Chapter LV: 1-5 (1)

The Lord exhorts those who are anxious to be saved, to appropriate the blessings of salvation which are so liberally offered, and which, although bestowed without money and price, can alone truly satisfy the soul, vers. 1 and 2. For He is to make with them a covenant of everlasting duration, in which the eternal mercy promised to the family of David is to be realized, ver. 3. David--such is the salvation in store for the Church--is to be a witness, prince, and lawgiver of all the Gentiles who, with joyful readiness, shall unite themselves to Israel.

[Pg 343]

Ver. 1. "_Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water, and ye that have no silver, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price._"

The discourse is addressed to the members of the Church pining away in misery. By the water, salvation is denoted, as is not unfrequently the case, comp. chap. xii. 3: "And with joy ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation," xliv. 3; Ps. lxxxvii. 7, lxxxiv. 7, cvii. 35. The thirsty one is he who stands in need of salvation. To the words: "Ho, all ye that thirst, come ye to the water," the Lord refers in John vii. 37: [Greek: ean tis dipsa erchesthô pros me kai pinetô], where the [Greek: pros me] had been added from ver. 3. It is to be observed that Christ there appropriates to himself what Jehovah is here speaking. _Michaelis_ says: "Christ, in consequence of the highest identity, makes the words of the Father His own." There is an evident reference to the same words in Rev. xxi. 6 also: [Greek: egô tô dipsônti dôsô ek tês pêgês tou hudatos tês zôês dôrean]. Similarly in Rev. xxii. 17: [Greek: kai ho dipsôn erchesthô, ho thelôn labetô hudôr zôês dôrean]. In a somewhat more distant relation to the words before us, but yet undeniably depending upon them, is John iv. 10: [Greek: su an êtêsas auton kai edôken an soi hudôr zôn]. Vers. 13, 14: [Greek: pas ho pinôn ek tou hudatos toutou dipsêsei palin. hos d'an piê ek tou hudatos, hou egô dôsô autô ou mê dipsêsê eis ton aiôna]. And so does, in another aspect. Matt. xi. 28: [Greek: deute pros me hoi kopiôntes kai pephortismenoi kagô anapausô humas], which, however, has still nearer points of resemblance to ver. 3; for [Greek: deute pros me] corresponds to [Hebrew: lkv ali] in that verse; the words [Greek: kagô anapausô humas], to: "Your soul shall live" there, but yet in such a way that there is, at the same time, a reference to Jer. vi. 16; the [Greek: kopiôntes kai pephortismenoi] are the thirsty ones in the verse before us. It is remarkable to see how important this unassuming declaration was to our Lord, and how much He had it at heart. We are thereby urgently called upon, by means of deep and earnest study and meditation, to arrive at the full meaning of the Old Testament, which is everywhere connected with the New Testament, not only by the strong and firm ties of express quotations, but also by the nicest and most tender threads of gentle allusions. Even Matt. v. 6: [Greek: makarioi hoi peinôntes kai dipsôntes tên dikaiosunên] comes into a close relation to our passage, as soon as it is recognized that [Greek: dikaiosunên] is not the subjective righteousness [Pg 344] which is excluded from that context, but rather righteousness as a gift of God, the actual justification, such as takes place in the bestowal of salvation; so that, hence, the righteousness there corresponds with the _water_ here. The subsequent "eat" furnishes the foundation for the fact, that the need of and desire for salvation, is designated by _hunger_ also,--"_Come ye, buy and eat._" [Hebrew: wbr] "to break," is used of the appeasing of thirst (comp. Ps. civ. 11), and hunger (comp. Gen. xlii. 19); and corn is called [Hebrew: wbr] for this reason that it breaks the hunger. The verb never means "to buy" in general, but only such a buying as affords the means of appeasing hunger and thirst. Nor does it, in itself, stand in any relation to corn, except in so far only as the latter is a chief moans of appeasing hunger. This we see not only from Ps. civ. 11, but also from that which here immediately follows, where it is used of the buying of wine and milk. The buying of necessary provisions is commonly designated by the _Kal_; the selling by the _Hiphil_. In Gen. xli. 26, the selling too is designated by the _Kal_. He who causes that one can break or appease, may himself also be designated as he who breaks or appeases. This verb, so very peculiar, and the noun [Hebrew: wbr], occur in a certain accumulation, in the history of Joseph only; elsewhere, their occurrence is sporadic only. It is then to the hunger of Israel in ancient times, and to its being appeased by Joseph, that the double [Hebrew: wbrv] alludes; and from this circumstance also the fact is to be explained, that it is first used in reference to food; comp. [Hebrew: wbrv vaklv] in our verse, with [Hebrew: wbr akl] in Gen. xlii. 7-10. Christ is the true Joseph, who puts an end to the hunger and thirst of the people of God, by offering true food and true drink.--The word "eat" suggests substantial food, bread in contrast to the drink by which it is surrounded on both sides; compare John vi. 35: [Greek: egô eimi ho artos tês zôês. ho erchomenos pros me ou mê peinasê] [Hebrew: wbrv] [Greek: kai ho pisteuôn eis eme ou mê dipsêsê pôpote]. Ver. 55: [Greek: hê gar sarx mou alêthôs esti brôsis, kai to hima mou alêthôs esti posis]. From the sequel (comp. vers. 6, 7), it appears that the thrice repeated _coming_ and the _buying_ are accomplished by true repentance, the [Greek: metanoia], which is the indispensable condition of the participation in the salvation. In John vi. 35, the words: [Greek: ho erchomenos pros me] are explained by: [Greek: ho pisteuôn eis eme]. Faith is the soul of repentance.--The circumstance that the [Pg 345] buying is done without money, intimates that the blessings of salvation are a pure gift of divine grace. These blessings of salvation are first designated by water; afterwards, by _wine_ and _milk_,--thus approximating to those passages in which the blessings of the Kingdom of Christ appear under the image of a rich repast, to which the members of the Kingdom are invited as guests, Ps. xxii. 26-30; Matt. viii. 11, xxii. 2; Luke xiv. 16; Rev. xix. 9.--Some Rationalistic interpreters understand, by the offered blessings, the salutary admonitions of the Prophet; but decisive against these are vers. 3 and 11, according to which it is not present, but future blessings, not words, but real things which are spoken of, viz., the salvation which is to be brought through Christ. What that is which constitutes the substance of this salvation, we learn from chap. liii. It is the redemption and reconciliation by the Servant of God. Yet we must not, after the manner of several ancient interpreters, limit ourselves to the "evangelical righteousness." On the contrary, the whole fulness of the salvation in Christ is comprehended in it; and according to vers. 4 and 5, this includes the dominion over the world by the Kingdom of God,--its dominion over the Gentile world, and the investiture of its members with the full liberty and glory of the children of God.

