Micah 7

7:1 WOE is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the firstripe fig. The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the mischief of his soul: thus they weave it together. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. But as for me, I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him; until he plead my cause, and execute judgement for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her; which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. 12 A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the decree be far removed. In that day shall they come unto thee, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvelous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places: they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and shall be afraid because of thee. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again and have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

Chap. 7. The course of thought in this chapter embraces the prophet’s distress (verse 1): its causes in the extreme wickedness of the people (verses 2-4); so great that no confidence can be reposed in man, not even in best friends (verses 5, 6); but should be in God (verse 7). Trusting in her God, Zion exults over her enemies (verses 8, 9), who are covered with shame (verse 10); enlargement for Zion (verses 11, 12), albeit judgments have come and must come for her sins; the prophet’s prayer (verse 14); and the Lord’s answer (verses 15-17); the prophet testifies in sublime strains to God’s pardoning mercy, and the people respond (verses 18-20).

1. The prophet gives expression to his sadness, grief and disappointment, by comparing his case to that of a man longing for the first ripe fruits, but who finds the summer fruits all gathered, the grapes all gleaned, and not a cluster left for his hunger. The state of things among the people which causes him such grief and disappointment, he proceeds to describe. H. C.

2. The good man is a godly man, and a merciful man; the word signifies both. Those are completely good men that are devout toward God, and compassionate and beneficent toward men; that love mercy, and walk with God. These are perished, and there are none risen up in their stead, that tread in their steps; honesty is banished, and there is no such thing as a good man to be met with. Those that were of religious education are degenerated, and become as bad as the worst.

3. The magistrates, who by their office ought to have been the patrons and protectors of right, were the practisers and promoters of wrong, that they may do evil with both hands earnestly, to excite and animate themselves in it, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh, for a reward, for a bribe, with which they will be hired to exert all their power for the supporting and carrying on of any wicked design with both hands.

4. And if this be the character of the best and most upright, what are the worst? And when things are come to this pass, the day of the watchmen comes—that is, as it follows, the day of thy visitation, when God will reckon with thee for all this wickedness; which is called the day of the watchmen, because their prophets, whom God set as watchmen over them, had often warned them of that day. When all flesh have corrupted their way, even the best and the most upright, what can be expected but a day of visitation, a deluge of judgments, as that which drowned the old world when the earth was filled with violence? H.

5,6. The gloomy description is resumed. The corruption reaches to the innermost recesses of society. Confidence is extinct. The dearest of human relationships are out of joint. On the use made by our Lord of the words of verse 6, see on Matt. 10:35, 36; Luke 12:53. B. C.

5. All other friendships are but fragments; Christ’s is the perfect friendship. Back of the sweet, gentle humanities in Him, which make it so easy for us to come to Him and repose in Him, is the might of the eternal God. The humanity comes very close to us, and it is for us to lay our heads upon its bosom. Then when we lean on Him we are lifted up in the arms of Omnipotence. J. R. M.

7-13. The prophet, having sadly complained of the wickedness of the times he lived in, here fastens upon some considerations for the comfort of himself and his friends in reference thereunto. The case is bad, but it is not desperate; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. H.

7. I will look. The soul of the faithful still holds fast her faith, in spite of the darkness. The promises of Jehovah cannot fail. Salvation will surely come. Prayers cannot fail to be answered.

8. The enemy whose insolent exultation is here deprecated is the antichrist, the imperial tyranny ever in antagonism with the true, faithful Israel. In Micah’s time this was represented by Asshur (verse 12), in John’s time by Rome. The faithful realize that the darkest moment of the night may be that which just precedes the dawn. B. C.

Rejoice, ye good soldiers of Jesus Christ; your King not only witnesses from His throne in the heavens the contest in which you are engaged, but cheers you on with His presence, encourages you by His example, animates you by His promises, stretches over you the impenetrable shield of His righteousness, and insures you by His grace of final conquest. Well, then, may you exclaim with the Jewish prophet, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall I shall arise; when I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me;” or break forth into the exulting language of the apostle, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.” Nor will the glorious Captain and Leader rest satisfied until He has conducted forward the work of grace in the souls of His people to its final consummation in eternal glory. Symington.

9,10. The true believing heart finds strength to endure and sure hope of reconciliation in the consciousness that her own sins are the cause of her affliction, and in faith in the righteousness of the Lord. B. C.

9. The faith, patience and valor of God’s soldiers are best known in times of exercise; then how animating to view the love and trust to the faithfulness of a covenant God! To see a Father’s love to the soul, in the rod of His displeasure against sin, how supporting! I will bear the chastisements of my Father; my sins deserve them. My mouth is stopped; I have nothing to plead; guilt silences me. “Until He plead my cause.” It is the dear Advocate

Jesus, the ever-precious pleader for sinners. The sacred pages ever testify of His blessed name and soul-comforting work. He never intermits His plea for the life of the soul. He prevails over all the desert of sin, by His atonement and intercession. Shortly He will speak destruction to all sin by the word of His power. In the mean time, He sends His Spirit, the Comforter, the third person in the glorious Trinity. “He will bring me forth to the light.” Here see Old Testament faith in New Testament love. It is the Spirit’s office to bring souls out of the dark dungeon of nature’s sorrows, to see Jesus the Light of life. “I shall behold His righteousness.” Then it is a day of comfort after a night of distress. Is the righteousness of Jesus mine? am I righteous by that in the sight of God? Then, truly, it is in righteousness God deaieth with me, and will save me. This faith humbles the soul to the dust, strips it of proud murmurings and self-righteous pleas, and inspires it with boldness at a throne of grace. This is the confident plea of faith: “For Thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. Destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am Thy servant” (Ps. 143: 11, 12). W. Mason.

11,12. These verses obviously speak of blessings upon Zion in the day when the Lord, having turned again her captivity, shall rebuild her walls, bring home her captives from afar, and with them also “the forces of the Gentiles.”

13. The sense is: Notwithstanding these glorious promises of future enlargement, every way adapted to inspire high and brilliant anticipations, yet bear in mind “that for the great sins of the people, an age of judgment and desolation will surely intervene. Before those better days shall come, the land will lie a long time desolate as the fruit of the people’s sins.” A caution against abusing these promises.

14. The word rendered “feed” is pastoral—the usual term to describe the service of the shepherd. It, therefore, combines the two ideas—feeding, and ruling, or guiding. Hence to the Hebrews there would be no incongruity in supposing this feeding to be done with the “rod”—which is here the shepherd’s crook; not a rod for scourging. The sense of the verse is: Take charge of Thy people as a shepherd of his flock; they are Thine heritage; let them feed in rich pastures as of old. H. C.

The verse is thus perspicuously paraphrased by Bishop Hall: “In the mean time—viz., of the desolation of the land, O God, take Thou care of Thy people. O do Thou feed and govern them by Thy gracious protection; lead Thou thus flock of Thine heritage, which now dwell solitarily in the wilderness of their captivity, into the midst of Thy fruitful pastures of Carmel; let them feed in the rich fields of Bashan and Gilead, as in former times.” The words imply a gracious promise of return out of captivity to their own land; and that under the protection of God they should abundantly enjoy all things conducing to their well being, set forth under the similitude of sheep feeding in rich pastures. However, all these good things promised to the Jews are in a higher manner made good to the Church of Christ, and all faithful believers rescued from sin and Satan and brought back into the fold; who, as He saith, shall be saved under His protection, and go in and out and find pasture. Dr. Pocock.

15. The prophet prayed that God would feed them, and do kind things for them; but God answers that He will show them marvellous things, will do for them more than they are able to ask or think, will outdo their hopes and expectations; He will show them His marvellous loving-kindness (Ps. 17: 7). H.

16,17. Here are the effects on the Gentile nations of God’s marvellous deliverances to be wrought for His people. They shall see and shall be ashamed of their own insignificant prowess. They may be supposed to say: “We have no power to cope with that; all our strength vanishes away before such marvellous works.”

18. This language is full of beauty and of strength as well. “Who is a God like Thee, taking away sin” (to be seen and noted no more), “passing over the transgressions of the remnant of His chosen” (as a traveller passes by what he does not wish to notice); “and He does not make His wrath strong forever” (implying that He does the very opposite—makes it subside and give place to loving-kindness). And all this “because He delighteth in mercy,” finding His real bliss, even the highest joy of His heart, in forgiving the chief of sinners. H. C.

The reasons why God pardons sin, and keeps not His anger forever, are all taken from within Himself; it is because He delights in mercy, and the salvation of sinners is what He has pleasure in, not their death and damnation. The glory of God in forgiving sin is, as in other things, matchless, and without compare. In this His thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours; in this He is God, and not man. All those that have experienced pardoning mercy cannot but admire that mercy; it is what we have reason to stand amazed at, if we know what it is. Has God forgiven us our transgressions? We may well say, Who is a God like unto Thee? Our holy wonder of pardoning mercy will be a good evidence of our interest in it. H.

It is not the value of the blessings of salvation themselves, unspeakable though that value is, that constitutes the most affecting display of the love and grace that are in the heart of God. It is not merely that “God hath given to us eternal life,” but that “this life is in His Son.” It is not “redemption” merely, but “redemption through His blood” that manifests the exuberance of Divine mercy. The Son of God Himself is God’s “unspeakable gift;” His chief mercy to a fallen world; a boon of such incalculable vastness of amount, as to throw every other into shade, and to furnish a sure pledge for all else that we can ever possibly need: “He who spared not His own Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” It were a contradiction to imagine anything else withheld. A gift, in itself Divine, may well ensure to us whatever is created. Ralph Wardlaw.

The prevailing representation of the Divine character places mercy, compassion, kindness, tenderness among its foremost attributes. Heathen poets have sounded the depths of human sorrow, passion and pity; but nowhere in pagan literature, least of all in the religious books of heathendom, can we catch even the echo of that full-toned tenderness and gracious comfort which rings through the Hebrew Scriptures, assuring us that “the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” Conder.

19. God will turn from scourging to blessing, when His smitten people turn from their sins to righteousness. “He will have compassion upon us.” Such a God, so full of loving pity, how can it be otherwise? “He will subdue our iniquities,” the original word for “subdue” implying that He will tread them down under His feet—as an apostle said, “He will tread Satan under your feet shortly.” Sin, personified, commanding its forces of temptation, is thought of as a powerful foe of man, as his arch enemy, perpetually ensnaring, assailing, crushing down and piercing through with bitter pangs; but God subdues this enemy; He withstands his efforts; sets Himself to counteract his temptations, and becomes Himself a strong tower of refuge, whither His people may fly and into which they may run and be safe! O how inexpressibly precious! “Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” and they go down like a millstone, to rise no more! The idea is, that they come up no more to remembrance—as the Lord has said, “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more!” (Heb. 8: 12). Considering that the Infinite Mind of the universe never has lost from its thought and knowledge one fact, however minute, and never can, this statement seems most wonderful of all. God would have us feel that He does not remember against us the sin which we have fully repented of and heartily forsaken, and which therefore He has altogether forgiven and put away. He would almost lead us to think that He can forget them and has forgotten them, so that they shall come before His mind even in memory no more! O how divinely kind and gracious is this! How like a tender Father! That He should labor to dispel from our mind those painful feelings of shame and grief over our sins, and should seem to say, “Come near to Me and be My free-hearted, loving child, as welcome to My smiles and confidence and favor as if you had never sinned against Me!” Let this infinite Friend, so kind and so gracious, be loved, trusted and adored by us all, forever and ever!

20. Here the book closes, affirming that such a God will surely perform all the good things, the truth and the mercy promised to the fathers long years ago. Zacharias, filled with the Holy Ghost, caught the spirit as well as the leading words of this passage: “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant,” etc. (Luke 1: 72). H. C.

