r,me&D; it must be from some of that sacred remnant acknowledging Jehovah, eltolling loudly his majesty, Israel's God 1 "He follows out and increases the 'Coneolatlone which he had l1riPfly sketched; for having formerly (eh. x. 19-22) said that out of that v~st multitude a few drops would be left, which would nevertheless overflow the whole ,rnrld, in like manner he now says that the small numbrr of the godly, who shall be le~ out of an abunrfant vintage, will nevertheless rejoice and utter a voice so loud that it will be heard in tl1e most distant lands. This w:i.s done by the preaching of the gospel; for as to the condition of Judrea, it appeared to be entirely ruined by it-the national guYernment was taken away, and they were broken down by foreign and civil "·ars in snch a manner that they could never rise above them. The rest of the world was dumb in singin~ the praises of God, and deaf to bear his voice; but ns the Jews were the firstfruits, they are here placed in the highest rank" (Calvin). 1. God can in e. moment recreate and restore his Church, e.s it were, out of nothing. From death he brings life, out of the solitude can cause songs of praise to resound, and con- \·erts the scene of mourning into one of joy. 2. Worshippers are fitly employed in ext.oiling God's perfections, and not their own claims to approbation. His benc·fits should excite our gratitude, and we testify it by singing his praises. 3. The time is to be looked forw:ua tow hen all nations will call upon the true God. To call upon the Namo uf Israel's God means the spread of true religion through the world. The knowledge of him merely as th;i wrathful and avenging God must strike man with dumbness; the knowledge of him as Redeemer must open the heart and unloose the tongue fo'r 1m1ise. 4. True religion and human blessedness are coincident. "Honour for the rig-h teous ! " will be the burden of the song; "Hope to the pious!" the LXX. render. The Jews are meant in the first place, as the chosen people; then probably the elect of all 1iations, as typified in them. " When the prophet predicted these things, how incredible might they a ppcar to be! for among the Jews alone was the Lord knowll nnd praised (Ps. lu:,i. 2). To them destruction is foretold, and next the publication of the words and the celebration of the praises of God; bt1t how shall these things be done, when the people of God had been destroyed? Hence we may infer that there were few who believed these predictions. But now that these events have taken place, it is our duty to behold with admiration so great a miracle of God, because, when the Jews had been not only beaten down, but almost annihilated, still there flashed from them a spark by which the whole world was enlightened, and all who were kindled by it broke forth int.o a confession of the truth" (Calvin). V. REVULSION OF FEELING. Before this spiritual restoration can come about, an interval of misery must be passed through. A cry of intense pain escapes the prophet's heart: "Wasting away is for me I wasting away is for me!" He sees and feels, with realizing ima~nation and sympathy, the barbarous oppression from which his people will suffer. Wave upon wave of calamity seems to roll in from the horizon. To escape from the "terror" is to fall into the "pit," to come up from the "pit" i ➔ only to be taken in the snare. The windows of heaven will be opened, and a new deluge will cover the earth, which will tremble as with universal shoc'\t. Then J e.hovah will "hold visitation upon the host of the highest in the height, and upon the kings of the earth upon the earth." 'l'hey will be imprisoned and shut up in the prison of the lower world. 'l'hen there will be a visitation after many days: whether for the purpose of punishment or pardun, the prophet clues not say, and commentators are divided. Amidst the obscurity of the passage, some truth that may be used for edification appears to glimmer. All that takes place on the earthly sphere has reference to a supernatural world. There are in a sense "angds" of nations and of men. 'l'he rabbinical sayini runs that "God never destroys a nation without having first of all destroyed its prince; i.e. the angel who, by whatever meaus he first obtained possession of the nation, has exerted an ungodly influeuce upon it. "Just as, according to the scriptural view, both good and evil angels attach themselves to particular men, and an elev-ated state of min-1 may sometimes afford a glimpse of this encircling company and this conflict of spirits; so do the angels contend for the rule over nations e.ud kingdoms,:either to guide tLem in the way of God, or to lead theru astray from God; therefore the Judgment upon nations will he a judgment upon angds also. 'l'he kingdom of spirit has its own history ru!rning 1,arallel to the destinies of meu " (Delitzsch). VL FINAL .A.POCALYl'SE OF DIVINE GLOBY. 'l'he moon blushes and the sun tul'IUI ou. xuv, 1-23,] THE BOOK OF 'rHE .PROPHET ISAIAH. 3()1
pale,.and Jehovah of hosts reigns, ,oyally upon Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and the elders or representatives of the people a.re permitted to ga.ze upon his glory (cf. Exod. u:iv. 9; xxxiv. 29). The glory of nature fades before the surpassing glory of tho spiritual and eternal. Our noblest sense is that of vision, and its exercise involveR that of imagination. The bright heavenly bodies delight us in part because they are signifi- cant and symbolic of light in the intellectual and moral sphere, of him who set them yonder, and who is the Light of the world. We can think of nothing more glorious than the light of the sun, except the glory of the Sun of Righteousness. That must oo seen in the soul, in the conscience. And to come finally to the beatific vision; irr purity of hea.l't to see God; to close with the great Object who lies behind all the finite objects of. our intellectual research; to enjoy that reposeful contemplation of the eternal beauty, of which every imperfect flash and hint reminds us in this twilight of life ;-this is the goal of spiritual aspiration· in every time,.as it was of the prophet's wishful thought, piercing through the darkness of the future.-J. I