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The prophet in this chapter (according to the directions given him, Isa 3:10, Isa 3:11) saith to the righteous, It shall be well with thee, but Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with him. Here are, I. Gracious promises to those that adhere to the law and to the testimony; while those that seek to familiar spirits shall be driven into darkness and dimness, they shall see a great light, relief in the midst of their distresses, typical of gospel grace. I. In the doctrine of the Messiah (Isa 9:1-3). 2. His victories (Isa 9:4, Isa 9:5). 3. His government and dominion as Immanuel (Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7). II. Dreadful threatenings against the people of Israel, who had revolted from and were enemies to the house of David, that they should be brought to utter ruin, that their pride should bring them down (Isa 9:8-10), that their neighbours should make a prey of them (Isa 9:11, Isa 9:12), that, for their impenitence and hypocrisy, all their ornaments and supports should be cut off (Isa 9:13-17), and that by the wrath of God against them, and their wrath one against another, they should be brought to utter ruin (Isa 9:18-21). And this is typical of the final destruction of all the enemies of the Son of David and his kingdom.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 9 This chapter contains a prophecy, partly of comfort to the church and people of God, against the calamities predicted in the preceding chapter Isa 8:1; and partly of punishment, to be inflicted upon the ungodly Israelites by their enemies. The comfort promised arises from the appearance of Christ, the great light, in some certain places of the land mentioned, said before to be afflicted, Isa 9:1 which would occasion a joy among them; illustrated by some similes, by the joy in harvest, and at the dividing of spoils, Isa 9:3 the cause of which is a deliverance from a burdensome yoke of tyranny and bondage, wrought in like manner as that by Gideon formerly; different from all other salvations, which are usually obtained with noise and blood, Isa 9:4 the author of which is the Messiah; who is described by his birth as man, and by his divine sonship as God; or by his person, having two natures united in him; and by the government devolved on him; and by his several names, which express the greatness and glory of his person and office; and by the increase and administration of his government, Isa 9:6 then follows a denunciation of judgment on Israel, Isa 9:8 the instruments of which are pointed at, Isa 9:11, and the persons described that should suffer, high and low, rich and poor, young and old, Isa 9:14 the reasons of it, their making light of former corrections, Isa 9:9 their impenitence and hardness under chastenings, Isa 9:13 their going astray by means of their leaders; and their hypocrisy and wickedness, Isa 9:16 all which would occasion the wrath of God to burn against them, and consume them, Isa 9:18 yea, through hunger and want of provisions, should destroy one another, Isa 9:20.

