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Show 240 ADDRESS OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. ADDRESS _ Says to the nation addressed. q. sulci thou pro_tecting nation; I have a great business for you. Col. lect and restore my ancient people ; that nation whose ancient history has been so remarkable and terrible e ‘that natioa so long dispersed, robbed, and insulted, in the people of the Jews; and so long oufcast in the ten tribes; that people of lime line, (as in the Hebrew, and in the margin of the great bible ;) or, whose only hope to find their ancient inheritance OF THE PROPHET ISATAH. 241 —‘* Whose land the rivers have spoiled.’?> Whose inheritance (in ihe Holy Land) has been torn from them, and overrun by neighbouring hostile nations, often symbolized by rivers, even as the lands by the sides of the Nile often had overfiowings their boundaries of that river. swept ‘Thus the away by the Romans first, then the Persians, the Saracens, the Egyptians, and the Turks, have overflowed and possessed the Holy Land. must be in the But the line of divine promise will restore it to the Hebrews.* mouths of the Nile; so various characteristics in the address are suggested from thoughts associated with that river, and the people on its banks; as the bulrush vessel just noted; and here the measuring line. The my ancient ‘amily, as though the Most High shonld say. For thus it is written; ‘ Surely the isles shall wait for me, (or lands away over sea from Palestine,) and the ships of Tarshish first, (a people expert in navigation,) to bring my sons from far.”? A far distant land over sea line of divine promise, or the entail of the covenant. As the land addressed is described as away over the river Nile periodically overflowed tts banks, and swept away the boundaries of every man’s inheritance on its interval. Every man, then, had to depend on a noted Go thou protecting people; shadow with thy wings shall be engaged in this work. Verse 3. ‘¢ All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwel- line, to measure anew and findhis land. So the Hebrews, having by their sins, and expulsion from Canaan, ders on the earth, see ye when he lifteth up the ensign On the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.” boundaries fulfilment of the divine requirement; an apostrophe ig made by the Most High to all nations, to stand and behold the banner of salvation now erected for his ancient and from the covenant of Abraham, of their inheritance, lost all the visibie have no ground of hope of regaining their standing either in Palestine, or and in the covenant of grace, but the dine of the mere ‘The sovereign promise of God, for their restoration. word is doubled, line, line ; amere Hebraism, to form a As peace, peace, means perfect peace,— superlative. Isai. xxvi. 3; and as good, good, meaus the best; so line, line, means supertatively of line, or altogether de‘That the allupendent on the mere promise of God. what follows : from evident is noted sion is to the event d state, * If this characteristic allude to this people in their disperse as do the other characteristics here connected with it, it must mimical nations fren #8 went dete. s. dhen may allude to either, or both of these characterise with wings is under way in people ; and to hear the great gospel trumpet, the bles- sed Jubilee, _theirfreedom. now to be blown for their collection and The ancient silver trumpets in Israel collected their solemn assemblies. And the same trumpets, with joyful and peculiar blasts, ushered in the Jubilee morn, and loosed every bond "slave of the He- brews. And the antitype of the event shall now be accomplished. be con- to gr at strued, as the Hebrew well admits,as their being subjected And this well accords with ane.cn€ This has been the fact. terror. even appoint over predictions relative to them. Lev. xxvi. 16. “f will ee alist hat t ague, rning bu the and tion, consump terror, you thou shalt And “ 37; xxviii. Deut. eyes, and cause sorrow of heart.” all nations among word bya b,and prover a hment, astonis become an The Jews during their disperwhither the Lord shall lead thee.” ~~ perl etuat, terrors. with down worn people a sion, have been tex they were ferrible to After the land shadowing The * Much perplexity | had a rested g on the assagze,4 & nation ; | line ull the above solution occurred to innid With Vit! this lamfa fully Ay isfied. It is natural, as isthe bulrush navigation. It agrees with facts, and is confirmed by the clause follow i ng; “ whose land the riyers have spoiled.” Here the long occupancy of their beloved Ca naan by hosti hos le invading ) g nations, ons, is not is notet d by aa figur il e, alludj ng to confirms the idea that the pA ~ & nation of line, e, line Line,,” ’ allud udes to the same overflowing of _ *Weeping away boundaries, the Nile ? and rendering the use of ry to ascertain every man’s bounds. ore : overflowing of the Nile ;—w hich » 21 |
