of Isaiah, in the Epistle to the Romans: Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. CHAPTER XI. I. THE prophet in this chapter foretells, that although the kingdom and family of David were to be brought low, and reduced to a very abject condition by their enemies; yet God would preserve that family, and raise up a great king, and put his spirit upon him. II. He represents, in figurative expressions, the kingdom of the Messiah, under whom the whole earth should be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. III. He promises that God would again display in behalf of his people, to recover them from the several countries where they should be dispersed) the same power which he had displayed when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Reflections. WHAT is said in this chapter may be applied to that which God did in behalf of the family of king David and of the Jews, under the reign of good king Hezekiah, when he preserved them from the enemies which then attacked them; and when he afterwards brought back the remnant of that people from the several countries where they had been dispersed. But the true sense of the prophecy is that the Messiah was to spring from the posterity of David: that the spirit of God should rest upon him, with his most extraordinary gifts; that his kingdom was to be a spiritual and heavenly kingdom; and that the design of this kingdom would be to reconcile all men, to make them live in peace, and to fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord. These are so many signs which prove that Jesus is the Messiah who was to come; these are powerful motives to engage us to submit to his kingdom, to live in peace and unity, and by leading a holy life, to acknowledge God's mercy to us, in giving us the knowledge of himself, and redeeming us by Jesus Christ. CHAPTER XII. In this chapter the prophet adds a song of thanksgiving for the great salvation with which God was to visit his people. Reflections. We have in this chapter a pattern of the praises and thanksgivings which Christians ought to render to God continually, for that great deliverance which he has vouchsafed unto them, in redeeming them by his son Jesus Christ. CHAPTER XIII. THE Contents of the preceding chapters relate to the state of the Jews, when they were attacked by their enemies, in the reign of Ahaz, and foretells what would befall them, as well as the kingdom of Israel. The thirteenth and following chapters contain prophecies against the nations and kingdoms who should afflict the people of God. In this chapter he foretells, that the Babylonians would be subdued by the Medes and Persians. Reflections. THIS general reflection is to be made on this and the following chapters to the twenty-fourth, and upon several other parts of this Book; that the predictions of Isaiah did not only relate to the Jews, but that God commanded him likewise to prophesy against other nations, even the most powerful empires, such as was at that time the Babylonish; and to commit his prophecies to writing. God was pleased thus to order it, for the instruction and consolation of the Jews, and to convince all men, in ages to come, that he is the Almighty God, the Lord of kings and nations. This is a mark of majesty and greatness, which should be well observed in these prophecies: and is the more remarkable, as all the threatenings [CHAP. XIV. denounced therein against the several nations were put in execution. On this thirteenth chapter it must be observed, that as the Babylonians were to take Jerusalem, burn the temple, and carry the people into captivity, God, to give the Jews a right sense of this great event, and for their consolation, was pleased to declare long before hand, that the empire of the Babylonians should be destroyed. This prediction is very wonderful: Isaiah expressly declares, that Babylon should be taken at a time, and in a manner, which the Babylonians could not have foreseen; that it should be utterly destroyed, and never recover from its ruins, but become a retreat for wild beasts. Isaiah foretells this two hundred years before, when the Babylonish empire was in the most flourishing condition; at the end of which time Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians, as we learn from the fifth chapter of Daniel, and from profane history. This prophecy affords us the clearest conviction of the divine authority of the Sacred Writings: it proves, that God was the director of all these great events. We here remark the divine justice against the Babylonians, who had so unjustly oppressed the Jews; and lastly, we see that God graciously protects his church. These predictions, which, when they were pronounced, had a natural tendency to comfort the Jews, should make still greater impression upon us, as they have been since so exactly fulfilled; and they furnish us with the most convincing proofs of the divinity of the prophecies contained in this Book. CHAPTER XIV. I. Isaiah foretells the deliverances and restoration of the Jews. II. He declares that God would destroy the Babylonians by his power, for their own pride and cruelty, though they trusted in their own strength. III. He threatens likewise the Philistines with total destruction. Reflections. THE promises, which Isaiah made to the Jews, show, that if the prophets had a commission to threaten them, they were also sent to comfort them, with an assurance that God would be reconciled with them. Thus has God always given proofs of his goodness, at the same time that he has given tokens of his justice. Isaiah's description of the insupportable pride of the Babylonians, of their formidable power, and the extent of their dominions, should lead us to consider, that how great soever the power of the kings of the earth, and the enemies of the church may be, it can never hold out against God; and that his justice is engaged to confound the proud and unjust. This should teach us humility and confidence in God; since pride is not less odious in private persons than in princes and nations. Again, the destruction of the city and empire of Babylon very evidently proves the truth and divinity of Isaiah's prophecies. The prophet mentions one very remarkable circumstance; which is, that this great and pompous city should become pools of water, and a dwelling for wild beasts; which actually came to pass afterwards, as we are informed by history. The destruction of the Philistines, the ancient enemies of God's people, presents us with the same reflections; which came to pass in the reign of Hezekiah, a few years after Isaiah had prophesied against them. CHAPTER XV. Isaiah, in this and the following chapter, prophesies against the Moabites; foretells the taking of the principal cities, Ar and Kir, and others here mentioned; and declares that their country should be reduced to the utmost extremity. CHAPTER XVI. THE prophet in this chapter says, the Moabites should send lambs, that is a tribute to the king of : Jerusalem that the Israelites should dwell in their own land; and that all this should happen to punish the pride and insolence of the Moabites; and lastly, he takes notice, that these threatenings should be accomplished in three years. Reflections on chapters xv. and XVI. THE prophecy concerning the destruction of the Moabites was fulfilled at the exact time mentioned by Isaiah, when Salmaneser, king of Assyria, made war upon the Israelites. This prince took possession of the kingdom of Moab, and the Moabites became afterwards tributaries to the kingdom of Judah, and did homage to Hezekiah, after the Assyrians had been defeated in that king's reign. All these events God was pleased to foretell, to convince the Jews of the truth of all that the prophets declared, and to teach them, that his providence ruled over all things. The same instructions we may receive from several other prophecies of the like nature. In the desolation of the Moabites we should likewise consider the just punishment of their pride, and of the injuries they had done to the Jews, and the care which God has, in all ages, been graciously pleased to take of his people. CHAPTER XVII. THE prophet foretells the ruin of Damascus, the capital of the kingdom of Syria, which is called the fortress of Ephraim: that is, the defence of the Israelites of the ten tribes, who had put themselves under the protection of the king of Syria. He denounces the destruction of the ten tribes themselves, because they had forsaken the true God to serve idols. Reflections. IN the sixteenth chapter of the Second Book of Kings, we read an account of the destruction of the kingdom of Damascus, foretold by Isaiah. Tiglathpileser, king of the Assyrians, took that city, laid it |