The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 494

(I.e. plougbin_&") only. Bhlill ea.t olea.n pro- And healeth the etroke of their wound ; vender, Dehtzaoh says th11t b'lil khannitz is rather, the wound of his lt1oke; i.e. the wonnd "11 mMh, composed of oo.ts, barley, e.nd caused by the stroke wherewith he hH vetches, mode more so.voury with salt o.nd &mitten them. sour vegetables." Mr. Cheyne tro.nsle.tes, Vers. 27-33.-A PROPIIEOY o• At8YBJA'S " Shall oc,t mixed provender with se.lt." The general ideo. is clearly that they ebe.ll ho.ve DESTRUCTION. Mr. Cheyne regards this for their ordinury fooi.1 tho.t superior kind of passage as "a symbolic description of the provender which, according to existing judgment introduced by a theophany." But practices, wo.s reserved for rare occasions. is it not rather a poetical description of Winnowed with the shovel. Anciently, win- God's judgment on Assyria, which may be, nowing wo.s chiefly effected by tossing the gro.in into the nir with shovels in o. draughty probably is, a type of Lis final judgment plo.ce (see Wilkinson,• Ancient Egyptians,' upon an iniqnitous world? The mention of vol. iv. pp. 86, 89, 90). The fan wns scarcely Assyria in ver. 31 seems to be decisive in in use so ca.rly o.s lso.iah's time. He means favour of the prophecy being (primarily) of by mizrch probably a second instrument for special application to the circumstances of tossing the grain. Delitzsch translates, " winnowing-fork." the time. Ver. 25.-Rivers and streams of water; Ver. 27.-The Name of the Lord oometh rather, ,·ivulets, courses of water. Channels, from far. "The No.me of Jehovah" id along which wnter was conveyed for the scarcely distinguishable from Jehovah him- purpose of irrigation, are intended ( comp. self. Jehovah, who has long hid himself, Ezek. xlvii. 1-12; Joel iii 18). No doubt and seemed to keep himself remote from there is a secondary allegol'ica.l meaning worldly affairs, now is about to manifest his running through the whole description of glory, and interpose in the doings of men in Judo.h'a prosperity (vers. 23-26). In this a wonderfnl way. Burning with !us anger; allegorical intention the waters stand for rather, his anger burneth (comp. eh. xiii. 25). the atrenms of God's grace. In the day of And the burden thereof is heavy; "and the great slaughter. Equivo.lent to "the heavy is its grievousness." His tongue as a d11y of vengeance" (eh. xxxiv. 8)-the day devouring fire (comp. Exo<l. xxiv. 17; Dent. when God shall tread down his enemies. ix. 3; eh. ix. 19; x.17; nix. 6; xuiii. 14). Tho prophet p!l.sses from the immediate Ver. 28.-Ris breath, as au overflowing effect of Judah's repentance to a. broader stream, shall reaoh to the midst of the neck. view of who.t sh11ll hnppen when God's When the sacred writers nre oppressed by kingdom is established upon the e11rth. the tremendous character of the revelations When the towers fall ; i.e. when there ma.de to them, their metaphors are often shall be a general " pulling down of strong labonrecl and incongruous. Here, the mouth, holds," and a " casting down of every high in which there is o. tongue of fire, sends thing tho.t exalts itself against God" (2 Cor. forth a rush of breath, which is compared to x. 4, 5). an "overfiowi..ug stream, which reaches to the Ver. 26.-The light of the moon shlill be middle of the neck," and sweeps those who as the light of the sun. "The promise now try to cross it away (comp. Ezek. xlvii 5), rises higher and higher, and passes from To sift the nations with the sieve of vanity. eo.rth to heaven" (Delitzsch). All nature More incongruity, to be excused by the will become more glorious in the " lo.at writer's theme being such as to transcend times." Moonlight will be ns sunlight, nud nil language and 11ll imagery. One of the sunlight will be seven times brighter tha.n it Divine purposes, in nil violent crashes and is now. Again, there m11y be an under o.lle- revolutions, is "to sift nations" -to separate gorical sense. The light of truth will shine in ea.eh nation the good from the had, the with gwo.ter brillio.ncy, so that all men will precious from tho vile; and this is done be enlightened by it. " For the eo.rth shall with "the sieve of V11nity," i.e. the sieve be full of the knowledge of God, as the which allows the good coru to po.ss through, waters cover the sea" ( eh. xi. 9). As the separating from it, and keeping l:ack, all light of seven days; i.e. ns though the light th11,t is vile and refuse (comp. Amos ix. 9). of seven days were couceutro.te,l into one. There sh11ll be a bridle in the jaws of the In the day that the Lord bindeth up the people, oansing them to err. Another entire breaoh. At thnt period in the world's his- ohange in the metaphor. The result of tory whun God forgives the iniquities of his God's interference sho.11 be " to put a bridle people, aud condescends to reign over them in the jaws of the pwples," whereby the as their aotuo.l King, oil.her iu this pl'0sent hand of the Almighty will guide them to world or in" o. new henveu o.ud a new earth" thoi1· destruction. (Rev. xxi. I ; comp. c.h. !xvi. 22), whernin Ver. 2!>.-Ye shall have a song; literally, ~h'"l "dwoll righteousness" (2 Pet. iii. 13). to you will [then] be a 6011!7, Whlle the  THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [oH, xxx, 1-88.