is ready to despond at the thought 
 of their inability to withstand the greater temptation, as it 
 might seem to them, to follow the idolatrous practices around 
 them, and is on the point of giving over the effort in despair 
 (xl. 27). But the prophet is not necessarily to be confined 
 to one standpoint, but will vary it according to his subject. 
 
 2. Another difficulty which a Western reader is likely at 
 first to find is that of entering into the meaning of the 
 figurative language common to all Oriental poets, accustomed 
 as we are to interpret literally, and of mere material things, 
 the images used by the prophets in order to shadow forth 
 higher and spiritual truths. Thus, in the very first verses 
 of these twenty-seven chapters, " The voice of one crying in 
 the widerness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make 
 straight in the desert a highway for our God ; every 
 valley," &c., the commentators generally interpret " the 
 wilderness " of the Syrian desert through which the Israel- 
 ites had to pass in returning to Palestine.^ The figure, 
 indeed, is probably taken from the desert through which 
 the Israelites had to pass on their first coming up from 
 Egypt. But where, as we before remarked, page 21, are 
 there to be found in the Syrian desert mountains to be 
 levelled, valleys to be filled up ? A very little comparison 
 with Isaiah's language would have shown that the desert 
 meant a moral wilderness, and that the state of Israel and 
 condition of Zion was what the prophet desired to place 
 before the eyes of the hearers (c/. chap. li. 3): " The Lord 
 hath comforted Zion : He hath comforted all her waste 
 
 1 Delitzsch's Israel, vol. ii., p. 138. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 
 - See Dr. Adam Clarke's laboured attempt to prove that the 
 Syrian desert was meant. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 25 
 
 places ; and He hath made her wilderness like Eden, and 
 her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy and gladness shall 
 be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody". 
 When the Lord commands (chap. xl. 3), "Prepare ye the 
 way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for 
 our God,'' they were no mere material mountains that 
 Israel had to level, or valleys to raise up, in order that the 
 Lord might return to His Zion. The obstructions that they 
 had to help in removing in the way of the Lord's return to 
 Zion were the lofty mountains of pride they had to bring 
 down and all that exalted itself against their God ; everything 
 that was mean and debased had to be raised up, the crooked 
 to be made straight: in short, as the figurative expressions of 
 the prophet : " Prepare ye the way of the Lord," that the 
 King may return to His people, were translated into plain 
 prose by John the Baptist: " Eepent [prepare ye the way of 
 the Lord by a change of heart] , for the kingdom of God is 
 at hand ". 
 
 3. Another common mistake necessary to be corrected is 
 confounding Zion with the people of Israel, as meaning 
 sometimes the whole mass of Israel ; at others, the better or 
 believing portion. Zion, as Dr. Hengstenberg has shown, 
 never means the exiled Zionites, or mere inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, but is always the ideal site of God's holy city, 
 or the mother of His children. This error has been cor- 
 rected in the Eevised Version, as will be seen in examining 
 chap. xl. 9, where Jerusalem, who had been wandering as a 
 desolate widow, around God's Holy Temple, is represented 
 as being called upon to go up and announce the coming of 
 the Lord on Mount Zion.^ 
 
 ^ Zion evidently is regarded as now " in the latter days (chap, 
 ii. 2) established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above 
 the hills " : when " all nations shall flow into it. And many peoples 
 shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the 
 Lord. ... for oiat of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of 
 the Lord from Jerusalem" : N.B. — "Zion" must not be con- 
 founded with " Mount Zion," the latter being always the Temple 
 Mount (Moriah). 
 
26 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Keeping these preliminary observations in view, the 
 reader, it is hoped, will now be prepared to follow the con- 
 solatory arguments and proofs which the prophet places 
 before Israel, that God will make the difficulties and severe 
 sufferings, of which they are so much afraid, the very means 
 of learning three great lessons necessary in order to fulfil the 
 missioii for which they were chosen by God ; namely, to be 
 a "kingdom of priests unto the Lokd — a holy nation" 
 (Exod. xix. 6). 
 
 These three lessons or objects were, as we have already 
 seen : 
 
 I. They had to " accomplish a warfare '' against idolatry ; 
 
 II. They had to " accept of the punishment of their 
 iniquity " ; 
 
 III. They had to receive double for all their sins. 
 
 To each of these objects, successively, in the first trilogy 
 (xl. 12 to xlii.), a separate chapter is devoted : To the first, 
 chap. xl. 12-31 ; to the second, chap. xli. ; to the third, 
 chap. xlii. ; ^ and in each the argument is taken from regard 
 to God's prescient wisdom, and predisposing _2^o«'e?" displayed 
 in His character or works : 
 
 In the 1st (chap. xl. 12-31) — as the Author of Creation. 
 
 In the 2nd (chap, xli.) — as the Author of Providence. 
 
 In the 3rd (chap, xlii.) — as the Author of Eedemption. 
 
 The necessity for clearing away the numerous misleading 
 prepossessions with which the rationalistic critics have suc- 
 ceeded in mystifying the minds of even our best orthodox 
 interpreters must be our excuse for the length of these pre- 
 liminary observations. And now that it is hoped the Bibli- 
 cal student may be, in some degree, prepared for following, 
 without prejudice, the course of the argument, as stated by 
 the prophet, let us inquire what is the import of each of the 
 three topics of consolation which he places before his 
 countrymen. 
 
 1 Besides the fuller exposition of each in the central trilogy of 
 each of the three Books : xliii. to xlv. ; Hi. to liv. ; Ixi. to Ixiii. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 27 
 
 I. The first and indispensable purpose of God's disci- 
 plinary training for Israel, before any further progress 
 could be made, is that their jj^^^^ tsav'd, "warfare" must be 
 "accomplished". This word has generally been interpreted 
 to mean nothing more than the " long period of hardship," 
 or the " hard service," which Israel was to endure at Baby- 
 lon. This is very far from expressing the true meaning of 
 the term. It forms, as we might expect, the keynote of the 
 whole prophecy, comprehending the whole work and mission 
 of Israel, as the "sei-vant of the Loed". What, then, is the 
 meaning of the word ? On turning to the first three 
 chapters of the Book of Numbers, we find that it is applied 
 to military service, or the service which Israel as " God's 
 soldier," or champion {Gesenius' Lexicon) has to render to 
 Him as His w^arriors in conquering the idolatrous Canaan- 
 ites, and taking possession of their land which He had 
 promised to Abraham and his seed for their inheritance. 
 (See Numb. i. 20, 22-24, &c., "all that were able to go 
 forth to war [service]". Cf. Numb. xxxi. 14; Josh. xxii. 12; 
 and 1 Sam. xxviii. 1.) 
 
 But in Numb. iv. 23 : " All that enter in to iccdt iipon the 
 service, to do the work in the tent of meeting " ; and in viii. 
 25, the same words, both verb and noun, are applied to the 
 tahernacle-SQVv\Q,e. 
 
 The service, therefore, which Israel has to render to 
 Jehovah was a double service. First, a ivar-%exwice, to 
 fight the battles of the Lokd, a warfare against idols, 
 idolatry, and idolators, and all the enemies of Jehovah, as 
 their King ; and secondly, a tabernacle-service, paying ever 
 the worship due to Him as their God. 
 
 But both of these, it will be observed, are exactly the 
 service and calling prescribed to Israel from their first 
 establishment as a people (Exod. xix. 6) : " Ye shall be 
 unto Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation," a kingdom and 
 nation, themselves giving entire submission to Jehovah as 
 their King, and leading all others into submission to Him ; 
 
28 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, 
 
 "priests and holy," ministering in holiness unto the Lord, and 
 persuading others to join in His service ; for the promise to 
 their forefather Abraham was : "In thy seed all the nations 
 of the earth shall be blessed ". 
 
 Such was the double " service " which Israel was called to 
 render to Jehovah; — hence so often styled the " servant of 
 the Lord" (xH. 8, 9; xlii. 19 ; xliii. 10; xliv. 1, 2, 21, &c.). 
 
 II. The second topic of comfort is that Israel accept of 
 the punishment of her iniquity. 
 
 To ascertain the meaning of this expression we have to 
 turn to Levit. xxvi. 41-43, the only other passage in which 
 it occurs, and from which it is evidently taken. There, as 
 here in Isaiah, in view of the severe judgments denounced 
 against the sin of Israel, a hope of their reversal is held out, 
 and the condition is stated on which it would be granted : 
 " If their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then 
 accept of the punishment of their iniquity " ^ (Levit. xxvi. 41, 
 and verse 43 is to the same effect). The view which this 
 gives us of the expression, as employed in Isaiah, makes it 
 
 ^ That 'CivOn (Heb. "lii^) has the meaning of " punishment of 
 
 iniquity " (as rendered in both the Authorized and Eevised Versions), 
 or, more correctly, " penalty due to iniquity," whether paid or not, 
 " guilt-debt " or " indebtedness " (Germ. ISchuld), we gather from 
 its first occiirrence in the Bible in Gen. iv. 13, where it is much 
 more in accordance with Cain's frame of mind to translate as in 
 both versions : " My punishment is greater than I can bear," than 
 in the margin : "Mine iniquity is greater than can be forgiven" ; as 
 indeed his own words in verse 14 (arising more from fear of con- 
 sequences, than from true repentance) prove. 
 
 The usual meaning of 71)^'^ rc'dsdh, when employed as here in 
 
 X T 
 
 reference to sin, is to accept an offering or sacrifice as a compensa- 
 tion for it ; as in Levit. i. 4 : " And it [the burnt-offering] shall be 
 accepted for him, to make atonement for him ". See Levit. vii. 18 ; 
 xxii. 23, 25, 27 ; Micah vi. 7 : " Will the Lord he pleased with thou- 
 sands of rams '? " Gf. Malachi i. 10. In Levit. xxvi. 41, 43, the 
 meaning therefore is : " If they then accept of their penalty as the 
 jiTst compensation for their iniquity ". And even the other use of 
 it in verse 43, "The land shall enjoy her Sabbaths," is but another 
 instance of the same figure = the land shall accept of her Sabbaths, 
 by lying desolate as a compensation for those withheld from her. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVr. 29 
 
 include more than what is generally assigned to it. The 
 acceptance of the punishment is usually explained exclu- 
 sively of God, whereas in Leviticus it is clearly an act 
 required also of Israel. The manifest reference to Leviticus 
 determines this to be the leading thought, though as in the 
 first topic the double meaning is, I believe, designed by the 
 prophet, since both are most distinctly brought out in chap, 
 liii., the central chapter of the central trilogy of the second 
 book, the purport of which is to expand and illustrate this 
 the second or central topic of consolation. The meaning 
 therefore of the expression, "That the punishment of her 
 iniquity is accepted," is that it is accepted by both parties 
 as a fit compensation, first by God, as an adequate atone- 
 ment paid by the Messiah, who, on Israel's refusing to take 
 this second step (after being six times called upon to "hear" 
 [or "hearken"], in chap, xlviii. 1, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16), at last 
 comes forward and takes Israel's place as the Lord's servant 
 in verse 6, with the words : " x\nd now the Lord God hath 
 sent me and His Spirit ". 
 
 This, it will be evident, makes a much more severe de- 
 mand on the part of Israel than the first service. To 
 accomplish the warfare against idolatry called more for 
 an intellectual than moral effort, as is evident from the 
 case of the Mahomedans. But to " accept of the punish- 
 ment of iniquity " as the justly merited compensation for 
 our sin, requires a humbling acknowledgment and confes- 
 sion of our guilt, against which the pride of human nature 
 revolts, and which, as we shall afterwards see, Israel refused 
 to make till it had first been rendered and exemplified by 
 Messiah's taking their place (chap, xlviii. 16) as the servant 
 of the Lord, and submitting voluntarily (chap. liii. 7) to the 
 Lord's " laying upon Him the punishment of the iniquity of 
 us all " (liii. 6). Then, and then only, through the strength 
 given to us by the Saviour, can the members of Christ's 
 Israel accept of this difficult part of their required service. 
 
 III. The third purpose of God's disciplinary training 
 
30 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 for Israel is '' that she hath received double for all 
 her sins ". 
 
 This, like the other two topics of comfort, would seem to 
 have a twofold application. If we compare Jeremiah xvi. 
 18, speaking of the restoration of Israel after their captivity, 
 God says : " And first I will recompense [the punishment 
 of] their iniquity and their sin double" (c/. xvii. 18). To under- 
 stand the justice and the consolatory import of this announce- 
 ment, we must remember that sin is double— (1) because it 
 leaves God's will undone; and (2) because of the actual 
 wrongdoing; and therefore under the law "for every 
 matter of trespass" a man had to "pay double unto his 
 neighbour" (Exod. xxii. 9), Compare Jeremiah ii. 13: 
 " My people have committed two evils : they have forsaken 
 Me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewn out for 
 themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water ". 
 There can be no feeling of true peace, till the claims, on both 
 sides, of justice and mercy are adjusted. In this view the 
 " receiving double " must be consenting to it as duly merited 
 and paid, so that thus the sinner, by the double experience 
 in suffering, may be prepared and made meet for receiving 
 double recompense in blessing (Isaiah Ixi. 7).^ See Zechariah 
 ix. 12 : " Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope, 
 even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto 
 thee ". 
 
 The distinction between " accepting of the punishment of 
 iniquity " and " receiving double for sin " will be seen at 
 once by reference to 2 Sam. xii. 1-14. Immediately on 
 David's "accepting the punishment of his iniquity," and 
 penitently confessing, " I have sinned against the Lord," 
 Nathan was commissioned to say, " The Lord also hath 
 put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die " (verse 13). But this 
 
 ^ Compare for these double meanings, of which Isaiah is so fond 
 (" Janus-words," as Prof. Chej'ne aptly calls them in Isaiah ix. 24), 
 Hhear-jashub, Isaiah x. 21, 22. This forms another proof of the 
 identity of the authorship of the earlier and the later prophecies 
 of Isaiah. 
 
CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 31 
 
 by no means exempts the penitent from " receiving double 
 for all his sins ". More than one reason may account for 
 this. The deepening the penitent's own sense of the evil of 
 sin may require such disciplinary training. ' ' Because thou 
 hast despised the word of the Loed, to do the evil thing in 
 His sight, ^ therefore the sword shall never depart from 
 thine house" (verses 9-10). But besides the infliction may 
 be required as a salutary warning and example to oljhers to 
 refrain from sin. " Howbeit, because by this deed thou 
 hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to 
 blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall 
 surely die" (verse 14). 
 
 In order to counteract the fears which even the better 
 part of Israel w^ould entertain (what can any efforts of ours 
 avail against the famed wisdom of the Chaldeans and 
 the idolatrous ])oicer of Babylon's world-empire?), the 
 prophet sets before them the infinite superiority of 
 Jehovah, as Creator, possessed of all prescient wisdom 
 to devise, and all predisposing iMiver to accomplish the 
 promised deliverance and blessings and to impart these 
 gifts to His servants. The arrangement of chap. xl. is 
 as follows. 
 
 Verses 12-31 of chap. xl. are divided by the refrain in 
 verses 18 and 25, "To whom then will ye liken God?" kc, 
 into three strophes of six verses each, which again are 
 each subdivided into three verses relating, the first three 
 to loisdom, and the second three to poiver. Placed first 
 and last as the principal subject, strophe i. (verses 12-17), 
 and strophe iii. (verses 26-31), set forth Jehovah's wisdom 
 and power as Creator; while the want of these, the folly 
 and 230werlessness of idols and idol worshippers, occupies 
 the more obscure position in the intermediate strophe 
 (verses 19-24). 
 
 1 For the exact meaning of this expression, see my remarks on 
 Psalm li. in Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, pp. 123 to 127. 
 
32 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 I. 
 
 WJio can compare with God in Knowledge ? 
 XL. 12. "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, 
 And meted out heaven with the span, 
 And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, 
 And weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a 
 balance ? 
 
 13. Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, 
 Or being His counsellor, hath taught Him ? 
 
 14. "With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him 
 And taught Him in the path of judgment, 
 
 And taught Him knowledge, 
 And showed to Him the way of understanding ? 
 IFho call compare ivith Him in Power '? 
 
 15. Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, 
 And are counted as the small diist of the balance ; 
 Behold, He taketh iip the isles a^a very little thing. 
 
 16. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, 
 
 Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a bm'nt-offermg. 
 
 17. All the nations are as nothing before Him : 
 
 They are counted to Him less than nothing and vanity. 
 
 18. To whom then will ye liken God ? 
 
 Or what likeness will ye compare imto Him ? 
 
 II. 
 
 Is it to the knowledge of the idol-maker you look as so formidable ? 
 
 19. The graven image, a workman melted it, 
 And the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold 
 And casteth for it silver chains. 
 
 20. He that is too impoverished for sxich an oblation 
 Chooseth a tree that will not rot ; 
 
 He seeketh unto him a ciuming workman 
 
 To set up a graven image, that shall not be inoved. 
 
 21. Have ye^ not kno%vn ? Have ye not heard ? 
 
 Have ye not imderstood from the f omidations of the earth ? 
 Or to the idolators' vain power ? 
 
 22. It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, 
 And the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers ; 
 That stretcheth oiit the heavens as a cm-tain, 
 And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in ; 
 
 1 i.e. even ye Gentiles. Compare in contrast with this : " Hast 
 thou not known ? " (verse 28), addressed to Israel. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 33 
 
 23. That bringeth princes to nothing ; 
 
 He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 
 
 24. Yea, thej' have not been planted ; 
 Yea, the}' have not been sown ; 
 
 Yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth ; 
 
 And, moreover. He bloweth upon them and they witlier, 
 
 And the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. 
 
 25. To whom then will ye liken Me, 
 
 That I should be equal to him ? saith the Holy One. 
 
 III. 
 
 C'a7i His knowledge /«»7 who numhers the countless hosts of heaven ? 
 
 26. Lift up yom* eyes on high. 
 
 And see who hath created these, 
 
 That bringeth out their host by number : 
 
 He calleth them all by name : 
 
 By the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong 
 
 in power, 
 Not one is lacking. 
 
 27. Why sayest thou, Jacob, 
 And speakest, Israel, 
 
 My way is hid from Jehovah, 
 
 And my judgment is passed away from my God ? 
 
 28. Hast thou not known ? Hast thou not heard '? 
 An everlasting God is Jehovah, 
 
 Creator of the ends of the earth. ^ 
 He fainteth not, neither is weary ; 
 There is no searching of His understanding. 
 Or His power be iusufficient to aid the weak ? 
 
 29. He giveth power to the faint ; 
 
 Aiid to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. 
 
 30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, 
 And the young men shall utterly fall ; 
 
 31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 
 strength ; 
 They shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
 They shall run and not be weary ; 
 They shaU walk and not faint. 
 
 1 Professor Cheyne's rendering is much preferable to that of the 
 Revised Version. "Note the accumulation of Divine Titles — 'so 
 many shields against despair'" (Hengstenberg) . 
 
 3 
 
34 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 CHAPTEE XLI. 
 
 Ill chap. xli. we have a most graphically described scene, 
 the beauty and unity of which have been most unfortunately 
 spoiled by the mistaken interpretation put upon verses 5 to 7 
 by almost all the commentators. The chapter begins with 
 the challenge which Jehovah addresses to the "islands" 
 and "peoples" with their idols to a contest, to determine 
 " Who has a right to the title of Deity? " — by showing who 
 alone possesses the prescient himolcdge to predict, and the 
 predisposing 'poicer to bring to pass an event in the far 
 remote future. We are to suppose Jehovah and Israel on 
 the one side, and the "islands" and "peoples" with their 
 idols assembling together on the other. Jehovah takes the 
 initiative and addresses them : 
 
 1. Keep silence before Me, Islands ; 
 
 And let the peoples renew their strength : ^ 
 Let them come near ; then let them speak : 
 Let lis draw near together to judgment. 
 
 Jehovah then announces His purpose of raising up a great 
 king and conqueror, to whom He is to give the commission 
 and power to deliver His people from the idolatrous oppres- 
 sion of Babylon. 
 
 ^In derisive contrast to the last verse (31st of chap, xl.), "They 
 that wait upon Jehovah shall renew their strength " [through 
 Him]. Jehovah here calls upon the peoples to "renew their 
 strength" themselves, nay, to strengthen their helpless idols, 
 which, so far from aiding them, need themselves to be " fastened 
 with nails that they should not be moved " (verse 7). Turning next 
 to the idols themselves, the challenge is given, " Declare the things 
 that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods ; 
 yea, do good, or do evil". Finally, once more (to clinch the 
 matter), the Lord repeats again His own claims, and His 
 challenge to His opponents ; and when neither word nor act 
 foUows, He dismisses their pretensions with ineffable scorn : 
 " Behold, aU of them, their works are vanity and nought ; their 
 molten images are wind and confusion ". 
 
CHAPTEE XLI. 35 
 
 2. AVho hath raised up one from the East, 
 Whom He calleth in righteousness to His foot ? 
 Hk giveth nations before him, 
 
 He maketh him rule over kings ; 
 
 He giveth them as the dust to his sword, 
 
 As the driven stubble to his bow. 
 
 3. He pursueth them, and passeth on safely. 
 
 Even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. 
 
 4. Who hath wrought and done it, 
 
 Calhng the generations from the beginning ? 
 
 I — Jehovah — the first, 
 
 And with the last — I am He. 
 
 5. The islands looked — and fear ; 
 The ends of the earth tremble ; 
 They dr<tw near, and have come. 
 
 6. They help ever^-one his neighbour, 
 And each saith to his brother,^ Be strong. 
 
 7. So the cai'penter streinithenecl the goldsmith, 
 And he that smootheth with the hammer 
 Him that smiteth the anvil, 
 
 Saying of the soldering, It is good : 
 
 And he strengthened it with nails that it should not be moved. 
 
 In these three verses the prophet describes the conster- 
 nation which seized on the islanders from their incapacity 
 to answer Jehovah's challenge, for themselves, and their 
 speechless and powerless idols, and, how in their helpless- 
 ness they set to encourage each the other, and to tinker 
 and solder up each one his idol, and to fasten it with nails 
 that it should not be moved " (verses 6, 7). 
 
 Meanwhile, to give them some little time for their pre- 
 parations, Jehovah turns round to Israel, and the first 
 strophe ends with assuring them that in all circumstances 
 
 ■^ The Revisers here depart from the Masoretic pmictuation. I 
 adhere to it as the more graphic, and, in my opinion, more correct. 
 
 In place of their rendering of p\^ chasdq, "Be of good coiurage," I 
 substitute "Be strong," as preserving more exactly the evident 
 play upon the word, which is three times repeated (twice in verse 
 7, and once in verse 9) ; besides, as will afterwards be seen, its 
 allusion to Hezekiah's name = "The strength of Jehovah". 
 
36 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 He will be with them to fit them and endow them with 
 strength for accomplishing the pm^poses for which He 
 originally called them as His servants and chosen people. 
 He therefore calls upon them in strophe ii. : "Fear not". 
 If their enemies are at "war" with them, and ready to 
 overpower them, He will confound all their efforts, and 
 make them as " a thing of nought" (10-13); or even give 
 them power to "thresh them as chaff" (14-16). 
 
 8. But thou, Israel, art My servant, 
 The seed of Abraham My friend ; 
 
 9. Whom I have strongly hrouglW- from the ends o£ the earth, 
 And from the corners thereof have called thee, 
 
 And said unto thee, Thou art My servant, 
 I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 
 
 II. 
 
 10. Fear not, for I am with thee ; 
 
 Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. 
 I have strengthened thee ; yea, I have helped thee ; 
 Yea, I have upheld thee with the right hand of my righteovis- 
 ness ; 
 
 11. Behold, they shall be ashamed and confomided, all they that 
 
 are incensed against thee ; 
 They shall be as nothing and perish, they that strive with thee ; 
 
 12. Thou shalt seek them, and not find them, even them that 
 
 contend with thee ; 
 They shall be as nothmg and as a thmg of nought, they that 
 war against thee. 
 
 13. For I, Jehovah, thy God, will strongly hold - thy right hand ; 
 I that say unto thee. Fear not ; I have helped thee. 
 
 14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye men of Israel ; 
 I have helped thee, saith Jehovah, 
 
 And thy Kedeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 15. Behold, I have made thee a threshing mstrmnent. 
 Sharpened, new, with pointed teeth. 
 
 Thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small ; 
 And shalt make the hills as chaflf. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 37 
 
 16. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, 
 And the whirlwmd shall scatter them ; 
 
 And thou shalt rejoice m Jehovah, 
 
 Thou shalt glory m the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 Again, if the Lord's purpose in the training of His people 
 should oblige Him to bring them low, and to withdraw from 
 them for a time His sustaining and refreshing presence, so 
 that "poor and needy they seek water, and there is none, and 
 their tongue faileth for thirst " ; still the Lokd will hear and 
 answer the unspoken cry of their hearts, and " will not 
 forsake them," but " will make the wilderness a pool of 
 water," and plant in the desert trees for shade and refresh- 
 m.ent, that they may " see the hand of Jehovah therein," and 
 that " the Holy One of Israel hath created it". 
 
 17. The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. 
 And their tongue faileth for thirst ; 
 
 I, Jehovah, will answer them, 
 
 I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 
 
 18. I will open rivers on the bare heights, 
 And fountains in the midst of the valleys : 
 I will make the wilderness a pool of water, 
 And the dry land springs of water. 
 
 19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia tree, 
 The myrtle, and the oil tree ; 
 
 I will set in the desert the fir tree. 
 The pine, and the box tree together, 
 
 20. That they may see, and know, 
 
 And consider, and understand together, 
 That the hand of Jehovah hath done this, 
 And the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 
 
 And now Jehovah turns round again to the idolators with 
 their idols, and calls upon them : 
 
 III. 
 
 21. Produce your cause, saith Jehovah, 
 
 Bring forth your strong ones [now surely sufficiently 
 strengthened], saith the King of Jacob. 
 
38 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 22. Let them bring forth and declare unto us 
 The things that shall come to pass ; 
 
 The foremost things^ what they be, do ye declare, 
 
 23. That we may consider them, and know their issues ; 
 Or the things that are coming give us to hear. 
 Show us the things to come after them, 
 
 That we may know that ye are gods : 
 Yea, do good, or do evil, 
 
 Thab we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 
 34. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought : 
 An abomination is he that chooseth you. 
 
 Once more, therefore, to clinch the matter conclusively, 
 Jehovah repeats the prophecy on the fulfilment of which He 
 stakes His claim to exclusive Deity ; and, when not a word 
 or movement is ventured in reply by the idolators or their 
 idols, He dismisses their pretensions with ineffable scorn. 
 
 25. I HAVE RAISED UP ONE FROM THE EaST, AND HE IS COME ; 
 
 From the rising of the sun he shall call upon My name; 
 And he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, 
 And as the potter treadeth clay. 
 
 26. Who hath declared it from the beginning that we may know, 
 And bef oretime, that we may say, He is right : 
 
 Yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that 
 
 showeth, 
 Yea, there is none that heareth your words. 
 
 1 Not former predictions which the idolators pretended had been 
 fulfilled— this would have led to interminable controversies — but, 
 as Dr. Delitzsch and Prof. Cheyne both agree, "the more im- 
 mediate future, which is not so difficult to prognosticate from signs 
 that are discernible in the present,'" or "the things which are to 
 take place before certain other events ('the things that are to 
 come hereafter,' verse 23), in other words, the near as opposed to 
 the distant future".- Jehovah, in short, gives the idolators the 
 choice of predicting events in the neai'er future "that we may 
 consider them, and know the latter end of them " [their fulfilment]; 
 or " declare ye the things that are to come hereafter that we may 
 know that ye are gods " ; i.e., a series of events in succession as 
 had been done in His name in chap. xl. 2, of three successive 
 series, to be fulfilled with a long interval of time between each. 
 
 iDr. Delitzsch, Prophecies of Isaiah, vol. ii., p. 168. T. & T. Clark, 
 Edin. 
 
 - Prof. Cheyne, Prophecies of Isaiah, vol. ii., p. 254. 2nd Edition. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 39 
 
 27. I first 1 say to Zion, Behold, behold them, 
 
 And I give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings : 
 
 28. And I look, and there is no man, 
 
 Even among them, and there is no counsellor, 
 That, when I ask of them, can answer a word. 
 Behold all of them, vanity and nought are their works ; 
 Their molten images are wind and confusion. 
 
 The contest begun in chapter xH. between Jehovah and 
 the idolators with their idols is one unbroken scene, still 
 continued in chapter xlii. When, therefore, Jehovah turned 
 round in xlii. 1 with the address — 
 
 Behold My servant whom I iiphold ; 
 
 M}^ chosen in whom my soul delighteth ; 
 
 I have put My Spirit upon him ; 
 
 He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, &c. — 
 it is most forced and unnatural not to refer these words 
 as spoken of Israel, and to explain them as exclusively- 
 applicable to the Messiah, as is done by Dr. Delitzsch and 
 all the orthodox interpreters. It is surely altogether 
 pr-emature to bring in the Messiah before the necessity for 
 His intervention is proved needful, by Israel's declining to 
 take the second step — nay, before the first stage has been 
 completed. 
 
 The first and most indispensable step of all is to produce 
 in Israel's mind the conviction and confession of the supreme 
 and sole Deity of Jehovah, and the nothingness of idols. 
 This conviction and the entire renunciation of idolatry were, 
 we know, effected by their seeing so exactly fulfilled the 
 prophecy concerning Cyrus, and the restoration, through 
 him, of their city and temple. But, for this purpose, the 
 prophecy must not only have been uttered, but familiarly 
 known to all, ages before there could have been the 
 slightest surmise of the birth and appearance of such a 
 conqueror. To impress, therefore, on his readers the 
 certainty of the judgments impending on his countrymen 
 
 1 "I first," that is, before it takes place : compare "beforetime," 
 verse 26 : and " before it came to pass," xlviii. 5. 
 
40 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 which Isaiah had been commissioned to foretell, and, at the 
 same time, of the deliverance that was to be vouchsafed to 
 them, the prophet, "rapt into futm-e times," naturally throws 
 himself and his readers into the times of the captivity as if 
 already present, and "leads a pneumatic life" (as Dr. 
 Delitzsch expresses it) among the exiles ; and only occa- 
 sionally reverts to the present time, while they were still in 
 Palestine, as in chap. Ivii. 
 
 But it was then, and then only, when they saw that all 
 Jehovah's predictions, in chap, xli., were ficlfilled, that these 
 results followed, or could be expected to follow. 
 
 The strange misunderstanding into which Dr. Delitzsch 
 and modern commentators generally have fallen in the 
 interpretation they put upon chap. xli. 5-7, extends its 
 confusing influence to all the rest of their views. Instead 
 of seeing in these verses the continuance of the prophet's 
 description of the contest to which Jehovah had challenged 
 " the islands and peoples," in chap. xli. 1, and the conster- 
 nation into which they were thrown as to what reply they 
 were to make for themselves and their idols, the critics 
 spring over nearly a century and a half at once, and explain 
 the consternation as that which seized the nations at the 
 dreaded approach of Cyrus, some 141 years later.^ 
 
 ^ When, in chap. xli. 1, Jehovah prefers His challenge, " Keep 
 silence before Me, O islands," surely the islands are the same as 
 those whose consternation the prophet describes in verse 5 : " The 
 islands looked . . . and fear ". In verse 1 they were invited to 
 "draw near together to judgment " ; and now, in verse 5 it is said 
 they " drew near, and came ". 
 
 Soixie coimtenance seems to be given to the misunderstandiag 
 into which some have fallen by the undue fondness of the transla- 
 tors of the Authorised Version for varying the rendering of the 
 same Hebrew Avords (still retained by the Revisers), as here 
 "islands," in verse 1, is changed into "isles," though the Hebrew 
 word Q''''i^ is the same in both cases ; and " let us come near 
 together to judgment," in verse 1, is altered to they drew near, in 
 verse 5, where the Hebrew verb in both cases is 2,^p- To add to 
 the confusion, a different verb in Hebrew (tlj^j) is rendered " let 
 them come near ". 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 41 
 
 All continuity of argument and consistency would be 
 taken out of these twenty-seven chapters if the author 
 were, as is contended, one who lived and wrote a few years 
 before the end of the Babylonish captivity. Prof. Cheyne 
 has placed this in a very clear light. " It was," says he, 
 " towards the end of the Babylonish exile, when the 
 victories gained by Cyrus over the Medes and Lydians had 
 begun to excite the expectations of the Jewish patriots 
 [that] another eloquent herald of the advent of the liberator 
 composed and circulated a prophecy. We may, perhaps, 
 venture to fix his date approximately B.C. 546, seven or 
 eight years before the edict of Cyrus." ^ That is, this 
 "Great Unnamed" sat down deliberately to turn into a 
 prophecy [!] what was the common talk and expectation of 
 his countrymen, and thus to prove himself either a fool, or 
 a forger who wished to pass off his lucubrations as an 
 ancient prophecy which he had somewhere discovered. 
 Such seems to be the dilemma in which the much-vaunted 
 discovery of the " Higher Criticism " lands its advocates, 
 and from which we can see no possible escape. 
 
 The High Ideal Eequiked of Israel calls foe atten- 
 tion HEKE. 
 
 The naturalistic critics have taken the correct view of the 
 connexion and interpretation of chap, xlii., which has been 
 altogether mistaken by the orthodox critics, who interpret 
 its words as referring exclusively to the Messiah. This is 
 to bring Him in prematurely. Before Israel could, with any 
 propriety or justice, be called upon to take the second, and 
 far more difficult, step of confessing and " accepting the 
 punishment of their iniquity" as duly merited, the proof 
 must first have been furnished of Jehovah's exclusive title 
 to be adored and obeyed as the alone living and true God, 
 by the fulfilment of the prediction about Cyrus, and which 
 
 ^ Book (if Is'iiuh chronoh cjicftlly arraiic/cd. 
 
42 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 could be furnished only at the close of Book I., when the 
 call was addressed to Israel, " Go ye forth of Babylon, flee 
 ye from the Chaldeans " (xlviii. 20)— a call, too, to which 
 but few responded. The true view to be taken of this 
 passage (xlii. 1-8) is that it sets before Israel the high ideal 
 after which they must be ever striving. This, it is true, is 
 coincident with the perfect image of all holiness and 
 obedience to God's will, which the Messiah alone has ever 
 attained ; but this by no means justifies the inference that 
 the description here • given is intended to apply to the 
 Messiah. Dr. Delitzsch, indeed, gives indications that he 
 cannot rest in this conclusion in the case before us by his 
 introducing here the figure under w4iich he conceives the 
 " Servant of Jehovah " is variously presented to us, " as- 
 suming," to speak figuratively, " the form of a pyramid," of 
 which ' ' the base was Israel as a whole ; the central section 
 was that Israel which was not merely Israel according to 
 the flesh, but according to the Spirit also ; [while] the apex 
 is the Mediator of Salvation, springing out of Israel "} 
 The defect here lies in his referring the description of chap. 
 xlii. 1-7, to the third of these — the Messiah — in place of to 
 the second — Israel in its highest ideal. 
 
 The important teaching, too, of chap, xlii., which is 
 equally incumbent on the Church noiu and in all ages, 
 is entirely lost by the orthodox commentators in their 
 interpreting its w^ords of the Messiah. Once the conviction 
 is wrought of the supreme and sole Godhead of Jehovah, 
 the high ideal placed before the believer in chap. xlii. 1-8 
 must become his continual aim after which he is ever 
 striving. Every expression, it will be seen, applies to 
 Israel,- to whom the Lord, immediately after dismissing, at 
 the close of chap, xli., the idolators and their idols with the 
 contempt they merited, turns round and directs attention in 
 the words that follow : " Behold My servant whom I vphold, 
 
 1 Delitzsch's Prophecies of Isaiah, vol. ii., p. 174. T. & T. Clark, 
 Edin. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 43 
 
 My chosen" (xlii. 1), which are the expressions that the 
 prophet had before used of Israel ; compai-e xH. 8. " But 
 thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen. 
 I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteous- 
 ness " (verse 10). 
 
 Again, as it is said in xlii. 1, " I have put My Spirit upon 
 him," so it is said of Israel, " I will pour My Spirit upon 
 thy seed " (xliv. 3). 
 
 But, above all, the identity of the expressions in xli. 5 
 with those that precede proves that the persons spoken of 
 are one and the same, and that there is no ground for the 
 change of time from the contest to which Jehovah had 
 challenged the " islands and peoples " in Israel's time, to a 
 different set of islands and peoples in the time of Cyrus, or 
 for the acrobatic feat by which the critics leap over a 
 century and a half at one spring.' 
 
 The meek and gentle character of God's servant, as 
 described in the verses which follow (xlii. 2, 3), " He shall 
 not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the 
 streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the 
 smoking flax shall he not quench," is exactly the character 
 required of every servant of the Lord, as stated by 
 St. Paul in 2 Tim. ii. 24 : " The Lobd's servant must 
 not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, for- 
 bearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose them- 
 selves ". 
 
 The expressions, on which Dr. Delitzsch relies as requir- 
 ing us to explain these verses of the Messiah alone, by no 
 means bear out his conclusions. In verse 6 it is said, " I 
 will give thee for a people's covenant, for a light of the 
 nations". Dr. Delitzsch argues that people (Di^) and 
 nations (D^l^), when standing side by side as they do here, 
 can only mean Israel and the Gentiles. The very first 
 chapter of Isaiah refutes this, where both expressions 
 
 ^ See p. 40, and footnote. 
 
44 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 are applied to Israel in verse 4 : " Ah, sinful nation (I'^jj) , 
 
 a people (U^) laden with iniquity".^ 
 
 If the prophet had meant to refer to Israel alone, as 
 opposed to the Gentiles, he must, if he wished to be under- 
 stood, have used the article " a covenant for the people ".^ 
 This was the more necessary, since he had just before, in 
 verse 5, used the word with the article to express people in 
 general. "He that giveth breath unto the people upon it" 
 (the earth). To say that "the people" (Qj;n) ^^"^ J^^* 
 been used in the generic sense of all the people upon the 
 
 earth, and that " people " (o^) without the article so imme- 
 diately following was used to express a definite people, 
 seems to be in utter violation of the principles of grammar 
 and language.^ 
 
 The reference made by Delitzsch and others to chap, 
 xlix. 6, and particularly 8, in confirmation of their conten- 
 tion, that these verses (xlii. 1-8) must be interpreted of the 
 Messiah, loses all point when it is seen that there we have 
 passed on from the fii'st book, in which Cyeus was the lead- 
 ing character, to the second book, in which the Messiah 
 forms the central figure, and who, now that Israel had 
 refused to advance to the second step required, and to 
 " hearken " to the reiterated invitations of the Lokd (six 
 times repeated in chap, xlviii.), has taken their place as the 
 " Servant of the Lord" (xlviii. 16, and xlix. 3). 
 
 The strophical arrangement of chap. xlii. is three times 
 eight verses, each being divided again into four and four. 
 
 ^ Dr. Delitzsch himself, in commenting on Ixv. 1, 2, makes the 
 two words interchangeable, and applies them to one and the 
 same people (erroneously, I think), and quotes Iv. 4, 5, in confir- 
 mation. 
 
 2 The expression must have been Q^^pf n^"^3, /. 
 
 '•^ That the Jews applied this passage to their own nation seems 
 to follow from St. Paul's words in Eom. ii. 17 : " Behold thou art 
 called a Jew, and restest in the law, and art confident that thou 
 thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in dark- 
 ness ". Compare Isaiah xlii. 19. 
 
CHAPTEE XLII. 45 
 
 But the first two eight verses are united by a central verse 
 (9). This makes each eight verses end with Jehovah's 
 " pledging His name and honour that the work of the ser- 
 vant of Jehovah will be carried into effect," since the Lord's 
 jealousy for His own honour cannot suffer it longer to be 
 shared with idols. " I am the Ijord ; that is My name ; 
 and My glory will I not give to another ; neither My praise 
 unto graven images " (verse 8) ; and again (verse 17 ) : 
 " They shall be turned back ; they shall be greatly ashamed 
 that trust in graven images ". 
 
 As Dr. Delitzsch remarks : " First the overthrow of ido- 
 latry, then the restoration of Israel and the conversion of 
 the Gentiles ; this is the double work which is already in 
 progress (verse 9). ' Behold the former [first] things are 
 come to pass [the rise of Cyrus, &c.], and new things do I 
 declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.' The 
 new things which Jehovah now foretells before their visible 
 development (xliii. 19), are the restoration of Israel, for 
 which the defeat of the oppressors prepares the way, and 
 the conversion of the heathen, to which an impulse is given 
 by the fact that God thus glorifies Himself in His people." ^ 
 
 The predicted fulfilment of these new things which 
 Jehovah is to bring to pass through the mediation of His 
 servant Israel calls for a "new song" (verses 10-17), ending 
 with the confusion of all " that trust in graven images ". 
 
 But now, in verse 18, turning from the ideal future of the 
 great things which He is to accomplish through the media- 
 tion of Israel to the actual state of His servant, whose 
 destination is to be the " messenger" whom He is to send 
 to awaken and enlighten others, the Lord calls upon them 
 to arouse themselves from this wretched state of deafness, 
 blindness, and incompetency. " Hear, ye deaf, and look, 
 ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind but My servant ? 
 or deaf as My messenger that I send? Who is blind as 
 he that is at peace with Me, and blind as the servant of 
 ^ Delitzsch's Proijhecies of Isuiuh, vol. ii., p. 181. 
 
46 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Jehovah ? Thou hast seen many things, but thou observest 
 not : opening ears [of others], and he heareth not [himself]." 
 The rendering in the Eevised Version, "his ears are open" is 
 scarcely defensible grammatically,^ but it is opposed to the 
 express words of chap, xlviii. 8 : " Yea from of old thine ear 
 was not opened " ; and to the distinctly contrasted allusion, 
 which in consequence of Israel's " turning away backward," 
 and refusing to " listen " to the six times repeated invitation 
 of the LoED to "hearken" (xlviii. 1-16), the Messiah, after 
 taking Israel's place as the " Servant of the Lord (verse 16), 
 makes to their disobedience in chap. 1. 5 : " The Lord 
 Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, 
 neither turned away backward". 
 
 The connection of verse 21 is also difficult. I follow the 
 rendering of the Authorized Version, as seemingly more 
 agreeable to the context than that of Delitzsch, Cheyne, 
 and the Eevised Version. The meaning seems to be that, 
 however much the blindness and deafness of Israel might 
 seem to stand in the way of the fulfilment of the Lord's 
 purposes, yet He is pleased ^ to magnify His law and make 
 it honourable for the sake of His own righteousness, first 
 indeed through the Messiah, but finally through the media- 
 tion of Israel, that He will not abandon them wholly to the 
 blindness and hardness of their own hearts, but will even- 
 tually make them the instruments of accomplishing all His 
 gracious purposes for themselves and for the world. Com- 
 pare Eom. xi. 25-27. 
 
 But it is still more important to observe the light which 
 the expressions employed in what follows in verses 22 to 
 25 (and which without doubt apply to Israel, and not to the 
 
 1 Even the meaning intended by the orthodox critics can with 
 difficulty be defended — that Israel lend their ear indeed to the 
 mere teaching of the word, but obey it not. " They have ears, but 
 
 hear not " (Jer. v. 21 ; Ezek. xii. 7). The Qal of 'Hp^ is always 
 transitive. 
 
 - The perfect Y^H' being a stative verb, means either is, or was, 
 pleased. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 47 
 
 Messiah) throw back upon the precedmg context (verses 6 
 and 8, and verses 18 to 21) as proving that all refer to the 
 same subject, Israel, and not to the Messiah. The words 
 in verse 22, " But this is a people robbed and spoiled : they 
 are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison 
 houses," lose almost all point (for who could expect other 
 treatment to hated exiles and captives from their ruthless, 
 idolatrous oppressors ?) till we view them in connexion with 
 the mighty promises of superior power, and conquest, and 
 enlightenment, which they on the contrary are to exert over 
 the idolatrous heathen, among whom they have been sent 
 "to open their blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from 
 the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the 
 prison house " (verse 7) ; while " Jehovah [Himself] shall 
 go forth as a mighty man, and do mightily against His [and 
 His people's] enemies (verses 13, 14). Israel is indeed "for 
 a prey, and none delivereth : for a spoil, and none saith, 
 Eestore" (verses 22, 23). But was this due to the superior 
 might of their idolatrous enemies? "Who gave Jacob for 
 a spoil, and Israel to the robbers ? Did not Jehovah ? He 
 against whom we have sinned ? . . . Therefore He poured 
 upon him the fury of His anger . . . and it set him on fire 
 round about, yet he knew not ; and it burned him, yet he laid 
 it not to heart " (verses 24, 25). 
 
 Chap, xliii : "But now" — and here we come to the 
 central trilogy of Book I., where the same power of the 
 Lord, which subjected Israel to Babylon for the chastise- 
 ment of their disobedience and giving way to idolatry, will 
 " redeem " them (verse 1), and finally bring back Israel from 
 all their dispersions. " Now," saith Jehovah, " I will bring 
 thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west : I 
 will say to the north, Give up ; and to the south, Keep not 
 back . . . everyone that is called by My name, and whom 
 I have created for my glory [Gentiles as well as Jews], I 
 have formed him, I have made him " (verses 5-7). 
 
 And here the prophet, by a fine figure, as if the final 
 
48 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 result had been already reached, brings before his readers 
 an assemblage of the peoples of all nations, on whom he 
 calls to see and acknowledge the incontrovertible proof of 
 Jehovah's prescient wisdom and predisposing potoer, and 
 consequent exclusive title to Divinity, as displayed in the 
 wonderful change He has wrought on Israel: "He hath 
 brought forth ^ a people, blind, and [now] they have eyes ; 
 and deaf, and they have ears. All the nations are gathered ^ 
 together — and let the peoples be assembled. Who among 
 them could declare this, and make us hear former things '? "- 
 Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified ; 
 or let them hear [My witnesses] , and say. It is truth. Ye 
 [Israel] are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and My servant 
 whom I have chosen (c/. xlii. 1), that ye may know and 
 believe Me, and understand that I am He ; before Me there 
 w^as no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, 
 even I, am Jehovah ; and beside Me there is no Saviour " 
 (verses 8 to 11). 
 
 The central figure of the central trilogy (xliii. to xlv.) of 
 Book I. is, of course, as shown in page 15, Cykus as being 
 the chief Actor, through whose instrumentality the great 
 change was effected in Israel's mind. It was, by the exact 
 fulfilment of his appearance at the time predicted to deliver 
 Israel from the power of Babylon, and to restore their city 
 and temple, that the indelible conviction was so inwrought 
 into the mind of Israel of the wickedness and folly of 
 idolatry, that an utter abhorrence of it ever since was pro- 
 
 ^ The Versions and critics in the most arbitrary way assert that, 
 in verse 8, the perfect t^^^jiri is anomalously used for the impera- 
 tive i^i^in and the 3rd pers. pliu'. Perf. Niphal ^IJ^p^ for the 
 
 2nd pers. plur. Imperative, as if there was aught to prevent the 
 writer, had such been his meaning, from expressing himself 
 intelligibly by using the regular forms. And these anomahes they 
 defend by adducing one or two instances equally precarious and 
 luiauthorized. 
 
 - See footnote 1, page 38. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 49 
 
 duced, and the consequent belief of Jehovah's exclusive title 
 to Divinity established, as the alone living and true God. 
 
 The argument by which this great change in the mind of 
 Israel was brought about will be seen by the following 
 analysis of the three chapters (xliii. to xlv.), as indicated by 
 their strophical arrangement : — 
 
 CHAPTEE XLIII. 
 
 Consists of 4 strophes, of 7 verses each. 
 
 Verses 
 1-7. Israel, though suffering imder God's anger, shall not be 
 utterly " burned " and consumed, but as being " created 
 and formed " (verse 1-7) for the glory of Jehovah, they 
 shall be " redeemed " (verse 1), and their " seed " multi- 
 plied and brought back from a universal dispersion, from 
 " east, and west, and north, and south " (verses 5 and 6) ; 
 8-14. And though " blind and deaf," shall receive " eyes and 
 ears " (verse 8), and be " brought forth " as " witnesses "' 
 (verse 10 and 12) to the " assembled peoples " (verse 9), 
 that " I, even I, am Jehovah, and beside Me there is no 
 Saviour" (verse 11) ; as proved by " My sending to Baby- 
 lon and bringing down all of them as fugitives, even the 
 Chaldeans, in the ships of their shouting " ^ (verse 14). 
 
 15-21. Yes — this will I do, as being Jehovah, your Redeemer, " the 
 Holy One of Israel ■' (verse 15) ; working a " new" andmore 
 wondrous thing than " the former things of old," when 
 " a path was made in the mighty waters " of the Eed 
 Sea for the deliverance of " My people, My chosen, the 
 people which I formed for Myself," even causing " waters 
 to spring up in the wilderness . . . that they might 
 set forth My praise ". 
 
 22-28. All this will I do, though thou hast been weary of Me, O 
 Israel, and though I have not wearied thee with demands 
 of "offerings," but "thou hast wearied Me with thine 
 iniquities," yet " I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy 
 
 1 TIT) {rinndh, shouting) is a " Janus-word," as Professor Cheyne 
 styles it, with the double meaning — ships, which they rejoiced in 
 either as their defence, or with cries of terroi- fled to as fugitives. 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 transgressions for Mine own sake ". From thj^ first 
 parentage thou transgressedst against Me, and wilt still 
 force Me to " profane the princes of the sanctuary," and 
 to " make Jacob a curse, and Israel a reviling ". 
 
 CHAPTEE XLIV. 
 
 The strophical arrangement forms an Introverted Parallel- 
 ism,^ consisting of three strophes, 8 (5 + 3) - 12 - 8 (3 + 5) : 
 
 ts o 
 
 CD V2 
 
 o 
 
 CD 
 
 c3 
 
 Verses 
 ■ 1-5. 
 
 6-8. 
 
 ^' f 9-11. 
 
 '^ ^ a 
 
 
 
 12-14. 
 15-17. 
 
 18-20. 
 
 Yet now hear, O Jacob, My servant : Israel, 
 whom I have chosen " {cf. xli. 2), what I will 
 do for the advancement of My glory in "help- 
 ing thee" (verse 2), and "helping" and 
 multiplying " thine offspring ". 
 
 For I am the a\l-knoicing and sll-2Miverful God, 
 " beside whom there is no God " (verses 
 6 and 8). 
 
 Against whom, what can idolators, with their 
 senseless and powerless idols, prevail ? 
 
 Which are man's o\vn work, 
 
 Nay, made of the very wood which he em- 
 ploys for the most trivial uses. 
 
 And yet their worshippers cannot see their 
 folly and delusion in trusting to them ! 
 
 Q r?. ■ 
 
 O =2 
 
 21-23. 
 
 24-28. 
 
 Let Israel " remember " that he is My servant 
 (verse. 21), " formed and redeemed by Me (22 
 and 23), and in whom I will glorify Myself ". 
 
 The fulfilment of this greater redemption being 
 pledged by the fulfilment of the lesser. 
 
 ^ Bishop Jebb's definition of the Introverted Parallelism is : — 
 " There are stanzas so constructed that, whatever be the number 
 of lines, the first line [or lines] shall be parallel with the last ; 
 the second with the penultimate ; and so throughout in an 
 order that looks mward, or, to borrow a military phrase, from 
 flanks to centre". For exenn-ples, see my Symmetricul Structure of 
 Scripture, pp. 35 to 45, or Studies in the Book of Psalms, pp. 89 to 93. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 51 
 
 CHAPTEE XLV. 
 
 Consists of three strophes, the first and last of eight verses 
 (subdivided into 4 f 4), and the central strophe of nine 
 verses (9 to 17) ; forming three addresses, the first to Cyrus, 
 the second to Israel, and the third to the Gentiles. 
 
