[67] Ueberweg, _History of Philosophy_, English translation, i., 51.
[68] Quoted by Clement of Alexandria, _Stromata_, Bk. V., ch. iv., and by Eusebius, _Præp. Evang._ xiii., 13.
[71] Pfleiderer, _Philosophy of Religion: Contents of the Religious Consciousness_, ch. i. (Eng. trans., vol. iii., p. 291).
[72] See further on the subject the chapter on the Righteousness of Israel and of God, Chapter XIV. of this volume.
[73] And that which runs: _... he is come, from the rising of the sun he calleth upon My name_ (Bredenkamp) is wrong.
[74] The former of these in ch. lxiv. 7; the latter in xliv. 5.
[75] Translation of the Cyrus-cylinder in "Cyrus et le Retour de l'Exil," by Halévy, _Revue des Études Juives_, No. 1, 1880.
At the beginning of ch. xlii. we reach one of those distinct stages, the frequent appearance of which in our prophecy assures us, that, for all its mingling and recurrent style, the prophecy is a unity with a distinct, if somewhat involved, progress of thought. For while chs. xl. and xli. establish the sovereignty and declare the character of the One True God before His people and the heathen, ch. xlii. takes what is naturally the next step, of publishing to both these classes His Divine will. This purpose of God is set forth in the first seven verses of the chapter. It is identified with a human Figure, who is to be God's agent upon earth, and who is styled _the Servant of Jehovah_. Next to Jehovah Himself, the Servant of Jehovah is by far the most important personage within our prophet's gaze. He is named, described, commissioned and encouraged over and over again throughout the prophecy; his character and indispensable work are hung upon with a frequency and a fondness almost equal to the steadfast faith, which the prophet reposes in Jehovah Himself. Were we following our prophecy chapter by chapter, now would be the time to put the question, Who is this Servant, who is suddenly introduced to us? and to look ahead for the various and even conflicting answers, which rise from the subsequent chapters. But we agreed, for clearness' sake,[78] to take all the passages about the Servant, which are easily detached from the rest of the prophecy, and treat by themselves, and to continue in the meantime our prophet's main theme of the Power and Righteousness of God as shown forth in the deliverance of His people from Babylon. Accordingly, at present we pass over xlii. 1-9, keeping this firmly in mind, however, that God has appointed for His work upon earth, including, as it does, the ingathering of His people and the conversion of the Gentiles, a Servant,--a human figure of lofty character and unfailing perseverance, who makes God's work of redemption his own, puts his heart into it, and is upheld by God's hand. God, let us understand, has committed His cause upon earth to a human agent.