The church prays A. M. 2990. B. C. 1014. B. C. 1014. 12 My vineyard, which is mine, is || companions hearken to thy voice: A. M. 2990. before me thou, O Solomon, must cause me to hear it. have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. 14 Make haste, my beloved, and 'be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the moun 13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the tains of spices. i Chap. ii. 14. Rev. xxii. 17, 20. cation of its members. And each minister was to endeavour to the utmost of his power to promote the fruits of righteousness in every individual, to the honour and glory of the great proprietor of the whole. See notes on Isa. v. 1-7; and Matt. xxi. 33, 43. Heb. Flee away. Chap. ii. 17. been stated is the literal meaning of this verse; in the application of it to Christ and his church, we must say, as Solomon's spouse gave her vineyard, or her whole property, to him on her marriage, so the church, the spouse of Christ, upon her marriage to Verse 12. My vineyard, which is mine-My soul, him, gives him, not only herself, but her all, and may every true member of the church say, my retains a propriety or exclusive right in nothing heart and life, my time and talents; or, my privileges || She lays herself and her all at his feet. With her and advantages, may the church in general say, heavenly husband's permission, however, she takes which are committed to my trust, and for which I care to provide for those who are employed in culmust be accountable; are before me-Under my tivating and keeping the vineyard. For while Solocontinual care. Thou, O Solomon, must have a mon has the vineyard, two hundred pieces, arising thousand-Thou, O Christ, must have the honour from the produce of it, are reserved for those who and glory: thou must receive returns of gratitude, || look after the fruit thereof. For the labourer, said love, and duty for the blessings thou hast bestowed; || Jesus, is worthy of his hire: and he that is taught thou must be served with the produce of the vine- || in the word must communicate unto him that teachyard, and of every plant therein. And those that eth in all good things. keep the fruit thereof, two hundred-Those ministers that take pains with thy people to make them fruitful, must have that reward and encouragement that is due to them, 1 Cor. ix. 7. They that give Christ his due, will also give ministers theirs; yet without encroaching on Christ's. It may be observed here, that the Hebrew of this verse will admit of a different translation, thus; My vineyard, which before brought me a thousand pieces, is now thine, O Solomon, and there are two hundred pieces for those who look after the fruit thereof. They who adopt this translation suppose that the occasion of writing this book was taken from Solomon's marriage of a beautiful person called Shulamith, (chap. vi. 13,) and generally supposed to be Pharaoh's daughter: and that in her single state she possessed a vineyard, which upon her marriage became Solomon's; because, though among the Jews it was usual for the husband to endow his spouse with a sum of money at their marriage, yet the bride also often brought a portion to her husband, as appears from Tobit x. 10. Now, supposing it to be a fact, that Solomon's marriage gave occasion to this book, and that what has now 54 Verse 13. Thou that dwellest-The word navn thus rendered, is in the feminine gender, which plainly shows that Christ speaks here to his spouse, being about to depart from her for a season, as the next verse shows; in the gardens—Not in the wilderness of the world, for believers are called out of the world, (John xv. 19,) but in the church, the garden of God, which God hath fenced and appropriated to himself. He saith, gardens, because of the many particular congregations into which the church is divided. The companions-The friends of the bride and bridegroom; hearken to thy voice-Diligently observe all thy words, and thy whole conduct toward me, and all the transactions between thee and me. Cause me to hear thy voice-When I am gone from thee, let me hear thy prayers and praises, and the preaching of my gospel in the world. Verse 14. Make haste, my beloved-Seeing we must part for a time, make haste, O my beloved bridegroom, and speedily finish the work which thou hast to do in the world, that so thou mayest take me to thyself, that I may live in thine everlasting embraces. 