4. A promise, to the remnant that should escape these severe trials, of a restoration to the favour and protection of God. (iv. 2—6.)

This prophetic sermon was probably delivered in the time of Jotham, or perhaps in the reign of Uzziah.

DISCOURSE 3. (ch. v.) This chapter likewise is unconnected with the preceding or following: its subject is nearly the same with that of ch. i. Like that, it contains a general reproof of the Jews for their ingratitude, which is beautifully delineated in the parable of the vineyard (verses 1-5.); their rejection is foretold, and the Babylonian invasion (perhaps also that of the Romans) is more expressly denounced. (verses 6-30.)

PART II. comprises the predictions delivered in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz (ch. vi.—xii.)

DISCOURSE 1. The vision and prophecy of Isaiah in the reign of Jotham. (ch. vi.) As this chapter seems to contain a solemn designation of Isaiah to the prophetical office, it is supposed by many interpreters to be the first in order of his prophecies. Bishop Lowth, however, conjectures that this may not be the case, because Isaiah is said, in the general title of his predictions, to have prophesied in the time of Uzziah; and is of opinion, that it is a new designation, to introduce, with the greater solemnity, a general declaration of the whole course of God's dispensations towards his people, and the fates of the nation, events which are still depending, and will not be fully accomplished until the final restora tion of Israel.

DISCOURSE 2. (ch. vii.-ix. 6.) commences with an historical account of the occasion of the prophecy, and is followed by a prediction (confirmed by a sign) of the ill success that should attend the designs of the Israelites and Syrians against Judah (vii. 1—16.); to this succeeds a denunciation of the calamities that were to be brought upon the king and people of Judah by the Assyrians, whom they had hired to assist them, (vii. 16-25.) These predictions and denunciations are repeated and confirmed in ch. viii. the ninth and tenth verses of which contain a general assurance that all the designs of the enemies of God's people shall ultimately be frustrated; and the discourse concludes, after various admonitions and threatenings (viii. 11-22. ix. 1.), with an illustrious prophecy (ix. 2-6.), in the first instance perhaps, of the restoration of prosperity under Hezekiah, but principally of the manifestation of the Messiah, the transcendent dignity of his character, and the universality and eternal duration of his kingdom.

DISCOURSE 3. (ch. ix. 7.—x. 4.) contains a distinct prophecy and a just poem, remarkable for the regularity of its disposition and the elegance of its plan. It is exclusively addressed to the kingdom of Israel, and its subject is a denunciation of vengeance awaiting their enemies.

DISCOURSE 4. (ch. x. 5.-xii.) foretels the destruction of Sennacherib's army, (x. 5-34. xi.); and, according to Isaiah's usual method, he takes occasion, from the mention of a great temporal deliverance by the destruction of the Assyrian host, to launch forth into a display of the spiritual deliverance of God's people by the Mes1 For a particular elucidation of this sublime vision, see Bishop Lowth's Isaiah, vol. ii. pp. 72-77. and Dr. Hales's Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. book i. p. 436. et seq.

siah, to whom this prophecy relates. (Compare Rom. xv. 12.) The hymn in ch. xii. seems, by its whole tenor as well as by many of its expressions, much better calculated for the use of the Christian than for the Jewish church under any circumstances, or at any time that can be assigned; and the Jews themselves seem to have applied it to the times of the Messiah.

PART III. contains various predictions against the Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines, and other nations with whom the Jews had any intercourse (ch. xiii.-xxiv.); these predictions are contained in nine prophetic poems or discourses.

DISCOURSE 1. (ch. xiii.-xiv. 1-28.) foretels the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians; it was probably delivered in the reign of Ahaz, about two hundred years before its accomplishment. The captivity itself of the Jews at Babylon (which the prophet does not expressly foretel, but supposes in the spirit of prophecy as what was actually to be effected) did not take place till about one hundred and thirty years after this prediction was delivered. And the Medes, who (in xiii. 7.) are mentioned as the principal agents in subverting this great monarchy, and releasing the Jews from their captivity, were at this time an inconsiderable people, forming only a province of the Assyrian empire. The former part of this prophecy, Bishop Lowth remarks, is one of the most beautiful examples that can be given of elegance of composition, variety of imagery, and sublimity of sentiment and diction in the prophetic style; and the latter part consists of a triumphal ode, which, for beauty of disposition, strength of colour, grandeur of sentiment, brevity, perspicuity, and force of expression, stands unrivalled among all the monuments of antiquity. How punctually this prophecy was fulfilled, we may read in Dan. v.; and the successive testimonies of all travellers, to the present time, unanimously concur in stating Babylon to be utterly annihilated, so that even the place, where this wonder of the world once stood, cannot now be determined with any certainty.

DISCOURSE 2. (ch. xiv. 28-32.) contains severe prophctic denunciations against the Philistines, the accomplishment of which is recorded in 2 Kings xviii. 8.

