top of the mountains" (xlii. 10). And so all nature is to burst into singing over the redemption of Israel, because that is the first step towards the evangelising of the world: "Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth. . . for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify Himself in Israel” (xliv. 23; cf. xlv. 8, xlix. 13).

(3) And it is not only Jehovah's operations on nature which have salvation in view, but also all His operations on the stage of history; such, for example, as His raising up of Cyrus. This great act of providential history contemplates the widest scope. It has, no doubt, narrower objects in view, but even these narrower purposes look towards a universal one. Jehovah raises up Cyrus, first, that Cyrus may know Him: "That thou mayest know that I am the Lord"; secondly, that His servant Jacob may be set free: "For My servant Jacob's sake, and Israel My chosen, I have called thee by thy name"; but, thirdly, these two are but steps in the direction of the universal object in view: "That men may know from the rising of the sun, and from its going down, that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else" (xlv. 1-7). And the same idea is expressed in the name 'First and Last' given to Jehovah. He has a purpose from the beginning, which He brings to completion; and this is none other than that they may "look unto Him and be saved, all the ends of the earth" (xlv. 22). And the same is the meaning when it is said so often that Jehovah is performing some great act in 'righteousness,' as when He says of Cyrus: "I have raised him up in righteousness" (xlv. 13).

(4) And corresponding to this exclusively religious conception of Jehovah, all whose attributes and operations are conceived as working to one end, is the prophet's conception of the people Israel. Though he still holds fast to the idea of the people or nation, as all the prophets operate with nations, the religious unit being to them the people, not the individual;-though he still retains this conception, his idea of Israel and its meaning is a purely religious one.

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This he expresses by calling Israel the Servant of the Lord. All other conceptions of the people have been dropped, and its sole significance is as a religious unity, serving the Lord as His people, and in a public mission to the world on His behalf. Though Israel remains a people, the prophet's conception of it is that of a Church. And that which makes Israel the Servant of the Lord' is that He has put His word into its mouth; Israel is the prophet of the world. In earlier writings the antithesis was between the individual prophet and the people of Israel. The individual prophet was the servant of the Lord sent to the people of Israel. Now the antithesis is a wider one. The universalism of the prophet's conception of Jehovah compels him to formulate Jehovah's relations to all nations, and he expresses his conception of this by saying that Israel is the Servant of the Lord, His messenger and prophet to mankind. Israel is the Lord's Servant, because Israel is the word of the Lord incarnate; and the greatness of the scope which Jehovah had in view in putting His word into Israel's mouth is expressed in the words: "I have put My words in thy mouth, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth (i.e. the new heavens and the new earth), and say unto Zion, Thou art My people" (li. 16). The prophet's redemptive or religious conception of Israel exhausts Israel. This appears in the remarkable passage in chap. lxi., where Israel's relation to the nations in the new world is described: "Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your plowmen and vinedressers. But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our God" (lxi. 5).

4. The Redemptive Attributes.

These general remarks lead us to refer more particularly to those of Jehovah's attributes that are usually called redemptive. It is unnecessary to dwell on these: the mention of one or two things will suffice. There is one preliminary point, however, on which a remark may be made.

The prophet's statements are concrete and not general. He speaks of Jehovah as Redeemer mainly in relation to Israel. Israel was then His people, and no other was. His redemptive attributes therefore are manifested in His relation to Israel. To interpret the prophet rightly this must always be kept in mind. Yet now when the Church or people of God has a wider sense, and belongs to all mankind, we are, no doubt, entitled to apply to this universal Church that which this prophet says of Israel, the Church in his day. Though he regards Jehovah's purpose of salvation as universal, embracing the nations, he does not represent Jehovah as loving the nations, or choosing them, or redeeming them. The Lord does not use those terms regarding them which He uses regarding Israel. Jehovah has compassion on their miseries; He sees that the flame of life burns low in them, and His Servant in bringing forth right to them will deal gently with them, and quicken and heal their decaying strength: "The bruised reed He will not break, and the dimly burning flame He will not quench" (xlii. 3).

