Isaiah 40 commentary

ISAIAH 40 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

INITIATION INTO ISAIAH

by

J. Vernon McGee, Th.D., LL.D.

Copyright @ 1960

THIRD DIVISION

SALVATION (Poetry) Chapters 40-66

This is the third and last major division of the prophecy of Isaiah. It is in contrast to the

first major section. There we had judgment and the righteous government of God. In this

section we have the grace of God, the suffering and glory to follow, here all is grace and

glory. The opening statement comfort ye sets the mood and tempo for this section.

It is this section that has caused the liberal critics to postulate the Deutero-Isaiah

hypothesis. A change of subject matter does not necessitate a change of authorship. It is

interesting that for 1900 years there was not a word about a second Isaiah. John refers to

this section as authored by Isaiah. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (John 1:23).

Our Lord likewise referred to this section as written by Isaiah (Luke 4:7-21). There are

numerous other references which confirm the authorship of Isaiah. Philip used it to win an

Ethiopian to Christ. The beauty and wonder of this section will come before us as we

proceed in a detailed chapter discussion.

Comfort for Gods People

1 Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

1.BARNES, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people - This is the exordium, or the general subject of this and the following chapters. The commencement is abrupt, as often happens in Isaiah and the other prophets. The scene where this vision is laid is in Babylon; the time near the close of the captivity. The topic, or main subject of the consolation, is stated in the following verse - that that captivity was about to end, and that brighter and happier days were to succeed their calamities and their exile. The exhortation to comfort the people is to be understood as a command of God to those in Babylon whose office or duty it would be to address them - that is, to the ministers of religion, or to the prophets. The Targum of Jonathan thus renders it: Ye prophets, prophesy consolations concerning my people. The Septuagint renders it, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith God. O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem; comfort her. The design of Isaiah is doubtless to furnish that which should be to them a source of consolation when amidst the deep distress of their long captivity; to furnish an assurance that the captivity was about to end, and that brighter and happier times were to ensue.

The exhortation or command is repeated, to give intensity or emphasis to it, in the usual manner in Hebrew, where emphasis is denoted by the repetition of a word. The word rendered

comfort (from nacham) means properly to draw the breath forcibly, to sigh, pant, groan; then to lament, or grieve Psa_90:13; Jer_15:6; then to comfort or console ones-self Gen_38:12. then to take vengeance (compare the note at Isa_1:24). All the forms of the word, and all the significations, indicate deep emotion, and the obtaining of relief either by repenting, or by taking vengeance, or by administering the proper topics of consolation. Here the topic of consolation is, that their calamities were about to come to an end, in accordance with the unchanging promises of a faithful God Isa_40:8, and is thus in accordance with what is said in Heb_6:17-18.

My people - The people of God. He regarded those in Babylon as his people; and he designed also to adduce such topics of consolation as would be adapted to comfort all his people in all ages.

Saith your God - The God of those whom he addressed - the God of the prophets or ministers of religion whose office was to comfort the people. We may remark here, that it is an important part of the ministerial office to administer consolation to the people of God in affiction; to exhibit to them his promises; to urge the topics of religion which are adapted to sustain them; and especially to uphold and cheer them with the assurance that their trials will soon come to an end, and will all terminate in complete deliverance from sorrow and calamity in heaven.

2. CLARKE, Comfort ye, comfort ye - The whole of this prophecy, says Kimchi, belongs to the days of the Messiah.

3. GILL, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. The Babylonish captivity being predicted in the preceding chapter, for the comfort of God's people a deliverance is promised, expressed in such terms, as in the clearest and strongest manner to set forth the redemption and salvation by Jesus Christ, of which it was typical. Here begins the more evangelical and spiritual part of this prophecy, which reaches to and includes the whole Gospel

dispensation, from the coming of John the Baptist to the second coming of Christ. It begins with comforts, and holds on and ends with them; which consolations, Kimchi observes, are what should be in the times of the Messiah; and the word "comfort" is repeated, he says, to confirm the thing. It is God that here speaks, who is the God of all comfort; the persons whom he would have comforted are his "people", whom he has chosen, with whom be has made a covenant in Christ, whom he has given to him, and he has redeemed by his blood, and whom he effectually calls by his grace; these are sometimes disconsolate, by reason of the corruptions of their nature, the temptations of Satan, the hidings of God's face, and the various afflictions they meet with; and it is the will of God they should be comforted, as appears by sending his Son to be the comforter of them, by giving his Spirit as another comforter, by appointing ordinances as breasts of consolation to them, by the promises he has made to them, and the confirmation of them by an oath, for their strong consolation; and particularly by the word of the Gospel, and the ministers of it, who are Barnabases, sons of consolation, who are sent with a comfortable message, and are encouraged in their work from the consideration of God being their God, who will be with them, assist them, and make their ministrations successful; and to these are these words addressed; which are repeated, not to suggest any backwardness in Gospel ministers, who are ready to go on such an errand, however reluctant they may be to carry bad tidings; but rather to signify the people's refusal to be comforted, and therefore must be spoken to again and again; and also to show the vehement and hearty desire of the Lord to have them comforted. The Targum is, "O ye prophets, prophesy comforts concerning my people.'' And the Septuagint and Arabic versions insert, "O ye priests", as if the words were directed to them. The preachers of the Gospel are meant, and are called unto; what the Lord would have said for the comfort of his people by them is expressed in the following verse.

4. HENRY, We have here the commission and instructions given, not to this prophet only, but, with him, to all the Lord's prophets, nay, and to all Christ's ministers, to proclaim comfort to God's people. 1. This did not only warrant, but enjoin, this prophet himself to encourage the good people who lived in his own time, who could not but have very melancholy apprehensions of things when they saw Judah and Jerusalem by their daring impieties ripening apace for ruin, and God in his providence hastening ruin upon them. Let them be sure that, notwithstanding all this, God had mercy in store for them. 2. It was especially a direction to the prophets that should live in the time of captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins; they must encourage the captives to hope for enlargement in due time. 3. Gospel ministers, being employed by the blessed Spirit as comforters, and as helpers of the joy of Christians, are here put in mind of their business. Here we have,

I. Comfortable words directed to God's people in general, Isa_40:1. The prophets have instructions from their God (for he is the Lord God of the holy prophets, Rev_22:6) to comfort the people of God; and the charge is doubled, Comfort you, comfort you - not because the prophets are unwilling to do it (no, it is the most pleasant part of their work), but because sometimes the souls of God's people refuse to be comforted, and their comforters must repeat things again and again, ere they can fasten any thing upon them. Observe here, 1. There are a people in the world that are God's people. 2. It is the will of God that his people should be a comforted people, even in the worst of times. 3. It is the work and business of ministers to do what they can for the comfort of God's people. 4. Words of conviction, such as we had in the former part of this book, must be followed with words of comfort, such as we have here; for he that has torn will heal us.

5. JAMISON, Isa_40:1-31. Second part of the prophecies of Isaiah.

The former were local and temporary in their reference. These belong to the distant future, and are world-wide in their interest; the deliverance from Babylon under Cyrus, which he here foretells by prophetic suggestion, carries him on to the greater deliverance under Messiah, the Savior of Jews and Gentiles in the present eclectic Church, and the restorer of Israel and Head of the world-wide kingdom, literal and spiritual, ultimately. As Assyria was the hostile world power in the former part, which refers to Isaiahs own time, so Babylon is so in the latter part, which refers to a period long subsequent. The connecting link, however, is furnished (Isa_39:6) at the close of the former part. The latter part was written in the old age of Isaiah, as appears from the greater mellowness of style and tone which pervades it; it is less fiery and more tender and gentle than the former part.

Comfort ye, comfort ye twice repeated to give double assurance. Having announced the coming captivity of the Jews in Babylon, God now desires His servants, the prophets (Isa_52:7), to comfort them. The scene is laid in Babylon; the time, near the close of the captivity; the ground of comfort is the speedy ending of the captivity, the Lord Himself being their leader.

my people ... your God correlatives (Jer_31:33; Hos_1:9, Hos_1:10). It is Gods covenant relation with His people, and His word of promise (Isa_40:8) to their forefathers, which is the ground of His interposition in their behalf, after having for a time chastised them (Isa_54:8).