Ver. 2. "_Wherefore do ye weigh money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken, hearken unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness._"

From ver. 3, we see that it is not the Prophet, but the Lord who speaks. "That which is not bread," and "that which satisfieth not," is something which outwardly has the appearance of good and nutritious food, and to obtain which the hungry ones therefore strive, and exert themselves with all their might, but which afterwards shows itself to be food in appearance only, and which has not the power of satisfying. "That which is not bread," is, in the first instance, the imagined salvation which they sought to obtain from idols for much money. This appears from the intentional literal reference to chap. xlvi. 6, where the Prophet reproves the folly of those who, in the face of the living God, "lavish gold out of the bag, and _weigh silver_ in the balance, and hire a goldsmith, [Pg 346] that he make it a god, work also and fall down." With perfect justice _Stier_ remarks: "Notwithstanding the connection with, and allusion to, the circumstances of that time, the word of the Prophet is to be understood in a general, spiritual way, as a melancholy, bitter lamentation over the general misery, and man's deep-rooted perverseness in running with effort and exertion, after that which is pernicious to the soul, and in serving some Baal better than Jehovah." "Fatness" occurs as a figurative designation of the glorious gifts of God, in Ps. xxxvi. 9 also.

Ver. 3. "_Incline your ears and come unto me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will grant to you an everlasting covenant, the constant mercies of David._"