Of the increase of his government,.... That is, of the Prince of peace, on whose shoulders it is; which, from small beginnings, will rise to a very great pitch and height of glory; this is signified by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands; that smote the image, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth, Dan 2:34 and by the parable of the mustard seed, the least of all seeds, and yet, when grown up, becomes a great tree, in which the birds of the air build their nests, Mat 13:31. Christ's kingdom and interest, his dominion and government, may be said to be increased, when his Gospel is spread far and near, which is called the Gospel of the kingdom, and the doctrines of it, the mysteries of the kingdom; by means of which men become subjects of it, and so his kingdom is enlarged. At first it was only preached in Judea; and then it was carried into the Gentile world, where it met with great success, and was spread to the overthrow of Paganism in the Roman empire; a stop was put to its progress by the appearance and power of antichrist, the man of sin; but at the Reformation it broke out again, and spread itself over many nations; and though of late years there has been a decline, in the latter day the knowledge of it will cover the earth, as the waters do the sea, and multitudes shall be converted by it; which is meant by the increase of Christ's government. In the days of his flesh on earth, few believed in him; after his ascension to heaven, there was a large increase of his followers in Jerusalem, and in the Gentile world; the Gospel being preached there, more were the children of the desolate than of the married wife; large numbers were converted, and churches raised and formed everywhere; and in the latter day the church shall fill the earth, and the kingdoms of this world will become the church of Christ; all nations will flow unto it; the people of the Jews, in a body, will be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles will be brought in; the interest of Christ, which made so contemptible a figure at first, consisting chiefly of the poor of this world, harassed with persecution, and disturbed by heretics, will now make a very great one; the kings of the earth coming into it, the wealth and riches of the world falling into the hands of the saints, the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven being given to them; Christianity will be the universal religion of men, and which will be attended with the greatest spirituality, holiness of life, purity of doctrine, worship, and discipline, and freedom from persecution, as follows. In the word rendered, "of the increase", the letter in the middle of it, is shut, which in other places is open. The Jews seek for mysteries in this. Aben Ezra says, it respects the miracle of the sun, whose shadow returned back in Hezekiah's time; this is said, to serve an hypothesis; Kimchi observes, on the contrary, that in, Ezra (it is in Neh 2:13) the same letter at the end of a word is open, which used to be shut, where mention is made of the walls of Jerusalem being broken down; and thinks is has this mystery in it, that at the time of the salvation, the walls of Jerusalem, that were broken down during the captivity, should be stopped up, and then the government should be opened, which was shut, until the King Messiah came. If there is any mystery in this, it may denote that the government of Christ, which would be for a time straitened, and kept in narrow bounds and limits, should hereafter be extended throughout the world, to the four corners of it, to be firm and stable, perfect and complete; which the figure of this letter, being, shut, and foursquare, may be an emblem of. See Rev 21:16. And peace there shall be no end; this respects both the increase and perpetuity of the peace of Christ's kingdom. The peace of believers, under the Gospel dispensation, is greater than that of the saints under the legal dispensation, whose sacrifices could not remove a consciousness of sin and its guilt; and who, through various laws threatening with death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage; but great is the peace of New Testament saints, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ, and which may be increased more and more; and in the latter day there will be more peace among themselves; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim; the sticks of Joseph and Judah shall be one nor will there ever be any more discord between Jew and Gentile, the lion and the lamb shall lie down together; there will be no more war among the nations, after the battle of Armageddon; and no more persecution, after the slaughter of the witnesses; and this abundance of peace, spiritual and temporal, will be as long as the moon endures, Psa 72:7 and all this will issue in eternal peace in the world to come: upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; that is, on it the Prince of peace shall sit, who is David's son, according to the flesh, and so his heir; see Luk 1:32 and which must be understood spiritually of the church and people of Christ, who are his throne and kingdom; in whose hearts he reigns by his grace and Spirit: to order it; dispose, rectify, put into form and order, and adorn and beautify, by enacting laws for them, writing them on their hearts, and putting his Spirit within them, to enable them to keep them; and by setting persons over them, under him, as deputies and sub-governors, guides and rulers, to explain his laws, and enforce them; to teach them to observe all things commanded by him; to whom he gives gifts for usefulness and service; and whose ministry he blesses, for the conversion and gathering in of others, and so repairs and glorifies the house of his kingdom; and also by granting his presence in his word and ordinances: and to establish it with justice and judgment; by convincing men by his Spirit of righteousness and judgment; by revealing in his Gospel his own righteousness to them; by forming in their hearts the new man, which is created in righteousness and true holiness; by teaching them to live soberly, righteously, and godly; and by protecting them from all their enemies: and so he establishes particular believers in the faith of himself, and with the doctrine of faith, that they persevere to the end; and his whole church upon himself, the Rock of ages, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and in the latter day he will establish it upon the top of the mountains, Isa 2:2, from henceforth, even for ever; Christ's throne is for ever and ever, his kingdom is an everlasting one; he will have no successor in it, nor any rival that shall ever dispossess him of it; all other kingdoms will cease, but his will remain for ever: though this clause, according to the accents, is to be connected with what follows (w), thus, from henceforth, even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this; all that is said in this verse, and in the context, respecting the incarnation of Christ and his kingdom; the veracity, faithfulness, and power of God, are engaged to perform whatever he has purposed and promised; and his zeal, which is no other than his fervent flaming love, will move him to it, and is effectual to accomplish it; his fervent love for his own glory, which is his ultimate end in all his works of nature, providence, and grace, will engage him to fulfil whatever is foretold concerning the birth of Christ, and redemption by him, and his offices and kingdom; since this is greatly concerned in all these things, his zeal or fervent love to his Son, shown in giving all things into his hands, in committing all judgment to him, that men may honour him as they do the Father, will move him to increase his government and peace, and make him his firstborn higher than the kings of the earth; and his zeal or fervent love to his people will put him upon all this, since it is for their good, as well as for his own glory, and the honour of his Son; what the queen of Sheba said of Solomon may be said of Christ and his people, Kg1 10:9. (w) So Junius and Tremellius, whom Reinbeck commends, De Accent. p. 387.