6. K&D, In this first address the prophet vindicates his call to be the preacher of the comfort of the approaching deliverance, and explains this comfort on the ground that Jehovah, who called him to this comforting proclamation, was the incomparably exalted Creator and Ruler of the world. The first part of this address (Isa_40:1-11) may be regarded as the prologue to the whole twenty-seven. The theme of the prophetic promise, and the irresistible certainty of its fulfilment, are here declared. Turning of the people of the captivity, whom Jehovah has neither forgotten nor rejected, the prophet commences thus in Isa_40:1 : Comfort ye, comfort ye may

people, saith your God. This is the divine command to the prophets. Nachamu (piel, literally, to cause to breathe again) is repeated, because of its urgency (anadiplosis, as in Isa_41:27;

Isa_43:11, Isa_43:25, etc.). The word , which does not mean will say here (Hofmann, Stier), but saith (lxx, Jerome) - as, for example, in 1Sa_24:14 - affirms that the command is a continuous one. The expression saith your God is peculiar to Isaiah, and common to both parts of the collection (Isa_1:11, Isa_1:18; Isa_33:10; Isa_40:1, Isa_40:25; Isa_41:21; Isa_66:9). The future in all these passages is expressive of that which is taking place or still continuing. And it is the same here. The divine command has not been issued once only, or merely to one prophet, but is being continually addressed to many prophets. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, is the continual charge of the God of the exiles. who has not ceased to be their God even in the midst of wrath, to His messengers and heralds the prophets.

7. CALVIN, 1.Comfort ye. The Prophet introduces a new subject; for, leaving the people on whom no

favorable impression was made either by threatenings or by admonitions, on account of their desperate

wickedness, he turns to posterity, in order to declare that the people who shall be humbled under the

cross will experience no want of consolation even amidst the severest distresses. And it is probable that

he wrote this prophecy when the time of the captivity was at hand, that he might not at his departure from

life leave the Church of God overwhehned by very grievous calamities, without the hope of restoration.

Though he formerly mingled his predictions with threatenings and terrors for this purpose, yet he appears

to have contemplated chiefly the benefit of those who lived at that time. What will afterwards follow will

relate to the future Church, the revival of which was effected long after his death; for he will next lay down

a perpetual doctrine, which must not be limited to a single period, and especially when he treats of the

commencement and progress of the reign of Christ. And this prophecy must be of so much the greater

importance to us, because it addresses us in direct terms; for, although it may be a spiritual application of

what goes before, so as to be doctrine that is common both to the Jews and to us, yet, as he leaves the

Jews of that age, and addresses posterity down to the end of the world, it appears to belong more

especially to us.

By this exhortation, therefore, the Lord intended to stir up the hearts of the godly, that they might not faint,

amidst heavy calamities. First, he addresses the Jews, who were soon after to be carried into that hard

captivity in which they should have neither sacrifices nor prophets, and would have been destitute of all

consolation, had not the Lord relieved their miseries by these predictions. Next, he addresses all the

godly that should live afterwards, or that shall yet live, to encourage their heart, even when they shall

appear to be reduced very low and to be utterly ruined.

That this discourse might have greater weight, and might mere powerfully affect their minds, he

represents God as raising up new prophets, whom he enjoins to soothe the sorrows of the people by

friendly consolation. The general meaning is, that, when he shall have appeared to have forsaken for a

time the wretched captives, the testimony of his grace will again burst forth from the darkness, and that,

when gladdening prophecies shall have ceased, their proper time will come round. In order to exhibit

more strongly the ground of joy, he makes use of the plural number, Comfort ye; by which he intimates

that he will send not one or another, but a vast multitude of prophets; and this he actually accomplished,

by which we see more clearly his infinite goodness and mercy.

Will say. First, it ought to be observed that the verb is in the future tense; and those commentators who

render it in the present or past tense both change the words and spoil the meaning. Indircetly he points

out an intermediate period, during which the people would be heavily afflicted, as if God had been

silent. (104) Though even at that time God did not cease to hold out the hope of salvation by some

prophets, yet, having for a long period cast them off, when they were wretchedly distressed and almost

ruined, the consolation was less abundant, till it was pointed out, as it were with the finger, that they were

at liberty to return. On this account the word comfort must be viewed as relating to a present favor; and

the repetition of the word not only confirms the certainty of the prediction, but applauds its power and

success, as if he had said, that in this message there will be abundant, full, and unceasing cause of joy.

Above all, we must hold by the future tense of this verb, because there is an implied contrast between

that melancholy silence of which I have spoken, and the doctrine of consolation which afterwards

followed. And with this prediction agrees the complaint of the Church,

do not see our signs; there is no longer among us a prophet or any one that knows how long.

(Psa_74:9.)

We see how she laments that she has been deprived of the best kind of comfort, because no promise is

brought forward for soothing her distresses. It is as if the Prophet bad said, Lord will not suffer you to be

deprived of prophets, to comfort you amidst your severest distresses. At that time he will raise up men by

whom he will send to you the message that had been long desired, and at that time also he will show that

he takes care of you.

I consider the future tense, will say, as relating not only to the captivity in Babylon, but to the whole period

of deliverance, which includes the reign of Christ. (105) To the verb will say, we must supply the

prophets, whom he will appoint for that purpose; for in vain would they have spoken, if the Lord had not

told them, and even put into their mouth what they should make known to others. Thus there is a mutual

relation between God and the prophets, whom he will appoint for that purpose; for in vain would they

have spoken, if the Lord had not told them and even put into their mouth what they should make known to

others. Thus there is a mutual relation between God and the prophets. In a word, the Lord promises that

the hope of salvation will be left, although the ingratitude of men deserves that this voice shall be

perpetually silenced and altogether extinguished.

These words, I have said, ought not to be limited to the captivity in Babylon; for they have a very

extensive meaning, and include the doctrine of the gospel, in which chiefly lies the power of To the

gospel it belongs to comfort those who are distressed and cast down, to quicken those who are slain and

actually dead, to cheer the mourners, and, in short, to bring all joy and gladness; and this is also the

reason why it is called Gospel, that is, good news, (106) Nor did it begin at the time when Christ

appeared in the world, but long before, since the time when God favor was clearly revealed, and Daniel

might be said to have first raised his banner, that believers might hold themselves in readiness for

returning. (Dan_9:2.) Afterwards, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Nehemiah, Ezra, and others, down to the

coming of Christ, exhorted believers to cherish better and better hopes. Malachi, the last of them that

wrote, knowing that there would be few prophets, sends the people to the law of Moses, to learn from it

the will of God and its threatenings and promises. (Mal_4:4.)

Your God. From this passage we learn what we ought chiefly to seek in the prophets, namely, to

encourage the hopes of godly persons by exhibiting the sweetness of divine grace, that they may not faint

under the weight of afflictions, but may boldly persevere in calling on God. But since it was difficult to be

believed, he reminds them of the covenant; as if he had said that it was impossible for God ever to forget

what he formerly promised to Abraham. (Gen_17:7.) Although, therefore, the Jews by their sins had fallen

from grace, yet he affirms that he is their God, and that they are his peculiar people, both of which

depended on election; but, as even in that nation there were many reprobates, the statement implies that

to believers only is this discourse strictly directed; because he silently permits unbelievers, through

constant languishment, to be utterly wasted and destroyed. But to believers there is held out an

invaluable comfort, that, although for a time they are oppressed by grief and mourning, yet because they

hope in God, who is the Father of consolation, they shall know by experience that the promises of grace,

like a hidden treasure, are laid up for them, to cheer their hearts at the proper time. This is also a very

high commendation of the prophetic office, that it supports believers in adversity, that they may not faint

or be discouraged; and, on the other hand, this passage shews that it is a very terrible display of God

vengeance when there are no faithful teachers, from whose mouth may be heard in the Church of God

the consolation that is fitted to raise up those who are cast down, and to strengthen the feeble.

(104) Comme si Dieu n cust rien veu. if God had not at all seen it.

(105) Qui comprend en soy le regne de Christ jusqu a la fin du monde. includes the reign of Christ till

the end of the world.

8. J. VERNON MCGEE, Comfort ye, comfort ye. The opening statement and its

repetition is a sigh of yearning from

the pulsating heart of God. Our God is the God of all comfort.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the

God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to

comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are

comforted of God (II Corinthians 1:3-4).

The Holy Spirit is called the comforter.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide

with you for ever (John 14:16).

The Lord Jesus Christ is likewise called the comforter.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we

have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (I John 2:1).

The word for advocate is the same as the one for comforter. Gods people in all ages

need His comfort as they face the problems and perplexities of life.

8B. CHARLES SIMEON. THE SCOPE AND TENDENCY OF THE GOSPEL

Isa_40:1-2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and

cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the

Lords hand double for all her sins.

