h. We
should naturally have expected it to stand at the beginning of the
whole book, as do the corresponding scenes in the books of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel; and it is not easy to say why it is not found in this
position. We are perhaps too ready to think of the prophecies of a
prophet as a continuous book, written, in one prolonged effort, on a
single theme, as books are written in modern times. But this is a
misconception. They came together more like the pieces of a lyric
poet. A lyric poet composes his pieces at uncertain intervals of
inspiration; they range over a great variety of subjects; and it may
only be late in life that he thinks of collecting them in a volume. So
the prophecies of the prophet came to him at uncertain and often
lengthy intervals; they were sometimes very brief, no longer than
short lyrics; and we know that he sometimes did not think of any
literary publication of them till long after their oral delivery. A
lyric poet, when collecting his pieces, may adopt any one of several
different principles of arrangement. The simplest way is to insert
them in chronological order; but he may follow some subtle
psychological arrangement, as Wordsworth, for instance, did when his
collected works were published; or he may throw them together at
random, according to the fancy of the moment; and this is perhaps the
commonest case. There seems to be the same variety in the prophets.
The prophecies of Ezekiel, for example, are arranged on the
chronological principle, but those of Isaiah and Jeremiah are not; and
it is one of the most difficult tasks of interpretation to assign the
different pieces to their original dates. It is doubtful whether there
is any rigid principle at all in Isaiah's prophecies. It is even
doubtful whether the order in which they stand is due to him or to a
disciple or editor, who arranged them after he was dead. We need
hardly, therefore, inquire very strictly why any particular chapter
occurs in its particular place. But it is somewhat awkward that the
sixth chapter stands where it does, in the body of the book, instead
of at the head of it; because this hides its significance from the
general reader. Scholars are agreed, however, that it is an account of
Isaiah's call to be a prophet; and, when this is recognised, every
detail of the scene which it records is invested with new meaning.

2. It is worthy of note that the event is precisely dated. The chapter
begins with the words, "In the