| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 15 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book - of the Prophet Isaiah, Volume I
Author: Tucker, Alfred Robert, Bertram, Robert Aitkin
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 15 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book - of the Prophet Isaiah, Volume I" ***
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES.
- Technical note: This book makes heavy use of SMALL CAPS
formatting. You may need to experiment with fonts and browsers
until you see the words "small caps" formatted in SMALL CAPS.
- This is a commentary on the first 39 chapters of the Biblical
book of Isaiah. It was written to help ministers with their
sermon preparation. Many of the thoughts presented are condensed
from published sermons. The book is a collection of man's
opinions on the inspired Word of God. The Transcriber does not
necessarily agree with every opinion expressed. Among the
disagreements are suggestions that the Church replaces Israel,
or is "the true Israel," or that human effort has any effect on
God's pacing of future events. Some of the opinions expressed
are unapologetically anti-Roman Catholic or culturally
insensitive. The book is a product of its time and place (late
nineteenth century greater London). The U.S. conflict between
North and South is still within memory and neither the great
European wars to come, nor England's loss of her colonial
possessions in India and Africa, nor the establishment of the
State of Israel is even foreshadowed.
- The page numbers in the first part of the book ("front-matter")
and the last part of the book ("back-matter") were modified from
unadorned Arabic numbers to make them unique. In this e-book,
front-matter pages are identified by lower-cased Roman numbers
and back-matter pages include the letter "A" (for "Appendix")
and either an "L" or an "R" to identify the left or right
column. The Appendix presents two translations of the whole book
of Isaiah and two additional translations of the fifty-second
and fifth-third chapters.
- In the original, the outlines are generally in order by
scripture reference and information in the page headers helps
one find an outline related to any desired passage. Due to the
length of the e-book, and the supplemental outlines added toward
the end, the Transcriber has inserted a listing of outlines in
sequential order by scripture reference after the Index of
Subjects, Index of Authors, and table of Times, Seasons, and
Occasions, and prior to the Introduction.
- The footnotes in the text are identified by sequential
lower-case Greek letters: ɑ, Β, etc. The Transcriber has changed
them to superscript bracketed numbers to comply with current
use. In the main portion of the book, the "footnotes" were set
in smaller type at the end of the respective outlines. In the
Appendix, footnotes were set at the bottom of each page. The
text and each footnote are hyperlinked both directions.
- Certain long outlines (The Virgin's Son, The Burden of Dumah)
and the Appendix were set almost entirely in footnote type to
save page count.
- The detailed list of Transcriber's changes is at the foot of the
document.
THE PREACHER'S
COMPLETE HOMILETIC
COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES,
INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
THE OLD TESTAMENT
_Volumes 1-21_
THE NEW TESTAMENT
_Volumes 22-32_
Volume 15
The Preacher's Complete Homiletic
COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
Isaiah
Volume I
_By the_ REV. R. A. BERTRAM
_and_
_The_ REV. ALFRED TUCKER
[LOGO]
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
NEW YORK
PREFATORY NOTES.
1. In the preparation of this Commentary, my aim throughout has
been evangelical and practical. A study of the Book of Isaiah
suggests many historical, critical, and speculative questions,
but these I have entirely disregarded. I have asked only, What
messages from God has this inspired prophet for the men of this
generation? What instruction has he to give us? What warnings?
What encouragements? What consolations? To these questions I
believe there are answers in the outlines I have myself
prepared, and in those I have obtained from other sources.
2. As my work proceeded, my methods somewhat changed. I discovered
that I had commenced the Commentary on too large a scale, and
that it was in danger of becoming too large and costly. I
therefore ceased to append illustrations to the outlines, and
contented myself with giving references to illustrations in my
_"Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations in Theology and
Morals"_ and my _"Dictionary of Poetical Illustrations,"_ using
for this purpose the letters H. E. I. and P. D.
3. I also ceased to prepare outlines on _all_ the texts, and
limited myself to those most likely to be profitable to ordinary
congregations.
4. As I proceeded, I also became more convinced that a book
intended to be helpful to many minds should contain the best
thoughts of many minds; and therefore, instead of preparing
outlines which might be expanded into sermons, I condensed
sermons preached by others into outlines. Remembering that I was
working for ministers, I stripped the _thoughts_ contained in
those sermons of most of their dress, and so the substance of a
sermon of twenty pages was frequently placed on a page. The
result is that in this volume a hundred and fifty students of
Scripture--Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and
Baptists--combine to offer to their brethren suggestions as to
the best practical uses to which the writings of Isaiah may be
put today.
5. On pp. 447-496 are some valuable outlines obtained too late for
insertion in their proper places. Three of them are interesting
specimens of Welsh preaching.
CONTENTS.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Advent Thoughts and Joys
Adversity, The Bread of
Afflicted, The Duty of the
Afflictions of God's People, The
Allotments of Land to the Poor
Altar and a Saviour for Egypt, An
Amusement, Earthly
Apostates, The Doom of the
Appeal and an Argument, An
Appropriation, The Grand
Ariel
Art, The Noblest
Assyrian, The
Assyrian Invasion of Judah
Atonement, The
Babylon, The Doom of
Beautiful Visions Exchanged for Realities
Belief, The Restoration of
Believer's Dignity and Power, The
Blessed Life, A
Blessedness of the Servant of God, The
Blind Leaders
Book That Will Bear Testing, A
Call to the Careless, A
Call to the Revolted, A
Call to Study, A
Canticle, A Sad
Chambers of Safety
Chastisement
Cheering Words and Solemn Warnings
Children of Babylon, Their Doom
Children, Spare the
Child-Training
Christ a Tested Saviour
Christ, Comfort in
Christ, His Empire
Christ, His Government
Christ, His Name--"Wonderful"
Christ, His Second Coming
Christ, His Titles and Government
Christ, His Triumphs
Christ Our Counsellor
Christ, The Ensign of the Nations
Christ, The Everlasting Father
Christ, The Healer and Joy-Giver
Christ, The Mighty God
Christ, The Prince of Peace
Christ, The Reconciler of Men
Christ a Righteous Judge
Christ a Sure Foundation
Christ, The Beauty of His Character
Christ, Suretyship of
Christian Liberality
Christian's Refuge, The
Church of Christ, Characteristics of the
Church, Fiery Ordeal of
Church, The Christian, A Continuation of the Jewish
Cleaning for the Vilest
Cleaning Spirit, The
Comfort for the Desponding
Comfort in Christ
Command, A Plain
Conqueror Conquered, The
Consideration, Religious
Controlling Fact, A
Conversion, A Happy
Cords and Cart-Ropes
Cords of Vanity
Counsel, A Threefold
Counsellor, The Only
Covetousness
Cry for Help, A
Curse Done Away, The
Day of the Lord, The
Day of Visitation, The
Days of Deliverance
Death and the Grave
Death, Distress in Prospect of
Death, Preparation for
Death, The Contrasts of
Deliverance, A Great
Depravity, Total
Depravity, Transmitted
Despisers, The Doom of the
Disabled Ship, The
Discipline of Sin, The
Divine Anger
Divine Disappointments
Divine Ideal of Israel Realised, The
Divine Judgments, The Twofold Effect of
Divine Patience, Trials of the
Divine Salvation Rejected
Dreaming
Drink and Its Woes
Drunkard, The Miseries of the
Dumah, The Burden of
Early Religious Training
Earthly Song and the Heavenly Voice
East Wind, The Day of the
Encouragement for the Timid
England's Crying Sin
Evil-Doers, The Seed of
Exiles' Return, The
Faith's Impregnable Citadel
Faith, The Condition of Firmness
False Refuges
Female Pride and Luxury
Fears and Comforts
Feast for Faith, A
Festivity and Forgetfulness
Foolish King and a Wise One, A
Forgetfulness of God
Forsaken of God
Forsaking the Lord
Gladness, The Duty of
Glorifying God in the Fires
God Avenging His Own Elect
God Exalted in the Great Day
God, His Goodness to the Church
God's Gracious Invitation to Sinners
God's Ideal of Goodness
God's Invitation to Shelter
God's Judgments
God's Outstretched Hand
God's Perpetual Presence with His People
God's Promises
God's Readiness to Listen to the Needy
God's Reluctance to Punish
God's Righteousness
God Oppressed
God Our Refuge or Our Ruin
God, Two Constant Feelings in His Mind
God's Outcasts
God's People Forsaken
Godly, Prospect of the
Good and Evil, The Sin of Confounding
Gospel, Future Triumphs of the
Gospel, The Blessings of the
Gospel Feast, The
Gospel Trumpet, The
Government, The Curse of a Weak
Grave and its Mysteries, The
Great Deliverance, A
Great Dethronement, The
Great Task, The
Growing Light
Guiding Voice, The
"Hallowed Be Thy Name"
Harvest, The Joy of the
Haughtiness
Heaven, The Happiness of
Heedfulness
Hezekiah's Prayer
Hezekiah's Prudent Silence
Hezekiah's Resolution
Hezekiah's Song
Hezekiah's Strength and Weakness
Hezekiah Tried
Holiness Accomplished, Peace Ordained
Holiness, Man's, God's Workmanship
Home Life and Influence
Ignorance, The Evils of
Illustrious Inhabitant, An
Immanuel
Impenitent, Certainty of the Destruction of the
In Whom Art Thou Trusting?
Inconsiderateness
Incorrigible, Doom of the
Iniquity a Burden
Injustice, Legalised
Instinct Followed, Reason Disregarded
Intellectual Pride
Isaiah, His Interview with Ahaz
Isaiah, His Vision of the King and His Kingdom
Isaiah, His Vision of God
Isaiah, His Vision of the Last Days
Isaiah, The Evangelical Prophet
Israel, Future Prosperity of
Israel, God's Indictment against
Israel, The Doom of Impenitent
Joy of Salvation, The
Joy of the Meek
Joy Religious
Just Man's Security, The
King in Trouble, A
Knowledge of God
Knowledge of God, Importance of Religious
Language, Its Influence on Character
Latter-Day Glory, The
Law and the Testimony, The
Leadership
Life, Its Diminutions and Changes
Life, The Shortening of
Light of the Lord, The
Lip Service Instead of Heart Worship
Littles, The Power of
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
Man's Imagined Independence of God
Man's Insignificance and God's Supremacy
Man Proposes, God Disposes
Material and the Mortal, The
Memorable Answer, A
Messengers Wanted
Messiah, The Glory of the
Ministerial Duty, Some Aspects of
Ministerial Fidelity, Dislike to
Missionary Success, The Essential Condition of
Mockery, Irreligious
Momentous Decisions
Momentous Inquiry, A
Money, The Love of
Moral Ablution
Moral Declension
Moral History of a Rising Soul, The
Moral Obduracy
Moral Perversity
Moral Wilderness Transformed
National Bereavement, Lessons from a
National Greatness
National Peace, The Gift of God
National Revival
National Ungodliness
Necromancy
Needless Stripes
New Song for New Hearts, A
Night and Morning
Night Longings for God
No Sickness There!
Nobility and Security
Opportunities, The Use of
Oppressed and Their Relief, The
Oppression of the Poor
Our Trust and Our Test
Parable of the Husbandman, The
Parable of the Vineyard, The
Peace, National
Peace, Perfect
Peace, The Work of Righteousness
Peaceful Keeping
Perversion of Right and Wrong
Piety, Irreligious
Pleader and the Judge, The
Politicians, Biblical
Praise for Preservation
Prayer, A Christian
Prayer, A King's
Prayer in Trouble
Prayer, Reasons for the Rejection of
Privileges, Great
Prophecy the Voice of God
Prophet of the Lord, The
Prophet's Call, The
Prophet's Mission, Duration of the
Protecting Hand, The
Providence
Public Worship, The Possibilities of
Punishment of the Wicked, The
Punishment, The Purpose of
Purposes and Panics
Quietness, Christian
Quietness, Strength in
Rabshakehs, Modern
Recompense, The Great Law of
Recovery from Sickness
Redemption, The Divine Idea of
Rejected Sacrifices
Rejection of Divine Truth, The
Religion, True and False
Remnants of Society, The
Retirement, Religious
Revelation of God, The
Rivers, Enriching
Rivers of Waters
Road to the City, The
Saint's Attitude in Time of Trouble
Sanctuary in God
Scepticism
Self-Conceit
Self-Scrutiny in God's Presence
Sensuality
Sentence of Doom, A
Seraphim, The
Shameless Sinners
Short Bed and the Narrow Covering, The
Sick and Dying, Duties of the
Sickness, Recovery from
Sight of God and a Sense of Sin, A
Sin and Grace
Sin, Its Destructiveness
Sin, The Origin and End of
Sinner's Danger and Refuge, The
Sinners Self-Destroyed
Social Regeneration
Sodom and Gomorrah
Solemn Disclaimer, A
Song to the Vineyard, A
Sorrow, The Banishment of
Spirit of the Lord, The
Spiritual Husbandry
Spiritual Usurpers Renounced
Spirituality of the Divine Nature, The
Spreading the Letter before the Lord
Stability through Faith
Startling Charge, A
Statesmen, The Death of
Stone of Stumbling, The
Storms of Life, The
Strange and Sad Errand, A
Stream Rejected for the River, The
Suffering, Unsanctified
Submission under God's Rebuke
Summons to Jerusalem, The
Supplications, Fruitless
Taking Hold of God's Strength
Teachers of Truth, Their Duty in Times of National Perversion
Terrible Picture, A
Terrible Resolve, A
Things To Be Considered
Thoughtlessness
Threatened, But Safe
Tophet Ordained of Old
Tow and the Spark, The
Transformation
Trinity in Unity, The
Trumpet, The Great
Trust and Trials
Unbelief, The Inexcusableness of
Vanity of Earthly Help in Time of Trial
Virgin's Son, The
Volunteer Service
Waiting, Divine and Human
Waiting on God
War
Waters of Shiloah, The
Wells of Salvation
Wild Grapes
Wise Lessons from Wicked Lips
World, A Sorrowless
World's Misery, The Remedy of the
Worthless Husks
Wrong Names, The Sin of Using
Zion, The Controversy of
Zion, The Futility of Fighting Against
INDEX OF AUTHORS.
Abbott, J. S. C.
Adams, W.
Adeney, W. F.
Alexander, Dr.
Ambrose, William
Anderson, James
Anderson, Dr. W.
Barfield, A. F.
Barry, Bishop
Bateman, Josiah
Bather, Archdeacon
Baxendale, Walter
Beecher, Henry Ward
Bennett, Dr.
Bertram, R. A.
Bingham, R.
Blomfield, Bishop
Blunt, H.
Boone, J. S.
Bradley, Charles
Brathwaite, M.
Brierley, J.
Brooke, Stopford A.
Brooks, William
Buckingham, S. G.
Bunting, Dr.
Burns, Dr. Jabez
Burrows, W.
Bushnell, Dr.
Butler, William Archer
Cheever, Dr.
Clark, George
Clayton, G.
Clemance, Dr.
Close, Dean
Cooper, Edward
Corbin, John
Cowles, Dr.
Creswell, Henry
Crow, E.
Currie, D. D.
Davies, Samuel
Dowling, J. G.
Edmond, Dr.
Emmons, Dr.
Erskine, Ralph
Exell, J. S.
Forrest, R. W.
Foster, John
Fraser, Bishop
Fuller, Andrew
Gerard, Dr.
Gibson, A.
Gilfillan, G.
Goodwin, H.
Goulburn, Dean
Griffin, E.
Guinness, H. G.
Gurney, J. H.
Guthrie, William
Hall, Robert
Hancock, W.
Hare, Julius Charles
Harris, W.
Hawes, Dr.
Heber, Reginald
Hobart, Dr.
Holdeck, Dr.
Hood, E. Paxton
Hubbard, W.
Irons, Joseph
James, John Angell
Jay, William
Johnson, John
Johnston, John
Jonas, William
Jupe, Charles
Kennedy, Dr.
Kennicott, Dr.
Kidd, Thornhill
Kollock, Dr.
Lewis, Dr.
Liddon, Canon
Lilley, J. Osborne
Logan, John
Lyth, Dr.
Macculloch, R.
Maclaren, A.
Magie, Dr.
Manning, W.
Marriott, John
Mathew, G.
Maurice, F. D.
McAuslane, Dr.
Melvill, H.
Miall, G. R.
Milne, John
Milner, Dr.
Moore, Charles
Monks, Richard
Monod, Horace
Morgan, James
Neave, Thomas
Nesbit, R.
Newman, John Henry
Norton, John N.
Oliver, T.
Packer, John
Parker, Dr.
Parkes, William
Parkman, R. C.
Piele, Dr.
Pott, J. H.
Pratten, B. P.
Punshon, Dr.
Rawlinson, John
Reeve, William
Roberts, Arthur
Roberts, William
Robins, S.
Robjohns, H. T.
Salomon, G.
Scott, Adam
Shedd, Dr.
Sherman, J.
Sherwood, J. M.
Shuttleworth, Dr.
Simcock, J. Macrae
Skelton
Smith, George
Spencer, Thomas
Spurgeon, C. H.
Statham, W. M.
"Stems and Twigs"
Stirling, J.
Storrs, Dr.
Superville, Daniel de
Talmage, Dr.
Taylor. Dr. W. M.
Thodey, Samuel
Thomas, Dr. David
Thompson, B.
Tucker, Dr.
Villiers, H. M.
Walker, H. F.
Watson, Richard
Watt, John
Wood, J. R.
Woodford, J. R.
TIMES, SEASONS, AND OCCASIONS.
Advent Sermons
Bible Society Sermon
Christmas Sermons
Death of a Statesman
Easter Sunday
First Sunday of the Year
Freehold Land Society Sermon
Funeral Sermon
Harvest Thanksgiving
Last Sermon of the Year
Missionary Sermons
Ordination or Visitation Sermons
Parliamentary Election Sermon
Peace Society Sermons
Seamen, Sermon to
Sunday-School Anniversary
Temperance Sermons
Thanksgiving Sermon
Time of National Distress
Trinity Sunday
Whitsuntide
TEXTS.
i. 1. The Prophet of the Lord
i. 2. Prophecy the Voice of God
i. 2, 3. An Appeal and an Argument
i. 2-6. God's Indictment against Israel
i. 3. Thoughtlessness
Inconsiderateness
Things to be Considered
Religious Consideration
Instinct Followed--Reason Disregarded
i. 4. Iniquity a Burden
Transmitted Depravity
Forsaking the Lord
i. 5. Moral Obduracy
Needless Stripes
i. 5-8. Total Depravity
i. 9. God's Reluctance to Punish
i. 10. The Summons to Jerusalem
i. 11. Rejected Sacrifices
i. 11, 16, 17. True and False Religion
i. 13. The Possibilities of Public Worship
i. 14. God Oppressed
i. 15. Worthless Husks
Reasons for the Rejection of Prayer
A Startling Charge
i. 16. Moral Ablution
A Plain Command
i. 17. The Great Task
The Noblest Art
The Oppressed and Their Relief
God's Ideal of Goodness
i. 18. God's Gracious Invitation to Sinners
Cleansing for the Vilest
Comfort for the Desponding
Sin and Grace
Self-scrutiny in God's Presence
i. 19-20. Sinners Self-destroyed
i. 20. The Certainty of the Destruction of the Impenitent
i. 21-23. Moral Declension
i. 21. An Illustrious Inhabitant
i. 22. The Possible Degeneracy of Valuable Things
i. 24. A Terrible Resolve
i. 24-27. The Purpose of Punishment
i. 25, 26. The Divine Idea of Redemption
i. 26. Social Regeneration
i. 27, 28. The Twofold Effect of Divine Judgments
i. 28. Forsaking the Lord
i. 28-31. The Doom of the Apostates
i. 31. The Tow and the Spark
ii. 1-5. Isaiah's Vision of the Last Days
ii. 2-5. The Latter-Day Glory
ii. 2. The Future Triumphs of the Gospel
ii. 4. The Cessation of War
ii. 5. The Light of the Lord
The Walk of the Soul in the Light of the Lord
ii. 6-22. A Terrible Picture
Heb. xiii. 5,
ii. 6. God's People Forsaken
ii. 6. Forsaken of God
ii. 6-9. The Material and the Moral
ii. 10. The Sinner's Danger and Refuge
ii. 17. God Exalted in the Great Day
ii. 18. The Great Dethronement
ii. 22. Man's Insignificance and God's Supremacy
Lessons from a National Bereavement
iii. 1-3. The Death of Statesmen
iii. 1-8. National Greatness
iii. 9. Shameless Sinners
iii. 10, 11. Cheering Words and Solemn Warnings
The Great Law of Recompense
iii. 12. The Curse of a Weak Government
Blind Leaders
iii. 15. Oppression of the Poor
iii. 13-15. The Pleader and the Judge
iii. 16, 17. Haughtiness
iii. 16--iv. 1. Female Pride and Luxury
iv. 1. The Desolating and Disorganising Power of War
iv. 2-6. The Divine Ideal of Israel Realised
iv. 2-5. God's Perpetual Presence with His People
iv. 4. The Cleansing Spirit
v. 1-7. The Parable of the Vineyard
The Parable of the Vineyard
Great Privileges
v. 2. Divine Disappointments
v. 4. The Inexcusability and Hopelessness of Unbelief
v. 4-6. A Sad Canticle
v. 7, 8. On the Advantage of Small Allotments of Land to the
Poor
v. 8-21. Wild Grapes
v. 8-10. Covetousness
v. 8. God's Curse on the Covetous
v. 11. The Miseries of the Drunkard
v. 11-17. National Ungodliness
v. 11, 12. Sensuality
v. 12. Earthly Amusement
Festivity and Forgetfulness
v. 13-15. The Evils of Ignorance
v. 14, 15. Death and the Grave
v. 18. Cords of Vanity
Cords and Cart-Ropes
v. 19. Scepticism
v. 20. The Influence of Language on Character
The Sin of Confounding Good and Evil
On the Perversion of Right and Wrong
The Sin of Using Wrong Names
Moral Perversity
v. 21. Self-Conceit
Intellectual Pride
v. 22. The Woe of the Drunkard
The Woe of the Drunkard
Drink and Its Woes
v. 24. The Doom of Despisers
v. 24-30. The Doom of Impenitent Israel
vi. 1-12. The Prophet's Call
vi. 1, 2, 5-7. The Service of the Seraphim
vi. 1-3. The Trinity in Unity
vi. 1-5. Revelations of God
vi. 1-7. Isaiah's Vision
vi. 1-2. The Seraphim
vi. 2. A Glorious Example
vi. 2-4. The Seraphim and Their Song
vi. 5-7. A Sight of God and a Sense of Sin
vi. 5-8. The Moral History of a Rising Soul
vi. 8. Volunteer Service
Messengers Wanted
vi. 9, 10. A Strange and Sad Errand
The Rejection of Divine Truth
vi. 11-13. The Duration of the Prophet's Mission
vii. 1-9. Fears and Comforts
Faith's Impregnable Citadel
vii. 1, 2. Purpose and Panics
vii. 3-25. Isaiah's Interview with Ahaz
vii. 4. A Threefold Counsel
Heedfulness
vii. 9. Faith, The Condition of Firmness
Stability through Faith
vii. 12. Man's Imagined Independence of God
Momentous Decisions
Irreligious Piety
vii. 13. Trials of the Divine Patience
vii. 13-16. The Virgin's Son
vii. 14. Immanuel
vii. 15. The Great Object of Child-Training
vii. 17-25. A Sentence of Doom
viii. 1-4. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
viii. 5-8. The Stream Rejected for the River
viii. 6-8. The Waters of Shiloah
viii. 9, 10. Threatened, But Safe
viii. 11-15. Biblical Politicians
viii. 13. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
viii. 14. God Our Refuge, or Our Ruin
The Stone of Stumbling
Sanctuary in God
viii. 16-18. The Duty of Teachers of Truth in Times of
National Perversion
viii. 17. Waiting on the Lord in Desertion and Gloom
Penitential Waiting on God
viii. 19-22. Necromancy
viii. 20. The Law and the Testimony
viii. 21, ix. 13. Unsanctified Suffering
ix. 2-7. The Remedy of the World's Misery
ix. 3. The Joy of Harvest
ix. 6. The Titles and Government of Christ
The Government of Christ
His Name . . . Wonderful
Christ our Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace
ix. 7. The Empire of Christ
The Security for the Fulfilment of God's Promises
ix. 8-x. 4. The Outstretched Hand of God
ix. 10. Wise Lessons from Wicked Lips
ix. 14. The Duty of the Afflicted
ix. 15, 16. Leadership
ix. 17. Two Constant Feelings in the Mind of God
Divine Anger
ix. 19. The Destructiveness of Sin
x. 1-4. Legalised Injustice
x. 3. The Day of Visitation
x. 5-34. The Assyrian Invasion of Judah
The Assyrian
x. 7-15. Man Proposes, God Disposes
x. 20. A Happy Conversion
x. 20-23. The Remnants of Society
xi. and xii. Isaiah's Vision of the King and His Kingdom
xi. 2. The Spirit of the Lord
xi. 3. The Righteous Judge
xi. 9. The Universal Diffusion and Redemptive Power of the
Knowledge of God
The Diffusion of the Knowledge of God
xi. 10. The Ensign of the Nations
xi. 10-16. The Reconciler of Men
xii. 1. A New Song for New Hearts
xii. 3. Wells of Salvation
xii. 6. The Duty of Gladness
xiii. 1. The Proud City Doomed
xiii. 6. The Day of the Lord
xiii. 16. The Doom of the Children of Babylon
xiii. 17. The Love of Money
xiii. 18. Spare the Children
xiii. 19. Sodom and Gomorrah
xiv. 3, 4. The Joy of Salvation
xiv. 9-12. The Grave and Its Mysteries
xiv. 11. The Contrasts of Death
The Conqueror Conquered
xiv. 20. The Seed of Evildoers
xiv. 32. A Memorable Answer
xvi. 4. God's Outcasts
xvi. 12. Fruitless
xvii. 5-7. Diminutions and Changes of Life
xvii. 7, 8. Sanctified Affliction
xvii. 10, 11. Forgetfulness of God
xvii. 12. The Punishment of the Wicked
xix. 1-3, 14. True National Greatness
xix. 18-20. An Altar and a Saviour for Egypt
xix. 27 Chastisement
xxi. 11, 12. The Burden of Dumah
Night and Morning
A Momentous Inquiry
xxi. 15. The Grievousness of War
xxii. 18. The Irresistibleness of God's Judgments
xxii. 24. The Glory of the Messiah
xxiv. 15. Glorifying God in the Fires
xxv. 1. The Grand Appropriation
xxv. 6-8. The Gospel Feast
The Blessings of the Gospel
xxv. 8. The Triumphs of Christ
A Sorrowless World
xxv. 9. Advent Thoughts and Joys
xxv. 10. The Protecting Hand
xxvi. 1-2. Days of Deliverance
xxvi. 3-4. Perfect Peace
Peaceful Keeping
xxvi. 7. The Righteousness of God and His People
The Just Man's Security
xxvi. 8. The Way of God's Judgments
xxvi. 8, 9. Trust and Trials
xxvi. 9. Night Longings for God
The Necessity and Profitableness of Chastisement
xxvi. 9, 10. The Use and Abuse of the Judgments of God
xxvi. 12. National Peace the Gift of God
Holiness Accomplished, Peace Ordained
Man's Holiness, God's Workmanship
xxvi. 13, 14. Spiritual Usurpers Renounced
xxvi. 16. Prayer in Trouble
xxvi. 19. National Revival
xxvi. 20. God's Invitation to Shelter
Chambers of Safety
Religious Retirement
xxvii. 2, 3. God's Goodness to the Church
The Song to the Vineyard
xxvii. 4, 5. A Solemn Disclaimer
xxvii. 5. Taking Hold of God's Strength
xxvii. 6. The Future Prosperity of Israel
xxvii. 8. The Day of the East Wind
The Storms of Life
xxvii. 7-9. The Afflictions of God's People
xxvii. 9. The Discipline of Sin
xxvii. 10, 11. The Doom of the Incorrigible
xxvii. 13. The Gospel Trumpet
The Great Trumpet
xxviii. 1-4. England's Crying Sin
xxviii. 5, 6. The Believer's Dignity and Power
xxviii. 9, 10. Early Religious Training
xxviii. 10. The Power of Littles
xxviii. 12. Rejecters of the Gospel Admonished
xxviii. 16. The Sure Foundation
Our Trust and Our Test
A Tested Saviour
xxviii. 17. False Refuges
xxviii. 18. False Refuges
xxviii. 20. The Short Bed and the Narrow Covering
xxviii. 22. Irreligious Mockery
xxviii. 24, 25. The Parable of the Husbandman
xxviii. 29. A Feast for Faith
xxix. 1. Ariel
xxix. 7, 8. Dreaming
xxix. 8. Awakened from the Dream
The Futility of Fighting against Mount Zion
xxix. 13, 14. Lip-Service Instead of Heart-Worship
xxix. 19. The Joy of the Meek
Religious Joy
xxx. 1-3. The Origin and the End of Sin
xxx. 7. Strength in Quietness
Some Aspects of Ministerial Duty
xxx. 9-11. Dislike to Ministerial Fidelity
xxx. 15. Christian Quietness
xxx. 15, 16. The Vanity of Earthly Help in Time of Trial,
and the Profit of Patient Waiting
xxx. 15-17. Divine Salvation Rejected
xxx. 18. Waiting, Divine and Human
Waiting for the Lord
xxx. 19. God's Readiness to Listen to the Needy
xxx. 20, 21. The Bread of Adversity
xxx. 21. The Guiding Voice
xxx. 25, 26. Rivers of Waters
xxx. 26. Growing Light
xxx. 29-33. The Earthly Song and the Heavenly Voice
xxx. 33. Tophet Ordained of Old
xxxi. 1-3. The Only Counsellor
xxxi. 3. The Spirituality of the Divine Nature
xxxi. 6. A Call to the Revolted
xxxi. 9. The Fiery Ordeal of the Church
xxxii. 2. The Preciousness of Christ
The Christian's Refuge
Rivers of Water in a Dry Place
Comfort in Christ
xxxii. 8. Christian Liberality
xxxii. 11. A Call to the Careless
xxxii. 13-15. The Essential Condition of Missionary Success
xxxii. 15. The Moral Wilderness Transformed
xxxii. 17. Peace the Work of Righteousness
xxxii. 18. The Peaceful Habitation
xxxii. 20. Spiritual Husbandry
The Use of Opportunities
xxxiii. 1. Providence
xxxiii. 2. The Saint's Attitude in the Time of Trouble
xxxiii. 6. The Importance of Religious Knowledge
xxxiii. 7-12. God Avenging His Own Elect
xxxiii. 15-17. A Blessed Life
xxxiii. 15, 16. Nobility and Security
xxxiii. 16. The Blessedness of the Servant of God
xxxiii. 17. The Prospect of the Godly
The Beauty of Christ's Character
xxxiii. 20. Characteristics of the Church of Christ
xxxiii. 21. Enriching Rivers
xxxiii. 22. A Controlling Fact
The Atonement; or, Salvation Consistent with the
Regal and Judicial Character of God
xxxiii. 23. The Disabled Ship
xxxiii. 24. No Sickness There
Recovery from Sickness
xxxiv. 8. The Controversy of Zion
xxxiv. 16. A Call to Study
The Book That Will Endure Testing
xxxiv. 16, 17. The Certainty of God's Judgments
xxxv. 1, 2, 7. Transformation
xxxv. 3, 4. Encouragement for the Timid
xxxv. 5, 6. The Healer and Joy-Giver
The Curse Done Away
xxxv. 7. Beautiful Visions Exchanged for Realities
xxxv. 8-10. The Exiles' Return
The Road to the City
xxxv. 10. The Happiness of Heaven
The Banishment of Sorrow
xxxvi. 4. Modern Rabshakehs, And Their Attempts to Terrify
God's People into a Humble Surrender
xxxvi. 5. In Whom Art Thou Trusting?
xxxvi. 21. Hezekiah's Prudent Silence
xxxvii. 1. A Foolish King and a Wise One
xxxvii. 14. A King in Trouble
Spreading the Letter before the Lord
xxxvii. 15-20. A King's Prayer
xxxvii. 20. A Christian Prayer
xxxvii. 31. The Christian Church a Continuation of the Jewish
xxxviii. 1-19. Hezekiah's Prayer
xxxviii. 1. Preparation for Death
Duties of the Sick and Dying
xxxviii. 2, 3. Distress in Prospect of Death
xxxviii. 10. The Shortening of Human Life
xxxviii. 14. A Cry for Help
The Suretyship of Christ
xxxviii. 15-20. Hezekiah's Resolution
xxxviii. 15. The Restoration of Belief
xxxviii. 17. A Great Deliverance
Forgiveness of Sin
xxxviii. 18, 19. The Song of Hezekiah
xxxviii. 19. Praise for Preservation
xxxix. 1, 2. Hezekiah's Strength and Weakness
xxxix. 4. Home Life and Influence
xxxix. 8. Hezekiah Tried
Submission Under God's Rebuke
APPENDIX.
- Introduction
- Alexander's translation of Isaiah
- Delitzsch's translation of Isaiah
- Calkins' translation of Isaiah lii. 12-liii.
- Urwick's translation of Isaiah lii. 12-liii.
ISAIAH.
INTRODUCTION.
Of Isaiah, "the evangelical prophet," nothing is _known_ beyond what
we are told of him in the Scriptures. Various traditions concerning
him are current among the Jews, such as that his father Amoz was
brother of King Amaziah, and that he himself died a martyr's death,
being sawn asunder by order of Manasseh; but all that is _certain_
is, that he was the son of Amoz; that his prophetic ministry
commenced in the reign of Uzziah, and closed in that of Hezekiah (ch.
i. 1); that his wife was a prophetess (ch. viii. 3), and bare him two
sons (ch. vi. 3; viii. 3); and that he was the author of a portion
of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (2 Chron. xxvi. 22).
His name signifies _The Salvation of the Lord,_ and this--_the
salvation which God works for His people from their sins and
consequent misery_--is the great, though not the exclusive, theme of
his prophecy.
The length of his ministry is variously estimated. The lowest
estimate would make it comprise forty-nine years, from the last year
of Uzziah to the seventeenth of Hezekiah (B.C. 759-710); the highest,
sixty-four years, from the fourth year before Uzziah's death to the
last year of Hezekiah (B.C. 762-698).
In the following Commentary it is assumed that the whole of the
sixty-six chapters of which the Book of Isaiah is composed, were
written by one pen. For clear and conclusive refutations of the
theory of a second Isaiah, see the introductions to the Commentaries
of Alexander, Delitsch, and Kay, and the article ISAIAH in Smith's,
Kitto's, and Fairbairn's _Dictionaries of the Bible._
Appended are Ewald's criticisms on Isaiah's style,[1] and some
admirable observations by Dr. Kay on the _title_ of Isaiah's
prophecy, which readers of it will do to bear in mind throughout.[2]
FOOTNOTES.
[1] In Isaiah we see prophetic authorship reaching its
culminating point. Everything conspired to raise him to an
elevation which no prophet before or after could as writer
attain. Among the other prophets, each of the more
important ones is distinguished by some one particular
excellence, and some one particular talent. In Isaiah all
kinds of talent, and all beauties of prophetic discourse,
meet together, so as mutually to temper and qualify each
other; it is not so much any single feature that
distinguished him as the symmetry and perfection of the
whole.
We cannot fail to assume, as the first condition of
Isaiah's particular historical greatness, a native power,
and a vivacity of spirit which, even among prophets, is
seldom to be met with. It is but rarely that we see
combined in one and the same spirit the three several
characteristics of--first, the most profound prophetic
excitement and the purest sentiment; next, the most
indefatigable and successful practical activity amidst all
perplexities and changes of outward life; and, thirdly,
that facility and beauty in representing thought which is
the characteristic of the genuine poet; but this threefold
combination we find realised in Isaiah as in no other
prophet; and form the traces which we can perceive of the
unceasing joint-working of these three powers, we must draw
our conclusions as to the original greatness of his genius.
But as prophet and as author, Isaiah stands upon that calm,
sunny height, which in each several branch of ancient
literature one eminently favoured spirit at the right time
takes possession of; which seems, as it were, to have been
waiting for _him;_ and which, when he has come and mounted
the ascent, seems to keep and guard him to the last as its
own right man. In the sentiments which he expresses, in the
topics of his discourses, and in the manner of expression,
Isaiah uniformly reveals himself as the kingly prophet.
In reference to the last-named point, it cannot be said
that his method of elaborating thought is elaborate and
artificial: it rather shows a lofty simplicity and an
unconcern about external attractiveness, abandoning itself
freely to the leading and requirement of each several
thought; but, nevertheless, it always rolls along in a full
stream which overpowers all resistance, and never fails at
the right place to accomplish at every turn its object
without toil or effort.
The progress and development of the discourse is always
majestic, achieving much with few words, which, though
short, are yet clear and transparent; an overflowing
fulness of thought, which might readily lose itself in the
vast and indefinite, but which always at the right time
with tight rein collects and tempers its exuberance; to the
bottom exhausting the thought and completing the utterance,
and yet never too diffuse. This severe self-control is the
most admirably seen in those shorter utterances which by
briefly-sketched images and thoughts give us the vague
apprehension of something infinite, whilst, nevertheless,
they stand before us complete in themselves and clearly
delineated; _e.g._, viii. 6--ix. 6, xiv. 23-32, xviii. 1-7,
xxi. 11, 12; while in the long piece, xxviii.-xxxii., if
the composition here and there for a moment languishes, it
is only to lift itself again afresh with all the greater
might. In this rich and thickly-crowded fulness of thought
and word it is but seldom that the simile which is employed
appears apart, to set forth and complete itself (xxxi. 4,
5); in general, it crowds into the delineation of the
object which it is meant to illustrate, and is swallowed up
in it,--ay, and frequently simile after simile; and yet the
many threads of the discourse, which for a moment appeared
ravelled together, soon disentangle themselves into perfect
clearness;--a characteristic which belongs to this prophet
alone, a freedom of language which with no one else so
easily succeeds.
The versification, in like manner, is always full, and yet
strongly marked: while, however, this prophet is so little
concerned about anxiously weighing out to each verse its
proper number of words, not unfrequently he repeats the
same word in two members (xxxi. 8, xxxii. 17, xi. 5,
xix. 13), as if, with so much power and beauty in the
matter within, he did not so much require a painstaking
finish in the outside. The structure of the strophe is
always easy and beautifully rounded.
Still the main point lies here,--that we cannot in the case
of Isaiah, as in that of other prophets, specify any
particular peculiarity, or any favourite colour as
attaching to his general style. _He is not the especially
lyrical prophet, or the especially elegiacal prophet, or
the especially oratorical and hortatory prophet, as we
should describe a Joel, a Hosea, a Micah, with whom there
is a greater prevalence of some particular colour; but,
just as the subject requires, he has readily at command
every several kind of style and every several change of
delineation; and it is precisely this that, in point of
language, establishes his greatness, as well as in general,
forms out of his most towering points of excellence._ His
only fundamental peculiarity is the lofty, majestic,
calmness of his style, proceeding out of the perfect
command which he feels he possesses over his subject
matter. This calmness, however, no way demands that the
strain shall not, when occasion required, be more
vehemently excited, and assail the hearer with mightier
blows; but even the extremest excitement, which does here
and there intervene, is in the main bridled still by the
same spirit of calmness, and, not overstepping the limits
which that spirit assigns, it soon with lofty self-control
returns to its wonted tone of equability (ii. 10--iii. 1,
xxviii. 11-23, xxix. 9-14). Neither does this calmness in
discourse require that the subject shall always be treated
only in a plain level way, without any variation of form;
rather, Isaiah shows himself master in just that variety of
manner which suits the relation in which his hearers stand
to the matter now in hand. If he wishes to bring home to
their minds a distant truth which they like not to hear,
and to judge them by a sentence pronounced by their own
mouth, he retreats into a popular statement of a case drawn
from ordinary life (v. 1-6, xxviii. 23-20). If he will draw
the attention of the over wise to some new truth, or to
some future prospect, he surprises them by a brief oracle
clothed in an enigmatical dress, leaving it to their
penetration to discover its solution (vii. 14-16,
xxix. 1-8). When the unhappy temper of the people's minds
which nothing can amend leads to loud lamentation, his
speech becomes for a while the strain of elegy and lament
(i. 21-23, xxii. 4, 5). Do the frivolous leaders of the
people mock? he outdoes them at their own weapons, and
crushes them under the fearful earnest of divine mockery
(xxviii. 10-13). Even a single ironical word in passing
will drop from the lofty prophet (xxvii. 3, _glory_). Thus
his discourse varies into every complexion: _it is tender
and stern, didactic and threatening, mourning and again
exulting in divine joy, mocking and earnest;_ but ever at
the right time it returns to its original elevation and
repose, and never loses the clear ground-colour of its
divine seriousness.--_Ewald, quoted in Smith's Dictionary
of the Bible,_ vol. i. pp. 888, 889, article ISAIAH.
[2] The title of the book is _"The_ VISION _of Isaiah,"_ which
suggests these remarks--
(1.) Being a _vision,_ it will frequently speak of events
that are yet future, as if they had already occurred. So in
iii. 8: "Jerusalem _is ruined;_ Judah _is fallen."_ In
v. 13: "Therefore my people _are gone into captivity._"
(2.) What is seen in vision must be subject to the laws of
_perspective._ One who views the snowy Alps from a distance
may see two mountain peaks, which really are many miles
apart, as one object. The illustration is imperfect; yet it
may serve to explain how, to the eye of a seer, a nearer
event may be blended with one that is _in the same
direction, but vastly more remote;_ the type, for instance,
melting into the antitype, or the interval between the
first and second advents of the Messiah being indiscernible.
(3.) It is, as a whole, _The Vision;_--_one_ vision. It
consists, indeed, of various parts; yet from the very
outset these represent the same _vision._ Judah _is
rebellious; is sentenced to exile; is redeemed; is
purified. These elements, on a large scale, compose the
book as a whole;_ and, on a smaller scale, they compose the
first chapter. The body is made up of portions similar in
quality to itself, and to each other. The visions are
greatly diversified in size, form, colouring, and other
detail; but in essential characteristics it is one
vision.--_Dr. Kay, in The Speaker's Commentary,_ vol. v. p.
19.
THE PROPHET OF THE LORD.
i. 1. _The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah._
+I. The nature of the prophet's endowment:+ a "vision" into the very
heart of things, a power of distinguishing between the seeming and
the real. +II. The sadness and the joy of the prophet's life:+
sadness arising from his "vision" of human sin (vers. 2-15); joy
arising from his "vision" of the wondrousness of the Divine mercy
(ver. 18).
_Application._--1. In these latter days the prophetic endowment, to a
greater or lesser extent, is possessed by all God's people (1 John
ii. 20). 2. The Church should pray that it may be possessed to the
fullest extent by all who are called to minister in holy things.
Prophets of clear and penetrating "vision" are among the greatest
gifts which God can confer upon the Church.[1] 3. This great
endowment must be used not merely for the detection and exposure of
human sin, lest we become cynical and inhuman, but also for the
discovery of the abounding evidence of the Divine compassion (as in
v. 9), that we may be brought into more perfect sympathy with Him who
hates sin but desires and seeks to save the sinner.
FOOTNOTES.
[1] A preacher who is not in some way a seer is not a preacher
at all. You can never make people see religious realities
by correct definitions. They will not believe in the
reality of God on the word of a man who merely demonstrates
it to them. You must see such things yourself if you are
going to help others to see them. This is the secret of all
the preaching that ever was good since preaching
began.--_Beecher._
PROPHECY THE VOICE OF GOD.
i. 2. _The Lord hath spoken._
Thus at the very outset of this book Divine authority is claimed for
the utterances contained in it. Three views may be taken of the
writings of the Hebrew prophets. 1. They are the writings of men who
knew they were uttering that which is false when they claimed to be
messengers of the Most High. 2. They are the writings of enthusiasts
who mistook the ecstasies of their excited imaginations for Divine
inspirations. 3. They are the writings of holy men who were inspired
by the Holy Ghost.
Against the first of these views is to be set the fact that the whole
influence of the prophets was exerted on behalf of national
righteousness and individual virtue; that for these things they
suffered; that for these things some of them died. Is it credible
that men who _so_ sought to promote _such_ ends would begin and
continue their mission with a blasphemous lie?
Against the second is to be set the fact that many of their
predictions have been fulfilled--fulfilled after intervals, so long,
and with such minute accuracy, that sceptics have sought to account
for such fulfilments by asserting that the prophecies were written
subsequently to the events to which they refer; an assertion which
the most competent scholars repel even with contempt.
There remains then only the third view; and in support of it may be
urged--in addition to the _conclusive_ fact just named--such
considerations as these: 1. That their conceptions of God and of
human duty are such as to satisfy the loftiest demands of the most
enlightened reason and the best instructed conscience. Give examples
(ch. xl. 12-26; lviii. 3-7, &c.) 2. That their conceptions of God and
of human duty have not been surpassed by those of the sublimest poets
or the ablest philosophers of any subsequent age. 3. That their
sublime conceptions of God and of human duty, which still stand as
the Alps or Himalaya of human thought, were given to the world in an
age when, with the exception only of the prophets and those who
accepted their teaching, the whole human race was given over to the
most debasing idolatries and superstitions. 4. That the Hebrew
prophets stood out in regard to these conceptions not only distinct
from the men of their own age, but from the men of their own nation,
from whom they had only words of rebuke, and against whose most
cherished convictions and steadfast tendencies they set themselves in
resolute opposition. Give examples (ch. i. 11-15; lxvi. 1, 2, &c.) If
due weight be given to these considerations, we shall see that there
is no escape from the conclusion that the Hebrew prophets owed their
conceptions of God and duty to God Himself. They spake and wrote as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
If this be so, then--1. We should earnestly study the prophetic
utterances. How mentally as well as morally debased is the man who is
not alert and concerned to hear and understand what "the LORD hath
spoken"! 2. Such of their utterances as are predictive should kindle
within us confident and joyful hopes. They are the promises of Him
who cannot lie, and who has ample power to perform. 3. To those which
are preceptive we should give prompt, comprehensive, and careful
obedience. To withhold such obedience, is to array against ourselves
omnipotent power; to yield it, is to secure for ourselves eternal
rewards (ch. iii. 10, 11).
AN APPEAL AND AN ARGUMENT.
i. 2, 3. _Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the
Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children,
and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his
owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not
know, my people doth not consider._
+I. The unnaturalness of sin.+ The heavens and the earth obey the
laws to which they have been subjected; the very beasts are faithful
to their instincts; it is only man who falls in duty and goes astray.
+II. The baseness of ingratitude:+ as displayed--1. By man to man;[1]
2. By children to their parents;[2] 3. By men to their Heavenly
Father.[3] +III. The reasonableness of God's claim to their obedience
and love.+ 1. He is our Father.[4] 2. To all parental duties He has
been faithful. 3. He has been more than faithful; He has caused our
cup to run over with His lovingkindness.[5] +IV. Privilege is the
measure of responsibility and the aggravation of guilt.+ The point of
the condemnation in these verses does not lie in the contrast between
the conduct of animals and men, but in the contrast between the
conduct of animals and that of God's people. "_Israel_ doth not know,
_my people_ doth not consider!" This is the wonder and the
monstrosity. That privilege is the measure of responsibility and the
aggravation of guilt, is a very familiar truth; a truth often
forgotten; and yet absolutely certain and tremendously important
(Luke xii. 48; Heb. vi. 7, 8). What need _we_ have to lay it to heart!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All should unite to punish the ungrateful:
Ingratitude is treason to mankind.--_Thomson._
He that's ungrateful has no guilt but one;
All other crimes may pass for virtues in him.--_Young._
[2] Sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child.--_Shakespeare._
[3] An ungracious soul may be burdened with many sins; but she
never makes up her full load till she hath added the sin of
unthankfulness. He leaves out no evil in a man who calls
him unthankful. Ingratitude dissolves the joints of the
whole world. A barren ground is less blamed, because it
hath not been dressed. But till it with the plough; trust
it with seed; let the clouds bless it with their rain, the
sun with his heat, the heavens with their influence, and
then if it be unfertile, the condition is worse; before it
was contemned, now it is cursed (Heb. vi. 8).--_Adams,_
1654.
Some are such brutes, that, like swine, their nose is
nailed to the trough in which they feed; they have not the
use of their understanding so far as to lift their eye to
heaven, and say, "There dwells that God that provides this
for me, that God by whom I live."--_Gurnall._
You would count it a sad spectacle to behold a man in a
lethargy, with his senses and reason so blasted by his
disease that he knows not his nearest friends, and takes no
notice of those that tend him, or bring his daily food to
him. How many such senseless wretches are at this day lying
upon God's hands! He ministers daily to their necessities,
but they take no notice of His care and
goodness.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
The frozen snake in the fable stingeth him that refreshed
it. Thus is it with all unthankful men: God leadeth them
daily with benefits and blessings, and they load Him with
sins and trespasses.--_Stapleton,_ 1535-1598.
[4] It is an excellent representation of St. Austin: if a
sculptor, after his fashioning a piece of marble in a human
figure, could inspire it with life and sense, and give it
motion and understanding and speech, can it be imagined not
the first act of it would be to prostrate itself at the
feet of the maker in subjection and thankfulness, and to
offer whatever it is, and can do, as homage to him? The
almighty hand of God formed our bodies. He breathed into us
the spirit of life, and should not the power of love
constrain us to live wholly to His will?--_Bates,_
1625-1629.
[5] We find the fiercest things that live,
The savage born, the wildly rue,
When soothed by Mercy's hand will give
Some faint response of gratitude.
But man!--oh! blush, ye lordly race!--
Shrink back, and question thy proud heart!
Dost thou not lack that thankful grace
Which ever forms the soul's best part?
Wilt thou not take the blessings given,
The priceless boon of ruddy health,
The sleep unbroken, peace unriven,
The cup of joy, the mine of wealth?
Wilt thou not take them all, and yet
Walk from the cradle to the grave
Enjoying, boasting, and forget
To think upon the God that gave?
Thou'lt even kneel to blood-stained kings,
Nor fear to have thy serfdom known;
Thy knee will bend for bauble things,
Yet fail to seek its Maker's throne.--_Eliza Cook_
GOD'S INDICTMENT AGAINST ISRAEL.
i. 2-6. _Hear, O heavens, &c._
God sometimes speaks to man abruptly; when this is done, the truth
expressed demands the most profound attention. In our text the
heavens and the earth are suddenly called to attend to what is about
to be said; God is charging the human race with fearful wrongs; the
matter at issue is between the creature and Creator, child and
Parent. Our attention is called to--
+I. The Fatherhood of God.+ "I have nourished," &c. Divine paternity
is a truth which runs through the whole Bible, here and there shining
out with resplendent lustre, as in our text. The fatherhood of God
was manifested towards Israel--1. In _supply._ As it affected the
Jewish nation this declaration (I have nourished, &c.) pressed with
tremendous force. Their supplies were marked by miracle, at least all
the time they were in the wilderness; and the utterance has weight
to-day. All nature is made to minister to man's necessities. 2. In
_guardianship._ "Brought up children." This should have been
sufficient to strike the ear as a thunderclap, seeing how far they
had strayed from Him. Out of a mean, despised, and enslaved people He
had developed a wealthy, mighty nation; and His guardianship reaches
to all to-day. 3. In _defence._ The early history of these people was
one unbroken chain of Divine interpositions. From the first day Moses
stood before the king, until they were fully established in
Palestine, God's arm was stretched out to defend them. The blood on
the door-post, their sea-path, and the sea-grave of the Egyptians,
together with the hovering cloud in the wilderness, all speak of
strong defence; and still there are evidences of defence in the life
of every man.
+II. The wickedness of man.+ Men are universally the same; as the
father so is the son, as the Jew so is the Gentile; and hence in this
chapter we have a true picture of the whole human family. Let us mark
some of the many features of guilt: 1. _Degeneracy._ God bears with
weaknesses and infirmities, but wilful backsliding He abhors. The
Jews were evil-doers; they went astray from God and all that was
good. It is the wilful sinning of men that now grieves Him.
2. _Insensibility._ Wrong-doing is sure to produce wrong feeling, or,
what is worse, no feeling at all. A sinful life results in a dark
heart. Here is a people more insensible of good bestowed than the
stupid ox or more stupid ass; and there are still persons to be found
less acquainted with the source of their supplies than the dumb,
unconscious brute.[1] 3. _Defiance._ They rebelled against God. Fear
ceased to check them, and hatred led them to bold, defiant deeds. The
day was to them as the night, and oppression and murder were but
small sins to be indulged in. So it is with many to-day; they have no
shame, remorse, or compunction for sin, openly defying the living God.
+III. The purpose of Divine chastisement.+ No true parent finds any
pleasure in chastising his children, and any pain inflicted without
pure motives would be an evil. God corrects--1. _To restrain from
Sin._ This explains much that happened to the Israelites, and also
much that transpires in the history of all men. God sees the danger,
the leaning to wrong, and with Him prevention is better than cure.[2]
2. _To show the consequences of sin._ Men profess to be practical,
and wish to be practically dealt with; hence they say: "Words are not
enough; there must be blows." The transgressor must feel as well as
hear, or he will run mad. God has always taught men that His laws are
more than mere word-rules; there is force in them, and he that breaks
them must suffer. 3. _To bring to Himself._[3] Hence we often hear
Him say, "Why will ye be stricken any more?" Remonstrance always
precedes the lash to show His love and tenderness.--_Charles Jupe._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The stall-fed ox, that is grown fat, will know
His careful feeder, and acknowledge too;
The generous spaniel loves his master's eye,
And licks his fingers though no meat be by;
But man, ungrateful man, that's born and bred
By Heaven's immediate power; maintained and fed
By His providing hand; observed, attended,
By His indulgent grace; preserved, defended,
By His prevailing arm; this man, I say,
Is more ungrateful, more obdure than they.
Man, O most ungrateful man, can ever
Enjoy Thy gift, but never mind the Giver;
And like the swine, though pampered with enough,
His eyes are never higher than the trough.--_Frances Quarles._
[2] The consequences of sin are meant to warn from sin. The
penalty annexed to it is, in the first instance,
corrective, not penal. Fire burns the child, to teach it
one of the truths of this universe--the property of fire to
burn. The first time it cuts its hand with a sharp knife,
it has gained a lesson which it will never forget. Now, in
the case of pain, this experience is seldom, if ever, in
vain. There is little chance of a child forgetting that
fire will burn, and that sharp steel will cut; but the
moral lessons contained in the penalties annexed to
wrong-doing are just as truly intended to deter men from
evil, though they are by no means so unerring in enforcing
their application. The fever, in the veins and the headache
which succeed intoxication are meant to warn against
excess. On the first occasion they are simply corrective;
in every succeeding one they assume more and more a penal
character, in proportion as the conscience carries with
them the sense of ill-desert.--_F. W. Robertson,_ 1816-1853.
[3] If a sheep stray from his fellows, the shepherd sets his
dog after it, not to devour it, but to bring it again: even
so our Heavenly Shepherd, if any of us, His sheep, disobey
Him, sets His dog of affliction after us, not to hurt us,
but to bring us home to consideration of our duty towards
Him.--_Cowdray._
As the child, fearing nothing, is so fond of his play that
he strays and wanders from his mother, not so much as
thinking of her; but if he be scared or frighted with the
sight or apprehension of some apparent or approaching
danger, presently runs to her, casts himself into her arms,
and cries out to be saved and shielded by her: so we,
securely enjoying the childish sports of worldly
prosperity, do so fondly dote on them that we scarce think
of our Heavenly Father; but when perils and dangers
approach, and are ready to seize upon us, then we flee to
Him, and cast ourselves into the arms of His protection and
providence, crying and calling to Him by earnest prayer for
help and deliverance in this our extremity and
distress.--_Downame,_ 1644.
THOUGHTLESSNESS.
i.3. _The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib: but Israel doth not know, my people do not consider._
It is clear from this chapter that the Lord views the sin of mankind
with intense regret. Israel in this case is not so much a type of
believers as a representative of sinners in general. The greatest
difficulty in the world is to make men think. Consider--
+I. The common but serious fault here condemned.+ Men are most
inconsiderate--1. Towards God;[1] 2. towards their own best
interests;[2] 3. towards the claims of justice and gratitude.[3]
+II. Some things that make the commonness of this fault surprising.+
1. Men live without consideration upon a matter in regard to which
nothing but consideration will avail. Nothing can stand in lieu of
thoughtfulness in religion. In regard to other matters we can employ
others to think for us. But in this matter we must think for
ourselves. Religion is a spiritual business, and if a man lives and
dies refusing to consider, he has put away from him all hope of being
saved; for grace comes not into us by mechanical process, but the
Holy Spirit works upon the mind and soul. 2. This inconsideration is
practised in regard to a subject the consideration of which would be
abundantly remunerative, and would lead to the happiest results.[4]
+III. Some of the aggravations which attend it.+ 1. It is fallen into
by those of whom better things might reasonably have been expected.
"_Israel_ doth not know, _my people_ doth not consider." It is not
the heathen who act more stupidly than the brutes, but those whom God
has called to Himself, on whom He has conferred light and knowledge,
&c. 2. They have had their attention earnestly directed to the topics
which they still neglect. 3. They have also been chastised, in the
gracious endeavour to arouse them from their thoughtlessness. 4. Many
of them are very zealous in regard to outward religion, as were those
whom the prophet rebuked. 5. They have been most earnestly and
affectionately invited to turn to God by gracious promises (such as
ver. 18). 6. They have ability enough to consider other things.
+IV. Some of the secret causes of this widespread fault.+ 1. In the
case of many thoughtless persons we must lay the blame to the sheer
_frivolity of their nature_. 2. In every case the bottom reason is
_opposition to God Himself_. 3. Upon some minds the tendency to
_delay_ operates fearfully. 4. Some make an excuse for themselves for
not considering eternity, because _they are such eminently practical
men_. They are living for realities of the nature of hard case, and
will not be induced to indulge in fancies and notions.[5] 5. Many are
_prejudiced,_ because some Christian professor has not lived up to
his profession, or they have heard something which is said to be the
doctrine of the gospel of which they cannot approve. 6. In most cases
men _do not like to trouble themselves,_ and they have an
uncomfortable suspicion that if they were to look too narrowly into
their affairs, they would find things far from healthy.[6]--_C. H.
Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ vol. xviii. pp. 373-384.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] One would pardon them if they forgot many minor things, and
neglected many inferior persons; but to be inconsiderate to
their Creator, to their Preserver, to Him in whose hand
their everlasting destiny is placed, this is a strange
folly as well as a great sin. Whoever a courtier may
neglect, he is sure to consider his king. Men when they
start their sons in business will bid them mind the main
chance, and attend to the principal point, and especially
take care to stand well with such a man who has the power
to help or to ruin them. Men, as a general rule, are far
too ready to seek the assistance of those who are in power,
and this makes it all the more strange that the
all-powerful God, who lifteth up and casteth down, should
be altogether forgotten, or, when remembered, should still
be dishonoured by mankind. If it were only because He is
great, and we are so dependent upon Him, one would have
thought that a rational man would have acquainted himself
with God, and been at peace; but when we reflect that God
is supremely good, kind, tender, and gracious, as well as
great, the marvel of man's thoughtlessness is much
increased. Every good man desires to be on good terms with
the good; unusual goodness wins admiration, and an
invitation to associate with the eminently excellent is
usually accepted with pleasure; yet in the case of the
thrice holy God, whose name is Love, it is not so. All
attractions are in the character of God, and yet man shuns
his Maker. If God were a demon, man could hardly be more
cold towards Him.--_Spurgeon._
[2] When we ask men to attend to matters which do not concern
them, we are not astonished if they plead that they have no
time, and little thought to spare. If I were to address you
upon a matter which affected the interests of the dwellers
in the Dog-star, or had some relation to the inhabitants of
the moon, I should not marvel if you were to say, "Go to
those whom it may concern, and talk to them; but as for us,
the matter is so remote, that we take no interest in it."
But how shall we account for it that man will not know
about himself, and wilt not consider about his own soul?
Any trifle will attract him, but he will not consider his
own immortality, or meditate upon the joy or the misery
that must be his portion. It is in very truth a miracle of
human depravity--what if I say insanity--that man should be
unmindful of his best self.--_Spurgeon._
[3] I have known men who have said, "Let the heavens fall, but
let justice be done:" and they have scorned in their
dealings with their fellow-men to take any unrighteous
advantage, even though it were as little as the turning of
a hair. I have known some also who, if they were called
ungrateful, would indignantly spurn the charge. They would
count themselves utterly loathsome if they did not return
good to those who have done them good; and yet it may be
these very same persons have been throughout life unjust
towards God, and ungrateful towards Him to whom they owe
their being, and all that makes it endurable. The service,
the thankfulness, the love which are due to Him, they have
withheld.--_Spurgeon._
[4] We should not marvel at men if they would not think upon
topics which made them unhappy; but albeit there are some
who have suffered frightful depression of spirits in
connection with true religion, yet its general and ultimate
fruit has ever been peace and joy through believing in
Christ Jesus, and even the exceptions could be easily
accounted for. In some melancholy spirits their godliness
is too shallow to make them happy; they breathe so little
of the heavenly air that they are distressed for want of
more. In others the sorrow occasioned by gracious
reflection is but a preliminary and passing stage of grace;
there must be a ploughing before there can be a harvest;
there must be medicine for the disease before health
returns, and the newly-awakened are just in the stage and
the condition of drinking bitter medicine. This will soon
be over, and the results will be most admirable. A great
cloud of witnesses, among whom we joyfully take our place,
bear witness to the fact that the ways of the Lord are ways
of pleasantness. Our deepest joy lies now in knowing God,
and considering Him.--_Spurgeon._
[5] I only wish that those who profess to be practical were
more nearly so, for a practical man will always take more
care of his body than of his coat, certainly; then should
he not take more care of his soul than of the body, which
is but the garment of it? If he were a truly practical man,
he would do that. A practical man will always consider
matters in due proportion; he will not give all his mind to
a cricket-match and neglect his business. And yet how often
your practical man still more greatly errs; he devotes all
his time to money-making, and not a minute to the salvation
of his soul, and its preparation for eternity! Is this
practical? Why, sir, Bedlam itself is guilty of no worse
madness than that! There is not in all your wards a single
maniac who commits a more manifest act of insanity than a
man who spends all his force upon this fleeting life, and
lets the eternal future go by the board.--_Spurgeon._
[6] They are like the bankrupt before the court the other day
who did not keep books. Not he. He did not know how his
affairs stood, and, moreover, he did not want to know; he
did not like his books, and his books did not like him. He
was going to the bad, and he therefore tried to forget it.
They say of the silly ostrich that when she hides her head
in the sand, and does not see her pursuers, she thinks she
is safe; that is the policy of many men. They spread their
sails, and get up the steam, and go with double speed
straight ahead. What, not look at the chart! No, they do
not want to know whether there are rocks and breakers
ahead. Arrest that captain, put him in irons, and find a
sane man to take charge of the vessel. Oh for grace to
arrest that folly which is the captain of your bark, and
put sound sense in command, or else a spiritual shipwreck
is certain.--_Spurgeon._
INCONSIDERATENESS.
i. 3. _My people doth not consider._
+I. Inconsiderateness is one of the commonest of all human
characteristics.+[1] +II. While apparently a comparatively harmless
thing, it is the source of nearly all the evils by which man is
afflicted, and of the sins by which God is grieved and made
angry.+--1. "Presumptuous sins" are comparatively rare. 2. Look at
some of the evils to which a want of consideration leads in the
various spheres of life: educational, domestic, social, commercial,
political, religious.[2]
APPLICATION.--1. _Cultivate the habit of considering the issues of
various courses of conduct._ We should regard our thoughts, words,
and actions as the farmer regards his seeds--as the germs of a future
harvest; and we should remember that "whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap." This will lead to a wise caution in regard to
the seeds we sow. 2. _Consider the relations in which you now stand
to Almighty God._ You _must_ be either a rebel, exposed to His
vengeance, or a pardoned child, shielded by His love. Which is it?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Silly man is like the foolish chickens, though the kite
comes and takes away many of their fellows, yet the rest
continue pecking the ground, never heeding their owner,
never minding their shelter. Death comes and snatches away
one man here, a second there; one before them, another
behind them, and they are killed by death, undone for ever;
yet they who survive take no warning, but persist in their
wicked, ungodly ways (Job. iv. 20, 21).--_Swinnock,_ 1673.
A plough is coming from the far end of a long field, and a
daisy stands nodding, and full of dew-dimples. That furrow
is sure to strike the daisy. It casts its shadow as gaily,
and exhales its gentle breath as freely, and stands as
simple and radiant and expectant as ever; and yet that
crushing furrow, which is turning and turning others in its
course, is drawing near, and in a moment it whirls the
heedless flower with sudden reversal under the sod! And as
is the daisy, with no power of thought, so are ten thousand
thinking sentient flowers of life, blossoming in places of
peril, and yet thinking that no furrow of disaster is
running in toward them--that no iron plough of trouble is
about to overturn them. Sometimes it dimly dawns upon us,
when we see other men's mischiefs and wrongs, that we are
in the same category with them, and that perhaps the storms
which have overtaken them will overtake us also. But it is
only for a moment, for we are artful to cover the ear, and
not listen to the voice that warns us of danger.--_Beecher._
[2] The wounds I might have healed!
The human sorrow and smart!
And yet it never was in my soul
To play so ill a part:
But _evil is wrought by want of thought,
As well as want of heart!_--_Hood._
THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED.
i. 3. _My people doth not consider._
The universe is regulated by fixed laws, by which God preserves and
governs all things. Man is endowed with rational powers, intellectual
faculties, capable of apprehending these laws, whether they become
known to him by revelation or by his own discoveries, and of using
them as his guides. His well-being depends upon his harmony with
them, and his dignity and bliss on the right application of his
mental powers. One of Satan's main stratagems is to endeavour to
hinder him from using them aright; to induce him to act without
forethought or reflection, and to incite him to act merely on
impulse, feeling, or passion.[1] As a result of these artifices, the
great mass of mankind live without thought, and are borne in stupid
insensibility to the eternal world. Thus God complains of the
infatuation of Israel, "My people doth not consider." To consider is
to think deliberately, to reflect maturely. There are many subjects
to which our consideration should be attentively and diligently
given. We should consider--+I. The character and will of God.+ His
_words_ should lead us to this. If you see a beautiful picture, or
piece of sculpture or mechanism, you naturally direct your thoughts
to the artist or mechanist who has produced it. The grandeur of the
divine works surrounds you, and ought you not to consider the
wondrous Architect of the whole? His _relationship to you_ should
induce it. Your existence is derived from Him, and He fashioned you,
and bestowed on you all your endowments. He is your Father, your
bountiful Preserver. Besides, you are ever in His hand, ever before
His eyes, He surrounds you. And He is great, wise, powerful, holy,
and just. His love and favour are heaven; His anger and frowns are
hell. +II. Ourselves.+ What are we? What our powers? our
capabilities? our end and destination? the claims of God? our duties
to others? the improvement we should make of the present? the
preparation we should make for the future? Are we answering the end
of our being? &c. +III. Our spiritual state before God.+ Is it one of
ignorance, or of knowledge? folly, or wisdom? guilt, or pardon?
condemnation or acceptance? alienation, or sonship and adoption?
safety, or imminent peril? Are we heirs of wrath or perdition, or of
God and salvation? +IV. The importance of life.+ Life is the seedtime
for eternity, the period of probation, the only opportunity of
securing eternal blessedness. How short it is, how fragile, how
uncertain! How criminal to waste it, to pervert it! &c. +V. The
solemnities of death+ (Deut. xxxii. 29). Consider its certainty, its
probable nearness, its truly awful character. Try to realise it.
Consider if you were now dying, &c.[2] +VI. The great concerns of
eternity.+ The judgment-day. Heaven, with its eternal glories; hell,
with its everlasting horrors. Eternity itself, how solemn, how
overwhelming! How blissful to the saint! how terrific to the sinner!
ETERNITY! +VII. That salvation which will fit us for living, dying,
and for eternity.+ Provided by the mercy of God, obtained by the Lord
Jesus Christ, revealed in the gospel, offered to every sinner,
received by simple faith, and which delivers from guilt, pollution,
fear, and everlasting wrath. +VIII. Our present duty and interest.+
Men are supposed to care naturally for these. But their care usually
relates merely to the body, and the things of time. Consider whether
it is not your _duty_ to obey and serve God; whether it is not your
_interest_ (1 Tim. iv. 8). +IX. That there is no substitute for
religion+ (Jer. ii. 13).
_Application._--Urge consideration upon all present. 1. _Some have
never considered._ Now begin. Retire and reflect; weigh and consider
these things. 2. _Some have considered occasionally_--in church, or
when sick, in the house of bereavement, &c. Cultivate the _habit_ of
consideration,[3] and carry into effect the conclusions to which you
will inevitably come. 3. _There is hope for all who will consider._
4. _They are hopeless who will not consider._[4]--_Jabez Burns, D.D.,
Pulpit Cyclopædia,_ vol. ii. pp. 34-37.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Satan doth his utmost, that sinners may not have any
serious thoughts of the miserable state they are in while
they are under his rule, or hear of anything from others
which might the least unsettle their minds from his
service. Consideration, he knows, is the first step to
repentance. He that doth not consider his ways what they
are, and whither they lead him, is not likely to change
them in haste. Israel stirred not until Moses came, and had
some discourse with them about their woful slavery and the
gracious thoughts of God towards them, and then they begin
to desire to be gone. Pharaoh soon bethought him what
consequence might follow upon him, and cunningly labours to
prevent it by doubling their task. "Ye are idle, ye are
idle, therefore ye say, Let us go, and do sacrifice unto
the Lord. Go therefore and work." Thus Satan is very
jealous of the sinner, afraid every Christian that speaks
to him, or ordinance that he hears, will inveigle him. By
his good-will he should come at neither; no, nor have a
thought of heaven or hell from one end of the week to the
other, and that he may have as few as may be, he keeps him
full-handed with work. The sinner grinds, and he is filling
the hopper that the mill may not stand still. Ah, poor
wretch! was ever slave so looked to? As long as the devil
can keep thee thus, thou art his own sure enough. The
prodigal "came to himself" before he came to his father. He
considered with himself what a starving condition he was
in; his husks were poor meat, and yet he had not enough of
them; and how easily he might mend his commons if he had
but grace to go home and humble himself to his father! Now,
and not till now, he goes.--_Gurnall,_ 1616-1679.
[2] The sand of life
Ebbs fastly to its finish. Yet a little,
And the last fleeting particle will fall
Silent, unseen, unnoticed, unlamented.
Come, then, sad thought, and let us meditate,
While meditate we may. We have now
But a small portion of what men call time
To hold communion.--_H. K. White._
[3] He sat within a silent cave, apart
From men, upon a chair of diamond stone;
Words he had not, companions he had none,
But steadfastly pursued his thoughtful art;
And as he mused he pulled a slender string
Which evermore within his hand he held;
And the dim curtain rose which had concealed
His thoughts, the city of the immortal king:
There, pictured in its solemn pomp, it lay
A glorious country stretching round about,
And through its golden gates passed in and out
Men of all nations, on their heavenly way.
On this he mused, and mused the whole day long,
Feeding his feeble faith till it grew strong.
--_George Craly._
[4] No man is in so much danger as he who thinks there is no
danger. Why, when the bell rings, when the watchman rends
the air with cries of "Fire! _Fire!_ FIRE!" when in every
direction there is the pattering of feet on the sidewalk,
and when the engines come rattling up to the burning house,
one after another the inmates are awakened, and they rush
out; and they are safest that are most terrified, and that
suffer most from a sense of danger. One only remains
behind. He hears the tumult, but it weaves itself into the
shape of dreams, and he seems to be listening to some
parade, and soon the sounds begin to be indistinct in his
ear, and at length they cease to make any impression upon
him. During all this time he is inhaling the deadly gas
with which his apartment has become filled, gradually his
senses are benumbed, and finally he is rendered unconscious
by suffocation. And, in the midst of peril, and the thunder
of excitement, that man who is the least awake, and the
least frightened, is the very man that is most likely to be
burned up.--_Beecher._
RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATION.
i. 3. _My people doth not consider._
In a former discourse we noticed that one of Satan's chief devices
was to keep men from consideration, and we referred to a variety of
subjects upon which it is important that we should reflect. We now
call your attention to _the true character of religious
consideration._
+I. It should be serious and earnest.+ The subjects are too solemn
and weighty to be hastily dismissed. It must not be a mere cursory
survey, a rapid glance at these great concerns, but a careful,
deliberate contemplation of them; just as a prisoner about to be
tried for a capital offence would consider his defence, or a wrecked
mariner how he shall escape a watery grave, or a traveller how to
accomplish some momentous journey or voyage. If it be done lightly
and hastily, it will not profit us or please God. +II. It should be
prayerful.+ The exercise will be irksome to the natural heart. We
shall be disposed to give it up, or do it slightingly. The grace of
God alone can give the spirit necessary for the right discharge of
it. Therefore begin, continue, and follow it out with prayer.
+III. It should be pursued in connection with a diligent use of the
public means of grace.+ Hearken to the Divine Word as it is read in
the sanctuary, and to the preaching of the gospel, Christian
conversation, &c. Consideration will not profit us if God's means and
ordinances are neglected. All are needful to the soul, as wind, sun,
rain, and dew are all needful to the ripening of fruit. +IV. It
should be continued and persevering.+ Not too much to devote a
portion of every day to it. The first and last moments would be thus
profitably exercised,[1] _and it must be followed out._[2]
In conclusion, notice +some reasons why you should consider.+
1. _Because you have powers to do so._ God made you for this end,
that you should consider. In neglecting this, you despise your own
souls, you sink to below the level of the brute creation. They do
answer the end of their existence, and obey their several instincts.
"The ox knoweth his owner." Nearly every creature disposes of its
time and means wisely; but an inconsiderate man defaces the faculties
within him. 2. _Because it is your duty._ God enjoins it--He urges,
expostulates. To neglect it is, therefore, to despise God and rebel
against Him. 3. _It is essential to the possession of true religion._
Various are the ways in which God brings man to Himself; by a variety
of instruments and means, but none without consideration. Manasseh in
prison--Jonah in the belly of the whale--the prodigal in his misery,
&c. It is the first great step towards saving religion. 4. _By
prudent men, it is never neglected in worldly things._ In entering
upon any contract, in buying and selling, in all business
engagements, in all secular pursuits. We consider, in reference to
the body, our houses, food, and raiment, our families, &c. Are the
soul's eternal concerns the only things not deserving of it? 5. _God
may compel you to consider._ By bereaving you of the dearest objects
of your hearts, by afflicting your bodies, by embittering all earthly
good. Is it not better to avoid these corrections, sorrows, and
griefs? 6. _You may consider when it is too late._ Perhaps on the
verge of eternity, if not in eternity itself. The foolish virgins
considered when the cry was heard: the rich man considered too late;
the wicked will consider in the great day of Christ's wrath, when
they cry to the rocks and hills, &c. The consideration of the lost in
eternity will be in vain--will be bitter beyond description--will be
everlasting, and as horrible as it is durable. Therefore, consider
_now,_ while consideration may yet profit you.--_Jabez Burns, D.D.,
Pulpit Cyclopædia,_ vol. ii. pp. 37-39.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Make up your spiritual accounts daily; see how matters
stand between God and your souls (Ps. lxxvii. 6). Often
reckonings keep God and conscience friends. Do with your
heart as you do with your watch--wind it up every morning
by prayer, and at night examine whether it has gone true
all that day, whether the wheels of your affections have
moved swiftly toward heaven. Oh call yourself often to
account; keep your reckonings even, and that is the way to
keep your peace.--_Waters,_ 1696.
[2] The end of all arts and sciences is the practice of them.
And as this is to be confessed in all other arts, so it
cannot be denied in divinity and religion, the practice
whereof doth in excellency surmount the knowledge and
theory, as being the main end whereunto it tends. For to
what purpose do men spend their spirits and tire their wits
in discerning the light of truth, if they do not use the
benefit of it to direct them in all their ways? (Ps.
cxix. 59.)--_Downame,_ 1642.
INIQUITY A BURDEN.
i. 4. _A people laden with iniquity._
_A very surprising description:_ "A people laden with _iniquity._" On
account of their punctilious and costly observance of the Mosaic
ritual (see vers. 11-15), the Jews imagined that they deserved the
commendation of Heaven; but God pronounced them to be "a people laden
with iniquity." _Men_ often form very different estimates of the same
thing; _e.g.,_ buyer and seller (Prov. xx. 14). There is often as
marked a difference between the divine and human estimates of
character (Luke xviii. 11; Rev. iii. 17). This is so because God and
men judge by different standards; men take into account only their
occasional good actions; God judges by that feature of their
character which is predominant.[1] So judging, He condemned these
most "religious" Jews. What is His estimate of _us?_
_A very instructive description:_ "A people _laden_ with iniquity."
The conception is that of a nation that has gone on adding sin to
sin, as a man gathering sticks in the forest adds fagot to fagot,
until he staggers beneath the load; that which was eagerly sought
after becomes an oppressive burden. How true this is! There are many
national burdens; despotism, an incapable government, excessive
taxation, &c., but the worst and most oppressive of all is a nation's
iniquities.
The iniquities of a nation constitute a burden that impede it--1. _In
its pursuit of material prosperity._ With what desperate intensity
this English nation toils! and for what end? Chiefly that it may
accumulate wealth. How greatly it is impeded in this pursuit by its
costly government! But how much more by its costly vices! On strong
drink alone this nation expends a larger sum than the whole amount
both of imperial and local taxation--more than one hundred millions
annually! Other vices that are nameless, how much they cost, and what
a hindrance they are to the nation in its pursuit of wealth! 2. _In
its pursuit of social happiness._ What a crushing burden of sorrow
the nation's iniquities impose upon it! 3. _In its pursuit of moral
and intellectual improvement._ According to a monkish legend, the
church of St. Brannock's, in Braunton, Devon, could not be erected on
its original site, because as fast as the builders reared up the
walls by day, by night the stones were carried away by invisible
hands. A like contest goes on in our own land. The nation's virtues
are toiling to elevate the national character morally and
intellectually, using as their instruments the school, the church,
the press; but as fast as the virtues build, the vices pull down. In
all these respects the nation's iniquities constitute its heaviest
burden.
_Consequently,_ 1. To give a legal sanction to vices, or to connive
at what promotes them, for the sake of certain additions to the
national revenues, is suicidal folly of the grossest kind. 2. Those
are the truest national benefactors who do most to abate the national
iniquities. The palm for truest patriotism must be awarded, not to
"active politicians," but to faithful preachers, Sunday-school
teachers, temperance reformers, &c. 3. Vices of all kinds should be
branded, not only as sins against God, but as treasons against
society; and all good men should, in self-defence, as well as in a
spirit of enlightened patriotism, band themselves together for their
overthrow. That is a mistaken spirituality which leads some good men
to leave imperial and local affairs in the hands of the worldly and
the vicious. We are bound to labour as well as to pray that God's
will may be done "on earth as it is in heaven," and that "His
kingdom" may come in our own land.[2]
That which is true of nations is true also of individuals; the
heaviest burdens which men can take upon themselves are vices. Vices
lay upon men a burden--1. _Of expense._ Even so-called "indulgences"
are costly; many professing Christians spend more annually on tobacco
than they give to the cause of missions. Vices keep millions poor all
their lives.[3] 2. _Of discredit._ 3. _Of sorrow,_ clouding all the
present. 4. _Of fear,_ darkening all the future.
There is this terrific feature about the burden of iniquity--there is
none so hard to be got rid of. It is hard to inspire a nation or a
man with the desire to get rid of it. How nations and men hug their
vices, notwithstanding the miseries they entail! It is still harder
to accomplish the desire! Society is full of men who stagger and
groan under this burden, from which they strive in vain to free
themselves. In them the fable of Sinbad, unable to rid himself of the
old man who he has taken upon his shoulders, has a melancholy
realisation. These men feel themselves to be helpless, and their case
would indeed be hopeless were it not that God has laid help for us on
One who is mighty to save. Cry to Him, ye burdened ones, and obtain
release!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Men are to be estimated, as Johnson says, by the mass of
character. A block of tin may have a grain of silver, but
still it is tin; and a block of silver may have an alloy of
tin, but still it is silver. The mass of Elijah's character
was excellence; yet he was not without the alloy. The mass
of Jehu's character was base; yet he had a portion of zeal
which was directed by God to great ends.--_Cecil._
[2] As Christians are to think of living for awhile in the
world, it is not unreasonable for them to be affected with
its occurrences and changes. Some plead for a kind of
abstracted and sublimated devotion, which the circumstances
they are placed in by their Creator render equally
impractical and absurd. They are never to notice the
affairs of government, or the measures of administration;
war, or peace; liberty, or slavery; plenty, or
scarcity,--all is to be equally indifferent to them; they
are to leave these carnal and worldly things to others. But
have they not bodies? Have they not families? Is religion
founded on the ruins of humanity? When a man becomes a
Christian, does he cease to be a member of civil society?
Allowing that he be not the owner of the ship, but only a
passenger in it, has he nothing to awaken his concern in
the voyage? If he be only a traveller towards a better
country, is he to be told that because he is at an inn
which he is soon to leave, it should not excite any emotion
in him whether it be invaded by robbers or consumed by
flames before the morning? In the peace thereof ye shall
have peace; and are not Christians to provide things honest
in the sight of all men? Are they to detach themselves
while here from the interests of their fellow-creatures; or
to rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that
weep? Is our religion various affected by public
transactions? Can a Christian, for instance, be indifferent
to the cause of freedom, even on a pious principle? Does
not civil liberty necessarily include religion? and is it
not necessary to the exertions of ministers, and the
spreading of the gospel?--_Jay._
[3] "What are you going to take that for?" said an old labourer
to a young one who was about to drink a glass of ale. "To
make me work," was the reply. "Yes," answered the old man,
"you are right; that is just what it will do for a
certainty: I began to drink ale when I was about your age,
and it has made me work until now!"
TRANSMITTED DEPRAVITY.
i.4. _A seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters._
Transmitted depravity is--+I. A doctrine of Scripture. II. A fact in
human life.+[1] _Application_--1. God will not fail to make
allowance for it in dealing with us. 2. We should make allowance for
it in judging our fellow-men. Our censures should be mingled with
compassion. 3. By self-restraint and a life of virtue we should
endeavour as far as it is possible to cut off from our children this
and entail. A bias towards good may be transmitted as a bias towards
evil.[2] 4. In the _education_ of our children, we should be
especially solicitous to check and prevent the development of the
faults we have transmitted to them, that so, though they are "a seed
of evil-doers," they may not themselves be "corrupters."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As colour and favour, and proportion of hair and face and
lineament, and as disease and infirmities of the body, so,
commonly, the liabilities and dispositions and tempers of
the mind and affections become hereditary, and run in the
blood. An evil bird hatches an evil egg, and one viper will
breed a generation of vipers. Most sins pass along from the
father to the son, and so downward, by a kind of lineal
descent, from predecessors to posterity, and that for the
most part with advantage and increase, whole families being
tainted with the special vices of their stock. John the
Baptist speaks of "a generation of vipers;" and if we
should but observe the condition of some families in a long
line of succession, might we not espy here and there even
whole generations of drunkards, and generations of
swearers, and generations of idolaters, and generations of
worldlings, and generations of seditious, and of envious,
and of riotous, and of haughty, and of unclean persons, and
of sinners in other kinds.--_Sanderson,_ 1587-1662.
Original or birth sin is not merely a doctrine in religion,
it is a fact in man's world acknowledged by all, whether
religious or not. Let a man be providing for an unborn
child: in case of distribution of worldly property, he will
take care to bind him by conditions and covenants which
shall guard against his fraudulently helping himself to
that which he is to hold for or to apportion to another. He
never saw that child; he does not know but that child may
be the most pure and perfect of men; but he knows it will
not be safe to put temptation in his way, because he knows
he will be born in sin, and liable to sin, and sure to
commit sin.--_Alford,_ 1810-1871.
[2] While children are the children of Christian parents, as
_they_ were children of Christian parents, the presumptions
are that they will turn out right; not without parental
training, but, that being implied, the presumptions are
that they will, by the force of natural law, tend in that
direction. All the presumptions are that the children of
moral and sensible parents will become moral and sensible.
Only the grossest neglect and the most culpable exposure to
temptation will overrule the presumption and likelihood
that the children of good parents will be good. There may
be opposing influences; there may be temptations and
perversions that shall interrupt the natural course of
things; but this does not invalidate the truth that there
is a great law by which like produces like. And I say that
under this law the Christian parent has a right to this
comforting presumption--"My children have all the chances
in their favour by reason of the moral constitution which
they have inherited."
I know multitudes of families in which the moral element is
hereditary; and it is not surprising that the children of
these families are moral. Moral qualities are as
transmissible as mental traits or physical traits. The same
principle applies to every part of the human constitution.
And where families have been from generation to generation
God-fearing, passion-restraining, truth-telling, and
conscience-obeying, the chances are ninety-nine in every
hundred in favour of the children.--_Beecher._
FORSAKING THE LORD.
i. 4. _They have forsaken the Lord._
How many souls are guilty of forsaking the Lord? They forsake Him by
yielding to what are called "little sins."[1] Then they are further
removed from Him by habitual wickedness.
+I. This conduct is surprising.+ Is it not most surprising that men
should forsake the great God, their Creator and Benefactor? He is
all-powerful. He is all-wise. He is all-loving. The soul cannot have
a better helper in difficulty, or a truer and wiser friend in sorrow.
From the Godward aspect of the case nothing is more surprising than
that men should forsake God; but from the manward aspect of things
this is not surprising, for man is carnal, and the carnal mind is
enmity against God. Satan draws the soul from God. It chases a
phantom into the great darkness, and finds in the end that it has
wandered from the Infinite Being.
+II. This conduct is criminal.+ We should esteem it criminal to
forsake a parent, to forsake a benefactor, to forsake a master. But
this offence is small compared to that of the soul when it wanders
from the Lord. It exhibits _insubordination._ It rejects the Supreme
Moral Ruler of the universe. It exhibits _ingratitude._ It forsakes
its Redeemer. It exhibits _folly,_ for away from Christ the soul
cannot obtain true rest.
+III. This conduct is inexcusable.+ The soul can give no true reason,
or valid excuse, for such unholy conduct. The Lord has dealt
bountifully with it, and therefore it has no ground of complaint. He
is attractive in character. He is winning in disposition. He is
kindly in the discipline of life. He gives holy influences to draw
the soul to Himself. Hence man has no excuse for forsaking God.
+IV. This conduct is common.+ The world of humanity has forsaken God.
One by one souls are returning, and are being welcomed to Christ and
to heaven. Many agencies are at work for the return of souls to the
heavenly kingdom. Let us seek to make them efficient. Let us pray
that they may be successful. Have you forsaken God?--_J. S. Exell._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] There is many a man who evinces, for a time, a steadfast
attention to religion, walking with all care in the path of
God's commandments, &c., but who, after awhile, declines
from spirituality, and is dead, though he may yet have a
name to life. But how does it commonly happen that such a
man falls away from the struggle for salvation? Is it
ordinarily through some one powerful and undisguised
assault that he is turned from the faith, or over one huge
obstacle that he falls not to rise again? Not so. It is
almost invariably through little things. He fails to take
notice of little things, and they accumulate into great. He
allows himself in little things, and thus forms a strong
habit. He relaxes in little things, and thus in time
loosens every bond. Because it is a little thing, he counts
it of little moment, utterly forgetting that millions are
made up of units, that immensity is constituted of atoms.
Because it is only a stone, a pebble, against which his
foot strikes, he makes light of the hindrance; not caring
that he is contracting a habit of stumbling, or of
observing that whenever he trips there must be some
diminution in the speed with which he runs the way of God's
commandments, and that, however slowly, these diminutions
are certainly bringing him to a stand.
The astronomer tells us, that, because they move in a
resisting medium, which perhaps in a million of years
destroys the millionth part of their velocity, the heavenly
bodies will at length cease from their mighty march. May
not, then, the theologian assure us that little roughnesses
in the way, each retarding us, though in an imperceptible
degree, will eventually destroy the onward movement,
however vigorous and direct it may at one time have seemed?
Would to God that we could persuade you of the peril of
little offences! We are not half as much afraid of your
hurting the head against a rock, as of your hurting the
foot against a stone. There is a sort of continued
attrition, resulting from our necessary intercourse with
the world, which of itself deadens the movements of the
soul; there is, moreover, a continued temptation to yield
in little points, under the notion of conciliating; to
indulge in little things, to forego little strictnesses, to
omit little duties; and all with the idea that what looks
so light cannot be of real moment. And by these littles,
thousands, tens of thousands, perish. If they do not come
actually and openly to a stand, they stumble and stumble
on, getting more and more careless, nearer and nearer to
indifference, lowering the Christian standards, suffering
religion to be peeled away by inches, persuading themselves
that they can spare without injury such inconsiderable
bits, and not perceiving that in stripping the bark they
stop the sap.--_Melvill._
MORAL OBDURACY.
i. 5. _Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt
more and more._
+I. The danger of despising the Divine chastisements.+ Heedlessness
destroys the very power of taking heed. +II. The terribleness of the
peace which is often the portion of the wicked.+ Like the cessation
of pain in a sick man, which indicates that mortification has set in,
it may be only a sign that God has given them up as irreclaimable
(Hos. iv. 17).[1] +III. The folly of expecting sanctification as the
inevitable result of suffering.+ Contrary to the expectation of the
Universalists, the sufferings of the lost may only confirm them in
their impenitence (Rev. ii. 9, 11, 21).[2]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] While God visits us at all, it is a sign He thinks of us.
The present life is not the time for punishment devoid of
mercy. While the debtor is on his way to prison, he may
agree with his adversary, and escape the messenger's hands.
While the sick man feels pain, there is vitality and
activity in his constitution, and he may recover. And
therefore I think it must be a terrible thing to have one's
perdition sealed; to have the process already closed; both
depositions and sentence, and laid up in God's chancery, as
an irreversible doom, and so him who is its object troubled
no further, but allowed the full choice of his
pleasures,--as one permits a man, between sentence and
execution, his choice of viands, in full certainty that
when his hour hath tolled the terrible law will take its
course. How smoothly glides along the boat upon the wide,
unruffled, though most rapid stream that hurries it onward
to the precipice, over which its waters break in thunder!
How calm, and undisturbed by the smallest ripple, slumbers
its unreflecting steersman! Or for one rock in the midst of
its too smooth channel, against which it may be dashed and
whirled about, to shake him from this infatuated sleep! It
is the only hope that remains for him. Woe to him if to the
end his course be pleasant! That end will pay it
all!--_Wiseman._
[2] Afflictions leave the wicked worse, more impenitent,
hardened in sin, and outrageous in their wicked practices.
Every plague on Egypt added to the plague of hardness on
Pharaoh's heart; he that for some while could beg prayers
of Moses for himself, at last comes to that pass that he
threatens to kill him if he come to him any more. Or, what
a prodigious height do we see some come to in sin after
some great sickness or other judgment! Oh, how grossly and
ravenous are they after their prey, when once they got off
their clog and chain from their heels! When physic works
not kindly, it doth not only leave the disease uncured, but
the poison of the physic stays in the body also. Many
appear thus poisoned by their afflictions.--_Gurnall,_
1617-1679.
Trust not in any unsanctified afflictions, as if these
could permanently and really change the condition of your
heart. I have seen the characters of the writing which the
flames had turned into a film of buoyant coal; I have seen
the thread which has been passed through the fire retain,
in its cold grey ashes, the twist it had got in spinning; I
have found every shivered splinter of the flint as hard as
the unbroken stone: and let trials come, in Providence,
sharp as the fire and ponderous as the crushing hammer,
unless a gracious God send along with these something else
than these, bruised, broken, bleeding as thy heart may be,
its nature remains the same.--_Guthrie._
NEEDLESS STRIPES.
i. 9. _Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt
more and more._
That sin should not go unpunished is a law of our own hearts, and it
is a law of God. Punishment is intended to be remedial;[1] but
remedies that are intended to cure sometimes irritate, and God's
remedies may act in two ways--they may make a man better, or they may
make him worse.[2] There are those who "kick against the pricks," and
as the result of afflictions which their own sins have brought upon
them, become desperate. Chastisement is then of no further use, and
like a father weary of correcting the child who has proved
irreformable, God may say, "Why should," &c. (Hos. iv. 17). Terrible
meaning, then, may lurk in these words: they may speak of that state
in the sinner's career when his moral malady has become incurable,
when the Good Physician feels that His severest and most searching
remedies are of no avail, when God withholds His hand, and says, "He
that is filthy, let him be filthy still."[3] So some here understood
these words.
But a more gracious meaning may be contained in them; they may be the
first note of that tender Divine invitation which is fully expressed
in ver. 18. For mark, God begins here to reason with men,--bids them
look at themselves, their situation, the fatal folly of sinning when
sin brings its own sure punishment. What need of these disasters?
Note: the first aim of the Gospel is to make the sinner understand
that sin and its torments are alike of his own seeking; repentance
cannot come until he feels this.
These words may then be regarded as implying--+I. That there is no
inherent necessity that sinners should continue to be stricken.+
1. There is no reason _in the nature of God_ (Ezek. xviii. 23). God
is love. Love may ordain laws for the general security and safety,
the breaking of which may be attended with terrible consequences; but
yet God has no delight when these consequences overwhelm the
transgressor. He pities even while He punishes, and is on the outlook
for the very first beginnings of penitence, that He may stay His
hand.[4] 2. There is no reason _in the nature of man._ As man is not
impelled by any inherent necessity to sin, but in every sin acts by
deliberate choice, so neither is he compelled to repeat his
transgressions. Even when he has done wrong, his consciousness
testifies that he might have done right, and it is precisely on this
account that his conscience condemns him! +II. That a way of avoiding
the merited punishment is open.+ We know what that way is. The
prophet saw it afar off, and rejoiced (ver. 18; ch. liii. 5, 6). "Why
should ye be stricken any more," when Christ has been stricken for
you? The way of reconciliation is open: avail yourselves of it with
patience, with thankful joy!--But if men despise the offered grace,
let them know that when the doom from which they _would not_ be
delivered comes crashing down upon them, they will neither have nor
merit any pity. Even the Angel of Mercy will answer them, "Ye have
destroyed yourselves!"--_W. Baxendale._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When Almighty God, for the merits of His Son, not of any
ireful mind, but of a loving heart towards us, doth correct
and punish us, He may be likened unto a father; as the
natural father first teacheth his dear beloved child, and
afterwards giveth him warning, and then correcteth him at
last, even so the Eternal God assayeth all manner of ways
with us. First He teacheth us His will through the
preaching of His Word, and giveth us warning. Now if so be
that we will not follow Him, then He beateth us a little
with a rod, with poverty, sickness, or with other
afflictions, which should be esteemed as nothing else but
children's rods, or the wands of correction. If such a rod
will not do any good, and his son waxeth stubborn, then
taketh the father a whip or a stick, and beateth him till
his bones crack; even so, when we wax obstinate, and care
neither for words nor stripes, then sendeth God unto us
more heavy and universal plagues. All this He doth to drive
us unto repentance and amendment of our lives. Now truth it
is, that it is against the father's will to strike his
child; he would much rather do him all the good that ever
he could. Even so certainly, when God sendeth affliction
upon our necks, there lieth hidden under that rod a
fatherly affection. For the peculiar and natural property
of God is to be loving and friendly, to heal, to help, and
to do good to His children, mankind.--_Wermullerus,_ 1551.
The surgeon must cut away the rotten and the dead flesh,
that the whole body be not poisoned, and so perish; even so
doth God sometimes plague our bodies grievously, that our
souls may be preserved and healed. How deep soever God
thrusteth His iron into our flesh, He doeth it only to heal
us; and if it be so that He kill us, then will He bring us
to the right life. The physician employeth one poison to
drive out another; even so God in correcting us useth the
devil and wicked people, but yet all to do us
good.--_Wermullerus,_ 1551.
[2] Sorrow is in itself a thing neither good nor bad; its value
depends on the spirit of the person on whom it falls. Fire
will inflame straw, soften iron, or harden clay; its
effects are determined by the object with which it comes in
contact. Warmth develops the energies of life, or helps the
progress of decay. It is a great power in the hothouse, a
great power also in the coffin; it expands the leaf,
matures the fruit, adds precocious vigour to vegetable
life; and warmth, too, develops with tenfold rapidity the
weltering process of dissolution. So, too, with sorrow.
There are spirits in which it develops the seminal
principle of life; there are others in which it prematurely
hastens the consummation of irreparable decay.--_F. W.
Robertson._
[3] As long as the physician hath any hope of the recovery of
his patient, he assayeth all manner of means and medicine
with him, as well sour and sharp as sweet and pleasant; but
as soon as ever he beginneth to doubt of his recovery, he
suffereth him to have whatever himself desireth. Even so
the heavenly Physician, as long as He hath any hope to
recover us, will not always suffer us to have what we most
desire; but as soon as He hath no more hope of us, then He
suffereth us for a time to enjoy all our own
pleasure.--_Wermullerus,_ 1551.
[4] It is harder to get sin felt by the creature, than the
burden, when felt, removed by the hand of a forgiving God.
Never was tender-hearted surgeon more willing to take up
the vein, and bind up the wound of his fainting patient,
when he hath bled enough, than God is by His pardoning
mercy to cast the troubled spirit of a mourning
penitent.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY.
i. 5-8. _The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying
sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither
mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your
cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour in
your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by
strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in
a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a
besieged city._
By these powerful figures the prophet sets forth the moral corruption
and its impending calamities of the people to whom he ministered.
[Note that in vers. 7, 8, the prophet speaks as if the future were
already present; so clear and vivid is his view of it.] +I. A whole
nation may become morally corrupt.+ Vice may defile and degrade all
classes of society. +II. The natural tendency of national corruption
is not to abate, but to spread and increase.+ Vices are "_putrefying_
sores." As in the body physical a disease or wound in one member may
poison the whole body, so in the body politic the vice of any one
class tends to spread through all society.--These two considerations
should lead us--1. _To pray constantly and earnestly for our
country._ "Christian England" left to itself, and unrestrained by
Divine grace and mercy, would soon become as Sodom and Gomorrah.
2. _Not to be selfishly indifferent to the sins of the classes of
society to which we do not happen to belong._ This were as foolish as
it would be for a man to give no heed to the fact that his
neighbour's house was on fire, in forgetfulness or the other fact
that fire spreads; or as if in the body the head were indifferent to
the fact that the foot had received a poisoned wound. 3. _To put
forth earnest efforts for the repression of public vices._ Mere
passive reprobation of them will be of no avail. Nor can we
reasonably hope that time will abate and lessen them. No; these
"sores" are _"putrefying;"_ and if the body politic is ever to be
restored to moral health, they must be "closed, bound up, and
mollified with ointment." In some cases this "ointment" must be moral
suasion, in other cases legal coercion. This principle is already
recognised in regard to cockfighting, the sale of indecent books and
pictures, &c. +III. In a modified sense, the declarations of our text
are true of every human being.+ The doctrine of "total depravity" has
been preached in such a manner as to discredit it, and statements
have been made in exposition of it which would imply that every child
comes into the world as wicked as Nero left it (not only depraved in
every faculty, but in every faculty totally depraved!) This
representation of the doctrine is contrary both to Scripture (2 Tim.
iii. 13; 1 Pet. iv. 4, &c.) and to fact. But our rejection of this
exaggerated form of it must not lead us to reject the doctrine
itself. Our whole personality has been "depraved"--debased and
deteriorated--by sin; the whole man--his affections, passions,
understanding, reason, imagination, and will--has been impaired by
the "fall;" just as by certain diseases _all_ the functions of the
body are disordered.[1] The natural tendency of this inborn
corruption is not to lessen with increasing years, but to intensify;
as a matter of fact, _aged_ sinners are always the vilest and most
malignant. These facts--1. _Disclose man's need of a redemptive power
external to himself._ Our moral corruption is not like one of those
minor diseases which are best left to "nature;" it is like a cancer
or a malignant fever--if it is left to run its course, it will kill
us. There is in us no _vis medicatrix_ capable of overcoming and
expelling it. If we are to be restored to moral soundness, it must be
by a Power external to us. 2. _Should lead us to accept with
gratitude the proffered help of the Great Healer._ We all need His
help. Without it we shall grow worse day by day. His help will avail
for us, however desperate may be our case; as it was in the days of
His flesh physically, so it is now morally and spiritually (Matt.
iv. 23, 24; xiv. 36). +IV. Moral depravity brings on physical
misery.+ The desolation set forth in vers. 7, 8, was the natural
consequence of the depravity denounced in vers. 5, 6. By an
everlasting and most righteous decree a bad character and a bad
condition are linked together, and can be only for a very little
while disassociated. This is true both of nations and individuals.
Sin inevitably leads to sorrow. Of this fact we have ten thousand
evidences in this present world. Hence also the realm of unrelieved
wickedness in the realm of unmitigated woe. Were man always
reasonable beings, the fearfulness and the certainty of the
consequences of sin would be sufficient and prevailing arguments for
repentance and amendment of life. Let them prevail with us (Ezek.
xviii. 30, 21).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It is not only the inferior powers of the soul which this
plague of sin has seized, but the contagion has ascended
into the higher regions of the soul. The most supreme, most
spiritual faculty in man's mind, the understanding power of
man, is corrupted, and needs renewing. To a carnal
understanding not enlightened by the Word, this always has
been and is the greatest paradox. Indeed, when blind
reason, which thinks it sees, is judge, it is not strange
that this corruption of the understanding should be a
wonder to it. The reason, being the supreme faculty of all
the rest, which judges all else, and is judged by none but
itself, because of its nearness to itself, it least
discerns itself. As a man's eye, though it may see the
deformity of another member, yet not the bloodshot that is
in itself, but it must have a glass by which to discern it.
And so, though even corrupt nature discerns the rebellions
of the affections and sensual part of man by its own light,
as the heathens did, and complained thereof, yet it cannot
discern the infection and defilement that is in the spirit
itself, but the glass of the Word is the first that
discovers it; and when that glass is also brought, there
had need by an inward light of grace, which is opposite to
this corruption, to discover it.--_T. Goodwin,_ 1600-1679.
GOD'S RELUCTANCE TO PUNISH.
i. 9. _Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small
remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have
been like unto Gomorrah._
God had humbled His people because of their transgressions, but He
had not utterly destroyed them, as He might have done in strict
justice. This reminds us--1. That the punishments that befall wicked
men in this world frequently fall short of their deserts. 2. That
this disproportion between guilt and chastisement occurs because God
is not so much concerned to punish sin as to reclaim sinners. God
chastises, in the first instance, that He may correct, and it is with
reluctance that He increases the severity of His strokes.[1]
These facts should lead us--1. _To adore the divine benignity._ How
worthy of our love and worship is this God who is no mere vindictive
avenger of broken law, but a loving Father who chastens us, not for
His pleasure, but for our profit! 2. _To gratefully acknowledge the
mercy that has mingled with the judgments which our sins have drawn
down upon us_ (Lam. iii. 10).[2] 3. _To shrink with abhorrence from
any abuse of the divine long-suffering._ The fact that God is so
reluctant to punish, instead of encouraging us in rebellion, should
incite us to prompt and loving obedience. Nothing can be more _base_
than to "turn the grace of God into lasciviousness;" and nothing
could be more dangerous[3] (Prov. xxix. 1).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See note [1] from outline "Needless Stripes," page 18.
[2] If in an affliction we would pour forth to God such
acceptable prayers as may obtain comfort in our crosses and
deliverance from all our calamities, we must confess our
sins, and humbly acknowledge that we deserve to be
overwhelmed with much more heavy plagues and punishments.
And so the Lord will excuse us when we accuse ourselves,
remit our sins when we remember them, and absolve us from
punishment when in all humility we acknowledge that we have
justly deserved the fearfullest of His plagues. For if we,
who have but a little of the milk of mercy, are moved with
compassion when either our sons or our servants acknowledge
their faults, and offer themselves of their own accord to
suffer that punishment which they have deserved, how can we
doubt that God, whose love and mercy towards us are
infinite and incomprehensible, will be pitiful and ready to
forgive us when He sees us thus humbled?--_Downame,_ 1644.
[3] Take heed of abusing this mercy of God. Suck not poison out
of the sweet flower of God's mercy: do not think that
because God is merciful you may go on in sin; this is to
make mercy your enemy. None might touch the Ark but the
priests, who by their office were more holy: none may touch
the ark of God's mercy but such as are received to be holy.
He that sins because of mercy shall have judgment without
mercy. Mercy abused turns to fury (Deut. xxix. 19, 20).
"The mercy of the Lord is upon them that fear Him." Mercy
is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that
fear and sin not. God's mercy is a holy mercy; where it
pardons, it heals.--_Watson,_ 1696.
THE SUMMONS TO JERUSALEM.
i.10. _Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give
ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah._
The prophet being about to make a still more terrible announcement,
puts forth a renewed call for attention. It is well worthy of our
study. We find in it--
I. A STARTLING DESCRIPTION. "Rulers of Sodom, . . . people of
Gomorrah." What an astonishing declaration is this, that Sodom,
Gomorrah, and Jerusalem are synonymous terms! It reminds us--+1. That
man may be morally alike to those from whom they think themselves the
furthest removed.+ Many a Protestant who hates the very name of Rome
is himself a little Pope: he never doubts his own infallibility, and
is ready to anathematise all who dare to dissent from him. Many a man
who has never stood in the felon's dock is a thief at heart.[1] The
people of Jerusalem were ready to thank God that they were not as
Sodom and Gomorrah, whereas they really resembled the people they
despised. For, like the inhabitants of those guilty cities, they had
been living--(1) _In habitual self-indulgence._ Self-indulgence may
vary in its forms, but in its essential nature it is ever the same.
The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had pandered to the lusts of
the body, the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the lusts of the mind (see
vers. 17, 23; iii. 16, &c.) (2) _In habitual defiance of God._ The
sins of which they were guilty were as plainly condemned in God's
Word as were those by which the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah
polluted themselves. All sin is rebellion against God,[2] and the
manner in which we sin is comparatively unimportant (James ii. 10).
If we rebel against God, it does not matter much with what weapons we
fight against Him. +2. That men may be utterly unconscious of their
own real character.+ Self-delusion as to character is almost
universal. Man can live in the practice of gross sin without any
compunction of conscience. Laodicea and the foul criminal David are
at peace until the rebukes of God begin to crash like thunders over
their heads (Rev. iii. 17; 2 Sam. xii. 7). As such delusion is most
common, so also it is most disastrous. It renders reform impossible.
It sends men blindfolded into eternity to the most appalling
surprises.[3] The remedy for it is earnest, searching, prayerful
self-examination, conducted in the light of God's Word.[4] +3. That
God describes men according to their essential character.+ He does
not take men according to their own estimates of their character and
conduct, and ticked them accordingly. His description of man is often
precisely the opposite of that which they would give of themselves,
and even of what men would give of them. His neighbours as well as
himself would doubtless have described the prosperous farmer (Luke
xii. 16) as a shrewd and wise man, but God pronounced him to be a
fool. So here, these men who prided themselves that they were rulers
of Jerusalem, the holy city, were declared to be "rulers of Sodom,"
the vilest of cities. Are we quite sure that God describes _us_ as we
have been accustomed to describe ourselves?
II. A SOLEMN SUMMONS. "Hear the _word_ of the Lord; . . . give ear
unto the _law_ of our God." What is the law to which attention is
thus emphatically called? It is the great truth announced in the
following verses (11-15), that +worship offered by ungodly men is not
only without value, but is positively hateful in the sight of God.+
The most flaming zeal concerning the externals of religion is often
found in men of unholy life.[5] Judas was evidently so zealous in
such matters as completely to delude his fellow-disciples: even when
Christ announced that there was a traitor in their midst, no
suspicion turned towards him; the eleven were more ready to suspect
themselves than him (Matt. xxvi. 21). Attention to the externals of
religion is in itself a good thing; but unless it be conjoined with
integrity and benevolence, it will secure for us at the last not the
commendation but the condemnation of the Judge (Matt. xxiii. 23).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] To us there seems a wide difference between the judge, with
the robes of office on his back, mind in his eye, and
dignity in his mien, and that poor, pale, haggard wretch at
the bar, who throws stealthy glances around, and hangs his
head with shame. Yet the difference that looks so great to
man may be very small in the eyes of God; and would look
small in ours if we knew the different upbringing and
history of both. The judge never knew what it was to want a
meal; the felon often went cold and hungry to bed. The one,
sprung of wise, kind, reputable, and perhaps pious parents,
was early trained to good, and launched, with all the
advantages of school and college, on an honourable and high
career; while the other, bred up a stranger to the
amenities of cultivated and Christian society, had no such
advantages. Born to misery, his struggles with misfortune
and evil began at the cradle. None ever took him by the
hand to lead him to church or school. A child of poverty,
and the offspring of abandoned parents, he was taught no
lessons but how to swear, and lie, and drink, and cheat,
and steal. The fact is, it is just as difficult for some to
be honest as it is easy for others. What merit has that
judge in his honesty? None. He has no temptation to be else
than honest. And so, I suspect, much of the morality of
that unblemished character and decent life in which many
trust, saying to some poor guilty thing, "Stand aside, I am
holier than thou," and pluming themselves on this, that
they have not sinned as others have done--is due, less to
their superior virtue, than to their more favourable
circumstances. Have they not sinned as others have done? I
reply, They have not been tempted as others have been. And
so the difference between many honest men and decent women
on the one hand, and those on the other hand on whom a
brand of infamy has been burned, and the key of a prison
turned, may be just the difference between the green branch
on the tree and the white ashes on the hearth. This is
bathed in the dews of night and fanned by the breath of
heaven, while that, once as green, has been thrust into the
burning fire--the one has been tried in a way that the
other has not.--_Guthrie._
[2] As every sin is a violation of the law, so every violation
of the law reflects upon the lawmaker. It is the same
offence to coin a penny and a piece; the same to
counterfeit the seal of a subpœna, as of a pardon. The
second table was writ by the hand of God as well as the
first, and the majesty of God, as He is the lawgiver, is
wounded in an adultery and a theft as well as in an
idolatry or a blasphemy.--_Donne,_ 1573-1631.
[3] Is there anything more terrible than a false confidence? It
is an awful thing to wake up and find that what we have
been trusting in is rotten. To embark gaily in a ship that
on mid-ocean proves to be worm-eaten, and leaky; for a man
who believed himself to be wealthy to receive tidings that
the failure of a bank has made him a beggar; for a sick man
rejoicing in the cessation of his pain to be told by his
physician that that is due only to the setting in of
mortification that precedes death;--what horrible
disappointments are these! But what poor and faint image
they furnish of the horror of that man who lives in a state
of delusion as to his spiritual condition, who dies in
peace, imagining falsely that he is Christ's, and who, when
he has traversed the valley of the shadow of death--when he
has reached that point from which there is no return, finds
that the doors of heaven are shut against him, discovers
that he is shrouded by thick darkness, and begins to feel
the fires of hell kindling upon him! Can you picture to
yourself his astonishment, his terror, his despair? Do not
tell me that such a case is not conceivable--Christ
declares that such cases are frequent (Matt. vii. 21-25).
[4] "Examine yourselves:" A metaphor from metal, that is
pierced through to see if it be gold within.
Self-examination is a spiritual inquisition set up in one's
soul: a man must search his heart for sin as one would
search a house for a traitor: or as Israel sought for
leaven to burn it.--_Watson,_ 1696.
This duty of examining and proving supposes that there is
some sure standard, which if we go by, we are sure not to
be deceived. Not that rule is the Word of God. But as in
matters of doctrine men have left the Scripture, the sure
rule, and taken up antiquity, universality, tradition, and
the like for their pride, and by this means have fallen
into the ditch; so in matters of godliness, when we should
try ourselves according to the characters and signs that
the Scripture deciphers, we take up principles in the
world, the applause of others, the conversation of most in
the world. And thus it is with us as men in an hospital,
because every one is either wounded or lame, or some way
diseases, therefore none are offensive to each
other.--_Burgess._
Men compare themselves with men, and readily with the
worst, and flatter themselves with that comparative
betterness. This is not the way to see spots, to look into
the muddy streams of profane men's lives; but look into the
clear fountain of the Word, and there we may both discern
and wash them; and consider the infinite holiness of God,
and this will humble us to the dust.--_Leighton,_ 1611-1684.
[5] Fruit-trees that bring forth the fairest and most beautiful
blossoms, leaves, and shoots, usually bring forth the
fewest and least fruits; because where nature is intent and
vigorously pressing to do one work, spending its strength
there, it is not at the same time weak about other works;
but distinct and several works of nature, in moderate and
remote degree, are all promoted at the same time. Generally
those persons who are excessive and most curious about the
forms of duties, have least of the power of godliness. The
Pharisees were extremely careful about the outside of God's
worship. So it was among us of late years; bowing at the
name of Jesus, the communion-table, surplice, common
prayer, &c.,--those and suchlike were pressed with all
eagerness and strictness. The body of religion was large
and monstrous, but without a soul: or, if any, it was lean
and feeble. These persons are like the Indian fig-tree that
Pliny speaks of, which had leaves as broad as targets, but
fruits no bigger than a bean. This is a foul fault among us
at this day: men stand more about the forms of worship than
about the power of it: they look so much after the way,
manner, and circumstances that they almost lose the
substance; things which are but as husks or shells to the
kernels, or as leaves in respect of fruits.--_Austen,_ 1656.
Many are set upon excess of ceremonies, because they are
defective in the vital parts, and should have no religion
if they had not this. All sober Christians are friends to
outward decency and order; but it is the empty
self-deceiver that is most for the unwarrantable inventions
of man, and useth the worship of God but as a masque or
puppet-show, where there are great doings with little life,
and to little purpose. The chastest woman will wash her
face; but it is the harlot, or wanton, or deformed, that
will paint it. The soberest and the comeliest will avoid a
nasty or ridiculous habit, which may make them seem
uncomely where they are not; but a curious dress and
excessive care doth signify a crooked or deformed body, or
a filthy skin, or, which is worst, an empty soul, that hath
need of such a covering. Consciousness of such greater want
doth cause them to seek these poor supplies. The gaudiness
of men's religion is not the best sign that it is sincere.
Simplicity is the ordinary attendant of sincerity. It hath
long been a proverb, "The more ceremony, the less
substance; and the more compliment, the more
craft."--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
REJECTED SACRIFICES.
i. 11. _To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto me? saith the Lord._
Try to conceive what emotions would spring up in the breasts of the
men to whom these words were first addressed--men who with most
scrupulous care had fulfilled the requirements of a costly ceremonial
worship, the respectable, the orthodox of their day. With what
indignation they would rebuke the prophet, and how triumphantly they
would remind him that all the sacrifices which they offered, and all
the ceremonies they observed, were of Divine appointment! And,
doubtless, to their rebuke they would add a protestation that they
had had a sincere delight in the services, which, they would not
doubt, had come up as a sweet-smelling savour before the Lord. Both
these allegations they might have made with truth, but the prophet
would have dismissed them as irrelevant. What he denounced was not
sacrifices, but certain sacrifices offered by particular individuals
whose wickedness disqualified them for taking part in Divine worship.
"To what purpose is the multitude of _your_ sacrifices," &c.
But why should the wickedness of the worshippers cause the rejection
of the worship, seeing that _it_ is of Divine appointment?
Because--1. _Sacrifices are in themselves worthless to God._ He does
not need, nor is He enriched by our offerings (Ps. l. 7-13).
2. _Sacrifices were instituted merely to be expressions of and helps
to human piety, and are worthless when there is no piety to be
expressed or fostered by them._ Outward worship is to religion just
what a bank-note is to commerce; it is valuable only in so far as it
is really representative of something beyond itself. The worship
which does not really represent penitence, faith, and love in the
worshipper is a falsehood, and is necessarily repulsive to the God of
truth, and to the offerer of it it is a deadly hurt. As the sunlight
which develops life only hastens the putrefaction of the dead, so the
very services which help to sanctify and ennoble the saintly may more
completely disqualify the insincere for heaven. 3. _Piety towards God
is proved, not by costly sacrifices and stately ceremonies, even
though pungent emotions are experienced by those who offer and take
part in them, but by its pervasive influence on the character and the
life._ In family life love is proved by obedience; and to our
Heavenly Father the protestations of reverence and love which are
offered by men who live in disregard and defiance of His requirements
are naturally and necessarily repulsive (1 Sam. xv. 22, 23). No
elaborateness or costliness of ceremonial worship can atone for the
absence of godliness in the lives of the worshippers; sacrifices are
no equivalents for sanctification; and by the love of sin in the soul
of the pretended worshipper even a divinely-appointed ritual is
rendered abhorrent to God.
Judaism and its ritual are now things of the past, but men still need
to be reminded of the facts now pointed out. The men of our day,
after committing during the week all the sins denounced in the
prophecies of Isaiah, assemble in the sanctuary on Sunday, and,
because they enjoy its services, they imagine that they are
well-pleasing to God, and will bring down His blessing on themselves.
To-day, as of old, men need to be told plainly that public worship
may be an abomination to God, and that, instead of making those who
join in it more sure of heaven, it may, by confirming them in their
self-delusion, make their eternal damnation more certain.
There is another side to all this. While "the sacrifice of the wicked
is an abomination to the Lord," _"the prayer of the upright is His
delight"_ (Psa. cxlvii. 11; l. 23). Concerning the "true
worshippers," who "worship the Father in spirit and in truth," it is
declared that "the Father _seeketh_ such to worship Him." How
wonderful, how astonishing is that! That GOD, whom angels,
archangels, and all the shining hosts of heaven adore, should not
merely condescend to accept the worship of men upon earth, but that
He should _seek_ such worship! Think much of that surprising and
comforting assurance. It used to seem to me almost too wonderful to
be true, but I believe and understand it now. I am helped to
understand it almost every day; for almost every day my little girl
steals away from her nursemaid. I hear her climbing laboriously up
the stairs; it is an immense journey for her little legs; and then
presently she knocks at my door, and calls me by my name. I am often
busy when she comes; she interrupts me when it is not pleasant to be
interrupted; but, notwithstanding, I rejoice that there is so much
love for me in her heart that she thinks it worth while to climb up
so far, just to see me for a moment and then be sent down again. So
the marvellous _"seeketh"_ is explained by the word that comes before
it! The "FATHER seeketh such to worship Him"! When His children come,
and knock at His door, and call "Abba, Father!" He listens with a joy
that only a father can understand.
"His saints are precious in His sight;
He views His children with delight;
He sees their hope, He knows their fear,
And looks, and loves His image there."
TRUE AND FALSE RELIGION.
i. 11, 16, 17. _To what purpose is the multitude of your
sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the
burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I
delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of
he-goats. . . . Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed,
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow._
What was the business of the ancient prophet? Not merely to predict
events. His chief work was to make men realise vividly the presence
of God. Religions, in order to their permanence, require system. But
religious systems, with their creeds, forms, and ceremonies, have an
inevitable tendency to coldness and deadness. The prophet was sent to
counteract this tendency. It was his mission to restore to great
words their great meanings, to cause moral principles to reassert
themselves as the lords of conscience and of will--in a word, to
prophesy on the dry bones of a decaying religion until there came
upon them flesh and sinew, and there passed into them the breath of
spiritual life. Such a mission was that of Isaiah. In his time
religion was in a state of petrifaction, nay, rather of putrefaction.
From this fact his prophetic message takes its keynote. It begins
with an invective that reminds us of John the Baptist.
What was the condition of things that provoked his indignation? Not a
lack of religious observances; there was a redundancy of them. That
which caused a righteous anger to burn with him vehemently was their
perversion of the sacrificial system to which they gloried, their
dissociation of it from the moral law, to which God intended it to be
only a supplement. It was given to teach men the hatefulness of sin,
and the duty of consecration to God; but they separated it from the
moral law, and allowed all its spiritual meaning to drop out of it.
Instead of using it as a help to morality, they were making it the
substitute for morality. Coming up red-handed from their murders, and
reeking with their foul vices, they stood up before God, claiming His
favour; for were they not sacrificing to Him, yea, in accordance with
the regulations Himself had given? No wonder that a man with veracity
in him and a love of righteousness should pour out upon such men and
such offerings the whole wrath of his nature.
From this exposition take the following practical lessons--1. _All
forms of religion have a tendency to lose their original purity and
freshness._ As a stream, clear at its fountain-head, but turbid
before it reaches the sea; as our planet, which physicists say was
flung off at first from the sun a glowing mass of light and heat, has
been cooling down ever since; so is it with religions and churches.
As a rule, their history has been one of gathering accretions and of
diminishing purity and power in proportion to their distance from
their fountain-head. So was it with Judaism. So has it been with
Christianity. Contrast Christianity as we have it in St. Paul's
epistles, all aglow with fervour and love, and that of the time of
Leo X., with its professed head and most of his court professed
infidels, and the officials of the Church selling indulgences to sin
for money! Luther lit the fire again; but Protestantism has had its
illustrations of the same law. Witness the state of things in this
country in the last century. In view of this fact let the Church pray
for prophetic spirits who shall in each generation rekindle the dying
fires; and, apart from the influence of specially-gifted men, let
each Church betake itself continually to the Fountain-head of
spiritual life. 2. _False religiousness is worse than none at all._
Isaiah says, not simply that such observances are of no avail with
God, but that they are abominations to Him. We can see the reason.
Such a religion as that which Isaiah denounced works harm to the
individual and to the cause of godliness generally; to the
individual, but inspiring him with a vain confidence; to the cause of
godliness, by furnishing points for the shafts of ridicule, by which
faith is killed in many hearts. It would be difficult to say who are
the greatest promoters of infidelity--professed atheists or
hypocritical religionists. 3. _It is a perilous thing to overlook the
connection between impression and practice in religion._ In vers. 16
and 17, the prophet shows us what the true nexus between them is.
"Your ceremonies and observances will do you no good unless you
practise the morality, the judgment, mercy, and love to which they
point." Our power of receiving impressions is under a directly
opposite law from our power of practice. The former steadily
decreases by exercise, the latter as steadily increases. This is so
in religion, as well as in other things. The impression produced upon
the Jews by the sacrifices would decrease as they were repeated,
unless by them they were led to practical righteousness, and their
whole system would in time become utterly powerless as a moral
incentive; just as, if a man is for a few mornings wilfully deaf to
an alarum in his bedroom, it presently loses its power even to waken
him. The same law will operate with us. The preaching of the gospel
is intended to produce impression, and that again to lead to
practice. If the latter does not follow _at once,_ the chances are
all against its ever following, because the impressions will become
feebler with each repetition. A fact this for all hearers to ponder.
4. _Religious observances and machinery of all kinds have their end
in the development of character._ This was so in Isaiah's time. It is
so now. If their religious observances were not leading them to
"cease to be evil," and to "learn to do well," but were hindering
them from doing so, it were better for them to give them up. So our
creeds, organisations, ministers, &c., are of use only as related to
character. They are the scaffolding, character is the building; they
are the tools, that the work. If no building is going on, this parade
of scaffolding is an imposture, and had better be swept away.--_J.
Brierley, B.A._
THE POSSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.
i. 13. _It is iniquity, even this solemn meeting._
+I. Public worship is a thing of Divine appointment.+ A considerable
part of the earlier books of Scripture is occupied with injunctions
to observe it, and with directions for its conduct. All the best men
of ancient times made public worship part of the business of their
lives. David, Josiah, Hezekiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah made great
sacrifices that it might be duly honoured. Our Lord Himself, who set
aside the traditions of men, was careful to observe this Divine
ordinance; besides attending the great feasts, He attended the
synagogue every Sabbath-day (Luke iv. 16). The apostles and early
Christians were in this respect His true followers (Acts ii. 46;
iii. 1). And we are expressly warned against neglect of it (Heb.
x. 24, 25). +II. Public worship may be a means of communion with
God.+ It was this possibility that induced men to build the Temple,
that there might be a recognised place of meeting, not only with each
other, but with God. There God did often meet with them (Ps.
lxiii. 2, xxvii. 4, &c.) The temple now is wherever devout men are
assembled for worship, and God, in the person of His Son, has
expressly promised to be in their midst (Matt. xviii. 20).
+III. Consequently public worship may be a thing of the highest
profit to man.+ Upon those to whom communion with God is indeed
vouchsafed, public worship exerts a transforming and ennobling
influence.[1] They are uplifted for a season above the cares, the
sorrows, and the joys of life; they receive new strength for the
performance of life's duties and the bearing of life's burdens; from
the mount of supplication they come down bearing a more real and
abiding likeness to God than that which in the old time gave to the
countenance of Moses an overwhelming splendour. +IV. It may also be a
thing supremely acceptable to God.+ When His children assemble to
unite in expressing their common thankfulness, trust, and love for
Him, He listens with fatherly delight.[2] Compared with angelic
worship, human worship is a very poor and imperfect thing; it is but
an earthen vessel compared with a chalice of silver or of gold; but
the emotions of gratitude, trust, and love with which it is filled,
make it precious in His sight. There is a reversal of our Lord's
saying (Matt. xxiii. 19): the rude altar is hallowed by the spiritual
sacrifice.
These are some of the possibilities of public worship; but they are
not the only ones. The reverse of all this may be true. The worship
may be observed and offered without any real regard to the Divine
will and pleasure; it may separate God and men still more widely; it
may be a curse to those who partake in it, and it may be a grievous
offence to the Holy One of Israel.
Let us recall some of the things in connection with public worship
which are apt to satisfy men. They are such as these: a crowded
assembly; sweet singing; a noble liturgy; an eloquent sermon; a large
collection. When these things are combined in any service, we are apt
to felicitate ourselves exceedingly. But upon that very service God
may look with unqualified condemnation. The crowd may have assembled
for reasons very far removed from a desire to worship God; the
singing may have been merely an artistic performance; the liturgy may
have been made up of prayers such as that which a newspaper described
as "the most eloquent ever _addressed to a Boston audience;_" the
sermon may have had for its supreme object the glorification of the
preacher; the contributors to the collection may have been moved
merely by a desire to place the name of their congregation at the
head of the subscription-list published in the newspapers on the
following day. The whole thing may have been of the earth, earthy,
and this may have been God's verdict concerning it, "It is iniquity,
even the solemn meeting."
What, then, are the elements in worship essential to its acceptance
with God? 1. _That it be offered by His people._ Not from rebels
against His authority will He accept expressions of homage;[3] in
their lips such expressions are mockeries vile and horrible as those
wherewith in Pilate's judgment-hall the Roman soldiers jeered at the
Son of God (Matt. xxvii. 27-29). 2. _That it be offered with
reverence,_ with that sweet and solemn awe which is born of a
recognition of God's nearness and of His exceeding glory (Ps.
lxxxix. 7).[4] 3. _That it be the expression of love_--love singing
in the hymns, breathing in the prayers, awakening "godly sorrow" for
the sins of the past, leading to sincere and resolute dedication of
the whole being to God for the future. Where these principles animate
the worshippers, they will be governed by them also in daily life;
their whole life will be a service and sacrifice well-pleasing in the
sight of God, and what are called their "acts of worship" will not be
artificial flowers stuck on to dead and rotting branches for their
adornment, but sweet, natural blossoms, upon which God will smile,
and which He will pronounce "very good."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The mind is essentially the same in the peasant and the
prince; the forces of it naturally equal in the untaught
man and in the philosopher; only the one of these is busied
in meaner affairs and within narrower bounds, the other
exercises himself in things of weight and moment; and this
is that put the wide distance between them. Noble objects
are to the mind what the sunbeams are to a bud or flower:
they open and unfold, as it were, the leaves of it, put it
upon exerting and spreading itself every way, and call
forth all those powers that lie hid and locked up in it.
The praise and admiration of God, therefore, brings this
advantage along with it, that it sets our faculties upon
their full stretch, and improves them to all the degrees of
perfection of which they are capable.--_Atterbury,_
1663-1732.
[2] No doubt the prayers which the faithful put up to heaven
from under their private roofs, were very acceptable unto
Him; but if a saint's single voice in prayer be so sweet to
God's ear, much more the Church choir, His saints' prayers
in consort together. A father is glad to see any one of his
children, and makes him welcome when he visits him, but
much more when they come together, the greatest feast is
when they all meet as his house. The public praises of the
Church are the emblem of heaven itself, when all the angels
and saints make but one consort. There is a wonderful
prevalency in the joint prayers of His people. When Peter
was in prison, the Church meets and prays him out of his
enemies' hands. A prince will grant a petition subscribed
by the hands of a whole city, which maybe he would not at
the request of a private subject, and yet love him well
too. There is an especial promise to public prayer: _"Where
two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I
in the midst of them."_--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
[3] If a person was to attend the levee of an earthly prince
every court-day, and pay his obeisance punctually and
respectfully, but at other times speak and act in
opposition to his sovereign, the king would justly deem
such a one an hypocrite and an enemy. Nor will a solemn and
stated attendance on the means of grace in the house of God
prove us to be God's children and friends,--if we confine
our religion to the church walls, and do not devote our
lips and lives to the glory of that Saviour we profess to
love.--_Salter._
[4] A remembrance of God's omnipresence will quell distractions
in worship. The actual thoughts of this would establish our
thoughts, pull them back when they begin to rove, and blow
off all the froth that lies on the top of our spirits. An
eye taken up with the presence of one object is not at
leisure to be filled with another; he that looks intently
upon the sun shall have nothing for a while but the sun in
his eye. Oppose to every intruding thought the idea of the
Divine omnipresence, and put it to silence by the awe of
His majesty. When the master is present, scholars mind
their books, keep their place, and run not over the forms
to play with one another; and the master's eye keeps an
idle servant to his work, that otherwise would be gazing at
every straw, and prating to every passenger. How soon would
the remembrance of this dash all extravagant fancies out of
countenance, just as the news of the approach of a prince
would huddle up their vain sports, and prepare themselves
for a reverent behaviour in his sight. We should not dare
to give God a piece of our heart, when we apprehend Him
present with the whole; we should not dare to mock one that
we knew were more inwards with us than we are with
ourselves, and that beheld every motion of our mind as well
as action of our body.--_Charnock,_ 1628-1680.
I have sometimes had the misfortune to sit in concerts
where persons would chatter and giggle and laugh during the
performances of the profoundest passages of the symphonies
of the great artists; and I never fail to think, at such
times, "I ask to know neither you, nor your father and
mother, nor your name: I know what you _are,_ by the way
you conduct yourself here--by the want of sympathy and
appreciation which you evince respecting what is passing
around you." We could hardly help striking a man who should
stand looking upon Niagara Falls without exhibiting
emotions of awe and admiration. If we were to see a man
walk through galleries of genius, totally unimpressed by
what he saw, we should say to ourselves, "Let us be rid of
such an unsusceptible creature as that."
Now I ask you to pass upon yourselves the same judgment.
What do you suppose angels that have trembled and quivered
with ecstatic joy in the presence of God, think when they
see how indifferent you are to the Divine love and goodness
in which you are perpetually bathed, and by which you are
blessed and sustained every moment of your lives? How can
they do otherwise than accuse you of monstrous ingratitude
and moral insensibility, which betoken guilt as well as
danger?--_Beecher._
GOD OPPRESSED.
i.14. _Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul
hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear
them._
It is the Almighty who here speaks, and His speech is a protest to
men who imagined that by their worship they would conciliate and
please Him. Their worship He rejects: it was polluted by the
pollution of those who offered it. Instead of cleansing them, as they
vainly dreamed, they had defiled it. It is the Almighty who speaks,
and in what terms of intensity of pain! He speaks as one who has long
been burdened by a load that has at length become intolerable.
Strictly speaking, it is of worship offered to Him by ungodly men
that He here expressed His abhorrence; but it is not conceivable--it
is contrary to repeated declarations of His Word to suppose--that
this is the only form of human transgression that is grievous to Him;
and therefore we may fairly widen our contemplation, and consider--
+I. God's sensibility to human sin.+ God is unchangeable; with Him
there is no fickleness or caprice (James i. 17); this is one of the
glories of His nature. But how strangely have philosophers and
theologians interpreted this sublime declaration! They have presented
us with a deity impassive as the stars, which shine with equal
splendour upon the display of great virtues and the perpetration of
hideous crimes, calm, serene, undisturbed by anything that takes
place on earth. Not such is the God of the Bible. He thrills with
intensest emotions of delight or of disapprobation, of joy or of
sorrow (Jer. ix. 24; Nahum i. 6; Zeph. iii. 17; Gen. iii. 6). Let
philosophers call these "anthropomorphic representations" if they
will, but words have no meaning if such declarations do not teach
that God is stirred by emotions which are determined by the character
and conduct of men. He is no cast-iron deity: He is "the living God."
Sin is hateful to Him, because 1. _It is an infraction of that order
which He has established for the moral well-being of the universe._
As the Sovereign of the universe, He is bound to resent and to punish
any injury done to the meanest of His subjects.[1] 2. _It is a
defiance of His authority._ Every sinner is a rebel against the
authority of the King of kings; and that king would be unworthy of
his crown who could see his authority defied without feeling any
emotion of displeasure, or without taking steps to vindicate his
authority. It was precisely this selfish and pusillanimous weakness
that made our Stephen despised and hated by his subjects. With God
there is longsuffering and tender mercy, but there is no weakness.
Sin is more than a defiance of God's authority; it is--3. _An offence
against His feelings._ It is contrary to what we may call His
instincts.[2] That which is contrary to our best instincts fills us
with disgust and anger. What profound emotion is stirred in a man of
generosity and benevolence by a story of oppression and wrong!
_e.g.,_ the effect upon David of Nathan's parable (2 Sam. xii. 5).
Whole communities have been roused to uncontrollable indignation by a
crime of unusual atrocity, even though no member of the community has
been directly affected thereby. "Lynch Law." So all sin, as sin,
arouses the Divine disgust and indignation. "My _soul_ hateth."
4. _It is a degradation of those whom God loves._ We all condemn and
loathe drunkenness; but who of us loathes it as does that mother who
is being hurried by it to an untimely and dishonoured grave? God
loves us more than any mother ever loved her son, and His hatred of
sin is proportioned by His love for us whom it degrades and
destroys.[3] 5. _It is often a wrong inflicted on those whom He
loves._ Few men sin without wronging others as well as themselves.
Now with what anger do we burn when we detect our children defrauding
and oppressing each other! But between the sputtering of a
lucifer-match and the glowing fires of a volcano, there is not so
much disparity as between the anger which the spectacle of sins
against brotherhood kindles in us and that which it rouses in God
(Jer. ix. 9). To form any adequate conception of the offensiveness of
sin to God, we must remember that these considerations do not operate
singly, but operate in combination to make it hateful to Him. How
marvellous, then, is His endurance of it! Consider, then--
+II. God's patience with human sin.+ He speaks here of being
"troubled" by the worship of ungodly men; it is a burden of which He
is "weary." Why, then, does He bear it for a moment? Why, then, does
He not give quick vent to the indignation that burns within Him, and
consume His troubles with swift destruction? He bears with
us--1. _That by His patience He may appeal to our better feelings._
He does us good, and not evil (Matt. v. 45), that we may be made
ashamed to sin against such generosity. When men are not altogether
hardened in iniquity, there is nothing so likely to overcome them as
a requital of wrongs by blessing,[4] especially where he who so
requites it has full power to avenge himself. By His long-suffering,
God has led countless thousands to repentance. 2. _That He may set us
an example of self-restraint._ It is because He is Himself so slow to
anger, that He is able to warn us against vindictiveness. God does
not only lay upon us precepts of excellence: He Himself embodies
them. 3. _That He may place the righteousness of his judgments beyond
dispute._ A space of grace and forbearance seems necessary to enable
onlookers to perceive that the awful doom which at length will come
upon sinners is fully deserved, and is perfectly consistent with His
own mercifulness. If "Wisdom" had not "called," reproved, counselled,
"stretched out her hands" in entreaty, the stern words in which she
announces the awful and irrevocable doom of her despisers would shock
us (Prov. i. 20, 32). 4. _That a moral probation may be rendered
possible._ If punishment always instantly and obviously followed
transgression, the world would be ruled by terror so overwhelming
that free agency would be destroyed, and virtue consequently rendered
impossible. For such reasons as these, God bears with sinners, and
"sentence against an evil work" is not executed speedily.
+III. God's protest against human sin.+ God suffers under human sin,
but He does not suffer in silence: He vehemently protests against it.
Two reasons should lead us to heed this protest:--1. _Gratitude._ He
might have sent vengeance without warning. His protests and
threatenings are proofs of His love. All that is noblest and best in
us should lead us to give instant and thankful heed when God appeals
to us, and says, "Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate!"
(Jer. xliv. 4). But if sin has so debased your nature that higher
considerations such as this cannot move you, then I appeal--2. to
your _instinct of self-preservation._ God's protest against sin is no
unmeaning form: His threatenings against sin are no empty words
(Prov. xxix. 1). Rightly considered, the sinner's untroubled
condition is the most awful of all warnings.[5]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The tempter persuadeth the sinner that it cannot be that
God should make so great a matter of sin, because the
thoughts of a man's heart, or his words, or deeds, are
matter of no great moment, when man himself is so poor a
worm, and whatever he doth is no hurt to God. But if God so
much regard us as to make us, and preserve us continually,
and to become our Governor, and make a law for us and judge
us, and reward His servants with no less than heaven; then
you may easily see that He so much regardeth us, as to
observe whether we obey or break His laws. He that so far
careth for a clock or watch, as to make it and wind it up,
doth care whether it go true or false. What do these men
make of God, who think He cares now what men do! Then He
cares not if man beat you, or rob you, or kill you, for
none of this hurteth God. And the king may say, "If any
murder your friends and children, why should I punish him?
he hurt not me." But justice is to keep order in the world,
and not only to preserve the governor from hurt: God may
not be wronged, though He be not hurt. And He will make you
pay for it, if you hurt others; and smart for it, if you
hurt yourself.--_Baxter,_ 1618-1691.
[2] Our sin is not so much a violation of a law that lies
outside of the bosom of God, as it is a disregard of the
feelings and nature of God Himself. You will by a moment's
reflection see that there is a marked distinction between
personal feeling infringed upon and law transgressed. The
magistrate sits upon the bench, and a culprit is brought
before him. There are two ways in which that culprit may be
considered as transgressing. He may have broken the law of
the land, which the magistrate represents officially, but
not personally. The magistrate regards him as a culprit, to
be sure. But suppose that, in the exercise of truth and
justice by a pure administration or decision, the
magistrate arouses the anger of the culprit, and he insults
him to his face, and in his own court; is there any
difference between his former crime, which was the
violation of the law of the land, and in his latter crime,
which is a transgression of the feeling of the magistrate,
sitting as a magistrate?
It is the same everywhere. When you employ men in your
affairs, you know that there is a distinction between a
disregard of the rules of business, and a personal
disagreement with yourself. You know that when a man
offends against you, his wrong is more heinous and
provoking than when he offends against your rules or laws.
We know that a child may violate the laws of morality as
they are established by the Word of God and by the consent
of the community; that he may violate the civil law of the
land in which he dwells; that he may violate the rules and
regulations of a well-ordered family; and yet, though all
these courses of conduct are grievous wrongs which shock
the parent, not be as culpable as when he treads on the
feelings of the parent. There are exigencies in which the
child flies, as it were, in the heart of the father and
other, and does not so much violate their command as their
living feeling; intolerable and more flagrant than simply
setting aside and forgetting or transgressing a law. In
other words, it is possible to break a statute; that is one
kind of transgression. It is possible, also, to sin by
directly infringing upon the heart and the feeling; that is
another kind of transgression, and one that is considered
more stinging, more intolerable, and more unforgivable than
any other.
Now God and His law are one, in the sense in which we
approach Him as moral beings--one in such a sense that when
we offend against His moral law, we offend against His own
personal feeling. He is not a magistrate for whom a system
has been framed, and to the administration of which He
comes under a sense of justice. He is a universal Father,
administering according to His own instincts, His own
tastes, His own affections, His own feelings, among His
children. God's law is God's self, pervading the universe,
and our transgression is a personal affront of God Himself.
Just as when your taste, or your love, or your conscience,
is violated by the direct act of another person against
yourself, the offence is greater than if any exterior canon
were broken; so it is when we violate the Divine commands.
This conception of God should quicken every moral
sensibility, and make a life of sin painful and distasteful
to us. It is one thing to sin against a government, and
another thing to sin against a being. There are a great
many children that will sin against the family
arrangements, who would not sin against their mother. There
is many a child to whom the mother says, "My dear child,
you know your father has made a law in this family, that
such and such things shall not be done, and you know you
have broken that law three of four times; now, for my sake,
avoid breaking it again." The child feels, when the mother
interposes herself, that there is something that touches
him which did not when it was only a law of the family that
he was setting aside.
Now, God puts Himself in just that position, and the motive
of obedience and righteousness is this: that God is the
tenderest, the most patient, the gentlest, and the dearest
friend that we have; that He knows everything within and
without; and that though we are sinful and wicked, He, in
His infinite compassion and mercy, forgives us, and says,
"Do not sin against me, nor against mine."--_Beecher._
When a man defrauds you in weight, he sins against _you,_
not against the scales, which are only the instruments of
determining true and false weight. When men sin, it is
against God, and not against His law, which is but the
indicator of right and wrong. You care little for sins
against God's law. It has no blood in its veins, no
sensibility. Now, every sin that you commit is personal to
God, and not merely an infraction of His _laws._ It is
casting javelins and arrows of base desire into His loving
bosom. I think no truth can be discovered which would be so
powerful upon the moral sense of men, as that which should
disclose to them that sinning is always a personal offense
against a personal God. Law without is only an echo of
God's heart-beat within.--_Beecher._
[3] Is there any human being who so hates the sin of a child,
or the companion of that friend? To whose eye so much as to
the eye of the lover is a defect a thing to be abhorred? Is
there anywhere in the world such compassion as is found in
a father or in a mother over the sin or fault of the child?
Yea, with evil associates, with growing bluntness of
feeling, with accumulating evasions and deceits, with a
development of serpent passions, with a life by day and by
night that emasculates manliness, the mother sees her boy
going steadily down, step by step; and in her nightly
vigils, with strong crying and tears, she pours herself out
before God, abhorring with unutterable detestation all
these terrible evils that threaten the life and immortality
of her son; and for years she carries in her soul the
suffering that ought to be in his, and bears his sin, his
sorrow, and his shame, and lies humiliated, and bowed down
in the dust, the just for the unjust.--_Beecher._
God hates sin, because it destroys what He loves. He could
live high and lifted up above all noise of man's groaning,
all smoke of his torment; but His nature is to come down
after man--to grope for him amid all the dark pollutions of
sin, and, if possible, to rescue and cleanse him.
God hates sin very much, as mothers hate wild beasts. One
day a woman stood washing beside a stream. She was in a
wild frontier country, and the woods were all around. Her
little, only child was playing about near her. By and by
she missed the infant's prattle, and, looking about, she
called its name. There was no answer. Alarmed, the mother
ran to the house, but her babe was not there. In wild
distress the poor woman now fled to search the woods, and
there she found her child. But it was only its little
_body_ that she clasped to her heart. A wolf had seized her
treasure, and when, at last, she rescued it from those
bloody fangs, its spirit had gone. Oh, how that mother
hated wolves! And do you know that this is the very figure
Christ uses to show what feeling He has towards the sin
that is seeking to devour His children?--_Beecher._
It makes a difference to God how we act. His happiness is
affected by the conduct of His children; for His heart is
the heart of a father. If, when my child sins, a pang goes
through my own soul, and I fly to rescue him from further
iniquity, it is because God struck into my breast a little
spark of what in Him is infinite.--_Beecher._
[4] A group of rough men were assembled at a tavern one night.
One man boasted that it did not make any difference what
time he went home, his wife cheerfully opened the door, and
provided an entertainment if he was hungry when he got
home. So they laid a wager. They said: "Now, we'll go along
with you. So much shall be wagered. We'll bet so much that
when you go home, and make such a demand, she will resist
it." So they went along at two or three o'clock in the
morning and knocked at the door. The door opened, and the
man said to the wife: "Get us a supper." She said: "What
shall I get?" He selected the articles of food. Very
cheerfully were they provided, and about three or four
o'clock in the morning they sat down at the table--the most
cheerful one in all that company the Christian wife--when
the man, the ruffian, the villain, who had demanded all
this, broke down and said: "I can't stand this. O what a
wretch I am!" He disbanded that group. He knelt down with
his Christian wife and asked her to pray for the salvation
of his immortal soul, and before the morning dawned they
were united in the faith and hope of the Gospel. A patient,
loving, Christian demeanour in the presence of
transgression, in the presence of hardness, in the presence
of obduracy and crime, is an argument from the throne of
the Lord Almighty.--_Talmage._
[5] Since we know God to be grievously displeased with sin,
here is something awful in His keeping silence while it is
committed under His eye. If a child comes home conscious of
having offended a parent, and the parent says nothing all
that night, but merely looks very grave, the child is more
frightened than he would be by a sharp rebuke or severe
punishment, for if such rebuke or punishment were
inflicted, he would at least know the worst; but when the
parent is silent, he knows not what may be hanging over
him. So when we remember how many things plainly offensive
to God are going on all around us, it is a terrible thought
that He is still silent. We fear that He is but getting
ready to take vengeance on those who defy Him. And so that
passage which we have quoted from the Psalms carries on the
train of thought in what follows. "God is a righteous
judge, strong and patient, and God is provoked every day.
If a man will not turn, He will whet His sword, He hath
bent His bow, and made it ready."
In countries where earthquakes happen, a dead silence
always goes before the earthquake. Nature seems hushed into
an awful stillness, as if she were holding her breath at
the thought of the coming disaster. The air hangs heavily;
not a breath fans the leaves; the birds make no music;
there is no hum of insects; there is no ripple of streams;
and this while whole houses, and even cities sometimes, are
hanging on the brink of ruin. So it is with God's
silence,--it will be followed, when it seems deepest, by
the earthquake of His judgments. And so the holy Apostle
writes to the Thessalonians: "When they shall say, Peace
and safety" (from the fact of God's being so still and so
dumb), "Then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not
escape."--_Goulburn._
WORTHLESS HUSKS.
i. 15. _And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide
mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear._
The Jews had been likened unto the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah
(ver. 10). As such, they are summoned to listen to a series of
declarations of which this is the sum, that worship without holiness
is a solemn mockery. Confining ourselves to our text only, we may see
that it teaches us--+I. The worthlessness of ritualism without
spirituality.+ "When ye spread forth your hands," &c. 1. _Ritualism
is an essential element of public worship._ There must be some form
by which thought can be expressed, and the devotions of others
guided. There may be too little, or too much, but _some_ is
indispensable.[1] 2. _Ritualism may be the expression of earnest
spiritual life, and a help thereto._ It may be the outcome of a
sincere feeling and deep piety--such was the ritual which David and
his devout companions devised and elaborated for the service of the
Temple. It was costly and magnificent beyond even that which is
observed in St. Peter's at Rome; but as practised by them it was as
spiritual as the baldest service that has ever been conducted in the
barest conventicle. A splendid ritual may be acceptable to the Most
High, and the followers of George Fox must not imagine that they are
the only persons who worship God "in spirit and in truth." 3. But
_ritualism may be, and often is, only a form._ It may mean only an
exhibition of millinery, a scrupulous observance of a prescribed
series of postures and genuflexions. It may be, according to a too
suggestive phrase, merely a service "performed." In this case God
passes it by with contempt. To all engaged in such histrionic
performances He says, "When ye spread forth your hands," &c.
Supplication without desire will never draw down the Divine
benediction. +II. The worthlessness of prayer without purity of
heart.+ "When ye make many prayers, I will not hear." 1. _Prayer is a
necessity of the Christian life._ A consciousness of weakness and
want, and a profound conviction of God's power and willingness to
succour him, prompts the Christian to make "many prayers." And each
supplication so inspired finds its way to the throne and heart of
God. To hear and answer the prayers of His children is one of our
Heavenly Father's joys (ch. lxv. 24). 2. _But prayer, like ritualism,
instead of being the expression of a realised need, may be only an
empty form._ The supplications that are offered may be uttered merely
by rote, with as little feeling as a child recites the
multiplication-table; or they may be devices by which deluded men
seek to propitiate that God whom they are offending by their conduct
every day,--mere lip-homage, which they imagine He will accept in
condonation of their habitual disregard of His will. In either case,
their "many prayers" are worthless husks which He rejects with
disdain.
If we would have our worship accepted of God, there must
be--1. _Spiritual conceptions of His character._ These will prevent
us from mocking Him by merely formal prayers or praises. 2. _A solemn
realisation of His presence._ How often this is lacking in those who
take part in the service of the sanctuary, and even in those who
conduct them! But God is not throned in some distant heaven, to which
our prayers struggle up we know not how: He is HERE! We shall never
be nearer to Him than we are to-day! 3. _An earnest endeavour after
holiness in daily life_ (Ps. lxvi. 18). See why God would not regard
the uplifted hands of the Jewish supplicants--"Your hands are full of
blood." See also ch. lix. 1-3. To no rebel is access to the
presence-chamber of the King of kings granted: this is the high
privilege of those only who can lift up "holy hands" (1 Tim.
ii. 8).[2]--_A. F. Barfield._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The external part of religion is, doubtless, of little
value in comparison with the internal; and so is the cask
in comparison with the wine contained in it: but if the
cask be staved, the wine must perish. If there were no
Sundays or holydays, no ministers, no churches or religious
assemblies, no prayers or sacraments, no Scriptures read,
or sermons preached, how long would there be any religion
left in the world: and who would desire to live in a world
where there was none?--_Horne,_ 1730-1792.
Forms are necessary to religion as the means of its
manifestation. As the invisible God manifests His
nature--His power, wisdom, and goodness, in visible
material forms, in the bright orbs of heaven, in the
everlasting hills, in the broad earth with its fruits and
flowers, and in all the living things which He has
made,--so the invisible soul of man reveals its convictions
and feelings in the outward acts which it performs. As
there could be no knowledge of God without the visible
forms in which He reveals Himself, so there could be no
knowledge of the religion which exists in the soul of man
without the outward forms in which it expresses itself. A
form is the flag, the banner, the symbol of an inward life,
it is to a religious belief what the body is to the soul;
as the soul would be utterly unknown without the body, so
religion would be unknown without its forms, a light hidden
under a bushel, and not set up in a candlestick that it may
give light to all that are in the house.
Forms are necessary not only to the manifestation of
religion, but to its nourishment and continued existence. A
religion which expressed itself in no outward word or act
would soon die out of the soul altogether. The attempt to
embody truth and feeling, to express it in words and
actions, is necessary to give it the character of living
principle in the soul: in this respect forms are like the
healthy exercise which at once expresses and increases the
vigorous life of the body, or they may be compared to the
leaves of a tree, which not only proceed from its inward
life, but catch the vitalising influences of the light, the
rain and the atmosphere, and convey them down to the root.
What, then, is that formalism which is everywhere in the
Scripture, and especially in the discourses of our Lord,
described as an offence and an abomination in the sight of
God? I answer, formalism is the substitution of the outward
rite in the place of the inner spirit and life of the soul;
it is the green leaf which still hangs upon the dead branch
which has been lopped off.--_David Loxton._
[2] God doth not institute worship-ordinances for bodily motion
only; when He speaketh to men He speaketh as to a man, and
requireth human actions from him, even the work of the
soul, and not the words of a parrot or the motion of a
puppet.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
You think you serve God by coming to church; but if you
refuse to let the Word convert you, how should God be
pleased with such a service as this? It is as if you should
tell your servant what you have for him to do, and because
he hath given you the hearing, he thinks he should have his
wages, though he do nothing of that which you set him to
do. Were not this an unreasonable servant? Or would you
give him according to his expectation? It is a strange
thing that man should think that God will save them for
dissembling with Him; and save them for abusing His name
and ordinances. Every time you hear, or pray, or praise
God, or receive the sacrament, while you deny God your
heart and remain unconverted, you do but despise Him and
show more of your rebellion than your obedience. Would you
take him for a good tenant that at every rent-day would
duly wait on you, and put off his hat to you, but bring you
never a penny of rent? Or would you take him for a good
debtor that brings you nothing but an empty purse, and
expects you should take that for payment? God biddeth you
come to church and hear the Word; and so you do, and so far
you do well; but withal, He chargeth you to suffer the Word
to work upon your hearts, and to take it home and consider
of it, and obey it, and cast away from former courses, and
give your hearts and lives to Him; and this you will not
do. And you think that He will accept of your
service?--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
REASONS FOR THE REJECTION OF PRAYER.
i. 15. _When ye make many prayers, I will not hear._
God has characterised Himself as "the Hearer of prayer;" and it is
the great consolation of His people that they cannot seek His face in
vain. But here He declares that He will not hear the prayers of
Israel, however many. This solemn and momentous declaration may well
lead us to inquire why prayer is, in many instances, rejected.
Prayer, to be heard, must be both _right_ and _real._ If it possess
neither of these characteristics, or only one of them--if it is
_neither right nor real,_ or is _right without being real,_ or _real
without being right_--it cannot fail to be rejected.
I. A man may pray _rightly,_ either because he has been taught the
principles of orthodoxy, or knows what language is conformable to
those principles, or because he uses prayers composed by spiritual
men, or, finally, because he used the very word prescribed or
sanctioned by God Himself. But in all these cases, while his prayer
may be right, it may be altogether unreal. He may neither know the
meaning of the requests it contains, nor desire their fulfilment.[1]
Thus do many men pray for a free pardon for Christ's sake, for entire
sanctification, and repeat the Lord's Prayer. There is nothing in the
heart corresponding to what is expressed by the lips; nay, the heart
and the mouth are often completely at variance with each other.
II. Prayer may be _real without being right._ A man may really
acknowledge mercies received, and petition for more; and yet neither
the acknowledgement nor the petition may be regarded by God. The
acknowledgement and the petition have reference to mere earthly
desires already gratified or yet to be gratified. He thanks God that
the "lusts have had the food which they craved;" he prays that they
may never want it. Pride, vanity, the love of ease, pleasures, and
worldly respectability are "lusts" on which he has hitherto
"consumed," and on which he intends still to "consume," the good
things which God has given, or may yet give him. The secret soul of
all his supplications is not any zeal for the glory of God, but
selfishness. His prayers are of the earth, earthy. The spiritual
blessings which God holds out in His right hand he passes by in
contemptuous neglect, and clamours for the natural blessings which
are in God's left hand.
III. Both the faults of prayer above referred to are often found in
one and the same individual, and the guilt of both accumulated on one
and the same head.
Let it not be inferred from what has been said that we lay an
interdict on natural blessings, and forbid the seeking of them in
prayer. Our Saviour has given us authority to ask for daily bread,
and this fully warrants the conclusion that natural blessings, as
well as spiritual, may and ought to form a subject of prayer. We
ought to "seek _first_ the kingdom of God and His righteousness," and
_then_ ask Him to fulfil His promise of "adding unto us all other
things."--_R. Nesbit, Discourses,_ pp. 308-319.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Will men's prayers be answered? Not if they pray as boys
whittle sticks--silently, hardly knowing or caring what
they are about. I have known men begin to pray about Adam,
and go on from him to the present time, whittling their
stick clear to a point, with about as much feeling, and
doing about as much good as the boy does.--_Beecher._
I often say my prayers,
But do I ever pray,
And do the wishes of my heart
Go with the words I say:
I may as well kneel down
And worship gods of stone.
As offer to the living God
a prayer of words alone,
For words without the heart
The Lord will never hear;
Nor will He to those lips attend
Whose prayers are not sincere.--_John Burton._
A STARTLING CHARGE.
i. 15. _Your hands are full of blood._
Such is the reason which God assigns for turning a deaf ear to the
prayers of His ancient people: the hands they lifted up to Him in
supplication were blood-stained. It was as if Cain, red with the
murder of Abel, had lifted up his hands in prayer to God for
blessing. By this startling charge we are reminded--+I. That between
the estimates formed by God and man as to what takes place in the
sanctuary there is often an infinite disparity.+ Behold the court of
the temple filled, apparently, with devout worshippers, who lift up
their hands to heaven in earnest supplication,--what a pleasing
sight! But God looks down, and says, "Those hands are full of blood."
The same contrast is repeated in another form (ch. xxix. 13). Other
contrasts: Eli sees what he thinks to be a drunken woman; God sees a
humble supplicant (1 Sam. i. 12, 13). Men see an eminently religious
man praying in the sanctuary; God sees a man prostituting prayer into
a means of self-glorification (Luke xviii. 11, 12). Men see a foul
wretch whose presence in the sanctuary is a pollution; God sees a
broken-hearted penitent, and hastens to bless him (Luke xviii. 13,
14). So it is in our sanctuaries to-day. +II. That God holds us
responsible for the ultimate consequences of our actions.+ The men
who thronged the temple in Isaiah's time, and whose prayers God
rejected, were not bandits and murderers in the ordinary and coarse
fashion by which men are brought to the scaffold. Yet the charge
brought against them was true. For there are other ways of murdering
men than by acts of violence of which human law takes note. By
grievous oppression millions of men have been brought to an untimely
grave. If a man destroys another by _slow_ poison, is he not as truly
a murderer as another who kills his victim by means of prussic acid?
In God's sight oppression is murder; and of oppression in its worst
forms the Jews had been guilty (vers. 23; iii. 14, 15, &c.) It is in
accordance with this declaration that opprobrium is heaped upon
Jeroboam as the man "who made Israel to sin" (2 Kings x. 29); and
that we are so sternly warned against leading others into
transgression (Matt. xviii. 6, &c.) This fact--1. _Casts some light
on the doctrine of future punishment._ The results of the evil
actions of men go on eternally propagating themselves, and it is
therefore not unjust that the punishment of those actions should be
eternal also. 2. _Should cause us to halt when we are tempted to acts
of unkindness and oppression._ Unwillingly we may thereby become
murderers. 3. _Should lead us to be most watchful as to the example
we set before others._ If we hold our false lights by which they are
caused to make shipwreck "concerning faith" and character, God will
hold us responsible for the disaster (Rom. xiv. 15, &c.) +III. That
sin is naturally indelible.+ These Jews came into the sanctuary with
hands carefully cleansed, but yet in God's sight they were "full of
blood." 1. The stains of sin cannot be washed out by _time._ Time
obliterates much, but it does not obliterate guilt. Men are apt to be
troubled in conscience about recent sins, but to be at ease
concerning those committed many years previously. But this is a
mistake. Lapse of time makes no difference to God; the inscriptions
in His books of record never fade. Hence the wisdom of David's prayer
(Ps. xxv. 7). 2. The stain of sin cannot be washed out by _worship._
That it might be so was the vain dream of the Jews, as it is of
millions to-day. But worship itself is an offence when it is offered
by ungodly men; so far from diminishing their guilt, it increases it
(Prov. xxviii. 9, &c.) 3. The stain of sin cannot be washed out by
_sorrow._ Sorrow for the past alters nothing in the past; the crime
remains, no matter how many tears the criminal may shed.[1] 4. The
stain of sin cannot be washed out even by _reformation of conduct and
character._ Men speak of "turning over a new leaf," and when they
have done what this phrase implies, they are apt to be at peace. But
this also is a mistake. They forget that the old, evil leaf remains,
and that for what is inscribed thereon God will call them to account.
As there is a "godly sorrow" and a "worldly sorrow," so there is a
religious and an irreligious reformation of conduct. The former is
the result of evangelical repentance, and is of exceeding worth
(Ezek. xviii. 27, 28); the latter is a mere act of prudence, and is
of no moral account. In one way, and in one way only, can the stain
of guilt be effaced from the human soul (1 John i. 7-9).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Repentance _qualifies_ a man for pardon but does not,
cannot _entitle_ him to it. It is one of the most
elementary and obvious truths of morality, that the
performance of one duty cannot be any compensation for
neglect to perform another duty. But when a sinner is
penitent for his sins, he is merely doing what, _as a
sinner,_ he ought to do; and his feelings of contrition do
no more to absolve him from his guilt than the gratitude a
man feels to a doctor who has cured him from a dangerous
illness does to discharge the doctor's bill. As in this
case there ought to be both gratitude and payment, so in
the case of the sinner there must be both penitence and
atonement. The sinner's sorrow for his sin, while in itself
a proper thing, is no more an atonement for his sin than is
the remorse that fills the breasts of most murderers any
atonement for the murders they have committed. Judas was
sorry, profoundly and intensely sorry, for having betrayed
our Lord Jesus Christ, but did _that_ do away with the
guilt of that betrayal? Was Peter not to be blamed for his
denial of his Master, because afterwards "he went out and
wept bitterly"? Did the tears he shed give him any right to
say in after years--"Yes, I denied my Lord, but I was sorry
for it, and so made it straight"? Do you think that just as
with soap and water you can wash the dirt off your hands,
you can with a few tears, or with many tears, wash the
guilt of sin from off your soul? No delusion could be more
groundless. Oh no! You have the real fact and the true
philosophy of the matter in the well-known verse--
"Not the labours of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law's demands.
Could my zeal no respite know,
_Could my tears for ever flow,_
All for sin could not atone:
THOU must save, and THOU alone."
MORAL ABLUTION.
i. 16. _Wash you, make you clean._
This is one of a very numerous class of passages which summon sinners
to the duty of moral purification, of thorough and complete
reformation of character (Jer. iv. 14; James iv. 8; Jer. xviii. 11;
Ezek. xviii. 30-32, &c.) These passages are very clear and emphatic,
but they seem to be in opposition to others which assert man's
natural inability to do anything that is good (Matt vii. 18; Rom.
vii. 18-23; John xv. 5), with others which teach that repentance is a
Divine gift (Acts v. 31; 2 Tim. ii. 25), and with those which teach
that sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. vi. 11,
&c.) The opposition is only apparent.[1] Every Divine command really
involves a promise of the grace necessary for its accomplishment, and
God is ever ready to work with and in us "to will and to do of His
good pleasure."[2] Fallen as we are, we yet retain the power of
responding to or of rejecting His admonitions; if we respond to them,
there instantly begins to flow into our souls that which will enable
us to accomplish everything that God has required (Phil. iv. 13).
Three great questions--+I. Why must we cleanse ourselves from evil?+
1. _Because sin renders us offensive to God._ It is in itself
repulsive to Him, just as immodesty in all its forms and in every
degree is repulsive to a virtuous woman (Hab. i. 13; Prov.
xxxi. 10-31). 2. _Because it is destructive to ourselves._ In
physical matters dirt and disease are inseparable, and so they are in
spiritual. Moral pollution leads to moral decay. Sin is a leprosy
that eats away all the finer faculties of the soul. 3. _Because it
renders us dangerous to our fellow-men._ In the measure that we are
corrupt, we shall corrupt others. There is a terrible contagiousness
in iniquity (Prov. xxii. 24, 25; Rev. xviii. 4). A sinner is a
walking pestilence. And 4. The special lesson of our text in its
connection--_Because otherwise access to the throne of grace will be
closed against us._ If it be not so with us now, yet there will come
a season when it will be supremely important to us that God should
hear our prayers (a time of great trouble, or the hour of death), and
how awful will be our condition if God should then turn a deaf ear to
us! But this is the doom of obdurate sinners (ver. 15; Jer. xi. 14,
&c.) +II. How may we cleanse ourselves from evil?+ 1. _By resolutely
putting off our old evil habits._ This is what Isaiah exhorted the
Jews to do (vers. 16, 17). Similar exhortations occur in the New
Testament (Eph. iv. 25-29; Heb. xii. 1). Begin with the faults of
which you are most conscious.[3] Begin and continue the great task of
moral reformation in humble dependence upon God. 2. _By prayer._ In
earnest communion with God our views of duty and purity receive a
marvellous elevation, and we catch the inspiration of the Divine
character, so that iniquity, instead of being attractive, becomes
hateful to us also.[4] 3. _By humble but resolute endeavours to copy
the example of our Lord Jesus Christ._ 4. _By intercourse with the
people of God._[5] 5. _By making the Word of God the only and
absolute rule of our life_ (Ps. cxix. 1). These are the means by
which we may attain to moral purity in the future. Cleansing from the
guilt of sin in the past is bestowed freely on all who believe in
Jesus (1 John i. 7-9). Yea, the guilt of a man whose hands are
literally "full of blood" may thus be washed away; _e.g.,_ Saul, the
persecutor and murderer of the saints (Acts. xxii. 4, 16; 1 Tim.
i. 16). +III. When may we cleanse ourselves from evil? NOW!+ this
very hour the task ought to be begun. 1. Difficult as the task is,
delay will only increase its difficulty.[6] 2. Now, because God's
commands brook no delay. (Ps. xcv. 7, 8). 3. Now! because now though
God may be willing to-day to grant you "repentance unto life," by
your delay you may so provoke Him to anger that _to-morrow_
repentance may be denied you.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] There is no contradiction between these statements and the
command to repent. Whoever considers what repentance
is,--that it is a change of mind toward sin, so that what
once was loved is viewed with disgust, and what was pursued
with eagerness is shunned with abhorrence,--will perceive
at once that it can only be wrought in us by a Divine
power. Man's natural tendencies are toward evil; and a
river could as easily arrest itself on its way to the
ocean, and climb to the sources whence it sprang, as can
man without the help of the Holy Spirit learn to hate sin
because of what it is. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are
accustomed to do evil." The polluted fountain of our heart
will never cleanse itself. Repentance, like every other
gift, must come from the Father of lights.
But "God works in us to will and to do of His good
pleasure." By His Holy Spirit He strives in every human
soul, awakening desires after a better and purer life. By
His longsuffering, by messages from His Word, by the
monitions of His providence, He strives to lead us to
repentance. But _we_ must repent. As while the earth cannot
bear fruit unless the sun shine upon it, it is still the
part of the earth to be fertile; so while we cannot repent
unless God aid us, it is our part to turn from evil.
Repentance cannot be exercised _for_ us; it must be
exercised _by_ us.
God commands you to repent, just as to the apostles, when
five thousand hungry men, besides women and children,
surrounded them, and their whole store was five loaves and
two fishes, Christ said, "Give ye them to eat." The task is
as much beyond your unaided power as that was above theirs;
but address yourself to it as they did, in obedience to the
Divine behest, and you will receive power from on high to
accomplish not only it, but other tasks higher yet.
[2] The Gospel supposeth a power going along with it, and that
the Holy Spirit works upon the minds of men, to quicken,
excite, and assist them in their duty. If it were not so,
the exhortations of preachers would be nothing else but a
cruel and bitter mocking of sinners, and an ironical
insulting over the misery and weakness of poor creatures,
and for ministers to preach, or people to hear sermons,
upon any other terms, would be the vainest expense of time
and the idlest thing we do all the week; and all our
dissuasives from sin, and exhortations to holiness and a
good life, and vehement persuasions of men to strive to get
to heaven, and to escape hell, would be just as if one
should urge a blind man, by many reasons and arguments,
taken from the advantages and comfort of that sense, and
the beauty of external objects, by all means to open his
eyes, and to behold the delights of nature, to see his way,
and to look to his steps, and should upbraid him, and be
very angry with him, for not doing so.--_Tillotson,_
1630-1694.
[3] Rooting up the large weeds of a garden loosens the earth,
and renders the extraction of the lesser ones comparatively
easy.--_Elisa Cook._
[4] There is an antipathy between sinning and praying. The
child that hath misspent the whole day in playing abroad,
steals to bed at night for fear of a chiding from his
father. Sin and prayer are such contraries, that it is
impossible at a stride to step from one to another. Prayer
will either make you leave off sinning, or sinning will
make you leave off prayer.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
The first true sign of spiritual life, prayer is also the
means of maintaining it. Man can as well live physically
without breathing, as spiritually without praying. There is
a class of animals--the cetaceous, neither fish nor
sea-fowl, that inhabit the deep. It is their home; they
never leave it for the shore; yet, though swimming beneath
its waves and sounding its darkest depths, they have ever
and anon to rise to the surface that they may breathe the
air. Without that these monarchs of the deep could not
exist in the dense element in which they live, and move,
and have their being. And something like what is imposed on
them by a physical necessity, the Christian has to do by a
spiritual one. It is by ever and anon ascending up to God,
by rising through prayer into a loftier purer region for
supplies of Divine grace, that he maintains his spiritual
life. Prevent these animals from rising to the surface, and
they die for want of breath; prevent him from rising to
God, and he dies for want of prayer. "Give me children,"
cried Rachel, "or else I die." Let me breathe, says a man
gasping, or else I die. Let me pray, says the Christian, or
else I die.--_Guthrie._
[5] Get some Christian friend (whom thou mayest trust above
others) to be thy faithful monitor. Or, that man hath a
great help for the maintaining the power of godliness that
has an open-hearted friend that dare speak his heart to
him. A stander-by sees more sometimes by a man than the
_actor_ can do by himself, and is more fit to judge of his
actions than he of his own; sometimes self-love blinds us
in our own cause, that we are over-suspicious of the worst
by ourselves, which makes us appear to ourselves worse than
we are. Now, that thou mayest not deprive thyself of so
great help from thy friend, be more to keep thy heart ready
with meekness to receive, yes, with thankfulness embrace a
reproof from his mouth. Those that cannot bear
plain-dealing hurt themselves most; for by this they seldom
hear the truth.--_Gurnalt,_ 1617-1679.
[6] The more we defer, the more difficult and painful our work
must needs prove; every day will both enlarge our task and
diminish our ability to perform it. Sin is never at a stay;
if we do not retreat from it, we shall advance in it, and
the further on we go, the more we have to come back; every
step we take forward (even before we can return hither,
into the state wherein we are at present) must be repeated;
all the web we spin must be unravelled.
Vice, as it groweth in age, so it improveth in stature and
strength; from a puny child it soon waxeth a lusty
striping, then riseth to be a sturdy man, and after awhile
becometh a massy giant, whom we shall scarce dare to
encounter, whom we shall be very hardly able to vanquish;
especially seeing that as it groweth taller and stouter, so
we shall dwindle and prove more impotent, for it feedeth
upon our vitals, and thriveth by our decay; it waxeth
mighty by stripping us of our best forces, by enfeebling
our reason, by perverting our will, by corrupting our
temper, by debasing our courage, by seducing all our
appetites and passions to a treacherous compliance with
itself: every day our mind groweth more blind, our will
more resty, our spirit more faint, our passions more
headstrong and untamable; the power and empire of sin do
strangely by degrees encroach, and continually get ground
upon us, till it hath quite subdued and enthralled us.
First we learn to bear it; then we come to like it; by and
by we contract a friendship with it; then we dote upon it;
at last we become enslaved to it in a bondage, which we
shall hardly be able, or willing, to shake off; when not
only our necks are fitted to the yoke, our hands are
manacled, and our feet shackled thereby, but our heads and
hearts do conspire in a base submission thereto, when vice
hath made such impression on us, when this pernicious weed
hath take so deep root in our mind, will, and affection, it
will demand an extremely toilsome labour to extirpate
it.--_Barrow,_ 1630-1677.
Repentance is entirely in God's disposal. This grace is in
the soul from God, as light is in the air from the sun, by
continual emanation; so that God may shut or open His
hands, contract or diffuse, set forth or suspend the
influences of it as He pleases. And if God gives not
repenting grace, there will be a hard heart and a dry eye,
maugre all the poor frustraneous endeavours of nature. A
piece of brass may as easily melt, or a flint bewater
itself, as the heart of man, by any innate power of its
own, resolve itself into a penitential humiliation. If God
does not, by an immediate blow of His omnipotence, strike
the rock, these waters will never gush out. The Spirit
blows where it listeth, and if that blows not, these
showers can never fall.
And now, if the matter stands so, how does the impenitent
sinner know but that God, being provoked by his present
impenitence, may irrevocably propose within Himself to seal
up these fountains, and shut him up under hardness of heart
and reprobation of sense? And then farewell all thoughts of
repentance for ever.--_South,_ 1633-1716.
A PLAIN COMMAND.
i. 16. _Cease to do evil._
One of the pretexts by which wicked men endeavour to excuse their
neglect of religion is, that many of the doctrines of the Bible are
mysterious. They are so necessarily, and that they are so is one
proof that the Bible is from God. But however mysterious the
doctrines of Scripture may be, its precepts are plain enough. How
plain is the command of our text! No man can even pretend that he
does not understand it. If he does not obey it, he will not be able
to plead that it is beyond his comprehension. We have--+I. A
universal requirement.+ Certain of the precepts of Scripture concern
only certain classes of individuals (sovereigns, subjects, husbands,
wives, &c.), but this command concerns us all. Your name is written
above it, and it is a message for _you._ +II. A most reasonable
requirement.+ It is wrong that needs justification, not right. The
worst man in the community will admit that he _ought_ to "cease to do
evil." And he _can,_ if he will, not in his own strength, but in that
which God is ever ready to impart to every man who desires to turn
from sin. And not only ought and can men "cease to do evil," it will
be to their advantage to do so. Sin has its "pleasures," but they are
but "for a season," and they are succeeded by pains and penalties so
intense that the pleasures will be altogether forgotten. To exhort
men to "cease to do evil," is to exhort them to cease laying the
foundation for future misery.[1] On every ground, therefore, this is
a most reasonable requirement. +III. A comprehensive requirement.+ It
is not from certain forms of evil, merely, but from evil in all its
forms, that we are required to abstain. "Cease to do _evil!_"[2] Sin
must be utterly forsaken! not great and flagrant sins only, but also
what are called "little sins."[3] These destroy more than great
sins.[4] One sin is enough to keep us enslaved to Satan.[5] +IV. An
imperative requirement.+ This is not a counsel, which we are at
liberty to accept or reject; it is a command, which we disobey at our
peril; a command of One who has full power to make His authority
respected. +V. A very elementary requirement.+ Men who have laid
aside certain evil habits, such as drunkenness, swearing, &c., are
apt to plume themselves on what they have done, and to regard
themselves as paragons of virtue. But this is a mistake. Ceasing to
do evil is but the beginning of a better life; it is but the pulling
up of the weeds in a garden, and much more than this is needed before
"a garden" can be worthy of the name. Those who have ceased to do
evil must "learn to do well."[6]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As where punishment is there was sin; so where sin is there
will be, there must be, punishment. "If thou dost ill,"
saith God to Cain, "sin lies at thy door" (Gen. iv. 7).
_Sin,_ that is _punishment_ for sin; they are so
inseparable, that one word implies both; for the doing ill
is the sin, that is within doors; but the suffering ill is
the punishment, and that lies like a fierce mastiff at the
door, and is ready to fly in our throat when we look forth,
and, if it do not then seize upon us, yet it dogs us at the
heels; and will be sure to fasten upon us at our greatest
disadvantage: _Tum gravior cùm tarda venit, &c._ Joseph's
brethren had done heinously ill: what becomes of their sin?
It makes no noise, but follows them slily and silently in
the wilderness: It follows them home to their father's
house; it follows them into Egypt. All this while there is
no news of it; but when it found them cooped up three days
in Pharaoh's ward, now it bays at them, and flies in their
faces. "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in
that we saw the anguish of his soul," &c. (Gen. xlii. 21).
What should I instance in that, whereof not Scripture, not
books, but the whole world, is full--the inevitable
sequences of sin and punishment? Neither can it be
otherwise "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
saith Abraham. _Right,_ is to give every one his due: wages
is due to work; now "the wages of sin is death:" So then,
it stands upon no less ground than very necessary and
essential justice to God, that where wickedness hath led
the way, there punishment must follow.--_Hall,_ 1574-1656.
[2] There may be a forsaking of a particular sin that has been
delightful and predominant without sincerity towards God,
for another lust may have got possession of the heart, and
take the throne. There is an alternate succession of
appetites in the corrupt nature, according to the change of
men's temper or interests in the world. As seeds sown in
that order in a garden, that 'tis always full of a
succession of fruits and herbs in season; so original sin
that is sown in our nature is productive of divers lusts,
some in the spring, others in the summer of our age, some
in the autumn, others in the winter. Sensual lusts flourish
in youth, but when mature age has cooled these desires,
worldly lusts succeed; in old age there is no relish for
sensuality, but covetousness reigns imperiously. Now he
that expels one sin and entertains another continues in a
state of sin; 'tis but exchanging one familiar for another;
or, to borrow the prophet's expression, "'Tis as one should
fly from a lion, and meet with a bear that will as
certainly devour him."--_Salter._
[3] Thou dost not hate sin if thou only hatest some one sin.
All iniquity will be distasteful in thy sight if God the
Holy Spirit has really made them to loathe iniquity. If it
say to a person, "I will not receive you into my house when
you come dressed in such a coat;" but if I open the door to
him when he has on another suit which is more respectable,
it is evident that my objection was not to the person, but
to his clothes. If a man will not cheat when the
transaction is open to the world, but will do so in a more
secret way, or in a kind of adulteration which is winked at
in the trade, the man does not hate cheating, he only hates
that kind of it which is sure to be found out; he likes the
thing itself very well. Some sinners, they say they hate
sin. Not at all; sin in its essence is pleasing enough, it
is only a glaring shape of it which they
dislike.--_Spurgeon._
If we would realise the full force of the term "hatred of
evil," as it ought to exist in all, as it would exist in a
perfectly righteous man, we shall do well to consider how
sensitive we are to natural evil in its every form to pain
and suffering and misfortune. How delicately is the
physical frame of man constructed, and how keenly is that
slightest derangement in any part of it felt! A little mote
in the eye, hardly discernible by the eye of another, the
swelling of a small gland, the deposit of a small grain of
sand, what agonies may these slight causes inflict! That
fine filament of nerves of feeling spread like a wonderful
network of gossamer over the whole surface of the body, how
exquisitely susceptible is it! A trifling burn, or scald,
or incision, how does it cause the member affected to be
drawn back suddenly, and the patient to cry out! Now there
can be no question that if man were in a perfectly moral
state, moral evil would affect his mind as sensibly and in
as lively a manner--would, in short, be as much of an
affliction to him, as pain is to his physical frame. He
would shrink and snatch himself away, as sin came near to
his consciousness, the first entrance of it into his
imagination would wound and arouse his moral sensibilities,
and make him positively unhappy.--_Goulburn._
[4] The worst sin is not some outburst of gross transgression,
forming an exception to the ordinary tenor of life, bad and
dismal as such a sin is; but the worst and most fatal are
the small continuous vices which root underground and
honeycomb the soul. Many a man who thinks himself a
Christian is in more danger from the daily commission, for
example, of small pieces of sharp practice in his business,
than ever was David at his worst. White ants pick a carcase
clean sooner than a lion will.--_Maclaren._
[5] As an eagle, though she enjoy her wings and beak, is wholly
prisoner if she be held but by one talon, so are we, though
we could be delivered of all habit of sin, in bondage
still, if vanity hold us but by a silken thread.--_Donne,_
1573-1631.
Ships, when the tide rises and sets strongly in any
direction, sometimes turn and seem as if they would go out
upon it. But they only head that way, and move from side to
side, swaying and swinging without moving on at all. There
seems to be nothing to hinder them from sailing and
floating out to sea; but there is something. Down under the
water a great anchor lies buried in the mud. The ship
cannot escape. The anchor holds her. And thus are men
holden by the cords of their own sins. They go about trying
to discover some way to be forgiven, but yet keep good
friends with the devil that is in them.--_Beecher._
[6] Thou hast laid down the commission of an evil, but hast
thou taken up thy known duty? He is a bad husbandman that
drains his ground, and then neither sows nor plants it.
It's all one if it had been under water as drained and not
improved. What if thou cease to do evil (if it were
possible) and thou learn'st not to do well? 'Tis not thy
fields being clear of weeds, but fruitful in corn, pays the
rent, and brings thee in thy profit; nor thy not being
drunk, unclean, or any other sin, but thy being holy,
gracious, thy having faith unfeigned, pure love, and the
other graces which will prove thee sound, and bring in
evidence for thy interest in Christ, and through Him of
heaven.--_Gurnell,_ 1617-1679.
THE GREAT TASK.
i. 17. _Learn to do well._
Negative goodness is not enough to meet the Divine requirements.
Those who have "ceased to do evil" must "learn to do well." God
demands positive excellence.[1] The cultivation of well-doing is the
surest guarantee against evil-doing.[2]
+I. Well-doing is a thing to be learned.+ We have been too prone to
look at it in its other aspect only, as a thing springing from faith
and love, not as a thing to be cultivated. But see Phil. iv. 9;
1 Tim. v. 4; Titus iii. 14; Matt. xi. 29; Heb. v. 3 All _experience_
is in accordance with the teaching of these texts. Has any case
occurred in which at the beginning of the Christian life a person was
proficient in well-doing? Men are not born into the Christian life
with a perfect capacity to _do_ well, any more than they are born
into the natural life with a perfect capacity to _speak_ well.
Conversion is a beginning, not an ending.[3] We then begin to learn
the standards, methods, opportunities, and practice of excellence. In
the hour of conversion we do but pass into Christ's school, and begin
to be His _disciples._ Well-doing is not to be learned in one lesson,
nor in six lessons. [_Illustration:_ frequent advertisement, "French
in six lessons." Absurd!] It was only after a prolonged training and
most varied discipline that St. Paul could say, "I have _learned_ in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Is _that_ a lesson
to be acquired in a day? Let our own hearts supply further proof.
Look within, and see the evils yet unsubdued, the excellences yet
unattained, the difficulty with which many a duty is discharged, and
you will see the necessity of _learning_ to do well. We have
_learned_ to do well only when it has become a _habit_ to us, when we
do it as easily and naturally as a well-trained merchant's clerk adds
up a column of figures correctly. But can any _habit_ be acquired
without prolonged practice?[4]
+II. Well-doing is learned much in the same way as other things are
learned.+ Learning a language involves study, patience, perseverance,
practice. Not otherwise can we learn to do well.[5]
+III. In learning to do well, we need both inspiration and help.+ We
have both; the _inspiration_ in the example of our Lord (Acts x. 38;
Heb. xii. 2); the _help_ in the gracious assistance of the Holy Ghost
(Rom. viii. 26). Therefore, difficult as the task is, we may address
ourselves to it with good hope of success.--_William Jones._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All the religion of some men runs upon _nots._ "I am not as
this publican." That ground is nought, though it brings not
forth briars and thorns, if it yieldeth not good increase.
Not only the unruly servant (Matt. xxiv. 48, 49) is cast
into hell, but also the _idle_ servant (Matt. xxv. 30).
Meroz is cursed not for opposing and fighting, but for not
helping. Dives did not take away food from Lazarus, but he
did not give him any of his crumbs. "I set up no other
gods;" ay, but dost thou reverence and obey the true God?
"I do not profane the Sabbath." Dost thou sanctify it? Thou
dost not wrong thy parents; but dost thou reverence them?
Thou dost not murder; but dost thou do good to thy
neighbour? Usually men cut off half of their bill, as the
unjust steward bade the man who owed a hundred set down
fifty. We do not think of sins of omission. If we are no
drunkards, adulterers, and profane persons, we do not think
what it is to omit respects to God, not to reverence His
holy majesty, not to delight in Him and His
ways.--_Monton,_ 1620-1667.
[2] Fighting faults is the most discouraging thing in the
world. When corn reaches a certain height, no more weeds
can grow among it. The corn overshadows and grows them
down. Let men fill themselves full of good things. Let them
make their love and purity and kindness grow up like corn,
that every evil and noxious thing within them may be
overshadowed and die.--_Beecher._
[3] No man is born into the full Christian character, any more
than he is born into the character of a man when he comes
into the world. A man at conversion is in the state of one
who has just come in to the possession of an old homestead.
He had the title, and he can make for himself a beautiful
home. But the dust, the dirt, and the cobwebs of years
choke all the rooms, and must be cleared away. Many sills
and beams are rotten, and must be replaced by new ones.
Chambers must be refitted, walls newly plastered, the whole
roof must be searched over, and every leak stopped. There
must be a thorough cleansing and repair before the mansion
is habitable; and when all this is done, it is only _an
empty house_ that the man has. The same kind of thing that
man has _who has trained himself into freedom from wrong,
without having become faithful in right deeds._--_Beecher._
[4] Character is consolidated habit, and habit forms itself by
repeated action. Habits are like paths beaten hard and
clear by the multitude of light footsteps which go to and
fro. The daily restraint or indulgence of the nature, in
the business, in the hope, in the imagination, which is the
inner laboratory of the life, creates the character which,
whether it be here or there, settles the
destiny.--_J. Baldwin Brown._
[5] It is not great, or special, or extraordinary experiences
which constitute in the best sense the _religious_
character. It is the uniform daily walk with God, serving
Him in little things as well as great--in the ordinary
duties and everyday avocations, as well as in the midst of
grave and eventful contingencies. As the sublimest symphony
is made up of separate single notes;--as the wealth of the
cornfield is made up of separate stalks, or rather of
separate grains;--as the magnificent texture, with its
gorgeous combinations of colour, is made up of individual
threads;--as the mightiest avalanche that ever came
thundering down from its Alpine throne, uprooting villages
and forests, is made up of tiny snowflakes;--so it is with
the spiritual life. That life is itself the grandest
illustration of the power of littles. Character is the
product of daily, hourly actions, words, thoughts; daily
forgivenesses, unselfishnesses, kindnesses, sympathies,
charities, sacrifices for the good of others, struggles
against temptations, submissiveness under trial. Oh it is
these, like the blending colours in a picture, or the
blending notes of music, which constitute the
man.--_Macduff._
THE NOBLEST ART.
i. 17. _Learn to do well._
+I. To do well is a thing that requires to be learned.+ 1. _It does
not come to us naturally,_ as breathing and sleeping do. That which
comes to us naturally is to do evil. This is manifest in every child:
it needs no teaching to do evil, but it needs a great deal of
teaching before it will habitually do well. Nor does proficiency in
well-doing come to us even with our new birth. Then come new desires
after righteousness, but the knowledge and practice of righteousness
have to be learned.[1] At our new birth we are _born_ "babes in
Christ:" manhood in Christ is reached only by _growth._[2] 2. _It is
not a thing we acquire unconsciously,_ as infants learn to see and
hear, or as older persons acquire the accent of the country in which
they reside, or as invalids gain health at the seaside. Living in a
religious atmosphere will not of itself make us religious, nor will
mere companionship with good men. Association with artists will not
of itself make a man an artist; and association with Christians will
not of itself make any man a Christian. Judas was in constant
association with Christ himself for more than three years, and at the
end of that period, instead of doing well, he committed he foulest of
all crimes. To do well is an _art,_ and, like every other art, it can
be mastered only by deliberate efforts of the will.[3] This is the
testimony both of _Scripture_ and _experience._ (See preceding
outline.)
+II. To do well is a thing that may be learned.+ Not all persons,
however earnest their desires or persevering their efforts, can
become poets, painters, statesman, orators. But to do well is an art
in which all regenerate persons may become proficient, some with
greater ease than others, but to none is the task impossible. There
is no vice which a regenerate man may not lay aside, no excellence to
which he may not attain.
+III. To do well is a thing that must be learned.+ It is an
imperative demand which God makes upon all His people. We cannot
satisfy it by "ceasing to do evil." It is not enough for the
"branches" of the True Vine not to bring forth "wild grapes;" they
must bear _fruit_--_much_ fruit--to the glory of the Husbandman (John
xv. 8). Not only must Christ's followers be "blameless," they must be
_conspicuous_ for excellence. "Let your _light_ so SHINE before men
that they may _see_ your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven." These truths being settled in our minds, let us ask
ourselves.
+IV. How this noblest of arts may be acquired.+ 1. _By setting before
ourselves, and carefully studying, the noblest models._ Thus do those
who would become proficient in other arts: music, painting,
sculpture, architecture, &c. Now the great Master in the art of
well-doing was our Lord Jesus Christ: we must therefore study Him and
His works. But as it is often a help to the discovery of the secrets
of a great master's excellences to study the works of his disciples,
as thus our attention is sometimes directed to points we might
otherwise overlook, and as by the contrast between him and them, even
when they have done their best, we get a clearer view of his
transcendent power--so it will be helpful to us to study the
character of Christ's noblest disciples,[4]--always, however, coming
back to the study of _His_ character, remembering that we shall
succeed in doing well only in proportion as we become like _Him._
2. _By becoming imbued with the principles by which the great masters
in this art were animated._ Mere mechanical imitation is always a
poor thing, and often a grotesque and pitiable thing; because
circumstances are continually varying. What kind of an English home
would the most exact reproduction of the most beautiful of all
classic villas be? The architect who forgot that the climate of
England is not like that of Rome or Athens would be accounted a fool.
Yet many professed imitators of Christ have fallen into a similar
mistake; they have imitated merely the outward circumstances of His
life, and have forgotten that the essential thing it to have "the
_mind_ that was in Christ." When we have _that,_ all else will follow
as a matter of course. Now the great principle which governed Christ
and His noblest disciples was love--love to God and man: a _docile_
love, which did not seek to please God in _its_ way, but in _His_
way, and evermore searched the Scriptures to discover upon what
things God looks with delight. 3. _By patient and persevering
endeavours to embody in our practice the truths we have thus
discovered._ Only by such endeavours can the mastery in any art be
won. 4. _By fidelity in little things._ The master's ease is reached
only by the student's painstaking--by his careful endeavour to be
_right_ in each individual note, line, shade, stroke, word. It is
_thus,_ and thus only, that the _habit_ of doing well is gained.
+V. Let us remember certain things for our own encouragement.+ 1. _We
are not left to learn this art alone:_ we have the constant help of
the most reasonable, patient, and successful of all teachers. We are
disciples of _Christ._ How much that means! He does not expect us to
become proficients in a few lessons. He remembers that the most
advanced of us are only little children in His great school. If He
sees in us the earnest _desire_ and the resolute _endeavour_ to
learn, He is well satisfied.[5] He will most carefully adapt His
methods of instruction to our individual capacity. He will lead us on
to the goal step by step. Already in countless thousands of instances
He has dealt successfully with most intractable materials: scholars
who seemed hopelessly dull and inapt He has so instructed that they
have passed the great examination that awaits us all at death; and
they are now carrying on their studies in the great university of
heaven. 2. _In no other art does progress bring so much happiness:_
the testimony of a good conscience; consciousness of the approval of
God; a pleasant retrospect, brightening hopes. 3. _In no other art
does proficiency ensure such rich rewards._ Proficiency in any other
art can but win for us the honours and joys of earth; proficiency in
this will secure for us the honours and joys of heaven. It is one
great doctrine of Scripture, that we are _saved_ through our faith:
it is another, that we are _rewarded_ according to our works.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The process of being born again is like that which a
portrait goes through under the hand of the artist. When a
man is converted, he is but the outline sketch of a
character which he is to fill up. He first lays in the dead
colouring. Then come the work of laying in the colours, and
he goes on, day after day, week after week, month after
month, year after year, blending them, and heightening the
effect. It is a life's work; and when he dies he is still
laying in and blending the colours, and heightening the
effect. And if men suppose the work is done when they are
converted, why should we expect anything but lopsided
Christian character?--_Beecher._
Who starts up a finished Christian? The very best men come
from their graves, like Lazarus, "bound with
grave-clothes,"--not like Jesus, who left the death-dress
behind Him; and, alas! in their remaining corruptions all
carry some of these cerements about with them, nor drop
them but at the gate of heaven.--_Guthrie._
[2] God deals in spiritual proceedings, as in natural, to
extremes by the mean. We are not born old men; but first an
infant, then a man, then old. We are conceived of immortal
seed, born of the Spirit, so go on to perfection. There is
first a seed, then a plant, then a tree. We go not at one
jump into heaven, nor at one stroke kill the
enemy.--_Adams,_ 1643.
[3] Cast a sponge into water, and, the fluid filling its empty
cells, it swells out before our eyes, increases more and
more. There is no effort here, and could be none; for
though once a living animal, the sponge is now dead and
dry. But it is not as sponges fill with water, nor to use a
Scripture figure often employed, and sometimes misapplied,
as Gideon's fleece was filled with dews, that God's people
are replenished with His grace. More is needed than simply
to bring ourselves in contact with ordinances, to read the
Bible, to repair on Sabbath to Church, to sit down in
communion seasons at the Lord's table.--_Guthrie._
[4] God hath provided and recommended to us one example as a
perfect standard of good practice--the example of our Lord.
That indeed is the most universal, absolute, and assured
pattern; yet doth it not supersede the use of other
examples. Not only the valour and conduct of the general,
but those of inferior officers, yea the resolution of
common soldiers, doth serve to animate their fellows. The
stars have their season to guide us as well as the sun;
especially when our eyes are so weak as hardly to bear the
day. Even considering our infirmity, inferior examples by
their imperfection sometimes have a peculiar advantage. Our
Lord's most imitable practice did proceed from an immense
virtue of Divine grace which we cannot arrive to; it is in
itself so perfect and high, that we may not ever reach it:
looking upon it may therefore sometimes dazzle and
discourage our weakness. But other good men had assistance
in measure such as we may hope to approach unto; they were
subject to the difficulties which we feel; they were
exposed to the perils of falling which we fear; we may
therefore hope to march on in a reasonable distance after
them; we may, by help of the same grace, come near in
transcribing their less exact copy.--_Barrow,_ 1630-1677.
[5] Gotthold observed a boy in a writing-school eyeing
attentively the line placed before him, and labouring to
write with equal correctness and beauty. Mark, said he to
the bystanders, how all perfection is the offspring of
imperfection, and how by frequent mistakes we learn to do
well. It is not required of this boy that his penmanship
shall equal that of the line. He satisfies his master by
the pains he takes; for these are a ground of hope that he
will progressively improve, and at last learn to write with
rapidity and elegance. We also have a pattern to copy. It
has been left us by the Lord Jesus Christ, and is His most
perfect and holy life. And think not that He extracts more
from us than the teacher does from the pupil. No, indeed;
if He find us carefully studying His example, and diligent
in our endeavours to imitate it, He exercises forbearance
towards our faults, and by His grace and Spirit daily
strengthens us to amend.--_Scriver,_ 1629-1693.
THE OPPRESSED AND THEIR RELIEF.
i. 17. _Relieve the oppressed._
Religion means sympathy with man in his oppressed condition. The
truth alone can give men freedom. +I. The oppressed.+ 1. _There are
those oppressed by sinful habits._ Many men are their own tyrants.
They build their own prison, make their own fetters, and whip
themselves. Their oppression is the consequence of their sin. Such
are to be relieved, however little they may appear to desire or
deserve it, by the compassion of the good. 2. _There are those
oppressed by commercial difficulty._ There are many men whose
commercial life is one continual struggle to get on, and to provide
those things honest in the sight of the world. They have small
capital. Fortune seems against them. They are active, but they do not
succeed. Such ought to be relieved by the generous consideration of
the good. 3. _There are those oppressed by domestic misfortune._ The
wife has lost her husband. The children have buried their parents.
They are out alone in the wide world. They are liable to the
thoughtless but stern oppression of men. Such must be relieved by the
good. 4. _There are those oppressed by religious bigotry._ There are
many great souls who are larger than a sect, oppressed by the
conventionally orthodox. They are driven from their pulpits. They are
excommunicated from their synagogue. They need the relief of true
sympathy. +II. Their relief.+ 1. _By personal sympathy._[1] Genuine
sympathy is always a relief to an oppressed[2] It heals the soul and
lightens the burden.[3] A kind word, a cheering look, is welcome to
the oppressed. 2. _By intelligent advocacy._ The cause of the
oppressed should be advocated where it is likely to be redressed.
Politics can be employed in no higher ministry than in seeking the
relief of the oppressed. 3. _By practical help._ Sympathy must not be
substituted for personal and self-denying help. Words are well;
smiles are welcome; but personal help is the most effective to the
removal of oppression.--_J. S. Exell._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We are all sons of one Father, members of one body, and
heirs of one kingdom, in respect of which near-linking
together there should be compassion and sympathy betwixt
us. If one member do but grieve, all suffer with it. When a
thorn is got into the foot, how is it that the back bows,
the eyes pry into the hurt, and the hands are busied to
pluck out the cause of the anguish? And we, being members
of one another, should bear with and forbear one the other,
the not doing whereof will stick as a brand upon our souls
that we are of the number of them that have forsaken the
fear of the Almighty.--_Spencer,_ 1658.
[2] Certain it is, that nothing can better do it, so there is
nothing greater, for which God made our tongues, next to
reciting His praises, than to minister comfort to a weary
soul. And what greater pleasure can we have than that we
should bring joy to our brother, who, with his dreary eyes,
looks to heaven and round about, and cannot find so much
rest as to lay his eyelids close together, than that thy
tongue should be tuned with heavenly accents, and make the
weary soul to listen for light and ease; and when he
perceives that there is such a thing in the world, and in
the order of things as comfort and joy, to begin to break
out from the prison of his sorrows, at the door of sighs
and tears, and, by little and little, melts into showers
and refreshment? This is glory to thy voice and employment
fit for the brightest angel. But so have I seen the sun
kiss the frozen earth, which was bound up with images of
death, and the colder breath of the north; and then the
waters break from their enclosures, and melt with joy, and
run in useful channels; and the flies do rise again from
their little graves in the walls, and dance awhile in the
air, to tell that there is joy within, and that the great
mother of creatures will open the stock of her new
refreshment, become useful to mankind, and sing praises to
her Redeemer: so is the heart of a sorrowful man under the
discourses of a wise comforter; he breaks from the despairs
of the grave, and the fetters and chains of sorrow; he
blesses God, and he blesses thee, and he feels his life
returning: for to be miserable is death, but nothing is
life but to be comforted: and God is pleased with no music
from below so much as in the thanksgiving songs of relieved
widows, of supported orphans, of rejoicing and comforted
and thankful persons.--_Jeremy Taylor,_ 1612-1667.
[3] Till we have reflected on it, we are scarcely aware how
much the sum of human happiness in the world is indebted to
this one feeling--sympathy. We get cheerfulness, and
vigour, we scarcely know how or when, from mere association
with our fellow-men; and from the looks reflected on us of
gladness and enjoyment we catch inspiration and power to go
on, from human presence and from cheerful looks. The
workman works with added energy from having others by. The
full family circle has a strength and a life peculiarly its
own. The substantial good and the effectual relief which
men extend to one another is trifling. It is not by these,
but by something far less costly, that the work is done.
God has ensured it by a much more simple machinery. He has
given to the weakest and the poorest power to contribute
largely to the common stock of gladness. The child's smile
and laugh are mighty powers in this world. When bereavement
has left you desolate, what substantial benefit is there
which makes condolence acceptable? It cannot replace the
loved ones you have lost. It can bestow upon you nothing
permanent. But a warm hand has touched yours, and its
thrill told you that there was a living response there to
your emotion. One look, one human sigh, has done more for
you than the costliest present could convey.--_Robertson,_
1816-1853.
GOD'S IDEAL OF GOODNESS.
i. 17. _Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow._
This verse is more correctly translated thus--_"Learn to do well;
seek judgment, restrain the oppressor, right the fatherless, maintain
the cause of the widow."_--or, _"Learn to do good; seek out judgment,
redress wrong, judge the fatherless, befriend the widow."_
The form of these admonitions was determined by the sins of which the
rulers of Jerusalem had been guilty. By them the course of justice
had been perverted (ver. 23; Micah iii. 11, &c.); wrongs had been
left unredressed, and oppressors unrestrained; the orphans and the
widows, having neither money to bribe nor power to overawe the
corrupt judges, had sought in vain for justice,--such judges as our
Lord has depicted in His parable (Luke xviii. 2) were common. The
four specific admonitions of this verse are a divinely-inspired
exposition of the general admonition with which it commences. So
regarded, we find it in _God's ideal of goodness._ The command is
given, "Learn to do well." Yes, but what is meant by learning to do
well? "To do well," says the prophet, is "to seek out judgment, to
restrain the oppressor, to judge the fatherless, to befriend the
widow."
This Divine ideal of goodness is in startling opposition to certain
standards of excellence widely accepted both in the Church and in the
world. It is in opposition (1) to the idea that _a good man is one
who does no harm._ How prevalent is the notion that a man who
refrains from injuring his neighbours is a person worthy of high
commendation! But to do no harm merely is to fall far short of the
Scripture standard of excellence.[1] It is in opposition (2) to the
idea that _a man who confines himself to the cultivation of personal
virtues is a true follower of Christ._ In all our Churches there are
multitudes of persons whose "religion" is a purely selfish
consideration. They have been taught that certain excellences are
necessary to qualify them for admission to heaven, and to the
cultivation of these excellences they address themselves assiduously,
merely that they may secure their own eternal well-being. But such
persons fail to observe that the mind that was in Christ was not a
spirit of self-seeking but of self-sacrifice. It is in opposition
(3) to the idea that _the more spiritual a man is, the more
indifferent he will be to what happens in the world._ It is precisely
to concern as to what happens in the world that we are here called.
We are to "seek out justice," to use all our influence that justice
and righteousness shall prevail in the community in which we dwell.
We are not simply to mourn over wrongs; we are to redress them, and
we are to restrain the oppressors. Especially are we to see to it
that justice is done to the orphans, and to all helpless ones such as
they. The widow we are to befriend; she is to be our "client," and we
are to see to it that she is not wronged because God has been pleased
to remove her natural defender. To live thus for others, to be the
friend of the friendless, the defender of the weak, the resolute
opposer of all oppressors,--this and this only, is to realise the
Divine ideal of goodness.[2]
APPLICATION.--1. _Men are good precisely in proportion as they are
like God._[3] Between a merely "harmless" man and God there is no
resemblance. Between a man who lives only to secure his own
well-being and God there is a positive contrast. Between a man who is
indifferent to the sorrows and the wrongs of his fellow-men there is
still greater contrast. He is not indifferent to what takes place on
earth. It is His supreme glory that He burns with indignation against
oppression, and that He is the friend especially of the friendless
and the weak (Ps. cxlvi. 7-9; cxlvii. 2-6). It is to resemblance to
Him in these things, and not merely in abstinence from evil, that we
are called (James i. 27). 2. _A selfish life is a godless life._ Men
may be eminently respectable members of society, and highly esteemed
members of churches, and yet be utterly unlike God. Men who live only
for themselves, or to promote the happiness merely of their own
households, and selfishly decline to take any part in philanthropic
labours, or in social and political movements which have for their
object the removal of public wrongs, are utterly out of sympathy with
Him upon whose approval they reckon so confidently and so mistakenly.
Had they any true love for God, they would have an unselfish love for
men, and would be quick to feel and to resent the wrongs that are
done them (1 John iii. 14, &c.) Dives was probably a highly
respectable citizen of Jerusalem, and on good terms with the
authorities of the temple, but the selfishness of his life sufficed
at the last to exclude him from the Divine presence.[4] 3. _A godlike
life can never be a life of ease._ How many members of our churches
have incurred Christ's woe! (Luke vi. 26). Prudent men, they have
been careful never to "meddle" in affairs of their neighbours; they
have never identified themselves with any revolutionary movements;
against wrongs which have not troubled themselves they have never
uttered words of flaming indignation! And yet they imagine themselves
to be followers of Him who spoke of "the cross" which each of His
disciples would have to carry. What He meant by this saying is a
mystery to them. But let them begin to endeavour to "learn to do
well" and this saying of His will be a mystery to them no longer. The
world will very soon hate them even as it hated Him. But this is one
of the surest signs that we are His (John xv. 18, 19).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] He is not half a saint who is but a negative saint. The
forbearance of gross corruptions is the easiest and least
part of religion, and therefore will not speak any man in a
state of salvation. The tree that is barren and without
good fruit is for the fire, as well as the tree that brings
forth evil fruit.
For men to think to excuse themselves that they do no hurt,
wrong neither man, woman, or child, and are not, as the
Pharisee said, as the publicans, who generally were
oppressors, it but a vain, foolish thing. The idle servant
might have said, "Lord, I did no harm with my talent; I did
not lay it out in rioting and drunkenness, or any way to
Thy dishonour; I only hid it, and did not improve it,"--yet
this was enough to condemn him. Can we call ground good
ground for bearing no weeds, if it never bring forth good
corn? Or do we count that servant a good servant who doth
not wrong his master in the estate by purloining or wasting
it, if he live idle all day, and neglect the business his
master appoints him?--_Swinnock,_ 1673.
[2] A religion that does not take hold of the life that now is,
is like a cloud that does not rain. A cloud may roll in
grandeur, and be an object of admiration, but if it does
not rain, it is of little account so far as utility is
concerned. And a religion that consists in the observance
of magnificent ceremonies, but that does not touch the
duties of daily life, is a religion of show and of
sham.--_Beecher._
[3] To be godly is to be godlike. The full accord of all the
soul with His character, in whom, as their native home,
dwell "whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely," and the full conformity of the will to His
sovereign will, who is the life of our lives--this, and
nothing shallower, nothing narrower, is religion in its
perfection, and the measure in which we have attained to
this harmony with God is the measure in which we are
Christians. As two stringed instruments may be so tuned to
one keynote that if you strike the one, a faint ethereal
echo is heard from the other, which blends
undistinguishably with its parent sound; so drawing near to
God, and brought into unison with His mind and will, our
responsive spirits vibrate in accord with His, and give
forth tones, low and thin indeed, but still repeating the
mighty music of heaven.--_Maclaren._
[4] They are selfish--because they have no motive of action
beyond themselves. They individualise existence. The spider
weaves a web, and that is its world. It retires into its
corner for observation, and has no concern for any
surrounding objects, except as they may be caught upon its
net, and appropriated to its use. So they who live without
God reticulate life with selfishness. Nothing concerns them
except as it may be drawn into the mesh of scheming for
ministering to their own wants and wishes.--_Bellew._
GOD'S GRACIOUS INVITATION TO SINNERS.
i. 18. _Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall
be as wool._
It is scarcely possible to conceive of a more interesting and
delightful exhibition of the love and mercy of God than is presented
to us in these words; unless they had been found in the volume of
eternal truth, we might have justly doubted their veracity. For the
speaker is Jehovah, a Being infinitely happy and glorious in Himself.
He needs not, on His own account, the return of the sinner to
Himself. Besides, He is the offended party. How marvellous, then,
that He should stoop to ask reconciliation with poor wretched man,
the rebel and traitor against heaven. Notice--+I. The characters
addressed.+ Not such as excel in moral excellency, but in the vilest
and most degraded of sinners. How apt we are to think that such are
past reclamation. Yet it is to these that the invitation of our text
is addressed--those whose sins are as scarlet and crimson. This
description includes--1. _Those whose sins are glaring and manifest._
In the heart of men there is much evil that man or angel never sees.
External circumstances act in the moral world as the shore to the
ocean, limiting and bounding its waters. The control thus exerted
upon men is well for them, for society, and for the Church. But
numbers cast it off, sin in open day, and glory in their shame. Their
sins are as scarlet or as crimson. 2. _Those whose iniquities are
specially productive of much evil and misery_--ringleaders in sin;
ridiculers of piety, who labour to throng the road to hell; ungodly
masters; ungodly heads of households, &c. 3. _Those who have sinned
against great privileges and mercies_ (Matt. xi. 20-24). As it is
with nations and cities, so it is with individuals.[1] How many have
had privileges of a high character--pious parents, religious society,
a faithful ministry, special providences, &c. 4. _Backsliders,_ who
by their fall have hardened others in iniquity, and caused them to
scoff at religion. 5. _Aged transgressors._ +II. The invitation
presented.+ "Come and let us reason," &c. He wishes to have your
state and condition tested by reason. He gives you opportunities of
self-defence; He is willing to hear all your motives, arguments, &c.
Now, will you come to God, and reason with Him? What will you say?
1. _You cannot plead ignorance._ You have seen the evil of your way,
and yet have chosen it. 2. _You cannot plead necessity._ The Jews of
old declared that they were not free agents, and that they could not
help committing the sins of which they were guilty (Jer. vii. 10).
This is the grossest self-deception. It cannot be the will of God
that you should do evil (1 Thess. iv. 3; James i. 13; 1 Pet. i. 16).
To attribute our sins to Him is the most outrageous impiety. You have
sinned freely; it has been your own act and choice. 3. _You must
plead guilty._ Cast yourself on the mercy of God, pleading guilty,
you shall not be condemned, if--4. _You plead the merits of Christ._
He is "the propitiation for our sin." Here is your hope, your plea.
In availing yourself of this plea, all that God requires is
repentance and faith. +III. The gracious promise.+--_Jabez Burns,
D.D., Pulpit Cyclopædia,_ iii. 161-165.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All our sins are of a "crimson" dye, for remember, it is
not needful to have steeped our hands in a brother's blood
to make our guilt "scarlet." God measures sins by
privileges. One evil thought in one man is as much as a
thousand crimes in another man.--_Vaughan._
CLEANSING FOR THE VILEST.
i. 18. _Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall
be as wool._
We are informed by the Rabbins that the high priest bound a scarlet
fillet round the neck of the scapegoat, and that when the priest
confessed his own sins and the sins of the people, the fillet became
white if the atonement was accepted by God, but that if it was not
accepted, the fillet remained scarlet still. The Rabbins further say
that the goat was led about twelve furlongs out of Jerusalem where it
was thrown down a precipice, and was mangled to atoms by the fall. In
case of the sacrifice being received by Heaven, a scarlet ribbon
which hung at the door of the temple changed from scarlet to pure
white. They affirm that it is to this changing of the fillet and
ribbon from scarlet to white that Isaiah refers in our text. While we
regard these as fictions, and not as facts, they serve to illustrate
the nature and greatness of the change spoken of in it. +I. Scarlet
and crimson represent sins of excessive and glaring notoriety.+
1. The soul has been steeped in the dyeing element. 2. It has carried
away as much of the dyeing quality as it can hold. It is twice dipped
in the dye-vat. 3. The sins glare and arrest the eye like scarlet in
the sun. As the uniform of the British soldier is most conspicuous,
so these sins glare in the eye (1) of society, (2) of conscience,
(3) of Divine justice. +II. Scarlet and crimson symbolise the fast
and permanent hold of these sins upon the soul.+ 1. The sins are not
a _stain_ but a _dye._ 2. The sins are not superficial: they have
penetrated into the fabric, every thread of which has been dyed. The
faculties are the threads: the whole man the web. 3. The sins are not
typified by _any_ dye, but by _scarlet_ and _crimson,_ which are as
permanent as the fabric they colour. They resist sun, dew, rain, the
wash. +III. Scarlet and crimson becoming white as snow represents the
perfect removal of the greatest sins.+ The colouring element is
removed. The soul is _restored._ The power that removes the sin yet
saves the soul. _Application._--There is hope, then, even for the
vilest. The most desperately sinful need not
despair.[1]--_J. Stirling._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In nature there is hardly a stone that is not capable of
crystallising into something purer and brighter than its
normal state. Coal, by a slightly different arrangement of
its particles, is capable of becoming the radiant diamond.
The slag cast out from the furnace as useless waste forms
into globular masses of radiating crystals. From tar and
pitch the loveliest colours are now manufactured. The very
mud of the road, trampled under foot as the type of all
impurity, can be changed by chemical art into metals and
gems of surpassing beauty; and so the most unpromising
materials, the most worthless moral rubbish that man cast
out and despise, may be converted by the Divine alchemy
into the gold of the sanctuary, and made jewels fit for the
mediatorial crown of the Redeemer. Let the case of Mary
Magdalene, of John Newton, of John Bunyan, of thousands
more, encourage those who are still in the gall of
bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Seek to be
subjected to the same purifying process; lay yourselves
open to the same spiritual influences; yield yourselves up
into the hands of the Spirit to become His finished and
exquisite workmanship; seek diligently a saving and
sanctifying union with Christ by faith, and He will perfect
that which concerneth you, and lay your stones with fair
colours (Ps. lxviii. 13).--_Macmillan._
COMFORT FOR THE DESPONDING.
i. 18. _Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord; Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall
be as wool._
Some are kept in a desponding state--+I. By the views they entertain
of the sovereignty of God and the doctrine of election.+ But--1. The
election of God, whatever it is, is an election _unto life,_ and not
unto destruction. It should therefore be a source of encouragement,
not discouragement; it should awaken hope and joy, rather than
despondency. 2. God's election is _His_ rule of action, not yours:
yours is the Bible.[1] 3. The thing you are required to believe in
order to salvation is not your election, but God's truth. 4. In your
present state you have nothing to do with election;[2] but if you
will entertain the question, the _evidence_ is much more in favour of
your election than against it. +II. By the views they take of certain
isolated passages of Scripture+ (Matt. xii. 31, 32; Heb. xii. 17;
Prov. i. 24-31). Not one of these passages, rightly understood, need
quench your hope. Where there is one obscure passage that seems to
make against you, there is a hundred which plainly and positively
tell you that if you turn you shall live, if you believe you shall be
saved. +III. By an apprehension that their repentance has not been
deep enough.+ But--1. The genuineness of your repentance is not to be
estimated by the pungency of your feelings.[3] 2. It is not the depth
of your feelings that is your warrant to come to Christ. 3. Your
penitential feelings will not be likely to be increased by staying
away from Christ. +IV. By the fear that they have gone too far and
sinned too much to be forgiven.+ But, admitting the very worst you
can say of yourself, there is everything in the character of God, in
the work of Christ, in the power of the Spirit, in the experience of
other sinners,[4] in the promises of the Bible, to inspire and
sustain your hope.--_John Corbin._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Whatever the decrees of God be concerning the eternal state
of men, since they are secret to us, they can certainly be
no rule either of our duty or comfort. And no man hath
reason to think himself rejected of God who does not find
the marks of reprobation in himself--I mean an evil heart
and life. By this, indeed, a man may know that he is out of
God's favour for the present; but he hath no reason at all
from hence to conclude that God hath from all eternity and
for ever cast him off. That God calls him to repentance,
and affords him the space and means of it, is a much
plainer sign that God is willing to have mercy upon him,
than anything else can be that God hath utterly cast him
off. For men to judge of their condition by the decrees of
God, which are hid from us, and not by His Word, which is
near us, is as if a man wandering in the wide sea in a dark
night, when the heaven is all clouded, should resolve to
steer his course by the stars which he cannot see, but only
guess at, and neglect the compass which is at hand, and
would afford him much better and more certain
direction.--_Tillotson,_ 1630-1694.
[2] We have no ground at first to trouble ourselves about God's
election. "Secret things belong to God." God's revealed
will is, that all who believe in Christ should not perish.
It is my duty, therefore, knowing this, to believe: by
doing whereof I put that question, whether God be mine or
no? out of all question, for all that believe in Christ are
Christ's, and all that are Christ's are God's. It is not my
duty to look to God's secret counsel, but to His open
offer, invitation, and command, and thereupon adventure my
soul. In war men will venture their lives, because they
think some will escape, and why not they? In traffic beyond
the seas many adventure a great estate, because some grow
rich by a good return, though some miscarry. The husbandman
adventures his seed, though sometimes the year proves so
bad that he never sees it more. And shall not we make a
spiritual adventure, in casting ourselves upon God, when we
have so good a warrant as His command, and so good an
encouragement as His promise, that He will not fail those
that rely on Him?--_Sibbes,_ 1577-1635.
[3] I see no reason to call in question the truth and sincerity
of that man's repentance who hates sin and forsakes, and
returns to God and his duty, though he cannot shed tears,
and express the bitterness of his soul by the same
significations that a mother does in the loss of her only
son. He that cannot weep like a child may resolve like a
man, and that undoubtedly will find acceptance with God.
Two persons walking together espy a serpent; the one
shrieks and cries out at the sight of it, the other kills
it. So it is with sorrow for sin; some express it by great
lamentations and tears, and vehement transports of passion;
others by greater and more real effects of detestation--by
forsaking their sins, by mortifying and subduing their
lusts; but he that kills it doth certainly best express his
inward enmity against it.--_Tillotson,_ 1630-1694.
[4] Oh who can read of a _Manasseh,_ a _Magdalene,_ a _Saul,_
yes, an _Adam,_ who undid himself and a whole world with
him, in the roll of pardoned sinners, and yet turn away
from the promise, out of a fear that there is not mercy fit
in it to serve his turn? These are landmarks that show what
large boundaries mercy hath set for itself, and how far it
hath gone, even to take into its arms the greatest sinners
that make not themselves incapable thereof by final
impenitency. It were a healthful walk, poor doubting
Christian, for thy soul go to this circuit, and oft see
where the utmost stone is laid and boundary set by God's
pardoning mercy, beyond which He will not go.--_Gurnall,_
1617-1679.
SIN AND GRACE.
i. 18. _Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord; Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white
as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool._
For an exposition of the symbolism of this verse, see note.[1]
I. THE WONDERS OF DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 1. How marvellous that God
should condescend to "reason" with sinful men! Not thus do human
governments deal with rebels against their authority. The stern
proclamation goes forth, "Submit, or die." To admit helpless rebels
to a conference on equal terms (such as "reasoning" implies) is an
idea that never occurs to earthly sovereigns; but (ch. lv. 8,
9)--2. How marvellous that God should invite sinful men to reason
with Him, with a view to reconciliation with them! The result of such
an investigation of their conduct could only be their condemnation;
but this is not God's ultimate design. He does not desire to
humiliate sinners, but to bring them to repentance and confession, in
order that it may be possible for Him to pardon them. According to
human standards, it would have been a great thing had God been
willing to be reconciled to those who have offended Him so
grievously; but how astonishing is this, that He, the offended party,
should seek to reconcile the offenders to Himself. (2 Cor. v. 18, 19;
John iii. 19).
II. THE POSSIBILITIES OF HUMAN SIN. "Though your sins be as
scarlet . . . though they be red like crimson." Sins that take
complete possession of a man, and that are conspicuous to the public
eye, may be described as crimson and scarlet sins. How common such
sins are! What a spectacle the human race must present to angelic
eyes! Scarlet and crimson sins are more common than we are apt to
suppose, because responsibility is in proportion to privilege. In
proportion to the sinner's light is the sinner's guilt. Consequently
that which is a trivial fault in one man may be a crimson sin in
another. When an offence is contrary to a man's whole training,
though it may be a small matter in the sight of man, it may be as
scarlet and crimson sin in the sight of God. In these possibilities
of human sin we have--+1. A reason for universal watchfulness.+ Taken
even in its most obvious sense, the possibility of which our text
speaks is the possibility of every man. There is no human being who
may not fall into crime. Many men, after living half a century
blamelessly in the sight of men, suddenly yield to temptation, and
are consigned to felons' cells. David was no stripling when he
committed his great transgression. Said Hazael, "Is thy servant a
dog, that he should do this thing?" Yet he did it! (2 Kings viii. 13,
&c.) Peter rejected Christ's warning as incredible. Therefore (Rom.
xi. 20; 1 Cor. x. 12).[2] +2. A reason for universal humiliation and
prayer.+ Just because our privileges have been so great, God may put
a very different estimate upon our transgressions than we are
disposed to do. Therefore let us humbly seek pardon for the past, and
preventing grace for the future (Ps. xix. 12, 13).
III. THE CERTAINTIES OF DIVINE GRACE. "They shall be as white as
snow." Where sin abounds, grace shall more abound. In God there is
mercy to pardon every sin,[3] and grace to cleanse from every form
and degree of moral pollution. Here, then, we have--+1. A reason for
repentance.+ There is no argument so powerful as this: God is ready
to forgive. Many a prodigal has been deterred from saying, "I will
arise and go to my father," by a remembrance of his father's
sternness, and by a doubt as to whether his father would receive him.
But no such doubt need deter _us._ We are not called to the exercises
of a sorrow that will be unavailing. Our Father waits to be
gracious.[4] Hear His solemn and touching message (ch. lv. 6, 7;
TEXT). +2. An encouragement for those who are striving after moral
purity.+ Many who try to live a Christian life grow discouraged.
There are discouragements that come from _without:_ the unfavourable
spiritual atmosphere in which they live, the glaring inconsistencies
of some of the professing Christians by whom they are surrounded, the
low tone of the spiritual life of those whose conduct is not so open
to censure. Still sorer discouragements come from _within:_ the
faults that will not be shaken off; the evil tendencies that will
manifest themselves; the evil thoughts that will keep welling up from
the fountain of the heart, revealing its intense depravity. These
things are carefully hidden from men, but God knows them, and the
believer knows them, and because of them is apt to grow discouraged.
It seems to him that he can never be "made meet for the inheritance
of the saints in light." But God has declared that he shall be: God
has undertaken to perfect him in purity. "Be of good courage, all ye
that hope in the Lord." God is able to make all grace abound toward
you, and He is faithful to all His promises. See what He has promised
in our text. He has already fulfilled this promise in innumerable
cases (Rev. vii. 9), and He will fulfil it in yours. Be not
discouraged because your moral progress is so slow. How long does the
sun shine on the fruit seemingly in vain! All the summer the peach
remains hard as a stone. But the sun is _not_ shining in vain. Some
week in the autumn this is seen. All at once it softens and becomes
ripe; not as a result of that one week's sun, but of all the sunlight
and warmth of the preceding weeks. The chestnut opens in a night; but
for months the opening process is going on. In a moment many
chemicals seem to crystallise, but the process of crystallisation
goes on long before it becomes apparent. So there is a ripening, a
crystallising, a cleansing process going on in the heart of the
believer: though we see it not now, yet we shall have ample proof of
it by and by. In this matter walk by faith, not by sight. Be of good
courage! We shall yet be "white as snow."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Jehovah here challenges Israel to a formal trial: _nocach_
is thus used in a reciprocal sense, and with the same
meaning as _nishpat_ in ch. xliii. 26 (Ges. § 51, 2). In
such a trial Israel must lose, for Israel's
self-righteousness rests upon sham righteousness; and this
sham righteousness, when rightly examined, is but
unrighteousness dripping with blood. It is taken for
granted that this must be the result of the investigation.
Israel is therefore worthy of death. Yet Jehovah will not
treat Israel according to His retributive justice, but
according to His free compassion. He will remit the
punishment, and not only regard the sin as not existing,
but change it into its very opposite. The reddest possible
sin shall become, through His mercy, the purest white. On
the two _hiphils_ applied to colour, see Ges. § 53, 2;
though he gives the meaning incorrectly, viz., "to take a
colour," whereas the words signify rather to emit a colour,
not _colorem accipere,_ but _colorem dare. Shâne, bright
red (the plural _shânim,_ as in Prov. xxxi. 21, signified
materials dyed with _shâni_) and _tolâ,_ warm colour, are
simply different names for the same colour, viz., the
crimson obtained from the cochineal insect, _color
coccineus._
The representation of the work of grace promised by God as
a change from red to white is founded upon the symbolism of
colours, quite as much as when the saints in the Revelation
(ch. xix. 8) are described as clothed in white raiment,
whilst the clothing of Babylon is purple and scarlet (ch.
xvii. 4). Red is the colour of fire, and therefore of life:
the blood is red because life is a fiery process. For this
reason the heifer, from which the ashes of purification
were obtained for those who had been defiled through
contact with the dead, was to be red; and the
sprinkling-bush, with which the unclean were sprinkled, was
to be tied around with a band of scarlet wool. But red, as
contrasted with white, the colour of light (Matt. xvii. 2),
is the colour of selfish, covetous, passionate life, is
which is self-seeking in its nature, which goes out of
itself only to destroy, and drives about with wild
tempestuous violence: it is therefore the colour of wrath
and sin. It is generally supposed that Isaiah speaks of red
as the colour of sin, because sin ends in murder; and this
is not really wrong, though it is too restricted. Sin is
called red, inasmuch as it is a burning heat which consumes
a man, and when it breaks forth consumes his fellow-man as
well. According to the biblical view, throughout, sin
stands in the same relation to what is well-pleasing to
God, and wrath in the same relation to love or grace, as
fire to light; and therefore as red to white, to black to
white, for red and black are colours which border upon one
another. In the Song of Solomon (ch. vii. 5), the black
locks of Shulamith are described as being "like purple,"
and Homer applies the same epithet to the dark waves of the
sea. But the ground of this relation lies deeper still. Red
is the colour of fire, which flashes out of darkness and
returns to it again; whereas white, without any admixture
of darkness, represents the pure, absolute triumph of
light. It is a deeply significant symbol of the act of
justification. Jehovah offers to Israel an _actio
forensis,_ out of which it shall come forth justified by
grace, although it has merited death on account of its
sins. The righteousness, white as snow and wool, with which
Israel comes forth, is a gift conferred upon it out of pure
compassion, without being conditional upon any legal
performance whatsoever.--_Delitzch, Commentary on Isaiah,_
vol. i. pp. 98, 99.
A subordinate point in the imagery is, that scarlet and
crimson were the _firmest_ of dyes, least capable of being
washed out.--_Dr. Kay._
[2] The strong men are fallen; even Solomon himself, and David,
and Noah, and Lot, and Samson, and Peter, the lights of the
world, fell like stars from heaven. These tall cedars,
strong oaks, fair pillars, lie in the dust, whose tops
glittered in the air; that "they which think they stand may
take heed lest they fall." Can I look upon these ruins
without compassion? or remember them without fear, unless I
be a reprobate, and my heart of flint? Who am I that I
should stand like a shrub, when these cedars are blown down
to the ground, and showed themselves but men? The best man
is but a man: the worst are worse than beasts. No man is
untainted but Christ. They who had greater gifts than we,
they who had deeper roots than we, they who had stronger
hearts than we, they who had more props than we, are fallen
like a bird which is weary of her flight, and turned back
like the wind, in the twinkling of an eye. What shall we do
then, when we hear of other men's faults? Not talk of them
as we do, but beware by them, and think--Am I better than
he? Am I stronger than Samson? Am I wiser than Solomon? Am
I chaster than David? Am I soberer than Noah? Am I firmer
than Peter? There is no salt but may lose its saltiness, no
wine but may lose its strength, no flower but may lose its
scent, no light but may be eclipsed, no beauty but may be
stained, no fruit but may be blasted, no soul but may be
corrupted. We stand all in a slippery place, where it is
easy to slide and hard to get up.--_Henry Smith,_ 1592.
[3] Man may be willing to forgive a mite, the Lord a million;
three hundred pence and ten thousand talents are all one to
His mercy.--_Adams_, 1653.
He is rich in mercy, abundant in goodness and truth. Thy
sins are like a spark of fire that falls into the ocean, it
is quenched presently; so are all thy sins in the ocean of
God's mercy. There is not more water in the sea than there
is mercy in God.--_Manton,_ 1620-1667.
Why dost thou not believe in God's mercy? Is it thy sins
discourage? God's mercy can pardon great sins, nay, because
they are great (Ps. xxv. 11). The sea covers great rocks as
well as lesser sands.--_Watson,_ 1696.
[4] Joy is the highest testimony that can be given to our
complacency in any thing or person. Love or joy is a fuel
to the fire; if love lay little fuel of desires on the
heart, then the flame of joy that comes thence will not be
great. Now God's joy is great in pardoning poor sinners
that come in; therefore His affection is great in the offer
thereof. It is made the very motive that prevails with God
to pardon sinners, "Because He delighteth in mercy," "Who
is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His
heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, for He
delighteth in mercy." God doth all this, "because He
delighteth in mercy."
Ask why the fisher stands all night with his angle in the
river; he will tell you, because he delights in the sport.
Well, you know now the reason why God stands so long
waiting on sinners, months, years, preaching to them; it is
that He may be gracious in pardoning them, and in that act
delight Himself. Princes very often pardon traitors to
please others more than themselves, or else it would never
be done; but God doth it chiefly to delight and gladden His
own merciful heart. Hence the business Christ came about
(which was no other but to reconcile sinners to God) is
called "the pleasure of the Lord" (Isa.
liii. 10).--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
Many people get a wrong idea of God by thinking of Him as
infinite only in justice and power; but infinite applies to
the feelings of God as much as to the stretch of His right
hand. There is nothing in His nature which is not
measureless. Many think God sits brooding in heaven, as
storms brood in summer skies, full of bolts and rain, and
believe that they must come to Him under the covert of some
apology, or beneath some umbrellaed excuse, lest the clouds
should break, and the tempest overwhelm them. But when men
repent towards God, they go not to storms, but to serene
and tranquil skies, and to a Father who waits to receive
them with all tenderness and delicacy and love. His eye is
not dark with vengeance, nor His heart turbulent with
wrath; and to repent towards His justice and vindictiveness
must always be from a lower motive than to repent towards
His generosity and love. When you wish to please God, treat
Him as one who feels sorry for sinners; treat Him as one
who longs to help those who need help; go to Him
confidingly. No matter how bad you are--the worse the
better. Old Martin Luther said, "I bless God for my sins."
He would never have had such a sense of the pardoning mercy
of God if he had not himself been sinful. But as much as
you are wicked, God is glorious in restoring you to purity.
Let Him do for you those things which are the most generous
and magnanimous, and that will please Him best. He is a
Being whose feelings and affections move on such vast lines
of latitude and longitude, that the more you presume upon
His goodness, and cast yourself before Him saying, "I need
a miracle of grace and mercy," the better He is pleased.
Now I beseech you to kindle up a thought of what your
mother would do if you were a sinful, heart-broken,
discouraged man, but repentant, saying, "I have trod the
thorny way of life, and learned its mischief, can you,
mother, help me to begin anew?" What mother would cast away
such a son? What father would not receive a son on such
terms? And if earthly parents can lift themselves up into
feelings of holy sympathy for a repentant child, what must
be the feelings of God when His children come to him for
help to break away from sin, and to lead lives of
rectitude? Read the 15th chapter of Luke, and find out what
God's feelings are; and then say, "I will arise, and go to
my Father."--_Beecher._
SELF-SCRUTINY IN GOD'S PRESENCE.
i. 18. _Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord; Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall
be as wool._
The outflow of holy displeasure contained in the earlier portions of
this chapter would prepare us to expect an everlasting reprobacy of
the rebellious and unfaithful Church, but it is strangely followed by
the most yearning and melting entreaty ever addressed by the Most
High to the creatures of His footstool.
I. The text represents God as saying to the transgressors of His law,
"Come and let us reason together." The first lesson to be learned,
consequently, is +the duty of examining our moral character and
conduct along with God.+ When a responsible being has made a wrong
use of his powers, nothing is more reasonable than that he should
call himself to account for this abuse. Nothing, certainly, is more
necessary. There can be no amendment for the future until the past
has been cared for. But that this examination may be both thorough
and profitable, it must be made in company with the Searcher of
hearts. For there are always two beings who are concerned with sin:
the being who commits it, and the Being against whom it is committed.
Whenever, therefore, an examination is made into the nature of moral
evil as it exists in the individual heart, both parties concerned
should share in the examination. Such a joint examination as this
produces a very keen and clear sense of the evil and guilt of sin.
Conscience, indeed, makes cowards of us all, but when the eye of God
is felt to be upon us, it smites us to the ground. 1. When the soul
is shut up along with the Holy One of Israel, there are great
searchings of heart. Man is honest and anxious at such a time. His
usual thoughtlessness and torpidity upon the subject of religion
leave him, and he becomes a serious and deeply-interested creature.
2. Another effect of this "reasoning together" with God respecting
our character and conduct is to render our views discriminating. The
action of the mind is not only intense, it is also intelligent. The
sinner knows that he is wrong, and his Maker is right--that he is
wicked, and that God is holy. He perceives these two fundamental
facts with a simplicity and a certainty that admit of no debate. The
confusion and obscurity of his mind, and particularly the queryings
whether these things are so, begin to disappear like a fog when
disparted and scattered by sunrise. Objects are seen in their true
proportions and meanings; right and wrong, the carnal mind and the
spiritual mind, heaven and hell--all the great contraries that
pertain to the subject of religion--are distinctly understood, and
thus the first step is taken towards a better state of things in the
soul.[1]
II. The second lesson taught in the text is, that +there is
forgiveness with God.+ If mercy were not a manifested attribute of
God, all self-examination, and especially all this conjoint Divine
scrutiny, would be a pure torment and a pure gratuity. We have the
amplest assurance in the whole written revelation of God, but no
where else, that "there is forgiveness with Him, that He may be
feared." The text is an exceedingly explicit assertion of this great
truth. The very same Being who invites us to reason with Him and
canvass the subject of our criminality, in the very same breath, if
we may so speak, assures us that He will forgive all that is found in
this examination. And upon such terms cannot the criminal well afford
to examine into his crime? The Divine pity outruns and exceeds the
crime. Paradoxical as it may appear, self-examination, when joined
with a distinct recognition of the Divine character, and a conscious
sense of God's scrutiny, is the surest means of producing in a guilty
mind a firm conviction that God is merciful, and is the swiftest way
of finding Him to be so. Abhorrent as iniquity is to the pure mind of
God, it is nevertheless a fact that that sinner who goes directly
into this Dread Presence with all his sins upon his head, in order to
know them, to be condemned and crushed by them, and to confess them,
is the one who soonest returns with peace and hope in his soul. For
he discovers that God is as cordial and sincere in His offer to
forgive as He is in His threat to punish; and having, to his sorrow,
felt the reality and power of the Divine anger, he now, to his joy,
feels the equal reality and power of the Divine love. And this is the
one great lesson which every man must learn, or perish for ever.
From these two lessons of our text we deduce the following practical
directions--1. _In all states of religious anxiety we should betake
ourselves instantly and directly to God;_ there is no other refuge
for the human soul but God in Christ. Are we sinners, and fear for
the final result of our life? Though it may seem like running into
fire, we must, nevertheless, betake ourselves first and immediately
to that Being who hates and punishes sin (1 Chron. xxi. 13). 2. _In
all our religious anxiety we should make a full and plain statement
of everything to God._ Even when the story is one of shame and
remorse, we find it to be mental relief, patiently, and without any
reservation or palliation, to expose the whole, not only to our own
eye, but to that of our Judge. For to this very thing have we been
invited. This is precisely the "reasoning together" which God
proposes to us. God has not offered clemency to a sinful world with
the expectation or desire that there be, on the part of those to whom
it is offered, such a stinted and meagre confession, such a glossing
over and diminution of sin, as to make that clemency appear a very
small matter. He well knows the depth and the immensity of the sin
which He proposes to pardon, and has made provision accordingly. In
the phrase of Luther, it is no painted sinner who is to be forgiven,
and it is no painted Saviour who is offered. The transgression is
deep and real, and the atonement is deep and real. The crime cannot
be exaggerated, neither can the expiation. He, therefore, who makes
the plainest and most childlike statement of himself to God, acts
most in accordance with the mind and will and gospel of God. If man
can only be hearty, full, and unreserved in confession, he will find
God to be hearty, full, and unreserved in absolution.--_W. G. T.
Shedd, D.D., The American Pulpit of the Day,_ vol. i. pp. 829-842.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Man is not straitened upon the side of the Divine mercy.
The obstacle in the way of his salvation is in himself; and
the particular, fatal obstacle consists in the fact that he
does not feel that he needs mercy. God in Christ stands
ready to pardon, but man, the sinner, stands up before Him,
like the besotted criminal in our courts of law, with no
feeling upon the subject. The Judge assures him that He has
a boundless grace and clemency to bestow; but the sinful,
hardened man is not even aware that he has committed a
dreadful crime, and needs grace and clemency. There is food
in infinite abundance, but no hunger upon the part of the
man. The water of life is flowing by in torrents, but men
have no thirst. In this state of things nothing can be done
but to pass a sentence of condemnation. God cannot forgive
a being who does not even know that he needs to be
forgiven. Knowledge, then, self-knowledge, is the great
requisite; and the want of it is the cause of perdition.
This "reasoning together" with God, respecting our past and
present character and conduct, is the first step to be
taken by any one who would make preparation for eternity.
As soon as we come to a right understanding of our lost and
guilty condition, we shall cry, "Be merciful to me, a
sinner; create within me a clean heart, O God." Without
such an understanding--such an intelligent perception of
our sin and guilt--we never shall, and we never
can.--_Shedd._
SINNERS SELF-DESTROYED.
i. 19-20. _If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
destroyed with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it._
Delitsch translates--_"If ye then shall willingly hear, ye shall eat
the good of the land; if ye shall obstinately rebel, ye shall be
eaten by the sword: For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it."_
Stranchey translates--_"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall feed
on the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, the sword shall
feed on you,"_ which brings out one of the contrasts of the verse
still more clearly. "The promise of eating, _i.e.,_ of the full
enjoyment of domestic blessings, and therefore of settled, peaceful
rest at home, is placed in contrast with the curse of being eaten
with the sword."--_Delitsch._
Note the close connection between these verses and verse 18. God
condescends to invite rebels to a conference with Himself, He is
willing to grant them the fullest forgiveness; but it is on the
condition of future obedience. On this condition He is prepared to do
more than forgive them,--He will enrich them with all needful
blessings, of which peaceful enjoyment of the fruits of the earth is
here named as a symbol; but if they will not listen to His
invitation, accept His gracious offer, and yield the obedience He
righteously demands, then the vengeance they have deserved will come
upon them. They have the matter entirely in their own hands; it rests
with them to determine whether their future shall be one of happiness
or misery. Thus we are led to the great doctrine of these verses,
that _sinners are self-destroyed._
This is a doctrine frequently insisted on in Scripture (Ezek.
xxxiii. 11; 2 Sam. xiv. 14; Hos. xiii. 9; 2 Pet. iii. 9). It is true
in a twofold sense. +1. They sin voluntarily.+ God never foreordained
any man to work iniquity.[1] Some are indeed surrounded from their
birth by evil influences, and on this account, as well as on account
of that corrupt nature which we all inherit, they do sinful acts from
their infancy, but they do not _sin_ until the dawn of moral
consciousness; and after that, every act of iniquity they perpetrate
they perpetrate voluntarily. +2. They suffer voluntarily.+ They do
not merely expose themselves to the penalty of sin, they take it upon
them voluntarily. God offers to remit it, on condition of their
repentance, but they reject the proffered boon; like a suicide who
repels the surgeon who would close his bleeding wounds.
In this fact that sinners thus destroy themselves we have--+I. A
terrible illustration of the depth of human depravity.+ Sinners not
only hate God so much as to break His laws, but so much as to harden
themselves against His love, and to reject His mercy. +II. A
sufficient vindication of the severities of the Divine justice.+
1. No sinner in hell will be able to reproach God for his misery.
2. We who contemplate the awful fact that human souls are suffering
in hell have no right to reproach God for their sufferings. These
sufferers deliberately turned their backs upon God and heaven, and
went of their own accord to perdition.
_Application._--1. Before you to-day blessing and cursing, life and
death are set; choose ye which ye will. 2. "If ye be _willing,_" God
will open to you all the treasures of His grace. But not otherwise!
He will compel no man to accept His mercy. 3. Whatever be your
choice, God will ratify it. If you choose destruction, you shall have
it, and then you will not be able to revoke your choice (Prov.
i. 22-31).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The argument which the fatalist bases upon organisation is
self-annihilating when applied to the common relations of
life. The fatalist himself does not believe in his own
doctrine; in speculative reasoning he is eager to charge
moral crime upon organic defect; yet, in practical
magistracy, he arraigns and condemns the criminal to
punishment. But how monstrous an outrage is this upon his
own creed! The criminal was compelled through stress of
organisation to commit the crime, yet the fatalist punishes
him for doing what he could not help! Let the principle of
the fatalist be admitted, and there is an end to all
legislation--an end, indeed, to the social compact itself.
All associated life is regulated by a system of restraints;
but restraint implies self-control, and self-control is
directly opposed to fatalism. Let a criminal plead that he
could not help committing a certain crime; and if the judge
allow the plea, he will at once treat the criminal as a
lunatic, and instruct the officers of justice accordingly.
Magistracy proceeds upon the principle that men can "help"
committing crime. All human legislation assumes a man's
power of self-regulation, and grounds itself on the grand
doctrine of man's responsibility to man. At this point,
upon the same principle in relation to God, Theology says,
You hold yourselves responsible to one another on all
social matters, you punish the criminal, you ignore the
plea of fatalism on all questions of property, order, and
security; now go further, heighten your own social base,
carry out to their logical issues your own principles and
methods, and you will reach all that God requires of man.
If it be urged that God gave the criminal his organisation,
the objection does not touch the argument. The argument is,
that in human consciousness the plea of fatalism is ignored
on all practical matters; away beyond all written statutes
there is a conviction that man can regulate his actions,
and ought to be held responsible for such regulation. Man
himself thus, by his own conduct and his own law, acquits
God of all charge upon this matter; the very recognition by
the magistrate of man's responsibility is itself a direct
acquittal of God from the accusations of fatalism. God need
not be interrogated upon the subject, for the magistrate
himself, faithful to the consciousness of universal
humanity, treats the fatalistic theory as an
absurdity.--_Joseph Parker._
THE CERTAINTY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE IMPENITENT.
i. 20. _If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with
the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it._
Let a man look steadily at the sun for a few moments, and for a long
time afterwards he will see nothing else; whithersoever he turns, he
will behold the sun. Some men have looked at God's wondrous mercy so
exclusively, that they can see in Him and His Word nothing but mercy,
and they doubt, and teach others to doubt, whether God will fulfil
His threatenings against sin. Let such persons consider these three
facts--+I. That God's justice requires that He should execute His
threatenings against iniquity.+ He Himself would commit a frightful
injustice, and would be the worst active promoter and abettor of evil
in the universe, if He were to treat all men alike. His mere delay to
take vengeance upon transgressors gives rise to some of the most
perplexing of moral problems (Eccles. ix. 2, 3; Ps. lxxiii. 1-9,
&c.), and if He were never to do so, the whole universe would be
driven into atheism. This is the tendency even of His merciful delays
(Ps. x. 11; lxxiii. 11, &c.) +II. That God's truth requires that He
should execute His threatenings against iniquity.+ "The mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it," and shall He not fulfil His Word? So settled is
the conviction of the human mind that He must do so, that it has been
found one of the greatest obstacles to the reception of the Gospel.
How God can be truthful, and yet pardon the sinner, it has
transcended the human mind to conceive. The atonement of Christ is
the _practical_ solution of this mystery. +III. That the history of
His ancient people shows that while in God there is a goodness most
marvellous and tender, on account of which we should praise Him
evermore, there is also a severity so terrible, that on account of it
all the world should stand in awe of Him.+ Remember what frightful
calamities (the sword, famine, pestilence, exile) God sent upon His
ancient people in this world; and shall we imagine that He who
displayed such a capacity for sternness in this world will be found
incapable of it in the world which is to come? Let us dismiss this
delusion which is at once utterly groundless and unspeakably
dangerous.[1]
_Application._--1. True reverence for God will lead us to accept with
equal implicitness all the disclosures which He has been pleased to
give of His character He will be to us neither a God all mercy nor a
God all justice. In Him both these high qualities are found in equal
perfection: they are not opponents, but allies. Each is always in
absolute harmony with the other. 2. True reverence for God will lead
us to tremble in view of His threatenings, as well as to rejoice in
view of His promises. 3. It is with the God of the Bible, and not
with the God of our own sentimental fancies, that we shall have to
deal with at the last. 4. If we take nature as our guide to the
interpretation of revelation, we shall find it easier to believe in
God's severity than in His benignity. In nature there are appalling
indications of sternness. The world in which we now are is full of
suffering.[2] 5. It is in mercy that the threatenings of God's
justice are now set forth.[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] If Scripture be certainly true, then the most terrible
passages in it are certainly true; nothing is more hardly
believed by men than that which will be most tormenting to
their minds, when it is believed that none shall be saved
but the regenerate and holy; and those that live not after
the flesh, but the Spirit, and love God in Christ above all
the world, even their own lives; and that, besides these
few, all the rest shall be tormented in hell for ever. This
is the doctrine that flesh and blood will hardly down with.
They say or think they will never believe that God will be
so unmerciful; as if God must needs be less merciful than
man, because He is more just and holy, and will not be so
indulgent to their flesh and sin as they are themselves,
and would have Him to be. And I have known even godly men,
through the remnant of their corruption and darkness in the
things of God, and the violence of temptation, much
troubled with their unbelief in this particular. But God
cannot lie the Scripture being true, and the Christian
religion certainly true, every part of it must needs be
true. But because sensual nature looks for sensible
demonstration or proof, let me ask the unbelievers this one
question--"Do you believe that which you see and feel, and
all the world feels as well as you?" You know that all
mankind liveth here a life of trouble and misery; we come
into the world in a very poor condition, and we pass
through it in daily labour and sorrow, and we pass out of
it through the dreadful pangs of death. What incessant
labour have the most of them, how much want and misery, how
much care and grief! Do you not see and feel how sicknesses
do torment us? When one pain is over, another is at hand.
Have you not seen some under such terrible fits of the
gout, or stone, or other diseases, that they thought no
torment could be greater; some with their legs rotting and
must be cut off; some with loathsome cancers and leprosies
on them many years together; some that have lost their
eyesight, have lost almost all the comfort of life; some
that never could see; some that never could hear or speak?
I have known some in such pain that they have cried out
they did not believe there was greater in hell; some are
mad, and some idiots: are not all these in a very miserable
case? Now I would ask you further if God may, without any
unmercifulness, do all this to men, and that as a
chastisement in the way to bring them to repentance; if He
may, without unmercifulness, make a David cry out in
misery, and wash his couch with his tears; and make a Job
to lie scraping his sores on a dunghill; why should you
think he cannot, without unmercifulness, torment incurable
sinners in hell? Further, I would ask you this question;
suppose you had lived in Adam's paradise, or some condition
of pleasure and rest, where you never had tasted of
sickness, or labour, or want, or feared death, if God's
Word had there told you, but that man shall endure so much
misery as I have mentioned and men daily suffer, and should
die at last for his sin, would you have said, "I will never
believe God would be so unmerciful?" You that say so now,
would likely have said so then in this case; for feeling
the pleasure yourselves, you would on the same ground have
said, "God is unmerciful if He should make man so
miserable;" and yet you see and feel that God doth it, and
we know that He is not unmerciful.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
[2] Suffering comes to us through and from our whole nature. It
cannot be winked out of sight. It cannot be thrust into a
subordinate place in the picture of human life. It is the
chief burden of history. It is the solemn theme of one of
the highest departments of literature, the tragic drama. It
gives to fictions their deep interest: it wails through
much of our poetry. A large part of human vocations are
intended to shut up some of its avenues. It has left traces
on every human countenance over which years have passed. It
is not to a few the most vivid recollection of
life.--_W. Ellery Channing._
[3] God indeed tells us of Hell, but it is to persuade us to
flee to heaven; and as a skilful painter fills the
background of his picture with his darker colours, God
introduces the smoke of torment, and the black
thunderclouds of Sinai, to give brighter prominence to
Jesus, the Cross of Calvary, and His love to the chief of
sinners.
His voice of terror is like the scream of the mother-bird
when the hawk is in the sky. She alarms her brood, that
they may run and hide beneath her feathers; and as I
believe that God hath left that mother dumb unless He had
given her wings to cover them, I am sure that He, who is
very "pitiful," and has no pleasure in any creature's pain,
had never turned our eyes to the horrible gulf unless for
the voice that cries, "Deliver from going down to the pit,
for I have found a ransom."
We had never heard of sin had there been no Saviour. We had
never heard of hell had there been no heaven. "Sufficient
for the day is the evil thereof." And never had Bible light
flashed before the eyes of the sleeping felon, to wake him
from his happy dream, but that he might see the smiling
form of Mercy, and hear her as she says, with finger
pointing the way, "Behold I have set before thee an open
door."--_Guthrie._
MORAL DECLENSION.
i. 21-23. _How is the faithful city become an harlot![1] It
was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now
murderers.[2] Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed
with water: thy princes are rebellious, and companions of
thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after
rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the
cause of the widow come unto them._
+I. Moral declensions may take place in the best of men.+ "The
faithful city--silver--wine--princes," the very best things depraved.
+II. There are no limits to the moral declensions that may take place
in the best of men.+ "The faithful city is become an _harlot_," &c.
We have here an argument--1. For universal _humility_ (1 Cor. x. 12;
Gal. vi. 1). 2. For universal _watchfulness_ (Mark xiv. 38). 3. For
universal _prayer_ (Ps. xix. 12, 13; cxxxix. 23, 24).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "The faithful city is become an harlot:"--Jerusalem, the
daughter of Zion, the wife of the Holy One of Israel, has
broken the bond of her covenant with Him, has set at nought
the Divine constitution and order in which He originally
placed, and has continued to sustain her: and, as the
outward consequence and sign of this spiritual defection,
has actually fallen to the worship of other gods.
Throughout this prophecy Isaiah dwells chiefly on the sins
of the princes and rulers of the nation, and only
incidentally on those of the people; and accordingly he now
dilates on the characteristic vices of the former, which
are the fruits of their national unfaithfulness. Social and
political morality have vanished along with religious
faith; thieves and murderers are found instead of virtuous
citizens; the nobles and men in authority are the first to
break the laws they should enforce; the administration of
justice is so corrupt that the judges take bribes, connive
at the robbers whose booty they share, and permit the rich
man to pervert the law for the oppression of the fatherless
and widow, who have no patrons to demand, and no money to
buy, justice: and thus the aristocracy, setting aside all
belief that they hold their wealth and power in trust from
God for the benefit of the people under them, do but employ
these as irresistible engines for breaking down all rights
that can oppose them in their pursuit of luxury and
vice.--_Strachey._
[2] Jerusalem was once full of such right; and Righteousness
was not merely there in the form of a hastily-passing
guest, but had come down from above to take up her
permanent abode in Jerusalem: she tarried there day and
night, as if it were her home. The prophet had in his mind
the times of David and Solomon, and also more especially
the time of Jehoshaphat (about one hundred and fifty years
before Isaiah's appearance), who restored the
administration of justice, which had fallen into neglect
since the closing years of Solomon's reign and the time of
Rehoboam and Abijah, to which Asa's reformation had not
extended, and reorganized it entirely in the spirit of the
law. It is possible also that Jehoiada, the high priest in
the time of Joash, may have revived the institutions of
Jehoshaphat so far as they had fallen into disuse under his
three godless successors; but even in the second half of
the reign of Joash the administration of justice fell into
some disgraceful state, at least as compared with the times
of David, Solomon, and Jehoshaphat, as that in which Isaiah
found it. The glaring contrast between the present and the
past is indicated by the expression _"and
now."_--_Delitzch._
AN ILLUSTRIOUS INHABITANT.
i. 21. _Righteousness lodged in it._
+I. A High Commendation.+ Righteousness lodged in the city--not
merely visited it as a passing guest, but dwelt in it as a permanent
abode [Alexander and Kay--"had its _home_ there"]. No greater praise
could be spoken of any city, nor can be uttered of any man. +1.+ _Let
us do what we can to make our city worthy of this high commendation._
Much can be done in this direction by the combined, resolute, and
persevering efforts of godly men. +2.+ _Let us try to deserve it
individually._ This may involve many sacrifices, but they will be
more than compensated. Righteousness is a royal guest, ennobling and
enriching those with whom she dwells, and peace, prosperity, and joy
invariably follow in her train. +II. A mournful condemnation.+
Righteousness _lodged_ in the city; lodged, not lodges! That noble
and Divine inhabitant is departed. The palace in which she dwelt is
in ruins. 1. Of how many _cities_ may this mournful declaration be
made! The cities in which Christianity achieved some if its first and
noblest triumphs are now Mohammedan and semi-heathen. They did not
hold fast the truth, and now they are given over to error. We boast
that this is a Christian land, but its relapse into practical
heathenism is not impossible. In every action there is a constant
gravitation towards evil, which can only be resisted and overcome by
constant effort and earnest prayer. Let the churches of this land lay
this solemn fact to heart. 2. Of how many _men_ may this declaration
be made! How many even of the openly vicious and criminal were once
respectable members of society--yes, even honoured members of
churches! They were men "subject to like passions as we are;" and in
what they are we have solemn warnings as to what we may become. Let
those who are most exalted, not in privileges only, but in moral
excellence, also watch and pray, lest sin enter even their hearts,
and expel that Divine guest whose presence secures so many blessings
and warrants so many hopes.
THE POSSIBLE DEGENERACY OF VALUABLE THINGS.
i. 22. _Thy silver is become dross._
There are many valuable and good things in the world that through
varied causes are rendered comparatively useless. They once were
silver, but now they are dross. +I. The silver of thy character has
become dross because of little failings.+ There have been men known
to all of us, of good moral characters, of lofty and heroic soul, but
they were betrayed into occasional faults,[1] which many condoned,
which others magnified, but which they themselves did not correct,
until at last their silver became dross. The character depreciated in
moral worth. It was no longer current as a thing of beauty. It had
lost its value. +II. The silver of thy service has become dross
because of unholy motives.+ Christian service is a good and precious
thing, but how frequently is it rendered useless and vain by pride,
by thoughts of self, and by secular motive.[2] It is, indeed, as
silver when rendered by a pure and loving heart, but alas! it too
often becomes dross because of the unhallowed sentiment of the soul.
The mite of the widow cast into the treasury was as silver, but the
munificent gifts of the Pharisees were as dross. How much of the
service rendered to the great God in the pulpit, pew, and school, is
but dross! This is a solemn thought. +III. The silver of thy money
has become dross because of selfishness.+ We cannot estimate the
wealth of a man by the money he has in possession, but often far
better by the money he gives away. When men keep their riches to
themselves, solely for their own use, they cease to be rich--they are
laden with coin that is not current; their silver has become dross.
Liberality makes money worth its value.[3] Generosity preserves
wealth from all degenerating influences. How many so-called rich men
have more dross than silver in this world. +IV. The silver of thy
talents has become dross because of indolence.+ Silver is bright when
kept in use. Talents are valuable when active. The mind has talents
of thought and sympathy and love. The hand has talents of help. The
mouth has talents of blessing. Take care that thy silver does not
become as dross.--_J. S. Exell._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] You need not break the glasses of a telescope, or coat them
over with paint, in order to prevent you from seeing
through them. Just breathe upon them, and the dew of your
breath will shut out all the stars. So it does not require
great crimes to hide the light of God's countenance. Little
faults can do it just as well. Take a shield, and cast a
spear upon it, and it will leave in it one great dent.
Prick it all over with a million little needle shafts, and
they will take the polish from it far more than the
piercing of the spear. So it is not so much the great sins
which take the freshness from our consciences, as the
numberless petty faults which we are all the while
committing.--_Beecher._
[2] Our end or motive in acting determines more than anything
the quality of our actions. Not that a good end will
sanctify a bad action, but a bad end will vitiate every
action connected with it. If, for instance, in our
religious services we seek the applause of men, we must
expect no reward from God, the gratification of our pride
and vanity is all the reward that such polluted services
can obtain. In the account which is given of Jehu, we find
that the very same action which was rewarded on account of
its outward conformity with God's command, was punished on
account of the base principle by which he was influenced in
performing it. He did well in extirpating the seed of Ahab,
and was rewarded for it to the fourth generation: the blood
which was shed was imputed to him as murder. Nor is there
anything more common than for even religious persons to
mistake the path of duty through an inattention to their
own spirit. The disciples doubtless thought themselves
under the influence of a commendable zeal when they would
have called fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan
village; as did Peter, also, when he cut off the ear of
Malchus. We should therefore be peculiarly cautious with
respect to this, lest by the mixture of any selfish motive
or base affection we offend Him whom it is our desire and
endeavour to please.--_Simeon._
[3] If we so love our riches that we would eternally possess
them, let us not hoard them up in the earth, where we are
sure to leave them, carrying nothing with us but the canker
of our coin, which shall bear witness against us at the Day
of Judgment; but let us send them before us into heaven,
delivering them unto the poor, who are God's factors and
receivers; and so having conveyed and made over our goods,
as it were by bills of exchange, we shall find the Lord a
sure and all-sufficient paymaster, who will give us more
than double usance, and yet pay us at the first sight. If
we would have our coin continue sweet and good for a good
space, let us know that there are for this purpose no
garners comparable to poor men's stomachs, which will
preserve our grain for our use unto life eternal. If we
would have our clothes preserved from moths, and to last
long, the backs of the naked are our safest
wardrobes.--_Downame,_ 1644.
A TERRIBLE RESOLVE.
i. 24. _Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies._
Concerning many men, we may offer Christ's prayer, "Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do." They sin in ignorance, or
rather without thought of their character and relation to God, and of
the doom which they are bringing upon themselves. There may be such
persons before me now. Acting, then the part of a true and faithful
friend, I warn you--+I. That God counts you as His enemies.+ By
cherishing your sins you defy His authority, and place yourself in a
position of hostility to Him.[1] +II. That God feels Himself,
injured, oppressed, and as it were hemmed in by your iniquities.+
Note this most suggestive phrase, "I will _ease me_ of mine
adversaries," and see outline on verse 14. God's laws are His
territories, and by your transgressions you invade them. Your sins
are _trespasses._ God feels toward you as the French feel towards the
Germans who have taken possession of and settled down in Alsace and
Lorraine; you put upon God an indignity which He cannot and will not
bear. +III.+ That while God endures your trespasses for a time, in
the merciful hope that by His forbearance you may be led to
repentance, +He will not restrain His anger for ever,+ but will
presently give free vent to it,[2] and sweep you into that place
where, though you may retain the disposition to sin against Him, you
will not have the power.
_Application._--Now consider--1. That this is not the resolve of some
feeble being destitute of resources for the accomplishment of his
purposes. He who thus solemnly warns you is "the Lord of hosts, the
Mighty One of Israel." 2. Whether you have resources that will enable
you to cope with this adversary whose indignation you have aroused
(Luke xiv. 31). If not, consider--3. What is the course that wisdom
would suggest to you in your present circumstances (Luke xiv. 32).[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] If a king warns a city of traitors, and calls upon them to
search them out and send them away, and they never regard
the message, but willingly give them harbour and
entertainment, it is a sign that they are disaffected to
him: to cherish a sin after warning is open defiance of
God.--_Manton,_ 1620-1667.
[2] At this first step we might reason on the testimony if we
pleased, instead of accepting it, and raise the objection
that to imagine passion in God, especially so turbid a
passion as anger, conflicts with our notions of His
character, and degrades Him in our apprehensions. Beware!
remember that in forming an estimate of the character and
proceedings of God, we are but little children forming an
estimate of the character and proceedings of a man of
matured experience. Were it not more reasonable, as well as
more reverent, to accept what He says, and to leave Him
afterwards to clear up any mystery which may envelope His
nature? I can indeed conceive in Him nothing turbid,
impetuous, or impulsive, such as sullies the clearness of
the human will. But this I can conceive, that there is in
Him some high perfection (more incomprehensible to my
finite capacity than the speculations of an astronomer to a
peasant child), of which anger is the most adequate
exponent to my mind, and which I must be content to think
of and speak of as anger, or else to remain in total
ignorance of it. And this also I can--not only conceive,
but most readily assent to, that in an absolutely perfect
nature there should be an utter abhorrence of, and
antipathy to, moral evil, most justly represented to simple
minds by the terms "anger," "curse." We have never seen a
perfect character; no perfect character, save one, ever
moved upon the earth: but the righteous man, who is
striving after and approximating to perfection, has often
crossed our path; and surely we have marked in him, that
the more righteous he is, the more doth he abhor (in the
language of Holy Scriptures) everything that is evil. What
is the effect upon one who breathes habitually the
atmosphere of communion with God, of catching in the
current tidings of the day the intelligence of some awful
outburst of depravity? When such an one passes on an errand
of mercy through the crowded alleys of a great city, and
the shouts of malignant execration and profaneness ring in
his ear, or with what feeling does he encounter these
symptoms of human degradation? Are they not like a foul
odour to his nostrils, or a jarring note to his ear, or an
abortion to his sight? Does he not turn away with loathing,
and recoil from such scenes and such sounds with an
antipathy strong in proportion to his goodness? And is it,
then, so hard to conceive that in perfect goodness there
may be a recoil from moral evil, something similar in kind
to this, though infinitely stronger in degree? And is not
such a recoil righteous, and a token of
righteousness?--_Goulburn._
[3] Let us take heed, for mercy is like a rainbow, which God
set in the clouds to remember mankind: it shines here as
long as it is not hindered; but we must never look for it
after it is night, and it shines not in the other world. If
we refuse mercy here, we shall have justice there.--_Jeremy
Taylor,_ 1612-1667.
THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT.
i. 24-27. _Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of
hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: and I will turn
mine hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and
take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at
the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning:
afterwards thou shall be called, The city of righteousness,
The faithful city. Zion shall be welcomed with judgment,
and her converts with righteousness._
The denunciation of the iniquity of Jerusalem (vers. 21-23) is
followed by a solemn announcement of God's determination to punish
it. +I. God will certainly punish sin.+ "Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies." See preceding outline,
and that on verse 20. +II. In punishing sin God is not moved by any
vindictive purpose.+ True, He speaks here of taking vengeance upon
His enemies, but these words coming from the lips of Jehovah must not
be interpreted as we should have to interpret them if they came from
the lips of a Genghis Khan or a Tippoo Saib. We must remember that
this is the utterance of the Mighty One of Israel, who is infinitely
uplifted above every unholy passion. Whatever misconstruction the
phrase, taken alone, might be open to, is entirely obviated by the
declarations which follow it, which teach us--+III. That God's aim
even in the severest chastisements is the reformation of the
offenders, and their restoration to true blessedness.+ For what
purpose will He turn His hand upon Jerusalem? Not that He may destroy
her, but that He may purify her, as silver is purified in the
furnace; and through this painful process she is caused to pass, that
she may be restored to her former dignity and blessedness. It is for
these purposes that God chastises nations and individuals to-day.
_Application._--1. Those who are living sinful lives may certainly
expect severe judgments. Sin and sorrow are inseparably linked, and
God is solemnly pledged not to "clear" the guilty. 2. Those on whom
judgments on account of sin have fallen should neither despise them
nor be driven by them to despair (Heb. xii. 5). These are two great
evils. Indifference to chastisement brings on still severer
strokes.[1] God will break the stubborn sinners who refuse to bend
(ver. 28).[2] Despair defeats the very object for which our
chastisements are sent, and is itself a grievous offence against God.
Instead of yielding to despair, we should be filled with hope, for
God has loving purposes towards us, and our prayer should be, not
that the afflictions should be removed, but that God's purposes in
them should be fulfilled. It is worth while to go into the furnace,
if thereby we may be cleansed from the dross by which we are defiled.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The physician, when he findeth that the potion which he
hath given his patient will not work, seconds it with one
more violent; but if he perceive the disease to be settled,
then he puts him in a course of physic, so that _medicè
miserè_ (he shall have at present but small comfort of his
life). And thus doth the surgeon too: if a gentle plaster
will not serve, then he applies that which is more
corroding, and, to prevent a gangrene, he makes use of the
cauterising knife, and take off the joint or member that is
so ill affected. Even so God, when men profit not by such
crosses as He hath formerly exercised them with, when they
are not bettered by lighter afflictions, then He sends
heavier, and proceeds from milder to sharper courses. If
the dross of their sin will not come off, He will throw
them into the melting-pot again and again, crush them
harder in the press, and lay on such irons as shall enter
more deeply into their souls. If He strikes and they grieve
not, if they be so foolish that they will not know the
judgment of their God, He will bring seven times more
plagues upon them--cross upon cross, loss upon loss,
trouble upon trouble, one sorrow on the neck of
another--till they are, in a manner, wasted and
consumed.--_Firmicus._
[2] This we may rest satisfied of, that whensoever God's hand
is upon us, we must either yield a voluntary, or be forced
to a violent, submission. If our stubbornness is such that
we will not bend, it is certain that our weakness is also
such that we must needs break. If God's message will not
win upon Pharaoh, His plagues shall compel him, and
therefore, when He sent Moses to him, He put a rod into his
hand, as well as a word into his mouth. When God fully
purposes to afflict a man, he is like a bird in a net, the
more he strives and flutters, the more he is entangled; for
the Supreme Judge of all things is resolved to go through
with His great work of judgment, and to make all obstinate,
sturdy sinners know, that He has power to constrain where
His goodness will not persuade.--_South,_ 1633-1716.
THE DIVINE IDEA OF REDEMPTION.
i. 25, 26. _And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely
purge away thy dross, and take away thy tin: and I will
restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as
at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city
of righteousness, The faithful city._
We have here the promise of a redemption which God would accomplish
for Jerusalem, and from the terms of the promise, especially taken in
connection with the preceding statements (vers. 21-23), we may learn
what God's idea of redemption is: it is to purge away all that
debases and to restore all that is lost. In other words, _redemption
consists in restoration to the Divine ideal._ Such was the redemption
which God promises to accomplish for Jerusalem; such is the
redemption which He offers to accomplish for us. Here we have--
+I. A correction of a common error.+ Most men, when they hear of
redemption, think of it merely as salvation from suffering, rescue
from the peril of hell. This is a _consequence_ of redemption, but
redemption consists in the cleansing of our nature from all
defilement, and in our restoration to the Divine ideal of humanity
(Col. iii. 10; Eph. iv. 24, 13). God is going to do something grander
for us than save us from hell. He is going to make us "meet" for
heaven (1 John iii. 2). It would be truer to say that God's idea of
redemption is "salvation _by_ suffering," than to say that it is
"salvation _from_ suffering." The figure used in the text is
expressive of the keenest suffering--"I will purge away thy dross."
but dross is purged away by _fire!_ Suffering is one of the
instruments which God most frequently uses to save men from sin.
+II. A model for preachers.+ Guided by a Divine interpreter, the
prophet does not speak of happiness, but of purity and righteousness;
he names these as the great favours which God was about to bestow
upon His people. So should preachers to-day strive to make men
understand that _these_ are the greatest blessings which God can
confer upon man. All other blessings spring from them; as all social
blessings are secured to a community when its "judges" are righteous
and its "counsellors" fear God. Let preachers do their utmost to make
it plain to the man of this generation, that just as if we have the
sun we shall have light and heat, so if they have purity, they shall
have peace; if they attain to holiness, they shall attain to a nobler
and completer happiness than those who long for happiness merely ever
dream.
+III. An ennobling ideal to be striven after by all men.+ Happy is
the man who has a great purpose in life. And what is the purpose with
which a study of our text should inspire us? Not merely to "flee from
the wrath to come," but to become "partakers of the Divine nature,"
and so to attain to God's ideal of humanity. God is striving to
restore us to His own likeness: let us do all that in us lies to help
on this restoration (Phil. ii. 12, 13). The "salvation" we are to
"work out" is not salvation from guilt (_that_ is Christ's work,
accomplished by Him once for all on the cross), but from the
indwelling corruption which is to us what dross is to the precious
metals. Nor are we merely to seek to put away that which is evil;[1]
we are to strive to set up in us all noblenesses which are to
character what "judges" and "counsellors" are to a city (2 Pet.
i. 5-7; Phil. iv. 8). Blessed is the man who has this ideal in life.
1. _He is saved from fear,_ the haunting dread of failure which
oppresses those whose supreme desire is merely to be saved from hell.
2. _He has a sustaining hope,_ based upon the sure promises of God's
Word (1 Pet. i. 10, 11). 3. He has a present and growing joy,_ such
as can come only from self-conquest and moral progress. The joy of
"the just," that is of the men whose steadfast aim is righteousness,
is like "the path of the just" (Prov. iv. 18).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Christianity ends not in negatives. No man clears his
garden of weeds but in order to the planting of flowers or
useful herbs in their room. God calls upon us to dispossess
our corruptions, but it is for the reception of new
inhabitants. A room may be clean, and yet empty; but it is
not enough that our hearts be swept, unless they be also
garnished, or that we lay aside our pride, our luxury, our
covetousness, unless humility, temperance, and liberality
rise up and thrive in their places. The design of religion
would be very poor and short should it look no further than
only to keep men from being swine, goats, and tigers,
without improving the principles of humanity into positive
and higher perfections. The soul may be cleansed from all
blots, and yet still be left but a blank. But Christianity
is of a thriving and aspiring nature, and requires us to
proceed from grace to grace (2 Pet. i. 5-7), ascending by
degrees, till at length the top of the ladder reaches
heaven, and conveys the soul so qualified into the mansions
of glory.--_South,_ 1633-1716.