 1. The great object of the address to Cyrus (verses 1-8) is 
 to impress upon him, that it was He, the God of Israel, 
 who, " for Jacob, My servant's sake, and Israel, Mine 
 elect," chose him as their deliverer, " that thou mayest 
 know " (and others, through thee, verse 8) — and confess, by 
 the decree published to his whole empire (Ezra i. 1-4) — 
 "that I am the Lord, which call thee hy thy name, even 
 the God of Israel '' (verse 3). " I am the Lord, and there is 
 none else ; and beside Me there is no God " (verse 5). 
 
 2. The address to Israel (verse 9 to 17) begins with ex- 
 postulation against their Jonah-like national jealousy and 
 murmuring at the favour shown by Jehovah to a Gentile 
 prince in selecting him as the deliverer of His people from 
 Babylon. "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! 
 A potsherd among the potsherds of the earth ! Shall the 
 clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou ? or 
 thy work. Thou hast no hands ? Woe unto him that saith 
 unto a father, What begettest thou ? or to a woman, With 
 what travailest thou ? Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One 
 of Israel, and his Maker, Ask of Me the things that are to 
 come [and I will give you the needed information, but] ; 
 concerning My sons, and the work of My hands, will ye 
 command Me ? " (cf. verses 9 and 12).^ 
 
 3. In the address to the Gentiles (verses 18 to 25), the 
 Lord contrasts the folly and powerlessness of idolators 
 
 ^ Dr. Delitzsch's rendering, " Let My sons, and the work of My 
 hands be committed to Me, is inadmissible. '^^^l^iT' is Active, not 
 Passive ; and Future, not Imperative. The' Eevised Version, 
 " Command ye me," is right in Voice, but wrong in Tense. 
 
52 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 who "have no knowledge, and carry the wood of their graven 
 image, and pray unto a god that cannot save," with the hght 
 and revelation He had given unto Israel, so that they 
 might "not seek Me in vain''; and He calls upon the 
 Gentiles, " Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of 
 the earth ; for I am God, and there is none else. By My- 
 self have I sworn that unto Me every knee shall bow, every 
 tongue shall swear" (verses 22, 23). "Only in Jehovah, 
 shall one say unto Me, is righteousness and strength ; even 
 to Him shall men come, and all they that were incensed 
 against Him shall be ashamed. In Jehovah shall all the 
 seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory " (24, 25). 
 
 It has been objected that foretelling a person by name, 
 ages before his birth, is unexampled in prophecy. It is so, 
 with the exception of another instance, in the case of the 
 Northern kingdom (as here of Judah), where it was equally 
 important to give so definite a proof of Divine prescience 
 that it could be attributed to none but to that God, " known 
 unto whom are all His works from the beginning of the 
 world " (Acts XV. 18). At the founding of the Northern 
 kingdom, when Jeroboam, in order to keep his subjects 
 from returning to the altar appointed by God at Jerusalem, 
 was offering incense on an idolatrous altar which he had 
 erected at Bethel, it was denounced to him more than 350 
 years before its fulfilment, that a child should be born to 
 the house of David, Josiah by name, who should " offer the 
 priests of the high places that burned incense upon it " 
 (c/. 1 Kings xii. 31 to xiii. 10, with the fulfilment, 2 
 Kings xxiii. 15 to 20). 
 
 So far from any objection lying against the truth and 
 authenticity of the prophecy from the name of Cyrus being 
 foretold so long before his appearance, on the contrary, it 
 is evident from the prophet's repeated insistence on this 
 particular — "I am the Lokd who call thee by name" 
 (verse 3); "For Jacob, My servant's sake, I have called thee 
 by thy name ; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not 
 
CHAPTER XLVI. 53 
 
 known Me " (verse 4) — that he considers its correctness, 
 when verified by the fulfilment, will form the strongest and 
 most unanswerable proof of the Divine inspiration of his 
 prediction. A writer, living in the age of Cyrus, would 
 never have used these expressions. 
 
 The third trilogy (chaj)s. xlvi. to xlviii.) of Book I. repre- 
 sents the first topic of consolation, ' ' the accomplishment 
 of Israel's warfare " against idolatry as drawing near to its 
 conclusion by the fulfilment of the promised deliverance 
 from Babylon through Cyrus. It consists, therefore, of a 
 series of repeated calls on Israel, now that the conviction 
 has been wrought of Jehovah's exclusive title to Deity, to 
 " hearken" (xlvi. 3, 12), to " hear " (xlviii. 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 16), 
 to " remember " (xlvi. 8, 9), and to yield entire submission 
 to the Lord's further teaching and guidance, so as to 
 advance to the next stage, and " accept of the punishment 
 of their iniquity " (xl. 2), as justly merited. To all these 
 earnest entreaties Israel turns a deaf ear ; and, as we shall 
 see more fully in the strophical analysis of chap, xlviii., 
 compels the Messiah to step forward, and to offer Himself 
 in their place, as the " servant of the Lobd,'' to do His 
 holy will. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 Its strophical arrangement is (2 + 2 + 2) - 1 - (2 + 2 + 2). 
 In other terms, it consists of two strophes of 6 verses, or 
 triplets of two verses each, arranged around a common 
 centre (verse 7). 
 
 Verses 
 
 1-6. " Bel, Nebo," the gods of Babylon, are themselves " carried '' 
 away, while " ye, O house of Jacob, have been carried 
 from the womb by Me, and even to hoar hairs will I 
 carry you. To whom then will ye liken Me ? " To a 
 god " made of gold and silver " ? 
 7. "Whom his worshippers " carry and set in his place," from 
 which he cannot " remove," much less " answer the cry '' 
 of another, or " save him out of his trouble " ? 
 
54 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Verses 
 8-13. " Eemember this, and show yovirselves men." " Remem- 
 ber the former thmgs of old : for I am God, and there 
 is none else . . . declaring the end from the beginning 
 . . . calling a ravenous bird [Cyrus] from the East, the 
 man of My comisel from a far coimtry. . . . Hearken un- 
 to Me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness : I 
 bring near My righteousness . . . and I will place sal- 
 vation in Zion for Israel ISlj glory." 
 
 CHAPTEE XLVII. 
 
 The strophical arrangement is 7 - 1 - 7 ; i.e., two 
 strophes, each of 7 verses, arranged around a common 
 centre, verse 8. But each strophe of 7 verses follows the 
 usual division of 7, being subdivided into 3 + 1 -f 3. 
 
 Verses 
 
 1-7. In the first three verses the Lord pronounces the doom 
 and humiliation of the " virgin daughter of Babylon," 
 because of her treatment of Israel ; in the last three 
 He states the reason, because " thou didst show them 
 no mercy " (verse 6), and didst not recognise My hand, 
 as being thine and their Maker and Lord ''. 
 In the central verse (4), the believing part of Israel ac- 
 knowledge the sovereignty;' and grace of the Lord as the 
 " Redeemer ". 
 9-15. " Thine enchantments and the multitude of thy sorceries 
 — the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosti- 
 cators " — shall not "profit" thee, nor " save thee from 
 the things that shall come upon thee " 
 
 CHAPTEE XLVIII. 
 
 Now it is, in this last chapter of Book I., that the pro- 
 phet sums up the argument of all the former chapters, 
 urging now, for the tenth time, the proof given of Jehovah's 
 Divine foreknowledge and power, in announcing, ages 
 before the birth of Cyrus, His intention of raising up a 
 
CHAPTER XL VIII. 55 
 
 great conqueror for Israel's deliverance, and specifying his 
 very name — but yet as only a preliminary step, to prepare 
 them for taking the next and far more difficult step, to 
 " accept of the punishment of their iniquity " (xl. 2), i.e., of 
 death as the due wages of their sin. This, indeed, was a 
 severe test for their faith to stand, but it was exactly that 
 which their father Abraham had exemplified before them, 
 ■vvho was called upon to sacrifice his beloved son, on whose 
 life depended the fulfilment of all God's promises to him, 
 and who yet staggered not through unbelief, but left it to 
 God to reconcile seeming impossibilities. So Israel is 
 called upon confidingly to yield themselves to God's teach- 
 ing and guidance, now that "the first, or former things," 
 are supposed as having been realized and actually come to 
 pass, and to learn " the new things " which He is to reveal 
 t'b them, and for the accomplishment of which, and the 
 spirit in which they are to perform the part required of 
 them. He had promised to " pour His Spirit upon their 
 seed " (xliv. 3). 
 
 Its 22 verses form 2 strophes of 11 verses each, as is 
 evident from each strophe beginning with " Hear ye this, 
 house of Jacob" (verse 1) ; " Hearken unto Me, O Jacob " 
 (verse 12). Each strophe is again subdivided into 5 (or 
 2 + 3) - 3 - 3. 
 
 Verses 
 
 1-B. "Hear ye this," ye who falsely call yourselves the 
 people of God. 
 " I have declared the former (first, or foremost) 
 things " ^ as to Cyrus, " and they have come to pass." 
 
 4-5. " Because I knew that thou art obstinate," and " lest thou 
 shouldst say, Mine idol hath done them." 
 
 6-8. And now that all the former things predicted have been 
 accomplished, that Cyrus has come, that " Bel has bowed 
 down, and Nebo stooped" (chap, xlvi.), and a paean of 
 triumph has been sung over the " daughter of Babylon " 
 brought down to " sit on the ground " (chap, xlvii.), 
 
 ^ See footnote, p. 48. 
 
56 THE SEBVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Verses 
 
 I have to declare things far more wonderful — altogether 
 " new, even hidden things, created now and not from of 
 old ; and before this daj^ thou heardest them not " ^ 
 — referring to what is afterwards disclosed as to the 
 Messiah in chap. 1. 4-9 and chap. lii. 13 to liii. 1-12 — 
 " though I knew thou wouldest not listen '". 
 9-11. " For My name's sake [alone] will I refrain for thee, that I 
 cut thee not off. Behold I have refined thee [prophetic 
 Perfect for Future], but not [so severely, Prof. Cheyne] as 
 silver " [in which there are some grams of pure metal]. 
 
 Once more, in the second section of the chapter, begin- 
 ning with verse 12, the Lord urges upon Israel : 
 
 " Hearken mito Me, O Jacob, 
 And Israel, My called " ; 
 
 and in order, if possible, to avert the rejection of the great 
 mass of Israel, He recounts how exactly had been fulfilled 
 all that had been foretold about Cyrus :— " Jehovah hath 
 loved him ; he shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and 
 his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have 
 spoken ; yea, I have called him ; I have brought him, and 
 he shall make his way prosperous." 
 
 Again the Lord addresses His final entreaty to them : 
 
 " Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this. 
 From the beginning I have not spoken in secret ; 
 From the time that it was there am I." 
 
 And noiv it is, after these repeated calls on Israel to 
 "hear," that the Messiah at length, impatient at the 
 persevering "deafness" of the "Messenger that God 
 sends" (xlii. 19), is made to start forth from the side of the 
 
 ^ From the prophet's dwelling so much on the vorelty of the 
 revelations about to be made, we are led to conclude that the 
 meek, uncomplaining, voluntary spirit of submission with which 
 Messiah, as the Lamb of God, yielded Himself to the sufferings 
 laid upon Him for man's salvation, dawned upon his mind as a new 
 revelation, when meditating upon the problem, insoluble to 
 human reason — " How could sinful man and God's righteousness 
 and truth be reconciled ? " 
 
CHAPTEE XLVIII. 57 
 
 Lord, " in the shadow of whose hand he had been hid " 
 hitherto (xhx. 2), and to exclaim : 
 
 " And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me and His 
 Spirit "^ 
 The Book ends with a pathetic lament of Jehovah, or, as 
 some may prefer, of the Messiah, over the obstinate hard- 
 ness of Israel's heart : " Oh that thou hadst hearkened to 
 My commandments ! then had thy peace been as a river, 
 and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea". ("Thy 
 seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy 
 bowels like the grains thereof ; his name should not be cut 
 off nor destroyed from before Me.") But " there is no 
 peace, saith Jehovah, unto the wicked" (verse 22). Never- 
 theless, ye, the small remnant that will hear, " Go ye forth 
 of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans ; with a voice of 
 singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the 
 earth ; say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed His servant Jacob. 
 And they thirsted not when He led them through the 
 deserts ; He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for 
 them ; He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out." - 
 
 1 Dr. Kay (Speaker's Commentary) holds that the rendering of the 
 Authorized Version is the correct one— " And now the Lord God 
 and His Spirit hath sent me " — and that the other rendering, as in 
 
 the Revised Version, would require the Hebrew text to be, 
 
 iniTnt^l ^nib^. True, had the meaning been, " The Lord 
 
 Jehovah hath sent me, and sent His Spirit also ". But the 1 here 
 
 is the 'I of " companionship, Mitschaft, lit. with-slii}}, as the Arabs 
 call it (Dr. Delitzsch, in loco). 
 
 That this is the correct rendering, equivalent to " the Lord 
 Jehovah hath sent me with His Spirit," is confirmed b^' compari- 
 son with Ixi. 1, where the Messiah, in like manner, says of Him- 
 self, " The Spirit of the Lord God is iqwn me, because He hath 
 sent me to bind up the broken-hearted," &c. 
 
 - The blessings which God's grace will pour into the hearts of 
 all time believers among the Israelites that fled from the polluting 
 idolatries of Babj'lon, in Israel, are here represented under figures 
 borrowed from the provision He made of old for His people in the 
 desert. 
 
BOOK 11. (XLIX.-LVII.). 
 
 With Book I., as Ewald justly remarks, passes away all 
 mention of Babylon and Cyrus, of whom nothing more is 
 heard. Chapters lii. 11 and Ixii. 10-12 have been ex- 
 plained as referring still to the deliverance from Babylon, 
 but both passages counsel quite a different departure from 
 that of old from Egypt, to which that from Babylon is 
 likened : " Go ye forth of Babylon, flee yc from the Chal- 
 deans " (xlviii. 20). It is a leisurely, deliberate separation 
 that Israel is called upon to make : " Depart ye, depart ye, 
 go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing, for ye shall 
 not go out ill haste, neither shall ye go by flight ; for the 
 Lord will go before you ; and the God of Israel will be 
 your rereward" (lii. 11). 
 
 So in Ixii. 10-12 : " Go through, go through the gates : 
 prepare ye the way of the people. Behold the Lokd hath 
 proclaimed unto the end of the earth. Say ye unto the 
 daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh ; behold 
 His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him 
 \i.e., what was promised in xl. 10 is now to be fulfilled]. 
 And they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of 
 the Lord." Both of these passages, therefore, refer to a far 
 more distant future than the departure from Babylon. 
 
 The subject of the first trilogy (chap. xlix. to li. 23) is,, 
 first, the Consolation of Zion under her despondency on 
 account of the rejection of the great mass of her Israelitish 
 children (xlix. 1-13) ; and, secondly, Eeproof of her despond- 
 ency (chap. xlix. 14 to li. 23), since the Lord is guiding all 
 things to the final fulfilment of all His promises to Israel. 
 
 The division of the chapters of the trilogy in our common 
 Bibles requires correction. Chapter xlix. should extend to 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 1-13. 59 
 
 1. 3, the three first verses of which chapter still continue 
 the reproof of Zion's despondency. The whole trilogy is 
 thus seen to consist of three sections — a, b, c. I. a, xlix. 
 to 1. 3. II. h, 1. 4 to li. 8. III. c, H. 9 to 23. 
 
 a. 
 
 The first section {a, chap. xlix. 1 to 1. 3) has for its 
 subject, first, the Consolation ; and, second, the Eeproof 
 of Zion, on account of her despondency. It consists of four 
 strophes ; the two first (verses 1-13), of 6 verses each (1 to 6 
 and 8 to 13), with verse 7 as their centre, containing the 
 Consolation of Zion ; and the two last (verse 14 to 1. 3), of 
 8 verses each (xlix. 14 to 21, and 22 to 1. 3), containing 
 the Eeproof of Zion, on account of her despondency. 
 
 1. Consolation of Zion under her despondency, by the 
 Messiali (verses 1-13). 
 
 In order to " comfort " (verse 13) Zion in her despondency 
 at the loss of the great mass of her Israelitish children, in 
 the first strophe (1 to 6), Messiah, who is the speaker (with 
 the exception of the central verse 7, interjected by the 
 prophet), gives her, in the first half of the strophe (verses 
 1-3), the consoling assurance of other children w^hom he has 
 been commissioned by the Lord to invite to Zion, principally 
 Gentiles : " Listen unto me, O Islands, and hearken, ye 
 peoples, from far" — and whom, in the next half of the 
 strophe (verses 4-6), the Lord, he says, gave to him on his 
 complaint that he had " laboured in vain," and that "Israel '" 
 refused to be "gathered,^ that thou mayst be my salvation to 
 the end of the earth " (verses 1-6). 
 
 1 The subject of this great prophecy is, on the whole, consolatory, 
 as is indicated by the three-fold repetition in its first veise (xl. 1): 
 " Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith the Lord ; &peah ye cvm- 
 fortahly to Jerusalem ". It is noteworthy, however, that the verb 
 " comfort " is never again repeated till the mtroduction of the 
 Messiah in Book II., when first it is said : " The Lord hath com- 
 forted Zion; He hath comforted all her waste places" (li. 3 and 
 lii. 9). 
 
 Regarding the reading, " and yet Israel is not gathered," see the 
 remarks in the strophical arrangement. 
 
60 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 In strophe second (verses 8-13) Messiah dwells on the 
 fulness and certainty of the promise of children whom the 
 Lord had given him to bring to Zion : "In an acceptable 
 time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I 
 helped thee ; and I will give thee for a covenant of the 
 people, to make them inherit the desolate heritages. Lo, 
 these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north, 
 and from the west : and these from the land of Sinim "• — • 
 the whole strophe ending with a song of praise,^ " Sing, 
 heavens, and be joyful, earth ; break forth into singing, 
 O mountains : for the Lord hath comforted ^ His people, and 
 will have compassion on His afflicted " (verses 8-13). 
 
 The two halves of the first strophe (vei'ses 1-13) are 
 linked together by the common antithetical centre, verse 7 : 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord, 
 The Eedeemer of Israel, His Holy One, 
 To Him whom man deapiseth. 
 To Him whom the nation abhorreth. 
 To a servant of rnlers ; 
 
 Kings shall see and arise. 
 
 Princes, and they shall worship ; 
 Because of the Lord that is faithful, 
 The Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee " (xlix. 7). 
 
 These words of Jehovah, Dr. Delitzsch remarks, " are 
 appended as an independent address ". It would be more 
 correct to say that they form the connecting centre of the 
 first two strophes — a characteristic feature in Parallelism, 
 which has not yet received from critics the attention which 
 it deserves. 
 
 ^ Compare song in chap. xliv. 23. 
 
 - It will be observed that, by the division of the chapters given 
 above, as pointed out by the strophes, the first two chapters of 
 Book II. begin with an address of the Messiah ; and in h the first 
 strophe (1. 9) and the last (li. 8) end with nearly the same words 
 — " The moth shall eat them up " — showing that this is the cor- 
 rect division of the chapters. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 14-26. 61 
 
 2. Eeproof of Zion, for her despondency, by Jehovah ^ 
 
 (chap. xhx. 14 to 1. 3). 
 
 The section consists of two strophes, of 8 verses each 
 
 (verses 14 to 21 and 22 to 1. 3), subdivided into 5 + 3. 
 
 Verses 
 
 A mother may forget^ but God's love to His children is un- 
 changeable. 
 
 14-21. "The children of thy bereavement shall 3'et say in thine 
 ears, The place is too strait for me. Then shalt thou 
 say m thine heart, Who hath born - me these, seeing I 
 have been bei-eaved of my children, and am solitary, an 
 exile, and wandering to and fro ? and who hath brought 
 up these ? Behold, I was left alone ; these, where had 
 they been '? " " 
 
 22-23. The Lord God assures them, " Behold, I will lift up Mine 
 hand to the nations . . . and they shall bring sons and 
 daughters " to thee, " and kings shall be thy foster- 
 fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers ; and thou 
 shalt know that I am the Lord, and they that wait for 
 Me shaU not be ashamed " (22, 23). 
 
 24-26. Let not weakness of faith suggest the question, " Shall the 
 prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the 
 righteous ones * be delivered ? For I will contend with 
 
 1 Compare the central strophe of Psalm ii. (verses 4-9) in my 
 Studies in the Book of Psalms, where the righteous severity that 
 rebukes the rebellious is attribixted to Jehovah, while the merciful 
 compassion, that entreats them to lay aside their opposition, is 
 ascribed to the Messiah. See footnote to page 198 of Studies. 
 
 - Not as the Eevised Version still retains, " Who hath begotten 
 me these ? " which, as Dr. Delitzsch observes, " is an absurd "ques- 
 tion," since Zion's "husband" is the Lord of Hosts (liv. 5). 
 
 I fear, since the Eevisers have given their sanction to the 
 speUmg "borne," it is too late to protest against it. But the 
 principle that prescribes the distinction is the difference in meaning 
 between the uses of a word (not of Voices, as Active or Passive). 
 Compare " human and humane," " of and off,'" " bason and basin," 
 " ordinance and ordnance ". 
 
 3 The children are, of course, mainly Gentiles. If Israehtes, 
 how could Palestme be too narrow to contain them ? 
 
 ■* Dr. Delitzsch's (and Hitzig's) view of this difficult passage 
 seems the most defensible : — Can the feeble remnant, consisting of 
 the righteous, vrho still trust in the Lord, be rescued from their 
 mighty enemies ? 
 
62 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy 
 children. And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am 
 thj' Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of 
 Jacob " (24-26). 
 
 L. 1-3. No want of power, or love, on My part has dissolved the 
 marriage imion between Me and Zion ; but " for your 
 iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was 
 yoi;r mother put away. Is My hand shortened at all, 
 that it cannot redeem ? Behold, at My rebuke, I dry up 
 the sea, and the rivers as of old, and clothe the heavens 
 with blackness " — a " darkness which may be felt " 
 (Exod. X. 21), to rescue My people, and desolate their 
 enemies. 
 
 The second section, or chapter, of the first trilogy of 
 Book II. should have begun, hke the first, with the words 
 of Messiah, now, however, addressed to Israel. He sets 
 before them the meek and humble spirit (c/. Matt. xi. 29), 
 and renunciation of ah self-will {cf. John vi. 38), with which 
 they should have submitted themselves to the teaching and 
 guidance of the Lord, and which, as having taken their 
 place as the Servant of the Lord, he exhibits as tlie example 
 which they must follow, in order to fulfil the exalted mission 
 entrusted to them at their first calling as a people: — " Ye 
 shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation " 
 (Exod. xix. 6). 
 
 For this purpose, he, in a strophe of twice three verses 
 (1. 4-9), sets before them his own example — that they must, 
 like him, lend an opened ear to the teaching of the Lord 
 continually " morning by morning " as learners. Nay, they 
 must submit themselves to every indignity, in entire de- 
 pendence on the Lord to avenge their cause, never " render- 
 ing evil for evil, but, contrariwise, blessing," " giving their 
 back to the smiters, and their cheeks to them that pluck off 
 the hair — not hiding their face from shame and spitting," 
 but committing their cause wholly to the Lord in perfect 
 
CHAPTERS L. 10 — LI. 8. 63 
 
 confidence as he had done. " For [I trust that] the Lord 
 God will help me, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 
 He is near that justifieth me. Behold the Lord God will 
 help me. Who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all 
 shall wax old as a garment ; tlie moth shall eat them up." 
 
 In the next strophe (1. 10 to li. 8), the words are all those 
 of Jehovah. It consists of 10 verses, subdivided into 5 
 ( = 2 -h 3), and 5 ( = 3 + 2). In the first two verses He 
 admonishes Israel to listen to the voice of His servant 
 1. 10, 11), and in their greatest darkness and despondency 
 to " stay upon their God " ; and warns the opposers " that 
 kindle a fire " against Messiah and His followers to cease, 
 lest it turn against themselves, and consume them. 
 
 In the verses that follow (li. 1-8) He counsels the few 
 that are disposed at all to listen, to " hearken and give ear " 
 to His threefold warning. These are divided into three 
 classes. 
 
 1. (li. 1-3.) Those that are "following after righteous- 
 ness, and seeking the Lord," however weakly and imper- 
 fectly in despondency at the fewniess of their number and 
 their standing solitary, are counselled to " look unto Abra- 
 ham," who "was but one when I called him," and to "the 
 deadness of Sarah's womb. But of these sprang so many as 
 the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand that is by 
 the sea-shore, innumerable " (Heb. xi. 12). 
 
 2. (li. 4-6.) He addresses those who glory in the pro- 
 fession of being God's " people " and God's " nation " ; and 
 calls upon them to keep in mind the promises made to them 
 that " a law shall go forth from Me (" out of Zion shall go 
 forth the law," ii. 3), and I will make My judgment to rest 
 for a light of the peoples " — a " salvation and righteousness " 
 more lasting than the " heavens and earth ''. 
 
 3. (li. 7, 8.) He calls on the few " that hioio righteous- 
 ness, the people in whose heart is My law ". Such surely 
 cannot " fear the reproach of men, neither be dismayed at 
 their revilings. For " — and here (li. 8) the Lord ends, as 
 
64 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 the Messiah had before ended (1. 9) His address, with the 
 assurance that a slow but surely consuming cancer was at 
 work at the heart of the adversaries — " the moth shall eat 
 them up," adding in the last, " and the worm ^ shall eat 
 them like wool " (li. 8).^ 
 
 c. CHAPTEE LI. 9 to 23. 
 
 It would have conduced considerably to the tracing of 
 the connexion and argument of Book II., if it had been 
 observed that in all the nine chapters, with the exception of 
 the addresses of the Messiah, with which the first two 
 chapters begin (xlix. 1-6 and 1. 4-9),^ Jehovah is the speaker 
 throughout, as expressly declared in the following passages 
 (c/. xlix. 7, 8, 11 ; 15, 18 ; 23, 26 : 1. 1, 3 ; 11 : li. 1-3 ; 12, 
 15, 19, 22: lii. 3-6: liii. 11: liv. 1; 7-17: Iv. 2-4; 8-11: 
 Ivi. 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 : Ivii. 6, 8 ; 11-14 ; 15-19). 
 
 This shows us at once how the first strophe of this section 
 or chapter (li. 9-15) is to be understood. 
 
 " Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the Lord ; 
 Awake as iu the daj's of old, the generations of ancient time," 
 &c. 
 
 It is modelled on the Song of Deborah and Barak : — 
 
 " Awake, awake, Deborah ; 
 Awake, awake, litter a song," &c. (Judges v. 12). 
 
 1 There is a pla3^ upon the two Hebrew words from their simi- 
 larity in sound which it is impossible to reproduce in a translation. 
 
 " The DD sus (worm, weevh), says a Jewish proverb, is brother to 
 the ^^ ash (moth). 
 
 - The same Hebrew verb closes both verses 6 and 7, as if with 
 a designed play on the word ; thus, " Smce God's righteousness 
 shall never be broken down [abolished], see that ye are not broken 
 down [dismayed] bj' theh re%'ilings ". — Dr. Cowles. 
 
 ^ According to the strophical division of the chapters. 
 
CHAPTER LII. 65 
 
 It is like it, therefore, a sc//-exciting address by Jehovah ^ 
 to His own arm, to " put on strength " out of the fuhiess of 
 His own omnipotence. 
 
 The second strophe (verses 17-23) is a rousing appeal by 
 Jehovah to Jerusalem to " wake herself up " from the state 
 of utter prostration and stupor to which she and her sons 
 had been reduced by drinking of the cup of the Lokd's fury 
 for their sins, through the comforting assurance, " Behold, 
 I have taken [prophetic Perfect for Future] out of thy hand 
 the cup of staggering : thou shalt no more drink it again ; 
 and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee ". 
 These two strophes of seven verses each (li. 9-15 and 17- 
 23) have for their centre (verse 16) the charge which, for 
 the consolation of His afflicted people, the Lord turns and 
 addresses to the Messiah, as shown by the quotations : — 
 
 " And I have put My words in thy mouth (Deut. xviii. 18 ; cf. Isa. 
 lix. 21), 
 And have covered thee in the shadow of Mme hand (xlix. 2). 
 To plant the heavens, ^ Ixv. 17. 
 
 And lay the foundation of the earth, jlxvi. 22. 
 And to say unto Zion, thou art My people (Hosea i. 10 ; ii. 23). 
 
 These addresses of Jehovah all lead up to the grand 
 central aim of this whole prophecy in chap. liii. (which 
 should have begun with lii. 13 : — " Behold My servant shall 
 deal wisely," &c.), in which the Lord sets before the Church 
 and the world Him in whom are to be fulfilled all His 
 highest purposes and promises for the redemption of the 
 fallen race of man. 
 
 The trilogy, lii. to liv., begins in its first section or chapter 
 (lii. 1-12) — which section consists of two strophes, 1-6, and 
 7-12, of three couplets each — with catching up the twofold 
 addresses with which the preceding trilogy closed, by a 
 third call by Jehovah to Zion, to "awake " from her long 
 
 1 Not by the Church, or prophet as its representative. 
 
 5 
 
66 THE SERVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 sleep, and not to make the offered grace of God to be in 
 vain ; but to avail herself of the •' strength " which the 
 Lord had called upon His own arm to put on in li. 9. He 
 counsels her, "Put on thy beautiful garments" [the ex- 
 pression used of Aaron's priestly robes in Exod. xxviii. 2, 
 " Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother 
 for glory and for beauty "]. " Shake thyself from the dust : 
 arise, sit thee down, O Jerusalem [on thy throne]," is in 
 contrast to the address to Babylon in xlvii. 1, " Come down 
 and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon : sit on 
 the ground without a throne ". 
 
 "Egypt and the Assyrian^ have oppressed My people 
 without cause. Now, therefore, what have I here [in these 
 latter days] ^ that My name is blasphemed every day " as if 
 I was unable to save ! " Therefore My people shall know 
 My name ; they shall know in that day that I am He that 
 doth speak : Behold it is I." 
 
 In the three couplets of the last strophe of section, or 
 chapter a (lii. 7-12), we have first an animated description of 
 an approaching herald whose feet are bounding like a graceful 
 gazelle on the mountains, bearing the joyfvil tidings of the 
 Lord's return to Zion, designated in the threefold aspect as 
 " peace," " good," " salvation ". Next is heard the voice of 
 the watchmen on Zion's walls calling on the " waste places 
 of Jerusalem " to "break forth into joy and sing together, 
 for the Lord hath comforted ^ His people ". But the good 
 tidings are not for Israel alone : ' ' for all the ends of the 
 earth shall see the salvation of our God " ; and, in order 
 that God's people may commend the joyful news to the 
 conscience of all. His servants are enjoined to "go out 
 
 •" The " Assyrian," including here the Babylonian captivity, as 
 even in Josiah's day, B.C. 623, the kmg of Babylon is called king 
 of Assyria (2 Kings xxiii. 29). 
 
 ^ Even Aben Ezra recognizes this, and says that the prophecy 
 speaks of the later still future return of Israel, " out of the great 
 exile among all peoples " (c/. Isaiah xi. 11 and 12). 
 
 ' See footnote, page 59. 
 
CHAPTER LIII. 67 
 
 from thence " — from all contamination with an evil world, 
 and in all quiet assurance of the Lord's sustaining arm ; 
 " for ye shall not go out in haste [the word used of the 
 hurried departure out of Egypt, Exod. xii. 11 ; Deut. xvi. 3], 
 nor go by flight [as out of Babylon, xlviii. 20] ; for the 
 Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your 
 rereward ". 
 
 b. 
 We have now reached the central chapter (liii.), in which 
 the magnificent prophecy before us culminates. As might 
 be expected, it bears the marks of being most carefully con- 
 sidered and symmetrically arranged. The whole is divided 
 into three strophes, the first and third consisting of three 
 verses each, and the central strophe of nine verses. They 
 form an Epanodos, in which the exaltation and success of 
 the Messiah, consequent upon His humiliation, are made the 
 most prominent objects by being placed first and last ; 
 while yet Messiah's sufferings constitute the animating 
 heart and central subject of the whole, which is dwelt upon 
 with greater fulness in the central strophe in three times 
 three verses ; the very centre of which, and of the whole 
 prophecy, is the Atonement (liii. 4-6, and especially the 
 central verse of these three, verse 5). 
 
 I. 
 LII. 13. Behold, My Servant shall deal wisely, 
 
 He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 
 
 14. Like as many were astonied at thee 
 
 (His visage was so marred more than any man, 
 And his form more than the sons of men), 
 
 15. So shall He sprinkle many nations ; 
 Kings shaU shut their mouths at Him ; 
 
 For that which had not been told them they have seen ; 
 And that which they had not heard they have con- 
 sidered. 
 
 II. 
 LIII. 1. Who [of us Jews] hath believed what we heard ? 
 
 And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? 
 
68 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 2. For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, 
 And as a root out of a dry ground : 
 
 He hath no form nor comehness, 
 
 And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we shovdd 
 desire Hmi. 
 
 3. He was despised and rejected of men ; 
 
 A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ; 
 And as One from whom men hide their face ! 
 He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 
 
 4. Surely ours were the griefs He bare, 
 And ours the sorrows He carried : 
 Yet we did esteem Him stricken, 
 Smitten of God, and afflicted, 
 
 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions. 
 He was bruised for our iniquities : 
 
 The chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; 
 And with His stripes we are healed. 
 
 6. All we like sheep have gone astray ; 
 
 We have turned every one to his own way ; 
 And the Lord hath laid on Him [the punishment of] 
 the iniquity of us all. 
 
 7. He was oppressed, yet He humbled Himself, 
 And opened not His inouth ; 
 
 As a lamb that is led to the slaughter. 
 
 And as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb, 
 
 Yea, He opened not His mouth. 
 
 8. By oppression and judgment He was taken away ; 
 And as for His generation, who among them considered 
 That He was cut off out of the land of the living ? 
 
 For the transgression of My people was He stricken. 
 
 9. And they made His grave with the wicked. 
 But with the rich in His death ; 
 Although He had done no violence. 
 Neither was any deceit in His mouth. 
 
 III. 
 
 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bi'uise Him ; 
 He hath put Him to grief ; 
 
 When thou shalt make His soul a trespass offering for sin, 
 He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days. 
 And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 
 
CHAPTER LIU. 69 
 
 11. He shall see of the travail of His soul, [and] shall be 
 
 satisfied ; 
 By His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify 
 
 many : 
 And He shall bear their iniquities. 
 
 12. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, 
 And He shall divide the spoil with the strong ; 
 Because He poured out His soul luito death, 
 
 And was niimbered with the transgressors ; 
 
 Yet He bare the sin of many, 
 
 And maketh intercession for the transgressors. 
 
 For the rendering " startle," placed in the margin of the 
 Eevised Version, instead of " sprinkle," in lii. 15, there is 
 not a shred of authority, except the Oavjxaa-ovTai of that 
 most careless and unreliable of the Septuagint translations 
 — its rendering of the prophet Isaiah. The verb HT^ 
 ndzdh, is always used ^ in the sense of sprinkling with a 
 view to ceremonial purification, and occurs elsewhere 
 twenty-three times. To a Jew, therefore, this is the mean- 
 ing that alone the verb would suggest. 
 
 Moreover, the analogy of other languages shows how 
 naturally the writer might venture on an expression which 
 conveyed his idea so significantly, even though it is not 
 found in other passages of Scripture. We find the double 
 use of "sprinkle" both in Greek and Latin as well as in 
 English. In Greek, Passow says, in his Dictionary, patvco 
 was used with the accusative, both of the liquid which one 
 sprinkled and of that which was besprinkled. Thus we find 
 both pavTicts fxe iicrcrwTru), and pavu) icp' •u/x.as KaOapov vSojp. In 
 like manner we find in Latin aspergere liquorem oculis, and 
 aspergere aliguem aliquare, &c. 
 
 But above all, the meaning of " sprinkling the nations," in 
 the sense of an expiatory purification, is called for by the 
 evident design of the prophet to represent the Messiah in 
 the character of a priest. This is the point on which he 
 
 ^ With the exception of 2 Kings ix. 33. 
 
70 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 dwells with great variety of expression in the final strophe 
 (verses 10-12), to which the first strophe (lii. 13-15) is paral- 
 lel. " Thou shalt make His soul a trespass offering for sin ; " 
 " He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satis- 
 fied ; by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify 
 many, and He shall hear (the punishment of) their iniquities . 
 Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great . . . 
 because He 'poured out His soul unto death, and was num- 
 bered with the transgressors ; yet He hare the sin of many, 
 and maketh intercession for the transgressors." 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch (in vol. ii., p. 308) objects that there would 
 be something very abrupt in this sudden representation of 
 the Servant of the Lord as a ])riest by rendering the verb 
 " sprinkle " in lii. 15. The effective answer to this (second- 
 ary, however, to the close parallelism of the opening and 
 concluding strophes) is his own words, in page 331, where, 
 speaking of the Lord, or Messiah Himself, making His soul 
 an DtUt^ dshdm, trespass offering for sin, he says the 
 Messiah's character of " prophet falls into the background 
 here behind the sacrifice and the priest" . And, again, in 
 page 337, " The Servant of Jehovah, whose 2)}'icstly, media- 
 torial work is unfolded before us here in chap, liii., on the 
 ground of which He rises to more than regal glory ". 
 
 In the rendering of the first line of chap. liii. 1, we have 
 a remarkable instance of how difficult it is to give up an 
 erroneous translation of Scripture that has become stereo- 
 typed, as it were. Our Eevisers, both of the Old and New 
 Testaments, still retain in the text the rendering '' our 
 report," both in Isaiah liii. 1 and in Eomans x. 16, though 
 the untenableness of such a rendering was shown more than 
 thirty-four years ago in a work which is in every scholar's 
 hands, Dr. Hengstenberg's Ghristology. In the first edition, 
 indeed, the prevalent view is given. But through our com- 
 mon friend, the Eev. Theod. Meyer, I sent a copy of my 
 Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, in which I had proved 
 the fallacy of the usual rendering, to Dr. Hengstenberg, who 
 
CHAPTER LIII. 71 
 
 immediately adopted my views and reasons for the change 
 in the second edition, which he was then pubhshing. These 
 reasons need but to be stated to enforce conviction. The 
 Hebrew nomi, Hi^lT^lt^ sh^muah, "hearing," or "hearsay," 
 and its Greek equivalent aKo-q, may, indeed, in many in- 
 stances, be rendered without impropriety by "report " ; but 
 the moment we add the pronoun " our hearing, "it is evident 
 that we are no longer the reporters, but the hearers. By 
 the usual rendering, in the Old Testament there is also an 
 awkward transition caused in the first line, the prophet 
 being made to speak in the name of himself and his fellow- 
 prophets, whereas, in all that follows, he identifies himself 
 with the people. In the New Testament, the confusion is 
 still greater. The nexus between the premisses and the 
 conclusion is obscured, which is at once cleared up by the 
 correct translation, "Who [of us Jews] believed what we 
 heard ? " literally " our hearing ". "So then belief cometh 
 of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.'' 
 
 But, further, in Isaiah the striking antithesis between the 
 last two lines of lii. 15 and the two lines of liii. 1 is, in a 
 great measure, lost by the common rendering. 
 
 LII. 15. So shall He sprinkle many nations ; 
 
 Kings shall shut their mouths at Him ; 
 (a) For that which had not been told them they have seen : 
 (b) And that which they had not heard they have con- 
 sidered. 
 (6) Who [of us] hath believed that which we had 
 heard ? 
 (a) And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ? 
 
 Here (a) aiad (a) correspond, and the tw^o central lines (b) 
 and (b). The Gentiles (a) have had their eyes opened, and 
 " have seen " the marvellous salvation wrought by God 
 through His Messiah, though they were prepared by no 
 previous prophecies and special dispensations of God ; while 
 (a) "the arm of the Lord," so evidently manifest in it, has 
 not been revealed to the Jews, though accustomed to the 
 
72 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 previous revelations and interpositions of Divine wisdom and 
 power. Again (b), what the Gentiles "had not heard" 
 before, they at once "have considered" and believed, but 
 (b) what we had heard so often announced to us Jews by 
 the Word of God, " who hath believed ? " 
 
 CHAPTEE LIV. c. 
 
 After what has been said of the triumph of the Messiah 
 through suffering and of His " seeing of the travail of His 
 soul," follows most naturally the result of His work upon 
 His Church and people. 
 
 Chapter liv. consists of three strophes, the first two of 
 five verses each, and the last (verses 11-17) of seven verses. 
 The connexion may be given in a few words. 
 
 Strophe I. (1-5). The Lord will espouse anew His re- 
 jected Zion, and make her that was "barren" the joyful 
 mother of many children. Gentiles principally at first, but, 
 finally, of all nations, for " the God of the whole earth shall 
 He be called " ; 
 
 Strophe II. (6-10), by a covenant of peace that shall not 
 be " removed ". 
 
 Strophe III. (11-17). The Church shall be laid on a 
 foundation of precious stones, and " great shall be the peace 
 of Thy children ". 
 
 CHAPTEE LV. a. 
 
 The prophet, penetrated and fired in his own soul with the 
 contemplation of the full, free, and universal salvation pro- 
 cured for all by the sufferings of the Messiah, addresses, in 
 his own name and that of the Church, a stirring appeal to 
 all to come and partake of the great salvation offered, 
 " without money and without price " (1-3). The invitation 
 is couched in three strophes, the first of three verses, and 
 
CHAPTEE LVI. 73 
 
 the other two of three couplets of verses (verses 2-7 and 8-13), 
 calHng on all to come and enter into an everlasting " cove- 
 nant " by which "your soul shall live," to be made with 
 them, even the sure mercies of David [cf. 2 Sam. vii. 12-17), 
 accompanied by such a glorious change of all previous rela- 
 tions as shall be " for an everlasting sign that shall not be 
 cut off". 
 
 The train of thought in the three strophes may thus briefly 
 be stated : — 
 
 I. (1-3). Invitation to all, free and gratuitous. 
 
 II. (2-7). Expostulation — for fruitless labour (2, 3) ; 
 neglect of God's leader and commander (4, 5) ; delay (6, 7). 
 
 III. (9-13). Motives (" For ")— God's surpassing mercies 
 (8, 9); effectual supplies (10, 11); imparting "joy and 
 peace " (12, 13).^ 
 
 CHAPTEE LVI. 1-8. h. 
 
 None are to be excluded from the blessings of the new 
 covenant, not even those who were wholly excluded by the 
 old. " The sons of the stranger might fear that Jehovah 
 would no longer tolerate them, or permit them to have any 
 part in the new and holy community, with a thoroughly 
 priestly character, that was to be formed ; but they are 
 assured that they who ' keep judgment and do righteous- 
 ness' shall have a part in the promised blessings. Nay, of 
 the eunuchs who were wholly excluded from the old cove- 
 nant (Deut. xxiii. 1), let none of them say, * Behold I am a 
 dry tree,' that can bear no fruit. ' Every one that keepeth 
 the Sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast by My 
 covenant, even them will I bring to My holy mountain : 
 for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all 
 peoples. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of 
 
 ^ The whole chapter is thus stamped with the Covenant number 
 Seven : 1 in Strophe I., + 3 in Strophe II., + 3 in Strophe III. 
 
74 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to Him beside His 
 own that are gathered.'"^ 
 
 CHAPTEE LVI. 9 to LVII. 21. c. 
 
 The final chapter of Book II. consists of four strophes of 
 six verses each, setting forth the desolating judgments 
 which Israel's idolatry and apostasy call forth from the 
 Lord. For alas ! it is the Lord's own flock who ought to 
 lead the way to others, that are more in danger of rejection 
 than the Gentiles, and who provoke Him to call upon their 
 savage and relentless foes, as wild " beasts in the forest," 
 to come and ravage their land, driving them from it, and 
 scattering them into all the ends of the earth. 
 
 Strophe I. (Ivi. 9 to Ivii. 2). The heathen are invited to 
 come and devour [cf. Jer. xii. 9), since the shepherds are 
 "blind, dumb dogs, loving to slumber, all turned to their 
 own way, each one seeking his own gain,'' and sensual 
 pleasure; while the few "righteous," for whose sake the 
 others might have been spared, " are taken away from the 
 evil to come, and enter into peace ". 
 
 Strophe II. (Ivii. 3-8). Israel's idolatries have become 
 utterly debasing, and universal throughout the whole land. 
 
 Strophe III. (9-14). When chastened by being left to 
 distress from enemies, they have recourse to heathen alli- 
 ances and vain idols, ^ instead of to Jehovah, 
 
 Strophe IV. (15-21). Who is " Holy," but full of mercy 
 to those of " contrite and humble spirit ". 
 
 ^ Dr. Delitzsch's division of the chapters is here followed as 
 seeming the best that has been proposed. 
 
 - There seems to be an antithesis designed between the opening 
 words of the first and last two chapters of the concluding trilogy 
 of Book II. In the first chap, a (Iv. 1), an invitation is given to all 
 to " come and eat '' of the full provision offered in the new cove- 
 nant, '"without money and without price ". In c (Ivi. 9), in like 
 manner an invitation is given, but now to the " beasts of the field," 
 to " come to devour " (or " eat," for the word is the same in Hebrew), 
 the rebellious people of the Lord (cf. Jerem. xii, 9). 
 
CHAPTERS LVI.-LVII. 75 
 
 Book II. closes, like Book I., with the warning words, 
 " There is no peace to the wicked," but with the significant 
 change from " saith Jehovah" to " saith my God," Elohim ; 
 i.e., the warning which in Book I. proceeds from God in His 
 character of Jehovah as the covenant God, and applies, 
 therefore, to Israel, in Book II. is attributed to God in His 
 universalistic character as Elohim, and applies, therefore, 
 to the Gentiles (c/. Eom. xi. 21, 22). The prophecy has 
 thus passed on to the Messianic dispensation, as we saw in 
 the central chapter, liii., of this Book. In accordance with 
 this, we find that, as Book I. begins with an address to 
 Israel, " Comfort ye, comfort ye My iicoplc" so it ends with a 
 warning specially addressed to them by Jehovah; while 
 Book II. begins wdth an address to the Gentiles, " Listen, 
 isles, unto Me, and hearken, ye 'peoples from far " and ends 
 with a warning to them specially in His character as Eloliim, 
 though, of course, it includes the small remnant that remains 
 of Jewish believers. 
 
 There is thus, in the time of Isaiah, a clearly marked dis- 
 tinction made between the Divine Names of Jehovah and 
 Elohim, as applied to God, which throws back a flood of light 
 on the interpretation which must have been put by the Israel- 
 ites all along on the discriminative use of these Names from 
 the earliest period of their history. The time, we believe, 
 is not far distant when scholars will be amazed that a 
 theory of interpretation could so long have prevailed, which 
 renders so inadequate a reason of the discriminative use of 
 the Divine Names, Jehovah and Elohim, in the Pentateuch, 
 that lies on the very surface of the narrative— and which 
 constrains many critics to adopt a theory of explanation 
 which distorts and turns upside down the date and author- 
 ship of the Pentateuch. 
 
 But there are two noteworthy facts brought to light by 
 Bishop Colenso's analysis of the Elohistic and Jehovistic 
 passages in his Pentateuch, part v., which prove that the 
 two Divine Names, Elohim and Jehovah, are always used 
 
76 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 in the Pentateuch with a distinct appreciation of the differ- 
 ence of their meanings. These are, that Jehovah is the 
 Name miiformly employed — first, wherever sin is the subject 
 (e.g., the Fall, Cain killing Abel, &c.), and, secondly, wher- 
 ever an altar or sacrificial offering is in question. This, 
 though Colenso failed to draw the logical conclusion from 
 the premisses, proves that Elohim refers to God's natural 
 attributes alone (His power, wisdom), whereas Jehovah 
 (while not excluding the other) refers more specially to His 
 moral attributes (righteousness, mercy, retributive judg- 
 ments).^ 
 
 The narrative of the Deluge (which begins Gen. vi. 9) 
 remarkably illustrates the distinctive use of the Divine 
 Names. Elohim, as the Giver and Disposer of life, is the 
 
 •^ The true documentary hypothesis, so far from assuming that 
 the Pentateuch consists of two distinct documents, an Elohistic 
 and Jehovistic, pieced together in so confused a manner that no 
 two critics can agree in their views of their arrangement, proves, 
 on the contrary, that both titles are used in each document, 
 miiformly according to the distinctive meanmg of each Name. 
 To assist the reader m tracing this for himself, the beautifully 
 symmetrical arrangement of the ten ancient documents of which 
 Genesis consists is here given. After the introductory account of 
 the Creation in chap, i.-ii. 3, each document begins with the 
 words : " These are the generations of, &c.". The ten are sub- 
 divided into five and five — the first five relating to the Old or 
 Antediluvial Woi-ld, and the next five to the New or Renovated 
 World. 
 
 1. The Primeval earth. Fall, Sons of Adam, Expulsion of Cain, 
 
 and growing corruption, ii. 4 — ix. 26. 
 
 2. The Antediluvian Patriarchs, ten to Noah, v. 1 — vi. 8. 
 
 3. The Flood, vi. 9— ix. 29. 
 
 4. The Renewed earth divided among Noah's sons, corruption 
 
 and dispersion of Babel, x. 1 — xi. 9. 
 
 5. The Postdiluvian Patriarchs, ten to Abraham, xi. 10 — xi. 26. 
 
 6. The history of Abraham, xi. 27 — xxv. 11. 
 
 7. The generations of Ishmael, xxv. 12 — 18. 
 
 8. The history of Isaac and of Jacob till Isaac's death, xxv. 
 
 19— XXXV. 29. 
 
 9. The generations of Esau, xxxvi. 1 — xxxvii. 1. 
 
 10. The history of Jacob to his death, and that of Joseph, 
 xxxvii. 2 — 1. 26. 
 
CHAPTERS LVI.-LVII. 77 
 
 prevailing Name in Gen. vi. 9 to ix. 29 (the third of the 10 
 Documents, each beginning with " These are the genera- 
 tions ") : Jehovah takes its place, when, as the covenant 
 God of Noah, " Jehovah shut him in" (vii. 16). It is 
 Elohim who commands to take of the animals ' ' two of every 
 sort " (vi. 19, 20) ; but Jehovah, when sacrifice is in view, 
 commands to take of the " clean beasts and fowls by 
 sevens " (vii. 1-3) ; and so when he offers them in sacrifice 
 (viii. 20). 
 
 The contrast, too, is very marked in ix. 26, " Blessed be 
 Jehovah, the God of Shem," but " Elohim shall enlarge 
 Japheth "} 
 
 ^ How universal was the sense of the distinctive significance of 
 the two Divine Names is seen from the fact (of which the prevail- 
 ing theory can render no accomit) that a thousand years after- 
 wards the principal distinction between the first and second Book 
 of Psalms consists in Book I. being the Jehovistic Book, Jehovah, 
 according to Dr. DeHtzsch, occurring in it 272 times, Elohim only 
 15 times ; whereas, in Book II. Elohim occurs 164 times for 3Q 
 times that Jehovah is found ; and one Psalm, xiv., is repeated m 
 Book II. (in Psalm liii.), with slight variations, the principal altera- 
 tion being that the Jehovah of Psalm xiv. is regulaiJy and most 
 significantly altered to Elohim. 
 
BOOK III. (CHAPTEES LVIII.-LXVI.). 
 
 Book III., according to the principles of parallelism, 
 should correspond to Book I., and refer, therefore, more 
 especially to Israel. This, its opening words indicate, 
 " Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and 
 declare unto My peoj^le their transgression " — which corre- 
 sponds to the opening words of Book I., " Comfort ye, com- 
 fort ye My j^eople," but now in stern words of rebuke re- 
 placing the earlier words of consolation. Both differ from 
 the central Book, which refers principally to the Gentiles, as 
 indicated by its opening and closing words (cf. page 75). 
 
