Vera. 1-4.-Coming jtul,gment upon Egypt. The historical allusions in this paEsi,.ge cannot be positively cleared up. So far as. the :discovery ofinscri!)tion!l in rec!)nt yjl&rs enables us to lift a little the veil which hangs:. over the land, we ~ee it· sb11,ken, to..the centre by the wars of rival chieftains. A v,ictory of Sargon over. the Egyptian king Shabatok, in B.c. 720, has been ma.de out from Assyrian inscriptions; and, again, the conquest of Egypt by Esarhaddon in B.C. 672, who divided the land into twenty email tributary kingdoms. The chapter may refer to this event, and it may not (see Cheyne'ij Introduction to the chapter). . . . .. L THE ADVENT OF JEHov AH. "He Tideth upon a swift cfoucl •: (comp. Pa. xviii. 10, "He rode upon a cherub, and did fly;" eomp. Pa. civ. 3). To study those roagnificeQt winged figures, which pass generally under the name of griffins, in our museums :and works of art, and as they are described by Ezekiel in the land of captivity. (t), may be the best way to realize the. sigµificaoce of . ibis poetry. . We :rul)et throw ourselves int.o that mood of mind in which all life and movement in natu,re.-is symbolic; of the infinite power and majesty of the Divine Being-audibly the wind, visibly the stror:,g gatherina cloud upon the horizon. This picture,. then, is a hint (1) of the majesty of J ehc;'va.h; (2) of his ascendency io the world of ~pirit. The " not gods " of Egypt sLall shake before him. He comes to judge them. 'l'he Go<l of Ierael is on his way t,o punish the teeming multitude8 of Memphis, Pharaoh, and Egypt, and their guds and kings. The idols are to be destroyed, their images arc to cease ; and the secular power, which has been supported by a. false religion, shall be laid low ~oinp. Exod. xii. 12; Jer. xlvi. 25;. Ezek. xxx.18). A ~trikiog contrast is sng:gested bet~een the pure b-ublime religion of J~hovah and the debased '."orship of the Egyp_tums,. whose reverence for cats, and bulls, and crocodileH, and on1ooe attmcted ibe so.tire ol later timee. How could such worshippers do other than tremble, their he.. u melting oil. x1x. 1=25,] THE· Il001{ OF 'l'HE PROPHET ISAIAH. 319
within ~em 11t. the approach of the light _that reveals and jurlges the voluntary dark- nesses and confusions of the mind? As Calvin remarks, we should behold the same thing exemplified in all retrolutions of kingdoms, which proceed solely from the hand of God, If the heart melts and the strength fails in men who are usually brave, and who ha,J formerly displayed great courage, thia ought to bE. ascribed to the j11dgmcnt of God. II. THE JUD0MENTS JJESORIBED. I. Internal disstnsion. One canton is set against anothor. There will be the feud of brother wilh brother, fellow with fellow, city with oity, an<i kingdom with kingclorQ. Men's hearts are in the hand of God. Whenever we see in a nation social dissension setUng in, unity and co-operation no longer poSBible, U is a sign that a new, force is at work, that a new light has come in, that existin;.; customs are being criticized, in short, that "God has awoke to judgment." Such times are times for self-scrutiny, for thoughtful study, for earnest pra)'er. 2. Tlte sense of tl,e holloW11ess of existing institutions. Terrible is it when a naiion suddenly awakens to find its stronii;est ideals reduced to empty and mocking delu8ions; terrible also for th~ individual. The "heart made empty." Sometimes it is a "science falsely so called;" sometimes a spurious faith, ,which is suddenly found to be a leaking cistern, and the water of .}ife has fled. Under these conditions there will be a feverish outbreak of old superstition. McQ will resort, to the "not gods" and to the "spilitualists "-the "mutterers,l' who pretend to give voices and messages from the othtr world. So rnen have done in our time, The history of the heart repeats itself from age to age. If men have not genuine religion, they must have the counterfeit of it; and they will love the lie and cling to the cheat when the possibility of the truth is no longer within reach. 3. Subjection to the tyrant. The land will be shut up into the hand of a hard lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them. And is not tyranny the last sign of Divine displeasure., as. viewed from another side it is the last sign of degeneracy and weakness in a nation's manhood? "Hence we see how great is the folly of men who are desirous to have a powerful and wealthy, king reigning over them, and how justly they are imnished for their ambition, though it cannot be corrected by the experience of every day, which.is everywhere to be seen in th~ world" (Calvin).-J. , Vere. 5-10.,-Thedrying~p of the Nil~; Nothing has left a deeper mark on the tra- ditions'of Eastern lands than the impressions of burning heat, the drying up of springs, the cons~q uent suffering. Egypt was the " gift of the N lie," Herodotus said. Well might the presence or absence of its waters denote the plea8ure or the wrath of Deity. I. THE DESCBII'TION. The Pelusiac arm of the Nile is dried. The neglected canals, dy'kes, and r.eservoirs become stagnant, the vegetation withers. The bright oasis of the Nile will melt away .into .the s11rrounding desert. The canals, first undertaken as a necessary work of civilization and culture, become-nat111ally neglected and choked up in time of civil war. II. '!'HE EFFECTS ON PJ,:ACEFUL INDUSTRY. Besides agriculture there were three main sources of Egyptian wealth:, the fishing, the linen manufacture, and the cotton manufacture. ,'£here was abundance ,of fish in t-he Nile, and it was a great article of fooJ. 'fhe combed·flax was prepared for the priests' clothing and for the mummy-cloths, and the cotton for dress in general. The result is uni versa! consternation in all ranks and classes. The wealthy classes, the "pillars " of the land, and the artisan population are alike in despair. III. THE COINCIDENCE OF THE SPIRITUAL AND THE NATURAL WORLD. A fertile land, an industrious peoplll, ,peace and plenty, the favour of God,-these are ideas that lie linked together in the thought of the prophet, forming one causal chain. The dis- pleasure of Jehovah, the effect in war, and this, Rgain, working desolation in the face of nature and cutting at the root of industry,-these form another chain of connected representations. From the sources and springs of the mighty Nile up to the seat of thought, pas3ion, and motion in the mightier- human heart, all are in the hands of Jehovah. Alike in every occupation of the industrial and of the political and intellectual.world, let us own our depamlcnce upon him.-J. Vere. 11-15.-Thefolly of statesmen. God bath made foolish the wis<lom of this world, in. Egypt as in other lands. A.ud the mRrks and characters of folly a.re every• where the ,same. 320 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [oa. xa:.1-26,