SOCIAL REGENERATION.
i. 26. _And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and
thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shall
be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city._
We have in the contest a picture of a dismantled city, a disorganized
community; and here God tells us that He will undertake the work of
its reconstruction. +I. All the arrangements of society are
absolutely in God's hands.+ "_I_ will restore," &c. No man can
overturn, or build up, but by His permission. On Him all projects of
national, social, or ecclesiastical reconstruction depend for their
success. That on which He smiles flourishes; that on which He frowns
withers away. Let reformers and reconstructors of society remember
and recognise this great fact, that God rules on earth as in heaven.
+II. All interruptions of social order are under the control of God.+
Revolutions occur not by chance, nor by the will of man, but by the
will of God. They occur only when, and continue only as long as He
pleases. By Him judges and counsellors are swept away, and by Him
they are restored. No nation is so broken that it cannot be uplifted
by Him to power and glory, "as at the first." +III. No social state
can be purified but by religious processes.+ There are many
philanthropic and political projects which have for their aim
national regeneration, but they are all foredoomed to come to nought,
because they lack the religious element. Moral reformation must go
before social advancement: a return to righteousness is the first
step to national exaltation.[1] +IV. The great name will follow the
true regeneration.+ "_Afterward_ thou shall be called, The city of
righteousness, The faithful city." Not first the exalted title, but
the illustrative character; not first the splendid renown, but the
glorious achievement!--_Joseph Parker, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Think not that any change in the form of government would
cure that which is caused by the people's sin, or the
common depravity of human nature. Some think they can
contrive such forms of government as that the rulers shall
be able to do no hurt; but either they will disable them to
do good, or else their engine is but glass, and will fail
or break when it comes to execution. Men that are
themselves so bad and unhumbled as not to know how bad they
are, and how bad mankind is, are still laying the blame
upon the form of government when anything is amiss, and
think by a change to find a cure. As if when an army is
infected with the plague, or composed of cowards, the
change of the general or form of government would prove a
cure. But if a monarch be faulty, in an aristocracy you
will have but many faulty governors for one, and in a
democracy a multitude of tyrants.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
THE TWOFOLD EFFECT OF DIVINE JUDGMENTS.
i. 27, 28. _Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her
converts with righteousness: and the destruction of the
transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and
they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed._
These verses are closely and vitally connected: it is a mistake to
separate them, as in the Authorised Version. Their meaning would be
conveyed to the English reader, if they were translated--_"Zion shall
be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness; and
thereby also the transgressors and sinners shall be destroyed, yea
they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed."_[1] By judgment is
meant the doom which in the preceding verses had been threatened
against guilty Jerusalem (_e.g.,_ vers. 18): this "judgment" would be
a manifestation of God's punitive righteousness, and the declaration
is that the infliction of this "judgment" would have a twofold
effect--it would redeem Zion and her converts, and it would destroy
the transgressors and sinners.
_The diverse effects of Divine judgments_ is a matter well worthy of
our study. +I. One effect of those judgments by which God manifests
His righteous indignation against sin is to redeem His people from
their transgressions.+ A prolonged period of peace and prosperity
such as the Jews enjoyed under Uzziah is always perilous to the vital
religion of a nation. Formalism is apt to prevail. The lines of
demarcation between the Church and the world are apt to be effaced;
"Zion" is apt to become merged in "Jerusalem." In love to His people,
God is therefore compelled to send upon their nation great
calamities. These lead to searchings of heart, and reformations of
conduct and character. Men learn again to wait upon God, and
reverently to regard His will (ch. xxvi. 9). The Church shines once
more with the glory of spiritual conformity to God, and the result is
that she is increased by converts from the world: to these also the
season of judgment is also the season of redemption. But,
+II. Another effect of God's judgments is to harden the obdurate.+
His chastisements lead some men to further acts of rebellion against
Him (ver. 8). Like Pharaoh, they harden themselves more and more as
God sends plague after plague upon them (Exod. viii. 19, 32, &c.)
Hence seasons of public calamity (such as that of the plague in
London, &c.) have always been seasons of public crime. Transgressors
madly dare Omnipotence to a trial of strength, and the result is
their utter destruction.
Our object as thus unfolded gives rise to the following practical
reflections--1. In a season of national or individual prosperity we
should be especially watchful and prayerful against conformity to the
world.[2] 2. We should not regard judgments that come upon our nation
or ourselves merely as calamities: they may be God's angels sent in
truest mercy, and they bring with them to the people of God great
moral and spiritual compensations. 3. Judgments, when they come upon
us, afford us an admirable test of our real character: if we be
indeed the people of God, they will lead us to submission and to more
earnest strivings after holiness; but if they awaken within us a
spirit of murmuring, of repining, of resentment against God, we have
good cause to suspect that our religion has never been the work of
God in our hearts.[3] 4. In the season of judgment we really have
only one alternative before us--to turn or burn. No stoutness of
heart will enable us to resist God's consuming wrath against iniquity
(Mal. iv. 1).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The world "together" does not mean that the transgressor
shall be destroyed _together with_ the sinner; but that the
destruction of this one class, called both transgressors
and sinners, shall come in close connection, "together
with," the salvation of the penitent who are brought back
to God by correction, as is said in the previous verses.
The same sort of infliction that reclaimed the "converts"
(ver. 27), hardened and sealed over to ruin those who would
still "forsake the Lord."--_Cowles._
[2] How often does worldly prosperity tend to this lapsing of
the soul from God! How often do our very outward mercies
and blessings superinduce this spiritual languor and decay!
It is with believers individually as with the Church
collectively--they are never in a condition less favourable
to spiritual health and advancement than when they have no
trial or cross to brace their energies and invigorate their
graces. The soldier gets supine after battle. History tells
us how the bravest veterans of the great Carthaginian
general got demoralized and degenerate when, victory over,
they sat down to rejoicing and revelry, before the gates of
Capus; they never were the same heroes again.--_Macduff._
[3] As it is easy to know a piece of gold from a piece of brass
when they come both to the anvil and be stricken with the
hammer, for brass will not be handled, but when it cometh
to the beating breaketh and maketh a sharp din and irksome,
but gold soundeth sweetly, and is pliable; so when the
hypocrite cometh between the anvil and the hammer of
affliction, he breaketh with impatience, and lamenteth in
blasphemies against God; whereas a faithful Christian
praiseth God, and layeth out his heart, submitting himself
willingly under the Lord's hand that striketh
him.--_Cowdray,_ 1598-1684.
FORSAKING THE LORD.
i. 28. _They that forsake the Lord shall be consumed._
+I. The guilt of forsaking the service of the Lord.+ 1. Man is bound
by the law of his nature to obey that Almighty Being by whom he was
made an intelligent and immortal creature. Every discovery which
reason opens to him of the transcendent perfections of the Lord of
the universe urges the duty of offering the homage of his heart and
life. Every day's preservation increases his obligation to serve his
gracious Preserver. 2. Many in forsaking the Lord violate their own
express and solemn engagements (Heb. x. 29). +II. The folly of
forsaking, &c.+ If we do so, we shall 1. incur the reproaches of our
own mind; 2. forfeit the esteem and confidence of all good men;
3. forfeit the favour and incur the wrath of God. And for what are
all those tremendous sacrifices made? For "the pleasures of sin,"
which are but "for a season"! +III. The danger of forsaking,+
&c.--"shall be consumed." The threatened doom is 1. awful,
2. certain.--_J. H. Hobart, D.D., Posthumous Works,_ ii. 220-229.
THE DOOM OF THE APOSTATES.
i. 28-31. _They that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
For they[1] shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye[1] have
desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye
have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth,
and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be
as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both
burn together, and none shall quench them._
In modern days, when men "forsake the Lord," they become simply
irreligious--practical atheists; but in ancient times such men became
idolaters, they became worshippers of idols set up under the "oaks"
planted on the hilltops, or in gardens.[2] It is almost impossible
for us to understand the fascination of idol-worship, but it was very
powerful, and the idols were made objects of passionate trust. They
were regarded as the strength of those who served them. Trusting in
their protection their votaries went forth confidently to battle.
Defeat did not dispel this delusion; it was interpreted to mean
merely that the god of the victors was mightier than the god of the
vanquished. To men glorying in their protection, the prophet predicts
utter destruction. You shall be consumed, he says; the day is at hand
when ye shall be caused to blush for your gods; you yourselves shall
be withered oaks, and gardens without water; yea, your idols, and ye
who have made them, for they are but things, the work of your hands,
shall be burned together in unquenchable fire.[3] The theme of these
verses is therefore _the doom of the apostates, and the objects of
their trust._
+I. Idolatry is still the sin of our race.+ It is not confined to
"heathen" lands. There is no need in this land for a proclamation of
the first commandment. For what is idolatry in the essence? It is
loving and trusting some being or thing more than God. Every man's
god is what he lives for. Hence the declaration that "covetousness is
idolatry;" it is _one_ form of the widespread sin. +II. The
confidence of men in their idols is still limitless and exultant.+
Every idolater is persuaded that that which he lives for is worth
living for; this is the conviction of the miser, the ambitious man,
&c. +III. The time is at hand when the falsity of this confidence
shall be exposed.+ There are coming upon those who cherish it
calamities amid which they will seek in vain for comfort from their
"idols." How often this is verified in daily life! In the withered,
desolate condition of those who have forsaken the Lord how awfully is
their folly demonstrated! +IV. Yea, there is a day appointed in which
all idolaters and their idols shall be consumed together.+ In the day
of judgment the worshippers of Dagon, of Astarte, of Baal, and of
Brahm will not be the only persons on whom utter destruction shall
come: those who have made gold their confidence, &c., shall be burned
up, together with their "gods." The objects of their trust shall be
as powerless as is "tow" to resist flame, and they themselves shall
be but as "sparks," swept away by the blast of the Divine indignation.
_Application._--1. The day of judgment is a great reality; it is no
mere dream of theologians, it is A TREMENDOUS FACT with which we
shall soon be brought face to face. 2. This fact should govern us in
selecting the object of our supreme love and trust. 3. It should
prevent us from envying those who have forsaken the Lord, because of
the temporary prosperity in which they are rejoicing.[4] 4. It should
make us earnest in our endeavours to reclaim them from their apostacy
while the day of Divine long-suffering and mercy still continues.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In verse 29 is an instance of what seemed to Lowth's
classical taste a corrupt reading--"They shall be ashamed
of the oaks which ye have desired." But this variation of
the persons of the verb is not unusual in Hebrew, and
certainly no corruption. Indeed, if we look at Psalm xci.,
which is very artistically constructed, we shall see reason
to think that what jars so harshly on a classically trained
ear was a beauty to the Hebrew poets.--_Strachey._
"Which ye have desired." He was speaking of "the sinners,"
he suddenly turns round to the men of his own generation,
and says, "_You_ are the men who are thus storing up shame
and confusion."--_Kay._
[2] In the judgments and the restoration which the prophet
foretells, he declares that the people shall learn the
worthlessness of the idols which they have been worshipping
under the oak-trees, and in the sacred groves and gardens.
The worship of the high places was partly a local worship
of Jehovah, which only became irregular and blameable in
later times; but there was also a widespread worship of
Baal, Astarte, and Molech, the old gods of the Canaanites
and other nations, in sacred groves and gardens, as well as
on the hill-tops--a worship of impersonated and defiled
sensuality and cruelty--which sometimes even established
itself within the precincts of the temple itself, and was
still more readily blended with, or substituted for, the
worship of Jehovah in the high places. And this idolatrous
worship was going on in Judæa during the reigns of Uzziah
and Jotham, at the same time with the temple services, as
appears from 2 Kings xv. 3, 4, compared with 2 Chron.
xxvii. 2. In the day of judgment and restoration, says the
prophet, these men who have been flourishing in their sin
like the oaks, and living in pleasures like those of their
well-watered gardens, shall find that the idols to which
these oaks and gardens are dedicated have no power to save
them from a destruction which shall make them "as an oak
whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water,"
images which will be the more forcible if we remember that
in a southern climate trees fade rather from excessive heat
than from seasonable cold, and a garden without water is a
mere desert of sand. Then shall the strong, the mighty, and
the unjust ruler become tow, and his idols, the work of his
hands, a spark; and shall both burn together, and no man
shall quench them.--_Strachey._
[3] The interpretation of verse 31 on which the above outline
is based is that of Calvin and the earlier Protestant
commentators. That which in modern days has been almost
universally adopted, is given in the preceding extract from
Strachey, and the homiletic use to which it may be put is
indicated in the next outline: "The Tow and the Spark." We
are persuaded, however, that the earlier interpretation is
that which is most in harmony with the scope of the whole
passage. All the ancient versions treat חָסֹן as an
abstract, meaning _strength,_ and Dr. Alexander admits that
"this agrees well with its form, resembling that of an
infinitive or verbal noun." Latterly it has become the
fashion to translate it "strong man," but the harmony of
the whole passage is best maintained by rendering it
_"their strength,"_ that is, that which the idolaters have
regarded as their "strength," the deity in whose protection
they have trusted.
[4] O sirs! do wicked men purchase their present pleasures at
so dear a rate as eternal torments, and do we envy their
enjoyment of them so short a time? Would any envy a man
going to execution because he saw him in a prison nobly
feasted, and nobly attended, and bravely courted? or
because he saw him go up the ladder with a gold chain about
his neck, and a scarlet gown upon his back? or because he
saw him walk to the execution through pleasant fields or
delightsome gardens? or because there went before him drums
beating, colours flying, and trumpets sounding? &c. Surely
no! Oh, no more should we envy the grandeur of the men of
the world, for every step they take is but a step to an
eternal execution.--_Brooks,_ 1628-1680.
What reason have we to envy the wicked in their riches and
prosperity? If a man be standing firmly on a river's bank,
and sees another gliding gaily but inevitably down to a
tremendous precipice below, shall he be envious of the
pleasant sail that intervenes before the dread catastrophe?
Shall he stand and envy him, and wish to exchange places
with him? Oh no, but let him rather cry aloud, and warn him
of his danger. Let him hasten to the rescue; throw out his
arms with right good-will, and if it may be, save a soul
from death.--_Nason._
THE TOW AND THE SPARK.
i. 31. _And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it
as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none
shall quench them._
For the phrases "and the maker of it," the margin reads, "and his
work." So Alexander and Henderson. This reading renders the passage
intelligible in meaning and terrible in import. It then in simple,
vivid manner sets forth the reciprocal influence of the sinner and
his sin. The man in committing sin degrades and enfeebles himself,
and then the sin he has committed reacts upon his degraded and
enfeebled nature to kindle in it the fire of its corruption. It is
worth observing that these terrible words of warning are not levelled
1. against _low and vile people._ The term "strong" precludes that
opinion. They are spoken against those who have been, or are still,
esteemed, exalted, and powerful,--presumably against the princes, the
judges, the counsellors of the nation (vers. 23-26). Nor are they
spoken 2. against _the avowedly irreligious._ The people addressed
performed a multitude of sacrifices (ver. 11), were punctilious in
their attendance on the house of God, &c. (vers. 12-14), were full of
apparent devotion (ver. 15). Nor 3. do they refer to _the grosser
forms of sin._ These would of course come under the same
condemnation. But spiritual sins, though more refined to our
perception, are more fatal even than sensual sins. It is
pre-eminently a spiritual sin in root, however sensual in fruit, that
is here arrived at. It is all summed up in the one evil, "forsaking
the Lord" (ver. 28). It is important to bear these considerations in
mind if we would obtain personal and profitable application of these
words. Consider--
+I. The radical change sin works in the constitution of the sinner.+
Sin is lawlessness, an outbreak of self-will (1 John iii. 4). It is
conscious wrongdoing (James iv. 17). And sin, the prophet says in
effect, has a disintegrating, deteriorating, degrading influence upon
the man's nature who yields to it. "The strong shall be as _tow."
Tow_ is the coarse, broken part of flax or hemp--waste, refuse. Used
here in contrast to that which is strong. Used also as pattern of
that which is inflammable. 1. _Sin lowers the tone and tenor of our
nature._ Man's nature is originally a very high nature. "A little
lower than the angels" (Ps. viii. 5); a little lower than _Divinity_
(see Alexander and Thrupp _in loc._). Originally a king with all
highest forms of existence grouped around his throne (Ps. viii. 6-8).
He falls by sin. How low? To the level of beasts that perish? (Ps.
xlix. 20). Lower than that (Isa. i. 3). To level of trees and shrubs?
Lower than that. See, that heap of coarse and tangled refuse was a
plant once, a living thing. Now it is cut down, dried, dead; choicest
parts gone, wasted! _"Tow"_--that is the symbol of the sinful man.
The height from which he has fallen measures the degradation
incurred. To that which is by nature "tow," it is no degradation to
be "tow." But for that which is "strong" to become "tow"--for the
highest of God's creations to become as the lowest--this is
disgraceful, dreadful. 2. _Sin, depraving and degrading the type and
tenor of our nature, enfeebles our powers of resistance to the
assaults of external evil._ Sin is weakness as well as wickedness;
weakness as the result of wickedness. The "strong" becomes as "tow,"
becomes _weak._ Hard to tell which is the worse to bear, the
paroxysms of remorse, or the paralysis of power which the habit of
sin engenders.[1] To feel that when some "temptation comes and calmly
states itself before us" we are helplessly a prey to it, is terrible
indeed. The first sin of any kind greatly facilitates a second
commission of the same;[2] and every repetition increases that
facility till the ease of doing it almost amounts to a practical
inability to abstain from doing it.[3] Sin gets _dominion_ over us.
Men are "sold under sin." 3. _Sin imparts to us an increased
susceptibility to evil_--makes us more inflammable. And Satan's
"fiery darts" striking, inflame us.[4] Some counsellors advise young
people to indulge in a certain measure of sin as a remedy for its
enkindling impulses; they call it "sowing their wild oats." A figure
is sometimes the best vail for a fact. One would think that "sowing"
would of itself suggest reproduction and multiplied reproduction
(Gal. vi. 7, 8) If you wish your nature to become hopelessly
inflammable, utterly uncontrollable, give way to the indulgence of
its hot impulses while you are young.
+II. The way in which the sinner and his sin co-operate for their
common destruction.+ We all know the influence of coming into contact
with the instruments, the companions, the locality even, of a former
sin. They stir up in us the memories, the emotions, the impulse to
the same transgression. So the sinner goes about the world setting
new snares for his feet at every turn as he sins. The relation of sin
to the sinner and to his sinful deed is like that of a lamp placed
between two mirrors, which reflect and reflect the light, till both
the mirrors seem full of lamps. Sin is ever more multiplying itself
between the sinner and his sinful deed. And the issue is irremediable
ruin. "They shall both burn together, and none shall quench them."
And the moral is, that if we would keep out of hell, we must keep out
of sin.--_W. Roberts, B.A._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] One of the affecting features in a life of vice is the
longing, wistful outlooks given by the wretches who
struggle with unbridled passions towards virtue which are
no longer within their reach. Men in the tide of vice are
sometimes like the poor creatures swept down the stream of
mighty rivers, who see people safe on shore, and trees and
flowers, as they go quickly past, and all things that are
desirable gleam upon them a moment to heighten their
trouble, and to aggravate their swift-coming
destruction.--_Beecher._
[2] A brand that has been once in the fire easily catches the
second time.--_Flavel,_ 1630-1696.
Every commission of sin imprints upon the soul further
disposition and proneness to sin; as the second, third, and
fourth degrees of heat are more easily introduced than the
first. Every one is both a preparative and a step to the
next. Drinking both quenches the present thirst and
provokes it for the future. When the soul is beaten from
its first station, and the mounds and earthworks of virtue
are once broken down, it becomes quite another thing from
what it was before. In one single eating of the forbidden
fruit, when the act is gone, yet the relish remains; and
the remembrance of the first is an easy allurement to the
second. One visit is enough to begin an acquaintance; and
this point is gained by it, that when the visitant comes
again, he is no more a stranger.--_South,_ 1633-1716.
[3] Sin is like the descent of a hill, where every step we take
increase the difficulty of our return. Sin, in its habits,
becomes stronger every day--the heart grows harder, the
conscience grows duller, the distance between God and the
soul grows greater, and like a rock hurled from a
mountain's top, the further we descend we go down, and
down, and down, with greater and greater
rapidity.--_Guthrie._
[4] It is in our own bosom that the power of temptation is
found. Temptation is but a spark; and if a spark fall upon
ice, if it fall upon snow, if it fall upon water, what is
the harm of a spark? But if it fall upon powder--the powder
is yours, the spark only is the devil's.--_Beecher._
The power of temptation is in proportion to the nature of
the soul tempted. A thoughtless miner takes an uncovered
light into the mine: where there is but little gas, there
is but a wavering and flickering of a transient
flame,--hardly flame, indeed; but where there is an
accumulation of gas, the uncovered light occasions an
explosion which shivers the rocks and brings swift
destruction upon all who are in the mine. In both cases it
was the same mine, the same miner, but the condition of the
air was different. So is it with the fiery darts of the
wicked one; they are shot into all human hearts, and just
in proportion to the materials, so to speak, which are to
be found there, will be the success or failure of the
enemy.--_Dr. Parker._
ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE LAST DAYS.
ii. 1-5. _The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, &c._
1. The marvellous power of the ancient prophets in giving embodiment
and figure to the Word of God. It was a "word" that Isaiah saw; not
that he heard, but that shaped itself before his vision, and made him
glad, as if a new star had arisen to guide him. 2. Isaiah speaks with
magnificent confidence as to the summing up of earthly dispensations.
Casting his eye over all the uproar and tumults of intervening time,
he sees a heavenly repose settling on the engagements and destinies
of mankind. Herein is the peculiar power of the old prophets, viz.,
that they did not confine their attention within a brief and
inadequate period, but projected their minds over historic spaces
within which, so to speak, God had room to disclose somewhat of the
proportions and significance of His plans. The whole year can never
be judged from any one season. The prophets seemed to see things in
their _wholeness,_ and this made them calm in the midst of transitory
confusion and distress. 3. The house of the Lord is to be exalted
above all rivalry. The strength of the hills is to be a pedestal for
the sanctuary. At the last right shall be uppermost, and holiness
supreme. In the "last days" the house of the Lord shall exert a
universal fascination; nation shall challenge nation to go up in holy
and triumphant procession to the heights of Zion; and the voice of
other allurements shall be lost in the infinite charm of the
invitation. 4. Nor is this to be the indulgence of a mere sentiment;
it will be the expression of a desire to be spiritually right, and
thus to be spiritually secure: "He will teach us of His ways, and we
will walk in His paths." Lawless sentiment is to have no place in
spiritual discipline. We are not called to a high revel, but to a
pure and tender obedience to an unchangeable law. 5. The house of the
Lord is to be a centre of judgment and rebuke towards people who are
living in impiety and political corruption. The consequence of this
judgment, if properly received, will be the establishment and
perpetuation of righteous peace. When the nations are right with God,
they will be right with each other. Merely negative peace may be
disturbed, but the peace which comes by righteousness will be its own
guarantee of completeness and continuity. 6. All these blissful
anticipations should constrain towards present obedience, and be
fruitful of present joy. So the prophet thought when he exclaimed, O
house of Jacob, come ye, &c. Those who have great prospects should
even now show themselves to be the heirs of glory. Christian joy is
not all future. Even now, though we have to complain of so much of
cloud and storm, there is a light that is distinctively divine, and
under its benign rays we ought to walk until the fuller glory is
revealed.--_Joseph Parker, D.D._
THE LATTER-DAY GLORY.
ii. 2-5. _And it shall come to pass in the last days, &c._
Theme: _The Glory of the Latter Days._ "The last days," when men
shall no longer need to offer the prayer, "Thy kingdom _come._" The
glory of the latter days will consist--+I. In the exaltation of the
Lord's house above all other institutions+ (ver. 2). Now the
Exchange, the Senate, the University, &c., are the great "mountains"
of society; then the sanctuary will be supreme. In other words,
religion will be the ruling force in society, dominating and
directing all the others. This is the truth set forth by the figure
of the upraising of Mount Zion above all the other mountains, "so as
to be visible in all directions." +II. In universal submission to the
authority of God+ (ver. 3). Not by the Jews only (as in Isaiah's
time), but by "_all_ nations,"[1] and not (as now) by some
individuals merely, but by "all _nations,_" will this authority be
recognised and obeyed. Sin will be the exception, righteousness the
rule. And so, as a consequence of this--+III. In universal peace
among men+ (ver. 4).[2] All contentions necessarily cease when men
know and do the will of God. James iii. 14--iv. 1. Love towards man
always results from genuine love toward God.
A contemplation of their glorious future is calculated--1. _To
sustain us amid the sins and sorrows of our time._ When we look at
the condition of the world as it is, we are tempted to despair. But
there is a better day to come. In the widening diffusion of Christian
truth, and in the growing power of Christian principle, even now we
may see at least streaks of light which tell that the dawn is near.
2. _To animate us in our efforts to regenerate society._ These
efforts are not in vain, though they sometimes seem so. We are
working in the line of victory (1 Cor. xv. 58). 3. _The blessing of
the future we can make our own now._ "O house of Jacob, come _ye,_
and let _us_ walk in the light of the Lord," that is, "in His paths"
(ver. 3). We can make religion the supreme force of our life, and can
act with a constant recognition of God's authority; and doing this,
_we_ shall have peace--with God, with ourselves, and in our homes
(Isa. xxxii. 17, 18).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] What words are these! What ideas! What radiances of glory
and hope for the long-afflicted Church! Nations abolishing
war and crimes, to cultivate righteousness and peace!
nations emerging from ignorance and idolatry, to join
themselves to the Church, and to walk in the light of the
Lord! _How marvellous that words like these should proceed
from the Hebrew prophets!_ that men of the most confined
education with regard to the Gentiles should thus lose the
glory of Israel in the overflowing glory of the converted
world! Can we ask for clearer proof that these holy men
were purely the organs of the Holy Ghost, and transported
in spirit to publish the righteousness of God to every
nation and language of the earth?--_Sutcliffe._
I would urge the thoughtful consideration of these verses
(2-9) on any one who is perplexed by the confident
assertion of writers who prefer vague declamation to close
investigation and reasoning, that the Hebrew prophets were
actuated by a bitter hatred of foreigners. He will, I
think, discover (from this and such like study) that they
were possessed by views and hopes of a philanthropy which
even our own times have not been able to extend: they
longed for fellowship with all men, under the only
conditions in which fellowship is possible; they desired an
universal communion of virtue, humanity, and goodness, and
could not be content to have a general license of vice,
brutality, and wickedness instead; and they advocated what
they saw, and what all history has proved, to be the only
way of avoiding the one and securing the other.--_Strachey._
[2] This verse shows that there will come a time when men shall
have found out that they are men and not brutes, and when
they shall settle matters, not by the force of their animal
powers, but by the force of superior intelligence.--_James
Wells._
THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL.
ii 2. _And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the
top of the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it._
The poetic imagery delineates the final and universal prevalence of
religion. Christianity is a temple majestic and conspicuous, and all
nations crowd its courts in united adoration. _There are many
interesting indications that this prophecy is soon to be fulfilled,_
such as--+I. The political aspect of the globe.+ The vast political
changes that have taken place during the last four centuries in
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America have all been favourable to the
extension of Christianity. The area of Christian knowledge and
influence has been steadily extending.[1] +II. The progress of
civilisation and of the arts.+ A few years ago it required the
painful labour of years to copy a Bible, and the wealth of a prince
to purchase one: now the art of printing scatters the Word of God
like autumn leaves, and it is found in the humblest dwelling. Then
none could read but the learned few; now knowledge is becoming like
sunlight, everywhere diffused. War has long been one of the greatest
obstacles in the way of human improvement; now various causes are
operating to render it less frequent, such as 1. the rapid extension
of piety, carrying with it the principles of peace; 2. the extension
of enlightened views of national policy; 3. the transference of power
from kings and nobles to the people, the victims of war, who will
become its powerful opponents; 4. the invention of terrible engines
of destruction, which will tend to deter nations from plunging into
war. Slavery, too, is rapidly disappearing from the earth. The
wonderful facilities of intercommunication which now exist are
weakening and effacing national prejudices. All these causes are
hastening on the promised millennium. +III. The present state of the
sciences.+ This statement seems to be contradicted by the attitude of
many students of science towards Christianity. But we must remember
that all the sciences in their infancy have been arrayed as hostile
to scriptural truth--astronomy, geology, physiology, chronology; but
one by one each of these sciences, as it developed and attained
maturity, has passed over to the side of Christianity, and has
powerfully helped to build up what it feebly and impotently laboured
to destroy. That which hath been is that which shall be. In science
the cause of revealed truth will continue to find one of her most
ready and efficient helpers. +IV. The past achievements of
Christianity foreshadow its eventual and perfect triumph.+ The
hostility of earth has marshalled every possible power, in every
possible combination, against Christianity--the persecution of
political power, the arguments of philosophy, satire, learning,
poetry, wealth--and all in vain. The past triumphs of the religion of
Christ show that it possesses an inherent energy which must
inevitably make it triumphant over the world. The mighty influence
which swept away the gods of Greece and Rome will not be baffled by
the mud-idols of India. +V. The triumphant advances Christianity is
now making indicate its universal extension.+ _Application._--What
are _you_ doing to hasten this certain and glorious
triumph?--_J. S. C. Abbott, American National Preacher,_ xvii.
169-176.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All the might of the world is now on the side of
Christianity. Those barbarous, inchoate powers which still
cling to heathenism are already trembling before the
advancing strides of the Christian nations; Christian just
enough to rouse all their energies and to make them
intensely ambitious, and on the alert to increase their own
dominion, without having learned Christianity's highest
lesson, the lesson of love.
Even that heathenism which seems to have some power is only
waiting for its time of decay. In vast, undisturbed
forests, whose interlacing branches exclude the light,
moisture is generated, and rills, fed by marshes and quiet
pools, united to form running rivers. But let the trees be
cut down, and the ground be laid open to the sun, and the
swamps will dry up, and the rivers run no more. So is it
with the Brahmins, and all the effete teachers of
heathenism. As long as the dense shadows of ignorance brood
over the people, they will possess some little trickling
power; but let the light of knowledge shine in upon the
masses, and the channels of their influence will dry up and
be forgotten.--_Beecher._
THE LIGHT OF THE LORD.
ii. 5. _O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the
light of the Lord._
"The light of the Lord" streams upon us from His Word (Ps.
cxix. 105). The knowledge of God and of His holy will which the Bible
imparts to us is the meridian sun which casts his rays on the cold
scenes of our earthly career. +I. The religion of the Bible
illumines.+ Into how many errors did unaided human reason fall, when
the nature of God and of His operations was the subject of its
inquiries![1] Did not the wisest grope in darkness? Did they not
conceive absurdities, even when man and his fate were the subject of
their inquiries?[2] How full, clear, and steady is the light which
the Scriptures cast upon these and other great subjects of human
thought! +II. The religion of the Bible warms.+ That God is great and
all-powerful some philosophers imagined before the divine light of
inspired truth shone forth; but the human heart remained cold, and
felt in itself no point of contact and union with so exalted a Being.
Until God said, "I am your Father," we were as orphans in a strange
land; but then at once the world became to us as a parent's dwelling,
and our heart began to warm with love towards God and man. +III. The
religion of the Bible vivifies.+ It animates and restores the weary,
the dying! +IV. The religion of the Bible blesses+--now,[3] and for
ever (1 Tim. iv. 8).--_G. Salomon, Twelve Sermons,_ pp. 1-24.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Men who seek God by reason and natural strength (though we
do not deny common notions and general impressions of a
sovereign power) are like mariners who voyaged before the
invention of the compass, who were but coasters, and
unwillingly left the sight of the land. Such are they who
would arrive at God by this world, and contemplate Him only
in His creatures and seeming demonstration. Certainly every
creature shows God, as a glass; but glimmeringly and
transitorily, by the frailty both of the receiver and
beholder; ourselves have His image, as medals, permanently
and preciously delivered. But by these meditations we get
no further than to know what He doth, not what He
is.--_Donne,_ 1573-1631.
None but the true God can discover [make known] what the
true worship of God is. As that glorious eye of heaven is
not to be seen but by its own proper light,--a million of
torches cannot show us the sun: so it is not all the
natural reason in the world that can either discover what
God is, or what worship He expects, without Divine and
supernatural revelation from Himself.--_Arrowsmith,_
1602-1659.
[2] Reason sees that man is ignorant, guilty, mortal,
miserable, transported with vain passions, tormented with
accusations of conscience, but it could not redress those
evils. Corrupt nature is like an imperfect building that
lies in rubbish: the imperfection is visible but not the
way to finish it; for through ignorance of the first design
every one follows his own fancy, whereas, when the
Architect comes to finish His own project, it appears
regular and beautiful. Thus the various directions of
philosophers to recover fallen man out of his ruins, and to
raise him to his first state, were vain. Some glimmerings
they had that the happiness of a reasonable nature
consisted in its union with God, but in order to this they
propounded such means as were not only ineffectual, but
opposite. Such is the pride and folly of carnal wisdom,
that to bring God and man together, it advances man, but
depresses God.--_Bates,_ 1625-1699.
All the days of sinful nature are dark night, in which
there is no right discerning of spiritual things: some
light there is, of reason, to direct natural and civil
actions, but no daylight. Till the sun rise it is night
still, for all the stars, and the moon to help
them.--_Leighton,_ 1611-1684.
[3] It is a peculiar advantage of piety, that it furnisheth
employment fit for us, worthy of us, hugely grateful, and
highly beneficial to us. Man is a very busy and active
creature, which cannot live and do nothing, whose thoughts
are in restless motion, whose desires are ever stretching
at somewhat, who perpetually will be working either good or
evil to himself: wherefore greatly profitable must that
thing be which determineth him to act well, to spend his
care and pain on that which is truly advantageous to him;
and that is religion only. It alone fasteneth our thoughts,
affections, and endeavours upon occupations worthy the
dignity of our nature, suiting the excellence of our
natural capacities and endowments, tending to the
perfection and advancement of our reason, to the enriching
and ennobling of our souls. Secluding that, we have nothing
in the world to study, to affect, to pursue, not very mean
and below us, not very base and unbecoming us, as men of
reason and judgment. What have we to do but to eat and
drink, like horses or like swine; but to sport and play,
like children or apes; but to bicker and scuffle about
trifles and impertinencies, like idiots? What but to scrape
or scramble for useless pelf, to hunt after empty shows and
shadows of honour, or the vain fancies or dreams of men?
What but to wallow or bask in sordid pleasures, the which
soon degenerate into remorse and bitterness? To which sort
of employments were a man confined, what a pitiful thing he
would be, and how inconsiderable would be his life! Were a
man designed only, like a fly, to buzz about here for a
time, sucking in the air and licking the dew, then soon to
vanish back into nothing, or to be transformed into worms,
how sorry and despicable a thing were he! And such without
religion we should be. But it supplieth us with business of
a most worthy nature and lofty importance; it setteth us
upon doing things great and noble as can be; it engageth us
to free our minds from all fond conceits, and cleans our
hearts from all corrupt affections,--to conform the
dispositions of our soul and the actions of our life to the
eternal laws of righteousness and goodness: it putteth us
upon the imitation of God, upon obtaining a friendship and
maintaining a correspondence with the High and Holy One,
upon filling our minds for conversation and society with
the wisest and purest spirits above, upon providing for our
immortal state, upon the acquist of joy and glory
everlasting. It employeth us in the divinest
actions--promoting virtue, performing beneficence, serving
the public, and doing good to all: the being exercised in
which things doth indeed render a man highly considerable
and his life excellently valuable.--_Barrow,_ 1630-1677.
THE WALK OF THE SOUL IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD.
ii. 5. _O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the
light of the Lord._
There are many lights shining upon the paths of men in this world.
There are the lights of science and philosophy; they beam out from
the human mind, and are kindled by eager research and investigation.
These have been advancing in splendour and in value, age by age, and
will, no doubt, continue to do so to the end of time. Men walk in
these lights, and vainly imagine that they have found the sun of the
soul. They seek no higher illumination. They are mistaken. The lights
of science are but little service to the moral nature; they cannot
chase away its darkness, or open up to it a vision of destiny. The
True Light cometh down from above, and is Divine in its origin. It is
bright. It is beauteous. It is sufficient for the guidance of the
soul. Wise men will walk in it. "O house of Jacob," &c.
+I. The walk of the soul.+ "Let us walk." 1. _The moral walk of the
soul is a necessity._ The soul of man is endowed with certain
convictions and activities which render inaction an impossibility. It
must walk either in one direction or another; either toward moral
purity or moral evil; either to Christ or to Satan. The moral
sensibilities with which it is gifted, the laws under which it is
placed, the influences to which it is subject and the prospects that
are stretched out before the soul, render moral progress a necessity
of being. 2. _The moral walk of the soul is educational._ Men gain
knowledge in this world by travel. In this way they augment their
mental stores. And the soul gains knowledge, strengthens its
capabilities, and deepens its experience, by walking forth into the
great moral universe in which it lives. Only the souls that have
walked in the paths of truth and life know what things are, and they
only are able to guide others. 3. _The moral walk of the soul is
healthful._ Those who are inactive are always physically weak. The
soul that never takes moral exercise, that never gets out into the
broad acres of truth, and that never climbs the great mountains of
God, will ever be sickly. If the soul is to be strong, equal to the
duties of life, and to the demands of being, it must not indolently
repose in its own quiet hiding-place. It must go forth to meet the
External. 4. _The moral walk of the soul is often perilous._ The
traveller has often to walk through dark places, along difficult
paths, and near the deep precipice. He is in a strange country. And
so in the walk of the soul. It is in a land of which it knows but
little. It has to pass through the dark mystery of truth, to traverse
the windings of intricate problems, and to find its way, through
perplexing circumstances, to the throne of God.
+II. The light of the Lord.+ "In the light of the Lord." The soul of
man was not constituted to walk in darkness. It was created with keen
moral vision; but, alas! its eye is dimmed by sin, and is but seldom
open to the light of heaven. 1. _This light is Divine in its origin._
It does not come from the orb in the heavens. It comes from beyond
the clouds--from the Sun of Righteousness, whose rays are never lost
in night. It is not the light of the finite, but of the Infinite. It
is perennial and pure. It is unparalleled in beauty. It is unique in
lustre. It is life-giving in its influence. The soul can walk in no
better radiance. 2. _This light is clear in its revelation._ But for
the sun we should know nothing of this world. And but for the light
of the Lord we should be entirely ignorant of the moral world, in
which the soul lives and has its being. This light which shines for
the Spirit of God from the Bible, and from the enlightened
conscience, reveals the existence of God, the spirituality of His
nature, the purity of His character, and the devotion of which He is
worthy. It reveals the soul to itself, and bends it in humility, but
in joy, as it unfolds the forgiving mercy of the Cross. But for this
light of the Lord we should be ignorant of the things of the moral
universe. It illuminates the soul in its walk to the great and
unknown future. 3. _This light is cheering in its influence._ The
light of the sun is cheering to man, and is ever welcome to him. So
the light of the Lord is cheering to the pure soul; it enlivens its
energies, and lends new beauty to its visions. 4. _This light is
abiding in its duration._ The light of the Lord will never go down
from the pure soul, but will only brighten through death into the
perfect day.--By what light do we walk? "Come ye," now, gladly,
devoutly, "and let us walk in the light of the Lord."--_J. S. Exell._
A TERRIBLE PICTURE.
ii. 6-22.
_Here_ is a "word" (vision) which Isaiah "saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem" (ver. 1). The prophet has been enraptured by the wondrous
prospect of the distant future, when religion shall be the supreme
force of life (ver. 2), and all men (vers. 2, 3), walking in "the
light of the Lord," shall be at peace with each other (ver. 4): now
he looks down to the present, and how dark and terrible is the
picture which he sees before him! He sees--+I. A nation forsaken of
God+ (ver. 6). One of the most awful of all spectacles: an engine of
tremendous power, without a driver, rushing down a steep incline!
+II. A nation pursuing childish superstitions+ (ver. 6): "They be
replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines."
When a nation forsakes God, this is a common result (Rom. i. 21, 22).
Witness the rapid spread in our own day of "spiritualism" among the
sceptical and irreligious classes of England and America. +III. A
nation seeking strength and safety in alliances with the enemies of
God,+ allying itself with the very powers which Omnipotent
Righteousness was pledged to crush! Instead of dwelling apart, as God
intended (Num. xxiii. 9; Deut. xxxiii. 28, &c.), and in dependence
upon His protection, the Israelites sought to strengthen themselves
by alliances with surrounding nations. "They please themselves with
the children of strangers." The same sin is repeated in these days,
when God's people mix with worldly society for the sake of its
"advantages." +IV. A nation blinded by external prosperity to its
real condition and peril+ (ver. 7). Abounding with every evidence of
prosperity, how could they suspect that they were forsaken of God,
and that a terrible doom was hanging over them? What is our
condition, and what are our prospects as a nation? Let us not lay too
much stress upon our great national wealth. +V. A nation given over
to a debasing idolatry+ (ver. 8; Rom. i. 23). A moral degradation
extending to all classes (ver. 9). Just what we behold in Roman
Catholic and ritualistic churches, where rich and poor alike
prostrate themselves before the wheaten wafer which their priest has
transformed into a god! The prophet himself now becomes part of the
picture, and we have--+VI.+ The awful spectacle of +a good man
invoking the vengeance of Heaven upon the nation to which he belongs+
(ver. 10): "Therefore forgive them not." This was the natural cry of
the prophet's soul, filled with horror and indignation at what he
saw. The imprecations of Scripture are the natural (and fitting)
utterance of righteousness in view of wickedness. It is only because
of the tone of our own spiritual life is so low that we are offended
at them. From whom, among ourselves, does the cry of human law
against the perpetrators of crimes of violence come? Not from the
classes most likely to suffer for them, but from the refined and
gentle, who, just because of their refinement and gentleness, are
inspired by them with disgust and anger. So it is those who are most
in sympathy with God who are most likely to burn with holy
indignation against such things as the prophet saw. The men who offer
such prayers as this, "Forgive them not," would be the first to
reverse it did the offenders give any sign of repentance. +VII. A
crushing doom impending over an unsuspecting nation.+ No sooner had
the prophet uttered his prayer, than he sees it was needless, and
that the thunderclouds of the Divine anger were already thickly
massed over the guilty nation; without any visible sign there was
gathering over them a storm that would suddenly break forth with
destructive force. Therefore he breaks out into a strain of
impassioned warning and appeal to the very men for whose punishment
he had prayed (ver. 10, &c.)
What lessons shall we learn from our survey of this dark picture?
1. _Not to judge of the relations of nations, individuals, or
ourselves to God by the test of temporal circumstances._ It is an old
but gross fallacy that temporal prosperity is a sure sign of the
Divine favour (Eccles. ix. 1-3; Job xxi. 7-15, &c.)[1] Let us not ask
what our circumstances are, but what our character is, and what our
conduct has been. If we are unrighteous, temporal prosperity should
alarm us, as a sign that God has forsaken us (Heb. xii. 8). 2. _Not
to be hasty to impute the temporal prosperity of the wicked to a
slumbering of the Divine justice._ We need scarcely trouble ourselves
to pray for a doom upon the ungodly (Exod. xxxiv. 7; 2 Pet. ii. 3;
Job xxi. 17, 18; Ps. lxxiii. 18, 19; Isa. iii. 11). 3. _Let us
remember that we ourselves, as sinners, are exposed to the Divine
judgments, and let us "enter into the Rock"_--"the Rock of Ages,"
that, sheltered in Him, we may be safe when the storms of the final
judgment shall burst upon our guilty world.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When the Lord hath set thee up as high as Haman in the
court of Ahasuerus, or promoted thee to ride with Joseph in
the second chariot of Egypt; were thy stock of cattle
exceeding Job's, "seven thousand sheep, three thousand
camels, five hundred yoke of oxen;" did thy wardrobe put
down Solomon's, and thy cupboard of plate Belshazzar's when
the vessels of God's temple were the ornature,--yet all
these are but the gifts of Wisdom's left hand, and the
possessors may be under the malediction of God, and go down
to damnation.--_Adams,_ 1654.
The eagles and lions seek their meat of God. But though all
the sons of Jacob have good cheer from Joseph, yet
Benjamin's mess exceeds. Esau shall have the prosperity of
the earth, but Jacob goes away with the blessing. Ishmael
may have outward favours, but the inheritance belongs to
Isaac.--_Adams,_ 1654.
GOD'S PEOPLE FORSAKEN.
Heb. xiii. 5. _I will never leave thee nor forsake thee._
Isa. ii. 6. _Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of
Jacob._
How comforting is the Apostle's assurance! But do not the hope and
courage which it inspires die out of us, and testify, "Thou hast
forsaken Thy people"? No! because before there is any light
concerning this question in our understanding, our faith tells us
there must be a way of harmonising these seemingly conflicting
declarations. God must necessarily be faithful to His promise. "I
will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Were God to forsake any of
His believing, expecting people, He would do more than forsake
them--He would forsake _Himself!_ He would put off His crown and lay
aside His sceptre, and become one of ourselves. Then the whole
universe would have cause to mourn in sackcloth and ashes; there
would no longer be any GOD to whom we could make supplication in our
sorrows.
+I. The first of these inspired declarations make it plain that God
has a people who He will never forsake.+ In every distress and
tribulation He will be with them. Though all other friends may fail
them, God will continue faithful to them. When the most devoted of
human friends _could_ not be of any avail, God will be their
succour--when bereavement has broken their heart; when persecution or
temptations are threatening to sweep them away; in the hour of death.
+II. The second of these inspired declarations makes it plain that
those who have been accounted the people of God may be forsaken by
Him.+ This is a declaration that would smite us with dismay, and
plunge us into saddest confusion, were we to put a full stop where
the prophet has put a comma. Why had God forsaken His people, the
house of Jacob? Because they had first forsaken Him: they had first
voluntarily ceased to be His people. The truth in this matter may
perhaps be best apprehended by means of a Scriptural symbol. God
compares the union that exists between Him and His people to that
which exists between a man and his wife. Will a good husband ever
forsake his faithful wife? The bloom and beauty of her youth may have
gone; a wasting sickness may have rendered her positively unlovely,
but will he forsake her? Never! Her misfortunes will only cause him
to cherish her with a tenderer love. But if she be unfaithful to him,
what then? Why, then, the whole case may be altered. If he be a
merciful as well as a just man, he may seek to reclaim her; but if
she be "joined to her lovers," and persistently heedless of all his
claims and her duties, the time will come when he will leave her to
her fate. To him she will be as if she were dead. So God is wondrous
in His forbearance towards His backsliding people; but if they
persist in their apostacy, He will leave them to the gods whom they
have chosen (Judges x. 13, 14; Jer. ii. 28). We see now that between
these apostolic and prophetic utterances there is the most perfect
harmony. Our discussion of this subject should teach us--1. _Not to
found conclusions upon fragments of God's sayings or doings._ His
words and His works are mutually explanatory; but we must not cut the
explanations short! If we put periods where God has only put commas,
we shall be plunged into frightful perplexities; with the words of
Scripture on our lips, we shall have most damnable heresies in our
hearts. Our study of God's word must be comprehensive. So also must
our study of God's providence. Let us not be in a hurry to come to
conclusions. Wait, and we shall have more light, because we shall not
be looking at parts, but at wholes. Our life is being written in
clauses, and not till the last is completed shall we be able to
interpret the first aright.[1] 2. _Not to build too much upon past
submissions to the Divine will and past enjoyments of the Divine
favour._ "Once in grace always in grace" is an _ignis fatuus_ which
has lighted many a soul down to hell. If after being fenced around as
a garden of the Lord, and tilled by the great Husbandman, and watered
by dews and rains from heaven, we relapse into mere desert ground, we
may be sure we are nigh unto cursing (Heb. vi. 4-8). 3. _That those
who are humbly and loyally faithful to their Heavenly Friend cannot
be too confident of His faithfulness to them._ Assuredly He will
never forsake them (Isa. xliii. 2). And His presence is all they
need. Having Him they have all things (Ps. lxxxiv. 11, 12).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Lord has reasons far beyond our ken for opening a wide
door, while He stops the mouth of a useful preacher. John
Bunyan would not have done half the good he did, if he had
remained preaching in Bedford, instead of being shut up in
Bedford prison.--_Newton,_ 1725-1807.
However contradictory the designs of Providence at first
appear to be, if we set ourselves to watch God in His works
and ways, with care, we shall soon discover that He acts
according to some certain scheme or plan.
Were a person altogether unacquainted with architecture to
visit some splendid temple in the process of erection, and
observe the huge rough stones, and boards and timbers, iron
castings, bricks, lime, mortar, lying scattered in
confusion all around; were he to see one group of workmen
cutting up material here, another digging trenches there;
one party raising a staging on this side, another nailing
on some boards on that: were he to observe the blocks, the
fragments, all lying in disorder round about him, he might
truly say that he could see no plan or system in the
business; nor would he be likely to conceive or dream that
out of such a chaotic mass of raw material, out of such
contradictory labour, there could ever rise a magnificent
temple, to reflect undying honour on the architect, and
beautify the world!
But let the observer stop, and set himself to watch from
day to day this busy work as it goes on; let him patiently
examine, not only the minutest details, but also try to
obtain a view of the general scope and bearing of the
whole, and he will not be long in finding out that some
superior mind controls and regulates the movements in
accordance with some preconceived plan or system, which is
constantly developing itself; and that every stroke of
every workman is conducive to the same ultimate effort.
And when he comes to see the "beau ideal" of the builder
realised in the fair proportions, in the classic beauty of
the noble structure, he then perceives how inconsiderate,
how unfair it was in him to decide upon a work in its
incipient state, without some knowledge of the plan and the
design of it.
God is building up the Christian in accordance with a
perfect plan into a majestic temple for the decoration of
the eternal city. And though His dealings sometimes seem to
be mysterious; though He seems to cut down here and to
raise up there, to let the light into this part and to
leave it dark in that; though it is hard to tell at times
what such material is designed for, what this or that work
means, or to conceive how the structure when completed will
appear; it is nevertheless quite certain that God acts
according to a fixed and unalterable plan; that every
stroke we bear, or loss we mourn, is made subservient to
the end; and although it is given us here to see only in
part, whoever will take the pains to watch with care the
course of Providence, will be convinced that it does not
move along by chance, but that everything is done by a
prospective plan.--_E. Nason._
FORSAKEN OF GOD.
ii. 6. _Therefore Thou hast forsaken Thy people, &c._
The doctrine of this verse is, that when men forsake God, God
forsakes them. There is nothing arbitrary in such Divine
withdrawals;[1] they have always a moral cause; and no man has any
right to complain of them (Hosea xiii. 7). Consider +I. When men
forsake God.+ Men forsake God--1. when they set their affection on
forbidden things; 2. when they cease to seek Him in prayer and the
other means of grace; 3. when they give themselves up to the practice
of sin. +II. When men are forsaken of God.+ This doom befalls
them--1. when they are left without that aid of the Holy Spirit,
without which they cannot vividly apprehend the truth; 2. when they
are left without the comfort of God's mercy; 3. when they are left
without earnest distress after God, and consequently a prey to all
the evil within and around them. +III. Men may be forsaken of God in
the midst of temporal prosperity.+ There may be a terrible contrast
between their spiritual and material condition (ver. 6, 7). Temporal
prosperity is from God; it is designed to lead men to repentance
(Rom. ii. 4); failing to accomplish this, it drives them further from
God (Deut. viii. 11-14; Prov. xxx. 9; Neh. ix. 25); and when it has
this effect upon them, the doom of which our text speaks to us is not
far off (Deut. xxviii. 48).[2] +IV. No man need remain thus forsaken
of God.+ 1. God desires to bring all men into fellowship with Himself
(ver. 3, 4). 2. All are invited to come to Him (ver. 5). 3. The light
of God's countenance is offered them, especially in Christ, who is
"the light of the world."--_John Johnston._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In common conversation, we frequently speak of solar
eclipses. But what is called an eclipse of the sun is, in
fact, an eclipse of the earth, occasioned by the moon's
transit between the sun and us. This circumstance makes no
alteration in the sun itself, but only intercepts our view
of it for a time. From whence does darkness of soul, even
darkness that may be felt, usually originate? Never from
any changeableness in our covenant God, the glory of whose
unvarying faithfulness and love shines the same, and can
suffer no eclipse. It is when the world gets between our
Lord and us, that the light of His countenance is
obstructed, and our rejoicing in Him suffers a temporary
eclipse.--_Salter._
[2] When the king removes, the court and all the carriages
follow after, and when they are gone, the hangings are
taken down; nothing is left behind but bare walls, dust,
and rubbish. So, if God removes from a man or a nation,
where He kept His court, His graces will not stay behind;
and if they be gone, farewell peace, farewell comfort: down
goes the hangings of all prosperity; nothing is left behind
but confusion and disorder.--_Staughton,_ 1628.
THE MATERIAL AND THE MORAL.
ii. 6-9. _They be replenished from the east, &c._
We have here the indictment which the prophet brings against Israel.
It consists of three counts: 1. That the people had adopted the
superstitions of the surrounding nations. 2. That the government had
accumulated treasure and organized a cavalry force, in direct
disobedience to well-known Divine injunctions (Deut. xvii. 16, 17).
3. That rich and poor alike had abandoned themselves to idolatry. But
these verses may be taken also as Isaiah's _description_ of Judæa in
his day; and so regarding them, we find in them an instructive
combination of the material and the moral. According to modern ideas,
so far as the description concerns the material, it is exceedingly
bright. An observer who regarded only the material--such a man as we
can conceive of as being sent out as a "Special Commissioner" by the
_Daily Telegraph_ or the _New York Herald_--would have given a
glowing account of Judæa at that period: an overflowing exchequer, a
powerful army, evidences of wealth and prosperity on every hand, &c.
But the prophet, looking only at what is moral, gives an account that
is lurid and dark in the extreme: he sees only cause for lamentation
and foreboding. So we reach the first of the lessons on which I
intend to insist to-day, viz., +I. That the most diverse reports may
be made truly concerning the same community.+ St. Paul visited
Athens, and we have a touching account of the effect of that city
upon him (Acts xvii. 16); to him it presented a pitiable spectacle;
but what a different effect would have been produced upon a mere man
of culture, and what a different account he would have given of that
metropolis of art! What very different accounts might be given of our
own country from these two standpoints, the material and the moral!
+II. When two reports of a community are given--one materially bright
and the other morally dark--it is the latter only that a wise man
will regard as important.+ For 1. _It is on the moral condition of a
nation, and not on its material prosperity, that its happiness
depends._ Increase of wealthy does not necessarily mean increase of
happiness. Frequently it means destruction of happiness; it always
does so, when wealth increases faster than intellectual culture and
moral restraint. In the absence of this moral restraint, wealth is
not a blessing, but a curse. 2. _The material disassociated from the
moral is transient._ Vicious prosperity is short-lived. By the luxury
born of prosperity and virtue of industry, foresight, and
self-denial, on which prosperity depends, are sapped. The health of
the nation is lowered. Commerce becomes a gigantic system of
gambling. Ruin is soon reached. Hence,
+III. Our chief concern as patriots should be to promote the moral
well-being of our nation.+ Those who uplift it in virtue are its true
benefactors. All who minister to its material, intellectual, and
artistic progress are worthy of gratitude; but most deserving of
gratitude are those who inspire it with the fear of God, and with
love for His laws. Hence,
+IV. Our chief concern as individuals should be for the moral and not
for the material.+ It is a very small matter to add house to house,
and field to field: it is a very great thing to add virtue to virtue
until we have succeeded in building up a symmetrical and noble moral
character. A man's life--his true well-being depends not upon what he
_has,_ but upon what he _is_.[1] And upon this, too, depends his
eternal destiny. How childish, therefore, is the almost universal
concern for mere material improvement! And how little have those to
complain of who find themselves unable to accumulate wealth! The
millionaire has soon to leave all his stores, and he speedily reaches
a point at which all his bonds and notes become wastepaper. What a
contrast between his experience, and that of the man who, having
employed his life in virtue, finds that all unconsciously he has been
laying all up for himself treasures in heaven! These two courses are
open to us--to live for the material, or to live for the moral: which
will you choose?
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A wise man looks upon men as he does upon horses; and
considers their comparisons of title, wealth, and place,
but as harness.--_Newton,_ 1725-1807.
In the library of the world, men have hitherto been ranged
according to the form, the size, and the binding. The time
is coming when they will take rank and order according to
their contents and intrinsic merits.--_E. Cook._
A man may be outwardly successful all his life long, and
die hollow and worthless as a puff-ball; and a man may be
externally defeated all his life long, and die in the
royalty of a kingdom established within him. That man is a
pauper who has only outward success; and that man may be a
prince who dies in rags, untended, and unknown in his
physical relations to this world. And we ought to take the
ideal in the beginning that a man's true estate of power
and riches is to be in himself: not in his dwelling; not in
his position; not in his external relations, but in his own
essential character. That is the realm in which a man must
live, if he is to live as a Christian man.--_Beecher._
THE SINNER'S DANGER AND REFUGE.
ii. 10. _Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust,
for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty._
This is the counsel which the prophet gives his fellow-countrymen, in
view of the desolations which God was about to send upon their land
on account of their sins. He sees God's judgments sweeping down upon
them like an invading army, and therefore he cries to them, "Flee
into the caverns in the mountains:" like the _Simoom,_ and therefore
he cries to them, "Hide yourselves in the dust: bow down before the
destroying blast from which it is impossible to escape. God has been
silent, as if He were indifferent to your transgressions, but now He
is coming forth, in all the terrors of His majesty to require the
evil doers according to their works."[1] The counsel is, of course,
metaphorical; the rocks and the dust could afford no refuge from an
angry God. _The summons is to profound and penitential humility,_ the
proper attitude of man to God. It is a summons, therefore, which may
be fitly addressed to all men. +I. Profound humility in regard to God
would be befitting in us as creatures, even were we absolutely
without sin.+ Such humility is reasonable--1. In view of our relation
to and dependence upon God. He is our Maker; we are daily pensioners
on His bounty; we are the instruments with which He carries out His
purposes (ch. x. 15). 2. In view of His position as the Ruler of the
universe. 3. In view of the transcendent excellencies of His
character. The pupils of a great artist, such as Raphael, the
associates of a great patriot, such as Washington, are filled with
involuntary admiration and veneration for him. They feel themselves
to be as nothing in comparison with him. How much more should we feel
so in comparison with God! Those sinless being who see Him as He is
show us by their conduct what would be befitting in us even were we
also without spot or stain (ch. vi. 2, 3). +II. But as sinners that
which is befitting in us is, not only profound, but penitential
humility.+ To live without any sense of guilt in our hearts--with
indifference to the fact that we have broken God's laws and are
exposed to His judgements--is itself a gross iniquity; it is an
outrageous defiance of the majesty in whose presence we are. What
would be said of a rebel who in the presence of his outraged
sovereign should absolutely _ignore_ him? Would not this be regarded
as a repetition of his offence in the most aggravated form? But is
not this precisely the offence which every stout-hearted sinner daily
commits? As sinners there are two things especially incumbent upon
us. 1. _To humbly acknowledge that we are exposed to the Divine
judgments, and need a refuge therefrom._ There are two ways of
contemplating the Day of Judgment: (1) As a certain and solemn fact
in the history of our race. Contemplating it thus, we may show
argumentatively that such an event ought to occur; and we may
anticipate to some extent the principles upon which the Judge, when
He shall have summoned mankind before His bar, will proceed. We may
do this, and be merely theological or rhetorical. Or (2) we may
regard it as a certain and terrible fact in our _own_ history. And it
is thus that we should regard it. It is _we_ who are to stand before
the great White Throne. A realisation of this fact will powerfully
affect our feelings and our conduct; we shall (1) acknowledge, at the
least, that _we need a refuge._ And we shall be prepared
(2) _thankfully to avail ourselves of the refuge which God in His
mercy has provided for us._ With yet greater fulness and definiteness
of meaning God's messengers can repeat the prophet's counsel, "Enter
into the rock, &c." The sinner's refuge is the Son of God, "the Rock
of our salvation." Our refuge from God as our Judge is God Himself as
our Saviour. It is as such that He now reveals Himself to us. "Behold
_now_ is the day of salvation;" but the day of judgment is at hand!
Ere it burst upon us, let us flee unto "the Rock of Israel" (ch.
xxx. 29) crying to Him, with penitent confession of our sins,
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, their sin is hid"
(Hosea xiii. 12). Not that his sin was hid from God, but
his sin is hid; that is, it is recorded, it is laid up
against a day of reckoning. That this is the meaning, is
clear by the foregoing words, his iniquity is bound up; as
the clerk of the assizes binds up the indictments of
malefactors in a bundle, and, at the assizes, brings out
the indictments, and reads them in court, so God binds up
men's sins in a bundle; and, at the day of judgment, this
bundle shall be opened, and all their sins brought to light
before men and angels.--_Watson,_ 1696.
THE GREAT DETHRONEMENT.
ii. 18. _And the idols He shall utterly abolish._
There are a great number of things which would be incredible if they
had not actually happened! Men who, like ourselves, boasted of
"reason" and "common sense," sought to settle their disputes and to
vindicate their honour by the duel; they have stoutly believed in
witchcraft, in "touching for the king's evil," and in other
absurdities. But surely the supreme folly of which men have been
guilty is idolatry. That men should fashion an idol of wood or stone,
and then bow down to worship _it,_ what absurdity is this! Yet
+I. The idols have had a long reign in the earth.+ Trace human
history back as far as all extant records will enable you to do so,
and you will find idols enthroned in the affections of men. That they
should ever have been set up there must be regarded as one of Satan's
subtlest and greatest triumphs. The instincts that lead men to
worship are so strong, that his only hope of preventing fallen men
from returning to their allegiance to God lay in persuading them to
worship some other thing or being. His difficulty and his device were
those of Jeroboam (1 Kings xii. 26-28). He seems to have led men down
step by step: stars, images as representatives, then the images
themselves: first, natural principles, then living creatures in which
these principles were supposed to be embodied, then the living
creatures themselves. To have begun at the end would have been too
great a shock; the absurdity as well as the wickedness of such
worship would have been too obvious. Thus was the empire of the idols
founded, and it continues to this day. +II. The empire of the idols
has been world-wide.+ It might have been supposed to be a folly that
could be imposed only on a few barbarous tribes, and that all
civilised nations would have rejected it with distain; but as a
matter of fact, it is precisely among these nations (Egypt, Greece,
Rome, Judæa, India) that idolatry flourished most and in its basest
forms. Hence the empire of idolatry was co-extensive with the globe.
In Elijah's time even God thought it a great thing that He would
assure His prophet that there were seven thousand who had not bowed
the knee to Baal (1 Kings xix. 18). +III. The idols have been served
with passionate devotion.+ In almost all ages worshippers of idols
have put to shame the worshippers of God, by their fidelity to their
convictions, the scrupulousness of their observance of the rites
which they have esteemed religious, and the greatness of the cost at
which they have done honour to their gods. +IV. The idols have had
for their allies the most influential of social and moral forces.+
Their priests and dependents (Acts. xix. 25) have jealously watched
every encroachment on the empire of their gods. Rulers, for political
reasons, have strenuously endeavoured to uphold the national faiths.
Custom and fashion have wrought in the same direction. But, above
all, the idols have had their most powerful allies in the human
breast--in the instinct of worship, and the craving for sensual
indulgences. _Idolatry has combined these most powerful of all
cravings_--has provided deities in whose worship the worst passions
of man's animal nature have been gratified. +V. Nevertheless the
empire of idolatry shall be utterly destroyed.+ It shall vanish as
utterly as the great empire of Assyria. "The idols He shall utterly
abolish." Already that empire has been overthrown where it seemed
most firmly established, and the complete fulfilment of the
prediction of our text is obviously now only a question of time. Even
in heathen countries, men are becoming ashamed of their idols, and
are representing them as merely the _media_ of worship. The victory
of Christianity over idolatry is already assured. The struggles that
are yet to shake the world will be, not between Christianity and
idolatry; not even between Christianity and atheism, for atheism is
necessarily merely a brief episode in human experience; but between
Christianity and other forms of monotheism.
APPLICATION. 1. _In the wide-spread and long-continued empire of the
idols we have a conclusive proof of man's need of a Divine
revelation._ The natural progress of fallen man is not to light, but
to darkness (Rom. i. 21-23; 1 Cor. i. 21). 2. _In the prediction of
our text, we have a conclusive proof of that in the Bible we have
such a revelation._ Consider the circumstances of the prophet:
idolatry on every hand, corrupting even His own people. It was
contrary to all experience; it must have seemed to many who first
heard it as the ravings of a lunatic. Such a prediction, already so
marvellously fulfilled, came from God! 3. _In the approaching
complete fulfilment of the prediction of our text, let us rejoice._
And let us labour as well as pray, that the time may be hastened when
by idolatry God shall be no longer dishonoured and man degraded.
MAN'S INSIGNIFICANCE AND GOD'S SUPREMACY.
ii. 22. _Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his
nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?_
In this verse the whole Bible is summed up. The folly of trusting in
man, and the necessity of trusting in God alone, is its greatest
lesson, from its commencement to its close. This is what we are
taught--+I. By its record of God's providential dealings with the
Jews and other nations.+ Continually He has accomplished His ends by
very different means than man would have selected. Egypt saved from
perishing by famine through the instrumentality of a young slave;
Naaman delivered from his leprosy through the ministrations of a
little maid; Israel rescued by Gideon and his three hundred soldiers;
the boastful Philistines defeated by a young shepherd, &c. +II. By
the grand scheme of human redemption which it discloses.+ In it God
is everything, and man nothing. The only means by which man can be
restored to holiness, to the Divine favour and life everlasting, were
provided by God; man contributed nothing either to its completeness
or efficiency. The benefit is man's, the glory all belongs to God.
Nor in appropriating it does he do anything that is meritorious. In
repentance there is no merit: it is simply that state of mind which
is required of us in view of the sins we have committed. Nor in
faith; it is simply the recognition of the ability of another, and
the consequent entrustment of ourselves to Him, to do that for us
which we confess our inability to do for ourselves.--Blessed is the
man, and he only, who has learned these two things. So long as a man
depends on his own wisdom, power, and goodness, or on the wisdom,
power and goodness of other men, he must be disquieted and unhappy.
We can attain to substantial quiet and an abiding satisfying peace
only when we feel that our dependence is on a Being omnipresent,
independent, and supreme, as well as abundant in truth and love (Isa.
xxvi. 3).--_Joseph Holdech, D.D., American National Preacher,_ xxxvi.
255-265.
LESSONS FROM A NATIONAL BEREAVEMENT.
(_Sermon preached on the Sunday after the death of
President Harrison._)
ii. 22. _Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his
nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?_
The event which has just befallen us as a nation is fitted to
teach--+I. The vanity of human dependence.+ The atheism of the human
heart displays itself in a disposition to confide entirely in an arm
of flesh. This is so in the family, the church, the nation. In
various ways God endeavours to teach nations their real dependence
upon Himself--by famine, by pestilence, by commercial disasters, by
the death of their rulers. What "fools" we must be, and how "brutish"
must be our understanding, if we do not lay to heart the lesson which
He has now given us (Ps. cxlvi. 3). +II. The pettiness of party
strife.+ How much of selfishness, unkindness, anger, and
untruthfulness does the spirit of party give birth to! How seldom
politicians of opposite parties do each other common justice! How
fierce are their rivalries! But how mean, how worthless, how unworthy
appear the objects of their strife when death enters the arenas and
waves his skeleton arm! What a great calm falls upon the agitated
spirits of men! How noise is hushed and excitement subdued! How like
do the flushed and eager politicians seem then to silly children
quarrelling for the possession of a bubble that has just been blown
into the air, and that will disappear the moment it is grasped![1]
+III. The vanity of the world, the certainty of death, and the
nearness of eternity.+ These lessons are _taught_ when a beggar dies,
but are more likely to be _laid to heart_ when a prince is laid
low.[2] +IV. The supreme importance of a right moral character.+ Most
instructive is the interest felt by survivors in the moral character
of the departed, in the evidences of his preparation for death, in
the manner in which the great summons affected him. This is the
testimony of the human conscience, that in comparison with a fitness
to appear before the tribunal of God, everything else loses its
importance. When was the amount of a man's _possessions_ inscribed on
his tombstone? The bare suggestion of such a thing would be construed
as a mockery of death, under whose denuding hand the rich man leaves
the world naked as he entered it. But if, in all his life, there was
one virtue in his moral character, one trait which can afford
satisfactory evidence of God's approval, this, be sure, you will find
sculptured in conspicuous characters on his monumental marble. One
thing alone can prepare any for their last account--the belief and
practice of the Gospel of God. Have _you_ the great calm which is
inspired by the confidence of being prepared for the great
change?--_W. Adams, American National Preacher,_ xv. 97-105.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Here, like a shepherd gazing from his hut,
Touching his reed, or leaning on his staff,
Eager Ambition's fiery chase I see;
I see the circling hunt of noisy men
Burst law's enclosure, leap the mounts of right,
Pursuing and pursued, each other's prey;
As wolves for rapine; as the fox for wiles;
Till Death, that mighty hunter, earths them all.
Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour?
What though we wade in wealth, or soar in fame?
Earth's highest station ends in "Here he lies"--
And "Dust to dust" concludes her noblest song.--_Young._
[2] The glories of our birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate:
Death lays his icy hand on kings;
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill;
But their strong nerves at last must yield:
They tame but one another still;
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath,
When they, pale captives, creep to death.
The garlands wither on your brow;
Then boast no more your mighty deeds;
Upon death's purple altar, now,
See where the victor victim bleeds!
All heads must come
To the cold tomb!
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.--_Shirley._
THE DEATH OF STATESMEN.
(_Funeral Sermon for the Right Hon. George Canning._)
iii. 1-3. _For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth
take away from Jerusalem and from Judah . . . the
counsellor, . . . and the eloquent orator._
By the death of a great statesman at the head of a government, we are
reminded.--+I.+ Of +the weight of government in a fallen world.+ It
is a burden that has crushed many, and has brought them to an
untimely grave. +II.+ Of +the weakness of the shoulders of mortal
men.+ The government of a single country, especially in troublous
times, has proved a burden too great for the courage and the
endurance of the strongest of men. +III.+ Of +the uncertainty of all
human affairs.+ Often does the statesman think of the uncertainty of
arriving at the object of his ambition, but seldom of the uncertainty
of his remaining there, except when he recollects how many are
struggling to replace him. Little does he think of another foe, who
lurks behind, and who in some unexpected moment will hush his
eloquent tongue, and turn his fertile brain to dust. +IV.+ Of +our
absolute dependence on the Supreme Governor.+ We are apt to think
that it is on the profound counsellor and mighty orator that the
nation's welfare depends, and to think little of Him who made them
what they are, to be employed as He pleases, laid aside when He
pleases, and replaced if He pleases, by others as richly endowed.
+V.+ Of +the necessity of personal preparation for death.+[1]--_J.
Bennett, D.D., The British Pulpit,_ i. 297-304.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] So live, that, when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, that moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not like the quarry slave at night
Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.--_Bryant._
NATIONAL GREATNESS.
iii. 1-8. _For, behold, &c._
+I. The elements of national greatness are intellectual and moral,
rather than material.+ A nation may have "the staff of bread" and
"the stay of water," but lacking the persons enumerated in ver. 2, 3,
it cannot be a great nation. While, therefore, it is reasonable to
put forth efforts to increase the material resources of the nation,
we should be more concerned to improve the producers than the
produce. +II. For the supply and continuance of these supreme
elements of national greatness, we are absolutely dependent upon
God.+ Well to remember that for all material blessings we are
_absolutely_ dependent upon Him. The moral value of a bad harvest is
often great; it reminds us that, do what the most skilful
agriculturists may, it is "God that giveth the increase." Nor less
dependent are we upon Him for the _men_ without whom no nation can be
great. Wise statesmen, skilful inventors, eloquent orators, &c., are
very special gifts of God; such men cannot be manufactured.
+III. These essential elements of national greatness God will take
away for those nations that are regardless of His goodness and
defiant of His authority+ (ver. 1, 8). National sins bring on
national judgments. No national judgment is more severe or prolific
of disasters than the removal or denial of great leaders. +IV. Not
only can God abase the greatest nation, but He can reduce it to the
depths of humiliation which beforehand it would have regarded as
inconceivable.+ See through what states of national sorrow and shame
the prophet declared that Israel should be led. 1. The diminution of
its material resources and the removal of all its leaders of society
(ver. 1-3). 2. The government entrusted to weak and childish rulers
(ver. 4). 3. Social anarchy (ver. 5). 4. Social degradation so
extreme, that men are solicited to rule merely because they have a
little wealth (ver. 6). 5. The last state of national
degradation--its supreme places of authority have become so
contemptible and perilous that no one can be induced to fill them
(ver. 7).
These considerations concern us individually. The nation is but an
aggregate of individuals; and what they are, it is. Hence it behoves
us--1. _To strive after personal holiness._ This seems a very small
remedy for national evils. But it is only by each man adopting it
that the nation can be made religious. If each _drop_ in the ocean
could eliminate the salt with which it is charged, the _ocean_ would
become fresh. Besides, by our example we may stimulate others to
personal reforms, and they again others. 2. _To entreat God to deal
with us as a nation in the way of mercy, and not of judgment_ (Ps.
ciii. 10). There is a mighty power in intercessory prayer.
3. _Diligently to promote all moral and social reforms._ We must
labour as well as pray. A Christian man will assist in all political
reforms, because it is the will of God that righteousness should
prevail in all things. But much more interested will he be in all
movements and institutions having for their end and the intellectual
and moral advancement of the people: the school, the temperance
society, better dwellings for the working classes, the diffusion of a
pure literature, &c. 4. _To put forth constant efforts to bring and
keep our fellow-countrymen under the influence of the Gospel._ Of all
regenerative and conservative influences the Gospel is the most
active and powerful. A nation composed entirely of genuine Christians
would be at once the most happy, prosperous, and powerful the world
has ever seen. The direct and short way to exalt Great Britain is to
strive to lead all our countrymen to the knowledge and service of
Christ. This is a work, not for ministers only, but for the whole
Church. There would be more happy Christians if there were more
working Christians. It is not the running brooks, but the standing
pools, that become stagnant.
SHAMELESS SINNERS.
iii. 9. _They declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not._
Extremes are generally detestable: equatorial heat, arctic cold; the
speaker whom we must strain to hear, the orator who roars, &c. So in
morals: foolhardy rashness, cowardice; prodigality, penuriousness;
hypocrites, and such shameless sinners as are spoken of here. Such
persons are even more detestable than hypocrites; these at least pay
this homage to virtue, that they array themselves in her outer
garments. Desperate and vain is the endeavour to cloak iniquity, yet
even this is better than the effrontery which leads some to flaunt it
in open day. How surprising is such effrontery! When we consider what
sin is--a thing horribly degrading to man as well as insufferably
offensive to God--we should have expected beforehand that men would
have been as anxious to hide their vices, as they are to conceal any
loathsome disease with which they may be afflicted. But it is not so.
There are tens of thousands of sinners as devoid of shame as were
those who dwelt in Sodom; nay, they glory in their shame. Consider--
+I.+ THE CAUSES OF SHAMELESSNESS IN SIN.
+1. Ignorance.+ There are many so uninterested in moral and spiritual
things; they have grown up surrounded by such evil examples, that
they have no consciousness of the foulness of their vices, any more
than a peasant has of the ungracefulness of his manners. This cause
operates among the lower classes to an extent scarcely conceivable by
the cultured and refined. +2. Habit.+ Many an open and shameless
sinner, at the outset of his career, when he was first betrayed into
transgression, was ashamed almost to walk through the street, and
imagined that every one whom he met had heard of, and despised him
for, his offence. But the offence was repeated; it became a habit;
and in proportion as it has done so, has the offender's sense of
shame died out of him. He thinks as little of it as a soldier does of
his uniform, which when it was first put on caused him to think that
all eyes were fixed upon him. +3. A desire to silence conscience.+
The effrontery is often assumed, just as the rustic traveller when
near a churchyard whistles, not because he is courageous, but to keep
his courage up. Conscience reproaches and warns, and the sinner seeks
to silence it by greater desperation in wickedness. +4. A seared
conscience.+ In the course just named the sinner too often succeeds.
Conscience, defied and outraged, desists from her useless efforts,
and gives herself over to an insensible lethargy; there will come an
hour of terrible awakening; but meanwhile she is blind, deaf, dumb,
and the sinner perpetrates the most abominable iniquities without a
blush.[1] +5. Infidelity.+ The sinner has succeeded at last in
persuading himself that what he wishes were true is true, and that
there is no God, and, consequently, no day of judgment and no hell.
As soon as men have cast off fear of God, it is easy for them to cast
off fear of men. The ordinary fruit of infidelity is vice. What but
prudence is left to restrain the infidel from partaking in the
pleasures of sin? And how weak prudence is in any real contest with
passion!
+II.+ THE CONSEQUENCES OF SHAMELESSNESS IN SIN.
This is declared by the prophet to be woe--woe of peculiar intensity
and awfulness. "Woe unto their soul!" &c. They stand in peril of the
severest chastisements of the Divine justice--+1. Because
shamelessness in sin is an aggravation of sin.+ It is felt to be so
in the home, in the nation. Disloyalty is an evil thing, but to break
forth into open rebellion, and to take the field against the monarch,
is worse. +2. Because shamelessness in sin adds to the contagiousness
of sin.+ One reason why sin is so hateful in the sight of God is
because it renders every sinner a moral pestilence. Corrupt, he
corrupts others (Eccles. ix. 18). But of shameless sinners this is
especially true. (1) _They lead many to imitate them in their
wickedness._ In every community these shameless sinners are
ringleaders in vice and recruiting-sergeants for the devil. (2) _They
confirm many in wickedness._ Many are "halting between two opinions,"
and these shameless offenders, by their example, and often by their
persuasions, supply that which is needed to bring these irresolute
ones to a decision for a life of iniquity. Thus they are
soul-murderers as well as soul-suicides. Justice, therefore, demands
that their punishment shall be especially severe. Their doom will
probably be as manifest as their guilt.
APPLICATION. 1. _Let those who have been thus shameless in sin humble
themselves before Almighty God._ Even for them to-day there is mercy
(ch. lv. 7; i. 18). Let no sinner be deterred from seeking mercy by
the greatness of his sins (Ezra ix. 6, with Ps. cviii. 4, and Rom.
v. 20). Yet let no sinner presume further to transgress because God
is so merciful. There is an awful warning in the gracious invitation
(ch. lv. 6). 2. As ignorance is one main cause of shamelessness in
sin, _let Sunday-school teachers recognise the importance of the task
in which they are engaged._ Though they may not be able to point to
individual conversions as the result of their efforts, they are not
labouring in vain; by them the moral sense of the community is being
raised. Evil as are our days, the testimony is conclusive that the
former days were not better, but worse. 3. As habit is another main
cause of shamelessness in sin, let _the young be anxiously on their
guard against the formation of evil habits._ But habits grow from
acts. A single action is consequently more important than it seems.
There are certain actions which have in themselves a special
decisiveness of influence. When a young man has once entered a bar
parlour, he has entered upon the high way to drunkenness; he may not
reach it, but he is on the high way to it. Another most decisive step
towards shamelessness in sin is taken when a young person who has
been trained under Christian influence joins a Sunday excursion. It
is by this gate that millions have entered the path of open
transgression, along which they have hastened to perdition. 4. _Let
the people of God be very careful to leave shameless sinners without
excuse._ It is by the inconsistencies of professing Christians that
such persons endeavour to shield themselves from censure and to
silence their consciences. Hence Eph. v. 15; Col. iv. 5; 1 Thess.
v. 22.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Blind and ignorant consciences speak peace, or hold their
peace, because they have not skill enough to find fault;
they swallow many a fly, and digest all well enough. While
the scales were upon Paul's eyes, he was alive and quiet;
he thought concupiscence, the sin and breeder of all sin,
to be no sin. Such consciences discern sin as we do stars
in a dark night,--see only the great ones of the first
magnitude, whereas a bright even discovers millions; or as
we see a few motes in the dark houses, which sunlight shows
to be infinite. Such think good meaning will serve the
turn, that all religions will save, or a "Lord, have mercy
on us," at the last gasp. The law which nature has
engraven, they tread out with sins, as men do the
engravings of tombs they walk on with foul shoes: they dare
not look in the glass of God's law, which makes sin abound,
lest the foolishness of their souls should affright them. A
number of such sottish souls there be, whose consciences,
if God opens, as He did the eyes of the prophet's servant,
they shall see armies and legions of sins and devils in
them.--_Ward,_ 1577-1639.
CHEERING WORDS AND SOLEMN WARNINGS.
iii. 10, 11. _Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be
well with him; for they shall eat of the fruit of their own
doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with them; for
the reward of his hands shall be given him._
Into these two orders, the righteous and the wicked, the Bible is
accustomed to divide the whole population of the globe.--A crimson
line runs between the righteous and the wicked, the line of atoning
sacrifice: faith crosses that line, but nothing else can. There can
be no righteousness where there is no faith.--This distinction is so
sharp and definite, that no man can dwell in a borderland between the
two conditions. A clear line of demarcation exists between life and
death, and such a division is fixed by God between the righteous and
the wicked. There are no monstrous nondescripts, who are neither
sinners nor saints. This text ought, therefore, to lead to great
searching of heart.
+I. The well-being of the righteous.+ 1. _It is a great fact that it
is well with the righteous._ It is well with him _always:_ in
prosperity, which is a time of peril; in persecution, which is hard
to bear; in childhood, manhood, and old age; in time, and throughout
eternity. 2. _We are assured of this fact on Divine authority._
Reason might assure us of it, but it is better to have it under the
hand and seal of omniscience. If thou canst not see it, let God's
word stand thee instead of sight. 3. _It is the will of God that His
people should know this great fact._ He would have his saints happy,
and therefore He says to His prophets, "Say ye," &c. 4. _With God's
people it is emphatically "well."_ When GOD says it is "well" with a
man, it must be well indeed. 5. _There are many obvious reasons why
it is well with the righteous._ (1.) His greatest trouble is past.
His greatest trouble was the guilt of sin. (2.) His next greatest
trouble is doomed. The dominion of sin over him shall speedily come
to an end. (3.) His best things are safe. His treasures are in
heaven. (4.) His worst things work only for his good. (5.) He is well
_fed,_ for he feeds upon Christ; well _clad,_ for he wears the
imputed righteousness of Christ; well _housed,_ for he dwells in God
who has been the dwelling-place of His people in all generations;
well _married,_ for his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to
Christ; well _provided for,_ for the Lord is his Shepherd. (6.) God
has put within him many graces, that help to make things well;
_faith,_ which laughs at difficulties; _love,_ which accepts them;
_patience,_ which endures them; _hope,_ which expects a rest to come.
(7.) Day by day, God the Holy Ghost visits him with fresh life and
power. (8.) He has a bank that never breaks--the glorious "throne of
grace;" and he has only to apply on bended knee to get what he will.
(9.) He has ever near him a most sweet Companion, whose loving
converse is so delightful that the roughest roads grow smooth, and
the darkest nights glow with brightness. (10.) He has an arm to lean
upon that is never weary, never feeble, never withdrawn. (11.) He is
favoured with a perpetual Comforter, who pours wine and oil into
every wound, and brings to his remembrance the things which Christ
has spoken. It is well with the righteous in life, well when he comes
to die, and well after death. 6. _The blessedness of the righteous
rest upon a solid ground._ The text says, "they shall eat the fruit
of their doings." Those are the only terms upon which the old
covenant can promise that it shall be well with us; but this is not
the ground upon which you and I stand under the gospel dispensation.
Absolutely to eat the fruit of our doings would be even to us, if
judgment were brought to the line and righteousness to the plummet, a
very dreadful thing. Yet there is a limited sense in which the
righteous man will do this. "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat,"
&c., is good gospel language; and when the Master shall say,
"Inasmuch as ye did this unto one of the least of these my people, ye
did it unto me," the reward will not be of debt, but still it will be
a reward, and the righteous will eat the fruit of his doings. I
prefer, however, to remark, that there is One whose doings for us is
the grounds of our dependence, and we shall eat of the fruit of His
doings.
+II. The misery of the wicked.+ To expound the woe pronounced against
him, you have only to negative all that I have already said about the
righteous. It is ill with the wicked; always ill with him; and it
shall be ill with him for ever.[1] But _why_ is it ill with the
wicked? 1. He is out of joint with all the world. Ordinary creatures
are obedient to God, but he has set himself in opposition to the
whole current of creation. 2. He has an enemy who is omnipotent.
3. His joys all hang on a thread. Let life's thread be cut, and where
are his merriments? 4. After these joys are over, he has no more to
come. 5. Of all the comforts and hopes of the righteous, he is
utterly destitute.--_C. H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_
vol. xiii. 13-24.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Many sinners who seem so jocund in our eyes have not such
merry lives as you think. A book may be fairly bound and
gilded, yet have but sad stories writ within it. Sinners
will not tell us all the secret rebukes that conscience
gives them. If you will judge of Herod by the jollity of
his feast, you may think he wanted no joy; but at another
time we see that John's ghost walked in his conscience. And
so doth the Word haunt many, who appear to us to lay
nothing to heart. In the midst of their laughter their
heart is sad; you see the lightning in their face, but hear
not the thunder that rumbles in their
conscience.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
Suppose a man were in prison, committed for some great
offence, and condemned to die under the displeasure of his
prince or state, and his servant should come to him,
saying, "Sir, be of good comfort; your wife is well at
home; you have very sweet children, an excellent crop of
corn; your neighbours love you dearly; your sheep and
cattle thrive, and all your houses are in good repair."
Would he not answer that servant, "What is all this, so
long as I am condemned to die"? Thus is it with every
wicked man. He is under the displeasure of the great God, a
condemned man, and God is angry with him every day; and if
his heart were open to be sensible of it, he would say,
"You tell me of my friends, and goods, and name, and trade;
but what is all this, so long as I am a condemned person,
and God is angry with me every day I rise?"--_Bridge,_
1600-1670.
Who would think, now, that sees how quietly the multitude
of the ungodly live, that they must very shortly lie
roaring in everlasting flames? They lie down, and rise, and
sleep so quietly; they eat and drink as quietly; they go
about their work as cheerfully; they talk as pleasantly, as
if nothing ailed them, or as if they were as far out of
danger as an obedient believer. Like a man that hath the
falling sickness, you would little think, while he is
labouring as strongly and talking as heartily as another
man, how he will presently fall down, lie gasping and
foaming, and beating his breast in torment! so it is with
these men. They are as free from the fears of hell as
others, as free from any vexing sorrows, not so much as
troubled with any cares of the state of their souls, nor
with any sad and serious thoughts of what shall become of
them in another world; yes, and for the most part, they
have less doubts and disquiet of mind, than those who shall
be saved. Oh, happy men, if they could be always thus; and
if this peace would prove a lasting peace! But, alas, there
is the misery! it will not. They are now in their own
element, as the fish in the water; but little knows that
silly creature when he is most fearlessly and delightfully
swallowing down the bait, how suddenly he shall be snatched
out, and lie dead upon the bank; and as little think these
careless sinners what a change is near. The sheep or ox is
driven quietly to the slaughter, because he knows not
whither he goes; if he knew it were to his death, you could
not drive him so easily. How contented is the swine when
the butcher's knife is shaving his throat, little thinking
that it is to prepare for his death! Why, it is even so
with these sensual, careless men; they fear the mischief
least, when it is nearest to them, because they see it
not!--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
THE GREAT LAW OF RECOMPENSE.
iii. 10, 11. _Say ye to the righteous,_ &c.
This is the testimony of _conscience;_ conscience testifies that that
which is here predicted ought to take place--that the condition and
circumstances of men ought to be conformed to their character. This
is the testimony of _reason:_ in its clearest, calmest, strongest
hours, it endorses this testimony of the conscience. This is the
declaration of _Almighty God;_ He here promises that He will do that
which conscience and reason agree that He ought to do. Thus we have
here a conclusive concurrence of testimony, and the truths announced
in our text should be recorded in our memory as absolutely certain.
These declarations remind us of two things. +I. That we are living
now in a season of probation.+ These messages are much needed,
because we are surrounded by much that is perplexing. Here and now
fidelity to conscience often entails much loss, sorrow, and
suffering. Many of the wicked are prosperous and triumphant. Iniquity
_pays._ Moreover, the sufferings of the righteous and the successes
of the wicked are often lifelong. This contrast between what ought to
be and what is, has been a source of moral disquietude in all ages
(Ps. lxxiii., &c). Yet it is absolutely necessary. Without this moral
obscurity there could not have been any moral probation. There is no
temptation in prussic acid, because its deadly qualities are
indisputable, and because they operate instantaneously. If all sins
had their penalties as clearly and closely tied to them, vice would
be impossible. And so would virtue! Obedience to the Divine will
would then be, not an act of choice, but the result of an
irresistible moral compulsion, and it would have in it no morally
educational influence, and nothing to render it acceptable to God.
Not by chance, then, not by mistake, not as the result of a harsh and
unloving decree, but as the result of ordinance of the highest wisdom
and grace, we are now living in a season of moral probation. But,
+II. We are hastening on to a season of rectifications and rewards.+
Conscience and reason attest that there _ought_ to be such a season,
and the Scriptures assure us that there _shall_ be (Eccles. xii. 14;
Rom. ii. 6-10, &c.)
The great facts of which our text reminds us, 1. _Should give
calmness and steadiness to our faith._ We should not be greatly moved
either by the distresses of the righteous or the triumphs of the
wicked. These are most transient. The longest life is really a most
inconsiderable episode in our being. This is but the beginning of our
voyage; what matters it whether we clear out of port in a storm or
amid bright sunshine? What will happen to us on mid-ocean is the only
thing worthy of our concern. 2. _They should govern us in the
decisions we have continually to make in life,_ between courses that
are right, but involve present suffering, and those which are
pleasant, but wrong. The sick man who refuses to undergo the present
pain which will assure him of future health, and prefers the
transient ease which will presently give place to intolerable agony,
is insane. Let us not imitate him in his folly. But if the rewards of
every man's hands shall be given him, how shall _any_ man be saved?
This is precisely the difficulty which the Gospel was designed to
meet. It is precisely because no man can be saved on his own merits
that Christ came into the World, and died for every man, and now
offers redemption to every man. This offer is made to YOU. For
Christ's sake, the sins of the righteous shall be forgiven them; and
for His sake likewise, they shall be rewarded according to their
works (Matt. x. 42, xvi. 27; Heb. vi. 10, &c.) Between the doctrine
of justification by faith and the doctrine of good works there is the
most perfect harmony.
THE CURSE OF A WEAK GOVERNMENT.
iii. 12. _As for my people, children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them._
"Children," "women," are not to be taken literally. In interpreting
the second of these figures, we must remember the status of women in
ancient times in the East. +I. A weak government is a curse.+ 1. By
such a government the affairs of a nation are mismanaged, its
resources squandered, and its great possibilities unrealised. 2. A
weak government always becomes in the end an oppressive government.
By it the national burdens are caused to press most heavily on those
least able to bear them. 3. Under such a government, privileged
classes and monopolies multiply and grow strong, to the hurt of the
nation at large. 4. Worst of all, and as the source of countless
evils, government itself comes to be despised, and the national
respect for law destroyed. In short, under a weak government a nation
makes rapid progress towards anarchy. +II. The curse of a weak
government is not long in overtaking a nation that gives itself up to
luxury and loses its regard for moral considerations.+ 1. It is only
by such a nation that such a government would be tolerated. 2. By
such a nation such a government is likely to be for a time most
popular (Jer. v. 31).
The cures for political evils are not political but moral. Political
remedies will but modify the symptoms. Political evils are really due
to moral causes, and can only be removed by moral reformations.
Hence, while good men will never neglect their political duties (no
good man will neglect any duty), they will be especially in earnest
to uplift the nation morally, and therefore will do their utmost to
strengthen those agencies which have this for their aim--the church,
the school, and those societies which exist for the diffusion of the
Scriptures and of religious liberty. Wherever the Bible becomes the
book of the people, oppression by "children" becomes impossible, and
the government of "women" is set aside.
BLIND LEADERS.
iii. 12. _O my people, they which lead thee[1] cause thee
to err, and destroy the way of thy paths._
This is at once a lament and a condemnation--a lament over the
misfortunes of those who are misguided, a condemnation of their folly
and wickedness in permitting themselves to be led astray. +I. Men
need to be led.+ 1. _This is our need as individuals._ Every day we
need an answer to the questions, What ought I to do? Which way should
I go? In the journey of life, we continually come to crossings at
which we are conscious of our need of guidance. 2. _Guidance is still
more necessary for men collectively._ What shall be the belief of a
community? What its action? Like the apostolic band (John xxi. 2, 3)
communities remain idle, undecided, until the born leader says, "I go
a-fishing," and instantly they say to him, "We also go with thee."
Men are naturally gregarious; like a flock of sheep they crowd and
inconvenience each other, not knowing which way to turn, until one
bolder than the rest breaks away from the flock, and then instantly
the flock begins to follow him. +II. As a rule men are misled.+
Boldness and wisdom do not always go together. Not seldom the courage
which prompts men to become the leaders of others, and which goes so
far to command the assent of others, is a compound of self-conceit
and ignorance. Men are always prone to trust in the self-confident:
they will believe the boastful quack rather than the diffident
philosopher. Hence in all ages men have been caused to err--the blind
have been led by the blind. How true this is to-day in political
matters, in social, in commercial, in religious! [Give instances.] On
every hand, in all these realms of thought and action, there are
those who can only rightly be described as leaders who cause the
people to err. Yes, all men carry within them two leaders, in whom
they are disposed implicitly to trust, but by whom in the majority of
instances they are misled--reason and conscience. How absolute is the
confidence placed in these guides, and how seldom it is justified!
+III. To be misled is one of the most terrible of evils.+ 1. It
involves the loss of all the good to which right leadership would
have conducted men. 2. It involves disappointment, shame, sorrow, and
often irretrievable ruin. 3. It plunges men into painful
perplexities, so that even when they have begun to suspect that the
path they are pursuing is erroneous, they know not how to discover
the true one; it seems to them to be "destroyed;" they search for it
in vain. They are like travellers who, in the darkness following
_Will-of-the-Wisp,_ have strayed from the highway into a morass: to
stand still is impossible, and yet to step in any direction, may
plunge them into worse perils (Matt. xv. 14). How criminal is the
conduct of those who betray their fellow-men into misery such as this!
In view of these facts, 1. _We should not entrust ourselves to the
first guide who offers himself to us._ Let us examine the credentials
of those who ask us to trust ourselves to their care (Matt. xxiv. 24;
1 John iv. 1-3; Isa. viii. 20). 2. _In weighing the claims of men to
be our leaders, we should have regard supremely to their moral
qualifications._ Their intellectual competency is, of course, not to
be disregarded, but moral character is infinitely more important. Not
all good men are fitted to be leaders; but no bad man can be safely
followed by others. He is continually apt to be guided by policy,
rather than principle, and policy leads to perdition.[2] Policy is at
the best but guess-work--steering by the current; the man who is
governed by principle steers by the stars, and neither can be long
misled, nor will he wilfully mislead others. _Practical
Application._--Never vote for any candidate for a public office,
however clever he may be, if his integrity is doubtful. 3. _Every man
needs guidance more close and intimate than any of his fellow-men can
afford him:_ he needs to be led even in choosing his leaders. Whither
shall he look for this guidance? To his reason, his conscience? These
guides themselves need instruction:[3] in the absence of it, they
have led millions to perdition. We need supernatural and sure
guidance, and we have it (1) in God's Word, and (2) in God's Spirit
(Prov. iii. 5, 6). The man who follows these guides will be led
always in the paths of righteousness and peace.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The marginal reading, "they which call thee happy" (Mal.
iii. 12, 15), represents vividly the method adopted by the
false prophets; who, instead of warning the people against
the dangers of prosperity, were ever felicitating them upon
it, saying, "Peace, peace, when there was no peace." But
the textual rendering appears to be the preferable
one.--_Kay._
[2] Men know where they are going when they follow a principle;
because principles are rays of light. If you trace a ray of
light in all its reflections, you will find that it runs
back to the central sun; and every great line of honesty,
every great line of honour, runs back towards the centre of
God. And the man that follows these things knows that he is
steering right Godward. But the man that follows policies,
and worldly maxims, does not know where he is steering,
except that in general he is steering toward the
devil.--_Beecher._
[3] Reason is God's candle in men. But, as a candle must first
be lighted, ere it will enlighten, so reason must be
illuminated by Divine grace, ere it can savingly discern
spiritual things.--_Toplady,_ 1740-1778.
Conscience, as an expression of the law or will and mind of
God, is not now to be implicitly depended on. It is not
infallible. What was true of its office in Eden, has been
deranged and shattered by the fall; and now lies, as I have
seen a sun-dial in the neglected garden of an old, desolate
ruin, thrown down from its pedestal, prostrate on the
ground, and covered by tall, rank weeds. So far from being
since that fatal event an infallible directory of duty,
conscience has often lent its sanction to the grossest
errors, and prompted to the greatest crimes. Did not Saul
of Tarsus, for instance, hale men and women to prison;
compel them to blaspheme; and imbrue his hands in saintly
blood, while conscience approved the deed--he judging the
while that he did God service? What wild and profane
imaginations has it accepted as the oracles of God? and as
if fiends had taken possession of a God-deserted shrine,
have not the foulest crimes, as well as the most shocking
cruelties, been perpetrated in its name? Read the Book of
Martyrs, read the sufferings of our forefathers; and, under
the cowl of a shaven monk, or the trappings of a haughty
Churchman, you shall see conscience persecuting the saints
of God, and dragging even tender women and children to the
bloody scaffold or the burning stake. With eyes swimming in
tears, or flashing fire, we close the painful record, to
apply to Conscience the words addressed to Liberty by the
French heroine, when, passing its statue, she rose in the
cart that bore her to the guillotine, and throwing up her
arms, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what crimes have been done in
thy name!" And what crimes in thine, O Conscience! deeds
from which even humanity shrinks; against which religion
lifts her loudest protest; and which furnish the best
explanation of these awful words, "If the light that is in
you be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt.
vi. 23).
So far as doctrines and duties are concerned, not
conscience, but the revealed Word of God, is our one, only
sure and safe directory.--_Guthrie._
OPPRESSION OF THE POOR.
iii. 15. _What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces,
and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of
hosts._
That infidelity should progress among the labouring classes is one of
the most surprising and unreasonable things imaginable. For there is
no book so emphatically on the side of the poor as is the Bible. Were
the Bible obeyed, the miseries of the poor would vanish. The truth,
however, is, that the Bible has suffered from its professed friends.
The upper classes who have patronised it have not put its precepts
into practice, and the victims of their greed and oppression have
foolishly accepted their conduct as an exposition of the teaching of
the book which they have professed to venerate. Hence the wrongs
which the poor have suffered have prepared them to listen to the
blasphemies and to accept the sophisms of infidel lecturers. The
employer of labour who oppresses his men during the six days of the
week, and goes to church twice on the Sunday, is more dangerous to
society than a score of Tom Paines or Bradlaughs. Hence also it is
the duty of God's "prophets" in all ages to confront such men with
the question of our text.
+I. Oppression of the poor is one of the most common of all sins.+ It
has been practised in all ages, in all countries, by all classes, in
most varied forms. "Poor" is a relative term. Masters have oppressed
their servants, debtors their creditors, officers their soldiers,
kings their subjects, people their pastors. The oppression has often
been so terrible that the oppressed have sought refuge in suicide.
"Man's cruelty to man
Makes countless thousands mourn."
+II. Oppression of the poor is one of the most hateful of all sins.+
1. _It is a misuse of strength._ Strength is given to men that they
may be helpful to each other; but the oppressor uses his strength as
if he were a tiger or a wolf; as if he were a wrecker who drowns the
shipwrecked mariner whom he ought to rescue. 2. _It is a cowardly and
shameful advantage that is taken of human weakness._ To lead a blind
man into a quagmire or over a precipice would be thought a shameful
act, even by the most degraded villains. But in what respect would it
differ in principle from oppression of the poor? The weak and needy,
by reason of their feebleness and poverty, have a claim upon our pity
and help; to oppress them is to outrage the primary laws of
conscience. Yet how often it is done!
+III. Oppression of the poor is among those sins which are certain to
be most terribly punished.+ The oppressor proceeds on the idea, that
the man whom he oppresses has no friends to succour and avenge him.
What a mistake! All the oppressed have a friend and avenger in GOD.
Shall oppression go unrequited? Nay, verily! For, 1. It is an offence
against God's _laws._ He has distinctly commanded us to _love_ our
neighbour as ourselves, and how manifold are the applications of this
great commandment! 2. It is an offence against God's _feelings._ In a
peculiar manner His sensibilities are outraged when His children act
cruelly towards each other. Oppression of the poor kindles within Him
mingled disgust and indignation.[1]
APPLICATION. 1. _A new consideration of our text would deter men from
the sin here denounced._ The question which God now addresses to
oppressors He will, with a slight difference, put to them again--when
they shall be gathered at His bar! "What _meant_ ye that ye did beat
my people to pieces, and did grind the faces of the poor?" Bethink
you, O ye oppressors, what will ye answer then? Will it be, "Lord, we
thought Thou were too great to take any notice of what men did on
earth"? or, "Lord, we oppressed them because they were weak, and we
saw we could make a good profit out of their defencelessness"? Do
these excuses seem to you too flimsy to be seriously suggested?
Consider, the, what more valid vindication will be at your command in
that day. In that day you will stand "speechless!" 2. _A remembrance
of the prevalence of the crime denounced in our text will give
soundness and vigour to our theology._ The demand of our day is for
"a God all mercy." Men are endeavouring to cover up hell with the
rose-leaves of a spurious benevolence. But a remembrance of the
wrongs that are done upon earth, the frightful cruelties that are
every day perpetrated, will convince us that hell is a moral
necessity. "A God all mercy" would be not only "a God unkind," but a
God unjust, a God worthy only of the pity and contempt of His
creatures. 3. _A due consideration of the manner in which God
intervenes on behalf of the wronged and defenceless, will inspire all
noble minds with veneration and admiration for His character._
Jehovah is no Brahma, throned in eternal calm, and indifferent to the
sins and sufferings of mankind; He is a Father, prompt to feel and to
avenge the wrongs of His children. Let us resolve to be like Him. Let
us not only avoid oppression in all its forms; let us be swift to
sympathise with all and to succour the oppressed.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] These things are done before God, who looks upon every part
of the human family as His own. How should you feel if you
were to enter the room where your child is sleeping, and
find upon it a stealthy cat, stationed at the portal of
life, and stopping its very breath? How should you feel
were you to find upon your child a vampire that had
fastened into its flesh his blood-sucking bill, and was
fast consuming its vitality? How do you feel when one of
your children tramples upon another? or when your
neighbour's children crush yours? or when ruffian violence
strikes against those whose hearts for ever carry the core
of your heart?
Judge from your own feelings how God, with His infinite
sensibility, must feel when He sees men rising up against
their fellow-men; performing gross deeds of cruelty upon
every hand, waging wars that cause blood to flow throughout
the globe; when, in short, He sees them devastating society
by every infernal mischief that their ingenuity can
invent.--_Beecher._
What shall become of the oppressor? No creature in heaven
or earth shall testify his innocency. But the sighs, cries,
and groans of undone parents, of beggared widows and
orphans, shall witness the contrary. All his money, like
hempseed, is sowed with curses; and every obligation is
written on earth with ink and blood, and in hell with blood
and fire.--_Adams,_ 1653.
THE PLEADER AND THE JUDGE.
iii. 13-15. _The Lord standeth up to plead, &c._
I. THE PLEADER WHO HERE PRESENTS HIMSELF. Note +1. His majesty.+ The
ancient idea of an advocate was that of a venerable person who would
be heard for his own sake, and who would therefore be able to secure
for the cause of his clients an attention that would not otherwise be
accorded to it. The ideal of a pleader was that of a person noble in
birth and blameless in character. To a considerable extent this ideal
has been preserved in our English courts of law. A barrister must be
a gentleman (at least in this sense, that he has never earned his
bread by manual labour), and of good repute as a man of honour.
Certain barristers have established such a reputation, not only for
ability and learning, but also for character, and are always listened
to with respect; happy therefore is the suitor who is able to secure
their advocacy. But this Pleader--how august and venerable is He! How
infatuated are those who do not stand prepared to listen carefully
and respectfully to whatever He may advance! +2. His benevolence.+
The ancient idea of a pleader was again that of a person who
undertook to advocate the cause of another out of a sense of justice
and compassion. Advocacy was esteemed too sacred a thing to be
purchased with money. In the course of time the practice sprang up of
rewarding the exertions of an advocate by an _honorarium;_ but the
distinction that still exists between a barrister and an attorney,
shows us what the ancient idea of the advocate was. In God this idea
is perfectly fulfilled. Without fee or reward, out of pure compassion
and justice, He has become "counsel" for the poor and oppressed. Of
this fact there is abundant evidence in Scripture, and surely it
should kindle within us admiration and love. We justly venerate
Howard, Clarkson, Wilberforce--shall we not still more greatly honour
God, who stoops to regard them that are of low degree, and becomes
the advocate of those who have no other friend? +3. His earnestness.+
The advocate is supposed to make the cause of his client for the time
being his own. Often the supposition is realised in a remarkable
degree. But in God it is perfectly realised. The oppressed for whom
He pleads He speaks of, not merely as "_these_ people," but as "_my_
people." In all their afflictions He is afflicted. However frequently
men may forget it, He reminds that He is the Father of all mankind,
and the wrongs of His children He feels to be His wrongs; the feebler
they are, the less able they are to defend themselves, the more do
their wrongs wound Him, and provoke Him to anger--_This_ is the
Advocate who stands up to plead for the oppressed. Will the
oppressors be so infatuated as to turn a deaf ear to His pleading?
Let those who are tempted to do so pause, and consider
II. THAT HE WHO NOW PLEADS BEFORE THEM WILL BE THEIR JUDGE. An
astonishing reversal of circumstances is about to take place: the
Advocate is about to ascend the judicial bench, and those before whom
He pleads are about to stand at His bar. He has announced beforehand
the principles upon which then He will proceed. +1. He will have no
regard to rank.+ He will "enter into judgment with the ancients and
princes." In many countries, great criminals have been able to defy
the judge; but none shall be able to defy this Judge.[1] +2. He will
pronounce mere indifference to want and suffering a crime+ (Matt.
xxv. 42-45). +3. Those who have inflicted suffering He will judge
upon the strict rule of retribution, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for
a tooth"+ (James ii. 13).
By these truths let us be guided in our use of whatever power over
others that may have been entrusted to us. Let us hear God
proclaiming that the poor are _His_ people, and let us so comport
ourselves towards them, that in the end we may come to know the
fulness of the meaning of the Master's declaration, that "_blessed_
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Justice, when equal scales she holds, is blind,
Nor cruelty nor mercy change her mind.
When some escape for that which others die,
Mercy to those, to these is cruelty:
A fine and slender net the spider weaves:
Which little and slight animals receives;
And if she catch a summer bee or fly,
They with a piteous groan and murmur die;
But if a wasp or hornet she entrap,
They tear her cords, like a Sampson, and escape;
So, like a fly, the poor offender dies;
But like the wasp, the rich escapes and flies.
--_Sir John Denham._
In the corrupted currents of this world,
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft 'tis seen, the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law. But 'tis not so above:
There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In its nature: and we ourselves compell'd,
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence.--_Shakespeare._
HAUGHTINESS.
iii. 16, 17. _Moreover the Lord saith, Because the
daughters of Zion are haughty, . . . therefore the Lord
will smite._
A terrible doom is here denounced against the Jewish women, not
because they were vicious, but because they were haughty. Haughtiness
is found also in men, though in them its manifestations are somewhat
different. It is therefore a question of universal interest. In what
respects is haughtiness sinful?
+I. The sinfulness of haughtiness is manifest in view of what it is.+
Webster defines it as "pride mingled with some degree of contempt for
others; arrogance." It is a compound iniquity, and as such is doubly
offensive. In the chemical world two deadly ingredients may
neutralise each other's noxious qualities, and form a harmless and
useful article: _e.g.,_ water, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen;
common salt, a compound of chlorine and sodium. But it is never so in
the moral world: combinations of iniquities are always especially
offensive. How then must God look upon haughtiness, which is made up
of two sins most emphatically denounced in His Word!
+II. The sinfulness of haughtiness is manifest in view of its
sources.+ Clearly it springs--1. _From a forgetfulness of our
dependence upon God._ Of what is it that we are so proud that we
cannot conceal our pride? It is of gifts which we have received from
God (1 Cor. iv. 7), and for the continued possession of which we are
absolutely dependent on His will. Some are haughty because of what
they _are_--beautiful, talented, &c.; others because of what they
_have_--rank, money, &c.; others because of what they _have done_--on
the field of battle, in art, literature, &c. But personal
excellencies, amplitude of possessions, or gross success, should
produce in us not self-exaltation, but gratitude to God. To be
ungrateful is to be base; and as haughtiness is one of the flowers
that spring from ingratitude, that evil root which has for its seed
forgetfulness of our dependence upon God, it is base and hateful too.
2. _From a forgetfulness of the purposes for which God has so richly
endowed us._ God endows and helps men, not for their own
gratification, but that they may more effectually help others. This
great law runs through the whole universe. The sun is filled with
light, in order that it may be a light; the violet with perfume, in
order that it may diffuse its perfume. So is it with ourselves. In
proportion to our gifts we are stewards for God, and were intended to
be channels of blessing: great gifts, therefore, should not cause us
to swell with foolish arrogance, but should weigh us down with a
solemn sense of our responsibility. 3. _From a forgetfulness of our
relation to our fellow-men._ God is our Father, and all men are our
brethren, but we forget this, and so we behave ourselves towards many
as if they were made of an inferior clay. In a household, the
children who have sight look not with scorn, but with compassion, on
a sister who is blind; and if we remembered that all men are our
brethren, our perception of their shortcomings as compared with
ourselves would excite, not our pride, but our pity.
+III. The sinfulness of haughtiness is manifest in view of the
emphatic discord with the example of Christ.+ Every sin may be
condemned on this ground, yet haughtiness is in an especial manner in
flagrant contradiction to that embodiment and manifestation of
excellence which we have in the character of our Lord. In His
dealings with men, even the lowest and most degraded, who can detect
one trace of arrogance? Notice especially, that while He never called
attention to His temperance, His truthfulness, His prayerfulness,
&c., He did point out meekness as the feature by which He was
especially distinguished, and by which His followers were to resemble
Him, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me _for I am meek and lowly
in heart._"
1. We may see now why haughtiness, which we are so accustomed to
treat as a trivial thing, is so emphatically condemned in God's Word.
2. A very moderate acquaintance with human life is enough to teach us
that haughtiness is a prolific source of sorrow, as well as a sin. It
is so in those _towards_ whom it is manifested; slights are resented
as insults, and brooded over as bitter wrongs. It is so in those _by_
whom it is manifested: the haughty meet with repeated mortifications,
arising from the rejection of their claims to superiority,[1] and
they are frequently brought into perilous collision with persons of
like temper. An intelligent self-interest would lead us to shun that
which God denounces as a sin. 3. While haughtiness may be natural in
the children of this world, it is a grave and alarming inconsistency
in the professed followers of Jesus.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A proud man layeth himself open to blows by his
presumption, and, like bubbles of soap-water, the bigger he
grows the weaker he is, and swells till he
bursts.--_Dumoulin._
FEMALE PRIDE AND LUXURY.
iii. 16--iv. 1. _Moreover the Lord saith, Behold the
daughters of Zion are haughty, &c._
We have here a terrible denunciation of female pride and luxury.
Consider--
I. ITS COMMONNESS. In almost every age and country there have been
women such as are here described.
II. ITS CAUSES. There must be powerful causes to produce such a
wide-spread effect. Like all things that are wrong, these evil
things--the pride and luxury of so many women--are due to perversions
of things that are right,--mainly, to certain things which are among
the _differentia_ of the female sex, such as--1. A keener love of
beauty than is common among men. The love of many women for soft
textures and bright colours is as innocent, and free from all trace
of personal vanity, as is the love of children for flowers. 2. A
stronger yearning for admiration than is common among men. There are
vain men, always on the outlook for indications of admiration, and
they are simply contemptible. But it is an instinct of the true
woman-nature to desire to be loved, and to value highly all things
that tend to win love. 3. A recognition of the gifts of personal
beauty. As a rule, women have more to be proud of in this respect
than have men. If a woman is fair, she is simply a hypocrite if she
pretends not to know it. Then there come in, 4. Rivalry, which in
itself is a right thing, but becomes a harmful thing when women set
themselves to out-dress each other. 5. Timidity, one of the graces of
the female character, but that often leads to great evils. Few men
have the courage to be singular, and fewer women sufficient
self-reliance not to follow the fashion. But the pride and luxury of
women is largely due also to the folly of men:--(1) Most men esteem
and reward clothes more than character. Men are taken by such things
as are mentioned in our text, and the fisher is not much to be blamed
for adapting the bait to the taste of the fish. (2.) Even of those
men who condemn female luxury in the abstract, few have the courage
to banish it from their own homes. (3.) The lips of many men are
sealed on this question by their own vices. They have _their_
indulgences, and one of the prices which they pay for peace in their
pursuit is silence as to this indulgence on the part of their wives
and daughters. There is an unexpressed but wicked compromise on this
matter.
III. ITS CONSEQUENCES. 1. The intellectual degradation of woman, the
concentration of nearly all her thoughts on the question of dress.
2. The moral debasement of many women. For the means of gratifying
their craving for luxury and display, how many have sold their
virtue! 3. The destruction of that female influence which should
always be exerted, and when exerted is so powerful in aid of moral
nobility. Sensual grossness in men is at once a cause and consequence
of licentious vanity in women. 4. Commercial frauds, to which men
resort to provide the means for the maintenance of the luxury of
their homes.
Men and women are thus partakers in this sin, and as such, in the
days of visitation, they shall suffer together (ver. 17, 25;
iv. 1).[1]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] vi. 1. The Jewess, like the ancient Roman, or modern
Englishwoman, was called by her husband's name; and she
prized the honour of wedlock, and dreaded the reproach of
childlessness, at least as much as either of these; but we
must contrast the dignified expression of these feelings by
Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth, nay, even that of the jealous
and petulant Rachel, with the exhibition which the prophet
now contemplates in his mind's eye, in order to see the
picture of social disorganisation which he sees. If a harem
of wives and concubines was still a part of the king's
state in Isaiah's time, though we have no proof of this, it
is quite improbable that polygamy was the common custom of
the nation, or that they had not long passed out of the
half-civilised condition and habits for which Moses had
provided in the laws for the protection of the female
slaves whom a man might take at the same time for his
wives; but now Isaiah says that these women, whose luxury
and pride he has just described, will abandon even the
natural reserve of their sex, and not only force themselves
several upon one man, but declare that they will be content
to share with each other a legalised concubinage in which
they will not claim the concubine's ancient right of bread
and apparel, which the old law (Exod. xxi. 10) had in
express terms secured to her, if only they may bear his
name. It need not be supposed that Isaiah anticipated the
literal fulfilment of his words; we shall probably
understand him better by taking this as an instance of that
poetic or rhetorical hyperbole, which he so delights to use
for the more forcible expression of his moral and political
teaching. The mystery which some commentators have seen in
the numbers "seven" and "one" in this passage, and which is
even said to have occasioned the separation of this portion
of the prophecy into a distinct chapter, perhaps makes
worth while the obvious remark that it is nothing more than
the wide-spread idiom of modern as well as ancient
languages, by which a definite or round number is put for
an indefinite. Seven is thus generally used by the Hebrews
for any considerable number, as it was among the Egyptians
and Persians, and is still said to be in the East. The
Moguls are said to employ nine in like manner. So, in
English, we put five or ten for any small, and a hundred
for a large number, in conversation; though the genius of
our language forbids such idioms in graver
discourse.--_Strachey,_ pp. 55, 56.
THE DESOLATED AND DISORGANISING POWER OF WAR.
iv. 1. _And in that day seven women shall take hold of one
man, saying, We will eat our own bread and wear our own
apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our
reproach._[1]
This verse gives us a vivid picture of the desolating and
disorganising power of war. The 25th and 26th verses of the previous
chapter say "Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the
war. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate
shall sit on the ground." This righteous chastisement has come. So
often have the men been called into the field, so exterminating has
been the carnage, as that now few men remain. The natural proportion
of the sexes is disturbed. This disorganisation invades woman's
nature. Her natural modesty departs. With violent importunity seven
women press marriage on one man. They will be no expense to him; they
will earn their own food and raiment, if he will only give them his
name in marriage. The writer of this outline has recently travelled
in a land [Mexico] whose revolutions during the last fifty years have
been so frequent as that he found parts of the country where the
prophet's words are true to-day. The men have been killed in battle.
In some districts there are seven women to one man.
+I. The tendency of sin is to produce war and to degrade women.+ The
apostle James has described the generals of war (iv. 1). Nations are
but the aggregate of individuals. If the lusts of selfishness, greed,
malice, &c., nestle like vipers in the hearts of individual men, they
will be manifest in the nation. 1. _Sin deteriorates man's
intellectual faculties._ In its present unpurified condition, the
human intellect is not inventive enough to discover those commercial
relationships which will eventually bind in bonds of amity the
nations of the world together. 2. _Sin intensifies human
selfishness._ One of the most desolating wars of modern times
originated in that gross selfishness which was too blind to see that
it was a sin to hold property in man. 3. _Sin intensifies human
greed._ "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark," is a
despised threat. Again and again his war originated in greed of
territory and lust of plunder. 4. _Sin intensifies human ambition._
In the heart of all great conquerors, from Nimrod to Napoleon, has
lain the lust of unholy ambition. Their motto has ever been "Better
to reign in hell than serve in heaven." 5. Side by side with these
lusts of selfishness, greed, ambition, &c., there has _been a lack of
justice and mercy._ No mind having these latter sentiments healthily
developed could "cry havock and let slip the dogs of war." When the
leaders of nations learn "to do justly and love mercy," wars will be
less common. 6. _With war have come numerous evils to woman._ The
text describes some of them. Others come to the surface every day.
Her husband has been forced from her side, or her sons have died on
the battlefield; very bitter have been woman's sorrows,--"Yea, a
sword hath pierced through her own soul also." And always where
soldiers are multiplied in a land, and taken away from useful
employment, women have been polluted and degraded. War and womanly
degradation are inseparable evils.
+II. It is the tendency of Christianity to produce peace and elevate
women.+ 1. _To produce peace in its loftiest and widest sense Christ
came into the world._ The prophet Isaiah predicted Him as the Prince
of Peace (ix. 6). At His birth angels sang, "Peace on earth,
good-will to man" (Luke ii. 14). 2. _By His atoning work He has laid
the foundation of peace between man and God,_ and consequently
between man and man. 3. _The direct influence of Christ's religion is
to restrain and destroy those evil propensities out of which wars
originate--lust of greed, ambition, malice, &c._ What is in the
individual comes out in the community. As individuals and nations
become truly Christian and form the majority, wars will cease.
4. _Prophecy speaks of a time coming when the principles of
Christianity shall be in the ascendant,_ and then men shall beat
their swords into ploughshares, &c., &c. (chap. ii. 4). 5. _As the
gospel of peace advances in a land woman's condition is always
elevated._ The Christian man honours woman as no other man does. As
he grows into the stature of Christ, woman's lot is always happier.
Compare woman's status in pagan, Mohammedan, and barbarous lands,
with her status in Christendom.
+III. Hence while the Gospel claims as its advocate every Christian
man, it has special claims on the service of every pious
woman.+--Every good man is called upon to spread the blessings of
Christianity as widely as possible. But there are some evils whose
removal appeals specially to pious women. Every good woman should
throw her influence into the aggregate of the peace spirit, as
against that war spirit which in certain stages of civilisation seems
so natural to man. All women should join together to make up an army
of peace promoters, outnumbering the men of the sword. To relieve
their sisters from sorrow and save them from degradation, should be
the aim of all good women.--_William Parkes._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See note to preceding outline.
THE DIVINE IDEAL OF ISRAEL REALISED.
iv. 2-6. _In that day shall the Branch of the Lord, &c._
"That day" is the glorious period described in ch. ii. 1-4, and those
verses and our text should be read together, as the beginning and
conclusion of one prophecy. At the beginning, the prophet fixes his
gaze upon the sun-illumined peaks of holiness and blessing in the far
future, and his spirit rises within him in exultant gladness (ii. 5);
and then he begins to survey the spaces of time that lie between.
Immediately at his feet he sees almost the whole nation given over to
utter ungodliness, the men and the women vying with each other in
their pride and luxuriousness, and in their contempt and oppression
of the poor; and then he beholds the clouds of Divine vengeance
gathering and bursting over the stout-hearted sinners; he sees the
nation spoiled of the men who had constituted its strength, and the
enfeebled people utterly desolated by war. All is blackness and
darkness. But he lifts his eyes again, and there still shines before
him the true Zion, dwelling in inviolable peace beneath the
manifestations of the presence of her God. This was the vision which
was granted him, and which he recorded for the instruction of men in
all aftertime.
Confining our attention to the closing section of it, we are
instructed--+I. That underneath all God's purposes of judgment He has
designs of mercy.+ In certain portions of this great prophecy God
comes forth in terrible majesty, and were we to have regard to them
only we should be moved to pray that He would not speak to us any
more (Exod. xx. 19). But these judgments that cause us to
tremble--what is their purpose? Not merely the infliction of
righteous vengeance, but also and more that a way may be opened for
manifestations of the Divine goodness. If into Zion He sends "the
spirit of judgment and burning," it is that by the purging away of
her filth and blood-guiltiness she may be made meet to be the
dwelling-place of God. +II. That God resolved to carry out His
purposes of mercy by a suitable agent.+ He is here designated by a
twofold description, the parts of which appear to be contradictory.
He is at once "the Branch of the Lord" and "the Fruit of the earth."
The significance of the first of these titles becomes more plain as
we trace it in prophecy (Jer. xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15; Zech. iii. 8,
vi. 12). So that "the Branch of the Lord" is a man, the son of David,
that son concerning whom he sang in the seventy-second Psalm, the
Messiah--our Lord Jesus Christ! As soon as we arrive at this great
truth, we perceive what is the explanation of the mysterious
contradiction in the two parts of the title of the great Deliverer
whom God was about to raise up for Zion (1 Tim. iii. 16; Rom. i. 3,
4). +III. That in the day when God's designs of mercy are fulfilled,
the suitability and glory of the Agent whom God resolved to employ
will be universally recognised.+ We know how He was treated when He
came forth on His great mission: He was despised and rejected of men.
Yet not long after He had been put to the most ignominious of deaths,
an apostle could write, "Unto you that believe He is precious." So
even on earth there was a commencement of the fulfilment of the
prediction that He should be "beautiful and glorious . . . excellent
and comely for them that are escaped of Israel." We have been
permitted also to see how He is regarded by the ransomed ones who
have entered into the rest in which they await the manifestation of
the sons of God (Rev. v. 6-14). By this disclosure we are enabled to
form some conception of the manner in which this portion of the
prophecy will be fulfilled "in that day" which upon the new earth
"the holy city, New Jerusalem," has come down from God out of heaven.
+IV. That God's great design both in the infliction of His judgments
and the operation of His mercy is the creation of universal
holiness.+ The work entrusted to the Messiah was to "wash away the
filth of the daughters of Zion, and to purge the blood-guiltiness of
Jerusalem from the midst thereof." There were some "written down for
life in Jerusalem" (Acts xiii. 48),--doubtless those who God foresaw
would tremble at His threatenings and accept His gracious offers of
mercy; and these the Messiah was so to purify that they should be
worthy to "be called holy." Thus one part of GOD'S IDEAL CONCERNING
ISRAEL (Exod. xix. 6) was to be realised. It was for the
accomplishment of this great purpose that Christ died (Eph.
v. 25-27). It was for this end that He was exalted to God's right
hand (Acts v. 31). It is for the accomplishment of this great purpose
that He now sometimes subjects His people to painful discipline (Heb.
xii. 10).[1] +V. That the day of universal holiness will be a day of
universal blessing.+ This great truth is set forth by symbols which
would appeal most powerfully to the imagination and the hopes of the
godly among Isaiah's contemporaries (ver. 5, 6). That which had been
the distinguishing glory of the Tabernacle was to become the common
glory of every dwelling in the New Jerusalem. Moreover, the whole
city was to be a covering--a canopy such as in a Jewish wedding was
held over the bride and bridegroom; the symbol of God's protecting
love. Beneath it, as in a tabernacle, they should dwell securely.
Thus the second portion of God's ideal concerning Israel was to be
realised (Deut. xxviii. 9, 10; xxxiii. 28). First purity, then peace;
perfect purity, perfect peace. A little later Isaiah had another
vision concerning this tabernacle (xxxii. 2). God's protecting love
for His people is embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ; "in _Him_ all
the promises of God are Yea and Amen" (2 Cor. i. 20).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As God makes use of all the seasons of the year for the
harvest, the frost of winter as well as the heat of summer,
so doth He of fair and foul, pleasing and unpleasing
providences for promoting holiness. Winter providences kill
the weeds of lusts, and summer providences ripen and mellow
the fruits of righteousness. When He afflicts it is for our
profit, to make us partakers of His holiness (Heb.
xii. 10). Bernard compares afflictions to the teasel, which
though it be sharp and scratching, is to make the cloth
more pure and fine. God would not rub so hard if it were
not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures.
God loves purity so well that He would rather see a hole
than a spot in His child's garments. When He deals more
gently in His providences, and lets His people sit under
the sunny bank of comforts and enjoyments, fencing them
from the cold blasts of affliction, it is to draw forth the
sap of grace, and hasten their growth in
holiness.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
GOD'S PERPETUAL PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE.
iv. 2-5. _In that day shall the Branch of the Lord, &c._
Note the contrast between the preceding chapter, in which
denunciations fall upon the ear like thunder, and the sunny promise
of this. The references to Zion both in the Psalms and in the
Prophecies are frequent and striking. Originally crowned by the
Jebusite citadel, it was besieged and taken by David, who transferred
his court from Hebron thither; he afterwards erected a tabernacle
upon its height, and it there became the chosen resting-place of the
ark of the Lord. Hence, in Scripture language, it came sometimes to
denote the entire city of Jerusalem, and sometimes the Church or
commonwealth of the faithful, which the Highest has promised to
establish, and out of which God, the perfection of beauty, shines.
You will have no difficulty in thus understanding the reference in
the words before us. Applied to the ancient Zion, or even to the
entire city of Jerusalem, the words are extravagant and unmeaning;
applied to the Church of God--His living, spiritual temple--they are
sober, comforting truths. Consider
I. THE PREPARATION FOR THE PROMISE--(2-4). Two things are presented
as antecedent to the gifts of blessing--the coming of the Divine
Saviour, and His discipline for holiness within His Church. +1. The
coming of the Divine Saviour+ (ver. 2). The transition from the
gloomy judgment to the grandeur of deliverance is abrupt and
striking, as if from a savage wilderness one were to emerge suddenly
into green pastures and among gay flowers. So great a change passes
upon human destinies when Christ the Lord comes down. We are
naturally heirs of judgment. But a Saviour has been provided--a
Saviour who, in the mysterious union of natures, combines perfection
of sympathy and almightiness of power. Without Christ, we are
hopeless and lost. Give us Christ, and we are heirs to all the
fulness of God. +2. The Saviour's discipline for holiness within His
Church+ (ver. 3, 4). With God the great thing is holiness. To work
this holiness in His people, God subjects them to discipline, and, if
necessary, to the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. There
are some stains so deep that the fire must purge them. The constant
superintendence over human affairs which these words imply is assured
to us by the experience of our own witnessing hearts, which
corroborate the declarations of the inspired Word. In this
superintendence the Christian will rejoice. In his anxiety to be
conformed to the whole image of God, he will not be careful or
delicate about the means God may use. Here is a test by which to try
yourselves. Are you willing to submit to this preparation for the
promise? Do not shrink from the hissing brand; it will only burn away
the core of the ulcer.
II. THE PROMISE ITSELF (ver. 5). As we read these words, we go back
to former ages and a fierce wilderness, where a pilgrim host marches,
and there, now in their van for guidance, now in their rear for
protection, races a pillar of cloud by day, and by night a pillar of
flame. This was the vision prominent in the prophet's mind, when he
symbolised by it God's presence and protection to His chosen Church.
We are the heirs of the glorious things thus spoken of the city of
God. There is the presence of God with His Church--that is the
central thought; then there are right-hand and left-hand thoughts or
aspects in which that presence manifests itself, radiating itself on
the one hand for counsel, and on the other hand for defence. 1. The
central thought, +The presence of God.+ It was in cloud and in fire
that God specially revealed Himself for His people in days of old
(Gen. xv. 17; Exod. xix. 18; xxxiii. 9; 1 Kings viii. 10; Hab.
iii. 3-5). So long as the cloud and fire were in the camp, so long
the wilderness lost half its terror, because the Israelites knew that
God was in the midst of them for good. That God is still present in
His church is no impious fanatic's dream. To be sure He does not come
as He did in former times, bewildering the sight and overawing the
mind. The Divine manifestations of terror which made even Moses fear
and quake, would not suit this later and better dispensation of love.
Yet our tabernacles are not merely places of human assembly; they are
tabernacles of God's presence, and our worship ascends not to a
remote or absent God. 2. The right-hand thought, +The presence of God
for counsel.+ You remember that this was the primary purpose for
which the pillar of cloud and fire was given. Consider how much it
was needed by the Israelites in the trackless wilderness. (1.) For
guidance in their perplexities, God's presence is promised to the
churches of to-day. Nobody can look upon the history of the Church
with eyes that are not blinded by infidel films without discovering
traces of a presence and counsel higher than that of the mightiest
and wisest men. What chance had she at the beginning but in the
support and upholding that was itself Divine! Through what perils she
has been safely guided since! (2.) If I were to come nearer home, if
I were to ask you to not look at the history of the Church, but at
your own history, is there not something that would cause you to
respond with a joy not less deep and solemn, as you think how the
Lord through all your wanderings has been a guide and counsel for
you? 3. The left-hand thought, +The presence of God for defence.+ You
know what the pillar of fire was--to the Israelites a lamp,
brilliant, exquisite, and heartening; to the Egyptians that followed,
a consuming fire. There is defence as well as counsel for the Church
to-day. Expositors have differed a little about the reading of the
last clause in this verse. Some tell us it ought to read, "upon all
the _glory_ shall be a defence;" that is, there shall be protection
round about the glory which is created by this luminous cloud and by
this kindled fire. Some tell us it should be read, "upon _all_ the
glory shall be a defence;" that is, the luminous cloud and the
brilliant fire shall be itself the defence of the Church. What does
it matter which way we take it? The defence is sure, the salvation of
the Lord is for bulwarks equally in the one case as in the other; and
so the Church is safe, whatever betide. Powerful adversaries have
banded themselves for her destruction, and yet she still lives, while
their names are forgotten, or remembered with accusation and shame.
Let us, then, not be afraid of future assaults (Num. xxiii. 23). The
defence is not merely for Zion as a whole, but for every
dwelling-place therein. Every believer has a pillar of cloud and fire
over his own homestead, visible not to your eyes, but to those of the
angels. There cannot be a cloud upon "the assembly" unless there are
first clouds upon the dwelling-places. Consecrated homes furnish
consecrated congregations; consecrated homes bring the baptism of
fire. Dear brethren, this promise is yours, if you like to have it.
It is the simple, quiet soul that sits at the feet of Jesus and
listens to His voice, that has all this done for him (Heb. i. 14).
"Which of the petty kings of earth
Can boast a guard like ours,
Encircled from our second birth
With all the heavenly powers?"
--_W. Morley Punshon, LL.D., Christian World Pulpit,_ ii. 372-377.
THE CLEANSING SPIRIT.
iv. 4. _By the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of
burning._
In ch. ii. 1-5, the prophet gives us a vision of the glory which
shall distinguish Messianic times. From ver. 6, however, and through
that chapter and the next, he depicts scenes of darkness and
distress, that were to come upon the Jewish nation in correction of
its haughtiness, arrogance, and rebellion. In ch. iv. the light again
breaks through these fearful clouds of judgment, and under the glory
of the Messianic period we see the beauty and purity of the chastened
people of the Lord. The filth of the daughters of Zion has been
washed away, the blood of Jerusalem has been purged from the midst
thereof. But how? "By the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of
burning." Here we have the source and cause of the change.--This
language is very striking and suggestive, _and reveals the Divine
procedure in the cleansing of the heart._
I. THE SPIRIT OF JUDGMENT. God's Spirit effects this reformation by a
process of discernment and conviction. We observe--1. That a real
change of heart is usually preceded by a discovery of its sinful
condition. The natural tendency of the depraved heart is to ignore
and deny its corrupted state. The light must be let in to show that
it _is_ depraved.[1] 2. That this reformation is preceded by a
discovery of the _enormity_ as well as the fact of sin. Even a
converted sinner tries to palliate or soften the sins that condemn
him. Hence men contrive such flimsy distinctions as "white lies" and
"black lies." But "the Spirit of judgment" goes to the root of the
matter, and discovers sin _as_ sin (1 Kings viii. 28). So in the
text, it is the _filth_ of the daughters of Zion that has to be
washed away; it is the _blood_ of Jerusalem that has had to be purged
from its midst.[2]
II. THE SPIRIT OF BURNING. From this description of the Holy Ghost,
we learn--1. That _the detection of sin is, in the Divine purpose, to
be followed by its destruction._ There can be no _home_ for sin in a
pure heart, nor will God make any concession to it (Hab. i. 13; Ps.
v. 5). 2. _This process is extremely searching and painful._ It is
one of "burning" (Matt. iii. 11). How many have quailed under the
testing ordeal!--_e.g.,_ loss of wealth! loss of friends! personal
affliction, &c.
From the subject three general reflections arise:--1. God does not
chastise arbitrarily or at random. He does it by "the Spirit of
judgment." 2. Neither does He fail in the work by reason of a weak
indulgence, which really would be unkindness. He does it by "the
Spirit of burning." 3. The object He has in view is to promote and
secure our personal holiness, to make us indeed _like Himself_ (Heb.
xii. 10)--the most blessed result to which discipline can lead
us.--_W. Manning._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It is with the children of men as with the housewife, that
having diligently swept the house, and cast the dust out of
doors, can see nothing amiss, not so much as a speck of
dust in it; whereas if the sun do but a little shine in,
through some cranny in the wall or some broken quarry in
the window, she may soon see the whole house swim and swarm
with innumerable atoms of dust, floating to and fro in the
air, which, for dimness of light or sight, she was not able
to discern. Even so is it with many that were careful of
their ways, so that little may be seen that is amiss; yet,
when they shall come to look more attentively into God's
law, a little beam of light, reflecting upon their souls
for it, will discover unto them such an innumerable
company, as well as corruptions in their heart as of error
and oversight in their lives, that it shall make them, as
men amazed, cry out, "Lord, what earthly man doth know the
errors of his life?"--_Spencer,_ 1658.
[2] As the Lord led Ezekiel from one place to another, and the
further he went the greater abominations he discerned
(Ezek. viii.), from the door of the court to the door of
the gate of the Lord's house, and from thence to the inner
court; so the Spirit of the Lord leads the sinner from one
part of his house to another, from one room--one faculty of
his soul to another, and still discovers greater, more and
more abominations,--leads from the profaneness of his
ordinary conversation to the sins of his religious duties,
from the sins of his life to the sins of his heart, from
the streams of sin in his actions to the spring of sin
which bubbles up continually in every part of his soul. He
brings to mind the sins that he has forgotten, makes him
"possess the sins of his youth;" and now the "bag" (Job.
xiv. 17) is opened, and the sinner sees what he is to
reckon for, he cries out as the prophet's servant, "How
shall we do?" and as David (Ps. xxxviii. 4). He comes not
to the assizes as formerly, to see others tried and
condemned; he sees himself now at the bar, himself
arraigned and indicted; he cannot but plead guilty. He is
clearly cast in law, and bears the sentence of condemnation
as though the Lord did by name pronounce sentence of
condemnation against him.--_Clarkson,_ 1621-1686.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD.
v. 1-7. _Now will I sing, &c._
+I. The privileges conferred on the Jewish nation+ (ver. 2, 3). It
would be vain and useless to attempt, as some have done, to find in
the privileges of the Jews an exact counterpart to the various items
here specified concerning this "vineyard." For example, Jerome
regards the fencing of the vineyard as symbolical of the protection
of the Jews by the angels; the gathering out of the stones, the
removal of the idols; the tower, the temple erected in Jerusalem; the
wine-press, the altar.[1] To seek thus for minute analogies is at
once to destroy the oratorical force and the simplicity of the
parable. Rather let us lay hold of its leading truths. The prophet
desired to remind the Jews that they had received extraordinary
privileges from God; consequently he employed figures calculated to
impress his hearers with that truth; and he does not fail to specify
every particular which those acquainted with a vineyard would expect,
if it were one from which a copious supply of choice fruit might be
reasonably expected. 1. _The choice which God made of the Jews as a
nation_ was the first and fundamental privilege which He conferred
upon them. 2. Having chosen them, God revealed Himself to them as
clearly as was then possible through the symbolism of _the Mosaic
Law._ Through its statutes and ceremonies were shadowed forth the
great truths of His holiness, His mercy, His sanctifying grace, and
the Sacrifice which in the fulness of time was to be offered for the
sin of the world (Rom. iii. 1, 2). 3. In addition to the Law, God
gave to His people the inestimable help of _Prophetical Teaching,_ to
assist them to understand its meaning, and to stimulate them to keep
it with full purpose of heart.
+II. The consequent obligations under which the Jews were laid.+ From
the vineyard, for which the great Husbandman has done so much, He
naturally looked for fruit. The fruits which the prophet specifies as
being required by God from the Jews correspond precisely with their
privileges (ver. 7). He had given them a code of laws by which their
actions were to be guided, and had impressed upon them the duty of
doing to others as they would be done to. Now He looked for the
fruits of justice and righteousness. It was a reasonable demand, the
lowest that could have been made. Yet even this demand was not met.
+III. The judgment which God designed to bring upon them+ (ver. 6,
7). As we objected to the attempt to find exact counterparts between
the various privileges of the Jews and the labours which had been
bestowed upon the vineyard, so we set aside as needless all attempts
to discover parallels between the various items of the threatening
against the vineyard and the judgments by which the Jews were
visited. All that the prophet means to say is this, that the
privileges which the Jews enjoyed pre-eminently above all the other
nations God would take from them, and they should be reduced to the
level of their neighbours. The removal of these privileges was itself
the heaviest judgment that could have befallen them.
PRACTICAL LESSON.--_Where there is privilege there is obligation._
1. You who are Christians are responsible for your privileges.
Consider how great they are: a knowledge of the will of God; the
example of Christ; a throne of grace ever accessible; the counsel and
help of the Holy Spirit. If God looked for the fruits of justice and
righteousness from the Jews, what manner of fruit may He reasonably
expect from you? 2. Even those of you who are not Christians, but are
still living in sin, have privileges; a preached Gospel; the offer of
a free, full, and present salvation; the strivings with you of the
Holy Ghost. Despise them not, or you will perish.--_Thomas Neave._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "The house of Israel" (beth Yisrâel) was the whole nation,
which is also represented in other passages under the same
figure of a vineyard (ch. xxvii. 2, _sqq._; Ps. lxxx., &c).
But as Isaiah was prophet in Judah, he applies the figure
more particularly to Judah, which was called Jehovah's
favourite plantation, inasmuch as it was the seat of the
Divine sanctuary and of the Davidic kingdom. This makes it
easy enough to interpret the different parts of the simile
employed. The fat mountain horn was Canaan, flowing with
milk and honey (Exod. xv. 17); the digging of the vineyard,
and clearing it of stones, was the clearing of Canaan from
its former heathen inhabitants (Ps. xliv. 3); the
sorek-vines were the holy priests and prophets and kings of
Israel of the earlier and better times (Jer. ii. 21); the
defensive and ornamental tower in the midst of the vineyard
was Jerusalem as the royal city, with Zion the royal
fortress (Micah iv. 8); the winepress-trough was the
temple, where, according to Ps. xxxvi. 8, the wine of
heavenly pleasures flowed in streams, and from which,
according to Ps. xlii. and many other passages, the thirst
of the soul might all be quenched. The grazing and treading
down are explained in Jer. v. 10 and xii. 10.--_Delitsch._
I believe that in a poetical allegory there is always more
or less an allusion to the details of that which is
allegorised; but it is only allusion,--to be realised by
the imagination, rather than by the understanding, of the
reader, as well as the poet. The several images are parts
of a picture, which must be contemplated as a picture, and
its meaning is to enter into the mind through the
imagination. Still, a matter-of-fact commentator, like
Vitrings, deeply imbued with the spirit of his author, will
sometimes greatly help his reader's imagination by his
minute analysis; and I think this is the case in his
explanation of the details of this description of the
vineyard. _"A vineyard"_ consists of vines planted for the
sake of their fruit: the Hebrew nation with its tribes, its
families, and its persons, was such a vineyard, appointed
to bring forth the fruits of personal and social religion
and virtue,--holiness, righteousness, and love to God and
man: this nation was established in a land flowing with
milk and honey, endowed with all natural advantages, all
circumstances which could favour inward life by outward
prosperity; and the grace and favour of Jehovah, and the
influence of His Spirit, always symbolised by oil, were
continually causing it to be fruitful. _"And He fenced
it,"_--the arm of the LORD of hosts, employing kings and
heroes, was its defence against all enemies; its
institutions were fitted to preserve internal order, and to
prevent the admixture of evil from without, with the chosen
and separated nation; and its territory was marked out and
protected by natural boundaries in a noticeable manner.
_"Gathered out the stones,"_--the heathen nations, and the
stocks and stones they worshipped. _"And planted it with
the choicest vine,"_--a nation of the noble stock of the
patriarchs, and chosen and cultivated by the Lord of the
vineyard, with especial care, for His own use. _"And built
a tower in it,"_--namely, Jerusalem--for the protection and
superintendence of the vineyard, as well as to be its
farmhouse, so to speak. _"And also made a wine-press
therein,"_--where the wine-press seems to point to the same
idea as the sending the servants to receive the fruit, in
our Lord's modification of this parable: lawgivers, kings,
and judges, the temple with its priesthood and ordinances,
and the schools of the prophets, were the appointed means
for pressing out and receiving the wine--the spiritual
virtues and graces of the vineyard. And the end is, that
_"He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it
brought forth wild grapes."_--_Strachy,_ pp. 62, 63.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD.
v. 1-7. _Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song, &c._
The points of moral instruction made prominent in this parable
are--I. That God's gifts of truth, light as to duty, moral culture,
and opportunities for doing good, create peculiar obligations to be
morally fruitful, to do justice, and love mercy. II. That men so
blessed with privileges will be held to a stern accountability.
III. That failing to meet this, they must expect that God will take
away their privileges and give them to others who will render the
fruits in their season (Matt. xxi. 43). IV. That there is a line
beyond which God does not deem it wise to waste His moral efforts
upon self-hardened sinners. V. That in His view the exigencies of His
moral kingdom demand of Him rather that He made sinners, beyond that
line, an example of His righteous displeasure against their awful
wickedness, and a warning to other sinners lest they venture too far
in abusing His compassionate and long-suffering efforts to reclaim
and save them. It is a terrible thing to withstand God in His labours
to save the soul.--_Henry Cowles, D.D., Commentary on Isaiah,_ p. 30.
GREAT PRIVILEGES.
v. 1-7. _Now will I sing to my well-beloved, &c._
+I. Great privileges are bestowed by God according to the good
pleasure of His will.+ 1. Obviously this is true of the great
privileges accorded to the Jewish nation. They were not granted
because of anything in them (Deut. vii. 7; ix. 4-6, &c.). There were
other "hills" that would have been just as suitable for a vineyard,
and just as fruitful, had the great Husbandman been pleased to deal
with them in the same manner. 2. If we consider our own religious
privileges, we must acknowledge the same great principle: other
nations still heathen _deserve_ them just as much as we do; and our
heathen forefathers to whom they were first granted were in no sense
superior to the heathen of to-day. We owe our superiority to our
privileges, not our privileges to our superiority. 3. The same
principle is as true of temporal as of spiritual privileges. Why are
some born clever, and others stupid? some strong and others weak?
some rich, and others poor? We can return no other answer than that
such is the will of God.--This principle seems to be surrounded by a
cloud of mystery; but there are rays of light that relieve it,--to
some of them we shall presently refer; and we must be careful not to
darken it by our own folly. We must not imagine, because God acts
according to the good pleasure of His will, that therefore He acts
arbitrarily, capriciously, out of mere whim and fancy. Though He may
not disclose to us the reasons for many of His procedures, we may be
sure that He has good reasons. In withholding them from us--possibly
because we are as yet incapable of understanding them,--and thus
making demands upon our faith, He deals with us just as we frequently
deal with our children.
+II. Great privileges involve great responsibilities.+ From the
vineyard so carefully cultivated choice grapes are justly expected.
This is a truth so familiar that it is apt to become to us a mere
truism. But we shall do well to look at it steadily,--1. _As a guide
to us in our duty._ It is well to pause and consider what privileges
God has conferred upon is, that we may be aroused to a perception of
the nature and extent of the demands which He is certain to make upon
us. In view of our privileges, what ought our life to be? (Luke
xii. 48). 2. _As a help to us in our perplexities._ In view of such
providential arrangements as have been referred to, these are
sometimes very painful. But we must remember that the great principle
before us admits of being very variously stated. It is just as true
that "small privileges involve small responsibilities." We shall
adopt the slander of the wicked and slothful servant if we think of
God as a hard master who seeks to reap where He has not sown. If God
has entrusted to any man only one talent,--and He entrusts to every
man at least as much as that,--He will not demand from him the usury
upon ten talents, nor upon two.
+III. Great privileges do not necessarily result in great happiness.+
They ought to do so; they often do so; but as frequently they fail to
do so. Even in temporal things, the happiest men are not always those
whose possessions are most various and ample. The most learned men
are not always those who own the largest libraries. And the holiest
men are not always those whose religious opportunities are most
numerous and great. Why is it, that great privileges and great
happiness are not always associated? Because man is a voluntary
agent, and God will not force happiness upon any man. He may offer us
eternal life, but we must "lay hold" of it. He may shed upon our path
great light, but we must walk in it (ch. ii. 5).
PRACTICAL LESSON.--Instead of repining because our privileges are not
more numerous and great, let us diligently use those which have been
granted to us, and so make them what they were intended to
be--sources of blessing to us. Enclosed within God's vineyard, and
carefully cultured by Him, let us see to it that the grapes we bring
forth are not wild grapes.
+IV. Great privileges neglected or misused bring on great
condemnations+ (ver. 5, 6). Compare also Luke xiii. 6-9. Had that
fig-tree been growing on some open common, notwithstanding its
barrenness, it might have stood till it decayed, but because it was
barren in a "vineyard" the righteous order is given, "Cut it down!"
This principle, also, we may turn to practical account. Like a former
one, we may use it--1. _To help us in our perplexities._ Sometimes we
are in trouble to know what will become of the heathen in the day of
judgment. Well, even if they are condemned, they will be condemned
less severely than those who have misused greater privileges (Matt.
xi. 22; Luke xii. 48). 2. _To stimulate us to a faithful discharge of
duty._ Fear is not the highest motive, but it is a very useful one,
and not truly wise man will leave it out of account. We need every
kind of help to fortify us against temptation, and it is good to
remember what will be the result if we yield to it, and so remain
barren and unfruitful, or even bring forth "wild grapes" (Heb. iv. 1;
1 Pet. i. 7; Phil. ii. 12).
Fear is useful as a motive, but hope is still more helpful; and in
the matter of our salvation we may employ both fear and hope as
allies. Reverse the last principle, and read it thus, +Great
privileges well used secure corresponding rewards.+ Compare Luke
xix. 17. If the choice vine planted in the fruitful vineyard brings
forth "good grapes," the Husbandman will pronounce over it rejoicing
benedictions (Heb. vi. 7).
DIVINE DISAPPOINTMENTS.
v. 2. _He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it
brought forth wild grapes._
"I believe in God." Which god? The god constructed for us by
philosophers, who is impassive, throned in eternal calm, unmoved by
the crimes or the virtues of men, all of which he has foreseen from
eternal ages, and which cannot in any way affect him at the time of
their occurrence; a god who towers above men, majestic and
unchangeable, like an Alpine peak, which is the same whether sunlight
cheers or clouds darken the valleys beneath? No, but the God of the
Bible, who loves and hates, who rejoices with us in our gladness and
sorrows with us in our griefs, who foresees and overrules all, and
yet can hope and be disappointed.
I. That God can be disappointed is distinctly the implication of our
text. "He _looked_ that it," &c. 1. Isaiah's parable recalls the
privileges which God had conferred upon the Jews; and we know that He
dealt with them as He did, in order that they might become a holy
nation (Exod. xix. 6; Deut. vii. 6, xxvi. 18, 19). Was their
persistent unholiness no disappointment to Him? 2. The same truth is
implied in what we are told of God's feelings in view of the
wickedness of the antediluvians (Gen. vi. 5, 6). He had made man in
His own image, in order that He might continue therein, and shine
with the lustre of His own moral perfections; each man was to be a
_planet_ in the moral universe, reflecting the glory of the great
central Sun; and when He saw man transformed into the image of Satan,
and His purposes concerning him frustrated, He was filled with
profound regret. 3. The same truth is implied in what we are told
concerning Christ. "He came unto His own" (John i. 11). For what
purpose? Certainly not that He might be rejected, but that He might
be received by them. But He _was_ rejected! See how forcibly this is
brought out in His parable (Luke xx. 9-15--especially verse 13).
4. It is implied in Christ's tears and lament over Jerusalem (Luke
xix. 41; Matt xxiii. 37). 5. It is implied in the apostolic
declarations, that God is desirous that all men should repent and be
saved (1 Tim. ii. 4; 2 Pet. iii. 9). We must not minimise the force
of θέλει--ὂς πάντας άνθρώποʊς θέλεɩ σωθῆναɩ. The strength of any
one's desire is to be measured by what he will do or sacrifice to
accomplish it; and God gave His only begotten Son in order that all
men might have everlasting life. But all men are not saved. That the
Scriptures teach that God can be--and often is--disappointed, is
clear.
II. "But it is impossible that God can be disappointed, seeing that
He is omniscient and foresees all things. Surprise, and consequently
disappointment, is not possible to perfect knowledge." 1. This
objection appears to be very reasonable, but against it there is this
fatal objection, that we cannot measure God by our reason.[1] We
cannot tell how He will act or feel under certain circumstances: all
we know is, that under all circumstances God will act and feel in a
manner worthy of Himself. But what is, or is not, consistent with His
attributes, we are not in a position to determine. Take, for
instance, His omnipresence. If we were present when dastardly wrongs
and great crimes are committed, and were clothed with power to
prevent them, how certain it is that we should prevent them![2] But
every day He stands by and sees such wickednesses perpetrated, and is
silent, and gives no sign. Let us, then, not be in a hurry to decide
that disappointment is not consistent with omniscience. 2. There is
an experience very frequent among men, which may perhaps help us a
little to understand what disappointment is in God. Evils may be long
distinctly foreseen--as, for example, the death of a dear friend
suffering from an incurable disease--but yet not realised until they
actually occur. The blow is foreseen long before it falls, but it is
felt when it falls. Every man knows that he must die, and yet how
nearly a surprise is death to every man! 3. Whether we can understand
it or not, it is our duty to accept this declaration, that in view of
the ingratitude and sinfulness of men whom God has blessed and has
sought to win by virtue and holiness, He is profoundly grieved and
disappointed. Such declarations are not to be dismissed as
"anthropomorphological." However much that is in them may be
figurative, there is a reality behind the figures.
III. Whatever mystery may attach to this declaration, consider how
precious it is--1. A God who can be disappointed is precisely the God
we need. How else could we be assured of His sympathy with us in the
disappointments which so frequently come upon us, and which make up
so considerable a part of the experiences of our life? Were God such
a being as the philosophers have imagined, we might feel that He
understood us, as an anatomist understands exactly how a frog on
which he is operating will act when exposed to galvanic shocks, but
we could not have had the inexpressible consolation of the assurance
of His sympathy. It is only a mother who has been bereaved who can
comfort a mother who is weeping over her dead child. 2. A God who is
so much interested in us that our failures in virtue inspire Him with
profound grief and disappointment, is against precisely the God we
need. Of what value to us would be a God who looked upon us with as
little emotion as a king may be supposed to do upon the ants who
crawl across his path? It is because men do not think of God as He is
revealed in our text, that they sin against Him; if they did but
realise how He feels about them, it would be impossible for them to
transgress as they do. I accept His declaration, that He is
disappointed in view of human sin, and I try to measure His
disappointment. I find help in this endeavour in this Old Testament
parable: how profound would be the disappointment of a husbandman
under such circumstances as are supposed! But I find yet more
valuable help in the greatest of the New Testament parables. How
bitter must have been the disappointment of the father of the
Prodigal when he went away into a far country! Such disappointments
break the hearts of tens of thousands of fathers and mothers, and
brings down their grey hairs with sorrow to the grave; and precisely
such disappointment it is, only vaster, deeper, sadder, that fills
the heart of our Heavenly Father when His children go astray. It is
thus that some of you have grieved Him; it is thus that some of you
are grieving Him to-day by your contemptuous disregard of His offers
of mercy and forgiveness. Oh, think what it is that you do, and
surely your carelessness must give place to profound contrition, and
you will resemble the Prodigal in your penitence, as you have done in
your ingratitude and your guilt.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] God is to us, and to every creature incomprehensible. If
thou couldst fathom or measure Him, and know His greatness
by a comprehensive knowledge, He were not God. A creature
can comprehend nothing but a creature. You may know God,
but not comprehend Him; as your foot treadeth on the earth,
but doth not cover all the earth. The sea is not a sea if
you can hold it in a spoon. Thou canst not comprehend the
sun which thou seest, and by which thou seest all things
else, nor the sea, or the earth, no, nor a worm, nor a
blade of grass: thy understanding knoweth not all that God
hath put into the least of these; thou art a stranger to
thyself, both body and soul. And thinkest thou, that
perfectly comprehendest nothing, to comprehend God? Stop
then thy over-bold inquiries, and remember that thou art a
shallow, finite worm, and God is infinite. First seek to
comprehend the heaven and earth and whole creation, before
thou think of comprehending Him to whom the whole world is
nothing, or vanity.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
[2] During one part of the trip our party was augmented by a
redif, or soldier of the reserves, who was going home on
leave of absence. He wore the uniform of the Turkish
soldier, but I observed that in the evening he threw over
his shoulders a woman's robe, made of a soft thin kind of
felt, worn by the women in this country, and beautifully
embroidered in colours around the neck and bosom. I had the
curiosity to inquire into the history of this gown, and
could scarcely restrain my indignation at the story I
heard. The soldier said he had got the gown at Saitschar.
After the discovery of the evacuation of the place by the
Servians, he and a party of four or five more entered the
town. In one of the houses they found a Servian family that
had decided to remain in their house, and throw themselves
on the mercy of the Turks. This family consisted of an old
man, a married daughter with two children, and a girl of
fourteen, whose relationship to the rest of the family they
did not take the trouble to inquire into. The husband of
the woman, if she had one, was absent. They began by
fastening all the doors, so that nobody could escape: then
they thoroughly pillaged the house, and took and divided
everything of value among themselves. They were in the
house a day and a night, for it was a rich one apparently,
and it took some time to get everything properly divided
and packed; and besides, they were disposed to be merry and
make a night of it.
I will not enter into the details of what they did during
the night, because there are people who do not apparently
object in the least to the commission of these deeds, who
object to anybody lifting a finger to prevent them, or even
to the expression of any indignation on the subject, but
who are dreadfully shocked at the recital of them; and I
wish to spare the feelings of these sensitive persons.
Suffice it to say that the next morning the question arose
as to what should be done with the two women, the two
children, and the old man. Some of the party were in favour
of letting them go; but the rest were of opinion that it
would be amusing to kill them, and a discussion ensued,
which lasted more than an hour, in the presence of the
weeping, trembling victims, who were wildly begging for
mercy, and among whom, it should be remembered, there was a
mother begging for the lives of her two children. The
narrator said that he, with another of the party, had leant
to the side of mercy, but that the majority were against
them, and that they finally ended the discussion and the
prayers of the victims by falling upon them with their
sabres. I asked him how he had come by the gown, and he
replied that, seeing what the result was going to be, he
had stripped it from the girl while the discussion was in
progress, before she was killed, so that it might not be
blood-stained. He had taken a fancy to it, because it would
just be right for his daughter, who was about the same age;
and his companions, perceiving this, made him pay rather
high for it--fifty piastres. He was a heavy, dull-looking
brute, and it seemed strange to think that he had a
daughter, a pretty, tender, joyous little thing, perhaps,
that would wear this gown with delight. He told the story
in a quiet, phlegmatic manner, and spoke very freely,
looking upon me as an Englishman, and therefore as a
friend.--_Letter in the "Daily News,"_ Nov. 15, 1876.
A SAD CANTICLE.
v. 4-6. _What could have been done more to my vineyard? &c._
There are certain epochs in the history of the Church when on every
hand may be seen the saddest indifference. This state of things is
not owing to a suspension of Divine gifts, nor to the absence of
earnest pastors, nor to the circumstances by which God's people are
surrounded. Everything has been done for the vineyard which the wise
and gracious husbandman could perform, yet no fruit is produced. The
fault lies with the Church itself. Individual members have relapsed
into a state of ease and supineness. Faithful warnings have been
unheeded; earnest entreaties have been disregarded; mercies have been
unnoticed; chastisements have been profitless. At such a time they
who sigh and cry for this desolation, turn to the despised or
forgotten Lord, and sing their mournful canticle, "My well-beloved,"
&c. (ver. 1, 2). Then the Lord replies, "Judge, I pray you," &c.
(ver. 3-6). It is too true the sorrowful singer admits, and says 'He
looked for judgment,' &c. (ver. 7).
Let us consider the _similitude_ under which the Church is
represented, the just _complaint_ of the Lord, and the terrible
_condemnation_ He pronounces.
+I. The Similitude.+ A vineyard.
This parable is peculiarly interesting on account of the fact that
our Lord Jesus uttered one in many respects similar to it (Matt.
xxi. 33). The figure of the vineyard is often used in the Old
Testament, generally to represent the Church. The vineyard of the
parable is represented as being--1. _In a very favourable locality._
2. _Planted with the choicest vine._ 3. _Carefully fenced and
diligently cultivated._ 4. _Having the husbandman living in the
midst._ "Built a tower." God is His _own_ watchman on the walls of
Zion.
+II. The Complaint.+ "It brought forth wild grapes." Observe the
complaint is not based upon the poverty or paucity of the crop, or
even upon the absence of a crop altogether, or because of the
lateness of the crop. There is an abundant crop; but of what? "wild
grapes," _i.e.,_ "poisonous berries," like those the servant of
Elisha gathered (2 Kings iv. 39). A crop that could have grown
without the husbandman at all. An unnatural production. One
calculated to injure, if not to destroy life. The husbandman's design
is thwarted; he expected that which would nourish and stimulate life;
whereas the opposite is produced. The allegory explains itself. The
inconsistencies and follies, the disobedience and idolatry of the
Church, are like deadly upas trees in the world; they tend to produce
infidelity, _i.e.,_ moral death, among men. The mission of the Church
is to proclaim life, by God's Spirit to communicate it; instead of
that, a worldly and apostate Church leads men to say and believe,
"There is no God." This is unnatural; the proper fruit of the Church
is holiness, obedience, and zeal.
+III. The Condemnation.+ (vers. 5, 6).
1. _Observe the mercy of the condemnation._ "It shall be eaten up."
The obnoxious growth shall be destroyed. The pride, the ignorance,
the idolatry of the Church shall be removed. God will not abandon
her, as He does the world, to fill up her measure of iniquity. He
must be glorified in His saints, although not now, yet afterward. The
patient husbandman will wait for another year, when his choice vine
shall yield choice fruit.
2. _Observe the severity of the condemnation._ Her privileges shall
not be enjoyed. "The hedge taken away." Direful persecution shall be
experienced. "It shall be trodden down." The Spirit's influence shall
be withheld. "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain
upon it." It is so with the Jews. That vineyard is desolate now;--the
vines are trodden under foot; the rain rains not on them, BUT THEY
ARE NOT ROOTED UP. God shall plant another hedge, dwell again in the
forsaken tower; and His ancient people shall grow and flourish on the
fruitful hill; bringing forth such fruit that the husbandman shall
rejoice, and earth and heaven be glad.--_Stems and Twigs,_ vol. i.
pp. 246-249.
ON THE ADVANTAGE OF SMALL ALLOTMENTS OF LAND TO THE POOR.
v. 7, 8. _He looked for judgment, but behold oppression;
for righteousness, but behold a cry. Woe unto them that
join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be
no place._
I. The Almighty expects from all His creatures, and especially from
those to whom He has given wealth or power, the practice of justice
and righteousness. II. The Almighty, instead of finding justice and
righteousness among His creatures, discovers oppression on the part
of the powerful, and a cry of lamentation and of indignation on the
part of the poor: the proof of the oppression, and the cause of the
cry is, that no place is left for the poor. There is a strong
tendency to the accumulation of property, and especially of land, in
the hands of a few; but such accumulations of land in a few hands
tends to grave national evils--to luxury on the part of the rich, and
to lawlessness on the part of the poor--and, therefore, instead of
being promoted, should be discouraged by the legislature. But year by
year we have been adding "field to field, and house to house," till
we have left the poor no place. Rights of common and rights of
pasture have been taken away, and the beer-shop established by law to
occupy the time which otherwise would have been employed in healthy
toil for a happy family. Little farms, held by working farmers, have
been joined together, so that one may live in luxury, where ten
families once dwelt in simplicity and plenty. The cottager, in his
little field, that once looked so fruitful and trim, cheering the eye
and charming the heart, not only of himself, but of beings dear to
and dependent upon him, has been driven into some town to add to its
misery, its debasement, and its discontent. Let us pray that there
may come a time when the gentle in rank shall be gentle in very deed;
when the rich shall recognise that they are trustees for God, and
shall use their property for the purposes for which He has placed it
in their hands; when allotment acts shall remedy the ruin which
enclosure acts have wrought; when an enlightened self-love, arising
out of the possession of something to love, shall render the
demagogue and the inciter to outrage a foreigner to our land, and
when our "common Father" shall find that "justice and righteousness"
for which He looks.--_R. C. Parkman, B.A., Sermons_ (1843), No. X.
WILD GRAPES.
v. 8-23. _Woe unto them that join house to house, &c._
It is important to remember that this whole chapter constitutes one
prophecy. Much of the power of its teaching will be lost, if this
fact be overlooked. In verses 1-7, we have the astonishing
declaration that in "the vineyard of the Lord of hosts" He has
discovered, not the excellent fruit He had a right to expect, but
"wild grapes." In verses 8-23, some of these "wild grapes" are
specified and denounced. Surveying His vineyard the Husbandman
beheld--
I. Not the gracious fruit of generosity, but the evil fruits of GREED
and PRIDE. He saw men, not content with the possessions which
Providence had conferred upon them, nor those which honest industry
would enable them to secure, but coveting their neighbour's
possessions, and hesitating at no means that would enable them to
gratify their desires (Micah ii. 1, 2); beating down their equals,
that they themselves might dwell in solitary grandeur (ver. 8). Note,
1. That the aggregation of landed property here denounced was
directly contrary to the most explicit Divine ordinances (Num.
xxxvi. 7; Lev. xxv. 23, 24).[1] 2. The conduct here denounced has its
counterparts to-day--in the matter of land, great landowners buying
up all the little farms adjoining their estates, and turning fruitful
valleys into deer-runs; in trade, great capitalists subjecting their
less wealthy rivals to ruinous competition, &c., &c.[2] 3. That it is
not merely particular manifestations of the spirit of greed and
pride, but the spirit itself, that provokes the indignation of the
bountiful Giver of all good. Covetousness and arrogance are not
confined to any particular class. The tenth commandment exists for
the poor as well as for the rich.
II. Not the excellent fruit of temperance, but the evil fruit of
SENSUAL INDULGENCE (ver. 11, 12). He saw men living for mere
pleasure, without any recognition of the "work" which He had wrought
for them as a nation, without any acknowledgement of His goodness to
them as individuals, without any remembrance of the purpose of their
being.[3]
III. Not the excellent fruit of reverence for God's Word, but the
evil fruit of SCOFFING. The messengers whom He sent to recall them to
duty, they scorned; the warnings which He mercifully sent to them of
the judgments impending over them, they turned into merriment.
Instead of forsaking their sins, they yoked themselves to them with
renewed determination (verses 18, 19).
IV. Not the noble fruit of a recognition of the truth, but the evil
fruit of INFIDELITY--that intellectual scepticism which seeks to
destroy the very foundations of morality, and which prepares men for
vice of all kinds, and hardens them therein, by confounding vice with
virtue, and denying man's moral accountability.
V. Not the befitting fruit of humility and desire for Divine
guidance, but the evil fruit of SELF-SUFFICIENCY (ver. 21). Clever
and successful "men of the world," they resented the idea of their
needing counsel and help as an insult. They were their own gods.
Trusting in themselves with unfaltering confidence, they excluded
from their minds all thought of Him in whom they lived and moved and
had their being. Conceiving that they owed all their prosperity to
their own wisdom and prudence, how could they give Him thanks?
Confident that they would be equal to every emergency of life, how
could they lift up to Him one real prayer?
VI. Not the indispensable fruit of righteousness in those who are
called to rule, but that evil fruit which always excites His hottest
indignation, DENIAL OF JUSTICE TO THE POOR. He saw the judges taking
their seats on the judicial bench, not with clear intellects and the
love of righteousness enthroned in their hearts, but besotted and
brutalised by strong drink; not dispensing justice, but selling their
verdict to those who could furnish them most amply with the means of
gratifying their sensual lusts (vers. 22, 23). Than the denial of
justice there is no more cruel wrong.
These were the "wild grapes" which God saw when He looked down upon
His ancient vineyard. Was it any wonder that He brake down the wall
thereof, and give it over to destruction? These are the "wild grapes"
which He sees brought forth only too abundantly when He looks down
upon this land. Is it not a wonder that He spares the nation to which
we belong? 1. Let us beseech Him still to spare us, for the sake of
the "ten righteous" who dwell among us. 2. Let us recognise that the
most urgent duty to which we are called as patriots is the abatement
of those iniquities which justly kindle God's indignation against us.
3. Let us as individuals search and see what fruits are being brought
forth in the vineyard of our own souls, lest while we are deploring
the iniquities of our land and time, and, it may be, are labouring to
lessen them, there grow up within us, "wild grapes" which will bring
down upon us the Divine condemnation.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Political philosophy has much to say in favour of laws and
institutions, at certain periods of a nation's growth, for
encouraging, or at least permitting, the disposition of its
members to found families, to be maintained by hereditary
possessions in land. Yet, if this disposition be not kept
within bounds, those who are influenced by it will "join
house to house, and field to field, till there be no
place;" till the race of small landholders, yeomen, and
partly independent tenants, is swallowed up by a few rich
despots. To prevent this evil among the Hebrews, Moses
directed as equal a division of the land as possible in the
first instance, among the 600,000 families who originally
formed the nation; and provided against the permanent
alienation of any estate, by giving a right of repurchase
to the seller and his relations, and of repossession
without purchase at the Jubilee. The story of Naboth
illustrates the effect of these laws in forming an order of
sturdy, independent yeomen; but it must also be taken as an
instance of the habitual breach of the same laws by the
rich and powerful (cf. Micah ii.; Neh. v. 1-13; 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 21); as they in like manner disobeyed that
respecting the liberation of slaves at the Jubilee (Jer.
xxxvi. 8-16). In England, where the Norman conquest
accumulated all the land in the hands of a few nobles, the
like accumulation has been opposed--however imperfectly--by
laws in their form exactly opposite to those of Moses; by
the permission to cut off old entails, and the prohibition
to make new ones except for one generation, and by allowing
land to be bought and sold like other
commodities.--_Strachey,_ pp. 65, 66.
[2] The covetous man is like a spider. As in this, that he does
nothing but lay his nets to catch every fly, gaping only
for a booty of gain. So yet more, in that while he makes
nets for these flies, he consumes his own bowels; so that
which is his life is his death. If there be any creature
miserable, it be he; and yet he is least to be pitied,
because he makes himself miserable. Such as he is I will
account him; and will therefore sweep down his webs, and
hate his poison.--_Hall,_ 1574-1656.
Covetous worldlings will hardly spare the poor some of
their fire to warm them, some of their water to drink, some
of their ground to lodge on, though it were no more hurt to
them than the lighting of a candle at their
torch.--_Adams,_ 1653.
[3] Let us remember that it will be to small purposes to enjoy
these worldly pleasures of sin for a season, and in the end
plunge ourselves into everlasting death;--that the world's
music is but the syren's song, which allures us to make
shipwreck of our souls on the rocks of sin, and while it
tickles the ear it wounds us to the very heart;--that
though the cup which it offers be of gold, and the drink
sweet in taste, yet it is deadly poison in operation; for
they that drink thereof are so lulled asleep in pleasures
and security, that they never awaken out of their spiritual
lethargy; or if they do, yet like Sampson, without strength
to resist the spiritual Philistines, after the world (like
Delilah) has lulled them awhile in her lap of carnal
pleasures.--_Downame,_ 1642.
COVETOUSNESS.
v. 8-10. _Woe unto them that join house to house, &c._
Covetousness is--I. Ruinous to the individual.[1] II. Mischievous to
society. III. Offensive to God. IV. Certain to be punished. 1. Here,
by disappointment and loss (Prov. iii. 33).[2] 2. Hereafter, by
exclusion from heaven (1 Cor. vi. 10; Eph. v. 5).[3]--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The love of money can never keep good quarter with honesty;
there is a mint of fraud in the worldly breast, and it can
coin lies as fast as utterance.--_Adams,_ 1653.
The avaricious man is like a pig, which seeks its food in
the mud, without caring where it comes from.--_Vianney._
[2] As Moses only saw the land of Canaan, but for his sin was
not permitted to have any share or portion in it, so misers
have, for their miserable covetousness, this punishment by
God inflicted on them, that they shall only see their goods
with eyes, but never enjoy them for their comfort; and that
they shall toil and moil for successor, oftentimes not
knowing who he shall be, and receive no manner of benefit
by their own labour. But as pipes keep none of the water to
themselves that runs through them, but convey it all to
their cisterns, so they are not able to retain any of the
goods which they possess, for their own benefit and
comfort, but only serve as overseers to convey them to
their heirs.--_Downame,_ 1642.
[3] If a man, sick on his bed, burning of a fever, fetching his
breath with straitness and shortness, looking like earth,
says he is well in health, we do not believe him: so if we
see men swelling with pride, flaming with lust, looking
earthy with covetousness, and yet flattering themselves
with hope of salvation, we cannot credit them, all the
world cannot save them.--_Adams,_ 1654.
The covetous is like a camel, with a great hunch on his
back; heaven-gate must be made higher and broader, or he
will hardly get in.--_Adams,_ 1653.
GOD'S CURSE ON THE COVETOUS.
v. 8. _Woe unto them that join house to house, &c._
God's curse is in the habitation of the wicked. 1. Sometimes the
curse enters into their hearts, and prevents them from enjoying
comfort in their estates, and perplexes them with fears and cares
about their possessions.[1] 2. At other times it wastes and consumes
them like a moth, or suddenly devours them by fire and sword. 3. In
some existences they are suddenly and unexpectedly snatched away from
their enjoyments by death.[2]--_Macculloch, Lectures on Isaiah,_
i. 275.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The covetous man pines in plenty, like Tantalus, up to the
chin.--_Adams,_ 1693.
I doubt not many covetous men take a great deal of pleasure
in ruminating upon their wealth, and in recounting what
they have; but they have a great deal of tormenting care
and fear about it; and if they had not, it is very hard to
understand where the reasonable pleasure and happiness lies
of having things to no end. It is, at the best, like that
of some foolish birds, which, they say, take pleasure in
stealing money, that they may hide it; as if it were worth
the while for men to take pains to dig silver out of the
earth, for no other purpose but to melt it down and stamp
it, and bury it there again.--_Tillotson,_ 1630-1694.
[2] What can be more miserable, than for a man to toil and
labour his whole life, and to have no power to enjoy any
fruit of his labours? to bear like an ass a golden burden
all the day, and, without any further use of it, at night,
to have it taken away, reserving nothing to himself but a
galled conscience?--_Downame,_ 1644.
THE MISERIES OF THE DRUNKARD.
v. 11. _Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning,
that they may follow strong drink, &c._
The miseries of the drunkard. +I. Personal,+ ungodly companionship,
eclipse of intellect, demoralisation of nature,[1] retribution, here
and hereafter. +II. Domestic,+ poverty,[2] dissension, vice,
misery.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Not in the day of thy drunkenness only dost thou undergo
the harm of drunkenness, but also after that day. And as
when a fever is passed by, the mischievous consequences of
the fever remain, so also when drunkenness is passed, the
disturbance of intoxication is whirling round both soul and
body. And while the wretched body lies paralysed, like the
hull of a vessel after a shipwreck, the soul yet more
miserable than it, even when this is ended, stirs up the
storm, and kindles desire; and when one seems to be sober,
then most of all is he mad, imagining to himself wine and
casks, cups and goblets.
And like as in a storm when the raging of the water has
ceased, the loss by reason of the storm remains; so
likewise here too. For as there of our freight, so here to
is there a casting away of nearly all our good things.
Whether it be temperance, or modesty, or understanding, or
meekness, or humility, which the drunkenness finds there,
it casts all away into the sea of iniquity.
But in what follows there is no more any likeness. Since
there, indeed, upon the casting out the vessel is
lightened, but here it is weighed down the more. For in its
former place of wealth it takes on board sand, and salt
water, and all the accumulated filth of drunkenness, enough
to sink the vessel at once, with the mariners and the
pilot.--_Chrysostom,_ 347-407.
[2] Thieves cannot steal land, unless they be Westminster Hall
thieves, crafty contenders that eat out a true title with a
false evidence; but the drunkard robs himself of his lands.
Now he dissolves an acre, and then an acre, into the pot,
till he hath ground all his ground at the malt-quern, and
run all his patrimony through his throat. Thus he makes
himself the living tomb of his forefathers, of posterity.
He needs not trouble his sick mind with a will, nor
distrust the fidelity of executors. He drowns all his
substance at the ale-fat, and though he devours much, is
the leaner every way. Drunkenness is a costly sin. It is
like gunpowder, many a man is blown up by it. He throws his
house so long out as windows, till at last his house throws
him out of doors. This is a tippler's progress: from luxury
to beggary; from beggary to thievery; from the tavern to
Tyburn; from the alehouse to the gallows.--_Adams,_ 1653.
NATIONAL UNGODLINESS.
v. 11-17. _Woe unto him that rise up early in the morning,
that they may follow strong drink, &c._
National ungodliness. +I. Its phases,+ dissipation, drunkenness,
forgetfulness of God. +II. Its punishment,+ captivity, famine,
pestilence, humiliation. +III. The certainty of its visitation,+ God
must be vindicated, His people must be delivered.[1]--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The individual culprit may sometimes
Unpunished to his after-reckoning go:
Not thus collective man; for public crimes
Draw on their proper punishment below.
When nations go astray, from age to age
The effects remain, a fatal heritage.
Bear witness, Egypt, thy huge monuments,
Of priestly fraud and tyranny austere!
Bear witness thou, whose only name presents
All holy feelings to religion dear--
In earth's dark circlet once the precious gem
Of living light--O fallen Jerusalem!
--_Southey._
SENSUALITY.
v. 11, 12. _Woe unto them that rise up early in the
morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue
until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the
viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts;
but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider
the operation of His hands._
Sensuality. I. Its features. II. Its follies. III. Its
inconsideration.[1] IV. Its punishment.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Of men out of hell, none more to be pitied than he who
hangs over its mouth, and yet is without fear. What good
does physic poured down a dead man's throat? If he cannot
be chafed to some sense of his condition, all applications
are hopeless; and if sharp affliction, which is the
strongest physic, leaves the sinner senseless, there is
little prospect that anything else will do him
good.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
Oh, what a sight it is to see a man go merry and laughing
towards damnation, and make a jest of his own undoing! to
see him at the brink of hell, and will not believe it; like
a madman boasting of his wit, or a drunken man boasting of
his sobriety; or as the swine is delighted when the butcher
is shaving his throat to cut it; or as the fatted lambs are
skipping in the pasture, that to-morrow must be killed and
eaten; or as the bird sits singing when the gun is levelled
to kill him; or as the greedy fish run, striving which
shall catch the bait, that must presently be snatched out
of their element, and lie dying on the bank.--_Baxter,_
1615-1691.
EARTHLY AMUSEMENT.
v. 12. _The harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and
wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands._
Earthly amusement. I. Its ordinary features. II. Its mischievous
tendency.[1] III. Its consequent sinfulness.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] If you have glutted yourself with worldly pleasures, it is
no wonder that you should find an unsavoury taste in
spiritual delights. Doves that are already filled find
cherries bitter.--_Francis de Sales._
FESTIVITY AND FORGETFULNESS.
v. 12. _The harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and
wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands._
+I. Prosperity ought to lead to praise.+ We should have expected that
when a man was able to spread a feast, and God had caused his "cup to
run over" with bounties, his heart would have overflowed with
gratitude to the Giver of all good. II. As a matter of fact,
+prosperity is hostile to the spiritual life.+ Experience teaches
that in proportion as men prosper, they seek luxury, invent
pleasures, and give up allegiance to God;[1] and as soon as men yield
to the passions of the flesh, and pursue the fashions of the world,
all adequate sense or knowledge of the operations of a Supreme Being
is gone; all serious views of life are set aside; and the end of such
a career is banished from view.[2] +III. To permit the pleasures of
life to absorb our attention is degrading to the nature entrusted to
us by God. IV. It is destructive of the happiness which thus is
mistakenly sought.+ In the hearts of the guests at a feast there is
often anything but festivity. Many vacant minds and languid hearts
are there; some who are in reality fleeing from themselves, and
drowning rising reflections in fresh engagements of pleasure.[3]
Could you see those hearts as God sees them, if you are a Christian,
you would be thankful that you are excluded from the festivity.
APPLICATION.--1. _To the rich and prosperous._ Be on your guard. In
your prosperity there is a deadly peril. Remember that while innocent
enjoyment is lawful, there are other duties of more
importance--duties of mind and soul, of influence and responsibility;
duties toward the men of our generation, and towards God to whom we
are accountable. 2. _To the poor._ Murmur not that prosperity has
been denied you. Wealth might have been your eternal ruin. Envy not
the momentary flash of worldly pomp: soon the deluded soul must be
summoned into the solitude of the chamber of death; nothing to
console the vacant mind; nothing to cheer the throbbing heart; the
rolling eye looks in vain for rest, but the life of vanity closes,
and conscience pierces the departing soul with this declaration,
"Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting."--_B.
Thompson, Church Sermons by Eminent Clergymen,_ i. 395-400.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nothing shall more effectually betray the heart into a love
of sin and a loathing of holiness, than an ill-managed
prosperity. It is like some meats, the more luscious, so
much the more dangerous. Prosperity and ease upon an
unsanctified, impure heart, is like the sunbeams upon a
dunghill; it raises many filthy, noisome exhalations. The
same soldiers who, in hard service, are in perfect
subjection to their leaders, in peace and luxury are apt to
rebel; (and the passions, which in adversity are easily
controlled, in prosperity are apt to break loose). That
corrupt affection which has lain, as it were, dead and
frozen in the midst of distracting business, or under
adversity, when the sun of prosperity has shined upon it,
then, like a snake, it presently recovers its former
strength and venom. Vice must be caressed and smiled upon
that it may thrive and sting. It is starved by poverty, it
droops under the frowns of fortune, and pines away upon
bread and water; but when the channels of plenty run high,
and every appetite is plied with abundance and variety, so
that _satisfaction_ is but a mean word to express its
enjoyment, then the inbred corruption of the heart shows
itself pampered and insolent, too unruly for discipline,
and too big for correction.--_South,_ 1633-1716.
[2] It is a hard thing for princes to remember death. They have
no leisure to think of it, but chip into the earth before
they beware, like a man who walks over a field covered with
snow, and sees not his way, but when he thinks to run on,
suddenly falls into a pit: even so they who have all things
at will, and swim in pleasure, which as a snow covers their
way and dazzles their sight, while they think to live on,
and rejoice still, suddenly rush upon death, and make
shipwreck in a calm sea.--_Henry Smith,_ 1593.
[3] Colonel Gardiner relates that when he was considered by his
gay military companions to be one of the most handsome and
highly favoured officers of his day, he has seen a dog
enter the mess-room, prowling for food, and looked at the
creature with envy, inwardly groaning and exclaiming, "Oh,
that I were that dog!" Since his time thousands have felt
the same iron enter their souls, although looked upon by
their comrades as men enjoying life in rich
abundance.--_Holderness._
THE EVILS OF IGNORANCE.
(_Sunday School or Bible Society Sermon._)
v. 13-15. _Therefore my people are gone away into
captivity, because they have no knowledge, &c._
Isaiah speaks of the future as if it were already present. He traces
the terrible disasters about to befall his countrymen to their true
cause--their ignorance of God,--in their case a wilful ignorance
(Hosea iv. 6), which had betrayed them into courses of conduct
ruinous in themselves, and certain to bring down the judgments of the
Almighty. The history of mankind justifies us in laying down two
propositions: +I. That ignorance is a terrible evil.+ To be in
ignorance of the great facts of God's universe, of the great laws by
which He governs it, is to be in a condition of constant peril. We
are as men who wander in darkness over the great mountains; every
step may be taking us further from the right path, the next step may
hurl us over some unsuspected precipice. Remember what
calamities--political, commercial, social--have been due solely to
ignorance. [Illustrate by examples.][1] +II. That the most terrible
of all kinds of ignorance is ignorance of God Himself.+ 1. _Much sin
is due to ignorance._[2] Not _all_ sin, for there are many
transgressions committed against full light--the worst form of
iniquity. But concerning multitudes of sinners we may pray, as did
Our Lord for His executioners, "Father, forgive them; for they know
not what they do." The most appalling of all sins was committed in
ignorance (1 Cor. ii. 8). Did men truly _know_ God, they would fear,
love, and gladly serve Him. For lack of a true knowledge of God, men
who desired to serve Him have perpetrated the most frightful crimes
(John xvi. 2; Acts xxvi. 9). 2. _Sins committed in ignorance entail
terrible disasters._ That unavoidable ignorance is a palliation of
the guilt of transgression is clearly the teaching of the New
Testament (Luke xxiii. 34; 1 Tim. i. 13), as it had been previously
of the Old (Num. xv. 28; Deut. xix. 4, &c.); and it will affect their
condition in the eternal world (Luke xii. 47, 48). But here and now
it does nothing to exempt men from the natural consequences of their
transgressions. The man who swallows a poison by mistake is killed by
it as surely as the deliberate suicide, &c.
In view of these solemn truths, of which all human history is one
prolonged corroboration,--1. _We should constantly endeavour to grow
in knowledge._ "More light!" should be our constant prayer. Every
means of acquainting ourselves with God and His will we should
diligently use. Let us beware of the temptation indolently to rest in
a voluntary ignorance. Voluntary ignorance is no palliation, but a
tremendous aggravation of iniquity.[3] 2. _Let us diligently impart
to our fellow-men such knowledge as we have already acquired._
Benevolence should move us to do this. We can confer upon our
fellow-men no greater or more needed blessing. Self-interest should
impel us to the same course. In teaching we learn. In labouring to
cause others to see, we ourselves for the first time attain to clear
vision. Knowledge is like the bread with which the five thousand were
fed; it multiplies as it is dispensed, and when the feast is over,
those who carried it to others themselves possess more than they did
when the feast began. 3. _Every organisation which exists for the
diffusion of knowledge should have our sympathy and support both as
patriots and Christians._ This is true even of secular knowledge, but
especially of that knowledge which is able to make men "wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."[4]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As blindness is the deformity of the face, so is ignorance
the deformity of the soul. As the want of fleshly eyes
spoils the beauty of the face, so the want of spiritual
eyes spoils the beauty of the soul. A man without knowledge
is as a workman without his hands, as a painter without his
eyes, as a traveller without his legs, or as a ship without
sails, or a bird without wings, or like a body without a
soul.--_Brooks,_ 1680.
[2] Ignorance opens the door for Satan to enter in with his
troops of lusts; where the watch is blind, the city is soon
taken.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.
[3] He that knew not his Lord's will, because he wilfully
rejected the means of coming to the knowledge of it,
deserves to be beaten with as many stripes as if he had
known it and would not. He that will not take notice of the
king's proclamation, or will stop his ears when it is read,
and afterwards offends against it, does equally deserve
punishment with those who have read it, and heard it, and
disobey it; because he was as grossly faulty in not knowing
it; and there is no reason that any man's gross fault
should be his excuse.--_Tillotson,_ 1630-1694.
[4] Oh, for the coming of that glorious time
When, prizing knowledge as her noblest wealth
And best protection, this imperial realm,
While she exacts allegiance, shall admit
An obligation, on her part, to teach
Them who are born to serve her and obey;
Binding herself by stature to secure
For all the children whom her soil maintains
The rudiments of letters, and inform
The mind with moral and religious truth,
Both understood and practised,--so that none,
However destitute, be left to droop
By culture unsustained; or run
Into a wild disorder; or be forced
To drudge through a weary life without the help
Of intellectual implements and tools;
A savage horde among the civilised;
A servile band among the lordly free.
--_Wordsworth._
DEATH AND THE GRAVE.
(_For Easter Sunday._)
v. 14, 15. _Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, &c._
In these terms of appalling sublimity Isaiah warns his countrymen of
the calamities that were about to come upon them, on account of the
innumerable transgressions into which they had been betrayed by their
wilful ignorance of God. Therefore they should be carried away into
captivity (ver. 13), and therefore also the sword, famine, and
pestilence would conspire to fill the "under-world" with inhabitants.
That "under-world" is represented as preparing itself for their
reception, as a ravenous beast opens wide its jaws to devour its prey
(+Text+). A prediction which, to the prosperous, wealthy, and
powerful nation over which Uzziah ruled, doubtless seemed the most
extravagant raving of fanaticism, but which was fulfilled
nevertheless.
It is of the "under-world" that Isaiah speaks. "Therefore the
under-world opens its jaws wide, and stretches open its mouth
immeasurably wide; and the glory of Jerusalem descends, and its
tumult, and noise, and those who rejoice within it. There are mean
men bowed down, and lords humbled, and the eyes of lofty men are
humbled."--_Delitsch._ Our translation "hell" must not lead us to
think merely of the place where the wicked are tormented; it is of
conquests about to be achieved by death and the grave that Isaiah
warned the men of his time. His prediction suggests a topic of which
men of all times will do well to think, and that again another topic
peculiarly suited to this day. Let us bethink ourselves--
I. Of THE CONQUESTS OF DEATH AND THE GRAVE. +1. These conquests have
been effected in all ages.+ Generation after generation of mankind
has been swept away by these grim and ancient warriors. During
successive centuries men have gained wonderful power over the forces
of nature, but they have acquired no real increase of ability to
withstand these dread destroyers. All that science can do is in a few
cases for a very short time to defer their victory. The "Elixir of
Life" has been sought for in vain.--If in feebleness of mankind we
had not sufficient proof of our fallen condition, certainly we should
find it in the fact, that so many men have allied themselves with
these foes of our race. All nations have conferred their brightest
honours on those who have been the most successful ministers of
death. Warrior and hero have been regarded as synonymous terms. In no
respect is modern science more industrious, earnest or successful,
than in the search for the means by which human life may be destroyed
most easily on the largest scale. +2. They have been characterised by
a solemn impartiality.+ With them there has been no respect of
persons. (1.) _Meanness is no security against them._ Poverty and
lowliness are not without their compensations, as the poorer Jews
discovered, when they saw the nobles and men of wealth, whom they had
been accustomed to envy, carried away miserable captives, while they
themselves were left behind (2 Kings xxiv. 14-16, &c). There are
those whom human conquerors will not stoop to molest. But death and
the grave have no such fastidiousness. They prey on the mean as well
as the mighty. (2.) _Might is no defence against them._ Rank and
wealth can accomplish much, but they cannot overawe or bribe
death.[1] Death works like a reaper in the dark, cutting down the
tall ears of corn as well as the grass that struggles for existence
between them, the fair flowers as well as the noisome weeds. +3. They
have been characterised by a terrible unexpectedness.+ They are
certain, but they cannot be foreseen. While they proceed with all the
steadiness of gravitation, it is as impossible to foretell _where_
they will be next accomplished, as it is to predict from which part
of the heavens the next flash of lightning will burst forth, on which
spot of earth the destructive fire will fall. Hence the wisdom of
living in continual preparedness for the great change which will come
to us all.[2]
II. This survey of the conquests of death and the grave should remind
us that there is another side to this solemn theme, and therefore I
proceed to remind you, secondly, of THE CONQUERORS OF DEATH AND THE
GRAVE. Through how many centuries did men live without any conception
that these conquerors of our race might themselves be subjugated! Two
astonishing events, indeed, occurred--the translation of Enoch and
the rapture of Elijah--but their significance could not be fully
understood at the time of their occurrence. The data for their
complete interpretation had not then been furnished. But when that
supreme event which we commemorate to-day occurred, these and many
other mysteries were solved. When the Son of man, who had been
crucified, emerged from the tomb, proclamation was made to the
universe that the ancient power of death and the grave was broken. It
was seen that it is possible to pass through them unharmed, and to
return to the activities of life, not with diminished, but with
increased, vigour. And He who demonstrated this astonishing truth has
pledged Himself to accomplish for all who trust in Him a victory
similar to His own. By faith in this pledge, countless millions have
been enabled to triumph in spirit over Death at the very moment when
he seemed to be numbering them also among his victims (1 Cor.
xv. 55-57).
+1. The victory of Christ's followers over death and the grave is
real.+ There seems to be one event unto all (Eccles. ix. 2, 3). But
it is not so. Death is not the conqueror of Christ's servant; he is
God's servant, sent to conduct them to the rest prepared for them.
The grave is not their prison, but a quiet resting-place from which
presently the mortal body shall come forth immortal to greet the
eternal morning.
+2. The victory of Christ's followers over death and the grave will
ere long be manifest+ (1 Thess. iv. 14-16, &c.) In the doctrine of
the resurrection, there is much that is mysterious and inexplicable,
but _this_ is certain, that the seeming victory of death and the
grave over Christ's followers shall be utterly reversed; as not a
hoof belonging to God's ancient people was left behind in Egypt, so
NOTHING that belongs to a single follower of Christ upon which death
and the grave have seized shall remain in their power (Hos.
xiii. 14). The resurrection will be more than a ransom. It will be a
development (1 Cor. xv. 37, 38, 42, 44). In view of these truths, let
us to-day keep Easter with thankful and joyful hearts.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Look how easily Jehu stamped Jezebel in pieces, and
Tamerlane's troops of horse the Turkish footmen; or as the
sturdy steed dashes out the little whappet's brains, so
easily does Death, with the least kick and spurn of his
heel, the halest complexion, the stoutest
constitution,--triumphing like an emperor over all sorts of
people; treading on the necks of kings and princes, as
Joshua over them in the cave; insulting in the terms of
Rabshakeh: "Where is Hamath? the kings of Arphad, Ivah, and
Sepharvaim? Elam, Meshech, and Tubal, whose fear was upon
the living, are they not descended into the grave? made
their beds in the slimy valley, and laid their swords under
their heads? Hath wisdom delivered, strength rescued, or
wealth rescued any out my fingers?"--_Ward,_ 1577-1639.
Oh, eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could
advise, thou hast persuaded; what none hath dared, thou
hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou
alone hast cast out of the world and despised. Thou hast
drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the
pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all
with those two narrow words, _Hic jacet._--_Sir Walter
Raleigh._
[2] We put far away the evil day, and therefore we are not duly
impressed by the thought. But fourscore years and soon cut
off, and we fly away; and how uncertain is our reaching
that lonely verge of life, where the flowery meadows and
the golden corn-fields slope gradually down into the bars
and stony beach that fringes the eternal sea. The coast of
death to most is an abrupt precipice; we are cut off in the
midst of our days.--_Macmillan._
Why should a man defer that which ought to be the
occupation of a life, which ought to command all his powers
in all their vigour--why should a man defer that to the
last few abrupt moments, to his departure from time to
eternity? When a man is going to any distant part of the
globe--say to America--what preparation there is! How much
it is talked about! It is a long, a distant, an eventful
journey. The man talks about it; his friends prepare in
every conceivable way. Oh, what infatuation and stupidity,
what folly it is for a man to make no preparation for this
distant voyage--the voyage to eternity!--_Beaumont._
CORDS OF VANITY.
v. 18. _Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of
vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope._
"'Sin' in the last clause is parallel with iniquity in the first--a
noun and not a verb. Both are said to be _'drawn.'_ The style of
sinning here contemplated is fully given in the next
verse."--_Cowles._
"They were proud in their unbelief; but this unbelief was like a
halter with which, like beasts of burden they were harnessed to sin,
which they went on drawing further and further, in utter ignorance of
the waggon behind them."--_Delitsch._
"Cart ropes, you know, are composed of several small cords firmly
twisted together, which serve to connect the beasts of burden with
the draught they pull after them. These represent a complication of
means closely united, whereby the people here described continue to
join themselves to the most wearisome of all burdens. They consist of
false reasonings, foolish pretexts, and corrupt maxims, by which
obstinate transgressors become firmly united to their sins, and
persist in dragging after them their iniquities. Of this sort the
following are a few specimens: God is merciful, and His goodness will
not suffer any of His creatures to be completely and everlastingly
miserable. Others, as well as they, are transgressors. Repentance
will be time enough upon a deathbed, or in old age. The greatest of
sinners often pass unpunished. A future state of retribution is
uncertain. Unite these, and such like cords, and, I suppose, you have
the cart ropes, whereby the persons mentioned draw after them much
sin and iniquity. All these pretexts, however, are light as
vanity."--_Macculloch._
SCEPTICISM.
v. 19. _That say, Let Him make speed and hasten His work,
that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of
Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it._
Scepticism, I. Denies the judgments of God. II. Draws an argument
from their delay.[1] III. Impiously scoffs at the Divine counsels.
IV. Defies God to do His worst.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The whole force of life and experience goes to prove that
right or wrong-doing, whether in relation to the physical
or the spiritual nature, is sure, in the end, to meet its
appropriate reward or punishment. Penalties are often so
long delayed, that men think they shall escape them; but
some time they are certain to follow. When the whirlwind
sweeps through the forest, at its first breath, or almost
as if the fearful stillness that precedes had crushed it,
the giant tree, with all its boughs, falls crashing to the
ground. But it had been preparing to fall for twenty years.
Twenty years before the water commenced to settle in at
some crotch, and from thence decay began to reach in with
its silent fingers towards the heart of the tree. Every
year the work of death progressed, till at length it stood,
all rottenness, only clasped about by the bark with a
semblance of life and the first gale felled it to the
ground. Now, there are men who, for twenty years, have
shamed the day and wearied the night with their
debaucheries, but who yet seem strong and vigorous, and
exclaim, "You need not talk of penalties. Look at me! I
have revelled in pleasure for twenty years, and I am as
hale and hearty to-day as ever." But in reality they are
full of weakness and decay. They have been preparing to
fall for twenty years, and the first disease strikes them
down in a moment.
Ascending from the physical nature of man to the mind and
character, we find the same laws prevail. People sometimes
say, "Dishonesty is as good as honesty, for aught I see.
There are such and such men who have pursued for years the
most corrupt courses in their business, and yet they
prosper, and are getting rich every day." Wait till you see
their end. Every year how many such men are overtaken with
sudden destruction, and swept for ever out of sight and
remembrance! Many a man has gone on in sin, practising
secret fraud and villanies, yet trusted and honoured, till
at length, in some unsuspected hour, he is detected, and,
denounced by the world, he falls from his high estate as if
a cannon-ball had struck him--for there is no cannon that
can strike more fatally than outraged public sentiment--and
flies over the mountains, or across the sea, to escape the
odium of his life. He believed that his evil course was
building him up in fame and fortune; but financiering is
the devil's forge, and his every act was a blow upon the
anvil, shaping the dagger that should one day strike home
to his heart and make him a suicide. The pea contains the
vine, and the flower, and the pod, in embryo, and, I am
sure, when I plant it, that it will produce them and
nothing else. Now, every action of our lives is embryonic,
and, according as it is right or wrong, it will surely
bring forth sweet flowers of joy, or the poison fruits of
sorrow. Such is the construction of this world, and the
Bible assures us that the next world only carries it
forward. Here and hereafter, "whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap."--_Beecher._
THE INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE ON CHARACTER.
v. 20. _Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that
put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter._
Only those who have had extensive opportunities of observation, can
have any idea of the evil influence of the abuse and misapplication
of _words_ in questions of religion and morals, especially among the
young.[1] To an almost incredible degree the distinctness of our
associations and intellectual perceptions depends upon our correct
use of the machinery of words. From long usage, words become at
length identified in the mind with the things we have accustomed them
to represent. What, then, must be the effect when language is
deliberately misapplied for the express purpose of confounding the
distinctions of right and wrong! For various reasons, it is more easy
to misapply words in relation to morals, than in relation to other
subjects. 1. Ethical propositions are to a great degree incapable of
absolute proof. 2. In discussing the great topics of morals, very few
persons bring a perfectly unbiassed mind to the task. 3. Vice and
virtue, though essentially distinct as qualities, are still in many
cases nothing more than different modifications of some common
subject. The line which separates the use of a thing for its abuse is
not always strongly marked; or rather is sufficiently indistinct for
those who are determined not to see clearly to afford themselves a
plausible justification for the aberration of their choice. But on
all these accounts we should be the more careful to use accurate
language on all questions of morals, especially in society, where the
temptation to speak as others are speaking is so strong. Two things
especially lead to that perversion of language which our text
condemns. 1. Men "call evil good," _from an almost irresistible
desire to cloak and veil their vices._ It is one of ten thousand
daily recurring proofs of the strange inconsistencies of human
nature, that the same persons whose conscience will not recoil for a
moment at the actual commission of deeds of sin and atrocity, and who
even appear to defy public opinion in the conduct they are pursuing,
will still to the last shrink from the admission of those terms which
really characterise their conduct. It is the appellation and not the
actual guilt which to them constitutes the disgrace. 2. Men "call
good evil," _from a desire to defend themselves from the condemnation
passed upon them by the better example of others._ They attempt, in
the first place, by palliations and misstatements, to render vice
less odious than it really is; and secondly, by attributing to the
pious unworthy and corrupt motives, to render unamiable that goodness
in others which they want strength of mind and of principle to
imitate. From this latter species of wickedness very few stand
perfectly clear. Which of us has never felt as a reproach the example
of principles better and holier than our own, nor attempted in
consequence to restore the equilibrium of our self-respect, not by
improving our own practice, but by depreciating and ridiculing that
which as Christians it was our duty to admire? Let us be on our guard
against disparaging that sincerity of disposition, which strives to
regulate its conduct by the unbending Christian standard, by calling
it "enthusiasm," "fanaticism," "austerity." Enough difficulty, we
know from our own experience, lies in the way of every man's
spiritual improvement, without throwing in his path the additional
obstacles of ridicule, contempt, and odium, which few minds, even the
most religious, have sufficient fortitude to despise. (Matt.
xxiii. 13; Mark ix. 42.) Thus, to "call good evil" is to imitate the
Pharisees (Mark iii. 22), and comes perilously near committing the
sin against the Holy Ghost.--_P. R. Shuttleworth, D.D., Sermons,_
117-143.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The world is generally governed by words and shows: for men
can swallow the same thing under one name, which they would
abominate and detest under another. The name of king was to
the old Romans odious and insufferable; but in Sulla and
Julius Cæsar they could endure the power and absoluteness
of a king, disguised under the name of dictator.--_South,_
1633-1716.
I think that one of the master incantations, one of the
most signal deceits, which we practise upon ourselves,
comes from the use of language. There are words that we
learn in childhood which we abandon when we come to
manhood. Generally speaking, our fireside words are old
Saxon words--short, knotty, tough, and imbued with moral
and affectional meanings; but as we grow older these words
are too rude and plain for our use, and so we get Latin
terms and periphrases by which to express many of our
thoughts. When we talk about ourselves we almost invariably
use Latin words, and when we talk about our neighbours we
use Saxon words. And one of the best things a man can do, I
think, is to examine himself in the Saxon tongue. If a man
tells that which is contrary to truth, let him not say, "I
equivocate;" let him say "I lie." _Lie!_ why, it brings the
judgment-day right home to a man's thought. Men do not like
it, but it is exactly the thing that will most effectually
touch the moral sense; and the more the moral sense is
touched the better. If a man has departed from rectitude in
his dealings with another, let him not say "I took
advantage," which is a roundabout, long sentence: let him
say, _"I cheated."_ That is a very direct word. It springs
straight to the conscience, as the arrow flies from the bow
to the centre of the mark. Does it grate harshly on your
ear? Nevertheless, it is better that you should employ it;
and you should come to this determination: "I will call
things that I detect in my conduct by those clear-faced,
rough-tongued words that my enemies use if they wanted to
sting me to the quick."--_Beecher._
THE SIN OF CONFOUNDING GOOD AND EVIL.
v. 20. _Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil._
The conscience of every man testifies that there is an unchangeable
difference between good and evil; but each man is prone to think his
own vice little or no sin at all. He substitutes other names for his
crime, and calls his evil good. +I. Many are self-deceived+ (Prov.
xiv. 12). How many think themselves religious, merely because they
pay some or much respect to the outward ordinances of religion, while
there is no change in their character. How many justify their
irreligion, by depicting religion as morose and gloomy. How many
commit crimes without one misgiving of conscience, merely because
they are varnished over by specious names. How often under the
pretence of promoting the honour of true religion, massacres and
murders have been sanctified, the torch of persecution brandished
round, and the flame of civil discord raised, to light the path to
heaven! +II. Many endeavour to deceive others,+ by false
representations of sin and duty (Luke xvii. 1, 2).--_George Mathew,
M.A., Sermons,_ ii. 101-118.
ON THE PERVERSION OF RIGHT AND WRONG.
v. 20. _Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil._
There is in many a wonderful propensity to perplex the distinctions
between right and wrong, and to obscure the boundaries of virtue and
vice. Their propensity is both absurd and wicked. It most frequently
manifests itself in two ways:--1. _By bestowing soft and gentle names
on crimes of real and destructive magnitude._ Thus, infidelity and
scepticism have been called "free inquiry," indifference to all
religion "a spirit of toleration," duelling "an honourable deed,"
adultery "gallantry," extravagance "a liberal expenditure," the
selfish sensualist "a good-natured man." By the use of such false and
misleading terms, we lower the standard of right and wrong, and
expose ourselves to the temptation of practising what we have
persuaded ourselves is not so very wrong. 2. _By applauding works of
genius and imagination of which the real tendency is to inflame the
passions, and to weaken moral and religious principle._ The tendency
of such works should lead us unhesitatingly to condemn and reject
them, whatever may be the literary fascinations of their style.
Nothing is more dangerous than a book which imparts to vice the
delusive appearance of a virtue. Thus, to confound the distinctions
between right and wrong, is to renounce the superiority which man
claims over the brute creation--that of being a rational creature,
for the brutes are never guilty of anything so irrational as that of
calling good evil, and evil good.--_Charles Moore, M.A., Sermons,_
ii. pp. 155-172.
THE SIN OF USING WRONG NAMES.
v. 20. _Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil._
What difference can it make what anything is called!
"What's in a name?
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
Yet the Bible pronounces its woe upon those who merely call things by
wrong names. Why?
1. _Names are not mere words: they are the representatives of ideas;
and hence, they have a force of meaning which makes them powerful
instruments._ There are opprobrious epithets that wound more severely
than a blow. Slander has slain more than the dagger. The name of a
place or person suggests to us all that we know, or have conceived,
about it or him. Paul, Jesus--what a power there is in these names!
How suggestive are the phrases, "an upright man," "a transparent
character!" Because words are representatives of ideas, to use the
wrong names is to convey false ideas. 2. _The wrong use of names
confounds moral distinctions, and perplexes and misleads men in
regard to duty._ Right must not be called wrong, or wrong right. This
is to sweep away all the landmarks of duty; or, rather, it is
shifting all the buoys and beacons by which we navigate the sea of
life, so that instead of warning us of danger, they shall rather draw
us upon shoals and rocks. The skill of every successful errorist
consists in a dexterous jugglery of names. 3. _By giving decent names
to gross sins, the standard of public morals is lowered, and the
community is corrupted._ One of the things that blinded America to
the evil of slavery was, the term that used to be applied to it--"our
domestic institution," &c. Be on your guard, then, against wrong
names. Do not try to deceive yourself by means of them. Pure
covetousness is sin, even though you do call it economy, &c. Do not
try to deceive others (Matt. v. 19; Mark ix. 42).--_S. G. Buckingham,
American National Preacher,_ xxv. 269-278.
SELF-CONCEIT.
v. 21. _Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and
prudent in their own sight._
Self-conceit. +I. Its signs:+ dogmatism; contempt of others;
scepticism. +II. Its causes:+ ignorance,[1] vanity. +III. Its folly:+
it makes a man ridiculous; leads him into error. +IV. Its
offensiveness to God;+ in spirit--principle--action. +V.+ Its certain
humiliation.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The truest characters of ignorance
Are vanity, and pride, and arrogance;
As blind men used to bear their noses higher
Than those that have their eyes and sight entire.
--_Butler._
By ignorance is pride increased;
Those most assume who know the least;
Their own self-balance gives them weight,
But every other finds them light.--_Gay._
INTELLECTUAL PRIDE.
v. 21. _Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and
prudent in their own sight._
Woe to the intellectually proud. I. To the self-conceited +sceptic,+
who sits in judgment upon the Word of God, and condemns it.[1] II. To
the self-conceited +enthusiast,+ who substitutes his own fancies for
Divine truth. III. To the self-conceited +Pharisee,+ who trusts in
his own works. IV. To the self-conceited +sinner,+ who despises
instruction. V. Woe! for they shall all perish.--_J. Lyth, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The denial of anything does not falsify it. If a man has
swallowed poison, his adopting an opinion that it cannot
kill him, contributes nothing to his safety; and it is
awful to stand and see his conviction and his death
arriving together. Your denying a resurrection, will not
hide you for ever in the grave. Your disbelieving a day of
retribution, will not keep you from appearing before God.
"Their judgment," says the apostle, "now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not:" while
they reason, it rolls on; every argument brings it one
distance nearer.--_Jay._
THE WOE OF THE DRUNKARD.
v. 22. _Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink._
There are certain vices which the customs of certain countries seem
to place only in the number of human infirmities; and yet, if we look
at their effects, we shall see that really they are as black as those
sins which God and man visits with the severest punishments. +I. The
drunkard's excuses,+ by which he endeavours to defend or palliate his
crime. 1. _Good fellowship._ But can friendship be founded on vice?
especially on a vice which notoriously impairs the memory and the
sense of obligation, leads to the betrayal of secrets, and stirs up
strife and contention? Instead of promoting conversation it destroys
it by destroying the very capability of communicating rational and
agreeable thoughts. The drunkard may make his company merry, but they
laugh at, not with, him, and merely because they are delighted with
the sight of one even sillier than themselves. 2. _"It drowns care."_
But the drunkard's care must arise either from his ill state of
health, the unfortunate posture of his worldly affairs, or the stings
of his guilty conscience; and, in either case, his temporary oblivion
is purchased at the cost of an aggravation of the evils which cause
him to desire it. To drink to drown remorse is especially absurd, for
all that the drunkard can expect from this course is the benefit of
travelling some part of the road to eternal misery with his eyes
covered. 3. The drunkard has other excuses: he says that he is so
exposed to company and business, that he cannot avoid drinking to
excess, or that he is of so easy and flexible a temper, that he
cannot resist the importunities of his friends, as he calls them.
Thus he is for softening his vice into a sort of virtue, and calling
that good nature, which his creditor calls villany, and his family
cruelty. +II. The drunkard's woe.+ This is made up of the miserable
effects, as well temporal as spiritual, of his favourite vice.
1. Poverty. 2. Contempt. 3. Ill-health. 4. An untimely death.
Consider, too, the spiritual evils that spring from and punish the
vice of drunkenness. 1. The understanding is depraved and darkened.
2. The will is enfeebled and dethroned. 3. The passions are inflamed
and rendered ungovernable. 4. Regard for men and reverence for God
are destroyed. Drunkenness travels with a whole train of other vices,
and requires the whole width of the broad way to give it room. Where
its journey is to end, we know; so that if the guilt and misery which
attend it here, be not enough, there, at least, the drunkard, having
opened his eyes and recovered the use of his reason, will perceive
the truth of the text.--_Skelton, in Clapham's Selected Sermons,_ ii.
384-392.
THE WOE OF THE DRUNKARD.
v. 22. _Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink._
Woe to the drunkard. I. To his reputation.[1] II. To his interests.
III. To his health. IV. To his family. V. To his soul.[2]--_J. Lyth,
D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Some of you glory in your shame, that you have drunk down
your companions, and carried it away,--the honour of a
sponge or a tub, which can drink up or hold liquor as well
as you.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
[2] We recommend wine for the excellency of it; but if it could
speak, as it can take away speech, it would complain, that
by our abuse both the excellencies are lost; for the
excellent man doth so spoil the excellent wine, until the
excellent wine hath spoiled the excellent man. Or, that a
man should take pleasure in that which makes him no man;
that he should let a thief in at his mouth to steal away
his wit; that for a little throat-indulgence, he should
kill in himself both the first Adam, his reason, and even
the second Adam, his regeneration, and so commit two
murders at once.--_Adams,_ 1653.
How base a price dost thou set upon thy Saviour and
salvation, that will not forbear so much as a cup of drink
for them? The smallness of the thing showeth the smallness
of thy love to God, and the smallness of thy regard to His
Word and to thy soul. Is that loving God as God, when thou
lovest a cup of drink better? Art thou not ashamed of thy
hypocrisy, when thou sayest thou lovest God above all, when
thou lovest Him not so well as thy wine and ale? Surely he
that loveth Him not above ale, loveth Him not above all!
Thy choice showeth what thou loveth best, more certainly
than thy tongue doth. It is the dish that a man greedily
eateth of that he loveth, and not that which he commendeth
but will not meddle with. God trieth men's love to Him, by
their keeping His commandments. It was the aggravation of
the first sin, that they would not deny so small a thing as
the forbidden fruit, in obedience to God! And so it is of
thine, that wilt not leave a forbidden cup for Him! O
miserable wretch! dost thou not know thou canst not be
Christ's disciple, if thou forsake not all for Him, and
hate not even thy life in comparison of Him, and wouldst
not rather die than forsake Him! And art thou like to lay
down thy life for Him that wilt not leave a cup of drink
for Him? Canst thou burn at a stake for Him, that canst not
leave an alehouse, or vain company, or excess for Him? What
a sentence of condemnation dost thou pass upon
thyself!--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
DRINK AND ITS WOES.
v. 22. _Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink._
Human depravity and iniquity have existed in all ages and countries.
The vices flowing therefrom have been much the same--selfishness,
pride, sensualism, oppression, drunkenness. Alcohol acting directly
on the brain, the seat of the mind, tends not only to derange, but to
enfeeble and pervert, and produces moral obliquity, moral
infatuation, and intensified delusion. All sorts of deceits are the
consequence. Observe--I. THE CHARACTERS INTRODUCED (ver. 22). Observe
also verses 11 and 12. In the last verses there is reference to
confirmed drunkards, daily, early, and late; the sensual
debauchees--their ignorance, want of thought and reflection. In the
text, notorious drinkers, bold, impudent wager-layers, boasters, &c.,
and those who have got the victory over the usual drinks, and now
make them stronger to meet the cravings of appetite and to keep up
the excitement. Observe, this is the great peril of moderate
drinking. It creates the appetite, it increases the appetite; last of
all, it gives the appetite the control, and the man or woman becomes
the slave and the victim.
II. THE INFATUATION PORTRAYED--by 1. _Giving false names to things_
(ver. 20). Call (1) evil good: drinks (poisons) are called beverages;
evil things made by men are called God's good creatures. And so they
call (2) good evil; despise the really good and safe; pour contempt
on water and safe fluids, and treat them as evil or worthless. How
drinks have secured the most alluring titles--strong cordials, dew,
&c., generous. Not only false names, but 2. _False qualities_ (ver.
20), "Bitter for sweet." Now intoxicating drinks are not sweet or
palatable to the natural taste; they blister the mouth of children;
do burn the delicate nerves of the stomach; the tongue and lips have
to be trained, drilled, hardened. Observe, they call sweet bitter;
things really so are treated as insipid. Ask the spirit-drinker to
taste milk or tea, or water, and see how his poisoned taste revolts,
&c.
Then there is presented to us--3. _Infatuated results._ Put darkness
for light; men plead and say these drinks--(1) Brighten the
intellect. How false! See the bloated faces, the diseased eyes, the
sensual expression, the stupid look, the stupor. The light is
artificial, momentary, false--no better than the effects of certain
gases or deadly stimulants, as opium, Indian hemp, &c. But they refer
to men, to Burns, Pitt, Sheridan, and other drinking wits. But they
were intellectually great in spite, &c. Look at Milton, Sir Isaac
Newton; look at the inspired prophets--the seraphic Isaiah, the
writer of the text. (2) They who drink say their drinks lighten the
heart, give social joyousness. Right; but is it not sensual,
spurious, evanescent, ends in darkness? So they put light for
darkness. The calm, equable sobriety of soul they called dulness,
darkness. But this is real, abiding, and rational. So, both in name
and quality, and in effects, they call "evil good," &c.
III. THE WOES DENOUNCED. 1. _There is the woe of physical
consequence._ The seed and the harvest, the poisons and their
effects, fire, deranged stomach, plague, diseased liver, excited
heart, fevered brain, all tending to a host of maladies, shortened
life, and an early grave. There is--2. _Woe of a distracted mind._
Reason beclouded; reflection, perception, all marred. The guiding
star eclipsed, the light obscured with darkness. There is
the--3. _Woe of moral defects._ The man is vitiated, made worse and
worse; his affections, his desires, his conscience, his heart, the
whole soul. There is--4. _The woe of perverted powers._ Gifts,
talents, &c., all poisoned; influence deadly; the man a curse--a
curse to all. 5. _The woe of God's malediction._ God's woe, His
displeasure, His threatening, His curse; this is written in both
volumes of the Scriptures--in frightful representation, in declared
eternal condemnation.
APPLICATION.--Learn--1. The horrors associated with strong drink;
2. The advantages of absolute temperance; 3. The value of these
associations; 4. The encouragement for labours--staying curses,
bringing down blessings; 5. The necessity of immediate decision;
6. The solemn importance of earnest prayer for the Divine
benediction; 7. Let us avoid exaggerated conclusions. This is not the
only evil; temperance not the only good. To all we say, "One thing is
needful;" "Except ye be converted," &c.--_Jabez Burns, D.D., LL.D.,
Sketches of Temperance Sermons._
THE DOOM OF DESPISERS.
v. 24. _Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and
the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as
rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because
they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and
despised the word of the Holy One of Israel._
Shut God out of the heart, and _this_ is what it comes to at last. In
Jewish history, we have a commentary on the judgments announced in
the text, written in fire and blood. We have here--+I. God's merciful
approaches to the soul.+ 1. God begins with _law._ In the present day
there is a nervous dread of law, as if it were the offspring of
severity rather than of grace.[1] But law checks, rectifies, and
blesses in innumerable ways (Ps. xix. 7-11; cxix. 105, &c). 2. To His
law, He adds His _word;_ His "word" of persuasion, exhortation,
promise, and especially the great "word" of the Gospel. +II. God's
merciful approaches rejected.+ "They have cast away the law," &c. Man
meets God's law with resistance, His love with contempt. +III. God's
merciful approaches giving place to indignation and wrath.+
"Therefore as the fire devoureth," &c. Law being resisted, and love
despised, things cannot be as they were before; one of two things
must happen--there must be either pardon or punishment. If pardon be
rejected, only punishment remains. The images under which this is set
forth in the text are most alarming. They show--1. _That at last
God's anger strikes at the root of our being_--at the very substance
of our life. The wrath of man at the worst rages only on the surface,
but God strikes at the root (Luke xii. 4; Matt. x. 28). 2. _God's
anger smites the blossom of our being._ All that constitutes the
show, promise, and pride of our life, is scattered like dust.
3. _When God smites in anger, He smites suddenly and swiftly,_ "as
the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff."
4. _When God smites in anger, man can offer no resistance._ What
power to resist a hurricane has a tree whose roots are not only
rotten, but "rottenness"? How can the stubble withstand the fire, or
the chaff defend itself against tongues of flame?--_J. R. Wood._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The spring of the law is love. With its "Thou shalt not do
this," and "Thou shalt not do that," the law presents
rather an ungracious aspect. We like ill to be bidden, but
worse to be forbidden. But does love never forbid? A
mother, does she never forbid her child; but, on the
contrary, indulge every caprice and grant all his wishes?
How disastrous the fate, and brief the life, of a child
denied nothing, indulged in everything, allowed to play
with fire, or fire-arms; to devour the painted but
poisonous fruit--to bathe where the tide runs like a
racehorse or the river rushes roaring into the black,
swirling pool. And he who frets against the restraints of
God's holy law because it forbids this and the other thing,
is no wiser than the infant who weeps, and screams, and
struggles, and perhaps beats the kind bosom that nurses it,
because its mother has snatched a knife from its foolish
hands.--_Guthrie._
THE DOOM OF IMPENITENT ISRAEL.
v. 24-30. _Therefore as the fire devoureth, &c._
In this threatening, fulfilled in the utter destruction of Israel by
Assyria, we find illustrations of the following facts.--I. That _the
Lord is a God of judgment as well as of mercy_.[1] The mercy of God
has been exemplified in His long forbearance with sinful Israel: His
justice was manifested in the utter destruction that came upon Israel
when it was seen that that forbearance had been shown in vain. God is
still as He revealed Himself in His Word and in His actual dealings
with His people. It is utterly vain for us to frame for ourselves an
ideal God in whose character the sternest justice has no place.
II. That _we can sustain no relation to God which will render it safe
for us to break His commandments, or exempt us from the consequences
of wrong-doing_ (ver. 25. Compare ver. 5; Amos iii. 2). III. That
_all the forces of the universe are at God's disposal for the
execution of His purposes._ Appalling is the variety of the scourges
and swords that lie ready to His hand for the chastisement of the
rebellious,[2] and for the destruction of the incorrigible! IV. That
_in addressing Himself to the work of judgment, God is moved by the
highest moral considerations._ "Because they have cast away the _law_
of the Lord of hosts, and despised the _word_ of the Holy One of
Israel; _therefore_ is the anger of the Lord kindled against His
people." In His wrath, as well as in His love, He is holy: in neither
is there any caprice. V. That _consequently God will not pause in His
work of judgment out of any weak regard to the mere sufferings of
wrong-doers._ It is against sin that His anger burns, and while sin
endures the fires of His wrath will continue to flame. Eternal
punishment! For impenitent transgressors there is woe upon woe, and
no severity of suffering that they may endure abates the anger of the
Lord against them. There is no such thing as salvation by personal
suffering. See how all this is expressed in our text from beginning
to end.
GENERAL CONCLUSION.--"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God." The history of the Jews since Israel's day is a
terrible comment on this declaration.
PARTICULAR CONCLUSIONS.--1. As sinners, let us bestir ourselves to
avert the consequences of our transgressions by a timely and genuine
repentance (ch. lv. 6, 7; Hosea xiv. 1-4, &c.) 2. Having obtained
mercy, let us be in the fear of the Lord all the day long (John
v. 14). 3. For our guidance in life, let us keep constantly before us
the Biblical presentation of God, as a God of justice and mercy;--of
justice, that we may be restrained from transgression; of mercy, that
there may grow up in our hearts that love for Him which will cause us
to find our highest joy in doing His will.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See my _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations in
Theology and Morals,_ Nos. 2288-2301.
[2] As for example, _conscience,_ the awakening of which Henry
Smith has thus depicted:--"There is a warning conscience
and a gnawing conscience. The warning comes before sin; the
gnawing conscience follows after sin. The warning
conscience is often lulled asleep, but the gnawing
conscience wakes her again. If there be any hell in this
world, they who feel the worm of conscience gnawing on
their hearts may truly say that they have felt the torments
of hell. Who can express that man's horror but himself?
Nay, what horrors are those which he cannot express
himself! Sorrows are met in his soul as at a feast; and
fear, thought, and anguish divide the soul between them.
All the furies of hell leap upon his heart like a stage.
Thought calls to Fear; Fear whistles to Horror; Horror
beckons to Despair, and says, Come, and help me to torment
this sinner. One says that she comes from this sin, and
another says that she comes from that sin. So he goes
through a thousand deaths, and cannot die. Irons are laid
upon his body like a prisoner. All his lights are put out
at once. He has no soul fit to be comforted. Thus he lives
as it were upon the rack, and says that he bears the world
upon his shoulders, and that no man suffers that which he
suffers. So let him lie, says God, without ease, until he
confess and repent and call for mercy."
CORDS AND CART-ROPES.
v. 18. _Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of
vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope._[1]
There is a certain oddity and grotesqueness in these words as they
stand. It disappears as soon as we perceive that we have here an
instance of Hebrew parallelism. (Compare chap. i. 18.) _"Sin"_ is a
noun, not a verb, and is a synonym for iniquity; to sin men yoke
themselves as it were with "cords of vanity" or as with "a
cart-rope." _"Cords of vanity"_ are such as have no substance in
them, that will not stand any real strain; "a cart-rope" will stand
an immense strain. Where, then, is the propriety of describing that
by which the sinner binds himself to his sin by such opposite terms?
In this, that in the first clause these bands are regarded from the
point of view of a sound judgment, in the second from the point of
view of the sinner's experience. Subjected to a real examination they
are seen to be of no strength at all, and yet they suffice to bind
the sinner to his sin as thoroughly as if they were strong as "a
cart-rope."
What are these "cords of vanity"? They are false ideas--of God, of
truth, of duty. This is plain from verse 19, which is an
_explanation_ of this one. There we have an illustrative case.
Certain men are represented as bound to their iniquity by the false
idea that God will not fulfil His threatenings against iniquity.
Our text furnishes the solution of a mystery which often perplexes us
in daily life. We see men cleaving to ruinous iniquities, and
cleaving to them in spite of the remonstrances and entreaties of
their friends and of God's servants. We who have felt "the powers of
the world to come" wonder that men do not repent and believe, and so
escape from "the wrath to come." Here is the explanation: they are
bound to their ungodly practices as it were with a cart-rope; and yet
they are just enslaved by what, when rightly tested, are only cords
of vanity. They are like a horse tied to a post by a bridle-rein: it
could snap the rein in an instant, but it does not attempt to do so
because it has no suspicion of the weakness of the rein. Look at some
of the "cords of vanity" by which men are bound to their iniquities;
the exposure of their essential weakness may excite some who are not
fettered and bound to make an effort to attain to moral freedom.
I. One prevalent "cord of vanity" is _unbelief in God's threatenings
against iniquity._ That God has threatened to do certain terrible
things to impenitent sinners is admitted, but there lurks in the
sinner's heart the idea that God is like certain foolish parents who
threaten their children with punishments which they are much too
good-natured ever to inflict. But whence did you derive this idea of
God? Certainly not from _His Word._ He there distinctly forewarns us,
that, though He is merciful and gracious, He will "by no means clear
the guilty" (Ex. xxxiv. 7). Not from any intelligent examination of
_His dealings in providence._ There neglect or infraction of law is
invariably followed by punishment. If a whole nation were to neglect
to sow its fields, would God be too good-natured to permit it to
starve? But if God invariably punishes men for their infractions of
His material laws, what reason can we have for hoping that He will
not fulfil His threatenings against those who despise His spiritual
ordinances? And why should we hope this? What reverence could we have
for, what trust could we repose in, a God who did not fulfil His
threatenings? How could we then trust in His promises? Surely this is
a "cord of vanity!" and yet how many are bound by it as if it were "a
cart-rope"!
II. Another cord is the reflection, _"We are no worse than others."_
Men compare themselves with others, perhaps even more iniquitous than
themselves, and so arrive at the conclusion that they are not in any
great danger. They do this even in temporal things,--_e.g.,_ in the
matter of drainage. The authorities of a country village or town will
listen with the most complete indifference to the warnings of a
Government inspector, that they are inviting an outbreak of fever or
cholera; and the ground of their indifference is that they know of
other villages or towns as badly drained as their own. But does
_that_ afford them any protection against the dangers of which they
are warned? Men act as foolishly in spiritual matters. Because there
are so many sinners they close their eyes to their own dangers or
sins. Will God be either unable or afraid to punish transgressors
because they are so numerous? Surely this also is a "cord of vanity;"
and yet thousands are bound by it to their eternal destruction!
III. _"We shall be able to shake ourselves loose from our evil habits
by and by."_ They imagine that they can repent and reform at any
time, and they are firmly resolved to do so before death. Perhaps
there could not be found a single sinner who does not secretly
cherish in his breast wicked Balaam's desire, "Let me die the death
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" But this idea
that men can repent and reform at any time is a delusion. As men
continue in sin (1) _The power to reform decays._ (2) _The desire to
reform dies out._ The love of sin takes entire possession of the man.
It enwraps him as ivy unchecked will enwrap a tree; at first with no
more strength than a child's finger, in the end with the strength of
a thousand giants. It is the oldest sinners who cling to their vices
most desperately, who are bound by them as by cart-ropes. (3) _The
opportunities for reform rapidly diminish and often end unexpectedly_
(Prov. xxix. 1; 1 Thess. v. 3).
Inquire by what cords of vanity _you_ are bound. Break them! (Dan.
iv. 27.) Look to Jesus, who came into the world for the very purpose
of setting at liberty them that are bound.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Notes on CORDS OF VANITY, pp. 121, 122.
THE PROPHET'S CALL.
vi. 1-12. _In the year that King Uzziah died, &c._
We have here the history of Isaiah's call to his great life-work.
Perhaps in a modern biography this chapter would have been placed
first. But there was wisdom in placing it where it stands; it was
well to give some insight into the real character of the men along
who Isaiah was called to labour, for thus we are enabled more easily
to understand the nature of the mission on which he was sent.[1]
Studying this chapter as a history of the prophet's call, I learn--
+I. That a threefold spiritual preparation is needed for effective
service of God.+[2] It is generally admitted that some kind of
preparation is needed, _e.g.,_ for the ministry of the Gospel; but it
is not generally recognised that a merely professional preparation is
of no avail whatever. A man may pass through the whole routine of
college life, both literary and theological, and yet not be a prophet
of the Lord. Such preparation is not merely not enough, it is not
even essential. "Schools of the prophets" may exist without sending
forth a single prophet, and God calls many prophets who have never
been inside a school door. This is true of every kind and form of
God's service, _e.g.,_ the Sunday-school, the home, Christian
literature. In every case a threefold spiritual preparation is
necessary. Without it we may pretend to be God's servants; but the
disguise will always be imperfect, and we shall always be betraying
what we really are. Even the old blind Isaacs whom we deceive will
not be sure about us: we may have on Esau's garments, but we shall
never perfectly imitate Esau's voice. What, then, is this
preparation? 1. _A vision of God._ Before we can serve God
effectively, we must to some extent see Him as He is. In all
departments of human activity, knowledge of the person served is
essential to perfect service. Those who have never seen an earthly
king cannot serve him as those who are in daily intercourse with him;
their loyalty is at the most a sentiment, not a constraining power.
The biographies of God's most eminent servants in all ages make it
plain that the first and indispensable state in preparation for His
service is a vision of God Himself--a revelation of His majesty and
holiness (vers. 1-4). 2. What a man needs before he can effectively
serve God is _a vision of himself._ The great hindrance of such
service is self-satisfaction and self-sufficiency. But when a man
really sees God as He is, he straightway sees himself as he is (ver.
5). Job's experience (Job xlii. 5, 6) Peter's experience (Luke v. 8).
He sees himself to be utterly unfit and unable to serve God, and so
attains to the second indispensable qualification for such service
(Eph. iii. 8; 1 Cor. xv. 9, &c.) 3. The third thing which a man needs
before he can effectively serve God is _participation in God's
salvation._ This is a rule that needs to be stated with wisdom. As a
matter of fact, God has used the ministry of unconverted men. Such
men may be guide-posts, though not guides. How much better to be a
guide! How much more useful is a guide! But we cannot thus serve our
generation unless we have been made a partaker of God's salvation. By
a sanctifying process,--a process involving in some cases terrible
pain (vers. 6, 7),--we must have been made "separate from sinners."
+II. Those who have undergone this preparation will devote themselves
unreservedly to God's service.+ 1. _There will spring up
spontaneously within them a desire to serve God._ They will not need
to be pressed into this service; they will volunteer (ver. 8).
2. _They will not be deterred by the difficulty or painfulness of the
service to which they are called._ It was a hard and distasteful
service that was demanded of Isaiah--to prophesy to an unbelieving
and scoffing generation (ch. v. 18, 19); to enter upon a ministry
that would leave men worse than it found them (vers. 9, 10). Nor was
this ministry to be brief; it was to be prolonged through many years
(vers. 11, 12). Note: in sending Isaiah on such a ministry there was
nothing inconsistent with the Divine righteousness or goodness. God's
truth must be proclaimed, whether men will heed or reject it; and the
inevitable effect of such proclamation of the truth is to render
those who reject it more stupid and wicked than they were before
(2 Cor. ii. 16; John ix. 39). But, painful as it was, Isaiah did not
shrink from it. Nor do any who have passed through such a preparation
as his. They do not ask concerning a work or duty, "Is it easy?" "Is
it pleasant?" but, "Does God call me to it?" Paul: (Acts xxi. 13).
+III. There is great encouragement for those who have unreservedly
devoted themselves to the service of God.+ 1. _What God demands from
them is not success, but faithfulness._ He did not require Isaiah to
convert his fellow-countrymen, but to prophesy to them faithfully.
There his responsibility began and ended. So is it with preachers,
teachers, and priests to-day. Men measure by success, but God by
faithfulness. What a difference is the result, _e.g.,_ in such a case
as that of Carey, who laboured for years without making one convert!
or in such a case as Isaiah's! 2. _No faithful servant of God will
ever labour without some success._ Isaiah was not to toil altogether
in vain. There was to be a wide-spread apostacy of his countrymen,
but not a universal apostacy; a small remnant would still cleave to
the Lord (ver. 13); and doubtless Isaiah's ministry did much to keep
them in the paths of righteousness. So is it with us; much of our
seed may be wasted, but not all of it (Ps. cxxvi. 6; 1 Cor. xv. 58).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This vision evidently contains the designation of Isaiah to
his work as a prophet. It does not follow that he may not
himself have put his book together in the form, or nearly
in the form, in which we have received it. The early
chapters as they describe the state of the people, not at
one particular moment but through a course of years,
announcing the punishments which must follow from that
state with the blessings which could come out of them, are
a living index to the subsequent prophecies and history.
The place which they occupy, supposing it was assigned by
Isaiah, cannot hinder us from accepting his own express
words as a proof, that the year in which King Uzziah dies
was the critical year of his life, that which explained to
him why he was sent into the world and what task he had to
perform in it.--_F. D. Maurice._
[2] Once for all must he who was to be a prophet have become
absolutely certain of the true relation of the world and
Jehovah,--must have beheld, as in a distinct form, the
sublime and holy character of Jehovah, and felt that he was
directed by Him alone; once for all must he have recognised
the Divine power of truth against the whole world, and
himself as living and moving in it alone; once for all must
he have entered, with the effectual energy and act of his
whole inner being, into the counsels of God, and found
himself for ever bound by them, and endowed by these bonds
with true power and freedom:--this was the first condition
and the true beginning of all the work of the prophet, the
holy consecration and the inner call, without which none
can become a true prophet.--_Ewald._
THE TRINITY IN UNITY.
(_For Trinity Sunday._)
vi. 1-3. _In the year that King Uzziah died, &c._
_Scene_ of this sublime vision, the Temple; _time,_ "the year that
King Uzziah died." Why is this fact mentioned? Uzziah had profaned
the Temple (2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21); his son and successor was Jotham,
the only king of the house of Judah whose character has not one
dishonouring blot; was it not appropriate that, when the disobedient
king was removed, and a king had succeeded him, there should have
been this glorious revelation of the King of kings--not merely as a
preparation of the prophet for his mission, but as an encouragement
to the monarch to persevere in his loyalty towards God and His truth?
That which was granted to the Prophet was _a vision of the Triune
God._ Proofs: ver. 3, which shows the plurality of persons in the
Divine unity; John xii. 41, where it is asserted that that which the
prophet saw was the glory of Christ; Acts xxviii. 25, where it is
asserted that the voice which the prophet heard was the voice of the
Holy Ghost; ver. 3, the threefold repetition of "holy." I purpose,
therefore, to make some observations on this important subject of the
Trinity.
+I. The doctrine of the Trinity has been believed by the Church of
Christ in all ages.+ This is at least a presumption that it is taught
in Scripture, successive generations of devout men could scarcely
have been mistaken on such a vital point.
+II. This doctrine of the Trinity underlies the whole Bible, and is
inextricably interwoven with its fabric and structure.+ The Old
Testament testifies to the Divine unity, as contrasted with the
polytheism which prevailed among heathen nations; the Gospels record
the manifestation of the Incarnate Son of God; the Acts of the
Apostles and the Epistles set forth the work of the Third Person in
the Church. There is direct testimony to this doctrine, such as Matt.
xxviii. 19, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. But just as circumstantial evidence when
it is clear and complete is even more satisfactory and decisive than
the very best direct testimony, still more valuable is the indirect
testimony to this doctrine underlying the whole Bible; like a
threefold cord, it runs through the whole book, and binds the whole
of Divine revelation together.
+III. The doctrine of the Trinity, while it is clearly taught in
Scripture, is mysterious and inexplicable.+ We can no more comprehend
it with the unaided human understanding than by uplifting the fingers
we can touch the starry firmament.[1] This is no reason for refusing
to accept it,[2] we accept many other facts which we cannot explain
(we cannot explain even the familiar fact of _sight_), but it is a
reason for not insisting dogmatically that other men should accept
our explanation of it.
As we cannot stay to consider the effect of the vision upon the mind
of the prophet, I shall conclude with just three words of practical
application of the doctrine itself. 1. _It is bound up with our duty
to God._ We are bound to accept it, because He has revealed it; and
accepting it, we are bound to yield to Father, Son and Holy Ghost the
homage and love of our souls. 2. _It is bound up with our hope of
salvation._ If it is not true that the Everlasting Son came forth
from the bosom of the Father, and took upon Him to deliver man; and
if it is not true that the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and
the Son raises men from the death of sin to the life of
righteousness, and restamps upon their souls the lost lineaments of
our Maker's image, what foundation is there left for our hope of
everlasting life? 3. _It is bound up with the fulness of the Gospel
blessings._ These are all summed upon the Apostolic benediction,
2 Cor. xiii. 14. If _these_ be ours, we "have all and
abound."--_R. W. Forrest_ (_Christian World Pulpit,_ i. 492).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Article: THE TRINITY, in my _Homiletic Encyclopædia of
Illustrations,_ and section 1501 in my _Dictionary of
Poetical Illustrations._
[2] See above.
REVELATIONS OF GOD.
vi. 1-5. _In the year that King Uzziah died I saw, &c._[1]
+I. Earthly powers fade and perish, but the Eternal Power that uses
them all lives on+ (ver. 1). Comfort here, when a great king or
statesman is taken away from the head of a nation; when a great
leader of an arduous reformatory movement, such as Luther, is laid
low; when an eloquent preacher or wise pastor is summoned to his
rest; or even when the head of a household is cut off just when his
family most need his care. He who has wrought by their
instrumentality can work without it (Ps. lxviii. 5, &c.) +II. In
God's temples there is room only for God.+ "His train filled the
Temple." Ahaz could build in the courts of the Lord's house an altar
to the god of Damascus (2 Kings xvi. 10-16), but he could not worship
two gods there, for the only living and true God departed when His
sanctuary was thus profaned. God will have all, or none (Isa.
xlii. 8). All His earthly temples must be counterparts of the one
heavenly temple, where He reigns alone. In no church will God divide
His empire with the State or with popular opinion: we _must_ choose
between Him and all other authorities. In no heart will He reign
along with any other principle or passion (Matt. vi. 24). +III. Until
we reach the land where there is no temple, we cannot see God as He
is.+[2] To Isaiah a vision of God was granted, and yet it was but a
symbolic vision. He saw a throne, and on it seated a Being of
indescribable majesty; but who imagines that he saw God as He is?
Does God sit on a throne, after the fashion of kings such as Uzziah,
who fade and die? The vision was a condescension to the human
faculties of the seer, and served its purpose, that of impressing
upon him the majesty and holiness of the Most High. And he tells us
more of the ministers who surround the throne than of its Occupant!
Him no words can describe; of Him no absolute disclosure is now
possible; He can but give us revelations--visions--administrations of
Himself. And this He has done. 1. _In nature._ The purpose of the
manifold and wondrous universe is not accomplished if we look only at
the creation, and do not discern in it veils not thickly hiding, but
helping to reveal the Creator (Rom. i. 19, 20).[3] 2. _In
Providence._ The manner in which the world is governed is, to the man
who studies it comprehensively, earnestly, and reverently, a
revelation of the character of the Ruler. 3. _In His Word._ That man
miserably mistakes, who studies the Bible as anything less than a
many-sided disclosure of God. 4. _In Christ:_[4] a familiar thought
this, yet how seldom do we enter into its depths! We do not worship
an unknown God, yet we cannot see Him as He is until we have entered
into that light which is inaccessible and which no mortal can
approach unto, until we have been ourselves transformed into
"children of light," and so rendered capable of looking on "the
Father of lights." +IV. Those to whom He reveals Himself most fully
are most humble, and those whom He most exalts are most ready to
serve.+ We have both these truths illustrated in the seraphim and in
Isaiah.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The scene of the Vision is the Temple, and its features
will have the same whether we suppose them to have risen
before Isaiah's imagination while he was absent from the
spot, in the solitude of his chamber or his house-top, or
assume (as I myself prefer to do), that he was actually
praying in the Temple at the time.
Though it is unlikely that any of the successors to what
was but a small remnant of Solomon's kingdom perfectly
restored the Temple after it was deprived of its original
splendour by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam, yet we see
the worthier princes from time to time repairing the
structure when it had been suffered to fall into decay, and
replacing, as far as they could, the treasures and the
costly decorations of which it was repeatedly despoiled to
buy off foreign invaders; and probably there was no period
in which the restoration would be more complete than in the
reign of Uzziah, who in his power, wealth, and
magnificence, came nearer than any other to Solomon. As
there will be much more of fact than of fancy in the
picture, if, for the clearer understanding of the scene of
the vision, we figure to ourselves the youthful prophet in
his rough hair or woollen garment (probably not unlike that
of the Capuchin friar as we now see him in the streets or
churches of Rome), going up to the Temple to worship;--and
if we look with him at the Temple as, at the end of 300
years from its building, it must have presented itself to
his eyes, with its ample courts, and colonnades, and porch,
and its holy house, and holy of holies, well-proportioned,
and of the most elaborate workmanship, though rather
massive than large according to our notions. As he crossed
the variegated pavement of "the great court of the
congregation," and stopped--for we have no reason to
suppose him a Levite--at the entrance to the inner, or
"priests'" court, on each hand would rise one of the tall
pillars which Solomon set up in token that the kingdom was
constituted by Jehovah, and would be upheld by His might
(1 Kings vii. 21; 2 Chron. iii. 17), and which, once of
"bright brass," but now mellowed into bronze, had their
square capitals richly wreathed with molten lilies,
chain-work, and pomegranates; before him, resting on the
back of the twelve oxen, and cast like them in brass, would
appear the "molten sea," a basin of thirty cubits in
circumference, and containing two or three thousand _baths_
of water, its brim wrought "like the brim of a cup with
flowers of lilies," and under these a double row of
ornamental knobs; while on each side stood five smaller
lavers, the bases of which rested on wheels, and were most
elaborately ornamented with oxen, lions, cherubims, and
palm-trees engraved upon them; and beyond these again he
would see the great brazen altar of burnt-offering, with
its never-extinguished fire; and overhead the roof of thick
cedar beams resting on rows of columns. These were the
courts of the palace of the Divine King of Israel, for the
reception of His subjects and His ministers. [Compare the
description of Solomon's own house, which besides its inner
porch had another where he sat to judge the people, 1 Kings
vii. 7. The arrangement of the Temple is plainly that of a
palace.] The house itself again consisted of two parts, the
outer of which, the holy place, was accessible to those
priests who were in immediate attendance on their unseen
Sovereign, while the inner, or holiest place, was the very
presence-chamber of the Monarch who dwelt "between the
cherubims," which spread their golden wings over the ark
containing the covenant He had vouchsafed to enter into
with His people, and itself forming a "mercy-seat," where
was "the place of His throne and the place of the sole of
His feet." In the position which I have, following the
requirements of the narrative in the chapter before us,
supposed Isaiah to be placed, he would see through the open
folding-doors of cypress, carved "with cherubims, and
palm-trees, and open flowers," and "carved with gold and
upon the carved work," into the holy place, which he could
not enter; and the light of the golden lamps on either side
would show him the cedar panelling of the walls, carved
with knobs and open flowers, with cherubims and palm-trees,
festooned with chain-work, and richly gilt; the mosaics of
precious stone; the cypress floor; the altar of incense;
the table with the shew-bread; the censers, tongs, and
other furniture of "pure and perfect gold;" and before the
doorway to the further end, and not concealed by the open
leaves of the olive-wood doors (carved and gilded like the
others), would be distinguishable the folds of the vail "of
blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen," embroidered
with cherubims. In the East the closed vail, or _purdah,_
declares the presence and secures the privacy of the
monarch, into which no man may intrude and live; and in the
Temple at Jerusalem it was the symbol of the awful presence
and unapproachable majesty of the King Jehovah, Lord of
hosts. . . . Perhaps on this occasion, or certainly on many
others, Isaiah had been joining in the public daily
sacrifice and worship, and had afterwards brought his own
free-will offering--a bullock or a lamb without blemish.
Such an offering, the symbol of his dedication of himself
to Jehovah's service, would be the natural expression of
his earnest desire for some token that at last it was
permitted him to enter on the actual functions of the
prophetic office for which he had been so long preparing;
and that this vision was the answer to such beautiful
prayerful desire--itself an inspiration from on high--we
may well believe.--_Strachey._
Some of you may have been watching a near and beautiful
landscape in the land of mountains and eternal snows, till
you have been exhausted by its very richness, and till the
distant hills which bounded it have seemed, you knew not
why, to limit and contract the view,--and then a veil has
been withdrawn, and new hills not looking as if they
belonged to this earth, yet given another character to all
that does belong to it, have unfolded themselves before
you. This is an imperfect, very imperfect, likeness (yet it
is one), of that revelation which must have been made to
the inner eye of the prophet when he saw another throne
than the throne of the house of David, another king than
Uzziah or Jotham, another train than that of priests or
minstrels in the Temple, other winged forms than those
golden ones which overshadowed the mercy-seat. Each object
was the counterpart of one that was then or had been at
some time before his bodily eyes. . . . The symbols and
service of the Temple were not, as priests and people often
thought, an earthly machinery for scaling a distant heaven;
they were witnesses of a Heaven nigh at hand, of a God
dwelling in the midst of His people, of His being
surrounded by spirits which do His pleasure, hearkening to
the voice of His words.--_F. D. Maurice._
[2] See my _Dictionary of Poetical Illustrations,_ No. 1501;
and my _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations,_ Nos.
2229-2240.
[3] P. D., 1489, 1493, 1496, 1502, 1504-1506, 1508, 1509, 1511,
1514, 1519, 1526, 2545, 2552, 2563; H. E. I., 2242.
[4] H. E. I., 854-857, 2241, 2243.
ISAIAH'S VISION.
vi. 1-7. _In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the
Lord, &c._[1]
Behold, in these temple scenes, both what the Lord your God is, and
what He requires from you.
+I.+ The first of these temple scenes presents to our view +the
majesty of God:+ "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high, and
lifted up." One of the first and most important truths for us to
learn is the absolute rule of God--over nature, man, the
principalities of heaven. He sitteth upon His throne: this is the
attitude, 1. Of _supremacy and dignity;_ He sitteth while all other
beings stand before Him to receive His commands, bow in adoration, or
are prostrate in abasement. 2. It is the attitude of _ease and
perfect security._[2] But, above all, mark the place of His throne as
displayed in this wonderful vision. It stands in the temple; it has
been sprinkled with the blood of propitiation; it is _now_ the
mercy-seat. To the truly penitent all its terror appears softened
with grace.
+II.+ The second of these temple scenes displays to us +the ineffable
and incomprehensible nature of God.+ Let not man suppose that he can
by searching find out God, or know the Almighty unto perfection. This
is scenically, but most impressively, represented to us in the vision
before us: "His train"--the skirts of the shekinah--"filled the
temple," its fainter rays beaming from the central blaze in the
holiest of all, and irradiating the more distant objects. But even
that was too much for man, and it is therefore added, "And the house
was filled with smoke;" a veil was thus drawn over what was too
bright and dazzling for mortal vision; and though God dwelt in the
light, yet it was light involving itself in thick darkness (Ps.
xcvii. 2; Ex. xvi. 10). Revelation has not superseded mystery (Job
xxvi. 14). As to His dispensations, we are all still to walk by faith
rather than by sight; and as to the depths of His nature, rather to
adore than reason. An infinite being is necessarily incomprehensible
by finite beings;[3] He must be mysterious. If we could fully know
God, we must either be equal to Him, or He must lose the glory of His
nature and come down to ourselves (1 Cor. xiii. 9; Rom. xi. 33).
+III.+ The third view presented by this vision is that of +the
adorable and awful holiness of God+ (ver. 3). This is seen in His
titles (Ps. lxxi. 22; Deut. xxxii. 4); in His acts; in His law; in
His visible image on earth, His Son incarnate; in His Gospel; in His
judgments; in the reward of the righteous.
+IV.+ In the next scene which the vision presents we behold +a sinful
man convicted and laid prostrate before this holy God+ (ver. 5).
+V.+ In the final scene we behold +a convicted, self-abased, and
penitent man pardoned and consecrated to the service of God+ (ver. 6,
7). What are we taught by this wondrous representation? That for
guilty men there is pardon, that for unholy men there is
purification, and that lips once unclean, but not sanctified, may
join in the hymns of seraphim, and, without dread, approach to God,
and celebrate the glories even of His holiness. This we are taught,
but not this only; not merely is the fact, but the manner of it,
brought before us. See, then, the means. The instrument of
purification is fire; but not any kind of fire, fire from any place;
it is fire from the altar, the altar where atonement is made for sin;
fire, therefore, both of Divine origin, and coming to us through the
great Propitiation. We can be at no loss for an interpretation of the
symbols thus employed. Our altar is the cross; the propitiatory
sacrifice, the spotless Lamb of God; by the merit of His death, and
the baptizing fire of His Spirit, and the guilty and polluted
pardoned and sanctified to God.--_Richard Watson: Works,_ vol. iv.
pp. 143-153.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] God is invisible; yet in that heavenly world in which He
has His special and eternal residence He manifests himself
in ineffable glory, dwelling in what the Scriptures call
"the light which no man can approach unto." Of that
heavenly world, the tabernacle and temple were splendid
emblems; they were "patterns of heavenly things." But why
the astonishing fact, that when sinful creatures created a
tent in the wilderness, and a temple subsequently at
Jerusalem, the visible glory of God descended, taking
possession of the place? God thus came down from heaven to
earth, with all these impressive circumstances of visible
majesty, to teach His creatures that He was awfully
glorious, and fearful even in His praises; that even in His
acts of grace His holiness is solemnly declared; and thus
to show with what reverence and purity man ought to
approach to Him. So when Isaiah was to be appointed to an
office in which he was to fear God, and not the face of
man, and which, to give it weight and authority, required
an entire sanctity, a scene similar to that which had been
displayed in the temple at its consecration, but greatly
heightened and magnified, was disclosed to him in vision.
The space of this visionary temple appears to have been far
more ample than that of the one at Jerusalem; the throne
was greatly elevated, it was "high, and lifted up;" the
"train," the "skirts" (as in the margin) of the cloud of
the Divine presence filled the whole place; instead of the
carved representations of the cherubim of glory fixed on
the mercy-seat, the prophet beholds the cherubim
themselves, living, and all ardour, activity, and
adoration; they are not represented in the vision as the
cherubim in the holiest of all, silently gazing on the
glory of God and the mysteries of His covenant, but as
hymning His praises, proclaiming His spotless purity, and
declaring "the whole earth to be full of His glory." The
prophet, beholding the wondrous scene, sinks oppressed and
self-abhorred, until a coal from the altar touches his
lips, and he is thus sanctified to the service of God, and
put among His ministers.--_Watson._
[2] No rebellions shake the throne of God; though "the heathen
rage and the people imagine a vain thing," yet "he that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have
them in derision." The throne of God is a rock in the midst
of the ever-rolling ocean of created existence, that heaves
and swells with ceaseless change; but, in comparison of
Him, its mightiest billows have but their moment of
existence, and sink into the mass at the base of the
immovable throne of the Everlasting One.--_Watson._
[3] An observer on a mountain-cliff may be able to survey the
whole circumference of a lake that lies beneath him, but no
man can see the whole of the ocean, simply because it _is_
the ocean, and not a lake.--_Watson._
THE SERAPHIM.
vi. 2. _Above it stood the seraphim:_[1] _each had six
wings, &c._
I. _"With twain he covered his face."_[2] They bow with prostrate
awe, veiling themselves in the presence of the Divine glory, as
though feeling the force of those strong words, "He chargeth His
angels with folly, and the heavens are not clean in His sight." If
the angels tremble when they gaze, what should man feel? II. _"With
twain he covered his feet."_[3] Among Orientals this expresses
reverence. Well may _you_ bow in reverence before Him! The sense of
pardon will humble you, even while it fills you with holy exaltation.
III. _"With twain he did fly"_--in readiness to execute His
commands.--_Richard Watson: Works,_ vol. ix. pp. 150-153.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As those that are nearest of a king's attendants stand
behind his throne or chair of state, at his elbow.--_Day._
This is the only passage of Scripture in which the seraphim
are mentioned. According to the orthodox view, which
originated with Dionysius the Areopagite, they stand at the
head of the nine choirs of angels, the first rank
consisting of _seraphim, cherubim,_ and _throni._ And this
is not without support, if we compare the cherubim
mentioned in Ezekiel, which carried the chariot of the
divine throne; whereas here the seraphim are said to
surround the seat on which the Lord worshipped. In any
case, the seraphim and cherubim were heavenly beings of
different kinds; and there is no weight in the attempts of
Hendewerk and Stickel to prove that they are one and the
same. And certainly the name _seraphim_ does not signify
merely spirits as such, but even, if not the highest of
all, yet a distinct order from the rest; for the Scriptures
really teach that there are gradations in rank in the
hierarchy of heaven. Nor were they mere symbols or fanciful
images, as Hävernick imagines, but real spiritual beings
who visibly appeared to the prophet, and that in a form
corresponding to their own supersensuous being, and to the
design of the whole transaction. Whilst the seraphim
hovered on both sides of Him that sat upon the throne, and
therefore formed two opposite choirs, each ranged in a
semicircle, they presented antiphonal worship to Him that
sat upon the throne.--_Delitzsch._
The cherubim in the temple represented no doubt spiritual
powers and presence in the most general sense, those who
look upon God and reflect His light. If we distinguish
between them and the cherubim, as we do in our "Te Deum,"
these last would seem more especially to represent those
divine energies and affections of which the zeal, devotion,
and sympathy of man are counterparts.--_F. D. Maurice._
The name cannot possibly be connected with _sârâph,_ a
snake (Sanscrit, _sarpa,_ Latin, _Serpens_); and to trace
the word to a verb _sâraph_ in the sense of the Arabic
'sarafa ('sarufa), to tower high, to be exalted, or highly
honoured (as Gesenius, Hengetenberg, and others have done),
yields a sense that does not very strongly commend itself.
On the other hand, to follow Knobel, who reads shârâthim,
worshippers of God), and thus presents the Lexicon with a
new word, and to pronounce the word _seraphim_ a copyist's
error, would be a rash concession to the heaven-storming
omnipotence which is supposed to reside in the ink of a
German scholar. It is hardly admissible, however, to
interpret the name as signifying directly spirits of light
or fire, since the true meaning of _sâraph_ is not _urere_
(to burn), but _comburere_ (to set on fire or burn up).
Umbreig endeavours to do justice to this transitive meaning
by adopting the explanation "fiery beings," by which all
earthly corruption is opposed and destroyed. The vision
itself, however, appears to point to a much more
distinctive and special meaning in the name, which only
occurs in this passage of Isaiah. . . . If the fact that a
seraph absolved the seer by means of this fire of love
(vers. 6, 7) is to be taken as an illustrative example of
the historical calling of the seraphim, they were the
vehicles and media of the fire of divine love, just as the
cherubim in Ezekiel were the vehicles and media of the fire
of divine wrath. For just as in the case before us, a
seraph takes the fire of love from the altar; so there, in
Ezek. x. 6, 7, a cherub takes the fire of wrath from the
throne-chariot. Consequently the cherubim appear as the
vehicles and media of the wrath which destroys sinners, or
rather the divine _doxa,_ with its fiery side turned
towards the world; and the seraphim as the vehicles and
media of the love which destroys sin, or of the same divine
_doxa_ with its light side towards the world. . . .
"Seraphic love" is the expression used in the language of
the Church to denote the _ne plus ultra_ of holy love in
the creature.--_Delitzsch._
[2] Thus expressing his profound reverence and becoming modesty
in the Divine presence. We can hardly approach those who
are greatly our superiors but with downcast eyes,
intimating the consciousness we feel of their pre-eminence,
and our profound respect for the excellency and dignity. We
cannot look at the sun shining with meridian splendour, but
we are obliged to cover our eyes with our hands. Such is
the infinite glory of the eternal Jehovah, that celestial
spirits around His throne appeared to our prophet covering
their faces with their wings. Light inaccessible and full
of glory, in which God resides, was too strong for them
directly to contemplate.--_Macculloch._
[3] In Scripture language the _feet_ sometimes denote all the
lower parts of the body which decency requires to be
concealed. In eastern countries these were generally
covered by the long garments which they were accustomed to
wear: hence it may have been thought want of respect to
appear in public, on solemn occasions, with the feet
uncovered.--_Macculloch._
In a similar description of the cherubim in Ezek. i. 11, it
is said that they covered _their bodies._ In Isaiah the
expression clearly denotes, not the feet only, but the
lower extremities.--_Barnes._
How little do we know of beings whose forms from their
faces to their feet are 'covered!'--_B. W. Newton._
A GLORIOUS EXAMPLE.
vi. 2. _Above it stood the seraphim, &c._
The seraphim afford us a model for imitation. Our Lord has animated
us in our Christian course by promising that, if we are faithful, we
shall be made like the angels in heaven; but if we would hereafter
resemble them in glory, we must first resemble them here in temper.
Let us, therefore, prepare in time to join the concert of these holy
intelligences. +I. They burn with love to God.+ The honourable name
they bear is derived from a word signifying to burn, and denotes the
fervour of that zeal for the interests of their Lord by which they
are animated. +II.+ Notwithstanding their vast endowments, +they bend
with reverence and humility before the throne of the Lord. III. They
fly with rapidity to execute His commands.+--_Henry Kollock, D.D.:
Sermons,_ pp. 585, 586.
THE SERAPHIM AND THEIR SONG.
vi. 2-4. _And above it stood the seraphim, &c._
I. THE SERAPHIM.--The Scriptures disclose to us the fact that there
is a spiritual world, vast and variously populated, superior to this
world, yet connected with it and exerting upon it powerful
influences. Little beyond the _fact_ is made known to us; few details
are granted us; yet glimpses into it have been vouchsafed, and among
the most interesting and instructive of them is our text.
Only here do we read of _seraphim:_ elsewhere we read of _cherubim_
(Gen. iii. 24; Ezek. x. 1-22, &c.); and of _living ones_ (Rev.
iv. 6-8). From the fact that these "living ones" in some respects
resemble both the "seraphim" of Isaiah and the "cherubim" of Ezekiel,
some eminent scholars believe these are three names for one order of
beings. Others, with whom we are disposed to sympathise, believe that
the two names "cherubim" and "seraphim" really indicate two orders of
spiritual intelligences, resembling each other, yet distinct. Whether
the "living ones" of the Apocalypse are cherubim, or seraphim, or a
third order of exalted ministers of the Most High, is a question
concerning which we cannot speak confidently.
Scholars are divided as to the significance of the name "seraphim:"
some derive the word from a root signifying _to burn,_ others from a
root signifying _to be exalted._
But there can be no question that the descriptions of the "seraphim,"
the "cherubim," and the "living ones" are symbolical; the terms
employed are figures adapted to convey to our minds true descriptions
of beings of whom a literal description would now be unintelligible
by us.[1] _"Wings"_ are symbols of swiftness:[2] here the symbol is
triplicated to indicate the exceeded swiftness--the immense
energy--of these messengers of God (Ps. civ. 4). _"With twain he
covered his face,"_ in token of humility. _"With twain he covered his
feet,"_ in token of reverence. _"With twain he did fly,"_ in token of
readiness to do God's will--three points in which we should strive
evermore to resemble these exalted intelligences.
To them is granted an immediate vision of God, and the effect upon
them is expressed by their song: _"Holy,"_ &c.
II. Consider next THIS SONG OF THE SERAPHIM. +1. They acknowledge God
as "the Lord of hosts."+[3] This term in its first use in human
language referred to the sun, moon, and stars (Gen. ii. 1; Neh.
ix. 6, &c.). Thus considered, how wonderful are the conceptions which
are opened out to us of the Divine power and glory! (Isa. xi. 2-6).
But it includes also those thousands of thousands of exalted
intelligences who hearken to His word and do His pleasure. "A great
King" is the Lord our God! +2. They teach us that the glory of God is
co-extensive with His works.+ All that Isaiah saw was that God's
glory filled the temple: what they saw was that His glory filled the
earth. _"The whole earth," &c._ 1. This declaration is true, if we
think of Him _as the God of nature._ Everything that He has made is
"good." Even a snowflake shows forth His glory. Science is a servant
of God, and is teaching us to understand somewhat of the wondrousness
and beneficence of His works. 2. It is true if we think of Him _as
the God of providence._ Human history, comprehensively and
thoughtfully considered, shows that, while men are free, they are yet
under the control of One who rules over all in the interests of
righteousness and truth (Ps. lxxvi. 10; Isa. x. 5-7, &c.). To angelic
intelligences how profoundly interesting must be the problems which
God is working out in the government of this world! (Rev. xv. 3).
3. It is true even if we think of Him _as the God of redemption._
Possibly (though perhaps not probably) this earth is the only sphere
in which His glory in this respect is manifested. But here it is
manifested in the mission and work of His Son (Eph. iii. 10). Even
where the Gospel has not yet been proclaimed there are senses in
which His glory as the God of redemption is manifested: even there,
for Christ's sake, He is patient with sinners, He strives with them
by His Spirit, He is preparing them for the future triumphs of the
Cross. The history of our race, when it shall be seen as a whole,
will all redound to His glory as the God of redemption.[4] +3. In the
holiness of God the seraphim find the supreme subject for adoration
and song:+ _Holy,_ &c. Other attributes of the Most High are the
themes of their thought and worship, but it is His holiness that
excites their most rapturous praise. Why? 1. _They have never needed
His mercy;_ it is reserved for _us_ to sing the sweet song of
redeeming grace. On account of our redemption they rejoice (Luke
xv. 10), but doubtless they rejoice in it most because the mercy
shown us is a holy mercy; it was so shown as to solve some of the
profoundest moral problems, and so as to leave untouched the
principle of righteousness on which God's throne eternally abides
(Rom. iii. 26). Not having needed that mercy themselves, it is
natural that they should rather magnify the holiness which had been
shown in it and which is the need of all. 2. _It is the holiness of
God that gives value to all His other attributes._ They are valuable
only because they are directed by unswerving holiness. The holiness
of God is the foundation of the peace, and joy, and the love of the
moral universe. Were God not holy, even hell itself would be a more
awful abode; for then to all its other woes would be added the
possibility of suffering inflicted in mere vindictiveness. We also
are called to join in the song of the seraphim (Ps. xxx. 4,
xcvii. 12): let us beseech Him so to sanctify us by His Spirit, that
in our lips the song may not be a sacrilege!
III. THE EFFECTS OF THE SONG. 1. _"The posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried."_[5] A symbol this of the constant effects
of the proclamation of truth. At every new announcement of it earthly
things that seem most solid shake, and many of them totter and fall
and disappear (2 Cor. x. 4; Heb. xii. 26-28). 2. _And the house was
filled with smoke._ In response to the worship of the seraphim the
temple became so completely filled with the Divine glory that the
radiance overpowered the prophet's vision. What he calls "smoke" was
excess of light (1 Kings viii. 10-12; Rev. xv. 8).[6] So would it be
with us were our craving for a fuller manifestation of God in His
works and word granted. We have as much light now as we can bear. A
fuller revelation would only dazzle, confuse, and blind us. The time
is to come when we shall see God "as He is," but this will then be
possible, because "we shall be like Him;" and that time is not yet!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _"Above the throne stood the seraphim. Each one had six
wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain he
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly."_ The sense of
awe increasing with the clearness and purity of a spirit
and with the nearness of its approach to God; the face
being veiled which receives the light for Him, and most
covets to behold Him; the absence of all which to display
their own perfection in spirits who are perfect; the
freedom and willingness to go anywhere, to do any errands
of mercy; these are some of the more obvious thoughts which
the study of this vision suggests. There are others which
lie hidden, which we may have a glimpse of from time to
time, and which words might mar. For it is true of earthly
symbols, still more of heavenly visions, that they are
meant to carry us out of words and above words.--_F. D.
Maurice._
[2] Among the ancients, _Mercury,_ the messenger of Jupiter,
was always represented with wings.--_Barnes._
[3] This title of Jehovah, with some variations, is found
upwards of 160 times in the Old Testament. The meaning of
the word _hosts_ is doubtless the same as that of _army_ in
Dan. iv. 35, and includes all the myriads of holy angels
who people the celestial spheres, as in 1 Kings xxii. 19
the host of heaven were seen by Micaiah standing round the
throne of God. So in Ps. ciii. 21, cxlviii. 2, the hosts of
God are His angels. (Comp. Deut. xxxiii. 2.) By a light
metonymy, or may be in a slightly different sense, _the
host of heaven_ designates the heavenly spheres themselves
(Gen. ii. 1; Deut. iv. 19, xvii. 3; Isa. xxxiv. 4, &c.). It
is probably with reference to the idolatrous worship of the
host of heaven that the title of _the Lord of hosts_ was
given to the true God, as asserting His universal
supremacy. (See Neh. ix. 6.) In the New Testament, the
phrase occurs only once, James v. 4, _the Lord of Sabaoth._
In Rom. ix. 29, it is a quotation from Isaiah.--_Professor
Rawlinson._
[4] Sin has already served, as all things must, to bring into
view more clearly the glory of God, for had there been no
sin there could have been no mercy; and in its punishment,
its overthrow, and its extirpation, His glory will be yet
more signally displayed. Hercules could never have been
deified, if there had been no monsters to overcome. True is
the seraph's song even now, but it shall be more manifestly
and gloriously true in that day, so surely and swiftly
drawing nigh, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies
unto Him, and God shall be All in all.--_R. A. B._
The vision reaches its highest point in the cry, _Holy,
holy, holy!_ It is the holiness of God which the seraphim
proclaim, that which cannot be represented to the eye, that
of which descriptions and symbols furnish no image. It is
that holiness which fills not the heaven of heavens only
but the whole earth, _seeing that was made very good,
seeing that in its order and constitution it was still
perfectly good,_ though man defiled it by their deeds,
though the habitations of cruelty were set upon the midst
of it.--_F. D. Maurice._
[5] The voice of the seraphim at this time was so loud and
melodious, and the power of their heavenly music was so
great, when extolling the holiness and glory of Jehovah
that the posts, with the lintel of the door of the temple,
seemed to tremble, to be shaken in the place where they
stood, or loosed from their place. This was a very
surprising effect (though seen only in vision); for these
posts were so large and strong, that they supported gates
of brass which are said to have required twenty men to shut
them, on account of their ponderous weight.--_Macculloch._
[6] _Delitzsch_ thus gives the usual interpretation of this
clause: _The house was filled with smoke._ Many compare
this with the similar occurrence in connection with the
dedication of Solomon's temple (1 Kings viii. 10); but
Drechsler is correct in stating that the two cases are not
parallel, for there God simply attested His own presence by
the cloud of smoke behind which He concealed Himself,
whereas here there was no need of any such
self-attestation. Moreover, in this instance God does not
dwell in the cloud and thick darkness, whilst the smoke is
represented as the effect of the songs of praise in which
the seraphim have joined, and not of the presence of God.
The smoke arose from the altar of incense mentioned in
verse 6. But when Drechsler says that it was the prayers of
_saints_ (as in Rev. v. 8, viii. 3, 4), which ascended to
the Lord, in the smoke, there is a thought which is quite
out of place here. The smoke was the immediate consequence
of the seraph's song of praise.
A SIGHT OF GOD AND A SENSE OF SIN.
vi. 5-7. _Then said I, &c._
Visions of the throne of God were given to Isaiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel among the prophets, and to John among the Apostles.[1] +I. The
distinguished privilege.+ "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high
and lifted up, and His train filled the temple." "Mine eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of hosts." The invisible and unapproachable God
revealed Himself to the bewildered seer through the glory of the
afterwards incarnate Christ (John xii. 41). May we behold God?
Certainly we may. 1. _In His Son Jesus Christ_ (Heb. i. 3; 2 Cor.
iv. 4; Col. i. 15; John xiv. 8, 9). 2. _In His works and Word._ The
works are the embodied words of God. In the Scriptures we may see the
mind, the heart, the purposes, the character of God. 3. _In His
sanctuary._ In the act of worship, while in the temple, Isaiah beheld
the glory of the Lord (Ps. lxiii. 1, 2, lxviii. 24). +II. The
profound abasement.+ It is true that "before honour is humility." The
converse is also true. Isaiah's humility was the effect of
overwhelming honour. A sight of God brought self-revelation;
depravity was revealed by the dazzling whiteness of Divine purity.
