_ I. THE PRIF.'!TS AND PROPHETS OF THE Tnrm. They are seen reeling and staggering !n ~he midst of,_ or_ as they come from, their most sacred functions. It is a etrong and 1?d(gnant descr1pt1on of dmnke11ness in general (cf. Prov, xx. 1). What more humi- liating than the spectacle I To have "put an enemy in one's mouth to steal away one's brains," to be the thrall of one's own brutal appetites, and a "scoured dish of liquor" I " Ebrius mgeris multi!! miser undique curie Atque animi inoerto duitans errore vage.ris," How much worse the vice in those who need all the clearness of the brain, all the composure of the nerves, for the discharge of their high office! They should be" filled" with another "spirit" than this. The effect of the bodily intoxication must be to cloud the judgment, to confuse the perception of truth, And how truly the proverb must apply, "Like people, like priest" I If such the habits of the representatives of the people, what must the people themselves have been? II. THE sPmrT OF MOCKERY. (Vers. 9, 10.) "The drunkards mock Isaiah over their <mps. Does he not know what respectable persons he is dealing with-not like children, who need leading-strings, but educated priests and prophets?" (Cheyne). They scoff at him by taking up words often on his mouth. Whom would he teach knowledge 1 'l'his designates prophetic preaching (see eh. i. 3; xxxiii. 6). And tidings 1 Another word for re\'elation, for something "heard from Jehovah" (ver. 22; cf. eh. xxi. 10; liii. 1). Then they ridicule bis manner. He is always "harpiµg upon the sa,me string," afo·ays dwelling upon the same common places of morality and religion. "It is childish repetition," say they. But, in fact, ihe preacher must keep dwelling upon a few main points, so easily do they "slip by us" I (Heb. ii. 1). "Here a little, an,d there a little," it is a true description of popular preaching. It may seem " foolishness " to a scientifically trained understanding; but it has pleased God to save many by means of it. The gospel requires us to receive it as little children, and little by little, a say- ing here, a.nd there a verse, and again a proverb; this is how little children learn, ' III. REPLY OF THE PROPHET. He" retorts their own language upon them. Yes; it shall be, in fact, as you say. This childish monotone shall indeed sound in your ears. The description which you give of the revelations of Jehovah shall be exactly .applicable to the harsh laconic commands ·of a merciless invader. For Assyrian, 1thougb closely allied to Hebrew, was sufficiently different from it both in grammar and lin voce.bo.lary to seem a' stammering' or 'barbarous '-tongue to Isaiah's contemporaries. 1Tbe common diplomatic and commercial language of Syria and Assyria was Aramaic
,{see eh. :x:xxri. 11)" (Cheyne). (For the word rendered "stammer," i.e. speak unin- telligibly, as in a foreign tongue, cf. eh. xx.xiii. 19; Prov. i. 26; xvii. 5 ; Ps. ii. 4; ,Jix. 9; Job x.xii. 19.) The lessons which the people refuse to heed when taught them in their native t-0ngue, shall be pressed home upon them in the harsh accents of the barbarian. " Since the Divine patience has been lost upon them, a stronger way shall bt taken to force their attention. God will thunder in their ears what to them will appear jargon, the language of a foreign nation I " How prophetic the words in general L ,The ill taste on our part which makes truth unpalatable in its simplicity and gentle persua5iveness will be sorely criticized when we are forced to listen to hoarse and rude accents. The prophet's burden had been of rest-rest to the weary; of refreshment by ,hearty faith in Jehovah (eh. xx.x. 15; cf. Micah ii. 10; Jer. vi. 16). And now the old ·words, " line upon line," etc., will come back upon memory and conscience, to be .1•urorced by retreat, and flight, and fall, and captivity. "He that bath ears to hear, let him Lear." If truth sound barbarous, it is because we have not the true listening -faculty. If it be not sweet to the taste as honey, it is because the stomach is dis- ordered. If the Word profit not, it is because men do not "mix it with faith," i.e. ,with obedient and loving dispo,ilions. A wilful ignorance and blindness alone deprives of spiritual benefits; a stubbornness in turning away from the offered light, and choosing to remain in darkness (cf. eh. viii. 16; vi. 9; xxix. 11; Mark iv. 12).-J.
Vers. 14-22.-Jel,ovah pronounces judgment. The rulers or politicians aro addressed. They are stigmatized as " men of scorn" ( cf. ver. 22; eh. xxix. 20; Hos. vii. 6). 'l'ho scornfi.1l or scofil □ g habit implies excessive self-confidence on tho one band, on the other 0ll. nvtn. 1- -29.J '1'.EIE 13OOK O:F 'NIE PROPHET ISAIAH. 457