 Further, as the principal subject of each of the first two 
 Books was brought out most prominently in the central 
 trilogy of each, so in Book III. we shall find in its central 
 trilogy (Ix. to Ixiii. 6) " Zion glorified " to form its special 
 subject ; in other words, as announced in the opening 
 words of the prophecy, the time is come when Zion shall 
 " receive double (compensation) for all her sins " (xl. 2)— 
 First, in suffering, like her Lord, to be endured ; which. 
 Secondly, prepares and makes her meet for double compen- 
 sation in glory: "For your shame ye shall have double; 
 in their land they shall possess double : everlasting joy 
 shall be unto them" (Ixi. 7). "They shall call them, The 
 holy people, The redeemed of the Lobd ; and thou shalt be 
 called Sought out, A city not forsaken " (Ixii. 12). 
 
 Schmieder (in Otto von Gerlach's Commentary) is, as it 
 appears to me, the only one ^ who has caught the correct 
 
 ■* It would, I find, have been more correct to say that Schmieder 
 is the only one who has placed his view with sufficient prominence 
 before the reader, as I observe Dr. Delitzsch expresses himself 
 thiTS in vol. ii., page 424: "Wherever any other than Jehovah is re- 
 
CHAPTERS LVIII.-LXVI, 79 
 
 view of Book III., viz., that the whole is spoken to, or by, 
 the Messiah as the Servant of the Lord. The view com- 
 mends itself by the unity and closeness of connexion which 
 it imparts to the whole. I am inclined to carry his view 
 even farther, and to say that all, from the first introduction 
 of the Messiah in chap, xlviii. 16, is either the words of 
 Messiah or Jehovah. The lamentation over Israel's obsti- 
 nate refusal to yield to Jehovah's repeated calls to " hearken," 
 it is as natural to assign to the Messiah as to Jehovah, since, 
 in consequence of their unbelief, he begins Book II. with a 
 call to the " isles and peoples from far " to " listen " to him, 
 and complains that he has "laboured in vain" (xlix. 4) 
 with his own people ; and, again, the next chapter, 1. 
 (according to the correct division of the chapter, as we saw, 
 page 62), begins with another appeal to them by the 
 Messiah (1. 4-9). 
 
 From this point the various addresses proceed from 
 Jehovah : ^ first, the threefold call to " hearken and attend," 
 addressed to three classes of His people (li. 1-8) ; second, 
 the self-exciting call to His own " arm " to " awake " ; third, 
 to Jerusalem to "awake and stand up" (li. 17-23); and 
 once more, another call to Zion to " put on strength, and 
 her beautiful garments '' (lii. 1-12), to prepare her for 
 accepting at length Him from whom alone deliverance and 
 salvation can come : 
 
 " Behold My Servant shall deal wisely. 
 He shall be exalted and lifted up, and be very high," &c. 
 
 The rest of the Book (liv. to Ivii.) may be ascribed either 
 to Jehovah or to the Messiah. 
 
 presented as speaking, and as referring to his own calling, it is the 
 very same ' Servant of Jehovah,' of whom and to whom Jehovah 
 speaks in chap. lii. 13 — liii., and, therefore, not the prophet himself, 
 but He who had been appomted to be the mediator of a new cove- 
 nant," &c. 
 
 ^ It might, on a hqisty inspection of 1. 10, be supposed that the 
 admonition to listen to " the voice of the Lord's Servant " is the 
 prophet's ; but verse 2 shows that the words proceed from Jehovah 
 Himself. 
 
80 THE SERVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 Book III. begins in its first trilogy (Iviii. to Ix.) with an 
 address by Jehovah to His Servant to arouse Israel by a 
 trumpet call from their self-satisfied apathy and corruption, 
 which, in place of seeing in God's judgments the due re- 
 wards of " their transgression and sins," presumed to charge 
 their sufferings either on God's indifference to their great 
 zeal in the hypocritical observance of "fasting," and other 
 religious rites (chap. Iviii.), or on His want of power, and 
 " hand being shortened that it cannot save " (chap, lix.) : 
 not seeing, as they ought, that it was their own " iniquities 
 that separated between them and their God " ; and that 
 only when they repented and confessed that it was for 
 their "transgressions multiplied before the Lord" that 
 "salvation is far off from us," He, compassionating their 
 utter helplessness and hopelessness, and "wondering that 
 there was no intercessor," resolved Himself to interpose for 
 them ; and, in order that men should " fear the name of 
 the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of 
 the sun," decreed that "a Eedeemer shall come to Zion, 
 and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob " (lix., 
 divided into three strophes, 8 4-5 + 8). 
 
 Chapter Ix. Then, when the gloom is densest, and " dark- 
 ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples," 
 shall the awakening cry be heard. 
 
 Arise ! shine ! for thy light is come, 
 
 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee : 
 
 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, 
 And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 
 
 In three strophes of 7, 8 (3 + 2 + 3), 7 verses, the 
 glorification of Zion is announced. " The wealth of the 
 nations shall come unto thee, from the east (verses 6, 7), 
 and from the west (verses 8, 9) ; and their kings shall 
 minister unto thee " ; " and they shall call thee. The city of 
 the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel " (8-15) ; 
 " peace and righteousness " shall rule, and " all violence 
 
CHAPTER LXI. 81 
 
 cease ; and the Loed shall be unto thee an everlasting light ; 
 thy people shall be all righteous. I the Lord will hasten it 
 in its time " (16-22). 
 
 This first trilogy of Book III. is immediately followed by 
 an address of the Messiah in Ixi. This leads us naturally 
 to refer to Him the preceding warnings to Israel in chaps. 
 Iviii., lix., on account of their besetting sins which retarded 
 the fulfilment of God's promises for the glorification of Zion 
 announced in chap. Ix. The words, " The Spirit of the 
 LoKD God is upon Me," refer Israel back to the an- 
 nouncement He made to them in xlviii. 16, on His first 
 advent, in order to remind them of the important issues that 
 depended on their acceptance or rejection of the " Messenger " 
 whom Jehovah had " sent," endowed with the power of 
 " His Spirit," to accomplish the great purpose for which He 
 had called Israel from their first establishment as a people — 
 to " be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation " to the Lord. 
 This purpose, and the Messenger whom He was to send to 
 accomplish it, Jehovah, in the words which introduce it in 
 chap, xlviii. 16, intimated was the main subject of all His 
 revelations to man from the beginning : — ' ' Come ye now 
 unto Me, hear ye this : from the heginning I have not spoken 
 in secret : from the time that it tea's, [first decreed] there am 
 I" — preparing and hastening its final accomplishment by 
 sending My Servant, the Messiah ; in whose coming is 
 summed up all that was decreed regarding " the Lamb of 
 God that hath been slain from the foundation of the world " 
 (Eev. xiii. 8). 
 
 And " now (in chap. Ixi. the Messiah announces) the end 
 is come " (Ezek, vii. 6). '^ Nmv (He warns all, I am com- 
 missioned to declare) is the day of salvation." " The Spirit 
 of the Lord God is upon me, and He hath sent me {cf 
 xlviii. 16) to proclaim [both] the acceptable year of the 
 Lord [and also] the day of vengeance of our God." 
 
 On the merciful side of this announcement the Messiah 
 enlarges, as we might expect, at great length in the rest of 
 
 6 
 
82 THE SEKVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 chap. Ixi. and in chap. Ixii. ; while the Lord's " strange 
 work " (Isaiah xxviii. 21), the manifestation of His wrath 
 in the fearful destruction of the rancorous enemies of Him- 
 self and His people, comes in at the close in the shortest 
 chapter of the whole twenty-seven; viz., Ixiii., 1 to 6, 
 consisting of six verses which ends the prophetical part 
 properly so-called. Judging from the corresponding passage 
 in the earlier prophecies, chap, xxxiv. 8, " It is the day of 
 the LoBD'S vengeance [on Edom, verse 5] — the person on 
 whose " garments the life-blood of His enemies is sprinkled," 
 might seem to be Jehovah, but looking to the words in Ixi. 
 2, "He hath sent me to proclaim the day of vengeance of 
 our God," it may be questioned whether Messiah Himself is 
 not also the executioner of the Loed's vengeance. John, in 
 the Apocalypse, seems so to have interpreted the words : 
 " He is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood : and His 
 name is called the Word of God (Eev. xix. 13). And He 
 treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of 
 Almighty God. And He hath on His garment and on His 
 thigh a name written, King of Kings and Loed of Lords " 
 (verses 15, 16). If so, Isaiah Ixiii. 1-6 would seem to be a 
 dialogue between Jehovah and His anointed King and Son 
 (cf. Psalm ii. 12). 
 
 All that follows in the concluding trilogy (Ixiii. 7 to the 
 close) is a confession of Israel's sin, and a prayer for forgive- 
 ness, which the prophet offers up in their name, with the 
 answer given by God (Ixv., Ixvi.). 
 
 It may not be amiss to subjoin some additional arguments 
 for the Isaianic authorship of chaps, xl. to Ixvi. 
 
 Perhaps the evidence which will commend itself most to 
 the ordinary reader, that we have before us an ancient and 
 genuine prophecy of the age of Isaiah, is the natural and 
 unforced manner in which the successive steps of the 
 argument follow each other, as traced in the following 
 
AUTHORSHIP OF CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 83 
 
 arrangement of the text, accompanied by a short running 
 commentary. The prophecy, it will thus be seen, forms 
 one continuous and symmetrical whole. 
 
 Three successive periods in Israel's history are predicted 
 in the three Books (consisting each of nine chapters or three 
 trilogies) into which the Prophecy is divided by the Refrains. 
 The first two of these predicted periods have been verified 
 already by their fulfilment, while the third still awaits its 
 accomplishment. 
 
 In Book I. (xl.-xlviii.) the means are depicted by 
 ■which Jehovah brought about and " accomplished Israel's 
 warfare " against idolatry, and their renunciation of their 
 inveterate propensity to it — as being effected through the 
 exact fulfilment of their predicted deliverance by Cyrus 
 from Babylon, and Jehovah's exclusive title to Godhead 
 being thus demonstrated and acknowledged. 
 
 In Book II. (xlix.-lvii.) Israel's refusal to advance to the 
 second step, " to accept of the punishment of their iniquity " 
 (xl. 2) — deatli — as duly merited, finds its accomplishment 
 in Messiah taking Israel's place as the " Servant of the 
 LoED," and making atonement (central chap., liii.) by volun- 
 tarily submitting to death, and by His receiving from the 
 Lord the Gentiles first (lii. 13 — liii. 3), as His inheritance 
 and people, since " Israel would not be gathered" (xlix. 5). 
 
 In Book III. (lviii.-lxvi.) the consummation is at last 
 reached in Zion glorified. Her children now shall be 
 " named the priests of the Lord : men shall call you the 
 ministers of our God" (Ixi. 6, and c/. Rom. xi. 15 and 26, 
 27). "For your shame ye shall have double" (cf. xl. 2) 
 in joy and blessing. Thou shalt no more be termed For- 
 saken, neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate ; 
 but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah, 
 for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be 
 married; " and as for thine enemies I have " trod them in 
 Mine anger, and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon My gar- 
 ments" (Central Trilogy, Ixi.-lxiii.). 
 
84 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 The author (or final editor of the Book) has shown in an 
 unmistakable manner his intention of claiming for one and 
 the same writer the authorship of the Earlier and Later 
 Prophecies by his chronological transposition of chaps, 
 xxxviii. and xxxix., compared with chaps, xxxvi. and xxxvii. 
 Hezekiah's sickness and recovery, related in chaps, xxxviii. 
 and xxxix., with the visit of the ambassadors of Merodach- 
 Baladan, were evidently several years anterior to the capture, 
 related in chaps, xxxvi. and xxxvii., of " the fenced cities of 
 Judah " by Sennacherib, who did not ascend the throne till 
 B.C. 705, according to the Babylonish records. This 
 exactly tallies with the Bible account, since Hezekiah's 
 sickness took place in the fourteenth year of his reign, while 
 fifteen years were added to his life (Isaiah xxxviii. 5), and 
 he reigned in all twenty-nine years (2 Kings xviii. 2). 
 
 The reason of the transposition is obvious, to bring into 
 close connexion the prophecies relating to the Assyrian 
 period (chaps, i. to xxxv.), with their fulfilment in chaps, 
 xxxvi. and xxxvii., while the sickness and recovery of 
 Hezekiah, and the visit of the ambassadors of Merodach 
 Baladan, though occurring some fourteen years previously, 
 are placed as an introduction to the Babylonian period and 
 prophecies. Chapters xxxvi. and xxxvii. are thus made to 
 face backwards towards the Assyrian crisis, while chaps, 
 xxxviii. and xxxix. are "like a sign-post with the inscrip- 
 tion ' To Babylon ' upon it ". The former point attention to 
 the fulfilment of the Earlier Prophecies by the destruction 
 of the Assyrian enemy Sennacherib, and thereby furnish 
 earnest and assurance of the fulfilment of the Later Pro- 
 phecies relating to Cyrus, Babylon, and all the events pre- 
 dicted to follow. 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch has well pointed out the symmetrical divi- 
 sion of the Earlier Prophecies into three " syzigies " or pairs 
 of prophecies, ending each with a Song or Triumphal Hymn. 
 
AUTHORSHIP OF CHAPTERS XXVIII.-XXXV. 85 
 
 I. Chapter i. to xii. ends with a Song of redemption 
 modelled on Moses' Song of triumph "on the day that the 
 Lord saved Israel out of the hand of the Egyptians " (Exod. 
 XV. 1-18). 
 
 *' And in that day thou shalt say, 
 I will give thanks unto Thee, Lord ; 
 For though Thou wast angry with me, 
 Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortest me. 
 Behold, God is my salvation ; 
 I will trust and will not be afraid ; 
 For 'the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song; 
 And He is become my salvation,' " &c. (xii. 1-6, the last 
 two lines being taken from Moses' Song, Exod. xv. 2). 
 
 II. Chapter xiii. to xxvii. concludes in like manner with 
 two Songs of praise, one in xxvi., and another in xxvii. The 
 rhythm of the latter is peculiar : 
 
 A vineyard of wine — sing it. 
 
 I the Lord do keep it : 
 
 Every moment I water it. 
 
 Lest any hurt it, 
 
 Night and day I keep it. 
 
 Wrath have I none : 
 
 Would that I had briars, 
 
 Thorns against me in battle ! 
 
 I would march upon them, 
 
 I would burn them together. 
 
 Or else let him take hold of My strength, 
 
 Make peace with Me ; 
 
 Yea, let him make peace with Me. 
 
 In days to come Jacob shall take root : 
 
 Israel shall blossom and bear fruit ; 
 
 And fill the face of the world with fruits. 
 
 III. Chapter xxviii. to xxxv. concludes with a Song of 
 thanksgiving to the Lord for the final judgment upon all 
 His and Israel's enemies, more especially upon Edom (see 
 chap, xxxiv.), and for the redemption of the people of the 
 Lord. 
 
86 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 1. The wilderness and the soUtary place shall be glad : 
 And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. 
 
 8. And an highway shall be there, and a way, 
 And it shall be called the way of holiness. 
 
 10. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return. 
 And come with singing imto Zion ; 
 And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads : 
 They shall obtain gladness and joy, 
 And sorrow and sighing shall flee away (xxxv. 1-10). 
 
 II. 
 
 The arrangement which Dr. DeHtzsch gives us of the 
 whole Book of Isaiah, founded on the three " syzigies " or 
 pairs of songs now specified, is into two halves, viz., chaps, 
 i. to xxxix., and chaps, xl. to Ixvi. He makes seven divi- 
 sions in the first half (three syzigies or pairs, and the prose 
 chapters), and three in the second ; in all, ten. It is curious 
 to observe how near one may come to the true view, and 
 yet miss it. There is no consistency or proper connexion 
 between the three syzigies or pairs = six of the Earlier 
 Prophecies, which are all poetical, and Dr. Delitzsch's 
 seventh member (chaps, xxxvi. to xxxix.), which is prose. 
 If it be contended that the prose chapters form a proper 
 close, as summing up the earlier or Assyrian period, the 
 division ought to have ended with chap, xxxvii., since 
 chaps, xxxviii., xxxix., belong to the Babylonian section. 
 
 The true division which welds together in indissoluble 
 union the two sections, and proves that both have one and 
 the same author, is the threefold, which is the usual division 
 in most books in Scripture (combined generally with the 
 sevenfold.y Thus, taking the four prose chapters (xxxvi. to 
 xxxix.) as the centre, relating in common to both, we form 
 a perfect three, by reckoning the Earlier Prophecies as one 
 member, and the Later as the other ; or a perfect seven, by 
 
 ^ For examples, see my Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, pp. 
 137-194, the Decalogue, Beatitudes, Lord's Prayer, &c. 
 
AUTHOESHIP OF CHAPTEES XL.-LXVI. 87 
 
 reckoning the Earlier Prophecies as three "syzigies" or 
 pairs, and the Later as three Books equally divided by the 
 recurrence of the refrains. 
 
 III. 
 
 A third argument for the unity of authorship of the 
 Earlier and Later Prophecies may be drawn from two 
 expressions peculiar to the author of both. 
 
 1. The first of these is the use of " saith the Loed" 
 P^^b^*^), which is found nowhere else in the Hebrew, every 
 other writer employing invariably the perfect (HTDb^) "hath 
 said," when introducing the words of the Loed. This ex- 
 pression occurs three times in the Earlier Prophecies, and 
 five times in the Later. A " Great Unnamed," had such 
 been the author of chaps, xl, to Ixvi., would carefully have 
 avoided an expression which would have confounded him 
 with the earlier writer. This remark equally applies to the 
 expression next to be adduced. 
 
 2. Another favourite expression of Isaiah (never used 
 before his time), "The Holy One of Israel," occurs more 
 than twelve times in the Earlier, and also in the Later 
 Prophecies. Indeed, the origin of the expression is evidently 
 to be ascribed to Isaiah himself, from whose memory could 
 never be effaced the solemn words which, on his early 
 calling to the prophetic office, he heard repeated by the 
 seraphic choir, as they cried continually one to another, 
 " Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! is the Loed of Hosts " (Isaiah vi. 3).^ 
 
 IV. 
 
 Finally, we shall attempt to show that Isaiah has in- 
 wrought into the very texture of his prophecy the date and 
 authorship of his last great work, as inextricably bound up 
 with the time of Hezekiah, with the leading events of whose 
 reign and personal history, his own ministry and the inter- 
 ests of his countrymen were so closely connected, and that 
 
 1 Compare Stiidies in the Book of Pmlms, p. 130. 
 
88 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 he has thus claimed for all future time the authorship of his 
 last and greatest work. 
 
 That the proof of this has all but escaped observation till 
 the present time need excite no surprise, if we recollect 
 that the very rudiments of the great key to Scripture inter- 
 pretation (and which is yet destined to make the Bible 
 appear almost as a new Book), Parallelism, and the arrange- 
 ment by strophes, were rediscovered by Bishop Lowth only 
 in the last century. 
 
 To prepare the reader for appreciating aright the value 
 to be set upon the argument now to be adduced, we must 
 refer to a feature of the Old Testament composition which 
 has never yet received the attention and treatment which 
 its importance deserves — the frequent allusions to the sig- 
 nificance of the proper names of almost every leading person- 
 age in the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus Isaac's name, which 
 signifies " Laughter," or literally " one shall laugh," is 
 presented to us in four different aspects : (1) Of believing 
 laughter and wonder to Abraham, when told by the Lord, 
 that " a child should be born unto him that is an hundred 
 years old " (Gen. xvii. 17). (2) Of unbelieving laughter 
 to Sarah, when she heard that she should " have a son," 
 for which she was reproved by the Lord (xviii. 13). (3) 
 Of rejoicing and thankful laughter to Sarah, when the child 
 was born: "God hath made me to laugh; everyone that 
 heareth will laugh with me " (xxi. 6). (4) Of derisive, 
 "mocking" laughter to Ishmael (xxi. 9), which was the 
 occasion of fear and jealousy to Sarah, and of the casting 
 out of Hagar and her son. 
 
 Ishmael's name, which means " God will hear," is four 
 times referred to : Gen. xvi. 11 ; xvii. 20 ; xxi. 17 twice. 
 
 Saul's name, which means " Asked, sought for," receives 
 notice some five several times : (1) " Samuel told all the 
 words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a 
 king " (1 Sam. viii. 10). (2) When Samuel called the people 
 together, to choose by lot a king, "Saul, the son of Kish, 
 
AUTHOESHIP OF CHAPTEES XL.-LXVI. 89 
 
 was taken ; but when they sought him, he could not be 
 found. Therefore they asked of the Lord further. And 
 the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among 
 the stuff" (x. 22), (3) "Behold the king whom ye have 
 asked for" (xii. 13). (4) "Your wickedness is great in 
 ashing you a king " (xii. 17). (5) " Pray for thy servants : 
 for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ash us a 
 king" (xii. 19). 
 
 But of all the names in the Old Testament, the references 
 to the significance of Hezekiah's name far surpass every 
 other in number.^ These references are found mostly in 
 2 Chronicles (probably copied from Isaiah's annals of Heze- 
 kiah's reign : cf. 2 Chron. xxxii. 32 ; 2 Kings xx. 20). 
 
 1. Thus, in the very commencement of Hezekiah's reign, 
 we are told that "he in the first year of his reign, in 
 the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord 
 and repaired them (literally strengthened them Dj^'^n^l : 2 
 Chron. xxix. 3). 
 
 2. With a view to the discharge of the regular service of 
 the temple, " he commanded the people that dwelt in Jeru- 
 salem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, 
 that they might be encouraged (literally strengthened) in the 
 law of the Lord " (2 Chron. xxxi. 4). 
 
 3. But the point to which our attention is particularly 
 directed by the allusions to the significance of his name is 
 that whenever Hezekiah made " Jehovah Ms strength," even 
 in the most critical circumstances, Jehovah strengthened 
 him. When he looked to his own strength, evil befell him. 
 
 1 This might be expected from the name appearing in four differ- 
 ent forms, two beginning with H \Tv Hizqi-yah (PI^'p'trT) and 
 Hizqi-yahu ('irT'p^n), meaning My strength is Jah- Jehovah ; 
 and the other two beginning with y \^) (the prefix of the Future) : — 
 Y* hizqi-yah (rT'p^n^) ; and Y* hizqi-yahu (^n'^p'tn^), mean- 
 ing Jah, Jehovah strengthens (or will strengthen) me. The first 
 two forms occur 88 times, the last two 44. 
 
90 THE SERVANT OP THE LORD. 
 
 Thus, when " he was sick even unto death, and prayed 
 unto the Lord, and wept sore, the Lord heard him, and 
 raised him up, and added fifteen years to his life " (2 Kings 
 XX. 1-6). " But Hezekiah rendered not again according 
 to the benefit done unto him ; for his heart was hfted up ; 
 therefore, there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah, and 
 upon Jerusalem " (2 Chron. xxxii. 24, 25). In the pride of 
 his heart, he showed all his treasures to the ambassadors of 
 Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon. And when, several 
 years afterwards, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up 
 against the fenced cities of Judah, and was now about to 
 besiege Jerusalem, Hezekiah, in place of trusting in the 
 Lord, had recourse to worldly policy to deliver him from his 
 enemy, and had to pay him ' ' three hundred talents of silver, 
 and thirty talents of gold, all the silver that was found in 
 the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's 
 house " (2 Kings xviii. 13-16). This, however, proved but a 
 temporary respite. Sennacherib again sent Tartan and 
 Eabsaris and Eabshakeh with a mighty host to proceed to 
 extremities, and demanded the capitulation of Jerusalem. 
 Then, indeed, Hezekiah saw the folly and error of his 
 ways, and '^strengthened himself"'^ in the Lord, "and 
 strengthened" Millo in the city of David" (2 Chron. xxxii. 
 5). He then " rent his clothes and covered himself with 
 sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord " (2 Kings 
 xix. 1). " And it came to pass that night that the angel 
 of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the As- 
 syrians one hundred and fourscore and five thousand " 
 (verses 35-37). 
 
 Such is the lesson which Israel is called upon to learn 
 from the example of their king. As the Lord had done to 
 him, so would He do to them. "Trust in the Lord, and 
 He will deliver thee." Eefuse to trust, and He will leave 
 thee to thine own devices to reprove thee. 
 
AUTHORSHIP OF CHAPTERS XL.-LXVI. 91 
 
 Such, too, was the lesson which Isaiah was guided to 
 inweave into the texture of his last great prophecy for their 
 instruction, while, at the same time, by its being connected 
 with the name of Hezekiah, it marked the time and author- 
 ship of the prophecy to be none other than those of Isaiah. 
 The prophet gives several hints of his intention to allude to 
 Hezekiah's name which would at once be understood by his 
 contemporaries, who were familiar with this characteristic 
 of his writings in the remarkable fourfold allusion to the 
 names of his children and himself, which forms the key to 
 the interpretation of his first great prophecy of the " Vii-gin 
 and Child " ^ by its bringing out the full Messianic signifi- 
 cance of the phrase, " Behold I and the children whom 
 God hath given me are for signs and for portents in Israel 
 from the Lord of Hosts " (viii. 18) ; viz., (1) " Immanuel " 
 (viii. 3 to ix. 7) ; (2) " Maher-shalal-hash-baz " (ix. 8 to 
 X. 4) ; (3) " Shear-jashub " (x. 5 to 34) ; (4) "Isaiah" (xi. to 
 xii. 1-6). 
 
 So in the prophecy before us (xl.-lxvi.) Isaiah gave a hint 
 of his intended allusion to Hezekiah's name in the chapter 
 (xxxix.) which introduces the prophecy. In mentioning the 
 occasion of the letters and presents sent to Hezekiah by 
 Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon, that he heard he had 
 been sick unto death, the prophet changes the word used in 
 2 Kings XX. 7, "^rT^I, way-ifchi, literally and he lived or revived^ 
 into p^jn^l ^uay-ye-h^zaq = and he grew strong, in allusion 
 to Hezekiah's name. 
 
 ^ The difficulty connected with the prophecy consists in this : 
 The sign given by the command of the Lord to Ahaz is, that 
 " Before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the 
 good " (vii. 16), Ahaz should be delivered from the two hostile 
 kings who threatened him. The child, therefore, must evidently 
 be one born within a few years. How reconcile this with Matthew's 
 applying the prophecy to the Saviom-, who was not born until more 
 than 700 years afterwards ? For the solution, the reader must be 
 referred to a paper contributed to the Presbyterian Review for 
 October, 1886 (T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh), and which is now 
 appended to the present volume. 
 
92 THE SERVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 In xli. 1, which introduces Jehovah's challenge to the 
 idolators and idols, He, in contrast to the promise in xl. 31, 
 " They that wait upon the Loed shall reneio their strength," 
 calls upon the idolatrous peoples themselves to "renew their 
 strength," since their idols were utterly powerless to aid 
 them. Nay, the idolators are represented as calling each 
 to the other, ^p^H, hizqit, " Be strong " (verse 6). " So the 
 carpenter strengthened the goldsmith . . . and he 
 strengthened it [the idol] with nails that it should not be 
 moved" (verse 7); while, on the contrary, Jehovah 
 addresses Israel : " Thou whom I have taken strong hold 
 of from the ends of the earth" (verse 9). "I the Lord 
 God will strongly hold thy right hand" (verse 3, and agaiii 
 xlii. 6). 
 
 But it is in Ixii. 4 that the allusions to Hezekiah's name 
 and fortunes, and their prophetic import in determining the 
 future fortunes of Zion and her children, come out most 
 distinctly. Hitherto there w^as as yet, even when Heze- 
 kiah's deadly sickness was cured, no heir to the throne, nor 
 pledge of Zion's inheritance of the promised blessings. It 
 was after this when Hezekiah married a wife with the 
 uncommon name (of which there is no other instance in 
 the Bible) of Hephzibah, and by the parallel drawn be- 
 tween her and Zion, that the prophet places his meaning 
 beyond dispute. " Thou shalt no more be termed For- 
 saken : neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate : 
 but thou shalt be called Heph-zi-bah [that is, My pleasure 
 is in her], and thy land Beulah [that is. Married] ; for the 
 Loed delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married " 
 (Ixii. 4). 
 
 Now such a Paronomasia, or play upon the meaning of 
 names, was quite natural and appropriate in a writer living 
 in the time of Hezekiah and Hephzibah, but most un- 
 natural and inappropriate in one writing 150 years later ; 
 quite intelhgible to the contemporaries at the earlier period, 
 but all but unintelligible to those at the close of the Baby- 
 
CHAPTER LXV. 1, 2. 93 
 
 Ionian captivity, if then first propounded by a writer of 
 that age. 
 
 But there is a deeper hidden meaning, I believe, designed 
 by Him whose Spirit spake in the prophets, of which the 
 prophet himself and those of his time could have no con- 
 ception, and which the fulfilment alone, in a future age, 
 could disclose. Hezekiah, who humbled himself with 
 prayer and sore weeping unto the Lord, and was raised up 
 from the bed of death on the third day, is a striking type of 
 Him who, in consequence of His humbling Himself unto 
 death, and "offering up prayers and supplications with 
 strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save 
 Him from death, and having been heard for His godly fear " 
 (Heb. V. 7), was raised up from the bed of death on the 
 third day.^ 
 
 This seems an instance of the remarkable observation of 
 Bishop Butler, in his Analogy, part ii., chap. iii. : " Nor is 
 it at all incredible that a Book which has been so long in 
 the possession of mankind should contain many truths as 
 yet undiscovered. For all the same phenomena and the 
 same faculties of observation, from which such great dis- 
 coveries in natural knowledge have been made in the present 
 and last age, were equally in possession of mankind several 
 thousand years before. And possibly it might be intended 
 that events, as they come to pass, should open and ascertain 
 the meaning of several parts of Scripture." 
 
 I cannot conclude without adverting to the sadly mistaken 
 interpretation which Dr. Delitzsch has put upon the first 
 two verses of chap. Ixv. The sincere and loving respect I 
 feel for Dr. Delitzsch, to whose teachings, on Isaiah and the 
 Psalms especially, I am so deeply indebted, would have pre- 
 vented me from drawing marked attention to the danger of 
 the error into which I consider he has fallen. But the higher 
 interests of truth compel me to warn the young student 
 
 ^ Compare 2 Kings xxv. in Hohj Bible with Notes, by Christopher 
 "Wordsworth, D.D. 
 
94 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 against acceptance of the views he has expressed, subversive, 
 as I regard them to be, not only of the authority of St. Paul, 
 as an inspired apostle and expositor of God's Word, but also, 
 if carried to their logical conclusion, of Scripture itself. 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch holds that St. Paul is mistaken in his inter- 
 pretation of the first tw^o verses of Isaiah Ixv. , in referring the 
 first so distinctly to the Gentiles, and the second to Israel. 
 
 " And Isaiah is very bold and saitli, 
 
 I was found of them that sought Me not ; 
 I became manifest unto them that asked not of Me. 
 But as to Israel He saith, 
 
 All the day long did I spread out My hands 
 Unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." i 
 
 On this Dr. Delitzsch remarks : "Of all the Jewish 
 expositors there is only one, viz., Gecatilia, who refers verse 
 1 to the Gentiles ; and of the Christian expositors of 
 modern times, this reference is regarded as that designed by 
 the prophet, by Hendewerk, Dr. Hofmann, Stier, and Nagels- 
 bach. Dr. Delitzsch adds: "But we have no sympathy 
 with any such untenable efforts to save the Apostle's 
 honour ". Further he adds : " Paul also, in Eom. ix. 25, 26, 
 quotes Hosea ii. 25 (23) and ii. 1 (i. 10) in support of the 
 calling of the Gentiles ; whereas he could not have failed to 
 know that it is the restoration of Israel to favour that is 
 alluded to there. He merely appeals to Hosea ii. 1 (i. 10) 
 in support of the New Testament fact of the calling of the 
 Gentiles so far as it is in these words of the Old Testament 
 prophet that the fact is most adequately expressed.'' ^ 
 
 What then are the grounds on which St. Paul's interpore- 
 tation of these verses is so summarily set aside ? 
 
 1 Eomans x. 20, 21. 
 
 - That is, this is an instance of " accommodation," as it is called 
 (of which we have as yet seen no satisfactory proof that it exists), 
 accoi'ding to which the inspired writers quote the Old Testainent, 
 not in the true sense intended by the Spirit, but as we occasionally 
 put oiu- meanuig m the words of Shakespeare, or some universally 
 known writer ! 
 
CHAPTER LXV. 1, 2. 95 
 
 1. There can be no question that the rendering of the two 
 Niphal Perfects, as given by the Authorized and Kevised 
 Versions, " I mn sought of (inquired of by) them that asked 
 not for Me; 1 am found of them that sought Me not," is 
 correct, whatever decision may be come to as to the admis- 
 sibihty of the rendering adopted by Dr. Dehtzscla and other 
 modern interpreters. The former rendering was evidently 
 the general Jewish interpretation in the days of the Septua- 
 gint Version, and pi-esumably so still in the time of St. 
 Paul and his teacher, Gamaliel, since not a note or comment 
 is offered to support this view, notwithtanding that Jewish 
 pride and prejudices must strongly have revolted against 
 the doctrine, that the Gentiles were to be taken as God's 
 people, while Israel was to be cast off. 
 
 The rendering which Dr. Delitzsch and others substitute 
 is, " I was discernible to those who did not inquire, discover- 
 able by those who did not seek Me " ; i.e., one who might be 
 discerned — discovered. Such a meaning would naturally 
 be expressed, not by a Perfect, but by the Imperfect tense, 
 which, according to Gesenius {Grammar, § 127, 3), is used 
 for " a number of relations expressed by the Subjunctive, 
 especially by the Present Subjunctive. In this way is ex- 
 pressed what is future, or what is expected to occur, accord- 
 ing to a subjective view, such as the will of the individual, 
 or acccording to some other presupposition." 
 
 For Dr. Delitzsch's rendering of a " Perfect Niphal tolera- 
 tivum," " I was discernible,'' no instance whatever is given 
 by him, for, strange to say, those which he adduces (Ezek. 
 xiv# 3, XX. 3, 31, xxxvi. 37) are all Imperfects. But those 
 who translate more correctly, "I let Myself be inquired of " 
 (as Ewald, " Ich war zu erfragen fiir die nicht erfrag- 
 ten," and, similarly, Professor Cheyne), have yet failed to 
 discriminate the true meaning of " Niphal Perfectum tolera- 
 tivum," which never denotes (what alone would bear out the 
 reference of Ixv. 1 to the Jews), " I let Myself be inquired 
 of by those who did not, and had not before inquired, 
 
96 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 because they would not, and persistently refused to inquire 
 — but "I let Myself be discerned by those who had not 
 before inquired, simply because they had no previous oppor- 
 tunity, but did now inquire ; and only after inquiry dis- 
 cerned and " willingly " admitted the existence and claims 
 of Jehovah. This the single instance of a " Perfect Niphal 
 tolerativum," cited by Professor Cheyne, proves, namely, 
 Isaiah liii. 7, " he let himself be humbled, i.e., suffered 
 willingly ". The other three instances which he cites — Isaiah 
 Iv. 6, Psalm ii. 10, Gen. xii. 16 — have no bearing on the 
 meaning of a "Perfect Niphal tolerativum," since the part of 
 the verb used is, in the first, the Infinitive ; in the second, 
 the Imperative ; and, in the third, the Imperfect. 
 
 2. The argument deduced from St. Paul's quotation of 
 Hosea ii. 25 (23) and ii. 1 (i. 10) rests on an entire mis- 
 understanding of the Apostle's argument. He had been 
 arguing with the Jews, who contended that God could 
 never take as His people sinners so utterly unworthy as the 
 idolatrous heathen and cast off Israel. The Apostle's re- 
 ply, in Eom. ix. 25, 26, is. If, notwithstanding your apostasy 
 which the prophet Hosea predicts, and rejection by God, 
 he still affirms that the time will come, when God will 
 again receive you back and say unto you, " Ammi," "thou 
 art My people, and thou shalt say, Thou art my God," how 
 much more may He now show mercy to the Gentiles, how- 
 ever undeserving, who were never guilty of such heinous 
 apostasy as you have committed ? The reasoning is what 
 is called an argument a fortiori.^ 
 
 1 See my Analytical Commentary on Romans, p. 43, or Predestina- 
 tion and Freeivill Reconciled, pp. 110, 111. 
 
BOOK I. (CHAPTEKS XL. TO XLVIII.). 
 
 Text of Isaiah strophically arranged, with Brief Statement of 
 the Argument of each Chapter, and with Explanatory 
 Notes miderneath. 
 
 The Bishop of Lincoln remarks, in his Commentary, that 
 the nine chapters of Book I. are all correctly divided in 
 the common text, as proved by their being connected to- 
 gether " by catchivords "; that is to say, some leading word 
 at the end of one address is taken up at the beginning of the 
 following address, which is thus linked on to the foregoing 
 one. 
 
 1. Li xl. 31, the phrase, " renew their strength," at the 
 end of this first address, is repeated at the beginning of the 
 second address (xli. 1) ; and thus these two addresses are . 
 riveted together. 
 
 2. Again, the word breath (Heb. ruacli), at the end of 
 the second address, is taken up and repeated at the beginning 
 of the third address, and forms thereby a striking connexion 
 and contrast. [" Their molten images are wind (Heb. 
 ruach) and confusion." " I have put My Spirit (Heb. 
 ruach) upon Him : He shall bring forth judgment to the 
 Gentiles," &c.] 
 
 3. Again, the words Israel and Jacob, '' it set him on 
 fire,'' and " it burned him," at the end of the third address 
 (xlii. 25), are taken up and repeated at the beginning of the 
 fourth address (xliii. 1, 2) : "0 Jacob . . . Israel . . . 
 when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be 
 burned ' ' . 
 
 4. Again, the words at the end of the fourth address, 
 " I have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches," 
 
 7 
 
98 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 are followed by the consolation at the beginning of the fifth 
 address : " Yet now hear, O Jacob, My servant, and Israel, 
 whom I have chosen ". 
 
 5. Again, the words at the end of the fifth address, 
 " That saith of Cyrus, He is My shepherd," are taken up at 
 the beginning of the sixth address : " Thus saith the Lord 
 to His Anointed, to Gyrus ". 
 
 6. Again, the Divine declaration, " I have sworn by 
 Myself, Unto Thee every knee shall bow, every tongue shall 
 sivear,'' at the close of the sixth address, is followed by a 
 striking exemplification of its truth at the beginning of the 
 seventh address: " 3e\ boiveth doimi. . . . Nebo stoopeth. 
 They stoop, they boio down together." 
 
 7. This Divine declaration is further confirmed by the 
 beginning of the eighth address : " Covie doicn and sit in the 
 dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground". 
 
 8. Also the words, " Every tongue shall swear, surely 
 shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and 
 strength," which is the second clause of that Divine declara- 
 tion, " I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My 
 mouth in righteousness," are taken up at the beginiiing of 
 the ninth address : " Hear ye this, which sivear by the 
 Name of the Lord, but not in righteousness ". 
 
 This carefully connected symmetrical arrangement of 
 these nine chapters proves the fallacy of Dr. Alexander's 
 idea that this great prophecy is a " desultory composition". ^ 
 It contradicts in like manner Prof. Cheyne's opinion that 
 the prophecy was at one time much shorter.^ 
 
 FIEST TEILOGY (CHAPTEES XL. to XLIL). 
 
 Chaptee XL., a.^ 
 
 So inveterate had Israel's sin and propensity to idolatry 
 become as to be incurable by any but the most severe judg- 
 
 1 See page 10. ^ See page 23. 
 
 ^ The separate members of each trilogy are marked a, h, c. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 99 
 
 ments. Accordingly Isaiah had been commissioned by 
 God to announce to Hezekiah (xxxix. 6) that all " shall be 
 carried to Babylon". With such a denunciation of judg- 
 ment no true prophet could stop short, unless' he would 
 belie the special function of the prophetic office — the inter- 
 pretation to Israel of God's dealings with them and the up- 
 holding of their faith under the severity of His judgments 
 by the assurance that all was designed to subserve the 
 accomplishment of the high destiny promised to God's 
 people. "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people," was, there- 
 fore, the indispensable sequel to the denunciation of judg- 
 ment. How soon that judgment would fall upon the nation 
 the prophet knew not, with the exception that part of the 
 fifteen years of respite granted to Hezekiah's prayer were yet 
 to run. Viewing the judgment as very close at hand, 
 especially if he wrote towards the close of Hezekiah's 
 reign, or later, after the accession of Manasseh (c/. Ivii. 
 3-8), the prophet, in order to lead all to realize the 
 certainty of the irrevocable sentence that had gone forth 
 from Jehovah, throws himself and his readers generally 
 into the time and circumstances of the captivity as if 
 already present. 
 
 The consolation consists of three successive topics or 
 purposes to be accomplished by Israel's severe disciplinary 
 training, marked I., II., III., represented by the prophetic 
 perfect as if already attained. These are first repeated in 
 each of the 3x3 verses remaining of the Prologue (verses 
 3 to 11), emphasizing that not Israel (weak and perishable 
 as " the grass," verses 7 and 8) will accomplish these glori- 
 ous purposes, but Jehovah's ^oisdom and j^oiver. These 
 purposes are then dwelt upon in the first three chapters as 
 manifested in Jehovah's character. 
 
 The I. (in chap. xl. 12-31), as the Author of Creation, 
 whose knowledge and power (since no created being or thing 
 can elude, for " in Him they live, and move, and have their 
 being," Acts xvii. 28), how should Israel ever doubtingly 
 
100 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 exclaim, " My way is hid from Jehovah, and my judgment 
 is passed over from my God " ? (xl. 27). 
 
 The II. (in chap, xh.), as the Author of Providence, 
 directing and bringing to pass every event, by His prescient 
 wisdovi and predisposing iMiuer. In a challenge to the 
 idols, He claims to Himself the exclusive title to Deity, on 
 the ground that He alone can foretell events in the remote 
 future. 
 
 The III. (in chap, xlii.), as the Author of Eedem]}tion, 
 "■ who has put His Spirit upon Israel, so that he shall briiag 
 forth judgment to the Gentiles, and the isles shall wait for 
 his law" (1 to 4) ; and "I will keep and give him for a 
 people's covenant (covenanting medium), for a light of the 
 Gentiles " (verse 6) : — not, however, for any merit of his 
 own ; for " Who is blind, but My servant ? or deaf as My 
 messenger that I send ? " (verse 19). . . . Yet " it pleaseth 
 Jehovah, for His righteousness' sake, to magnify the law 
 and make it honourable " (verse 21) through Israel as His 
 servant. 
 
 But, in addition, each topic has a Book assigned to it, in 
 the central trilogy of which its words are repeated and en- 
 larged upon : — the I. in chaps, xliii. to xlv. ; the II. in 
 chaps, lii. to liv. ; and the III. in chaps. Ixi. to Ixiii. — thus 
 welding the whole prophecy together in close connexion. 
 
 Prologue. 
 
 Jehovah speaks — 
 XL. 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. 
 
 2. Speak ye comfortably mito Jerusalem, and cry mito her, 
 
 I. That her warfare (service) is accomplished, 
 II. That the punishment of her iniquity is accepted, 
 III. That she hath received of Jehovah's hand 
 Double for all her sins. 
 
 I. 
 
 3. The voice of one that crieth in the wilderness, 
 Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, 
 
 Make straight in the desert a high way for our God. 
 
CHAPTEE XL. 101 
 
 4. Every valley shall be exalted, 
 
 And every mountain and hill shall be brought low : 
 And the crooked shall be made straight, 
 And the rough places plain : 
 
 5. And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, 
 And all flesh shall see it together : 
 
 For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. 
 
 II. 
 
 6. The voice of one saying, Cry. 
 And one said. What shall I cry ? 
 " All flesh is grass. 
 
 And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : 
 
 7. Withered is the grass, faded the flower : 
 Because the breath of Jehovah hath blown upon it : 
 Surely the people is grass." 
 
 8. Withered is the grass, faded the flower : 
 But the word of our God shall stand for ever. 
 
 III. 
 
 9. thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, 
 Get thee up mto the high mountain ; 
 Lift up with strength thy voice, 
 
 thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem ; 
 
 Lift it up, be not afraid : 
 
 Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God ! 
 
 10. Behold the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, 
 And His arm shall rule for Him : 
 
 Behold His reward is with Him, 
 And His recompense before Him. 
 
 11. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, 
 He shall gather the lambs in His ariai. 
 
 And carry them in His bosom, ^ 
 
 And shall gently lead those that give suck. 
 
 With verse 12 (to the end of chap, xl.) begins the proof of 
 topic I. God, as the Author of Creation, must be inti- 
 mately acquainted with all the circumstances of His crea- 
 tures, " for in Him we live, and move, and have our being " 
 (Acts xvii. 25) — the same wisdom and power by which they 
 were at first created being equally needed at every moment 
 
102 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 to direct and uphold them. "Why sayest thou (then), O 
 Jacob, My way is hid from Jehovah, and my judgment is 
 passed away from my God ? '' (verse 27). 
 
 Verses 12 to 31 are divided by the refrain in verses 18 
 and 25 — " To whom then will ye liken God? " — into three 
 strophes of six verses each, which again are each subdivided 
 into three verses, relating the first three to knowledge, and 
 the second three to lyoiver. Placed first and last, as 
 the principal subject, Strophe I. (verses 12 to 17) and 
 Strophe III. (verses 26 to 31) set forth Jehovah's knoiv- 
 ledge and potver as Creator ; while the want of these, 
 the folly and poiverlessness of idols and idol-worshippers, 
 is placed in the more obscure position in the intermediate 
 strophe (verses 19 to 24), 
 
 Jehovah, as the Author of Creation and of all His Creatures, 
 has full knowledge of their needs and state, and can give wisdom 
 a7id power to the weakest to bring salvation to a fallen world. 
 Who can compare with Ood in knowledge ? 
 I. 
 
 12. "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. 
 And meted out heaven with the span, 
 
 And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, 
 And weighed the mountains m scales, 
 And the hills in a balance ? 
 
 13. Who hath directed the Spirit of Jehovah, 
 Or being His counsellor shall teach Him ? 
 
 14. With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, 
 And taught Him in the path of judgment, 
 
 And taught Him knowledge, 
 
 And will show to Him the way of miderstanding ? 
 Wlio can compare with God in power ? 
 
 15. Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, 
 And are counted as the small dust of the balance : 
 Behold, He taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 
 
 16. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, 
 
 Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offerinsr. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 103 
 
 17. All the nations are as nothing before Him, 
 
 They are cormted to Him less than nothing and vanity. 
 
 18. To whom then will ye liken God ? 
 
 Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him '? 
 Is it to the knowledge of the idol-makers yoii look as so formidable ? 
 
 II. 
 
 19. The graven image — a workman melted it, 
 And the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, 
 And casteth for it silver chains. 
 
 20. He that is too impoverished for such an oblation 
 Chooseth a tree that will not rot ; 
 
 He seeketh unto him a cunning workman, 
 
 To set up a graven image that shall not be moved. 
 
 21. Win ye^ not know ? Will ye not hear ? 
 Hath it not been told you from the beginning ? 
 
 Have ye not understood from the foundation of the world ? 
 Or to the idolators' vain power ? 
 
 22. It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, 
 And the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers ; 
 That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, 
 And hath spread them out as a tent to dwell in ; 
 
 23. That bringeth the princes to nothing ; 
 
 He hath made the judges of the earth as vanity. 
 
 24. Yea, they have not been planted ; 
 Yea, they have not been sown ; 
 
 Yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth : 
 
 And moreover he hath blown upon them, and they have 
 
 withered. 
 And the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. 
 
 25. To whom then will ye liken Me 
 
 That I should be equal to him ? saith the Holy One. 
 Can His knowledge fail who numbers the countless hosts of heaven ? 
 
 III. 
 
 26. Lift up your eyes and see, 
 Who hath created these ? 
 
 That bringeth out their host by number. 
 All of them He caUeth by name. 
 
 ^ " Will even ye Gentiles not know ? " Compare in contrast 
 verse 28, Hast t]wu (Israel) not known ? 
 
104 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 By the greatness of His might, and that He is strong in 
 
 power, 
 Not one is lacking. 
 
 27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, Israel, 
 My way is hid from Jehovah, 
 
 And my judgment passeth away from my God ? 
 
 28. Hast thou not known ? Hast thou not heard ? ' 
 An everlasting God is Jehovah, 
 
 Creator of the ends of the earth. ^ 
 
 He fainteth not, neither is weary ; 
 
 There is no searching of His understanding. 
 
 Or His power be insufficient to aid the xoecik .^ 
 
 29. He giveth power to the faint ; 
 
 And to him that hath no might He increaseth strength. 
 
 30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary. 
 And the young men shall utterly fall : 
 
 31. But they that wait upon Jehovah shall renew their strength ; 
 They shall mount up with wings as eagles ; 
 
 They shall run and not be weai'y ; 
 They shall walk and not faint. 
 
 Chapter XLI., h. 
 
 The Contest, " Wlio is God?" to he decided by the fidfil- 
 filment in a distant future of an event noiv to he 
 predicted. 
 
 The chapter consists of three strophes, the first and 
 last (I. and III.) of nine verses each, subdivided into 4 + 3 + 2, 
 both addressed by Jehovah directly to the idols and their 
 worshippers — both indirectly consolatory to Israel, as im- 
 plying the prescient knoioledge and predisposing pozver of 
 Jehovah their God, and the unconsciousness and nothing- 
 ness of the idols ; while the intermediate strophe (II.) of 
 eleven verses (10-20) directly addresses Israel in the 
 encouraging words, "Fear not; they that strive against 
 thee shall perish" (10-16); "In thine utmost need and 
 distress, I will revive and refresh thee " (17-20). 
 
 ^ See note, page 33. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 105 
 
 Jehovah, as the Author of Providence, hioiving and 
 directing all from the beginning, can bring home the con- 
 viction to Israel of His omniscience and omnijjotence, and of 
 the folly and potverlessness of idols, by His predicting the 
 distant future and bringing it to fulfilment. 
 
 Having summoned the idols with their idol-worshippers 
 to the contest, Jehovah takes the initiative, and announces 
 His purpose of raising up a great Conqueror from the East 
 to deliver His people from Babylon, whom He is to endow 
 with power over " the nations," specially naming those of 
 the " islands " of the West, as there first seen beginning his 
 victorious career. 
 
 I. ; 9 Verses = 4 + 3 + 2. 
 Jehovah speaks — 
 XLI. 1. Keep silence before Me, islands ; 
 
 And let the peoples renew their strength : ^ 
 Let them come near ; then let them speak : 
 Let us come near together to judgment. 
 
 2. Who hath raised up one from the East, 
 Whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot ? 
 He giveth the nations before him, 
 
 And maketh him rule over kings ; 
 
 He giveth them as the dust to his sword, 
 
 As THE driven stubble TO HIS BOW. 
 
 3. He pursueth them and passeth on safely ; 
 
 Even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. 
 
 4. Who hath wrought and done it, 
 
 Calling the generations from the begmning ? 
 1 — Jehovah — the first, 
 
 And with the last : — / am He. 
 
 Consternation of the idolators with their idols, from their 
 inability tohat reply to make. They set about encouraging 
 each other, " Be strong," and tinkering up) their idols, 
 fastening them ivith nails that they should not be moved. 
 
 ^ In sarcastic contrast to the promise, ^^ Jehovah shall renew the 
 strength of those that wait on Him " (xl. 31). 
 