1. _There was consternation._ "Woe is me; for I am undone." 2. _There
was self-loathing._ "I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips." The vision of God results in a
vivid and painful sense of sin (Job xlii. 5, 6; Luke v. 8). +III. The
Divine cleansing.+ Absolution is connected with confession (1 John
i. 9). 1. _The cleansing_ _was efficacious._ 2. _The purification was
by means of sacrifice._ 3. _The removal of defilement was immediate._
A man so prepared is made ready for any ministry of testimony, toil,
or tribulation.--_Matthew Braithwaite._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We should naturally expect that a vision vouchsafed to an
Apostle of Christ, at the end of the first century of the
Christian era, would be larger in scope, brighter in glory,
less enigmatical in structure, in significance, than those
which were attached to the ministrations of prophets. This
expectation is not disappointed. We find the visions of the
throne of God which prophets saw revived and incorporated
in the Apostle's vision, and we find the Christian seer
enlightened with a more distinct understanding of the
heavenly symbols. _Isaiah_ saw the throne of God in the
temple, surrounded by seraphim, "crying one to another,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." _Ezekiel,_ sitting
by the river of Chebar, saw the throne of God, as a chariot
of war coming out of a whirlwind and going forth over the
earth, attended by mighty ministers of judgment, carrying
the Son of Man to victory. _Daniel_ beheld the great
session of justice; the gathered myriads before the awful
purity of the Divine Judge; the consuming laws executed by
the faithful servants. But the Christian _Apostle,_ looking
through the door of heaven, beheld all these ancient
visions, which had come down through eight centuries of
time, blended into one. He saw Isaiah's seraphim, but they
had the appearance of Ezekiel's living creatures, with
fourfold countenances; their wings were still visible, and
their voices still responded, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty!" He saw the thrones round about _the Throne,_ as
Daniel saw them, but he was able to count them; they were
four and twenty; and upon the seats he "saw four and twenty
elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on
their heads crowns of gold." The stream of fire, which the
prophet saw proceeding from under the throne was now "a sea
of glass like unto crystal." He that sat on the throne, who
appeared to Ezekiel as though He were clothed with fiery
amber, was "to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone;"
and the rainbow was still there, "round about the throne,
in sight like unto an emerald." "Lightnings, thunderings,
and voices" proceeded out of the throne, as before fire
flamed out and devoured. "The seven spirits of God," like
"burning lamps of fire," stand in the presence of the Holy
One. And the Apostle witnesses the sublime service of
heaven, the living creatures "giving glory and honour and
thanks to Him that sat on the throne;" and, in response to
their worship, "the four and twenty elders falling down
before Him and worshipping Him," and singing their united
praises, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for
Thy pleasure they are and were created!"--_R. A. Redford._
VOLUNTEER SERVICE.
vi. 8. _Then said I, Here am I, send me._
This is a chapter of autobiography. Here is disclosed the secret of
the wonderful energy with which for more than half a century Isaiah
prosecuted his ministry. He is the Paul of the Old Testament.
Allowance being made for difference of phraseology, there is a
striking resemblance between the call of Isaiah and of Paul (comp.
chap. vi. with Acts ix.). Both sought to serve the heavenly King; and
both received a commission to work, spiritual and catholic beyond all
conceptions of their time,--the one penning the Gospel of the
suffering Messiah, the other vindicating the truth that the Gospel is
God's message to the _world._ The text reminds us--
+I. Of the Christian's offer of service.+ The offer of service which
the prophet made was--1. _Free._ He spoke spontaneously, and not as
the result of pressure from without.[1] 2. _Truthful._ Unlike one of
the sons in the parable (Matt. xxi. 30), he meant what he said.
3. _Bold._ It was made concerning an unknown mission. The
justification of the boldness of his offer is, that it was made to
God, who always qualifies His servants for the tasks to which He
calls them. 4. _Personal._ The prophet placed at God's disposal, not
some of his property merely, but _himself._ 5. _It involved the most
complete self-surrender._ All thought of self control the prophet
resigned. He placed himself as an instrument in God's hands. He was
ready go to where, when, and on what errand God might determine.[2]
Such are the offers of service in which God delights.
+II. Of the steps that lead up to this offer.+ The offer may take men
by surprise, but there has always been preparation for it, as there
has been long preparation for the lightning that leaps suddenly from
the sky. Such offers as the prophet made are preceded--1. By _a
vision of God,_ of the thrice Holy One, filling the soul with awe,
and causing it to tremble (vers. 1-4). 2. By _self-prostration of
spirit,_ a conviction of utter sinfulness (ver. 5). This is the
invariable result of a true vision of God (Exod. iii. 2; Josh. v. 14;
Judg. vi. 22, xii. 22; Luke v. 8; Rev. i. 17). This is also a prime
condition of fitness for service. 3. By _the touch of a mediator_
(vers. 6, 7). "They that be struck down by visions of God's glory
shall soon be raised up again by visits of His grace." Blessed is the
man who has _both_ visions. A sense of pardon is essential to large
usefulness. Imperfect realisation of forgiveness is one of the most
frequent causes of weakness in Christian service. 4. By _a moral
transformation._ The offerer has become a new man from the centre
outwards. Now he can hear God's voice: "I heard," &c. It is a voice
to which now he feels he _must_ respond: "Here am I," &c. In some
degree every Christian is thus prepared. These essentials of service
are also essentials of Christian life. These experiences are at once
your credentials and your powers.
+III.+ That +God always accepts offers of service for which there has
been this preparation, and that bear these marks.+ He never rejects
true volunteers. Offers hastily made and half-meant He passes by
(Josh. xxiv. 18, 19; John ii. 23-25); but genuine, whole-hearted
offers of service, He invariably accepts.
In conclusion, let us lay up in our memories three facts in
connection with service. 1. _True service is not incompatible with
failure._ We are too apt to connect failure with incompetency in the
servant. Many do fail through incompetency, but not all. The prophet
divinely called and most royally endowed may fail, because of the
moral obduracy and perverseness of those to whom he is sent (vers. 9,
10). 2. _True service is not incompatible with sorrow_ (vers. 11,
12). That man is inhuman who without profound grief can behold the
perversity of sinners, and the calamities with which in consequence
they are visited. 3. _True service will never be left without
reward._ Multitudes may reject the prophet's message, yet there will
be "a tenth" who will accept it and be saved.--_J. R. Wood._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] H. E. I., 3633-3639.
[2] H. E. I., 3618-3626.
MESSENGERS WANTED.
vi. 8. _Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, &c._
+I. God wants messengers unto sinful men.+ Tidings concerning sin and
salvation, mercy and deliverance, God's grace and man's misery, must
be published. Might send seraphim and the angel host. God elects to
send men to their fellow-men. "Whom shall I send?" is not the inquiry
of a Divine perplexity, but the stimulative question of one who calls
for willing workers. +II. God especially qualifies His messengers.+
How does He in an especial manner fit men for His highest service?
1. _By an awe-inspiring sight of Himself._ 2. _By distressing
convictions of personal sin._ 3. _By sanctifying all the faculties to
His use._ +III. God's call should meet with a ready response.+ He
desires volunteers, "Who will go for us?" The constraint of love is
the omnipotent motive force. 1. _The call is heard individually._ "I
heard the voice of the Lord." 2. _The call provokes self-surrender._
"Here am I." 3. _The call demands entire self-abandonment._ "Send
me"--anywhere, on any errands, at any time, in any capacity. +IV. How
may we ascertain that we are required to become messengers of the
living God?+ 1. By the separating voice of God. 2. By the discipline
of preparation. 3. By the openings of beckoning opportunities. The
"joy of the Lord" will be our strength when most we feel the pressure
of "the burden of the Lord."--_Matthew Braithwaithe._
A STRANGE AND SAD ERRAND.
vi. 9, 10. _And He said, Go, and tell this people, &c._
A sad and mysterious errand, the statement of which might well have
quenched the enthusiasm inspired by his vision of the Divine glory.
When he exclaimed, "Here am I, send me!" how little did he anticipate
for what purpose he would be sent! It must have astounded and
saddened him, and it is full of astonishment and mystery for us. How
could God have sent His servant on an errand such as this?
Much of the mystery will be relieved, though not altogether removed,
if we recognise--what I believe to be the fact--that here we have a
statement, not of the messages Isaiah was to deliver (for they were
many, and were revealed to him at various times), but of what would
be the result of them all. Those to whom he was sent, and whom he
desired to bless, would not be made better, but worse, by his
ministry.
This is in accordance with a well-known and terrible fact, viz., that
the proclamation of truth often leads men to cleave more desperately
to error.[1] Why, then, does God send His servants to proclaim it?
_Not because He desires the depravity and destruction of men._ Such a
desire would be utterly inconsistent with His _character_ and with
His express _declarations_ (Ezek. xviii. 23, 32, &c.). We need not
imagine, then, that we have here a confirmation of those schemes of
arbitrary election and reprobation which some theologians have
attributed to Him.
But 1. _Because it is necessary for the preservation of His character
as a God of righteousness and mercy that He should do what_ OUGHT _to
result in the salvation of men._ Had He not sent His prophets forth
on their sad mission, we should have been confronted by a greater
difficulty: God permitting His chosen people to go on to ruin without
one word of warning spoken, without one effort put forth to arrest
them. But one of the supreme moral necessities of the universe is
this, that His character as a God desiring the redemption of sinners
should be maintained unimpaired; and therefore He sends forth His
messengers to proclaim the truth, although He foresees that to many
they will be the "savour of death unto death,"--and not "the savour
of life unto life,"--not as that same frosty air which "braces" and
invigorates those who are already vigorous. As this quotation reminds
you, this is the effect of the Gospel itself. Ought God, therefore,
never to have sent its preachers forth? 2. _That stubborn sinners may
be left without excuse in the day of their doom._ God will not merely
take vengeance on the violators of His laws of righteousness; He will
make it manifest that while in Him there is an awful severity, there
is no vindictiveness; and He will so act that, even when that
severity is most manifested, not only the onlookers, but even those
who experience it shall be constrained to confess, "Just and true are
Thy ways, Thou King of saints!" He will not leave it possible for
them to say, "Hadst Thou warned us, we should not have sinned." They
shall be speechless (Matt. xxii. 12; Jer. xliv. 2-5). 3. _That the
righteous may be saved._ Did He not send His prophets forth to
instruct and warn, even the men in whose hearts are the germs of
righteousness and holiness of life would follow the multitude to do
evil: _they_ hear, and turn, and live: and this is ample
justification of the prophet's mission. Those who perish would have
perished without it; but without it those who are saved would have
perished also. And in this respect Isaiah's ministry was not in vain:
while to the vast majority of the nation it was "the savour of death
unto death," it was to a few--"the holy seed" of whom also this
chapter speaks to us--"the savour of live unto life." They learned to
trust, not in Assyria nor in Egypt, but in the Holy One of Israel,
and therefore were "kept in perfect peace" amid all the convulsions
and catastrophes of their time.
The passage seemed at the outset full of mystery; our tendency was to
shun it as one that would not bear investigation, as one about which
the least that could be said the better, as one which we could have
wished had never been written. What do we see now? That here we have
an illustration of the Psalmist's saying, "Clouds and darkness are
round about Him"--so to our purblind vision it seems, the brightness
being _so_ bright that it dazzles and blinds us; "but righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of His throne." What should we learn
from this? 1. _Never to fear to investigate anything in God's Word._
There is nothing here which its friends need wish to hide out of
sight; it is all worthy of Him from whom it came (Ps. xix. 9).
2. _Never to distrust God because of anything in either His Word or
His Providence._ Things that might cause distrust we shall meet with;
some of them we shall never explain here, when we can know only "in
part;" yet let us keep fast hold of the glorious and gladdening
truth, that "in Him is no darkness at all." God is light; God is love.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] To a man living in the belief of what is erroneous or the
practice of what is wrong you proclaim the truth, and what
happens? (1) Either he amends his creed or his conduct; or
(2) he _disregards_ what you say, and goes on as before; or
(3) he _rejects_ what you say, and cleaves to his error
more passionately than he would have done otherwise. The
latter is a very frequent result. For example, slavery once
prevailed throughout our colonies and the United States of
America. Holy men held slaves; they had no suspicion of the
wrongfulness of slavery. When its wrongfulness was
proclaimed, many abandoned it; but others held to it,--some
not caring whether it was wrong or right, looking only to
the fact that it was profitable; but others reasoned
themselves into a persuasion that it was right, that it is
Scriptural, and maintained the system with a tenacity and
passion they never felt before its wickedness was declared.
In thousands of cases that was the result of the
anti-slavery movement. God foresaw it, yet He raised up
faithful men to proclaim the doctrines of human brotherhood
and freedom, and sent them forth on their perilous errand,
saying to them in effect, _"Go, and tell this people, Hear
ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but
perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and convert, and be healed."_ He sent them
forth, notwithstanding that He foresaw that one inevitable
effect of their mission would be the confirmation of
thousands in error, the hardening of thousands in iniquity.
In like manner He raised up Isaiah and other prophets to
denounce their political schemes--their alliances now with
Egypt and now with Assyria--to be huge mistakes, and to
exhort them to a life of holiness and of simple trust in
God; He foresaw that the result of their efforts would
_not_ be the reformation of the nation, and yet He sent
them forth!
THE REJECTION OF DIVINE TRUTH.
vi. 9, 10. _And He said, Go, and tell this people, &c._
The Divine message--a message of melting pathos and of startling
warning, of beseeching entreaty and of terrible threatening--must be
delivered to men. "Go and tell this people" is a command that
shatters excuses and imposes an imperative obligation. God's speakers
have no option--speak they must (Jonah iii. 2). The effects of God's
communications correspond to the willingness or the wilfulness of men.
+I. Divine truth elicits human disposition.+ In the spring season,
the sun sits in judgment upon the trees of gardens and forests. Then
the trees that have life have it more abundantly. Their latent powers
and possibilities are developed and exhibited. The same sun-force
smites the decaying trees and shrivels those having only goodliness
without life. Is not the Sun of Righteousness "a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart"? When on earth, He who is "the
Truth" evoked the hidden feelings, purposes, and qualities of men;
and His manifold message repeats the process to the end of time (John
ix. 39). The ministry of Isaiah was a revealing ministry: the
character of men and the character of the nation by it were made
manifest. +II. Divine truth repelled because of dislike.+ "Lest they
see, hear, understand, be converted and healed." A diseased eye
winces under the scorching sunlight, as a disordered soul will flinch
under the fierce light that streams upon it from above. The
disquieted conscience repels the entrance of the truth, because of
the revolutions in thought, disposition, purpose, character, and
activity which its admission would necessitate. None are so blind,
deaf, insensible as those who do not want to see, hear, or feel (John
iii. 19, 20). Men dislike the purpose of God's good but severe
discipline: they want not to "be converted and healed," and they
recoil from the painful process.[1] +III. Divine truth cannot be
rejected without injury.+ Divine truth and grace will not be void of
result, though the result may be most injurious (Rom ii. 4, 5).
Consequences of lasting duration are involved in our action of
opening or shutting the doors of the soul.[2] Not to receive the
"grace upon grace" of God is to put the spirit into an attitude of
opposition: this attitude can easily become a confirmed habit; and
the habit, in righteous retribution, may be ratified (Rev. xxii. 11).
Antagonism to God's revelation injures the soul's highest life; its
power of vision is dimmed or veiled; the understanding loses its
alertness and fails to comprehend; the affections become gross and
carnal. Inexorable is the spiritual law and appalling the spiritual
doom (Eph. iv. 18). Isaiah unfolded God's design of salvation; but
the design was intercepted and frustrated by human perversity. Men
"rejected the counsel of God against themselves," and persistent
resistance rendered them "past feeling." "Take heed how ye hear."
"Hear, and your soul shall live."[3]--_Matthew Braithwaite._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "There is light enough for those whose sincere desire is to
see; and darkness enough for those of a contrary
disposition. There is brightness enough to illuminate the
elect; and enough of obscurity to humble them. There is
obscurity enough to blind the reprobate; and brightness
enough to condemn them and to leave them without
excuse."--_Blaise Pascal._
[2] "The smallest particle of light falling on the sensitive
plate produces a chemical change that can never be undone
again; and the light of Christ's love, once brought to the
knowledge and presented for the acceptance of a soul,
stamps on it an ineffaceable sign of its having been there.
Once heard, it is henceforward a perpetual element in the
whole condition, character, and destiny of the hearer.
Every man that ever rejects Christ, does these things
thereby--wounds his own conscience, hardens his own heart,
and makes himself a worse man, just because he has had a
glimpse of holiness, and has willingly, and almost
consciously, "loved darkness rather than light." Unbelief
is its own judgment, its own condemnation: unbelief, as
sin, is punished like other sins, by the perpetuation of
deeper and darker forms of itself. Every time that you
stifle a conviction, fight down a conviction, or din away a
conviction, you have harmed your soul, made yourself a
worse man, lowered the tone of your conscience, enfeebled
your will, made your heart harder against love; you have
drawn another horny scale over the eye that will prevent
you from seeing the light that is yonder. You have, as much
as in you is, approximated to the other pole of the
universe (if I may say that), to the dark and deadly
antagonist of mercy, and goodness, and truth, and
grace."--_Alexander Maclaren._
[3] "The great iniquity is, or then is the Gospel hid in a
sinful sense, when men have it among them, or may have it,
and will not hear it; or do hear it, and never understand
it,--that is, never apply or set themselves to understand
it; or receive no conviction from it; or receive no
suitable impression on their hearts from it. Thus, all the
while, is the Gospel hid to them by their own iniquity,
that they do voluntarily make resisting efforts against it,
as everything of sin must have somewhat of _voluntarium_ in
it. It supposeth that otherwise a brute agent might be as
capable of sin as a rational one, and that cannot be. But
here lies the iniquity, that men might understand and they
will not; and there is a natural faculty that should turn
them, even in their very hearts; but there is a sinful
disinclination, and they will not turn. For it is the will
that is not turned: "Ye will not come unto me that ye might
have life." And so, when the Gospel is hid, it is hid, not
because men cannot see, but because they will not. They do
(as it were) pretend the veil; stretch forth the veil
before their eyes or bind it close over their own eyes,
hoodwink themselves that they will not see. Being thus
sinfully hidden, it comes also to be penally hidden by a
_nemesis,_ hidden by a just _vindicta._ Ye will not
understand, then ye shall not understand; ye will harden
your hearts against light, against grace, against the
design of the Gospel, and they shall be hardened. Since ye
will have it so, so let it be."--_John Howe._
P. D., 2938, 3391.
THE DURATION OF THE PROPHET'S MISSION.
vi. 11-13. _Then said I, Lord how long? &c._
For an exposition of this passage see note.[1]
Let us look steadily at the _facts_ before us, and then, perchance,
we may discern the _lessons_ associated with them. Isaiah desires to
know how long his strange and sad mission is to continue; and the
answer is, until its utter failure to save his fellow-countrymen from
their sins and their impending doom has been demonstrated, until
nothing but the mere life-germ of the nation is left. Here really are
three facts, full of instruction for us to-day. I. _Isaiah's mission
and the calamities he desired to avert by it were to work together._
There was thus a twofold appeal to the men of that generation; and at
its close God might have repeated the challenge, "What could I have
done more?" (chap. v. 4). Both by offers of mercy and manifestations
of righteous anger He sought to deliver them from the doom towards
which they madly hastened. Thus God deals with the world to-day: His
preachers of righteousness and His judgments because of
unrighteousness work side by side; this fact is a conclusive proof
that God is not willing that the sinner should die. This is true of
nations, and it is true of individuals. II. _Isaiah was to prosecute
his mission to the end, notwithstanding the proofs that his efforts
to deliver his fellow-countrymen were vain._ This is always the duty
of God's messengers: they are to deliver their message, and reiterate
it. Whether it is popular or unpopular is a thing of which they are
not even to think! the one thing they have to consider and remember
is, that it is true. III. _In the midst of all the calamities of his
time, Isaiah was sustained by the assurance that the nation he loves
should not utterly perish._ Nothing could hurt "the holy seed" that
constituted its true life. The Church of to-day is full of
imperfections; the forces of unbelief are marshalling themselves
against her; it may be that she will again be tried by fierce
persecutions: but the Lord's true prophet can survey all these
possible calamities with calmness; he knows that "the holy seed"
which constitutes her true life cannot be injured by them.
Here, then, is instruction and encouragement for the Lord's prophet
to-day. He is to preach the preaching which God has bidden him,
regardless of everything but the fact that God had sent it forth. He
is not to modify his message, to make it more palatable to his
hearers. He must not cease to deliver it, although he sees that his
hearers are hardening themselves against it, and so are bringing upon
themselves a heavier doom. Comfort he will need, but he must find it
in the fact that there is a "holy seed" to whom his ministry will be
a blessing, and in whose salvation, if he be faithful to the end, he
shall share.
In this passage there are also some supplementary lessons of general
interest. 1. We have here an illustration of _the persistence and
success of the Divine purposes._ God selected the descendants of
Abraham as the instruments through whom He would bless the world
(Exod. xix. 5, 6). Their history has been one long struggle against
this purpose; but it has not been a frustration of it: their very
waywardness and wickedness have afforded occasions for the
manifestation of His character, and the consequent revelations both
of His goodness and of His severity have been blessings in the world.
In spite even of their rejection of His Son they are still His
people, and He will at length make them a holy people (Rom.
xi. 28-29). 2. _God does not hesitate to use any means that will help
to conform His chosen ones to His own ideal._ It is a solemn thing to
be chosen of God: that choice may involve possibilities from which
flesh and blood shrinks.[2] The way to avoid those possibilities is
to find out what God's purpose concerning us is, and endeavour to
conform ourselves thereto: then we shall find His choice of us a
well-spring of constant blessing. 3. _God does not despise the merest
germs of goodness._ Insignificant, comparatively, as was "the holy
seed" in Israel, He watched over it with ceaseless care. Comfort
there is here for those who lament that there is in them so little of
which God can approve. That little He will not despise (1 Kings
xiv. 13; Isa. xlii. 3); He sees what possibilities of excellence
there are in His chosen ones;[3] and those little germs of excellence
He will nourish until they have developed into that which will
satisfy even Himself.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] He inquired how long this service of hardening and this
state of hardness were to continue,--a question forced from
him by his sympathy with the nation to which he himself
belonged (cf. Exod. xxxii. 9-14), and one which was
warranted by the certainty that God, who is ever true to
His promises, could not cast off Israel as a people for
ever. The answer follows in ver. 11_b_-13: _"Until towns
are wasted without inhabitant, and houses are without man,
and the ground shall be laid waste, a wilderness, and
Jehovah shall put men far away, and there shall be many
forsaken places within the land. And is there still a tenth
therein, this also again is given up to destruction, like
the terebinth and the oak, of which, when they are felled,
only a root-stump remains: such a root-stump is the holy
seed."_ The hardening judgment would come to an end only
when the land of Israel had been made utterly desolate. Up
to the words "given up to destruction," the announcement is
a threatening one; but from this point to "remains" a
consolatory prospect begins to dawn; and in the last three
words this brighter prospect, like a distant streak of
light, bounds the horizon of the gloomy prophecy. It shall
happen as with the terebinth and the oak. These trees were
selected as illustrations, not only because they are so
near akin to evergreens, and produced a similar impression,
or because there were so many associations connected with
them in the olden times of Israel's history; but also
because they formed such fitting symbols of Israel, on
account of their peculiar facility for springing up again
from the root (like the beech and nut, for example), even
when they had been completely felled. . . . The root-stump
was the remnant that had survived the judgment, and the
remnant would become a seed, out of which a new Israel
would spring up after the old had been destroyed. Thus in a
few words is the way sketched out which God would
henceforth take with His people. The passage contains an
outline of the history of Israel to the end of time. Israel
as a nation was indestructible, by virtue of the promise of
God; but the mass of the people were doomed to destruction
through the judicial sentence of God, and only a remnant,
which would be converted, would perpetuate the nationality
of Israel, and inherit the glorious future. This law of a
blessing sunk in the depths of the curse actually inflicted
still prevails in the history of the Jews. The way of
salvation is open to all. Individuals find it, and give us
a presentiment of what might be and is to be; but the great
mass are hopelessly lost, and only when they have been
swept away will a holy seed, saved by a covenant-keeping
God, grow up into a new and holy Israel, which, according
to chap. xxvii. 6, will fill the earth with its fruits, or,
as the Apostle expresses it in Romans xi. 12, become "the
riches of the Gentiles."--_Delitzsch._
[2] _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations,_ 86-90, 99-115.
[3] As the eye of the cunning lapidary detects in the rugged
pebble, just digged from the mine, the polished diadem that
shall sparkle in the diadem of a king; or as the sculptor
in the rough block of marble, newly hewn from the quarry,
beholds the statue of perfect grace and beauty which is
latent there, and waiting but the touch of his hand,--so He
who sees all, and the end from the beginning, sees
oftentimes greater wonders than these. He sees the saint in
the sinner, the saint that shall be in the sinner that is;
the wheat in the tare; the shepherd feeding the sheep in
the wolf tearing the sheep; Paul in the preacher of the
faith in Saul the persecutor of the faith; Israel a prince
with God in Jacob the trickster and the supplanter; Matthew
the Apostle in Levi the publican; a woman that should love
much in a woman sinning much; and in some vine of the earth
bringing forth wild grapes and grapes of gall a tree which
shall yet bring forth good fruit, and wine to make glad the
heart; so that when some, like those over-zealous servants
in the parable, would have Him pluck it up, and to cast it
without more ado into the wine-press of the wrath of
Almighty God, He exclaims rather, "Destroy it not, for a
blessing is in it" (Isa. lxv. 8), and is well content to
await the end.--_Trench._
See also _Homiletic Encyclopædia,_ &c., 2454 and 3056.
FEARS AND COMFORTS.
vii. 1-9. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the son
of Jotham, &c._
The historical statements[1] in these verses afford illustrations of
spiritual truths. +I. The powers of evil are confederate against the
Lord's people+ (vers. 1, 2, 6). By the combined forces of evil, God's
chosen ones have always been assailed. The conflict began in Eden,
and has continued ever since. These combined forces attacked our
Lord, and appeared for a time, outwardly at least, to conquer. We
must expect similar assaults (John xvi. 33). The ultimate object of
these foes is to destroy our spiritual life. +II. The Lord's people
are often terrified by the action of their foes.+ Two things may
contribute to this. 1. _A sense of personal guilt._ Conscience often
slumbers in prosperity, but awakens and alarms us when danger
threatens. No doubt Ahaz remembered his sin, when he saw his foes
were coming. 2. _Distrust of the Lord._ It does not appear that Ahaz
told the Lord about his trouble, or sought His help. His idolatry had
led him into unbelief--a frequent cause of the Christian's terrors.
He looks at his troubles, and sinks, because he does not lay hold on
Christ (Matt. xiv. 30). +III. God seeks to allay the fears of His
people in the hour of their trouble.+ This is done in three ways.
1. _By exhorting them to keep their minds calm._ "Take heed, and be
quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted." Picture Ahaz restless,
excited, his breast fainting, hope and courage failing. How timely
was the prophet's exhortation! how helpful it might have been to
Ahaz! Who of us does not know the blessedness of such an appeal? We
have been excited, trembling, fainting, because of temporal dangers
or spiritual foes, and in our agitation have been likely to do
something foolish. But a voice has said, "Fear not; be calm!" Who
says, "Fear not"? The loving, omnipotent Saviour, who is able to
deliver us. 2. _By showing His people the weakness of their foes._
They are only the "two tails of smoking firebrands." You think them
powerful, but they are really weak (1 John iv. 4). 3. _By predicting
the failure of the plans of their foes_ (vers. 7-9)--a prediction
which was fulfilled sixty-five years afterwards, when Esarhaddon
desolated the country, and filled it with foreigners. So God shows to
us the weakness of our foes, and predicts their failure. +IV. God
shows His people that faith is necessary for the establishment of
their peace+ (ver. 9. See also 2 Chron. xx. 20; Isa.
xxvi. 3).--_H. F. Walker._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For a statement of these circumstances see following paper:
THE VIRGIN'S SON.
FAITH'S IMPREGNABLE CITADEL.
vii. 1-9. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the son
of Jotham, &c._
+I. There are many things calculated to fill us with
fear+--sufferings, losses, temptations, death, &c. Especially
alarming are combinations of evil: when they threaten, we are apt to
feel as did Ahaz and his people (ver. 2). Afflictions seldom come
singly: sickness brings poverty in its train, &c.; and the heart is
apt to fail before such accumulations of misfortune. +II. But God
guarantees the safety of those who trust in Him.+ 1. _He controls all
events_ (ver. 7). The Prince of Orange, when he took the field
against France and the Emperor, said he had made an alliance with
Heaven, and feared not for the result. Much more may the believer be
confident in the warfare of life (H. E. I. 200-203, 2372, 2373, 4049,
4055-4058). 2. _It is only while we trust in Him that we are thus in
alliance with Him._ Only by trusting in Him are we kept from trusting
in that which cannot deliver us--ourselves or our fellow-men, to the
exclusion of God and the rejection of His proffered help. Only by
trusting in Him are our hearts kept in peace (chap. xxvi. 3, H. E. I.
1893, 1894, 1911-1919, 1923-1926). Only by trusting in Him do we give
Him the glory which is His due, and which He will not give to another
(H. E. I. 4054). +III. The guarantee of safety which God offers to
all who trust Him extends to the soul as well as the body.+ Because
of our sins, and the enemies they bring against us, we might well
fear; but in the Gospel help is offered, and perfect safety is
guaranteed to them that believe. +IV. The inevitable result of
refusal to accept the help which God mercifully offers us is ruin.+
Ahaz, refusing the sign offered him, and trusting in Assyria, was
overthrown by his ally. There is deadly peril in any other alliance
than that which God offers to form with us. Said our Lord to all who
are tempted to apostacy, "Remember Lot's wife," and in like manner we
may say to all who are tempted to disregard and reject God's offers
of help, _Remember Ahaz!_--_John Johnston._
PURPOSE AND PANICS.
vii. 1, 2. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the
son of Jotham, &c._
In this brief record of events[1] that occurred so long ago, we may
find suggestions of truths which it will be well for us to lay to
heart to-day. +I. Men often confidently form purposes when they find
it impossible to fulfil+ (ver. 1). Rezin and Pekah no doubt were sure
their project would be successful; they left no means untried to make
it a success; they had many things to encourage them (2 Chron.
xxviii. 5-7); success seemed certain, yet they failed! In verse 6 we
have another statement of their purpose, and in verse 7 we are told
the real reason why it failed: GOD determined that it should not
stand. This is an illustration of much that takes place in our own
day, in our own life. Purposes daringly conceived, and wisely and
energetically prosecuted, come to nothing; and in such cases GOD is
often the real hindrance. He hinders, not because He has any
capricious delight in frustrating our plans, but because in them we
intend only our own self-aggrandisement. It is with our purposes as
with our prayers (Jas. iv. 3). If He hinders, no alliance formed with
men can profit us; even Rezin will help in vain. In forming our
plans, let us remember and acknowledge our dependence on the
permission and help of God (Jas. iv. 13-15; Ps. cxxvii. 1). If plans
should be formed for our hurt or overthrow, let us comfort ourselves
by remembering that all men are under God's control. The confederacy
may be very powerful; most elaborate preparations may be made for the
accomplishment of its purpose; but there can be no success unless the
Lord will (Dan. iii. 16-18). +II. Men often give way to unreasonable
panics+ (ver. 2). Panics are very common, very painful, very
dangerous and hurtful. Their cause: lack of faith in God. Without
faith in the controlling providence of God, men are naturally as
liable to alarm as is a wealthy man who on a foggy night has to make
his way through a dangerous quarter of a strange city; he knows not
whether those footsteps he hears behind him are those of a policeman
or of a garotter! Firmness is the reward of faith--of intelligent
confidence exercised by righteous men in a righteous God (Ps. iii. 6;
lvi. 11; xci. 5; cxii. 7, 8, &c.). Deliverance from fear is one of
the respects in which "godliness has the promise of the life that now
is." This blessing may be yours, if you will; yours in times of
domestic, of commercial, of national alarm. You may be delivered, if
you will, from the supreme fear--fear of death. Christ came into the
world for the purpose of delivering you from it (Heb. ii. 14, 15).
Yield yourself to be really His, and your end shall be peace (Ps.
xxiii. 4; lxxiii. 26).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For a statement of these events, see following paper: THE
VIRGIN'S SON.
ISAIAH'S INTERVIEW WITH AHAZ.
vii. 3-25. _Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, &c._
In this interview of Isaiah with Ahaz we have an instance--+I. Of
God's efforts to turn men from ruinous courses.+ God is the great
Lawgiver, and the Judge before whose bar all impenitent transgressors
of His law will have to stand. Absolute inflexibility is necessarily
His characteristic in both these capacities. But these are not the
only capacities He seeks to sustain to us. It is His ambition to be
the Saviour of men from sin and ruin. Consequently, He does not
merely lay down His law and stand coldly by, to see whether men will
keep it or not. He plies them with inducements to keep it. When He
sees them bent on transgression, He endeavours to arrest them in
their foolish and fatal purpose. Short of that destruction of the
freedom of their will, which would be the destruction also of their
responsibility and of their possibilities of virtue, He leaves
nothing undone to turn them from the broad road that leads to
death.[1] By adverse providences, by the strivings of His Holy
Spirit, by awakening conscience to an active exercise of its
functions, He works upon and in them to will and to do His good
pleasure. No sinner has ever gone down to perdition unheeded,
unpitied, without attempts to rescue him. Your own experience attests
the truth of these statements: you know you had to fight your way
through to those transgressions of which you are now ashamed. God's
"preventing grace" is a great fact of which we should take reverent
heed, and for which we should give fervent thanks.[2] +II. Of the
manner in which sinners, by insincere pretences, resist God's saving
purposes.+ The stubbornness and insincerity of Ahaz are obvious.[3]
But in neither of these is he singular. Sinners who are bent on their
sins not seldom go on to the under pretexts of righteousness, with
which they endeavour to deceive themselves and others. The greatest
crime ever committed was done under a pretext of righteousness (Matt.
xxvi. 65). So has it been with countless crimes since. Let us be on
our guard against our own hearts (Jer. xvi. 9; Prov. xiv. 12) Let us
not act upon any reason which we do not really believe will bear the
scrutiny of God. +III. Of the twofold result which always follows
such resistance to the Divine purposes.+ 1. _The sinner is, ere long,
compelled to confess that the counsels he set aside were counsels of
truth and wisdom._ In less than three years, Ahaz had cause to
acknowledge the soundness of the advice to which on this memorable
day he refused to listen.[4] A typical case. 2. _The obstinate sinner
is left to the ruin from which he would not permit God to deliver
him._ There is no salvation by force. God acts upon our will, but He
will not save us against our will. Neither shall those who refused to
be saved from sin be saved from its consequences. If we choose evil,
no act of omnipotence will render the choice harmless (chap.
iii. 11). Ahaz chose the help of Assyria rather than the help of
Jehovah, and with the help of that great and unscrupulous power he
had to take its domination and destructiveness (2 Chron. xxviii. 16,
20). Again a typical case. The retributive justice of God is a fact
of which it behoves us to be heedful.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Augustine, in his _Confessions,_ makes thankful note of the
manner in which in the years of his ungodliness, God had
raised up obstacles in his path of sin. When sinful desires
raged within him, he says, the means for gratifying them
were absent; or when the desires and the means of
gratifying them came together, some witness was present to
deter him; and when the means were present, and no
witnesses stood by to hinder him, the desire to transgress
was wanting. He rightly judges that these were no mere
accidents or coincidences.
[2] The preventing methods of grace may deservedly pass for
some of the prime instances of the Divine mercy to men in
this world. For though it ought to be owned for an eminent
act of grace to restore one actually fallen, yet there are
not wanting arguments to persuade, that it is a greater to
keep one from falling. Not to break a limb is more
desirable than to have it set and healed, though never so
skilfully and well. Preservation in this, as in many other
cases, being better a great deal than restoration; since
after all is done, it is odds but the scar will remain when
the wound is cured and the danger over.--_South._
[3] Ahaz listened in sullen and incredulous silence; and the
prophet resumes--"Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask
it either in the depth, or in the height above." But Ahaz,
who looked on Jehovah not as his God, but only (like any of
his heathen neighbours) as the god of Judæa, and as such
inferior to the god of Assyria; and who had determined to
apply to the king of Assyria, or perhaps had already
applied to him, as a more trustworthy helper than Jehovah,
in the present strait; declines to ask a sign, excusing
himself by a contrary use of the words of Moses, "Thou
shalt not tempt Jehovah." He refused the sign, because he
knew it would confirm the still struggling voice of his
conscience; and that voice he had resolved not to obey,
since it bid him give up the Assyrian, and trust in Jehovah
henceforth.--_Strachey._
[4] Within the space of time figuratively indicated by the time
necessary for the child of the prophet to become capable of
discerning between good and evil--_i.e.,_ in about three
years,--Rezin and Pekah were slain, and the fact that they
were but "two tails of smoking firebrands" demonstrated.
(See 2 Kings xv. 27-30; xvi. 1-9.)
A THREEFOLD COUNSEL.
vii. 4. _Take heed, and be quiet; fear not._
+I. "Take heed."+ This is just what Ahaz fancied he was doing. He was
taking heed to the alliance which had been formed for his overthrow,
and he was at that very moment doing his best to frustrate it--by
strengthening the fortifications of Jerusalem, and by summoning the
king of Assyria to his help. This seemed to him and his court
supremely wise: it was eminently foolish. He was taking heed
exclusively to the danger, and had no attention left for the
Divinely-provided defence against it. That defence lay in God's
promise made to David (2 Sam. vii. 12-16). From one point of view, it
may be said that in allying themselves for the destruction of the
royal house of David, Rezin, Pekah, and the son of Tabeal embarked on
an enterprise foredoomed to failure; they might as well have
conspired to prevent the sun from rising any more in the east. That
the descendants of David should reign in Jerusalem and that the sun
should rise in the east, were both guaranteed by the same thing--the
will and appointment of God. Resistance was as vain in the one case
as in the other--that is, while the conditions attached to the
promise made to David were observed. For there were conditions
attached to it (1 Chron. xxviii. 9; 2 Chron. xv. 2). It was to this
great promise and to its essential conditions that God would have
Ahaz "take heed."
_"Take heed"_ is good counsel to give to every man standing in
covenant relations with God. Many of us stand in such relations to
Him, both as the result of the relations in which our parents stood
to Him (Ex. xx. 6; Deut. vii. 9, &c.), and as the result of our
personal acts; "the seed of the righteous," we have ourselves
voluntarily taken the Lord to be our God, and have solemnly sworn to
walk before Him in righteousness all the days of our life. Let us
then evermore "take heed" to this covenant which God has condescended
to make with us. It lays upon us great responsibilities, but it
secures to us glorious privileges. Conspicuous among them is this
that we need not fear the might of any of our adversaries, whether
they be those of the body or of the soul (ch. liv. 17).
+II. "Be quiet."+ Or better, "_And_ be quiet." Quietness would follow
naturally from right heed-taking. What was Ahaz doing? He was
straining every nerve to do for himself what God had promised to do
for him. God had promised to defend Zion and her king, and if Ahaz
had had faith in God's promise, the appeal to Assyria for succour
would never had been made. Alas! how often have better men than Ahaz
failed in this very respect. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the founders
of the Hebrew nation, all fell into grievous sin through the want of
faith in God's promises which led them to try to do for themselves
what God had promised to do for them (cf. Gen. xv. 1, and xx. 11-13;
xxvi. 3 and 7; xxv. 23, and xxvii. 24). To what a shameful state of
degradation was David brought by the same cause (cf. 1 Sam. xvi. 13
and xxi. 12, 13). How many imitators they have had! God has promised
that His people shall be safe and prosperous; but not taking heed to
His promises, to how many tricks and devices have they had recourse
to secure for themselves the blessing God would surely have sent to
them if they had been obedient and believing, and into what shame,
misery, and ruin have they plunged themselves.[1] Let their sins be
to us as beacons; let us "take heed" to God's covenant on both its
sides, and be quiet (Ps. xxxvii. 3-9).
+III. "Fear not."+ Yet there seemed good reason for fear. It was
really a powerful confederacy that threatened Ahaz with destruction.
Looked at on its human side, it was no groundless panic that had
smitten him and his people. Yet the pain of mind and heart which they
endured (ver. 2), they endured needlessly. They were really in no
danger for their enemies. Their danger lay only in the unbelief and
stubbornness of their own hearts. They had but to return to the Lord
and they would find Him a refuge and strong tower, as their fathers
had done aforetime. _"Fear not"_ is the counsel which I give to God's
people to-day. Some of you are fearing greatly; some concerning
temporal things, some lest the spiritual conflict you are waging
should issue in defeat and eternal ruin. "Take heed" to the promises
God has made to you in both these respects; "be quiet," and fret not
yourselves in any wise to do evil; with calm and courageous hope wait
for the fulfilment of these promises; instead of yielding to
distressing, utterly unnecessary, and God-dishonouring fears, say
with David (Ps. xxvii. 1, xxxiv. 22).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations,_ NOS.
173-175, 2017.
HEEDFULNESS.
vii 4. _Take heed._
The Hebrew word signifies, to prevent or keep off any evil with which
we are threatened. The direction ought to extend to all that we do;
for not one duty can be rightly performed without diligent attention,
and it is no less incumbent upon us than upon the king and people of
Judah (H. E. I. 4880-4890). It is a necessary and useful caution,
which ought to be reduced to practice at all times, especially in
seasons of perplexity and distress, such as that wherein Ahaz and his
subjects received this admonition. 1. Take heed to your _senses,_
particularly what you see and hear; for these are the avenues by
which sin and vanity, or wisdom and instruction, enter into the heart
(H. E. I. 4895). 2. Take heed to your _actions,_ what you do, and how
you act, and for what purpose you are employed, that you may happily
avoid the many sins and dangers to which you are exposed, and attain
the great ends which you ought uniformly to pursue. 3. Take heed to
your _tongue,_ that you sin not with your mouth; consider wisely what
you say, to whom you speak, and to what purpose, especially when your
minds are fretted, and when you feel yourselves under the influence
of timidity and disappointment (P. D. 3558, 3559). 4. Take heed to
your _hearts,_ and keep them with all diligence, for out of them are
the issues of life; attend to the secret operations of your minds,
and the objects on which your affections terminate, that you may
perceive whether they are properly moderated and directed (H. E. I.
2695-2705, 4887; P. D. 1735).--_Robert Macculloch: Lectures on
Isaiah,_ vol. i. p. 395.
FAITH, THE CONDITION OF FIRMNESS.
vii. 9. _If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established._
"Established" is what every man wishes to be--fixed in fact and in
feeling; established like a great oak which, because its roots take
fast hold of the soil, is able to grow broader and higher and more
luxuriant year by year. Such growth is impossible to a tree that is
frequently transplanted. Notwithstanding--nay, in perfect harmony
with the desire for progress that is in us all, we all desire to be
"established."
But no man can be "established" unless he believes. It is a universal
law: No faith, no firmness. There are two things essential to
"establishment," to blessedness and peace in life: First, that we
should find a good foundation, and then that we should rest upon it
calmly and immovably. These are the conditions of social, commercial,
political, and scientific blessedness and prosperity. In every realm
of human activity, if we would be strong in fact and in feeling, it
is essential that we should find something trustworthy, and then that
we should trust (H. E. I. 1882-1888).
We are only stating this general truth in its highest form, when we
say that if men do not believe in God as He has revealed Himself in
His Word, they cannot be "established." 1. God has revealed Himself
in His Word _as the righteous Ruler of nations,_ who will exalt the
nations that seek after righteousness, and bring swift vengeance upon
those who follow courses of evil. What will happen if a statesman,
like Ahaz, does not really believe this? He will become a mere
politician; he will do what seems to him "expedient." This will often
be iniquitous, and this at no distant period will inevitably lead to
disaster and ruin (P. D. 2544). 2. God has revealed Himself _as the
supporter and rewarder of individual men who are resolved always and
simply to do what is right._ Confidence in God as thus revealed to
them was the secret of the courage and endurance of the martyrs (Dan.
iii. 16-18), and of countless sacrifices for truth and righteousness
known only to God, but which He will never forget. But if a man does
not really believe this truth, how easily is he swept away by
temptation, whether it presents itself threateningly or seductively!
3. God has revealed Himself _as, for Christ's sake, pardoning
absolutely all who repent and believe._ Into the hearts of those who
accept this revelation there come peace and joy, but into their
hearts only. Want of faith in this revelation is the secret of all
painful efforts to merit the Divine mercy. 4. God reveals Himself _as
the Saviour of His people from sin,_ as their Sanctifier from all the
stains of iniquity. Want of faith in this revelation is the secret of
the trouble that fills and oppresses many devout souls. They will
never travel towards Zion with steadfast feet and rejoicing hearts
until they do indeed believe it (Jude 24, 25). 5. God reveals Himself
in Christ _as the Good Shepherd who is with His people always._ How
troubled, because of the possibilities of life and the mystery of
death, are those who do not with any vital faith accept this
revelation which He has been pleased to give us! But the twenty-third
Psalm is the song of those who do believe it (P. D. 1156-1160).
The practical application of all this is very simple, but supremely
important. First, let us inquire whether God is worthy of our trust;
and then, if the inquiry should lead us to an affirmative conclusion,
let us trust Him. This trust will transform our whole life. No
terrors shall have power to dismay us. The misery of Ahaz and his
people (ver. 2) we shall never know (H. E. I. 1911-1919); but ours
shall be the rejoicing confidence of the spiritual hero of whom Ahaz
was such an unworthy descendant (Ps. xxvii. 1-6; P. D. 1177).
STABILITY THROUGH FAITH.
vii. 9. _If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established._
Thus closes the address of Isaiah to Ahaz and his people on a very
memorable and trying occasion. . . . Its meaning is, Take God at His
word; place entire reliance upon Him, and not upon an arm of flesh.
If ye will not do this as a country, the state cannot be safe; and if
you will not do this as individuals, your minds cannot be composed
and established. Now, let us pass from the house of David naturally
to the house of David spiritually, and pursue the train of thought
set in motion. Let us consider the stability of faith, and the peace
it induces. In the Christian's life there are three kinds of
stability. +I. There is a stability of judgment.+ This regards the
_truths_ of religion. It is of great importance to have a judgment
clear and fixed, as it respects the great concerns of the soul and
eternity, and the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ; for as we
think we feel, as we feel we desire, and as we desire we act, and as
we act our characters are formed and our conditions determined.
Instability concerning these great truths is both perilous and
painful; but whence is stability to come? Not through human
authority; for what one patronises, another denies. Not through human
reason (H. E. I. 537, 1087, 2022-2024; P. D. 2926, 2929, 2931, 2934).
There must be a revelation received by faith; Divine declarations,
believed because God has made them. This leads to an experience which
tends still further to establish the Christian in the faith (H. E. I.
1087, 1142-1148). +II. There is a stability of practice.+ This
regards the _duties_ of religion (1 Pet. i. 5). In order to see the
strength and beauty of the sentiment contained in the text, let us
place the believer in three positions. 1. In a place of _secrecy._ To
many this is a place of temptation. Not so to the believer. Faith
brings God and places Him before us (Gen. xvi. 13; xxxix. 9). 2. _In
prosperity and indulgence_ (Prov. i. 32). But faith brings to the
Christian the earnests of a better country, the first-fruits and
foretastes of it, and thus gives him a victory which others can never
achieve (1 John v. 4). 3. In a condition of _suffering and danger_
(Heb. xi. 24-27; Dan. vi. 10; H. E. I. 1911-1919). +III. There is a
stability of hope.+ This regards the _comforts_ of religion (Rom.
xv. 13; 1 Pet. i. 8; Ps. xxiii. 1, 4, 6). 1. _Beware of unbelief._ It
is a grievous offence against God; it is hurtful and perilous to man.
Every sin renders our salvation impossible by the law, but only one
sin renders it impossible by the Gospel, and that is unbelief; not by
any desire or threatening of God, but by its natural tendency and
result. For there is only one remedy that can restore a perishing
sinner, and if this be rejected, destruction is inevitable (H. E. I.
443). 2. _Labour and pray for an increase of faith_ (Mark ix. 23;
2 Chron. xx. 20).--_William Jay: Sunday Morning Sermons,_ pp. 101-109.
MAN'S IMAGINED INDEPENDENCE OF GOD.
vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I
tempt the Lord._
We are commanded to ask for all we need and desire (Matt. vii. 7;
Phil. iv. 6). But many say, "I will not ask." +I. Men are apt to act
thus when possessed of earthly resources.+ How hard it is for a man
of wealth to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread!" He has much
goods laid up for many years. How natural for a man in health and
prosperity thus to forget his dependence on God (H. E. I. 4000,
4001). Even in trouble a man is apt to look elsewhere for aid:
_e.g.,_ in sickness to the physician; even when convinced of sin, to
his own efforts, or to a human priest. +II. Men often act thus on the
pretence of not tempting God.+ On the ground that their affairs are
beneath His notice (H. E. I. 4015-4025, 2245-2248, 2325, 3226, 3403).
On the ground that God has already established the laws by which all
things are regulated (H. E. I. 3179-3182, 3751, 3752, 3757).
+III. But the real reasons why men act thus are because they trust in
themselves, and have no real faith in God.+ The real reason why Ahaz
did not ask was because he was bent on forming an alliance with
Assyria. Let it be ours gratefully to accept the privilege so
graciously offered, seeing that God has given us far more than was
given to Ahaz: we have all the great and precious promises contained
in the Scriptures, the knowledge of the unspeakable gift of God's
dear Son, the accumulated experience of all generations of His
faithfulness as the hearer of prayer. We may have our own experience
of it; if we will but ask, we shall receive. How much greater our sin
than that of Ahaz, if in these circumstances we say, "I will not
ask!"--_John Johnston._
MOMENTOUS DECISIONS.
vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, &c._
In studying what the commentators have to say about this chapter, I
met with a sentence that set me thinking. It was this: "In that very
hour, in which Isaiah was standing before Ahaz, the fate of Jerusalem
was decided for more than two thousand years" (_Delitzsch_). +I. How
true is this declaration!+ Ahaz was called upon to choose between the
alliance with Assyria and alliance with God. His choice was announced
in these four words, "I will not ask;" then he decided against God,
and all the disasters which have come upon Jerusalem since that day
have been in a very real sense the result of that fatal decision.
+II. How typical is this incident!+ How often men, like Ahaz, arrive
at decisions which are irrevocable, and unspeakably momentous! 1. To
have to make decisions that may be solemn in both these senses is one
of the things that make the position of a ruler or statesman so
serious. Not to be coveted are the positions in which a man's
resolves and utterances become fateful for whole peoples. But Pharaoh
was in such a position, and like Ahaz he made a fatal mistake (Exod.
x. 28). 2. Few are called to fill positions of such responsibility,
but every man is at some juncture called to make a decision the
results of which to him individually will be of unspeakable
importance. The Young Ruler arrived at such a juncture, and made such
a decision. Every one of you will at some moment be called upon to
decide for or against Christ, and the decision will be final and
irreversible. The fact that it is so will probably not be suspected
by you; you will decide against Christ, in the expectation of
reversing the decision on some other occasion, _which will never come
to you._ This decision you _may_ make now; it is the undeniable
possibility which makes the preaching and hearing of the Gospel so
solemn a thing. This supreme decision may be made by you in another
manner. The test may come to you in another form--in the shape of a
temptation appealing to some passion of the mind or lust of the
flesh, and your eternal destiny may be determined by the manner in
which you deal with that _one_ temptation (H. E. I. 4737, 4738,
4636). 3. Like a railway train, we are continually arriving at
"points," and the manner in which we "take" them affects our whole
after career. This is true in regard to many things, unspeakably
inferior in importance to the questions of surrender or non-surrender
to Christ, or of loyalty or disloyalty to Him, but yet of marvellous
influence in determining whether our after life is to be happy or
miserable: business, social and domestic relations.
In view of these facts--that so much may depend upon any decision we
make, and that it is absolutely concealed from us _which_ decisions
are final and irrevocable--what is it that, as wise men, it becomes
us to do? +1. Let us settle each question that is put before us in
the spirit of righteousness.+ Always let us ask only, What is
_right?_ (1.) This is the only path of _safety._ (2.) By this path
_heroism_ is reached, and _world-wide influence_ may be reached. We
think of Moses (Heb. xi. 24-27), of the Apostles (Acts iv. 19, 20),
and of Luther before the Diet of Worms, as heroes; but _they_ had no
such thought--their only thought was that of fidelity to duty; and it
is thus only that true heroism can be reached (P. D. 1189). +2. Let
us day by day commit ourselves to the guidance of God,+ praying Him
to strengthen our conscience, to sanctify our desires, and so to
"work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure."
IRRELIGIOUS PIETY.
vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I
tempt the Lord._
Ahaz here poses as a better man than the prophet. He refuses to
follow the direction which Isaiah has given him, and refuses, because
he alleges, to do so would be wrong. His disregard of what he knows
to be a Divine direction, he covers by an appeal to a general
principle which God has been pleased to give for our guidance (Deut.
vi. 16). Thus he sought to silence the reproaches of conscience
within, and of good men without. We may take him as the
representative of that large class of persons who for their actions
assign reasons that really are not their governing motives, and cover
wrong actions by what appear to be cloaks of righteousness, but
really are cloaks of hypocrisy.
How numerous these people are! We find them in all ranks of life;
there is this skilful use of pretexts in all realms of human
activity. +1. Social life,+--_e.g.,_ A man rejects a suitor for his
daughter's hand, the suitor being forty-five years of age and the
daughter twenty-two, professedly for the excellent reason that too
great a disparity in age between man and wife is not desirable but
really because the suitor is not sufficiently wealthy.
+2. Business,+--_e.g.,_ A man refuses to become security for another,
because, he says, he has entered into an undertaking with his
partners not to incur any such responsibility, and because it is
important that deeds of partnership should be honourably observed;
really because he had no wish to oblige the man who asks his aid.
+3. Politics.+--Why, this is a form of activity which has to a large
extent ceased to be care for the welfare of the city or of the
community, and has to the same extent become a game of pretexts, in
which broad and great principles are used to cover petty and personal
ends. +4. Religion.+--Alas! into this realm also men carry the same
spirit and practices. Let us look at some of the prevalent forms of
irreligious piety. (1.) There is the man who will not make any
confession of Christ, because "religion is a thing between a man's
own soul and God." (2.) There is the man who will not join the
church, because the members of the church are so inconsistent, and
inconsistent Christians are among the greatest of all hindrances to
the progress of Christianity. (3.) There is the man who never attends
a week-evening service, because "there is no real religion in
neglecting one's daily duties, and we are expressly told that we are
to be diligent in business." The same man, however, finds it neither
impossible nor inconsistent with his duties to attend political
meetings and popular concerts. (4.) There is the man who never
subscribes to any foreign missionary society, because "religion, like
charity, should begin at home, and even in this so-called Christian
land there are millions of practical heathen who need to have the
Gospel preached to them." How much does this man contribute towards
home missions? (5.) There is the man who will not contribute towards
any church-building fund, because he does not "believe in bricks and
mortar," and because "true religion before God and the Father is--not
to build costly sanctuaries--but to help the fatherless and widows in
their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (cf.
John xii. 4-6). (6.) There is the man who has no hesitation in
joining in a Sunday excursion, because "the Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath," and because--the two pleas almost always go
together--"it is possible to worship God as truly in the great temple
of nature as in any temple built by man." Picture the man as he
actually "worships God in the great temple of nature;" and inquire
how he feels on Monday after what he calls "a little relaxation on
the Sunday." (7.) There is the man who indulges freely in what many
people consider worldly amusements, because "it is not well to be too
strait-laced; Solomon, indeed, warns us against being righteous
over-much; and there is nothing so likely as Pharisaism to disgust
young people with religion" (H. E. I. 5038-5043).
So we might go on with this miserable catalogue. Satan, we are told
appears sometimes in the guise of an angel of light, and in this
respect his children are wonderfully like him; they are marvellously
ingenious in using holy principles to cover unholy purposes. But what
does all this ingenuity amount to? Whom do they succeed in deceiving?
Not men for any length of time. The wolf never succeeds in long
completely covering itself with the sheep's clothing. The mask of the
hypocrite will slip aside. And when it does so, men despise him for
wearing it. Did he show himself as he is, men might, would, condemn
him; but they would not despise him so much. And God--He is never
deceived. He loathes the false pretenders to righteousness; and ere
long He will strip them bare, and expose them to the execration of
the universe (H. E. I., 3017-3032; P. D., 1923, 1924, 1930).
What is the practical lesson to be learned from the whole? To pray
that God will help us in all things to be sincere; to live, "as
seeing Him who is invisible," remembering that _He_ sees what is
invisible--the motives underlying the actions that are seen of men.
Nothing else can win for us from Christ the priceless commendation,
"Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"
TRIALS OF THE DIVINE PATIENCE.
vii. 13. _Will ye weary my God also?_
In this chapter we are told under what circumstances this question
came to be asked. An astonishing assumption underlies it, viz., that
anything can be a weariness to God, that anything can be a trial of
the Divine patience. Let us think of this.
+I. It is a wonderful and glorious thing that there is a Divine
patience to be tried.+ This is a distinctively Biblical idea.
Uninstructed by the Scriptures, men naturally think of God as doing
as He pleases and when He pleases,--His pleasure being always a
selfish one; a Divinity of Power who permits nothing to arrest or
delay His purposes, crushing every obstacle as an express train
dashes through or over a flock of sheep that has strayed on to its
track. Or if men seem with impunity from a time to disregard or defy
Him, this is only because He is indifferent to them, caring nothing
what they do, because He knows that whensoever He pleases He can
destroy them. But in this Book we are taught to think of Him as
profoundly interested in what men do, as grieved and provoked by what
they do, and as not merely resisting the impulse to destroy them, but
as feeling no such impulse; as longing over them with yearning desire
that they would, by repentance and reformation render it possible for
Him righteously to abstain from dealing with them according to their
desserts. The _forbearance_ of God is a conception which we find only
in this Book and that should excite our wonder, our thankfulness,
our love. This forbearance of God--this marvellous Divine patience
with sinful men--what is its secret and explanation? It is the _love_
which God has for us. Love is slow to strike.[1]
+II. It is a sad and terrible thing that the Divine patience should
be tried.+ There are some offences that are horrible, because they
outrage even our imperfect sense of what is fitting, _e.g.,_ to
falsely direct a blind man, so that he shall fall over a precipice;
to kill a hunted creature that has fled to us for protection. But of
all these outrages, the vilest are sins against love. This is the
supremely loathsome thing in seduction, that it is a sin against
uninstructed but trustful love. Our whole soul rises in disgust
against the brutal wretch who smites to the earth the mother who bore
and nursed him. But when we think of what God is, as He is presented
to us in scriptures, we see that most heedlessness to His appeals,
and warnings, and entreaties, of which we are apt to think so little,
is really a horrible offence, because it is a sin against a love the
depth and tenderness of which is but faintly imaged forth to us by
the purest and most fervent human affection. Persistence in
wrong-doing--we see its hatefulness even when it is maintained in
spite of human love: the prodigal hardening himself against his
mother's entreaties to reform. But what must we say of it as
maintained against the entreaties of a love that is more sensitive
than any mother's, and that it is rendered so wonderful by the fact
that it is associated with a power that could instantly destroy? It
is so startling and so horrible that it ought to be impossible. But--
+III. The Divine patience is often tried.+ Sins against it are
common. In this respect Ahaz does not stand alone. Men commit such
sins without compunction. Have we not done so? With what contempt and
indifference we have treated God's expostulations with us! We have
deferred the duty of repentance. Why? Very much because we know that
God is patient, and will not be swift to take vengeance upon us. We
have practised on His forbearance, and thus have been guilty of the
basest crime that is possible; we have deliberately sinned against
love. Yet we are not troubled; so possible it is to drug conscience;
so delusive is peace of conscience in the impenitent. But let us look
at our conduct as God must regard it, as any reasonable and holy
intelligence must regard it, and let us humble ourselves before Him
against whom we have sinned so basely.[2]
+V. Those who tire out the Divine patience shall find themselves
righteously confronted by the Divine justice.+[3] God will not be
permanently mocked. He would be unworthy of His position if He
permitted sin to go unpunished.[4] What the punishment of sin is we
do not know, because we are now living in an economy in which justice
is tempered by mercy. Yet in the calamities and unspeakable woes that
here and now befall obdurate transgressors, we have some faint
intimation of what will be their doom when, having rejected mercy,
they find themselves given over to the unmitigated rigours of
justice. Of these things God has spoken because He would save us from
them. All the threatenings of Scripture are merciful warnings.[5] Let
us give heed to them, and return to Him who has declared with equal
clearness and emphasis that He will by no means clear the guilty, and
that He has no delight in the death of the sinner.[6]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] H. E. I. 2295.
[2] H. E. I. 2250.
Where men are bent upon wrong there is always a strong
tendency to elect a character of God that is not very just,
but that is very kind--so kind that behind it they may gain
some security in their wrong course. And when God's
long-suffering and patience are opened up to men they often
say, "Well, if God is a being that is tender and loving, I
need not be in a hurry to leave off my evil ways. He will
bear with me a little longer, and I do not believe that He
will account with me for my petty transgressions." Men
deliberately employ God's mercy and goodness to violate His
feelings. . . . That is infernal; it is inhuman, because
kindness seems to lay almost every man under a debt of
gratitude. A dog, even, feels itself laid under a debt of
gratitude by kindness. It is only men who are corrupted
that would ever think of making goodness, and kindness, and
generosity towards them the ground on which to base a
violation of these qualities. And yet hundreds say, "God is
good, and we will go on a little longer in sin." Yes, He is
infinitely good. He has been patient with you; He has
longed for you; He has sent ten thousand invisible mercies
to you, besides those visible mercies he has showered upon
you; He has been long-suffering and forgiving; He has sunk
in the depths of the sea thrice ten thousands of
transgressions; He did it yesterday, He is doing it to-day,
and He will do it to-morrow; and shall you argue with
yourself that because God is so good you will go on and
insult Him, and wound Him, and injure Him? Or shall the
goodness of God lead you to repentance and newness of life?
I beseech of you, for the sake of honour and manhood, do
not tread upon God's goodness, and generosity, and
magnanimity to offend Him more.--_Beecher._
[3] H. E. I. 2296-2301, 2349.
[4] H. E. I. 2316, 2317.
[5] H. E. I. 604, 605.
[6] H. E. I. 2283, 2284.
THE VIRGIN'S SON.
vii. 13-16. _And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David,
&c._
On this supremely difficult passage Dr. Kennicott preached a
remarkable sermon before the University of Oxford, on the 19th of May
1765. As this sermon is not readily accessible, I here give some
extracts from it.
Concerning these words there have been the four following opinions:--
I. That the whole passage relates only to a son of Isaiah.
II. That the whole passage relates only to CHRIST.
III. That the whole passage relates both to Isaiah's son and to
CHRIST; to the former in a primary and literal sense, and in a
secondary sense to the latter.
IV. That there are here _two_ prophecies, each literal, and each to
be understood in one sense only: the first relating to CHRIST, the
second to Isaiah's son.
The first of these opinions is strenuously contended for by Jews and
Deists, who, by confining this passage wholly to Isaiah's son, have
attempted to derogate from the authority of St. Matthew, who applies
it as a prophecy to CHRIST. But the word here translated _virgin_
signifies, in every other part of the Old Testament, a _woman who
hath not known man._ And the consequence from hence is, that the
words "a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son," cannot be applied
properly to Isaiah's wife. As it is here affirmed that the original
word signifies a _virgin_ in every other text, it should be just
observed that the text in the book of Proverbs (xxx. 18, 19), which
has been often brought to prove the contrary, is not here forgotten;
and that even _that_ text might (if the nature of this discourse
would permit) be explained fairly and to satisfaction, in a manner
perfectly consistent with the preceding assertion.
If it should be objected, that the original words are not future, and
therefore not likely to point out an event so very distant as the
birth of CHRIST, it may be answered that the words are, strongly
translated, "Behold! a virgin is conceiving and bearing a son," &c.
This mode of speech is the animated but customary style of prophetic
Scripture, which, in order to express the greatest certainty,
describes future events as _past,_ or paints future scenes as
_present_ to the eye. Thus the same prophet, in his most magnificent
predictions of the Messiah's birth, exultingly cries, "Unto us a
child IS BORN, unto us a son IS GIVEN:" and afterwards, in his
pathetic description of the Messiah's sufferings, "He is despised and
rejected of men. . . . Surely He HATH BORNE our griefs," &c. But
though no argument can be drawn against the Christian sense of these
prophetic words from their expressing the then present time, yet an
argument of great weight may, and must be, formed upon this very
circumstance, in proof of what is here contended for. And certainly,
if the words mean _"a virgin is conceiving,"_ a woman conceiving was
yet a virgin! this wonderful circumstance was true as to the Virgin
Mary, but it was true as to no other woman.
To these remarks upon the original language must be added one arising
from the circumstances of the text, for we learn from thence likewise
that Isaiah's wife and the birth of a child in the common way cannot
have been here intended. And an appeal may safely be made to persons
of sense, though wholly unacquainted with the Hebrew language,
whether it is at all probable that the prophet should address himself
to the house of David so solemnly, on so interesting an occasion;
should awaken their attention; should raise their wonder; should
promise them in the name of GOD _a sign_ or _miracle;_ should mention
the future son, not of a _man_ (as usual) but of a _woman,_ and call
that woman _a virgin;_ and should foretell the Birth of IMMANUEL,
_i.e.,_ GOD WITH US--and yet that no more was meant by all this than
that _a son should be born of a young married woman,_ which is
evidently no wonder, no miracle, at all.
If then, from this constant signification of the noun for _virgin,_
from the expression of the words in the _present_ tense, and from the
nature of the context, a son of Isaiah by his wife cannot have been
here meant; and if the first opinion be consequently proved
indefensible, we may now proceed to consider the _second,_ which is
that the whole passage of the text relates only to CHRIST.
But these words cannot be wholly applied to an event distant by more
than seven hundred years, because the concluding clause speaks of a
child either then born, or to be born soon; and before the child so
spoken of should be old enough to distinguish natural good from evil,
the two kings then advancing against Jerusalem were to be themselves
destroyed.
The _third_ is the option of those who contend for a _double_
completion of some prophecies, and insist that this whole passage
relates both to Isaiah's son and to CHRIST; to the former in a
primary and literal sense, and in a secondary sense to the latter.
But--not to enter into that extensive question, whether though some
prophecies relate solely to the Messiah, others may, or may not, be
doubly fulfilled--I shall only observe, that no such double
completion can possibly take place here.
Whether a secondary sense is insisted on, there we must have a
primary sense also which is at least _true._ But the present case
renders that impossible. Because, if the principle noun does
everywhere else signify a _virgin;_ and if it be here meant of the
Virgin Mary, and was afterwards properly applied to _her,_ it cannot
with any truth be applied to the wife of Isaiah. And further, if it
were possible for _every other_ prophecy to admit of a double
completion, yet will not _this_--because a child's being conceived
and born of a virgin happened in the world only _once;_ and
therefore, as this prophecy derives its force from specifying a case
_singular and without example,_ it can be fulfilled in _one_ sense
only.
There remains then the _fourth_ opinion, which is, that the text
contains _two_ distinct prophecies, each literal, and each to be
understood in one sense only; the first relating to CHRIST, the
second to Isaiah's son. This, which is the opinion of some eminent
defenders of Christianity, will (I presume) appear true and
satisfactory, when the end of the first prophecy, and the beginning
of the second, shall have been properly considered; and when some
proofs which seem absolutely necessary, but perhaps were never yet
produced, shall have been added to former observations.
The genuine sense of this passage depending greatly on the
circumstances of those to whom it was delivered, it is here necessary
to state the history.
Ahaz became King of Judah when the people were greatly corrupted, and
he himself was strongly inclined to idolatry. To correct, therefore,
both king and people, God permitted a powerful confederacy to take
place between Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel; who,
growing jealous of their formidable neighbour, invaded Judæa in the
first year of Ahaz; and so successfully, that above 100,000 of the
men of Ahaz were slain in the battle, and above 200,000 of his people
were carried captives into the land of Israel.
Flushed with these successes, the two kings thought that Jerusalem
itself would soon become an easy prey to their power; and in the
second year of Ahaz marched towards it, with a resolution totally to
abolish the royal succession, which had been for twelve generations
in the house of David, and to establish, in the holy city, a heathen
king, a Syrian, "the son of Tabeal."
At the approach of these confederates, "the heart of Ahaz was moved,
and the hearts of all his people, as the trees of the wood are moved
with the wind." The consternation was universal, and no wonder. For
the young king and the corrupt part of his people would easily be
led, from the sufferings they had felt, to fear greater. And the
religious part of the nation would entertain fears still more
alarming, fears of the extinction of the house of David; for were
that house to fall, then farewell to all their glorious hope of a
Messiah, a son of David, who was to reign for ever. These men,
therefore, no doubt, "cried unto the Lord in their distresses," and
expostulated with Him concerning "the sure mercies of David:" "Lord,
where are Thy old loving-kindnesses, which Thou swearest unto David
in Thy truth?"
Amidst these distresses, we find Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of
the upper pool," probably surveying that chief source of their water,
and contriving how to secure that water to the city, and defend it
against the enemy. At this place, constantly frequented by the
people, and then visited by the king, attended probably by the chiefs
of his family, Isaiah is commanded to meet him, taking with him
Shear-jashub, and to declare in the name of Jehovah, that the evil
counsel against Jerusalem should not come to pass.
The counsel of these kings was evil, because, in opposition to God's
appointment of the royal house of David, and His promises thereto
(particularly of Messiah, the Prince, to spring from thence), their
compact was, probably, like Eastern conquerors, to destroy the house
of David; certainly, to remove the house of David from the throne,
and to fix in the holy city a heathen king.
The prophet, having declared to Ahaz that the scheme of the
confederates should be frustrated, bids him, at the command of God,
ask some sign or miracle, either in heaven or on earth. "But Ahaz
said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah."
The king's disobedience, however coloured over with a specious piety
in his allusion to a text of Scripture, appears from the next words
of the prophet to have been highly censurable. And it probably
proceeded from his distrust either of the power or the favour of
Jehovah, after Judæa had suffered so much from these same enemies who
worshipped other gods.
Thus repulsed by the king, the prophet addresses himself at large to
"the house of David;" and probably there were then present other
persons of the royal family. "Hear ye now, O house of David," &c.
The word _"Therefore"_ (ver. 14) may, upon good authority, be
translated _"nevertheless,"_ a sense very applicable to this place. A
sign or miracle hath been now offered at the command of God, but is
refused; and can _you_ think it of little moment to treat with such
contempt both the prophet and his God? "_Nevertheless,_ the Lord
Himself will give to _you_ the sign following: Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and call His name IMMANUEL. Butter and
honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose
the good."
Here, I presume, ends this first prophecy, and the meaning may be
stated thus: "Fear not, O house of David, the fate threatened you.
God is mindful of His promise to your father, and will fulfil it in a
very wonderful manner. Behold, a virgin (rather, THE virgin, the only
one thus circumstanced) shall conceive, and bear a son; which son
shall therefore be what no other has been or shall be, the seed of
the woman, here styled THE VIRGIN; and this son 'shall be called'
(_i.e.,_ in Scripture language, _He shall be_) IMMANUEL, God with us.
But this great Person, this GOD visible amongst men, introduced into
the world thus, in a manner that is without example, shall yet be
truly _Man:_ He shall be born an infant, and as an infant shall He be
brought up; for 'butter and honey' (rather, milk and honey) shall He
eat,--He shall be fed with the common food of infants, which in the
East was milk mixed with honey, till He shall know (_not_ that He
_may_ know, as if such food were to be the cause of such knowledge,
but _till_ He shall grow up to know) how to refuse the evil and
choose the good."
Here, then, we find a comprehensive description of the Messiah, of
the "Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us." His Divinity is
marked by His being GOD; His residence upon earth, by His being GOD
WITH US; and His Humanity, by His being born of a woman, and fed with
the usual food of infants during His infant state. How perfect is the
harmony between the parts of this description and the marks of the
true Messiah in other sacred passages; and also between the first
prophecy in the very beginning of the Old Testament and the
completion of it, first mentioned in the very beginning of the New!
For the first promise of a Messiah was, that He should be (not the
seed of Adam, as He would have been called, if to descend from a
human father, but) "the seed of the woman," because He was to be born
of a virgin. Therefore, the Apostle says, "When the fulness of time
came, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman." And that it was GOD,
not man, who was to "prepare a body" for the Messiah, appears from
the fortieth Psalm, according to the Apostle's very remarkable
quotation of it, where the Messiah is prophetically represented as
saying unto God: "A body didst Thou prepare for Me; then said I, Lo,
I come; as in the volume of the Book it is written concerning Me."
Having thus endeavoured to illustrate the first prophecy contained in
the text, and to defend the application of it to the Virgin Mary's
conception and birth of Jesus Christ, I shall now briefly state the
second prophecy, which is thus expressed in our present translation,
"For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the
good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her
kings."
Now, that this verse contains a distinct prophecy may be proved thus--
1. The words preceding have been proved to be confined to the
Messiah, whose birth was then distant above seven hundred years:
whereas, the words _here_ are confined to some child who was not to
arrive at years of discretion before the two kings, then advancing
against Jerusalem, should be themselves cut off.
2. Some end was undoubtedly to be answered by the presence of
Isaiah's son, whom God commanded to take with him on this visit to
Ahaz; and yet no use at all appears to have been made of this son,
unless he is referred to here.
3. These prophecies are manifestly distinguished by their being
addressed to different persons: the first being _plural,_ and
addressed to the house of David; but the second is _singular,_ and
therefore is addressed to Ahaz.
We see, then, that the prophet addressed himself at large to the
"house of David," when he foretold the birth of the Messiah; which,
though the event might be very distant, would give present
consolation, as it assured them of the preservation of the house of
David; but that he addressed himself in particular to the king, when
he foretold the speedy destruction of the two kings, his enemies.
Note also, that King Ahaz is the person addressed in the very words
which immediately follow, "The Lord shall bring upon thee and upon
thy people, and upon thy father's house, days," &c.
This transition will be the more evident if we render the first word
_But,_ as the same word is rendered just before in the same passage:
"Is it a small thing for you to weary men, _but_ will ye weary my God
also?" It is so rendered in this very place in our old English
Bibles, printed in 1535, 1537, 1539, 1549, 1550.
The word now rendered _"the child,"_ should be here rendered "THIS
_child;_" and the sense of the verse may be then clearly ascertained.
The necessity for this last rendering has been observed by more than
one expositor, but perhaps no one has quoted any parallel instance,
or produced proper authority for this necessary change of our
translation. But, that we may not be charged with offering violence
to an expression, in order to defend the Evangelists or to confute
their adversaries, some authority should be produced in a point on
which so much depends, and I shall mention several passages similar
to the case now before us.
When Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons, he laid his hands upon their
heads, and used the very same word in the plural number which Isaiah
here uses in the singular; and as that word is rendered "_these_
children" by the authors of the Greek and other very ancient
versions, we have their joint authorities for rendering the word here
"_this_ child."
The authors of our own translation have not indeed rendered the word
in the text "_this_ child," but they have shown that it _may_ be so
rendered, because they have themselves, in several other places,
expressed the emphatic article by _this_ and _that_ in the singular
number, and by _these_ in the plural. Thus in Jeremiah xxiii. 21, "I
have not sent _these_ prophets;" in Numbers xi. 6, "There is nothing
before our eyes, but _this_ manna;" in 1 Samuel xxix. 4, "Make _this_
fellow to return;" and, to omit other instances, we read in Jeremiah
xxviii. 16 (what it is impossible to translate otherwise), "_This_
year thou shalt die."
But besides these instances, in which similar words _may_ and _must_
be so rendered, agreeably to our present translation, in this same
verse of Isaiah there is the authority of our old English translation
for both the alterations here proposed; for the very first printed
edition, and at least two others, render these words, "_But_ or ever
_that_ child," &c. And, to obviate any prejudice against the other
alteration before proposed, it should be observed that so far from
their being now first thought of to favour any new opinions, almost
all of them are the very readings in our former English Bibles, from
which our present has varied in this and other instances very
improperly.
The translation of the principal word here by _this child_ being thus
vindicated, it may perhaps be asked who this child was, and the
answer is, A son of Isaiah, called _Shear-jashub,_ whom God had
commanded the prophet to take with him upon this occasion, but of
whom no use was made, unless in the application of these words;--whom
Isaiah might now hold in his arm, and to whom therefore he might
point with his hand when he addressed himself to Ahaz, and said, "But
before _this_ child shall grow up to discern good from evil, the land
that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." There is an
absolute necessity of attending to this action in several other
sacred passages, as in John ii. 18, 19. "What sign showest
Thou? . . . Destroy this temple;" our Lord there pointing to His own
body.
The child's name is evidently prophetical, for it signifies, _a
remnant,_ or the remainder, _shall return._ And probably he was so
called because born the year before, when such multitudes were
carried captives into the land of Israel; and this by way of
prediction to the Jews that, though they had lost 100,000 men by the
sword in one day, and double that number by captivity, yet those who
remained alive--the _remnant_--certainly should return to their own
country.
This prophecy was soon after fulfilled. And therefore, this son,
whose name had been so consolatory the year before, was with the
utmost propriety brought forth now, and made the subject of a second
prophecy--namely, that before _that_ child, then in the second year
of his age, should be able to distinguish natural good from
evil--before he should be about four or five years old--the lands of
Syria and Israel, spoken of here as one kingdom, on account of their
present union and confederacy, should be "forsaken of both her
kings:" which, though at the time highly improbably, came to pass
about two years afterwards, when those two kings, who had in vain
attempted to conquer Jerusalem, were themselves destroyed, each in
his own country.
* * * * * * * *
"If the miraculous birth of Christ were true, yet how could an event
so very distant be properly a _sign,_ at the time when the prophecy
was delivered?"
To this natural and important question, Dr. Kennicott answers:--
The original word for a _sign_ means also a _miracle._ And as God had
offered _Ahaz_ a miracle to be _then_ performed, which had been
refused, God Himself promises to _the house of David_ a miracle which
should be performed, not then, but _afterwards._ But the word
signifies, not only something done at present, to induce a belief of
something future, but also something to be done afterwards, declared
beforehand in confirmation of something foretold.
Thus, when God commanded Moses to go from the wilderness into Egypt
to demand the dismission of his brethren, God assures him of success,
and tells him: "This shall be _a sign_ unto thee; when thou hast
brought forth the people, ye shall serve God upon this mountain."
And thus, when the Assyrians were marching against Jerusalem in the
days of Hezekiah, Isaiah is again commanded to declare that the city
shall not be taken; and after saying, "This shall be _a sign_ unto
you," he specifies several particulars which were all future.[1]
If then a thing, at all future, may be declared as _a sign,_ it makes
no difference whether the thing be future by three years or three
hundred, provided that one circumstance be observed--which is, that
the man, or body of men, to whom the fact is declared to be a sign
shall exist to see the thing accomplished. This was manifestly the
case here. For not only Ahaz, to whom the second prophecy was
delivered, saw that fulfilled as to the two kings his enemies, but
also the house of David, to whom the first prophecy as addressed, saw
_that_ fulfilled in JESUS CHRIST.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Compare also our Lord's treatment of the demand for a sign,
Matt. xii. 38-40. In this case also, to unbelievers, was
given a "sign" which they could not possibly have
understood when it was given.
IMMANUEL.
vii. 14. _And shall call His name Immanuel._
His being "called so," according to the usual dialect of the Hebrew,
does not signify so much that this should be His usual name, as that
this should be His real character.
+I. Explain the meaning of this great and extraordinary title,+
IMMANUEL (_cf._ viii. 8 and Matt. i. 23). This title may be
considered under a double reference, either, 1. To the constitution
of His person; or, 2. To His office and actings as mediator. 1. It is
one of the great mysteries of the Christian revelation that "God was
manifest in the flesh." The eternal Son of God became man, and was
both God and man in His own person. In a matter of pure revelation,
and of so sublime a nature, it is certainly the wisest and safest
course to keep close to the revelation, and make it the standard and
measure of all our conceptions about it. 2. As mediator, He is
_Immanuel_ in this sense, that in Him the presence and favour of God
with His people are most eminent and conspicuous. This has always
been true. (1.) As a distant friend is said to be "with us" whose
heart and thoughts are with us (1 Cor. v. 3), so Christ was
_Immanuel_ from all eternity as to His purpose and design of mercy,
and as His heart was towards us with thoughts of pleasure (Prov.
xxix. 30). (2.) All the appearances of God to His people under the
Old Dispensation were appearances of Christ (John i. 18, v. 37;
2 Cor. iv. 6). 3. As He took our nature and became man. This is the
essential and highest meaning of our text. He took upon Him _our_
nature, with all its parts and powers, all its natural affections and
infirmities, sin only excepted. 4. As He conversed with men, and
revealed the will of God to them. 5. As He offered Himself a
sacrifice for sin, and reconciled God and man together. This is
mentioned by the Evangelist in the same context (Matt. i. 21). This
was the great end of His taking our nature, and coming into the world
(Heb. v. 9). 6. As He gives His Spirit to every true believer, and is
powerfully present with them to the end of the world. He is present
in them, on the principle of Divine life in their souls (John
xiv. 16; Ephes. iii. 17). He is present with them whensoever they
assemble to hear His Word or observe His ordinances (Matt. xviii. 20;
John xx. 19). He is always present with His Church to preserve and
succour it. 7. As He will be the visible Judge of the world at last;
He will be the Judge in our nature who was Saviour of our nature
(John v. 22; Acts xvii. 13). 8. He will be the glorious and
triumphant Head of the redeemed world for ever. Their happiness will
lie very much in being with Him and beholding His glory; and their
employment in adoring love and triumphant grace.
+II. Consider why this declaration fills the hearts of God's people
with joy.+ 1. God is here presented to us as we need Him. God
absolutely considered is an awful name; the Divine majesty is bright
and glorious, apt to strike an awe upon our minds, to awaken a sense
of guilt, and keep us at a distance from Him (Gen. iii. 10; Deut.
xxvii. 58; Job xiii. 21). But now He is _God with us,_ God in our
nature, conversing with sinful men, and concerned for their good;
this abates the natural dread of our minds, and is a ground of holy
freedom towards Him (Eph. ii. 18; iii. 12). 2. The union in Christ of
all Divine and human perfections--(1) Is the reason of our worship
and adoration of Him; (2) Is the proper ground of confidence and
trust in Him. We may safely depend upon Him for the accomplishment of
His promises and the salvation of our souls, for He is an
all-sufficient Saviour. 3. By this great doctrine the solemnity of
our future life is relieved. The consideration of Immanuel, or God,
in our nature, has been found by pious and devout persons a great
relief to their thoughts of the final blessedness; we can conceive
with greater ease, and with a more sensible pleasure, of being with
Christ than of being with the absolute Deity.
+III. Consider some of the duties which arise out of this wonderful
and glorious fact.+ 1. Let us adore the amazing condescension of our
blessed Redeemer, who stooped from heaven to earth, consented to
become a man, and submitted to die a sacrifice (Phil. ii. 7, 8).
2. Let us maintain constantly and boldly before all men the doctrine
of His deity. If He were only a man, or only a creature, of how a
rank soever and however dignified, He could not be _God with us;_ He
could not restore the fallen world, or obtain by His sacrifice the
pardon of sin, or give eternal life. 3. Be always ready to approach
Him. Wait upon Him in all the ways of acceptable worship, for the
manifestation of His favour and communication of His grace, for
further discoveries of His will, and fresh supplies of His Spirit.
Particularly attend upon Him at His _table;_ here He is with us in a
more familiar and sensible manner in the brightest displays of His
mercy and the largest communications of His grace. 4. Regard His
presence with you in all your use of the means of grace. 'Tis
reckoned a rude affront among men, and a token of great disrespect,
to take no notice of a great personage or overlook a superior. Regard
His presence with you as a mark of condescending favour, and as the
life and soul of all the ordinances you attend upon. This will hallow
your thoughts in the use of them, and make them to you "means of
grace" indeed.--_W. Harris: Practical Discourses on the Principal
Representations of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament,_ pp.
275-304.
THE GREAT OBJECT OF CHILD-TRAINING.
(_A Sunday-School Anniversary Sermon._)
vii. 16. _The child shall know to refuse the evil, and
choose the good._
These words, taken above, form a complete sentence; yet they occur in
the clause of a sentence which is intended to denote a space of time.
Before the child which Isaiah held in his arms[1] should know the
difference between right and wrong certain events would take place:
in other words, before a space of four or five years at the most
would elapse, certain things would occur. But it is not our intention
to discuss the prophecy itself; we shall find it more in harmony with
the present occasion, and perhaps more profitable, to consider what
may be suggested to us by these words thus taken apart from their
context.
_"The child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good."_
There is nothing else so important for any child to know as this
(H. E. I. 1751). Seldom made the object of education; consequently
the majority of lives are failures. No child knows this without
training: the child's natural tendencies are precisely the reverse of
this. But, if this training is urgently needed, how immense and
difficult is the task of those who undertake to give it! How
difficult it often is to discern between what is good and what is
evil--in all the realms of thought and activity; especially in the
moral realm. The difficulty of the text is not to cause us to decline
it. We have wonderful helps in it. 1. GOD'S WORD. What a wonderful
help that is! What a proof that in the Bible we have God's Word is
this, that for helpfulness in this task no other book can be compared
with it (H. E. I., 506, 508, 509). Our text reminds us of what should
be our object in the Scriptural teaching we give our children. What
value is there in any so-called Scriptural instruction that does not
tend to cultivate spiritual discernment--hate of what is evil, and
love of what is good? 2. THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST, "the law drawn out in
living characters." Let us not overlook or neglect to use this
marvellous instrumentality and help. 3. THE HOLY SPIRIT. Always ready
to co-operate with us. Christian parents, let the remembrance of
these helps encourage you to resume this supremely important task
with fresh vigour. Keep it ever in view, aim at the whole of it. The
training which consists merely in fighting against evil is foredoomed
to fail. The child must be taught, not merely to refuse the evil, but
to choose the good. Do not be content in the field of your child's
heart merely to plough up the weeds; so there the corn which, when it
is full grown, shall overshadow and kill the weeds which, in spite of
all your efforts, will struggle for a place there. In those who
undertake to give this training, there is imperative need of
seriousness, humility, hopefulness, and a wise comprehensiveness.
Consider what will be the result of success in child-training such as
this. 1. Our children will be spared from indescribable misery.
2. They will grow continually in all that is noble and love-worthy.
3. Learning to choose what is good, they will necessarily choose God
as He has been thus revealed to us in Jesus Christ. 4. Beholding them
thus allied in heart and will to the supreme source of all goodness,
and daily becoming more like Him, we shall feel that all our labours
and sacrifices for them are overpaid.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See the paper entitled THE VIRGIN'S SON.
A SENTENCE OF DOOM.
vii. 17-25. _The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy
people, &c._
+I. God is sovereign in the whole earth.+ He is the great controller
of all nations. All governments are but instruments which He uses
when and as He pleases (vers. 17-21). A thought full of comfort for
the righteous, of terror for the unrighteous.
+II. The consequent insecurity of all prosperity that is not based
upon, and promotive of, righteousness+ (ver. 23). True of nations:
Britain will be "_Great_ Britain" only so long as God pleases. True
of individuals: (H. E. I. 3991, 4403-4406).
+III. Whatever chastisements God may have inflicted, He has always a
more terrible one behind+ (ver. 17).
IV. Seeing that all these things were threatened against and
inflicted upon God's chosen people, learn that +no mercy that God
has shown us will furnish any immunity for us, if, notwithstanding
that mercy, we sin against Him.+ There is a tendency in our evil
hearts to think, that because God has been spiritually good to us, we
may sin with less risk than others; but the teaching of the Bible is,
that those who "turn the grace of God into lasciviousness" shall be
visited with a sorer doom than others (H. E. I. 4564, 4568, 4570).
MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ.
viii. 1-4. _Moreover, the Lord said unto me, Take thee a
great roll,_ &c._[1]
This singular record reminds us, +I. How marvellously varied are the
means which God employs to bring men to a knowledge and belief of
saving truth.+ That which God's ancient people needed to save them
from their mistakes and miseries was real faith in the elementary
truth that God is the only safe counsellor, for this simple reason,
that He alone sees the end from the beginning. All their
circumstances, interpreted by merely human wisdom, seemed to point to
the desirableness of an alliance with Assyria, the very thing which
God by His prophets emphatically forbade. That it might be easier for
them to believe what seemed so incredible, namely, that the Assyrian
alliance would be a calamity and not a blessing to them, God gave, in
addition to the testimonies of His prophets to this effect, a
prophecy of an event seemingly as incredible, namely, that the great
power of the two nations, Israel and Syria, from which they had
suffered so much, and which seemed so likely to be permanent, and on
account of which they sought Assyrian help, should be utterly broken,
and that speedily. God predicted this in words (chap. vii. 4-9), and
He condescended to a symbolic act that He might impress this truth
more vividly on their minds. It is of that symbolic act that we have
the record here. Now that God took so much trouble for such a purpose
is a fact worth thinking about. As a matter of fact, it is but one
instance of His constant method of dealing with men. He is so bent on
bringing them to a knowledge and belief of truth that to them would
be saving, that He shrinks from no trouble at all likely to secure
this result (Jer. vii. 13, 25; Heb. i. 1; Luke xx. 10-13).
Illustrate, _e.g.,_ how various are the methods by which He
endeavours to awaken a careless soul to anxiety, and to effect its
conversion! What is the explanation of this versatility and ingenuity
of methods in dealing with us? It is the tenderness of His love for
us; it is His yearning solicitude for our welfare.
+II. How mercifully clear are the warnings by which God seeks to turn
men from ruinous courses.+ The tablet[2] on which Isaiah was to write
was to be large, and he was to write upon it "with a man's pen," an
obscure expression, but yet at least meaning this, that the writing
upon it was to be easily legible (Hab. ii. 2). It is true that though
the words on the tablet were easily legible, their meaning was
obscure. But that very obscurity was of a kind to excite inquiry
(Dan. v. 5-7), and that inquiry earnestly and honestly conducted
would have led God's ancient people to a saving knowledge of truth.
Thus it is with all the warnings contained in God's Word (H. E. I.
602-606).
+III. How important it is that God's servants should be prudent as
well as zealous.+ After the prophecy was fulfilled, unbelief might
have questioned whether it had ever been given, and therefore Isaiah,
acting under Divine direction, selected two witnesses whose testimony
could not be gainsaid.[3] Probably that which they were required to
testify was, that the prophecy, _and its interpretation,_ was
delivered to them on a certain day; the interpretation embracing both
the facts, that to the prophet another son was to be born, and that
while still in his infancy the two nations of which Judah stood in
dread should themselves be conquered. Isaiah was thus acting on the
general principle given by our Lord for the guidance of His people
(Matt. x. 16). Now, as then, His prophets, while loyally obedient to
His directions, should maintain a constant wariness and prudence, in
order that the testimony they bear for Him should be placed beyond
cavil and dispute.
+IV. How certain of accomplishment are the prophecies involved in
God-given names.+ The prophecy contained in the name bestowed on this
child of Isaiah's was fulfilled.[4] So already had that implied in
the name bestowed on the child previously born to him,
_Shear-jashub,_ "a remnant shall return."[5] As it was with the sons
of Isaiah, so is it with the Son of God. The names bestowed on Him
are not merely glorious but empty titles. He is the very truth JESUS
and IMMANUEL (Matt. i. 21-23). He is JESUS because IMMANUEL. On the
promises involved in these great names we may lay hold with joyful
confidence, for they also shall be fulfilled.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In the first chapter of Hosea occurs a like instance of
symbolic names given by a prophet to his children, and in
Habakkuk ii. 2, we have mention of the practice of writing
a prophecy on a tablet in easily legible characters, and
hanging it up in the Temple, market-place, or other public
resort. And most modern commentators prefer to think that
Isaiah now merely inscribed "HASTE PLUNDER, SPEED SPOIL,"
in large letters on a metal or waxed tablet, the לִ which
the Authorised Version translates "concerning," being the
_Lamed_ inscription is, in Jerem. xlix. 1, 7, 23, 28; Ezek.
xxxvii. 16; though it may be observed that the direction to
"tie up and seal the testimony," in ver. 16, is in favour
of the older version, which understands him to have made a
record of his expectation of the birth of the child, and of
the significance of that birth, at some length. He wrote
"with a man's pen," or "style,"--a phrase not unlike our
"common hand" or "popular style;" and he took as credible
witnesses that the record had preceded the event, Uriah the
high priest at the time (2 Kings xvi. 10), and Zechariah,
who was not improbably the father-in-law of Ahaz and a
Levite (2 Kings xxviii. 2; 2 Chron. xxix. 1, 18). He calls
his wife "the prophetess," as the wife of a king is called
a queen (says Vitringa), though she does not reign, and in
some old ecclesiastical canons the wife of a bishop
"episcopa," and of a presbyter "presbytera;" and he thus
claims for her a place with her husband and children (see
ver. 18) in the holy and symbolic family, who are for "a
sign in Israel." She gave birth to a child, and his name
was called, in accordance with the writing, "Haste-plunder,
Speed-spoil," that the people might understand that before
he was old enough to utter the words "father" and
"mother,"--that is, within a short but somewhat indefinite
period such as we should express by "in a year or two from
his birth,"--the spoils of the plundered cities of Samaria
and Damascus, the capitals of the nations now invading
Judah, shall have been carried before the Assyrian
conqueror in triumph.
In order to realise the practical impressiveness of such
symbolic acts and names upon Isaiah's contemporaries, we
must remember that Jerusalem was a very small town for size
and population compared with the notion we insensibly get
of a capital from our own vast London; and also that there
was as little in the ways of thinking and living of that
age and country as in the extent of the city to effect such
a separation between a public man's political and private
life as exists in England. We respect the domestic reserve
of our neighbours, and we fortify ourselves in the like
reserve, by our habit of learning what they are doing that
concerns us through the newspaper which we read by our own
fireside. With no newspapers, and a climate which
encouraged an out-of-door life, the people of Jerusalem
would become as familiar with that personal demeanour of
Isaiah in the market-place or elsewhere which he made a
part of his public ministry, as we are with the mental
habits and political conduct of Mr. Gladstone or Mr.
Disraeli, though the greater part of us would recognise
neither of them by sight, and still fewer know anything of
their personal and private life.--_Strachey._
[2] _A great roll._ Rather, _a large tablet:_ of wood or metal,
covered with a smooth surface of wax; which, when written
upon, was hung up in public for all to read (cf. Jer.
xxxii. 11, 14).--_Kay._
[3] _Faithful witnesses._ Or, _sure_ witnesses; whose testimony
none would be able to gainsay: partly, because of their
rank, but still more, it would seem, from their being
adherents of Ahaz. For "Uriah the priest" can scarcely be
any other than the one who made the Syrian altar after the
description sent him from Damascus by Ahaz (2 Kings
xvi. 10-16); thereby (as Mr. Birks notices) furnishing
incontrovertible evidence of the fulfilment of Isaiah's
prediction. Zechariah may have been Ahaz's own
father-in-law (2 Chron. xxix. 1).--_Kay._
[4] Isaiah's interview with Ahaz (chap. vii.), the preparation
of the tablet, the birth of Isaiah's child, and the
conquest of Syria and Israel by the Assyrians under
Tiglath-pileser all took place within the year 743-739 B.C.
_Alexander_ remarks on ver. 4:--"Samaria is here put for
the kingdom, and not for the capital city. But even if the
name be strictly understood, there is no reason to doubt
that Samaria was plundered by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings
xv. 29), although not destroyed. . . . The carrying away of
its wealth does not necessarily imply anything more than
such a spoiling of the capital as might be expected in the
course of a brief but successful invasion."
[5] See Dr. Kennicott's remarks on _Shear-jashub_ in preceding
paper: THE VIRGIN'S SON.
THE STREAM REJECTED FOR THE RIVER.
viii. 5-8. _Forasmuch as this people refuseth, &c._
For "rejoice _in_ Rezin and Remaliah's son," read "rejoice
_concerning_ Rezin and Remaliah's son," _i.e.,_ rejoice in the
disaster which had befallen the allied powers who had inflicted such
disasters upon Judah, and had threatened it with utter destruction.
We have here a prophecy given in symbols. One of them is explained by
the prophet himself. He explains that by "the river" he means the
King of Assyria. Commentators are generally of opinion that by "the
waters of Shiloah" is meant the Davidic dynasty, which God, on
certain conditions, had pledged Himself to maintain. But this put
them to hard shifts to explain the rejoicing of the people. It is
better to regard "the waters of Shiloah" as symbolical of the help
which God offered His people. The contrast then becomes intelligible.
Because that help was unseen--apprehensible only by faith--it seemed
to the multitudes, when compared with that which the King of Assyria
was visibly rendering them, in the overthrow of Syria and Israel, to
be as little worthy of consideration as is the little stream of
Shiloah[1] in comparison with that mighty river, the Euphrates.[2] We
have, then, here _the case of men who are rejoicing in a success that
is godless,_ that has been obtained by the rejection of God; and we
are here told what the end of that success must be. Thus we find a
theme that bears upon our life to-day.
1. Whatever be our life-work, there are two ways of seeking success
in it--with God, or without God. 2. If we take God to be our ally, we
must do our work on _His_ terms and plans. But these are frequently
contrary to our natural expectations, and opposed to what the world
calls "common sense." As helps to a speedy and great success, they
seem to most men as despicable as the little stream of Shiloah in
comparison with the broad river Euphrates. 3. Consequently the vast
majority of men reject them, and seek for success without God, and
contrary to His methods (H. E. I. 4198). 4. In this way, they
frequently speedily attain to a success which appears to be a
complete justification of the wisdom of their policy. When the
prophecy contained in our text was uttered, the forces of Syria and
Israel were being swept away by the triumphant Assyrian host, and no
doubt Ahaz and His court felt they could afford to laugh at Isaiah,
who had steadily opposed the alliance which appeared to have been so
advantageous. 5. But the triumph of the wicked is short. The unholy
success in which bad men rejoice contains within itself the seeds of
peril and pain, of retribution, and ruin (H. E. I. 4609, 4612). The
ally in whom Ahaz had trusted presently became his oppressor; it was
a verification in actual life of the fable of the horse that took a
man for its ally. So it is to-day with all who prosper without God
and against God. Their prosperity is, strictly speaking, unnatural,
and everything that is unnatural speedily brings on disorder. For
example, a family has been enriched by godless plans; to those who
have no fear of God in their hearts, there is nothing so perilous as
wealth; it is used for the gratification of the baser passions; by
this gratification health is broken down; when the physical frame is
shattered, conscience, that has been suppressed, breaks forth into
freedom and activity, and remorse turns the gilded palace into a
hell. The illustrations of the working of this great law are endless.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.--1. In the conduct of daily life, as well as
in our spiritual concerns, let us walk by faith, not by sight. God's
help, though it may seem inconsiderable as Shiloah's stream, is yet,
like that stream, constant. Our reliance upon it will never issue in
disappointment. By means of it we shall certainly attain to all the
prosperity that would be for our real welfare (H. E. I. 3984-3986,
5059, 5060). 2. Let us not envy the prosperity of the wicked
(H. E. I. 4943-4948, 4961-4966). It is short-lived, like the mighty
flood of Euphrates itself. Out of that very prosperity heart-aches
innumerable will spring. The rejoicing that is so exultant and
scornful to-day, to-morrow will be turned into lamentation and woe.
Then those who triumphed without God will find that in defeat they
are without Him: this will be their description, "Without God, and
without hope in the world." 3. When Jesus of Nazareth was called to
choose between the stream and the river, His decision was prompt and
unhesitating (Matt. iv. 8-10). Up to the very end of His life His
choice seemed to have been a foolish one (Matt. viii. 20); on Calvary
it seemed to have been madness: but all history since has been a
vindication of its wisdom (Phil. ii. 9, 10).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All accounts combined in asserting that the waters of the
two pools of Siloam, as well as that of the many fountains
of the "Mosque of Omar," proceed from a spring or reservoir
of water beneath the Temple vaults. There was no period of
its history when such a provision would not have been
important to the Temple for the ablutions of the Jewish, no
less than of the Mussulman, worship; or to the city, which
else was dry even to a proverb. It was the treasure of
Jerusalem, its support through all its numerous sieges, the
_"fons perennis aquæ"_ of Tacitus, the source of Milton's
"Brook that flowed
Hard by the oracle of God."
But, more than this, it was the image which entered into
the very heart of the prophetical idea of Jerusalem (Ps.
xlvi. 4, lxxxvii. 7; Isa. xii. 3). It is the source of all
the freshness and verdure of the vale of Hinnom. In
Ezekiel's vision the thought is expanded into a vast
cataract flowing out through the Temple rock eastward and
westward into the ravines of Hinnom and Kedron, till they
swell into a mighty river, fertilising the desert of the
Dead Sea. And with still greater distinctness the thought
appears again, and for the last time, in the discourse,
when in the courts of the Temple, "in the last day, that
great day of the feast" [of Tabernacles], "Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto
Me. . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water."--_Stanley._
The expression in Isaiah, "waters of Shiloah that go
softly," seems to point to the slender rivulet, flowing
gently, though once very profusely, out of Siloam into the
lower breadth of level, where the king's gardens, or "royal
paradise," stood, and which is still the greenest spot
about the Holy City, reclaimed from sterility into a fair
oasis of olive groves, fig-trees, pomegranates, &c., by the
tiny rill that flows out of Siloam. A winter-torrent, like
the Kedron, or a swelling river like the Euphrates, carries
havoc with it by sweeping off soil, trees, and terraces;
but this Siloam-fed rill flows softly, fertilising and
beautifying the region through which it passes.--_Bonar._
[2] The Euphrates, _i.e.,_ the good and abounding river. The
Euphrates is the largest, the longest, and by far the most
important of the rivers of Western Asia. It rises from two
chief sources in the Armenian mountains . . . they meet at
_Kebben-Maten,_ nearly in the long. 39° E. from Greenwich,
having run respectively 400 and 270 miles. Here the stream
formed by their combined waters is 120 yards wide, rapid
and very deep. . . . The entire course is calculated at
1760 miles, nearly 650 more than that of the Tigris, and
only 200 short of that of the Indus; and of this distance
more than two-thirds (1200 miles) is navigable for boats,
and even, as the expedition of Colonel Chesney proved, for
small steamers. The width of the river is greatest at the
distance of 700 or 800 miles from its mouth, that is to
say, from its junction with the _Khabour_ to the village of
Werai. It there averages 400 yards. . . . The annual
inundation of the Euphrates is caused by the melting of the
snows in the Armenian highlands. It occurs in the month of
May. . . . The Tigris scarcely ever overflows, but the
Euphrates inundates large tracts on both sides of its
course from Hît downwards.--_Rawlinson._
Considered in a commercial respect, as well as with regard
to its uses in agriculture, the Euphrates manifestly stood
in the same relation to Babylon and the surrounding region
that the Nile did to Egypt; it was the source, to a large
extent, of its prosperity, and the most important element
of its greatness. It is in this relation that the
_symbolical_ use of the Euphrates in Scripture proceeds,
and by keeping it in view the several passages will be
found to admit to an easy explanation. Contributing so
materially to the resources and wealth of Babylon, the
river was naturally taken for an emblem or representative
of the city itself, and of the empire of which it was the
capital. In this respect a striking application is made of
it by the prophet Isaiah (chap. viii. 5-8), where the
little kingdom of Judah, with its circumscribed territory
and its few earthly resources, on the one hand is seen
imaged in the tiny brooklet of Shiloah; while, on the
other, the rising power of Babylon is spoken of under the
emblem of "the waters of the river, strong and many, even
the King of Assyria and all his glory." And he goes on to
expose the folly of Israel's [Judah's] trusting in this
foreign power on account of its material greatness, by
declaring that in consequence of this mistaken trust, and
in chastisement of it, the mighty stream would, as it were,
desert its proper channel, and turn its waters in a
sweeping and desolating flood over the Holy
Land.--_Fairbairn._
THE WATERS OF SHILOAH.
viii. 6-8. _Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of
Shiloah that go softly, &c._
Reminded, I. That the peaceful blessing of the people of God appear
in lovely contrast to the false and tumultuous pursuits and pleasures
of the world (H. E. I. 1080-1084, 4163-4168). II. That those who
despise and neglect God's promised blessings expose themselves to His
severe displeasure.--_Samuel Thodey._
I. _The state of mind referred to:_ A disposition to reject God's
promises of salvation, and rest on the hopes, promises, and resources
of the world. We see it manifested, 1. In the systems of religion men
prefer. 2. In the schemes of worldly aggrandisement they pursue.
3. In the sources of consolation to which they betake themselves
(H. E. I. 174). II. _The consequence of continuance in this state of
mind._ 1. Mental darkness and sorrow of heart. 2. Providential
chastisements.--_Samuel Thodey._
THREATENED, BUT SAFE.
viii. 9, 10. _Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be
broken in pieces, &c._
This is a shout of triumphant defiance which Ahaz and his people
might have raised, had they listened to Isaiah's counsels, and turned
to the Lord with full purpose of heart. Then they might have been
threatened by foes numerous, powerful, determined, and confederated,
but they would have been safe. Its doctrine clearly is, that it
matters not who may be against us, if God be with us. This has been
the faith of God's people in all generations.
+I. On what ground does it rest?+ 1. On what may be regarded as a
settled conviction of the human mind, that this world, disordered as
it is, is really governed by a righteous Ruler, omnipotent and
all-wise, and that it must be well with those who have Him on their
side. 2. On the declarations of God's Word (Gen. xv. 1; Ps. xxxiv. 7;
Isa. liv. 17, &c.) 3. On the experience of His people as recorded in
His Word. The promise to Abraham was kept; David (1 Sam. xvii. 37);
Hezekiah (2 Kings xix. 32-35); Daniel and his companions (Dan.
vi. 22, iii. 28); Peter (Acts xii. 7). On these accounts His people
have felt and expressed the utmost contempt for, and defiance of,
their foes (Ps. xxvii. 1-6; Micah vii. 8-10). Old as these utterances
are, they express the confidence of countless thousands to-day. But,
+II.+ Let us look at +the grounds that might cause us to hesitate to
receive it.+ 1. There is the undoubted fact that we are living in a
world in which many things happen that are contrary to what we would
have expected; and it would be only one more contradiction of our _à
priori_ expectations if a good man, or a number of good men, were
utterly destroyed by a number of bad men. 2. As a matter of fact,
this has often happened. Who were "the noble army of martyrs," but
good men who suffered intolerable wrongs, and were put to cruel
deaths? If Peter was delivered, James, his fellow-apostle, was left
to his fate (Acts xii. 2); yea, Peter himself at last died by the
hands of the executioner, as did nearly all the Apostles. See, what a
terrible record of the sufferings of righteous men we have in Heb.
xi. 35-37. +III. How are these two sets of facts to be harmonised?+
How account for it that, notwithstanding the latter set, which are
obvious and not denied, it is still the settled conviction of pious
and otherwise sensible men, that it shall be well with the righteous?
1. This _is_ undoubtedly true, on the whole. We see what is the
teaching of experience, taken on any considerable scale, in the
familiar proverb, "Honesty is the best policy." Deadly as is the
conflict between the powers of good and of evil, on the whole, the
victory is on the side of goodness, of righteousness, of truth. The
world grows better, not worse (H. E. I. 1161, 1162). And it is
manifest that "godliness has the promise of the life that now is, as
well of that which is to come." 2. The exceptions to which our
attention is directed are necessary. Without them the difficulties in
the way of the existence and growth of virtue would be immensely
increased. If those who served God ran no risk in doing so, it would
be as difficult for them to show that they loved Him for His own
sake, as it would be for soldiers to prove their bravery, if it were
possible to send them forth to battle in absolutely impregnable
armour. If the safety assured to God's people were absolute and
without exceptions, there would be no room for the exercise of faith
and loyalty. 3. This life is not all. It is but the prelude to our
real existence; and for whatever we suffer in God's cause here, we
shall be abundantly compensated hereafter. So that, with Sir Thomas
More, we may say, "They may take off my head, but hurt me they
cannot."
This is a plain and sober statement of the facts of this great
problem. What are the practical inferences to be drawn from it?
1. _Let us dismiss from our minds all fears for the cause of truth
and righteousness. That_ is safe (2 Cor. xiii. 8). God's Church and
God's Word will survive all the assaults that are made upon them
(H. E. I. 642-645, 1246-1251, 2449). 2. _Let us not be greatly
concerned as to what may happen to ourselves._ If God pleases, He can
deliver us from any danger that may threaten us. If He is not pleased
to do so, He knows how to make our sufferings promote the cause we
have at heart. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church"
(P. D. 2421, 2422, 2426). 3. _If we are called to suffer, let us
rejoice_ (Phil. i. 29; 2 Tim. ii. 9; P. D. 2419).
BIBLICAL POLITICIANS.
viii. 11-15. _For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong
hand, &c._[1]
God's people are to be "a peculiar people." Their whole life is to be
governed by Divine principles. 1. By these principles they will be
saved from the grievous practical heresy of abstention from public
life.[2] Civilised life, especially in a free community, is a
partnership, and no man has a right to take all the advantages of a
partnership and evade all its labours and obligations. "Owe no man
anything." We are bound to labour as well as pray, that God's will
may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The result of
abstention on the part of Christian men from public life is the
domination of bad men, and the employment of the resources of the
community for evil purposes (Ps. xii. 8). If we need example in this
matter, we have the example of the prophets, who were much more than
preachers of a monastic piety: they were active politicians, and yet
politicians of an utterly unworldly type. 2. By these principles they
will be guided and kept aid all the duties and difficulties of public
life. They will be uplifted above party spirit in all its narrow and
debasing forms. Theirs will be that true patriotism which consists in
a steady loyalty to truth, and righteousness, and mercy.
If we are to be Biblical politicians, and this is the duty of every
man among us, +I. We shall not necessarily be found on the side of
the majority+ (ver. 11). How often God's people have been called to
stand in what is called "a miserable minority!" (Exod. xxiii. 2).
+II. We shall not necessarily adopt as our own the popular cries+
(ver. 12).[3] _Vox populi_ is often far other than _Vox Dei._
+III. We shall not necessarily share in the prevalent feelings of our
time,+ whether they be those of fear or of hope (ver. 13). We shall
know that no permanent hurt can be done to our nation while it is in
pursuit of righteousness, and that no real advantage can be gained by
methods that will not bear the Divine scrutiny. +IV. Our supreme
desire will be, not to conciliate men, but to please God+ (ver. 13).
We shall consider all public questions, and vote for, and withhold
our vote from, all public men, as in His sight (Heb. xi. 27). This
may cause us often to cut ourselves off from our "party," but this
will not trouble us. Hostility may thus be excited against us--will
be excited against us, for such "impracticable men" are the
abhorrence of mere politicians; but then God Himself will be to us
"for a sanctuary."[4] +V. We shall never lose sight of the fact that
the penalty of ungodliness in public life is ruin+ (vers. 14, 15).
The real Ruler of the world is God, who governs it according to a
plan of truth, righteousness, and mercy; and every human "policy"
which is not consistent therewith, though it may win for its authors
a short-lived triumph, will inevitably plunge those who accept it
into disaster. From those who fight against God, utter defeat cannot
be far off.
When these facts are inwrought in the understandings and consciences
of God's people and have become influential in their public and
political life, much will have been done to usher in the millennium
for which we daily pray, and of which Isaiah himself has given us
such glowing pictures (chaps. ii. 4, xxxii. 16, 17; lx. 17).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] There was a general panic among the people: "their heart
was moved as the trees of the wood are moved by the wind,"
when they heard that Syria was confederate with Ephraim;
their cry was everywhere, "A confederacy has been made
against us, and we must meet it by a counter-alliance with
Assyria;" and the prophet says that he too should have
fallen under the influence of this panic, if Jehovah had
not laid hold of him with a strong hand, to keep him in the
way of dependence on Himself, and if He had not taught him
to escape the fear which possessed his fellow-countrymen,
by making the Lord of hosts his fear and his dread, by
sanctifying Him himself, as he now in His name calls on
them to do. To sanctify Jehovah is in mind and practice to
recognise Him as the _holy_ God, the Lord who is _absolute_
(absolutus), free from the limitations which hinder all
other beings from carrying their wills into full operation,
and to believe with the whole heart that God does and can
govern all things according to the counsel of His own will,
and that what He determines does certainly come to pass,
however probabilities and appearances may be against the
belief (Num. xx. 12; Deut. xxxii. 51; Isa. xxix. 23). To
the nation which thus sanctifies Jehovah, He (says Isaiah)
will be their sanctuary--their protection against all their
enemies. Such was His original covenant with both the
houses of Israel, and it still holds good. If, therefore,
they will break and renounce it, it becomes a
stumbling-block to them. When their statesmen endeavour to
remedy present mischief and secure future prosperity, by
craftily playing off against one another the nations who
they cannot hope to match by force, they are attempting to
go counter to the whole plan of Jehovah's government, and
they will do it only to their own confusion.--_Strachey._
[2] H. E. I. 4137-4139.
[3] The prophet, and such as were on his side, were not to call
that _kesher_ which the great mass of the people called
_kesher_ (cf. 2 Chron. xxiii. 13, "She said, Treason,
treason! _Kesher, kesher!"); . . . the reference is to the
conspiracy, as it was called, of the prophet and his
disciples. The same thing happened to Isaiah as to Amos
(Amos vii. 10) and to Jeremiah. Whenever the prophets were
at all zealous in their opposition to the appeal for
foreign aid, they were accused and branded as standing in
the service of the enemy, and conspiring for the overthrow
of the kingdom.--_Delitzsch._
[4] _Mikdash_ generally means the sanctified place or
sanctuary, with which the idea of an asylum would easily
associate itself, since even among the Israelites the
Temple was regarded and respected as an asylum (1 Kings
i. 50; ii. 28). . . . _Mikdash_ is really to be taken in
this sense, although it cannot be exactly rendered
"asylum," since this would improperly limit the meaning of
the word. The Temple was not only a place of shelter, but
also of grace, blessing, and peace. All who sanctified the
Lord of lords He surrounded like temple walls; hid them in
Himself, whilst death and tribulation reigned without, and
comforted, fed, and blessed them in his own gracious
fellowship (chap. iv. 5, 6; Ps. xxvii. 5;
xxxi. 20).--_Delitzsch._
"HALLOWED BE THY NAME!"
viii. 13. _Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him
be your fear, &c._
+I. What is it to "sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself"?+ It is, 1. To
fill our minds with the right thoughts concerning Him.[1] 2. To fill
our hearts with right feelings towards Him (P. D. 1492-1526).
+II. How is this to be done?+ By frequent, devout, prayerful, intense
meditation on the revelations of Himself which He has been pleased to
give (H. E. I. 3507-3514). +III. What will be the effect of doing
it?+ 1. All other fear and dread will vanish from our minds (1 Sam.
xiv. 6, xvii. 37; Jer. xxxii. 17; 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15). 2. Thus we
shall unconsciously and inevitably attain to that heroism of which
some of us dream (Ps. xvi. 8; Dan. iii. 16-18; Acts iv. 19, 20).
3. Thus we shall be qualified for the noblest service of God and man
(Heb. xi. 24-27; 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4). 4. Thus a divine peace and joy
will fill our whole being, as a mighty tide fills every nook and
cranny of a wide-stretching bay (Ps. civ. 34). We shall rejoice in
God as a soldier rejoices in a mighty fortress in which he feels
secure from all assaults (2 Sam. xxii. 2, 3).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See note [1] from preceding outline: BIBLICAL POLITICIANS.
GOD OUR REFUGE, OR OUR RUIN.
viii. 14. _And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone
of stumbling, &c._
In God "we live, and move, and have our being." We cannot be
independent of, or indifferent to, Him, as we can in regard to some
of our fellow-men. There can be no neutrality between Him and us. We
must be obedient or disobedient to Him, and therefore we must find in
Him our refuge or our ruin--our helper or our destroyer. That this
vast truth may be received in our minds, let us take it somewhat in
detail.
+I. We have to do with God in Nature.+ It is His world we live in;
and all its substances and forces are things which He hath made, and
intends to be used according to His plans. Nay, He acts in them,[1]
in them He is willing to be our ally, but not our slave. We cannot
use Him to carry into effect our whims and fancies, as the old
magicians were said to use the genii supposed to be under their
control. God is of one mind, He changeth not; what is called "the
uniformity of the laws of nature" is one manifestation of His
unchangeableness; and that unchangeableness is most merciful
(H. E. I. 3156, 3157, 3173-3177). If we fall in with His laws of
nature, all nature is on our side; wind and tide then combine to bear
us into our desired haven; but if we will not do so, the very stones
of the field will be in league against us (Job v. 23; H. E. I. 3172,
4612).[2] _E.g.,_ gravitation. If a builder comply with the demands
of this great law, it will give stability to his structure; but if
not, from the very moment they are departed from, it will begin to
pull down the hut or the palace he has builded. So with all the other
substances and forces by which we are surrounded; they are for us or
against us: there is no neutrality possible.
+II. We have to do with God in Providence.+ Not only are we in this
world, but whether we like or not, we are under His government. He
has laid down laws for our guidance, as communities and as
individuals. These laws are vast and comprehensive; they cover every
realm of activity and relationship of life; it is impossible for us
to find ourselves in any place or circumstances in which some of them
are not in force. If we obey them, they will be our helpers; if we
disobey them, they will be our destroyers: obey one, and all others
stand ready to befriend us; disobey one, and more manifestly all
others become hostile to us. Illustrate--1. _Communities._ The law of
frugality. The law of freedom of exchange. The supreme law for every
nation is, that God shall be acknowledged as the supreme ruler, _His_
will done, His protection sought and trusted in. It was this law that
Ahaz and his people were setting at defiance (chap. vii.), and God
forewarned them that He would not stand idly by and see it broken
(chap. vii. 17-20). If any nation commit itself to a godless policy,
it may achieve a transient triumph thereby (ver. 6), but disaster is
inevitable (ver. 7). It may be delayed, but it is only that it may
come in more awful form. United States of America: their maintenance
of slavery when England abolished it, and their civil war.
2. _Individuals._ The comprehensive law (Matt. vii. 12): if a man
obey it, the very constitution of society fights for him; if he
disobey it, that same constitution fights against him. From God, as
the God of Providence, we cannot escape; we must have to do with Him
as friend or foe. Those men who deliberately put Him out of their
thoughts and plans find it so: just when they seem to themselves to
be triumphing in their godless courses, they stumble against Him
unawares. They are snared and taken in the great retributive laws of
His universe.
+III. We have to do with God in Redemption.+ In Christ, God is
revealed, and therefore we are not to be surprised when we see this
great Old Testament truth conspicuously illustrated in Him. In the
New Testament we are distinctly taught that neutrality in regard to
Christ is impossible (Matt. xii. 30; 2 Cor. ii. 16; Matt.
xxii. 37-44). Not to accept His salvation, is to reject it; not to
submit to His authority, is to rebel against it. We cannot choose
whether we will have to do with Christ or not! All that we can decide
is the nature of the relationship that shall subsist between us. We
can make Him our sanctuary, and then all blessing is ours; or we can
refuse to do this, and then He becomes to us a stumbling-block and a
snare. Not as the result of any vindictive action on His part, but as
the inevitable result of the working of our own nature and of the
constitution of the universe. 1. The phrase, "Gospel-hardened,"
represents a terrible reality (H. E. I. 2439-2442). 2. By our
rejection of Christ, and consequent rebellion against His authority,
we put ourselves on the side of those powers of evil which He is
pledged to destroy, and then His very Almightiness, which would have
insured our salvation, becomes our ruin, just as the very same force
of wind and wave, which would carry a vessel rightly steered into the
desired haven, hurls it when wrongly steered as a miserable wreck on
the rocks outside.
Thus, in all the realms of life, we must have God with us or against
us; and if God be against us, we have cause to lament that He is
God--a being whom we cannot resist, from whom we cannot escape.
Therefore, 1. _Let us recognise what the realities of our position
are._ Let us not go on to eternal ruin through ignorance or
heedlessness. 2. _Let us make God our "sanctuary."_ We may do this.
He invites us to do it. Having done it, everything in Him that
otherwise would terrify us will be to us a cause of joy (Rom. v. 11).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "He this flowery carpet made
Made this earth on which we tread,
God refreshes in the air,
Covers with the clothes we wear,
Feeds us with the food we eat,
Cheers us by His light and heat,
Makes His sun on us to shine:
All our blessings are divine!"--_C. Wesley._
[2] Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, does and
understands as much as his observations on the order of
nature, either with regard to things or the mind, permit
him, and neither knows, nor is capable of more. . . .
_Nature is only subdued by submission._--_Bacon._
THE STONE OF STUMBLING.
viii. 14. _And He shall be for . . . a stone of stumbling
and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel._
This prophecy refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it has had a
threefold fulfilment. It was fulfilled--+1. In His own personal
history.+ When He was made manifest to Israel He was so contrary to
their conceptions of what the Messiah would be--in the lowliness of
His condition, in the spirituality of the kingdom He set up, and,
above all, in the ignominiousness of the death He accomplished at
Jerusalem,--that they "stumbled at" and rejected Him. +2. In the
experience of His disciples in all ages.+ In them He has been again
despised and rejected. This He foresaw and predicted (John xv. 18-21,
&c.). In the world there is an irreconcilable hatred of Christ as He
reappears in His people (Gal. iii. 28, 29). +3. In the hostility
which faithful preaching has always created.+ The preaching of the
Gospel is the preaching of Christ (Acts v. 42; 1 Cor. i. 23; 2 Cor.
iv. 5). The great evangelical doctrines all centre in and flow from
"Christ and Him crucified," and can never be clearly and faithfully
proclaimed without awakening the disgust and enmity of the carnal
heart. They necessarily humble sinful men, and they hate to be
humbled. The offence of the cross is not yet ceased; multitudes still
stumble at the truth, being disobedient.
1. How sad that Christ should be an offence and a stumbling-stone to
a single soul! That His Word, which is sufficient for all the
purposes of salvation, should become to any "the savour of death unto
death"! 2. How terrible, and earnestly to be shunned, is that
unbelief which thus reverses the design of God's greatest mercies!
3. Whatever others may do, let us, with penitent and thankful hearts,
make Christ our "sanctuary."--_Manuscript Sermon._
THE DUTY OF TEACHERS OF TRUTH IN TIMES OF NATIONAL PERVERSION.
viii. 16-18.
In Heb. ii. 13 the commencement of verse 18 is quoted as an utterance
of the Messiah. This opens up questions concerning the New Testament
quotations from the Old which cannot be fully discussed in this
commentary. It may suffice to remark that the Spirit inspiring Isaiah
was the Spirit of Christ, and that therefore Isaiah's utterances
generally may be regarded as the utterances of Christ; and further,
this is especially true in those cases in which there is a close
similarity in the position occupied by the great prophet of the
Messiah and the Messiah Himself. At times Isaiah appears to be merely
the spokesman of the Messiah; but in others, while his words had
their ultimate and highest fulfilment in Christ, they were primarily
true of himself, and this appears to be the case here.
There are times when a nation goes utterly wrong, politically,
socially, and, as the root of all the evil, religiously. God is
forgotten, and the people give themselves over to purposes of
ambition or of sensual pleasure. It is a time of formalism and
pharisaism, of infidelity and blasphemy, of luxury and vice. So
strong is this current of evil that it seems a hopeless and foolish
thing for any man or body of men to resist it. What, then, is the
prophet or faithful preacher to do? Prudence counsels compliance with
the prevailing temper (2 Chron. xviii. 12), or at least a temporary
silence. Shall he listen to prudence, and bid principle wait for a
more fitting season? Nay, but--+I. Let him betake himself in prayer
to God+ (ver. 16). Let him pray especially that Divine truth may be
kept in the hearts of the few who have been led to receive it.[1]
+II. Let him wait upon God+ with immovable confidence that His truth
shall yet prevail in the earth (ver. 17). Thus did the Primitive
Christians, the Puritans, and the Covenanters in the evil days in
which they lived. +III. Let him recognise and glory in the position
he occupies+ (ver. 18). He and his spiritual children are God's
witnesses (Isa. xliv. 8); what position could be more honourable? Let
them not shrink from its conspicuousness (Phil. ii. 15); let them not
be disheartened by the singularity it involves (H. E. I. 1032-1045,
3906, 3914; P. D. 1188). Amid all that is depressing and threatening
in the position to which they have been Divinely called, let them
remember their Lord's declarations (Matt. x. 32; Rev. iii. 5).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I agree with Vitringa, Dreschler, and others in regarding
verse 16 as the prophet's own prayer to Jehovah. We
_"bind"--tie together_--what we wish to keep from getting
separated and lost; we _"seal"_ what is to be kept secret,
and only opened by a person duly qualified. And so the
prophet here prayed that Jehovah would take his testimony
with regard to the future, and his intimation, which was
designed to prepare for the future that _testimony_ and
_thorah_ which the greatest mass, in their hardness, did
not understand, and in their self-hardening despised, and
lay them up well secured and well preserved, as if by bond
and seal, in the hearts of those who receive the prophet's
words with loving obedience. For it would be all over with
Israel unless a community of believers should be preserved,
and all over with the community if the word of God, which
was the ground of their life, should be allowed to slip out
of their hearts.--_Delitzsch._
WAITING ON THE LORD IN DESERTION AND GLOOM.
viii. 17. _And I will wait upon the Lord, &c._
+I. The characteristic appellation of Jehovah.+ "The God who hideth
Himself."[1] +II. The implied mysteriousness of His dealings with His
people.+ It is not merely from Babylon or Egypt, from Tyre or
Nineveh, that He hides His face, but from "the house of Jacob."
1. The persons referred to may be regarded as typical of the Church.
Though descended from Abraham, they were called "the house of
_Jacob_," to denote that they were a _chosen_ people--a _praying_
people (this at least was true of the best men among them)--a people
_in whom God delighted._ 2. With these persons He dealt in a manner
contrary to what we should have expected. Looking only at the
relation in which He stood to them, we should have expected that the
light of His countenance would have gladdened them continually. Yet
He hid Himself; and He frequently hides Himself not only from the
world, but from the Church; not only from the wicked man, but from
the believer. Yet here is a difference: in the one case it is total
and constant, in the other it is but partial and temporary. In the
one case it is in anger, in the other it is in love (Rev. iii. 19).
3. The modes in which He hides Himself. (1) In the cloud of
providential darkness--affliction, bereavement, &c. (Isa. l. 10)
(2) In the withholding of the conscious enjoyment of religion (Job
xv. 11; xxii. 2).[2] +III. The resolve of the believer under this
visitation.+ In nothing does the grace of God shine more unmistakably
than in the way in which the Christian bears trouble. "Behold, this
evil is of the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?" said
a wicked man of old; but "I will look unto the Lord, and will wait
for Him," is the prophet's resolve. 1. As to _looking_ for Him.
(1.) _For whom_ do we look? For our God--our Father--our Friend--our
Deliverer. (2.) _Where_ shall we look for Him? He is near, though
concealed. Then look for Him in Christ, in whom He is reconciling the
world unto Himself, in whom He is well pleased even with us. Look for
Him in His promises--in His ordinances--in your closet. (3.) _How_
shall we look for him? With faith--zeal--energy--determination (Job
xxxv. 10; Jer. xxix. 13). 2. As to _waiting_ for Him. This is a state
of mind frequently enjoined and commended in the Bible. Waiting
implies faith--desire--patience (P. D. 2643). When you have found
Him, fall at His feet and confess your unworthiness. Resolve to
follow Him fully. Cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Pray, "Abide
with me!"--_George Smith, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For details and suggestions under this division, see
outline: THE CONCEALMENT OF GOD, chap. xlv. 15.
[2] For various suggestions and illustrations, see H. E. I.
200, 1644-1659, and P. D. 815.
PENITENTIAL WAITING ON GOD.
viii. 17. _And I will wait upon the Lord, &c._
Believers are in the Scriptures abundantly encouraged to wait upon
God (Ps. xxvii. 14; Isa. xxv. 9). In Ps. lxii. 5, it is suggested
that this waiting upon God is connected with hopeful expectation of
receiving a blessing. The same truth is taught us by our Lord in His
parable on prayer (Luke xviii. 1-8). However long God delays, we must
wait expectantly. In our text, however, we have the idea of waiting
upon God while He is hiding His face from His people. The very
possibility that He should assume this attitude towards us is
depressing, and not unfrequently in our religious exercises we are
haunted by the fear that this _is_ the attitude He has assumed
towards us. Through fears and doubts that intercept our vision of
Him, we look up to see the face of our Father, and behold only a
cloud! In such a case our faith needs quickening, that our hopes may
be raised and our courage renewed. The following thoughts may conduce
to this end. I. _God does not hide His face from us because His
blessings have diminished_ (Isa. xl. 26-31; Jer. ii. 13; xvii. 13).
II. _God does not hide His face from us on account of any weariness
in His love_ (John xiii. 1; Isa. xlix. 15). III. _God does not hide
His face from us because of any caprice in His nature_ (Jas.
i. 16-17). IV. _If God does hide His face from us, it is only on
account of our sinfulness._ This is the dark atmosphere in which God
becomes lost to us (chap. lix. 1, 2). V. Consequently, _if God's face
is hidden from us, it is at once our only hope and our positive duty
to wait upon Him_ (Jas. iv. 8). Let us wait for Him and look for Him.
1. Penitently. 2. Believingly. 3. Patiently. Then will the Lord turn
us again; He will cause His face to shine upon us, and we shall be
saved.--_William Manning._
NECROMANCY.
viii. 19-22. _Seek unto them, &c._
As bearing upon the doctrine of necromancy, an exhaustive discussion
of these verses would involve the following points: 1. Under the
instigation of a prurient curiosity, or under the pressure of
affliction, godless men are wont to seek knowledge and help from the
spirits of the dead. 2. Hence, in every age of the world and in every
nation of universal history, there have been necromancers, wizards,
&c., known by various names, practising various arts of divination
and legerdemain; playing with the credulity of men and women, and
claiming access to supernatural knowledge and power. The spirits of
modern times are the latest species of this genus of necromancers.
3. This passage implies irresistibly that God frowns upon and
condemns necromancy in whatever form. 4. The expostulations, rebukes,
and threatenings of the Lord, through His prophet in this passage,
assumes it to be impossible for man to get knowledge or help for the
living from the dead. The power of _God_ to send back to earth the
spirits of the dead is quite another thing; yet as to this the
practical question is--Does He see fit to use it? 5. Hence, to
discard the light of God's revealed Word and to seek light and help
from the dead, is to hurl oneself against the impermeable and
impassable wall with which God has shut in the living of our world,
and involves both positive conflict against God and contemptuous
rejection of His Divine Word. 6. As Satan has a natural sympathy with
everything abhorrent to God and ruinous to man, we ought to look for
his hand in these agencies of necromancy, to whatever extent God may
give him scope and range for action. What these limits may be, who
can tell? It is man's wisdom to keep himself utterly aloof from the
sphere of Satan's agencies and temptations. 7. Necromancers and
spirits practically league themselves with Satan against God, and
should be aware that his lot must be theirs, and their end be as
their works, no dawn of day ever breaking forth on the midnight of
their gloom.--_Henry Cowles, D.D., Commentary on Isaiah,_ pp. 68, 69.
THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY.
viii. 20. _To the law and to the testimony, &.c,_
This was one of the watchwords of the Reformation, and since then it
has been a favourite text with Protestants. The noble Sixth Article
of the Church of England[1] is but an extension of it. It assumes
that there is one standard of truth, one infallible oracle, to which
in all their moral perplexities and spiritual difficulties, it is the
wisdom, if not the duty, of all men to appeal. And _we_ are persuaded
that we have this standard, this oracle, in the Bible (H. E. I. 543).
If men neglect it,--if they strive to construct a creed or direct
their conduct without it, two things are certain: 1. _They lack the
knowledge and wisdom essential to success in life._ Their neglect of
it shows that they have no light in them.[2] 2. _There await them
disappointment, disaster, and despair._ This is the teaching of the
other beautiful translation which many eminent scholars have adopted:
"To the teaching of God, and to the testimony! If they do not
according to this word, they are _a people for whom no morning
dawns_" (H. E. I. 641).
"But all who consult the Bible do not obtain from it sure guidance:
the proof of this is the difference among those who consult it, both
as to belief and practice. In support of the most absurd doctrines
and the most pernicious practices, the authority of Scripture is
claimed." True, but the error lies not in "the law," but in the men
who refer to it.[3] If the Bible is to be really helpful to us, we
must consult it _honestly_ (H. E. I. 573, 574, 4854). _Humbly_
(H. E. I. 387-389, 562-567, 587, 599). _With a constant recognition
of our help of the Holy Spirit_ (H. E. I. 622, 623, 2877-2882).
_Prayerfully_ (H. E. I. 570, 571, 598, 4856). _Diligently_ (H. E. I.
576-580; P. D. 315). _Intelligently._ (1.) In regard to the subjects
concerning which we seek instruction (H. E. I. 540-542, 558-560).
(2.) In regard to our interpretation[4] and application of its
utterances (H. E. I. 544-550, 568, 569). The man who thus uses the
Bible[5] will be cheered as he advances in life by a dawn that will
brighten and broaden into perfect day. He will be led by it to
Christ, "The Light of the world," and following Him in loving
obedience and unswerving loyalty, he will find the declaration for
ever true, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may
be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that
it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be
thought requisite or necessary to salvation."
Here also may be quoted the declaration of the Westminster
Assembly of Divines:--
"VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things
necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and
life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good
and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture:
unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by
new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men.
Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the
Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding
of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there
are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and
government of the Church, common to human actions and
societies, which are so ordered by the light of nature and
Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the
Word, which are always to be observed.
"VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in
themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things
which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for
salvation, are so clearly propounded or offered in some
scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the
unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain
unto a sufficient understanding of them. . . .
"X. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of
religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils,
opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men and private
spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are
to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in
the Scripture."--_The Confession of Faith._
[2] Just as it would be conclusive proof of ignorance of
geology if a prospecting party of miners left unexplored
the very spot concerning which the character of the rocks
and soil cried loudly, _Gold!_ Or if some professional men,
perplexed by a serious and embarrassing case, should leave
unconsulted the standard works containing the solution of
the problem.
[3] Lawyers and doctors, professedly consulting the standard
works of their profession, have misled their clients and
killed their patients; but the fault has not been in those
standard works, but in the men who failed to use them
aright. Bradshaw's Railway Guide is not a safe guide in the
hands of every traveller.
[4] The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the
Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question
about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is
not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by
other places that speak more clearly.--_The Confession of
Faith._
[5] The Holy Scriptures are to be read with an high and
reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they
are the very Word of God, and that He only can enable us to
understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the
will of God revealed in them; with diligence and attention
to the matter and scope of them; with meditation,
application, self-denial, and prayer.--_The Larger
Catechism._
UNSANCTIFIED SUFFERING.
viii. 21, and ix. 13. _And they shall pass through it, &c._
+I. Sin leads to suffering.+ 1. This is true of _individuals_
(H. E. I. 4603-4612). But because there is another life and a future
retribution, the full results of sin are frequently not seen in this
life. Nay, the sinner often appears prosperous, even to the end (Ps.
lxxiii. 3-5). 2. But in the case of _nations,_ which as such have no
immortality, it is otherwise (P. D. 2544); it is more prompt; it is
often exceedingly terrible. This fact should make those who have any
love for their children hostile to any national policy that is
unrighteous, however politically "expedient" it may seem. +II. There
is in suffering no sanctifying power.+ God may use it as a means of
arresting the careless, or of making good men better, but there is in
it no certain reformative energy. On the contrary it may harden men
in iniquity.[1] +III. Suffering does nothing in itself to abate God's
anger against sinners.+ We, when we are wronged, often yield to a
passion of vindictiveness, which is sated when we have succeeded in
inflicting a certain amount of pain on the wrong-doer. But God's
anger is not vindictive, but righteous (H. E. I. 2288-2294); hence
its terribleness. As it does not thirst for suffering, it is not
satisfied by suffering. As long as the sinner holds to his sin, God's
anger will burn against him, irrespective altogether of the suffering
he may have endured. Nothing will turn away that anger but a genuine
repentance (ix. 13).
1. In the hour of temptation, let us think of sin not as it then
presents itself to us, but as it will certainly appear to us when its
results are manifested (H. E. I. 4673-4676). 2. When suffering has
come upon us, let us regard it as God's summons to repentance
(H. E. I. 56-59); and let us obey it with thankfulness that God is
willing to deal with us in the way of mercy.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See outline: MORAL OBDURACY, p. 16.
THE REMEDY OF THE WORLD'S MISERY.
(_Missionary Sermon._)
ix. 2-7. _The people that waited in darkness, &c._
The prophecies contained in this text are of a mixed kind; they are
partly fulfilled and partly unfulfilled. We have the authority of the
Evangelists to apply the passage to Gospel times, and to prevent it
from being restricted to the Jews (Matt. iv. 14-16; Luke i. 79;
ii. 32). Let us consider--
+I. The view taken by the Prophet of the moral state of the world
previous to the glorious change which makes the subject of his
prophecy.+ 1. _The people are represented as walking in darkness._
Darkness is an emblem of ignorance and error; and an emblem the most
striking.[1] 2. _But darkness alone appears to the mind of the
Prophet only a faint emblem of the state of the heathen:_ he adds,
therefore, "the shadow of death." In Scripture this expression is
used for the darkness of that subterranean mansion into which the
Jews supposed the souls of men went after death. Figuratively, the
expression is used for great distress; a state of danger and fear at
the same time. Such is the state of the heathen. The religion of the
heathen has ever been gloomy and horrible. 3. _The Prophet adds
another note of the state of the heathen:_ Thou hast multiplied the
nation, and not increased the joy.[2] He beholdeth them increasing in
number only to multiply their misery.[3] Universal experience proves
that misery is multiplied when God and truth are unknown. In this
case there is no redeeming principle; the remedy is lost; despair
completes the wretchedness of the people, and were it not for the
prospects opened by the Gospel, that despair would be final and
absolute. Here, however, the text breaks upon us with a glorious and
cheering view. The Prophet beholds a light rising in obscurity; a
great light dispels the heavy gloom; comfort, joy, and salvation dawn
upon the earth (ver. 2).
+II. On the blessed visitation we would now fix your attention.+
1. _As darkness is an emblem of the religious sorrow which had
overcast the world, so light is an emblem of the truth of the
Gospel._ The Gospel is "light." (1.) This marks its origin from
heaven. (2.) This notes its truth. It is fitting that what is truth,
without mixture of error, should be compared to what is the most
simple substance in nature. (3.) It is called "light" because of its
penetrating and subtle nature. (4.) Because of the discoveries which
it makes. (5.) Because it is life and health to the world. 2. _As in
the vision light succeeds to darkness, so also joy succeeds to fear
and misery_ (ver. 3). The joy here described is no common feeling; it
is the joy of harvest, the joy of victory. The effect of the
diffusion of the Gospel in producing joy is a constant theme of
prophecy (chap. xxiv. 16; Ps. xcviii. 8; Luke ii. 10). True joy, as
yet, there is none upon a large scale; of sorrow and sighing the
world has ever been full; and as long as it remains in this state,
even sighs might fail rather than cause to sigh. Even that which is
called joy is mockery and unreal, an effort to divert a pained and
wounded mind; it gleams like a transient light, only to make men more
sensible of the darkness. As long as the world is wicked it must be
miserable. All attempts to increase happiness, except by diminishing
wickedness and strengthening the moral principle, are vain. The
Gospel is the grand cure of human woe. When it has spread to the
extent seen by the Prophet, a sorrowing world shall dry up its tears,
and complaint give place to praise (Isa. xiv. 8; xxxii. 17). They
shall joy as in victory, for the rod of the grand oppressor shall be
broken; Satan shall fall, his reign be terminated; and one universal,
transporting "Hallelujah" ascend from every land, to the honour of
Him by whom the victory is achieved.
+III.+ So vast a change must be produced by causes proportionably
powerful; and to +the means by which this astonishing revolution is
effected,+ the Prophet next directs our attention (vers. 4, 5). These
words speak of resistance and a struggle. He that expects the
conversion of the world without the most zealous application and
perseverance among God's agents, and opposition from His enemies, has
not counted the cost. In the conduct of this battle two things
distinguish it from every other contest: The absolute weakness and
insufficiency of the assailants,[4] and their miraculous success. A
remembrance of these things encourages us in our missionary
operations. If our plans had been applauded by the wisdom of this
world, there would have been too much of man in them, and we might
have doubted the result (Jud. vii. 2). The victory shall be eminently
of God. For the battle shall be, not "with confused noise, and
garments rolled in blood, but with burning and fuel of fire." The
demonstration of the Spirit, the power of God, is here compared to
fire. The Spirit, in His saving operations, is always in Scripture
compared to the most powerful principles in nature--to the rain and
dew, to wind, to thunder, to fire. All these images denote His
efficiency and the suddenness of the success; and the extent of the
benefit shall proclaim the victory to be the Lord's. We have seen the
effect of this vital influence at home; and we may, in some degree,
conjecture what will be done abroad. Yet perhaps something very
remarkable may take place, as is intimated in the text; some peculiar
exertion of the Divine power upon the mind of the world.
+IV.+ But it may be said, "is not all this a splendid vision? You
speak of weak instruments effecting a miraculous success; of the
display and operation of a supernatural power touching the hearts of
men and changing the moral state of the world, but what is the ground
of this expectation?" This natural and very proper question our text
answers (vers. 6, 7). In these verses we have +the grounds of that
expectation of success which we form as to missionary efforts.+ The
plan of Christianising the world is not ours; it was laid in the mind
of God before the world was. The principal arrangements of the scheme
are not left to us, but are already fixed by the infinite wisdom of
God. The part we fill is very subordinate; and we expect success, not
for the wisdom or the fitness of the means themselves, but because
they are connected with mightier motives, whose success is rapid, and
whose direction is Divine; because God has formed a scheme of
universal redemption, to be gradually but fully developed; because He
has given gifts to the world, the value of which is in every age to
be more fully demonstrated; and because He has established offices in
the person of Christ, which He is qualified to fill to the full
height of the Divine idea (text).
Our text has set before us the moral misery of the human race; the
purpose of God to remove it by the diffusion of His truth and grace;
the means chosen for this purpose; and the ground of that certain
success which must attend the application of the prescribed means
under the Divine blessing. It now only remains for me to invite you
to such a co-operation in this great work as your own ability and the
importance of the enterprise demand.--_Richard Watson,_ "Works," vol.
iv. pp. 206-224.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As the pall of darkness is drawn over the world, the fair
face of nature fades from the sight; every object becomes
indistinct, or is wholly obscured, and all that can cheer
the sight or direct the steps of man vanishes. So the
gradual accumulation of religious errors, thickening with
every age, banished the knowledge of God and His truth from
the understandings of men, till all that was sublime in
speculation, cheering to the heart, supporting to the
hopes, or directive to the actions of men, passed away from
the soul, and left the intellectual world like that of
nature when deprived of light. The heaven of the soul was
hung with blackness, and "their foolish heart was
darkened."--_Watson._
[2] Alexander and several other modern scholars read: _"Thou
hast enlarged the nation, Thou hast increased its joy,"_
understanding the Prophet to mean that the true Israel had
been increased by the calling of the Gentiles, and that
this increase had been a cause of great gladness.
[3] If the Prophet speaks of the Jewish people, he declares a
fact remarkably striking. One of the blessings promised to
their founder, Abraham, was, that his seed should be
multiplied as the stars of heaven and the sands of the
sea-shore. But that which was designed as a blessing, and
is described as such in the promise, was made a curse by
the wickedness of the Jews. For what end, in the former
periods of their history, did they multiply, but to furnish
food for captives, slaughter, and oppression? In later
times, they have multiplied, and spread themselves over the
world; but their joy has not been increased. Degraded in
character, and despised by the nations where they sojourn,
without a country, a temple, or a sacrifice, they bear,
like Cain, the marks of God's curse, are vagabonds in the
earth, preserved to warn us of the just severity of God.
There is nothing, however, in the connection to induce us
to suppose that the Prophet particularly contemplated the
Jewish nation. The same thing must be affirmed of every
nation that abandons itself to wickedness. When nations are
multiplied, their political strength is increased; and
happiness would be multiplied too, were it not for sin. But
in wicked nations the "joy is not increased." This negative
expression signifies the misery is increased. God has not
added His blessing; and there is no joy.--_Watson._
[4] The weakness and insignificance of the instruments used in
breaking the rod and yoke of the oppressor is sufficiently
marked by the allusion to the destruction of the host of
Midian by Gideon and his three hundred men. The family of
Gideon was poor in Manasseh, and he was the least of his
father's house; the number of men assigned him was
contemptible; their weapons were no better than an earthen
pitcher, a torch, and a trumpet; the men who dreamed of
Gideon dreamed of him under the image of a barley-cake. All
this meanness was adopted that the deliverance of Israel
might appear to be the work of God; and this is the manner
in which He has ever wrought in the revival and spread of
godliness in the world. Who were the instruments of
spreading true religion in the Apostolic age, we know; they
were the despised fishermen of Galilee. Feeble and
unpromising instruments have also been employed in
subsequent revivals; and for the conformity of the present
missionary system of this model we augur will be of future
success.--_Watson._
THE JOY OF HARVEST.
(_Harvest Thanksgiving Sermon._)
ix. 3. _They joy before Thee according to the joy in
harvest, &c._
+I. The joy of the natural harvest.+ Harvest was peculiarly
interesting to the Jews.[1] Two things render "the joy of harvest"
peculiar and impressive: 1. It is the completion and reward of the
anxiety and labours of the year it closes. 2. It furnishes the supply
of our needs in the year to come.--We call upon you to rejoice before
the Lord to-day (P. D. 1710-1712), and to associate your thanksgiving
with the name of Christ (Heb. xiii. 15). Let all outward gifts remind
you of that unseen Mediator through whom they flow. Our gratitude
should be deep and fervent; it should bear some proportion to the
regret we should have felt if God had withheld the blessings in which
we now rejoice, and had blighted the promise of the year. Yet now,
when these temporal gifts abound, let us remember their inability to
satisfy the needs of the soul. The satisfaction for these needs is to
be found only in Christ. He who had more corn than his barns could
hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue. +II. The joy of
the spiritual harvest.+ The vicissitudes of the religious life are
often compared to those of the seasons (Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6). The
Christian husbandman has his anxieties, arising from the badness of
the soil, the unfavourableness of the seasons, the delay of harvest,
the fear of final loss. Yet he has his reaping seasons of joy even in
this world--1. When a consciousness of sin which has long oppressed
the soul is exchanged for a sense of pardoning mercy, through the
application of the blood of sprinkling. 2. When, after a long period
of depression, hope revisits the mind (H. E. I. 313, 314, 1658, 1659,
3041). 3. When there come to us the answers to our prayers that were
long delayed (H. E. I. 3895, 3896). "Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick; _but when desire cometh, it is a tree of life._" 4. When the
spiritual triumphs of the gospel are made manifest; to parents in
their families; to ministers in their congregations; to missionaries
abroad. Just in proportion to the toil and prolonged anxiety is the
rapture of success. The harvest sometimes come to us after long
delay, after many anxieties, after many fears (Jas. v. 7, 8). God
sees fit to exercise His people with the discipline of suspense, but
this is for their good (Lam. iii. 26). +III. The joy of the eternal
harvest.+ When all Christ's people are gathered into His immediate
presence (Matt. xiii. 39); then will the declaration of our text be
fulfilled in the highest sense of which it is capable. The ransomed
will rejoice when they think, 1. _Of the grace that reigns in their
salvation._ By that grace they were transformed from being tares, the
end of which is burning, into wheat meet for the garner. 2. _Of the
great cost and care bestowed upon their culture,_ that they might be
ripened for the heavenly kingdom. 3. _How often they despaired of
their own safety._ 4. _Of their deliverance from the fearful fate of
the tares and chaff,_ whose end is to be burned.--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] They had scarcely any foreign trade--none till Solomon's
time. Every family lived upon its own inheritance and upon
the produce of its own land. Consequently if harvest
failed, all failed. They expressed their great joy by
solemn offerings to the Lord. Not a field was reaped before
the wave-sheaf was placed upon the altar; and when it had
been waved there, amidst the loud thanksgiving of the
people, before the Lord of the whole land, the messengers
from the Temple carried the proclamation to the husbandman,
in the field, "Put ye in the sickle and reap!"--_Thodey._
THE TITLES AND GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST.
ix. 6. _For unto us a Child is born, &c._
+I. The Incarnation and Government of Jesus Christ.+ Let us
contemplate Him, 1. _As the Incarnate One._ "Unto us a child is born"
(H. E. I. 846-853). 2. _As a gift of Heaven to a fallen world._ "Unto
us a Son is given." 3. _As advanced to supreme rule and authority._
"The government shall be upon His shoulder." +II. The names and
characters by which He is distinguished.+ "His name," &c. +III. The
adaptation of these qualities to the purposes of His spiritual
reign.+ 1. We need wisdom, and He is the "counsellor." 2. We need
reconciliation to God, and He is our "Peace." 3. We need support
under the calamities of life, and this He gives us, for He is the
"Mighty God." 4. We need comfort under the fears of death, and this
He gives as "The Father of the Everlasting Age."--_George Smith, D.D._
THE GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST.
ix. 6. _The government shall be on His shoulder, &c._
Let me caution you against mistaking this government for that
essential dominion which belongeth to our blessed Lord as God. To
suppose that this had been _given_ to our Lord would be to deny His
essential Godhead. The government here spoken of is one that He
receives: a delegated government as the Mediator of the covenant:
that which we are told (1 Cor. xv. 24-28) He will hereafter deliver
up to the Father. Three particulars we may point out, in which He
exercises this dominion. I. He rules _for_ His Church, as "The Lamb
in the midst of the throne." II. He rules _in_ His Church, being its
alone King and Lawgiver. The Church is never for one moment to assume
the power of legislation; it belongs not to her, but to Him: _she_
has the executive--nothing more--to obey His laws, to carry them out
according to the mind of Him who framed them. III. There is a third
power--that which He exercises in the souls of His true subjects,
ruling in and over them by the power of His own blessed
Spirit.--_J. H. Evans, M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit,_ vol. vii. p 337.
In this verse we have a constellation of titles, all of which
illustrate the essential dignity and mediatorial claims of Jesus, and
tend to awaken the confidence of the Church. The very first
declaration, His "name shall be called Wonderful," fitly prepares us
for all that is to follow, teaching us to expect something beyond the
ordinary works of God. He is "wonderful" in His incarnation, in His
government, in the counsels He originates, in the divinity of His
nature, in the eternity of His existence, in the results of His
mediatorial rule, for He is "the Prince of Peace," swaying the
sceptre of mercy over an apostate and disordered world. There is a
beautiful consistency in all this; for if the government of earth and
heaven, the sovereignty of the Church and of the world, is to be
exercised by the Redeemer, it is necessary that He should be
possessed of attributes equal to the immense responsibilities. But
these attributes are His, and hence the command, "Rejoice, for the
Lord reigneth!" +I. It is a cause of peculiar rejoicing to all good
men that the government of the world is in the hands of Christ.+
Their interest and joy in this fact arise--1. From the near and
sacred relation in which Jesus stands to them. 2. From the glorious
perfectness of His character, which guarantees the wisdom and
blessedness of His sway. 3. From the changelessness, perpetuity, and
destined universality of His rule. +II. The sovereignty of Christ
affords great relief in contemplating the abject condition of the
heathen world.+ The heathen have been given to Him for His
inheritance, and He will certainly deliver them from the
superstitions and miseries by which they are oppressed. +III. This
fact gives us a deep interest in beholding the vast extent of the
universe of God.+ Every part of it is but a province in Christ's
boundless empire.--_Samuel Thodey._
HIS NAME . . . WONDERFUL.
ix. 6. _His name shall be called Wonderful, &c._
+I. Christ is wonderful in His nature.+ He is wonderful, 1. In
respect of _His essential Godhead._ 2. In respect of _His perfect
manhood._ _All_ excellencies were combined in him as a man, unlike
even His most eminent servants, who are distinguished for the
possession of _special_ graces, which too often are clouded by some
opposite defect. 3. In respect of the _union in Him of Deity and
humanity_ (1 Tim. iii. 16).
+II. Christ is wonderful in His offices,+ at once Prophet, Priest,
and King. 1. As a _Prophet,_ what wonderful disclosures He has made
to us of the Divine nature and will, and of human duty and destiny;
with what wonderful authority He spoke; with what wonderful
completeness and beauty He fulfilled all His own commandments! 2. As
a _Priest,_ how wonderfully He was at once sacrifice and offerer: how
wonderfully He still carries on the work of reconciliation (Rom.
viii. 34). 3. As a _King,_ how wonderfully He rules, with omnipotent
power, yet with lamblike gentleness.
+III. Christ is wonderful in his relation to His people.+ 1. In the
care He exercises over them (Ezek. xxxiv. 11-16). 2. In the abundance
of the grace which He ministers to them (2 Cor. xii. 9; John i. 16;
H. E. I. 936). 3. In His condescending thoughtfulness for each one of
them (John x. 3, 14, 15).[1] 4. In the perfectness of His sympathy
with them. He identifies Himself so entirely with His people, that
they have not a single care, trial, or temptation of any sort, but it
is as much _His_ as it is _theirs_ (H. E. I. 952-961).--_J. H. Evans,
M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit,_ vol. vii. pp. 336-348.
We are continually struck with one marked contrast between the
greatness that is human and the greatness that is Divine: human
greatness the more it is examined the less wonderful it appears, but
Divine productions, the more closely they are investigated the more
brightly they shine. We shall see that Christ is wonderful, if we
consider--I. _The excellences that compose His mediatorial
character._ God and man! Nor is this a wonder to men only (1 Pet.
i. 12). II. _The stupendous blessings He bestows on His friends._
III. _The reserves of glory which He waits to exhibit in now unseen
and future worlds._
Behold Him, and 1. Never hesitate to acknowledge Him as your Saviour
and Lord. 2. Yield a ready obedience to His authority. 3. Anticipate
His coming in glory.--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Oh, how "wonderful" must He be, that suits Himself to the
cares of all, as if He had but one! cares for each as much
as He cares for all, and cares for each as if he _were_
all! We are lost in this deep. I sometimes get some light
from this thought:--Why, the sun can shine into the attic
as well as into the Queen's palace; it occasions no
difficulty to the sun. Blessed Jesus! there is no
difficulty for Thee to supply all our minutest wants; in
Thee there is the abundance of power, and quite as great an
abundance of love.--_J. H. Evans, M.A._
CHRIST OUR COUNSELLOR.
ix. 6. _His name shall be called . . . Counsellor, &c._
+I. How Christ may be our Counsellor.+ Immediate, close and
confidential intercourse is involved in our idea of taking counsel.
When we are in perplexity, we lay the whole matter before a friend in
whose wisdom we trust. So we may spread our difficulties before
Christ in prayer. Thus far, all is clear. But how can we receive from
Christ the answer and guidance we seek? How does an earthly friend
help us in such a case? _By producing a certain impression on our
mind._ He may do it by spoken words, by letter, or even by a gesture.
The _manner_ is unimportant. So Christ guides us _by producing
impression on our mind; how,_ we know not, nor does it matter
greatly. The well-instructed Christian seeks counsel from Christ in
all things. He prays for _daily_ guidance. Special difficulties he
makes matter of special prayer. Then, upon the mind previously made
calm and willing, there comes a sense of rectitude, and a feeling of
resolution. One course, generally that which involves most
self-denial and manifests least self-dependence, comes prominently
forth in strong relief, as most to be preferred. Its advantages each
moment look clearer and brighter; its consistency with his religious
profession, conformity to the will of God, and true wisdom, are more
and more strongly impressed upon his mind. He doubts no more. He has
arrived at a decision. Christ's counsel has prevailed. It is our
privilege thus to be directed at every stage and in every vicissitude
of life.
+II. Why we should take Christ for our Counsellor.+ Because in Him
are all the qualities that would cause us to value and seek the
counsel of an earthly friend--tenderness, wisdom, and power. He can
help us to carry out His counsels.
+III. What will the effects of making Christ the Man of our counsel?+
1. _A special consistency of Christian conduct._ Inconsistency arises
from listening to contradictory advisors; sometimes going to Christ,
and sometimes taking counsel from flesh and blood. 2. _A conformity
and likeness to Christ._ You will learn to love what He loves, and to
desire what He promises. In the man who constantly makes Christ his
counsellor, there is begotten a spirituality of mind, a deadness to
the world, a fixedness of purpose, a cheerfulness of temper, a
self-possession and patience, which are scarcely conceivable and
quite invaluable. A man is powerfully influenced by the company he
keeps--whether it be refined and moral, or coarse and profligate.
What, then, must be the effect of habitual intercourse with the Lord
of light and grace and glory? 3. _A preparedness for Christ's
presence in heaven._ What is the bliss of heaven? It is the vision
of the Almighty; unclouded and uninterrupted intercourse with the
Saviour and Lord of all. The more we have cultivated this here, the
more fitted we shall be for it hereafter.--_Josiah Bateman, M.A.:
Sermons,_ pp. 1-18.
THE MIGHTY GOD.
ix. 6. _His name shall be called . . . The Mighty God._
Various devices to escape from the force of this declaration have
been tried.[1] But after a discussion prolonged through centuries, it
is now conceded by the foremost Hebrew scholars of our time, that,
whether we accept or reject it, Isaiah's declaration _is_ that the
Person concerning whom he wrote should be called "The mighty God;"
which is merely the Scriptural way of asserting that He should _be_
"The mighty God," for names Divinely given represent realities. That
the Person concerning whom this declaration was made is our Lord
Jesus Christ is the conviction of the whole Christian Church. _He_ is
the "Child," the "Son," the "Mighty God," concerning whom Isaiah
wrote. Let us do more than give our assent to this statement: let us
think about it.
+I.+ It is essential to soundness of creed, and to any full
realisation of the doctrine of +the perfect humanity of our Lord
Jesus Christ.+ He was a _man_ in the same sense that this is true of
any man here; whatever was essential to perfectness of manhood
existed in Him. Unless we grasp this great truth intelligently and
firmly, 1. His _example_ can be of no considerable help to us
(H. E. I. 898). The example of an angel, though it might excite our
admiration, would also smite us with despair. 2. His _sympathy_ with
men, because of His identity with them in their experience, can never
be to us, what it has been to missions, one of the most comforting
and strengthening of all thoughts (Heb. ii. 17, 18; iv. 15; H. E. I.
872, 954). +II.+ It is equally necessary that we should hold firmly
+the doctrine of His Deity.+ That He is "the mighty God" is the
testimony, 1. Of His _works_ (Matt. xiv. 32, 33, &c.). 2. Of His
_words_ (John vi. 48; vii. 37; viii. 12; &c.; H. E. I. 836, 840-842).
This doctrine pervades the New Testament (H. E. I. 835, 838). The sum
of its teaching concerning Him is, that in Him God was manifest, that
He is the true God (1 Tim. iii. 16; 1 John v. 20). It is not only one
of the profoundest of all doctrines, it is the most practical. Let me
doubt it, and how can Christ be to me a Saviour? How can He be more
to me than any other eminently holy and wise man who died centuries
ago, or yesterday? 1. What comfort can I derive from the declaration
that He died for me? Could a _man_ atone for the sins of the whole
world, for my sins? 2. What comfort can I derive from the declaration
that He now lives and is in heaven? If so, as a _man,_ doubtless, He
will sympathise with me, but how can I be assured in times of
distress and danger I raise? or that, if He hears me, He is able to
help?
1. This complex Christian life of ours can be sustained only by the
complex and unfathomably mysterious doctrine of the Divine-human
nature of Christ, just as our physical life can be sustained only by
the compound yet simple atmosphere we breathe. To simplify the
atmosphere by taking away, if it were possible, either of its main
constituents would transform the earth into a sepulchre; and to
"simplify" Christian doctrine by taking away the doctrine either of
our Lord's humanity or of His Deity is the destruction of spiritual
life. 2. Let us, then, accept in all their fulness the declarations
of Scripture concerning the Person of Our Lord. Those declarations
transcend our reason, but they do not contradict it (H. E. I. 851,
4809-4814), and they should be joyfully accepted by our faith. 3. Let
us think much of Christ as the Son of man, that by His example we may
be incited to strive after a noble manhood, and that by the assurance
of His sympathy we may be sustained amid all the struggles and
sorrows of life. 4. Let us think much of Him as "the mighty God,"
that our faith may rejoice in His ability to accomplish for us a
complete redemption; that our reason and conscience may be let to bow
to the authority which must therefore belong to all His utterances;
that our love for Him, which is tender and ardent, may be also
reverent; and that our soul may feel itself free to give expression
to the feelings of adoration that rise up within us when we
contemplate His perfections, His purposes, and the work which it is
declared He has accomplished on our behalf.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The following translations have been given by sceptical
scholars, but have all been conclusively rejected by sound
scholarship:--
"Mighty Hero."--_Gresenius._
"Counsellor of the Mighty God."--_Grotius._
"Counsellor of God, Mighty."--_Carpenter._
"And He who is Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God,
the everlasting Father, calls His name the Prince of
peace."--_Jarchi_ and _Kimchi._
THE EVERLASTING FATHER.
ix. 6. _The Everlasting Father._
We usually associate the name of father with the first "Person" of
the adorable Godhead. But there is no manner of doubt that the title
here belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ--to the very same Person who,
in human nature was a Child born, and a Son given up for the
salvation of men. But there is this difference: the title given to
the Son born is not merely "the Father," but "the _everlasting_
Father." The title is not "Father," but the entire phrase. Read more
exactly in accordance with the original words, the phrase is this:
"the father of perpetuity, the father of eternity, the father of for
ever." "Father" means here simply possessor or author. To be the
"Father of eternity" is to _have_ eternity, and to _rule_ in
eternity--to be the Lord of eternity. Christ Jesus, who hath the
government upon His shoulders, hath it on His shoulders for ever; He
is King of kings and Lord of lords throughout eternity. The eternity
here spoken of is not the eternity that is bygone--if we may so speak
of eternity; it is the ongoing and unending duration that lies before
us, and Christ Jesus is Lord and Ruler of it all. No doubt He who can
hold the future eternity in His hand, and who can rule all its
affairs, must have been Himself the Unbeginning and Eternal One; and
the Scriptures leave no doubts about that being the attribute of our
Lord Jesus Christ (John viii. 58; Col. i. 17; John i. 3). But it is
that for ever which lies before us which Christ is here said to be
the Father of. He is so as its Possessor--He has it; as its
Originator--He makes it what it is; as its Controller--He rules in it.
I. Jesus Christ is the father of the eternity that lies before us,
the father of the for ever, because He Himself lives for ever. He has
it. Observe, this is true of the Second Person of the Godhead in
human nature. The connection of the text will not permit us to forget
that. It is the Child born and the Son given who is said to live for
ever. That is a great thought; the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ in
humanity is to live for ever is a stupendous expectation and belief.
Sometimes it has seemed to me as it were more wonderful even than the
Incarnation. It seems as if it would have been less strange for the
Son of God, for some great purpose, to have clothed Himself with a
creature's nature, and then, having accomplished that purpose, to
have laid down that nature as a thing too far down from the Infinite
to be worn for ever. But now the wonder is, that having made Himself
our kinsman, He is to be our Head for ever, and is never to cease to
wear the human nature in which He died on Calvary. That this is an
important thought appears from two considerations. 1. It is part of
the Divine promise of the Father to our Lord, and it is a thing for
which our Lord prayed as part of His Father's promise (compare Isa.
liii. 10, Ps. lxxii. 15; xxi. 4). 2. It implies that His work was
finished to His Father's satisfaction. It is clearly spoken of as a
reward for work well done. Hence this title "Father of
eternity"--hath in germ within it the great facts of Christ's death,
resurrection, ascension, and session in glory (comp. Rev. i. 18).
From this fact two inferences can be drawn, both of a most
consolatory and joyful character. 1. To God's people. What a Saviour
they have! They need never fear that they will find a world in all
the universe where He is not with them, and they cannot live on to
any age when He shall cease to be their light and King. 2. The same
thing brings comfort to every sinner (Heb. vii. 25). Do not lose
yourselves in a great general thought of Christ living for ever;
rather narrow the broad and grand conception, and fasten it down upon
the present fleeting moment. Christ lives _now,_ and lives
_here_--lives _here_ and _now_ to save the sinner and bless the
saint. Apply to Him, and rejoice in Him that liveth now and for ever
and ever.
II. He originated this age that is spoken of. As by His death He
secured His own immortality on the basis of the faithful covenant,
and received life for ever because He had done the Father's will; so
by the same completion of His mediatorial work on earth He purchased
this immortality for His people. All that is valuable in the prospect
of unending existence to any human being he owes to our Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the father of the eternal age; it could not have been
without Him.
III. As Jesus Christ, personally and in humanity, lives through this
eternal age, and as He introduced it and gave it its great
characteristics, so the administration of its whole affairs is in His
hands. The Author of our Faith is the ruler of its progress, and that
not on earth alone, but in heaven (Matt. xxviii. 18). What follows
from that? 1. What a terrible and what a hopeless thing it must be to
resist Christ! To resist Him effectually, we would require to be able
to do one or other of two things: We should need either to go beyond
infinite distance and get away from Him that way, or live longer than
for ever, which is equally impossible. The only question is this, "Am
I in Christ's hands to be slain by Him, or to be saved by Him?" and
that turns on my submission to His will. "Am I to sit on the throne
beside Him? or take the other alternative and be made His footstool?"
2. What a good thought it is for the Christian, that he can never go
away from Christ's care, that He can never be for a moment without
his Friend watching over him, and never in any place in which he does
not hear the music of those precious words, "Lo, I am with you
alway!" (Matt. xxviii. 20).--_J. Edmond, D.D.: Christian World
Pulpit,_ vol. ix. pp. 145-148.
THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
ix. 6. _The Prince of Peace._
How peaceful was the scene when the first Sabbath shone upon this
world! How reversed was the scene when sin entered to revolutionise
it! Think of the widespread and woful war which sin has entailed on
this world, and see the need of such a Prince as our text reveals to
restore the primitive peace. See, too, the magnitude of the work to
which the Redeemer stands appointed when He is presented in the
character of a pacificator who is to bring this strife to a happy
conclusion for man.
I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST FOR ACTING AS "THE PRINCE OF PEACE."
We find these, 1. In His original personal excellence as the only
begotten of the Father. 2. In His Father's ordination of Him to the
office. 3. In the meritoriousness of the work He accomplished as the
substitute for sinners. 4. In the station to which He has been
exalted, and the executive power which has been lodged in His hands.
First of all, He has been appointed Intercessor, to plead the cause
of His people on the foundation of the work He has done for them;
and, secondly, He has been anointed a King with all the influence and
energy of the Almighty Spirit placed at His disposal to carry into
execution all the favourable purposes of the Divine government on
behalf of those whose cause He has won by His intercession. 5. In the
fervency with which His heart is dedicated to the attainment of His
object.
II. THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF THAT PEACE OF WHICH CHRIST IS, OR SHALL
YET BE, THE MINISTERING PRINCE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE ON HIM. 1. He hath
effected reconciliation between God and man. 2. In Christ we cease to
war against ourselves. 3. Our Prince hath reconciled us to the
angels. 4. Reconciliation is effected between Jew and Gentile (Eph.
ii. 14-16). 5. The general reconciliation of man to man, the
destruction of selfishness, and the diffusion of benevolence Christ
came by His dying for all, to teach that all were as brethren, and
ought to regard one another with fraternal affection. How much the
world required this lesson! How imperfectly it has been learned
(H. E. I., 884).--_William Anderson, L.L.D.; Christian World Pulpit,_
vol. x. pp. 392-394.
+I. The character of Christ:+ "the Prince of Peace." How wonderful
and glorious is this character when viewed in connection with this
title! Infinite wisdom and almighty power employed not for purposes
of war, but of peace! (Isa. lv. 8, 9). 1. He procures peace. 2. He
proclaims peace. 3. He imparts peace. 4. He maintains peace. 5. He
perfects peace. +II. The character of His religion.+ It is a religion
of peace. True, at its first introduction, it leads to conflicts
(Matt. x. 34); but in the end it secures a permanent peace (Jas.
iii. 17). It will give peace, but only on its terms. +III. Character
of the followers of Christ.+ They are the sons of peace. 1. They seek
peace with God through the mediation of Christ. 2. They exemplify a
spirit like His own, and thus help to heal the wounds of a bleeding
world. 3. They extend through the world the gospel of peace. 4. They
anticipate in heaven the reign of unbroken peace.--_Samuel Thodey._
THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST.
ix. 7. _Of the increase of His government, &c._
If any man asks, "Concerning whom does the Prophet write these
things?" the answer is, "Concerning Christ." "Of the increase of
_His_ government and peace there shall be no end."[1] The world has
seen many great empires, that bade fair to be everlasting, crumble
away; and in view of the history of the past, it is unreasonable to
believe that any modern empire, except so far as it is obedient to
Christ, will be more durable. This is a world of change, and it is
vain to hope that political revolutions are altogether things of the
past. Two thousand years hence, should the present era so long
continue, the map of this will be very different from what it is
to-day. But the empire of Christ is to continue for ever. Unlike all
other empires, it is to be continually progressing in extent and
cohesion.
_What are our grounds for believing this?_ +I. The distinct promises
of Scripture+ (Ps. ii. 8, xxii. 27, lxxxii. 8-11; Dan. vii. 13, 14).
For a Christian this is sufficient. But even to those whose reverence
for God's Word is most profound and unquestioning, it is interesting
to see--+II.+ That +the nature of things+[2] is all in favour of the
fulfilment of this prediction. Under this division of our subject,
look at some of the differences between all human empires and the
empire of Christ. 1. As to their _origin._ They have usually been
created by the genius and energy of some great man. But even such men
as David, Alexander, and Cæsar are mortal, and because it is
impossible to secure a constant succession of men of genius, the
empires they found crumble away. To David and Solomon succeeds a
Rehoboam, and Rehoboam means ruin. But Christ wields the enormous
"power of an endless life."[3] 2. As to their _progress._ (1.) Vast
empires fall to pieces by reason of their very vastness. Time brings
many changes even to great empires, and among them at least a
temporary weakening of the central power; the heart is enfeebled, and
the whole body is enfeebled and begins to decay. (2.) Great empires
afford multiplied opportunities for great corruption, and this
ultimately kills a state. (3.) Great empires include many conflicting
interests; there is a perpetual struggle to maintain the balance of
power; mutinies and rebellions are inevitable, and in the end some of
these are successful, and the empire is broken. But none of these
things can happen in the empire of Christ; none of these causes will
tend to check the increase of _His_ government. 3. As to their
_aims._ This is a consideration even more important and vital than
the others. All empires have really had for their aim the
aggrandisement of some ambitious man or nation. The inspiring motive
has been supremely selfish. Hence fraud and force have been
unhesitatingly employed for their advancement, and, because God
really rules on earth as well as in heaven, these things, though they
secure a temporary triumph, ultimately lead to inevitable ruin
(H. E. I. 4612, P. D. 2544, 2995). By similar means the great empire
has to be maintained, and in every part of it there are millions
watching for an opportunity to subvert it by the same means; because
its aims are selfish, it is hated, not loved, by those over whom it
triumphs. But the inspiring aims of Christ's empire are righteousness
and peace; it is to extend these blessings that His limitless
resources are employed; the manner in which these resources is
employed is in accordance with the ends sought; and hence (1) all the
laws of God's universe are on His side, and (2) He is loved most
intensely precisely by those over whom His authority is most
completely established.[4] +III.+ If any further confirmations of our
faith in Christ's ultimate triumph is needed, we have it in +the
history of the world since His crucifixion.+ When He was crucified
they nailed over His head the inscription, "THE KING OF THE JEWS." It
was intended to be an act of mockery; it was the declaration of a
great truth. And since then He has become the King of the Gentiles
also. The mighty empire that tried to stop the progress of His
kingdom was ground to powder in the conflict. And now by all the most
powerful kingdoms of the earth He is, nominally at least,
acknowledged as the supreme Authority. That which is nominal shall
become real (Rev. xi. 15).
Concerning the complete fulfilment of the prediction of our text, we
need therefore have no fear. And hence,--
1. We can look without dismay at the mighty forces arrayed against
Christ and His truth,--heathenism abroad and infidelity at home
(H. E. I. 642). 2. We can look forward to the future of the world
with hope. A golden age is yet to dawn (H. E. I. 3421-3423). 3. We
can labour for the extension of Christ's kingdom with all the hopeful
energy of those who know that the end of all their efforts is not
failure, but a glorious success (H. E. I. 979, 1161, 1162, 1166-1168).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Upon the throne of David._ This was in accordance with the
promise made to David (1 Kings viii. 25; 2 Sam. vii. 12,
13; Ps. cxxxii. 11). This promise was understood as
referring to the Messiah. The primary idea is, that He
should be descended in the line of David, and accordingly
the New Testament writers are often at pains to show that
the Lord Jesus was of that family (Luke ii. 4). When it is
said that He would sit upon the throne of David, it is not
to be taken literally. The peculiarity of the reign of
David was, that _he reigned over the people of God._ . . .
To sit upon the throne of David, therefore, means to reign
over the people of God; and in this sense the Messiah sits
on his throne.--_Barnes._
The angel who came to Mary affirmed these very things of
the Son then to be born (Luke i. 32, 33).--_Cowles._
[2] According to my view of the Unity of the Divine nature, God
is one, as we meet Him in the Old Testament and the Oldest;
in the New and the Newest. There are four Testaments: an
Oldest and an Old, a New and a Newest. _The Oldest
Testament is the Nature of Things._ The Newest is Christ's
continued life in the present influences of the Holy
Spirit. The Oldest and the Newest are unwritten; the Old
and New are written; but the voices of the four are
one.--_Joseph Cook._
[3] See Bushnell's sermon on "The Power of an Endless Life," in
"The New Life," pp. 287-307.
[4] The remarkably emphatic repetition of the idea of His
ruling in righteousness, justice, and real benevolence,
suggests how fearfully the world has been _misgoverned,_
and how little the great body of human government in even
civilised nations have sought and practically secured the
welfare of the millions.--_Cowles._
THE SECURITY FOR THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES.
ix. 7. _The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this._
It may be affirmed with equal truth, that from what zeal is in man we
may know what it is in God; and that from what zeal is in man we
cannot tell what it is in God (H. E. I. 2229-2240). We can tell what
its nature is, but we cannot tell its power. 1. Zeal is in man an
intense passionateness of desire for the accomplishment of some
purpose; this leads to an energy and continuity of action that in
many cases triumphs over obstacles, and accomplishes what seemed
impossible. True zeal in man is intelligent, calm, persistent, and
unweariable; and all this we know it must be in God. 2. But what its
power is in God we cannot tell. Water in the mass, and fire in the
mass, is an utterly different thing from water or fire on a small
scale.[1] "The zeal of the Lord of hosts" is a tremendous conception
which the mind cannot grasp.
This declaration is the consummation and crown of a great promise
concerning the Messiah. It is the guarantee that, great as that
promise is, it shall not remain unfulfilled; the heart of God is set
upon its accomplishment, and He is "the Lord of hosts." We have here
a general and blessed principle, applicable to all God's promises.
For two reasons many human purposes remain unfulfilled: those who
entertain them are not in earnest about them, or they lack power to
carry them into effect. But both these essential requisites meet in
God--earnestness and power. He makes no promise lightly; He attaches
importance to every pledge He has ever entered into; and He will
fulfil His promises, according to the largest interpretation that can
be put upon them (Eph. iii. 20).
Let us use this declaration for the comforting and strengthening of
our hearts. There are many great and precious promises,
+I. Concerning the extension of Christ's kingdom,+ _e.g.,_ in the
words preceding our text. It is declared that the influence and
authority of Christ shall be unceasingly exerted with constantly
augmenting effect, until all the disorder and misery of the world
shall be brought to an end. So glowing is the picture given by the
prophets of the world's future that we are tempted to fear that it
will never be realised. But "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will
perform _this_"; and those who by their prayers, efforts, and
sacrifices are trying to contribute to the extension of Christ's
kingdom, may rejoice in the assurance that they are not labouring in
vain, nor spending their strength for nought (H. E. I. 979, 1161,
1162, 1166-1168; P. D. 475, 517, 2465, 2466). +II. Concerning the
temporal well-being of Christ's people.+ 1. _Deliverance in time of
danger_ (Isa. liv. 17). Illustrate by the account of the deliverance
of Hezekiah (Isa. xxxvii.), noting especially that the promise then
given was enforced by the very same declaration: "the zeal of the
Lord of hosts shall do _this_" (ver. 32; H. E. I. 4058). 2. _Supply
for all temporal necessities_ (Matt. vi. 25-34; H. E. I. 4507).
+III. Concerning the spiritual necessities and ultimate perfection of
Christ's people.+ After each of them Faith sees written, though not
with ink, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform _this_"
(H. E. I. 1063-1071, 1106, 1112-1119). By and by there is to be a
great gathering of Christ's ransomed ones in the heavenly world, and
this will then be their grateful acknowledgement (Josh. xxiii. 14).
Meanwhile, whensoever in our search of the Scriptures we find a
promise specially adapted to our needs, let us lay hold of it, saying
with joyful confidence, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
_this!_"
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The nature of water in a little pool left on the sea-shore
by the receding tide is the same as in the great sea
itself; but from the little pool we cannot form any
conjecture as to the power of water when moving in mighty
waves. So with fire,--its nature is the same in a lighted
match and in a great conflagration such as reduced Chicago
to ashes; but how different its power in the two cases!
Scientific observers have left it on record, that while
watching that conflagration it was revealed to them for the
first time what power there is latent in fire, when massed
in a great body; when at its height, solid granite
buildings were consumed and passed away as if they had been
made of thin pasteboard.
THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND OF GOD.
ix. 8-x. 4. _But His hand is stretched out still._
Much is said in the Bible concerning the hand of God.[1] Consider
what the hand is to man: it is the chief instrument by which he
executes his purposes,--farmer, builder, artist, author, &c.; and by
the hand of God is meant His executive force in all its varied forms.
God has the means of doing all His will, and He is not an unconcerned
spectator of human affairs--these truths inspire God's people with
hope, courage, and joy; and they ought to inspire with terror all who
are in rebellion against Him. His hand is outstretched, not for, but
against them; His irresistible executive forces are certain to be put
forth for their overthrow. Alike for the warning of those whose lives
are not governed according to the Divine will, and for the exciting
of holy watchfulness in those who are trying to obey that will in all
things, let us study this prophecy for the purpose of discovering,
+I. The reasons why God's hand is outstretched in anger.+ Remind you
that this is not an exhaustive statement of those reasons, and that
no man is necessarily safe merely because his conduct is not here
specifically described, I point out that among the things that put
man in the most extreme peril of destruction by their Creator
are--1. _Oppression_ (x. 1, 2.)[2] 2. _Hypocrisy_ (ix. 17).[3]
3. _Stubbornness under Divine chastisements_ (ix. 9, 10).[4] +II. The
effects of the outstretching of God's hand in anger.+ These are
_terrible, increasing, continuous._ +III. The mode of escape for
those against whom God's hand is stretched out in anger.+ Not
defiance, but submission and repentance (ix. 13). +IV.+ Let us note
with reverent and thankful wonder, that +against the wicked God's
hand is long stretched out;+ that it does not, as it so easily might,
come down upon them instantly with destructive force. What a proof we
have here that, while He is inflexibly righteous, He is tenderly
pitiful! And what an encouragement we have here to return to Him with
penitence of heart![5]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It is so vast that the mighty ocean lies in the hollow of
it (Isa. xl. 12). It is a hand of power and skill, for by
it the foundations of the earth were laid; and all the
wondrous hosts of heaven fashioned (Isa. xlviii. 13;
lxvi. 2). In it our life is (Dan. v. 23). When He opens it,
His creatures are filled with good, and all their desires
are satisfied (Ps. civ. 28; cxlv. 16). By it the Good
Shepherd feeds, guides, and protects His sheep (Ps.
xcv. 7). It is a good hand, helping all who are trying to
serve God (Ezra viii. 22; Neh. ii. 18). It is a mighty
hand, delivering His people (Exod. xiii. 3). It is a hand
that controls those who control others (Prov. xxi. 1). Even
the shadow of it is sufficient protection (Isa. li. 16). It
is a heavy hand when it rests upon His people in
chastisement (Job xix. 21), and still more so when it rests
upon the wicked in punishment (1 Sam. v. 11). It is
outstretched to fight against His enemies (Jer. xxi. 5).
[2] See outlines on pages 94-96 (OPPRESSION OF THE POOR, THE
PLEADER AND THE JUDGE).
[3] H. E. I. 3026, 3027; P. D. 1923.
[4] H. E. I. 143, 158.
[5] H. E. I. 2286.
THE DUTY OF THE AFFLICTED.
ix. 9-14. _And all the people shall know, &c._
God here complains of what Israel did when grievous and prolonged
afflictions, sent by God, fell upon them:[1] then they left undone
what they ought to have done, and did what they ought not to have
done; and this opens up the great subject of _the duty of the
afflicted._
An entirely different interpretation has to be put upon affliction in
the case of men whose sincere desire is to govern their lives
according to the will of God, and in the case of men who are living
wholly unto themselves. It is exclusively of afflictions that befall
men of the latter order that we intend now to speak, though many
things that will be said apply to _all_ the afflicted.
+I.+ In the case of the ungodly, the DESIGN of the affliction is in
the first instance corrective, and then, in the event of its not
accomplishing this end, punitive.
+II.+ Their DUTY is--1. +To recognise that their afflictions come
from God.+ This is a fact that wicked men are very slow to recognise;
they prefer to attribute their troubles to "bad luck,"
miscalculations on their part, superior ingenuity or force on the
part of their human adversaries, &c. They prefer anything to a
recognition of the awful fact that it is God who is dealing with them
(H. E. I. 143). 2. +Submission to the will of God.+ This is
frequently the result of recognition that the affliction comes from
Him; men cease to use such language as is attributed to the
Israelites (ver. 10). Were it not that sin dethrones the reason, this
would always be the case; but it is not so,--men can be found so
hardened in iniquity that they resolve to fight against God.
Stoutheartedness in affliction is an admirable thing; there is a
place for it; but it is utterly misplaced when it leads men to
struggle against the Almighty. The only and inevitable result is
heavier affliction and ultimate ruin (vers. 11-14. H. E. I. 146,
147).[2] 3. +Repentance toward God.+ (1.) Repentance is more than
submission (H. E. I. 4206-4209). (2.) God will be satisfied with
nothing less than change of heart towards Him. (3.) Here we reach one
of the most terrible results of iniquity; by it men are incapacitated
for naturally doing that which is indispensable to their salvation.
Did not God pity sinful men, they could never attain to that state of
heart and mind without which it would be impossible for God to
forgive them. But Christ has been "exalted . . . for to _give_
repentance and forgiveness of sins." With the outward stroke of
affliction there comes to the heart the inward grace of Christ: let
transgressors be prompt to submit to the one, and to avail themselves
of the other (H. E. I. 145, 4210).
These, then, are the duties of sinful men upon whom affliction has
come. Let your compliance with them be--1. +Prompt.+ Not to comply
with them is to perish. Not to comply with them promptly is an
aggravation of all your former iniquity (H. E. I. 4247, 4248). By
delay you may exhaust the Divine patience (Prov. xxix. 1).
2. +Thankful.+ Adore the benignity of God, in that He is willing to
receive you on your mere repentance; a repentance which He Himself
enables you to exercise. Remember that where God sees it, He does not
merely turn away His chastisements from the penitent transgressor; He
receives him into His favour, and blesses him as a son in whom He
delights (Luke xv. 22, 23). Men do not act so. When their foes
submit, they require from them an indemnity for the wrong that has
been done; often an indemnity that is intended to be crushing,
_e.g.,_ Germany and France. But God in all His dealings with penitent
sinners shows Himself to be a God of grace (Micah vii. 18, 19).
3. +Intelligent.+ Do not imagine that there is anything meritorious
in your repentance (H. E. I. 4225-4228). Remember that God thus deals
with you solely for Christ's sake, through whose atonement it has
become possible for Him to show mercy to penitent transgressors. Here
is an additional argument for the exercise of repentance, that God
Himself, at so great a cost, had laid the foundation on which He can
deal with you otherwise than in the way of justice. If you persist in
your iniquity, and by your stubbornness leave Him no alternative but
to destroy you, He will be able with absolute truth to say to each of
you, "Thou hast destroyed thyself!" Even in pronouncing judgment upon
you, He will clear himself; as did our Lord when He left Jerusalem to
its fate (Matt. xxiii. 37, 38).[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Ten Tribes had already suffered many an affliction;
their political organisation had often been broken up by
civil wars and foreign invasions, as the house of unburnt
brick dissolves into mud before the rain, and the flower of
the people had been cut down as lavishly as men cut down
the cheap sycamores; but with that stoutness of heart, that
obstinate toughness which in all ages to the present has
marked this race, the men of Ephraim and Samaria seem to
rise superior to every calamity; like Solomon, they will
change the sycamores for cedars, and they will replace the
brick with hewn stones. The conversion of Damascus from an
ancient enemy into an ally encouraged them in their hopes;
but Jehovah will confound their policy by bringing the
conquerors of Damascus upon them.--_Strachey._
[2] A man under God's affliction is like a bird in a net; the
more he strives, the more he is entangled.--_Bishop Hall._
[3] When the monster-taming Hercules overcame all in the
Olympics, Jupiter at last, in an unknown shape, wrestled
with him: the victory was uncertain, till at length Jupiter
descried himself, and Hercules yielded. No striving with
supreme powers: we must submit ourselves unto the mighty
hand of God, acknowledge our offences, call to Him for
mercy. If He strike, as it is with them that are wounded
with the spear of Achilles, He alone must help.--_Burton._
LEADERSHIP.[1]
(_An Ordination Sermon._)
ix. 15, 16. _The prophet that teacheth lies, he is the
tail, &c._
+I. The world is so constituted that leaders of the people are at
present a necessity.+ It is no disparagement of oak trees to say that
few of them are sixty feet high; and it is no disparagement of our
fellow-men to say that few of them are qualified to lead others. In
both cases we have to do with an ordinance of God. We are all
included in it. We all need, in some respect or other, to be led.
This arises from the disparity between human needs and human powers.
Our faculties and time are too limited to allow any man to dispense
with guidance. Even the accomplished statesman needs to be guided in
the matter of health by the physician; the skilled physician needs to
be guided in building by an architect, and so on through all the
grades of human life. Men need guidance in commerce, politics,
literature, art, philosophy, and in religion. There is to be a time
when in this last respect guidance will not be needed (Jer. xxxi. 33,
34), but that time is not yet. The people still need guidance in
religion, because, 1. While in some of its aspects it is so simple
that a child is capable of it, in others it is so profound that they
need the most thoughtful instruction concerning it. 2. There are many
false forms of religion seeking to win acceptance (Matt. xxiv. 24;
2 Pet. ii. 1; 1 John iv. 1). 3. The natural tendency of the human
heart inclines it to the acceptance of those forms of faith which are
most unscriptural. This is the real secret to the power of Romanism.
To-day, therefore, the people still need religious leaders, and
leaders of the highest order. Even with the Bible in their hands,
most men need guidance (Acts ix. 30, 31). Woe to them, if they take
as their guides men who have not themselves been taught of the Holy
Ghost!
+II. Leadership involves for the leaders the highest honour or the
deepest shame.+ Many aspire to lead: few think of the difficulties
and responsibilities of leadership. 1. _The man who leads his
fellow-men well is entitled to the highest honour._ He cannot do it
without noble qualities of mind and heart. Those who are well-led
are, as a rule, not slow to acknowledge and reward the service that
has been rendered them. 2. _But leadership does not necessarily
involve any honour at all._ The post of prominence may only bring out
into view the leader's incompetency, mental and moral. "The fierce
light that beats upon a throne," and upon a pulpit, reveals every
speck and flaw in its occupant. It is a perilous thing to exchange
the pew for the pulpit. 3. _Through leadership a man may reach the
most utter degradation and shame._ He may do this (1.) through his
_incompetency._ Admiral Byng might have lived and died a respectable
English gentleman, if he had not been made an admiral. Many envied
him when he was so gazetted: none envied him when he was shot. Many a
"stickit minister" would have made a highly respectable and useful
church-member. (2.) Through his _dishonesty._ Many a leader, claiming
to be the head of a community, has really been its "tail," carried by
it, not carrying it on in paths of truth and honesty. His aim has
been, not the welfare of his followers, but his own aggrandisement
and popularity; his concern has been, not to speak the truth, but to
say what would be pleasant. His was the sin of many who claimed to be
prophets in Israel (Isaiah iii. 12, v. 20; Jer. v. 31). It is a
common sin to-day, both in the political and religious world. Let
those who claim to be ministers of God shun it. Self-seeking,
everywhere despicable, is in the pulpit most hateful and criminal
(P. D. 2482). Let every preacher regard as warnings those base
prophets of Israel; let him endeavour to realise that wonderful
picture of a true leader drawn by Christ's enemies (Matt. xxii. 16).
+III. Leadership involves for the led salvation or destruction.+ It
is not a trivial matter to be well or ill led. How true this is
politically, commercially, legally; it is not less true religiously.
That community shows little wisdom that chooses its leaders
carelessly. That community is insane which demands that its prophets
shall prophesy unto it only smooth things (Isa. xxx. 10). The
following of religious leaders who are themselves led by the Spirit
of God will result in temporal and eternal well-being; but trust in
"religious" demagogues, whose aim is not to speak the truth, but to
flatter those who listen to them, results inevitably in social and
spiritual ruin. In self-defence, then, demand of your minister that
he speak to you, not what is pleasant, but what is true; and count
him not your enemy, but your best friend when he utters what, just
because it is the truth of God, shall smite and wound as if it were a
sharp two-edged sword (Heb. iv. 12).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See outline: "BLIND LEADERS," p. 92.
TWO CONSTANT FEELINGS IN THE MIND OF GOD.
ix. 17. _Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their
young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and
widows._
From one point of view, this is a terrible text! it shows us that a
people may arrive at such a condition of desperate and incorrigible
wickedness, that God may feel constrained, as the upholder of truth
and righteousness in the world, to destroy them. But, on the other
hand, how worthy of thought and thanksgiving is this revelation of
God's _constant_ feelings towards two very opposite classes of
persons--those who are most joyful, and those who are most sorrowful.
+I. God's feelings toward young men.+ He has "joy" in them, a fact of
which young men seldom think. Doubtless He has joy in them,
1. because of what they are; and 2. because of what they may become.
He has this joy in them as their Creator. The great Artist has a
delight in all His works (Gen. i. 31; Prov. viii. 31). Young men are
a realisation, more or less perfect, of a thought, an ideal in the
Divine mind. Strength and comeliness of body, courage and vivacity of
mind, modesty and generosity of heart, are the ideal characteristics
of a young man, and precisely as they are actually found in any young
man, God has "joy" in him, just as He has joy in the strength of the
horse, the beauty of the swan, or the melody that is poured forth by
the lark or the nightingale. We frequently see a young man who is
obviously a glorious work of God; and had not sin so terribly cursed
and marred our race, all young men would have been such as the
British youths whose beauty called forth the old pleasant jest, "Not
Angles but angels."
All this is, of course, equally true of young women. For the Bible is
in this respect to be interpreted like our English laws, concerning
which it is decreed that the word "man" shall mean "woman" also in
all cases in which nature herself does not forbid such an
interpretation. A young woman is more than a pleasing mass of flesh
and blood; she is a realisation of a thought of God, a work of the
unseen Artist, to whom all that is beautiful in the universe owes its
existence.[1] Many a young woman is so beautiful that the human
artist counts himself happy indeed if he can make on the canvas any
fair transcript of her loveliness; and, what is better still, the
beautiful body is but a casket in which a more beautiful body is
enshrined.
Young men and women, think of this--God delights in you! What effects
will a realisation of this thought have upon you? 1. _It will check
that vanity by which the strength of the young man and the beauty of
the young woman are often so pitifully marred_ (1 Cor. iv. 7). 2. _It
will cause you to reverence yourselves._ Those who think that no one
cares for them, are apt not to care for themselves; but consciousness
that we are observed leads us to circumspection and self-control. If
the observation be friendly and approving, it is a stimulus to
endeavour to merit it. Respect kindles self-respect. Remembering how
God looks upon you, you will shrink from doing anything that will
lessen His "joy" in you; you will not voluntarily permit faults or
vices to mar the nobleness and beauty that call it forth, any more
than the roses, if they had power of self-defence, would give a
lodgment to those insects which blight the beauty that causes
beholders to joy in them. 3. _Kindly, loving feelings toward God will
spring up in you._ Friendliness and love tend to call forth
friendship and love; just as the sunshine and rain that in early
summer descend from the natural heavens cause flowers to spring forth
from the earth.
Consider what joy God must have had in the young man Jesus of
Nazareth, and why He had it, and resolve that the same causes for
this Divine joy shall exist in you.
+II. God's feelings towards orphans and widows.+ "Mercy on their
fatherless and widows." A more familiar thought, but let us not
therefore overlook its preciousness. How frequent and how emphatic
are the declarations of God's pity for the orphans and widows (Exod.
xxii. 22; Deut. x. 18; Ps. x. 14, 18; lxviii. 5; lxxxii. 3; cxlvi. 9;
Jer. xlix. 11, &c.) Yea, we are taught that at least one-half of
religion consists in being like God in this respect (Jas. i. 27).
God's pity is practical; let those to whom it is promised trust in it
confidently.[2] And let God's people make it their business--put
themselves to pain and trouble--to be like Him in this respect:
_this_ is the way to secure His favour for themselves.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The world is God's journal, wherein He writes His thoughts
and traces His tastes. The world overflows with beauty.
Beauty should no more be called trivial, since it is the
thought of God.--_Beecher._
[2] There are no such promises to those who are free from
sorrow and trial as are full and abundant to the afflicted.
A good country physician in New England went to a
neighbour's house to tell a wife and mother of the sudden
death of her absent husband. She was more than ordinarily
frail and dependent. She had a large family. Her husband
had acquired no property. The fresh blow was indeed
terrible to her. When the first wild burst of sorrow was
over, she looked up through her tears to her sympathising
friend, and said in agony, "But, Doctor, _what_ shall I
do?" "My dear woman, I don't know," said the kind-hearted
physician. "All I can say is, I only wish I had as many
promises of God to take right home to myself as you have
just now. The Bible is full of promises to those who are in
your case." And the stricken woman lived to realise the
truth and preciousness of the richest of those
promises.--_Trumbull._
DIVINE ANGER.
ix. 17. _For all this His anger is not turned away, but His
hand is stretched out still._
I. Anger in God is a calm and just sense of displeasure against
sin.[1] II. Has its expression in the judgments executed upon men in
this life. III. These under an administration of mercy are designed
to be corrective. IV. Cannot in the case of failure satisfy the
purposes of the Divine anger. V. Hence in all cases of impenitence
God's anger is not turned away, &c.--_J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletical
Treasury._ Part I. p. 15.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The anger which God feels and displays is always against
_sin._ It is never against sinners as offenders against
Himself personally, but as violators of the eternal laws of
righteousness and love. It is not possible for the most
daring transgressor to injure God in the slightest degree,
and therefore He can never feel anything approaching to
that personal vindictiveness which we feel against those
who have wronged us. There are some passages which at first
sight convey a different impression, as when it is said,
"Know therefore that the Lord thy God . . . repayeth them
that hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not
be slack to him that hateth Him; He will repay him to his
face" (Deut. vii. 10); and again, "God is jealous, and the
Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take
vengeance upon His adversaries" (Nahum i. 2). But terrible
as such passages are, they admit of a ready explanation. In
them God manifestly speaks as "the Judge of all the earth,"
as the Representative and Administrator of righteousness.
Some years ago, proclamations denouncing the severest
penalties against Fenianism were issued in the name of our
beloved Queen; but no one imagined that she cherished any
personal hostility against those offenders against her
authority. Every month it is her melancholy duty to sign
documents that consign convicted murderers to the scaffold,
but no one regards these death-warrants as any proof that
she delights in the sufferings of those whose sentence she
confirms. Nor will any thoughtful person interpret such
passages as setting forth anything else than God's resolve
to be faithful to His duties as the supreme administrator
of justice, notwithstanding that in being so He must
perform many things that are revolting to His infinite
tenderness and compassion. His expostulations with sinners
to repent and turn from their transgressions are a
sufficient confirmation of this interpretation (Ezek.
xviii. 31, 32, &c.) His anger against sin and sinners is no
passion of personal vindictiveness, but is the natural
revulsion of purity from impurity, of honesty from fraud,
of truthfulness for falsehood; this instinctive abhorrence
of generosity for meanness, of benevolence for malice, of
kindness for cruelty.
If God did not feel and manifest this anger against sin, it
would be impossible to respect and love Him. If He could
look down on the mean and dastardly things that are done
every day, and yet remain cold and emotionless as an
iceberg, as indifferent to the sufferings of His creatures
as some Oriental despots have been to the miseries of their
wretched subjects, our whole soul would rise up in
righteous condemnation of Him.--_R. A. B._
See outlines: GOD OPPRESSED, pp. 28-32; A TERRIBLE RESOLVE,
pp. 61, 62; THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT, pp. 63, 64.
THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF SIN.
ix. 18-19. _For wickedness burneth as the fire, &c._
One of the grandest and most fearful scenes in nature is the forest
on fire. This is the figure Isaiah employs to describe the
destruction that was coming upon sinful and stubborn Israel.[1] That
destruction would not be spared and the wealthiest could not escape.
And all this woe, at which it behoved the people to tremble, is
attributed to the wickedness in which they delighted. "Wickedness
burneth as the fire"--a comprehensive statement eternally true.
+I. Consider how true it is in regard to individuals.+ The
forest-fire--1. _what a trivial thing it may seem in its
commencement!_ It was but a little heap of dried leaves and sticks
which a thoughtless traveller kindles, that by means of the little
fire thus produced he might cook his evening meal. He had no
conception how that fire would spread. So the wickedness that
ultimately consumes and utterly destroys, often commences in what
seems a little transgression, _e.g.,_ the few glasses of wine taken
at a wedding-breakfast by one who has been a total abstainer; the
little act of dishonesty that is undetected, &c. (James iii. 5). Many
of the passions by which millions are consumed--avarice, lust,
intemperance, &c.--seem little things in their commencement (H. E. I.
4497, 4498, 4513-4518). 2. _It makes progress according to its own
laws,_ utterly regardless of the desires of the onlookers. It will
not stop at any line which they may prescribe. No man can accomplish
a desire to burn down just one acre of a forest. If he kindles a fire
in the forest at all, it will advance as far and as long as there is
fuel for it. So no man can determine beforehand the measure of the
power which permitted wickedness shall acquire over him; the fire
which a man kindles in the forest of his own passions will go burning
on long after he may wish it to stop. 3. _Its power grows
continually._ It acquires a marvellous intensity and fervour as it
proceeds (H. E. I. 409, 4500, 4501, 4534-4537). 4. Consequently _it
proceeds with ever-accelerating rapidity._ Here again the moral
analogy is frightfully accurate. 5. Consequently, too, _its range
continually widens._ That which began as a little point becomes a
vast circle constantly expanding. Things that seemed so far off as to
be absolutely safe are speedily included in the ring of flame. So the
fire of ungodliness which was kindled in one passion hastens through
the whole nature, and destroys every vestige of virtue and nobility;
it seizes every faculty of mind and heart.[2] 6. _It is remorselessly
undistinguishing in its effects._ The fair flowers and the poisonous
weeds, the stately cedars and the misshapen brambles, it consumes
alike. So again with the sinner: the wickedness that consumes him
spares nothing. In workhouses, lunatic asylums, prisons, how many
most terrible proofs there are of the truth of this declaration! Once
the owners of many choice possessions, and with prospects as fair as
those of any of us, they are now like the forest region _after_ the
fire--blackened and desolate.
+II. Consider how true this is of nations.+ Wickedness consumes the
nation's prosperity, happiness, strength, and ultimately its
existence.[3]
From all this there are many lessons to be learned. 1. _He is a fool
who makes a sport of sin_ (Prov. x. 23). He is infinitely more
foolish than the child who plays with fire. 2. _He is a fool who does
not stamp out the fires of unholy passion the instant that he
perceives them beginning to kindle upon him._ In dealing with sin, or
in dealing with fire, our only safety lies in the promptest and most
energetic action (H. E. I. 4733, 4734).[4] 3. _Those nations are
guilty of suicidal folly who legalise vice in any form._ 4. _Those
who pander to a nation's vices are traitors of the worst
kind_.[5]--_R. A. B._
In this message the prophet affirms that there are resemblances
between a fire and sin. It is not a common fire to which he refers,
such as is employed for domestic or public purposes. It is a great
conflagration which burns the humble shrubbery, the gigantic forest,
extends over the land, and sends a mighty column of smoke and flame
up to heaven. By attending to this comparison some of the
characteristics of sin will vividly appear.
+I. The origin of a great fire.+ Recently we read an account of a
great fire, and the paragraph closed with these words: "The origin of
the fire is unknown." Suppositions were made, conjectures were
offered, still a deep mystery which may never be unravelled. The same
with the origin of sin. We know it had a beginning, for God only is
from everlasting. We know it had a beginning before Eve and Adam felt
its power, since they were tempted. We know it began with him who is
called Satan and the father of lies. Still, there are three questions
about it which we cannot answer. 1. _Where_ did it begin? 2. _When_
did it begin? 3. _How_ did it begin? These questions might have been
answered; they have not, because such information is not required by
us in this stage of our unending history.
+II. The progress of a great fire.+ Place one spark amid combustible
material in London. Let it alone. What will be the result? It will
leap from point to point, house to house, street to street, until the
whole city is in flames. Sin has spread in an exactly similar way.
One sin, to the individual; one wrong action, to the family; one
immoral look, to thousands; one crime, to a kingdom. The sin of one
woman away in the East, some sixty centuries ago, has spread itself
amongst the whole race; and there is not one who has not felt, to
some extent, its scorching power.
+III. The transforming power of a great fire.+ Wood, coal, &c., it
transforms into its own essence, because it makes fire of these. It
is even so with sin. It turns everything, over which it gains the
slightest control, into its own nature--that is, into a curse. The
desire to _possess,_ sin has turned it in a different direction, and
made it an autocratic passion. Take the principle of _ambition_ the
same way. Take _commerce_ in the same way. Thus the richest
blessings, yea, all the blessings which God has given to us, sin can
so transform that they shall become curses.
+IV. The destructive energy of a great fire.+ Who can calculate the
amount of property in London alone which has been destroyed by fire?
But the destruction which sin has caused in London is infinitely
greater and more momentous. Some have bodies once beautiful, now
bloated and withered by sin. Some have feelings, once tender, now
petrified by sin. Some whole intellectual powers were once strong,
now feeble by sin. Some, who were once full of hope, now hopeless by
sin. The destruction which sin has caused is awful. And this it must
ever do to all who touch it. Avoid it, therefore, more than anything
else. Herein only is safety.
+V. The termination of a great fire.+ It terminates when all the
material is consumed and reduced to ashes. Can the fire of sin ever
be put out in this way? The body in the grave is scorched by it no
more; but what of the soul? Look at the rich man. He is tormented, in
pain, not by a literal flame, but by the fire of sin. He will be so
for ever, because the soul is immortal.
A great fire has been terminated by a superior quenching power. There
is also an element which can completely remove sin from the soul.
What is it? Nothing can be more important than the true answer to
this question. Health must depart, trade must be left, money not
required. Our souls must live for ever. With sin, no heaven, but
hell. How delivered? Ask those in heaven, and those on earth, who
have been saved. They all say that the fires of unholy passion have
been quenched in them, and their guilt removed, by the blood of the
Lamb. Apply at once to the same source.--_A. McAuslane, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Civil war and foreign invasion shall rage through this
reprobate people like the fire with which the husbandman
clears the ground of briers and thorns. The wickedness of
the land becomes its own punishment, and burns with a fury
which is indeed the wrath of God, while its fuel is the
people themselves.--_Strachey._
Wickedness, _i.e.,_ the constant thirst of evil, is a fire
which a man kindles in himself. And when the grace of God
which daps and restrains this fire is all over, it is sure
to burst forth. . . . The fire, into which this wickedness
bursts forth, seizes individuals first of all; and then,
like a forest fire, it seizes upon the nation at large in
all its ranks and members, who roll up in the form of
ascending smoke. . . . In its historical manifestation,
this judgment consisted in the most inhuman
self-destruction during an anarchial civil
war.--_Delitzsch._
The picture of guilt grows darker still. It is like
destroying fire in the jungle of a forest. The confusion
and misery thus caused are like the volumes of smoke that
mount up in whirling eddies from such a
conflagration.--_Birks._
[2] Oftentimes a ruling sin will have power little by little to
colour the whole life with its own tints; to assimilate
everything there to itself, as in ever-widening circles to
absorb all into its own vortex, being as it were a gulf, a
maelstrom, into which all that was better and nobler in the
man is irresistibly attracted and drawn, and is there
swallowed up, and for ever disappears.--_Trench._
See also the Outline: THE TOW AND THE SPARK, pp. 69-71.
[3] See Outline: INIQUITY A BURDEN, p. 13.
[4] When the heart begins once to be kindled, it is easy to
smother the smoke of passion, which else will fume up into
the head and gather into so thick a cloud that we shall
lose the very sight of ourselves, and what is best to be
done--_Sibbes._
When a fire is first broken out in a chimney, it may with
much less labour be quenched than when it has seized the
timber of the house. What small beginnings had those fires
which have conquered stately palaces, and turned famous
cities into ruinous heaps!--_Swinnock._
[5] See Outline: INIQUITY A BURDEN, p. 13.
LEGALISED INJUSTICE.
x. 1-4. _Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, &c._
I. An indictment against wicked magistrates. II. A challenge. III. A
sentence.
I. Magistrates and rulers are answerable to God. II. Their decisions
will be revised. III. Will in many instances be reversed. IV. The
consequences of their injustice will return back upon
themselves.[1]--_J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletic Treasury,_ Part I. p. 16.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Outlines: OPPRESSION OF THE POOR, pp. 94, 95; and THE
PLEADER AND THE JUDGE, pp. 95-97.
THE DAY OF VISITATION.
x. 3. _And what will ye do in the day of visitation, &c._
These questions were addressed to men who were living lives of
ungodliness, and who were rich and strong in the results of their
iniquity. To such men I put the same questions. Do not resent them;
answer them, at least to yourselves. All the warnings of the Bible
are warnings of true and intelligent friendship, all its threatenings
"are but the hoarse voice of God's love, crying, Do thyself no harm!"
(H. E. I., 604, 605). Let self-love, which has been your governing
motive all through your life, move you to consider, before it is too
late, what you will do in "the day of visitation." It will not always
be with you as it is to-day.
I. There will probably come to you a "day of visitation" in the shape
of AFFLICTION. You have known little of it, but, if life be
prolonged, it will certainly come to you (Job v. 7; H. E. I., 47). In
how many forms it may come upon you! Broken health--blasted
reputation--poverty--bereavement: these things may come upon you
singly, or in various combinations, or all together. Men quite as
strong as you have been overtaken and overthrown by them (H. E. I.,
3991, 4403-4406, 4975-4989). What will you do in the day of
visitation and desolation? To whom will you flee for help? To man?
You will then find what worldly friendship is worth (H. E. I.,
2016-2112, 2131-2137). To God? But will He then hear you? He does not
necessarily listen to men merely because they are in trouble (Judg.
x. 14; Jer. vii. 16; Prov. i. 26-31). It is the penitent's suppliant
only that God will hear and answer, and your very pain and terror may
incapacitate you for the exercise of genuine repentance; _that_
consists, not in dread of the consequences of sin, but in disgust of
sin itself. As your friend I counsel you (Job xxii. 21-28). It is a
mean and miserable thing to have recourse to God only when in trouble
(H. E. I., 3877-3879).
II. But if your lot is different from that of all other men, and no
day of sorrow ever dawns upon you, there will come to you a "day of
visitation" in the shape of DEATH. _That_ is certain! What will you
do then? To whom and to what will you flee for help? Friends,
wealth--what will be their power or value then? And "to whom will you
leave your glory?" For you will have to leave it (Ps. xlix. 16, 17;
Eccles. v. 15; 1 Tim. vi. 7). And when you have left it, what will
become of _you?_ Prepare for what which is at once so inevitable and
so momentous (H. E. I., 1562-1566).
III. But that is not all. Beyond, there is a supreme "day of
visitation," the DAY OF JUDGMENT (H. E. I. 3045, 3055, 3061; P. D.
2100, 2103, 2106, 2107). _You_ will be in that countless multitude
which will stand before the "great white throne." And you will not be
overlooked or forgotten then; _you_ will be judged according to the
records in "the books" that will then be opened (Rom. xiv. 12).
Help--who can then render it to you? Your "glory"--it will have
disappeared, or it may reappear as your shame. None of the things
which secure for your consideration now will have a shadow of
importance then. Do I speak to you as a foe or as a friend when I
urge you to prepare for this inevitable meeting with God? (H. E. I.,
3062-3066). The time to prepare is _now._ The way to prepare, you
know; put into practice that which you have been taught. Then all
these days of visitation will be transformed and stripped of their
terrors. In the day of sorrow you will have a Friend who will know
how to comfort you; in the day of death that Friend will be with you,
upholding you in all that may be involved in that profound mystery;
in the day of judgment that Friend will be the occupant of the
throne, and He will speak to you, not words that will blast you for
ever, but words that will fill you with eternal joy.
THE ASSYRIAN INVASION OF JUDAH.
x. 5-34. _O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, &c._
This prophecy may be used to illustrate the following truths of
abiding interest. +I. The power of empires and the policy of
statesmen are all under the control of God.+ Free-will is one great
fact of the universe; an all-controlling providence is another; and
God knows how to harmonise both. In investing man with free-will, God
did not abdicate the throne of the universe; He still rules, and
whether they do it voluntarily or involuntarily, all men further His
purposes. 1. This is a truth to be ever remembered by those who rule.
Their desire should be to work along with God, and not merely in
subordination to Him. This is the one secret of true prosperity and
abiding power. 2. It is full of consolation for good men when rulers
are yielding to a mad and wicked ambition (Ps. lxxvi. 10). +II. God
exercises His control of empires and statesmen for the promotion of
the welfare of His people.+ Every great empire has some underlying
policy that guides and controls all its actions; _e.g.,_ the
underlying policy of Russia is said to be the ultimate acquisition of
Constantinople. God's "great policy" is the promotion of the welfare
of His people. In raising up or casting down kingdoms He has this
object always in view. This again is a profoundly practical truth.
1. The ruler who remembers it will at least abstain from every form
of assault on the Church of God. He who undertakes to persecute the
Church, undertakes to make war upon Him from whom he received his
power, and who can instantly resume it (Acts ix. 4 and Matt.
xxviii. 18). 2. Remembering it, God's people will not be dismayed in
times of calamity. They will look with assured confidence, not for
the destruction of the Church, but of her persecutors; and they will
not look in vain. When the "whole work" that God has in view shall be
accomplished, the ungodly instrument by which it was effected shall
be utterly broken (vers. 12-20). [All this belongs to a realm of
truth, the importance and preciousness of which is not likely to be
appreciated in these times of freedom from persecution, but by the
martyrs in all ages it has been well understood.] +III. In the view
of God the welfare of His people is prompted precisely in proportion
as their holiness is promoted.+ We see from verses 20, 21, that while
God intended by the Assyrian invasion to punish iniquity (ver. 6),
His ultimate design was to bring His people back to Himself in
penitence and faith. Here we have, 1. A correction of our views. We
are apt to suppose that by the welfare of the Church is meant peace
and outward prosperity. We are satisfied if her revenues and social
influence are increasing. God often thinks it better to take these
things away. The day of true welfare for Judah begins when the fierce
armies of Assyria come up against her (H. E. I., 3666). 2. Light is
cast upon God's estimate of holiness. So precious is it in His sight,
that He overrules even the policies of great empires for the
promotion of it among His people. It is distinctly revealed that this
is His aim in all the discipline of our personal life (Heb. xii. 10;
H. E. I., 85-90, 2842, 2843). This should be to us, then, 3. An
instruction. We should estimate holiness as God does. We should
constantly "follow" it (Heb. xii. 14; H. E. I., 2845-2848). And
besides humbly submitting to His chastisements (Lam. iii. 22), we
should thankfully acquiesce in whatever calamities He is pleased to
send upon His church or on ourselves, even though they be relatively
as terrible as an invasion by the Assyrians, remembering that His
purpose therein is to bring us back to Himself, to make us like
Himself, and so render us capable of a happiness that shall be
perfect and eternal.
THE ASSYRIAN.
x. 5-34. _O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, &c._
The Assyrian. I. _His commission_--subordinate, a mere rod in God's
hands--defined. II. _His pride_--he boasts of his schemes--his
achievements--his strength and wisdom--of what he will do against
God. III. _His rebuke_--just--keen--humiliating. IV. _His
punishment_--irresistible--sudden--signal--effected by Divine power.
I. The mightiest nations are but instruments of the Divine will.
II. Are employed to execute wrath upon the guilty. III. God appoints
their special work. IV. Defines its limits. V. Controls their
ambitious purposes. VI. Rewards them accordingly.--_J. Lyth, D.D.:
Homiletical Treasury,_ p. 16.
We know what the Assyrians were in the history of the world. They do
not stand alone; they belong to a class of men who have appeared
again and again, and are numerously represented in the world
to-day--men of enormous force, of abounding energy, of vast ambition,
of unscrupulous determination. Such men as Ghengis-Khan,
Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Cæsar, and Napoleon, are their
conspicuous representatives, but their representatives only. They are
to be found elsewhere than on thrones and at the head of armies. They
have been represented in the Church by ambitious and unscrupulous
popes, cardinals, and bishops not a few. They are represented among
our nobles by domineering landlords; in commerce by great
capitalists, who brook no competition, but will crush a rival at any
cost. This chapter concerns men who live in England to-day, and it
has for us more than an historic interest.
+I. The ambition of powerful men.+ Having power, they naturally and
lawfully wish to use it. The astonishing and lamentable thing is the
manner in which they delight to use it. God intends all the power
that He gives to be used for the same purposes as He uses His
own--for the upholding of weakness, the relief of the needy, the
dispensing of blessing. But almost always those to whom God intrusts
much power use it for self-aggrandisement. Their delight is to crush
others (vers. 13, 14; H. E. I. 243; P. D. 244). Instead of doing
their best to resemble God, they do their utmost to resemble the
devil. What a pitiable mistake! How much the ambitious man thus
loses! What a horrible perversion of the means of blessing!
+II. The godlessness of powerful men.+ 1. Mistaking the use to which
their strength should be put, they also forget its source. They are
so besotted as to think that it is _theirs,_ something which they
have originated; as if the jets of a fountain should boast of the
water that leaps up through them, forgetful of the reservoir whence
it comes (1 Cor. iv. 7). We see how foolish this is; let us not
forget how common it is; let us be on our guard against an error so
common and so absurd (Deut. viii. 10-18; Dan. iv. 29-31. P. D. 2861).
2. Their godlessness appears, too, in their imagination that there is
no limit to their power (vers. 8-11; chap xxxvii. 24). In their
projects there is no dependence on Divine guidance and support, no
submission to the Divine will (Jas. iv. 13-15).
+III. The real position of powerful men.+ They imagine that they are
autocrats: they really are merely instruments in the hand of God. God
will be served by us, voluntarily or involuntarily. He knows how,
without impairing the freedom of the will, to use powerful men for
the accomplishment of His purposes; in much the same way as the
miller deals with the stream that rushes past his mill--he does not
try to destroy it, or to stop it, he merely turns it in among his
wheels, and then unconsciously it uses its mighty force in doing his
work (vers. 5, 6; P. D., 2899). So it was with Pharaoh: though
resolved not to serve Jehovah (Exod. v. 2), he did serve Him most
effectively (Exod. ix. 16). So, though we may not be able in all
cases to trace it, we may be sure it is with all wicked men (Ps.
lxxvi. 10). God absolutely controls the vast universe over which He
rules: if we will not serve Him as sons, we must do it as slaves or
as tools.
+IV. The end of men who forget the source of their power, and use it
in a godless spirit.+ They are but rods in God's hand, and when He
has accomplished by them what He intended to do, He breaks them, and
casts them aside. In their folly they imagine that they can never be
broken (Ps. x. 6); yet how easy it is for Him utterly to destroy
them! Far-stretching and mighty they seem as a forest, yet how easily
is a forest destroyed by fire (vers. 16-19). God's judgments are as
axes, by which even the monarchs of the forest are brought low (vers.
33, 34). By Isaiah we are reminded of three historic instances in
which all this has been verified: the Egyptians (vers. 24, 26); the
Midianites (ver. 26); the Assyrians (vers. 17, 18, 32-34;
xxxvii. 36). If we needed any proof that God and His government of
the world are still the same, surely we have it in the history of
Napoleon I. Let the mighty nations of the earth lay these lessons to
heart (P. D., 2787). Let all who are disposed to vaunt their wealth
or power be mindful of them: the ruler or the merchant-prince of
to-day may be a beggar tomorrow (1 Sam. ii. 3, 4, 7-10; H. E. I.,
4404, 4976; P. D., 149, 1617).
MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES.
x. 7-15. _Howbeit He meaneth not so, &c._
"Man appoints, but God disappoints," "Man proposes, but God
disposes," are proverbs which sum up a good deal of human experience.
We are often reminded of their truth even when we are striving to be
on the side of God, and to be co-workers with Him. There will be
great differences between what _we_ "mean" and "think," and what _He_
has determined in reference to the same actions.[1] But more
frequently we see this in the case of men who, like the Assyrians,
are constructing their plans in direct opposition to God, fully bent
on carrying out ambitious and rapacious schemes. All the while they
are only agents in effecting Divine purposes; they do what they never
"meant" to do.
+I. Man's purposes are often godless.+ In the sense, 1. Of being
formed _independently of God_ (vers. 11, 13, 14). Men forget that God
is inseparably connected with us and all our movements (Ps.
cxxxix. 1-12); they never ask whether God will approve of their
plans, nor what will happen should He frown upon them; they assume
that they have only to plan and execute, forgetting the lessons of
experience. Their conduct is as foolish as it is irreligious;
irrational because it is atheistic (Jas. iv. 13-15). 2. Of being
formed _in defiance of God._ Men harden themselves against the
appeals and warnings of conscience and Scripture, and deliberately
engage in enterprises upon which they know they cannot ask God's
blessing, upon which they know must rest God's curse. Amid all their
dark designs there is the torturing thought, which they would fain
banish, but which clings to them still, that there _is_ a Sovereign
Lord whose counsel shall stand. +II. God knows how to use man's
godless purposes for the furtherance of His glorious designs.+ This
is done, 1. _Sometimes by making an evil purpose the very means of
continuing and spreading His good work._ How often is this seen in
the history of persecutions! (See Acts xviii. 1, 2. The Pilgrim
Fathers. Tyndale's Bible. Martyrdoms, &c.). The means which men take
for putting out the light are used by God for spreading it.
2. _Sometimes by allowing the evil purposes to work on up to the
point when its success appears certain, and then bringing about a
totally different result._ The device of Joseph's brethren only
needed time to effect God's purpose. Haman; enemies of Daniel. There
is no stage of a wicked design safe from the chance of utter
confusion, and even the last act that was intended to be a triumph
may turn out a tragedy. 3. _Sometimes the evil purpose is allowed to
do all that was intended, and yet God effects through it His highest
designs, even when human wisdom would declare that the case was
hopeless._ The crowning example of this is to be found in the
suffering and death of our Lord Himself. Every step of that malignant
crime, which was thought to be a step towards the utter destruction
of the Saviour's mission, was but helping on the triumph intended in
the counsels of Eternal Love (John xii. 32).
Learn, 1. _The folly of leaving God out of our plans._ To plan
without Him is presumptuous arrogance (vers. 15). It is to invite
defeat, our knowledge being so limited and so certain to leave out
some disturbing influence that will frustrate all our anticipations.
A godless plan always means defeat in proportion to its apparent
successes. The choice that really lies before us is to work _with_
God as His children, or _for_ Him as his slaves, His tools, His
instruments. Our choice will be left perfectly free; but if we choose
to reject His paternal guidance, we shall find that all we have
secured for ourselves is merely the contemptible honour of figuring
in our small way as reprobates (Exod. ix. 15). 2. _The dignity of
human life generally,_ as being comprehended in the supreme plans of
God (Gen. xlv. 8).[2] 3. _How to regard the disappointments of life._
When things turn out differently than we "meant" or "thought," it is
useless to fret and fume against them. Instructed by God's Word, let
us humbly and reverently acquiesce in our disappointments as forming
part of a plan of God, conceived in paternal love, which is unfolding
moment by moment: each event, whether bright or dark, having its
mission from Him, and clothed with the grandeur of an unerring
counsel. If our purpose has been a righteous or beneficent one,
though it may seem for a time to have been utterly set aside, yet in
the _end_ we shall find that God has used it to further results more
important and glorious than it entered into our mind to ask or
think.[3]--_William Manning._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] P. D., 2899, 2906.
See the whole article PROVIDENCE in the H. E. I., and the
other references given under this heading in the "Index of
Arrangement."
[2] See Outline: EVERY MAN'S LIFE A PLAN OF GOD, chap. xlv. 5.
[3] P. D., 863, 865, 867, 868, 2101, 3239.
"God's help is always sure,
His mercies seldom guessed;
Delay will make our pleasure pure,
Surprise will give it zest;
His wisdom is sublime,
His heart profoundly kind;
God never is before His time,
And never is behind."--_Lynch._
A HAPPY CONVERSION.
x. 20. _And it shall come to pass, &c._
Consider, +I. What is said of their former error.+ When it is said
that they "shall no more stay upon him that smote them," it surely
implies that they had done this before: this was their error. They
had stayed upon another--upon Assyria as a refuge and defence against
the confederacy that threatened Ahaz (chap. vii. 1-12, viii. 4-9),
just as at other times they relied upon Egypt as a defence against
Assyria,--and they were to be delivered for this tendency to trust in
human help, and were to be taught to "stay upon the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel, in truth." Three things are here implied and
expressed. 1. _They had exercised an improper dependence._ To this we
are all naturally prone. We need help, and are apt to seek it in some
creature rather than in the Creator. The evil of this course is, that
thus we are kept away from God (H. E. I., 169-177). 2. _Their
dependence had been disappointed._ That on which they stayed, not
only failed them, it injured them (2 Chron. xxviii. 20; Jer. xvii. 5,
6). Creature confidence brings a curse upon us in two ways. (1) By
disappointments (Prov. xxiii. 5; Ps lxii. 9, cxlvi. 3, 4; Isa.
ii. 22). (2) By Divine rebukes (Jer. ii. 17-19; Jonah iv. 6, 7).
3. _Their folly was to be corrected by their sovereign._ They were to
be taught wisdom by the things they suffered. But, alas! men often
harden themselves against even such instruction (Isa ix. 13; Jer.
v. 3; Amos iv. 6-11). Here we see the depravity of human nature in
rendering inefficacious all these Divine chastisements. When this is
the case, there is a danger of one of two things: either that God in
anger will throw down the rod (Hos. iv. 17), or that He will fulfil
His own threatenings (Lev. xxvi. 21, 23, 24, 27, 28; H. E. I.,
145-147). God has a merciful design in all your crosses, trials, and
afflictions (H. E. I., 56-74). When this is accepted, and afflictions
thus sanctified, the penitent sufferer will put his trust in God
only. Thus the prodigal was starved back "He began to be in
want"--and it was a blessed want that led him to think of his
father's house, and resolved him to return. You have no reason to
complain when your earthly props are taken away, if thus you are
induced to take fresh hold of God.
+II. What is said of their renewed experience.+ "But shall stay upon
the Lord, the Holy One of Israel." Glance at three views of it.
1. _It is an enlightened confidence._ Confidence is the offspring
both of ignorance and wisdom; ignorance leads some persons to entrust
precious deposits to strangers or to villains, but the wise man seeks
first to know those in whom he is asked to trust. It is foolish to
trust without inquiry, and to refuse to trust the trustworthy. The
Christian stays himself upon God, because he has ascertained what His
character is (Ps. cxix. 107; 2 Tim. i. 12). 2. _Their confidence is
very extensive._ It covers all times (Ps. lxii. 8; Isa. xxvi. 4); all
events that can awaken our anxiety; every condition in which we can
be found; all that appertains to life and godliness, not only grace,
but glory; not only our journey's end, but also the way. Thus it
should be with us, but it is not always so. Strange to say, while we
readily trust God for eternal life, we often find it difficult to
trust Him for what we need in this life. How foolish is this (Rom.
viii. 32; Ps. lxxxiv. 11)! 3. _It is a blessed confidence_ (Prov.
xxix. 25; Ps. cxxv. 1; Isa. xxvi. 3; Jer. xvii. 7, 8; H. E. I.,
1191-1934; P. D., 1157, 1160).
+III. The reality of their change.+ "They shall stay upon the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, _in truth._" This confidence is
distinguishable, 1. _from mere pretensions._ There are those who
profess to know God, but in works deny Him. It seems strange that
persons should act the hypocrite here, for what do they gain (Job
xx. 5, xxvii. 8)? 2. _From imaginary confidence._ Persons may not
endeavour to deceive others, yet they may deceive themselves (Prov.
xxx. 12). How unreal may be the confidence that seems most assured.
(Comp. Mark xiv. 27-31, with verse 50.) Therefore--
"Beware of Peter's word,
Nor confidently say,
I will never deny Thee, Lord,
But grant, I never may."
_William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons and Thursday Evening Lectures,_
pp. 290-296.
THE REMNANTS OF SOCIETY.
x. 20-23. _And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
remnant of Israel, &c._
We can hardly understand such language as this, because in our
national life and personal history we have never been subject to
these strange mutations which befell the kingdom of Israel. We can
hardly understand what it means where a whole nation is torn up by
the roots, and carried away into a foreign land; and where, by and
by, in the capricious mood of some despot, a portion of them are
allowed to go back again,--a mere fragment. For in the carrying away
of a million people, how many perish! And when a few are gathered
together, and they turn to go back, how much is this remnant to be
pitied! Wandering from place to place in the promised land, crossing
the Jordan, finding a heap where once there was a flourishing city,
drawing near to the home of their ancestry and finding it in the
hands of foreigners, themselves regarded as intruders and outcasts,
what a harrowing experience theirs must be!
It was under such circumstances as these that the prophets did their
chief work. It was one of their principal functions to encourage a
nation plunged into profound despondency. In this chapter, the
prophet, with words of cheer, and with an inexpressible richness of
imagery, comforts the poor, despoiled band of people, and makes them
feel that the hand of power shall not for ever be so strong against
them.
Looked at in its interior spirit, as God meant that it should be
viewed, is it not calculated to encourage and comfort people who are
in desolateness and distress? Think what is meant by _"a remnant."_
It does not mean simply a few; neither does it mean merely the last
things; though it includes both these ideas. There are "remnants" in
the tailor's shop, in the carpenter's shop, in the household after a
meal, in the harvest field--the waste and refuse that is left after
the main and best parts have been taken away and used. So, in all the
phases of society there is a remnant constantly coming up; it is the
portion which is left after the better or more favoured have been
culled out and used; the unsuccessful man, and the men who have
broken down; and it is in respect to the remnants of society that I
am going to speak this morning.
Consider God's great tenderness towards the remnant of His
people. . . . Did you ever think of the remnants of society--how
numerous they are, and how much they are to be pitied? We are
observant of the prosperous and successful, but who cares for the
remnants of society? God does!
Let us look at some of these remnants. I. _Those who are broken in
health, and are utterly turned away by that reason from all that they
sought._ How many they are! How full of sorrow is their lot! By
accident or disease suddenly rendered useless! Like a ship cast upon
the land, where the sun beats upon it, and the heat shrinks and
cracks it, and opens the seams wider and wider, till by and by it
drops to pieces. So it is their pitiful lot to be able to do nothing
but wait for the end. II. _Those who have misapplied their powers,
and consequently have failed._ How many give themselves to
professions for which they are utterly unfit! Every day men are
ruined because they do not know what they are, nor what they are set
to do, and are not willing to do the things which they could do, but
are aspiring to do the things they are not fitted for. III. _Men who
were adapted to their work, but were overtaxed, and who had not the
endurance which their circumstances required._ Hundreds of men, under
the intense strain of modern society, break down; and then all is
gone so far as they are concerned. IV. _A great many more break down
from a secret mismanagement of themselves._ They live in neglect or
violation of the simplest and most fundamental laws of health, or
they indulge in vices that are destructive. V. _They who have
violated the laws of society, and have been detected, convicted, and
branded with shame._ It is scarcely possible for such men, however
earnestly and honestly they may desire it, to be anything else than
mere "remnants" in society.
1. In regard to all those who are in this great struggling mass--the
remnants of society--I have to say: Take pity on them; have
compassion on them; do something to rescue, to strengthen, to cheer
some of them. 2. To all who are cast down and suffering, I say, There
is a God who is sorry for you. If men disown you, God thinks of you,
and will succour you. Beware, then, of desperation. Do not throw
yourselves away. Though all else should be against you, God is for
you. There is immortality--seek for that. There is bright and blessed
manhood just beyond. If you have failed for this life, do not fail
for the other too. There is very much that may yet be done, even in
the afternoon and twilight of men's lives, if they are hopeful and
active. Do not give yourselves over to complaining and mourning. Be
patient. However low you may have got, you have not got so low as
Christ was when He died a death of shame and contumely for us. Shall
the servant be greater than his Lord? Be patient. It cannot be long
before God's angel shall come, and then your troubles shall be over.
Pluck up your courage. Wait. And if need be, suffer, and suffer
patiently to the end. Let everything go but this: "God loves me;
heaven waits for me;" and in that hope stand. Though the world perish
around you, _stand,_ comforted and cheered by the confidence that God
cares for you as the remnants of His Israel (H. E. I., 958-961, 2310,
2311, 4015-4018).--_Henry Ward Beecher: Christian World Pulpit_ (vol.
iii. p. 43).
ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE KING AND OF HIS KINGDOM.
CHAPTERS XI. AND XII.
This is one of the visions that Isaiah _saw_ (chap. i. 1, ii. 1,
&c.). He was a dreamer of dreams. With a keen perception, not
surpassed, of the men and things actually surrounding him, much of
his life was passed in an ideal and future world. There he found
comfort and strength to endure the sorrows that otherwise would have
crushed him. At the outset of his ministry, when the great king who
had done so much to restore the prosperity of the nation was about to
be removed, there was vouchsafed to him a vision of the King
immortal, eternal, invisible, throned in the temple, and surrounded
by the exalted intelligences who do His will (chap. vi. 1-4); and
now, at the close of the wicked and disastrous reign of Ahaz, when
his hopes concerning his race would naturally have failed, there was
granted him a vision of a King of righteousness and peace, who on
earth would rule over a kingdom such as the world had never seen. His
soul had been stirred and appalled by a vision of disaster and woe.
He was the king of Assyria, then the terror of the earth, utterly
broken, his vast armies hewn down as forests fall before the axes of
the woodmen (chap. x. 33, 34); a vision of blood and terror which may
well have filled him with trembling. But just as sometimes the
sweetest daylight follows a night of storm, this vision of terror
fades away, and he sees--
I. A KING (chap. xi. 1-5). 1. _Royally descended,_ "a rod out of the
stem of _Jesse._" A simple farmer on the hills of Bethlehem, and yet
a father of kings. Not an accident. We are here confronted with the
mystery of blood, of race. No common man was he from whom sprang
David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and a long line of kings. In his
ordinary hours, Isaiah may well have derived assurance that the
vision that gladdened him was given him from above, from the fact
that it was in harmony with God's promise (2 Sam. vii. 12-16).
Without dismay he could view the royal house lapsing into the
obscurity from which it sprang--becoming merely a house of _Jesse_
once more--assured that in His own time God would again raise it up
to glory.[1] It is always well when our hopes rest upon the Word of
God. 2. _Royally endowed;_ a King by truest "right divine," because
possessed of royal qualities of heart and mind (chap. xi. 2, 3). Of
the thousands who have sat on thrones, how few have possessed them!
How many have ruled over the miserable wretches subject to their sway
merely by the craft of the serpent or the cruelty of the tiger! Of
those who have been popular, how many have owed their popularity to
mere physical prowess and politic good-nature (Richard I.,
Charles II.)! How few have endeavoured to approach the Biblical
conception of what a ruler ought to be (Deut. xvii. 14-20; 2 Sam.
xxiii. 3; Ps. lxxii. 4; Prov. xx. 28)! In the marvellous superiority
of that conception to anything that has prevailed among men, have we
not another proof that the sacred writers were indeed inspired by the
Spirit of God? 3. _Ruling in righteousness;_ using His marvellous
endowments for the welfare of those subjected to His authority (chap.
xi. 3-5); not judging of things or men by their mere appearance, nor
by common report; caring for the poor, befriending the shrinking and
helpless, fearless in His dispensation of justice; His very words
being swords that smote and overthrew the arrogant oppressor; made
strong by the very righteousness which merely politic men would have
feared to display in view of the might of iniquity in this disordered
world; a Hero of the truest and divinest kind, in actual life setting
forth the ideal to which the noblest knights in the purest days of
chivalry strove to conform. Such was the King whom the prophet "saw"
in an age when "ruler" was merely another word for tyrant and
oppressor. Surely the vision so fair and wondrous was given him from
above!
II. He also saw THE KINGDOM. 1. _A kingdom of righteousness_ (chap.
xi. 9). The kingdom necessarily resembles the king. Appalling is the
influence of a court upon a nation. Correspondingly great is the
responsibility of those who sit in high places. 2. _A kingdom of
peace._ Set forth by the most beautiful symbolism (chap. xi. 6-10,
13). 3. _A kingdom of prosperity._ Those included in it are no longer
miserable exiles and bond slaves; rather they rule over those by whom
they were spoiled and oppressed (chap. xi. 14). This is the true
interpretation of a symbol that is in itself harsh and repulsive. The
coarseness of the symbol is due to the coarseness of the minds it was
first intended to touch. 4. _A kingdom of gladness and joy._ There
pervades it the gladness of exiles who have been restored to their
own land (chap. xi. 15, 16); the true and religious joy of men who
recognise that the deliverances which inspire their songs have been
wrought for them by God (chap. xii. 1-5); the joy of men who are
absolutely assured of continual safety (chap. xii. 2, 6).
Was all this merely a bright vision? 1. It has been already fulfilled
in part. 2. In our own day it is being fulfilled more completely than
ever before. 3. It shall yet be fulfilled triumphantly.[2] Let us
then, 1. Recognise and rejoice in the fact that we are living under
the rule of this righteous King. This is at least the dawning of the
"day" which Isaiah saw (Matt. xiii. 16). 2. Exult in view of the
certain future of our race. The kingdom of God shall come generation
after generation with mightier power (H. E. I., 3421-3423). 3. Labour
as well as pray that future may be hastened.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The image is now transferred to the state and king of
Israel, which is also to be cut down to the stump, like the
tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. But out of that stump, and
from its living roots, shall grow up a scion--one of those
slender shoots which we see springing up from, and
immediately around, the stock of a truncated tree. A king
of the race of Jesse shall sit on the throne of his
fathers, in accordance with the covenant made with David
(Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4).--_Strachey._
When the axe is laid to the imperial power of the world, it
falls without hope (chap. x. 33, 34). But in Israel spring
is returning (chap. xi. 1). The world-power resembles the
cedar-forest of Lebanon; the house of David, on the other
hand, because of its apostasy, is like the stump of a
felled tree, like a root without stem, branches, or crown.
The world-kingdom, at the height of its power, presents the
most striking contrast to Israel and the house of David in
the uttermost depth announced in chapter vi., _fin.,_
mutilated and reduced to the lowliness of its
Bethlehemitish origin. But whereas the Lebanon of the
imperial power is thrown down, to remain prostrate, the
house of David renews its youth. . . . Out of the stump of
Jesse--_i.e.,_ out of the remnant of the chosen royal
family, which has sunk down to the insignificance of the
house from which it sprang--there comes forth a twig
(_choter_), which promises to supply the place of the trunk
and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth,
and only rising a little above it there shows itself a
_nētzer, i.e.,_ a fresh, green shoot. In the historical
account of the fulfilment, even the ring of the words of
the prophecy is noticed: the _nētzer,_ at first so humble
and insignificant, was a poor despised _Nazarene_ (Matt.
ii. 23).--_Delitzsch._
[2] For additional suggestions on this part of the subject, see
outlines on pages 71-73 (ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE LAST DAYS,
THE LATTER-DAY GLORY, THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL),
101 (THE DIVINE IDEAL OF ISRAEL REALISED), 182 (THE REMEDY
OF THE WORLD'S MISERY), 186 (THE GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST),
191-194 (THE PRINCE OF PEACE, THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST, THE
SECURITY FOR THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES, THE
OUTSTRETCHED HAND OF GOD).
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD.
xi. 2. _The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him._
This is declared concerning the Messiah. Short as this declaration
is, some of the profoundest of all truths are involved in it. It is
implied that God is a person, that from Him there goes forth an
influence by which the character of other persons is affected, and
that all that qualified Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah came from
God. Let us think of these things. Do not be deterred from doing so
by the idea that they are transcendental, far away from our daily
life. They need not be so; we shall be very blameworthy if we make
them so.
+I. God is a person.+ There are those who would have us put away this
faith. In their view, God is merely the great controlling Force
behind all other forces, the life of the universe, diffused
throughout it, manifesting itself in innumerable forms. As it is the
same life in the tree that manifests itself in root, trunk, branch,
spray, twig, leaf, blossom, fruit, so all things that exist are not
the creations of a personal will, but the manifestations of an
impersonal and all-pervading life; all forces, convertible the one
into the other, are but varying forms of the one underlying force.
Every individual life is but a wave that seems for a moment to be
separated from the one universal ocean of life; it leaps up from it,
falls back into it, is absorbed by it. True, these waves are often
strangely diverse--Nero and St. Paul, John Howard and Napoleon, the
Virgin Mary and Lucrezia Borgia; but in that great Unity of which
they are all manifestations, there is an all-comprehensive
reconciliation, though it may elude our grasp. For Pantheism, many
would have us put away the doctrine of a personal God. But this
exchange, if it could be forced upon us by some logical necessity
(which it is not), would not be a gain, but a tremendous loss. For,
1. _There would be a tremendous loss to the heart._ A force may be
feared, but not loved. To gravitation we owe much, but no one ever
professed to love it. A force cannot be loved, because it does not
love. Strike out of our life all that comes to us from the confidence
that God loves us, and from the responsive love that springs up in
our hearts towards Him, and how much is lost! Then there is no longer
any assurance amid the mysteries of life, nor consolation in its
sorrows. In a word, we are orphaned: we can no longer say, "Our
Father, who art in heaven." There is no longer a Father, knowing us,
loving us, causing all good things to work together for our good;
there is only a Force, to which it is useless to appeal, against
which it is impossible to contend. 2. _We should also lose one of the
greatest of all helps to a noble life._ Not to dwell on the fact that
to speak of virtue or vice would then be absurd,--then we should no
longer sin, we should merely make mistakes,--consider how much the
world owes to the aspiration to be like God which has stirred so many
noble souls. Through them the average morality of the world has been
marvellously raised; but this would have been impossible but for the
stimulus these inspiring souls found in the character of God. That is
the first fact of which this text reminds us, that God is a person
from whom a spirit--an influence--can go forth affecting the
character of other persons.
+II. From God such an influence does go forth.+ The possibility is a
glorious fact. That from God a "spirit" should go forth, and that it
should do so invisibly, is in accordance with all that we know of the
universe which God has made, and which is in some sort a revelation
of Him. 1. Nothing in the universe is unrelated. From orb to orb
influences go forth by which they are mutually affected. 2. The
mightiest influences are invisible. In all this, the material is a
counter-fact and revelation of the spiritual. It would be altogether
abnormal, if from God there did not go forth an influence operating
upon and affecting other persons. It is invisible, but its effects
are recognisable. One of them is the activity of conscience, rightly
understood. Another is the moral growth and refinement which those in
whom it is most conspicuous, most invariably and distinctly attribute
to influences exerted upon them by God. Even Socrates did so. This
also is a doctrine full of hope and comfort. If we need moral
transformation, there streams from God an influence capable of
effecting it: to that influence let us submit ourselves, and the
transformation shall come to pass; the Spirit of the Lord will rest
upon us, and we shall become like Him.
+III. To the influence exerted upon Him by the Spirit of the Lord,
Jesus of Nazareth owed all that qualified Him to be the Messiah+
(vers. 2-5). That which was born of the Virgin Mary was a true human
child. A sinless child, yet sinless not as the result of the
sinlessness of the mother (as Rome teaches), but of the influence of
the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him from the beginning of his
earthly life. His was a real humanity--_our_ humanity sanctified. All
that was pure, noble, Godlike in Him was "born not of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God." How full of comfort and hope is this
truth also! To us also is offered the same Spirit. Nothing can be
more express than the declarations that we may have it if we will,
and that, if we have it, the ultimate result will be that we shall be
found partakers of the holiness of God. Let us not be unwisely cast
down by the frailty and pollution of our nature; if the Spirit of the
Lord rest upon us, the purity and the strength of God will become
ours, and at length the Father will say to each of us, as He did of
Jesus of Nazareth, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."
THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
xi. 3. _And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of His ears._
A glorious difference between our Lord and ourselves. "He knew what
was in man," and needed not the evidence of external signs, which
often mislead _us._ He should deal with the motives of the heart
(H. E. I., 3332, 4147). Not by human sight, but by Divine _insight,_
He judged the conduct and character of men. 1. Our judgment is
enfeebled by _ignorance._ We do not see and hear all, and from our
imperfect knowledge of facts we draw wrong and often disastrous
conclusions (H. E. I., 2997-3005). But Our Lord could go behind the
visible works, and detect what often deceived men--_e.g.,_ His
treatment of pharisaism. 2. Our judgment is enfeebled by _prejudice._
This is often the result of ignorance. Seeing only certain sides of
men, we dislike them, and frame our judgments accordingly--_e.g.,_
Nathanael (John i. 46). With no better reason than Nathanael had, we
regard many a man as an enemy, or otherwise place him in a false
light. But our Lord dealt with none in this way. Seeing men as they
really were, no preconceived opinions led Him to unworthy
conclusions. 3. _Partiality_ enfeebles and perverts our judgment.
Judging by sight and hearing, we approve of one man more than
another, because he has certain artful or pleasing methods for
winning our favour: flattery, offers of gain, &c. (P. D., 1275, 1281,
1283). But our Lord could not be won in this way (Mark xii. 14; John
vi. 15). He was infinitely compassionate, tender, forgiving, but no
feeble partiality interfered to prevent most righteous judgment.
4. Our judgment is often perverted by _passion._ In the pursuit of
some unlawful and all-absorbing aim, we become too disturbed to weigh
calmly even the evidences we can see and hear. We look at everything
in the light of our false affection, and are thereby rendered
absolutely incapable of beholding others in their true light,
especially if they stand in our way and oppose our progress (P. D.,
2060). But the one absorbing and unremittent purpose of Jesus of
Nazareth was to do the will of His Heavenly Father, and to finish the
work He had given Him to do. Hence He dwelt always on a pure
altitude, in whose clear atmosphere He saw men and things as they
are. 5. _Our natural depravity_ is also a serious hindrance to our
right judging. Our very organs of knowledge, our affections, our
conscience, have been perverted. Let a man be ever so disposed to
take correct views of men and things, there will be some flaw in his
vision, some defect in his hearing. Hence there are times when we
cannot accept as final the judgment of the best and holiest of men.
But Christ has no secret evil to lead Him wrong.
In view of all this, how fitting it is that Christ should be our
judge! How well, too, He is qualified to be the merciful High Priest
who we need (Heb. iv. 15, 16). He who tenderly sympathises with us is
He who perfectly knows us (H. E. I., 956; P. D., 462).--_William
Manning._
THE UNIVERSAL DIFFUSION AND REDEMPTIVE POWER OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
(_Missionary Sermon._)
xi. 9. _They shall not hurt nor destroy, &c._
We have here a picture of the golden age. I. The whole earth shall be
as Mount Zion. II. Shall be freed from injustice and violence.
III. Shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. 1. Wherein this
knowledge consists. 2. To what extent it shall prevail--universal,
deep. 3. By what means it is to be diffused.--_J. Lyth, D.D.:
Homiletical Treasury_ (p. 18).
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy _mountain,_ for the
_earth_ shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." It seems clear
that in these words the prophet intended to be understood of speaking
of the whole earth. He would scarcely, in the same sentence, have
used the expressions in question--the _holy mountain_ in the first
clause, and the _earth_ in the other--if by these expressions he had
not meant the same thing, namely, the whole globe of the earth, when
the dwellers thereon should come to be true worshippers, like those
who first worshipped at Mount Zion, and who were a type of the
greater assembly of worshippers, the holy and universal Church, which
in the fulness of time would be established.
I. _The prophet grounds the hope of that reformed and purified state
of the moral_ _world, described in the beautiful words of the text,
upon the increase of religious knowledge_ which he saw to be coming.
"They shall not hurt . . . for the earth shall be full of the
_knowledge of the Lord._" II. These words may be taken as
_descriptive of the legitimate effect of Christian knowledge._ The
general scope, aim, and tendency of Gospel principles is such as
would produce the change described, were it not counteracted by the
tendency within us to what is wrong. III. They are more than this:
they are _prophetic of the actual results of Christian knowledge._
The Gospel will render war impossible. True, so-called "Christian"
nations have not yet ceased to wage war with one another, nor
so-called "Christian" men to rob and circumvent and ruin each other.
Nevertheless, this prophecy shall yet be fulfilled. We see it in the
process of fulfilment. The condition of the moral world has been
meliorated by Christianity. Wars have not ceased, but their conduct
has been mitigated. In their private dealings with each other, men
have become more just and trustworthy. Already there are millions of
men who would shrink from doing harm of any kind to their fellow-men.
Compare Christendom with heathendom, and you will see what mighty
changes the Gospel has already wrought. The practice even of
Christian men falls short of their knowledge. Nevertheless, the
practice and the morals of men are, generally speaking, the best
where their knowledge is the most. The prophet's words are justified
by fact, and men forbear one another most, and hurt and destroy
least, where knowledge is the greatest. It is a fact that life and
property are more safe and secure in the Christian portion of the
earth, than in any other portions. And the knowledge of the Lord
grows year by year; partly through the labours of missionaries in
many places; still more by the rapid growth of the nations that are
Christian. The violent and lawless races of the earth are dwindling
away. The only races that are increasing are those that fear God, and
are willing to respect the rights, the properties, and the lives of
their neighbours. Through the medium of this natural increase of
peace-loving races, and through the conversion of many among the
benighted nations, this prophecy is receiving a gradual, but very
appreciable, fulfilment. The world is advancing, with
ever-accelerating speed towards knowledge and peace, and this
declaration shall yet be literally fulfilled (H. E. I., 979,
1161-1168; P. D., 2465, 2466).
_Application._--1. We are permitted to rejoice in the hope of a
period when justice and benevolence shall prevail in the world. 2. We
are required to contribute towards the realisation of this hope. This
we are to do (1) by the purification of our own hearts; by the
conquest of every passion and desire that would make us hurtful to
our neighbours. (2) By prayer (Matt. vi. 9, 10). (3) By helping to
diffuse that "knowledge of the Lord" which is the great peace-maker
in the earth.--_A. Gibson, M.A.: Sermons on Various Subjects; Second
Series_ (pp. 246-265).
In this and the preceding verses we have a beautiful picture of a
state of human society entirely different from anything that has been
witnessed since the Fall. The prophet beholds changes in human
character so great that he feels he can only symbolise them by
transformations in the members of the animal kingdom of the most
astonishing kind. Verses 6-8 _are_ symbolical, and are intended to
excite within us the liveliest anticipations of the glorious effects
that would follow the universal proclamation and acceptation of the
gospel. Thus we are led to speak of the nature, the diffusion, and
the effect of the knowledge of the Lord.
I. ITS EXALTED NATURE. By "the knowledge of the Lord" may be meant
that of which He is the revealer (2 Chron. xxx. 22), or that of which
He is the theme (2 Pet. ii. 20). God can only be revealed by Himself;
and He has given us a threefold revelation of Himself--in nature, in
providence, and in Holy Scripture. In the latter we have the record
of the fullest revelation which He has vouchsafed, that given us in
His Son. God is never truly known by man until He is known in Christ.
"The knowledge of the Lord" and "the Gospel" are terms of the same
meaning.
II. ITS DESTINED DIFFUSION. The figure employed by the prophet brings
before us impressively the universality of its diffusion. The
imagination is called in to instruct our faith.[1] The world-wide
diffusion of the gospel is a matter--1. Of _prophetic certainty._
Nothing could be more plain than the prophetic declarations
concerning this matter. But if any man asks _when_ the promise will
be fulfilled, only one answer can be given him (Acts i. 7).
2. Involving _Divine agency._ Utterly false is the notion that, after
creating the universe, God withdrew from it, and left it to go on by
its own momentum (John v. 17); and utterly false is the notion that,
after giving the gospel to the world, God has left it to make its own
way therein. By Divine agency men are raised up to proclaim it (Eph.
iv. 11). While they are so engaged Christ Himself is with them (Matt.
xxviii. 20); and while they preach, the Holy Spirit strives in the
hearts of men to prepare and dispose them to receive the glad tidings
(1 Thess. i. 5). When, therefore, we look at the glorious promise of
our text, we must not forget that God Himself is working for its
accomplishment. This will save us from unbelief and despair
concerning it. 3. Involving _human instrumentality._ Not that this is
absolutely necessary. Without human husbandry God could have caused
the earth to bring forth food for man and beast, and without human
instrumentality He could have saved the world. But it has pleased Him
to commit to us the Word of reconciliation. The consequent duty of
preaching it must be taken in connection with, and regarded as the
condition of, the promise; just as the promise that there shall be a
harvest till the end of the world is conditioned by man's sowing the
seed in the appointed season. The promise must not be used as an
excuse for indolence, but as a stimulus to industry.
III. ITS BLESSED EFFECT. The Gospel is a harmonising power. It has a
transforming efficacy equal to any that would be needed to bring
about a literal fulfilment of verses 6-8. Wherever it comes in its
saving power it new creates human hearts, and thus dries up the
causes of hatred and discord at their fountain. For it is a
principle, 1. of _righteousness,_ and 2. of _love._ Hence it brings
peace. For all discord is due to injustice that is prompted by
selfishness (James iv. 1). Where righteousness and love combine and
rule, there must be peace and security; for the very desire to injure
is taken away. The universal prevalence of the gospel necessarily
means universal peace (H. E. I., 1120, 1127, 1129).
1. This suggests the answer to the questions, Why Christian nations
make war against each other, and why even in Christian churches there
are fierce contentions? The answer is, either that those nations or
churches are Christian only in name, or that they have only very
partially attained to "the knowledge of the Lord." They are only in
infant-class in Christ's great school; as they learn of Him, their
rivalries and hatreds will pass away. 2. The Gospel being so blessed
in its effects, it is plain that it is the duty of all good men to
extend the knowledge of it.--_John Rawlinson._
A remarkable declaration this, especially if the Hebrew prophets
were, as some learned sceptics tell us, men of narrow mind,
worshipping a merely local god, and hating all men not descended from
Jacob. By the noble simile employed by Isaiah two ideas are
suggested--1. _Universality._ mankind is the area to be covered.
2. _Ease._ All the creeks, bays, channels, and broad highways of the
vast ocean are filled in their appointed time. The mighty tide rises,
sweeps onward, and the work is done. There was one great flood-tide
of gospel-truth in the days of the apostles, and there is a greater
still to come. Meanwhile, many difficulties attend the efforts of
God's people to extend the knowledge of His truth; but, in the
world's fulness, great ease will characterise the progress and
triumphs of the gospel (Ps. cx. 3; Heb. viii. 11). This declaration
suggests two great subjects:--
1. THE HOPE OF THE WORLD. Shut the Bible, and our outlook on the
world and its future is dark and sad. Open it, and let its light
shine into our minds, and with the light will come encouragement and
hope. 1. If it is true that "the earth . . . the sea," then God takes
an interest in the affairs of the world, and takes an interest in
them _now._ This mighty world is not left to drift into an unknown
and perilous future without a steersman to guide it. 2. If God makes
such abundant provision for the instruction of men in the knowledge
of Himself, then He will be accessible to them when, by that
knowledge, they are led to approach Him; and He is accessible to us.
3. Himself opening for men a way of access to Him, we may be sure
that when they avail themselves of it He will deal with them in the
way of mercy and love; and so He will deal with us. Who can doubt
this who looks on the fact of Christ, through whom God has given us
the truest knowledge of Himself (2 Cor. iv. 6)? 4. He means to be
known to the _world,_ and therefore His gracious offers extend to
_all,_ to us.
II. THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH. In view of this declaration, 1. _Take
enlarged views of your work._ Think how much remains to be done. Even
if you could suppose that your family, your street, your town, your
country were filled with the blessed tide of the knowledge of the
Lord, yet think of the _earth,_ and all its myriad claims resting
upon the servants of God. 2. _Spare no efforts in promoting the cause
of Christian missions._ In advancing these, you are working in
harmony with the great purposes of God, and for an object which is
dear to Him--that object for which He has already given His Son! Will
you withhold from it the money with which He has entrusted you, and
for which you will have to give account at the last day? 3. There are
many present difficulties in the prosecution of mission-work, but
meanwhile _take comfort from the large purposes of God._ "Have faith
in God." His plans are vast, but His glorious promises are great as
His counsels, and His resources as glorious as His promises. The
process of filling the earth with "the knowledge of the Lord" may
seem to us to be tedious, the obstacles may be many, the time may be
long; if the work were left to us, it would be hopeless; but GOD will
hasten it all in His time.--_William Manning._
It is here declared that there is yet to dawn upon the world an era
of perfect light, and that that shall be also and therefore an era of
perfect love. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
mountain, FOR the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord."
It is a mystery, but it is a fact, that knowledge is not necessarily
a blessing. The devils believe--and therefore know--yet remain devils
still (Jas. ii. 19). Many men of unholy life have been men of eminent
knowledge (Rom. i. 21). But this is a moral monstrosity, a result of
the unnatural condition into which we have been brought by sin; just
as in certain forms of disease food becomes poison. Knowledge is one
of those forces which naturally tend to elevate and sanctify
(H. E. I., 3106); to know God truly is eternal life (John xvii. 3);
and the declaration is, that knowledge shall be world-wide, and that
by it the world shall be morally revolutionised. Remembrance of two
facts will give intelligence and strength to our faith in these
glorious predictions. 1. _As man's knowledge of God has grown, the
human race has risen._ Except in those abnormal cases already
referred to, it may be declared that man cannot learn to know God and
remain as they were--_e.g.,_ wherever the knowledge of the unity of
God is restored to man, idolatry becomes impossible; as soon as the
knowledge of the spirituality of God really enters the mind,
formalism in worship becomes an impossibility. So every truth
concerning God, as soon as it is really known, becomes a correcting
and converting force. The tendency of this knowledge, as of light, is
to quicken and beautify. The way to grow in grace is to grow in the
knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. iii. 18). 2. _The knowledge of God is a
thing that grows, and grows slowly, in the human soul._ This is true
of all knowledge.[2] But in proportion as it grows, sanctification
takes place in the individual life, reformation in the national
life.[3] It is the most radical and successful of all revolutionists.
It is impossible for us to dream of the changes it will accomplish
upon the earth. But this we know, that by it war and every form of
violence shall be abolished (text; Isa. ii. 4, &c.)
In this subject there is, 1. _A complete justification of all
missionary enterprises._ They are not visionary schemes foredoomed to
failure; they are intensely practical, and shall be triumphantly
successful. The time may be far off, but it is advancing, when every
man shall know God.[4] The effect of that knowledge will be the
destruction of the desire to destroy or injure. 2. _An argument for
patience._ In view of the wrongs that prevail upon the earth, many
noble souls find it difficult to exercise it. Of finer taste, of
clearer vision, of truer sympathy with God than is common amongst
men, the wickedness that triumphs in the world fills them with
continual agony. It drives them almost into atheism. They ask, "Can
God see these things, and not use His power to bring them to an end?
If there were a God, would He not instantly smite the oppressors with
destruction?" Let them be patient. God does see; God does feel; God
is hastening on the better day by the only means by which it can
really be brought in. Another deluge would not cleanse the world from
crime; if but eight souls were spared, sin would once more begin to
prevail. The era of purity and peace can be ushered in only by the
revelation of God to man, and thus it is advancing towards us; thus
it is already begun; between Christian and heathen lands there is a
real contrast; and ere long there shall be as great a contrast
between Christian lands uplifted by a fuller knowledge of God and
these lands as they now are. The millennium is not merely a prophetic
dream, it shall be a glorious fact. Patience! (H. E. I., 1134, 1135,
1166-1168, 3421-3423; P. D., 2465, 2466). 3. _An argument for hopeful
Christian effort._ We must not merely dream of the millennium, we
must labour to hasten its dawn. Work is needful: Sunday-school work,
&c. Every one who prays, "Thy kingdom come," thereby unless he means
to mock God, pledges himself to work to hasten its coming, and thus
to be a "fellow-labourer with God." There is need for individual
effort, and for united effort. Such effort should always be hopeful.
We are not attempting what is impossible; we are working in the line
of God's promises, and with God! Remembering that the sense of our
own weakness will not unduly depress us. It does not require a
giant's strength to row with the tide; and a mightier force than that
of ocean is bearing us on to a victory that shall fill earth with
blessing and heaven with gladness.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, _as
the waters cover the sea._" The expression is remarkable
for its force. In looking over the face of the ocean, no
differences are to be perceived: one part is not fuller
than the other; one part is not covered, and another left
dry; but all is one unbroken stream, filling and covering
the whole. So shall it be with the Word of God among men.
It shall not be known to some, and hidden from others. It
shall not be fully declared in one place, and only
partially set forth in another. Whatever knowledge it
pleased Him to give at all, shall be given to all men
equally and without distinction. Such is clearly the
purpose of God in His own appointed time.--_W. H. Sulivan._
_"As the waters cover the sea."_ The idea of universality
could scarcely have been better expressed than by this
magnificent simile. You have looked forth on the
illimitable expanse of waters with wonder and awe. Your
imagination has followed the depths far beyond the lowest
tide-line to the unfathomed valleys and caverns that form
the ocean bed; and you have endeavoured to take fully into
your mind the thought that the lowest depths and the most
distant shores were filled and covered by the all-diffusive
and all-searching element.--_Rawlinson._
[2] The knowledge of God comes into the soul as a king is born
into a country over which he is ultimately to rule; at the
beginning it is but a babe; for a long time it is weak, and
needs to be defended and nurtured; many years elapse before
it rules; rarely in this life does it exercise full power
and undisputed sway.
[3] Many evils continue to exist and flourish even in Christian
lands, because their contrariety to the character of God
has not yet been apprehended and felt. Many godly men were
slave-holders and slave-dealers, because they did not fully
know God. But now the knowledge of God has so grown among
men, that it is no longer possible in a Christian land for
a godly man to be a slave-holder. So with polygamy, which
was once practised without scruple by some of the noblest
and most devout men who ever lived. This practice has been
killed, not by any express prohibition, but by growth among
men of the knowledge of God. That knowledge is predestined
still further to grow, and to kill many things more.
[4] The text for this footnote was omitted. Transcriber.
THE ENSIGN OF THE NATIONS.
xi. 10. _And in that day there shall be, &c._
I. In the two parts of this verse we have a twofold metaphorical
representation of the Redeemer: one expressed, one implied. 1. +An
ensign of the people+ = banner or standard, such as is set up as a
rallying-point around which, (1) the subjects of a king assemble to
do him homage; and (2) the soldiers of an army gather to receive the
commands and exhortations of their general. 2. This second use of a
standard leads to the second metaphorical representation of the
Redeemer, that of a +victorious general:+ "His rest shall be
glorious." We are thus directed to the final result of the uplifting
of Christ as an ensign: the great campaign brought to a successful
conclusion, the Victor in it rests gloriously, surrounded by the
soldiers whom He has led on to triumph, and the people to whom He has
given liberty and peace.
II. Consider how these predictions have been fulfilled. 1. By the
preaching of the gospel Christ has been lifted up, and as the result
men of all nations have sought unto Him, and will seek Him more and
more. 2. Having done and suffered all that was necessary ultimately
to secure the final victory, He has taken His place at the right hand
of the Majesty on high, and rests there gloriously; the glory of His
rest arising from the number of the subjects who do Him homage, and
of the soldiers who delight to fight His battles, from the triumphs
which He has already enabled them to achieve, and from the prosperity
and peace of all His people.
We shall make a great mistake if we end by thus admiringly noting how
the ancient prophecy has been, and is being, fulfilled in the history
of the world. _We_ are among the Gentiles of whom our text speaks:
Have we sought unto the glorious Person of whom it speaks? You desire
to do so. Do so, then, 1. _For right purposes;_ not merely that you
may be delivered from suffering, but that you may be delivered from
sin; not merely that you may ultimately gain admission to heaven, but
that you may have and now render to Him the homage and the service to
which He is entitled. 2. _In a right spirit;_ not vainly dreaming
that you have, or can win, any claim upon His regard, but recognising
that you can appeal only to His mercy, and that without it you are
lost; and making this appeal penitently and believingly. So coming to
Him, He will be found of you. He will cause you to share in His rest,
by causing you to share in His triumphs; inspired and upheld by Him,
you shall trample under foot the world, the flesh, the devil, and the
fear of death. Your whole being will be at rest; your understanding
no longer harassed by perplexing doubts; your conscience stilled and
gladdened by a righteous peace; your affections centred at last
around Him who alone is worthy of their supreme love; and this
threefold rest, so sweet and blessed now, shall be perfected and
perpetuated in heaven.--_George Smith, D.D._
The prophet here foresees that the Saviour's mission and work will so
exalt Him in the eyes of the nations, that they will turn to Him as
the one object and desire of their souls. (Compare John xii. 32.)
This prediction declares that Christ would be a banner to attract
men, that He would be the object of universal search, and that men in
finding Him would attain to true rest and glory.
I. THE BANNER. 1. A banner is naturally "lifted up;" only thus can
its purpose be accomplished (chap. xiii. 2; xviii. 3). Apt image this
of Christ. Not merely in His death on Calvary. That exaltation was
followed by His being lifted higher still by the preaching of the
gospel, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John xvi. 14), by the
devout lives of all His true followers. 2. A banner has usually some
emblem or device representative of some great cause, or expressive of
some great truth. (Give instances.) So when "Christ and Him
crucified" are uplifted clearly in the view of men, they see God's
hatred of sin, His love of man, and His provision for man's future
happiness and glory.
II. THE OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL SEARCH. "To it shall the Gentiles seek."
Search for Christ characterises all races of men (Hag. ii. 7) and all
periods of time (Luke x. 24). The search is often prosecuted in
ignorance. Men know not for what and for whom their souls yearn; but
it _is_ Christ of whom unconsciously they are in quest; and it is
towards Him, that by the else insatiable desires of their spiritual
nature, they are being led.
III. THE FINDING OF TRUE REST. "His rest shall be glorious." 1. The
rest we find in Christ is connected with a vital change effected in
the heart and life. He does not simply do something _for_ us; He also
does a work _within_ us. Every intelligent seeker knows that there
can be no rest until the evil that is lodged within us is resisted
and cast out (H. E. I., 1324). It is as we enter into the spirit of
Christ and share His life, that we enter into rest (Matt. xi. 28-30).
2. Our new relations to God, entered into by faith in Christ Jesus,
makes our rest very glorious. God is then known to us by the most
precious and endearing names; He is our rock, our shield, &c. Each of
these names represents to us some tender aspects of His love, some
sweet ministry of His grace.
Are you in search of the highest peace, joy, holiness, rest? Here you
may end your quest (1 Cor. i. 30; P. D., 481).--_William Manning._
THE RECONCILER OF MEN.
xi. 10-16. _And in that day there shall be, &c._
Several eminent commentators are of opinion that this prophecy will
not be fulfilled until the Jews are restored as a nation to their own
land. Others believe that the prophet used (it may be unconsciously)
transient geographical phrases as symbols of eternal truths. Without
entering upon this controversy, which can be settled only by the
actual unfolding and accomplishment of God's plans as to the history
of this world, let us think of the fundamental fact of the vision,
that in it "the Root of David" was revealed to the prophet as _the
reconciler of men._ His appearing in the world would be the setting
up of a standard unto which all men, Gentiles (ver. 10) and Jews
(vers. 11, 12), would seek; and before the influence then exerted
upon them by Him rivalries and enmities, even though they were as
inveterate and malignant as those of Judah and Ephraim (ver. 13),
would disappear. No obstacles, even though they should be as immense
as the geographical ones which are specified, would hinder their
coming together and forming one united and triumphant people under
His benignant sway. This is only saying what the prophet has said
already (chap. ii. 4; ix. 7), that the kingdom of Christ would be a
kingdom of peace. Consider--
+I. How marvellously and gloriously this prediction has been
fulfilled.+ To appreciate this, we must recall the condition of the
world at the time when "the day" of which our text speaks dawned upon
it. Nations were everywhere divided from each other by jealousies and
hatreds as virulent as those that divided Ephraim from Judah; there
was peace only because they were restrained from active hostility by
the strong hand of Roman power. Hatred of other nations was regarded
not as a crime, but as a duty.[1] But Christ inaugurated the empire
of universal brotherhood and love. Wars have not yet ceased even
among nations professing Christianity, but they are no longer openly
gloried in by those who wage them; they are apologised for as sad
necessities. The apology is often insincere, but the fact that it is
made at all is a marvellous tribute to the influence and authority of
Christ. Wherever His true followers meet, national distinctions are
forgotten, and they feel drawn to each other by a mightier and
sweeter bond. As the centuries pass away, the love of Christ becomes
more and more the uniting power of the world.
+II. How sadly imperfect the fulfilment of this prediction still is!+
The era of universal peace has not yet dawned. The world is still
cursed by wars and rumours of wars. Millions of men are maintained in
constant readiness for war. There are bitter contentions among the
sections of the Christian Church, these tribes of the modern Israel.
Class is divided from class. So-called Christian families are
saddened by bitter feuds.
+III. The blessedness of the era that shall yet dawn upon the world.+
The Christian often dreams of it; his dreams are sweet as those which
hungry men have of banquets, and shipwrecked sailors drifting
helplessly on rafts in the wide ocean have of their native village
and of meeting with their loved ones there; and in their waking hours
they, too, are apt to be saddened by the fear that their dreams too
are as utterly incapable of realisation. But it is not so. They shall
all be realised, for the authority of Christ shall yet be universal,
real, absolute; and all the listening angels shall not be able to
detect one sound of discord rising from the round world, for the
whole world shall be full of the peace of Christ (P. D., 2465, 2466,
2676).
+IV. Our duty in regard to this prediction.+ We are not merely to
dream dreams of the blessedness of the era that shall yet be ushered
in. We are to _do_ something to hasten its dawning. 1. We are to pray
for it with yearning hearts. 2. We are to do our utmost, in every
possible way, to extend the knowledge of the Gospel throughout the
world. The Gospel, not commerce, is the true civiliser and uniter of
nations: commerce will prosper on the Gospel triumphs. True, many
converts are only nominally Christians, but in many cases that _is_
the first step towards their becoming real Christians, _i.e.,_ men
who will pray and labour for universal peace. 3. Minor and
contributory duties. (1.) The diffusion of knowledge that will tend
to bring home to the understandings and hearts of men the hurtfulness
of war, and the preparation for war. (2.) The discouragement and
overthrow of those statesmen, to whichever party they may belong,
whose policy tends to foster national animosities. (3.) The
discouragement of all pursuits and things that tend to familiarise
men with war and keep alive in them a passion for it, _e.g.,_ the
volunteer movement; pictures, poems, and newspapers that glorify
successful soldiers, as if in them the noblest ideal of manhood were
realised. (4.) Careful education of our children in Christian
sentiments concerning foreign nations and war. By constant
heedfulness of these duties, we shall do something to hasten the
dawning of the era of universal peace and blessedness, and we shall
not have lived in vain.
