of prophetical revelation, that so minute a contrary to the evidence. Out of fourteen mo.tter o.e the nomo of 11 mo.n should have Achmmeniau kings, two only bore the name; been o.nnounced in prophecy more than a a.nd they bore it a.a their one a.nd only century before hie birth. '.l'here ie, however, persona.I appellation. It was also home by the paro.llel coee of Josiuh, who, according an Achmmenian prince who had no other to the o.uthor of the Books of Kings, woe name. It is as purely a proper name tts announced by name more than three centu- Cambyses, or Xerxes, or Darius. The theory 1iee beforo hie birth (1 Kings xiii. 2). And of Dean Plumptre (' Biblical Stndies,' p. there a.re the extremely minute facts noted 195) must therefore be set aside as untenable, in Don. xi., which were prophetically de- e.nd we must face the fact that the great clared from two centuries to three centuries Cyrus, who reigned from B.C. 559 to B.C. 529, a o.nd half before they happened. It is, per- is mentioned in prophecies attributed to a haps, assuming that we know more than we writer whose death cannot be placed much really do know about the object a.nd laws of later than B.c. 700. The name which the prophetic utterance, to le.y it down that there Greeks expressed by Kopas and the Roma.us can be no minute prophecy except when the by "Cyrus," is in the original Persian prophet is living in the midst of the events. Kurush, in the old Babylonian Kuras, and It is certainly a very marvellous thing that in the Hebrew Koresh. He is my shepherd; Isaiah, Ii ving a.t the close of the eighth and i.e. not e. mere ordinary king, who was often the beginning of the seventh century B.c., called "the shepherd of his people (1ro1µ.1Jv should mention e. Iring by name who did not 71.a.wv)," but" my shepherd "-the shepherd ascend the throne till the middle of the of my people, who will tend them and care sixth ; but no one can suppose tbe.t God for them. And shall perform (literally, could not have me.de such a. revelation to accomplish) all my pleasure. Cyrus is said him if he pleased. An attempt to minimize by Josephus to have had this prophecy the marvel, without postulating two Isaiahs, pointed out to him on his conquest of Baby- has been made by the supposition that lon, e.nd to have thereupon determined to " Cyrus" was not reo.lly a proper name, but fulfil what we.a written (' Ant. Ju<l.,' xii. I, an old title of lhe Persian (Achmmenian) § 2). His edict, reported by Ezm (i. 2-4), kings, signifying" the sun," a.nd that Ise.ie.h, contained a st.atement tho.t "Jehovah had therefore, only meant to point out Persia. e.s charged him to build him a house at Jeru- the power which would destroy Babylon, salem." It is difficult to see any sufficient which he ha.d already done in effect in eh. political object for his restoration of the xxi. 2. But, in reality, there is no sufficient Jews to their country. Thou she.It be built; grounn for either of the two statements (1) rather, it shall be built. Thy foundation that Cyrus meant "the enn," o.nd (2) that shall be la.id; literally, it shall be founded. it was an old titular no.me of a.II the Persio.n The decree of Cyrus found by Darius at kings. That "Cyrus" meant "the sun," Ecbatana required that "the foundations of rests upon the weo.k authorities of Pluta.rch the house should be strongly la.id" ( Ezra vi. nnd Ctesio.s, a.nd ha.a been disproved by S,r 3), a.nd prescribed its dimensions and mate- H. Rawlinson (' Cuneiform Inscriptions,' rials. (On the actuo.1 laying of the founua- vol. ii. p. I 12). That it was e.n old titular tions, see Ezra. iii. 8-13.) no.me of o.11 the Persian kings is directly
HOMILETICS. Vers. 3, 4.- Water a symbol of Divine grace. It has been shown (in the comment on ver. 3) (1) how this symbolism pervades the prophecies of Isaiah; and (2) what an echo it found in the teaching of our Lord. An analogy thus recommended. seems entitled to be viewed as something more tho.n poetic imagery, and may properly be made the subject of our serious thought. In what respects, then, we may ask, does the symbolism hold? l. WATER IS COMMON, ABUNDANT, FREELY GIVEN TO MANKIND AT LARGE. So is it with Divine grace. Christ, the Light of the world, lighteth every man that cometh into it (John i. 9). What men call "the light of nature" is an illumination poured by God into the soul, and this light is common to all. It shows men the way that they 8hould walk in; it enables them to discern between right and wrong; if they would follow it, it would guide them to heaven. Nor does Divine grace stop at this point. To those who struggle to do right God's assisting grace is never wanting. His Spirit strives with o.11 men (Gen. vi. 3); his mercy is over all his works (Ps. c3.lv. 9); he is "no respecter of persons" (Acts x. 34). IL WATEB IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO LIFE. Nothing living, whether animal THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAlAII. [on. XLIV. 1-28.