Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions Volume I Part 29
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Footnote 1: After the example of _Hofmann_, _Caspari_ gives this exposition: "And the remnant of His brethren, viz., the inhabitants of Judah, shall return from the captivity to Canaan, along with the sons of Israel, _i.e._, the ten tribes." But the return from the captivity never appears in the prophets, as a work of the Messiah. It has here taken place long before His appearing: chap. iv. 10, iv. 11-14 supposes it to have taken place, and Zion to be in existence. The "brethren of the Messiah" can neither be the inhabitants of Judah especially, nor the sons of Israel, the ten tribes, unless the ant.i.thesis to Judah be distinctly expressed. It is absurd to suppose that the ten tribes should appear as those chiefly who are to be redeemed. ???, which means "to return," cannot be used simply of a return to the country, while ??? with ?? can, according to the _usus loquendi_, be understood only in the sense of "to return to," etc., etc.
CHAP. VI. VII.
We shall now, in conclusion, give a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet. After an introduction in vi. 1, 2, where the mountains serve only to give greater solemnity to the scene (in the fundamental pa.s.sages Deut. x.x.xii. 1, and in Is. 1, 2, "heaven and earth" are mentioned for the same purposes, inasmuch as they are the most venerable parts of creation; "contend _with_ the mountains" by taking them in and applying to [Pg 522] them as hearers), the prophet reminds the people of the benefits which they have repaid with ingrat.i.tude, vers. 3-5. (In ver. 5 those facts also which served as a proof of its truth, are considered as part of Balaam's answer.) He then, in vers. 6-8, shows the fallacy of the imagination that they could satisfy the Lord by the observance of the mere outward forms of wors.h.i.+p, though such should be increased to the utmost, and performed in a manner totally different from that in which it was in the present, and points out the spiritual demands already made even by the law, and especially by Deut. x. 12, a compliance with which could alone be pleasing to the Lord. From vi. 9-vii. 6, he shows to how limited an extent these demands are complied with by the people,--how true and cordial piety and justice have disappeared from the midst of them,--and how, therefore, the threatenings of the law must, and shall be fulfilled upon them. The reproof and threatening are then followed by the announcement of salvation, which refers indeed to the Messianic times, but without any mention in it of the person of the Messiah, the brightness of which meets us only in the main body of the prophecy. The main thought here also is the entirely altered position of Israel in their relation to the heathen world. "A day is coming"--so it is said in ver. 11--"to build thy walls; in that day shall the law be far removed." ??? is used especially of the walls and fences of vineyards; and under the image of a vineyard, Israel appears as early as in the Song of Solomon. The wall around the vineyard of Israel is the protection against the heathen world; Is. v. 5. The "law" is, according to the context, in which the heathen oppressors are spoken of, that which is imposed by them upon the people of G.o.d; Ps. xciv. 20. Ver. 12.
"_A day it is when they shall come to thee from a.s.shur, and from the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the river, and to sea from sea, and to mountain from mountain._" It is not enough that the people of G.o.d are freed from the servitude of the world. They shall become the objects of the longing of the nations, even the most powerful and hostile. They become the magnet which attracts them; compare iv. 1, 2.
From among the heathen nations a.s.shur and Egypt are first specially mentioned, as the two princ.i.p.al representatives of hostility against the kingdom of G.o.d in the present and past, and, at the same time, as the two most powerful empires at the time of the prophet [Pg 523]--the latter quality being indicated by the circ.u.mstance of Egypt's appearing under the name ????, "fortress." But then, by the expressions "from sea to sea," "from mountain to mountain," which are equivalent to "from every sea to every sea," etc., all barriers in general are completely removed; compare in v. 3 (4) the words: "He shall be great unto the ends of the earth." (The subject in ???? can only be the inhabitants of these countries themselves, not the Jews living there. If the latter had been intended, a more distinct indication of it would have been required. The Masculine Suffix ??????? "to thee," _i.e._, not to Zion but to Israel, is opposed to such a reference. This shows clearly that they who come are different from Israel. In entire harmony with this prophecy is Is. xix. 18-25.) But, before such glory can be bestowed upon the people of G.o.d, the irrevocable judgment must first have done its fearful work, ver. 13; compare the fundamental pa.s.sage Lev. xxvi.
33, and Is. i. 7. In ver. 14 the announcement of salvation takes a new start. Vers. 18-20 form the sublime close, not only of the last discourse, but also of the whole book, as is clearly indicated by the coincidence of the words, "Who is, O G.o.d, like unto Thee?" ver. 18, with the mention of Micah's name in the inscription. The name of the prophet, by which he is dedicated to the incomparable G.o.d, has been confirmed by the contents of his prophecy. The New Testament parallel pa.s.sage is Rom. xi. 33-36: "_Who is, O G.o.d, like unto Thee; pardoning iniquity, and remitting transgression to the remnant of His heritage?
He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy._"
"Who is, O G.o.d, like unto Thee?" so the people once already sang after the redemption from Egypt. Thus it resounds still more loudly in the view of the ant.i.typal redemption, by which the fundamental definition of the divine nature in Exod. x.x.xiv. 6, 7, and David's praise of divine mercy in Ps. ciii., are fully realized. "He will return and have compa.s.sion upon us (according to the promise in Deut. x.x.x. 3), will overcome our iniquities (which, like a cruel tyrant, like Pharaoh of old, subjected us to their power, Ps. xix. 14), and cast all their sins into the depth of the sea," as once He cast the proud Egyptians, Exod.
xv. 5-10. "Thou wilt give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."
