families removed from Jerusalem, and at a great assembly of the people the law was formally accepted. Henceforth the people led by their priests measured their fitness for the coming of Jehovah by their obedience to the written law.1

The priest became the tutor of the people, and a passion for holiness seized upon the devout. This led to greater and greater rigidness in the observance of the ceremonials of worship. Practically every act of life became a religious act and was regulated by law. It is easy to see that many who had not taken to heart the spiritual lessons of the past would observe these laws as merely a formal matter, while to others they would furnish the means of expression of the deepest devotion to Jehovah, and a sincere desire to satisfy his requirements in holy living.

I We should recall the former revision of the laws which appeared in the reign of Josiah and constituted the basis of the reformation. These laws are found in Deuteronomy. The newly revised code of Ezra's day is found chiefly in the Book of Leviticus. Its appropriateness to a religious community rather than a kingdom can easily be discovered, as also the longing for holiness which was a characteristic of the new life in Jerusalem.

CHAPTER XV

VOICES OF HOPE

Were the prophets forever silenced by the new conditions in Jerusalem? As men having an authoritative place in the community perhaps, yes. Never again did they need to lift their voices against idolatry for Israel had learned her lesson of the one true God. But since a religion of law is not always and for all its adherents a religion of the spirit, there were prophets unknown to us by name who found need as in earlier years to emphasize the necessity for honesty, justice, truth, sincerity, and mercy. Human nature had not changed under the new law. The rich still oppressed the poor. The sinner still thought that sacrifice would buy forgiveness from Jehovah. And still to the disheartened faithful the prophets needed to paint their pictures of the king and the kingdom of peace, in which Jehovah should dwell with his purified people and Jerusalem should rule the world, not by power but by her wisdom. Some of the most beautiful of these pictures follow:

The Prince of Peace1

"The people that are walking in darkness

See a great light:

They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them doth the light shine.

5 Thou hast multipled the nation,
Thou hast increased their joy;

They joy before thee as men rejoice at the harvest time,
As men exult when they divide the spoil.

I This poem pictures the wonderful ruler who shall bring in an era of prosperity and peace which shall never cease. Note that it is by wisdom and courage and the force of his own character rather than by military or political power that he is to establish his supremacy. Is this ideal of peace nearer realization today than when the prophet was speaking?

2 Isa. 9:2-7.

For the yoke of his burden,

IO And the cross bar upon his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

Thou hast broken as in the day of Midian.'

For all the armour of the warrior in the tumult,
And the garments drenched in blood,

15 Shall even be for burning,

As fuel for the flame.

For unto us a child is born,
Unto us a son is given;

And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
20 And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor,
God of a Hero, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.2

Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall
be no end,

Upon the throne of David and throughout his kingdom,
To establish it, and to uphold it in justice and in righteous-

ness

25 From henceforth even for ever.

The zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall bring this to pass.

4And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse,5

And a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit:

And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

5 A spirit of counsel and might,

A spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.

1 Day of Midian: possibly referring to the victory of Gideon over the Midianites described in Judg., chaps. 6-8.

2 God of a Hero: a god-like hero, greater than any which had yet appeared Eternal Father: that is, in the sense of the Hebrew word for eternity, which means a very long time. The title designates one who will always be characterized by the quality of fatherly love.

3 In this poem the peace which is to accompany the reign of the ideal king is represented as including even the animal kingdom, and all this is to be the result of the widespread knowledge of Jehovah.

4 Isa. 11:1-9.

5 Jesse: the name of the father of David, used to represent the house of David. The ideal king is always pictured as a descendant of David.

And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
Nor reprove according to the hearing of his ears:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
IO And with equity the needy of the earth:

And he shall smite the oppressor with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
And faithfulness the band about his waist.

15 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
And the calf and the young lion will graze together;
And a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall be friends;
20 Their young ones shall lie down together:
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the babe shall play about the hole of the asp,
And the child shall put his hand on the viper's nest.

They shall not hurt nor destroy

25 In all my holy mountain:

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,
As the waters cover the sea.

The Presence of Jehovah

'In that day' shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious,

And the fruit of the land shall be perfect and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

And it shall be, that he that is left in Zion,

Yea he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, 5 Even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

When the Lord shall have washed away the sin of the daughters of Zion,

And shall have cleansed the blood stains of Jerusalem from the midst thereof,

By the spirit of justice and by the spirit of burning.

I Isa. 4:2-6.

2 In that day: This phrase and others like it clearly suggest that the day of wonder

ful things is yet in the future when the prophet is speaking.

And Jehovah will come and he will create over the whole
habitation of Mount Zion,

10 And over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
And the shining of a flaming fire by night:

For over all the glory shall be spread a canopy.

And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the daytime from the heat,

And for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.1

A Song of Jehovah's Forgiveness2

And in that day thou shalt say,
"I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord;
For though thou wast angry with me,
Thine anger is turned away,

5 And thou comfortedst me.

"Behold, God is my helper;
I will trust, and will not be afraid:
Jehovah is my strength and song;
And he is become my deliverer."

IO Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
Out of the wells of deliverance.

And in that day shall ye say,

"Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name,
Make known his doings among the peoples,

15 Declare that his name is exalted.

"Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done wonderful things:

Let this be known through all the earth.

Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:

For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."

This new day is delayed in order that Jerusalem may become sufficiently holy to permit of Jehovah's coming to dwell with his people. The misfortunes which are in the midst of her are a part of the purifying process of Jehovah.

2 The poet seeks to voice the spirit of thankfulness and joy which will pervade the community in that ideal future when Jehovah's forgiveness is complete and his presence in the community is constant and permanent.

3 Isa: 12:1-6.