urden of the prophecy of the
Unknown prophet of the exile (Isaiah xl.-lxvi.). He exalts still more
highly than his predecessors the name and power of Jehovah. He is the
Creator of the ends of the earth, to whom the nations, including even
that great Babylon, are as a drop of the bucket, to be flung whither
one will; it is he who has chosen Israel for his people and who now
comforts Israel for the sorrows of the exile. In the great drama he
is unfolding in the earth Israel has a principal part to play. Israel
is called to make known to the nations who do not know him, the true
God. It had been prophesied before that the heathen nations would
come to Mount Zion to ask counsel of the God of Judah, and that
Jehovah should become law-giver and judge over them. The Unknown
enlarges on this theme with splendid imagery, and strives to persuade
the people to make this cause their own, and to rise to the
responsibility it involves. Israel is to be a prince, a leader and
commander, of the peoples. The Gentiles are to come from far bringing
their treasures and doing homage to the people of the true faith. If
Israel as a whole is not fit as yet to discharge this duty for the
world, yet there is an inner Israel, a faithful elect of the people
who sympathise entirely with Jehovah's purposes and are entirely
devoted to his will. This "Servant of Jehovah," at least, has risen
to the height of his calling; Jehovah's spirit is in him. He will not
fail nor be discouraged till the true religion is established in the
earth. At another part of the prophecy the fate of the Servant is
seen in darker colours. He is subject to ill-treatment and
misrepresentation of all sorts; even when he is suffering for the
sake of others he is derided and despised; nay, more,--he is called
to suffer martyrdom, and die for sins not his own. But even so, the
Servant will conquer in the end. He will know that his sufferings
have not been in vain; he will be the means of leading many to
righteousness and will be the instrument of Jehovah to bring in the
true religion.

The Return. The Reform of Ezra.--Such utterances could not fail of
effect on the nation to whom they were addressed, and when the Jews
came back to Palestine they were undoubtedly inspired with a new
sense of their peculiar national mission. They at once proceeded to
show that they were to be a people apart from others, by separating
themselves rigorously and even cruelly from entanglements with th