; his understanding is infinite."
Psa. cxlvii. 5._

_"He revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the
darkness, and that the light dwelleth with him." Dan. ii. 2._

_"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" Acts
xv. 18._

_"The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men." Psa.
xxxiii. 13._

_"Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what
thou shalt say." Ex. iv. 12._

_"And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand
not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not." Isaiah vi. 9._

The critics claim to have discovered, on literary and other evidence,
that the Church of Christ, in all its branches, has been mistaken in all
the past concerning the author of the book known as the Prophecies of
Isaiah. They assume that all the foremost scholars of the world, and the
faith of God's people, have been misled. Our critical advisers profess
to have discovered that there were at least two, and probably many more
prophets, whose writings compose the book. They refuse to recognize
Isaiah alone as the author; and for several reasons:

_First_--Because of the change of style of composition from the
thirty-ninth chapter to the close of the book.

_Second_--On the ground that the theme is more exalted than in the first
thirty-nine chapters. Hence, it is assumed that these last chapters
could not have been written by Isaiah.

_Third_--On the ground that Cyrus is mentioned by name, in the
forty-fourth and forty-fifth chapters of the book, as the restorer of
Jerusalem. Hence, our critics conclude that this part of the book must
have been written after the event, as the prophet (it is assumed) could
not name Cyrus before his birth.

_Fourth_--The critics assume that the prophet must prophesy out of his
immediate surroundings, whatever that may mean. They furnish their
troubled disciples the comforting assurance that these discoveries do
not diminish the value of the book, but render it more accurate and
interesting as a literary work. The professor already quoted, a fair
representative of the critical school, in his recent lectures, referred
to on a preceding page, distinguished the authors of the book as "Isaiah
and the Great Unknown Prophet." Other critics multiply, somewhat
indefinitely, the number of "The Unknowns." Our critic regards the
change in _style and theme_ from the thirty-ninth chapter to the end of
the book as val