106 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 The prophet speaks — 
 
 5. The islands looked, and fear ; 
 The ends of the earth tremble ; 
 They drew near and came. 
 
 6. They help each one his neighbour ; 
 And to his brother he saith, Be strong} 
 
 7. So the carpenter strengthened- the goldsmith, 
 And he that smootheth with the hammer 
 Him that smiteth the anvil. 
 
 Saying of the soldering, It is good : 
 
 And he strengthened^ it with nails that it should not be 
 moved. 
 
 Jehovah now leaves the idolators for a Httle to their 
 preparations, and turning round to Israel encourages 
 {strengthens) them : " Fear thou not, for I will stre^igthen 
 thee" (verse 10), and (17-20) " even in thy greatest need and 
 distress will refresh thee " (see pages 36, 37). 
 
 Jehovah spiealcs — 
 
 8. But thou, Israel, My servant, 
 Jacob, whom I have chosen. 
 The seed of Abraham My friend : 
 
 9. Thou whom I have taken strong hold of from the ends of 
 
 the earth, 
 And called thee from the corners thereof, 
 And said unto thee. Thou art My servant, 
 I have chosen thee and not cast thee away. 
 
 II. ; 11 verses =4 + 3 + 4. 
 
 XLI. 10. Feai* thou not, for / am with thee ; 
 Be not dismayed, for / am thy God : 
 I have strengthened thee ; yea, I have helped thee ; 
 Yea, I have upheld thee with the right hand of My 
 righteousness. 
 11. Behold they shall be ashamed and confounded, all 
 
 they that are incensed against thee ; 
 They shall be as nothing and perish, they that strive 
 with thee. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 107 
 
 12. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, 
 
 even them that contend with thee ; 
 They shall be as nothing and as a thing of 
 nought, they that war against thee. 
 
 13. For I Jehovah thy God will strongly lioW thy 
 
 right hand, 
 I that say unto thee, Fear not : I have helped 
 thee. 
 
 14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye men of Israel ; 
 I have helped thee, saith Jehovah, 
 
 And thy Eedeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 15. Behold, I have made thee a threshing instriunent. 
 Sharpened, new, with pointed teeth. 
 
 Thou shalt thresh the momitains, and beat them 
 
 small, 
 And shalt make the hills as chaff. 
 
 16. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry 
 
 them away. 
 And the whirlwind shall scatter them ; 
 And thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, 
 Thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 17. The poor and needy [are they] seeking water and there 
 
 is none ? 
 And their tongue is parched with thirst ? 
 /, Jehovah, wiU answer them. 
 The God of Israel, I will not forsake them. 
 
 18. I will open rivers on the bare heights, 
 And, in the midst of the valleys, fountains. 
 I will make the wilderness a pool of water, 
 And the dry land springs of water. 
 
 19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia tree. 
 And the myrtle, and the oil tree ; 
 
 I will set in the desert the fir tree. 
 The pine and the box tree together : 
 
 20. That they may see, and know. 
 
 And consider, and understand together. 
 That the hand of Jehovah hath done this, 
 And the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 
 
 And now Jehovah turns round to the idolators with their 
 idols, and calls upon them : 
 
 ' pnrra. 
 
108 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 III. ; 9 verses = 4 + 3 + 2. 
 
 21. Produce your cause, saith Jehovah : 
 
 Bring forth your strong forces [now surely sufficiently 
 
 strengthened /], 
 Saith the King of Jacob. 
 
 22. Let them bring them forth and declare unto us 
 The things that shall come to pass : — 
 
 The foremost things, what they are do ye declare, 
 That we may consider them and know their issue : 
 Or the things that are coming give us to hear. 
 
 23. Declare the things that are to come hereafter, 
 That we may know that ye are gods : 
 
 Yea, do good, or do evil. 
 
 That we may be dismayed, and behold it together : 
 
 24. Behold ye are of nothing, and yoiu* work of nought : 
 An abomination is he that chooseth you. 
 
 Once more, therefore, to clinch the matter conclusively, 
 Jehovah repeats the prophecy on the fulfilment of which He 
 stakes His claim to exclusive Divinity ; and, when not a 
 word nor movement is ventured in reply by the idolators or 
 their idols, He dismisses their pretensions with supreme 
 contempt. 
 
 25. I HAVE RAISED UP ONE FROM THE EaST, AND HE IS COME : 
 
 From the rising of the sun he shall call upon 
 
 My name : 
 And he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, 
 And as the potter treadeth clay. 
 
 26. Who hath declared it from the beginning that we may 
 
 know. 
 And beforetime that we may say, He is right ? 
 Yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that 
 
 showeth. 
 Yea, there is none that heareth your words. 
 
 27. I first say to Zion, Behold, behold them ; 
 
 And I give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 
 
 28. And I look, and there is no man : 
 
 Even among them, and there is no counsellor. 
 That when I ask of them, can return a word. 
 
 29. Behold all of them, vanity and nought are their works ; 
 "Wind and confusion are their graven images. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 109 
 
 With this chapter we have reached the crucial point 
 which decides the whole controversy respecting the age, 
 genuineness, and authorship of this great prophecy. We 
 have, on the one hand, the universal belief of the Jews, the 
 people to whom the prophecy was addressed, who, whatever 
 may be the opinion of our modern critics, believed that the 
 prophets were Divinely inspired, and were enabled to pre- 
 dict the distant future ; on the other, we have the opinion 
 of the great majority of modern critics, who begin by 
 prejudging the whole question, and holding, as if it were an 
 axiomatic truth, that " that time, those time-relations, out 
 of which a prophetic writer is explained, are his time, his 
 time-relations (prophets being bounded, like other men, by 
 the horizon of their own age) — to that time he ^ixTtTst be 
 referred as the date of his existence " ■* — that consequently, 
 as the prophet here so distinctly refers to the conquests of 
 Gyrus, and, above all, as he specifies his very name, he must 
 have been his contemporary, and lived at the close of the 
 Babylonish captivity. 
 
 Leaving, however, the opinions of others aside, let us 
 divest ourselves of all prepossessions on either side as far as 
 possible, and examine the bearing of the argument, as 
 clearly stated by the prophet himself, that he that runs may 
 read. Now, in the chapter before us, the point on which 
 the decision of the " Contest, Who is God? " is represented 
 as turning is beyond all controversy : Who — Jehovah or the 
 idols — is able to predict a remote future event ? — the 
 decision, of course, to be settled by the fulfilment of the 
 prediction when accomplished. This is evident not only 
 from Jehovah's distinct announcement of the prediction as 
 to Cyrus on which He stakes His claim, and His call on the 
 idols in like manner to " produce their cause," by declaring 
 " the things that are to come to pass, that ice may know that 
 ye are gods," but also — and this is the point we wish first 
 
 ^ See refi;tation of this Dictum in pages 17-19, as contrary to the 
 analogy of almost all prophecy. 
 
110 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 to emphasize — by the prophet's repeating and re-repeating 
 this in each of the succeeding chapters of Book I. A brief 
 quotation from each of the chapters will make this clear. 
 
 Chap. xlii. " I am Jehovah, that is My Name, and My 
 glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to golden 
 images. Behold, the former things [as to Cyrus] are come 
 to pass, and new things I declare unto you [as to the 
 Messiah, who is to take Israel's place on their refusing to 
 advance to the second step] : before they spring forth, I tell 
 you of them " (verses 8, 9). 
 
 Chap, xliii. " Ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and 
 My servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and 
 believe Me, and understand that I am He ; before Me there 
 was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me " 
 (verse 10, &c.). 
 
 Chap. xliv. "J am the first, and I am the last; and 
 beside Me there is no God" (verse 6). "That saith of 
 Cyrus, He is My shepherd, and shall perform all My 
 pleasure," &c. (verse 28). 
 
 Chap. xlv. " Thus saith Jehovah to His Anointed, to 
 Cyrus ... J will go before thee . . . and I will give thee 
 the treasures of darkness that thou may est himo that I am 
 Jehovah which call thee by thy name " (verses 1, 3). 
 "That [not only thou, but all] they may knoio, from the 
 rising of the sun and the west, that there is none beside 
 Me : Jam Jehovah, and there is none else " (verse 6). 
 
 Chap. xlvi. And now the fulfilment is at hand. The 
 idols of Babylon, " Bel hath bowed down, Nebo hath 
 stooped " (verse 1). " Hearken unto me, house of Jacob, 
 I am God, and there is none else, declaring the end from 
 the beginning . . . calling a ravenous bird (Cyrus) from the 
 east, the man of My counsel from a far country ; yea, I 
 have spoken, I will also bring it to pass " (verses 3, 
 10,11). 
 
 Chap, xlvii. The call is heard to the " virgin " daughter 
 of Babylon. " Come down ... sit on the ground without 
 
CHAPTER XLI. Ill 
 
 a throne. Our Eedeemer Jehovah of Hosts is His name, 
 the Holy One of Israel" (verses 1, 4). 
 
 Chap, xlviii. sums up the whole of Book I. with a call on 
 Israel to " hear," "hearken," six times repeated, now that 
 the first great purpose of God is fulfilled. " The former 
 things from of old [as to the deliverance through Cyrus] I 
 declared ; suddenly I did them, and they have come to 
 pass" (verse 3). And now that they have seen their exact 
 fulfilment, and cannot but confess the sole Godhead of 
 Jehovah, He calls upon them to yield themselves in willing 
 submission to the next great purpose He has in view for 
 them — namely, to " accept of the punishment of their 
 iniquity" (xl. 2). But, alas! Israel's pride and self- 
 righteousness forbid ; and since they refuse to advance to 
 the next step, Messiah is constrained to step forward and to 
 offer Himself in their stead, as the Servant of Jehovah to 
 fulfil His commands, with the words, " And now Jehovah 
 God hath sent Me and His Spirit" (verse 16). The Book 
 closes with a lament over the unbelieving stubbornness of 
 Israel : " Oh, that thou hadst hearkened to My command- 
 ments ! then had thy peace been as a river" (verse 18); 
 "But there is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked" 
 (verse 22). Nevertheless, to the few that will hear the 
 call is addressed, " Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the 
 Chaldeans " (verse 20). 
 
 The controversy started in chap, xli., " Who — Jehovah, or 
 the idols — is God? " is thus, by the line of argument now- 
 stated, manifestly, beyond all question, made by the 
 prophet to depend for its decision on the fulfilment of 
 Jehovah's prediction, that He would raise up at the close 
 of the Babylonish captivity a great conqueror and deliverer 
 for Israel, Cyrus. If such a prophecy was universally 
 known and diligently preserved, and studied by all classes 
 of the Jewish exiles for their consolation under their suffer- 
 ings and support of their faith, the whole facts and the 
 remarkable conclusions that flowed from them are seen at 
 
112 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 once to be natural and intelligible. But if no such prophecy 
 existed, but was merely the writing of some nameless author, 
 produced after the appearance and victories of Cyrus, there 
 is no escape from the conclusion that the whole prophecy is 
 meaningless, and a mere farce and delusion. 
 
 But to appreciate aright the exceeding importance and 
 preciousness of this great prophecy, we must keep in mind 
 the two momentous purposes for which God gave it to 
 Isaiah, and which it so effectually answered. 
 
 And, first, with regard to Israel. Its great purpose un- 
 doubtedly was to sustain their faith during their long and 
 cheerless sojourn in Babylonia, by assuring them that it was 
 in fulfilment of Jehovah's promises and gracious purposes 
 for their highest welfare that He was now afiflicting them, 
 and to cure them of their inveterate propensity to idolatry, 
 which all His past dealings and chastisements of them from 
 the time of Moses downward had been powerless to effect. 
 This most difficult change in their whole mode of thinking 
 and acting, we know it did effectively accomplish. From 
 that time to this they utterly renounced idolatry, and ac- 
 knowledged the supreme and exclusive title to Deity of 
 Jehovah as the alone living and true God. Such a remark- 
 able change must have had as remarkable a cause. This 
 we find alone in Isaiah's prophecy upholding the hopes and 
 faith of the exiles, by its foretelling ages before they took 
 place the rise and victories of a great conqueror who would 
 deliver them from the power of Babylon and restore them 
 to their own land, specifying even his very name and 
 country. This precious document, which the exiles 
 carried with them to Babylon, and of which many copies 
 would doubtless be multiplied, would become more and 
 more the daily study and meditation of all classes the 
 nearer the time approached for its fulfilment. This fur- 
 nishes the only adequate explanation of the remarkable 
 change which took place in the minds and practice of the 
 Jewish people. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 113 
 
 But how stands the question on the supposition of those 
 who make the prophecy to be the production of a nameless 
 author who hved and wrote in the age of Cyrus ? They 
 represent him as essaying to manufacture a prophecy (!) out 
 of what formed the common talk of the day, and thus to 
 have set himself deliberately to write himself down as either 
 a fool, or a forger who hoped to pass off his lucubrations as 
 ancient writings ! Unless the prophecy had been long and 
 familiarly known to all the Jewish exiles as the work of 
 Isaiah, and its songs,' sung to the accompaniment of their 
 harps by Babel's streams, as they " sat down, and wept 
 when they remembered Zion," had formed the solace of the 
 little leisure allowed them, we have no satisfactory explana- 
 tion of the most remarkable change of thought and practice 
 that occurs in history. 
 
 But, secondly, we have not to account alone for so re- 
 markable a change on the part of Israel ; we find a similar 
 change of conviction and purpose on the part of Cyrus. 
 We have, in Ezra i. 2, 3, the account of a very extraordinary 
 proclamation to be made by a heathen monarch. " Thus 
 saith Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth 
 hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me, and He hath 
 charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem which is 
 in Judah." The wording of the proclamation is manifestly 
 taken from Isaiah xlv. 1 to 5 and xliv. 28. No one can 
 believe that unless the Jews were able to give to Cyrus the 
 most incontestable proofs of the antiquity and genuineness 
 of Isaiah's prophecy, he would have made such a public 
 acknowledgment of the supremacy of Jehovah, and the 
 reverence due to His commands. 
 
 For the genuineness of the proclamation and the certainty 
 of its issue, we have the strongest confirmation, since the 
 adversaries of the Jews were successful in arresting the 
 building of the temple until the reign of Darius Hystaspes, 
 
 1 Compare xlii. 10, 12 ; xliv. 23 ; xlv. 8. 
 
 8 
 
114 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 who caused inquiry to be made respecting the proclamation 
 of Cyrus, a copy of which was found at Achmetha (Ecbatana). 
 In consequence of this, Darius made a decree for the prose- 
 cution of the work and advancement of the necessary funds 
 for the completion of the temple and the carrying on of its 
 services. This was followed some sixty years afterwards by 
 Artaxerxes sending Ezra to Jerusalem with large contribu- 
 tions of " silver and gold from the king and his counsellors,'' 
 besides orders to the " treasurers beyond the river " to pro- 
 vide most liberally for the service of ' ' the God of heaven " 
 (Ezra vii.). 
 
 Admit the truth and antiquity of the prophecy before us, 
 as being the work of Isaiah, and we have a satisfactory 
 'account of the remarkable facts now recorded, and the con- 
 sequences flowing from the fulfilment of the prediction. 
 Otherwise we have a series of facts of which no rational 
 account has been, nor can be, rendered. 
 
 The sole reply to this, by which it seems to be taken for 
 granted that all difficulties will be smoothed over, is to re- 
 present as a matter of indifference ivlien or hy whom the 
 prophecy was indited. Why, on the contrary, it is of the 
 most extreme consequence. If the prophecy was not written 
 ages before the Babylonish captivity, and universally 
 known and studied as Isaiah's by all classes of the Jewish 
 exiles, and unless numerous copies were produced to Cyrus, 
 bearing on them the most indubitable proofs of their anti- 
 quity and genuineness, no plausible account can be given of 
 the remarkable change of mind and conviction on the part 
 of either Cyrus or of the Jews. 
 
 Chapter XLII., c. 
 
 With what show of reason then can Dr. Delitzsch say, 
 " In relation to Isaiah's mentioning Cyrus by name cen- 
 turies before his appearance (210 years according to 
 Josephus), if we only allow that the prophet was really a 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 115 
 
 prophet, it is of no essential consequence to what age he 
 belonged " ? ^ Or how can Professor Driver, who maintains 
 the post-exilic origin of the prophecy — in reference to the 
 judgment scene in chap, xli., in which " the question is, 
 Who has stirred up the great conq2teror Cyrus ? Who 
 has led him ^tpon his career of victory ? " — say, " Only one 
 answer is possible — Jehovah, the Creator of history, who 
 preceded the generations of the past, and will abide through 
 the generations of the future " (verse 4).2 Would Cyrus, 
 would any intelligent Gentile, for a moment have allowed 
 such an unfounded assertion to pass ? His reply would 
 have been. What rational claim have you to ascribe our 
 victories to your God, who was powerless to defend you 
 even from the Babylonians ? Our oivn gods — not yours — 
 have given us our victories ! 
 
 Chapter XLII., c. 
 
 The High Ideal required of Israel. 
 
 The scene in chap. xli. is still continued, as is evident 
 from the last words in xli. 29, " Their molten images are 
 loind (mi) and confusion," being caught up by the "catch- 
 word " in xlii. 1, " I have put My Spirit ^TTT^) upon him ". 
 Jehovah turns away from the idols, whose pretensions He 
 had just dismissed with contempt, and round, not to the 
 Messiah, as some erroneously suppose, but to Israel, 
 whom He addresses, as is farther evident from His 
 using the same terms with regard to them as He had 
 done before : " Behold My servant (see xli. 8) whom I 
 uphold (xli. 10), My chosen (xli. 9) ; I have put My Spirit 
 upon him " (exactly as He repeats in xliv. 3). It would be 
 altogether premature to introduce the Messiah at this early 
 stage, before the necessity is proved for His interposition 
 
 ^ Dr. Delitzsch's Prophecies of Isaiah, \6\. ii., p. 138. 
 " Prof. Driver's Isaiah, p. 139. 
 
116 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 by Israel's having refused to advance to the second step. 
 The first step (the accompHshment of Israel's " warfare " 
 against idolatry and acknowledgment of Jehovah's exclu- 
 sive title to Deity) can only be attained by the fulfilment 
 of the proof He offered in chap, xli., by the coming of Cyrus 
 and the restoration of Israel to their own land. The de- 
 scription of Israel's service as the servant of Jehovah in 
 xlii. 1 to 4 is only the high Ideal after which they must 
 be continually aspiring to " bring forth judgment to the 
 Gentiles " (verse 1), the attainment of such a spirit of 
 meekness and loving sympathy as will rekindle the dying 
 spark of spiritual life in those of the Gentiles in whom sin 
 has not yet entirely extinguished it, so as finally to " set 
 judgment in the earth " and to make " the isles to wait for 
 his law " (verse 4). That this is the true meaning of the 
 prophet St. Paul has shown by using almost the same words 
 in reference to the duty of the members of the Christian 
 Church who had taken the place forfeited by the refusal of 
 the Jewish Church to advance to the second step required 
 — to " accept of the punishment of their iniquity " [as duly 
 merited] : " The servant of the Loed must not strive, but 
 be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness 
 instructing those that oppose themselves" (2 Tim. ii. 24, 25). 
 But the second division or strophe of chap. xlii. (verses 14 
 to 25) brings out still more decidedly the error that has 
 been committed in interpreting the chapter as relating to 
 the Messiah. To see this, let us first state the strophical 
 arrangement. The chapter consists of 2 strophes of 12 
 verses each, with verse 13 as the centre. In Parallelism, 
 the twofold division marks strong antithesis.^ Strophe I. 
 
 1 e.g., The first table of the Decalogiie relates to Jehovah, the 
 second to man ; the first four of the Beatitudes to the wants of man, 
 the three last to the fulness of God; while the seven petitions of the 
 Lord's Prayer reverse the order, the first three setting forth the 
 glory of God as the first object to be contemplated in prayer, 
 the last three, the supply of man's wants, occupying the subordinate 
 place. (See Symmetrical Structure of Scripture, pp. 137 to 195.) 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 117 
 
 (1 to 12) sets forth the glorious final state of exaltation 
 which Jehovah has in view for Israel ; for which (central 
 verse, 13) He will arouse His jealousy, to the discomfiture 
 of all His enemies. Strophe II. (14 to 25) describes in 
 contrast Israel's deep state of humiliation now which they 
 have brought on themselves, and the still deeper in prospect 
 which is needed to discipline them for the attainment of 
 their final high distinction. The whole point of the humili- 
 ation rests in its striking contrast to the greatness of the 
 exaltation promised : " I will give thee for a light of the 
 Gentiles, to open the blind eyes " (Strophe I., verses 6, 7). 
 But Strophe II., " Who is blind but My servant ? or deaf as 
 My messenger that I send?" (verse 19). "Opening the 
 ears [of others]? But he heareth not" [himself] ; sent " to 
 bring out them that sit in darkness out of the prison- 
 house " (Strophe I., verse 17). " But (Strophe II.) this is a 
 people [themselves] snared in holes, and they are hid in 
 prison-houses " (verse 22). Yet how ? whence all this 
 humiliation ? From the superior power of their enemies ? 
 Nay. " Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the 
 robbers? He against whom they have sinned (verse 24). 
 Therefore He poured upon them the fury of His anger, 
 and it set him on fire round about, yet he laid it not to 
 heart." 
 
 Jehovah as the Author of Bedemption tvill make Israel the 
 instrument of bringing light and salvation to others ; 
 
 XLII. 1. Behold My servant, whom I uphold ; 
 
 My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth ; 
 
 I have put My Spirit upon him ; 
 
 He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 
 
 2. He shall not cry, nor lift up, 
 
 Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
 
 3. A bruised reed shall he not break, 
 
 And the smoking flax shall he not quench : 
 He shall bring forth judgment in truth. 
 
118 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, 
 Till he have set judgment in the earth ; 
 And the isles shall wait for his law. 
 
 5. Thus saith the God, Jehovah, 
 
 He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth ; 
 He that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh 
 
 out of it ; 
 He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, 
 And spirit to them that walk therein : 
 
 6. 1 Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, 
 And will strongly hold thine hand, 
 
 And will keep thee, and give thee 
 For a covenant of the people, for a light of the 
 Gentiles ; 
 
 7. To open the blind eyes. 
 
 To bring out from the dungeon the prisoners, 
 
 And oiit of the prison house them that sit in darkness. 
 
 8. / am Jehovah ; that is My Name : 
 
 And My glory will I not give to another, 
 Neither My praise unto graven images. 
 
 9. Behold the former things are come to pass. 
 And new things do I declare : 
 
 Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. 
 
 And of eliciting a song of praise from the loliole of a re- 
 deemed world, and causing discomfiture to all who trust in 
 graven images (verses 8 and 17), for Jehovah tvill stir iqy 
 His jealousy against them (verses 14-16). 
 
 10. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, 
 
 And His pi'aise from the end of the earth ; 
 Ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein, 
 The isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 
 
 11. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up 
 
 their voice. 
 The villages that Kedar doth inhabit ; 
 Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, 
 Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 
 
 12. Let them give glory unto Jehovah, 
 And declare His praise in the islands. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 119 
 
 13. Jehovah shall go forth as a mighty man ; 
 He shall stu- up jealoiasy like a man of war : 
 He shall cry, yea, He shall shout aloud ; 
 He shall do mightily against His enemies. 
 
 II. 
 
 14. I have long time holden My peace ; 
 I kept still, and refrained^ Myself: 
 
 Now will I cry out like a travailing woman ; 
 I will gasp and pant together. 
 
 15. I will make waste mountains and hills, 
 And dry up all their herbs ; 
 
 And I will make the rivers islands, 
 And will dry up the pools. 
 
 16. And I will bring the blind by a way that they know 
 
 not ; 
 In paths that they know not will I lead them : 
 I will make darkness light before them, 
 And crooked places straight. 
 These are the things : I have done them, and I will 
 
 not forsake them.^ 
 
 17. They are turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, 
 That trust in graven images, 
 
 That say unto molten images, Ye are our gods. 
 
 All this ivill God do for, and with, Israel, deaf and blind 
 (verse 18), and utterly powerless as he appears to he in 
 his present state ; 
 
 18. Hear, ye deaf ; 
 
 And look, ye blind, that ye may see. 
 
 19. Who is blind, but My servant ? 
 
 Or deaf, as My messenger that I send ? 
 "Who is blind as he that is at peace with Me, 
 And blind as Jehovah's servant ? 
 
 20. Thou hast seen many things, but thou observest not ; 
 Opening the ears [of others], but he heareth not [himself]. 
 
 21. [Yet] it pleaseth Jehovah, for His righteousness' sake, 
 To magnify the law, and make it honourable. 
 
 ^ Imperfect used frequentatively, so Dr. Driver, or interroga- 
 tively, as Ewald, " Shall I keep still ? shall I refrain Myself ? " 
 
 '^ Is not the correct translation of this clause " And I will not 
 leave thejn off, ox undone " '? 
 
120 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 22. But this is a people robbed and spoiled ; 
 They are all of them snared in holes, 
 And they are hid in prison houses. 
 They are for a prey, and none delivereth ; 
 For a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 
 
 23. Who is there among you that will give ear to this ? 
 That will hearken and hear for the time to come ? 
 
 24. Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers ? 
 Did not Jehovah, He agamst whom we have sinned, 
 And in whose ways they would not walk. 
 
 Neither were they obedient iinto His laws ? 
 
 25. Therefore He poured upon him the fury of His anger, 
 And the strength of battle ; 
 
 And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not ; 
 And it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. 
 
 CENTEAL TRILOGY (CHAPTERS XLIII. to XLV.). 
 
 Chapter XLIII. , a, 
 Consists of 4 strophes of 7 verses each. 
 
 Strophe I. (1 to 7) : Jehovah ^'created and formed " (verses 
 1 and 7) Israel "for His glory," and therefore will "re- 
 deem " him (verse 1). 
 
 XLIII. 1. But now thus saith Jehovah that created thee, Jacob, 
 And He that formed thee, O Israel : 
 Fear not, for I have redeemed thee ; 
 I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. 
 
 2. When thou passest through the waters, / will be with 
 
 thee ; 
 And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ; 
 When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be 
 
 burned ; 
 Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 
 
 3. For / am Jehovah thy God, 
 
 The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ; 
 I have given as thy ransom Egypt, 
 Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 121 
 
 4. Since thou hast been precious in My sight, 
 Hast been honourable, and 7 have loved thee ; 
 Therefore will I give men for thee, 
 
 And peoples for thy life. 
 
 5. Fear not ; for / am with thee : 
 From the east will I bring thy seed, 
 And from the west will I gather thee ; 
 
 6. I will say to the north, Give up ; 
 And to the south, Keep not back ; 
 Bring My sons from far, 
 
 And My daughters froin the end of the earth. 
 
 7. Every one that is called by My name, 
 And whona I have created for My glory ; 
 
 I have formed him ; yea, I have made him. 
 
 II. 
 
 Strophe II. (8 to 14) : Israel shall bo the loitnesses to the 
 assembled nations of His redeeming grace, and especially of 
 His redemption of them from the Chaldeans (verse 14). 
 (Compare pages 48, 49.) 
 
 8. He hath brought forth a people blind, and [now] they 
 
 have eyes ; 
 And deaf, and they have ears. 
 
 9. All the nations are gathered together, , 
 And let the peoples be assembled. 
 
 Who among themi could declare this,i 
 And let us hear the foremost things ? 
 Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be 
 
 justified : 
 Or let them hear [My witnesses] and say, It is truth. 
 
 10. Ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, 
 And My servant whom I have chosen : 
 That ye may know and believe Me, 
 And understand that / am He ; 
 Before Me there was no God formed, 
 Neither shall there be after Me. 
 
 11. 7, even 7, am Jehovah ; 
 
 And beside Me there is no Saviour. 
 
 1 Referring evidently to the unanswered challenge to the idols 
 and their worshippers in chap. xli. 22, 28. 
 
122 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 12. I have declared, and have saved, and have showed, 
 And there was no stra.nge god among you ; 
 Therefore ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and / 
 
 am God. 
 
 13. Yea, since the day was, I am He ; 
 
 And there is none that can dehver out of My hand : 
 I will work, and who shall reverse it ? 
 
 14. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel : 
 
 For your sake I have sent to Babylon, 
 
 And I will bring down all of them as fugitives, 
 
 Even the Chaldeans in the ships of their shouting.-^ 
 
 III. 
 
 Strophe III. (15 to 21) : The neiv redemption tvill more 
 than equal that from Egypt ; 
 
 15. 7 am Jehovah, your Holy One, 
 The Creator of Israel, your King. 
 
 16. Thus saith Jehovah which maketh a way in the sea, 
 And a path in the mighty waters ; 
 
 17. Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army 
 
 and the power ; 
 They lie down together, they shall not rise ; 
 They are extinct, they are quenched as flax. 
 
 18. Remember ye not the former things. 
 Neither consider the things of old. 
 
 19. Behold, I will do a new thing ; 
 
 Now shall it spring forth ; shall ye not know it ? 
 I will even make in the wilderness a way, 
 And in the desert rivers. 
 
 20. The beasts of the field shall honour Me, 
 The jackals and the ostriches : 
 
 Because I have given in the wilderness waters. 
 
 Rivers in the desert. 
 
 To give drink to My people, My chosen : 
 
 21. The people which I have formed for Myself, 
 They shall set forth My praise. 
 
 1 Another "Janus-word," Prof. Cheyne : shouting either for 
 victory or defeat. 
 
CHAPTEE XLIII. 
 
 123 
 
 IV. 
 
 Strophe IV. (22 to 28) : And is wholly the fmit of God's 
 undeserved grace, which hlotteth out thy transgressions for 
 Mine otvn sake (verse 25) ; for from thy earliest parentage all 
 have transgressed against Me (verse 27), and called for severe 
 chastisements (verse 28), 
 
 What Israel 
 has done 
 to God. 
 
 What 
 7iot done. 
 
 What God 
 
 has not done 
 
 to Israel. 
 
 What Israel 
 
 has not done 
 
 to God. 
 
 What Israel 
 has done 
 to God. 
 
 / 22. Btit not on Me hast thou called, Jacob ; 
 For thou hast become wearied of Me, 
 O Israel. 
 
 23. Thou has not brought Me the small cattle 
 
 of thy burnt offerings ; 
 Neither hast thou honoured Me with thy 
 
 sacrifices. 
 . I have not made thee to serve with 
 < offerings, 
 
 \ Nor wearied thee with frankincense. 
 
 24. Thou hast brought Me no sweet cane with 
 
 money. 
 Neither hast thou fiUed Me with the fat of 
 thy sacrifices : 
 But thou hast made Me to serve with 
 
 thy sins, 
 Thou hast wearied Me with thine 
 iniquities. 
 
 25. I, even /, am He that blotteth out thy 
 
 transgressions for Mine own 
 sake, 
 And I will not remember thy sins. 
 
 26. Put Me in remembrance ; let us plead to- 
 
 gether ; 
 Set thou forth thy cause, that thou mayest 
 be justified. 
 
 27. Thy first father sinned, 
 
 And thine interpreters have transgressed 
 against Me. 
 
 28. Therefore will I profane the princes of the 
 
 sanctuary, 
 And make Jacob a curse, and Israel a 
 reviling. 
 
124 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Chapter XLIV., h, 
 
 Forms an Introverted Parallelism, consisting of three 
 strophes, 8 (verses 1 to 8) ; 12 (verses 9 to 20) ; and 8 
 (verses 21 to 28). Their connexion and subdivision are as 
 follows. Of course, the first and last correspond. God 
 will fulfil all His gracious promises to Israel as His 
 " servant " (verses 1 and 21), and as being Israel's " Maker 
 and Former " (verses 2, 21, 24), and Eedeemer (verses 3-6, 
 22-24). 
 
 Strophes I. and III. : ' ' Yet [though thou hast been so 
 unmindful of Me] hear now " what for Mine own Name's 
 sake I will do. As thy Creator, " I have chosen and formed 
 thee from the womb " (verses 2 and 24) as My people to be 
 " a kingdom — of priests, a holy — nation '' to Myself (Exod. 
 xix. 6), and as "thy Eedeemer" (verses 3-6 and 22-24) will 
 fulfil My purpose. 
 
 Strophe I. (1 to 8), by what I shall do for thee — by 
 "pouring out My Spirit upon thy seed" (verse 3), and 
 giving thee children from among the Gentiles (verse 5), 
 and thus proving that " beside Me there is no God " 
 that can declare the things that are to come to pass 
 (verse 7). 
 
 Strophe III. (21 to 28), by what I shall lead thee to do, 
 by the teaching of My providence — to " Eemember these 
 things " — the folly and j;owerlessness of idols and their 
 worshippers (central strophe) in contrast with My prescient 
 knowledge, and power to fulfil — to see that I can make the 
 "diviners mad and their knowledge foolish" (verse 25), 
 and perform the counsel of My own messengers " — that 
 " Cyrus as My shepherd shall perform all My pleasure " 
 (verse 28). 
 
 The eight is subdivided in Strophe I. into 5 + 3, and in 
 Strophe III. into 3-1-5. 
 
 Strophe II. (9 to 20), subdivided into 3 + 6 -f 3, as the 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 125 
 
 central strophe, is polemic, satirizing the folly and potoer- 
 lessness of idols and their worshippers. 
 
 The arrangement of the whole may thus be represented : 
 
 1 to 5. " Yet now hear, O Jacob, My servant ; and Israel whom 
 
 I have chosen " (c/. xli. 8), what I will do for 
 
 the advancement of My glory, "in helping thee," 
 
 and multiplying "thine offspring" (verse 3). 
 
 6 to 8. For I am the sl\-knoiving and &]l-'poiverful God, " beside 
 
 whom there is no God " (verse 6). 
 9 to 11. Against whom what can idolators with their sense- 
 
 less and powerless idols avail ? 
 12 to 14 C Which are man's own work, 
 
 , g ; Yj K Nay, made of the very wood which he em- 
 
 ( ploys for the most trivial uses. 
 
 18 to 21. And yet their worshippers cannot see their foUy 
 
 and delusion in trusting to them I 
 21 to 23. Let Israel " remember " that he is My servant 
 (verse 21), formed and redeemed by Me 
 (verses 22 and 23), and in whom I will glorify 
 Myself (verse 23). 
 24 to 28. The fulfilment of the greater final redemption being 
 pledged by the fulfilment of the lesser. 
 
 I., h. 
 XLIV. 1. Yet now hear, Jacob, My servant ; - , 
 
 And Israel, whom I have chosen : 
 
 2. Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, 
 
 And formed thee from the womb, who will help thee : 
 
 Fear not, O Jacob, My servant ; 
 
 And thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen : 
 
 3. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty. 
 And streams upon the dry ground : 
 
 I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, 
 And My blessings upon thme offspring : 
 
 4. And they shall spring up among the grass, 
 As willows by the watercourses. 
 
 5. One shall say, I am Jehovah's ; 
 
 And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; i 
 
 1 These, therefore, must be Gentile children, and point to a later 
 period than the return from Babylon ; for Isaiah did not expect 
 numerous converts of Babylonians to return with Israel. 
 
126 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 And another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, 
 And surname himself by the name of Israel. 
 
 6. Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, 
 And his Eedeemer, Jehovah of Hosts : 
 I am the first, and I am the last ; 
 And beside Me there is no God. 
 
 7. And who, as I, shall call, 
 
 And shall declare and set it in order for Me, 
 Since I appointed the ancient people ? 
 And the things that are coming, and that shall come 
 to pass, let them declare. 
 
 8. Fear ye not, neither be afraid : 
 Have I not declared unto thee of old, 
 
 And showed it ? And ye are My witnesses. 
 
 Is there a God beside me ? 
 
 Yea, there is no Eock ; I know not any. 
 
 II. 
 
 9. They that fashion a graven image are all of them 
 
 vanity ; 
 And their delectable things shall not profit : 
 And their own witnesses see not, 
 Nor know ; that they may be ashamed. 
 
 10. Who hath fashioned a god ? 
 
 Or molten a graven image that is profitable for 
 nothing ? 
 
 11. Behold all his fellows shall be ashamed ; 
 And the workmen are of men : 
 
 Let them all be gathered together, let them stand 
 
 up; 
 They shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. 
 
 12. The smith maketh an axe, 
 
 And worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with 
 
 hammers, 
 And worketh it with his strong arms : 
 Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth ; 
 He driixketh no water, and is faint. 
 
 13. The carpenter stretcheth out a line ; 
 He marketh it out with a pencil ; 
 He shapeth it with planes. 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 127 
 
 And he marketh it out with the compasses, 
 And shapeth it after the figure of a man, 
 According to the beauty of man, to dwell in the 
 house. 
 
 14. He heweth him down cedars, 
 
 And taketh the holm tree and the oak. 
 
 And strengtheneth for himself one among the 
 
 trees of the forest : 
 He planteth a fir tree, and the rain doth nourish 
 
 it. 
 
 15. Then shall it be for a man to burn ; 
 
 And he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself ; 
 Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread : 
 Yea, he maketh a god, and hath worshipped it ; 
 He hath made it a graven image, and fallen down 
 thereto. 
 
 16. Part thereof he hath burned in the fire ; 
 With part thereof he eateth flesh ; 
 
 He roasteth roast and is satisfied : 
 Yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, 
 Aha ! I am warm, I have seen the fire : 
 
 17. And the residue thereof he hath made a god ! 
 
 even his graven image : 
 He falleth down unto it and worshippeth, 
 And prayeth unto it, and saith, 
 Deliver me ; for thou art my god. 
 
 18. They know not, neither do they consider : 
 
 For He hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see ; 
 And their hearts that they camiot understand. 
 
 19. And none calleth to mind, 
 
 Neither is there knowledge nor imderstanding to say, 
 Part of it I have burned in the fire ; 
 Yea, also I have baked bread on the coals thereof ; 
 I roast flesh and eat it ; 
 
 And shall I make the residue thereof an abomi- 
 nation ? 
 Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? 
 
 20. He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned 
 
 him aside ; 
 That he cannot deliver his soul, nor say. 
 Is there not a lie in my right hand ? 
 
128 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 III. 
 
 21. Remember these things, O Jacob ; 
 And Israel, for thoii art My servant : 
 
 I have formed thee : thou art My servant ; 
 Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me. 
 
 22. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, 
 And, as a cloud, thy sins ; 
 
 Eetiurn unto me ; for I have redeemed thee. 
 
 23. Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it ; 
 Shout, ye lower parts of the earth ; 
 
 Break forth into singing, ye mountains, 
 O forests, and every tree therein : 
 For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, 
 And will glorify Himself in Israel. 
 
 24. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, 
 
 And He that formed thee from the womb : 
 
 I am Jehovah, that maketh all things ; 
 
 That stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; 
 
 That spreadeth abroad the earth ; who is with Me ? 
 
 25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars. 
 And maketh the diviners mad ; 
 
 That turneth wise men backward. 
 And maketh their knowledge foolish ; 
 
 26. That confirmeth the word of His servant. 
 
 And performeth the counsel of His messengers ; 
 That saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited ; 
 And of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, 
 And I will raise up the waste places thereof : 
 
 27. That saith to the deep. Be dry, 
 And I will dry up thy rivers ; 
 
 28. That saith of Cyrus, He is My Shepherd, 
 And shall perform all My pleasure : 
 
 Even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built ; 
 And to the temple. Thy fomidation shall be laid. 
 
 Chaptee XLV., c, 
 
 Consists of 3 strophes, 8 + 9 + 8 : the first addressed to 
 Cyrus, and, as corresponding to it, the third to the 
 Gentiles, while the central strophe refers to Israel. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 129 
 
 Strophe I. (verses 1 to 8) : Jehovah testifies to Cyrus His 
 purpose to subdue nations before him, to fit him to be the 
 dehverer of His servant Jacob, for whose " sake I have 
 called thee by thy name, though thou hast not known Me " 
 (verse 4) ; " that [not only] thou [but all the Gentiles] may 
 know from the rising of the sun and from the west that 
 there is none beside Me : I am Jehovah, and there is none 
 else " (verse 4 to 6). 
 
 Strophe II. (verses 9 to 17) : Jehovah rebukes Israel for 
 their jealous murmuring at the favour shown to a Gentile 
 in choosing him as their deliverer from Babylon (c/. page 51). 
 
 Strophe III. (verses 18 to 25) : And as being " a just God 
 and a Saviour " (verse 21) gives the universal invitation, 
 "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
 earth ; for I am God, and there is none else " (verse 22). 
 
 1. 
 
 XLV. 1. Thus saith Jehovah 
 
 To His anointed, to Cjtus, 
 Whose right hand I have holden. 
 To subdue before him nations. 
 And I will loose the loins of kings ; 
 To open before him the doors. 
 And the gates shall not be shut ; 
 
 2. I will go before thee, 
 
 And make the rugged places plain ; 
 
 The doors of brass I will break in pieces. 
 
 And the bars of iron I will cut in sunder. 
 
 3. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, 
 And hidden riches of secret places. 
 
 That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah 
 
 Which called thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. 
 
 4. For Jacob My servant's sake, 
 And Israel My chosen, 
 
 I have caUed thee by thy name : 
 
 I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me. 
 
 5. I am Jehovah, and there is none else ; 
 Beside Me there is no God : 
 
 I wiU gird thee, though thou hast not known Me : 
 
 9 
 
130 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 6. That they may know from the rising of the s\xn, and 
 
 from the west, 
 That there is none beside Me : 
 / am Jehovah, and there is none else. 
 
 7. I form the light, and create darkness ; 
 I make peace, and create evil ; 
 
 I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things. 
 
 8. Drop down, ye heavens, from above. 
 
 And let the skies pour down righteousness : 
 Let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation, 
 And let her cause righteousness to spring up together ; 
 J Jehovah have created it. 
 
 II. 
 
 9. Woe mito him that striveth with his Maker ! 
 A potsherd among the potsherds of the earth ! 
 
 Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, Wliat 
 
 makest thou ? 
 Or thy work. He hath no hands ? 
 
 10. Woe unto him that saith unto a father. What begettest 
 
 thou ? 
 Or to a woman, With what travailest thou ? 
 
 11. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker : 
 Ask Me of the things that are to come ; 
 Concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My 
 hands, will ye conmiand Me ? 
 
 12. I have made the earth, and created man upon it : 
 I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens. 
 And all their host have I commanded. 
 
 13. / have raised him up in righteousness, 
 And I will make straight all his ways : 
 
 He shall build My city, and he shall let My exiles go free, 
 Not for price nor reward, 
 Saith Jehovah of Hosts. 
 
 14. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, 
 And the Sabeans, men of stature. 
 Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine ; 
 They shall go after thee ; in chains they shall come 
 over : 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 131 
 
 And they shall fall down mito thee, they shall make 
 
 supplication unto thee, 
 Saymg, Surely in thee is God ; 
 And there is none else, there is no God. 
 
 15. Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, 
 
 God of Israel, the Saviour. 
 
 16. They shall be ashamed, yea, confounded, all of them : 
 They have gone into confusion together that are makers 
 
 of idols. 
 
 17. But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlast- 
 
 ing salvation : 
 Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without 
 end. 
 
 III. 
 
 18. For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens ; He 
 
 is God ; 
 That formed the earth and made it ; He established 
 
 it, 
 He created it not a waste, He formed it to be inhabited : 
 / am Jehovah, and there is none else. 
 
 19. I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of 
 
 darkness ; 
 
 1 said not i;nto the seed of Jacob, Seek Me in vain : 
 
 J Jehovah speak righteousness, I declare things that are 
 right. 
 
 20. Assemble yourselves and come ; draw near together, ye 
 
 that are escaped of the nations : 
 They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their 
 
 graven image, 
 And pray mito a god that cannot save. 
 
 21. Declare ye, and bring it forth ; 
 Yea, let them take counsel together : 
 
 ^Vlio hath showed this from ancient time ? Who hath 
 
 declared it of old ? 
 Have not I, Jehovah ? And there is no God else 
 
 beside Me ; 
 A just God and a Saviovu' ; there is none beside Me. 
 
 22. Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
 
 earth : 
 For 1 am God, and there is none else. 
 
132 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 23. By Myself have I sworn, gone forth from My mouth in 
 
 righteousness 
 Is the word, and shall not return, 
 That mito Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall 
 
 swear. 
 
 24. Only in Jehovah, shall one say mito Me, is righteousness 
 
 and strength : 
 Even to Him shall men come, and all they that were 
 incensed agamst Him shall be ashamed. 
 
 25. In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and 
 
 shaU glory. 
 
 Chaptek XL VI., a. 
 
 Consists of 2 strophes of 6 verses each = 2 + 2 + 2, con- 
 nected by verse 7 as their centre. 
 
 Strophe I. (verses 1 to 6) : The downfall of idols, which, 
 so far from bearing up their worshippers, are " a burden 
 to the weary beast " (verse 1). But I, Jehovah, have 
 " borne and carried thee, Israel, from the womb," and 
 " even to hoar hairs will I carry you " (verse 4). " Yea, I 
 will carry and will deliver. To whom [then] will ye likeil 
 Me ? " To man ? To manufactured idols ? 
 
 Strophe II. (verses 8 to 13) : " Eemember this, and that 
 I am God, and there is none else, who can declare the end 
 from the beginning and bring it to pass " (verses 10, 11). 
 
 I. 
 
 XLVI. 1. Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth ; 
 
 Their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle : 
 The things that ye carried about are made a load, a 
 burden to the weary beast. 
 
 2. They stoop, they bow down together ; 
 They could not deliver the burden, 
 But themselves are gone into captivity. 
 
 3. Hearken mito Me, O house of Jacob, 
 
 And aU the remnant of the house of Israel, 
 Which have been borne by Me from the beUy, 
 Which have been carried from the womb : 
 
CHAPTER XLVII. 133 
 
 4. And even to old age 1 am He, 
 
 And even to hoar hairs will / carry you : 
 / have made, and / will bear ; 
 Yea, I will carry, and will deliver. 
 
 5. To whom will ye liken Me, and make Me equal, 
 And compare Me, that we may be like ? 
 
 6. Such as lavish gold out of the bag. 
 And weigh silver in the balance, 
 
 They hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god ; 
 They fall down, yea, they worship ! 
 
 7. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, 
 And set him in his place, and he standeth ; 
 From his place shall he not remove : 
 
 Yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer. 
 Nor save him out of his trouble. 
 
 8. Remember this, and show yourselves men : 
 Bring it again to mind, ye transgressors, 
 
 9. Remember the former things of old : 
 For / am God, and there is none else ; 
 / am God, and there is none like Me ; 
 
 10. Declaring the end from the beginning. 
 
 And from ancient times things that are not yet done ; 
 Saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My 
 pleasure : 
 
 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east. 
 
 The man of My coimsel from a far country ; 
 Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass ; 
 I have prarposed, I will also do it. 
 
 12. Hearken unto Me, ye stout-hearted. 
 Ye that are far from righteousness : 
 
 13. I have brought near My righteousness, it shall not be 
 
 far off. 
 And My salvation shall not tarry ; 
 And I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory. 
 
 Chapter XLVII., h. 
 
 Triumphal Song over the Downfall of Babylon. 
 
 The chapter falls into 2 strophes of 7 verses each, with 
 verse 8 as their centre, in which Babylon, from her " virgin " 
 
134 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 state (verse 1), is represented as now become a widowed 
 mother bereft of her children. 
 
 In Strophe I. (verses 1 to 7) she is threatened with 
 degradation from her proud state of the " Lady of 
 kingdoms " (verse 5) to that of a servant maid, because she 
 "showed no mercy" (verse 6) to Jehovah's people when 
 " given into thine hand " (verse 6). 
 
 In Strophe II. (verses 9 to 15) she is warned that all 
 her " wisdom" (verse 10), her " astrologers and star-gazers," 
 will fail to " save thee from the things that shall come upon 
 thee " (verse 13). 
 
 Bach strophe has as its centre — Strophe I., the assurance 
 to Israel of the irresistible might of Jehovah as " our 
 Eedeemer " (verse 4) ; Strophe II., the challenge to Babylon 
 to put forth for her deliverance " the multitude of thy 
 sorceries, if so be thou mayest prevail " (verse 12). 
 
 XL VII. 1. Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of 
 Babylon ; 
 Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the 
 
 Chaldeans ; 
 For thou shaft no more be called tender and deHcate. 
 
 2. Take the mill-stones, and grind meal : 
 Eemove thy veil, strip off the train, 
 Uncover the leg, pass through the rivers. 
 
 3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame 
 
 shaU be seen : 
 I wiU take vengence, and wiU accept no man. 
 
 4. Our Eedeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, the 
 
 Holy One of Israel. 
 
 5. Sit thou sUent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter 
 
 of the Chaldeans : 
 For thou shalt no more be caUed The lady of kingdoms. 
 
 6. I was wroth with My people, I profaned their inherit- 
 
 ance, 
 And gave them mto thine hand : 
 Thou didst show them no mercy ; 
 Upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 
 
CHAPTER XLVII. 135 
 
 7. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever : 
 
 So that thou didst not lay these thmgs to thy heart, 
 Neither didst remember the latter end thereof. 
 
 8. Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to 
 
 pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, 
 That sayest in thine heart, / am, and there is none 
 
 else beside me ; 
 I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know 
 
 the loss of childi-en : 
 
 II. 
 
 9. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment, 
 In one day, the loss of children, and widowhood : 
 
 In their full measm-e have they come upon thee. 
 
 Despite of the multitude of thy sorceries, 
 
 And the great abundance of thine enchantments. 
 
 10. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness ; thou hast 
 
 said, None seeth me : 
 Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted 
 
 thee : 
 And thou hast said in thme heart, I am, and there is 
 
 none else beside me. 
 
 11. Therefore shall evil come upon thee, thou shalt not 
 
 know the dawning thereof : 
 And mischief shall fall upon thee ; thou shalt not be 
 
 able to put it away : 
 And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which 
 
 thou knowest not. 
 
 12. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the 
 
 multitude of thy sorceries. 
 With whatsoever! thou hast laboured from thy youth; 
 If so be thou shalt be able to profit. 
 If so be thou mayest prevail. 
 
 13. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy comisels ; 
 Let them stand up now and save thee — 
 
 The astrologers, the star-gazers, 
 
 OtTi^l ("lU-^ytr^) is not for Dna "^ITi:? as asserted by 
 Geseuius' '{Graminur, ^ 123 (2), Note i), and followed by Profs. 
 Dehtzsch, Cheyne, and the Eev. Version, ^tl^^t when preceded 
 by a Preposition means " that which ". 
 
136 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 The monthly prognosticators — 
 
 And save thee from whatsoever things shall come upon 
 thee. 
 
 14. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn 
 
 them ; 
 They shall not deliver themselves from the power of 
 
 the flame : 
 It shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit 
 
 before. 
 
 15. Thus have become the things unto thee wherein thou 
 
 hast laboiu-ed ; 
 They that have trafficked with thee from thy youth 
 Shall wander every one to his quarter ; there shall be 
 
 none to save thee. 
 
 Chapter XLVIIL, c, 
 
 Sums up all the preceding chapters of Book I. in 2 strophes 
 of 11 verses each (subdivided into 5 + 3 + 3). Each begins 
 with an earnest call on Jacob to " hear and hearken " to 
 the proof of Jehovah's exclusive title to Deity now furnished 
 by the fulfilment, represented as at length accomplished, of 
 the prediction on which, in His challenge (in chap, xli.) to 
 the idols and their worshippers, Jehovah had staked His 
 claim, namely, by the coming and victories of a great 
 conqueror, Cyrus, whose very name he afterwards foretold. 
 Each 5 verses have, as their centre, an urgent appeal to 
 Israel to lay to heart the incontrovertible evidence Jehovah 
 had now furnished to them of His prescient knowledge to 
 foretell, and His predisposing power to bring to pass, what 
 He had so long before predicted. Thus, 
 
 In Strophe I., verse 3 : " The foremost things from of old 
 I declared, and from My mouth they went forth, and I 
 showed them : suddenly I have done them, and they have 
 come to pass". And He ends the first five verses with 
 pressing home how carefully He had guarded against the 
 possibility of the idols claiming any part in the prediction : 
 " Therefore I declared it to thee from of old : before it came 
 
CHAPTEE XLVIII. 137 
 
 to pass, I showed it thee, lest thou shouldst say. Mine idol 
 hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten 
 image, hath commanded them ". 
 