THE ministerial office is fitly compared to that of a steward, who divides to every one his proper portion

[Note: 2Ti_2:15. Luk_12:42.]. The execution of it calls for much wisdom and discretion, because there

must be a diversity both in the matter and manner of our addresses corresponding with the different

states of the people to whom we minister. To some we must of necessity proclaim the terrors of Gods

law, however painful such a discharge of our duty may be: but the great scope of our ministry is rather to

comfort the Lords people, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. The commission here given to

the servants of Jehovah, is very remarkable, being thrice repeated in one single verse. In this view of it I

am led particularly to shew,

I. How earnestly God desires the comfort and happiness of his people

There are a people, chosen by the Father, redeemed by Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit, who are

eminently the Lords people [Note: Deu_7:6. 1Pe_2:9.]. And that God is peculiarly solicitous to promote

their comfort, appears,

1. From the commission which he gave to his beloved Son

[He sent his Son into the world to execute his eternal counsels. And our Lord himself, in his first public

address to the people, declared, that the comfort of mourners was a principal object of his mission

[Note: Isa_41:1-3. Luk_4:17-19.].]

2. From the end for which he sends his Spirit into the hearts of men

[God sends his Spirit to testify of Christ [Note: Joh_15:26.], to witness our adoption into his family

[Note: Rom_8:15.], and to seal us unto the day of redemption [Note: Eph_1:13-14.]. In performing these

offices he comforts our souls. And he is, on that very account, distinguished by the name of the

Comforter [Note:Joh_16:7.].]

3. From the titles which the Father himself assumes

[He calls himself The God of consolation [Note: Rom_15:5.], and the Comforter of all them that are

cast down [Note: 2Co_7:6.]. He compares his concern to that of a Father pitying his child

[Note: Psa_103:13.], and to a mother comforting with tenderest assiduities her afflicted infant

[Note: Isa_66:13.]. Yea, he assures us that his regards far exceed those of the most affectionate parent in

the universe [Note: Isa_49:15.].]

4. From the solemn charge he gives to ministers

[He sends his servants to turn men from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God

[Note: Act_26:18.]. And he especially charges them to strengthen the weak hands, to confirm the feeble

Knees, and to say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; your God will come and save

you [Note:Isa_35:3-4.]. Thrice is that injunction repeated in the text: and in the execution of this duty we

are justly called, The helpers of your joy [Note: 2Co_1:24.].]

5. From the dispensations both of his providence and grace

[When he suffered his beloved Son to be tempted in all things like unto us, it was with a view to comfort

us under our temptations [Note: Heb_2:18.]. And when he comforted St. Paul under his multiplied

afflictions, he still consulted the comfort of his Church and people [Note: 2Co_1:3-4.]: yea, however he

diversified his dispensations, he had invariably the same gracious object in view [Note: 2Co_1:6.].]

As a further proof of his regard for our comfort, we may point out to you,

II. What abundant provision he has made for it in his word

The message which we are commanded to deliver to his people, contains in it the richest sources of

consolation

1. To Gods ancient people

[To them primarily was this proclamation made. And it was verified in part, when they were delivered from

the Babylonish captivity and restored to the enjoyment of their former privileges in Jerusalem. But it was

yet further fulfilled, when, by the sending of their Messiah, they were delivered from the yoke of the

Mosaic law, which imposed a burthen which none of them were able to sustain. That, to those who

received him as their Messiah, was a season of exceeding great joy; for they were translated from the

kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Gods clear Son, and from a state of insupportable bondage

into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

It will not however be fully accomplished, till they shall, in their national capacity, return from their present

dispersion, and be re-united, Israel with Judah, in their own land. Then will their warfare be as much

accomplished as it can be in this life: then will the tokens of Gods displeasure be removed from them;

and a state of prosperity be vouchsafed to them that shall far exceed all the sufferings they have ever

endured, and all the privileges they have ever enjoyed. At no time have they ever been punished beyond

their deserts; (their severest trials have been far less than their iniquities deserved:) but in that day shall

their blessings infinitely exceed all that they can now either contemplate or conceive ]

2. To his believing people, in every age

[It is the true Christian alone who can form any just idea of the import of my text. His warfare is

accomplished! so far at least, as that he is in a state of victory over the world, and the flesh and the devil.

He can say, Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ. His sins too are blotted out

as a morning cloud, and put away from him as far as the east is from the west. God has mercifully

forgiven him all trespasses; and he stands before God without spot or blemish. As for the blessings

vouchsafed to him, no words can possibly express them: his peace passeth all understanding; and his

joy is unspeakable and full of glory. He has even now entered into rest [Note: Heb_4:3.], according to

that promise given him by our Lord, Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy-laden; and I will give

you rest ]

See, then, Brethren,

1. What a wonderful difference exists between those who embrace, and those who disregard the

Gospel

[Can that be said of carnal and worldly men, which is here spoken of the Lords people? Are their chains

broken? their sins forgiven? their comforts greater than any judgments that await them? No: they are yet

in bondage to sin and Satan; their sins are all sealed up in a bag against the day of judgment; and the

wrath of God is shortly coming upon them to the uttermost. Then it will appear how great a difference

there is between those who serve the Lord, and those who serve him not [Note: Mal_3:18.]. Let not this

distinction then be made a subject of profane ridicule, but a motive to seek the Lord, that we may be

numbered with his people, and be made partakers of his benefits.]

2. What inconceivable blessedness awaits the Lords people in a better world!

[Even in this life, as we have seen, their blessedness is exceeding great. But what will it be when once

they shall lay down this mortal body, and enter into the joy of their Lord? Now conflicts remain even to

their latest hour; and whatever victories they may gain, they must still remain girt for the combat. And,

though God has forgiven them all their trespasses, so that he will never frown upon them in the eternal

world, they still have occasion daily to implore mercy at his hands on account of their short-comings and

defects. But in the day that they shall be taken into the immediate presence of their God, O! who can tell

us what they shall receive at his hands? Dear Brethren, do not think lightly of that joy; but be

willing to sacrifice every thing for the attainment of it. Think in what estimation it is held by all who have

entered into the eternal world. What would tempt those in heaven to part with it? or what would not they

who are now in hell, give to be made partakers of it? Be assured, that it will be fully commensurate with

all your labours, though they had been a thousand times greater than they have; and that one single hour

of it will richly recompense all that it is possible for any finite creature either to do or suffer in the Saviours

cause ]

9. SBC. I. The text teaches us that there are certain things which hinder the spread of the Redeemers kingdom, spoken of here as valleys, hills, mountains, rough places, and crooked ways. The obstacles to the spread of the Redeemers kingdom are so numerous, that I must not even attempt to name them, but refer, as an illustration, to heathenism and idolatry abroad, and to ignorance and vice at home. The heathenism we are trying to remove; and that yawning valley of ignorance we are, by Gods grace, as a nation, trying to fill up; but our national vices, which are like mountains, we are also commanded by God to level and to remove. Take the vice of intemperance. (1) Intemperance hinders the progress of Gods kingdom at home. (2) It is also a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel abroad. How is it that though eighteen hundred years have passed since the Redeemer made His great provision, and gave us the command to carry the glad tidings to all, midnight darkness rests upon most of the human family? (a) There is a want of means.(b) There is a want of men. (c) There is a want of success on the part of those who are already in the field. With all those reasons strong drink has something to do.

II. It is the duty of the Christian Church to sweep this mountain away. (1) The Church must, if she would hold her own. There is no neutrality in this war. (2) The Church must, if she would please her Master.

III. The text puts before us the glorious result. "Thy kingdom come "is our cry. Here is Gods answer: "Set to work; lift up the valley, bring down the mountain, make the rough places plain and the crooked places straight, and then I will come." God waits for man. As soon as the Church is prepared to do the Lords bidding, the world shall be filled with His glory.

C. Garrett, Loving Counsels, p. 142.

The imagery of the text appears to be drawn from the journey-ings of Israel to Canaan. That great event in their national history was constantly before the mind of Isaiah, and is presented in his writings with ever-varying illustration. Let us

I. Compare this prophecy with the history of the Exodus. The prophecies of Gods Word shine both before and behind. They not only illumine the darkness of futurity, but they reflect a radiance back on the page of history. So here. In the desert the Gospel was preached to Israel (as St. Paul says) in types and ordinances, and especially by that great act of their redemption out of Egypt. In this was a perpetual type of the Redeemers work of salvation, a foreshadowing of the inspired song, "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God." In the ordinances given by the dispensation of angels might be heard "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way for our God."

II. Isaiah used the message as an illustration of his own ministry. He too, living now probably in the idolatrous reign of Manasseh, felt himself in a spiritual desert. Led by faith he sees afar off,

and the seer is himself transported into that bright future. Just as heralds announced the coming of an Oriental king, and pioneers prepared his march across hill and vale and desert plains, so would Divine Providence lead His exiles home, removing all obstacles from their path, and overruling the designs of their enemies.

III. The words of Isaiah certainly point on to Gospel times; for John the Baptist distinctly announced himself as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord." This preparation, in a spiritual sense, he accomplished by his personal ministry.

IV. But even in Johns day the words had a wider signification. Not only the land of Israel, but the Gentile world, even all flesh, was then being prepared to see the salvation of God. Providential agencies were even then at work preparing Christs way among the Gentiles, as it were constructing a road for the march of Christianity through the desolate regions of heathendom. The two most powerful agencies were Greek literature and Roman dominion.

V. The prophecy sheds a lustre on the worlds future. The Christ has indeed come to earth, but it was to suffer and to die. Once more in this wide desert the "glory of the Lord shall be revealed," and not one but "all lands shall see it together."

S. P. Jose, Oxford and Cambridge Undergraduates Journal, May 13th, 1880.

References: Isa_40:3-5.A. Rowland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 323; H. P. Liddon, Old Testament Outlines, p. 200.

10. BI, The great prophecy of Israels restoration

In passing from chaps, 36-39, to chap. 40. we find ourselves introduced into a new world. The persons whom the prophet addresses, the people amongst whom he lives and moves, whose feelings he portrays, whose doubts he dispels, whose faith he confirms, are not the inhabitants of Jerusalem under Ahaz, or Hezekiah, or Manasseh, but the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. Jerusalem and the Temple are in ruins (Isa_44:10), and have been so for long Isa_58:12; Isa_61:4 the old waste places): the proud and imposing Babylonian empire is to all appearance as secure as ever; the exiles are in despair or indifferent; they think that God has forgotten them, and have ceased to expect, or desire, their release (Isa_40:27; Isa_49:14; Isa_49:24). Toarouse the indifferent, to reassure the wavering, to expostulate with the doubting, to announce with triumphant confidence the certainty of the approaching restoration, is the aim of the great prophecy which now occupies the last twenty-seven chapters of the Book of Isaiah. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)

The Gospel of Isaiah

Here beginneth the Gospel of the prophet Isaiah, and holdeth on to the end of the book. (J. Trapp.)

Does Isa_40:1-31. treat of the return from Babylon?

The specific application of this chapter to the return from Babylon is without the least foundation in the text itself. The promise is a general one of consolation, protection, and change for the better, to be wrought by the power and wisdom of Jehovah, which are contrasted, first, with those of men, of nations, and of rulers, then with the utter impotence of idols. That the

ultimate fulfilment of the promise was still distant, is implied in the exhortation to faith and patience. The reference to idolatry proves nothing with respect to the date of the prediction, although more appropriate in the writings of Isaiah than of a prophet in the Babylonish Exile. It is evidently meant, however, to condemn idolatry in general, and more particularly all the idolatrous defections of the Israelites under the old economy. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.)

A comforting message

There is evident allusion to the threatening in Isa_39:7. Having there predicted the captivity in Babylon, as one of the successive strokes by which the fate of Israel as a nation and the total loss of its peculiar privileges should be brought about, the prophet is now sent to assure the spiritual Israel, the true people of Jehovah, that although the Jewish nation should not cease to be externally identified with the Church, the Church itself should not only continue to exist, but in a far more glorious state than ever. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.)

Gods return to a pardoned people

The beginning of the good tidings is Israel s pardon; yet it seems not to be the peoples return to Palestine which is announced in consequence of this, so much as their Gods return to them. Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight a highway for our God. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

My people; your God

All the prophecy we are about to study may be said to hang from these pronouns. They are the hinges on which the door of this new temple of revelation swings open before the long-expectant people. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

A storehouse of Divine promise

This portion (chaps. 40-66.) of the great prophets writings may well be regarded as the Old Testament Store house and Repertory of exceeding great and precious promises, in which Jehovah would seem to anticipate His own special Gospel name as the God of all comfort. (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)

Jehovah and His Church

1. A glorious change awaits the Church, consisting in a new and gracious manifestation of Jehovahs presence, for which His people are exhorted to prepare (Isa_40:1-5).

2. Though one generation perish after another, this promise shall eventually be fulfilled, because it rests not upon human but Divine authority (Isa_40:6-8).

3. Zion may even now see Him approaching as the conqueror of His enemies, and at the same time as the Shepherd of His people (Isa_40:9-11).

4. The fulfilment of these pledges is insured by His infinite wisdom, His almighty power, and His independence both of individuals and nations (Isa_40:12-17).

5. How much more is He superior to material images, by which men represent Him or supply His place (Isa_40:18-25).

6. The same power which sustains the heavens is pledged for the support of Israel (Isa_40:26-31). (J. A. Alexander.)

Comfort ye, comfort ye

The double utterance of the Comfort ye, is the well-known Hebrew expression of emphasis, abundance, intensity;Great comfort, saith your God. (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)

Gods great comfort

At the close of the prophecy, the prophet tells us what the strength and abundance of that comfort is. Earths best picture of strong consolation is that of the mother bending over the couch of her suffering and sorrowing child (Isa_66:13). (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)

A Divine art

When the soul is in the period of its exile and bitter pain, it should do three things.

I. LOOK OUT FOR COMFORT.

1. It will come certainly. Wherever the nettle grows, beside it grows the dock-leaf; and wherever there is severe trial, there is, somewhere at hand, a sufficient store of comfort, though our eyes, like Hagars, are often holden that we cannot see it. It is as sure as the faithfulness of God. I never had, says Bunyan, writing of his twelve years imprisonment, in all my life, so great an insight into the Word of God as now; insomuch that I have often said, Were it lawful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comforts sake. God cannot forget His child.

2. It will come proportionately. Thy Father holds a pair of scales. This on the right is called As, and is for thine afflictions; this on the left is called So, and is for thy comforts. And the beam is always kept level The more thy trial, the more thy comfort. As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth through Christ.

3. It will come Divinely. God reserves to Himself the prerogative of comfort. It is a Divine art.

4. It will come mediately. What the prophet was as the spokesman of Jehovah, uttering to the people in human tones the inspirations that came to him from God, so to us is the great prophet, whose shoe-latchet the noblest of the prophetic band was not worthy to unloose; and our comfort is the sweeter because it reaches us through Him.

5. It will come variously. Sometimes by the coming of a beloved Titus; a bouquet; a bunch of grapes; a letter; a message; a card. There are many strings in the dulcimer of consolation. In sore sorrow it is not what a friend says, but what he is, that helps us. He comforts best who says least, but simply draws near, takes the sufferers hand, and sits silent in his sympathy. This is Gods method.

II. STORE UP COMFORT. This was the prophets mission. He had to receive before he could impart. Thy own life becomes the hospital ward where thou art taught the Divine art of comfort.

Thou art wounded, that in the binding up of thy wounds by the Great Physician thou mayest learn how to render first-aid to the wounded everywhere.

III. PASS ON COMFORT. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

The Divine ministry of comfort

There are ministries in the world.

1. There is the Divine ministry of instruction. In this ministry nature, history, and the Bible are constantly employed.

2. There is the Divine ministry of Justice. Nemesis is always and everywhere at work, treading on the heels of wrong, and inflicting penalties.

3. In the text we have the Divine ministry of comfort. The words suggest three thoughts concerning this ministry.

I. It implies the existence of DISTRESS. Bright and fair as the material world often appears, a sea of sorrow rolls through human souls The distress is of various kinds.

1. Physical suffering.

2. Social bereavement.

3. Secular anxieties.

4. Moral compunction.

II. It implies the existence of SPECIAL MEANS. All this distress is an abnormal state of things. Misery is not an institution of nature, and the creation of God, but the production of the creature. To meet this abnormal state something more than natural instrumentality is required.

1. There must be special provisions. Those provisions are to be found in the Gospel. To the physically afflicted there are presented considerations fitted to energise the soul, endow it with magnanimity, fill it with sentiments and hopes that will raise it, if not above the sense of physical suffering, above its depressing influence. To the socially, bereaved it brings the glorious doctrine of a future life. To the secularly distressed it unfolds the doctrine of eternal providence. In secular disappointments and anxieties it says, Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

2. There must be special agency. A physician may know the disease of his patient, but if he does not know the precise mode of application he will not succeed. So it is with the Gospel. A man to give comfort to another requires a special qualification. The comforting elements must be administered

(1) Not officially, but humanly.

(2) Not verbosely, but sympathetically.

III. It implies a LIMITED SPHERE. My people. The whole human family is in distress, but there is only a certain class qualified to receive comfort, those who are here called Gods people, and who are they? Those who have surrendered themselves to His will, yielded to His claims, and dedicated themselves to His service. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Comfort for Gods people

I. THE SPEAKER. It is the God of comfort, the God of all comfort that here speaks comfortably to His people. There is a danger of our thinking too much of comfort, and one may only value the word preached as it administers comfort; this is a great error, because all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, and reproof, as well as for comfort. One great end which even the Scriptures have in view, is not only to lead us to patience in suffering, but to comfort us under suffering. It is one thing for man to speak comfort, it is another thing for God to speak comfort.

II. THE PERSONS THAT ARE HERE SPOKEN TO. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people.

1. The Lord has a people upon earthHe has never been without a people.

2. The Lord has a people; and if He has a people He will try them, and they shall not be found summer flies just resting on the surface of things, but they shall be found to be those that know the truth in the power of it, and they shall be made to feel and experience the worth of it. It shall not be enough for them to say, I am a sinner, but they shall feel the wretchedness of being a sinner, they shall not only confess that Christ is precious, but they shall be placed where they shall know Him to be precious.

3. The Lord has a people; and it is a most blessed consideration to reflect that while He has a people, He is their God. Talk not of your wretchedness and your poverty and your disease, of your weakness; if God be your God, not only heaven is your home, but you have that without which heaven would not be worth the having.

4. God has a people; no wonder then He comforts themHis eye is upon them from the beginning to the end of the year. They are the salt of the earth to Him, and he that touches them touches the apple of His eye.

III. THE LORDS MESSAGE UNTO HIS MINISTERS. Comfort ye, etc. The-great cause of comfort to a child of God may be summed up in a little sentencethrough eternity he never shall come to the close of it. Let me point out some few of those great mercies that flow to a child of God in consequence of his having Christ as his portion.

1. He has that which made David glad (Psa_32:1-2). The great contest Satan has with our consciences is about the pardon of our sins. Well might the people of God then be comforted by this truth, that their sins have all been blotted out as a cloud.

2. Do you ask for another ground of comfort? See it in a covenant, ordered in all things (2Sa_23:5).

3. But the Psalmist found another source of comfort. It is good for me to draw near to God (Psa_73:1-28.). There is no mercy on earth greater than to have a God in heaven, to have an Intercessor at the right hand; to have the heart of God; to have the promise of God: to have Jehovah Himself as my portion.

4. One comfort more is the bright prospect that is before the child of God. (J. H.Evans, M. A.)

Comfort for Zion

It was once said by Vinet, that the three great objects of the preacher were the illumination, consolation, and regeneration of men. The work of comforting is surely an important one, but it is Gods people whom we are to comfort. We are not to say, Peace, peace! where there is no peace. Stoical indifference is not real comfort, but peace alone is found in God.

I. Notice what a discovery is made in the text of GODS NATURE. He has not hidden away from men; He is not asleep or tied down by law, but His tender mercies are over all His works. He is near to every one of us, seeking our love and confidence.

II. HUMAN SOULS NEED COMFORT. Constitutional characteristics render us susceptible to consolatory truths. Even those hardened in sin have been melted by a womans tears, or have yielded to the persuasiveness of a child.

III. Look at the GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS COMFORT IS ADMINISTERED. Not those of philosophy. When the Greeks, under Xenophon, caught sight of the Euxine, they jubilantly cried, The sea, the sea! The discoveries of Divine gracea sea without a bottom or a shoreelicit profounder joy. (G. Norcross, D. D.)

Comfort ye, comfort ye My people

The words of this passage (1-11) look on to the captivity. The people, afflicted, chastened, broken in spirit, are called upon to listen to the strains of consolation which God had breathed for them in His word. I venture to think that they were laden with a richer consolation in that they came down a vista of nearly two hundred years. Old words are precious to mourners. That which is spoken at the moment is apt to be coloured by the thoughts and the doubts of the moment; an old word spoken out of the region of these present sorrows has double force. It seems to bring that which is absolute and universal to bear on that which is present and passing. This is why the Scripture is so precious to mourners. It belongs to all time. And these words rule all its declarations. It is comfort throughout and to the end. The mercies of judgment is a subject we too little study. Yet mercy is the deepest element in every judgment with which God afflicts mankind. Stern, hard, unfaltering to the eye, but full of rich mercy to the heart. It was in tender mercy that man, the sinner, was sent forth to labour. In society we see on a large scale how Gods judgments are blessings in disguise. Great epidemics are healing ordinances. They purify the vital springs. They leave a purer, stronger health when their dread shadow has passed by. Catastrophes in history are like thunderstorms; they leave a fresher, brighter atmosphere.

Reigns of terror are the gates through which man passes out into a wider world. May we pray, then, in calamities for deliverance, when they are so likely to be blessings? Yes, for prayer is the blessed refuge of our ignorance and dread. But Isaiah had the profoundest right to speak o| comfort, because he could speak of the advent of the Redeemer to the world. He not only preaches comfort, but discloses the source from which it springsEmmanuel, God with us. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Divine comfort

1. Living in the midst of sorrow, and himself personally its victim, the Christian has need of comfort. Whatever form the affliction may take, it is hard for flesh and blood to bear; it runs contrary to all the tastes and desires of the natural man. Often under its pressure, especially when long continued and severe, is he tempted to faint and despond; it may be, even to repine and murmur; to doubt the faith fulness of God; to ask, in bitterness of heart, why such woe is appointed to man?

2. With what power, then, do words like these reach him in the midst of his sorrow, coming from God Himself, Comfort ye, comfort ye My people! No sooner are they heard than hope revives, and the assurance of Divine sympathy at once soothes his trouble, and allays his fears.

(1) Here is the first light from heaven which breaks upon human sorrow, and which removes from it, for the Christian, its keenest sting. God knows your suffering and thinks of it, and seeks to comfort you under it. You are not the sport of inexorable fate, or blind and reckless chance; still less are your afflictions proof that God has abandoned you in wrath.

(2) How sweet is the solace of human sympathy! But here we have Divine sympathy; sympathy from One both able and willing to deliver,from the God of all comfort.

(3) Not afar off, does the voice of God reach us, from an inaccessible heaven, telling us we are His people and that He cares for us. He has come and made us His people, by taking our nature, and being born and living as a man. (J. N. Bennie, LL. B.)

I. GOD HAS A PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

The Lords people comforted

II. I proceed TO COMPLY WITH THE INJUNCTION IN THE TEXT. To this end, I will endeavour to obviate some few of the most common causes of that want of comfort to which the people of God are liable.

1. One cause is their misunderstanding the nature and extent of that pardon of sin, which the Gospel provides.

2. Another cause arises from their seeking comfort where it is not to be found. You can never find it from poring into your own hearts. Look in faith to Jesus ChristHis glorious person and gracious offices, etc.

3. Another cause arises from their mistaking the proofs and marks of a really religious state. They suppose that it consists in warm and rapturous feelings. Your salvation is grounded on the faithfulness of Him who cannot lie. (E. Cooper.)

The trials of business men

These words came to the prophet in the olden time, but they come just as forcibly to any man who stands to-day in any one of the pulpits of our great cities. A preacher has no more right to ignore commercial sorrows than any other kind of sorrow.

I. A great many of our business men feel ruinous trials and temptations coming to them FROM SMALL AND LIMITED CAPITAL IN BUSINESS. This temptation of limited capital has ruined men in two ways. Despondency has blasted them. Others have said, Here I have been trudging along. I have been trying, to be honest all these years. I find it is of no use. Now it is make or break.

II. A great many of our business men are tempted to OVER-ANXIETY AND CARE. God manages all the affairs of your life, and He manages them for the best.

III. Many of our business men are tempted TO NEGLECT THEIR HOME DUTIES. How often it is that the store and the home seem to clash, but there ought not to be any collision. If you want to keep your children away from places of sin, you can only do it by making your home attractive. We need more happy, consecrated, cheerful Christian homes.

IV. A great many of our business men are tempted to PUT THE ATTAINMENT OF MONEY ABOVE THE VALUE OF THE SOUL. The more money you get, the better if it come honestly

and go usefully. But money cannot satisfy a mans soul; it cannot glitter in the dark valley; it cannot pay our fare across the Jordan of death; it cannot unlock the gate of heaven.

Treasures in heaven are the only uncorruptible treasures. Have you ever ciphered out in the rule of Loss and Gain the sum, What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul? Seek after God; find His righteousness, and all shall be well here and hereafter. (T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D.)

Religious comfort

I. SHOW WHAT THE COMFORT IS which the Gospel of our Lord conveys to mankind. Whenever we speak of comforting another, the very expression implies that he is in tribulation and distress. Without the Gospel of Christ the condition of men must be wretched.