Listen to how Isaiah predicted this long beforehand when he said, “and his name shall be called Messenger of Great Counsel, Wonderful Counselor, God the Strong, the Mighty One, the Prince of peace, Father of the world to come.”No one could say this of a mere man, as is obvious even to those who are very eager to show how stubborn they can be. No man from the beginning of time has been called God the Mighty or Father of the world to come or the Prince of peace. For Isaiah said, “There is no end of his peace.” And what did happen makes it clear that this peace has spread over the whole earth and sea, over the world where people dwell and where no one lives, over mountains, woodlands and hills, starting from that day on which he was going to leave his disciples and said to them, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” Why did Christ speak in this way? Because the peace which comes from a human being is easily destroyed and subject to many changes. But Christ’s peace is strong, unshaken, firm, fixed, steadfast, immune to death and unending.

Surely the coming of God in the flesh could not remain hidden from humanity, since the prophet had openly said about him, as though to the whole human race: “behold your God,” and “this is your God,” and again “the mighty God, Father of the coming world, Prince of peace,” and “of his kingdom there will be no end.” Once God had come, however, did his coming remain hidden from those who openly confessed? Was Peter ignorant of the advent of God when he said, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God”? Did Martha not know the one in whom she believed or the meaning of what she was saying when she declared, “Lord, I believe that you are Christ, the Son of the living God who has come into the world”? Finally, was not everyone who asked him to heal diseases or to replace lost limbs or to raise the dead petitioning God’s omnipotence rather than humanity’s weakness?

When Israel had been saved through the apostles, all the world flocked to the threshold of truth and of the peacemaker Solomon, of whom it was said, “His dominion will be increased and there will be no end of peace.” For he [Christ] is “the stone broken off from the mountain,” and in his earthly reign of faith, as he falls upon his enemy, he alone possesses a peaceful dominion throughout the earth.

And, indeed, just as in his divinity the Mediator between God and human beings foresaw the mother of whom he willed to be born when he should so will, so also in his humanity he chose the time that he wished for his nativity. Moreover, he himself granted that that [time] should be such as he willed, namely, that in a calm among the storm of wars a singular tranquility of unusual peace should cover the whole world.… He chose a time of utmost peace as the time when he would be born because this was the reason for his being born in the world, that he might lead the human race back to the gifts of heavenly peace.… Our Lord was born in a time of peace, so that even by the circumstance of the time he might teach that he was the very one of whom the prophecy sent before [him] spoke: “His sovereignty will be multiplied, and there will be no end of peace.” … The very author of peace and the Maker of time sent before him a time of peace, and thus when he appeared in the flesh he opened an approach to light and proclaimed the joys of eternal peace first to the house of Jacob (that is, the Israelite people), and then to all the nations which came streaming to him. And we must not pass over the fact that the serenity of that earthly peace, at the time when the heavenly king was born, not only offered testimony to his grace but also provided a service, since it bestowed on the preachers of his word the capability of traveling over the world and spreading abroad the grace of the gospel wherever they wished.

All these things, as the apostle teaches, “were done as an example for us” and were written down for us, and so we must scrutinize them carefully for their spiritual meaning. King Solomon, whose name means “peaceful,” typologically designates our Redeemer himself, of whom Isaiah says, “His sovereignty will be increased, and there will be no end of peace.” The temple that he built is his catholic church, which he gathers into the one structure of his faith and charity from all the believers throughout the world, as it were from living stones.

