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Isaiah Chapter
Fifty-one
Isaiah 51
Chapter Contents
Exhortations to trust the Messiah. (1-3) The power of
God
and the weakness of man. (4-8) Christ defends his people. (9-16) Their
afflictions and deliverances. (17-23)
Commentary on Isaiah 51:1-3
(Read Isaiah 51:1-3)
It is good for those privileged by the new birth
to
consider that they were shapen in sin. This should cause low thoughts of
ourselves
and high thoughts of Divine grace. It is the greatest comfort to be
made serviceable to the glory of God. The more holiness men have
and the more
good they do
the more gladness they have. Let us seriously reflect upon our
guilt. To do so will tend to keep the heart humble
and the conscience awake
and tender. They make Christ more precious to the soul
and give strength to
our attempts and prayers for others.
Commentary on Isaiah 51:4-8
(Read Isaiah 51:4-8)
The gospel of Christ shall be preached and published. How
shall we escape if we neglect it? There is no salvation without righteousness.
The soul shall
as to this world
vanish like smoke
and the body be thrown by
like a worn-out garment. But those whose happiness is in Christ's righteousness
and salvation
will have the comfort of it when time and days shall be no more.
Clouds darken the sun
but do not stop its course. The believer will enjoy his
portion
while revilers of Christ are in darkness
Commentary on Isaiah 51:9-16
(Read Isaiah 51:9-16)
The people whom Christ has redeemed with his blood
as
well as by his power
will obtain joyful deliverance from every enemy. He that
designs such joy for us at last
will he not work such deliverance in the mean
time
as our cases require? In this world of changes
it is a short step from
joy to sorrow
but in that world
sorrow shall never come in view. They prayed
for the display of God's power; he answers them with consolations of his grace.
Did we dread to sin against God
we should not fear the frowns of men. Happy is
the man that fears God always. And Christ's church shall enjoy security by the
power and providence of the Almighty.
Commentary on Isaiah 51:17-23
(Read Isaiah 51:17-23)
God calls upon his people to mind the things that belong
to their everlasting peace. Jerusalem had provoked God
and was made to taste
the bitter fruits. Those who should have been her comforters
were their own
tormentors. They have no patience by which to keep possesion of their own
souls
nor any confidence in God's promise
by which to keep possession of its
comfort. Thou art drunken
not as formerly
with the intoxicating cup of
Babylon's idolatries
but with the cup of affliction. Know
then
the cause of
God's people may for a time seem as lost
but God will protect it
by
convincing the conscience
or confounding the projects
of those that strive
against it. The oppressors required souls to be subjected to them
that every
man should believe and worship as they would have them. But all they could gain
by violence was
that people were brought to outward hypocritical conformity
for consciences cannot be forced.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Isaiah》
Isaiah 51
Verse 1
[1]
Hearken to me
ye that follow after righteousness
ye that seek the LORD: look
unto the rock whence ye are hewn
and to the hole of the pit whence ye are
digged.
Look —
Consider the state of Abraham and Sarah
from whom all of you sprang.
Verse 2
[2] Look unto Abraham your father
and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called
him alone
and blessed him
and increased him.
Him alone — To
follow me to an unknown land: him only of all his kindred.
Increased —
Into a vast multitude
when his condition was desperate in the eye of reason.
And therefore God can as easily raise his church when they are in the most
forlorn condition.
Verse 3
[3] For
the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will
make her wilderness like Eden
and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy
and gladness shall be found therein
thanksgiving
and the voice of melody.
Therefore —
For the sake of Abraham
and of that covenant which I made with him.
Garden —
Flourishing as the garden of Eden.
Verse 4
[4]
Hearken unto me
my people; and give ear unto me
O my nation: for a law shall
proceed from me
and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
My people — Ye
Jews
whom I chose to be my peculiar people.
A law — A
new law
even the doctrine of the gospel.
Judgment —
Judgment is here the same thing with law
the word of God
or the evangelical
doctrine
of which he saith that he will make it to rest
that is settle and
establish it.
The people —
People of all nations.
Verse 5
[5] My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth
and mine arms shall
judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me
and on mine arm shall they
trust.
My righteousness — My
salvation
the redemption of all my people
Jews and Gentiles
which is the
effect of his righteousness
his justice
faithfulness
or mercy.
Is gone —
Shall shortly go forth.
Judge —
Shall subdue the Gentiles to my authority
and rule them by my word and spirit.
Isles —
The remote countries shall expect this salvation from me
and from me only.
