suffered, often shrinkingly, yet voluntarily, a constant martyrdom. Úpon him fell the persecutions of his countrymen. Yet in the life of later Judaism those principles for which he lived and died gained acceptance and application. Of him it may be truly said:

"He was numbered with trangressors,

And himself bore the sins of many,
And interposed for transgressors.

"The unknown author of these immortal poems spoke out of the depth of his own painful experience and doubtless in a large degree realized the ideals of service which he thus effectively set forth. Those of his contemporaries who, amidst persecution and insults, in their lives embodied the ideals of the earlier prophets, were crushed like Jeremiah because of the iniquities of others; but by thus pouring out their life blood they brought healing to their race. Nehemiah, leaving the Persian court in order to rebuild the city of his fathers, proved himself a faithful servant of Jehovah. With true insight the Christian Church has always recognized that in the character and life of Jesus is found the only complete realization of this ancient ideal of service. With the immortal chapters of the Second Isaiah he was clearly familiar, and from them he doubtless received many suggestions regarding his divine mission and the methods by which it was to be accomplished. Their author was clearly speaking to his contemporaries; but in portraying the way in which Jehovah's purpose in human history could alone be realized he presented an ideal which has a permanent significance in the thought of the human race. Paul rightly recognized that the same responsibility to make this ideal a reality rested upon him, and all who would serve God, when he quoted the words of 49: 6:

"I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles

That thou shouldst be for salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'' (Acts 13:47.) -Kent.

ADDITIONAL READING REFERENCES.

Kent, Makers and Teachers of Judaism, pp. 53-73. Fowler, History and Literature of Ancient Israel, chapter on Prophecy in the Early Restoration. Bible Dictionaries, under Malachi, and Isaiah (40-66). Cornill, Prophets of Israel. Smith, Expositors' Bible, Isaiah, vol. ii.

CHAPTER XXIV.

A NEW KIND OF PATRIOTISM.

THE HOPES OF THE SECOND ISAIAH.

PURPOSE OF THE LESSON.

To widen the sympathy of the pupils, especially in their attitude toward 66 foreigners" and immigrants.

BEGINNING THE LESSON STORY.

Call attention to the title of this chapter, a new kind of patriotism. There had to be a new kind of patriotism when the Second Isaiah lived, either a worthier, or else none at all. From the standpoint of a Jewish patriot, the decades after the rebuilding of the temple were exceedingly discouraging. Zerubbabel was not made king; Judah remained a subject province under Persia. Jerusalem still lay in comparative desolation; her walls were in ruins, and she was defenceless against the murderous raids of the petty foreign nations which surrounded her, such as the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. This state of things was exceedingly galling to Jewish pride. They had always considered themselves to be far superior to all other nations and races. They had always looked upon Jehovah their God as, indeed, their God, and no other nation's God. In chapter XV, we saw that they did not consider it a crime to rob and murder foreigners. Now, however, it seemed that either Jehovah had lost His power, or else that He no longer cared for them. Judah, apparently, had become the meanest of the nations.

As one result of these conditions, some of the Jews became very bitter against all foreigners. We can hardly blame them; we are not surprised that this attitude is even reflected in some passages of the Old Testament, as for example in the book of Joel. Others, on the other hand, became ashamed of their own nation, and lost their loyalty and patriotism altogether. Many of these renegades ceased to call themselves Jews, and identified themselves with the Persians or Egyptians.

But there were a few brave and noble souls who continued to love their country, but who did not consider that it was necessary to hate all foreign nations, in order to prove their devotion to their own. One of these men was the Second Isaiah.

DISCUSSING THE LESSON.

Question 1 brings up some vital questions upon which this lesson should throw light. What is your attitude toward immigrants? Would it be desirable to "put up the bars," high enough to exclude the majority of Italians and "Polanders"? Do you believe in foreign missions? Has the time come for the abolition of war? Introduce these questions at the beginning and reserve them for discussion later on.

The answer we give to all these questions depends on our general attitude towards foreigners. The Jews, in the period from 586 onward, had similar questions to face, owing to their increasingly close contact with foreign nations. How are we to explain their different attitudes? (Question 2.) What prophets mentioned in the chapter were bitter toward foreigners? What prophets were friendly? Take the author of Isa. 19:24, for example; how did he happen to be friendly toward the Egyptians? How did it happen that the Second Isaiah came to have a high regard for foreigners? Bring out that these men probably came into contact with good men among the foreigners they had personally known. On the other hand, take Obadiah. What experiences had embittered Obadiah against the Edomites? What experiences had embittered Ezekiel and Joel against foreigners in general?