DISCOURSE 3. (ch. xv. xvi.) is a prophecy against the Moabites: it was probably delivered in the first year of Hezekiah, and was fulfilled in the fourth year of his reign, when Shalmanezer invaded the kingdom of Israel.

DISCOURSE 4. (ch. xvii.) is a prophecy chiefly directed against Damascus or the kingdom of Syria, with whose sovereign the king of Samaria (or Israel) had confederated against Jerusalem. Bishop Lowth conjectures that it was delivered, soon after the prophecies of the seventh and eighth chapters, in the commencement of Arab's reign. It was fulfilled by Tiglath-pilezer's taking Damascus (2 Kings xvi. 9.), overrunning a very considerable part of the kingdom of Israel, and carrying a great number of the Israelites captives into Assyria; and in regard to Israel, this prediction was still more fully accomplished by the conquest of the kingdom, and the captivity of the people, effected a few years after by Shalmanezer. The three last verses of this chapter are a distinct prophecy, and contain a noble description of the formidable invasion and,

sudden overthrow of Sennacherib, which is intimated in the strongest terms and most expressive images, exactly suitable to the event. DISCOURSE 5. (ch. xviii.) contains an obscure prophecy. Vitringa considers it as directed against the Assyrians; Bishop Lowth refers it to the Egyptians; and Rosenmüller, and others, to the Ethiopians.

DISCOURSE 6. (ch. xix. xx.) is a prophecy against Egypt, the conversion of whose inhabitants to the true religion is intimated in verses 18-25. of ch. xix.

DISCOURSE 7. (ch. xxi. 1-10.) contains a second prophecy against Babylon,1 which was fulfilled in the capture of that city by the Medes and Persians. The eleventh and twelfth verses of this chapter are very obscure; they relate to Edom or Seir; and the five last verses contain a prophecy respecting Arabia, that was fulfilled within a year after its delivery.

DISCOURSE 8. (ch. xxii.) is a prophecy concerning the capture of Jerusalem (verses 1-14.), the captivity of Shebna (15-19.), and the promotion of Eliakim. (20-22.) The invasion of Jerusalem here announced is either that by the Assyrians under Sennacherib; or by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Vitringa is of opinion that the prophet had both in view; viz. the invasion of the Chaldeans in verses 1-5. and that of the Assyrians in verses 8— 11. Compare 2 Kings xxv. 4, 5. and 2 Chron. xxxii. 2—5. DISCOURSE 9. (ch. xxiii.) foretels the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar.2 (1-17.) The eighteenth verse is supposed to predict the conversion of the Tyrians to Christianity. Compare Acts

xxi. 4.

PART IV. contains a prophecy of the great calamities that should befal the people of God, His merciful preservation of a remnant of them, and of their restoration to their country, of their conversion to the Gospel, and the destruction of Antichrist. (ch. xxiv. -xxxiii.)

DISCOURSE 1. (ch. xxiv. xxv. xxvi.) was probably delivered in the beginning of Hezekiah's reign; but interpreters are not agreed whether the desolation announced in ch. xxiv. was that caused by the invasion of Shalmanezer, by Nebuchadnezzar, or by the Romans. Vitringa is singular in referring it to the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes; and Bishop Lowth thinks it may have a view to all the three great desolations of the country, especially to the destruction of the city and nation by the Romans. In verse 22. God promises to visit his people; and the glance at their future restoration in the close of this chapter leads the prophet to break out into a sublime and beautiful song of praise, dictated more by the prospect of future mercies than by the recollection of past events (xxv.); this is followed by another hymn in ch. xxvi. in which thanksgivings for temporal and spiritual mercies are beautifully mingled, though the latter still predominate. In verse 19.

1 Bishop Newton has collected and illustrated the various predictions of Isaiah and other prophets against Babylon. See his Dissertations on the Prophecies, vol. i. diss. ix. See also Vol. I. pp. 332, 333. supra.

2 On the accomplishment of the various prophecies against Tyre, see Bishop Newton's Dissertations, vol. i. diss. xi. See also Vol. I. pp. 328-330. supra.

the sublime and evangelical doctrine is hinted at, ana made to typify the deliverance of the people of God from a state of the lowest misery.

DISCOURSE 2. (ch. xxvii.) treats on the nature, measure, and design of God's dealings with his people.