The introductory words allude, in a graceful manner, to two Messianic psalms, and remind us of the fact, that the prophecy before us moves on the same ground as these psalms. On "incline your ear, and come unto me, hear," comp. Ps. xlv. 11: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and _incline thine ear_ (from the fundamental passage, the Singular is here retained), and forget thy people and thy father's house." On "your soul shall live," comp. Ps. xxii. 27: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied, they shall praise the Lord that seek Him, _your heart shall live for ever_." Analogous are the references to Ps. lxxii. in chap. xi. The soul _dies_ in care and grief In the words: "I will grant to you," &c., there follow the glad tidings which are to heal the dying hearts. [Hebrew: krt brit] is used of God, even where no reciprocal agreement takes place, but where He simply confers grace; because every grace which He bestows imposes, at the same time, an obligation, and may hence be considered as a covenant. The onesidedness is, in such a case, indicated by the construction with [Hebrew: l], comp. chap. lxi. 8: "And I give them their reward in truth, and I make (grant) to them an everlasting covenant," Jer. xxxii. 40; Ezek. xxxiv. 25; Ps. lxxxix. 4. Since _to make a covenant_ is here identical with _granting mercy_, [Hebrew: akrth] may also be connected with the subsequent "the constant mercies of David," and there is no necessity for supposing a Zeugma. The everlasting covenant here, is the new covenant in Jer. xxxi. 31-34; for the words "I _will_ make" show that, here too, a new covenant is spoken of. The substance of the covenant to be made is expressed in the words: [Pg 347] "The constant mercies of David," &c. By "David," many interpreters here understand the descendant of David, the Messiah, who, in other passages also, _e.g._, Jer. xxx. 9, bears the name of His type. Even _Abenezra_ refers to the fact that, in ver. 4, the Messiah is necessarily required as the subject. The _constant_ mercies of David are, according to this view--in parallelism with the "everlasting covenant"--the mercies constantly continuing, in contrast to the merely transitory mercies, such as had been those of the first David. According to the opinion of other interpreters, David designates here, as in Hos. iii. 5, the family of David who, in Ps. xviii., and in a series of other psalms, speaks in the name of his whole family. As regards the sense, this explanation arrives at the same result. For, according to it, the Messiah is He in whom the Davidic house attains to its fall destiny, the channel through which the mercies of David flow in upon the Church. For the latter interpretation, however, is decisive the evident reference to the divine promise to David, in 2 Sam. vii., especially vers. 15, 16: "And my mercy shall not depart from him (thy race) ... and constant ([Hebrew: namN]) is thine house, and thy kingdom for ever before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever;" compare Ps. lxxxix. 29: "My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant is constant in him." Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50: "Lord, where are thy former mercies which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?" likewise suggest that, by David, not simply Christ is to be understood, but the Davidic family. The constant mercies of David are, accordingly, the mercies which have been sworn to the Davidic house as _constant_, which, therefore, can never rest until Christ has appeared with His everlasting Kingdom, in which they find their true and full realization. In the expectation of the Messiah from the house of David, the prophecy under consideration goes hand in hand with chap. xi. 1, where the Messiah appears as a twig which proceeds from the cut-down tree of Jesse; and with chap. ix. 6, according to which He sits on the throne of David. This passage alone is fully sufficient against those (_Ewald_, _Umbreit_, and others) who advance the strange assertion, that the Prophet had altogether given up the idea of a Messiah from the house of David, and had distributed His property between Cyrus and the prophetic order, [Pg 348] or the pious portion of the people. It is of the greatest importance for the explanation of those passages which treat of the Servant of God, and forms a point of union for the Messianic passages of the first and second part. The passage before us is quoted in Acts xiii. 34: [Greek: hoti de anestêsen auton ek nekrôn, mêketi mellonta hupostrephein eis diaphthoran houtôs, eirêken. hoti dôsô humin ta hosia Dabid ta pista]. [Greek: hOsia Dabid], _sancta Davidis_, are the sacred, inviolable, inalienably guaranteed mercies and blessings which have been promised to the house of David. As certainly as these must be granted, so certainly Christ, who was to bring them, could not remain in the power of death.

Ver. 4. "_Behold, I give him for a witness to the people, for a prince and lawgiver of the people._"

Here, and in ver. 5, we have the expansion of the mercies of David. Their greatness and glory appear from the circumstance that, around his scion, the whole heathen world, which hitherto was hostile and pernicious to the Church of God, will gather. The Suffix in [Hebrew: nttiv] can refer only to David, or the family of David. From the connection with chap. liii., it appears that it is in his descendant, the righteous One, to whom the heathen and their kings do homage, that David will attain to the dignity here announced. [Hebrew: ed] has no other signification than "witness." Every true doctrine bears the character of a witness. The teacher sent by God does not teach on his own authority, [Greek: a mê eôraken embateuôn], but only witnesses what he has seen and heard. With a reference to, and in explanation of the passage before us, Christ says to Pilate, in John xviii. 37: "For this end was I born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear _witness_ unto the truth." And the passages, Rev. i. 5: "And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness," and Rev. iii. 14: "These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness," likewise point back to the passage before us; compare farther, John iii. 11, 32, 33. In John xviii. 37, Rev. i. 5, His being a witness is, just as in the passage before us, connected with His being a King; so that the reference to this passage cannot be at all doubtful. It is intentionally that [Hebrew: ed] is put at the head. It is intended to intimate that the future dominion of the Davidic dynasty over the heathen world shall be essentially different from that which, in former times, it exercised [Pg 349] over some neighbouring people. It is not based upon the power of arms, but upon the power of truth. He in whom the Davidic dynasty is to centre shall connect the prophetic with the regal office; just as already, in the prophecy of the Shiloh, in Gen. xlix. 10, the prophetic office is concealed behind the royal. The contrast to the first David can the less be doubtful, that, while [Hebrew: ed] is never applied to him, it is just the subsequent [Hebrew: ngid] which, in a series of passages, is ascribed to him. In 2 Sam. vi. 21, David himself says that the Lord appointed him to be _ruler_ over the people of the Lord, over Israel; in 2 Sam. vii. 8, Nathan says: "I took thee from the sheep-cot to be _ruler_ over my people, over Israel;" comp. 1 Sam. xxv. 30; 2 Sam. v. 5. In those passages, however, David is always spoken of as a ruler over Israel; so that even as regards the [Hebrew: ngid], the second David, the prince of the _people_, is not only placed on a level with the first David, but is elevate d above him. For the dominion by force which David exercised over some heathen nations, [Hebrew: ngid] was the less appropriate designation, inasmuch as it designates the ruler as the chief of his people.