Can you blame them? On the other hand, what point did Obadiah and Ezekiel fail to consider? Do you think that all the Edomites were indeed cruel and unscrupulous? Were there no good people among the Moabites and Ammonites and Phoenicians? Is it possible that Obadiah might have met some good Edomites, without appreciating their good qualities? How could this be possible? Why is it that men are so often blind to the virtues of others? Is it an easy matter, or a hard matter, to estimate fairly another person's character? Is it easy to understand another's motives?

Now come back to question 1. Surely the Second Isaiah, if he were living in America today, would not call immigrants "waps," or "guineas." What would he say in answer to those who would pass laws to keep the so-called "scum of Europe,' out of America? What would he say in answer to those who "do not believe in foreign missions"? (Cf. Isa. 49: 6.)

Now finally, what would be the attitude of these prophets toward war? What experiences had probably come to that prophet who wrote Isa. 2: 2-4? Why did he want to see swords

beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning-hooks? What, in his observation, was the cause of most wars? What influence did he think would do away with war?

What are the chances for the abolition of war today? In what other way besides war might the nations settle their disputes? How could a court of arbitration enforce its rulings? A suggestion on that point is offered by the author of Isa. 19:19-24. In what way does this author conceive that Egypt and Israel and Assyria might be "a blessing in the midst of the earth"? Note what he says about a highway. He evidently dreamed of a friendly alliance which would promote civilization. Are there not three great nations today, who could join together to put a stop to war? What three could be mentioned? (Question 3.)

If the pupils are willing to select any passage in the Second Isaiah as their favorite (question 4), have that passage read aloud, with feeling and expression.

The following extracts from an address by Mary Antin, author of the "Promised Land," show the need of a Second Isaiah in America today.

"When my family moved to this country," she said, "the neighbors were suspicious of us at first, but when they found that we wanted to be law-abiding, home-loving Americans they turned around and helped us. Then more of our friends came to live in that street, and gradually the Americans came to feel that it was a foreign colony, and they all moved away.

"Then we had no one to teach us English and the ways of American family life. We had to learn from each other out of our pitiful store of knowledge. We did not hear English, so we could speak it but brokenly. The neighborhood became in truth a little Russia.

"By and by came the children of those American families who had moved away from us. These children had been to college, and now they came to teach us how to become Americans. Don't you see that if they had stayed in the neighborhood all that time we would have learned from them day by day? We would have seen whole families in their everyday life, instead of a few detached members, usually unmarried, living in artificial surroundings.

"I know of a family which has lived in a Connecticut town for sixteen years. It was only the other day that the little girl of the family, who was born here, in a visit to the public

library found a little green book which described the process of becoming an American citizen. She rushed home with it and her father pored over it with tears of joy. No one in all those sixteen years had ever taken the trouble to tell him that he could become a citizen if he would learn English and do the few other simple things necessary to naturalization. He had come here eager for American things, but he had not been wanted. There is no way to measure the loss to this country because of its failure to adopt the enthusiasm and devotion of the immigrant into its national life."

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS.

The Patriotic Ideals of the Second Isaiah.

"The poems of this prophet deal with one theme, the destiny of the chosen people. The prophet first reviews their past history to illustrate Jehovah's purpose that was being realized through Israel. He notes the different ways in which Jehovah had trained and prepared them for their great task. In the light of the new situation and his enlarged acquaintance with the world the prophet then proceeds to define the task that awaits his people. While he does not break entirely away from the popular expectation that the scattered exiles would yet be restored to Jerusalem to participate in the universal kingdom that was there to be established, he fully appreciates the larger significance of Israel's mission. He recognizes that it is world-wide. He sees that the Jewish race is called not merely to receive honors and material blessings but also to serve suffering and needy mankind. The disappointments and afflictions through which it is passing are but a part of the divine training for that nobler spiritual service. The servant Israel is called to be a witness to all the nations, faithfully to set forth Jehovah's teachings until his law is established in all the earth. Thus the prophet interprets Israel's past, present, and future in its vital relation to the universal life of humanity, and declares that Israel is destined to be a prophet nation and to reveal Jehovah's character to all mankind."- Kent.

The Character of Jehovah, according to the Second Isaiah.

"His fundamental notion of a divine purpose of salvation is a purpose which includes all nations, and which at the same time solves all the enigmas of Israel's history. It is primarily