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awaiting the believer, 2 Tim. 4:8 ; 1 Pet. 1:4. The immediate effect of the Gospel is to bind up the hearts that are broken for sin and to emancipate those who are bound by the chains of evil habits. The Jewish year of jubilee began at the close of the great day of atonement. The acceptable Gospel age began with the sacrifice consummated upon Calvary. Jesus closed the prophecy in the middle of a passage, intentionally omitting the reference to the day of vengeance that follows at the end of the age. He acted authoritatively but not arbitrarily. He did what no other man has a right to do in dealing with the Scriptures. Sometimes an Old Testament passage is quoted in the New Testament not liter ally and perhaps not exactly in the same sense in which it was used by the Old Testament writer. The Holy Spirit is the author of both Testaments. Since one author has a right to adapt and even change his own language as may seem good to him, any difference in quota tion from the old Testament that may appear either in thought or language, is due not to human weakness and im perfection but to Divine and over-ruling wisdom. The day of vengeance yet future is as certain as the acceptable year of the Lord, although nearly two thousand years have already intervened between them. There is a double figure in verse three. There is the picture of a mourner with ashes covering his dishevelled hair and his spirit clothed in gloom as with a robe of black. Then One comes with gentle touch to smooth the ashes, out of his hair, to weave a garland of flowers around his brow, anoint his head with oil and stripping off the habiliments of woe, fling about him a costly robe fit for a marriage festival. This is the miracle of transformation that Christ can do for every one who trusts Him'. He is ready to do this for each of us if
we will let Him. Verse nine declares that “ their seed shall be known.” The Jew was given a mark which he has never lost. God’s spiritual children are to be as definitely distinguished by the fruits of the Holy Spirit. v. 1. Preach good tidings. In the life of every nation there are hours when the factors of destiny are de termined by a telegram or a piece of news. We ac- COMMENTS FROM tually owe the MANY SOURCES Greek words of Keith L. Brooks the New Testa ment for “ Gos pel” and “ preaching” to this time of Israel’s history. The Greek term from which we have the words “ evangel," “ evangelize” and “ evangelist,” origin ally meant “ good news.” It was first employed in a religious sense in the Greek translation of this prophecy.— Exp. Bible. v. 2. The acceptable year of the Lord. Observe that Jesus suspended the reading of this passage in the syn agogue at Nazareth (Lk. 4:16-21) at the comma in the middle of the verse. The first advent therefore opened the day of grace, or the acce-ptable year of Jehovah, but does not fulfill the day of vengeance. That will be taken up when the Messiah returns (2 Thess. 1:7-10).— Scofield. The year of accept ance, or jubilee year (Lev. 25:9-10). We may render it, “ a year of good pleasure for Jehovah.”— Comp. Bible. Day of vengeance. Note that the vengeance is assigned to a day in con trast to “ year.”— Bullinger. To com fort all that mourn. After the day of Christ’s vengeance, comfort will be given to restored Israel. The setting up of the kingdom in the earth will mean the repairing of all the waste places, and all the ends of the earth shall see God’s great salvation.— Sum. Bible. v. 3. Appoint unto them that mourn in, Zion. It is a sad fact that Christen dom has erred in the interpretation of these predictions concerning Israel’s restoration and turned the time and manner of their fulfillment upside down. In this error lies the cause of all the present-day confusion of the professing church. Israel, which is so prominent on the pages of the Old Testament in connection with these earthly blessings,
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