Ver. 5. "_Behold, thou shall call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for He adorneth thee._"

The words here are addressed to the true Israel, to the exclusion of those souls who are cut off from among their people, compare Ps. lxxiii. 1, where Israel and those that are of a clean heart go hand in hand,--and, in substance, they also were addressed in vers. 1 and 2. For the thirsty ones, who are there called upon to partake of the blessings so liberally offered by the Lord, are just the members of the Church. In connection with that glorification of David, the Church shall invite nations from a great distance, who were hitherto unknown to it, to its communion; and those nations who hitherto scarcely knew by name the Church of God shall joyfully and willingly comply with the invitation; comp. chap. ii. 2. This great change proceeds from the Lord, the Almighty and Holy One, who, as the protector and Covenant-God of His Church, has resolved to glorify it; for _He adorneth thee_. This glorification consists, according to chap. iv. 2, in the appearance of [Pg 350] Christ, the immediate consequence of which is the conversion of the heathen world.

We must now review that exposition by which Rationalism has endeavoured to deprive our passage of its Messianic import,--an attempt in which _Grotius_ led the way. _Gesenius_, whom _Hitzig_, _Maurer_, _Ewald_, and _Knobel_ follow, translates in vers. 3 and 4: "That I may make with you an everlasting covenant, may show to you constant mercies, as once to David. Behold, I have made him a ruler of the nations, a prince and lawgiver of the nations," and refers both of the verses to the first David. In ver. 5, then, the mercy is to follow which, in some future time, God will bestow upon the whole people, as gloriously as once upon the single David. But this explanation proves itself to be, in every aspect, untenable.[1]

We are the less entitled to put "mercies _like_ David's" instead of "the mercies of David," that these mercies are, elsewhere also, mentioned in reference to the eternal dominion promised to David for his family; comp. Ps. lxxxix. 2, 50. With the epithet, "constant," these interpreters do not know what to do. Apart from the promise of the eternal dominion of his house, no constant mercies can, in the case of David, be pointed out which would be equally bestowed upon the people, and upon him. Moreover, [Hebrew: namniM] distinctly points back to 2 Sam. vii. Ver. 4 forms, according to this explanation, "a historical reminiscence, most unsuitable in the flow of a prophetic discourse" (_Umbreit_). But what in itself is quite conclusive is the circumstance, that the first David could not by any possibility be designated as the _witness_ of the Gentile nations. It indeed sounds rather _naïve_ that _Knobel_, after having endeavoured to explain [Hebrew: ed] of the "opening up of the law," feels himself obliged to add: "The word does not, however, occur anywhere else in this signification." Nor could David, without farther limitation, be designated as "the prince and lawgiver of the _peoples_;" and that so much the more [Pg 351] that, in ver. 5, there is an invitation to the Gentile world, and that, in ver. 4, too, the Gentile world, in the widest sense, is to be thought of.

After the promise, there follows, in vers. 6-13, the admonition to repentance based upon it. Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, vers. 6, 7. Do not doubt that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, because it does not seem probable to you. For the counsels of God go beyond all the thoughts of men; and, therefore. He and His work must not be judged by a human measure, vers. 8, 9. With Him, word and deed are inseparably connected, vers. 10, 11. This will be manifested in your redemption and glorification, vers. 12, 13.

[Footnote 1: _Vitringa_ already remarked in opposition to it: "This exposition is rather far fetched, and is the weakest of all that can be advanced. I add, that the constancy of the promises given to David does not appear, if we exclude the Kingdom of the Messiah. But are any other promises of constant and eternal blessings, such as are here promised, to be thought of?"]

THE PROPHECY--CHAP. LXI. 1-3.

As in chaps. xlix. and l., so here, the Servant of God is introduced as speaking, and announces to the Church what a glorious office the Lord had bestowed upon Him, namely, to deliver them from the misery in which they had hitherto been lying, and to work a wonderful change in their condition. In vers. 4-9, the Prophet takes the word, and describes the salvation to be bestowed by the Servant of God. In vers. 10 and 11, the Church appears, and expresses her joy and gratitude.

According to the Jewish and Rationalistic interpreters, the Prophet himself is supposed to be speaking in vers. 1-3. That opinion was last expressed by _Knobel_: "The author places before his promises a remembrance of his vocation as a preacher of consolation." In favour of the Messianic interpretation, in which our Lord himself preceded His Church (Luke iv. 17-19), are conclusive, not only the parallel passages, but also the contents of the prophecy itself, which go far beyond the prophetic territory, and the human territory generally. The speaker designates himself as He who is called, not merely to announce the highest blessings to the Church, [Pg 352] but actually to grant them. He does not represent himself as a mere Evangelist, but rather as a Saviour.