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Works Published by T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh.
PROSPECTUS
OF THE
ANTE-NICENE CHRISTIAN LIBRARY.
MESSRS CLARK of Edinburgh, Publishers of the Foreign Theological Library, beg respectfully to invite attention to the Prospectus of a Collection of all the works of the Fathers of the Christian Church, prior to the Council of Nicaea, to be Edited by
REV. ALEXANDER ROBERTS, D.D., Author of 'Discussions on the Gospels,' Etc.;
AND
JAMES DONALDSON, LL.D., Author of 'A Critical History of Christian Literature and Doctrine from the Death of the Apostles to the Nicene Council.'
THE writings of the early Christians are allowed on all hands to be of great importance, and to be invested with a peculiar interest; and regrets have often been expressed that it should be so difficult to know their contents. Many of them are mere fragments; and where complete works exist, the text is often so corrupt, and the style is so involved, that even a good cla.s.sical scholar is repelled from their perusal. If the student of Latin and Greek meets with obstacles, the merely English reader is absolutely without the means of information.
The greater part of the most important writings have never been translated; and those translations which have been made are, with the exception of the few executed in recent times, for the most part loose, inaccurate, and difficult to procure. To supply this great want is the object of the Ante-Nicene Christian Library. All the Christian writings antecedent to the Nicene Council have been put into the hands of competent translators. These will make it their first and princ.i.p.al aim to produce translations as faithful as possible, uncoloured by any bias, dogmatic or ecclesiastical. They will also endeavour, in brief notes, to place the English reader in the position of those acquainted with the original languages. They will indicate important variations in the text; they will give different translations of the same pa.s.sage where more than one have been proposed; they will note the various meanings attributed to the words in ecclesiastical controversies; and when the ancient doc.u.ments appear in widely different forms, the various forms will be presented. At the same time, they will strive to combine with this strict accuracy and faithfulness as much elegance as may be consistent with the main aim. Short biographical [Pg 526] and explanatory notices will be prefixed to each translation; and in every case where there is variety of opinion, the writer will abstain from expressing his own sentiments, and confine himself simply to an impartial statement of the opinions of the most noteworthy critics on the point.
The following are the works which are now being translated:--
I. The Apostolical Fathers, including the Epistles of Clemens Roma.n.u.s, the Epistles of Ignatius in their various forms, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Epistle of Polycarp, the Epistle to Diognetus, and the Pastor of Hermas, with the Martyria of Ignatius and Polycarp.
II. The undoubted and doubtful works of Justin Martyr,--the Apologies, the Dialogue with Trypho, the Oratio ad Gentiles, the Cohortatio, the De Monarchia, and the fragments on the Resurrection, along with the Martyrium of one Justin.
III. The works of Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Hermias, and the fragments of the rest of the Apologists.
IV. Irenaeus: All his extant works.
V. Clemens Alexandrinus: All his extant works.
VI. Origen. The Series will include the De Principiis, and the Contra Celsum. The rest of his works will be translated if the Series is successful.
VII. The fragments of Julius Africa.n.u.s, and of the other writers given in Dr Routh's Reliquiae Sacrae.
VIII. The works generally ascribed to Hippolytus, along with the recently discovered Refutatio Omnium Haeresium.
IX. The works ascribed to Dionysius of Alexandria, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Methodius, and others of the same period.
X. The Recognitions and the Clementine Homilies, the Letters of Clemens on Virginity, the Const.i.tutions, the Canons of the Apostles, Decrees of Councils till the period of the Nicene Council, and the Martyria written within the period, and generally believed to be genuine.
XI. The Apocryphal Gospels, and other Apocryphal Literature of the New Testament.
XII. The Octavius of Minucius Felix.
XIII. The entire works of Tertullian.
XIV. All the genuine works of Cyprian.
XV. Arn.o.bius adversus Gentes.
XVI. The works of Lactantius.
XVII. The extant works of Novatian, Victorinus, Commodia.n.u.s, and other Christian Latin writers preceding the Council of Nice.
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It is intended to include in the Series every Christian writing and doc.u.ment produced before the Nicene Council, whether in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, aethiopic, or in any other language. The list includes a number of works, some portions of which are generally believed to have been written after the Council of Nice; but as other portions were, or may have been, written before that time, it has been thought the safer course to give them fully. Only those works which are now allowed on every hand to have been written after the Nicene Council, will be excluded.
It is believed that the writings comprised in the above Synopsis will form about sixteen or eighteen Volumes, in demy octavo, of a size similar to the Publishers' Foreign Theological Library; and the Series will be published at the same rate to Subscribers, namely--
FOUR VOLUMES for ONE GUINEA.
Each work will have a separate Index; and a very complete Index to the whole Series will be published in a separate Volume, especial care being taken hi its compilation.
The Publishers' arrangements are such, that the publication, once commenced, will proceed very rapidly; so that, whilst no Subscriber will be required to take the work more rapidly than four Volumes annually, it is highly probable that the whole may be finished at a much earlier period, for the convenience of those who may desire to have their sets completed. The Volumes will be handsomely bound in cloth, with red edges; but Subscribers may have them with uncut edges, by intimating their wish with their order.
They will be greatly obliged by intending Subscribers filling up the accompanying Slip, and returning it to them speedily, as this will very much facilitate their arrangements.
** _When not paid in advance, the retail Bookseller is ent.i.tled to charge 24s_
.......................................186 .
Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions Volume I Part 29
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