II. DESCRIBE THE PERSONS WHO ARE AUTHORISED TO TAKE THAT COMFORT TO THEMSELVES. Evangelical obedience is to be the foundation of evangelical comfort. (T. Gisborne.)

Comfort for Gods people

Comfort ye My people

1. By reminding them that I am their God.

2. By reminding them that their captivity in this world is nearly over, and that they will soon be home.

3. The Saviour is coming to this world, and is on His way to show His glory here. He will come and fill the world with His victories. (C. Stanford, D. D.)

Comfort proclaimed

What a sweet title: My people! What a cheering revelation: Your God! How much of meaning is couched in those two words, My people! Here is speciality. The whole world is Gods. But He saith of a certain number, My people. While nations and kindreds are passed by as being simply nations, He says of them. My people. In this word there is the idea of proprietorship. In some special manner the Lords portion Is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. He has done more for them than others; He has brought them nigh to Himself. How careful God is of His people; mark how anxious He is concerning them, not only for their life, but for their comfort. He would not only have us His living people, His preserved people, but He would have us be His happy people too. He likes His people to be fed, but what is more, He likes to give them wines on the lees well refined, to make glad their hearts.

I. TO WHOM IS THIS COMMAND ADDRESSED? The Holy Spirit is the great Comforter, and He it is who alone can solace the saints; but He uses instruments to relieve His children in their distress and to lift up their hearts from desperation. To whom, then, is this command addressed?

1. To angels, first of all. You often talk about the insinuations of the devil. Allow me to remind you that there is another side of that question, for if evil spirits assault us, doubtless good spirits guard us. It is my firm belief that angels are often employed by God to throw into the hearts of His people comforting thoughts.

2. But on earth this is more especially addressed to the Lords ministers. The minister should ask of God the Spirit, that he may be filled with His influence as a comforter.

3. But do not support your ministers as an excuse for the discharge of your own duties; many do so. When God said, Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, He spake to all His people to comfort one another.

II. WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THIS COMMAND?

1. Because God loves to see His people look happy. The Roman Catholic supposes that God is pleased with a man if he whips himself, walks barefooted for many miles, and torments his body. When I am by the seaside, and the tide is coming in, I see what appears to be a little fringe, looking almost like a mist; and I ask a fisherman what it is. He tells me there is no mist there; and that what I see are all little shrimps dancing in ecstasy, throwing themselves in convulsions and contortions of delight. I think within myself, Does God make those creatures happy, and did He make me to be miserable? Can it ever be a religious thing to be unhappy? No; true religion is in harmony with the whole world; it is in harmony with the whole sun and moon and stars, and the sun shines and the stars twinkle; the world has flowers in it and leaping hills and carolling birds; it has joys in it; and I hold it to be an irreligious thing to go moping miserably through Gods creation.

2. Because uncomfortable Christians dishonour religion.

3. Because a Christian in an uncomfortable state cannot work for God much. It is when the mind is happy that it can be laborious.

4. Again, Comfort ye Gods people, because ye profess to love them.

III. God never gives His children a duty without giving them THE MEANS TO DO IT. Let me just hint at those things in the everlasting Gospel which have a tendency to comfort the saints. Whisper in the mourners ear electing grace, and redeeming mercy, and dying love. Tell him that God watcheth the furnace as the goldsmith the refining pot. If that does not suffice, tell him of his present mercies; tell him that he has much left, though much is gone. Tell him that Jesus is above, wearing the breast-plate, or pleading his cause. Tell him that though earths pillars shake, God is a refuge for us; tell the mourner that the everlasting God faileth not, neither is weary. Let present facts suffice thee to cheer him. But if this is not enough, tell him of the future; whisper to him that there is a heaven with pearly gates and golden streets. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Comfort for England

I will make one little change in the translation, taking the words of Dr. George Adam Smith, Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God! Speak ye to the heart of England, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. Had the Hebrew prophets no other claim upon our regard we ought to hold them in everlasting respect for their patriotism. For Israel the prophet thought a man might well die. Israel was also Gods people. The strength of Israel in every time of trouble was the Lord of hosts. And the prophets interest was not confined to the sacrifices of the temple, nor to the coteries of pious people, but swept into its heart everything that concerned the welfare of the community.

1. Why should not our faith go farther afield and have a more generous range? We also carry in our hearts, not only as citizens, but also as Christians, this England which God gave to our fathers, and has continued in its glory unto their children. Why should we not take our courage in both our hands and, looking at the history of the past and comparing it with the history of the present, recognise in our own people another Israel called of God in a special manner, set apart by God for a special mission, and gather into our soul all the promises of

God, and also make our boast in Him as the prophets did? What did they depend on, the Hebrew prophets, for this great conception that God had called the nation, and had a great work for that nation to do? They depended on the facts of history behind them creating in their soul an irresistible conviction. And I ask you whether the right arm of the Most High has not been as conspicuous in English history? From what perils in past centuries has He not delivered this country when the whole world was against us and was put to confusion! Have not we been surrounded by the sea, our national character formed, for purposes that we can recognise? What nation has ever planted so many colonies, explored so many unknown lands, made such practical contributions to civilisation, set such an illustrious example of liberty?

Within our blood is the genius for government, the passion for justice, the love of adventure, and the intelligence of pure faith. Our Lord came of the Jewish stock, and therefore that people must have a lonely place, but when it comes to the carrying out of those great blessings, physical, political, social, and religious, which have been conferred upon the world by the Cross and the pierced hand of the Lord, I challenge anyone to say whether any nation has so extended them within her own borders, or been so willing to give them to the ends of the earth as Gods England.

2. I do not forget Englands sins, for we have sinned in our own generation by inordinate love of material possessions, by discord between the classes of the commonwealth, by a certain insolence which has offended foreign peoples, and also by hideous sins of the flesh. Our sins have been great, and it becomes us to acknowledge them. Does our sin destroy our calling? Does our sin break the Covenant which the Eternal made with our fathers? No people ever sinned against God like Israel. And between the sin of Israel and the sin of England, Gods chosen people of ancient and modern times, there has been the similarity which arises from the sin of people in the same position. Both boasted themselves over-much against other peoples. Both were intoxicated with prosperity. Both depended upon it instead of utilising and conserving the favour of the Most High. When we desire to confess our sins where do we go? We go to the confessions of the Hebrew prophets. And when we ask mercy for our sins, what are the promises we plead? The great promise of mercy declared by the evangelical prophet and now sealed by the life and death and resurrection of our Lord! Because the Hebrew prophet believed that his people were Gods people, he had the courage to speak plainly to them. He is not a traitor to his country who on occasions points out his countrys sins. When Israel sinned there was no voice so loud as that of Isaiah or Amos, but they delighted not in the work, any more than their God delighted in judgment. If God sent them with a rod they took the rod and gave the stroke, but the stroke fell also on the prophets own heart, and he suffered most of all the people. When the people repented and turned again to God, when they brought forth works meet for repentance and showed humility, there was no man so glad as the prophet.

3. When the prophet takes up the work of consolation he has no bounds, he makes the comfort of God to run down the streets like a river. It is not enough to say it once, but twice must he sound it, till the comfort of God shall run like lightning through Jerusalem. And when he takes to comforting he is not to be bound by theories of theology or arguments of the schools. He is not going to ask questionswhether a man can expiate his sins, or whether a nation can win repentance. He flings all this kind of argument to the wind, for he has come out from the presence of the Eternal, who does not keep accounts like that, and he cries, Speak ye home to Jerusalem; her warfare is accomplished. Accomplished! More than that! God hath now repented! It was His people repented first, now He is repenting. They repented of their sins; behold, God has begun to repent of His judgment! I have, he makes the Eternal sayI have been over-hard with these people, and I have punished them more than they have deserved. Go and comfort them. Comfort them royally. Give it out with a

lavish handthey have received double for all their sins. When the prophet speaks in this fashion he is not referring to material prosperity, for the words were spoken to the exiles in Babylon. He comforted the exiles because they had repented and been reconciled unto God. The comfort I preach is not based on arms. It is based on the nobler spirit which God has given England during the progress of the war in South Africa. We sinned, and according to our sin was our punishment. We have repented. Through our churches and through our homes, and individually, we have laid the lessons of the Eternal to heart; and according to our repentance shall be the blessing of God. (J. Watson, M. A.)