3 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. ARGUMENT. We are now come to a part of the Scriptures entirely different from those we have gone through; to a revelation of God's word and will, delivered chiefly in prophetic visions: in which a multitude of symbolical representations, signifying things to come, and making known the will of God, and, in part, his counsels, were divinely impressed on the prophets' minds; and this not only respecting things near at hand, but those also that were to come to pass in distant ages. "Prophecy," says a learned and ingenious writer, "may be styled an influx of the divine mind upon the human, to inform it of those things, or truths, with which before it was unacquainted, to the knowledge of which it could not attain by its own natural powers; and likewise to awaken within it, and clear up to it, those truths which are engraven on our very nature, how much soever they may be obscured." Or, in the words of Joseph Albo, a famous Jewish rabbi, it is "An influence from God upon the rational faculty, either by the mediation of the fancy or otherwise; and this influence, whether communicated by the ministry of an angel or otherwise, makes a man to know such things, as, by his natural abilities, he could not attain to the knowledge of." This rabbi hath distinguished prophecy into these four degrees: The first and lowest is, when the imaginative power is most predominant, so that the impressions made upon it are too rapid and turbulent for the rational faculty to discern the true mystical and spiritual sense of them clearly; and, in this case, the prophets expressed themselves chiefly in parables, similitudes, and allegories, in a dark and obscure manner, as is very manifest in Zechariah, and in many of Ezekiel's prophecies. This declining state of prophecy the Jews suppose to have principally taken place when they were carried captive into Babylon. The second degree of prophecy is, when the strength of the imaginative and rational powers, equally balance one another. The third is, when the rational power is most predominant; in which case, the mind of the prophet is able to strip those things that are represented to it in the glass of fancy, of all their materiality and sensible nature, and apprehend them more distinctly in their own naked essence. The last, and highest, is the Mosaic degree; in which all imagination ceases, and the representation of truth descends not so low as the imaginative part, but is made in the highest stage of reason and understanding. In the former times of the Israelitish commonwealth, after Moses, the prophets, to whom God made known his will, and whom he raised up to reprove, warn, exhort, or instruct his people, delivered their messages only or chiefly by word of mouth: we read but of one that was communicated in writing, and that was a message from Elijah to Jehoram, king of Israel, recorded 2 Chron. xxi. 12. The histories of those times, however, which are left us, were compiled by prophets, under a divine direction, and when the Old Testament is divided into the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms; the historical books are, for that reason, reckoned among the prophets; Solomon's writings, and some others, being classed with the Psalms. But, in the latter times of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, some of the prophets were divinely inspired to write their prophecies, or abstracts of them, and to leave them upon record for the benefit of after ages, that "the children which should be born might praise the Lord" for them, and, by comparing the event with the prediction, might have their faith confirmed. And, as we have reason to think, these later prophets spoke more fully and clearly of the Messiah and his kingdom than their predecessors had done; probably, on that account, God inclined them to record their prophecies, in order that they might both afford encouragement to the pious Jews, that looked for the consolation of Israel, and might minister edification to us Christians, upon whom the ends of the world are come; as David's Psalms had been written for General view of the contents ISAIAH. of the Book of Isaiah. the same reason; and that thus the Old and New Testaments might mutually give light and lustre to each other. It must be observed, however, that there were many other faithful prophets, at the same time, who spoke in God's name, and did not commit their prophecies, or any part of them, to writing, but who were, nevertheless, of those whom God raised up and sent, partly to assist the pious and faithful priests and Levites in teaching the people, and partly to supply the lack of service of such as were unfaithful and negligent. And the contempt of them, and the other prophets, and of their messages, in the end, brought ruin, without remedy, upon that senseless and infatuated people, who knew not the day of their visitation. The holy prophets, who wrote their prophecies, and whose writings are contained in the sacred Scriptures, are sixteen. Of these Isaiah is first in place, and, as seems probable, in time also. Or, if Hosea began to prophesy and write before him, Isaiah certainly began soon after, as is evident by comparing Isa. i. 1, with Hosea i. 1; and he appears to have prophesied above sixty years, computing from the year in which Uzziah died, when he seems to have been first solemnly called to the prophetical office, (see chap. vi. 1,) to the end of Hezekiah's reign, whom he is said to have outlived. St. Jerome, in his preface to this book, tells us he was of noble birth; and the Jews say he was of the blood royal of Judah. That, however, is uncertain. But undoubtedly he was the prince of all the prophets, whether we consider the great extent and variety of his prophecies, the excellence and sublimity of those mysteries which were revealed to him and by