He will perfect that which concerns us, and with this good work will do all that for us which our case requires, and which He has promised: “Then wilt Thou perform Thy truth to Jacob, and Thy mercy to Abraham.” It is in pursuance of the covenant that our sins are pardoned and our lusts mortified; from that spring all these streams flow, and with these He shall freely give us all things. The promise is said to be mercy to Abraham, because, as made to Him first, it was mere mercy, preventing mercy, considering what state it found him in. But it was truth to Jacob, because the faithfulness of God was engaged to make good to him and his seed, as heirs to Abraham, all that was graciously promised to Abraham. See here: 1. With what solemnity the covenant of grace is ratified to us; it was not only spoken, written and sealed, but, which is the highest confirmation, it was sworn to our fathers; nor is it a modern project, but is confirmed by antiquity too, it was sworn from the days of old; it is an ancient charter. 2. With what satisfaction it may be applied and relied upon by us; we may say with the highest assurance, Thou wilt perform the truth and mercy, not one iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground; faithful is He that has promised, who also will do it. H.

It is the observation of an ancient Jewish author that there is not any denunciation of hard things to Israel, which is not concluded with promises of mercy. Among other instances from Moses, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jeremiah, he brings this conclusion of Micah’s prophecy. And very remarkable indeed is this conclusion, which, to show how greatly God delights in mercy, is uttered in words giving assurance of mercy, not only to Israel after the flesh on their repentance, but to all who shall, by faith in Christ, the promised Seed, lay hold on His promise made to Abraham, and in Him to all the kindreds of the earth. Pocock.

In the uttermost darkness there is light. Affliction exerts its remedial power. A new and better spirit awakes in smitten Israel—of humility, penitence, longing to atone and regain God’s favor. Gradually assurance that God’s purpose cannot be frustrated, though it may be delayed, supervenes. The Divine voice is heard promising restoration and a more glorious future than ever the past has known. And so the book ends in an exquisite prayer of trustful desire, and a magnificent confession of faith in the transcendency of God in His attributes of mercy and of truth.

The Messianic idea of Micah is a remarkably developed one, though he has not fully worked out the process by which it is to be reached. For its basis he takes the idealized picture of the heroic, happy, united empire of King David, in which the corruption, extremes of wealth and poverty, foreign humiliation, and internal miseries of the present age were unknown. His vision is that of the kingdom of God, though clothed in earthly forms, and cramped by temporal limitations. Its foundations are justice, mercy, and the fear of God; its destiny world-wide dominion; and the issue peace, prosperity and righteousness. The whole bright dream centres round a kingly figure that emerges from the eternal purpose of God, after the flesh of Bethlehem origin like David, but clothed with attributes and powers Divine. No wonder that in many features of the story of Jesus of Nazareth we catch echoes of the Book of Micah, all along that pathway of glory and of shame that stretches from the cradle of Bethlehem to the agony of Gethsemane and the cross of Calvary. Elmslie.

I:1 THE burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2. The LORD is a jealous God and avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is full of wrath; the 3 LORD taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD 4 is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: the LORD hath 5 his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He re- 6 buketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Car- 7 mel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills 8 melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. 9 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? 7 his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. The LORD is good, 8 a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that put their trust in him. But 9 with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and will pursue his 9 enemies into darkness. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make a full end:

10 affliction shall not rise up the second time. For though they be like tangled thorns, and be 11 drenched as it were in their drink, they shall be devoured utterly as dry stubble. There is one gone forth out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, that counseletth wickedness. 12 Thus saith the LORD: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee 13 no more. And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. 14 And the LORD hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image; I will 15 make thy grave; for thou art vile. Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him that bring- eth good tidings, that publisheth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

Introduction.