Ver. 1. "_The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach glad tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening to them that are bound._"

On the words: "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me," compare chap. xi. 2, xlii. 1. [Hebrew: ieN] always means "because of" The whole succeeding clause stands instead of a noun, so that, in substance, "because of" is equivalent to "because;" but it never can mean "therefore." Nor would the latter signification afford a good sense. The verb [Hebrew: mwH] must, in that case, be subjected to arbitrary explanations. The anointing, whether it occurs as a symbolical action really carried out, or as a mere figure, is always a designation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; compare 1 Sam. x. 1, xvi. 13, 14, and remarks on Dan. ix. 24. Since, then, the anointing is identical with the bestowal of the Spirit, the words: "because the Lord hath anointed me" must not be isolated, but must be understood in close connection with the subsequent words; so that the sense is: And He hath, for this reason, endowed me with His Spirit, in order that I may preach good tidings, &c. The [Hebrew: enviM] are the [Greek: praeis] in Matt. v. 5; [Hebrew: eni] and [Hebrew: env] are never confounded with one another. The LXX., whom Luke follows, have [Greek: ptôchois]. This rendering does not differ so much from the original text as to make it appear expedient to give up the version at that time received. In the world of sin, the meek are, at the same time, those who are suffering; and the glad tidings which imply a contrast to their misery, show that, here especially, the meek are to be conceived of as sufferers. The [Hebrew: enviM], in contrast to the wicked, appear, in chap. xi. also, as the people of the Messiah.--"The binding up"--_Stier_ remarks--"already passes over into the actual bestowal of that which is announced." The term [Hebrew: qra drvr] is taken from the Jubilee year, which was a year of general deliverance for all those who, on account of debts, had become slaves; compare Lev. xxv. 10: "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee year unto you, and ye [Pg 353] shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Such a great year of liberty is both to be proclaimed and to be brought about by the Servant of God. For He does not announce any thing which He does not, at the same time, grant, as is clearly shown by ver. 3. His saying is based upon His being and nature; He delivers from the service of the world, and brings into the glorious liberty of the children of God.--Most of the modern interpreters agree with the ancient versions in declaring it to be wrong to divide the word [Hebrew: pqHqvH], although this writing is found in most of the manuscripts. The word is, "by its form of reduplication, the most emphatic term for the most complete opening," and designates, "opening, unclosing of every kind, of the eyes, ears, and heart, of every barrier and tie from within, or from without." The LXX., proceeding upon the fact that [Hebrew: pqH] occurs, with especial frequency, of the opening of the eyes, translate: [Greek: kai tuphlois anablepsin]. Luke does not wish to set aside this version, because it gives one feature of the sense; and partly also because of the close resemblance to the parallel passage, chap. xlii. 7, which, in this way, was brought in and connected with the passage under consideration. But since outward deliverance and redemption are, in the first instance, to be thought of, when opening to the captives is spoken of, be, in order to complete the sense, adds: [Greek: aposteilai tethrausmenous en aphesei], borrowing the expression from the Alexand. Vers. itself in chap. lviii. 6.

Ver. 2. "_To proclaim a year of acceptance to the Lord, and a day of vengeance to our God, to comfort all that mourn._"

"A year ... to the Lord" is a year when the Lord shows himself gracious and merciful to His people; compare chap. xlix. 8. The words farther still allude to the Jubilee year; and it is in consequence of this allusion, that we can account for its being a _year_ instead of a _time_, indefinitely. In that year, a complete _restitutio in integrum_ took place. It was, for all in misery, a year of mercy, a type of the times of refreshing (Acts iii. 19) which the Lord grants to His Church, after it has been exercised by the Cross. Hand in hand with the year of mercy goes the day of vengeance. When the Lord shows mercy to the meek, and to them that mourn, this shall, at the same time, be accompanied by a manifestation of anger [Pg 354] against the enemies of God, and of His Church. The one cannot be thought of without the other. The mercy of the Lord towards His people is, among other things also, manifested in His sitting in judgment upon His and their enemies, upon the proud world which afflicts and oppresses them. It is only in this respect that the vengeance here comes into consideration; and it is for this reason also, that the first feature at once reappears in the third verse. The Lord, in quoting the verse, limits himself to the first clause, "His first coming into the world was in the form of meekness," and, therefore, in the meantime, the bright side only is brought out.

Ver. 3. "_To put upon them that mourn in Zion,--to give them a crown for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness; and they shall be called terebinths of righteousness, planting of the Lord for glorifying._"

