The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 414

HOMIL:ETJCS. Vere. 1-18.-Thanlesgiving eh~ employment of the saints in bliss. The prophet, in this sublime passRgc of his prophecy, carries us with him within the veil, and reveal11 to us the very words, or, at the least, the general tone and tenor of utterances, which the saints make when they have passed from earth to heaven, and stand in the very presence of God. The words are, as we should have expected, mainly words of praise and thanksgiving. The saints praise God- I. FoR THE BLESSINGS OF THEIR ACTUAL STATE, which is (1) one of complete security; (2) one of perrect peace; (3) one of the fullest and liveliest trwt. II. FoR HIS MERCIES m THE PAST. (1) Towards themselves; (2) towards hie enemies. Among his mercies to themselves they reckon (a) deliverance from the malice of their foes; (b) direction of their own paths; (c) chastisements which brought them back to God when they were straying from his ways. III. FoR HIS GLORIOUS ATTRIBUTES. E.g." Jehovah is everlasting Strength" (vcr. 4); He is "the Upright One" (ver. 7), foll of" majesty" (ver. 10) and" glory" (ver. 15); he is all-powerful (vers. 5, 11, 14), all-gracious (vers. 3, 12, 15), a sure Refuge in trouble (ver. 16). While tho occupation of the saints in the heavenly sphere is mainly to praise God, they also confess before him (1) their rebellions against him while in this life (ver. 13) ; and (2) their impotency to effect anything important by their own strength (ver. 18). It is remarkable that the confession of weakuess is that with which the song ends. Must we not conclude that humanity, brought into the presence of God, is at first penetrated by no feeling so much as by a sense of its own utter power- lessness and nothingness? "Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Ps. viii. 4), is the cry that rises to man's lips instinctively. Later on, he may forget self, and be absorbed in the contemplation of the High and Holy One, and be content to hymn ceaselessly the Revelation songs, "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Rev. vii. 10); "Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev. vii. 12); "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; jusi and true are thy ways, thou King of saints n (Rev. xv. 3). Happy for him when self-consciousness disappears, and God is to him "All in all"! Ver. 19.-The doctrine</ the resurrection. The belief in a future life and a future judgment was held by the Assyrians and Babylonians from a time anterior to the departure of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. A very elaborate doctrine of a resur- rection was also held by the Egyptians from an extremely remote antiquity. The Jews, on the other band, do not appear to have bad definite notions on the subject until the period of the Captivity. It is, perhaps, possible to account for the indistinct and undeveloped state of the doctrine among the early Israelites by the effect upon them ot their Babylonian and Egyptilln experiences. I. THE BABYLONIAN VIEW, with which they came into contact in Ur of the Chaldee., was the following. A life beyond the grave was expected; but the duration of thi! life was quite uncertain. Merodach, a sun-god, was the Dayan nisi, or "judge of men," and by his favour the souls of the just were received into a heavenly abode, where they enjoyed life and happiness(' Religions of the Ancient World,' p. 63). The wicked descended at death into an infernal region, where there was no enjoyment, and (appa- rently) suffered different degrees of punishment according to their deserts. Fire was, perhaps, an agent in their suffering. II. 'l'HE EGYPTIAN VIEW was far more complete and elaborate. The Egyptians held that the soul was quite distinct from the body, and that, immediately after death, it descended into the lower world (Amenti), and was conducted to the" hall of truth," where it was judged in the presence of Osiris and of his forty-two assessors, the "lords of truth" and judges of the dead. Anubis, the son of Osiris, who was called " the director of the weight," brought forth a pair of scales, and, after placing in one sca1e a fiaure or emblem of truth, set in the other a vase containing the good deeds of the d~ceased, Thoth standing by the while, with a tablet in his hand, whereon to record j lBAI4H, j Ii  THE BOOK OF THE ,PROPHET ISAIAH. [Cll, xxv1. 1-21.