Ver. 6.-A grave question with many applications. "How shall we escape?·• Egypt being reduced, no <lefence remained for Israel against the overwhelming power of Assyria. "'l'his was the cry of despair nt Jerusalem. But in such despair was her only hope. 'l'he <lestruction of Egypt and Ethiopia by the arms of Sennacherib weaned her from looking any longer to earthly powers for help, and raised her eyes lo heaven" (Bishop Wordsworth). The expression, or exclamation, may be- I. APPLIED TO PERSONAL TROUBLES,. Oftentimes in life we are brought to extremities; we know not what to do, nor which way to t.ake. In our difficulties, hedged in on every side, we cry out," How sball we escape? n The Israelites cried thus when the Red Sea rolled before them, a wall of mountains barred the path, and an enraged foe hurried upon them from behind. The secret of peace and deliverance is, "Trust in the Lord, who maketh ways in the seas, and path:, in the great waters." II. APPLIED TO THE POWER OF srn. When it has become the enslavement of fixed habit. Compare St. Paul's exclamation," 0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" And see his triumphant answer," I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." IIL APPLIED TO THE PENALTIE~ OIi' s1muNl'. The "fearful looking for of 136 THE BOOK OJ!' THE PROPHET ISAIAH, [oH. xxx. 1-17.
judgment and fiery indignation, whioh shall consume the adversa.rles," The utter despair of e~cape is pictured in Scripture by the people crying to the very rocks to c.over and hide them from the wrath of God and of the Lamb, IV. APPLIED TO OUR PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES OF SALVATION. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews finds expression for this (ii. 2, 3): "If the word spoken by ang<'ls was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recom- pense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" This grave quest.ion-this great cry-may be the cry of hopeful self-humiliation and distrust; and then to it God will be sure to respond. But it may be the cry of hopeless despair, the conviction that the day of grace is passed, that it is "too late;" and then God's response mu~t be holding aloof, and letting the overwhelming judgments come, if even thus at last the trutt humiliations may be wrought.-R. T.
EXPOSITION. uxvii. 9 (compare Major Palmer's • Sinai,' CHAPTER XX1 p. 88). It oometh. What cometh? Dr. Ven. 1-10.-THE BUllDEN OF TBl!I DE- Kay sCLys, "God's visitation; " Rosenmiiller, SERT OF THE SEA. This is a short and "e. numerous army." But is it not rather eome'l>h11.t vague, but highly poetic, "bnr- the " grievous vision" of the next verse? From the desert. The great desert bound- clen of Babylon" It is probably an earlier ing Palestine on the enst-a truly "terrible prophecy than eh. xiii. and xiv., and perhaps land." Across this, as coming from Baby- the first revelation me.de to Isaiah with lonia to Palestine, seemed to rush the vision respect to the fall of the great Clie.ldee.n which it was given to the prophet to see. r..apitnl It exhibits no consciousness of the Ver. 2.-A grievous vision ; literally, 11 fact that Babylon is Jude.h's predestined hard msfon; not, however, "hard of inter- pretation" (Kay), but rather "hard to be destroyer, and is expressive rather of sym- home," "grie,·0111::1," "calamitous." The pathy ('l'ers. 3, 4) than of triumph. Among treaoherous dealer dealeth treaoheroualy ; recent critics, some suppose it to refer to rather, perhaps, the robber robs (Knobel); Sargon's capture of the city in B.O. 710; or, the ,,,i,olent man uses violence (Rosen- but the objection to this view, from the m iiller). The idea of faithlessness passes out of the Hebrew boged occasionally, and entire absence of all reference to Assyria as is unsuitable here, more especially if it is the conquering power, and the mention of the army of Cyrus that is intended. Go up, " Elam " and "Media." in her pla.ce. is 0 Ele.m. The discovery the.t Cyrus, at the absolutely fate.I to it. There can be no time of his conquest of Babylon, bore the reason.a.bi.. doubt the.t the same siege is title of " King of Ansan," not "King of Persia," coupled with the probability the.t intended as in eh. xiii, where also Media is "Ansan" was e. part of Elam, lends e. pecu- mentioned (ver. 17); e.nd there are no real liar interest to these words. Isaiah could grounds for questioning th"-t the event of not describe Cyrus as " King of Persia," which the prophet is made cognizant is and at the same time be intelligible to his that siege e.nd capture of Babylon by Oyrns contemporaries, since Persia was e. country utterly unknown to them. In using the the Great which destroyed the Babylonian term " Elam " instead, he uses that of a empire. country known to tLe Hebrews (Gen. Ver. 1.-The desert of the sea. The xiv. 1), adjoining Persia, e.nd, at the time of Ise.ie.nic authorship of this title is doubtful, his expedition against Babylon, subject to since " the desert of the sea " is e.n expres- Cyrus. lleBiege, 0 Media. Having given sion elsewhere wholly unknown to biblical "Elam " the first place, the prophet assigns writers. Some regard "the see." as the Eu- to Media the second. Eleven years before phre.tes, in which case "the desert of the sea" he attacked Babylon, Cyrus had made war may be the we.ste tract west of the Euphrates, upon Astyagcs (Isluvegu), King of the extending thence to the eastern borders of Medes, had captured him, and become king Pe.lestine. As whirlwinds in the south of the nation, with scarcely any opposition pe.aa through ; re.tli<:r, a.a whirlwind, in (see the' Cylinder of Nabonidus '). Hence the ,wth country, sweeping along. The the Medes would naturally form an impo1·- •· rnuth country" is the.t immediately to the tant portion of the force which he led •outh of Judrea. Iti. liability to whirlwinds against Babylon. All the sighing thereof is noticed in Zech. ix. 14 e.ud in Job have I made to oeaee. The "sighing" caused on. xxr. 1-17.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 337