It is in this verse that it comes clearly out, that the speaker is not merely to announce the mercy of God, but, at the same time, to bestow it; that the announcement is not an empty one, but one which brings along with it that which is promised; that it is not a Prophet or Evangelist who speaks, but the Saviour. Such a change cannot be effected by merely _announcing_ it. Everywhere, in the second part, it is brought about, not by words, but by deeds. How were it possible that by mere words, as long as the reality stood in glaring contrast to them, the believers could become terebinths of righteousness, a glorious planting of the Lord?--The connection of the two verbs [Hebrew: wvM] and [Hebrew: ntN] is to be accounted for from the circumstance, that the pronoun suited the first noun only--the ornament for the head. It is only when [Hebrew: wvM] is understood in the sense, "to put upon," or, "to put on," that there is a sufficient reason for adding [Hebrew: ntN]; but that is not the case when it is taken in the signification "to grant," "to appoint." [Hebrew: par] "crown," and [Hebrew: apr] "ashes," are connected with one another, because mourners were accustomed to strew ashes on their heads. The expression "oil of joy," which is to be explained from the custom of people anointing themselves with oil in cases of joy, is taken from Ps. xlv. 8. As the Messiah there appears as the possessor of the oil of joy, so, here, He appears as the bestower. In chap. lv. 3, there is [Pg 355] likewise an allusion to Ps. xlv., and along with it, to Ps. xxii. The "spirit of heaviness" refers to chap. xlii. 3. The fact that, instead of it, they receive "garments of praise," intimates that they shall be altogether clothed with praise, songs of praise for the divine goodness which manifested itself in them; on the garments as symbols of the condition, compare remarks on Rev. vii. 14. The "righteousness" which is appropriate to the spiritual terebinths, is the actual justification, which the Lord grants to His people at the appearance of the Messiah. There is in it an allusion to the planting of paradise; God now prepares for himself a new paradisaical plantation, consisting of living trees.

[Pg 356]

THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH.

By the inscription, the Prophet's origin is, in a way rather uncommon, traced back to his fourth ancestor, Hezekiah,--no doubt the king. He appeared as a prophet under the reign of Josiah--before the time, however, at which the reforms of that king had attained their completion, which took place in the 18th year of his reign--and, hence, prophesied, like his predecessor Habakkuk, in the view of the Chaldean catastrophe. The prophecy begins with threatening judgment upon the sinners, and closes with announcing salvation to the believers,--a circumstance which proves that it forms one whole. The threatening is distinguished from that of Habakkuk by the circumstance, that it has more of a general comprehensive character, and does not, as is done in Habakkuk, view the Chaldean catastrophe as a particular historical event. It is not an incidental circumstance, that the Chaldeans are not expressly mentioned by Zephaniah, as is done by Habakkuk, and was done by Isaiah. The Prophet can, therefore, have had them in view as being, _in the first instance_ only, the instruments of Divine punishment.

The prophecy begins, in chap. i. 2, 3, with announcing the judgment impending over the whole world. Then, the Prophet shows how it manifests itself in Judah; first, in general outlines, vers. 4-7; then, in detail, vers. 8-18. In close connection, this is followed by a call to repent, in chap. ii. 1-3. This call is founded on the fearful character of the impending judgment which, according to vers. 4-15, will be inflicted not only upon Judah, but also upon the world, and will especially bring destruction upon all the neighbouring nations: in the [Pg 357] West, upon the Philistines; in the East, upon Ammon and Moab; in the South, on Cush; in the North, upon Nineveh, upon whose destruction the Prophet especially dwells, since, up to that time, it had been the bearer of the world's power.

In chap. iii., in the first instance, the threatening against Judah is resumed. Apostate Jerusalem, corrupt in its head and members, irresistibly hastens on towards judgment. But, notwithstanding, "the afflicted and poor people of the land" shall not despair. On the contrary, as salvation cannot proceed from the midst of the people, they are to put their trust in the Lord. By His judgments (viz., those declared in chap. ii., which at last shall bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, compare Isa. xxvi. 9: "For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness") will He break the pride of the Gentile world, and bring about their conversion,--and the converted Gentile world will bring back to Jerusalem the scattered Congregation. Being purified and justified, it will then enjoy the full mercy of the Lord.

The principal passage is chap. iii. 8-13.

Ver. 8. "_Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my right is_ (_i.e._, the exercise of my right consists in this) _to gather the nations, and to assemble the kingdoms, to pour out upon them mine indignation, all the heat of mine anger; for all the earth shall be devoured by the fire of my jealousy._ Ver. 9. _For then will I turn unto the nations a clean lip, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one shoulder._ Ver. 10. _From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia shall they bring my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed for a meat-offering to me._ Ver. 11. _In that day shall thou not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then will I take away out of the midst of thee them that proudly rejoice in thee, and thou shall no more be haughty on mine holy mountain._ Ver. 12. _And I leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they trust in the name of the Lord._ Ver. 13. _The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid._"

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Zephaniah, who opens the series of the prophets who are preeminently dependent upon other prophets, just as Habakkuk closes the series of those pre-eminently independent, leans, in this section, chiefly upon Isaiah; and it is from this circumstance that it appears, that the person of the Messiah, although not appearing here, stands in the background and forms the invisible centre.

