Hezekiah again seems to have recovered from the fit or fever of pride and vain-glory that was in him, and said, as became a devout believer, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken;" as much as to say, Thy will, our Father, be done on earth as it is in heaven. I shall be satisfied if there be peace and truth in my days; the Lord's will be done.

And then we read that Hezekiah afterwards, for a long period is compressed into a short chapter— Hezekiah slept the sleep of death which knows no wakening till the resurrection trumpet shall sound; and Manasseh, a mere boy, mounted the throne and reigned in his stead.

ISAIAH XXXIX.

Barnes gives the following fair synopsis of this chapter :

"This short chapter completes the historical part of Isaiah. The same record occurs, with some slight changes, in 2 Kings xx. 12-21. The chapter is composed of the following parts. 1. The statement that the king of Babylon sent an embassage to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery; verse 1. This embassage contemplated also an inquiry into the truth of the report in regard to the miracle on the sun-dial; 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 2. Hezekiah showed them all his treasures in an ostentatious and improper

manner; verse 2. This was permitted in order that he might be tried, and might know all that was in his own heart, and not be lifted up with pride, and with the conviction of his own righteousness; 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 3. Isaiah is sent with a message to Hezekiah to inquire what he had done, and who those ambassadors were; verses 4, 5. 4. Isaiah is directed to deliver the solemn message of God that Jerusalem should be taken; and that all its inhabitants and all its treasures should be carried to Babylon-the place whence those ambassadors came; verses 5-7. 5. Hezekiah expresses submission to the just sentence and purpose of God, and gratitude that. it should not occur in his days; verse 8."

To all this Hezekiah replies, "Good is the word of the Lord." This is in the spirit of the Great Master: "The cup that my Father has given me to drink shall I not drink it?" All that betides us is from our Father. He chastens, not punishes his own— for their profit.

COMFORT YE, MY PEOPLE.

ISAIAH XL.

I AM sure it is not possible to produce within the whole range of ancient or modern literature a piece of composition more sublime in its allusions, more eloquent in its expressions, or more fitted to produce upon the heart of the reader a deep, a solemn, and a lasting impression, than this chapter. I do not

know that any comment that man can possibly append will make plainer what is so plainly written, or more impressive what is grandest and most impressive in its own untouched simplicity. The only thing that seems to me to give force and clearness to it is the magnificent music of the great Protestant composer, Handel. He will appreciate this who has heard these words, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people;" or the exquisite passage, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." So that the only thing that can make clearer, and put in sharper, more brilliant and beautiful relief this magnificent, this inspired composition, is music; and by its marvellous versatility, its inexhaustible resources, it gives expression to what might otherwise seem feeble, and clearness and force to what might otherwise be obscure.

To what period does this refer? At the first blush we should apply it to the advent of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty years ago; and for the very simple reason that these words, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God," are expressly referred to John, where we read, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." I have not the least doubt

that the first dawn of this prediction shone in the days of John; but it is impossible to conclude that its greatest and most important significance was either exhausted or fulfilled then. For instance, if we refer the opening part of the chapter to John the Baptist, and to the first advent of our Lord, how can we apply these words, "Speak ye comfortably. to Jerusalem?" Our blessed Lord said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not." Or, as it is in the Gospel of St. Luke: "If thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes." But the command is, "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem." But our blessed Lord's words were not words of comfort, but words of warning, of judg ment, of solemn rebuke. Then, in the second place, how could we apply to Jerusalem in the days of our Lord the words, Cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned?" Her warfare was then only to begin, her iniquity is not pardoned to this day, for it is trodden under foot of the Gentiles, and its people are scattered over all the earth like driftwood upon the sea, the memorials of a people that have passed away, though each containing in his bosom the prophecy of a regeneration that is sure. "She hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins:" why, she was punished for her sins, she received no compensation. And therefore I infer that the great mass of this prophecy refers to a future that may be distant or that may be

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near, but is still the future; and that this chapter is not fulfilled, and will not in its grand predictions be fulfilled till that day when not the voice of John the Baptist, heralding the advent of the Lord to suffer on a cross, but the preliminary voice of Elijah the prophet, heralding the advent of Christ crowned with many crowns, to make the kingdoms of this world his, and to reign from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth, shall be heard throughout the globe. And this is conveyed by the fifth verse: at this very period, "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." But that was not fulfilled at Pentecost, it was not fulfilled in the preaching of the apostles; and therefore I infer that the great bulk of this prophecy is still future; but that, like all prophecies, it seems to have had an initial illustration also. It began with John, but its full and complete exhaustion is reserved for another, who is to come like John the Baptist to herald in the reign of Him who shall reign from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. And we are justified in this conclusion by the prediction of Malachi, where we read, at the very close of the Old Testament dispensation, and immediately preceding the advent of Christ; where we read, in the fourth chapter, at the fifth verse, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." But nobody can call Christ's first advent the great and dreadful day of the Lord; he was despised and rejected of men; he came like the gentle light, not like the lightning; he came in the day of grace, not in the day of judgment and of glory. But the pre