This voice of repentance is that of the Jewish people and of all who found in Christ access to the salvation for which they were searching. I now know with certainty that you are the one concerning whom it was said “his government will be increased and there will be no end to peace” and that you govern the kingdom in which the pure of heart will see God with unceasing happiness. I beg you, therefore, to strengthen and increase the faith that you imparted to me through the bestowal of your sacraments and heavenly gifts. Thus, having received the pledge of the Spirit, may I remain confident that you will forevermore preserve from destruction the generation of works which were begotten by my heart after the washing of my body and that you will never remove my name from the heavenly home which you deigned to grant to my fathers who, through the law, faithfully and devoutly awaited your coming.

What does the spiritual house or temple that King Solomon made for the Lord in Jerusalem signify? Solomon himself, whose name means “peaceful,” is a fitting symbol of the one about whom the prophet sang, “His government will be increased, and there will be no end to peace.” [This is] the same one concerning whom the apostle also wrote to the church of the Gentiles, “and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”That it took Solomon seven years to build the temple, which he completed and dedicated in the eighth year, was a sign that for seven years, or the entire span of the present age, the Lord would build the church as a heavenly dwelling for the gathered faithful. In the future life, however, when he appears in the glory of the resurrection, he will complete and perfect the church and raise it forevermore to the joy of life immortal in the vision of his beauty. Our resurrection, then, is rightly signified by the number eight, since the just will be raised from the dead on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh of the sabbath.

In this verse, Solomon signifies the everlasting light by “length of days,” the survival of death by “years of life” and the state of happiness to be discovered by “growth in peace.” Isaiah refers to the same reality when he says, “His government will be increased, and there will be no end to peace.” For when the people of God are obedient to God’s law, both historically and at the present time, they are enabled to live for a long time in the repose of peace.

Solomon gave the name “parables” or “metaphors” to this book [Proverbs] because he wanted us to understand it profoundly, not just according to the literal sense. He prefigures the Lord in this respect, who would speak to the crowds through parables. For just as Solomon’s own name and peaceful reign foretold the enduring kingdom of Christ and of the church, concerning which it is written “his government will be increased, and there will be no end to peace upon the throne of David and his kingdom,” so also did his construction and dedication of the temple artfully refer to the building of holy church, which will be dedicated for all eternity at the resurrection. The testimony of the crowds of people who greeted Christ with palm branches and praises at his entry into Jerusalem also declares him to be the son of David and the spiritual king of Israel.

Isaiah said, “His government will be increased, and there will be no end to peace upon the throne of David and his kingdom, to confirm and strengthen it in right judgment and justice.”He did not say “to acquire the glory of worldly riches” or “to have victory over many peoples and cities” or “to conquer the powerful,” but “to confirm it in right judgment and justice.” For it is through this that the church is strengthened and the kingdom of Christ is extended both within each of the faithful and throughout the entire world.

305. His empire shall be multiplied. Here he describes his power, and first, as to the magnitude of his kingdom; second, as to the nobility of his kingdom: he shall sit upon the throne; third, as to its eternity: from henceforth and for ever. Concerning the first, he sets out two things. First, the magnitude of his kingdom: his empire shall be multiplied: and all kings shall serve him, and shall obey him (Dan 7:27); as to the quiet of peace: and there shall be no end of peace, below: you will keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in you (Isa 26:3). 306. Upon the throne of David. Here he describes the nobility of his kingdom. Upon the throne of David, that is, upon the Church, which is signified by the kingdom of David: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father (Luke 1:32); as to the effect of his kingdom: to establish it, for resistance, and strengthen it, also for fighting, in judgment, that is, through judgment: a king shall reign, and shall be wise: and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth (Jer 23:5); as to the eternity of his kingdom, from henceforth, that is, from the time of the Incarnation, and for ever: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:14). 307. Finally, he places the motive for giving this, the zeal, that is, the love, of the Lord, the Father: God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son (John 3:16). The Jews interpret this as Ezechias. But clearly his kingdom was not made strong eternally, nor do the names in 9:6, which signify divine eminence, fit him. Because of this, the Septuagint omits these names and puts in their place, angel of the great council.

The prophet bitterly laments the terrible judgments about to be inflicted upon his countrymen, and points out some of the evils which have provoked the Divine Majesty, Jer 9:1-9. Judea shall be utterly desolated, and the inhabitants transplanted into heathen countries, Jer 9:10-17. In allusion to an ancient custom, a band of mourning women is called to lament over the ruins of Jerusalem, Jer 9:17, Jer 9:18; and even the funeral dirge is given in terms full of beauty, elegance, and pathos, Jer 9:19-22. God is the fountain of all good; man, merely an instrument by which a portion of this good is distributed in the earth; therefore none should glory in his wisdom, might, or riches, Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24. The judgments of God shall fall, not upon the land of Judea only, but also upon many heathen nations, Jer 9:25, Jer 9:26.

Of the increase - In the common Hebrew Bibles, and in many MSS., this word is written with the close or final למרבה ם. But in twelve of Kennicott's MSS., and twelve of De Rossi's, it is written with the open מ mem; but here it is supposed to contain mysteries, viz., that Jerusalem shall be shut up, closed, and confined, till the days of the Messiah. This is an illustrious prophecy of the incarnation of Christ, with an enumeration of those characters in which he stands most nearly related to mankind as their Savior; and of others by which his infinite majesty and Godhead are shown. He shall appear as a child, born of a woman, born as a Jew, under the law, but not in the way of ordinary generation. He is a Son given - the human nature, in which the fullness of the Godhead was to dwell, being produced by the creative energy of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin. See Mat 1:20, Mat 1:21, Mat 1:23, Mat 1:25, and Luk 1:35, and Isa 7:14, and the notes on those passages. As being God manifested in the flesh, he was wonderful in his conception, birth, preaching, miracles, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension; wonderful in his person, and wonderful in his working. He is the Counsellor that expounds the law; shows its origin, nature, and claims; instructs, pleads for the guilty; and ever appears in the presence of God for men. He is the mighty God; God essentially and efficiently prevailing against his enemies, and destroying ours. He is the Father of eternity; the Origin of all being, and the Cause of the existence, and particularly the Father, of the spirits of all flesh. The Prince of peace - not only the Author of peace, and the Dispenser of peace, but also he that rules by peace, whose rule tends always to perfection, and produces prosperity. Of the increase of his government - this Prince has a government, for he has all power both in heaven and in earth: and his government increases, and is daily more and more extended, and will continue till all things are put under his feet. His kingdom is ordered - every act of government regulated according to wisdom and goodness; is established so securely as not to be overthrown; and administered in judgment and justice, so as to manifest his wisdom, righteousness, goodness, and truth. Reader, such is that Jesus who came into the world to save sinners! Trust in Him! Isaiah 9:8-10:4 This whole passage reduced to its proper and entire form, and healed of the dislocation which it suffers by the absurd division of the chapters, makes a distinct prophecy, and a just poem, remarkable for the regularity of its disposition and the elegance of its plan. It has no relation to the preceding or following prophecy; though the parts, violently torn asunder, have been, on the one side and the other, patched on to them. Those relate principally to the kingdom of Judah, this is addressed exclusively to the kingdom of Israel. The subject of it is a denunciation of vengeance awaiting their crimes. It is divided into four parts, each threatening the particular punishment of some grievous offense - of their pride, of their perseverance in their vices, of their impiety, and of their injustice. To which is added a general denunciation of a farther reserve of Divine wrath, contained in a distich, before used by the prophet on a like occasion, Isa 5:25, and here repeated after each part. This makes the intercalary verse of the poem; or, as we call it, the burden of the song. "Post hoc comma (cap. Isa 9:4) interponitur spatium unius lineae, in Cod. 2 et 3: idemque observatur in 245. in quo nullum est spatium ad finem capitis 9." Kennicott, Var. Lect. "After this clause (Isa 9:4) is interposed the space of one line in Cod. 2 and 3. The same is likewise observed in Cod. 245, in which no space exists at the end of chap. 9."

CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE EIGHTH CHAPTER. (Isa 9:1-7) Nevertheless, &c.--rather, "For darkness shall not (continually) be on it (that is, the land) on which there is (now) distress" [HENGSTENBERG and MAURER]. The "for" refers, not to the words immediately preceding, but to the consolations in Isa 8:9-10, Isa 8:17-18. Do not despair, for, &c. when at the first, &c.--rather, "as the former time has brought contempt on the land of Zebulun and Naphtali (namely, the deportation of their inhabitants under Tiglath-pileser, Kg2 15:29, a little before the giving of this prophecy); so shall the after-coming time bring honor to the way of the sea (the district around the lake of Galilee), the land beyond (but HENGSTENBERG, "by the side of") Jordan (Perea, east of Jordan, belonging to Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh), the circle (but HENGSTENBERG, "Galilee") (that is, region) of the "Gentiles" [MAURER, HENGSTENBERG, &c.]. Galil in Hebrew is a "circle," "circuit," and from it came the name Galilee. North of Naphtali, inhabited by a mixed race of Jews and Gentiles of the bordering Phœnician race (Jdg 1:30; Kg1 9:11). Besides the recent deportation by Tiglath-pileser, it had been sorely smitten by Ben-hadad of Syria, two hundred years before (Kg1 15:20). It was after the Assyrian deportation colonized with heathens, by Esar-haddon (Kg2 17:24). Hence arose the contempt for it on the part of the southern Jews of purer blood (Joh 1:46; Joh 7:52). The same region which was so darkened once, shall be among the first to receive Messiah's light (Mat 4:13, Mat 4:15-16). It was in despised Galilee that He first and most publicly exercised His ministry; from it were most of His apostles. Foretold in Deu 33:18-19; Act 2:7; Psa 68:27-28, Jerusalem, the theocratic capital, might readily have known Messiah; to compensate less favored Galilee, He ministered mostly there; Galilee's very debasement made it feel its need of a Saviour, a feeling not known to the self-righteous Jews (Mat 9:13). It was appropriate, too, that He who was both "the Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of His people Israel," should minister chiefly on the border land of Israel, near the Gentiles.

Of . . . increase . . . no end--His princely rule shall perpetually increase and be unlimited (Dan 2:44). throne of David-- (Kg1 8:25; Psa 2:6; Psa 132:11; Jer 3:17-18 Eze 34:23-26; Eze 37:16, Eze 37:22; Luk 1:32-33; Act 2:30). judgment . . . justice--It is not a kingdom of mere might, and triumph of force over enemies, but of righteousness (Isa 42:21; Psa 45:6-7), attainable only in and by Messiah. zeal, &c.--including not only Christ's hidden spiritual victory over Satan at the first coming, but the open one accompanied with "judgments" on Antichrist and every enemy at the second coming (Isa 59:17; Psa 9:6-8). Delivered a little later than the previous one. The ninth and tenth chapters ought to have been so divided. The present division into chapters was made by Cardinal Hugo, in A.D. 1250; and into verses, by Robert Stephens, the famous printer of Paris, in 1551. After the Assyrian invasion of Syria, that of Ephraim shall follow (Kg2 16:9); Isa 9:8-11, Isa 9:17-20, foretell the intestine discords in Israel after Hoshea had slain Pekah (A.D. 739), that is, just after the Assyrian invasions, when for seven years it was stripped of magistrates and torn into factions. There are four strophes, each setting forth Ephraim's crime and consequent punishment, and ending with the formula, "For all this His anger is not turned away," &c. (Isa 9:12, Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21, and Isa 10:4).