 The 5 verses in Strophe II. may almost be said to be a 
 repetition in confirmation of this. Its third, or central 
 verse, calls on the great mass of Israel : " Assemble your- 
 selves, all ye. and hear; which among them [the idols] hath 
 declared these things ? Jehovah hath loved him [Cyrus] : 
 he shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall 
 be on the Chaldeans." 
 
 And that there might be no doubt that all had been fore- 
 seen and repeatedly declared as God's purpose from the 
 first calling of Israel, He thus sums up His final expostula- 
 tion with them to " hear " : " Come ye near unto Me, hear 
 ye this : from the time that it was, there am I ". But alas ! 
 the appeal is addressed to deaf ears ; and now the time is 
 come when Messiah most appropriately, impatient at their 
 persistent obstinacy, steps forward to take their place as 
 the Loed's Servant with the words : " And now Jehovah 
 God hath sent me, and His Spirit ". 
 
 Nothing remains but to close the first great Act of the 
 Drama with a lamentation over the state of blissful " peace " 
 and prosperity now forfeited by the great mass of Israel, 
 and a call to the few who would hear : " Go ye forth of 
 Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans ". 
 
 XLVIII. 1. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, 
 
 Which are called by the name of Israel, 
 
 And are come forth out of the waters of Judah ; 
 
 Which swear by the name of Jehovah, and make 
 
 mention of the God of Israel, 
 But not in truth, nor in righteousness. 
 2. For they call themselves of the holy city, 
 And stay themselves upon the God of Israel ; 
 Jehovah of hosts is His name. 
 
138 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 3. The foremost things from old I declared : 
 
 Yea, from My mouth they went forth, that I raight 
 
 cause them to be heard : ^ 
 Suddenly I have done them, and they have come to 
 
 pass. 
 
 4. Because I knew that thou art obstmate, 
 And thy neck is an iron sinew, 
 
 And thy brow brass ; 
 
 5. Therefore I have declared it to thee from of old ; 
 Before it came to pass, I caused thee to hear it : 
 Lest thou shouldest say, Mme idol hath done them, 
 And my graven image, and my molten image, hath 
 
 commanded them. 
 
 6. Thou hast heard it ; behold all this ; 
 And ye, will ye not declare it ? 
 
 I have caused thee to hear new things from this 
 
 time. 
 Even hidden things which thou hast not known. 
 
 7. They are created now, and not from of old ; 
 And before this day thou heardest them not ; 
 Lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. 
 
 8. Yea, thou heardest not ; yea, thou knewest not ; 
 Yea, from of old thine ear was not opened : 
 
 For I knew that thou didst deal verj' treacherousty, 
 And wast called a transgressor from the womb. 
 
 9. For My Name's sake will I defer Mine anger. 
 And for My praise will I refrain for thee. 
 That I cut thee not off. 
 
 10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver ; 
 I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 
 
 11. For Mine own sake, for Mine own sake, will I do it ; 
 For how should My Name be profaned '? 
 
 And My glory will I not give to another. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. Hearken imto Me, O Jacob, 
 And Israel My called : 
 
 / am He ; I am the first, / also am the last. 
 
 ^ All the interpreters have mistranslated the imperfect tense in. 
 this clause, and thus lose the point of the reference to it in verses 
 5, 6. 
 
CHAPTER XLVIII. 139 
 
 13. Yea, Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, 
 And My riglit hand hath spread out the heavens : 
 When I call unto them, they stand up together. 
 
 14. Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear ; 
 Which among them hath declared these things ? 
 Jehovah hath loved him : he shall perform his 
 
 pleasure on Babylon, 
 And his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 
 
 15. /, even /, have spoken ; 
 
 Yea, I have called him : I have brought him, 
 And he shall make his way prosperous. 
 6. Come je near unto Me, hear ye this ; 
 
 From the beginning I have not spoken in secret ; 
 
 From the time that it was, there am I : 
 
 And now Jehovah God hath sent me, and His Spirit. 
 
 17 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of 
 Israel : 
 / am Jehovah thy God, which teacheth thee to 
 
 profit, 
 Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest 
 go; 
 
 18. Oh that thou hadst hearkened to My command- 
 
 ments 1 
 Then had thy peace been as a i-iver. 
 And thy righteousness as the waves of the sea : 
 
 19. Thy seed also had been as the sand. 
 
 And the offspring of thy bowels like the grains 
 
 thereof : 
 His name should not be cut off nor destroyed 
 
 from before Me. 
 
 20. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chal- 
 
 deans ; 
 With a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, 
 Utter it even to the end of the earth : 
 Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed His servant Jacob. 
 
 21. And they thirsted not when He led them through 
 
 the deserts : 
 He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for 
 
 them : 
 He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. 
 
 22. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, unto the wicked. 
 
BOOK II. (CHAPTERS XLIX. TO LVIL). 
 Chapter XLIX., a. 
 
 With Book I. passes away, as Ewald justly remarks, all 
 mention of, or allusion to, Babylon. We have passed on to 
 a long subsequent age. Such passages as lii. 11, 12, which 
 modern critics still refer to the departure from Babylon, 
 bear on their very face the refutation of such an interpreta- 
 tion. The calm, deliberate departure from all pollution 
 commanded in lii. 11, 12, " Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out 
 from thence, touch no unclean thing. . . . For ye shall not' 
 go out in haste " {chippazon, the word used of Israel's hurried 
 departure from Egypt, Deut. xvi. 3), contrasts distinctively 
 with the hurried flight counselled from Babylon : " Go ye 
 forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans " (xlviii. 20). 
 The same remark holds good of Ixii. 10 to 12. 
 
 In the threefold division, according to the principles of 
 Parallelism, Books I. and III. correspond, and contrast 
 with the central Book II. Accordingly, Books I. and III. 
 we find to be Jehovistic, while the central is Elohistic. 
 Books I. and III. refer principally to Israel as the people of 
 Jehovah ( = the Covenant-God), Book I. beginning with 
 "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people" (xl. 1), and ending 
 with, " There is no peace, saith Jehovah," &c. (xlviii. 32) ; 
 and in like manner Book III., beginning, "Cry aloud . . , 
 declare unto My people their transgressions '' (Iviii. 1) ; 
 while the central Book II. refers principally to the Gentiles, 
 who have taken the place for a time forfeited by Israel, as the 
 " servants " (c/. Ixv. 15) of Jehovah. Accordingly, it begins 
 with an address of the Messiah to the Gentiles : " Listen, 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 141 
 
 isles, unto Me ; and hearken, ye j^eojjles from far " (xlix. 1) ; 
 while of Israel, he has to complain : "I have laboured in 
 vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity " 
 (verse 4). In compensation for this, it is, he says, he has 
 received the consolation from Jehovah: "Though Israel 
 be not gathered,^ yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of 
 Jehovah, and my God shall be my strength. Yea, He 
 saith. It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be My 
 servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the 
 preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the 
 Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation to the end of 
 the earth " (verses 4 to 6). 
 
 Yet, though the Gentiles in this Book II. form the chief 
 ostensible object of Jehovah's saving grace, still Israel, or 
 Zion, has not to be wholly cast off, as He graciously assures 
 them, five several times, through His prophet Jeremiah : 
 " Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have 
 scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee ; but 
 
 1 will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee alto- 
 gether unpunished " (cf Jer. iv. 27 ; xxx. 11 ; xlvi. 28). 
 The small remnant of faithful souls that remained should 
 be made the instruments through the Messiah of giving 
 innumerable children {Gentiles mostly at first) to Zion, as 
 
 ^ "With what show of reason can Dr. Delitzsch here remark (in 
 which, however, he is followed by onr Eevisers, and by almost all 
 our modern critics), "What could a prophecy of the rejection of 
 the Jews do here ? " Why, as we see, the whole context leads us 
 to expect it. The arguments are strong against the conjectiu'al 
 
 Q^ri reading "'i';! = to him "proposed to be substituted for the 
 
 textual i^v lo = not. For — 
 
 1. As Dr. Kay {Sjieaher's Commentary) remarks, " It is not 
 easy to conceive that what looks like a sentence of national 
 reprobation should have ever estabHshed itself in the text, if it 
 had not been the true reading ". 
 
 2. If " to him " had been the true reading, its natural place 
 would have been after the verb, " be gathered to him " (or as in the 
 
 preceding clause, elayv V7t^), since there is no emphasis laid 
 on " to him," so as to place it before the verb. 
 
142 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 we know, was historically fulfilled through the Apostles and 
 their converts. This accordingly is the truth which the 
 prophet is now inspired to announce in the chapters which 
 follow. 
 
 Several of the chapters in this Book are erroneously 
 divided. Thus chap. xlix. ought to be ended at 1. 3. It 
 consists of two main divisions : I. (verses 1 to 13), Consola- 
 tion to Zion under her despondency ; II. (verse 14 to 1. 3), 
 Eeproof of Zion under her despondency. Each consists 
 of two strophes, the first of 6 + 6 verses, and the second of 
 8 + 8. The first two (verses 1 to 6 and 8 to 13) are con- 
 nected by verse 7 as a central verse, while the last two 
 (verses 14 to 21 and 22 to 1. 3) are subdivided into 5 -f 3, 
 the first five having as its centre verse 16, and the last 
 five, verse 24. 
 
 J. ^Consolation to Zion under her despondency. 
 
 XLIX. 1. Listen, O isles, imto me ; 
 
 And hearken, ye peoples, from far : 
 From the womb Jehovah hath called me ; 
 From the bowels of my naother hath He made mention 
 of my name : 
 
 2. And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. 
 In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me ; 
 And He hath made me a polished shaft, 
 
 In His quiver hath He kept me close : 
 
 3. And He said mito me, Thon art My servant ; 
 Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 
 
 4. But I said, In vain have I laboured, 
 
 For nought and vanity have I spent my strength : 
 Yet surely my judgment is with Jehovah, 
 And my recompense with my God. 
 
 5. And now saith Jehovah 
 
 That formed me from the womb to be His servant, 
 To bring Jacob again to Him : 
 (But Israel is not gathered !) 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 143 
 
 Yet shall I be honourable in the eves of Jehovah, 
 And mj' God is become my strength : 
 
 6. Yea, He saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest 
 
 be My servant 
 To raise \vp the tribes of Jacob, 
 And to restore the preserved of Israel : 
 I wiU also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, 
 That thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the 
 
 earth. 
 
 7. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 The Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, 
 To him whom man despiseth, 
 To him whom the nation abhorreth. 
 To a servant of rulers : 
 
 Kings shall see and arise ; 
 
 Princes, and they shall worship ; 
 Because of Jehovah that is faithful. 
 The Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee. 
 
 8. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 In an acceptable time have I answered thee, 
 
 And in a day of salvation have I helped thee : 
 
 And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant 
 
 of the people. 
 To raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate 
 
 heritages ; 
 
 9. Saying to them that are bound. Go forth ; 
 
 To them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. 
 
 In the ways shall they feed. 
 
 And on all bare heights shall be their pasture. 
 
 10. They shall not hunger nor thirst ; 
 Neither shall the heat, nor sun smite them : 
 
 For He that hath mercj' on them shall lead them. 
 Even by the springs of water shall He guide them. 
 
 11. And I will make all My mountains a way, 
 And My highways shall be exalted. 
 
 12. Lo, these shall come from far ; 
 
 And, lo, these from the North and from the West ; 
 And these from the land of Sinim. 
 
 13. Sing, heavens, and be joyful, O earth; 
 And break forth into singing, O mountains : 
 For Jehovah hath comforted His people. 
 And will have compassion upon His afflicted. 
 
144 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 II. — Beproof to Zion tinder her despondency. 
 III. 
 
 14. But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, 
 And the Lord hath forgotten me. 
 
 15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, 
 
 That she should not have compassion on the son of her 
 
 womb ? 
 Yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee. 
 
 16. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My 
 
 hands ; 
 Thy walls are continually before Me. 
 
 17. Thy children make haste ; thy destroyers 
 
 And they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. 
 
 18. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold : 
 
 AU these have gathered themselves together ; they have 
 
 come to thee. 
 As I live, saith Jehovah, 
 Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an 
 
 ornament, 
 And gird thyself with them like a bride. 
 
 19. For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places. 
 And thy land that hath been destroyed, 
 
 Surely now shalt thoii be too strait for the inhabitants. 
 And they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 
 
 20. The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine 
 
 ears, 
 The place is too strait for me : give place to me that I 
 may dwell. 
 
 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart. 
 Who hath born me these 
 
 Seeing I am bereaved of my children, and am solitary, 
 An exile, and wandering to and fro ? And who hath 
 
 brought up these ? 
 Behold, I was left alone ; these, where were they ? 
 
 22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 
 
 Behold, I will lift up Mine hand to the nations, 
 
 And set up My ensign to the peoples : 
 
 And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, 
 
 And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders 
 
CHAPTERS L.-LI. 145 
 
 23. And kings shall be thy foster-fathers, 
 And their queens thy nursing mothers : 
 
 With their faces to the earth shall they bow down to 
 
 thee, 
 And lick the dust of thy feet ; 
 And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, 
 And they that wait for Me shall not be ashamed. 
 
 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, 
 
 Or the captives of righteous ones be delivered ? 
 
 25. But thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, 
 And the prey of the terrible shall be delivered : 
 For / will contend with him that contendeth with thee, 
 And I will save thy children. 
 
 26. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own 
 
 flesh ; 
 And they shall be drimken %vith their own blood, as with 
 
 sweet wine : 
 And all flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour, 
 And thy Eedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 
 
 L. 1, Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement. 
 
 Wherewith I have put her away ? 
 
 Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you ? 
 
 Behold, for yoiu: iniquities were ye sold. 
 
 And for your transgressions was yom- mother put away. 
 
 2. Wherefore, when I came, was there no man ? 
 When I called, was there none to answer ? 
 
 Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem ? 
 Or have I no power to deliver ? 
 Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, 
 I make the rivers a wilderness : 
 
 Their fish stinketh because there is no water, and dieth 
 for thirst. 
 
 3. I clothe the heavens with blackness. 
 And I make sackcloth their covering. 
 
 Chapter L. 4 to LI. 8, b. 
 
 Familiarity with the arrangements of Parallelism leads at 
 once to the discovery of the proper division of chap. 1. The 
 
 10 
 
146 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 threefold repetition, " Hearken " (li. 1), " Attend " (verse 4), 
 " Hearken " (verse 7),^ makes the numbering of the verses to 
 be 3 +3 + 2. This leads to the surmise that the preceding 
 verses, 1. 4 to 11, will correspond. That we have thus dis- 
 covered the proper division of the chapter is shown by the 
 first two chapters of Book 11. being made to begin with 
 addresses from the Messiah; chap, xlix., with an address 
 to the Gentiles, indicating that the main tenor of the Book 
 relates to them. Chap. 1., on the contrary, is addressed 
 specially to Israel, and commends to them by His example 
 the cultivation of the meek, teachable spirit in which 
 "morning by morning He opened His ears" (contrast 
 xlviii. 8) to the teaching of God as the only means by 
 which they could regain the forfeited favour. 
 
 But, further, we find on examination a close parallel 
 between each of the three clauses of the one and of the 
 other. Thus — 
 
 1. Messiah's daily practice in His "opening His ear 
 morning by morning " to God's teaching (1. 4), and patient 
 submission to suffering (verse 6), correspond to the " fol- 
 lowing after righteousness, and seeking the Lord " of li. 
 1 to 3. 
 
 2. Messiah's confidence that " The Lord Jehovah will 
 help Me " (verses 7 and 9), and that His adversaries shall 
 wax old as a garment " (verse 9), corresponds to Jehovah's 
 assurance to His people in li. 4 to 6, that " His salvation is 
 gone forth'' (verse 5); and "shall be for ever" (verse 6), 
 while the mere creatures of His hands, " the heavens and 
 the earth shall wax old like a garment " (verse 6). 
 
 3. In 1. 10, 11, "Let him . . . that feareth Jehovah and 
 obey eth the voice of His servant," though "he walketh in 
 darkness, and hath no light," yet " trust in the name of 
 Jehovah, and stay upon his God" (verse 10); who will 
 cause all that compass themselves about with sparks of 
 
 1 Compare the distinctive characters of the three classes here 
 addressed, page 63. 
 
CHAPTEES L.-LI. 147 
 
 their own kindling to "lie down in sorrow" (1. 10, 11) — 
 corresponds to the full assurance in li. 7, 8, that " the 
 people in whose heart is My law " shall have no need to 
 fear " the reproach of men," or to be " dismayed at their 
 revihngs " (li. 7). For — (and here Jehovah repeats the 
 words of His Servant, the Messiah) — " The moth shall eat 
 them up like a garment " (c/. 1. 9). " My righteousness (He 
 adds) shall be for ever, and My salvation from generation to 
 generation " (li. 8). 
 
 The chap. 1. 4 to li. 8 consists, therefore, of two strophes 
 of 8 verses each, subdivided into 3 + 3 + 2. 
 
 L. 4. The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that 
 are taught, 
 That I should know how to sustain with words him that is 
 
 weary : 
 He wakeneth morning by morning, 
 He wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that ax'e taught. 
 
 5. The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, 
 And 1 was not rebelHous, 
 
 Neither turned away backward. 
 
 6. My back I gave to the smiters. 
 
 And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair : 
 My face I hid not from shame and spitting. 
 
 7. For the Lord Jehovah wiU help me ; 
 Therefore have I not been confounded : 
 Therefore have I set my face like a flmt. 
 And I know that I shall not be ashamed. 
 
 8. He is near that justifieth me ; 
 
 "Who will contend with me ? let us stand up together : 
 Who is mine adversary 1 let him come near to me. 
 
 9. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me ; 
 Who is he that shall condemn me ? 
 Behold, they aU shaU wax old as a garment ; 
 The moth shall eat them up. 
 
 10. Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, 
 That obeyeth the voice of His servant '? 
 
148 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 He that walketh in darkness, and hatli no liglit, 
 Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and stay npon his 
 God. 
 11. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire. 
 
 That gird yourselves about with firebrands : 
 Walk ye in the flame of yoiir fire, 
 And among the brands that ye have kindled. 
 From Mine hand this hath befallen you ; 
 Ye shall lie down in sori'ow. 
 
 II. 
 
 LI. 1. Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, 
 Ye that seek Jehovah : 
 Look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, 
 And to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. 
 
 2. Look unto Abraham your father. 
 And mito Sarah that bare you : 
 
 For when he was but one I called him, 
 And I blessed hun, and made him many. 
 
 3. For Jehovah hath comforted Zion ; 
 
 He hath comforted all her waste places, 
 And hath made her wilderness like Eden, 
 And her desert like the garden of Jehovah ; 
 Joy and gladness will be found therein. 
 Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 
 
 4. Attend luito Me, O My people ; 
 And give ear unto Me, My nation : 
 For a law shall go forth from Me, 
 
 And I will make My judgment to rest for a light of the 
 peoples. 
 
 5. My righteoiisness is near. My salvation is gone forth. 
 And Mine arms shall judge the peoples ; 
 
 The isles shall wait for Me, 
 
 And on Mine arm shall they trust. 
 
 6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens. 
 And look upon the earth beneath : 
 
 For the heavens have vanished away like smoke. 
 
 And the earth shall wax old like a garment, 
 
 And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner : 
 
 But My salvation shall be for ever. 
 
 And My righteousness shall not be abolished. 
 
CHAPTER LI. 149 
 
 7. Hearken imto Me, ye that know righteousness, 
 The people m whose heart is My law, 
 
 Fear ye not the reproach of men, 
 Neither be ye dismayed at their revilings. 
 
 8. For the moth shall eat them np like a garment, 
 And the worm shall eat them like wool : 
 
 But My righteousness shall be for ever. 
 And My salvation unto all generations. 
 
 Chapter LI. 9 to 23, c, 
 
 Consists of two strophes, each of 7 verses, united by a 
 central verse 16, addressed by Jehovah to the Messiah, as 
 is evident from a comparison of Jehovah's words to him on 
 his first introduction in xhx. 2, " He hath made my mouth 
 hke a sharp sword : in the shadow of His hand hath He 
 hid me," with the similar words in H. 16, " I have put My 
 words in thy mouth, and covered thee in the shadow of My 
 hand " ; but above all in the greatness of the commission 
 entrusted to him, which can apply to none but the Messiah 
 — to ' ' plant the heavens and lay the foundation of the 
 earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people '' (c/. Ixv. 17, 
 " Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. I create 
 Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy "). 
 
 The reader is referred to pages 64, 65, in which it is 
 shown that the first strophe, li. 9 to 15, is a self-exciting 
 address by Jehovah to His own arm to put on strength for 
 the deliverance of His people and the discomfiture of their 
 enemies ; and Strophe II., 17 to 23, a rousing appeal to 
 Jerusalem to wake up from the state of utter prostration 
 into which she and her sons had fallen through their sins. 
 
 I. 
 
 LI. 9. Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the Lord ; 
 
 Awake as in the days of old, the generations of ancient 
 
 times. 
 Art thou not it that cut Eahab in pieces, that pierced the 
 dragon 1 
 
150 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 10. Art thou not it which dried up the sea, the waters of the 
 
 great deep ; 
 That made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to 
 pass over ? 
 
 11. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, 
 And come with singing luito Zion ; 
 
 And everlasting joy shall be upon then* heads : 
 They shall obtain gladness and joy, 
 And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.i 
 
 12. I, even 1, am He that comforteth you : 
 
 Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die. 
 And of the son of man which shall be made as grass ? 
 
 13. And hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, 
 
 That stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations 
 
 of the earth ; 
 And fearest continually all the day, 
 Because of the fury of the oppressor, 
 When he maketh ready to desti'oy ? 
 And where is the fiu-y of the oppressor ? 
 
 14. The captive exile shall speedily be loosed ; 
 And he shall not die and go down into the pit. 
 Neither shall his bread fail. 
 
 15. For I am Jehovah thy God 
 
 Which stilleth the sea, when the waves thereof roar ; 
 Jehovah of Hosts is His name. 
 
 16. And I have put My words in thy mouth. 
 
 And have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, 
 
 To plant the heavens, 
 
 And lay the foundations of the earth, 
 
 And say unto Zion, Thou art My people. 
 
 11. 
 
 17. Wake thee up, wake thee up, stand up, O Jei'usalem ; 
 Which hast di'mik at the hand of Jehovah the cup of His f ui-y ; 
 Thou hast drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering ; thou 
 
 hast drained it. 
 
 ^ With this verse Isaiah had closed his Eaiiier prophecies (see 
 chap. XXXV. 10), and by repeating it here welds the Earlier and 
 Later prophecies together as the production of one and the same 
 author. A " Great Unnamed," writing in the time of Cyrus, would 
 most carefully have avoided a quotation which identified him with 
 the Earlier prophet. 
 
CHAPTER LII. 151 
 
 18. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she 
 
 hath brought forth ; 
 Neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the 
 sons that she hath brought up. 
 
 19. These two things are befallen thee ; 
 Who shall bemoan thee ? 
 
 Desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword ; 
 How shall I comfort thee ? 
 
 20. Thy sons have fainted ; they have lain down 
 
 At the top of all the streets, as an antelope in a net ; 
 They are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God. 
 
 21. Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted. 
 And drunken, but not with wine : 
 
 22. Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, 
 
 And thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people, 
 Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of staggering. 
 Even the bowl of the cup of My fury ; 
 Thou shalt no more drink it again : 
 
 23. And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee ; 
 Which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go 
 
 over : 
 And thou hast laid thy back as the ground, 
 And as the street, to them that go over. 
 
 Chapter LII. 1 to 12, a, 
 
 Consists of two strophes, 1 to 6, and 7 to 12, subdivided 
 each into 2 + 2 + 2. 
 
 Strophe I. (1 to 6) : Jehovah calls on Zion to awake, 
 and to put on the " strength " which He has provided (see 
 li. 9) for her redemption from the oppression of her enemies, 
 and to " put on her priestly garments " (seeExod. xxviii. 2), 
 since the vindication of God's glory requires Him to put an 
 end to the " howling " insolent triumph of their enemies, as 
 if by their own might they had gained the mastery over 
 them. 
 
 In Strophe II. (7 to 12), we have an animated description, 
 first of a herald swiftly bounding over the mountains with 
 the glad tidings of the King of Zion's return to His city and 
 
152 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 temple, of the joyful response of the watchers on the walls 
 calling on all the waste places of Jerusalem to rejoice ; " for 
 the Lord hath comforted His people ". Finally, He calls on 
 the priests who " bear the vessels of the Lord, Depart ye, 
 depart ye, go ye out from thence [looking out on the polluted 
 world beyond], touch no unclean thing : go ye out of the 
 midst of her (or it). For ye shall not go out in haste [as in 
 the earlier departure from Egypt (Exod. xii. 33)], neither 
 shall ye go hy flight [as in the hurried flight from Babylon 
 (c/. Isa. xlviii. 20)] : for Jehovah will go before you : and 
 the God of Israel will be your rearward." 
 
 LII. 1. Awake, awake, pnt on thy strength, Zion ; 
 
 Put on thy beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city : 
 For henceforth there shall no more come into thee the 
 imcircmBcised and the unclean. 
 
 2. Shake thyself from the dust ; arise, sit thee down, 
 
 Jerusalem : 
 Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive 
 daughter of Zion. 
 
 3. For thus saith Jehovah, 
 Ye were sold for nought ; 
 
 And ye shall be redeemed without money. 
 
 4. For thus saith Jehovah God, 
 
 My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn 
 
 there : 
 And the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 
 
 5. Now, therefore, what do I here, saith Jehovah, seeing 
 
 that My people is taken away for nought ? 
 They that rule over them do howl, saith Jehovah, 
 And My name continually all the day is blasphemed. 
 
 6. Therefore My people shaU know My name : 
 Therefore they shall know in that day 
 
 That I am He that doth speak ; behold, it is I. 
 
 II. 
 
 7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
 
 that bi'ingeth good tidmgs. 
 
CHAPTER LIII. 163 
 
 That publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, 
 
 that publisheth salvation : 
 That saith nnto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! 
 
 8. The voice of thy watchmen I they lift up the voice, to- 
 
 gether do they sing ; 
 For they shall see, eye to eye, when Jehovah returneth to 
 Zion. 
 
 9. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of 
 
 Jerusalem ; 
 For Jehovah hath comforted His people, He hath re- 
 deemed Jerusalem. 
 
 10. Jehovah hath ixiade bare His holy arm in the eyes of all 
 
 the nations ; 
 And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of 
 our God. 
 
 11. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence. 
 Touch no miclean thing ; 
 
 Go ye out of the midst of her ; 
 
 Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah. 
 
 12. For ye shall not go out in haste. 
 Neither shall ye go by flight : 
 For Jehovah will go before you ; 
 
 And the God of Israel will be your rearward. 
 
 Chapter LIII., h (according to the erroneous division, 
 LII. 13 to LIII. 12). 
 
 We have now reached the cuhiiinating point of this 
 magnificent prophecy, in which Jehovah points us to the 
 Messiah, in whom are treasured up all " the riches of the 
 glory of His inheritance in the saints " (Eph. i. 18). The 
 chapter forms the core and central point of the whole pro- 
 phecy, as being the central chapter of the central trilogy. 
 It is, as we might expect, most carefully and symmetrically 
 arranged. It consists of three strophes, the first (lii. 13 to 
 15) and the last (liii. 10 to 12) of three verses each, setting 
 forth the exaltation and success of the Messiah, consequent 
 upon His humiliation, placed, as the most prominent objects, 
 first and last ; while yet His sufferings constitute the ani- 
 mating heart and central subject of the whole, being dwelt 
 
 \, 
 
154 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 upon with greater fulness in the central strophe in three 
 times three verses ; the very centre of w^hich, and of the 
 whole prophecy, is the Atonement (liii. 4 to 6), and especi- 
 ally the central verse of these three (verse 5). 
 
 The train of thought will, perhaps, be more clearly per- 
 ceived from a Tarief analysis of each verse, according to the 
 strophical arrangement. 
 
 LII. 13. Messiah's success and exaltation 
 
 14. Shall be proportionate to His humiliation. 
 As His sufferings shocked His countrymen, 
 
 15. So the Gentiles shall regard Him with profound rever- 
 
 ence. 
 
 II. 
 
 LIII. 1. We Jews, though prepared by previous revelations, 
 
 believed Hhn not. 
 
 2. His mean condition offended our worldly expectations. 
 
 3. We despised and rejected Him for His sufferings. 
 
 4. But these sufferings were ours, though we knew it 
 
 not. 
 
 5. To make Atonement for us, He endured them; 
 
 6. By the appointment of Jehovah. 
 
 7. Hence He was a meek, obedient, luiresisting sufferer. 
 
 8. " My people [Jehovah speaks] oppressed and judged 
 
 Him, never reflecting that theirs was the 
 guilt." 
 
 9. Therefore, though " numbered with transgressors " 
 
 in His death, His im:iocence was recognized 
 in the grave allotted Him after death. 
 
 III. 
 
 10. He shall reap the ivmt of His sufferings by the seed and' 
 
 everlasting kingdom given to Him. 
 
 11. The travail of His soul, and His knowledge ^ of God's 
 
 truth, shall bring salvation to many. 
 
 ^ See Dan. xii. 3 and Mai. ii. 7. 
 
CHAPTER LUI. 155 
 
 12. Power shall be given Him for ixniversal conquest, as 
 the reward of His humiliation, and continued 
 woi'k of intercession. 
 
 LII. 13. Behold, My servant shall deal wisel}', 
 
 He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 
 
 14. Like as many were astonied at thee 
 
 (His visage was so marred more than any man, 
 And His form more than the sons of men), 
 
 15. So shall He sprinkle many nations ; 
 Kings shall shut their mouths at Him : 
 
 For that which had not been told them shall they see ; 
 And that which they had not heard shall they under- 
 stand. 
 
 II. 
 
 LIII. 1. Who [of us Jews] hath believed that which we had 
 
 heard ? 
 And to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed ? 
 
 2. For He grew tip before Him as a tender plant, 
 And as a root out of a dry gromid : 
 
 He hath no form nor comeliness ; 
 
 And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should 
 desire Him. 
 
 3. He was despised, and rejected of men ; 
 
 A Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief : 
 And as One from whom men liide their face, 
 He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 
 
 4. Surely our[s were the] griefs He bare. 
 And our sorrows He carried : 
 
 Yet we did esteem Him stricken, 
 Smitten of God, and atltlicted. 
 
 5. But He was woimded for our transgressions. 
 He was bruised for our iniquities : 
 
 The chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; 
 And with His stripes we are healed. 
 
 6. AU we like sheep have gone astray ; 
 
 We have tiu-ned every one to his own way ; 
 And Jehovah hath laid on Him (the punishment of) the 
 iniquity of us all. 
 
156 THE SERVANT OP THE LOED. 
 
 7. He was oppressed, yet He liiuxibled Himself, 
 And opened not His mouth ; 
 
 As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, 
 
 And as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb ; 
 
 Yea, He opened not His mouth. 
 
 8. By oppression and judgment He was taken away : 
 
 And as for His generation, who among them considered 
 That He was cut off out of the land of the living ? 
 For the transgressions of My people was He stricken. 
 
 9. And they made His grave with the wicked. 
 And with the rich in His death ; 
 Although He had done no violence. 
 Neither was any deceit in His mouth. 
 
 III. 
 
 10. Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him ; 
 He hath put Him to gi-ief : 
 
 When thoiT shalt make His soul an offering for sin, 
 He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, 
 And the pleasiire of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand. 
 
 11. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satis- 
 
 fied : 
 By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify 
 
 many : 
 And He shall bear their iniquities. 
 
 12. Therefore, will I divide Him a portion with the great. 
 And He shall divide the spoil with the strong ; 
 Because He poiu-ed out His soul iinto death. 
 
 And was numbered with the transgressors : 
 
 Yet He bare the sin of many, 
 
 And made intercession for the transgressors. 
 
 For several questions of interest connected with the 
 chapter, the reader is referred to pages 69-71. 
 
 Chapter LIV., c. 
 
 After what has been said of the triumph of the Messiah 
 through suffering, and of His " seeing of the travail of His 
 soul,'' follows most naturally the result of His work upon 
 His Church and people. 
 
CHAPTER LIV, 157 
 
 Chapter liv. falls into three strophes; the first two of 
 five verses each, Strophe I. (verses 1 to 5), comforting Zion 
 with the assurance that Jehovah will espouse her anew to 
 Himself as her "Maker and Husband" by a union never 
 again to be broken : — Strophe II. (verses 6 to 10) forming, 
 with the preceding five, a ten (the number of completion) : — 
 indicating a union never again to be broken, just as the 
 earth when renewed after " the waters of Noah " (verse 9), 
 is no more again to be overflowed. 
 
 Strophe III. consists of seven verses (11 to 17). The 
 Church shall be laid on a foundation of precious stones, 
 " and great shall be the peace of her children " (verse 13). 
 
 I. 
 
 LIV. 1. Sing, barren, thou that didst not bear ; 
 
 Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst 
 
 not travail with child : 
 For more are the children of the desolate 
 Than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah. 
 
 2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, 
 
 And let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habita- 
 tions ; 
 Spare not : lengthen thy cords. 
 And strengthen thy stakes. 
 
 3. For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on 
 
 the left ; 
 And thy seed shall possess the nations, 
 And make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 
 
 4. Fear not ; for thou shalt not be ashamed : 
 
 Neither be thou confomided ; for thou shalt not be put to 
 
 shame : 
 For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, 
 And the reproach of thj' widowhood shalt thou remember 
 
 no more. 
 
 5. For thy Maker is thine Husband ; Jehovah of Hosts is 
 
 His name ; 
 And the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer : 
 The God of the whole earth shall He be called. 
 
158 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 II. 
 
 6. For Jehovah hath called thee as a wife forsaken and 
 
 grieved in spirit, 
 Even a wiie of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God. 
 
 7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; 
 But with great mercies will I gather thee. 
 
 8. In overflowing wrath I hid My face from thee for a 
 
 moment ; 
 But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
 Saith Jehovah thy Eedeemer. 
 
 9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me : for as I have 
 
 sworn 
 That the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, 
 So have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor 
 
 rebuke thee. 
 
 10. For the mountains shall depart. 
 And the hills be removed ; 
 
 But My kindness shall not depart from thee. 
 Neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, 
 Saith Jehovah that hath mercj^ on thee. 
 
 III. 
 
 11. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, 
 Behold, I will set thy stones in fair colours, 
 
 And lay thy foundations with sapphires. 
 
 12. And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies. 
 And thy gates of carbuncles, 
 
 And all thy border of pleasant stones. 
 
 13. And all thy children shaU be taught of Jehovah ; 
 And great shall be the peace of thy children. 
 
 14. In righteousness shalt thou be established : 
 
 Thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not 
 
 fear ; 
 And from terror, for it shall not come near thee. 
 
 15. Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me : 
 Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fail 
 
 because of thee. 
 
 16. Behold, / have created the smith that bloweth the fare of 
 
 coals, 
 And bringeth forth a weapon for his work ; 
 And / have created the waster to destroy. 
 
CHAPTEK LV. 159 
 
 17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper ; 
 And everj' tongne that shall rise against thee in judgment 
 
 thon shalt condemn. 
 This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, 
 And their righteousness which is of Me, saith Jehovah. 
 
 Chapter LV., a, 
 
 Consists of three strophes, containing in Strophe I. (of 
 one verse) an Invitation to the Gospel feast, addressed to 
 all, free and gratuitous. Enforced in Strophe 11. (verses 2 
 to 7) by an Expostulation against all competing enticements 
 in three couplets of verses : — (1) against fruitless labour 
 (verses 2, 3) : (2) against neglect of God's " Leader," the 
 Messiah (verses 4, 5) : (3) against procrastination (verses 6, 
 7) ; and in Strophe II. (8 to 13) by Motives to comphance, 
 also in three couplets of verses : — (1) God's surpassing 
 mercies (verses 8, 9) : (2) effectual supplies (verses 10, 11) : 
 (3) the joy and peace imparted (verses 12, 13). 
 
 The whole chapter is thus stamped with the covenant- 
 number, Seven, viz. : — 1 in Strophe I. + 3 in Strophe II. 
 + 3 in Strophe III. 
 
 LV. 1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 
 And he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat ; 
 Yea, come, buy without money. 
 And without price, wine and milk. 
 
 II. 
 
 2. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread ? 
 And your labour for that which satisfieth not '? 
 Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, 
 And let your soul delight itself in fatness. 
 
 3. Incline j'our ear, and come unto Me ; 
 Hear and your soul shall live : 
 
 And I will make an everlasting covenant with you. 
 Even the sure mercies of David. 
 
160 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 4. Behold, I have given hiui for a witness to the peoples, 
 A leader and commander of the peoples. 
 
 5. Behold, thoii shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, 
 And a nation that knew not thee shall run imto thee, 
 Because of Jehovah thy God, 
 
 And for the Holy One of Israel ; for He hath glorified thee. 
 
 6. Seek ye Jehovah while He may be found. 
 Call ye upon Him while He is near : 
 
 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man 
 
 his thoughts : 
 And let him return unto Jehovah, and He will have mercy 
 
 upon him ; 
 And to our God, for He will abiindantly pardon. 
 
 III. 
 
 8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 
 Neither are your ways My ways, saith Jehovah. 
 
 9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth. 
 So are My ways higher than your ways, 
 And My thoughts than your thoughts. 
 
 10. For as the rain cometh down 
 And the snow from heaven, 
 And returneth not thither. 
 But watereth the earth, 
 
 And maketh it bring forth and biid, 
 
 And giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater ; 
 
 11. So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth : 
 It shall not return unto Me void. 
 
 But it hath accomplished that which I please. 
 And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 
 
 12. For ye shall go out with joy, 
 And be led forth with peace : 
 
 The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you 
 
 into singing, 
 And aU the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 
 
 13. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree : 
 
 And instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree : 
 
 And it shall be to Jehovah for a name. 
 
 For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. 
 
CHAPTEE LVI. 161 
 
 Chapter LVI., h. 
 
 To give assurance that all, without exception, shall be 
 welcomed to the blessings of the new covenant, a whole 
 chapter is devoted to the two classes who might despair of 
 being admitted to have part with so holy and priestly a 
 community — the strangers to the race of Israel, and the 
 eunuchs who were for ever excluded from the Mosaic cove- 
 nant (Deut. xxiii. 1). The chapter consists of eight verses, 
 the first two (verses 1, 2) and the last two (verses 7, 8) 
 declaring that all that " keep judgment and do righteous- 
 ness " (verse 1), and " keep the Sabbath from profaning it " 
 (verse 2), Jehovah " will make joyful in His house of prayer 
 — for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all 
 peoples " (verse 7). The intermediate verses (3 to 6) ex- 
 pressly include among these " the stranger that hath joined 
 himself to the Lord " (verses 3 and 6), and " keepeth the 
 Sabbath from profaning it " (verse 6) — nay, the very 
 " eunuchs," if they will do the same (verse 4). 
 
 LVI. 1. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness : 
 For My salvation is near to come, 
 And My righteousness to be revealed. 
 
 2. Blessed is the man that doeth this, 
 
 And the son of man that holdeth fast by it ; 
 That keepeth the Sabbath from profaning it, 
 And keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 
 
 3. Neither let the stranger speak, 
 
 That hath joined himself to Jehovah, saying, 
 
 Jehovah will surely separate me from His people : 
 Neither let the eunuch say, 
 Behold, I am a dry tree. 
 
 4. For thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Of the eunuchs that keep My sabbaths, 
 And choose the things that please Me, 
 And hold fast by My covenant : 
 
 5. Unto them will I give in Mme house. 
 
 And within My walls a memorial and a name 
 11 
 
162 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Better than of sons and of daughters ; 
 I will give them an everlasting name, 
 That shall not be cut off. 
 
 6. Also the strangers, that join themselves to Jehovah, 
 To minister unto Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, 
 
 To be unto Him for servants ; 
 Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from profaning it. 
 And holdeth fast by My covenant : 
 
 7. Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, 
 And make them joyful in My house of prayer ; 
 
 Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted 
 
 upon Mine altar : 
 For Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for aU 
 
 the peoples. 
 
 8. The Lord Jehovah saith, 
 
 Which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, 
 Yet will I gather others to him. 
 Beside his own that are gathered. 
 
 Chapteb LVII, c = LVI. 9 to LVII. 21. 
 
 Book I. (xl. to xlviii.) having ended with the rejection of 
 the great mass of Israel since they refused to advance to 
 the second step required of them, namely, to " accept of 
 the punishment of their iniquity " (xl. 2) — death — as duly 
 merited, and to receive life anew as the free gift of God 
 through the Messiah, who offers Himself in their room and 
 stead to suffer death and make atonement for their souls — 
 Book II. began (chap, xlix.) with Messiah's turning to the 
 Gentiles and addressing His invitation to them specially, 
 " Listen unto me, ye isles, and hear, ye peoples from far ," 
 reaching in its central chapter (liii.), and the centre of the 
 whole prophecy, to the comforting assurance to them that 
 He, as a priest, would " be exalted and lifted up very high, 
 and sprinkle many nations " with His atoning blood, so 
 that their kings " should shut their mouths with reverence 
 before Him," and they should " see and hear " new things 
 which had not been told nor heard before (lii. 15) ; and 
 many be "justified by the knowledge of His righteous 
 
CHAPTER LVII. 163 
 
 servant " (liii. 11). The succeeding two chapters continue 
 to hold out universally to all withovit exception a part in 
 the earth " renewed as by the waters of Noah " (liv. 9), and 
 a free and gratuitous invitation to " come and eat " (Iv. 1) 
 of the feast prepared for them ; nay, not excepting even 
 those who might despair of permission to partake, the 
 " stranger and eunuch " (Ivi. 3). 
 
 And now, in the final chapter of the Book (Ivi. 9 to Ivii. 21), 
 in contrast an invitation is addressed to " all the beasts of 
 the forest " — the savage and relentless enemies of Israel — 
 to another feast to " come and devour " [the verb in 
 Hebrew is the same as that rendered in Iv. 1, to " eat "] ; 
 for Israel, alas ! who should be the first to come to the 
 table of the Lord, and to have induced others to partake, 
 are (priests and prophets as well as people) given over to 
 sensual pleasures and to the indulgence of their own lusts 
 (Ivi. 10-12). The proof of this the prophet of course, 
 speaking to the circumstances of his ixiore immediate 
 readers, draws from the idolatrous practices of his own 
 times. His words, however, are designed as warnings not 
 the less to those of future times who should be guilty of 
 like hardened disobedience. 
 
 No one who has read in Josephus' Wars of the Jeios the 
 awful accounts of the degeneracy of morals in rulers and 
 people at the time of the final siege of Jerusalem, which 
 drew upon them the visitation of the Eoman eagles (Luke 
 xvii. 37), can fail to observe the striking correspondence 
 between them and the words which the prophet was 
 inspired to utter, and the fearful and relentless sufferings 
 which they entailed on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and 
 Palestine from the righteous vengeance of Almighty God. 
 
 The Apostle Paul in a later day seems to have had this 
 chapter before his mind when writing Eomans ix. 29-33, 
 and again in the warning addressed to both Gentiles and 
 Jews (Eom. xi. 22 to 24). 
 
1 
 
 164 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 The chapter might be headed — Israel's apostasy calls for 
 desolating judgments. 
 
 It falls into 4 strophes of 6 verses each, the Book closing 
 with the refrain (verse 21). 
 
 Chaptek LVI. 9 TO LVII. 2. 
 
 I. 
 
 The heathen are invited to come and devour Israel, since 
 their rulers watch not, hut seek their oivn pleasure, and the 
 feiu righteous for tohose sake they might have been spared {cf. 
 Gen. xviii. 23 to 32) are gathered in, none considering that 
 they are " taken aioay from the evil to come ". 
 
 LVI. 9. All ye beasts of the field, come to devour. 
 Yea, all ye beasts of the forest. 
 
 10. His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge ; 
 They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark ; 
 Dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 
 
 11. Yea, the dogs are greedj^ they can never have enough ; 
 And such are shepherds ! They cannot understand ; 
 They have all turned to their own way, 
 
 Each one to his gam, from every quarter. 
 
 12. " Come ye (say they), I wiU fetch wine, 
 And we will fill ourselves with strong driiik ; 
 And to-morrow shaU be as this day, 
 
 A day great beyond measure ! " 
 
 LVII. 1. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart ; 
 And merciful men are taken away, none considering 
 That the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 
 
 2. He entereth into peace ; they rest in their beds, 
 Each one that walketh in his uprightness. 
 
 II. 
 
 Israel's idolatries have become flagrant, calling for judg- 
 ment. 
 
 3. But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, 
 The seed of the adulterer and the whore. 
 
CHAPTEE LVII. 165 
 
 4. Against whom do ye sport yourselves ? 
 Against whom make ye a wide mouth, 
 And draw out the tongue ? 
 
 Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, 
 
 5. Ye that inflame yoiu-selves among the oaks, 
 Under every green tree ; 
 
 That slay the children in the valleys, 
 Under the clefts of the rocks ? 
 
 6. Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion ; 
 They, they are thy lot : 
 
 Even to them hast thou poured a drink offering. 
 
 Thou hast offered an oblation. 
 
 Shall I be appeased for these things ? 
 
 7. Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed ; 
 Thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. 
 
 8. And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up 
 
 thy memorial ; 
 For thou hast discovered thyself to another than Me, 
 
 and art gone up ; 
 Thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant 
 
 with them ; 
 Thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. 
 
 III. 
 
 In their distress they have had recourse to heathen alliances 
 and vain idols, instead of to Jehovah {cf. 2 Kings xvi. 7 to 
 16 ; Isaiah xxx. and xxxi.) ; 
 
 9. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, 
 And didst uacrease thy perfumes, 
 
 And didst send thine ambassadors far off, 
 And didst debase thyself even unto hell. 
 
 10. With the length of thy way thou wast wearied ; 
 Yet saidst thou not, There is no hope : 
 
 Thou didst find a quickening of thy strength ; 
 Therefore thou wast not faint. 
 
 11. And of whom hast thou been afraid and in fear, that 
 
 thou liest. 
 And hast not remembered Me, nor laid it to thy heart ? 
 Have not I held My peace even of long time, and thou 
 
 fearest Me not ? 
 
166 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 12. I will declare thy righteousness ; 
 
 And as for thy works, they shall not profit thee. 
 
 13. When thou criest, let them which thou hast gathered 
 
 deliver thee ; 
 But the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them 
 
 all away : 
 But he that putteth his trust in Me shall possess the 
 
 land. 
 And shall inherit My holy momitain. 
 
 14. And He shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, 
 Take up the stumbling-block out of the way of My people. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Who is full of mercy to the "contrite" penitent and tvill 
 grant " healing and peace,'' from ivhich " the loiched " become 
 more estranged. 
 
 15. For thus saith the high and lofty One 
 
 That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy : 
 
 I dwell in the high and holy place. 
 
 With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, 
 
 To revive the spirit of the humble, 
 
 And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 
 
 16. For I will not contend for ever. 
 Neither will I be always wroth : 
 For the spirit should fail before Me, 
 And the souls which I have made. 
 
 17. For the miquity of his covetousness was I wroth 
 And smote him, I hid my face and was wroth : 
 And he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. 
 
 18. I have seen his ways, and will heal him : 
 I will lead him also, and restore 
 Comforts unto him and to his mourners. 
 
 19. I create the fruit of the lips : 
 
 Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is 
 
 near, 
 Saith Jehovah ; and I will heal him. 
 
 20. But the vidcked are like the troubled sea ; 
 For it cannot rest. 
 
 And its waters cast up mire and dirt. 
 
 21. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. 
 
BOOK III. (CHAPTEES LVIII. TO LXVI.). 
 
 Chapter LVIII., a. 
 
 The student is requested to read over with care the 
 attempt to trace the connexion and hne of argument in 
 Book III. in pages 78 to 82. If the view there given appear 
 correct, all that remains to be done is to give the strophical 
 arrangement, with a few explanatory notes. 
 
 Chap. Iviii. falls into 2 strophes of 7 verses each. 
 
 Strophe I. (1 to 7) sternly rebukes Israel's pharisaical 
 self -righteousness (already in development) and pretended 
 zeal for God's worship and ordinances, by which they claim 
 to lay Jehovah under obligation to them : " Wherefore have 
 we fasted (say they), and Thou seest not? " Jehovah un- 
 masks the hollowness of their hypocritical humiliation of 
 soul, which, instead of giving to their dependants the oppor- 
 tunity and leisure to join with them in humbling themselves 
 before God, exacts with greater rigour their services at the 
 holy season of the Day of Atonement which Jehovah en- 
 joined, and at the other fasts which they had added to God's 
 appointment. 
 
 Only — if they will practise the duties of true obedience 
 and of mercy and love due to their neighbour, represented 
 by " dealing bread to the hungry and clothing the naked " 
 (verse 7) — and (Strophe II.) their duties to God, represented 
 by " calling the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Loed 
 honourable " — then " shall thy light break forth as the 
 morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily " 
 (verse 8); then "shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord" 
 (verse 14). 
 
168 THE SERVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 I. 
 
 LVIII. 1. Cry aloiad, spare not, 
 
 Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, 
 
 And declare unto My people their transgression, 
 
 And to the house of Jacob their sins. 
 
 2. Yet Me they seek daily, 
 
 And delight to know My ways : 
 
 As a nation that did righteousness, 
 
 And forsook not the ordinance of their God, 
 
 They ask of Me righteous ordinances. 
 
 They desire the drawing near of God. 
 
 3. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and Thou seestnot? 
 Wherefore have we afflicted oiu" soul, and Thou takest 
 
 no knowledge ? 
 Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure. 
 And exact all your labours. 
 
 4. Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, 
 And to smite with the fist of wickedness : 
 Ye fast not this day 
 
 So as to make your voice to be heard on high. 
 
 5. Is such the fast that I choose ? 
 
 The day for a man to afflict his soul ? 
 Is it to bow down his head as a rush, 
 And to spread sackcloth and ashes imder him ? 
 Wilt thou call this a fast. 
 And an acceptable day to Jehovah ? 
 6. Is not this the fast that I choose 1 
 To loose the bonds of wickedness, 
 To undo the bands of the yoke. 
 And to let the oppressed go free, 
 And that ye break every yoka ? 
 
 7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 
 
 And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy 
 
 house ? 
 Wlien thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; 
 And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? 
 
 II. 
 
 8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning. 
 And thy healing shall spring forth speedily : 
 And thy righteousness shall go before thee ; 
 The glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward. 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTER LIX. 169 
 
 9. Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah shall answer ; 
 Thou shalt cry, and He shall say. Here I am. 
 If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, 
 The putting forth of the finger and speaking wickedly ; 
 
 10. And if thou draw out thy soul to the hmigry. 
 And satisfy the afflicted soul ; 
 
 Then shall thy light rise in darkness, 
 And thme obscurity be as the noonday : 
 
 11. And Jehovah shall guide thee continually. 
 And satisfy thy soul in dry places, 
 
 And make strong thy bones ; 
 
 And thou shalt be like a watered garden, 
 
 And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 
 
 12. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste 
 
 places : 
 Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations : 
 And thou shalt be called. The repairer of the breach, 
 The restorer of paths to dwell in. 
 