Verse 6
[6] Lift
up your eyes to the heavens
and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens
shall vanish away like smoke
and the earth shall wax old like a garment
and
they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for
ever
and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
The heavens —
The heavens and earth shall pass away
in regard of their present state
and
properties
and use
as smoak is said to vanish
tho' the substance of it be
not destroyed.
Verse 7
[7]
Hearken unto me
ye that know righteousness
the people in whose heart is my
law; fear ye not the reproach of men
neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
Know —
That love and practise it.
Verse 8
[8] For
the moth shall eat them up like a garment
and the worm shall eat them like
wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever
and my salvation from generation
to generation.
Like wool —
Like a woollen garment
which is sooner corrupted by moths or such creatures
than linen.
Verse 9
[9]
Awake
awake
put on strength
O arm of the LORD; awake
as in the ancient
days
in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab
and
wounded the dragon?
Put on —
Put forth thy strength.
Rahab —
Egypt
from its pride or strength.
The dragon —
Pharaoh so called
Psalms 74:13.
Verse 11
[11]
Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return
and come with singing unto
Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness
and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Therefore —
This verse contains an answer to the prophet's prayer. I did these great
things
and I will do the like again.
Joy —
Like a crown of glory.
Verse 13
[13] And
forgettest the LORD thy maker
that hath stretched forth the heavens
and laid
the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of
the fury of the oppressor
as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the
fury of the oppressor?
Where is the fury — Is
it not all gone? He speaks of the thing as if it were already done
because it
should certainly and suddenly be done.
Verse 16
[16] And
I have put my words in thy mouth
and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine
hand
that I may plant the heavens
and lay the foundations of the earth
and
say unto Zion
Thou art my people.
I have —
These words are spoken by God to his church and people
to whom he speaks both
in the foregoing and following verses. For God's word is frequently said to be
put into the mouths
not only of the prophets
but of the people also.
Covered —
Have protected thee by my almighty power
that I may bring thee to that perfect
and blessed estate which is reserved for the days of the Messiah
which in
scripture phrase is called a making of new heavens
and a new earth
chap. 65:17.
Verse 17
[17]
Awake
awake
stand up
O Jerusalem
which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD
the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling
and
wrung them out.
Awake —
Heb. Rouse up thyself: come out of that forlorn condition in which thou hast so
long been.
Stand up —
Upon thy feet
O thou who hast been thrown to the ground.
Drunk —
Who hast been sorely afflicted.
The cup —
Which strikes him that drinks it with deadly horror.
And wrung —
Drunk every drop of it.
Verse 18
[18]
There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth;
neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath
brought up.
None to guide —
When thou wast drunk with this cup
and not able to go.
Verse 19
[19]
These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation
and destruction
and the famine
and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
These things —
Those which follow
which tho' expressed in four words
may fitly be reduced to
two things
the desolation or devastation of the land
and the destruction of
the people by famine and sword. So famine and sword are not named as new evils
but only as the particular ways of bringing the destruction.
By whom — I
cannot find any man who is able to comfort and relieve thee.
Verse 20
[20] Thy
sons have fainted
they lie at the head of all the streets
as a wild bull in a
net: they are full of the fury of the LORD
the rebuke of thy God.
Fainted —
They are so far from being able to comfort thee
that they themselves faint
away.
They lie —
Dead by famine or the sword.
As a bull —
Those of them who are not slain are struggling for life.
Verse 21
[21]
Therefore hear now this
thou afflicted
and drunken
but not with wine:
Not with wine —
But with the cup of God's fury.
Verse 22
[22] Thus
saith thy Lord the LORD
and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people
Behold
I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling
even the dregs of
the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
That pleadeth —
Who
tho' he has fought against thee
is now reconciled to thee
and will
maintain thy cause against all thine adversaries.
Verse 23
[23] But
I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy
soul
Bow down
that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground
and as the street
to them that went over.
Go over —
That we may trample upon thee.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Isaiah》
51 Chapter 51
Verses 1-8
Hearken to Me
The thrice “Hearken”
These paragraphs are exceedingly dramatic.
We become conscious that we are approaching a revelation of unparalleled
sublimity which shall be in Scripture what heart or brain or eye is in the
human body. And as we consider the thrice “Hearken” of this paragraph
and the
thrice “Awake” of the succeeding one
we realize that we are entering the
presence-chamber of the profoundest mysteries of love and redemption. The
people
notwithstanding the promises of deliverance from exile and the summons
to depart
seemed unable to believe that they were destined to become again a
great nation
or that Zion’s wastes would be repaired! Already the Servant of
Jehovah had sought to answer their anxious questionings
and reassure them by
announcing a love that would not let them go. And in these words He betakes
Himself to the same strain. He prefaces His words by the thrice-repeated
“Hearken
” addressed to those “that follow after righteousness” in the first
verse; and to “those that know righteousness” in the seventh. These are always
the stages in the development of character: they that follow presently possess.