"To the increase of government and to peace without end, upon the throne of David, and over his Kingdom, to strengthen it, and to support it through judgment and righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The jealousy of Jehovah of hosts will fulfil this." למרבּה (written with Mêm clausum in the middle of the one word, and, according to Elias Levita, properly to be read רבּה לם, iis magnificando, in accordance with this way of writing the word) (Note: When Bar-Kappara says (b. Sanhedrin 94a) that God designed to make Hezekiah the Messiah and Sennacherib Gog and Magog, but that Hezekiah was not found worthy of this, and therefore the Mem of l'marbeh was closed, there is so far some sense in this, that the Messianic hopes really could centre for a certain time in Hezekiah; whereas the assertion of a certain Hillel (ib. 98b), that Hezekiah was actually the Messiah of Israel, and no other was to be expected, is nothing but the perverted fancy of an empty brain. For an instance of the opposite, see Neh 2:13, פרוצים הם, on which passage the Midrash observes, "The broken walls of Jerusalem will be closed in the day of salvation, and the government which has been closed up to the time of the King Messiah will be opened then.")) is not a participle here, but a substantive after the forms מראה, מעשׂה, and that not from הרבּה, but from רבה, an infinitive noun expressing, according to its formation, the practical result of an action, rather than the abstract idea. (Note: We have already observed at p. 101, that this substantive formation had not a purely abstract meaning even at the first. Frst has given the correct explanation in his Lehrgebude der Aram. Idiome, 130.) Ever extending dominion and endless peace will be brought in by the sublime and lofty King's Son, when He sits upon the throne of David and rules over David's kingdom. He is a semper Augustus, i.e., a perpetual increaser of the kingdom; not by war, however, but with the spiritual weapons of peace. And within He gives to the kingdom "judgment" (mishpât) and "righteousness" (zedâkâh), as the foundations and pillars of its durability: mishpât, judgment or right, which He pronounces and ordains; and righteousness, which He not only exercises Himself, but transfers to the members of His kingdom. This new epoch of Davidic sovereignty was still only a matter of faith and hope. But the zeal of Jehovah was the guarantee of its realization. The accentuation is likely to mislead here, inasmuch as it makes it appear as though the words "from henceforth even for ever" (me‛attâh v‛ad ōlâm) belonged to the closing sentence, whereas the eternal perspective which they open applies directly to the reign of the great Son of David, and only indirectly to the work of the divine jealousy. "Zeal," or jealousy, kin'âh, lit., glowing fire, from קנּא, Arab. kanaa, to be deep red (Deu 4:24), is one of the deepest of the Old Testament ideas, and one of the most fruitful in relation to the work of reconciliation. It is two-sided. The fire of love has for its obverse the fire of wrath. For jealousy contends for the object of its love against everything that touches either the object or the love itself. (Note: Cf., Weber, On the Wrath of God (p. xxxv). It is evident that by kin'âh, ζῆλος, we are to understand the energy of love following up its violated claims upon the creature, from the comparison so common in the Scriptures between the love of God to His church and connubial affection. It is the jealousy of absolute love, which seeks to be loved in return, and indeed demands undivided love, and asserts its claim to reciprocity of love wherever this claim is refused. In a word, it is the self-vindication of scornful love. But this idea includes not only jealousy seeking the recovery of what it has lost, but also jealousy that consumes what cannot be saved (Nah 1:2; Heb 10:27); and the Scriptures therefore deduce the wrath, by which the love resisted affirms itself, and the wrath which meets those who have resisted love in the form of absolute hostility-in other words, the jealousy of love as well as the jealousy of hatred-not from love and holiness as two entirely distinct sources, but from the single source of absolute holy love, which, just because it is absolute and holy, repels and excludes whatever will not suffer itself to be embraced (Jos 24:19).) Jehovah loves His nation. That He should leave it in the hands of such bad Davidic kings as Ahaz, and give it up to the imperial power of the world, would be altogether irreconcilable with this love, if continued long. But His love flares up, consumes all that is adverse, and gives to His people the true King, in whom that which was only foreshadowed in David and Solomon reaches its highest antitypical fulfilment. With the very same words, "the zeal of Jehovah of hosts," etc., Isaiah seals the promise in Isa 37:32.