 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, 
 From doing thy pleasure on My holy day ; 
 And call the Sabbath a delight. 
 
 And the holy of Jehovah honourable ; 
 And shalt honour it, 
 Not doing thine own ways. 
 
 Nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own 
 words : 
 
 14. Then shalt thou delight th^'self in Jehovah ; 
 
 And I will make thee to ride upon the high places of 
 
 the earth ; 
 And I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy 
 
 father : 
 For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. 
 
 Chapter LIX., b. 
 
 While some of the murmurers m Israel ascribed Jehovah's 
 delay in delivering them from their enemies to His want of 
 ivill (Iviii. 2, 3), others ascribed it to want of poiver (lix. 1). 
 To this is directed the reply in chap. lix. 
 
 The number of verses being 21, the strophical division 
 might seem to be into three sevens. Judging from the 
 
170 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 pronouns, however, we believe it to be 8 + 5 + 8. For in 
 the first 8 verses Jehovah, in assigning the cause of the 
 "separation"^ between Him and Israel (verse 2), uses the 
 pronouns " you, your," which (to denote still more strongly 
 their estrangement) He changes in verses 4 to 8 into " they, 
 their ". In the succeeding 5 verses, however, the pronouns 
 employed are " us, we, our " (9 to 13). This seems to mark 
 that the correct strophical division is 8 + 5 + 8. 
 
 In Strophe I. (1 to 8) Israel is severely rebuked for their 
 sins, which are opposed, both in words and deeds, to the 
 principles of "justice, truth, and peace ". 
 
 In Strophe II. (9 to 13) Israel is represented as making 
 humble confession before Jehovah of the justice of the 
 penalty awarded to their trespasses, which they acknow- 
 ledge, under all the three terms, " transgressions, sins, and 
 iniquities," used by the High Priest on the Fast (verse 3) 
 appointed by God (see Levit. xvi. 21 ; c/. Dan. ix. 24). 
 
 In Strophe III. (14 to 21), consequent on Israel's self- 
 humiliation and confession, Jehovah, compassionating the 
 sad state of corruption and helplessness into which they 
 had fallen, is moved Himself to interpose for their deliver- 
 ance, and to send a Eedeemer for Zion and for " them that 
 turn from transgression in Jacob " (verse 20). 
 
 I. 
 LIX. 1. Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened, that it cannot 
 save ; 
 Neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear : 
 2. But your iniquities are they that have separated^ 
 Between you and your God, 
 And your sins have hid 
 His face from you, that He will not hear. 
 
 ^ Dr. Kay (Speaker's Commentarij) remarks that " separated " 
 is the word used in Exod. xxvi. 33 in reference to the veil before 
 the Ark of the Covenant, and which was drawn aside only once a 
 year, on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest entered to 
 make intercession for the sins of the people, thereby signifying that 
 only by Israel's accepting of a greater High Priest to come could 
 the veil be removed that hid Jehovah's countenance from them. 
 
CHAPTER LIX. 171 
 
 3. For your hands are defiled with blood, 
 And your fingers with iniquity ; 
 Your lips have spoken lies, 
 
 Your tongue muttereth wickedness. 
 
 4. None sueth in righteousness, 
 And none pleadeth in truth : 
 
 They trust in vanity and speak lies ; 
 
 They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 
 
 5. They hatch basilisks' eggs, 
 And weave the spider's web : 
 
 He that eateth of their eggs dieth, 
 
 And that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 
 
 6. Their webs shall not become garments, 
 
 Neither shall they cover themselves with their works : 
 
 Their works are works of iniquity. 
 
 And the act of violence is in their hands, 
 
 7. Their feet run to evil, 
 
 And they make haste to shed innocent blood : 
 Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ; 
 Desolation and destruction are in their paths. 
 
 8. The way of peace they know not ; 
 
 And there is no judgment in their goings : 
 They have made them crooked paths ; 
 Whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace. 
 
 II. 
 
 9. Therefore is judgment far from us. 
 Neither doth righteousness overtake us : 
 We look for light, but behold darkness ; 
 For brightness, but we walk in obscurity. 
 
 10. We grope for the wall like the blind. 
 Yea, we grope as they that have no eyes : 
 We stumble at noonday as in the twilight ; 
 Among them that are lusty we are as dead men. 
 
 11. We roar all like bears, 
 And mourn sore like doves : 
 
 We look for judgment, but there is none ; 
 For salvation, but it is far off from us. 
 
 12. For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee 
 And our sins testify against us : 
 
 For our transgressions are with vis, 
 
 And as for our iniquities, we know them : 
 
172 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 13. In transgressing and denying Jehovah, 
 And turning away from following our God, 
 Speaking oppression and revolt, 
 
 Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 
 
 III. 
 
 14. And judgment is turned away backward. 
 And righteousness standeth afar off : 
 For truth is faUen in the street. 
 
 And uprightness cannot enter. 
 
 15. Yea, truth is lacking ; 
 
 And he that de^Darteth from evil maketh himself a 
 
 prey: 
 And Jehovah saw it, 
 And it displeased Him ^ that there was no judgment. 
 
 16. And He saw that there was no man, 
 
 And wondered that there was no intercessor : 
 Therefore His own arm brought salvation unto Him, 
 And His righteousness, it upheld Him. 
 
 17. And He put on righteousness as a breastplate. 
 And an hehnet of salvation upon His head ; 
 
 And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing. 
 And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 
 
 18. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay. 
 Fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies ; 
 To the islands He will repay recompense. 
 
 19. So shall they fear the name of Jehovah from the west. 
 And His glory from the rising of the sun : 
 
 For He shall come as a rushing stream, 
 Which the breath of Jehovah driveth. 
 
 20. And a Eedeemer shall come for Zion,'^ 
 
 And for them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith 
 Jehovah. 
 
 1 The rhythm, if trimeters, requires the division of the lines to be 
 
 And Jehovah saw it, and it was evil 
 
 In His eyes, that there was no judgment. 
 
 The difficulty is obviated, if the rhythm be reckoned hexameter. 
 But a satisfactory treatise on Hebrew metres is still a desideratum. 
 
 - Quoted by S. Paul (Rom. xi. 26) as to be fulfilled, when Israel 
 should be cured of their blindness, " the fulness of the Gentiles be 
 come in, and so all Israel shall be saved ". 
 
CHAPTER LX. 173 
 
 21. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith 
 Jehovah : 
 My Spii'it that is npon thee. 
 And My words which I have pnt in thy mouth, 
 Shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
 Nor out of the mouth of thy seed, 
 Nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed. 
 From henceforth and for ever, saith Jehovah. 
 
 Chapter LX., c. 
 
 In this third chapter of the opening trilogy of Book III., 
 we have " a most glowing and beautiful description of the 
 golden age under the Messiah ". The description is con- 
 tained in the first two chapters of the central trilogy, the 
 whole prophecy closing with the third chapter (Ixiii.), with 
 the destruction of the enemies of God and His people, re- 
 presented under the figure of a triumphant conqueror re- 
 turning from the conquest of Edom, the relentless enemy of 
 Israel (Ixiii.), whose rage against Israel nothing less could 
 satisfy than the malignant cry, " Ease it, rase it, even to 
 the foundation thereof " (Ps. cxxxvii. 7). Jehovah's 
 gracious purpose and plan for the redemption of a fallen 
 world are now about to be fulfilled. 
 
 The chapter falls into 3 strophes, the first and last of 7 
 verses each, and a central strophe of 8 (3 -(- 2 4- 3). 
 
 The arrangement of the first 3 lines may perhaps best be 
 perceived thus : — 
 
 LX. 1. ARISE 1 
 
 Shine, for thy light is come, 
 
 And the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. 
 
 2. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth. 
 And gross darkness the peoples : 
 
 But on thee shall Jehovah arise, and His glory upon thee 
 be seen ; 
 
 3. And nations shall come to thy light, 
 And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 
 
174 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 In the first and eighth line, we have the rising of the 
 Church ; in the second and seventh, the light v^hich it 
 receives and reflects ; in the third and sixth, the glory of 
 Jehovah ; in the two central lines, the spiritual darkness of 
 the world. 
 
 The Church is then called upon to " lift up her eyes," 
 and behold the multitudes that are flocking to her from all 
 quarters. 
 
 Strophe II. (8 to 15) : So great are the multitudes as to 
 excite astonishment. Jerusalem, instead of being "forsaken 
 and hated," now sees the Gentiles " bringing her sons from 
 far, their silver and their gold with them " (verse 9), and 
 contributing to "beautify the place of her sanctuary" 
 (verse 13). 
 
 Strophe III. (16 to 22) : Jehovah Himself shall be to 
 Zion "an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory " (verse 
 19). 
 
 4. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see : 
 
 They all gather themselves together, they come to thee : 
 
 Thy sons shall come from far, 
 
 And thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. 
 
 5. Then thou shalt see and be lightened. 
 
 And thine heart shall tremble and be enlarged ; 
 
 Because the abmidance of the sea shall be turned imto thee. 
 
 The wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. 
 
 6. The multitude of camels shaU cover thee. 
 The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah ; 
 They all shah come from Sheba : 
 
 They shall bring gold and frankincense. 
 And shaU proclaim the praises of Jehovah. 
 
 7. AU the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together imto thee. 
 The rams of Nebaioth shah minister imto thee : 
 
 They shah come up with acceptance on Mine altar, 
 And I wiU glorify the house of My glory. 
 
 II. 
 
 8. Who are these that fly as a cloud, 
 And as the doves to their windows ? 
 
CHAPTER LX. 175 
 
 9. Surely for Me shall the isles wait, 
 And the ships of Tarshish first, 
 To bring thy sons from far, 
 Their silver and their gold with them. 
 For the name of Jehovah thy God, 
 And for the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee. 
 
 10. And strangers shall build up thy walls, 
 And their kings shall minister unto thee : 
 For in My wrath I smote thee, 
 
 But in My favour have I had mercy on thee. 
 
 11. Thy gates also shall be open continually ; 
 They shall not be shut day nor night ; 
 
 That men ixiay bring unto thee the wealth of the nations. 
 And their kings led with them. 
 
 12. For that nation and kingdom 
 
 That will not serve thee shall perish ; 
 Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 
 
 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, 
 The fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together ; 
 To beautify the place of My sanctuary, 
 
 And I will make the place of My feet glorious. 
 
 14. And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending 
 
 unto thee ; 
 And all they that despised thee shall bow themselves 
 
 down at the soles of thy feet ; 
 And they shall call thee. The city of Jehovah, 
 The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated. 
 So that no man passed through thee, 
 
 I will make thee an etei'nal excellency, 
 A joy of many generations. 
 
 III. 
 
 16. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, 
 And shalt suck the breast of kings : 
 
 And thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, 
 And thy Kedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 
 
 17. For brass I will bring gold, 
 And for iron I will bring silver. 
 
 And for wood brass, and for stones iron : 
 I will also make thy officers peace, 
 And thine exactors righteousness. 
 
176 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 18. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 
 Desolation nor destruction within thy boi'ders ; 
 But thou shalt call tliy walls Salvation, 
 
 And thy gates Praise. 
 
 19. The sun shall be no more thy light by day ; 
 
 Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto 
 
 thee : 
 But Jehovah shall be mito thee an everlasting light. 
 And thy God thy glory. 
 
 20. Thy sun shall no more go down, 
 Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : 
 For Jehovah shall be thine everlasting light, 
 And the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 
 
 21. Thy people also shall be all righteous. 
 They shall inherit the land for ever ; 
 
 The branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I 
 may be glorified. 
 
 22. The little one shall become a thousand, 
 And the small one a strong nation : 
 
 I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time. 
 
 Chapter LXI., a (verses 1 to 9), 
 
 Falls into 3 strophes of 3 verses each. Messiah proclahns 
 the gracious commission which He has received from 
 Jehovah, "to proclaim liberty to the captives, to comfort 
 all that mourn," and to have the heritages and privileges, 
 so long desolated by the Gentiles, restored by their services 
 freely rendered to them (verses 4 to 6), and " for their shame 
 to receive double " in blessings (verses 7 to 9). 
 
 I. 
 
 LXI. 1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me ; 
 Because Jehovah hath anointed me 
 To preach good tidings mito the meek ; 
 He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, 
 To proclaim liberty to the captives, 
 And the opening of the prison to them that are bomid ; 
 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, 
 And the day of vengeance of our God ; 
 To comfort all that moiurn ; 
 
CHAPTER LXII. 177 
 
 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, 
 To give unto them a garland for ashes, 
 The oil of joy for mourning, 
 
 The garment of praise for the spirit of heavmess ; 
 That they might be called trees of righteousness, 
 The planting of Jehovah, that He might be glorified. 
 
 11. 
 
 4. And they shall build the old vi^astes, 
 They shall raise up the former desolations, 
 And they shall repair the waste cities, 
 The desolations of many generations. 
 
 5. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, 
 
 And aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 
 
 6. But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah : 
 Men shall call you the ministers of our God : 
 Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, 
 
 And in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 
 
 III. 
 
 7. For your shame ye shall have double ; 
 
 And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion : 
 Therefore in their land they shall possess double : 
 Everlasting joy shall be unto them. 
 
 8. For I, Jehovah, love judgment, 
 I hate robbery with iniquity ; 
 
 And I will give them their recompense in truth, 
 ~And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 
 
 9. And their seed shall be known among the nations, 
 And their offspring among the peoples : 
 
 All that see them shall acknowledge them. 
 
 That they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed. 
 
 Chapter LXII., h (LXI. 10 to LXII. 12), 
 
 Falls into 2 strophes of 7 verses each. 
 
 Strophe I. (Ixi. 10 to Ixw. 5) : Zion, in verses 10, 11, ex- 
 presses her grateful joy for the promised blessings ; on 
 which Messiah (Ixii. 1 to 5) assures her so greatly is He 
 interested that He will not rest till she be made " a crown 
 
 12 
 
178 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 of beauty in the band of Jehovah," and receive " a new 
 name " (verses 2, 3). " Thou shalt be called Hephzibah ^ 
 (= My delight is in her), and Beulah (= Married). For 
 as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry 
 thee, and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so 
 shall thy God rejoice over thee " (verse 5). 
 
 Strophe II. (Ixii. 6 to 12) : Nay, so urgent is He for the 
 accomplishment of the promised blessings that He has set 
 watchmen on the walls of Zion who are to be so importunate 
 in prayer as to give Jehovah no rest till " Jerusalem is 
 made a praise in the earth " (verses 6, 7), and perfect 
 peace and security be established (verses 8, 9). Finally, 
 the people are directed to prepare for the coming of 
 Jehovah ; and a crier proclaims His approach, and the 
 certainty and fulness of His promised redemption (verses 
 10 to 12). 
 
 I. 
 
 Zion speaks — 
 LXI. 10. I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful 
 in my God ; 
 For He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, 
 He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 
 As a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, 
 And as a bride adometh herself with her jewels. 
 11. For as the earth brmgeth forth her bud, 
 
 And as the garden causeth the thmgs that are sown in 
 
 it to spring forth ; 
 So the Lord Jehovah will cause to spring forth 
 Righteousness and praise before all the nations. 
 
 Messiah speaks — 
 LXII. 1. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, 
 And for Jerusalem's sake I wiU not rest. 
 Until her righteousness go forth as brightness, 
 And her salvation as a lamp that bm-neth. 
 
 1 On the importance of the name, as being the wife of Hezekiah, 
 and the proof it affords that the author must have been a contem- 
 porary of Hezekiah, see page 92. 
 
CHAPTER LXII. 179 
 
 2. And the nations shall see thy righteousness, 
 And all kings thy glory : 
 
 And thou shalt be called by a new name, 
 "Which the mouth of Jehovah shall name. 
 
 3. Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of 
 
 Jehovah, 
 And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 
 
 4. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ; 
 
 Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate : 
 But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, [ = Aly -pleasure 
 
 is in her] 
 And thy land Beulah : [ = Married] 
 For Jehovah delighteth in thee, 
 And thy land shall be married. 
 
 5. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, 
 So shall thy sons marry thee : 
 
 And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, 
 So shall thy God rejoice over thee. 
 
 II. 
 
 6. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I set watchmen ; 
 All the day and all the night they never are silent : 
 Ye that are Jehovah's remembrancers, 
 
 Take ye no rest, 
 
 7. And give Him no rest, 
 
 Till He establish, and till He make 
 Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 
 
 8. Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, 
 And by the arm of His strength, 
 Surely I will no more give thy corn 
 To be meat for thine enemies ; 
 
 And strangers shall not drink thy wine, 
 For the which thou hast laboured : 
 
 9. But they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise 
 
 Jehovah ; 
 And they that have gathered it shall drink it in the 
 courts of My sanctuary. 
 10. Go through, go through the gates ; 
 Prepare ye the way of the people ; 
 Cast up, cast up the highway ; gather out the stones ; 
 Lift up an ensign for the peoples. 
 
180 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 11. Behold, Jeliovah hath proclaimed iinto the end of the 
 
 earth, 
 Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation 
 
 cometh ; 
 Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense 
 
 before Him. 
 
 12, And they shall call them The holy people. The redeemed 
 
 of Jehovah : 
 And thoiT shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken. 
 
 Chapter LXIII., c. 
 
 The prophet closes his last and greatest prophecy exactly 
 as he had done his Earliest Prophecies, with the utter 
 extermination of the enemies of Jehovah and of His people 
 (c/. chap, xxxiv.),^ represented mider the figm^e of Israel's 
 most relentless enemy, Edom, whose jealousy nothing less 
 could satisfy than the malignant cry, " Ease it, rase it 
 even to the foundation thereof " (Ps. cxxxvii. 7). The ven- 
 geance to be executed on the enemies of Jehovah and His 
 people is represented under a very striking figure [in the 
 shortest chapter of the whole prophecy, and which closes 
 the Prophetical part, of only 6 verses (Ixiii. 1 to 6)] of a 
 mighty victor returning from the slaughter of His foes. His 
 raiment stained with blood, and "travelling in the great- 
 ness of His strength, speaking in righteousness, and mighty 
 to save ". As to whether the personage meant is Jehovah 
 
 1 In the Earlier Prophecies, after the judgment denoiuiced 
 against Edom, is added a short chapter of 10 verses (xxxiv. 1 to 10), 
 setting forth, by way of contrast, the blessings to be conferred 
 on Israel. The final verse (10), with which the Earlier Prophecies 
 are thus made to close, we find repeated word for word in the 
 Later Prophecies in chap. li. 11, thiTS welding the two prophecies 
 closely together. This would be very natural, if the two prophecies 
 had one and the same aiithor, that Isaiah should thus mark the 
 unity and identity of aiathorship of his two prophecies. Bixt it 
 seems impossible to hold that an mdependent author, writing at 
 the close of the Babylonish Captivity, could unconsciously fall into 
 such a blunder as would have confounded him with his predecessor. 
 
CHAPTER LXIII. 181 
 
 or Messiah, the reader is referred to the remarks made, 
 page 82. 
 
 Chapter LXIII., c (1 to 6). 
 
 Char. — 
 LXIII. 1. Who is this that cometh from Edom, 
 With dyed garments from Bozrah ? 
 This that is glorious in His apparel. 
 Marching in the greatness of His strength ? 
 
 Jehovah or Messiah — 
 I that speak in righteousness. 
 Mighty to save. 
 
 Char. — 
 
 2. Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, 
 
 And Thy garments like Him that treadeth in the wine- 
 fat ? 
 
 Jehovah or Messiah — 
 
 3. I have trodden the winepress alone ; 
 
 And of the peoples there was no man with Me : 
 
 Yea, I trod them in Mine anger, 
 
 And trampled them m My fury ; 
 
 And their life-blood is sprinkled upon My garments, 
 
 And I have stained all My raiment. 
 
 4. For the day of vengeance was in Mine heart, 
 And the year of My redeemed is come. 
 
 5. And I looked, and there was none to help ; 
 And I wondered that there was none to uphold : 
 Therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me ; 
 And My fury, it upheld Me. 
 
 6. And I trod down the peoples in Mine anger, 
 And made them drunk in My fury, 
 
 And I poured out their life-blood on the earth. 
 
 The concluding trilogy (Ixiii. 7 to Ixvi.) is a confession of 
 Israel's sin, and a prayer for forgiveness which the prophet 
 offers up in their name (Ixiii. 7 to Ixiv. 12), vyith Jehovah's 
 reply in Ixv., Ixvi. The prayer is equally suitable for the 
 
182 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 small body of his countrymen who would be moved to join 
 with the prophet in his own day (" if by any means he 
 might save some," Eom. xi. 14), and, at all times, to the 
 great mass of Israel, until " the fulness of the Gentiles 
 being come in, all Israel shall be saved " (Eom. xi. 25, 26) : 
 when having looked with bitter mourning (and sincere re- 
 pentance) unto " Him whom they have pierced " (Zech. xii. 
 10), " the receiving back of them shall be life from the dead " 
 to the whole world (Eom. xi. 15). 
 
 Chaptek LXIII. 7 to LXIV. 12, a. 
 
 After an Introit ^ in verse Ixiii. 7, prefacing that the 
 prayer which he is about to offer up in the name of his 
 people rests on no claim or merit of their own, but solely 
 in an appeal to the undeserved favour which Jehovah 
 had been pleased to vouchsafe to them from their earliest 
 calling — " the loving kindnesses of the Lord, His great good- 
 ness toward the house of Israel," &c. — the prophet in two 
 strophes of 12 verses each, subdivided each into 7-1-5, 
 proceeds to present his supplication in their behalf. To a 
 Jew of the time of Isaiah, the strophical arrangement 
 marked its purport, viz., the comi^lete 7-estoration of Israel 
 (in contrast to the destruction of Edom, chap. Ixiii.). The 
 symbolical number of (the 12 tribes of) Israel is 12. This 
 being twice repeated denotes restoration. Again, 5 4- 5 is 
 the number of completion.^ 
 
 The first 12 verses of the prayer (Ixiii. 8 to 19) dwell 
 specially on Jehovah's wondrous goodness to Israel under 
 the guidance of Moses. 
 
 The second 12 verses (Ixiv. 1 to 12) regard more Israel's 
 sins and hardness of heart, and utter desolation and help- 
 
 1 Compare the Introit of two verses in Psalm v., Studies in the 
 Book of Psalms, page 205. 
 
 ^ Compare the symbolical import of the 12 and 10 with the re- 
 marks in Note 2, page 93, of Studies in the Book of Psalms. 
 
CHAPTEB LXIII. 183 
 
 lessness, which need some awful and awakening interposition 
 of God's providence to break up their slumber. They begin, 
 therefore (Ixiv. 1): "0 that thou wouldst rend the heavens " 
 as of old at Sinai, and with a confession of the depth of 
 their sins, " all our righteousnesses are as a polluted gar- 
 ment " (Ixiv. 6), and with the extremity of desolation to 
 which their land is reduced, " Thy holy cities are become 
 a wildex'ness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a 
 desolation" (verse 10). 
 
 I. 
 
 Introit. 
 
 LXIII. 7. The mercies of Jehovah will I recoi'd, the praises of 
 
 Jehovah, 
 According to aU that Jehovah hath bestowed on us ; 
 And the greatness of His goodness toward the house of 
 
 Israel, 
 "Which He hath bestowed on them according to His 
 
 tenderness, and according to the multitude of 
 
 His mercies. 
 
 8. For He said, Surely, they are My people, 
 Children that will not deal falsely : 
 
 So He became to them a Saviour. 
 
 9. In aU their affliction He was afflicted. 
 
 And the Angel of His presence saved them : 
 
 In His love and in His pity He redeemed them ; 
 
 And He bare them, and carried them aU the days of old. 
 
 10. But they rebelled, and grieved His Holy Spirit : 
 
 Therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and Him- 
 self fought against them. 
 
 11. Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, and 
 
 His people, saying, 
 Where is He that brought them up out of the sea 
 
 with the shepherds of His flock ? 
 Where is He that put His Holy Spirit in the midst of 
 
 them? 
 
 12. That caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of 
 
 Moses ? 
 That divided the water before them. 
 To make to Himself an everlasting name ? 
 
184 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 13. That led them through the depths, 
 
 As an horse in the wilderness, that they stumbled not ? 
 
 14. As the cattle that go down into the valley, 
 The Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest : 
 So didst Thou lead Thy people, 
 
 To make thyself a glorious name, 
 
 15. Look down from heaven, and behold from the habita- 
 
 tion of Thy holiness and Thy glory : 
 Where is Thy zeal and Thy mighty acts ? 
 The yearnmg of Thy bowels and Thy compassions are 
 
 restrained towards me. 
 
 16. For Thou art our Father, 
 Though Abraham knoweth us not. 
 And Israel doth not acknowledge us : 
 Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, 
 
 Our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name. 
 
 17. ■ Why makest Thou us to err, O Jehovah, from Thy 
 
 ways, 
 And hardenest our heart from Thy fear ? 
 Return for Thy servants' sake, 
 The tribes of Thine inheritance. 
 
 18. Thy holy people possessed it but a little while : 
 Our adversaries have trodden down Thy sanctuary. 
 
 19. We are become as they over whom Thou never barest 
 
 rule ; 
 As they that were not called by Thy name. 
 
 II. 
 
 LXIV. 1. Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou 
 wouldest come down. 
 That the mountains might flow down at Thy presence ; 
 
 2. As when fire kindleth the brushwood. 
 And the fire causeth the waters to boil ; 
 
 To make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, 
 That the nations may tremble at Thy presence ! 
 
 3. When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not 
 
 for, 
 Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy 
 presence. 
 
 4. For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by 
 
 the ear. 
 
CHAPTER LXIV. 185 
 
 Neither hath the eye seen a God beside Thee, 
 Which worketh for him that waiteth for Hiiii. 
 
 5. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteoi\s- 
 
 ness, 
 Those that remember Thee in Thy ways : 
 Behold, Thou wast wroth, and we sinned : 
 In them have we been of long time, and shall we be 
 
 saved ? 
 
 6. For we are all become as one that is imclean. 
 
 And all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment : 
 
 And we all do fade as a leaf : 
 
 And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 
 
 7. And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, 
 That stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee: 
 For Thou hast hid Thj' face from us, 
 
 And hast consumed us by means of our iniquities. 
 
 8. But now, Jehovah, Thou art our Father ; 
 We are the clay, and Thou our potter ; 
 And we all are the work of Thy hand. 
 
 9. Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, 
 Neither remember iniquity for ever : 
 
 Behold, look, we beseech Thee, we are all Thy peo^sle. 
 
 10. Thy holy cities ai'e become a wilderness, 
 Zion is become a wilderness, 
 Jerusalem a desolation. 
 
 11. Our holy and our beautiful house, 
 Where our fathers praised Thee, 
 Is burned with fire ; ^ 
 
 And aU our pleasant things are laid waste. 
 
 12. Wilt Thou refrain Thyself for these things, Jehovah? 
 Wilt Thou hold Thy peace, and afflict us very sore ? 
 
 1 These words are cited by our modern critics as conclusively 
 proving that they must have been written subseqxiently to the 
 burning of Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. So 
 far is this from being the truth, that the prophet who had been 
 commissioned to announce to Hezekiah, " Hear the word of the 
 Lord of Hosts, Behold, the days come that all that is in thine 
 house shall be carried to Babylon " (Isaiah xxxix. 6), needed no 
 further inspiration to be able to predict that the thing above all 
 others that a heathen conqueror would be zealous to accompUsh 
 would be to burn and rase to the ground the hated city and 
 temple of the God who claimed Deity as His distinctive preroga- 
 tive, and cast contempt on the heathen idols as no-gods. 
 
186 THE SEEVANT OF THE LOED. 
 
 Chaptee LXV., h, 
 
 Falls into 2 strophes of 12 verses each, of which verse 13 
 forms the connecting centre. Each twelve verses subdivide 
 into 7 + 5 ; or, rather, the second strophe, it seems to me, 
 into four triplets. 
 
 In Strophe I. (1 to 12), in reply to Israel's plea, " Behold, 
 look, we are all Thy people " (Ixiv. 9), Jehovah's answer 
 is that He has taken to Himself another people (verse 1), 
 since the great mass of Israel has " provoked Him to 
 anger," and to cast them off, by their flagrant apostasy 
 and idolatries conjoined with the most revolting spiritual 
 pride (verse 5). Still a small renmant will be saved (verses 
 8 to 10). Yet, 
 
 Strophe II., God's promises to Israel cannot fail. He will 
 call His servants by another [and " new," Ixii. 2J name (14 
 to 16) ; " create a new heavens and a new earth," and 
 "make Jerusalem a rejoicing" (17 to 19); prolong His 
 servants' days, and give them " long to enjoy the work of 
 their hands " (20 to 22) ; universal peace and amity shall 
 prevail, and God's early promise to fallen man be fulfilled, 
 " Dust shall be the serpent's meat " (23 to 25). 
 
 LXV. 1. I am inquired of by them that asked not for Me ; 
 I am found of them that sought Me not ; 
 I said, Behold Me, behold Me, 
 Unto a nation that was not called by My nanae. 
 
 2. I have spread out My hands all the day 
 Unto a rebellious people, 
 
 Which walketh in the way that is not good, 
 After their own thoughts. 
 
 3. The people that provoketh Me to My face continually, 
 Sacrificing in gardens, and biu-ning incense upon bricks ; 
 
 4. Which sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret 
 
 places ; 
 Which eat the flesh of the swine. 
 And broth of abominable things is in their vessels ; 
 
 5. Which say, Stand by thyself, 
 
 Come not near to me, for I am holier than thou : 
 
CHAPTER LXV. 187 
 
 These are a smoke in My nose, 
 A fire that biu'neth all the day. 
 
 6. Behold, it is written before Me : 
 
 I will not keep silence except I have recompensed, 
 Yea, I have recompensed into their bosom, 
 
 7. Your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers 
 
 together, saith Jehovah, 
 WTiich have burned incense upon the mountains, 
 And blasphemed Me upon the hills : 
 Therefore will I first measure theirwork into their bosom. 
 
 8. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 As the new wine is found in the cluster. 
 
 And one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it : 
 
 So will I do for My servants' sakes. 
 
 That I may not destroy them all. 
 
 9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, 
 
 And out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains : 
 And My chosen shall inherit it, and My servants shall 
 dwell there. 
 
 10. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, 
 
 And the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down m, 
 For My people that have sought Me. 
 
 11. But ye that forsake Jehovah, 
 That forget My holy mountain. 
 That prepare a table for Fortune, 
 
 And that fill up mmgled wine unto Destiny ; 
 
 12. I will destme you to the sword. 
 
 And ye shall all bow down to the slaughter : 
 Because I called, and ye did not answer ; 
 I spake and ye did not hear ; 
 But ye did the evil thing ^ in Mine eyes. 
 And that wherein I delighted not, ye chose. 
 
 13. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 
 
 Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : 
 
 ^ That the correct meaning of the phrase to "do the evil thing 
 in God's sight," which occurs more than sixty times in Scripture, 
 is to be guiltij of apostasy and rebellion against Jehovah (idolatry), see 
 my remarks on Psahn li. 4 (6), pp. 123, 124, of my Symmetrical 
 Structure of Scripture. The same usage obtains in the con- 
 trasted expression, to "do that which is right in the sight of 
 Jehovah " (see 2 Kings xii. 2 ; 2 Chr. xxiv. 2, xxv, 2, xxvi. 4, &c.). 
 
188 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Behold, My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thh'sty: 
 Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be 
 ashamed : 
 
 14. Behold My servants shall smg for joy of heart, 
 But ye shall cry for sorrow of heart. 
 
 And shall howl for vexation of spirit. 
 
 15. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My 
 
 chosen. 
 And the Lord Jehovah shall slay thee ; 
 And He shall call His servants by another name : 
 
 16. So that he who blesseth himself in the earth 
 Shall bless himself in the God of truth ; 
 And he that sweareth in the earth 
 
 Shall swear by the God of truth ; 
 Because the former troubles are forgotten, 
 And because they are hid from Mine eyes. 
 
 17. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth : 
 And the former things shall not be remembered. 
 Neither shall come into mind. 
 
 18. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: 
 For, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people 
 
 a joy. 
 
 19. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people : 
 And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, 
 
 nor the voice of crying. 
 
 20. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, 
 Nor an old man that hath not filled his days : 
 For the child shall die an himdred years old. 
 
 And the sinner being an hiuidred years old shall be 
 acciu'sed. 
 
 21. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them ; 
 
 And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 
 
 22. They shall not build, and another inhabit ; 
 They shall not plant, and another eat : 
 
 For as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people, 
 And My chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 
 
 23. They shall not labour in vain. 
 Nor bring forth for calamity : 
 
 For they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, 
 And their offspring with them. 
 
CHAPTER LXVI. 189 
 
 24. And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will 
 
 answer ; 
 And while they are yet speaking I will hear. 
 
 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, 
 And the lion shall eat straw like the ox : 
 And dust shall be the serpent's meat. 
 They shall not hiuit nor destroy 
 
 In all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah. 
 
 Chapter LXVI., c. 
 
 Most appropriately Isaiah closes his final address to his 
 countrymen in the concluding chapters of his prophecies 
 with the solemn warning of the great danger they run of 
 entailing on themselves a more protracted exile, and far 
 severer sufferings than those in Babylon, if they persevered 
 in that spirit of Pharisaical self-righteousness and spiritual 
 pride, combined with dependence on the distinguished privi- 
 leges vouchsafed to them as God's peculiar people, and con- 
 tempt of all others which he foresaw growing more and 
 more upon them. It is impossible, even on the most cur- 
 sory observation, to overlook the striking correspondence 
 between the message which he has to address to his people 
 at the close of his ministry with that which he was com- 
 missioned to announce to them at his first call to the pro- 
 phetic office. "Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, 
 and understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 
 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears 
 heavy, and shut their eyes." And when the prophet asked, 
 "Lord, how long?" the answer was, "Until cities be 
 waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and 
 the Lord have removed men far away ". And that there 
 might be no mistake that an exile, such as that in Babylon, 
 might not be sufficient to exhaust the threatened judgment, 
 it is added. Desolation shall follow on desolation. " If 
 there be yet a tenth " remaining, it shall again be eaten up ; 
 " as a terebinth, and an oak, whose stock [alone] remaineth 
 
190 THE SEEVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 when they are felled ; so the holy seed is the stock thereof " 
 (vi. 9 to 13) — all that remaineth of it. 
 
 Such was the doom which from his first calling Isaiah 
 was commanded to announce to his countrymen. This long 
 series of judgments, and the preface (chap, i.), which he 
 prefixes to his whole prophecies, find a striking corre- 
 spondence in the chapters which conclude the whole, while 
 we find the additional denunciation of God's rejection of 
 them for a time as His people, and acceptance of a Gentile 
 Church in their stead : " I am sought of them that asked 
 not for Me : I said, Behold, behold Me, unto a nation that 
 was not called by My name. But I have spread out My 
 hands all the day to a rebellious people " (Ixv. 1, 2). 
 
 To the great mass of Israel, then, it is evident that the 
 prophet's utterances are words of solemn warning — of com- 
 fort to a small remnant alone whose heart might be moved 
 to listen. To a "Great Unnamed" author, therefore, whom 
 the reports of Cyrus' victories over the Lydians might lead 
 to address his countrymen, what possible words of "com- 
 fort," to be fulfilled by their immediate return to Jerusalem, 
 remained, which would not flatly contradict the message 
 which Isaiah, throughout his whole ministry, had been 
 commissioned to announce to them ? Not now, but after a 
 long series of sufferings, which their continued unbelief 
 would provoke, did he hold out hopes of their restoration 
 to God's favour and their beloved Jerusalem, when, in 
 sincerest penitence, Israel's heart shall turn to the Lobd ; 
 and, as Isaiah's thought is correctly expressed by Zech. xii. 
 10, "they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, 
 and mourn as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be 
 in bitterness for him, as one is in bitterness for his first- 
 born". 
 
 The concluding chapter (Ixvi.) is designed to prepare 
 Israel for the great and final change which Jehovah is to 
 make to accomplish the momentous purpose for which He 
 chose them as His "peculiar people" — to be "a kingdom — 
 
CHAPTER LXVI. 191 
 
 oi priests " unto Himself — " a holy-nation" : a kingdom and 
 nation, themselves giving sincere and entire submission to 
 Him — priests and holy, ministering in holiness unto Jehovah 
 as their God, and persuading others to join in His service 
 (see page 27). For this purpose he draws a most distinct 
 and discriminating line of separation between true believers 
 and hypocritical professors, between those who place no 
 dependence on the mere outward privilege that Jehovah 
 had taken up His abode in their midst in a temple that He 
 had set apart for that purpose, since no earthly temple 
 could be worthy of Him, whose " throne is the heaven, and 
 His footstool the earth" (verse 1) — His true temple being 
 spiritual, even " a poor and contrite spirit, and that trem- 
 bleth at My word " (verse 2) ; and His service not the mere 
 outward offering, which, if alone, is an abomination in His 
 sight, but the entire self-sacrifice of the whole person and 
 will. 
 
 The first six verses (1 to 6), and the last six (19 to 24) — 
 forming tivelve, the symbolical number of Israel — which 
 consist each of three couplets, occupy the principal posi- 
 tion, as being placed first and last, and refer, therefore, to 
 Israel. 
 
 Strophe I. (1 to 6) solemnly warning them against de- 
 pendence upon the mere outward presence of Jehovah in 
 their midst in a temple made by men's hands, since His 
 presence is universal, or upon mere outward animal sacri- 
 fices, which are an abomination to the Lord, unless as 
 being the token of a true sacrifice of " a poor and contrite 
 spirit that trembleth at God's word" (verses 2 and 5). 
 
 Nay, in answer to the derisive sneer of their unbelieving 
 brethren, who " hate" and mock at their trust in Jehovah, 
 saying, " Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your 
 joy," and "cast them out" from communion with them in 
 worship, from that very temple shall sound forth a voice 
 rendering "recompense to His enemies" (verses 5, 6). 
 
 It is impossible here to overlook, as Dr. Kay in the 
 
192 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Speaker's Commentanj observes, the remarkable predictive 
 anticipation of New Testament times, when the unbelieving 
 Jews clung with pertinacious trust to the temple as the 
 place where God had placed His name (Jer. vii. 10, 11, 14), 
 "hated" the lowly disciples of Jesus (Matt. x. 22; John 
 XV. 18, 19), and "cast them out" (verse 5) of communion with 
 the temple and synagogue worship (cf. John ix. 34). The deri- 
 sive jeer of the mockers at the faith of Jehovah's disciples, 
 "Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy ! " (verse 
 5), is at once answered. The prophet, as if present in 
 spirit, hears issuing in tones of thunder in reply to the 
 mockers, " A voice of tumult from the city — a voice from 
 the temple — a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense 
 to His enemies" (verse 6). This voice finds its parallel in what 
 Josephus relates, that "at Pentecost the priests going into 
 the inner court of the temple heard a great noise as of a 
 multitude, saying, Let us remove hence ". Nay, the triple 
 voice finds a still more striking fulfilment in what he goes 
 on to relate of "one Jesus, the son of Ananus," who, four 
 years before the Eoman siege, at the feast of tabernacles, 
 "began on a sudden to cry aloud, X voice from the east, a 
 voice from the west, a voice from the four winds — a voice 
 against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the 
 bridegroom and the bride, and a voice against the whole 
 people" [Wars of the Jews, vi. v. 3). 
 
 Strophe II. (7 to 18) : " Yet before those throes come 
 upon Zion, she will have brought forth the Child, for whom 
 ages had been waiting," the ^'■Man-child" who was to "rule 
 all nations " (Eev. xii. 5 ; cf. John xvi. 21). In Him man- 
 kind received a new birth. By His Eesurrection the Chris- 
 tian Church was "born in a day" (verses 7 to 9). Still, 
 perhaps, the prediction will receive its final and more com- 
 plete fulfilment when "all Israel shall be saved," and "the 
 receiving" back of them shall be "life from the dead" to 
 the whole world (Eom. xi. 15). 
 
 In Strophe III. (19 to 24), all is ended with the final 
 
CHAPTER LXVI. 193 
 
 "glorification of Zion," those of the Jews who "escape" 
 being sent to preach to " the isles afar off, to declare 
 My glory among the Gentiles" (verse 19); while the Gen- 
 tiles again in their turn shall "bring" back of the Jews 
 "an offering unto the Lokd out of all the nations" of their 
 dispersion (verses 19, 20). Both together will form the 
 completed and glorified Church unto the Lobd, who will 
 take of the Gentiles also "for priests and for Levites " unto 
 Himself (verse 21), and thus, under the "new" covenant, 
 the promise will be made sure to Zion, that "as the new 
 heavens and the new earth shall remain before Me, saith 
 the LoED, so shall your seed and your name remain " (verses 
 21, 22). " So shall it come to pass that from one new 
 moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all 
 flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Loed," every 
 enemy of the Church having been cut off" (verses 23, 24). 
 
 I. 
 
 LXVI. 1. Thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool : 
 Wliat manner of hoi;se will ye build unto Me '? 
 And what place shall be My rest ? 
 
 2. For all these things hath Mine hand made. 
 
 And so all these things came to be, saith Jehovah : 
 But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor 
 And of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word. 
 
 3. He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man ; 
 
 He that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's 
 
 neck ; 
 He that offereth an oblation, as he that offereth swine's 
 
 blood ; 
 He that burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an 
 
 idol: 
 Yea, they have chosen their own ways. 
 And their soul delighteth in their abominations ; 
 
 4. I also will choose their delusions, 
 And will bring their fears upon them ; 
 
 13 
 
194 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 Because when I called, none did answer ; 
 "When I spake, they did not hear : 
 Bnt they did that which was evil in Mine eyes, 
 And that wherein I delighted not, they chose. 
 
 5. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at His 
 
 word : 
 Your brethren that hate you, 
 That cast you out for My name's sake, have said, 
 " Let Jehovah be glorified, that we may see your joy ! " 
 
 but they shall be ashamed. 
 
 6. A voice of tixmult from the city, a voice fi'om the temple, 
 A voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to His 
 
 enemies. 
 
 II. 
 
 7. Before she travailed, she brought forth ; 
 
 Before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. 
 
 8. Who hath heard such a thing ? who hath seen such 
 
 things ? 
 Shall a land be born in one day ? 
 Shall a nation be brought forth at once ? 
 For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her 
 
 children. 
 
 9. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth ? 
 
 saith Jehovah : 
 Shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb ? saith 
 thy God. 
 
 10. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye 
 
 that love her : 
 Kejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her : 
 
 11. That ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of 
 
 her consolations ; 
 That ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abmi- 
 dance of her glory. 
 
 12. For thus saith Jehovah, 
 
 Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, 
 
 And the glory of the nations like an overflowing 
 
 stream, and ye shall suck thereof ; 
 Ye shall be borne upon the side, 
 And shall be dandled upon the knees. 
 
CHAPTER LXVI. 195 
 
 18. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort 
 yon : 
 And ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 
 
 14. And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, 
 And your bones shall flourish like the tender grass : 
 And the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward His 
 
 servants, 
 And He will have indignation against His enemies: 
 
 15. For, behold, Jehovah will come with fire. 
 And His chariots shall be like the whirlwind ; 
 To render His anger with fury. 
 
 And His rebuke with flames of fire. 
 
 16. For by fire shall Jehovah plead, 
 Aud by His sword with all flesh : 
 
 And the slain of Jehovah shall be many. 
 
 17. They that sanctify' themselves and purify themselves 
 To go unto the gardens, behind one in the midst, 
 Eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the 
 
 mouse ; 
 They shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah, 
 
 18. For I [know] their works and their thoughts : 
 
 The time cometh, that I will gather all nations and 
 
 tongues ; 
 And they shall come, and shall see My glory. 
 
 III. 
 
 19. And I will set a sign among them. 
 
 And I will send such as escape of them mito the 
 
 nations. 
 To Tarshish, Pul and Lud, that draw the bow, 
 To Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, 
 That have not heard My fame. 
 Neither have seen My glory ; 
 And they shall declare My glory among the nations. 
 
 20. And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the 
 
 nations for an offering unto Jehovah, 
 Upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, 
 And upon mules, and upon swift beasts, 
 To My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, 
 
196 THE SERVANT OF THE LORD. 
 
 As the children of Israel bring their offering 
 In a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. ^ 
 
 21. And of them also wiU I take 
 
 For priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah. 
 
 22. For as the new heavens 
 
 And the new earth, which I will make, 
 Shall remam before Me, saith Jehovah, 
 So shall your seed and your name remain. 
 
 23. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to 
 
 another, 
 And from one Sabbath to another. 
 She all flesh come to worship before Me, saith Jehovah, 
 
 24. And they shall go forth, and look 
 
 Upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed 
 
 against Me : 
 For their worm shall not die. 
 Neither shall their fire be quenched ; 
 And they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. 
 
 ^ This evidently implies that the temple and its services are still 
 in daily exercise when the prophet wrote these words. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 1 ENTERTAINED at One time the design of writing a com- 
 plete commentary on the whole of Isaiah. Such an idea 
 must, of course, be abandoned at my advanced period of 
 life. By the advice of friends, however, I append a paper 
 which I wrote on Isaiah's first great prophecy of the 
 " Immanuel, or Virgin and Child," for two reasons : (1) 
 that the interpretation of the Immanuel Prophecy has 
 hitherto been in a& unsatisfactory a state as that of the 
 "Servant of the Lord"; and (2) that the unity of the 
 authorship of both prophecies is thus placed in a very clear 
 and convincing form by the correct interpretation of each, 
 and especially by the striking fondness for Paronomasia, or 
 allusion to the significance of Proper Names, which forms 
 so remarkable a feature in both. Thus the Earlier Pro- 
 phecy receives its fourfold arrangement from the sections 
 assigned to the four names : (1) Immanuel ; (2) Maher- 
 shalal-hash-baz ; (3) Shear-jashub ; and (4) their father, 
 Isaiah. "*" . like manner in the Later Prophecy, Isaiah 
 begins ^ y indicating to his readers his intention of bringing 
 out the significance of Hezekiah's name { — my strength, is 
 Jehovah) by the change which he makes in mentioning 
 Hezekiah's recovery ; from the word used in the historical 
 narrative '^H'^'l ivaychi ( = and he lived, or revived) in 
 
 2 Kings XX. 7, and Isaiah xxxviii. 9, being altered in the 
 preface prefixed to the Later Prophecy into pTn"^"! rvay-yech" 
 zaq (xxxix. 1). 
 
 Then, as his design is to hold up to Israel the ex- 
 ample of their king Hezekiah, as both a promise and a 
 warning (who was successful against his enemies ac- 
 cording as he made Jehovah his strength, or not) — after 
 
198 IMMANUEL. 
 
 reminding Israel in the last verse of the opening chapter, 
 " They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength " 
 (xl. 31), in the next chapter (xli.), which introduces Jehovah's 
 challenge to the idols and their Gentile worshippers, after 
 derisively calling on them to "renew their strength" for 
 themselves, nay, still more sarcastically, that of their idols 
 by "strengthening them with nails that they should not be 
 moved" (verse 7), the prophet represents the idolaters as 
 calling out each to his neighbour, "Be strong!" {clV^zaq, 
 verse 6). " So the carpenter strengthened the goldsmith, 
 and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth 
 the anvil" (verse 7), and, in contrast, Jehovah is represented 
 as saying to Israel, " I will strengthen thee " (verse 10) ; "I 
 will strongly hold thy right hand " (verse 13). But it is in 
 the third and final Book of his prophecy (chap. Ixii. 4, 5) 
 that the author indicates most distinctly his age by that 
 of the king with whom his ministry was most closely con- 
 nected, by identifying the fortunes of Hezekiah with those 
 of Israel. As Hezekiah was at one time in great danger, 
 from his want of faith in the Lord, of being excluded from 
 participation in the good things promised to Israel, when 
 the Lord commanded him to " set his house in order, for 
 thou shalt die and not live" (xxxviii. 1), and, in consequence 
 of his repentance and prayer and sore weeping, had fifteen 
 years added to his life, and married, and had a son to con- 
 tinue the succession to the kingdom, these circumstances 
 are proposed as an example to Israel to turn, in like manner, 
 in prayer and faith unto the Lord, by the uncommon name of 
 his wife, Hephzibah { = My delight is in her), being given to 
 the daughter of Zion : "Thou shalt no more be termed 
 Forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed 
 Desolate ; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy 
 land Beulah ; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy 
 land shall be married'' (Ixii. 4). Such an allusion would 
 be quite natural in Isaiah, and would be understood by his 
 readers if applied to the reigning monarch and his consort ; 
 
CHAPTEES VII. -XII. 199 
 
 but would be altogether unnatural and unintelligible, if 
 uttered by a " Great Unnamed" writer who lived 180 
 years afterwards, in the reign of Cyrus. 
 
 Isaiah VII.-XII. 
 
 THE PROPHECY OF IMMANUEL, OK OF THE VIRGIN AND CHILD. 
 
 The Immanuel Prophecy still continues to be pre-eminently 
 the great crux interpretum. No satisfactory explanation has 
 yet been rendered of the difficulties attendant on its appli- 
 cation to the miraculous birth of Christ by the Virgin Mary 
 to which Matthew's Gospel stands committed. " Here 
 (Eationalistic critics insist) we have, at the very opening of 
 the New Testament, a characteristic specimen of the Eab- 
 binic style of interpretation which has passed so long 
 current, and on which the whole fabric of what is called 
 Messianic prophecy is based. An utterance of some Jewish 
 prophet was seized upon, the words of which could be 
 accommodated, more or less aptly, to some circumstance 
 in the life of Jesus, though in the original passage and con- 
 nexion in which it stands it bears an altogether different 
 relation ; and forthwith it became a proof not to be gainsaid, 
 that the events of Jesus Christ's life were those specifically 
 pointed at by the prophets, who were inspired ages before 
 to predict them. No more striking instance (it is averred) 
 can be adduced of the fallacy of such reasoning than this 
 first quotation by Matthew from the prophet Isaiah : * Be- 
 hold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a 
 son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is, being 
 interpreted, God with us'. On a cursory view, indeed, these 
 words seem purposely designed to indicate beforehand the 
 miraculous birth of Jesus by a virgin, and His higher origin 
 as the Son of God. Hence the prophecy soon became so 
 universally associated with its supposed fulfilment, that it 
 occurred to no one to question the truth of their connexion. 
 
200 IMMANUEL. 
 
 The moment, however, that a sounder criticism is directed 
 to the original passage, the utter untenableness of the 
 traditional view becomes apparent." 
 
 In order to estimate aright the force of the objection and 
 the answers which have been given to it, let us recall the 
 circumstances connected with the utterance of the prophecy. 
 A powerful combination had been formed by the confederate 
 kings of Syria and of the ten tribes against Judah — by Eezin, 
 king of Damascus, and Pekah, son of Eemaliah, king of 
 Israel — to cut off the house of David, by dethroning Ahaz 
 and setting up "the son of Tabeel " in his stead. Ahaz 
 was overcome with fear, and " his heart," we are told, 
 "was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of 
 the wood are moved with the wind " (vii. 2). To allay their 
 alarm, Isaiah is commissioned by God to go to the king, 
 and to assure him, in the name of the Lord, with regard to 
 the dreaded design of the confederate kings : 
 
 It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass (verse 7), 
 
 accompanying this promise at the same time with a threat 
 of severe judgment to fall upon Ahaz and his peopte, if they 
 would not trust implicitly the word and proffered assistance 
 of the Lord : 
 
 If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established (verse 9). 
 
