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.