The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 3

fearing disposition ; yet he maint&ins t.owards all of them an uncompro- mising e.ttitude of firmness with respect to all that bears upon religion, He concea.ls nothing, keeps nothing ha.ck, out of a. desire for court favour, "le it a ema.ll thing for you to weary men P " he says to one king; "but must ye weary my God also P " ( eh. vii. 13), "Set thine house in order," he says to another; "for thou shalt die, a.nd not live" (eh. x.xxviii. 1). Yet more bold is he in his a.ddresses to the nobles and the powerful official clMs, which in his day ha.d the chief direction of affairs, and was most unscrupulous in its treatment of a.dversaries (2 Chron, xxiv. 17-22; eh. i. 15, 21, etc.). He denounces in the strongest terms their injustice, their oppression, their grasping coveteousness, their sensuality, their pride and haughtiness (eh. i. 10-23; ii. 11-17; iii. 9-15; v. 7-25; xxviii. 7-15, etc.). Nor does he seek to curry favour with the people. It is "the faithful city" itself which has "become an harlot" (eh. i. 21). The nation is" a sinful nation" (eh. i. 4), the people are "laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doet'B, children that are corrupters" (eh. i. 4). They" draw near to God with their mouth, and with their lips do honour him, but have removed their hearts far from him" (eh. xxix. 13). They are." a rebellious people; lying children, children that will not hear the Law of the Lord " (eh. xxx. 9). But this boldness and severity for God, and uncompromising sternness where his honour is concerned, are counterbalanced by a remarkable tender- ness and compassion towards the individuals who fall under notice as having provoked God's anger. Not only does he "weep bitterly," and refuse to be comforted, "because of the spoiling of the daughter of his people" (eh. xxii. 4), but even the woes of a. foreign nation, like Moab, draw forth his compassion, and make his "bowels" thrill with sorrow (eh. xv. 5; xvi 9-11). He detests sin, but he mourns over the fate of sinners. For Babylon itself his " loins are filled with pain : pangs take hold upon him, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: he is bowed down at the hearing; he is dismayed at the seeing ; bis heart pants; fearfulness a:ffrights him : the night of his pleasure is turned into fear for him" (eh. ::oi. 3, 4). And as he sympathizes in the calamities and ederinga of all nations, so has he a heart wide enough, and a spirit comprehensive enough, to delight in their prosperity, their exaltation, their admission to the final kingdom of the Messiah ( eh. ii. 2 ; xi. 10-12; xviii. 7; xix. 23-25; :tl 5; xlii. 1-4; liv. 3, etc.). No narrow views of race-privilege, or even of covenant-advantage, hem him in, and cramp his sympathies and affections. Yet still he is not so cosmopolite as to be devoid of patriotism, or to view with unconcern anything which affects the welfare of his country, his city, his countrymen. Whether it be Syria and Ephraim that plot against Judah, or Sennacherib that seeks to come in and crnah her with an overwhelming flood of invr..sion, be is equally indignant, equally contemptuous (eh.vii 5; xu:vii. 22). Against Babylon, as the fated destroyer of the holy city and ravager of the Holy Land, he nourishes a. .i.ep-seated hostility, which shows itself in a.hnoi,~ eveey section of tbe  'l'HE BOO]{ OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. " book •(oh, xiii. 1-22; xiv. 4-23; xxi. 1-10; xiv. 1-3; xlvi. 1-11; xlvii. 1-15; xlviii. 14, etc.). Again, upon the enemies of God he lets loose, not only a storm of indignation and fierce anger, but also the keen arrows of his sarcasm and irony. A delicate vein of satire runs through the description of female luxury in eh. iii. (vers. 16-24). A bitter sarcasm points the description of Pekab and Rezin- 11 the two tails of these smoking firebrands" (eh. vii. 4). Against idolaters a somewhat coarser rhetoric is employed: "The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms : yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth : he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth ont his rnlo; he marketh it out with a line; be. fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and t.aketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an oak, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn : for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread ; yea, he maketh a god, and wor- shippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof 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 : and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worsbippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god" (eh. xliv. 12-,-17; comp. Jer. x. 3-16; Barnch vi. 12-49). While the prophet reserves sarcasm for certain rare occasions, he shows himself a thorough master of it, and pours a stream of scorn on those who provoke his scorn, which effectually disposes of their pretensions. Two other qualities must be noted in Isaiah-his spirituality and his tone of deep reverence. The formal, the outward, the manifest in religion, II.re with him absolutely of no account; nothing is of importance but the in.ward, the spiritual, the "hidden man of the heart." Temples are worth- less (eh. I.xvi. 1); sacrifices are worthless (eh. i. 11-13; lxvi. 3); the observance of days is worthless (eh. i. 14); attendance at assemblies is worthless (eh. i. 13); nothing has any value with God but real purity of llie and heart-obedience (eh. i. 19), righteousness, "a poor and contrite spirit" (eh. Ixvi. 2). The imagery which ho of necessity employs in describing spiritual conditions is drawn from material things, from the circumstances of our earthly environment. But it is plainly not intended in any literal sense. The abundance and variety of the imagery, some- times the incongruity of one feat11re with another (eh. lxvi. 24), show that it is imagery-a mere shadowing out of spiritual things by means of trope and figure. And Isaiah's roverenee is profound. His most usual title for God is "the Holy One of Israel;" sometimes, still more emphatically, "the Holy One;" once with special elaboration, "the high and lofty One that  INTRODUCTION TO