DISCOURSE 3. (ch. xxviii.) contains a prophecy directed both to the Israelites and to the Jews. The destruction of the former by Shalmanezer is manifestly denounced in verses 1-5.; and the prophecy then turns to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the remnant of God's people, who were to continue a kingdom after the final captivity of the Israelites. It commences with a favourable prognostication of their affairs under Hezekiah; but soon changes to reproofs and threatenings for their disobedience and profaneness. DISCOURSE 4. (ch. xxix.-xxxiii.) predicts the invasion of Sennacherib, the great distress of the Jews while it continued (xxix. 1—4.), and the sudden destruction of the Assyrian army. (5-8.) The Jews are next threatened for placing the chief of their religion in outward rites, and not in inward and true piety. (9-17.) Prosperity is then promised during the latter part of Hezekiah's reign; interspersed are reproofs and threatenings, and promises of better times. (18-33. xxx.-xxxiii. 17.) The whole concludes (xxxiii. 18-24.), in the person of the prophet, with a description of the security of the Jews under the divine protection, and of the wretched state of Sennacherib and his army, totally discomfited, and exposed to be plundered even by the weakest of the enemy. DISCOURSE 5. (ch. xxxiv. xxxv.) comprises one distinct prophecy, forming an entire, regular, and beautiful poem, consisting of two parts. The first contains a denunciation of the divine vengeance against the people or church of God: and the second part describes the flourishing state of Christ's church, consequent on the execution of those judgments. It is plain from every part of it, that this chapter is to be understood of Gospel times. The fifth and sixth verses were literally accomplished in Jesus Christ. (Matt. xi. 4, 5.) In a secondary sense, Bishop Lowth remarks, they may have a further view; and, running parallel with the former part of the prophecy, may relate to the future advent of Christ, to the conversion of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land; and to the extension and purification of the Christian faith ;events predicted in the Holy Scriptures as preparatory to it. PART V. comprises the historical part of the prophecy of Isaiah. Ch. xxxvi. relates the history of Sennacherib's invasion, and the destruction of his army, as a proper introduction to ch. xxxvii., which contains the answer of God to Hezekiah's prayer, that could not otherwise be understood without it. The narration in chapters xxxviii. and xxxix. appears, in some parts, to be an abridgment of 2 Kings xx.

PART VI. (ch. xl.-lxvi.) comprises a series of prophecies, delivered, in all probability, towards the close of Hezekiah's reign.

This portion of Isaiah's predictions constitutes the most elegant part of the sacred writings of the Old Testament. The chief subject is the restoration of the church. This is pursued with the greatest regularity; containing the deliverance of the Jews from captivity the vanity and destruction of idols the vindication

of the divine power and truth — consolations and invitations to the Jews- denunciations against them for their infidelity and impiety - their rejection, and the calling of the Gentiles-the happiness of the righteous, and the final destruction of the wicked. But, as the subject of this very beautiful series of prophecies is chiefly of the consolatory kind, they are introduced with a promise of the restoration of the kingdom, and the return from the Babylonian captivity, through the merciful interposition of God. At the same time, this redemption from Babylon is employed as an image to shadow out a redemption of an infinitely higher and more important nature. The prophet connects these two events together, scarcely ever treating of the former without throwing in some intimations of the latter; and sometimes he is so fully possessed with the glories of the future more remote kingdom of the Messiah, that he seems to leave the immediate subject of his commission almost out of the question. This part consists of twelve prophetic poems or discourses.

DISCOURSE 1. (ch. xl. xli.) contains a promise of comfort to the people of God, interspersed with declarations of the omnipotence and omniscience of Jehovah, and a prediction of the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity by Cyrus.

DISCOURSE 2, The advent of the Messiah, and the character and blessings of his kingdom, are foretold (xlii. 1-17.); for rejecting which the infidelity and blindness of the Jews are reproved. (18-25.) A remnant of them, however, it is promised, shall be preserved, and ultimately restored to their own land. (xliii. 1—13.) The taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and the restoration of the Jews, are again foretold, as also (perhaps) their return after the Roman dispersion (14-20.); and they are admonished to repent of those sins which would otherwise bring the severest judgments of God upon them. (22-28.)

DISCOURSE 3. contains promises of redemption, and of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, intermingled with a beautiful and forcible exposure of the folly of idolatry. (xliv. 1-20.) Thence, the prophet announces by name their future deliverer, Cyrus (21-28. xlv. 1— 5.); and, according to his usual manner, he makes a transition to the greater work of God in the conversion of the Gentiles to the Gospel, and the ultimate triumph of the latter over Antichrist. (6 -25.)

DISCOURSE 4. foretels the carrying away of the idols of Babylon (xlvi. 1-5.); the folly of worshipping them is then strikingly contrasted with the attributes and perfections of Jehovah (6-13.) : and the destruction of Babylon is further denounced. (xlvii.) DISCOURSE 5. contains an earnest reproof of the Jews for their obstinate attachment to idolatry, which would infallibly involve them in the severest calamities (xlviii. 1-19. 21, 22.); and foretels their deliverance from the Babylonian captivity. (20.)

DISCOURSE 6. introduces the Messiah in person, declaring the full ex tent of his commission, foretelling the unbelief and rejection of the Jews, the triumphant state of the church, and particularly of the Jews on their conversion to the Gospel. (xlix.)

DISCOURSE 7. predicts the rejection of the Jews for their rejection of Jesus Christ (1.1-3.), whose sufferings and exaltation are foretold