Comfort ye My people

This command is adapted to the needs of the country in which we live. There is a good deal of weariness and depression in modem life. If the blessings of an advanced civilisation can make people happy, there are multitudes who ought to be enraptured, for they are surrounded by material comfort. The gospel of recreation is preached to them. Outward nature is enjoyed and reverenced. Music and painting are filling them with sensibility; literature is contributing to their intellectual gratification; and church privileges abound. Worship to-day gratifies the artistic faculty, without putting a very great strain on the spiritual nature of man. There never was so much ingenuity displayed as now in the manufacture of forms of enjoyment. People never waged such a successful war as to-day against physical and social discomfort. And yet, if you watch them closely, you can see that they are not really satisfied. Affection to-day is not at rest, intellect is not at rest, conscience is not at rest, faith is not at rest. Thank God, there is sweet satisfaction of soul to be found. Comfort ye, etc.

I. There is a message in this text for ALL WHO ARE UNDER DISCIPLINE ON ACCOUNT OF SIN. The connection between sin and punishment is never really broken. Men were never so clever as they are to-day in the efforts they have put forth to evade the penalties of wrong-doing, and they very often succeed so far as outward effects are concerned, But the inward penalty is always sure. Loss of self-respect, loss of faculty, and deterioration of nature itself. Thy warfare is accomplished, thy discipline may come to an end. It is the spirit of rebellion which lengthens the period of discipline. Lay down your weapons, give up fighting against God, and He will forgive you now, and the consequences of your wrongdoing shall inwardly be done away. Further, your pardon will tell at once on the outward consequences of your wrong-doing. You forfeited the confidence of your friends by your sin; that will come back to you. You damaged your health; that will improve. You injured your social position; that will be retrieved. Just as there is no decree in Gods mind as to the length of time during which a mans discipline shall be continued, so there is no decree as to the amount of suffering man can endure. The suffering, like the time, may be relieved by speedy submission and penitence.

II. There is a message in this text for ALL WHO IN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE HAVE NEVER GOT BEYOND CONVICTION. Beyond conviction there is the forgiveness of God. Beyond the sin there is purity. Beyond doubt there is faith; and beyond all this miserable weariness of spirit there is rest.

III. There is a message here, also, for ALL TIMID CHRISTIANS. They feel it would be presumption to expect conscious pardon and Christian perfection. Cultivate your capacity to take in the comfort of God.

IV. There is a message here for ALL DISCONSOLATE CHRISTIANS. You want new ideas, the old ones are about worn out. Thy warfare with weariness is accomplished.

V. There is a message here for DISCONSOLATE CHURCHES. The Jewish Church was disconsolate at the time of the captivity, and there are Churches to-day which are in a sort of

captivity. They have made exceptional provision for the needs of the people, yet they are declining. The declension of Churches in great populations is due to many causes, but due to one cause that is a great deal overlooked, and that is the very peculiar temperament of the generation in which your lot has been east. Competition, in particular, has led to a vast amount of advertising. But disconsolate Churches may be comforted. We are coming out of the captivity of those habits and conditions which have come down from the restrictive ages of society. Modern evangelism has grown steadily in the elements of truth and spiritual intelligence. It is resulting to-day in the deepening of spiritual life, and in the expansion of the kingdom of God.

VI. There is a message here for THE NATION AND THE EMPIRE. The return from captivity was the beginning of a new spiritual movement, which was destined to extend over many countries. The classical period of human history was about to begin. My text is the new strain with which the prophet greets the expanding prospect. As one has said, It is the keynote of the revived and purified Israel, and the reason of the hold of Christendom on Europe and on modern times. There is a wonderful correspondence between that period and ours. England is the centre to-day. Judaism at the time referred to was rational-ised by being brought into contact with forms of Roman and Greek thought. Christianity is being rationalised by contact with natural religion. But who is the leader of the improvement of the modern world? Who is this that cometh from Edom? etc. (chap. 63:1). Was it some king ruling the nations with a rod of iron? No. Some soldier with a two-edged sword? No. Some philosopher ruling the intellect of the race? No. Jehovah s righteous servant and witness it was: that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. And the Lord Christ, the Son of God, never spoke to the race as He is speaking to-day, and He needs His messengers to prepare His way. (T. Allen, D. D.)

Conviction and comfort

A quaint Scotch preacher said that the needle of the law opens the way for and carries the thread of the Gospel. I once quoted this saying in a tent-meeting, and a hearer remarked to me afterwards: Yes, youre right; but the needle should be pulled out and not left behind. (H. G. Guinness, D. D.)

10. EBC, THE DATE OF ISAIAH 40-66

THE problem of the date of Isaiah 40-66 is this: In a book called by the name of the prophet Isaiah, who flourished between 740 and 700 B.C., the last twenty-seven chapters deal with the captivity suffered by the Jews in Babylonia from 598 to 538, and more particularly with the advent, about 550, of Cyrus, whom they name. Are we to take for granted that Isaiah himself prophetically wrote these chapters, or must we assign them to a nameless author or authors of the period of which they treat?

Till the end of the last century it was the almost universally accepted tradition, and even still is an opinion retained by many, that Isaiah was carried forward by the Spirit, out of his own age to the standpoint of one hundred and fifty years later; that he was inspired to utter the warning and comfort required by a generation so very different from his own, and was even enabled to hail by name their redeemer, Cyrus. This theory, involving as it does a phenomenon without parallel in the history of Holy Scripture, is based on these two grounds: first, that the chapters in question form a considerable part-nearly nine-twentieths-of the Book of Isaiah; and second, that portions of them are quoted in the New Testament by the prophets name. The theory is also

supported by arguments drawn from resemblances of style and vocabulary between these twenty-seven chapters and the undisputed oracles of Isaiah but, as the opponents of the Isaian authorship also appeal to vocabulary and style, it will be better to leave this kind of evidence aside for the present, and to discuss the problem upon other and less ambiguous grounds.

The first argument, then, for the Isaian authorship of chapters 40-66 is that they form part of a book called by Isaiahs name. But, to be worth anything, this argument must rest on the following facts: that everything in a book called by a prophets name is necessarily by that prophet, and that the compilers of the book intended to hand it down as altogether from his pen. Now there is no evidence for either of these conclusions. On the contrary, there is considerable testimony in the opposite direction. The Book of Isaiah is not one continuous prophecy. It consists of a number of separate orations, with a few intervening pieces of narrative. Some of these orations claim to be Isaiahs own: they possess such titles as "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz." But such titles describe only the individual prophecies they head, and other portions of the book, upon other subjects and in very different styles, do not possess titles at all. It seems to me that those who maintain the Isaian authorship of the whole book have the responsibility cast upon them of explaining why some chapters in it should be distinctly said to be by Isaiah, while others should not be so entitled. Surely this difference affords us sufficient ground for understanding that the whole book is not necessarily by Isaiah, nor intentionally handed down by its compilers as the work of that prophet.

Now, when we come to chapters 40-66, we find that, occurring in a book which we have just seen no reason for supposing to be in every part of it by Isaiah, these chapters nowhere claim to be his. They are separated from that portion of the book, in which his undisputed oracles are placed, by a historical narrative of considerable length. And there is not anywhere upon them nor in them a title nor other statement that they are by the prophet, nor any allusion which could give the faintest support to the opinion, that they offer themselves to posterity as dating from his time. It is safe to say, that, if they had come to us by themselves, no one would have dreamt for an instant of ascribing them to Isaiah; for the alleged resemblances, which their language and style bear to his language and style, are far more than overborne by the undoubted differences, and have never been employed, even by the defenders of the Isaian authorship, except in additional and confessedly slight support of their main argument, viz., that the chapters must be Isaiahs because they are included in a book called by his name.

Let us understand, therefore, at this very outset, that in discussing the question of the authorship of "Second Isaiah," we are not discussing a question upon which the text itself makes any statement, or into which the credibility of the text enters. No claim is made by the Book of Isaiah itself for the Isaian authorship of chapters 40-66.

A second fact in Scripture, which seems at first sight to make strongly for the unity of the Book of Isaiah, is that in the New Testament, portions of the disputed chapters are quoted by Isaiahs name, just as are portions of his admitted prophecies. These citations are nine in number. (Mat_3:3, Mat_8:17, Mat_12:17, Luk_3:4, Luk_4:17, Joh_1:23, Joh_12:38, Act_8:28, Rom_10:16-20) None is by our Lord Himself. They occur in the Gospels, Acts, and Paul. Now if any of these quotations were given in answer to the question, Did Isaiah write chapters 40-66 of the book called by his name? or if the use of his name along with them were involved in the arguments which they are borrowed to illustrate as, for instance, is the case with Davids name in the quotation made by our Lord from Psa_110:1-7, then those who deny the unity of the Book of Isaiah would be face to face with a very serious problem indeed. But in none of the nine cases is the authorship of the Book of Isaiah in question. In none of the nine cases is there anything in the argument, for the purpose of which the quotation has been made, that depends on the quoted words being by Isaiah. For the purposes for which the Evangelists and Paul borrow the texts, these might as well be unnamed, or attributed to any other canonical writer. Nothing in

them requires us to suppose that Isaiahs name is mentioned with them for any other end than that of reference, viz., to point out that they lie in the part of prophecy usually known by his name. But if there is nothing in these citations to prove that Isaiahs name is being used for any other purpose than that of reference, then it is plain-and this is all that we ask assent to at the present time-that they do not offer the authority of Scripture as a bar to our examining the evidence of the chapters in question.