him, the majesty and elegance of his style, the noble metaphors and striking imagery wherewith he illustrates and adorns his writings, or the incomparable liveliness and power of his sermons. He is universally and justly esteemed the most eloquent of all the prophets. Grotius compares his eloquence to that of Demosthenes. "In the prophet we meet with all the purity of the Hebrew tongue, as in the orator all the delicacy of the Attic taste. Both are sublime and magnificent in their style, vehement in their emotions, copious in their figures, and very impetuous when they set off things of an enor mous nature, or which are grievous and odious. Whatever of its ancient sweetness and sublimity the Hebrew poetry preserves, it is all to be found in this exquisite book." See Bishop Lowth's admirable translation of it, with the Preliminary Dissertation and notes annexed. It is the constant tradition, both of Jews and Christians, that Isaiah was put to death with a saw at the beginning of the reign of Mannasseh; to which the apostle is generally thought to refer, Heb. xi. 37. The great and principal objects of Isaiah's prophecies are, the captivity of Babylon, the return of the Jews from this captivity, and the reign of the Messiah, whose person, offices, sufferings, and kingdom he so evidently and fully describes, that some of the ancients called him the fifth evangelist. And, accordingly, it is observable, that there are more quotations in the New Testament taken out of this book than out of the books of all the other prophets. "I divide the book of Isaiah," says Vitringa, "into the title prefixed to it, and the matter contained in it. The matter is two-fold, prophetical and historical, which are interwoven together. The prophetical is divided into five parts; the first of which, from the first chapter to the thirteenth, contains five prophetic sermons, immediately directed to the Jews, and also to the Ephraimites, whom the prophet variously reproves, exhorts, consoles. The second part, from the thirteenth to the twenty-fourth chapter, contains eight sermons, in which the fate of other nations is declared. The third part, from the twenty-fourth chapter to the thirty-sixth, explains the penal judgments denounced by God upon the disobedient Jews, and the enemies of the church, with the most ample promises given to the true church; and is comprehended in three sermons. The fourth part, from the fortieth chapter to the forty-ninth, sets forth, in four sermons, of a consolatory kind, the manifestation of the Messiah in the flesh, with its circumstances and effects, and the signs preceding it; particularly the deliverance of the Jewish Church from their exile in Babylon. The fifth part exhibits, in five sermons, from the fortyninth chapter, the fate and events of Jesus Christ, his person and kingdom; with which this most noble prophecy closes. The historical part relates some notable events of those times, in which God was pleased to make use of the ministry of Isaiah, and, beginning with the thirty-sixth, ends with the thirty-ninth chapter." Or, according to another, perhaps still more accurate division of the sections of this book, in the first five chapters the prophet describes the corruptions of Judah, admonishes them what would be the fatal consequences of their sins, and most pathetically exhorts them to amendment of life, showing that, without it, all sacrifices, and the most exact observance of the outward ceremonies of religion, were vain. But, amidst the terrible evils that he denounces against those that continued in sin, he promises God's peculiar protection and happiness to the righteous; and, to comfort them, intersperses promises of a return of far better times, taking into this view the glorious times of the gospel which were to perfect the divine dispensations. In the six following chapters he promises, in the name of the Lord, the deliverance of Jerusalem, then besieged by the Syrians in confederacy with Israel, and denounces the speedy destruction of both those kingdoms; but, at the same time, he foretels the future destruction of Judah by the Assyrians, though it was to be delivered from its present calamities. From the thirteenth to the twenty-ninth chapter are prophecies against several kingdoms; namely, Babylon, the Philistines, Moab, Ďamascus, Egypt, Kedar, Arabia, Tyre, Samaria, and the ten tribes; against all which he denounces The vision of Isaiah CHAPTER I. concerning Judah and Jerusalem. God's severe judgments, but interspersed with indications of future mercy to them in bringing them to the knowledge of himself. From the twenty-ninth to the end of the thirty-fifth chapter are prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, by the Babylonians, but mixed with consolatory promises of future happiness. The thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, and thirty-eighth chapters contain an account of Sennacherib's invasion of Judea, and the sickness of Hezekiah, which happened at the same time; that history being a key to explain several passages in the foregoing prophecies; for he had foretold this siege of Jerusalem, and when it