"_Therefore_" ver. 8: Since the salvation cannot proceed from the midst of the people, inasmuch as, in the way of their works, they receive nothing but destructive punishment. On the words: "Wait ye upon me," compare Hab. ii. 3. "The day that the Lord rises up to the prey" is the time when He will begin His great triumphal march against the Gentile world. With the words: "For my right," &c., a new argument for the call "Wait ye upon me," commences. But this does not by any means close with the 8th verse, but goes on to the end of ver. 10. First: Wait, for I will judge the nations. It is not without meaning that, as regards your hope, I refer you to the judgment upon the Gentiles; for, in consequence of this judgment, their conversion will take place, and a consequence of their conversion is, that they bring back to Zion her scattered members. In the thought, that the judgments upon the Gentile world will break their hardness of heart, and prepare them for their conversion, Zephaniah follows Isaiah, who, _e.g._ in chap. xix., exemplifies it in the case of Egypt, and in chap. xxiii. in that of Tyre. The bruised reed and the faintly burning wick is not merely a designation of the single individuals who have been endowed with the right disposition for the kingdom of God, but of whole nations. "The clean lip" in ver. 9 forms the contrast to the unclean lips in Is. vi. With unclean lips they had, in the time of the long-suffering of God, invoked their idols, Ps. xvi. 4. On the words: "To serve Him with one shoulder," comp. Is. xix. 23: "And Egypt serves with Asshur." The words: "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," in ver. 10, rest on Is. xviii. 1. In both of the passages, Ethiopia is the type of the whole Gentile world to be converted in future. In Is. xviii. Ethiopia offers itself and all which it has to the Lord; here it brings the scattered members of the community of the Israelitish people to the Kingdom of God. [Hebrew: etr] always means "to supplicate," [Pg 359] never "to burn incense." Ezek. viii. 11 must thus be translated: "Every man, his censer in his hand, and the _supplication_ of the cloud of incense went up;" compare remarks on Rev. v. 8. The dispersed members of the Church _supplicate_ that the Lord would again receive them into His communion (compare Hos. xiv. 3; Jer. xxxi. 9, 18; Zech. xii. 10); and these supplications cannot remain without an answer, since they from whom they proceed stand in a close relation to the Lord. "The daughter of my dispersed" is the daughter or communion, consisting of the dispersed of the Lord, just as in the phrase "the daughter of the Chaldeans," the Chaldeans themselves are the daughter or virgin. The designation, in itself, plainly suggests the dispersed members of the old Congregation, inasmuch as they only can be designated as the dispersed of the Lord. To this, moreover, must be added the reference to Deut. iv. 27: "And the Lord _disperses_ you among the nations;" xxviii. 64: "And the Lord _disperses_ thee among all the nations from the one end of the earth even unto the other,"--an announcement which, at the time of Zephaniah, had already been fulfilled upon the ten tribes, and the fulfilment of which was soon to commence upon Judah. It is only when the members of the old Congregation are understood by the suppliants and dispersed, that the call, "Wait ye upon me" is here established and confirmed. The offering of the meat-offering signifies, in the symbolism of the Mosaic law, diligence in good works, such as is to be peculiar to the redeemed. A single manifestation of it is the missionary zeal which is here shown by the converted Gentiles.