It is hardly necessary to add that neither is there any other question of doctrine in our way. There is none about the nature of prophecy, for, to take an example, chapter 53, as a prophecy of Jesus Christ, is surely as great a marvel if yon date it from the Exile as if you date it from the age of Isaiah. And, in particular, let us understand that no question need be started about the ability of Gods Spirit to inspire a prophet to mention Cyrus by name one hundred and fifty years before Cyrus appeared. The question is not, Could a prophet have been so inspired?-to which question, were it put, our answer might only be, God is great!-but the question is, Was our prophet so inspired? does he himself offer evidence of the fact? Or, on the contrary, in naming Cyrus does he give himself out as a contemporary of Cyrus, who already saw the great Persian above the horizon? To this question only the writings under discussion can give us an answer. Let us see what they have to say.

Apart from the question of the date, no chapters in the Bible are interpreted with such complete unanimity as Isaiah 40-48. They plainly set forth certain things as having already taken place-the Exile and Captivity, the ruin of Jerusalem, and the devastation of the Holy Land. Israel is addressed as having exhausted the time of her penalty, and is proclaimed to be ready for deliverance. Some of the people are comforted as being in despair because redemption does not draw near; others are exhorted to leave the city of their bondage, as if they were growing too familiar with its idolatrous life. Cyrus is named as their deliverer, and is pointed out as already called upon his career, and as blessed with success by Jehovah. It is also promised that he will immediately add Babylon to his conquests, and so set Gods people free.

Now all this is not predicted, as if from the standpoint of a previous century. It is nowhere said-as we should expect it to be said, if the prophecy had been uttered by Isaiah-that Assyria, the dominant world-power of Isaiahs day, was to disappear and Babylon to take her place; that then the Babylonians should lead the Jews into an exile which they had escaped at the hands of Assyria; and that after nearly seventy years of suffering God would raise up Cyrus as a deliverer.

There is none of this prediction, which we might fairly have expected had the prophecy been Isaiahs; because, however far Isaiah carries us into the future, he never fails to start from the circumstances of his own day. Still more significant, however-there is not even the kind of prediction that we find in Jeremiahs prophecies of the Exile, with which indeed it is most instructive to compare Isaiah 40-66 Jeremiah also spoke of exile and deliverance, but it was always with the grammar of the future. He fairly and openly predicted both; and, let us especially remember, he did so with a meagreness of description, a reserve and reticence about details, which are simply unintelligible if Isaiah 40-66 was written before his day, and by so well-known a prophet as Isaiah.

No: in the statements which our chapters make concerning the Exile and the condition of Israel under it, there is no prediction, not the slightest trace of that grammar of the future in which Jeremiahs prophecies are constantly uttered. But there is a direct appeal to the conscience of a people already long under the discipline of God; their circumstance of exile is taken for granted; there is a most vivid and delicate appreciation of their present fears and doubts, and to these the deliverer Cyrus is not only named, but introduced as an actual and notorious personage already upon the midway of his irresistible career.

These facts are more broadly based than just at first sight appears. You cannot turn their flank by the argument that Hebrew prophets were in the habit of employing in their predictions what is called "the prophetic perfect"-that is, that in the ardour of their conviction that certain things would take place they talked of these, as the flexibility of the Hebrew tenses allowed them to do, in the past or perfect as if the things had actually taken place. No such argument is possible in the case of the introduction of Cyrus. For it is not only that the prophesy, with what might be the mere ardour of vision, represents the Persian as already above the horizon and upon the flowing tide of victory; but that, in the course of a sober argument for the unique divinity of the God of Israel, which takes place throughout chapters 41-48, Cyrus, alive and irresistible, already accredited by success, and with Babylonia at his feet, is pointed out as the unmistakable proof that former prophecies for a deliverance for Israel are at last coming to pass. Cyrus, in short, is not presented as a prediction, but as the proof that a prediction is being fulfilled. Unless he had already appeared in flesh and blood, and was on the point of striking at Babylon, with all the prestige of unbroken victory, a great part of Isa_41:1-29 - Isa_48:1-22 would be utterly unintelligible.

This argument is so conclusive for the date of Second Isaiah, that it may be well to state it a little more in detail, even at the risk of anticipating some of the exposition of the text.

Among the Jews at the close of the Exile there appear to have been two classes. One class was hopeless of deliverance, and to their hearts is addressed such a prophecy as chapter 40: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people." But there was another class, of opposite temperament, who had only too strong opinions on the subject of deliverance. In bondage to the letter of Scripture and to the great precedents of their history, these Jews appear to have insisted that the Deliverer to come must be a Jew, and a descendant of David. And the bent of much of the prophets urgency in chapter 45 is to persuade those pedants, that the Gentile Cyrus, who had appeared to be not only the biggest man of his age, but the very likely means of Israels redemption, was of Jehovahs own creation and calling. Does not such an argument necessarily imply that Cyrus was already present, an object of doubt and debate to earnest minds in Israel? Or are we to suppose that all this doubt and debate were foreseen, rehearsed, and answered one hundred and fifty years before the time by so famous a prophet as Isaiah, and that, in spite of his prediction and answer, the doubt and debate nevertheless took place in the minds of the very Israelites, who were most earnest students of ancient prophecy? The thing has only to be stated to be felt to be impossible.

But besides the pedants in Israel, there is apparent through these prophecies another body of men, against whom also Jehovah claims the actual Cyrus for His own. They are the priests and worshippers of the heathen idols. It is well known that the advent of Cyrus cast the Gentile religions of the time and their counsellors into confusion. The wisest priests were perplexed; the oracles of Greece and Asia Minor either were dumb when consulted about the Persian, or gave more than usually ambiguous answers. Over against this perplexity and despair of the heathen religions, our prophet confidently claims Cyrus for Jehovahs own. In a debate in chapter 41, in which he seeks to establish Jehovahs righteousness-that is, Jehovahs faithfulness to His word, and power to carry out His predictions - the prophet speaks of ancient prophecies which have come from Jehovah, and points to Cyrus as their fulfilment. It does not matter to us in the meantime what those prophecies were. They may have been certain of Jeremiahs predictions; we may be sure that they cannot have contained anything so definite as Cyrus name, or such a proof of Divine foresight must certainly have formed part of the prophets plea. It is enough that they could be quoted; our business is rather with the evidence which the prophet offers of their fulfilment. That evidence is Cyrus. Would it have been possible to refer the heathen to Cyrus as proof that those ancient prophecies were being fulfilled, unless Cyrus had been visible to the heathen, -unless the heathen had been beginning already to feel this Persian "from the sunrise" in all his weight of war? It is no esoteric doctrine which the prophet is unfolding to initiated

Israelites about Cyrus. He is making an appeal to men of the world to face facts. Could he possibly have made such an appeal unless the facts had been there, unless Cyrus had been within the ken of "the natural man"? Unless Cyrus and his conquests were already historically present, the argument in 41-48 is unintelligible.

If this evidence for the exilic date of Isaiah 40-48 -for all these chapters hang together-required any additional support, it would find it in the fact that the prophet does not wholly treat of what is past and over, but makes some predictions as well. Cyrus is on the way of triumph, but Babylon has still to fall by his hand. Babylon has still to fall, before the exiles can go free. Now, if our prophet were predicting from the standpoint of one hundred and forty years before, why did he make this sharp distinction between two events which appeared so closely together? If he had both the advent of Cyrus and the fall of Babylon in his long perspective, why did he not use "the prophetic perfect" for both? That he speaks of the first as past and of the second as still to come, would most surely, if there had been no tradition the other way, have been accepted by all as sufficient evidence, that the advent of Cyrus was behind him and the fall of Babylon still in front of him, when he wrote these chapters.

Thus the earlier part, at least, of Isaiah 40-66 -that is, chapters 40-48- compels us to date it between 555, Cyruss advent, and 538, Babylons fall. But some think that we may still further narrow the limits. In Isa_41:25, Cyrus, whose own kingdom lay east of Babylonia, is described as invading Babylonia from the north. This, it has been thought, must refer to his union with the Medes in 549, and hi