 In confirmation of the certain fulfilment of the promised 
 deliverance, Isaiah offers, on the part of the Lord, a mira- 
 culous sign, and refers the selection to Ahaz's own choice : 
 
 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God ; 
 
 Ask it either in the depth, or in the height above (verse 11). 
 
 Ahaz, who had already sent an embassy to entreat 
 succour from Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, declines to 
 ask a sign, under pretence of reverence for God and "regard 
 for Moses' command, " Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
 thy God". Indignantly rebuking his hypocrisy, the pro- 
 phet replies that God Himself would give him a sign. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 14-17. 201 
 
 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son. 
 And she shall call his name Inimanuel. 
 
 Butter and honey shall he eat when he knows 
 
 To refuse the evil and choose the good ; 
 For before the child shall know 
 To refuse the evil and choose the good, 
 The land shall be made desolate 
 Before whose two kings thou art afraid. 
 
 The Lord shall bring upon thee. 
 
 And upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, &c. 
 
 Here it seems plain and beyond all reasonable question 
 that the birth of the child predicted, if it was to serve its 
 purpose as a sign to Ahaz of his dehverance from his two 
 dreaded enemies, must refer to a child to be born within a 
 very short period, and of a young woman then living. 
 What possible evidence of the deliverance promised to 
 Ahaz could the birth of a child furnish, if that child was to 
 be the Messiah, who was not born till some 700 years after 
 the prediction? So formidable, we may add, is this objec- 
 tion felt to be that, if we are rightly informed, missionaries 
 have all but ceased to urge this prophecy on the Jews, in 
 their attempts to convince them from their own Scriptures 
 that Jesus is the Messiah. Various replies have been given 
 to this objection by the orthodox critics. Hengstenberg's 
 solution of the difficulty is that Isaiah, looking with pro- 
 phetic eye into the distant future, sees as it were in vision 
 the Virgin before him, and exclaims : 
 
 " Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son," &c. ; 
 
 and oblivious of all time, as if there was no distinction to 
 his mind between future and present, he dates the over- 
 throw of Ahaz's enemies from the time of the child, whom 
 he is contemplating in prophetic vision, as if he had been 
 already born, by adding immediately : 
 
 Before this child shall know 
 
 To refuse the evil and choose the good, &c. 
 
202 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Such a conception of the state of a prophet's mind during 
 the deHvery of his predictions, as confounding future and 
 present, is hardly borne out by a reference to a somewhat 
 similar case in the prophet Balaam. His prophetic eye is 
 fixed on the great future King to arise from Israel's seed, of 
 whom he speaks under the emblems of a "Star" and 
 ' ' Sceptre " ; yet there is a clear distinction made by him 
 between the distant future and the present : 
 
 I see him — but not now ; 
 
 I behold him — but not nigh ; 
 
 There shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
 
 And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, &c. (Numb. xxiv. 17). 
 
 But even allowing that in the case of the prophet himself 
 we might suppose such an abrupt transition, as that after 
 being " rapt into future times " and describing the virgin as 
 immediately present before him, he should all at once spring 
 back from the ideal future to the actual present, and add 
 for the information of Ahaz : 
 
 The land shall be forsaken 
 
 Before whose two kings thou art afraid, 
 
 how is he to carry his hearers along with him and make 
 intelligible to them this strange confusion of times ? 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch deems all attempts at removing the ap- 
 parent discrepancy unnecessary. He considers the difficulty 
 sufliciently explained by the perspective character of pro- 
 phecy, which represents as in a landscape objects, separated 
 often by a wide interval, as blending together into one with 
 those nearer to the eye. It is sufficient (he argues) in such 
 case that there be no actual displacement of the chrono- 
 logical order of events. The prophet " does not expressly 
 say when Immanuel is to be born, but only what will take 
 place before he has reached the riper age of boyhood— 
 namely, first, the devastation of Israel and Syria, and then 
 the devastation of Judah itself, by the Assyrians. From 
 the fact that the prophet says no more than this, we may 
 
CHAPTER Vir. 14-17. 203 
 
 see that his spirit and his tongue were under the direction 
 of the Spirit of God, who does not descend within the 
 historical and temporal range of vision, without at the 
 same time remaining exalted above it." Thus, although 
 an interval of 700 years was to separate the events which 
 to the prophet's limited range of vision appeared immedi- 
 ately connected, there is no direct error or contradiction to 
 the actual fact in the words which he is over-ruled to 
 employ; and this, in Professor Delitzsch's view, is sufficient. 
 Isaiah, he considers, knew not any more than his hearers 
 that the Messiah might not be born within a few years. 
 
 Such a mere evasion of the difficulty is most unsatisfac- 
 tory. But besides, it will not avail as a solution of the 
 problem. The sign offered to Ahaz was distinctly for the 
 purpose of assuring him that the dreaded counsel of his two 
 confederate enemies "should not stand, neither should it 
 come to pass". The sign, therefore, forced upon him, on 
 his refusing to specify one when desired, must be something 
 not merely to be apprehended by the imagination, in an in- 
 definite, far-distant future (not to be realized for hundreds 
 of years afterwards) — -but something present and palpable 
 to the senses, and which was actually to occur antecedent to 
 the event of which it was to be the sign or guarantee. This 
 was the obvious meaning which Ahaz, and everyone who 
 heard the prophet's words, must have put upon them: " Be- 
 fore the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the 
 good, the land shall be forsaken before whose two kings 
 thou art afraid". If no child could be pointed to, born 
 shortly after this announcement, surely the people would 
 have been entitled to turn round upon Isaiah and to brand 
 him as a false prophet, in accordance with Moses' words : 
 " When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the 
 thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which 
 the Lord hath not spoken ; but the prophet hath spoken 
 it presumptuously ; thou shalt not be afraid of him " (Deut. 
 xviii. 22). But, besides, it seems impossible, with any 
 
204 IMMANUEL. 
 
 regard to the consistency of Isaiah with himself, to ascribe 
 to him the expectation that all the glorious promises con- 
 nected with the Messiah were to be fulfilled in his genera- 
 tion. The message which he received, at his call to the 
 prophetic office, to announce to Israel, and which pervades 
 all his prophecies, was that so great and inveterate was the 
 corruption of Israel that it must first be " purged from the 
 midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of 
 burning" (iv. 4), and that a continuous process of hardening 
 would go on "making the heart of the people fat and their 
 ears heavy and their eyes shut". And when the prophet 
 inquired, "Lord, how long?" the answer was, "Until 
 cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without 
 man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have 
 removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the 
 midst of the land. And is there still a tenth therein, this 
 also again is given up to destruction, like the terebinth and 
 like the oak, of which, when they are felled, only a root- 
 stump remains ; such a root-stump is a holy seed " (vi. 10-13). 
 In attestation of this prediction, and to keep the memory 
 of it fresh in the minds of his countrymen, Isaiah had given 
 to his son the name of Shear-jashub {a revmant shall return). 
 Him he now brings with him in his hand, when commis- 
 sioned by the Lord to appear before King Ahaz ; and when 
 we reflect on the utter desolation of the land predicted, the 
 removing of its inhabitants into captivity (repeated, too, in 
 substance to Ahaz himself, vii. 17-25), and the decimation 
 on decimation of the small remnant left, we cannot see how 
 the idea could be ascribed to the prophet, that all this com- 
 plicated series of events could happen within the lifetime of 
 a child shortly to be born,^ and who was to prove to be the 
 Messiah. 
 
 ^ Of the royal lineage of David, too (as he must be, if the Mes- 
 siah). This precludes any reference of the prophecy to Ahaz's 
 son Hezekiah, who was already at this time at least nine years of 
 age. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 14-17. 205 
 
 We seem thus to be shut up to the interpretation of these 
 words of Isaiah advocated by the negative critics, that the 
 child whose birth he here predicts must be a son to be born 
 within a short period, since the dehverance of Ahaz from 
 the confederacy formed against him by Eezin and Remahah 
 was to take place in the interval between the child's birth 
 and his reaching the first dawnings of intelligence. This, 
 indeed, is the true use to make of what is called the Higher 
 Criticism — destructive as it too generally is, not constructive 
 — viz., to weigh carefully the objections it brings against 
 the traditionary interpretation, and to accept frankly and 
 thankfully every correction of what is shown to be erroneous. 
 Whoever has convinced himself on sufficient grounds that 
 "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" will never 
 be afraid to give up at once any position proved to be 
 untenable, smce he feels assured that the error must lie, 
 not in Scripture, but in his own mistaken interpretation, 
 and that, however difficult it may now appear to find the 
 true interpretation, an obstacle to its final discovery has 
 thus at least been removed. But are we obliged, by the 
 concession now made, to accept the view given by 
 Gesenius and others, as exhausting the full meaning of the 
 prophet's words? After the magnificent introduction to 
 his prophecy calculated to raise to the highest the expecta- 
 tions of the prophet's hearers— in which, in order to induce 
 Ahaz to bieak off his negotiations for assistance from the 
 king of Assyria and to trust for protection to the living God 
 alone, Isaiah offers liim for evidence of the truth of his mission 
 from Jehovah the choice of any sign, however great, either 
 from the heaven above or from the earth beneath — does all 
 end at last in the paltry announcement that a child would be 
 born to the prophet of a maiden (almah), and that the child 
 was to be a sou, not a daughter ? This, indeed, were a 
 •' most lame and impotent conclusion," to which the heathen 
 poet's words might justly be applied : 
 
 Parturiunt montes, nascetnr ridiculus mus. 
 
206 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Is the point now conceded the only condition to be taken 
 into account in interpreting this Immanuel prophecy ? If in 
 a lower sense the child to be born to the prophet might be 
 called Immanuel, as indicating that God was still with His 
 people, are we to omit all consideration of the Wgher aspect 
 in which Isaiah shortly afterward (in the very next chapter) 
 presents him, as of the royal lineage of David, by address- 
 ing him as the rightful inheritor of the land, "the king 
 of Assyria shall come up . . . and the stretching forth of 
 his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, Immanuel " 
 (viii. 8) ? Or are we to leave unheeded the conclusion of 
 this section of the prophecy (ix. 6, 7), where Isaiah not only 
 expressly asserts for him the possession for ever of the throne 
 promised to the seed to be raised up to David (2 Sam. vii. 
 13-17), but describes the child to be born in the loftiest 
 terms — in terms applicable to Him alone who was to be 
 God's " First-born, Most High over the kings of the earth''? 
 (Ps. Ixxxix. 27) — styling Him "Wonderful Counsellor, 
 Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace" (ix. 6). 
 
 How, then, are these seemingly contradictory statements 
 of Isaiah to be reconciled with regard to the child to he 
 born — in the immediate future, yet only after a long suc- 
 cession of desolating calamities on Israel — as the prophet's 
 son, yet of the royal house of David ? Manifestly only by 
 recognizing here a typical prophecy, in which a lower and 
 nearer object is made the sign and guarantee of the fulfil- 
 ment, of something analogous and higher in the more 
 distant future. The idea of such a double reference of this 
 prophecy is indeed nothing new, still it seems to have 
 received little favour. The causes of this would seem to be 
 twofold. (1) In consequence probably of our first becoming- 
 acquainted with the prophecy in its quotation by Matthew, 
 where the words appear so distinctly and appositely to 
 point to the miraculous birth and Divine nature of Christ as 
 to exclude every other reference, our minds have come to be 
 prepossessed with the idea that such must have been the 
 
CHAPTER VII. 14-17. 207 
 
 primary and direct reference in the original prophecy ; so 
 that even when constrained by consideration of the context 
 in Isaiah vii. 16 to admit a refei-ence to another child, the 
 Messiah continues to hold the first place in our thoughts 
 as being pHmarily designed by Immanuel, while only 
 secondarily, and in some more distant way, allusion, it was 
 thought, was made to a child to be born at the time. I 
 confess that, long after I felt the necessity of admitting the 
 double reference, I was hampered by this idea, and unable 
 clearly to connect together the various parts and expres- 
 sions of the prophecy. Yet, unlike every other Messianic 
 prophecy, the Messiah seemed by such a view to be made 
 the sign, instead of the thing signified, and the relation of 
 type and antitype to be reversed. What tolerable sense, 
 too, could be made of the Messiah's eating butter and honey 
 as a child; and what, or whose child secondarily was meant, 
 was still left undefined. But (2) another and perhaps more 
 influential reason discredited this interpretation — the tacit 
 consciousness of the want of any sufficient warrant for 
 introducing the idea of the Messiah at all as a further 
 reference, if once the primary reference be given up. How 
 reply effectually to the objection which the Jew immediately 
 presses on the missionary who has made this concession ? 
 " Ah ! then you now allow that the son of whom Isaiah 
 speaks was a child to be born in his own time, and not some 
 700 years afterward ; and it is only by your fancied typical 
 sense which you would force upon the passage that you can 
 make it apply to Jesus the Son of Mary ! The birth of a 
 child, you now concede, could be no sign to Ahaz and his 
 contemporaries of what was to take place affecting them- 
 selves shortly after, unless the birth took place in their own 
 times. Tlieij must therefore have understood the prophet to 
 speak of a child to come into being within a short period 
 after the utterance of the prediction. What right, then, 
 have you to suppose that the prophecy would bear to them 
 any further reference to another and more distant event ? 
 And if not to them, why to us ? " 
 
208 IMMANUEL. 
 
 We are thus prepared, from examination of the defects 
 of all the explanations hitherto offered of this prophecy, to 
 perceive and clearly to define the conditions necessary to be 
 fulfilled by any satisfactory solution of the problem before 
 us. A clear distinction must be drawn between the sign 
 and the thing signified- — between the type and the antitype. 
 
 I. It must be shown whose child, and what child, consti- 
 tuted the sign given to Ahaz of his speedy deliverance from 
 the immediately threatening danger. 
 
 II. It must be shown that the prophet himself under- 
 stood, and gave his hearers clearly to understand, the 
 higher and typical reference of the prophecy to the 
 Messiah. 
 
 In order to prepare the reader to follow more easily the 
 view of the whole prophecy to be offered, it may be well to 
 preface it by stating briefly the conclusions it is hoped to 
 establish. One main cause which has obscured the inter- 
 pretation of this prophecy is the very faulty division of the 
 chapters. So long as chap. vii. is made to end where it 
 does, and is regarded consequently as a complete prophecy, 
 the reader was left in doubt whose and what child was 
 meant. Had the chapter been made to end, as it ought, at 
 viii. 4, it would have been seen that the child meant was a 
 child to be born to the prophet himself, and to whom two 
 significant names were to be given, Imvianuel and Maher- 
 shalal-hash-haz, the first (with reference more to Judah)= 
 " God is ivith us," denoting that the present attempt to 
 frustrate God's promises to the house of David could not 
 succeed ; and the second (with reference more to Judah's 
 enemies)^" Speed spoil, prey hastens,'" signifying that the 
 capitals of both hostile kings would quickly become a spoil 
 and prey to the king of Assyria. 
 
 Chap, vii., with the first four verses of chap, viii., would 
 thus have been seen to form the first division, or introduc- 
 tory section, to the whole prophecy, as containing the 
 historical groundwork in the present ; and on this is based 
 
CHAPTERS VIII. 5 — XII. G. '209 
 
 the second division, consisting of four sections (viii. 5 — xii.), 
 prophetical of the more dist&nt future. In this second part 
 attention will specially be drawn to what has been felt to 
 be the missing link of the argument, required to justify the 
 typical application of this prophecy to the Messiah — to the 
 practice of the Hebrew prophets to accompany the message 
 they had to communicate with some sign or external act 
 significant of its internal meaning, and to the habit conse- 
 quently acquired by the people to interpret, or at least 
 inquire into, the meaning of the sign. In the case before 
 us it will be shown that Isaiah gives several such hints. 
 (1) He prepares the people to expect some such sign by 
 bringing in his hand his son Shear- jashub (whose significant 
 name embodied a previous prediction of the prophet ; (2) 
 he calls the mother of the child to be born "the prophetess" 
 (viii. 2), as typifying or foreshadowing the mother of a 
 greater Immanuel ; and (3) he expressly connects wdth the 
 first division, w4iich contains the sign, the second division, 
 not as a new prophecy, but as an addition necessary for the 
 full understanding of the first division — for the literal 
 rendering of viii. 5, which begins the second division, is, 
 " And the Lord added to say unto me," &c. 
 
 But, to remove all ambiguity, he gives the key-word to 
 the whole prophecy, and to the four sections especially of 
 the second division, in the words of chap. viii. 18, " Behold, 
 I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for 
 signs and for prognostics in Israel from the Lord of hosts, 
 which dwelleth in Mount Zion ". The significant names of 
 the prophet's sons, and his own, all refer to the Messiah, or 
 to the fortunes w^hich must befall Israel to fit them for His 
 reception. The import of each name is brought out in a 
 separate section (very distinctly marked out by Isaiah, but 
 concealed by the strange division of the chapters) — viz., that 
 of (1) Immanuel, in viii. 5 — ix. 7 ; (2) Malier-shalal-hash-baz, 
 in ix. 8 — x. 4; SJiear-jashub, in x. 5-34; (4) Isaiah, in xi. 1 
 — xii. 6. 
 
 14 
 
210 IMMANUEL. 
 
 I. Historical Gi'ounchvork of the Prophecy (chaps, vii.-viii. 4). 
 
 Chaps, vii.-viii. 4 is marked out as a section complete in 
 itself by its beginning and ending with plain prose ; the 
 language throughout the section only occasionally rising 
 into the sententious parallelism where the elevation of the 
 subject matter called for it. Its plain historical meaning in 
 its primary direct import could not be mistaken by those to 
 whom it was first addressed. Its two main topics consist 
 of promise and threatening, repeated and enforced in various 
 forms : of j^^'omise to Ahaz, with regard to the conspiracy to 
 cut off the whole royal house of David, that " it should not 
 stand, neither should it come to pass " ; but of threatening, 
 that if he would not confide in the Loed's promise and 
 power to protect him, and cease to trust in an arm of flesh, 
 ruin would come upon him and his people from the very 
 quarter to which they looked for immediate protection, 
 
 Ver. 5. " Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Eemaliah, 
 have taken evil counsel against thee, saying," &c. ..." thus 
 saith the Lord God " : 
 
 PROMISE. It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 
 
 8. For the head of Syria is Damascus, 
 And the head of Damascus is Eezin, 
 
 And within threescore and five years 
 
 Shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people ; 
 
 9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, 
 
 And the head of Samaria is Eemaliah's son ; 
 THREAT. If ye will not confide, ye shall not abide. 
 
 In order to impress upon Ahaz the importance of the 
 choice he has now to make, the prophet, by employing the 
 parallelistic arrangement of thought and language so familiar 
 to his countrymen, contrasts strongly the 2}romise with the 
 threatened judgment consequent on its rejection, by placing 
 them first and last ; all the intermediate members of the 
 parallelism being employed to enforce the certainty of the 
 promised defeat of the dreaded attempt of both his enemies. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 1-13. 211 
 
 The middle clause, "And within threescore and five years," 
 &c., has been rejected by several critics as spurious on the 
 ground of its interrupting the connexion and violating the 
 truth of history. As to the first of these objections nothing 
 can be more mistaken. The words occupy the very central 
 position which the parallelistic arrangement requires. 
 After stating that the more formidable enemy Syria should 
 make no addition to its territory by the annexation of any 
 part of Judea, in order to enforce with greater emphasis the 
 like assurance as to Ephraim (the more guilty member of a 
 confederacy formed to frustrate the Lord's promises to 
 David), Ephraim's total annihilation as a separate people is 
 made to form the very heart of the announcement — thus 
 holding forth a warning to Ahaz and Judah of the judgment 
 awaiting them should they reject the promise through 
 unbelief. As to the other objection of the violation of 
 historical truth, it has been forgotten that prophecy almost 
 always takes into view the final accomplishment and full 
 consummation of the event predicted. The annihilation of 
 the ten tribes as a separate nation was reached only after 
 three successive stages : (1) the invasion of Tiglath-pileser, 
 some two or three years after the date of this prediction 
 (2 Kings XV. 29 and xvi. 9) ; (2) the deportation of the ten 
 tribes by Shalmaneser (2 Kings xvii. 6), and (3) the sub- 
 stitution of another race for them by Esar-haddon (2 Kings 
 xvii. 24). Beckoning from the second year of the reign of 
 i\haz to the time when Esar-haddon carried off Manasseh 
 to Babylon, when it may be presumed he removed also the 
 remains of the ten tribes,^ the time is exactly sixty-five 
 years — viz., Ahaz, fourteen; Hezekiah, twenty-nine; 
 Manasseh, twenty-two. 
 
 In attestation of the truth of his words, Isaiah now offers 
 to Ahaz from the Lord the choice of any sign he pleased to 
 
 ^ Ezra iv. 2 makes the Samaritans say, " Esar-haddon brought 
 us up hither " ; and 2 Kings xvii. 24 states that " he placed them 
 in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel". 
 
212 ■ IMMANUEL. 
 
 ask ; and since he refused the offer, it is evident that the 
 sign forced upon him must combine both elements — the 
 promise of dehverance from his enemies, unconditionally 
 made, but accompanied by the judgment threatened for un- 
 belief. This accordingly is done in a strophe of three 
 verses (verses 14-16), verse 14 containing the promise, and 
 verse 15 the judgment : the former briefly explained in 
 reference to the more immediate present in verse 16, 
 "Butter and honey," &c. ; the latter more fully enlarged 
 on in verses 17-25, in three times three verses. 
 
 A. PROMISE. 14. Behold the virgin shall conceive, and bear 
 
 a son, 
 And she shall call his name Immanuel. 
 
 B. JUDGMENT. 15. Butter and honey shaU he eat, when he 
 
 knows 
 To refuse the evil and choose the good. 
 
 A. 16. For before the child shall know 
 
 To refuse the evil and choose the good, 
 
 The land shall be forsaken 
 
 Before whose two kings thou art afraid. 
 
 B. 17 The Lord shall bring upon thee 
 
 to And iipon thy people and upon thy 
 
 father's house, 
 25. Days that have not come, &c. 
 
 The exact import of the word " almah," translated 
 " virgin " or " maiden," we shall examine more fully when 
 we come to consider its typical application as mother of the 
 Messiah. Its unquestioned usual application is to a young 
 unmarried female, and since that could with no propriety be 
 applied by Isaiah to the mother of his son Shear-jashub, 
 who must now have been several years old, we must suppose 
 that his mother was dead, and that the prophet's reference 
 is to a young maiden whom he was about to take to wife. 
 
 The rendering in the latter clause of verse 15 is changed 
 into, " Butter and honey shall he eat, wJien he shall hioiu 
 to refuse the evil," &c., in place of the rendering of the 
 
CHAPTER VII. 15-25. 213 
 
 Authorized Version, " that he may know," which is retained 
 only by some of those who maintain the directly Messianic 
 interpretation of the prophecy. Indeed, they feel themselves 
 hard put to it to give any tolerable explanation of this 
 verse. What does the prophet mean by assigning " butter 
 and honey " as the nourishment of the child to be born, if 
 applied to the Messiah ? The most plausible interpretation 
 they can devise is that butter and honey formed the usual 
 nourishment for children, and that the Messiah is thus 
 denoted to be "possessed of a true human nature!" — as 
 being nourished like other children. What special virtue 
 such nourishment may have as giving power to a child that 
 he may know " to refuse the evil and choose the good," 
 they leave us to conjecture ; while the reason assigned by 
 the causative particle " for " in verse 16 (be it for Christ's 
 discernment "between good and evil," or for His eating 
 "butter and honey "), that before this predicted result takes 
 place, " the land shall be forsaken," leaves the reader in a 
 maze of puzzles which it would tax an CEdipus to unravel. 
 
 Translate, on the contrary, with all the principal modern 
 commentators, in place of " that he may know " " lohen he 
 shall know," and interpret the whole of a child to be born 
 to Isaiah, and the connexion and meaning become at once 
 evident. The connexion between the child's change of diet 
 to eating butter and honey, and his knowing to refuse the 
 evil and choose the good, is seen to be one of time, and not 
 of cause and effect. 
 
 But what is to be understood by " butter (or curdled 
 milk) and honey'' becoming the child's nourishment ? Doubt- 
 less, if we consider the ideas generally associated with the 
 mention of these products of the land, the first impression 
 in the mind of Ahaz (especially in connexion with the 
 assurance immediately added of his deliverance from his 
 two enemies) would be that his land, laid waste in part 
 by them for the present, would soon regain its wonted 
 fertility and abundance as a " land flowing with milk and 
 
214 IMMANUEL. 
 
 honey ". If so, his hopes were doomed to speedy disappoint- 
 ment by the very different turn given to these terms by the 
 prophet. The king had made his choice to reject the offered 
 protection of Jehovah and to place his rehance on the king 
 of Assyria ; and the staff on which he leaned for aid after 
 smiting his foes would be turned into a rod of chastisement 
 for himself and his land, as fully set forth in verses 17-20. 
 Ahaz's unbelief and sin would turn the blessings of God 
 into a curse. The very abundance of the native products 
 of the land, "butter and honey," employed to symbolize 
 the fertility and richness of the inheritance promised to 
 Israel, would turn into emblems of its desolation as being 
 its sole produce, left destitute, as it would be by the 
 Assyrian invasion, of the more substantial productions of 
 corn and wine and oil ; " for butter and lioney shall everyone 
 eat that is left in the land" (verse 22). Further, the very 
 circumstance of Isaiah's bringing along with him by the 
 command of the Lord a former son, " Shear-jashub," with 
 his significant name="a remnant shall return," comme- 
 morative of his previous prophecies, would naturally 
 suggest to his hearers that the child " Immanuel," now 
 foretold to be born of the virgin, and in a brief period after 
 the utterance of the prediction, was to be in the first 
 instance a son of his own. But all doubt would be 
 removed by the circumstances recorded as immediately 
 following, in chap. viii. 1-4. The prophet is commanded 
 to take a large tablet and to write upon it in characters 
 distinctly legible to all, " Maher-shalal-hash-baz " — i.e., 
 " Speed spoil, prey hastens," expressive of the speedy 
 invasion predicted as so soon to overtake the two kingdoms 
 confederated against Judah. And in further attestation of 
 the prediction having been uttered previously to the event, 
 the Lord adds, " And I will take^ unto Me faithful wit- 
 nesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son 
 
 1 Not as in the Authorized Version, "And I took mito Me," &c. 
 
CHAPTERS VII. 14, 16 ; VIII. 3, 4. 215 
 
 of Jeberechiah" (verse 2). Then the prophet, it is added 
 (verse 3), " v^ent unto the prophetess, and she conceived and 
 bare a son, to whom the Lokd commanded him to give the 
 (additional) name of Maher-shalal-hash-baz ". The reader 
 will not be stumbled at finding two names given to one and 
 the same child when he recollects how frequently this was 
 the practice among the Hebrews — e.g., Jacob and Israel, 
 Esau and Edom, Jedidiah and Solomon, Uzziah and 
 Azariah, Simon and Peter, Mark and John, Matthew and 
 Levi, Saul and Paul, &c. Besides, the Immanuel child 
 must, as we have seen, in order to be a sign to Ahaz of the 
 overthrow of his two enemies, have been born before their 
 defeat, and it is most unlikely that the birth of another 
 child also should have been appointed as a sign of one and 
 the same event. But to see the identity of Maher-shalal- 
 hash-baz with the Immanuel of vii. 14 we have but to 
 place in juxtaposition the two, with the explanation of the 
 bearing of their names on one and the same event, the 
 overthrow of the two enemies of Ahaz. 
 
 Chap. vii. 14 and 16. Chap. viii. 3 and 4. 
 
 Call his name Immanuel, Call his name Maher-shalal- 
 
 hash-baz, 
 For before the child shall know For before the child shall have 
 
 knowledge 
 To refuse the evil and choose To cry, My father, and my 
 the good, mother, 
 
 The riches of Damascus and the 
 
 The land shall be forsaken 
 
 Before whose tico kings thou 
 art afraid. 
 
 spoil of Samaria 
 Shall be taken away before the 
 king of Assyria. 
 
 The application of the title "the prophetess" (viii. 3) to 
 the mother of Maher-shalal-hash-baz should have opened 
 the eyes of the interpreters to the typical character of the 
 whole transaction. "Why was such a title given to her? 
 One after another the interpreters reply, because she was 
 
216 IMMANUEL. 
 
 the prophet's wife, without reflecting on the utter groundless- 
 ness of such an idea. The king's consort is indeed desig- 
 nated queen, because she shares in part the dignity and 
 influence of her husband, and may even succeed to the in- 
 heritance of the supreme power. But the transference of 
 such a title to the wife of a man invested with a sacred 
 office is very questionable, so as to call, for instance, the 
 wife of a priest a priestess, or of a bishop a bishopess. 
 Even in the lowest degree a deacon's wife would never be 
 called a deaconess unless, like Phoebe, she had really been 
 invested with the office. "Prophetess " in Scripture has a 
 well-known signification, whether applied to Miriam, or 
 Deborah, or Huldah, and is used alone of one whom God 
 has supernaturally fitted to make known His mind or pur- 
 pose ; and in the case before us is used to designate the 
 virgin-bride of the prophet, in as far as she, in giving birth 
 to the predicted son, foreshadowed and typified the virgin- 
 mother who was to bear the true Immanuel. 
 
 The term, it will be observed, could apply to her only in 
 reference to her first-born son. We have thus an additional 
 proof (since it is in reference to the birth of Maher-shalal- 
 hash-baz that she is styled the "prophetess") that Im- 
 manuel and Maher-shalal-hash-baz are two names applied 
 to one and the same first-born child of her who was 
 still a virgin, not yet married to Isaiah at the time of his 
 first uttering the prophecy before Ahaz. Otherwise the title 
 " prophetess " would be inapplicable to her as mother of 
 Maher-shalal-hash-baz if he had been a second son. 
 
 II. Typical Import of the Prophecy (chaps, viii. 5 — xii.). 
 
 We have next to show that Isaiah himself understood, 
 and gave his hearers clearly to understand, the higher and 
 typical reference of the prophecy to the Messiah. This 
 both orthodox and rationalist interpreters will unite in 
 pronouncing the more difficult portion of our task. After 
 
CHAPTEES VIII. 5— XII. 217 
 
 conceding that the words of the prophecy found their 
 fulfihnent in the birth of a son shortly after born to the 
 prophet, and in the events closely following that birth, the 
 ground seems in great measure to be taken away for 
 asserting any further fulfilment. Where is the necessity 
 or probability for supposing that the people at least (if even 
 the prophet himself entertained such a view) saw in a son 
 born to Isaiah a type of another child to be born at some 
 more distant period — of a future Messiah ? If the alleged 
 typical bearing of the prophecy has so long escaped the pene- 
 tration of so many modern critics, how can we suppose that a 
 simple, undiscerning audience, such as that of the age to 
 which it was addressed, would look any further than to the 
 single meaning of the words, or were capable of tracing out 
 the difficult relations of type and antitype between a present 
 lower and a future higher fulfilment ? In reply we would 
 ask, as the question has not unfrequently forced itself upon 
 us in meditating on the difficulties which we moderns find 
 n the interpretation of Scripture language, Are our intelli- 
 gence and powers of discernment in this respect so superior 
 as we are ready to assume ? A people who could appreciate 
 such productions as Job, the Psalms, or the prophecies of 
 Isaiah, could not have been so far inferior to us in mental 
 culture as we, with all our Higher Criticism, imagine. Do 
 we find it so very easy to follow the argument in Isaiah 
 and the other prophets, or even in the letters addressed by 
 St. Paul to whole communities, the majority of whom he 
 must have considered able to understand what he wrote for 
 their instruction ? In the point more especially involved in 
 the present instance, the use and interpretation of figura- 
 tive and symbolical language, the inferiority in intelligence 
 and discernment we suspect to be on our side. All nations 
 in an early stage of civilization, and particularly Orientals, 
 are far more poetical in their ideas, and accustomed to a 
 more figurative style of thought and diction, than the more 
 prosaic and matter-of-fact races of the West. Hence much 
 
218 IMMANUEL. 
 
 of our misapprehension still of many passages both in the 
 Old and New Testaments. " To understand a proverb and 
 the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark 
 sayings," was the favourite occupation and boast of all the 
 wise in Eastern lands. The universal prevalence of sym- 
 bolism for the impartation of truth among ancient nations, 
 and especially among the Hebrev/s, and the intelligent 
 appreciation and interpretation of the symbols and types by 
 the people, have not received, from commentators generally, 
 the attention which they deserve. The Hebrew prophets, 
 in order to impress their communications more vividly on 
 the minds of their hearers, were accustomed to accompany 
 them with some outward sign, or representation of them in 
 act, and the people to trace out the connexion between the 
 sign and the thing signified. Thus, when Ezekiel's wife 
 died, and ' ' the desire of his eyes was taken away with a 
 stroke" (xxiv. 16), the prophet was forbidden to mourn or 
 weep for the dead, or to exhibit any outward marks of 
 sorrow ; aud the people immediately understood that the 
 prophet's acts were symbolical of something affecting them- 
 selves, and accordingly put the question to him, " Wilt 
 thou not tell us what these things are to us that thou doest 
 so ? " (verse 19). Then the prophet answered them, " Thus 
 saith the Lord God, Behold I will profane my sanctuary, 
 the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, 
 and that which your soul pitieth ; and your sons and your 
 daughters shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have 
 done : ye shall not cover your lips nor eat the bread of men : 
 thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign : according to all that he 
 hath done shall ye do.'' 
 
 The vain attempt of King Zechariah with his attendants 
 to escape under cover of night from the hands of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was symbolized by Ezekiel's being commanded to 
 bring forth stuff by day " in sight of the people, as stuff for 
 removing,'' digging through the wall and carrying it forth 
 in the twilight, as they that go forth into captivity, while 
 
CHAPTEES VIII. 5 — XII. 219 
 
 he covered his face that he should not see the ground (xii. 
 4-6). Then "in the morning came the word of the Loed 
 unto me, saying, Son of man, hath not the house Israel, the 
 rebellious house, said unto thee, "What doest thou? Say 
 thou unto them, Thus saith the Lobd God ; This burden con- 
 cerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel. 
 Say, I am your sign : like as I have done, so shall it be done 
 unto them : they shall dig through the wall to carry out 
 thereby : he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground 
 with his eyes " (xii. 8-12).^ 
 
 So identified had this mode of teaching become with the 
 prophetical office that we find it employed by our Loed 
 Himself in his character of prophet. Twice, both at the 
 opening (John ii. 14-16) and at the close (Matt. xxi. 12, 13) 
 of His ministry, Jesus made a scourge of small cords and 
 drove out the buyers and sellers from the temple, pouring 
 out the changers' money and overthrowing the tables, 
 to mark that the one main design of His ministry, its Alpha 
 and Omega, its beginning and end, was thoroughly to 
 purge the Church of God and remove from it everything 
 that offended. How completely this act was understood by 
 Jewish rulers and people to be merely symbolical, as the act 
 of one claiming to be a prophet, is manifest from His 
 enemies not daring, as would have been done at once in the 
 present day, to accuse Him as a disturber of the public peace, 
 but confining themselves merely to putting to Him the ques- 
 tion, "By what authority doest Thou these things?" 
 Interpret the act according to our modern ideas, and the 
 meek and lowly Jesus, whose character pre-eminently was, 
 as predicted by the prophet, " He shall not cry, nor lift up 
 nor cause His voice to be heard," would have been misunder- 
 stood to countenance by His example the use of violence in 
 removing corruptions from God's worship, and to teach 
 
 1 See, for other examples, Isaiah xx. 2-4 ; Jer. xiii. 1-7 ; 1 Kings 
 xxii. 2, &c. 
 
220 IMMANUEL. 
 
 men to set about the reformation of religion by cleansing 
 first the outside of the cup and platter, and not that which 
 is within. Attention to the symbolical character of Jesus' 
 teaching not only invests every separate miracle with a new 
 and higher significance (see Archbishop Trench on the 
 miracles), but removes the cavil raised against His cursing 
 the barren fig-tree, which at once becomes luminous in the 
 light of the previous parable of the fruitless fig-tree (Luke 
 xiii. 6-9). 
 
 But not only were the acts which the prophets were 
 instructed to perform prefigurative of some future event 
 affecting the people of God, but even the names of the 
 prophets themselves, their personal and family relations, 
 and the leading circumstances of their lives, were often so 
 ordered as to shadow forth some of the great truths which 
 God designed to impress on the minds of His ancient people. 
 Thus David, by his name, which signifies Beloved, and by 
 his ofiice as the warrior king of Israel, who had to wage 
 constant warfare against the enemies of the throne promised 
 him by the Lord, prefigured the greater king to be " set on 
 God's holy hill of Zion," who should have long to " rule in 
 the midst of his enemies" before he attained to the peaceful 
 possession of the kingdom promised him, when he should 
 receive " the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost 
 parts of the earth for his possession ". The triumphal con- 
 clusion of Christ's reign as the "Prince of Peace" was 
 prefigured by David's son in the name given to him of 
 Solomon (Peaceful), and by the characteristic feature of his 
 reign. The prophetical promise made to David through 
 Nathan the prophet, when the king meditated the building 
 a temple to the Lord, by its double reference to his son 
 Solomon, and to his greater seed the Messiah, illustrates 
 well the double or typical application of the Immanuel 
 prophecy which we are now considering. In 2 Sam, 
 vii. 12-17 the Lord promises to David, " When thy days be 
 fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up 
 
CHAPTERS VIII. 5 — XII. 221 
 
 thy seed after thee which shall proceed out of thy bowels, 
 and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house 
 for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom 
 for ever. I will be his father and he shall be My son . . . 
 and thine house and thy kingdom shall be established 
 for ever before thee." Now, all this was fulfilled in a 
 proximate and lower sense in Solomon (see 1 Chron. xxviii. 
 5-7 and 2 Chron. vi. 7-9) ; but its higher and more complete 
 accomplishment it attained in Him of whom Solomon was 
 the type — the builder of; the true spiritual temple to the 
 LoKD (Zech. vi. 12, 13 ; John ii. 19), who in the full and 
 true sense of the term should be called " the Son of the 
 Highest," to whom " the Lord God shall give the throne of 
 his father David ; and He shall reign over the house of 
 Jacob for ever ; and of His kingdom there shall be no end " 
 (Luke i. 32, 33). 
 
 A still closer parallel to the prophecy before us is found 
 in Hosea (chap, i.), whose wife and children by their sym- 
 bolical names and character are employed to represent the 
 character of Israel and God's dealings with the kingdom of 
 the ten tribes. His wife Gonier ( = com-pletioii or consum- 
 mation, of unchastity), who becomes an adulteress, repre- 
 sents the unfaithfulness of the daughter of Zion in her 
 relation to God as her husband. She conceives and bears 
 a sou to Hosea, whom the Lord commanded to be called 
 Jezreel (in Hebrew pronounced Izreel, still more closely 
 assimilating it to Israel) — a name significant in many ways : 
 Historically, Jezreel was the scene of Ahab's and Jezebel's 
 murders (of Naboth in particular), and of the bloody 
 vengeance taken there by Jehu for all their bloody per- 
 secutions of Jehovah's worshippers. Now, it is further 
 declared it shall be the scene of a vengeance to be executed 
 in turn on Jehu's dynasty for following the same violent 
 and idolatrous practices ; " for yet a little while, and I will 
 avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will 
 cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel " (Hos. i. 4). 
 
222 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Etymologically, Jezreel is doubly significant, meaning ' ' He 
 (God) will scatter," and also "He will soiv"; for after 
 Israel's being first dispersed, the time will come when the 
 Lord will say, ' ' I will betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness ; 
 and it shall come to pass in that day I will hear, saith the 
 Lord ; I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the 
 earth, and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine and 
 the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel ( = God will soio). And 
 I will soio her unto Me in the earth ; and I will have mercy 
 upon her that had not obtained mercy ; and I will say to 
 them which were not My people, Thou art My people ; and 
 they shall say, Thou art my God " (Hos. ii. 20-23). These 
 last words are in allusion to the other two children whom 
 Hosea is represented as having by his wife — a daughter 
 whom God commands him to "call Lo-ruliamali (= no 
 mercy) ; for I will no more have mercy upon the house of 
 Israel " (i. 6) ; and a son of whom the Lord says, " Call his 
 name Lo-ammi ( = not my people) ; for ye are not My people, 
 and I will not be your God" (i. 8, 9). Hosea's own name, 
 too (like Isaiah's), means " Salvation," and symbolized to 
 Israel (as Isaiah to Judah), by the name of the messenger- 
 sent to them, both the chief object of the prophet's mission 
 and the source whence alone salvation was to be derived. 
 For while he denounced against Israel, or the ten tribes, the 
 withdrawal of God's grace from them on account of their 
 apostasy, by the name Lo-ruhamali {no mercy) given to 
 Hosea's daughter, " for I will no more have mercy upon the 
 house of Israel" (i. 6), in contrast he adds, if by any means 
 Israel might yet be led to the true source of all salvation, 
 the very different fate which awaited Judah because of their 
 comparative faithfulness to Jehovah; "But I will have 
 mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the 
 Lord their God, and will not save them by bow nor by 
 sword nor by battle, by horses nor by horsemen" (Hos. i. 6,7). 
 And, again, with continued allusion probably to his own 
 name, Hosea represents the Lord as exhorting Israel even 
 
CHAPTERS VIII. 5 — IX. 7. 223 
 
 yet by timely repentance to avert the impending ruin : 
 " Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt . . . 
 for there is no Saviour besides Me " (xiii. 4) ; and, again 
 (verses 9, 10), " Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself ; . . . 
 but in Me is thy help. Where is any other that may save 
 thee in all thy cities ? " ^ 
 
 To a people thus accustomed to receive and to interpret 
 the signs and symbolical acts by which the prophets were 
 wont to accompany their messages, the circumstances con- 
 nected with the delivery of the prophecy before us could 
 not fail to suggest that more was meant than the mere 
 birth of a man-child to the prophet within a brief period, 
 guaranteeing to Ahaz his speedy deliverance from his two 
 immediate enemies. In the first place, Isaiah's bringing 
 along with him, by the command of the Loed, his son 
 Shear-jashub, prepared them for some further revelation. 
 His significant name, " a remnant shall return," pointed 
 to far more distant events in Israel's future history, of a 
 restoration only after long desolation and wasting of the 
 cities and land, and would lead to the expectation that the 
 
 1 There is considerable similarity between some of the views 
 here advocated and those that appeared in a paper bearing the 
 signature " Niger " in vol. x. of the Expositor for October, 1879, 
 and in a note to it and subsequent article by the editor pointing 
 out the striking parallel between the significant names which 
 Hosea was commissioned to give to his children and those given 
 by Isaiah to his sons. As I have ever made a point of referring to 
 any living author to whom I was indebted for a new thought, I 
 am anxious to guard against being supposed to have made an 
 undue use of those articles without acknowledgment, by stating 
 that the MS. now pubhshed was wi-itten and read before a clerical 
 club more than half a year before those articles appeai'ed, and that 
 I have Dr. Cox's letter (dated six months previously) returning my 
 MS. as not altogether adapted, from its form and length, for his 
 publication. The coincidences, therefore, in the views, occurring 
 independently to different minds, form a strong presumption in 
 favour of their truth. 
 
 The theory?, however, of Niger, who makes Immanuel and Maher- 
 shalal-hash-baz to be two separate sons of the prophet, is un- 
 tenable for the reasons I have stated. 
 
224 IMMANUEL. 
 
 announcement now to be made touched the same distant 
 future and the most momentous final destinies of the kingdom 
 of Israel. This impression would be greatly strengthened 
 by all that followed. Consider the peculiarly solemn manner 
 in which the prophecy was introduced, " Ask thee a sign of 
 the Lord thy God ; ask it either in the depth or in the height 
 above ". Nothing too great or wonderful would be withheld 
 to satisfy the king of the truth, and certainty of fulfilment, 
 of the message which Isaiah was commissioned to convey. 
 To what less could this assurance relate, seeing that the 
 very existence of the royal house of David was threatened 
 by the confederacy, than the accomplishment of " the sure 
 mercies of David," of the promise which the Lobd Himself 
 had given to His servant, nearly three hundred years before 
 this time, by the prophet Nathan (2 Sam. vii. 12-17), of a 
 seed to be raised up to him, to whom God was to be a 
 father and he to be God's son, and whose throne was to be 
 established for ever — whose dignity, it was subsequently 
 I'evealed to David, was so far to surpass anything human 
 that David in Ps. ex. called him "my lord," as being seated 
 on the right hand of the Lord, and ordained to be " a priest 
 for ever after the order of Melchisedec ". On Ahaz's de- 
 clining to ask a sign, the prophet, to show that he personally 
 had rendered himself unworthy of a sign affecting more 
 especially his own individual safety being given, no longer 
 addresses the king directly, but the whole "house of David," 
 of whose degeneracy he was the representative : " Hear ye 
 now, house of David ; is it a small thing for you to weary 
 men, but will ye weary my God also ? Therefore, the Lord 
 Himself shall give you a sign : 
 
 " Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, 
 And she shall call his name Immanuel ". 
 
 Whose son, would the words immediately, on first hearing, 
 suggest to the minds of the hearers ? The words are ad- 
 dressed to " the. house of David," and the fear to be allayed 
 
CHAPTEKS VIII. 5 — IX. 7. 225 
 
 was the cutting off of that house. The son, therefore, to be 
 born must surely be a son of the house of David. 
 
 What son, whose name should be called Imraanuel, "God 
 with us " ? None less could adequately correspond to the 
 high title which the name implied, except him to whom the 
 Lord should say, " Thou art My sou ; this day have I be- 
 gotten thee ". "I have set him as My king upon My holy 
 hill of Zion " (Ps. ii. 6, 7). 
 
 M]iat virgin? — "the virgin," too, as if pointing to one well 
 known, whose identity the hearers must recognize. Is it 
 going too far to suppose that (to a people now for so many 
 centuries familiarized with the promise of the Messiah, to 
 whom they looked for the fulfilment of all the great things 
 spoken to their nation), by the words of the sign now intro- 
 duced with such solemnity, " Behold the virgin with child, 
 and bearing a son" should be flashed upon their minds the 
 true import of that remarkable expression, employed in the 
 first announcement of salvation after the fall, that the seed 
 who should bruise the serpent's head is designated " the 
 seed of the woman, not of the man" ? — a seed subsequently 
 defined to be the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations 
 of the earth were to be blessed ; and, lastly, as the seed to 
 be raised up to David, whose kingdom should be established 
 for ever — the seed of David, indeed, as being born of a virgin 
 of the royal house, but to whom God said, " I will be His 
 Father, and he shall be My Son " (2 Sam. vii. 14) ? That 
 something singular, abnormal, supernatural, should be im- 
 plied by the sign now forced upon the king is the only 
 reasonable conclusion after the high expectations raised by 
 so magnificent an introduction, and the offer refused by 
 Ahaz of a sign the greatest he could ask in heaven above or 
 in earth beneath. Anything so ridiculously inadequate to 
 the occasion as that a male child was to be born shortly, of 
 one now a virgin, through the instrumentality of man, is an 
 idea utterly unworthy of Isaiah. In what else, then, can 
 the marcel of the sign given consist than in the first words 
 
 15 
 
226 IMMANUEL. 
 
 uttered by the prophet, " Behold the virgin with child, and 
 bearing a son " ? True, the word 'almah^ does not denote 
 so distinctively a virgin as b-thulali,'^ but signifies properly a 
 maiden, or young unmarried female. But it must equally 
 imply (if there was anything more than natural in the sign) 
 that the mother of Immanuel was still a virgin, unless 
 Isaiah meant to brand the Son as being a child of shame, 
 which is inconceivable. The meaning which the Jeics 
 attached to the prophecy, long antecedent to the birth of 
 Christ, is manifest from the LXX. having rendered the word 
 by 7rapOevo<;, a virgin. The choice of the term 'ahnah was 
 probably determined by its suitableness to both type and 
 antitype, — as being more correctly applicable than hHlmlah 
 to the maiden whom Isaiah was about to take to wife, when 
 regarded as mother of his child Immanuel. That she, with 
 her son, were typical of a greater event to be realized in a 
 more distant future, Isaiah clearly indicates by the term 
 "prophetess," which he applies to her in viii. 3, "And I 
 went unto the prophetess , and she conceived and bare a 
 son " — a title which, as we have said, according to Scrip- 
 ture usage, would never be assigned to a prophet's wife 
 merely as such, but in as far only as in connexion wdth 
 him she prefigured the mother of another and greater Son. 
 But the indications hitherto given, however well calcu- 
 lated to awaken in the minds of Isaiah's hearers an antici- 
 pation of the deeper meaning underlying his words, were not 
 left alone to exercise their thoughts. In the further revela- 
 tions which he was commissioned by the Lord to adcV"^ 
 (that is to throw additional light on the communications 
 already given, not to introduce a new subject), Isaiah not 
 only brings out, with a clearness unmistakable to his 
 countrymen, the typical import of the names of himself and 
 
 ^ The words of viii. 5 literally rendered are, " And Jehovah 
 added to speak unto me yet again, saying". 
 
CHAPTERS VIII. 5 — IX. 7. 227 
 
 his sous, but he expressly affirms that they bore such an 
 import (viii. 18) : 
 
 Behold I and ihe children whom the Lord hath given me 
 
 Are for signs and portents in Israel, 
 
 From the Lord of Hosts which dwelleth in mount Zion. 
 
 A short summary of the contents of each section will be 
 sufficient to show this. 
 
 Import of tlw Names of Isaiah and his Sons. 
 1. Immanuel (chaps, viii. 5 — ix. 7). 
 
 Each of the four stanzas or strophes, of which this section 
 appears to consist, contains a distinct intimation that the 
 name Immanuel pointed to something far higher than a 
 son of the prophet and the immediate concerns of the 
 Israelites. 
 
 The first two strophes consist of five verses each. The 
 first strophe (verses 6-10) reminds Israel that it is their own 
 sin in departing from Jehovah, specially of the northern 
 portion in casting off the God-ordained rule of David's 
 house, and plotting its utter extermination (verse 6), yet 
 Judah's also (verse 8) in not trusting Jehovah's protection, 
 that is the cause why Assyria is to be permitted to over- 
 whelm the land. Still the destruction shall not be entire nor 
 for ever, since it is " tJiy land, ImmanueV (verse 8) — an 
 expression which could appropriately be used of none but 
 a Prince of David's seed. 
 
 In the second strophe (11-15) the prophet addresses a 
 challenge of defiance to all heathen enemies (verses 9, 10). 
 "Do your worst, ye peoples, and ye shall be broken in 
 pieces, for Immanu-El" is our watch-word, " TFii/i us is 
 God". To such confident defiance he was emboldened, by 
 the instruction of Jehovah borne in irresistibly on his mind, 
 to fear no confederacy of man, but that he and his disciples 
 should make Jehovah their fear and dread, who will be a 
 
228 • IMMANUEL. 
 
 sanctuary to all who trust in Him, but "a stone of stumbling 
 and rock of offence" to unbelievers (11-15). 
 
 The last two strophes consist of seven verses each, sub- 
 divided into 2 + 3 -t- 2. 
 
 In verses 16-22 Isaiah prays Jehovah to seal up in the 
 hearts of his disciples (that he and they might wait in faith 
 for their fulfilment) " the testimony and law '' regarding the 
 great promises made to the house of Jacob contained in 
 God's former revelations, as well as now in the symbolical 
 names given to himself and his children. 
 
 Behold I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me 
 
 Are for signs and iwrtents in Israel, 
 
 From Jehovah of hosts which dwelleth in mount Zion. 
 
 " To the law and to the testimony " of the living God let 
 all seek, not to the spirits of the dead, as counselled by the 
 false prophets, in listening to w^hom the people shall be 
 driven into ever-deeper darkness and despair. 
 