FOOTNOTES
[1] "Ancient morality was essentially national and exclusive.
Its creed was that a man is born not for himself, but for
his parents, his family, and the state. The state was
surrounded by others with which, unless some treaty had
been concluded, it was at war. To do as much good as
possible to one's own state, and as much harm as possible
to all other states, was therefore the whole duty of a
man."--_Ecce Homo,_ p. 125, small edition. (The student
will do well to read the whole chapter in which these
sentences occur.)
A NEW SONG FOR NEW HEARTS.
xii. 1. _And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, &c._
This prophecy is said by some to relate to the invasion by
Sennacherib, and the marvellous deliverance therefrom. If so, it is
an instance of sanctified affliction, and a lesson to us that
whenever we smart under the rod we may look forward to the time when
it shall be withdrawn; it is also an admonition to us, that when we
escape from trial we should take care to celebrate the event with
grateful praise. It is thought by others that the text mainly relates
to the latter days, and I think it would be impossible to read the
eleventh chapter without feeling such a reference is clear. Both
these interpretations are true and instructive; but we shall find out
the very soul of the passage, if we consider it as an illustration of
what occurs to every one of God's people when he is brought out of
darkness into God's marvellous light, when he is delivered from the
spirit of bondage beneath Divine wrath, and led by the Spirit of
adoption into the liberty wherewith Christ makes him free. In
regarding the text from this point of view, we shall first observe
the prelude of this delightful song, and then listen to the song
itself.
I. THE PRELUDE OF THIS CHARMING SONG--"In that day thou shalt say."
Here we have the tuning of the harps, the notes of the music follow
after in the succeeding sentences. Note, 1. There is a _time_ for the
joyous song here recorded, "In that day"--the day of the
manifestation of the Divine power. 2. One word indicates the
_singer._ "_Thou_ shalt say." One by one we receive eternal life and
peace. Religion is an individual matter. The word "thou" is spoken to
those brought down into the last degree of despair. Thou
broken-hearted sinner, ready to destroy thyself because of the
anguish of conscience, in the day of God's abounding mercy, _thou_
shalt rejoice! 3. The _Teacher_ of the song. "In that day thou
_shalt_ say." Who but the Lord can thus command man's heart and
speech? 4. The _tone_ of the song. "Thou shalt _say._" The song is to
be an open one, vocally uttered, heard of men. It is not to be a
silent feeling, a kind of soft music whose sweetness is spent within
the spirit; but in that day thou shalt testify and bear witness what
the Lord has done for thee (H. E. I., 3903-3921).
II. THE SONG ITSELF.--1. All of it is concerning the Lord; it is all
addressed to Him. "O Lord, I will praise _Thee:_ though _Thou_ wast
angry with me, _Thine_ anger is turned away." When a soul is escaped
from the bondage of sin, it resembles the apostles on Mount Tabor--it
sees no man but Jesus only. 2. It includes repentant memories. The
Hebrew would run something like this, "O Lord, I will praise Thee;
Thou wast angry with me." We do this day praise God because He made
us feel His anger. "What, is a sense of anger a cause for praise?"
No, not if it stood alone, but because it has driven us to Christ.
The song in its deep bass includes plaintive recollections of sin
pressing heavily on the spirit. 3. It contains blessed certainties.
"Thine anger _is_ turned away." "Can a man know that? Can he be quite
sure he is forgiven?" He can be as sure of pardon as he is of his
existence, as infallibly certain as he is of a mathematical
proposition. The Scriptures teach that to the sinner who trusts in
Jesus there is no condemnation, and every one may know whether he is
trusting in Jesus or not (H. E. I., 309, 310, 324-334, 986, 989).
4. It includes holy resolutions. "I will praise Thee"--in secret, in
public. For this purpose I will unite with Thy people. I will not be
content unless all that I am and all that I have shall praise Thee.
5. It is a song which is peculiar in its characteristics, and
appropriate only to the people of God. It is a song of strong faith,
and yet of humility. Its spirit is a precious incense made up of many
costly ingredients. Humility confesses, "Thou wast angry with me;"
gratitude sings, "Thine anger is turned away;" patience cries, "Thou
comfortest me," and holy joy springs up, and saith, "I will praise
Thee." Faith, hope, love--all have their notes here, from the bass of
humility up to the highest alto of glorious communion.
By way of practical results from this subject, let me speak, 1. A
word of _consolation_ to those who are under God's anger. God never
shut up a soul in the prison of conviction, but sooner or later He
released the captive. The worst thing in the world is to go
unchastised; to be allowed to sin and eat honey with it, this is the
precursor of damnation; but to sin, and to have the wormwood of
repentance with it, this is the prelude of being saved. If the Lord
has embittered thy sin, He has designs of love towards thee; His
anger shall yet be turned away. 2. A word of _admonition._ Some of
you have been forgiven, but are you praising God as you should?
(H. E. I., 3903-3911).--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle
Pulpit_ (vol. xvi. pp. 241-250).
The preceding chapter relates to the reign of the Messiah; the end of
it especially to the ingathering of the Jews--a period which will be
the spiritual jubilee to the tribes of Israel, and the beginning of
the millennium to the world itself. _That_ is the day in which Israel
shall say, "O Lord, I will praise thee," &c. This passage may be
applied to every spiritual child of Abraham. Consider--
+I. The previous state referred to.+ "Thou wast angry with me." Anger
in God is not, as it often is in us, a blind, furious passion; but a
holy disapprobation of wrong, and a righteous determination to punish
it (H. E. I., 2288-2294). 1. _Man's character and conduct, while in
his natural state, are such as justly expose him to the Divine
anger._ What does God survey in the sinner? Ignorance, unbelief,
envy, malevolence, impurity, &c. In his conduct, likewise, how much
there is that must necessarily be displeasing to God!--ingratitude,
disobedience, selfishness, abuse of long-suffering, the rejection of
Christ. 2. _No intelligent being need be in any doubt as to whether
he is, or is not, an object of the Divine anger._ The teaching of
Scripture is clear (Ps. vii. 11; xxxiv. 16, &c.) This is ratified by
the workings of conscience. Let any one do good secretly, and
contrast his state of mind with the feelings arising after the
commission of secret evil. 3. _The Divine anger is of all things to
be deprecated._ Remember what its effects have been upon impenitent
sinners. Think of the old world; of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; of
Sodom, &c. View the written in indelible and awful characters in the
history of the Israelites. Nothing can resist it, alleviate it, or
deliver from it.
+II. The delightful change experienced.+ 1. _The Divine displeasure
is removed._ "Anger turned away." The cloud blotted out; no longer
under condemnation, &c. This necessarily supposes a change in the
creature. His enmity and opposition to God have ceased; he has seen
the evil of sin; confessed and forsaken it; and believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ. A state of unbelief exposes us to the Divine wrath; a
state of faith brings upon us His favour. God abhors the high and
proud spirit; but He looks in pity on the lowly and contrite. 2. _The
Divine favour is enjoyed._ "Thou comfortest me." We cannot stand in a
neutral state with respect to God. The instant His anger is removed,
His favour is enjoyed. Guilt, remorse, the burden of sin, are gone;
and in their stead there is a sweet assurance of acceptance with God.
This comfort is real, not visionary; suitable, abiding, and
inexpressibly precious; it is associated with all good, both in this
life and that which is to come; it is the precursor of everlasting
felicity.
+III. The grateful return presented.+ "I will praise Thee."
Acceptable praise, 1. _Includes the offering of a thankful heart._ It
must arise from within; it must be the expression of the affections
of the soul. Heart gratitude is alone real, and that which God will
receive. 2. It must be _free and spontaneous._ "I will." Not I ought,
or should, but "I will." 3. It must be _constant_ (Eph. v. 20;
1 Thess. v. 18; Ps. xxxiv. 1).
APPLICATION.--Let the text be 1. _The test of our state._ Can we use
it? Is it so with us? Is God our reconciled friend? 2. _The test of
our spirit and conduct._ Do we love and bless God? Is it our delight
to do so? 3. _Let it be attractive to the convicted, mourning
sinner._ There is a way to Divine peace, and to real and heavenly
comfort. Christ is that way. Come now to God through Him.--_Jabez
Burns, D.D.: Pulpit Cyclopædia_ (iii. 221-224).
In this verse we have a representation--+I. Of the natural condition
of sinful men.+ An object of Divine anger. 1. The nature of the
emotion described; 2. The cause of this anger; 3. How much it is to
be feared. Unlike the anger of man it is changeless, and behind it is
boundless wisdom and irresistible power. +II. Of the change effected
in the state of believers by Divine grace.+ They are blessed, 1. By
the removal of the Divine displeasure, effected by the work
accomplished _for_ them by the Son of God, and _in_ them by the Holy
Spirit. 2. In the enjoyment of Divine consolation. +III. Of the
adoring thankfulness which the change demands and calls forth.+
1. The individual character of the declaration: "_Thou_ shalt say."
2. The vocal proclamation: Thou "shalt _say._" True gratitude is
never silent (Ps. lxvi. 16, &c.) 3. The delightful burden of the
song.--_George Smith, D.D._
In this verse we have three pictures. I. God angry with the sinner.
II. God reconciled to the sinner. III. God comforting the
sinner.--_H. F. Walker._
WELLS OF SALVATION.
xii. 3. _Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the
wells of salvation._
Salvation is the great theme of the Bible, and thus it meets man's
great need. Think, I. Of THE WELLS, the sources of salvation. Clearly
these are not found in man himself. Salvation originated in the
eternal love of God for man; it flows to sinners through the work of
Jesus; it is by the influence of the Holy Spirit that the sinner is
made willing to partake of it. These truly are _wells_ of salvation;
not rills that may dry up; not even rivers, which may fail because
the streams from the mountains have failed; but wells, fountains
over-flowing, inexhaustible as the nature of God. II. Of THE WATER. A
beautiful symbol of a great reality. Excepting the air we breathe,
there is no element so widely diffused, nor so essential to life, as
water. Imagine a great city, a whole district, a ship's crew without
water.[1] 1. Water _revives._ How the traveller dying from thirst
begins to revive the instant water touches his lips; so the salvation
of the gospel imparts new life to the soul; an invigoration,
moreover, that shall not pass away (John iv. 14). 2. Water
_cleanses._ So does the salvation of the gospel (Rev. i. 5; Heb.
ix. 14; Ezek. xxxvi. 25; Zech. xiii. 1). 3. Water _fertilises._ The
water of salvation enriches and fertilises the spiritual soil, so
that the blossoms of hope in the early spring-time of piety, and the
matured fruits of holiness in the autumn of life, adorn the garden of
the Lord (Isa. lviii. 11; Jer. xxxi. 12; Ps. i. 3; Num. xxiv. 6).
III. Of THE JOY. 1. This can only be experienced by such as draw
water out of the wells of salvation. Necessarily it _is_ a matter of
experience. There are many things that must be felt to be known, and
this is one of them. 2. This joy may be expected in the very act of
drawing the water of salvation. If you were to overtake a traveller
in a sandy desert dying from thirst, he would begin to enjoy the very
moment he became conscious of the touch of the precious fluid. So
with the Christian (Rom. xv. 13). And as he may and ought to be
constantly drawing from the wells of salvation, his life should
always be a happy life (H. E. I. 3037-3051; P. D. 2085).
Our text may be regarded--1. As giving full permission to do that of
which it speaks. However unworthy we may be, we may come to the wells
of salvation, and draw as much as we need (Rev. xxii. 17; H. E. I.,
2331, 2361, 2362, 4086). 2. Nay, as a command. When a sovereign
prepares a banquet, and issues his invitations, those invitations
have the force of commands. God has graciously provided salvation for
your souls in Christ: will you turn away and despise His love?--_John
Rawlinson._
Salvation--let us not think of it meanly. It has past, present,
future aspects. Too often we content ourselves with the _past_ view
of it, and that in a selfish way. Twenty or thirty years ago, we
"believed" and were "saved," _i.e.,_ got out of harm's way. What is
God's grace _doing_ for us? Is it making us purer, nobler? And what
are our _aspirations_ and _prospects?_ Are we imitators of the great
Apostle? (Phil. iii. 13, 14).
This comprehensive and glorious salvation, what is its source? Whence
is it to be drawn? From GOD. "Behold, _God_ is my salvation. . . .
Therefore," &c. The third verse must never be separated in thought
from the second, "With Thee is the fountain of life"--with God as
revealed to us in Christ. This is the claim of Christ Himself (John
vii. 37, 38).[2] He stands over against all the ignorance, the guilt,
the pollution, and the deathfulness of man, as the infinite Fulness
(1 Cor. i. 30; Col. i. 19; John i. 16; H. E. I., 934-941). As the
wells of salvation are in Him; and from Him His people draw the
priceless "water" with joy. This is a duty, but it is performed by
them as freely and spontaneously as on a summer morning the birds
fill the air with music. They do so--1. _Because the wells of
salvation are free to all, and easily accessible by all._ Were it not
so, we might fear that we or our friends were excluded therefrom. But
God's salvation, like all His best gifts--air, light, water--is free
to all alike (H. E. I., 942, 943, 2331, 2361, 2362). And it is easily
accessible; not harder terms are imposed upon us than it is possible
and right for us to comply with. (All this is summed up in chap.
lv. 1.) 2. _Because "the wells of salvation" are inexhaustible._
Picture the fainting and despairing condition of a traveller who, in
a time of scorching heat, comes to a well, and finds it empty. No
such fate awaits the true seeker after God. Other sources of help
will deceive and fail us (Jer. ii. 13). 3. _Because of the deep
satisfaction which is derived therefrom_ (John iv. 14; H. E. I.,
968-971, 1658, 1659, 2738-2837, 4627-4630, 4790). 4. _Because the
fulness that thus becomes ours is a source of blessing to others_
(Gen. xii. 2; xxxix. 5; Prov. xviii. 4; Isa. lviii. 11; Ezek.
xlvii. 12; Zech. xiv. 8; H. E. I., 1740-1743).[3]
Come to the Well-spring of life. It is open to you all. Whosoever
will may come. Jesus stands ready to satisfy your deepest
longings.--_William Manning._
This chapter should be read in connection with the preceding, which
determines its application to the times of Messiah. The peaceful
state of the Church in Hezekiah's time is made the emblem of the
peaceful era of the Gospel; as the Israelites who had been carried
away in various invasions thus returned to their own country, so the
nations should be gathered to the standard of Christ (Isa. xi. 10-16).
+I. The sources of consolation which God has opened up to the Church
in the revelation of His Son.+ In a dry and thirsty land like
this--in a world where there are so many sorrows arising from sin,
and so many difficulties in our way to heaven--we need sources of
supply, fountains of consolation. And in the Word of God we have
them; "_wells_ of salvation," not running streams, not brooks, full
in spring and dry in summer, but wells! 1. Christ is the great
fountain (John vii. 37, 38). When He was lifted up upon the cross,
the fountain of grace that is in Him was opened, and healing streams
shall never cease to flow from it, till the last weary pilgrim has
reached the abodes of blessedness. Do we thirst for the pardon of
sin? (Matt. xii. 31). For the favour and friendship of God? (Matt.
v. 6). For solid and spiritual happiness? (Isa lv. 1; Rev. xxii. 17).
2. The religion of Christ is a system of consolation and joy; it is
the only one that deserves the name; all others work as with
unmeaning ceremonies or unfounded expectations. All the parts of
Christ's religion, properly understood and personally enjoyed,
promote solid comfort and true joy. Its doctrine (Rom. v. 11). Its
promises (Ps. xcvii. 11). Its precepts (Ps. cxix. 54). Its prospects
(Rom. v. 2; H. E. I., 4161-4163). 3. God is "the God of comfort."
Christ is "the consolation of Israel." The Holy Spirit is "the
Comforter." How ample are the sources of comfort and joy mentioned in
this chapter! (1.) The removal of a sense of Divine displeasure (ver.
1). (2.) Hope of interest in God's special favour as our covenant God
(ver. 2).
+II. What is necessary to our personal appropriation of these
comforts and joys.+[4] Many persons, who appear to be disciples of
Christ, are without the satisfaction which the text promises. They
may be safe, but they are not happy (H. E. I., 306-314). The fault is
not in the Gospel: the promise is express, the provision is free, the
invitation is open. If the Christian would know the joy of which the
text speaks, 1. _He must learn to set a higher value upon spiritual
blessings._ It is the order of divine procedure to awaken a high
sense of the value of His gifts before He communicates them. Many
seem indifferent whether they enjoy the higher blessings of religion
or no. The saints in former times were more earnest (Ps. xlii. 1).
2. _He must cultivate those graces of religion which are immediately
connected with its enjoyments:_ humility of mind, a teachable spirit,
a more spiritual order of affections (Ps. xxv. 9, 14; Col. iii. 2;
Phil. iv. 5-7). 3. _Especially he must cultivate a prayerful spirit
and expectant dependence upon divine illumination._ Prayer is the key
that opens the treasury of heaven (Ps. xxxiv. 5; cxix. 18). Neglect
of the Spirit's influences is a frequent cause of degeneracy and
distress. 4. _He must avoid whatever would hinder the life and power
of religion:_ the secret love of sin, undue attachment to the world,
prevalence of unholy tempers. It is a matter of perfect impossibility
that the comforts of religion can be enjoyed where sin and
inconsistency prevail. Is there no sin indulged, no self-dependence,
no conformity to the world, no neglect of private duties? (Jer.
ii. 17, 18). Heaven is a realm of perfect happiness, because it is
the realm of perfect holiness. 5. _He must diligently use all the
appointed means of grace._
+III. Particular seasons when the prophetic promise is fulfilled.+
Private meditation, public ordinance, trouble, death, entrance into
heaven.--_Samuel Thodey._
By "the wells of salvation" we may understand "the means of grace."[5]
I. _These wells of salvation have been opened for the supply of human
needs;_ not for God's benefit, but for ours. What wells are to
travellers through a desert, these are to us in our pilgrimage to
Zion. II. _Men should come to these wells for the purpose of having
their needs supplied;_ not from habit, not that we may set a good
example, &c., but that we ourselves may be refreshed and
strengthened. III. _No frequency in coming to these wells can be in
any sense meritorious._ Expose the mistake of the Pharisee and the
Ritualist. The oftener we avail ourselves of them, the more we
increase, not our claims upon God, but our obligations to Him; and
the more should increase, not our pride and self-righteousness, but
our thankfulness to God for His goodness in providing them. IV. _The
wells are nothing: the water in them is everything._ A dry well,
however deep it may be, or whatever historic associations may cluster
around it, is worthless; and so are all religious ordinances apart
from the Spirit of God. We must ever remember that they are _means_
of grace--channels through which the God of all grace will satisfy
the soul's thirst of those who seek Him in sincerity and truth.
V. _Nevertheless we are not to stay away from the wells, nor despise
them._ That is a false spirituality that disparages divine
ordinances. We are not to trust in the wells, yet neither are we to
refuse to draw water out of them:--1. Because GOD opened them, and to
neglect them it to charge Him with foolishly providing what we do not
need. 2. Because it pleases Him to give us water through them; and we
are to accept the blessing in whatever way He chooses to impart it to
us. Naaman (2 Kings v. 11-13); the blind man (John ix. 6, 7).
3. Because we need refreshment and reinvigoration day by day (Isa.
xl. 31; Ps. lxxxiv. 7; H. E. I., 555, 556, 3866-3876). 4. Because our
Master in the days of His flesh used the means of grace; no true
Christian will seek in this respect to be above his Lord. VI. _God
has opened_ WELLS _of salvation;_ not one, but many; none needlessly.
We must use them all. Their benefit lies in their conjunction. For
the production of a harvest, the sun and the rain are both needed;
the sun alone would make a desert, the rain alone a swamp. No bird
can fly with _one_ wing, &c. We must read as well as pray, &c.
CONCLUDING LESSONS.--1. _Why God sometimes leaves the wells dry._ His
people sometimes come so to delight in the means of grace, that they
forget they are only _means,_ and then He withholds His blessings,
that they may be taught that He alone can satisfy their souls (Ps.
lxxxiv. 2, lxii. 5). 2. _Why, when there is water in the wells, some
are not quickened and refreshed._ (1.) Water revives the living, not
the dead. (2.) Some forget to bring their buckets. They have no real
desires after God, not true faith in His power and willingness to
bless them, and to each of them we may say, "Sir, thou hast nothing
to draw with, and the wells are deep" (John iv. 11).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down
'Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!
All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody sun at noon
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the moon.
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath, nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.--_Coleridge: "Ancient Mariner."_
[2] The Talmudists refer the words, "With joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation," to the custom of
making an oblation of water on the last day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, when a priest fetched water in a golden
pitcher from the fountain of Siloah, and poured it mixed
with wine on the morning sacrifice as it lay on the altar;
while at the evening offering the same was done amidst
shouts of joy from the assembled people. It was in obvious
allusion to this rite that, "in the last day, that great
day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto Me and drink;" but as it is not
prescribed in the law of Moses, it has been doubted whether
it dates back earlier than the times of the Maccabees. It
is, however, at least as probable that the Asmonean princes
should have restored an ancient as ordained a new rite:
such a rite, to acknowledge God's gift of water without
which harvest and vintage must have failed, would always
have been a likely accompaniment of the feast in which
these were celebrated; and the like acts of Samuel and
Elijah, though for different purposes, perhaps go in
confirmation of the ancient existence of such a practice
(1 Sam vii. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 33-35). Be this as it may,
the idea conveyed by the image of the living water will be
the same:--"Such as is the refreshment of water from the
spring, and from the clouds of heaven, to the parched lips
and the thirsty land, in this our sultry climate, such
shall be the refreshment of your spirit in that day from
the salvation of Jehovah He shall dwell among you, and His
Spirit shall be a well of life to the whole
nation."--_Strachey._
The last day of the feast, known as "the Hosanna Rabba" and
the "Great Day," found Him, as each day before, doubtless,
had done, in the Temple arcades. He had gone thither early,
to meet the crowds assembled for morning prayer. It was a
day of special rejoicing. A great procession of pilgrims
marched seven times round the city, with their lulats
[branches of palm woven round with willow and myrtle],
music, and loud-voiced choirs preceding, and the air was
rent with shouts of Hosanna, in commemoration of the taking
of Jericho, the first city in the Holy Land that fell into
the hands of their fathers. Other multitudes streamed to
the brook of Shiloah, after the priests and Levites,
bearing the golden vessels, with which to draw some of the
water. As many as could get near the stream drank of it,
amidst loud chanting of the words of Isaiah--"Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," "With joy shall we
draw water from the wells of salvation,"--rising in
jubilant chants on every side. The water drawn by the
priests was meanwhile borne up to the Temple, amid the
boundless excitement of a vast throng. Such a crowd was,
apparently, passing at this moment.
Rising, as the throng went by, His Spirit was moved at such
honest enthusiasm, yet saddened at the moral decay which
mistook a mere ceremony for religion. It was burning autumn
weather, when the sun had for months shone in a cloudless
sky, and the early rains were longed for as the monsoons in
India after the summer heat. Water at all times is a magic
word in a sultry climate like Palestine, but at this moment
it had a double power. Standing, therefore, to give His
words more solemnity, His voice now sounded far and near
over the throng, with soft clearness, which arrested all--
"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink, for I
will give him the living waters of God's heavenly grace, of
which the water you have now drawn from Shiloah is only, as
your Rabbis tell you, a type. He that believes in Me drinks
into his soul of My fulness, as from a fountain, the riches
of Divine grace and truth. Nor do they bring life to him
alone who thus drinks. They become in his own heart, as the
whole burden of Scripture tells, a living spring, which
shall flow from his lips and life in holy words and deeds,
quickening the thirsty around him."--_Geikie._
[3] John vii. 38, "In the Book Sohar we find the same metaphor,
fol. 40, col. 4, 'When a man turns to God, he becomes like
a spring of fresh living water, and streams flow out from
him to all men.'"--_Geikie._
[4] See H. E. I., 315-352, 1252-1285.
[5] See H. E. I., 3309-3311, 3424-3465, 5075-5081.
THE DUTY OF GLADNESS.
xii. 6. _Cry out and shout, &c._
Two things are here observable:--1. _The person addressed,_ "thou
inhabitant of Zion,"[1] _i.e.,_ one who is no longer a stranger and
foreigner, but a fellow-citizen with the saints (Eph. ii. 12, 19)
2. _The admonition given,_ "Cry out and shout." Consider--
I. THE TRUTH ON WHICH THE ADMONITION IS FOUNDED. "Great is the Holy
One of Israel in the midst of thee." This includes--1. _His
character,_ "the Holy One of Israel." The holiness of God has shown
forth in all that He has done in heaven and on earth (Ps. cxlv. 17);
in heaven it is the theme of the songs of the most exalted
intelligences (Isa. vi. 3); on earth it inspires bad men with dread
and dislike (Isa. xxx. 11), and good men with thankfulness and hope
(Ps. xxx. 4; Heb. xii. 10; H. E. I., 2275, 2843). 2. _His greatness._
"Great"--in duration, wisdom, power, dominion, and resources. All
these render Him terrible as an enemy, desirable as a friend.[2]
3. _His residence._ "In the midst of thee." But is not God
everywhere? Yes, but not everywhere in the same character; not in
heaven as in earth, &c. Wherever His presence is spoken of in a way
of promise or privilege, it is to be distinguished from His attribute
of omnipresence, for it has then in it something peculiarly
beneficial and saving (Deut. iv. 7; Ps. xxxiv. 18). God's presence in
the midst of His people is the guarantee of their safety and the
source of their joy. Let them adore the condescension He shows in
dwelling in their midst.
II. THE STIRRING EXHORTATION. 1. _Religion is animated._ "Cry out and
shout," &c. What is here required cannot be merely the exclamation,
separate from suitable dispositions and sentiments, as is the case
with some. Noise is in itself worth nothing. On the other hand, where
there are these feelings, it is permissible, yea, praiseworthy, to
give free and exultant expression to them (Rev. v. 12). Some
disparage such expressions as enthusiasm, but there is nothing that
should call forth enthusiasm like the Gospel. Religion calls for not
only feeling and sentiment, but for the highest degree of feeling and
sentiment.[3] 2. _Religion, rational as well as animated._ Why is the
inhabitant of Zion to cry aloud and shout? _"For_ great is the Holy
One of Israel in the midst of thee." This more than justified him,
for from hence the Church can infer _safety, assistance, consolation,
honour._ Thus God is with His people, and this is _grace:_ soon they
shall be with Him, and that is _glory._--_William Jay: Sunday Evening
Sermons and Thursday Evening Lectures,_ pp. 297-305.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Zion was the name of a high mound situated upon a bed of
rock enclosed within the walls of Jerusalem, and making the
finest and strongest part thereof. Here was first the
Tabernacle, and then the Temple, and concerning it great
things are declared (Ps. cxxxii. 13-18). If we look through
the literal description to the spiritual glory discernible,
we shall soon see that it was typical of a higher state,
and a shadow of good things to come. I need hardly remind
you that, by a figure of speech, Zion is used in the New
Testament as significant of the Church of the Living God
(Heb. xii. 22).--_Jay._
Such are the encouragements that consoled the ancient city
of God in the day of her trouble. Harassed, her garrisons
stormed, her armies scattered, her very sanctuary
threatened with violation, she was bade remember her
Eternal King, and take comfort in the thought of that
watchful Guardian who sooner or later would assuredly
avenge her wrongs. Often was she taught the same lesson;
and often, in despite of her own froward and unbelieving
heart, was the prediction realised. The Lord still "loved
the gates of Zion;" the streams of His holy "river still
made glad the city of God;" and He was "known in her palace
for a refuge." But a gloomier hour at length arrived; even
Divine patience has its limits; and the last dread crime of
Zion could only be expiated in her ruin. Blood had flowed
beneath her hands, every drop of which was worth a
universe, and she had invoked its curse upon her own head
and the head of her children. And now, behold, in the
fearful words of her own prophets, "the lion is come up
from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on
his way,"--Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen, because
their tongues and their doings are against the Lord to
provoke the eyes of His glory. "But what?--is this the city
of which such glorious things are spoken--that the Highest
Himself should establish her, that she should not be
moved?" Where are His mighty promises of perpetuity? Where
is that foundation which no power should ever shake--that
Zion, in which the poor of His people were to trust?
Brethren, look around you, and you behold the evidences of
its existence, and of the eternal faithfulness of Him who
is pledged to its immortality. A greater than Zion inherits
her name; a greater than Zion bore it in the far-reaching
scope of the prophetic vision. That "city of the great
King" was but a perishable emblem of a "city whose builder
and maker is God." It is true she was honoured by His
symbolic presence and sanctified by His sacred worship; it
is true that for ages she alone, in a world of darkness,
held the precious lamp of His truth; but what are these
characters of honour to hers, whose every living stone is
quickened by His indwelling energy, whose worship is no
more in type and shadow, but in spirit and in substance;
whose preaching and teaching, no longer shrouded in
obscurity and limited to a corner of the earth, spreads
over all lands, embraces the whole family of mankind, and
makes even the course of that sun whose "going forth is
from the end of the heaven and his circuit unto the ends of
it, and from whose light nothing is hid," a faint image of
the power with which she diffuses through all nations "the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ"? (See also 2 Cor. iii. 10, 11.)--_Archer
Butler._
[2] How well may the Church on Zion rejoice to have such a God
dwelling in the midst of it! He is great as the Giver of
promises, and great in fulfilling them; great in all His
saving acts which spread from Israel to all
mankind.--_Delitzsch._
[3] Take the Gospel. What is it? Not a decision of Parliament,
or the termination of a debate which may have no effect on
our welfare. It brings us glad tidings of great joy. It is
infinitely important, it is eternally interesting to us. It
is our life. It is all our salvation, and it should be all
our desire. Therefore we should receive it as a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation. We should receive it
as a dying man would a remedy, or as a condemned criminal
would hail a reprieve. We should receive it with feelings
superior to those with which we receive anything else. It
is a subject which rises infinitely above all others in
interest and importance, and demands all the energies of
the soul, and renders Dr. Young's words the words of truth
and soberness:--
"On such a theme 'twere impious to be calm:
Passion is reason; transport, temper here."--_Jay._
THE DAY OF THE LORD.
xiii. 6. _Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand._
Sad and unnatural is the condition of those to whom the coming of
"the day of the Lord" is a cause for dismay. But this is the
condition of the wicked. They can think of God prevailing and
asserting Himself only with dread. Dread must take possession of them
whenever they think of the future, for the profoundest and most
ineradicable instincts of their nature assure them that the "day of
the Lord"--a day of judgment and retribution--must come.
Thus far all is plain. But when we read and think about what is to
take place on "the day of the Lord" (vers. 7, 8, 15, 16, 18),
astonishment takes possession of us, and we feel disposed to call it
"the day of the devil." How _can_ a day like this be called "the day
of the Lord"? Note--1. That all the cruelties here described were
inflicted by men. 2. That these men were moved to inflict these
cruelties by their own passions; that they acted as free agents, and
without any thought of fulfilling a Divine purpose. 3. That the
supreme passion by which they were moved was the passion of
revenge--of revenge for cruelties equally frightful inflicted by the
sufferers of that day. Nothing can exceed in horror the picture which
the Babylonians themselves drew of the enormities perpetrated by them
on conquered nations. 4. That, consequently, the Babylonians were
reaping as they had sown. The day that was coming upon them was a day
of retribution, and in this sense emphatically "a day of the Lord."
As a matter of fact, retribution is one of the laws under which we
live (H. E. I., 4609, 4611, 4612), and it is a Divine law, a law
worthy of God. It is an ordinance of mercy, for the tendency of it is
to restrain men from sin. By their knowledge of its existence and the
certainty of its operation (P. D., 2995), wicked men are undoubtedly
greatly restrained from wickedness. Were it not for the days when it
is manifestly seen in operation, when great transgressors are
overwhelmed with great sufferings, atheism would prevail; a reign of
terror and of restrained cruelty would begin, and every day would be
a day of the devil. 5. This day, with all its horrors, was an
essential preliminary to the accomplishment of God's purposes of
mercy in regard to His people. For _them_ it was emphatically "a day
of the Lord," for it was the day of their deliverance from bondage, a
day of exultant thanksgiving that the power of their relentless
oppressors was for ever broken (chap. xiv. 1-6). In the history of
our race there have been many such days, _e.g.,_ the French
Revolution of 1789, the American Civil War; days when the worst
passions of humanity were manifested without restraint; but days when
the wisdom of God was displayed in bringing good out of evil, in
punishing the iniquities of the past, in ushering in a brighter and
better era of freedom and justice.
The record of such "days of the Lord" should be eminently instructive
to us. 1. They should teach us the true characters of those statesmen
who use national power for purposes of unrighteous national
aggrandisement. They are patriots but traitors, rendering inevitable
a bitter harvest of national shame and sorrow. 2. They show the folly
of supposing that the great power of any nation justifies it in the
hope that it may safely deal unjustly with other and weaker nations.
Guilty nations set in operation forces mightier and surer in their
operation than any they can command--those forming the
instrumentality by which God governs the earth, and in spite of human
passions, maintains the existence and carrying forward the
development of the human race; these, combining, bring on a "day of
the Lord," in which, by the overthrow of the haughtiest wrongdoers,
His existence and authority, and the folly of the practical atheism
to which great nations are prone, are demonstrated (P. D., 2544).
THE DOOM OF THE CHILDREN OF BABYLON.
xiii. 16. _Their children also shall be dashed to pieces
before their eyes._
Consider this terrible declaration--
+I. As it regards man.+ 1. As a revelation of the degradation of
which he is capable. History may be said to be a manifold revelation
to this effect; the Bible alone gives hope for man, by disclosing his
capabilities of development and exaltation. 2. As a remindal that no
earthly empire is in and of itself secure against utter overthrow.
3. As a remindal that what are called national disasters, are made up
of sufferings endured by a vast number of individuals.
+II. As it regards God.+ So considered, it should be
remembered--1. That His permission of such things is, when viewed
comprehensively, only part of the great mystery of the permission of
evil. 2. That this is an instance of the working of one of the great
natural laws by which God governs the universe--the law of
retribution. 3. That in the heart of this terrible prediction there
is a bright ray of hope. When you see a surgeon performing a terrible
operation on a patient, you are sure that he is confident that the
patient will be restored to health. So when we look at the world as
it _is,_ we are certified that there is a better world _to be._ God
would never have permitted the world to be, if He did not see how out
of this present misery He could educe eternal and triumphant
blessedness. Towards that better future God is leading on the world
(H. E. I., 3421-3423). The revulsion of feeling with which we read
this prediction is one proof of it; there was a time when such
incidents in the prosecution of a war would have been regarded as a
matter of course. That it should not be so now marks an advance, and
is a prophecy of further advances.
THE LOVE OF MONEY.
xiii. 17. _The Medes . . . shall not regard silver; and as
for gold, they shall not delight in it._
I. One of the most universal and powerful of all passions is the love
of money. Consider--1. How _wide-spread_ is this passion. The instant
men rise above utter barbarism, it manifests itself. Paradoxical as
it may sound, it is one of the first signs that civilisation has
begun. In every civilised land, and among all classes, it constantly
manifests itself.[1] It is one of the inspiring and moulding forces
that are always at work. 2. How _powerful_ it is in its operation! It
leads them to face appalling dangers. It persuades them to endure
distressing privations. It betrays them into the basest crimes. Up to
a certain point, it may be said to be a useful servant; it works to
promote our welfare, by overbalancing other tendencies that would
degrade and ruin us; but when once that limit is overpassed, it
transforms itself into a tyrannical master. Like many an Eastern
tyrant, it destroys all other lawful passions that might dispute with
it the throne (H. E. I., 400, 402).
II. But this passion, powerful as it is, may be controlled and
conquered. "The Medes . . . shall not regard silver; and as for gold,
they shall not delight in it." This means, not that they should be
exempt from the influence of this worldwide passion, but that in thee
it would be temporarily overborne by another more powerful
passion--the passion for revenge. For years the dominion of Babylon
over them had been maintained by the most relentless rigour and
frightful cruelties; and when the hour for successful revolt came,
the one thought of the Medes would be--_Revenge!_ That one intense
longing would consume all others; the men on whom it had laid hold
would forget their thirst for riches.
This really is only an instance and illustration of what Dr. Chalmers
used to call "the explosive power of a new affection." Many other
affections come up to the human heart, and expel avarice; _e.g.,_
love of wife or children, ambition, vanity, &c. We see, therefore,
that the love of money can be conquered, and as reasonable men always
in danger of being overcome by it, we should ask by what passion or
principle it can be conquered most nobly. That principle and that
passion is the love of Christ. Of those who are truly possessed by
it, it may be truly said that they do not regard silver; and as for
gold, they do not delight in it. They may have much money, and by
their splendid genius for business may be constantly gaining much
more; but they possess it, it does not possess them; they are _its_
masters. By the use of it they are ennobled. Let us pray that our
hearts may be garrisoned by this more powerful and noble passion;
then all the assaults of avarice upon them shall be made in vain. We
shall meet them as Christ Himself met the offer of all the wealth and
glory of the world; and the result will be, that we shall possess the
true riches which will be valuable in the eternal world (Matt.
iv. 8-10, vi. 19-21).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In many of those who seem utterly free from the love of
money, it is only dormant; like the thirst for blood in
that tiger which, captured when a cub, was brought up as a
household pet, but showed itself to be a tiger indeed when,
licking a slight wound in its master's hand, it first
tasted blood. So, many who appear to be utterly free from
the love of money are so simply because they have never
possessed more than sufficed for their bare necessities.
Let them possess more, and avarice will show itself. This
is the explanation of the familiar fact, that many who
become prosperous become niggardly; they may continue to
give, but it is always in a steadily diminishing proportion
to their income (H. E. I., 4013; P. D., 3068, 3488).
SPARE THE CHILDREN.
(_Sunday-School Anniversary Sermon._)
xiii. 18. _Their eye shall not spare children._
This declaration is made concerning the Medes, by whom the power of
Babylon was destined to be broken. So thoroughly bent will they be
upon their mission of revenge, that they will not be turned away from
it by any appeals to their avarice (ver. 17) or to their pity (text).
The helplessness of infancy and the innocence of youth, which are
naturally so impressive and persuasive, will not avail to stay them
in their devastating career.
We should display a singular ignorance of the world in which we live,
if we were therefore to pronounce the Medes exceptional monsters of
iniquity. Alas! there are many imitators of their relentless cruelty.
In our own land children are not spared in relation to evils even
more terrible than war. Youth is always beset by dangers, even when
it is most carefully guarded; but when it is specially under the
influence of wicked men, it is often ruthlessly sacrificed.
Wide-spread is the spirit of evil which knows not how to pity it.
Examples of its existence and operations are to be found--1. In
houses where the most hurtful principles and vicious practices are
continually set before children. From their youth up they are not
spared from the most disastrous influences (H. E. I., 775-779). 2. In
business, where often the most sacred interests of childhood are
sacrificed for the sake of gain. Their health, by inflicting upon
them excessive labour. Even their morality, by fiends who tempt them
into haunts of vice. Compared with these incarnations of diabolical
cruelty, the Medes were merciful.
The season of childhood appeals to our concern and should awake our
compassion--1. By its _helplessness._ It has to lean upon others.
2. By its _ignorance._ It has had no time to learn (H. E. I., 780).
3. By its _inexperience._ Unless it is aided by the guidance of
mature wisdom, it must almost necessarily go astray. 4. By its
_peculiar susceptibility to every kind of moral influence._ To these
appeals let us give reverent, cheerful, and thoughtful heed. Let us
not be content to shudder at this prediction concerning the Medes, or
at such historical records as that of the slaughter of the children
of Bethlehem (Matt. ii.); let us make the children the objects of our
care. 1. Let us spare _our own children,_ from all unreasonable
demands upon them, from the mischiefs that will inevitably come upon
them if we do not carefully train them in the way they should go.
2. Let us spare _the children of the poor_ from the evils of
ignorance. These evils are terrible and far-reaching. Not to rescue
them from these evils when we have the power to do so, is to doom
them to them. In the Sunday-school we have a means to rescue which we
cannot neglect without sin.--_William Manning._
SODOM AND GOMORRAH.
xiii. 19. _And Babylon, the glory of the kingdoms, &c._
The anticipated destruction of Babylon is here compared to that of
Sodom and Gomorrah, because of its completeness, and because of the
hopelessness of any return to that city to its former glory (vers.
20-22). The fate of Sodom and Gomorrah should be pondered, not merely
because it is here used as a symbol of the fate of Babylon, but also
because of the solemn lessons it affords in relation to sin. That
memorable overthrow occurred--I. _As a Divine vengeance upon
long-continued and unmitigated wickedness_ (Gen. xviii. 20, 21).
II. _Notwithstanding the influence of a good man in their midst_
(2 Pet. ii. 7, 8). A man like Lot, even though he perhaps suffered
injury to his own character, could not live among people like the
Sodomites without being a witness for better things and a testimony
against their crimes. III. _Notwithstanding the fervent intercessions
on their behalf of an eminently godly man_ (Gen. xviii. 23, &c.).
IV. _The overthrow came at last without any suspicion on the part of
their guilty inhabitants that their doom was so near_ (Prov. xxix. 1).
But why dwell upon a fate so awful, and that occurred so long ago?
Because it is a solemn warning to men to-day. Listen to our Saviour's
teaching on this point (Matt. xi. 20-24). From this we learn that the
fate of those who reject Christ will be more severe even than that
which befell those guilty cities--1. Because of clearer light against
which they sinned. It cannot be in any way a trivial thing to possess
the Gospel (2 Cor. ii. 16). 2. Because of the more abundant
opportunities of salvation which were afforded them. 3. Because of
the more abundant and excellent examples set before them. 4. Because
of the multiplied examples of warning to which they should have given
heed.--_William Manning._
THE JOY OF SALVATION.
xiv. 3, 4. _And it shall come to pass in the day, &c._
In these verses is described the feeling of relief and joy of Israel
in view of release from the Babylonish captivity. So profound will be
their sense of God's deliverance and favour, that they will look with
contempt even upon the imperious and exacting Babylon, whose glory
will be smitten, whose strength will be destroyed.
This is an experience known to men in their spiritual seekings and
findings of God. Blessed is that "rest" which follows many a season
of sorrow, and fear, and hard bondage wherein men are made to serve.
Consider--
I. SOME JOYFUL DELIVERANCES, of which we may be said to have here a
type. Every soul engaged in a true search after God can recall such
experiences: first there was the "sorrow," then the "joy;" first the
"fear," then the confidence; first the "bondage," and then the rescue
and the liberty. _E.g.,_ 1. _The time of spiritual conversion._ That
is often preceded by deep conviction, anguish, and gloom. Alarming
are those awakenings whose first mission is to show us our guilt and
danger. Then we feel the grievousness of the bondage of sin. It is a
time of exile, want, servitude. What a glorious day is that in which
the Lord gives us rest for our sorrow and fear, by removing from us
the terrors of the law, and leading us into the liberty of the
Gospel! This is the deliverance to which our Saviour calls us (Matt.
xi. 28). 2. _The light which comes after a period of great mental
conflict and doubt respecting Divine things_ also illustrates our
subject. Honest and reverent doubt, which intercepts a true seeker
after God, is no sin. To creatures who have everything to learn,
doubt is but a part of the process of learning; all original
research, all independent inquiry, has more or less of it. But doubt
may become a hard master, a ruthless tyrant; that which comes from
mere prying curiosity, idle speculation, empty cavilling, is certain
to do so; in this case doubt, instead of being a pathway, becomes a
prison (H. E. I., 4867, 4868). But doubt in any case is a source of
unhappiness; it should lead, not to scepticism (H. E. I., 4867, 4868;
P. D., 910), but to prayer (P. D., 915, 916). Those whose prayers for
deliverance from it have been answered, know how blessed is that day
when the Lord gives them "rest." 3. _The period of victory which
follows a season of severe temptation_ is another illustration. In
most virtues weak, there are sides of our character specially exposed
to assault. The sin which most easily besets us proves our oppressor,
our tyrant (H. E. I., 4482-4484, 4497-4499). Recall the conflicts you
have often had, how often sin has wellnigh proved fatal to you. What
a gracious day was that when the Lord came to your help, and gave you
rest from your enemy! 4. _The heavenly life hereafter_ will be a
still better realisation of the thought before us. To many of God's
people the general character of their earthly life is so mysterious,
burdensome, and sad, that it _all_ seems a bondage to them. To such,
death will come as the day of the Lord to give them "rest" (H. E. I.,
220, 1623-1628).
II. THE REAL INSIGNIFICANCE OF OUR FOES, which in the day of our
deliverance will be made plain to us, and which should be apprehended
by our faith even now (ver. 4). 1. Greater is He that is in than all
that can be against us, and therefore, if we be faithful, our victory
is sure (1 John iv. 4; Rom. viii. 37; H. E. I., 934, 2368, 2791).
2. By Him even our very foes and oppressors shall be made to help us.
In the case of Israel, their masters were to become their servants,
their oppressors their subjects (ver. 2). It is so in the spiritual
life; our very sorrows, fears, nay, our sins, may be made to serve
great ends; a vanquished fear, a defeated sin, will leave us stronger
to meet the next. Let us so live and strive, by the grace of God,
that, having triumphed over every evil habit, every ignoble doubt,
every besetting sin, we may be able to say at last, "How hath the
oppressor ceased!"--_William Manning._
THE GRAVE AND ITS MYSTERIES.
xiv. 9-12. _Hell from beneath is moved for thee, &c._
I. There is an invisible world (H. E. I., 2173-2175). II. Its
inhabitants stand in a mysterious relation to this. III. Are
conscious of passing events. IV. Despise all earthly distinctions.
V. Await the coming of their fellows. VI. Receive them according to
their moral character.--_J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletical Treasury,_ part
i. p. 20.
THE CONTRASTS OF DEATH.
xiv. 11. _Thy pomp is brought down to the grave._
We are perpetually reminded of the shortness and uncertainty of life
(H. E. I., 1561). But these truths, so elementary, so familiar, so
important, and so much forgotten, are most vividly brought before our
minds when a prince is laid low. Then we see that only one thing is
important, because only one thing is permanent, and that is
_character,_ by which our whole future is determined. Happy is he,
whether peasant or prince, whose is the character of the regenerate,
who possesses a good hope through grace; wretched is he, whether
slave or monarch, who lives and dies without it. Reflect--
I. ON THE DEATH OF THE WICKED. Always solemn, but especially so when
it is that of a wicked man who was prosperous. Everything succeeded
with him; he had everything his heart wished for. But death came;
broke up a whole system of being and comforts, without furnishing any
equivalent for it; and introduced him to eternal perdition. Death
obscures the glory of the prosperous transgressors, robs them of that
in which they delighted, reduces their wealth to poverty, their
honours to eternal shame, their happiness to eternal misery. What a
transition--from the vanities of earth to the realities and
retributions of the eternal world! from the flattery of their
dependants to the presence of the Judge of all! You who are living
only for earthly things, think of these things. (H. E. I., 1567-1569;
P. D., 684, 741).
II. THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS. 1. The hour of terror, of consummate
terror, to the wicked, is to the Christian the hour of peace, of
hope, of joy. This arises from his union with Christ, the Conqueror
of death. What will make a deathbed easy?--a broken league with sin,
a good hope through grace, a lively faith in Christ (H. E. I.,
1590-1593). 2. The hour that terminates the prosperous worldling's
glory, introduces the Christian to an eternal weight of glory (P. D.,
669, 694, 757). 3. The hour that brings the sinner to the second
death commences the perfectness of the Christian's life (H. E. I.,
1595-1600; P. D., 711).--_Samuel Thodey._
THE CONQUEROR CONQUERED.
xiv. 11. _Thy pomp is brought down to the grave._
One of the most effectual means of comforting the Church in times of
oppression, is by predicting the downfall of her enemies. Here
Babylon is doomed; her monarch, whose conquests had been so
far-reaching, whose power had proved so irresistible, is represented
as having met with a mightier than himself; as descending to the
abode of the dead; as leaving behind him a body which, instead of
being honoured with a royal funeral, has no other covering than the
dust and the worms; and as being himself insulted by the astonished
mockery of the meanest of those who had preceded him into the
invisible world. His removal from the world has been as the cessation
of a devastating hurricane, and the whole earth rejoices thereat; it
re-echoes with songs of gladness that the dreaded victor has himself
been vanquished. Well may the world rejoice that its crowned scourges
are not immortal!
+I. Let us recall some familiar truths concerning this conqueror of
conquerors.+ 1. _He assaults all ranks and all ages_ (H. E. I., 1536,
1557; P. D., 677, 700, 707, 751, 752). The world is an unwalled
cemetery. Much of the dust we tread on once lived. What is the
history of the world but the history of the reign of death? From Abel
to the infant who died a moment ago, death has executed his
commission without a single pause; sometimes in quiet forms, dust
mingling with its native dust; sometimes on a grander scale, by
battles, earthquakes, &c. There are a thousand doors out of life;
they all stand open; and through some of them death will lead us all;
for, like the great Being whose servant he is, with him there is "no
respect of persons."[1] 2. _He is not arrested in his career from any
respect for the places of men,_ however heroic and useful they may
be. How powerful man often appears in his collective grandeur,
binding the ocean in chains, controlling the elements, numbering the
stars, building great cities which look like temples erected to Time
and destined to outlast his reign, founding empires, and spreading
himself out by commerce and enterprise to distant islands and
continents; and he has always still greater projects behind. But
while man plants, death receives his commission; the ground sinks
beneath him, his power suddenly collapses. Few histories would be
more instructive or impressive than that of the unfinished projects
of men of might and genius, _e.g.,_ Cæsar and his proposed digest of
law, Cuvier and his proposed compendium of science (Ps. cxlvi. 4;
H. E. I., 3266, 3273). 3. _He determines all character._ Passing to
and fro, he finds character everywhere in the course of formation;
suddenly he brings the process to an end, and with their character
precisely in the state in which he found it, those whom he strikes
down go into the eternal world. A certain fact, a solemn
consideration this!
+II. Let me remind you of the strange insensibility of mankind to the
existence and operations of this power, from which none of us can
escape, and which may so unexpectedly bring all our plans and
purposes to an end.+ Few men give any practical heed to the fact that
they are mortal (H. E. I., 1557-1565; P. D., 69). The conduct of
mankind in neglecting the concerns of immortality reverses all the
elements of wisdom. Men bury themselves in the concerns of time, and
forget that their consciences will have an awful resurrection in
another world. This insensibility is the more unpardonable since God
uses so many means to arouse and to instruct us. Reflect on the
momentous character of life, its shortness, its grand purpose, its
solemn issues; look to the grand vision beyond the shades of death.
+III. In order that we may be delivered from this prevalent
insensibility, let us recall some of the advantages arising from a
frequent contemplation of, and a Scriptural preparation for, the
approach of death.+ 1. _Preparation for death quite changes its
aspect._ To a Christian it would be a dreadful thing not to die; his
would be the case of a child who was never to come of age, of an
exile who was never to go home (H. E. I., 1571-1578; P. D. 667, 669,
747). 2. _Preparation for death exalts the character of life._ It
dispels much of the gloom of life; the bright prospect at the end
irradiates all the intervening way. 3. _In preparing for death we
become imbued with the temper and the tastes of heaven_ (H. E. I.,
1566, 2731-2737).--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of
envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful,
every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the
grief of parents on a tombstone, my heart melts with
compassion; when I see the tombs of the parents themselves,
I consider the vanity of grieving for those we must so
quickly follow; when I see kings lying by those who deposed
them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or
the holy men who divided the world with their contests and
disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the
little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind; when
I read the several dates of some that died as yesterday,
and some of six hundred years ago, I consider that great
day when we shall all be contemporaries and make our
appearance together.--_Addison._
THE SEED OF EVILDOERS.
xiv. 20. _The seed of evildoers shall never be renowned._
I. _This is the verdict of the Scriptures._ They abound in evidence
that confirms it. Whatever may be the resources of wicked men, true
glory does not lie in their path, and nought that they can do will
avail to secure honourable memory for their wickedness. On the
contrary, their name and deeds will be attended with disaster and
covered with shame. And this in spite--1. Of the _wealth_ which may
be connected with evil-doing (Job xxi. 7-21; Ps. iii. 5-7, &c.); or,
2. The _power_ it may have (Ps. lxxiii. 3-8, 18-20), even if it be a
confederated power (Prov. xi. 21); or, 3. The _ingenuity_ with which
it may conduct its work (Ps xxxvi. 2-4; Micah ii. 1-3). These are but
a few of the declarations of the Bible on this subject.
II. _This is also the verdict of human experience._ As a matter of
fact, we see that a wicked course of life is regarded as a shame. It
is held up as a beacon to be avoided, whilst the career of the good
is held up as a model to be followed. History is full of examples of
men whose names are held in universal detestation, notwithstanding
their connection with ingenuity, wealth, and power. Each of us knows
how well the fact is proved by myriads of examples in social life. A
persistently wicked course is known to be a blighted one, and any
attempt to invest it with glory or renown is felt to be wrong. We
recoil even from the thought that it should be possible for such a
course to command the homage of men.
III. _This truth gives us great hope for the future of our world._ If
it were possible for wrongdoing to gain for itself imperishable
renown, we might tremble for the safety of those principles of
righteousness and truth which have always been regarded as the main
support and stay of good men. Reckless folly and wild presumption
would become exalted and enthroned, and we might well shudder at the
possibility that, under the attractions of successful wickedness, men
would rush in masses and bow down to Evil, declaring it to be their
Good. This abandoned idolatry, this deep depravity, is now reached
only in isolated cases, and such are regarded even by godless men as
deplorable and hopeless. It is a hopeful fact that evildoers have to
carry on much of their work in the dark, for it is a sure token that,
as the light widens and deepens, the works of darkness must fall;
their covering will be removed, and their shelter will be gone.
IV. _This truth is also one of encouragement to every individual
Christian in his efforts after a Christ-like life._ Evil-doing does
not fail for want of effort; its attempts are bold, its struggles are
determined. Yet it is doomed always to wear the name of dishonour and
shame; a wicked man will never get glory for his wickedness. But
Christian life is in itself true and real honour; its glory is as a
shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day. The
Christian is a son of God, and no higher dignity than this is
conceivable (H. E. I., 1073-1076); he is traversing a path which will
for ever lead him on to scenes of new splendour and blessedness.
Seeing that this is our high calling and destiny, let us neither fear
nor envy the seed of evildoers, however strong or secure they may be,
but with greater persistency than ever let us "hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the
end."--_William Manning._
This is--1. Matter of observation; 2. The natural effects of bad
training and example (H. E. I., 777-779); 3. The judicial appointment
of God (H. E. I., 824).--_J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletical Treasury,_ part
i. p. 21.
A MEMORABLE ANSWER.
xiv. 32. _What shall one answer? &c._
Translators and interpreters differ as to whether the answer in this
verse was intended to be given _by_ or _to_ the messengers of the
nations; as to the nations whose messengers are here spoken of; and
as to the time when they came on their errand. Adopting the view
which represents them as coming to Jerusalem to congratulate Hezekiah
after the marvellous deliverance of that city from the Assyrians
(chap. xxxvii. 36-38), we remind you--
+I. That the wonders of God's love to His Church often surprise
strangers as well as friends.+ For the deliverances wrought for her
are often--1. _Surprisingly seasonable, e.g.,_ the overthrow of the
Egyptian host in the Red Sea, when everything seemed to favour
Pharaoh and to be against Israel (Exod. xv. 13-15); the deliverance
of Jerusalem from Sennacherib. 2. _Astonishing because brought about
by unlikely means._ Who could have anticipated the manner of the
deliverance of Jerusalem on this occasion? [Give other examples.]
3. _Astonishing because vouchsafed in spite of great provocations and
unworthiness._ Every such deliverance is a work of grace as well as
of power.
+II. In such times of deliverance friends and enemies alike wonder at
the secure foundations on which the Church is built.+ The literal
Zion was a marvel of architecture (Ps. xlviii. 13), and in this
respect it was a worthy symbol of the Church.[1] 1. The strength and
stability of the spiritual Zion is guaranteed by the character and
resources of the Builder: _"The Lord hath founded Zion."_
2. Therefore we should not fear the might of any of the adversaries
that come up against her (H. E. I., 1246-1251).
+III. The stability and security of Zion are sources of delighted
satisfaction to the humblest of her inhabitants:+ _"The poor of His
people shall trust in it."_ They know they are under the guardianship
of One who is "mighty to save," and who encircles the least as well
as the greatest in arms of His love. Their consciousness of poverty
and weakness leads them to rest in Him with an undivided trust, and
they thus attain unconsciously to the blessedness of those who trust
is in God only, the peace which rests on the only foundation that
cannot be moved.--_Samuel Thodey._
Mark what the text affirms, _"The Lord hath founded Zion;"_ this is
the guarantee of His love and of her stability: _"the poor of His
people shall trust in it,"_ or, as the margin has it, _"shall betake
themselves unto it:"_ this is the one purpose of Her Divine mission
upon earth--the care, the teaching, the education, the guidance of
the poor.
I. THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH. 1. The strongest, most fundamental
title to protection is creation. Even among ourselves no one frames
an object in order to destroy it; he who makes, makes that he may
preserve. Thus is creation in itself a presumptive title to
protection; and it is abundantly plain that the strength of such a
bond will ever increase with the cost of the object produced. In one
sense the whole material universe cost its Creator nothing, for its
production was to Him a thing of infinite ease; but this cannot be
said of the Church. He spoke to bid the one, He died to make the
other exist. When He beholds His Church, He sees in it the monument
of His own inexpressible sorrow; He feels this offspring of His
Divine agonies drawn closer to His eternal heart by the thought of
all it cost to give her being. 2. In this Church of His is His own
_honour_ pledged. He hath not covenanted with the world that now is
to immortalise it; but He has passed His own word for the perpetuity
of His Church (Matt. xvi. 18; Isa. lx. 20, 21). 3. The Church, in its
ultimate perfection, is set forth as the very _reward_ of all the
sorrows of its Lord. To "see of the travail of His soul and be
satisfied" is His destined crown; this "joy set before Him" was that
which enabled Him to "endure the cross, despising the shame." (See
also Eph. v. 25-27.) Shall He be defrauded of His recompense?
4. There is more than creation to bind the Church to Christ, more
than promise, more than reward; there is communion, oneness,
identification. A man may desert his child; he cannot desert himself.
Even though the Redeemer could forget His espoused bride; even though
He could deny His plighted promise; yea, though He could abandon His
own reward, He cannot abandon His own body (1 Cor. xii. 27; Eph.
i. 23, v. 30). With such a union there can be no separation; if
Christ be immortal, the Church is so; when He dies she shall perish,
but not till then.
II. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. _"The poor of His people shall trust
in it."_ The Church of Christ is one vast institute for the benefit
of the poor. The poor were the special objects of Christ's solicitude
and tenderness, and they have been, and should be, the special
objects of the Church's care. Even in her worst days she has had an
open hand for the poor. She should ever follow the example of her
Lord in caring for their temporal needs. But it is in the doctrine
she preaches, and the way she preaches it, that the Church is indeed
the poor man's consoler.[2]--_William Archer Butler, M.A.,: Sermons,
Doctrinal and Practical, Second Series,_ pp. 227-237.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See notes to outline: THE DUTY OF GLADNESS, chap. xii. 6.
[2] It is in meeting his sorrow with tidings of glory to come,
in brightening the gloom of his humble home with the
hallowed light of eternity, in soothing his days of hard
and heavy toil with her peaceful Sabbaths, in watching over
his bed of sickness with a patience as unwearied as if his
poor chambers were gorgeous with gilded ceilings and silken
tapestry; it is in these things that the Church carries on
that loveliest attribute of Her Lord, "Thou hast been a
strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his
distress."--_Archer Butler._
GOD'S OUTCASTS.
xvi. 4. _Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab._
+I. In the most deserted condition of His people, God acknowledges
them as His own.+ _"Mine outcasts."_ Sennacherib thought them his;
but though forsaken by all the world, God claims them as His own, and
avows His interest in them. Men pursue an opposite course; when
individuals sink in the social scale, the kindly warmth of friendship
is chilled, and the bond of intercourse broken (H. E. I., 23, 24,
2152-2157; P. D., 1422). But God is a friend who sticketh closer than
any brother.[1] True, they sometimes esteem themselves outcasts even
from Him (Ps. xlii. 2), and still more frequently are thought to be
so by the ungodly (Ps. xlii. 3); but in this the ungodly make a
mistake, which in their case is natural, and God's people should
never wrong Him by suspecting Him of fickleness (chap. xlix. 15).
+II. God provides a refuge for His people when and where it might be
least expected.+ _"With thee, Moab."_ Moab was not a neutral, but a
hostile state, one of Israel's most inveterate foes, always on the
outlook for opportunities to display its hostility. Strange,
therefore, that Moab should be selected as a protector for Jehovah's
outcasts; strange, but not unexampled. God often raises up friends
for His people in unexpected quarters, supplies their needs by
unexpected means, or turns their foes into friends (Prov. xvi. 7).
Esau's heart was suddenly changed; Joseph found favour in the eyes of
the keeper of the prison; Elijah was fed by ravens; the hungry lions
forbore to touch Daniel, &c.[2]
+III. God would have His people to be only sojourners in Moab.+ His
outcasts were merely to _dwell_ there; they were not to be
incorporated with the Moabitish nation; they were not to adopt either
the social customs or the religious beliefs of that people. In like
manner He would have His people remember always that in this world
they are only sojourners (1 Pet. ii. 11; H. E. I., 5026-5065).
+IV. God is preparing to bring His outcast and scattered people
home.+ He hath prepared for them a city, and He will bring them to
the city He hath prepared for them (John xiv. 1-3). Let them
recognise, rejoice in, and live in harmony with this gracious purpose
(Phil. iii. 17-21).--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Philip Henry says, "God's people may be an outcast
people--cast out from men's love, their synagogue, their
country; but God will own His people when men cast them
out. They are outcasts, but they are His; and somehow or
other He will provide a dwelling for them." He adds, that
though many of the rejected ministers were brought very
low, had many children, were greatly harassed by
persecutors, and their friends were unable to support them,
yet in all his acquaintance he never knew, nor had heard
of, any Nonconformist minister being in prison for debt.
[2] "I have long looked for you," said a persecuting magistrate
to a poor woman, "and now I commit you to prison; and then
what will you do?" "If it please my Heavenly Father," she
replied, "I shall be fed at your table;" and so she was,
for his own wife, who sat by, sent her daily food (Ps.
lxxxiv. 11, 12).
FRUITLESS SUPPLICATIONS.[1]
xvi. 12. _He shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he
shall not prevail._
In the profoundly affecting picture which the prophet draws of the
calamities coming on the Moabites, he represents them as at length,
every other means of relief being exhausted, coming with sad and
weary hearts to their sanctuary to call upon their god for
deliverance. Their supplications were destined to fail, for they were
presented to that which had no power to hear or save (Ps. cxv. 4-8).
This line in this dark picture reminds us of two facts in the life of
the men of our own time, who see clearly the folly of idolatry.
+I. In times of sorrow they are often seen in the sanctuary.+ Many
who at other times lead openly irreligious lives are then seen using
the forms of devotion. This is natural (H. E. I., 3718); it is not
wrong; that which is wrong is the infrequency with which the
sanctuary is visited and prayer offered by them (H. E. I., 3878,
3879). It is natural and fitting that in time of trouble man should
seek God in the sanctuary, for the sanctuary is the place--1. Of
_special promise_ (Exod. xx. 24; Deut. xii. 5; 1 Kings ix. 3; Matt.
xviii. 20). 2. Of _special means._ Everything there tends to the
production and increase of a devotional spirit (H. E. I., 5078).
3. Of _special memory_--of memories of help obtained, of sorrows
solaced in former times.
II. But all this makes more remarkable the other fact of which these
words may well remind us, that +many of the supplications that are
offered in the sanctuary are offered in vain.+ We know that this is a
fact: how is it to be explained? In such ways as these--1. _Many of
the suppliants have little or no faith,_ and faith is the essential
condition of blessing (H. E. I., 3827-3830). 2. _Many of the
suppliants are not really in earnest,_ and lukewarmness is an offence
to the Divine Being (H. E. I., 3814, 3815, 3831-3838). 3. _Many of
the suppliants are not really penitent._ Their prayers are mere calls
for help in time of distress, and God has nowhere promised to help
the impenitent and rebellious (H. E. I., 3846, 3858; P. D., 3595).
To point out the causes of the weakness and failure of such prayers
is also to point out the remedies that must be applied if the
suppliants would have their prayers "prevail."--_William Manning._
In times of trouble, men--1. Feel their need of help. 2. Generally
have recourse to fallacious sources (H. E. I., 172-175). 3. Meet with
disappointment, because God is forgotten or unknown.--_J. Lyth, D.D.:
Homiletical Treasury,_ part i. p. 23.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Outlines: WORTHLESS HUSKS, and REASONS FOR THE
REJECTION OF PRAYER, chap. i. 15.
DIMINUTIONS AND CHANGES OF LIFE.
xvii. 5-7. _And it shall be as when the harvestman, &c._
God's visitations of judgment are the subject of the prophet's
burdens (ver. 1). So the text. Adversities and sorrows set in.
Blessings gone, except a few. "Two or three berries," &c.
+I. The various illustrations of the text.+ 1. _In the adverse
changes of life._ Many who were rich and prosperous are now poor. All
gone, except two or three berries. Some so through their own folly,
&c.; others by the allotment of Providence, sickness, &c. (H. E. I.,
4403-4406, 4975-4986). 2. _In the failure of bodily health and
vigour._ Once strong and robust, &c.; now left but a few berries, &c.
3. _In the bereavements of kindred and friends._ Once a crowd of
them--parents, brothers, sisters, children--but they have gone, one
after another. 4. _In the powers and capacities for useful activity._
Once active, useful, but now frailty and weakness have superseded.
This is distressing to the sensitive, &c. Pushed aside by another
generation. 5. It will apply to _times and seasons of probation._ How
wise was old Barzillai! (2 Sam. xix. 31). The indications of age, &c.
(Eccl. xii. 1). Few years left, &c., or even days.
+II. The uses we should make of the subject.+ 1. _It should impress
us with the vanity of earthly things._ All fleeting, all retiring;
like the seasons, like streams. 2. _The folly of earthly-mindedness._
How extreme! Grasping shadows, resting on the moving wave, building
castles in the air, &c. 3. _The necessity of wisely using our
opportunities._ For the best ends. Working while it is day--now,
while we have light and life. 4. _Seeking a fitness for the world of
the future_ (Heb. x. 34; xi. 13-16). 5. _Believing and devotional
confidence in God._
_Application:_--Christ is ever the same. In all His offices, work,
and graciousness, He is without a shadow of turning.--_Jabez Burns,
D.D.: 150 Sketches of Sermons,_ pp. 296, 297.
This striking passage depicts the process of God's judgments upon
Israel. We may take it as suggestive--
+I. Of the sweeping destructiveness of calamities in human life+
(ver. 5). How often has the picture been realised!--1. _In the
history of nations._ The process of the depopulation and misery with
which Israel was threatened, may be imagined from the view given in
chap. iii. 1-8. Modern parallels may easily be found, the wars of the
Roses, the plague of London, &c. 2. _In the social calamities of
families._ One after another is broken up, one relationship after
another is severed, until only an "outmost" branch is left as a
remnant. Widow, orphans, friendless. Such are those who remain to
tell the tale. 3. _In the physical calamities of individuals._ 4. _In
the degradation of the soul through the deceitfulness of sin._ In
some extreme cases, what a sad understanding of character and
destruction of capacity do we behold.
+II. Of the hopefulness of human life even when it is at its worst+
(ver. 6). Though the reaper has made sure work, yet enough remains to
give hope. There is here true gospel, suggesting such thoughts as
these:--1. _Begin at the point of your ability, however low it may
be._ Every man is rightly expected to make use of whatever power he
has. If it is only sight, or only hearing, or only one hand, one
talent out of ten, he must use it. The loss of the other nine will
not excuse his neglect of the one he has. 2. _Beginning thus low
down, yet in earnest, we have the assurance of improvement and
progress._ We have abundant illustration of this in the history of
the "remnant" that was left in Israel (2 Chron. xxx. 11; xxxiv. 6, 9,
&c.). We see here an encouragement for every sinner who will awake,
though late, to the true purposes of life. Redemption is the
favourite work of God. He is on the side of feeble, struggling men,
and delights to encourage and help "the remnant" which is spared
(H. E. I., 934-941, 956, 958, 2368, 4790-4792; P. D., 474). The very
purpose for which Christ came into the world was to help the
struggling, to save the lost. Those who have been brought down to the
extremity and need and the verge of despair may find friendship and
help in Him (H. E. I., 928, 929).--_William Manning._
SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION.
xvii. 7, 8. _At that day shall a man look, &c._
In the prophecies of terror to guilty nations there is always some
provision of comfort for God's faithful and penitent people. His
prophets were commissioned to minister hope to His friends, while
they foretold misery to His enemies. In the text Isaiah, predicting
the overthrow of the ten tribes, furnishes consolation to the
faithful remnant who had not yielded to the prevalent idolatry (ver.
6), and declares that the judgments he announced would result in the
conversion of many who had been ensnared by it. We are thus led to
consider _the designs of God in the afflictions of His people._
+I. To recall their wandering hearts to Himself.+ _"At that day shall
a man look to his Maker"_ (H. E. I., 56-59, 66-70). This is the
result of sanctified affliction. Whenever it is seen, it shows that
the processes of grace have been combined with the trials of
providence, and that the health of the spirit has been restored by
the Physician of souls. Otherwise affliction hardens, and the man
goes back with greater eagerness to worldliness or iniquity, as the
retreating wave presently rolls back upon the beach with greater
velocity than before (H. E. I., 223-228). But not so if the healing
influence has been sought and found. Then "a man will look to his
maker"--1. With a _suppliant_ eye, to find in Him sources of
consolation and a rock of defence such as the world cannot furnish
(Ps. cxxiii. 1, 2; Jonah ii. 1). 2. With a _penitent_ eye (Luke
xxii. 62; Zech. xii. 10). 3. With a _confiding_ and _believing_ eye
(chap. viii. 17). 4. With a _rejoicing_ eye (Rom. v. 11; Hab.
iii. 18).
+II. To raise their estimate of the holiness of the Divine character
and the rectitude of the Divine dispensations.+ _"Shall have respect
unto the Holy One of Israel."_ Sin begins with a diminished sense of
God's holiness, and conversion is marked by a renewed impression of
it (Ps. li. 4).
+III. To separate them from all sinful and idolatrous dependencies.+
_"He shall not look,"_ &c. The sin of the ten tribes was idolatry
(2 Kings xvii. 16), but here it is foretold that it shall be brought
to an end. Those who had been guilty of this folly and this sin would
not even _look_ at the altars and the images they had fashioned with
such care. So God aims by his afflictive providences to separate His
people from everything in which they put an exaggerated and unworthy
trust (H. E. I., 110, 111).
+IV. To endear the mercy that mingles with the trials.+ This
appears--1. In the moderate degree in which God's people are
corrected, compared with the final and exterminating judgments which
fall upon the wicked. Damascus was to be utterly destroyed (ver. 1),
but a remnant was to be left to Israel (ver. 5; see also chap.
xxvii. 7-9). God's people always see that He has afflicted them less
than they deserve (Lam. iii. 22).[1] 2. In the alleviations of their
trials (H. E. I., 117-121). 3. In the triumphant issue of the whole.
They are delivered from the idolatry by which they were degraded
(H. E. I., 116).--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Outline: GOD'S RELUCTANCE TO PUNISH, chap. i. 9.
FORGETFULNESS OF GOD.
xvii. 10, 11. _Because thou hast forgotten, &c._
+I. It is possible to forget the God of our salvation.+ 1. The
majority of men habitually forget Him. He very seldom holds a real
and commanding place in the hearts of any of us. We are all prone to
have our hearts wholly filled with the cares or pleasures of life.
Even if our aims be in themselves lawful, we seldom recognise God in
framing or prosecuting them. Hence the shock which the thought of
God's nearness gives us in times of calamity, sickness, or expected
death. The very shock shows that we are open to the prophet's charge.
2. This forgetfulness of God, to which we are all so prone, should be
recognised to be a state of peril and guilt. Who is so near to us as
God? who so essential to us? who has so many claims upon our grateful
and continued remembrance? To be forgetful of Him is a sin of which
we should think with shame.
+II. This forgetfulness of God leads to false trusts.+ The throne of
our heart cannot remain vacant; if God be not there, unworthy objects
will surely take His place. The "pleasant plants" and foreign shoots
(or "strange slips") here represent the pursuit of lust and idolatry,
and that fatal reliance on human help which is so often denounced
(chap. ii. 22; Jer. xvii. 5). The sin denounced by the prophet has
not become obsolete. All round about us are men who have forgotten
God, and are seeking and putting their trust in pleasure, pomp,
money, or knowledge. There is a pursuit of knowledge, even a
"science" falsely so called that deliberately excludes God from its
range, and pronounces Him unknowable! These are the things for which
men live, to which they devote all they are and have, from which they
look for the happiness for which their hearts crave; these are their
_gods!_ Forgetfulness of God necessarily leads to idolatry in some
form or other; desires and tendencies, in themselves right when under
right control, become occasions of guilt; God is shifted from the
centre of operations, and the trust of men itself inevitably on
unworthy objects (H. E. I., 39).
+III. These false trusts lead to bitter disappointments.+ _"The
harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate
sorrow."_ At the very time when abundance of fruit was expected,
nothing awaits the anxious toiler but disappointment and failure.
Mildew, or blight, or drought, or fire has done its deadly work, and
nothing is left but rotting masses, heaps of useless and decaying
vegetation. What a sad picture! barrenness and dearth where there
should be life and plenty! Yet this is a true picture of the fate of
many who have persisted in their rejection of God, and in their
clinging to false hopes. A life dedicated to fashion, pleasure,
money-getting, or worldly ambition, necessarily ends in a
reaping-time of blighted hopes, of darkened prospects, of remorse and
despair (H. E. I., 246-248, 5021-5025; P. D., 138, 162, 255, 3592).
1. This result of a godless life will be found even in those cases
where all the good that was striven after has been realised; the
heart is still left unsatisfied (Eccl. i. 12-ii. 17). 2. "Desperate
sorrow" is the natural result of discovering that the time for
securing a profitable harvest is gone (Jer. viii. 20; P. D., 2254).
Earnestly consider God's claims upon you; renounce all false trusts;
sow for that harvest in which there can be no real disappointment
(Gal. vi. 7). Redeem the time that yet remains; to the worst of us a
gracious promise is still held out (Mal. iii. 7; Ps.
cxvi. 7).--_William Manning._
THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED.
xvii. 12. _Woe to the multitude, &c._
These verses appear to have no connection with the prophecies that
precede or follow them, but they seem to indicate the character and
result of the great invasion of Sennacherib. As a description of that
event, they are most beautiful and graphic, sufficient to create
terror in the most thoughtless and boastful sinners. For they remind
them of the ease with which the overthrow of the rebellious is
effected when God visits them in the midst of their pride and
self-confidence. In regard to the punishment here depicted,
think--I. _Of the striking contrasts which the day of visitation
reveals respecting the conduct and the position of the wicked._ Verse
12 shows us the vast and varied host in fancied security; we have a
magnificent picture of a state of might, pomp, vainglory,
self-confidence; but ere we reach the end of verse 13, we see it
scattered! Even while it gloried in its strength, the storm that was
to scatter it had already gathered over it. We see the same contrast
in everyday life; wicked men secure, strong, boastful--the next
moment utterly cast down (Ps. lxxiii. 18-20); or, by the near
approach of death, transformed into the subjects of pitiable despair
(P. D., 684). II. _Of the restless execution of the sentence of
doom._ In pursuit of their wicked schemes, sinners are often led to a
daring defiance of all who threaten their progress, even of God
Himself; _e.g.,_ Pharaoh (Exod. v. 2), Sennacherib (2 Kings
xviii. 17, &c.). But how sharp is the rebuke which God administers;
with what terrible energy are His decrees executed! The profane
boasters become as chaff, as gossamer before the whirlwind (H. E. I.,
2298). III. _Of the swiftness with which the sentence of doom is
executed_ (ver. 14). The morning dawns upon their noise and pomp, but
fast as the beams of light does their judgment overtake them; trouble
comes at the eventide, and by the next morning they are not (P. D.,
3413). It is true that the punishment of the wicked often seems to be
delayed (Eccl. viii. 11); but--1. Sin and punishment are inseparable
(H. E. I., 4603-4610); and, 2. Whenever the punishment comes it is
sudden. Such is the blinding and delusive power of cherished sin that
its penalty always finds the sinner unprepared to receive it; it is
always a surprise and a shock to him.
1. Nations and armies cannot successfully evade the penalties of
their sins; how much less can the individual sinner do so! 2. The
certainty of the punishment of all unrepented sin should lead us
seriously to reflect upon the attitude we are assuming before God.
3. The subject should lead to repentance, but not to despair (Ps.
cxxx. 7; John iii. 16, 17).--_William Manning._
AN ALTAR AND A SAVIOUR FOR EGYPT.
xix. 18-20. _In that day shall five cities, &c._
+I. God is able to raise up monuments and trophies of His grace in
the most unlikely places+ (vers. 18, 19). For the historical
fulfilments of these predictions, see the ordinary commentaries. They
should teach us not to despair of the progress of religion in the
most unlikely _places,_ the most unlikely _times,_ among the most
unlikely _persons._ The grace of God is able to subdue the hardest
hearts, to enlighten the darkest minds, to convert the most guilty
natures, to cast out Satan where his power seems strongest and his
interest most secure. Despair not of your own salvation (H. E. I.,
2376), of the salvation of those dear to you, of the final triumph of
the cause of truth (H. E. I., 979, 1166-1168). But recollect that all
that has been done has been done by the use of appropriate means: the
altar to God in Egypt was built by human hands, the Ark was not built
by miracle but by means; all the triumphs we anticipate are to be
achieved by the diffusion of Divine truth, by the prayers and efforts
of the Church. What effort are _you_ making?
+II. God often overrules the trials of life to produce a spirit of
prayer, and to bring men to Himself.+ _"They shall cry unto the Lord
because of their oppressors."_[1]
+III. It is God's prerogative to raise up a Saviour+ (ver. 20).
Whatever comforts or deliverances you have had through the medium of
creatures, the hand of God is to be pre-eminently acknowledged in
them all. Spiritually we need a great Saviour, and God has provided
one equal to the emergency of the case. Our guilt is very great, our
danger very threatening, our enemies very powerful, our ruin very
awful, but help is laid on One that is mighty. The greatness of
Christ as a Saviour appears from the essential dignity of His nature
(Heb. i. 1), from the certain efficacy of His atonement (Heb.
vii. 25), from the countless number of the redeemed (Rev. vii. 9),
from the completeness of the salvation He imparts (1 Cor.
i. 30).--_Samuel Thodey._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Outline: SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION, chap. xvii. 7, 8.
CHASTISEMENT.
xix. 22. _And the Lord shall smite Egypt, &c._
+I. The benevolent design of God in chastisement.+ God smites in
order to heal. Scripture teaches throughout that God's dealings with
men are--1. _Not capricious._ 2. _Not indiscriminate._ 3. _Not
unjust._ He does not impose burdens that cannot be borne, nor exact
obedience which man cannot render, nor select favourites for
preference or victims for vengeance, without any regard to the
relations existing between man and Himself. Contrary to all this,
God's smiting is that--(1) of a _Rescuer,_ who inflicts blows upon
the chains that He may set us free; (2) of a _Physician,_ who in
mercy probes the wound that He may heal it; (3) of a _Father,_ who
uses the rod for the salutary purposes of correction and reformation
(H. E. I., 56-74).
+II. The conduct befitting in men when under chastisement.+ _"And
they shall return,"_ &c. This return includes--1. _Submission_
(H. E. I., 143). 2. _Entreaty for help._ (See also ver. 20.). This
involves humble confession of sin, and hearty reliance upon God
(H. E. I., 145-147). 3. _Sincerity of purpose,_ as manifested in the
fulfilment of vows. (See also verse 21.)--_William Manning._
THE BURDEN OF DUMAH.
xxi. 11, 12. _The burden of Dumah, &c._
There are three distinct prophecies in this chapter, and they are all
termed _burdens,_ as denoting heavy judgments. The first respects
Babylon; the next, _Dumah,_ Idumea, or Edom, inhabiting Mount Seir;
and the last, Arabia.
The fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians is announced under the
form of a _watchman_ stationed to discover approaching objects, with
orders to declare what he saw (vers. 6-9). It was an event peculiarly
interesting to Judah. Babylon was the floor on which Judah was to be
threshed, till the refuse should be separated from the grain. The
event which destroyed the one delivered the other (ver. 10).
The fall of Babylon was interesting to other nations as well as
Judah; particularly to the Idumeans or Edomites, who were reduced to
servitude within a few years after the taking of Jerusalem. Now,
seeing that Judah had received a favourable report, Edom must needs
inquire of the watchman (like Pharaoh's baker of Joseph, after he had
announced good tidings to the butler), whether there was nothing
equally favourable to them. [We are not to understand, however, that
messengers were really sent out of Edom to Isaiah; the process was
merely a pneumatical one.--_Delitzsch._] The answer is, NOTHING; but,
on the contrary, the lot of Judah's enemies, "a burden."
The revolution would indeed, for a time, excite the joy of the
conquered nations (chap. xiv. 7, 8); but the Edomites should meet
with a disappointment. To them a change of government should only be
a change of masters. The fair morning of their hopes should issue in
a long and dark night of despondency. In the day of Babylon's fall,
according to the prayer of the captives, when every prisoner was
lifting up his head in hope, Edom was _remembered,_ as excepted from
an act of grace, on account of his singular atrocities (Ps.
cxxxvii. 7-9).
The Edomites were very impatient under the Babylonish yoke, and very
importunate in their inquiries after deliverance; reiterating the
question, "What of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" When will
this dark and long captivity be ended? And now that their hopes are
repulsed by the watchman's answer, they are exceedingly unwilling to
relinquish them. Loth to depart with an answer so ungrateful, they
linger, and _inquire_ again and again, in hopes that the sentence may
be reversed. But they are told that all their lingering is in vain.
"If ye will inquire, inquire ye, return, come" again; yet shall your
answer be the same.
And what was the crime of the Edomites that should draw down upon
them this heavy _burden,_ this irresistible doom? _Their inveterate
hatred of the people of God_ (Obad. 10). Perhaps there was no nation
whose treatment of Israel was so invariably spiteful, and whose
enmity was accompanied with such aggravating circumstances. They were
descended from Abraham and Isaac, and were treated by Israel, at the
time they came out of Egypt, as brethren; but as they then returned
evil for good (Num. xx. 14-21), so it was ever afterwards. Their
conduct, on the melancholy occasion of Jerusalem being taken by the
Chaldeans, was infamous (Obad. 10-16).
The passage affords a tremendous lesson to ungodly sinners, and
_especially to those who, having descended from pious parents, and
possessed religious advantages, are, notwithstanding, distinguished
by their enmity to true religion._ The situation of the Edomites
rendered it impossible for them to be so ignorant as other heathen
nations of the God of Israel; and their hatred appears to have been
proportioned to their knowledge. Such is the character of great
numbers in the religious world. They have both seen and hated the
truth. The consequences will be, if grace prevent not, they will
flatter themselves awhile with vain hopes; but, ere they are aware,
their morning will be changed into an endless night.
Edom was once addressed in the language of kindness and brotherly
affections; _but having turned a deaf ear to this, all their
inquiries after deliverance are now utterly disregarded._ Such will
be the end of sinners. "When once the Judge hath risen up and shut
the door," they may begin to knock, may inquire and return, and come
again, but all will be in vain; a night of ever-during darkness must
be their portion.
The passage also, taken in its connection, holds up to us _the
different situation of the friends and enemies of God under public
calamities._ It is natural in such circumstances for all to inquire,
"What of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" Each, also, may
experience a portion of successive _light_ and _darkness_ in his lot.
But the grand difference lies in _the issue of things._ God's people
were thrashed on the floor of Babylon; and, when purified, were
presently restored. To them there arose light in darkness. Weeping
continued for a night, but joy came in the morning. Not so with Edom;
their night came last. Such will be the portion of God's enemies:
they may wish for changes, in hope of their circumstances being
bettered; but the principal thing wanting is a change in themselves.
While strangers to this, the oracles of Heaven prophesy no good
concerning them. A morning may come, but the night cometh
also.--_Andrew Fuller: Complete Works,_ pp. 514, 515.
The whole Bible has, as its common and pervading argument, one mighty
subject, which, appearing in a thousand different forms, is
substantially the same in every page of the sacred volume. That
subject is, the salvation appointed for the chosen of mankind and the
ruin decreed for those who reject the offer. Therefore when the
prophetic Scriptures publish to us promises of peace and
denunciations of woe, let us never deem that the Divine Spirit had no
_ulterior_ purpose in these predictions. Let us never cast aside the
volume and cry that we are not Edom, or Egypt, or Babylon, or Tyre;
and that, therefore, we have nothing to do either with their crimes
or their punishment. Let us not vainly dream that the mighty
machinery of the prophetic messages was put into play merely to call
down curses on a few of the temporary dynasties of this perishable
world! "All Scripture was written for _our_ use," and these
"springing and germinant prophecies" (as they have been called) have
a significancy beyond the revolutions of petty kingdoms. They
represent, in majestic order and manifest type, the great truths of
eternal salvation and eternal ruin; they exhibit, in the sensible
language of exterior imagery, what the great Teacher of after-times
gave in the higher language of spiritual truth. If the laws of God be
uniform and unchangeable, we are justified in reading by this light
from _heaven_ the prophetic declarations of the course and principles
of His earthly providences.
With such views as these elevating our thoughts beyond the details of
perished empires into the mightier truths of the eternal empire of
our God, let us reflect briefly upon the words before us.
The prophet appears to introduce himself as addressed in scorn by the
people of the land which he is commissioned to warn. "Watchman, what
of the night?" What new report of woe hast thou to unroll, who has
placed thyself as an authorised observer and censurer of our doings?
But the prophetical watchman--the calm commissioner of
Heaven--replies, adopting their own language, "Yea, the morning (the
true morning of hope and peace) cometh, and also the night (the real
and terrible night of God's vengeance); if ye will (if ye are in
genuine earnest to inquire), inquire! Return, come." Obtain the
knowledge you see, the knowledge of the way of life; and, acting upon
this knowledge, repent and return to the Lord your God.
Regard, then, the guilty Edom that is warned; and the office and
answer of the watchman who warns it.
I cannot now undertake to count over the array of those who address
the spiritual watchmen of the Church of Christ in tones of derision,
and mock their ministry. Some there are who ask the report of "the
night" with utter carelessness as to the reply; some there are who
ask it in contempt.
But what is still the duty of him who holds the momentous position of
watchman in the city of God? On the occasion before us, remark--1. He
did not turn away from the question, in whatever spirit it was asked.
2. He uttered with equal assurance a threat and a promise. 3. He
pressed the necessity of care in the study, and earnest inquiry after
the nature, of the truth; and he summed up all in an anxious, a
cordial, and reiterated invitation to repentance and reconciliation
with an offended but pardoning God. Thus, the single verse might be
regarded as an abstract of the duties of the ministerial office.--_W.
Archer Butler: Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp. 339-345.
NIGHT AND MORNING.
xxi. 11, 12. _Watchman, what of the night?_
That there is night in this world few will question. He must be a
bold optimist who thinks everything as it is, is for the best
possible in the best possible of worlds. Darkness still covers the
earth. God's children, who have a glorious light within them, have a
dark night all round about them. Night is the symbol of gloom and
suffering; and it is the season of sin. It is moral night, because
"men loved darkness rather than light." Every true-hearted, earnest
Christian is a watchman: he watches for his own soul, and for the
souls of others; and he longs for the advent of the world's new
morning, when the shadows shall flee away. Regarding the earnest
Christian as the person accosted in the text, what are his thoughts
and fears about the night? What are his hopes about the morning?
1. _When the Christian looks out upon the world, he sees himself
surrounded by the night of unbelief and irreligion, and yet he
beholds streaks of sunny dawn._ There are many things at which if he
looked exclusively he would despair--materialism taught by popular
teachers, atheism the creed of not a few, abounding luxury,
sensuality defiling and degrading all classes of the community. But,
looking beyond these, he sees evidences of Christian truth and hope
such as the world never before witnessed--Sunday-schools, tract
societies, home and foreign missions, various organisations for
Christian labour, generously supported and efficiently maintained;
and, as he looks, he feels that the morning draweth nigh.
II. _When the Christian man looks into his own heart, he sees much
that speaks of the night, but much also that tells of the coming
morning._
III. _The Christless man, as well as the Christian, may well ask,
"What of the night?"_ He may relieve the gloom of his existence by a
few sparks of transient merriment, but soon they will be all
extinguished; and for him there will be no morning!--_W. M. Statham:
Christian World Pulpit,_ iii. 193.
Passing from the historical application of this oracle, we observe
that it may be taken as setting forth the spirit of inquiry first
raised in the soul by the hand of God, the form that inquiry will
take, the answer it will receive, and the direction in which it will
find ultimate satisfaction.
+I. Thoughts on the spirit of religious inquiry.+ The picture before
us is that of a walled city; the middle watch of the night, when the
citizens are asleep. But one anxious spirit cannot sleep; he turns
out into the dark, silent, deserted street, oppressed by a strange
feeling that something is going to happen. He hears the heavy
footfall of the watchman pacing to and fro on the city walls. With
eagerness not to be repressed, he cries, "Watchman," &c. This is
symbolical; it has its counterparts in our own time. 1. _This
restless inquirer is the exception._ The many sleep, only one wakes
and inquires. The danger is common, but only one feels any
apprehension of it. There are multitudes of sinners, few inquirers
concerning the way of salvation. 2. _The spirit of inquiry appears in
an unexpected quarter._ A man of Seir, an Edomite, lifts up eager
questions; the men of Israel sleep. The old, old story. Many lepers
in Israel: Naaman cleansed; ten healed, the Samaritan only returns to
give thanks. The boldest ventures of faith were made by the Gentile
centurion and the Syro-Phœnician woman. Those who pressed into the
kingdom were not Scribes and Pharisees, but publicans and sinners. So
it is still. 3. _The inquiry was well directed._ The appeal was not
to the citizens who were asleep, but to the watchman who was awake.
If you have questions to ask, ask of the man of quick perception,
keen sensibility, high standing, broad and firm basis of hope in
Christ. Not necessarily of the minister, but of the man who is
spiritually wide-awake; he is the true watchman. 4. _The inquiry was
weighty._ What of the night? Is it far spent? When will the day dawn?
What of the foe? Are they quiet in their camp? Or are they
endeavouring to surprise and capture the city? We have all cause to
put questions of corresponding importance. 5. _This inquiry was
earnest._ In some cases the inquiry is listless, is only a matter of
compliment; or it is entered upon reluctantly, as an unpleasant duty.
But this man is in earnest. He calls again and again. He _will_ be
heard; it is a matter of moment to him. He does not know what is
about to happen; the watchman should know--placed high, outlook wide,
senses trained. The inquirer will not submit to be disregarded. Oh,
for more of this earnestness.
+II. Thoughts on the answer.+ 1. _The answer comes through the
watchman._ Human lips start inquiries and through human lips the
answer comes. One heart is filled with fear; another heart filled
with faith must be its helper. Let those to whom the answer has been
entrusted give it promptly, clearly, joyfully. 2. _The answer
declares God's methods with men._ God has two great methods: one has
its image in the _morning,_ the other in the _night._ Let _morning_
set forth compassion, tender mercy, loving gifts; _night,_ judgment,
awful anger, heavy inflictions. If the morning be neglected or
resisted, then the night will certainly fall upon you. Note the order
in which these methods are employed. 1. _Morning,_ fresh, clear,
dewy, bracing, beautiful, comes first. So in the history of the
world, of the Church, of the individual. First the morning of youth!
prize it highly, use it wisely. Upon the sinner comes first the
morning of mercy, of invitation, of entreaty and promise. Alas that
he should despise and neglect it! 2. But the _night_ comes
afterwards! True, the night of death comes to all, but there is an
infinite distance between death _in_ Christ and death _out of_
Christ. He who dies _in_ Christ, passes into the eternal day; he who
dies _out of_ Christ, is cast into "the outer darkness!"
"Inquire"--seek to know the way of salvation. _"Return"_--as the
prodigal from the far country. _"Come"_--blessed word! "Come"
penitently, believingly, NOW!--_J. R. Wood._
"Night" is suggestive of anxious, perplexed, critical states; _e.g.,_
travellers in the desert, voyagers on the ocean, sufferers in the
sick-chamber. Very naturally do we transfer such thoughts as these to
our spiritual experiences (Ps. cxxx. 1, 8). Our text may be taken as
suggestive of the World's Cry and the World's Hope in all ages.
I. THE WORLD'S CRY. _"What of the night?"_ This is--1. _The cry of a
soul awakened to its guilt._ The very purpose of conviction is to
show the sinner his wandering, downward, benighted state. Hence the
terror which first views of guilt usually cause. The flash which in
the midnight hour shows the traveller the path of safety, also shows
him the dreadful precipice which yawns at his feet. When the sinner
is aroused from his sinful career, he is bewildered by the many
voices of hope and fear, of warning and promise, which greet his ear;
he is oppressed with anxiety to know how such a night of danger and
heart-searching will end. 2. _The cry of a soul struggling with its
doubts._ The night of mystery often burdens the hearts of true
believers, as Job and David found when they struggled with the great
problems of life. Life is a new thing to each of us, and many of the
same problems perplex us still: _e.g.,_ the existence of moral evil,
the infinite goodness of God, the truth of Divine revelation. These
sometimes press upon us with unusual weight, and shroud us in thick
darkness. 3. _The cry of the Church in its hours of anxiety and
peril._ These have been frequent, and have been due to many causes:
_e.g.,_ persecution from without, indifference within, general
ungodliness and unholy living, tides of scepticism. The watchmen of
the Church have to keep an earnest and anxious vigil when such nights
as these settle upon her. 4. _The cry of humanity itself._ There are
times when not merely a few men are oppressed by the burdens of their
time, but when men in the mass become awake to them. The world
betrays its keen sense of disease by the strong remedies it employs.
Against wide-spread ignorance, it opposes vast educational schemes;
for deep-rooted vices, it contrives various measures of reformation;
under a sense of the terrible ravages of the war-spirit, it yearns
for international peace. Nations, as well as individuals, have trying
experiences of the terrors of social and moral night.
II. THE WORLD'S HOPE. _"The morning cometh."_ In the midst of all the
world's darkness we may cherish this blessed hope (H. E. I.,
3421-3423). But whence is it derived? Solely from the fact that God
in Christ is reconciling the world unto Himself. It is along the
track of Divine revelation that we look for the bright rays of the
morning. There is hope for our race because of what Christ is--the
Revealer of God, the Saviour of sinners, the Head of the Church, the
Restorer of humanity. The way, then, to help on the dawning of that
day we all long to see, is to live _in_ Him, to live _for_ Him. Life
derived from Him, and spent for Him, will be truly blessed in itself,
and will be a means of blessing others.--_William Manning._
THE GRIEVOUSNESS OF WAR.
xxi. 15. _The grievousness of war._
In our quiet sanctuary, so full of holy and peaceful memories, let us
think about war; the more deeply we do so, the more will the aptness
of the phrase which forms our text become apparent to us.
+I. The grievousness of war is seen in its causes.+ War is grievous
in its origin and in all the things that foster it. It has its origin
in the unholy lusts and pitiful mistakes of mankind (Jas. iv. 1).
These lusts and mistakes, what are they? 1. The lust for increased
possessions and for power (P. D., 143, 150). 2. The false glory with
which war has been invested. To steal and kill on a small scale is
infamous, but to do so on a large scale is heroic! The wholesale
butcher surrounds himself with pomp and pageantry that dazzle the eye
and enslave the mind (P. D., 3470, 3476). 3. Blindness to the real
fields on which true courage and heroism are manifested. The
Christian courage which can meet and overcome the assaults of
wickedness, which can turn aside the edge of scorn, and hurl back the
weapons of temptation; that can urge men through living martyrdoms
which do not keep time to music or song, which carries Moffat into
South Africa, &c.,--this is too ethereal for most men to discern or
admire. They have no suspicion of the moral victories that might be
theirs on the fields of humble service and self-sacrifice.
4. Insensibility to the worth of human souls. A suspicion of the
value of life would unnerve the warrior for his task; he could not
then, as he does now, regard men as mere food for powder.
+II. The grievousness of war is seen in its effects.+ These are
twofold:--1. _Physical._ "The grievousness of war" cannot be
exaggerated, if we look at it from this point of view alone.
Think--(1) of the physical and mental suffering that is caused by it
(P. D., 3468, 3469, 3472, 3476); (2) of the far-reaching and crushing
desolation caused by it (P. D., 3466); (3) of the frightful cost of
preparation for war; of the armed truce in which the nations of
Europe live. 2. _Moral._ These are still more terrible. (1.) War
brutalises those actually engaged in it (P. D., 3464). (2.) War makes
criminals by producing a state of want. (3.) War aggravates national
animosities, and leaves to unborn generations a legacy of hatred.
Every war sows the seeds of future conflict. (4.) War and preparation
for war check the progress of those agencies by which the misery of
our race would be abated, and its happiness indefinitely increased.
The cause of education, of mission, of the Gospel, languishes under
the blight of the war-spirit. The cost of a very few wars would
evangelise the world (P. D., 3476).
Let this meditation move us to action. 1. Let us exert our utmost
influence to bring it to pass that national power shall be wielded by
men who love peace. 2. Let us encourage everything that tends to
facilitate international intercourse (P. D., 3461). 3. Let us on
every possible occasion exalt moral qualities above mere physical
daring (P. D., 1798, 1810-1803). 4. Let us put forth every effort to
diffuse the principles of Christianity. The Gospel is the only true
and effectual peacemaker; only in Christ will men ever be lastingly
reconciled to each other.--_William Manning._
THE IRRESISTIBLENESS OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS.
xxii. 18. _He will surely violently turn and toss thee like
a ball into a large country._
Such was the prophet's message to a haughty statesman who prided
himself on his power. Learn from it--1. +The ease with which God
effects His judgments.+ There are many things we wish to do which
require great preparations and extensive machinery; but to toss a
ball from the hand is an easy matter, mere child's play. He who takes
up the isles as a very little thing, performs all His works with an
ease which cannot be baffled or disturbed. 2. +The utter uselessness
of any resistance to the Divine judgments.+ As surely as a ball must
follow the line of projection, so surely must we go whither the
judgments of God carry us when His set time to visit us is come
(H. E. I., 2269, 4960). 3. +The awfulness of falling into the hands
of the living God.+--_William Manning._
THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH.
xxii. 24. _And they shall hang upon him all the glory of
his father's house--_
As on the nails or spikes fixed in the walls of the ancient temples
and palaces it was customary to hang suits of armour, shields,
helmets, swords, &c., that had been taken in war as spoils of
victory, or that had been used by illustrious ancestors. The
declaration is made concerning Eliakim, and the meaning of it is,
that all his relatives would connect with him all they deemed
illustrious, and would rest upon him as their common support. Some of
the expressions used concerning him are appropriated by our Redeemer
to Himself (comp. ver. 22 and Rev. iii. 7); and, without adopting the
view that Eliakim was a type of Christ, we may say that, true as this
declaration was concerning Eliakim, it is still more eminently true
of Him to whom "the key of David" belongs by right. Upon _Him_ "they
shall hang all the glory of His Father's house."
I. THE GLORY THAT IS PLACED UPON CHRIST. Applying the text to Christ,
the phrase "His father's house" acquired a new and more glorious
significance, even that of the Church of the living God, the one
family in heaven and on earth. All the glory of that spiritual and
eternal house depends upon and is justly ascribed to Christ. 1. _All
the glory of purchasing the Church._ All the persons of whom it is
composed were in circumstances of bondage and misery, yea, under
sentence of death, for which He ransomed them at inconceivable cost
(1 Pet. i. 18, 19). 2. _All the glory of redeeming the Church._ This
is not a mere repetition of what has just been said. We are the
subjects of a twofold redemption--a redemption of price and a
redemption of power. From the penalties of sin Christ redeemed us by
His blood; from the power of sin, by His Spirit. A supremely
difficult and an eternally glorious task is that which He thus
undertook and has accomplished. 3. _All the glory of preserving the
Church._ What a marvellous history of dangers and deliverances it has
had! 4. _All the glory of perfecting the Church._ It shall be
complete in number, complete and resplendent with every spiritual
grace. Remember what marvellous symbols are employed to set forth the
beauty and the preciousness of its component parts, what treasures of
spiritual wisdom and grace are already included in it. Hereafter,
when it shall stand in all its radiance, the wonder and the
admiration of all heavenly intelligences, all the glory of it shall
hang upon Christ.
II. THE PERSONS WHO UNITE IN PLACING THIS GLORY ON CHRIST. "_They_
shall hang," &c. 1. The penitent sinner hangs upon Christ all the
glory of his hope of acceptance with God. 2. The justified believer
hangs upon Him all the glory of the favoured position in which he
stands. 3. The spiritual veteran hangs upon Him all the glory of his
triumphs. 4. The dying Christian hangs upon Him all the glory of the
calmness and courage with which he advances to the final victory.
5. The glorified Church hangs upon Him all the glory of its perfected
salvation. 6. Angels and archangels, though they were not the
subjects of redemption, join in the song of salvation (Rev.
v. 11-13), and ascribe to Him all the splendour in which they shine.
7. GOD exalted Him to the right hand of power, and gave Him a Name
above every name (Phil. ii. 9-11).
"Oh that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!"
--_George Smith, D.D._
GLORIFYING GOD IN THE FIRES.
xxiv. 15. _Glorify ye the Lord in the fires._
We are required to honour God, not only in all we do (1 Cor. x. 31),
but in all we suffer (_text_). Consider--
I. THE STATE HERE SUPPOSED. _"In the fires."_ Fire and water are both
Scriptural figures of affliction (Ps. lxvi. 12; Isa. xliii. 2; 1 Pet.
iv. 12). Stripped of metaphor, the passage before us supposes a state
of suffering. In this state we may be found--1. As _men_ (Job v. 6,
7; H. E. I., 47-51); 2. As _Christians_ (Ps. xxxiv. 19). This may
seem strange to the natural man, who concludes that the favourite of
Heaven is entitled to every indulgence upon earth; and it has proved
a source of temptation to the people of God themselves, who have been
led from their sufferings to suspect their safety. But this inference
is unscriptural (Heb. ii. 10; Isa. liii. 10; Matt. x. 25; Heb.
xii. 6; H. E. I., 189-196). Could we view many of those who are
infinitely dear to God, we should find them in a state of affliction,
often exceedingly trying; and we should see them there, not hardening
themselves by infidel reasonings or stoical apathy; not endeavouring
to banish all sense of their sorrows by repairing to the dissipations
of the world; but waiting humbly upon God (Ps. lxi. 1, 2; H. E. I.,
157, 158). This is well; but it is not enough to _seek_ God in our
afflictions, we must _serve_ Him. Consider, then--
II. THE DUTY HERE ENJOINED. _"Glorify,"_ &c. We cannot add to God's
essential glory, but we can declare it; we can make it more fully and
widely known (Ps. xix. 1). This is the duty to which we are at all
times called (1 Pet. ii. 9). We discharge it in affliction, when we
verbally and practically acknowledge--1. God's _agency,_ recognising
that our trial has not come upon us by accident, but by His
appointment or permission (Job ii. 10; H. E. I., 143; P. D., 92, 99).
2. His _rectitude_ (Ps. cxlv. 17; Dan. ix. 7; Ps. cxix. 75). 3. His
_wisdom,_ which regulated His corrections and every circumstance
connected with them. He never errs in the time, the place, the kind,
the instrument, the continuance of affliction; it is precisely the
very thing we need, and nothing could be altered without injury
(H. E. I., 179-188). 4. His _goodness,_ in sending the affliction at
all (H. E. I., 162-165), and in the alleviations and compensations by
which it is accompanied (H. E. I., 117-121). A grateful mind will
never overlook these. 5. His _power,_ to support us in the
affliction, and in due season to deliver us from it. All the records
of Scripture should minister to our faith in His ability to help and
deliver; He is unchangeable; He is as near you as He was to His
people of old; and you are as dear to Him as they were (H. E. I.,
198-202).
III. REASONS FOR DISCHARGING THE DUTY. We ought to glorify God in the
fires--1. Because _it is our duty to honour Him at all times, and
affliction cannot possibly exempt us from it._ Though He has
permitted affliction to come upon us, He still remains our Creator,
our Preserver, our Benefactor, our Redeemer, and as such is entitled
to the homage of our heart and life. 2. Because _affliction furnishes
one of the finest opportunities_ for honouring God (H. E. I.,
3692-3694). 3. _Hope should animate us,_ because it is distinctly
declared that those who honour God shall be honoured by Him.
As the consequence of sanctifying God in the fires, one of two things
is certain: either they will be removed, for when the end is answered
the dispensation will cease; or you will be compensated for their
continuance, by increase of grace, or the future recompense of glory,
or in both these ways combined.
But can we, who are so weak, perform a duty so hard? No, _you_ cannot
do it; but the grace of God will be sufficient even for this. View
your difficulties in connection with your supplies, God's commands in
connection with His promises, and boldly face them all (Phil. iv. 12,
13).--_William Jay: Works,_ vol. xii. pp. 159-169.
Glorify God--1. In the fires of persecution by resolute adherence to
the truth; 2. In the fires of temptation by a firm resistance to
evil; 3. In the fires of affliction by patient submission to His
will.--_George Smith, D.D._
THE GRAND APPROPRIATION.
xxv. 1. _O Lord, Thou art my God._
I. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GOD AND OURSELVES. 1. The Lord is our God
in a necessary and absolute sense. 2. He should be our God by choice
(H. E. I., 306, 307, 2381, 2385, 4630-4647, 4970). 3. If He is thus
to become our God, it must be through the person and work of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by the exercise of an appropriating faith
(H. E. I., 1652).
II. THE ADVANTAGES WE MAY ANTICIPATE FROM THIS CONNECTION. 1. Light
in darkness. 2. Guidance in perplexity. 3. Protection in danger.
4. Strength in duty. 5. Consolation in sorrow. 6. Sanctity and glory.
III. THE DUTIES ARISING OUT OF THE CONNECTION. 1. We should exalt
Him. 2. We should be jealous for His honour. 3. We must obey His
commands. 4. We should acquiesce in His will. 5. We should seek our
pleasure and satisfaction from Him.--_John Corbin._
THE GOSPEL FEAST.
xxv. 6-8. _And in this mountain, &c._
The blessings of the Gospel are, with wise adaptation to our views
and feelings, often compared to the objects in which man naturally
take most delight; and here, as in other places, they are compared to
a costly entertainment bestowed by the Sovereign of the universe on
the children of His love. It was the custom of Oriental monarchs on
great occasions to make rich feasts on a scale of magnificence, of
which we in the West can form scarcely any idea (Esther i. 3-7).[1]
At these entertainments wise men were often assembled, and important
questions in morals and literature were discussed: hence the benefits
of knowledge and wisdom were often exhibited under the image of a
great feast (Prov. ix. 1-5). The prophet, as our Lord Himself
afterwards (Matt. xxii. 1-3; Luke xiv. 16-24), speaks in accordance
with the habits of thinking common in his time, when he sets forth
the blessings of the Gospel under the image of a great feast.
I. A BANQUET OF GRACE AND SALVATION SPREAD FOR THE NEEDY (ver. 6).
1. _It is a feast worthy of the Founder_ (Esther i. 7). He who
studies it most closely, will be most struck by the vastness of the
resources and the magnificence of the generosity of Him who spread
it. 2. _It is eminently a feast of reconciliation and restored
friendship._ The feasts of the ancients were often connected with
sacrificial rites, were employed to confirm covenants, and to
celebrate the reconciliation of those who had been estranged and at
enmity with each other. We have an interesting illustration of all
this in what we are told of Jacob and Laban (Gen. xxxi. 43-55). When
Joseph was about to reveal himself in love to his brethren, and to
unite them all in a new bond of peace, he made a feast for them (Gen.
xliii. 31-34). So did the father of the prodigal, to testify the
perfectness of his reconciliation to his guilty but penitent child
(Luke xv. 23). The feast of which our text speaks, is a feast founded
upon a sacrifice; it is a feast of reconciliation effected by means
of sacrifice; it is the sublime and glorious realisation of the
ancient symbol of the feast that followed upon the presentation of
the peace-offering (Lev. vii. 11-16). It is the fact that it is a
feast of reconciliation that gives sweetness and preciousness to all
the sweet and precious things of which it is composed, just as it was
the fact that they symbolised his restoration to his place in his
father's home and heart that made the ring, and the robe, and all the
choice viands before him, delightful to the pardoned prodigal (chap.
xii. 1; Rom. v. 1, 2, 11). 3. _Its magnificence and its
delightfulness are heightened by the number of those who partake of
it._ The rich provisions of the Gospel are as widely spread as they
are widely needed. This is a joy to the Christian, for to a noble
mind happiness multiplied is happiness heightened.
II. ILLUMINATION FOR THE IGNORANT (ver. 7). There was a symbolical
fulfilment of this prophecy in the hour of our Saviour's death (Matt.
xxvii. 51); that which had hidden the Holy of Holies from the sight
of men was rent in twain. A spiritual fulfilment of it is the need of
the world and of each individual: by a veil of ignorance and
prejudice the truths which it would be to their highest interest to
see clearly. This is declared concerning the Jews (2 Cor. iii. 15),
but it is just as true of the majority of the Gentiles: they also see
no desirableness in Christ, no preciousness in the salvation He
offers them. But this destructive veil has been taken away from the
hearts of millions, and shall yet be removed from the heart of a
vaster multitude--by the diffusion of God's Word, the preaching of
the Gospel, and the accompanying agency of the Holy Spirit. The
preliminary fulfilment of this prophecy at the day of Pentecost (Acts
ii. 5, 41) shall have still more glorious counterparts in the not
distant future.
III. CONSOLATION FOR THE SORROWING AND LIFE FOR THE DYING (ver. 8).
* * * * * * * *
This glorious prophecy is in the course of fulfilment all around us;
but to us individually it may be as if God had not been faithful to
His Word. We may have no appetite for spiritual enjoyments, no
craving for spiritual blessings (Col. ii. 18, 19). In this case, so
far as we are concerned, this feast will have been spread in vain
(Luke xiv. 18). If any man is conscious that for him the Gospel has
no attractions, if he can listen to this prophecy without a glow of
thankful joy, let him cry mightily to God for that new heart without
which all that God's wonderful compassion has moved Him to do for our
race will leave him still unblessed (H. E. I., 4090).--_Samuel
Thodey._
This beautiful passage may be taken as presenting some of the
principal aspects of the establishment of Christ's kingdom upon the
earth. It expresses in a most lively manner the feelings of hope and
joy which the Gospel is naturally fitted to call forth, and it
unfolds the Saviour's work to us under the ideas of a _feast,_ a
_revelation,_ and a _victory._
+I. The Gospel speaks to men of a feast.+ It assumes that they are
spiritually destitute, in actual danger of perishing, and it tells
them of a feast. 1. A feast _provided for all_ (ver. 6). Christ came
not for the exclusive benefit of Jew or Gentile; He came for _man_
(Luke xix. 10). He invites all to share in the blessings He has
provided (Luke xiv. 16), and declares that the invitation will not be
given in vain (Matt. viii. 11). 2. _A feast of the best things._
Suggested here by the richness and flavour of wines long preserved.
We are apt to miss the truth that the blessings which the Gospel
offers are of the richest quality and of the highest value
conceivable; we act as if it required us to give up a certain good
for a doubtful and visionary one. This accounts for the eagerness
with which men seek first "the world," regarding "the kingdom of God"
as something to be made room for after all else has been obtained
(H. E. I., 5006, 5007).
+II. The Gospel is a revelation to men of God's gracious purposes+
(ver. 7). A thing may be a mystery to us in two ways: because it is
beyond all human comprehension; or, because though it is
comprehensible a veil rests upon it. In the former case the mystery
must ever remain what it is; in the latter, the covering has only to
be removed, and the mystery is at an end. The morning dispels the
mystery of the night. So the Gospel discloses eternal truths of which
man has no suspicion (Eph. iii. 2-12). The central, supreme
revelation of the Gospel is Christ; and this is so because in Him
God, who had dwelt in thick darkness, stands manifestly before us
(John xiv. 9; 1 Tim. iii. 16; H. E. I. 855-857, 2241-2243). In Him,
too, man is for the first time disclosed to himself; for the first
time he catches a glimpse of his nature, of his relation to God, of
his glorious possibilities.
+III. The Gospel speaks to man of an eternal victory.+ _"He will
swallow up death in victory;"_ or "He shall utterly destroy death for
ever." Here we have suggested to us the crowning work of Christ
(2 Tim. i. 10; Heb. ii. 14). In Him the believer has the promise and
pledge of a final and glorious triumph. 1. _How great, then, should
be our confidence even in the midst of the deepest affliction!_
Doubts, fears, temptations threaten to destroy us; but with Christ
strengthening us, our conflict leads to certain victory. He who has
conquered will make us "more than conquerors." 2. _With what
assurance, therefore, should we approach the hour of death itself!_
By Him who leads us on, death has been vanquished and captured. Hence
death is one of our possessions (1 Cor. iii. 21-23). Death, as in the
old time men thought of it, no longer exists; for the Christian it is
swallowed up in victory (H. E. I., 1611-1614).--_William Manning._
The parable of the Great Supper (Matt. xxii. 1-14) illustrates this
prophecy. Consider--
+I. The Founder of this feast:+ "the Lord of hosts." _Hosts_--all
creatures in the universe, rational and irrational; subject to His
inspection; under His control; designed for His glory. What think you
of the Founder of this feast? What feast ever had such a Founder? It
is a feast worthy of its Founder. How wonderful that He should
condescend to provide a feast for the world!
+II. The nature of the feast.+ Not only the best, but the best of the
best; bountiful supply; rich variety.
+III. The persons for whom this feast has been prepared.+ All may
partake of it; only those are excluded who exclude themselves. 1. Are
you making excuses? Will your excuses stand the test of the day of
judgment? You must partake, or perish! Delay not; for, as far as you
are concerned, the feast will soon be over. Not now too late; "yet
there is room." 2. Are you participants? What present blessings; what
future glories! Bless the Founder's Name. Seek to bring others to the
feast.--_Henry Creswell._
I. THE AUTHOR OF THIS FEAST. Not a prodigal, squandering the fruits
of the industry of others. Not a conqueror, satiating admirers with
spoils unjustly acquired. Not a pompous Ahasuerus, whose only design
is to set forth his own grandeur. God, moved with compassion for
rebels against His authority; spreads a rich feast that they may not
perish.
II. THE SITE OF THIS FEAST. _"In this mountain."_ It is in the
everlasting Gospel this entertainment is prepared. In coming to
Christ for the pardon of our sins and the salvation of our souls, we
come "unto Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem." The figure of a "mountain" denotes the _elevation,
security,_ and _publicity_ of the Gospel feast. 1. Its _elevation._
In coming to it, we leave all that is debasing behind. 2. Its
_security._ In coming to it, we reach a place where we may rejoice
without fear (Luke i. 71-75). 3. Its _publicity._ It is our own fault
if we do not see it and reach it.
III. THE RICHNESS OF THIS ENTERTAINMENT. _"A feast of fat things, of
fat things full of marrow."_ Carnal images that set forth spiritual
truths. In the Gospel, and in the Gospel alone, is found that which
satisfies the hunger of the soul and fills it with delight.
IV. THE GLADNESS OF THE ENTERTAINMENT. _"A feast of wines on the
lees, of wines on the lees well refined."_ A figure founded on the
influence of wine on the human system (Ps. civ. 15). The Gospel, when
rightly understood and cordially embraced, makes a heavy heart light.
What can raise men's spirits so high, or make them so truly cheerful,
as a sense that all their sins are forgiven them? The joy of a
literal "feast of wines" is transient, and after the midnight revel
come days of unpleasant reflection, reproach, and melancholy. But the
joy of the Gospel is pure and permanent.
V. THE EXTENSIVENESS OF THE ENTERTAINMENT. It is "unto all people."
Other entertainments may be confined to the rich, the great, and the
noble; here all such distinctions are done away. Christianity is a
universal religion, designed to redeem and gladden the whole world.
Its invitations are extended to all (Prov. ix. 1-5; Rev.
xxii. 17).--_William Reeve, M.A., Miscellaneous Discourses_ (pp.
229-237).
I. THE FEAST. The blessings of the Gospel are compared--1. To "fat
things full of marrow." What are they? Complete justification,
adoption, the sustaining confidence of being an object of God's
everlasting love--a love which had no beginning and shall have no
end, union with Christ (and all that great truth implies), the
doctrine of resurrection and everlasting life. These are a few of the
"fat things full of marrow" which the King of kings has set before
His guests. 2. To "wines on the lees well refined"--symbols of the
joys of the Gospel; such a sense of perfect peace with God, the sense
of security, communion with God, the pleasures of hope, of hope that
falls far short of the reality. The description of the wines--"wines
on the lees well refined"--reminds us that the joys of the believer
are ancient in their origin,[2] that they are most excellent in their
flavour and aroma, and that they are pure and elevating in their
nature. The joys of grace are not fantastical emotions, or transient
flashes of meteoric excitement; they are based on substantial truth,
are reasonable, fit and proper, and make men like angels (H. E. I.,
1082, 3052, 3053).
II. THE BANQUETING HALL. _"In this mountain."_ There is a reference
here to three things, the same symbol bearing three
interpretations:--1. The mountain on which Jerusalem is built. On a
little knoll of that mountain--Calvary--that great transaction was
fulfilled which made to all nations a great feast. 2. The Church.
Frequently Jerusalem is used as a symbol of the Church of God, and it
is within the pale of the Church that the great feast is made unto
all nations. 3. The Church of God exalted to the latter-day glory.
Then shall the glory of the Gospel be unveiled more clearly and
enjoyed more fully than at present.
III. THE HOST OF THE FEAST. _"The Lord of hosts."_ 1. The Lord makes
it, and makes it all. It is utterly improper for us to bring anything
of our own to it; the Lord provides even the wedding-garment in which
we are to sit at it, and no other will be allowed. 2. Only the Lord
of hosts could have provided what man needed. But He has done it, and
done it effectually. 3. As the Lord of hosts has provided the feast,
it is not to be despised. To despise it will show our folly, and
involve us in great guilt. 4. As He has provided all the feast, let
Him have all the glory.
IV. THE GUESTS. _"For all people."_ For all, irrespective of
national, social, intellectual, or even moral differences. The
declaration, "for all people," gives hope for all who wish to come.
Between the covers of the Bible there is no mention of one person who
may not come, no description of one person who may not trust in
Christ. To him who trusts Christ the whole feast is open, there is
not a blessing of which he may not partake.--_C. H. Spurgeon,
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ No. 846.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Alexander gave a feast after his return from India of five
days' continuance, when ninety marriages were celebrated
and nine thousand guests assembled. Diodorus Siculus
describes the festivities with which Antisthenes, a rich
citizen of Agrigentum (B.C. 414), celebrated the marriage
of his daughter: all the citizens of Agrigentum were
entertained at his expense on tables laid for them at their
own doors, beside a great number of strangers. The
festivities, as in the parable of the Ten Virgins, took
place in the evening, and the whole city was one blaze of
light. The Roman and Egyptian banquets were proverbial for
their costliness and splendour. In Persia still, royal
banquets are prolonged for many weeks; and a Chinese
emperor used frequently to make a feast that lasted a
hundred and twenty days.--_Thodey._
[2] _Old_ wines are intended by "wines well refined;" they have
stood long on the lees, have drawn out all the virtue from
them, and have been cleared of all the coarser material. In
the East, wine will be improved by keeping even more than
the wines of the West! and even so the mercies of God are
the sweeter to our meditations because of their antiquity.
From old eternity, or ever the earth was, the covenant
engagements of everlasting love have been resting like
wines on the lees, and to-day they bring to us the utmost
riches of all the attributes of God.--_Spurgeon._
THE TRIUMPHS OF CHRIST.
xxv. 8. _He wil swallow up death in victory, &c._
It is important at the very outset that we should clearly recognise
the Person and the dignity of the Person of whom all these things are
declared. Otherwise it will be impossible for us to look for the
fulfilment of these marvellous promises. We have the authority of St.
Paul for declaring that the Person is none other than our Lord Jesus
Christ. To HIM he ascribes the victory over death (1 Cor. xv. 54).
Thus St. Paul authorises the most exalted conceptions we can find of
the dignity of our Lord; for the work which he declares will be
fulfilled by Christ is in our text ascribed to Jehovah: "The Lord God
will wipe away," &c. It is of "the Lord of hosts" that Isaiah speaks
throughout (vers. 6-8). Thus we have here one of the invaluable
incidental proofs with which Scripture abounds of the deity of our
Lord. If He is "the Lord of hosts," _then_ we can believe all the
things here declared of Him.
+I. The deliverance of Christ's people from death.+ "He will swallow
up death in victory"--as the rods of the magicians were swallowed up
by the rod of Aaron; as the hosts of Pharaoh were swallowed up by the
waters of the Red Sea; as the darkness of the night is swallowed up
in the brightness of the morning. True, God's people must depart
hence, like other people; but in regard to them Christ "has swallowed
up death in victory." 1. By imparting to them a spiritual life and
blessedness which are not touched by the dissolution of the union of
body and soul. 2. By sustaining and comforting them while that
mysterious process is being accomplished. How often has the deathbed
of the believer been a scene of triumph! 3. By utterly changing the
character of death in regard to them. To them it is not a curse but a
blessing (H. E. I., 1571-1594, 1594-1643). 4. By the promises which
on the morning of the resurrection He will surely fulfil. "THEN," &c.
(1 Cor. xv. 54; H. E. I., 4334-4354).
+II. The deliverance of Christ's people from sorrow.+ "The Lord God
will wipe away tears from off all faces,"--tears of sorrow for sin;
of mourning under affliction, trials, and bereavements; of grief
caused by the wickedness of men and the injury done to the cause of
truth and righteousness: all shall be wiped away, every cause of
sorrow brought to an end.
+III. The deliverance of Christ's people from the shame and contempt
of the world.+--_Samuel Thodey._
A SORROWLESS WORLD.
xxv. 8. _And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all
faces._
The vision presented is that of a sorrowless world; a vision which
has haunted the imagination of men in every age. The Bible declares
that that which has been merely a bright but disappearing dream shall
be a glorious fact.
+I. Look at sorrow as a fact.+ How early we become acquainted with
it. How our experience of it increases with every year of life. How
numerous are its sources. How inevitable it is (H. E. I., 47-50). But
the profoundest, heaviest, most oppressive, and most enduring sorrow
of which we are capable is the sorrow of the soul which is caused by
consciousness of guilt. Unlike all other sorrows, in the thought of
death it finds no relief; by that thought it is unspeakably
aggravated (H. E. I., 1334-1341; P. D., 1664, 1668).
+II. Proceed to look at God removing sorrow.+ "The Lord God will wipe
away tears from off all faces." How great the enterprise! Yet how
sufficient, though unexpected and startling, is the agency He
employs: on this mission of mercy He has sent His own Son. God as His
manner is, works from within outwards; He not only wipes off all
tears, He removes their cause. That cause is sin. But how does He
destroy sin in the human soul? 1. By revealing it, by showing its
essential hideousness--one of the revelations of the cross of Christ.
It is not until we perceive the costliness of the atonement of sin,
that we begin to suspect its terribleness and hatefulness. 2. By
showing that sin can be conquered. This is the glorious message and
proclamation of the life of the Man Christ Jesus. 3. By furnishing a
motive that shall stimulate us to the conflict with sin which will
end in victory. That motive is found in the love for Christ which
springs up in the soul when we view Him dying on the cross in our
stead. 4. In the same marvellous spectacle we see that which alone
can pacify conscience, and which does pacify it. Believing, our fears
and our sorrows flee away; our mourning is turned into joy. The
supreme need of the soul is met in reconciliation with God. A
sorrowless life is begun. But that is not all. Having destroyed--_in_
destroying sin in the soul, God implants righteousness (chap.
xxxii. 17). He creates as well as destroys. He introduces into our
thoughts, words, actions, a Divine order, and therefore a Divine
beauty and blessedness. All sorrow springs from infractions of this
order; this is seen in national, social, individual life. In
proportion as it is restored, tears are wiped away. The great Agent
by whom this work is accomplished is His own Spirit; but He works by
means, and the chief instruments He employs are those who, in various
ways, are promoting the knowledge and practice of the will of God in
the world. In this work we may share; this possibility is the glory
of our life. By the progress of Christian truth, how many tears have
been already wiped away! In spite of every obstacle, the glorious
work shall proceed, with ever-accelerating triumphs. There is a
better day dawning for our race (H. E. I., 3421-3423). Nothing can
bring it in but the Gospel. All other agencies--commerce, education,
literature, art, legislation--have been tried and have failed. He who
loves humanity will consecrate himself to the furtherance of the
Gospel; and he who does so shall share in that joy of redeeming the
world from sin and sorrow by the hope of which Christ was sustained
amid the sufferings He endured for this great end.--_Thomas Neave._
ADVENT THOUGHTS AND JOYS.
xxv. 9. _And it shall be said in that day, &c._
Isaiah is here, as he is so often, the prophet not merely of future
events, but of future states of mind and feeling; not merely of God's
dealings with His people, but of the way in which they would or
should meet their God.
To what event does he refer?
1. First of all, to the deliverance of Hezekiah and his people from
King Sennacherib.[1] That deliverance was recognised as God's work.
The recognition of God's presence in the great turning-points of
human history is in all ages natural to religious minds. He is with
men and nations at all times, but in the great crises of history that
presence is brought more vividly before the imagination. So was it
when a great storm destroyed the Spanish Armada, and when the power
of the first Napoleon was broken first at Leipsic and then at
Waterloo. Devout minds felt that these were reappearances of God in
human history, and they rejoiced in Him.
2. But beyond the immediate present, Isaiah sees, it may be
indistinctly, into a distant future. The judgment of his time
foreshadowed some universal judgment upon all the enemies of mankind,
some deliverance final, universal, at the end of time. For that
judgment and deliverance the Church, both on earth and in heaven,
waits and prays (Ps. lxxiv. 10, 22, 23; Rev. vi. 9, 10). To them the
answer seems to be long delayed; but it will come (Rev. vi. 12-17);
and when at last it bursts upon the world, it will be welcomed by the
servants of God as was the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian
army.
3. But between the days of Hezekiah and the final judgment there is
another event closer to the prophet's thought--the appearance of the
great Deliverer in the midst of human history. All that belongs to
the nearer history of Judah melts away in the future which belongs to
the King Messiah. The Assyrians themselves are replaced in his
thoughts by the greater enemies of humanity; the city of David and
Mount Zion become the spiritual city of God, the mountain of the Lord
of hosts, the Church of the Divine Redeemer. Here, as so often, the
incarnation of the eternal Son of God, with its vast and incalculable
consequences to the world of souls, is the keynote of Isaiah's
deepest thought, and in our text he epitomises the heart-song of
Christendom, which ascends day by day to the throne of the Redeemer.
(1.) _"Lo, this is our God."_ Christ is not for us Christians merely
or chiefly the preacher or herald of a religion of which another
being, distinct from Himself, is its object. The Gospel creed does
not run thus, "There is no God but God, and Christ is His prophet."
When He appears to the soul of man at the crisis of its penitence, or
its conversion, the greeting which meets and befits Him is not, "Lo,
this is the good man sent for God to teach some high and forgotten
moral truths;" no, but, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him;
He will save us!" (H. E. I., 835-845). (2.) So might the Jews, the
children of the prophets, have sung; so did some of those who entered
most deeply into the meaning of the promises given to their fathers
(Luke i. 46-55, 68-79; ii. 29-32). (3.) So might the noble
philosophers of Greece have sung; so they did sing when, in Christ
the incarnate God, of whom they had dreamed and for whom they had
sought, was revealed to them. (4.) So have sung in all ages that
multitude of human souls whom a profound sense of moral need has
brought to the feet of the Redeemer (H. E. I., 948-971).--_H. P.
Liddon, M.A.: Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. xiii. pp. 1-3.
I. WHAT ARE THOSE COMINGS OF CHRIST WHICH ARE THE OCCASION OF JOY TO
THE CHURCH? 1. _His coming in the flesh,_ His incarnation. To this
His people had looked forward; in it they rejoiced. Good cause had
they for gladness, for He came to spread the gospel feast, to remove
the clouds of ignorance and error, to destroy the reign of sin and
death. 2. _His coming in the Spirit,_ at the day of Pentecost; in the
experience of the individual soul, in the hours of penitence, of
temptation, of sorrow. His coming in the flesh was the great promise
of the Old Testament; His coming in the Spirit is the great promise
of the New. 3. _His coming to receive the soul to glory._ He comes
unchanged. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints. 4. _His coming to bring the present dispensation to a close._
It may be heralded by many alarming and distressing events, but it
will be itself a cause for joy. To the wicked it will be a day of
unmixed terror, but to the righteous of gladness; for it will bring
them redemption from the power of every sin, from the assault of
every enemy; every fetter will be broken, every cloud dispelled.
II. WHAT IS REQUISITE TO ENABLE US TO WELCOME THE APPROACH OF CHRIST?
1. A knowledge of Him as our God and Redeemer. 2. An experience of
the benefits of His salvation. 3. Love for Him. 4. Submission to His
will and zeal for his glory.--_Samuel Thodey._
+I. In the day of judgment nothing will inspire us with joy and
confidence but a real interest in Jesus Christ.+ The ungodly now
possess many sources of present enjoyment; but in that day they will
have ceased for ever. One grand, all-important idea will then fill
the mind: "The solemn day of account is come; how shall I abide in
it? How shall I endure the presence of the heart-searching Judge?"
But whence can this assurance be obtained? Only from an interest in
Jesus Christ. Those who do not possess it will then be filled with
shame and terror; but, amid all its terrors, those who do possess it
will be enabled to rejoice.
+II. In that day none will be found to have a real interest in
Christ, nor capable of rejoicing, but those who are now waiting for
His coming.+ This is a characteristic of all genuine Christians
(1 Thess. i. 10; Tit. ii. 13; 1 Cor. i. 7; Luke xii. 36). Hence, in
our text, we find the saints representing their conduct towards the
Lord in the days of their flesh by the same term: "We have waited for
Him." It may be useful, then, to point out some of the particulars
implied in this general description of the Christian character. To
"wait for Christ" implies--1. A FIRM BELIEF IN HIS SECOND COMING, and
of the infinitely momentous consequences which will follow that
event. The true Christian walks "by faith, not by sight." Unlike the
profane (2 Pet. iii. 4), he lays it down in his mind as an infallible
truth that "the day of the Lord _will_ come." 2. A CONSTANT ENDEAVOUR
TO BE PREPARED FOR IT. How the wise virgins acted (Matt. xxv. 4).
3. A PATIENT CONTINUANCE IN WELL-DOING (Luke xii. 35-46). Are you
_thus_ "waiting" for the second coming of your Lord?--_Edward Cooper:
Practical and Familiar Sermons,_ vol. iv. pp. 225-240.
The chapter from which these words are taken contains a noble
description of the glory and grace of God, of His glory in ruling
irresistibly the nations of the earth, and in crushing the enemies of
His Church, of His glory and grace in the salvation of mankind. It
records by anticipation the triumphs of the Gospel, the downfall of
the powers of darkness, the annihilation of death itself, the reign
of perpetual peace and joy.
+I. A recognition of the birth of the Messiah.+ It is a matter of
historical certainty that the people of God did wait for the coming
of the Saviour from the time of the very first promise given to the
woman after the fall, to the period of our Lord's appearance upon the
earth, at which season there was a general expectation in all the
neighbouring regions of the advent of some mighty personage who was
to realise all the sublime descriptions of the ancient prophets. Anna
the prophetess, Joseph of Arimathea, the aged Simeon and other devout
men, were waiting for the "consolation of Israel."
+II. An assertion of His Divinity.+ "This is our God,"--not merely a
prophet, a priest, a king, chosen by Jehovah from among His people,
and commissioned to give laws and statutes, as Moses was, or to
assert Jehovah's authority and punish idolatry, as Elijah was, or to
denounce His wrath against an apostate people and at the same time to
foreshadow a great deliverance to come, as Isaiah was himself, or
Jeremiah or any other of those holy men who spake in old times by the
Holy Ghost; but this is OUR GOD, this is Emmanuel--God with us--God
manifest in the flesh.
+III. A declaration of His atoning work.+ How vast that work He took
on Himself to execute,--the reconciliation in His own person of
sinful man to an offended God, the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan,
and the abolition of death! No man could have performed it (Ps.
xlix. 7). Could any of the angels, then, have taken in hand this
enterprise? Beyond the power, above the conception of any being of
limited goodness, knowledge and power, it could only be accomplished
by the Divine Son of God. It was God's work, devised and executed by
Omnipotence.
+IV. A recognition of the second coming of Christ.+ We are admonished
by the Church that there is a Second Coming of Christ, for which the
Church is waiting, and for which we, with every member of the Church,
ought to be looking with earnest and anxious expectation. Is our
language, "How long, O Lord?" Our answer is, How long the final
triumph of the Saviour may be deferred, how long a period may elapse
before the world is ripe for judgment, is one of those secrets which
God has reserved to Himself (Acts i. 7). The end of all things, it
may be not in the literal sense of the word, at hand, is every year
and every day and every moment drawing nearer to each of us. We are
all in silent but unceasing movement towards the judgment-hall of
Christ. In this point of view, the moment of our death may be
regarded as placing us at once before His awful tribunal, for the
space between the two, as it affects our eternal destination, will be
to us as nothing. When the judgment is set, the books opened, we
shall suddenly stand before the Judge, precisely in that state of
preparation in which we were found at the moment of our departure out
of life. Those who have lived as children of God, as servants of
Jesus Christ, under the solemn, yet not fearful, expectation of that
day, will then be able to lift up their heads and raise the song of
joyful recognition.
_Application._--If ever there was a great practical truth, this is
one. If we do not wait for the great day of the Lord in such a spirit
of carefulness and circumspection as to refer to it all our actions,
words, and thoughts, then it is perfectly certain that we shall be
surprised at its coming and be taken utterly unprepared. It will come
on us as a thief in the night, and we shall sink into everlasting
perdition; not for the want of means and opportunities of being
saved, but for want of common prudence and forethought in the most
momentous of all concerns. What, then is the conclusion? Live like
men that are waiting for their Lord, then when He arrives, He may be
welcomed. Accustom yourselves to His presence, in His sanctuary, at
His table, in His word, in secret communings with Him in the temple
of a purified heart. So when this solemn day shall have come the glad
response may be, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him; He
will come and save us!"--_C. J. Blomfield, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It was no ordinary day that saw the discomfiture of the
Assyrian host before the walls of Jerusalem. We can
scarcely understand the terror and dismay with which a
religious Jew must have watched the growth of those mighty
Oriental despotisms which, rising one after the other in
the valley of the Euphrates and of the Tigris, aspired to
nothing less than the conquest of the known world. The
victory of a conqueror like Sennacherib meant the
extinction of national life and of personal liberty in the
conquered people; it meant often enough violent
transportation from their homes, separation from their
families, with all the degrading and penal accompaniments
of complete subjugation. It meant this to the conquered
pagan cities; for Jerusalem it meant this and more. The
knowledge and worship of God, by institutions of Divine
appointment, maintained only in that little corner of the
wide world, were linked on to the fortunes of the Jewish
state, and in the victory of Sennacherib would be involved
not merely political humiliation, but religious darkness.
When, then, his armies advanced across the continent again
and again, making of a city a heap, and of a fenced city a
ruin, and at last appeared before Jerusalem, when the blast
of the terrible men was as a storm against the wall, there
was natural dismay in every religious and patriotic soul.
It seemed as though a veil or covering, like that which was
spread over the holy things in the Jewish ritual, was being
spread more and more completely over all nations at each
step of the Assyrian monarch's advance, and in those hours
of darkness all true-hearted men in Jerusalem waited for
God. He had delivered them from Egyptian slavery; He had
given them the realm of David and Solomon. He who had done
so much for them would not desert them now. In His own way
He would rebuke this insolent enemy of his truth and His
people, and this passionate longing for His intervention
quickened the eye and welled the heart of Jerusalem when at
last it came. The destruction of Sennacherib's host was one
of those supreme moments in the history of a people which
can never be lived over again by posterity. The sense of
deliverance was proportioned to the agony which had
preceded it. To Isaiah and his contemporaries it seemed as
though a canopy of thick darkness was lifted from the face
of the world, as though the recollections of slaughter and
of death were entirely swallowed up in the absorbing sense
of deliverance, as though the tears of the city had been
wiped away and the rebuke of God's people was taken from
earth, and therefore from the heart of Israel there burst
forth a welcome proportioned to the anxious longing that
had preceded it, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
Him; He will save us."--_Liddon._
THE PROTECTING HAND.
xxv. 10. _For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord
rest._
"Rest!" As a father's hand on the head of his first-born, blessing
and protecting his child. That mountain is impregnable which rests
under the shadow of God's hand.
+I. Of every enterprise we should ask, "Is it right?"+ If wickedness
be in "the mountain," God's protecting hand will not rest upon it. A
just cause creates a good conscience, and hence inspires strength. It
is only the just man who feels that God "teaches his hands to war and
his fingers to fight, so that a bow of steel is broken by his arms."
"The righteous is bold as a lion." The good man can patiently wait
and confidently expect God's blessing (James v. 7).
+II. Material force allied with injustice will eventually become weak
as straw, vile as a dung-heap.+ The strong places of Moab had no
inherent lastingness, because built in a godless spirit (Ps.
cxxvii. 1).
+III. Forts and castles, ironclads and armies, can never save an
unrighteous nation from decay.+ National selfishness, oppressive
enterprises, weaken the strongest defences, corrupt the richest
treasurers. Babylon became a marsh, Nineveh a forsaken mound, Tyre a
deserted rock. In the Colosseum at Rome where martyrs bled, the fox,
the bat, and the owl now make their home. The walls of Moab were
levelled with the dust. By justice only can peoples be strong. If God
be in the city, its walls will be lasting as the hills.--_William
Parkes._
DAYS OF DELIVERANCE.
xxvi. 1-2. _In that day shall this song be sung, &c._
There are days in the history of God's people when they specially
need His interposing power. This is their prayer (Ps. xxx. 10). This
their glad confession (Ps. xc. 17). As such seasons of direct
deliverance the natural expression of the heart is one of gladness.
If the poetic faculty be strong within them, as in the case of the
king of Israel, they sing in lyric splendour, as in Psalm xviii.
1. _That historic period referred to by the prophet Isaiah in this
chapter was such a day._ They had been marvellously protected from
the invading Assyrian. His host had been smitten as by the blast of
the Lord. When from the city walls they saw the thin relics of that
grand army hasten away, then would this song of salvation be echoed
through the city. When under the imperial protection of Cyrus the
exiles returned to their own land, that was another day of
deliverance. They rebuilt the temple and renewed the temple service.
Then they sang in their own land, the land of Judah, the songs of
Zion.
2. _But the first great event in their history,_ the birthday of
their nation, their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, was specially
memorable as "that day." And in every subsequent national deliverance
from the times of the Judges, all through the splendid leadership of
David and the heroic days of the Maccabean brothers, that first
deliverance seemed to be renewed, and the old song from the Red Sea
shore was again chanted (Ex. xv. 6).
3. _In the infant days of the Primitive Church,_ meeting then in the
upper room in Jerusalem, when its two leaders, Peter and John, were
seized and confronted with "their rulers, and elders, and scribes,"
and sternly threatened "not to speak at all or teach in the name of
Jesus." That was a day of deliverance. Then was seen how gloriously
transformed were these two Galilean fishermen under the inspiration
of the Kingdom of Christ, how sublimely fit they were to lead the
forlorn hope of the Church through the breach of Judaism and
heathenism on to the conquest of the world. See Acts iv. 19, 20, 23,
24. How deeply and rapturously impressed was that little church with
the conviction that the power of Him who had made heaven and earth
was then resting on their own chiefs, and making them bold to speak
_"His name."_ They shook the very walls of the room with the volume
of their song: "We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for
walls and bulwarks."
4. Another day of deliverance came to the early Church, _when the cry
of the primitive martyrs was heard_ (Rev. vi. 9, 10). That "little
season" soon passed, and their cry was answered; rest came to the
martyred Church. No more holy men were thrown to the lions, no more
delicate women thrust into caldrons of boiling pitch; the sword slept
in its scabbard, and crucifixions were ended. Then the churches had
rest, and this hymn was joyously sung. Since those early centuries,
God's Church has passed through many a fiery furnace, and has come
out all the purer and all the stronger. And many a song of
deliverance has floated up to heaven.
5. This season of gladness has been realised by God's people
individually. (1.) _When a consciousness of the forgiveness of sins
has come._ When in the temple of the soul this voice has been heard:
"Thy sins are forgiven thee; go in peace." (2.) _When the child of
God has been delivered from some dark calamity, so threatening that
no human help could deliver._ (3.) _But the grandest deliverance is
the final one._ The best wine is kept for the last cup. When the
death-river is crossed, and the crystal gates respond to the command,
"Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth
may enter in." Then when this corruption has put on incorruption, and
this mortal has put on immortality, when standing within that city
where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest, will
the redeemed of the Lord shout this song as never before: "We have a
strong city, salvation will God appoint for walls and
bulwarks."--_William Parkes._
PERFECT PEACE.
xxvi. 3-4. _Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, &c._
Our text points to the infallible remedy for the worst of all forms
of human ills, a burdened and disconsolate spirit--"perfect peace."
+I. The Author of this peace is none other than God Himself.+ The
mind of man is too active and capacious ever to find rest, unless it
be in its Maker. This is the testimony of experience as well as of
Scripture. Earthly honours, riches, friendships, leave the heart
devoid of enduring peace, because they can do nothing to dispel the
sense of guilt and the consequent apprehensions of the future which
ever and anon disturb those who possess them most abundantly. We
cannot have peace unless we have God for our portion. But how can
God, the righteous governor of the universe, be at peace with us
sinners? To this question a complete and glorious answer is found in
the Gospel, and there only. God Himself, at infinite cost, has opened
a way of peace by which we may return to Him. Peace is offered to all
who will receive it as His gift, through our Lord Jesus Christ; but
only from Him and thus can it be obtained.
+II. The peace which God imparts to His people is "perfect."+ 1. In
its _source._ This determines its quality. The laws of the human mind
are such that our happiness will partake of the character of the
object from which it is derived. If it be from an uncertain and
unsatisfying world, _it_ will be just as uncertain and unsatisfying;
if from the eternal and immutable God, _it_ will be undisturbable. As
to both his temporal and eternal necessities, the believer's Helper
is omnipresent and all-merciful. What, then, can he fear (Ps.
xxvii. 1)? 2. In its _measure._ It rises like a river, and swells and
rolls onward until it bears sin and sorrow away into the land of
forgetfulness. 3. In its _adaptation to our needs._ These do but
afford the occasions for its triumphs. It comes in when all other
joys go out, and erects its brightest monuments on the ruins of
earthly hopes. There is no trial which it cannot enable us to
endure.[1] No wonder that Jesus calls it His peace (John xiv. 27),
and bequeaths it to His disciples as the best legacy which it is in
His power to bestow. That very repose in God which so filled and
cheered His own bosom He delights to share with all who love Him.
+III. If this perfect peace is to be ours, we must link ourselves on
to God by a simple, earnest, childlike faith.+ As sinners we must
begin by the exercise of a personal faith in His Son as our Saviour.
1. This is _essential._ Nothing else will answer the purpose.
Whatsoever was the strength of the ark built by Noah, or its fitness
to float on the water, it could save from the deluge those only who
entered it; and so Christ's death on the cross to procure peace for
us will avail us nothing unless through Him we seek reconciliation
with God. 2. This is _sufficient._ Let this be done in the first
instance, and be repeated as often as clouds overcast the mind and
doubts arise in the heart, and there can be nothing to hinder the
enjoyment of peace. Nothing more is needed. Once let a simple trust
in the merits of the Saviour take possession of the bosom, and it
will go further to produce abiding tranquillity than all the tears
and vigils of the most perfect devotee. The peace thus coming to us
will never end. Let the penitent sinner but stay himself on the Lord
and trust in God of his salvation, and though he "walk in darkness,
and see no light," he is just as safe for both worlds as the power
and grace of God can make him.
+IV. We have to acknowledge that many who hope for salvation through
Christ are not possessed of "perfect peace."+ Many believers are "in
heaviness through manifold temptations," and their peace is more like
an uncertain brook than a perpetual river moving calmly into the
ocean. Why is this? 1. Sometimes, though rarely, because God has been
pleased to withdraw the blessed feeling of undisturbed tranquillity,
in order that He may produce a deeper sense of dependence on Him. In
such cases, peace will be reached again through humble submission to
the Divine will concerning us, and trust in the unchangeableness of
the Divine love. We must not give way to despondency. We must be on
the alert to hear God speaking comfort to us through His Word.
2. Sometimes the believer's peace is interrupted by a derangement of
the physical or mental system. Let us remember that while we are in
the flesh we are liable to such trials, and that our salvation does
not depend on our feelings, which are changeable as the clouds, but
on the Rock of Ages. 3. Sometimes we permit our attention to be
turned away from God and engrossed by our trials. It is with us as
with Peter (Matt. xiv. 30). But then, like him, let us cry to the
Lord, let us obey the exhortation of our text, and we shall find that
He can give us both deliverance and peace. 4. Sometimes, alas! we
forget that the faith to which peace is promised is a faith that
shows itself in "patient continuance in well-doing" (Rom. ii. 7;
James ii. 26). Let us not be surprised if, then, our peace departs.
Let us return unto the Lord, and beseech Him to heal our
backslidings. Restored to the paths of righteousness, we shall find
that they, and they alone, are "paths of peace."
+V. It is the duty, as it is the privilege, of all believers to seek
for "perfect peace."+ With any lower measure of this blessing, we
should not be content. 1. Without it, we cannot possess the comfort
which God desires that all His people should enjoy. 2. Without it, we
cannot help our fellow-men as we ought. It is our duty to reveal to
them the power of the grace of God; and in few ways can we so
effectually stimulate our fellow-men to seek Him whom they need, as
by manifesting that tranquillity they so much desire, and can find
only in Him. 3. Without it, we cannot glorify God as we ought. What
we _are_ should move onlookers to praise Him, as a lovely landscape
uplifts the thoughts of beholders to the Creator of all; but this can
be only when the purposes of God in regard to us are fulfilled, and
we are rejoicing in the possession of purity and "perfect
peace."--_David Magie, D.D.: American National Preacher,_ vol. xxv.
pp. 221-231.
+I. All true spiritual peace originates in reconciliation with God.+
The grand object of the Gospel is to bring about this peace (Luke
ii. 14). Jesus Christ is designated "the Prince of peace;" the
Father, "the God of peace." God is really reconciled, _i.e.,_ is
peaceably disposed towards us, "waiting to be gracious;" but men are
not reconciled, not willing to renounce their rebellion and yield
themselves to Him. They can have no true peace until they cast away
their sins and cast themselves on the Divine mercy, as it is offered
to us in and through Jesus Christ. But doing this, it and all other
spiritual blessings shall be theirs (Isa. lv. 7; Rom. v. 1).
+II. We attain to true spiritual peace precisely in proportion as we
attain to perfect harmony with the Divine will.+ When we first become
at peace with one with whom we have previously been at variance, it
does not follow that we can at once fall in with all that is required
of his household, however justly. So the peace of the regenerated man
is not at first perfect, because his submission to the Divine will is
only partial. Afterwards, when he can truly say of all God's
proceedings, "Thy will be done," and his mind is fully "stayed on
God," even when perils threaten and sharp sacrifices are demanded,
then his peace "flows like a river," and grows into "the peace of God
which passeth all understanding."
+III. All true spiritual peace is supernatural in its origin.+ To
grant this deep and abiding peace is the prerogative of the Divine
Saviour. Friends may leave us houses, lands, gold, but only Christ
can give us peace (John xiv. 27). "My peace!" What is Christ's peace?
Not the peace of reconciliation, for with God He never was at
variance (Heb. iv. 15; 1 Pet. ii. 22). "My peace" could only mean
that mental peace which flows from perfect harmony with the Divine
will. Such peace can come to us only through the educational power of
Christ. The more we obey the Master, the more implicit will be our
submission to God, and the deeper our peace. Only then shall we know
"perfect peace." Such peace, like every Christian grace and holy
virtue, being beyond the reach of nature, is supernatural (James
i. 17). The child of God, calm amid a tempest of trouble, often
excites the wonder of the world. Such quietness of soul is not the
result of temperament or of training. It is God's work: "_Thou_ wilt
keep," &c.
+IV. All true spiritual peace is practical in its results.+ Though in
its Divine creation it is "past finding out," it is not a mystical
rapture, a thing in the clouds; it is a reality, a living principle
arousing itself for the battle, and standing on the watchtower amid
the struggles and trials of daily life (Phil. iv. 7; R. V.) As a
garrison seizes and retains a stronghold, so "the peace of God" takes
military possession of the soul, and beats off all outside
assailants. It has an active as well as a passive side, like a staff
which we can draw forth for a fight as well as lean on for rest.
1. It protects the _mind._ Sceptical thoughts, atheistic objects, may
invade the mind and perplex the reason, but then we fall back on this
peace. We _know_ that we are never so calm and strong as when we obey
the will of God, and keep conscience on our side. Rectitude bringing
peace, is an evidence of the divinity of our religion stronger than
any sceptical objection that can be brought against it. 2. It
protects the _heart._ Affection allures it; joy and sorrow, hope and
fear assail it; but the Christian can withstand these assaults,
because he opposes higher things to lower; Divine pleasures to human,
riches to riches, honours to honours. He can realise the meaning of
the Master's words (Matt. xix. 29). Resting on such promises as
these, he is "kept in perfect peace."--_G. R. Miall._
I. Peace is at once a blessing, and a mother of blessings. How many
spring from her! How the poets have sung of her! Peace is needed by
every man; every man is conscious of disturbing influences without
and within. Peace is earnestly sought by most men. What sanguinary
wars have been waged to obtain peace!
II. The idea of "perfect peace," presented in the text, seems to most
men at the most a beautiful dream; in proportion to their experience
of life is their disbelief that it can be theirs. But it is declared
here that God bestows it on every man whose mind is stayed on Him.
What interpretation are we to put upon this declaration? The
experience of God's people must be our guide in answering this
question. This makes it abundantly clear that the peace which God
secures for His people does not consist in freedom from assault. This
is sometimes vouchsafed them; their foes are scattered, and songs of
triumph are given them, such as this chapter. But their experience,
taken as a whole, may be said to be a continuous verification of our
Saviour's declaration: "In the world ye have tribulation."
Instead of caring to secure for His people freedom from assault, He
seems rather often to prefer to expose them to it (Matt. iii. 16;
iv. 1). He prefers rather to teach them to fight and to conquer; to
develop and discipline their virtues by struggles in which they are
tried up to the very last point of endurance. For this end, He turns
a deaf ear to their prayer, "Lead us not into temptation;" and lets
loose upon the foes bent upon their destruction.
Notwithstanding, they may have "perfect peace." "In the world ye have
tribulation: in Me ye have peace." Not merely that the peace is to
succeed the tribulation; the two may co-exist. It is quite possible
for peace to dwell in the heart of the chief ruler of a nation waging
a terrible war;[2] or in the heart of the captain of a vessel
storm-driven; or in the heart of a merchant in the midst of a
commercial panic, because he knows that the struggle will for him end
in victory. So in the midst of all the conflicts of life, a Christian
may have "perfect peace."
III. A Christian; he, and no other! Not every profound peace is
"perfect peace." The contemporaries of Noah and of Lot; Belshazzar
and his court were in "perfect peace," as far as their feelings were
concerned, in the very hour that destruction came upon them. But
however much the feelings may be soothed, there is no "perfect peace"
that has not a sure basis of _fact._ For the peace of the wicked
there can be no such basis; God and all the forces of the universe
are arrayed against the wicked, and their ultimate destruction is
sure (Isa. xlviii. 22; Rom. ii. 8, 9). Repentance and reconciliation
with God through Christ are the essential preliminary conditions of
"perfect peace."
IV. But is "perfect peace" the possession of all who have complied
with these conditions? No. Why? Because they have not yet learned to
stay their minds on God. They have faith, but it is yet in the germ,
and they have not yet been trained in the exercise (Matt. xiv. 31;
xvi. 8). Not upon God exclusively are their hopes set (Ps. xlii. 5);
it is but seldom that they do look up to Him, and hence their faith
is imperfect and intermittent. It remains in the power of their foes
to distress them; anxieties as to their temporal necessities, and
forebodings as to their external welfare, harass and weaken them.
(For other reasons, see preceding outlines.)
But there are those who have passed through and beyond these
elementary stages of Christian experience, and, steadily pursuing the
paths of righteousness, they have "perfect peace." Their
circumstances may be adverse and threatening, but they possess a
tranquillity of soul that is undisturbable (2 Cor. iv. 8-10); nay, is
even triumphant (Rom. v. 3; Acts xvi. 25; Hab. iii. 17-19).
V. In this "perfect peace" these rare souls rest, because they are
kept in it, by God Himself: "_Thou_ wilt keep," &c.
1. _How?_ (1.) By the means of the deliverances which from time to
time He works for them. Memory becomes a treasury-house of Divine
faithfulness and mercy, and out of it their souls are fed and
sustained when a season of famine and danger has befallen them. Then
they know that He who has delivered will deliver, and they wait upon
Him with calm, joyful expectation. (2.) To these souls the records of
God's deliverances of His people in ancient days become prophetic of
deliverances He will still work for His people right on to the end of
time. By His Spirit He works in them an immovable, soul-inspiring
confidence in His own unchangeableness. To them He is "the living
God," acting to-day precisely as He did in the days of old. (3.) But,
above all, He produces in their souls, as the chief safeguard of
their tranquillity, a childlike confidence in His personal love for
them. There is nothing they are so sure of as that God loves them,
and being sure of this, all the rest follows as a matter of course.
They never forget what proof God has given of His love for them, and
hence they reason precisely as St. Paul did (Rom. viii. 31-39). This
priceless revelation He makes to many who are "babes" in this world's
wisdom (Matt. xi. 25), and to others also who know all that science
has to teach them of the vastness of the universe and of their own
relative insignificance.
2. _Why?_ (1.) Because it is a state of soul in which He delights.
"The God of peace" desires that in this, as in all respects, His
people--His _children_--should be like Him. (2.) Because they trust
in Him. Devoting themselves to His service, and putting themselves
into His care, His honour is pledged to the defence and maintenance
of their welfare. Will he forfeit it? _Men_ are far gone in depravity
when they willingly disappoint those who trust in them: guides of the
blind, lawyers and their clients, doctors and their patients, widows
and their business advisors.[3] What sacrifices we make to fulfil the
expectations we have encouraged our children to form! Will it be
otherwise with our Father in heaven? Never!
VI. What then? 1. "Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord
Jehovah is everlasting strength." There is more than "strength;" but
there _is_ the "strength to carry out His wise and loving purposes
towards His people." He can do more than pity. 2. Let us cultivate
the habit of trusting IN THE LORD, and of doing this in all the
vicissitudes of our lot, "for ever." 3. And that this habit may
become to us invariable and its exercise easy, let us accept with all
simplicity the revelation which He has been pleased to make of
Himself as our Father in heaven. Precisely in proportion as we do
this we shall stay our mind on Him, and we shall enter into that
"perfect peace" which He desires should be the inheritance of all His
children.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Can we turn aside and see what light this peace of God can
diffuse through the chamber of disease; how it can
tranquilise the bosom of the poor widow surrounded with her
helpless babes; what serenity it can shed around the
tottering steps of some aged saint; and how it can
irradiate the gloom even of the grave itself, and not feel
that it is rightly called "perfect?" True, it might often
be more folly possessed on earth, and it will be more fully
possessed in heaven. But if we remember what it has
actually done in ten thousand instances, when the dearest
friends have died, and property has taken wings and flown
away, and one pall of sadness has seemed to overspread the
entire world, we shall feel that it is impossible to give
it too high a name or attach to it too high a
value.--_Magie._
[2] In the darkest period of the American civil war, as Mr.
George William Curtis was taking leave of President
Lincoln, the President placed his hand on his shoulder, and
said with deep feeling: "Don't fear, my son; we shall beat
them."
[3] Sir William Napier describes, in his "History of the
Peninsular War," that at the battle of Busaco in Portugal
how affecting it was to see a beautiful Portuguese orphan
girl coming down the mountain, driving an ass loaded with
all her property through the midst of the armies. She
passed over the field of battle with a childish simplicity,
scarcely understanding which were French and which were
English, and no one on either side was so hard-hearted as
to touch her. Sir William Napier once in his walks met with
a little girl of five years old, sobbing over a pitcher she
had broken. She, in her innocence, asked him to mend it. He
told her that he could not mend it, but that he would meet
her trouble by giving her sixpence to buy a new one, if she
would meet him there at the same hour the next evening, as
he had no money in his purse that day. When he returned
home he found that there was an invitation waiting for him,
which he particularly wished to accept. But he could not
then have met the little girl at the time stated, and he
gave up the invitation, saying, "I could not disappoint
her; she trusted in me so implicitly." That was the true
Christian English gentleman and soldier.--_Dean Stanley._
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AND HIS PEOPLE.
xxvi. 7. _The way of the just, &c._
Isaiah foretold the captivity of Judah to Babylon, also its
termination. This chapter is a song ready for the occasion. It
related the story, and it unfolds the principles that underlie the
events.
Our text is thoroughly practical. It reminds us--
+I. That righteousness is the personal characteristic of God and of
His redeemed people.+ 1. _God is righteous._ "Thou most upright." He
is perfectly righteous. It is essential to the Divine nature; the
contrary cannot be supposed; as heat is natural to fire. God Himself,
His laws, His providential government, even His redeeming mercy, all
are characterised by perfect rectitude. So prominent is this idea
that we are taught to exercise simple faith in God, and assume that
we are imperfectly informed if we are unable to reconcile anything in
our experience with His perfect righteousness. 2. _His people also
are righteous_--here called "the just." It is suggestive when God's
people are thus called by a name similar to His own. They share in
the same righteousness, although in different degrees. More is
intended than that they are in a justified state. That is implied.
They are justified by the grace of God through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. But the text refers to the righteousness which
assimilates them to the Divine nature. The grace of God produces a
new nature. Saul of Tarsus became a new man on his conversion. A
savage adopts the habits and forms the tastes of civilised Christian
life. It is a new nature. 1 John iv. 4: "Ye are of God." As children
partake the nature of their parents, His nature is in them, though
not yet perfected. Their sympathies are with Him. In so far as they
are unrighteous, they are inconsistent with their true selves. The
life of God in the regenerated soul is a principle ever tending
toward the perfect righteousness of the Divine nature from which it
comes.
+II. When righteousness characterises a person, it will dictate his
conduct.+ 1. _The conduct of the righteous man._ "The way of the just
is uprightness;" his course of life. He is erect in his moral
manhood, as contrasted with one who is bent and crooked. Men's ideas
of uprightness are apt to become partial and one-sided. Some seem to
imagine that all demands of righteousness are met by the acceptance
of Christ and the experience of spiritual feeling, while they
overlook the demands of human relationships. Others confine their
view to men. They imagine all demands are met, when they are fair and
honourable in their dealings with men, while God is left out of
consideration. The Divine idea of righteousness is not thus partial.
It takes in the whole of our moral relations our relations both to
God and an. And the good man strives to bring his whole life into
conformity to it. [Work this out in detail: "The way of the just is
uprightness" (1), in regard to God; (2), in regard to man.]
2. _The conduct of the righteous God._ "Thou most upright dost weigh
the path of the just." At first sight like confusion of metaphor. It
means to ponder it. The heathen symbol of Divine righteousness is
that of justice holding the scales (Dan. v. 27). The conduct of the
righteous is weighed. God observes it; His honour is concerned in it.
He will eventually pronounce upon it (2 Cor. v. 10).
Examine, then:--1. Are you among the just? Have you experienced a
change of heart? 2. Are you pursuing the path of the just? This
applies to your actual dealing with God and with man. Consider how
far imperfection may be consistent with reality. Do not try how far
you may go safely. There comes a point at which a man must be
condemned, at which he must condemn himself. At that point he will
either repent or harden himself. Let us cultivate the highest measure
of practical uprightness.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE JUST MAN'S SECURITY.
xxvi. 7. _Thou most upright, dost weigh the path of the
just._
We can scarcely find anywhere a more touching description of the God
of our salvation than that furnished by Job (Job xxxv. 10). God has
always given His people songs in the night, and in the night-time of
affliction He has furnished them with songs of consolation and
confidence. Our text is a part of one of those songs. The Chaldean
power threatened God's people. They were instructed to cherish a firm
faith in God. Not a breath of despair was to reach the camp of the
enemy; rather they were taught a scornful defiance of that proud king
who had defied the armies of the living God (Isa. xxxvii. 22).
"In that day shall this song be sung." The connection may teach us
that it is wisdom to treasure up a source of consolation against the
day of adversity. It is in spring that we are to prepare for winter;
in the morning of life to prepare for old age. The oil must be ready
for the midnight hour. No good soldier will run for his armour "when
the enemy comes in like a flood."
The text suggests _the Christian's reasons for security and repose
under the various events of life._ These are--
+I. The perfect wisdom and rectitude which marks God's universal
government.+ "Thou most upright, dost weigh," &c. This world is not a
neglected province of the Divine Dominions. That impression of the
Divine supremacy which inspires the songs of seraphs quickens the joy
of frail humanity. While thrones, principalities, and powers exclaim
as with the voice of many waters, "Alleluia, for the Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth," the inhabitants of the earth roll back the
response, "The Lord reigneth: let the earth rejoice."
The Christian knows no such Deity as Chance or Fate. This is God's
world, nor has He left it like an ocean weed to float at random on
the dark and shoreless ocean of uncertainty. What was worthy His
creation must be worth His control. God's method of government
partakes of His own perfections, and is therefore infinitely wise and
good. We rejoice that God ruleth over _all,_ and keeps the dominion
of the world in His own hands. The remotest consequences of things
are all seen by Him; whatever evil occurs He permits; whatever good
arises He originates; whatever series of causes come to a final
issue, the train was laid by His wisdom, conducted by His power,
controlled by His goodness. The topic, therefore, furnishes a ground
of security and repose to the Christian. Amidst the shakings of the
nations and the storms of life, it is delightful to know that the
sceptre of universal power is in the hand of Infinite Love. He
reigneth, be the earth ever so unquiet.
+II. The minute attention which God pays to the individual interests
of His people.+ This comes out whichever interpretation you put upon
the word here translated "weigh." It may mean, to weigh as in scales
or a balance (Ps. lviii. 2); but it may also mean, and does usually,
to make straight, or smooth, or level (Ps. lxxviii. 50, "He leveled a
path for his anger," [NAS], &c.) (_Barnes_). "He 'weighs' or
'ponders' (_s. w. a._ in Prov. iv. 26, v. 21) the path, with a view
to keeping it straight and level" (_Kay_). 1. The idea of "weighing"
implies careful impression. The balance is held with a careful hand,
and a keen eye is on both the scales. This is a source of comfort to
the just, and to them alone. 2. The same minute, condescending
observance is implied in the other interpretation. God will make a
plain, level way for His people to walk in. All obstacles to their
progress shall be removed. They never have any need to turn aside
from the well-constructed road of God's commandments into "crooked
ways" of man's devising (Ps. xvii. 3-5). They shall reach their
destination in the better world.--_Samuel Thodey._
THE WAY OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS.
xxvi. 8. _Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we
waited for Thee._
+I. Observe what God's judgments are.+ They are simply the expression
of His thoughts. His final judgment is the declaration of His
thoughts of a man's character; His judgments here are also His
declaration of what He thinks of our conduct and ways. One special
thing for which psalmists and prophets adore Him is that men can see
that His judgments are true and righteous (Ps. xix. 9; cxix. 75, &c.)
Their tendency and aim is to teach men what righteousness is (ver. 9).
+II. The way of God's judgments is the way of His laws.+ The
calamities which men call "judgments" are generally the results of
infraction by them of the laws by which He governs the universe.
The civil war in America was a judgment of God because it was a
natural result of their toleration and defence of slavery; the war,
with all its terrors, was a heavy penalty, and was clearly connected
with their sin. So the cattle-plague of England was doubtless a
natural result of some violation, through carelessness or greed, of
God's laws concerning the breeding and tending of cattle, and was
thus one of God's judgments.
+III. The way of God's judgments prescribes our way of prayer and
expectation.+ We are to pray and expect, not that, while we continue
as we were, God will remove the judgment; but that He will help us to
understand it, and that He will dispose us to abandon the conduct
that has brought it upon us. In thus waiting upon God--with penitence
for our transgression, with prayer for light, and with sincere
resolve to amend--we may expect God to bless us; but this we may
expect only while we wait upon Him thus.--_Alexander Mackennal, B.S.:
Sermon on the Cattle-plague._
Those who wait for God in the way of His judgments are, 1. Those who
in prosperous and peaceful times endeavour to serve Him. 2. Those who
desire to learn from them the lessons they were designed to teach.
3. Those who honour God by submission and trust in the trying hour.
4. These, even in the midst of judgment, may confidently expect the
favour of God. A purpose of benevolence runs through even the stern
and "strange work" of justice; and God, even when He chastises, will
not utterly smite down the trusting heart.--_William Manning._
TRUST AND TRIALS.
xxvi. 8, 9. _Yea, in the way of Thy judgments . . . will I
seek Thee early._
In this verse the prophet expresses the confiding trust of God's
people amid times of judgment. It is as though they had said, "When
the pathway assigned for Thy people was rough with judgments,--sore
inflictions of national calamity,--even then, Lord, did we wait still
on Thee in patient, trustful hope, and our desire was toward the
remembrance of Thy name." Note the view this passage affords of the
character and experience of God's people.
+I. They wait upon him.+ Wait in the most unpromising circumstances.
"Yea, in the way of Thy judgments have we waited for Thee." When all
is dark and threatening; when the promised mercy is long delayed and
all seems settling into gloom and desolation; when the dungeon has no
lamp and the night no star, even then does the Church wait for God
(chap. viii. 17). It is a genuine mark of grace to trust a
withdrawing God and never forego confidence in Him, but look for Him
as in the darkest night the shivering sentinel looks for the morning
star; as the husbandman amid the severest winter believes in the
returning spring. Such was the faith of Habakkuk (Hab. iii. 17-19).
So, like Aaron's rod, the Christian's hope will bloom in the midst of
barrenness. "Yea, in the way of Thy judgments have I waited for Thee."
+II. Their desires centre in Him.+ "The desire of our soul is to the
remembrance of Thy name." God's _name_ is a compendious expression
for the fulness of His perfections. God's people are concerned for
the honour of God's name whatever becomes of their own. Religion
consists much in holy desire. "Thy servants who desire to fear Thy
name." They desire to live in the fear of God, in His love and in His
service. Desire is love on the wing; delight is love at rest. David
combines both (Ps. xxxvii. 4). Making God our heart's delight, He
will not fail to give us our heart's desire. This desire, if genuine,
will never be satisfied without God. As well offer lumps of gold or
strains of music to one dying of thirst, as offer the world's best
gifts to that soul which truly thirsts for God and His righteousness
(Ps. lxxiii. 25). 1. _Where genuine, this desire is the fruit of
implanted grace._ It is an evidence of a renewed nature. The beating
of the pulse proves life. That which aspires to God has come from
heaven. If the iron, contrary to its nature, moves upward, it is a
sign that some magnetic force attracts it; and if the soul aspires to
God, that is a sign that the grace of God has visited that soul.
2. _Genuine desires after God are influential._ Real desires govern
our conduct (Prov. xxi. 25). It is useless to pretend that we thirst
for grace, if by devout prayer and holy resolve we do not let down
the bucket into the well.
+III. They seek Him diligently night and day.+ "With my soul have I
desired Thee in the night, yea, with my spirit within me will I seek
Thee early." Our Lord gives it as the distinctive mark of God's elect
that they cry night and day to Him. This habit of prayer prompting to
duty, tests the sincerity of our desires, &c.--_Samuel Thodey._
NIGHT LONGINGS FOR GOD.
xxvi. 9. _With my soul I desired thee in the night._
Night appears to be a time peculiarly favourable to devotion. Its
solemn stillness helps to free the mind from that perpetual din which
the cares of the world will bring around it; and the stars looking
down from heaven upon us shine as if they would attract us up to God.
But I leave that thought altogether; I shall speak,--
I. TO CONFIRMED CHRISTIANS. 1. The Christian man has not always a
bright shining sun; he has seasons of darkness and night. The light
is sometimes eclipsed. At certain periods clouds and darkness cover
the sun. The best of God's saints have their nights. Sometimes it is
a night over the whole Church at once. Sometimes the darkness over
the soul arises from temporal distresses, sometimes from spiritual
discouragements. 2. A Christian man's religion will keep its colour
in the night. Men will follow Christ when every one cries Hosanna!
Demas and Mr. Hold-the-world, and a great many others, are very pious
people in easy times. They will always go with Christ by daylight,
and will keep Him company so long as fashion gives religion the
doubtful benefit of its patronage; but they will not go with Him in
the night. But the best test of a Christian is the night. If he only
remained steadfast by daylight, when every coward is bold, where
would he be? There would be no beauty in his courage, no glory in his
bravery. There is full many a Christian whose piety did not burn much
when he was in prosperity; but it will be known in adversity. Grind
the diamond a little, and you shall see it glisten. 3. All that the
Christian wants in the night is his God. I cannot understand how it
is, unless it is to be accounted for by the corruption of our spirit,
that when everything goes well with us we are setting our affection
first on one object and then on another, and that desire which is as
insatiable as death and as deep as hell never rests satisfied. But if
you place a Christian in trouble, you will find that he does not want
gold then, nor carnal honour; he wants his God. 4. There are times
when all the saint can do is to desire. The more evidences a man has
of his piety the better. Many witnesses will carry our case better at
the bar than a few. But there are seasons when a Christian cannot get
any. He will have lost assurance. But there is one witness that very
seldom is gagged, even in the night, and that is, "I have desired
Thee--I have desired Thee in the night."
II. TO NEWLY AWAKENED SOULS. I will now endeavour to answer three
questions. 1. How am I to know that my desires are proofs of a work
of grace in my soul? (1.) By their _constancy._ Many a man when he
hears a stirring sermon has a strong desire to be saved, but he goes
home and forgets it. A certain measure of constancy is essential to
its real value as evidence of a Divine work. (2.) By their
_efficacy._ If they lead you into real "works meet for repentance,"
then they come from God. Seeking will not do; there must be striving.
Not good intentions only, but practical desires that lead you to give
up your sins. (3.) By their _urgency._ You want to be saved some of
you, but it must be this day next week. But when the Holy Ghost
speak, He says _"To-day."_ Now or never. 2. If I have desired God,
why have I not obtained my desires before now? (1.) You have hardly a
right to ask the question. Perhaps God has not granted your desire
because He designs to show you more of your wickedness, more of the
blackness of sin, that your longings may be quickened, that He may
display more fully the riches of His grace at the last. (2.) Perhaps
it has come already. Some of you are pardoned and do not know it. Do
not expect miracles and visions. (3.) Will God grant my desire at
last? Verily. His refusal would dishonour His word. You would be the
first that ever perished desiring, praying, trusting in
Jesus.--_C. H. Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit,_ 1859, p. 237.
THE NECESSITY AND PROFITABLENESS OF CHASTISEMENT.
xxvi. 9. _When Thy judgments are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the earth will learn righteousness._
I. _It is a lamentable proof of the depravity of our nature, that in
general, apart from God's judgments, the wicked will not learn
righteousness._ 1. The history of the world shows that men will not
give heed to the lessons they _ought_ to learn from the beauty of
creation, the established laws of nature, and the ordinary blessings
of Providence (Rom. i. 20-23). Extraordinary blessings excite only
transient emotions of praise and thanksgiving; and too often serve
only as occasions for showing greater alienation of heart from God,
and for filling up the measure of iniquity (H. E. I., 3997-4014).
2. All this may be abundantly illustrated from the history of our own
country. With us times of national prosperity have been times of
national profanity. 3. On every hand we find individual proofs of the
same sad fact.
II. _When such special interferences of Providence take place as in
Scripture language are called "judgments," the inhabitants of the
earth sometimes learn righteousness._ In this respect, signal
chastisements are ordinarily more effective than the most bountiful
displays of kindness and compassion. 1. Scripture abounds with
statements of the need and profitableness of chastisement (Ps.
cxix. 67, 71; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, &c.) It is intimated that
afflictions form an essential part of the discipline of the righteous
(Ps. xxxiv. 19; Rev. iii. 19, &c.) Some cross is needful, as long as
we live, to keep us in our right place, dependent on our Maker; and
hence those who have few outward afflictions to teach them the
necessary lessons of humility, generally experience a large allotment
of inward trials on that very account; and sometimes both the outward
and the inward afflictions are combined for this purpose (2 Cor.
xii. 7, 10). 2. Even without the Bible, the fact asserted in our text
was so universal and prominent, that it by no means escaped the wiser
part of the heathen moralists. A Greek historian has observed, "that
fortune never bestows liberally an unmixed happiness on mankind. With
all her gifts, there is conjoined some disastrous circumstance, in
order to chastise men into a reverence for the gods, whom, in a
continual course of prosperity, they are apt to neglect and forget."
CONCLUSION.--1. _Few things are more perilous than long-continued
prosperity._--Ordinarily its effects on the religious opinions and
moral habits of nations and individuals are most lamentable (Deut.
xxxi. 20, 29). Let those, then, who are prosperous be especially on
their guard (Deut. viii. 10, 11). 2. _For "judgments" we should be
thankful._ They are not displays of vindictiveness, but gracious and
compassionate dispensations, intended to warn, that God may not be
compelled to destroy. 3. _To the lessons of God's "judgments" we
should give heed._ Prominent among them is this, that "except the
Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."--_Isaac Milner,
D.D.: Sermons,_ vol. i. pp. 1-54.
I. CONSIDER THE AUTHOR OF THOSE JUDGMENTS AND CALAMITIES WITH WHICH
THEY ARE VISITED; THE ENDS FOR WHICH THEY ARE SENT; AND THEIR FITNESS
TO INSTRUCT US IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.--1. Judgments _come from God._ His
providence rules over all, and all second causes, animate and
inanimate, are directed and overruled by Him. This is the decision of
_reason,_ and the declaration of _revelation_ (Amos iii. 6; Isa.
xlv. 6, 7). Imitate, then, the ancient believers who, whatever were
the inferior causes of their affliction, without justifying the
instruments, and leaving to God the punishment of the unrighteous,
ever looked up to Him who ruleth over all (Gen. xlv. 5, 7; Job i. 21;
H. E. I., 139). 2. _But why does God visit us with judgments?_ Not
that He delights in the miseries of His creatures (Lam. iii. 33); but
that they may be humbled, convinced of their iniquity, and taught
righteousness. We often compel Him thus to deal with us. We permit
His favours to hide the hand that confers them; and, like Jonah, when
the ocean of life is smooth, and the gales of prosperity pleasantly
blow, we flee from Him, and slumber in our sin. In the greatness of
His compassion, He employs the rough means necessary to arouse us
(Ps. lxxviii. 34, 35). 3. _There is a fitness in judgments to cause
men to awake to righteousness._ (1.) They deeply affect us, and lead
us to repentance, because they are rarer than mercies. Our attention
is most arrested by that which is novel. We gaze more earnestly on
the sun, when for a few moments it is in eclipse, than we have done
for months while it was steadily pursuing its course through the
heavens. We are more roused by a storm for a day, than by serene
weeks. It is thus with mercies and judgments. (2.) They powerfully
address that passion which has most influence on the greater part of
mankind--the passion of fear. They present God in such a character,
that even the most stout-hearted sinners tremble to oppose Him.
(3.) Because they teach on that most compendious and efficacious
mode--by example. On beholding them we feel that the threatenings of
God are not a dead letter which need fill us with no dismay. Yet they
have not invariably this effect. There are some who can resist
judgments as well as mercies (2 Chron. xxviii. 22; Isa. xxii. 12, 13).
II. WHY THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD DO NOT ALWAYS TEACH MEN RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Judgments that light upon others are frequently rendered useless.
1. By disbelief of His declarations. 2. By false views of His
character (H. E. I., 2180-2184, 2282). 3. By unscriptural views of
our own state and condition. 4. By a base inattention to the
operations of Providence. 5. By a stupid insensibility to our danger.
We tranquilly behold the lightning flashing at a distance, and
suppose that it will not hurt us, as though we were of a different
nature from those who are consumed by it (Zeph. iii. 6, 7).
6. Because, instead of being humbled and led to think of our sins, we
vent our grief only in vain regrets and useless lamentations. We
forget who is the Author of these judgments, and so, instead of
humbly saying with Job, "Shew me, wherefore Thou contendest with me,"
we waste our strength in profitless complaints of men and
things.--_Henry Kollock, D.D., Sermons,_ pp. 505-512.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD.
xxvi. 9, 10. _For when Thy judgments, &c._
I. _The judgments of God are frequently in the earth_--such as
earthquakes, hurricanes, pestilence, commercial disasters. These are
not, as the infidel asserts, merely the results of the working of
natural causes: these public calamities are the punishment of public
sins. _Nations_ are thus punished, because they have no immortality,
and therefore, if they are to be judged at all, must be judged here
and now. Without these chastisements, which often astonish the hearts
of the most insensible, and bring the most incredulous to their right
mind, the world would be only a theatre of atheism and crime. That
these calamites are strictly "the judgments of God," is the testimony
of _Scripture_ (Amos iii. 6; Jer. xxxii. 23, &c.), of the universal
_conscience,_ which appeals loudly in terms of calamity,[1] and of
_reason._ Acknowledge a First Cause which directs all things, and we
are obliged to confess that public calamities are the judgments of
God.
II. _God's design in sending His judgments upon the earth is that the
inhabitants thereof should learn righteousness_--righteousness
towards Him, towards their neighbours, and towards themselves. This
is His design, and to comply with it is the indispensable duty of
those who He afflicts.[2] The natural tendency of these chastisements
is to remove the obstacles that ordinarily oppose themselves to our
conversion: indolence, thoughtlessness, abuse of God's patience, the
hope of long life.[3]
III. _God's design in sending judgments upon the earth is often
frustrated by the fact that some sinners are so obdurate that neither
judgments nor mercies will move them_ (v. 10). The "favour" here
spoken of is a temporal favour, a deliverance from physical misery, a
suspension of the judgments which were falling upon the wicked. Such
favours, instead of calling forth gratitude, are frequently turned
into reasons for sinning (Eccl. viii. 11; Ex. viii. 15). To harden
ourselves against the "judgments" of God is a great sin, but to
harden ourselves against His "favours" is a still greater sin. Those
who commit it leave the Almighty no alternative but to utterly
destroy them.--_Daniel de Superville: Sermons,_ pp. 332-361.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We see that people of every description endeavour to
appease Heaven, in time of public calamities, by prayers,
incense, sacrifices, and solemn humiliations. And though
many of them have been deceived in the object of their
worship, and have erred in many of the practises which they
adopted as proper to appease the Divinity, their actions
set forth the feelings of man's conscience, and prove that
it is a general sentiment, that in public calamities we
ought to learn righteousness.--_Superville._
[2] Judgment that falls upon another should be as a catechism
to us by way of instruction; when judgments are abroad in
the world, shall not the people learn righteousness? Shall
the lion roar and the beasts of the field not tremble?
Shall God's hand lie heavily upon us, and we stand by, as
idle spectators, nothing at all minding what is done? Shall
our very next neighbour's house be on fire, and we look on
as men unconcerned in the danger? It cannot be, it must not
be. There is, without all doubt, the same combustible
stuff--the same, if not greater sins--lodged in our hearts,
and the same punishment hovering over our heads; it is,
therefore, high time to look about us.--_Donne,_ 1573-1631.
[3] Herodotus informs us, that in a certain temple of Egypt
there was a statue of Sennacherib with an inscription, the
sense of which was, "Learn to fear the Deity, in looking at
me." The judgments of God upon rebellious sinners are
monuments which God erects in the world, and which express,
in characters which all men should read, "Learn to fear the
Deity, in looking at us." A celebrated poet among the
ancient Romans, in describing the divers punishments of
hell, presents us with a fine sentence, "Learn
righteousness by us, and do not despise the gods." It
appears by this, that the secrets of man's conscience, and
his natural sentiments, lead him to profit by the examples
which God exhibits of His justice, whether in this world or
the next, and to respect a Supreme Being who knows how to
avenge Himself, both now and hereafter.--_Superville._
NATIONAL PEACE THE GIFT OF GOD.
(_A Thanksgiving Sermon._)
xxvi. 12. _Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou
hast wrought all our work in us._
The joyfulness of the occasion. Peace a greater blessing than mere
victory; for he that celebrates victory celebrates an event which has
been produced by an incalculable measure of human suffering. Let us
consider--
+I. What there is in the restoration of peace, generally considered,
to excite our gratitude.+ 1. _The effusion of human blood is stayed,_
and all the suffering inescapable from war. 2. _The injurious effects
of war on human character_ afford another reason for thanksgiving on
the return of peace. War renders men callous to human misery. The
sacredness of human life is forgotten. Wars lead to intestine
dissensions, and embitter and perpetuate national animosities.
+II. What there is in the particular circumstances of this country to
warrant us in considering the blessing as of special and particular
value.+ 1. _The triumph of which this peace is the result is the
triumph of a righteous cause._ Peace is often the result of the
superiority acquired by the aggressor. The cause of right does not
always at once prevail. Unoffending natives are conquered, or obliged
to submissions contrary to their rights and interests, and then peace
follows; peace dictated, not argued. There is peace, but not the
spirit of peace. 2. _We have preserved our national honour._ Our
victory has not been purchased by any alliance of which we have cause
to be ashamed. 3. _Peace does not find us, as it finds many nations,
with our houses desolated and our cities destroyed by fire._ 4. _It
was seasonable._ We had put forth our utmost strength. Had we not
succeeded at the moment we should have fallen to rise no more as a
nation of the first order. 5. _It may be considered an indication of
the Divine approbation._ On this subject we would not be
presumptuous, but it may at least be affirmed that the happy change
in our affairs, which has ultimately led to peace, followed, and, in
some instances, immediately followed, certain acts of national
reformation (_e.g.,_ the emancipation of the slaves) and
acknowledgement of God which, from the condescending assurance of His
Word, we know must have been acceptable to Him. 6. _It will increase
our means of promoting the kingdom of Christ in the world, and thus
establish our national prosperity by continuing to us the blessing of
God._
+III. The reasons of our thankful acknowledgement of God on this
occasion.+ He is the giver of the blessing of peace. Text. This is a
most important principle, and if our hearts be not firmly grounded in
it, our thanksgiving is a mockery; for why do we thank Him if we
ascribe the work to second causes? He that excludes God from the
world of providence might as well exclude Him from the world of
nature. He who can attribute the events which are daily taking place
in society, and especially such events as are connected with the
celebration of this day, to mere human agency, is not less an atheist
than the man who ascribes the birth and being of the fair system of
the universe to chance or the dance of atoms.
CONCLUSION.--The proper expression of our thankfulness for this great
blessing will be to do our utmost in the diffusion of the Gospel,
that the final reign of the Prince of Peace may commence, and
"quietness and assurance for ever" becomes the lot of man.--_Richard
Watson: Works,_ vol. ii. pp. 20-40.
HOLINESS ACCOMPLISHED, PEACE ORDAINED.
xxvi. 12. _Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou
also hast wrought all our works in us._
Rather, _"for us."_ The Church acknowledges that all her deliverances
and successes have been accomplished for her; and on what God has
done for her in the past, she rightly bases her expectation as to
what God will do for her in the future. He who was able to deliver
His people from their bondage in Babylon, would secure peace for them
when He had restored them to their own land. But, then, of all the
works that God accomplishes _for_ His people, some of the most
important are precisely those which He accomplishes _in_ them. So we
may profitably meditate on our text as it stands:
I. THE CHRISTIAN'S CONDITION.
1. _A Divine work has been accomplished for him. "Thou,"_ &c.
Throughout, the New Testament teaches us that the Christian is a man,
not who has delivered himself, but who has been delivered; not a hero
who broke the chains by which he was bound, but a poor slave of sin
who was set free and uplifted to true manhood (Phil. ii. 13; Eph.
ii. 10); everything is ascribed to the Spirit--the life, the good
works, the comforts of the Christian (John iii. 5; Gal. v. 16, 22;
Acts ix. 31). 2. _As the operation is Divine, so is it internal in
its effects._ We should never overlook what God has done for us in
His kind and tender providence (Ps. xxiii. 6). But the greatest of
all God's works for us is redemption by the blood of the cross. This
was accomplished long ago (John xix. 30). Nothing can now be added to
it, but you are mistaken if you suppose that His work _for_ you is to
supersede His work _in_ you. If your sins are not subdued as well as
pardoned, you will never be able to serve and enjoy God. Unless you
have a meetness for heaven, as well as a title for it, you will never
be at home there. The salvation that is promised and accomplished is
internal (John iv. 14; Ezek. xi. 19, 20; Ps. li. 10). 3. _The
operation is manifold in its influence._ "_All_ our works." How much
needs to be done in man! Conscience is to be awakened, purified,
pacified; the understanding is to be enlightened; the judgment is to
be informed; the will is to be subdued; the affections to be
spiritualised; the world is to be dethroned in the heart, and holy
principles implanted there. There needs the continuing act of a
performing God from the hour of the first conviction of sin to the
resurrection of the body unto eternal life (Phil. i. 6). 4. _His
Divine work is acknowledged._ "Thou _hast_ wrought," &c. Much remains
to be done in us, but much has been accomplished in every believer,
and it should be acknowledged. Humility well becomes us, but
gratitude becomes us equally (Ps. lxvi. 16).
II. HIS FUTURE EXPECTATION.
"Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us." 1. There is an _appointment_
or _ordination._ To ordain is an act of authority and power. You may
wish and promise a thing, but the monarch ordains, and what he
ordains is supported by all the resources of the realm, and will be
accomplished. Much more shall God's counsel stand and His pleasure be
done. 2. What is the _blessing_ He will ordain? "Peace!" Peace
_temporal_ (Prov. xvi. 7). Peace _spiritual_.[1]
III. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE EXPECTATION ON THE CONDITION.
"Thou wilt . . . for Thou hast." The expectations of God's people are
based--1. On the experience of God's people in all generations (Ps.
xxii. 4). 2. On their own experience of His faithfulness and mercy
(Ps. cxvi. 1, 2).[2]--_William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons,_ &c., pp.
306-312.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See outlines on verse 3.--This peace of the Christian often
fluctuates. It has various degrees. Some have comparatively
little of it, arising from constitutional malady, but it
commonly increases in death. It is therefore compared to a
river which meanders and fertilises as it goes, but becomes
wider and deeper as it approximates to the sea; so the
peace of God's people generally increases as they get
nearer eternity.--_Jay._
[2] When a friend has always been kind, we think it base and
unworthy not to suppose that he is ready to succour and
help. But here we have the advantage: Men may be weak and
unable to help, but God is almighty; men may change their
mind, but with Him is "no shadow of turning." Remember what
God has done, view it as a pledge, a beginning, an earnest
foretaste of what He will do. Has He not shown you the evil
of sin, the beauty of holiness, and the preciousness of a
Saviour? If He had a mind to destroy you, would He have
shown you such things as these? Nay, He will ordain
everything for your welfare.--_Jay._
H. E. I., 2363-2377, 2791.
MAN'S HOLINESS, GOD'S WORKMANSHIP.
xxvi. 12. _Thou also hast wrought all our works in us._
It is not all men who could speak these words to God; the wicked and
the worldly-minded could not use such language without blasphemy. It
is the godly, and they only, who can dare to use the language of our
text, and even they must do so with a certain limitation. Nothing
that is evil in any of God's people is in any way His work. It is
only their _good_ works of which it can be truly said, "God wrought
them;" and of these it may be said, God wrought not some only, but
_all_ of them.
I. THE DOCTRINE WHICH OUR TEXT CONTAINS. Man is by nature a creature
so depraved that he is "unto every good work reprobate." God looks
into his heart, and seeing evil motives even in his best performances
pronounces "all his righteousnesses 'filthy rags.'" Where things are
not done to please God, He is _displeased._ No matter what show the
unregenerate make before their fellow-sinners, God turns away His
face from them, and counts them even "dead in trespasses and sins,"
whilst _men,_ perhaps, are holding them in admiration (Article xiii.;
Luke xvi. 15; Rom. viii. 7, 8). When, therefore, a man _does_ begin
to please God, it is because God hath "wrought him for this self-same
thing" by the mighty working of His power (Eph. ii. 4, 5; Phil.
ii. 13). In these passages the earliest beginning of any good work in
us is ascribed wholly to the Lord (Article x.) The Holy Spirit is the
author of all good in man from first to last. "From Him all holy
desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed."
_Repentance is His Work._ "Godly sorrow" is no natural emotion (Acts
v. 31; xi. 18; 2 Tim. ii. 25). So also is _faith_ (1 Cor. xii. 3).
So, again, is all _holiness_ of heart and life (Eph. ii. 10; Prov.
xvi. 1; Gal. v. 22, 23). All excellences in man are "fruits of the
_Spirit._" Such is the doctrine of our text. Consider,--
II. THE FEELINGS WHICH GOD'S PEOPLE OUGHT TO ENTERTAIN WHEN THEY
REFLECT UPON IT. Is it true that God hath wrought all our works in
us? What a ground there is here, then,--1. For +humility.+ Surely
"boasting is excluded." Pride is an absurdity (1 Cor. iv. 7; xv. 10.)
2. For +thankfulness.+ Solomon was full of wonder and amazement that
God should condescend to come and dwell within his costly temple.
Should not the Lord's people be still more gratefully amazed that He
should make a temple of their hearts? 3. For +encouragement+ (Phil.
i. 6). Let the believer look at the very construction of our text,
let him read it in connection with the words which go before, and he
will see what a comfortable argument is drawn from it: "Lord, Thou
_wilt_ ordain peace for us, _for_ Thou also hast wrought all our
works in us." The presence of His grace within our bosoms is a token
of the favour which He means to show us. He who put oil into our lamp
and set it burning, and then said, "Let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven," will never omit to feed the celestial flame.--_A.
Roberts, M.A.: Plain Sermons, Second Series,_ vol. i., 21-30.
SPIRITUAL USURPERS RENOUNCED.
xxvi. 13, 14. _O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have
had dominion over us, &c._
We have in this language--
I. A PENITENTIAL CONFESSION. "Other lords," &c. Exegetically the
point to be determined is whether the "other lords" who "have ruled
over us," are the king and people of Babylon or idol gods; the former
with coercion, the latter with their own wicked consent? Perhaps both
ideas are included and a sad sequence implied. They had wandered of
their own wicked will into the service of pagan gods, and now against
their will were forced to serve pagan kings. Paganism had led to
vice; vice had destroyed all true manliness. Heroism in Jewish
history had lived only so long as fidelity to Jehovah had lasted.
Piety having decayed, heroism was dead; they could not stand before
their invaders. Paganism had enslaved them. This they now feel, and
hate paganism, and shun it more thoroughly than ever before.
II. A HOLY RESOLVE, involving, 1. _A recognition of Divine claims._
It is right that we should consecrate our services to Thee. By Thee
created and sustained, it is robbery to carry our services elsewhere.
Thou art our Father, and to honour others instead of Thee is unfilial
ingratitude. Our King Thou art, and not to serve Thee is sedition.
2. _A consciousness of dependence on Divine help._ "But by Thee
only," &c., _i.e.,_ "Only by Thy Divine help can we hope to be
faithful to Thee." Here is a renunciation, not only of heathenism,
but also of all self-sufficiency. By sad experience they have learnt
that without God they can do nothing.
III. A SHOUT OF VICTORY (vers. 14). The struggle against sin may be
severe and long. Bad habits not easily overcome. But Divine help
gives victory to human endeavours. He who uttered the almost
despairing cry, "O wretched man that I am," &c., can now give the
victorious shout, "I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ." There
are those who once served mammon, and bowed to ambition; who followed
the Moloch of revenge and hate; slaves to drunkenness and nameless
vices, who now through Divine grace can say of these bad habits,
"They are dead . . . Thou hast visited and destroyed them," &c.--_W.
Parkes._
Man is a responsible being. To say he is responsible to himself is to
say nothing more than that he claims to act according to his own
inclination. Responsibility has regard to another. Lordship from
without is exercised by every human soul. Good and evil--God and
Satan--contend for the dominion. Evil usurps the dominion until an
inward revolution occurs. Thus the Jewish people had cast off the
authority of Jehovah, and placed themselves under the dominion of
other gods. The captivity in Babylon converted them from this folly.
They then determined that thenceforward they would only "make mention
of," celebrate and honour, give the dominion to the Lord their God.
Here is a penitential confession and a good resolution.
I. A PENITENTIAL CONFESSION. "Other lords beside Thee have had
dominion over us." The dominion of evil in human souls is:
1. _Multiform._ It assumes many shapes. The gods the Jewish people
served were numerous as the nations under whose influence they fell.
So the form of evil most congenial to a man's own nature is sure to
assail him (H. E. I., 4679-4683). Not only so; while each has
probably his special besetment, each has also multitudinous
besetments (H. E. I., 4550, 4551). The penitent sees that his sins
pass all power of numeration or recollection; they have become lords
and masters (Rom. vi. 16; H. E. I., 4482-4484). 2. _Wrongful._ "Other
lords beside Thee." The language implies that God ought to have had
the dominion. Then it must be wrong to give it to others. He is the
rightful sovereign on every ground. Nor can he divide His throne with
any rival. As it is impossible to serve two masters whose interests
are opposed to each other, or to adhere to two claimants of the same
crown, so is it to make mention of the name of God and at the same
time to submit to the dominion of other lords. But we have attempted
this. "Will a man rob God?" Yes. Men who would not wrong each other
will defraud God daily without compunction and without shame. To
allow the dominion of other lords is a wrong done to God.
3. _Voluntary._ It has been entirely with our own consent. Those who
make this confession mean that they have been blamable for the
wrongful dominion of other lords. Freedom is essential to
responsibility. We have consented to sin--loved it. Nor does it avail
to say we are unable to break from its power. If unable, what has
brought our moral nature in to such a state of imbecility? Are not
its chains wound round our nature by our own consent? Is not the
wretched victim of intemperance responsible for his inability to
resist the cup, when that inability is the result of the voluntary
indulgence of years? The fetters of the sinner have been forged by
himself. The criminality reaches farther back than the present sin;
to the sins freely chosen long ago, which have led up to the present
power of sin over the will. If the will is in bondage to sin, it was,
in the first instance, voluntarily surrendered. _Now_ the penitent
sinner sees all this. He comes with lowly submission and penitential
confession.
II. A GOOD RESOLUTION. "By Thee only will we make mention of Thy
name." The confession of the ransomed Jews meant more than empty
words. They had seen their error; they intended a complete change, a
radical reformation. Idolatry was for ever renounced.
This is a type of the conversion of a sinner. The confession means
not only that he seeks forgiveness, but also--1. _Intends
reformation_--abandonment of all sin, no reservation of any sin, the
course of life completely altered. 2. _Supposes regeneration._ Man
can only see the outward change; but what does it represent?
Awakening to the danger, sight of the evil of sin. The disposition is
different; the heart is changed. Hence the will determines the other
way. 3. _Proceeds from God._ There is a work of the Holy Spirit in
conversion. We need His help to fulfil the resolution. "By Thee only."
Have you experienced this change? It is a personal one. Whether you
have or not, He is the Lord--your Lord; therefore right that He
demands your service. O yield His claim!--_J. Rawlinson._
PRAYER IN TROUBLE.
xxvi. 16. _"Lord, in trouble," &c._
Every man knows what trouble is; what it is to lie under the
chastening hand of God. In the day of trouble, we feel our dependence
on external help. Some in adversity seek friends who they neglect in
prosperity. Happy is he who, when trouble comes, finds himself
surrounded by true friends. Acquire the art of keeping your friends.
But there are troubles to which human sympathy and help are
inadequate. Times when men's thoughts drift towards God. Trouble
reminds us of the unseen, the spiritual, the external. It quickens
the spiritual sense by casting the fierce light of eternity on the
things of time. Men visit God in trouble by pouring out to Him their
prayers.
+I. Some pray in trouble, who are prayerless at other times.+
Multitudes live entirely without prayer. Taught by mothers in
infancy. For a considerable part of ripening youth they maintained
the habit. But began to neglect, were afraid of ridicule, or fell
into sinful indulgence; it would appal them to think how long it is
since they poured out one prayer to God. Surprising that with God so
near, so many should habitually turn away and never seek His face.
But some heavy trouble comes. They pause, recollect themselves,
remember the long years of misspent time, pray, promise and vow
(H. E. I., 69).
Does this always continue when the trouble has departed? Is not this
often the history? The cloud breaks, the sun bursts out again, the
man forgets that the sun was ever hid. Ship in storm. Cries, prayers,
vows. Ship is saved. Prayers cease; revelry is resumed. How often on
the bed of sickness are prayers and promises uttered which are
forgotten with returning health. Pharaoh alarmed by the successive
plagues. Besought Moses to pray. Hardened his heart again. The
children of Israel repeatedly fell into idolatry. Visited with
judgments. Cried to the Lord. When punishment was withdrawn returned
to the sin. Conviction is not conversion; awakening not repentance.
If the heart remains unchanged, a man will only pray as long as he is
alarmed (H. E. I., 3877-3879).
+II. Some begin to pray in trouble, and continue to pray afterwards.+
Many have had to thank God for trouble. Borne along the stream of
prosperity towards destruction. Some obstruction. It was unwelcome.
It compelled examination. It revealed the yawning falls a little way
beyond. Just in time to return. Every human soul requires one such
grand interruption in its career. Grace of God employs various means
for its effectuation. Trouble is one (Hosea v. 15). The soul's deep
sin, danger, need, has been revealed. The cry has gone up to heaven.
It was the cry of true repentance and humble faith in the Crucified
One. Comes from the trouble a new man--a praying man (Manasseh,
2 Chron. xxxiii. 10-13. The prodigal son, Luke xv. 14-21).
+III. Some pray habitually, but especially in trouble.+ Prayer is the
special characteristic of a Christian. It is his "vital breath." He
cannot fail to establish stated seasons of prayer, both public and
private. He endeavours to maintain the spirit of prayer. By its aid
the blood of the spiritual life is kept in circulation. An important
sense in which he prays "without ceasing" (H. E. I., 3866-3879;
P. D., 2839). And every remarkable event is made the occasion of
special prayer. Certainly trouble is one of these. Do you not go to
God in your sorrows, as a child goes to his father or his mother?
Bishop Reynolds says: "A Godly heart is like those flowers which shut
when the sun sets, and open again when the sun returns and shines
upon them. Hannah prayed silently so long as she was in bitterness of
spirit; but as soon as God answered her prayer and filled her heart
with joy, presently her mouth was enlarged into a song of
thanksgiving." In trouble you pray, 1. for deliverance, in submission
to the Divine will. 2. More especially for a sanctified use of
trouble; complete submission, faith, purification (Phil. iv. 6,
7).--_J. Rawlinson._
NATIONAL REVIVAL.
xxvi. 19. _Thy dead men shall live._
+I. This is the language of exultation.+[1] In this part of the
chapter the tone changes from sorrow, failure, and abortion to life,
prosperity, and joy. "Thy dead, O Zion, shall live again." Thy people
have been virtually, civilly, nationally dead, but they shall have a
resurrection. Because these dead are God's people, their resurrection
from national death is certain. Then, thrilled with confidence in
this truth, the prophet gives utterance to the voice of God within
him, "Awake and sing, ye that lie buried in dust, awake; come forth
from your (figurative) graves, and break out in song as ye come up to
the light of day!"
+II. This expectation involves a contrast.+ The resurrection of
national life of God's people stands in contrast with the denial of
resurrection to the wicked rulers of Babylon (ver. 14). That Chaldean
nation went down to its political grave with no hope, no possibility
of being raised to national life again. On the contrary, God's
people, from being in a state of national death in Babylon, were
eventually called into national life.
+III. This declaration suggests a truth which nations ought to
learn.+ No nation that seeks God and His righteousness can be
permanently kept down. "Righteousness exalteth a nation;" exalteth it
from depression into power. It may be brought low, but if the
elements of rectitude lie within it, if public justice be a part of
its political creed, and respect for the rights of others its
unvarying practice, then, though apparently buried in the grave of
defeat and degradation, its resurrection shall come. God rules not
only amid the armies of heaven, but amongst the inhabitants of the
earth, and to every nation maintaining justice, mercy, and truth,
though brought ever so low, the voice of history proclaims, "Thy dead
men shall live!" The bodies of English martyrs to the Tudor period
perished. Under the Stuart dynasty the bones of those English
patriots who defied "crowned and mitred tyranny" were dug up and
dishonoured. That part of them corruptible and worthless died, but
the better part of them has experienced a resurrection. Their
principles live to-day. "Thy dead men shall live."--_Henry Cowles,
D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This passage proves beyond a question that the idea of a
resurrection from the dead was familiar to the prophet and
to his first readers, for whose immediate use he wrote.
Sensible writers never borrow figures from things unknown,
but always from things better known than the facts they
would illustrate. As no writer _could_ draw a figure from
what was unknown to himself, so, if he sought to teach, he
_would_ not draw one from what was unknown to his readers.
As Isaiah could not talk about a resurrection if he had
never known the idea and the words to express it, so he
would not expect to be understood unless his readers were
also familiar with it.--_Cowles._
GOD'S INVITATION TO SHELTER.
(_For a Time of National Distress._)
xxvi. 20. _Come, my people, &c._
The history of humanity as a whole, and of nations and communities as
a part, is like that of individual man, diversified and varying, made
up of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow. There is a "but" in every
condition, a crook in every lot. The people of God, however, have
alleviations which the world knows not of. They have promises of
present comfort and help, hopes of future recompense, and they are
invited to make God their Refuge now. This was very much the case
with the captive Jews in Babylon. Wars and commotions would rage as a
tempest around Babylon, and bring its overthrow. But while the storm
raged, the people of God were to be calm and tranquil; were to enter
into their places of retirement, and avoid the commotions of war.
This passage is a word in season to God's people now.
I. THE PERSONS INVITED. "My people." This was addressed to the Jews,
who stood in a peculiar relation to God. It has now a wider range. It
may include--1. _Those who are His by profession._ This includes a
large portion of the people of this land. Many of these, however, are
out of Christ, and they are specially invited to repair to Him as
their complete and only refuge from the storms of conscience and the
righteous displeasure of a Holy God. 2. _Those who are His by
personal consecration._ Not only received into the visible Church by
an outward profession, but have become living members of that
mystical body of which Christ is the Head. In times of danger and
distress, when the judgments of God are in the earth, they are
invited to repair to Christ. He is a complete refuge from every storm.
II. THE DUTY ENJOINED. 1. _The form of the injunction._ No terrible
threatening, but mild and compassionate invitation. Though our
Redeemer and Master has a right to command, yet He more frequently
employs the language of invitation. 2. _The place of retreat._ We may
think of many sacred localities to which we may repair in this time
of national or individual sorrow. There is the open _sanctuary._ This
to many is a place of refuge and comfort. There is the _home._
Families may meet and together commune with God. There is the
_private closet._ There we may humble ourselves, mourn our own faults
and those of others, and seek God's favour. But after we have
thoughts of all these places we must go much further, into a more
mysterious and safer sanctuary. These are only the _way_ to the City
of Refuge; only the _plank_ by which we may ascend to the Ark; only
the _door-way_ into the Temple. Ours must be the language of the
Apostle (John vi. 68). 3. _The purpose of retirement._ For defence.
Israel must remain within the blood-sprinkled doors while the
destroying angel wields his sword outside. Rahab and her family abide
within their dwelling while Jericho is destroyed. Amid the tokens of
danger and the coming storm, we are to hide ourselves in the
perfections of God, in the merits of Christ. We must enter into the
ark, and like Noah expect the Lord to shut us in. When the Hebrews
had sprinkled the blood of the Paschal lamb, the command was, "None
of you shall go out of his house till the morning." The manslayer
could not go within the City of Refuge. Here in Christ, God manifest
in the flesh, is safety from every danger, a complete Refuge in every
time of need.
CONCLUSION.--The whole of this year has been marked more or less by
personal, relative, or national calamity. It opened in storm, and a
fine ship, the _London,_ perished. Pestilence among the cattle
followed. War broke out and mercantile prosperity waned. Now a
painful visitation is among us. God is now calling you to
Himself.--_George Smith, D.D., August_ 9, 1866.
CHAMBERS OF SAFETY.
xxvi. 20. _Enter into thy chambers, &c._
The religion of Christ, as a religion of consolation, is eminently
suited to the condition of men in a sinful, suffering, and dying
world. The same Saviour who died to save, lives to bless, saying,
_"Lo, I am with you always,"_ &c. (Matt. xxviii. 20). The same Holy
Spirit sanctifies and comforts. This Scripture suggests, that in the
worst of storms God's people have a secure hiding-place.
I. A CONSOLATORY TRUTH IMPLIED. God's people have chambers of
security and defence in time of danger. Every perfection of the
Divine character, every office of Christ, every Divine promise is a
chamber of defence (Prov. xviii. 10).
II. A WELCOME DUTY ENJOINED. "Enter," &c. 1. _Who gives the
invitation?_ The Lord Jehovah, with whom is Everlasting Strength.
2. _To whom this invitation is given,_ "My people." Not Babylon, not
Egypt, but "my people." 3. _What it is to which He calls them._ To
enter their closets, hold communion with Him, trust themselves to His
keeping.
III. THE REASONS FOR THIS RETREAT. 1. _Because the calamity
anticipated is very great._ God comes out of His place to judge the
nations, &c. 2. _The season of danger is short._ "For a little
moment." Self-sacrifice and self-restraint for Christ's sake will not
last long. 3. _Because the blessings promised are very valuable._
Present purity and peace, future glory, &c.--_Samuel Thodey._
RELIGIOUS RETIREMENT.
xxvi. 20. _Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,
and shut thy doors about thee._
An exhortation to religious retirement. Man was intended for society,
but also for contemplation. When devoted to pious purposes,
retirement is highly useful to man and most acceptable to God
(H. E. I., 3466-3525). It is commended to us both by precept and
example (Gen. xxiv. 63; Matt. xiv. 23, &c.) But the retreat which the
Scriptures commend is temporary, not total; not that of a monk to his
cell, in which he passes his days in barren and unprofitable
speculation, but that of men living in the world, who go out of it
for a time in order that they may return to it better fitted for the
duties which God has assigned them there. That you may be stimulated
to this duty, consider its advantages.
+I. Religious retirement takes off the impression that the
neighbourhood of evil has a tendency to make upon the mind.+ We need
often to escape from it in order that we may see its true character,
and renew our strength to resist it.
+II. Religious retirement is favourable for fixing pious purposes in
the mind, and strengthening our habits of virtue.+ Dazzled no longer
by the false glitter of the world, we open our eyes to the beauties
of the better country; stunned no more with the noise of folly, we
can listen in silence to the still small voice. At leisure we can
reflect by what temptations we were formerly foiled, that we may
guard against them in time to come; for seeing the evil day, we can
prepare ourselves for its conflicts.
+III. In religious retirement we attain to self-knowledge.+ Here
wisdom begins. We can never ascend to the knowledge of Him whom to
know is life eternal, without knowing ourselves; and we can never
know ourselves without stripping off whatever is artificial about us,
without throwing off the veil which we wear before men, and devoting
our sacred hours to serious consideration.
+IV. Retirement and meditation will open up a source of new and
better entertainment than you meet with in the world+ (Ps.
civ. 34).--_John Logan: Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp. 156-164.
GOD'S GOODNESS TO THE CHURCH.
xxvii. 2, 3. _In that day sing ye unto her, &c._[1]
The Church a vineyard: a spot set apart: weeds taken out; choice
trees planted; supplied with means; fruitful of "red wine," the best
(Prov. xxiii. 31).
I. GOD'S CARE OF HIS CHURCH. 1. It is _constant,_ "night and day."
2. It is _all-sufficient._ "I, the Lord, do keep it"--what
Omniscience and Omnipotence guards, none can hurt.
II. GOD'S MINISTRY TO THE CHURCH. Not only does He guard it from
external assault, He ministers to its internal necessities. "I will
water it." God's influence upon His Church is--1. _Adapted to its
wants._ The vine needs moisture. 2. _It is a continued blessing._
"Every moment." 3. _It is followed by blessed results:_ Growth,
fragrance, beauty, fruitfulness.
_Application._--1. How secure is the true Church of God (H. E. I.,
1246-1251; 2449). 2. How important to belong to it. 3. How great are
its obligations to God. 4. How zealous we ought to be for its
extension.--_British and Foreign Pulpit,_ i. 74, 75.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Cowles_ only follows _Alexander_ in the rendering of these
verses. _Birks_ translates: "In that day sing ye unto her.
A vineyard of choice wine!" &c. _Cheyne:_ "In that day--a
pleasant vineyard--sing ye of it. I, Jehovah, its
keeper--moment by moment I water it; lest any should invade
it, by night and by day I keep it." _Kay:_ "Sing ye unto
her."
A SOLEMN DISCLAIMER.
xxvii. 4, 5. _Fury is not in me, &c._
The figurative language in ver. 1 sets forth some powerful and
terrible enemies of Israel--cruel, crafty, and bloodthirsty
oppressors. But, terrible as they were to Israel, they were no more
than "briers and thorns" in the way of Israel's God. He would "march
against them and go through them," just as soldiers on their march
tread down and crush so frail a barrier as these would be against
them. His own people the while should be the object of His special
and necessary care (vers. 2, 3). And if they should so offend as to
draw down His judgments upon them, still He would not deal with them
as adversaries. He would be ready to make peace with them again on
their humbling themselves before Him. The solemn disclaimer of our
text should be borne in mind by us when we study--
I. GOD'S THREATENINGS AGAINST THE WICKED. Many of these are very
terrible, and a certain class of religionists would have us believe
that these alarming texts of Holy Scripture are metaphors that mean
nothing, and that we dishonour "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ" if we associate His name with anything that savours of wrath,
vengeance, and severity. But this is taking a meagre and one-sided
view of the Divine Character. In God there is not only love, but also
holiness, which "cannot look upon iniquity;" justice, which "will by
no means clear the guilty;" and truth, which forewarns and will not
fail to punish the transgressors of law and order. Let us not mistake
the character of such punishment. A furious man acts on the
passionate impulse of the moment. He strikes blindly and without
consideration; does many things which, when the excitement is over,
he will be sorry for and try to undo. But nothing like this is there
with God. His threatenings are not uttered in blind and inconsiderate
wrath, but in awful calmness of judgment, and in vindication of His
essential and eternal holiness; and thus, too, they will be executed.
This it is that will make the judgment-day so awful, and that then
will reduce the condemned to despair. The son who sees his father's
anger so stirred against him, that vain attempt were it to reason
with him, vain to offer a word of explanation or excuse, does well to
keep out of his father's way, and hope for a better time to stand
before him and ask to be forgiven. But no such hope is there, when
the offender sees that his aggrieved parent--not furiously, but "out
of very faithfulness"--is about to administer a threatened
punishment; ay, and that his heart is heavy, and his eye dim with
tears, even while he punishes! And this, allowing for the inevitable
weakness of any illustration of such a matter, may serve to convey
the idea which I would impress upon you. "The Father of mercies and
God of all comfort" will certainly execute His threatenings against
impenitent transgressors. Not in passionate haste, and on sudden
impulse of which He might afterwards repent, will the Lord make "a
way for His anger" against sin.
II. THE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT. Not a few earnest men becloud and
all but explain away this fundamental doctrine, because (they tell
us) they cannot endure the thought of sin being punished in the
person of the Sinless One. They do not like to hear of the Father's
"wrath" being averted and (as it is said) "appeased" by the death of
His Son; of God looking out (as it were) for a victim, and fastening
upon the One found guiltless as a substitute for the guilty mass! But
this mistaken representation arises from attributing to God a passion
which in men would be indignation and wrath. But what does our text
say? "_Fury_ is not in _Me._" We may not think of our heavenly Father
as an angry Being, furiously raging against those whom the devil has
proved too strong for, and not to be appeased till He found a victim
on which to wreak His vengeance! But no unwillingness on our part to
hear it can alter that which is written (2 Cor. v. 21; 1 Pet. iv. 18;
Isa. liii. 5, 6). If we study this great subject aright, we shall
find in the Atonement the result of the co-working of the calmest
(and therefore most inflexible) justice and the tenderest
love.--_T. W. Peile, D.D.: Sermons,_ pp. 101-112.
The text expresses the preference of God for forgiveness rather than
for punishment, and the conditions of that forgiveness; but, at the
same time, the utter overthrow of all who continue in opposition to
His will. It suggests--
+I. A blessed absence in the nature of God.+ "Fury is not in me."
Fury seems to be _uncontrolled_ and _uncontrollable_ anger, such as
that with which the storm seems to beat upon the dismasted, helpless
vessel; such as that which inspires the hungry lion that has been for
some hours disappointed of its prey. When a man is so under the
influence of anger that no consideration from within or intercession
from without can pacify him, he is in a state of _fury._ But no such
state is possible to our God. His anger is always under control, He
is always the Lord God, abundant in goodness and truth; and we have
also plentiful evidence that, in the height of His displeasure, He is
accessible to intercession on behalf of His creatures. See how the
Son of God ends His woes against "Scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites,"
with "O Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered," &c. Recall the
effect of Abram's pleading for Sodom, and that of Moses for
unbelieving Israel (Num. xiv.) The declaration of the text has been
abundantly verified in all ages. Nevertheless,
+II. This blessed absence in the nature of God is compatible with
contention with the unrepenting.+ "Who would set the briers," &c.
Imagine a father and a son at variance, the father being in the
right, and son in the wrong. There are two ways of reconciliation;
either the son must comply with the conditions of the father, or the
father must lower his standard to the level of the son. But what a
wrong would the father do himself, his family, and society, if he
were to adopt this course! He ought not, will not. If the son
resolves to fight it out, reconciliation is impossible. This is the
relative position of God and the ungodly man. God says, "I am
Jehovah, I change not." It is a blessed impossibility. But the
unrepentant man ought, can, must! If no, the fire of goodness must be
set against the briers of wickedness, a contest as hopeless, and of
which the issue is as certain, as that of the devouring flame with
briers and thorns.
_Conclusion._--The absence of fury in God leads Him to prefer pardon
to punishment, and to provide means for the former. "Let him take
hold of my strength," &c. Men, churches, and nations are lovers of
peace in proportion as they are righteous (Ps. lxxii. 3). The
preference of God for peace depends upon the very attribute of which
the ungodly would rob Him, His righteousness. What is God's strength?
How take hold of it? When a man falls overboard at sea, the appointed
means of rescue is the life-belt which is thrown to him. Seizing
that, he lays hold of the strength of the vessel to save him. When
the man-slayer, fleeing from the avenger of blood, entered the city
of refuge, he took hold of God's appointed means of shelter. God's
strength is His pardoning prerogative, exercises to us through
Christ, the "arm" or "strength" of the Lord. See how Moses takes hold
of it (Num. xiv. 19). And the prodigal (Luke xv. 21; Rom.
v. 1).--_Horace Bushnell, D.D._
TAKING HOLD OF GOD'S STRENGTH.
xxvii. 5. _Or let him take hold of My strength, &c._[1]
I. IN WHAT GOD'S STRENGTH CONSISTS. First, as we think of
Almightiness, that irresistible power which created the world, &c. We
are apt to forget those other and higher sources of strength which
belong to God (1 Kings xix. 12). Wisdom is strength (Eccles. ix. 15,
16). Truthfulness is strength. Justice is power. Mercy to the weak is
often the manifestation of the highest strength. England has often
put forth her power; her soldiers have crushed the most appalling
rebellions; her guns have sunk the mightiest navies; but history will
perhaps record it as the highest display of her power when, under a
sense of justice, she withdrew her forces when she might have crushed
her foes (as in the late Transvaal war, 1881). Now, this element of
mercy, as manifest in the work of Christ, is God's strength (Rom.
i. 16; 1 Cor. i. 24). God's fatherly love is the essence of His power
(H. E. I., 3206). Christ is the expression of that love. Christ is
God's strength. "And let him take hold of My strength."
II. HOW MAY MAN TAKE HOLD OF GOD'S STRENGTH? 1. By _submission_ (Rom.
vi. 13; Ps. li. 10). As nothing is so reasonable, so nothing is so
wise as submission to God. 2. By _prayer._ Prayer is the hand of the
child stretching itself under that father's protecting power. Prayer
takes hold of God's strength. 3. By _obedience_ (1 Pet. i. 14). When
Saul of Tarsus, after asking, "Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?"
went straightway and did God's will, then there came to him a moral
power mightier than he had ever wielded before. 4. By _implicit trust
in God's mercy_.[2]
III. THE RESULT OF THUS TAKING HOLD OF GOD'S STRENGTH. The result is
that Divine strength is infused into our minds. We become "strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His might." Trust is the medium through
which God's power is transmitted to man's weakness (Heb. vi. 19). We
can only really know those whom we love and trust (Dan. xi. 32). The
most invincible and lasting institution in the world is the Church of
Christ, because composed of those who are "partakers of the Divine
nature," and whom God has made strong.--_William Parkes, F.R.G.S._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Cheyne_ translates and comments: "_Or else_. . . . A truly
evangelical belief that God is willing to be reconciled
even to His enemies. . . . _Seize upon my fortress_--Let
him take sanctuary in the Name of Jehovah (Prov.
xviii. 10); in short, let him become a believing servant of
Jehovah. _'Fortress,'_ a symbolical name for a protecting
deity, as xvii. 10, Ps. lii. 7 (9)." _Kay:_ "Or, 'Let a man
lay hold of My strong refuge;' let him flee to my altar of
reconciliation (cf. 1 Kings i. 50)."
[2] "I think I can convey the meaning of this passage so that
every one may understand it, by what took place in my own
family within these few days. One of my children committed
a fault for which I thought it to be my duty to chastise
him. I called him to me, explained to him the evil of what
he had done, and told him how grieved I was that I must
punish him for it. He heard me in silence, then rushed into
my arms, and burst into tears. I could sooner have cut off
my arm than have then struck him for his fault; he had
taken hold of my strength--he had made peace with
me."--_Toller._
THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF ISRAEL.
xxvii. 6. _He shall cause them, &c._[1]
It did not often happen to ancient nations to rise into new vigour
after being conquered and removed. Ancient Assyria and Babylon fell,
and their influence faded. But it was otherwise with Israel. They had
flourished; abused their trust; were punished by being conquered and
removed. But they did not perish. From the Babylonian grave they
rose. Centuries longer they existed, until their crowning sin. No
further need for their national existence. It ceased. But their
separate identify as a race continued. The Jew is everywhere.
Everywhere he is a witness to the truth of the Bible. And the
_influence_ of the Jewish people continues. The influence of the
classic writers of Greece and Rome continues. Their study is
essential to a liberal education. But only the few enjoy that
advantage. The literature of the Jewish race was confined almost
entirely to their sacred books. But how wide its influence! Read by
the scholar and the peasant, &c. Lifts men's thoughts above the level
of this world, and presents a loftier ideal of human character than
any of the mere "thinkers" of ancient or modern times.
Nor is it only the perpetuation and influence of a literature. It is
the perpetuation of a type of moral life. One who came of Jacob has
exerted and is exerting an influence never equalled. Born in a
manger, trained in poverty, dying on a cross, He has been and is the
fountain of spiritual life to millions. In him they have become a new
seed of Jacob (Gal. iii. 29).
The text foretells the stability, the growth, and the diffusion of
the Church.
I. ITS STABILITY. _"Take rest."_ This is necessary to _growth._ And
_life_ is necessary to _it._ You may plant a stone, or a piece of
dried wood, but it can never take root. Why? It wants the mysterious
principle called life. Reasons for this. And the roots are the
firmest part of the plant. Hence the metaphor--a man is rooted in his
position. Fine forest-tree with roots, like arms, many feet on every
side. Impossible to dislodge that tree. This is one of the emblems of
the stability of the Christian's spiritual position (Col. ii. 7).
Thus the stability of the Church, the aggregate of spiritual men, is
set forth in the text. It has struck its roots so deep, and spread
them so far, that, as hitherto, so in the future, it shall continue.
Storms of opposition, persecution, infidelity unable to uproot it.
"The gates of hell shall not prevail."
II. ITS GROWTH. Rooting of a tree only valuable in relation to its
continued life and growth. Look at it in the individual member of the
spiritual Israel. In the living tree in spring the bud breaks forth,
then the beautiful blossom--promise of the fruit. So in the Christian
life. Gradually it develops by a certain though irregular
progression. Nor will this promise of fruitfulness be falsified (Gal.
v. 22, 23; Rom. vi. 22; Ps. xcii. 13, 14; H. E. I., 2508-2516,
2538-2544). Multiply this by the number of living members in any
Church, and how much of spiritual goodness, and beauty will be in
that circle! Not only within it, but in the homes, among the
neighbours, over the whole sphere of their influence. Then multiply
this by all the Churches. What an amount of moral beauty thus in the
world!
III. ITS DIFFUSION. _"And fill the face of the world with fruit."_
This vision was always present to the prophet's eye. Suppose it
realised, and the whole world converted. Then the world will be
filled with goodness. But it is all in the spiritual succession from
Jacob. How much comes of little! So it has ever been; small
beginnings, gradual growth, great endings.
Do you say you cannot believe in the world's conversion? Do you
believe the harvest comes from the seed? That Jesus multiplied the
loaves? Is anything too hard for the Lord?--_J. Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Note the translation of this verse by Alexander and
Delitzsch, in which Kay, Birks, and Cheyne concur.
THE DAY OF THE EAST WIND.
xxvii. 8. _In measure, when Thou sendest it forth, &c._
(_Margin_).
We have often complained of the bitterness and depressing effects of
the "east wind." In Bible lands it was scorching and destructive (Job
xxi. 18; xxvii. 12; Gen. xli. 6). Israel is represented in this
chapter as a vineyard, of which God was the proprietor and guardian
(ver. 3). The removal of the people to Babylon seemed to contradict
this declaration. They presented the appearance of a vineyard uncared
for, forsaken, neglected, and spoiled. The east wind, sweeping over
it, marred its beauty and checked its growth, and its desolation
seemed complete. The question arises, Does God really mean what He
says when He engages to keep His vineyard with continued care? In
reply to this question the prophet speaks here. He justifies the ways
of God to man, explaining the Divine procedure, and showing the
purpose of that afflictive dispensation which He visited upon His
beloved vineyard. What a consoling subject, is here presented,--the
trials of the godly (1), in their severity, and (2), in their
mitigation.
I. THE SEVERITY OF CHRISTIAN TRIAL. Our seasons of sharp distress and
loss are fitly set forth as _"the day of the east wind,"_ biting and
piercing, when the heart is joyless and depressed. God, who sends it,
means us to feel its keenness. The severity of our trials
appears--1. _In the time when they overtake us._ The east wind
prevails with us in the early spring. So in our experience of life,
when all is full of fair promise, our hopes are blasted. A young and
tender faith is often sorely tested. We would push adversity into old
age, with youth as a course of uninterrupted joy; but at the most
unlikely periods the day of the east wind sweeps over us. 2. _In
their violence._ The wind of adversity seems to us cruel and
devastating. We speak of a reverse or bereavement as "a sad blow."
3. _In their continuance._ We could tolerate an occasional day of
east wind, but when it blows persistently for weeks, we begin to
grumble. Afflictions sometimes follow each other in rapid succession.
The night of weeping is long and dark, and it seems as if the morning
of joy would never break (H. E. I., 52, 53). 4. Because of _the
aspect in which God appears to us when we are under them._ He seems
to be contending, "debating" with us, to be opposed to us. This gives
the keenest poignancy to our griefs. How unworthy, often, is the view
we form of God's character in the day of the east wind, charging Him
with partiality and injustice. Of all ingredients that embitter the
cup of suffering, this is the most bitter, but it is an ingredient
which the sufferer puts in with his own hand. As in the time of east
winds weak and cheerless people fall into dull, moody fits, the
sighing breezes chiming in with the dull music of their own spirits,
so in the day of adversity the soul sometimes loses its sense of the
Divine Love.
II. THE MITIGATING, ALLEVIATING CIRCUMSTANCES. 1. The day of the east
wind is _well timed._ It blows at the right season, in the early
spring. It may nip a few opening buds, but if it did not come out
then, it would retard vegetation to a fatal extent afterwards. The
youth may complain of his hard struggle, but it nurses a manly
character. 2. Trial is _limited in its duration._ The east wind does
not blow all the year round. These cold blasts usher in the spring.
3. _God moderates its severity._ "In measure" (1 Cor. x. 13). Sorrow
is nicely adjusted to the heart on which it falls (H. E. I., 187,
188). 4. The following verse suggests a further alleviation,
viz.:--_The gracious purpose accomplished by trial,_ to purge
iniquity, and take away sin. God appoints our sorrow for the
uprooting of our sin. The physician finds it necessary to adopt sharp
measures, but his operation is wise and kind. A proneness to idolatry
was Israel's sin, and, to check this, the nation is sent into exile.
Though He removed it with "His rough wind in the day of His east
wind," the fruit or effect was to uproot a besetting sin (H. E. I.,
85-89, 116, 211). 5. Another mitigating circumstance is found in
verse 7. _God makes a distinction between His people and the world._
Great as Israel's sufferings were, the judgments which descended on
their enemies were far more terrible, not corrective, but destructive
(1 Cor. xi. 32). The surly blasts of the east wind may howl and chafe
and spend their rage on God's vineyard, but they are only the last
remnants of the dreary winter. To those who are in covenant with God
every wind that blows is charged with blessing (H. E. I., 108).
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 1. When the east wind of trial begins to blow
upon us, let us hasten, not to blame God, but to examine and blame
ourselves. Though trials are not always punitive, or even corrective,
they are very frequently so; and in our case, as in that of Israel,
the reason why the east wind is blowing probably is because there is
iniquity in us that needs to be purged away (ver. 8; H. E. I., 114).
2. When the east wind is blowing upon us, instead of murmuring let us
recall the mitigating circumstances of which I have reminded you, and
let us thank God that He loves us too much to leave us under the
power of iniquity (Heb. xii. 5-10; H. E. I., 162-165).--_William
Guthrie, M.A._
THE AFFLICTIONS OF GOD'S PEOPLE.
xxvii. 7-9. _Hath He smitten him as He smote his smiter, or
was he slain as his slayers were slain? In exact measure,
when dismissing her, Thou didst contend with her; He scared
her away with His rough blast in the day of the east wind.
Therefore on these terms_ [or, hereby] _shall the guilt of
Jacob be purged, and this shall be all the fruit of taking
away his sin, when he maketh all the altar-stones like
lime-stones dashed in pieces, that Ashéras and sun-images
rise up no more.--Cheyne._
This is a continuation of the song of the vineyard (vers. 2-6). That
song was to be sung after deliverance from disasters which had come
upon God's chosen people, as the chastisement of their sins. The
prophet here pauses to reflect and to instruct them. His instructions
are of exceeding value to us, for God acts on the same principles in
every age.
I. GOD'S PEOPLE ARE OFTEN SEVERELY AFFLICTED.
They fail in duty, or they even transgress His commandments. Then
they certainly suffer. Utter is the delusion that _they_ may sin with
impunity. Unlike human parents, God never spoils His children; He has
no foolish fondness for them that would lead Him to be blind to or
tolerant of their faults. On the contrary, sin in them is most
grievous to Him (H. E. I., 4563-4570), and the chastisement thereof
is certain and often severe (Amos iii. 2). Terrible was the
punishment which Isaiah foresaw would come upon Israel--deportation
to the land of their conquerors. In that calamity what varied and
awful sufferings were involved! So it is still! there is severity as
well as mercy in the God we serve. Because he loves us, He will not
allow us to go on to ruin unchecked. By terrible calamities, if need
be, He will arrest us in the path to perdition.
II. IN THE SEVEREST AFFLICTIONS WHEREWITH GOD VISITS HIS PEOPLE HIS
MERCY IS MANIFEST.
Manifest, 1. +In the fact that they befall them here and now.+ How
kind in Him, not to stand silently by, and leave them to go on
unchecked to ruin! Remember, the sinner has no claim upon the mercy
of God in any form. 2. +In the restraint with which they are measured
out.+[1] There is no passion or vindictiveness in God's dealings with
them that provoke Him to anger. Though His chastisements may seem to
burst upon the backslider like a hurricane of east wind, in reality
mercy controls and directs the storm. "In exact measure," &c.[2]
Because it is so exactly measured out by mercy, (1) _it always falls
short of the guilt of the sinner._ Did justice measure it out, so
that it should be commensurate with the guilt of the transgressor, it
would mean destruction. This is seen in the case of the enemies of
God. Persistent ungodliness is visited at length, not with
chastisement, but with judgment, _i.e.,_ utter ruin (note the picture
of the doom of Babylon in verses 10, 11). So that when God's erring
people have been chastened most severely, His prophets can put to
them Isaiah's question in verse 7. To it they can only return the
answer given in Ps. ciii. 10. (2) _It always falls short of the
transgressor's power of endurance_ (H. E. I., 180, 187). When it is
ended, he still lives--lives to bless the hand that smote him (Ps.
cxix. 71, 75, 67). 3. +In the motive that inspires them all.+ By them
God seeks, not the destruction of His erring people, but their
deliverance. Israel was held in the degrading bondage of idolatry;
the terrible calamites of the captivity were the strokes by which He
brake their fetters. When the discipline was over, they hated
idolatry in all its forms; all the altar-stones in which they had
delighted were "like lime-stones dashed in pieces," and the Ashérahs
and sun-images rose in their midst no more. It is the same motive
that inspires Him in all His afflictive dealings with His people
to-day (H. E. I., 56-59, 66-74). Therefore, if He is visiting us with
afflictions,--1. Let us not be rebellious, but submissive (H. E. I.,
158). 2. Let us be moved to penitential self-examination (H. E. I.,
145-147). 3. Let us give heartfelt thanks to God because He is
resolved to make us like Himself (Heb. xii. 10; H. E. I., 162-165).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See pp. 5 (GOD'S INDICTMENT AGAINST ISRAEL), 20 (GOD'S
RELUCTANCE TO PUNISH).
[2] Verse 8, _In measure._ Rather, _with measure by measure:_
Heb. "with _seah-seah,_" a seah, being the third part of an
ephah, was a moderate measure. With forbearance and
graduated severity, dealing out punishment in carefully
adjusted quantities, and at successive times, "not
suffering Thy whole displeasure to arise," "correcting with
judgment, not in anger" (Jer. x. 24, xxx. 11).--_Kay._
THE DISCIPLINE OF SIN.
xxvii. 9. _By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob
be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin._
The history of God's ancient people is a Divine teaching. He had
brought them into special relations to Himself, and had conferred on
them special privileges. They were intended to be witnesses for Him
in the world. To a large extent they failed. Instead of persistent
faithfulness to their mission, they repeatedly fell into idolatrous
practices. Punishment came. They repented. But when the impression
was gone, they renewed the sin. For centuries this continued, until
the captivity. Then they finally renounced idolatry. This was the
Divine design in permitting that disaster to befall them. The prophet
foretold it with suggestive accuracy. "By this shall the iniquities
of Jacob be purged," &c.
Their conduct, and the Divine dealing with them, finds its parallel
in the history of the modern Church. The parallel holds--
I. WITH REGARD TO THEIR SIN.
The spiritual Jacob sins. Saintly individuals, here and there, whose
conduct is an honour to the gospel; but comparatively limited number.
Many who in youth felt strongly have seriously declined from the
warmth of their first love. Instead of keeping themselves from the
world, they are under its influence; like imperfect swimmers, who get
within the power of a wave and find they have neither strength nor
skill to cope with it. They listen to the sentiments of the world on
matters of religion and morality. By little and little they conform.
Like Samson, when shorn of his locks, they become weak as other men.
From contentment with imperfection they become reconciled to positive
sin. Sometimes they even exceed their teachers. Christian professors
who have declined into sinful ways often become worse than those from
whom they have taken their lesson.
And does not God hate sin in them as He hates it in others? A man's
standing in Christ is nothing, if he is living in wilful sin. It
deadens his conscience, interrupts his communion with God, exposes
him to the peril of final apostasy and perdition. Read the former as
well as the latter part of 1 John i. 7. (H. E. I., 4563-4570.)
II. WITH REGARD TO THE DISCIPLINE OF SIN.
The discipline God sent to the Jewish people was--
1. _Severe._ It seemed hard to be driven from their beautiful city to
a foreign land, possibly to be absorbed in its population or held in
slavery. Nor had they the consolation of knowing that they had not
brought it on themselves. God knows how to regulate the severity of
suffering according to all the facts that must be taken into account,
and all the ends that are to be served. However severe our
sufferings, we are compelled to admit that they are always less than
we deserve. But if His strokes are to be felt, they must sometimes be
severe.
2. _Punitive._ God punished Jacob for his sin; but He did not cast
him off. His disapprobation of sin had been shown in words; now it
must be shown by punishment (Hos. xii. 2). The sufferings of God's
people are sometimes trials of faith. But they are often punishments.
When a parent inflicts punishment, does he mean that he has disowned
his child? Does it not spring from and prove the relation between
them? God punishes as a father: and because He is a father. But this
is different from allowing the penal consequences of sin to fall
fully on them. That would be disownment, perdition. He fulfils His
word (Ps. lxxxix. 30-37. H. E. I., 56-59, 66-70).
3. _Corrective._ "Purged; and this is all the fruit, to take away his
sin." No man's suffering can atone for his sin. That comes another
way. The Divine One has atoned. Here repentance, reformation is
contemplated. As when the husbandman prosecutes his labours he aims
to produce the fruit, so God's design in His people's troubles is to
take away their sin. A rough method; but necessary. The wild storm
damages but purifies. The vine-dresser cuts off branches that the
tree may bear more fruit. The sharp frosts of affliction kill the
weeds of sin. The medicine is distasteful, but it attacks and
dislodges the disease.
But have afflictions invariably this effect? No. Sometimes received
in a rebellious spirit; God not recognised in them; thoughtfulness
not encouraged; the heart is hardened; comfort is sought from
pernicious sources; the soul is driven further from God and deeper
into sin.
But when trouble is sanctified--(1.) _It suggests serious
thoughtfulness._ How has it come? From God? Why? Sin. Our moral
instincts point to retribution. Perhaps some particular sin. May be
an immediate connection of the punishment--with intemperance for
instance, or fraudulent business transactions. There will be
self-examination. God, responsibility, eternity will be realised.
(2.) _It produces self-humiliation._ Confession of sin. Penitential
cry for mercy at the cross. Renewed self-dedication. (3.) _It
reawakens spiritual life._ It is a reason for the reception of fresh
impetus. New earnestness in the culture of holiness; new watchfulness
against evil. Like a child corrected.
Then if troubles surround you--(1.) Be conscious of God's hand. Look
beyond the secondary causes. (2.) Justify God in His dealing. (3.) Be
patient; wait His time. (4.) Study His design in sending the trouble.
And unite with Him for the accomplishment of that design (H. E. I.,
143-154).--_J. Rawlinson._
THE DOOM OF THE INCORRIGIBLE.
xxvii. 10, 11. _Yet the defenced city, &c._
I. WHAT A WONDERFUL PICTURE! Proud Babylon so utterly overthrown that
on its site cattle feed, and women gather dried sticks for firewood.
What an astonishing faith that rendered it possible for any one even
to conceive of such a national revolution. That faith grew out of a
victorious confidence in the righteousness of God as the ruler of the
world, and in His faithfulness to His promises. Such a faith we
should cultivate when we see iniquity triumphant. Its utter overthrow
is sure. II. WHAT AN ASTONISHING DECLARATION! "For it is a people of
no understanding; therefore," &c. It appears to be in direct
contradiction to our Saviour's prayer, "Father, forgive them, _for
they know not what they do._" But in the latter case the ignorance
was involuntary; in the former, it was deliberate and persistent.
Babylon resisted every effort God made to instruct her, and persisted
in her career of defiance of His authority and of outrage on all the
claims of man. Such obduracy was at length confronted by Divine
justice, and then ensued utter ruin. This is the eternal law of the
universe. Therefore, let the impenitent tremble, for persistence in
sin forfeits all our claims upon God as our Creator (H. E. I., 4488,
4489).
THE GOSPEL TRUMPET.
xxvii. 13. _And it shall come to pass in that day that the
great trumpet, &c._
The Jews had been scattered everywhither--some wandering in Assyria,
and some exiled in Egypt; but their coming back, as by the call of a
trumpet, is here predicted. The passage is strongly descriptive of
the exiled and perishing condition of sinful men, and of their return
at the trumpet-call of the Gospel.
I. THE SINNER'S CONDITION. He is--1. An exile. 2. He is ready to
perish.
II. THE GOSPEL TRUMPET.
It was not fashioned by man. 1. It is great in its _power._ In a
still night you may hear a brazen trumpet two or three miles away;
but this is so mighty that it is not only heard from heaven to earth,
but it is to arrest the attention of all nations. Men with physical
hearing all gone catch the first strain of it. Men buried half a
century in crimes have heard it. 2. It is great in its _sweetness._
3. It is a trumpet of _alarm._ It puts us on our guard against the
foes who are advancing to destroy us. 4. It is a trumpet of
_recruit._ It summons us to join the standard of the Son of God.
5. It is a trumpet of _retreat._ It warns us against the
fool-heartiness of entering into temptation. 6. It is a trumpet of
_victory._ It tells of victories achieved, and of others still more
glorious yet to be won. 7. It is a trumpet of _awakening._
As chaplain I was a little while in the army. Early every morning we
were awakened by a trumpet sounding the réveille. At that sound all
the troops arose from the tents, hastened to their places in the
line, and answered the roll-call. That done, they went to their
morning rations. We who are the soldiers of Christ cannot always be
marching and fighting. The evening will come. The shadows will
gather, and we must go to the white tents of the grave. There we
shall sleep soundly. But the night will pass along, and the first
thing we shall hear will be the trumpet-call sounding the réveille of
the resurrection; and we shall come up and fall into the long line of
light, the trophies of Christian conflict gleaming in the unsetting
sun. The roll shall be called, and we shall answer to our names; and
then we shall go to the morning repast of heaven (1 Cor.
xv. 52-55).--_De Witt Talmage, D.D.: Christian World Pulpit,_ i. 410.
ENGLAND'S CRYING SIN.
xxviii. 1-4. _Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards
of Ephraim, &c._[1]
Ephraim one of the most important of the tribes. It occupied some of
the richest land, about the middle of Palestine. When the ten tribes
formed a separate kingdom, Ephraim was the principal tribe in it.
Hence the new kingdom was sometimes called Ephraim. Its capital
Samaria, here called "the crown of pride." It was a position of great
natural strength. Its situation exceedingly beautiful. The sides of
the hill on which it was built sloped down to rich valleys, covered
with beautiful flowers and fruit-bearing trees. "Glorious beauty."
"Fat valleys." No wonder the people were proud of it. When this
prophecy was written, it was at the height of its pride. But it was
doomed. The glorious beauty was a fading flower. The crown of pride
was to be trodden under feet. Samaria was a delicious morsel for the
invader, plucked and eaten as soon as seen. Shalmanezer, with the
Assyrian host, invaded, overcame, carried the people away, never to
return. Unlike Judah in this respect. An unsolved problem to this
day, where are the ten tribes? do they still exist, or are they
entirely extinct?
It was because of sin. The story of Samaria's idolatry. To tamper
with idolatry was to renounce allegiance to Jehovah. But that was not
all. Serious moral obliquities came in the wake of idolatry. Among
these was intemperance. Had become a crying sin. Was helping to drag
the nation down to ruin. "Woe to the crown of pride," &c.
Here is a warning to England. England's crying sin is Samaria's
crying sin. God forbid that England should persist in it, so as to
bring on herself Samaria's doom! Mark--
I. ITS SINFULNESS. It was treated as sin in the case of Samaria. It
is still a sin, as well as a vice and a crime. Keep to the text in
pointing out its sinfulness. Drunkards described as "them that are
overcome with wine." Not a trifling thing to be overcome. The
drunkard allows a thing he loves to overcome him and rob him of that
for the safe keeping of which he is responsible to God. He is under
obligation to keep himself for God, and he betrays his trust. What is
overcome?
1. _Reason._ A great trust. Bound to use it to the best of our
ability; therefore to keep it in efficient working order so far as it
lies in our power. If you lent a man a tool, or a machine, you would
require him to keep it from injury. But strong drink contends with
and overcomes reason. You attach no importance to opinions expressed
or reasonings attempted by a drunken man. His reason has been
overcome by his own consent. He could not have been overcome if he
had refused to play with the enemy.
2. _Conscience._ Is not conscience a sacred trust? Sentry at the door
of character. Shall the sentry be drugged when the enemy is near?
Does not intemperance stupefy the conscience? Many a man who once
would have dreaded a sin more than a blow has become regardless of
sin, regardless of God. Not only does intoxication deaden the sense
of its own criminality; it lowers the moral tone as to everything
else. The moral nature becomes enfeebled. Any other temptation more
likely to succeed. By little and little comes over the soul a
tendency to make light of every kind of sin. Communion with God is
broken off. Prayer is dull and comfortless exercise when the
excitement of intemperance has become attractive. The religious
nature becomes dead or maudlin under the influence of drunkenness.
Alas! that men should undermine and disable their noblest faculty!
(H. E. I., 4498).
3. _Physical strength._ Are not our bodies also entrusted to us to
keep safely for the uses the Maker intends? If the suicide who takes
his own life by a single stroke rushes into the presence of his Judge
uncalled, must not the man who by negligence, folly, or vice,
shortens his life answer for it in the same way? But the drunkard
does this by being overcome with wine.
II. ITS PENALTY. There was a worm at the root of the glorious beauty,
and fruitfulness, and pride of Ephraim; and therefore it was a fading
flower. The worm was their sinfulness. The drunkard may say that he
is prosperous to-day; but the worm is at the root.
1. Look at the consequences to himself. The _deteriorated character,_
lowered tastes, lowered company of many a well-educated and splendid
young man, and many a beautiful promising boy. _The social
degradation._ "Trodden down." Avoided and despised by former
associates. _The ruined circumstances._ Gradually downwards, and
finally at the depth of poverty. _The Lost Eternity._ "No
inheritance." 2. Look at the consequences to his family. Wife
unhappy. Children uneducated and untrained. Home impoverished and
desolate. There is a skeleton in that house. 3. Look at the
consequences to society. Drunkards usually seek society. Their
example influences others.
How to cure? How to prevent? 1. _Legislation._ Can the legislature do
nothing more than it has done? What of Sunday closing? What of music
saloons? What of limitation of the hours? What of diminishing the
number of houses? What of abolition of the traffic? 2. _Abstinence._
Urge it on drunkards as their only chance of recovery. On the young
as their best security. On Christians as the most effective protest
and influential example. 3. _Religion._ Realise the sinfulness of
intemperance. Let the grace of God reign over thoughts, appetites,
habits.--_J. Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See pages 116 (THE MISERIES OF THE DRUNKARD) and 127 (DRINK
AND ITS WOES).
THE BELIEVER'S DIGNITY AND POWER.
xxviii. 5, 6. _In that day shall the_ LORD _of Hosts be for
you a crown, &c._
This sustaining assurance stands in striking antithesis to the solemn
threatenings and humbling charges which precede and follow it. It
rises like some stately palace amid the ruins of man's humbled pride
and broken hopes. This voice comes from heaven in the very hour of
earth's desolation and decay. The prominent figure on the prophet's
canvas is very unlike the objects grouped around it. On the one side
you look into a lovely valley, in the centre of which, on a
commanding height, stands Samaria, the capital of the "Ten Tribes,"
"the crown of pride," "the glorious beauty." But that proud crown is
soon to be cast to the ground; that "glorious beauty" is but a
garland of fading flowers; that luxuriant valley, whose very
"fatness" was made the minister of sensual indulgence, will soon be
overswept by the desolating march of the Assyrian invader; that gaudy
splendour, the boast of Ephraim's drunkards, is as short-lived as the
wreaths which the revellers bind around their brows. The worm of
intemperance is gnawing at the root of "the fading flower," and
overhead the storm is gathering that will blight its beauty. Turn now
to the other side of the central figure, where the kingdom of Judah
is introduced (ver. 7). Jerusalem as well as Samaria has her troops
of reckless inebriates and her scenes of disgusting intoxication;
though her punishment is not so near as that of the northern kingdom,
here, too, are seen the marks of sure decline. On both sides, then,
the prophet's picture is gloomy and portentous--the earth a scene of
drunken revelry, and the black sky streaked with the lightnings of
Divine wrath. But out of this sombre background of sottish
intemperance and overhanging judgment, of falling crowns and fading
wreaths, rises the luminous figure of our text. "In that day" of
vanishing glory "shall the Lord of Hosts," &c. In the fulness of its
wealth this promise belongs to us; the Lord of Hosts has become to us
"a crown of glory."
I. THE BELIEVER'S DIGNITY. Let us not tone down the grandeur of the
promise. Christ is the crown with which the believer is invested. He
is an heir of God, a partaker of the Divine nature. Let us see what
is implied in this representation, bearing in mind the crown to which
it stands in contrast. 1. It is a crown of _honour without
insecurity._ Man is like a discrowned and exiled king (Lam. v. 16).
But God has taken means to restore him his lost dignity (1 Cor.
i. 30). The crown of original righteousness which sin has torn from
our brows and trampled in the dust has been replaced by the
righteousness of Christ. How complete and glorious is His work in our
behalf, to what dignity does He raise us! This crown cannot be placed
on our head without inspiring us with a sense of honour, a feeling of
recovered power, of joy and hope and security. There may be a crowned
head without a kingly heart. A young prince may mount the throne
incapable of discharging its duties, or, perhaps, trembling lest his
new dignity should make him a mark for the bullet of the assassin;
but the Christian's honour cometh from God, and, along with the
restored kingship, kingly qualities are imparted, so that no man can
take his crown. 2. This is a crown in which we may _boast without
pride._ Samaria was a crown of pride to the Ephraimites, and because
they gloried in it, it was soon to be overturned. But while this
crown of carnal confidence was thus to be swept away, God becomes to
His people a more glorious crown in which they might boast without
pride. When anything short of God is made our confidence it fosters
vainglory, but with God as our crown all self-sufficiency is
excluded. 3. It is a crown of _joy without degradation._ As it does
not foster pride, so neither does it allow its wearer to descend to
low indulgence. Reference is probably made to the wreath of flowers
worn by drunken revellers on festive occasions. Under the plea of
festive mirth they wallowed in the mire of sensuality. How soon their
garlands would fall in disorder _from_ their heads, or fall _with_
their heads as they lay in senseless intoxication. The believer's
"diadem of beauty" points to purity and self-control (Ps. iv. 7).
4. It is an _unfading_ crown. This point in the contrast is equally
obvious. And is not "the fading flower" an emblem of all our earthly
joys?
"All that sweet was made, but to be lost
when sweetest."
This world's fairest chaplets will soon wither on our brows; its
honours, possessions, and hopes are evanescent; but the Lord will be
our everlasting crown, our God will be our eternal glory (H. E. I.,
4975-4989).
II. THE BELIEVER'S POWER.
In ver. 6 we have all the elements of personal power, social
well-being, and national greatness (Acts i. 8; Eph. v. 18). The
indwelling Spirit confers three benefits. 1. _A clear head._ "A
spirit of judgment." Solomon asked this blessing. It does not fall to
many of us to sit on the bench, but what is good for the judge is a
precious gift for all. When the Spirit pours His light upon the mind,
the eyes of our understanding are enlightened. A clear intellect, a
sound mind, an unwarped, unprejudiced judgment, is needed in all
walks of life. How appropriate is this part of the promise! How could
justice be rightly administered in such a state of society as that
described by the prophet? If there is one thing that saps the morals,
and muddles the understanding, it is intemperance. Men in positions
of responsibility need all their wits about them. 2. _A brave heart_
is promised "to them who turn the tide of battle to the gate." The
soldier as well as the judge is to participate in the gifts of God's
spirit. We have a spiritual warfare to wage (Eph. iv. 12), and we are
pledged to conquer the world for Christ. Beware lest we render
ourselves unfit for military service by luxurious habits, and sinful
indulgence. The drunkards of Ephraim could do nothing to oppose the
invaders of their country. We need the Spirit to fire our hearts with
courage and enterprise. Without His influence we shall prove
poltroons. 3. _A strong arm._ Self-denial is a source of moral
courage and of spiritual strength. Far from us be the dissoluteness
which enfeebles our powers, both of mind and body.
Such, then, are the contents of this precious promise. Oh, that we
were all invested with this crown of holiness, dignity, and beauty.
How many are content with the gilded coronets and fading chaplets of
the world. You remember the scene in the "Pilgrim's Progress," part
ii., which has been made the subject of a painting by Sir Noel
Paton--the man raking straw while one held a glittering crown over
his head. Make Christ your boast. The crown of pride shall be hurled
to the ground, the garlanded revellers shall sink in their own
corruption, the honours which men so eagerly seek are as a fading
flower, but the crown shall sparkle for ever on the believer's head
(Dan. xii. 3; Ps. xc. 17).--_William Guthrie, M.A._
God has said He would discrown Ephraim, remove his beauty, and strain
his pride. This was done when Samaria was overthrown by the
Assyrians. "In that day" He would do to the "residue of His
people"--apparently the kingdom of Judah--what is said in our present
text. It was done in the reign of Hezekiah, when the true worship was
re-established, reformation effected, and the nation defended against
its enemies.
The text may be regarded, however, as a description of the splendour
of the regenerated world.
I. THE PERSONS INTERESTED.
"The residue of His people: him that sitteth in judgment: and them
that turn the battle to the gate." All classes. Brave defenders;
governors and administrators of justice, and the great mass of the
people. Hence we observe that the blessing of the Gospel is needed by
and suited to every class and every man. If there be a man anywhere
who does not need it, it is either because--(1), he has no soul to
save; or (2), he has not sinned; or (3), he is sufficient in himself
to remove sin and its consequences from himself. But none of these
can be said of any man.
II. THE BLESSING PROMISED.
It consists in that which the Lord will be to the regenerated world.
1. _Honour._ Men mistake the things that constitute the true honour
and dignity of human nature. Sounding titles; enormous wealth;
personal beauty; commanding intellect; undisputed power. They are all
insufficient and insecure, like fading flowers. God is the true crown
of glory to man. When the soul returns from its wanderings to God and
is re-united to Him through Christ, the crown is placed upon his head
(Jer. ix. 23, 24). 2. _Wisdom._ Both in barbarous and civilised
countries, man without the Gospel is ignorant of the character of
God, and of the way to approach Him (1 Cor. i. 21). He gropes about
in the darkness, if he desire to find Him at all. But Christ is made
of God to us "wisdom," as well as "righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption." In Him the Divine character is closely seen in the
fulness, harmony, and glory of its attributes. In Him also we learn
how man can be reconciled to God, and the way to eternal life.
3. _Strength._ Not physical, nor intellectual power, however valuable
in the regions proper to them. But moral power; the power of the
human will; the most important power of all. This alone possesses the
terrible capacity of resisting the Almighty. The most powerful
animals act as they have been created to act. All mechanical forces
act according to their laws. But man, possessed of will, is possessed
of a power that can either defy or obey the authority of Omnipotence.
When the Gospel comes to the human heart, it constrains the will into
a mighty force for good. God and man combine to overthrow the empire
of evil in the heart and in the world. "The Lord of hosts is for
strength to them that turn the battle to the gate."
III. THE TIME INDICATED.
"In that day." Christ came "in the fulness of time." There are
reasons and circumstances specially favourable to the advancement of
the kingdom of Christ. There is a time in the purpose of Jehovah when
all nations shall walk in the light. We may mark the circumstances
which are usually indicative of the further spread of the Gospel.
1. When there is a time of special revival, reformation, and
earnestness in the Church. As in time of Hezekiah. 2. When God stirs
up His people to exert themselves for the world's salvation, it is a
sign that the world's salvation is coming on apace. "When God enters
the chamber, and awakens His children, and bids them rise, it is a
sign that the morning has come." 3. When the church longs, waits,
prays for the success of the work, the time is likely to have come.
"As soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children." Let the
Church of Christ really desire, believe in, pray for the world's
conversion, and God will open the windows of heaven and pour down the
blessing. Have you been sufficiently interested in the world's
salvation? As individuals? Are we sufficiently interested in our
own?--_J. Rawlinson._
EARLY RELIGIOUS TRAINING.
(_Sunday School Anniversary Sermon._)
xxviii. 9, 10. _Whom shall He teach knowledge? &c._
Whether we regard these verses as the language of the drunkards of
Ephraim, deriding the Lord's messengers for the plainness and urgency
of their unwelcome instructions, or as the language of the prophet
himself affirming interrogatively the spiritual ignorance and
imbecility of the people, with their prophets and priests, they
suggest the importance of earnestly instructing the young in the
knowledge of our relations to God and eternity. We may turn to them
more hopefully than to the old. Youth is the time for learning. In
the first ten years of life are laid the foundations of the social
and religious character which every man carries to the grave.
Therefore we should not leave them to be laid haphazard, but should
do our utmost to bring it to pass that they shall be such that on
them can be built the structure of a holy life. To accomplish this we
must instruct them in the revealed will of God. 1. The youth learns
nothing good until he is taught. Though wise to do evil, to do good
he has no knowledge. 2. The young mind is susceptible of deep and
enduring impressions (H. E. I., 775, 776, 786). 3. Scriptural
knowledge is not only of surpassing value, but is more easily
imparted to the young than most of that human knowledge for which the
opening powers are often severely taxed. If difficulties arise from
immaturity and levity of mind, they are more than balanced by freedom
from the prejudices of age, and the perplexing cares of life; by
their docility and instinctive desire to penetrate the unknown; by
the eagerness with which they seize upon the explanations of facts in
nature and providence, or on similitudes and allegories; and by their
unsuspecting confidence in the ability of their appointed teachers.
Their natural aversion to God is but partially developed, and waits
the coming of riper years to mature its strong resistance to the
Divine claims. 4. The weightiest obligations rest on parents to give
their children religious instruction (H. E. I., 803-806). When
parents are unable to do so personally, through defect of ability, or
the urgency of paramount duties, it is their privilege to do so
through the kind offices of others. 5. A failure in the discharge of
parental obligations to children imposes on others who fear God the
duty of teaching the knowledge. They are immortal; for them Christ
died. Of the fulness and glory of the results of a faithful
performance of this duty no adequate conception can be formed by us
on this side of heaven.--_R. S. Storrs, D.D., American National
Preacher,_ xix. 121-141.
THE POWER OF LITTLES.
xxviii. 10. _Here a little and there a little._
The application of this text is first of all to the impressions
produced by the Word of God and the efficacy of constant religious
instruction. But it is in this same way, by little and little, that
all great and lasting impressions are made and the mightiest results
accomplished.
+I. The processes of nature.+--Mighty and sudden changes are not the
rule, but gradual and prepared ones. The seasons, the months, day
into night, night into day--how gradual and imperceptible the
transitions. The germination of seed, &c. +II. The formation of
character.+--Little by little every man's character is _formed_
(H. E. I., 709-711, 1836-1851) or _spoiled_ (H. E. I., 4521-4523,
4720-4725). All the steps, successively, that lead either to heaven
or hell are small, one by one, except in great crimes, and even then
there has been a gradual preparation for them (H. E. I., 428, 429).
So conversion, that great change of the soul, is prepared for
imperceptibly (H. E. I., 1462). From minute and commonplace thoughts,
words, actions, results character for eternity! +III. Christian
service.+--Called not to acts of heroism, but to a faithful discharge
of commonplace duties (H. E. I., 4149). +IV. Christian work.+--It is
by little and little that, in such a world as this, we must do the
greater part of the good that we ever accomplish (H. E. I., 1725).
+V. The training of children.+--Heavenly habits are to be formed in
them by the influence upon them of daily, familiar, minute, but
ever-recurring examples set before them (H. E. I., 777-779, 790,
802). +VI. Preparation for heaven.+--Try to gain a little for God, a
little for heaven, a little more of grace _every_ day. Do this in
_little_ things and you will accomplish _great_ things. Here a little
and there a little will carry you on from step to step, from grace to
glory (H. E. I., 2512, 2537).--_G. B. Cheever, D.D.: American
National Preacher,_ xxvi. 145-152.
THE SURE FOUNDATION.
xxviii. 16. _Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold! I
lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone
for a firm foundation; he that believeth shall not be in
haste.--Birks._[1]
I. Who this foundation is. II. Where this foundation is laid.
III. The Author of this foundation. IV. The character of this
foundation. V. The safety of those who build upon it.--_R. Bingham,
M.A.: Sermons,_ p. 202.
I. God's foundation for the eternal salvation of sinners. II. Its
properties and excellences. III. The blessedness of those who build
upon it.--_W. Hancock, B.D.: Sermons,_ pp. 1-16.
The person and salvation of Jesus Christ are frequently spoken of
under the image here presented, the most obvious and expressive image
of security, that of a foundation. Our Saviour expressly appropriates
to Himself (Psalm cxviii. 22). The same architectural idea appears in
Eph. ii. 20; 1 Pet. ii. 4-8.
+I. The grand object which God proposed to Himself in all His
dispensations to man,+ viz., the laying of a foundation in which the
hope of a repenting sinner might rest, with regard to God and
Eternity. We trace this object, 1. In the primal promise (Gen.
iii. 15). 2. In the mysterious rite of sacrifice Divinely appointed
from the beginning to prefigure "the Lamb of God who taketh away the
sins of the world." 3. In the whole system of the Mosaic law, "The
schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." 4. More and more distinctly
announced in the Psalms and Prophecies. The foundation proclaimed by
Jehovah in the text is the chief end of all He has done and revealed
to mankind; the central point in which all the lines of His
providence and His word meet and terminate. Nature supplies the
scene, providence the scaffolding, revelation the plan, and that
mighty spiritual edifice of which this is the foundation.
+II. This foundation was needed.+ None will dispute this point. So
sensible are men that they need a foundation for hope towards God,
that every one is disposed to lay his own. Every one feels that
without some restitution made to a holy God sin cannot be pardoned
nor the sinner saved. The question is, How shall a proper foundation
be laid? where shall an adequate restitution be found? The most
important question in the universe to be answered and at the same
time the most difficult! (1 Sam. ii. 25). Only three kinds of
restitution on the part of man are imaginable--penitence, good works,
voluntary sufferings; but none of these, nor all put together, can be
deemed satisfactory in the case before us. 1. _Penitence_ is no
foundation of the soul before God; the most sorrowful remembrance of
sin cannot repair it (H. E. I., 4225-4228). 2. Neither are _good
works,_ to which the same insufficiency attaches; they are always
required, and therefore can never possess a superfluity or redundancy
of merit (H. E. I., 375, 1950). And this applies to the best works;
but what are ours in the sight of God? 3. The only remaining kind of
restitution is by _voluntary sufferings:_ this, by its very
definition, is absurd and vain, for if any sufferings are required
they become part of our duty; but to invent penances of our own is no
part of our duty, and must be contradictory rather than satisfactory
to the Divine law. Penitence, good works, voluntary sufferings, may
be methods of procuring for us the priestly absolution of a poor
sinful man like ourselves; but they will not secure for us the Divine
acceptance.
III. Observe, it is in the midst of the false foundations, the
"baseless fabrics" of sinners, that God in our text introduces His
own, +the only true and solid foundation.+ All who build their hope
on any other will be compelled at last to say, "We have made lies our
refuge, and under falsehood we have hid ourselves." See 1 Cor.
iii. 10. The wonderful way in which this stone was laid; how a person
of the Godhead assumed our human nature, He who was in the form of
God took the form of a servant, He became "Jehovah our
righteousness." See 2 Cor. v. 19. He who laid the foundation of the
heavens and the earth alone could lay this foundation in Zion!
+VI. The excellent qualities of this foundation.+ It is
represented--1. As _"a tried stone:"_ a foundation which has resisted
the strongest attempts to shake it,--that has stood the trial of
unnumbered enemies and friends. It has been proved in the fiery trial
of Divine justice, and the sins of the whole world have tried its
strength to sustain an overwhelming weight. The storms of persecution
have raged against it in vain, still it stands uninjured (Heb.
xiii. 8)! In every respect "a tried stone;" tried by God, by Satan,
by man; tried in life, in death, in eternity; tried by all the saints
in all their trials; and never tried in vain! 2. As _"a
corner-stone."_ The corner-stone unites both sides of an edifice; and
St. Paul represents Christ as Him in whom the whole building, fitly
compacted, rises a spiritual habitation of God (Eph. ii. 19-22).
3. As _"precious;"_ precious in respect to the Saviour's Person as
the only begotten Son of God; in respect to His sacrifice; a
foundation composed not of corruptible things (1 Peter i. 18, 19).
4. As _"a sure foundation:"_ not an imaginary one like every other,
but one real and substantial! In the Hebrew the word is reduplicated
for the greater emphasis, "A foundation, a foundation!" Not a
transitory but an eternal one. We are dying men; we sojourn in a
world of vanity and death; what we want is a "sure foundation."
Behold in Christ this grand desideratum!
+V. The happiness of him who rests on this foundation.+ "He that
believeth shall not make haste;" he shall not be thrown into
disquietude and agitation of spirit. Never has the strength of this
foundation been so well appreciated as when it was most tried, most
needed. When our flesh and our heart fail, then is the time to find
in God the rock of our heart, in Christ the foundation of our soul!
CONCLUSION.--But then we must possess the character defined in the
text; "he that believeth," is he that amidst the wreck of nature
shall be saved on this foundation. We must see to it that we have
that faith which is known by its fruits, which keeps the
commandments, purifies the heart, works by love, overcomes the world,
resists the devil, rejoices in Christ.--_Robert Hall: Fifty Sermons,_
pp 68-86.
+I. God's foundation for the stability of His Church.+ 1. _This
foundation was planned in the eternal counsels of Jehovah_ (1 Pet.
i. 20; Luke xi. 50; Rev. xiii. 8). 2. _This foundation was actually
laid in the incarnation and sufferings of Jesus Christ_ (2 Cor.
v. 21; Gal. iii. 13; 1 Pet. ii. 22). 3. _This foundation is
proclaimed in the preaching of the Gospel_ (Luke xxiv. 47; Acts
xiii. 38, 39).
+II. The peculiar qualities by which this foundation is
distinguished.+ 1. It is a _stone, denoting strength._ 2. It is a
_living stone._ Possessing life in Himself, He is able to communicate
it (John i. 4, v. 26; Rom. viii. 2). 3. A _tried stone._ The Father
tried it, earth tried it, hell tried it. 4. A _precious
corner-stone._ Corner-stones are generally placed for three purposes
for (_a._) union; for (_b._) beauty; for (_c._) direction or example.
5. A _sure foundation._
+III. The safety and blessedness of all those who depend upon this
foundation.+--_J. Sherman: British Pulpit,_ ii. 185-193.
Whatever subordinate reference there may be in these words to the
Jews, the principle reference is to the Messiah. For this view we
have apostolic authority. St. Paul says: "As it is written." Where?
In our text. "Whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed." And
St. Peter quotes from Isaiah the same text.
+I. The Emblem of the Lord Jesus.+ "A stone." Whether we consider Him
"a stone" for solidity, or for strength, or for duration, He is all
these; for whatever changes may take place among men, with Him "there
is no variableness nor shadow of turning." Peter calls Him--1. A
"living stone," meaning that He has life in Himself, that He procures
and dispenses it to others. So Paul (Col. iii. 4). 2. He is a _tried
stone._ Everything in regard to Him was tried in the days of His
flesh: His wisdom, His meekness, His love. 3. He is a _precious
stone._ Precious to God the Father, to angels, to Christians (1 Pet.
ii. 7). 4. A precious _corner-stone._ The corner-stone stands to
unite. He unites in His person deity and manhood. We see in Him
united the Old and New Testament dispensations. He unites Jews and
Gentiles (Eph. ii. 14).
+II. His destination.+ "Behold I lay in Zion," &c. 1. _Who lays this
foundation?_ GOD. 2. _Where does He lay this foundation?_ "In
_Zion._" Jesus was a Jew, of the family of David. To the woman at the
well He said, "Salvation is of the Jews." See Ps. cx. 2; and Isa.
ii. 2, 3, xxv. 6.
+III. How well He answers the purpose and end.+ "A sure foundation."
He is a sure foundation for all. Myriads have trusted in Him, and to
the whole world it may be said (Isa. xxvi. 4).
+IV. The blessedness of those who make use of it.+ "He that believeth
shall not make haste." This declaration is not opposed to
_diligence;_ now, for "the King's business requireth haste." No (Ps.
cxix. 60). But--1. To _impatience_ (see chap. v. 19). "Blessed are
they that _wait_ on Him." 2. To _confusion._ Terror will overwhelm
the godless (Rev. i. 7). But believers (1 John ii. 28).
+V. Observe the ushering in of the whole scene.+ "Behold." Angels
pause before the great work of redemption, and "desire to look unto
these things." "Herein is His love made manifest." Behold He "hath
commended His love, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for
us." Be not of those who "Behold and wonder and perish;" but let the
command inspire you with gratitude, admiration, obedience, and zeal.
"Hear, and your souls shall live."--_William Jay: Sunday Evening
Discourses,_ pp. 18-25.
+I. The prominent idea of the text.+ Christ a foundation-stone.
1. The _Builder_ is Jehovah Himself. He drew the plan of the
spiritual building, determined the materials of which it should be
constructed, the stone on which it should rest, and then with His own
hand laid that foundation. 2. The _Site_ of the building was "Zion."
This is generally explained as referring to the Church. But is not
the Church the building? Is there not an incongruity in saying, I lay
in the Church a foundation-stone on which the Church is to be built?
Is there any reason why the passage might not be understood literally
as referring to Jerusalem? Is there not a very appropriate sense in
which it was true that the foundation on which the Church rests was
laid in Jerusalem? Was it not there that the Son of God offered up
Himself as a sacrifice, and made atonement for man? Was it not there
that the Holy Spirit descended and gave effect to the finished work
of redemption? Was it not there the gospel was first preached by the
apostles? And was not all this in accordance with the
pre-arrangements of God's plan? As Zechariah's fountain was to be
opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and as
Ezekiel's waters were to flow forth from the temple, so Isaiah's
foundation-stone was laid in Jerusalem. 3. The _building_ to be
reared on this stone was to be composed of Christian men of all ages
and all nations. They are being collected now; they will all as
lively stones by gathered in, fitly framed together, and built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief corner-stone.
+II. The qualities attributed to this foundation-stone.+ 1. A _tried_
stone. 2. A _precious_ corner-stone. How shall we estimate its worth?
By its intrinsic value? Precious beyond all price. By its scarceness?
