The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Isaiah, Volume 1 (of 2) — John Shaqi
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Isaiah, Volume 1 (of 2)Smith, George Adam
Religion
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Isaiah, Volume 1 (of 2)
Smith, George Adam
Bible. Isaiah -- Commentaries
Isaiah's doctrines, being so closely connected with the life of his day,
come up for statement at many points of the narrative, in which this
Exposition chiefly consists. But here and there I have inserted chapters
dealing summarily with more important topics, such as The World in
Isaiah's Day; The Messiah; Isaiah's Power of Prediction, with its
evidence on the character of Inspiration; and the question, Had Isaiah a
Gospel for the Individual? A short index will guide the student to
Isaiah's teaching on other important points of theology and life, such
as holiness, forgiveness, monotheism, immortality, the Holy Spirit, etc.
Treating Isaiah's prophecies chronologically as I have done, I have
followed a method which put me on the look-out for any traces of
development that his doctrine might exhibit. I have recorded these as
they occur, but it may be useful to collect them here. In chaps. ii.-iv.
we have the struggle of the apprentice prophet's thoughts from the easy
religious optimism of his generation, through unrelieved convictions of
judgement for the whole people, to his final vision of the Divine
salvation of a remnant. Again, chap. vii. following on chaps. ii.-vi.
proves that Isaiah's belief in the Divine righteousness preceded, and
was the parent of, his belief in the Divine sovereignty. Again, his
successive pictures of the Messiah grow in contents, and become more
spiritual. And again, he only gradually arrived at a clear view of the
siege and deliverance of Jerusalem. One other fact of the same kind has
impressed me since I wrote the exposition of chap. i. I have there
stated that it is plain that Isaiah's conscience was perfect just
because it consisted of two complementary parts: one of God the
infinitely High, exalted in righteousness, far above the thoughts of His
people, and the other of God the infinitely Near, concerned and jealous
for all the practical details of their life. I ought to have added that
Isaiah was more under the influence of the former in his earlier years,
but that as he grew older and took a larger share in the politics of
Judah it was the latter view of God, to which he most frequently gave
expression. Signs of a development like these may be fairly used to
correct or support the evidence which Assyriology affords for
determining the chronological order of the chapters.
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