d he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide : for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth; and this man shall be the peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrance thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people "palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, &c.— "thus shall he (the Messiah) deliver us from the Assyrian, when "he comes into our land, and treads within our border." "They," adds he, "that are of Mr. Mede's opinion, that many prophecies "are yet to be fulfilled, at the conversion of the Jews, find no "difficulty in the exposition of this whole passage. For surely it "is none, that the future adversaries of the Jews, after their re turn, should be described under the name of the Assyrians and "Babylonians, their known cruel adversaries in Micah's time." Chandler's Defence, c. ii. § 1. p. 158. 66 "The peace." One of the prophetic appellations of Christ, Isa. ix. 6. is" the Prince of Peace," he is referred to Hag. ii. 9. by the term "peace," and part of the song of the heavenly host upon his birth was on earth peace," Luke ii. 14. Our translation has a comma only after the word peace but a full stop, which Bishop Chandler adopts, or a colon, seems preferable. The Assyrian," put figuratively for "the adversaries of "Christianity: those who oppose its establishment or progress." as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep. Micah v. 1-8. XXXVII. A prophetic Intimation of God's ultimate Forgiveness of the Israelites, and of his again receiving them into his Favour. No. 37. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy: he will turn again: he will have compassion upon us: he will subdue our iniquities: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. Micah vii. 18-20. CHAPTER IV. PROPHECIES- -LOOKING FORWARD TO CHRIST AND CHRISTIAN TIMES. IN ISAIAH a. FROM ABOUT 760 тo 698 YEARS BEFORE the birth OF CHRIST. XXXVIII. The first five Chapters of Isaiah seem to look to Christian Times. The beginning of the second undoubtedly does, but it is already set forth in the Extracts from Micah iv. There is not, however, the same certainty as to the rest, of those five chapters and the Extracts from them, therefore, are only inserted in the Notes b. a Isaiah prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. It was in his time, about 721 years before the birth of Christ, that the ten tribes which constituted the kingdom of Israel were carried away captive by the king of Assyria, and that kingdom utterly destroyed. The Babylonish captivity, when the Jews, the kingdom of Judah, were carried to Babylon, commenced about 606 years before the birth of Christ, and to that event some of the prophecies in Isaiah are supposed to refer. It is not improbable that some had a double view that they looked to that event in the first instance, and had a further relation to Christian times. That many of them had an exclusive application to Christ is beyond all question. b Isa. i. 1-28. The verses 2 to 9, in this chapter, speak of the rebellion and sinfulness of the Jewish nation, and denounce upon it desolation. Verses 10 to 15, intimate the inefficacy and abolition of sacrifice, and the inutility of such prayer as comes No. XXXIX. An Intimation of the spiritual Blindness of the Jews: of its Con only from the lips. Verses 16 and 17, state what God will require, viz. purity of heart, and rectitude of conduct. Verses 18 to 20, propose reward for goodness, and punishment for sin. Verses 21 to 23, foreshew the reprobate state of Jerusalem, verses 24, 25, intimate its destruction, and verses 26 and 27, its future purity and perfection. The supposition that it has never yet been in this state strengthens the probability that the whole relates to Christian times. Justin Martyr refers to verses 3 and 4, and 13, 14, 15, as if he thought they looked to Christian times, and to verse 7, as though it looked forward to the destruction of Jerusalem. 1st Apol. § 47. 62. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Sion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord ye rulers of Sodom, tinuance until after the Desolation of their Land, and of the give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hands, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations, sacrifice is an abomination unto me: the new moons and Sabbaths, the calls of assemblies, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth, they are a trouble unto me: I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes: cease to do evil: learn to do well seek judgment: relieve the oppressed: judge the fatherless plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. How is the faithful city become an harlot, it was full of judgment: righteousness lodged in it—but now murderers thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves, every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the mighty one of Israel,-Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: and I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy sin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called "The city of righteousness," "The faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressor and of the sinner shall be together: and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. Isa. i. 1-28. |