No other stone like it in the universe. By the importance of the
service it renders in the building? Precious to the Builder, to the
holy angels, to the redeemed before the throne, to believers on
earth. 3. A _sure_ foundation. Firm, solid, safe.
+III. The import of the promise annexed.+[2] 1. Shall not make haste,
or be in haste. 2. Shall not be put to shame (Rom. ix. 33, x. 11, &c.)
CONCLUSION.--If not on the foundation, get on it. If on it, keep on
it. Be not content to build on it yourself, but try to induce others
to do so.--_John Corbin._
+I. Sinful, dying man needs a foundation on which he may securely
rest his immortal hopes.+ Every man who studies his own nature and
destiny as immortal and accountable instinctively feels that he needs
something to give him support under the trials of life, and peace and
hope as he is about to enter upon the invisible world. This feeling
may exert no decisive influence over his conduct; it may be
counteracted by other influences; but it is in him; and he cannot get
rid of it.
+II. Such a foundation is laid for him in Zion.+ This foundation is
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. ii. 4-6). It is described 1. as _a
stone,_ indicating the solidity and durableness of that on which we
are invited to rest our immortal interests. In rearing a building of
any importance, we deem it essential that the foundation be laid in
the most enduring materials. How much more should we look for this
when we build for eternity! 2. As _a tried stone._ It has been tested
in every possible way, and in the severest manner, and therefore
justly claims our full and unhesitating confidence.[3] Other grounds
of hope have been resorted to by men--philosophy, infidelity,
self-righteousness--but they have always failed in the day of trial.
But a countless multitude, as they have risen from earth to heaven,
have testified to the perfect safety of trusting in Christ. Hence it
is called 3. _a precious stone._ How precious none can know but such
as have made trial of it in their times of need--the sinner, burdened
with a sense of guilt, and sinking in despair; the believer,
rejoicing in hope, and looking forward to heaven as his eternal home;
the dying Christian, as he closes his eyes on this world, in joyful
hope of another and a better; the redeemed in glory, as they cast
their crowns at His feet. Ask them what they think of Christ. 4. As
_a corner-stone._ The principal weight of an edifice rests on the
corners; and hence, in building, the largest and firmest blocks are
selected and placed there as best adapted to unite and support the
whole structure. This is the idea intended to be expressed when
Christ is spoken of as a corner-stone. It is He who, by His truth,
His grace, and His spirit, converts and sustains the whole living
temple (Eph. ii. 20-22). 5. As summing up the whole--_a sure
foundation._ Hence it is said, "He that believeth shall not make
haste."[4] The specific idea is that of a man on whose house the
tempest beats, and who apprehends that the foundation is insecure, or
feels it to be giving way beneath him, and therefore makes haste to
flee from his dwelling to seek a more safe position. The foundation
laid in Zion is so firm and secure that if a man trusts himself on
it, he shall have no cause of alarm, however the storms may beat, and
the waves dash and foam around him. Amid the wreck of matter and the
crash of dissolving worlds, he shall not be confounded, but shall
come forth at last unharmed and victorious over all, and find in his
Judge a friend, and in the kingdom of His Father and God an
everlasting home.
+III. It is the duty and privilege of all to build their hopes on
this foundation without delay.+
--_Joel Hawes, D.D.: Sermons,_ pp. 307-317.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _"He that buildeth shall not make haste."_ The apostles
Paul and Peter, in citing this passage, quote from the
Septuagint, and accordingly they render it _"he that
believeth shall not be ashamed"_ (Rom. ix. 33), or
"confounded" (1 Pet. ii. 6). The Hebrew word properly
signified "to make haste," and hence, according to one
lexicographer, "to hurry hither and thither as persons in
confusion." The apparent discrepancy between the text as
given by Isaiah in the Old Testament and as quoted by the
apostles in the New vanishes at once when we consider the
nature of the future employed. Conceive the situation of a
man who has "built his house upon the sand." The rains
descend, the floods beat upon that house, the foundations
begin to give way, the house totters to its fall, and the
frightened inmate, terrified and bewildered, "makes haste"
to escape to a place of safety. Another has built his house
upon the rock. Upon this also the rains descend and the
floods beat, but its firm foundations remain unmoved
because it is founded upon a rock, and its happy inmate, so
far from being obliged to "make haste" to escape, in
conscious security may smile at the storm. "He that
believeth shall not make haste"--"shall not be
confounded"--"shall not be ashamed" of his hope.--_John
Dowling, D.D._
[2] A. V. _"Shall not make haste."_ See translations by
Alexander and Delitzsch. Kay and Birks, _"Shall not be in
haste."_ Cheyne, _"He that hath faith shall not give way."_
The text reading does not suit the connection; it seems to
have arisen out of a confusion of the letters mem and
kheth. Sept., Tay., Pesh., feeling that something was
wrong, render freely "Shall not be put to shame?" But as to
the connection see preceding extract from Dowling.
[3] If you had a bridge to cross which had stood for centuries
and over which thousands of people had passed every day
with entire safety, you would feel no hesitation in making
that of it yourself. So is Christ set before you--a
_tested_ foundation of hope.--_Hawes._
[4] See note 1 above.
OUR TRUST AND OUR TEST.
xxviii. 16. _A tried stone._
This phrase may be more literally rendered "a stone for proof," and
so rendered admits of two interpretations. The commonly received
opinion, that it means a stone which has been tried and found
sufficient is probably correct, and is more in harmony with the
context; but Calvin understands by it a stone which was to be the
test or standard of comparison for others. However this may be, we
have inspired authority for saying that the stone is no other than
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet. ii. 6); and we may profitably consider
Him in these two aspects, as our Trust and our Test.
I. HE IS OUR TRUST, because He has been tried. "Tried in the days of
His humanity by all the vehemence of temptations, and the weight of
afflictions, yet, like gold from the furnace, rendered more shining
and illustrious by the fiery scrutiny."--(_Hervey._) [For further
amplifications, see the other outlines on this text.--R.A.B.]
II. HE IS OUR TEST. In Him we have the true touchstone of character.
All men naturally divide themselves into good or bad, saved or lost,
by their acceptance or rejection of Him. By this touch-stone strange
discoveries have been made in every age. The Pharisees and Scribes
had a high character for piety until this trying stone was applied to
them, and then it appeared what they were--the most inveterate
enemies of God on earth. The reception which men gave to Jesus Christ
is the great criterion of their character, as Simeon predicted (Luke
ii. 34). This is the supreme test by which God is trying _you,_ and
by which your eternal destiny will be determined.--_Samuel Davies,
A.M., Sermons,_ ii. 29-33.
A TESTED SAVIOUR.
xxviii. 16. _A tried stone._
This is perhaps an allusion to the custom of builders who are about
to lay the foundation for some massive structure. Before they raise
the edifice they test the character of the substratum on which they
think of building. Is not our blessed Lord in every way a tried, a
tested, an approved Saviour! I. _Did not the Father try Him_ and find
Him faithful in every way?--in His willingness, His obedience, His
love? II. _Did not Satan try Him_ and find Him upright? Tried by
temptations addressed to His natural appetite, to pride, and to
ambition. III. _Was He not tried by wicked and unbelieving men?_ By
Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians in His own day, and by sceptics
in ours. IV. _By the afflicted, the poor, the destitute_ in His own
day and in ours? and in each case only to bring out more clearly the
marvellousness of His resources. V. _By the contrite and
broken-hearted?_ VI. _By believers in every generation?_ And what has
been their unanimous testimony? Is it not that they found Him more
than equal to all their wants and able to do for them all that they
could ask or think? Could so many millions of witnesses, in other
respects trustworthy, be mistaken on this point? VII. HAVE YOU TRIED
HIM?--_R. Bingham, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp. 208-215.
FALSE REFUGES.
xxviii. 17. _And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of
lies._
Numerous are the stratagems of Satan to ruin souls. In some he
effects this by hurrying them on in the broad way of open
transgression; in others, by rendering them the victims of some
peculiar constitutional sin--pride, avarice, &c.; in others, by
inciting a spirit of disbelief of the truth (Ps. xiv. 1); in others,
by inducing inattention to the things of the soul. But our text leads
us to contemplate _the false refuges to which he causes others to
betake themselves._
+I. Sinners often feel the necessity of a refuge.+ This arises
sometimes from--1. _An internal sense of guilt._ Unless in cases of
utter obduracy, transgression and remorse are ever wedded together.
Even pagans have these pangs of guilty torture. Under these, men sigh
for peace, long for rest, and earnestly desire a refuge. 2. _The
calamitous events of life._ Sudden adversity, domestic bereavement,
visiting the open grave of some friend, bodily indisposition, mental
disquietude, &c. 3. _The supposed nearness of death._ Men who mock at
religion in health, quail at the approach of death. Voltaire trembled
in a storm, anxious then to have deliverance, to obtain a refuge.
4. _Under the alarming influence of the preached word._ When the
truth has flashed across the mind and startled the conscience. Thus
Felix, and thus thousands. How lamentable that these impressions and
convictions are often so fleeting; but still more so, when the
convicted sinner flees to sources of false security.
+II. Sinners frequently betake themselves to refuges of lies.+ Of
these notice--1. _Partial reformation of life._ Giving up the grosser
sins of which they have been guilty, intemperance, profanity, fraud,
&c. When the whole body is diseased, the amputation of one member is
fruitless. 2. _A general regard to Christian morality,_ to the
outward acts of obedience, and the decencies of society. 3. _An
outward profession of religion._ Punctual regard to public worship, a
proper regard to ordinances, a name among the people of God. 4. _A
prominent and public sectarian spirit._ Rigid adherence to party,
sect, and creed; violent anathematising all others; great ardour in
the public events of the Church to which they belong. "Come, see my
zeal," &c. 5. _Distinguished generosity._ Liberality to the poor,
works of beneficence, co-operation with the compassionate and
benevolent. All these things are good in their legitimate sphere and
extent, but they are all often only refuges of lies; they may engage
a man's anxious attention, while the root of the matter has yet no
place in his heart (1 Cor. xiii. 1-3; Matt. vii. 22, 23). 6. A still
more commonly frequent refuge of lies: _a general reliance on the
mercy of God._ A kind of self-confident persuasion that God is good,
that He will not punish, an indefinite resting on His clemency,
forgetting His righteousness, purity, truth, &c.
+III. Such refuges of lies will be ultimately swept away.+ They will
be so--1. _In a dying hour._ Then the mental vision often becomes
peculiarly acute, the moral sense keen and distinct, and the honesty
of the spirit throws off the tinsel mask, which is now manifestly
worse than useless. How poor and worthless is self-righteousness, in
all its possible extent, to a spirit just stepping into the presence
of the holy God. A queen of England, although professing to be
"Defender of the Faith," and having bishops at her control, felt
this, and died in circumstances of unutterable alarm. 2. _In the
morning of the resurrection._ Then all classes and distinctions will
be reduced to two. None but the righteous will have a part in the
first resurrection. Others will rise with shame, confusion, and
horror to everlasting contempt. 3. _In the decisions_ _of the
judgment._ God will judge all men in righteousness. The wicked and
the righteous will be separated (Matt. xxv. 32, 33); no pretence,
disguise, plea, stratagem, importunity, or effort, will avail. All
refuges of lies will be swept away.
APPLICATION.--1. Warn against these destructive schemes and wiles of
Satan. 2. Exhibit the one only refuge, Jesus Christ, who delivers
from the wrath to come. 3. Urge instant faith in Him. "Count all
things but loss," &c. All who believe in Him are secure for both
worlds. To this Refuge let _all_ repair, earnestly, and now.--_Jabez
Burns, D.D.: Pulpit Cyclopædia,_ iii. 153-156.
THE SHORT BED AND THE NARROW COVERING.
xxviii. 20. _For the bed is shorter, &c._
Of all the striking images made use of in this chapter, none was so
likely to catch the ear, and impress itself on the memory, and become
a seed of useful reflection, as that embodied in this proverbial
saying. Epigrams have done much to guide popular movements. Lord
Bacon speaks of them as "the edge-tools which cut and penetrate the
knots of business and affairs." The adage before us is homely, but
forcible and expressive. To a fastidious taste and a false refinement
it may appear undignified; but where one has to deal with reckless
folly and obstinacy, he selects what best serves his purpose of
exposing it. Lifted out of the occasions which gave the birth, these
pithy and sententious sayings admit of manifold applications. They
refute error, and make truth visible.
I. Apply this aphorism to the _shifts of diplomacy._ This is the use
which the prophet makes of it. No words could better expose the folly
of the Egyptian alliance. The "scornful" politicians of Jerusalem
"had not only secured themselves by a treaty with that
personification of death and hell, the Assyrian, but they had
outwitted him; for what chance could a mere barbarian soldier have
against the deep-laid policy of an old, long-civilised state? They
were in communication with Egypt and Ethiopia, and at the proper time
would bring the armies of Tirhakah to free them from the power of
Sennacherib." This was the plausible but imprudent and deceitful
scheme which the prophet denounced; and all such measures will in due
time land their short-sighted and dishonest authors in the short bed
with the narrow covering.
II. Apply it to the _dishonesties of trade_ and the _reckless
extravagance of living._ The rash speculator and the careless
spendthrift will soon find out its truth. If they do not live within
their means, and regulate dress and diet according to their income,
they will soon find themselves in the short bed, vainly seeking
warmth and comfort under a scanty covering. How much society has
suffered from reckless speculation! Many a promising youth has
foolishly squandered his means, and has grown so enormously in his
luxurious habits, that he has no room to stretch himself on the short
bed of his income. Visions of sequestration disturb his repose;
pinching poverty hinders his comfort.
III. The same imprudent miscalculation is seen in _the plans of
worldly-minded men._ Their purpose is to make a fortune, and then
retire to enjoy it. They imagine that thus they shall have
constructed an ample bed with abundant covering, in which they may
comfortably spend the evening of life's day. But they have made their
bed without measuring its occupant at his full height. Providing for
the body, but neglecting the soul, they are cribbed and confined
within the narrow boundaries of time, and it will be well for them if
they discover their mistake when the chill frosts of old age seize
upon their uncovered limbs.
IV. Apply it to the _expedients by which men seek spiritual rest._
There are many short beds on which they seek repose, and narrow
coverings in which they try to wrap themselves. What apologies do
they find for their sin!--how earnestly they work out a righteousness
of their own in which to find shelter, forgetting that "all have
sinned and come short," and "the one thing" they lack is a fatal
defect! They will soon shiver with cold under this insufficient
covering. Nothing but the saving work of Christ can answer man's need
as a sinful creature. Here is both room and warmth (Matt. xi. 28). As
the fond mother lays her child to sleep, so will He provide for our
comfort (Isa. lxvi. 13). The word "hap" is dear to a Scotch ear,
expressing "the care with which the bed-clothes are laid upon the
little forms, and carefully tucked in about the round sleeping
cheeks." Seek rest in Christ. He will support you in sickness and
sooth you in pain; and when laid down on your last bed, rejoicing in
the fulness and all-sufficiency of His grace, you will fall asleep in
Him. A common proverb runs, "He has made his bed, and now he must lie
on it," sometimes harshly used, yet expressing a solemn truth (Gal.
vi. 7; Isa. l. 11).--_William Guthrie, M.A._
An end is proposed to be accomplished; the first consideration will
be the suitability and sufficiency of means. The kingdom of Judah was
trusting in inadequate defences against the Assyrians, whose approach
was feared. False gods. Words of false prophets. Alliance with Egypt.
Warned against all these. True defence in faithful adherence to God
as covenant God. If they continued to look elsewhere they would find
themselves in the position of a man in a bed too short for him, or
with a covering too narrow to wrap himself. Instead of comfort and
rest, weariness, discomfort, unrest. The bed does not answer its end.
It is inadequate.
This thought is capable of another application. Men's religious
beliefs and practices may be inadequate. A religion for man must be
true in itself, be evidenced as true, be adapted to and sufficient
for his religious necessities, capacities, and susceptibilities.
Otherwise, it is inadequate.
Point out the inadequacy of some religious ideas that are in vogue.
+I. Scepticism is inadequate.+ There is not only the unbelief that
denies the truth of Christianity, but the more subtle unbelief which
refuses to affirm while it does not exactly deny. It says we know
nothing, and may act on the assumption that there is nothing--as to
God, Christ, a future state. Now we might show that there is
sufficient evidence, but at present only show that this theory is not
adequate to the demands of human nature. It is a fair inference from
the almost universal experience of mankind that the doctrines of God,
conscience, responsibility, prayer, a future state of existence, are
congenial to human nature. Education does not account for them,
although it may give them shape. Without them human nature is short
of something which it needs. It is adapted to them. Without them its
deepest needs are inadequately supplied.
The religion of the Bible supplies the need of man in all these
respects. It reveals the Divine Being and character. It tells of a
Father on whom, in his helplessness, man may call. It guides his
conscience so that it may fitly guide _him._ It acquaints us with the
nature of the life to come.
+II. Self-righteousness is inadequate.+ There are necessities which
did not exist in man's original constitution, self-created
necessities. The state of sinfulness is a second nature, superinduced
on the original nature. Overlooking this, many imagine the Divine
favour can be won and the religious life prosecuted by obedience to
God and kindness to man. They proceed on the supposition that it is
only necessary to continue such a course from any given commencement.
If the sinful part is recognised, it is assumed that it will be
condoned in consideration of the new service. It is assumed that the
long-standing debt of former sin will be gradually paid by goodness
in excess of ordinary demands, or that God, in some unknown way, will
remit it.
This bed is too short. This covering too narrow. The religion for a
fallen creature must deal seriously with the state of sin, guilt,
condemnation. The question meets you at the outset. If every farthing
of your present income is absolutely required to meet your barest
necessities, how can you out of it pay back debts? Does not the law
require a perfect obedience? Do you at present render more than it
requires? Do you ever, with your best endeavour, come up to the law?
It is hopelessly inadequate. The religion for man must provide a free
forgiveness; one also honourable to God. It is not in our power. It
is in God. And He has made such a provision. The Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ is that provision. His obedience, death, righteousness.
Freely given without works to the believing sinner. This is the only
adequate ground. This bed is long enough. This covering wide enough.
+III. Ceremonialism is inadequate.+ Human nature is impure. It needs
cleansing as well as pardon. Some imagine this is accomplished by
sacramental grace, through baptism, which is supposed to regenerate;
and the mysterious influence of the consecrated bread and wine. All
this is inadequate. No outward rite can effect an inward and
spiritual change. There must be a new nature. There must be a love of
holiness and a living growth into holiness. There must be a new
birth. There must be the conviction of sinfulness; the acceptance of
Christ; the surrender to the authority of Christ. For this the Gospel
provision is adequate. There is the word of God which proclaims the
mercy and offers the inducement. There is the Holy Spirit which
changes the heart.
Be not satisfied with inadequate religion. Remember the solemn
importance of possessing an adequate religion.--_J. Rawlinson._
IRRELIGIOUS MOCKERY.
xxviii. 22. _Now, therefore, be ye not mockers, lest your
bands be made strong._
The sense of the ludicrous is excited by words, ideas, images, or
objects in which unexpected resemblances are seen in things
previously considered incongruous, or in which incongruity is
perceived where complete resemblance was supposed. The perception of
the ludicrous varies. Where it exists in connection with the ability
to convey the ludicrous idea in language, it is called wit. It is one
of God's gifts. There is no reason why it should not be exercised.
The evil is in untimeliness and excess. It is dispiriting and sad to
be with people who are always and only see the dismal side of
everything. It is equally pitiable to observe people who are ever in
search of something laughable. The latter is a present-day danger. We
have publications whose aim is to present the ludicrous side of
everything. The popular taste encourages such writing. Even grand
themes are not exempt for this kind of treatment. Some mock
deliberately that they may injure; others thoughtlessly for the
amusement of the moment. Of all wit it is the most gratuitous the
easiest, the most mischievous and dangerous.
I. THE OBJECTS BY WHICH IT IS EXCITED.
Religious persons; their peculiarities, especially their foibles.
Christian ministers as to their style and manner. In their impatience
of the warnings addressed to them by the prophet, the people of Judah
mocked his teaching as characterised by the repetition that is only
suitable to children (9-13). Some find food for mockery in the
doctrines of the Gospel. Others in the demand of holiness (Prov.
xiv. 9). Others in the observances of worship. Others find the
language of Scripture the most convenient point to their jests.
II. THE MOTIVES IN WHICH IT ORIGINATES.
Many do it from mere inconsiderateness. It is sometimes indulged in
from the wish to please. Mockery of religious persons and things is
so palatable to many that there is great temptation to it. More
frequently it originates in the rooted hostility of the carnal mind
against all earnest religion. Mockery is the most annoying form of
attack; it is most keenly felt; it is most difficult to answer. It
serves the purpose when argument fails. One grinning Voltaire may do
more execution than many reasoning Humes. Many a time since the days
of Nehemiah have Sanballat and his Samaritans mocked the builders of
the wall of Jerusalem.
III. THE DANGERS WHICH IT INVOLVES.
1. To those who hear it. They become less susceptible of religious
impression. If the head of a family habitually refer to religious
persons and subjects in a mocking and disrespectful manner, his
children will probably grow up with a dislike of religion.
2. To those who indulge in it. They lose their own respect for
religion, if they had any, by associating it with the ideas of a low
and ludicrous nature. They lose the elevating mental influence of
having their minds in earnest contact with its grand truths. They
lose the spiritual improvement which might have been the result of
such contact.
3. And the warning of the text points to direct punishment. The
"consumption determined." It points to the bands of captivity which
would be more strong because of their unbelieving mockery. The mocker
is preparing strong bands of distress for his conscience, if the day
should ever come when he is awakened to a sense of sin and an earnest
desire for salvation. How bitterly will he repent the injury his
levities did to his own mind and the mind of others. Still more
saddening is the thought that the mocker is likely so to harden his
heart into insensibility to serious impression, that even on the bed
of death, and with the solemnities of eternity before him, it will be
impossible to awaken serious concern.
Follow the mocking soul to the bar of God where it must answer for
its mockeries, and for all the state of mind which rendered it
possible to mock. +There will be no mockery in hell!+
Do not brave these bands. Young men, do not sit in the seat of the
scorner. Do not be among the mockers. Let the mocker hear the solemn
warning of the text, and repent and seek mercy through the cross, and
relinquish his folly.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE PARABLE OF THE HUSBANDMAN.
xxviii. 24, 25. _Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?
&c._[1]
Means adapted to the end must be used if any end is to be
accomplished. The physician knows this. So does the general. So does
the manufacturer. So does the farmer. He is not always ploughing. Nor
always sowing. Nor always threshing. Nor does he treat every kind of
produce in the same way. And God employs various methods in dealing
with men. He aims to turn them from evil, and He adapts His methods.
The teaching of the text may be applied to the Divine dealing with
men generally.
+I. God intended to open a way of salvation.+ Man needs salvation
because he is a sinner. Can conceive a state of things in which he
would not need it, as of one who needs no physician. If he had
continued holy and obedient. But that is not his case. He is a
sinner, characterised by impurity, and exposed to perdition.--Now
God, in His pitying love, would save us. How shall He proceed? Shall
He, by His arbitrary will, sweep away the facts? Such a procedure
would be entirely inconsistent with the existence of moral government
and the rectitude of the Divine character. 1. One part of the case to
be dealt with was the condemned state of man under the Divine law.
Forgiveness could not righteously be given without some satisfaction.
Man could not make it. God in Christ, in His whole personality and
work, has made the satisfaction. The method adopted is exactly
adapted to the nature of the case. 2. But the other part of the case
was also to be dealt with. Sinfulness is deep-seated in man's nature.
He loves it. Until he is changed, he is not even inclined to sue for
mercy, still less to escape from sin. The Lord Jesus Christ was sent
to turn us from our iniquities. How does He do this? (1.) _By moral
motive._ The law was inadequate. He introduces a new motive. Not only
the mercy, but the fact that it has been procured at such a cost,
that the love was equal to such a sacrifice. It appeals directly to
the heart, as well as to the judgment, for a condemnation of sin.
(2.) _By spiritual influence._ The influence of the Holy Spirit
strives with those to whom the gospel is preached, with a view to the
overcoming their indifference, reluctance, and sin.--The method is
adapted, in both its sides, to the end in view. It only requires the
sinner's consent. Hence--
+II. God intended the way of salvation to be made known to men.+ If
consent to it and faith in it is requisite to participation of its
blessings, it must be understood--1. The information might have been
imparted in a separate revelation by the Holy Spirit to every man.
Would supersede all evidence, and all exercise of human faculty.
Would not be adapted to man as a reasonable being. 2. Angelic
ministry might have been employed. Open to similar objection. Would
have made miracle the rule instead of the exception. It would have
changed the order of nature. 3. The method adopted is the simple
arrangement that those who are acquainted with it, believe it,
consent to it, make the Gospel known. A method exactly adopted to the
nature of the case. According to the constitution of human nature,
the Gospel thus approaches it for the purpose of gaining the
understanding, the heart, and the will. Bear in mind the power of
sympathy between human beings. He who has received a truth desires to
impart it. He who has experienced the salvation pities those who need
it as he did. He who speaks from his own experience speaks with
tenderness, and earnestness, and influence. The sick heed the
recommendation of a physician by those whom he has cured. On this
principle of adaptation the Lord Jesus instituted the living ministry
of apostles, evangelists, pastors, parents, all Christians. He
inspired some to put on permanent record the truth as He revealed it,
as a standard of appeal. They are to study it. They are to use the
same principle of adaptation. There is youth, age, different measure
of instruction, different classes, spheres, circumstances.
+III. God intended to train those whom He saved.+ Believers are
already saved, because pardoned and sanctified. But they require
training into riper holiness, greater usefulness, greater fitness for
the future heaven. Therefore the Saviour instituted such means as are
adapted to secure these ends. Church fellowship, public worship,
pastoral teaching, Christian habits of watchfulness, thoughtfulness,
prayer. All these are adapted to the training of the spiritual plant.
Are you in sympathy with God's end? In yourselves? In the world? Then
adapt yourselves to its realisation.--_J. Rawlinson._
In these verses there are three kinds of seed mentioned; fitches,
cummin, and corn. The fitches and cummin were small seeds like the
caraway or chickpea. When these smaller herbs had to be threshed,
this was done by hand; but when the corn had to be threshed, that was
thrown on the floor, and men would fasten horses or oxen to a cart
with iron-dented wheels; that cart would be drawn round the
threshing-floor, and so the work would be accomplished. And so the
idea expressed is different kinds of threshing for different products.
+I. We must all go through some kind of threshing process.+ The fact
that you are devoting your life to honourable and noble purposes will
not win you any escape. Wilberforce, the Christian Emancipator, was
in his day derisively called "Doctor Cantwell." Thomas Babington
Macaulay, the advocate of all that was good long before he became the
most conspicuous historian of his day, was caricatured in one of the
_Quarterly Reviews_ as "Bubble-tongued Macaulay." Norman McLeod, the
great friend of the Scotch poor, was industriously maligned in all
quarters. As the small wits of London took after John Wesley, the
father of Methodism. If such men could not escape the maligning of
the world, neither can you expect to get rid of the sharp, keen
stroke of the tribulum. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus must
suffer persecution. +II. It is not compliment to us if we escape
great trial.+ There are men who suppose they are the Lord's
favourites, simply because their barns are full, and their bank
account is flush, and there are no funerals in the house. It may be
because they are fitches and cummin, while down at the end of the
lane, the poor widow may be the Lord's corn. You are little pounded,
because you are little worth, and she bruised and ground, because she
is the best part of the harvest. By carefulness of the threshing, you
may always conclude the value of the grain. (H. E. I., 186-196,
3692-3695). +III. God proportions our trials to what we can bear.+
The rod for the cummin, the staff for the fitches, the iron wheel for
the corn. (H. E. I., 179-188, 3674-3695). +IV. God continues trials
until we let go.+ As soon as the farmer sees that the straw has let
go the grain, he stops the threshing. We hold on to this world with
its pleasures, riches, and emoluments, as though for ever. God comes
along with some threshing trouble, and beats us loose. Oh, let go!
Depend upon it that God will keep upon you the staff, or the rod, or
the iron wheel until you _do_ let go. +V. Christian sorrow is going
to have a sure terminus.+ "Bread corn is bruised, because _He will
not be ever threshing it._" So much of us as is wheat will be
separated from so much of us as is chaff, and there will be no more
need of pounding. "He will not ever be threshing it." Blessed be God
for that! (Rev. xxi. 4).--_T. De Witt Talmage, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In this parable the mystery of the Divine Providence is
laid open, its secret disclosed. _All ploughing is for
sowing; all threshing is intended for the preservation of
the grain._ When God chastens us, it is not that He means
to destroy us, but because He has set His heart on saving
us, because He has appointed us to life and not to death.
He works with discrimination. He employs various methods,
sends sorrows of all sorts and sizes, that He may adapt
Himself to every man's needs, and to all our varieties of
place, time, and circumstances. Just as the husbandman
varies his treatment of the soil, and allots to each kind
of seed a soil and place suitable to its kind; just as,
after the harvest has been gathered in, he employs only
such instruments as are best adapted for separating the
different kinds of grain from the straw and the chaff. With
like wisdom and discretion God deals with us, assigning to
each of us our proper station and lot, and, when we sin
against Him, adapting His judgments to our several needs.
The sorrows, losses, bereavements which befall us are but
as the sharp edge of the share, or the keen teeth of the
harrow, and are intended to prepare us to receive the good
seed, and to bring forth much fruit. Or again, they are
like the stroke of the flail, or the keen pressure of the
sledge, or the ponderous oppression of the waggon-wheel, or
the swift rattle of the horses' hoofs; and are designed to
separate the chaff from the grain, the worthless from the
worthy, the evil from the good in us, that we may be made
meet for the garner of God. "Cure sin and you cure sorry,"
say the reason and conscience of the world: _and the sorrow
comes that the sin may be cured,_ adds the prophet; the
very miseries that spring from evil are intended to
eradicate the evil from which they spring. The weeds call
for the plough; and the plough comes at their call; but it
comes and cuts up the weeds and the ground to which they
have taken root, only that the seeds of wholesome herbs and
the herbs of grace may be sown in the furrows. The chaff
calls for the flail, and the flail is sent, but sent only
to beat out the nourishing grain. Would that this
conception were as assured, and as familiar to us as to the
old Hebrew prophets! For, sooner or later, we shall all
have to endure sorrows, which rend our hearts as the
ploughshare rends the ground, or which bruise our hearts as
the flail bruises the corn.--_S. Cox, D.D.: Expositor,_
vol. i. pp. 89-98.
A FEAST FOR FAITH.
xxviii. 29. _This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts,
which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working._
The sentiment of the text is that _the art, and science, and skill of
man are the gifts of God._ The prophet instances only agriculture,
but the same principle applies to all the arts and manufactures, and
in a higher degree still to those sublimer sciences which elevate the
human mind, and make us acquainted with the majestic and mysterious
powers of nature. The drift of the writer of the text is this, _if
God thus instructs man in wisdom, how wise must He be Himself!_ If
the mere rays which come from Him convey to us so much light that we
are perfectly astonished at what man can do, what must be the
infinite wisdom in counsel and the excellence of working which are to
be discovered in God Himself! There are two things which shall occupy
our attention. The first is, _the vision of God which the text
presents to us;_ and the second is, _the lesson which such a vision
is calculated to teach us._
+I. The vision of God which is presented to us in the text.+ The
great principle of the text is that _God has a plan, and that this
plan is wonderful in itself, and is found to be excellent when it is
carried out._ This is illustrated 1. _in nature._ All creation is
full of traces of design. "He weighed the mountains in scales, and
the hills in a balance." Nothing was made without the most accurate
calculation. The stars seem cast about on the floor of heaven as men
might fling at random gold-dust from their hands; yet there is not a
single star whose place might be altered without mischief to the
whole arrangement. In the meanest animal and minutest insect there
are the most admirable contrivances to suit its habits and make its
condition happy. And apparent irregularity is only undiscovered
order. 2. _From providence._ The great providential operations of God
are all the results of His foredetermined purpose and decree. All
through human history every lover of the Lord will see that the awful
wheels of providence have worked with excellent regularity. Empires
have fallen, but the truth has risen. Dynasties have perished, but
immortal principles have conquered. 3. _Your own personal experience
of that providence_ goes to prove this with equal clearness. How
often have you seen that God overrules all things for your good!
(H. E. I. 4015-4022). 4. The wonderful planning of the excellent
Worker is seen in _the great economy of Redemption._ How marvellous
that God, the Mighty Maker, should appear in human flesh and become a
man, that so fallen, sinful, miserable man might be lifted up and
become the son of God! When I see this great sight these words of
Isaiah's ring with a bell-like music in my ears, "He is wonderful in
counsel." 5. Then turning from Redemption itself, look at _the
Gospel._ That Gospel is just the reverse of what human wisdom would
advise. It is not "do and live," but "believe and live." 6. Then I
might speak of God's plan and God's work _in inward experience._ The
experience of every Christian is in some respects different from that
of another, but it is always the result of God's plan. 7. Another
illustration will be found _in the use of instrumentality._ It is a
wonderful design of God to use one man in the conversion of another.
The one is benefited while the other is blessed. 8. The grandest,
illustration of all will be when, at last, _God's counsels shall be
perfectly fulfilled._ Man shall burst forth into one mighty song,
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!" (Rev.
xix. 6).
+II. Some of the lessons from it.+--1. To the unconverted: seeing His
counsel is so wondrous, I would to God _you would agree to it!_ 2. To
the people of God: I want you _to agree to this in your own
particular case._ 3. Brother workers, let us have a well-formed plan,
and _let it be God's plan._ 4. When we know God's plan we _must
remember to carry it out._ 5. When you are resolved to carry out
God's plan, _joyfully expect singular assistance._--_C. H. Spurgeon._
ARIEL.
xxix. 1. _Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David
dwelt._
The word "Ariel" properly means "the Lion of God," and is elsewhere
used of the great brazen altar on which the sacred fire blazed, and
which might be said to devour as a lion the sacrifices presented on
it to God. In our text, however, "Ariel" is used as a name for
Jerusalem. The fact that David had dwelt in it is mentioned, not by
way of historical reference, but as aggravating the guiltiness of the
city, and as in some way proving that it might expect to be visited
with more than common vengeance. In what way is the fact that
Jerusalem could be described as "the city where David dwelt" a
justification of the woes which the prophet was about to denounce
against it? The answer is easy: _We are answerable to God for every
blessing received at His hands, so that we cannot possess a single
privilege which will not, if neglected or abused, be brought against
us as a charge and heighten our condemnation._ This is as true of
communities as of individuals: and the fact that Jerusalem had
profited so little, morally and spiritually, from David's residence
in it was a clear aggravation of its guilt.--1. +David had dwelt in
Jerusalem as a king.+ As such, his authority and his example might
have been expected to have made a deep impression on the religious
life of the people. Consider how powerful is the example of men in
exalted stations.--2. +David had dwelt in Jerusalem as a poet.+
Consider how powerful is the influence of song on national character,
and how truly David's psalms were national songs. As every English
child is taught loyalty by the notes of "God save the Queen," every
Jewish child was instructed in piety by the well-known strains of the
sweet singer of Israel. Surely if anything could have kept religion
alive in Jerusalem, it would have been this writing it into the
poetry this weaving it into the music of the nation. It was like
taking possession of the strings of a nation's heart, and providing
that their vibrations should respond only to truth.--3. +The memory
of David had long been a blessing to Jerusalem.+ For his sake evil
had been averted from it (2 Kings xix. 34). To pronounce a woe upon
the Jerusalem or the city where David had dwelt was to tell the Jews
that the conservative influence of that monarch's piety would no
longer be of any avail for them; that even as children, though long
spared in recompense by the righteousness of their fathers, may reach
a point at which they have filled the measure of their guilt, and at
which, therefore, they can receive no further favour as the offspring
of those whom God hath loved; so their iniquity had reached such a
height that forbearance, long manifested for the sake of the most
pious of kings, was at length wearied out, and there remained no
further place for intercession.
The principle involved in this passage is applicable alike to
_communities_ and _individuals._ 1. It is made the charge against
Jerusalem that it was the city where David had dwelt--the plain
inference from this being that it was a great aggravation of the
national wickedness that so righteous a prince, so zealous a
supporter of true religion as David, had sat for years upon the
throne of Judah. By parity of reasoning, if there have been raised up
in our own country men mighty in the exhibiting and establishing
truth, and if in the lapse of time we grow indifferent to the truth,
and perhaps even half inclined to the errors which were exposed and
expelled, will it not be made a matter of accusation against us that
ours is the land in which those worthies dwelt? Suppose, for example,
we were to undervalue the Reformation, suppose we were to think
lightly of the errors of Popery, then might our text be regarded as
denouncing special woe on ourselves--woe to England--to England, the
country where Wickliffe, and Cranmer, and Ridley dwelt! For is it not
to be questioned that we shall have much to answer for it, after God
had raised up Reformers, and they, with incalculable labour and at
incalculable cost, had cleansed our Church from the abominations of
Popery, we should in any measure let go the truth and make alliance
or truce with the tenets or practices of Rome. This same principle is
applicable 2. to many a parish in which some devoted minister of
Christ has laboured, and 3. to many a household in which the example
and teaching of godly parents have been set at naught.--_H. Melvill,
B.D.: Sermons Preached during the Latter Years of his Life,_ vol. i.
pp. 125-140.
DREAMING.
xxix. 7, 8. _Shall be as a dream of a night vision, &c._
The reference in these two verses is to the threatened attack on
Jerusalem by the Assyrian invasion in the reign of Hezekiah. They
take us to the time the invader had taken all the other fortified
places in the kingdom; and now his general, Rabshakeh, was encamped
before the capital, with the confident expectation of easily taking
it. It would seem as if, the requisite preparations having been made,
that immense army had retired to rest, with the intention of making
the assault on the next day. We can imagine them in their dreams
picturing to themselves the scenes of the approaching capture, the
shouting, the onset, the slaughter, the devastation, the prisoners,
the booty, the triumph, the glory--scenes, however, _these_ which
they were destined never to witness! For, in the dead of night, the
Destroying Angel went forth, and in the morning nothing remained of
185,000 of them but their lifeless corpses. So ended their dreams!
Even as the army of Sennacherib was dreaming of a conquest which had
no real existence, _so are there multitudes of persons now dreaming
that they are accomplishing the great object of their existence who
are no more doing so than if they lay wrapped in the slumbers of the
night._ I propose to speak of such persons under three heads of
PLEASURE, WORK, RELIGION.
I. PLEASURE. I am not condemning pleasure. Pleasure has its place in
every human life, just as truly as work and religion. I am speaking
of a life _devoted_ to pleasure. Nor do I speak of the grosser
pleasures--these shock us at once, others delude us--but of those
whose great aim in life is to please _themselves:_ who, in respect to
any proposed course of action, never think of asking, "Is it my
_duty?_" But what is there to show that such a life is only a
dream-like substitute for real life? 1. _It leaves our best faculties
unused._ Can it be believed that God made us "a little lower than the
angels" that we might spend our lives in pursuits which hardly
require the faculties of a man? 2. A life of pleasure is a _selfish
life._ Where pleasure is the habitual object of pursuit there _must_
be selfishness. Wherever pleasure is the great object of life, _the
interest of others will be held in low esteem._ 3. A life of pleasure
also exposes to temptation. 4. It unfits men for another world. We
shall never be ready for heaven if we never think seriously about it;
and pleasure pre-eminently withdraws our thoughts from that world
(H. E. I., 5059).
II. Another form of the dream is the impression that WORK, _i.e.,
secular occupation, is the great business of life._ Work is not to be
spoken of without respect. 1. The _Bible praises work._ "Six days
shalt thou labour." 2. _It keeps us from dependence on others._
3. _It benefits those dependent upon us._ 4. It is good as enabling a
man _to help his neighbours._ 5. Good as giving a man _influence_ by
means of the wealth it produces. 6. Good _as keeping us out of much
evil._ Intemperance is usually the vice of the idle. So of other
vices. But still it has its dangerous side. It shuts out the other
world by the undue prominence it gives to this. It diminishes our
sympathy with the suffering, and makes us unconcerned about the
kingdom of Christ. Noble as work is when compared with idleness, it
is not the great business of life. God did not endow us with
intellect, heart, and spirit, with relations to Himself, to our
fellows, and to immortality, that we might spend our lives in a
practical denial of them all. A life of mere work is a dream as truly
as a life of pleasure.
III. Another thing which men are apt to consider the great business
of life is RELIGION. In many cases "religion" is little more than
amusement; in others superstition; in others mere sentiment. There is
a "religion" which is merely an affair of the intellect; another
where it is hereditary, where a man follows a form of religion
because his fathers did so before him. It is forgotten that religion
is a life. Religious knowledge, beliefs, feelings, exercises are but
the scaffolding and not the building; means to an end, not the end
itself. The great end of life is not to be _religious,_ but to be
_good._ True religion has two sides: it first puts us right with God
and then with our fellow-men. We love God first, and only then do we
love man and work for his good.
The prophet tells us how the dreams of these Assyrians vanished. Even
such will be the disappointment of those who are dreaming away the
grand possibilities of the present life.--_B. P. Pratten, B.A.:
Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. iii. pp. 187-191.
AWAKENED FROM THE DREAM.
xxix. 8. _It shall be even as when an hungry man dreameth,
and behold he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is
empty._
This passage describes the disappointment of the Assyrians, whose
imagination had feasted on the conquest of Jerusalem. The simile is
striking. A man in extreme hunger or thirst will dream that his
craving is satisfied. He awakes to feel the privation more acutely.
The text may be applied to the case of a man disappointed with the
world, awakened to a sense of its emptiness, concerned for his soul.
There is a sense of sin, danger, need. On the day of Pentecost the
awakened cried, "What shall we do?" Thus the Philippian Jailor. We
will address this state of mind--
+I. In words of sympathy.+ The awakened solicitude is justified
by--1. the value of the soul; 2. the fact of sin; 3. the reality of
danger; 4. the provision of the gospel; 5. the call of God; 6. the
unsatisfactoriness of neglect; 7. the flight of time.
+II. In words of caution.+ 1. Beware of relapsing into indifference
(H. E. I., 1479-1490). Many are awakened and anxious, but it does not
endure. Herod heard John gladly and did many things. Transient
impressions are like Ephraim's goodness (Hos. vi. 4). Some are
excitable but fickle. When the charm of novelty departs, their
enthusiasm departs. Religion experiences similar treatment. Nor is it
from yourself alone that you are exposed to this peril. You will meet
with those who will endeavour to repress your earnestness. They will
commend a moderate attention to religion, but will counsel you to
wait until you are older, &c. A quiet, sober, decent attention to
religious duties is well enough, but they cannot see the necessity
for making religion the primary concern. Beware of such advisers.
This is a matter in which earnestness is demanded. Keep fresh and
vigorous in your mind the considerations by which you were first
awakened. Salvation is either the supremely important thing the
gospel declares, or it is nothing. Is the sick man too anxious for
health, too attentive to the physician's directions? When the
starving man has dreamed of food, does any one repress his eagerness
for the reality when, on awaking, he finds it was only a dream?
Beware lest either unsympathising friends or your own weakness
administer the opiate that will send you back into the slumber of
indifference from which you have been awakened. 2. Beware of assuming
that you are converted because you are awakened. Awakening is not
conversion. Conviction is not conversion; it does not necessarily end
up in it. Pharaoh said, "I have sinned." It is a hopeful
circumstance; a step on the road; attention called to the disease;
disappearance of the dream. The awakened on the day of Pentecost were
directed respecting conversion. 3. Beware of finding comfort anywhere
else than in the gospel. Performance of religious duties; prayers;
peaceful feeling, you know not why; impression that you are forgiven.
It is untempered mortar; it will not bind the walls. Nothing less
than faith in Jesus.
+III. In words of counsel.+ Comply at once with the call of the
Gospel. Christ's work is all-sufficient. Faith and repentance is
submission at both points. The call is--1. Gracious. 2. Immediate. Do
not delay; do not wait for the Spirit nor anything else. You are a
man, not a machine. You must obey the Gospel. The Spirit is working
with the Gospel.--_John Rawlinson._
THE FUTILITY OF FIGHTING AGAINST MOUNT ZION.
(_Missionary Sermon._)
xxix. 8. _So shall the multitude of the nations be that
fight against Mount Zion._
Nothing tends to inspirit exertion in any great enterprise so much as
the certain prospect of success. Hope is the spur of action, the very
life of enterprise. Hence to encourage the fearful and animate the
brave in the culture of their own piety, and especially in their
efforts to extend the kingdom of the Redeemer, there are given in
God's Word the amplest promises of Divine help and assurances of
ultimate success. But for "the sure word of prophecy," the servants
of God would long since have trembled for the ark of the Lord, and
have despaired of the salvation of the race. But delays to us are not
delays with God. Long ago He has declared, "Yet have I set my King on
my holy hill of Zion." "But we see not as yet all things put under
Him." The foot of His Providence falls too soft for mortal ear to
mark. While He walks on the great ocean of human affairs as Jesus
walked on the Galilean sea, His footsteps leave no traces behind. But
yet He never stands still. "My father worketh hitherto." His progress
is certain. In reference to the spread of His Gospel it may be said,
"In such an hour as ye think not the Son of man shall come." At His
approach all opposition is fruitless, all resistance vain. Every
obstacle shall vanish, as a dream is forgotten when the dreamer
awaketh.
This passage suggests--
+I. The number and might of the enemies of the Gospel.+ It is always
unwise to underrate the forces of the enemy. Injury has been done to
the cause of missions by this action. Good men in the ardour of their
zeal seemed to speak as though heathendom was to be won by one new
crusade, and that the walls of Satan's kingdom would fall flat at a
single blast of their rams' horns. But Scripture takes opposite
ground, and intimates that there must be a continuous and persistent
struggle. Our great General does not conquer in a single campaign; He
goes forth "conquering and to conquer." These numerous and powerful
enemies of Christ's kingdom arise from our own corrupt nature; from
the peculiar circumstances of the heathen world; from every class of
society, and are perpetually set in motion by the powers of darkness.
Though they are "the multitude of all the nations," they have one
prince, "the prince of the powers of darkness." To prevent our
forming exaggerated pictures of success, let us remember: 1. _That
the original enmity of the human heart is always and everywhere the
same._ Every sinful passion of the human heart starts up an armed
enemy against Christ and His truth. If at home after centuries of
Christian work, the obstacles to the gospel are so great, how much
more formidable must they be in pagan lands! 2. _The power of Satan
is at all times the same._ And if here he rules supreme in the
children of disobedience, what must his power be in those heathen
lands where he is so strongly entrenched in superstition, idolatry
and prejudices, crimes and passions of men confederated with him
since Adam fell! 3. _The world at large, in its spirit and pursuits,
is decidedly hostile._ Even in our own country, how few can be looked
upon as the genuine disciples of Christ, the true soldiers of the
Cross! How mighty the forces sent out even here against the Lord and
against His anointed! This part of the earth is still in the hands of
the wicked.
+II. The utter futility and certain overthrow of their projects.+
1. _Their schemes are all fallacious and visionary._ "It shall be as
when a hungry man dreameth." What more delusive than a dream!
2. _Their disappointment is certain._ The history of the past is
against them. Past history has verified the words of the Master, "And
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. xvi. 18). The
prophecy of the covenant of grace, the very progress of civilisation,
but more than all the very existence of God, is against them. "The
Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice" (Ps. xcvii. 1).
+III. The glory that shall rise from thence to Zion's King+ (Ps.
lxxii. 10, 11, 15). His wisdom will baffle all their designs, His
power crush every hostile force, and His kingdom rise on the ruin of
their dark confederacies (1 Cor. xv. 25).--_Samuel Thodey._
LIP-SERVICE INSTEAD OF HEART-WORSHIP.
xxix. 13, 14. _Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this
people drew near to Me with their mouth, &c._
The charge against the people is clear; it is that of a heartless
religion, formal and full of hypocrisy. "Their fear toward me is
taught by the _precept of men._" That is, their religion is a
mechanical following of human directions, instead of the spontaneous
uprising of a heart inspired with the fear and love of God.
+I. The charge against the Jews in Isaiah's day.+ It is twofold--the
removal of the heart and the substitution of a lip-service. _The
removal of the heart._ God demands the service of the heart (Prov.
xxiii. 26; Jer. xxix. 13). The Psalmist felt how reasonable was this
demand when he said, "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with the _whole
heart_" (Ps. ix. 1). A man may do some things with a slack hand and
yet be blameless, but to steer an Atlantic steamer in a storm, he
needs the whole force of both hands. Unless our whole soul be in
God's service, our worship will be thrown back upon us with the
withering words, "Who hath demanded _this_ at your hands?" This
worthless thing! "Bring no more vain oblations." How strikingly our
Lord put this principle of supremacy (Luke xiv. 26): "In every man's
heart I must be supreme, or therein I cannot dwell." Infidels must
ignorantly misread this passage. One of their counts against
Christianity is that it frowns on family joys; while every day's
facts prove that the truest Christian is the best husband, father,
&c. God being first in a man's heart, that heart is humanised, its
generosity enlarged, so as to take in, not only the family, but "all
mankind." But some, after having given their hearts to the Lord,
withdraw them from His service (Matt. xiii. 22; 2 Tim. iv. 10).
+II. This charge has been true in every generation.+ The heart's
weakness and the world's force are ever the same. This evil existed
in our Lord's day (Matt. xv. 8, 9). For long years before the
Reformation whole nations of Christendom presented to God a mere
formal worship. And to-day, of how many congregations may the words
of Ezekiel be said! (Ezek. xxxiii. 31).
+III. The worthless substitution presented to God.+ "And with their
lips do honour Me." The instinct of worship is so strong within the
soul that men everywhere worship something. It may be the hideous
fetish of the African or the artistic statue of the refined Greek,
but something the Greek and the barbarian must have. When that young
mother, in the days of Solomon, arose in the morning and found a dead
child by her side instead of her own living one, how severe must have
been the shock! Had there been no child by her side, no dead
substitute, she might have thought that her own child lived somewhere
and might sometime be found. But that dead substitute at first nearly
killed her by despair. It is bad to withdraw a living heart from the
Lord, but to substitute a dead one is first to rob God and then
wickedly insult Him (H. E. I., 5066-5070).
+IV. The threat+ (ver. 14). The threat is that of _cherished
expectations bitterly disappointed._ In times of extremity, full of
confidence in the wisdom of their leaders, they shall seek light and
leading, and behold nothing but darkness and folly. How often have
the leaders of a nation been stricken with folly, and, like a blinded
steersman, have driven the ship to destruction! "The wisdom of their
wise men shall perish." Disappointment! It is only another expression
about the foolish man disappointed in his false security, his house
resting on the sand, and of those who "make lies their refuge, and
under falsehood hide themselves." The threat is that "the hail shall
sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding-place." Though men may not admit that their worship is mere
lip-service, and their neighbours not see their hypocrisy, yet to the
eye of God
"The painted hypocrites are known
Through the disguise they wear."
--_William Parkes, F.R.G.S._
Two conditions under which religion is in a declining state. 1. When
the ordinances of Divine worship are generally neglected. 2. When the
attendance on worship, however large, does not represent a religious
state of mind, but is simply an outward performance. The latter was
the state into which religion had fallen in Judea. The religious
observances of the people were not inspired by knowledge of God's
Word, but by human authority. The text--
+I. Describes a great privilege.+ "This people draw near me." God
speaks after the manner of men. When we desire to speak closely to a
friend we get near him. This is coming close to God (Ps. lxxiii. 28;
Heb. x. 22; Heb. vii. 19; James iv. 8). Is it not a wonder that the
Almighty permits us to draw nigh to Him? Men make it difficult for
their inferiors to obtain access; but the Infinite and Eternal One
makes Himself accessible to His creatures. Not only so; He has made a
way for creatures stained by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ stands
between God and man by virtue of His atoning death and interceding
life. The guilty, condemned, utterly impure, have only to renounce
their sinfulness and avail themselves of this new and living way. If
there is truthfulness and sincerity, they will be welcome. In the
sanctuary, in meeting for prayer, in the family, in the closet, in
the round of daily duty, we may draw near to God. Do you know
anything of the blessedness of this privilege? Enjoyment, comfort,
purity, fitness for intercourse with men, for the battle of life, for
the work of the world, do they not all come through this privilege?
+II. Points out a serious abuse+ (ver. 13). Their sin was not the
abandonment of worship. That is a measure of ungodliness not reached
without a long process. Unsettled faith, indifference to spiritual
blessings, habits of sinful indulgence, conduct to it. What
multitudes have reduced themselves to this predicament? But it was
not their case. They had not relinquished the ordinances of worship;
they observed them. But there was a twofold defect: the heart was
absent and the motive was wrong. 1. _Something was present that ought
to have been absent._ "Their fear toward Me is taught by the precept
of men." Their piety was only out of respect for some human
authority. Our Lord quoted this part of the text in His exposure of
externalism as exemplified by the Pharisees of His time (Matt.
xv. 9). Human authority in religion is here distinctly denounced. One
man may hand the Word of God to another, but no man must impose his
notions of religion on another by his mere authority. A man's
religious service must be the result of his personal conviction. If
he is religious because some one else is, or because it is
respectable, or because it may promote his worldly interest, or
because it is recognised and imposed by the authority of the state,
it is not really the honour and worship of God at all, but of man.
2. _Something was absent that ought to have been present._ "But have
removed their heart far from Me." God must be worshipped with the
heart. Apart from the outward expression of inward reality, the
movement of the lips and the utterance of the mouth are nothing. Real
worship is the consent of the understanding, will, affections, to the
homage which is paid by the lips. Without this they are mockery, as
when one who stands in the king's presence is alienated from his
allegiance.
+III. Utters a solemn warning+ (ver. 14). Their religion was only the
counsel of man. It was unavailing for its purpose, and would come to
nothing (1 Cor. i. 19). Such worship is: 1. _Unacceptable._ God is
not deceived. Realise the terribleness of being rejected. He says,
"It is not the kind of worship I require." After all your wisdom
(Isa. i. 11-15). 2. _Unsuccessful._ The prayers offered only by the
lips are not heard. No answer comes, no blessing descends. This comes
of the policy which followed the precepts of men. 3. _Unstable._
After such religion reaction may be expected. There is no inward life
to sustain the outward exercises. Does not the test point to that
deeper spiritual blindness which follows the attempt to put the
wisdom of man in the place of the wisdom of God?
In religion and at its worship take care: 1. That there is
_sincerity._ See that the heart is right with God. "Ye must be born
again." 2. That there is _simplicity._ Let there be no superfluous
externalism in worship; only what is necessary to the suitable
expression of the heart's worship. 3. That there is _earnestness._
And if a merely formal worship is rejected, what is the predicament
of those who do not even offer that, but who live without any
acknowledgement of God?--_John Rawlinson._
THE JOY OF THE MEEK.
xxix. 19. _The meek also shall increase their joy in the
Lord._
I. THE PERSONS HERE DESCRIBED.
Meekness does not mean timidity (2 Tim. i. 7); not the craven spirit
of the coward, but the quiet power of the strong man (Prov.
xxviii. 1). It does not mean the absence of courage, but the absence
of that ignorant and arrogant self-sufficiency which Peter showed
when he said, "Though all men forsake Thee, yet will not I." It is
that calmness of spirit which grows not out of reliance on self, but
out of reliance on God. It is recorded of one whose courage at times
had flashed up like a consuming fire, "Now the man Moses was very
meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." His
meekness was not feebleness, but a calm strength; quiet endurance in
the doing of duty under difficulties. He was not provoked by the
wrong-headedness or irritated by the ingratitude of the nation he
wished to serve, but he quietly bore their stubbornness, and
persisted in doing them good against their will. Hence a quiet doing
and a quiet bearing of the will of God is one consistent in this
quality of the mind "meekness." It does not mean that equableness of
disposition which comes from nature, so much as that calmness of
spirit which comes from grace. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit
(Gal. v. 23). This quality of mind in God's people is shown: 1. _In
their intercourse with God._ In His presence they manifest "a humble,
lowly, and contrite heart." Theirs is not the spirit of the Pharisee,
but the lowly contrition of the publican. Not "Stand by, for I am
holier than thou," but "I am not worthy," &c. In a ready acceptance
of the doctrines of grace and salvation through a Saviour crucified.
Not like the Pharisees, who scorned the Saviour "as a root out of a
dry ground," but like those few elect souls, just and devout, who
"were waiting for the consolation of Israel." Christianity is a
discipline of humility. In making men Christ-like it makes them meek.
Jesus was meek and lowly, and He promises to those like Himself rest
of soul. 2. _In their submission to the allotments of Providence_
(Job xiv. 14, xiii. 15; Micah vii. 9; Lev. x. 3; 1 Sam. iii. 18;
H. E. I. 157, 158, &c.) 3. _In their deportment before their
fellow-men._ They do not arrogate to themselves that superiority
which despises and neglects others, but obey the apostolic
injunctions (1 Pet. ii. 17, iii. 8).
II. THE BLESSINGS GOD CONFERS UPON THEM.
1. _He saves them._ Often in outward troubles they become the charge
and care of His providence (Zeph. ii. 3). How wonderfully was Moses
saved from the strivings and rebellions of the people! Leaving his
vindication in the hands of the Great Judge, God took up his cause;
and when the whole camp was against him, God delivered him. How
wonderfully was Joseph delivered from the pit and the prison, and
Jeremiah in the siege! But always are they saved from
soul-destruction. "Saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation."
2. _He beautifies them._ "He will beautify the meek with salvation."
By the robe of righteousness, the inward adorning of the soul in
every virtue, by the special manifestation of His mercy when most
needed (chap. lxi. 3), by giving them that esteem and commanding
influence which often attracts and impresses their fellow-men. 3. _He
makes it appear that He delights in them._ "The Lord taketh pleasure
in His people."
III. THEIR GRATEFUL RESPONSE.
"The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." They
rejoice in His salvation; they praise Him in voice, and heart, and
life (Isa. lxi. 10).--_Samuel Thodey._
RELIGIOUS JOY.
xxix. 19. _The meek shall increase their joy._
It is commonly said that while religion is man's duty and his
interest, it is not productive of enjoyment. Yet the Bible is full of
joyful expressions, and of exhortations to joy. It even meets the
sorrows of humanity and brings joy out of them. Its association of
joy with conditions not joyful is remarkable (Matt. v. 3-5). Observe
the contrasts in our passage (vers. 18, 19). Circumstances are
mentioned which amount to the removal of all alarm (ver. 20). From
the outward fact, the faith of the persons here described ruses to
the hand that accomplished it.
Our subject is religious joy.
I. THE SOURCE WHENCE IT IS DERIVED.
"The Lord. The Holy One of Israel." We rejoice in what we have
desired, hoped for, and obtained. This does not exclude enjoyment of
the blessings of the present life. They are closely associated with
it. They suggest it. We ask whence they come. The habit of regarding
earthly advantage as gifts from the hand of God keeps the Divine
character before us as that of a Being to be regarded with pleasure.
Thus, if we ascend to the spiritual region and contemplate the
salvation of man, it includes the compassionate love of God, which
gave His Son to impoverishment, suffering, and death; full
forgiveness of sin; the various influences of the Divine Spirit; the
elevated spiritual privileges and hopes bestowed on fallen men. All
this came from the grace of God; it originated in His nature. "God is
love." But the God whose nature can be read in this way is not a God
to repel, but attract; not a god of whom to stand in terrified awe,
but a God in whom to rejoice.
And this result emerges if we take a more direct look at the Divine
character. We are supplied with verbal asservations as well as
historical illustrations. We read of the Almighty, the All-wise, the
All-righteous, the All-holy, as well as the All-loving. Power, even
with justice, would fail to produce joy. But a God of power, and
love, and holiness can be a delight, because He can be loved.
But no object of delight can be considered apart from its subject.
Nothing is universally delightful. Before you can enjoy anything you
must have sympathy with it, a taste for it. There are people who
cannot enjoy the finest concert. There must be the heart that is
capable of joy in the Holy One of Israel, the heart of "the meek, the
poor among men;" the heart changed by the grace of God.
II. THE ELEMENTS OF WHICH IT CONSISTS.
We know our feelings better by experience than by analysis. We can
imagine a father so utterly unsatisfactory in his character and
conduct that his own children are ashamed to mention his name. We can
imagine one whose kindness, whose faultless conduct, whose commanding
intellect render them proud of his name. They think of him with
pleasure. Thus the poor among men rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
If you attempt to examine, you will find that your joy in God is
compounded of several other feelings, which, like tributary streams,
swell with the river of your pleasure. 1. _Gratitude._ For experience
of the Divine goodness. It expresses itself in thanks and songs. You
think with pleasure of one for whom you are grateful. 2. _Affection._
Love is closely akin to gratitude. And God has taken away all cause
of alienation. The love of God in Christ possesses the heart. Love
delights in its object (Rom. v. 11). 3. _Confidence._ We trust Him
entirely. In present distresses or future fears. If distrust crosses
our minds, we dismiss it as inconsistent with the truth of which we
have satisfied ourselves. Now if there is perfect confidence in Him
on whom we depend, we cannot fail to rejoice in Him.
4. _Approbation._ We find the Holy One of Israel a Being in whom we
can be infinitely satisfied. At no point, in no respect, could we
desire Him to be different from what He is. Nor is it the admiration
sometimes expressed for characters there is no desire to imitate.
Christians earnestly desire likeness to God. Putting all these
together, there must be joy in the Lord.
III. THE AUGMENTATION WHICH IT RECEIVES.
"The meek shall increase their joy in the Lord." Earthly joy is
short-lived. The objects from which it proceeds are liable to change
and perish. Many of these, even if they continue, fall. They become
flat by satiety and continuity. We outgrow them as a child outgrows
his toys. But Christian joy is permanent and tends to increase,
because its object remains the same for ever, while His fulness is
ever unfolding itself. Knowing and experiencing more of God, there is
more joy in Him. Thus there is a constant increase--in the _present_
world, and in the _world to come._
Would you enjoy this privilege? Then make it possible. Possess the
character. Ye must be born again. Do not indulge sin. Keep Christ in
your thoughts. Thus you will be superior to earthly
enjoyments.--_John Rawlinson._
THE ORIGIN AND THE END OF SIN.
xxx. 1-3. _Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord,
that take counsel, but not of Me, &c._
The policy inculcated by the Divine Ruler on the Jewish nation was a
policy of isolation. Now, this would be a self-destructive policy.
But the circumstances of that nation were peculiar. It was not a
missionary to the world, but it was a witness. When it formed
alliances with surrounding nations, its witness became indistinct. It
often dropped its testimony and adopted the idolatries against which
its protest should have been uniform. This prophecy is against the
alliance with Egypt. Assyria was about to invade that country. It was
feared she would take Judea on the way. Now, the Lord was its
defence; there was therefore no need to seek assistance from any
other power whatsoever. It was a rebellious and unbelieving spirit
that sought this alliance. The politicians sought a covering from the
impending storm; but they did not seek it by Divine counsel. They
were adding another sin to the number against them. It would be shame
and confusion at the end. Egypt would be unwilling or unable to help.
Human nature is ever the same. Here is a representation of the way in
which sinners act, and of its consequences.
+I. All sin proceeds from neglect and defiance of God's counsel.+
1. It is implied that God has counselled or may be consulted
respecting human conduct. By the prophet He had declared against the
alliance with Egypt. In the written word we have His will. It does
not deal with our modern life and circumstances in detail.
Impossible. But we have what is better; principles of action which we
are to apply to circumstances. No one ever long in a moral
difficulty, if he honestly apply these principles. Every act which is
of the nature of evil is forbidden. Many sinful acts are forbidden by
name. We have the example of the Son of God. We have the most
inspiring motives; gratitude, love, hope, fear. A revolution of our
nature in the direction of God's holiness is demanded. The ministry
of the Word expounds and enforces these great principles. Men do not
sin for want of counsel from God.
2. Our text charges men with acting on other counsel than the Divine.
The charge is twofold. (1.) _Neglect of the counsel they ought to
have sought._ Sincere desire to be right would apply to the Divine
Word in relation to all the conduct of life. How many adopt and act
upon the principle that it shall guide everything? Is not its
authority discounted? When tempted to the questionable or sinful, but
advantageous, how many, with steady clearness of moral vision, look
straight at God's counsel? As to the ministry of the Word, one part
of the function of which is to keep men's moral perceptions clear,
how many absent themselves from it entirely! (2.) _Seeking the
counsel they ought not to have sought._ They sought counsel of their
own inclinations. It was a foregone conclusion. They _wished_ to go
down into Egypt. If they consulted, it was, as often happens, with
those inclined in the same way. Men are secretly conscious of
alienation from God, which instinctively dislikes His
recommendations. Man's moral nature is unhinged; and he turns from
God anywhither. The maxims of the world, the opinions of associates,
considerations of worldly interest, conspire to the rejection of His
counsel. Micaiah must be imprisoned if he prophesy evil, although it
be true.
+II. Sin is cumulative and growing.+
"That they may add sin to sin." Sin is rarely single (H. E. I.,
4507-4509). A rope is twined from many threads. The Jewish people
committed one sin by forsaking the counsel of God, another in
trusting to the help of Egypt. Some substances have an affinity for
each other. So have moral elements. Sins have a fearfully attractive
and accumulative power. The youth wanders from the house of God.
Conscience is stifled. Amusement is sought. Loose companions are
cultivated. Restraint is gradually thrown off. Fraud is necessary.
Fraud requires falsehood. One falsehood requires another. Sin is
added to sin. Soon as a sin is committed it drops the seed of
another, and so onward in terrible progression. Add grain of sand to
grain until it becomes a mountain. Money is scraped together by care
and labour, but sins rush to each other with mutual attraction. If
you could have foreseen the growth of your own sins, surely you would
have refrained. Count the sins of your life. They are added up in
God's book.
+III. Every sin contains the germ of its own punishment.+
"Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust
in the shadow of Egypt your confusion." Sin makes promises which it
fails to perform. You are disappointed. This is part of the
punishment. Punishment is often appropriate, growing out of the sin.
Sometimes this is palpable, as in the case of sensual lusts. Oftener
subtle. Punishment accumulates, as sin does. There is a treasuring up
of wrath (H. E. I., 4603-4614). Will you continue to accumulate it?
or will you pause, cease? You must repent. Do not hug your chains.
You must cry for mercy. You must yield. You must repair to the
cross.--_John Rawlinson._
STRENGTH IN QUIETNESS.[1]
xxx. 7. _Their strength is to sit still._
There is a sense in which "sitting still" is not our strength, but
our destruction. To sit still in sin and unbelief is the practice and
the ruin of the unconverted. To such men, exhortations of a precisely
opposite character must be addressed. There is a sense too in which
there is to be no "sitting still" even for the righteous (Phil.
ii. 12, 13; 2 Pet. i. 5-10; Heb. iv. 11). To understand our text, we
must acquaint ourselves with the circumstances which gave occasion to
it. The Israelites were under the special protection and guardianship
of God. Many and great were the deliverances which He wrought for
them. Yet, when in difficulty and danger, they thought more of man's
arm than of His. Now threatened by the Assyrians, where did they turn
for help? To Egypt--to that very people who had once so cruelly
oppressed their forefathers! To make sure of having it, they sent to
Egypt large sums of money. It was in rebuke of such foolish
ingratitude to God that our text was written. "Their strength," said
the Lord, "is to sit still,"--to forbear, that is, from sending off
for help to man, and to "sit still" quietly at home, relying on the
help of God. This was their strength, for let them but do this and
then they had a stronger with them than all that were against them.
To-day the believer in Christ Jesus is often tempted to a sin very
similar to that of Israel, and to him this admonition is equally
applicable and important. In a more especial manner than Israel of
old he is hidden under the shadow of his Lord. And yet _he_ also is
strongly tempted, in more ways than one, to make flesh his arm,
whilst his heart departeth from the Lord. He is often tempted thus to
do in reference--+I. To the everlasting salvation of his soul.+ Satan
tempts him to look off to other confidences, as if Christ were
insufficient; to look out for something in himself, which he may
boast of and depend upon. But in Christ there is everything the
sinner wants (Col. ii. 10; 1 Cor. i. 30). +II. To temporal
difficulties and dangers.+ The Christian is authorised to use all
proper means for his deliverance. It would be tempting God, not
trusting Him, to neglect those remedies or those precautions which He
has placed within our power, and expect to be delivered by a miracle
(H. E. I., 169, 170). Yet he must, in a sense, "sit still." He must
place his whole dependence on his God, and not on any plans which his
own prudence may suggest to him; nor must he resort to any means of
safety or deliverance which would be inconsistent with the rule of
duty laid down for him in Scripture (H. E. I., 171-178). _Asa,_
2 Chron. xiv. 11; _Jehoshaphat,_ 2 Chron. xx. 12; _Hezekiah,_
2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8. Let these worthies of old teach us what a
blessed thing it is, in times of difficulty and of danger, to wait
calmly upon God; using means, indeed, such as God may put within our
reach, yet not abusing them by making them our staff. +III. To
seasons of affliction.+ Then it is most eminently true that the
believer's strength is to "sit still." How is he to do so? By
submitting himself patiently and humbly to the chastening rod without
a murmuring word upon his lips, or a murmuring thought within his
heart; by acknowledging the faithfulness and wisdom of the
dispensation; and by waiting the Lord's time for the removal of it.
_Job,_ Job i. 21; _Eli,_ 1 Sam. iii. 18; _David,_ Ps. xxxix. 9. Not
to "sit still" under the chastening rod will only make our case the
worse; but he who waits upon God has a way of comfort and deliverance
opened to him (Isa. xli. 10, xxvi. 3). +IV. To time of provocation.+
He is affronted and injured. Shall he turn himself about to see how
he may revenge himself? No; his strength is to "sit still," to
forbear for recompensing evil with evil, and to commit his cause
patiently and calmly to his God. David did so in more instances than
one; and the Lord took up the quarrel of His servant, avenged him of
his adversaries, and set him up on high above them (Rom. xii. 19-26).
In regard to all these things we must "sit still" in faith, in hope,
in resignation to the blessed will of God. For the grace that is
needed to enable us to do so, let us have recourse to Him who can
teach us "quietness and confidence," to the Spirit who gives faith
and consolation, who can make the soul to rest in Christ, and say to
all its troubled feelings, "Peace, be still!"--_Arthur Roberts, M.A.:
Plain Sermons, Second Series,_ vol. i. pp. 31-39.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See also CHRISTIAN QUIETNESS, verse 15.
DISLIKE TO MINISTERIAL FIDELITY.
xxx. 9-11. _This is a rebellious people, &c._
Many wish to be deceived. They have made truth their enemy and shrink
from the light, desiring present relief and peace, even at the
expense of future happiness. Many a man does not like to be told the
truth about his business or his health. The Jews did not like to be
told the truth about their national prospects. The incessant
reference of the prophets to the holiness of God was offensive to
them, and they tried to silence their faithful monitors. Faithful
ministers of Christ meet with the same reception from many of their
hearers. These cannot bear to have their consciences roused, their
fears alarmed, and their minds rendered uneasy.
I. THE TRUTHS WHICH ARE USUALLY OBNOXIOUS TO SUCH PERSONS. The
spirituality and unbending strictness of the Divine law, the deep
depravity of human nature, the exceeding sinfulness of man's conduct,
the universal necessity of regeneration, the inefficacy of works for
justification, the indispensable obligation to a separation from the
world, the holiness of God, His irreconcilable hatred to all sin, and
His irrevocable purpose to punish it, and the awfulness and
interminableness of the doom of the impenitent. Such subjects call up
the enmity of the carnal mind. They distress those who are wrongfully
at ease in Zion, and they demand that the preacher shall leave them,
and discourse on more pleasing themes.
II. THE CAUSE OF THE DISLIKE OF MINISTERIAL FIDELITY. 1. _Unbelief._
Multitudes who admit in gross the authority of the Bible deny it in
detail. Its unpalatable truths are rejected. 2. _The refinements of
modern society and taste._ It is allowed that the curses of a
violated law may be uttered in barns or churches for the poor, and
may fall on the rude ears of the multitude, but the doctrine and
style of preaching to the congregations of rank and fashion must be
smooth and soft. 3. _Wounded pride._ Persons of outwardly blameless
life hate the doctrine which disturbs their self-complacency, and
revile the man who attempts to sink them in their own esteem.
4. _Painful forebodings of future misery._ Resolutely cleaving to
their sins, they do not like to be reminded of the doom to which they
are hastening.
III. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS DISLIKE OF MINISTERIAL FIDELITY.
1. It is _foolish._ Is it wise in the victim of vice to ask the
physician to tell him that he is in good health, and is carrying on a
harmless course of indulgence, &c., &c.? No concealment of the
situation of the sinner can alter his condition in the sight of God
or change the relation in which he stands to eternity. 2. It is
_sinful._ (1.) In its origin. It springs from a determination to go
on in sin. (2.) In its nature. It is a love of falsehood, a desire to
confound the distinction between sin and holiness. Nor is this all;
in aiming to suppress the voice of warning, he acts the part of that
infatuated and cruel wretch who would bribe the sentinel to be silent
when the foe is about to rush into the camp, or would seduce the
watchman to be quiet when the fire had broken out at midnight and was
raging through the city. The attempt to induce the preacher to utter
"smooth things," is an attempt to induce him to destroy himself and
to contribute to the destruction of them that hear him. (3.) In its
consequences. Notwithstanding the most faithful warnings, they are
hurried on by it to ruin. Like infatuated Balaams, they force a
passage to destruction. 3. It is _dangerous._ It leads men to close
their ears to what it concerns them especially to know. It is only by
a faithful disclosure of their situation that they can escape, but
they will not hear it.
APPLICATION. 1. _To ministers._ (1.) The guilt of ministers who do
not discharge the duties of their office with uncompromising fidelity
is indescribable. They are mere pulpit agents of the devil, receiving
the wages of the sanctuary while they do his work; keeping all still
and quiet among his slaves, preventing all attempts to throw off his
hateful yoke by flattering them with the idea that they are the
servants of God. (2.) The conversion of sinners should be the chief
object of every minister of Christ. They constitute the majority of
every congregation; they will soon be beyond the reach of salvation.
(3.) The conversion of the impenitent must be sought by suitable
means. What may be called the alarming style of preaching is most
adapted to convert the impenitent. Not gross and revolting
descriptions of eternal torment; these are offensive and disgusting,
and generally defeat their purpose, especially when done in a harsh,
unfeeling manner. But a minister's habitual preaching should be so
discriminating as to leave no unconverted sinner at a loss with whom
to class himself, whether with believers or with unbelievers; and it
should not unfrequently contain those allusions to and descriptions
of the wrath of God which, like the distant rumblings of the
gathering and approaching storm, should drive men to the refuge
provided by infinite mercy in the cross of Christ. (4.) It is at our
peril that we soften down the terror of the Lord to please any man;
we must not shun to declare the whole counsel of God; we must stand
clear of the blood of the rich as well as of the poor. Did Paul
regard the feelings of Felix? 2. _To professing Christians._
(1.) Many would have the preacher confine himself to words of
comfort, and object to everything searching and practical as legal.
Upon their principles, all parts of God's Word but the promises are
unnecessary; they are useless to believers, for they are above them
by privilege; useless to sinners, for they are below them in respect
to obligation. What is this but a requesting that the Holy One of
Israel may cease from before His people? (2.) Inconsistent professors
are likewise anxious that the preacher should confine himself to
consolatory topics. Hypocrites! he gives you that which belongs to
you. Consolation would be to you a deadly poison, a fatal opiate.
(3.) Sometimes even those who have only the ordinary imperfections of
even the best men wish to hear less of the alarming parts of Divine
truth. But have you no concern for the salvation of others? Besides,
who can tell but what you dislike may be necessary for keeping you
awake? (4.) Let those who cannot bear to hear the descriptions of
future punishment think with themselves how they shall be able to
endure it.--_John Angell James, Sermons,_ ii. 181-214.
CHRISTIAN QUIETNESS.[1]
xxx. 15. _In quietness and in confidence shall be your
strength._
The principle of our text is, that "strength," safety, success,
happiness, is the fruit of self-control and of reliance upon God.
I. It requires little observation to perceive that this is so in
outward things (Eccles. ii. 11). Look out upon life, and see who, in
the long run, are the most successful. Is it the stirring and
excitable, those who are most conspicuous in its busy competitions?
No: it is for the most part the tranquil and retiring; those who make
no display, and have the least reliance upon their own powers. The
surest gains and the most certain advancement usually attend those
who go on quietly and steadily, without grasping at what is beyond
their reach, or wasting their energies in unnecessary exertion. The
godly who, when they cannot engage on fair terms in the rivalry of
the world, keep aloof from it, preserving peace with men, and
exercising faith in God, are provided for, and not unfrequently even
raised to conspicuous prosperity. In "quietness and confidence" in
God's providential care "is their strength."
II. Still more important is the application of this sacred principle
to what goes on in the Christian's soul. We can further the great
work of our sanctification only by acting upon it. Excitement and
self-dependence can do nothing. The work which has been begun by
Divine mercy must be carried out by Divine agency. We are to take
heed not to throw any obstacles in the way by our rashness or
despondency. If under a feeling of importance of the work we have to
do, we act about doing it _in any way of our own,_ we only invite
disappointment, and peril the object we have in view. Only in a
dutiful and patient waiting upon God can we obtain a blessing. Not
all the will-worship which was ever contrived by human ingenuity can
bring us nearer heaven.
III. These words should be our guide in every difficulty and
emergency of the spiritual life. They bid us give place to no anxiety
or alarm. Those who act upon them cannot be fanatics, nor will they
despair. They will not seek what God sees fit to deny, nor even to
attain to what is excellent by equivocal means. No real strength is
to be got by ferment and agitation. We may not do evil that good may
come; we may not distrust God's power and willingness to help us; we
may not seek help from Egypt.
IV. These words should be our guide in view of the changes and
excitements of our times. Because of them many are filled with
unreasonable fears. But are we to lose our patience and steadfastness
because irreligious speculators and worldly religionists are in an
uproar? No; let them follow their own course; let us act upon the
principle of our text. Truth is safe; the Church is founded upon a
Rock; nothing can harm it, _but our attempting to defend it with
carnal weapons._ Our weapons are the Word of God and prayer. In the
use even of _them,_ we must take heed what spirit we are of, that we
use them not in a worldly or angry spirit. Let God do His own work.
Let us not venture to step beyond ours. It is not our work to keep
the world in order. With the eye of our faith fixed upon Him who with
unerring wisdom and omnipotent might controls all the changes and
developments of human affairs, let us quietly pursue the duties which
He has assigned us, and we shall be safe, and strong, and
blessed.--_J. G. Dowling, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp. 55-75.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See also STRENGTH IN QUIETNESS, verse 7.
THE VANITY OF EARTHLY HELP IN TIME OF TRIAL,
AND THE PROFIT OF PATIENT WAITING.
xxx. 15, 16. _For thus saith the Lord God, &c._
The history of the Jews a striking proof of human depravity. That
people at once the most favoured by God, and the most obstinate in
rebellion against God. Ever hankering after some new idol, and
falling into some new sin. Burden of the prophets was to reprove
their pride and hardness. Isaiah no exception. In this chapter there
is a solemn warning, the last remonstrance previous to Sennacherib
and his army coming upon them.
First, _the insufficiency of all human dependencies._ Chronic failing
of the Jews was dependence on the arm of flesh. In national
difficulties they went to Egypt for horses, or turned to Assyria for
help, thinking that these would insure defence. But these devices
always failed. God, from the first, placed His people in such
circumstances that they could not fail to see that it was not human
might which delivered them. Illustrate this by the Exodus, Gideon,
David and Goliath. In all this instruction for us, God is jealous of
His honour. He brings to nought the works of the wise who ignore Him,
and crowns with success the efforts of the weak and foolish who trust
Him.
These words were _especially addressed to the Ancient Church,_ and
consequently their teaching is for God's people now. We are too apt
to be discouraged when earthly powers are arrayed against us, and to
be elated when they are for us, in both cases placing our chief
dependence on them. To do this is to lose sight of the true dignity
and glory of the Church of God. The Church is the Spouse of Christ;
she is gifted and dowried by Him; and does not depend for success
upon the State, or any form of human help. The first preachers of
Christianity were poor and unlearned men, owing all their success to
the power of the Holy Ghost. We must rely upon the same force.
God teaches this lesson of dependence on Himself, not only to the
Church as a whole, but to individual members. Hence He sends personal
affliction, domestic trials; brings men into circumstances where
human aid is of no avail. They can do nothing for themselves; nothing
can be done for them. Trust in God is their only resource.
This leads to the second thought, _the profit of patient waiting on
the Lord._ "Their strength is to sit still." "In returning and rest
shall ye be saved." In returning from endeavours to obtain help from
earthly sources. God suffers us to lean on the aid of man that we may
realise its futility. Faith finds its best exercise in trial; it is
also strengthened and confirmed by affliction. In such conditions,
too, faith produces its richest and rarest fruit. Faith must evidence
itself by works. Days of sorrow and chambers of sickness bear witness
to the heroism of the believer. There are no heroes like those who
suffer calmly and in secret. Many such will at the last be exalted
higher than even martyrs and confessors.
_The secret of patient waiting is trust in God's promises._ Our
waiting must be on the Lord. Such waiting disciplines and chastens
us. Evil tempers are subdued. Attachment to the world is destroyed.
God's Word becomes our daily bread; His presence as the breath of our
life; and gradually the character is perfected, and made meet for the
inheritance of the saints in light.--_Rev. S. Robins, M.A., Dale:
Miscellaneous Sermons,_ p. 415.
DIVINE SALVATION REJECTED.
xxx. 15-17. _For thus saith the Lord God, &c._
The subject treated is the proposition to seek help from Egypt
against the Assyrians. Here is the Divine remonstrance. It
illustrates the Gospel, its treatment, and the retribution that will
follow.
I. THE GRACIOUS ASSURANCE.
"In returning and rest shall ye be saved, in quietness and confidence
shall be your strength." God was the defender of His people. Their
strength was to trust in Him. It is so still. He is the only Saviour.
A Divine salvation is--1. _Needed._ As much as when Sennacherib
spread his hosts before Jerusalem; as much as when the children of
Israel in the wilderness needed the manna, without which they must
have perished, &c; for man is sinful; and because sinful helpless.
2. _Proclaimed_ (Isa. xlv. 22; Acts xiii. 38, 39). God pitied the
world, and sent His son. Jesus died and rose again. His death
satisfied for sin. Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost. And
willing. In the ministry of the gospel He invites every sinner to
come to Him. 3. _Conditioned._ "Return--rest." There must be a
complete change from sin; from wrong confidence to simple faith. Many
examples in the Old Testament show that believing reliance on God was
a surer way to deliverance than the power of man. Apostolic preaching
points to faith as the link of connection between the sinner and the
Saviour. The salvation is by faith, that it may be free.
II. THE FOOLISH DETERMINATION.
Ver. 16. They had no faith. They looked to human helpers. It is the
tendency of man. And thus the gospel is set aside. 1. By
_negligence._ Because of prevailing unbelief spiritual blessings are
undervalued. Sin is loved. There is little moral earnestness.
Acceptance of the Gospel is postponed as if it were some disagreeable
duty. 2. By _contempt._ The horses on which they said they would ride
point to Egypt as their strength. It was contempt of God's help. Thus
their fathers had turned to the golden calf. Thus some turn to money,
some to earthly pleasures, some to the Church, some to the priest for
salvation. Anywhere rather than to the Saviour Himself. 3. By
_self-confidence._ Ceremonies of religion are performed; prayers
offered; obedience rendered; alms given with a view to propitiate the
Divine favour and obtain salvation as a debt. It rejects the truth of
the Bible. It proceeds from ungodliness, pride, and unbelief.
III. THE DREADFUL CONSEQUENCE.
Ver. 17. All your confidence will break down. You will be utterly
ruined. It will be as when a great power collapses. So shall it be
with sinners (Ps. lii.; Jer. xvii. 5, 6). So with sinners who reject
the Gospel. There will be--1. _Complete failure._ You will be left in
your original helplessness; at the mercy of the enemy: at the mercy
of your sins. 2. _Signal punishment._ For the criminality is most
aggravated. You will have insulted God by flinging back His offered
hand. Mark _the means_ by which punishment will come. By the very
things you have trusted. Mark _the manner_ in which punishment will
come. It will be utter ruin. Mark _the end_ your punishment will
serve. It will be a beacon to warn others against your fate. Instead
of trusting in any other help, fly to Jesus. Believe in Him. He gives
the weary rest. You shall be saved, now and for ever.--_J. Rawlinson._
WAITING, DIVINE AND HUMAN.
xxx. 18. _Therefore will the Lord wait._[1]
A promise clear and precious in itself may gain in force and value
when it is viewed in its surroundings. The diamond may be sparkling
and brilliant, but we prefer it in its setting. The rose by itself is
lovely, but we would rather have it with the green leaves around it.
We have an instance in the first chapter of this book, where, after
exposing the hypocrisy, formality, and wickedness of the people in
the most withering words, God suddenly exchanges the stern tone of
threatening for the sweet accents of mercy, _Come now, and let us
reason together._ Another example is found in Matt. xi., where our
Lord, after pronouncing His solemn woes, and asserting the Divine
sovereignty, in the very next sentence utters His tender invitation,
_Come unto Me._ The still small voice of mercy is all the sweeter and
more welcome because of the thunders by which it is preceded. The
same rapid transition may be observed in the passage before us. Cast
your eye over the preceding context, and you find the saddest picture
ever drawn of human perversity. What a heavy indictment (vers. 9,
10). How terrible that sentence pronounced (vers. 13, 14, 17). Is it
at once carried into execution? No. _Therefore will the Lord wait._
Wait for whom--for the humble, the repentant, the submissive? No; for
the sinful, the trifling, the scoffing. This mingling of grace and
truth is very striking. As the play of the lightning is more
brilliant during the darkness of the night, so God's mercy shines out
more gloriously through the murky night of man's sin. As the colours
of the rainbow are most vivid when it rests on some black cloud or
frowning cliff, so heaven's grace is seen to best advantage on the
background of human guilt.
I. GOD'S WAITING FOR MAN. 1. His waiting is _real and earnest._ It is
waiting--it is not a passive loitering; but carries with it the idea
of earnest expectation and desire. And so while God waits, He plies
you with warm entreaties and loving invitations, with stern
threatenings and glowing promises; He seeks to win you by the shadow
as well as the sunshine which He throws alternately across your path.
"_God_ waiting?" you ask. Why does _He_ wait? Can He not subdue
sinners by His power and compel them to serve His purpose, as the
potter moulds the plastic clay? You forget that you are a free agent.
Spirit is not matter. God will not shatter the door closed against
Him, and if He is to enter it must be with your consent. It is true
that the Lord opens the heart, but a forced submission would be no
submission at all. God's waiting, then, is real; it is no figure of
speech; and when we think of it, is He not far greater in His
marvellous patience than in ruling countless worlds?
2. God waits as a _God of grace,_ "that He may be gracious unto you."
Grace is free, unpurchased favour, conferred independently of
anything in us, or anything we can do (H. E. I., 2303; P. D. 1524).
3. God waits as a _God of law._ "The Lord is a God of judgment."
There must not only be grace, but truth as well. God can only forgive
sin in consistency with His justice. In our ignorance we think of
pardon as the removal of a grudge, the overlooking of an insult, but
this loose view keeps justice out of sight. Would you accept a pardon
which would degrade the character of God, represent Him as a lawless
being conniving at the very sin He forgives, shake the foundations of
His throne, and subvert the interests of truth and holiness in the
universe? Sin is no such light thing lightly forgiven. Only through
the sacrifice of Christ can remission of sin be righteously bestowed.
"The Lord is a God of judgment."
4. This waiting is _God's highest exaltation._ "He will be exalted
that He may have mercy upon you." In showing mercy to the sinful,
God's glory is made great, and the sin which is so hateful and
deplorable has furnished occasion for the rich display of His mercy.
War is a great evil, but where would be the courage of the soldier,
and the heroic deeds which have been enshrined in song, if there had
been no war? And so, had sin never existed in the world, we could
never have witnessed those marvellous exhibitions of God's mercy that
fill us with wonder and praise. Where sin abounded grace much more
abounded.
II. MAN WAITING FOR GOD. "Blessed are all they that wait for Him." We
have seen how He waits for us to be gracious unto us, to be exalted
in having mercy upon us, and we should wait in humble faith to
receive these priceless blessings, bringing our empty vessels that
they may be filled. The _blessedness_ of so waiting is set forth in
numerous passages of Scripture. What entire satisfaction and peace do
they enjoy who take this attitude of soul described as waiting on the
Lord! In waiting for man we are often disappointed and deceived, but
how can we ever exhaust the Divine mercy and goodness? O happy soul
that waits for God, and rejoicing in the plenitude of His goodness
sings,
"I must have all things and abound
Since God is God to me."
If God had not first waited for us, we never would have waited for
Him. He took the initiative. Why should any of us keep God waiting
longer? Are your sins too great? Have you been proud and rebellious?
It is precisely to such the promise is made. God is waiting _now_ to
be gracious, but the day of grace will soon be past.--_William
Guthrie, M.A._
Amidst the severest threatenings of Divine punishment of sin we find
assurances of Divine willingness to exercise mercy. Here is still the
question of the alliance with Egypt. In the foregoing verses the
prophet points out its real weakness and danger. In the text he
assures the people of the Divine readiness to forgive and restore if
they will return to God as their true confidence and defence.
This truth is brought out more fully when the light of the Gospel is
thrown upon it. Man is sinful. Some scarcely see this, because they
have never examined the law. Some admit the truth of universal
depravity, but lose themselves in the crowd. Some have a sense of sin
which causes anxiety, from which they see no escape. Others find rest
and comfort on inadequate and delusive grounds. Now we need not
merely peace. That solicitude is put to rest does not prove that a
man is safe. He may sleep when his house is burning. He may have
taken what he considered precautionary measures without informing
himself as to the measures that were necessary, or even in disregard
of competent advice on the subject. We should find peace in God's
way. Consider the text in the light of the Gospel. It is full of
encouragement, but it implies a caution.
+I. It intimates that there is a provision on account of which God
can exercise grace.+ 1. It is not His arbitrary will which pardons
sin without regard to anything beyond His own pleasure in the
happiness of His creatures. He considers the whole race. If He
exercise mercy toward one without an adequate satisfaction, why not
toward all? But this would amount to condonation of all sin--would
annihilate the distinction between the consequences of good and evil.
If God is gracious, it must be in such a way as that no injustice is
done.
2. Well then, you say, we must reform; there must be a repentance.
And this is true when properly understood. But it is not true if it
means that God may be gracious to men on the ground of their
repentance and reformation. The analogy between an earthly father and
God as a Father is often drawn so as to overlook the fact that He is
a moral governor, and that public justice is concerned in His
transactions with men. A father may forgive his child's offence on
his repentance, because it is a matter purely between themselves.
When the offender repents, the demands of the case are met. But an
offence against public law is different. A thief or a murderer
confesses his guilt, professes repentance and determination never to
repeat his crime; is the law satisfied? Would any one say he ought to
be forgiven? Now, sin is not only an offence against God, but against
public law, for which repentance is no satisfaction (H. E. I.,
4225-4228).
3. Nor is present obedience a ground to rest upon for the
obliteration of past sins. The best obedience of the best fails to
satisfy the present. "How can I tell when I have done enough?" asked
Dr. Johnson on his dying bed. And even if you did enough to satisfy
the present demands of the law, how could that avail for the removal
of previous criminality? Something more satisfactory than human
expedients is required (H. E. I., 375, 376).
4. That something is found in the Gospel, in the gracious provision
God has made for the exercise of mercy without infringing on the
rectitude of His government. It is in the gift of His Son. The love
of God sent the Son of God in human flesh to obey and suffer. On the
ground of His vicarious offering as the atoning sacrifice, pardon and
peace may be obtained. With it justice is fully satisfied.
+II. The text intimates that God is desirous to exercise grace.+
It is not simply willingness. He is profoundly desirous of this
result. "He wishes all men to be saved." "He is not willing that any
should perish." This truth may be gathered:
1. _For His revealed nature._ He does not delight in the infliction
of punishment, even when it is required by the ends of justice. His
tender love longs to see the sinner avail himself of the opportunity
that is afforded, and seek the offered grace (Exod. xxxiv. 5-7).
2. _From the provision of the Gospel._ There was no obligation on Him
to provide this grace. It was His love. It was provided at a cost
that was the best possible guarantee of sincerity. Having made such a
provision at such expense, will He be indifferent to the issue?
3. _From the invitations of the Gospel._ The way of salvation is
proclaimed as a royal messenger of grace to all mankind. It is not a
cold statement of the fact that a channel of grace has been opened.
It is accompanied by calls and invitations. Will God mock them by
invitations of which He does not desire their acceptance?
4. From the attitude which He here represents Himself as having
assumed, He waits for sinners that He may be gracious. He is like the
father of the prodigal son, who doubtless waited long and anxiously
for the prodigal's return because he wanted to forgive him (H. E. I.,
2328-2340).
And this is the answer to the question, For what is He waiting? Why
cannot He be gracious at once?
+III. The text implies that grace can only be exercised when its
conditions are accepted.+
Should He bestow it on all? In their sins? The case stands thus: God
has done His part in providing mercy; there is a part for man. What
is it? To consent. To confess the sin with conviction, humility,
sorrow. To accept the mercy by sending up the believing cry. To
surrender to God as the rebel submits to his prince and returns to
his allegiance (H. E. I., 240).
This is what He waits for. When it occurs He is gracious. And how
long will He wait? Not for ever. He is in the attitude of one who has
determined to wait a given time, during which the opportunity is
afforded. "Seek ye the Lord _while He may be found._" Why should you
not? Why so unwilling?
Let not the love of sin nor deadness to spiritual things hold you
back. Refusal to seek His grace is determined resistance of His
authority and His love (H. E. I., 4247, 4248).--_J. Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In these outlines the Authorised Version has been followed,
but the translations in which Delitzsch, Kay, and Cheyne
substantially agree is noteworthy and worthy of study.
_"And therefore_--because your sins require this
chastisement--_the Lord will wait,_ in resolute
self-withdrawal, looking for the time when your penitence
will permit Him to be again _gracious unto you: and
therefore will He be exalted,_ in judicial severity (ch.
v. 16; Ps. xlvi. 10), _that_ ('when He seeth thy power is
gone,' Deut. xxxii. 36) _He may have mercy on thee_ (Deut.
xxx. 3)."--_Kay._
_"And therefore will Jehovah long till He can be gracious
unto you, and therefore will He wait in stillness [or, be
on high] till He can have compassion upon you, for Jehovah
is a God of righteousness; happy are all those that long
for Him!"--Cheyne._
Mr. Birks thus comments: "Vers. 18-26. These verses, from
the whole context, refer to the Assyrian deliverance. The
connection is direct and forcible, though some have thought
it obscure. However severe God's discipline, its design was
gracious. His dealings are full of wisdom, like our Lord's
absence during the sickness of Lazarus, to make the
blessing afterwards more glorious and Divine. There is, on
His part, no slackness or indifference, but the calm
waiting of an ever-patient love. Even in the hour of
judgment God will be exalted, not to crush His people with
the terrors of His majesty, but only _'that He may have
mercy'_ upon them. He knows how to temper their
afflictions, that they may yield the peaceable fruits of
righteousness. Since He waits in patient love to show the
favour at the last, they also are bound to wait, in faith
and patience, until the blessing shall come."
WAITING FOR THE LORD.
xxx. 18. _Blessed are all they that wait for Him._
+I. What is meant by waiting upon the Lord?+ Not that sitting still
and biding our time, like a man waiting for a coach. Not that we are
to sit in quiet, idle supineness, expecting the Lord to come and fill
our souls with joy and peace, as He used to fill the tabernacle with
His glory. Yet, because they cannot convert their own souls, and
sanctify their own hearts, thousands rashly conclude that they must
quietly wait until the Lord work a miracle for them and save them.
The Bible declares our helplessness in order _that we may be stirred
up to seek help from God_ (Eph. v. 14; Phil. ii. 12, 13; 2 Pet.
ii. 10). What do we mean when we engage a servant to wait upon us?
Not that he is to compose himself to sleep until we signify that we
want him; but that he should attend upon us, hold himself in
readiness to do our bidding, make himself acquainted with our rules
and conform to them, and with our wishes, and do his best to obey
them with all readiness, cheerfulness, and faithfulness. So when the
Lord bids us "wait for Him," He means that we should diligently seek
His face, inquire into His laws, keep His statutes, and walk in His
ordinances, expecting to receive, in His own good time, the blessings
which He has promised to those who "wait upon Him."
+II. How are we to wait for the Lord?+ 1. We must wait upon God _with
the heart:_ we must be in earnest. _We_ have no respect for the
attentions and fair speeches of our fellow-men when we have reason to
believe them mere idle compliments: will God accept from us what we
have scorn to receive from one another? (Jer. xiii. 13). 2. We must
wait _entirely_ upon God, whether we are in search of peace, strength
or happiness (Ps. lxii. 1-5). 3. We must wait upon the Lord
_patiently_ and _perseveringly._ He is the rewarder of all them "that
_diligently_ seek Him;" but He has never pledged Himself either to
the time when, or the mode in which, He will answer our prayers. He
may put our sincerity to the test by keeping us waiting for some
time; but we shall never wait in vain (Ps. xl. 1). Remember how long
Abraham had to wait for the fulfilment of the promise of a seed; but
in the end, through faith and _patience,_ he inherited the promise
(Gal. vi. 9).--_E. Crow, M.A.: Plain Sermons,_ pp. 120-136.
Change and uncertainty mark all things here. The wisest plans often
baffled, the fairest prospects blighted. But the truths and blessings
of the Gospel are not subject to this law or uncertainty. God's
schemes are never frustrated; His promises never broken.
I. THAT DEVOUT EXERCISE OF MIND HERE COMMENDED. "Waiting for God."
1. His people wait _in the exercise of earnest and believing prayer._
They seek Him in the means of His own appointment; by that sort of
diligent seeking which is opposed to that of the slothful (Prov.
xiii. 4). 2. His people wait _in holy expectation of blessings in
providence and grace._ It is the patient waiting for the performance
of the promise in the exercise of faith. It implies a knowledge of
God,--a confidence in Him,--a rest in His promises, as of a child in
a father; a servant in a master (Ps. cxxii. 1, 2). 3. _They wait for
the clearing up of perplexities in the Divine Government._ Oftentimes
in their own history and in the history of others, God's providence
bears a mysterious and perplexing aspect. But the believing soul
says, "All will come right at last. What we know not now we shall
know hereafter." (H. E. I., 4043-4048).
II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF SUCH WAITING FOR GOD. 1. The very exercise of
prayer, faith, and patience is _a culture of the soul._ In such
culture there lies "Blessedness." 2. Theirs shall be the _blessedness
of satisfaction._ Disappointment meets man in every walk of life, but
those who trust in the Lord's Justice, Wisdom, and Goodness shall
never "be ashamed."--_Samuel Thodey._
I. God's appearances on account of His people are sometimes delayed.
1. In answering prayer. 2. In relieving them in their afflictions.
3. In explaining Himself in regard to their afflictions. 4. In
affording the joys of His salvation and the comfort of the Holy
Ghost. II. Your duty in the meantime: it is to wait for Him calmly,
patiently, expectantly. III. The blessedness that will attend the
exercise of waiting for Him.--_William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons,_
pp. 319-324.
GOD'S READINESS TO LISTEN TO THE NEEDY.
xxx. 19. _He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice
of thy cry._
+I. There are persons before me for whom this gracious assurance is
particularly suitable.+ It is most comforting--
1. _To all afflicted people._ You are depressed; things have gone
amiss; you do not prosper in business, or you are sickening in body,
or a dear one lies at home pining away. In your straits possibly you
may be ready to try some wrong way of helping yourself out of your
difficulties. Yield not to Satan. There is help in God for you now.
The Lord is not now visiting you in wrath; there is kindness in His
severity. By yielding yourself to God, and trusting Him in this your
evil plight, you will obtain deliverance (ver. 15).
2. _To those who are troubled on account of sin._ In order to escape
from sin and punishment, the very first thing with you is to come
back to your God whom you have offended, since He alone can pardon
you. There must be a turning of the face in repentance, and a looking
of the eye by faith unto God in Christ Jesus, or you will die in your
sins (H. E. I., 1479-1484). The natural tendency of your heart, even
when under a sense of sin, will be to keep from the Lord. Alas! you
will look at your sin again and again till you are ready to pine away
in despair, but you will not look to Christ Jesus and be saved.
Possibly you may conclude that there is no hope for you in better
things, and that therefore you had better enjoy such pleasures as may
be found in sin, and take your swing while you may. Do not believe
this lie of Satan. There is hope; you are in the land of mercy still.
You need do nothing to make the Lord propitious, He is love already;
you need not undergo penance, nor pass through grievous anguish of
spirit in order to render God more merciful, for His grace aboundeth.
Therefore we say to you, go to Him and test Him, for He will be
gracious to the voice of your cry.
3. _To backsliders filled with their own ways,_ who are alarmed and
distressed at their grievous departures from God. You may well be
grieved, for you have done much dishonour to the name of God amongst
the ungodly; you have pierced His saints with many sorrows. If you
were cast off for ever as a traitor and left to die as a son of
perdition, what could be said but that you were reaping the fruit of
your own ways? Yet the text rings in your ears at this time like a
clear silver bell, and its one note is grace. "He will be very
gracious unto thee" (Jer. iii. 14; H. E. I., 424).
4. _To all believers in Christ who are at all exercised in heart;_
and we are all in that condition at times. Even when by full
assurance we can read our title clear to-day, we become anxious as to
the morrow. If trials multiply, how will faith be able to stand? When
the days of weakness arrive, what shall we do in our old age? Behind
all stands the skeleton form of death. "What shall we do in the
swellings of Jordan?" We recollect how we ran with the footmen in our
former trials, and they wearied us, and we ask ourselves, "How shall
we contend with horsemen?" When standing, as we shall, on the brink
of eternity, will our religion thus prove a reality, or will our hope
dissolve like a dream? Such questions torment our souls. Let all such
fears vanish. In child-like confidence come to God, and go no more
from Him. Let this verse smile on you, and beckon you to your
Father's heart.
+II. The assurance here given is very firmly based.+ It rests--1. _On
the plain promise of God_ as given in the text, and in many similar
declarations scattered all over the Scriptures. 2. _On the gracious
nature of God._ It is His nature to be gracious. Judgment is His
strange work, but He delighteth in mercy. Nothing pleases Him more
than to pass by transgression, iniquity, and sin when we lie humble
and penitent before Him. 3. _On the prevalence of prayer._ This we
know, an experience of eight-and-twenty years has proved that God
heareth prayer; therefore we say to you, go to Him and test Him, for
He will be gracious to the voice of your cry.
+III. The well-confirmed assurance of the text should be practically
accepted at once.+ 1. _Let us renounce at once all earth-born
confidence._ What is your confidence? Your wealth? Your strong
common-sense? Your stalwart frame? What are you relying on? Will it
support you in death? Will it stand you in good stead in eternity? It
will not if it be anything short of the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Let us flee from all creature-confidence as from a filthy
thing, for it is base to the last degree to be trusting in another
creature and putting that creature into the place of the Creator.
2. _Refuse despair._ 3. _Try now the power of prayer and child-like
confidence in God._--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle
Pulpit,_ vol. xxiv. pp. 337-348.
THE BREAD OF ADVERSITY.
xxx. 20, 21. _And though the Lord give you the bread of
adversity, &c._[1]
I. DIFFICULTIES SUPPOSED.
"The Bread of Adversity" was a proverbial expression among the Jews
(1 Kings xxii. 27; Ps. lxxx. 5). The _Lord_ gives: He who gave the
cup of salvation gives the cup of affliction. He who gives the bread
of life gives also the bread of adversity (Heb. xii. 6). Recollect
that the Lord who gives you the bread of adversity gave His own Son
no better fare, no richer diet.
II. CONSOLATIONS PROMISED.
"Yet shall not thy teachers be removed," &c. He will compensate
temporal troubles by spiritual blessings. Numbers have found that as
tribulation abounded, consolation abounded by Christ (2 Cor. i. 5).
Such consolations are threefold. 1. _A free access to God's throne._
"He will be very gracious to thee at the voice of thy cry." Prayer
relieves distress. 2. _A faithful administration of God's word and
ordinances._ Religious instruction shall be continued, "thy teachers
shall not be removed." 3. _A gracious direction of God's providence._
III. INSTRUCTIONS SUGGESTED.
1. _Guard against whatever may endanger Christian privileges._
Neglect of prayer; absence of love; seductions of the world.
2. _Recollect what is needful to give this promise full effect_--the
influence of the Spirit. Pray for and expect a baptism of the Holy
Ghost. 3. _Commend to others the consolations you receive._ Visit the
sick; remember the widow and the fatherless. In comforting others,
your own bread of adversity shall be made sweet.--_Samuel Thodey._
I. A CALAMITY ANTICIPATED.
Affliction may be continuous and severe. Bread and water are the
prominent things in the sustenance of life. Day by day reserved. Few,
if any, are entirely exempt from affliction. Periods of difficulty
and privation, when weeks and months of consuming anxiety are
experienced. Losses which seriously incommode and cripple their
business. Troubles in the family, sometimes from the conduct of those
most loved. Bereavements which rend the heart. Sickness, accident,
consuming disease, and excruciating pain wear life slowly away.
The godly are not exempted. The infected atmosphere may poison the
saint as well as the sinner. If a good man falls over a precipice he
will be killed. "The same hurricane may equally swamp the vessel
which is filled with pirates and that which is filled by a band of
devoted missionaries." If a Christian neglect his business, or
conduct it on unsound principles, he must expect insolvency. He may
conduct it with perfect commercial wisdom and care and yet be
overtaken by disasters from causes beyond his control.
But it does not happen by chance. There is no such thing as fate. We
recognise the hand of the Lord. "Though _the Lord_ give you the bread
of affliction and the water of adversity." In this truth is help for
believers perplexed by the mystery of sorrow. It throws their
thoughts on God. And they have such confidence in Him that is a
resting-place. We do not know, we never can know, the evils He
prevents. When He permits or sends trouble we may rest assured that
there is a sufficient reason (Lam. iii. 33).
What are the reasons?[2] We may mistake their application, but they
are such as these: 1. It is sometimes _punitive._ God has established
a connection between sin and suffering. The former always works
towards the latter. The chain of connection may be so subtle, and may
extend so far back, that we cannot follow it. Yet such a chain there
is. When affliction comes, it is useful to trace the chain, and
ascertain, if we can, wherefore the Lord is contending with us. 2. It
is sometimes _corrective._ He deals with us as men deal with their
children (Heb. xii. 5-11). It is not that He may vent His anger, but
recall them to their better selves. He means it as the refiner means
the fire into which he casts the gold (Ps. cxix. 67). 3. It is
sometimes _auxiliary._ The means to an end. The dark way into light.
It is necessary to some advantage which could not be reached without
it. Joseph's slavery and imprisonment were the steps to his
subsequent greatness. Jesus reached the crown by the cross. Perhaps
you can illustrate from your own experience.
Meantime, here is
II. AN ANTIDOTE PROMISED.
Their teachers had been removed. The prophets were persecuted (verses
9, 10). Jeremiah, Zedekiah, under Jezebel's persecution. Obadiah had
hid a hundred in caves. Persecution usually fastens on the teachers
as most prominent. Thus Apostles. Thus the Nonconforming clergy in
England. Thus the missionaries were driven from Madagascar. But the
promise here in that they shall regain their liberty. And this will
be not only a relief to themselves, but an antidote to the people's
calamities. It will secure: 1. _Instruction._ "Thy teachers." Truth
is the basis of everything in experience or practice. It is their
business carefully to unfold and apply the truth.[3]
2. _Consolation._ Christian ordinances are consolatory. There are
truths that bear on troubles. The views of the Divine character and
of the course of Providence exhibited in the Gospel sustain and
comfort. 3. _Direction._ There is danger of turning to right or left.
So many allurements, from ignorance, misguidance, temptation. By the
ministry you hear the voice which points out the way, invites
steadfastness, warns against divergence.
God provides guidance in the journey to the better land. Value the
ministry of the Word. Attend it. Follow its teaching.--_J. Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Authorised Version, upon which these outlines are
founded, is supported by Mr. Cheyne, who translates: _"And
though the Lord give you bread in short measure and water
in scant quantity,"_ &c. But Delitzsch, Kay, and Birks
render the first clause: "And the Lord will give you bread
in your adversity and water in your affliction." Mr. Birks
adds: "These words form part of a promise, not its
limitation. Here they are assured that, although besieged,
they will not be given over to famine. The path of duty
will be made plain by God's prophets, and speedy
deliverance be given."
[2] H. E. I., 56-115.
[3] The Christian Church requires a teaching ministry. Not only
must the Gospel be proclaimed to the world, the Church must
be trained into knowledge, experience, holiness, activity.
Individual study of Scripture is largely useful. But
regularly recurring religious services, of which careful
instruction is a part, are universally necessary. Godly men
must be released from secular business, trained, set apart
to the study and ministry of the Word. The living voice of
the preacher helps, guides, confirms, and gives greater
practical influence to the private reading of Christians.
Even under the old dispensation, large use was made of this
method. There were schools of the prophets. A few were so
eminent that they have left their words behind them. But
there were many whose names have not survived their time.
Jesus trained His disciples for their future work. After
His Ascension, He gave various gifts to men for the work of
the ministry. He continues them. While one could wish that
all the Lord's people were prophets, and that He would put
His Spirit upon them, so that they would work to the full
extent of their ability for the world's salvation, it
remains true that the strength of the Church is an able,
well-instructed, godly, and earnest ministry.
Among the blessings here promised to the ancient Church is
the restoration of the silenced teachers to their work
after its period of discipline.--_Rawlinson._
THE GUIDING VOICE.
xxx. 21. _And thou shalt hear a voice behind thee, &c._
This may be a promise to God's people of the continuance of the
services of the ministry, or of the additional blessings of spiritual
suggestions to guide them in the path of duty.
I. It may be continuance of the promise in the preceding verse: "Thy
teachers shall not be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes
shall see thy teachers, _and_ thine ears shall hear a word behind
thee." The Word of God proclaimed by faithful ministers follows men.
Sometimes, as they listen to it, they reject it, but it pursues them,
and gives them no rest until they obey it. When they are bent on a
wrong course, it haunts them until they are recalled to duty. Or it
stimulates them to the performance of duties they are neglecting or
performing sluggishly. Thus understood, we may see that in this
promise God compares Himself as it were to a shepherd, who puts his
sheep before him; or to a schoolmaster who will have his scholars in
sight, that so he may the better keep them in order.
Thus understood, we see our duty. It is to give reverent heed to the
Word of God as proclaimed to us by His ministers. Food, however
choice, is no blessing to us unless it be eaten and digested; and the
Word of God is no blessing to us, except there be an ear to hearken
to it, a spiritual taste to relish it, and a heart to close and
comply with it. Well is it with those who imitate Lydia (Acts
xvi. 14). But neglect of God's Word shuts against us even the throne
of grace (Prov. xxviii. 9). To those who disregard what they know to
be the voice of God, there comes a time when they discover that the
greatest of all calamities is to have their voice disregarded by Him
(Prov. i. 24-26).
II. But the promise may be that of an additional blessing, the inward
motions and suggestions of the Holy Spirit. His voice may be called
"a word behind us," because--1. Of its secresy (Job iv. 12).
2. Because it follows us always, as constantly as our shadow.
Parallels to this promise we find in 1 John ii. 20, 27; John xiv. 26,
xvi. 13.
III. This voice His people hear when they are about to wander, or
have wandered from the way of righteousness. From that way it is easy
to depart; but God loves His people, and cannot abide to see them
miscarry, and therefore He counsels them. "This is the way, walk ye
in it," is sometimes a word of correction and reformation, in case of
error; sometimes a word of instruction and direction, in case of
ignorance; sometimes a word of strengthening and confirmation, in
case of unsettledness.
In all these respects God's people hear the "word behind them,"
sometimes giving them very gracious hints concerning the affairs of
this present life, but more frequently concerning the spiritual life.
Those who wait upon God shall not lack counsels concerning the manner
in which they are to serve Him. He answers the prayers of His people
(Ps. xxv. 4, 5; lxxxvi. 11; cxliii. 8).
What a great comfort and encouragement we have here! If we really
desire to serve God amid all the labyrinths and uncertainties of this
present life, we shall be safe, for He will guide us.
IV. But how may we know whether the word behind us is the voice of
God, and not merely one of our own fancies, or a suggestion of
Satan's? There are several touchstones by which every "word" may and
should be tested. 1. The word within is to be compared with the Word
without. Every suggestion is to be examined by the rule of Scripture.
God never speaks in the conscience contrary to what He speaks there,
for He is unchangeable and cannot contradict Himself (Isa. viii. 20).
2. God's "words" are orderly and regular; they keep men within the
compass of their callings, and the place in which God has set them.
They incite us not to forsake our duty, but to be faithful in it.
3. They are ordinarily mild, gentle, seasonable; they are not
ordinarily raptures, but such as leave a man in a right apprehension
of what he does, and capable of reflection upon it. 4. They are
discernible also from their effects, and the ends to which they tend.
All the hints and motions of God's Spirit tend to make us better, and
to carry us nearer to Himself in one way or another. Honestly using
these tests, we shall learn promptly and surely to discern the voice
of God's Spirit when He says to us, "This is the way, walk ye in it."
V. From all this two duties plainly arise. 1. _Thankfulness._ A
faithful monitor is a very great advantage; it is so betwixt man and
man, and we should bless God that He condescends to be this to us.
2. _Obedience._ To His infallible, loving counsel we should give
prompt heed, especially as He not only points out the way, but is
always ready to help us to walk in it; and the way in which He would
have us go is the only one that leads to true happiness and lasting
peace. Disobedience exposes us to manifold dangers, such as
(1.) God's future silence; when His counsels are repeatedly rejected,
He will cease to speak. What a terrible calamity (1 Sam. xxviii. 5).
(2.) Those who hearken not to the voice of God in them are often
given up to Satan, and their own corruptions bear away within them
(Ps. lxxxi. 11, 12).--_Thomas Horton, D.D.: 100 Select Sermons,_ pp.
298-304.
+I. Our need of the guidance here promised.+ We are ignorant of the
way to true happiness, and we have not always daylight. The path is
narrow, and is sometimes very intricate. It lies through an enemy's
country. Many as wise as we have lost their way, and, after years of
sorrow, have perished miserably. We need this guidance in youth, in
manhood, in old age, even unto death (P. D., 952, 2388).
+II. Some of the means by which God guides His people.+ The promise
in our text suggests a traveller in doubt as to the course he should
take, pausing perplexed at cross roads, and in danger of choosing a
wrong one, when a friendly voice behind him is heard, saying, "This
is the way, walk ye in it." God thus speaks to His people. 1. By His
_providences._ Afflictions are often monitions and instructions
(H. E. I., 66-70). 2. By His _Word._ It clearly marks the path to
heaven. 3. By our _conscience_ (H. E. I., 1291, 1304, 1308-1312).
4. By His _Spirit;_ by Whom conscience is quickened, our
understanding cleared of delusions, our attention fixed on the happy
career of the righteous, and the disastrous end of the wicked.
+III. What is needed to enable us to profit by this promise.+ 1. A
prayerful spirit (ver. 19). 2. A studious eye that will look for the
waymarks, especially for the footprints of Jesus. 3. A listening ear.
4. An obedient habit of mind (1 Sam. xv. 22; P. D., 1656). Disregard
of the Guiding Voice will involve us in present disaster and misery,
and in eternal woe. Heedfulness of it will ensure for us present
safety and peace, and eternal blessedness.--_Samuel Thodey._
RIVERS OF WATERS.
xxx. 25, 26. _And there shall be upon every high mountain,
&c._
These are symbolic of the blessings God will confer upon His people
when He returns to them in mercy. These are vivid presentations of
two characteristics of these blessings, their copiousness and their
universality. 1. To express their COPIOUSNESS the prophet speaks not
of streams merely, but of rivers; "rivers and streams of water;" and
declares that they shall be poured forth, not merely as the light
from the sun, but as if the light of seven days were concentrated in
one.[1] 2. To express at once their copiousness and their
UNIVERSALITY, He declares that the rivers and streams shall run on
the hills and mountains, yea, upon _every_ hill and mountain.[2] The
idea of universality is involved also in the future of sunlight.[3]
Have these promises been fulfilled? Yes. 1. _When the Gospel was
given to the world._ Its messengers were sent forth into every land,
and it is a small thing to say that the light it gave was sevenfold
that which the most enlightened of the heathen had possessed. 2. _In
the experience of every believing soul._ The Gospel reaches many who
seem utterly beyond any saving influence; and when it does really
reach a man, is received into his heart. It gives him a light of more
than sevenfold brightness and value as compared with the best of the
lights he before professed--reason and conscience.[4] 3. It is
fulfilled in our own day _by the remarkable increase of religious
knowledge._ God's Word is being carried into every land, and the
children in our daily and Sabbath schools have a fuller acquaintance
with Scripture than many men and women of the last generation. There
is to be a yet more complete fulfilment of these promises in that
glorious era of which we speak as the Millennium.[5]
It rests with ourselves to determine whether the fulfilment of these
promises shall be to us a blessing.[6]--_John Packer: Warnings and
Consolations,_ pp. 256-271.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We can conceive of nothing more bright, pervading, and
universal than the light of the sun. At its rising the
whole face of nature is displayed, every object is brought
out to view; the grandest or loveliest features of the
scene are presented to us in all their extent and
magnificence, while the most delicate tints of the smallest
flower are seen in all their softest shades and richest
hues. Still the glorious object in its full splendour, the
sun itself is too dim, too dull, too feeble to represent
the grace and love of our God; it must be multiplied
sevenfold. And even then it but indistinctly shadows forth
the unspeakable mercy of the everlasting God.--_Packer._
[2] _"Rivers and streams of waters."_ But where is their
current? Upon every high mountain and upon every high hill.
Now, there can be no rivers and streams on the summit of
the mountain range, nor upon the high hill top. Rivers and
streams are fed from these lofty elevations; they take
their rise amid these towering heights, but they do not
find a channel there. Thus you see that to typify the
effluence of the Holy Spirit, these flowing waters of the
text are described as being in unusual localities, to
intimate that the blessings will be in such abundance and
profusion as to outrun expectation and surpass all
experience. And this not in some highly favoured regions
only, but the blessing shall be universal, even upon
_every_ high mountain and upon _every_ high hill.--_Packer._
[3] This, like the air, cannot be excluded; it penetrates the
gloomiest caverns, can enter even through a cranny. So
there is no soul out of reach of the all-pervading Spirit.
Those that are inaccessible to man can be reached, and
enriched, and blessed by the mighty energy of the Holy
Ghost.--_Packer._
[4] When we attempt to compare the boasted light of natural
reason with the light which the Spirit alone can impart, it
is not simply that the former is as the light of the moon,
and the latter as the light of the sun; but the one is as
Egyptian darkness, and the other as the splendour of the
meridian sun, without even one small fleecy cloud
intervening. Jesus Christ is the light of life (2 Cor.
iv. 6). All that we can know of God, of His attributes and
perfections, of His plans and purposes, He has revealed
unto us by His Son. To those who are in Christ all is
light, and harmony, and peace; to those who are without
Christ all is gloom, and confusion, and terror. By faith in
Him we see that all God's dealings wear an aspect of mercy,
love, and wisdom. Corrections are inflicted for our profit;
disappointments are sent to wean us from the unsatisfying,
perishing things of time and sense. Surely, in this
respect, the promise in the text is made good to the
believer; he enjoys sevenfold light in his soul compared to
that which he had in the days when he knew not the true God
and Jesus Christ, whom He had sent.--_Packer._
[5] But these mercies will be preceded by the convulsions of
the moral earthquake. The very terms in which the promise
is couched convey the idea of trial and suffering. There is
a breach which the Lord binds up, and there is the stroke
of a wound to be healed, implying previous
violence.--_Packer._
[6] What shall the universality and copiousness of the "rivers
and streams of water" profit us, if we will not drink of
them? In the natural world a man would be nothing
benefited, though the light of the sun was augmented
sevenfold, if he studiously closed and sealed every opening
by which it entered his dwelling, or if he placed an
impervious bandage tightly over his eyes whenever he went
abroad (John xii. 36).--_Packer._
[See also Outlines, RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE,
xxxii. 2, and ENRICHING RIVERS, xxxiii. 21.]
THE EARTHLY SONG AND THE HEAVENLY VOICE.
xxx. 29-33. _Ye shall have a song . . . and the Lord shall
cause His glorious voice to be heard, &c._
The fulfilment of this prophecy is recorded in Isa. xxxvii. 36. The
Assyrian power, hitherto unopposed in its march of conquest,
sustained a severe check when it assailed Jerusalem. The great
deliverance is here foretold. Inside the walls there would be song
and gladness; outside, swift destruction. "The holy solemnity" was
probably the Passover which Hezekiah and his people observed; and the
"song" in that case would be the Paschal Hymn, comprising Ps.
cxiii.-cxviii. There is a tradition that Sennacherib's army was
destroyed on the night of the Passover; and thus while the people
were recalling their great national deliverance, a further and
somewhat similar Divine interposition was about to be made in their
behalf. Mark how grandly, as if in response to the songs and gladness
of the Passover night, the voice of Jehovah comes in. It is
impossible not to see the connection between the two voices. Songs of
praise and gladness have still an echo in heaven, and call forth a
Divine response to quell the church's foes. Look, then, at the two
voices, the human and the Divine, in relation to each other.
1. _A voice of confidence on man's part responded to by a voice of
power on God's part._ It showed no small faith in Hezekiah and his
people to observe the Passover in the circumstances. How could the
little kingdom of Judah oppose the mighty conqueror? How could
Jerusalem standout against the assailants encamped in such numbers
around its walls? God was their defence. To Him in this emergency
they raised their songs of confidence. Nothing could more
appropriately express their faith than the Passover hymn. That night
reminded them of the rescue from Egypt, and would inspire them with
confidence in God. They were on the eve of another great deliverance,
and their song was well fitted to prepare them for it, containing
such passages as these, Ps. cxv. 1-11, cxviii. 6-13. Nor was their
confidence disappointed. Without any human help, God overthrew their
besiegers, but it was the song of faith that called forth the
powerful voice of God. When faith appeals to God, the appeal is heard
on high (Exod. xiv. 13; Ps. xlvi. 10). Two prisoners once prayed and
sang praises to God at midnight. Their testimony for Christ had been
silenced, but from the dark dungeon the song of confidence rose to
heaven. "And the Lord caused His glorious voice to be heard," an
earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, and God gave His two
witnesses an opportunity of bringing the Gospel to bear upon hardened
hearts. Do you wish to see the arm of the Lord revealed? then sing
your song of faith. Does the Church in these days sit powerless, sad,
and despairing through the gloomy night of unbelief and prevailing
ungodliness? Let her know that man's extremity is God's opportunity.
In the darkest night of seeming failure she has her God-given song,
and if only she can sing it in spite of all that is black and
threatening in her prospects, "the Lord shall cause His glorious
voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm" in
rebuking scepticism and indifference, in softening hard hearts, and
in making friends of foes.
2. _A song of gladness and joy in God responded to by a voice of
complacent affection._ All the Jewish feasts were occasions of
gladness, and the Passover must have been so, when we consider the
event it commemorated, the communion with God to which it invited,
and the future salvation it foreshadowed. The Paschal Hymn resounds
with notes of gladness, _e.g.,_ Ps. cxviii. 14, 15, 24. If our song
of joy in God is hearty and sincere, we may expect a corresponding
response. If we rejoice in God, He will rejoice over us (Zeph.
iii. 17; Isa. xxxi. 4, 5).
3. _A song of self-dedication answered by a voice of recognition._
The song breathes the spirit of consecration to God's service (Ps.
cxvi. 12-19). Do we thus consciously and spontaneously lay ourselves
on the altar as living sacrifices? If we own God, God will own us.
The destruction of Sennacherib's hosts was a proof to all the world
that God owned Israel as His peculiar people. You, too, will have the
token of Divine ownership. For your sake God will rebuke the
devourer. In response to your song of dedication, "the Lord shall
cause His glorious voice to be heard," giving success to your efforts
and enterprises, blessing you and making you a blessing.
4. _A song of security calling forth a voice of preservation._ Within
the walls the people marched in procession "to the mountain of the
Lord, to the rock of Israel." That rock of ages was their defence.
They felt secure in God's faithful keeping (Ps. cxv. 17, 18,
cxviii. 16-18). Have you entered into this element of the Paschal
song? You shall hear God's protecting voice, and see the acts of His
preserving care. However strong the foes that muster against you,
they shall not prevail, for all the Divine resources are engaged for
your support (Col. iii. 3).
5. _A song of thanksgiving for past mercies answered by a voice that
commanded new mercies._ This element was very prominent in the
Passover observance, and it enters largely into the Lord's Supper,
called on this account the Eucharist. How can we remember Christ
without thankfulness and praise? When He took the bread and the cup
He "gave thanks," and He and His disciples sang the Paschal Hymn.
What strains of high thanksgiving it contains! It begins with praise
(Ps. cxii. 1, 2). It retells the Exodus (Ps. cxiv.) It rises to
grateful recognition of God's goodness (Ps. cxvi. 7, 8, 17). When
such a song rises from human lips, God will give fresh occasions for
thankfulness.
Let the subject teach us the importance of sacred song. Prayer and
preaching are Divinely appointed means of grace and instruction, but
we cannot dispense with song. God fights for His people, but it is
with the accompaniment of tabrets and harps (ver. 32).--_William
Guthrie, M.A._
TOPHET ORDAINED OF OLD.
xxx. 33. _For Tophet is ordained of old, &c._
Some of us have often admired the expression, "Knowing the terrors of
the Lord, we persuade men;" implying that the law of persuasion
should be the law of the Christian pulpit. Some would _alarm_ men,
some would bitterly _rail,_ and others _thunder_ at them; as though
the human heart could never be prevailed upon to capitulate, but must
always be taken by storm. Paul shows us the more excellent way. When
he proclaims "the terrors of the Lord," it is "to persuade men;" to
persuade them to escape the ruin and to accept the remedy. Observe,
he does not hide them, for the truth must be told, sin must be
condemned, the wicked must be warned.
+I. Let us examine the local allusion and literal meaning of this
verse.+ "This allusion to Tophet is the earliest which appears in the
Scriptures. Additional particulars appear in the history of Josiah's
reformation (2 Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. vii. 31). The prophet Isaiah
here represents Tophet as a place prepared for the burning of the
Assyrian king. Made deep and large, with fire and wood in abundance,
prepared for the king, and he being thrown into it, the breath of the
Lord kindles it into fearful conflagration. This is, of course, a
figurative description, Tophet being made the central point in the
figure because it was a well-known place, a valley just outside the
city, the valley of Hinnom, used for burning all the offal and filth
of the city of Jerusalem." Isaiah was commissioned to utter this
prophecy of the overthrow and consuming of the Assyrian army, in
order to inspirit Hezekiah and the people against the threatened
invasion. "Tophet is ordained of old" as that fiery place which would
consume the dead bodies of these unjust invaders. Hence the Chaldee
paraphrase says, "It was called the valley of the carcases and of the
ashes or of the dead bodies for this reason, because the dead bodies
of the camp of the Assyrians fell there;" to which Josephus gives
testimony when he relates that the place was called the Assyrian
camp. What force these recollections would give to our Lord's
threatenings of hell to the Jews who saw the smoke of this valley
always rising before their eyes (compare Isa. lxvi. 24 with Mark
ix. 43-48).
+II. Note some of those solemn and awakening truths suggested by this
verse.+ 1. _The same record which provides for the security of the
Church, provides for the final overthrow of its enemies._ This was
the time of Jacob's extremity; he was saved and his enemies consumed.
2. _In the enjoyment of our highest privileges, we are surrounded by
the most solemn terrors._ Tophet lay not only _near,_ but at the very
foot of Mount Zion. From the heights of Zion might be seen the smoke,
the fire, and the worm in the valley of Tophet! A dreadful thought
this! Hell is set full in our view when worshipping in Zion (1 Pet.
iv. 17, 18). Bunyan says, "So I saw a man may go by profession to
heaven's gate and yet be cast away." Our Lord (Luke xiii. 25).
3. _While no combination of power can shield the wicked, the believer
has always a source of safety and a song of joy._--_Samuel Thodey._
THE ONLY COUNSELLOR.
xxxi. 1-3. _Woe to the rebellious children, &c._
These words were spoken by the prophet at a time when the Jewish
nation was in great and imminent danger. They were addrest to the
rulers of the nation, who were endeavouring to ward off the danger:
and their purpose is to rebuke those rulers for the measures they
were taking with that view, by entering into alliance with Pharaoh,
king of Egypt, in the hope that he would deliver them out of it. But
we should make a great mistake if we imagine that there is nothing in
them that concerns our duty as individuals. God's reproofs of nations
are such as we may all take home to our hearts, ponder, and learn
from; for they contain principles of righteousness which, like the
sun which shines at once on half the world and ourselves, are
intended for the guidance both of nations and of individuals. Of this
truth a striking example is afforded by our text. Its object is to
rebuke the Jewish rulers for the line of policy which they were
taking with the view of defending their country from her enemies.
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, was marching against Judah, with the
intent of conquering it, and reducing the people to slavery, as
Israel had already been conquered and enslaved a few years before by
Shalmaneser. The danger was very great. What was King Hezekiah to do?
How was Judah to stand against Assyria? If you were to ask any of the
politicians who are wise in the wisdom of this world, they would all
say, there could be no question about the matter; that the only way
of saving Judah was to obtain the alliance and aid of some powerful
nation, whose succour might render her more nearly a match for the
armies of the invader. This is exactly what the rulers of Judah set
about doing. They entered into an alliance with the king of Egypt,
with the view of gaining assistance from him, which might enable them
to cope with Sennacherib in the field. This is just what a statesman,
who plumed himself on his wisdom in these days, would do. Yet it is
for doing this very thing that the prophet Isaiah in the text
reproves and denounced woe against them. Their conduct, therefore,
must have been sinful. Let us try to discover in what their sin lay.
1. They were making use of human means _alone,_ to ward off the
danger which threatened. It is not sinful to use such means; the sin
lies in fancying they can help us without the blessing of God, and in
not seeking _that._ This was what Isaiah denounced, and what we do.
When any danger threatens us, we forthwith take counsel--of
ourselves, of our friends, forgetting that all our counsel in the
first instance ought to be taken of God, by searching His law with
the purpose of discerning what He wills us to do, and by praying Him
to enlighten our understandings, that we may be enabled to discern
His will. So too we are ever seeking to cover ourselves with a
covering, to find some protection or other whereby we may be
preserved from danger: only the covering we should cover ourselves
with is the covering of the Spirit of God. We should make Him our
shield and buckler; and then we need not fear what man can do unto us.
Our unwillingness to take counsel of God can only proceed from an
evil heart of UNBELIEF,[1] and it is as unwise as it is undutiful.
None but God's counsel is infallible, and only His covering is sure.
But we choose to have a covering of our own making, and send up mists
and clouds to hide the covering of God's Spirit from us, thus "adding
sin to sin."
2. Observe, the princes of Judah were not merely taking counsel of
man, instead of God, and covering with a covering which was not of
the Spirit of God: but the arm they were trusting to was the arm of
Egypt. Now Egypt had from the first been the deadly enemy of the
Israelites, and of their God. Egypt was the source from which all
manner of idolatrous abominations flowed in upon them: out of Egypt
they had been called; and they were no longer to hold intercourse
with it. Therefore the prophet goes on to forbid their seeking help
from Egypt, and to predict that the help of Egypt would end in their
confusion. If we are guilty of their sin, we shall not escape their
woe. When trials come upon men to-day, they are apt to listen to
Satan's assurance that in that particular emergency he can help them
better than God can. They listen; they sin, and the one sin leads to
other sins; and ere long they are ruined (H. E. I., 173-175).
Still it is woe to those who take counsel of anything earthly! In
times of difficulty it is of God alone that we must seek and take
counsel. He alone can give us such counsel as will never fail us even
in this life: and the wisdom of His counsel, which we now see only
through a glass darkly, will become brighter than the sun at noon,
when the veil of this world is drawn away from before it.--_Julius_
_Charles Hare, M.A.: Sermons Preacht in Herstmonceaux Church,_ pp.
305-323.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] From that unbelief which loses sight of and forgets the
Ruler and Lawgiver of the world, and which is prone to
worship whatever dazzles the senses and flatters our carnal
nature. What should we say if a child, in a time of doubt
or danger, would not run to ask its parents what to do, but
were to run away from its parents and ask a stranger, or
were to ask its own ignorance, or its own whims, or the
ignorance of its playfellows--yea, were to ask its toys?
Surely such conduct would bespeak a loveless, undutiful
heart and a silliness such as could only be excused during
the faint early dawn of the mind. So is it a proof of a
loveless, undutiful heart not to seek counsel of God; nor
is such conduct less unwise than undutiful. For what do we
want in a counsellor except wisdom and foresight--wisdom to
know the principles and laws of things, and foresight to
discern their consequences? Now, neither of these faculties
can we find in any earthly counsellor, except in a very low
degree. For, not to speak of the numberless accidents which
warp and bias our own judgments and those of our
fellow-men, and lead them awry, even at best man's
understanding, unless so far as it is enlightened from
above by a knowledge of heavenly laws, can only reckon up
what is wont to be, without any insight into what must be;
and his eyes are ever so hoodwinkt by the present that he
cannot even look forward into to-morrow. Whereas everything
that God ordains must be right and true, and must stand
fast for ever, even after heaven and earth have past away.
He knows what we ought to do, _and He will bear us through
in doing it._ Yet we choose rather to be led by the blind
than by the Seeing. . . . Herein the very heathens condemn
us. For they, though they know not the true God, yet
believed there were powers in the heavens far wiser and
longer-sighted than man; and so believing, they acted
accordingly. Rightfully distrusting themselves, they sought
to ascertain the will and purpose of those powers by
searching it out according to the means whereby they
imagined it would be revealed.--_J. C. Hare._
THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE DIVINE NATURE.
xxxi. 3. _The Egyptians are men, and not God; and their
horses flesh, and not spirit._
Among the sins to which the ancient Israelites were addicted, one of
the most prevailing was a disposition, in seasons of invasion or
calamity, to place confidence in the power of surrounding nations,
and to seek the assistance of their sovereigns, instead of trusting
in the living God. Egypt, being the largest monarchy in their
immediate neighbourhood, was frequently their refuge in times of
distress and difficulty. Remonstrance (vers. 1, 2).
In the text an important and infinite disparity between God and man,
which rendered the Egyptian monarch infinitely inferior to Him in the
qualities which entitle to confidence and trust. The spirituality of
the Supreme Being is the contrast.
I. _The spirituality of the Deity is intimately connected with the
possession of that infinite, unlimited power which renders Him the
proper object of entire confidence._
There is a prejudice in favour of matter and against spirit, as if
the former were possessed of greater force than the latter. It arises
from our mistaking secondary and remote effects for causes, instead
of ascending to God the supreme cause. Thus we think of the elements
of nature and of mechanical forces. We have no power of operating on
the objects immediately around us but by means of our bodies. But it
is mind alone which is the seat of power. The power by which all
changes are effected through the instrumentality of the body resides
immediately in the mind. It is that mysterious principle called Will.
Whatever motions the mind wills instantly take place. This is an
illustration of the control which the Deity exercises over the
universe. The Divine Being has only to will the most important
changes and they are instantly accomplished. It is impossible to give
any account of innumerable changes continually taking place in the
visible world, without tracing them up to mind.
II. _The spirituality of God stands in close and intimate connection
with His Invisibility._
1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. Were He the object of sight, He must be limited.
He cannot, therefore, be figured out by any art or skill of man (Acts
xvii. 24-29; Deut. iv. 15; Ex. xx. 4, 5). Hence the great impiety of
those who have attempted to paint and figure out the persons of the
Trinity. The necessary effect of any attempt to represent the Deity
to the human senses, by pictures or images, must be to degrade, to an
incalculable degree, our conception of Him. Hence images of angels,
the Virgin Mary, and saints of inferior character.
III. _The spirituality of God is inseparably connected with His
Immensity and Omnipresence_ (Jer. xxiii. 23, 24; Ps. cxxxix. 7-12).
1. It is necessary that matter should have some figure. But figure is
circumscribed within a certain outline. To conceive of the Divine
Being as material would involve absurdity. 2. If matter were
unlimited there would be no possibility of motion. 3. If the Divine
Being were material, He would render impossible the co-existence of
created beings. Two portions of matter cannot occupy the same space.
But the infinite Spirit is present with every part of His creation.
IV. _The spirituality of God enables His infinite Wisdom._
This seems a necessary property of that Being who is present to all
His creatures at all times. His infinite acquaintance with His
creatures is a necessary consequence of His presence. Every one is as
much within His survey at one moment as at another. We judge of men's
character by their actions, He by their motives. And His judgment is
always according to truth.
V. _The spirituality of God establishes an intimate relation between
Him and all His intelligent creatures._
Their dependence on Him is absolute; their subjection to Him constant
and incessant; but in a special manner is He the Father of spirits.
The body has a tendency to separate us from God, by the dissimilarity
of its nature; the soul unites us to Him by those principles and
faculties which are congenial to His own. To estrange ourselves from
God is to be guilty of a most enormous kind of offence: it is
forgetting our proper parent, the author of our existence. To love
him, to seek union with Him, is to return to our proper original.
VI. _The spirituality of God renders Him capable of being the
satisfying Portion, the Supreme Good, of all intelligent beings._
He is the source and spring of all happiness (Lam. iii. 24, 25; Ps.
lxxiii. 25, 26). 1. That which constitutes the felicity of the mind
must be something out of it. Whoever retires into his own mind for
happiness will be miserable. God is qualified to be the everlasting
and inexhaustible spring of happiness. 2. He who can always confer
happiness on another being must be superior to that being. To be the
source of happiness is the prerogative of God. 3. That in which the
happiness of a rational and mental creature consists, must be
congenial to the nature of that creature. 4. That which forms the
principle of our felicity must be something that is capable of
communicating itself to us. God, as He is a Spirit, is capable of
communicating Himself to the spirits of His rational creatures. These
communications will constitute the felicity of heaven. Even while
they continue on earth, it is the privilege of the faithful to enjoy
union with the Father of spirits through His Son.
IMPROVEMENT. 1. Let us raise ourselves, in contemplating the Divine
Being, above what is sensible, visible, and corporeal. 2. Since God
is a Spirit, there must be an everlasting connection established
between Him and us, on which will depend our destiny for ever. Hence
Jesus Christ has come. What movements are in your minds toward this
great object?--_Robert Hall: Works,_ vol. vi., pages 1-32.
A CALL TO THE REVOLTED.
xxxi. 6. _Turn ye unto Him from whom the children of Israel
have deeply revolted._
Had mankind adhered to the Divine idea, no such word as this would
have been necessary. Divine communications would have consisted
probably of counsels, directions, predictions, progressive
revelations of truth. The demand that man turn shows that he has gone
astray. All Divine communications suppose the existence of sin and
the need of salvation. Happily for us, they show the way in which
salvation may be obtained. The parts of the human race are as the
whole. The people God distinguished by separating them from the
nations, with special connection to Himself, followed the universal
tendency to wander from Him. They forsook His law. When trouble came,
they sought help anywhere. At the time of this prophecy they were
looking to Egypt instead of to the Lord. The prophet remonstrates,
and invites them to make a friend of God against Assyria. The text
may be addressed to sinners now. Here is--
I. A SERIOUS ACCUSATION.
God was the King of Israel. Departure from His laws was a national
revolt. Man's revolt from God consists in--1. +Disaffection.+ When
love to the sovereign departs, the way is prepared for any act of
hostility circumstances may favour. The disaffection of man to God is
inbred. From the original fall man derives a mysterious tendency to
depart from God (H. E. I., 3390-3397). Human nature dislikes the
Divine holiness; dislike of the Divine holiness is the root from
which grow men's evil deeds. So deep is the revolt that man has no
desire to return. 2. +Disobedience.+ You may say it is natural to
sin, and we cannot be held responsible for it. Do you judge of, and
deal with your fellow-man in that way as to their conduct to you? If
they injure, defraud you, do you say they have a natural inclination
to fraud and wrongdoing, and therefore are not responsible? When a
son who has been carefully trained develops tendencies and
inclinations to evil, attaches himself to bad companions, &c., do you
exonerate him from blame because it is his nature? You say he ought
to have resisted the evil inclinations and cultivated such as were
good. You are right. But why should there be a difference when the
object of the wrongdoing is God? The dislike of God's holiness
inherent in human nature develops itself in the indulgence of sinful
passions and disobedience to God's commands. Does the fact that it
was your nature free you from responsibility? Are you not possessed
of reason and conscience? Do not these constitute responsibility? Is
not the fact that you decline the help God offers for the subjugation
of evil sufficient to throw on you the entire blame of your continued
revolt? 3. +Distrust.+ A large part of the revolt of ancient Israel
from God consisted in distrust. When man withdraws his love from God
and abandons himself to disobedience, he is sure to lose faith. You
will soon cease to trust the friend whom you persistently wrong and
disregard. Is not this the explanation of much of the unbelief among
men? They are unhappy in their severance from God, yet unwilling to
return. Then they expunge from their beliefs His declarations
concerning sin and its punishment. Truth after truth disappears. Then
He disappears. They persuade themselves that there is no need of Him,
then that He does not exist. The wish is father to the thought.
Because the heart and life have revolted from Him, the intellect
labours to sweep Him out of the world which He has made.
II. AN EARNEST CALL.
1. "Turn ye unto Him." From the folly of the intellect; from the
perversity of the heart; from the disobedience of the life in which
your revolt has manifested itself. God is. He is a living person,
with all the feelings of one, as well as a supreme ruler clothed with
governmental authority. He is worth turning to. 2. In the Gospel, He
invites you to repent, to turn. It is a complete change of your heart
and life. You can examine and reflect upon the truth. You can
consider the righteousness of His claim. You can consider the motive
that is furnished by His offer of a free pardon and a full salvation
procured for you by the death of His Son. 3. Do you feel yourself
weak? He will help you to turn. 4. Turn from the wrong path to the
right one. (1.) Turn to the trust which He encourages. Bring your sin
and need to Jesus. (2.) Turn to the obedience He demands. There must
be a complete surrender. All sin must be relinquished, even the
dearest. Choose the way of holiness. (3.) Turn to the love He
deserves. It comes indeed into the heart with submission and faith.
5. Think of the danger of continued revolt; of the wrongfulness of
revolt; of the blessedness of return.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE FIERY ORDEAL OF THE CHURCH.
xxxi. 9. _The Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and whose
furnace is in Jerusalem._
There is a variety of purposes for which fire is used. One of them
was of old for the sacrifice, the burnt-offering; another was for
incense, to keep it always smoking. Furnaces were used by the workers
in metals.
I. THE FIRE. "Whose _fire_ is in Zion." Without the sacred fire there
would have been no burnt-offering, no clouds of incense; and
therefore God commanded that it should be kept ever burning. In this
sense, the fire is the emblem of the life Divine, the Holy Spirit's
work. May it be for ever burning! Where it burns strongly, what
clouds of incense of praise and prayer ascend to heaven!
II. THE FURNACE. "Whose _furnace_ is in Jerusalem." It is there for
the purpose of accomplishing God's designs with regard to His people.
A furnace is nothing without fuel, and the fuel may be of various
kinds. God heats His furnace with different kinds of fuel--sometimes
with bodily afflictions, sometimes with losses of various kinds,
sometimes with bereavements, sometimes with persecutions, sometimes
with all these combined. Oh, the fast importance of viewing every
trial of a temporal kind as sent on purpose to constitute a little
fuel for God's furnace! God is doing three things with His furnace.
He is melting, He is manifesting, He is making useful. 1. He is
_melting._ We are so hard and stubborn, so full of dross, that
nothing less than the fire will serve (Isa. i. 25). 2. He is
_manifesting._ The fire tests both us[1] and our work (1 Cor.
iii. 13). In this way God manifests the difference between His people
and the false professor, and shows who are His own (Zech. xiii. 9).
3. He is _making useful._ Take a lesson from the very vessels you use
at table every day; they would have been of no use at all, had they
not passed through the fire.
_Conclusion._ The trials of God's people tend (1) To exercise and
develop their spiritual excellence; (2.) To demonstrate the Divine
love and faithfulness; (3.) To prepare them for the enjoyment of
Himself at last.[2]--_Joseph Irons: Thursday Penny Pulpit,_ vol. vii.
109-120.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Upon one occasion, like the prophet Jeremiah, I visited the
potter's house. I admired the ingenuity and the beauty of
his work on the wheels. But after a little while, I found
there was really no reliance to be put on the results of
his labour and ingenuity. When put into the furnace, some
of the vessels were marred and rendered good for nothing;
they cracked and went to pieces. Did not the potter shape
them aright? Did he not make them of the same clay? Did he
not take the same pains with them? Then what was the
defect? They would not stand fire.--_Irons._
[2] H. E. I., 116-142.
THE PRECIOUSNESS OF CHRIST.
xxxii. 2. _A man shall be as an hiding place, &c._
These figures all coincide in setting forth one great and blessed
truth--the truth that _in Christ there is suitable and complete
relief under every circumstance of distress:_ in distress
arising--1. from _temporal sufferings;_ 2. from _conviction of sin;_
3. from _strong temptation;_ 4. from the _near approach of
death._--_John Watt, B.D.: Sermons,_ pp. 92-108.
Jesus Christ--I. The refuge from all dangers; II. The fruition of all
desires; III. The rest and refreshment in all trials.--_A. Maclaren,
B.A.: Sermons, Third Series,_ p. 135.
This prediction, uttered in the days of Ahaz, had a primary reference
to Hezekiah, and to the relief from wicked magistrates which would be
experienced in his reign. But its ultimate reference was to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Here are three separate figures, very striking to an
Eastern ear, which admit of distinct illustration:--+I. "A
hiding-place from the wind and a covert from the tempest."+[1] This
is but one figure, for the latter clause, as is common in Eastern
poetry, is only the echo of the former. Jesus is found to be the best
hiding-place and covert:--1. From the winds and tempests of
_affliction._ 2. From the tempest of _an agitated conscience._ 3. He
is the only hiding-place for the tempest of _Divine wrath._ +II. "As
rivers of water in a dry place,"+--that is, Jesus conveys
satisfaction and refreshment to those who can find them nowhere else.
He alone satisfies the heart's thirst--1. for _happiness;_ 2. for
_consolation;_ 3. for _reconciliation with God._ +III. "As the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land."+[2] Such a retreat does our
Redeemer afford to those who are fainting under the labours and
discouragements of this wearisome life (Isa. 1-4, Jer. xxxi. 25).
1. Let us thank God for such a Saviour--the very Saviour we need.
2. Let us abide in Him--we always need Him.--_E. Griffin, D.D.:
Fifty-nine Plain Practical Sermons,_ pp. 261-270.
1. _There underlies this prophecy a very sad, a very true conception
of human life._ The three promises imply three diverse aspects of
man's need and misery. The "covert" and the "hiding-place" imply
tempest and storm and danger; the "rivers of water" imply drought and
thirst; the "shadow of a great rock" implies lassitude and languor,
fatigue and weariness. Sad this is, but how true! Do we not need a
"covert" from the tempests of adverse circumstances, of temptations,
of God's anger kindled by our sins!
II. _There shines through these words a mysterious hope_--the hope
that one of ourselves shall deliver us from all this evil in life. "A
_man,_" &c. Such an expectation seems to be right in the teeth of all
experience, and far too high pitched even to be fulfilled. It appears
to demand in him who should bring it to pass powers which are more
than human, and which must in some inexplicable way be wide as the
range of humanity and enduring as the succession of the ages. All
experience seems to teach that no human arm or heart can be to
another soul what these words promise, and what we need.
III. _This mysterious hope is fulfilled in Jesus Christ._ That which
seemed impossible is real. The forebodings of experience have not
fathomed the powers of Divine Love. There _is_ a man, our brother,
bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, who can be to all human
souls the adequate object of their perfect trust, the abiding home of
their deepest love, the unfailing supply for their profoundest wants.
Behind His protection they are safe, by His grace they are satisfied,
beneath His shelter they have rest.--_A. Maclaren, B.A.: Sermons,
Third Series,_ pp. 136-147.
I. We have here AN INSTRUMENT OF CONSOLATION.[3] +1. It was an
instrument of consolation to those who first heard it.+ The prophecy
in which it occurs was given in the time of Ahaz, when justice was
perverted, and the government, which should have been for the
protection of the people, was organised for their oppression.
Terrible are the sufferings of men at such a time, and precious was
the hope which this prophecy held out of "a man"--a ruler--who should
be a defence and blessing to the poor of the nation. +2. It was an
instrument of consolation to devout men in all the centuries which
intervened between its utterance and the coming of Christ.+ In due
time Hezekiah ascended the throne, and in him this prophecy had a
partial fulfilment. But he passed away, and Israel needed such "a
man" as much as ever. Devout men learned to look for him in the
Messiah for whom they and their fathers had waited. In the midst of
national and personal humiliation and sufferings, they were sustained
and cheered by the hope of His advent. 3. In due time He appeared.
Whether in Him this prophecy was completely or only partially
fulfilled, let any reader of the Gospels testify. +And since the days
when Christ went about Judæa, solacing human woes, and ministering to
human necessities, this declaration has been still more full of
consolation to generation after generation down to our own day.+ It
has taught men to whom to flee in their distresses, and fleeing to
Him they have found that it was with no vain hope that it had cheered
them. When you think what it has been to men ever since it was
uttered, can you help looking upon it with love?
II. OF THIS INSTRUMENT OF CONSOLATION ALL MEN HAVE NEED. There are
some portions of Scripture which have only a limited interest,
because they are for special classes (_e.g.,_ kings, subjects,
parents, children, &c.); but this is a portion for every one. The
needs of which it speaks will be felt by all men; and all men, at
some time or other, will long for the blessings which it promises.
Hence--+1. It should be stored up in the memory of the young.+[4]
+2. The aged should count it one of their chief treasures.+[5]
III. TO THE PRESENT AND PERMANENT VALUE OF THIS INSTRUMENT OF
CONSOLATION THERE ARE MILLIONS OF LIVING WITNESSES. The declarations
of our text are very beautiful, but the important question is, Are
they _true? Is Christ to His people all that He is here said to be?_
1. Our text says that +Christ is a refuge for His people.+ "As a
hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest." Remember
what kind of storms sometimes sweep across the Eastern deserts. [See
outline: THE CHRISTIAN'S REFUGE, section I.] As you have pursued the
pilgrimage of human life, have any such storms burst upon you?--the
storm of adversity? of persecution? of an awakened conscience? of
temptations? The worst storms are those which rage _within_ a man! In
such storms where did you find shelter? what did you find Christ to
be to _you?_ 2. Our text says that +Christ will satisfy the thirst of
His people.+ Picture the scene at Rephidim. To the multitudes who had
almost died of thirst, how welcome were the streams that burst from
the smitten rock! All men thirst for _happiness;_ the distressed for
_consolation,_ the penitent for _reconciliation with God._ In these
respects, has Christ been to _you_ "as rivers of water in a dry
place?" 3. Our text says that +Christ will give rest to His
people.+[6]
IV. Every truth is a call to duty. TO WHAT DUTIES DOES OUR TEXT CALL
US? If we have had a personal experience of the truth of its
declarations, it says--1. PRAISE GOD. Would not a storm-driven
traveller give thanks for "a covert," the thirst-consumed for "rivers
of water," the faint and weary for "the shadow of a great rock?" Let
us remember what Christ has been to us, and give "thanks unto God for
His unspeakable gift!" 2. TAKE COURAGE. Usually as years increase
troubles multiply: but what Christ has been to you in the past, He
will be in the future--an all-sufficient Saviour! 3. To those who
have not yet had a personal experience of the truth of its
declarations, my text says, COME TO JESUS. Its promises are
invitations. Is not a well of water in itself an invitation to a
thirsty man? You need all that the text promises; and in the
experience of millions of men living _now,_ you have abundant
evidence that its promises are worthy of your trust. Familiarise
yourself with the "hiding-place" _before_ the tempests of life burst
upon you, that in the day of storm you may know whither to flee.
Blessed are they who have made the Man of whom our text speaks their
friend. According to His word (Matt. xxviii.), He is with them
"always," "as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the
tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great
rock in a weary land."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We arose with the sun, and went out to saddle our
dromedaries, when we found to our great surprise that their
heads were buried in the sand; and it was not possible for
us to draw them out. We called the Bedouins of the tribe to
our aid, who informed us that the instinct of the camels
led them to conceal their heads thus, in order to escape
the simoom; that their doing so was an infallible presage
of that terrible tempest of the desert, which would not be
long in breaking loose; and that we could not proceed on
the journey without meeting a certain death. The camels,
who perceive the approach of this fearful storm two or
three hours before it bursts, turn themselves to the side
opposed to the wind, and dig into the sand. It is
impossible to make them stir from that position either to
eat or drink during the whole tempest, were it to last for
several days. Providence has endowed them with this
instinct of preservation, which never deceives them. When
we learned with what we were threatened, we partook the
general consternation, and hastened to take all the
precautions which they pointed out to us. It is not
sufficient to put the horses under shelter; it is requisite
also to cover their heads and stop up their ears, otherwise
they will be suffocated by the whirlwinds of fine
impalpable sand, which the storm sweeps furiously before
it. The men collect under their tents, block up the
crevices with the greatest care, and provide a supply of
water, which they keep within reach; they then lie down on
the ground, their heads covered with the mashlas, and thus
remain all the time that the tornado continues.
The camp was thrown into the greatest bustle, each bent on
providing safety for his cattle, and afterwards withdrawing
precipitately under his tent. We had scarcely got our
beautiful Negde mares under cover ere the tempest burst.
Impetuous blasts of wind buried clouds of red and burning
sand in eddies, and overthrew all upon whom their fury
fell; or, heaping up hills, they buried all that had
strength to resist being carried away. If, at this period,
any part of the body be exposed, the flesh is scorched as
if a hot iron had touched it. The water, which was intended
to cool us, began to boil, and the temperature of the tent
exceeded that of a Turkish bath. The hurricane blew in all
its fury for six hours, and gradually subsided during six
more; an hour longer, and I believe we had all been
stifled. When we ventured to leave the tents, a frightful
spectacle presented itself; five children, two women, and a
man were lying dead on the still burning sand, and several
Bedouins had their faces blackened and entirely calcined,
as if by a blast from a fiery furnace. When the wind of the
simoom strikes an unfortunate wretch on the head, the blood
gushes in streams from his mouth and nostrils, his face
swells, becomes black, and he shortly dies of
suffocation.--_Lamartine: Travels in the East,_ p. 213.
"A hiding-place from _the wind,_ a covert from _the
tempest._" Soon Red Sea and all were lost in a sand-storm,
which lasted the whole day. Imagine all distant objects
entirely lost to view,--the sheets of sand fleeting along
the surface of the desert like streams of water; tempest of
sand, driving in your face like sleet. Imagine the caravan
toiling against this--the Bedouins each with his shawl
thrown completely over his head, half of the riders sitting
backwards,--the camels, meantime, thus virtually left
without guidance, though, from time to time, throwing their
long necks sideways to avoid the blast, yet moving straight
onwards with a painful sense of duty truly edifying to
behold. . . . Through the tempest, this roaring and driving
tempest, which sometimes made me think that this must be
the real meaning of 'a _howling_ wilderness,' we rode on
the whole day.--_Dean Stanley: Sinai and Palestine,_ pp.
68, 69.
[2] I was reading, a day or two ago, one of our last books of
travels in the wilderness of the Exodus, in which the
writer told how, after toiling for hours under a scorching
sun, over the hot white marly flat, seeing nothing but a
beetle or two on the way, and finding no shelter anywhere
from the pitiless beating of the sunshine, the three
travellers came at last to a little Retem bush only a few
feet high, and flung themselves down and tried to hide at
least their heads from those 'sunbeams like swords,' even
beneath its ragged shade. And my text tells of a great
rock, with blue dimness in its shadow, with haply a fern or
two in the moist places of its crevices, where there is
rest and a man can lie down and be cool, while all outside
is burning sun, and burning sand, and dancing mirage.--_A.
Maclaren._
[3] When I was at Nuremberg, among the scenes of interest, I
visited the tower where are preserved some of the
instruments of torture which were used both by the
Inquisition and the Municipality in the Middle Ages. As one
looked at them, the heart grew sick at the thought of the
pain which by means of them had been inflicted upon
countless victims; and _as_ instruments by which human
beings had been tortured, they were hateful. On the other
hand, when one thinks what this verse has been to countless
human souls, what consolation and courage it has ministered
to those who were sick at heart in many generations, it is
impossible not to look upon it with love.
[4] It is one of a large number of passages which I like to
think of as _Scripture's lamps._ Starting at mid-day from a
railway terminus, you wonder to see that the lamps in the
carriages are lighted; but very soon the train plunges into
a tunnel, and you perceive that they were not lighted a
moment too soon. So with these lamps of Scripture: get them
hung up in your soul at the outset of your journey in life.
Sooner than you think you will find yourself in some dark
tunnel of trial. It will be too late _then_ to think of
furnishing yourself with them. Blessed are those then in
whom they are brightly shining!
[5] It is not to be expected that the young will fully
appreciate it. They have not had the experience necessary
to enable them to do so. At the outset of a voyage,
passengers are apt to think most about those things in a
ship which are comparatively unimportant--the size of their
berths, the elegant decorations of the cabin, &c.; but
before it is ended, especially if the voyage is a stormy
one, they come to think more about the staunchness of the
vessel, the strength of the rigging, the seamanship of the
captain rather than of his fitness or unfitness for a
drawing-room. So in dealing with the Bible: at the outset
of life, we are apt to give our whole attention to things
_comparatively_ unimportant, such as the possibility of
reconciling the first chapter of Genesis with the teaching
of modern science, &c.; but, by and by, trouble teaches us
to value the Scriptures as our only sure guide amidst
life's moral perplexities, as our only true comforter
amidst life's sorrows. It is trouble that teaches us that
the promises are "precious promises;" and therefore I may
fairly expect that the promise of our text will be prized
by the aged.
[6] One day--one of the most beautiful and happy days I have
ever known--I and some friends visited the Valley of Rocks,
at Lynton, in North Devon. We had selected for our
dining-place the shaded side of one of the largest of the
rocks which have made that valley famous. Just as we were
finishing our repast, an aged gentleman approached us, and
asked to be permitted to share our resting-place. "I should
not have intruded upon you," he said, "but I am very
weary." Instantly my text recurred to my memory, and I saw
somewhat of its power and beauty: "As the shadow of a great
rock in a weary land." In such a land, on such a day, how
welcome is the sight of a great rock! How sweet and
refreshing to rest in its cooling shade! Amid the toils and
troubles of life we often need rest and refreshment. _Have
you found them in Christ?_ Are the declarations of our text
true?
THE CHRISTIAN'S REFUGE.
(_For Christmas Day._)
xxxii. 2. _A man shall be as an hiding place, &c._
This is a very remarkable prophecy and promise, and at first sight
most strikingly at variance with almost every other declaration of
the Word of God, _e.g.,_ Isa. ii. 22; Ps. clxvi. 3; lxii. 8, 9; Jer.
xvii. 5. "A _man_ shall be as an hiding place from the wind!" A poor,
weak, helpless mortal, unable to protect himself from the wind and
tempest, shall _he_ be our refuge? Shall God's own Word command us to
leave the living Fountain, and betake ourselves in our necessities to
the broken cisterns of earth? Strange inconsistency, astonishing
contradiction to every other portion of God's Word? But who is this
Man? He of whom it is also written (Zech. xiii. 7; Phil. ii. 6); and
who is thus spoken of by the Spirit of God Himself, when predicting
the event of this day (Isa. ix. 6). It is the Lord Jesus Christ,
then, who reveals Himself in the words before us under two striking
similitudes; the first of which regards His people's safety, and the
second their consolations.
+I. As regards their safety:+ "hiding place from the wind, covert
from the tempest." Picture to yourself one of those scenes which
Eastern travellers paint, when they describe the passage of a caravan
across some dreary desert, where, throughout the long day's journey,
there is no house, no rock, no tree to afford a moment's shade or
shelter. The wind suddenly rises, the lightning glares, and in the
distance are beheld gigantic columns of sand, raised and kept
together in such vast masses by the whirlwind that drives them
towards the poor bewildered travellers, who behold in them at once
their destruction and their grave. In vain do they attempt to fly; as
vain were all thoughts of resistance. Before the shortest prayer is
finished, that multitude that was just now full of life and
animation, is hushed in silence; every heart has ceased to beat; the
simoom of the desert has passed over them, and the place they
occupied is scarcely to be distinguished from the surrounding plain.
This is no flight of the imagination, but a simple statement of a
fact of not unfrequent occurrence. Now imagine in such a scene with
what feelings these alarmed and flying travellers would greet "a
hiding-place" and "a covert." If a rock of adamant, a barrier which
neither sand, nor wind, nor tempest could beat down or overleap,
should suddenly spring up between them and those swiftly advancing
columns of death, what would be their feelings of joy, their thoughts
of gratitude, their language of praise! Who can imagine the heartfelt
cry of thanksgiving to God which would arise from that vast multitude
at so complete, so merciful, so unhoped-for a deliverance? With such
feelings should we "behold the Man" of whom I speak to-day. We stood
in as great a danger. Our sins had raised a tempest of the wrath of
God, against which the whole created host of heaven would in vain
have attempted to erect a barrier. But our Lord has wrought a
deliverance for us as much needed, as unexpected, as complete. He has
interposed between us and the mighty "wind," the appalling "tempest,"
which justly threatened our destruction. Let us who have found
shelter in Christ rejoice in Him, and be glad this day because of the
quietness we enjoy. Let those who are still outside the great
"Hiding-Place," the wondrous "Covert" which God's mercy has provided,
remember that an unapplied Saviour is no Saviour. Their peril has
been in no sense lessened by His advent. In the gladness of this day
they can have no share.
+II. His people's consolation.+ "As rivers of water in a dry place,
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Before we had symbols
of _safety;_ here we have symbols of _consolation._ 1. _God's people
often feel that this world is a dry and barren place and thirst for
consolation and succour._ That which they thirst for, they may find
in Christ. He is not merely a river, but (so abundant are His
consolations) "rivers of water" to them that are fainting under the
trials, anxieties, or distresses of the world. But it is not enough
that the river is running at your feet; you must know it is there,
you must drink of its waters, or they will not assuage your thirst.
In Hagar sitting down in utter hopelessness and helplessness, when
near her there was an abundant supply of water for herself and her
child (Gen. xxi. 15-19), we have an emblem of too many distressed and
sorrowful Christians. "_Rivers_ of water" are flowing past you:
arise, and drink! (Rev. xxii. 17). 2. _God's people are often faint
and weary as they pursue their earthly pilgrimage._ But during every
stage of it they may "renew their strength," and so be enabled to
persevere until at length "they stand in Zion before God," for Christ
is "as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Don't be
satisfied with just coming _within the range of the shadow_ of the
Rock; there are in the Rock recesses where you may find a complete
shelter and a sweeter rest. Enter into them. Cultivate a closer
fellowship with Christ. So in every stage of your journey you shall
have not only strength, but joy (Isaiah xxxv. 10).--_H. Blunt, A.M.:
Posthumous Sermons,_ pp. 23-42.
The "Man" here referred to is the Divine Redeemer--the one theme of
the Bible. "Hiding-place" and "covert" express substantially the same
idea--shelter, defence, safety, deliverance from both actual and
impending evil. Jesus Christ in this broad and comprehensive sense is
the Refuge of His people. Fleeing to Him, men find protection, &c.
+I. Christ is a refuge in the day of earthly disappointment.+ Human
life full of disappointments. Few of our anticipations of good
realised. Our fondest and most sacredly cherished hopes blighted. The
world deceives men: it is not what it seems to be, it does not
satisfy the desires it awakens. The god of this world is the master
spirit of lying and deception, and he so manages the shifting scenes
as to keep up the deception until the last. So with (_a_) the man of
business, (_b_) those who aspire to earthly honour, fame, power,
(_c_) the student, (_d_) the pleasure-seeker. To these children of
disappointment, Christ is a refuge; He has Himself felt the ills of
life (Heb. iv. 15, 16). There is a "hiding-place" where the fury of
life's storms never comes; the God of mercy offers eternal life in
the Gospel. Forsaken, disheartened, disappointed men may still be
accepted of Christ, and find peace and rest in Him.
+II. Christ is a Refuge in time of affliction.+ This is a world of
sorrow and suffering; men turn from it in disgust and anguish to seek
relief elsewhere, or to weep life away in sadness and darkness. Now
Christ alone is available in just such an hour. When the world turns
its back upon us, there is a Friend who sticketh closer than a
brother--one born for adversity--a shield and a deliverer in the day
of affliction. We may not be able to explain the philosophy of the
thing, but the soul that looks to Christ is so sustained as to
rejoice in the tribulation, and the heaviest burden is lightened and
made a blessing.
+III. Christ is a Refuge in the day of trial.+ It pleases the Lord to
make full proof of His people. He puts their love, fidelity, and
integrity to the test. God tries (_a_) our faith, (_b_) hope,
(_c_) patience, (_d_) principles. And in His day of fiery trial our
only safety is in the "hiding-place" of Divine mercy--we need the
"covert" of the Almighty wings. None but Christ is able to give the
soul confidence in such days and hours.
+IV. Christ is a Refuge in the day of fear.+ Sin is darkness, and
hence wherever there is sin there is gloom and fear. The wicked man
is a slave to fear, and even the Christian at times suffers greatly
because of it. The remedy for this gloomy experience is in Christ;
and there is a power in the Gospel to lift the soul into a region of
perpetual sunshine. In Christian experience, peace, joy, and hope are
the ministering angels (Hab. iii. 17, 18).
+V. Christ is a Refuge from the torments of an accusing conscience.+
The day of self-convicted guilt always a day of memorable
experiences. Conscience upbraids, justice demands satisfaction; the
soul is ready to sink into hell. Whose arm can save you in such an
hour? where shall he seek refuge? in that hour none but Christ can
save.
+VI. Christ is a Refuge in the day of final wrath.+ The wrath to
come--the just, final, and eternal wrath of God--a reality, a fixed
fact in thought and experience. Jesus Christ is a refuge from this
impending evil. The Cross lifted up on Calvary has received the
thunder; God and the believer in Jesus Christ are reconciled. What,
then, have they to fear whose life is hid in Christ? Death cannot
harm, the judgment-day need not terrify.
Glorious Refuge! it never fails--is never shut against the penitent
soul--has never been shaken--and will yet resist the fire and deluge
of the great day of wrath. This is the Ark, and they are eternally
safe who are therein.--_J. M. Sherwood: National Preacher,_ 1859, p.
217.
RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE.
xxxii. 2. _As rivers of water in a dry place._
The surface sense of this passage may refer to Hezekiah and to other
good kings who were a means of great blessing to the declining
kingdom of Judah; but its declarations are too full of meaning to be
applied solely or primarily to any mere man. They are never fully
understood until they are applied to Christ, the true King of
righteousness, who confers the highest blessings upon His people. In
Him there is a fulness and variety of blessing such as the varied
metaphors of this passage fail to set forth. He is the true Man of
whom Isaiah speaks; the man in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells
bodily, and who therefore can be, and is, "as rivers of water in a
dry place."
I. THE METAPHOR. This implies, 1. Great _excellence_ of blessing. How
valuable is a river to the land through which it flows! So Christ is
the source and the sustenance of the fertility, fruitfulness, and
beauty of His people. 2. _Abundance_ of blessing. Think of the vast
floods that flow through the Amazon, the Ganges, the Indus, the
Orinoco. So in Christ there is grace sufficient for all mankind.
3. _Freshness_ of blessing.[1] 4. _Freeness_ of blessing. Though
individuals may claim peculiar rights in rivers, all creatures drink
of them freely, the dog as well as the swan. So may all, however
vile, partake of the grace that is in Christ. 5. _Constancy_ of
blessing. Pools and cisterns dry up, but the river goes on for ever.
So it is with Jesus; the grace to pardon and the power to heal are
not spasmodic powers in Him, they abide in Him unabated for evermore.
II. A SPECIAL EXCELLENCE which the text mentions. "Rivers of water
_in a dry place._" Only the residents in a tropical country can fully
appreciate that phrase. But Christ came to such a place when He came
to our race. So He does when with His salvation He visits the
individual soul. Were it not for Him, the souls, even of His people
under the influence of wealth or of poverty, of the cares or of the
pleasures of life, would be always dry. But He refreshes, sustains,
and fertilises those who otherwise would utterly faint and fail.
III. PRACTICAL LESSONS. 1. _See the goings out of God's heart to man,
and man's way of communing with God._ God's heart is an infinite
ocean of goodness, and it flows forth to us through Jesus Christ, not
in streams and driblets, but in rivers of grace and mercy. These
streams we cannot purchase or merit, we have only to receive them;
when we drink of the stream, we partake of God. 2. _See what a misery
it is that men should be perishing and dying of soul thirst when
there are these rivers so near._ Some have never heard of them;
therefore help to the utmost the Missionary Society. Others who have
heard of them are smitten with a strange insanity that leads them to
turn away from them. 3. _Let us learn where, if we are suffering from
spiritual drought and barrenness, the blame lies._ It cannot lie in
Christ. 4. _If Christ is ready to be to us as rivers,_ drink of Him,
all of you.[2] Live near Him. Live in Him.[3]--_C. H. Spurgeon:
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ No. 1243.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In a river we see not only excellence and abundance, but
_freshness._ A pool is the same thing over again, and
gradually it becomes a stagnant pond, breeding corrupt life
and pestilential gases. A river is always the same, yet
never the same; it is ever in its place, yet always moving
on. Filled to the brim with living water, even as in ages
long gone by, and yet flowing fresh from the spring, it is
an ancient novelty. We call our own beautiful river,
"Father Thames," yet he wears no furrows on his brows, but
leaps in all the freshness of youth. You shall live by the
banks of a river for years, and yet each morning its stream
shall be as fresh as though its fountain had been unsealed
but an hour ago when the birds began to awake the morning
and the sun to sip the dews. Is it not so with our Lord
Jesus Christ? Is He not evermore as bright and fresh as
when first you met with Him?--_Spurgeon._
[2] Is Christ a river? then _drink of Him,_ all of you. To be
carried along on the surface of Christianity, like a man in
a boat, is not enough, you must drink or die. Many are
influenced by the externals of religion, but Christ is not
in them; they are on the water, but the water is not in
them; and if they continue as they are they will be lost. A
man may be in a boat on a river and yet die of thirst if he
refuses to drink; and so you may be carried along and
excited by a revival, but unless you receive the Lord Jesus
into your soul by faith, you will perish after
all.--_Spurgeon._
[3] If Christ be like a river, let us be like the fishes, _live
in it._ The fish is an ancient Christian emblem for Jesus
and His people. I sat under a beech-tree some months ago in
the New Forest; I gazed up into it, measured it, and marked
the architecture of its branches, but suddenly I saw a
little squirrel leap from bough to bough, and I thought,
"After all, this beech-tree is far more to you than me, for
you live in it. It delights me, it instructs me, and it
affords me shade, but you live in it and upon it." So we
know something about rivers, and they are very useful to
us, but to the fish the river is its element, its life, its
all. So, my brethren, let us not merely read about Christ,
and think of Him, and speak of Him, but let us live on Him,
and in Him, as the squirrel in the tree and the fish in the
river. Live _by_ Him, and live _for_ Him: you will do both
if you live _in_ Him.--_Spurgeon._
[See also Outlines, RIVERS OF WATERS, xxx. 25, 26, and
ENRICHING RIVERS, xxxiii. 21.]
COMFORT IN CHRIST.
xxxii. 2. _As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land._
This chapter begins with a prophecy of the Messiah, and of the
happiness which the godly should enjoy under His reign (ver. 1). True
as well as beautiful are its descriptions of Christ.
+I. To the children of God this world is often "a weary land."+
1. _Because of the labours they have to undergo._ This is a laborious
world (Eccles. i. 8). Employment is in itself a blessing; it was
provided for man in Eden; but every day the sun sets upon millions
who are faint and weary, who are overwrought, and for whom there will
be no sufficient rest until they lie down in the grave. To God's
children it is a special cause of weariness that they are compelled
to devote so much time in labouring for "the meat which perisheth,"
and that they have so little time for meditation and for communion
with God. 2. _Because of the troubles to which they are exposed_ (Job
v. 7). Troubles attend every stage and condition of life. They are
national, domestic, personal. The pains and evils of life commonly
increase as its length is protracted. And there is nothing more
wearisome than troubles. Many who can endure labour cannot endure
trouble. This makes the heart stoop, and weakens the mind as well as
the body. A troublesome world must be a wearisome world. 3. _Because
of the perplexities by which they are harassed._ This is a dark
world. What is past, what is present, as well as what is to come,
lies involved in darkness. Life is full of mystery. Strange and
unexpected events are constantly happening, which disappoint the
hopes and frustrate the designs of the wisest. Providence often
baffles the interpretation and tries the faith even of the most
devout. Wickedness is often triumphant, and virtue trampled under
foot. Good men are often tired of living in a world which subjects
them to continual anxiety and suspense. 4. _Because of the sin by
which they are surrounded._ The moral atmosphere in which they live
is uncongenial. The practices and principles with which they are
daily brought into contact fill them with disgust, with indignation,
and with grief (2 Pet. ii. 7, 8; Ps. cxix. 139, 156, 158; Acts
xvii. 16; Ezek. ix. 4).
+II. Whensoever God's children are weary of the world, they may find
comfort in Christ.+ They may always find comfort. 1. _In the
compassion of Christ._ He knows what it is to be faint and weary. He
knows the heart of a pilgrim and stranger. And He has the tenderest
compassion for His friends in distress or want. He is as pitiful
to-day as He was when He tabernacled on earth. He feels all that His
followers feel (Acts ix. 2; Heb. iv. 14-16). 2. _In the intercession
of Christ._ As He prayed for Peter (Luke xii. 32) and for all His
disciples before His crucifixion (John xvii.), so He still makes
intercession for His followers according to their necessities. And
His intercession is always prevalent (John xi. 42). 3. _In the
strength of Christ._ Weakness is the cause of weariness, and the
weary may always find the strength they want in Christ (Phil. iv. 13;
2 Cor. xii. 7-10). 4. _In the government of Christ._ He has promised
to give them peace even in this world (John xiv. 27; xvi. 33; xiv. 2,
3). These are great and precious promises, because they are sure
promises.
APPLICATION.--Since the friends of Christ, when they are weary of the
world, may always find comfort in Him--1. _They should not regard the
things which make them weary of it as curses but as blessings._ It is
a good thing to have our hold of the world loosened. It is a good
thing to be driven to Christ. All their trials and sufferings are
suited to prepare them to enjoy more peace and rest in Christ, than
they could otherwise enjoy. When a man finds a covert in a great
storm, he finds more pleasure in it than he does on a fine fair day.
So Christians enjoy more real satisfaction and happiness in adversity
than in prosperity, because while prosperity leads them to the
enjoyment of the world, adversity leads to the enjoyment of Christ.
2. _They enjoy more happiness even in this life than sinners do._
Sinners often seem happier than saints, but theirs is a loud and
transient mirth, whereas God's people have a deep and lasting joy.
Autumn is oftener a pleasanter season than spring, but it deepens
into the gloom and vigour of winter; whereas after the storms of
March and the rain of April come the bright joyous days of summer.
The life of the sinner is at best an autumn life, with autumn
prospects, but the life of God's children is a spring life. And even
here and now they (and they only) are filled with that peace of God
which passeth all understanding, affords joy in sorrow, and gives
rest to the weary. 3. _They ought never to be heard murmuring or
complaining under any troubles or afflictions in which they may be
involved._ This world is full of murmuring; and when God's people
complain, it is highly offensive to God (Ps. cvi. 25, 26). But why
should they complain? (Heb. xii. 11). And they have a present refuge,
even Christ, in whom they may find "strong consolation." 4. _They
ought never to be found depressed with anxiety as to the future_
(Phil. iv. 6, 7).--_Dr. Emmons: Works,_ vol. iii. 352-365.
CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY.
xxxii. 8. _But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by
liberal things shall he stand._
This prophecy relates to the time when the kingdom of Judah would
relinquish its foolish dependence on Egypt. The king would reign in
righteousness. Men and things would be called by their true names.
Selfish injustice to the poor would contrast with considerate
helpfulness. When generosity begins to be exercised on a large scale,
the standard is raised. The raising of the standard tends to the
general enlargement of the scale of benevolence.
Our subject is Christian liberality.
I. THE QUALITIES BY WHICH IT IS DISTINGUISHED.
1. _Sympathy._ It is the opposite of the disposition to act on the
assumption that a man's own interest and happiness is the main end of
his existence. It is the disposition that looks out to others,
imagines their case, feels for them, desires their happiness.
Difference of race, nationality, church, opinion sinks to nothing in
its presence. It asks, What is the need? Neither temporal nor
spiritual need exhausts it. Spiritual need is the chief. It desires
the salvation of all men. And when compassion for men's souls is
tenderest, compassion for their temporal sufferings is usually also
tenderest. The heart is often larger than the purse; but the
purse-strings will not be closed. Our hospitals and other
institutions for the relief of suffering and distress owe their
origin and support mainly to Christian sympathy.
2. _Ingenuity._ "_Deviseth_ liberal things." Many contribute to
benevolent objects when solicited, but never originate anything in
such a direction. There should be a thoughtful, holy solicitude to
know what is needed, and how much of it we are able to do. Those act
a useful part who discover for themselves and suggest to others
suitable and feasible methods of usefulness. There should also be
conscientious thoughtfulness as to the proportion to be established
between what God gives to us and what we give to Him in return. As
Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 20-22).
3. _Action._ Liberality does not terminate in feeling and thought
(James ii. 15, 16; 1 John iii. 17, 18). It does not devise methods of
usefulness and leave them to be carried out by others. The good
Samaritan did not look at the man who had been robbed and half-killed
on the road and pass on (Luke x. 33, 37). The woman who brought the
alabaster box of ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus showed her
love to Him more than if she had spoken a thousand endearing words.
4. _Willingness._ No selfish churl strikes out new plans of
usefulness. Such as exists he unwillingly helps, if he helps them at
all. According to the Christian idea, no amount of mere giving which
does not come from the willing heart is accepted as liberality. The
voluntary principle is alone recognised as the principle of
liberality. And voluntaryism means willinghood (2 Cor. viii. 12).
5. _Continuance._ Not by one generous act, nor by such an act
occasionally, can the title of liberality be won. Excitable persons
impulsively promise, but reflection brings them to their true selves;
and they either break the promise or fulfil it grudgingly. Some
undertake Christian work; for a time do it; perhaps do it well; but
_after_ a time weary of its inconvenience, sacrifice, and slow
results. Now the liberal man "stands by" his liberal things. The
other reading is, "adheres" to them. Continuance in the race reaches
the goal.
II. THE SOIL IN WHICH IT IS NOURISHED.
It is engendered and thrives in the soil of Christianity. For it is
in accordance with--1. _Its Spirit._ It is the spirit of love. The
man who drinks most into the spirit of Christianity will be most
likely to feel such benevolent interest in humanity as will take
practical shapes. It tends to the overthrow of selfishness. It
fosters the spirit of self-sacrifice. 2. _Its Precepts._ We are
commanded to stretch forth the helping hand to those in need. We are
to extend the kingdom of Christ. Gifts and offerings in some form are
demanded by the two great dispensations; by the Gospel no less than
by the Law. He who lives for himself, giving forth nothing, or giving
with grudging hand, has yet to learn the first principles of
Christian obedience. 3. _Its Examples._ The newly formed Church in
Jerusalem. Contributions throughout the churches afterwards for
impoverished Christians there. Above all the example of Christ.
Do not suppose that liberality obtains no recognition. 1. _It becomes
a source of pleasure._ Let any one put this to the test. And the
pleasure is in proportion to the sacrifice it costs (Acts xx. 35).
2. _It is returned in blessing_ (Prov. iii. 9, 10). We cannot explain
how this comes about, because we cannot explain the way of God's
Providence. Everything is in His hands. Can bless or blast your
affairs. It certainly brings spiritual blessing. Exercises, develops,
improves faith, love, self-denial. The indwelling Spirit of God is
manifested in larger measure. Conscience approves. 3. _It will obtain
the final recognition._ It is all recorded. Nothing forgotten,
however little. "Cup of cold water." "Ye have done it unto Me." Let
us strive for that commendation of Jesus, and for His commendation
now, such as that He gave to the widow who gave her mites, and to the
woman who did what she could.--_J. Rawlinson._
A CALL TO THE CARELESS.
xxxii. 11. _Be troubled, ye careless ones._[1]
+I. Who are the careless ones in our own day?+ 1. _Those who neglect
the Bible._ Its main object is to arouse the attention of sinners.
Claims and deserves attention. That man is indifferent to the welfare
of his country who never examines the principles of its constitution,
the character of its laws, &c. So he who neglects the Bible can never
be regarded as a serious man. He is careless on the most momentous of
all subjects. 2. _Those who neglect prayer._ All who have any proper
feeling towards God must regard this as a solemn duty. Nature teaches
its necessity and importance, the Scriptures enjoin it with great
earnestness (Luke xviii. 1; 1 Thess. v. 17). 3. _Those who neglect
the Sabbath._ This "made for man," appointed for his convenience and
spiritual good. An institution of unspeakable importance as regards
eternity--in fact, no religion without it. 4. _Those who neglect the
institutions of the sanctuary._ Those anxious to know "what they must
do to be saved" always prize the preaching of the Gospel. On the
other hand, as the interest in religion declines, so will be our
indifference to the means of grace. See you one who makes his
attendance on God's house a matter of convenience, who avails himself
of any trifling excuse to be absent, &c., there is a careless one. So
also with those who are so absorbed in the pursuits of this life, so
as to have neither leisure nor disposition to attend the place of
prayer. 5. In a word, those are careless ones _who live in
impenitence and unbelief._ Repentance and faith in Christ. The great
interest of the soul cannot be secured without these, and no man can
be said to take heed to the things that belong to his peace, without
obeying Christ's commands concerning them.
+II. Why such ought to be troubled.+ Those who are indifferent are
disposed to remain so--carelessness perpetuates itself. Still there
are reasons why such should be troubled. 1. _The fact that you are
careless is a ground of alarm._ Carelessness, an evidence of our
ignorance of the true condition of the soul in the sight of God.
Something truly frightful in false security where the danger is real
and great. With such this fancied security is the most alarming
symptom. The sinner suffering from a disease which no human skill can
remove--in danger of eternal death. How fearful then the
indifference, how appalling the apathy of such! 2. _This indifference
indicates a state of mind in which every blessing will be abused, and
every warning neglected._ A habit of body that would render
everything received for nourishment or for medicine useless would be
dreadful; what, then, of that moral disease which perverts every gift
and makes the diversified means which God employs accomplish nothing
for our good? 3. _You ought to be troubled when you reflect what it
is you are careless about,_ viz., your salvation. The man who is
indifferent about his health, or regardless of his temporal interest,
is unwise; what, then, of one who hazards the salvation of his soul
by neglect? Salvation is offered in Christ--indifference is unbelief.
Why so eager after the acquisition of wealth, and indifferent about
the true riches? 4. Another cause of alarm _is the exposure of your
present position._ Neglect of the Gospel ensures destruction (Heb.
ii. 3). This apathy a crime for which no amiableness or morality can
atone. 5. _No more powerful means will be employed to awaken you to
the concerns of your soul._ God disclaims any responsibility for your
loss (Isa. v. 4; Matt. xxiii. 37). Ministers have preached, Christian
friends have entreated, the Holy Spirit has been sent down, and still
you are careless. The very heathen will rise up in judgment. If one
rising from the dead would not make those hear who had Moses and the
prophets, what shall awaken those who have Christ and the apostles?
6. _This carelessness is induced, it is not natural._ A long process
of hardening the heart is gone through before such a state of apathy
is reached. But once ours, it has all the force of habit, and is not
easily broken up (Matt. xi. 21). This indifference is _voluntary_
(Acts xxiv. 25). Felix _might_ have taken a different course. No iron
necessity binds men to the fatal course they take, but a perverse
will and an unbelieving heart. 7. _This carelessness is a state of
mind that provokes God to withdraw His Spirit._ Deeply criminal. No
apathy in heaven, there ought to be none on earth. Must it not offend
God, to say that He has failed to reveal Himself in a way to interest
His creatures? And yet men can be interested in a novel while the
Gospel is neglected. Under the old dispensation He said, "My people
would not hearken to My voice, so I gave them up to their hearts'
lust." What of those who then reject the Son? 8. _This indifference
will ultimately be broken up, and will aggravate condemnation a
thousandfold._ Though retribution sleep, it must come and will not
tarry. The Jews were spared forty years after the Saviour had wept
over their doomed city. So with the sinner; there comes a time when
he can be indifferent no longer; the realities of judgment and
eternity produce a conviction which will go on deepening for ever.
How it will embitter the soul then to dwell upon this carelessness of
the past. Recollection itself a source of misery (Luke xvi. 25). What
words can express the anguish of a soul thus reminded of lost
opportunities, &c.
Throw off this lethargy. From this moment seek the Lord with your
whole heart, and call upon Him while He is near. Why run the
desperate hazard of having to do all this on a dying bed?--_Mark
Tucker, D.D.: National Preacher,_ vol. vii. p. 138.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See outlines on chap. i. 3, p. 7-12 (THOUGHTLESSNESS
through RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATION).
THE ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF MISSIONARY SUCCESS.
xxxii. 13-15. _Upon the land of my people, &c._
This chapter commences with a prophecy of the appearance and the
kingdom of Christ. But instead of finishing the painting of that
beautiful scene, with what might be anticipated as the effect of this
appearance, Isaiah proceeds, in our text, to paint a scene of great
desolation and barrenness. So, when our Saviour came, the effect of
His appearance was by no means such as might have been expected;
after gathering a few out of the Jewish nation and thus planting the
first Christian Church, He retired from the nation, on account of its
impenitence and unbelief; and the land is still abandoned to
desolation and barrenness. That barrenness, and the spiritual
barrenness and blindness of that despised people, will continue until
the arrival of the important event predicted in the last verse.
Though the immediate bearing of these words is upon the state and
prospects of the Jewish people, yet they may be considered as
assigning the reason why the nations of the earth continue in so
wretched a state, with respect to things spiritual and Divine, as
they now exhibit; and as directing our expectations, and regulating
our confidence, respecting the final termination of this state of
things. The momentous truth taught in this passage is, that _the
ultimate success of missions depends upon the communication of the
Spirit._
That the Spirit of God is afforded at present to the Church is
evident from its existence; for, since the Church is entirely a
spiritual structure, raised and preserved by that Divine Spirit, if
it had been utterly withdrawn the Church would have been annihilated.
But the especial time here announced has not yet arrived; the Spirit
is not "poured from on high" in that plenitude and variety of gifts
which may reasonably be expected.
I. That the success of missions depends on the outpouring of the
Spirit of God, appears to be manifest, 1. From the Scriptures
(_text:_ chap. xli. 19, 20; Zech. iv. 6, xii. 10; Joel ii. 28-32,
with Acts ii. 16-18; Ezek. xxxix. 29). 2. From the record concerning
the Great Captain of our salvation, He did not enter upon His work
until He was anointed by the Spirit of God (Luke iv. 18, 19). 3. From
the experience of the apostles. Until the effusion of the Spirit from
on high, on the day of Pentecost, they were not qualified for their
work in the nations to which they were sent. 4. From the testimony of
the apostles. All their successes they attributed to a Divine agency
(Acts xi. 21, xiv. 27, xvi. 14; 1 Cor. iii. 5-7, &c.). 5. From the
testimony of those who have had the greatest success in preaching the
Gospel in heathen as well as in Christian lands.[1] 6. From the
records of their most eminent successes.[2] 7. From the nature of the
work to be accomplished. Considering the state of men, it is
impossible to suppose that anything less than a Divine power can
change the heart.[3]
II. There are two reasons why we are in danger of forgetting our
dependence on the Spirit of God. 1. We cannot arrange the time and
manner in which the Divine agency will be exerted; and we are called
upon to exert ourselves in much the same way as though there were no
such doctrine existing in our creed, and no such expectation existing
in our minds. Consequently, even while strenuously attending to our
duty, we are very apt to lose sight of that mysterious Divine agency
on which the success of all our efforts must depend, and to direct
our attention exclusively to the apparatus we are setting in motion.
2. This is an invisible power, and is manifest to us only in its
effects; whereas our own actions and plans are objects of distinct
observation. It is one thing to believe that there is an agency of
the Spirit, and quite another thing to have a deep and practical
persuasion of it, and to regulate all our actions and expectations in
dependence on it.
III. Some practical results which should follow from our belief that
the success of missions depends on the agency of the Divine Spirit.
1. In attempting the work of the evangelisation of the heathen, we
ought to renounce all expectations of success founded on our own
strength or resources. 2. In connection with every attempt for the
conversion of the heathen, there should be earnest prayer. In every
period of the world, a spirit of prayer for this great object has
been the precursor of real success. 3. In the manner in which we
prosecute this work, we should be exceedingly careful not to grieve
the Spirit of God. There must be nothing in our conduct or temper
opposed to the simplicity and purity of the Christian dispensation.
Our mission must not be made the instrument of ostentation and
gratification, or of amusing the public by a display of gaudy
eloquence. All rivalry between different societies that has not for
its end the knowledge and service of God, is offensive in His sight.
Let us guard against the least disposition to depreciate or hide in
silence the success of others; which shall lead us to look coolly on
the most splendid acts of missionary labour, unless they emanate from
ourselves, or bring honour to our party. 4. Our dependence for the
men and the means wherewith to carry on this great work, must rest
absolutely and exclusively on God. Whensoever He puts forth the
influence of His Spirit, some of His servants will devote themselves
to the work, and others of them will gladly contribute to it of their
wealth (Isa. lx. 5-7). 5. The doctrine of the text teaches us to
regulate our confidence with respect to the success of every
particular mission, at the same time that it animates that confidence
in regard to the final success of the success itself. 6. If success
in any field of effort does not reward our toil, instead of charging
God with any arbitrarily withholding of the help of His Spirit, let
us examine the instruments wherewith we are endeavouring to effect so
great and important a charge, and see if there be not in them
something unworthy of the enterprise, and keeps back the needed
blessing. 7. However success may seem to delay, let us acquiesce,
without repining, in the dispensations of God; and let us point our
views forward to a future period, that will certainly come, when the
Spirit will be poured out from on high, and when the Redeemer will
take to Him His great power, and reign universally in the hearts of
men.--_Robert Hall: Works,_ vol. vi. pp. 158-180.
As regards the final and universal triumphs of the Gospel, believers
cannot entertain a doubt. Glorious things are spoken of Zion, &c. We
are explicitly assured that the kingdoms of this world shall one day
become the kingdoms of Christ.
But what is to secure this? Our hope hangs on one thing--the promise
of the Spirit. Every past conquest has been the effect of union and
communion with the Comforter; and our own ability for the enterprises
of the future must be derived from the same source. The chapter
begins with a cheering account of the approach of a brighter day
following a season of gloom and depression, which is to be terminated
finally and only by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high. So
always. Large as are our resources, we were never more dependent on
help from heaven than now. Without special Divine aid we can do
nothing.
I. The Spirit of God must be with us, _or we shall not use the right
means for converting the world._ Our work is a vast one, but we are
not left in uncertainty as to the way in which it is to be
accomplished. The Gospel made for man. Sending the knowledge of
Christ abroad through the nations is the appointed method of saving
men. 1. More faith is needed in God's instrumentality. The cause may
seem unequal to the effect, but a Divine unseen agency accompanies
it, and difficulties must pass away. 2. No part of our business to
make experiments for the relief of human woe or guilt; or dig
channels for our compassion other than those in which the Saviour's
flowed. Calvary our sole expedient, &c. 3. We need to keep to the
means by which all this is accomplished without deviation or
faltering. A downward tendency in the best of men, even when engaged
in the holiest of work, which nothing but a constantly exerted
influence from God can effectually counteract. Charters,
subscriptions, pledges will not do it. 4. Must not lay our strength
out on extraneous matter. Our true service only performed while
relying on Divine aid.
II. Unless the Holy Spirit be with us, _we shall never prosecute our
work with proper energy._ An enterprise like ours cannot be expected
to flourish unless it takes fast hold on the hearts and sympathies of
its friends. It is a cause of too much import to be carried on
lukewarmly. One of the main purposes of the Church, her own
self-extension. How shall we get up to this state of feeling, this
standard of action? Never! until we have more of the Spirit of God.
Again, half our strength has to be expended in trying to keep our
enterprise up to the lines already reached. We seem at times to be
merely stationary, and this side by side often with great secular
prosperity. Why this falling off? And that as contrasting with the
success of primitive believers? They seem to have carried with them a
never-failing assurance, that where they planted and watered, God
would give the increase. The Church can never come up to this
standard until the Spirit is more copiously poured upon us from on
high. We are shut up to this single resource.
III. That the Spirit must be given us, _or we shall never see our
efforts crowned with success._ Something in a simple dependence on
Divine help which imparts to our labours a character so earnest and
decided as betokens a favourable result. We work best ourselves when
we feel that God is working in us and by us. Nothing so nerves the
arm and strengthens the heart as confidence in Him. So Luther,
Whitfield, Paul wrought. Nothing else will keep zeal alive in the
Church.
Hence arises 1. _Our encouragement._ Faith in the efficacy of the
Gospel preached under the influence of the Holy Ghost is to be the
mainspring of all our efforts. The Spirit is to take of the things of
Christ and show them to men. We can only be straitened on that side.
2. _Our duty._ All converging to a single point--prayer.--_David
Magie, D.D.: National Preacher,_ vol. xxi. p. 221.
Let it be supposed that the invader and the conqueror have been in
our land. Cultivation has disappeared, impoverishment and neglect
reign over its once fertile and well-cared-for fields. The city,
formerly the centre of life and activity, depopulated and desolated.
Its factories dilapidated, its exchange a ruin, its streets overgrown
with grass. Such was the ruin the prophet saw about to befall his
country. How long would it continue? Until God should pour His Spirit
upon the people, so as to turn them from their iniquities. When the
moral scene changed, the material scene would also. Prosperity would
return. The city would again be populated; the country resume its
beauty and fertility; the wilderness would be a fruitful field, and
the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
It is a picture of the world's moral desolation without the Gospel;
of the time when the power of the Gospel shall be displayed; and of
the happy state of the world in that day of its power. These topics
are presented in the text; the necessity, the certainty, and the
condition of the world's salvation.
I. ITS NECESSITY. It is a fallen world. Scepticism at present
criticises the Christian representation of the moral state of human
nature as too low, while its standard is too high. Whatever may be
said of the latter part of the indictment, the former part must be
denied. The alienation of the human heart from God; its aversion to
His holiness; the depth of its pollution, as evinced in the crimes
and vices which disfigure the face of society, and are too patent to
be refined away. With all the restraining influences around us, we
have enough at our hand to justify the representation that man is
morally fallen and desolated. Add to this the idolatry, with its
attendant cruelty and impurity, prevalent over so large a population
of the human family. And to this the extreme and manifold wickedness
of men in history. The Christian representation of the state of human
nature is fully justified. There is universal sin. There is need of
mercy, change, conversion. Not merely the adoption, by large masses
of men, for various reasons, of new religious names and forms. It is
a personal conversion. Men need the change one by one.
II. ITS CERTAINTY. We should despair of the world's conversion if our
vision were limited to its existing state. We should pronounce it as
hopeless as the attempt to tear up the everlasting mountains from
their roots, or to drive the ocean from its bed. But we are not thus
limited. We are not at liberty thus to limit our vision. In the Word
of God we find it declared that the redeeming dominion of Christ
shall be co-extensive with the globe. Plain statements sometimes,
utterly inexplicable except in this way. Including these in our
vision, we have nothing to do with the difficulties, but only with
the great duty of their destruction.
Include in the vision the words of Christ. His declarations and
commands before leaving the world contemplate the universal diffusion
of His salvation. And we must include His work. The expenditure will
bear some relation to the result. It cost the death of the incarnate
Son of God. That the event is long delayed proves nothing when we
remember how long the world had to wait for His coming.
III. ITS CONDITION. The moral desolation will continue until the
Spirit be poured upon us from on high. The Gospel only saves as the
Spirit makes it efficacious. The human heart and will are opposed to
the entrance of the truth. Not only evidence but influence is
required. It is essentially a spiritual work, and only the Holy
Spirit is equal to it. It is a work in hearts opposed to God, and His
power can alone produce the willingness which is the very essence of
the saving change. Every time we pray for the conversion of sinners
and for the coming of God's kingdom, we practically acknowledge the
necessity of the Spirit's work. The universal necessity is the
necessity of the individual case. The world's conversion is pictured
out in the conversion of every sinner. The power of the Spirit is the
security for the fulfilment of the Word (Joel ii. 28-32; Acts
ii. 17-21; Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; John iii. 6-8; 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5,
iii. 6, 7).
From the text, then, we may learn two or three lessons relative to
the work of Christ's Church in the world.
1. That all such work should be conducted in humble dependence on the
Holy Spirit. Such dependence does not supersede labour, any more than
the consciousness that the sun and the air and other mysterious
influences of nature are necessary, supersedes the husbandman's
labour.
2. That it should be conducted in a spirit of prayer for the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Whatever God promises to His Church,
it is warranted to ask in prayer. Prayer is the condition, on the
Church's part, on which the promise is suspended. In that wonderful
passage of Ezekiel where the Spirit is promised in His cleansing and
renewing power, the condition is expressly named (Ezek. xxxvi. 37).
While the hundred and twenty disciples were gathered together
praying, the Holy Ghost fell upon them. How often does the great
missionary apostle ask those who have been brought to Christ to pray
for him in his continued work among those who have not.
3. That all Christian effort should be conducted, therefore, in
_expectation_ of the outpouring of the Spirit. Do we not dishonour
Him, when we fail to believe in the Spirit's work as a living
reality--when we do not _expect_ prayerful work for Christ to be
followed by proportionate success! "Until the Spirt be poured upon us
from on high," all is desolation; when the Spirit shall be poured
upon us from on high, all shall be beauty.--_John Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Brainerd, Schwartz, and Eliot, and those who in every age
have had the most success in turning men to righteousness,
have been the first to declare that they were nothing.
They, of all men, most ardently implored, and most entirely
depended upon, the agency we are now contemplating; and
their success appears to have been more in proportion to
their earnest solicitude in seeking this blessing, than to
any other cause.--_Hall._
[2] Look at the history of those who have been the most
successful missionaries to the heathen, and see whether you
cannot trace certain results for which you cannot account
on any other hypothesis than that most momentous one of a
Divine influence, at certain periods, accompanying their
labours. In the history of Brainerd and Eliot, and others,
you perceive that for a considerable time there seem to
have been the same efforts employed, the same doctrines
taught, the same earnest and zealous prayers, and the same
watchfulness over their own hearts, and yet no saving
effect produced on others: all still remained barren; no
desirable movement of the heart was excited; and this
continued for a long period. Such was the state of things
when Brainerd first undertook the mission to the Indians;
but, after a considerable time, while he was propounding
only the same doctrines, and using only the same means, the
Spirit of God put forth its energy, and Divine
communication was imparted at one season "like a rushing,
mighty wind," at others "like the dew and the rain from
heaven," softening and thus opening the heart which had
resisted the entrance of sacred truth, and causing the tear
of genuine penitence to steal down the cheek. Nobody could
doubt that there was some one greater than a missionary
there;--that the Spirit of God had changed the barren soil
to sacred ground, and had wetted it, "like Gideon's fleece,
with the dews of heaven." And so it is, my brethren, that
every person who has had any long acquaintance with the
Christian ministry, is aware that there are certain periods
of barrenness and certain periods for bearing fruit. The
same talents, whether great or small, may be brought into
action; but there shall be some seasons in which efforts,
in no way special, shall be crowned with extraordinary
success.--_Hall._
[3] Were it the design of God merely to build a foundation
already laid, or to repair a dilapidated edifice, one might
talk of the efficacy of human suasion; but when that which
is to be done is to create a new principle, to pour new
life into the soul, to give "a new heart," to plant new
seeds in a soil where all has been barrenness and
desolation, to turn waters into new channels, to effect a
total change of heart and character,--what can accomplish
all this but an almighty power? Human suasion can operate
only on principles which already exist. When Demosthenes,
with his powerful eloquence, excited the Athenians to
combat, he only called into action, by a skilful grouping
of motives, and an appropriate exercise of his genius,
principles already existing, but which had lain dormant. He
created nothing new; he transformed them not into new
creatures, but only roused and stimulated those principles
which had animated the bosoms of nations in resisting
tyranny in every age. But when the apostles went forth to
preach faith in Christ, they proposed to make a change in
the mind and heart of man to which there was no natural
tendency; they required a creature "dead in trespasses and
sins" to awake to Christ; they proposed to convert him into
a devoted servant, a subject most loyal, affectionate, and
ardent; and how was it possible that mere human art or
force could accomplish such changes as these?
The Gospel is the instrument of God, and wonderfully fitted
by Him for His work; but even _it_ is nothing more than an
instrument; and when it is successful and baffles every
human effort exerted against it, it is because it is
wielded by an omnipotent arm.--_Hall._
H. E. I., 1400-1405, 3432-3442, 4106-4113.
THE MORAL WILDERNESS TRANSFORMED.
xxxii. 15. _Until the Spirit be poured upon us, &c._
This chapter contains three distinct and important topics: the great
and inestimable blessings resulting from the reign of Christ; a
denunciation of the Divine judgments on an ungrateful and rebellious
people, and especially on the supine and careless women of Judea; and
an assurance of more auspicious days.
I. The mind of man resembles a moral wilderness. This was not the
case originally. In paradise all was moral attraction and glory. But,
in consequence of man's apostasy from God, his powers have been
withered, and his Divine beauty has been defaced. The mind of man is
a moral wilderness--1. As it is a seat of sterility and desolation.
2. As, till it is transformed, it is of little use, because its best
powers are not consecrated to God. 3. As it is the soil where noxious
and destructive plants exist and flourish.
II. The means appointed for the cultivation of the mind of man are to
be diligently employed, because, 1. These means are unfolded to us in
the Gospel. 2. God requires us to employ them. 3. The Divine sanction
and encouragement have been given to those who have diligently used
them (H. E. I., 3424-3465).
III. The best and most powerful means will be unavailing without the
agency and influence of the Spirit.
IV. But with the influence of the Holy Spirit, a great moral
transformation will be effected. 1. There will be a scene of
cultivation; the wilderness will be converted into a fruitful field;
enclosed, cleansed, irrigated, carefully tilled; presenting a
beautiful appearance to the eye, and refreshed with the dews and
rains of heaven. 2. There will be a scene of fertility; as a field,
it will be rich in the variety and luxuriance of its produce; all the
graces of the Holy Spirit will be fully and beautifully exemplified.
3. There will be a scene of grandeur. The fruitful field will be
counted for a forest. A fine forest is a majestic and striking
feature in a landscape. There is dignity, magnitude, elevation; all
these moral characteristics are found in the mind on which the Spirit
has been poured out. The saints will grow in grace, and increase with
all the increase of God.
V. Learn from this subject. 1. The importance of honouring the Spirit
by reverence, worship, obedience, confidence. 2. The necessity of
waiting for the Spirit. Though He tarry, yet we are perseveringly to
wait. 3. The duty of praying for the Spirit, and of expressing
unfeigned gratitude for every communication of His grace.--_G.
Clayton: The Pulpit,_ vol. xvii. p. 190.
PEACE THE WORK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
xxxii. 17. _The work of righteousness shall be peace; and
the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for
ever._
A large part of the book of Isaiah is taken up in setting forth the
glories and the blessedness of Christ's kingdom. Sometimes this is
done by grand images drawn from all that is brightest in the outward
world (xxx. 26). Sometimes the great change to be wrought in mankind
is spoken of under the figure of a like change in the beasts of the
field (xi. 6-9). Again, in other places, as in the text and the
adjoining verses, the description puts on more of a moral and
spiritual character, and declares how God will be glorified in the
hearts and lives of men (vers. 15-17). On reading these descriptions
of a time when the world is to be full of peace and blessedness, we
can hardly help wishing we were in such a world. But that time is not
yet come. Many places may we find, where all seem to be bent on
hurting and destroying one another. But the sun himself, with his
all-piercing eye, though he beholds every dwelling of man, cannot see
a single village which is the abode of peace and quietness and
assurance for ever. Nor has he in all his journeys ever seen such a
state of things. Did the prophet, then, see falsely? Was the vision
which he saw a lying vision? Not so. If the "work," the effect, is
wanting, it is that the cause is wanting. Did righteousness prevail
upon the earth, there peace would also prevail. Wherever we find
anything like true righteousness, and according to the degree of the
likeness, we also find peace. Whatsoever is done to promote
righteousness will also promote peace.
"The work of righteousness shall be peace." The words have a sweet
sound; but when we think of the whole meaning that lies wrapt up in
them, they may well strike us with awe. For while they declare that
righteousness shall produce peace, they at the same time imply that
nothing but righteousness shall or can. How, then, can peace ever
abide upon earth, or dwell in the heart of man?
Another disturbing recollection is, that when it has pleased the
all-righteous God to show forth His righteousness, as in the days of
Noah, the work of that righteousness was not peace, but horror, and
desolation, and destruction. Even when the ministers and executors of
earthly righteousness pass through a land, they do not bring peace to
the culprits who they visit. How, then, can the perfect righteousness
of God bring peace to the sinful race of man? There is but one way, a
way purposed by God in the counsels of His unfathomable wisdom, the
way whereby He vouchsafes to bestow His own righteousness upon man,
to the end that He may make man partaker of His peace.
Here some may object, that righteousness, with its sternness and
terrors, does not seem to be, of all virtues and graces, the one best
fitted to be the parent of peace. Rather, they may say, is peace the
work of mercy; for that mercy alone can produce peace, at least in
sinners; wherefore we are wont to pray God to grant us _pardon and
peace._ This is true. Unless mercy be shown to sinners, they can
never enjoy peace. Yet, unless mercy go along with righteousness,
mercy cannot produce peace. If mercy allowed the sinners to abide in
their sins, they would still be under the sentence which declares
that there is no peace to the wicked.[1] Christ will never give peace
alone. He will only give it along with righteousness,--first
righteousness and then peace. Unless He had been the Lord our
Righteousness, He could not have been the Prince of Peace. Therefore
they who will not receive His righteousness, cannot receive His
peace. To them He brings no peace, but a sword.
But although the course of this world has never been answerable to
the magnificent visions of ancient prophecy, still in some measure
the prophecies have been fulfilled. To the godly, to all who believe
in Christ and love Him, to all who desire to serve and obey Him, He
has indeed brought peace; and even amid the endless tumults and
troubles and jarrings of the world, they feel that He has done so.
They feel that He has set them at peace with God, by making them
partakers of that righteousness, of which peace is the work.
Moreover, there is hardly one of our Lord's commandments which does
not tend, in proportion as we obey it, to fill our hearts with peace,
which does not dry up one source or another of disquieting, harassing
care.[2]
We may now perceive why there is so little peace in the world. It is
because there is so little righteousness. The effect cannot exist
without the cause. The one simple commandment, "Love thy neighbour as
thyself," were it followed through all the branching duties into
which it spreads, would turn the earth into a garden of peace.
"For the wicked," God has said, "there is no peace." But light is
sown for the righteous, the light of joy and peace. The true disciple
of Christ, he who has sought to be clothed in Christ's righteousness,
will always enjoy peace, even here on earth. He will enjoy it in
every condition of life. In riches, in poverty, in health, in
sickness, in every outward circumstance of life, in the hour of
death, the godly, and they alone, enjoy peace: in the day of judgment
they, and they alone, will enjoy peace. And the peace they will have
enjoyed till then will only have been a poor faint foretaste of the
peace into which they will then enter, of the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, and in the full enjoyment of which they
will live thenceforward through eternity.--_Julius Charles Hare,
M.A.: Sermons Preacht in Herstmonceux Church,_ pp. 325-346.
The Bible is the revelation of a gracious remedy for evil. Points out
rightful claims of the Divine government. Charges the human race with
disregard of these claims. Man is guilty of unrighteousness. There is
universal sin. It is in man's nature. It constitutes a moral
disqualification for return. God's remedial plan comprehends the
provision of pardoning mercy, and of regenerating mercy. The former
is found in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, which constitutes a
righteous ground on which the penal consequences of sin may be
remitted. The latter, in this no less wonderful work of the Holy
Spirit by which the sinner's disposition undergoes a change that
makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus. Let it be supposed that
this is the universal experience: instead of unrighteousness, the
righteousness that springs from such contact with Christ by His
Spirit universally prevails. It is a change of which we do not
despair. We are taught to expect it. Thus the text will be
universally fulfilled.
I. INTERNATIONALLY.
One of the most awful facts of human history is the extent to which
war has marked its track. In the causes of all wars unrighteousness
is found. But if the supposition we have made were a reality, wars
would become impossible. Nations and their rulers would repress the
desire to possess themselves of what is not their own. If different
interests induced different opinions between them wise and righteous
arbitration would prevent their imbruing their hands in each other's
blood. There would be "quietness and security for ever" (Isa. ii. 4,
xi. 6-9).
II. SOCIALLY.
1. Would the scenes witnessed in our streets, and the revelations of
police courts continue, if all men were characterised by the
righteousness contemplated in our text? Because men are unrighteous,
they encroach upon each other. The religion of Christ can be ill
spared. Where its influence prevails, society is better, happier,
more peaceful, more secure than elsewhere.
2. Think of the family. In the home all exhibit their true selves.
Selfishness and injustice may render it a place of incessant strife.
But our Christian homes, even where allowance has been made for
infirmities and peculiarities, are usually pervaded by an atmosphere
of peace and love. The influences that surround them produce mutual
forbearance and studiousness of others, restrain the harder and
develop the softer passions. Just in the measure in which the
subduing influences of Christian character prevail will our homes be
secure from strife and discomfort.
3. Think of the Church. There are divisions in the Church, it is
said. But there is less alienation of heart than is commonly
supposed. The common Christian's sentiments override the separated
denominations. So within the churches. Not many, in proportion to the
whole, are divided. Animosity, as arising from difference of opinion,
is restrained by Christian love. And if all were perfectly Christian,
there would be none.
III. PERSONALLY.
1. There is peace with God. Because there is reconciliation in Christ.
2. There is peace within. The storms of distress and fear raised by
the sense of sin are allayed by the cross. The discomfort of
unsettled life-purposes is terminated by a decision with which the
soul is satisfied. Its peace is enhanced by converse with heaven.
It is abiding peace. The peace in all aspects continues as long as
the righteousness. The holiness of heaven, and therefore its peaceful
rest, will continue for ever.
Have we this righteousness? Have we it in heart, in sympathy, in
life? If not, we are on the side of unrighteousness. We are insecure.
We need to be born again. O seek to possess and extend it.--_J.
Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We may see this in human things. When a parent does not
uphold _order and law_ in his family, there will be no
peace in that family. When a government does not uphold
order and law in a nation, there will be no peace in that
nation. They are to be upheld mercifully indeed; but still
they are to be upheld. Now in man both are imperfect, both
his righteousness and his mercy; and therefore they are
ever jarring. Sometimes he will lean to the one, sometimes
to the other; and so neither produces the work of peace.
But in God both are at one: neither shall hinder, neither
can give way to the other. Sooner shall the heavens split,
like a breaking wave, into foam, and melt away, than the
slightest shadow of anything that is not perfectly
righteous shall pass over the righteousness of God.
Accordingly it could only be when perfect mercy and perfect
truth met together, that righteousness and mercy could kiss
each other. And thus alone shall any ever enjoy perfect
peace, when they have received the full forgiveness of
their sins from the perfect mercy of God, and are clothed
in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Even in heaven
there can be no peace, except it be the work of
righteousness.--_Hare._
[2] When He teaches us that the eye of God is ever watching
over us, and the hand of God ever providing over us,--when
He commands us to pray to God with confidence as to our
heavenly Father, and to make all our wants and wishes known
to Him,--hereby, if we give heed to His bidding, He at once
hushes all those never-ending, still-beginning anxieties,
which are the thorns and thistles planted by the curse in
the human heart. When He teaches us to love our neighbours,
and to forgive, nay, to love our enemies, He roots up all
the cause which destroy peace and breed quarrels between
man and man. Every passion that we subdue is so much gain
to our peace; for every passion is a peacebreaker.
Covetousness, ambition, lust, drunkenness, vanity, pride
are peacebreakers. All these passions set us at variance
with neighbours; all of them set us at variance with
ourselves. Whereas, contentment, temperance, sobriety,
chastity, modesty, meekness are peacemakers.--_Hare._
THE PEACEFUL HABITATION.
xxxii. 18. _And my people shall dwell in a peaceable
habitation._[1]
No doubt "the peaceable habitation" is found in moral dispositions
created within by Divine grace. Here is, 1st. The Chamber of
_Holiness._ Oh, the sweet tranquillity of a holy life! 2. Here is the
hallowed Chamber of _Resignation_ to the Divine will. If the soul is,
by Divine grace, able to be still in the midst of temptation, it will
also be still in the midst of personal trial. 3. Here is _Trust_ in
God's providence. This is the observatory, and like all
observatories, it is high and clear. Other observatories boast that
from them you may see the stars in the day-time; but from this, you
may see the sun in the night-time.--_E. Paxton Hood: Dark Sayings on
a Harp,_ pp. 361-368.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, xxxiii. 20.
SPIRITUAL HUSBANDRY.
xxxii. 20. _Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that
send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass._
Two explanations of this description of agricultural life. The first
refers it to the practice of literally sowing on the waters. In some
parts of the East, particularly in the sowing of rice, the time
chosen is when the rivers overflow their banks. Cattle are turned
into the wet land to tread it and prepare it for the seed, which is
then cast upon the water. It subsides into the ground and yields a
quick harvest. If this is the allusion, the corresponding passage
will be Eccles. xi. 1. The other explanation refers it to the sowing
of seed in soil that is well watered by its proximity to some river,
and to such a state of security that the oxen and asses may be turned
upon the land to feed at large, without fences to limit their
excursions. Either way the general idea is the same. It is the close
of the beautiful description of peaceful prosperity after the return
from captivity. The land would be cultivated in security, the
harvests gathered in peace; a splendid contrast to the desolation of
a country which has been the seat of war.
We apply the text to the privilege of labouring for the production of
a moral harvest in human souls by the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Here is--
I. AN ANALOGY BETWEEN THE MATERIAL AND THE SPIRITUAL HUSBANDRY. Our
present subject is not our own spiritual culture, although that is of
supreme importance and the primary qualification for the cultivation
of other souls. We are always sowing seed, and the fruit of which is
in our character and destiny, in time and eternity (Gal. vi. 7, 8).
The analogy between the moral and material husbandry is very obvious
(1 Cor. iii. 6-9, ix. 10, 11; James iii. 18; Matt. xiii. 3-32). This
is the great work committed to the Church. We are to tell the story
of God's love; to make known the ruin; to proclaim the salvation; to
persuade men.
Now, this supposes several things:--1. _Opportunity._ By the
restoration of Israel to their own land, they would have the
opportunity of which they had been long deprived. There have been
times when endeavours to teach God's Word was prohibited. In some
lands it is so still. There are persons who will not hear. There are
classes and circles, higher and lower, which are inaccessible to you.
None of us is responsible for sowing the seed when there is no
opportunity. But in so far as opportunity exists, or can be made, it
behoves all to avail themselves of it to the full extent of their
power. Mothers have the opportunity with their children.
Sunday-school teachers. Doors opening in heathen lands.
2. _Capacity._ To sow a field requires some knowledge of the kind of
work. City men would make sorry work. So the spiritual sowing
requires some capacity. Two mistakes may be made. There is the
mistake of those who think any kind of work will do; and of those who
estimate the requirements so highly and their own power so humbly
that they never venture anything. The latter deterrent operates
largely. It falls in with the love of ease. It is sometimes said that
the extension of popular education demands a higher class of
Sunday-school teachers, for instance, than sufficed some time ago.
Many Christians think their own education inadequate. It is a
mistake. If we cannot realise our ideal, let us do our best. Besides,
experience does not show that boys and girls are ahead of teachers of
average intelligence. And spiritual earnestness is a greater
qualification than even intellectual endowment. Capacity for
Christian work, like any other, perhaps more than any other,
increases by exercise. 3. _Interest._ He who would succeed must be
interested in his work. He who dislikes it or is indifferent to its
results will not do it well. Commonly what was undertaken merely as
an occupation, or for advantage, becomes a pleasure. The various
labours of the husbandman interest him. And this is essential to the
spiritual sower. There must be a disposition for the work. It
presents attractions only to such as are in sympathy with its great
ends. There must be a sincere belief of the truth, thorough
conviction of its necessity to man, and a benevolent desire for the
widest dissemination of its blessings. Working in this spirit, your
interest in it will constantly deepen. By the prospect of harvest you
will be animated. With the heart in the work and the love of Christ
in the heart, the sowing time will be full of spiritual interest.
4. _Diligence._ "All waters." This suggests earnestness, energy,
promptitude. Throw all your energy into this work. The husbandman
watches everything that bears on his husbandry. Business men spare no
pains in working out their arrangements. We must be equally diligent.
II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF BEING ENGAGED IN THE SPIRITUAL HUSBANDRY.
1. _In the work itself._ It becomes a pleasure. Knowledge and
experience of the truth increase by communication, as seed by being
sown. Spiritual enjoyment is deepened. Christian character grows.
Many can say the sowing days are the happiest. 2. _In the
consciousness of usefulness._ It is not labour in vain. Assured that
we shall reap if we faint not. Already there are signs. Evil is
prevented. One and another are being trained to goodness. The future
career of those among whom you sow will be influenced in the most
valuable way. Some will have their passage to the grave helped. The
future world will be brightened to them, as well as the present.
3. _In the Master's approbation._ As the work goes on, the
consciousness of this is a blessedness. And when this world is left
behind, His "well done."
Address--1. Those who are sowing, with words of encouragement.
2. Those who ought to be, with words of exhortation.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE USE OF OPPORTUNITIES.
xxxii. 20. _Blessed are they that sow beside all waters,
&c._
I. We may use the language of the text _as a warning against the
neglect of the least opportunity of usefulness to others._ The
prophet pronounces a blessing upon those who are prepared to scatter
seed, not only where there is a probable prospect of a rich harvest,
but upon whatsoever soil God shall bring them in contact with. It is
not only by the waters that are sweet and sparkling that the sowing
is to be carried on, but beside the floods that seem likely to
overwhelm. We are to maintain a lively sense of our obligation to do
good unto all men as we have opportunity. Even those who are alive to
the reality of the effect which one man's life and conversation may
have upon another, nay, who are desirous to be useful to their
brethren in Christ, are under a great temptation to be ruled by
predilections for or against particular persons, and to regard some
as too proud, too insincere, too thoughtless to reward their labour.
Or their affections are so absorbed in one or two individuals, united
with them by blood or friendship, that they are rendered
comparatively indifferent about the influence they may exert upon
others. But whether we choose or no, our power for good or evil
extends over all who come within our shadow, and we should neglect no
opportunity to make it a power for good (H. E. I. 1857-65, 4596).
II. _We should not neglect any opportunity of securing benefit for
ourselves._ Every period of existence is to be spent under God. Swift
and resistless the waters of life glide on. But beside them all, the
Christian sows his good seed. Equally in youth, middle age, and in
advancing years, whatsoever his hand finds to do, he does it
heartily, as unto the Lord; and in each he reaps a harvest according
to his sowing in that which preceded it. Blessed through eternity
will he be who sowed wisely and liberally beside all the waters of
life.--_J. R. Woodford, M.A.: Sermons preached in Bristol,_ pp.
228-243.
It should be the ambition of us all to be useful. The difference
between one man who lives a useful, and another who lives a useless
life, is simply this--the one improves his opportunities for doing
good and making others happy, while he ministers to his own
well-being; and the other lives only for himself, and reaps the
barren harvest of his selfishness. Life comes but once to each of us,
and blessed are they who, bearing this over in mind, are careful to
"sow beside all waters."
I. Those who wish to be useful should never forget the many
favourable opportunities for sowing seed _on the clear and untroubled
waters of childhood._ II. Another opportunity for scattering precious
seed is _on the troubled waters of strife_ (Matt. v. 9).
III. Another, _on the stagnant and muddy waters of doubt and
unbelief._ It often happens that the Christian is obliged to listen
to the vapid and senseless discourse of those who seek to bring the
religion of the Son of God into contempt, and if he would be prepared
for such occasions of seed-sowing, he ought to be a diligent student
of the Word of God, and of such works as will give him a right
understanding of it. IV. _There will be times when words of comfort
may be spoken to bewildered souls about to embark on "the narrow sea"
which divides this world from the next._--_John N. Newton: Golden
Truths,_ pp. 73-81.
PROVIDENCE.
xxxiii. 1. _Woe to thee that spoilest, &c._
Dr. Geikie says: As a nation the Assyrians are branded as
treacherous, untruthful, and lawless (Nah. iii. 1; Jonah iii. 8). No
treaty could bind them; might was right; and when interest seemed to
demand it, they "regarded no man" (xxxiii. 8). Their pride was that
of a race which looked on all others as their natural inferiors
(Zeph. ii. 15; Ezek. xxxi. 10, 11; Isa. x. 7-14, xxxvii. 24-28).[1]
The text brings before us _the doctrine of an overruling Providence._
We see an overruling Providence at work--1. _In meting out punishment
to the wicked_ (H. E. I. 4604, 4612). 2. _In accomplishing a just
retribution._ The Assyrian is paid back by the Babylonian (Rev.
xiii. 10); Jacob's treachery is returned to him in his son's deceit
(1 Tim. v. 24; P. D. 2995). 3. _In bringing good out of evil._ Wicked
men overreach themselves; the devil is outwitted. The short-sighted
vengeance of man becomes an instrument of perfecting the higher
nature of the people of God, whom they oppress; the fire of man's
wrath is transformed into the refining fire of Divine purification
(Mal. iii. 3).--_J. Macrae Simcock._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Some time before the return of the Assyrians, Hezekiah had
sought to deprecate the wrath of Sennacherib, of which
terrible rumours had reached him from Lachish. For this end
he had sent ambassadors, in the hope that they might
possibly convince the great king that no treachery was
intended, and save the country from a second invasion, or
possibly even obtain favourable terms for Lachish itself.
The embassy had found him at the city, which was soon after
taken by storm, and delivered to the tender mercies of the
soldiery. A slab from his palace at Nineveh, now in the
British Museum, shows him in state "receiving plunder of
the town of Lachish." He sits on a throne before his tent,
two arrows in one hand and his bow in the other, while
prisoners are being brought before him, an officer,
attended by a guard, stating the facts respecting them. Two
eunuchs stand with feather flaps to wave over him for
coolness, and to keep away the flies. Two horses, ready for
his use, are behind, soldiers with tall lances attending
them. The front rank of prisoners before him kneel to
implore mercy, and behind them is a long file of their
unfortunate companions. Some whose fate has already been
decided have been led a short way off and killed; others
may be spared as slaves. A chariot with two horses stands
near--perhaps that of Sennacherib--and numerous fruit-trees
over the whole slab show the fruitfulness of the country. A
strong force of horse and foot on the right of the picture
guards the king.--_Giekie._
THE SAINT'S ATTITUDE IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE.
xxxiii. 2. _O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for
Thee: be Thou their arm every morning, our salvation also
in the time of trouble._
Like its predecessor, this prophecy belongs to the time of distress
and fear incident on the threatened Assyrian invasion. Dependence on
Egypt had failed. So had Hezekiah's present to the invader. He had
accepted the present, but had still pressed on. The south of Judah
was covered with his soldiers. Isaiah lifts up this prayer for his
country. An example to Christians to interest themselves in the
politics of their country, and to include them in their prayers. We
have never known the terrible presence of an invader; but there is
always occasion for appeal to the Divine Governor and Helper. It is
no mark of spirituality of mind to exclude national affairs from
thought, as belonging to a sphere that has nothing to do with God or
with prayer.
The prophet's eye saw, in the immediate future, the frustration of
the invader's plans. The God of Israel would interpose. The invasion
was unjust; the negotiations had been conducted deceitfully by the
enemy; ruin would fall on his head (ver. 1). But the certainty of
deliverance was no reason for the relaxation of effort, or for
abstinence from prayer. God's promise is the encouragement and
directory of prayer. Therefore he cries, "O Lord, be gracious unto
us." &c.
The prayer of the text is applicable to any time of trouble in the
personal experience of any Christian. It is a time that may come to
any one. It should enter into our calculations about the future,
however exempt from it at present. It should be prepared for, as for
old age, or death. We never know when it hangs over us, nor in what
form. To all it comes occasionally; to some frequently; to some
constantly; to some severely. Often from quarters whence least
expected. Things and persons most precious to us are sometimes the
occasion of bitterest grief. The common lot. We can only really
prepare for it by the possession of resource which it cannot
diminish. This is one of the points at which Christians have so
largely the advantage over others. God is always with them, and
always accessible.
Our text represents the saint's attitude in "the time of trouble." He
cries to God and waits and waits as he cries.
I. HE CRIES TO GOD.
How precious to have a friend so interested in you that anything you
say about your trouble will find an interested listener. It is a
relief to speak to such a friend. Many of God's people find this
relief every day. Many a trouble can be told to none but Him who
keeps every secret and sympathises with every distress (P. D. 462,
463).
What do we need in the time of trouble? It is all in this prayer: GOD
HIMSELF. Each petition resolves itself into something that God is,
and is to us.
1. _His Graciousness._ The root of everything must be the Divine
disposition. He might be malevolent, unpitying, unmerciful. There
might be a cause of separation sufficient to prevent any favourable
access to Him. In the case of multitudes there is such a cause. Many
live without God, ignore Him, disregard His authority, yet in the
time of trouble imagine they may fly to Him, in the face of His Word,
which says until sin is abandoned there can be no friendship with
Him. He has provided a gracious way of reconciliation. The first step
we must take is the coming to Him through the Saviour for the mercy
that obliterates all past transgressions. In many cases the time of
trouble is sent as the means of leading us to the Saviour. To be
assured of His gracious disposition while He permits the trouble,
goes far towards the comfort of the troubled heart. He loves you
although you are under discipline. The sun shines in full splendour
although it is hidden behind a cloud. We may wait patiently for the
trouble to pass away, so long as we can confidently ask the Lord to
be gracious unto us.
2. _His Strength._ "Be Thou their arm every morning." The time of
trouble reveals our weakness. Mental energy, courage, bodily power
often succumb under the pressure of heavy trouble. We realise the
value of a strength beyond our own. It is better to pass through "the
time of trouble" with God for our arm every morning, than to be
exempt from trouble and left without Him. Paul groaned under the pain
of his thorn in the flesh and besought the Lord thrice to take it
away. But Christ's assurance, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for
my strength is made perfect in weakness," together with his
experience of its sufficiency, made him glory in his infirmity. We
need the arm of God for defence against the enemy; to lean upon for
the work that may be necessary to our extrication from trouble.
3. _His Salvation._ From some troubles salvation cannot be in the
shape of restoration of the previously existing state of things. The
young man loses his precious wife and child; and in their grave it
seems that every interest for him is buried. They cannot be restored.
But God's salvation can come to him in the form of a richer spiritual
experience, a deeper acquaintance with His Word and Way, a completer
consecration to His service, and a larger inflowing of Divine
consolation than he could have known without it. But there are some
troubles from which salvation comes by their cessation: sicknesses,
and business reverses. They are severe while they continue. But
deliverance comes. In some cases greater prosperity is realised than
formerly, to which, in God's wonder-working Providence, the trouble
was necessary. Joseph in Egypt. Job. The trouble may have been severe
temptation. If saved, you are the stronger for it. Cry to God in
trouble. Let it be the time of special prayer.
II. HE WAITS ON GOD.
"We have waited for Thee." This ever accompanies true prayer. The
believer looks for the blessing he has asked. It implies, 1. _Faith._
That God hears. Faith has a very close relation to prayer.
2. _Expectation._ There may be degrees of confidence, but there must
be more or less of expectancy. The sailor's mother watches at the
window for the ship in which her son is coming. 3. _Patience._ Wait
God's time. Until His end is accomplished. Thus let the Church wait
for the coming of Christ, which will be full salvation.
May we know by experience the blessedness of knowing God in time of
trouble! Blessed is the people that is in such a case. Come and enjoy
this blessedness. Decide for the Lord Jesus Christ. The world is
insufficient. Renounce it.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE.
(_Sunday School Anniversary._)
xxxiii. 6. _And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability
of thy times, and strength of salvation._
Primarily these words seem to have been spoken of Hezekiah, of the
happiness and security which the Jews experienced under his reign,--a
reign which was evidently blessed of God to their good; but, like
many other predictions, it has a larger application. It refers to the
kingdom of the Messiah; to the blessings resulting from the reign of
Christ over His redeemed people (chap. xxxii. 1, 2). The declaration
is, that in the time of the Messiah there should be a diffusion of
knowledge so wide and efficacious that society should be rendered
stable and tranquil by it; that this wisdom and knowledge should
produce salvation, or deliverance from temporal and spiritual
calamities; and that this salvation should be a strong one. This has
been already in part fulfilled; but only in part. Christianity
introduced religious light; and that light became the parent of every
other kind of useful and excellent knowledge. So little opposition is
there between Christianity and true science, that all the most
important discoveries of a scientific nature, all the knowledge
whence nations derive power and refinement, have occurred in
Christian nations, and Christian nations only. It is now generally
agreed that it is only from the diffusion of wisdom and knowledge
that we can expect settled and tranquil times. But we must remember
that there is no real connection between mere scientific knowledge
and moral influence. The proposition which I shall endeavour to
establish is, that _no moral influence is exerted, except by the
truths revealed to us in the Scriptures; and that whatever effects
are produced by knowledge of any other kind, those effects do not
constitute a real moral improvement, either of society or of
individuals._
I. I APPEAL TO THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE. The Bible is favourable to
knowledge. Every Jewish parent was commanded to teach his children
diligently the laws and statutes which God had given, and the
historical circumstances with which they were connected; that so they
might be, in the sight of all nations, a wise and understanding
people. The New Testament likewise commands all believers diligently
to study the facts and doctrines of their faith. Neither the Mosaic
nor the Christian religion was founded in ignorance. But throughout
the Old Testament, where any moral influence is ascribed to wisdom,
it is the true knowledge of God that is to be understood, and that
only. So in the New Testament, so far from finding any intimation
that mere knowledge, of any and every kind, is sufficient to exert a
moral influence on the heart and mind, we find passages in which it
is represented as operating to the hindrance of salvation (Matt.
xi. 25; 1 Cor. i. 21; Col. ii. 8).
II. I APPEAL TO REASON. Reason shows--1. _That religious knowledge
tends to produce moral results._ This is the natural effects of the
truths it presents to the mind, and of the standard of duty which it
holds up before us. 2. _That all kinds of knowledge which exert no
power upon the conscience must leave the life unreformed._ He who
expects a moral result from mere worldly knowledge, looks for an
effect without a cause; as well might he expect a man to become a
skilful botanist by studying astronomy. To improve the morals you
must give moral instruction; and this is what no branch of science
even professes to do. We take nothing from the just value of science
by confining it to its proper objects. One science only can improve
your morals, even that Divine philosophy which describes, with
authority, the manner of life to which God, your Sovereign and Judge,
requires you to conform.
III. I APPEAL TO EXPERIENCE. Reason shows that between religious
knowledge and morality there is a connection, and that between
morality and any other knowledge there is no connection whatever.[1]
And this is also the testimony of experience in all times and
countries.[2]
CONCLUSION.--1. _Morality must have a religious base._ Man must be
taught not only what is right, but why it is right; and he must be
shown that he is bound to do it. The term "duty" refers not merely to
the action which is to be done, but to the obligations to do it. Take
away the morality of the Bible from that which God has connected it,
and you make it powerless. Moral influence and power come only from
the whole truth of God 2. _The whole truth of God is used by the Holy
Spirit as an instrument to effect moral reformations, and that truth
only._ We have here another most important reason for looking for the
advancement of morality from the diffusion of such truth only.[3]
3. _Religious truth benefits only those who make it their earnest
study._ It does not operate necessarily. The Bible must be diligently
read, with much prayer that its teachings may be applied to your
conscience; that they may be in you a good seed sown in good ground.
4. _The duty of parents is thus made plain._ 5. _We see also the true
aim and the extreme value of Sunday schools._--_Richard Watson:
Works,_ vol. ix. pp. 458-471.
+I. What constitutes "stability of times?"+ 1. Civil order and
subjection to law. 2. A regular flow of commerce, and employment for
the general orders of men. 3. Freedom from war, defensive or
aggressive.
+II. What influences has the "wisdom and knowledge" of Christianity
on "the stability of times?"+ 1. The principles and rules of
Christianity are those of practical "wisdom and knowledge," and,
must, if acted on, give "stability of times." Look at its
instructions in relation to civil government (Rom. xiii. 1, 2, 6, 7;
1 Tim. ii. 1-3); to the domestic and social duties of life (Col.
iii. 18-iv. 1; 1 Tim. vi. 1); to integrity, industry, and love of our
fellow-men (Rom. xiii. 8-10; 1 Thess. iv. 2). Universal conformity to
such precepts would produce universal harmony, industry, and
confidence. With equal clearness it denounces oppression,
insubordination, and war. Were those injunctions and prohibitions
heeded, a new era of settled prosperity would begin (H. E. I.
1124-1132, 1134). 2. Christianity gives "stability of times" by the
_intellectual_ wisdom and knowledge it imparts. What a contrast in
this respect between Christian and heathen nations! Christianity
promotes intellectual strength by the grandeur of the subjects which
it brings before the mind, by the freedom it enjoins in the exercise
of every right, and by the rules it gives for the government of
nations and the guidance of individuals. And its instructions are
those of wisdom and mental strength. Moreover it enlarges the
conceptions of those who receive it, by leading them to strive to
promote the welfare of the whole world. 3. By its _sanctifying_
influence. The real causes of peace and permanent prosperity are
moral; and the very tendency of Christianity is to promote civil
order, integrity, industry, and benevolent conduct (H. E. I.
4164-4166). 4. By leading men to that obedience to the laws of God
which brings down upon them His blessing.
From all this it follows, 1. That it is the wisdom of every nation
that has the knowledge of Christianity to retain and improve it, and
to guard against its corruption and abuse. Whatever diminishes its
purity weakens its practical influence. 2. That we should gratefully
acknowledge how much we owe to God for "the wisdom and knowledge"
which He has imparted to us. Let us trace our prosperity to its true
cause. 3. That national ruin will be the result, if we reject "the
wisdom and knowledge" God has vouchsafed to us. 4. That every one who
seeks for himself the "wisdom and knowledge" of the Bible is a
patriot. He adds, in his own personal religion, to the stability and
wealth of the nation. 5. That true patriotism will lead us to value
and support those institutions which exist for the diffusion of the
Gospel in our own and other lands.--_John Johnson, M.A.: Sermons,_
vol. ii. pp. 156-177.
+I. Wisdom and knowledge both resemble and differ from each other,
and should be carefully distinguished.+ Many have great knowledge and
no wisdom. Some have wisdom and little knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge
digested and turned to account; knowledge is the food changed into
chyle and blood, and sent through the system. Knowledge is often a
mere chaotic mass; wisdom is that mass reduced to order. Knowledge
may remain inactive in the memory and understanding; wisdom is the
same turned to practice and incarnated in life. Many men possess
great knowledge, but hold it in unrighteousness; hold it along with
folly, indolence, and a host of other counterbalancing elements. The
wise man may err like others; but his general conduct and the general
course of his mind are well regulated. "Wisdom is profitable to
direct." Knowledge puffeth up; but wisdom is too calm and moderate,
too wide in its views, and too sober in its spirit to be often found
in alliance with undue self-esteem. The man of knowledge resembles
Dr. Kippis, of whom Hall said that he put so many books in his head
that his brains could not move. In a mind like Burke's, the more
books that were heaped upon the fiery and fertile brain the better;
it turned them into flame (H. E. I. 3091, 3092, 3112-3120).
+II. Knowledge and wisdom, when combined, give stability to persons,
states, and churches.+
1. _To individual character._ Knowledge is being increased at a
wonderful ratio. The learned man of a century ago would now be
thought a sciolist. But there have been many drawbacks; many
incapable of grasping all kinds of knowledge are not incapable of
pretending that they have grasped them; hence the desire of
intermeddling with all knowledge becomes pre-eminent folly, and hence
generally the preference given to man of showy attainments, glib
talk, and immodest assurance, above those of solid strength and
genuine insight. And it is the same, too often, in the Church. In
reference to this, let the words of the wise man be pondered: "With
all thy getting, get understanding." Even though our knowledge be
less wide, let it be accurate. Let us ballast knowledge with
common-sense; let our piety be manly; let our attitude be that of
calm but constant progress. And let our motto be, "The greatest of
these is charity." Such a combination of knowledge and wisdom would
give, as nothing else can, stability to individual character
(H. E. I. 3075-3078).
2. _In reference to states and kingdoms._ Here, too, knowledge must
meet with wisdom ere genuine stability can be secured. This was
manifested in the last French and German war. Indeed, the whole
history of France shows the evil of knowledge being separated from
wisdom. We see this in its brilliant, but rash and dangerous science;
in its literature--splendid in form, inferior in substance; in its
raging love for display and thirst for war; in its popular
idols--Henry IV., Mirabeau, Voltaire, and Napoleon--all men as full
of ability as they were destitute of true wisdom.
3. _The Church._ The whole Bible has been taken to pieces. All the
conceivable knowledge on the subject has been amassed. Now, here
comes in the place for the exercise of wisdom. Let us not leap to
conclusions; let us rather ask: "Where does wisdom dwell, and where
is the place of understanding?" There is at present a divorce between
knowledge and wisdom in spiritual matters; and seldom were manly
morality and true religion in a feebler condition than in some
quarters. There are noise and sound enough and to spare; but there is
a lack of stability,--no progress at once in piety and intelligence
(H. E. I. 3153-3155). Out of that gulf into which one-sidedness has
plunged us, all-sidedness, broad charity, and wisdom can alone
deliver us. Let us pray that these may abound, and introduce a period
when wisdom and knowledge, walking hand in hand, shall be the
stability of a better and nobler era!--_George Gilfillan: The Study
and the Pulpit, New Series,_ vol. vi. pp. 9-11.
These were the words of comfort by which Hezekiah was prepared to
meet the invasion of the conquering Assyrians. In other times Judah
fled for protection into the arms of Egypt. They thereby incurred
God's displeasure, and were invariably overtaken by the calamities
from which they sought refuge. Hezekiah put his trust in Jehovah, and
was not disappointed.
The text contains, at the same time, a general principle, viz., _that
wisdom (or practical religion) and knowledge are the best elements of
the stability of any people._ As patriots let us carefully consider
it.
+I. Christianity promotes wisdom and knowledge.+
1. _Christianity promotes wisdom._ (1.) The God whom the Bible
reveals is the fit object of reverence and love. It reveals the
Divine attributes in forms the most fitted to fill the soul with
solemn awe and reverence. It ascribes to Him eternal and unchangeable
love, and reveals that love in forms of ineffable grace and mercy. It
does not efface any of the more awful attributes of Godhead, or merge
them in a perverted view of the parental relation; nor does it
degrade His more amiable attributes into the tenderness, or rather
weakness, which loses sight of the criminal's guilt in the
consideration of his misery--the world's conception of the Divine!
_That_ character, however, is not enough to rekindle the flame of
piety in a fallen world (James ii. 19). But (2.) Christianity
provides, in the great facts through which it conveys the knowledge
of God, the means of reducing men to contrition and restoring them to
hope. The Gospel is adapted to convert the soul. How? In its
adaptation the element of hope occupies no mean place. Any scheme of
regeneration must contain a provision of mercy. By its mode of
opening the door of hope; it impresses sinfulness on the mind; it
moves to repentance, and inspires obedience on the ground of
conscious obligation to Divine grace. The tendency of the doctrine of
the cross is no doubtful matter (Rom. i. 16).
2. _Christianity promotes knowledge._ It points out the only true way
to the knowledge of God; but further it promotes general knowledge.
(1.) Revealing God, it makes known the highest truths; and, making
known the highest truths, it promotes and facilitates inquiry into
every other. The uncovered heavens reflect their light on all earthly
things. (2.) By the healing power which it applies to the heart and
conscience, it fits the soul for vigorous and healthful action. The
Christian can have no reason to dread the advances of knowledge--he
may tremble for the temporary evils resulting from philosophy,
falsely so called.[4]
+II. By promoting wisdom and knowledge, Christianity establishes a
people.+
1. _It purifies and elevates society._ (1.) It is an acknowledged
fact that the Gospel makes man unfit for a state of slavery. It may
teach submission to the bond, but it will create a moral influence
whose fire will melt his chains. (2.) The Gospel civilises the
savage. It produces dissatisfaction with his abjectness, and creates
the desire and imparts the means of rising in the scale of
intelligence.
2. _If Christianity thus elevates, how much more will it establish!_
If it imparts life, how much more will it maintain it! But what are
the means of the stability of a nation? (1.) _Religion._ This is the
foundation of all others. An irreligious and wicked nation has the
elements of misery and dissolution within itself; a righteous nation,
like a righteous individual, may be afflicted, but, as in the one
case, so in the other, "all things work together for good." Knowledge
has an indirect influence. Galileo could sacrifice truth and honour
to escape imprisonment; the tale of Bacon's moral weaknesses is a
humbling page of human history; but the diffusion of knowledge tends
to correct a taste for low and sensual habits. (2.) _Virtue._
Religion produces the best morals; here the connection is direct and
immediate. The Gospel provides an authoritative principle--wanting
elsewhere--which responds to its moral precepts, and renders it a
matter of moral necessity to give a ready and cheerful obedience.
(3.) _Freedom._ The foundation of this is in the virtue which
Christianity creates and promotes. If the ark of God were in danger,
we might well tremble for the ark of liberty; religious degeneracy
endangers the existence of freedom. (4.) _Good order._ This follows,
as the natural and necessary consequence from the promotion of virtue
and freedom.
CONCLUSION.--British society, with all its boasted civilisation, is
only in a state of childhood; it speaks as a child and it acts as a
child. We expect better days, not as the result of a natural and
inherent tendency to progress and improvement, but as the result of
the operation of Divine principles implanted in the midst of us,
under the blessing of a favourable Providence. That we may put forth
our strength to accomplish this change, we must have an adequate
impression of existing evils and of our obligation to apply a remedy.
Christianity is the lever by which we can raise man (Eph.
v. 14).--_John Kennedy, D.D.: Weekly Christian Teacher,_ vol. iii.
pp. 769-764, 777-781.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] What connection is there between the knowledge of mechanics
and morality? What moral duty have you impressed on the
conscience when you have taught a man to make a table? So
with the knowledge of numbers, or of language, whether
ancient or modern. In none of these sciences is there any
principle that can connect itself with moral
feeling.--_Watson._
[2] The Gospel was first preached, beyond the limits of the
Jewish church, to a very refined, but to a very immoral
people. Even with what they had learned from tradition, the
wisest among them--I may not even except Socrates--could
contemplate with perfect indifference, and even practise,
the most abominable vices. The same results are found in
our own day. Wherever infidelity prevails, we witness the
decay and destruction of moral principle. We find, perhaps,
some exceptions in Christian countries; but let us see how
they are produced, and we shall find that they prove the
rule. They proceed from awe of public opinion; from a
feeling of shame with regard to personal honour and
character. But what provides that standard whose elevated
purity men thus practically acknowledge, even while they
reject its source? It is this book, it is the faithful
preaching of the Gospel, which so keeps up the standard of
public opinion that even infidels are obliged to
acknowledge its authority. Even among our peasants who have
been carefully instructed in religious truth--men without a
single ray of science--we find the practice of all the
Christian virtues; whilst, too often, we see the brightest
beams of human philosophy gliding and giving splendour to
baseness and corruption.--_Watson._
[3] Along with the truth of God there goes an accompanying
influence. The words that are spoken to you are "spirit and
life:" this is because the illuminations of the Holy Ghost
go along with them. We may not overlook the fallen state of
man; he is dead in trespasses and sins. The very law is
weak through the flesh; it gives direction, but it cannot
give life. The Spirit must convince man of sin and
righteousness; and if He be removed, the Agent is taken
away by whom only our moral renovation can be effected.
Now, this blessed, this mighty Spirit only works on our
hearts in connection with His own revealed truth; it is not
with human science that He works for the amendment of our
principles and tempers.--_Watson._
[4] I fear it is incontrovertible that what is denominated
poetic literature, the great school in which taste acquires
its laws and refined perceptions, and in which are formed,
much more than under any higher, austerer discipline, the
moral sentiments, is, for the far greater part, hostile to
the religion of Christ; partly by introducing insensibly a
certain order of opinions unconsonant, or, at least, not
identical with the principles of that religion, and still
more by training the feelings to a habit alien from its
spirit. And in this assertion I do not refer to writers
palpably irreligious, who have laboured and intended to
seduce the passions into vice, or the judgment into the
rejection of Divine truth, but to the general community of
those elegant and ingenious authors who are read and
admired by the Christian world, held essential to a liberal
education, and to the progressive accomplishment of the
mind in subsequent life, and studied often without an
apprehension, or even a thought, of their injuring the
views and temper of spirits advancing, with the New
Testament for their chief instructor and guide, into
another world.--_John Foster._
GOD AVENGING HIS OWN ELECT.
xxxiii. 7-12. _Behold, their valiant ones shall cry
without, &c._
I. A PICTURE OF DESOLATION.
The picture has two distinct points of interest--1. _Man_ (ver. 7).
Desolation receives nowhere so strong and pathetic expression as in
the strong cries and tears of a man. The purer and nobler the man, so
much the more affecting is it to hear his despairing cry and look
upon his tears. The child cannot bear to see his father weep, because
his father is to him the ideal man. Eliakim's grief, on returning
from the interview with Rabshakeh, would be more grievous to Hezekiah
than Shebna's. Peter's repentant tears were bitter; but by the cry of
the Christ, _"Eloi! lama sabathani?"_ and His tears at the grave of
Lazarus, we are much more affected. 2. _Nature_ (vers. 8, 9). The
world is partly bright and beautiful, because noble men of God dwell
in it; Nature reflects and interprets man. The Assyrian invader
weighed heavily on Jewish hearts (xxxvi. 22, xxxvii. 1) and the
Jewish land.
II. THE REDRESSER OF WRONG.
"Now will I rise, saith the Lord," &c. 1. _God rules the world in the
interests of His people._ "Now will _I_ rise." Democrats are fond of
saying, "The Queen may reign, but she does not govern;" but the reins
of government are firmly held by the great I AM. 2. _God's
interposition comes at the right moment:_ "_Now_ will I rise." Man's
extremity is often God's opportunity; because not until his case is
desperate, will he cast himself unreservedly upon God. So man often
retards the arrival of the right moment. Meanwhile the innocent
(comparatively) suffer for the guilty; the good for the bad, the just
for the unjust. If it is the teaching of Scripture that God's people
are "the salt of the earth," preserving it from destruction, it is no
less the doctrine of the Bible that untold sorrows are to the
righteous because they dwell on the earth with the wicked. The
Isaiahs and Hezekiahs of the world feel something of the weight of
the world's sin. But there is always a "thus far and no farther."
"_Now_ will I rise, saith the Lord."
III. THE DESOLATOR DESOLATED.
_Cf._ Luke xviii. 8; Isa. xlii. 1. The greater wickedness is employed
by God to be the scourge of the less, until its own time comes to be
scattered as chaff, and destroyed as fire destroys (vers. 11, 12). To
one whose "eyes are in his head," it is sad to hear the ambassador of
Sennacherib saying, "The Lord said unto me, Go up against this land
and destroy it." In the midst of this judgment of God--in which the
righteous suffer most--meted out instrumentally by wicked hands, we
do well to remember the words of Christ: "Knowest thou not, said
Pilate to Him, that I have power to release thee? Jesus answered,
Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given
thee from above."
Note that where the avenging is pictured in this passage, the two
sides spoken of in the former part of it--men and nature--are summed
up in the terrible destruction of the _human._ So terrible is this,
that a burning world is lost sight of! The first picture of
desolation is as nothing to the second; and the woe is seen to reach
its intensity in this regard.--_J. Macrae Simcock._
A BLESSED LIFE.
xxxiii. 15-17. _He that walketh righteously, &c._
This is a gleam of bright sunshine after a heavy storm. It describes
a truly happy, holy life, such as we may all attain, and may all well
desire to be ours.
1. It is _a gracious life._ This is not especially mentioned here. We
have only what is outward and visible described. But this always
implies an inward hidden life. When we see such a great, green,
spreading, fruitful tree of righteousness as this, we may always
assuredly conclude that, deep in the heart out of sight, there must
be a great, strong, living Lebanon-root of faith and love (Tit.
ii. 12). This is the secret or source of all that follows (H. E. I.
2840, 2841, 4092-4095).
2. It is _an upright life._ "He that walketh righteously." A man's
"walk" is his whole conduct in all the positions and relations in
which he stands. _All_ that this man does is conformed to the law of
God and the example of Christ (Luke i. 6). "He speaketh uprightly."
Most important (Jas. iii. 2, i. 26; P. D. 3384, 3394). "He despiseth
the gain of oppressions." He will not take advantage of his
neighbour's distress; will not be hard upon him when his back is at
the wall; will not abuse his ignorance or simplicity by charging more
than a commodity is worth. "He shaketh his hands from holding of
bribes." He abhors such temptations. Judas, from an awakened
conscience, horror-struck at what he had done, cast the blood-money
which he had received on the ground; but this man, from a clear,
enlightened conscience, at peace with God, casts from him all that
would offend the Lord. "He stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood."
There is a killing of character by slander and insinuation, but he
will have none of it (P. D. 3108). "He shutteth his eyes from seeing
evil." He is like God; he _cannot_ look upon sin. He hates it; can
find no amusement in it; knows its tendency and its fearful end.
Through the unguarded eye comes ruin (Josh. vii. 21; 2 Sam. xi. 2).
Pictures and descriptions of evil often destroy. Have we not here a
beautiful, noble character? and yet this is what believing in Christ
and walking in His footsteps will always produce. But there must be
the root, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, else the outward
life, however fair and seemly, will be only a make-believe, a
wretched caricature, that will break down in the time of trial, and
be rejected in the day of the Lord.
3. It is _a heavenly life._ "He shall dwell on high." His heart is
set on things above (Eph. ii. 5, 6; Col. iii. 1-3; Phil. iii. 20). He
has already come to Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem; he really dwells on high (H. E. I. 2766-2779).
4. It is _a safe life._ His real all is above, beyond the reach of
chance and change. He is still beset by foes, but he is safe. "His
place of defence is the munitions of rocks" (Ps. xviii. 2, 3, &c.)
5. It is _a well-supplied life._ "His bread shall be given him, his
water shall be sure" (Ps. xxxiv. 10). But man needs more than bread
to eat and raiment to put on; like the Master, the servant has meat
to eat of which the world knows not (Ps. iv. 6, 7, liii. 5, 6). He
has growing light, increasing life, fuller assurance, and fresh
Ebenezers from day to day.
6. It is _a hopeful life._ "Thine eyes shall see the King in His
beauty." There is a blessed beginning of the fulfilment of this
promise now (John xiv. 21-23; H. E. I. 974, 975). "They shall behold
the land that is very far off." To Christ's friends things to come
are revealed by the Holy Ghost. They see Jesus, already crowned with
glory and honour, and fairer than the sons of men. Like the
patriarchs, they see the city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God. Like Moses, they gaze the landscape over and gird
their loins; they take courage and press on (H. E. I. 2771-2779).
Such a life leads to a blessed death. The two go together. We cannot
have the one without the other. Balaam thought he could, but it was
in vain. Such a life prepares for a happy meeting with the Lord, if
He should come while we are still present on the earth (Matt.
xxiv. 46).--_John Milne: Gatherings from a Ministry,_ pp. 325-331.
THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD.
xxxiii. 16. _He shall dwell on high: his place of defence
shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him,
his water shall be sure._
This is part of the answer to the question proposed in ver. 14. The
overthrow of Asshur has been predicted; but the judgment of Asshur is
a lesson for Israel as well as for the heathens. For the sinners in
Jerusalem, there is no abiding in the presence of the Almighty. They
must repent. "God is a consuming fire." His furnace was in Jerusalem.
Therefore they inquire, "Who among us can dwell with everlasting
burnings?"
The prophet answers their question in ver. 15. It is the description
of a God-fearing man from the Old Testament point of view. Because of
the predominating religion of his heart, he avoids the sins of his
times. A Christian, in like manner, renounces sin, and, so far as the
world's principles and practices are sinful, sets himself against the
world. Instead of being afraid of the Divine anger, as sinners and
hypocrites are, he dwells in blessed security, with God for his
Friend (ver. 16). Three things distinguish him from the unbelieving
world: elevation, provision, and security.
I. ELEVATION. "He shall dwell on high." Leaving out of view the
temporal advantages that sometimes accrue from true religion as being
only incidental, let us look at the elevation it secures with regard
to--1. _Thought._ Christianity directs the mind to the most elevated
themes, fosters the habit of thought upon them, and through them
refines and elevates the mind itself. When a man is converted he
generally becomes interested in topics beyond the requirements of
daily life. Mind is awakened. Mental activity is required. In any
number of uneducated men, some Christians and some not, the Christian
section will probably be the more intelligent and thoughtful. If an
educated man is converted, the influence is equally marked. His
previous attainments remain, and his mind receives a new impetus from
the world of spiritual thought now discovered. He thinks of God,
Christ, redemption, holy influences on men from on high, the
invisible, heaven, eternity. The mind cannot fail to be uplifted by
contact with such themes as these. 2. _Character._ Doubtless much
excellence exists among men apart for personal religion. The civil,
social, and commercial virtues are often exemplified by men who make
no pretension to religion. Even in these respects the best man
without it would be better with it. But we must rise higher. Men
never rise above their ideal. The ideal of a man without religion
does not rise above his obligations to man; but the ideal of a man in
Christ is to be like Christ. It comprehends all dispositions,
sympathies, duties that either look Godward or manward. It is not yet
realised; but the entertaining and striving towards it will lift him
to a loftier moral attitude than if his ideal were lower; when all
allowance has been made for human imperfection, it remains true that
the Christian is, "the highest style of man." 3. _Relationship._
Believers are closely connected with Christ, their Saviour, their
Head, their Elder Brother. They are "united to Him," "in Him." Terms
are employed that give the idea, not, indeed, of personal identity,
but of such close relationship that whatever concerns Him concerns
them, and whatever glorification He attains they are to share.
Through Him they are "the children of God," and heirs of the
celestial inheritance. Is it possible for relationship to be loftier?
4. _Companionship._ The man is known by his chosen associates. The
young man that keeps low company makes it plain that his tastes are
low. Fine natures can only enjoy congenial society. When a man
becomes a Christian, he seeks the society of Christians. And not only
are his human companionships superior to those he previously courted,
he enjoys a Divine companionship which is the supremest dignity. "Our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." Is it
not dwelling "on high" to have free access at all times to the King
of kings? 5. _Influence._ God has made us kings of men. The time is
coming when the principles we hold shall, by our means, pervade the
mass of humanity. Already, in a thousand quiet ways, in families, in
schools, in churches, in populations, the influence of individual
Christian men is felt to be good and gracious as far as it extends.
Christian fathers and mothers will live in the recollection of their
children and their children's children when the memory of the wicked
shall rot (H. E. I. 1089-1095). 6. _Destiny._ He is to be crowned and
enthroned in the abiding glory. "He shall dwell on high" (H. E. I.
1073-1076, 1106, 1112-1119).
II. PROVISION. "Bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure."
His wants shall be supplied in his elevation. All necessary temporal
supplies and spiritual provision. Christ the bread of life.
III. SECURITY. "His place of defence shall be the munitions of
rocks." There is an enemy who would gladly attack and overcome him;
but he has retired to a place of perfect safety. Inaccessible to the
adversary. Will endeavour to dislodge you by various means; such as:
1. _Temptation,_ which assumes many forms. Grows out of everything.
Keep before you the lofty ideal; constant effort, watchfulness,
government of thought and desires, Divine aid. 2. _Trouble._ It
becomes temptation. It tries faith. Cry to God. 3. _Death._ It is the
last enemy. Christ, our defence, will triumph.
What a privilege to be a Christian! For what would you exchange it?
Not the world's sins, pleasures, possessions.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE PROSPECT OF THE GODLY.
xxxiii. 17. _Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall
behold the land that is very far off._
The literal application of this prophecy is generally supposed to
have reference to the deliverance of the Jews from the Assyrian army.
They would then have the joy of seeing Hezekiah in his goodly
apparel, and, freed from the presence of the invader, would be left
at liberty to enjoy their own pleasant and goodly land. The
deliverance was accomplished (2 Chron. xxxii. 21). But there is
another application of the text--to the beatific vision of the King
of kings in the heavenly land. Let us then consider--
I. THE GLORIOUS PROSPECT BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF GOD. "Thine eyes,"
&c. The prospect respects--1. _The vision of Christ._ Christ is king.
Of Him Melchisedec, David, and Solomon were types (Ps. ii. 6, &c.;
John xviii. 36; Heb. ii. 9; Rev. i. 5; 1 Tim. vi. 10). Patriarchs and
prophets saw Him in human form. The Jews saw Him in His humiliation,
as "a man of sorrows," &c. The apostles and disciples saw Him in His
risen glory. John saw Him in the vision of Patmos (Rev. i. 13, &c.).
Hereafter all His people shall see Him "in His beauty," in all His
regal splendour and magnificence. They shall see Him clearly, fully,
eternally. 2. _The vision of heaven._ "The land," &c. Of heaven
Canaan was a type. It was a land of beauty and abundance; of freedom,
after the slavery of Egypt; of triumph, after warfare; of rest, after
the toils of the desert. Its crowning distinction was the Temple,
which God filled with His presence and glory. But heaven is all
temple.
II. THE CERTAINTY OF ITS REALISATION. "Thine eyes _shall,_" &c.
1. _This was contemplated by Christ in our redemption._ He designed
our emancipation from the dominion of sin, our deliverance from this
present evil world, and also our elevation to His glorious kingdom
(Heb. ii. 10; John xvii. 24). 2. _This is repeatedly the subject of
the Divine promises_ (Luke xxii. 29, xii. 32; John xiv. 2, 3, &c.).
3. _To this tends the work of grace in all its influence on the
soul._ See what our calling is (1 Pet. v. 10); to what we are
begotten (1 Pet. i. 3, 4); why we are sanctified (Rev. iii. 4). 4. _A
goodly number are now enjoying the fulfilment of these promises_
(Rev. vii. 9, 14). 5. _The glory and joy of Christ would not be
complete without the eternal salvation of His people_ (Isa. liii. 11).
III. THE PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR ITS ENJOYMENT. Nothing is
necessary in the way of merit, price, or self-righteousness. But if
we would see the King, _we must make Him the object of our believing,
affectionate regard now._ If we would see "the land," &c., _we must
seek and labour for its attainment_ (Heb. xi. 16, iv. 10).--_Jabez
Burns, D.D.: Pulpit Cyclopædia,_ vol. ii. pp. 154-157).
THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST'S CHARACTER.
xxxiii. 17. _Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty._
There is a difference between the worthiness and the beauty
of a character. A poetic beauty adorns the worth of
Christ's character.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE SUPREMELY BEAUTIFUL CHARACTER OF CHRIST?
+I. Sensibility.+ This is a word to be preferred to sensitiveness,
for it includes sensitiveness; it has the passive quality of
sensitiveness with activity of soul in addition exercised upon the
impressions received. The more perfect the manhood, the more perfect
is this sensibility. The total absence of it is the essence of
vulgarity. The presence of it in its several degrees endows its
possessor, according to the proportion of it, with what Chaucer meant
by "gentilness." 1. It does not seem wrong to say that there was in
Christ the _sensibility to natural beauty._ He also, like us, wished
and sought that Nature should send "its own deep quiet to restore His
heart." We find His common teaching employed about the vineyard and
the wandering sheep, the whitening corn and the living well, the
summer rain and the wintry flood and storm. 2. Still higher in Him
was an intense _sensibility to human feeling._ He saw Nathaniel
coming to Him, and in a moment frankly granted the meed of praise
(John i. 47); when the malefactor on the cross appealed to Him,
Christ saw at once that the fountain of a noble life had begun to
flow (Luke xxiii. 43). It was the same with bodies of men as with
men; He wove into one instrument of work the various characters of
the Apostles; day by day He held together vast multitudes by feeling
their hearts within His own; He shamed and confuted His enemies by an
instinct of their objections and their whispers; men, women, and
children ran to Him, as a child to its mother.
_How did the sensibility of Christ become active?_--1. _As sympathy
with Nature._ There are many who never employ either intellect or
imagination on the impressions which they receive. Remaining passive,
they only permit the tide of the world's beauty to flow in and out of
their mind; they do nothing with it. In Wordsworth, each feeling took
form as a poem. As Christ walked silently along, He lifted up His
eyes and saw the fields whitening already to harvest; and immediately
He seized on the impression and expressed it in words. It marks a
beautiful character to be so rapidly and delicately impressed; but
the beauty becomes vital beauty when, through sympathy with and love
of what is felt, one becomes himself creative of new thought.
Sometimes such sympathy is shown _through the imagination,_ as when
Christ, seeing the cornfield by the shore of the lake while He was
teaching, looked on the whole career of the field, and combined
impressions taken up by the imagination into the Parable of the
Sower. Sensibility becoming sympathy is _discriminating._ Praise
without distinctiveness is wearisome. We find perfect discrimination
in the illustrations Christ drew from Nature. How exquisite the
passage beginning, "Consider the lilies!" This distinctiveness
appears still more in the choice of places for certain moods of
mind,--the temptation in the wilderness, the hill-side for prayer. In
all this, Christ recognises natural religion as His own, and bids us
believe in its beauty, and add it to the spiritual. 2. _As sympathy
with human feeling._ Examples on this are numerous. His tenderness
stayed Him on the wayside to satisfy the mother's heart and bless the
children; touched by the widow's weeping, He gave her back her son.
"Jesus wept" even at the moment when He was about to give back the
lost, because those He loved were weeping. How discriminating the
sympathy which gave to Martha and Mary their several meed of praise!
How unspeakably beautiful the words, "Woman, behold thy son!" Friend,
"behold thy mother!"
This, then, is loveliness of character.
Remember, we have no right to boast of our sensibility to the
feelings of others; nay, it is hateful in us till we lift it into the
beauty of sympathising action. Remember, too, its wise
discrimination. Christ, while feeling with all the world, sanctified
distinctiveness in friendship and love.
+II. Simplicity.+ Milton tells us that poetry must be "simple." The
beautiful character must also possess this quality. But by simplicity
is not meant here the simplicity of Christ's teaching. What is meant
is the quality in His character which corresponds to that which we
call simplicity in poetry; and that which is simplicity in art is
_purity_ in a perfect character. The beauty of Christ's purity was
first in this, that those who saw it saw in it the glory of moral
victory. His purity was not the beauty of innocence in a child; it
was purity which had been subject to the storm, which had known evil
and overcome it. And from this purity, so tried and victorious, arose
two other elements of moral beauty--_perfect justice_ and _perfect
mercy._ Innocence cannot be just, nor is the untempted saint fit to
judge; but Christ is able to be just and yet merciful, because He is
entirely pure.
+III. Passion,+ defined as the power of intense feeling capable of
perfect expression. Milton tells us that poetry must be "passionate."
We may transfer it directly to character as an element of beauty. It
was intense feeling of the weakness and sin of man, and intense joy
in His Father's power to redeem, that produced the story of the
"Prodigal Son." "Come unto Me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden;
and I will give you rest." How that goes home! How deep the passion
which generalised that want into a single sentence! It is a beauty of
character, whether seen in words or action, which passes into and
assumes the diadem of sublimity. Christ's words to the Pharisees have
all the marks of indignation and none of the marks of anger. Passion
and energy limited by temperance imply _repose of character._
Activity in repose, calm in the heart of passion, these things are of
the essence of beauty. And in Him in whom we have found the King in
His beauty, this peacefulness was profound. This is the final touch
of beauty, which gathers into itself and harmonises all the others,
and hence no words are so beautiful as those in which Christ bestows
it as His dying legacy on men, "Peace I leave with you," and repeats
it as His resurrection gift, "Peace be unto you." All moral and
spiritual loveliness lies in knowing what He meant when He said,
"Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest."--_Rev. Stopford A.
Brooks, M.A.: Christ in Modern Life_ (_Three Sermons,_ pp. 89-131).
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
xxxiii. 20. _Look upon Zion, &c._
It is probable that when this prophecy was delivered the city of
Jerusalem was threatened with an immediate siege; but Jehovah engages
to defend it from the attacks of its enemies, the Assyrians, and to
render it at once quiet and secure. But yet the text appears to have
a direct reference to the privileges and stability of the Gospel
Church, for Jerusalem, after this period, was never long preserved
from hostile invasions; therefore our attention is turned from it to
that glorious city against which the gates of hell shall never
prevail. (See THE DUTY OF GLADNESS, pp. 228, 229.)
I. The Church of Christ is "the city of our solemnities." Jerusalem
was thus described because of the solemn assemblies that were there
held, the solemn feasts that were there celebrated, and the solemn
sacrifices that were there offered. And it is in the Church that
individual believers come together, and unite in the enjoyment of
Divine grace, and in the presentation of "sacrifices" with which "God
is well pleased" (Heb. xiii. 15, 16).[1]
II. The Church of Christ is "a quiet habitation."[2] All genuine
believers dwell in it, and peace is at once the bequest of Christ
(John xiv. 27) and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. v. 22).
III. The Church of Christ is "a tabernacle that shall not be taken
down." "A tabernacle" in contrast with the superior glories of the
New Jerusalem in heaven. A tabernacle, because it may often change
its place, as in fact it has already done. But it shall never be
"taken down" in the sense of being destroyed (H. E. I. 1246-1251).
IV. Such a contemplation of Zion as our text calls for will
awaken--1. In _angels_ complacency and delight; 2. In _sinners_
astonishment at its wondrous preservation, in spite of all their
efforts to destroy it, and desire to share in its privileges; and
3. In _Christians_ wonder, love, and praise.--_Thomas Spencer:
Twenty-one Sermons,_ pp. 196-206.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As the earth's loftiest peaks rise not in their snows on
some isolated hill that stands like a lonely pyramid on a
level plain, but where the mountains, as in the Alps, or
Andes, or Himalayan range, are grouped and massed together,
so the saint's most heavenly happiness is not attained in
solitude, nor even amid domestic scenes, but where
religious life exists in its social character.--_Guthrie._
[2] See THE PEACEFUL HABITATION, chap. xxxii. 18, page 368.
ENRICHING RIVERS.
xxxiii. 21. _But there the glorious Lord shall be unto us a
place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no
galley with any oars, neither shall gallant ship pass
thereby._
The prophet here speaks for the encouragement of God's Church; and he
appears to overstep the boundaries of time, and gives a glimpse of
the blessedness and safety of the Church triumphant. In our
interpretation let us take a large view, and refer, as the course of
thought may require, both to the Church militant and the Church
triumphant. And let it be deeply impressed on the mind that the
promises of God can be realised only by those who belong to the true
Israel.
