The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-12-15

after famine, he gamers full harvest;
with such Joy again as the soldier feels
when, having been victorious in battle, he
divides the spoil of his enemy.
The prophet now fixes his vision on the
person of the deliverer. He sees him be-
friended by Jehovah. 1t is to Jehovah the
prophet speaks: Tie yoke Of his 6arden,
and tie staff ofhis shouldey, tie rod ellis
obbyeSsor, Mou hast 6roken as TN tie days
ofMidian. The yoke put upon him was
vassalage to Assyria. The staff Of his
sAouldsy,-the staff placed upon his Shout
der was sign of his defeat. Tie rod Of
his obbyessoy,-the power of the combined
enemies of Judah. All this oppression
was broken. The confederated armies
of Judah's enemies we're vanquished.
This was done as in the day Of 1lidian,
an apt reference to a tradition, which
has been preserved to us in Judges (ch. y,
of mere handful of men, barely three
hundred, under Gideon, making night at
ALPHABETICALLY with noise,-and throw
ing the great army of invading Midianites
into a self destroying panic. In such
manner had the king of Judah, as seen in
Isaiah's vision, been rescued from the tolls
of his enemies.
The prophet again sees his land, in his
vision from viewpoint in the future,
cleansed by purifying fire. The fuel of
this fire is to be the impenetrable armor of
the invaders and their blood-stained mill
tary clothing. AHtAe aymov Of the armed
man in the fumult, and the ga, menks
rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for
fuel J.fre.
3. The Child and his Peaceful
KingdOm,-vs. 6, ?.
For unto rs a child is born, unto as q
son is ei1en. We refer this primarily to
Hezekiah, the youthful prince; and not to
the Coming of One seven hundred years
in the future. These words are properly
connected, it is true, with preceding pas
sage C7:I4), which has been read in this
wise: "BeAold, a vi,gin shall eonceive,
and bear son, and shall call his name
Emmanuel" But the biblical scholars of
the age,-including the revisers in their
alternate marginal rendering, = discard
this rs perversion of the original. What
the original declaresl is this: Behold, a
maiden aotte is aOtth ejsizd, and 6eayeA
a son, and shall call his name, God
qviH as. THAT this is a declaration
concerning the mother of Hezekiah, and
not concerning the mother of Jesus, is
demonstrated by Isaiah's declaration to
the people of Judah Immediately follow
ing,-namely, that defore the child shall
| know to refuse the e01I and choose The
| good, tie land 7c]ose taOo kings MoW at
hoyest shall be forsaken. This, applied to
the Northern Kingdom, with Pekah and
Rein confederated, is an encouraging
| prophecy for the people of Judah, and SUBJ
sequent history demonstrated its substan-
tial correctness; but applied to the time of
| Christ it has no discernible meaning.
1t is, then, Hezekiah, the fouryear-old
prince, whom the prophet declares to be
child and son already born.
The prophet has provision of the char
acter of the good king Hezekiah: TIE go0-
eminent shall be UPON his Shoulder, and
his name shall be called Woxder1ul, Conn
seller, Mtghty God, Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Here again is
l Sultobld Oh Pul upOl tDC
The more correct marginal readings of the
revisers, adopted as the text, would make
the passage substantially this: The g0v-
eminent shall rest ubon his Shouldeys;.
and he shall be knovn as Wondey1uI
Counsellor, as a God Conqneyoy (EI gi660y,
prevailing or conquering God = ADAM
CLARKE), as the Father of Eternity, as
tie Prince of Peace. These are names to
be given to the coming prince,-names
which give assurance that he shall have
strength in his shoulders to bear the bur-
den of government which is to be placed
upon them.
Ofthe increase ofhfs .eove,nment and
of peace there shall be no end, nbon tie
throne of Davia, and upon his kingdom,
to establish ii, and TO uphold it 70itA jud,g-
ment and rig}ite0nsnsSS from hencetoysh
sven Joyever. We simplify the statement:
His peaceful reign upon the throne of Da-
vid shall be established by judgment and
righteousness, and shall endure forever.
The prophet, in his own tumultuous days,
had vision of coming righteous and per-
manent peace for his people, under the
rule of the Prince of Peace.
The prophet, at the end of his prophetic
declaration, ascribes the accomplishment
of the great things he foretells to God.
Tie seal ofkhe Lord of Hosts shall FER
form this. While human agency will be
requisite, and human faithfulness is always
an essential condition of such blessedness,
yet it is the God of Battles, who is jealous
of his own good name, who has ordained
and will bring to pass the coming redemp-
ton.
TEACHING POINTS.
INTRoDUcTIoN.-The dauntless spirit of Isaiah.
who kept through-all trials his confident hope in
God may well be spiritual helper at this CHRIST
MAS SEASON.
a. Va. Isaiah as the prophet OF the dawn,
serves his own people, and may serve us.-How-
ever sitting in darkness, we too may, if we
will the great light,-the light of the day that
will end the lonc night of evil.
4) V. 3-5. The old prophet in his thought