 Chap. ix. 1-7. For not for ever shall this calamitous state 
 of Israel continue. When the darkness is at the deepest, and 
 in the darkest corner of the land, the prophet's eye sees the 
 dawn of a glorious day of deliverance and peace ; and he 
 ends the section illustrative of the symbolical meaning of 
 the name Immanael with a magnificent series of epithets 
 descriptive of the son to be born, far transcending what 
 could, without gross exaggeration, be applied to any mere 
 child of man : 
 
 For unto us a child is born, 
 Unto us a son is given, 
 
 And the govermnent shall be upon his shoi^lder ; 
 And his name shall be called Wonderful-Counsellor, 
 Mighty-God, Father-of-Eternit}^ Prince-of-Peace. 
 
 The threefold perfections of the Divine nature. Wisdom, 
 Power, and Love, are here ascribed to the Immanuel child, 
 as Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, and Prince 
 of Peace, conjoined with the eternity and very name of 
 
CHAPTERS IX. 8 — X. 4. 229 
 
 God. Thus the sign of the Immauuel child, whose birth in 
 the primary and lower sense guaranteed to Ahaz his per- 
 sonal safety as the immediate representative of David's 
 house, becomes transformed into the far higher sign, to the 
 believers in Israel of the unfailing permanence of the royal 
 seed of David, until He should come — whose " throne shall 
 be established for ever " (2 Sam. vii. 16) — who was to be 
 both David's seed and David's lord, by the union in Himself 
 of both natures, the human and Divine, rendering possible 
 the combinations of what seemed otherwise incompatible — 
 
 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, 
 Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, 
 To order it and to establish it 
 
 With judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever. 
 
 2. Maher-shalal-hash-baz (chaps, ix. 8 — x. 4). 
 
 The significance of the n&me = " sjjced spoil, haste the 
 prey," had already been so far given when first assigned 
 (viii. 4), that Damascus and Samaria, whose kings had con- 
 spired to cut off the royal house of David, should both be 
 spoiled by the king of Assyria. In the further illustration 
 of its import now given, the reference to the conquest of 
 the kingdom of Syria is dropped (probably as being already 
 past at the time this section was added) and Israel alone 
 regarded, the object being to set forth, as a warning to those 
 of the ten tribes who would yet hear, and to Judah, the 
 reason for the series of severe judgments to be inflicted by 
 the power of Assyria. This is done in a section consisting 
 of four symmetrical strophes, each specifying an additional 
 sin with the punishment it must entail, forming the succes- 
 sive steps in the degeneracy and downfall of Israel, and 
 each ending with the refrain — • 
 
 For all this His anger is not turned away, ^ \ chaps, ix. 12, 17, 21, 
 But His hand is stretched out still. f and x. 4. 
 
 1 This refrain, repeated from chap. v. 25, where it was applied to 
 Judah, shows that the sins enuraerated as the cause of the judg- 
 
230 IMMANUEL. 
 
 The pointed allusion to the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz 
 (all but concealed from the mere English reader by the 
 faulty practice of our translators to give a different render- 
 ing to one and the same Hebrew word or phrase where it 
 next recurs) is deferred to the fourth strophe, as specifying 
 the culminating sin charged against Israel, and which will 
 bring upon it the corresponding recompense from Jehovah 
 (chap. X. 2, that — 
 
 They take away the right from the poor of my people, 
 
 That widows may be their spoil, 
 
 And that they may make the fatherless their 2n-ey. 
 
 With these words in the concluding stanza of this section 
 corresponds most appropriately the further allusion to 
 Maher-shalal-hash-baz in the beginning of the next section, 
 as the recompense awarded to Israel by the Loed through 
 the instrumentality of the king of Assyria (x. 6). As in 
 X. 2, they make widows their sjmU, and the fatherless their 
 2}rey, so — 
 
 X. 6. I will send him against a profane nation, 
 
 And against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, 
 To take the spoil, and to take the ^rey. 
 
 3. Shear-jashub (chap. x. 5-34). 
 
 This section, linked on to the preceding by the words 
 just quoted, is designed to bring out the import of the 
 doubly significant name, Shear-jashub=" a rernnant shall 
 
 ments to be inflicted by the king of Assyria include both houses 
 of Israel (as the iise of "Jacob" and "Israel" (ix. 6, 12, 14) also 
 implies), though here more specially applied to the northern 
 kingdom. But the decisive proof that both Judah and Ephraim 
 are included is furnished by the final section (xi.-xii.), in which the 
 strife between the two kingdoms having ceased (" Ephi-aim shall 
 not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim," xi. 13), united 
 Israel, with distinct reference to the words of the refrain, gives 
 praise to Jehovah that its condemnatory sentence (" For all this 
 His anger is not turned cnvay ") is now reversed, " Though Thou wast 
 angry with me, Thine anger is turned away" (xii. 1). 
 
CHAPTER X. 5 — 34. 231 
 
 return, which Isaiah gave to his first-born son, as embody- 
 ing the substance of the message which, at his first calhng 
 to the prophetic oflice, he was commissioned to convey to 
 Israel, in consequence of the increasing corruption and 
 obduracy of the nation. That message presented a dismal 
 prospect of long-enduring calamities and desolations await- 
 ing Israel, eliciting to the prophet's question, " Lord, how 
 long ? " the reply : 
 
 Until cities be waste without inhabitant, 
 
 And houses without man, and the land be waste to desolation, 
 
 And the Lord have removed men far away. 
 
 And the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land ; 
 
 the gloomy picture being relieved only by the addition at 
 the close that a remnant should be left, " yet in it shall be 
 a tenth," but only to be again consumed — leaving a stump 
 of the tree apparently dead, but still containing " a holy 
 seed" as "the substance thereof" which agaiii would 
 revive. 
 
 Here the dark side of the picture evidently predominated. 
 Now the brighter side is turned in the section before us. It 
 consists of four strophes of seven and eight verses alter- 
 nately, the beginnings of the last three strophes (verses 12, 
 20, and 27) being always marked in the Hebrew by the re- 
 currence of the same words, " And it shall come to pass ". 
 
 Strophe I. (x. 5-11). The world-power, of which the 
 Assyrian is the immediate representative, is indeed em- 
 ployed by God for the chastisement of His people. But he 
 is, they are assured, but a mere instrument in the hand of 
 the Almighty, "the rod of Mine anger," who can do laothing 
 further than God permits, however proudly he may boast 
 that as none of the other kingdoms and their gods could 
 stand before him, so must Jerusalem and its God fall before 
 his might. 
 
 Strophe II. (x. 12-19). On this account, so soon as the 
 LoKD has fulfilled through him His purpose of sufficient 
 .chastisement to His people, and "performed His whole 
 
232 IMMANUEL. 
 
 work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem," he adds, " I will 
 punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of iVssyria, 
 and the glory of his high looks ". The strophe ends with 
 painting the destruction of the host which he shall bring 
 against the Loed's city as reduced to "a remnant " ^ so 
 small " that a child might write them " (x. 19). 
 
 Strophe III. (x. 20-26). Contrasted with this "remnant," 
 which is an omen of what the Lord says elsewhere, " I will 
 make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven 
 thee, but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee 
 in measure " (Jer. xlvi. 28), is what immediately follows as to 
 " the remnant of Israel ". God chastens also His own 
 people and brings them low, but it is that " the remnant of 
 Israel and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob may 
 no more stay again upon him that smote them, but may stay 
 upon the Loed, the Holy One of Israel, in truth " (verse 20). 
 Here it is that the direct allusion is made to the meaning 
 of Sheae-jashub, and to its twofold import, as denoting 
 both sides of God's dealings toward His people. Both His 
 " severity and goodness " are intended to " lead them to 
 repentance " and righteousness, but His " mercy rejoiceth 
 over judgment ". Taught by the hard experience to which 
 they have been subjected : 
 
 21. A remnant shall return," even the remnant of Jacob, 
 Unto the mighty God. 
 
 Still the persistent obduracy of heart of the majority of 
 Israel will necessitate a repetition of severe judgment, until 
 the desired change shall be effected, and hence the con- 
 sequent addition that only " a remnant shall return ". 
 
 22. For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, 
 [Only] a remnant shall return " thereof. 
 
 The lesson, therefore, for Israel to learn is, "0 my 
 people, be not afraid of the Assyrian," but of Him who can 
 
 ^ Hebrew shear, in Authorized Version " the rest ". 
 - Hebrew, Shear -jashub. 
 
CHAPTERS XL — XII. 233 
 
 quell the proudest foe in the very moment of his fancied 
 triumph . 
 
 Strophe IV. (x. 27-34), accordingly, concludes with a most 
 graphic description of a sudden assault directed against 
 Jerusalem, in which the enemy is seen hurrying by forced 
 marches from station to station, until at length, having 
 caught sight of the city as the shades of evening are 
 closing in, and " shaken his hand against the mount of the 
 daughter of Zion " in confident assurance of to-morrow's 
 capture, suddenly he is struck down, and " the Lord of 
 Hosts lops the bough with terror ". The prophet's forecast 
 found a remarkable fulfilment in Hezekiah's reign, when 
 Sennacherib, king of iVssyria, came up with an immense 
 army to besiege Jerusalem, and " the angel of the Lord 
 went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a 
 hundred and fourscore and five thousand" in one night 
 (Isa. xxxvii. 36). 
 
 4. Isaiah (chaps, xi.-xii.). 
 
 The grand series of prophecies we have been considering, 
 which begins with the birth of Messiah into the world as 
 the virgin's child, now concludes with a description of the 
 final state of His kingdom and completed salvation on earth, 
 as symbolized by the prophot's own name, Isaiah = " the 
 Salvation of Jehovah ". The section consists of two 
 strophes of ten and twelve verses respectively (subdivided 
 into five and five, and six and six), the former (xi. 1-10) 
 ending with the standard of Messiah set up as a rallying- 
 point for all peoples — " To it shall the Gentiles seek " 
 (verse 10), as being the first to be admitted into the king- 
 dom of Messiah ; while the whole of the concluding strophe 
 (xi. 11 — xii. 6) is taken up with the recovery of the remnant 
 of Israel from all the lands of their dispersion, and the song 
 of thankful praise which they shall sing on their restoration 
 (10, the number of completeness, marking the " fulness of 
 the Gentiles " ; 12, the number of Israel). 
 
234 
 
 IMMANUEL. 
 
 This section is linked ou to the preceding by a description 
 in striking contrast to that witli which the former closed. 
 There the king of Assyria's discomfiture in all the pride of 
 his might had been compared to the fall of a lofty cedar 
 of Lebanon hewn down by the stroke of " a mighty one" 
 (x. 34). Here Messiah is depicted as a slender shoot 
 springing up out of the decayed " stem of Jesse," but 
 endowed with the sevenfold perfections of the Spirit (xi, 2), 
 fitting Him " with righteousness to judge the poor and 
 reprove with equity for the meek of the earth," and " with 
 the breath of His lips slaying the wicked " (xi. 1-5) ; in con- 
 trast with the world-power whose delight was in war and 
 violence, " having in his heart to destroy and cut off nations 
 not a few " (x. 7), and " removing the bounds of the peoples 
 and robbing their treasures " (x. 13) ; the second five verses 
 of the strophe ending with a beautiful description of the 
 universal peace, harmony, and love which shall characterize 
 the perfected state of Messiah's kingdom on earth, when 
 there shall be notliing more to "hurt nor destroy in all 
 God's holy mountain". 
 
 The end of this strophe and the beginning of the next are 
 very distinctly marked out by an artifice very common in 
 Hebrew poetry, and particularly in Isaiah, by a sort of 
 catch-ioord (as it has been called), by which the words and 
 thought wherewith the first member had closed are caught 
 up and repeated in the next (here, however, as too fre- 
 quently, the correspondence is concealed from the English 
 reader by the immoderate love of our translators for variety 
 of expression). Verse 10 ought to have been translated : 
 
 And it shall come to ^'wss in that day, 
 
 That the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples. 
 
 Unto hina shall the Gentiles seek. 
 
 And his resting-place shall be glorious. 
 
 The new stanza begins (verse 11) with a repetition of the 
 same words with which the former stanza had ended : 
 
CHAPTER XII. 1 — 6. 235 
 
 And it shall come to ^ftss in that daij, 
 
 Tlaat the Lord shall set His hand again the second time 
 
 To recover the renniant of His people, &c., 
 
 but with a change of subject, thus prominently marked out 
 by its being made to begin a new strophe — viz., that in the 
 first strophe the Gentiles (xi. 10) are represented as the first 
 to seek admission into the kingdom of Christ, whereas the 
 w^hole of the second strophe (xi. 10 — xii. 6) is taken up with 
 the subsequent restoration of " the remnant of God's people 
 which shall be left " of " the outcasts of Israel and the 
 dispersed of Judah," brought back from all the lands whither 
 they had been scattered.^ 
 
 The strophe in its latter half (xii. 1-6) — as, indeed, the 
 whole prophecy — closes most appropriately with a doxology 
 or thanksgiving hymn, borrowing, from Moses' song of praise 
 on the analogous occasion of Israel's deliverance from the 
 bondage of Egypt, those expressions (Ex. xv. 2) which bring 
 out the symbolical import of the name of Isaiah =:" the 
 salvation of Jehovah ". 
 
 Behold God is my salvation, 
 
 I will trust and not be afraid [of the arm of flesh any more] : 
 
 For Jah, Jehovah, is my strength and song, 
 
 He also is become my salvation. 
 
 The solution now offered gives a clear and consistent 
 meaning and explanation to all the leading expressions and 
 circumstances of this prophecy, of which former interpreta- 
 
 ^ Compare the same strongly-marked contrast, as to their 
 acceptance of the Messiah, between the Gentiles and the Jews 
 in the Later Prophecies of Isaiah lii. 12 and liii. 1. 
 
 That which had not been told them they [the Gentiles] saw ; 
 
 And that which they had not heard they considered. 
 
 Who [of ns, Jews] believed what we liad heard ? [rrj aKofj 
 Tjfjiuiv rightly in the LXX.] 
 And to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed ? 
 
 liii. 1 being the beginning of the Jews' penitential confession 
 (verses 1-6) in the latter day when " the fulness of the Gentiles 
 shall have come in ". Compare also Ixv. 1 with verse 2. 
 
236 IMMANUEL. 
 
 tions either took no notice or fuaiished no adequate expla- 
 nation. 
 
 1. A reason is assigned why Isaiah brings along with him, 
 by the command of the Lobd, his son Shear-jashub, by the 
 full explanation being given of his doubly-significant name 
 = "a remnant shall return "—as well as by his presence 
 from the first, preparing the people to expect a similarly- 
 expressive sign, as implied in the birth and name announced 
 of an additional son of the prophet's. 
 
 2. The young virgin w^ho, as the wife of Isaiah, is to bear 
 a son to him, typifies and foreshadows, as the expressive 
 title of ^jro^j//ciess given to her in this relation indicates, a 
 future mother who, as a virgin still at her child's birth, 
 should bear a son ; while the remarkable name which Isaiah 
 announces to be given to his son of Immanuel, as intimating 
 that " God is still with us " (the people of Israel), typifies 
 an infinitely greater Son, to whom the name Immanuel = 
 " God wWi us," should apply in the fullest sense of the 
 words. 
 
 3. The solution now offered, while it removes the great 
 difficulty attaching to the problem by giving a definite reply 
 to the question. What and loJwse son born in the immediate 
 future proved a sign to Ahaz of his deliverance from the 
 danger which threatened the extinction of the house of 
 David ? shows that this incipient fulfilment could by no 
 means be accepted as exhausting the full meaning of the 
 prophecy, but that the sign in its proximate fulfilment was 
 itself to be the sign of a far more w^onderful child hereafter 
 to be born, w^hose birth and name should realize all the 
 great promises and predictions given by God from the 
 beginning of the world of a seed of the tooman, who should 
 bruise the head of the great enemy of man, of a seed of 
 Abraham in whom " all the nations of the world should 
 be blessed," and of a seed of David whose " throne should 
 be established for ever ". 
 
 4. The remarkable expression, "Behold, I and the children 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 18. 237 
 
 whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and portents in 
 Israel," which all previous interpretations overlooked, has 
 been found to furnish the key-word to the whole typical 
 explanation — and the full import of each of the significant 
 names of the sons with the prophet's own name we have 
 seen to be distinctly brought out in the various sections of 
 this complete prophecy, which thus constitutes one grand 
 organic whole, adjusted in all its parts wuth remarkable 
 symmetry of arrangement. 
 
TEXT OF THE IMMANUEL PEOPHECY 
 STEOPHICALLY AEEANGED. 
 
 I. — Historical Grounchoork of the Prophecy (chaps, vii. to 
 viii. 4). 
 
 VII. 1. Aiid it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of 
 Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin 
 the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Eemahah, king 
 of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war agamst it ; but 
 
 2. could not prevail against it. And it was told the house 
 of David, saymg, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. 
 And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, 
 as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind. 
 
 3. Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet 
 Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the 
 conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the 
 fuller's field ; and say unto him, 
 
 4. Take heed, and be quiet ; fear not, neither let thine 
 
 heart be faint, 
 Because of these two tails of smoking firebrands. 
 For the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the 
 
 son of Remaliah. 
 
 5. Because Syria hath counselled evil against thee, 
 Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying, 
 
 6. " Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, 
 And let us make a breach therein for us, 
 
 And set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of 
 Tabeel": 
 
 7. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 
 
 PROMISE. It shall not stand, neither shall it come to 
 
 PASS. 
 
 For the head of Syria is Damascus, 
 And the head of Damascus is Rezin : 
 And withm threescore and five years 
 ShaU Ephraim be broken in i^ieces, that it be 
 not a people : 
 
CHAPTER VII. 9 — 19. 239 
 
 9. And the head of Ephraim is Samai'ia, 
 
 And the head of Samaria is Reniahah's son. 
 THREAT. If ye will not confide, ye shall not abide. 
 
 10. And Jehovah spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 
 
 11. Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God ; 
 
 Ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 
 
 12. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt 
 
 Jehovah. 
 
 13. And he said, 
 
 Hear ye now, O house of David ; 
 
 Is it a small thing for you to weary men. 
 That ye will weary my God also ? 
 
 14. Therefore Jehovah Himself shall give you a sign ; 
 
 Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. 
 And shall call his name Immanuel. 
 
 15. Butter and honey shall he eat, 
 
 When he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose 
 the good. 
 
 16. For before the child shall know 
 
 To refuse the evil, and choose the good, 
 
 Deserted shall the land be, of which thou art horribly 
 
 afraid 
 Before its two kings. 
 
 17. Jehovah shall bring upon thee, 
 
 And upon thy people, and upon thy father's 
 
 house, 
 Days that have not come, from the day that 
 
 Ephraim departed from Judah ; 
 Even the king of Assyria. 
 
 18. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
 That Jehovah shall hiss for the fly 
 
 That is in the lattermost part of the rivers of 
 
 Egypt, 
 And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 
 
 19. And they shall come, and shall rest aU of them 
 In the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the 
 
 rocks, 
 And upon all thorns, and upon all pastures. 
 
240 IMMANUEL. 
 
 20. In that day shall Jehovah shave with a razor that 
 
 is hired, 
 Which is in the parts beyond the Eiver, even with 
 
 the king of Assyria, 
 The head, and the hair of the feet ; 
 And it shall also consume the beard. 
 
 21. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
 
 That a man shall nourish a young cow, and two 
 sheep ; 
 
 22. And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of 
 
 milk that they shall give, he shall eat 
 
 butter : 
 For butter and honey shall everyone eat 
 That is left in the midst of the land. 
 
 23. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
 
 Where there were a thousand vines at a thousand 
 
 silverlings, 
 Shall even be for briars and thorns. 
 
 24. With arrows and with bow shall one come thither ; 
 Because all the land shall be briars and thorns. 
 
 25. And all the hills that were digged with the 
 
 mattock. 
 Thou shalt not come thither for fear of briars and 
 
 thorns. 
 But it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and 
 
 for the treading of sheep. 
 
 II. — Tijiyical Ivqjort of the Prophecy (chaps, viii. 5 to xii.). 
 
 VIII. 1. And Jehovah said imto me, Take thee a great tablet, 
 
 2. and write upon it with the pen of a man. For Maher- 
 shalal-hash-baz ; and I will take imto me faithful wit- 
 nesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the 
 
 3. son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess ; 
 and she conceived and bare a son. Then said Jehovah 
 unto me. Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 
 
 4. For before the child shall have knowledge 
 To cry, My father, and. My mother, 
 Carried away shall be the riches of Damascus. 
 And the spoil of Samaria, 
 
 Before the king of Assyria. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 5, G. 241 
 
 The difference between the symboHcal meaning of Isaiah's 
 name and that of his three sons is that the father's name 
 (= "the salvation of Jehovah") denotes simple mimingled 
 blessing alone, and, therefore, comes last (chaps, xi. and xii.), 
 marking the final state of Israel — " The Lord Jehovah 
 [Heb. Jah Jehovah] is my strength and song ; and He is 
 become my salvation " (xii. 2 ; cf. Exod. xv. 2). 
 
 Whereas the names of the three sons mark the three 
 unchanging principles that lie at the foundation of all 
 Jehovah's disciplinary dealings in regard to Israel : 
 
 1. Immanuel (viii. 5 to ix. 7) marks that " God is with 
 Israel " unchangeably, whether in judgment or blessing, 
 making all to work together for their good and that of the 
 world. 
 
 2. Maher-shalal-hash-baz (ix. 8 to x. 4) marks that the 
 disobedient and unrepentant, who form, alas ! the mass 
 both of Israel and of Judah (ix. 21 ; cf. viii. 6), are the 
 cause why God's people are a constant " spoil and prey " 
 (shalal and baz, x. 2) to their enemies whom God employs 
 as their scourges, themselves, however, to be finally 
 destroyed (x. 33, 34). 
 
 3. Shear-jashub (x. 5 to 34): Nevertheless it is God's 
 merciful will that a "remnant" shall be converted and 
 saved — "a holy seed"; and that the rod which He em- 
 ployed for their chastisement be " consumed " (x. 18). 
 
 Imi)ort of the Names of Isaiah and his Sons. 
 I. Immanuel (chaps, viii. 5 to ix. 7).^ 
 
 I. 
 
 VIII. 5. And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying, 
 
 6. Forasmuch as this people hath refused the waters of 
 Shiloah that go softly, 
 And rejoice in Rezin and Eemahah's son ; 
 
 ^ For the strophical arrangement, see pages 227-229. 
 
 16 
 
242 IMMANUBL. 
 
 7. Now, therefore, behold, Jehovah bringeth up upon 
 
 them 
 • The waters of the River, strong and many, 
 
 Even the king of Assyria and all his glory : 
 Aud he shall come up over all his channels, 
 And go over all his banks : 
 
 8. And he shall sweep onward into Judah ; 
 He hath overflowed, and will pass through ; 
 He shall reach even to the neck ; 
 
 And the stretching out of his wings shall fill 
 The breadth of thy land, Immanuel. 
 
 9. Make an uproar, ye peoples, and ye shall be broken 
 
 in pieces ; 
 And give ear, all ye of far countries : 
 Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken m pieces ; 
 Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 
 
 10. Take coimsel together, and it shall be brought to 
 
 nought ; 
 Speak the word, and it shall not stand : 
 For God is with us [Heb. Immanu-El]. 
 
 II. 
 
 11. For Jehovah spake thus to me with a strong hand. 
 And instructed me that I should not walk in the way of 
 
 this people, saying, 
 
 12. Say ye not, A conspiracy, 
 
 Concerning all whereof this people shall say, A con- 
 spiracy ; 
 Neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof. 
 
 13. Jehovah of Hosts, Him shall ye sanctify ; 
 
 And let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. 
 
 14. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of 
 
 stiunbling 
 And for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, 
 For a gin and for a snare to the mhabitants of Jerusalem. 
 
 15. And many shaU stumble thereon, 
 And fall, and be broken, 
 
 And be snared, and be taken. 
 
 III. 
 
 Jehovah speaks — 
 
 16. Bind thou up the testimony, seal the law among My 
 
 disciples. 
 
CHAPTEES VIII. 17 — IX. 2. 243 
 
 Isaiah speaks — 
 
 17. And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth His face 
 From the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. 
 
 18. Behold, I and the chilflren 
 Whom Jehovah hath given me 
 
 Are for signs and prognostics in Israel 
 From Jehovah of Hosts, which dwelleth in Mount 
 Zion. . 
 
 19. And when they shall saj' unto you. 
 
 Seek imto them that have familiar spirits and unto 
 
 the wizards, 
 That chirp and that mutter : 
 Should not a people seek unto their God ? 
 On behalf of the living should they seek unto the 
 
 dead? 
 
 20. To the law and to the testimony I 
 
 If they speak not according to this word. 
 Surely there is no morning for them. 
 
 21. And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and 
 
 hmigry : 
 And it shall come to pass that, when they shall be 
 
 hungi'y, they shall fret themselves, 
 And ciu'se by their king and by their God, 
 And turn their faces upward : 
 
 22. And they shall look unto the earth, 
 And behold, distress and darkness, 
 
 The gloom of angiiish ; and into thick darkness they 
 shall be driven away. 
 
 IV. 
 
 IX. 1. But there shaU be no gloom to her that was in anguish. 
 In the former time He brought into contempt 
 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali ; 
 But in the latter time hath He made it glorious, 
 By the way of the sea, bej'ond Jordan, Galilee of the 
 Gentries. 
 2. The people that walked in darkness 
 Have seen a great light : 
 
 They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death. 
 Upon them hath the light shined. 
 
244 IMMANUEL. 
 
 3. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased 
 
 their joy ; 
 They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, 
 As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 
 
 4. For the yoke of his burden. 
 And the staff of his shoulder, 
 
 The rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as in the 
 days of Midian. 
 6. For all the armour of the armed man in the timault, 
 
 And the garments rolled in blood, 
 Shall even be for burning, for fuel of fire. 
 
 6. For unto us a child is born, 
 Unto us a son is given ; 
 
 And the government shall be upon his shoulder ; 
 And his name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor, 
 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
 
 7. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall 
 
 be no end. 
 Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom. 
 To establish it, and to uphold it with judgment 
 And with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. 
 The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall perform this. 
 
 II. Maher-shalal-hash-baz (chaps, ix. 8 to x. 4). 
 
 Each of the four stanzas contains the peculiar sin which 
 calls forth God's anger — and the appropriated punishment. 
 
 1. Pride of heart and self-security: — Invasion by enemies. 
 
 8. Jehovah sent a word into Jacob, 
 And it hath lighted upon Israel. 
 
 9. And all the people shall know, 
 
 Even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, 
 That say in pride and in stoutness of heart, 
 10. " The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn 
 
 stone : 
 The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them 
 into cedars ". 
 
CHAPTER IX. 11-19. 245 
 
 11. Therefore Jehovah hath set up on high against him the 
 
 adversaries of Eezin,^ 
 And his enemies He stirreth up ; - 
 
 12. The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind ; 
 
 And they have devoured Israel with open mouth. 
 For all this His anger is not turned away, 
 But His hand is stretched out still. 
 
 2. Persiste7ice in sin and universal corrvption of leaders 
 and peoples : — Cutting off of all ranks. 
 
 13. Yet the people hath not turned unto Him that smote them. 
 Neither have they sought Jehovah of Hosts. 
 
 14. Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, 
 Palm-branch and rush, in one day. 
 
 15. The ancient and the honourable man, he is the head : 
 And the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 
 
 16. For they that lead this people cause them to err ; 
 And they that are led of them are destroyed. 
 
 17. Therefore Jehovah shall not rejoice over their young men, 
 Neither shall He have compassion on their fatherless and 
 
 widows : 
 For everyone is profane and an evil doer, 
 And every mouth speaketh folly. 
 
 For all this His anger is not turned away, 
 
 But His hand is stretched out stiU. 
 
 3. Ever-increasing wickedness : — Civil discord and mutual 
 destruction. 
 
 18. For wickedness bixrneth as the fire ; 
 The briars and thorns it devoureth : 
 
 Yea, it hath kindled in the thickets of the forest, 
 
 And they have rolled upward in thick clouds of smoke. 
 
 19. Through the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts has the land been 
 
 burnt up : 
 
 ' Namely, the Assyrians, who took from him his kingdom and 
 life. (See 2 Kings xvi. 9) : " The king of Assyria [Tiglath-pileser] 
 took Damascus and slew Eezin ". 
 
 - Israel's habitual enemies, the Syrians on the east, and the 
 Philistines on the west. On aU sides at once Israel shall be 
 attacked. 
 
246 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Aiid the people have been as the fuel of fire ; 
 No uian spai-eth his brother. 
 
 20. And one has snatched on the right hand, and yet is hungry ; 
 And he hath eaten on the left hand, and they are not 
 
 satisfied ; 
 They shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm : 
 
 21. Manasseh, Ephraim ; and Ephraim, Manasseh : 
 And they together shall be against Judah. 
 
 For all this His anger is not turned awaj', 
 But His hand is stretched out still. 
 
 4. Oiypression of the j^oor, making " widoivs their sjjoil" 
 (shalal), and " the fatherless their iney" (baz, x. 2): — Ir- 
 remediable desolation shall come upon them, 
 
 X. 1. Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, 
 And to the writers that write perverseness : 
 
 2. To turn aside the needy from judgment. 
 
 And to talve away the right of the poor of my people. 
 
 That widows may be their spoil, 
 
 And that they may make the fatherless then* iwey ! 
 
 3. And what will ye do in the day of visitation, 
 And in the desolation which shall come from far '? 
 To whom will ye flee for help ? 
 
 And where will ye leave your glory ? 
 
 4. They shall only bow down under the prisoners. 
 And shall fall mider the slain. 
 
 For all this His anger is not turned away, 
 But His hand is stretched out still. 
 
 III. Shear-jashub (chap. x. 5-34). 
 
 I. — 7 verses. 
 
 5. Ho Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, 
 
 The staff in whose hand is Mine indignation ! 
 
 6. I will send him against a profane nation. 
 
 And against the people of My wrath will I give him a 
 
 charge. 
 To take the spoil, and to take the prey, 
 And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 
 
 7. Howbeit he meaneth not so, 
 Neither doth his heart think so : 
 
CHAPTER X. 8-16. 247 
 
 But it is in his heart to destroy, 
 And to cut off nations not a few. 
 
 8. For he saith, Are not my prmces all of them kings ? 
 
 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish ? 
 Is not Hamath as Arpad ? 
 Is not Samaria as Damascus ? 
 
 10. As my hand hath found the kingdom of the idols, 
 And their graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and 
 
 of Samaria ; 
 
 11. Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols. 
 So do to Jerusalem and her idols ? 
 
 11. — 8 verses. 
 
 12. Wherefore it shall come to pass, 
 That when Jehovah hath performed His whole work 
 
 ■Sj3 Upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, 
 
 I will pimish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of 
 
 Assyria, 
 And the glory of his high looks. 
 
 13. F'or he hath said, " By the strength of my hand I have 
 done it, 
 
 And by my wisdom ; for I am prudent ; 
 And I have removed the bounds of the peoples, 
 And have robbed their treasures. 
 
 And I have brought down as a valiant man them that 
 sit on thrones : 
 
 14. And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the 
 peoples ; 
 
 And as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken. 
 Have I gathered all the earth : 
 And there was none that moved the wing, 
 Or that opened the mouth, or chirped ". 
 
 1 5. Shall the axe boast itself against Him that heweth there- 
 with? 
 
 Shall the saw magnify itself against Him that shaketh it ? 
 
 As if a rod should shake them that lift it up. 
 
 Or as if a staff should lift up Him that is not wood. 
 
 16. Therefore shall the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 
 Send among his fat ones leanness ; 
 And under his glory there shall be kindled 
 A burning like the burning of fire. 
 
 03X1 
 
 ■>2 c« 
 
248 IMMANUEL. 
 
 17. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, 
 And his Holy One for a flame : 
 
 And it shall burn and devour his thorns 
 And his briars in one daj'. 
 
 18. And the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, 
 Both soul and body, shall He consume : 
 
 And it shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. 
 
 19. And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, 
 That a child may write them. 
 
 III. — 7 verses, 
 
 20. And it shall come to pass in that day. 
 No more shall the remnant of Israel, 
 
 And they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, 
 Stay upon him that smote them ; 
 But shall stay upon Jehovah, 
 The Holy One of Israel, in truth. 
 
 21. A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, 
 Unto the Mighty God {cf. ix. 6). 
 
 22. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, 
 Only a remnant of them shall return : 
 
 A consumption is determined, overflowing with righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 23. For a consummation, and that determined. 
 Shall the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 
 
 Make in the midst of all the earth. 
 
 24. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 
 
 Fear not, O My people that dwellest in Zion, because of the 
 
 Assyrian : 
 Though he smite thee with the rod. 
 And lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 
 
 25. For yet a vei'y little while, and the indignation shall be 
 
 accomplished. 
 And Mine anger, in their destruction. 
 
 26. And Jehovah of Hosts shall stir up against him a scourge. 
 As in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb : 
 
 And His rod shall be over the sea. 
 
 And He shall lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 
 
 IV. — 8 verses. 
 
 27. And it shall come to pass in that day. 
 
 That his burden shall depart from off thy shoijJder 
 
CHAPTERS X. 28 — XI. 4. 249 
 
 And his yoke from off thy neck, 
 
 And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.' 
 
 28. He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron ; 
 At Michmash he layeth up his baggage : 
 
 29. They are gone over the pass ; they have taken ixp their 
 
 lodging at Geba : 
 Ramah trembleth ; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 
 
 30. Cry aloud with thj- voice, daughter of Gallim ! 
 Hearken, Laishah I thou poor Anathoth ! 
 
 31. Madmenah is a fugitive ; the inhabitants of Gebim gather 
 
 themselves to flee. 
 
 32. This very day shall he halt at Nob : 
 
 He shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, 
 The hill of Jerusalem. 
 
 33. Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, 
 Shall lop the boughs with terror : 
 
 And the high ones of stati;re shall be hewn down, 
 And the lofty shall be brought low. 
 
 34. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron. 
 And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. 
 
 IV. Isaiah (chaps, xi.-xii.). 
 
 I. — xi. 1-10, subdivided into 5+5. 
 
 XL 1. And there shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of 
 Jesse, 
 And a Branch out of his roots shall bear fruit : 
 
 2. And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, 
 
 The Spirit of wisdom and imderstanding. 
 
 The Spirit of counsel and might. 
 
 The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah ; 
 
 3. And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah : 
 And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, 
 Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. 
 
 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor. 
 And reprove vidth equity for the meek of the earth : 
 
 ' Before the virtue of that consecration of David's line, of which 
 we read, " With My holy oil have I anointed him. I will beat 
 down his foes before his face. His throne I will make as the days 
 of heaven" (Psalm Ixxxix. 20, 23, 29). The Targum has "The 
 nations shall be broken before the Messiah " {Speaker's Commentary). 
 
250 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, 
 And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 
 
 5. And righteousness shaM be the girdle of his loins, 
 And faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 
 
 6. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, 
 And the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; 
 
 And the calf and the young lion and the f atling together ; 
 And a little child shall lead them. 
 
 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed together ; ^ 
 Together their young ones shall lie down : 
 And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
 
 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
 And the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's 
 
 den. 
 
 9. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain : 
 For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, 
 As the waters cover the sea. 
 
 10. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
 
 That the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of 
 
 the peoples, 
 Unto him shall the nations seek ; 
 And his resting place shall be glorious. 
 
 II. — xi. 11 to xii. 6, subdivided into 6 + 6. 
 
 11. And it shall come to pass in that day. 
 
 That Jehovah shall set His hand again the second time 
 To recover the remnant of His people, 
 Which shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, 
 And from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, 
 And from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands 
 of the sea. 
 
 12. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, 
 Ajid shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, 
 And gather together the dispersed of Judah 
 From the four corners of the earth. 
 
 ^ The Revisers stiU retain the meaningless rendering of the 
 Authorized Version, in forgetfulness of the rule that a word is 
 often to be supplied in Hebrew poetry from a parallel line to com- 
 plete the other ; in the present instance, VIH"^ (together), which 
 the rhythm shows to belong to the second line. 
 
CHAPTERS XI. 13 — XII. 6. 251 
 
 13. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, 
 And they that vex Judah shall be cut off: 
 Ephraim shall not envy Jndah, 
 
 And Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 
 
 14. And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philis- 
 
 tines on the west ; 
 Together shall they spoil the children of the east : 
 They shall pnt forth their hand upon Edom and Moab ; 
 And the children of Amnion shall obej' them. 
 
 15. And Jehovah shall utterly destroy the tongue of the 
 
 Egyptian sea ; 
 And with His scorching wind shall He shake His hand 
 
 over the River, 
 And shall smite it into seven streams. 
 And cause them to march over dry-shod. 
 
 16. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His 
 
 people, 
 Which shall remain from A ssyria : 
 Like as there was for Israel 
 In the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 XII. 1. And thou shaft say in that day, 
 
 I will thank Thee, Jehovah ; for Thou wast angry 
 
 with me : 
 Let Thine anger turn away, and comfort Thou me. 
 
 2. Behold, God is iny salvation ; 
 
 I will trvist, and will not be afraid : 
 For " Jah Jehovah is my strength and song ; 
 And He is become my salvation " (Exod. xv. 2). 
 
 3. And ye shall draw water with joy out of the weUs of 
 
 salvation. 
 
 4. And ye shall say in that day, 
 
 Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon His name, 
 Declare His domgs among the peoples, 
 Make mention that His name is exalted. 
 
 5. Sing unto Jehovah ; for He hath done excellent 
 
 things. 
 Let this be known in all the earth. 
 
 6. Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : 
 
 For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of 
 thee. 
 
252 CALEND\R OF THE DELUGE, 
 
 I cannot refrain here from drawing attention to a most re- 
 markable discovery made by my friend, the late Dean Burgon, 
 which he commiinicated in two papers to the Guardian, the first 
 dated 5th January, and the second 12th January, 1887. I wrote 
 to him immediately to say that I hoped he woidd put his discovery 
 in a more permanent form before the public, as it had an import- 
 ance immeasurably greater than he seemed aware of ; as not 
 merely proving his point against the Bishop of Carlisle, the Divine 
 origin of the " Week of Seven Days," but demonstratively proving 
 the Divine origin of the entire narrative of the Deluge, and refuting 
 the most plausible of the objections that have been adduced 
 against the truth and genuineness of the Pentateuchal legends, as 
 they have been styled. The objections against the Deluge narra- 
 tive have been paraded as furnishing demonstrative evidence of its 
 absiu-dity and inconsistency. It has been represented as made up 
 of two independent and contradictory accounts — an Elohistic and 
 a Jehovistic document ; the first of which represents the fiood to 
 have lasted fifty-four days, and the other one hmidred and fifty. 
 Dr. Burgon, in a Calendar of the Deluge, shows that all the important 
 events, — Noah's entering and leaving the ark, the commencement 
 and abatement of the flood of waters, the resting of the ark on the 
 mountains of Ararat, the various sendmgs out of the birds, &c. — 
 nine events in aU — took place on one and the same day of the 
 week, which could have been effected by Divine appointment alone ; 
 and that the time Noah was in the ark amounted exactly to 365 
 days. 
 
INDEX OF TOPICS 
 
 THE "SEEVANT OF THE LOED" 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Accepting punishment of ini- 
 quity, . . . .28,29 
 Achmetha, ..... 4 
 Actors, Three, . . . .13 
 Alexander, Dr. Joseph A., . . 10 
 Antithesis in Parallehsm, . 74, 116 
 Argument of II. Isaiah is three- 
 fold, in three books, with 
 three trilogies in each, and 
 three Actors, . . . 83 
 Artaxerxes, . . . .114 
 
 Assyrian sometimes equivalent 
 to Babylonian, . . .66 
 
 Babylon, Return from — errone- 
 ously supposed to end Israel's 
 suffering and dispersion, . 7 
 — Doom foretold, . . .54 
 --Downfall, . . . .133 
 Beasts of the forest invited to 
 
 devour, . . .74, 163 
 
 Books of II. Isaiah — three — each 
 with central trilogies, . 12-14 
 
 Butler, Bishop 93 
 
 Butter and honey, Meaning of, . 213 
 
 Catchwobds, . . . .97 
 Central member of strophes, . 65 
 Chapter xli. 5-7 most errone- 
 ously referred by Dr. De- 
 litzsch to the time of Cyrus, 
 
 39, 40 
 
 Chapter li. 11 repeated (from 
 XXXV. 10), and thus identify- 
 ing the author of the Later 
 with that of the Earlier pro- 
 phecies, .... 150 
 
 Character, Meek and gentle, re- 
 quired, not of the Messiah 
 alone, but of Israel and of all 
 Christians, . . .42, 43 
 
 Cheyne, Canon, considers that 
 II. Isaiah was at first much 
 shorter, . . . .23 
 
 — The present form being due 
 to the scripturists, . . 21 
 
 Children promised to Zion, 
 
 principally Gentiles, . 72, 124 
 
 Choir — Alternating as speakers 
 with Jehovah or Messiah, . 
 
 Colenso, Bishop, 
 
 " Comforted," "When Zion first 
 said to be (Note), 
 
 Consternation of idolaters — 
 Caused not by the approach 
 of Cyrus, but by inability to 
 answer Jehovah's challenge, 
 
 35, 105 
 
 Contest between Jehovah and the 
 idolators-Turns on Who has 
 power to predict and bring 
 to pass the remote future, . 34 
 
 —And is rested on the fulfilment 
 of a predicted event, . 105, 108, 
 111, 136 
 
 189 
 75 
 
 59 
 
254 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Covenant = covenanting medium, 100 
 Covenant number Seven, . 73, 159 
 Cyrus' proclamation, , . 3, 118 
 
 Daeius Hystaspis, . . . 4, 5 
 Deborah's song, . . . .64 
 Delitzsch's mistaken interpreta- 
 tion of chap. Ixv. 1, 2, . . 95 
 — Andof Hosea in Eom.ix. 25,26, 96 
 — Threefold aspect of the Ser- 
 vant of the LoED under the 
 " form of a pyramid," . . 42 
 Desert, What meant by, . 24, 25 
 Deutero-Isaiah — see II. Isaiah. 
 Division of the whole Book of 
 
 Isaiah 86 
 
 " Double," Eeceiving for sins, . 30 
 Driver, Canon, Inconsequential 
 reply to question : "TF/jo has 
 stirred up the great con- 
 queror Cyrus ? " . . .115 
 
 " Eab opened," .... 146 
 
 Ecbatana, ..... 4 
 
 Edom, Destruction of (in Ixiii. 
 
 1-6) 17, 180 
 
 Elohim discriminated from Je- 
 hovah, 75 
 
 Epanodos, 67 
 
 Ephraim (= the ten tribes), Ex- 
 act fulfilment of prophecy 
 regarding 211 
 
 Evil thing in God's sight, Mean- 
 ing of, 31 
 
 Ewald — Passages which he denies 
 to have been written by the 
 " Great Unnamed," . . 21 
 
 — Eemarks that no allusion is 
 made to Cyrus or Babylon 
 after Book I., . . . 140 
 
 Expressions peculiar to I. Isaiah 
 and II. Isaiah, . . .87 
 
 FoEMEH or foremost things pre- 
 dicted 38, 45 
 
 PAGE 
 
 God regarded as the Author of 
 Creation, of Providence, of 
 Eedemption, . . .26 
 
 Hezekiah — Allusions to his 
 
 name, .... 89-92 
 Hitzig's view of prophecy, . 17-19 
 Hosea foretells Judah's and Is- 
 rael's rejection from being 
 God's people, ... 9 
 
 Ideal, High, required of Israel, 41, 42 
 — And still of all Christians, 115, 116 
 Idolatry, Folly of, . . 125-127 
 Idols, Helplessness of, . . 132 
 Iniquity, Meaning of accepting 
 
 punishment of, . . 28, 29 
 
 Interpolations, Alleged, . 21, 22 
 
 Introverted Parallelism, . 50, 124 
 
 Isaiah — His Earlier and Later 
 
 Prophecies are closely welded 
 
 together, . . . 84-86 
 
 1. By the Earlier forming three 
 syzigies or pairs ; by the 
 Later forming three books ; 
 having, as a-common centre, 
 the four prose chapters, 
 xxxvi.-xxxix 85 
 
 2. By both endiugwith a judg- 
 ment on Edam. 
 
 3. By the transposition of 
 chapters xxxvi., xxxvii., 
 designed to face back to 
 the Assyrian period, while 
 chapters xxxviii., xxxix. , 
 point forward to Babylon. 
 
 4. By his fondness in both for 
 Paronomasia. 
 
 5. By quotation in li. 11 of the 
 words of XXXV. 10 (which a 
 
 different writer would care- 
 fully have avoided). 
 
 6. Further, they differ from 
 all other prophetical books — 
 
INDEX. 
 
 255 
 
 (1) By using " Jehovah saith " 
 for " hath said". 
 
 (2) By the use of " The Hohj 
 One of Israel ". 
 
 Isaiah speaks to his own time, . 6 
 
 — His closing words imply that 
 
 the Temple services are still 
 in dailj' exercise, . . . 196 
 
 — His prayer and confession in 
 
 name of Israel, . . . 182 
 II. Isaiah — Considered to termi- 
 nate with Israel's return 
 from Babylon, . . . 6, 7 
 
 — His purity of style and free- 
 
 dom from Aramaisms argue 
 strongly for his earlier date, 2 
 
 — In Israel's name confesses 
 
 their trespasses under all 
 the three names of " trans- 
 gressions, sins, iniquities," 
 of Levit. xvi. 21, . . 170 
 
 Israel — Meaning of name, . . 27 
 
 — Called the " Servant of the 
 
 Lord," from the double 
 service he had to render, . 28 
 
 — Three successive periods in 
 
 their history, . . .83 
 
 — Appointed to be God's wit- 
 
 nesses, . . . .48, 121 
 
 — Jealous murmurings at God's 
 
 choosing a Gentile for their 
 deliverer, . . .51, 129 
 
 — Lament over their persistent 
 
 unbelief, . . , .57 
 
 — Rebuked for ascribing God's 
 
 not delivering them, some 
 to want of will, some of 
 power, ... 62, 80, 169 
 
 Janus-wobd, . . 30, 49, 122 
 Jehovah discriminated from 
 
 Elohim, . . . .75 
 Josiah, 52 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Messiah — Immatixrely intro- 
 duced in chap, xli., . . 115 
 
 — When first introduced, . 56, 57 
 
 — or Jehovah — Which is the 
 
 executioner of God's ven- 
 geance ? . . . 81, 82 
 — ■ He pleads more for mercy, 
 while judgment is ascribed 
 to Jehovah, . . . .82 
 
 — His priestly, mediatoi-ial cha- 
 
 racter, 70 
 
 Meyer, Rev. Theodore, . . 70 
 Mount Zion distinct from Ziun, 25 
 
 Name, Foretelling by, 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 
 New things, 
 
 Opening the ear, 
 
 52 
 
 5 
 
 56 
 
 46 
 
 KiMCHI, 
 
 Palestinian character of the 
 
 scenery, . . . .21 
 Parallelism -Distinction between 
 first and last members and the 
 central one, 31, 53,65, 67, 78, 127 
 People's covenant, . . 43, 44 
 Perfect (Prophetic) for Future, 11, 65 
 Proclamation of Cyrus, . 3, 113 
 Prologue (xl. 1-11) consists of 
 
 3 X 3 verses, ... 14 
 Pronouns-Point out the strophi- 
 
 cal division, . . . 170 
 
 Prophecy^Isaiah's " Servant of 
 the Lord" by its fulfilment — 
 
 1. Cured Israel of idolatry, . 112 
 
 2. Induced Cyrus to deliver 
 them 113 
 
 — Hitzig's idea of, . . . 17 
 
 — Refers generally to a distant 
 
 future 18, 19 
 
 — Main purpose of, . . . 19 
 Prophet, Main function of, . 12 
 
 — Tends ever to point forward 
 
 to the consummation of 
 God's purposes, . . .19 
 
256 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Purposes of God with Israel — 
 The three principal, to be 
 attained by His dealings 
 with them, ... 26, 83 
 
 Eeceiving double for sins, . . 30 
 
 — How differentiated from ac- 
 
 cepting punishment of ini- 
 quity, ... . , 30 
 Kefrain divides the Prophecy 
 into three Books, by ending 
 chaps, xlviii., Ivii., and Ixvi., 
 
 10, 83 
 
 — Divides chap. xl. into three 
 
 strophes, by recurring in 
 verses 18 and 25, . . . 31 
 
 Bedemption, The new, shall more 
 
 than equal that from Egypt, 122 
 
 Eiickert's discovery not ade- 
 quately utilized, . , .10 
 
 Sabbath — Duty of observing, . 167 
 Salvation— Free to all, . 72, 73 
 
 Schmieder, 78 
 
 Scribes (Eabbinical) scrupulously 
 
 avoided making any changes 
 
 on the words of Scripture, . 22 
 
 " Servant of the Lord " — Who in 
 
 chap. xlii. , Israel or Messiah ? 
 
 39-47 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Smith (Dr.) — Dictionary of the 
 
 Bible, 22 
 
 Soferim or Scripturists, . . 21 
 
 " Sprinkle nations," . . .69 
 
 Standpoint of writer, usually 
 soil of Babylon, but varies 
 according to his subject, 23, 24 
 
 " Strangers and eunuchs," not 
 to be excluded from the new 
 covenant, .... 161 
 
 " Strengthen, Strong " — Play 
 
 upon the words, . 35, 105-107 
 
 Strophical division marked by 
 
 the pronouns, . . . 170 
 
 Temple — That its services were 
 
 still in daily exercise, . 20, 196 
 
 — That it was burnt up with 
 fire not borne out by chap. 
 Ixiv. 10, 11, . . . 19-21 
 
 Topics, or important results — 
 Three to be accomplished by 
 Israel's mission, . . 11-13, 99 
 
 " Wabfake " (Israel's) — Meaning 
 of, 27 
 
 " Wearied " — I have not wearied 
 thee, but thou hast wearied 
 Me, 128 
 
INDEX OF TOPICS 
 
 THE IM MANUEL PROPHECY. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " Almah " ( = an unmarried 
 female) — Why probably used 
 in place of B^thulah, the 
 more exact designation of a 
 virgin, 226 
 
 BuKGON, Dean — Important dis- 
 covery of Calendar of the 
 Flood 252 
 
 " Butter and honey " — Wliat 
 
 meant by 213 
 
 Catchword, 
 Cox, Dr., . 
 
 234 
 223 
 
 HiGHEK Criticism, True use to 
 
 be made of 205 
 
 Hosea — Typical allusion to his 
 name and the names of his 
 wife Gomer, and children, . 221 
 
 PAGE 
 
 baz, two names given to one 
 
 and the same child, . . 215 
 Import of names of Isaiah and 
 
 his sons, . . . 227, 2^1 
 I. Isaiah and II. Isaiah, their 
 
 unitj- of authorship, . . 197 
 
 NiGEB, 
 
 223 
 
 Prophecy, Interpretation of — 
 
 1. The Israelites were trained 
 to inquire into and under- 
 stand typical language and 
 acts, .... 218, 219 
 
 2. The very names and per- 
 sonal relations of individuals 
 formed part of the typical 
 language, . . . 220-222 
 
 Prophetess = One who foretells 
 
 or foreshadows the future, . 216 
 
 Immanuel = Mahar-shalal-hash- 
 
 ViRGiN, The, 
 
 225 
 
 EERAT A. 
 
 Lines 4 and 12 from top of page 181, Chur for Choir. 
 Line 6 from top of page 189, hunt for hurt. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
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