to the entire ohange of the heart of a people. spoken of ns a state of "rest and quletneea" And the wilderne&1 be a fruitful 8eld ; i.e. (see Pe. xcv. ll; Joi> iii. 17: Jer. vl. 16: '' the rorumunity long cursed with -be.rren- Matt. xi. 28; Htb. iv, 9-11, eto.). The ncss of good works" (vc-r. 1-0) "becomes "confidence" felt would be RU assured con• once more fruitful of them." And the fidonce, not a rash and foolish one, like that fruitful field be oounted for a for81t. An of the women of vers. 10, II. order of climnx seems to be hero intended. Ver. I 9.-When it ahall hail, oominir The midbar, the bare pasturage-ground, down on the forest; ro.ther, but it shall b<'Comcs a Ce.rmel, i.e. earcfully cultivated; hail in tM coming down (i.e. the destruction) the Carmel becomes like Lebanon, a rich of the forest. " The forest" has commonly an<l luxurious forest. Thero is no close i>een regarded as Assyria, on the strength parallel between this verse and ver. 17 of of eh. x. 18, 19, 33, 84. Mr. Oheyne, eh. xxix. The prophet is not tied clown by however, suggests Judah, or the high and his pre.ions metaphors. haughty ones of Judah, whose destruction Yer. 16.-Then judgment eha.11 dwell in was a necessary preliminary to the estai>lish~ the wilderness. In all parts of the kingdom ment of Christ's kingdom. May not God's of Christ, the lowest as well as the highest, enemies generally be meant? • The oity. "jndgment" and "righteousness" shall Nineveh (Lowtb, Gesenins, Rosenmiiller): prel'ail (comp. vcr. I). Jerusalem (Delitzsch, Knobel, Cheyne, Ver. 17.-The work of righteoUSD.888 Kay); "the city in which the hostility &hall be peace. Peace-a true pence, uot of the world to Jehovah will, in the latter n false one (Jer. vi. 14)-shall be the result dRys, be centralized" (Drechsler, Ne.gel)- of the reign ofrighteowmess. Wnr, quarrels, the "world-power," in fact. The last view enmity, hostile feelings, a.re all of them the seems to give the best eense. \ fruit of unrighteousness. In the kingdom Ver. 20.-Blesaed a.re ye that sow beside of ihe Messiah, just so far forth as it is all waters. The idyllic picture, begun in thoroughly esta.bli~hed, "the fruit of right- ver. 15, terminatee here. The people of eousness is sown in IJ>eace of them that the kingdom have a well-watered land (eh. 1 make peace " (J a.s. iii. 18 ). The effect of xxx. 25), wh.ere they live peacefully, eowing righteousness ; literally, the se"'ice of their seed beside the water-cour.es, and .-ighteoumeBB, which perhaps means here having abundant pasture for their ·peaceful "the wages of righteousness." Quietness beasts-the ox and the ass (comp. eh. xxx. and a.B811ranoe; or, quietness and oonfidence 24). A spiritual meaning doubtless under- (comp. eh. x.xx. 15). The final happiness lies the Ii tero.l sense. • of the blessed in Christ's kingdom is always
HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-Strict justwe a characteristic of Messuih's kingdom. Whatever may be eald;' and said with truth, of the Divine mercy, still there is no quality more characteristic of God's rule over man than bis justice. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right 1" (Gen. xviii. 25); "God is e. righteous Judge" (Ps. vii. 11); "He shall judge the world in righteousness, and minister jucl,,"lllent to the people in uprightness " (Ps. ix. 8). If this were not so, the whole foundations of morality would fall. And Mes- siab's rule was to be like God's-was, in very truth, to be God's. It had, therefore, to be strictly just. What is most wonderful in that marvellous scheme of salvation, which infinite wisdom conceived and decreed from everlasting, is that in it a way was contrived whereby "mercy and truth" might "meet to11:etber," and "righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Ps. lxxxv. 10). Attribures of God, seemingly contradictory, obtained a wondrous reconciliation by means of the sacrifice of Christ, which, though its whole import may transcend our faculties, was beyond all doubt an integer in the equation wherein mercy and truth met together, and reconoilement was made between "the v.Tath of man" and" the righteousness of God," The justice of Messinh's king• dom was shown- I. IN CHRIST'S SEVERE CONDEMNATION OF EVERY FORH OF HORAL EVIL, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites I" (Matt. xxiii. 13); "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt. vii. 23) ; "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give a.ccount thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt. xii. 36); "Out of the heart pro- ceed evil thoughts . . . and these defile a man" (Matt. xv. 19, 20). Obrist made no compromise with sin. In bis most signal act of mercy hiR words were, "Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no mere" (John viii. 11). ou, Xllll.1-20.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 625