ND in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst

me.

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my sal

vation.

[in God's salvation.

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. (M)

ceding chapter, . . . . and affords a striking instance of that method so common with the prophets, especially with Isaiah, of taking occasion from the mention of some great temporal deliverance, to launch out into the display of the spiritual deliverance of God's people by the Messiab." The beautiful assemblage of images by which the peace and happiness of his kingdom are set forth in this chapter, cannot be sufficiently admired. The wolf and the leopard, no longer fierce, lie down with the lamb and the kid; the calf and the young lion, are led in the same peaceful band, and that by a little child; also the heifer and the she-bear feed together, and lodge their young, of whom they used to be so jealous, in the same place; all the serpent kind are so harmless, that the sucking child may put his hand on the basilisk's den, and play on the hole of the aspic.

The Greek and Latin poets have painted their golden age in very beautiful colours, but the exquisite imagery of Isaiah stands unequalled and inimitable.

"It is hardly necessary to observe, that these figurative expressions of the prophet denote the power of the gospel in changing the hearts, tempers, and lives of the worst of men. Of this happy power there has been, in every age, a cloud of witnesses, although its most glorious era, predicted here, may not yet be arrived.

"The latter part of the chapter, in which there are many beautiful allusions to the exodus from Egypt, seems to refer principally to the future restoration of the Jews from their several dispersions, and to that happy period when they and the Gentiles shall stand together under the

banner of Jesus, and unite their zeal in extending the limits of his kingdom.”—Dr. Jn. Smith.

With this prediction the following hymu is evidently connected, by the opening words, "In that day thou shalt say," &c. Certainly whenever that day shall come which is here alluded to; when Israel shall be restored to their own land, under the standard of that Messiah whom they have so long rejected; it will be a matter of universal joy to all the church of God.

CHAP. XII.

(M) A Song of triumph in God's salvation." This hymn (says Bishop Lowth seems, by its whole tenor, much better calculated for the use of the Christian church, than for the Jewish, in any circumstances, or at any time that can be assigued. The Jews themselves seem to have applied it to the times of the Messiah. On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, they fetched water in a golden pitcher from the fountain of Shiloah, springing at the foot of mount Sion, without the city: they brought it through the water-gate into the temple, and poured it, mixed with wine, on the sacrifice, as it lay on the altar, with great rejoicing." Some add, that during this ceremony, they sung at least a part of this hymn, (ver. 3,) looking for ward to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which they expected in the times of the Messiah, and of which this ceremony was a very significant emblem. Thus the Jerusalem

Talmud expounds it, and in this sense our
Saviour applies the passage to himself, and
to the blessings of gospel times.
John vii. 37, 39.)

(See

upon-Marg. "Proclaim."-His do`ngs-Lowth, "His mighty deeds."

Ver. 6. Inhabitant-He'. "Inhabitress."

Judgment denounced]

CHAP. XIII.

THE burden of Babylon, which

Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.

4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:

8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

[against Babylon.

11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the

sword.

16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

LXX, supplies, "The remnant.ma turn-Lowth, "Look," &c.

-They shall every

Ver. 17. Not regard silver.-It is remarkable, that Xenophon makes Cyrus open a speech to his army, particularly the Medes, with telling them, he knew that they had not accompanied him with any view of acquiring wenith.

Ver. 18. Their bows shall dash.-The Persians (and probably the Medes) used long bows, and if they were made of metal (as Ps. xviii. 35.) they might well dash men to pieces.

Ver. 19 As when God overthrew-Heb, "As the overthrowing of." See Gen. xix. 24.

A song of exultation]

21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. (N)

CHAP. XIV.

FOR the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the stranger shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they

CHAP. XIII.

3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased!. the golden city ceased!

5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

9 Hell from beneath is moved for

(N) Judgments denounced against Babylon. This and the following chapter (deducting the last five verses) contain the fate of Babylon, and its destruction by the Medes and Persians. The oracle was delivered, according to Vitringa and Bp. Lowth, nearly 200 years before its accomplishment. The captivity itself, which the prophet here takes for granted as a thing certain, without mentioning it, did not fully take place till about 130 years after this prediction was delivered; and the Medes, who are expressly mentioned (ver.7.) as the principal agents in overturning this great monarchy, and releasing the Jews from their captivity, were at that time a people of no account, forming only a province of the Assyrian empire.

The prophecy divides itself into two parts; the first is remarkable for sublimity of thought and elegance of style, and the latter (chap. xiv.) is a triumphant ode, of unequalled excellence. The subject opens with the command of God to assemble the

"Upon

forces destined for this service. this, the prophet (says Bp. Lowth) immediately hears the tumultuous noise of the different nations crowding together to his standard; he sees them advancing, prepared to execute the divine wrath. They come from a far country. . . . to destroy the whole land.' He proceeds to describe the dreadful consequences of this visitation; the consternation which should seize those who are the subjects of it; and transferring unawares the speech from himself to God, (ver. 11.) sets forth, under a variety of the most striking images, the dreadful destruction of the inhabitants of Babylon, and the everlasting desolation to which that great city was doomed."

As to the magnitude of this city, it is described by the ancients as a square, 45 miles in compass, enclosed by a wall, 200 feet high, and 50 broad, with 100 gates of brass. In the middle was the tower of Babel, (See Note on Gen. xi. 4.) and the famous hanging gardens, founded on arches. (See Lowth in loc.)

