THE REV. J. J. MAS, M.A., ON THE UNITY OF ISAIAH. 81 



The Rev. MARTIN ANSTEY wished to be allowed to make three 

 remarks. First, there was one phrase which should be written across 

 all the higher critical arguments: non sequitur. Their conclusions 

 did not follow their premisses ; nothing more remained to be said. 

 Secondly, if the point under discussion was " Did Isaiah write the 

 whole of this book, or did he not 1 ", the discussion must be 

 decided by testimony. The one unbroken historical testimony — 

 and this was evidence — was that the book was written by one man, 

 Isaiah. Third, there was the question of the difference in tone of 

 the two parts in Isaiah : there was the despondent tone and the 

 triumphant. The critics dissected the book on these lines, giving the 

 despondent portions to Isaiah, the triumphant to another author. 

 But for himself, in his own study of Isaiah, he found that the two 

 tones did not divide the book into two main portions as the critics 

 asserted. Isaiah began with a survey of the facts of life, which 

 were depressing, but in chapters vi, xi-xii, xxiv-xxvii, and xxxiii- 

 xxxv he rose above the depressing facts, and saw in prophetic 

 vision the glorious Messianic conclusion in which they were destined 

 to culminate, and in chapters xl-lxvi he reached the grand climax 

 and the triumphant Messianic conclusion of the whole revelation 

 vouchsafed to him. Isaiah had seen Samaria carried away into 

 captivity ; he saw that Judah would be carried away to Babylon 

 also, but beyond the Captivity in Babylon he saw the Return, and 

 beyond the Return he saw, and saw from the very first, that the 

 whole earth should be full of "the Glory of the Lord " (Isaiah vi, 

 3 ; xi, 9 ; xxv, 8 ; xxxv, 10 ; lxvi, 22, 23). 



Mr. Sidney Collett said that there was one piece of evidence 

 which had not been mentioned yet, but which appeared to him to be 

 both simple and conclusive. There was a passage in the New 

 Testament in which both portions of Isaiah were quoted, and both 

 ascribed to one man. It was in the Gospel of St. John, chapter xii, 

 38-41. In verse 38 chapter liii of Isaiah was quoted — that was 

 Isaiah No. 2, while in verse 40 the sixth chapter w T as quoted, which 

 is supposed to be Isaiah No. 1. But here both quotations were 

 ascribed by the Holy Spirit to one and the same Isaiah. 



Moreover, the true division of the prophecy was not a twofold 

 one, but a threefold, which in a wonderful way confirmed the unity 

 of the book. Thus, each section began with a call and ended with 

 a warning. The first division began with chapter i, 2, " Hear, 0 



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