LII. (1) AWAKE, AWAKE... — The repetition of the burden of Isa Ii. 9, 17, indicates, by a subtle touch of art, the continuity of thought. The call is addressed as before to Zion, as a castaway. It summons her to the highest glory. She is to put on the _garments of beauty,_ which belong to her as th... [ Continue Reading ]
SIT DOWN... — As Jerusalem has risen from the dust, the “sitting” here implies a throne, and so stands in contrast with that of Babylon in Isaiah 47:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
YE HAVE SOLD YOURSELVES... — Literally, _ye were sold._ The people had complained that Jehovah had “sold them” into the hands of their enemies (Psalms 44:12). “Not so,” is the answer. “There was no real sale, only a temporary transfer, and therefore Jehovah can redeem you at His own pleasure. A comp... [ Continue Reading ]
MY PEOPLE WENT DOWN... — Stress is laid on the unprovoked character of the oppression in the case both of Egypt and the Assyrian invaders Sargon and Sennacherib. It is possible that Assyria may be used in its wider sense as including Babylon. If so, the fact tends to the conclusion that the book was... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT HAVE I HERE...? — _i.e., What have I to do?_ As in Genesis 11:4, Jehovah is represented as deliberating after the manner of men. Again the people have been gratuitously, wantonly attacked; and their groans mingle with the taunting blasphemies of their conquerors. Has not the time come for Him t... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW BEAUTIFUL... — The image is reproduced, with variations, from Isaiah 40:9. There Zion herself was the herald proclaiming the glad tidings; here the heralds are seen coming to Zion, to tell her that her God is verily reigning, and their feet are beautiful on the mountains like those of an antelop... [ Continue Reading ]
THY WATCHMEN... — The sentinels see the heralds from their watch-towers (Isaiah 21:6; Habakkuk 2:1), and sing out for joy, as they see, not only afar off, but “eye to eye,” the presence of the God who has _become the King. _... [ Continue Reading ]
YE WASTE PLACES OF JERUSALEM... — The history of the return of the exiles in Ezra 1:3, seems a somewhat poor and prosaic fulfilment of the glorious vision; but it lies in the nature of the case, that the words of the prophet, contemplating the distant future, idealise that return, and connect it unc... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH MADE BARE... — The warrior preparing for action throws off his mantle, tucks up the sleeve of his tunic, and leaves his outstretched arm free.... [ Continue Reading ]
DEPART YE... — The command is addressed to the exiles in Babylon. They are not to plunder or carry off spoil that would render them unclean. They are to bring only “the vessels of Jehovah,” _i.e.,_ the gold and silver which had been taken from His temple, and which Cyrus restored by them (Ezra 1:7).... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL NOT GO OUT WITH HASTE... — The words contrast the exodus from Babylon with that from Egypt (Exodus 12:39; Deuteronomy 16:3). In the essential point, however, of Divine protection, the resemblance would be greater than the contrast. Jehovah would still be once more both the vanguard and the... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, MY SERVANT... — There is absolutely no connection between Isaiah 52:12, absolutely no break between the close of Isa Iii. and the opening of Isaiah 53. The whole must be treated as an entirely distinct section (all the more striking, from its contrast to the triumphant tone of what precedes... [ Continue Reading ]
AS MANY WERE ASTONIED... — The words point to the correspondence of the supreme exaltation following on the supreme humiliation. HIS VISAGE WAS SO MARRED... — The words conflict strangely with the type of pure and holy beauty with which Christian art has made us familiar as its ideal of the Son of... [ Continue Reading ]
SO SHALL HE SPRINKLE MANY NATIONS... — The words have been very differently rendered by, _He shall cause to spring up, i.e.,_ shall startle, _He shall scatter, He shall fling away,_ or, _Many nations shall marvel at him._ On the whole, however, admitting the difficulty of the passage, the Authorised... [ Continue Reading ]