I. THE LESSONS OF
RETROSPECT. It was for her encouragement that Israel was primarily directed to
this retrospect. Let us recount the steps of Abraham’s pruning
on which God
lays stress in saying
“When he was but one
I called him.”
1. He stood alone. First
Terah died
after having started with him
for the Land of Promise
emblem of those who in old age start on the pilgrimage
of faith and hope
not too much tied by the conservatism of nature
or the
traditions of the past. Then Lot dropped away
and went down to Sodom; and it
must have been difficult for the old man
as he saw the retreating forms of his
camp followers
to be wholly unmoved. Then Sarah’s scheme miscarried
and Hagar
was thrust from his tents with her child. Lastly
his Isaac was laid upon the
altar. By successive strokes the shadows grew deeper and darker; and he stood
alone
face to face with God and His purpose. But the fire that burned in his
heart rose higher
shone brighter
and has ignited myriads with its flame.
2. His faith was sorely tried.
3. His history is the type of God’s dealings with men. Not once nor
twice in the record of the Church the cause of truth has been entrusted to a
tiny handful of defenders
who have deemed it forlorn or lost. Sir Walter
Scott’s picture of the apparently empty glen suddenly teeming with armed men at
the sign of the chieftain has often had its counterpart in the great army which
has arisen from the life
or words
or witness
of a single man. Art thou a
cypher? but thou mayest have God in front of thee! Art thou but a narrow
strait? yet the whole ocean of Godhead is waiting to pour through thee! The
question is not what thou canst or canst not do
but what thou art willing for
God to do.
II. THE
IMPERISHABLENESS OF SPIRITUAL QUALITY. In the following verses there is a
marvellous contrast between the material and the unmaterial
the temporal and
the eternal. The gaze of the people is directed to the heavens above and the
earth beneath. Those heavens seem stable enough. Yet they shall vanish like a
puff of smoke borne down the wind. And as for the earth
it shall wax old. But
amid the general wreck
spiritual qualities will remain imperishably the same.
“My salvation shall be for ever
and My righteousness shall not be abolished.
1. This shall be for ever true of God. God will be the same in His
feelings and dealings towards us amid the crash of matter and the wreck of
worlds as He is to-day. The Jews took great comfort in the thought of God’s
unchangeableness.
2. This shall be for ever true of man. When we partake of God’s
righteousness and assimilate it
we acquire a permanence which defies time and
change. What a lesson is given in these words of the relative value of things!
III. THE IMPOTENCE
OF MAN. These exiled Jews hardly dared to hope that they would be able to break
away from their foes. To us
as to the exiles in Babylon
the Divine word
comes
“Fear ye not
neither be dismayed” (Isaiah 51:7). The paragraph closes with
an application of the word used by the great Servant of Himself. “The moth
shall eat them up
” we heard Him saying to Himself; “they shall all wax old as
a garment” (chap. 50:9). But now we are bidden to apply those same expressions
to ourselves (Isaiah 51:8). With these assurances
behind us
we may face a world in arms. Men may try to wear out the saints
but
they must fail. (F. B. Meyer
B.A.)
A bright light in deep shades
The remembrance of God’s mercy in the past is helpful to us in
many ways. Isaiah was led by the Spirit of God to admonish the Israelites to
look back that they might be cheered and encouraged in a time of gloom and
sadness
and that they might be animated with fresh confidence in God’s power
to bring them up again from their sad condition
as they thought of all that He
had done for them in times past
when they were equally low
or when
peradventure
they were even in a worse plight than they were at present. It is
a great thing for people to be encouraged.
I. WE SHALL
EXPOUND THE TEXT IN ITS APPLICATION TO ISRAEL LITERALLY. They are bidden to
look back to the origin of their nation
in order that they may be comforted.