I. THE ATTRACTIVE TITLE PROCLAIMED. "The glorious Lord." God is
glorious in His own perfections, and as the source of all the glory
and beauty in this and every other world. Our knowledge of God is
gathered from His manifestations in _nature_ and _revelation._ How
resplendent in glory is the Being thus revealed to us! Especially we
may say, with immediate reference to our subject, He is glorious in
the vastness of His resources. In the summer the streams of the Holy
Land were either entirely dried up, and converted into hot lanes of
glaring sands, or reduced to narrow streamlets. But no summer's heat
can dry up the broad streams of Divine love and mercy. God is
glorious in the abundant nature of His supplies, and in His
willingness to make ample provision for His Church.
II. THE BLESSED COMPARISON INSTITUTED. "The glorious Lord shall be
unto us a place of broad rivers and streams." That is, all that such
rivers and streams are to a country, God would be to His people.
1. _Broad rivers and streams give beauty to the landscape._ All
beauty is from God, and it is a revelation of Him; but especially is
it true that He is the source of all the moral beauty of His people.
2. _Broad rivers give fertility and prosperity._ In such a highly
cultivated country as England, where great droughts are unknown, we
have no opportunity of properly observing the fertilising influence
of a broad river. But remember what the Nile is to Egypt. So does God
enrich and fertilise the soul, causing it to bring forth "the fruits
of righteousness." 3. _Broad rivers afford protection._ Babylon had
its Euphrates, which was a source of power. "Hundred-gated Thebes,"
celebrated by Homer, also had its river. Almost all great modern
cities are built upon the banks of rivers. But Jerusalem had no great
river running through it. In fact, it was badly supplied with water.
Large cisterns were constructed in which to catch and preserve the
rain that came down plentifully in its season. The prophet makes use
of this fact for the encouragement of the Church. The glorious Lord
will be unto it as broad rivers and streams. He is the sure defence
of His people.
III. THE DISTINCTIVE MARK OF DIVINE BLESSINGS HERE SYMBOLISED.
"Wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship
pass thereby." Earthly blessings have attendant evils; heavenly
blessings alone are pure and perfect. Rivers may prove a source of
weakness as well as strength to a nation.[1] But along the broad
rivers of Divine blessing no foe shall advance to assail God's
people. The presence of God at once confers blessings and averts
evils.--_W. Burrows, B.A._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Rivers are highly important as the outlets and inlets of
commercial enterprise; but the merchant ship, though richly
laden, may carry the seeds of physical and moral disease,
and inflict untold injury. Rivers give security to the
cities built on their banks, but they may also prove the
means of destruction. Cyrus made use of the Euphrates when
besieging Babylon, and thus captured the city. The strength
of Babylon became its weakness. The same river that bears
on its tidal waves the merchant ship laden with the
precious produce of distant lands may also bring the
war-ship laden with the instruments of destruction and
death. But the city of our solemnities is secure. No
mischief can come to us along the broad river of Almighty
grace.--_Burrows._
[See also outlines, _Rivers of Waters,_ xxx. 25, 26, and
_Rivers of Water in a Dry Place,_ xxxii. 2.]
A CONTROLLING FACT.
xxxiii. 22. _The Lord is our Judge._
An immense step has been taken in the moral development of any one
who has been led to say this with the understanding, with a vivid
perception of the truth of this declaration.
+I. It is a fact that God is our Judge.+ The Bible teaches
us--1. That God is continually present with us, intimately acquainted
with our real characters, the witness of all our actions, words, and
thoughts (Prov. v. 21, xv. 3; Job xxxi. 4; Ps. xi. 4, cxxi. 1-7).
Thus He is qualified for being in an eminent sense our judge. 2. That
the God who is perfectly acquainted with all our dispositions and
actions cannot behold any one of them with indifference. He observes
them on purpose to estimate their real nature; He necessarily
approves or disapproves of them. It is this that renders His
knowledge of them important. He not only is pure from all moral evil,
but He holds it in abomination; He not only is perfect in all moral
goodness, but He loves goodness (Hab. i. 12, 13; Jer. ix. 24; Ps.
v. 4-6, xi. 7, xxxvii. 23). 3. That this omniscient and holy God is
our proper and righteous Governor. This brings His approbation and
disapprobation home to us; it implies that they will be attended with
the weightiest consequences. All that men can do often is merely to
esteem or to blame us. If they have authority over us, or are able to
promote or obstruct our interest, their opinion of our character
assumes a new importance (Prov. xix. 12). Honour or dishonour in the
eye of the All-perfect Being is for its own sake deeply affecting to
every ingenuous mind; but to the soul of every man not dead to
thought it must, on account of its inevitable and infinite
consequence, appear of infinite importance. God is the Sovereign and
the moral Governor of mankind, and His approbation will be followed
by a great reward, His disapprobation by a dreadful punishment (Ps.
xlvii. 2, 8; Jer. xvii. 10; Eccl. iii. 17, xii. 14). Our conscience
testifies that this should be the case. And our redemption by Jesus
Christ, which displays the marvellous grace and compassion of God,
displays at the same time, in the most striking manner, the
inevitable sanctity of His government of mankind. While it provides
for the pardon of sin, the blood of Christ, shed for the expiation of
sin, testifies how odious, how deserving of punishment it is in the
sight of God. While it secures mercy to the penitent, it seals the
condemnation and the misery of every sinner.
+II. A recognition of the fact that God is our Judge will necessarily
exert a controlling influence upon us.+ We are greatly influenced by
the judgment passed upon our character and conduct by our fellow-men,
especially if they are discerning and virtuous, and still more if
their good or bad opinion is likely to be of advantage or
disadvantage to us. What, then, must be the effect upon any man who
really wakes up to the fact that we are under the scrutiny of One who
alone can justly estimate our character, and whose estimation of it
is of infinite importance to us! To be approved and beloved, or to be
disapproved and hated by the Ruler of the universe! It is in one of
these conditions that each of us stands to-day. Disapprobation from
God is the extremity of disgrace and misery; approbation of Him is
the summit of honour and happiness: the former is the natural object
of fear, sorrow, and shame, exciting to circumspect avoidance of it;
the latter of ardent desire, elevating hope, and rapturous joy,
conspiring to animate us in eager pursuit of it.
1. The unpardoned man cannot remember that "the Lord is our Judge"
without _fear._ Thoughts of His nearness, His omniscience, His
omnipotence, and His hatred of all sin fill him with alarm. Along
with this fear there springs up within him _sorrow._ The sinner who
has become conscious of the discriminating eye of perfect sanctity
marking all his paths, mourns for his sins and is troubled. His
spirit is broken, his heart is contrite. He sorrows to repentance
(2 Cor. vii. 9). To the sorrow is added _shame._ Whatever brings a
stain upon our character in the estimation of our fellow-men
naturally produces shame and humiliation. To be detected in what is
base confounds most men, even though no further inconvenience is
apprehended. To be lost to shame is the last sign of degeneracy; but
to deserve blame from God is the deepest ignominy; it must cover with
confusion every man who has any sense of God (Dan. ix. 8; Luke
xviii. 13).
2. The fear, sorrow, and humiliation which arise in sinful men
immediately they remember the holy government which God exercises
over them continually, influence those also who are conscious that
for Christ's sake He has forgiven them. They cause them to proceed
through life with unremitted caution; to exercise steady care in
avoiding every transgression and every omission displeasing to God.
They constrain them to walk humbly with Him, and produce in them that
modesty, diffidence, lowliness, and sober-mindedness which adorn
their character. But these are not the only results of their constant
remembrance that "the Lord is our Judge." (1.) Recognising that His
approbation is the sublimest honour, they are inspired with an ardent
desire to secure it. That desire gives a direction to their whole
conduct (Ps. iv. 6; Col. i. 10; 2 Cor. v. 9). (2.) Conscious that,
through Christ, they are the happy objects of God's favour, the hope
of its continuance throughout eternity produces within them a
triumphant joy (Rom. viii. 16, 17; Prov. x. 28). The all-penetrating
eye of God, so terrible to the sinner, is become to the man who feels
himself approved in His sight the encouraging, the exhilarating eye
of his Father and Friend. This renders duty delightful, comforts in
sorrow, takes away all fear in death.
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.--1. A remembrance that "the Lord is our
Judge" will deliver us from bondage to the opinions of our
fellow-men. While naturally desirous of their approval, every corrupt
fashion presuming to authorise what God disapproves or to explode
what He approves will be counted but the silly caprice of fools. If
every sensible man prefers the esteem of a few able judges to the
applauses of an ignorant multitude, he must be as destitute of good
sense as of religion who can hesitate in preferring honour from God
to the good opinion of the whole universe. 2. All the present
pleasures and advantages which sin can offer will be unable to seduce
the man who preserves a lively sense of the Heavenly Judge, for they
bear no proportion either to the happiness which accompanies His
approbation, or to the misery which arises from His wrath (Matt.
xvi. 26, 27). All the losses, troubles, and perils to which virtue
can expose him will not have power to terrify him from the love and
practice of it (Rom. viii. 18). Conscious that he is observed by God,
animated by the sense of his acting his part before so august a
Presence, he will exert all the powers of his soul to act it well. In
the exertion he will feel a noble expansion of heart, and triumph in
the hope of being approved and rewarded, and his hope shall not be
disappointed, for its largest promises shall be surpassed by the
greatness of his reward.--_Alexander Gerard, D.D.: Sermons,_ vol. ii.
pp. 239-274.
THE ATONEMENT; OR, SALVATION CONSISTENT WITH
THE REGAL AND JUDICIAL CHARACTER OF GOD.[1]
xxxiii. 22. _For the Lord is our Judge; the Lord is our
Lawgiver, &c._
There are here two propositions, the one affirming that Jehovah
sustains a certain relationship to us, the other declaring that in
that relationship, and therefore in a manner perfectly consistent
with it, He will save us. The same thing substantially is repeatedly
asserted in the Scriptures. The very prophet in whose writings these
words occur elsewhere speaks thus in God's name: "There is no God
else beside me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside"
(xlv. 21); "I bring near my righteousness, my salvation shall not
tarry" (xlvi. 13); "My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone
forth" (li. 5). All this has been translated into New Testament
language in that remarkable utterance of Paul's, "Christ Jesus, whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,
to declare His righteousness, that He might be just, and the
justifier of him who believeth in Jesus" (Rom. iii. 25, 26).
Let us endeavour to unfold the harmony of salvation with the law, the
justice, and the royalty of God.
+I. Let us look at the relationship indicated by the three terms
Judge, Lawgiver, and King.+ We say relationship, for although the
words are three, the thing is substantially one, each term giving us
only a modification of the same idea. The judge is the king on the
bench, the lawgiver is the king writing the statute-book, and the
king is the judge and lawgiver on the throne of government. The three
things so run into each other that it is difficult to keep them
distinct, each of the three terms brings before us one distinct
phasis of the governmental relationship which God sustains towards
us. The judge is set to see that the guilty shall not escape, and
that the innocent shall not be punished; the lawgiver has to secure
that the majesty of the law is upheld, and its authority recognised;
and the king has to take care that the best interests of his subjects
as a whole are not interfered with but advanced. Now it is here
affirmed that Jehovah stands to us in this threefold relation, and
that as a judge He saves us criminals, as a lawgiver He forgives us
law-breakers, as a king He pardons us rebels.
We are not denying that God is willing and anxious to show Himself as
a _father,_ even to sinners. Our affirmation is, that _now,_ when man
has sinned, if God is to be to him precisely as He was before, if the
liberty of God's Son is to be enjoyed by him, then some means must be
taken to secure that in all this no dishonour shall be put upon the
law of God, no blot be made upon His judicial character, and no peril
result to His throne or the interests of His holy subjects.
+II. The means by which God the Judge, Lawgiver, and King saves man.+
If we take the Scriptures for our guide, the answer will not be
difficult to discover, for we are there uniformly taught that God
seeks to save us through a substitute. At first this principle was
revealed through animal sacrifices, then through the more definite
offerings of the Mosaic institute, and then through the still more
definite teachings of the inspired prophets. The high priest laid his
hand upon the head of his victim, confessed over it all his
iniquities and all the sins of all the people, and it was to bear
their iniquity. But in the remarkable oracle contained in Isaiah
liii. the very same phraseology is used in reference to the expected
Messiah; for we are there told that God "hath laid upon Him the
iniquity of us all," that "He was wounded for our transgressions, and
bruised for our iniquities," and that "He shall bear our iniquities."
To this corresponds the language of the New Testament; for when John
the Baptist pointed out the Messiah, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh (beareth) away the sins of the world;" and Jesus Himself
declared that "the Son of man came to give His life a ransom for
many," and that "the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
And in perfect harmony with all this are the utterances of the
Apostles. It seems perfectly clear that the principle of substitution
is the very thread round which all the other declarations of the
Scripture crystallise. The Bible, from its beginning to its close, is
"dipped in blood;" the atoning death of Christ is the foundation on
which its whole system rests, and if that be rejected, the whole book
must go with it as a dead and worthless thing.
+III. Is this arrangement in harmony with the regal and judicial
character of God?+ Gathering up the scattered statements of the Word
of God into one systematic treatment of this subject, it seems clear
that the following things need to be secured in order that
substitution may harmonise with and subserve the ends of
justice:--1. _That the substitute shall be himself free from all
taint of sin, and be a voluntary victim._ Christ was "holy, harmless,
undefiled, and separate from sinners" as He was God-Man, and did not
need to put Himself under the law except He had chosen to be the
sinner's friend. He is thus qualified to be our substitute. And there
was no compulsion. "Lo, I come! I delight to do Thy will, O my God."
2. _That the sacrifice he offers be of such value as to preserve the
majesty of the law, and cover the case of those for whom it was
designed._ The sacrifice offered must be something which the person
making it can call his own property; and it must be something which
is in itself adequate to the end contemplated. This is precisely what
we have in the case of Christ. He could say His life was His own, for
He was God as well as man. Again, it was such a sacrifice as met the
case, for it was offered in the person of a Divine Man. As God-man,
He infinitely transcends all other men, and therefore, when standing
as a substitute, His personal dignity and worth give infinite value
to His substitution. 3. _That the persons set free thereby should be
so changed in character that their after conduct shall not in any way
interfere with or interrupt the happiness of God's other holy
children and subjects._ This is secured in connection with Christ's
work; for when, by the eye of faith, the love of Jesus is seen as
manifested on the cross, its power is such that it constrains the
sinner to live to Him who loved him and gave Himself for him. The
criminal who is pardoned through faith in the substitution of Christ
is also reformed, and no detriment results from his deliverance to
the other citizens of Jehovah's empire. 4. _That the substitute
himself have such compensation given him, that in the end he shall
not lose, but rather gain, through the sacrifice He has made._ Even
although a substitute should willingly offer himself, it would be
injustice to allow him to suffer if no adequate return could be made
for it. Christ received as the reward of His sufferings that which is
by Himself admitted and declared to be a thoroughly satisfactory
recompense for the sacrifice he made. As He sees of the travail of
His soul, He is satisfied. 5. _That the substitute be accepted by
both parties._ That He is accepted by God is evident from the
resurrection of Christ from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; and He becomes accepted by the
sinner when he believes in Jesus. Christ is not my substitute until I
accept Him as such.
Two remarks in conclusion:--1. It follows that Jesus Christ is an
all-sufficient Saviour. His work is such that any sinner choosing to
avail himself of it may be saved through it. 2. It also follows that
Jesus Christ is the only Saviour; for if these requirements needed to
be satisfied, who is there that can meet them but Himself?--_W. M.
Taylor, D.D.: Life Truths,_ pp. 1-20.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See H. E. I., 374-399.
THE DISABLED SHIP.
(_A Sermon to Seamen._)
xxxiii. 23. _Thy tacklings are loosed, &c._
Seas, rivers, and ships have for ages afforded the world the mainstay
of commerce. Not only so; the imagery of many of our best books would
have been very much the poorer had not visions and dreams of the sea
been present to the writers. Isaiah makes good use of these. In ver.
21 he says, "The glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad
rivers and streams," &c. Jerusalem was badly off, compared with
Babylon and other cities, in that it had neither sea nor river, but
only a small rivulet. Large and deep rivers near great towns have
their advantages and disadvantages in time of war. The prophet here
says that God would be to Jerusalem a place of broad rivers and
streams, wherein no ship of war should be allowed to approach to
injure His people. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put
confidence in seas or war-ships. (ver. 22).
Jerusalem, at the time, was in danger from a great power, and in the
text that power, Assyria, is compared to a ship whose "tacklings are
loosed," &c. A sad plight surely for a ship to be in! But not only
great powers like Assyria are, in reality, in a bad way, as abettors
of wickedness, but individuals also, like the disabled vessel spoken
of by the prophet; for, 1. _A wicked man is like a ship whose
tacklings are loosed._ The tackle of a ship is of immense service in
many ways; but a ship whose tackle has got loosed from her masts is
not fit for a voyage. No seaman would dream of sailing in such a
ship. Every rope must be in its right place and securely fixed. But
how many men are out on the voyage of life, with the gear of mind and
heart all loose! In fine weather, even, they make no real headway; in
storms they are in peril of being cast away. They are at the mercy of
every wind that blows; for, 2. _A wicked man is like a ship whose
masts will not stand upright._ The tackle of a ship is of service in
strengthening its masts. But men are out voyaging on the sea of life:
they would fain stand upright, but they cannot; for their thoughts
and feelings are not made use of to sustain them in an upright life;
they sway under the blast; the crash of ruin is always impending.
3. _A wicked man is like a ship without sails._ On a mast,
unstrengthened by good tackle, it is worse than useless to attempt to
spread a sail. But without sails to catch the heaven-sent breezes,
how shall the distant haven be reached? Even men of some moral
ballast are at best like poor toilers at the oars. The port is a long
way off, and they need sails--wings filled with spiritual
energies--to carry them onward over miles of sea day by day. 4. _A
wicked man is like a dismantled ship which plunderers attack._ "Then
is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey." How
poor sailors are plundered by the weakest of mankind and womankind!
CONCLUSION.--Sin, iniquity, that is _in-equity,_ is at the root of
the godless man's loose thoughts and passions, tottering steps and
wingless spirit. The ship wants a thorough overhauling; nay, it wants
remaking (John iii. 3).
We should be homeward-bound for the kingdom of God; but it is vain to
dream of reaching port as an unseaworthy vessel.--_J. Macrae Simcock._
NO SICKNESS THERE.
xxxiii. 24. _And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick._
In a besieged city, from watching, anxiety, and scarcity of food,
there is usually considerable sickness. When an epidemic disease is
prevalent, sickness becomes the general experience. There is in any
large population always a considerable amount of sickness, more or
less serious. Nor is it confined to the city. In the country it is
much the same. At the best it is only somewhat less. Medical men are
everywhere required. Sanitary arrangements, temperate habits, and
medical skill may diminish the extent and alleviate the severity of
sickness, but they cannot uproot it. When, therefore, we read of a
city in which there shall be no sickness, our thoughts turn from
earth to heaven. The text is a beautifully poetic representation of
the termination of the conscious weakness that rested on Jerusalem
while the Assyrian army lay before it. But there is a sense in which
the words may be literally understood. We believe in "the holy city,
the new Jerusalem." Let us meditate on that new condition of our life.
+I. Sickness is weakness.+ We give the name to all states of the body
other than sound and perfect health. How numerous! Our condition here
is one of constant liability to it. At every period of life we are
exposed to it. It may be borne to us by the air we breathe; taken
with the food we eat and the water we drink; received by contact with
our fellows; lurk secretly in some part of our body unsuspected;
develop itself from the slight cold, the result of carelessness, or
in spite of the utmost thoughtfulness; it may attack the youth as
well as the old man, those who boast the fulness of their strength as
well as those who know themselves to be less firmly built. But it
always supposes weakness. Under the name of weakness it holds its
victim with a firm grasp. While he persuades himself that he has
conquered, it secretly spreads through every vein, and eventually
lays him prostrate. The strongest man becomes powerless when sickness
holds him in its grasp. As he is too weak to throw off the weakness,
he is too weak to perform the tasks which at other times he performs
with perfect ease. The student, the mechanic, the merchant. Visit
some sick-bed and your confidence of perpetual strength will depart.
Sickness is humiliating because it is weakening. It is often attended
with pain. Pain increases weakness. In the grasp of pain the sufferer
may be held for days, with no power of resistance, no prospect of
relief.
Have you not sometimes thought what a contrast it would be if you
could be entirely free from sickness and from liability to it? We may
indulge the thought. That will be the condition of the resurrection
body in the celestial city. It will be fashioned like to the body of
Christ's glory (1 Cor. xv. 42-44). As Christ on the cross endured the
last sickness and pain He was ever to know, so shall all His
followers rise, as He did, to a life from which sickness and pain are
for ever excluded. Are you one with Him? Then in pain, weariness,
languor, sickness, let all impatience be subdued as you remember that
it is only a little longer. "Neither shall there be any more pain."
+II. Sickness is sorrow.+ Sorrow because of lost time and business,
fear that the end of life is near, the leaving behind not only all
pleasant earthly things and persons, but especially those dependent
on the patient's life, to whom his loss may be ruin. Not to the
patient only is it a time of sorrow. Enter the house. All is gloom.
Rooms darkened. The family tread softly and speak under their breath,
as if every sound would not only disturb the sufferer, but be out of
harmony with their own feelings. It is the little one that has come
home sick from school (2 Kings iv. 19). His mother takes him on her
knee. Soon she perceives the signs of one of the sicknesses that are
the terror of childhood. Medical aid is procured. The sickness
deepens. Every one watches with aching heart, for the child is a
universal favourite. And if he is taken, oh, what distress! Or it is
the young man who has grown to maturity. He is active in business.
His father, under the burden of advancing years, is gradually
devolving responsibility on him, that he may himself enjoy a few
years' rest after a life of hard and anxious work. But sickness
comes. It passes by those you would expect it to strike. It singles
out the young and strong. Gradually that fine young man wastes away.
Day and night the mother, whose advancing years and infirmities
demand the attention, watches over him with a breaking heart. All is
done that strong affection can inspire. It is vain. Oh! what sorrow
through these months! And when the end comes, what tongue can
describe the agony?
We wonder if it will ever cease to be true that "man was made to
mourn." Thank God we can entertain the prospect of the complete
cessation of sorrow. "Neither sorrow." "Sorrow and sighing shall flee
away." "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." For "the
inhabitant shall not say, I am sick."
+III. Sickness is the prelude to death.+ It usually precedes. Any
sickness may end in it. Death changes everything; the body different;
the soul different. But there shall be no more death. There will be
the perpetuated life of paradise regained; for there will be the tree
of life; there will be the resurrection body (1 Cor. xv. 53, 54).
+IV. Sickness, sorrow, and death are the fruit of sin.+ Does not
Scripture thus trace them? There was no sickness before sin. Sin was
the seed. The heavenly city is free from sin. There is perfect
holiness. It is the completion of the redeeming work of Christ from
sin, sorrow, death. The seed which bears sickness is taken out of the
soil.
Shall we dwell in that city of immortal health? Are we travelling
towards it? If not, we cannot reach it. Jesus is the way. Come to Him
(Rev. xxi. 27). It is a prepared place for a prepared people.--_J.
Rawlinson._
RECOVERY FROM SICKNESS.
(_Sermon to the Young._)
xxxiii. 24. _And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick._
Our sun-dial is not that of Hezekiah: its shadow has no backward
movement; the last enemy must soon challenge the traveller to pay the
tax imposed on his pilgrimage. When all the pains and illnesses of
the flesh are over, there remaineth a place purchased, prepared, and
furnished for the children of God, and in which "the inhabitant shall
not say, I am sick." Where is this healthy spot? Not in any place in
this country; not in the world of which our land is so favoured a
portion. To be able always to say, "I am not sick," is one of the
privileges of heaven alone.
I. THE EVILS AND DISAGREEABLES OF SICKNESS.
Sickness is certainly not a pleasant thing--necessary, profitable, if
you please, but not pleasant. It cannot be pleasant; for it is the
punishment for sin. Angels are never sick, because they are of that
world of which the inhabitant shall not say, "I am sick." Sickness
helps to crumble us into death; diseases are Death's servants. Death
sends them out in their different liveries as his couriers and
forerunners; they apprise sinners that their Master is coming into
their country, passing by that way, will perhaps "stand at their door
and knock," warning each to be ready to leave all and follow death,
as Peter said he and his fellow-apostles had done for Christ
(H. E. I. 1561).
1. Bodily pain often accompanies sickness. This is sometimes felt in
so grievous and dreadful a degree that the sufferer wishes and prays
for death to be relieved of his agonies. When David was tried in this
way he said, "The pains of hell gat hold upon me"--a strong
expression, meaning very excruciating pains. Who can tell but those
who have felt them what sufferings belong to the burning fever, the
tormenting headache, &c.? The curious machine is out of order; the
wheels grind and grate against each other; "the harp with a thousand
strings is out of tune and full of discords." The very means taken
for recovery often, for a time at least, increase pain and suffering.
We admire the wisdom which God has given to man to discover the
healing virtues concealed in Nature's works. But most of these,
excellent in their effects, are nauseous to the taste. It seems as if
Providence had ordained this on purpose that everything should
conspire in sickness to make it a suffering, uncomfortable time, in
order the more deeply to impress on us the salutary lessons it is
intended to teach us.
2. The interruption it causes to the active duties of life. Health is
the one thing needful, not only to the enjoyment of life, but to the
vigorous and successful discharge of the duties.
3. One might mention a third evil, viz., the trouble one gives in
sickness to those around us, only you might be ready to cry out, "We
cannot allow this to be either a trouble or an evil; what sister or
affectionate brother would think this a trouble?" But often the
sufferer feels it keenly.
II. THE PROFITS AND ADVANTAGES OF SICKNESS.
Begin by thanking Jesus Christ that sickness it not a punishment and
nothing else--not a certainty and foretaste of hell. His sacrifice
has taken away its sting; it bears the peaceable fruits of
righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. It withdraws us
from the world. We follow too hotly and incessantly the things of the
world. Some years ago a satire was written upon us called "The World
Without Souls," and the author, without exaggerating, nearly proved
that most of us live as if we thought this was really to be the case.
CONCLUSION.--So improve the sickness of earth as to make it the path
to the health of heaven. In health often look back to the time of
sickness; consider what were then your feelings, your fears, your
good resolutions. Have you kept your word? Have you done your part?
Is the Great Physician paid? He seeks not gold, but the coin of
gratitude, love, and obedience. Every sickness should urge us to
secure the country without pain; to win the new heavens and the new
earth in which Christ's redeemed people shall be crowned with
unfading youth and unbroken health.--_George Clark, M.A.: Sermons,_
pp. 59-68.
THE CONTROVERSY OF ZION.
xxxiv. 8. _For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, &c._
The Lord has always been mindful of His Church. He is pledged to her
defence against the world, and against the world-spirit which often
intrudes within her pale. Chapter xxxiv. contains a description of
the effects of the Divine vengeance in the typical case of Edom;
chapter xxxv. describes the flourishing state of the Church
consequent upon the execution of the Divine judgments.
+I. There is a parallel between God's dealings with individuals and
society.+ Such a parallel may be presumed to exist, inasmuch as any
society is made up of individuals; and God cares equally for the
single and the corporate life. Taking the mass of men, evil
dispositions lead to evil deeds, and these to habits, before they are
turned to the service of God. God intervenes in the way of judgment;
times of judgment are appointed them, foreshadowing a future day of
the Lord's vengeance. 1. _Individual judgments._ God's controversy
with Jacob at Peniel, when Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, was
but the climax of the Divine vengeance in respect of his sinful past,
and became the _turning-point_ of his life. Not only are bad men
changed in this way, but good men are made better (xxxviii. 12-14;
Lam. iii. 3-21; Job x. 16-20; H. E. I. 56-59, 66-70, 116). God
strikes, that human nature may be laid bare in its depths, and a
thorough work of regeneration accomplished, proceeding from within
outward. Afflictions do not always soften; but they do so often
enough to form a large part of the method of the Divine vengeance.
2. _Social and national judgments._ Jacob became Israel, and Israel
the Church of God, the representative of God on earth, even as Edom,
of which Esau, the godless, was the ancestor, is regarded in
Scripture as the representative of the world-power. Edom was
emphatically the troubler of Israel. Its judgments--prophetic of
greater in the future--were sent by the Defender of Zion--(1.) To
make manifest its sin; (2.) To show the theocratic character of
Israel.
But the Edom, or world-spirit, was in Israel herself; hence the
judgments of the Church. The idea of the theocracy was interfered
with when Israel wished a king, like the other nations (1 Sam.
viii. 6, 7). That could only be entertained by Jehovah if kings had
their right to rule direct from Himself. And so He raised up _David
and David's line_ (1 Sam. xvi. 1-13; Gen. xlix. 8). Hence the
institution and perpetuation of the prophetic line--Samuel, Isaiah,
Ezekiel, &c.--to assert and maintain the idea of the theocracy.
With a grander display of the Divine power this tale has been re-told
under the Christian dispensation. Social and national crises are
still brought about, in the wise judgment of God, first, to make
manifest the sins of communities and nations; and, second, to direct
men to the Church of Christ. In times of _the Church's
unfaithfulness,_ apostles, truly apostolic men, reformers, &c.,
interfere.
+II. Antagonism between the Church and the world must end in the
defeat and subjugation of the world.+ Jehovah is the defender of the
cause of Zion through the ages. He has espoused the cause of holiness
against ungodliness. His people may be dispersed, but the Church does
not die out. From the lowest ebb it returns to the flow. The blood of
its martyrs becomes seed. Its opponents turn ever feebler. This is
seen in their more spasmodic efforts. Its benign influence has
extended far; ever larger numbers are being brought under its yoke.
The world fights every inch of the ground; but--
+III. The great day is surely coming.+ There must come a complete
manifestation of the Church's inherent glory. 1. This manifestation
will take place by displays of Divine vengeance on the enemies of
Zion. This method of the ancient time has not become obsolete. 2. The
manifestation will not be short-lived, but continue, so that
destruction may be succeeded by a realised state of salvation.
3. Last of all, there shall be seen the triumph of the Church, when
Church and world shall be conterminous, and fulness of blessing be
enjoyed. (Chapter xxxv. still awaits its largest fulfilment.)
CONCLUSION.--1. We have a Gospel of terror to preach to the world--a
_Gospel of terror,_ for the Divine vengeance is informed by the
greatest heart of love. Is the Church, as some say, becoming less
powerful in our time? Let the question at least provoke searchings of
heart. God still sends judgments upon unfaithful Churches.
2. Remember, in times of darkness and trial, that the Lord has the
deepest interest in His Church. It cannot disappear from the world;
but be alive to removing from it causes of weakness. 3. Let us
encourage one another in the hope of a time when the Church's glory
shall be fully manifested, when the time of recompense for the long
controversy of Zion shall arrive. Let us work in the Church so as to
help to bring about the glad time coming.--_J. Macrae Simcock._
A CALL TO STUDY.
xxxiv. 16. _Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord, and read,
&c._
On the supposition that a Divine revelation is given to man, its most
convenient method will be that of a permanent written record, thus
available for the use of successive generations. Disparagement of a
book revelation proceeds from misconception of its nature and ends.
Out of its existence flows the universal right to its perusal, unless
it is restricted in terms. Not only the right, but the duty. By
personal study every one should know it (John v. 39). Our Lord
appealed to the conscience of the people, combined with their
knowledge of the Word of God.
The duty is here urged in reference to the prediction of the downfall
of Idumea. It was to become a desolation. Those into whose hands the
prophecy falls are to search and read in the Book of the Lord, and
compare the event. Nothing shall fail. Everything said shall find its
mate, its corresponding fact; for God's Spirit is the Author of the
prediction. Idumea to-day is its confirmation.
We use the text in order to urge the study of Scripture as a
Christian duty--
I. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS DIVINE.
2 Tim. iii. 16; 2 Pet. i. 21. It is the Book of the Lord. The Bible
is a collection of the records of Divine revelations made at various
times, but bearing on its great design. The inducement to read a book
often depends on the author. We believe him to be endowed with
literary skill, or an authority on the subject of the book. And if
God is, in some way, through the various writers, the Author of the
Book, the authorship is an important reason for reading it (H. E. I.
522, 523). Consider who and what He is, and the solemn relations in
which He stands to us (H. E. I. 561). Its subjects will be worthy of
Him and important to us. It will be authoritative. From the
uncertainties of human thought we find in the Lord's Book a safe
resting-place.
II. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS INTERESTING.
In its form, apart from its subject-matter. Some form it must have.
It might have been in the form of didactic statement only, without
illustrative facts or poetic beauties. It would not have been read
with interest. Or it might have been in the catechetical form.
However useful this method in fastening definite notions in carefully
chosen words, it would have failed to be a book to which men and
women would return with delight as they return to the Bible after the
period of youth has passed away. It is made interesting by the varied
forms in which truth is communicated. It is poetic, historical,
biographical. Its teaching is usually so connected with events and
persons as to present points of interest always fresh. The man finds
a solution of the profoundest problems of time and eternity. The
child finds in its narratives of persons and events a charm that
never fails. To its interesting form is owing, in a large degree, its
hold on those who read it from day to day (H. E. I. 607-609, 3860).
III. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS INSTRUCTIVE.
It contains a large amount of information, not only with regard to
the Jewish nation, but also other nations of the ancient world. But
this is not its main design. It is subordinate to the revelation of
man as a sinner and of God as a Saviour. God's character, man's
relation to Him, human duty, the future state, are all instructively
treated; but they all find their place in relation to God's great
plan for man's recovery, through the mediation of Christ, from misery
and sin. And is not this the most important of all instruction? What
would all history be, all science, all philosophy, if no voice from
Heaven was heard respecting the most vital of all questions? Do you
desire instruction respecting salvation? Search and read in the Book
of the Lord.
IV. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS DIRECTIVE.
Is not the course of human life like that of a vessel exposed to the
winds that may drive her leagues out of her proper course? Does not
man need careful guidance? Conscience is the captain, but conscience
untaught and unguided will manage the ship uncertainly and
erroneously (H. E. I. 1299-1307). The Book of the Lord is the
directory for the conscience. No position demanding moral action can
ever occur in which adherence to its direction will not issue safely.
How pure its principles! How righteous its commands! How wise its
directions! They touch our life at every point.
V. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS CONSOLATORY.
Sorrows are incident to human life. There are present troubles. Some
are heart-breaking. We need help and comfort. The world does not
contain it. Here is the balm that can heal every wound.
And there is the future. The prospect of death and eternity. Without
the Book of the Lord men are uncertain and hopeless. It sheds clear
light on both. How many in the prospect, are delivered from fear and
filled with hope! What comfort it affords under the bereaving stroke!
For all these reasons "seek ye out the Book of the Lord." Bring every
question to it. Read it daily, thoughtfully, for yourself, for
others. In your youth. In your active manhood. In your old age.--_J.
Rawlinson._
THE BOOK THAT WILL ENDURE TESTING.
xxxiv. 16. _Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord, and read,
&c._
We may be sure that God would not give a revelation without affixing
His seal to it; otherwise it would be useless, there being no
evidence of its Divine origin. Supposing a revelation given, what
would constitute a satisfactory proof of its Divinity? Evidently it
must be some sign not capable of being counterfeited, some
unmistakable indication that GOD has spoken to us. This might be
given by some exertion of Divine power or some manifestation of
Divine knowledge. As such, miracles and prophecy would furnish
indubitable proof that a revelation was from God, and those which
attest the Bible are its proper seals. Along with the internal
evidence and the argument drawn from the success of the Gospel, they
are so many buttresses supporting the edifice of revealed truth; but
each is a distinct and sufficient support by itself. The Scriptures
themselves appeal to the evidence of fulfilled prophecy in support of
their reception as the Word of God, and one of the most pointed of
these appeals is that before us. In this chapter Isaiah predicts the
desolations that were to come on the chief city of Edom. Placing
himself forward in time amid the scenes he predicts, he challenges
any one to compare the predictions in the Book of the Lord with the
actual condition of the city; he is confident that "the Book" will
bear that test, and will come out of it triumphantly.
+I. Read the prophecy before us in the light of its fulfilment.+ The
apologetic value of prophecy has often been discredited. Attempts
have been made to explain it on natural grounds, as a sagacious
forecast, a shrewd prognostication. But what natural sagacity could
have foreseen that Edom, so powerful and prosperous in Isaiah's time,
would become a desolate waste? It has been well remarked that
prophecy possesses as a proof of Divine revelation some advantages
that are peculiar. Its fulfilment may fall under our own observation,
or may be conveyed to us by living witnesses. The evidence from
miracles can never be stronger than it was at first; but that of
prophecy is increasing, and will go on increasing until the whole
scheme of perdition is fulfilled. It is the accomplishment, and not
the mere publication of a prophecy, which supplies a proof of the
Divine origin of the Bible; and this evidence is constantly
accumulating. The prophets themselves did not understand some of
their oracles (1 Pet. i. 11, 12). They were like documents written in
colourless ink, to which some chemical preparation must be applied to
make their characters legible. Their meaning could be seen only in
their fulfilment. But all the prophetic writings are not thus
obscure; many are clear and definite; more like the details of a
historical narrative than the visions of prophecy. Nothing can be
plainer than the description here given of the state to which Edom
would be reduced. The wards of this lock are too intricate to be
opened by any key which we choose to apply to it; but the fitting key
has been found. "The whole," says Alexander, "is a magnificent
prophetic picture, the fidelity of which, is notoriously attested by
its desolation for a course of ages." The chief city in the region of
Mount Seir was Selah or Petra, the Rock City. It was long unknown
till it was discovered by Robinson, and since then it has been
visited by successive travellers. It lay embedded among the hills. So
nestled was it in its rocks "that it could only be approached by two
narrow defiles. Dwellings cut out of the solid stone line the face of
the cliffs, and the central space indicates that a large city once
stood upon it." Malachi speaks of its utter desolation (Mal. i. 2,
3), but afterwards it recovered for a time. Its condition for
centuries as described by unbiassed witnesses is a standing evidence
of the truth of the prophetic Word.
+II. We may test "the Book" in other fields.+ As a tourist verifies
his guide-book and finds it trustworthy at every step, so in many
regions do we find the prophetic Word made sure (2 Pet. i. 19-21).
Babylon, Tyre, and the fortunes of the Jewish people, all bear
witness to the truth of the prophecies. But especially in the career
of our Lord and Saviour do we meet with remarkable fulfilments of
Scripture. What could be more minute than some of the prophecies
concerning Him? His miracles, His submission to unmerited suffering,
His riding upon an ass, His being pierced, His being sold for thirty
pieces of silver which should be applied for the purchase of the
Potter's Field, the lots cast on His vesture, and the vinegar given
Him to drink, were all the subject of definite prediction.
+III. The Bible will bear testing in its declarations concerning
human nature.+ No book so unveils us to ourselves. We feel its truth
in what it says about our noble origin, our lamentable fall, our
sinfulness, and the strife within us between the flesh and the
spirit. Because it tells us all that ever we did, we feel that it
must be Divine.
+IV. From all this two sound and important conclusions
follow+:--1. _We may put equal confidence in its declarations
concerning God._ Nothing but Divine knowledge and insight can so
disclose the future and the hidden; and if we have found the Bible
reliable when it tells us of earthly things, may we not believe it
when it tells us of heavenly things? 2. _We may be sure that its
prophecies concerning the future of Christ's kingdom and the destiny
of the human race will in like manner be fulfilled to the letter_
(Ps. lxxii. 11, 17; Rom. viii. 19-23). So many of the prophecies of
God's Word have already been accomplished, that we should feel
confident that those not yet fulfilled are surely marching on to
their fulfilment. The prospects of success in the mission field are
brighter in our day than ever they were. The Church is taking an
interest in the enterprise quite unknown to former generations, and
openings have been made into lands before closed alike against
commerce and Christianity. But even if our hopes of success were less
cheering, we would not despair. With so many Bible predictions behind
us in the past now become history, we cannot but be encouraged to
look for the fulfilment of those glowing prophecies concerning the
future coming of the Redeemer's kingdom which stand on the inspired
page. Let us never lose sight of those grand predictions; let us
cherish a hopeful and expectant spirit, and in the confidence of
success descend to the spiritual harvest of the world (H. E. I.
1166-1168).--_William Guthrie, M.A._
THE CERTAINTY OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS.
xxxiv. 16, 17. _Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord,
&c._
The text occurs midway between a series of predicted judgments
pronounced on Edom as the representative of the wicked world, and
another series of blessings foretold concerning the Church of God,
but it is evidently retrospective.
While a minute verification of these predictions of vengeance might
form a solid, convicting argument for the validity of trust in the
Bible as the rule of faith and practice, there is another and more
general way of regarding the text. Search into a certain book is
enjoined because it is the Book of JEHOVAH.
Human faith finds its ultimate basis in God Himself. The certainty of
the Divine judgments may therefore be inferred from--
I. THE NATURE OF THE DIVINE BEING.
If the Bible be not merely a revelation _from_ God, but a revelation
_of_ God, too much attention cannot be paid to those aspects of the
Divine nature afforded by it which man may apprehend although he
cannot comprehend them. "Canst thou by searching find out God?" &c.
No; but enough may be learned of God to make us sure that it is
madness to disobey Him or trifle with His commands. 1. _The
long-hidden Name of God._ Proper names were made very expressive
among the Jews. The name JEHOVAH was sacred above all others; they
treated it with a superstitious reverence, not daring to pronounce
it, &c. Doubtless they referred with awe to the time and
circumstances of the communication to Moses (Exod. vi. 1, 2). And so
may we in thinking of the Divine judgments. JEHOVAH, it is said,
"remembered His covenant," and was about to redeem the Israelites
from their bondage in Egypt "with a stretched out arm, and with great
judgments" (Exod. vi. 1-8). JEHOVAH: what does the Name mean?
_Being_--unconditioned, absolute, immutable, eternal Being. If, then,
God changes not, but is JEHOVAH, to sin against Him is inevitably to
call down judgment; for JEHOVAH'S will must be done on earth as it is
in heaven. 2. _Some of the attributes by the use of which we try to
compass the Divine nature._ (1.) _God is just._ But sin, in all its
forms, is a crying injustice, and affronts God so that the Divine
majesty must assert itself in punishment. (2.) _God is good._ But
sin, as selfishness, is radically opposed to goodness in God, who has
might, as well as right, on His side, and, therefore, pursues
selfishness to its last resort. (3.) _God is holy._ Separateness from
all sin distinguishes Him in the midst of His _relations_ to man.
How, then, can sinners go unpunished? (H. E. I. 2281, 2282,
4478-4479, 4603-4610).
II. THE CHARACTER OF DIVINE LAW.
Law is a transcript of the Divine nature; the Divine _character_ or
handwriting making Him known to us; the far-reaching _hand_ of the
Eternal. God reveals Himself in its _sanctions, reward,_ and
_punishment._ To obey is to reap reward; to disobey is to be laid
hold of _instantly_ by the outraged majesty of law. There is no human
way of escape. Visible judgment may be deferred, but the Divine law
is cognisant of all transgression. In the matter of the first sin,
the formerly existing _potentiality_ of punishment became an
_actuality._ The character of the Divine law may be seen--1. _In the
physical world._ The designer of a ship or bridge diverges from
mathematical truth only to produce disaster. 2. _In Providence._
3. _In the Word of God._
APPLICATION.--_If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?_ 1. The Divine judgments cannot be
evaded. "God is love;" but what love! God is "a consuming fire;" not
sentimentally weak; not given to winking at transgression. 2. God's
_grace_ magnifies His name and law. He condemned Christ as the
_Sin-Bearer_ to _death._ Thank God! the sinner may be pardoned, but
the impenitent are surely handed over to punishment.--_J. Macrae
Simcock._
TRANSFORMATION.
xxxv. 1, 2, 7. _The wilderness and the solitary place, &c._
Chapters xxxiv., xxxv., form one prediction, first announcing the
doom of Edom, and then taking us into a new sphere where all is
light, beauty, and gladness; a prediction which had a fulfilment in
the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon to Jerusalem,
which they set above their chiefest joy. But the prophecy is one of
those in which the so-called secondary meaning is, in truth, the
primary; the spiritual takes precedence to the natural, and the
fulfilment is to be looked for, not in a remnant of Israel returning
to the land of their fathers, but in these grand Gospel times, in
which humanity, cursed and bloated by sin, is blessed, saved, and
dignified by the influences that stream from the Cross of Calvary.
+I. The end condition of the localities on which the Gospel is
intended to operate.+
How suggestive the descriptive symbols: a "wilderness," a "solitary
place," "parched ground," a "habitation of dragons." The desolation
turns mainly on the absence of water. No other similes could so
vividly depict moral barrenness and death. The unregenerate heart is
desolate, weary, solitary. Moreover, it is "a habitation of dragons,"
a foul serpent-brood of uncontrolled passions.
This true of the world as well as of the individual. Think of the
great unreclaimed wastes of heathendom. Can civilisation renew them?
It has been tried and found wanting.[1] Only the Water of Life,
gushing from the smitten Rock, can give moral life.
+II. The effects produced by the kingdom of Jesus.+[2]
Even we can appreciate the value of water and the beauty of its
effects. But to Orientals water is a matter of life and death. Hence
as an emblem it is employed to bring before the mind the blessed and
joy-giving results of the kingdom of Christ. Note these results as
they are brought before us in our text. 1. _Gladness._ "The
wilderness and the solitary place," &c. Music of Nature after copious
rains following on scorching heat. This an emblem of the joy brought
to human hearts by the Gospel. The wilderness state one of sorrow;
the river of the water of life running through the heart makes it
glad. This is seen in cases where sin and terror are cast out of the
heart by the love of God. How this result has been manifested in
modern times in nations converted from idolatry to Christianity
(H. E. I. 1134). 2. _Fertility._ "It shall blossom," &c. The desert
is barren. The Gospel changes moral wilderness into fruitful gardens;
the individual, the nation. 3. _Beauty._ Think first of a part of the
earth's surface parched, desert, and barren, and then of it as a
garden covered with the fairest flowers. The first and most striking
impression made upon the mind by such a transformation would not be
so much that of fertility as of surpassing beauty. So with this moral
transformation. Contrast the state of a country before with its
condition after having received the Gospel (H. E. I. 1126, 1127).
Look at the annals of missionary effort: Madagascar, Samoa, the Fiji
Islands, &c. The same change occurs in individual character.
4. _Glory and majesty._ "The glory of Lebanon," &c. Symbols of all
that is glorious and majestic. To live by the power of Jesus the
secret of a noble life. Alliance with heaven raises men to regal
dignity. The Gospel elevates the character and dignifies the pursuits
of men. Our lower pursuits are ennobled by a Christian aim, whilst
the higher life has the very glory of God resting on it. 5. A vision
that extends into the Holy of Holies. "They shall see the glory of
Jehovah," &c. Only in Christ can we see this. He is the glory of God.
The Shekinah is seen above the blood-besprinkled mercy-seat.--_John
Key in the Modern Scottish Pulpit,_ vol. i. pp. 133-143.
This chapter is an anticipation of the great prophecy of the
restoration (xl.-lxvi.) The firm confidence in God, the boundless
hopefulness, the glowing visions of the future, the vigour and
joyousness that spread so broad a splendour over that famous
Scripture are here in a brief compendium. It has been assigned to the
state of Judah under Hezekiah, to the return from the exile, to the
Christian dispensation, to a future condition of Palestine, to some
future state of the Church or of the world, as well as to some other
occasions. Two plain facts are before us--1. At no period of Jewish
history was there any approach to a perfect realisation of the
magnificent promises of this and allied predictions. 2. God has
already given to us so substantial a foretaste of the blessings here
promised, that we may rest assured that the one satisfying fulfilment
of the prophecy will be in the triumph of the kingdom of heaven
through the power of the Gospel of Christ.
Let us look at the picture in the light of its glowing fulfilment.
I. THE OLD SCENE OF THE GARDEN.
We are not independent of things around us. Christianity has a
transforming influence over our earthly surroundings. It is the most
beneficent factor in material civilisation, the truest patron of art,
science, literature, commerce (H. E. I., 1124-1131, 1134). But behind
this lies a deeper truth. By transforming our hearts the Gospel
changes all things to us. This transforming influence is shown in
various relations. 1. The _wilderness_ of old bad things is cleared,
and gives place to new and better things. The axe must come before
the plough. 2. _The solitary place and the desert._ It is not all
weeds and bushes. The task of fertilising the desert with irrigation
not less difficult than that of clearing the wilderness. (1.) So
there are souls that seem to have lost all soil for spiritual life.
(2.) Then there are deserts of ruin, the remains of old withered
hopes and joys and loves.
II. THE NEW CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GARDEN.
1. _Life._ This is the first and most important thing. Christ, the
one Saviour of society, was the greatest of iconoclasts. But He was
also the greatest founder, originator, constructor. He sows seed,
gives increase, brings life. 2. _Beauty._ The desert blossoms as the
rose. The garden is not to be solely utilitarian. The Church is the
bride of Christ, and as such she is to be adorned with every grace.
3. _Gladness._ Life and beauty bring joy. The Church not a
prison-house of melancholy devotion. 4. _Varied accessories._ The
garden will not only produce its own seedlings, but plants from all
quarters are to be carried into it. Lebanon gives her cedars; Sharon
her far-famed rose. Christians are heirs of all things. "All things
are yours."
In conclusion, observe two important points:--1. _This wonderful
transformation will be brought about by the power of God_ (ver. 4).
We have tried long enough to reform the world by merely human agency.
The Hebrew prophets promised Divine help. Christ fulfils that
promise. He comes with life-giving power. See Him in faith and
obedience. 2. _All this is a picture of the future._ Christ has done
much for the weary world. But the old promises are as yet fulfilled
in but a small part. The Hebrews set the golden age not in the past,
but in the future. We too must assume their attitude of faith, and
hope, and patience (H. E. I. 3421). Are we ready to cry, "Why tarry
the wheels of His chariot?" Let us remember that God has all eternity
to work with. Meanwhile, let us do what we can to convert our little
corner of the vast wilderness into some beginning of the garden of
the Lord.--_W. F. Adeny, M.A.: Clerical World,_ i. 231.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The civilisation of Greece and Rome did not affect anything
in the way for changing spiritual death into spiritual
life. The utmost which it succeeded in effecting was to
cover the frightful corruption of death with a more
beautiful funeral pall--to hide the naked hideousness of
sin behind a veil spangled with silver, and gold, and
precious stones. But death was there none the less, and sin
of such a kind that the foulest impurities of the most
degraded heathen could not exceed the impurities of Athens
and of Rome. The old lesson is being taught us, if we would
but learn it, in our own day. It is not civilisation that
can change the moral desolation of France, of Spain, of
Austria. It is not civilisation, as understood by men of
science and doctrinaire philosophers, that can change the
moral wilderness existing in our large cities, and in much
of our rural population. It will only do what it did in
Greece; it will merely cover the ghastliness of death with
a more decent covering.--_Kay._
[2] See outlines on pp. 364, 365 (THE MORAL WILDERNESS
TRANSFORMED and PEACE THE WORK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS).
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE TIMID.
xxxv. 3, 4. _Strengthen ye the weak hands, &c._
The Christian ministry addresses itself to men of various character
in various states. It must be adapted to all. Sometimes warning and
denunciation, sometimes tenderness, but always love. The text is
addressed to the officers and leading men of Jerusalem in a time of
general alarm. The prophet declares that the power of the enemy shall
be broken, and that instead of desolation there shall be gladness.
The timid and weak were to be encouraged. God's strength is made
perfect in man's weakness.
I. THE PERSONS TO WHOM THIS ENCOURAGING MESSAGE IS ADDRESSED.
"The weak hands,"--"the feeble knees,"--"them that are of a fearful
heart." Timidity has paralysed them. After a desolating war the
nation might thus lose heart. A timid woman who sees insuperable
difficulty always in the way. A man in a storm at sea lies lamenting
that he ventured on the waters. Some characters shrink from every
touch. They are well-intentioned, but their faint hearts bar every
effort; and they pass through life purposing and projecting, but
never accomplishing anything (H. E. I. 2053, 2054).
This timid and feeble disposition may be manifested in spiritual as
well as in other things. For instance--1. _In relation to Christian
experience._ It is the privilege of believers in Christ to know their
salvation. But many fail to attain it. They do not doubt His
sufficiency, but their own interest in it. They fear their sins are
not forgiven, their spiritual experience not genuine. Sometimes this
is the result of a tendency to view every subject in its darker
aspects. Sometimes it is the result of disease. Sometimes of
unwatchfulness, negligence, and sin. Sometimes of defective
conceptions of the Gospel. Sometimes of a microscopic self-scrutiny
which exposes failings and defects with severe faithfulness. The
victim of such fears is like one who wishes to reach the city but is
never sure that he is in the right way. 2. _In relation to Christian
enterprise._ Christians are not converted merely for their own
safety. There is a work to do. Sinful habits, dispositions, tempers
to be overcome. The dark mass of humanity to be brightened. The
Gospel is to be carried to the destitute. This work requires the
gifts and opportunities in the hands of Christians. But the weak and
faint-hearted tremble at every undertaking. To them the missionary
enterprise is a hopeless expenditure of money and life. The time for
useful labour in the Church never arrives. If it is commenced, it is
abandoned when difficulties present themselves. These weak brethren
do nothing themselves and repress the plans and efforts of bolder and
more enterprising Christians (H. E. I. 2057, 2058). Among your fears
let there be the fear lest by your fears you should hinder the cause
of Christ!
II. ITS NATURE AND IMPORT.
It is intended to strengthen and confirm the feeble. God's messengers
are to speak words by which faith and courage be reanimated. They
contain--
1. _An assurance of deliverance._ The deliverance of the Jewish
people included the punishment of their enemies. God saves in a way
suitable to each case. If your own resources are inadequate, the
Divine resources are equal to the emergency. He will save you from
your spiritual fears. Has He not sent His Son? Has not Jesus died and
risen again? Does He not intercede? Does not His Spirit work? His
willingness to save is equal to His ability. What wondrous love to
man in the work of redemption! Do you fear that you will be
eventually rejected, or that you will fail in the service to which He
calls you? (John vi. 37; Matt. xxviii. 20). The message is addressed
to your faith. It reminds you of God's power and grace in Christ. It
casts you on the all-sufficiency of God.
2. _A rebuke of fear._ "Fear not." Hope is the opposite of fear and
the accompaniment of courage. The fear of the unaccustomed sailor is
dissipated when the captain announces that the storm is passing away.
The little child alone in a dark room is afraid, although she knows
not why. But the mother comes and says there is nothing to fear;
there is no fear where she is. So let God's presence and promise
drive away all fear respecting our spiritual condition and our
Christian work (P. D. 1248, 1257, 1258).
3. _An incitement to labour._ "Be strong." When God's work calls, we
must neither yield to fear nor indolence. The father leads his child
to the post of duty where his life-work must be done. He sees
something of the complicated work of the manufactory, and fears that
he will never be equal to it. His father says, "Be a man; face your
work, and strength for it will come." So God says, "Be strong." Here
is work in the Church and the world. You are weak. Use the strength
He gives. It will grow by use. "Be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. ii. 1). "Strong in the Lord, and in the power
of His might" (Eph vi. 10).
Thus God sends the message of encouragement. Weak hands are
strengthened. Feeble knees are confirmed. Fearful hearts are rendered
courageous. And His encouragement is necessary to comfort in the
Christian life, performance of duty, endurance of suffering and
reproach. And it helps to recommend the Gospel.--_J. Rawlinson._
Presumption and fear are the Scylla and Charybdis of the Christian
life, and it requires Divine guidance, together with all our own
watchfulness, to steer safely between them. On the one hand, many are
inclined to indulge in vain confidence, and take to themselves the
Christian name and hope when not entitled to them; and on the other,
many are fearful and disposed to shrink back from duties and
privileges which really belong to them. It demands much wisdom on the
part of a pastor so to speak as not to encourage false hopes, nor
discourage weak and timid piety, especially in reference to a public
profession of religion. My object is, to suit the case of those who
are well entitled to hope for the Divine mercy through Christ Jesus,
but are disquieting themselves, or are disquieted by the enemy, with
needless fears. In meeting their wants I will state, and reply to,
the reasoning by which I know that many disturb their own peace.
1. "I cannot indulge the hope that I am a Christian, _because I have
never passed through the same religious exercises and experience that
others profess to have felt and enjoyed._" It is not necessary to
dwell at large upon this difficulty. God has brought many sons to
glory, but no two of them have been led thither in precisely the same
way, or have been exercised with precisely the same feelings. If, in
the main, our experiences correspond with the Word of God in the
great points of faith and love, it need not disquiet us though we
never heard of another case exactly like our own (H. E. I. 1410-1429).
2. _"If I were truly a child of God, sin would not prevail against me
as I find it does."_ Answer:--Sin is never perfectly subdued in our
hearts as long as we remain upon earth. Some boast of having attained
to sinless perfection, but they seem to be labouring under a sort of
hallucination, like that of one in an insane asylum, amid his straw
and rags, who fancies himself a king, when he is indeed but a poor
pitiable object. "The righteous falleth seven times a day," &c. Read
St. Paul's experience in the last part of the 7th of Romans and be
encouraged thereby (H. E. I. 329, 1057, 2313, 2861, 4571-4573).
3. "I find that sin not only prevails against me, _but I seem to be
worse than when I first strove against it; my heart appears to grow
more wicked, my corruptions stronger, and my strength to resist to be
less._" Answer:--To _perceive_ more of our sin than usual does not
always prove that we are more sinful, but often the reverse, just as
when one cleanses a room, though the air is filled with dust floating
in the sunbeams, there is no more of it actually than before, and
there will soon be less of it as the operation goes on. We do not
know the strength of our evil passions until we begin to oppose them.
It is also undoubtedly true that when one is making a special effort
to lead a Christian life, that then he is especially tempted and
hindered, and that the motions of sin are then more violent. And
further than this, when any are endeavouring to break away from the
dominion of Satan, then he assails them with his most powerful
temptations (H. E. I. 1060-1062, 1066-1068, 2524, 2525).
4. Another class of disquieted ones affirm that they cannot hope they
are true Christians, _because they seem to love everything else more
than God._ But in estimating our love to God compared with our love
to earthly things, we are not to conclude that we love that most
which most excites our affections. It has been well remarked "that a
man may be more moved when he sees a friend that has long been
absent, and seem to regard him more for the moment than he does his
own wife and children, and yet none would think that the friend was
loved the most;" so neither must we conclude because when we are
abroad in the world we find our affections vehemently stirred towards
its various objects, that therefore they are supreme in our hearts.
We should judge of our comparative affection by asking ourselves
soberly which of the two objects we should prefer to part with
(H. E. I. 3365, 3366, 4188, 4189).
5. _"A person may in appearance be like a Christian, and yet be
really destitute of any true piety."_ Answer:--Fear is usually the
best remedy against the thing feared, and none are farther from the
danger of making a false profession than those who are most afraid of
it (H. E. I. 339, 2050-2053).
6. Some again have fears that they are not true Christians, _because
they come so far short of the attainments of some eminent Christians
of their acquaintance._ We reply that the worst part of the character
of those exalted saints may not be known to us, or they may not have
our hindrances, or they may have been long in growing up to that
state, while we are only, as it were, babes in Christ (H. E. I.
2508-2526).
7. Another class say _that they cannot think any real Christian ever
was so tempted and distressed with evil thoughts as they are._ We
reply, Job was tempted to curse God, and Christ Himself to worship
Satan. We may have very wicked thoughts entering our minds, but if we
strive against them and they are painful to us, they are no evidence
against us. Christ had thoughts as vile as these suggested to Him,
but He remained sinless (H. E. I. 4767-4779).
8. Another class say _that they have doctrinal difficulties, that
certain things in the Bible do not appear clear to them,_ and they
fear to make any public confession of Christ till these things are
made plain. We reply that the best way to solve doctrinal
difficulties is to engage in practical duties. Any one perplexed upon
points of doctrine should read but little on those points, but engage
earnestly in all acts of obedience which the Bible enjoins, praying
fervently and humbly to be guided into all truth. One day's labour in
the field of charity, or one step onward in the path of known duty,
will bring more light into the soul upon disputed points than weeks
of speculation and controversy (H. E. I. 590-596, 1797). It would be
endless to recount all the ways in which doubts and fears assail us.
Their name is legion, and our prayer should be that Christ would
command them to come out of the man who is troubled with them, and to
enter no more into him.--_W. H. Lewis, D.D.: Plain Sermons for the
Christian Year._
THE HEALER AND JOY-GIVER.
xxxv. 5, 6. _Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
&c._
This beautiful prophecy is not exhausted by the first fulfilment of
the promise which immediately precedes. However great the political
deliverance, it did not include the literal giving of sight to the
blind or hearing to the deaf. Nor is it only poetic imagery. It
points to something in the time of the Messiah, to whose
manifestation the scheme of Old Testament history and prophecy is
subordinate. We find in this text--
I. THE BLESSINGS CHRIST IMPARTS.
1. We find in the life of Christ a literal fulfilment of the text,
which compels us to regard it as fulfilled in Him (Matt. xx. 30-34;
Mark vii. 32-35; John v. 5-9, &c.) Now these are historical facts.
Useless to say they are miracles, therefore incredible, because a
miracle is impossible. Who taught you that a miracle is impossible?
You are assuming what you are bound to prove. The testimony of the
writers of this history is worth as much as that of any other
historical writers (H. E. I. 3527-3529). Many things have occurred in
the world the like of which we have never seen. Moreover, the power
of God must be taken into account in deciding whether a thing is
possible or not. Is it not astounding presumption for a man to
measure Divine power by his own; to say, because neither himself nor
any other man at present can work a miracle, therefore God cannot and
never has? After all the argument, the fact remains. 2. We find that
the coming of Christ is identified with improvements in the general
character and condition of mankind, such as may be shadowed forth in
these physical blessings. Where Christianity comes, the intellectual,
moral, and material standard rises. Savage peoples become civilised;
civilised nations reach a higher plane. The influence of personal
Christianity commonly improves the social position of the individual.
3. But beyond this we find that the coming of Christ is identified
with the bestowment of spiritual blessings and the effectuation of
spiritual changes as remarkable as the miracles it wrought in the
physical region. The spiritual disease of sin, analogous to the
physical diseases it has caused, is cured by the Gospel. Take a case.
One thoroughly imbued with hatred to Christ. Not content with simple
indifference to Him, or rejection of His claims, he throws all the
energy of an unusually energetic nature into the active measures that
were adopted for the suppression of His cause. But the saving power
of Christ finds him in a way unexpected and unusual. He surrenders on
the spot, and finds himself under the command of Christ to do
whatsoever He wills. He becomes a missionary of the cross. He is sent
to the Gentiles "to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan unto God." And this case is a type
of multitudes whose spiritual diseases have been healed, some of them
the most virulent and malignant. It is a work within their souls,
which the power of God alone can effect. It is a change of the
heart's deepest principles and affections under the influence of
spiritual considerations only. It is a moral revolution. The blind
eyes are opened to the glory of Christ's truth. The deaf ear listens
to His voice. The dumb tongue is eloquent of His salvation, and sings
His praise. And the lame man gladly walks in the way of His
commandments.
II. THE JOY HE CREATES.
Gladness runs through the text. Leaping and singing are expressions
of joy. The blessings of salvation find the soul in the condition of
a traveller in the sandy desert, weary, footsore, lame, and silent,
who unexpectedly finds a springing well, and begins to talk, and
sing, and leap for joy. Joy arises in the heart--1. _From the supply
of a conscious need._ Imagine the joy of those whom Christ healed,
when the blind saw the light and became interested in the objects
around him, when the deaf heard the sound of the human voice, when
the dumb was able to make himself understood, when the lame recovered
the use of his limbs. What joy was brought into many a home! And when
He comes to the heart with His forgiving, cleansing, healing love,
what gladness He brings! It is the beginning of days. It is the
enjoyment of life. Christians have sources of happiness of which the
world knows nothing. "Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of
glory" (H. E. I. 3041). 2. _From the manifestation of a compassionate
Saviour._ His healing miracles illustrate His character. Beneficence,
tender sympathy with human suffering, love to man marked His steps.
It brought Him down from heaven. It nailed Him to the cross. And He
is still the same. He is personally interested in His people
(H. E. I. 952-957). He is the object of Divine love, and therefore
joy. 3. _From the satisfaction of settled faith._ Faith connects the
soul with Him. But it is often assailed. It needs support even where
it exists. The disciples sometimes wavered, then some new
confirmation was afforded. John the Baptist in prison doubted,
therefore received the message (Matt. xi. 4-6). Jesus uses His
miracles in evidence. Nor must we surrender their evidential power.
And there is the confirmatory evidence of expression. This is always
fresh.
1. This subject calls for grateful love. Give evidence of your cure
by getting the spirit of Christ's compassionate love, and by using
His instruments for the cure of others. 2. You too are still in the
power of the disease; come to Him for healing.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE CURSE DONE AWAY.
xxxv. 5, 6. _The eyes of the blind shall be opened, &c._
The years of fulfilment linger, and faith is weak and faint. The
picture of hopeless helplessness is painted in the context (vers. 3,
4). If we fail, God's promise cannot (vers. 1, 2). The transformation
of the desert, the planting of Eden there, and the coming of God with
vengeance and recompense are one. They signify one vast display of
gracious power. It is no abstract salvation that we wait and hope
for, but a Saviour. The text describes the blessings of Messiah's
kingdom.
+I. "Is not this poetry?"+ Yes, but is poetry the opposite of truth?
Have not prophets ever been poets? Is not poetry the sweetest or
strongest or sublimest expression of man's noblest conceptions of
truth? This poem of Isaiah is an expression of God's realities. The
poetry, the prophecy has its answering reality in history. The age of
Christ spake back to it, and both speak on to us. Nothing shall be
wanting to complete the scene. The glorious in nature shall but
typify the more glorious in man's body, mind, morals, and spiritual
satisfaction and joy.
+II. Spiritual and physical evil are intimately connected.+ 1. They
are cause and effect. The physical is the sign of the spiritual.
Something _radical_ was wrong before the wrong things could come. The
doctrine is philosophic as well as biblical. 2. It is not meant that
any and every special personal affliction is the result of any given
or particular personal transgression. A man is not blind because he
or his parents are sinners, but _because of sin._ We are living in a
violated order.
+III. The cessation of physical evil can only follow the cure of evil
that is spiritual.+ God's life, God's health, God's gladness must be
poured into the dumb before his tongue can sing. The spirit of the
blind must be thrilled with a heavenly vision before his eye can open
on the outer world. God must come and save before the cripple can
bound as the deer. 1. Man's sin must be cured, then his sorrow. The
miracles of healing in the Gospels teach us this. We can never
overlook the moral element in them. It was when Christ saw _faith_
that He said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matt. ix. 2). 2. Health
and soundness could not be given to mankind by a mere miracle-power
apart from spiritual considerations. No mere almightiness could
effect it. Pentecostal gifts, if repeated, would probably produce
similar signs and wonders; still miracles can never be more than
periodic and intermittent. The progressive life of the Spirit of God
must achieve in the race what they in the individual only foretoken.
Physical healing must keep pace with moral. The body must protest
against sin. 3. Any philanthropy springing from other hope lacks
truth and wisdom, and must fail. It proceeds upon a mistaken
conception of human nature. It only deals with symptoms. All true
philanthropy must begin at the Cross. The Cross is the sign that God
has come for vengeance and for recompense.
CONCLUSION.--_Learn counsel and courage._ 1. Counsel as to life's
mysteries, burdens, sufferings, and sorrows. 2. Courage to endure
them, and strive with them in manful faith and hope. (1.) Broken
health, pains, malformations, insanities, idiocies, and all bodily
and mental degeneracies and anomalies are the dreadful issue of
spiritual depravity and alienation from the life of God. (2.) Sin's
destined Victor is in the combat, and with His own shield and spear
will take the throne. The world in which He reigns will be a world
where evil is not, but good is all in all.--_William Hubbard:
Christian World Pulpit,_ xvi. 232.
BEAUTIFUL VISIONS EXCHANGED FOR REALITIES.
xxxv. 7. _And the parched ground shall become a pool._
Read for "parched ground" _mirage,_[1] and it suggests the inquiry,
what would be the feelings of a wearied traveller if the mirage he
was vainly pursuing should suddenly become a pool? It would be new
life to him; if the vision became a reality, it would be enough. But
it is not only the traveller in southern deserts beneath the burning
sky that sees visions of beauty floating before his gaze. Countless
thousands thirst for something better and nobler than they have. So
it has been from the beginning; and 2500 years ago the prophet
declared that in the days of the Messiah the soul's desires should be
satisfied, that that which had been only a vision should become a
reality, the mirage should become a pool.
+I. Past prediction has become actual fact:+ in Christ ideal visions
have become realities.
1. In bygone days some nobler souls dreamed dreams of a perfect human
character. The "Phædo" of Plato is an illustration of this. But the
dream remained a dream until Jesus of Nazareth lived among men. In
Him all excellences that were scattered were localised, focused,
centralised; and in Him we see of what nobleness our nature is
capable. 2. The yearning of some is for truth, pure truth, stripped
of all human accretions and confusions. How earnestly search has been
made for it! In this search philosophy and theology have been
traversed and ransacked. But it is to be found only in Christ. He
Himself declared, not vainly, "I am the truth." In Him are "hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 3. In others, conscience is
the most active faculty. Sin is to them a burden and a torment. They
yearn for peace of conscience. No suffering seems to them too great
if this can be attained. But they never find it until they seek it in
Christ. Coming to Him, they are filled with "the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding." The vision has become a reality; the
reality goes beyond the vision. 4. There are others led on by visions
of a strong virtue and a noble life. They struggle against their
passions and the allurements of the world. But alas! how numerous and
lamentable are their defects! They never learn the secret of victory
until they come to Christ; but when they have done this, presently
they find that with truth they can say, "I can do all things through
Christ who strengtheneth me." 5. Happiness. Who has not had visions
of it? Who has not sought it? But, alas! the confession to which we
are all brought is that of Solomon: "Vanity of vanities! all is
vanity!" And yet even this thirst is satisfied in Christ--profoundly,
exultantly satisfied. In Him we find a happiness that breaks forth in
song, and triumphs over the pains and sorrows of this mortal life.
The mirage has become a pool.
+II. Actual fact is present prediction;+ in Christ ideal vision will
become realities. The soul still thirsts--1. For perfect purity;
2. For perfect rest from the carking cares of earth, and infinite
calm in Jesus' love; 3. For the perfect communion of saints. In
vision John saw all this in the new Jerusalem; and to all who are
Christ's indeed they shall all become realities (1 Cor. ii. 9).
1. Let those to whom the prediction of our text has been fulfilled
tell the glad news to others. 2. All for those who have had these
visions all their lives, but up to this moment have been utterly
disappointed, (1) let them learn from the experience of others, who
tell them they never knew truth and happiness until they sought them
in Christ; (2) let them listen to the voice of rest; (3) let them be
sure that until they do come to Christ, the parched ground will never
become a pool. The soul needs more than the vision, however bright
and beautiful it may be; it needs the reality, and the reality can be
found only in Christ.--_Clement Clemance, D.D._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The word _sharab,_ "parched ground," A.V., more exactly
"looming sand-waste," refers to the mirage, of which it is
the Arabic name. The vain shadows of the world, which
deceive and never satisfy, are to be replaced by the
enduring joys of the kingdom of God.--_Birks._
Some years ago we were riding over a desert in intense and
almost distressing heat. We could but lie still and endure
it. We turned our eyes to the south, and, lo! in the
horizon there suddenly appeared a beautiful lake, which
appeared studded with islands of palms! But it was only
appearance, there was no water; and had we been perishing
from thirst, the beautiful vision would but have mocked our
need.--_Clemance._
No one can imagine, without actual experience, the delight
and eager expectation (when the vision first is seen), or
the intense and bitter disappointment which the appearance
of a mirage occasions to travellers, specially when their
supply of water is spent.
"Still the same burning sun! No cloud in heaven!
The hot air quivers, and the sultry mist
Floats o'er the desert, with a show
Of distant waters mocking their distress."--_Kitto._
The word _sharab,_ here rendered "parched ground," is the
same that in Isaiah xlix. 10 is translated _heat:_ "They
shall hunger no more, they shall thirst no more; the
_sharab,_ nor the sun, shall never smite them more."
The primary sense of _sharab,_ giving the key to both
applications, is the dazzling, vibrating, noonday heat.
Thence it is here taken as a name for its effect, of the
mirage in the desert caused by the intense meridian
rarefaction and refraction. It is a well-known delusive
appearance, arising from the motions of the heated
atmosphere, taking great varieties of form, but especially
suggesting pictures of grove and fountain scenery--lakes,
rivers, green valleys, waving trees, cool and sequestered
shades, with every image most grateful to the imagination
of the wearied traveller. These often seem so vivid as to
be mistaken for realities.
The very common use of the same word (_sarab_) by the
Arabian poets, in this mirage sense, makes certain the real
meaning here. It gives it, too, a glorious significance of
which our translation, though etymologically correct, and,
to a certain extent, quite plausible, falls far short. It
should be rendered: "The mirage shall become a lake (a
_real_ lake, not a mere mockery of one), and the thirsty
land springs of water." For the expressive meaning of the
word rendered "thirsty-land," see Deut. viii. 15--"that
great and terrible wilderness." So Gesenius, very happily:
_Et desertum aquœ speciem referens commutabitur in
lacum--in veram aquam._ (And the desert having the
_appearance_ of water shall be changed into a lake--_into
true water._)
The spiritual idea which the passage, thus interpreted,
suggests is most striking, whilst at the same time
commending itself as having a solid basis, and far removed
from the character of an arbitrary sentimentalism. It has a
substantial philological support, and comes so directly
from the peculiar word employed, that we are compelled to
regard it as entering into the prophet's conception.
The primary reference is to the exiles returning from
captivity, passing through the land of drought, the valley
of Baca (Ps. lxxxiv. 6), and refreshing themselves at "the
wells of salvation;" but there is a glow and a glory in the
language, as in so many other parts of the Scriptures, that
carries it far beyond this, though the Rationalist, if he
chooses, may rest in the lower sense, and maintain it on
undeniable exegetical grounds. The spiritually-minded
reader finds something more--something which alone comes up
to the splendour of the style, and without which the
hyperbole, beautiful as it is, would seem tumid and
extravagant. It is a _mounting sense,_ as we may call it,
rather than a _"double"_ or enigmatical representation. The
lower is the basis, undoubtedly, but we cannot rest in it.
As elsewhere, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, the
earthly salvation is described in terms and figures
powerfully suggestive of higher spiritual realities. The
exegesis, therefore, that comes from this is not arbitrary.
To the mind in spiritual harmony, it seems to be the only
one that truly satisfies the emotional glow and fervour of
the language. The mirage of this world in the highest
reality it can claim--still more the mirage our "vain
imaginations" create in it--is worse than the dry desert
itself; its delusions, when discovered, produce more pain;
the disappointment intensifies the thirst. Hence the
exceeding impressiveness of the prophet's figure when
rightly understood. The unreal shall vanish; truth,
substance, eternal reality shall take the place of all that
is false. Man shall cease "walking in a vain show"
(_betselem_), an image, a shadow (Ps. xxxix. 6). This
mirage of time shall become a fountain of _real_ water, of
"_living water,_ springing up to everlasting life." "With
joy shall ye draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isa.
xii. 3).
"The shadows are gone, truth has come." Mohammed seems to
have, in some way, caught a spark from the prophetic
inspiration, when he represents the righteous saying this,
as they lift up their hands in the morning of the
resurrection. In the Arabic, as in the Hebrew, the power
comes from the graphic mode which both languages possess,
in so high a degree, of picturing the future in the
present, and even in the past. "Joy and triumph _are_
overtaking them, sorrow and sighing _have fled_ away." This
is not the land of reality. The idea comes down from the
pilgrim language of the patriarchs, who so pathetically
declared themselves to be but "travellers and sojourners
upon the earth." They were looking for "the better
country," the _real_ home, the "city which hath
foundations," firm and everlasting. Something of the same
idea, and from the same early source, perhaps, may be
traced in the most ancient Arabian poets who lived before
the days of Mohammed. From them he most probably borrowed
the striking similar figure we find in the Koran (Sura
xxiv. 29), entitled "Light." It has the same word
(_sharab_), and, in other respects is immediately
suggestive of the passage in Isaiah: "As for the
unbelieving, their works are like the _sarab,_ the mirage
of the plain. The thirsty traveller thinks there is water
there; but lo, he comes and finds it nothing." The latter
parts remind us of the description in Job vi. 17, which may
be cited, too, as one of the examples of its Arabian
imagery. It is a picture of the thirsty traveller sustained
by the hope of finding the refreshing wady stream; but
instead of the imagined reality, nothing meets the eye but
dried-up bed whose waters have vanished, "gone up to
_tohu,_" the formless void, as the Hebrew so graphically
expresses it
"What time they shrink deserted of their springs,
As quenched in heat they vanish from their place;
'Tis then their wonted ways are turned aside:
Their streams are lost, gone up in emptiness.
The caravans of Tema look for them;
The companies of Sheba hope in vain;
Confounded are they where they once did trust;
They reach the spot and stand in helpless maze."
Another very striking passage, where the same word is used,
may be found in the Koran (Sura lxxviii. 20): "When the
hills are set in motion, and become like the _sarab_"--the
vanishing mirage. It is a description of the day of
judgment, when the world will be found to have been a
_sarab,_ a departing dream. Or it may represent its
exceeding transitoriness, like that other name _ajalun,_
the _rolling, hastening, passing_ world, which the Koran
and the early Arabian poets give to this present mundane
system as compared with the reality of Paradise. Hence the
word _sarab_ becomes a common or proverbial expression,
_pro re evanida,_ for anything light, transient, and
unsubstantial. There is a beautiful allusion to it in the
very ancient poem of Lebid (_Moallaka de Lebid, De Sacy's
ed.,_ p. 294). See also the account of the phenomenon as
given by Diodorus Siculus, lib. iii. ch. 50. It differs,
however, from the picture usually presented by the Arabian
poets, in that the appearances are those of animals and
wild beasts, rather than of rivers and fountains. The
particular kind of phantoms, however, would depend very
much on the kind of imagination possessed by the
travellers, and the circumstances by which it was excited.
It is, in any way, an apt representation of a delusive
world, whether in its images of terror or of attraction.
That the word is thus frequently used in the Arabic, and
that it corresponds well to its ancient Hebrew etymology,
is sufficient to warrant us in thus interpreting the idea
the prophet so impressively sets forth.--_Taylor Lewis._
THE EXILES' RETURN.
xxxv. 8-10. _And an highway shall be there, &c._
The chapter of which these words are a part testifies of Christ. The
prophet, while foretelling it in the return of the Jews from their
captivity in Babylon, is enabled to look forward to a more spiritual
and much greater deliverance. With the eye of faith he sees the
kingdom of the Messiah established in the earth, and beholds Him open
a new and blessed road by which a multitude of the enslaved and
perishing escape from their miseries and are led to His kingdom. This
prophecy calls upon us to consider--1. The travellers of whom it
speaks; 2. The way along which they are journeying; 3. The home to
which it is leading them.--_Charles Bradley: Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp.
127, 128.
Whatever primary reference this prophecy might have to the return of
the tribes from captivity, it is evident that all its interesting and
beautiful descriptions can only be fully realised in the blessedness
and glory of the Gospel dispensation. Consider it as spiritually
referring to the Gospel way of salvation.
I. THE WAY ITSELF.
A religious course is often spoken of as a way (Prov. xv. 21; Jer.
xxi. 8; Matt. vii. 14). The way of which our text speaks is
described--1. _As a highway._ It is not a secluded private path, but
a public highway opened by the authority of the King of kings; a way
designed for the general accommodation of the human race, and leading
to the metropolis of the universe. 2. _It is a holy way._ 3. _It is a
plain way._ Not a way requiring extensive philosophical knowledge or
deep metaphysical research to comprehend it. All the Gospel
requirements and duties are plain. 4. _It is a safe way._[1] Satan
may try to allure us from it, but he cannot interrupt us while
walking in it.
II. THE CHARACTER OF ITS TRAVELLERS.
"The redeemed," &c. 1. _Once they were slaves._ Slaves of sin and
Satan. 2. _They have been redeemed._ By the precious blood of Jesus
Christ. Redeemed to God; redeemed from sin, the power of Satan, and
the wrath to come. 3. _They are now the Lord's freemen._ Now sons,
members of the Divine family; sharers of the Divine goodness and
peace; and they bear a holy resemblance to their Elder Brother.
III. HOW THEY TRAVEL ALONG IT.
"They shall return and come to Zion with songs." 1. They sing the
praises of their great Deliverer (Rev. i. 5, 6). 2. They sing on
account of the deliverance itself. 3. They sing on account of the
joys of their present experience. 4. They sing on account of their
glorious prospects.
IV. THE BLESSEDNESS TO WHICH IT LEADS THEM.
1. They shall be crowned with joy. 2. They shall possess a perfect
fulness of felicity. 3. Their felicity shall be uninterrupted and
eternal.--_Jabez Burns, D.D.: Four Hundred Sketches and Skeletons of
Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp. 160-163.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This is important in our own country, where there are no
ferocious animals lying in wait to destroy; but it was
peculiarly important in Judæa and the countries adjoining
it. Many parts of these are said to have been infested with
beasts of prey, which frequently rushed from their places
of concealment upon the passing traveller, and rendered
even the public roads exceedingly dangerous. Hence the
prophet says of the way to heaven through Christ, that "no
lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast go up thereon;
it shall not be found there." Not that we are to conclude
that the redeemed have no foes to combat, and no
difficulties to surmount in their course. Like the
Israelites returning from Babylon, they have to pass
through an enemy's country in their journey to Zion. But He
who has redeemed them accompanies them in their pilgrimage;
and though they are called to struggle and fight, He gives
them the victory, and renders their path as safe as though
there were no dangers near it, nor any to hurt and
destroy.--_Bradley._
THE ROAD TO THE CITY.
xxxv. 8-10. _And a highway shall be there, &c._
Human life is a journey--a journey to the grave. The Christian life
is a journey--a journey to a better country. Abraham journeyed to the
land of Canaan; Israel in the wilderness; their descendants on the
return from Babylon (Ezra viii. 31). If you would reach your
destination, it is necessary to know and traverse the way.
+I. It is a way easily known.+ Some are difficult to find. They are
crossed and intersected so often, and so imperfectly supplied with
guiding-posts, that mistakes are almost inevitable. This is a way in
which "the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err." Serious
mistake is almost impossible. You have a directory so clear that
reference to it settles every question. God's Word is the guide of
life. He may read who runs. It is true there are no difficulties in
the ascertainment of the way of life. The road the child travels to
his home is quite plain and easy, yet he may be ignorant of the means
by which it was made, the materials of which it is constructed, the
sources whence they were obtained, the engineering appliances by
which they were bound together, the quarters from which the cost was
defrayed. At present he has no information, or it is beyond his
comprehension. Thus in the Bible there are many things difficult and
beyond the present knowledge of the student. They diminish with
advancing knowledge and thought. And even if they remain, they do not
affect the matters on which certainty is necessary. The way of
forgiveness through the Saviour's death is written with the clearness
of a sunbeam. The rule of life in its application to all
circumstances is so clearly laid down that all cases in the court of
conscience find an easy settlement; where there is a disposition to
follow it, no practical difficulty exists. It is like the pillar of
cloud and fire which infallibly guided the children of Israel in the
wilderness.
+II. It is a purified way.+ "The unclean shall not pass over it." It
is a holy way. The text fastens attention on those who traverse the
road as giving it its character. They are holy persons in the company
of holy persons. What is holiness? It is separation, setting apart,
purity, always with reference to God. 1. Its meaning is not covered
by morality. That term is ordinarily met by the performance of the
duties that arise between man and man. 2. Nor is the meaning of the
term "holy" covered by humanity. We hear much of what is called "the
religion of humanity," which means a benevolent desire for the
well-being of mankind. Like morality, it is to be commended as far as
it goes. It is, indeed, a step in advance of morality. It is a man's
worldly interest to practise its virtues. Humanity rises higher. It
looks beyond self. In proportion as a man looks out from himself to
the well-being of others, he is ennobled. Holiness includes them
both, but they do not necessarily include holiness. They terminate in
man, whereas holiness is in immediate relation to God. It is the
separation of a man's nature from all sin against God, and is
consecration to Him. God brings a sinner under the power of His
grace, and a saint emerges. The love of God in Christ, which pardons
him, so influences his nature that he comes into sympathy with God,
and desires to be like Him. He makes the Divine will the rule of his
life. He is born anew. He is holy in heart. His growing practical
obedience to the Divine authority is his walk in the way of holiness.
Those who have not experienced such a change cannot walk in it. They
tire. Holiness of heart precedes holiness of life (H. E. I.
2813-2817).
+III. It is a pleasant way.+ There are pilgrim songs. The walk
through the country may be so pleasant that nothing is thought of its
difficulty or its fatigue. The way of holiness is rendered pleasant
by congenial companions, by Divine thoughts, by heavenly communings.
There are difficulties. The way is sometimes steep; here and there
are formidable obstructions. There are temptations to weariness and
abandonment of the way. Yet the difficulties are not insurmountable.
They disappear before the traveller's sanctified determination. The
ability of anything to give pleasure depends on our feeling in
relation to it. Especially in things of a moral nature. The
regenerated nature of a Christian makes every step of his progress a
source of pleasure. Christians are the happiest of men, partly
because happiness is not sought as their main end (H. E. I.
1080-1084, 4161-4163).
And it is safe as it is pleasant. All pleasant paths are not safe.
Some pleasant ones are extremely perilous. The Lord of the way has
cleared it of dangers. "He will keep the feet of His saints." "No
lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon."
+IV. It is a completed way.+ Some roads lead to nothing. They
abruptly terminate, and you must retrace your steps. This is
continued to the destination. "They shall come to Zion." As the Jews
reached the earthly Jerusalem we shall arrive in heaven. The holy
city is a fit termination of the holy way.
Are you in the way? Keep in it. Turn not aside. Advance toward your
destination. Anticipate arrival.
Are you not in the way? Consider whither you are going. Renounce the
world. Enter the road. Do not say it is hard. Do not say you cannot
encounter the difficulties. God will help.--_J. Rawlinson._
There are a thousand wrong roads, but only one right one. 1. The road
of the text is _the King's highway._ It spans all the chasms of human
wretchedness; it tunnels all the mountains of earthly difficulty; it
is wide and strong enough to hold all the millions of the human race.
The King sent His Son to build the road. He put head, and hand, and
heart to it, and after it was completed cried, "It is finished."
2. It is spoken of as a _clean road._ "The unclean shall not pass
over it" (Prov. xiv. 12; Heb. xii. 14). 3. _A plain road._ "The
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." The pardon is
plain. The peace is plain (1 Tim. i. 15). If you are saved, it will
be as a little child (Matt. xviii. 3). 4. _A safe road._ "No lion
shall be there," &c. His soul is safe. His reputation is safe (Ps.
cxxv. 2). 5. _A pleasant road._ God gives a bond of indemnity against
all evil to every man that treads it (Rom. viii. 28; Matt. vi. 26,
28; Prov. iii. 33; 1 Cor. x. 13). He enables him to be glad with a
great joy (Ps. xxvii. 1; Rev. vii. 14, 16, 17; Exod. xv. 1). 6. _What
is its terminus?_ "The ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion." Zion
is the King's palace, a mountain fastness, impregnable. Heaven is the
fastness of the universe. And Jesus is there!--_T. De Witt Talmage,
D.D.: Christian Age,_ vol. ix. pp. 3-5.
THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN.
xxxv. 10. _And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, &c._
"Zion," literally speaking, was the proper name of the city where
David dwelt (2 Sam. v. 7). But the name was also given to the ancient
Jewish polity in church and state (Ps. cii. 13, 16), to the Gospel
Church, with all the spiritual blessings of the Christian
dispensation (Isa. xxviii. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 6, 7); and also to the
Church in glory, or the heavenly state of final and complete
happiness with God and Christ for ever (Heb. xii. 22, &c.) We may
therefore regard this text as revealing _the general features of the
happiness of heaven._
+I. To whom does the hope of heaven belong?+ To "the ransomed of the
Lord," whom He has delivered from bondage and is bringing back from
exile (H. E. I. 2730, 2829-2832).
+II. How do those who attain to heaven come there?+ Triumphantly,
"with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." This is said
perhaps with allusion to the ovations of victorious chiefs, or to
troops coming home from hard-fought fields and the privations even of
a successful campaign, crowned with garlands and waving palms,
singing some martial air, and approaching their homes and families
with shouts of gratitude.
+III. What do the redeemed realise when they reach heaven?+ "They
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away." In heaven--1. There will be _an entire cessation of every
occasion of grief_ (H. E. I. 1629; P. D. 1753, 1767). 2. _There will
no longer be any possibility of falling._ What a blessed peace will
spring from this fact! In this world the sincerest believers, like
pilots steering into port through narrow and winding channels beset
with sunken rocks and hidden shoals, must work out daily their own
salvation with fear and trembling (1 Cor. ix. 27). But in heaven the
spirits of the just are "made perfect," and, like God Himself,
"cannot be tempted of evil." 3. _We shall meet again with our
long-lost loved ones, never more to part_ (Rev. vii. 15-17; P. D.
2996-2998). 4. _The companionship of saints and angels._ The best and
purest friendships here are often marred by the blots and blemishes
of good men; but there will be no jarring in the exalted fellowships
of heaven. 5. _The possession of Christ and the beatific vision of
God for ever_ (1 Pet. i. 8; Isa. xxxiii. 7).--_R. Bingham, M.A.:
Sermons,_ pp. 128-149.
THE BANISHMENT OF SORROW.
xxxv. 10. _And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, &c._
+I.+ "They shall obtain joy and gladness," &c.--+this is undoubtedly
the distinctive and ineradicable hope of human nature.+ Is that hope
a glorious, and perhaps in its effects a beneficent, delusion never
to be realised? Or is it the earnest of a reality far greater than
its highest imagination can conceive? The question receives
contradictory answers from the two conflicting voices within the
soul, as from time to time one or other gains a temporary
predominance. But the Christian revelation allows no doubt on this
matter for a moment, and yet it does not bid us shut our eyes to the
darker phases of actual life. The picture drawn in this chapter deals
with every sphere of human life. It begins with the outward: it tells
how the "desert shall rejoice," &c.; it turns, then, to the lower
nature of man himself--"the eyes of the blind shall be opened," &c.;
lastly, it speaks to the spirit of man: the light of God shows a
"highway through the desert of life" on which "the redeemed can walk"
safely; and at the end there is a heavenly Zion of perfection, to
which the "ransomed of the Lord shall come with songs," &c.
+II. When did the prophet look to see his vision fulfilled?+ He may
well have thought first of the all but present deliverance from the
gigantic power of Assyria by the redeeming arm of the Lord. Some such
shadow of fulfilment there may have been, in the last gleam of
unclouded prosperity which ever fell upon Judah, before its sun set
in the great captivity: such shadows of fulfilment may have been felt
in the history of man again and again. Isaiah unquestionably looked
on to the kingdom of the Messiah as the one ideal of a perfect
manifestation of God and a perfect exaltation of man. Such fulfilment
Christ claimed for Himself; but it is in the actual manifestation of
the kingdom of Christ on earth that the prophetic picture is realised
in its fulness.
+III. If the kingdom of Christ is what it proclaims itself to be, it
must necessarily be, as on the Mount He proclaimed it, a kingdom of
blessing.+ What are the two great sources of the sorrow which broods
over life? 1. Over our bodily life, and the world of nature which
subserves it, there is _the blight of pain and suffering._
2. _Spiritual evil_--the blindness, weakness, sin of man himself. How
does the Gospel profess to face and scatter both? By the revelation
of the Cross it hallows doubly the law of suffering and death, by
overruling it to good for ourselves, and by making it a condition and
a means of helping the redemption of others. The Gospel deals still
more decisively with the burden of sin: in this lies the essence of
its redemption. "God is in Christ, reconciling the world to
Himself. . . . We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God." This is its first message; but it is not all; "Sin," it goes on
to say, "shall not have dominion over you." "Ye are sanctified in
Christ Jesus."
+IV. But is that promise actually realised?+ We answer boldly, Yes.
It must be remembered that by the very nature of the case the kingdom
of Christ is seen by us, as yet, only to the first stages of its
conflict against the powers of evil. What it can offer, as yet, is a
true but only imperfect earnest of the future. In all the three
phases of this prophecy, Christ asserted its power to bless the whole
world. He held the reins of the forces of nature; lifted the burden
of disease and resisted death; brought in the new life of His grace.
He had joy, like no other joy, amid His continuous conflict with
evil; and to those who were His, He gave peace in proportion as they
entered into His spirit. The last conflict was but for a moment, the
chill of dreariness before the dawn. "Then," amidst some fear, and
awe, and perplexity, "were the disciples _glad_ when they saw the
Lord." It is, thank God! a matter of daily Christian experience,
that, just in proportion as we are really Christ's, the promise is
realised again and again to us. There is joy in nature, and a deeper
joy and peace in communion with God. Sometimes we feel that these
things are the only reality in a fleeting and unsubstantial world
around us. But this reality is yet imperfect; sorrow and sighing are
rather kept at bay than driven away; but we have a sure and certain
hope of a perfect future. Without the realisation of His peace in the
present, without the sure and certain hope of the future, one hardly
sees how man can care to live; one dares not think how he can
die.--_Canon Barry, D.D.: Christian Age,_ vol. xx. pp. 81-83.
MODERN RABSHAKEHS, AND THEIR ATTEMPTS TO
TERRIFY GOD'S PEOPLE INTO A HUMBLE SURRENDER.
xxxvi. 4. _What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?_
Sennacherib is surprised at the attitude of resistance taken by
Hezekiah, and sends an embassy to dissuade him from his mad project.
When they appear outside the walls, some officers of Hezekiah's court
come out to confer with them, and Rabshakeh opens upon them with the
taunting question, _"What confidence," &c._ The proud king of Assyria
had another end beyond that of conquest. His aim was to show that
Jehovah was on a level with the gods of the nations. This was,
therefore, a religious war. Every country he subdued was another god
overcome, and if only Jerusalem were taken, his triumph would be
complete. _The situation here described is an image of the Christian
faith assailed by modern unbelief._ The forces of infidelity have
become bold and insolent. The Bible is subjected to the hostile
criticism of men who would rejoice to see it overthrown. Unbelief is
marshalling her forces against the citadel of revealed truth. She has
on her side some prominent leaders of modern thought, and employs
both press and lecture-room for accomplishing her destructive
designs. If she can only get the Christian faith out of the way, the
world will be her own. Our modern Rabshakehs are hurling against us
the taunting question, _"What confidence," &c._
+I. What is this confidence of ours which is so assailed?+
The question implies that we _have_ a confidence. Our opponents admit
it, though to them it is inexplicable. They are forced to bear
testimony to a strange but courageous faith by which we are supported
in life and death. Jerusalem had nothing to rest on but God's
presence and promise. Their king had encouraged them with the noble
words of 2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8. Here is the secret of the confidence
which so surprised the Assyrian king; and on the same ground do we
take our stand against the opposing hosts of unbelief. God's presence
and faithfulness are the bulwarks behind which we may safely entrench
ourselves. We have believed God's Word and have taken shelter in
Christ (Phil. iii. 3). On His exalted throne He is directing the
Church's energies, restraining her enemies, and giving success to her
enterprises.
+II. What assaults are made upon our confidence?+
They correspond to those by which Rabshakeh tried to subvert
Hezekiah's confidence. He puts the question in a contemptuous tone,
and then proceeds to answer it, and to show that the confidence
cherished had no solid basis. 1. He points to _the slenderness of
Hezekiah's resources_ (ver. 5, 6, 8, 9). "The Egyptians can no more
be relied on than the frail reeds that grow on the banks of their
Nile. No help can come from abroad; and see how weak you are in
yourselves. If you can find riders, I will supply 2000 horses." How
could such a puny kingdom withstand the power of Assyria with its
magnificent military equipment? So unbelief tries to undermine faith,
not knowing that God's strength is perfected in human weakness.
Cardinal Cajetan tried to browbeat Luther,--"Do you think that your
electors will take up arms for you? I tell you, no; and where then
will you be?" The brave answer was, "Then, as now, in the hands of
God." 2. Rabshakeh tries to _close the door of Divine help_ (ver. 7).
"How can you expect support from a God whose worship you have
suppressed?" But this was a needful reform, for these rural places of
worship had degenerated into scenes of idolatry. So the enemies of
the faith in our day try to make capital out of the changes and
reforms that have taken place. They point to our ecclesiastical
divisions and theological controversies as an argument against us.
"How can that be true about which there is so much diversity of
opinion? How can Divine help be expected to defend the Christian
faith, when there are so many sects and parties, disestablishment
agitations, and ecclesiastical rivalries?" We answer that there is a
unity among all who love the Lord Jesus, and however much we may
deplore the need of change and reform, we are not to be deterred from
effecting them by any fear of God's displeasure. It can never offend
God to maintain His truth and worship in all their purity (H. E. I.
1372-1374). 3. Another reason for surrender is urged in ver. 10,
where the Assyrian _claims to be commissioned by God_ to destroy the
land. This was only a piece of bluster intended to alarm Jerusalem.
It has its counterpart in our day in those men of science, who come
to us in the name of God with the truths they have discovered, and
throw them in our face as inconsistent with faith in the Scriptures.
But there can be no real disagreement between science and revelation.
We are not going to open our gates to arrogant scientists who claim
that their department embraces everything; to materialists who tell
us that our heaven is six feet below the ground. Let science keep to
its legitimate sphere. It was a good remark made by Professor Ball to
a lady who put to him some questions about comets, to each of which
he replied, "I do not know." "Then," she said, "may I ask what is the
use of your science?" "To let me know, madam," he replied, "that I
cannot know some things" (H. E. I. 538, 539). 4. Rabshakeh presses a
surrender in view of _the hardships the people would have to endure._
He threatens them with famine and thirst, and (vers. 16, 17) promises
them ease and plenty if they will but suppress the sentiment of
patriotism, abandon their confidence, and give up their city into his
hands. This is an old and well-used device to make the believer cower
in the face of trials and privations. But the men of faith are proof
against such selfish considerations. They will fight the Lord's
battles at whatever cost; for however hard their outward lot may be,
they have inward joys which more than counterbalance the loss of all
things. 5. The last argument which Rabshakeh employed is this (vers.
18-20): _Other gods were unable to defend their worshippers against
the victorious march, and why should the Lord be able to defend
Jerusalem?_ This was his last thrust, and was intended to bring home
to the people the utter baselessness of their confidence. This
reasoning is not unlike the patronising tone in which infidels speak
of the Christian religion, as one of the many superstitions, all well
enough for their day, but now effete, or destined to perish before
the advance of intelligence; as one of those venerable systems, all
of which are not losing their hold on the intellect and heart.
+III. Why should we still hold to our Christian confidence in spite
of these attempts to overthrow it?+
The agnosticism and infidelity which in our time are so loud and
pretentious are only systems of negation; they have no substitute for
that which they endeavour to destroy. If we allow them to rob us of
our faith, we are spiritually bankrupt, for these destructive
agencies have nothing to satisfy the heart and conscience. Never let
us lower our flag for all their threats and boastful arrogance.
Perhaps the best way to deal with them is that which was followed by
Hezekiah's officers (ver. 21; Matt. vii. 6).
+IV. What will be the end of all the assaults made upon the Christian
faith?+
We know what came of the boastful insolence of Rabshakeh. Not only
did he fail to unhinge the confidence of Hezekiah, but he brought
upon himself confusion and defeat. God answered his blasphemies; God
employs the hostile efforts of unbelief to confirm us in our
confidence. What our enemies intend for the subversion of the truth
only places it on a more solid basis. Christianity can never suffer
from the most rigid investigation, for this only reveals its
immovable strength. We throw back on our opponents their own
question, "What confidence have you, what light in the dark lonesome
hour of death?" Or, the strange "credulity of unbelief," which
accepts the most glaring fallacies, whose reason is clouded by a
proud and insolent defiance of God! We have nothing to fear, then,
from the boastful Rabshakehs of our day. The assaults to which our
faith is now subjected are nothing new. Old weapons are refurbished,
old stratagems resorted to; but it has survived attacks as clever as
those now made upon it (H. E. I. 1165).
CONCLUSION.--Let me put to you the question in a different tone with
all affection and anxiety for your spiritual welfare. It is good to
have our position assailed that we may see its strength (H. E. I.
1136-1139). Is yours a confidence that can resist the thrusts and
subtle reasonings and plausible solicitations of the world? The best
answer you can give to the insolence of unbelief is to hold your
peace, and go quietly forward in resolute faith and persistent
well-doing, giving not the answer of the lip, but of the life--a life
nourished, strengthened, and beautified by faith in Christ.--_William
Guthrie, M.A._
IN WHOM ART THOU TRUSTING?
xxxvi. 5. _. . . Now on whom dost thou trust?_
The question is important in ordinary life, but it is overwhelmingly
so in spiritual things.
I. A LITTLE BUNDLE OF ANSWERS.
1. "I do not know that I have thought about the matter; I have left
the matter of dying, and of eternity, and of judgment out of my
consideration." How foolish! There are more gates to death than you
dream of. Have not you walked with dying men? Suppose you were sure
of a long life, why delay being happy? Christ says of the rich man in
hell, "He lift up his eyes." He might and should have done so before,
but he said, "Tell my brethren." 2. "I thank God I am about as good
as most people." Company in being ruined will not decrease, but
rather increase the catastrophe. You are trusting in yourself. But is
conscience quiet? Only the absolutely perfect man can be saved by his
own works. 3. "I trust in my priest." Has any priest grace to spare
for you? You are, or may be, as much a priest as any man can be;
Christians are "a royal priesthood." 4. "Well, God is merciful." You
are trusting in the mercy of God; but, as you state it, you are
trusting in what you will never find. If you go to God out of Christ,
you will find Him to be a consuming fire; instead of mercy you shall
receive justice (H. E. I. 2315-2317, 2349-2350). 5. "Well, I do not
say that I can trust to my works, but I am a good-hearted man." There
is much truth in the saying, "If it is bad at the top, it is worse at
the bottom; and if it is not good on the surface, it will never pay
for getting at it" (Jer. xvii. 9; H. E. I. 2669-2680).
II. THE CHRISTIAN'S ANSWER.
I trust a triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I trust to the
Father's choosing me; to the Son, as my Redeemer, Intercessor, my
resurrection, and life; to the Holy Spirit, to save me from my inbred
sins, to sanctify me wholly.
To some men this does not look like a real trust. "We cannot see God;
how do we know all this about the Trinity?" Cannot you trust in a
thousand things you have never seen or heard? You have never seen
electricity nor gravity. Those that have trusted in God find Him to
be as real as if they could see Him. "Can we prove that God
interferes to help His people?" Yes, He hears prayer. A Christian is
sometimes asked whether he has a right to trust God. He has God's
promise to help him. "Is He worthy to be trusted?" He has proved
Himself faithful and true. The Christian commends God to others in
saying that he feels he can rest upon Him for the future.
III. SOME WORDS OF ADVICE TO THOSE WHO ARE TRUSTING.
1. _Drive out all unbelief._ With such a God to trust to, let us
trust with all our might. It is an insult to Him to doubt Him. The
devil calls God a liar, but it is hard if a man's own child is to
think ill of his father. We are verily guilty in speaking hard things
of our God. 2. _Seek the Holy Spirit's help._ We have often said we
would not doubt again, yet we have. Let us ask to be strengthened.
We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Finisher of
it also. 3. Try to _bring others to trust_ where we have trusted
(John i. 40-42, 45). 4. Love Him who thus gives Himself to be trusted
by us. The sister graces ever live together. Show your love. 5. We
must _prove our faith by our works._ Let us do more for God. "No day
without a deed." Cease working and you will soon cease
believing.--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ vol.
xi. pp. 469-480.
HEZEKIAH'S PRUDENT SILENCE.
xxxvi. 21. _But they held their peace, &c._
Dr. Geikie says of Hezekiah, "Ready for war when necessary, and alike
brave and skilful in its conduct, he was more inclined to the gentle
arts of peace." Among these "gentle arts" should be reckoned his
cultivated gift of prudence. Prudence is undervalued by some, as not
taking rank among the higher virtues, and even sometimes decried as
essentially selfish. But prudence guards the life of the highest
virtue, and thus becomes of almost equal importance with it. Prudence
is short for "providence;" "the provident man," as the phrase is
used, shows prudence in one direction, and is praised for it. Greater
praise is surely due to the all-round prudent man. Prudence in man
is, in one aspect, but the counterpart of providence in God, and
those who are given to esteem it lightly are not pious, like
Hezekiah, but already doubters of, and disbelievers in, the general
and special providence of God, or likely to become so (P. D. 2914).
It is prudent to be silent--1. _When the judgment, based upon the
knowledge of available facts, dictates silence as sound policy._
Silence may, and often does, imply something quite different from a
wisely calculated policy; it may indicate abject fear, cowardice,
indifference. All silence is not "golden;" sometimes the basest metal
goes to its composition. The order to be silent, whether addressed by
Hezekiah to his ambassadors, or to the people generally, or to both,
may be conjectured to have sprung from the king's desperate case. But
even if we leave out this element, enough remains to justify the
command, "Answer him not." It may be presumed that the messenger of
the "great king," "dressed in a little brief authority," conducted
himself as Hezekiah _foresaw_ he would, outdoing Sennacherib himself
in blasphemy and all impiety. "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and
hideth himself." Hezekiah did this in the most literal sense, and his
command to all concerned was to hide the spirit of their mind behind
a veil of silence. Such prudence, then, is more than foresight, it is
foresight connecting itself with a certain course of action as the
wisest or best possible in certain given circumstances (P. D. 3086,
3089). How rare is such prudence! Not from evil intent, but through
want of thought, do many persist in running their heads against
adamant. Available knowledge is neglected, and judgment, where there
is any in such a case, is adrift and mistaken.
2. _When the deepest feelings are agitated so as to be beyond
immediate control._ Hezekiah's ambassadors obeyed their orders until
Rabshakeh uttered words the effect of which upon the people there was
good reason to dread (ver. 10); then they broke in, carried on a
great wave of impulse (ver. 11); but only to make the blasphemer more
arrogantly insolent. Feeling, like fire, is a good servant but a bad
master; it is blind, and blindly seeks its own objects. Only in the
most highly educated moral natures can it ever be expected to flow in
proper channels; but in none should it be intrusted with the reins of
government. "I will keep my mouth with a bridle," said the Psalmist,
"while the wicked is before me" (cf. James i. 19, 20, 26).
3. _When wise counsel is at hand_ (xxxvii. 1, 2). "Hezekiah went into
the house of the Lord;" "and he sent Eliakim unto Isaiah the
prophet." There is a kind of piety which disdains human aid, because
each man may go direct to God. This may not have wrought so much harm
in the world as the Romish doctrine of mediators, but it is equally
mistaken. Blessed is the man who knows of a prophet--a brother-man of
spiritual insight, moral integrity, and Christian courtesy--before
whom he can lay his case! Thrice blessed he who, knowing such an one,
can hold his peace until he has sought and obtained the
Heaven-provided help! God may well hold us insincere if we go to Him
and neglect His servants' aid.
CONCLUSION.--Let us hear and understand the words of the preacher:
"There is a time to keep silence," as well as "a time to speak." We
are lacking in silence and reserve. Silence is a glorious temple, but
in it there are few worshippers. Be it ours to wait and worship there!
The worshippers find the very walls translucent, the rays of heaven
descend in unbroken brightness there. Silence is the birthplace of
the world's progress, and from the rays of truth that flash into it
are born the grand visions of the prophets of God, and kingly
purposes too; and from these are forged the weapons with which men
shall sweep away the hindrances to all wisdom.--_J. Macrae Simcock._
A FOOLISH KING AND A WISE ONE.
xxxvii. 1. _And it came to pass, &c._
The message to which our text refers was sent by a foolish king to a
wise one. Look at them both.
I. THE FOOLISH KING.
Sennacherib. Ignorant of God, he fell into various follies. 1. _Pride
and arrogance._ Unaware that he was but an instrument in the hand of
God (chap. x. 5-7), he imagined that his triumphs were due entirely
to his military genius and the power under his control. Blind as to
the true nature of his past career, he looked into the future with
boastful confidence; he had no doubt that he would go on conquering
and to conquer. His proud survey of the past and this arrogant
outlook into the future are follies repeated by many men much smaller
than Sennacherib. But every wise man will remember that he owes all
his past successes to God (Deut. viii. 10-18), and that all his
future is absolutely in the hand of God (James iv. 13-15).
2. _Blasphemous undervaluing of the power of God_ (vers. 18-20). He
therefore imagines that God's people are in his hand. On this account
he presents to them a curious reason why they should surrender (chap.
xxxvi. 16, 17). He promises them a quiet possession of their own
vines, which they possessed already but for his disturbance; and in
the same breath he adds, "Until I come and take you away;" and then,
to soften that sentence, he promises to take them to a land like
their own. He promises them no more, after all, than they had already
on the safe tenure of their own laws. The reason for surrender was
either a mockery of men whom he believed incapable of resisting him,
or an indication of the mental weakness into which pride was
betraying him. Ere long there was a terrible demonstration of his
folly (ch. xxxvii. 36, P. D. 3413), an appalling fulfilment of the
prediction concerning him (ch. x. 12-19).
II. THE WISE KING.
Hezekiah. His disposition does not appear to more advantage in any
passage of life, nor his conduct exhibit lessons more generally
useful, than in the circumstances to which our text alludes. A
message is brought from a proud invader; threats mixed with
blasphemies are sounded in his ears; a force far superior to his own
draws near to his city. In his extremity he sought help, not from
man, but from God. In drawing near to God, he testifies his
_penitence_ for his own sins and the sins of the people by rending
his garments and covering himself with sackcloth, the usual tokens of
sorrow in the East; his _faith_ and _hope_ by resorting to the house
of God, his accustomed place of prayer. Observe the wisdom of the
order of his procedure. 1. He began with demonstrations of
repentance. He knew well that without repentance there could be no
hope towards God. (1.) This is the true order for individuals
(H. E. I. 145-147). (2.) For the Church of God. 2. Beginning with
repentance, he could cherish hope (vers. 2-4). Why? He felt that the
Lord would not permit Sennacherib's words to pass unpunished; and
that, if the sins of the people did not operate to prevent it, help
would surely be sent him. But he spoke with caution, "it may be," &c.
The best reasons may be found for what we call "delays" in
providential helps. There was room for expectation that help would be
given, room for prayer that it might be given, but no room for
overweening confidence that it must be so. With his hope there was
mingled submission to the will of God, and that doubtless helped to
win for his prayer a favourable hearing.
CONCLUSION.--This narrative presents us with the results, on the one
hand, of pride and arrogance; and on the other, of repentance and an
humbled spirit. In times of extremity let us not entertain hope
without an humble and repentant suit to God; and when that ground of
penitence is laid for its support, let us not dismiss our confidence.
God is always able to help His people. Like Hezekiah, then, to Him,
let us resort in every time of trouble, whether it be a time of
public danger or of domestic affliction.--_J. H. Pott: Sermons,_ vol.
ii. pp. 282-299.
A KING IN TROUBLE.
xxxvii. 14. _And Hezekiah received the letter, &c._
The armies of Assyria had overthrown the cities of Phœnicia and
Philistia. Samaria had fallen. Many of the strongholds of Judah had
been destroyed. Hezekiah attempted to turn aside the tide of war by
sending a tribute to the conqueror. Like all compromises of unbelief,
this act of submission resulted in increased trial. Sennacherib did
not desire to make peace with Hezekiah. To have left Jerusalem
unsubdued as he advanced towards Egypt would have been impolitic and
unsafe. So he determined to destroy it, and sent a letter full of
boastful arrogance, threats, blasphemy, false insinuations, and
insults to the king.
I. HEZEKIAH'S TROUBLE.
1. Kings cannot escape trouble. Storms howl on mountain-tops when
sunshine gilds the plains (H. E. I. 47; P. D. 2142, 2143). 2. Neither
does piety prevent trouble. If it were an absolute evil, the
righteous would escape it; but it is often an angel in disguise
stooping to serve them. The best need discipline. The pious are often
more benefited by trouble than by joy (H. E. I. 116-142). 3. Trouble
may arise, not from our own wrong-doings, but from the wrong-doing of
others. Sennacherib's lawless ambition then troubled the whole earth.
God uses evil even to discipline His saints. He knew what Hezekiah
needed, and used Sennacherib to discipline him (H. E. I. 85).
4. Great troubles may be conveyed to us by insignificant means. A
letter only was received; but who can tell what trouble a letter may
convey? 5. Hezekiah's trouble was great. It included--(1.) _The
threatened loss of his kingdom._ He saw before him the loss of all
his greatness and honour. (2.) _Threatened captivity or death._
(3.) _Possible demolition of the royal city._ Jerusalem was dear to
every Jew. Especially so to Hezekiah, who had fortified and
beautified it. (4.) _The ruin and exile of his people._ (5.) _The
dishonour of Jehovah._ Sennacherib had insulted God. If Jerusalem
were taken, His holy and beautiful house would be profaned, His glory
tarnished, and His worship, which had been lately restored,
obliterated from the earth.
II. HEZEKIAH'S REFUGE.
All men have not a Divine refuge in trouble. The irreligious cannot
rush into the sheltering arms of God. Hezekiah had done all that a
wise monarch could do to defend his city (2 Chron. xxxii. 1-8), and
after this he committed his way to God. Fanaticism despises means,
but true faith uses them, and then soars above them to rest in
Omnipotence. 1. _Hezekiah sought God, his refuge, in the Temple._ For
the spiritual training of a people who were to be God's witnesses to
the end of time, God's presence was more especially revealed there.
Special promises were given to those who prayed there. Moreover, it
was Hezekiah's accustomed place of prayer. Helpful memories often
crowd around us in places where we have prayed, and bear us up, as
upon eagles' wings, into the Divine presence. 2. _He would set a good
example to the nation._ He would lead his people to seek God in that
day of trouble. 3. _He would publicly manifest his confidence in
God's power to protect and save._ His faith found expression in an
act which honoured God and quickened His people's confidence in Him.
He spread the letter before the Lord. A most significant act--a
prayer in action. Probably done in solemn silence, words afterward
rising to his lips. He would not answer this letter, but would leave
it with God to answer it. Many letters might better be left with God
than answered. If enemies threaten us, let us make God our refuge,
and our deliverance also will be sure (P. D. 779).
_Learn_--1. So to live as to have those troubles only which come to
us by Divine appointment. 2. In the greatest of these troubles never
to despair of Divine help, but to expect it. 3. To be pious in
prosperity, that when adversity comes we may have God for our refuge
(H. E. I. 3877-3879).--_W. Osborne Lilley: The Homiletic Quarterly,_
vol. i. pp. 389-391.
The conduct of Hezekiah recited here teaches us _our first duty and
best resource in any emergency._ Sennacherib had captured all the
defended cities of Judah, and at length, determining to capture
Jerusalem, he sent a taunting, boastful, threatening letter to
Hezekiah, reminding him of the Assyrian conquests, and warning him
against a vain confidence in the help of his God. This letter
Hezekiah spread before the Lord in earnest prayer. The sequel shows
how wisely he acted, and a consolatory message was sent by Isaiah to
Hezekiah. Sennacherib was not allowed to shoot an arrow against
Jerusalem; his army was destroyed, and he was compelled to return
ignominiously to his own land, where he shortly afterwards perished.
Here we have an example that should be followed by any one harassed,
irritated, alarmed.
1. _Sorrowful ones,_ take note of it. In this world there is much to
trouble, harass, annoy us, but we should be more proof against such
things if we were more accustomed to have recourse to the Divine
helps graciously offered us. You know what a source of comfort it is
to lay open your grief to a sympathising friend. This source of help
and consolation may fail you, but there is no imaginable state in
which you may not spread your sorrow before the Lord. Nor can any
friend so fully enter into it, compassionate it, relieve it. What a
privilege it is to have such a Comforter always at hand! How
completely are they enemies to their own happiness who neglect to
avail themselves of such an advantage (H. E. I. 3739-3741, 199, 2311,
2322; P. D. 96, 2820).
2. Connected with Hezekiah's sorrow there was _fear._ The more reason
for spreading his case before the Lord, of all friends the most
willing and able to remove the cause of apprehension. Daniel in the
den of lions, Shadrach and his brethren in the furnace, Paul and
Silas in prison, might be quoted in proof of God's readiness to
deliver His people from fear and danger. Whatever may be the nature
or the source of your fear, spread it before the Lord (H. E. I. 4058).
3. Another feeling which the perusal of Sennacherib's letter was
likely to produce in Hezekiah's mind was _irritation._ It was written
in a tone of proud sarcasm, well calculated to produce this effect.
If Hezekiah found any such feeling arise in his mind in reading it,
what could he do better than lay it before the Lord? We are
continually liable to meet with circumstances calculated to ruffle
the temper. Then, if we wish to feel and act as Christians should,
let us spread the case before the Lord; let us not trust to our
command of temper, or to any resolutions we may have formed, but meet
the sudden call upon our patience and forbearance by a prompt
application to the Fountain whence those graces flow. It is possible
to pray under any circumstance. Ejaculatory prayer is a most precious
privilege, especially in circumstances of sudden trial or temptation.
As anger springs up so suddenly in the mind in cases of irritation,
it is most happy that there is an antidote to its evil effects on the
mind that may be resorted to as speedily (H. E. I. 3765-3773). How
much better is prayer than angry retorts (H. E. I. 261-271).
The good effects of the habit of carrying everything to God are not
limited to those three cases; they extend to every conceivable
circumstance of trial or temptation. They have yet to learn the value
of religion who do not know the difference it makes in a state of
trial and affliction to have the privilege of turning to a reconciled
and loving Father, and spreading our calamity before Him, and asking
His tender and strong support. As trials may befall us at any hour,
we should live in constant fellowship with Him (H. E. I.
3872-3879).--_John Marriott, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp. 434-436.
A KING'S PRAYER.
xxxvii. 15-20. _And Hezekiah prayed, &c._
+I. Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah as the God of his nation.+ "O Lord God
of Israel." 1. The nation bore the name of one of its progenitors,
who "as a prince had prevailed with God." The name Israel had been
more generally applied to the northern kingdom, which had already
been overthrown, but Hezekiah claims it for the remnant that was
left. When he uttered that name, did he wish to remind himself of
Jacob's power in prayer, or of God's special interest in His nation?
Perhaps both. God had chosen, defended, saved it. Names which recall
Divine deliverance may encourage us in prayer. 2. His nation was
Jehovah's peculiar dwelling place: "Which dwelleth between the
cherubim." The Shekinah, symbol of the Divine presence, shone forth
from between those weird figures on either side of the mercy-seat.
Hezekiah"s reference to this peculiar Divine manifestation was
intended to suggest that God would protect His own dwelling-place.
This is true. God's dwelling-place is always safe, whether it be a
nation--a man--a church (H. E. I. 1246-1251).
+II. In his prayer Hezekiah recognises the sole supremacy of
Jehovah.+ "Thou art the God," &c., "and have cast their gods into the
fire," &c. Polytheism prevailed in the nations surrounding Judæa.
Sennacherib had spoken of Jehovah as if He were the God merely of the
Jews, and in his ignorance supposed that Hezekiah had offended Him by
removing the "high places." Hezekiah asserted--1. That Jehovah was
the only true God. 2. That He exercised supreme control over all the
kingdoms of the earth.
+III. He appealed to Jehovah as the Maker of heaven and earth.+ In
the sublime acknowledgement these truths are involved:--1. _That He
is eternal_ (H. E. I. 2253; P. D. 1492, 1518). 2. _That He is
separate from all His works._ He is immanent in them, but independent
of them (P. D. 1519). 3. _That He is omnipotent._ He who made the
universe must be almighty (H. E. I. 2270; P. D. 1509). 4. _That He
has all things under His control_ (H. E. I. 4023). This conception of
God afforded solid ground for Hezekiah's faith. Before the greatness
of Jehovah the might of His enemies sank into nothingness. Large
conceptions of God will ever give large expectations in prayer. The
more we widen our views of God, the more confidence we shall have in
Him in trouble.
+IV. Hezekiah prayed with great earnestness.+ "Lord, bow down Thine
ear," &c. "Now, therefore, O Lord, our God, _I beseech Thee._"
Fervent desires lead invariably to ardent expressions. Cold prayers
are no prayers. Earnestness is needed, not to lead God to observe our
condition, nor to create in Him a disposition to help us,
but--1. That the strength of our desires may be revealed. 2. That we
may be raised from the low condition of formal devotion. 3. That we
may have all the spiritual culture which the outcries of real need
may impart. 4. That we may be prepared to receive deliverances
thankfully (H. E. I. 3831-3838, 3893).
+V. Hezekiah recognised the greatness of the deliverance which he
sought.+ "Of a truth, Lord," &c. Other kingdoms had fallen; why not
his? Only that his hope was in God. No human ingenuity or might could
deliver him. Men must be brought to see that their need of
deliverance is great. Sometimes they are brought to see this by
temporal emergencies. Such crises teach us more of God than years of
ordinary living (H. E. I. 117-121). Spiritual deliverances must come
from God alone. The soul is a besieged city. The forces of Diabolus
are around Mansoul. Its Sennacherib is mighty. The deliverance which
it needs is great. To recognise the greatness of the deliverance we
need will--1. Deepen our sense of our own helplessness. 2. Stimulate
the exercise of great faith. 3. Prepare us for the manifestation of
God's great delivering hand.
+VI. Hezekiah associated the glory of Jehovah with the deliverance
which he sought.+ The reproaches that had been cast upon him had been
cast upon God. The deliverance of Jerusalem would manifest God's sole
supremacy in the earth--"that all the kingdoms," &c. No prayers are
so powerful as those which seek God's glory, for _that_ is the real
and ultimate good of humanity. Many prayers will not bear this test;
they are earthly, narrow, selfish (P. D. 2842).
Hezekiah's prayer prevailed. The besieging army was destroyed;
whether, as Kingsley suggests, "by a stream of poisonous vapours as
often comes forth out of the ground during earthquakes and eruptions
of burning mountains, and kills all men and animals that breathe it,"
or by a pestilence, or by the simoom, we cannot tell. But it was
God's delivering hand put forth in answer to Hezekiah's faith and
prayer--1. That His people might learn to put their trust in Him; and
2. That all the earth might know that none can defy His power and
prosper.--_W. Osborne Lilley: The Homiletic Quarterly,_ vol. i. pp.
521-524.
A CHRISTIAN PRAYER.
xxxvii. 20. _Now, therefore, O Lord our God, save us, &c._
The conclusion of Hezekiah's prayer. Sennacherib had accomplished the
conquest of several countries, notwithstanding the protection of
their gods. He declared that the God who Hezekiah trusted would also
be unable to deliver him. What could the king do better than spread
the letter before the Lord, cry for help, and make the reproach of
the Almighty's power the principal plea? God's honour was at stake.
If Jerusalem was saved it would be a demonstration of God's exclusive
Divinity to all the nations around. The result was that the angel of
the Lord destroyed the Assyrian camp, so that Sennacherib returned to
Nineveh. It is one of the most remarkable answers to prayer.
This is pre-eminently a Christian prayer--that all the kingdoms of
the earth may know that the Lord is God alone. It is the end toward
which all Christian desire and effort is directed. We will consider
it in this view, and notice--
I. THE CONSUMMATION WHICH IS DESIRED.
It is that all mankind may believe in the one true God. Most of the
nations of ancient times believed in a multiplicity of divinities, as
the inhabitants of India do now. But many of these peoples were
devoted to some one god in particular, who was supposed to take their
country under his protection. The gods were local. They did not
exclude each other. In time of war the question, so far as the gods
were concerned, was not which nation was protected by the true God,
but which god was the strongest.
The spirit of Judaism was entirely antagonistic to this. The unity of
God was its great doctrine. It was not missionary; it was a _silent_
protest. So far as they were faithful to the teaching they had
received, the belief of the Jewish people was, that while the Divine
Being stood in special covenant relations to them, He was the
exclusive Divine Being; that until the nations should become
acquainted with Him they had no God at all.
Christianity occupies a similar position, only the position is
extended. When it commenced its career, it made itself felt, not as a
silent protest, but as an active aggressive agency which aimed at the
overthrow of all idolatry. It assumed the position that all the
religions of the earth are false, while it is the only religion for
man. From that position it has not descended. To do so would be to
efface itself, therefore it cannot accept the modern paganism. It
cannot take its place as one of the many forms, perhaps the most
enlightened, in which the religious sentiment is expressed. It cannot
accept the courtesies of "thoughtful men" on these terms. It must be
all or nothing. It is the channel through which the one God has
revealed Himself as the redeeming God. The consummation desiderated
by the Christian Church is that all the nations of the earth may be
brought to the knowledge of Him as thus revealed.
II. THE REASON WHY IT IS DESIRED.
1. _Because it is essential to the Divine honour._ God is not
regardless of His glory, He might have remained alone; but He chose
to call into existence creatures able to contemplate His glory.
Before them He has set His works. He wishes to live in their thoughts
and affections, not merely as a distant object of awful
contemplation, but as one enshrined in their heart's love. He desires
to be so real to them as that they shall connect Him with all the
events of history and all the experience of life. But this cannot be,
if He is unknown or regarded as one of many. The honour of the
sovereign cannot be divided; neither can the honour of God. It is
something by itself. He is jealous of it. So are His people. They are
anxious that He receive His proper honour from all the world.
2. _Because it is necessary to religious worship._ Some religious
worship enters into the life of mankind everywhere. But it cannot be
indifferent whether it shall be offered to the only Being capable of
receiving it, or to nothing. The notion entertained of the object of
worship regulates the nature of worship. Contrast heathen with
Christian worship. An unknown God cannot be satisfactorily
worshipped. The God of Christianity can be the object of a worship
that is real so far as the worshipper is concerned, and acceptable to
Him to whom it is presented.
3. _Because it affects the experience of life._ A man's thoughts
respecting God must affect his life at every point. He must not
believe in any. He may believe in many. He may believe in one. He
will be influenced in relation to the duties, the trials, and the
difficulties of life. Is not the ideal of possible excellence for
humanity higher under the influence of the Christian than under any
other form of belief or unbelief respecting God? In the inevitable
sorrows of life, is it not a very different thing to be ignorant of
God from what it is to know Him as one who sympathises with the
sufferer, and whose hand will remove the suffering when it has
accomplished its appointed work? The knowledge of God is the most
practical of all knowledge. It moulds our life, character,
experience, conduct, at every point.
4. _Because it secures the salvation of the soul_ (John xvii. 3).
There must be an experimental acquaintance with Him. It is realised
in the friendship with Him that comes through faith in Christ. It is
an abiding spiritual life, gradually unfolding into eternal life.
III. THE MEANS BY WHICH IT WILL BE REALISED.
The prayer contemplates Divine action as evidence. "Save us from his
hand." According to the reasoning of the time this would be the
proof. Reasoning from facts still the most satisfactory. Thus we may
reason--1. From _creation._ The wisdom and power displayed are the
wisdom and power of One. 2. From _redemption._ God has interposed for
many. He has actually saved many. Every conversion strengthens this
argument. 3. From _the preservation of the living Church._ In spite
of persecution, infidelity, lapse of time.
We may therefore make it a plea for the bestowment of saving
blessings, as Hezekiah did.
Do you believe in him? Live as you believe. Think what would be the
effect if all did so. Tell it to the heathen. Pray for them in
praying for yourself.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH A CONTINUATION OF THE JEWISH.
xxxvii. 31. _And the remnant that is escaped, &c._
When the power and splendour of the family of David were failing, the
prophets foretold that the kingdom of the saints should one time be
restored. Has this promise yet been fulfilled or no? and if
fulfilled, in what sense?
There are other prophecies parallel to the text, _e.g.,_ Jer.
xxxi. 31-33; Ezek. xxxiv. 23; Isa. xli. 14, 15, lxii. 1, 2.
_That these and a number of other prophecies are fulfilled in the
Christian dispensation is plain from the express assertions of
inspired persons_ (Acts xv. 13-17). This explains the language of
Moses, in which the perpetual obligation of the law is asserted, "Ye
shall not add unto the word which I command you," &c.; and after
punishment, return of prosperity was promised, on condition of
returning to the law (Deut. iv. 30, xi. 22-25).
Consider one or two difficulties--
1. It may be well said that the prophecies have not been, and never will be,
fulfilled in the letter, because they contain expressions and statements which
do not admit, or certainly have a literal meaning. But the use of figures in a
composition is not enough to make it figurative as a whole; we constantly use
figures of speech whenever we speak, although the main course of our
conversation is to be taken literally. Now this will apply to the language of
the prophets. The words "David," "Israel," "Jerusalem," and the like, are not
so much figures as proper names which have a figurative origin, or words which,
having first had a confined sense, come, as language proceeds, to have a wide
one. All these words convey a literal truth in their substance.
2. It may be asked whether it is possible to consider the Christian
Church, which is so different from the Jewish, a continuation of it.
It may be argued that Christ founded His Church as a new thing in the
earth. Observe--(1.) That the chosen people had in former ages gone
through many vicissitudes, many transformations, before the
_revolution_ which followed on Christ's coming. They had been
shepherds, slaves; the place of God's presence had moved about; they
had been governed by a lawgiver, by judges, by kings, by priests. The
change when Christ came from a local into a catholic form, was not
abrupt, but gradual; what was first a dispersion became a diffusion.
And let it be observed, a change in externals was anticipated as
regards the city of God in the Old Testament. "Thou shalt be called
by a new name," says the prophet (chap. lxii. 4). (2.) It may be
objected that the change was internal, not external only; it became a
Church of Gentiles, instead of a Church of Jews. But changes of this
kind had occurred before, _e.g.,_ the change which destroyed the
substantive existence of the ten tribes; in an earlier age, only two
of those who left Egypt with Moses entered the promised land. The
line of continuity, surely, was not less definite when the Church
became Christian. The sacred writers show themselves aware of this
peculiarity in the mode in which God's purposes are carried on from
age to age. They are frequent in speaking of a "remnant" as alone
inheriting the promises (Rom. xi. 2-5; Isa. i. 9; Ezek. xi. 13; Jer.
xl. 15; Hag. i. 14; Joel ii. 32; Micah v. 8; Zech. viii. 12). There
was no substitution of a new Church for an old; it was the
manifestation of the old law of "the remnant," by which the many were
called and the few chosen. We may consider, then, the word "remnant,"
so constantly used in Scripture, to be the token of identity of the
Creator, before and after the coming of Christ. Paul expressly
inculcates that the promises made to Israel are really accomplished,
without any evasion, in the Divine protection accorded to Christians.
To conclude:--1. Whether we can clear up these points or no, they are
not greater than the difficulties which attend on other confessedly
fulfilled and very chief and notable prophecies, as that of the
dispersion of the Jews. They were threatened with the evils which
have befallen them, supposing they did _not_ keep their law; whereas
in the event the punishment has come upon them apparently _for
keeping_ it; because they would not change the law for the Gospel,
_therefore_ have they been scattered through the nations. In this it
is implied that in rejecting the Gospel they in some way or other
rejected their law, or that the Gospel is the continuation or
development of the law. In a similar way are the prophecies
concerning the elect _remnant_ fulfilled in the history of the
Christian Church. 2. If the prophecies in their substance certainly
have had a literal fulfilment, then this will follow, viz., that the
very appearance of separation and contrast does but make it more
necessary that there should be some great real agreement and inward
unity between one and the other, whether we can discover what it is
or not on account of which they are called one. All Scripture has its
difficulties; but let us not, on account of what is difficult,
neglect what is clear. Perchance, if we had learnt from it what we
_can_ learn by our own private study, we should be more patient of
learning from others those further truths which, though in Scripture,
we cannot learn from it ourselves.--_John Henry Newman: Sermons on
Subjects of the Day,_ pp. 180-198.
HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER.
Isa. xxxviii. 1-19.
In this narrative there are three points of difficulty and many
points of instruction.
I. THREE POINTS OF DIFFICULTY.
1. _Why was Hezekiah afraid to die?_ Answer: (1.) Even to a
_Christian_ man, death is an event of unutterable solemnity, for
which he feels it necessary to make the most serious preparation, and
which he would not like to have occur to him suddenly. (2.) Hezekiah
had not that _clear_ view of the future which has been granted to us
(ver. 18; 2 Tim. i. 10). (3.) His kingdom was threatened by a
powerful enemy, and the important reforms which he had been
prosecuting were incomplete; and even good men are apt to forget that
God can raise up others to do His work more efficiently than they
have done it. (4.) At that time he had no child, and that he should
die childless appeared inconsistent with God's promise to David
(1 Kings ii. 4). Probably it was a recollection of this promise that
prompted his reference to his integrity (ver. 3). In those words
there is no boastfulness; they are an appeal to the Divine
faithfulness. On all these accounts a prolongation of his life seemed
to Hezekiah desirable, and he sought it from God in prayer.
2. _When we compare vers. 1 and 5, do we not find an astonishing
reversal of a Divine decree altogether inconsistent with the doctrine
of God's unchangeableness?_ No. "The same decree that says, 'Nineveh
shall be destroyed,' means, 'If Nineveh repent, it shall not be
destroyed.' He that finds good reason to say, 'Hezekiah shall die,'
yet still means, 'If the quickened devotion of Hezekiah importune Me
for life, it shall be protracted.' And the same God that had decreed
this addition of fifteen years had decreed to stir up the spirit of
Hezekiah to that vehement and weeping importunity which should obtain
it" (_Bishop Hall_).
3. _What was the nature of the sign given to confirm Hezekiah's
faith?_ For a discussion of this point, see note.[1]
II. MANY POINTS OF INSTRUCTION.
1. _Sickness and death are the common lot of mankind._ Kings are
liable to them as well as beggars (H. E. I. 1536, 1537). 2. _In the
extremity of suffering, when all human help is vain, the righteous
can turn to God._ Pitiable would have been Hezekiah's case, monarch
though he was, if he could only have "turned his face to the wall."
3. _In every extremity, the most powerful of all remedies is prayer_
(H. E. I. 3720-3724). 4. _How promptly God sometimes answers prayer_
(2 Kings xx. 4). 5. _God answers prayer instrumentally._ In this case
He did it by suggesting a simple remedy (ver. 21), which perhaps the
court physicians had thought it beneath their dignity to employ.
6. _Those who have been restored from dangerous illness should make
public acknowledgement of God's goodness._ 7. _How great are our
privileges in possessing the Gospel,_ through which "life and
immortality are brought to light," and death stripped of its terror!
In the market-place of Mayence stands a statue of Gutenberg, the
inventor of printing, on the base of which there is this honourable
inscription:--"The knowledge which was once the exclusive possession
of princes and philosophers he has put within the reach of the common
people." A similar statue might be erected to the honour of our
Saviour, who has made those views of the future life which cheered
only a few of the noblest saints (such as David in Ps. xxiii. 6) the
common heritage of the whole Church. No true believer can now be so
much afraid of death as Hezekiah was (1 Cor. xv. 55-57).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _"And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he
brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had
gone down in the dial of Ahaz."_--2 Kings xx. 11.
How was this wonderful result secured? Did God arrest the
earth as it revolved on its axis, and wheel it round in the
opposite direction? No one who considers what would be the
natural result of such a proceeding, and what a stupendous
series of miracles would have been needed to have prevented
the destruction of all life upon the earth, will think so
for a moment, especially when a course much simpler, and
equally efficacious, is suggested by the very words of the
different narratives. Isaiah indeed says, "So the SUN
returned ten degrees" (xxxviii. 8). But his record of what
seemed to occur must be interpreted by what God had
promised to do: "Behold, I will bring again the shadow of
the degrees, which is gone down in the sundial of Ahaz, ten
degrees backward." And in the narrative in the Book of
Kings it is the _shadow_ and not the sun that is spoken of
throughout. To reverse the shadow in the dial it needed
nothing more than a _miraculous refraction of the light;_
and we believe that this is what occurred, not because it
was an easier thing for God to do, but because it is in
harmony with all that He does to believe that when two
courses were open to Him, one exceedingly simple and one
exceedingly complex, He would choose the simple course. God
never wastes power. The extraordinary results produced by
the refraction of light are familiar to all who have given
any attention to natural philosophy. The atmosphere
refracts the sun's rays so as to bring him in sight, on
every clear day, before he rises on the horizon, and to
keep him in view for some minutes after he is really below
it. Contradictory as it may sound, on almost any summer
evening you may see the sun at least five minutes after he
is set. It is entirely owing to refraction that we have any
morning or evening twilight. That the rays of the sun can
be so refracted as to cause him to be seen where he
actually is not is thus a matter of daily experience. And
there are some extraordinary cases on record. Kepler, the
great astronomer, mentions that some "Hollanders, who
wintered in Nova Zembla in the year 1596, were surprised to
find that, after a continual night of three months, the sun
began to rise almost _seventeen days_ sooner than he should
have done." This can only be accounted for by a miracle, or
by an extraordinary refraction of the sun's rays passing
through the cold dense air in that climate. In 1703 again,
the prior of the monastery at Metz, in Lothringen, and many
others, observed that the shadow of a sundial went back an
hour and a half. It is thus abundantly plain that the
result related could have been secured by a refraction of
the light, a common occurrence in Nature. The miracle
consisted _in its happening at that particular moment;_
just as in the case of the fish that Peter caught which
contained money. Many fish containing money have been
caught; but there was the miracle--that this fish was
caught at the very time which Christ had indicated. In like
manner the miraculous element in the regression of the
shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz was its occurring just at
the very time at which it was needed to verify the
prophet's word and strengthen the monarch's faith.
PREPARATION FOR DEATH.
xxxviii. 1. _Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die,
and not live._
This announcement was made to Hezekiah when suffering under dangerous
illness. In answer to his prayer the sentence was mitigated. Fifteen
years were added to his life. It is not wrong to pray for the
prolongation of life when important interests are concerned, and when
we pray with due submission to Him whose prerogative it is to fix its
duration.
The text furnishes a theme for useful meditation. It contains--
I. A SOLEMN ANNOUNCEMENT.
"Thou shalt die." It may be viewed either as the declaration of a
familiar truth or as the prediction of an immediate event. 1. _As the
declaration of a familiar truth._ Nothing is more familiar. The
universal reign of death over all the generations that have preceded
us necessitates the conclusion that, unless we are alive when the
Lord comes, we shall follow them. We are reminded of the truth by
obituary notices in newspapers, by the spectacle of funerals passing
quietly along the streets, by the silent departure of friends. "The
sentence of death has passed upon all men." However long life may be
protracted in individual instance, it never suggests the question
whether they will be exceptions to the general rule. It only suggests
the wonder that in any instance life is so far protracted. The only
uncertain thing is how much longer or shorter than the average our
own life will be. Death may come to us when in fullest health by the
unexpected accident, or by the illness which has been caught we know
not how, or by the subtle disease which silently undermines the
system, eating away the cord that has bound us to life (H. E. I.
1536-1546; P. D. 751, 752).
Nor is this event a mere departure from the present life. To our
friends it is chiefly that. It is their deprivation of all that makes
us interesting and valuable to them. To ourselves it is very much
more. It is the precursor of our appearance before the judgment-seat
of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. v. 10; Rom. xiv. 12; Matt. xxv. 34,
41; Rev. xx. 12). It is to us a much more serious matter than passing
into nothingness.
Is it, therefore, a subject to be studiously avoided? Is it not one
that should be often before us? Look it in the face; dwell on it.
Such thought will not produce indifference to the present. It will
invest it with a deeper seriousness. Its interests and duties will be
contemplated in their connection with the great future. The smallest
thing has such a connection. The attitude we assume towards God,
Christ, the Divine commands, His kingdom. Our conduct in business,
the family, among men. The influence of our words, acts, spirit,
character. All these come into this great account. Death closes the
account. Does not this attach dignity, solemnity, earnestness to the
whole of life? (H. E. I. 1557-1566).
2. _As the prediction of an immediate event._ Supposing, instead of
familiar truth, it were announced to us on good authority that
immediately, or within a given time, we should die, what would be the
effect? There are aged Christians, whose life-work is done, to whom
it would be welcome news. There are young Christians who have
recently found peace in Christ but have not yet realised the
privilege of working for Him, to whom it would be welcome. There are
others to whom it would be terrible, because they have not yet found
Christ nor surrendered to God. It would be to them like the knell of
doom (P. D. 684). And yet it may be the duty of some one to make that
announcement.[1]
II. A SUITABLE DIRECTION.
"Set thine house in order." This direction is twofold. 1. _With
regard to your worldly affairs._ The king was directed to give
command concerning his house. His wishes respecting the succession to
the throne. Every business-man should keep his affairs in such order
that if he were suddenly called away there would be no difficulty.
Every one possessed of property should, in view of the uncertainty of
life, make his will. Many leave this duty to the last. If it has been
so left and sickness comes, it should be one of the first things
done. It will not hasten death. It will save expense. It will secure
the rights of all. It will prevent disputes. It will relieve the
mind. It will leave it free to attend to the soul. 2. _With regard to
your eternal interests._ Think of the soul's future. Are you prepared
for the great journey? Are you ready with your accounts? Recall your
obligations to the Almighty. Consider how they have been discharged.
Overcome your reluctance to a thorough conviction of sin. Let there
be humility, contrition, repentance. Seek mercy. There is a Saviour.
Believe in Him. Yield your heart. If already a Christian, survey the
position. If near death, all this is obviously necessary. If not near
death, or death not apparently near, it is necessary on the ground of
your liability to death. It will come some time. The only safety is
to close with Jesus now.--_J. Rawlinson._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It is a distressing duty. It requires the skilful and
delicate hand. But it must be performed. There is the
tender and delicate girl who took a cold some time ago. She
was better and worse. It was nothing. Somehow she became
weaker. At length she had only strength to lie in bed. She
is sure that with more genial weather she will recover. All
has been done. One day the physician, with grace and
sympathetic manner, tells her mother the case is hopeless.
Break it to her. How can she? There is a fear that the
revelation may accelerate the catastrophe. It may not. The
sick are not usually so much alarmed at the thought of
death as is supposed. At any rate, it seems only fair to
them that they should know the seriousness of their
position. If they are already saved, it will probably lead
them to plant their feet more firmly on the Rock of Ages.
If they are not yet saved, it may not be too
late.--_Rawlinson._
DUTIES OF THE SICK AND DYING.
xxxviii. 1. _Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die._
This message sent from God to Hezekiah in his sickness contains a
warning applicable to us all. It becomes us all to maintain such
order in our worldly and spiritual affairs as that death, whenever he
knocks at our door, may find us prepared to obey his summons
(H. E. I. 1562-1566). But this is especially the duty of those who
are visited, even now, by the forerunners and harbingers of death
(H. E. I. 1561).
Most men, when laid aside by sickness, are disposed to turn in their
pain and apparent peril to God who hath smitten, and who alone can
heal; and to prepare for the great change in which the sickness may
terminate. But few when thus called upon know how to set about the
work, which they are then ready to allow to be most necessary and
urgent. Even those who have lived outwardly blameless lives, are apt
to be so distressed and confused by fear of death, that they do not
know how to do what will turn the king of terrors into a messenger of
peace, rest, and immortality (H. E. I. 1567, 1568, 1570; P. D. 684,
741, 761). Therefore, let those who are now in health receive some
hints for their behaviour under sickness.
I. DUTIES TO BE PERFORMED BY THE SICK AND DYING.
1. The first act of the mind on receiving any warning of our mortal
and most frail condition should be an act of recollection, a solemn
meditation on the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Most High, in
whose hands alone we are, who can kill and make alive.[1] Let us
think especially of the love which He has shown us in the gift of His
Son and the help of His Holy Spirit.
2. When our minds are thus sobered and composed, we must consider
what means are yet within our reach to interest God's power and mercy
in our favour. This may be best accomplished by repentance. To this
an examination of our past life is absolutely necessary.
In this examination let us attend to the following
cautions:--(1.) Let it be honest, however much this may humble us.
(2.) Let us not attempt to plead our own good deeds in extenuation of
our sins. (3.) Let us not be too particular or dwell too long in our
recapitulation of such sins as are gone by and are irremediable; for
these regrets, however natural, are useless, and beyond a certain
degree injurious. With such recollections a guilty pleasure may be
received in our souls; our fancy may return with more regret than
horror to the scenes of our former enjoyment. (4.) Let us be more
anxious to recollect those sins, if there be any, for which it is in
our power to make reparation. In this let us be most searching and
honest. Thorough restitution is essential to prove that our
repentance is genuine, and so also is sincere forgiveness of our
enemies.
3. Thus truly penitent, let us by faith grasp firmly God's promises
of forgiveness through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 John i. 9).
4. If we have been so unwise as to have left our worldly affairs
unsettled, let us not be influenced by any foolish fear of alarming
our family, or of appearing alarmed ourselves, from immediately
making such a disposition of our property as we shall not fear to
give account of in the hour of judgment.
5. Let us make up our mind to renounce the world entirely, and all
restless hope of recovery; resigning all our prospects entirely into
the hand of God, who is best acquainted with our wants and with the
wants of those whom we are about to leave behind; and who is
infinitely able to protect and provide for us and them (H. E. I. 157,
158, 4055).
6. That our meditations may become holy and comfortable, our
repentance sincere and effectual, our restitution humble and public,
our charity pure and edifying, our justice without taint, our
resignation without reserve, let us give ourselves diligently to
prayer (H. E. I. 177, 178, 3739-3746).
7. In order that we may be assisted in these spiritual duties, let us
send promptly for the minister of the Church to which we belong.
II. SINS AGAINST WHICH WE MUST BE ON OUR GUARD.
The sins to which the sick and dying are most exposed are evil and
trifling thoughts, unthankfulness, impatience, peevishness, and
hypocrisy. To the first two of these men are liable on any remission
of pain, or appearance of approaching amendment. There is no other
cure for these than an immediate return to prayer and meditation.
These remedies will also keep us from murmuring and ill-temper.
Hypocrisy may seem a strange vice to impute to a sick or dying
person, but it is not uncommon. It is shown in seeking compassion and
kindness by counterfeiting the appearance of greater suffering than
really belongs to our cases, or in the affectation of more faith, or
resignation, or humility, or peace of conscience than either our own
hearts or God will sanction. The desire of worldly praise will
sometimes linger so late, and cling so closely about the affections
of man, that some persons continue to act a part until their voice
and senses fail them.
Let the difficulty of the duties which a sick man has to perform, and
the number and greatness of the temptations to which he is liable, be
an argument with us to leave as little as possible to be done in that
state of weakness and alarm (H. E. I. 4251-4258).--_Reginald Heber:
Sermons,_ vol. i. pp. 92-111.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This will lead us to submit with more temper and mildness
to whatever means are prescribed for our recovery, and also
to wait their event with less querulous eagerness than if
we corroded our thoughts by the pangs we endure or by the
earthly succours whereby we hope to escape or lessen them.
There is something soothing as well as sublime in the
contemplation of greatness and power. We feel it when we
gaze on the great works of Nature. He whose heart expiates
in the prospect of the ocean or of the starry heaven is for
a time insensible to his own resentments or misfortune, and
is identified, as it were, with the glorious and tranquil
scene before him. One of the principal joys of heaven, we
are told, is the delight of gazing upon God; and even in
this state of mortal darkness and misery, if we can for a
time so forsake the thoughts of earthly things as to call
up to our mind whatever images of greatness, and power, and
perfection the Scriptures have revealed to us concerning
Him, our heart will be filled as by necessity with love and
admiration for an object so glorious, and our resignation
to His decree will become a matter, not only of necessity,
but in some respects of choice. . . . Most unreasonable is
their conduct who, in the beginning of sickness, drive away
all serious thoughts from the soul, through a fear of
injuring the body. Even if this were necessarily the case,
the risk is so far less in dying soon than in dying
unprepared, that the former danger should be cheerfully
encountered rather than incur the possibility of the
latter. But the cases of sickness are very few in which, at
the beginning of a disorder, such religious considerations
can do our bodily health any harm. On the contrary, that
awe and tranquillity of soul which are induced by them may
in many cases be of real advantage.--_Heber._
DISTRESS IN PROSPECT OF DEATH.
xxxviii. 2, 3. _Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the
wall, &c._
The causes of Hezekiah's reluctance to die may be gathered from his
circumstances. {See Outline: _Hezekiah's Prayer,_ p. 426.] That
ungodly men should be terrified at death is what might be expected
(P. D. 684); but reluctance to die is not confined to them (H. E. I.
1570).
I. _The Christian has naturally a feeling of repugnance at the very
thought of the disruption of the union between soul and body._ What
precedes death, the stroke itself, and its consequences, all excite
feelings of dread (P. D. 741, 761).
II. _True believers may feel reluctant to die because of the doubts
which they entertain with respect to their eternal state._ After
death is the judgment. Their fears may proceed from various causes.
From constitutional temperament, increased by a relaxed state of the
nervous system; from the prevalence of unbelief, the imperfection of
knowledge and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; from the powerful
agency of the god of this world in producing them. A last desperate
effort is made to overthrow faith. While these prevail, recovery from
bodily distress is felt to be a mercy of no ordinary kind (H. E. I.
323).
III. _Religion may be in a declining state in them, and a
consciousness of this may render the prospect of death distressing to
them._ The progress of the Christian is not uniform. If, while in a
backward state, he is called to die, conscience is awakened, and he
is thrown into alarm (Matt. xxv. 1-13).
IV. _The prospect of death may be distressing, because the believer
will then be deprived of all opportunity of honouring God in this
world._ This was one reason for Hezekiah's unwillingness to die. He
was in the prime of life. Believers, at a like time, may pray to live
in order to be useful in the Church and world. The prayer proceeds
from a right principle--a desire to honour God. It seems hard for the
minister of Christ, after a long course of laborious preparation, to
be smitten down to die before he has well begun the great work of
preaching. The philanthropist, like Howard, feels a bitterness in the
stroke. The Christian parent also. In these and like circumstances a
rare strength of faith is called for.
V. _God may see good to withhold from true believers the comforts of
religion under bodily distress and in their dying moments._ To what
is the difference in the measure of comfort enjoyed on a death-bed to
be ascribed? The sovereignty of God must here be admitted. Objection
against it here applies equally in other circumstances. The Divine
reasons may be inscrutable to man, although assuredly dictated by
infinite wisdom. The newly converted may die joyfully; the veteran
Christian may have much less comfort. But generally the faithful life
will end, at least, in a peaceful death (H. E. I. 1264).
Would you meet death without terror? 1. _Improve by faith that
righteousness which Christ wrought out in our nature._ 2. _See to it
that your hearts are changed by the Spirit of God._ 3. _Devote
yourselves unreservedly and unweariedly to the cultivation of
holiness in heart and life._ The longer we are here, we are the more
prone to get our hearts upon the world as if it were our rest. It is
from this tendency that the aged Christian sometimes feels as great a
reluctance to depart as the Christian in the morning of life (Col.
iii. 2).--_James Anderson: Scottish Christian Herald,_ iii. 569.
THE SHORTENING OF HUMAN LIFE.
(_A Funeral Sermon._)
xxxviii. 10. _I am deprived of the residue of my years._
Briefly narrate the facts of Hezekiah's illness. The words of the
text naturally suggest this general observation, that God deprives
many of the human race of the residue of their years.
I. WHEN GOD DEPRIVES ANY OF MANKIND OF THE RESIDUE OF THEIR YEARS.
1. _When He calls them out of the world before they have reached the
limits of life which are to be found in Scripture_ (Ps. xc. 10).
Hezekiah undoubtedly numbered his years according to this standard
when he spoke (at forty years of age) of being deprived of the
residue of his years. 2. _When He calls them out of the world before
they have reached the bounds of life fixed by Providence._ Thought
the Scriptures limit life to seventy or eighty years, yet Providence
often extends it to a longer period, even to a century. Many aged
persons enjoy a large measure of health, strength, and activity;
should any of these be suddenly cut down by disease or accident, they
would be deprived of the residue of their years which they had
anticipated, according to the course of Divine providence in fixing
the limits of life to the aged. 3. _Even those who die before they
have reached the bounds of life which are imposed by the laws of
Nature, may be said to be deprived of the residue of their days._
Nature sets bounds to every kind of life in this world, not excepting
human life. What the natural limit of human life is we cannot tell,
but from the fact that some have survived for over a century and a
half, we may infer that God has deprived the vast majority of the
human race of the residue of their years, and has not allowed even
one in a million to reach the bounds of life which Nature has set.
II. WHY GOD THUS SHORTENS THE LIVES OF MAN AND CUTS OFF THEIR
EXPECTED YEARS.
1. Sometimes it is _to teach the living that He is not dependent on
them in the least degree._ Though He can and does employ them in His
service, yet He can lay them aside whenever He pleases, and carry on
His designs without their assistance. Let eminent and useful men like
Hezekiah remember this, that they may not yield to the temptation of
pride (H. E. I. 2218-2219). 2. In order _to teach mankind their
constant and absolute_ dependence upon Himself. This they are
extremely inclined to forget, and their forgetfulness arises in a
great measure from the consideration of the general bounds of life
which Scripture, Providence, and Nature have set. To these well-known
periods they naturally extend their views, desires, and expectations.
But to make them sensible that they still live, move, and have their
being in Himself, God continually deprived one and another, and much
the larger portion of mankind, of the residue of their years. 3. _To
teach the living the necessity of being continually prepared for
another life_ (H. E. I. 1543-1546). 4. _To teach the living the
importance of faithfully improving life as long as they enjoy it._
All men are naturally slothful and strongly inclined to postpone
present duties to a more convenient season. The best and most
industrious of men need the sharp spur of the possibility of sudden
death, and of being called away before their work is complete. When
God cuts down the active and useful in the midst of their days, He
warns us most solemnly (Eccl. ix. 10; H. E. I. 1562-1566). 5. God
sometimes cuts short the days of the wicked _to prevent their doing
evil in the time to come_ (Ps. lv. 23; Prov. x. 27; Eccl. vii. 17).
6. God sometimes shortens the lives of His faithful servants to
prevent their seeing and suffering public calamities. It seems to
have been in mercy to Hezekiah that God added only fifteen years to
his life; had fifty years been added (and then at death he would only
have been ninety), he would have been involved in the dreadful evils
which were coming upon both his family and his kingdom (Isa. lvii. 1).
APPLICATION.--1. If God does not always deprive men of the residue of
their years, _there is a propriety in praying for the lives of the
aged as well as for the lives of the young._ Even the oldest persons
living, though labouring under pains, infirmities, and diseases which
seem to indicate the near approach of death, may yet pray for the
removal or mitigation of their disorders, and for a longer space of
life. Life is a blessing, and to pray for its continuance is a duty.
2. If God so often deprives men of the residue of their years, _it is
extremely unreasonable and dangerous to flatter ourselves with the_
_hope of living a great while in the world._ What ground have we to
expect that our days will be greatly prolonged; that _we_ shall
escape all the dangers and diseases which have proved so fatal to
others, and live as long as men can live according to the course of
nature? This expectation is as dangerous as it is absurd. It
encourages the wicked to continue in sin. It is the strangest and
most fatal error that mankind ever embraced (James iv. 14; Matt.
xxii. 44). 3. Since God deprives so many of the residue of their
years, _we ought to beware of placing too much dependence upon the
lives of others, as well as of our own._ Others are as liable to
leave us as we are to leave them (Ps. cxlvi. 3-5). 4. If God so often
deprives men of the residue of their years, then _long life is a
great as well as a distinguishing favour._ It is a talent capable of
being improved to the highest public and private advantage We should
desire it for the sake of having greater opportunity of getting good,
and still more of doing good. Had Hezekiah, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb,
and David died in early manhood, how little comparatively they could
have done for Israel! Since good men are to be rewarded according to
their works, the longer they are permitted to live, the greater
opportunity they enjoy of promoting their own future blessedness.
5. If God always has wise and good reasons for depriving men of the
residue of their years, then _it is as reasonable to submit to His
providence in one instance of mortality as another._ He knows all the
disappointment which a strong man feels in being cut down in the
midst of his days, all acute sorrow that is caused by an untimely
death and He sympathises with it all. He never afflicts willingly,
nor grieves the children of men; He takes no pleasure in giving
anxiety and distress to the dying, nor in desolating the hearts of
the living; and when He does either, it is for a reason that is
infinitely wise and infinitely kind. It behoves us then to say with
Job: (Job xiii. 15, or Job i. 21).--_Dr. Emmons: Works,_ vol. iii.
pp. 79-92.
A CRY FOR HELP.
xxxviii. 14. _O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me._
This prayer ascended from a sick-bed. State Hezekiah's circumstances.
From many sick-beds it still ascends. 1. From the sick-bed of the
Christian who is distressed by thoughts of what may befall his wife
and children after his removal from them. 2. From the sick-bed of the
Christian who perceives that the world has been gaining much on his
heart. Overtaken in the very strength and flower of his days by a
sudden and dangerous illness, he sees that in the midst of the bustle
and business of an honest calling he has gradually drawn off from a
life of watchfulness and prayer, and that, while keeping the forms of
godliness, he has lost much of its power. Death apparently at hand,
his soul starts up alarmed. 3. From the sick-bed of the worldly man,
who at length perceives his guilt and danger. His awakened conscience
fills him with darkness and fear (H. E. I. 1334-1339), and the
approach of death terrifies him (H. E. I. 1567).
Show how graciously God deals with all these suppliants when they
sincerely call upon Him.--_Richard Monks: Sermons,_ pp. 230-249.
A good prayer:--1. _For the young man entering upon the duties of
life._ Surrounded by the snares of the world, exposed to many
temptations, and having in himself no strength or wisdom to deal with
them aright. 2. _For the young man entering upon his Christian
course._ Experimentally sensible of the deceitfulness of the heart,
and conscious that there is one ever watchful, every willing to
encourage him in evil (H. E. I. 1061). 3. _For the Christian
perplexed in the path of duty._ 4. _For the Christian on his dying
bed_ (H. E. I. 1570-1593).--_H. Montagu Villiers, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp.
194-211.
Hezekiah's prayer reminds us of _man's need of a Divine Helper._ We
need some one who can undertake to be our guide through life; to
sustain us under the sorrows of life; to strengthen us against the
temptations of life; to effect reconciliation between us and a justly
offended God; to succour us in death; to welcome us in heaven, and to
assign us our place in it.--_Horace Monod._
THE SURETYSHIP OF CHRIST.
xxxviii. 14. _Undertake for me._
+I. That man needs a surety.+ This is evident from several
considerations. Man--1. _Is an insolvent debtor;_ 2. _a captive;_
3. _a criminal;_ 4. _helpless and mortal._
+II. That a surety has been provided+ (Heb. vii. 22, viii. 6, ix. 15,
xii. 24). Christ was constituted a surety; not _for God to us,_ but
_for us to God._ He undertook to do for us, and in us, what we could
not do for ourselves. Is man a debtor? Christ has paid the debt. Is
man a captive? Christ came to set the captive free. Is man a
criminal? Christ has endured the curse (Isa. liii. 6; 2 Cor. v. 21).
Is man helpless and mortal? Christ has provided everlasting strength
(2 Cor. xii. 9).
+III. That there must be a believing application made to that
Surety.+ We must put in claim for share in the suretyship of
Christ--must say in faith, "Lord, undertake for me; be surety for me."
+IV. The effects of such application.+ These are many and most
important. In case of Hezekiah several are mentioned. God had sent
him an alarming message. He wept and called upon God. His prayer was
answered. A sign was given. During his sickness and after his
recovery he had great exercises of soul. He thought of death (ver.
10); was annoyed because he was about to be cut off from the worship
of God (ver. 11), and that by a premature death (ver. 12). But was
there not a _remedy_? Yes. _What?_ A believing application to the
Lord as surety. "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." And what
was the _consequence_? The whole tone of his thoughts was changed. He
now recognises God's hand in the dispensation (ver. 15); sees these
things to be good for his soul (ver. 16); believes his recovery
certain--realises the forgiveness of sin--is enabled to praise God
(ver. 19); can now resolve to teach his children about God's truth
and determine with them to bless and magnify God for ever (vers. 19,
20). Thus the realisation of God as surety, and a believing
application to Him for help, proved the _turning-point_ for good in
Hezekiah's experience.
APPLICATION.--1. _In the way of warning._ (1.) Not to depend on
ourselves for salvation. (2.) Not to neglect the means of grace.
2. _In the way of encouragement._ (1.) Jesus Christ is surety for all
who believe in Him. (2.) All who are oppressed in body or soul may
and should, by God's grace believe in Jesus as their surety.--_T.
Oliver: The Study and the Pulpit,_ New Series, 1876, pp. 419-421.
HEZEKIAH'S RESOLUTION.
(_A New-Year Motto._)
xxxviii. 15-20. _I shall go softly all my years, &c._
This resolution grows out of that singular experience of sickness and
recovery recorded in the preceding verses. It furnishes an excellent
motto for the year. Our translation is somewhat defective, but if we
substitute _"on"_ for _"in,"_ the correct sense will be clear. The
meaning is that the recovered king would walk through the fifteen
years that were added to his life in salutary remembrance of his
dangerous illness, and of the goodness of God in prolonging his days
on earth. The memory of that trouble and of the mercy that rescued
him would put a staff in his hand to make his walk more devoted,
circumspect, and consistent. Understood thus, the words are
applicable to all. Some of you may be able to trace a close
resemblance between your experience and that of Hezekiah. Like him,
you may have escaped from a well-nigh fatal illness. But all of us
can look back on similar periods--on mercies received and dangers
averted--and in recollection of them we may say, "I shall go softly
all my years _on_ the bitterness of my soul."
I do not know any better commentary on these words than the opening
stanza of Tennyson's _In Memoriam_:--
"Men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things."
A good New Year's motto, which harmonises so sweetly with it. Our
past experiences, our dead selves, may be made stepping-stones on
which we may climb to a clearer vision and a loftier devotion. What,
then, was the nature of that pathway of life which this good king
engaged to pursue? What was the prospect which opened up before him?
1. _A walk of humble dependence on God._ This element in the
resolution is distinctly expressed. In vers. 15, 16, God's Word and
acts are viewed as the real supports of life. Looking above all
secondary causes and natural agencies, the king acknowledges God as
the Source and Giver of life. This is a great lesson, and one which
an experience like that of Hezekiah can teach. It seems to us a
natural thing to live on; we count on continued health and long life
till some sickness lays us low, and we are brought to feel as we
never felt before that our times are in God's hand. But whether we
have passed through a dangerous illness or not, the resolution befits
us all. Let us remember that God sustains and orders our lives.
It was, indeed, a singular position in which Hezekiah was placed. He
knew precisely how long he would live. The duration of our pilgrimage
is just as fixed as his was, only we do not know it (P. D. 2252). The
thread of our life is in God's hand. Thus was Hezekiah taught to "go
softly." His soul had passed through "great bitterness," and he shall
bear it in mind, and his rescue from it deepen his dependence on God.
2. _A walk of usefulness._ It was on this plea that he had prayed for
the prolongation of his life (ver. 3). He had rendered valuable
service and had borne a consistent testimony. The convalescent king
saw a prospect of further work for God on earth. He who a short time
before this seemed about to leave his kingdom in confusion without an
heir to the throne is now able to say, "The father of the children
shall make known thy truth." Does it not become us to ask, Why is my
life prolonged? Why have I been permitted to enter on a new year? Is
it not for this reason, among others, that we may become increasingly
serviceable in advancing the cause of truth? Better far that life
should terminate than that we should live to no purpose, for every
year adds to our responsibilities. Advance, then, into this year
resolved that, God sparing you, you will live more useful lives
(H. E. I. 3228-3251; P. D. 2269).
3. _A walk of thankfulness_ (vers. 19, 20). How thankful this
convalescent was for his restoration to health, and all the more so
because to him, as to other saints of his age, the grave seemed dark
and gloomy (ver. 18). It needed the Gospel of Christ's resurrection
to dispel the darkness and the gloom. This psalm is itself a proof of
Hezekiah's thankful spirit, and perhaps the 118th Psalm is another
production of his pen, containing as it does words of hope suitable
to this period of his history (Ps. cxviii. 17, 18). Are we too
resolved that our remaining years shall be years of thanksgiving, our
lives a psalm of praise?
4. This fifteen years' walk was to be _a walk of peace_ (ver. 17).
The meaning here is that the affliction was sent with a view to his
obtaining a more settled and abiding peace; it teaches us, as nothing
else can, the secret of inward peace. What are the sources of
dispeace? One of them is found--(1.) In our _earthly strivings and
ambitions._ "There is no peace to the wicked." He is constantly on
the rack of avaricious struggles, unsatisfied longings, sensual
desires. Affliction can show us the utter vanity of earthly things.
How poor the world looks as seen from within the curtains of a dying
bed! The sufferer who has come back from the gates of death is able
to estimate earthly things at their right value. He ceases from the
low ambitions and carnal desires that once raged within him.
(2.) _Bodily pain and weakness_ is another cause of unrest. An
experience of this bitterness brings peace when the patient is
restored to health. We set greater value on a blessing which we have
lost and regained. One of our poets describes a convalescent
gathering strength, and coming forth after long confinement to look
upon the scenes of Nature--
"The common earth and air and skies
To him are opening paradise!"
To have such feelings we must have known affliction. For the
enjoyment of this peace we must have tasted "great bitterness."
(3.) But the greatest source of dispeace is _unpardoned sin_ (ver.
17). How complete is the forgiveness of sin as thus expressed! What a
peace is enjoyed when guilt is removed and God's love shed abroad in
our hearts! (H. E. I. 1893, 1894; P. D. 2675, 2677).
What more do we need to make this year a happy one than to set
forward with this resolution? We cannot break away from the past. We
are now what it has made us. Our "dead selves" make our living
present selves. From our trials and sorrows we may gain supports for
nobler endeavour. "I shall go softly," meekly, submissively,
prayerfully, "on the bitterness of my soul." Do you wish some spring,
some impulse to send you forward thus in life's pathway? Think of
some bitterness in your past experience, some Marah which the Lord
sweetened for you, some trouble from which He rescued you when you
lay on the brink of death, or under the accusations of a troubled
conscience, and make that "dead self" a support for the path before
you.--_William Guthrie, M.A._
THE RESTORATION OF BELIEF.
xxxviii. 15. _I shall go softly all my years, &c._
In the case of Hezekiah, belief was restored by a great shock which
brought him into contact with reality. He had been living, as many of
us live, a pleasant, prosperous life, till he had really grown to
believe that this world and its interests were the only things worth
caring for. His treasures, his art collections, the beauty of his
palace, made him love his life and dream that it was not a dream. God
appeared to him not as to Adam, in the cool of the day, but as He
came to Job, in the whirlwind and the eclipse, and Hezekiah knew that
he had been living in a vain show. The answer of his soul was quick
and sad, "By these things men live, O Lord;" these are the blows
which teach men what life really is.
Many are prosperous, happy, and at ease. It will be wise for these to
remember that thoughtless prosperity weakens the fibre of the soul
(H. E. I. 3997-4014).
The blow which sobered Hezekiah was a common one. It did nothing more
than bring him face to face with death. The process whereby his
dependence on God was restored was uncomplicated. But there are far
worse shocks than this, and recovery from them into a godlike life is
long and dreadful.
1. One of these is the advent of irrecoverable disease--protracted
weakness or protracted pain. Then we ask what we have done: we curse
our day. But our misfortune brings round us the ministering of human
tenderness: slowly the soul becomes alive to love; and through the
benign influence of human love the first step towards the restoration
of belief has been made, the soil is prepared for the work of the
Spirit of God. Then the Gospel story attracts and softens the
sufferer's heart. Afterwards he reads that Christ's suffering brought
redemption unto man, and begins to realise how he can fill up what is
behindhand of the sufferings of Christ. This is not only the
restoration of belief--it is the victory of life.
2. More dreadful than protracted disease is that shipwreck which
comes of dishonoured love--
"When all desire at last, and all regret,
Go hand in hand to death, and all is vain,
What shall assuage the unforgotten pain,
And teach the unforgetful to forget!"
For some there is no remedy but death. Others live on in a devouring
memory. And the memory poisons all belief in God. But there are many
who recover, and emerge into peace and joy. Can we at all trace how
this may be? Lapse of time does part of the work. It does not touch
the memory of love. The pain of having a gift thrown aside has
passed; the sweetness of having given remains. When we thought
ourselves farthest from God, we were unconsciously nearest to Him.
And so we are saved, faith is restored. Like Christ, we can say,
"Father, forgive them, for they knew not what they did."
3. Many are conscious, in later life, that their early faith has
passed away. It was unquestioning, enthusiastic. It depended much on
those we loved. Religious feelings which had been without us and not
within, slowly and necessarily died away. Becoming more and more
liberal, we also become more and more unbelieving, and at last
realised that our soul was empty. Are we to settle down into that? It
is suicide, not sacrifice, which abjures immortality and prefers
annihilation. Our past belief was borrowed too much from others.
Resolve to accept of no direction which will free you from the
invigorating pain of effort. Free yourself from the cant of
infidelity. It boasts of love, it boasts of liberality. Its church is
narrower than our strictest sect. Bring yourself into the relation of
a child to a father. We need to come to our second self, which is a
child--to possess a childhood of feeling in the midst of
manhood.--_Stopford A. Brooke: Christ in Modern Life,_ pp. 380-392.
A GREAT DELIVERANCE.
xxxviii. 17. _Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it
from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins
behind Thy back._
The text forms part of a king's song on recovering from a severe
illness. "When we are raised from deep distress, our God deserves a
song." But it points beyond temporal deliverance to salvation from
the power and punishment of sin.
I. THE SINNER'S CONDITION.
In "the pit of corruption." This description
suggests--1. _Loathsomeness._ It is a fit simile of the world in
which the unconverted live. It is not a quagmire, but a pit; not a
dry pit, but one full of corruption--filth, death, worms. To God,
"glorious in holiness," every man in the pit of corruption must be
loathsome. He may be educated, loving, philanthropic, and worldly
wise, but being _dead in trespasses and sins,_ he is fit only for
being buried out of the sight of God and good men. 2. _Helplessness._
A man in a pit is helpless, like Joseph. No man ever yet got out of
the pit of corruption by his Latin, his logic, or his mother wit. It
is not for him to postpone the date of a deliverance once vouchsafed.
3. _Increasing danger._ Men never mend in the pit.
II. THE SINNER'S HELPER.
"Thou," &c. In vain does the sinner look within himself or to his
fellow-men for help, but God gives it. Every saint praises God for
his salvation: _"Thou,"_ &c. Note, 1. The _freeness_ of God's
redeeming love. There is nothing in a man wallowing in a pit of
corruption to draw out love. Where it is shown, it is a free gift.
2. The _fulness_ of that love. "Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy
back." Some wink at our sins others cast them into our teeth on all
occasions. God does neither. He abhors sin, but when He forgives the
sinner, He forgets the sin (Jer. l. 20; Rom. viii. 33; Ps. xxxii. 2;
H. E. I. 2322-2337).
III. THE SINNER'S DUTY.
He is not to lie quiet, but to cry for a deliverer. Wishing, hoping,
thinking will not do. The crying, to be effectual, must be made
_now._ Now God says, "My arm is not shortened," &c. (lix. 1). When
once gone, to all your cries His reply will be, "Because I called,"
&c. (Prov. i. 24-26).
Why will you die? Bring forth your strong reasons against
salvation.--_M.: Christian Witness,_ xviii. 392-393.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
xxxviii. 17. _For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy
back._
This is part of the song which Hezekiah wrote when he had recovered
from his sickness. He had betaken himself to prayer. The nation,
threatened with invasion from the powerful kingdom of Assyria, could
ill afford to lose its head. His prayer was heard. The prophet was
sent with a new message. The Divine hand was visible, although
ordinary means were employed. This the king fully recognised (ver.
20). God's mercies should not be forgotten when the occasion has
passed.
The king sees the connection of his disease with sin, and the removal
of disease with the removal of his sins. From the text we observe
that the forgiveness of sin is necessary, possible, complete,
knowable.
+I. Forgiveness of sin is necessary.+ Scripture traces suffering to
sin. The fact of sin is prominent in the history of mankind. Its
universality is the groundwork of the revelation of its remedy. It is
written on the conscience. However, oblivious to the fact in health
and prosperity, men in sickness and disaster usually think of their
sins as the remote or immediate cause. It is sometimes God's way of
awakening attention (H. E. I. 56-89).
Until sin is forgiven, it is before the face of God (Ps. xc. 8; Heb.
iv. 13). The accountability of men would be an unmeaning phrase if it
did not involve the idea that an account is taken of his actions.
They are all noted, good and bad, and tested by the Divine standard.
Every man's are before the face of the Supreme Ruler and Judge for
the purpose of being dealt with. This is his case until it is changed
by the exercise of forgiveness. It is useless to ignore the need of
forgiveness under the impression that we can, in some way, remove the
stain. However much good a man may do, the fact of sin remains; and
so long as he is under a law which requires unsinning obedience, the
good cannot be set against the bad in the hope that the former will
wipe the latter away. Forgiveness of the past is the first necessity.
+II. Forgiveness of sin is possible.+ The Gospel builds on the
groundwork laid. It provides and makes known a way by which
forgiveness may be obtained. It is not by the enactment of a law
obedience to which will have this effect. Law brings the sinfulness
into clear relief and renders escape impossible. Nor is it by the
declaration of a general amnesty, which would virtually neutralise
the law and its penalties. Nor is it by an exercise of the Divine
sovereignty in the way of mercy to all men, nor even to the penitent,
simply as such. God's way of forgiveness provides for the exercise of
mercy by the satisfaction of the claims of righteousness. For its
manifestation He prepared during long ages of teaching. In due time
He sent His Son (Gal. iv. 4, 5). The interposition of Christ renders
forgiveness possible. It includes His taking the sinner's obligations
on Himself (Col. i. 14). This is the Divinely appointed way of
forgiveness. It satisfies all the requirements of the case. It
provides an adequate Mediator. It provides forgiveness on honourable
terms. It is, so far as the sinner is concerned, a free forgiveness.
It imposes no impossible condition. It says to the sinner under the
burden of the law, which is impossible to him, is no longer demanded,
because it has been rendered by His great Substitute. It simply calls
upon him to believe, repenting of his sins. If you see your
sinfulness, if your soul is troubled by it, if you are anxious to
obtain mercy, the Gospel bids you come to Jesus, and come at once. It
assures a present, immediate, free pardon.
+III. Forgiveness of sin is complete.+ "Thou hast cast all my sins
behind Thy back." They were previously before the face of God. They
are now taken thence and cast behind His back. You do that with a
thing you have done with and intend to see no more. It is a most
expressive representation of the Divine forgiveness. It attracts
attention to its completeness. "All his sins," without exception or
reservation, have been cast out of sight. They will never be produced
against him. This is complete forgiveness. We can realise it better
by comparison with the forgiveness exercised by men. Man's
forgiveness is often very poor. "I can forgive, but I cannot forget."
"I forgive, but I shall have no more to do with that man." Many do
not even pretend to forgive. But God forgives, completely, fully
(H. E. I. 2328-2348).
+IV. Forgiveness of sin is knowable.+ The text is the language of
assurance. Hezekiah inferred it from his recovery. We may be
certified--1. By the written Word. 2. By consciousness of the
Spirit's work in us--repentance, faith, love, surrender. 3. By the
moral effects. Put all these together (H. E. I. 309, 310, 324, &c.)
Do you possess assurance? Your experience--1. Illustrates the Divine
character: "merciful and gracious." Its most attractive light.
2. Produces grateful love. The greatest boon has won the heart.
3. Invites to holy obedience. Appeals to what is best. 4. Suggests
evangelic action. Tell others. Seek the salvation of the worst.
Are you not forgiven? Perhaps indifferent. Perhaps desirous, but
hesitating. Perhaps procrastinating. Do not trifle. Do not neglect.
Do not delay. Be reconciled to God.--_J. Rawlinson._
THE SONG OF HEZEKIAH.
(_Sermon to the Young._)
xxxviii. 18, 19. _For the grave cannot praise Thee, &c._
This is part of Hezekiah's song of praise to God. He was very ill. A
good man, yet rather afraid of death; certainly very anxious to live.
When we are strong and full of life, it is easy to talk of braving
all worldly sorrows; but when the time comes for us to prove our
words, many who are now in heaven have said, "Spare me a little
before I go hence and be no more seen." In what affecting terms did
Hezekiah bewail his sickness! "I said, in the cutting off my
days. . . . I shall not see the Lord," in His holy sanctuary on
earth; "I shall behold man no more;" never again behold the human
face divine, never meet again the welcoming smile of child or friend.
God heard Hezekiah's prayer, took pity upon him, turned back the
sundial of his life fifteen years. The good king rejoiced in this
gift of lengthened life: "The grave cannot praise Thee," &c.
Let us follow out this rejoicing of the king, this setting forth the
advantages of the living above the dead. 1. The living are in
possession of the time which is given to make reconciliation with God
and secure an everlasting interest. We are all by nature strangers to
God, enemies to Him in our mind and inclination. We are defiled and
guilty creatures; this is the hour of cleansing, whilst the fountain
stands open in which our sins may be washed away (2 Cor. vi. 2). We
are by nature utterly unfit for heaven; this is the day of repentance
as well as of pardon. At the summons of death we must go, whether
prepared or unprepared, holy or unholy, hoping or despairing. While
your hearts were unholy, your death, had it happened, must have been
dreadful. Let those who have improved this gift of life to make their
reconciliation with God highly value it, and magnify its important
advantages with all the gratitude and zeal of the king of Judah.
2. Life is a precious and golden gift, because it affords a field for
increasing in good works. We are required to be "zealous of good
works." _Zealous;_ not to touch a good work as if we were afraid of
burning our fingers. Such works "are good and profitable to men." The
days and years of life should be numbered by the multitude of good
works, as by the revolutions of the earth. Lost and wasted time
should not come into the account of life. Ah! if we reckoned thus,
what a shrinking and contracting would take place! A Roman emperor, a
heathen, used to say, "I have lost a day," if he had not done any
good action in it. How many are there who live to no purpose at all,
whom the world will not miss when they are gone! How many live to
wicked purposes, and the world is glad to get rid of them! Some are
mere cumberers of the ground; they bear the Christian name, but how
different from Christ! "The night cometh," said He, "in which no man
can work." "Ye are the light of the world," said Christ to His
disciples, and how dark would this earth be were there no disciples
of Christ upon it! "Ye are," said He, "the salt of the earth;" if the
salt were gone, what corruption of manners, what filthy
communications, what odious practices would overspread and defile
society! One child of God in a family is like the ark in the house of
Obed-Edom, of which we read, "The Lord hath blessed the house of
Obed-Edom," &c.; or like Joseph in Potiphar's house, of whom we read,
"The Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake," &c. We may
follow up this idea, and say if one child of God is so great a
blessing in a family, many may bless and save whole cities and
nations. We find this to have actually been the case from what is
said of Noah, Daniel, and Job. God said three thousand years ago,
"Righteousness exalteth a nation," and it is equally certain that
wickedness overthroweth it. In all the Old Testament history, we see
how He ascribes prosperity to the keeping of His commandments, and
ruin to the breaking of them. We cannot suppose that it is in any way
different now; that the Ruler of the Universe is in slumber, or,
being awake, has altered the rules of His government. Life, and
especially youthful life, is the time for good works and good
actions; not one can be done in the grave.
CONCLUSION.--Let young persons value life. It has been said that we
"take no note of time save from its loss;" let not this be said of
you. It is the gift of _time_ that alone places you in a position to
profit by all other gifts. Make good use of life; of this its
pleasant morning; be obedient, be diligent, love each other, avoid
quarrelling and evil words. Live so that the end will conduct you to
a world where, though time will be no longer, life will continue for
ever.--_George Clark, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp. 239-246.
PRAISE FOR PRESERVATION.
(_Last Sunday of the Year._)
xxxviii. 19. _The living, the living, he shall praise Thee,
as I do this day._
Such was Hezekiah's burst of thankfulness when God heard his prayer,
and gave him fifteen years more of life. While the danger lasted, he
was surprised into more of alarm than became his place and character;
but now, marvellously spared, he calls upon the living everywhere to
praise God for His goodness. _His_ case, he feels, was _theirs_ too.
All men alike live upon God's bounty, and are debtors to His
patience. He guards them from evil,--sends them good things, without
which life must be presently extinguished,--renews their being, and
makes it over to them by a fresh grant, not only when the closing
year reminds us of the gift, but at each day's working time.
Therefore Hezekiah is not satisfied with a solitary strain of
thanksgiving. He looks round upon a world teeming with animated,
intelligent beings, and in every brother who God hath made and kept
alive he finds one who should bring in his tribute of praise. He
wants a chorus of rejoicing worshippers.
1. This season naturally makes us thoughtful. We think of what life
has been to us lately, and what it might have been. We have nearly
passed another stage on our journey to the grave, and we miss some
who began it with us. We stand, like unwounded soldiers on the
battlefield with the dead and the dying all round them. This is all
God's doing. He who gives life sustains it. If to have lived on be
deemed a blessing, and praise for the boon be due anywhere, it can
only be to Him whose providential government of the world is like an
hourly repetition of the creative power which called it out of
nothing.
2. But is life worth having? Is prolonged life a blessing, and may we
fairly require men to be grateful for it? This is assumed by
Hezekiah. Life and praise may go well together, because to so great a
degree life and happiness go together. Not always. Some are so
unhappy that they cry out under their burden, and almost wish, for a
moment, for deliverance at any cost. But the settled feeling of men's
minds is the other way. To almost all of them life is the hoarded
treasure which they will guard at any price. They will put up with
the worst they have to bear before they will accept release on the
terms of being banished straightway to an unknown world. The reason
is, that by the side of this harvest of woe, of which they reap a few
ears now and then, there groweth a harvest of blessing, of which they
are constant reapers (P. D. 2282, 2256).
3. Remember the "common mercies" of which through another year we
have been partakers. Our very senses are so many curious inlets by
which pleasures, more or less vivid, come thronging in from the wide
world around us. Continued health. Senses and faculties marvellously
kept from injury. The happiness of our houses; specially to be
remembered at this season. When we call upon the living to praise
God, we have much more to show for the demand than the bare fact that
God lets them live. He lets most of them live happily. He causes
their cup to run over with blessings. He does all this, in spite of
forgetfulness and disobedience on their part that would wear out any
other love but His (H. E. I. 2307-2309). Praise God for the "common
mercies" of another year.
4. While we live we are on mercy-ground. _That_ is the special mercy
beyond all our common mercies. Life, while it lasts, connects us with
all that is blessed and glorious in the scheme of salvation. While we
are here, "there is but a step between us and death;" but while we
are here, too, the door stands wide open through which we may pass
into the presence-chamber of our King. _While you are here,_ if you
will make Christ your friend, sin may be cast out, and the blessed
Spirit of truth become your daily Teacher, and your future years be
all rich in blessing and bright with hope. Praise God for the
prolongation to you of this great opportunity, and embrace it now!
Let the new year find you serving Christ.
5. Living saints, as well as spared sinners, should praise God for
His preserving mercy. They have had fresh opportunities for serving
God and for growth in grace. They have no righteousness of their own
wherein to stand before God, and never will have; but talents
improved and laid out for God will bring a blessing. He is too
bountiful a Master to let any of His servants work for nought. Heaven
itself is not alike to all, though it shall be satisfying to the
meanest child in God's family. The disciple whom Jesus specially
loved leant on His bosom at the Last Supper; and at the
marriage-supper, when all the guests shall be assembled from many
lands, they who have attained to the godliest stature in their days
of conflict shall sit nearest to the King, and wear the brightest
crowns (H. E. I. 2751-2753, 3288; P. D. 412, 1752). Every year is a
fresh sowing-time for a more abundant harvest.
6. Some among you have special reasons for saying with Hezekiah, "The
living," &c. (1.) This strain belongs to the aged man or woman, who
has already lived beyond the allotted term of human life. In your
feebleness, God has carried you through another stage. Beyond your
expectation, perhaps, you have seen another Christmas. Many are the
mercies of one year, but when they come to be multiplied by near
fourscore, what an array we have then! Praise the Lord! (2.) Some
before me, while the year was running out, thought they should never
see the end of it. Like Hezekiah, you prayed for life when death
seemed to be close upon you. God restored your life to you. What have
you done since to show yourself grateful for that mercy? Have a care
that your mercies do not make your case worse. If they do not melt,
they harden.
7. If the living should praise God, how largely is He defrauded of
His due! We are surrounded with living men. Each one of these has a
fresh grant of life with each day's sun-rising. What a tide of praise
should be going up unceasingly to His throne! Do we find the world so
full of praise? Alas! no; if praise be the sign of life, we seem to
be walking among the tombs. God is forgotten in His own world. While
common friends are thanked for trifling favours, the Giver of
mercies, repeated with every breath, is to many of us an unheeded
stranger.--_John Hampton Gurney, M.A.: Sermons, chiefly on Old
Testament Histories,_ pp. 297-312.
HEZEKIAH'S STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS.
xxxix. 1, 2. _At that time Merodach-baladan, &c._
A study of the character of Hezekiah is profoundly instructive. The
sacred writers impartially present him to us in his strength and in
his weakness.
I. HEZEKIAH IN HIS STRENGTH.
He was in the full sense of the word a good king (2 Kings xviii. 3,
5). He was conspicuous--1. For his religious zeal. Though,
politically, it was a hazardous thing to do, he utterly abolished
idolatry in his kingdom. 2. For his religious wisdom (2 Kings.
xviii. 4).[1] 3. For his strong faith. This was shown especially in
his conduct in the matter of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib.
When we consider these things, we may well understand the high praise
given to Hezekiah; certainly there were few kings like him; perhaps
none who exhibited a ripeness of religious knowledge and a strength
of character so remarkably superior to the times in which he lived.
II. HEZEKIAH IN HIS WEAKNESS.
The weakness of his character was displayed--1. When the king of
Babylon sent messengers and a present to him to congratulate him on
his recovery from his illness. Then he must needs take them over his
house and his armoury, and parade before them all the strength of his
dominions (2 Kings xx. 12-13). It was natural and right that he
should be pleased with the conduct of the king of Babylon; it was
gratifying to him personally; it augured well for the future, as
concerning his kingdom, that he should be on good terms with the king
of Babylon, now rising into power; but it was unworthy of him to lose
his self-possession in the manner described. (1.) He was evidently
overcome for the nonce by silly feelings of vanity. He seems to have
thought that inasmuch as the king of Babylon had considered him
worthy of the compliment of sending to him, he on his part must show
that he was indeed a very magnificent king, as the king of Babylon
had no doubt heard that he was. (2.) His vanity caused him to forget
how little service his armoury and his treasures had been to him in
the hour of peril (H. E. I. 3998, 4000, 4001, 4011). (3.) His vanity
caused him to forego an opportunity of honouring God and of
instructing his neighbours in Divine truth.[2] Doubtless it was his
failure in duty in this respect that brought upon him so severe a
rebuke (vers. 3-7). 2. The weakness of his character had already
manifested itself in his conduct during his illness. In the prospect
of death his strength of mind quite broke down (ch. xxxviii.) But
there was a difference: in the other case he acted unworthily of his
knowledge; in this case he was weak because he was, compared with
ourselves, weak in religious privileges. He looked to his grave with
such melancholy feelings because he could not clearly see a life
beyond it. The answer of the great riddle of humanity had been
guessed by many before Christ, but His resurrection made the truth
clear (2 Tim. i. 10; H. E. I. 3415). If it were not for the light
which our Lord has thrown into the grave, we should mourn like
Hezekiah, and our eyes would fail as did his. Having more light than
he had, it is our duty to live a nobler life than he did, and not to
be cowards in prospect of death (H. E. I. 1570-1643).--_Harvey
Goodwin, M.A.: Plain Truth Sermons,_ Third Series, pp. 78-92.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Amongst other idolatrous forms of worship which he
destroyed, he broke in pieces the brazen serpent which
Moses had made in the wilderness (2 Kings xviii. 4). Many
men would have been ready to destroy all the heathen forms
of idolatry; they would have made no peace with Baal, or
Dagon, or any other gods of the nations, but they would
have hesitated to destroy a relic of the life of Israel in
the wilderness; they would have thought it sacrilegious to
break up an image which Moses himself had made, and they
would have reasoned that the religious feelings of the
people were so entwined about this memorial of their early
days, that it would do more harm than good to violate their
feelings, and take away that which excited in their minds
religious thoughts. If a king of Judah had so argued, it
would not have seemed right to confound him with the mere
rabble of idolaters. If Hezekiah had destroyed all other
forms of idolatry and left this remaining, we could easily
have found an excuse for his conduct; but forasmuch as he
took a higher view of his duty, we are bound to give him
credit for that higher view, and to remark his spiritual
discernment. Hezekiah was not deceived by any flimsy
arguments about the sacred nature of the relic which the
people adored; it was a cause of idolatry, that was enough.
It had been sacred once. In the wilderness, when it was
held up as an object upon which the people might gaze, it
would have been a sacrilege to mutilate it; but now it was
but "a piece of brass," and if that piece of brass be the
centre of a system of idolatry, there is but one safe
course, and that is to destroy it.--_Goodwin._
[2] If his purpose was to impress upon the Babylonians the
greatness of his strength, the story of the destruction of
Sennacherib would have answered his purpose much better. If
Hezekiah had taken the ambassadors to the Temple, and told
them how he had spread Sennacherib's letter before the
invisible presence of his God in that holy house, and how
he had prayed that the designs of his enemy might be
brought to nought, and how that eventually the Assyrians
had all either perished or fled, the men of Babylon would
have been far more impressed with the power of Hezekiah,
believing as they would that he was under the protection of
an unseen Hand, than they possibly could be by the mere
vulgar display of treasures and armour, which their own
country would show in abundance, and which was the very
thing calculated to excite their desire of
plunder.--_Goodwin._
HOME LIFE AND INFLUENCE.
xxxix. 4. _What have they seen in Thy house?_
State briefly the circumstances that gave rise to this question. It
evidently suggests to Hezekiah that he has not made the best use of
the visit of the Babylonians. He might have turned it to greater
account than the gratification of his vanity by displaying his
treasures. Instead of magnifying the greatness and glory of God, and
thus lifting the minds of his visitors to the highest themes, he had
only held out a bait to their covetous desires, and tempted them to
steal the treasures so vainly displayed. This was to be the result of
his folly (ver. 6). This is how we miss the great opportunities of
our life. There come to us golden seasons when we might bear valuable
testimony for God; but we have some petty, personal desires of our
own to carry out, and they pass away unimproved. Then comes the
prophetic message, borne by our own conscience, that the plan we
adopted to gratify our improper desires will only lead us to
confusion and unhappiness.
The extent to which Hezekiah came under the censure of God in this
matter we shall not now further consider. We shall extend the
application of this question to the matter of _home life and home
influence._ So it has a bearing on all of us. "What have they seen in
_thy_ house?"
I. It should be seen that our home is the common centre of attraction
for all the family (P. D. 1828-1830, 1836).
II. In the home each member of the family should be seen faithfully
discharging the duties of his or her relationship to it; husbands,
wives, fathers, &c.
III. It should be seen that every Christian gift and grace is
carefully cultivated. "For Christ's sake," should be the motto of the
whole family. In all they do, every member of it should seek to
display love such as He manifested when He dwelt among us: His love
was patient, magnanimous, sympathetic. This is the way to make the
humblest home happy (P. D. 1823, 1834, 1838, 1839).
CLOSING REFLECTIONS.--1. If we do not thus exhibit Christianity at
home, it may be questioned whether we possess it at all (H. E. I.
2994). 2. If others know that there is no practical Christianity
displayed by us at home, they will rightly set but little value upon
our religious performances abroad. 3. It is from the culture of home
life that our hopes are to spring with regard to the spiritual life.
In the home lurk the disorders that disturb society. The true way to
bring these disorders to an end is to endeavour to make the homes of
our land the nurseries of every Christian grace and virtue. 4. Let us
aim at the accomplishment of the needful national reforms, by each of
us doing what we can to make _our own home_ all that it ought to
be.--_William Manning._
HEZEKIAH TRIED.
xxxix. 8. _Then said Hezekiah, &c._
In the narrative connected with the text we find much in Hezekiah to
be avoided and much worthy of imitation.
+I. We find Hezekiah in great affliction.+ He had recently escaped
from great public and national calamity; he is speedily involved in
private and personal suffering (ch. xxxviii. 1). "He was sick," and
Isaiah was sent to prepare him for death. He was greatly alarmed at
the approach of death (ch. xxxviii. 9-14) How different from St. Paul
(Phil. i. 23). He lived in a dark and imperfect dispensation; few
then had clear views of the world to come (2 Tim. i. 10). Hezekiah's
faith failed him greatly, and he clung to life with pertinacity.
+II. In his trouble he sought the Lord+ (ch. xxxviii. 2, 3). He made
solemn vows of what he would do if spared (ch. xxxviii. 15). When
partially restored, he renewed his vows (ch. xxxviii. 19). Thus
believers in every kind of trouble should seek comfort of God in
earnest prayer; nor is it improper then solemnly to give ourselves to
God, and renew our vows. We are encouraged to do this by the speed
with which a gracious answer was sent to Hezekiah (ch. xxxviii. 4,
5). Isaiah was hardly gone out from pronouncing the judgment when he
was sent back with a message of mercy (2 Kings xx. 4-5). How
wonderfully compassionate is God to His feeble people! Their poor,
trembling prayers, uttered in fear and doubting, are heard and
answered. He not only hears prayer, but answers directly (Dan.
ix. 20-23).
+III. We find him speedily forgetful of the mercy he had received.+
Ambassadors arrive at his court. Whence and for what purpose? (vers.
1, 2). What an opportunity for him to redeem his vows, and to
proclaim the power and goodness of God to these heathens! Alas! he
shows them all his riches, &c., but of God and His temple he says
nothing. Flattered and betrayed by the world (vers. 3, 4), what a
heart his and ours must be! _How could this be?_ We are told
(2 Chron. xxxii. 31) that such is man when left to himself! We are
never in greater danger than after seasons of great mercy and special
providences (H. E. I. 4902-4904).
+IV. He humbly received the rebuke that was sent to him+ (text).
Here the habit of his mind appeared: he had fallen into the sin of
vanity, but humility and resignation to the will of God, especially
to His afflicted dispensations, were his usual characteristics. A
clear evidence of true godliness, meekly and cheerfully to submit to
fatherly correctives. Aaron (Lev. x. 1-3), Eli (1 Sam. iii. 18), the
bereaved mother (2 Kings iv. 26), David (Ps. cxix. 75).
LESSONS.--1. _Let us cultivate humility, watchfulness, and jealously
of ourselves_ (H. E. I. 4883, 4901). 2. _Let us not be disconsolate
because we are conscious of weakness and unworthiness._ The errors
and failings of the best of men are left on record, not to extenuate
our sins, but to save us from despair. They were men of like passions
with ourselves--the same infirmities and corruptions--yet God bore
with them, and saved them out of all their distresses. Let us
therefore "hope to the end," and "patiently continue in well-doing,"
believing that we shall be "more than conquerors through Him who hath
loved us" (H. E. I. 1117, 2376).--_F. Close, A.M.: Fifty-two Sketches
of Sermons,_ pp. 52-55.
SUBMISSION UNDER GOD'S REBUKE.
xxxix. 8. _Then said Hezekiah, &c._
I. THE REBUKE.
The character of Hezekiah is well known. One of the very best of the
kings of Judah (2 Kings xviii. 3-7). Nevertheless even in this
excellent man there were moral weaknesses which were displayed when
his physical malady was removed. The arrival of the Babylonian
ambassadors excited within him hopes of political advantages arising
from alliance with the idolatrous king whom they represented, and in
order to impress the envoys with a sense of his importance, he made
an ostentatious display of his wealth (ver. 2). This displeased the
Lord. Why? 1. Because Hezekiah let slip a favourable opportunity of
making known to the heathen the glory and the goodness of the God of
Israel.[1] 2. Because his ostentation made it plain that pride was
usurping the throne of his heart (2 Chron. xxxii. 26).
But this was not the habitual frame of Hezekiah's mind; he was a good
man, and therefore God lovingly chastened him. If it had been the
wicked Ahab who had done this deed, the Lord might possibly have
taken no notice of it; He might have left that idolatrous sinner to
have followed his own devices. But seeing this evil spirit begin to
show itself in a pious and humble man, the Lord mercifully and
savingly interposes to check it in the beginning (vers. 3-7).
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS RECEIVED.
Sharp as was the rebuke sent him by Isaiah, Hezekiah so received it
as to give a rare example of pious and cheerful resignation (text).
Both parts of his reply are remarkable. 1. _"Good is the word of the
Lord which thou hast spoken."_ None but a child of God could have
used this language in sincerity, under such trying circumstances. But
he has such faith in God, that although it is impossible for him to
foresee what wickedness his posterity would commit, he knows that the
decree will be found to be righteous (1 Sam. iii. 18). But doubtless
he meant something more than submission to God's sovereignty; he
meant to acknowledge the goodness of the Lord to himself, of which
this very rebuke was a new manifestation (H. E. I. 190-196, 162-165).
2. _"He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my
days."_ That is, God hath been pleased to inform me that my children
are to be carried into captivity and to suffer much affliction; but
in my grief for this, I must not forget to thank Him for His tender
mercies to myself. He has declared that I shall have peace, and this
is far more than I deserve.
APPLICATION.--1. We may learn what exceeding sinfulness and immense
danger there often is in sins which we are apt to pass over as
trifles, and hardly to notice in ourselves (H. E. I. 4897, 4898,
4516). 2. Remark an inestimable privilege of the children of God's
love: they may fall into the very same troubles as their naughty
neighbours, but in the one case calamity is the angry lash of the
law, in the other it is the faithful rebuke of an anxious Father.
3. For the history of God's dealings with Hezekiah we may infer what
must be the wisest wish for any man to make, viz., that God would
take us into His holy keeping and choose our inheritance for us. If
we were left to determine for ourselves, some would choose one thing,
and some another. Yet "sorrow is better than laughter;" and the
history of Hezekiah is proof of it (H. E. I. 211, 3986, 3998-4001).
4. If sin have brought rebuke unto you, search and try your ways,
that you may see what your transgression and weakness is; and then
accept the chastening of the Lord as a token of His love (H. E. I.
144-147). 5. Whatsoever may have befallen you, remember always that
the mercies which remain are far greater than you deserve; and that
in the day of prosperity, no less than in the evil, there is need for
perseverance and watchfulness (H. E. I. 4888-4890).--_Archdeacon
Bather: Sermons on Old Testament Histories,_ pp. 275-285.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] If, instead of showing them his treasures, he had related
to these idolatrous Chaldeans, who were worshippers of the
sun, the account of his marvellous cure, and especially the
miracle by which the shadow was made to go ten degrees
backward on the dial, he might have been the means of
bringing them to the knowledge of the true God who made the
heavens, and of convincing them that He was master even of
that glorious luminary, which they ignorantly adored
instead of its Creator.--_Bather._
ADDITIONAL OUTLINES.
* * * * * * * *
INSTINCT FOLLOWED--REASON DISREGARDED.
i. 3. _The ox knoweth his owner, &c._
"We are wise." So spake the Greek of old in the pride of his
intellectual powers, and so speak many in our own day who have
imbibed the spirit of the Greek. Reason is a wonderful faculty, and
there have not been wanting, in any age of the world, those who have
felt elated by their successful exercise of it. It can look before
and after, deriving experience from the past and suggestions
provision against the future. It can explore the hidden secrets of
Nature and render the world of matter subservient to man; it can turn
in upon itself and speculate upon its own processes; nay, it can
teach us something of the existence and attributes of the Most High.
Such being the triumphs of reason, it can hardly be matter of wonder
that the wise men of this world plume themselves on the attainment of
those triumphs.
The vainglorying of men, however, whatever form it may assume, is
abomination in the sight of God. In the scheme of salvation which God
has devised there is no room for boasting either of our moral or
intellectual endowments: "It is excluded." That scheme is essentially
humbling in its character; it is so constructed as to shut out pride
at every cranny where it could possibly insinuate itself; it is such
as to stop every mouth and bring in all the world guilty before God.
And not only guilty, but blind also. He will have all the world
convicted in the court of Conscience of folly, no less than of sin.
In order to bring His people to this conviction, he expostulates with
them in many passages of His Word on the vainglorious boasts they
were in the habit of uttering, shows them their utter emptiness, and
exhibits the inconsistency of man's moral conduct with his
pretensions to wisdom and enlightenment (cf. Jer. viii. 7, 8).
Our text implies two things--1. That the religion subsisting between
the brute creation and man is in some measure similar to that which
subsists between man and God; and, 2. That the acknowledgement made
by dumb animals of their relation to mankind strangely contrasts with
the natural man's refusal of acknowledgement to God.
+I. We are to compare the relations subsisting between an inferior
and a superior creature with those subsisting between a superior and
the Creator.+ Note, though these relations may be susceptible of
comparison, and may be used to lift up our minds to apprehension of
the truth, there is an insufficiency in the lower relation to type
out the higher. The distance between man and the inferior creatures,
if great, is measurable; whereas the distance between finite man and
the Infinite God is incalculable.
The dumb creature recognises the master whose property it is: "The ox
knoweth his owner." What constitutes man's right of ownership in the
ox? Simply the fact that he bought it. He did not create it. If he
supports its life, it is only by providing it with a due supply of
food, not by ministering to it momentarily the breath which it draws,
nor by regulating the springs of its animal economy. That is the sum
of his ownership. _But what constitutes God's right of ownership in
us, His intelligent and rational creatures?_
1. We are the work of His hands. Creation constitutes a property in
all our faculties and a claim to our services which no creature hath
or can have in another.
2. Our property is most entire, our claim of right most indisputable,
in those things which, having been once deprived of them by fraud or
violence, we have subsequently paid a price to recover. The flocks
and herds in the possession of civilised European settlers in
uncivilised countries are often swept away by a barbarous horde of
native freebooters. Imagine, then, a case in which, it being
impossible to bring the offenders by justice (by reason of their
numbers and strength), the owners of the cattle should effect a
ransom of their property by laying down a sum equivalent to its
value. Is it not thenceforth theirs by a double claim--the claim of
original ownership and the claim of subsequent ransom? Such is the
claim which God has over us. That claim, grounded originally upon the
fact of creation, has been confirmed, enlarged, extended a
thousand-fold by the fact of redemption (1 Cor. vi. 20; 1 Pet. i. 18,
19).
3. Our text suggests another detail of the claims which our Heavenly
Owner has upon our allegiance: "The ass knoweth his master's crib."
He knows the manger at which he is fed and the hand that feeds him.
Here is a palpable claim upon regard, although by no means so high as
those previously advanced. It is a claim appreciable by the senses,
capable of being understood and responded to by the mere animal
nature. In palliation of man's neglect of those claims of God which
are established by creation and redemption, it might haply be pleaded
that he is a creature of the senses, and that the facts of creation
and redemption are not cognisable by them. These stupendous facts are
transacted and past. But even this paltry justification is entirely
cut off by the fact here implied, that man is indebted to God for his
daily maintenance, for the comfort and the convenience even of his
animal life.[1]
Observe, also, that it is not the brute creation _in a savage state_
whose relations towards men are here drawn into comparison with the
relations of man towards God. To illustrate his argument the inspired
writer has chosen instances from the domestic animals, who share
man's daily toils, live as his dependants, and are familiarised by
long habit with their master's abode and ways of life. In drawing out
the contrast, he does not mention mankind generally, but "_Israel_
doth not know, _my people_ doth not consider." It were in some
measure excusable that the heathens should refuse acknowledgement to
the living God, whom they know not. But what shall we urge in
extenuation of the indifference of "Israel," who from his very
infancy has been of the household of God, domesticated by the hearth
of the Universal Parent, and furnished with every means of access to
His presence?
+II. A contrast is drawn between the acknowledgement made by dumb
animals of their relation to their owners and Israel's refusal of
acknowledgment to his God.+
The cattle "know" or recognise the voice of their owner; his call
they heed, in his steps they follow; irrational creatures though they
be, they are not insensible to their benefactor's fond cares. What a
cutting reproof of the insensibility of God's people!
1. They recognise not God in His warnings, whether they be addressed
to them as individuals or to the nation of which they are members.
Afflictions arrest them not in their career of vanity and sin.
Judgments stir them not out of their lethargy of indifference. They
hear not, see not, God in them.
2. They do not acknowledge God in His mercies. God's blessings of
Nature and Providence are accepted by them as a matter of course. If
regarded at all, they are traced no higher than to secondary causes.
The continual experience of them renders them not one whit more
submissive to the yoke of God's service. As to the higher blessings
of forgiveness and grace, they feel no need of them, and evince no
gratitude for them.
Want of consideration is the root and reason of this strange
insensibility. It is not that "Israel" lacks the faculty of
apprehending God, but he will not be at pains to exercise that
faculty. It is not that he lacks a speculative knowledge of the
truths now set forth, but that he does not lay to heart this
knowledge, nor allow it its due weight.--_E. M. Goulburn, D.C.L.:
Sermons,_ pp. 153-181.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Of this fact a strongly figurative but very beautiful
statement is contained in a passage of Hosea--a passage
remarkably illustrative of that before us, inasmuch as
there also the imagery is drawn from man's dealings with
the cattle. "I drew them," says God, "with the cords of a
man, with bonds of love: and I was to them as they that
take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto
them." _"I was to them as they that take off the yoke on
their jaws."_ The owner of the ox does not overtask his
strength, does not cause him to toil in the furrow without
intermission. At the approach of evening the faithful
animal is driven homewards, and freed from the shackles of
the galling and burdensome yoke. An image this of God's
dealing with His human children. Our every period of
refreshment and repose, of ease and relaxation from toil,
is from the unseen hand of our heavenly Owner. Those many
fractions of comfort and happiness which lighten the load
of life--those numerous (although momentary) glimpses of
sunshine which relieve the plodding routine of our daily
career--those flowers with which the path of the great
majority is more or less strewed: the innocent sally of
mirth, the smile of affection, the expression of sympathy,
the cheering word of encouragement from those whose
encouragement is justly valued--these, like all other
mercies, are from God, and (though these be but a small
part of what we have to be thankful for) are designed to
draw us towards Him in bonds of gratitude and love.
_"And I laid meat unto them."_ By those who avail
themselves of their services, the cattle are supplied with
provender. God not only called us into being, but maintains
us in being. He it is who gives us our daily bread, and
spreads our board with food convenient for us; for food,
for health, for continuance of life our dependence upon Him
is absolute. By means of these and similar mercies it is
that God establishes a claim to the gratitude and
devotedness even of those among His rational creatures who
have most deeply buried themselves in the things of time
and sense, and whose hearts seem to be stirred by no breath
of spiritual aspiration, and troubled by no prospect of
eternity.--_Goulburn._
THE CESSATION OF WAR.
ii. 4. _They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and
their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more._
A prediction of times yet to come. It is never yet been fulfilled. It
is true that when the religion of Christ came to the world it came
with the spirit and principles of an all-pacific dispensation (_"On
earth peace, goodwill towards men"_); and true that, in the degree of
its actual prevalence, this has been the effect. But how far is this
from anything adequate to the terms of the prediction, which exhibit
a bright and ample idea of this spirit and tendency of Christianity
realised, reduced to fact, on the great scale!
+I. War has been a prominent character of all ages.+
1. Man, when he came fresh from his Creator's hands, must have had in
his soul the principle of all kind affections (Gen. i. 27), a state
of feeling that would have been struck with horror at the thought of
inflicting suffering. Yet in the first family of man war and
slaughter began. Men may argue and quibble against our notion of
_"the fall,"_ but here was fall enough! and demonstration enough!
2. War prevailed among the antediluvians (Gen. vi. 5, 12). We are
told of some that "became mighty men, men of renown." How? Partly
perhaps in a war against savage beasts, but far more in the exploits
of that "violence" which filled the earth, and doomed it to be
overwhelmed.
3. War prevailed among the race descended from Noah. It was by the
descendants of the only faithful friend and servant of the Almighty
found on earth that the desolated world was to be repeopled, and we
might have hoped for a better race, if human nature were
intrinsically good, or corrigible by the most awful dispensations.
But the Flood could not cleanse the nature of man, nor the awful
memory of it repress the coming forth of selfishness, pride,
ambition, anger, and revenge. (1.) The history of the Jews is to a
large extent a history of wars. (2.) The history of the other races
is a history of their conflicts with each other, of a terrible
process by which the smaller states were absorbed in others, until
they were all included in the Roman empire. How many millions of
human beings were destroyed in the process! (3.) Since that period
the history of the world has been to a large extent written in
blood.[1]
_Reflections:_--1. What a state of the spirit of mankind is here
disclosed to us! 2. What a state of Christianity, or to any real
prevalence of it, among the nations denominated Christian! 3. How
necessary that all religious persons, especially tutors and parents,
should set themselves systematically, as opportunities offer, to
counterwork that maddening enchantment of the "glory" of war; of war
considered merely as the field of great exploits. Let them strive to
break up, in the view of young and ardent minds, this splendid,
pestilent delusion about heroes, conquests, fame, and glory.
+II. War is not necessarily sinful, nor are those engaged in it to be
always condemned.+ Defensive war does not violate Christian
principles. Nay, it is sometimes a duty.[2] An opposite opinion is
held by some who rest on the literal and extreme construction of a
few expressions, such as "Resist not evil," "Give place to wrath,"
"Love your enemies," "To him that smiteth thee on one cheek, turn
also the other." These interdict revenge. But their unqualified
literal interpretation requires that Christianity should subject
mankind universally to the unrestrained will of whoever is the most
unjust and wicked; should teach that so long as there are men who
have more of Satan and Moloch in them than the rest, and are intent
on practicing oppression and cruelty, it is the absolute duty of
Christians, as such, individually and nationally, to let them do
it,--at least rather than resist them in such a way as to endanger
their persons. This would be a delightful doctrine to all the
tyrants, bigots, slave-drivers, robbers, and murderers! But the
magistrate is not _so_ to leave the matter to God's disposal, or to
refrain from using the "sword" against the doers of evil. And the
government of a nation is but a magistracy on a large scale.
But those principles upon which a Christian casuist would justify
war, under certain possible circumstance, would not justify perhaps
one in twenty of the wars that have been waged. Very rare has been
the instance of a war, on either side, strictly and purely defensive,
of either the nation itself or any other endangered or oppressed
people depending on its protection. Hence--
+III. We rejoice over this prediction that war is to cease on the
earth.+
1. This prediction spreads a visionary sense before us so new,
strange, and delightful, that nothing but prophecy, and faith in the
Divine power and goodness, could enable us to expect its
realisation.[3]
2. It is difficult to conceive the practicability of its attainment.
For it is something intrinsic in the soul and nature of man,
throughout the whole race, that war has sprung from. _There_ is the
hot and terrible element that has burst abroad in so many thunders.
And yet is it _man_ that is to be universally at peace! How can it
be? (2 Kings vii. 2). Vicious selfishness, ambition, envy, rivalry,
rapacity, revenge, these are the things in men that cause wars
between them, on the small scale and the great. How can these ever be
so repressed, subdued, extirpated, that all war shall cease?
3. Certainly not by experience, philosophy, or civilisation.[4]
4. Nothing will operate efficaciously to this grand effect that does
not go deep into the constitution of men's souls, and quell
internally those fatal passions which have perpetuated external war.
And that is what cannot be done by any civilisation, national
refinement, science, or even an enlightened theoretical policy. All
these may be but like fair structures and gardens extended over a
ground where volcanic fires are in a temporary slumber below. All
these may be shattered and exploded by some mighty impulse of
ambition or some blast of revengeful anger. No; there must be a
greater, nobler power brought into prevalence among mankind. Nothing
springing merely from the action of the human mind can suffice. It
must be something coming from heaven. CHRISTIANITY is the appointed
and qualified agent.
+IV. It is credible that Christianity will cause wars to cease upon
the earth.+
1. It has accomplished something in this direction already. To _it_
is mainly attributable the mitigation of ferocity and exterminatory
rage, so evident in modern wars. We dare not assert even that it may
not have prevented some wars.
2. It is essentially a peacemaker. Look at its genuine tendency, as
displayed on the smaller scale, in a family, a neighbourhood, a
district: a family in a constant state of hostility within itself,
but at length the members of it are converted by the religion of
Jesus Christ. The consequence how happy! (H. E. I. 1126.)
3. Precisely as it progresses among any people it will produce a
distaste for war.[5]
4. Consequently its progress among the nations is a progressive
abolition of war. Every extension of this blessed religion is so much
gained against war; quenching still another and another spark of
infernal fire; repressing in some more minds those evil passions
which are the prompters and the essential power of war.
5. Christianity _is_ progressing among the nations.
6. Consequently it is reasonable to cherish the hope of a scene of
universal peace (P. D. 2675).
CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS.--1. The universal cessation of war means much
more than merely the cessation of much mischief. Think what will be
effected when the wealth, time, labour, art, ingenuity, of truly
Christian nations are directed to the noblest purposes of peace!
2. Extirpate the war-spirit from your own breast. The selfish, proud,
arrogant, envious, revengeful, are essentially of the _war tribe,_
however, little they have to do with actual war, however much they
may condemn and profess to deplore it. Such individuals are not fit
for that future terrestrial "kingdom of heaven."--_John Foster:
Lectures, Second Series,_ pp. 142-173.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] What a vision of destruction! Think of all that tormented
and desolated the earth during the long period of the fall
of the Roman Empire,--of that inundation of revenge and
death, the progress and utmost extension of the Mahomedan
power; of the mighty account of slaughter in the Spanish
conquest of America; of the almost incessant wars among the
states of civilised Europe down nearly to the present hour.
Think even of the bloody wars within our own island,
especially on the border between its northern and southern
divisions; the hundreds of remaining fortresses, monumental
of war. And to complete the account--as if the whole solid
earth were not wide enough--the sea has been coloured with
blood, and received into its dark gulf myriads of the
slain, as if it could not destroy enough by its tempests
and wrecks!--_Foster._
[2] Almost four or five years since, our Government had a war
with the Pindarees--a terrible assemblage of outlaws,
robbers, and murderers, to the number of fifty thousand,
occupying a strong and almost inaccessible tract on the
northern frontier. Thence with impetuous rapidity, they
rushed down, all horsemen, on the country, inhabited by a
population of cultivators; seized whatever could easily be
carried off, and with furious eagerness demolished, burnt,
destroyed the rest. But far more than this, they were
universally possessed with the spirit of murder; they
killed the people without regard to sex or age. Not only
so, but when sufficiently at leisure for such amusement,
they inflicted excruciating tortures previous to death.
Now, when the Governor-General had intelligence of
this--_what was he to do? what,_ acting as a Christian?
_Nothing?_ What, as a great magistrate, did he "bear the
sword" for? What was he Governor at all for? To lie in
splendid state, and number and tax the people? Or was he to
direct that prayer should be made in the churches for
something very like a miracle? And on failure of that,
prayers that the wretched people he governed might be all
meekly resigned to their fate? and that even should the
fell and fiendish legion, being unresisted, choose to
pursue their way all down to Calcutta, all the people in
their tract could not escape, and at last himself and the
people of the city, might be enabled calmly to submit to a
sovereign dispensation of Providence?
He did not do this. He chose rather to set out on the rule
of his appointment, to be "a terror to evil-doers," "a
minister of God, a revenger, to execute wrath upon them
that do evil" (Rom. xiii. 4). But if war is in all possible
cases wrong, he perpetuated an enormous crime against
Christianity in marching his armies with a celerity
unparalleled in that climate, and encountering,
intercepting, and exterminating the murderers, so that the
surviving people could feel themselves in peace.
* * * * * * *
Put the stronger case of an immense host of northern
barbarians being landed on our coasts (Tartars, Cossacks,
Calmucks), and joined there by the legions of the Popish
states, what would happen if we all, as Christians, judged
it wrong and wicked to fight? Unless, indeed, we should
suppose a divided opinion in the nation with respect to the
Christian principle of the case, and that so a very large
and powerful proportion was resolute to resist in all the
array and action of war. Now, while with the utmost
sacrifice and peril they were doing so, and suppose
successfully, what a remarkable phenomenon would be
presented! namely, the other division of the people
deploring these very proceedings and successes by which
their houses are saved from ravage and
desolation,--deploring them as an awful outrage against
Christian rectitude,--praying for the instant _conversion_
of these deluded men to a right apprehension of Christian
duty,--that they might immediately throw away their arms
and allow the barbarian inundation to burst forward! Or,
having failed in this prayer (and a mighty victory having
finally cleared the land of the infernal irruption), then
lamenting that a dreadful national violation of Christian
principles had been irretrievably consummated! And as
success purchased by crime can in the result be little else
than a calamity and a judgment, they might be alarmed and
dismayed to find themselves still in possession of their
former freedom of worship, of speech, of action, and of all
their rights as citizens.--_Foster._ (Written in 1823.)
[3] It is difficult to realise the fact to our imagination. No
fighting on the face of the whole earth! no armies, no
military profession, no garrisons, nor arms, nor banners,
nor proclamations! No leagues, offensive or defensive; no
guarding of frontiers; no fortresses; no military prisons!
No celebrating of victories in gaudy pomps and revelries
for the vulgar, or in prostituted poetry for the more
refined! A wondering what kind of times those could be in
which mankind accounted it the highest glory to kill one
another! Truly this is a state of things we are ill
prepared even to conceive!--_Foster._
[4] Such things will be _included,_ certainly, in whatever
process can and shall reduce the world at length to peace;
they will be taken as accessories and subsidiaries to the
Master Power in operation. But whoever would reckon on such
things alone should be strangely mortified, one thinks, in
adverting to many facts of old and recent history. What,
for example, is he to do with the history of Greece? or of
the Italian Republics? Or nearer home, Britain and France
account themselves the most enlightened and civilised
states in the world; they have not been, with all their
might, fighting and slaying each other and neighbouring
nations for centuries, almost without intermission, down to
this time! In the French revolutionary government, which,
after a time, became essentially warlike, there were more
philosophers, speculative, literary men, than ever in any
other. In our own country, through the last half-century,
the enlightened and civilised people (often so described
and lauded at least) have needed but a little excitement,
at any time, to rush out into war. Our institutions of
learning, and even theology, have constantly abetted the
spirit. An ever-flowing, impetuous stream there has been of
oratory, poetry, and even pulpit declamation, mingling with
and inspiriting the coarse torrent of the popular zeal for
battles and victories. We have had both poets and divines
actually sending the most immoral heroes to heaven, on the
mere strength of their falling in patriotic combat. All
this tells but ill for the efficacy of civilisation,
literature, refinement, and the instruction of experience
to promote the spirit of peace, without the predominance of
some mightier cause.--_Foster._
[5] What will the natural consequences be in respect to war?
Will it not be coldness towards that pernicious phantasm,
martial "glory";--a loathing of that sort of eloquence and
poetry that are making a god of it;--a hatred of the very
name of ambitious conquerors;--horror at the image of vast
masses of men waiting to destroy one another;--a sense of
the flagrant absurdity, as well as iniquity, of the
avenging some little wrong at the cost of so mighty a
portion and variety of misery;--and a faith that Providence
has not so abandoned the world that we are not to wait one
moment for any interposition from it in favour of justice,
but, the instant the scales of justice are poised, we must
throw in the sword? Such would be the spirit and temper of
a nation predominantly Christian.--_Foster._
GOD EXALTED IN THE GREAT DAY.
(_Advent Sermon._)
ii. 17. _The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day._
Two questions: What is "that day?" How shall the Lord then be exalted?
I. _"That day."_ "The first five verses of this chapter foretell the
kingdom of the Messiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, and their
admission into the Church. From the sixth verse to the end is
foretold the punishment of the unbelieving Jews for their idolatrous
practices, their confidence in their own strength, and distrust of
God's protection; and, moreover, the destruction of idolatry in
consequence of the establishment of Messiah's kingdom."--_Lowth._ But
here, as in many other portions of Scripture, a larger and remoter
meaning looms beyond and behind the first sense of the expressions,
which would otherwise be too big and swelling for the actual
interpretation of them. Compare the description in which the text
twice occurs with the almost parallel passages in chap. v. 14-16. How
magnificent! What startling terms! What emphatic iterations! Surely a
want of fitness and congruity would almost be felt if expressions
such as these referred _only_ to some temporal calamity of the Jewish
nation; surely we cannot mistake in looking onward to some mightier
catastrophe, to some final exaltation of God and abasement of all
creatures. By "_that_ day," therefore, we mean what is elsewhere
called "_the_ day," "the great day," "the day of judgment," "the
great and terrible day of the Lord"--the consummation of all things.
When that day shall come I do not know, and I am content to remain in
ignorance. It may come suddenly, without warning, unannounced. Then
it is for men always to have their lamps burning and their hearts in
readiness, lest they be taken by surprise. It may come with great
signs preceding and accompanying it. Then it is for men, according to
their capacity, to note and discern those signs. It is the very
uncertainty connected with it that is to make us watchful (Matt.
xxiv. 36, 42). We are to be vigilant and observant, without
pretending to determine what God has left unrevealed. Such attempts
have in all ages been made, and in all ages have been falsified. The
failure of those attempts has not only covered those who made them or
believed in them with ridicule, it has brought into discredit the
sacred Book which the aim was to expound. It is our first duty and
highest interest to be at every moment prepared; but a far other and
better preparation may, and must be made for it, than in the futile
endeavour to discover its precise date.[1]
Equally unwise is the disposition to specify with a minute
particularity the events which are to usher in the great day of the
Lord, or the convulsions of nature which shall herald and proclaim
it, or the astonishing circumstances with which it shall be arrayed.
God has chosen to involve them in a mysterious and solemn
indistinctness. In bold and sublime figures the inspired writers have
delineated a scene which must stand singular and by itself, without
any precedent or parallel, and which, therefore, neither human
language can directly express nor human understanding adequately
comprehend. Instead of endeavouring to explain the images and symbols
employed, prudence will lead us to confine ourselves to the very
words of Scripture, such as Dan. xii. 2; Joel iii. 11-15; 2 Cor.
v. 10; Matt. xxv. 31, 32; Rev. xx. 11-13; 1 Cor. xv. 51-53.[2] On
these declarations we should meditate with serious and chastened
minds, for if Scripture be true these words cannot be without a real
and solemn meaning, and that meaning can only be that there shall be
a day in which the world shall be judged by God in Christ, and that
from before the Divine tribunal the good and the evil, separated from
each other, shall depart to destinies final and irreversible (P. D.
2109).
II. _In that day the Lord alone shall be exalted._
1. How is this possible? Is not God always exalted far above all
blessing and praise? He will then be exalted in the sense in which He
is now said to be glorified. He will be exalted in the visible homage
and submission of an assembled universe. He will be exalted by the
full manifestation of His attributes, in their unclouded and
effulgent lustre, but the exhibition, before men and angels, of His
omnipotence and justice, His wisdom and truth, His love and mercy, of
the holiness of His law, the equity of His administration, the
abundance of His grace, so that all hearts shall be bowed down at His
footstool, and every mouth shall be stopped.
2. In that day God shall be exalted _alone._
(1) The text may lead our minds to other deities as opposed to
Jehovah. They shall indeed be gone; in that day they shall be seen to
be less than the least of all their worshippers.
(2) It will be the great day of the disclosure of all things; and all
creatures shall see the Lord as He is, and themselves also as they
are. Therefore shall all the highest orders of celestial
intelligences, the cherubim and seraphim, and all the ranks of
existence which may occupy the interval between man and His Maker,
veil their faces before His throne; they shall be as nothing in _His_
sight. Then shall all creatureship fall low before the one Creator;
all derived, dependent being shall shrink into its true dimensions
before the Absolute, the Eternal, the I AM.
(3) Even Christ Himself, His office as the Messiah having been
accomplished, and His administration of the Church, in His human
character, being brought to a close, shall resign His mediatorial
sway (1 Cor. xv. 24-28; H. E. I. 985).
(4) But our chief concern, as we are men, is with humanity: "The
lofty looks of _man_ shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of _man_
shall be bowed down; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."
That day shall indeed declare the impotence of human power, the
emptiness of human ambition, the nothingness of human renown.[3] The
very circumstances on account of which men have most lifted
themselves up in their lifetime will be the occasions of their
profoundest humiliation then.
In that day our sinfulness shall sink us into the dust, and cover us
with shame and confusion even more than our vanities. Shall any one
of us hope then to be exalted, when the memories of us all shall
retrace so many sterile and unproductive intensions, so many good
impressions never fostered and ripened into fruits of righteousness,
so many talents misused by our iniquity, or buried by our idleness?
Then there shall be no more concealments, no more deceits, no more
false excuses, no more of those pretences, equivocations,
subterfuges, and sophisms which our reason is now so fatally
ingenious in playing off upon itself (P. D. 661, 2106). Oh, think of
these things, and let not your sins be dearer to you than your
salvation. Think of them ere the night cometh, and the sun of your
probation has quite gone down.
"The Lord _alone_ shall be exalted in that day." Will He then
confound the righteous with the wicked? As compared with God there
shall be no distinctions between men. All men on that great day at
the bar of the Omniscient and the All Holy shall have upon them a
universal sense of imperfection, unworthiness, insufficiency,
nothingness. But as compared with each other there will be immense
differences between them. It is one purpose of the great day to make
manifest to all orders of being the infinite value and superiority of
moral goodness, the infinite preciousness of a holy obedience above
and beyond all else; then God, who sees it in secret, will reward it
openly. When the wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the
people that forget God, the righteous shall shine forth as the stars
of heaven. Therefore estimate all things _now_ as you will estimate
them then. Lean less upon earth and man and the things present, set
your affections more upon the things to come, upon heaven, and upon
the Ruler of heaven. Cultivate diligently those dispositions which
are pleasing in His sight. For then, when all social forms shall have
vanished away, when all material substances shall have been
obliterated, as the shapes in a cloud, and dissipated as the morning
dew, your moral temper will abide with you, and your spiritual state,
as discerned by the unerring Judge, will decide, and will attend,
your immortal destiny (H. E. I. 720).--_James Shergold Boone, M.A.:
Sermons,_ pp. 359-399.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] During the fifth century Chrysostom expressed himself in
language which sounds almost like an anticipation of much
that we hear at the present day. "No long time now remains
until the consummation; but the world is hastening to its
end. This the wars declare, this the afflictions, this the
love which hath waxed cold. For as the body, when in its
last gasp and near to death, draws to itself ten thousand
sufferings; and as when a house is about to fall, many
portions are wont to fall beforehand from the roofs and
walls; so is the end of the world nigh and at the very
doors, and, therefore, ten thousand woes are everywhere
scattered abroad" (_Homily_ xxxiv.) Towards the close of
the tenth century, Bernhard, a hermit of Thuringia, and
other persons, spread or encouraged the belief, that after
the end of the thousandth year, the fetters of Satan were
to be broken; and that, after the reign of Antichrist
should be terminated, the world would be consumed by sudden
conflagration. This wild and extraordinary delusion
pervaded and possessed every rank of society. It seized on
nobles, princes, and even bishops, as well as on the common
people. Many renounced their pursuits and professions;
abandoned their friends and families; gave themselves up to
superstitious prayer and terrifying expectations, and made
over all their substance to some adjacent church or
monastery. Almost all the donations which were made to the
Church in this century proceeded from this avowed motive,
that the end of the world was drawing near. The form ran,
_"Appropinquante jam mundi termino,"_ &c. Others permitted
their lands to lie waste, and their homes to decay; or
betook themselves in hasty flight to the shelter of rocks
and caverns, as if the temples of nature were destined to
preservation amidst the wreck of man and his
works.--_Boone._
[2] I forbear to expatiate on the phenomena or the tokens which
shall be the premonitory of the Millennium or of the day of
judgment. God has not seen fit, even in Scripture, to
withdraw the curtain of obscurity from between us and that
supreme future. We may well be content that our
apprehensions should be vague, when the language of the
Bible is not definite, and when we find rather the sublime
and half-luminous gloom with which poetry or painting can
invest its delineations, than the sharp and precise outline
which the chisel can carve.--_Boone._
[3] What shall they all be, the strong rivalries and
contentions, which shall have been hushed in the grave; the
towering structures of vanity and earthly hope, which shall
have been crushed before the moth; the schemes and
plottings, the contrivances and expectations, the struggles
and triumphs, which shall have been dropped into the
burial-place where the worm is feeding on them! Oh, the
thrones and dominions of mortality, the crowns and
sceptres, the regal splendours and the imperial sway, how
shall they then be reduced to their real and intrinsic
insignificance! The victories of the warrior who conquered
in a hundred fights, and the projects of the politician,
whose statesmanship could grasp the globe; the famous men
and heroes of the earth, with the poets who celebrated
them, and the historians who recounted their exploits, what
shall they be before the word of Omnipotence! The learning
and science of the philosophers who framed their system of
the universe for the admiration of posterity, what shall
they be, before the blaze of illumination which shall be
poured upon us in another world! The pageantries of courts
and palaces; the banquets and the wine-cups, the spectacles
and the entertainments, the mirrors and the lamps, the
golden furniture of pomp, and the flowing robe of luxury;
the great and the affluent, whose patronage was requested
for busy undertakings, who were besieged with flattery and
obsequiousness from morning to night; the noble and the
beautiful, who gathered homage as they moved; the writers
and the orators, whose popularity was unbounded, and who
lived amidst the incense of human applause; they, and all
that appertained to them, where and what shall they be, as
we stand poor, and naked, and miserable before Him with
whom we have to do! They, the heedless and the selfish,
swimming in pleasure, who thought that the whole voyage of
life was to be like Cleopatra's passage along the Cydnus,
one scene of mirth and gorgeousness; of prodigal
dissipation and fatal revelry, with soft music and delicate
odours floating in the air; what shall become of _them_!
How black and cold shall be the cinders of their joy!
All human dynasties will then have crumbled to pieces, and
all the gradations in the scale of human rank will then
have been blotted out; for all must be dwarfed and
prostrated before the ineffable majesty of the Most High
God. All other differences must fade when the Divine
summits are placed in contrast with them; as from the top
of an exceeding high mountain the whole ground beneath is
as a level plain, because from that vast altitude all
smaller elevations are lost, all minuter inequalities of
surface vanish. Human celebrity will then be as a sound,
the very echoes of which will have departed. The pompous
titles with which the vanity of man was pampered; the
distinctions which kings could confer, or heraldry
emblazon; privileges of caste, nobility of blood, the pride
of ancestry, the blaze of reputation, the splendour of
talents, shall then be confounded, one and all, as
frivolous toys and trifling baubles. The mighty ones of the
earth shall be no more than they who were of the poorest
condition; the great shall stand abashed with the mean, the
learned with the ignorant, monarchs with their subjects,
senators and princes, commanders of fleets and armies, the
loftiest and most renowned by the side of the husbandman
and the labourer; for what shall they all be in contrast
with Him, the Universal Creator, whose dwelling-place is
eternity, and to whom belong, throughout all ages, all
glory and dominion, sovereignty and praise!--_Boone._
THE INEXCUSABILITY AND HOPELESSNESS OF UNBELIEF.
v. 4. _What could have been done more to my vineyard that I
have not done in it?_
In a subsequent verse God condescends to explain what is here meant
by His "vineyard," so that there might be no doubt as to the scope
and import of the passage (ver. 7). God has done everything which
could be done for the spiritual culture of His ancient Church (vers.
3, 4). This assertion that "as much had been done as could be done"
is very affecting and startling. And if this could be said of the
Jewish vineyard, what shall be said of the Christian?
There is a peculiar argument thus suggested, which, wrought out, will
show that men are inexcusable in persisting in their unbelief, since
nothing more could have been done to win them to the side of
righteousness and to turn them to God. Notice carefully _the variety
of the arguments addressed in Scripture to the thoughtless and
obdurate._ At one time they are attacked with terrors, the picture
being set before them of Divine wrath; at another they are acted on
by the loving-kindness of God, and allured by the free mercies of the
Gospel. In the text it is not precisely either the one or the other
of these methods. There is nothing alleged but the greatness of what
has been done for us--a greatness such that nothing more can be done,
consistently, at least, with that moral accountableness which must
regulate the amount of influence which God brings to bear on men. If
this be so, if we are not convinced and renewed under the existing
instrumentality, there is nothing that can avert from us utter
destruction.
But is this so? Review the means provided and proffered for our
rescue, and let us see whether any of us can be other than silent. If
we were arguing with a man who disbelieved the existence of God, we
should probably reason up from the creation to the Creator. Our
adversary might challenge us to prove that nothing short of Infinite
Power could have built and furnished the planet. It may be allowed
that certain results lie beyond human agency, and yet disputed
whether they need such an agency as we strictly call Divine. We do
not, therefore, maintain that the evidences in creation are the
strongest which can be conceived. Hence we should not perhaps feel
warranted in saying to the atheist, "What more could have been done
to produce belief in you if you resist all these tokens of God in
Nature?" But if we cannot say to the atheist, when pointing to the
surrounding creation, "What more could have been done that has not
been done for your conviction?" we can ply the worldly-minded with
this question when pointing to the scheme of salvation through
Christ. We deny that the worldly-minded can appeal from what God has
done on their behalf to a yet mightier interference which imagination
can picture. It is the property of redemption, if not of creation,
that it leaves no room for imagination. Those who turn with
indifference from the proffers of the Gospel are just in the position
of the atheist who should remain such after God had set before him
the highest possible demonstration of Himself. It is not, we think,
too bold a thing to say that, in redeeming us, God exhausted
Himself--_He gave Himself._ And we may not argue that, resisting what
has been granted, you demonstrate that you cannot be overcome, and
thus your condemnation is sealed by the incontrovertible truth
involved in the question of the text?
Looked at more in detail, the argument is--+I. As much has been done
as could have been done, because of the Agency through which man's
redemption was effected.+ In looking at the cross, considering our
sins as laid on the Being who hangs there in weakness and ignominy,
the overcoming thought is, that this Being is none other than the
Everlasting God, and that however He seem mastered by the powers of
wickedness, He could by a single word, uttered from the altar on
which He immolates Himself, scatter the universe into nothing, and
call up an assemblage of new worlds and new creatures.--_What a
condemning force this throws into the question of the text!_ If it
give an unmeasured stupendousness to the work of our redemption, that
He who undertook, carried on, and completed that work was "the
brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His
person," then surely what has been done for the "vineyard" proclaims
us ruined if we bring not forth such fruits as God requires at our
hands.--_If the extent of what has been done may be given in evidence
that if it prove ineffectual there remains nothing more to be tried,
what say you to the justice of the question? what to the condemnation
under which it leaves the worldly-minded and rebellious?_
+II. As much has been done as could have been done, regard being had
to the completeness and fulness of the work, as well as to the
greatness of its Author.+ We might have been sure beforehand that
what the Divine Agent undertook would be thoroughly effected. The
sins of the whole race were laid on Christ. There is consequently
nothing in our own guiltiness to make us hesitate as to the
possibility of _forgiveness._ The penalties of a violated law have
been actually discharged.
The scheme of redemption provides also for our _acceptance,_ so that
happiness may be obtained. If it met our necessities only in part,
there might be excuse for refusing it our attention. When you add to
the unsearchable riches of grace in Christ _the continued and earnest
agency of the Holy Spirit,_ have you a word to plead against the
remonstrance of God in the text?
+III. We are bound to regard the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the grand
revelation of future punishment and reward.+ Until the Redeemer
appeared and brought more direct tidings from the invisible world,
the sanctions of eternity were scarcely, if at all, brought to bear
on the occupations of time. So imperfect had been the foregoing
knowledge regarding the immortality of the soul that Paul declared of
Christ that He "abolished death, and brought life and immortality to
light by the Gospel." Much of what has been done for the "vineyard"
consists in the greatness of the reward which the Gospel promises to
righteousness, and the greatness of the punishment which it denounces
on impenitence.
It was not redemption from mere temporary evil that Christ effected.
Redemption does not make men immortal, but, finding them so, it sheds
its influence throughout their unlimited existence, wringing the
curse from its every instant, and leaving a blessing in its stead.
The Gospel sets before us an array of motives, concerning which it is
no boldness to say, that, if ineffectual, it is because we are
immovable; if heaven fails to attract, hell to alarm--the heaven and
the hell opened to us by the revelation of Scripture--it can only be
because of a set determination to continue in sin. _What more could
have been done for the vineyard?_ If you are waiting to be forced,
you are waiting to be ruined. "Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call on Him while He is near."--_Henry Melvill, B.D.: Golden
Lectures,_ pp. 485-492.
MORAL PERVERSITY.
v. 20. _Woe unto them that call evil good, &c._
If the judgments of men are habitually influenced by their
affections, it is not surprising that their speech should bear the
impress of the same controlling power. What we hear men say in the
way of passing judgment upon things and persons, unless said
deliberately for the purpose of description, will afford us, for the
most part, a correct idea of their dispositions and prevailing
inclinations. There is, indeed, a customary mode of talking in which
familiar formulas of praise and censure as to moral objects are
employed as if by rote; but this dialect, however near it may
approach to that of evangelical morality, is still distinguished from
it by indubitable marks. One who thus indulges in the use of such
expressions as imply a recognition of the principles of Biblical
morality, but whose conduct repudiates them, in expressing his
opinions on moral subjects avoids, as if instinctively, the terms of
censure and of approbation which belong to Scripture. He will speak
of an act or a course of acts as wrong, perhaps as vicious,--it may
even be as wicked, but not as _sinful._ There are crimes and vices,
but no sins in his vocabulary. Vice and sin are referable, it would
seem, to an abstract and perhaps variable standard, while sin brings
into view the legislative and judicial character of God. Two men
shall converse together upon truth and falsehood, employing the
_same_ words and phrases; and yet when you come to ascertain the
sense in which they severally use the same language, you shall find
that while the one adopts the rigorous and simple rule of truth and
falsehood laid down in the Bible and by common sense, the other holds
it with so many qualifications and exceptions as almost to render it
a rule more honoured in the breach than the observance. But who does
not know that men are often worse in the bent of their affections
than in the general drift of their discourse? If we err, therefore,
in the application of the test proposed, we are far more apt to err
in favour of the subject than against him. He who is invariably
prompted, when there is no counteracting influence, to call evil good
and good evil, is one who, like the fallen angel, says in his heart,
"Evil, be thou my good!" and is, therefore, a just subject of the woe
denounced by the prophet in the text.
+I. The expression is descriptive of those who hate good and love
evil--not of those who err as to what is good and what is evil.+ A
rational nature is incapable of loving evil, simply viewed as evil,
or of hating good when simply viewed as good. Whatever thing you
love, you thereby recognise as good; and what you hate or abhor, you
thereby recognise as evil. No man can dislike a taste, or smell, or
sound which at the same time he regards as pleasant, nor can he like
one which he thinks unpleasant. But change the standard of
comparison, and what appeared impossible is realised. The music which
is sweetest to your ear may be offensive when it breaks the slumber
of your sleeping friend; the harshest voice may charm you when it
announces that your friend still lives. The darling sin is hated by
the sinner as the means of his damnation, though he loves it as the
source of present pleasure. When, therefore, men profess to look upon
that as excellent which in their hearts and lives they treat as
hateful, and to regard as evil and abominable that which they are
seeking after and which they delight in, they are not expressing
their own feelings, but assenting to the judgment of others. And if
they are really so far enlightened as to think sincerely that the
objects of their passionate attachment are evil, this is only
admitting that their own affections are disordered and at variance
with reason. It is as if a man's sense of taste should be so vitiated
through disease, that what is sweet to others is to him a pungent
bitter. So the sinner may believe, on God's authority or man's, that
sin is evil and holiness is good, but his diseased eye will still
confound light with darkness, and his lips, whenever they express the
feelings of his heart, will continue to call good evil and evil good.
The three forms of expression in the text appear to be significant of
one and the same thing. The thought is clothed first in literal and
then in metaphorical expressions. The character thus drawn is
generally applicable to ungodly men. If the verse be taken merely in
this general sense, the woe which it pronounces is a general woe, or
declaration of Divine displeasure and denunciation of impending wrath
against the wicked generally, simply equivalent to that in chap.
iii. 11.
Such a declaration, awful as it is, would furnish no specific test of
character, because it would still leave the question undecided who it
is that chooses evil and rejects good. But the prophet is very far
from meaning merely to assert the general liability of sinners to the
wrath of God. In view of the context, then, consider--
+II. An enumeration of particular offences then especially
prevailing.+ The text is the fourth in a series of six woes denounced
upon as many outward manifestations of corrupt affection then
especially prevalent, but by no means limited to that age or country;
and these are set forth, not as the product of so many evil
principles, but as the varied exhibition of that universal and
profound corruption which he had just asserted to exist in general
terms. 1. _The avaricious and ambitious grasping after great
possessions, not merely as a means of luxurious indulgence, but as a
distinction and a gratification of pride_ (ver. 8). To such the
prophet threatened woe (ver. 9), and to such the Apostle James also
(James v. 4). 2. _Drunkenness_ (ver. 11). Here also the description
of the vice is followed by its punishment, including not only
personal but national calamities, as war, desolation, and captivity.
3. _Presumption and blasphemy_ (vers. 18, 19). 4. _Moral perversity,_
as set forth in the text. 5. _Overweening confidence in human reason
as opposed to God's unerring revelation_ (ver. 21). 6. _Drunkenness,
considered,_ not as in the former case, as a personal excess,
producing inconsideration and neglect of God, but _as a vice of
magistrates and rulers, and as leading to oppression and all
practical injustice_ (vers. 22, 23).
This view of the context is given for two reasons--1. To show that in
this whole passage the prophet refers to species of iniquity familiar
to our own time and country; and 2. Chiefly to show that we have in
the text the description of a certain outward form in which the
prevailing wickedness betrayed itself. An outward mark of those who
hate God and whom He designs to punish is their confounding moral
distinctions in their conversation. Consider, then--
+III. How moral distinctions are confounded.+ When one admits in
words the great first principles in morals, yet takes away so much as
to obliterate the practical distinction between right and wrong,
truth and falsehood, religion and irreligion, he does virtually,
actually, call evil good and good evil. When one admits generally the
turpitude of fraud, impurity, intemperance, malignity, &c., and yet
in insulated cases treats these as peccadilloes, inadvertences, &c.,
he cannot be protected by the mere assertion of a few general
principles from the fatal charge of calling evil good. And as a
counterpart of this, he who praises and admires all goodness in the
abstract, but detests it when realised in concrete excellence, really
and practically calls good evil. And he who, in relation to the
self-same acts performed by different men, has a judgment suited to
the case of each, all compassion to the wilful transgressions of the
wicked, and all inexorable sternness to the infirmities of godly men,
to all intents and purposes incurs the woe pronounced on those who
call evil good and good evil. These distinctions may at present
appear arbitrary, frivolous, or false, and, as a necessary
consequence, the guilt of confounding them may almost fade to
nothing,--to a stain so faint upon the conscience as to need no blood
of expiation to remove it. But the day is coming when the eye of
reason shall no longer find it possible to look at light and darkness
as the same, and the woe already heard shall then be seen and felt.
From the darkness and bitterness of that damnation may we all find
deliverance through Jesus Christ our Lord!--_J. Addison Alexander,
D.D.: The Gospel of Jesus Christ,_ pp. 568-578.
THE SERVICE OF THE SERAPHIM.
vi. 1, 2, 5-7. _I saw also the Lord, &c._
In that perfect prayer which our Lord bequeathed to His disciples we
are taught to ask that God's will may be done in earth as it is done
in heaven. Thus angelic service is set before us as a model and
pattern. Not that the services we are called upon to render are the
same with those assigned to angels. Their sphere is heaven, ours for
the present is the earth; and each of these spheres has its distinct
and peculiar duties, appropriate to the nature and faculties of its
occupants. But the spirit in which the employment of angels and men
should be prosecuted is the same. One common sentiment--the sentiment
of adoration and devotedness--should animate and govern them all.
Hence the passage before us, although containing a record of the
transactions of another sphere, contains a lesson, if not respecting
the nature of our duties, yet respecting the method in which we
should seek to fulfil them.
+I. The twofold life of a servant of God, whether human or angelic,
is here very beautifully exhibited to us.+ The seraphim are
represented as veiling their faces and feet with their wings while
they stand in adoration before the throne of God. But although
engaged in ceaselessly adoring the Divine perfections, they do not
lead a life of barren contemplation. The words, "with twain he did
fly," intimate to us that they are also engaged in the active
execution of those errands with which God has charged them. The
Christian's life, like that of the seraphim, branches out into the
two great divisions of contemplative devotion and active exertion. It
is the life of Mary _combined_ with that of Martha (P. D. 2417).
1. _The devotional branch of the Christian's life._ In the exercises
of the closet and of the sanctuary are to be found the springs of the
Christian's exertions in his Master's cause. These exercises are not
originating sources of grace, but they are channels and vehicles
through which God's Spirit conveys Himself to the soul--pitchers in
which may be drawn up the waters of the River of Life to refresh and
recruit the energies of him whom a painful resistance to evil within
and without has rendered weary and faint in his mind (H. E. I. 3426,
4107, 4108, and 3438-3448). If devotion be essential to the
perfection of a seraph's service, how much more essential must it be
to ours, our necessities being so immensely greater than those of the
bright inhabitants of heaven! The exigencies of our time make
devotion especially needful now. The present is emphatically a period
of the world's history in which "many run to and fro, and knowledge
is increased." Moreover, there is a revival of outward energy and
activity in the cause of religion. This is a blessing. But remember,
days of excitement are not days of deep devotion. There may be much
of rapid movement abroad in the world without a corresponding
adoration of God in the secret chamber of the heart--much of flying
without veiling of the face.[1]
2. _The outward manifestation of the Christian life_ discernible by
the world. Care must be taken not only that the lamp shall be filled
with oil, but that there shall be a light shining before men (Matt.
v. 16; H. E. I. 1042, 1044, 3906). The seraphim are not so wrapt up
in adoration of God that they are forgetful of active service. "With
twain they did fly" for the execution of the errands on which they
were commissioned.
Here is a reproof of the monastic principle, that seclusion from the
society of our fellow-men and from the active duties of life is
necessary in order to secure an uninterrupted period of leisure for
solitary spiritual exercises. Undue predominance is thus given to one
branch of God's service, to the prejudice and neglect of the other
and no less important branch. Exercise as well as nourishment and
repose is essential to the health of the body, and so toil in the
vineyard--earnest endeavour to advance the kingdom of God in our own
hearts and the hearts of others--is no less essential to the health
of the soul. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength;" but for what purpose? That they may walk in good works,
and run with patience the race that is set before them (chap. xl. 31;
H. E. I. 1736-1742).
+II. Some practical lessons concerning the maintenance and
manifestation of the twofold Christian life.+
1. _A lesson as to the spirit which should pervade all devotion._
These bright and glorious beings are without sin. Still, such is
their sense of the infinite distance between themselves and their
Creator, that they veil their faces and their feet before His throne
in token of adoring reverence. The first and most essential element
of devotion is a feeling of deep awe flowing from a sense of God's
transcendent excellences and leading to profound self-abasement
(H. E. I. 3798, 3799, 5074). If reverence was befitting in the
seraphim, how much more is it necessary in sinful men! (Luke
xviii. 13; Ezra ix. 6).
The vision of God wrought in Isaiah a feeling almost akin to despair.
It seemed to him as if the perfect holiness of God was engaged to
banish for ever every creature possessing the slightest taint of
moral evil (ver. 5). In vers. 6, 7 we have the glorious remedy. What
is the significance of the symbols? By the work of the Son of God a
mighty Altar of Propitiation has been reared up, and thence there
comes to the penitent sinner cleansing as well as pardon. The "live
coal" is an emblem of that love and zeal in God's service with which
the Holy Spirit imbues the souls of these who flee to the Altar of
Atonement as their only refuge from the wrath to come. A
participation in that Spirit's influence is absolutely essential to
our true participation in the chorus of the angelic host (H. E. I.
2887).
2. _A few words on that active service which is the outward
manifestation of the principles nourished by devotion._ (1.) We must
prepare for it by the care and culture of our own heart.[2]
(2.) There is also an outward work which God has made binding on all
of us. He has assigned to each of us a certain position in life.
Every such position involves its peculiar responsibilities, snares,
and occupations. The responsibilities must be cheerfully and manfully
met, the occupations diligently fulfilled, as a piece of task-work
allotted to us by the Lord of the vineyard (Eph. vi. 7). Besides, God
has intrusted to us, in various measures, substance, time, abilities
influence, and these we are diligently to use for the promotion of
the cause of God in the world. In our busy path through life, which
brings us in contact with so many individuals, opportunities are ever
and anon presented to us of being useful to our fellow-men; and to
watch for, seize, and improve such opportunities is not the least
important of these branches of active service (P. D. 40, 3567, 3569).
CONCLUSION.--1. It is not the intrinsic dignity of our duties, nor
the large result of our fulfilment of them, which renders the
diligent performance of them an acceptable work in God's eyes. The
great design of our being places in this world is not that we may do
some signal service, or large amount of service, to our Creator, but
rather that we may execute the service (be it great or small)
allotted to us in a spirit of fidelity, zeal, and love. The spirit
which is thrown into and pervades the work is everything--the work
itself (comparatively) nothing. Be the sphere what it may which
Divine Providence has assigned to us, let the duties of it be
executed in a seraphic spirit (P. D. 1484). 2. We have overwhelming
motives, if we did but rightly appreciate them, to devotedness of our
every faculty to the services of our God. The redeemed sinner owes to
God far more of allegiance than the angel who has retained his
integrity. Angels no such Fall have known, "angels no such Love have
known," as we.--_E. M. Goulburn, D.C.L.: Sermons,_ pp. 77-99.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] If this be the case with any of us, if, with the busy
occupation of the hands in the furtherance of religious
objects, we have glimpsed the inward life of communion with
God to decline, how painfully do we resemble those virgins
who took no heed to provide for their dying lamps a
continual supply of oil! The profession which we have made
before men, however bright its blaze, will one day be shown
to have been delusive--to have been destitute of those
animating principles of faith and love from which alone can
flow an acceptable service.--_Goulburn._
[2] God requires us to set a strict watch over its outgoings--a
watch such as sentinels keep over the persons and goods
which pass out of a city whose allegiance to the sovereign
is suspected--to curb and quell at the earliest outbreak
every rising of vanity, temper, bitterness, passion, and
lust--to drag forth from its dark recesses and to stay
every cherished iniquity which has found there a harbour
and a hiding-place. Our own heart is a vineyard over which
God hath set every one of us to dress it and to keep it. We
are to extirpate the soil's poisonous produce, and to
implore upon the soil of this vineyard the precious dews of
the Divine Spirit, which may remedy its native barrenness
and turn it from a desert into the garden of the
Lord.--_Goulburn._ See also H. E. I. 1841, 1842, 2695-2708.
THE MORAL HISTORY OF A RISING SOUL.
vi. 5-8. _Then said I, Woe is me, &c._
Whilst holiness is the normal, depravity is the actual state of man.
A restoration to that spiritual condition is his profoundest
necessity, his want of wants. The recovery of holiness involves the
recovery of all other good. There seem to be, in the nature of the
case, _five states through which the soul must pass in this
all-important and glorious transit._
I. A VISION OF THE GREAT RULER AS THE HOLIEST OF BEINGS. Isaiah had
this: "Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Three facts
will show that a spiritual vision of God is the first step of the
soul towards holiness. 1. _There can be no excitement of the moral
sensibilities and powers without a vision of God._ Show me a soul
that has never had an inner vision of God, and you show me a soul
whose conscience, whose moral powers, are entirely dormant. The
passions, the intellect, the imagination may move, but the
conscience, the heart, the moral essence, the _self_ of the man,
moves not--is dead. 2. _The means which God has ever employed to
restore men are visions of Himself._ What is the Bible but a record
of Divine visions and manifestations to man? What is the
Gospel--"God's power unto salvation"--but the manifestation of the
Eternal in Christ? Here He appears to man in the "face of Jesus
Christ." 3. _The history of all restored souls shows that the
improvement commences at this stage._ The explanation which Paul
gives of the first upward movement would generally be true of all:
"When it pleased God to reveal His Son in me," &c. What the sun is to
the plant, God is to the soul.
II. A PROFOUND CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR FALLEN STATE. "Then, said I, Woe
is me," &c. His consciousness included four things--1. _A deep sense
of his personality._ "_I_ am undone." He feels himself singled out
from the millions. When conscience is touched, she breaks the bond,
individualises the man, and makes him feel as if he stood alone
before the Eternal Judge. 2. _A sense of personal ruin._ "Woe is me,
for I am undone." My prospects are blighted, my hopes are gone. 3. _A
sense of personal ruin arising from a sense of personal sin._ "I am a
man of unclean lips;" I am a sinner, and therefore "undone." 4. _A
sense of personal sin, heightened by the remembrance of his
neighbour's sins._ "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips." So long as conscience is torpid, men often make the sinful
conduct of others an apology for their own; but when conscience
awakes, such sophistries depart.
III. A REMOVAL OF THE CRUSHING SENSE OF GUILT. "Then flew one of the
seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand," &c. Three thoughts
are suggested by this--1. _There are Divine means for the removal of
sin._ This "live coal," this altar, and seraphim in the vision,
symbolise this truth. 2. _The means are something in connection with
sacrifice._ Fire is a purifying element, and is regarded as the
emblem of purity. This "live coal" was taken from the altar of
burnt-offering. The fire of that altar as at first kindled by the
Lord, and ever afterward kept burning. What is the power that takes
away sin? The Divine Word in connection with Christ's sacrifice--the
doctrine of the Cross. This, like "fire," has a purifying power.
3. _The means are employed by a Divinely-appointed ministry._ Let
that seraph stand as the emblem of a true minister, and we see that
his work is to take the purifying elements from the altar and apply
them to men.
IV. AN EVER-OPEN AND SENSITIVE EAR TO THE VOICE OF GOD. "I heard the
voice of the Lord, saying," &c. Three thoughts will develop the
general and practical meaning of these words--1. _God has deep
thoughts about our race._ The Bible reveals some of these thoughts,
and so does Nature. 2. _Just as the soul is cleared of sin does it
become conscious of these thoughts._ Let the conscience be thoroughly
cleared of sin, and it will hear the voice of God in every sound and
see His glory in every form. The universe to a holy being is the
tongue of God (P. D. 2545, 2552, 2560, 2563, 2564). 3. _This
consciousness of the Divine thoughts about our race is a necessary
stage in the moral progress of the soul._ It is only thus we walk
with God, as Enoch did of old.
V. A HEARTY READINESS TO DO WHAT THE SUPREME WILL COMMANDS. "Here am
I; send me." I am ready to do whatever Thou commandest. Send me
anywhere, at any time, to do any work; I am ready to catch the
slightest whisper of duty; my soul stands with plumed
pinions.--_David Thomas, D.D.: The Homilist,_ vol. v. pp. 411-418.
SANCTUARY IN GOD.
viii. 14. _And He shall be for a sanctuary._
Not a few mourn, in the midst of a busy, bustling age, the loss of
sacredness in life. Not the false "sacred"--that which is merely
ascetic separation from life and duty; nor that which is merely
solemn "sacred"--the dull heavy monotony of gloominess.
We naturally say that if this is God's world, if civil and civic
duties, social responsibilities, are God-ordained, it is likely, at
least, that _here_ we may be able to secure a heavenly citizenship
amid earthly cares and customs. This is exactly what God reveals in
the text. Sanctuary, He says, is _not_ in mere place; _not_ in
separation from manly duty; I open up my very _nature_ to you. How
often this idea recurs in the Scriptures! God is our refuge and rest,
our hiding-place, our dwelling-place.
I. THE SACREDNESS THAT A REVERENT HEART DESIRES. Something within us
asserts its dignity when society is frivolous and gay, and when the
routine of life brings us into association with lives where the light
even of conscience burns low, when the reverent _wonder_ that filled
even pagan hearts has given place to scientific explanations of every
spiritual function. When we are brought into contact with all this,
then it is that we find how the high tides of the world cover the
little green knolls of devotion, and sweep away alike the altar of
prayer and the harp of praise. In all earnest natures there comes, at
times, resentment at all this. We believe the Divinity within us. We
believe the high call of seer and prophet to nobler ends; we believe,
above all, that Lord of life and light who tells us that the life is
more than meat, and who fed His own life by the mountain prayer and
the garden solitude. We should seek to secure the sacredness we feel
we need, not in morbid methods, but in ways that are human, and ways
that are Divine because they are human. Christ lived and worked
amongst men. We, too, may secure sacredness for our lives; we may
carry in our mien and breathe in our converse the springs of hope and
faith and love which flow still from Zion's sacred hill.
II. THE SACREDNESS THAT MAKES SANCTUARY IN GOD HIMSELF. "_He_ shall
be for a sanctuary." He whom wicked men dread and flee from; for, as
of old, darkness cannot dwell with light, nor irreverence with
reverence, nor mammon-worship with devotion to God. We may carry very
bad hearts into very beautiful places. Place is easily made unsacred,
but into fellowship with God there can enter nothing that is false,
or worldly, or vile. "Sanctuary in a person?" Yes; for even here, in
this dim sphere of earthly friendship, our best sanctuaries, apart
from Christ, have been men and women,--those who bear His likeness,
and who do His will. "Sanctuaries?" Yes; for with them we are ashamed
of unworthy motive, of impure thought, of unsacred aim. Take Christ
with you, and every place is sacred. This is our living sanctuary; we
abide in Him who says, "I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold
I am alive for evermore." And if by His own Divine nature He is a
sanctuary, He is also by _experience_ too. How much the human
sanctuary of friendship is beautified when there is _oneness of
feeling_ about the battle and burden of life! It is nothing, then,
that when we speak of sanctuary in Christ we should mean "sympathy,"
all that belongs to a brother born for adversity--to Him who, as a
"Man of Sorrows," was "acquainted with grief" (liii. 9)? We know
indeed but little of the realities of religion unless we have found
such a living sanctuary in Christ Jesus the Lord (H. E. I. 968-975).
III. THE SACREDNESS OF ALL THE FUTURE DAYS. "He shall be." Names vary
in interpreting what God is to suit need and experience. We translate
the want, and then God's name is translated to meet it. I am
hungry--He is Bread; thirsty--He is Water, &c. The word "sanctuary"
meets special wants. Life is not always a seeking for a refuge, but
it is so especially at certain times and in strange and desolate
experiences. We are alone in a strange city. The child must leave
home to teach, to toil, to live; the weakness will come which
presaged decline and death; the soul does feel that some lights are
lost to faith and that others are going dim. He _shall_ be for a
sanctuary. Let the hours come; He will come too. Who can make retreat
into his own heart and find perfect sanctuary there? Christ alone
could do _that._ We cannot. Nature cannot afford us the sanctuary we
need; she has healthy anodynes of atmosphere that afford us deep and
quiet retreats, but sanctuary, in the highest sense, she has not.
Christ, and He alone, will be now and for ever a sanctuary (H. E. I.
2378-2387).
IV. THE SACREDNESS OF PERSONAL LIFE IN GOD. We can have no safety or
rest in Churches as such. They are helpful; they are houses of
fellowship and centres of usefulness. But we cannot say, as
Mediævalism said, "Enter the Church and be saved." The soul's
relation to God is personal and individual. Whether this relation of
faith is real, vital, each soul can attest for itself; and that
living relationship is all that can ever make life sacred to any man.
When the life is hid with Christ in God, all is well, for all is
sacred; and nothing that He has created us to do or to enjoy is
common or unclean. So may God help us to keep a sacred life which
finds sanctuary in the Saviour, until we find it where there is no
temple, but where there is sanctuary in God (Rev. xxi. 22,
23).--_W. M. Statham: Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. xvii. pp. 131-133.
WISE LESSONS FROM WICKED LIPS.
ix. 10. _The bricks are fallen down, &c._
Jesus said, "The children of this world are in their generation wiser
than the children of light," meaning that they excel them in
shrewdness and tact. Men of the world do not readily submit to defeat
and failure, but strive to convert defeat into victory, and failure
into success. In this respect, therefore, the children of this world
are worthy of imitation. Within the spiritual, Christian sphere we
might well emulate them in the determined, hopeful, persevering,
progressive, patient spirit with which they prosecute their affairs.
Of this the text affords illustration. The children of this world, of
whom it speaks to us, are worthy of our imitation in the following
respects:--
+I. They proceed with a defined purpose.+ The bricks mentioned as
having fallen down were not a heap of burned clay, which somehow had
got piled up, no one could tell how. They had been built by human
hands, and the builders had heads as well as hands. But now that the
bricks had fallen, in making up their minds as to what should be
done, they proceed with a defined purpose. The architect precedes the
builder; the head leads the hand. They build not at random. They
first say what they will build, and how. They also resolve once more
to beautify their surroundings with trees, and they make their
choice. This time they will not have sycamores, but cedars.
The same principle should underlie the building up of all Christian
character and work. Knowledge and zeal should ever be in partnership.
The hand should be under control of the head. Everything should be
done well, because done wisely. One purpose should run through and be
supreme in each life. Striving, and toiling, and fighting, we should
have it first settled what we are to strive, and toil, and fight for.
And as to this we are left in no difficulty. A plan is made for us,
and our wisdom is to work it out. A number of young men were one day
practising archery, when the arrows of one invariably stuck in the
ground. Seeing this, one of his companions cried out, "Do aim
higher." That is what we have to do. We substitute our own low,
faltering purposes for the high, glorious purpose of God (Rom.
viii. 29; 1 Pet. ii. 21). So, also, in connection with our work, a
high purpose should be our aim. We should not make up our minds to do
as little as possible, neither should our only object be to do as
much as possible. Our question should be, What is my Master's will?
Obedience is better than sacrifice. They who would work for their
Lord with acceptance must wait on Him, and He will give "to each man
his work." Further, with our plan fixed, we must set our whole heart
upon the working of it out. Here Israel teaches us. When her first
effort failed, she tried again. The spirit of enthusiasm must inspire
us. This is what makes labour rest, and turns the yoke into a crown.
+II. They were inspired with hopefulness.+ Their bricks fell down,
but their spirits fell not into the pit of despair. Their sycamores
were cut down, but their ambition was not. They viewed the desolation
not without sadness, but in the midst of it all _"Nil Desperandum"_
was the song which they sang. And that is the spirit of the world
to-day. So the Christian ought to be hopeful. You have fallen! Say,
"I will rise again." Your schemes have failed! Say, "I will try
again." You are afraid you have laboured in vain! Say, "In labours I
will be more abundant." You went into what you thought the paradise
of God, but lo! it turned out to be a dreary wilderness. What then?
Still hope in God. Seek on, O seeker, and thou shalt find. Knock on,
louder and louder; the door will be opened.
Night must give way to day. Mystery after mystery will unfold itself.
Light will appear to every man having eyes and using them. The
children of this world hope; greater reason have they to hope who are
children of God.
+III. They show a spirit of industrious perseverance.+ Their hands
responded to the impulse of their hearts. What they were ready to say
they were ready to do. They were prepared by hard, persevering toil
to make good their hope. These men of Israel were at this time
without God, but they were not without common sense. They dreamed not
that by mere wishing their ruined walls would rise again. If they
wanted new temples and goodly cedars, they must build and plant them.
The moral here is plan (Matt. vii. 21). Hoping will not do
everything. It must be backed by earnest effort. The way to heaven is
not reached by flying, but by toiling. I am a son of God; let me then
subscribe myself "Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." Beautiful city
of God! we hope some day to reach thy gates of pearl and enter it,
but till then--
"Many a sorrow, many a labour,
Many a tear."
To your hope add diligence. Watch and wait, but forget not to work.
+IV. They improve matters.+ These tumble-down buildings were, after
all, but brick; but now they would build, not with bricks, but with
hewn stones. Around them had flourished sycamores, but now that these
were cut down they would plant cedars. Such is the spirit of the
world. To-day is to be an improvement upon yesterday. _"Excelsior"_
is added to _"Nil Desperandum."_ Is not this the spirit which ought
to animate us? There is no temper but may be improved. You never did
a thing for Jesus, let it be ever so trifling, but you may do better
next time you try. The text speaks to us of failure and ruin; and it
shows us that out of these greater and better efforts arose. So
should it be with us. Has your faith given way under the severe
strain put upon it? Then for the future you must not only have faith,
but stronger faith. In the pride and stoutness of their hearts Israel
said, "In the future we will do better than we did before;" and we
must say, not in the pride of our hearts, but in humble dependence
upon God, strengthened with His might, "We count not ourselves to
have attained, neither are we already perfect; but this one thing we
do," (Phil. iii. 13, 14).
CONCLUSION.--Looking at what Israel proposed to do, three words are
suggested, which would be good motto words for us to adopt. They are
_strength, beauty, growth._ 1. "We will build with stones." They
would now erect a strong building, one not easily to be overthrown.
This should be our first concern. We are building not for time, but
for eternity. What is to last must be strong. 2. They said, moreover,
"We will build with hewn stones;" we shall go in for beauty as well
as for strength. Some of us are strong, but we are lacking in beauty.
We are robust characters, but we are also rough. There is a more
excellent way. Perfection of character is reached only in so far as
strength and beauty are blended together. 3. There must also be
growth. Israel resolved to plant cedars, trees which should live and
grow on for centuries. So we, rooted and grounded in faith, and love,
and hope, should grow up in strength and beauty. So, on and
on--changing bricks for hewn stones, and sycamores for cedars.--_Adam
Scott: Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. xvii. pp. 230-232.
THE DIFFUSION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
(_For Whit-Sunday._)
xi. 9. _The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea._
It was promised that "the waters should no more become a flood to
destroy all flesh;" and yet a flood there was to be, all-compassing,
all-absorbing, in God's good time and in His merciful foreknowledge
when He spake the former world; but not to destroy all flesh, but to
save it; and in the season the rain of grace descended (xlv. 8; Matt.
vii. 29; Ps. xcviii. 8).
How different a fulfilment was this from that for which the apostles
had been waiting! No doubt they imagined that such as Christ had been
would be the Paraclete who was to come--One whose individuality and
intelligence they could not doubt, and need not take on faith. When
they were waiting for the Angelic Messenger, Prophet, and Lawgiver,
One higher than all created strength and wisdom suddenly came down
upon them; yet not as a Lord and Governor, but as an agency or power
(Acts ii. 2-4).
Such was the coming of the Comforter, He who is infinitely personal,
who is the One God, absolutely, fully, perfectly, simply; He it was
who vouchsafed to descend upon the apostles, and that as if not a
Person, but as an influence or quality, by His attribute of ubiquity
diffusing Himself over their hearts, filling all the house, poured
over the world, as wholly here as if He were not there, and hence
vouchsafing to be compared to the inanimate and natural creation, to
water and wind, which are of so subtle a nature, or so penetrating a
virtue, and of so extended a range. And most exactly have these
figures, which He condescended to apply to Himself, been fulfilled--
I. IN THE COURSE OF THE DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT. His operation has
been calm, equable, gradual, far-spreading, overtaking, intimate,
irresistible. What is so awfully silent, so mighty, so inevitable, so
encompassing as a flood of water? Fire alarms from the first: we see
it and we scent it; there is crashing and downfall, smoke and flame;
it makes an inroad here and there; it is uncertain and wayward;--but
a flood is the reverse of all this. It gives no tokens of its coming;
it lets man sleep through the night, and they wake and find
themselves hopelessly besieged; prompt, secret, successful, and
equable, it preserves one level; it is everywhere; there is no
refuge. And it makes its way to the foundations; towers and palaces
rear themselves as usual; they have lost nothing of their perfection,
and give no sign of danger, till at length suddenly they totter and
fall. And here and there it is the same, as if by some secret
understanding; for by one and the same agency the mighty movement
gone on here and there and everywhere, and all things seem to act in
concert with it, and to conspire together for their own ruin. And in
the end they are utterly removed, and perish from off the face of the
earth. Fire, which threatens more fiercely, leaves behind it relics
and monuments of its agency; but water buries as well as destroys; it
wipes off the memorial of its victims from the earth.
