or "porcupine." Animals the.t delight in victims in their sleep. The word is pro- solitude ore certainly monnt, but the pe.r- bably o derivative from leilah, night, and tioule.r species is, more or less, matter of designates" the spirit of the night" -a mis- conjecture. He shall stretch out upon it ; chievous being, who took adva.ute.ge of the rather, and 0116 B11all Blretch out upon it. darkness to ple.y fantastic tricks. A Jewish The verb is used impersonolly, The line legend made Lilith the first wife of Adam, of oonfusion, and the stones of emptiness ; e.nd so.id that, having pronounced the rather, the line of desolation, and the plummet Divine Na.me as e. charm, she was changed of emptiness (comp. 2 Kings xxi. rn; Le.m. into o. devil. It we.a her special delight to il. 8; Amos vii. 7, 8), The destruction of murder young children (Buxtorf, ' Lex. cities we.a effected by rule and measure, Rabbin.,' ad voc.). The prophets, when probably because different portions of the they employ poetic imagery, a.re not tied tnsk were nssigned to different sets of down to fact, but are free to use the beliefs labourers, and, if the work was to be com- of their contemporaries in order iv ~eigbten pletely done, it required to be clone the force of their descri ptione. systematicolly. Here, the measuring-tape Ver. 15.-The great owl; rather, the 110d the plumb-line are to be those of tohu arrou,-snalce (Serpe118 jaculu.a). Gather under and vohu, or of the etemo.l chaos out of her shadow; i.e. "gather her young ones whieh God, by his word, produced order under her." There shall the vultures alao (Gen. i. 2). be gathered; rather, then eerily shall the Ver. 12.-They shall call the nobles, etc.; eulturea assemble. rather, as for her nobles, there shall be none Ver. 16.-Seek ye out of the book of the there for them to call to the kingdom. The Lord. By "the book of the Lord" aome nobles are termed horim, probably beoo.use understand a collected volume of Moses and the right of succession to the kingdom was the prophets, psalmists, etc., previous to vested in the descendants of the Horites, Isaiah's time, which they suppose to have from whom the Edomites took their territory existed in his de.y. Bnt there is no evidence (Gen. xxxvi. 20, 29, 30). 'fheso having of any such cdlection. It is better to under- died out, there would be no one to appoint stand the expression of Isaiah's own pro- o.s king, phecies, or of snob a collection of them es Ver. 13.-Thorns shall oome up in her ho had made previously to the composition palaoes. The "palaces" of Bozrah are of the present chapter. Nothing contained mentioned also by Amos (i. 12), and in the entire book should, he says, fail of are threatened with destruction by fire. its accomplishment. Even the minutiie of Amid their ruins should grow up thorns the present chapter should, each end all, and briare. It shall be an habitation of have their fulfilment, though not, perhaps, dragons; or, of jaclca!B (see the comment on in every case a literal one. My mouth . . . oh, xiii. 22). Owls j literally, daughters of his Spirit, The "mouth" of the prophet BCTeaming-a description better suited to the and the "Spirit" of God, which dictates to owl than to the ostrich, which some rege.rd him what he is to write, are in accord; and as the bird meant. the Spirit will bring to pass what the mouth Ver. 14,-Wild beasts of the desert . , , inspired by him hos "commanded." wild beasts of the island. In the original, Ver. 17.-He hath cast the lot !or them. uiyim and 'iyim-"wailere'' and" howlers" God, who allots to o.11 the nations of the -probobly "jackals and wolves,'' or" wolves earth their several countries, has now ond hyenBB." The satyr (see the com- allotted Idu.mea to the unclean beosts and ment on eh. xiii. 21). The aoreeoh owl. The birds and reptiles which have been men- word here used, lilith, ooours only in this tioned ; henceforth it is formally assigned place. It moy be doubted whether any to them ns their habitation. It is through- bird, or other animal, is meant. Lilit was out to be understood that ldumea stands for the no.me of a female demon, or wicked the world-power which resists God and fairy, in whom the Assyrians believed-a will be finally obe.sed and put to shame. being thought to vex and persecute her
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-10.-The terrors of lhe Lord not to be held back by the preacher, ,.Know- ing therefore the terror of the Lord," says the great apostle of the Gentiles, "we persuade men." There is in these modern times a sickly sentimentality prevalent, v,hich protests against the employment by preachers of arguments that address them- eelvos to the fears of their hearers, Delicate nerves nre not to be hurt by disagreea,ble images or highly wrought descriptions of sufferings. Ears accustomed to flatteries are . not to' be shocked by suggestio:Qs that nu~ke the listeners U:Qcomfortable. " Speak l~4l4Jl:, ?0 562 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [OB. xxuv. 1-.17,