In harmony with the Song of Solomon, Isaiah announces in several passages, that the converted Gentiles shall, at some future period, labour for the restoration of Israel; compare the remarks on Is. xi. 12. Zephaniah here specially refers to the remarkable passage, Is. lxvi. 18-21, which we must here subject to a somewhat closer examination: Ver. 18. "And I ... their works and their thoughts; _the time cometh to gather_ all Gentiles and tongues, and they come and _see_ my glory." The first hemistich still belongs to the threatening. The holy God and unholy men, the unholy members of the Church to which the Lord spake: "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy," and their sinful thoughts and words are simply placed beside one another, [Pg 360] other, and it is left to every one to draw from it the inference as to the fate awaiting them. "I and their works"--what an immense contrast, a contrast which must be adjusted by the judgment! With the threatening, the Prophet then connects, by a suitable contrast to the rejection of a great part of the covenant-people, the calling of the Gentiles. The glory of the Lord, which the Gentiles see, is His glory which, up to that time, was concealed, but is now manifested; compare Is. xl. 5, lx. 2, lii. 10, liii. 1. Ver. 19. "And I set a sign among them, and send from among them escaped ones unto the nations, to Tarshish, &c., to the isles afar off that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory, and they declare my glory among the Gentiles,"--The suffix in [Hebrew: bhM] can refer to those only from among the nations and tongues who have come and seen the glory of God. They are sent out to bring the message of the living God, the message of salvation to those also who hitherto have not come. By the demonstration of the Spirit and power, they are marked out as blessed of the Lord, as His servants, separated from the world given up to destruction. Just as the wicked, the servants of the prince of this world, have their _mark_, Gen. iv. 50, so have the servants of God theirs also, which may be recognised by all who are well disposed. It is only by one's own fault, and at one's own risk, that the sign is not understood. The fact that "unto the nations" forms the beginning, and the "isles afar off"--isles in the sea of the world, kingdoms--the close, shows that the single names, Tarshish, &c., are only individualizations. In the following verse, too, all the heathens are spoken of Ver. 20: "And they bring, out of all nations, your brethren for a meat-offering unto the Lord, upon horses, &c., to my holy mountain to Jerusalem, as the children of Israel bring the meat-offering in a clean vessel unto the house of the Lord." It is in this verse that it clearly appears, that Zephaniah depends upon it; and it is by the offering of the spiritual meat-offering that his dependence is recognized. The subject in "they bring" is the Gentiles, to whom the message of salvation has been brought. They, having themselves attained salvation, offer to the Lord, as a meat-offering, the former members of His Kingdom who were separated from it. It is they, not the Gentiles who have become believers, who in the second [Pg 361] part of Isaiah, are throughout designated as the _brethren_. Salvation is first to pass from Israel to the Gentiles, and shall then, from them, return to Israel. The two verses before us thus contain a sanction for the mission among the heathens and among Israel. Vers. 18 and 19 divide the conversion of the Gentiles into two main stations; it is only when the Church has arrived at the second, that the missionary work among Israel will fully thrive and prosper. To the _clean vessel_ in which the outward sacrifice was offered, correspond the faith and love with which they, who were formerly heathens, offer the spiritual meat-offering. Ver. 21: "And of them also will I take for Levitical priests, saith the Lord." Of them, _i.e._, of those who formerly were heathens; for it is to them that, in the words preceding, a priestly function, viz., the offering of the meat-offering, is assigned. Of them _also_; not merely from among the old covenant-people, to whom, under the former dispensation, the priestly office was limited. The fact that the priests are designated as Levitical priests, is intended to keep out the thought that the point in question related only to priests in a lower sense, beside whom the Levitical priesthood, attached to natural descent, would continue to exist in full vigour. Priests with full dignities and rights are here so much the more required, that, according to what precedes, the point in question does not refer merely to a personal relation to the Lord, to immediate access to the throne of grace, but to the priestly office proper.

Vers. 11-13 describe the internal condition of the redeemed Church of the future,--a condition so different from the present one. The expression, "they that proudly rejoice in them," is from Is. xiii. 3. [Hebrew: ki] in ver. 13 is to be accounted for from the fact, that wherever there exists the blessing promised by the Law of God (Lev. xxvi. 6) to faithfulness, faithfulness itself must exist.

In ver. 14 ff., the Jerusalem of the future is addressed; compare the expression, "at that time," ver. 20.

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THE PROPHET JEREMIAH.

GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

In Malachi iii. 1, the Lord promises that He would send His messenger who should prepare the way before _Him_, who was to come to His temple, judging and punishing; vers. 23, 24 (iv. 5, 6): that before the coming of His great and dreadful day, before He smites the land with a curse, He would send another Elijah, who should bring back the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. Even before this prophecy was expressed in words, it had _actually_ been given in the existence of Jeremiah, who, during the whole long period of forty-one years, before the destruction, announced the judgments of the Lord,--who, with burning zeal and ardent love to the people, preached repentance,--and who, even after the destruction, sought the small remnant that had been left, and was anxious to secure it against the new day of the Lord, which, by its obstinate impenitence, it was drawing down upon itself. It is this typical relation of Jeremiah to John the Baptist and Christ, of which the Jewish tradition had an anticipation, although it misunderstood and expressed it in a gross, outward manner, by teaching that, at the end of days, Jeremiah would again appear on earth,--it is this, which invests with a peculiar charm the contemplation of his ministry, and the study of his prophecies.

The name of the Prophet is to be explained from Exod. xv. 1, from which it is probably taken. It signifies "The Lord throws." He who bore it was consecrated to that God who with an almighty hand throws to the ground all His enemies. From chap. i. 10: "See, I set thee to-day over the nations [Pg 363] and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant," it appears that it was by a dispensation of divine providence, that the Prophet bore this name with full right, and that the character of his mission is thereby designated. The judging and destructive activity which the Prophet, as an instrument of God, is to exercise, is here not only placed at the commencement, but four appellations are also devoted to it, whilst only two are devoted to his healing and planting activity. As the object of the _throwing_, we have to conceive, not of the unfaithful covenant-people only. This appears from the mention of the _nations and kingdoms_ here, and farther, from ver. 14, where the Lord says to the Prophet: "Out of the North the evil breaks forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth." To be the herald of the judgment to be executed upon the whole world by the Chaldeans, was so much the destiny of the Prophet, that, in chap. i. 3, the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in which this judgment was brought to a close, as far as Judah was concerned, is mentioned as the closing point of his ministry. The Prophet, as is reported by the book itself, still continued his ministry even among the remnant of the people; but that is lost sight of The "carrying away of Jerusalem" is treated as the great closing point; just as, in a manner altogether similar, it is, in the case of Daniel, in chap. i. 21, the year of Israel's deliverance, although, according to chap. x. 1, his prophetic ministry extended beyond that period.