Such was the power of the Spirit in the beginning, when He vouchsafed
to descend as an invisible wind, as an outpoured flood. Thus He
changed the whole face of the world. For a while men went on as
usual, and dreamed not what was coming: and when they were roused
from their fast sleep, the work was done; it was too late for aught
else but impotent anger and a hopeless struggle. The kingdom was
taken away from them and given to another people. The ark of God
moved upon the face of the waters. It was borne aloft by the power,
greater than human, which had overspread the earth, and it triumphed,
"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of
Hosts."
II. IN EVERY HUMAN HEART TO WHICH HE COMES. By attending to the
figure we shall understand (what concerns us most intimately) whether
we are personally under His influence, or are deceiving ourselves.
1. _Any spirit which professes to come to us alone and not to others,
which makes no claim of having moved the body of the Church at all
times and places, is not of God, but a private spirit of error_ (Ps.
lxv. 10-12). 2. _Vehemence, tumult, confusion, are no attributes of
that benignant flood with which God has replenished the earth._ That
flood of grace is sedate, majestic, gentle in its operations. If at
any time it seems to be violent, that violence is occasioned by some
accident or imperfection of the earthen vessels into which it
vouchsafed to pour itself, and is not token of the coming of Divine
Power. Ecstasies and transports often proceed from false spirits, who
are but imitating heavenly influences as best they may, and seducing
souls to their ruin. 3. _The Divine baptism wherewith God visits us
penetrates through the whole soul and body._ It leaves no part of us
uncleansed, unsanctified. It claims the whole man for God. It is
everywhere, in every faculty, every affection, every design, every
work (2 Cor. x. 5). Thus--
III. THE HEART OF EVERY CHRISTIAN OUGHT TO REPRESENT IN MINIATURE THE
WHOLE CHURCH. One Spirit makes the whole Church and every member of
it to be His temple. As He gives peace to the multitude of nations,
who are naturally in discord one with another, so does He give an
orderly government to the soul, and set reason and conscience as
sovereigns over the inferior parts of our nature. As He leavens each
rank and pursuit of the community with the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, so does that same Divine leaven spread through every
thought of the mind, every member of the body, till the whole is
sanctified. And let us be quite sure that these two operations of the
Spirit depend upon each other. We cannot hope for peace at home while
we are at war abroad. We cannot hope for unity of the faith if we are
at our own private will make a faith for ourselves. Break unity in
one point, and the fault runs through the whole body. The flood of
God's grace keeps its level, and if it is low in one place it is low
in another.
CONCLUSION.--As we would forward that blessed time when the knowledge
of the Lord will in its fulness cover the earth, as the waters cover
their bed, let us look at home, and wait on God for the cleansing and
purifying of ourselves. Till we look at home, no good shall we be
able to perform for the Church at large; we shall but do mischief
when we intend to do good, and to us will apply that proverb,
"Physician, heal thyself." And let us not doubt that if we do thus
proceed we shall advance the cause of Christ in the world. Let us but
raise the level of religion in our hearts, and it will rise in the
world. And, meantime, we shall have our true reward, which is
personal, consisting in no mere external privileges, however great,
but in the "water of life," of which we are allowed to take freely
(Ps. xxxvi. 7-9; i. 3; Isa. xxxii. 18; Ps. xxiii. 2).--_John Henry
Newman: Subjects of the Day,_ pp. 126-136.
THE PROUD CITY DOOMED.
xiii. 1. _The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of
Amoz did see._
In 2 Kings xvii. we find an account of the invasion of Israel by the
Assyrians (vers. 1-6). Then follows a long enumeration of the sins
which had brought this Divine visitation upon the ten tribes, ending
with the words, "So was Israel carried away out of their own land to
Assyria unto this day" (ver. 23). If the scourge was no longer in the
hands of the king of Assyria, it would be transferred to other hands
not less terrible.
1. Would this scourge destroy the life of the Jewish nation? This was
the awful question which presented itself to the minds of the
prophets when they saw one and another limb of this nation lopped
off, when they saw that a great numerical majority of the tribes
would be carried away. Isaiah's eyes were opened to see whence the
permanence of the race was derived, how great critical moments in its
life discovered Him who was everlastingly present with it. The child
born in hours of trouble and rebuke had borne witness to him of the
continuance of the regal family as well as of the people of God's
covenant, when the rage of their enemies as well as of their own
faithlessness were threatening them with destruction. Nor was this
all. In the miserable, heartless reign of Ahaz the vision had been
presented to him of a "Rod coming out of the stem of Jesse, which
should stand for an ensign of the people. To it should the Gentiles
seek, and His rest should be glorious." Consider _the Rod out of
Jesse, what it betokened_ (Isa. xi. 10-12). The immediate fruits
which Isaiah saw coming out of this root might have appeared in the
days of any patriotic and prosperous prince, and did actually appear
in the latter days of Hezekiah. No doubt Hezekiah might become, and
did actually become, "an ensign to the nations," just as Solomon had
been before him, one to whom they brought presents, whose alliance
they sought, whose elevation out of a deep calamity was a proof that
some mighty God was with him. But--
2. Though we need not seek in any more distant days than those of
Hezekiah for a very satisfactory fulfilment of these predictions (and
let it never be forgotten that what may seem to us, when we look back
over 3000 years, an exaggerated description of deliverance and
restoration, must have seemed inadequate and almost cold to those who
experienced the blessing),--though Hezekiah was a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and though the Spirit of the Lord did rest upon him
(xi. 2),--though the peacefulness and order of his last years might
faithfully carry out the symbols of the wolf and the lamb lying down
together, yet it was no less impossible for the prophet to think
chiefly of Hezekiah when he was uttering these words than it would
have been for him to fancy that he was the King whom he saw sitting
on the throne, and his train filling the temple in the year that
Uzziah died (chap. vi. 1-4). There was, however, this great blessing
which came to Isaiah from his being able to connect the Divine King
with an actual man--the belief that a man must embody and present the
Godhead, that only in a man could its blessedness and glory appear,
acquired a force and vividness from his hope of Hezekiah's government
and from his actual experience of it, which we may say, without
rashness or profaneness, would have been otherwise wanting in him. In
using that language, we are only affirming that any method but the
one which we know the Divine Wisdom has adopted for conveying a truth
to a man's spirit must be an imperfect method. Hezekiah's existence
was necessary to the instruction of Isaiah, and through him of all
generations to come. Perhaps Shalmaneser and Sennacherib were, in
another way, scarcely less necessary.
Apparently the prophet passes in this chapter to an entirely new
subject. The Assyrian seems to be forgotten. He opens with the burden
of Babylon; he goes on to the burden of Damascus, &c. But Babel or
Babylon represented to the prophets the attempt to establish a
universal society, not upon the acknowledgment of the Divine care and
protection, but upon the acknowledgment of a mere power in nature
against which men must try to measure their own. The order and
history of the Jewish nation were made, from age to age, silently to
testify against it. "Babylon is the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of
the Chaldees' excellency" (ver. 19); her time is near to come, and
her days shall not be prolonged (ver. 22). But these and similar
words must refer to more than the destruction of a certain Chaldean
city then or afterwards. How can we limit them to it when we find
such words as those in vers. 11-13? Instead of being, as some
suppose, an interpolated fragment, the burden of Babylon comes in to
make all the visitations upon the other tribes of the earth
intelligible. They are diverse but harmonious portions of the same
Divine message to man--a message of terror, but also of deliverance
and hope. In chap. xiv. we find how wonderfully these are combined.
But though most feel something of the grandeur of this poetry, and a
few the truth of this prophecy, we do not enough consider upon what
both are founded. The God-Man was the ground upon which the Jewish
nation stood; here you have the contrast--the man-god; he would
ascend up to heaven and exalt his throne above the stars of God. This
is the natural ruler of a society which counts the gold of Ophir more
precious than human beings. We have here the Babylonian power and the
Jerusalem power, that parody of human and Divine greatness which is
seen in an earthly tyrant, that perfect reconciliation of Divinity
and humanity which is seen in the Redeemer. Consider both images
well. Both are presented to us; we must admire and copy one of them;
and whichever we take, we must resolutely discard the other. If we
have ever mixed them together in our minds, a time is at hand that
will separate them for ever. The Babylonian mark and image, your own
evil nature, a corrupt society, the evil spirit, have been striving
to stamp you ever since your childhood. Each hour you are tempted to
think a man less precious than the gold of Ophir; the current maxima
of the world take for granted that he is; you in a thousand ways are
acting on those maxims. Oh, remember that in them, and in the habits
which they beget, lies the certain presage of slavery for men and
nations, the foretaste of decay and ruin, which no human contrivances
can avert, which the gifts and blessings of God's providence only
accelerate. May God grant us power to cast Babylonian principles out
of our hearts, that when they come before us we may despise them and
laugh them to scorn, knowing that not against us but against the Holy
One the enemy is exalting himself. In that day may we be able to sing
the song which the prophet said should be sung in the land of Judah
(xxvi. 1-4).--_F. D. Maurice, M.A.: Prophets and Kings,_ pp. 272-290.
TRUE NATIONAL GREATNESS.
xix. 1-3, 14. _The burden of Egypt, &c._
The prophecies of Isaiah take a wide range, embrace the fortunes of
almost every nation, however remote, with whom the Israelites were
brought into common relation, whether of policy or commerce--Moab,
Damascus, Tyre, Babylon, Ethiopia, Egypt. The prophet records the
political and social phenomena of his day, not with the eye of a mere
statesman or diplomatist, but as reviewing the moral as well as the
political aspects of things, the eternal governing laws as well as
the fitful moods and changes of a nation's life, the spiritual as
well as the material forces of the world.
Israel, in their dread of the great Assyrian monarchy, often cast
wistful eyes towards Egypt, where they hoped to find a sure and
powerful ally. The Egyptians accepted their subsidies, but thought
they consulted their own interests best by observing what has been
called amongst ourselves a "masterly inactivity." Their strength was
to sit still. They had a large standing army; but as Rabshakeh
showed, on a memorable occasion, that he knew (chap. xxxvi. 6) the
nation, with all its outward semblance of prosperity, was being eaten
up with a thousand moral and social cankers, which corrupted the very
source of all national life. This chapter lays bare those wounds and
bruises and putrefying sores.
1. _There was a day when Egypt had been famous for its wisdom._ This
wisdom had become a thing of the past (vers. 11, 12).
2. _There was no unity of purpose, no coherence of action in the body
politic._ The true ideas of the family, of the municipality, of the
nation, were lost. Every man was fighting against his brother (ver.
2). It is history eternally repeating itself; it is the lament of
Thucydides over Greece; of Horace, Livy, and Tacitus over the
corruption of guilty imperialism, and over the absence of the
masculine, simple, republican virtues of ancient Rome.
3. _With the decay of public virtue comes the decay of public spirit,
and then soon follows the decay of national strength._ Then comes
what these old Hebrew seers called the "judgment;" God coming out of
His place to visit the earth; anarchy, internal dissolution,
collapse, conquest by the foreigner; the giving over of the nation
into the hand of a cruel lord; the establishment of a military
despotism.
It were easy to point these remarks elsewhere, but let us look at
home. Many feel that during the last decade of years or more England
has been parting with many of her old traditions. Some of those
principles which were merely corrupt remnants of a social and
political system which has passed away--feudalism--we have
undoubtedly gained by losing. _But there are others which we have
lost, or are fast losing, to the great detriment of the
commonwealth._ The high sense of duty to the State overruling the
sense of interest in the individual citizen; the true measure of a
nation's wealth and greatness, not by its revenue in pounds sterling,
but by its revenue in the heavenly bodies, and honest hearts, and
pure, healthy homes of the people; the noble, self-sacrificing spirit
of devotion to the call of duty; the principle of right recognised as
a higher principle than that of expediency; a temper of loyalty in
the strict sense of the word, of willing obedience to the law and
those who represent the law; strict commercial integrity, and not the
tricks of trade which have been generated by an unwholesome
competition--these are maxims of ancient wisdom which made England
great, and the loss of which will make England small. Our greatness,
whatever it has been, has not rested so much upon material forces,
but, like Israel's of old, upon moral. We can only hope that our
position among the peoples will be maintained as long as we hold fast
the principles by which it was won. These privileges are not things
of chance, but the direct result of moral laws as immutable and
irreversible as the laws which govern the physical world. God send us
statesmen who will turn the nation's mind away from delusive and
partisan aims, and direct them seriously to efforts which may unite
us all in one great crusade against evil; in which every soldier
might certainly feel that he was fighting under the banner of Christ,
in a righteous war, for objects which surely have a place in the
redemption which Christ accomplished for the world.--_Bishop Fraser:
Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. xvii. pp. 177, 178.
A MOMENTOUS INQUIRY.
xxi. 11. _Watchman, what of the night?_
Some calamity or sad moral condition is foreseen by the prophet.
Moral evil is fitly compared to darkness. The term "night" is used to
express error and sin. This was a time of darkness. The burden of
Dumah was: "Watchman, what of the night?" What is the prospect? Are
there any signs of coming day?
The world in its moral history had been for the most part in
darkness. It commenced with a bright and sinless morning; but this
was succeeded by a time of dark clouds and desolating storms. After
the Deluge the world started anew from another head. The new world,
however, differed but little from the old. Then God called Abraham,
and made his seed His chosen people, through whom He might accomplish
His beneficent designs. Outside of Judea there was not much to dispel
the darkness. Greece furnished a Socrates and a Plato; but because of
her vices and crimes Greece soon went down to ruin. The once
magnificent empires Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome were alike
involved in the moral night of error and sin. We may inquire, as the
voice out of Seir did, "Watchman, what of the night?" What prospect
is there for this sin-darkened world? And we may respond in the words
of the prophet: "The morning cometh." The morning cometh; but also
the night--a night whose duration we may not be able to tell.
+I. How will this inquiry apply to Isaiah's time?+ It was indeed for
the chosen people a time of darkness. But the day is about to break!
The breathings of better things come like the morning air. "The
morning cometh," but also the night--the morning to the sad-hearted
Jews, but the night to others--to the Idumeans, who had long
cherished unfriendly feelings to the Jews, and appear to have
rejoiced in their sorrow. The voice from Dumah was probably a
sneering taunt, "Where is now your God in whom ye trusted?"
Isaiah had a grander vision and saw another morning. The long night
of the olden dispensation still lingered, but the prophet saw the
breaking day, and told of the advent of One who was to be the light
and glory of the world (ix. 6, 7, lx. 2, 3, 20). The vision which
Isaiah saw we also are permitted to see. To him it was the Saviour to
come, to teach, to suffer, to scatter the darkness; to us it is the
Saviour who _has_ come, and taught, and suffered, and died, and rose
again, and whose glorious light has not only gilded the
mountain-tops, but is spreading over all the whole land. And there
are signs which will not fail that his grandest visions will be
realised.
+II. How will this inquiry apply to our own times?+ 1. What mysteries
has science unveiled! How great the historical and geographical
research of our day! How successful our time has been in bringing
unity out of the variety of the universe and harmony out of its
apparent discord! 2. Ours has been a time of moral progress. Slavery
has been abolished from our realm. A great work has been done for the
arrest of intemperance. The cause of missions has grown into large
proportions. 3. The religious progress of the world is remarkable.
Religious liberty is rapidly spreading. There is encouraging advance
in the social or loving element. In the Church the working element is
growing. Never has the giving element assumed such proportions. Amid
this varied growth there is a strong tendency towards Christian
unity. The enemy is vigilant; it is yet the night of battle, of
temptation, and of peril, but the morning surely cometh.
+III. How will this inquiry apply to ourselves personally?+ 1. _There
is a night of scepticism,_ or partial scepticism, in which some are
involved. There are two classes of sceptics: some are sceptics
because they want to be so; some are honest doubters, as Thomas the
disciple was--constitutionally a doubter, but honest withal. And
therefore he did not turn away from the light, and "My Lord and my
God!" exclaimed the enlightened, convinced, and believing Thomas. To
the earnest and sincere inquirer the response must be, "The morning
cometh;" if thou art willing to be convinced, thou art not far from
the kingdom of God. If thou shouldst reject Jesus, whither wilt thou
go for a refuge and for a guide? 2. _There is a night of
worldliness._ Many are living for selfish gratification and for this
life only. For the worldly the morning waiteth. Behold, Christ stands
at the door and knocks! His is the light and the life of men; with
His entrance into the heart the morning cometh. 3. _There is the
night of penitential sorrow._ When the morning cometh to the awakened
sinner, the light is sometimes, as with Saul of Tarsus, a blinding,
as well as revealing light. To him--the sorrowing, praying, believing
penitent--the morning came. And so it ever is. 4. _There is the night
of suffering._ There never comes an hour in this world when suffering
is unknown. Count it all joy, if it must needs be that ye shall
suffer. 5. _There is the night of weariness and disappointment._ The
Christian worker, toil-worn, may sometimes inquire, "Watchman, what
of the night?" He has wrongly hoped, it may be, at the same time to
carry the seed-basket, to put in the sickle, and to bring his sheaves
with him. Learn to labour faithfully and to wait. The Son of God is
come!
CONCLUSION.--Fail not to remember that while the morning cometh for
all who willingly hear and obey the Gospel, the night also cometh for
the disobedient and unbelieving. Come, ye who wander in the darkness,
while yet there is room, to Him who is the bright and morning star,
the sun of righteousness, the light and life of the world, and for
you there will come a morning which will be the beginning of a
blissful, glorious, and never-ending day.--_D. D. Currie: Christian
World Pulpit,_ vol. vi. pp. 213-215.
THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL.
(_Missionary Sermon._)
xxv. 6-8. _And in this mountain, &c._
What the spirit of prophecy has here recorded is the testimony of
Jesus and of His salvation, the subject presented to our view being
_the blessings of the Gospel of the Son of God._ They are described
in their general nature, in their unrivalled excellence, and in their
universal extent.
+I. The blessings of the Gospel are here described in their general
nature,+ as including instruction for the ignorant, consolation for
the sorrowful, and life for the dead. They thus correspond to the
state of man without the Gospel, which is a state of darkness,
misery, and death.
1. _The natural state of fallen man is a state of moral darkness._ A
veil is upon him, by which those things which make for his peace and
essentially affect his well-being are hidden from his eyes. It is a
triple veil. (1.) There is the fold of _native ignorance._ The merely
natural man is totally ignorant of God and eternity. He knows not
whence he came or whither he is going. He is altogether "sensual,
having not the Spirit," and cannot know those things of the Spirit of
God which are only spiritually discerned. Hence, ever since the Fall,
darkness has covered the earth and gross darkness the people.
(2.) There is the yet thicker fold of _moral corruption._ Sin has
exactly the same tendency in each particular case as in the case of
Adam. It darkens the understanding by its deceitfulness, as well as
hardens the heart by its malignity. It tends to extinguish that
candle of the Lord which shines in the conscience, and to render
useless and unavailing those other means which God has provided for
delivering us from the night of Nature. Those in whom it reigns
choose the darkness rather than the light because their deeds are
evil (cf. Eph. vi. 17, 18). (3.) There is the fold of _Satanic
infatuation._ "The whole world lieth in the wicked one." He rules in
the hearts of all the children of disobedience; and his kingdom is
the kingdom of delusion and darkness. He beguiled Eve through his
subtilty; and he still labours to corrupt and darken the minds of men
(2 Cor. iv. 4).
All this is true of all the unregenerate, however diversified may be
their external condition and local circumstances. Hence multitudes
even of nominal Christians are fit objects of our compassionate care
and exertion. But the description of the text is still more
applicable to the case of heathen nations not yet visited by the
Gospel. They have not the light which nominal Christians do not allow
to shine into them; in general, they have _no_ effectual light. Over
them is cast the veil not merely of ignorance and sin, but of
_superstition_ and _false religion,_ than which nothing can be more
fatally opposed to the entrance of light and the operation of Divine
grace. Their very systems of religion are the means of perpetuating
folly and vice, instead of reclaiming them to wisdom and
righteousness. In many cases that "religion" sanctions and prescribes
the most cruel of sacrifices and the most licentious of rites. In
Christendom men may be superstitious and wicked, licentious and
cruel, but it is _because they neglect their religion._ In heathen
and Mohammedan countries, they are so _because_ they attend to their
religion. They breathe its genuine spirit and exemplify its proper
tendency. All that is deemed sacred and authoritative in the name of
religion unites with all the ignorance and depravity of fallen man,
and with all the subtilty and power of the Prince of Darkness to
produce and perpetuate a system of error and iniquity. False religion
may pretend to be a sun which enlightens, but it is really a veil
which darkens all who come under its power--a veil much more
effectual to favour the ravages of sin, misery, and death than even
any of the coverings previously mentioned.
2. _Man is described in the text as the child not only of darkness
and error, but also of misery and death._ For ignorance is the
mother, not of devotion, but of sin, in all its multiplied forms. And
sin is invariably linked to misery! The wretchedness of men bears an
exact correspondence to their ignorance and wickedness (Rom. iii. 16,
17).
If this statement be true of natural men in general, it is still more
awfully verified in the condition of the heathen world in particular.
Infidel travellers who have cheated the public from time to time by
highly-coloured pictures of the happiness of pagans, ought not on
such a point to be believed. It cannot be that in the dark places of
the earth, the habitations of cruelty, no groans should be heard, no
tears be seen. The fact is, that while heathenism leaves its votaries
to the unmitigated operation of all these natural and moral causes of
distress which are common to man in general, it opens many new
sources of misery, inflicts many additional desolations, causes many
forms of terror, suffering, and destruction, which are peculiar to
itself. All men are born to tears, because born in sin; but the tears
of pagans are often tears of blood. Every groan they heave is big
with double wretchedness.
The Gospel, in its provision of blessings for the human race, adapts
itself to that state of darkness, wretchedness, and mortality which I
have faintly described.
1. _It removes darkness._ It reveals to us the existence, character,
and will of God, our own origin, immortality, and accountableness,
the way of salvation and the path of duty; and, used by the Holy
Spirit as His great instrument, it changes the heart of those who
receive it, and delivers them from the delusions and dominion of
Satan. In these several ways does the Gospel become the instrument of
illumination. By it, and in connection with it, God destroys the
covering which is naturally on man's faces, and the veil that is
spread over their understandings and hearts. The consequence is, in
instances innumerable, that "beholding as in a glass," with unveiled
face, "the glory of the Lord, that are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
The glorious diffusion of light and purity which results from
Christianity is still more striking when it obtains access to heathen
nations. In proportion to the deeper gloom of their former ignorance
is the splendour of the new illumination, when the Sun of
righteousness arises upon them with healing in His beams. On such
occasions, it may be said with peculiar emphasis, "The entrance of
Thy Word giveth light,"--a light which is able to penetrate and
destroy even the thickest veil of false religion.
2. _It wipes away tears._ This is here declared to be a part of its
design, and experience proves it to be one of its actual operations
(Ps. lxxxix. 15, 16). It leads to repentance, and so to pardon,
purity, and genuine peace. It comforts in sorrow. It cheers in death.
To the heathen it is peculiarly valuable and welcome. It opens to
them, in common with others, the sources of spiritual enjoyment and
the hopes of eternal bliss. And besides, it abolishes pagan cruelties
and diffuses principles of humanity and kindness. Hence result the
amelioration of their civil institutions, the increase of domestic
happiness, and the improvement of social life (H. E. I. 1122-1133).
3. _It swallows up death in victory._ It delivers every believer from
the fear of death (Heb. ii. 14, 15; H. E. I. 1109-1111, 1589, 1594).
God will most gloriously swallow up death in victory when He shall
actually recover from the territories of the grave, by His almighty
power, those spoils which death has won.
In proportion to its progress in heathen countries, the Gospel will
not merely extract the sting of death, but arrest and diminish its
most awful ravages. The waste of human life in many pagan lands is
incalculable. As true religion increases, even in Christian
countries, wars, which it has already rendered less sanguinary, will
be less frequent too (chap. ii. 4).
+II. The unrivalled excellence of the blessings of the Gospel.+ "A
feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." Variety! richness!
abundance! (See outline THE GOSPEL FEAST, pp. 253-256.) Who does not
recognise, in the unrivalled excellence of the blessings the Gospel
conveys, the most powerful arguments for missionary exertion? Who can
think of the Gospel feast, in contrast with the famine of the
heathen, without wishing that they also might be bidden to the
heavenly entertainment?
+III. The universal extent of the blessings of Christianity.+ "The
Lord of hosts shall make unto _all_ people a feast of fat things."
1. They are adapted to all people. 2. They are sufficient for all
people. 3. They were designed for all people. 4. The wide world
shall, sooner or later, partake of them.
One result of this universal spread and triumph of Christianity is
stated in the text: "The rebuke of His people shall He take away from
off all the earth." 1. By the successful exertions of God's people to
evangelise the world, the reproach, which is at present too
well-founded, of neglecting to care for those who sit in darkness and
the shadow of death, shall become no longer just and applicable.
2. In consequence of the general spread and influence of
Christianity, the reproach of Christ, the scandal of the Cross, shall
cease; and the Church, formerly despised and laughed to scorn, shall
be held in great honour and reputation (chap. lx. 13-16). 3. The
particular reproach of spiritual barrenness--the reproach founded on
the paucity of her converts, and the small number of her
children--shall for ever cease. At present "Jacob is small," and the
flock of Jesus is, comparatively, a little flock. This fact has been
converted by infidels into matter of attack upon Christianity itself.
They have tauntingly urged the narrow extent of our religion as an
argument against its Divinity. That argument admits, even now, of
solid refutation. But in due season the fact itself shall be altered,
and no shadow of plausibility shall be left for the reproach (chap.
liv. 1-5).
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.
1. The text should teach you your personal obligations and privileges
in reference to the Gospel. The feast is spread out before _you;_ to
_you_ are the blessings of it freely offered (chap. lv. 1-3).
2. The text teaches you the ground of missionary exertions. To
partake of the feast ourselves is our first duty: but, while we "eat
the fat and drink the sweet," shall we not "send portions unto them
for whom nothing is prepared?" Can any duty be more obviously founded
in reason and justice, humanity and piety, than that of sending the
bread of life to our perishing fellow-creatures? The most hateful and
inexcusable of all monopolies is the monopoly of Christian truths and
consolations.
3. There are great encouragements to such labour. (1.) The certainty
of Divine approbation. (2.) The certainty of consequent success
(H. E. I. 1166-1168). But remember, if you would share in the
triumphs of the Gospel, you must share in the labour and expense of
their achievement.--_Jabez Bunting, D.D.: Sermons,_ vol. i. pp.
453-483.
PEACEFUL KEEPING.
xxvi. 3, 4. _Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, &c._
The delightfulness and value of peace to the nation, the Church, the
family, the individual (P. D. 2664). Consider--
I. THE PROMISE. 1. +It is universal in its range.+ It is made to any
and every man who will trust in God. 2. +It is sure.+ Men fail for
various reasons to keep their promises, but every Divine promise is
certain to be fulfilled (H. E. I. 4052, 4053). 3. +The peace which is
pledged and secured to all who will fulfil the condition of the text
is perfect+--so perfect that it can only be described by a repetition
of the word, _"peace, peace."_ God never gives in driblets. His gifts
are like Himself, perfect for their fulness, for their suitability,
for their enduring qualities. God can keep His people in perfect
peace when the devil accuses, when the world allures or threatens,
when sickness tries, when adversity oppresses, even when the heart is
sore tired, and when grim death would affright (H. E. I. 1253, 1893,
1894, 1911-1926; P. D. 2669, 2673).
II. THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED. _"Whose mind is stayed on Thee, because
he trusted in Thee."_ Trust unites. The mind will not be stayed upon
God unless there be perfect confidence in His wisdom, power, and
love. Trust and love go together. Love begets confidence, and
confidence strengthens love. The whole nature must be stayed on God,
and on God only. There must be no division in the heart's affections:
we cannot serve God and Mammon and be kept in perfect peace. There
must be trust before there can be peace; God Himself cannot give
perfect peace to the untrustful.
III. THE EXHORTATION. _"Trust ye in the Lord for ever."_ We trust in
the Lord when, encouraged by His promises, we hold fast to Him. It is
nothing deeper, nothing more difficult than that. Its very simplicity
is its difficulty. As the limpet binds itself to the rock, and is not
disturbed by the dashing billows, so let the soul by an ardent
affection bind itself to the Rock of Ages. The word "ever" gives a
wonderful expansiveness to our text. It points at once to God's
eternity and man's immortality. He is a being capable of being
trusted for ever, and for ever we shall be capable of trusting Him.
Our trust is to be unlimited and unintermitted; it is to be exercised
at all times, under all circumstances, through all ages.
IV. THE STABLE FOUNDATION OF THE BELIEVER'S CONFIDENCE. _"For in the
Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."_ The peace must be perfect
that rests upon, and rises out of, such a solid foundation. The
mountains are "everlasting" only in figure, but the foundation on
which we rest is everlasting in fact (Ps. xci. 1, 2).--_W. Burrows,
B.A._
The world needs the message contained in our text. Most faces that we
see are careworn. They are so because behind them there are anxious
hearts distressed by fears of various kinds--by fears concerning the
body, by fears concerning the soul. The vast majority of men are
destitute of true peace; for while in the world there are many
ways--of pleasure, of sin, of disappointment, of misery, of
death--there is no way of peace. The multitudes who throng past us
are miserable because the way of peace they have not known.
I. LOOK AT THE PERSON WHO IS KEPT IN PEACE. He is a person whose mind
is stayed on God. A man's self, sin, pleasure, false religion, vain
hopes, are every one of them troubled waves in an ocean of
disquietude, and no soul can stay itself on them, though many souls
have sought to do so. Who, lying down in the very midst of the sea,
can find there repose? As he lieth down upon the waves, they yield
beneath him--the billows roll over him; he is sinking in the mighty
deep. So with the sinner lying down in the midst of the sea and of
the storm of this world apart from God. But he who lieth down upon
God is as a man upon a rock, or as one in a mighty fortress; he is at
peace--secure in fact and in feeling. But it is only as God is
revealed to us in Christ that we may rest upon Him. Apart from
Christ, He is to sinners "a consuming fire." Only through Christ may
we find the blessedness we so much need, but through Christ we may
find it.
II. LOOK AT THE POWER WHICH KEEPS THE BELIEVER IN PEACE. It is not
the power of his own faith (H. E. I. 1970, 1975). It is not the power
of his own effort, struggling to obtain confidence. It is the power
of God: "_Thou_ wilt keep him," &c. The sinner obtains peace by
yielding himself to God (Rom. vi. 13). The believer has peace while
he leaves himself in God's hands, quietly submissive, cheerfully
willing that God should lead him and do with him whatever is pleasing
in His sight (P. D. 2966-2968, 2970-2972). Then all God's
attributes--His omniscience, His omnipotence, His faithfulness, His
tender mercy--minister to his peace (P. D. 3379).
III. LOOK AT THE PEACE IN WHICH SUCH A PERSON IS KEPT. It is
_"perfect peace."_ Peace in spite of all that conscience may say, of
the temptations that assail us, of the troubles of life, of the
certainty and mystery of death. With the peace of pardon, all this
peace flows into the soul, increasing more and more. It is the peace
of Christ, the same peace which filled and sustained Him (John
xiv. 27). You remember that we are shown Him with His head on a
pillow, His eyes closed, His mind in unconscious repose, asleep in
the midst of the wild storm at night upon the Lake of Galilee, when
the waves beat upon the trembling vessel, and the wind strove to
raise the waves still higher, and engulph them all. He slept, secure
and peaceful, amid the storm. So does the soul of the believer that
stayeth itself upon God. Upon what lay that peaceful head of Jesus
but upon the unseen arm and heart of God. Men said of Christ
mockingly, "He trusted in God." He did trust in God, as the most
exalted believer, and far more than the most exalted believer; and in
that simplicity of faith He was kept in peace, sleeping amidst the
storm. So is it with the believer. O believer! is it so with
you?--_Henry Grattan Guinness: Sermon in The Christian World,_ 1860.
Here is the secret of life--peace, perfect peace--and the sure way of
attaining it. Consider--
I. THE CHARACTER CONTEMPLATED. _"Whose mind is stayed on Thee."_ His
mind is fixed with such intensity that it cannot be diverted from the
object on which it is set. This object is not himself (Prov.
xxviii. 26), nor his riches (Prov. xxiii. 5), nor his fellow-men (Ch.
ii. 22; Jer. xvii. 4, 5), but GOD, in whom he trusts unhesitatingly,
exclusively, universally. He accepts all that the Scriptures reveal
concerning God, and makes these revelations the foundation of his
confidence and his prayers.
II. THE PROMISED BLESSING. _"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace."_
See also Jer. xvii. 7. The idea suggested is that of habitual and
continued blessedness. The elements of peace are begun in the soul,
and they are brought to maturity in the whole course of the future
life. The peace given is like a river (chap. lxvi. 12), both for
abundance and permanence. That is, while, and only while, the mind is
stayed upon God (chap. xlviii. 18). Then he is _kept_ in peace, for
God is its finisher as well as its author; and it is "perfect peace,"
because it is peace of all kinds, in its highest degree, at all
times, under all circumstances.
III. THE REASON FOR THE BESTOWMENT OF THE BLESSING. _"Because he
trusteth in Thee."_ Faith honours God (Rom. iv. 21), and therefore
those who exercise it are honoured by Him (1 Sam. ii. 30; H. E. I.
4057, 4058).
IV. THE DUTY ENJOINED. _"Trust ye,"_ &c. While we are listening to
expositions of this text, this duty seems to be easy; but in actual
life our faith is tried and often fails, because we lose sight of the
promises and perfections of God. Here there come to us
disappointments, difficulties, temptations to distrust. But it is our
duty to struggle with them all; and if we do so, it will be our
blessedness to overcome them all (chap. xl. 27-31). "Trust ye in the
_Lord;_ trust ye in the Lord _for ever;_ for in the Lord Jehovah is
_everlasting strength._"--_James Morgan, D.D.: The Home Pulpit,_ pp.
512-516.
There is sometimes a world of meaning in a single word: Country,
home, _peace!_ How it sometimes tells of booming cannon hushed into
silence, of glittering swords sent back into their sheaths, of
hundreds of homes relieved from distressing anxieties and fears, of
thousands of lives respited at least for a time! How it sometimes
tells of surging passions hushed into a calm, of vengeful purposes
superseded, of the fires of enmity quenched, of despair giving place
to hope and joy! Peace has its histories, many and pleasant; its
triumphs, various and substantial; its heralds, Divine, angelic,
human. Ministers have messages of peace to deliver to their
congregations, and in our text we have one of them.
I. THE CONDITION EXPRESSED IN THE TEXT. _"Whose mind is stayed on
Thee."_ It is a mind resting on God as the God of grace reconciling
sinners to Himself through the mediation of Christ, dispensing
pardon, sanctity, salvation--a mind resting, after reconciliation, on
His truthfulness, wisdom, almightiness, holiness--a mind resting on
His rule and government over all the forces of nature and all the
events of daily life, both national and individual.
II. THE CONFIDENCE EXPRESSED IN THE TEXT. _"Thou wilt keep,"_ &c.
_Thou_ wilt do it; not merely delegate and intrust this to any agency
whatever. Thou _wilt_ do it; there is no uncertainty or peradventure
about it. "In perfect peace:" peace of all kinds, and in a
superlative degree; peace flowing from reconciliation; peace in the
midst of unexplained mysteries; peace in the midst of adverse
providences; peace amid the uncertainties of the future.--_John
Corbin._
THE SONG TO THE VINEYARD.
xxvii. 2, 3. _In that day sing ye unto her, &c._
There are different opinions as to what is meant by "leviathan, that
crooked serpent," and "the dragon that is in the sea" (ver. 1),
whether the same power is signified by different names, &c. (1.) On a
point concerning which learned and able men cannot see eye to eye, it
would be presumptuous for me to give an opinion. (2.) If we cannot
feel certain as to the literal meaning, the spiritual is plain.
(3.) Neither of the expositions affects the substance of the
prophecy. A great deliverance is spoken of, to be accomplished by the
destruction of the enemies of the Church, and the Lord gives a
command to comfort His people. There is in our text a _command_ and a
_promise._
I. THE COMMAND.
1. _"Sing ye unto her."_ It is taken for granted that the spiritual
condition of the Church is pleasing to God, but that the feeling of
His people is in a low state. Sometimes the Lord directs His servant
to reprimand them: "Show unto my people their transgressions." A
Church may need comfort while some of its members deserve correction.
Possibly the faulty members are the cause of the discomfort to the
Church, and render it desirable that she should be comforted. It is
so in the family. We comfort the family when a member of it has
transgressed. The fact that one member needs correction causes the
others to need consolation. In some cases, it requires much wisdom to
decide whether an encouragement or a reproof should be given. We have
seen the rod used when a kind word would have been more suitable; and
some are singing songs while it would be more appropriate to sound an
alarm. There is need for rightly dividing the Word of truth. "A word
in its season," &c.
Possibly the accurate expositor will ask who is commanded to sing. Is
it the prophets, or the priests, or the choir of the Temple? This is
a poetical book, and sometimes it calls on the heavens, the
mountains, and the trees of the field to sing. In this respect I
would rather let the command of the text remain undecided, and say to
everybody and everything, "Sing unto her!"
2. _What should be sung to this vineyard?_ Remind her in this song
that she is "the vineyard of the Lord of hosts." The Old Testament is
full of references to a vineyard, to vines, and to wine. The reason
for this is, that the Bible is an Eastern book. A vineyard supposes--
_Separation._ Not the superiority of its soil to that of the
surrounding country makes the vineyard, but its separation. It is not
because the saints are by nature better than others that they are
God's vineyard, but because they are set apart by Him. The idea of
separation as regards the Church is made conspicuous in every age.
The saints, the disciples, constitute the flock and the vineyard of
the Old Testament, the Church of the New. When I speak of a separated
Church, of course I do not allude to any sect, but to the Church in
general. There are hypocrites in the Churches, but none in _the_
Church. It is in the world, but not of the world. The soul is in the
body, but not of the body "Wherefore, come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord" (2 Cor. vi. 17). Ceremonials cannot
plant the vine; there are necessarily ordinances, but circumcision
could not make the Jews a godly people, and there were thousands of
ungodly people partaking every year of the Passover. A change of
heart, a change in the condition of the soul, constitutes the
planting in the vineyard; not a ceremonial separation, but a change
of mind; not the affixing of the stamp of a sect, but the impartation
of the image of God (H. E. I. 1171-1183).
II. THE PROMISE.
A large and comprehensive one. It includes--
1. _Care._ "I the Lord do keep it." With regard to a vineyard, there
is a special meaning in the word "keep." The vine requires great
care. There is much work for the knife. From the pruning of the vine
by the vine-dresser, there is much valuable instruction to be gained.
We learn that what appear to be grievous losses may secure great
gains (H. E. I. 63, 104, 126). Oh, this pruning how painful it often
is! But it is not done because the Owner of the vineyard delights in
it; it proves His love. See Jochebed taking an ark of bulrushes,
putting the child Moses in it, and then laying it amidst the perils
of the Nile: not because she hated him! No; love was at the bottom of
it all, though it appeared otherwise. It behoves the pulpit still to
assure God's people of His care for them.
2. _Provision._ "I will water it." There was necessity for watering
the vineyard constantly. This was done by means of trenches conveying
the water to the roots of the plants. For this purpose rain-water was
carefully stored in cisterns; dew was also of great service. The
means of grace are somewhat like watercourses. We are dry enough and
withered in appearance, but what would we be without the means of
grace? What is the dew? The noiseless influences of the Holy Spirit.
We will compare revivals to showers; they are not with us, like the
watercourses, always. I do not know whether the natural vineyards
must have water without intermission; but the vineyard of the Lord of
hosts requires it "every moment," and here is His promise to supply
the need.
3. _Safety._ "Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." It
shall be protected from the blighting frost, from thieves and
spoilers, from "the boar out of the wood," from "the little foxes
that spoil the vines." "I the Lord do keep it." He will not only give
His angels charge concerning it, though He will do that. "The angel
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him." That shall be
done and more! "For _I,_ saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of
fire round about her, and will be the glory in the midst of her." All
things are in the hand of God, and under His control they shall
co-operate for her safety. It is not surprising that Moses, as he
surveyed Israel from the top of Mount Nebo, should say, "Happy art
thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord,
the shield of thy help? The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms." "He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." In
dwelling near God there is safety. Israel was always flourishing when
with God. The safety of God's people means more than being kept
together and saved from destruction: "Lest any _hurt_ it!" How
excellent are the promises of God!--_Gweithiau Rhyddieithol,_ pp.
48-51, _by the late William Ambrose of Portmadoc, translated from the
Welsh by the Rev. T. Johns, of Llanelly._
THE STORMS OF LIFE.
xxvii. 8. _In measure when it shooteth forth, &c._
+I. There is a special appropriateness in comparing the trials of
life to storms.+ 1. _Storms are the exceptions and not the normal or
common condition of the atmosphere._ "In the world ye shall have
tribulation." True; but Christ in saying so does not assert that we
shall have tribulation only. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks
fly upward." Yes; but it is not said that there is nothing but
trouble. "Through much tribulation," &c. Yea, through many storms the
mariner has to go through life; but there is fine weather also.
2. _Storms come from God._ See what is said about trouble (Job v. 6),
"_All_ my springs are in THEE," the sweet and the bitter. 3. _Storms
come from different directions:_ the family, the Church, business,
&c. 4. _Storms are unpleasant to bear._ The anxiety of the sailor's
wife. The traveller on the moor. 5. _Storms leave their traces
behind._ The ravages of the sea. The effects of gales on edifices. So
in life. The bereaved family. The capitalist reduced to want, &c.
6. But _storms are beneficial_ (Heb. xii. 10, 11).
+II. The storms of life are regulated and controlled by God.+ It is
of Him that our text speaks. Who "debates in measure?" Who "stayeth
His rough wind in the day of His east wind?" He who is almighty,
all-wise, and good. His greatness, as shown in the firmament, hints
that He is too great to observe human beings. But notice our
Saviour's teaching: while instructing us concerning His Father, He
speaks not of His omnipotence, &c., but of His observation of small
things (Matt. x. 29, 30). Put a green leaf or a drop of water under a
microscope, and you will see myriads of living animalcules. God
observes every one. "Casting all your care on Him, for _He_ careth
for _you._" "He" and "you!"
+III. The storms of life are proportioned to His people's strength.+
"In measure." (See outlines THE AFFLICTIONS OF GOD'S PEOPLE and THE
DISCIPLINE OF SIN, pp. 290, 291.) A Jew never exercised greater care
and exactitude in weighing out his gold and diamonds than does God
while meting out trials to His people. "Grace to help in time of
need;" yea, and storms equal to our strength. We do not know how much
our strength is. One man over-estimates his strength, another
under-estimates it. "But He knoweth our frame." "God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" (H. E. I.
179-188, 3675-3695).
In various ways He maintains the merciful proportion of the storm to
the strength. 1. He does so sometimes _by sending the lesser storms
before the greater._ Jacob at Bethel was unable to undergo the trials
of Jacob at Mahanaim. By the time he reached the latter place, he had
become a prince, an Israel. Carrying the least burden prepares a man
for carrying the greatest (Hercules and the ox). 2. _Sometimes by
sending the heaviest first._ The man may then be in the fulness of
his vigour, or in spirit he may be so contumacious that some rough
handling may be necessary to bring his pride into subjection. 3. _By
removing one trial before another comes._ Poverty is taken away
before ill-health sets in. "He stayeth His rough wind." 4. _By
sending each one in its time._ "It could not have come at a worse
time." Who says so? "If it had happened at another time, it would
have been easier to bear." That may be so, but would it have been as
profitable? It was necessary for you to _feel._ Less suffering would
not have sufficed for that end.
+IV. The storms of life promote purposes of wisdom and love.+ 1. _The
Lord sometimes orders trials as chastisements._ It is not always so;
we are too apt to explain everything as chastisement. But God has
promised to correct (Jer. xxx. 11), and it is the promise of a
father, not the threatening of a judge. (1.) Sometimes one correction
prevents many more. (2.) When the Lord sends trials in the way of
correction, He graciously gives His children the reasons for thus
dealing with them. "The iniquity which he _knoweth_" (1 Sam.
iii. 13). What father would correct a child without explaining to him
what it was for? And what correction would benefit the saints while
ignorant of the object in view? Possibly the neighbours may not know,
but he has himself a private account with God. Hence arises a
consequent duty (H. E. I. 144). (3.) When God thus sends trials, they
are _corrections,_ and not merely punishments; manifestations not of
vengeance, but of His love. A gardener uses the pruning-knife only
for the good of the fruit-bearing trees in his garden. God's
corrections are designed only to take away the sin of His people (see
ver. 9, and Zech. xiii. 9; H. E. I. 56-74).
2. _The Lord sometimes orders trials as exhibitions of the graces of
His people._ The tempest which beat upon Job was not corrective,
though he thought so while it lasted (Job x. 2, xiii. 24). The trial
brought out into view his trust in God: "Though He slay me, yet will
I trust in Him." The Lord's purpose was to prove that Job was "a
perfect and an upright man" (H. E. I. 91-98).
3. _Storms are sometimes preventive._ A fiery trial is approaching;
the man is in danger, for he is too weak to withstand it; by a lesser
trial he is withdrawn from it. Two ships are drawing near in a fog;
they are making towards each other at a perfect angle. The top-mast
of one is blown down; the men on deck bemoan the misfortune; but it
was the means of slackening the pace of the vessel, and so prevented
a collision. A man is sometimes laid on a bed of sickness to save his
life--to save his soul!
4. _Storms sometimes prepare men for nobler work._ Moses, after being
brought up in the lap of luxury, is watching the flock forty years in
Midian. All the learning of Egypt is lost in a shepherd. Nay! Moses
requires a double education, for he has a duplicate work to
perform--appearing before Pharaoh in the palace, and leading Israel
through the wilderness. _E.g.,_ what good can a preacher do, if he
has no _experience_ of his own? (Ps. li. 12, 13; 2 Cor. i. 3-6;
H. E. I. 101-108, 2464, 2465).
Some one may say that he has no knowledge of storms from experience.
Wait! Peradventure thou shalt know. Should they come, _bow._ Nothing
breaks, if it bends.--_Gweithiau Rhyddieithol,_ pp. 78-81, _by the
late William Ambrose of Portmadoc. Translated from the Welsh by the
Rev. T. Johns of Llanelly._
THE GREAT TRUMPET.
xxvii. 13. _And it shall come to pass in that day, &c._
This prophecy was literally fulfilled (Ezra i.); but it has a wider
meaning, and this also it shall be fulfilled.
I. THE GREATNESS OF THE GOSPEL. "The great trumpet." 1. _It is
designed for the world._ When liberty was proclaimed for the slaves
of the West Indies, the slaves of America remained in bondage. When
the slaves of America were liberated, the bondmen in Cuba, Peru, &c.,
were not set free. But here is a blessing for the whole world. "Which
shall be to all people, . . . a light to lighten the Gentiles" (Luke
ii. 10, 32). One side of the earth can only enjoy the rays of the sun
at the same time; but this "light" shall shed its rays on the whole
world. 2. _It is designed for the world in its most important
interests._ There are inventions and scientific discoveries--such as
the steam-engine, &c.--which are valuable to the whole world. But
they are valuable only in regard to the present life. But the Gospel
meets the wants of the soul, and concerns the endless life beyond.
3. _It is so great that all other things in the world are small in
comparison with it;_ trade, learning, &c. 4. _It is so great that it
bestows greatness upon everything it touches._ Upon oratory, although
it is independent of excellency of speech. Upon any country in which
it is proclaimed and accepted; _e.g.,_ Great Britain, America. Under
its shelter liberty, learning, &c., flourish (H. E. I. 1124-1132).
II. THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. "The great trumpet shall be blown."
What is the good of a trumpet without some one to blow it? (Rom.
x. 14).
+1. Who is to blow it?+ Not angels (Heb. ii. 5). The law was given by
the ministry of angels; by them the trumpet was blown on Mount Sinai
(Acts vii. 53). But they recognise that the trumpet of the Gospel is
to be blown by _men_ (Acts v. 20, x. 31, 32). This treasure is in
earthen vessels. Gideon's Lamps. Men are better than angels for this
purpose. This is proved by the fact that God ordered it so. But there
are other minor satisfactory arguments, such as: (1.) _The danger of
glorifying the missionary above the mission._ (2.) _The angels'
disadvantages._ They lack the necessary experience. Blessed lack, in
all other respects! They have never been contaminated by sin, and
hence know not how to speak to the heart of the sinner. By men the
trumpet is now being blown, and will be blown to the end of time. The
trumpeters are falling, ministers are dying, but the ministry is
alive!
+2. How is it to be blown?+ (1.) _Clearly_ (1 Cor. xiv. 8). If the
promises are proclaimed, care must be taken to show to whom they
belong. So with the threatenings, &c. (2.) _Vigorously._ It must be
done thoroughly, or not at all. (3.) _Bravely_ (Eph. vi. 19). The
question is not what will "take," what is popular, what would please
the masses, but "What saith the Lord?"
III. THE OBJECTS OF THE MINISTRY. "They which were ready to perish."
1. _Pagans are such_ (Rom. i.) "Them which sat in the region and
shadow of death" (Matt. iv. 16). 2. _Every unconverted sinner._ They
are all to be addressed as those who are "ready to perish." The
matter cannot be compromised because there are seat-holders,
contributors, &c. Your kindness shall not prevent our blowing from
the trumpet the tones you need to hear.
IV. THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL. "And they shall come which were ready
to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of
Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem."
1. _Whence shall they come?_ From the Pharisaical hiding-places, the
quicksands of excuses, &c. They are bound in the chains of slavery;
but "they shall come!" This is as certain as the deliverance from
Babylon. Take us your harps and strike them! 2. _How will they come?_
Weeping. Without delay. Confidently. 3. _Whither and to whom will
they come?_ (1.) To Christ; they cannot live without Him. (2.) To His
house.
APPLICATIONS.--1. Thousands have come; will you? 2. God has another
trumpet.--_Gweithiau Rhyddiethol_ (pp. 174-176), _by the late Rev. W.
Ambrose, Portmadoc. Translated from the Welsh by the Rev. T. Johns,
Llanelly._
REJECTERS OF THE GOSPEL ADMONISHED.
xxviii. 12. _To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye
may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing:
yet they would not hear._
Isaiah was one of the most eloquent of preachers, yet he could not
win the ears and hearts of those to whom he spoke. He spoke more of
Jesus Christ than all the rest of the prophets, yet the message of
love was treated as though it were an idle tale. His doctrine was
clear as the daylight, yet men would not see it (chap. liii. 1). It
was not the fault of the preacher that Israel rejected his warnings:
all the fault lay with the disobedient and gainsaying nation. The
people to whom he spoke so earnestly were drunken in a double sense:--
1. They were overcome with wine (vers. 7, 8). How is it likely that
the truth shall enter an ear which has been rendered deaf by this
degrading vice? How is the Word of God likely to operate upon a
conscience that has been drenched and drowned by strong drink? Flee
from this destroyer before your hands are made strong and you are
hopelessly fettered by the habit.
2. They were also intoxicated with pride. Their country was fruitful,
and its chief city, Samaria, stood on the hill-top, like a diadem of
beauty crowning the land, and they delighted in it. Among them were
many champions whose strength sufficed to turn the battle to the
gate, therefore they hoped to resist every invader, and so their
hearts were lifted up. Moreover, they said, "We are an intelligent
people; we are men of cultured intellect, instructed scribes, and we
do not need persons like Isaiah to weary us with the ding-dong of
'precept upon precept, line upon line,' as if we were mere children
at school. Besides, we are good enough. Do we not worship our God
under the form of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel? Do we not
respect the sacrifice and the holy days?" So spoke the more religious
of them, while the rest gloried in their shame. Being intoxicated
with pride, it was not likely that they would hear the message of the
prophet who made them turn from their evil ways. Pride is the devil's
drag-net, in which he taketh more fishes than in any other, except
procrastination.
The two forms of drunkenness are equally destructive. Whether body or
soul be intoxicated, mischief will surely come of it. Let us not get
drunk with pride because we are not drunkards; for if we are so vain
and foolish, we shall as certainly perish by pride as we should have
done by drink.
I. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE GOSPEL as it is set forth in the passage
before us. This Scripture does not allude to the Gospel primarily,
but to the message which Isaiah had to deliver, which was in part the
command of the law and in part the promise of grace: but the same
rule holds good of all the words of the Lord; and indeed any
excellence which was found in the prophet's message is found yet more
abundantly in the fuller testimony of the Gospel in Christ Jesus.
+1. The excellence of that Gospel lies, first in its object.+ For
(1.) _It is a revelation of rest._ Christ's ambassadors are sent to
proclaim to you that which shall give you ease, peace, quiet, rest.
It is true that we have to begin with certain truths that disturb and
distress; but our object is to dig out the foundation into which may
be laid the stones of restfulness. The object of the Gospel is not to
make men anxious, but to calm their anxieties; not to fill them with
endless controversy, but to lead them into all truth. The Gospel
gives rest of conscience, by the complete forgiveness of sin through
the atoning blood of Christ; rest of heart, by supplying an object
for the affections worthy of their love; and rest of intellect, by
teaching it certainties which can be accepted without question. Our
message does not consist of things guessed at by wit, nor evolved out
of men's inner consciousness by study, not developed by argument
through human reason; but it treats of revealed certainties,
absolutely and infallibly true, upon which the understanding may rest
itself as thoroughly as a building rests upon a foundation of rock.
The Word of the Lord comes to give believing men rest about the
present by telling them that God ordereth all things for their good;
and as for the future, it brightens all coming time and eternity with
promises. The man who will hear the Gospel message, and receive it
into his soul, shall know the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, and shall keep his heart and mind by Jesus Christ.
(2.) _It is the cause of rest._ "This is the rest wherewith ye may
_cause_ the weary to rest." The Gospel of our salvation is not only a
command to rest, but it brings the gift of rest within itself. Let
the Gospel be admitted into the heart, and it will create a profound
calm, hushing all the tumult and strife of conscience, removing all
apprehensions of Divine wrath, stilling all rebellion against the
supreme Will, and so working in the spirit by the energy of the Holy
Ghost a deep and blessed peace.
(3.) _This rest is especially meant for the weary._ "This is the rest
wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest." Oh, ye that are weary with
the round of worldly pleasure, worn with ambition, fretted with
disappointment, embittered by the faithlessness of those you trusted
in, come and confide in Jesus and be at rest. Here is the rest, here
is the refreshing. Jesus expressly puts it: "Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Despondent and despairing, condemned, and in your conscience cast out
to the gates of hell, yet look to Jesus and rest shall be yours.
(4.) In addition to bringing us rest, _the message of mercy points to
a refreshing._ "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to
rest; and this is the refreshing." If the rested one should grow
weary again, the Good Shepherd will give him refreshing; if he
wanders, the Lord will restore him; yea, He has begun His gracious
work of renewing, and He will continue it by renewing the heart from
day to day, blending the will with His own, and making the whole man
more and more to rejoice in Him.
Now, note with peculiar joy that Isaiah did not come to these people
to talk about rest in dubious terms, and say, "There is no doubt a
rest to be found somewhere in that goodness of God of which it is
reasonable to conjecture." No; he puts his finger right down on the
truth, and he says, "_This is_ the rest, and _this is_ the
refreshing." Even so we at this day, when we come to you with a
message from God, come _with definite teaching;_ we proclaim in the
name of God that whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus hath everlasting
life: this is the rest, and this is the refreshing.
_Nor did he preach a rest of a selfish character._ They say we teach
men to get peace and rest for themselves, and make themselves
comfortable, whatever becomes of others. They know better, and they
forge these falsehoods because their heart is false. Are we not
always bidding men look out from themselves, and love others even as
Christ has loved them? We abhor the idea that personal safety is the
consummation of a religious man's desires, for we believe that the
life of grace is the death of selfishness. This is one of the glories
of the Gospel, that "this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the
weary to rest." Get rest yourself, and you will soon cause other
weary minds to rest. That secret something which your own heart
possesses shall enable you to communicate good cheer to many a weary
heart, and hope to many a desponding mind.
+2. The other excellence of the Gospel of which I shall speak at this
time lies in its manner.+
(1.) _It comes with authority._ The Gospel does not pretend to be a
speculative scheme or a theory of philosophy which will suit the
nineteenth century, but will be exploded in the twentieth. No; it
comes to men as a message from God, and he that speaks it aright does
not speak it as a thinker uttering his own thoughts; but he utters
what he has learned, and acts as God's tongue, repeating what he
finds in God's Word by the power of God's Spirit.
(2.) _It was delivered with great simplicity._ Isaiah came with it
"precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a
little." It is the glory of the Gospel that is so plain. If it were
so profound that we must take a degree at a university before we
could comprehend it, what a miserable Gospel it would be for mocking
the world with! But it is Divinely sublime in its simplicity, and
hence the common people hear it gladly. As the verse seems to imply,
it is fitted for those who are weaned from the breast; those who are
little more than babes may yet drink in this unadulterated milk of
the Word. Many a little child has comprehended the salvation of Jesus
Christ sufficiently to rejoice in it. I bless God for a simple
Gospel, for it suits me, and thousands of others whose minds cannot
boast of greatness or genius. It equally suits men of intellect, and
it is only quarrelled with by pretenders. A man who really has a
capacious mind is usually childlike, and, like Sir Isaac Newton, is
glad to sit at Jesus' feet. Great minds love the simple Gospel of
God, for they find rest in it from all the worry and the weariness of
questions and of doubts.
(3.) _It is taught us by degrees._ It is not forced home upon men's
minds all at once, but it comes "precept upon precept, line upon
line, here a little and there a little." God does not flash the
everlasting daylight on weak eyes in one blaze of glory, but there is
at first a dim dawn, and the soft incoming of a tender light for
tender eyes, and so by degrees we see.
(4.) _The Gospel is repeated._ If we do see it at once, it comes
again to us, for it is "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a
little and there a little." From morning to morning, from Sunday to
Sunday, book after book, by text after text, by spiritual impression
after spiritual impression, the Divine gentleness makes us wise unto
salvation.
(5.) _It is brought home to us in ways suitable to our capacity._ It
is told to us, as it were, with stammering lips (see ver. 11), just
as mothers teach their little children in a language all their own.
In much of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God
condescends to lay aside His own speech and talk the language of men.
He bows to us and tells us His mind in types and ordinances, which
are a sort of child-language fitted to our capacity. If you do not
understand the Word of God, it is not because He does not put it
plainly, but because of the blindness of your heart and the besotted
condition of your spirit. Take heed that you are not drunken with the
wine of pride, but be willing to learn; for God Himself hath not
darkened counsel by mysterious words, but He has put His mind before
you as plainly as the sun in the heavens. "Precept upon precept, line
upon line, here a little and there a little."
II. THE OBJECTIONS WHICH ARE TAKEN TO THE GOSPEL.
1. They are most _wanton._ Men object to that which promises them
rest! Above all the things in the world this is what our troubled
spirits need. Oh, the intense folly of men, that when the Gospel sets
rest before them they will not hear it, but turn upon their heel.
There is no system of doctrine under heaven that can give quiet to
the conscience of men, quiet that is worth having, except the Gospel;
and there are thousands of us who bear witness that we live in the
daily enjoyment of peace through believing in Jesus, and yet our
honest report is not believed; nay, they will not hear the truth.
2. Objections against the Gospel are _wilful,_ even as it is here
said, "This is the refreshing, yet they would not hear." When man say
they cannot believe the Gospel, ask them whether they will patiently
hear it in all its simplicity. No, they say, they do not want to hear
it. The Gospel is so difficult to believe; so they say. Will they
come and hear it preached in its fulness? Will they read the Gospels
for themselves carefully? Oh, no; they cannot take the trouble. Just
so. But a man who does not want to be convinced must not blame
anybody if he remains in error, nor wonder that objections swarm in
his mind.
3. Such objections are _wicked,_ because they are rebellion against
God and an insult to His truth and mercy. If this Gospel be of God, I
am bound to receive it: I have no right to cavil at it, nor raise
questions, philosophical or otherwise. It is mine just to say, "Does
God say this and that? Then it is true, and I yield to it. Does the
Lord thus set before me a way of salvation? I will run in it with
delight."
4. These people raised objections that were _the outgrowth of their
pride._ They objected to the simplicity of Isaiah's preaching. They
said, "Who is he? You should not go to hear him; he talks to us as if
we were children. Besides, it is the same thing over and over again.
You may go when you like, he is always harping on the same string."
Have you not heard folks say in these days concerning a true Gospel
preacher, that he is always preaching about sovereign grace, or the
blood of Christ, or crying out, "Believe, believe, and you shall be
saved"? They sneer and say, "It is the old ditty over and over
again." The passage translated "precept upon precept, line upon
line," was uttered in ridicule, and sounded like a ding-dong rhyme
with which they mocked Isaiah. The words were intended to caricature
the preacher; though they do not suggest the idea when translated,
they do suggest it readily enough in the Hebrew. There are people now
living who, when the Gospel is plainly and simply preached, exclaim,
"We want progressive thought; we want"--they do not quite know what
they do want. Too many wish for a map to heaven so mysteriously drawn
that they may be excused from following it. Multitudes prefer the
Gospel shrouded in a mist; they love to see the wisdom of man shut
out the wisdom of God. This was the style of objection current in
Israel's day, and it is fashionable still.
III. THE DIVINE REQUITAL OF THESE OBJECTORS.
1. The Lord threatens them _with the loss of that which they
despised._ He has sent them a message of rest and they will not have
it, and therefore in the 20th verse He warns them that they shall
have no rest henceforth: "For the bed is shorter than that a man can
stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can
wrap himself in it." All those who wilfully reject the Gospel and
take up with philosophies and speculations will be rewarded with
inward discontent. Ask the preachers of that kind of doctrine whether
they themselves have found an anchorage, and as a rule they will
answer, "No, no; we are in pursuit of truth; we are hunting after it,
but we have not reached it yet." They are never likely to reach it,
for they are on the wrong track. The Gospel was made to rest
conscience, soul, heart will, memory, hope, fear, yes, the entire
man; but when men laugh at all fixity of belief, how can they be
rested? This is the condemnation of the unbeliever, that he shall
never find a settlement, but, like the wandering Jew, shall roam for
ever. Leave the Cross, and you have left the hinge of all things, and
neglected the one sure corner-stone and fixed foundation, and
henceforth you shall be as a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
2. _They shall be punished by a gradual hardening of heart._ They
said that Isaiah's message was "precept upon precept, line upon line,
here a little and there a little," and justice answers them, "Even so
it shall be to you a thing despised and ridiculed, so that you will
go farther away from it; you will fall backward and be broken, and
snared and taken" (ver. 13). A fall backward is the worst kind of
fall. If a man falls forward, he may somewhat save himself and rise
again; but if he falls backward, he falls with all his weight and is
helpless. Those who stumble at Christ, the sure foundation-stone,
shall be broken. When oppressors hope to retrieve their position,
they find themselves snared by their habits, entangled in the net of
the great fowler, and taken by the destroyer. This downward course is
followed full often by those who begin cavilling at the simple
Gospel; they cavil more and more, and become its open enemies to
their eternal ruin.
3. This is to be followed by _a growing inability to understand._
"For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this
people." Since they would not hear plain speech, God will make
simplicity itself to seem like stammering to them. Men that cannot
endure simple language shall at last become unable to understand it.
If men will not understand, they shall not understand. A man may shut
his eyes so long that he cannot open them. In India many devotees
have held up their arms so long that they can never take them down
again. Beware lest an utter imbecility of heart come upon those of
you who refuse the Gospel.
Lastly, this warning is given to those who object to the Gospel, that
_whatever refuge they choose for themselves shall utterly fail them._
Thus saith the Lord, "Judgment will I also lay to the line, and
righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the
refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place." Down
come the great hailstones dashing everything to shivers, the
threatenings of God's Word breaking to pieces all the false and
flattering hopes of the ungodly. Then comes the active wrath of God
like an overwhelming flood to sweep away everything on which the
sinner stood, and he, in his obstinate unbelief, is carried away as
with a flood into that utter destruction, that everlasting misery,
which God has declared shall be the lot of all those who refuse the
living Christ.--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ No.
1593.
FALSE REFUGES.
xxviii. 18. _Your covenant with death shall be
disannulled._
Like the sinners spoken of in this chapter, most sinful men say in
effect, "We have made a covenant with death," &c. (ver. 15).
+I. That he may escape the dreaded consequences of sin, the troubled
sinner seeks a refuge.+ He flees--1. _From the voice of reason._ The
presence of a reasoning power in man is incompatible with the
practice of sin. This is seen in the fact that when sinners can be
brought to think, they at once admit themselves to be wrong. The
moment a man commences to think about sin, that moment he becomes
aware that it will not bear thinking about. It is because a sinful
life is an unthinking life that God's invitations to sinners are
invitations to reason (chap. i. 18; Ps. l. 22-23). 2. _From an
accusing conscience._ The authority of conscience is supreme, and no
man can sin without feeling its sting. To escape remorse, which is
conscience at work, men seek a refuge. 3. _From an offended God._ Sin
is offensive to God's holiness; for being pure, He must hate
impurity. Because sinners are conscious that they have rendered
themselves obnoxious to God, they seek a refuge. 4. _From a broken
law._ In obedience to law there is safety, right, and happiness;
while in disregarding law there is nothing but disaster. And from the
consequences of the broken law--the broken law of God written on the
heart, proclaimed in Nature, revealed in the Bible--the sinner tries
to hide. 5. _From an endless future._ This more than anything else
terrifies sinners and drives them to seek shelter.
+II. Sinners, blindly infatuated, seek a refuge in the wrong
objects.+ They make a covenant with death and an agreement with hell.
The terms "death" and "hell" stand for the whole class of false
securities in which men seek shelter by making a covenant and
agreement with them. 1. _Unbelief_ is one of the most modern refuges
of sin. When men can blot out of the universe the idea of God, quench
the sense of moral responsibility, remove the belief in immortality,
persuade themselves that there is no other world, that death is an
eternal sleep, that heaven is only an air-castle, and hell a mere
chimera, they may then indulge in evil to their hearts' content.
2. _Superstition_ is another. Not in open unbelief, but under the
cover of a false religion others seek to shelter. Unable to shake off
belief in God and in a spiritual world, they search for some system
which will at once allow a profession of religion and a practice of
wickedness. Nor are such systems wanting, nor are they without
disciples. Romanism offers indulgences for gold and pardons for
peace, and thus provides a refuge for the stronger in pocket than in
brain. 3. _Annihilation_ is another. According to some, such is the
awfulness of the thought of extinction of being, that men revolt from
it. Establish it that when sinners die they cease to live, and what
better refuge for sin is possible, and what other is needed? Sinful
men will soon say, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
4. _Excess_ is another. When the previous ones have failed to give
comfort, the sinner rushes madly into excess. The drunkard seeks in
increased intemperance to drown the sorrow his indulgence has
occasioned. 5. _Indifference_ is the last. This is the only comfort
some men can find in their career of evil. But indifference is
impossible without a denial of human responsibility. Sad indeed must
the condition of human nature be when brought to this.
+III. The refuges so confidently trusted in are utterly insecure.+
1. _Because they are incompatible with the real need of man._ Only
that can be conducive to man's safety which meets man's need. No
human need is met by infidelity, or by superstition, or by
annihilation, or by indulgence, or by indifference. Any one of these,
tested by this argument drawn from human necessities, will be found a
refuge of lies. 2. _Because they are at variance with human
instincts._ Instinctively men believe in a Divine existence, in moral
accountability, and in immortality. 3. _Because they contradict human
experience._ They have all been tried, and as often as they have been
tried they have been found false. 4. _Because they are opposed to the
teaching of revelation, both natural and Biblical._ Nature proclaims
loudly against all sin-sought refuges. The teaching of Nature and the
Bible is that man is incompetent to provide for his own security, and
that God only, in the exercise of His Divine prerogative, can provide
for sinners the security they need.
+IV. By Divine appointment the refuges so madly sought shall be
totally destroyed.+ "Your covenant with death shall be disannulled."
1. _By consequence of their inherent character._ They are "refuges of
lies," and necessarily all refuges built on lies must perish. 2. _By
necessity of strict justice._ "Judgment will I lay to the line, and
righteousness to the plummet" (ver. 17). 3. _By the exertion of
Almighty power._ "And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place."
CONCLUSION.--God has mercifully provided a true refuge. He only cuts
off the false that He may exhibit the true. "Behold, I lay in Sion
for a foundation a stone," &c. (ver. 16).--_William Brooks: Study and
the Pulpit,_ New Series, vol. i. pp. 413-416.
SOME ASPECTS OF MINISTERIAL DUTY.
xxx. 7. _Therefore have I cried concerning this, Their
strength is to sit still._
Jerusalem and Judah were threatened by Sennacherib with dangers and
desolations. This people's sin, for which they were reproved by
Isaiah, was their trusting to the Egyptians; they were all in a hurry
to obtain help from them, without seeking counsel of God and resting
upon Him. Isaiah saw that the help of the Egyptians would be
worthless to them, and therefore he counselled them to "sit still,"
trusting in the power, providence, and promise of God, from whom too
much cannot be expected.
+I. Notice the prophet's intermeddling in this important matter.+ He
publishes God's mind concerning it. It is the duty of ministers to
meddle sometimes in public matters, whether in Church or State; they
are to show Jacob their sins, and Israel their transgressions. This
is a part of ministers' work, to testify against sin in all. Christ
was the light of the _world;_ and they should be like their Master,
testifying against all works of darkness. True, the world quarrels
with the servants of God because they bear testimony against its
sins; and on this account many ministers who have some light, put
their light in prison: "They hold the truth in unrighteousness." They
do this by not bearing witness against public wrongs, and the sin and
defection of statesmen. But it was a gracious expression of a
graceless Cain, "Am I my brother's keeper?" "What am I concerned with
the souls or the sins of others? What am I concerned with the public
evils of the day I live in?" True religion begins at home, but it
does not end there; it will come without doors with us (H. E. I.
1184-1186).
+II. Observe the manner of the prophet's address to this people.+
"Therefore have I _cried_ concerning this." It is the duty of
ministers to be earnest and zealous in reproving sin and reclaiming
sinners. They are to be both seers and criers; and when they see any
danger, they should CRY, that the people may hear and flee out of
harm's way.
1. This is true in regard to public wrongs and national projects
which are contrary to the Will of God (P. D. 2855).
2. They need to _cry_ about matters of eternity, that people may
secure something that death may not be able to take from them--such
as these: saving knowledge, saving faith, pardon of sin, evangelical
love of God in Christ, faithful labours for the honour and glory of
God.--_Ralph Erskine, A. M.: Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp. 252, 253.
GROWING LIGHT.
xxx. 26. _Moreover, the light of the moon, &c._
These words, doubtless, look forward to the restoration of Israel.
But there are spiritual truths implied in them, which are of present
and immediate application. We have here different _kinds_ of light;
different _degrees_ of the same light; and also the _seasons_ which
such increase of light is vouchsafed.
I. THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. It is a real light, but it is reflected
light. It does not come to us direct from the sun, but is thrown
first upon the moon, and from her it comes to us. Hence its
peculiarities. It is a dim light; it does not warm and quicken; it
does not make things grow and vegetate. It is a waning light;
sometimes it is full, but it soon begins to decline, and for a season
it is wholly withdrawn. It is a light which never makes day; even at
its fullest, it is still night; men occasionally walk and work in it,
but usually they rest and sleep.
Why do I notice these things, which are obvious to all on a moment's
reflection? Because I believe there is important Divine truth hidden
under them. All Nature is a prefiguring or shadowing forth of grace
and truth (H. E. I. 5, 6).
We have been describing the religious knowledge of not a few. It is
moonlight; it does not come to them direct from Christ, the Sun of
Righteousness, the Source of all true light; it is hearsay; they
have learned it from their fellow-men. It is not experimental, and
hence its deficiencies. It is a vague, dim knowledge; they see
nothing clearly, neither sin nor salvation, neither Christ nor
themselves, neither law nor gospel, neither grace nor glory. It is a
cold, heartless knowledge; it does not warm, quicken, stir their
affections, influence their wills. It is a waning knowledge;
sometimes they seem full of it--after a stirring sermon, or when they
are in the company of frank, lively Christians--but a short time
passes and it is all gone, as if it had never been. It never makes
them children of the day, it never arouses them from the sleep of sin
and worldliness, nor sends them forth to work for God and for
eternity.
Such is this moonlight knowledge. Still it would be something if it
led those who have it to Christ, the true Light. The people of Sychar
had the moonlight when the woman on whom the Sun had just arisen came
and cast a portion of her light upon them. But they did not rest on
this; they went out of the city and saw and heard for themselves, and
so many believed and were saved. But this is what many fail to do in
revival times. The Lord has visited His people, and refreshed and
saved them; and others speak freely of the good they have received,
sing gladly their new songs, and are for the time stirred and
affected. But it is only moonlight; they have never come to Him who
changes not; and so when the warmth and stir of the revival passes
they fall back, and perhaps become worse than before. Not a few are
still in the moonlight, and are satisfied with it. You hear about
Christ, perhaps can talk about Him, but this is not salvation
(H. E. I. 3148).
II. THE LIGHT OF THE SUN. This comes immediately from the sun, and
hence its excellence. It is a clear, bright light, and so things afar
off and near at hand are distinctly seen. It is a warm light; there
is heat in it; it thaws and chases away the winter; it makes spring
and summer; it causes all things to grow and vegetate. It is an
awakening light; it makes day, and men arise and go to their work,
and wild creatures and evil-doers retire. It is a constant light. The
sun never waxes or wanes; he is ever the same. True, there are wintry
days, dark, dreary days, but still the sun is there, shining through
the clouds, and shining them away, and soon breaking forth again in
his glory. Is this the character of your religious knowledge? [Work
out the details of the comparison.]
III. DIFFERENT DEGREES OF LIGHT. "The light of the sun shall be
sevenfold, as the light of seven days." Here there is only a change
of degree. There is no new luminary; it is still the sun, but it is
far more intense and continuous. We can conceive what would be the
effect of this in the natural world. Things now invisible from their
minuteness or indistinctly seen from their distance would then be
clearly revealed, and fruits and flowers which cannot at present be
reared in our climate would then be common and indigenous among us.
There can be a sevenfold Divine light and Divine warmth. Christ has
it to give. He will one day give it to all His people, and the weak
shall be as David, and David as the angel of the Lord. Even now He
grants it to those who seek Him with the whole heart. The patriarchs,
prophets, apostles had it. Nor are these peculiar, exceptional cases.
I believe there is more of it than we are aware of and probably there
would be more if we did not straighten and hinder the Lord by our
want of desire and expectation.
IV. THE TIMES WHEN THIS BLESSING IS VOUCHSAFED. "In the day that the
Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of
their wound." This evidently looks forward to the time when the long
alienation between Israel and their God will be healed. But is He the
God of the Jews only? Nay, of the Gentiles also. There are two
opposite errors into which men fall on the reading of these promises.
Some see only the Jew in them; others do not see the Jew in them at
all. But there is room for both in these green pastures. Even now
there are fulfilments of this promise in its truest, highest sense.
Even now the light of the moon becomes as the light of the sun, and
the light of the sun as that of seven days. It is so, for instance,
often at conversion; it is a passing from darkness into marvellous
light. It is often so when the backslider returns. Look at David in
the 51st Psalm, what light he has got! It is so often in times of
sore affliction. Then the exceeding great and precious promises come
out into view, as darkness shows us worlds of light we never saw by
day (Ps. xciv. 12). It is so at death, when the soul leaves its cage
and soars away into heavenly light and liberty. It will be so when
the Lord comes on the resurrection morn. And once more, oh! the light
there will be when the Lamb opens the books and makes every mystery
plain! (H. E. I. 3127, 3128).--_John Milne: Gatherings from a
Ministry,_ pp. 114-122.
NOBILITY AND SECURITY.
xxxiii. 15, 16. _He that walketh righteously, &c._
These were terrible times in Jerusalem. The Assyrian power was
exceedingly formidable; it was as ferocious as it was strong. The
Assyrian had come up into the land, yet God had given a promise to
His people that they should be preserved (chap. xxxvii. 33, 34). Some
in the city rested content with the promise of God, and went about
their daily business feeling perfectly safe. But there were a few
such. A great number were afraid they would be destroyed--they were
sure of it. Who was to save them, or what power could stand in the
way of Sennacherib? These were the sinners and hypocrites, and the
time of trial developed them. They could not live, they said; the
land was smoking, for the Assyrian had set everything on fire. Some
who dwell among God's people are sinners and not saints, hypocrites
and not believers. When all goes well with the Church of God you
cannot detect the difference. But when the time of trial comes, the
hypocrites and sinners will be discovered by their own fear. Let us
not be satisfied with being in Zion--in the Church; let us not rest
till we are quite sure we are not sinners or hypocrites in it. If our
religion is worth anything, it is worth most in the hour of trial;
and if it does not stand us in good stead in the time of temptation
and sorrow, what is the use of it?
I. THE CHARACTER OF GOD'S PEOPLE. They are partly described in the
words of our text, but I am obliged to go a little farther afield for
one part of their character. Those who in the time of danger will be
kept and comforted are a people who have a humble, patient, present
faith in God. I am sure there are such, for they are described--they
describe themselves--in the second verse of the chapter before us.
They are a humble people, who dare not trust themselves, but trust in
God. They are a praying people, who make their appeal to God under a
sense of need. Their appeal is to His free grace. They are a waiting
people. If at once they have not comfort and joy, they tarry and are
perfectly content to abide His time, for it is sure to be best. That
have a present faith in God, for "Be Thou their arm every morning" is
their prayer. They did not trust in God years ago and get saved, and
think they can live without faith, but they believe "the just shall
_live_ by faith." They look for everything to their God: "_Thou_ art
our salvation in the time of trouble."
Our text gives a description of these people by their various
features. It describes how they walk: "He that walketh righteously."
Faith has an elevating, ennobling effect upon our entire manhood. The
promise belongs only to the people who come under the description;
see to it that you do not take the comfort, if you do not come under
the character! Study the description of the daily walk and
conversation of this blessed man who is to dwell on high.
The first feature which is described is his _tongue._ "He speaketh
uprightly." If you drew a portrait of a man, you could not paint his
tongue; but if you give a description of a man's character, you
cannot omit his speech. A man that lies, talks obscenely, &c., is no
child of God. The grace of God very speedily sweetens a man's tongue.
A doctor says, "Put out your tongue," and he judges the symptoms of
health or disease thereby; and surely there is no better test of
character than the condition of the tongue.
Next, the _heart._ "He that despiseth the gain of oppression." Not
only does he not oppress any man, nor wish to gain anything by
extortion, or by any act of unrighteousness, but he looks upon it as
contemptible and despises it. He likes gain if it comes cleanly to
him, and it is as welcome to him as to another, but he will not have
a thing he cannot pray over.
Next comes the _ear._ "That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood."
Men of war and those who delight in war will tell to one another what
they did in battle and whom they slew; and in those old times there
were tales of bloodshed that would have made our ears to tingle, but
the good men in Jerusalem would not hear them; they could not endure
it. It is not the hearing of blood alone we must avoid, but the
hearing of anything tainted. The genuine Christian feels he has
mischief enough in his own heart without adding to it.
Again, "He shutteth his _eyes_ from seeing evil." He cannot help
seeing it as he goes his pilgrimage through life, but as far as
possible he tries to avoid it. He does not go and find an evening's
amusement gazing upon it. It were better to be blind, deaf, and dumb
than to see, and hear, and speak in some places. The true believer is
a man who has himself well in hand. He has a bit in the mouths of all
the horses that draw the chariot of life, and he holds them in, and
will not let his eye, ear, tongue, foot, or hand carry him away. He
will have nothing to do with evil: "He shaketh his hand from holding
of bribes."
II. THE SECURITY OF SUCH A MAN. Notice it first, as it is pictorially
described: "He shall dwell on high." The Assyrians were attacking the
country, and in times of invasion men always went to the highest
parts of the country to escape from the enemy. Well, this man shall
have a quiet resting-place on the heights, so high up that his
enemies cannot get at him. They may plunder all round, but cannot
plunder him. The sentinel on the crags of inaccessible rock shall,
standing out in the sunlight gleaming calmly and brightly, bid
defiance to every foe. He shall dwell on the heights, out of reach of
the arrows. "His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks;"
not one rock, but rocks; mass upon mass of mountain shall stand
between him and the foe, and there shall he dwell in perfect
security. "Oh," but says one, "they will starve him out. There will
be nothing for the people to eat, and they will open the doors and
say, 'Come in! only give us bread.'" "Bread shall be given him," and
as he could not be driven out, so he shall not be starved out, for
the bread of Heaven shall be given him, if it come from nowhere else.
"But even," says one, "if there may be bread brought into the city,
they will run short of water, and must eventually capitulate through
thirst." No, says the promise, "his water shall be sure." There shall
be springs that never can be dried up within the castle itself, and
they shall drink and drink as much as they will, and yet the supplies
shall never be exhausted. "Now," says one, "this is poetry." Just so:
it is a poetical description, but it is all founded on facts.
Look at the positive facts in the actual experience of the child of
God. First, it is a matter of fact that the man who believes in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and lives as a Christian should live, lives on
high. His mind is elevated above the common cares, trials, and
sorrows of life (H. E. I. 1080-1084, 4162, 4163). Many of you know
how secure and immutable your defence is, for you have God's promise,
"I will never leave nor forsake thee." "No good thing will I withhold
from him that walketh uprightly." What munitions of rocks can be
compared with these things in which it is impossible for God to lie?
You are dwelling where you must be safe; for, first, you were chosen
before the foundation of the world, and God will not lose His chosen,
nor shall His decree be frustrated. Next, you have been bought with
the precious blood of the Son of God Himself, and He will never lose
what He has so dearly bought. You have also been quickened by the
Holy Ghost and made to live unto God, and that life cannot die. You
have been taken into the family of God and made His child, and your
name shall never be taken out of the family register. You are joined
unto Christ in one spirit; you are a member of His body, of His
flesh, and of His bones; and shall Christ be dismembered, the Son of
God be rent in twain? I feel I stand where all the devils of hell
cannot reach me, where the angels of God might envy me, and where I
can say, "Who shall separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord?" and challenge earth and hell and heaven alike--if so it
please them--to assail me, for who can harm me, if my confidence be
in the living God?
The poetic utterance, "Thy bread shall be given thee," is also
literally true. You have sometimes had very little, but have always
had _enough._ When God multiplied the meal and the oil of the widow
of Zarephath, I do believe that every day Elijah lived with her she
had to scrape the bottom of the barrel. We are not told it filled up
at once. Just so, you may often have to reach the bottom of the
barrel, and the oil may seem to come a drop at a time: this is about
as much as you want, and if you get as much as you can eat at one
meal, it is all the fresher, and does not breed worms like the manna
in the wilderness. It is the heavenly bread we have sometimes to be
anxious about; but if ministers do not feed you, God will Himself.
As for the living waters, they shall always flow both in summer and
winter. They shall be within thee a well of living water springing up
into eternal life. But words cannot tell the privileges of the man
who dwells with God. He need not wish to change places with the
Archangels.
Friend, if you are not a Christian, do not profess to be one; do not
hope by mere empty profession to win the blessedness of God's people.
Confess your sins, and seek the righteousness of God. Fain would I
drop into your mouths that prayer, "O Lord, be gracious unto us."
As for you that are really striving to do that which is right and
true, at the same time trusting alone in Jesus for your salvation, I
would say to you, What a happy people we ought to be! We ought every
one of us to have a shining face (H. E. I. 756-762, 3037-3039). I do
not know where the Queen is just now, but if I were a dove and could
fly in the air, I would soon find her, for I should see the royal
flag flying on the flag-staff. Wherever the monarch is, there will
the streamer be found flying. Is the King with you to-day? If so,
keep the flag flying. Let the banner fly to the breeze, and let the
world know that there are no people so happy, none so much to be
envied, as believers in Jesus Christ.--_C. H. Spurgeon._
SPREADING THE LETTER BEFORE THE LORD.
xxxvii. 14. _And Hezekiah received the letter, &c._
The letter was an insolent cartel of defiance from the Assyrian king
Sennacherib, full as much of blasphemous defiance against God as of
insolence to God's servant. It represents the conflict between
Assyria and Judah as being a struggle between the gods of one nation
and the God of the other. The point of it is: "Don't let the God in
whom thou trusteth deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be
delivered into the hands of Assyria. Thou hast seen what Assyria has
done to all lands, and is thy God any better than theirs?" So the
king of Judah, very simple and child-like, picks up the piece of
blasphemy and goes up to the temple and spreads it out before God. A
very _naïve_ piece of unconscious symbolism! The meaning of it comes
out in the prayer that follows: "Open Thine eyes, O Lord, and see,"
&c. It is for _Thee_ to act. That is the essential meaning of
Hezekiah's action.
I. It was an appeal to God's knowledge. For _his_ comfort it was
necessary to make this appeal. That which influences and agitates us,
we need in some way to spread before the Lord. When some great
anxiety strikes its talons deep into our hearts, we need to have the
truth made clear to ourselves. The Eyes up yonder see all about it. A
plain old piece of commonplace, but, oh! there is a deep, unutterable
consolation when a man realises this. "Thy Father which is in secret,
_seeth_ in secret."
II. It was an appeal to God's honour. His prayer was this in effect:
"Hear all the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to reproach the
living God. I say nothing about myself, but it is Thine honour that
is threatened. If this insolent braggart does the thing which he
threatens, then it will be said, 'Forasmuch as this Jehovah was not
able to save His people, therefore He let them perish;' those who
worship other gods will say, 'Jehovah is a name without
meaning'--_Thy_ name, which is above every name!" If a man has not
got something like that in his prayers, they are poor prayers. With
all humility, yet with all self-confidence, ask Him, not so much to
deliver you, as to be true to His character and His promises, to be
self-consistent with all that He has been; and let us feel, as we
have a right to feel, that if any human soul, that ever in the
faintest, poorest, humblest manner put out a trembling hand of
confidence towards His great hand to grasp it, was suffered to go
down and perish, there is a blight and blot on the fair fame of God
before the whole creation which nothing can obliterate. But the
feeblest cry shall be answered, the feeblest faith rewarded! Let us
grasp the thought that not only for our own poor selves--though,
blessed be God, He does take our happiness for a worthy object--but
because His honour and fair fame are so inextricably wound with our
well-being, He must answer the cries of His people (Ezek.
xxxvi. 22-24).
III. Let us take out of the account, not only what we ought to do
when we go to God in prayer, but the kind of things we ought to take
to Him. Every difficulty, danger, trial, temptation, or blasphemy by
which His name is polluted, should be at once spread out before the
Lord. But most of all the common things of everyday life! The small
boy, whom one of our writers tells of, who used to pray that he might
have strength given to him to learn his Latin declension, had a
better understanding of prayer than the men of the world can
understand (H. E. I. 3756, 3757).
IV. Another lesson: If you have not been in the habit of going to the
House of God at other times, it will be a hard job to find your way
there when your eyes are blinded with tears, and your hearts heavy
with anxiety. Hezekiah had cultivated a habit of trusting God and
referring everything to Him; so he went straight into the Temple as
by instinct, where he could have found his way in the dark, and
spread this letter before the Lord as a matter of course. It is a
poor thing when a man's religion is like a waterproof coat, that is
only good to wear when it rains, and has to be taken off when the
weather improves a little! If you want to get the blessedness of
fellowship with God and help from Him in the dark days, learn the
road to the Temple in sunshine and gladness, and do not wait for the
bellow of the pitiless storm and darkness upon the path, before you
go up to the Temple of God (H. E. I. 3877-3879).
V. What do we get by this habit of spreading out everything before
God?
1. Valuable counsel. I do not know anything that has such a power of
clearing a man's way, scattering mists, removing misconceptions,
letting us see the true nature of some dazzling specious temptations,
as the habit of turning to prayer. In ninety-nine cases out of a
hundred, the thing that perplexes us is that the steadiness of the
hand that holds the microscope is affected by the beating of the
heart and the passionate desires and wishes, and so there is nothing
defined and clear; it is all a haze. Firmness of hand, clearness of
vision, come in prayer to the man who is accustomed to take the
harassing "letter," and spread it out before the Lord (H. E. I.
3741-3743).
2. A very accurate and easily applied test. I do not wonder that as
many of us do not like to pray about our plans and about our
anxieties; it is either because the plans have no God in them, or the
anxieties have no faith. Anything we cannot pray about, we had better
not touch. And anxiety that is not substantial enough to bear lifting
and laying before God, ought never to trouble us. Test your lives,
your thoughts, your affairs, your purposes by this. Will they stand
carriage to the Temple? If not, the sooner you get rid of them the
better. And then, "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests by made known
unto God; and," in spite of all the blatant Sennacheribs who have
poured out their insolent blasphemies, "the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts
in Christ Jesus."--_Alexander Maclaren, in Outlines of Sermons on the
Old Testament,_ pp. 81-85.
APPENDIX.
* * * * * * *
_TRANSLATIONS OF THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH._
Translations, at once accurate and varied, are among the most
valuable of all helps in the study of Scripture. It was, therefore,
the intention of the supplier of this volume to give in four parallel
columns the translations of Isaiah which occur in the Commentaries of
Alexander, Delitzsch, and Henderson, and in the _Revised English
Bible._ Considerations of space, have, however, compelled him to
confine himself to the two first named; and it is believed that these
will be acceptable even to those who possess the Commentaries whence
they are taken. They are interwoven with the comments, and a
continuous study of them is thus rendered difficult. The divisions
and subdivisions in the second column are those given in Delitzsch's
Commentary. For a very prompt and general permission to make this use
of that great work, hearty thanks are here accorded to Messrs. T. &
T. Clark of Edinburgh.
* * * * * * *
TRANSLATION
OF THE
PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH,
By Joseph Addison Alexander, D.D.[1]
GENERAL TITLE.--CHAP. I. 1.
The Vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings
of Judah.
SIN AND SUFFERING.--CHAP. I. 2-31.
2. Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah speaks. Sons I
have reared and brought up, and they, even they, have rebelled
against Me. 3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib: Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.
4. A sinful nation, people heavy with iniquity, a seed of evil doers,
sons corrupting themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah; they have
treated with contempt the Holy One of Israel; they are alienated back
again.
5. Whereupon can ye be stricken any more, (that) ye add revolt? The
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6. From the sole of
the foot even to the head, there is not in it a sound place; (it is)
wound and bruise and fresh stroke. They have not been pressed, and
they have not been bound, and it has not been mollified with
ointment. 7. Your land . . . a waste! Your towns . . . burnt with
fire! Your ground . . . before you strangers (are) devouring it, and
a waste like the overthrow of strangers. 8. And the daughter of Zion
is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a melon field,
like a watched city. 9. Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a
very small remnant, we should have been like Sodom, we should have
resembled Gomorrah.
10. Here the word of Jehovah, ye judges of Sodom; give ear to the law
of our God, ye people of Gomorrah! 11. For what (end) is the
multitude of your sacrifices to Me? saith Jehovah. I am full of burnt
offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and the blood of
bullocks and lambs and he-goats I desire not. 12. When you come to
appear before Me, who hath required this at your hands to tread My
courts? 13. Ye shall not add to bring a vain offering. Incense is an
abomination to Me; (so are) new-moon and Sabbath, the calling of the
convocation: I cannot bear iniquity and holy day. 14. Your new-moons
and your convocations My soul hateth; they have become a burden to
Me, I am weary of bearing (them). 15. And when you spread your hands,
I will hide Mine eyes from you; also when ye multiply prayer, I am
not hearing; your hands are full of blood.
16. Wash you, purify yourselves; remove the evil of your doings from
before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17. learn to do good, seek
judgment, redress wrong, judge the fatherless, befriend the widow.
18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah. Though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red
as crimson, they shall be as wool. 19. If ye consent and hear, the
good of the land ye shall eat; 20. and if ye refuse and rebel, by the
sword shall ye be eaten: the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
21. How has she become an harlot, the faithful city! full of justice,
righteousness lodged in it, and now murderers. 22. Thy silver is
become dross, thy wine weakened with water. 23. Thy rulers are rebels
and fellows of thieves, every one of them loving a bribe, and
pursuing rewards. The fatherless they judge not, and the cause of the
widow cometh not unto them.
24. Therefore, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the Mighty One of
Israel, Ah, I will comfort Myself of My adversaries, and I will
avenge Myself of Mine enemies; 25. and I will turn My hand upon them,
and will purge out thy dross like purity (itself), and I will take
away all thine alloy. 26. And I will restore thy judges as at first,
and thy counsellors as in the beginning, after which thou shalt be
called City of Righteousness, a faithful State.
27. Zion shall be redeemed in judgment, and her converts in
righteousness; 28. and the breaking of apostates and sinners (shall
be) together, and the forsaken of Jehovah shall cease. 29. For they
shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be
confounded for the gardens ye have chosen; 30. for ye shall be like
an oak fading (in) its leaf, and like a garden which has no water;
31. and the strong shall become tow, and his work a spark, and they
shall burn both of them together, (there) shall be no one quenching
(them).
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Reprinted from the _Commentary on the Prophecies of
Isaiah,_ by Joseph Addison Alexander, D.D., Princeton. New
and Revised Edition, edited by John Eadie, D.D., LL.D. 2
vols. 8vo. Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot.
THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH, AND INTERVENING
JUDGMENTS ON THE JEWS.--CHAPS. II.-IV.
II.--1. The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem.
2. And it shall be in the end of the days, the mountain of Jehovah's
house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and exalted
from the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. 3. And many
nations shall go and shall say, Come, and let us ascend to the
mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will
teach of us of His ways, and we will go in His paths: for out of Zion
shall go forth law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 4. And He
shall judge between the nations, and decide for many peoples. And
they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears
into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
5. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
6. Because Thou hast forsaken Thy people, the house of Jacob, because
they are replenished from the east and (full of) soothsayers like the
Philistines, and with the children of strangers they abound. 7. And
their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to
their treasures; and their land is filled with horses, and there is
no end to their treasures. 8. And their land is filled with idols, to
the work of their hands they bow down, to that which their fingers
have made.
9. And so the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought
low, and do not Thou forgive them. 10. Go into the rock, and hide
thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah and from the
glory of His majesty. 11. The eyes of the loftiness of men are cast
down, and the height of man is brought low, and Jehovah alone is
exalted in that day.
12. For there is a day to Jehovah of hosts upon everything high and
lofty, and upon everything exalted, and it shall come down; 13. and
upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lofty, and on all
the oaks of Bashan; 14. and upon all the high mountains, and upon all
the elevated hills; 15. and upon every high tower, and upon every
fenced wall; 16. and upon all ships of Tarshish, and upon all images
of desire. 17. And (thus) shall the loftiness of man be cast down,
and the pride of man be brought low, and Jehovah alone exalted in
that day [or, so sinks the loftiness of man and bows the pride of
man, and Jehovah alone is exalted in that day].
18. And as for the idols the whole shall pass away. 19. And they
shall enter into the caves of the rocks and into the holes of the
earth, from before the terror of Jehovah and the glory of His majesty
when He arises to terrify the earth. 20. And that day shall man cast
his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they have made for
him to worship, to the moles and the bats; 21. to go into the clefts
of the rocks, and into the fissures of the cliffs, from before the
terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty, in His arising
to terrify the earth.
22. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein
is he to be accounted of? III.--1. For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of
hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the
staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; 2. hero
and warrior, judge and prophet, and diviner and elder; 3. the chief
of fifty, and the favourite, and the counsellor, and the skilful
artificer, and the expert enchanter. 4. And I will give children to
be their rulers, and childish things shall govern them. 5. And the
people shall act tyrannically, man against man, and man against his
fellow. They shall be insolent, the youth to the old man, and the
mean man to the noble. 6. When a man shall take hold of his brother
in his father's house (saying), Thou hast raiment, a ruler shalt thou
be to us, and this ruin under thy hand; 7. in that day he shall lift
up his voice saying, I will not be a healer, and in my house is no
bread, and there is no clothing: ye shall not make me a ruler of the
people.
8. For Jerusalem totters and Judah falls, (because) their tongues and
their doings are against Jehovah, to resist His glorious eyes. 9. The
expression of their countenance testifies against them, and their
sin, like Sodom, they disclose, they hide it not. Woe unto their
soul! for they have done evil to themselves. 10. Say ye of the
righteous that it shall be well, for the fruits of their doings they
shall eat. 11. Woe unto the wicked, ill, for the thing done by his
hands shall be done to him. 12. My people! their oppressors are
childish, and women rule over them. My people! thy leaders are
seducers, and the way of thy paths they swallow up.
13. Jehovah standeth up to plead, and is standing to judge the
nations. 14. Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of His
people and the chiefs thereof. And ye (even ye) have consumed the
vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15. What mean ye
that ye crush My people, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the
Lord Jehovah of hosts.
16. And Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are lofty, and
walk with outstretched neck, and gazing with their eyes, and with a
tripping walk they walk, and with their feet they make a tinkling,
17. therefore the Lord will make bald the crown of the daughters of
Zion, and their nakedness Jehovah will uncover. 18. In that day the
Lord will take away the bravery of the ankle-bands, and the cauls,
and the crescents, 19. the pendants, and the bracelets, and the
veils, 20. the caps, the ankle-chains, and the girdles, and the
houses of breath, and the amulets, 21. the rings, and the
nose-jewels, 22. the holiday dresses, and the mantles, and the robes,
and the purses, 23. the mirrors, and the tunics, and the turbans, and
the veils. 24. And it shall be (that) instead of perfume there shall
be stench, and instead of a girdle a rope, and instead of braided
work baldness, and instead of a full robe a girding of sackcloth,
burning instead of beauty. 25. Thy men by the sword shall fall, and
thy strength in war. 26. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and
being emptied she shall sit upon the ground. IV.--1. And in that day
seven women shall lay hold on one man, saying, We will eat our own
bread, and wear our own apparel; only let thy name be called upon us,
take thou away our reproach.
2. In that day shall the Branch of Jehovah be for honour and for
glory, and the fruit of the earth for sublimity and beauty, to the
escaped of Israel. 3. And it shall be that the left in Zion and the
spared in Jerusalem shall be called holy, every one written to life
in Jerusalem, 4. when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of
the daughters of Zion, and the bloodguiltiness of Jerusalem shall
purge from its midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning.
5. And Jehovah will create over the whole extent of mount Zion, and
over her assembles, a cloud by day, and smoke and the brightness of a
burning fire by night; for over all the glory _there shall be_ a
covering; 6. and there shall be a shelter for a shadow by day from
heat, and a covert and for a hiding place from storm and from rain.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD.--CHAP. V.
1. I will sing, if you please, of my friend, my friend's song of his
vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard in a hill of great fertility; 2. and he
digged it up, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it
with Sorek, and built a tower in the midst of it; and he waited for
it to produce grapes, and it produced wild grapes.
3. And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge, I pray
you, between me and my vineyard. 4. What more is there to be done to
my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why did I wait for it to bear
grapes, and it bore wild grapes?
5. And now I will let you know if you please what I am about to do to
my vineyard: Remove its hedge, and it shall become a pasture; break
down its wall, and it shall become a trampling-place; 6. and I render
it a desolation. It shall not be pruned and it shall not be dressed,
and there shall come up thorns and briars. And I will lay my commands
upon the clouds from raining rain upon it. 7. For the vineyard of
Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is the
plant of His pleasures. And He waited for judgment, and behold
bloodshed, for righteousness, and behold a cry!
8. Woe to the joiners of house with house, field to field they bring
together, even to a failure of place, and ye are made to dwell by
yourselves in the midst of the land. 9. In my ears Jehovah of hosts
(is saying), Of a truth many houses shall become a desolation, great
and good for want of an inhabitant. 10. For ten acres shall make one
bath, and a bower of seed shall produce an ephah.
11. Woe to those rising early in the morning to pursue strong drink,
delaying in the twilight (until) wine inflames them. 12. And the harp
and viol, the tabret, and the pipe, and wine (compose) their feasts;
and the work of Jehovah they will not look at, and the operation of
His hands they have not seen.
13. Therefore my people have gone into exile for want of knowledge,
and their glory are men of hunger, and their multitude dry with
thirst. 14. Therefore the grave has enlarged herself and opened her
mouth without measure, and down goes her pomp and her noise and her
crowd and he that rejoices in her; 15. and man is brought low, and
man is cast down, and the eyes of the lofty are cast down; 16. and
Jehovah of hosts is exalted in judgment, and the Mighty, the Holy
One, is sanctified in righteousness; 17. and lambs shall feed as (in)
their pasture, and the wastes of the fat ones shall sojourners devour.
18. Woe to the drawers of iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as
with a cart-rope; 19. those who say, Let Him speed, let Him hasten
His work that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of
Israel draw night and come, that we may know (it).
20. Woe unto those saying to evil good, and to good evil, putting
darkness for light and light for darkness, putting bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21. Woe unto the wise in their (own) eyes, and the prudent in their
own estimation.
22. Woe to the mighty men that drink wine, and men of strength that
mingle strong drink; 23. justifying the guilty as the result of a
bribe, and the righteousness of the righteous they will take from him.
24. Therefore as a tongue of fire devours chaff, and as ignited grass
falls away, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom as
fine dust shall go up. For they have rejected the law of Jehovah of
hosts, and the word of the Holy One of Israel they have treated with
contempt. 25. Therefore the anger of Jehovah has burned against His
people, and He stretched forth His hand against them, and smote them,
and the mountains trembled, and their carcass was like sweeping in
the midst of the streets.
In all this His anger was not turned back, and still His hand is
stretched out; 26. and He raises a signal to the nations from afar,
and whistle for him from the ends of the earth; and behold in haste,
swift he shall come. 27. There is no one faint, and there is no one
stumbling among them. He sleeps not, and he slumbers not, and the
girdle of his loins is not opened and the latchet of his sandals is
not broken; 28. whose arrows are sharpened and all his bows bent; the
hoofs of his horses like flint are reckoned, and his wheels like a
whirlwind. 29. He has a roar like the lioness, and he shall roar like
the young lions, and shall growl, and seize the prey, and secure it,
none delivering (it). 30. And he shall roar against him in that day
like the roaring of a sea. And he shall look to the land, and behold
darkness! Anguish and light! It is dark in the clouds thereof!
THE VISION OF THE MOST HIGH.--CHAP. VI.
1. In the year that king Uzziah died (B.C. 758), I saw also the Lord
sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and His skirts filling the
palace. 2. Seraphim standing above it. Six wings to each. With two he
covers his face, and with two he covers his feet, and with two he
flies. 3. And one cried to another, and said,
Holy, Holy, Holy! _is_ Jehovah of hosts!
The fulness of the whole earth is His glory!
4. Then stirred the bases of the thresholds at the voice that cried,
and the house is filled with smoke.
5. And I said, Woe is me, for I am undone! for a man of impure lips
am I, and in the midst of a people of impure lips I am dwelling: for
the King, Jehovah of hosts, my eyes have seen.
6. Then there flew to me one of the seraphim, and in his hand a live
coal; with tongs he took it from off the altar; 7. and he caused it
to touch my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy
iniquity is gone, and thy sin shall be atoned for.
8. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us? And I said, Here am I; behold me; send me.
9. And He said, Go and say to this people, Hear indeed, but
understand not; and see indeed, but know not. 10. Make fat the heart
of this people, and its ears make heavy, and its eyes smear; lest it
see with its eyes, and with its ears hear, and its heart understand,
and it turn to me, and be healed.
11 And I said, How long, Lord?
And He said, Until that cities are desolate for want of an
inhabitant, and houses for want of men, and the land shall be
desolate, a waste; 12. and Jehovah shall have put far off the men,
and great shall be that which is left in the midst of the land.
13. And yet in it a tenth shall return and be for a consuming; like
the terebinth and like the oak which in falling have substance in
them, a holy seed (is) the substance of it.
PROPHESIES RELATING TO THE REIGN OF AHAZ.--CHAPS. VII.-XII.
1. And it was in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king
of Judah, Rezin, king of Aram [or Syria], and Pekah, son of Remaliah,
king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war against it; and he was
not able to war against it. 2. And it was told the house of David,
saying, Syria resteth upon Ephraim: and his heart and the heart of
the people shook, like the shaking of the trees of a wood before a
wind.
3. And Jehovah said to Isaiah son of Amoz, Go out to meet Ahaz, thou
and Shear-jashub thy son, to the end of the conduit of the upper
pool, to the highway of the fuller's field. 4. And thou shalt say to
him, Be cautious and be quiet; fear not, nor let thy heart be soft
before these two smoking tails of firebrands, in the heat of the
anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5. Because Syria
has devised evil against thee, also Ephraim and Remaliah's son,
saying, 6. We will go up into Judah and vex it, and make a breach in
it (thereby subduing it) to ourselves, and let us make a king in the
midst of it, to wit, the son of Tabeal: 7. thus saith the Lord
Jehovah, It shall not stand, and it shall not be; 8. because the head
of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, for in yet
sixty-and-five years shall Ephraim be broken from (being) a people;
9. for the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is
Remaliah's son. If you will not believe (it is) because you are not
to be established.
10. And Jehovah added to speak unto Ahaz, saying, 11. Ask for thee a
sign from Jehovah thy God, ask deep or high above. 12. And Ahaz said,
I will not ask, and I will not tempt Jehovah. 13. And he said, Hear,
I pray you, O house of David! is it too little for you to weary men,
that you weary my God? 14. Therefore the Lord Himself will give you
sign. Behold! the virgin pregnant and bringing forth a son, and she
calls his name Immanuel. 15. Curds and honey shall he eat until he
shall know (how) to reject the evil and choose the good; 16. for
before the child shall know (how) to reject the evil to choose the
good, the land, of whose two kings thou art afraid, shall be forsaken.
17. Jehovah will bring upon thee, and on thy people, and on thy
father's house, days which have not come since the departure of
Ephraim from Jacob, to wit, the king of Assyria. 18. And it shall be
in that day that Jehovah will whistle for the fly which is in the
edge of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee which is in Assyria;
19. and they come and rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and
in the clefts of rocks, and in all thorn-hedges, and in all pastures.
20. In that day will the Lord shave, with a razor hired in the parts
beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of
the feet, and also the beard will it take away. 21. And it shall be
in that day (that) a man shall save alive a young cow and two sheep;
22. and it shall be (that) from the abundance of the yielding of
milk, he shall eat butter; for butter and honey shall every one eat
that is left in the midst of the land. 23. And it shall be in that
day (that) every place where there shall be a thousand vines at a
thousand silverlings, shall be for thorns and briers. 24. With arrows
and with bows shall one go thither, because thorns and briers shall
the whole land be; 25. and all the hills which are digged with the
hoe, thou shalt not go (even) there for fear of briers and thorns,
and they shall be for a sending-place of cattle and a trampling-place
of sheep.
VIII.--1. And Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and write
upon it with a man's pen, to Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2. And I
(Jehovah) will take to witness for me credible witnesses, to wit,
Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah.
3. And I approached unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a
son, and Jehovah said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz:
4. for before the child shall know (how) to cry, My father, and my
mother, they shall take away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of
Samaria before the king of Assyria.
5. And Jehovah added to speak to me again, saying--
6. Because this people hath forsaken the waters of Shiloah that go
softly, and joy with respect to Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7. therefore, behold! the Lord (is) bringing up upon them the waters
of the river, its strong and many waters, to wit, the king of Assyria
and all his glory, and it shall come up over all the channels and go
over all its banks, 8. and it shall pass over into Judah, overflow
and pass through, to the neck shall it reach, and the spreading of
its wings shall be the filling of the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
9. Be wicked and be broken, and give ear all the remote parts of the
earth! Gird yourselves and be broken; gird yourselves and be broken!
10. Devise a plan, and it shall be defeated; speak a word, and it
shall not stand: for God (is) with us.
11. For thus said Jehovah unto me in strength of hand, and instructed
me away from walking in the way of this people, saying, 12. Ye shall
not call conspiracy everything which this people calleth conspiracy,
and its fear ye shall not fear nor be afraid. 13. Jehovah of hosts,
Him shall ye sanctify; and He shall be your fear, and He shall be
your dread. 14. And He shall be for a holy thing, and for a stone of
stumbling and for a rock of offence to the two houses of Israel; for
a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And many
shall stumble over them, and fall and be broken and be snared, and be
taken.
16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law, in my disciples. 17. And I
will wait for Jehovah, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob,
and will expect Him. 18. Behold, I and the children which Jehovah
hath given me are (for) signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah
of hosts, the (One) dwelling in mount Zion. 19. And when they shall
say to you, Seek unto the spirits and to the wizards, the chirpers
and the mutterers: should not a people seek to its God, for the
living to the dead? 20. To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, (they are they) to whom there is no
dawn. 21. And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry:
and it shall be that when they are hungry they shall fret themselves,
and curse their king and their God, and shall look upward. 22. And to
the earth he shall look; and behold distress and darkness, dimness of
anguish, and (into) darkness (he shall be) driven. [-- Or, The
dimness of anguish and of darkness is dispelled.]
IX.--1. For (there shall) not (be) darkness (for ever) to her who is
now distressed. As the former time degraded the land of Zebulon and
the land of Naphtali, so the latter glorifies the way of the sea, the
bank of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2. The people, those walking in the dark, have seen a great light:
the dwellers in the shadow of death, light has beamed upon them.
3. Thou hast enlarged the nation, Thou hast increased its joy: (they)
rejoice before Thee like the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they
divide the spoil; 4. that the yoke of his burden, and the rod of his
shoulder, and the staff of the one driving him, Thou hast broken as
in the day of Midian. 5. For all the armour of the armed man in the
tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, food
of fire. 6. For a son is born to us, a son is given to us, and the
government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful,
Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7. To
the increase of the government and to the peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it
and to confirm it, in justice and in righteousness from henceforth
and for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.
8. The Lord sent a word unto Jacob, and it came down into Israel.
9. And they know, the people, all of them, Ephraim and the inhabitant
of Samaria, in pride and in greatness of heart saying, 10. "Bricks
are fallen, and hewn stone will we build; sycamores are felled, and
cedars will we substitute." 11. And (now) Jehovah raises up above him
the enemies of Rezin, and he will instigate his own enemies: 12. Aram
before, and Philistia behind, and they devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this His wrath does not turn back, and still His hand is
stretched out.
13. And the people has not turned to Him that smote them, and Jehovah
of hosts they have not sought. 14. And Jehovah has cut off from
Israel head and tail, branch and root, in one day. 15. The elder and
the favourite, be (is) the head, and the prophet teaching falsehood,
he (is) the tail. 16. The leaders of this people have been seducers,
and the led of them (are) swallowed up. 17. Therefore the Lord will
not rejoice over their young men, and on their orphans and their
widows He will not have mercy, for every one of them is profane and
an evil-doer, and every mouth (is) speaking folly. For all this His
wrath is not turned back, and still is His hand outstretched.
18. For wickedness burneth as the fire, thorns and briers it
consumes, then kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll
themselves upward, a column of smoke. 19. In the wrath of Jehovah of
hosts the land is darkened, and the people is like food of fire: one
another they do not spare. 20. And he tears on the right hand, and is
hungry (still), and devours on the left, and (still) they are not
satisfied; each the flesh of his (own) arm they devour: 21. Manasseh
Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, (and) together they (are) against
Judah. For all this His wrath is not turned back, and still His hand
(is) stretched out.
X.--1. Woe unto them that decree decrees of injustice, and that write
oppression which they have prescribed; 2. to turn aside from judgment
the weak, the right of the poor of my people, that widows may be
their spoil, and the fatherless they plunder. 3. And what will ye do
in the day of visitation, and in the ruin (which) shall come from
far? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your
glory? 4. It does not bow beneath the prisoners, and (yet) they shall
fall beneath the slain. For all this His wrath is not turned back,
and still His hand is stretched out.
THE SIN AND THE DOOM OF ASSYRIA.--CHAP. X. 5-34.
5. Woe unto Asshur, the rod of My anger, and the staff in their hand
is My indignation. 6. Against an impious nation will I send him and
against the people of My wrath I will commission him, to take spoil
and to seize pray, and to render it a trampling, like the mire of
streets. 7. And he not so will think, and his heart so will think;
for to destroy (is) in his heart, and to cut off nations not a few.
8. For he says, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9. Is not Calno
like Carchemish? or (is) not Hamath like Arpad? or (is) not Samaria
like Damascus? 10. As my hand hath found the idol-kingdoms, and their
images (more) than (those of) Jerusalem and Samaria, 11. shall I not,
as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her
gods?
12. And it shall be that the Lord will cut all His work short of
mount Zion and at Jerusalem. (Yes, even there) will I visit on the
fruit of the greatness of heart of the king of Assyria, and on the
ostentation of his loftiness of eyes. 13. For he saith, By the
strength of my hand I have done (all this), and by my wisdom, for I
am wise, and I remove the bounds of the nations, and rob their
hoards, and bring down, like a mighty man (as I am), the inhabitants.
14. My hand has found the strength of the nations, and like the
gathering of eggs forsaken, so have I gathered all the earth, and
there was none that moved a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped.
15. Shall the axe glorify itself above the (person) hewing with it?
Or shall the saw magnify itself above the (person) handling it? (This
is indeed) like a rod's wielding those who wield it, like a staff's
lifting (that which is) no wood. 16. Therefore the Lord, the Lord of
hosts, will send upon his fat ones leanness, and under his glory
shall burn like the burning of fire. 17. And the light of Israel
shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and it shall burn
and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 18. And the glory of his
forest and his fruitful field, from soul to body, will He consume,
and it shall be like the wasting away of a sick man. 19. And the rest
of the trees of the forest shall be few, and a child shall write them.
20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of
Israel, and the escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no longer
continue to lean upon their smiter, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the
Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. A remnant shall return, a remnant
of Jacob to God Almighty. 22. For though thy people, O Israel, shall
be like the sand of the sea, (only) a remnant of them shall return. A
consumption is decreed, overflowing (with) righteousness. 23. For a
consumption even (the one) determined, (is) the Lord, Jehovah of
hosts, making in the midst of all the earth.
24. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, Be not afraid, O
my people inhabiting Zion, of Asshur. He shall smite thee with the
rod, and shall lift up his staff upon thee in the way of Egypt.
25. For yet a very little, and wrath is at an end, and my anger
(shall go forth) to their destruction; 26. and Jehovah of hosts shall
raise up against him a scourge like the smiting of Midian at the rock
Oreb, and His rod (shall again) be over the sea, and He shall lift it
up in the way of Egypt. 27. And it shall be in that day, (that) his
burden shall depart from thy shoulder, and his yoke from thy neck,
and the yoke shall be destroyed because of oil.
28. He is come to Aiath--he is passed to Migron--to Michmash he
entrusts his baggage. 29. They have passed the pass--in Geba they
have taken up their lodging--Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
30. Cry aloud, daughter Gallim; hearken Laishah, (ah) poor Anathoth!
31. Madmenah, wanders; the inhabitants of Gebim flee. 32. Yet to-day
in Nob (he is) to stand; (and there) will he shake his hand against
the mountain of the house of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33. Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, (is) lopping the branch with
terror, and the trees (shall be) felled, and the lofty ones brought
low. 34. And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and this Lebanon by a Mighty One shall fall.
THE RESTORATION AND DELIVERANCE, ETERNAL SAFETY AND
INTERNAL PEACE OF GOD'S OWN PEOPLE.--CHAPS. XI., XII.
XI.--1. And there shall come forth a twig from the stock of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots shall grow. 2. And upon Him shall rest
the Spirit of Jehovah, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit
of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
Jehovah. 3. And His sense of smelling (shall be exercised) in the
fear of Jehovah, and not by the sight of His eyes shall He judge, and
not by the hearing of His ears shall He decide; 4. and He shall judge
in righteousness the weak, and do justice with equity to the meek of
the earth; and shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and
with the breath of His lips shall slay the wicked. 5. And
righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the
girdle of His reins.
6. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid, and the calf and young lion and fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them; 7. and the cow and the bear shall
feed, together shall their young lie down, and the lion like the ox
shall eat straw; 8. and the suckling child shall play on the hole of
the asp, and on the den of the basilisk shall the weaned child
stretch its hand. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, because the land is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, like
the waters covering the sea.
10. And in that day shall the root of Jesse which is set up be for a
signal to the nations: unto Him shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest
shall be glorious.
11. And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord shall add His
hand a second time to redeem the remnants of His people from Assyria,
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and
from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12. And He shall set up a signal to the nations, and shall gather the
outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah shall He bring
together from the four wings of the earth. 13. And the army of
Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off.
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14. And they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines towards
the sea; together they shall spoil the sons of the East; Edom and
Moab the stretching out of their hand, and the children of Ammon
their obedience. 15. And Jehovah will destroy the tongue of the sea
of Egypt, and He will wave His hand over the river, in the violence
of His wind, and smite it into seven streams, and make (His people)
tread (it) in shoes. 16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant
of His people which shall be left, from Assyria, as there was for
Israel in the day of his coming up from the land of Egypt.
XII.--1, 2. And thou shalt say in that day, O Lord, I will praise
Thee! For Thou wast angry with me, but Thine anger is turned away,
and Thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and
not be afraid; for my strength and song is Jah Jehovah, and He is
become my salvation. 3. And ye shall draw water with joy from the
springs of salvation. 4-6. And ye shall say in that day, Praise
Jehovah! Call upon His name! Make known among the nations His
exploits; remind them that His name is exalted. Praise Jehovah,
because He has done a sublime deed. Known is this in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in the midst of
thee is the Holy One of Israel.
PROPHECIES AGAINST CERTAIN FOREIGN POWERS.--CHAPS. XIII.-XXIII.
_The fall of the Babylonian empire,
and the destruction of Babylon._--CHAPS. XIII., XIV.
XIII.--1. The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw.
2. Upon a bare hill, set up a signal, raise the voice to them, wave
the hand, and let them enter the gates of the nobles. 3. I (Myself)
have given command to My consecrated. Yes, I have called (forth) My
mighty ones for (the execution of) My wrath, My proud exulters.
4. The voices of a multitude in the mountains! the likeness of much
people! the sound of a tumult of kingdoms of nations gathered!
Jehovah of hosts mustering a host of battle! 5. Coming from a distant
land, from the end of the heavens, Jehovah and the instruments of
His wrath, to lay waste the whole land. 6. Howl, for the day of
Jehovah is near! like might from the Almighty it shall come.
7. Therefore all hands shall sink and every heart of man shall melt.
8. And they shall be confounded, pangs and throes shall seize (them),
like the travailing (woman) they shall writhe, each at his neighbour,
they shall wander, faces of flames their faces. 9. Behold the day of
Jehovah cometh, terrible, and wrath and heat of anger, to make the
land a waste, and its survivors He will destroy from it.
10. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not
shed their light, the sun is darkened in his going forth, and the
moon shall not cause its light to shine. 11. And I will visit upon
the world (its) iniquity, and upon the wicked their iniquity, and I
will cause to cease the arrogance of presumptuous sinners, and the
pride of tyrants I will humble. 12. And I will make man more scarce
than pure gold, and a human being than the ore of Ophir.
13. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth shall
shake out of its place in the wrath of Jehovah of hosts and in the
day of the heat of His anger. 14. And it shall be that like a roe
chased, and like sheep, with none to gather them--each to his people,
they shall turn--and each to his country they shall flee. 15. Every
one found shall be stabbed, and every one joined shall fall by the
sword. 16. And their children shall be dashed to pieces before their
eyes, their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.
17. Behold, I (am) stirring up the Madai who will not regard silver,
and (as for) gold they will not take pleasure in it. 18. And bows
shall dash boys in pieces, and the fruit of the womb they shall not
pity; on children their eye shall not have mercy.
19. And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the ornament, the pride of
the Chaldees, shall be like God's overthrowing Sodom and Gomorrah.
20. It shall not be inhabited for ever, and it shall not be dwelt in
from generation to generation, neither shall the Arab pitch tent
there, neither shall shepherds cause their flocks to lie there.
21. But there shall lie down desert creatures, and their houses shall
be filled with howls (or yells), and there shall dwell the daughters
of the ostrich, and shaggy beasts shall gambol there. 22. And wolves
shall howl in his palaces, and jackals in the temples of pleasure.
And near to come is her time, and her days shall not be prolonged.
XIV.--1. For Jehovah will pity Jacob, and will still choose Israel
and cause them to rest on their (own) land, and the stranger shall be
joined to them, and they shall be attached to the house of Jacob.
2. And nations shall take them and bring them to their place, and the
house of Israel shall take possession of them on Jehovah's land for
male and female servants--and (thus) they shall be captors of their
captors, and rule over their oppressors. 3. And it shall be in the
day of Jehovah's causing thee to rest from thy toil, and from thy
commotion, and from the hard service which was wrought by thee,
4. that thou shalt raise this song over the king of Babylon, and say--
How hath the oppressor ceased, and the golden (city) ceased!
5. Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the
rulers, 6. smiting nations in anger by a stroke without cessation,
ruling nations in wrath by a rule without restraint. 7. At rest,
quiet, is the whole earth. They burst forth into singing. 8. And the
cypresses rejoice with respect to thee, the cedars of Lebanon
(saying), Now that thou art fallen, the feller shall not come up
against us.
9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming;
it rouses for thee the giants, all the chief ones of the earth; it
raises from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10. All of
them shall answer and say to thee, Thou also art made weak as we, to
us are likened! 11. Down to the grave is brought thy pride, the music
of thy harps: under thee is spread the worm, thy covering is vermin.
12. How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning!
felled to the ground, thou that didst lord it over the nations!
13. And (yet) thou hadst said in thy heart, The heavens will I mount;
above the stars of God will I raise my throne; and I will sit in the
mount of meeting, in the sides of the north; 14. I will mount above
the cloud-heights; I will make myself like the Most High. 15. But
thou shalt only be brought down to hell, to the depths of the pit.
16. Those seeing thee shall gaze at thee, they shall look at thee
attentively, (and say), Is this the man that made the earth shake,
that made kingdoms tremble, 17. made a world like a desert, destroyed
its cities, and its captives did not set free homewards? 18. All
kings of nations, all of them, lie in state, each in his house;
19. and thou art cast out from thy grave--like a despised branch, the
raiment of the slain, pierced with the sword, going down to the
stones of the pit, like a trampled carcass. 20. Thou shalt not be
joined with them in burial, because thy land thou hast destroyed, thy
people thou hast slain. Let the seed of evil-doers be named no more
for ever.
21. Prepare for his sons a slaughter, for the iniquity of their
fathers. Let them not arise and possess the earth, and fill the face
of the world with cities. 22. And I (Myself) will rise up against
them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name, and
remnant, and progeny, and offspring, saith Jehovah. 23. And I will
render it a possession of the porcupine, and pools of water, and will
sweep it with the broom of destruction.
24. Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have planned, it
shall come to pass, and as I have devised it shall stand; 25. to
break Assyria in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him; and
his yoke shall depart from off them, and his burden from off his back
shall depart. 26. This is the purpose that is purposed upon all the
earth, and this the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27. For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul? And His
hand the one stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
28. In the year of the death of King Ahaz, was this burden.
29. Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote
thee is broken, for out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a
basilisk, and its fruit a fiery flying serpent. 30. And the
first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy in security lie
down, and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant it shall
slay.
31. Howl, O gate! cry, O city! dissolved, O Philistia, is the whole
of thee; for out of the north a smoke comes, and there is no
straggler in his forces. 32. And what shall one answer to the
ambassadors of a nation? That Jehovah has founded Zion, and in it the
afflicted of His people shall seek refuge.
THE DOWNFALL OF MOAB.--CHAPS. XV., XVI.
1. (This is) the burden of Moab, That in a night Ar-Moab is laid
waste, is destroyed; that in a night Kir-Moab is laid waste, is
destroyed. 2. They go up to the house, and Dibon (to) the high places
for weeping. On Nebo and on Medeba Moab howls, and all heads
baldness, every beard cut off. 3. In its streets, they are girded
with sackcloth; on its roofs and in its squares all of it howls,
coming down with weeping. 4. And Heshbon cries and Eleaich--even to
Jahaz is their voice heard; therefore the warriors of Moab cry, his
soul is distress in him. 5. My heart for Moab cries out; her
fugitives (are fled) as far as Zoar--an heifer of three years old;
for he that goes up Luhith with weeping goes up by it, for in the way
of Horonaim a cry of destruction they lift up. 6. For the waters of
Nimrim (are and) shall be desolations: for withered is the grass,
gone is the herbage, verdure there is none. 7. Therefore the
remainder of what each one has made, (and their) hoard, over the
brook of the willows they carry them away. 8. For the cry goes round
the border of Moab; even to Eglaim (is) its howling (heard), and to
Beer-Elim its howling. 9. For the waters of Dimon are full of blood;
and I will bring upon Dimon additions, on the escaped of Moab a lion;
and on the remnant of it.
XVI.--1. Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the
wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. 2. And it shall
come to pass like a bird wandering, (like) a nest cast out, shall be
the daughters of Moab, the fords of Arnon. 3. [Alexander omits the
_translation_ of this verse, but comments on it. . . .] 4. Let my
outcasts, Moab, sojourn with thee; be thou a covert to them from the
face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, oppression has
ceased, consumed are the tramplers out of the land. 5. And a throne
shall be established in mercy; and one shall sit upon it in truth in
the tent of David, judging and seeking justice, and prompt in equity.
6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, the very proud, his
haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, the falsehood of his
pretensions. 7. Therefore Moab shall howl for Moab; all of it shall
howl; for the grapes of Kir-hareseth shall ye sigh, altogether
smitten. 8. For the fields of Heshbon are withered--the vine of
Sibmah--the lords of the nations broke down its choice plants--unto
Jazer they reached--they strayed into the desert--its branches--they
were stretched out--they reached to the sea. 9. Therefore I will weep
with the weeping of Jazer (for) the vine of Sibmah. I will wet thee
(with) my tears, Heshbon and (thee) Elealeh! for upon thy fruit and
thy harvest a cry has fallen. 10. And taken away is joy and gladness
from the fruitful field: and in the vineyards shall no (more) be
sung, no (more) be shouted; wine in the presses shall the treader not
tread; the cry have I stilled. 11. Therefore my bowels for Moab like
the harp shall sound, and my inwards for Kirhares. 12. And it shall
come to pass, when Moab has appeared (before his gods), when he has
wearied himself (with vain oblations) on the high place, then he
shall enter into his sanctuary to pray, and shall not be able (to
obtain an answer).
13. This is the word which Jehovah spake concerning Moab of old.
14. And now Jehovah speaks, saying, In three years, like the years of
an hireling, the glory of Moab, shall be disgraced, with all the
great throng, and the remnant shall be small, and few, not much.
THE DOOM OF THE ENEMIES OF JUDAH.--CHAPS. XVII., XVIII.
XVII.--1. The burden of Damascus.
Behold, Damascus is removed from (being) a city, and is a heap, a
ruin. 2. Forsaken are the cities of Aroer; for flocks shall they be,
and they shall lie down, and there shall be no one making (them)
afraid. 3. Then shall cease defence for Ephraim and royalty from
Damascus and the rest of Syria. Like the glory of the children of
Israel shall they be, with Jehovah of hosts.
4. And it shall come to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob shall be
brought low, and the fatness of his flesh shall be made lean. 5. And
it shall be as one gathers the harvest, the standing corn, and his
arm reaps the ears. And it shall be like one collecting ears in the
valley of Rephaim. 6. And gleanings shall be left therein like the
shaking of an olive-tree, two (or) three berries in the top of a high
bough, four (or) five in the branches of the fruit-tree, saith
Jehovah, God of Israel.
7. In that day man shall turn to his Maker, and his eyes to the Holy
One of Israel shall look. 8. And he shall not turn to the altars, the
work of his own hands, and that which his own fingers have made shall
he not regard, and the groves of Ashtoreth and the pillars of the sun.
9. In that day shall his fortified cities by like what is left in the
thickets and the lofty branch, which they leave (as they retire) from
before the children of Israel, and (the land) shall be a waste.
10. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and the
rock of thy strength hast not remembered, therefore thou wilt plant
plants of pleasantness, and with a strange slip set it. 11. In the
day of thy planting thou wilt hedge it in, and in the morning thou
wilt make thy seed to blossom, (but) away flies the crop in a day of
grief and desperate sorrow.
12. Hark! the noise of many nations! Like the noise of the sea they
make a noise. And the rush of peoples! Like the rush of many waters
they are rushing. 13. Nations, like the rush of many waters, rush;
and he rebukes it, and it flees from afar, and is chased like the
chaff of hills before a wind, and like a rolling thing before a
whirlwind. 14. At evening-tide, and behold terror; before morning he
is not. This be the portion of our plunderers, and the lot of our
spoilers.
XVIII.--1. Ho! land of rustling wings, which art beyond the rivers of
Cush, 2. sending by sea ambassadors, and in vessels of papyrus on the
face of the waters. Go, ye light messengers, to a nation drawn and
shorn, to a people terrible since it existed and onwards, a nation of
double strength and tramplings, whose land the streams divide. 3. All
ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, shall see as
it were the raising of a standard on the mountains, and shall hear as
it were the blowing of a trumpet.
4. For thus said Jehovah to me, I will rest and look on in My
dwelling-place, like a serene heat upon herbs, like a cloud of dew in
the heat of harvest. 5. For before the harvest or the bloom is
finished, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts down the
branches with the pruning-knives, and the tendrils he removes, he
cuts away. 6. They shall be left together to the wild birds of the
mountains, and to the wild beasts of the earth, and the wild birds
shall summer thereon, and every wild beast of the earth thereon shall
winter.
7. At that time shall be brought a gift to Jehovah of hosts, a people
drawn out and shorn, and from a people terrible since it hath been
and onward, a nation of double power and trampling, whose land
streams divide, to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, mount
Zion.
THE BURDEN OF EGYPT.--CHAP. XIX.
1. Behold! Jehovah riding on a light cloud, and He comes to Egypt,
and the idols of Egypt move at His presence, and the heart of Egypt
melts within him. 2. And I will excite Egypt against Egypt, and they
shall fight, a man with his brother, and a man with his fellow, city
with city, kingdom with kingdom. 3. And the spirit of Egypt shall be
emptied out in the midst thereof, and the counsel thereof I will
swallow up, and they will seek to the idols, and to the mutterers,
and to the familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4. And I will shut
up Egypt in the hands of a hard master, and a strong king shall rule
over them, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts.
5. And the waters shall be dried up from the sea, and the river shall
fail and be dried up. 6. And the rivers shall stink, the streams of
Egypt are emptied and dried up, reed and rush sicken. 7. And meadows
by the river, by the mouth of the river, and all the sown ground of
the river, shall wither being driven away, and it is not. 8. And the
fisherman shall mourn, and they shall lament, all the throwers of a
hook into the river, and the spreaders of a net upon the surface of
the water, languish. 9. And ashamed are the workers of combed flax,
and the weavers of white (stuffs). 10. And her pillars are broken
down, all labourers for hire are grieved at heart.
11. Entirely foolish are the princes of Zoan, the sages of the
counsellors of Pharaoh, (their) counsel is become brutish. How can ye
say to Pharaoh, I am the son of wise (fathers), I am the son of kings
of old? 12. Where (are) they? Where (are) thy wise men? Pray let them
tell thee, and (if that is too much) let them (at least) know, what
Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13. Infatuated are
the chiefs of Zoan, deceived are the chiefs of Noph, and they have
misled Egypt, the corner-stone of her tribes. 14. Jehovah hath
mingled in the midst of her a spirit of confusion, and they have
misled Egypt in all its work, like the misleading of a drunkard in
his vomit. 15. And there shall not be in Egypt a work which head and
tail, branch and rush, may do.
16. In that day shall Egypt be like women, and shall fear and tremble
from before the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which He is
shaking over it. 17. And the land of Judah shall be for a terror unto
Egypt, every person to whom one mentions it shall fear before the
purpose of Jehovah of hosts, which He is purposing against it.
18. In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt
speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing to Jehovah of hosts.
The city of destruction shall one be called. 19. In that day there
shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land, and a pillar
near the border to Jehovah. 20. And it shall be for a sign and a
testimony to Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt, that they shall
cry to Jehovah from the presence of oppressors, and He will send them
a deliverer and a mighty one, and save them. 21. And Jehovah shall be
known to Egypt, and Egypt shall know Jehovah in that day, and shall
serve with sacrifice and offering, and shall vow a vow to Jehovah,
and perform it.
22. And Jehovah shall smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they
shall return unto Jehovah, and He shall be entreated of them, and
shall heal them. 23. In that day there shall be a highway from Egypt
to Assyria, and Assyria shall come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria,
and Egypt shall serve with Assyria. 24. In that day shall Israel be a
third with respect to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of
the earth, 25. which Jehovah has blessed, saying, Blessed be My
people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and My heritage
Israel.
THE DEFEAT AND CAPTIVITY OF THE EGYPTIANS AND ETHIOPIANS.--CHAP. XX.
1. In the year of Tartan's coming to Ashdod, in Sargon king of
Assyria's sending him, and he fought with Ashdod and took it; 2. at
that time spake Jehovah by the hand of Isaiah the son of Amoz,
saying, Go, and thou shalt loose the sackcloth from upon thy loins,
and thy shoe thou shalt pull off from thy foot. And he did so, going
naked and barefoot.
3. And Jehovah said, As my servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot
three years a sign and symbol concerning Egypt and concerning
Ethiopia, 4. so shall the king of Assyria lead the captivity of Egypt
and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, with
their buttocks uncovered, the disgrace of Egypt.
5. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their
expectation, and of Egypt their boast. 6. And the inhabitant of this
coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither
we fled for help, to be delivered from the presence of the king of
Assyria! and how shall we (ourselves) escape?
THE BURDEN OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA.--CHAP. XXI. 1-10.
XXI.--1. Like whirlwinds in the south, as to rushing from the
wilderness it comes, from a terrible land. 2. A hard vision it is
revealed to me; the deceiver deceiving and the spoiler spoiling. Go,
up, O Elam! besiege, O Media! All sighing have I made to cease.
3. Therefore my loins are filled with pain; pangs have seized me like
the pangs of a travailing woman; I writhe from hearing; I am shocked
from seeing. 4. My heart wonders; horror appals me; the twilight of
my pleasure He has put for fear for me.
5. Set the table, spread the cloth, eat, drink; arise, ye chiefs,
anoint the shield! 6. For thus saith the Lord to me, Go, set the
watchman: that which he sees let him tell. 7. And should he see
cavalry--pairs of horsemen--ass-riders--camel-riders--then shall he
hearken with a harkening a great harkening. 8. And he cries--a
lion--on the watch-tower, Lord, I am standing always by day, and on
my ward I am stationed all the night. 9. And behold, this comes,
mounted men, pairs of horsemen. And he speaks again, and says,
Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods He has
broken to the earth.
10. O my threshing, and the son of my threshing-floor! What I have
heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I have told you.
THE BURDEN OF DUMAH.--CHAP. XXI. 11-18.
11. To me (one is) calling from Seir, Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night? 12. The watchman says, Morning comes and
also night; if ye will inquire, inquire; return, come.
THE BURDEN OF ARABIA.--CHAP. XXI. 13-17.
13. In the forest of Arabia shall ye lodge, oh ye caravans of
Dedanim. 14. To meet the thirsty they bring water; with his bread
they anticipate the fugitive. 15. Because from the presence of swords
they fled, from the presence of a drawn sword and from the presence
of a bended bow, and from the presence of a weight of war. 16. For
thus saith the Lord to me, In yet a year, like the years of a
hireling shall fall all the glory of Kedar. 17. And the remnant of
the number of bows, the mighty men of the children of Kedar shall be
few, for Jehovah God of Israel hath spoken it.
THE BURDEN OF THE VALLEY OF VISION.--CHAP. XXII. 1-14.
1. What (is) to thee, that thou art wholly gone up on the house-tops?
2. Full of stirs, a noisy town, a joyous city, thy slain are not
slain with the sword nor dead in battle. 3. All thy shields fled
together--from the bow--they were found--all that were found of thee
were bound together--from afar they fled.
4. Therefore I said, Look away from me; let me weep bitterly; try not
to comfort me for the desolation of the daughter of my people. 5. For
there is a day of confusion and trampling and perplexity to the Lord
Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision--breaking the wall and
crying to the mountain. 6. And Elam bare a quiver, with chariots,
infantry, horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7. And it came to
pass (that) the choice of thy valleys were full of chariots, and the
horsemen drew up towards the gate. 8. And the covering of Judah was
removed, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house
of the forest. 9. And the breaches of the city of David ye saw, that
they were many, and ye gathered the waters of the lower pool. 10. And
the house of Jerusalem ye numbered, and ye pulled down the house to
repair the wall. 11. And a reservoir ye made between the two walls
for the waters of the old pool, and ye did not look to the Maker of
it, and the Former of it ye did not see. 12. And the Lord Jehovah of
hosts called in that day to weeping, and to mourning, and to
baldness, and to girding sackcloth; 13. and behold mirth and jollity,
slaying of oxen and killing of sheep, eating of flesh and drinking of
wine; eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. 14. And Jehovah of hosts
made a revelation to me, saying, This iniquity shall certainly not be
forgiven you until you die.
THE MESSAGE TO SHEBNA.--CHAP. XXII. 15-25.
15. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts, Go, go into this treasurer,
to Shebna who (is) over the house. 16. What hast thou here, and whom
hast thou here, that thou hast hewn thee here a sepulchre? Hewing on
high his sepulchre, graving in the rook a habitation for himself!
17. Behold, Jehovah is casting thee a cast, O man! and covering thee
a covering. 18. Rolling He will roll thee in a roll, like a ball
(thrown) into a spacious ground--there thou shalt die--and there the
chariots of thy glory--shame of thy master's house. 19. And I will
thrust thee from thy post, and from thy station thou shalt be pulled
down.
20. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will call for thy
servant, for Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah; 21. and I will clothe him
with thy dress, and with thy girdle will I strengthen him, and thy
power will I give into his hand, and he shall be for a father to the
dweller in Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22. And I will put
the key of the house of David on his shoulder; he shall open, and
there shall be no one shutting; he shall shut, and there shall be no
one opening. 23. And I will fasten him a nail in a sure place, and he
shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house. 24. And they
shall hang upon him all the honour of his father's house--the
offspring and the issue--all vessels of small quantity--from vessels
of cups even to all vessels of flagons. 25. In that day, saith
Jehovah of hosts, shall the nail fastened in a sure place be removed,
and be cut down, and fall, and the burden which was upon it shall be
cut off, for Jehovah speaks.
THE BURDEN OF TYRE.--CHAP. XXIII.
1. Howl, ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, no house, no
entrance; from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. 2. Be
silent, O inhabitants of the isle, the merchants of Sidon crossing
the sea filled thee. 3. And in great waters (was) the seed of the
Nile; the harvest of the river (was) her revenue; and she was a mart
of nations. 5. When the report comes to Egypt, they are pained at the
report of Tyre. 6. Pass over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the
isle. 7. Is this your joyous city? From the days of old is her
antiquity; her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8. Who hath purposed this against Tyre the crowning (city), whose
merchants (are) princes, her traffickers the honoured of the earth?
9. Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to profane the elevation of all
beauty, to degrade all the honoured of the earth. 10. Pass through
thy land like the river; daughter of Tarshish, there is no girdle
(any) longer. 11. His hand He stretched out over the sea; He made
kingdoms tremble; Jehovah commanded respecting Canaan to destroy her
strongholds. 12. And He said, Thou shalt not continue to triumph,
violated virgin daughter of Zidon; to Chittim arise, pass over; there
also there shall be no rest to thee. 13. Behold the land of the
Chaldees; this people was not; Assyria founded it for dwellers in the
wilderness; they have set up his towers; they have roused up her
palaces; he has rendered it a ruin. 14. Howl, ships of Tarshish, for
destroyed is your stronghold.
15. And it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre shall be
forgotten seventy years, as the days of one king; from the end of
seventy years shall be to Tyre like the harlot's song.
16. Take a harp, go about the city, O forgotten harlot! play well,
sing much, that thou mayest be remembered. 17. And it shall be at the
end of seventy years, Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return
with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground.
18. And her gain and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah; it shall
not be stored and it shall not be hoarded; for her gain shall be for
those who sit before Jehovah, to eat to satiety, and for substantial
clothing.
PROPHECIES HAVING REFERENCE CHIEFLY TO JUDAH.--CHAPS. XXIV.-XXXV.
COMING JUDGMENTS.--CHAPS. XXIV.-XXVII.
I.--_Some of the Consequences of
National Iniquity._--CHAP. XXIV. 1-12.
XXIV.--1. Behold Jehovah (is) pouring out the land and emptying it,
and He will turn down its face, and He will scatter its inhabitants.
2. And it shall be, as the people so the priest, as the servant so
his master, as the maid so her mistress, as the buyer so the seller,
as the lender so the borrower, as the creditor so the debtor. 3. The
land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled, for Jehovah speaks
this word. 4. The earth mourneth, fadeth; the world languisheth,
fadeth; the highest of the people of the earth languish. 5. And the
land has been profaned under its inhabitants, because they have
transgressed the laws, violated the statute, broken the everlasting
covenant. 6. Therefore a curse devoured the earth, and those dwelling
in it were reckoned guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth
burned, and there are few men left. 7. The new wine mourneth; the
vine languisheth; all the merry-hearted do sigh. 8. Still is the
mirth of drums; ceased is the noise of revellers; still is the mirth
of the harp. 9. With the song they shall not drink wine; bitter shall
strong drink be to them that drink it. 10. Broken down is the city of
confusion, shut up is every house so that it cannot be entered. 11. A
cry for wine in the streets--darkened is all joy--departed is the
gladness of the earth. 12. What is left in the city is desolation,
and into ruins is the gate beaten down.
II.--_The Songs of the Scattered Remnant._--VERS. 13-16.
13. For so shall it be in the midst of the earth among the nations,
like the beating of an olive-tree, like gleanings when the gathering
is done. 14. They shall raise their voice, they shall sing, for the
majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea. 15. Therefore in the
fires glorify Jehovah, in the islands of the sea the name of Jehovah
God of Israel. 16. From the wing of the earth we have heard songs,
praise to the righteous; and I said, Woe to me, woe to me, alas for
me! The deceivers deceive, with deceit the deceivers deceive.
III.--_Jehovah's Exaltation in Jerusalem._--VERS. 17-23.
17. Fear and pit and snare upon thee, O inhabitant of the land!
18. And it shall be that the (one) flying from the voice of the fear
shall fall into the pit, and the (one) coming up from the midst of
the pit shall be taken in the snare; for windows from on high are
opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. 19. Behold,
broken is the earth; shattered, shattered is the earth; shaken,
shaken is the earth. 20. The earth reels, reels like a drunken man,
and is shaken like a hammock. And heavy upon her is her guilt, and
she shall fall and rise no more. 21. And it shall be in that day that
Jehovah shall visit upon the host of the high place, and upon the
kings of the earth upon the earth. 22. And they shall be gathered
with a gathering as prisoners in a pit, and shall be shut up in a
dungeon, and after many days they shall be visited. 23. And the moon
shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, for Jehovah of hosts is
King in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem and before His elders there is
glory.
IV.--_The destruction of Babylon and the
Deliverance of the Jews._--CHAP. XXV. 1-5.
XXV.--1. Jehovah my God (art) Thou; I will exalt Thee; I will praise
Thy name; for Thou hast done a wonder, counsels from afar off, truth,
certainty. 2. For Thou hast turned (it) from a city to a heap, a
fortified town to a ruin, a palace of strangers from (being) a city;
for ever it shall not be built. 3. Therefore a powerful people shall
honour Thee, a city of terrible nations shall fear Thee. 4. For Thou
hast been a stronghold to the weak, a stronghold to the poor, in his
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the
blast of the terrible was like a storm against a wall. 5. As heat in
a drought, the noise of strangers wilt Thou bring down; (as) hast by
the shadow of a cloud, (so) shall the song of the tyrants be brought
low.
V.--_A promise of Favour to the Gentiles and the
People of God when united on Mount Zion._--VERS. 6-9.
6. And Jehovah of hosts will make, for all nations, in this mountain,
a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things,
full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7. And He will
destroy in this mountain the face of the veil, the veil upon all
people, and the web, the (one) woven over all the nations. 8. He has
swallowed up death for ever, and the Lord Jehovah wipes away tears
from off all faces, and the reproach of His people he will take away
from off all the earth, for Jehovah hath spoken (it). 9. And they
shall say in that day, Lo, this is our God! we have waited for Him,
and He will save us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us
rejoice and be glad in His salvation.
VI.--_The Ruin of Moab._--VERS. 10-12.
10. For the hand of Jehovah shall rest upon this mountain, and Moab
shall be trodden down in his place as straw is trodden in the water
of the dunghill. 11. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst
of it, as the swimmer spreadeth forth his hands to swim; and He shall
humble his pride, together with the devices of his hands. 12. And the
fortress of the high fort of thy walls He hath cast down, humbled,
brought to the ground, to the very dust.
VII.--_A Song of Praise and
Deliverance._--CHAP. XXVI. 1-19.
XXVI.--1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city; salvation will He place (as) walls and
breastwork. 2. Open ye the gates, and let the righteous nation enter,
keeping truth. 3. The mind stayed (on Thee) Thou wilt preserve in
peace, (in) peace, because in Thee (it is) confident. 4. Trust ye in
Jehovah for ever, for in Jah Jehovah is a rock of ages.
5. For He hath brought down the inhabitants of the high place, the
exalted city; He will lay it low. He will lay it low, to the very
ground; He will bring it to the very dust. 6. The foot shall trample
on it, the feet of the afflicted, the steps of the weak. 7. The way
for the righteous is straight; Thou most upright wilt level the path
of the righteous. 8. Also in the way of Thy judgments, O Jehovah, we
have waited for Thee; to Thy name and Thy remembrance (was our)
soul's desire. 9. (With) my soul have I desired Thee in the night;
yes (with) my spirit within me will I seek Thee early; for when Thy
judgments (come) to the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn
righteousness. 10. Let the wicked be favoured, he does not learn
righteousness; in the land of the right, he will do wrong, and will
not see the exaltation of Jehovah. 11. Jehovah, Thy hand is high,
they will not see; (yes) they will see (and be ashamed) Thy zeal for
Thy people; yea, the fire of Thine enemies shall devour them.
12. Jehovah, Thou will give us peace, for even all our works Thou
hast wrought for us. 13. Jehovah, our God, (other) lords beside Thee
have ruled us; (but henceforth) Thee, Thy name, only will we
celebrate. 14. Dead, they shall not live: ghosts, they shall not
rise: therefore Thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all
memory to perish with respect to them. 15. Thou hast added to the
nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast added to the nation; Thou hast glorified
Thyself; Thou hast put far off all the ends of the land. 16. Jehovah,
in distress they visited Thee; they uttered a whisper: Thy
chastisement was on them.
17. As when a pregnant (woman) draws near to the birth, she writhes,
she cries out in her pangs, so have we been from Thy presence, O
Jehovah! 18. We were in travail, we were in pain, as it were we
brought forth wind. Deliverance we could not make the land, nor would
the inhabitants of the world fall. 19. Thy dead shall live, my
corpses shall arise: (awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust!) for
the dew of herbs is Thy dew, and (on) the earth (on) the dead, Thou
wilt cause it to fall.
VIII.--_The Time is not Yet._--VERS. 20, 21.
20. Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, and shut thy doors after
thee, hide thyself for a little moment, till the wrath be past.
21. For behold, Jehovah (is) coming out of His place, to visit the
iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him, and the earth shall
disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
IX.--_Israel's Chastisements and Jehovah's Judgments on
His enemies, with the glorious results thereof._--CHAP. XXVII.
1. In that day shall Jehovah visit with His sword, the hard, the
great, the strong (sword), upon leviathan the flying serpent, and
upon leviathan the coiled serpent, and shall slay the dragon which
(is) in the sea. 2. In that day, as a vineyard of wine, afflict her.
3. I Jehovah (am) keeping her; every moment I will water her; lest
any hurt her, night and day will I keep her. 4. It is not because I
am cruel or revengeful that I thus afflict My people, but because she
is a vineyard overrun with thorns or briers, on account of which I
must pass through her and burn them out of her [Or, I am (no longer)
angry with My people; O that their enemies, as thorns and briers,
would array themselves against Me, that I might rush upon them and
consume them.] 5. Or let him lay hold of My strength and make peace
with Me; peace let him make with Me.
6. (In) coming (days) shall Jacob take root, Israel shall bud and
blossom, and they shall fill the face of the earth with fruit.
7. Like the smiting of the smiter did He smite him, or like the
slaying of his slain was he slain?
8. In measure, by sending her away, Thou dost contend with her. He
removes (her) by His hard wind in the day of the east wind.
9. Therefore by this (affliction) shall Jacob's iniquity be purged
away, and this is all (its) fruit to take away his sin, (as will
appear) in his placing all the stones of the (idolatrous) altar like
limestones dashed in pieces (so that) groves and solar images shall
arise no more.
10. For a fenced city shall be desolate, a dwelling-place broken up
and forsaken like the wilderness. There shall the calf feed, and
there shall it lie and consume her branches. 11. When its boughs are
withered they shall be broken off, women coming and burning them;
because it is not a people of understanding, therefore its Creator
shall not pity it, and its Maker shall not have mercy on it.
12. And it shall be in that day, that Jehovah shall gather in His
fruit from the channel of the river to the stream of Egypt, and ye
shall be gathered one to another, O ye children of Israel! 13. And it
shall come to pass in that day, (that) a great trumpet shall be
blown, and they shall come that were wandering in the land of
Assyria, and those exiled in the land of Egypt, and shall bow down to
Jehovah, in the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.
THE DOWNFALL OF SAMARIA.--CHAP. XXVIII.
1. Woe to the high crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading
flower, his ornament of beauty, which (is) on the head of the fat
valley of the wine-smitten. 2. Behold the Lord has a strong and
mighty one, like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm
of mighty rushing waters. He has brought it to the ground with the
hand. 3. With the feet shall be trodden the lofty crown of the
drunkards of Ephraim. 4. And the fading flower of his glorious
beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be like a
first-ripe fig before summer, which he that sees it sees, and while
it is yet in his hand swallows it.
5. In that day shall Jehovah of hosts become a crown of beauty and a
diadem of glory to the remnant of His people; 6. and for a spirit of
judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them
that turn the battle to the gate.
7. And (yet) these through wine have erred, and through strong drink
have gone astray. Priest and prophet erred through strong drink, have
been swallowed up of wine, have been led astray by strong drink, have
erred in vision, have wavered in judgment. 8. For all tables are full
of vomit, of filth, without a (clean) place. 9. Whom will He teach
knowledge? And whom will He make to understand doctrine? Those weaned
from the milk and removed from the breasts. 10. For (it is) rule upon
rule, rule upon rule, line upon line, line upon line, a little here,
a little there. 11. For with stammering lips and with another tongue
will He speak unto this people. 12. Who said to them, This is rest,
give rest to the weary, and this is quiet, but they would not hear.
13. And the word of Jehovah was to them rule upon rule, rule upon
rule; line upon line, line upon line; a little here, a little there;
that they might go, and fall backwards, and be broken, and be snared,
and be taken.
14. Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scornful men, the rulers
of this people which is in Jerusalem. 15. Because ye have said, We
have made a covenant with death, and with hell have formed a league;
the overflowing scourge, when it passes through, shall not come upon
us, for we have made falsehood our refuge, and in fraud we have hid
ourselves; 16. therefore, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I lay
in Zion a stone, a stone of proof, a corner-stone of value, of a firm
foundation; the builder will not be in haste. 17. And I will place
judgment for a line and justice for a plummet, and hail shall sweep
away the refuge of falsehood, and the hiding-place waters shall
overflow. 18. And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and
your league with hell shall not stand, and the overflowing
scourge--for it shall pass through, and ye shall be for it to trample
on. 19. And as soon as it passes through, it shall carry you away;
for every morning it shall pass through, in the day and in the night,
and only vexation shall be the understanding of the thing heard.
20. For the bed is too short to stretch one's self, and the covering
too narrow to wrap one's self. 21. For like mount Perazim shall
Jehovah rise up, like the valley in Gibeon, shall He rage, to do His
work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His strange task.
22. And now scoff not, lest your bands be strong; for even a decreed
consumption I have heard from the Lord Jehovah of hosts, upon the
whole earth.
23. Give ear and hear my voice; hearken and hear my speech. 24. Does
the husbandman plough every day to sow? Does he open and level his
ground? 25. Does he not, when he has levelled the surface of it, cast
abroad dill, and scatter cummin, and set wheat in rows, and barley
(in the place) marked out, and spelt in his border? 26. So teaches
him aright, his God instructs him. 27. For not with sledge must dill
be threshed, or the cart wheel turned upon cummin; for with the stick
must dill be beaten, and cummin with the rod. 28. Bread-corn must be
crushed, for he will not be always threshing it; so he drives the
wheel of his cart (upon it), but with his horses he does not crush
it. 29. Even this from Jehovah of hosts comes forth; He is wonderful
in counsel; great in wisdom.
PROPHECY CONCERNING JERUSALEM.--CHAP. XXIX.
1. Alas for Ariel, Ariel, the city David encamped! Add year to year;
let the feasts revolve; 2. And I will distress Ariel, and there shall
be sadness and sorrow, and it shall be to Me as Ariel. 3. And I will
camp against thee round about, and push against thee a post, and
raise against thee ramparts. 4. And thou shalt be brought down, out
of the ground shalt thou speak, and thy speech shall be low out of
the dust, and thy voice shall be like (the voice of) a spirit, out of
the ground, and out of the dust shall thy speech mutter.
5. And shall be like fine dust the multitude of thy strangers, and
like passing chaff be in a moment suddenly. 6. From the presence of
Jehovah shall it be raised with thunder, and earthquake, and great
noise, tempest and storm, and flame of devouring fire. 7. Then shall
be as a dream, a vision of the night, the multitude of all the
nations fighting against Ariel, even all that fight against her and
her munition, and distress her. 8. And it shall be as when the hungry
dreams, and lo he eats, and he awakes, and his soul is empty; and as
when the thirsty dreams, and lo he drinks, and he awakes, and lo he
is faint and his soul craving: so shall be the multitude of all the
nations that fight against mount Zion.
9. Waver and wonder! be merry and blind! They are drunk, but not with
wine; they reel, but not with strong drink. 10. For Jehovah hath
poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and hath shut your eyes,
the prophets, even your heads the seers, hath He covered. 11. And the
vision of the whole is to you like the words of the sealed writing,
which they give to one knowing writing, saying, Pray read this, and
he says, I cannot, for it is sealed. 12. And the writing is given to
one who knows not writing, saying, Pray read this, and he says, I
know not writing. 13. And the Lord said, Because this people draws
near with its mouth, and with its lips they honour Me, and its heart
it puts far from Me, and their fearing Me is a precept of men, (a
thing) taught, 14. therefore, behold, I will continue to treat this
people strangely, very strangely, and with strangeness, and the
wisdom of its wise ones shall be lost, and the prudence of its
prudent ones shall hide itself. 15. Alas for those going deep from
Jehovah to hide counsel, and their works are in the dark, and they
say, Who sees us, and who knows us? 16. Your perversion! Is the
potter to be reckoned as the clay, that the thing made should say of
its maker, He made me not, and the thing formed say of its former, He
does not understand!
17. Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned to
a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be reckoned to the forest?
18. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and
out of obscurity and darkness shall the eyes of the blind see.
19. And the humble shall rejoice more and more in Jehovah, and the
poor among men in the Holy One of Israel shall rejoice. 20. For the
violent is at an end, and the scoffer ceaseth, and all the watchers
for injustice are cut off: 21. making a man a sinner for a word, and
for him disputing in the gate they laid a snare, and turned aside the
righteous through deceit. 22. Therefore thus saith Jehovah to the
house of Jacob, He who redeemed Abraham, Not now shall Jacob be
ashamed, and not now shall his face turn pale. 23. For when he sees
his children, the work of My hands, in the midst of him, they shall
sanctify My name, yes, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and
the God of Israel they shall fear. 24. Then shall the erring in
spirit know wisdom, and the rebels shall receive instruction.
THE SIN AND THE FOLLY OF ANCIENT ISRAEL IN SEEKING
FOREIGN AID AGAINST THEIR ENEMIES.--CHAPS. XXX., XXXI.
XXX.--1. Woe to the disobedient children, saith Jehovah, (so
disobedient as) to form (or execute) a plan and not from Me, and to
weave a web, but not (of) My Spirit, for the sake of adding sin to
sin; 2. those walking to go down to Egypt, and My mouth they have not
consulted, to take refuge in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in
the shadow of Egypt. 3. And the strength of Egypt shall be to you for
shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt for confusion. 4. For his
chiefs are in Zoan, and his ambassadors arrive at Hanes. 5. All are
ashamed of a people who cannot profit them, a people not for help and
not for profit, but for shame, and also for disgrace. 6. The burden
of the beasts of the south, in a land of suffering and distress,
whence (are) the adder and the fiery flying serpent; they are
carrying on the shoulders of young asses their wealth, and on the
hump of camels their treasures, to a people who cannot profit; 7. and
the Egyptians are in vain and to no purpose shall they help.
Therefore I cry concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
8. And now go, write it with them on a table, and inscribe it in a
book, and let it be for a future day, for ever, to eternity. 9. For a
rebellious people is it, lying children, children who are not willing
to learn the law of Jehovah; 10. who say to the seers, Ye shall not
see, and to the viewers, Ye shall not view for us right things: speak
unto us smooth things, view deceits, 11. depart from the way, sever
from the path, cause to cease from before us the Holy One of Israel.
12. Therefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because of your
rejecting this word, and (because) ye have trusted in oppression and
perverseness and have relied thereon, 13. therefore shall their
iniquity be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a
high wall, whose breaking may come suddenly, at (any) instant.
14. And it is broken like the breaking of a potter's vessel, broken
unsparingly, so that there is not found among its fragments a sherd
to take up fire from a hearth, and to dip up water from a pool.
15. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In
returning and rest shall ye be saved, in remaining quiet and in
confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not. 16. And ye said,
No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee; and upon
swift will we ride; therefore shall your pursuers be swift. 17. One
thousand shall flee from before the menace of one, from before the
rebuke of five shall ye flee, until ye are left like a pole on the
top of the mountain, and like the signal on the hill. 18. And
therefore will Jehovah wait to have mercy upon you, and therefore
will He rise up to pity you, for a God of judgment is Jehovah;
blessed are all that wait for Him. 19. For the people in Zion shall
dwell in Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more; He will be very gracious
unto thee at the voice of thy cry; as He hears it He will answer
thee. 20. And the Lord will give you bread of affliction and water of
oppression, and no more shall thy teachers hide themselves, and thine
eyes shall see thy teachers. 21. And thine ears shall hear a voice
from behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye
turn to the right and when ye turn to the left. 22. And ye shall
defile the covering of thy idols of silver and the case of thy image
of gold; thou shalt scatter them as an abominable thing. Away! shalt
thou say to it. 23. And He shall give the rain of thy seed, with
which thou shalt sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the
ground, and it shall be fat and rich; thy cattle shall feed that day
in an enlarged pasture. 24. And the oxen and the asses working the
ground shall eat salted provender which has been winnowed with the
sieve and fan. 25. And there shall be, on every high mountain, and on
every elevated hill, channels, streams of waters, in the day of great
slaughter, when towers fall. 26. And the light of the moon shall be
as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,
as the light of seven days, in the day of Jehovah's binding up the
breach of His people, and the stroke of His wound He will heal.
27. Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from afar, burning His anger,
and heavy the ascent (of smoke); His lips are full of wrath, and His
tongue as a devouring fire. 28. And His breath, like an overflowing
stream, shall divide as far as the neck, to sift the nations in the
sieve of falsehood, and a misleading bridle on the jaws of the
people. 29. Your song shall be like the night of the consecration of
a feast, and your joy shall be like (that of) one marching with the
pipe to go into the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.
30. And Jehovah shall cause to be heard the majesty of His voice, and
the descent of His arm shall He cause to be seen, with indignation of
anger and a flame of devouring fire, scattering, and rain, and
hailstones. 31. For at the voice of Jehovah shall Assyria be broken,
with the rod shall He smite. 32. And every passage of the rod of
doom, which Jehovah shall lay upon him, shall be with tabrets and
harps, and with fights of shaking it is fought therein. 33. Not
arranged since yesterday is Tophet: even for the king it is prepared;
He has deepened, He has widened (it); its pile fire and wood in
plenty; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.
XXXI.--1. Woe to those going down to Egypt for help, and on horses
they rely and trust in cavalry, because it is numerous, and on
horsemen, because they are very strong, and they look not to the Holy
One of Israel, and Jehovah they seek not. 2. And (yet) He too is
wise, and brings evil, and His words He removes not, and He rises up
against the house of evil-doers, and against the help of the workers
of iniquity. 3. And Egypt (is) man, and their horses flesh and not
spirit: and Jehovah shall stretch out His hand, and the helper shall
stumble, and the helped fall, and together all of them shall cease.
4. For thus saith Jehovah unto me, As a lion growls, and a young lion
over his prey, against whom a multitude of shepherds is called forth,
at their voice he is not frightened, and at their noise he is not
humbled, so will Jehovah of hosts come down, to fight upon mount Zion
and upon her hill. 5. As birds flying (over or around their nests),
so will Jehovah cover over Jerusalem, cover and rescue, pass over and
save.
6. Return unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply
revolted. 7. For in that day they shall reject, a man his idols of
silver and his idols of gold, which your sinful hands have made for
you [or, which your own hands have made for you as sin]. 8. And
Assyria shall fall by no man's sword, and no mortal's work shall
devour him, and he shall flee from before the sword, and his young
men shall become tributary. 9. And his rock from fear shall pass
away, and his chiefs shall be afraid of a standard, saith Jehovah, to
whom there is a fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem.
CONTINUATION OF PROMISES.--CHAP. XXXII. 1-8.
1. Behold, for righteousness shall reign a king, and rulers for
justice shall rule. 2. And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the
wind, and a covert from the rain (or storm), as channels of water in
a dry place (or in drought), as the shadow of a heavy rock in a weary
land.
3. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of
them that hear shall hearken. 4. And the heart (or, mind) of the rash
(heedless or reckless) shall understand to know (or, understand
knowledge), and the tongue of stammerers shall hasten to speak clear
things.
5. The fool will no longer be called noble, and the churl will no
longer be spoken of (or, to) as liberal. 6. The fool (is one who)
will speak folly, and his heart will do iniquity, to do wickedness
and to speak error unto (or, against) Jehovah, to starve (or, leave
empty) the soul of the hungry, and the drink of the thirsty he will
suffer to fail. 7. And as for the churl, his arms (or, instruments)
are evil. He deviseth plots to destroy the oppressed (or afflicted)
with words of falsehood, even in the poor (man's) speaking right.
8. The noble (or, generous) man devises noble (or, generous) things,
and in noble (or, generous) things he perseveres.
THREATENINGS ADDRESSED TO THE WOMEN OF JUDAH.--CHAP. XXXII. 9-20.
9. Careless women, arise, hear my voice; confiding daughters, give
ear unto my speech.
10. In a year and more ye shall tremble, ye confiding ones, for the
vintage fails, the gathering shall not come. 11. Tremble, ye careless
(women); quake, ye confiding (ones); strip you and make you bare, and
gird (sackcloth) on your loins. 12. Mourning for the breasts (or,
beating on the breasts), for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful
vine. 13. Upon the land of my people, thorn (and) thistle shall come
up, for (they shall even come up) upon all (thy) houses of pleasure,
O joyous city (or, upon all houses of pleasure _in_ the joyous city).
14. For the palace is forsaken, the crowd of the city (or, the
crowded city) left, hill and watch-tower (are) for caves (or, dens)
for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks.
15. Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the
wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is
reckoned to the forest. 16. And justice shall abide in the
wilderness, and righteousness in the fruitful field shall dwell.
17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of
righteousness rest and assurance (or, security) for ever. 18. And my
people shall abide in a house of peace, in sure dwellings, and in
quiet resting-places.
19. And it shall hail in the downfall of the forest, and the city
shall be low in a low place (or, humbled with humiliation).
20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the
foot of the ox and the ass.
THREATENINGS OF RETRIBUTION TO THE
ENEMIES OF GOD'S PEOPLE.--CHAP. XXXIII.
1. Woe to thee spoiling and thou wast not spoiled, deceiving and they
did not spoil thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil thou shalt be
spoiled, and when thou art done deceiving they shall deceive thee.
2. Jehovah, favour us, for on Thee we wait; be their arm in the
mornings, also our salvation in times of trouble. 3. At the noise of
tumult (or, tumultuous noise) the people flee; at Thy rising the
nations are scattered. 4. And your spoil shall be gathered (like) the
gathering of the devourer; like the running of locusts running on it.
5. Exalted is Jehovah because dwelling on high; He fills (or, has
filled) Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6. And He shall be the
security of thy times, strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge,
the fear of Jehovah, that is his treasure.
7. Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace
weep bitterly. 8. The highways are wasted, the wayfarer ceaseth; he
breaks the covenant, despises cities, values no man. 9. The land
mourneth, languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed, it pines away; Sharon is
like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel cast (their leaves). 10. Now
will I arise, saith Jehovah, now will I be lifted up, now will I
exalt Myself. 11. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth
stubble; your breath as stubble shall devour you. 12. And nations
shall be like lime-kilns (or, like burnings of lime); thorns cut up,
in the fire they shall burn. 13. Hear, ye far, what I have done, and
know, ye near, my might.
14. Afraid in Zion are the sinners; trembling has seized the impious.
Who of us can dwell with the devouring fire, who of us can dwell with
everlasting burnings? 15. Walking righteousnesses, and speaking right
things, rejecting with contempt the gain of oppressions (or,
extortions), shaking his hands from taking hold of the bribe,
stopping his ears from hearing bloods, shutting his eyes from looking
at evil, 16. he high places shall inhabit; fastnesses of rocks (shall
be) his lofty place; his bread is given, his water sure. 17. A king
in his beauty shall thine eyes behold, they behold a land of
distances. 18. Thy heart shall meditate terror. Where is he that
counted? Where is he that weighted? Where is he that counted the
towers? 19. The fierce (or, determined) people thou shalt not see; a
people deep of lip from hearing, of barbarous tongue without meaning.
20. Behold Zion, the city of our festivals! Thine eyes shall see
Jerusalem a quiet home, a tent that shall not be removed. Its stakes
shall not be pulled up for ever, and all its cords shall not be
broken. 21. But there shall Jehovah be mighty for us; a place of
rivers, streams broad (on) both sides; there shall not go in it an
oared vessel, and a gallant ship shall not pass through it. 22. For
Jehovah our Judge, Jehovah our Lawgiver, Jehovah our King, He will
save us.
23. Thy ropes are cast loose; they do not hold upright their mast;
they do not spread the sail; then is shared plunder of booty in
plenty; the lame spoil the spoil.
24. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. The people dwelling
in it (is) forgiven (its) iniquity.
THREATENINGS AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH, WITH
PROMISES TO THE CHURCH ITSELF.--CHAPS. XXXIV., XXXV.
1. Come near, ye nations, to hear; and ye peoples hearken. Let the
earth hear, and its fulness, the world and all its issues. 2. For
Jehovah is angry against all the nations, and has wrath against all
their host; He has doomed them, He has given them to the slaughter.
3. And their slain shall be cast out, and their carcasses, their
stench shall go up; and mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4. And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all their
host shall fade like the fading of a leaf from off a vine, and like a
fading (leaf) or a withered (fig) from a fig-tree.
5. For My sword is steeped in heaven; behold, upon Edom shall it come
down, and upon the people of My curse. 6. Jehovah has a sword; it is
full of blood, it is smeared with fat, with the blood of lambs and
goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah has a
sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7. And unicorns shall come down with them, and bullocks with blood,
and their dust with fat shall be fattened. 8. For there is a day of
vengeance to Jehovah, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9. And her streams shall be turned to pitch, and her dust to
brimstone, and her land shall become burning pitch. 10. Day and night
it shall not be quenched; for ever shall its smoke go up; from
generation to generation shall it lie waste; for ever and ever there
shall be no one passing through it. 11. Then shall possess it the
pelican and the porcupine, the crane and the crow shall dwell in it.
And One shall stretch upon it the line of confusion and the stones
of emptiness. 12. Her caves--and there is no one there they will
(still) call a kingdom, and all her chiefs will cease to be. 13. And
in her palaces shall come up thorns, nettles, and brambles in her
fortresses; and she shall be a home of wolves, a grass-plot for
ostriches. 14. And wild creatures shall (there) meet with howling
creatures, and the shaggy monster shall call to his fellow; only
there reposes the night-monster, and finds for herself a resting
place. 15. [As to the particular species of animals referred to in
this whole passage, there is no need, as Calvin well observes, of
troubling ourselves much about them. The general sense evidently is,
that a human population should be succeeded by wild and lonely
animals, who should not only live but breed there, implying total and
continued desolation.] 16. Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah and
read; by number will Jehovah call them. For My mouth, it has
commanded; and His Spirit it has gathered them. 17. He too has cast
the lot for them and His hand has divided it to them by line. For
ever shall they hold it as a heritage, to all generations they shall
dwell therein.
XXXV.--1. Desert and waste shall rejoice (for) them; and the
wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. 2. (It shall)
blossom, it shall blossom and rejoice; yea (with) joy and shouting.
The glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the beauty of Carmel and of
Sharon. They shall see the glory of Jehovah, the beauty of our God.
3. Strengthen hands (now) sinking, and knees (now) tottering make
firm. 4. Say ye to the hasty of heart, Be firm, fear not; behold your
God; He (Himself) is coming, and will save you.
5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the
deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame bound as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb shall shout (for joy), because waters have
burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7. And the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs
of water, (even) in the haunt of wolves, their lair, a court for
reeds and rushes. 8. And there shall be there a highway and a way; it
shall be called the Way of Holiness; and there shall not pass through
it an unclean (thing or person); it shall be for them; the
travellers, yea, those who are ignorant (or foolish) shall not be
able to go astray. 9. There shall not be there a lion, and a ravenous
beast shall not ascend it, nor be found there; and (there) shall walk
redeemed (ones).
10. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return and come to Zion with
shouting, and everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall
overtake (them), and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
HISTORICAL APPENDIX TO THE FIRST PART OF
ISAIAH'S PROPHECIES.--CHAPS. XXXVI.-XXXIX.
XXXVI.--1. And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king
Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fenced
cities of Judah, and took them. 2. And the king of Assyria sent
Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a strong
force, and he stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool, in the highway
of the fuller's field. 3. Then there came forth Eliakim, Hilkiah's
son, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's
son, the recorder.
4. And Rabshakeh said to them: say now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the
great king, the king of Assyria, What is this confidence which thou
confidest in? 5. I say, mere word of lips (is your) counsel and
strength for the war; now on whom hast thou confided, that thou hast
rebelled against me? 6. Behold, thou hast trusted in the support of
this broken reed, in Egypt, which, (if) a man lean upon it, will go
into his hand and pierce it; so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those
trusting in him. 7. And if thou say to me, We trust in Jehovah our
God; is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath
taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, Before this altar shall
ye worship? 8. And now, engage, I pray thee, with my lord the king of
Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on
thy part to set riders upon them. 9. And how wilt thou turn away the
face of one governor of the least of my master's servants? So hast
thou reposed thyself on Egypt, with respect to chariots and horses.
10. And now (is it) without Jehovah I have come up against this land
to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and
destroy it.
11. Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Pray
speak unto thy servants in Aramean, for we understand (it), and speak
not unto us in Jewish, in the ears of the people who (are) on the
wall.
12. And Rabshakeh said: Is it to thy master and to thee that my
master sent me to speak these words? Is it not to the men sitting on
the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water with you?
13. Then Rabshakeh stood and called with a loud voice in Jewish, and
said, Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14. Thus
saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able
to deliver you. 15. And let not Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah,
saying, Jehovah will certainly save us, this city shall not be given
up into the hand of the king of Assyria, 16. Hearken not to Hezekiah,
for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make with me a blessing, and come
out unto me, and eat ye (every) man his own vine and (every) man his
own fig-tree, and drink ye (every) man the waters of his own cistern;
17. until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a
land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18. Let not
Hezekiah seduce you, saying Jehovah will deliver us. Have the gods of
the nations delivered every one his land out of the hand of the king
of Assyria? 19. Where (are) the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the
gods of Sepharvaim? and (when or where was it) that they delivered
Samaria out of my hand? 20. Who (are they) among all the gods of
these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that
Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21. And they held their peace, and did not answer him a word, for
such was the commandment of the king, Ye shall not answer him.
22. Then came Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, who (was) over the house, and
Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder, unto
Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and told him the words of
Rabshakeh.
XXXVII.--1. And it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard, that he
rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into
the house of Jehovah. 2. And he sent Eliakim who was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the people
covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet.
3. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, A day of anguish and
rebuke and contempt (is) this day, for the children are come to the
places of birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4. If
peradventure Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom
the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God,
and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard, then
shalt thou lift up a prayer for the remnant (that is still) found
(here).
5. And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6. And Isaiah
said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah,
Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, (with) which the
servants of the king of Assyria hath blasphemed me. 7. Behold, I am
putting a spirit in him, and he shall hear a noise, and shall return
to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own
land.
8. And Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting
against Libnah, for he heard that he had decamped from Lachish.
9. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come
forth to make war with thee; and he heard (it), and sent messengers
to Hezekiah, saying, 10. Thus shall ye say to Hezekiah, king of
Judah, Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be given unto the hand of the king of Assyria.
11. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and thou shalt be
delivered! 12. Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my
fathers destroyed, (to wit) Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
children of Eden which is in Telassar? 13. Where is the king of
Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city Sepharvaim,
Henah, and Ivrah?
14. And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and
read it, and went up (to) the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spread
it before Jehovah. 15. And Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah, saying,
16. Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, dwelling between the cherubim,
Thou art He, the God, Thou alone, to all the kingdoms of the earth;
Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. 17. Bow down Thine ear, O
Jehovah, and hear; open Thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all
the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living
God. 18. It is true, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have wasted all
the lands and their land, 19. and given their gods into the fire--for
they (were) no gods, but wood and stone, the work of men's hands--and
destroyed them. 20. And now, O Jehovah, our God, save us from his
hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that Thou alone
art Jehovah.
21. And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith
Jehovah, the God of Israel, (as to) what thou has prayed to the (with
respect to) Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22. this is the word which
Jehovah hath spoken against him, The virgin daughter of Zion hath
despised thee, she hath laughed thee to scorn, the daughter of
Jerusalem hath shaken her head after thee. 23. Who hast thou
reproached and reviled, and against whom hast thou raised (thy)
voice, and lifted thine eyes (on) high towards the Holy One of
Israel? 24. By the hand of thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord
and said, With the multitude of my chariots I have ascended the
height of mountains, the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the
loftiness of its cedars and the choice of its fire, and I will reach
its extreme height, its garden-forest. 25. I have digged and drunk
water, and I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of
Egypt. 26. Hast thou not heard? From afar I have done it, from the
days of old, and formed it, now I have caused it to come, and it
shall be, to lay waste, (as) desolate heaps, fortified cities.
27. And their inhabitants are short of hand; they are broken and
confounded; they are grass of the field and green herbage, grass of
the house-tops and a field before the stalk. 28. And thy sitting
down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, I have known, and thy
raging against Me. 29. Because of thy raging against Me, and
(because) thy arrogance has come up into My ears, I will put My hook
in thy nose, and My bridle in thy lips, and I will cause thee to
return by the way by which thou camest.
30. And this to thee, the sign: eat, the (present) year, that which
groweth of itself, and the second year that which springeth of the
same, and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit thereof. 31. And the escaped of the house of Jacob,
that is left, shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward;
32. for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and an escape from
Mount Zion; the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.
33. Therefore thus saith Jehovah (with respect) to the king of
Assyria, He shall not come to this city, and shall not shoot an arrow
there, and shall not come before it with a shield, and shall not cast
up a mound against it. 34. By the way that he came shall he return,
and to this city shall he not come, saith Jehovah. 35. And I will
cover over this city, (so as) to save it, for My sake, and for the
sake of David My servant.
36. And the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of
Assyria an hundred and eighty and five thousand, and they rose up
early in the morning and behold all of them were dead corpses.
37. Then decamped, and departed, and returned, Sennacherib king of
Assyria, and dwelt in Nineveh. 38. And he was worshipping (in) the
house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote
him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat, and
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
XXXVIII.--1. In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death, and Isaiah
the son of Amoz, the prophet, came unto him, and said unto him, Thus
saith Jehovah, Order thy house, for thou (art) dying, and art not to
live. 2. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to
Jehovah. 3. And he said, Ah, Jehovah, remember, I beseech Thee, how I
have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and that
which is good in Thine eyes have I done; and Hezekiah wept a great
weeping.
4. And the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah, saying, 5. Go and say to
Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I am adding unto thy
days fifteen years. 6. And out of the hand of the king of Assyria I
will save thee and this city, and I will cover over this city.
7. And this shall be to thee the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah will
perform this word which He hath spoken: 8. Behold, I am causing the
shadow to go back, the degree which it has gone down on the degrees
of Ahaz with the sun, ten degrees backward; and the sun returned ten
degrees on the degrees which it had gone down.
9. A writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he was sick, and
recovered from his sickness:--
10. I said in the pause of my days, I shall go into the gate of the
grave, I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11. I said I shall
not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living; I shall not behold man
again with the inhabitants of the world. 12. My dwelling is plucked
up and uncovered by me like a shepherd's tent. I have rolled up, like
the weaver, my life; from the thrum He will cut me off; from day to
night Thou wilt finish me.
13. I set (Him before me) till the morning as a lion (saying), So
will He break all my bones; from day to night Thou wilt make an end
of me. 14. Like a swallow (or) like a twittering sparrow, so I chirp;
I moan like a dove; my eyes are weak (with looking) upward; O
Jehovah; I am oppressed, undertake for me.
15. What shall I say? He hath both spoken to me, and Himself hath
done (it); I shall go softly all my days in the bitterness of my
soul. 16. Lord, upon them they live, and as to everything in them is
the life of my spirit, and Thou wilt recover me and make me to live.
17. Behold to peace (is turned) my bitter bitterness, and Thou hast
loosed my soul from the pit of destruction, because Thou hast cast
behind Thy back all my sins.
18. For the grave shall not confess Thee (nor) death praise Thee;
they that go down to the pit shall not hope for Thy truth. 19. The
living, the living, he shall thank Thee, as I do to-day; fathers to
sons shall make known with respect to Thy truth. 20. Jehovah
(listened) to save me! And my songs we will play, all the days of our
life, at the house of Jehovah.
21. And Isaiah said, Let him take a lump of figs, and lay them
softened on the boil, and he shall live. 22. And Hezekiah said, What
sign (is there) that I shall go up (to) the house of Jehovah?
XXXIX.--1. In that time, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, king of
Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, and he heard that he
was sick and was recovered.
2. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them his house of
rarities, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the ointment,
and all his house of arms, and all that was found in his treasures;
there was not a thing which Hezekiah did not show them, in his house,
and in all his dominion.
3. Then came Isaiah the prophet to the king Hezekiah, and said to
him, What said these men, and whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, From a far country came they unto me, from Babylon.
4. And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said,
All that is in my house have they seen; there is not a thing that I
have not showed them in my treasures.
5. And Isaiah said, Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts, 6. Behold days
are coming when all that (is) in thy house, and that which thy
fathers have hoarded until this day, shall be carried to Babylon;
there shall not be left a thing, saith Jehovah. 7. And of thy sons
that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt begat, shall they take
away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
8. And Hezekiah said, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast
spoken. And he said, for there shall be peace and truth in my days.
XL.--[A glorious change awaits the Church, consisting in a new and
gracious manifestation of Jehovah's presence, for which His people
are exhorted to prepare, vers. 1-5. Though one generation perish
after another, this promise shall eventually be fulfilled, because it
rests not upon human but Divine authority, vers. 6-8. Zion may even
now see Him approaching as the conqueror of His enemies, and at the
same time as the shepherd of His people, vers. 9-11. The fulfilment
of these pledges is insured by His infinite wisdom, His Almighty
power, and His independence both of individuals and nations, vers.
12-17. How much more is He superior to material images, by which men
represent Him or supply His place, vers. 18-25. The same power which
supports the heavens is pledged for the support of Israel, vers.
26-31.]
1. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. 2. Speak to the
heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received from the hand
of Jehovah double for all her sins. 3. A voice crying--in the
wilderness--Clear the way of Jehovah--make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. 4. Every valley shall be raised, and every
mountain and hill brought low, and the uneven shall become level, and
the ridges a plain. 5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see (it) together, for the mouth of Jehovah
speaks.
6. A voice saying, Cry! And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is
grass, and all its favour like the flower of the field! 7. Dried is
the grass, faded is the flower; for the breath of Jehovah has blown
upon it. Surely the people is grass. 8. Dried is the grass, faded the
flower, and the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9. Upon a high mountain, get thee up, bringer of good news, O Zion!
Raise with strength thy voice, bringer of good news, Jerusalem! Raise
(it), fear not; say to the towns of Judah, Lo, your God! 10. Lo, the
Lord Jehovah is coming in (the person of) a strong one, and His arm
(is) ruling for Him. Lo, His hire is with Him, and His wages before
Him. 11. Like a shepherd His flock will He feed, with His arm will He
gather the lambs, and in His bosom carry (them): the nursing (ewes)
He will (gently) lead.
12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted
out heaven with the span, and comprehended in a measure the dust of
the earth, and weighed in a balance the mountains, and the hills in
scales? 13. Who hath measured the Spirit of Jehovah, and (who, as)
the man of His counsel, will teach Him? 14. Whom did He consult, and
he made Him understand, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and
taught Him knowledge, and the way of understanding (who) will make
Him know? 15. Lo, nations are as a drop from a bucket, and as dust on
scales are reckoned; lo, islands as an atom He will take up. 16. And
Lebanon is not enough for burning, and its beasts are not enough for
a sacrifice. 17. All the nations (are) as nothing before Him, less
than nothing and vanity are counted to Him.
18. And (now) to whom will ye liken God, and what likeness will ye
compare to Him? 19. The image a carver has wrought, and a gilder with
gold shall overlay it, and chains of silver (he is) casting. 20. (As
for) the man impoverished (by) offering, a tree (that) will not rot
he chooses, a wise carver he seeks for it, to set up an image (that)
shall not be moved. 21. Will you not know? Will you not hear? has it
not been told you from the first? have you not understood (from) the
foundations of the earth? 22. The (One) sitting over the circle of
the earth, and its inhabitants (are) as locusts; the One spreading
like an awning the heavens, and He stretches them out like a tent to
dwell in; 23. the One bringing princes to nothing, the judges of the
earth like emptiness He has made. 24. Not even planted were they, not
even sown, not even rooted in the ground their stock, and He just
breathed upon them, and they withered, and a whirlwind like the chaff
shall take them up. 25. And now to (whom) will ye liken Me, and to
(whom) shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26. Lift up on high your eyes and see--who hath created these?--and
who is the (One) bringing out by number their host?--to all of them
by name will He call--from abundance of might and because strong in
power--not one faileth. 27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and why (thus)
speak, O Israel? Hidden is my way from Jehovah, and from my God my
cause will pass away. 28. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard?
The God of eternity, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
will not faint, and will not tire; there is no search (with respect)
to His understanding. 29. Giving to the weary strength, and to the
powerless might will He increase. 30. And (yet) weary shall youths be
and faint, and chosen (youths) shall be weakened, be weakened.
31. And (on the other hand) those waiting for Jehovah shall gain new
strength; they shall raise the pinion like the eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
XLI.--[Until the ends of Israel's national existence are
accomplished, that existence must continue in spite of hostile
nations and their gods, who shall all perish sooner than the chosen
people, vers. 1-16. However, feeble Israel may be in herself, Jehovah
will protect him, and raise up the necessary instruments for his
deliverance and triumph.]
1. Be silent to Me, O islands, and the nations shall gain new
strength; they shall approach, then shall they speak, together to the
judgment-seat will we draw near. 2. Who hath raised up from the east?
Righteousness shall call Him to its foot; it shall give nations
before Him, and cause Him to tread upon kings; it shall give (them)
as dust to His sword, and as driven stubble to His bow. 3. He shall
pursue them; He shall pass (in) safety; a path with His feet He shall
not go. 4. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from
the beginning? I Jehovah, the First and with the Last, I (am) He.
5. The isles have seen it and are afraid, the ends of the earth
tremble: they have approached and come. 6. A man his neighbour they
will help, and to his brother (one) will say, Be strong! 7. And the
carver has strengthened the gilder, the smoother with the hammer, the
smiter on the anvil; he says of the solder, It is good; and he
sharpeneth it with nails; it shall not be moved. 8. And thou Israel
My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My
friend; 9. thou whom I have grasped from the ends of the earth, and
from its sides have I called thee, My servant (art) thou; I have
chosen thee, and not rejected thee.
10. Fear thou not, for I (am) with thee; look not around, for I (am)
thy God; I have strengthened thee, yea, I have helped thee, yea, I
have upheld thee with the right hand of My righteousness. 11. Lo,
ashamed and confounded shall be all those inflamed against thee; they
shall be as though they were not, and destroyed shall be they that
strive with thee. 12. Thou shalt seek them and not find them, the men
of quarrel; they shall be as nothing and as nought, thy men of war.
13. For I, Jehovah thy God, (am) holding fast thy right hand; the
(one) saying to thee, Fear not, I have helped thee. 14. Fear not,
thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I have helped thee, saith
Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15. Behold I have
placed thee for a threshing-sledge, sharp, new, possessed of teeth;
thou shalt thresh mountains and beat (them) small, and hills like the
chaff shalt thou make. 16. Thou shalt fan them, and a wind shall take
them up, and a whirlwind shall scatter them, and thou shalt joy in
Jehovah, and in the Holy One of Israel shalt thou boast.
17. The suffering and the poor (are) seeking water, and it is not;
their tongue with thirst is parched. I Jehovah will answer them.
18. I will open upon bare hills streams, and in the midst of valleys
fountains; I will convert the desert into a pool of water, and the
dry land into springs of water. 19. I will give in the wilderness
cedar, acacia, and myrtle, and oil tree; I will place in the desert
fir, pine, and box together. 20. That they may see, and know, and
consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done
this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21. Present your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your strong
reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22. Let them bring forward and show
forth to us the (things) which are to happen; the former things, when
they were, show forth, and we will set our heart, and know the issue;
or (else) the coming events make us to hear. 23. Show forth the
(things) to come hereafter, and we will know that ye are gods; yes,
ye shall do good or evil, and we will look about and see together.
24. Lo, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought; an abomination is
he that chooseth you. 25. I have raised up (one) from the north, and
he has come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon My name;
and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as a potter
treadeth clay. 26. Who hath declared from the beginning? (Say) and we
will know; and beforehand, and we will say, True! Nay, there was none
that told; nay, there was none that uttered; nay, there was none that
heard your words. 27. (I am the) first (to say) to Zion, Behold,
behold them! and (to give) to Jerusalem a bringer of good news.
28. And I will look, but there is no man; and of these, but there is
no one advising; and I will ask them, and (perhaps) they will return
an answer. 29. Lo, they (are) all nought, nothing their words, wind
and emptiness their molten images.
XLII.--[This chapter exhibits to our view the servant of Jehovah,
_i.e.,_ the Messiah and His people, as a complex person, and as the
messenger or representative of God among the nations. His mode of
operation is described, vers. 1-4. The effects of His influence are
represented, as not natural but spiritual, vers. 5-9. The power of
God is pledged for His success, notwithstanding all appearances of
inaction or indifference on His part, vers 10-17. In the latter
portion of the chapter, the Church or Body of Christ, as
distinguished from its Head, and representing Him until He came, is
charged with unfaithfulness to its great trust, and this
unfaithfulness declared to be the cause of what it suffered, vers.
18-25.]
1. Behold My servant! I will hold Him fast; My chosen One, (in whom)
My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; judgment to the
nations shall He cause to go forth. 2. He shall not cry, and He shall
not raise (His voice), and He shall not let His voice be heard in the
street. 3. A broken reed shall He not break, and a dim wick will He
not quench; by the truth He will bring forth judgment. 4. He shall
not be dim, and He shall not be crushed, until He shall set judgment
in the earth, and for His law the isles shall wait.
5. Thus saith the mighty (God), Jehovah, creating the heavens and
stretching them out, spreading the earth and its issues, giving
breath to the people on it, and spirit to those walking in it. 6. I,
Jehovah, have called Thee in righteousness, and will lay hold of Thy
hand, and will keep Thee, and will give Thee for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the Gentiles. 7. to open blind eyes, to bring
out from prison the bondman, from the house of confinement the
dwellers in darkness. 8. I am Jehovah, that is My name, and My glory
to another will I not give, and My praise to graven images. 9. The
former things--lo, they have come, and new things I (am) telling;
before they spring forth I will let you hear (them).
10. Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth,
(ye) going down to the sea and its fulness, isles and their
inhabitants! 11. The desert and its towns shall raise (the voice),
the enclosures (in which) Kedar dwells; the dwellers in the rock
shall shout, from the top of the mountains shall they cry aloud.
12. They shall give to Jehovah honour, and His praise in the islands
they shall show forth. 13. Jehovah, like a strong one, will go forth;
like a warrior He will cry; against His foes will show Himself
strong. 14. I have long been still, (saying) I will hold my peace, I
will restrain myself. (But now), like the travailing (woman) I will
shriek, I will pant and gasp at once. 15. I will lay waste mountains
and hills, and all their herbage will I dry up; I will turn streams
to islands, and pools will I dry up. 16. And I will make the blind
walk in a way they know not, in paths they know not I will make them
tread; I will turn darkness before them to light, and obliquities to
straightness. These are the words; I have made them, and have not
left them. 17. They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly
ashamed, those trusting in the graven image, those saying to the
molten images, Ye are our gods!
18. Ye deaf, hear! and, ye blind, look to see! 19. Who (is) blind but
My servant, and deaf like My messenger (whom) I will send? Who (is)
blind like the devoted are, and blind like the servant of Jehovah?
20. Thou hast seen many things and wilt not observe. (Sent) to open
ears! and he will not hear! 21. Jehovah (is) willing for His
righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law and make it honourable.
22. And (yet) it (is) a people spoiled and robbed, ensnared in holes
all of them, and in houses of confinement they are hidden. They have
become a spoil, and there is none delivering; a prey, and there is
none saying, Restore! 23. Who among you will give ear to this, and
hearken and hear for the time to come? 24. Who has given Jacob for a
prey, and Israel to spoilers? Hast not Jehovah, against whom we have
sinned? and they were not willing in His ways to walk, and did not
hearken to His law. 25. And He poured upon him fury, (even) His wrath
and the violence of war: and it set him on fire round about, and he
knew it not; and it burned him, and he will not lay it to heart.
XLIII.--[Israel is the peculiar people of Jehovah, cherished and
favoured at the expense of other nations, vers. 1-4. But these are
one day to become partakers of the same advantages, vers. 5-9. The
proofs of the Divine protection are afforded by the history of
Israel, vers. 10-13. One of the most remarkable, yet future, is the
downfall of Babylon and the liberation of the exiles, vers. 14, 15.
An analogous example was the deliverance from Egypt, vers. 16, 17.
But both these instances shall be forgotten in comparison with the
great change which awaits the Church hereafter, vers. 18-21. Of all
these distinguishing favours none was owing to the merit of the
people, but all to the sovereign grace of God, vers. 22-25. The
people were not only destitute of merit, but deserving of punishment,
which they had experienced and must experience again, vers. 26-28.]
1. And now, thus saith Jehovah, thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former,
O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called by thy
name, thou art Mine. 2. When thou passest through the waters, I will
be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;
when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched, and
the flame shall not burn thee. 3. For I, Jehovah, thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Saviour, have given (as) thy ransom Egypt,
Ethiopia, and Seba, instead of thee. 4. Since thou wast precious in
My eyes; thou hast been honoured, and I have loved thee, and will
give men instead of thee, and nations instead of thy life.
5. Fear not, for I (am) with thee; from the east I will make thy seed
come, and from the west I will gather thee; 6. I will say to the
north, Give, and to the south, Withhold not, let My sons come from
far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; 7. Every one called
by My name, and for My glory I have created him; I have formed him
yea, I have made him. 8. He hath brought out the blind people, and
there are eyes (to them), and the deaf, and (there are) ears to them.
9. All the nations are gathered together, and the people are to be
assembled. Who among them will declare this, and let us hear the
first things? Let them produce their witnesses and be justified; and
(if they cannot do this) let them hear (My witnesses), and say, (it
is) the truth.
10. Ye are My witnesses saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have
chosen, that ye may know and believe Me, and may understand that I am
He; before Me was not formed a god, and after Me there shall not be;
11. I, I, Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Saviour. 12. I have told
and have saved and have declared, and there is not among you (any)
stranger; and ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I (am) God.
13. Even from the day I am He, and there is no one freeing from My
hand; I will do, and who will undo it?
14. Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For
your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down fugitives all
of them; and the Chaldeans, in the ships their shout; 15. I, Jehovah,
your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16. Thus saith Jehovah, the (One) giving in the sea a way, and in
mighty waters a path; 17. the (One) bringing out chariot and horse,
force and strong; together shall they lie, they shall not rise; they
are extinct, like tow they are quenched.
18. Remember not former things, and old things consider not.
19. Behold I (am) doing (something) new, it is yet to sprout; do you
not know it? Yes, I will place in the wilderness a way, in the desert
streams. 20. The living creature of the field shall honour Me,
jackass and ostriches; because I have given in the wilderness waters,
and streams in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.
21. This people I have formed for Myself; My praise shall they
recount.
22. And not Me hast thou called, O Jacob; for thou hast been weary of
Me, O Israel. 23. Thou hast not brought to Me the sheep of thy
burnt-offering, and (with) thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me.
I have not made thee serve with oblations, and I have not wearied
thee with incense. 24. Thou hast not brought for Me sweet cane with
honey, and with the fat of thy sacrifices thou hast not drenched Me;
thou hast only made Me serve with thy sins, and wearied Me with thine
iniquities. 25. I, I am He blotting out thy transgressions for Mine
own sake, and thy sins I will not remember.
26. Remind Me; let us plead together: state (thy case) that thou
mayest be justified. 27. Thy first father sinned, and thy
interpreters rebelled against Me. 28. And I will profane the holy
chiefs, and will give up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
XLIV.--[The chapter opens, like the fortieth and forty-third, with
cheering promises to Israel, followed by reasons for confiding in
them, drawn from the wisdom, power, and goodness of Jehovah. The
specific promise, which constitutes the theme or basis of the
prophecy, is that of abundant spiritual influences and their fruits;
not only internal prosperity, but large accessions from without,
vers. 1-5. The pledge for the fulfilment of this promise is afforded
by the proofs of God's omniscience, as contrasted with all other
gods, vers. 6-9. The folly of image-worship is then established by
two arguments. The first is, that idols are themselves the creatures
of mere men, vers. 10-14. The other is, that they are not only made,
and made by man, but made of the very same materials applied to the
most trivial domestic uses, vers. 15-20. From this demonstration of
the power of Jehovah to perform His promise we are now brought back
to the promise itself, vers. 21-24. This is again confirmed by an
appeal to God's creative power, and illustrated by the raising up of
Cyrus as a deliverer to Israel, vers. 25-28.]
1. And now hear, Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.
2. Thus saith Jehovah, Thy Maker and thy Former from the womb will
help thee; fear not, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have
chosen. 3. For I will pour waters upon the thirsty, and flowing
(waters) on the dry (land); I will pour My Spirit on thy seed, and My
blessing on thine offspring. 4. And they shall spring up in the midst
of the grass, like willows by the water-courses. 5. They shall say,
To Jehovah I (belong); and this shall call on the name of Jacob; and
this shall inscribe with his hand, To Jehovah, and with the name of
Israel shall entitle.
6. Thus saith Jehovah, King of Israel, and his Redeemer Jehovah of
hosts; I (am) first, and I (am) last, and without Me there is no God.
7. And who, like Me, will call, and tell it, and state it to Me,
since I placed the ancient people; and coming things and things which
are to come will tell to them? 8. Quake not and fear not; have I not
let thee hear and told thee, and are ye not My witnesses? Is there a
God without Me? I know not (any). 9. The image-carvers all of them
are vanity, and their desired ones are worthless; and their witnesses
themselves will not see and will not know, that they may be ashamed.
10. Who formed the god and cast the image to no use? 11. Lo, all his
fellows shall be ashamed, and the workmen themselves are of men; they
shall assemble all of them, they shall stand, they shall tremble,
they shall be ashamed together. 12. He has carved (iron) with a
graver, and has wrought (it) in the coals, and with his hammer he
will shape it. Besides, he is hungry and has no strength, he has not
drunk water and is faint. 13. He has carved wood, he has stretched a
line, he will mark it with the awl, he will form it with the chisel,
and with the compass he will mark it, and then he will make it after
the model of a man, like the beauty of mankind, to dwell in a house.
14. To hew him down cedars, and (now) he has taken a cypress and an
oak--and has raised it for himself among the trees of the forest--he
has planted a pine, and the rain shall increase (it). 15. And it
shall be to man for fuel, and he has taken of them and warmed
himself; yea, he will kindle and bake bread; yea, he will form a god
and fall prostrate; he has made it a graven image and bowed down to
them. 16. Half of it he hath burned in the fire; on half of it he
will eat flesh, he will roast and be filled; yea, he will warm
himself and say, Aha, I am warm, I have seen fire. 17. And the rest
of it he has made into a god, into his graven image; he will bow down
to it, and will worship, and will pray to it, and say, Deliver me,
for thou (art) my god. 18. They have not known, and they will not
understand, for He hath smeared their eyes from seeing, their hearts
from doing wisely. 19. And he will not bring it home to himself, and
there (is) not knowledge, and (there is) not understanding to say,
Half of it I have burned in the fire, and have also baked bread on
its coals; I will roast flesh and eat, and the rest of it I will make
to (be) an abomination; to a log of wood I will cast myself down.
20. Feeding on ashes, (his) heart is deceived; it has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself; and he will not say, Is there not a
lie in my right hand?
21. Remember these (things), Jacob and Israel, for thou art My
servant; I have formed thee, a servant unto Me art thou; Israel, thou
shalt not be forgotten by Me. 22. I have blotted out, like a cloud,
thy transgressions, and like a vapour, thy sins; return to Me, for I
have redeemed thee. 23. Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah hath done (it);
shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth, ye mountains,
Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and in Israel He will glorify Himself.
24. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb,
I, Jehovah, making all, stretching the heavens alone, spreading the
earth by Myself.
25. Breaking the signs of babblers, and diviners He will madden;
turning sages back, and their knowledge He will stultify;
26. confirming the word of His servant, and the counsel of His
messengers He will fulfil; the (One) saying as to Jerusalem, She
shall be inhabited, and as the cities of Judah, They shall be built,
and the ruins will I raise; 27. the (One) saying to the deep, Be dry,
and I will dry up thy floods; 28. the (One) saying as to Cyrus, My
shepherd, and all My pleasure he will fulfil, and saying to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and (to) the temple, Thou shalt be
founded.
XLV.--[The chapter opens, in direct continuation of the forty-fourth,
with a further prophecy of Cyrus and of his successors, vers. 1-3.
These are then referred to the power of God and His design of mercy
towards His people, so that all misgivings or distrust must be
irrational and impious, vers. 4-13. Then leaving Cyrus out of view,
the prophet turns his eyes to the nations, and declares that they
must be subdued, but only in order to be blessed and saved, which is
declared to have been the Divine purpose, and revealed as such from
the beginning, vers 14-25.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have held fast, to tread down before him nations, and the loins of
kings I will loose; to open before him double doors, and gates shall
not be shut. 2. I will go before thee, and uneven places will I
level; doors of brass I will break, and bars of iron I will cut.
3. And I will give thee treasures of darkness and hidden riches of
secret places, in order that thou mayest know that I Jehovah, the
(One) calling thee by name, am the God of Israel.
4. For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel My chosen, therefore
will I call thee by thy name: I will give thee a title, and thou hast
not known Me. 5. I am Jehovah, and there is no other; except Me there
is no God; I will gird thee, and thou hast not known Me; 6. that they
may know, from the rising of the sun to the west, that there is none
without Me; I am Jehovah, and there is no other. 7. Forming light and
creating darkness, making peace and creating evil, I (am) Jehovah
doing all these things. 8. Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let
the clouds pour out righteousness; let the earth open, and let
salvation and righteousness grow, let him bring (them) forth
together. I Jehovah have created it. 9. Woe to him striving with his
Maker--a potsherd with potsherds of the earth. Shall clay say to its
former, What art thou doing? and thy work, He has no hands? 10. Woe
to him saying to a father, What wilt thou beget? and to a mother,
What wilt thou bring forth? 11. Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of
Israel and his Maker, Ask Me (of) the things to come; concerning My
sins and concerning the work of My hands, ye may command Me. 12. I
make the earth, and man upon it I created; I, My hands, spread the
heavens, and all their host commanded. 13. I, and no other, raised
him up in righteousness, and all his ways will I make straight; (it
is) he (that) shall build My city, and My captivity he will send
(home), not for reward, and not for hire, saith Jehovah of hosts.
14. Thus saith Jehovah, The toil of Egypt, and the gain of Cush, and
the Sebaim men of measure unto thee shall pass, and to thee shall
they belong, after thee shall they go, in chains shall they pass
over; and unto thee shall they bow themselves, to thee shall they
pray, saying, Only in thee (is) God, and there is none besides, no
(other) God. 15. Verily Thou art a God hiding Thyself, O God of
Israel, the Saviour! 16. They are ashamed and also confounded all of
them together, they are gone away in confusion--the carvers of
images. 17. Israel is saved in Jehovah (with) an everlasting
salvation; ye shall not be ashamed, and ye shall not be confounded
for ever. 18. For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens--He
is God--the Former of the earth and its Maker--He established it--not
to be empty did He create it--to be inhabited He formed it--I am
Jehovah, and there is none besides. 19. Not in secret have I spoken,
in a dark place of the earth; I have not said to the seed of Jacob,
In vain seek ye Me. I (am) Jehovah, speaking truth, declaring right
things. 20. Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, ye
escaped of the nations. They know not, those carrying the wood, their
graven image, and praying to a god (who) cannot save. 21. Bring
forward and bring near! Yea, let them consult together. Who hath
caused this to be heard of old, since thou declared it! Have not I
Jehovah? and there is no other God besides Me; a righteous and a
saving God, there is none besides Me. 22. Turn unto Me and be ye
saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none
besides. 23. By Myself I have sworn; the word is gone out of a mouth
of righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me shall bow every
knee, shall swear every tongue. 24. Only in Jehovah have I, says he,
righteousness and strength; unto Him shall he come, and all that were
incensed at Him shall be ashamed. 25. In Jehovah shall be justified
and boast themselves all the seed of Israel.
XLVI.--[In conformation of the general threats and promises with
which chap. xlv. is wound up, the prophet now exhibits the particular
case of the Babylonian idols, as a single instance chosen from the
whole range of past and future history. They are described as fallen
and gone away into captivity, wholly unable to protect their
worshippers or save themselves, vers. 1, 2. With these he then
contrasts Jehovah's constant care of Israel in times past and in time
to come, vers. 3, 4. The contrast is carried out by another
description of the origin and impotence of idols, vers. 5-7, and
another assertion of Jehovah's sole Divinity, as proved by His
knowledge and control of the future, and by the raising up of Cyrus
in particular, vers. 8-11. This brings him back to the same solemn
warning of approaching judgments, and the same alternative of life
and death, with which the foregoing chapter closes, vers. 12, 13.]
1. Bel is bowed down, Nebo stooping; their images are (consigned) to
the beasts and to the cattle. Your burdens are packed up (as) a load
to the weary (beast). 2. They stoop, they bow together; they cannot
save the load; themselves are gone into captivity.
3. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel, those borne from the belly, those carried from the
womb. 4. And to old age I am He, and to grey hair I will bear (you);
I have done it, and I will carry and I will bear and save (you).
5. To whom will ye liken Me, and equal and compare Me, that we may be
like? 6. The prodigals will weigh gold from the bag, and silver with
the rod; they will hire a gilder, and he will make it a god: they
will bow down, yea, they will fall prostrate. 7. They will lift him
on the shoulder, they will carry him, they will set him in his place,
and he will stand (there); from his place he will not move; yea, one
will cry to him, and he will not answer, from his distress he will
not save him.
8. Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it home, ye
apostates, (to) your mind. 9. Remember former things of old, for I am
the Mighty, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me,
10. declaring from the first the last, and from ancient time the
things which are not (yet) done, saying, My counsel shall stand and
all My pleasure I will do. 11. Calling from the east a bird of prey,
from a land of distance the man of His counsel; I have both said and
will also bring it to pass, I have formed (the plan) and will also do
it.
12. Hearken to Me, ye stout of heart, those far from righteousness.
13. I have brought near My righteousness, it shall not be far off;
and My salvation, it shall not tarry; and I will place in Zion My
salvation, to Israel My glory.
XLVII.--[Having exemplified his general doctrine, as to God's ability
and purpose to do justice both to friends and foes, by exhibiting the
downfall of the Babylonian idols, Isaiah now attains the same end by
predicting the downfall of Babylon itself, and of the state to which
it gave its name. Under the figure of a royal virgin, she is
threatened with extreme degradation and exposure, vers 1-3.
Connecting this event with Israel and Israel's God, as the great
themes which it was intended to illustrate, he predicts the fall of
the empire more distinctly, ver. 5, and assigns as a reason the
oppression of God's people, ver. 6, pride and self-confidence, ver.
7-9, especially reliance upon human wisdom and upon superstitious
arts, all which would prove entirely insufficient to prevent the
great catastrophe, vers. 10-15.]
1. Come down! Sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babel! There is no
throne, daughter of Chasdim! For thou shalt not continue to be called
tender and delicate. 2. Take millstones and grind meal! Remove thy
veil, lift up thy skirt, uncover the leg, cross streams! 3. Let thy
nakedness be uncovered, likewise let thy shame be seen. I will take
vengeance; I shall encounter no man.
4. Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts (is) His name, the Holy One of
Israel.
5. Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of Chasdim! For thou
shalt not continue to be called mistress of kingdoms. 6. I was wroth
against My people; I profaned My heritage; and I gave them into thy
hand. Thou didst not show them mercy; on the ancient thou didst
aggravate thy yoke exceedingly; 7. and thou saidst, For ever I shall
be a mistress (of kingdoms); until (at last) thou didst not lay these
things to heart, thou didst not remember the end of it. 8. And now,
hear this, thou voluptuous one, the (one) sitting in security, the
(one) saying in her heart, I (am) and none besides; I shall not sit
(as) a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children; 9. and they
shall come to thee,--these two suddenly, loss of children and
widowhood in the midst of the multitude of thy enchantments, in the
midst of the multitude of thy spells. 10. And (yet) thou art secure
in thy wickedness; thou hast said, there is no one seeing me. Thy
wisdom and thy knowledge, it has seduced thee; and thou hast said in
thy heart, I am, and there is no other. 11. And so there cometh upon
thee evil,--thou shalt not know how to charm it away; and there shall
fall upon thee ruin,--thou shalt not be able to avert it; and there
shall come upon thee suddenly a crash,--thou shalt not know (it).
12. Persist now in thy spells and in the abundance of thy charms, in
which thou hast wearied thyself; perhaps thou wilt be able to
succeed, perhaps thou wilt grow strong. 13. Thou art wearied in the
multitude of thy counsel. Now let them stand and save thee, the
dividers of the heavens, the star-gazers, making known at the
new-moon what shall come upon thee. 14. Behold, they are like
stubble, fire has burned them; they cannot deliver themselves from
the hand of the flame; (this fire) is not a coal (at which) to warm
one's self; a fire to sit before. 15. Thus are they to thee; and so
are (even) thy traders: each to his own quarter, straight before him,
they wander; there is no one saving thee.
XLVIII.--[Although Israel is God's chosen and peculiar people, he is
in himself unworthy of the honour and unfaithful to the trust, vers.
1, 2. Former predictions had been uttered expressly to prevent his
ascribing the event to other gods, vers. 3-5. For the same reason new
predictions will be uttered now, of events which have never been
distinctly foretold, vers. 6-8. God's continued favour to His people
has no reference to merit upon their part, but is the fruit of His
own sovereign mercy, and intended to promote His own designs, vers.
9-11. He again asserts His own exclusive deity, as proved by the
creation of the world, by the prediction of events still future, and
especially by the raising up of Cyrus, as a promised instrument to
execute His purpose, vers 12-16. The sufferings of Israel are a fruit
of his own sin, but his prosperity and glory, of God's sovereign
grace, vers. 17-19. The book closes as it opened, with a promise of
deliverance from exile, accompanied in this case by a solemn
limitation of the promise to its proper objects, vers. 20-22.]
1. Here this, O house of Jacob, the man called by the name of Israel,
and from the waters of Judah they have come out; those swearing by
the name of Jehovah, and (who) of the God of Israel makes mention,
not in truth and not in righteousness. 2. Nor from the Holy City they
are called, and upon the God of Israel rely; Jehovah of hosts is His
name.
3. The former things since then I declared, and out of My mouth they
went forth, and I cause them to be heard; suddenly do I do (them),
and they come to pass. 4. Because I know that thou art hard, and an
iron sinew (is) thy neck, and thy forehead brass, 5. therefore I told
thee long ago; before it comes I have let thee hear (it), lest thou
say, My idol did them, my graven image and my molten image ordered
them.
6. Thou has heard the (prediction), see all of it accomplished. And
ye, will ye not predict (something)? I have made thee to hear new
things from now, and (things) kept (in reserve), which thou hast not
known. 7. Now they are created, and not of old; before this day thou
hast never heard them, lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them.
8. Nay, thou didst not hear; nay, thou didst not know; likewise of
old thine ear was not opened; I knew thou wouldst act very
treacherously, and Apostate from the womb wast thou called.
9. For My name's sake I will defer My anger, and (for) My praise I
will restrain (it) towards thee, so as not to cut thee off.
10. Behold, I have melted thee, and not with silver; I have chosen
thee in the furnace of affliction. 11. For My own sake, for My own
sake, I will do (it)--for how is it profaned!--and My honour to
another will I not give.
12. Hearken unto Me, O Jacob, and Israel My called; I am He, I am the
First, also I the Last. 13. Also My hand founded the earth, and My
right hand spread the heavens; I call to them, and they will stand up
together. 14. Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among
them hath predicted these things? Jehovah loves him; He will do His
pleasure in Babylon, and His arm (shall be upon) the Chaldees. 15. I,
I have spoken; I have also called him; I have brought him (forth),
and he prospers in his way. 16. Draw near unto me! Hear this; not
from the beginning in secret have I spoken; from the time of its
being, I was there; and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His
Spirit.
17. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am
Jehovah thy God, teaching thee to profit, making thee to tread in the
way thou shalt go. 18. Oh that thou hadst hearkened to My
commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea; 19. then should have been like
the sand thy seed, and the offspring of thy bowels like (the
offspring of) its bowels; his name should not be cut off from before
Me.
20. Go forth from Babel! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice
of joy tell this, cause it to be heard, utter it even to the end of
the earth; say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed His servant Jacob. 21. And
they thirsted not in the desert (through which) He made them go;
water from a rock He made to flow for them; and He clave the rock,
and waters gushed out. 22. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the
wicked.
XLIX.--[This chapter, like the whole division which it introduces,
has for its great theme the relation of the Church to the world, and
of Israel to the Gentiles. It opens with an exhibition of the Messiah
and His people, under one ideal person, as the great appointed
Teacher, Apostle, and Restorer of the apostate nations, vers. 1-9.
This is followed by a promise of Divine protection and of glorious
enlargement, attended by a joyous revelation in the state of the
whole world, vers. 10-16. The doubts and apprehensions of the Church
herself are twice recited under different forms, vers. 14, 24, and as
often met and silenced, first by repeated and still stronger promises
of God's unchanging love to His people and of their glorious
enlargement and success, vers. 15-23; then by an awful threatening of
destruction to their enemies and His, vers 25, 26.]
1. Hearken, ye Islands, unto Me, and attend, ye nations from afar.
Jehovah from the womb hath called Me, from the bowels of My mother He
hath mentioned My name. 2. And He hath rendered My mouth like a sharp
sword, and He rendered Me as a polished arrow, in His quiver He has
hid Me. 3. And He said to Me, Thou art My servant, Israel, in whom I
will be glorified. 4. And I said, In vain have I toiled, for
emptiness and vanity My strength have I consumed; but My right is
with Jehovah and My work with My God. 5. And now, saith Jehovah, who
formed Me from the womb for a servant to Himself, to restore Jacob to
Him, and (yet) Israel will not be gathered--and yet I shall be
honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, and My God has (already) been My
strength. 6. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be
My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and the preserved of
Israel to restore; and I have given Thee for a light to the Gentiles,
to be My salvation even to the end of the earth. 7. Thus saith
Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to the heartily
despised, to the nation exciting abhorrence, to a servant of rulers,
Kings shall see it, and rise up, princes (shall see) and bow
themselves, for the sake of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of
Israel who has chosen Thee. 8. Thus saith Jehovah, In a time of
favour I have heard Thee, and to a day of salvation have I helped
Thee; and I will keep Thee, and I will give Thee for a covenant to
the people, to raise up the earth, and to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages; 9. to say to those bound, Come forth, and to
(those) who are in darkness, Show yourselves.
On the ways they shall feed, and in all bare hills shall be their
pasture. 10. They shall not hunger and they shall not thirst, and
there shall not smite them mirage and sun; for He that hath mercy on
them shall guide them, and by springs of water shall He lead them.
11. And I will place all mountains for the way, and My roads shall be
high. 12. Behold, these from afar shall come, and behold these from
the north and from the sea, and these from the land of Sinim.
13. Shout, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, let the mountains burst
forth into a shout; because Jehovah has comforted His people, and on
His sufferers He will have mercy.
14. And (yet) Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath
forgotten me. 15. Will a woman forget her suckling, so as not to have
mercy on the son of her womb? Even these will forget, and (yet) I
will not forget thee. 16. Behold, on My palms have I graven thee; thy
walls (are) before Me continually. 17. Thy sons hasten (to thee); thy
destroyers and thy wasters shall go out from thee. 18. Lift up thine
eyes round about and see; all of them are gathered together, they are
come to thee. (As) I live, saith Jehovah, (I swear) that all of them
as an ornament thou shalt put on, and bind them like the bride.
19. For thy ruins, and thy wastes, and thy land of desolation, for
now shalt thou be too narrow for the inhabitant, and far off shall be
thy devourers. 20. Again shall they say in thine ears, The sons of
thy childlessness. (Too) narrow for me is the place; come near for
me, that I may dwell. 21. And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who hath
produced these for me? and I was bereaved and barren, an exile and a
banished one? And these who brought up? Behold, I was left alone;
these where were they? 22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I will
lift up to the nations My hand, and I will set up to the peoples My
standard; and they will bring thy sons in the bosom, and thy
daughters on the shoulders shall be carried. 23. And kings shall be
thy nursing-fathers, and their queens thy nursing-mothers; face to
the ground shall they bow to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall
they lick; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah, whose waiters shall
not be ashamed.
24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, and shall the captivity
of the righteous be delivered? 25. For thus saith Jehovah, Even the
captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the terrible
shall be delivered, and with thy strivers will I strive, and thy sons
will I save. 26. And I will make thy oppressors eat their (own)
flesh, and as with new wine with their blood shall they be drunken;
and all flesh shall know that I am Jehovah thy Saviour, and (that)
thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
L.--[This chapter contains no entirely new element, but a fresh view
of several which have already been repeatedly exhibited. The first of
these is the great truth, that the sufferings of God's people are the
necessary fruit of their own sins, ver. 1. The second is the power of
Jehovah to accomplish their deliverance, vers. 2, 3. The third is the
Servant of Jehovah, His mission, His qualifications for it, His
endurance of reproach, and opposition on account of it, vers. 4-9.
The fourth is the way of salvation and the certain doom of those who
neglect it, vers. 10, 11.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah, Where is the bill of divorcement of your
mother, whom I have sent away? Or which of My creditors (is it) to
whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye have been sold,
and for your transgressions has your mother been sent away.
2. Why did I come, and there was no man? (why) did I call, and there
was no one answering? Is My hand shortened, shortened, from
redemption? and is there with Me no power to deliver? Behold, by My
rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make streams a wilderness; let
their fish stink for want of water and die of thirst. 3. I will
clothe the heavens in blackness, and sackcloth will I make their
covering.
4. The Lord God hath given to Me a ready tongue, that I might know
how to help the weary (with) a word. He will waken, every morning He
will waken for Me the ear, that I may hear like the disciples. 5. The
Lord Jehovah opened for Me the ear, and I resisted not, I did not
draw back. 6. My back I gave to those smiting, and My cheeks to those
plucking (the hair); My face I did not hide from shame and spitting.
7. And the Lord God will help Me, therefore I am not confounded;
therefore I have set My face as a flint, and I know that I shall not
be ashamed. 8. Near is My justifier; who will contend with Me? We
will stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him draw near to Me.
9. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help Me; who (is) he (that) will
condemn Me? All they like the garment shall grow old; the moth shall
devour them.
10. Who among you is a fearer of Jehovah, hearkening to the voice of
His servant, who walketh in darkness, and there is no light to him?
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and lean upon his God. 11. Lo,
all of you kindling fire, girding sparks (or, fiery darts), go in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks ye have kindled. From My hand
is this to you; in pain shall ye lie down.
LI.--[This chapter is a direct continuation of the preceding
declarations with respect to the vocation of the Church, and the
Divine administration towards her. The possibility of her increase,
as previously promised, is evinced by the example of Abraham, from
whom all Israel descended, vers. 1-3. In like manner many shall be
added from the Gentiles, vers. 4-6. Their enemies shall not only fail
to destroy them, but shall be themselves destroyed, vers. 7, 8. This
is confirmed by another historical example, that of Egypt, vers. 9,
10. The same assurances are then repeated, with a clearer promise of
the new dispensation, vers. 11-16. The chapter closes with a direct
address to Zion, who, though helpless in herself and destitute of
human aid, is sure of God's protection and of the destruction of her
enemies and His, vers. 17-23.]
1. Hearken unto Me, ye who are following after righteousness, ye who
are seeking Jehovah; look unto the rock (from which) ye have been
hewn, and the hole of the pit from which ye have been digged. 2. Look
unto Abraham your father and unto Sarah (that) bare you: for I have
called him one, and I will bless him and increase him (still). 3. For
Jehovah hath comforted Zion; He hath comforted all our wastes, and
hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of
the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and
the voice of melody. 4. Attend unto Me, My people: and My nation,
unto Me give ear: that law from Me shall go forth, and My judgment
for a light of the nations. 5. Near (is) My righteousness, gone forth
is My salvation, and My arm shall judge the nations. For Me shall the
islands wait, and in My arm they shall hope. 6. Raise to the heavens
your eyes, and look unto the earth beneath; and the earth like the
garment (which grows old) shall grow old, and its inhabitants
likewise shall die; and My salvation to eternity shall be, and My
righteousness shall not be broken.
7. Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, people (with) My law
in their heart: hear not the reproach of men, and by their scoffs be
not broken (in spirit). 8. For like the (moth-eaten) garment shall
the moth devour them, and like the (worm-eaten) wool shall the worm
devour them; and My righteousness to eternity shall be, and My
salvation to an age of ages.
9. Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Jehovah; awake, as (in the)
days of old, the ages of eternities; art Thou not the same that hewed
Rahab in pieces, that wounded the dragon? 10. Art not Thou the same
that dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that placed the
depths of the sea (as) a way for the passage of redeemed ones?
11. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return and come to Zion with
shouting, and everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall
overtake (them), sorrow and sighing have fled away. 12. I, I am He
that comforteth you; who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of man
(who) is to die, and of the son of man who (as) grass is to be given?
13. And hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, spreading the heavens and
founding the earth, and hast trembled continually all the day, from
before the wrath of the oppressor as he made ready to destroy? And
where is (now) the wrath of the oppressor? 14. He hastens bowing to
be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, and his bread shall not
fail. 15. And I am Jehovah thy God, rousing the sea, and then its
waves roar; Jehovah of hosts (is) His name. 16. And I have put My
words in thy mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have the earth,
and to say to Zion, Thou art My people. 17. Rouse thyself! rouse
thyself! Arise, Jerusalem! (thou) who hast drunk at the hand of
Jehovah the cup of His wrath; the bowl of the cup of reeling thou
hast drunk, thou hast wrung out.
18. There is no guide to hear of all the sons she has brought forth,
and no one grasping her hand of all the sons she has brought up.
19. Both these things are befalling thee: who will mourn for thee?
Wasting and ruin, famine and sword: who (but) I will comfort thee?
20. Thy sons were faint; they lie at the head of all the streets like
a wild bull in a net, filled with the wrath of Jehovah, the rebuke of
thy God. 21. Therefore pray hear this, thou suffering one, and
drunken, but not with wine; 22. thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, and thy
God--He will defend His people--Behold, I have taken from thy hand
the cup of reeling, the bowl of the cup of My fury; thou shalt not
continue to drink it any more. 23. And I put it into the hand of
those that afflicted thee, that said to thy soul, Bow down and we
will pass over; and thou didst lay thy back as the ground, and as the
street for the passengers.
LII.--[However low the natural Israel may sink, the true Church shall
become more glorious than ever, being freed from the impurities
connected with her former state, ver. 1. This is described as a
captivity from which she is exhorted to escape, ver. 2. Her
emancipation is the fruit of God's gratuitous compassion, ver. 3. As
a nation she has suffered long enough, vers. 4, 5. The day is coming
when the Israel of God shall know in whom they have believed, ver. 6.
The herald of the new dispensation is described as already visible
upon the mountains, ver. 7. The very ruins of Jerusalem are summoned
to rejoice, ver. 9. The glorious change is witnessed by the whole
world. 10. The true church or Israel of God is exhorted to come out
of Jewry, ver. 11. This exodus is likened to the one from Egypt, but
described as even more auspicious, ver. 12. Its great leader, the
Messiah, as the Servant of Jehovah, must be and is to be exalted,
ver. 13. And this exaltation shall bear due proportion to the
humiliation which preceded it, vers. 14, 15.]
1. Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion! Put on thy garments of
beauty, O Jerusalem, the Holy City! For no more shall there continue
to come into thee an uncircumcised and unclean (person). 2. Shake
thyself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem! loose the bands of
thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion!
3. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Ye were sold for nought, and not
for money shall ye be redeemed. 4. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah,
Into Egypt went down My people at the first to sojourn there, and
Assyria oppressed them for nothing. 5. And now what have I here,
saith Jehovah, that My people is taken away for nothing, its rulers
howl, saith Jehovah, and continually, all the day, My name is
blasphemed? 6. Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in
that day (shall they know) that I am He that said, Behold Me!
7. How timely on the mountains are the feet of one bringing glad
tidings, publishing peace, bringing tidings of good, publishing
salvation, saying to Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8. The voice of thy
watchmen! They raise the voice, together will they shout; for eye to
eye will they see in Jehovah's returning to Zion. 9. Burst forth,
shout together, ruins of Jerusalem! For Jehovah hath comforted His
people, hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10. Jehovah hath bared His holy arm
to the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth have
seen the salvation of our God.
11. Away! away! go out from thence! the unclean touch not! come out
from the midst of her! Be clean, ye armour-bearers of Jehovah.
12. For not in haste shall ye go out, and in flight ye shall not
depart; for going before you (is) Jehovah, and bringing up your rear
the God of Israel.
LII. 13.--[The great leader of this exodus, the Messiah, as the
Servant of Jehovah, must be and is to be exalted, ver. 13. And this
exaltation shall bear due proportion to the humiliation which
preceded it, vers. 14, 15.
LIII.--Notwithstanding these and other prophecies of the Messiah, He
is not recognised when He appears, ver. 1. He is not the object of
desire and trust, for whom the great mass of the people have been
waiting, ver. 2. Nay, His low condition, and especially His
sufferings are vicarious, not accidental or incurred by His own
fault, vers. 4-6. Hence, though personally innocent, He is perfectly
unresisting, ver. 7. Even they for whom He suffers may mistake His
person and His office, ver. 8. His case presents the two extremes of
righteous punishment and perfect innocence, ver. 9. But the glorious
fruit of these very sufferings will correct all errors, ver. 10. He
becomes a Saviour only by becoming a substitute, ver. 11. Even after
the work of expiation is completed, and His glorious reward secured,
the work of intercession will be still continued, ver. 12.]
13. Behold, my Servant shall do wisely, shall rise and be exalted and
high exceedingly. 14. As many were shocked at Thee--so marred from
man His look, and His form from the sons of men--15. so shall He
sprinkle many nations; concerning Him shall kings stop their mouth,
because what was not recounted to them they have seen, and what they
had not heard they have perceived.
LIII.--1. Who hath believed our report? and the arm of Jehovah, to
whom (or, upon whom) has it been revealed?
2. And He came up like the tender plant before Him, and like a root
from a dry ground; He had no form nor comeliness, and we shall see
Him, and no sight that we should desire it. 3. Despised and forsaken
of men (or ceasing from among men), a man of sorrows and acquainted
with sickness, and like one hiding the face from Him (or, us),
despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4. Surely our sicknesses He bore, and our griefs He carried; and we
thought Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. 5. And He was
pierced (or, wounded) for our transgression, bruised (or, crushed)
for our iniquities; the chastisement (or, punishment) for our peace
(was) upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. 6. And we like
sheep had gone astray, each to his own way we had turned, and Jehovah
laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7. He was oppressed and He humbled Himself, and He will not open His
mouth--as a lamb to the slaughter is brought, and as a sheep before
its shearers is dumb--and He will not open His mouth. 8. From
distress and from judgment He was taken; and in His generation who
will think, that He was cut off from the land of the living; for the
transgression of my people (as) a curse for them? 9. And He gave with
wicked (men) His grave, and with a rich (man) in His death; because
(or, although) He had done no violence, and no deceit (was) in His
mouth.
10. And Jehovah was pleased to crush (or, bruise Him), He put Him to
grief (or, made Him sick); if (or, when) His soul shall make an
offering for sin, He shall see (His) seed, He shall prolong (His)
days, and the pleasure of Jehovah in His hand shall prosper. 11. From
the labour of His soul (or, life) He shall see, He shall be
satisfied; by His knowledge shall my servant (as) a righteous one,
give righteousness to many, and their iniquities He will bear.
12. Therefore will I divide to Him among the many, and with the
strong shall He divide the spoil, in lieu of this that He bared unto
death His soul, and with the transgressors was numbered, and He
(Himself) bare the sin of many, and for the transgressors He shall
make intercession.
LIV.--[Instead of suffering from the loss of her national
prerogatives, the Church shall be more glorious and productive than
before, ver. 1. Instead of being limited to a single nation, she
shall be so extended as to take in all the nations of the earth,
vers. 2, 3. What seemed at first to be her forlorn and desolate
condition shall be followed by a glorious change, ver. 4. He who
seemed to be the God of the Jews only shall now be seen to be the God
of the Gentiles also, ver. 5. The abrogation of the old economy was
like the repudiation of a wife, but its effects will show it to be
rather a renewal of the conjugal relation, ver. 6. The momentary
rejection shall be followed by an everlasting reconciliation, vers.
7, 8. The old economy, like Noah's flood, can never be repeated, ver.
9. That was a temporary institution; this shall outlast the earth
itself, ver. 10. The old Jerusalem shall be forgotten in the
splendour of the new, vers. 11, 12. But this shall be a spiritual
splendour, springing from a constant Divine influence, ver. 13.
Hence it shall be also a holy and a safe state, ver. 14. All the
enemies of the Church shall either be destroyed or received into her
bosom, ver. 15. The warrior and his weapons are alike God's creatures
and at His disposal, ver. 16. In every conflict, both of hand and
tongue, the Church shall be triumphant, not in her own right or her
own strength, but in that of Him who justifies, pardons, and saves
her, ver. 17.]
1. Shout, O barren, that didst not bear; break forth into a shout and
cry aloud, thou that didst not writhe (in childbirth): for more (are)
the children of the desolate than the children of the married
(woman), saith Jehovah. 2. Widen the place of thy tent, and the
curtains of thy dwelling let them stretch out; spare not (or, hinder
it not); lengthen thy cords and strengthen (or, make fast) thy
stakes. 3. For right and left shalt thou break forth (or, spread),
and thy seed shall possess (or, dispossess or inherit) nations, and
repeople ruined (or, forsaken) cities.
4. Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; and be not abashed, for
thou shalt not blush; for the shame of thy youth thou shalt forget,
and the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt not remember any more.
5. For thy husband (is) thy Maker, Jehovah of hosts is His name; and
thy Redeemer (is) the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth
shall He be called. 6. For as a wife forsaken and grieved of spirit
has Jehovah called thee, and (as) a wife of youth, for she shall be
rejected, said thy God. 7. In a little moment I forsook thee, and in
great mercies I will gather thee. 8. In a gush of wrath I hid My face
for a moment from thee, and in everlasting kindness I have had mercy
on thee, saith thy Redeemer, Jehovah. 9. For the waters of Noah is
this to Me; what I sware from the waters of Noah passing again over
the earth [_i.e.,_ that they should not pass], so have I sworn from
being angry [that I will not be angry] against thee, and from
rebuking [that I will not] rebuke thee. 10. For the mountains shall
move and the hills shall shake; but My favour from thee shall not
move, and My covenant of peace shall not shake, saith thy pitier,
Jehovah. 11. Wretched, storm-tossed, comfortless! Behold, I am laying
(or, about to lay) thy stones in antimony, and I will found thee upon
sapphires; 12. and I will make thy battlements (or, pinnacles) ruby,
and thy gates to (be) sparkling gems, and all thy borders to (be)
stones of pleasure (or delight). 13. And all thy children disciples
of Jehovah, and great (or, plentiful) the peace of thy children.
14. In righteousness shalt thou be established: be far from
oppression, for thou shalt not fear, and from destruction, for it
shall not come near to thee. 15. Lo, they shall gather, they shall
gather, not at My sign (or, signal). Who has gathered against thee?
He shall fall away to thee. 16. Lo, I have created the smith, blowing
into the fire of coal, and bringing out a weapon for his work; and I
have created the wasters to destroy. 17. Every weapon (that) shall be
formed against thee shall not prosper, and every tongue that shall
rise with thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness from Me, saith
Jehovah.
LV.--[By the removal of the old restrictions, the Church is, for the
first time, open to the whole world, as the source or medium of the
richest blessings, ver. 1. It is only here that real nourishment can
be obtained, ver. 2. Life is made ours by an oath and covenant, ver.
3. The Messiah is a witness of the truth and a commander of the
nations, ver. 4. As such He will be recognised by many nations who
before knew nothing of the true religion, ver. 5. These are now
addressed directly, and exhorted to embrace the offered opportunity,
ver. 6. To this there is every encouragement afforded in the Divine
mercy, ver. 7. The infinite disparity between God and man should have
the same effect, instead of hindering it, vers. 8, 9. The commands
and promises of God must be fulfilled, vers. 10, 11. Nothing,
therefore, can prevent a glorious change in the condition of the
world under the dispensation of the Spirit, ver. 12. This blessed
renovation, being directly promotive of God's glory, shall endure for
ever, ver. 13.]
1. Ho, every thirsty one, come ye to the waters; and he to whom there
is no money, come ye, buy (food) and eat; and come, buy, without
money and without price, wine and milk. 2. Why will ye weigh money
for (that which is) not bread, and your labour for (that which is)
not to satiety? Hearken, hearken unto me, and eat (that which is)
good, and your soul shall enjoy itself in fatness. 3. Incline your
ear and come unto me, hear and your soul shall live (or, let it
live), and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure
mercies of David. 4. Lo, (as) a witness of nations I have given him,
a chief and commander of nations. 5. Lo, a nation (that) thou knowest
not shalt thou call, and a nation (that) have not known thee shall
run unto thee, for the sake of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One
of Israel, for He hath glorified thee.
6. Seek ye Jehovah while He may be found; call ye upon Him while He
is near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity
his thoughts, and let him return unto Jehovah, and He will have mercy
upon him, and to our God for He will abundantly pardon (literally,
multiply to pardon). 8. For My thoughts (are) not as your thoughts,
nor your ways My ways, saith Jehovah. 9. For (as) the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts.
10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
thither returneth not, but when it has watered the earth and made it
bear and put forth, and has given seed to the sower and bread to the
eater, 11. so shall My word be, which goeth out of My mouth: it shall
not return unto Me void (or, without effect), but when it has done
that which I desired, and successfully done that for which I sent it.
12. For with joy shall ye go forth, and in peace shall ye be led; the
mountains and the hills shall break out before you into a shout, and
all the trees of the field shall clap the hand. 13. Instead of the
thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come
up the myrtle, and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an
everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
LVI.--[The day is coming when the righteousness of God is to be fully
revealed, without the veils and shackles which had hitherto confined
it, ver. 1. For this great change, the best preparation is fidelity
to the spirit of the old economy, ver. 2. No personal or national
distinctions will be any longer recognised, ver. 3. Connection with
the Church will no longer be a matter of hereditary right, vers. 4,
5. The Church shall be henceforth coextensive with the world, vers.
6-8. But first the carnal Israel must be abandoned to its enemies,
ver. 9. Its rulers are neither able nor worthy to deliver the people
or themselves, ver. 10-12.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye judgment (or justice) and do
righteousness; for near (is) My salvation to come, and My
righteousness to be revealed. 2. Happy the man (that) shall do this,
and the son of man that shall hold it fast, keeping the Sabbath from
profaning it, and keeping the hand from doing evil.
3. And let not the foreigner say, who has joined himself unto
Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will separate me wholly from His people; and
let not the eunuch say, Lo, I am a dry tree. 4. For thus saith
Jehovah to (or, as to) the eunuchs, who shall keep My Sabbaths, and
shall choose what I delight in, and take fast hold of My covenant,
5. I will give to them in My house and within My walls a place and a
name better than sons and than daughters; an everlasting name will I
give to him, which shall not be cut off. 6. And (as to) the
foreigners joining themselves to Jehovah to serve Him and to love the
name of Jehovah, to be to him for servants, every one keeping the
Sabbath from profaning it, and holding fast my covenant; 7. I will
bring them to My mount of holiness, and make them joyful in My house
of prayer, their offerings and their sacrifices (shall be) acceptance
on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
nations. 8. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the gatherer of the outcasts
of Israel, Still (more) will I gather upon him (in addition) to his
gathered.
9. All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, all ye beasts in the
forest! 10. His watchmen (are) blind all of them, they have not known
(or, do not know); all of them (are) dumb dogs, they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11. And the dogs are greedy,
they know not satiety, and they, the shepherds (or, the shepherds
themselves), know not how to distinguish (or, act wisely): all of
them to their own way are turned, (every) man to his own gain from
his own quarter (or, without exception). 12. Come ye, I will fetch
wine, and we will intoxicate ourselves with strong drink, and like
to-day (shall be) to-morrow, great, abundantly, exceedingly.
LVII.--[The righteous who died under the old economy were taken away
from the evil to come, vers. 1, 2. The wicked who despised them were
themselves proper objects of contempt, vers. 3, 4. Their idolatry is
first described in literal terms, vers. 5, 6. It is then represented
as a spiritual idolatry, vers. 7-9. Their obstinate persistence in
sin is represented as the cause of their hopeless and remediless
destruction, vers. 10-13. A way is prepared for spiritual Israel to
come out from among them, vers. 14. The hopes of true believers shall
not be deferred for ever, vers. 15, 16. Even these must be chastened
for their sins, ver. 17. But there is favour in reserve for all true
penitents, without regard to national distinctions, vers. 18. 19. To
the incorrigible sinner, on the other hand, peace is impossible,
vers. 20, 21.]
1. The righteous perisheth, and there is no man laying (it) to heart,
and men of mercy are taken away, with none considering (or
perceiving) that from the presence of evil the righteous is taken
away. 2. He shall go in peace (or, enter into peace); they shall rest
upon their beds--walking straight before him.
3. And ye (or, as for you), draw near hither, ye sons of the witch,
seed of the adulterer and the harlot. 4. At whom do ye amuse
yourselves? At whom do ye enlarge the mouth, prolong the tongue? Are
ye not children of rebellion (or, apostasy), a seed of falsehood?
5. Inflamed (or, inflaming yourselves) among the oaks (or,
terebinths), under every green tree, slaughtering the children in the
valleys, under the clefts of the rocks. 6. Among the smooth (stones)
of the valley (or, the brook) is thy portion; they, they are thy lot;
also to them hast thou poured out a drink-offering, thou hast brought
up a meat-offering. Shall I for these things be consoled (_i.e.,_
satisfied without revenge)?
7. On a high and elevated mountain thou hast placed thy bed; also
there (or, even thither) hast thou gone up to offer sacrifice. 8. And
behind the door and the door-post thou hast placed thy memorial, far
away from me thou hast uncovered (thyself or thy bed), and hast gone
up, thou hast enlarged thy bed and hast covenanted from them, thou
hast loved their bed, thou hast provided room. 9. And thou hast gone
to the king in oil, and hast multiplied thine unguents, and hast sent
thine ambassadors even to a far-off (land), and hast gone (or, sent)
down even to hell.
10. In the greatness of thy way (or, the abundance of thy travel)
thou hast labour; (but) thou hast not said, There is no hope. Thou
hast found the life of thy hand; therefore thou art not weak. 11. And
whom hast thou feared and been afraid of, that thou shouldst lie? And
Me thou hast not remembered, thou hast not called to mind (or, laid
to heart). Is it not (because) I hold My peace, and that of old, that
thou wilt not fear Me? 12. I will declare thy righteousness and thy
works, and they shall not profit (or, avail) thee. 13. In thy crying
(_i.e.,_ when thou criest for help), let thy gatherings save thee!
And (yet) all of them the wind shall take up, and a breath shall take
away, and the (one) trusting in Me shall inherit the land and possess
My holy mountain.
14. And he shall say, Cast up, cast up, clear the way, take up the
stumbling-block from the way of the people! 15. For thus saith the
High and Exalted One, inhabiting eternity, and Holy is His name: On
high and holy will I dwell, and with the broken and humble of spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble and to retrieve the heart of the
broken (or, contrite ones). 16. For not to eternity will I contend,
and not to perpetuity will I be wroth; for the spirit from before Me
will faint, and the souls (which) I have made.
17. For his covetous iniquity I am wroth and will smite him, (I will)
hide Me and will be wroth; for he has gone on turning away (_i.e.,_
persevering in apostasy) in the way of his heart (or, of his own
inclination). 18. His ways I have seen, and I will heal him, and will
guide him, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19. Creating the fruit of the lips, Peace, peace to the far off and
to the near, saith Jehovah, and I will heal him.
20. And the wicked (are) like the troubled sea, for rest it cannot,
and its waters cast up mire and dirt. 21. There is no peace, saith my
God, to the wicked.
LVIII.--[The rejection of Israel as a nation is the just reward of
their unfaithfulness, ver. 1. Their religious services are
hypocritical, ver. 2. Their mortifications and austerities are
nullified by accompanying wickedness, vers. 3-5. They should have
been connected with the opposite virtues, vers. 6, 7. In that case
they would have continued to enjoy the divine favour, vers. 8, 9.
They are still invited to make trial of this course, with an ample
promise of prosperity and blessing to encourage them, vers. 10-14.]
1. Cry with the throat, spare not, like the trumpet raise thy voice,
and tell to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob
their sins.
2. And Me day (by) day they will seek, and the knowledge of My ways
they will delight in (or, desire), like a nation which has done
right, and the judgment of its God has not forsaken; they will ask of
Me righteous judgments, the approach to God (or, of God) they will
delight in (or, desire).
3. Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not seen (it)? afflicted our
soul (or, themselves) and Thou wilt not know (it)? Behold in the day
of your fast ye will find pleasure, and all your labours ye will
exact. 4. Behold, for strife and contention ye will fast, and to
smite with the flat of wickedness; ye shall not (or, ye will not)
fast to-day (so as) to make your voice heard on high. 5. Shall it be
like this, the fast that I will choose, the day of man's humbling
himself? Is it to hang his head like a bulrush, and make sackcloth
and ashes his bed? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day of
acceptance (an acceptable day) to Jehovah?
6. Is not this the fast that I will choose, to loosen bands of
wickedness, to undo the fastenings of the yoke, and to send away the
crushed (or broken) free, and every yoke ye shall break? 7. Is it not
to break unto the hungry thy bread? and the afflicted, the homeless,
thou shalt bring home; for thou shalt see one naked and shalt clothe
him, and from thine own flesh thou shalt not hide thyself.
8. Then shall break forth as the dawn thy light, and thy healing
speedily shall spring up; then shall go before thee thy
righteousness, and the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rereward (or,
bring up thy rear). 9. Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer;
thou shalt cry, and He will say, Behold Me (here I am), if thou wilt
put away from the midst of thee the yoke, the pointing of the finger,
and the speaking of vanity.
10. And (if) thou wilt let out thy soul to the hungry, and the
afflicted soul will satisfy, then shall thy sight arise in the
darkness, and thy gloom as the (double light or) noon. 11. And
Jehovah will guide thee over, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and
thy bones shall He invigorate, and thou shalt be like a watered
garden, and like a spring of water whose waters shall not fail.
12. And they shall build from thee the ruins of antiquity (or,
perpetuity), foundations of age and age (_i.e.,_ of ages) shalt thou
raise up: and it shall be called to thee (or, thou shalt be called)
Repairer of the breach, Restorer of paths for dwelling.
13. If thou wilt turn away thy foot from the Sabbath to do thy
pleasure on My holy day, and wilt call the Sabbath a delight (and)
the holy (day) of Jehovah honourable, and wilt honour it by not doing
thy own ways, by not finding thy pleasure and talking talk; 14. then
shalt thou be happy in Jehovah, and I will make thee rule upon the
heights of the earth, and I will make thee eat the heritage of Jacob
thy father, for Jehovah's mouth hath spoken it.
LIX.--[The fault of Israel's rejection is not in the Lord, but in
themselves, vers. 1, 2. They are charged with sins of violence and
injustice, vers. 3, 4. The ruinous effects of these corruptions are
described, vers. 5, 6. Their violence and injustice are fatal to
themselves and to others, vers. 7, 8. The moral condition of the
people is described as one of darkness and hopeless degradation,
vers. 9-15. In this extremity, Jehovah interposes to deliver the true
Israel, vers. 16, 17. This can only be effected by the destruction of
the carnal Israel, vers. 18. The Divine presence shall no longer be
subjected to local restrictions, vers. 19. A Redeemer shall appear in
Zion to save the true Israel, vers. 20. The old dispensation shall
give place to the dispensation of the Word and Spirit, which shall
last for ever, ver. 21.]
1. Behold, not shortened is Jehovah's hand from saving, and not
benumbed is His ear from hearing. 2. But your iniquities have been
separating between you and your God, and your sins have hid (His)
face from you, so as not to hear.
3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with
iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue will utter
wickedness. 4. There is none calling with justice, and there is none
contending with truth; they trust in vanity and speak falsehood,
conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. 5. Eggs of the basilisk
they have hatched, and webs of the spider they will spin (or, weave);
the one eating their eggs shall die, and the crushed (egg) shall
hatch out a viper. 6. The webs shall not become (or, be for)
clothing, and they shall not cover themselves with their works: their
works are works of mischief (or, iniquity), and the doing of violence
is in their hands. 7. Their feet to evil will run, and they will
hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of
mischief (or, iniquity); wasting and ruin are in their paths. 8. The
way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their
paths; their courses they have rendered crooked for them; every one
walking in them knows not peace.
9. Therefore is judgment far from us, and righteousness will not
overtake us; we wait for light, and behold darkness; for splendours,
(and) in obscurities we walk. 10. We grope like the blind for the
wall, like the eyeless we grope; we stumble at noon-day as in
twilight, in thick darkness like the dead. 11. We growl like the
bears, all of us, and like the doves we moan; we wait for justice and
there is none, for salvation (and) it is far from us. 12. For our
transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify
against us; for our transgressions are with us, and our
iniquities--we know them; 13. to transgress and lie against Jehovah,
and to turn back from behind our God, to speak oppression and
departure, to conceive and utter from the heart words of falsehood.
14. And judgment is thrust (or, driven) back, and righteousness afar
off stands; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot
enter. 15. Then truth was missed (_i.e.,_ found wanting), and whoso
departed from evil made himself a prey (or, was plundered).
Then Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no
judgment (or, practical justice). 16. And He saw that there was no
man, and He stood aghast that there was no one interposing; and His
own arm saved for Him, and His own righteousness, it upheld Him.
17. And He clothed Himself with righteousness as a coat of mail, and
a helmet of salvation on His head, and He clothed Himself with
garments of vengeance (for) clothing. 18. According to (their) deeds,
according will He repay, wrath to His enemies, (their) desert to His
foes, to the isles (their) desert will He repay. 19. And they shall
fear from the west the name of Jehovah, and from the rising of the
sun His glory; for it shall come like a straitened stream, the spirit
of Jehovah raising a banner in it.
20. Then shall come for Zion a Redeemer, and for the converts from
apostasy in Jacob, saith Jehovah. 21. And I (or, as for me)--this
(is) My covenant with them, saith Jehovah. My Spirit which is on
thee, and My words which I have placed in thy mouth, shall not depart
out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith
Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever (or, from now and to eternity).
LX.--[The prophet describes the approaching change as a new and
Divine light rising upon Zion, ver. 1. He contrasts it with the
darkness of surrounding nations, ver. 2. Yet these are not excluded
from participation in the light, ver. 3. The elect in every nation
are the children of the Church, and shall be gathered to her, vers.
4, 5. On one side he sees the Oriental caravans and flocks
approaching, vers. 6, 7. On the other, the commercial fleets of
western nations, vers. 8, 9. What seemed rejection is in fact the
highest favour, ver. 10. The glory of the true Church is her freedom
from local and national restrictions, ver. 11. None are excluded from
her pale but those who exclude themselves and thereby perish, ver.
12. External nature shall contribute to her splendour, ver. 13. Her
very enemies shall do her homage, ver. 14. Instead of being cast off,
she is glorified for ever, ver. 15. Instead of being identified with
one nation, she shall derive support from all, ver. 16. All that is
changed in her condition shall be changed for the better, ver. 17.
The evils of her former state are done away, ver. 18. Even some of
its advantages are now superfluous, ver. 19. What remains shall be no
longer precarious, ver. 20. The splendour of this new dispensation is
a moral and spiritual splendour, but attended by external safety and
protection, ver. 21, 22. All this shall certainly and promptly come
to pass at the appointed time, ver. 22.]
1. Arise, be light; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah
has risen upon thee. 2. For behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and a gloom the nations, and upon thee shall Jehovah rise, and
His glory upon thee shall be seen. 3. And nations shall walk in thy
light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising.
4. Lift up thine eyes round about (_i.e.,_ in all directions) and
see; all of them are gathered, they come to thee, thy sons from afar
shall come, and thy daughters at the side shall be borne. 5. Then
shalt thou see (or, fear), and brighten up (or, overflow), and thy
heart shall throb and swell; because (or, when) the abundance of the
sea shall be turned upon thee, the strength of nations shall come
unto thee.
6. A stream of camels shall cover thee, young camels (or,
dromedaries) of Midian and Ephah, all of them from Sheba shall come,
gold and incense shall they bear, and the praises of Jehovah as good
news. 7. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered for thee, the rams
of Nebaioth shall minister to thee, they shall ascend with good-will
(or, acceptably) My altar, and My house of beauty I will beautify.
8. Who are these that fly as a cloud and as doves to their windows?
9. Because for Me the isles are waiting (or, must wait) and the ships
of Tarshish in the first place, to bring thy sons from far, their
silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and
for the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified thee.
10. And strangers shall build thy walls, and their kings shall serve
thee; for in My wrath I smote thee, and in My favour I have had mercy
on thee. 11. And thy gates shall be open continually, day and night
they shall not be shut, to bring into thee the strength of nations
and their kings led (captive, or, in triumph). 12. For the nation and
the kingdom which will not serve thee shall perish, and the nations
shall be desolated, desolated.
13. The glory of Lebanon to thee shall come, cypress, plane, and box
together, to adorn the place of My sanctuary, and the place of My
feet I will honour.
14. Then shall come to thee bending the sons of thy oppressors, then
shall bow down to the soles of thy feet all thy despisers, and shall
call thee the City of Jehovah, Zion the holy place of Israel (or, the
Zion of the Holy One of Israel).
15. Instead of thy being forsaken and hated, and with none passing
(through thee), and I will place thee for a boast of perpetuity, a
joy of age and age. 16. And they shalt suck the milk of nations, and
the breast of kings shalt thou suck, and thou shalt know that I,
Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and (that) thy Redeemer (is) the Mighty One
of Jacob. 17. Instead of brass (or, copper) I will bring gold, and
instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood brass, and
instead of stones iron, and I will place (or, make) thy government
peace, and thy rulers righteousness.
18. There shall be no more heard violence in thy land, desolation and
ruin in thy borders (or, within thy bounds); and thou shalt call
salvation thy walls, and thy gates praise. 19. No more shall be to
thee the sun for a light by day, and for brightness the moon shall
not shine to thee, and Jehovah shall become thy everlasting light,
and thy God thy glory. 20. The sun shall set no more, and thy moon
shall not be withdrawn; for Jehovah shall be unto thee an eternal
light, and completed the days of thy mourning. 21. And thy people,
all of them righteous, for ever shall inherit the earth, the branch
(or, shoot) of My planting, the work of My hands, to glorify Myself
(or, to be glorified). 22. The little one shall become a thousand,
and the small one a strong nation; I, Jehovah, in its time will
hasten it.
LXI.--[After describing the new condition of the Church, he again
introduces the great Personage by whom the change is to be brought
about. His mission and its object are described by Himself in vers.
1-3. Its grand result shall be the restoration of a ruined world,
ver. 4. The Church, as a mediator between God and the revolted
nations, shall enjoy their solace and support, vers. 5, 6. The shame
of God's people shall be changed to honour, ver. 7. The Church once
restricted as a single nation, shall be recognised and honoured among
all, ver. 9. He triumphs in the prospect of the universal spread of
truth and righteousness, vers. 10, 11.]
1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah (is) upon me, because Jehovah hath
anointed me to bring good news to the humble, He hath sent me to bind
up the broken in heart, to proclaim to captives freedom, and to the
bound open opening (of the eyes or of the prison doors); 2. to
proclaim a year of favour for Jehovah, and a day of vengeance for our
God; to comfort all mourners, 3. to put upon Zion's mourners--to give
them a crown instead of ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment
of praise for a faint spirit; and it shall be called to them (or,
they shall be called) the oaks of righteousness, the planting of
Jehovah (_i.e.,_ planted by Jehovah) to glorify Himself.
4. And they shall bind up the ruins of antiquity, the desolations of
the ancients they shall raise, and shall renew the cities of ruin
(_i.e.,_ ruined cities), the desolations of age and age. 5. Then
shall stand strangers and feed your flocks, and the children of
outland (shall be) your ploughmen and your vine-dressers. 6. And ye
(or more emphatically, as for you), the priests of Jehovah shall ye
be called, the ministers of our God shall be said to you (or, of
you), the strength of nations shall ye eat, and in their glory shall
ye substitute yourselves. 7. Instead of your shame (ye shall have)
double, and (instead of their) confusion they shall celebrate their
portion; therefore in their land shall they inherit double,
everlasting joy shall be to them. 8. For I am Jehovah, loving
justice, hating (that which is) taken away unjustly, and I will give
their hire truly, and an everlasting covenant I strike for them.
9. Then shall be known among the nations their seed, and their issue
in the midst of the peoples. All seeing them shall acknowledge them
that they are a seed Jehovah has blessed.
10. (I will) joy, I will joy in Jehovah, let my soul exult in my God;
for He hath clothed me with garments of salvation, a mantle of
righteousness has He put on me, as a bridegroom adjusts his priestly
crown, and as the bride arrays her jewels. 11. For as the earth puts
forth its growth, and as the garden makes its plants to grow, so
shall the Lord Jehovah make to grow righteousness and praise before
all the nations.
LXII.--[The words of the great Deliverer are continued from the
foregoing chapter. He will not rest until the glorious change in the
condition of His people is accomplished, ver. 1. They shall be
recognised by kings and nations as the people of Jehovah, vers. 2, 3.
She who seemed to be forsaken is still His spouse, vers. 4, 5. The
Church is required to watch and pray for the fulfilment of the
promise, vers. 6, 7. God has sworn to protect her and supply her
wants, ver. 8, 9. Instead of a single nation, all the nations of the
earth shall flow unto her, ver 10. The good news of salvation shall
no longer be confined, but universally diffused, ver 11. The glory of
the Church is the redemption of the world, ver. 12.]
1. For Zion's sake I will not be still, and for Jerusalem's sake I
will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and
her salvation as a lamp (that) burneth. 2. And nations shall see thy
righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and there shall be called in
thee a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall utter. 3. And thou
shalt be a crown of beauty in Jehovah's hand, and a diadem of royalty
in the palm of thy God. 4. No more shall it be called to thee (shalt
thou be called) Azubah (Forsaken), and thy land shall no more be
called Shemamah (Desolate), but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (my
delight is in her), and thy land Beulah (married), for Jehovah
delights in thee, and thy land shall be married. 5. For (as) a young
man marrieth a virgin, (so) shall thy sons marry thee, and (with) the
joy of a bridegroom over a bride shall thy God rejoice over thee.
6. On thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and
all the night long they shall not be silent. Ye that remind Jehovah,
let there be no rest to you, 7. and give no rest to Him, until He
establish and, until He place Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8. Sworn hath Jehovah by His right hand, and by His arm of strength,
If I give (_i.e.,_ I will not give) thy corn any more as food to
thine enemies, and if the sons of the outland shall drink thy new
wine which thou hast laboured in (I am not God). 9. For those
gathering it shall eat it, and shall praise Jehovah, and those
collecting it shall drink it in My holy courts (or, in the courts of
My sanctuary). 10. Pass, pass through the gates, clear the way of the
people, raise high, raise high the highway, free (it) from stones,
raise a banner (or, a signal) over the nations. 11. Behold, Jehovah
has caused it to be heard to the end of the earth, Say ye to the
daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is
with Him and His hire before Him. 12. And they shall call them the
Holy People, the redeemed of Jehovah, and thou shalt be called
Derushah (sought for), Ir-lo-neczabah (city not forsaken).
LXIII.--[The influx of the Gentiles into Zion having been described
in the preceding verses, the destruction of her enemies is now
sublimely represented as a sanguinary triumph of Jehovah or the
Messiah, vers. 1-6. The prophet then supposes the catastrophe already
past, and takes a retrospective view of God's compassion towards His
people, and of their unfaithfulness during the old economy, vers.
7-14. He assumes the tone of earnest supplication, such as might have
been offered by the believing Jews when all seemed lost in the
destruction of the commonwealth and temple, vers. 15-19.]
LXIV.--[This chapter is inseparable from the one before it. The
strongest confidence is expressed in the Divine power, founded upon
former experience, vers. 1-3. The two great facts of Israel's
rejection as a nation, and the continued existence of the Church, are
brought together in ver. 4. The unworthiness of Israel is
acknowledged still more fully, ver. 5, 6. The sovereign authority of
God is humbly recognised, ver. 7. His favour is earnestly implored,
ver. 8. The external prerogatives of Israel are lost, ver. 9. But
will God for that cause cast off the true Israel, His own people?
ver. 10.]
1. Who (is) this coming from Edom, bright (as to His) garments from
Bozrah, this one adorned in His apparel, bending in the abundance of
His strength?
I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.
2. Why (is there) redness to Thy raiment, and (why are) Thy garments
like (those of) one treading in a wine-press?
3. The press I have trodden by Myself, and of the nations there was
not a man with Me; and I will tread them in My anger, and trample
them in My fury, and in their juice shall spirt upon My garments, and
all My vesture I have stained. 4. For the day of vengeance (is) in My
heart, and the year of My redeemed is come. 5. And I look, and there
is none helping; and I stand aghast, and there is none sustaining;
and My own arm saves for Me, and My fury it sustains Me. 6. And I
tread the nations in My anger, and I make them drunk in My wrath, and
I bring down to the earth their juice.
7. The mercies of Jehovah I will cause to be remembered, the praises
of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah hath done for us, which He
hath done for them, according to His compassions, and according to
the multitude of His mercies.
8. And He said, Only they are My people, (My) children shall not lie
(or, deceive), and He became a Saviour for them. 9. In all their
enmity He was not an enemy, and the angel of His face (or, presence)
saved them; in His love and in His sparing mercy He redeemed them,
and He took them up and carried them all the days of old. 10. And
they rebelled, and grieved His Holy Spirit (or, Spirit of holiness),
and He was turned from them into an enemy, He himself fought against
them.
11. And he remembered the days of old, Moses (and) his people. Where
is He that brought them up from the sea, the shepherd of His flock?
Where is He that put within him His Holy Spirit? 12. Leading them by
the right hand of Moses (and) His glorious arm, cleaving the waters
from before them, to make for Him an everlasting name? 13. Making
them walk in the depths, like the horse in the desert they shall not
stumble. 14. As the herd into the valley will go down, the Spirit of
Jehovah will make him rest. So didst Thou lead Thy people, to make
for Thyself a name of glory.
15. Look (down) from heaven and see from Thy dwelling-place of
holiness and beauty! Where is Thy zeal and Thy might (or, mighty
deeds)? The sounding of Thy bowels and Thy mercies towards me have
withdrawn themselves. 16. For Thou (art) our Father; for Abraham hath
not known us, and Israel will not recognise us; Thou Jehovah art our
Father, our Redeemer of old (or, from everlasting) is Thy name.
17. Why wilt Thou make us wander, O Jehovah, from Thy ways? (why)
wilt Thou harden our heart from Thy fear? Return, for the sake of Thy
servants, the tribes of Thy inheritance. 18. For a little Thy holy
people possessed, our enemies trod down Thy sanctuary. 19. We are of
old, Thou has not ruled over them, Thy name has not been called upon
them. LXIV.--1. Oh that Thou wouldst rend the heavens (and) come
down, (that) from before Thee the mountains might quake (or flow
down), 2. as fire kindles brush, fire boils water--to make known Thy
name to Thine enemies, from before Thee nations shall tremble. 3. In
Thy doing fearful things (which) we expect not, (oh that) Thou
wouldst come down, (that) the mountains before Thee might flow down.
4. And from eternity they have not heard, they have not perceived by
the ear, the eye hath not seen, a God beside Thee (who) will do for
(one) waiting for Him.
5. Thou hast met with one rejoicing and executing righteousness; in
Thy ways shall they remember Thee; behold, Thou hast been wroth, and
we have sinned; in them is perpetuity, and we shall be saved. 6. And
we were like the unclean all of us, and like a filthy garment all our
righteousness (virtues or good works), and we faded like the (fading)
leaf all of us, and our iniquities like the wind will take us up (or,
carry us away). 7. And there is no one calling on Thy name, rousing
himself to lay hold on Thee; for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and
hast melted us because of (or, by means of) our iniquities.
8. And now Jehovah, our Father (art) Thou, we the clay and Thou our
potter, and the work of Thy hands (are) we all. 9. Be not angry, O
Jehovah, to extremity, and do not to eternity remember guilt; lo,
look, we pray thee, Thy people (are) we all. 10. The holy cities are
a desert, Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a waste. 11. Our house of
holiness and beauty (in) which our fathers praised Thee has been
burned up with fire, and all our delights (or, desirable places) have
become a desolation. 12. Wilt Thou for these (things) restrain
Thyself, O Jehovah, wilt Thou keep silence and afflict us to
extremity?
LXV.--[The grand enigma of Israel's simultaneous loss and gain is
solved by a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles, ver. 1. This
is connected with the obstinate unfaithfulness of the chosen people,
ver. 2. They are represented under the two main aspects of their
character at different periods, as gross idolaters and as pharisaical
bigots, vers. 3-5. Their casting off was not occasioned by the sins
of one generation, but of many, vers. 6, 7. But even in this rejected
race there was a chosen remnant, in whom the promises shall be
fulfilled, vers. 8-10. He then reverts to the idolatrous Jews, and
threatens them with condign punishment, vers. 11, 12. The fate of the
unbelieving carnal Israel is compared with that of the true spiritual
Israel, vers. 13-16. The gospel economy is described as a new
creation, ver. 17. Its blessings are represented under glowing
figures borrowed from the old dispensation, vers. 18-19. Premature
death shall be no longer known, ver. 20. Possession and enjoyment
shall no longer be precarious, vers. 21-23. Their very desires shall
be anticipated, ver. 24. All animosities and noxious influences shall
cease for ever, ver. 25.]
1. I have been inquired of by those that asked not, I have been found
by those that sought Me not; I have said, Behold Me, behold Me, to a
nation (that) was not called by My name. 2. I have spread (or,
stretched) out My hands all the day (or, every day) to a rebellious
people, those going the way not good, after their own thoughts (or,
designs)--3. the people angering Me to My face continually,
sacrificing in the gardens, and censing on the bricks; 4. sitting in
the graves, and in the holes they will lodge, eating the flesh of
swine, and broth of filthy things (is in) their vessels; 5. the (men)
saying, Keep to thyself, come not near to me, for I am holy to
thee,--these (are) a smoke in My wrath, a fire burning all the day
(or, every day). 6 and 7. Lo, it is written before Me, I will not
rest except I repay, and I will repay into their bosom your
iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith
Jehovah, who burned incense on the mountains, and on the hills
blasphemed Me, and I will measure their first work into their bosom.
8. Thus saith Jehovah, as (when) juice is found in the cluster, and
one says, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it, so will I do for
the sake of My servants, not to destroy the whole. 9. And I will
bring forth from Jacob a seed, and from Judah an heir of My
mountains, and My chosen ones shall inherit it, and My servants shall
dwell there. 10. And Sharon shall be for (or, become) a home of
flocks, and the valley of Achor a lair of herds, for My people who
have sought Me.
11. And (as for) you, forsakers of Jehovah, the (men) forgetting My
holy mountain, the (men) setting for Fortune a table, and the (men)
filling for Fate a mingled draught; 12. and I have numbered you to
the sword, and all of you to the slaughter shall bow; because I
called and ye did not answer, I spake and ye did not hear, and ye did
the (thing that was) evil in my eyes, and that which I desired not ye
chose.
13 and 14. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Lo! My servants
shall eat and ye shall hunger; lo, My servants shall drink and ye
shall thirst; lo, My servants shall rejoice and ye shall be ashamed;
lo, My servants shall shout from gladness of heart, and ye shall cry
from grief of heart, and from brokenness of spirit ye shall howl.
15. And ye shall leave your name for an oath to My chosen ones, and
the Lord Jehovah shall slay thee, and shall call His servants by
another name (lit. call another name to them), 16. (by) which the
(man) blessing himself in the land (or, earth) shall bless himself by
the God of truth, and (by which) the (man) swearing in the land (or,
earth) shall swear by the God of truth, because forgotten are the
former enmities (or, troubles), and because they are hidden from My
eyes.
17. For lo I (am) creating (or, about to create) new heavens and a
new earth, and the former (things) shall not be remembered, and shall
not come up into the mind (lit. on the heart). 18. But rejoice and be
glad unto eternity (in) that which I (am) creating, for lo, I (am)
creating Jerusalem a joy, and her people a rejoicing. 19. And I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; and there shall not be
heard in her again the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.
20. There shall be no more from there an infant of days, and an old
man who shall not fulfil his days, for the child a hundred years old
shall die, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21
and 22. And they shall build houses and inhabit (them), and shall
plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, they shall not build and
another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat; for as the
days of a tree (shall be) the days of My people, and the work of
their hands My chosen ones shall wear out (or, survive). 23. They
shall not labour in vain, and they shall not bring forth for terror;
for the seed of the blessed of Jehovah are they, and their offspring
with them. 24. And it shall be (or, come to pass), that they shall
not yet have called and I will answer, yet (shall) they (be) speaking
and I will hear. 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed as one, and the
lion like the ox shall eat straw, and the serpent dust (for) his
food. They shall not hurt and they shall not corrupt (or, destroy) in
all My holy mountain, saith Jehovah.
LXVI.--[This chapter winds up the prophetic discourse with an express
prediction of the change of dispensation, and a description of the
difference between them. Jehovah will no longer dwell in temples made
with hands, ver. 1. Every sincere and humble heart shall be His
residence, ver. 2. The ancient sacrifices, though Divinely
instituted, will henceforth be as hateful as the rites of idolatry,
ver. 3. They who still cling to the abrogated ritual will be
fearfully but righteously requited, ver. 4. The true Israel cast out
by these deluded sinners shall ere long be glorified, and the carnal
Israel fearfully rewarded, vers. 5, 6. The ancient Zion may already
be seen travailing with a new and glorious dispensation, vers. 7-9.
They who mourned for her seeming desolation, now rejoice in her
abundance and her honour, vers. 10-14. At the same time the carnal
Israel shall be destroyed, as apostates and idolaters, vers. 15-17.
The place where they once occupied shall now be filled by the elect
from all nations, ver. 18. To gather these, a remnant of the ancient
Israel shall go forth among the Gentiles, ver. 19. They shall come
from every quarter, and by every mode of conveyance, ver. 20. They
shall be admitted to the sacerdotal honours by the chosen people,
ver. 21. This new dispensation shall not be temporary, like the one
before it, but shall last for ever, ver. 22. While the spiritual
Israel is thus replenished from all nations, the apostate Israel
shall perish by a lingering decay in the sight of an astonished
world, ver. 23, 24.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah, the heavens (are) My throne, and the earth My
footstool; where is (or, what is) the house which ye will build for
Me, and where is (or, what is) the place of My rest? 2. And all these
My own hand made, and all these were (or, are), saith Jehovah; and to
this one will I look, to the afflicted and contrite in spirit, and
trembling at My word.
3. Slaying the ox, smiting a man--sacrificing the sheep, breaking a
dog's neck--offering an oblation, blood of swine--making a memorial
of incense, blessing vanity--also they have chosen their ways, and in
their abominations has their soul delighted. 4. I also will choose
their vexations, and their fear I will bring unto them; because I
called and there was no answering, I spake and they did not hear, and
they did evil in My eyes, and that which I delight not in they chose.
5. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at His word. Your
brethren say, (these) hating you and casting you out for My name's
sake, Jehovah will be glorified, and we shall gaze upon our joy--and
they shall be ashamed. 6. A voice of tumult from the city! A voice
from the temple! The voice of Jehovah, rendering requital to His
enemies!
7. Before she travailed she brought forth, before her pain came she
was delivered of a male. 8. Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath
seen such things? Shall a land be brought forth in one day, or shall
a nation be born at once? For Zion hath travailed, she hath also
brought forth her children. 9. Shall I bring to the birth and not
cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah. Or am I the one causing to bring
forth, and shall I shut up? saith thy God.
10. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and exult in her, all that love her;
and be glad with her with gladness, all those mourning for her.
11. that ye may suck and be satisfied from the breast of her
consolations, that ye may milk out and enjoy yourselves, from the
fulness (or, the full breast) of her glory. 12. For thus saith
Jehovah, Behold, I am extending to her peace like a river, and like
an overflowing stream the glory of nations; and ye shall suck; on the
side shall ye be borne, and on the knees shall ye be dandled. 13. As
a man who his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and in
Jerusalem shall ye be comforted. 14. And ye shall see, and your heart
shall leap (with joy), and your bones like grass shall sprout, and
the hand of Jehovah shall be known to His servants, and He shall be
indignant at His enemies.
15. For lo, Jehovah in fire will come, and like the whirlwind His
chariots, to appease in fury His anger, and His rebuke in flames of
fire. 16. For by fire is Jehovah striving and by His sword with all
flesh, and multiplied (or, many) are the slain of Jehovah. 17. The
(men) hallowing themselves and the (men) cleansing themselves to (or,
towards) the gardens after one in the midst, eaters of swine's flesh
and vermin and mouse, together shall cease (or, come to an end),
saith Jehovah.
18. And I--their works and their thoughts--it is come--to gather all
the nations and the tongues--and they shall come and see My glory.
19. And I will place in them (or, among them) a sign, and I will send
of them survivors (or, escaped ones) to the nations, Tarshish, Pul,
and Lud, drawers of the bow, Tubal and Javan, distant isles, which
have not heard my fame, and have not seen My glory, and they shall
declare My glory among nations. 20. And they shall bring all your
brethren from all nations, an oblation to Jehovah, with horses, and
with chariot, and with litters, and with mules, and with dromedaries,
on My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of
Israel bring the oblation in a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah.
21. And also of them, will I take for the priests, for the Levites,
saith Jehovah. 22. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I
am making (or, about to make), are standing (or, about to stand)
before Me, saith Jehovah, so shall stand your name and your seed.
23. And it shall be (or, come to pass) that from new-moon to new-moon
(or, on every new-moon), and from Sabbath to Sabbath (or, on every
Sabbath), shall come all flesh to bow themselves (or, worship) before
Me, saith Jehovah. 24. And they shall go forth and gaze upon the
carcasses of the men who revolted (or, apostatised) from Me, for
their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and
they shall be a horror to all flesh.
TRANSLATION
OF THE
PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH,
BY DELITZSCH AND MARTIN.[1]
GENERAL TITLE.--CHAP. I. 1.
Seeing of Yesha'-yahu, son of Amoz, which he saw over Judah and
Jerusalem in the days of Uzziyahu, Jotham, Ahaz, _and_ Yehizkiyahu,
the kings of Judah.
_PART I._
PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE ONWARD COURSE OF THE GREAT
MASS OF THE PEOPLE TOWARDS HARDENING OF HEART.--CHAPS. I.-VI.
_Opening Address Concerning the Ways of Jehovah with
His Ungrateful and Rebellious Nation._--CHAP. I. 2., _sqq._
2. Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah speaketh! I
have brought up children, and raised them high, and they have fallen
away from Me. 3. An ox knoweth its owner, and an ass its master's
crib: Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4. Woe upon the sinful nation, the guilt-laden people, the miscreant
race, the children acting corruptly! They have forsaken Jehovah,
blasphemed Israel's Holy One, turned away backwards.
5. Why would ye be perpetually smitten, multiplying rebellion? Every
head is diseased, and every heart is sick. 6. From the sole of the
foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: cuts, and stripes,
and festering wounds; they have not been pressed out, nor bound up,
nor has there been any soothing with oil. 7. Your land . . . a
desert; your cities . . . burned with fire; your field . . .
foreigners consuming it before your eyes, and a desert like
overthrowing by strangers. 8. And the daughter of Zion remains like a
hut in a vineyard; like a hammock in a cucumber field, as a besieged
city. 9. Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a little of what had
escaped, we had become like Sodom, we were like Gomorrah.
10. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye Sodom judges; give ear to the law of
our God, O Gomorrah nation! 11. What is the multitude of your slain
offerings to Me? saith Jehovah. I am satiated with the whole
offerings of rams, and the fat of stalled calves; and blood of
bullocks and sheep and he-goats I do not like. 12. When ye come to
appear before My face, who hath required this at your hands, to tread
My courts? 13. Continue not to bring lying meat offering; abomination
incense is it to Me. New-moon and Sabbath, calling of festal
meetings . . . I cannot bear ungodliness and a festal crowd. 14. Your
new-moons and your festive seasons My soul hateth; they have become a
burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15. And if ye stretch out
your hands, I hide Mine eyes from you; if ye make ever so much
praying, I do not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16. Wash, clean yourselves; put away the badness of your doings from
the range of My eyes; cease to do evil; 17. learn to do good, attend
to judgment, set the oppressor right, do justice to the orphan,
conduct the cause of the widow.
18. O come, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah. If your sins
come forth like scarlet cloth, they shall become white as snow; if
they are red as crimson, they shall come forth like wool! 19. If ye
then shall willingly hear, ye shall eat the good of the land; 20. if
ye shall obstinately rebel, ye shall be eaten by the sword! for the
mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
21. How is she become an harlot, the faithful citadel! she, full of
right, lodged in righteousness, and now----murderers. 22. Thy silver
has become dross, thy drink mutilated with water. 23. Thy rulers are
rebellious and companions of thieves; every one loveth presents, and
hunteth after payment; the orphan they right not, and the cause of
the widow has no access to them.
24. Therefore, saying of the Lord, of Jehovah of hosts, of the Strong
One of Israel; Ah! I will relieve Myself on Mine adversaries, and
will avenge Myself upon Mine enemies; 25. and I will bring My hand
over thee, and will smelt out thy dross as with alkali, and will
clear away all thy lead. 26. And I will bring back thy judges as in
the olden time, and thy counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards
thou wilt be called City of Righteousness, Faithful Citadel.
27. Zion will be redeemed through judgment, and her returning ones
through righteousness; 28. and breaking up of the rebellious and
sinners together; and those who forsake Jehovah will perish. 29. For
they become ashamed of the terebinths, in which ye had your delight;
and ye must blush for the gardens, in which ye took pleasure. 30. For
ye shall become like a terebinth with withered leaves, and like a
garden that hath no water. 31. And the rich man becomes tow, and his
work the spark; and they will both burn together, and no one
extinguishes them.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Reprinted from the _Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies
of Isaiah,_ by Franz Delitzsch, D.D. Translated from the
German by the Rev. James Martin, B.A. 2 vols. 8vo.
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
THE WAY OF GENERAL JUDGMENT; OR THE COURSE OF
ISRAEL FROM FALSE GLORY TO THE TRUE--CHAPS. II.-IV.
II.--1. The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw of Judah and
Jerusalem.
2. And it cometh to pass at the end of the days, the mountain of the
house of Jehovah will be set at the top of the mountains, and exalted
over hills; all nations pour unto it. 3. And peoples in multitude go
and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house
of the God of Jacob; let Him instruct us out of His ways, and we will
walk in His paths: for instruction will go out from Zion, and the
word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 4. And He will judge between the
nations, and deliver justice to many peoples; and they forge their
swords into coulters, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation
lifts not up sword against nation, neither do they exercise
themselves in war any more.
5. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
6. For Thou hast rejected Thy people, the house of Jacob; for they
are filled with things from the east and are conjurors like the
Philistines; and with the children of foreigners they go hand in
hand. 7. And their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is
no end in their treasures; and their land is filled with horses, and
there is no end of their chariots. 8. And their land is filled with
---- idols; the work of their own hands they worship, that which
their own fingers have made.
9. Thus, then, men are bowed down, and lords are brought low; and
forgive them--no, that Thou wilt not. 10. Creep into the rock, and
bury thyself in the dust, before the terrible look of Jehovah, and
before the glory of His majesty. 11. The people's eyes of haughtiness
are humbled, and the pride of their lords is bowed down; and Jehovah,
He only, stands exalted in that day.
12. For Jehovah of hosts hath a day over everything towering and
lofty, and over everything exalted; and it becomes low. 13. As upon
all the cedars of Lebanon, the lofty and exalted, so upon all the
oaks of Bashan; 14. as upon all mountains, the lofty ones, so upon
all hills the exalted ones; 15. as upon every high tower, so upon
every fortified wall; 16. as upon all ships of Tarshish, so upon all
works of curiosity. 17. And the haughtiness of the people is bowed
down, and the pride of the lords brought low; and Jehovah, He alone,
stands exalted in that day.
18. And the idols pass utterly away. 19. And they will creep into
caves in the rocks, and cellars in the earth, before the terrible
look of Jehovah, and before the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth
to put the earth in terror. 20. In that day will a man cast away his
idols of gold; and his idols of silver, which they made for him to
worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21. to creep into the cavities
of the stone-blocks, and into the clefts of the rocks, before the
terrible look of Jehovah and before the glory of His majesty, when He
arises to put the earth in terror.
22. Oh then, let man go, in whose nose is a breath, for what is he to
be estimated at? III.--1. For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts,
takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supporter and means of
support, every support of bread and every support of water; 2. hero
and man of war, judge and prophet, and soothsayer and elder;
3. captains of fifty, and the highly distinguished, and counsellors,
and masters in art, and those skilled in muttering. 4. And I will
give the boys for princes, and caprices shall rule over them. 5. And
the people oppress one another, one this and another that; the boy
breaks out violently upon the old man, and the despised upon the
honoured. 6. When a man shall take hold of his brother in his
father's house, Thou hast a coat, thou shalt be our ruler, and take
this ruin under thy hand; 7. he will cry out in that day, I do not
want to be a surgeon; there is neither bread nor coat in my house: ye
cannot make me the ruler of the people.
8. For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah fallen; because their tongue and
their doings are against Jehovah, to defy the eyes of His glory.
9. The look of their faces testifies against them, and their sin they
make known like Sodom, without concealing it: woe to their soul! for
they do themselves harm. 10. Say of the righteous, that it is well
with him; for they will enjoy the fruit of their doings. 11. Woe to
the wicked! it is ill; for what his hands have wrought will be done
to him. 12. My people, its oppressors are boys, and women rule over
it; my people, thy leaders are misleaders, who swallow up the way of
thy paths.
13. Jehovah has appeared to plead, and stands up to judge the
nations. 14. Jehovah will proceed to judgment with the elders of His
people, and its princes. And ye, ye have eaten of the vineyard; prey
of the suffering is in your houses. 15. What mean ye that ye crush My
people, and grind the face of the suffering? thus saith the Lord of
hosts.
16. Jehovah hath spoken: because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and walk about with extended throat, and blinking with the eyes, walk
about with tripping gait, and tinkle with their foot-ornaments:
17. the Lord of all makes the crown of the daughters of Zion scabbed,
and Jehovah will uncover their shame. 18. On that day the Lord will
put away the show of the ankle-clasps, and of the head-bands, and of
the crescents; 19. the ear-rings, and the arm-chains, and the light
veils; 20. the diadems, and the stepping-chains, and the girdles, and
the smelling-bottles, and the amulets; 21. the finger-rings and the
nose-rings; 22. the gala dresses, and the sleeve-frocks, and the
wrappers, and the pockets; 23. the hand-mirrors, and the
Sindu-cloths, and the turbans, and the gauze mantles. 24. And instead
of balmy scent there will be mouldiness, and instead of artistic
ringlets a baldness, and instead of the dress-cloak a frock of
sack-cloth, branding instead of beauty. 25. Thy men fall by the
sword, and thy might in war. 26. Then will her gates lament and
mourn, and desolate is she and sits down upon the ground. IV.--1. And
seven women lay hold of one man in that day, saying, We will eat our
own bread, and wear our own clothes; only let thy name be named upon
us, take away our reproach.
2. In that day will the Sprout of Jehovah become an ornament and
glory, and the fruit of the land pride and splendour for the redeemed
of Israel. 3. And it will come to pass, whoever is left in Zion and
remains in Jerusalem, holy will he be called, all who are written
down for life in Jerusalem: 4. when the Lord shall have washed away
the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged away the
blood-guiltiness of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit
of judgment and by the spirit of sifting. 5. And Jehovah creates over
every spot of mount Zion, and over its festal assemblies, a cloud by
day, and smoke, and the shining and flaming fire by night; for over
all the glory comes a canopy; 6. and it will be a booth for shade by
day and covert from storm and from rain.
JUDGMENT OF DEVASTATION UPON THE VINEYARD OF JEHOVAH.--CHAP. V.
_Closing Words of the First Cycle of Prophecies._
1. Arise, I will sing of my beloved, a song of my dearest touching
His vineyard.
My beloved had a vineyard on a flatly-nourished mountain-horn, 2. and
dug it up and cleared it of stones, and planted it with noble vines,
and built a tower in it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and
hoped that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild
grapes.
3. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I
pray you, between Me and My vineyard! 4. What could have been done
more to My vineyard that I have not done in it! Wherefore did I hope
that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes?[1]
5. Now then, I will tell you what I will do at once to My vineyard:
Take away its hedges, and it shall be for grazing; pull down its
wall, and it shall be for treading down; 6. and I will put an end to
it: it shall not be pruned nor dragged, and it shall break out in
thorns and thistles, and I will command the clouds to rain no rain
over it. 7. For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of
Israel, and the men of Judah are the plantation of His delight: He
waited for justice, and behold, grasping; for righteousness, and
behold, a shriek!
8. Woe unto them that join house to house, who lay field to field,
till there is no more room, and ye alone are dwelling in the midst of
the land. 9. Into mine ears, Jehovah of hosts: Of a truth many houses
shall become a wilderness, great and beautiful ones deserted. 10. For
ten yokes of vineyard will yield one pailful, and a quarter of
seed-corn will produce a bushel.
11. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning to run after
strong drink: who continue till late at night with wine inflaming
them! 12. And guitar and harp, kettle-drum, and flute, and wine is in
their feast; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the
purpose of His hands.
13. Therefore My people go into banishment without knowing; and their
glory will become starving men, and their tumult men dried up with
thirst. 14. Therefore the under-world opens its jaws wide, and
stretches open its mouth immeasurably wide; and the glory of
Jerusalem descends, and its tumult, and noise, and those who rejoice
within it. 15. Then are mean men bowed down, and lords humbled, and
the eyes of lofty men are humbled. 16. And Jehovah of hosts shows
Himself exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One sanctifies Himself
in righteousness; 17. and lambs feed as upon their pasture, and nomad
shepherds eat the waste places of the fat ones.[2]
18. Woe unto them that draw crime with cords of lying, and sin as
with the rope of the waggon; 19. who say, Let Him hasten, accelerate
His work, that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of
Israel draw near and come, that we may experience it.
20. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who give out
darkness for light, and light for darkness; who give out bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter.
21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in
their own sight.
22. Woe unto those who are heroes to drink wine, and brave men to
mingle strong drink; 23. who acquit criminals for a bribe, and take
away from every one the righteousness of the righteous.
24. Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours stubble, and hay sinks
together in the flame, their root will become like mould, and their
blossom fly up like dust; for they have despised the law of Jehovah
of hosts, and scornfully rejected the proclamation of the Holy One of
Israel. 25. Therefore is the wrath of Jehovah kindled against His
people, and He stretches His hand over them, and sites them; then the
hills tremble, and their carcass become like sweepings in the midst
of the streets.
For all this His anger is not appeased, and His hand is stretched out
still, 26. and lifts up a banner to the distant nations, and hisses
to it from the end of the earth; and, behold, it comes with haste
swiftly. 27. There is none exhausted, and none stumbling among them:
it gives itself no slumber, and no sleep; and to none is the girdle
of his hips loosed; and to none is the lace of his shoes broken;
28. he whose arrows are sharpened, and all his bows strung; the hoofs
of his horses are counted like flint, and his wheels like the
whirlwind. 29. Roaring issues from it as from the lioness: it roars
like lions, and utters a low murmur; seizes the prey, carries it off,
and no one rescues. 30. And it utters a deep roar over it in that day
like the roaring of the sea: and it looks to the earth, and behold
darkness, tribulation, and light; it becomes night over it in the
clouds of heaven.[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Barnes, Birks, Henderson, Kay, Strahey, and the _Revised
English Bible,_ translate this clause substantially as it
is in the A. V.:--_e.g., Henderson,_ "Why, when I expected
it to produce grapes did it produce bad grapes?"
[2] Henderson's translation of this paragraph is especially
vigorous and beautiful:--
13. Therefore My people are led captive at unaware
Their nobility are starvelings,
And their multitude are parched with thirst.
14. Therefore Sheol enlarges her appetite,
And gapes immeasurably with her mouth;
And down go her nobility and her multitude.
Her noisy throng, and whoever in her that exultest.
15. The man of mean condition is bowed down,
And the man of rank is brought low;
And the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
16. But Jehovah of hosts is exalted through justice,
And the Holy God is sanctified through righteousness.
17. The lambs shall feed wherever they are driven,
And the waste fields of the rich, strange flocks
shall consume.
[3] And one shall look to the earth,
And lo! darkness! trouble!
And the light is obscured by the gloomy clouds.--_Barnes._
And one shall look unto the earth, _and, behold, darkness;_
even the light is an adversary (or, is anguish); dark is it
amidst the clouds thereof.--_Kay._
THE PROPHET'S ACCOUNT OF HIS OWN DIVINE MISSION.--CHAP. VI.
1. The year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord of all sitting upon
a high and exalted throne, and His borders filling the temple.
2. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with two he
covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he did
fly. 3. And one cried to the other, and said,
Holy, holy, holy! is Jehovah of hosts!
Filling the whole earth is His glory.
4. And the foundation of the threshold shook with the voice of them
that cried; and the house became full of smoke.
5. Then said I, Woe unto me! for I am lost; for I am a man of unclean
lips, and I am dwelling among a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes
have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
6. And one of the seraphim flew to me with a red-hot coal in his
hand, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7. And he
touched my mouth with it, and said, Behold, this hath touched thy
lips, and thine iniquity is taken away; and so thy sin is expiated.
8. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us? Then I said, Behold me here; send me!
9. He said, Go, and tell this people, Hear on, and understand not;
and look on, but perceive not. 10. Make ye the heart of this people
greasy, and their ears heavy, and their eyes sticky; that they may
not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart
understand, and they be converted, and one heal them.
11. Then said I, Lord, how long?
And He answered, Until towns are wasted without inhabitant, and
houses are without men, and the ground shall be laid waste, a
wilderness, 12. and Jehovah shall put men far away, and there shall
be many forsaken places within the land. 13. And is there still a
tenth therein, this also is given up to destruction, like the
terebinth and like the oak, of which, when they are felled, only a
root stump remains: such a root stump is the holy seed.[1]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] And though there be only a tenth part in it, even that
shall be again consumed; yet as a teil-tree, and as an oak,
whose stocks [stumps] remain to them, when they are felled,
so the holy seed shall be the stock [stump]
thereof.--_Strachey._
_PART II._
CONSOLATION OF IMMANUEL IN THE MIDST OF THE
ASSYRIAN OPPRESSIONS.--CHAPS. VII.-XII.
_Divine Sign of the Virgin's Wondrous Son._--CHAP. VII.
1. It came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of
Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aramæa, and Pekah the
son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war
against it, and (he) could not make war upon it. 2. And it was told
the house of David, Aram has settled down upon Ephraim: then his
heart shook, and the heart of the people, as trees of the wood shake
before the wind.
3. Then said Jehovah to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and
Shear-jashub thy son, to the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool,
to the road of the fuller's field; 4. and say unto him, Take heed,
and keep quiet; and let not thy heart become soft from these two
smoking firebrand stumps! at the fierce anger of Rezin, and Aram, and
the son of Remaliah. 5. Because Aram hath determined evil over thee,
Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, 6. We will march against
Judah, and terrify it, and conquer it for ourselves, and make the son
of Tabeal king in the midst of it: 7. thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It
will not be brought about, and will not take place. 8. For head of
Aram is Damascus, and head of Damascus Rezin, and in five-and-sixty
years will Ephraim as a people be broken to pieces. 9. And head of
Ephraim is Samaria, and head of Samaria the son of Remaliah; if ye
believe not, surely ye will not remain.
10. And Jehovah continued speaking to Ahaz as follows: 11. Ask thee a
sign of Jehovah thy God, going deep down into Hades, or high up to
the height above. 12. But Ahaz replied, I dare not ask, and dare not
tempt Jehovah. 13. And he spake, Hear ye now, O house of David! Is it
too little to you to weary men, that ye weary my God also?
14. Therefore the Lord, He will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin
conceives, and bears a son, and calls his name Immanuel. 15. Butter
and honey will he eat, at the time that he knows to refuse the evil
and choose the good. 16. For before the boy shall understand to
refuse the evil and choose the good, the land will be desolate, of
whose two kings thou art afraid.
17. Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy
father's house, days such as have not come since the day when Ephraim
broke away from Judah--the king of Asshur. 18. And it comes to pass
in that day, Jehovah will hiss for the fly which is at the end of the
Nile-arms of Egypt, and the bees that are in the land of Asshur;
19. and they come and settle all of them in the valleys of the
slopes, and in the clefts of the rocks, and in all the thorn-hedges,
and upon all grass-plats. 20. In that day will the Lord shave with a
razor, the thing for hire on the shore of the river, with the king of
Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet: and even the beard it
will take away. 21. And it will come to pass in that day, that a man
will keep a small cow and a couple of sheep; 22. and it comes to
pass, for the abundance of the milk they will give he will eat cream:
for butter and honey will every one eat that is left within the land.
23. And it will come to pass in that day, every place where a
thousand vines stood at a thousand silverlings will have become
thorns and thistles. 24. With arrows and with bows will men go, for
the whole land will have become thorns and thistles. 25. And all the
hills that were accustomed to be hoed with the hoe, thou wilt not go
to them for fear of thorns and thistles; and it has become a
gathering-place for oxen, and a treading-place for sheep.
TWO OMENS OF THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE.--CHAP. VIII. 1-4.
1. Then Jehovah said to me, Take a large slab, and write upon it with
common strokes, "In speed spoil, booty hastens:" 2. and I will take
to me trustworthy witnesses, Uriyah the priest, and Zehcaryahu the
son of Yeberechyahu.
3. And I drew near to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a
son: and Jehovah said to me, Call his name
In-speed-spoil-booty-hastens (Maher-shalal-hash-baz): 4. for before
the boy shall know how to cry, My father, and my mother, they will
carry away the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, before
the king of Asshur.
ESOTERIC ADDRESSES--CHAP. VIII. 5-XII.
_A.--Consolation of Immanuel in the
Coming Darkness._--CHAP. VIII. 5-IX. 6.
5. And Jehovah proceeded still further to speak to me, as follows:--
6. Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Siloah that go
softly, and regardeth as a delight the alliance with Rezin and the
son of Remalyahu, 7. therefore, behold! the Lord of all bringeth up
upon them the waters of the river, the mighty and the great, the king
of Assyria, and all his military power: and he riseth over all his
channels, and goeth over all his banks, 8. and presses forward into
Judah, overflows and pours onward, till it reaches the neck, and the
spreadings out of its wings fill the breadth of thy land, Immanuel.
9. Exasperate yourselves, O nations, and go to pieces; and see it,
all who are far off in the earth! Gird yourselves, and go to pieces;
gird yourselves, and go to pieces! 10. Consult counsel, and it comes
to nought; speak the word, and it is not realised: for with us is God.
11. For Jehovah hath spoken thus to me, overpowering me with God's
hand, and instructing me not to walk in the way of this people,
saying, 12. Call ye not conspiracy all that this people calls
conspiracy; and what is feared by it, fear ye not, neither think ye
dreadful. 13. Jehovah of hosts, sanctify Him; and let Him be your
fear, and let Him be your terror. 14. So will He become a sanctuary,
but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (vexation) to both the
houses of Israel, a snare and a trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15. And many among them shall stumble, and shall fall; and be dashed
to pieces, and be snared and taken.
16. Bind up the testimony, seal the lesson in my disciples. 17. And I
will wait upon Jehovah, who hides His face before the house of Jacob,
and hope for Him. 18. Behold, I and the children which God hath given
me for signs and types in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth
upon mount Zion. 19. And when they shall say to you, Inquire of the
necromancers, and of the soothsayers that chirp and whisper:--should
not a people inquire of its God? for the living to the dead? 20. To
the teaching of God, and to the testimony! If they do not accord with
this word, they are a people for whom no morning dawns. 21. And it
goes about therein hardly pressed and hungry: and it comes to pass,
when hunger befalls it, it frets itself, and curses by its king and
by its God, and turns its face upward, 22. and looks to the earth,
and behold distress and darkness, benighting with anguish, and thrust
out into darkness.
IX.--1. For it does not remain dark where there is now distress: in
the first time He brought into disgrace the land of Zebulun and the
land of Naphtali, and in the last He brings to honour the road by the
sea, the other side of Jordan, the circle of the Gentiles.
2. The people that walk about in darkness see a great light; they who
dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light shines.
3. Thou multipliest the nation, preparest it great joy; they rejoice
before Thee like the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they share
the spoil. 4. For the yoke of its burden and the stick of its neck,
the splinters, as in the day of Midian. 5. For every boot of those
who tramp with boots in the tumult of battle, and cloak rolled in
blood, shall be for burning, a food of fire. 6. For unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given; and the government rests upon His
shoulder: and they call His name Wonder, Counsellor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7. To the increase of government and
to peace without end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom,
to strengthen it, and to support it through judgment and
righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The jealousy of Jehovah
of hosts will perform this.
_B.--Jehovah's Outstretched Hand._--CHAP. IX. 8-X. 4.
8. The Lord sends out a word against Jacob, and it descends into
Israel. 9. And all the people must make atonement, Ephraim and the
inhabitants of Samaria, saying in pride and haughtiness of heart,
10. "Bricks are fallen down, and we build with square stones;
sycamores are hewn down, and we put cedars in their place."
11. Jehovah raises Rezin's oppressors high above him; and pricks up
his enemies: 12. Aram from the east, and Philistines from the west;
they devour Israel with full mouth. For all this His anger is not
turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.
13. But the people turneth not into Him that smiteth it, and they
seek not Jehovah of hosts. 14. Therefore Jehovah rooteth out of
Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day. 15. Elders
and highly distinguished men, this is the head; and prophets, lying
teachers, this is the tail. 16. The leaders of this people have
become leaders astray, and their followers swallowed up.
17. Therefore the Lord will not rejoice in their young men, and will
have no compassion on their orphans and widows: for all together are
profligate and evil-doers, and every mouth speaketh blasphemy. With
all this His anger is not turned away, and His hand is stretched out
still.
18. For the wickedness burneth up like fire: it devours thorns and
thistles, and burns in the thickets of the wood; and they smoke
upwards in a lofty volume of smoke. 19. Through the wrath of Jehovah
of hosts the land is turned into coal, and the nation has become like
the food of fire: not one spares his brother. 20. They hew on the
right, and are hungry; and devour on the left, and are not satisfied:
they devour the flesh of their own arm: 21. Manasseh, Ephraim; and
Ephraim, Manasseh: these together over Judah. With all this His anger
is not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.
X.--1. Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the
writers who prepare trouble; 2. to force away the needy from
demanding justice, and to rob the suffering of my people of their
rightful claims, that widows may become their prey, and they plunder
orphans! 3. And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the
storm that cometh from afar? To whom will ye flee for help? and where
will ye deposit your glory? 4. There is nothing left but to bow down
under prisoners, and they fall under the slain. With all this His
anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
_C.--Destruction of the Imperial Kingdom of the World, and
Rise of the Kingdom of Jehovah in His Anointed._--CHAP. X. 5-XII.
5. Woe to Asshur, the rod of Mine anger, and it is a staff in their
hand, Mine indignation. 6. Against a wicked nation will I send them,
and against the people of My wrath give them a charge, to spoil
spoil, and to make it trodden down like street-mire. 7. Nevertheless
he meaneth not so, neither does his heart think so; for it is in his
heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8. For he saith, Are
not my generals all kings? 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish, or Hamath
as Arpad, or Samaria as Damascus? 10. As my hand hath reached the
kingdoms of the idols, and their graven images were more than those
of Jerusalem and Samaria; 11. shall I not, as I have done unto
Samaria and her idols, do likewise to Jerusalem and her idols?
12. And it will come to pass, when the Lord shall have brought to an
end all His work upon mount Zion and upon Jerusalem, I will come to
punish over the fruit of the pride of heart of the king of Asshur,
and over the haughty look of his eyes. 13. For he hath said, By the
strength of my hand I have done it, and by my own wisdom; for I am
prudent: and I removed the bounds of the nations, and I plundered
their stores, and threw down rulers like a bull. 14. And my hand
extracted the wealth of the nations like a nest: and as men sweep up
forsaken eggs, have I swept the whole earth; there was none that
moved the wing, and opened the mouth, and chirped.
15. Dare the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or
the saw magnify itself against him that useth it? As if a staff were
to swing those that lift it up, as if a stick should lift up
not--wood! 16. Therefore will the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send
consumption against his fat men; and under Asshur's glory there burns
a brand like a firebrand. 17. And the light of Israel becomes a fire,
and his Holy One a flame; and it sets on fire and devours its
thistles and thorns in one day. 18. And the glory of his forest and
his garden-ground will He destroy, even to soul and flesh, so that it
is as when a sick man dieth. 19. And the remnant of the trees of his
forest can be numbered, and a boy could write them.
20. And it will come to pass in that day, the remnant of Israel, and
that which has escaped of the house of Jacob, will not continue to
stay itself upon its chastiser, and will stay itself upon Jehovah,
the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant will turn, the
remnant of Jacob, to God the Mighty. 22. For if thy people were even
as the sea-sand, the remnant thereof will turn: destruction is firmly
determined, flowing away righteousness. 23. For the Lord, Jehovah of
hosts, completes the finishing-stroke and that which is firmly
determined, within the whole land.
24. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, My people that
dwellest on Zion, be not afraid of Asshur, if it shall smite thee
with the rod, and lift up its stick against thee, in the manner of
Egypt. 25. For yet a very little while the indignation is past, and
my wrath turns to destroy them: 26. and Jehovah of hosts moves the
whip over it, as He smite Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff
stretches out over the sea. 27. And it will come to pass in that day,
its burden will remove from thy shoulder, and its yoke from thy neck;
and the yoke will be destroyed from the pressure of the fat.
28. He comes upon Ayyath, passes through Migron; in Michmash he
leaves his baggage. 29. They go through the pass: let Geba be our
quarters for the night! Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
30. Scream aloud, O daughter of Gallim. Only listen, O Laysha! Poor
Anathoth! 31. Madmenah hurries away; the inhabitants of Gebim rescue.
32. He still halts in Nob to-day; swings his hand over the mountain
of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
33. Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, lops down the branches with
terrific force; and those of towering growth are hewn down, and the
lofty are humbled. 34. And He fells the thickets of the forest with
iron; and Lebanon, it falls by a Majestic One.
XI.--1. And there cometh forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse, and
a shoot from the roots bringeth forth fruit. 2. And the Spirit of
Jehovah descends upon Him, spirit of wisdom and understanding, spirit
of counsel and might, spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah; 3. and
fear of Jehovah is fragrance to Him; and He judges not according to
outward sight, neither does He pass sentence according to outward
hearing; 4. and judges the poor with righteousness, and passes
sentence with equity for the humble in the land; and smites the earth
with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He slays
the wicked. 5. And righteousness is the girdle of His loins, and
faithfulness the girdle of His hips.
6. And the wolf dwells with the lamb, and the leopard lies down with
the kid; and calf and lion and stalled ox together; a little boy
drives them. 7. And cow and bear go to the pasture; their young ones
lie down together: and the lion eats chopped straw like the ox.
8. And the suckling plays by the hole of the adder, and the weaned
child stretching its hand to the pupil of the basilisk-viper. 9. They
will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain: for the land is
filled with knowledge of Jehovah, like the waters covering the sea.
10. And it will come to pass in that day: the root-sprout of Jesse,
which stands as a banner of the people's, for it will nations ask,
and its place of rest is glory.
11. And it will come to pass in that day, the Lord will stretch out
His hand a second time to redeem the remnant of His people that shall
be left, out of Asshur, and out of Egypt, and out of Pathros, and out
of Ethiopia, and out of Elam, and out of Shinar, and out of Hamath,
and out of the islands of the sea. 12. And He raises a banner for the
nations, and fetches home the outcasts of Israel; and the dispersed
of Judah will He assemble from the four borders of the earth. 13. And
the jealousy of Ephraim is removed, and the adversaries of Judah are
cut off; Ephraim will not show jealousy towards Judah, and Judah will
not oppose Ephraim. 14. And they fly upon the shoulder of the
Philistines seawards; unitedly they plunder the sons of the East:
they seize upon Edom and Moab, and the sons of Amon are subject to
them. 15. And Jehovah pronounces the ban upon the sea-tongue of
Egypt, and swings His hand over the Euphrates in the glow of His
breath, and smites it into seven brooks, and makes it so that men go
through in shoes. 16. And there will be a road for the remnant of His
people that shall be left, out of Asshur, as it was for Israel in the
day of its departure out of the land of Egypt.
XII.--1, 2. And in that day thou wilt say,
I thank thee, O Jehovah, that Thou wast angry with me:
Thine anger is turned away, and Thou hast comforted me.
Behold, the God of my salvation;
I trust, and am not afraid;
For Jah Jehovah is my pride and song,
And He became my salvation.
3. And with rapture ye will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4-6. And ye will say in that day,
Praise Jehovah, proclaim His name,
Make known His doings among the nations,
Boast that His name is exalted.
Harp to Jehovah; for He has displayed majesty:
Let this be known in all lands.
Shout and be jubilant, O inhabitant of Zion:
For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
_PART III._
COLLECTION OF ORACLES CONCERNING THE HEATHEN.--CHAPS. XIII.-XXIII.
_Oracle concerning the Chaldeans, the Heirs
of the Assyrians._--CHAP. XIII. 1-XIV. 17.
XIII.--1. Oracle concerning Babel, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did
see.
2. On woodless mountain lift ye up a banner, call to them with a loud
sounding voice, shake the hand, that they may enter into the gates of
princes! 3. I, I have summoned My sanctified ones, also called My
heroes to My wrath, My proudly rejoicing ones. 4. Hark, a rumbling on
the mountains after the manner of a great people! hark, a rumbling of
kingdoms met together! Jehovah of hosts musters an army, 5. those
that have come out of a distant land, from the end of heaven: Jehovah
and His instruments of wrath, to destroy the whole earth. 6. Howl;
for the day of Jehovah is near; like a destructive force from the
Almighty it comes. 7. Therefore all arms hang loosely down, and every
human heart melts away. 8. And they are troubled: they fall into
cramps and pangs; like a woman in labour they twist themselves: one
stares at the other; their faces are faces of flame. 9. Behold, the
day of Jehovah cometh, a cruel one, and wrath and fierce anger, to
turn the earth into a wilderness: and its sinners He destroys out of
it.
10. For the stars of heaven, and its Orions, will not let their light
shine: the sun darkens itself at its rising, and the moon does not
let its light shine. 11. And I visit the evil upon the world, and
upon sinners their guilt, and sink into silence the pomp of the
proud; and the boasting of tyrants I throw to the ground. 12. I make
men more precious than fine gold, and people than a jewel of Ophir.
13. Therefore I shake the heavens, and the earth trembles away from
its place, because of the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and because of
the day of His fierce anger. 14. And it comes to pass as a gazelle
which is scared, and as a flock without gatherers: they turn every
one to his people, and they flee every one to his land. 15. Every one
that is found is pierced through, and every one that is caught falls
by the sword. 16. And their infants are dashed to pieces before their
eyes, their homes plundered, and their wives ravished. 17. Behold, I
rouse up the Medes over them, who do not regard silver, and take no
pleasure in gold. 18. And bows dash down young men; and they have no
compassion on the fruit of the womb: their eye has no pity on
children.
19. And Babel, the ornament of kingdoms, the proud boast of the
Chaldeans, becomes like Elohim's overthrowing judgments upon Sodom
and Gomorrah. 20. She remains uninhabited for ever, and unoccupied
into generation of generations; and not an Arab pitches his tent
there, and shepherds do not make their folds there. 21. And there lie
beasts of the desert, and horn-owls fill their houses; and ostriches
dwell there, and field-devils hop about there. 22. And jackals howl
in her castles, and wild dogs in palaces of pleasure; and her time is
near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
XIV.--1. For Jehovah will have mercy on Jacob, and will once more
choose Israel, and will settle them down in their own land: and the
foreigner will associate with them, and they will cleave to the house
of Jacob. 2. And nations take them, and accompany them to their
place; and the house of Israel takes them to itself in the land of
Jehovah for servants and maid-servants: and they hold in captivity
those who led them away captive; and become lords over their
oppressors. 3. And it cometh to pass, on the day that Jehovah giveth
thee the rest from thy plague, and from thy cares, and from the heavy
bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, 4. that thou shalt raise
such a song of triumph concerning the king of Babel and say--
How hath the oppressor ceased! the place of torture ceased!
5. Jehovah hath broken the rod of the wicked, the ruler's staff,
6. which smote nations in wrath with strokes without ceasing,
subjugated nations wrathfully with hunting that never stays. 7. The
whole earth rests, is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8. Even
the cypresses rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon: "Since thou
hast gone to sleep, no one will come up to lay axe upon us."
9. The kingdom of the dead below is all in uproar on account of thee,
to meet thy coming; it stirs up the shades for thee, all the he-goats
of the earth; it raiseth up from their throne-seats all the kings of
the nations. 10. They all rise up and say to thee, Art thou also made
weak like us? Art thou become like us? 11. Thy pomp is cast down to
the region of the dead, the noise of the harps: maggots are spread
under thee, and they that cover thee are worms. 12. How art thou
fallen from the sky, thou star of light, son of the dawn, hurled down
to the earth, thou that didst throw down nations from above! 13. And
thou, thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend unto heaven, I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and sit down on the
mount of the assembly of gods in the corner of the earth; 14. I will
ascend to the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most
High. 15. Nevertheless, thou wilt be cast down into the region of the
dead, into the corner of the pit. 16. They that see thee look,
considering thee, look at thee thoughtfully: "Is this the man that
set the earth trembling, and kingdoms shaking, 17. that made the
world a wilderness, and destroyed its cities, and did not release its
prisoners (to their) home?"
18. All the kings of the nations, they are all interred in honour,
every one in his house: 19. but thou art cast away far from thy
sepulchre like a shoot hurled away, clothed with slain, with those
pierced through with the sword, those that go down to the stones of
the pit; like a carcass trodden under feet. 20. Thou art not united
with them in burial, for thou hast destroyed thy land, murdered thy
people.
The seed of evil-doers will not be named for ever. 21. Prepare a
slaughter-house for his sons, because of the iniquity of their
fathers! They shall not rise and conquer lands, and fill the face of
the earth with cities.
22. And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and root
out in Babel name and remnant, sprout and shoot, saith Jehovah.
23. And I will make it the possession of hedgehogs and marshes of
water, and sweep it away with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah
of hosts.
24. Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so
shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, that takes place;
25. to break Asshur in pieces in My land, and upon My mountain will I
tread him under foot; then his yoke departs from them, and his burden
will depart from their neck. 26. This is the purpose that is purposed
over the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over
all nations. 27. For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who could
bring it to nought? and His hand that is stretched out, who can turn
it back?
THE ORACLE CONCERNING PHILISTIA.--CHAP. XIV. 28-32.
28. In the year of the death of King Ahaz the following oracle was
uttered.
29. Rejoice not so fully, O Philistia, that the rod which smote thee
is broken to pieces; for out of the serpent's root comes forth a
basilisk, and its fruit is a flying dragon. 30. And the poorest of
the poor will feed, and needy ones lie down in peace; and I kill thy
root through hunger, and he slays thy remnant.
31 Howl, O gate! cry, O city! O Philistia, thou must melt entirely
away; for from the north cometh smoke, and there is no isolated one
among his hosts. 32. And what answer do the messengers of the nations
bring? that Jehovah hath founded Zion, and that the afflicted of His
people are hidden therein.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING MOAB.--CHAPS. XV., XVI.
XV.--1. Oracle concerning Moab! for in a night Ar-Moab is laid waste,
destroyed; for in a night Kir-Moab is laid waste, destroyed. 2. They
go up to the temple-house and Dibon, up to the heights to weep: upon
Nebo and upon Medebah of Moab there is weeping: on all heads
baldness, every beard is mutilated. 3. In the markets of Moab they
gird themselves with sackcloth; on the roofs of the land, and in the
streets, everything wails, melting into tears. 4. Heshbon cries, and
'Elâle; even to Jahaz they hear their howling; even the armed men of
Moab break out into mourning thereat; its soul trembles within it.
5. My heart, towards Moab it crieth out; its bolts reach to Zoar, the
three-year-old heifer. For the mountain-slope of Luhith they ascend
with weeping; for on the road to Horonaijim they lift up a cry of
despair. 6. For the waters of Nimrim are waste places from this time
forth: for the grass is dried up, the vegetation wasteth away, the
green is gone. 7. Therefore what has been spared, what has been
gained, and their provision, they carry it over the willow-brook.
8. For the scream has gone round in the territory of Moab; the
wailing of Moab resounds to Eglayim, and his wailing to Beēr-Elim.
9. For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; for I suspend over
Dimon a new calamity, over the escaped of Moab a lion, and over the
remnant of the land.
XVI.--1. Send a land-ruler's tribute of lambs from Sela desert-wards
to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. 2. And the daughters of Moab
will be like birds fluttering about, a scared nest, at the fords of
Arnon. 3. Give counsel, for a decision, make thy shadow like night in
the midst of noon: hide the outcasts, do not betray the wanderers.
4. Let mine outcasts tarry in thee, Moab; be a covert to it from
before the spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, desolation has
disappeared, treaders down are away from the land. 5. And a throne is
established by grace, and there sits thereon in truth in the tent of
David one judging, and zealous for right, and practised in
righteousness.
6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, the very haughty (pride), the
haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, the falsehood of his
speech. 7. Therefore will Moab wail for Moab, everything will wail:
for the grape-cakes of Kir-Haraseth will ye whine, utterly crushed.
8. For the fruit-fields of Heshbon have faded away: the vine of
Simmah, lords of the nations its branches smote down: they reached to
Ja'zer, trailed through the desert: its branches spread themselves
out wide, crossed over the sea. 9. Therefore I bemoan the vine of
Sibmah with the weeping of Jazer; I flood thee with my tears, O
Heshbon and Elealeh, that Hêdad hath fallen upon thy fruit-harvest
and upon thy vintage. 10. And joy is taken away, and the rejoicing of
the garden-land; and there is no exulting, no shouting in the
vineyards: the treader treads out no wine in the presses; I put an
end to the Hêdad. 11. Therefore my bowels sound for Moab like a harp,
and my inside for Kir-Heres. 12. And it will come to pass, when it is
seen that Moab is weary with weeping upon the mountain height, and
enters into its sanctuary to pray, it will not gain anything.
13. This is the word which Jehovah spake long ago concerning Moab.
And now Jehovah speaketh thus: In three years, like the years of a
hireling, the glory of Moab is disgraced, together with all the
multitude of the great: a remnant is left, contemptibly small, and
not great at all.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING DAMASCUS AND ISRAEL.--CHAP. XVII.
1. The burden of Damascus.
Behold, Damascus must (be taken) away out of the number of the
cities, and will be a heap of fallen ruins. 2. The cities of Aroer
are forsaken, they are given up to flocks, they lie there without any
one scaring them away. 3. And when the fortress of Ephraim is
abolished, and the kingdom of Damascus; and it happens to those that
are left of Aram as to the glory of the sons of Israel, saith Jehovah
of hosts.
4. And it comes to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob wastes away,
and the fat of his flesh grows thin. 5. And it will be as when a
reaper grasps the stalks of wheat, and his arm mows off the ears; and
it will be as with one who gathers ears in the valley of Rephaim.
6. Yet a gleaning remains from it, as at the olive-beating: two,
three berries high up at the top; four, five in its, the fruit-tree's
branches, saith Jehovah the God of Israel. 7. At that day will man
look up to his Creator, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of
Israel. 8. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands;
and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the
Astartes nor the sun-gods.
9. In that day will his fortified cities be like the ruins of the
forest and of the mountain top, which they cleared before the sons of
Israel: and there arises a waste place. 10. For thou hast forgotten
the God of thy salvation, and hast not thought of the Rock of thy
stronghold, therefore thou plantest charming plantations, and didst
set them with strange vines. 11. In the day that thou plantedst, thou
didst make a fence; and with the morning dawn thou madest thy sowing
to blossom: a harvest heap in the day of deep wounds and deadly
sorrow of heart.
12. Woe to the roaring of many nations: like the roaring of seas they
roar; and low the rumbling of nations, like the rumbling of mighty
waters they rumble! 13. Nations, like the rumbling of mighty waters
they rumble; and He threatens it: then it flies far away, and is
chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a
cloud of dust before the gale. 14. At eventide, behold consternation;
and before the morning dawn it is destroyed! this is the portion of
our plunderers, and the lot of our robbers.
ETHIOPIA'S SUBMISSION TO JEHOVAH.--CHAP. XVIII.
1. Woe to the land of the whirring of wings, which is beyond the
rivers of Cush; 2. that sends ambassadors into the sea, and in boats
of papyrus over the face of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to the
people stretched out and polished, to the terrible people far away on
the other side, to the nation of command upon command and treading
down, whose land rivers cut through. 3. All ye possessors of the
globe and inhabitants of the earth, when a banner rises on the
mountains, look ye: and when they blow the trumpets, hearken! 4. For
thus hath Jehovah spoken to me: I will be still, and I will observe
upon My throne during clear weather in sunshine, during a cloud of
dew in the heat of harvest. 5. For before the harvest, when the
blossom falls off, and the fruit becomes the ripening grape: then
will He cut off the branches with pruning-hooks; and the tendrils He
removes, breaks off. 6. They are left altogether to the birds of prey
on the mountains, and to the cattle of the land; and the birds of
prey summer thereon, and all the cattle of the land will winter
thereon.
7. At that time will there be offered as a homage to Jehovah of hosts
a nation stretched out and polished, and from a terrible people, far
away on the other side; a nation of command upon command and treading
down, whose land rivers cut through, at the place of the name of
Jehovah of hosts, the mountain of Zion.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING EGYPT.--CHAP. XIX.
1. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud, and cometh to Egypt;
and the idols of Egypt shake before Him, and the heart of Egypt
melteth within it. 2. And I spur Egypt against Egypt: and they go to
war, every one with his brother, and every one with his neighbour;
city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3. And the spirit of
Egypt is emptied out within it: and I swallow up its ready counsel;
and they go to the idols to inquire, and to the mutterers, and to the
oracle-spirits, and to the soothsayers. 4. And I shut up Egypt in the
head of a hard rule; and a fierce king will rule over them, saith the
Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
5. And the waters will dry up from the sea, and the river is parched
and dried. 6. And the arms of the river spread a stench; the channels
of Matzor become shallow and parched: reed and rush shrivel up.
7. The meadow by the Nile, on the border of the Nile, and every
cornfield of the Nile, dries up, is scattered, and disappears. 8. And
the fishermen groan, and all who throw draw-nets into the Nile
lament, and they that spread out the net upon the face of the waters
languish away. 9. And the workers of fine combed flax are confounded,
and the weavers of cotton fabrics. 10. And the pillars of the land
are ground to powder; all that work for wages are troubled in mind.
11. The princes of Zoan become mere fools, the wise counsellors of
Pharaoh; readiness in counsel is stupefied. How can ye say to
Pharaoh, I am a son of wise men, a son of kings of the olden time?
12. Where are they then, thy wise men? Let them announce to thee, and
know what Jehovah of hosts hath determined concerning Egypt. 13. The
princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Memphis are
deceived; and they have led Egypt astray who are the corner-stone of
its castes. 14. Jehovah hath poured a spirit of giddiness into the
heart of Egypt, so that they have led Egypt astray in all its doing,
as a drunken man wandereth about in his vomit. 15. And there does not
occur of Egypt any work which worked, of head and tail, palm-branch
and rush.
16. In that day will the Egyptians become like women, and tremble and
be alarmed at the swinging of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which He
sets in motion against it. 17. And the land of Judah becomes a
shuddering for Egypt; as often as they mention this against Egypt, it
is alarmed, because of the decree of Jehovah of hosts, that He
suspendeth over it.
18. In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt
speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing to Jehovah of hosts:
'Ir ha-Heres will one be called. 19. In that day there stands an
altar consecrated to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and
an obelisk near the border of the land consecrated to Jehovah.
20. And a sign and a witness for Jehovah of hosts is this in the land
of Egypt; when they cry to Jehovah for oppressors, He will send them
a helper and champion, and deliver them. 21. And Jehovah makes
Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians know Jehovah in
that day; and they serve Him with slain-offerings and meat-offerings,
and vow vows to Jehovah, and pay them. 22. And Jehovah smites Egypt,
smiting and healing; and if they return to Jehovah, He suffers
Himself to be entreated, and heals them. 23. In that day a road will
run from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur comes into Egypt, and Egypt to
Asshur; and Egypt worships (Jehovah) with Asshur. 24. In that day
will Israel be a third part to Egypt and Asshur, a blessing in the
midst of the earth, 25. since Jehovah of hosts blesseth them thus:
Blessed be thou, My people Egypt; and thou, Asshur, the work of My
hands; and thou Israel, Mine inheritance.
SYMBOL OF THE FALL OF EGYPT AND
ETHIOPIA, AND ITS INTERPRETATION.--CHAP. XX.
1. In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, Sargon the king of Asshur
having sent him (and he made war against Ashdod, and captured it):
2. at that time Jehovah spake through Yesha'-yahu, the son of Amoz,
as follows, Go and loosen the smock-front from off thy loins, and
take off thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, and went stripped
and barefooted.
3. And Jehovah said, As my servant Yesha'-yahu goeth naked and
barefooted, a sign and a type for three years long over Egypt and
over Ethiopia, 4. so will the king of Asshur carry away the prisoners
of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, children and old men, naked and
barefooted, and with their seat uncovered--a shame to Egypt.
5. And they cry together, and behold themselves deceived by Ethiopia,
to which they looked and by Egypt, in which they gloried. 6. And the
inhabitant of this coast-land saith in that day, Behold, thus it
happens to those to whom we looked, whither we fled for help to
deliver us from the king of Asshur: and how should we, we escape?
THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE DESERT
OF THE SEA (BABYLON).--CHAP. XXI. 1-10.
1. As storms in the south approach, it comes from the desert, from a
terrible land. 2. Hard vision is made known to me: the spoiler
spoils, and the devastator devastates. Go up, Elam! Surround, Moday!
I put an end to all their sighing. 3. Therefore are my loins full of
cramp: pangs have taken hold of me, as the pangs of a travailing
woman: I twist myself, so that I do not hear; I am brought down with
fear, so that I do not see. 4. My heart beats wildly; horror hath
troubled me; the darkness of night that I love, He hath turned for me
into quaking.
5. They cover the table, watch the watch, eat, drink. Rise up, ye
princes! Anoint the shield! 6. For thus saith the Lord to me, Go, set
a spy; what he seeth, let him declare. 7. And he saw a procession of
cavalry, pairs of horsemen, a procession of asses, a procession of
camels; and listened sharply, as sharply as he could listen. 8. Then
he cried with a lion's voice, Upon the watch-tower, O Lord, I stand
continually by day, and upon my watch I keep my stand all the nights.
9. And, behold, there came a cavalcade of men, pairs of horsemen, and
lifted up its voice, and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the
images of its gods He hath dashed to the ground! 10. O thou my
threshing, and child of my threshing-floor! What I have heard from
Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE SILENCE
OF DEATH (EDOM).--CHAP. XXI. 11, 12.
11. A cry comes to me out of Seir: Watchman, how far is it in the
night? Watchman, how far in the night? 12. Watchman says, Morning
cometh, and also night. Will ye inquire, inquire! Turn, come!
THE ORACLE IN THE EVENING (AGAINST ARABIA).--CHAP. XXI. 13-17.
13. In the wilderness in Arabia ye must pass the night, caravans of
the Dedanians. 14. Bring water to meet thirsty ones! The inhabitants
of the land of Tema are coming with its bread before the fugitive.
15. For they are flying before swords, before drawn swords, and
before a bent bow, and before oppressive war.
16. For thus hath the Lord spoken to me, Within a year, as the years
of a hired labourer, it is over with all the glory of Kedar. 17. And
the remnant of the number of bows of the heroes of the Kedarenes will
be small: for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE VALLEY OF
VISION (JERUSALEM).--CHAP. XXII. 1-14.
1. What aileth thee, then, that thou art wholly ascended upon the
house-tops? 2. O full of tumult, thou noisy city, shouting castle,
thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor slaughtered in
battle. 3. All thy rulers departing together are fettered without
bow; all thy captured ones are fettered together, fleeing far away.
4. Therefore I say, Look away from me, that I may weep bitterly;
press me not with consolations for the destruction of the daughter of
my people! 5. For a day of noise, and of treading down, and of
confusion, cometh from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of
vision, breaking down walls; and a cry of woe echoes against the
mountains.
6. And Elam has taken the quiver, together with chariots with men,
horsemen; and Kir has drawn out the shield. 7. And then it comes to
pass, that thy choicest valleys are filled with chariots, and the
horsemen plant a firm foot towards the gate.
8. Then he takes away the covering of Judah, and thou lookest in that
day to the store of arms of the forest-house; 9. and ye see the
breaches of the city of David, that there are many of them; and ye
collect together the waters of the lower pool. 10. And ye number the
houses of Jerusalem, and pull down the houses, to fortify the wall.
11. And ye make a basin between the two walls for the waters of the
old pool; and ye do not look to Him who made it, neither do ye have
regard to Him who fashioned it long ago.
12. The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, calls in that day to weeping, and to
mourning, and to the pulling out of hair, and to girding with
sackcloth; 13. and behold joy and gladness, slaughtering of oxen and
killing of sheep, eating of flesh and drinking of wine, eating and
drinking, for 'to-morrow we die.' 14. And Jehovah of hosts hath
revealed in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be expiated for
you until ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
AGAINST SHEBNA THE STEWARD.--CHAP. XXII. 15-25.
(_Appendix to the Tetralogy in_ CHAPS XXI., XXII. 14.)
15. Thus spake the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee to that
steward there, to Shebna the house-mayor. 16. What hast thou here,
and whom hast thou here, that thou art hewing thyself out a sepulchre
here, hewing out his sepulchre high up, digging himself a dwelling in
rocks? 17. Behold, Jehovah hurleth thee, hurling with a man's throw,
and graspeth thee grasping. 18. Coiling, He coileth thee a coil, a
ball into a land far and wide; there shalt thou die, and thither the
chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the house of thy lord! 19. And I
thrust thee from thy post, and from thy standing-place He pulleth
thee down.
20. And it will come to pass in that day, that I call to my servant
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21. and invest him with thy coat, and I
throw thy sash firmly round him, and place thy government in his
hand; and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and
to the house of Judah. 22. And I place the key of David upon his
shoulder: and when he opens, no man shuts; and when he shuts, no man
opens. 23. And I fasten him as a plug in a fast place, and he becomes
the seat of honour to his father's house. 24. And the whole mass of
his father's house hangs upon him, the offshoots and the side-shoots,
every small vessel, from the vessel of the basins even to every
vessel of the pitchers. 25. In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, will
the peg that is fastened in a sure place be removed, and be cast
down, and fall; and the burden that it bore falls to the ground: for
Jehovah hath spoken.
THE ORACLE CONCERNING TYRE.--CHAP. XXIII.
(_Conclusion of the Cycle of Prophecies Relating to the Heathen._)
1. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is
no house, no entrance any more! Out of the land of the Chittæans it
is made known to them. 2. Be alarmed, ye inhabitants of the coast!
Sidonian merchants, sailing over the sea, filled thee once. 3. And
the sowing of Sichor came upon great waters, the harvest of the Nile,
her store; and she became gain for nations. 4. Shudder, O Sidon; for
the sea speaketh, the fortress of the sea, thus: I have not
travailed, nor given birth, nor trained up young men, brought up
maidens. 5. When the report cometh to Egypt, they tremble at the
report from Tzor.
6. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast! 7. Is
this your fate, thou full of rejoicing, whose origin is from the days
of the olden time, whom her feet carried far away to settle? 8. Who
hath determined such a thing concerning Tzor, the distributor of
crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the chief men
of the earth! 9. Jehovah of hosts hath determined it, to desecrate
the pomp of every kind of ornament, to dishonour the chief men of the
earth, all of them.
10. Overflow thy land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish! No
girdle restrains thee any longer. 11. His hand hath He stretched over
the sea, thrown the kingdoms into trembling; Jehovah hath given
commandment concerning Kena'an to destroy her fortresses. 12. And He
said, Thou shalt not rejoice any further, thou disgraced one, virgin
daughter of Sidon. Go up to Kittim, go over; there also shalt thou
not find rest. 13. Behold the Chaldean land: this people that has not
been (Asshur--it hath prepared the same for desert beasts)--they set
up their siege-towers, destroy the palaces of Kena'an, make it a heap
of ruins. 14. Mourn, ye ships of Tarshish: for your fortress is laid
waste.
15. And it will come to pass in that day, that Tzor will be forgotten
seventy years, equal to the days of one king; after the end of
seventy years Tzor will go, according to the song of the harlot.
16. Take the guitar, sweep through the city, O forgotten harlot! Play
bravely, sing zealously, that thou mayest be remembered! 17. And it
will come to pass at the end of the seventy years: Jehovah will visit
Tzor, and she comes again to her hire, and commits prostitution with
all the kingdoms of the earth on the broad surface of the globe.
18. And her gain and her reward of prostitution will be holy to
Jehovah: it is not stored up nor gathered together; but her gain from
commerce will be theirs who dwell before Jehovah, to eat to satiety
and for stately clothing.
_PART IV._
FINALE ON THE GREAT CATASTROPHE.--CHAPS. XXIV.-XXVII.
_The Judgment upon the Earth._--CHAP. XXIV.
1. Behold, Jehovah emptieth the earth, and layeth it waste, and
marreth its form, and scattereth all its inhabitants. 2. And it
happeneth, as to the people, so to the priest; as to the servant, so
to his master; as to the maid, so to her mistress; as to the buyer,
so to the seller; as to the lender, so to the borrower; as to the
creditor, so to the debtor. 3. Emptying the earth is emptied, and
plundering is plundered: for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4. Smitten down, withered up is the earth; pined away, wasted is the
world; pined away have they, the foremost of the people of the earth.
5. And the earth has become wicked among its inhabitants; for they
transgressed revelations, set at naught the ordinance, broke the
everlasting covenant. 6. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,
and they who dwelt in it make expiation: therefore are the
inhabitants of the earth withered up, and there are very few mortals
left. 7. New wine mourneth, vine is parched, all the merry-hearted
groan. 8. The joyous playing of tabrets is silent; the noise of them
that rejoice hath ceased; the joyous playing of the guitar is silent.
9. They drink no wine with a song: meth tastes bitter to them that
drink it.
10. The city of Tohu is broken to pieces; every house is shut up, so
that no man can come in. 11. There is lamentation for wine in the
fields; all rejoicing has set; the delight of the earth is banished.
12. What is left of the city is wilderness, and the gate was
shattered to ruins. 13. For so will it be within the earth, in the
midst of the nations; as at the olive-beating, as at the gleaning,
when the vintage is over.
14. They lift up the voice, and exult; for the majesty of Jehovah
they shout from the sea! 15. Therefore praise ye Jehovah in the lands
of the sun, in the islands of the sea the name of Jehovah the God of
Israel. 16. From the border of the earth we hear songs: Praise to the
Righteous One.
Then I said, Ruin to me! ruin to me! Robbers rob, and robbing, they
rob as robbers! 17. Horror, and pit, and snare are over thee, O
inhabitant of the earth! 18. And it cometh to pass, whoever fleeth
from the tidings of horror falleth into the pit; and whoever escapeth
out of the pit is caught in the snare: for the trap-doors on high are
opened, and the firm foundations of the earth shake. 19. The earth
rending, is rent asunder; the earth bursting, is burst in pieces; the
earth shaking, tottereth. 20. The earth reeling, reeleth like a
drunken man, and swingeth like a hammock; and its burden of sin
presseth upon it; and it falleth, and riseth not again.
21. And it cometh to pass in that day, Jehovah will visit the army of
the high place in the high place, and the kings of the earth on the
earth. 22. And they are imprisoned, as one imprisons captives in the
pit, and shut up in prison; and in the course of many days they are
visited. 23. And the moon blushes, and the sun turns pale; for
Jehovah of hosts reigns royally upon mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and
before His elders in glory.
THE FOURFOLD MELODIOUS ECHO.--CHAPS. XXV., XXVI.
_A.--First echo: Salvation of the Nations after
the Fall of the Imperial City._--CHAP. XXV. 1-8.
1. Jehovah, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy
name, that Thou hast wrought wonders, counsels from afar, sincerity,
truth. 2. For Thou hast turned it from a city into a heap of stones,
the steep castle into a ruin; the palace of the barbarians from being
a city, to be rebuilt no more for ever. 3. Therefore a wild people
will honour Thee, cities of violent nations fear Thee. 4. For Thou
provest Thyself a stronghold to the lowly, a stronghold to the poor
in his distress, as a shelter from the storm of rain, as a shadow
from the burning of the sun; for the blast of the terrible once was
as a storm against a wall. 5. Like the burning of the sun in a
parched land, Thou subduest the noise of the barbarians; (like) the
burning of the sun through the shadow of a cloud, the triumphal song
of the violent ones was brought low.
6. And Jehovah of hosts prepares for all nations upon this mountain a
feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things rich
in marrow, of wines on the lees thoroughly strained. 7. And He casts
away upon this mountain the veil that veiled over all peoples, and
the covering that covered over all nations. 8. He puts away death for
ever; and the Lord Jehovah wipes the tear from every face; and He
removes the shame of His people from the whole earth: for Jehovah
hath spoken it.
_B.--Second Echo: The Humiliation of Moab._--CHAP. XXV. 9-12
9. And they say in that day, Behold our God, for whom we waited to
help us: this is Jehovah, for whom we waited; let us be glad and
rejoice in His salvation. 10. For the hand of Jehovah will sink down
upon this mountain, and Moab is trodden down there where it is, as
straw is trodden down in the water of the dung-pit. 11. And he
spreadeth out his hands in the pool therein, as the swimmer spreadeth
them out to swim; but Jehovah forceth down the pride of Moab in spite
of the artifices of his hands. 12. Yes, thy steep, towering walls He
bows down, forces under, and casts earthwards into dust.
_C.--Third Echo: Israel Brought Back,
or Raised from the Dead._--CHAP. XXVI.
1. In that day will this song be sung in the land of Judah: A city of
defence is ours; salvation He sets for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye
the gates, that a righteous people may enter, one keeping
truthfulness. 3. Thou keepest the firmly-established mind in peace,
peace; for his confidence rests on Thee. 4. Hang confidently on
Jehovah for ever: for in Jah, Jehovah, is an everlasting rock. 5. For
He hath bent down them that dwell on high; the towering castle, He
tore it down, tore it down to the earth, cast it into dust. 6. The
foot treads it to pieces, feet of the poor, steps of the lowly.
7. The path that the righteous takes is smoothness; Thou makest the
course of the righteous smooth.
8. We also have waited for Thee, that Thou shouldest come in the path
of Thy judgments; the desire of the soul went after Thy name, and
after Thy remembrance. 9. With my soul I desired Thee in the night;
yea, with my spirit deep within me, I longed to have Thee here: for
when Thy judgments strike the earth, the inhabitants of the earth
learn righteousness.
10. If favour is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn
righteousness; in the most upright land he acts wickedly; and has no
eye for the majesty of Jehovah. 11. Jehovah, Thy hand has been
exalted, but they did not see: they will see the zeal for a people,
being put to shame; yea, fire will devour Thine adversaries.
12. Jehovah, Thou wilt ordain peace for us; for Thou hast
accomplished all our work for us. 13. Jehovah our God, lords besides
Thee had enslaved us; but through Thee we praise Thy name. 14. Dead
men live not again, shades do not rise again; so hast Thou visited
and destroyed them, and caused all their memory to perish. 15. Thou
hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, hast added to the nation;
glorified Thyself; moved out all the borders of the land.
16. Jehovah, in trouble they missed Thee, poured out light
supplication when Thy chastisement came upon them. 17. As a woman
with child, who draws near to her delivery, writhes and cries out in
her pangs, so were we in Thy sight, O Jehovah. 18. We went with
child, we writhed; it was as if we brought forth wind. We brought no
deliverance to the land, and the inhabitants of the world did not
come to the light.
19. Thy dead will live, my corpses rise again. Awake and rejoice, ye
that lie in the dust! For Thy dew is as the dew of the lights, and
the earth will bring shades to the day.
20. Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind
thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes
by. 21. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out of His place to visit the
iniquity of the earth upon them; and the earth discloses the blood
that it has sucked up, and no more covers her slain.
XXVII.--1. In that day will Jehovah visit with His sword, with the
hard, and the great, and the strong; leviathan the fleet serpent, and
leviathan the twisted serpent, and slay the dragon in the sea.
_D.--The Fourth Echo: The Fruit-bearing Vineyard
under the Protection of Jehovah._--CHAP. XXVII. 2-6
2. In that day
A merry vineyard--sing it!
3. I, Jehovah, its keeper,
Every moment I water it.
That nothing may come near it,
I watch it night and day.
4. Wrath have I none;
Oh, had I thorns, thistles before Me!
I would make up to them in battle,
Burn them all together.
5. Men would then have to grasp at My protection,
Make peace with Me,
Make peace with Me.
6. In future will Jacob strike roots, Israel blossom and bud, and
fill the surface of the globe with fruits.
JEHOVAH'S CHASTENING AND SAVING
COURSE TOWARDS ISRAEL.--CHAP. XXVII. 7-13.
7. Hath He smitten it like the smiting of the smiter, or is it slain
like the slaying of those slain by Him? 8. Thou punishedst it with
measures, when Thou didst thrust it away, sifting with violent breath
in the day of the east wind. 9. Therefore will the guilt of Jacob be
purged thus; and this is all the fruit of the removal of his sin:
when He maketh all alter-stones like chalk-stones that are broken in
pieces, Astarte images and sun-pillars do not rise up again. 10. For
the strong city is solitary, a dwelling given up and forsaken like
the steppe: there calves feed, and there they lie down, and eat of
its branches. 11. When its branches become withered, they are broken;
women come, make fires with them; for it is not a people of
intelligence: therefore its Creator has no pity upon it, and its
Former doth not pardon it.
12. And it will come to pass on that day, Jehovah will appoint a
beating of corn from the water-flood of the Euphrates to the brook of
Egypt, and ye will be gathered one by one, O sons of Israel. 13. And
it will come to pass in that day, a great trumpet will be blown, and
the lost ones in the land of Asshur come, and the outcasts in the
land of Egypt, and cast themselves down before Jehovah on the holy
mountain in Jerusalem.
_PART V._
BOOK OF WOES: OR, HISTORICAL DISCOURSES RELATING
TO ASSHUR AND THE EGYPTIAN ALLIANCE.--CHAPS. XXVIII.-XXXIII.
_The First Woe.--Judgment upon Samaria and
Jerusalem, and Consolation for Both._--CHAP. XXVIII.
1. Woe to the proud crown of the drunken of Ephraim, and to the
fading flower of its splendid ornament, which is upon the head of the
luxuriant valley of those slain with wine.
2. Behold, the Lord holds a strong and mighty thing like a hailstorm,
a pestilent tempest; like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He
casts down to the earth with almighty hand. 3. With feet they tread
down the proud crown of the drunken of Ephraim. 4. And it happens to
the fading flower of its splendid ornament, which is upon the head of
the luxuriant valley, as to an early fig before it is harvest, which
whosoever sees it looks at, and it is no longer in his hand than he
swallows it.
5. In that day will Jehovah of hosts be the adorning crown and the
splendid diadem to the remnant of His people; 6. and the spirit of
justice to them that sit on the judgment-seat, and heroic strength to
them that drive back war at the gate.
7. And they also reel with wine, and are giddy with meth; priest and
prophet reel with meth, reel when seeking visions, stagger when
pronouncing judgment. 8. For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
without any more place.
9. Whom then would He teach knowledge? And to whom make preaching
intelligible? To those weaned from the milk. To those removed from
the breast. 10. For precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line
upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there?
11. For through men stammering in speech, and through a strange
tongue will He speak to this people. 12. He who said to them, There
is rest, give rest to weary ones, and there is refreshing! But they
would not hear. 13. Therefore the word of Jehovah becomes to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon
line, a little here, a little there, that they may go and stumble
backwards, and be wrecked to pieces, and be snared and taken.
14. Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scornful lords, rulers of
this people which is in Jerusalem! 15. For ye say, We have made a
covenant with death, and with Hades we have come to an agreement. The
swelling scourge, when it cometh hither, will do us no harm: for we
have made a lie our shelter, and in deceit have we hidden ourselves.
16. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am He who laid
in Zion a stone, a stone of trial, a precious corner-stone of
well-founded founding; whoever believes will not have to move.
17. And I make justice the line, and righteousness the level; and
hail sweeps away the refuge of lies, and the hiding-place is washed
away by waters.
18. And your covenant with death is struck out, and your agreement
with Hades will not stand; the swelling scourge when it comes, ye
will become a thing trodden down to it. 19. And as often as it passes
it takes you: for every morning it passes, by day and by night; and
it is nothing but shuddering to hear such preaching. 20. For the bed
is too short to stretch in, and the covering too tight when a man
wraps himself in it.
21. For Jehovah will rise up as in the mountain of Perazim, and be
wroth as in the valley at Gibeon to work His work; and to set His
act; strange is His act.
22. And now drive ye not mockeries, lest your fetters be
strengthened: for I have heard from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, a
judgment of destruction, and an irrevocable one, upon the whole earth.
23. Lend me your ear, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my address!
24. Does the husbandman plough continually to sow? to furrow and to
harrow his land? 25. Is it not so: when he levels the surface
thereof, he scatters black poppy seed, and strews cummin, and puts in
wheat in rows, and barley in the appointed piece, and spelt on its
border? 26. And He has instructed him how to act rightly: his God
teaches him.
27. For the black poppy is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor
is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but black poppy is knocked out
with a stick, and cummin with a staff. 28. Is bread-corn crushed? No;
he does not go on threshing for ever, and drive the wheel of his cart
and his horses over it: he does not crush it. 29. This also, it goeth
forth from Jehovah of hosts: He gives wonderful intelligence, high
understanding.
_The Second Woe.--The Oppression
and Deliverance of Ariel._--CHAP. XXIX.
1. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the castle where David pitched his tent!
Add year to year, let the feasts revolve: 2. then I distress Ariel,
and there is groaning and moaning; and so she proves herself to Me as
Ariel. 3. And I encamp in a circle round about thee, and surround
thee with watch-posts, and erect tortoises against thee. 4. And when
brought down thou wilt speak out of the ground, and thy speaking will
sound low out of the dust; and thy voice cometh up like that of a
demon from the ground, and thy speaking will whisper out of the dust.
5. And the multitude of thy foes will become like finely powdered
dust, and the multitude of tyrants like chaff flying away; and it
will take place suddenly, very suddenly. 6. For Jehovah of hosts
there comes a visitation with crash of thunder and earthquake and
great noise, whirlwind and tempest, and the blazing up of devouring
fire. 7. And the multitude of all the nations that gather together
against Ariel, and all those who storm and distress Ariel and her
stronghold, will be like a vision of the night in a dream. 8. And it
is just as a hungry man dreams, and behold he eats; and when he wakes
up his soul is empty: and just as a thirsty man dreams, and behold he
drinks; and when he wakes up, behold, he is faint, and his soul is
parched with thirst: so will it be to the multitude of nations which
gather together against the mountain of Zion.
9. Stop and stare; blind yourselves, and grow blind!
They are drunken, and not with wine; they reel, and not with meth.
10. For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and
bound up your eyes; the prophets and your heads, the seers, He has
veiled. 11. And the revelation of all this will be to you like the
words of a sealed writing, which they give to him that understands
writing, say, Pray, read this; but he says, I cannot, it is sealed.
12. And they give the writing to one who does not understand writing,
saying, Pray, read this; but he says, I do not understand writing.
13. The Lord hath spoken: Because this people approaches Me with its
mouth, and honours Me with its lips, and keeps its heart far from Me,
and its reverence for Me has become as a commandment learned from
men; 14. therefore, behold, I will proceed wondrously with this
people, wondrously and marvellously strange; and the wisdom of its
wise men is lost, and the understanding of its intelligent men
becomes invisible.
15. Woe unto them that hide plans deep from Jehovah, and their doing
occurs in a dark place, and they say, Who saw us then, and who know
about us? 16. Oh for your perversity! It is to be regarded as
potter's clay; that a work could say to its maker, He has not made
me; and an image to its sculptor, He does not understand it!
17. Is it not yet a very little, and Lebanon is turned into a
fruitful field, and the fruitful field esteemed as a forest? 18. And
in that day the deaf hear scripture words, and the eyes of the blind
will see out of obscurity and out of darkness. 19. And the joy of the
humble increases in Jehovah, and the poor among men will rejoice in
the Holy One of Israel. 20. For tyrants are gone, and it is over with
scoffers; and all who think evil are rooted out, 21. who condemn a
man for a word, and lay snares for him that is free-spoken in the
gate, and overthrow the righteous through shameful lies.
22. Therefore thus saith Jehovah of the house of Jacob, He who
redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not henceforth be ashamed, nor shall
his face turn pale any more. 23. For when he, when his children see
the work of My hands in the midst of him, they will sanctify My name
and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shudder before the God of
Israel. 24. And those who were of an erring spirit discern
understanding, and murmurers accept instruction.
_The Third Woe.--The Momentous Result
of the Alliance with Egypt._--CHAP. XXX.
1. Woe to the stubborn children, saith Jehovah, to drive plans, and
not by My impulse, and to plait alliance, and not according to My
spirit, to heap sin upon sin; 2. that go away to travel down to
Egypt, without having asked My mouth, to fly to Pharaoh's shelter,
and to conceal themselves under the shadow of Egypt. 3. And Pharaoh's
shelter becomes a shame to them, and the concealment under the shadow
of Egypt is a disgrace. 4. For Judah's princes have appeared in Zoan,
and his ambassadors arrive in Haran. 5. They will all have to be
ashamed of a people useless to them, that brings no help and no use,
but shame, and also reproach.
6. Oracle concerning the water-oxen of the south: Through a land of
distress and confinement, whence the lioness and lion, adders and
flying dragons; they carry their possessions on the shoulders of
asses' foals, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a nation
that profits nothing. 7. And Egypt, worthlessly and hollowly will
they help; therefore I call this Egypt, Great-mouth sits still.
8. Now go, write it on a table with them, and note it in a book, and
let it stand there for future days, for ever, to eternity.
9. For it is a refractory people, lying children, children who do not
like to hear the instruction of Jehovah; 10. who say to the seers,
See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things!
Speak flatteries to us! 11. Get out of the way, turn aside from the
path, remove from our face the Holy One of Israel.
12. Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye dislike
this word, and put your trust in force and shufflings, and rely upon
this; 13. therefore will this iniquity be to like a falling breach,
bent forwards in a high-towering wall, which falls to ruin suddenly,
very suddenly. 14. And He smites it to pieces, as a potter's vessel
falls to pieces when they smash it without sparing, and of which,
when it lies smashed to pieces there, you cannot find a sherd to
fetch fire with from the hearth, or to take water with out of a
cistern.
15. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, Through
turning and rest ye would be helped; your strength would show itself
in quietness and confidence; but ye would not. 16. And ye said, No,
but we will fly upon horses; therefore ye shall flee: and, We will
ride upon race-horses; therefore your pursuers will race. 17. A
thousand, ye will flee from the threatening of one, from the
threatening of five, until ye are reduced to a remnant, like a pine
upon the top of the mountain, and like a banner upon the hill.
18. And therefore will Jehovah wait till He inclines towards you, and
therefore will He withdraw Himself on high till He has mercy upon
you; for Jehovah is a God of right, salvation to those who wait for
Him.
19. For a people continues dwelling in Zion, in Jerusalem; thou shalt
not weep for ever: He will prove Himself gracious to thee at the
sound of thy cry for help; as soon as He hears, He answers thee.
20. And the Lord giveth you bread in penury, and water for your need;
and thy teachers will not hide themselves any more, and thine eyes
come to see thy teachers. 21. And thine ears will hear words behind
thee, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it!" whether ye turn to
the right hand or the left. 22. And ye defile the covering of thy
graven images of silver, and the clothing of thy molten images of
gold; thou wilt scatter them like a filthy thing: "Get out!" thou
sayest to it.
23. And He gives rain to thy seed, with which thou sowest the land;
and bread of the produce of the land, and it is full of sap and fat;
in that day your flocks will feed in roomy pastures. 24. And the oxen
and the young asses, which work the land, salted mash will they eat,
which is winnowed with the winnowing shovel and winnowing fork!
25. And upon every high mountain, and every hill that rises high,
there are springs, brooks in the day of the great massacre, when the
towers fall.
26. And the light of the moon will be as light of the sun, and the
light of the sun will be multiplied sevenfold, like the light of
seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth the hurt of His people,
and healeth the crushing of His stroke.
27. Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning His wrath,
and quantity of smoke: His lips are full of wrathful foam, and His
tongue like devouring fire. 28. And His breath is like an overflowing
brook, which reaches half-way to the neck, to sift nations in the
sieve of nothingness; and a misleading bridle comes to the cheeks of
the nations.
29. Your song will then sound as in the night, when the feast is
celebrated; and ye will have joy of heart like those who march with
the playing of flutes, to go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the
Rock of Israel.
30. And Jehovah causes His majestic voice to be heard, and causes the
lowering of His arm to be seen, with the snorting of wrath and the
blazing of devouring fire, the bursting of a cloud, and pouring of
rain and hailstones. 31. For Asshur will be terrified at the voice of
Jehovah, when He smites with the staff. 32. And it will come to pass
every stroke of the rod of destiny, which Jehovah causes to fall upon
Asshur, is dealt amid the noise of drums and the playing of guitars;
and in battles of swinging arm He fights it. 33. For a place for the
sacrifice of abominations has long been made ready, even for the king
it is prepared: deep, broad has He made it: its funeral-pile has fire
and wood in abundance; the breath of Jehovah like a stream of
brimstone sets it on fire.
_The Fourth Woe.--The False Help; the Despised
One Pitied; and the New Era._--CHAPS. XXXI.-XXXII. 8.
1. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely upon horses,
and put their trust in chariots, that there are many of them, and in
horsemen, that there is a powerful multitude of them: and to not look
up to the Holy One of Israel, and do not inquire for Jehovah! 2. And
yet He also is wise; thus then He brings evil, and sets not His words
aside; and rises up against the house of miscreants, and against the
help of evil-doers. 3. And Egypt is man, and not God; and its horses
flesh, and not spirit. And when Jehovah stretches out His hand, the
helper stumbles, and he that is helped falls, and they all perish
together.
4. For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me, As the lion growls and the
young lion over its prey, against which a whole crowd of shepherds is
called together; he is not alarmed at their cry, and does not
surrender at their noise; so will Jehovah of hosts descend to the
campaign against the mountain of Zion, and against their hill.
5. Like fluttering birds, so will Jehovah of hosts screen Jerusalem;
screening and delivering, sparing and setting free.
6. Then turn, O sons of Israel, to Him from whom men have so deeply
departed. 7. For in that day they will abhor every one their silver
idols and their gold idols, which your hands have made to you for a
sin. 8. And Asshur falls by a sword not of a man, and a sword not of
a man will devour him; and he flees before a sword, and his young men
become tributary. 9. And his rock, for fear it will pass away, and
his princes be frightened away by the flags: the saying of Jehovah,
who has His fire in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.
XXXII.--1. Behold the king will reign according to righteousness; and
the princes, according to right will they command. 2. And every one
will be like a shelter from the wind, and a covert from the storm;
like water-brooks in a dry place, like the shadow of a gigantic rock
in a languishing land.
3. And the eyes of the seeing no more are closed, and the ears of the
hearing attend. 4. And the heart of the hurried understands to know,
and the tongue of stammerers speaks clear things with readiness.
5. The fool will no more be called a nobleman, nor the crafty a
gentleman. 6. For a fool speaks follies, and his heart does godless
things, to practise tricks and to speak error against Jehovah, to
leave the soul of hungry men empty, and to withhold the drink of
thirsty ones. 7. And the craft of the crafty man is evil, who devises
stratagems to destroy suffering ones by lying words, even when the
needy exhibits his right. 8. But a noble man deviseth noble things,
and to noble things he adheres.
AGAINST THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM.--CHAP. XXXII. 9-20.
_Appendix to the Fourth Woe._
9. Ye contented women, rise up, hear my voice, ye confident
daughters, hearken to my speech! 10. Days to the year: then will ye
tremble, confident ones! for it is all over with the vintage, the
fruit harvest comes to nought. 11. Tremble, contented ones! Quake, ye
confident ones! Strip, make yourselves bare, and gird your loins with
sackcloth! 12. They smite upon their breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine. 13. On the land of my people there come up
weeds, briers; yes, upon all joyous houses of the rejoicing city.
14. For the palace is made solitary: the crowd of the city is left
desolate; the ophel and watch-tower serve as caves for ever, for the
delight of wild asses, for the tending of flocks.
15. Until the Spirit is poured out over us from on high, and the
wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is
counted as the forest. 16. And justice makes its abode in the desert,
and righteousness settles down upon the fruit-field. 17. And the
effect of righteousness will be peace, and the reward of
righteousness rest and security for ever. 18. And my people dwells in
a place of peace, and in trustworthy, safe dwellings, and in cheerful
resting-places. 19. And it hails with the overthrow of the forest,
and into lowliness must the city be brought low.
20. Blessed are ye that sow by all waters, and let the foot of the
oxen and asses rove in freedom.
_The Fifth Woe.--Woe Concerning Asshur;
Deliverance and Glory of Jerusalem._--CHAP. XXXIII.
1. Woe, devastator, and thyself not devastated; and thou spoiler, and
still not spoiled! Hast thou not done with devastating? thou shalt be
devastated. Hast thou attained to rob? men rob thee.
2. Jehovah, be gracious to us; we wait for Thee: be their arm every
morning, yea, our salvation in time of need!
3. At the sound of a noise peoples pass away: at Thy rising nations
are scattered. 4. And your booty is swept away as a swarm of locusts
sweeps away; as beetles run, they run upon it.
5. Jehovah is exalted; for dwelling on high, He has filled Zion with
justice and righteousness. 6. And there will be security of thy
times, riches of salvation, of wisdom, and knowledge. Fear of Jehovah
is then the treasure of Judah.
7. Behold, their heroes weep without; the messengers of peace weep
bitterly. 8. Desolate are roads, disappeared are travellers; he has
broken covenant, insulted cities, despised men. 9. The land mourns,
languishes; Lebanon stands ashamed, parched; the meadow of Sharon has
become like a steppe, and Bashan and Carmel shake their leaves.
10. Now will I arise, saith Jehovah, now exalt Myself, now lift up
Myself.
11. Ye are pregnant with hay, ye bring forth stubble! Your snorting
is the fire that will devour you. 12. And nations become as lime
burnings, thorns cut off, which are kindled with fire.
13. Hear, ye distant ones, what I have accomplished; and perceive, ye
near ones, my omnipotence! 14. The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the hypocrites: who of us can dwell with devouring
fire? who of us abide with everlasting burnings?
15. He that walketh in righteousness, and speaketh uprightness; he
that despiseth gain of oppressions, whose hand keepeth from grasping
bribes; he that stoppeth his ear from hearing murderous counsel, and
shutteth his eyes from looking at evil; 16. he will dwell upon high
places; rocky fastnesses are his castle; his bread is abundant, his
waters inexhaustible.
17. Thine eyes will see the King in His beauty, will see a land that
is very far off.
18. Thy heart meditates upon the shuddering. Where is the valuer?
where is the weigher? where he who counted the towers? 19. The rough
people thou seest no more, a people of deep inaudible lip, of
stammering unintelligible tongue.
20. Look upon Zion, the castle of our festal meeting. Thine eyes will
see Jerusalem, a pleasant place, a tent that does not wander about,
whose pegs are never drawn, and none of whose cords are ever broken.
21. No, there dwells for us a glorious One, Jehovah; a place of
streams, canals of wide extent, into which no fleet of rowing vessels
ventures, and which no strong man of war shall cross. 22. For Jehovah
is our Judge; Jehovah is our war-Prince; Jehovah is our King; He will
bring us salvation.
23. Thy ropes hang loose; they do not hold fast the support of thy
mast; they do not hold the flag extended: then is the booty of
plunder divided in abundance; even lame men share the prey. 24. And
not an inhabitant will say, I am weak: the people settled there have
their sins forgiven.
_PART VI._
FINALE OF THE JUDGMENT UPON ALL THE WORLD (MORE ESPECIALLY UPON
EDOM) AND REDEMPTION OF THE PEOPLE OF JEHOVAH.--CHAPS. XXXIV., XXXV.
1. Come near, ye peoples, to hear; and ye nations, attend. Let the
earth hear, and that which fills it, the world, and everything that
springs from it. 2. For the indignation of Jehovah will fall upon all
nations, and burning wrath upon all their host; He has laid the ban
upon them, delivered them to the slaughter. 3. And their slain are
cast away, and their corpses--their stench will arise, and mountains
melt with their blood. 4. And all the host of the heavens are rolled
up like a scroll, and all their heat withers as a leaf withers away
from the vine, and like withered leaves from the fig-tree.
5. For My sword has become intoxicated in the heaven; behold, it
comes down upon Edom, and upon the people of My ban to judgment.
6. The sword of Jehovah fills itself with blood, is fattened with
fat, with blood of lambs and he-goats, with kidney-fat of rams; for
Jehovah has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land
of Edom. 7. And buffaloes fall with them, and bullocks together with
bulls; and their land becomes intoxicated with blood, and their dust
fattened with fat.
8. For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense, to
contend for Zion. 9. And the brooks of Edom are turned into pitch,
and its dust into brimstone, and its land becomes burning pitch.
10. Day and night it is not quenched; the smoke of Edom goes up for
ever: it lies waste from generation to generation; no one passes
through it for ever and ever. 11. And pelican and hedgehog take
possession of it, and eared-owl and raven dwell there; and He
stretched over it the measure of Tohu and the level of Bohu. 12. Its
nobles--there is no longer a monarchy which they elected; nettles and
thistles in the castles; and it and all its princes come to nought.
13. And the palaces of Edom break out into thorns, nettles and
thistles in the castles; and it becomes the abode of wild dogs,
pasture for ostriches. 14. And martens meet with jackals, and a
wood-devil runs upon its fellow; yea, Līlīth dwells there, and finds
rest for itself. 15. There the arrow-snake makes its nest, and breeds
and lays eggs, and broods in the shadow there; yea, there vultures
gather one to another. 16. Search in the book of Jehovah, and read!
Not one of the creatures falls, not one misses the other: for My
mouth--it has commanded it; and His breath--it has brought them
together. 17. And He has cast the lots for them, and His hand has
assigned it (this land) to them by measure; they will possess it for
ever; to generation and generation they will dwell therein.
XXXV.--1. Gladness fills the desert and the heath; and the steppe
rejoices, and flowers like the crocus. 2. It flowers abundantly, and
rejoices; yea, rejoicing and singing: the glory of Lebanon is given
to it, the splendour of Carmel and the plain of Sharon; they will see
the glory of Jehovah, the splendour of our God.
3. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make the trembling knees strong.
4. Say to those of a terrified heart, Be strong, Fear ye not! Behold,
your God will come for vengeance, for a Divine retribution: He will
come, and bring you salvation. 5. Then the eyes of the blind will be
opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6. Then will the lame man
leap as the stag, and the tongue of the dumb man shout; for waters
break out in the desert, and brooks in the steppe. 7. And the mirage
becomes a fish-pond, and the thirsty ground gushing water-springs; in
the place of jackals, where it lies, there springs up grass with
reeds and rushes.
8. And a highway rises there, and a road, and it will be called the
Holy Road; no unclean man will pass along it, as it is appointed for
them: whoever walks the road, even simple ones do not go astray.
9. There will be no lion there, and the most ravenous beast of prey
will not approach it, will not be met with there; and redeemed ones
walk. 10. And the ransomed of Jehovah will return, and come to Zion
with shouting, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they lay hold of
gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing flee away.
_PART VII._
FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY; AND PROPHECIES BELONGING
TO THE FOURTEENTH YEAR OF HEZEKIAH'S REIGN, AND
THE TIMES IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING.--CHAPS. XXXVI.-XXXIX.
_A.--First Assyrian Attempt to Compel the
Surrender of Jerusalem._--CHAPS. XXXVI.-XXXVII. 7.
XXXVI.--1. And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king
Hizikiyahu, Sancherîb, king of Asshur, came up against all the
fortified cities of Judah, and took them. 2. Then the king of Asshur
sent Rabshakeh from Lachish towards Jerusalem to king Hizkiyahu with
a great army, and he advanced to the conduit of the upper pool by the
road of the fuller's field; 3. and there went out to him Eliakim, son
of Hilkiyahu, the house-minister, and Shebna the chancellor, and
Joah, son of Asaph the recorder.
4. And Rabshakeh said to them, Say now to Hizkiyahu, Thus saith the
great king, the king of Asshur, What sort of confidence is this that
thou hast got? 5. I say, Vain talk is counsel and strength for war:
now, then, in whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against
me? 6. Behold, thou trustest in this broken reed-staff there, in
Egypt, on which one leans, and it runs into his hand and pierces it;
so does Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7. But if thou
sayest to me, We trust in Jehovah our God; is it not He whose high
places and altars Hizkiyahu has removed, and has said to Judah and
Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before the altar? 8. And not take a wager
with my lord the king of Asshur; I will deliver thee two thousand
horses, if thou art able for thy part to give horsemen upon them.
9. And how couldst thou repel the advance of a single satrap among
the least of the servants of my lord? Thou puttest thy trust then in
Egypt for chariots and riders! 10. And now have I come up without
Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up to
this land, and destroy it.
11. Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, to Rabshakeh, Pray,
speak to thy servants in Aramæan, for we understand it; and do not
speak to us in Jewish, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
12. Then Rabshakeh said to them, Has my lord sent me to thy lord and
to thee, not rather to the men who sit upon the wall, to eat their
dung, and to drink their urine together with you?
13. Then Rabshakeh went near, and cried with a loud voice in the
Jewish language, and said, Hear the words of the great king, the king
of Asshur. 14. Thus saith the king, Let not Hizkiyahu practise
deception upon you; for he cannot deliver you. 15. And let not
Hizkiyahu feed you with hope in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will
deliver, yea, deliver us: this city will not be delivered into the
hand of the king of Asshur. 16. Hearken not to Hizkiyahu; for thus
saith the king of Asshur, Enter into a connection of mutual good
wishes with me, and come out to me: and enjoy every one his vine, and
every one his fig-tree, and drink every one the water of his cistern:
17. till I come and take you away into a land like your own land, a
land of corn and wine, a land of bread-corn and vineyards; 18. that
Hizkiyahu do not befool you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Have
the gods of the nations delivered every one his land out of the hand
of the king of Asshur? 19. Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?
Where the gods of Sepharvayim? and how much less have they delivered
that Samaria out of my hand? 20. Who were they among all the gods of
these lands who delivered their land out of my hand? how much less
will Jehovah deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21. But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for it
was the king's commandment, Ye shall not answer him.
22. Then came Eliakim, son of Hilkiyahu, the house-minister, and
Shebna that chancellor, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, to
Hizkiyahu, with torn clothes, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
XXXVII.--1. And it came to pass, when king Hizkiyahu had heard, he
rent his clothes, and wrapped himself in mourning linen, and went
into the house of Jehovah. 2. And sent Eliakim the house-minister,
and Shebna the chancellor, and the eldest of the priests, wrapped in
mourning linen, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. 3. And they say
to him, Thus saith Hizkiyahu, A day of affliction, and punishment,
and blasphemy is this day; for children are come to the matrix, and
there is no strength to bring them forth. 4. Perhaps Jehovah thy God
will hear the words of Rabshakeh, with which the king of Asshur his
lord has sent him to revile the living God; and Jehovah thy God will
punish for the words He hath heard, and thou wilt make intercession
for the remnant that still exists.
5. And the servants of king Hizkiyahu came to Isaiah. 6. And Isaiah
said to them, Speak thus to your lord, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not
afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of
the king of Asshur have blasphemed Me. 7. Behold, I will bring a
spirit upon him, and he will hear a hearsay, and return to his own
land; and I will cut him down with the sword in his own land.
_B.--Second Attempt of the Assyrians to Force the Surrender
of Jerusalem. Its Miraculous Deliverance._--CHAP. XXXVII. 8-38.
8. Rabshakeh thereupon returned, and found the king of Asshur warring
against Libnah; for he had heard that he had withdrawn from Lachish.
9. And he had heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, he has
come out to make war against thee; and heard, and sent messengers to
Hiskiyahu, saying, 10. Thus shall ye say to Hizkiyahu king of Judah,
saying, Let not the God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Asshur.
11. Behold, thou hast surely heard what the kings of Asshur have done
to all lands, to lay the ban upon them; and thou, thou shouldest be
delivered? 12. Have the gods of the nations, which my fathers
destroyed, delivered them? Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
B•nē-'Eden, which are in Telassar? 13. Where is the king of Hamath,
and the king of Arpad, and the king of 'Ir-Sepharvayim, Hen'a, and
'Ivah?
14. And Hizkiyahu took the letter out of the hand of the messengers,
and read it, and went up to the house of Jehovah; and Hizkiyahu
spread it before Jehovah. 15. And Hizkiyahu prayed to Jehovah,
saying, 16. Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned upon the
cherubim, Thou, yea Thou alone, art God of all the kingdoms of the
earth; Thou, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. 17. Incline
Thine ear, Jehovah, and hear! Open Thine eyes, Jehovah, and see; and
hear the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to despise the
living God! 18. Truly, O Jehovah, the kings of Asshur have laid waste
all lands, and their land, 19. and have put their gods into the fire:
for they were not gods, only the work of men's hands, wood and stone;
therefore they have destroyed them. 20. And now, Jehovah our God,
help us out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that Thou Jehovah art it alone.
21. And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hizkiyahu, saying, Thus saith
Jehovah the God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me
concerning Sennacherib the king of Asshur: 22. This is the utterance
which Jehovah utters concerning him:--The virgin daughter of Zion
despiseth thee, laugheth thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem
shaketh her head after thee. 23. Whom hast thou reviled and
blasphemed, and over whom hast thou spoken loftily, that thou hast
lifted up thine eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 24. By
thy servants hast thou reviled the Lord, in that thou sayest, "With
the multitude of my chariots have I climbed the height of the
mountains, the inner side of Lebanon; and I shall fell the lofty
growth of its cedars, the choice of its cypresses; and I shall
penetrate to the height of its uttermost border, the grove of its
orchard. 25. I, I have digged and drank waters, and will make dry
with the sole of my feet all the Nile-arms." 26. Hast thou not heard?
I have done it long ago, from the days of ancient time have I formed
it, and now brought it to pass, that thou shouldest lay waste
fortified cities into desolate stone heaps; 27. and their
inhabitants, powerless, were terrified, and were put to shame: became
herb of the field and green of the turf, herb of the house-tops, and
a cornfield before the blades. 28. And thy sitting down, and thy
going out, and thy entering in, I know; and thy heating thyself
against Me. 29. On account of thy heating thyself against Me, and
because thy self-confidence has risen up into Mine ears, I put My
ring into thy nose, and My muzzle into thy lips, and lead thee back
by the way by which thou hast come.
30. And let this be a sign to thee, Men eat this year what is
self-sown; and in the second year what springs from the roots; and in
the third year they sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their
fruit. 31. And that which is escaped of the house of Judah, that
which remains will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
32. For from Jerusalem will a remnant go forth, and a fugitive from
Mount Zion; the zeal of Jehovah of hosts will carry this out.
33. Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Asshur, He
will not enter into this city, nor shoot off an arrow there; nor do
they assault it with a shield, nor cast up earthworks against it.
34. By the way by which he came will he return; and he will not enter
into this city, saith Jehovah. 35. And I shield this city, to help,
for Mine own sake, and for the sake of David My servant.
36. Then the angel of Jehovah went forth and smote in the camp of
Asshur a hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when men rose up in
the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37. Then Sennacherib
king of Asshur decamped, and went forth and returned, and settled
down in Nineveh. 38. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in
the temple of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharazer his sons
smote him with the sword; and when they escaped to the land of
Ararat, Esar-haddon reigned in his stead.
_C.--Hezekiah's Illness. Isaiah
Assures Him of His Recovery._--CHAP. XXXVIII.
1. In those days Hizkiyahu became dangerously ill. And Isaiah son of
Amoz, the prophet, came to him, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah,
Set thine house in order; for thou wilt die, and not recover. 2. Then
Hizkiyahu turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Jehovah, 3. and
said, O Jehovah, remember this, I pray, that I have walked before
Thee in truth, and with the whole heart, and have done what was good
in Thine eyes. And Hizkiyahu wept with loud weeping.
4. And it came to pass the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah as follows:
5. Go and say to Hizkiyahu, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David
thine ancestor, I have heard thy prayer, seen thy tears; behold, I
add to thy days fifteen years. 6. And I will deliver thee and this
city out of the hand of the king of Asshur, and defend this city.
[21. Then Isaiah said they were to bring a fig-cake; and they
plastered the boil, and he recovered. 22. And Hizkiyahu said, What
sign is there that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?]
7. And let this be the sign to thee on the part of Jehovah, that
Jehovah will perform the word which He has spoken: 8. Behold, I will
make the shadow retrace the steps, which it has gone down upon the
sun-dial of Ahaz through the sun, ten steps backward. And the sun
went back ten steps upon the dial, which it had gone down.
9. Writing of Hizkiyahu king of Judah, when he was sick, and
recovered from his sickness.
10, 11, 12:--
I said, in quiet of my days shall I depart into
the gates of Hades:
I am mulcted of the rest of my years.
I said, I shall not see Jah, Jah, in the land of
the living:
I shall behold man no more, with the inhabitants
of the regions of the dead.
My home is broken up, and is carried off from me
like a shepherd's tent:
I rolled up my life like a weaver: He would have
cut me loose from the roll:
From day to night Thou makest an end of me.
13, 14:--
I waited patiently till the morning; like the lion,
So will He break in pieces all my bones:
From day to night Thou makest it all over with me.
Like a swallow, a crane, so I chirped;
I cooed like the dove:
Mine eyes pined for the height.
O Lord, men assault me! Be bail for me.
15-17:--
What shall I say, That He promised me,
and He hath carried it out:
I should walk quietly all my years,
on the trouble of my soul?
Oh Lord, by such things men revive, and the life
of my spirit is always therein:
And so wilt Thou restore me, and make me
to live!
Behold, bitterness became salvation to me,
bitterness;
And Thou, Thou hast delivered my soul in
love out of the pit of corruption:
For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.
18-20:--
For Hades does not praise Thee; death does not sing
praises to Thee:
They that sink into the grave do not hope for
Thy truth.
The living, the living, he praises Thee,
as I do to-day;
The father to the children makes known Thy truth,
Jehovah is ready to give me salvation;
Therefore will we play my stringed instruments
all the days of my life
In the house of Jehovah.
_D.--Threatening of the Babylonish
Captivity Occasioned by Hezekiah._--CHAP. XXXIX.
1. At that time Merodach Bal'adan, son of Bal'adan king of Babel,
sent writings and a present to Hizkiyahu, and heard that he had been
sick, and was restored again.
2. And Hizkiyahu rejoiced concerning them, and showed them all his
storehouses: the silver, and the gold and the spices, and the fine
oil, and all his arsenal, and all that was in his treasures: there
was nothing that Hizkiyahu had now shown them in all his house or in
all his kingdom.
3. Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hizkiyahu, and said to him,
What have these men said, and whence came they to thee? Hizkiyahu
said, They came to me from a far country, out of Babel. 4. He said
further, What have they seen in thy house? Hizkiyahu said, All that
is in my house have they seen; there was nothing in my treasures that
I had not shown them. 5. Then Isaiah said to Hizkiyahu, Hear the word
of Jehovah of hosts; 6. Behold, days come, that all that is in thy
house, and all that thy fathers have laid up unto this day, will be
carried away to Babel: nothing will be left behind, saith Jehovah.
7. And of thy children that proceed from thee, whom thou shalt beget,
will they take; and they will be courtiers in the palace of the king
of Babel. 8. Then said Hizkiyahu to Isaiah, Good is the word of
Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said further, Yea, there shall
be peace and steadfastness in my days.
SECOND HALF OF THE COLLECTION, CHAPS. XL.-LXVI.
_PART I._
FIRST PROPHECY.--CHAP. XL.
_Words of Comfort, and the God of Comfort._
1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2. Speak ye to
the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her affliction is
ended, that her debt is paid, that she has received from the hand of
Jehovah double for all her sins.
3. Hark, a crier! In the wilderness prepare ye a way for Jehovah,
make smooth in the desert a road for our God. 4. Let every valley be
exalted, and every mountain and hill made low; and let the rugged by
made a plain, and the ledges of rock a valley. 5. And the glory of
the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh seeth together; for the
mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
6. Hark, one speaking, Cry! And he answers, What shall I cry? All
flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field.
7. Grass is withered, flower faded, for the breath of Jehovah has
blown upon it. Surely grass is the people; 8. grass withereth, flower
fadeth: yet the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9. Upon a high mountain get thee up, O evangelistess Zion;[1] lift up
thy voice with strength, evangelistess Jerusalem! lift up, be not
afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God.
10. Behold, the Lord Jehovah as a mighty one will He come! His arm
ruling for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His retribution
before Him. 11. He will feed His flock like a shepherd, take the
lambs in His arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those
that are giving suck.
12. Who hath measured the waters with the hollow of His hand, and
regulated the heavens with a span, and taken up the dust of the earth
in a third measure, and weighed the mountains with a steelyard, and
hills with balances? 13. Who regulated the Spirit of Jehovah, and
(who) instructed Him as His counsellor? 14. With whom took He
counsel, and who would have explained to Him and instructed Him
concerning the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made
known to Him a prudent course?
15. Behold, nations like a little drop on a bucket, and like a grain
of sand in a balance, are they esteemed; behold, islands like an atom
of dust that rises in the air. 16. And Lebanon is not a sufficiency
of burning, nor its game a sufficiency of burnt-offerings. 17. All
the nations are as nothing before Him; they are regarded by Him as
belonging to nullity and emptiness. 18. And to whom can ye liken God,
and what king of image can ye place beside Him!
19. The idol, when the smith has cast it, the melter plates it with
gold, and melteth silver chains for it. 20. The man who is
impoverished in oblations, he chooseth a block of wood that will not
rot; he seeketh for himself a skilful smith, to prepare an idol that
will not shake.
21. Do ye not know? Do ye not hear? Is it not proclaimed to you from
the beginning? Have ye not obtained an insight into the foundations
of the earth? 22. He who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
and its inhabitants resemble grasshoppers; who has spread out the
heavens like gauze, and stretched them out like a tent-roof to dwell
in; 23. He who giveth up rulers; maketh judges of the earth like a
desolation. 24. They are hardly planted, hardly sown, their stem has
hardly taken root in the earth, and He only blows upon them, and they
dry up, and the storm carries them away like stubble.
25. And to whom will ye compare Me, to whom can I be equal? saith the
Holy One.
26. Lift[2] up your eyes on high and see; who hath created these
things? It is He who bringeth out their host by number, calleth them
all by names, because of the greatness of (His) might, and as being
strong in power: there is not one that is missing.
27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is
hidden from Jehovah, and my right hand is overlooked by my God?
28. Is it not known to thee, or hast thou not heard, an eternal God
is Jehovah, Creator of the ends of the earth? He fainteth not,
neither becomes weary; His understanding is unsearchable. 29. Giving
power to the faint, and to the incapable He giveth strength in
abundance. 30. And youths grow faint and weary, and young men suffer
a fall. 31. But they who wait for Jehovah gain fresh strength; lift
up their wings like eagles; run, and are not weary; go forward, and
do not faint.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] 9. O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up
into the high mountain! lift up thy voice with strength, O
thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem! lift it up,
&c.--_Birks and Kay._
[2] Lift up your eyes into the heavens, and behold! who hath
created these things? He bringeth out their host by number,
He calleth them all by names; by the greatness of His
might, for that He is strong in power, not one
faileth.--_Matthew Arnold._
SECOND PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLI.
_The God of the World's History, and of Prophecy._
1. Be silent to Me, ye islands; and let the nations procure fresh
strength: let them come near, then speak; we will enter into contest
together.
2. Who hath raised up the man from the rising of the sun, whom
justice meets at His foot, He giveth up nations before Him, and kings
He subdues, giveth men like dust to His sword, and like driven
stubble to His bow? 3. He pursueth them, and marcheth in peace by a
course which He never trod with His foot. 4. Who hath wrought and
executed it? He who calleth the generations of men from the
beginning, I Jehovah am first, and with the last one am I HE.
5. Islands have seen it and shuddered; the ends of the earth
trembled; they have approached, and drawn near. 6. One helped his
companion, and he said to his brother, Only firm! 7. The caster puts
firmness into the melter, the hammer-smoother into the anvil-smelter,
saying of the soldering, It is good; and made him firm with nails,
that he should not shake.
8. And[1] thou, Israel My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of
Abraham My friend;[2] 9. thou whom I have laid hold of from the ends
of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to Thee,
Thou art My servant, I have chosen and not despised thee, 10. fear
thou not, for I am with thee; be not afraid, for I am thy God: I have
chosen thee, I also help thee, I also hold thee with the right hand
of My righteousness. 11. Behold, all they that were incensed against
thee must be ashamed and confounded; the men of thy conflict become
as nothing, and perish. 12. Thou wilt seek them, and not find them,
the men of thy feuds; the men of thy warfare become as nothing, and
nonentity. 13. For I, Jehovah thy God, lay hold of thy right hand, He
who saith to thee, Fear not, I will help thee.
14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and handful[3] Israel: I will help
thee, saith Jehovah; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15. Behold, I have made thee a threshing roller, a sharp new one,
with double edges; thou wilt thresh mountains, and pound them; and
hills thou wilt make chaff. 16. Thou wilt winnow them, and wind
carries them away, and tempest scatters them; and thou wilt rejoice
in Jehovah, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17. The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their
tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of
Israel will not forsake them. 18. I open streams upon hills of the
field, and springs in the midst of valleys; I make the desert into a
pond, and dry land into fountains of water. 19. I give in the desert
cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set on the steppe
cypresses, plane-trees, sherbin-trees together, 20. that they may
see, and know, and lay to heart, and understand all together, that
the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished it, and the Holy One of Israel
hath created it.
21. Bring hither your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your
proofs, saith the King of Jacob. 22. Let them bring forward, and make
known to us what will happen; make known the beginning, what it is,
and we will fix our heart upon it, and take knowledge of its issue;
or let us hear what is to come. 23. Make known to us what is coming
later, and we will acknowledge that ye are gods! yea, do good, and do
evil, and we will measure ourselves, and see together.
25. I have raised up from the north, and he came: from the rising of
the sun one who invokes my name; and he treads upon satraps as mud,
and like a potter kneadeth clay.
26. Who hath made it known from the beginning, we will acknowledge
it, and from former time, we will say He is in the right! Yea, there
was none that made known; yea, none that caused to hear; yea, none
that heard your words. 27. As at the first I said to Zion,[4] Behold,
behold, there it is; and I bestow evangelists upon Jerusalem. 28. And
I looked, and there was no man; and of these there was no one
answering whom I could ask, and who would give me an answer. 29. See
them all, vanity; nothingness are their productions, wind and
desolation their molten images.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] But, &c.--_Birks._
[2] Abraham that loved me.--_Kay._
[3] And ye mortals of Israel.--_Birks._
[4] Or, beforehand is it said unto Zion, Behold, behold
them!--_Kay._
THIRD PROPHECY.--CHAPS. XLII. 1-XLIII. 18.
_The Mediator of Israel and Saviour of the Gentiles._
1. Behold My servant, who I uphold; Mine elect, whom My soul loveth;
I have laid My Spirit upon Him; He will bring out right to the
Gentiles. 2. He will not cry, nor lift up, nor cause to be heard in
the street, His voice. 3. A bruised reed He does not break, and a
glimmering wick He does not put out: according to truth He brings out
right.[1] 4. He will not become faint or broken till He establish
right upon earth, and the islands wait for His instruction.
5. Thus saith God, Jehovah, Who created the heavens and stretched
them out; Who spread the earth, and its productions; Who gave the
spirit of life to the people upon it, and the breath of life to them
that walk upon it: 6. I, Jehovah, I have called Thee in
righteousness, and grasped Thy hand; and I keep Thee, and make Thee
the covenant of the people, the light of the Gentiles, 7. to open
blind eyes, to bring out prisoners out of the prison, them that sit
in darkness out of the prison-house.
8. I am Jehovah, that is My name, and My glory I will not give to
another, nor My renown to idols. 9. The first, behold, is come to
pass, and new things am I proclaiming; before it springs up, I will
let you hear it.
10. Sing ye to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the
earth, ye navigators of the sea, and its fulness; ye islands and
their inhabitants. 11. Let the desert and the cities thereof strike
up, the villages the Kedar doth inhabit; the inhabitants of the
rock-city may rejoice, about from the summits of the mountains.
12. Let them give glory to Jehovah, and proclaim His praise in the
islands. 13. Jehovah, like a hero will He go forth, kindle jealousy
like a man of war; He will break forth into a war-cry, a yelling
war-cry, prove Himself a hero upon His enemies.
14. I have been silent eternally long, over still, restrained myself;
like[2] a travailing woman, I now breathe again, snort and snuff
together. 15. I will make waste mountains and hills, and all their
herbage I dry up, and change streams into islands, and lakes I dry
up. 16. And I lead the blind by a way that they know not; by steps
that they know not, I make them walk; I turn dark space before them
into light, and rugged places into a plain. These are the things that
I carry out, and do not leave.
17. They fall back, are put deeply to shame, that trust in molten
images, that say to the molten image, Thou art our god.
18. Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look up that ye may see.
19. Who is blind but My servant? and deaf, as My messenger who I
send? who blind as the confident of God, and blind as the servant of
Jehovah? 20. Thou hast seen much, and yet keepest not; opening the
ears, he yet doth not hear. 21. Jehovah was pleased for His
righteousness' sake: He gave a Church [direction, instruction,
revelation] great and glorious. 22. And yet it is a people robbed and
plundered; fastened in holes all of them, and they are hidden in
prison-houses: they have become booty, without deliverers; a spoil,
without any one saying, Give it up again!
23. Who among you will give ear to this, attend, and hear afar off?
24. Who has given up Jacob to plundering, and Israel to the spoilers?
Is it not Jehovah, against whom we have sinned? and they would not
walk in His way, and hearkened not to His law. 25. Then He poured
upon it in burning heat His wrath, and the strength of the fury of
war: and this set it in flames round about, and it did not come to be
recognised; it set on fire, and it did not lay it to heart.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] He shall cause judgment to go forth unto
truth.--_Kay._
[2] Now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will desolate and
swallow up at once.--_Kay._
XLIII.--1. But now thus saith Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy
Former, O Israel! Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called
thee by thy name, thou art Mine. 2. When thou goest through the
water, I am with thee; and through rivers, they shall not drown thee:
when thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; and the
flame shall not set thee on fire. 3. For I Jehovah am thy God; (I)
the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I give up Egypt as a ransom for
thee, Ethiopia and Seba in thy stead. 4. Because thou art dear in my
eyes, highly esteemed, and I loved thee; I give up men in thy stead,
and peoples for thy life.
5. Fear not, for I am with thee: I bring thy seed from the east, and
from the west will I gather thee; 6. I will say to the north, Give
up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My
daughters from the end of the earth; 7. everything that is called by
My name, and I have created for My glory, that I have formed, yea
finished!
8. Bring out a blind people, and it has eyes: and deaf people, and
yet furnished with ears! 9. All ye hearken, gather yourselves
together, and let peoples assemble! Who among you can proclaim such a
thing? And let them cause former things to be heard, appoint their
witnesses, and be justified. Let these hear, and say, True! 10. Ye
are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen;
that ye may know and believe Me, and see that it is I: before Me was
no God formed, and there will be none after Me.
11. I, I am Jehovah; and beside me there is no Saviour. 12. I,[1] I
have proclaimed and brought salvation, and given to perceive, and
there was no other God among you: and ye are My witnesses, saith
Jehovah, and I am God. 13. Even from the day onwards I am so; and
here is no deliverer out of My hand; I act, and who can turn it back?
FOURTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLIII. 14.-XLIV. 5.
_Avenging and Deliverance; and Outpouring of the Spirit._
14. Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, For
your sake I have sent to Babel, and will hurl them all down as
fugitives, and the Chaldeans into the ships of their rejoicing.
15. I, Jehovah, am your Holy One; (I), Israel's Creator, your King.
16. Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth a road through the sea, and a path
through tumultuous waters; 17. who bringeth out chariot and horse,
army[2] and hero; they lie down together, they never rise: they have
flickered away, extinguished like a wick. 18. Remember not things of
olden time, nor meditate upon those of earlier times! 19. Behold, I
work out a new thing; will ye not live to see it? Yea, I make a road
through the desert, and streams through solitudies. 20. The beast of
the field will praise Me, wild dogs and ostriches; for I give water
in the desert, streams in solitude, to give drink to My people, My
chosen. 21. The people that I formed for Myself, they shall show
forth My praise.
22.[3] And thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob, that thou shouldest
have wearied thyself for Me, O Israel! 23. Thou hast not brought Me
sheep of My burnt-offerings, and thou hast not honoured Me with thy
slain-offerings. I have not burdened thee with meat-offerings, and
have not troubled thee about incense. 24. Thou hast brought Me no
spice-cane for silver, nor hast thou refreshed Me with the fat of thy
slain-offerings. No; thou hast wearied Me with thy sins, troubled Me
with thine iniquities. 25. I, I alone, blot out thy transgressions
for My own sake, and do not remember thy sins.
26. Call to My remembrance; we will strive together; tell Me now,
that thou mayest appear just. 27. Thy first forefather sinned, and
thy mediators have fallen away from Me. 28. Then I profaned holy
princes, and gave up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to blasphemies.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I myself declared (beforehand), and saved (in accordance
with that declaration), and published (the account of that
deliverance); I myself have done this, and there was no
strange (god) among you.--_Kay._
I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, and it
was no strange god that was among you.--_Matthew Arnold._
[2] The valiant and the strong.--_Kay._
[3] 22-24. Yet on Me hast thou not called: but thou hast toiled
in respect of Me. Thou broughtest not for _Me_ the lamb of
thy burnt-offerings; with thy sacrifices thou didst not
glorify Me; I caused thee no labour in meat-offering,
neither made thee to toil in respect of incense. Thou
broughtest not sweet cane with money for _Me;_ and with the
fat of thy sacrifices thou didst not refresh _Me._ Verily,
thou hast caused Me to labour by thy sins; thou hast made
Me to toil by thine iniquities.--_Kay._
XLIV.--1. And now hear, O Jacob, My servant, and Israel whom I have
chosen. 2. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Creator, and thy Former from the
womb, who cometh to thy help: Fear not, My servant Jacob, and
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen! 3. For I will pour water on thirsty
ones, and brooks upon the dry ground; will pour My Spirit upon thy
seed, and My blessing upon thine after-growth; 4. and they shoot up
among the grass, as willows by flowing waters. 5. One will say, I
belong to Jehovah; and a second will solemnly name the name of Jacob;
and a third[1] will inscribe himself to Jehovah, and name the name of
Israel with honour.
FIFTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLIV. 6-23.
_The ridiculous Gods of the Nations; and the God
of Israel, Who Makes His People to Rejoice._
6. Thus saith Jehovah the King of Israel, and its Redeemer, Jehovah
of hosts; I am first, and I last; and beside Me there is no God.
7.[2] And who preaches as I do? Let him make it known, and show it to
Me; since I founded the people of ancient time! And future things,
and what is approaching, let them only make known. 8. Despair ye not,
neither tremble: have I not told thee long ago, and made it known,
and ye are My witnesses: is there a God beside Me? And nowhere a
Rock; I know of none.
9. The makers of idols, they are all desolation, and their bosom
children worthless; and those who bear witness for them see nothing
and know nothing, that they may be put to shame. 10. Who hath formed
the god, and cast the idol to no profit? 11. Behold, all its
followers will be put to shame; and the workmen are men; let them all
assemble together, draw near, be alarmed, be all put to shame
together.
12. The iron-smith[3] has a chisel, and works with red-hot coals, and
shapes it with hammers, and works it with his powerful arm. He gets
hungry thereby, and his strength fails; if he drink no water he
becomes exhausted. 13. The carpenter draws the line, marks it with
the pencil, carries it out with planes, and makes a drawing of it
with the compass, and carries it out like the figure of a man, like
the beauty of a man, which may dwell in the house.
14. One[4] prepares to cut down cedars, and takes holm and oak-tree,
and chooses for himself among the trees of the forest. He planteth a
fig, and the rain draws it up. 15. And it serves the man for firing;
he takes thereof, and warms himself; he also heats, and bakes bread;
he also works it into a god, and prostrates himself; makes an idol of
it, and falls down before it. 16. The half of it he has burned in the
fire! over the half of it he eats flesh, roasts a roast, and is
satisfied; he also warms himself, and says, Hurrah! I am getting
warm, I feel the heat. 17. And the rest of it he makes into a god,
into his idol, and says, Save me, for thou art my god!
18. They perceive not, and do not understand: for their eyes are
smeared over, so that they do not see; their hearts that they do not
understand. 19. And men take it not to heart, no perception and no
understanding, that men should say, The half of it I have burned in
the fire, and also baked bread upon the coals thereof; roasted flesh,
and eaten: and ought I to make the rest of it into an abomination, to
fall down before the produce of a tree? 20. He who striveth after
ashes, a befooled heart has led him astray, and he does not deliver
his soul, and does not think, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
21. Remember this, Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant: I have
formed thee, thou art servant to Me, O Israel: thou art not forgotten
by Me. 22.[5] I have blotted out thy transgressions as a mist, and
thy sins as clouds: return to Me; for I have redeemed thee.
23. Exult, O heavens; for Jehovah hath accomplished it: shout, ye
depths of the earth; break out, ye mountains, into exulting; thou
forest, and all the wood therein: for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob,
and He showeth Himself glorious unto Israel.
SIXTH PROPHECY.--CHAPS. XLIV. 24-XLV.
_Cyrus, the Anointed of Jehovah, and Deliverer of Israel._
24. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from
the womb, I Jehovah am He that accomplisheth all; who stretched out
the heavens alone, spread out the earth by Himself; 25. who bringeth
to nought the signs of the prophets of lies, and exposeth the
soothsayers as raging mad; who turneth back the wise men, and maketh
their science folly; 26. who realiseth the word of His servant, and
accomplisheth the prediction of His messengers; who saith to
Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited, and their ruins I raise up again!
27. who saith to the whirlpool, Dry up; and I dry its streams;
28. who saith to Koresh, My shepherd, and he will perform all my
will; and will say to Jerusalem, She shall be built, and the temple
founded!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Shall write with his hand THE LORD'S.--_Kay._
[2] 7. And who, as I, can ordain, and announce
it, and set it in order for me, ever since I appointed
the ancient people? and coming things,
and those which shall come, can they show
unto them?--_Kay._
And who, as I, hath foretold (let him declare it, and set
it in order for me!) since I appointed the ancient people?
and the things that are coming, and that shall come, let
them show!--_Matthew Arnold._
[3] The iron-smith (maketh) an adze, and worketh it in the
coal.--_Kay._
[4] 14. He must cut down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the
oak, and he encourageth himself in the trees of the
forest.--_Kay._
[5] 22. I have swept away as a cloud thy transgressions, and as
a dark cloud thy sins.--_Kay._
I blot out, as a dark cloud, thy transgressions, and, as
the clouds, thy sins.--_Revised English Bible._
XLV.--1. Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Koresh, whom I have
taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him, and the loins
of kings I ungird, to open before him doors and gates, that they may
not continue shut. 2. I shall go before thee, and level what is
heaped up: gates of brass shall I break to pieces, and bolts of iron
shall I smite to the ground. 3. And I shall give thee treasures of
darkness, and jewels of hidden places, that thou mayest know that I
Jehovah am He who called out thy name, (even) the God of Israel.
4. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I called
thee hither by name, surnamed thee when thou knewest Me not. 5. I
Jehovah, and there is none else, beside Me no God: I equipped thee
when thou knewest Me not; 6. that they may know from the rising of
the sun, and its going down, that there is none without Me; I
Jehovah, and there is none else; 7. Former of the light, and Creator
of the darkness; Founder of peace, and Creator of evil: I Jehovah am
He Who worketh all this.
8. Cause to trickle down, ye heavens above, and let the blue sky rain
down righteousness; let the earth open, and let salvation blossom,
and righteousness; let them sprout together, I Jehovah have created
it.
9. Woe to him that quarreleth with his Maker--a pot among the pots of
earthenware! Can the clay indeed say to him that shapeth it, What
makest thou? and thy work, He hath no hands? 10. Woe to him that
saith to his father, What begettest thou? and to the woman, What
bringest thou forth?
11. Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker, Ask Me
what is to come; let My sons and the work of My hands be committed to
Me! 12. I, I have made the earth, and created men upon it; I, My
hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I
called forth. 13. I, I have raised him up in righteousness, and all
his ways shall I make smooth: he will build My city, and release My
banished ones, not for price nor for reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.
14. Thus saith Jehovah, The productions of Egypt, and gain of
Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of tall stature, will come over to
thee, and belong to thee; they will come after thee; in chains they
will come over, and cast themselves down to thee; they pray to thee,
Surely God is in thee, and there is none else; no Deity at all.
15. Verily Thou art a mysterious God, Thou God of Israel, Thou
Saviour.
16. They are put to shame, and also confounded, all of them; they go
away into confusion together, the forgers of idols. 17. Israel is
redeemed by Jehovah with everlasting redemption; ye are not put to
shame nor confounded to everlasting eternities.
18. For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens (He is the
Deity), the Former of the earth, and its Finisher; He has established
it, He has not created it a desert, He has formed it to be inhabited;
I am Jehovah, and there is none else. 19. I have not spoken in
secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I did not say to the seed
of Jacob, Into the desert seek ye me! I Jehovah am speaking
righteousness, proclaiming upright things.
20. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye escaped of
the heathen! Irrational are they who burden themselves with the wood
of their idol, and pray to a god that bringeth no salvation. 21. Make
known, and cause to draw near; yes, let them take counsel together:
Who has made such things known from the olden time, proclaimed it
long ago? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no Deity beside Me; God
just, and bringing salvation; there is none without Me!
22. Turn unto Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth; for I am
God, and none else. 23. By Myself have I sworn, a word has gone out
of My mouth of righteousness, and will not return, That to Me every
knee shall bend, every tongue swear. 24.[1] Only in Jehovah, do men
say of Me, in fulness of Righteousness and strength; they come to
Him, and all that were incensed against Him are put to shame. 25. In
Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall become righteous, and shall
glory.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] 24. Only in the Lord (saith one unto Me) is righteousness and
strength; even to Him shall one come; and all that were incensed
against Him shall be ashamed.--_Kay._
SEVENTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLVI.
_Fall of the Gods of Babel._
1. Bel sinketh down. Nebo stoopeth; the images come to the beast of
burden and draught cattle: your[1] litters are laden, a burden for
the panting. 2. They stooped, sank down all at once, and could not
get rid of the burden; and their own self went into captivity.
3. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel: ye, lifted up from the womb; ye, carried from the
mother's lap. 4. And till old age it is I, and to grey heir I shall
bear you on My shoulder; I have done it, and I shall carry; and I put
upon My shoulder, and deliver. 5. To whom can ye compare Me, and
liken, and place side by side, that we should be equal?
6. They who pour gold out of the bag, and weigh silver with the
balance, hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, that they may bow
down, yes, throw themselves down. 7. They lift it up, carry it away
on their shoulder, and set it down in its place! there it is; from
its place it does not move; men also cry to it, but it does not
answer; it saves no man out of distress.
8. Remember this, and become firm; take it to heart, ye rebellious
ones! 9. Remember the beginning from the olden time, that I am God,
and none else: Deity, and absolutely none like me, 10. proclaiming
the issue from the beginning, and from ancient times what has not yet
taken place, saying, My counsel shall stand, and all My good pleasure
I carry out, 11. calling[2] a bird of prey from the east, the man of
My counsel from a distant land: not only have I spoken, I also bring
it; I have purposed it, I will also execute it.
12. Hearken to Me, ye strong-hearted, that are far from
righteousness. 13. I have brought My righteousness near; it is not
far off, and My salvation tarrieth not: and I give salvation in Zion,
My glory to Israel.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The things that ye carried are borne heavily.--_Kay._
What were borne by you are made into loads.--_Jones._
[2] Calling from the sunrising a bird of prey.--_Kay._
Calling an eagle from the east.--_Birks and Arnold._
EIGHTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLVII.
_Fall of Babel, the Capital of the Empire of the World._
1. Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin-daughter Babel; sit on
the ground without a throne,[1] O Chaldean's daughter! For men no
longer call thee delicate and voluptuous. 2. Take the mill, and grind
meal; throw back thy train, uncover thy thigh, wade through streams.
3. Let thy nakedness be uncovered, even let thy shame be seen; I
shall take vengeance, and[2] not spare men. 4. Our Redeemer, Jehovah
of hosts is His name, Holy One of Israel.
5. Sit silent, and creep into the darkness, O Chaldean's daughter!
for men no longer call thee lady of kingdoms. 6. I was wroth with My
people; I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand:
thou hast shown them no mercy; upon old men thou laidst thy yoke very
heavily. 7. And thou saidst, I shall be lady for ever; so that thou
didst not take these things to heart; thou didst not consider the
latter end thereof.
8. And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, she who sitteth so
securely, who sayeth in her heart, I am it, and none else; I shall
not sit a widow, nor experience bereavement of children. 9. And these
two come upon thee suddenly in one day: bereavement of children and
widowhood; they come upon thee in fullest measure, in spite of the
multitude of thy sorceries, in spite of the great abundance of thy
witchcrafts. 10. Thou trustedst in thy wickedness, and saidst, No one
seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, they led thee astray; so that
thou saidst in thy heart, I am it, and none else. 11. And misfortune
cometh upon thee, which[3] thou understandest not how to charm away:
and destruction will fall upon thee, which thou canst not atone for;
for there will come suddenly upon thee ruin which thou suspectest not.
12. Come near, then, with thy enchantments, and with the multitude of
thy witchcrafts, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth: perhaps
thou canst profit, perhaps thou canst inspire terror. 13. Thou art
wearied through the multitude of thy consultations;[4] let the
dissectors of the heavens come near, then, and save thee, the
star-gazers, they who with every new moon bring things to light that
will come upon thee. 14. Behold, they have become like stubble: fire
has consumed them; there is not a red-hot coal to warm themselves, a
hearth-fire to sit before. 15. So[5] it is with thy people, for whom
thou hast laboured: thy partners in trade from thy youth, they wander
away every one in his own direction; no one who brings salvation to
thee.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sit on the ground throneless.--_Kay._
[2] I will meet thee, not as man.--_Birks._
And I will be entreated of for thee by no man.--_Matthew
Arnold._
And I will accept no man.--_Revised English Version._
[3] Thou shalt not know its dawn.--_Birks and Kay._
[4] Let them stand now and save thee,--they that have portioned
out the heavens, those star-gazers, prognosticating at each
new moon,--from the things that shall come upon
thee.--_Kay._
Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the
prognosticators by the new moon, stand up and save thee
from these things that shall come upon thee.--_Matthew
Arnold._
[5] Of such worth unto thee are the things wherein thou hast
toiled: they that trafficked with thee from thy youth have
wandered every one to his own quarter; there is none to
save thee.--_Kay._
Thus will they prove to be unto thee, amongst whom
thou hast laboured,
Those with whom thou hast had dealing from thy youth:
They shall become bewildered, every one in his quarter:
Not one will be there to save thee.--_Jones._
NINTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLVIII.
_Deliverance from Babylon._
1. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of
Israel, and have flowed out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the
name of Jehovah, and extol the God of Israel, not in truth, and not
in righteousness! 2. For they call themselves of the holy city, and
stay themselves upon the God of Israel, Jehovah of hosts His name.
3. The first I long ago proclaimed, and it has gone forth out of My
mouth, and I caused it to be heard. I carried it out suddenly, and it
came to pass. 4. Because I knew that thou art hard, and thy neck an
iron clasp, and thy brow brass; 5. I proclaimed it to thee long ago;
before it came to pass I caused thee to hear it, that thou mightest
not say, My idol has done it, and my graven image and molten image
commanded it. 6. Thou hast heard it, look then at it all; and ye,
must ye not confess it? I give thee new things to hear from this time
forth, and hidden things, and what thou didst not know. 7. It is
created now, and not long ago; and thou hast not heard it before;
that thou mightest not say, Behold, I knew it. 8. Thou hast neither
heard it, nor known it, nor did thine ear open itself to it long ago;
for I knew thou art altogether faithless, and thou art called
rebellious from the womb. 9. For My name's sake I lengthen out My
wrath, and for My praise I hold back towards thee, that I may not cut
thee off. 10. Behold, I have refined thee, and not in the manner of
silver; I have proved thee in the furnace of affliction. 11. For Mine
own sake, for Mine own sake I accomplish it (for how[1] it is
profaned!) and My glory I give not to another.
12. Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called! I am it; I first,
also I last. 13. My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: I call to them, and they
stand there together. 14. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear: Who
among you hath proclaimed this? He who Jehovah loveth will accomplish
His will upon Babel, and His arm upon the Chaldeans. 15. I, I have
spoken, have also called him, have brought him here, and his way
prospers. 16. Come ye near to Me! Hear ye this! I have not spoken in
secret; from the beginning from the time that it takes place, there
am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent Me and His Spirit.
17. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I,
Jehovah thy God, am He that teacheth thee to do that which profiteth,
and leadest thee by the way that thou shouldest go. 18. Oh[2] that
thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then thy peace becomes like
the river, and thy righteousness like waves of the sea; 19. and thy
seed like the sand, and the children of thy body like the grains
thereof; its name will not be cut off nor destroyed away from My
countenance.
20. Go out of Babel, flee from Chaldea with voice of shouting:
declare ye, preach ye this, carry it out to the end of the earth! Say
ye, Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob His servant. 21. And they thirsted
not: He led them through dry places; He caused water to trickle out
of rocks for them; He split rocks, and waters gushed out. 22. There
is no peace, saith Jehovah, for the wicked.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] For how should my name be profaned?--_Kay and Arnold._
[2] 18. Oh that thou wouldst hearken to my commandments! then
should thy peace be as a river, and thy righteousness as
the waves of the sea; 19. thy seed also should be as the
sand, and the offspring of thy bowels as the gravel
thereof; his name should not be cut off, &c.--_Kay._
_PART II._
FIRST PROPHECY.--CHAP. XLIX.
_Self-Attestation of the Servant of
Jehovah. The Despondency of Zion Reproved._
1. Listen, O isles, unto Me; and hearken, ye nations afar off:
Jehovah hath called Me from the womb; from My mother's lap hath He
remembered My name. 2. And He made My mouth like a sharp sword; in
the shadow of His hand hath He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft;
in His quiver hath He concealed Me. 3. And He said to Me, Thou art My
servant, O Israel, Thou in Whom I glorify Myself.
4. And I, I said, I have wearied Myself in vain, and thrown away My
strength for nothing and to no purpose; yet My right[1] is with
Jehovah, and My reward with My God.
5. And now, saith Jehovah, that formed Me from the womb to be His
servant, to bring back Jacob to Him, and that Israel[2] may be
gathered together to Him; and I am honoured in the eyes of Jehovah,
and My God has become My strength. 6. He saith, It is only a small
thing that Thou becomest My servant, to set up the tribes of Jacob,
and to bring back the preserved of Israel: I have set Thee for the
light of the Gentiles, to become My salvation to the end of the earth.
7. Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to him
of contemptible soul, to the abhorrence of the people, to the servant
of tyrants: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and prostrate
themselves for the sake of Jehovah, who is faithful, the Holy One of
Israel, that He hath chosen Thee. 8. Thus saith Jehovah, In[3] a time
of favour I have heard Thee, and in the day of salvation have I
helped Thee: and I form Thee, and set Thee for a covenant of the
people, to raise up the land, to apportion again desolate
inheritances, 9. saying to prisoners: Go ye out; to those who are in
darkness, Come ye to the light.
They shall feed by the ways, and[4] there is pasture for them upon
all field-hills. 10. They shall not hunger nor thirst, and the mirage
and sun shall not blind them: for He that hath mercy on them shall
lead them, and guide them by bubbling water-springs. 11. And I make
all My mountains ways, and My roads are exalted. 12. Behold these,
they come from afar; and behold these from the north and from the
sea; and these from the land of the Sinese. 13. Sing, O heavens, and
shout, O earth; and break out into singing, ye mountains! for Jehovah
hath comforted His people, and He hath compassion upon His afflicted
ones.
14. Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten
me. 15. Does a woman forget her sucking child, so as not to have
compassion upon the child of her womb? Even though mothers should
forget, I will not forget thee. 16. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of My hands; thy walls stand continually before Me.
17. Thy children make haste, thy destroyers and masters draw out from
thee. 18. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all these assemble
themselves together, and come to thee. As truly as I live, saith
Jehovah, thou wilt put them all on like jewellery, and gird them
about thee like a bride. 19. For thy ruins and thy waste places and
thy land full of ruin,--yea, now thou wilt be too narrow for the
inhabitants, and thy devourers are far away. 20. Thy[5] children,
that were formerly taken from thee, shall say in thine ears, The
space is too narrow for me; give way for me, that I may have room.
21. And thou wilt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I
am robbed of children, and barren, banished, and thrust away; and
these, who hath brought them up? Behold, I was left alone; these,
where were they?
22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lift up My hand to
nations, and set up My standard to peoples: and they bring thy sons
in their bosom; and thy daughters, upon shoulders are they carried.
23. And kings become thy foster-fathers, and their princesses thy
nurses: they bow down their face to thee to the earth, and they lick
the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt learn that I am Jehovah, He
whose hoping ones are not put to shame.
24. Can the booty indeed be wrested from a giant, or will the
captive[6] host of the righteous escape? 25. Yea, thus saith Jehovah,
Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested from him, and the booty
of a tyrant escapes! and I[7] will make war upon him that warreth
with thee, and I will bring salvation to thy children. 26. And[8] I
feed them that pain thee with their own flesh; and they shall be
drunken with their own blood, as if with new wine; all flesh shall
see that I Jehovah am thy Saviour, and that thy Redeemer is the
Mighty One of Jacob.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Yet surely my righteousness is with the Lord, and my
recompense with my God. 5. And now, saith the Lord that
formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob
again to Him, and that Israel may be gathered: (for I have
honour in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is my strength;)
6. and He said, &c.--_Arnold._
[2] But Israel wil not be gathered; yet shall I be glorious,
&c.--_Kay._
[3] In a time of acceptance have I answered thee.--_Kay._
[4] And on all bare hill-tops is there pasturage for
_them._--_Kay._
[5] The sons of thy childlessness shall say, &c.--_Kay._
[6] The just one's captives.--_Kay._
[7] For I Myself will contend with him that contendeth with
thee.--_Kay._
[8] And I will let them that oppress thee eat their own
flesh.--_Kay._
And I will gorge thine opponents with their own flesh;
And with their own blood, as with new wine, shall
they be drunken.--_Jones._
SECOND PROPHECY.--CHAP. L.
_Israel's Self-rejection; and the
Steadfastness of the Servant of Jehovah._
1. Thus saith Jehovah, Where is your mother's bill of divorce, with
which I put her away? Or where is one of My creditors, to whom I sold
you? Behold,[1] for your iniquities are ye sold, and for your
transgressions is your mother put away.
2. Why did I come, and there was no one there? Why did I call, and
there was no one who answered? Is My hand too short to redeem? Or is
there no strength in Me to deliver? Behold, through My threatening I
dry up the sea; turn streams into a plain: their fish rot because
there is no water, and die for thirst. 3. I clothe the heavens in
mourning, and make sackcloth their covering.
4. The Lord Jehovah hath given Me a disciple's tongue, that I may
know how to set up the wearied with words: He wakeneth every morning;
wakeneth Mine ear to attend in a disciple's manner. 5. The Lord
Jehovah hath opened Mine ear; and I, I was not rebellious, and did
not turn back. 6. I offered My back to smiters, and My cheeks to them
that pluck off the hair; I hid not My face from shame and spitting.
7. But the Lord Jehovah will help Me; therefore have I not suffered
Myself to be overcome by mockery: therefore did I make My face like
the flint, and knew that I should not be put to shame. 8. He is near
that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me? We will draw near
together! Let him draw near to Me! 9. Behold, the Lord Jehovah will
help Me; who is he that could condemn Me? Behold, they shall all fall
to pieces like a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
10. Who among you is fearing Jehovah, hearkening to the voice of His
servant? He that walketh in darkness, and without a ray of light, let
him trust in the name of Jehovah, and stay himself upon his God.
11. Behold,[2] all ye that kindle fire, that equip yourself with
burning darts: away into the glow of your own fire, and into the
burning darts that ye have kindled! This comes to you from My hand;
ye shall lie down in sorrow.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Behold, by your iniquities ye have sold yourselves.--_Birks
and Kay._
[2] Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that gird on firebrands:
walk amid the flame of your fire, and amid the brands that
ye have kindled.--_Kay._
THIRD PROPHECY.--CHAP. LI.
_The Bursting Forth of Salvation,
and Turning Away of the Cup of Wrath._
1. Hearken to me, ye that are in pursuit of righteousness, ye that
seek Jehovah. Look up to the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the
hollow of the pit whence ye are dug. 2. Look who bare you, that he
was one when I called him, and blessed him, and multiplied him.
3. For Jehovah hath comforted Zion, comforted all her ruins, and
turned her desert like Eden, and her steppe as the garden of God; joy
and gladness are found in her, thanksgiving and sounding music.
4. Hearken unto Me, My people, and give ear unto Me, O My
congregation! for instruction will go forth from Me, and I make a
place for My right, to be a light of the nations. 5. My salvation is
near, My salvation is drawn out, and My arms will judge nations: the
hoping of the islands looks to Me, and for Mine arm is their waiting.
6. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath:
for the heavens will pass away like smoke, and the earth fall to
pieces like a garment, and[1] its inhabitants die out like a
nonentity; and My salvation will last for ever, and My righteousness
does not go to ruin.
7. Hearken unto Me, ye that know about righteousness, thou people
with My law in the heart; fear ye not the reproach of mortals, and be
ye not alarmed at their revilings. 8. For the moth will devour them
like a garment, and the worm devour them like woollen cloth; and My
righteousness shall stand for ever, and My salvation to distant
generations.
9. Awake, awake, clothe thyself in might, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as
in the days of ancient time, the ages of the olden world! Was it not
Thou that didst split Rahab in pieces, and pierced the dragon?
10. Was it not Thou that didst dry up the sea, the waters of the
great billow; that didst turn the depths of the sea into a way for
the redeemed to pass through? 11. And[2] the emancipated of Jehovah
will return, and come to Zion with shouting, and everlasting joy upon
their head; they grasp at gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing
flees away.
12. I, I am your comforter: who art thou, that thou shouldest be
afraid of a man who will die, and of a son of man who is made a blade
of grass; 13. that thou shouldest forget Jehovah thy Creator, who
stretched out the heavens and founded the earth; that thou shouldest
be afraid continually all the day of the fury of the tormentor, as he
aims to destroy? and where is the fury of the tormentor left?
14. He[3] that is bowed down is quickly set loose, and does not die
to the grave, and his bread does not fail him; 15. as truly as I
Jehovah am thy God, who frighteneth up the sea, so that its waves
roar; Jehovah of hosts is His name. 16. And I put My words into thy
mouth, and in the shadow of My hand have I covered thee, to plant
heavens, and to found on earth, and to say to Zion, Thou art My
people.
17. Wake thyself up, stand up, O Jerusalem; thou that hast drunk out
of the hand of Jehovah the goblet of His fury; the goblet-cup of
reeling hast thou drunk, sipped out. 18. There was none who guided
her of all the children she had brought forth; and none who took her
by the hand of all the children she had brought up. 19. There were
two things that happened to thee; who should console thee?[4]
Desolation, and ruin, and famine, and the sword: how should I comfort
thee? 20. Thy children were benighted, lay at the corners of all the
streets like a snared antelope: as those who were full of the fury of
Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God. 21. Therefore hearken to this, O
wretched and drunken, but not with wine: 22. Thus saith thy Lord,
Jehovah, and thy God that defendeth His people, Behold, I take out of
thy hand the goblet-cup of My fury: thou shalt not continue to drink
it any more. 23. And I put it into the hand of thy tormentors; who
said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou madest thy
back like the ground, and like a public way for those who go over it.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] And her inhabitants, as in like manner, shall die.--_Kay._
[2] So, _Kay, Birks._ Even so, _Arnold._ Thus, _Jones._
[3] He that was bent down hath made haste to be loosed, and he
shall not die in the pit, neither shall his bread
fail.--_Kay._
[4] Who will mourn with thee?--_Kay._
FOURTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LII. 1-12.
_Jerusalem Exchanges Servitude for
Dominion, and Imprisonment for Liberty._
1. Awake, awake; clothe thyself in thy might, O Zion; clothe thyself
in thy state dresses, O Jerusalem, thou holy city; for henceforth
there shall no more enter into thee one uncircumcised and unclean!
2. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loose
thyself from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loose[1] thyself
from the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion!
3. For thus saith Jehovah, Ye have been sold for nothing, and ye
shall not be redeemed with silver. 4. For thus saith the Lord
Jehovah, My people went down to Egypt in the beginning to dwell there
as guests; and Asshur has oppressed it for nothing. 5. And now, what
have I to do here? saith Jehovah; for My people are taken away for
nothing; their oppressors shriek, saith Jehovah, and My name is
continually blasphemed all the day. 6. Therefore My people shall
learn My name; therefore, in that day, that I am He who saith, Here
am I.
7. How lovely[2] upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring
good tidings, that publish peace, that bring tidings of good, that
publish salvation, that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth royally!
8. Hark, thy watchers! They lift up the voice together; they rejoice:
for they see eye to eye, how[3] Jehovah bringeth Zion home. 9. Break
out into exultation, sing together, ye ruins of Jerusalem: for
Jehovah hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10. Jehovah hath made bare His holy arm before the eyes of all
nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God.
11. Go ye forth, go ye forth, go out from thence, lay hold of no
unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her, cleanse yourselves,
ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah. 12. For ye shall not go out in
confusion, and ye shall not go forth in flight: for Jehovah goeth
before you, and the God of Israel is your rear-guard.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The bands of thy neck are unloosed.--_Key._
[2] How comely.--_Cheyne._
[3] When Jehovah restoreth Zion.--_Jones._
When the Lord returneth to Zion.--_Kay._
FIFTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LII. 13-LIII.
_Golgotha and Sheblemini_ (= Sit Thou at my right hand), _or,
the Exaltation of the Servant of Jehovah out of Deep Degradation._
13. Behold, My Servant shall act wisely; He will come forth and
arise, and be very high. 14. Just as many were astonished at Thee: so
disfigured, His appearance was not human, and form not like that of
the children of men: 15. so will He make many nations to tremble:
kings will shut their mouths at Him! for[4] they see what has not
been told them, and discover what they have not heard.
LIII.--1. Who hath believed our preaching; and the arm of Jehovah,
over whom has it been revealed?
2. And He sprang up like a layer-shoot before Him, and like a
root-sprout out of dry ground: He had no form, and no beauty; and we
looked, and there was no look, such that we could have found pleasure
in Him. 3. He was despised and forsaken by men; a man of griefs, and
well acquainted with disease; and like one from whom men hide their
face: despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4. Verily He hath borne our diseases and our pains! He hath laden
them upon Himself; but we regarded Him as one stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. 5. Whereas He was pierced for our sins, bruised
for our iniquities! the punishment was laid on Him for our peace; and
through His stripes we were healed. 6. All we like sheep went astray;
we had turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah caused the
iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
7. He[1] was ill-treated; whilst He suffered willingly, and opened
not His mouth, like the sheep that is led to the slaughter-bench, and
like a lamb that is dumb before its shearers, and opened not His
mouth. 8. He[2] has been taken away from prison and judgment; and of
His generation who considered: "He was snatched away out of the land
of the living; for the wickedness of my people punishment fell on
Him"? 9. And they assigned Him His grave with sinners, and with a
rich man in His martyrdom, because He had done no wrong, and there
was no deceit in His mouth.
10. And it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him, to afflict Him with
disease; if His soul would pay a trespass-offering, He should see
posterity, should live long days, and the purpose of Jehovah should
prosper through His hand. 11. Because of the travail of His soul, He
will see, and be refreshed; through His knowledge will He procure
justice, My Righteous Servant, for the many, and will take their
iniquities upon Himself. 12. Therefore I give Him a portion among the
great, and with strong ones will He divide the spoil; because He has
poured out His soul into death: and He let Himself be reckoned among
transgressors; whilst He bare the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] For they to whom it had not been told shall see, and they
which had not heard shall consider.--_Birks._
[1] He was oppressed, yet He submitted Himself.--_Kay and
Jones._
[2] Through oppression and judgment was He taken away, and His
life who will consider!--_Kay._
SIXTH PROPHECY.--CHAP LIV.
_The Glory of Jerusalem, the Church of the Servants of Jehovah._
1. Exult, O barren one, thou that didst not bear; break forth into
exulting, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for
there are more children of the solitary one than children of the
married wife, saith Jehovah. 2. Enlarge the space of thy tent, and
let them stretch out the curtains of thy habitations; forbid not!
lengthen thy cords, and fasten thy plugs. 3. For thou wilt break
forth on the right and on the left; and thy seed will take possession
of nations, and they will people desolate cities.
4. Fear not, for thou wilt not be put to shame; and bid defiance to
reproach, for thou wilt not blush: no, thou wilt not blush: no, thou
wilt forget the shame of thy youth, and wilt no more remember the
reproach of thy widowhood. 5. For thy husband is thy Creator; Jehovah
of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; God of
the whole earth is He called. 6. For Jehovah calleth thee as a wife
forsaken and burdened with sorrow, and as a wife of youth,[1] when
once she is despised, saith thy God.
7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, and with great mercy will
I gather thee. 8. In an effusion of anger I hid my face from thee for
a moment, and with everlasting grace I have compassion upon thee,
saith Jehovah thy Redeemer. 9. For it is now as at the waters of
Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should not overflow the
earth any more; so have I sworn not to be wroth with thee, and not to
threaten thee. 10. For the mountains may depart, and the hills may
shake; my grace will not depart from thee, and my covenant of peace
will not shake, saith Jehovah who hath compassion on thee. 11. O thou
afflicted, tossed with tempest, not comforted, behold I lay the stone
in stibium,[2] [_i.e.,_ antimony], and lay thy foundations with
sapphires; 12. and make thy minarets of ruby, and thy gates into
carbuncles, and all thy boundary into jewels.
13. And all thy children will be the learned of Jehovah; and great
the peace of thy children. 14. Through righteousness wilt thou be
fortified: be far from anxiety, for thou hast nothing to fear; and
from terror, for it will not come near thee. 15. Behold, men crowd
together in crowds; My will is not there. Who crowd together against
thee?--he shall fall by thee.
16.[3] Behold, I have created the smith who bloweth the coal-fire,
and brings to the light a weapon according to his trade; and I[4]
have created the destroyer to destroy. 17. Every weapon formed
against thee has no success, and every tongue that cometh before the
judgment with thee thou wilt condemn. This is the inheritance of the
servants of Jehovah; and their righteousness from Me, saith Jehovah.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] When she is cast off.--_Kay._
(Grieving) because she is rejected.--_Birks._
[2] I am laying thy stones with fair adornment.--_Birks._
I will lay thy stones in cement of brilliant
colour.--_Jones._
"Same word as in 1 Chron. xxxix. 2 (A.V. glistering
[stones]): probably, stones used for mosaic work (so
Targhere); as black marble, &c. In the two other places
where the word occurs (2 Kings ix. 30; Jer. iv. 30), it
denotes the paint which was used by females for colouring
the edges of the eyelids. Grotius notices (from Jos.
'J. W.' v. 5) that the open court of the temple had a
tesselated floor."--_Kay._
[3] Behold, it is _I_ who create the smith. . . . And it is _I_
who create the waster to destroy.--_Revised English Bible_
and _Cheyne._
[4] Second reference to note 3 immediately above.
SEVENTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LV.
_Come and Take the Sure Salvation of Jehovah._
1. Alas, all ye thirsty ones, come ye to the water; and ye that have
no silver, come ye, buy and eat! Yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without payment! 2. Wherefore do ye weigh silver for that
which is not bread, and the result of your labour for that which
satisfieth not? Oh, hearken ye to Me, and eat the good, and let your
soul delight itself in fat.
3. Incline your ear, and come to Me! hear, and let your soul revive;
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the true mercies of
David. 4. Behold, I have set him as a witness[1] for nations, a
prince and commander of nations. 5. Behold, thou wilt call a mass of
people that thou knowest not; and a mass of people that knoweth thee
not will hasten to thee, for the sake of Jehovah thy God, and for the
Holy One of Israel that He hath made thee glorious.
6. Seek ye Jehovah while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He
is near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts: and let him return to Jehovah, and He will have
compassion upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My
ways, saith Jehovah: 9. as heaven is high above the earth; so high
are My ways above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts.
10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
returneth not thither, till it has moistened the earth, and
fertilised it, and made it green, and offered seed to the sower and
bread to the eater; 11. so will My word be which goeth forth out of
My mouth: it will not return to Me fruitless, till it has
accomplished that which I willed, and prosperously carried out that
for which I sent it. 12. For ye will go out with joy, and be led
forth[2] in peace: the mountains and the hills will break out before
you into shouting, and all the trees of the field will clap their
hands. 13. Instead of the thorn will cypresses shoot up, and instead
of the fleabane[3] will myrtles spring up: and it will be to Jehovah
for a name, for an everlasting memorial that will not be swept away.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A lawgiver.--_Arnold._
[2] And be led on with peace.--_Jones._
[3] Nettle.--_Cheyne._
EIGHTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LVI. 1-8.
_Sabbatical Admonitions, and
Consolations for Proselytes and Eunuchs._
1. Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye right, and do righteousness; for My
salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to reveal itself.
2. Blessed is the mortal that doeth this, and the son of man that
layeth fast hold thereon; who keepeth the Sabbath, that he doth not
desecrate it, and keepeth his hand from doing any kind of evil.
3. And let not the foreigner, who hath joined himself to Jehovah,
speak thus: Assuredly Jehovah will cut me off from His people; and
let not the eunuch say, I am only a dry tree. 4. For thus saith
Jehovah to the eunuchs, Those who keep My Sabbaths, and decide for
that in which I take pleasure, and take fast hold of My covenant,
5. I give to them in My house and within My walls a memorial[1] and a
name better than sons and daughters; I give such a man an everlasting
name, that shall not be cut off. 6. And the foreigners, who have
joined themselves to Jehovah, to serve Him, and to love the name of
Jehovah, to be His servants, whoever keepeth the Sabbath from
desecrating it, and those who hold fast to My covenant; 7. I bring
them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer;
their whole-offerings and their slain-offerings are well-pleasing
upon Mine altar; for My house, a house of prayer shall it be called
for all nations. 8. Word of the Lord, Jehovah: gathering the outcasts
of Israel, I will also gather beyond itself to its gathered ones.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Trophy."--_Cheyne._
"Place."--_Arnold, Birks, Strachey._
NINTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LVI. 9-LVII. 21.
_Neglect of Duty by the Leaders of Israel; and Errors of the People._
9. All ye beasts of the field, come near! To devour, all ye beasts of
the forest! 10. His watchmen are blind; they (are) all ignorant,[2]
they (are) all dumb dogs that cannot bark; raving, lying down, loving
to slumber. 11. And the dogs are mightily greedy, they know no
satiety; and such are shepherds! They know no understanding; they
have all turned to their own ways, every one for his own gain
throughout his border.
12. Come here, I will fetch wine, and let us drink meth; and
to-morrow shall be like to-day, great, excessively abundant.
LVII.--1. The righteous perisheth, and no man taketh it to heart; and
pious[1] men are swept away,[2] without any one considering that the
righteous is swept away from misfortune.[3] 2. He entereth into
peace: they rest upon their beds, whoever has walked straight before
him.
3. And ye, draw near hither, children of the sorceress, seed of the
adulterer, and of her that committed whoredom! 4. Over whom do ye
make yourselves merry? Over whom do ye open the mouth wide, and put
the tongue out long? Are ye not the brood of apostasy, seed of lying?
5. Ye that inflame yourselves by the terabinths, under every green
tree, ye slayers of children in the valleys, under the clefts of the
rocks. 6. By the smooth ones of the brook was thy portion; they, they
were thy lot: thou also pourest out libations to them, thou laidst
meat-offerings upon them. Shall I be contented with this?[4] 7. Upon
a lofty and high mountain hast thou set up thy bed; thou also
ascendest thither to offer slain offerings. 8. And behind the door
and the post thou didst place thy[5] reminder: for thou uncoveredst
away from me, and ascendest; thou madest thy bed broad, and didst
stipulate for thyself what they had to do: thou lovedst their lying
with thee; thou sawest their manhood.[6]
9. And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst measure copiously
thy spices, and didst send thy messengers to a great distance, and
didst deeply abase thyself, even to Hades. 10. Thou didst become wary
of the greatness of thy way; yet thou saidst not, It is
unattainable:[7] thou obtainedst the reward of thy strength:
therefore thou wast not pained.[8]
11. And of whom hast thou been afraid, and (whom) didst thou fear,
that thou becamest a liar, and didst not continue mindful of Me, and
didst not take it to heart?
Am I not silent, and that for a long time, whereas thou wast not
afraid of Me? 12. I, I will proclaim thy righteousness; and thy
works, they will not profit thee. 13. When thou criest, let thy heaps
of idols[9] save thee: but a wind carries them all away; a breath
takes them off; and whoever putteth trust in Me will inherit the
land, and take possession of My holy mountain.
14. And He saith, Heap up, heap up, prepare a way, take away every
obstruction from the way of My people. 15. For thus saith the High
and Lofty One, the eternally dwelling One, He whose name is Holy One;
I dwell on high and in the holy place, and with the contrite one and
him that is of a humbled spirit, to revive the spirit of humbled
ones, and to revive the heart of contrite ones. 16. For I do not
contend for ever, and I am not angry for ever: for the spirit would
pine away before me, and the souls of men which I have created.
17. And because of the iniquity of its selfishness,[10] I was wroth,
and smote it; hiding Myself away in the way of its own heart. 18. I
have seen its ways and will heal it; and will lead it, and afford
consolations to it, and to its mourning ones.
19. Creating fruit of the lips; Jehovah saith, "Peace, peace to those
that are far off, and to those that are near; and I heal it." 20. But
the wicked are like the sea that is cast up; for it cannot rest; and
its waters cast out slime and mud. 21. There is no peace, saith my
God, for the wicked.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] "Without knowledge."--_Kay, Strachey._
"Undiscerning."--_Cheyne._
[1] "Godly men."--_Jones._ "Gracious men."--_Kay._
[2] "Gathered."--_Cheyne._ "Gathered in."--_Kay._
[3] "Out of the way of evil."--_Kay, Jones._
[4] "Shall I for all these things relent?"--_Kay._ "Shall I by
these things be appeased?"--_Birks._ "Comforted."--_Jones,
Arnold._ "Should I quiet myself in spite of these
things?"--_Cheyne._
[5] "Thy own remembrance."--_Kay._
[6] "And thou hast sought occasion."--_Birks._ "Thou hast beheld
the phallus."--_Cheyne._
[7] "There is no result."--_Cheyne._
[8] "Thou hast yet found strength in thine hand, therefore thou
wast not discouraged."--_Arnold._ "Thou didst get renewal
of thy strength, therefore thou feltest not
weak."--_Cheyne._
[9] "Thy medley of gods."--_Cheyne._
[10] "For his unjust gain," lit. "for the iniquity of his
gain."--_Cheyne._
_PART III._
FIRST PROPHECY.--CHAP. LVIII.
_The False Worship and the True._
1. Cry with full throat, hold not back; lift up thy voice like a
bugle, and proclaim to My people their apostasy, and to the house of
Jacob their sins. 2. And they seek Me[1] day by day, and desire to
learn My ways, like a nation which has done righteousness; they
desire the drawing near of Elohim.
3. Wherefore do we fast and Thou seest not, afflict our soul and Thou
regardest not? Behold, on the day of your fasting ye carry on your
business, and ye oppress all your labourers. 4. Behold, ye fast with
strife and quarrelling, and with smiting of the fist maliciously
closed: ye do not fast now to make your voice audible on high.[2]
5. Can such things as these pass for a fast that I have pleasure in,
as a day for a man to afflict his soul? To bow down his head like a
bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes under him--dost thou call
this a fast and an acceptable day for Jehovah? 6. Is not this a fast
that I have pleasure in: to loose coils of wickedness, to untie the
bands[3] of the yoke, and for sending away the oppressed as free, and
that ye break every kind of yoke? 7. Is it not this, to break thy
bread to the hungry, and to take the poor and houseless to thy
home;[4] when thou seest a naked man that thou clothest him, and dost
not deny thyself before thine own flesh?
8. Then will thy light break forth as the morning dawn, and thy
healing will sprout up speedily, and thy righteousness will go before
thee, the glory of Jehovah will follow thee. 9. Then will thou call,
and Jehovah will answer; then wilt beseech, and He will say, Here am
I.
If thou put away from the midst of thee the yoke, the pointing of the
finger, and speaking of evil, 10. and offerest up thy gluttony to the
hungry;[5] and satisfiest the soul that is bowed down: thy light will
stream out in the darkness, and thy darkness become like the
brightness of noon-day. 11. And Jehovah will guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in droughts, and refresh thy bones; and thou
wilt become like a well-watered garden, and like a fountain, whose
waters never deceive.[6] 12. And thy people[7] will build ruins of
the olden time, foundations of earlier generations wilt thou erect;
and men will call thee Repairer of breaches, Restorer of habitable
streets.
13. If thou hold back thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy
business on my holy day, and callest the Sabbath a delight, the holy
of Jehovah, reverend, and honourest it, not doing thine own ways, not
pursuing thy business and speaking words:[8] 14. then wilt thou have
delight in Jehovah, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high
places of the land, and make thee enjoy the inheritance of Jacob thy
forefather, for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Me they consult daily."--_Cheyne._
[2] "Ye shall not fast as ye do now, to make your outcry to be
heard on high."--_Birks._ "Ye do not so fast at this time
so as to make your voice to be heard in the
height."--_Cheyne._
[3] "Thongs."--_Kay, Cheyne._
[4] "And that thou bring miserable outcasts to their
home."--_Cheyne._ "To thine house."--_Birks, Arnold._
[5] "And minister thy sustenance to the hungry."--_Cheyne._
[6] "Disappoint not."--_Kay, Cheyne._
[7] "And thy children shall build up the ancient
ruins."--_Cheyne._
[8] "So as not to do after thy word, nor pursue thy business,
nor speak words."--_Cheyne._ "Nor using idle
talk."--_Jones, Birks._
SECOND PROPHECY.--CHAP. LIX.
_The Existing Wall of Partition Broken Down at Last._
1. Behold, Jehovah's hand is not too short to help, nor His ear too
heavy to hear; 2. but your iniquities have become a party-wall
between you and your God and your sins have hidden His face from you,
so that He does not hear. 3. For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity; your lips speak lies, your tongue
murmurs wickedness.
4. No one speaks with justice, and no one pleads with faithfulness;
men trust in vanity, and speak with deception;[1] they conceive
trouble, and bring forth ruin. 5. They hatch basilisks' eggs, and
weave spiders' webs. He that eateth of their eggs must die; and if
one is trodden upon, it splits into an adder. 6. Their webs do not
suffice for clothing,[2] and men cannot cover themselves with their
works: their works are works of ruin, and the practice of injustice
is in their hands. 7. Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed
innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; wasting
and destruction are in their paths. 8. The way of peace they know
not, and there is no right in their roads: they make their paths
crooked: every one who treads upon them knows no peace.
9. Therefore right remains far from us, and righteousness does not
overtake us; we hope for light, and behold darkness; for
brightness--we walk in thick darkness. 10. We grope along the wall
like the blind, and like eyeless men we grope: we stumble in the
light of noon-day as in the darkness, and among the living like the
dead.[3] 11. We roar all like bears, and moan deeply like doves; we
hope for right, and it cometh not; for salvation--it remaineth far
from us.
12. For our transgressions are many before Thee, and our sins testify
against us; for our transgressions are known to us, and our evil
deeds well known: 13. apostasy and denial of Jehovah, and turning
back from following our God, oppressive and false speaking,[4]
conceiving and giving out from the heart words of falsehood. 14. And
right is forced back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is
fallen in the market-place,[5] and honesty finds no admission.
15. And truth became missing, and he who avoids evil is outlawed.
And Jehovah saw it, and it was displeasing in His eyes, that there
was no right. 16. And He saw that there was not a man anywhere, and
was astonished that there was nowhere an intercessor: then His arm
brought Him help and His righteousness became His stay. 17. And He
put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and the helmet of salvation
upon His head; and put on garments of vengeance as armour, and
clothed Himself in zeal as in a cloak. 18. According to the deeds,
accordingly He will repay; burning wrath to His adversaries,
punishment to His foes; the islands He will repay with
chastisement.[6]
19. And they will fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and His
glory from the rising of the sun: for He will come like a stream
dammed up, which a tempest of Jehovah drives away.[7] 20. And a
Redeemer comes from Zion, and for those who turn from apostasy in
Jacob, saith Jehovah.
21. And I, this is My covenant with them, saith Jehovah: My Spirit
which is upon thee, and My word which I have put in thy mouth, shall
not depart out of thy mouth, and out of the mouth of thy seed, and
out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth
and for ever.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "None preferreth his suit with trustfulness, and none
pleadeth with honesty; they trust in chaos, and speak
emptiness."--_Cheyne._ "None calleth (on Me) in
righteousness."--_Birks, Kay._ "None pronounceth a verdict
in justice."--_Jones._
[2] "Their webs will not serve for clothing."--_Cheyne._
[3] "Amidst those full of life (?) as dead men."--_Cheyne._
"Amidst dark places, like the dead."--_Kay._ "Amid rich
abundance are like the dead."--_Birks, Jones._ "We are in
desolate places as dead men."--_Arnold, Strachey._
[4] "Speaking oppression and untruth."--_Kay._ Speaking
"perverseness and transgression."--_Cheyne._
[5] "Truth has stumbled in the broad place."--_Cheyne._
[6] "Recompence to His enemies; to the far lands He will repay
recompence."--_Arnold._ "Retribution to His enemies; to the
countries He will repay retribution."--_Cheyne._
[7] "When the adversary cometh in like the river, the Spirit of
the Lord shall lift up a standard against him."--_Kay._
"Shall put him to flight."--_Jones._ "When the enemy shall
come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a
standard in the midst thereof."--_Birks._ "For He shall
come like a rushing stream, which the breath of Jehovah
driveth."--_Cheyne._
THIRD PROPHECY.--CHAP. LX.
_The Glory of the Jerusalem of the Last Days._
1. Arise, grow light: for thy light cometh, and the glory of Jehovah
riseth upon thee. 2. For, behold, the darkness covereth the earth,
and deep darkness the nations; and Jehovah riseth over thee, and His
glory becomes visible over thee. 3. And nations walk to thy light,
and kings to the shining of thy rays.
4. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all crowd together,
they come to thee: thy sons come from afar, and thy daughters are
carried hither upon arms. 5. Then wilt thou see and shine,[1] and
thine heart will tremble and expand; for the abundance of the nations
cometh to thee. 6. A swarm of camels will cover thee, the foals of
Midian and Ephah; they come all together from Saba; fully make known
the praises of Jehovah. 7. All the flocks of Kedar gather together
unto thee, the rams of Nabaioth will serve thee; they will come up
with acceptance upon Mine altar, and I will adorn the house of My
adorning. 8. Who are these who fly hither as a cloud, and like the
doves to their windows? 9. Yea, the islands wait for Me; and the
ships of Tarshish come first, to bring thy children from far, their
silver and their gold with them, to the name of thy God, and to the
Holy One of Israel, because He hath ornamented thee.
10. And the sons of strangers build thy walls, and their kings serve
thee; for in My wrath I have smitten thee, and in My favour I have
had mercy upon thee. 11. And thy gates remain open continually day
and night, they shall not be shut, to bring into thee the possessions
of the nations, and their kings in triumph.[2] 12. For the nation and
the kingdom which will not serve thee will perish, and the nations be
certainly laid waste. 13. The glory of Lebanon will come to thee,
cypresses, plane-trees, and sherbin-trees, all together, to beautify
the place of My sanctuary, and to make the place of My feet glorious.
14. The children also of thy tormentors come bending unto thee, and
all thy despisers stretch themselves at the soles of thy feet, and
call thee City of Jehovah, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15. Whereas thou wast forsaken and hated, and no one walked through
thee, I make thee now into eternal splendour, a rapture from
generation to generation. 16. And thou suckest the milk of nations,
and the breast of kings thou wilt suck, and learn that I Jehovah am
thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17. For copper
I bring gold, and for iron I bring silver, and for wood copper, and
for stones iron, and to make peace thy magistracy, and righteousness
thy bailiffs.[3] 18. Injustice is no more seen in thy land, wasting
and destruction in thy borders; and thou callest salvation thy walls,
and renown thy gates.
19. The sun will be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness
will the moon shine upon thee: Jehovah will be to thee an everlasting
light, and thy God thy glory. 20. Thy sun will no more go down and
thy moon will not be withdrawn: for Jehovah will be to thee an
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning will be finished.
21. And thy people, they are all righteous; they possess the land for
a sprout of My plantations, a work of My hands for glorification.
22. The smallest one will become thousands, and the meanest one a
powerful nation.
I, Jehovah, will hasten it in His time.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Then shalt thou look and overflow with joy."--_Jones._
"Then shalt thou see and be radiant."--_Cheyne._
[2] "And their kings royally attended."--_Jones_
[3] "I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors
righteousness."--_Arnold._
FOURTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXI.
_The Glory of the Office is Committed to the Servant of Jehovah._
1. The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is over me, because Jehovah hath
anointed me to bring glad tidings to sufferers;[1] hath sent me to
bind up broken-hearted ones, to proclaim liberty to those led
captive, and emancipation to the fettered; 2. to proclaim a year of
grace from Jehovah, and a day of vengeance from our God; to comfort
all that mourn; 3. to put upon the mourners of Zion, to give them a
head-dress[2] for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, a wrapper of renown
for an expiring spirit, that they may be called terebinths of
righteousness, a planting of Jehovah for glorification.
4. And they will build up wastes of the olden time, raise up
desolations of the forefathers, and renew desolate cities,
desolations of former generations. 5. And strangers stand and feed
your flocks, and foreigners become your ploughmen and vinedressers.
6. But ye will be called priests of Jehovah; Servants of our God,
will men say to you: ye will eat the riches of the nations, and pride
yourselves in their glory.
7. Instead of shame ye shall have double, and (instead) of insult
they rejoice at their portion: thus in their land[3] they will
possess double; everlasting joy will they have. 8. For I, Jehovah,
love right, hate robbery in wickedness;[4] and give them their reward
in faithfulness, and conclude an everlasting covenant with them.
9. And their family will be known among the nations, and their
offspring in the midst of the nations: all who see them will
recognise them, for they are a family that Jehovah hath blessed.
10. Joyfully I rejoice in Jehovah; my soul shall be joyful in my God,
that He hath given me garments of salvation to put on, hath wrapped
me in the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom who wears the turban
like a priest, and as a bride who puts on her jewellery. 11. For like
the land which brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden which causes
the things sown in it to sprout up; so the Lord Jehovah bringeth
righteousness to sprouting and renown before all nations.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "The afflicted."--_Cheney, Jones, Arnold._ "The
"poor."--_Birks._
[2] "A coronet."--_Kay, Cheney._ "A diadem."--_Strachey._
"To appoint unto the mourners of Zion,
_Yea,_ to give unto them ornament instead of ashes,
The oil of praise instead of a desponding spirit."--_Jones._
[3] "In their own land."--_Kay._
[4] "That which is wasted in wickedness."--_Kay._ "Things torn
away unjustly."--_Cheyne._ "Robbery in
burnt-offering."--_Birks._ "Robbery and wrong."--_Arnold,
Strachey._
FIFTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXII.
_The Gradual Extension of the Glory of Jerusalem._
1. For Zion's sake I shall not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I
shall not rest, till her righteousness breaks forth like morning
brightness, and her salvation like a blazing torch. 2. And nations
will see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and men will
call thee by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will determine.
3. And thou wilt be an adorning coronet in the hand of Jehovah, and a
royal diadem in the lap[1] of thy God. 4. Men will no more call thee
"Forsaken One;" and thy land they will not more call "Desert;" but
men will name thee "My delight in her," and thy home "Married one:"
for Jehovah hath delight in thee, and thy land is married. 5. For the
young man marrieth the maiden, thy children will marry thee; and as
the bridegroom rejoiceth in the bride, thy God will rejoice in thee.
6. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I stationed watchmen; all the
day and all the night continually they are not silent. O ye who
remember Jehovah,[2] leave yourselves not rest! 7. And give Him no
rest, till He raise up, and till He set Jerusalem for a praise in the
earth.
8. Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, and by His powerful arm,
Surely I no more give thy corn for food to thine enemies; and
foreigners will not drink thy must, for which thou hast laboured
hard. 9. No, they that gather it in shall eat it, and praise Jehovah;
and they that store it, shall drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.
10. Go forth, go forth through the gates, clear the way of the
people. Cast up, Cast up the road, clean it of stones; lift up a
banner above the nations![3] 11. Behold, Jehovah hath caused tidings
to sound to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion,
Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His
recompence before Him. 12. And men will call them the holy people,
the redeemed of Jehovah; and men will call thee, Striven after, A
city that will not be forsaken.[4]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "In the open palm."--_Kay._
[2] "Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, keep not
silence."--_Arnold, Birks._
[3] "A standard for the peoples."--_Kay._
[4] And thou shalt be called, "Sought out, City not
forsaken."--_Cheyne._
SIXTH PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXIII. 1-6.
_Judgment upon Edom, and upon the
Whole World That is Hostile to the Church._
1. Who is this that cometh from Edom, in deep red clothes
from Bozrah? This, glorious in His apparel, bending to and
fro in the fulness of His strength?[1]
I am He that speaketh in righteousness, mighty to aid.
2. Whence the red in Thine apparel, and Thy clothes like those of a
wine-presser?
3. I have trodden the wine-trough alone, and of the nations no one
was with Me: and I trode them in My wrath, and trampled them down in
My fury; and their life-sap spirted upon My clothes, and all My
raiment was stained. 4. For a day of vengeance was in My heart, and
the year of My redemption was come. 5. And I looked round, and there
was no helper; and I wondered there was no supporter: then Mine own
arm helped Me; and My fury, it became My support. 6. And I trode down
nations in My wrath, and made them drunk in My fury, and made their
life-blood run down to the earth.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Tosseth His head in the fulness of His
strength."--_Cheyne._ "Confident in the greatness of His
strength."--_R. E. B._
THE THREE CLOSING PROPHECIES.
FIRST CLOSING PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXIII. 7-LXIV.
_Thanksgiving, Confession, and
Supplication of the Church of the Captivity._
7. I will celebrate the mercies of Jehovah, the praises of
Jehovah,[2] as is seemly for all that Jehovah hath shown us, and the
great goodness towards the house of Israel, which He hath shown them
according to His pity, and the riches of His mercies. 8. He said,
They are my people, children who will not lie;[3] and He became their
Saviour. 9. In all their affliction, He was afflicted,[4] and the
Angel of His face brought them salvation. In His love and in His pity
He redeemed them, and lifted them up, and bare them all the days of
the olden time.
10. But they resisted and vexed His Holy Spirit: then He turned to be
their enemy; He made war upon them. 11. Then His people remembered
the days of the olden time, of Moses: Where is He who brought them up
out of the see with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put
the Spirit of His holiness in the midst of them; 12. who caused the
arm of His majesty to go at the right of Moses; who split the waters
before them, to make Himself an everlasting name; 13. who caused them
to pass through abysses of the deep, like the horse upon the plain,
without their stumbling? 14. Like the cattle which goeth down into
the valley, the Spirit of Jehovah brought them to rest: thus hast
Thou led Thy people, to make Thyself a majestic name.
15. Look from heaven and see, from the habitation of Thy holiness and
majesty! Where is Thy zeal and Thy display of might? The pressure of
Thy bowels and Thy compassions are restrained towards me. 16. For
Thou art our Father; for Abraham is ignorant of us, and Israel
knoweth us not.[5] Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer is
from olden time Thy name. 17. O Jehovah, why leadest Thou us astray
from Thy ways, hardenest our heart, so as not to fear Thee? Return
for Thy servants' sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance. 18. For a
little time Thy holy people was in possession. Our adversaries have
trodden down Thy sanctuary. 19. We have become such as He who is from
everlasting has not ruled over, upon whom Thy name was not called.
LXIV.--1. O that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, come down, the
mountains would shake before Thy countenance;--2. (wouldst come down)
as fire kindles brushwood, fire causes water to boil; to make known
Thy name to Thine adversaries, that the heathen may tremble before
Thy face! 3. When Thou doest terrible things which we hoped not for;
wouldst come down, (and) mountains shake before Thy countenance![1]
4. For from olden times men have not heard, nor perceived, nor hath
an eye seen, a God beside Thee, who acted on behalf of him that
waiteth for Him. 5. Thou didst meet him that rejoiceth to work
righteousness, when they remembered Thee in Thy ways.
Behold, Thou, Thou art enraged, and we stood as sinners there;
already have we been long in this state, and shall we be saved?[2]
6. We became like the unclean thing, and all our virtues like a
garment soiled with blood; and we all faded away together like the
leaves; and our iniquities, like the storm, they carried us away.
7. And there was no one who called upon Thy name, who aroused himself
to lay firm hold of Thee: for Thou hadst hidden Thy face from us, and
didst melt us into the hand of our transgressions.[3]
8. And now, O Jehovah, Thou art our Father: we are the clay, and Thou
our Maker;[4] and we are all the work of Thy hand. 9. Be not
extremely angry, O Jehovah, and remember not the transgression for
ever! Behold, consider, we beseech Thee, we are Thy people.
10. The cities of Thy holiness have become a pasture-ground; Zion has
become a pasture-ground, Jerusalem a desert. 11. The house of our
holiness and of our adorning, where our fathers praised Thee, is
given up to the fire, and everything that was our delight given up to
devastation. 12. Wilt Thou restrain Thyself in spite of this, O
Jehovah, be silent, and leave us to suffer the utmost?
FOOTNOTES:
[2] "Jehovah's loving-kindness will I celebrate, Jehovah's
deeds of renown."--_Cheyne._
[3] "Deal falsely."--_Kay._ "Play the liar."--_Cheyne._
[4] "In all their adversity He was no adversary; but the angel
of His presence saved them."--_Kay, Jones._ "In all their
affliction, His was the conflict, and," &c.--_Birks._ "In
all their distress, He was distressed."--_Cheyne._ "In all
their affliction, He was afflicted."--_R. E. B., and
others._
[5] "Abraham taketh no notice of us, and Israel does not
recognise us."--_Cheyne._
[1] "When Thou didst terrible things, which we looked not for,
Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy
presence."--_Birks._ "To make Thy name known to Thine
adversaries, so that nations trembled before Thee, while
Thou didst terrible things which we hoped not for: [that
Thou didst come down, that the mountains shook at Thy
presence] yea, from old men have not heard," &c.--_Cheyne,_
who adopts the suggestion that the words in brackets have
been repeated by accident from ver. 1. "The passage gains
greatly by their removal."
[2] "Behold, Thou wast wroth, and we were guilty: in those is
continuance, and we shall be saved."--_Kay._ "Yes, Thou
hast been wroth, and we have sinned, and still by these are
we preserved from of old."--_Birks._ "Behold, Thou art
wroth (for we have sinned) with Thy people
continually!--and shall we be saved?"--_Arnold._ "Behold,
Thou wast wroth when we sinned; [Thou wast] against them of
old, and shall we be saved?"--_Jones._ "Behold Thou wast
wroth, and we sinned; * * * and we went astray."--_Cheyne._
[3] "And hast delivered us into the hand of our
iniquities."--_Cheyne._ "And Thou causest us to perish by
our iniquities."--_R. E. B._
[4] "Our fashioner."--_Cheyne._
SECOND CLOSING PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXV.
_Jehovah's Answer to the Church's Prayer._
1. I was discernible to those who did not inquire, discoverable by
those who did not seek Me.[1] I said, "Here am I, Here am I," to a
nation where My name was not called. 2. I spread out My hands all the
day to a refractory people, who walked in the way that was not good,
after their own thoughts. 3. The people that continually provoketh Me
by defying Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens, and burning
incense upon the tiles; 4. who sit in the graves, and spend the night
in closed places; to eat the flesh of swine, and broken pieces of
abominations is in their dishes; 5. who say, Stop! come not too near
Me; for I am holy to thee; they are a smoke in My nose, a fire
blazing continually.
6. Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence without
having recompensed, and I will recompense into their bosom. 7. Your
offences, and the offences of your fathers together, saith Jehovah,
that they have burned incense upon the mountains, and insulted Me
upon the hills, and I measure their reward first of all into their
bosom.
8. Thus saith Jehovah, As when the must is found in the cluster, men
say, Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing within it, so will I
do for the sake of My servants, that I may not destroy the whole.
9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and an heir of My
mountains out of Judah, and My chosen ones shall inherit it, and My
servants shall dwell there. 10. And the plain of Sharon becomes a
meadow for flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting-place for oxen,
for My people that asketh for Me.
11. And ye, who are enemies to Jehovah, O ye that are unmindful of My
holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and fill up mixed drink
for the goddess of destiny,--12. I have destined you to the sword,
and ye will bow down to the slaughter, because I have called, and ye
have not replied, I have spoken, and ye have not heard; and ye did
evil in Mine eyes, and ye chose that which I did not like.
13. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah: Behold My servants will
eat, but ye will hunger; behold My servants will drink, but ye will
thirst; behold My servants will rejoice, but ye will be put to shame;
14. behold My servants will exult for delight of heart, but ye will
cry for anguish of heart, and ye will lament for brokenness of
spirit. 15. And ye will leave your name for a curse to My chosen
ones, and the Lord, Jehovah, will slay thee; by His servants He will
call by another name, 16. so that whosoever blesseth himself in them
and will bless himself by the God of truthfulness,[2] and whosoever
sweareth in the land will swear by the God of truthfulness,[3]
because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they have
vanished from Mine eyes.
17. For behold I create a new heaven and a new earth; and men will
not remember the first, nor do they come to any one's mind. 18. No,
be ye joyful and exult for ever at that which I create; for behold I
turn Jerusalem into exulting, and her people into joy. 19. And I
shall exult over Jerusalem, and be joyous over My people, and the
voice of weeping and screaming will be heard in her no more. 20. And
there shall be no more come thence a suckling of a few days, and an
old man who has not lived out all his days; for the youth in it will
die as one a hundred years old, and the sinner be smitten with a
curse as one a hundred years old.[4]
21. And they will build houses and inhabit them, and plant vineyards
and enjoy the fruit thereof. 22. They will not build and another
inhabit, nor plant and another enjoy; for like the days of trees are
the days of My people, and My chosen ones will consume the work of
their hands. 23. They will not weary themselves in vain, nor bring
forth for sudden disaster; for they are a family of the blessed of
Jehovah, and their offspring are left to them.
24. And it will come to pass: before they call, I will answer; they
are still speaking, and I already hear. 25. Wolf and lamb then feed
together, and the lion eats chopped straw like the ox, and the
serpent--dust is its bread. They will neither do harm nor destroy in
all My holy mountain, saith Jehovah.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "I am sought of them who asked not [of Me]; I am found [of
them] that sought Me not."--_Jones, R. E. B._ "I gave ear
to them that asked not for Me."--_Arnold._ "I have offered
answers to those who have not asked; I have been as hard to
those who have not sought Me."--_Cheyne._
[2] "By the God of the AMEN."--_Cheyne, Kay._
[3] Duplicate reference to note 2, immediately above.
[4] "For he that dieth a hundred years old shall die a youth;
and he that falleth short of a hundred years shall be held
accursed."--_Jones._ "There shall no more be any from
thence, infant of days or old man, that shall not have
fulfilled his days."--_Kay._
THIRD CLOSING PROPHECY.--CHAP. LXVI.
_Exclusion of Scorners from the Coming Salvation._
1. Thus saith Jehovah: The heaven is My throne, and the earth My
footstool. What kind of house is it that ye would build Me, and what
kind of place for My rest? 2. My hand hath made all these things;
then all these things arose, saith Jehovah; and at such persons do I
look, at the miserable and broken-hearted, and him that trembleth at
My word.[1] 3. He that slaughtereth the ox is the slayer of a man; he
that sacrificeth the sheep is a strangler of dogs; he that offereth a
meat offering, it is swine's blood; he that causeth incense to rise
up in smoke, blesseth idols. As they have chosen their ways, and
their soul cherisheth pleasure in their abominations; 4. so will I
choose their ill-treatments,[2] and bring their terrors upon them,
because I called and no one replied, I spake and they did not hear,
and they did evil in Mine eyes, and chose that in which I took no
pleasure.
5. Hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at His word: your
brethren that hate you, that thrust you from them for My name's sake,
say, "Let Jehovah get honour, that we may see your joy;" they will be
put to shame.
6. Sound of tumult from the city! Sound from the temple! Sound of
Jehovah, who repays His enemies with punishment.
7. Before she travailed she brought forth; before pains came upon
her, she was delivered of a boy. 8. Who hath heard such a thing? Who
hath seen anything like it? Are men delivered of a land in one day?
Or is a nation begotten at once? For Zion hath travailed, yea, hath
brought forth her children. 9. Should I bring to the birth, and not
cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah; or should I, who cause to bring
forth, shut up? saith thy God.
10. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and exult over her, all ye that love
her; be ye delightfully glad with her, all ye that mourn over her,
11. that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breast of her
consolations, that ye may sip and delight yourselves in the abundance
of her glory. 12. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I guide peace to
her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like an overflowing
stream, that ye may suck; ye shall be borne upon arms, and fondled
upon knees. 13. Like a man whom his mother comforteth, so will I
comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14. And ye will
see, and your heart will be joyful, and your bones will flourish like
young herbage; and thus does the hand of Jehovah make itself known to
His servants, and fiercely does He treat His enemies. 15. For behold
Jehovah, in the fire will He come, and His chariots are like the
whirlwind, to pay out His wrath in burning of fire. 16. For in the
midst of fire Jehovah holds judgment, and in the midst of His sword
with all flesh; and great will be the multitude pierced through by
Jehovah. 17. They that consecrate themselves and purify themselves
for the gardens behind one in the midst, who eat swine's flesh and
abomination and the field mouse--they all come to an end together,
saith Jehovah. 18. And I, their works and their thoughts--it comes to
pass that all nations and tongues are gathered together, that they
come and see My glory.[3]
19. And I set a sign upon them, and send away those that have escaped
from them to the Gentiles, to Tarshish, Phûl and Lûd, to the
stretchers of the bow, Tubal and Javan--the distant islands that have
not heard My fame and have not seen My glory, and they will proclaim
My glory among the Gentiles. 20. And they will bring your brethren
out of all heathen nations, a sacrifice for Jehovah, upon horses and
upon chariots, and upon litters, and upon mules, and upon
dromedaries, to My holy mountain, to Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the
children of Israel bring the meat-offering in a clean vessel to the
house of Jehovah. 21. And I will also add some of them to the
priests, to the Levites, saith Jehovah. 22. For as the new heaven and
the new earth, which I am about to make, continue before Me, saith
Jehovah, so will your family and your name continue. 23. And it will
come to pass, from new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh will come, to worship before Me, saith Jehovah. 24. And
they go out and look at the corpses of the men that have rebelled
against Me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be
quenched, and they become an abomination to all flesh.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "But to this will I look, even to him that is poor, and
contrite in spirit, and trembleth at My word."--_Birks._
"Afflicted, and crushed in spirit."--_Cheyne._ "Meek and of
a contrite spirit."--_Arnold._
[2] "Freaks of fortune."--_Cheyne._ "I also will choose to mock
them."--_Arnold, Strachey._
[3] "But [I will punish] their works and their thoughts;
[behold the time] is come that I gather all nations and
tongues, and they shall come and see My glory."--_Cheyne._
_Arnold_ treats the words: "For I know their works and
their thoughts," as the completion of a paragraph, and
commences the next paragraph: "It shall come, that I will
gather all nations," &c.
CALKINS.[1]
CHAPS. LII. 13-LIII.
I.
13. Behold my Servant shall prosper,
He shall rise up, and be extolled, and stand triumphantly
exalted.
14. Even as many were shocked at Him
(His countenance was so marred as to be no more that of
a man,
His form no more that of sons of men!)
15. So shall He sprinkle many nations.
The kings shall shut their mouths before Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they never heard they shall consider.
II.
1. Who hath believed our report?
And to whom is Jehovah's arm revealed?
2. For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a sprout out of dry ground.
He hath no form nor comeliness that we should look up to Him,
No beauty that we should take pleasure in Him.
3. He is despised and rejected of men,
A man of sorrows, well acquainted with sickness;
And like one hiding his face before us,
He was despised and we esteemed Him not.
4. And yet it was our own sickness that He bore,
And our sorrows that He loaded upon Himself.
But we supposed He was punished,
Smitten of God and tormented!
5. Oh, no! He was wounded for our transgressions,
Bruised for our iniquities,
Chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And with His stripes we are made whole.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray,
We have turned every one to his own way,
And Jehovah made the guilt of us all to meet upon Him.
7. He was oppressed, and yet He humbled Himself,
And He opened not His mouth, like a lamb that is brought
to the slaughter,
And as a sheep is dumb before her shearers,
So He opened not His mouth.
8. He was dragged to punishment by violence, and yet by
process of law;
And who of the men of His generation took it to heart,
That He was cut off from the land of the living,
That the stroke for my people's transgression fell upon Him!
9. They appointed Him His grave with criminals
(Still He was with a rich man in His death!).
Although He had done no wrong,
Neither was any deceit in His mouth.
10. And yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him;
He laid sickness upon Him.
But when He has made over His soul as a sin-offering,
He shall see offspring; He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in His hands!
III.
11. Free from the travail of His soul,
He shall see and be satisfied.
By His knowledge shall my righteous Servant make many righteous,
Because He shall bear their iniquities.
12. Therefore will I give Him the great as a portion,
And He shall distribute the strong as spoil.
For He hath poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with transgressors,
While He was bearing the sin of many
And was making intercession for the transgressors.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Dickinson's Theological Quarterly, vol. iv. pp. 19-30:
_Article,_ "The Great Messianic Prophecy," by the Rev.
Wolcott Calkins, D.D.
URWICK.
THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH.[1]--CHAP LII. 13-LIII. 12.
LII.--13. Behold! My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be
exalted, and extolled, and be very high. 14. As many were astonied,
so marred more than any man: His visage and His form more than the
sons of men. 15. So shall He sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut
their mouths at Him, for that which hath not been told them shall
they see, and that which they had not heard shall they understand.
LIII.--1. Who hath believed our report? and the arm of the Lord to
whom hath it been revealed? 2. For He grew up as a tender plant
before Him, and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor
comeliness that we should regard Him, and no beauty that we should
desire Him. 3. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. And there was, as it were, the hiding of
the face from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4. Surely our griefs HE hath bore, and our sorrows HE hath carried
them; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5. But HE was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our
iniquities; the chastisement of OUR peace (or, our peace,
chastisement) was upon HIM; and with His stripes we are healed.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to
his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His
mouth; as the lamb to the slaughter, He was brought; and as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. 8. He was
taken from prison and from judgment, and who considereth His
generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the
transgression of my people was He stricken. 9. And they made His
grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had
done no violence, neither was there deceit in His mouth. 10. Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief.
When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for guilt (or, a
guilt-offering), He shall see (His) seed, He shall prolong (His)
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11. Because of the travail of His soul He shall be satisfied; by His
knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify the many, for their
iniquities He shall bear. 12. Therefore will I divide Him a portion
in the many [_i.e.,_ the many shall be the portion allotted to Him],
and with the strong shall He divide the spoil; for in that He poured
out His soul unto the death, and was numbered with the transgressors,
He Himself bare the sin of the many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Servant of Jehovah. A Commentary, Grammatical and
Critical, upon Isaiah lii. 13-liii. 12. By William Urwick,
M.A., Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
END OF VOL. I.
Transcriber's Notes.
- The pound sign or hash (#) has been used to indicate a missing
character, throughout.
- When the book refers to a range of pages, the first page number of
the range is coded as a hyperlink. Page ranges in the Index of
Authors link to the beginning of an outline by the named author on
the indicated page.
- Index of Subjects, throughout: dashes used as ditto marks have
been removed.
- Index of Subjects, page vii. (numbered 7 originally), capitalize
"That" in "Book That Will Bear Testing, A;" capitalize "A" in
"Church, The Christian, A Continuation of the Jewish;" capitalize
"Their" in "Children of Babylon, Their Doom;" change the page
number for outline "The Discipline of Sin" from 292 to 291; and
capitalize "Its" in "Drink and Its Woes."
- Index of Subjects, page viii. (numbered 8 originaly), add a second
outline "False Refuges" at page 488; add outline "Great
Deliverance, A" at page 437; capitalize "Be" in "Hallowed Be Thy
Name;" capitalize "Art" in "In Whom Art Thou Trusting;" capitalize
"His" in "Isaiah, His Interview with Ahaz," "Isaiah, His Vision of
the King and His Kingdom," "Isaiah, His Vision of God," and
"Isaiah, His Vision of the Last Days;" capitalize "The" in
"Isaiah, The Evangelical Prophet" and change the page from 3 to 1;
capitalize "Its" in "Language, Its Influence on Character;"
capitalize "Life" in "Life, The Shortening of" and capitalize
"Instead" in "Lip Service Instead of Heart Worship."
- Index of Subjects, page ix. (numbered 9 originally), capitalize
"The" in "National Peace, The Gift of God;" correct "Needless
Strifes" to "Needless Stripes;" change the page number for outline
"Nobility and Security" from 483 to 492; capitalize "Their" in
"Oppressed and Their Relief, The;" capitalize second "Our" in "Our
Trust and Our Test" and change the page from 364 to 304;
capitalize "The" in "Peace, The Work of Righteousness;" change the
page number for outline "Spreading the Letter before the Lord"
from 486 to 494; capitalize "To" and "Be" in "Things To Be
Considered;" and capitalize "But" in "Threatened But Safe."
- Index of Authors, page x. (numbered 10 originally), correct
"Archdeacou Bather" to "Archdeacon Bather" and change page number
446 to 445; for R. A. Bertram, change 221 to 220; for R. W.
Forrest, change 134 to 133; insert "Griffin, E." at page 348; for
Robert Hall, change 345 to 344; R. Macculloch, change 122 to 121;
for A. Maclaren, change 328 to 348, and add a link to his second
outline on page 348.
- Index of Authors, page xi. (numbered 11 originally), change
"M'Auslane" to "McAuslane;" for W. Manning, insert a reference to
page 241; insert "Monks, Richard" at page 433; insert "Monod,
Horace" at page 434; for Thomas Neave, change 106 to 105; insert
"Smith, George" at pages 224 and 252; for Dr. Talmage, change 311
to 310; for Samuel Thodey, change 332 to 333. In the list of
Times, Seasons, and Occasions, update a Missionary Sermon from 319
to 318 and a Peace Society Sermon from 229 to 228.
- The list of Texts is not in the original.
- On page 1, capitalize "Kings" in "Chronicles of the Kings of
Judah."
- On page 4, in "An Appeal and an Argument," point III has two
subpoints numbered "2." Change the second one to "3."
- The break between pages 4 and 5 is in the word "between":
be|tween. In this and all subsequent similar cases, the whole word
was moved to the earlier page.
- On page 5, in the text of footnote 4 (denoted δ originally),
insert a missing period into "St Austin."
- The break between pages 7 and 8 is in the word "tendency":
ten|dency.
- On page 8, in the text of footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
apply Reverential Capitalization (RC) to "Love" in the phrase
"thrice holy God, whose name is Love."
- On page 12, a printing issue mars the copy from which this
transcription is made. The line in question is: "TXey do answer
the end" with the "X" representing an issue; transcribed as "They."
- On page 16, at the end of the outline "Moral Obduracy," there is a
reference to "(Rev. i. 9, 11, 21)." Changed to Revelation ii.,
because Revelation i. has only 20 verses.
- On page 17, in the text of footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
second column, fourth line, change "tays" to "stays" in "poison of
the physic stays in the body also." In the next paragraph, apply
RC to "Providence." In outline "Needless Stripes," in the second
paragraph, apply RC to "Divine" and "the Gospel."
- On page 19, in outline "Total Depravity," in the first paragraph,
apply RC to "Divine grace."
- On page 20, in outline "God's Reluctance to Punish," in footnote 3
(denoted ɣ originally), the final sentence is "Mercy is not for
them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not
God's mercy is a holy mercy; where it pardons, it heals." This was
broken into two sentences by inserting a period after "fear and
sin not."
- On page 21, in outline "The Summons to Jerusalem," two subpoints
of point I. 1 were formatted inconsistently. Set the word "In" of
point "(1)" in Italics to match the corresponding word of point
"(2)."
- The break between pages 22 and 23 is in the word "spending":
spend|ing.
- On page 23, in outline "Rejected Sacrifices," in the first
paragraph, apply RC to "Divine appointment" and "Divine worship."
In the second paragraph, apply RC to "Divine appointment."
- On page 24, same outline, in the "Judaism and its ritual"
paragraph, remove the second "the" from "assemble in the sanctuary
on the Sunday."
- On page 29, in outline "God Oppressed," in point I, change the
reference for the effect upon David of Nathan's parable from
"2 Sam. xii. 8" to "2 Sam. xii. 5."
- The break between pages 29 and 30 is between the point number and
the start of the sentence, 4.|_That_. The transcriber moved the
first word of the sentence to the earlier page to avoid the
separation.
- On page 31, "God Oppressed," footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
apply RC to "Divine commands."
- On page 32, in outline "Worthless Husks," change the text of point
I from "ritualism without spontaneity" to "ritualism without
spirituality" per Errata.
- On page 33, after outline "Worthless Husks," text for two
footnotes appears but the outline has only one footnote anchor.
Add an anchor for the second footnote at the end of the outline.
- On page 37, in outline "Moral Ablution," in point I. 1, augment
the reference "Hab. i. 13" with "Prov. xxxi. 10-31" regarding the
virtuous woman.
- On page 38, same outline, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
apply RC to "the Gospel."
- On page 44, capitalize "Their" in outline title "The Oppressed and
Their Relief."
- The break between pages 46 and 47 is in the middle of a scripture
reference: James i.|27. Move the verse number to the earlier page
to keep it with the chapter number.
- On page 48, outline "God's Gracious Invitation to Sinners," in
point II, apply RC to "He is willing to hear." In footnote 1
(denoted ɑ originally), insert closing double quotes after
"crimson."
- On page 49, in outline "Cleansing for the Vilest," in point I 3,
in the "As the uniform" sentence, insert a comma after the first
of the three numbered points.
- On page 50, in footnote 3 for outline "Comfort for the
Desponding," (denoted ɣ originally), change "tea s" to "tears" in
the phrase "though he cannot shed tea s."
- On page 55, outline "Self-Scrutiny in God's Presence," includes a
reference to "1 Chron. xx. 13." Because that chapter has only 8
verses, updated to 1 Chron. xxi. 13.
- On page 56, change the reference for the passage for outline
"Sinners Self-destroyed" from "i. 19" to "i. 19-20."
- On page 57, same outline, remove a redundant second anchor to the
one footnote from the end of the outline. Change the reference for
the passage for outline "The Certainty of the Destruction of the
Impenitent" from "i. 19" to "i. 20." In point II, apply RC to "the
Gospel."
- On page 63, in outline "The Purpose of Punishment," change
"Ghengis Khan" to "Genghis Khan." The original text of the
footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally) is printed as two paragraphs.
Because the outline includes two footnote anchors, a second
footnote was created with the second paragraph.
- On page 65, in outline "The Divine Idea of Redemption," the
original shows a second set of Roman-numbered points as subpoints
of point III. Change the Roman numerals to Arabic and the bold
type to Italic.
- On page 67, in outline "Forsaking the Lord," in point I change
"transcendant" to "transcendent." Subpoints of points II and III
were shown as Arabic numerals within parentheses. Remove the
parentheses for consistency with other outlines. In the quoted
scripture for outline "The Doom of the Apostates," correct "oaks
which ye have denied" to "oaks which ye have desired."
- On page 68, same outline, in point I, change "Every man's God is
what he lives for" to make "god" lower case. Insert closing double
quotes after "covetousness is idolatry." In point IV, change
"there is a day appointing" to "appointed."
- On page 69, same outline, in footnote 3 (designated ɣ originally),
capitalize "Tow" and "Spark" to set the name of the subsequent
outline in title case. Thanks to Dr. Ron Lawler for his help with
the Hebrew text transcription. In outline "The Tow and the Spark,"
points in the introductory paragraph are marked with Arabic
numerals in parentheses. Remove the parentheses for consistency
with other outlines.
- On page 73, in outline "The Future Triumphs of the Gospel," the
Roman numeral I is not bold while the subsequent text is bold.
Bold the numeral for consistency. The subpoints of point II were
marked by Arabic numerals in parentheses. Remove the parentheses
for consistency with other outlines.
- The break between pages 73 and 74 is in the word "moisture":
mois|ture.
- On page 77, in outline "A Terrible Picture," at the end of point
IV, change the question mark to a period. In point V, change
"Ritualistic" to lower case.
- On page 78, in outline "God's People Forsaken," insert the period
at the end of point II 2.
- On page 79, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
apply RC to "while He stops the mouth." In outline "Forsaken of
God," in point I, apply RC to "Divine withdrawals," and remove
parentheses from the Arabic numbers on the subpoints of points I
and II.
- On page 80, in outline "The Material and the Moral," in point II,
insert a comma after the introductory phrase "In the absence of
this moral restraint."
- The break between pages 81 and 82 is in the word "without":
with|out.
- On page 83, in outline "The Great Dethronement," in point IV,
supply a missing period after the sentence "Custom and fashion
have wrought in the same direction."
- The break between pages 83 and 84 is in the word "experience":
ex|perience.
- On page 84, in outline "Lessons from a National Bereavement," in
point II, correct "politicans" to "politicians," and "there
rivalries" to "their rivalries."
- On page 86, in outline "National Greatness," in point IV, remove
the parentheses from the Arabic numerals marking subpoints.
- On page 88, in outline "Shameless Sinners," the subpoints of point
II 2 were marked by Arabic numerals; parentheses have been added
for consistency with other outlines. Later, a printing issue in
Application, point 2,
the moral sense of #he community is
being raised. Evil a# #re our days, the
testimony is conclusiv# #hat the former
days were not better, but worse. 3. As
was transcribed as ". . . the moral sense of the community is
being raised. Evil as are our days, the testimony is conclusive
that the former days . . . ."
- On page 94, in outline "Blind Leaders," in footnote 3 (originally
denoted ɣ), insert the reference Matt. vi. 23 after the quotation
of the passage.
- On page 95, in outline "Oppression of the Poor," in the
Application, point 2, apply RC to "His creatures."
- On page 96, in outline "The Pleader and the Judge," in point II 1,
add a period to end the second sentence. In point II 3, apply
bold formatting to the closing quote mark.
- On page 99, in outline "The Desolating and Disorganizing Power of
War," in the scripture quotation, correct "We will at our own
bread" to "We will eat."
- On page 101, in outline "The Divine Ideal of Israel Realised,"
change "Seventy-second Psalm" to "seventy-second."
- On page 102, same outline, in point V, insert the reference
2 Cor. i. 20 after the quotation of the passage.
- On page 105, in outline "The Parable of the Vineyard," in point I,
change "The Privileges conferred" to "The privileges."
- On page 108, in outline "Great Privileges," near the end of point
II, change "He will not demand from Him" to "from him" because the
object of the sentence is the servant.
- On page 109, in outline "Divine Disappointments," in the first
paragraph, in the second and third sentences, change the words
"god," "he," and "him" to lower case because they refer to a
counterfeit deity.
- On page 110, same outline, point II, correct "anthromorphological"
to "anthropomorphological."
- On page 111, in outline "A Sad Canticle," in point I, capitalize
"Similitude" to match the capitalization of the other points.
- On page 113, in outline "On the Advantage," a printing issue in
point II,
not only of himself, but of beings dear
## and dependent upon him, has been
#riven into some town to add to the
misery, its debasement, and its discon-
was transcribed as ". . . dear to and dependent upon him, has been
driven into some town . . . ." In the final sentence, add closing
quote to the phrase "common Father."
- On page 113, in outline "Wild Grapes," in point I, in the text
"Note, 1," change the comma after the 1 to a period, to match the
other points in the list. In point 2 of this list, remove the
comma between the second "&c." and the footnote anchor.
- On page 114, same outline, in point V, correct "humility nd
desire" to "and." In point VI, correct "sensual usts" to "lusts"
and "(ver. 22, 23)" to "(vers. 22, 23)." In the concluding
paragraph, correct "wall hereof" to "wall thereof."
- On page 116, in outline "Sensuality," change point II from
"Follies" to "Its Follies" for consistency with the other three
points.
- On page 120, in outline "Death and the Grave," change the
subpoints of Roman I from Roman numerals to Arabic numerals for
consistency with other outlines.
- On page 121, same outline, change the subpoints of Roman II from
Roman numerals to Arabic numerals for consistency with other
outlines. In footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally), first paragraph,
correct "Meshach" to "Meshech;" second paragraph, change "has
flattered" to "hath flattered."
- On page 122, change the credit for outline "Cords of Vanity" from
"Maculloch" to "Macculloch," for consistency with the Index of
Authors.
- On page 123, in outline "Influence of Language," in footnote 1
(denoted ɑ originally), correct "Sylla" to "Sulla."
- On page 125, capitalize "Using" in the outline title "The Sin of
Using Wrong Names."
- On page 125, in outline "Self-Conceit," in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ
originally), in line three of the Butler poem, change "use to
bear" to "used to bear."
- On page 126, in outline "The Woe of the Drunkard," change
"drunkard's" in point I to lower case.
- On page 127, capitalize "Its" in the title of outline "Drink and
Its Woes."
- On page 129, in outline "The Doom of Despisers," add a closing
double quotes at the end of point III 3.
- On page 132, in outine "Cords and Cart-Ropes," in footnote 1
(denoted ɑ originally), add the names of target outlines so this
cross reference is useful in the plain text file.
- On page 133, in outline "The Prophet's Call," in footnote 2
(denoted β originaly), apply RC to "Divine power."
- On page 136, in outline "Revelations of God," footnote 1 (denoted
ɑ originally), in the description of the laver, after the
statement of its capacity, remove an extraneous comma from "its
brim wrought." Apply RC to "Divine King of Israel." In the next
paragraph, correct "vail" to "veil." In footnote 3 (denoted ɣ
originally), change "D. P. I." to "P. D."
- On page 137, in outline "Isaiah's Vision," in point V, apply RC to
"Divine origin."
- On page 139, in outline "The Seraphim," in the final paragraph of
footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally), correct "from the alter" to
"altar."
- On page 140, capitalize "Their" in the outline title "The Seraphim
and Their Song." In point II 1, correct "Isa. xi. 26" to "Isa.
xi. 2-6."
- On page 141, same outline, in point III 1, change "voice of Him"
to "voice of him," referring to an angel. In footnote 3 (denoted ɣ
originally), change "Host of Heaven" to "host of heaven" and
"Hosts of God" to "hosts."
- On page 142, same outline, same footnote, change "Host of Heaven"
to "host of heaven" (twice). In outline "A Sight of God," in point
II, apply RC to "Divine purity." In point III, apply RC to "Divine
cleansing."
- On page 143, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
remove opening double quotes from the beginning of the paragraph.
Correct "Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" to "Holy, holy, holy."
- On page 144, in outline "Volunteer Service," in point II 1,
capitalize "By" at the beginning of the sentence. In point II 2,
correct "Rev. 1. 17" to "Rev. i. 17." In point III, add a period
after "Josh" in the scripture reference. In outline "Messengers
Wanted," in point I, apply RC to "Divine perplexity."
- On page 146, in outline "The Rejection of Divine Truth," apply RC
to "Divine message."
- On page 148, same outline, at the end of footnote 3 (denoted ɣ
originally) correct "D. P. Q." to "P. D." In outline "The
Duration," in paragraph 4, apply RC to "Divine purposes."
- On page 149, same outline, in footnote 3 (denoted ɣ originally),
insert the reference Isa. lxv.%8 after the quotation of the
passage.
- On page 151, in outline "Purposes and Panics," point I introduces
a subpoint 1 at "In forming our plans . . ." Remove the number
because it is alone.
- On page 152, in outline "Isaiah's Interview," in point III, apply
RC to "Divine purposes." In footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
apply RC to "Divine mercy."
- On page 153, in outline "A Threefold Counsel," in point I, apply
RC to "Divinely-provided."
- On page 154, the title to outline "Heedfulness" was set with extra
space between each letter. This may be known as _"gesperrt"_ or
_"sperrsatz."_ In German literature, this may indicate emphasis.
In the credit at the end of the outline, insert a comma between
the name of the book and the volume indicator.
- On page 156, in outline "Stability though Faith," in point I,
apply RC to "Divine declarations." In point II 1, apply RC to
"places Him before us." In point II 2, change "firstfruits" to
"first-fruits." Run in the text at point III 1 rather than
starting a new paragraph. Remove an extraneous right parenthesis
from the credit at the end of the outline.
- The break between pages 157 and 158 is in the word "determining":
deter|mining.
- On page 158, in outline "Irreligious Piety," remove quotation
marks around opening scripture quotation. An ink smudge in the
second paragraph,
fessedly for the excellent reason that
too great a disparity in age betXXXen
man and wife is not desirablXXXut
really because the suitor is not suffi-
was transcribed as ". . . for the excellent reason that too great a
disparity in age between man and wife is not desirable but really
because the suitor is not sufficiently wealthy."
- On page 160, in outline "Trials of the Divine Patience," in point
I, apply RC to "this Book."
- On page 162, in outline "The Virgin's Son," in the eighth
paragraph, capitalize "King of Judah." In the tenth paragraph,
change "lovingkindnesses" to "loving-kindnesses."
- On page 165, in outline "Immanuel," point I 2 (1) includes a
reference to Prov. xxix. 30, which does not exist. It could be a
typesetter's error for Prov. viii. 29-30.
- On page 166, same outline, in point III 2, change "His Deity" to
"deity." In outline "The Great Object," correct the reference from
"vii. 15" to "vii. 16."
- On page 167, same outline, in point 1, apply RC to "God's Word."
- On page 168, in outline "Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz," in point III,
apply RC to "Divine direction."
- On page 170, in outline "The Stream Rejected," in the first
sentence, correct "Rezim" to "Rezin" twice.
- On page 171, sane outine, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
insert a period after "village of Werai." Insert "of" into "on
both sides of its course."
- On page 173, in outline "Biblical Politicians," in the second
sentence, apply RC to "Divine principles."
- On page 174, same outline, in point III, apply RC to "Divine
scrutiny." In footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally), change "His Name"
to "His name." In footnote 3 (denoted ɣ originally), insert
closing double quotes after the second "kesher."
- On page 175, capitalize "Our" twice in outline title "God Our
Refuge, or Our Ruin."
- On page 177, in outline "The Stone of Stumbling," in point 2,
change "Gal. v. 28, 29" to "Gal. iii. 28, 29." Correct a word
broken across lines without a hyphen: dis|gust.
- The break between pages 177 and 178 comes within a unit that style
indicates should not be broken. "but--I.|Let." The whole unit has
been moved to the earlier page.
- On page 178, in outline "Waiting on the Lord," in point I 2, apply
RC to "hides Himself."
- On page 179, same outline, in footnote 1 (originaly denoted ɑ),
update the title of the outline cited in the second volume of
Isaiah commentary from THE HIDDEN THINGS OF GOD to THE CONCEALMENT
OF GOD. In outline "Penitential Waiting," correct "Ps. xxxvii. 14"
to "Ps. xxvii. 14." The title of outline "Necromancy" was set with
extra space between the letters.
- On page 180, same outline, add a comma to the credit between the
author's degree and the title of his book. In outline "The Law and
the Testimony," in the second paragraph, insert a period after the
word "Intelligently" and insert a period after the Arabic numeral
1 for consistency with the succeeding numbered points.
- On page 181, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
capitalize "Divines" in "Westminster Assembly of Divines." Insert
an opening quotation mark at the beginning of the second and third
paragraphs in the lengthy quotation from the Westminster Assembly
Confession of Faith.
- The break between pages 181 and 182 is in the word "irrespective":
irrespec|tive.
- On page 183, in outline "The Remedy," point IV opens a quotation
but does not close it. Insert closing quotation marks after
"expectation." Apply RC to "direction is Divine."
- On page 184, the title of outline "The Joy of Harvest" is set with
extra space between the letters. In point I, move the first
footnote anchor from the beginning of the second sentence to the
end of the first sentence.
- On page 185, in outline "The Titles," in point I 3, insert closing
quotes at the end of the sentence.
- On page 188, in outline "Christ our Counsellor," remove extraneous
closing quotes from the end of point III. Subsequently, eliminate
the paragraph break after the word "profligate." Change the
question mark in point III 3 to a period. In outline "Almighty
God," apply RC to "Divinely given."
- On page 189, in outline "The Everlasting Father," insert a closing
double quote after "the _everlasting_ Father." Apply RC to, and
insert an opening quote before, "Father of eternity."
- On page 191, same outline, at the end of point III 2, insert
reference Matt. xxviii. 20 after the quotation of that passage. In
outline "The Prince of Peace," just before the end of Anderson's
text, insert a left parenthesis before "H. E. I. 884."
- On page 192, in outline "The Empire of Christ," in the first
paragraph, correct "political revelations" to "political
revolutions."
- On page 193, same outline, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
in the third sentence, apply RC to "Newest;" and in the fourth
sentence, apply RC to "Oldest," "Newest," "Old," and "New," for
consistency with the first and second sentences.
- On page 194, in outline "The Security," remove the parentheses
from the subpoints of point II, for consistency with other
outlines.
- On page 195, in outline "The Outstretched Hand," in footnote 2
(denoted β originally), insert the names of target outlines to
make this cross-reference useful in the plain text file.
- On page 196, in outline "The Duty," in point II 2, move the second
footnote anchor to follow the references to scripture and another
book. At the end of the outline, correct "Jerusaem" to "Jerusalem."
- On page 198, in outline "Two Constant Feelings," change the commas
after the subpoint numbers of point I to periods, for consistency
with other outlines.
- On page 200, in outline "The Destructiveness," subpoints 2 through
6 of point I are numbered in the original; insert point "1" before
the first sentence in Italic type.
- The break between pages 200 and 201 is in the word "Consequently":
Conse|quently.
- On page 201, same outline, in the McAuslane text, remove the
parentheses from the subpoints of point I and change the period
after the third subpoint to a question mark.
- On page 202, same outline, change the credit from "M'Auslane" to
"McAuslane."
- On page 203, in outline "The Day of Visitation," change Arabic 1
to Roman I and start a new paragraph at "There will probably come
to you . . . ." In point II, change an exclamation point to a
question mark after Italic "you."
- On page 204, in outline "The Assyrian Invasion," at the end of
point II, move the period inside the square brackets.
- On page 206, in outline "Man Proposes, God Disposes," insert right
parenthesis after "Ps. cxxxix. 1-12" reference.
- On page 207, same outline, footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
remove extraneous comma from "P. D." In footnote 2 (denoted β
originally), capitalize "Man's" in the outline title in the other
volume of Isaiah commentary. In outline "A Happy Conversation,"
change a bold Arabic 1 to Roman I.
- On page 208, same outline, change the first subpoint of point II
from Roman I to Arabic 1. Correct "Ps. ix. 107" to "Ps. cxix.
107." A cross reference at the end of point II refers to "H. E. I.
1191-1934," which is likely an error. Change the credit line to
remove Italic formatting from the "pp." abbreviation.
- On page 210, in outline "The Remnants of Society," in point 2 of
the final paragraph, insert a period after "complaining and
mourning."
- On page 212, in outline "Isaiah's Vision," in footnote 2 (denoted
β originally), include names of the target outlines to make this
cross reference useful in the plain text file. In outline "The
Spirit of the Lord," from the last sentence of the first
paragraph, remove a duplicated "we" immediately after the
semicolon.
- The break between pages 212 and 213 occurs in a block of text that
style indicates should be treated as a unit: "absurd,|--then." The
whole unit was moved to the earlier page.
- On page 213, same outline, in point II, change "counterfact" to
"counter-fact."
- On page 214, in outline "Universal Diffusion," insert a period
after the chapter number in the opening quotation reference.
Correct the credit for the first paragraph from "Tyth" to "Lyth,"
per Errata.
- On page 215, same outline, in point I, apply RC to "Gospel
principles," and "the Gospel" (twice).
- On page 216, same outline, in Rawlinson's point I, apply RC to
"the Gospel." In his point III, correct "Whereever" to "Wherever;"
change commas after subpoint numbers to periods, for consistency;
and apply RC to "the Gospel." In his concluding paragraph, in
point 2, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- On page 217, same outline, in the second paragraph after the
Manning credit, correct "Jas. iii. 19" to "Jas. ii. 19."
- On page 218, same outline, in point 3 of the final paragraph,
change "pledges Himself" to "pledges himself."
- On page 219, same outline, the text for the fourth footnote was
omitted from the book.
- On page 221, in outline "The Reconciler of Men," in point IV,
apply RC to "the Gospel" (thrice).
- On page 222, same outline, footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
insert opening double quotes at the beginning of the footnote. In
outline "A New Song," capitalize the first word of point I.
- On page 224, in outline "Wells of Salvation," capitalize the first
word of points I and II.
- On page 225, same outline, in point II 3, correct "Num. xxiv. 9"
to "Num. xxiv. 6." In the first paragraph of the Manning text, in
the last sentence, insert a question mark after "Apostle." In the
next paragraph, correct "John viii. 37, 38" to "John vii. 37, 38."
- On page 226, same outline, in Thodey's point I 1, insert a period
after "Matt" in "Matt. v. 6." In point I 2 (1), apply RC to
"Divine displeasure."
- On page 227, same outline, in the (unattributed) Bertram text,
remove the parentheses from the subpoint numbers of point V, for
consistency with other outlines.
- On page 228, same outline, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
in Geikie's second paragraph, apply RC to "Divine grace."
- The break between pages 232 and 233 is in the word "dangers":
dan|gers.
- On page 233, in outline "Spare the Children," all of point 4 was
set in Italics. Set the first two words in Roman type to match the
other points.
- On page 235, capitalize the word "Its" in the title of outline
"The Grave and Its Mysteries."
- On pages 236-237, in outline "The Conqueror Conquered," set all of
point III 3 in Italic type rather than just the first word, for
consistency with the other subpoints of point III.
- On page 238, in outline "A Memorable Answer," set all of point I
in bold, rather than leaving the word "That" not bold.
- On page 240, in outline "God's Outcasts," in point IV, change
"John xiv. 1" to "John xiv. 1-3."
- On page 240, in outline "Fruitless Supplications," in point I 1,
set the word "special" in Italic to match subpoints 2 and 3.
- The break between pages 242 and 243 occurs within text that style
indicates should be a unit: "This appears|--1. In" The unit has
been moved to the earlier page to prevent it from being broken
between pages.
- On page 244, in outline "Forgetfulness of God," in the concluding
paragraph, change "Gal. vi. 6" "Gal. vi. 7" to improve the
connection with sowing and reaping. In outline "The Punishment of
the Wicked," change points II and III to set the word "Of" in
Italic, to match point I.
- On page 245, in outline "An Altar and a Saviour for Egypt," in
point II, insert closing double quotes after "oppressors."
- The break between pages 246 and 247 comes in the word "empires":
em|pires.
- On page 246, in outline "The Burden of Dumah," in the paragraph
that continues on to the page, move the closing parenthesis from
after "baker" to after "butler."
- On page 248, in outline "Night and Morning," in point II, add
subpoint 1 before the Italic word "Morning," to correspond with
the second numbered point referring to "night.".
- On page 249, the title of outline "The Grievousness of War" is set
with extra space between the letters.
- On page 251, in outline "The Glory of the Messiah," in the last
sentence of the introductory paragraph, insert opening quotes
after the word "Him." In point II, label the sentence after the
quotation as point 1. In point II 3, change "glory of His
triumphs" to "his triumphs," referring to the "spiritual veteran."
- On page 253, in outline "The Gospel Feast," remove an extra period
after "Matt. xxii. 1-3."
- On page 254, same outline, in point III of Thodey's text, apply RC
to "His Word."
- On page 255, same outline, in point II of Reeve's text, correct
"Luke ii. 71-75" to "Luke i. 71-75."
- The break between pages 255 and 256 is in the word "invitation:"
invita|tion.
- On page 257, in outline "A Sorrowless World," change "P. Q." to
"P. D."
- On page 260, in outline "Advent Thoughts and Joys," in Blomfield's
point I, correct "Arimithea" to "Arimathea." In point II, apply RC
to "His Divinity." In point III, change "atoning Work" to "work."
- On page 262, in outline "The Protecting Hand," in point III,
correct "colloseum" to "Colosseum."
- On page 264, in outline "Perfect Peace," in point IV 1, apply RC
to "Divine will," "Divine love," and "His Word."
- On page 265, same outline, in Miall's point II, change the second
use of "will" to lower case to match the first use.
- On page 266, same outline, in the (unattributed) Bertram text,
point III, correct a closing single quote to a closing double
quote after "perfect peace."
- On page 269, in outline "The Righteousness," move the period at
the end of point II inside the square brackets. In outline "The
Just Man's Security," in the first sentence, change the reference
from "(xxv. 10)" to "(Job xxxv. 10)."
- On page 270, same outline, in point II, correct the reference from
"Ps. lviii. 3" to "Ps. lviii. 2." Insert snippet of Ps.
lxxviii. 50.
- On page 272, in outline "Night Longings for God," remove the
paragraph break at point II 2.
- On page 273, in outline "Chastisement," in point II, correct "Ps.
xxxix. 19" to "Ps. xxxiv. 19."
- On page 274, same outline, change the credit from "Hollock" to
"Kollock" to match the Table of Authors.
- On page 276, in outline "National Peace the Gift of God," in point
III, change "Atheist" to "atheist." Capitalize "Accomplished" and
"Ordained" in outline title "Holiness Accomplished, Peace
Ordained." In point I 1, apply RC to "Divine work."
- On page 277, same outline, in point I 1, apply RC to "operation is
Divine" and "His Divine work."
- On page 278, in outline "Man's Holiness, God's Workmanship," in
point I, correct "Gal. vi. 22, 23" to "Gal. v. 22, 23." Capitalize
the word "For" and change the trailing commas to periods in each
of the subpoints of point II. In point II 2, change the
exclamation mark to a question mark.
- On page 279, in outline "Spiritual Usurpers Renounced," in Parkes'
point I, change "Paganism" to "paganism" and apply RC to "Divine
help." In the first paragraph of Rawlison's text, make "other
gods" lower case.
- The break between pages 279 and 280 is in the word "responsible":
re|sponsible.
- On page 282, the title of outline "God's Invitation to Shelter"
was set with extra space between the letters.
- On page 283, in outline "Chambers of Safety," in the introductory
paragraph, insert reference to Matt. xxviii. 20 after the passage
is quoted. In point I, apply RC to "Divine character" and "Divine
promise."
- On page 284, in outline "God's Goodness," in the introduction,
correct "Prov. xxxiii. 31" to "Prov. xxiii. 31."
- The break between pages 285 and 286 is in the word
"uncontrollable" uncontroll|able.
- On page 286, in outline "A Solemn Disclaimer," in the concluding
paragraph, change "He took hold" to "he," referring to the
man-slayer.
- On page 287, in outline "Taking Hold," remove the parentheses from
the subpoints of point II, for consistency with other outlines. In
point II 1, remove the period after "submission" and correct "Ps.
ii. 10" to "Ps. li. 10."
- On page 288, in outline "The Day of the East Wind," change "Job
xviii. 17" to "Job xxi. 18."
- On page 290, set the title "The Afflictions of God's People" in
title case. In point II, apply RC to "God."
- On page 291, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
insert the names of target outlines to make the cross reference
useful in the plain text file; correct page 6 to page 5. In
outline "The Discipline of Sin," in the introduction, apply RC to
"Divine teaching" and "Divine design." In the second paragraph,
apply RC to "Divine dealing." Remove the parentheses from the
subpoints of point II for consistency with other outlines.
- The break between pages 291 and 292 is in the word "knowing":
know|ing.
- On page 292, same outline, in point II 3, apply RC to "Divine One."
- The break between pages 292 and 293 is in the word "astonishing":
as|tonishing.
- On page 293, in outline "The Gospel Trumpet," in point II, remove
the "1" from the first sentence and replace the "2" before the
second sentence with "1." Insert a paragraph break at "As
chaplain." In outline "England's Crying Sin," remove an extra
comma from the scripture quotation.
- On page 294, same outline, in point I 3, apply RC to "his Judge."
In point II, capitalize "Penalty."
- On page 295, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
include names of target outlines to make the cross reference
useful in the plain text file. In outline "The Believer's
Dignity," in the introduction, apply RC to "Divine wrath." Insert
a paragraph break after the text of point I to match that of point
II on the following page. Apply RC to "Divine nature."
- On page 296, same outline, apply RC to "Divine character."
- On page 299, in outline "The Sure Foundation," apply RC to
"Divinely appointed."
- The break between pages 299 and 300 is in the word "schoolmaster":
school|master.
- On page 300, same outline, insert "IV" where it is missing.
- On page 301, same outline, change the formatting of Jay's point I
from small-cap to bold, to match his other points. In point I 3,
move the sentence ending period from after "Christians" to after
the scripture reference.
- The break between pages 301 and 302 is in the word "declaration":
declara|tion.
- On pages 302-303, same outline, make Hawes' point II subpoints
consistent by removing parentheses from subpoints (1) and (3).
- The break between pages 302 and 303 is in the word "immortal":
im|mortal.
- On page 303, same outline, in Hawes' point II 5, there is a second
reference to footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally). To support linking
from the footnote back to the text, create footnote 4. Insert an
em-dash at the beginning of the Hawes citation.
- On page 304, in outline "Our Trust," at the end of point I, there
is a sentence in square brackets. The Transcriber added a dash and
the author's initials, treating it an an editorial aside, and
moved the period inside the brackets.
- On page 305, in outline "False Refuges," in point I, change
"Pagans" to "pagans."
- The break between pages 305 and 306 is in the word "decisions":
deci|sions.
- On page 306, same outline, in the Application, apply RC to
"believe in Him." In outline "The Short Bed," in point I, correct
"Tirhakeh" to "Tirhakah."
- On page 309, in outline "The Parable," change the scripture quote
to British English: change "plowman" and "plow" to "ploughman" and
"plough." In the introductory paragraph, apply RC to "Divine
dealing."
- The break between pages 309 and 310 is in the word "impurity":
im|purity.
- On page 310, same outline, in point I, apply RC to "Divine
character" and "Divine law." In point II, apply RC to "the Gospel."
- On page 311, in outline "The Parable," in Talmage's point I,
change "M'Leod" to "McLeod."
- On page 312, in outline "A Feast for Faith," in the quoted
scripture, change "Lord of Hosts" to "hosts," to match typical
capitalization. Remove the parentheses from point I 1, to match
the other points at that level. In point I 2, change "Providence"
to "providence." In point I 4, change "Son of God" to "son" (John
i. 12).
- On page 313, same outline, at the end of point I 8, insert the
reference Rev. xix. 6 after the quotation of the passage. The
title of outline "Ariel" is set with extra space between the
letters.
- On page 314, same outline, parentheses were removed from points 2
and 3 such that they match point 1 in the concluding paragraph.
- On page 316, in outine "Awakened," in point III, apply RC to "the
Gospel." In outline, "The Futility," in the introductory
paragraph, apply RC to "His Gospel."
- On page 317, same outline, in point I, apply RC to "the Gospel."
In point I 1, change "Pagan" to "pagan." In point II 2, add
references Matt. xvi. 18 and Ps. xcvii. 1 where those passages are
quoted. In outline "Lip-Service," in point I, remove point 1,
because it is the only point at this level.
- On page 318, same outline, in Parkes' point II, change
"xxxiii. 31" to "Ezek. xxxiii. 31" for specificity. In Rawlinson's
introduction, apply RC to "Divine worship."
- On page 321, in outline "Religious Joy," in point I, apply RC to
"Divine character" in the first and third paragraphs. In point
II 1, apply RC to "Divine goodness."
- On page 322, in outline "The Origin," in the introduction, apply
RC to "Divine counsel." In point I 1, apply RC to "the Word." In
point I 2, apply RC to "the Divine."
- On page 324 in outline "Strength in Quietness," in point III,
change "i. 21" to "Job i. 21" for specificity. Point IV includes a
reference to "Rom. xii. 19-26," which is not correct. In the
concluding paragraph, apply RC to "the Spirit."
- On page 325, in outline "Dislike to Ministerial Fidelity," in
point I, apply RC to "Divine law."
- The break between pages 325 and 326 occurs within what style
indicates should be a unit: "(1.)|The." The whole unit was moved
to the earlier page.
- On page 326, same outline, in the Application, point 2 (3), apply
RC to "Divine truth."
- On page 327, in outline "Christian Quietness," in point IV, apply
RC to "upon a Rock," meaning Jesus. In outline "The Vanity," the
second paragraph includes a list which was typeset "Exodus,
Gideon, David, and Goliath;" remove the comma after "David."
- On page 328, in outline "Divine Salvation Rejected," in the
introduction, apply RC to "Divine remonstrance." In point I, apply
RC to "Divine salvation." In point I 2, change "Jesus died" to
"Jesus died and rose again." Many religious figures have died;
only One has risen again.
- On page 329, same outline, in point II 3, apply RC to "Divine
favour."
- On page 330, in outline "Waiting, Divine and Human," in point I 2,
change "P. I." to "P. D."
- On page 333, in outline "Waiting for the Lord," in Crow's point
II 2, change "Ps. lxii. 15" to "Ps. lxii. 1-5."
- On page 334, in outline "God's Readiness," in point I 2, change
"Go to Him" to "go."
- On page 335, same outline, in point II 3, change "Go to Him" to
"go." In outline "The Bread," in Thodey's point II, change "1 Cor.
i. 5" to "2 Cor. i. 5." In his point III, change the first point
"3" to "2."
- The break between pages 335 and 336 is in the word "principles":
prin|ciples.
- On page 336, same outline, Rawlinson's point I, apply RC to "It is
not that He." In point II, change "antidote" and "promised" to
lower case to match point I. In the conclusion, apply RC to "the
Word." In footnote 3 (denoted ɣ originally), apply RC to "The
Word" and insert a comma after "helps."
- On page 337, in outline "The Guiding Voice," apply RC to "God's
Word."
- The break between pages 337 and 338 is in the word
"encouragement": encourage|ment.
- On page 338, same outline, in Horton's point IV, apply RC to "the
Word." In Thodey's point II 4, apply RC to "by Whom."
- The break between pages 339 and 340 is in the word
"disappointments": disappoint|ments.
- On page 340, in outline "The Earthly Song," in the introduction,
capitalise "Passover" (twice). Apply RC to "Divine interposition,"
"Divine response," and "the Divine." In point 1, capitalise
"Passover" (twice).
- On page 341, same outline, in point 2, capitalise "Passover" and
"Paschal Hymn." In point 3, apply RC to "Divine ownership." In
point 4, capitalise "Paschal song" and apply RC to "Divine
resources." In point 5, capitalise "Paschal Hymn." In the
conclusion, apply RC to "Divinely appointed." In outline "Tophet,"
insert a period after "more excellent way."
- On page 343, in outline "The Only Counsellor," in point 2, after
"were no longer" insert "to hold intercourse with it," per Errata.
In the next paragraph, change "wo" to "woe."
- The break between pages 343 and 344 occurs within text which style
indicates should be a unit: "it.--Julius." The whole unit was
moved to the earlier page.
- On page 344, in outline "The Spirituality," remove the quotation
marks from the scripture quotation in the header for consistency.
- On page 346, in outline "A Call," in the introduction, apply RC to
"Divine idea" and "Divine communications." In point I, apply RC to
"Divine holiness" (twice). Change "Then Himself disappears" to
"Then He disappears." In point II, insert "1" before the first
sentence.
- The break between pages 346 and 347 is in the word "feelings":
feel|ings.
- On page 347, same outline, in point II 2, apply RC to "the
Gospel." In outline "The Fiery Ordeal," in point I, apply RC to
"life Divine." In the Conclusion, point (1), capitalize "To."
- On page 348, in outline "The Preciousness," remove the quotation
marks from the scripture quotation in the header for consistency.
In Maclaren's point I 3, apply RC to "Divine wrath."
- On page 349, same outline, in Bertram's (uncredited) point II,
move the semicolon outside the parentheses. In his point III, set
the name of the referenced outline in small caps.
- On page 350, same outline, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
remove a duplicated word "or" from the last sentence.
- On page 351, in outline "The Christian's Refuge," in the
introduction, apply RC to "God's Word."
- On page 352, same outline, in point I, remove the subpoint "1"
because there are no others. In point II 1, remove the quotation
marks from the point. Correct "assuage their thirst" to "assuage
your thirst."
- The break between pages 357 and 358 is in the word "Conscience":
Con|science.
- On page 358, in outline "Christian Liberality," in the conclusion,
apply RC to "done it unto Me" (Matt. xxv. 40).
- On page 359, in outline "A Call," in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ
originally), include the names of target outlines to make the
cross reference useful in the plain text file. In outline "The
Essential Condition," in the second paragraph, apply RC to "as
Divine."
- On page 360, same outline, in point I 1, capitalise "From" and
move the sentence-ending period outside the parentheses. In point
I 4, insert a sentence-ending period after the parentheses. In
point I 7, apply RC to "Divine power." In point II, apply RC to
"Divine agency" (twice).
- On page 361, same outline, in Magie's point I, change the
subpoints from parenthesised Italic lower-case letters to Arabic
numerals for consistency with other outlines.
- On page 362, same outline, in Magie's conclusion, change the
points from parenthesised Italic lower-case letters to Arabic
numerals for consistency with other outlines. Change the credit
from "Magee" to "Magie," per Errata.
- On page 363, same outline, in Rawlinson's point III, apply RC to
"the Word." In footnote 2 (denoted β originally), apply RC to
"Divine influence" and "Divine communication."
- On page 364, in outline "The Moral Wilderness," in the
introduction, apply RC to "Divine judgments." In point I, apply RC
to "Divine beauty." In point II 3, apply RC to "Divine sanction."
- On page 366, same outline, in Rawlinson's introduction, apply RC
to "Divine government."
- On page 368, in outline "Spiritual Husbandry," in the second
introductory paragraph, apply RC to "the Gospel." In point I,
apply RC to "God's Word."
- On page 369, same outline, the text of point II printed poorly at
the right margin.
- On page 371, in outline "The Saint's Attitude," in the
introduction, apply RC to "Divine Governor."
- On page 372, same outline, in point I 1, apply RC to "Divine
disposition" and "His Word." In point I 3, apply RC to "His Word
and Way" and "Divine consolation."
- On page 374, in outline "The Importance," in Watson's point II,
apply RC to "Divine philosophy."
- The break between pages 374 and 375 is in the word "prosperity":
pros|perity.
- On page 382, in outline "The Prospect," in point III, remove the
subpoint "2" because there are no others.
- On page 382, in outline "The Beauty," remove the parentheses from
the subpoints of point I, for consistency with other outlines. In
point I 2, correct "Luke xxxiii. 43" to "Luke xxiii. 43."
- On page 384, in outline "Characteristics," in the introductory
paragraph, add an outline title to make the page reference useful
in the plain text file. In point I, apply RC to "Divine grace." In
footnote 2 (denoted β originally), capitalize "The" and change
"Peaceable" to "Peaceful" to match the referenced outline.
- On page 386, in outline "A Controlling Fact," in point I, correct
"Ps. cxxxi. 1-7" to "Ps. cxxi. 1-7." Apply RC to "His knowledge."
- On page 388, in outline "The Atonement," in point I, apply RC to
"as He was" and "God's Son."
- On page 389, same outline, in point III 4, apply RC to "sacrifice
He has made."
- The break between pages 390 and 391 is in the word "sickness":
sick|ness.
- The break between pages 391 and 392 is in the word "advancing":
ad|vancing.
- The break between pages 393 and 394 is in the word "outward":
out|ward.
- On page 394, in outline "The Controversy," in point III, remove
the Arabic 1 and remove the parentheses from the other subpoints.
- On page 395, in outline "A Call to Study," in point I, correct
"2 Tim. i. 21" to "2 Pet. i. 21."
- On page 396, capitalize "Will" in the outline title "The Book that
Will Endure Testing." In the introduction, apply RC to "its
Divinity."
- On page 397, same outline, in point IV, change "Rom. viii. 19 23"
to "Rom. viii. 19-23."
- On page 398, in outline "The Certainty," in the application
paragraph, insert point 1.
- On page 399, in outline "Transformation," in the introduction,
correct "co-called" to "so-called."
- On page 400, same outline, in point II 5, capitalise "Holy of
Holies." Remove a redundant footnote anchor from the end of Kay's
text.
- On page 401, same outine, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
insert two outline titles to make the cross reference useful in
the plain text file.
- On page 402, in outline "Encouragement," In point II 1, update
"Has not Jesus died?" to "Has not Jesus died and risen again?"
because many religious leaders have died, but only One has risen
again. In point II 3, insert two scripture references after the
quotation of the passages.
- On page 404, in outline "The Healer," insert a paragraph break
after point I. At the end of point I 1, correct "After all the
argument, he fact remains" to "the fact remains."
- On page 406, in outline "The Curse Done Away," in point III 1,
change "Matt. xiii. 58" to "Matt. ix. 2."
- The break between pages 406 and and 407 is in the worth
"Nazareth": Naza|reth.
- On page 407, in outline "Beautiful Visions," remove a redundant
footnote anchor from the end of the text.
- On page 408, same outline, in footnote 1 (denoted ɑ originally),
change "Ps. lxxxiv. 7" to "Ps. lxxxiv. 6" for the reference to the
valley of Baca. Later in the Koran quotation, tag the word _sarab_
as Arabic, twice.
- On page 409, in outline "The Exiles' Return," insert a paragraph
break after point III.
- The break between pages 409 and 410 is in the word "fulness":
ful|ness.
- On page 411, in outline "The Road," in point II, apply RC to
"Divine sympathy."
- On page 413, in outline "The Banishment," in point IV, change
"Nature" to "nature."
- On page 414, capitalise "Their" in outline title "Modern
Rabshakehs, and Their Attempts to Terrify God's People." Add a
question mark to the end of point I.
- The break between pages 414 and 415 is in the word
"ecclesiastical": eccle|siastical.
- On page 416, capitalise "Art" and "Thou" in outline title "In Whom
Art Thou Trusting?"
- On page 417, same outline, in point III 2, insert a period after
"yet we have." Change the second "4" to "5."
- The break between pages 419 and 420 is in the word "wrong-doings":
wrong-|doings.
- On page 420, in outline "A King in Trouble," in point II, apply RC
to "Omnipotence."
- The break between pages 421 and 422 is in the word
"dwelling-place": dwelling-|place.
- On page 423, in outline "A Christian Prayer," in the introduction,
apply RC to "exclusive Divinity."
- On page 424, same outline, in point III, change "from His hand" to
"his," because the prayer is for God to intervene against another
person.
- The break between pages 427 and 428 is in the word "instance":
in|stance.
- On page 429, in outline "Duties," in the introduction, change
"whenever He knocks" to "he," referring to death.
- On page 433, in outline "The Shortening," at the end of the
Application paragraph, change "xiii. 15, or i. 21" to "Job
xiii. 15, or Job i. 21" for specificity.
- On page 434, the title of outline "The Suretyship of Christ" was
set with extra space between the letters.
- On page 435, in outline "Hezekiah's Resolution," in point 1, apply
RC to "Source and Giver of life."
- On page 436, same outline, in point 4, add parentheses to
subpoints 2 and 3.
- The break between pages 441 and 442 is in the word
"forgetfulness": forgetful|ness.
- On page 445, in outline "Hezekiah Tried," in point II, correct
"2 Kings xx. 45" to "2 Kings xx. 4-5." In point III, change "He
says nothing" to "he," referring to Hezekiah.
- On page 450, in outline "The Cessation of War," in point III 1,
apply RC to "Divine power."
- On page 456, in outline "The Inexcusability," in the third
paragraph, move a closing quotation mark from after "done" to
after "Nature" and another from after "done" to after "conviction."
- On page 461, in outline "The Service," change "taskwork" to
"task-work."
- On page 462, same outline, in footnote 2 (denoted β originally),
change "1#42" to "1842."
- On page 463, in outline "The Moral History," in point III, apply
RC to "Divinely-appointed."
- On page 464, in outline "Sanctuary in God," in point I, change
"Pagan" to "pagan." Apply RC to "Divinity." In point II, correct
"lxiii. 9" to "liii. 9." In point III, apply RC to "Water."
- On page 465, the title of outline "Wise Lessons from Wicked Lips"
is set with extra space between the letters.
- On page 468, in outline "The Diffusion," in point II, remove the
parentheses from the subpoint numbers, for consistency with other
outlines.
- On page 469, same outline, in the Conclusion, change "Ps.
xxiii. 27" to "Ps. xxiii. 2."
- On page 470, in outline "The Proud City Doomed," change "Man-God"
to "man-god." Apply RC to "Divinity."
- On page 475, in outline "The Blessings," in point II, add an
outline title to make the page cross reference useful in the plain
text file.
- On page 476, same outline, in point 3 of the paragraph after point
III, apply RC to "Divinity."
- On page 478, in outline "Peaceful Keeping," in Guinness' point
III, change the question mark after "heart of God" to a period. In
Corbin's introduction, apply RC to "Divine."
- On page 479, same outline, in point I, change "Nature" to
"nature." In outline "The Song," In point I 2, remove the subpoint
"(1.)" because there are no others.
- The break between pages 479 and 480 is in the word "constitute":
con|stitute.
- On page 480, same outline, correct "2 Cor. vi. 7" to "2 Cor.
vi. 17." In the credit, remove the Italic formatting from "pp."
and change "Port Madoc" to "Portmadoc."
- On page 481, in outline "The Storms of Life," in point III, add an
outline title to make the page cross reference useful in the plain
text file.
- The break between pages 481 and 482 is in the word "threatening":
threaten|ing.
- On page 482, same outline, change the name of the town from "Port
Madoc" to "Portmadoc."
- On page 485, in outline "Rejecters," add parentheses to point
I 2 (2).
- On page 486, same outline, apply RC to "Divinely sublime." Change
"Jesu's" to "Jesus'." Add parentheses to points I 2 (3)-(5).
- The break between pages 487 and 488 is in the word "become":
be|come.
- On page 488, in outline "False Refuges," add a period to the end
of the scripture quotation. Change "Ps. l. 22" to "Ps. l. 22-23."
- On page 490, in outline "Some Aspects," in point II 1, apply RC to
"Will of God." In outline "Growing Light," apply RC to "the
Source."
- The break between pages 491 and 492 is in the word "promise":
pro|mise.
- On page 492, same outline, capitalise "51st Psalm." Remove right
parenthesis from credit.
- On page 493, in outline "Nobility and Security," in point II,
correct the quoted text "munitions of rock" to "rocks."
- The break between pages 493 and 494 is in the word "elevated":
ele|vated.
- On page 494, same outline, correct "you are a mem ber" to "member."
- On page 495, in outline "Spreading the Letter," in point III,
change "story" to "account."
- Regarding the Appendix, in the original, the two translations are
presented as two columns on each page. To maintain this
presentation would require more effort than is currently
available. Consequently, the two translations are presented
consecutively. The page numbers indicate the page and column. Two
additional translations of chapter lii. 13 through chapter liii.
appear on appendix pages 67 and 69. These passages follow the
other two translations.
- There may have been confusion in typesetting with regard to
footnotes. Anchors for the notes on chapters v. and vi. are
inserted into both translations; anchors for subsequent notes
appear in the Delitzsch translation only. Consequently, the notes
were transcribed only in the Delitzsch translation. The original
footnotes use symbols, and reset to asterisk with each new page;
the transcribed footnotes appear at chapter breaks and reset to 1
with each chapter.
- Verse numbers that appear in the middle of a sentence were often
followed by a comma. The transcription follows each one with a
period.
- On page A1L, ch. i. 2, apply RC to "against Me." Verse 3, apply
RC, "My people."
- On page A2L, ch. i. 11, apply RC, "sacrifices to Me." Verse 12,
apply RC, "before Me" and "My courts." Verse 13, apply RC, "to
Me." Verse 14, apply RC, "My soul hateth," "to Me." Verse 15,
apply RC, "Mine eyes." Verse 16, apply RC, "Mine eyes."
- On page A3L, ch. i. 24, apply RC, "comfort Myself of My
adversaries," "avenge Myself of Mine enemies." Verse 25, apply RC,
"turn My hand."
- On page A5L, ch. iii. 15, apply RC, "My people."
- On page A9, the page number was corrected or inserted manually by
the typesetter.
- On page A9L, insert missing number for ch. vii. 6.
- On page A10L, insert missing chapter number "VIII."
- On page A12L, ch. x. 5, apply RC, "My anger" and "My indignation."
Verse 6, apply RC, "My wrath." Verse 12, apply RC, "all His work."
- On page A13L, ch. x. 34, apply RC, "a Mighty One."
- On page A15L, ch. xiii. 3, apply RC, "Myself" and "My" (four
times). Verse 5, apply RC, "His wrath."
- Verse number 15 for chapter xiii. was moved ahead to page A16L,
with the text.
- On page A17L, ch. xiv. 22, apply RC, "Myself." Verse 25, apply RC,
"My" (twice).
- The break between pages A19L and A20L is in the word "rebukes":
re|bukes.
- On page A20L, ch. xviii. 4, apply RC, "My dwelling-place."
- On page A21L, ch. xix. 25, apply RC, "My" (thrice).
- On page A25L, ch. xxiii. 13, change "He has rendered it a ruin" to
"he."
- The break between pages A27L and A28L is in the word "desired":
de|sired.
- On page A28L, ch. xxvi. 15, apply RC, "Thou hast glorified." Ch.
xxvii. 4, apply RC, "My people."
- On page A29L, ch. xxvii. 4, apply RC, "My people" and "Me." Verse
5, apply RC, "My" and "Me" (twice).
- On page A30L, ch. xxviii. 6, change "to Him that sitteth" to
"him." Verse 9, apply RC, "He" (twice). Verse 11, apply RC, "He."
- On page A31L, ch. xxix. 2, apply RC, "Me." Verse 13, apply RC,
"Me" (thrice).
- On page A32L, ch. xxix. 23, apply RC, "My" (twice). Ch. xxx. 1,
apply RC to "Me" and "My." In ch. xxx. 2, apply RC"My."
- On page A33L, ch. xxx. 22, change "And he shall defile" to "ye."
- On page A34L, move the dash to between chapter number xxxi. and
verse number 1.
- The break between pages A34L and A35L is between verse 7 and the
first word of the verse. The verse number was moved to the
subsequent page.
- On page A36L, ch. xxxiii. 10, apply RC to "Myself." Insert verse
number 16.
- On page A37L, ch. xxxiv. 5, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A38L, ch. xxxiv. 11, apply RC to "One." Verse 16, apply RC
to "My." In ch. xxxv., two verses are numbered 6; number the second
one 7.
- On page A42L, ch. xxxvii. 28, apply RC to "Me." Verse 29, apply RC
to "Me" and "My" (thrice). Verse 35, apply RC to "My" (twice). In
ch. xxxviii. 3, apply RC to "Thee" and "Thine."
- On page A44L, in the introduction to ch. xl., apply RC to "Divine."
- On page A45L, ch. xl. 20, change "he" to lower case twice,
referring to a man.
- On page A46L, ch. xl. 25, apply RC to "Me." Ch. xli. 1, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 2, apply RC to "Him" (thrice) and "His" (twice).
Verse 3, apply RC to "He" (twice) and "His." Verse 4, apply RC to
"First" and "Last."
- On page A47L, ch. xli. 8, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 10,
apply RC to "My." Verse 25, apply RC to "My."
- On page A48L, ch. xlii. 1, apply RC to "My" (four times). Verse 8,
apply RC to "My" (thrice).
- On page A49L, ch. xlii. 19, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A50L, ch. xliii. 1, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 4, apply RC
to "My." Verse 5, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 7, apply RC to
"My" (twice). Verse 9, apply RC to "My." Verse 10, apply RC to
"My" (twice), "Me" (thrice), and "He." Verse 11, apply RC to "Me."
Verse 12, apply RC to "My." Verse 13, apply RC to "My."
- On page A51L, in ch. xliii. 20, apply RC to "Me" and "My" (twice).
Verse 21, apply RC to "Myself" and "My." Verse 22, apply RC to
"Me" (twice). Verse 23, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 24, apply
RC to "Me" (four times). Verse 25, apply RC to "He" and "Mine."
Verse 26, apply RC to "Me." Verse 27, apply RC to "Me."
- On page A52L, ch. xliv. 1, apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to
"My." Verse 3, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to
"Me." Verse 7, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 8, apply RC to "My"
and "Me."
- On page A53L, ch. xliv. 21, apply RC to "My" and "Me" (twice).
Verse 22, apply RC to "Me." Verse 24, apply RC to "Former" and
"Myself."
- On page A54L, ch. xliv. 28, apply RC to "My." In the introduction
to chap xlv., apply RC to "Divine." Verse 4, apply RC to "My"
(twice) and "Me." Verse 5, apply RC to "Me" twice. Verse 6, apply
RC to "Me." Verse 11, apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My" (twice).
Verse 12, apply RC to "My." Verse 13, apply RC to "My" twice.
- On page A55L, ch. xlv. 15, apply RC to "Thou" and "Thyself." Verse
18, apply RC to "Creator," "Former," and "Maker." Verse 19, apply
RC to "Me." Verse 21, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 22, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 23, apply RC to "Myself" and "Me." In the
introduction to ch. xlvi., apply RC to "Divinity."
- The break between pages A55L and A56L is in the word "control":
con|trol.
- On page A56L, ch. xlvi. 3, apply RC to "Me." Verse 5, apply RC to
"Me" (twice). Verse 9, apply RC to "Me." Verse 10, apply RC to
"My." Verse 12, apply RC to "Me." Verse 13, apply RC to "My" (four
times).
- On page A57L, ch. xlvii., insert verse number 6. Verse 6, apply RC
to "My" (thrice).
- On page A58L, ch. xlviii. 3, apply RC to "My."
- On page A59L, ch. xlviii. 9, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse 11,
apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse 12, apply RC to "Me" and "My."
Verse 13, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 18, apply RC to "My."
Verse 19, apply RC to "Me." Verse 21, apply RC to "He."
- On page A60L, ch. xlix. 1, apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My"
(twice). Verse 2, apply RC to "My" and "Me" (twice). Verse 3,
apply RC to "My" and "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to "My" (four times).
Verse 5, apply RC to "Me" and "My" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to
"Thou," "My" (twice), and "Thee." Verse 7, apply RC to "Thee."
Verse 8, apply RC to "Thee" (four times).
- On page A61L, ch. xlix. 11, apply RC to "My." Verse 16, apply RC
to "My" and "Me." Verse 22, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 26,
apply RC to "Mighty."
- On page A62L, ch. l. 1, apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to
"My" (twice) and "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 5,
apply RC to "Me." Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 7,
apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 8, apply RC to "My" (twice) and
"Me" (twice). Verse 9, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 11, apply
RC to "My."
- On page A63L, ch. li. 1, apply RC to "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to
"Me" (thrice) and "My" (thrice). Verse 5, apply RC to "My" (four
times) and "Me." Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 7, apply
RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 8, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 9,
apply RC to "Thou." Verse 10, apply RC to "Thou." Verse 12, apply
RC to "He."
- On page A64L, ch. li. 16, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse 22,
apply RC to "My."
- On page A65L, ch. lii. 4, apply RC to "My." Verse 5, apply RC to
"My" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Me."
- On page A68L, in the introduction to ch. liv., apply RC to
"Divine."
- On page A69L, ch. liv. 8, apply RC to "My." Verse 9, apply RC to
"Me." Verse 10, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A70L, ch. liv. 15, apply RC to "My." Verse 17, apply RC to
"Me." In the introduction to ch. lv., apply RC to "Divine."
- On page A71L, ch. lv. 4, change "him" to lower case, referring to
David. In verse 8, apply RC to "My" (twice). In verse 9, apply RC
to "My" (twice). In verse 11, apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Me."
In ch. lvi. 1, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A72L, ch. lvi. 4, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 5, apply
RC to "My" (twice). Verse 7, apply RC to "My" (four times).
- On page A73L, ch. lvii. 11, apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My."
Verse 12, insert right parenthesis after "avail." Verse 13, apply
RC to "Me" and "My."
- On page A74L, ch. lvii. 16, apply RC to "Me." Verse 17, apply RC
to "Me." In ch. lviii. 1, apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to
"Me" (twice) and "My."
- On page A75L, ch. lviii. 9, apply RC to "Me." Verse 13, apply RC
to "My." In the introduction to chapter lix., change "in justice"
to "injustice" and apply RC to "Divine" and "Redeemer."
- On page A77L, ch. lix. 21, apply RC to "My" (twice). In the
introduction to ch. lx., insert a dash immediately after the
chapter number and apply RC to "Divine."
- On page A78L, ch. lx. 7, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 9, apply
RC to "Me." Verse 10, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 13, apply RC
to "My" (twice).
- On page A79L, ch. lx. 21, apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Myself."
- On page A80L, in the introduction to ch. lxii., apply RC to
"Deliverer" and move the final period inside the square brackets.
- The break between pages A80L and A81L is in the word "Jehovah":
Jeho|vah.
- On page A81L, ch. lxii. 9, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 12,
make the translation of the second city name lower case. In the
introduction to ch. lxiii., move the final period inside the
square brackets. In the introduction to ch. lxiv., apply RC to
"Divine" and move the final period inside the square brackets. Ch.
lxiii. 1, apply RC to "His" (thrice). Verse 2, apply RC to "Thy"
(twice). Verse 3, apply RC to "Myself."
- On page A82L, ch. lxiii. 3, apply RC to "Me" and "My" (four
times). Verse 4, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 5, apply RC to
"My" (twice) and "Me" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "My" twice.
Verse 8, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 16, apply RC to "Thou."
- On page A83L, the versification for the last verse of Isaiah
lxiii. and most of lxiv. followed the Hebrew and not the English.
The start of chapter lxiv. was moved and a dash inserted after the
chapter number. Verses 1-10 were renumbered 2-11. Verse 9, apply
RC to "Thy." In the introduction to ch. lxv., change "this s
connected" to "is."
- On page A84L, in the introduction to ch. lxv., change "vers. 8,
10" to "vers. 8-10." Verse 1, apply RC to "Me" (thrice). Verse 2,
apply RC to "My." Verse 3, apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 5,
apply RC to "My" Verses 6 and 7, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse
8, apply RC to "My" Verse 9, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse 10,
apply RC to "My" and "Me." Verse 11, apply RC to "My"
- On page A85L, ch. xlv. 13 and 14, apply RC to "My" (four times).
Verse 15, apply RC to "My." Verse 16, apply RC to "My." Verse 19,
apply RC to "My." Verses 21 and 22, apply RC to "My" (twice).
Verse 25, apply RC to "My."
- On page A86L, in the introduction to ch. lxvi., apply RC to
"Divinely." Change "7, 9" to "7-9" and "15, 17" to "15-17." Verse
1, apply RC to "My" (five times) and "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to
"My." Verse 5, apply RC to "My."
- On page A87L, ch. xlvi. 18, apply RC to "My." Verse 19, apply RC
to "My" (twice). Verse 20, apply RC to "My."
- The break between pages A87L and A88L is between verse number 22
and the text of the verse. Move the verse number to the following
page.
- On page A88L, ch. xlvi. 22, apply RC to "Me." Verse 23, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 24, apply RC to "Me."
- On page A1R, Italic heading of Part I, capitalise "Concerning,"
"Ways," "Ungrateful," "Rebellious," and "Nation." Ch. i. 2, apply
RC to "Me."
- On page A2R, ch. i. 11, apply RC to "Me." Verse 12, apply RC to
"My" (twice). Verse 13, apply RC to "Me" Verse 14, apply RC to
"My" and "Me." Verse 15, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 16, apply RC to
"My."
- On page A3R, ch. i. 24, apply RC to "Myself" (twice) and "Mine"
(twice). Verse 25, apply RC to "My." In the heading before ch.
ii., change "glory of the true" to "glory to the true."
- On page A5R, ch. iii. 15, apply RC to "My." Ch. v. 1, apply RC to
"His."
- On page A6R, ch. iii. 3, apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 4, apply
RC to "My." Verse 5, apply RC to "My." Verse 13, apply RC to "My."
Ch. v., footnote 1, insert right double quote after question mark
at the end of the note. Ch. v., footnote 2, in verse 13, apply RC
to "My."
- On page A8R, Italic heading of Part II, capitalise "Sign" and
"Wondrous."
- On page A10R, ch. viii., insert verse number 2. Italic heading
before viii. 5, capitalise "Coming" and "Darkness."
- On page A11R, ch. viii. 21, change "befals" to "befalls." Italic
heading before ix. 8, capitalise "Outstretched" and "Hand."
- On page A12R, Italic heading before x. 5, capitalise "Imperial,"
"Kingdom" (twice), "World," and "Rise." Verse 5, apply RC to
"Mine" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "My."
- On page A13R, ch. x. 17, change "His Holy One" to "his." Verse 22,
apply RC to "Mighty."
- On page A15R, ch. xii. 1, 2, capitalise first word of poetry
lines: "For" and "And." Verses 4-6, capitalise first word of
poetry lines: "Make," "Boast," "Let," and "For." Italic heading of
Part III, capitalize "Heirs." Ch. iii. 1, apply RC to "My" (four
times).
- On page A16R, ch. xiv. 2, change "let them away" to "led them
away."
- On page A17R, ch. xiv. 14, insert a period after "Most High."
Verse 17, insert right double quote at the end of the verse. Verse
25, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 28, capitalise "King."
- On page A18R, ch. xv., insert verse number 4.
- On page A20R, ch. xviii. 4, apply RC to "My."
- On page A21R, ch. xix. 25, apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Mine."
- On page A24R, in Italic heading before ch. xxiii., capitalise
"Relating."
- The break between pages A24R and A25R is in the word "determined":
deter|mined.
- The break between pages A25R and A26R is in the word
"merry-hearted": merry-|hearted.
- On page A27R, in Italic heading before ch. xxvi., capitalise
"Brought" and "Back."
- On page A28R, ch. xxvi. 19, apply RC to "Thy." Ch. xxvii. 4, apply
RC to "Me."
- On page A29R, ch. xxvii. 5, apply RC to "My" and "Me" (twice).
- On page A30R, ch. xxviii. 9, apply RC to "He." Verse 11, apply RC
to "He."
- On page A31R, ch. xxix. 2, apply RC to "Me." Verse 13, apply RC to
"Me" (four times).
- Move the verse number for ch. xxix. 14 to page A32R, with the text
of the verse.
- On page A32R, ch. xxix. 23, apply RC to "My hands." Ch. xxx. 1,
apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 2, apply RC to "My."
- On page A35R, ch. xxxii. 14, change "ofel" to "ophel."
- On page A36R, in Italic heading before ch. xxxiii., capitalise
"Concerning." Verse 10, apply RC to "Myself" (twice).
- On page A37R, ch. xxxiii. 17, apply RC to "King" and "His." Insert
verse number 19. Ch. xxxiv. 5, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A38R, ch. xxxiv. 16, apply RC to "My." Ch. xxxv. 4, apply
RC to "Divine."
- On page A39R, in Italic heading before ch. xxxvi., capitalise
"Attempt," "Compel," and "Surrender."
- On page A40R, in Italic heading before ch. xxxvii. 8, capitalise
"Attempt," "Force," "Surrender," "Miraculous," and "Deliverance."
- The break between paes A40R and A41R is in the word "withdrawn":
with|drawn.
- On page A42R, ch. xxxvii. 28, apply RC to "Me." Verse 29, apply RC
to "Me," "Mine," and "My" (twice). Verse 35, apply RC to "Mine"
and "My." In the Italic heading before ch. xxxviii., capitalise
"Illness," "Assures," "Him," "His," and "Recovery."
- On page A43R, change "10, 11" to "10, 11, 12."
- On page A44R, in Italic heading before ch. xxxix., capitalise
"Captivity" and "Occasioned."
- On page A45R, ch. xl. 12, apply RC to "His."
- On page A46R, ch. xl. 25, apply RC to "Me." Ch. xli. 1, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 2, apply RC to "His" (thrice) and "Him." Verse 3,
apply RC to "He" and "His."
- On page A47R, ch. xli. 8, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 9, apply
RC to "My." Verse 10, apply RC to "My."
- On page A48R, ch. xlii. 1, apply RC to "My" (thrice) and "Mine."
Verse 5, apply RC to "Who" (thrice). Verse 6, apply RC to "Thee"
(thrice) and "Thy." Verse 8, apply RC to "My" (thrice).
- On page A49R, ch. xlii. 17, change "god" to lower case. Verse 19,
apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A50R, ch. xliii. 1, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 6, apply RC
to "My" (twice). Verse 7, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 10,
apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Me" (thrice). Verse 12, apply RC to
"My." Verse 13, apply RC to "My."
- The break between pages A50R and A51R is in the word "fugitives":
fugi|tives.
- On page A51R, ch xliii. 20, apply RC to "Me" and "My" (twice).
Verse 21, apply RC to "Myself" and "Me." Verse 22, apply RC to
"Me" (twice). Verse 23, apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My." Verse
24, apply RC to "Me" (thrice). Verse 25, apply RC to "My." Verse
26, apply RC to "My" and "Me." Verse 27, apply RC to "Me." Insert
verse number 28.
- On page A52R, ch. xliv. 1, apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to
"My." Verse 3, apply RC to "My" (twice). In Italic heading before
ch. xliv. 6, capitalise "Gods," "Nations," "Who," "People," and
"Rejoice." Verse 6, apply RC to "Me" and "God." Verse 7, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 8, apply RC to "My," "Me," and "Rock."
- On page A53R, ch. xliv. 21, apply RC to "My" and "Me" (twice).
Verse 22, apply RC to "Me." In Italic heading before ch. xliv. 24,
capitalise "Anointed" and "Deliverer."
- On page A54R, ch. xlv. 4, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 5, apply
RC to "Me" (thrice). Verse 6, apply RC to "Me." Verse 7, apply RC
to "Former," "Creator" (twice), "Founder," and "Who." Verse 11,
apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My" (twice).
- On page A55R, ch. xlv. 13, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 18,
apply RC to "Creator," "Former," and "Finisher." Verse 21, apply
RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 22, apply RC to "Me." Verse 23, apply RC
to "Myself," "My," and "Me."
- On page A56R, ch. xlvi. 3, apply RC to "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to
"My" (twice). Verse 5, apply RC to "Me." Verse 10, apply RC to
"My." Verse 11, apply RC to "My." Verse 12, apply RC to "Me."
Verse 13, apply RC to "My" (thrice).
- On page A57R, ch. xlvii., insert verse number 3. Verse 6, apply RC
to "My."
- On page A58R, heading before ch. xlviii., insert period after
"prophecy." Verse 3, apply RC to "My."
- On page A59R, ch. xlvii. 9, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse 11,
apply RC to "Mine" (twice) and "My." Verse 14, change "bear" to
"hear." Verse 16, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 18, apply RC to
"My." Verse 19, apply RC to "My." Verse 20, apply RC to "His."
- On page A60R, Italic heading before ch. xlix., capitalise
"Reproved." Verse 1, apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My" (twice).
Verse 2, apply RC to "My" and "Me" (thrice). Verse 3, apply RC to
"Me," "My," "Thou," "Whom," and "Myself." Verse 4, apply RC to
"Myself" and "My" (four times). Verse 5, apply RC to "Me" and "My"
(twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "Thou," "My" (twice), and "Thee."
Verse 7, apply RC to "Thee." Verse 8, apply RC to "Thee" (four
times). Verse 11, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A61R, ch. xlix. 16, apply RC to "My" and "Me." Verse 22,
apply RC to "My" (twice). In footnote 7 (originally ‡),
apply RC to "Myself."
- On page A62R, ch. l. 1, apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to
"My" (twice) and "Me." Verse 4, apply RC to "Me" and "Mine." Verse
5, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Verse
7, apply RC to "Me," "Myself," and "My." Verse 8, apply RC to "Me"
(thrice). Verse 9, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 11, apply RC to
"My."
- On page A63R, Italic heading before ch. li., capitalise
"Bursting," "Forth," "Turning," and "Away." Verse 4, apply RC to
"Me" (thrice) and "My" (thrice). Verse 5, apply RC to "My"
(twice), "Me," and "Mine." Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (twice).
Verse 7, apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 8, apply RC to "My"
(twice). Verse 9, apply RC to "Thou." Verse 10, apply RC to "Thou."
- On page A64R, ch. li. 16, apply RC to "My" (thrice). Insert the
anchor for footnote 4 (originally †) at the end of verse 19. Verse
22, apply RC to "My."
- On page A65R, Italic heading before ch. lii., capitalise
"Exchanges." Ch. lii. 5, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 6, apply
RC to "My" (twice). Footnote 2, change "How omely" to "How comely."
- On page A66R, Italic heading before ch. lii. 13, capitalise
"Exaltation," "Deep," and "Degradation." Verse 13, apply RC to
"My."
- On page A68R, ch. liii. 11, apply RC to "My Righteous Servant."
Italic heading before ch. liv., capitalise "Glory."
- The break between pages A68R and A69R is in the word "Creator":
Crea|tor.
- The break between pages A69R and A70R is in the word "comforted":
com|forted.
- On page A70R, ch. liv. 15, apply RC to "My." Verse 17, apply RC to
"Me." Italic heading before ch. lv., capitalise "Take" and "Sure."
Verse 2, apply RC to "Me."
- On page A71R, ch. lv. 3, apply RC to "Me." Verse 8, apply RC to
"My" (twice). Verse 9, apply RC to "My" (twice). Insert verse
number 11. Verse 11, apply RC to "My" (twice) and "Me." Ch.
lvi. 1, apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A72R, ch. lvi. 4, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 5, apply
RC to "My" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "My." Verse 7, apply RC
to "My" (thrice) and "Mine."
- On page A73R, ch. lvii. 11, apply RC to "Me" (twice). Verse 13,
apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 14, apply RC to "My."
- On page A74R, ch. lvii. 17, apply RC to "Myself." Ch. lviii. 1,
apply RC to "My." Verse 2, apply RC to "Me" and "My."
- On page A75R, Italic heading before ch. lix., capitalise "Broken,"
"Down," and "Last."
- Move the verse number for ch. lix. 2 from page A75R to A76R to
join the text of the verse.
- On page A76R, ch. lix. 16, apply RC to "Him." Footnote 1, apply RC
to "on Me."
- On page A77R, ch. lix. 21, apply RC to "My covenant" and "My word."
- The break between pages A77R and A78R is in the word "becomes":
be|comes.
- On page A78R, ch. lx. 7, apply RC to "Mine" and "My." Verse 9,
apply RC to "Me." Verse 10, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 13,
apply RC to "My" (twice).
- On page A79R, ch. lx. 21, apply RC to "My" (twice). Italic heading
before ch. lxi., capitalise "Committed."
- On page A81R, ch. lxii. 9, apply RC to "My." Italic heading before
ch. lxiii., capitalise "Whole," "World," "That," and "Hostile."
Verse 1, apply RC to "His" (twice) and "He." Verse 2, apply RC to
"Thine" and "Thy." Ch. lxiii. footnote 1, apply RC to "His"
(thrice) and insert period after "Cheyne."
- On page A82R, ch. lxiii. 3, apply RC to "Me" and "My" (four
times). Verse 4, apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 5, apply RC to
"Mine," "Me," and "My" (twice). Verse 6, apply RC to "My" (twice).
Ch. lxiii. 15, apply RC to "Thy" (four times).
- On page A83R, insert dash after chapter number lxiv. Verse 4,
apply RC to "Thee."
- On page A84R, ch. lxiv. 12, apply RC to "Thyself." Ch. xlv. 1,
apply RC to "Me" and "My." Verse 2, apply RC to "My." Verse 3,
apply RC to "Me" (twice) and "My." Verse 5, apply RC to "Me" and
"My." Verse 6, apply RC to "Me." Verse 7, apply RC to "Me." Verse
8, apply RC to "My." Verse 9, apply RC to "My" (four times) and
"Me." Verse 11, apply RC to "My." Ch. lxv. footnote 1, apply RC to
"Me" (four times).
- The break between pages A84R and A85R is in the word "mountain":
moun|tain.
- On page A85R, ch. lxv. 12, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 13, apply RC
to "My" (thrice). Verse 14, apply RC to "My." Verse 15, apply RC
to "My." Verse 16, change "himself in the" to "himself in them"
and apply RC to "Mine." Verse 19, apply RC to "My." Verse 22,
apply RC to "My" (twice). Verse 25, apply RC to "My." Ch. lxv.
footnote 4, change "sha## die" to "shall die."
- On page A86R, ch. lxvi. 1, apply RC to "My" (thrice) and "Me."
Verse 2, apply RC to "My." Verse 4, apply RC to "Mine." Verse 5,
apply RC to "My." Ch. lxvi. footnote 1, apply RC to "My." Footnote
2, insert a comma between "Arnold" and "Strachey."
- On page A87R, ch. lxvi. 18, apply RC to "My." Verse 19, apply RC
to "My" (thrice). Verse 20, apply RC to "My." Ch. lxvi. footnote
3, apply RC to "My."
- On page A88R, ch. lxvi. 22, apply RC to "Me." Verse 23, apply RC
to "Me." Verse 24, apply RC to "Me."
- On page A67L, in the footnote for the Calkins translation, insert a
period into "D.D."
- On page A67R, in the Urwick translation, ch. lii. 12, apply RC to
"My Servant."
- On page A69R, in the Urwick translation, ch. liii.%11, apply RC to
"My Righteous Servant."
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 15 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book - of the Prophet Isaiah, Volume I" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.