Volume III
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah,{*}
With John Brown’s marginal references, notes and reflections · Vol. III, p. 1145
Who continued prophesying about sixty years with small success, ch. 1. 1; 53. 1. He was not the most ancient of the sixteen prophets; but his predictions, containing so much of Christ in them, are now placed first in order. The first thirty-nine chapters, except iv. xi. xii. xxvi. xxxii. xxxv. consist chiefly of divine indictments for sins and denunciations of judgments; the last twenty-seven, of promises relative to the deliverance from Babylon and to the gospel church. In ch. i.-iii. v. vii.-ix. xxii. xxiv. xxvii. 7-11; xxviii.-xxx. 1-17; xxxi. 1-3; lix. lxv. lxvi. is represented the ingratitude, unfruitfulness, idolatry, profaneness, female pride, oppression, drunkenness, perversion of judgment, &c., of the Hebrews; and the terrible punishments thereof by the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Romans, &c., are predicted. In ch. vii. 5-9; viii. 4, 21, 22; ix. 8-21; xvii. is predicted the ruin of the kingdom of Syria and Israel, and the calamities of the Philistines, xiv. 29-31; of the Moabites, xv. xvi.; xxv. 10; of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, xviii.-xx.; of the Arabians, xxi. 13-17; of the Edomites, xxi. 11, 12; xxxiv.; of the Tyrians, xxiii.; of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, x. xiv. 24-27; xvii. 12-14; xxvii. 1; xxix. 5-8; xxx. 27-33; xxxi. 4-9; xxxiii., which is accomplished, xxxvi. xxxvii.; of the Chaldeans, xiii. xiv.; xxi. 1-10; xliii. 10; xlv. 1-4; xlvi. 1, 2, 11; xlvii. With those charges of guilt and predictions of judgments are intermingled many precious promises of the redemption and glorious kingdom of the Messiah; as i. 18, 25, 27; ii. 2-5; iv. 2-6; vii. 14; viii. 14; ix. 6,7; xi. xii. xxv.-xxviii. 16. From xl. to the end, the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon and the vanity of idols are frequently hinted; but the incarnation, service, and glory of the Messiah, the erection of the gospel church, the calling of the Gentiles, the rejection and future restoration of the Jews, are the principal subjects. And on account of his clear and striking representations of Jesus Christ and his blessings, and of the gospel church, this prophet has been frequently styled a fifth evangelist. [Isaiah, if not the first of the noble band of Old Testament prophets, yet belonged to the first cycle or group. His writings were commenced in the reign of Uzziah, B.C. 808-757, and were continued during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and down to the close of the reign of Hezekiah, B.C. 698. From the commencement of his prophecies to the close must thus have been more than half a century. He was a contemporary of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, and Micah. Nothing certain is known of his genealogy or his private life. From his dress, which appears to have resembled that of Elijah, it might perhaps be concluded that he belonged to one of the transjordanic tribes, ch. 20. 2, or to some remote village in the wilderness of Judah. He resided, however, during his public ministry, in Jerusalem, and near the temple; and he appears to have been held in the highest respect by the princes of the land, and to have exercised much influence in the affairs of the nation. In sublimity of style, purity of diction, and clearness of prophetic delineation of the person, character, and work of the Messiah, Isaiah stands pre-eminent among Old Testament writers. He has been truly called the 'evangelical prophet.' P.] {*} In reading this and the subsequent prophets, great attention must be paid to rule x. in chap. ii. of the Introduction, relative to the fulfilment of the same prophecy in different periods; and to history of nations in chap. iv.