the king b(-fore he songht his presence, or have le.Id up in ■tore. A portion of this wus the prophetic e.ftfo.tus now l'&me on him carried off" by Sennacherib in his first cx- suddenly. 'l'ho former is, on the whole, pedition (2 Kings xviii. 14-16); but the more probable. bulk of the temple trco.su1·es-the gifts of Yer. G.-:Behold, the de.ye oome; literally, many kings-remained untouched until thoy fl,,,, days [are] ~oming, or [are] approaching. were removed to Babylon by Nehuohnd- Of the exaot "times and seasons, which the nezzar (Dan. i. 2; v. 2; 2 Kings xxiv. 13; F11thc-r l,e.th put in his own power" (Acts nv. 13-17). i. 7), the prophets generally knew nothing. Ver. 7.-0f thy sons that she.ll iasue from They were mouth-pieces, t.o declllre the thee. Hezckinh he.d e.t the time, probably, Dh-ine will, not kecu-~·itted politicians, no son, since Manasseh, who succeeded him forccnsting result.s by the exercise of sharp- upon the throne, was not born till two yea.re sightedness and sagacity. To suppose that later. lleeides Me.ne.eeeh, he appears to Isaiah foresaw by mcr~ hnme.n wisdom the have had e. son, Ame.rie.b, who we.s an Babylonian conquest of Jud-, as Charles ancestor of the Prophet Zepha.niah (Zepb. the GreRt did the ravages of the Northmen i. 1). He may, of course, have e.lso had (K ""il!,arus, • Hebrew Prophets,' vol. i. others. His descendants, rather the.n his p. 42~), is to give him credit for a sagacity actual sons, seem to be here intended; and quite unue.mpled and psychologically im- the fulfilment of the prophecy is to be found possible. The kingdom of Bs.bylon was one in Dan. i. 3, where certain "of the king's among many that were strnggling hard to seed" a.re mentioned among the Isre.elites maintain independence against the gra.•ping who served As eunuchs ill the pe.le.ce of nnd encroaching Aeayria. From the time of N ebuche.dnezzo.r. Tiglath-Pileser IL she had been continually Ver. 8.-0ood is the word. While there losing ground. Both Sargon and Sennache- is resignation, there is no doubt something rib trampled her underfoot, overran her also of selfishness, in Hezekie.b's acceptance territory, captured her t.owne, and reduced of the situation. "Aprea moi le deluge" is her under direct Assyrian government. a saying e.ttributed to e. modern Frenchman. Till Assyria should be swept away, a Baby- Hezckiah's egotism id Iese pronounced nnd lonian couq nest of Palestine was impossible. less cynical. He thinks with gratitude of To suppose it wa.e like supposing a Russian the "peace and etee.dfaetnees" which a.re to conquest of Holland, while Germany be.re be "in bis de.y;" he does not dwell in the wav. Nothing short of the true pro- thought on the coming "deluge." The phetic afflatus, which ie God the Holy Ghost " word of the Lord" is "good" to him in speaking by the mouth of hie eerve.nts, more we.ye than one. It he.a assured him could have me.de such e.n anticipation. And of coming mu.lo offspring-of sons to sit upon with lsaie.h, as Mr. Cheyne se.ys, it ie "not his throne, and eave him from the curse of a mere presentiment; it is e. calm and childlessness. And it has e.eeured him of ~ettled conviction, be.Bed on e. direct revele.- e. rest for his nation-a. respite, so tbe.t the tiun, nnd confirmed by e. deep insight into Babylonian struggle shall not follow im- the laws of the Divine government." All mediately upon the .Assyrian; but there that is ill thine houae, Not, of course, exactly she.II be e. "bree.thing-spa.ce" (Ezra. ix. 8), nil that was there when Ise.ie.h spoke, but e. tr11nquil time, during which Israel mny all the wee.Ith that should be in the royal "dwell in e. peacaa.bla h11bit1ttion, and in pnle.ce when the time of the B11bylunie.n sure dwellings, 11nd in quiet resting-places" captivity arrived. (For the fulfilment, see ( eh. :utli. 18). 2 Uhron.. :n.1. vi 18.) That which thy fathers
HOMILE'l'ICS. Vere. 2--8.-0arnal joy the prelude to s~irit"'!'l s_orrow. _The 1Jab~lonia°: e~bassy, e. grand affair doubtless, comprising envoys Ill their rich clothmg '.'-nd with their Jewelled arms, camels bearing valuable gifts, prancing steeds, and a vast tram of slaves an~ atte~d- ants, was to H ez~kiah an inspiriting fact, a circumstance that gladdened '.'-nd excited him. With his impeifect knowledge of _gco~rap_hy, the ewbassy seemed to him to come fr?m lbe furthest limit; of the earth's c1rcuit--Jrom a remote, almost ~roi:n an u~known, reg10n (ver. 3). He harl hitherto not thought of attempting negot1:i,t1on_s with any p~wer further distant than Egypt. If the far-off Babylon courte,l his e.l11ance, where might lie nut expect to find frienJs? from what remote 9ue.rter might ~.e not look for ovcr~n.rcs? What wonder that "bis heart was lifted up" (2 Chron. xxxn._ 26)? t~e.t he TCJOlced, though with a carnal joy, that had n? substau_tial epi~itual basis_? Isaiah had warne\! him agaiu~t all "arms of flesh." Iaa1.ah had bidden hun "trust m the Lord Jehovah, 011. :X.UIX. 1-8.) THE BOOK OF TRE PROPHET lSAIAH. 59
and in Jehovah only. No doubt he had been especially warned against Egypt; but all tho reo~ons thnt were valid against Egypt were valid against Babylon also. Babylon was as idolatrous as Egypt; B:i.bylon was as licentious as Egypt; Babylon was as selfish in her e.ims as Egypt. Hezekiah's joy was thus a purely carnal joy, a rejoicing in his own honour, e.nd in the prospect of material aid from a tainted source. In the midst of his joy the prophet announces himself. "What said those men?" he stern]; asks. " Whence came tbey ? What have they seen? Ah I they have see!l thy treasures, have they ? All of them? Thou thinkest those treasures will make them thy friends. Nay; they will make them thy bitterest enemies. It will not be forgotten at Babylon that thy temple and thy treasure-house are worth plundering. The days will come when all the wealth of thy ,house, and of the temple, and of the holy city will be carried off to enrich that city. The days will come when thou wilt have disgrace from Babylon instead of honour. Thy descendants-they that have issued from thy loins-will serve the King of Babylon, will be eunuchs, doing the menial offices in Lis palace." In a lilomcnt the king's joy is gone, and replaced by sorrow. It is with a sad- dened spirit that be submits, and acquiesces in his punishment. '' Good is the word of the Lord "-he spares, even when he punished; he chastens me with a milder chastening than I deserved at his hands--" in his wrath he remembereth mercy" (Hab. iii. 2).