THE introduction to this short book gives us only the general subject—a prediction of sore calamity on Nineveh; the name of the author and the place of his residence, or perhaps nativity. The location of the book in the series of minor prophets probably had some reference to its date; but the internal evidence in the line of historic allusion is our main reliance. This goes to place him a little after Micah. His great theme being the fall of Nineveh, there can be no reasonable doubt that he wrote soon after the famous invasion of Judah by Sennacherib, and the utter overthrow of his army. That this event had thrilled the nation may be seen in numerous passages of Isaiah—e.g., 10:24-34; 14:24-27; 17:12-14; 33; 36-39. Hence, naturally, the Lord, by His prophets, sought to turn these signal events to the best moral account. Isaiah, though alluding to these transactions so often, had yet mostly passed over the retribution which the Lord would one day bring on Nineveh. This was left for Nahum. It was important, for the best moral impression on the people, that this should be revealed, and indeed that it should be written and made public soon after the invasion by Sennacherib and the defeat of his army—at least before the first impressions made by those events had passed away. Now, this great invasion was in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (2 K. 18:13), whose reign of twenty-nine years fell B.C. 728-699—consequently, about B.C. 714, and Nahum would be located in time during the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign. The fall of Nineveh, which Nahum so vividly describes, chaps. 2 and 3, took place from seventy-five to eighty years after the date assumed for this prophecy. It fell before the allied forces of the Medes under Cyaxares and the Chaldeans under Nabopolassar, the precise date being assigned by the most reliable historians to B.C. 625.

All the critics accord to Nahum a style of lofty sublimity and a power of graphic painting rarely surpassed. He wrote as one whose very soul was permeated and thrilled by the great events of his time, and who saw God’s hand in them—a present and glorious power for salvation to His people, and for vengeance on their foes. To see the beauty and feel the force of his book, we shall need to imbue our hearts deeply with the true spirit and significance of those momentous facts of history. H. C.

The word Nahum probably means the comforter, and in conformity with the name the prophet’s oracle is a message of consolation. In form it is an impassioned anticipation of the destruction of Assyrian Nineveh, the oppressor of God’s people, but its inner motive is an undying faith in God’s redemptive purpose, and its destination to comfort the heart of Israel, well nigh sick with hope so long deferred. Elmslie.

The prophecy of Nahum finds its place at the close of the activity of Isaiah and Micah. It fittingly concludes the prophecy of the Assyrian period in Judah. Taking its stand upon the character of Jehovah, it emphasizes His justice toward the heathen world-power, as represented in Assyrian Nineveh. The character of Jehovah must condition His attitude and action toward the heathen, as well as toward Israel-Judah. Herein is found hope and comfort for His people. The comparatively recent explorations in the East, uncovering the site and bringing to light the contemporary history of this heathen capital, together with the continued advance in Assyrian researches, cannot but render the study of this book peculiarly interesting and instructive. Nineveh, uncovered from her mounds, stands before us as she was in the days of the prophet. Thus “the Bible and the Monuments” are mutually interpreting one another. Burroughs.

It was the great lesson of the Book of Jonah that the righteous government of God extends also to heathen nations. During one of the most eventful periods of Jewish history we find

Assyria constantly appearing as the great world-power whose rapidly extending empire was destined finally to crush one part of the chosen nation, while the other was to have as remarkable a deliverance. Thus intimately connected with Israel, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, became also herself the proper object of prophecy; and while Jonah teaches us that there is mercy even for those not in covenant with God, if they repent, Nahum completes the representation of the Divine justice by showing that if they relapse into sin punishment will as inevitably overtake them. R. P. S.

The prophet Jonah was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance, and was listened to. Nahum has no single word of comfort or of sympathy for the guilty city that had fallen back into the sins for which she had been rebuked and for which she had humbled herself. The title of his prophecy is The burden of Nineveh. It is no ordinary disaster that he foretells. It is not conquest or overthrow only; it is annihilation: He will make an utter end of the place thereof (1:8, 9). B. C.