Ver. 21. Doleful creatures Lowth, "Howling monsters. — Owls - Heb. Daughters of the ostrich."Satyrs-These are commonly supposed to have been goats; but Doederlein supposes them to have been a species of ape, "shaggy, like goats." Harris's Nat. Hist. of the Bible, in Satyr.

Ver. 22. Wild beasts- Lowth, "Wolves.". Houses-Marg. "Palaces."

CHAP. XIV. Ver. 2. Whose captives they wereHeb. "That had taken them captives."

Ver. 3. In the day-Lowth, In that day." Ver. 4. This proverb - Heb. Maskal; Lowth, "Parable."-The golden city-Marg. "The exactress of gold."

Ver. 6. A continual stroke- Heb." A stroke without removing,"

A song of exultation]

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to trmeble, that did shake kingdoms;

17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast de

[over fallen Babylon.

stroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. 31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city: thou,

Ver. 9. Hell- Marg. "The grave;" Lowth, "Hades;" i. e. the invisible world.The chief ONES-Heb. "Leaders:"Lowth, "The great chiefs.'

Ver. 12. Son of the morning-Or," Morning star." Ver. 17. That opened not the house of his prisoners-Lowth. "That never dismissed his captives to their home."

Ver. 19. As the raiment .. of the slain-Lowth, "With the slain."

Ver 22. The nephew-Lowth, "Son's son."

:

Ver. 23. I will sweep it with the besom of destruction-Lowth reads, "I will plunge it in the miry gulph of destruction," following the LXX and others: but Aristophanes (Par. 59) is quoted as using the same figure: "O Jove.. lay down thy besom: sweep not Greece." (See Christ. Observer, July, 1825)

Ver. 28. In the year, &c.-This evidently begins a new subject, and gives the date of it. Ver. 29. Cockatrice-Marg. "Adder."

Babylon]

whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

[is fallen.

32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it. (0)

CHAP. XIV.

(0) God's mercy to Israel. A song of triumphant exultation over fullen Babylon. The deliverance of Judah from captivity, the immediate consequence of this great revolution, is here gratefully mentioned, without being enlarged upon, and this introduces, with the utmost propriety, the triumphant song which follows; the beauties of which, the various images, scenes, persons introduced, and the elegant transitions from one to another, (says Bp. Lowth) I shall here endeavour to point out.

"Ver. 4. A chorus of Jews is introduced, expressing their surprise and astonishment at the sudden downfal of Babylon, and the great reverse of fortune that had befallen the tyrant, who, like his predecessois, had oppressed his own, and harassed the neighbouring kingdoms. These oppressed kingdoms, or their rulers, are represented under the image of the firtrees, and the cedars of Libanus, frequently used to express any thing in the political or religious world, that is super-eminently great and majestic: the whole earth shouteth for joy: the cedars of Libanus utter a severe taunt against the fallen tyrant, and boast their security, now he is

no more.

"The scene is immediately changed; and a new set of persons is introduced; the regions of the dead are laid open, and Hades is represented as rousing up the shades of the departed monarchs: they rise from their thrones to meet the king of Babylon at his coming: and insult him on his being reduced to the same low estate of impotence and dissolution with themselves. This is one of the boldest prosopopoeias (or personifications) that ever was attempted in poetry; and is executed with astonishing brevity and perspicuity, and with that peculiar force which, in a great subject, naturally results from both. The image of the state of the dead, or the infernum poeticum (the poetical hell) of the

Hebrews, is taken from their custom of burying those at least of the higher ranks in large sepulchral vaults, hewn in the rock. Of this kind of sepulchres there are remains at Jerusalem now extant; and some that are said to be the sepulchres of the kings of Judah. (See Maundrell, p. 76.) You are to form to yourself an idea of an immense subterraneous vault, a vast gloomy cavern, all round the sides of which there are cells to receive the dead bodies; here the deceased monarchs lie in a distinguished sort of state, suitable to their former rank, each on his own couch, with his arms beside him, his sword at his head, and the bodies of. his chiefs and com panions round about him. (See Ezek. xxxiii. 27.) These illustrious shades rise at once from their couches, as from their thrones, and advance to the entrance of the cavern to meet the king of Babylon, and to receive him with insults ou his fall.

"The Jews now resume the speech: they address the king of Babylon as the morning star, fallen from heaven; as the first in splendour and dignity in the political world, fallen from his high state, they introduce him as uttering the most extravagant vaunts of his power, and ambitious designs, in his former glory: these are strongly contrasted in the close, with his present low and abject condition.

"Immediately follows a different scene, and a most happy image, to diversify the same subject, and to give it a new turn, and an additional force. Certain persons are introduced, who light upon the corpse of the king of Babylon, cast out and lying naked on the bare ground, among the common slain, just after the taking of the city; covered with wounds, and so disfigured, that it is some time before they know him. They accost him with the severest taunts, and bitterly reproach him with his destructive ambition, and his cruel usage of the conquered, which have deservedly brought upon him this igno minious treatment, so different from that

Ver. 31. Thou, whole Palestina, art dissolvedLowth, O Philistia, thou art altogether sunk in consternation."....From the north cometh a smoke -that is, says Bp. Lowth, a cloud of dust, raised by Hezekiah's army from Jerusalem..... And one shall be alone, &c.-Marg. "He shall not be alone in his