shall be in the fear of the Lord.' That might mean that those who fear
Jehovah shall be His delight, and this would free the expression from
any shade of tautology, when compared with the previous clause, and
would afford a natural transition to the description of His rule. It
might, on the other hand, continue the description of His personal
character, and describe the inward cheerfulness of His obedience, like
'I delight to do Thy will.' In any case, the 'fear of the Lord' is
represented as a sweet-smelling fragrance; and, if we adopt the former
explanation, then it is almost a divine characteristic which is here
attributed to the Messiah; for it is God to whom the fear of Him in
men's hearts is 'an odour of a sweet smell.'

Then follow the features of His rule. His unerring judgment pierces
through the seen and heard. That is the quality of a monarch after the
antique pattern, when kings were judges. It does not appear that the
prophet rose to the height of perceiving the divine nature of the
Messiah; but we cannot but remember how far the reality transcends the
prophecy, since He whose 'eyes are as a flame of fire' knows what is in
man, and the earliest prayers of the Church were addressed to Jesus as
'Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men.'

The relation of Messiah to two classes is next set forth. The oppressed
and the meek shall have Him for their defender and avenger,--a striking
contrast to the oppressive monarchs whom Isaiah had seen. We remember
who said 'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' 'Blessed are the meek.' The
King Himself has taught us to deepen the meaning of the words of the
prophet, and to find in them the expression of the law of His kingdom by
which its blessings belong to those who know their need and come with
humble hearts. But the same acts which are for the poor are against the
oppressors. The emendation which reads 'tyrant' (_arits_) for 'earth'