Nahum’s threats against Nineveh were remarkably fulfilled. Before the year B.C. 606 she had ceased to exist, for Jeremiah does not mention Nineveh among the nations which are doomed to drink the cup of the Lord. Esarhaddon II., whom the Greeks call Sarakos, was the last king of Nineveh. The Medes with the Babylonians and Scythians first razed all the surrounding fortresses and beleaguered the city. The Ninevites proclaimed a fast of one hundred days to propitiate their gods, but the city fell. The description of the siege by Ktesias accords with the brief allusions of Nahum. The last night of the besieged was spent in drunken orgies (Nahum 1:10; 2:5), in which the effeminate king set the example. Only at the last moment did he arouse himself to give directions for the protection of the city from assault. The catastrophe was precipitated by an overflow of the Tigris, which made a breach in the walls (1:18; 2:7), and then the king, recognizing his destiny, burned himself alive in his palace, and the city was plundered of its rich spoil. It vanished from history totally and at once, so that those who passed over its ruins saw the visible proofs of the wrath of God. The wrecks of its former splendor began to be revealed to the world in 1842 by Layard and Botta. Farrar.

It should not be forgotten that when the prophet wrote, the world had never witnessed or imagined such an overthrow of a great city. Nor could it have reasonably been anticipated that commerce would have forsaken its old emporium. Yet so it has been. Mosul has flourished within sight of ruined Nineveh, and her delicate fabrics, called muslins, have made her name famous among the nations of Western Europe. B. C.

The oracle of Nahum is one continuous utterance, not to be broken into separate elements, but the embodiment of a single inspiration, forceful, rounded and complete. Every attempt to dismember it is a failure. Its unity and genuineness are acknowledged on all hands. Only the first part of the superscription has been questioned. But there is nothing unnatural in the title assigning, correctly, first the subject of the prophecy, and then its author. The piece is of the nature of a highly poetical and imaginative composition, is indeed an inspired vision. Clearly cut divisions can hardly be marked out, but it is probable that eight stages may be detected in the stately march of the seer’s conception.

Over against the Assyrian power with its gigantic pagan might he sees God, the vindicator of right, the avenger of wrong, the final judge of all human issues. Slow to strike, because He is so strong, He is nevertheless relentlessly just. He wields the powers of the air, commands the waters, controls the soil, makes the solid earth tremble, and rules among men omnipotent, resistless (1:2-6). This God, faithful to friends, fearful to foes, annihilating the most formidable resistance, has been thwarted and defied by Assyria, and therefore will utterly destroy her (1:7-12). Judah, so long oppressed, shall be set free by the Divine overthrow of the Assyrian, and already may rejoice in the happy release, for sure alike are the downfall of the foe and the restoration of crippled Israel (1:13; 2:2). The taking of the city is now depicted before our eyes, with lightning-like rapidity, in a series of vivid pictures of the muster of the contending forces, the assault, the sudden collapse of the defences, the seizure of the palace, the capture and flight of the inhabitants (2:3-8). Next comes the sack and pillage of the wealthy city, the emptiness and sickening desolation, the weird contrast with the time when it was like a great lion’s den gorged with the plunder of its devastating armies, for God has risen against her and made an utter end of her might, her wealth, and her empire, that were gathered and built up out of bloodshed and violence unending (2:9; 3:1).

Once again the seer calls up in living images the din and terror of the conflict, and the fatal completeness of the defeat, and figuring the

heartless capital as a cruel courtesan, that has devoured the fortunes and lives of the nations, he exults in the terrible humiliation of her haughtiness, and the contumely and implied shame of her overthrow (3 : 2-7). By the example of her own destruction of mighty Thebes, the royal residence of her great rival Egypt, he asserts the possibility of the catastrophe, and founds its certainty on her impotence in the hour of need, the fall of her fortresses, the demoralization of her soldiers, and the failure and destruction of her last defences (3 : 8-13). Finally he taunts her with her helplessness, pictures the destruction of her commerce, the scattering of her potentates, the dispersion of her populace, and the relief and rejoicing that her fall will create in all nations, for wide as the world has been the curse of her oppression (3 : 14-19).