came to pass, though things seemed reduced to the last extremity, declared, that the city would be delivered from it, without receiving the least damage; and that the author of it, Sennacherib, would be followed with exemplary punishment from God. The fortieth and four following chapters contain a discourse in demonstration of the existence and perfections of Jehovah, the only living and true God, of the truth of the Jewish religion, and of the folly and vanity of idolatry, with some promises of the coming of the Messiah. In the four following chapters he foretels the reign of Cyrus, and the deliverance and return of the Jewish people from their captivity at Babylon. From the forty-ninth chapter to the end are more express prophecies of Christ, of the kingdom he would establish among men, of his sufferings and future glory, of the preaching of the gospel, and the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of the true God. St. Jerome says of Isaiah, that his writings are, as it were, an abridgment of the Holy Scriptures; and that the instructions they give in morality and divinity are highly excellent. Certainly this prophet corrects with so much power, admonishes and exhorts so pathetically, describes the truc nature of religion and virtue, and exposes all false notions of them, in so strong and clear a manner, that this book of his will be eminently useful to pious minds in all ages, for conviction of sin, and direction in duty; and we cannot read it, with due attention, without being greatly profited thereby. It may be proper to add here, that Bishop Lowth considers Isaiah as delivering all his visions, prophecies, or messages from God in Hebrew poetry, like the song of Israel at the Red sea, that of Deborah, recorded Judges v., or the Song of Moses, Deut. xxxii., on which see the notes. CHAPTER I. In this chapter we have Judah's sins, 1-4. Her judgments, 5–9. The rejection of her worship, 10-15. Exhortations to repentance, promises of mercy and grace, threatenings of sore judgments, and complaints by reason of their backsliding, 16-31. Dr. Taylor, in his Scripture Divinity, observes, that this chapter, "by reason of its grand exordium, might be judged proper to stand at the front of the book; but that it gives such an account of the distressed, desolate state of the land, as agrees much better with the wicked and afflicted reign of Ahaz, than with the flourishing circumstances of the country in the reigns of Uzziah, and of his son and successor Jotham; who were both, in the main, good princes." Compare chap. i. 7-9, with 2 Chron. xxvi. 1-16, and xxvii. 1-6. B. C. A. M. 3244. THE vision of Isaiah the son || cerning Judah and Jerusalem in A. M. 3244. of Amoz, which he saw con- the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, B. C. 760. a Num. xii. 6. NOTES ON CHAPTER I. Verse 1. The vision of Isaiah—" It seems doubtful," says Bishop Lowth, "whether this title belong to the whole book, or only to the prophecy contained in this chapter. The former part of the title seems properly to belong to this particular prophecy: the latter part, which enumerates the kings of Judah, under whom Isaiah exercised his prophetical office, seems to appropriate it to the whole collection of prophecies delivered in the course of his ministry. Vitringa, to whom the world is greatly indebted for his learned labours on this prophet, has, I think, very judiciously resolved this doubt. He supposes, that the former part of this title was originally prefixed to this single prophecy; and that when the collection of all Isaiah's prophecies was made, the enumeration of the kings of Judah was added, to make it, at the same time, a proper title to the whole book. And such it is plainly taken to be, 2 Chron. xxxii. 32; where the book of Isaiah is cited by this title." Thus understood, the word vision is used collectively for visions, and the sense is, "This is the book of the visions, or prophecies, of Isaiah." The reader must observe, the two usual ways, whereby God communicated his will to the prophets, were visions and dreams: see Num. xii. 6. In visions, the inspired persons were awake, but their external senses were bound up, and, as it were, laid asleep in a trance. Thus Balaam describes them as to himself, Num. xxiv. 16. They are called visions, not from any use made of corporal sight, but because of the clearness and evidence of the things revealed, and the conformity of this kind of inspiration to the information which the mind receives by the sight of the bodily eyes. Hence, also, prophets were called seers, 1 Sam. ix. 9. Sometimes, however, visions were accompanied with external representations. See chap. vi. 1; Ezek. xl. 2; Rev. xxi. 10. See notes The sins and B. C. 760. ISAIAH. B. C. 760. judgments of Judah. A. M. 3244. and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. || have provoked the Holy One of Israel A. M. 3244. 2 b Hear, O heavens, and give ear, unto anger, they are gone away backO earth for the LORD hath spoken: I have ward. nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. d C 3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people 1laden with ini- || quity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters! they have forsaken the LORD, they C h 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 4 8 Chap. lvii. 3, 4; Matt. iii. 7.