(a) First, then, Jehovah loved Israel. This is not a common expression; it occurs, however, several times, as in xliii. 4: "Since thou hast been precious in My sight. and I have loved thee." And Abraham is called the friend or lover of God (xli. 8). The word is not much used by the prophets of Jehovah's mind towards His people. But there is another word, namely, Dл, which we render by 'loving-kindness.' This is oftener employed, as, e.g., in the beautiful passage: "I will make mention of the lovingkindness of the Lord, and the great goodness which He bestowed on the house of Israel, according to His mercies and according to the multitude of His loving-kindnesses" (lxiii. 7). And this word really expresses the idea of love. Again: "In an overflow of wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting love will I have mercy upon thee" (liv. 8). This love of Jehovah to Israel is entirely inexplicable. It was certainly not due to any loveliness on Israel's part, for Israel has been a "trans

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gressor from the womb" (xlviii. 8), and her "first father sinned against the Lord" (xliii. 27). The prophet might seem to give an explanation when Jehovah addresses Israel as "the seed of Abraham my friend" (xli. 8). Israel is "beloved for the father's sake." But this only thrusts the difficulty a step back, for His love of Abraham himself cannot be explained: "Look unto Abraham your father . . . for when he was but one I called him, and blessed him, and made him many" (li. 2). Jehovah's love is free, and we cannot explain it. We can see, indeed, why He should love some one people, and enter into relations of redemption with them, and deposit His grace and truth among them; but we cannot see why one and not another. It helps us, however, somewhat if we perceive that His choice of one was only temporary, and for the purpose of extending His grace unto all. And we are assured that His love is not arbitrary, nor a mere uncalculating passion; but, seeing it is said that God is love, His love is the highest expression of His ethical being, the synthesis and focus of all His moral attributes.

(b) He chose or elected Israel. It is difficult to say whether this choice follows God's love, or is contemporaneous with it, or is but another way of expressing it. The choice or election of Israel is one of the most common thoughts of the prophet: "But thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen" (xli. 8), and a multitude of other places. The familiarity of the idea to this prophet is remarkable when the other fact is taken into account that the idea finds expression in no ancient prophet. It occurs in a single passage of Jeremiah (xxxiii. 24), and also once in Ezekiel (xx. 5), and in some passages in Deuteronomy. Otherwise, it occurs only in late psalms, such as Ps. cv. and cvi. The reason why this prophet insists upon Israel's election so much is easily perceived. It is part of the comfort' which he is charged to address to the people. Israel seemed dissolving away under the wearing forces of the time. It was dispersed among all peoples, itself no more a people. In its despondency it

could only complain: "Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me." To which Jehovah answers: "Can a woman forget her sucking child? . . . I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee off" (xlix. 15, 16).

(c) This choice realises itself in calling, or, as it is otherwise expressed, in creation or redemption. "I called thee from the ends of the earth," which probably refers to Egypt, as the prophet, in all probability, wrote in Babylon (xli. 8, 9). And to this same event, namely, the Exodus, the terms create and redeem usually refer. Jehovah is called the Creator of Israel, because He brought Israel into existence as a people of the Exodus; and for the same reason He is called the Redeemer of Israel. No doubt the term 'Redeemer' is more general. It expresses a constant relation which Jehovah bears to His people—a relation illustrated in the Exodus, and to be again illustrated in the deliverance from Babylon: "Say ye, The Lord hath redeemed His servant Jacob" (xlviii. 20).

(d) A characteristic of this love of Jehovah to His people is its unchangeableness: "Can a woman forget the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee" (xlix. 15); and many similar passages. The flow of this love may be interrupted for a small moment by an access of anger; yet it but returns again to its channel to run in an everlasting current: "For a small moment have I hid My face from thee; but with everlasting love will I have mercy upon thee" (liv. 8). Indeed, the interruption was but apparent. There was no real separation between the Lord and His people: "Where is your mother's bill of divorcement, with which I sent her away?" (1. 1).

(e) There is another affection of Jehovah towards His people which is but a complexion or aspect of His love -His compassion. This is love modified by some other element, chiefly the wretchedness of those loved. Thus in the beautiful passage, "In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare