And the prophet forthwith adds, “Now shall vengeance come, the recompense of God"-a recompense worthy of him—" it will come; and he shall save you." We need not enter fully into what follows, as we are only giving notes and hints. But observe that, in vers. 5, 6, the diseases of a sick world are healed; for the time of restoring earth to its paradise-state is arrived (this is the force of in ver. 6). Now, therefore, the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dumb sing-all diseases of the healing of which Christ gave a specimen at his first coming, are taken quite away from our world, now that he has returned to bless. Earth is no more a great hospital; Milton could not now say— "A lazar-house it seem'd, sad, noisome, dark, Of ghostly spasm, or racking torture, qualms Dropsies and asthmas, and joint-racking rheums. Paradise Lost, xi. What a picture of what earth has been! But all this is over now. Now the Lord, who is resurrection and life, has come to heal. O happy day! And thus, too, earth's deserts, as well as Israel's, are healed; for now waters break out, and "rivers" in the desert; and the mirage is a real pool, and the thirsty land is "bubbling springs." Where the serpents haunted, counting the spot "their lair,' "there is now grass, meadows, and fields, with their margin of reeds and rushes, indicating abundance of moisture. And another feature of the desert has disappeared. Instead of pathless sands, instead of almost invisible tracks, there is now the cast-up way (p), and the plain road (77); so that what was the desert is passed through freely and traversed without care. The "pass" is like Ezek. xxix. 11, passing in the way of traffic; they shall be clean who traffic now; and where formerly only caravans of greedy merchants passed, you may see what indicates holiness. The bridles of the horses are "Holiness to the Lord" in this new earth (Zech. xiv. 20); so also are the highways. Each highway is now dedicated to the Lord's service. No unclean ones are there. * Hengstenberg, in his "Christology," strangely interprets this "Zion's couching-place," though Zion is not mentioned. He blunders also at ver. 1, "glad for it," overlooking the plural D. Altogether, he is hasty in his remarks on this chapter. "For he [shall be] to them, walking on the way." 66 IT, "for has The Lord shall be there (N, not, as Alexander, just been used of the way); and, as a consequence, you will not find wanderers, as in the desert long ago (V), fools who have lost their way. No robber is there; no Arab plunderer; nor any noisome beast. The Lord has made all safe for his redeemed, his, and his , redeemed by their God, and redeemed by price (vers. 9, 10). Yes, all the Lord's redeemed, as well as Israel, come up to Zion to see the wonders of the Lord in the place of manifestation, and all is joy, songs, gladness—everlasting joy, songs, gladness-sorrow and sighing having taken wings and fled away. The long-hoped for blessing is "obtained;" their heads are crowned with a garland, a diadem, a crown of joy; they here get back the crown that fell from their heads; they have entered on paradise again. Cowper has reference to this chapter when he sings of the "rivers of gladness watering all the earth," and "the reproach of barrenness is past." But Pope, in his "Messiah," has paraphrased some of these verses very closely. Thus "See Nature hastes her earliest wreaths to bring, With all the incense of the healing spring. See lofty Lebanon his head advance, See nodding forests on the mountains dance. See spicy clouds from lowly Sharon rise; And Carmel's flowery top perfumes the skies." In strains less simple far than Isaiah, yet adapting modern verse to the same theme, he sings of the "thirsty ground"—the sand-becoming a pool. The passer-by "Starts amid the thirsty wilds to hear New falls of water murmuring in his ear. On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abode (, ver. 7), Waste sandy valleys, once perplex'd with thorn, To leafless shrubs the flowery palm succeed, He had already sung of the appearing of Him who is GOD (not mercy. "Lo! earth receives him from the bending skies! a God," earth in 'Tis He th' obstructed paths of sound shall clear, The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego, The Light himself is shining over earth now, and hence the universal joy. "No sigh, no murmur the wide world shall hear; From every face He wipes off every tear." One error occurs in the poet's song. He sings of Israel's altar "heaped with the products of Sabean kings," which is true, referring to Isa. lx. 5, 6, 7; but when he adds, "For thee Idume's spicy forests blow,” he quite overlooked the judgments that shall rest eternally on Idumea. There shall be no spicy forests in Edom to breathe spices. The sons of Keturah and the descendants of Ishmael shall send their produce and visit happy Palestine; but afar off "Idume" shall breathe forth her brimstone and fumes of pitch, a terrific contrast to Judea. The blessing and the curse are there the world's Gerizim and the world's Ebal are uttering their testimony in the world's ear. What Isaiah wrote by the inspiration of the Eternal Spirit, in chap. xxxiv., is realised, as well as all which his glowing strains poured forth so joyously, as if on the string of the harp of God, in chap. xxxv., ending with sorrow and sighing" (as in Rev. xxi. 4), taking farewell of earth. 66 JEREMIAH XLVIII. 32, 33. In vol. ii., p. 198, of "Porter's Damascus," this passage is quoted and illustrated :-"The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer-fruits and upon thy vintage. I have caused the wine to fail from the wine-press; none shall tread with shouting." The writer says, "It is worthy of remark, as a striking fulfilment of this prophecy, that the figs and grapes that still grow in the orchards and vineyards round Sulkhad (Salcah) are every year rifled by the bands of Bedawin. It was these acts of robbery, more than dread of personal violence, that caused Sulkhad, and other places near it, to be deserted by their inhabitants. Not unfrequently the grain crops (i.e., summer-fruits) of the people of Bozrah are completely eaten up by the passing flocks of the Arabs. How wonderfully minute are the predictions of the prophet, 'The spoiler is fallen on thy summer-fruits, and upon thy vintage!' 3 JOHN 7. "For the sake of his name they went forth." The best editions read, "For the sake of the name," vπEρ TOû ovoμaтos. In that case it resembles James ii. 7, "that worthy name;" and Acts v. 41, "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name;" Ùπер TоÛ ὀνόματος. 2 CORINTHIANS V. 19. Is this not, "And who has placed among us the word of reconciliation." It is Oéuevos év huv. By means of preaching, the word of reconciliation is set down among men, like a vessel of water for the thirsty. EPHESIANS I. 12. Can this verse mean, "That, to the praise of his glory, we Jews should be foremost believers in Christ?" It is Tous πpoŋÀñikotas. COLOSSIANS II. 2. "Full assurance of understanding." เ Mr Romaine in one of his letters (No. 45) hints at the true sense of this clause. "Many years' studies, with God's blessing upon them, have favoured me with an insight into the meaning of the riches of the full assurance of understanding.' Oh what a happiness it is to be quite satisfied that objects in the spiritual world are exactly as they are described in the Bible!" It describes the soul of the believer getting deeper and deeper into the perception and feeling of divine truths, revelling in the riches of the undoubted certainty of the objects presented to his soul's understanding in the divine character and ways. The "understanding" (ovveσis) is the comprehending with all saints something of the depth of that great, great theme," the knowledge of the Father and of Christ." REVELATION III. 17. The preponderance of MS. authority is here in favour of the reading which gives the articles to the two first epithets, ó raλaiwроs and ὁ ἐλεεινος. In this case these epithets belong to the subject “ Thou ;' and then the verse reads: "Miserable and wretched as thou art, thou knowest not that thou art poor, and blind, and naked." It is to these three words, descriptive of the wants of this church, that allusion is made in ver. 18. The "gold" of Christ would supply the poverty, his eye-salve would remedy the blindness, and his "fine raiment" would clothe the nakedness. EPHESIANS V. 27. This verse is literally rendered, "That he might himself (avros) present to himself in a glorious condition." The adjective évdogov is the predicate, and Thν ékкλŋσιav the subject. EPHESIANS VI. 10. "Take unto you the whole armour of God." This panoply, so needed in these latter days, is represented as ready for use. For the term is ἀναλαβετε, “Take up what is laid at your feet.” It is as if Paul had referred in his language to Homer's representation of Achilles's armour provided by Thetis and laid down before him. 2 TIMOTHY II. 16. "All scripture" (every portion of it) "being divinely inspired, is profitable for didaσkadia, instruction; for λeyxos, conviction; for éπavoρlwσis, restoration to an upright position upon the only and solid basis (em ava ỏplos); and for (Taideia), discipline (i. e., training and formation of character), in all habits of righteousness "—or, progressive transformation into the image of God. This term raideia here may be compared with Xenophon's use of it, "Kupov πaideia," the process described whereby Cyrus was trained to excellency of character.* HEBREW AND GREEK NAMES OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 1. Simon bar-Jonah; Cephas; Peter. 2. His brother Andrew, or Adam. 3. Jacob, or James, son of Zabdi. 4. Johanan, or John, son of Zabdi. 5. Susi (Numb. xiii. 11, one fond of horses), or Philip. 6. Bar-Tolmai, or Bartholomew, more fully; Nathaniel barTolmai. 7. Theom, or Thomas; Didymus. 10. Judah Lebbi; also called Judah 11. Simon Kanani; Zelotes. *The above four texts are thus explained in a valuable pamphlet, “The Exegetical Study of the Original Scriptures, considered in Connexion with the Training of Theological Students.' By Alexander Black, D.D. Edinburgh, 1856. At p. 43 the author remarks, "The study of the Mosaic writings, in connexion with the frequent references throughout the Old Testament, might suggest a more particular examination of the nature of the national covenant made exclusively with the Jews, in virtue of which they were entitled to the possession of the Promised Land, and all the temporal blessings connected with the inheritance, with the prospect of eventual national restoration to their own country-in which Divine Providence has signally debarred any tribe of Gentile origin from obtaining a settled and permanent residence, reserving the land for its legitimate possessors, as they are preserved as a nation for the possession of the land." |