- Heb. alienated, or, sepad Jer. viii. 7. ||rated, Psa. lviii. 3.- Chap, ix. 13; Jer. ii. 30; v. 3.—3 Heb. increase revolt.- — Jer. viii. 22.- - Or, oil. b Deut. xxxii. 1; Jer. ii. 12; vi. 19; xxii. 29; Ezek. xxxvi. 4; Micah i. 2; vi. 1, 2. Chapter v. 1, 2.Jer. ix. 3, 6. Chap. v. 12.1 Heb. of heaviness. on Isaiah, by Wm. Lowth, B. D. Which he saw- sets them lower than the beasts, and even than the Foresaw and foretold. For he speaks, after the stupidest of all beasts; for there is scarce any more manner of the prophets, of things to come, as if so than the ox and the ass. Yet these acknowledge they were either past or present. Concerning their master; they know the manger of their lord; Judah---Principally, but not exclusively. For he by whom they are fed, not for their own, but his prophesies also concerning Egypt and Babylon, and good; neither are they looked upon as children, but divers other countries; yet with respect to Judah. as beasts of burden; neither are they advanced to In the days of Uzziah, &c.-In the time of their honours, but oppressed with great and daily labours. reign. This, probably, was not the first vision which || While the Israelites, chosen by the mere favour of God, Isaiah had, but is placed at the beginning of his book,|| adopted as sons, promoted to the highest dignity, yet because, together with the four following chapters, acknowledged not their Lord and their God, but deit contains a general description of the state of the spised his commandments, though in the highest deJews, under the several judgments which God had gree equitable and just."" See a comparison of Jerebrought upon them, and is a fit preface or introduc-miah, chap. viii. 7, to the same purpose, equally eletion to the rest of his prophecy. Verse 2. Hear, O heavens, &c.--" God is introduced as entering upon a solemn and public action, or pleading, before the whole world, against his disobedient people. The prophet, as herald, or officer,|| to proclaim the summons to the court, calls upon all created beings, celestial and terrestrial, to attend and bear witness to the truth of his plea, and the justice of his cause.”—Bishop Lowth. See the same scene more fully displayed, Psa. 1. 3, 4. With the like in- || vocation Moses begins his sublime song, Deut. xxxii. 1; see also Mich. vi. 1, 2. For the Lord hath spoken -Or, It is Jehovah that speaketh, as Bishop Lowth renders it, there seeming to be an impropriety in demanding attention to a speech already delivered. I have nourished, &c.-I first made them a people, and, until this time, I have sustained and blessed them above all other nations: God's care over them is compared to that of parents in nursing and training up their children. And they have rebelled against me-Or, as 'y may be rendered, have revolted from me-Even they, peculiarly favoured as they have been, have proved deserters, nay, trait- || ors, against my crown and dignity. This is the Lord's plea against them, of the equity of which he is willing that all the creatures should be judges. gant, but not so forcible and severe as this of Isaiah. Verse 4. Ah, sinful nation-The prophet bemoans those who would not bemoan themselves; and he speaks with a holy indignation at their degeneracy, and with a dread of the consequences of it. A people laden with iniquity—Laden, not with the sense of sin, as those described Matt. xi. 28, but with the guilt and bondage of sin. A seed of evil-doers-The children of wicked parents, whose guilt they inherit, and whose evil example they follow; children that are corrupted-Hebrew, O'n'nep, that corrupt, namely, themselves, or their ways, or others, by their counsel and example: or, that destroy themselves and their land by their wickedness. They have forsaken the Lord--Not indeed in pro|| fession, but in practice, and therefore in reality, neglecting or corrupting his worship, and refusing to be subject and obedient to him. They have provoked the Holy One, &c.-They have lived as if it were their great design and business to provoke him. They are gone away backward-Instead of proceeding forward, and growing in grace, which was their duty, they are fallen from their former professions, and have become more wicked than ever. || Verses 5, 6. Why should ye be stricken any more -It is to no purpose to seek to reclaim you by one Verse 3. The ox knoweth his owner, &c.-In these chastisement after another; ye will revolt more and words the prophet amplifies "the gross insensibility more--I see you are incorrigible, and turn even your of the disobedient Jews, by comparing them with afflictions into sin. The whole head is sick, &c.-the most heavy and stupid of all animals, yet not so The disease is mortal, as being in the most noble insensible as they. Bochart has well illustrated the and vital parts, the very head and heart of the body comparison, and shown the peculiar force of it. 'He || politic, from whence the plague is derived to all the |