Excerpt from Isaiah His Life and Times, and the Writings Which Bear His Name
The present volume almost speaks for itself. It is an endeavour to exhibit the character and position of the greatest of the prophets, and to exemplify, by means of the brilliant illustrations which the Book of Isaiah supplies, the historical significance of prophecy. Prophecy is intimately connected with history; and recent discoveries have added greatly to our knowledge of the position and political relations of both Israel and Judah in Isaiah's day. The writer has endeavoured to utilize this knowledge as far as possible. He has sought to interpret the writings which bear Isaiah's name in the light of history, to show how they are correlated throughout with the needs and circumstances of the times which gave them birth, while at the same time they embody elements of permanent validity, and speak to all future generations. The writings of the prophets - as indeed the Biblical writings generally - when studied attentively, are seen to possess definite and distinctive features, reflecting the individuality of their authors, which are apt to escape the notice of ordinary readers: these the writer has made it his aim, so far as possible, to note and estimate. He has also noticed incidentally some of the difficulties connected with the "fulfilment" of prophecy, which are likewise not apparent to many readers. To the critical questions which arise out of the Book of Isaiah, he has devoted much independent attention; and his conclusions respecting the style and character of its different portions have been tested and confirmed by repeated study of the text, both in itself, and as compared with other writings of the Old Testament. The justification, if justification be needed, of the results to which he has been led, is to be found in the fact that the Old Testament is not a systematic treatise of theology, but the record of a historical revelation, which, just because it was historical, passed through many successive phases, and was completed gradually. The grounds for his conclusions are stated, as fully as the limits and scope of the work permitted, in Chapter V. of Part II.
Naturally, the writer is indebted to many predecessors.
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