Abraham was the stock out of which the nation of Israel came. Moreover
the man
was well stricken in years. As for his wife
she also
it is said
was barren;
and yet from these two
who seemed the least likely of all flesh and blood
God
was pleased to create a people countless as the stars. Abraham was not a man in
a commanding position
with large armies at his feet
who could make a show in
the world. He was a dweller in tents
a Bedouin sheik
wandering through the
plains of Palestine
yet was he never injured; for God had sent forth a secret
mandate
which fell
though they knew it not
upon men’s hearts. Now
the
prophet turns to the Israelites
and says
“You say God can never restore us
we have been thinned out by innumerable invasions
the sword of war hath slain
the tribes
Judah and Israel can never rise again. But are there not more left
of you than there were at first? There were but two
Abraham and Sarah
that
bare you
and yet God made you a people. Can He not make you a people again?”
etc. The thoughts which would be awakened in the heart of a Jew by these
reflections would be eminently consolatory. They ought to be consolatory to us
now with regard to the Jewish people. We are encouraged from the very origin of
Israel to hope that great things shall yet be done for her.
II. Our text may be
used in reference to the CONDITION OF THE CHURCH OF GOD IN THE WORLD.
1. I know many of the people of God who scarcely dare look for
brighter times
because they say the people of God are few. Was not the Church
very small at the first? It could all be contained in one upper room. Has it
not been very small many times since then? But did not the Lord strengthen
His Church in the apostolic times? And
in the dark ages
how very
speedily did the time of the singing of birds come! God had but to speak by His
servant Luther
and brave men came to His side
and right soon His Church
sprang up.
2. But
is it possible
you say
while the Church of God in these
days possesses so few men of influence? Did not inspiration say
“Not many
great men after the flesh
not many mighty have been called
but God hath
chosen the poor of this world”? Do ye suppose that God has changed His plans
or that men s hearts have changed their bias?
3. But alas
saith one
I see grave cause for sorrow
for in these
days many have departed from the faith
and truth lies in the streets
bespattered. There have been eras and epochs in which gross heresies spread a
contagion through the entire Church.
4. Again
I hear the voice of lamentation
“It is not merely that
error spreads in the land
but the Church is lukewarm in these times.” The
Church has: been in a like listless state before
and out of that languid
condition God has roused her up and brought her forth.
5. There is a complaint made by some
and I fear there is some truth
in it
that we have not many valiant ministers now-a-days. But
for all that
there have been periods in the Church s history when she lacked for men of
valour
and God has found them. Why should He not find them again?
III. OUR TEXT MAY BE
VIEWED AS INSTRUCTIVE TO OURSELVES. Our experience
varies. It sometimes
happens to men who are truly saved
that they fall from the
condition which
they occupied when they were in their first love. Your present condition is not
what your past one was
and yet the Lord visited you when in your lost estate.
There is the same God to-day as there was when first you sought Him.
IV. OUR TEXT MAY BE
FITTINGLY USED TO ENCOURAGE OUR HOPE FOR OTHERS. Do you say of some sinner
“I
am afraid his is a hopeless case”? look unto the rock whence you were hewn
and
to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. Remember again
that that poor
sinner whose soul you are going to seek is where the best and brightest of the
saints were. And
recollect
that that sinner you are going to speak with is
to-day
where those that are in heaven once were. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The benefit of reflection
It is the duty
and will be for the benefit of every true servant
of God
occasionally to reflect
with due seriousness
on his own original
state
on the rise and progress of religion in his own soul
and of the
experience which he has thus individually had of the Divine power
goodness and
mercy.
I. THE PERSONS
HERE ADDRESSED. Those who “follow after righteousness” and “seek the Lord.” How
exactly does this description accord to the true people of God under the
Christian Church?
II. THE EXHORTATION
ADDRESSED TO THEM. “Look unto the rock
” ete. The meaning is obvious
“Look
back unto yourselves. Consider what you once were; in what a depth of misery
you were originally sunk. Reflect on the natural hardness of your heart: on its
insensibiliyt to spiritual things; on its dreadful alienation from God. See
this state of things exemplified--
1. In your original conversion to God.
2. In your subsequent conduct towards God. Since the time in which
you first knew Him in truth
and gave yourself up to serve Him in the gospel of
His Son
what has been the state of your heart
of its affections
its tempers
and its dispositions? Have all these been uniformly such as this surrender and
profession imply and require? Application: Whet lessons do these reflections
teach.
1. Humility and-self-abasement.
2. Patience
contentment and resignation.
3. The necessity of a continual dependence on Divine grace to work in
you both to will and to do.
4. Hope and encouragement.
But the subject admits also of another less exclusive application.
It furnishes one lesson of general importance: for it teaches
as how holy and
practical in its tendency is true
evangelical religion. (E. Cooper.)
Seeking souls directed
All the invitations and exhortations of the Word of God for
spiritual blessings are accompanied with a description of character.
I. THE WORSHIPPERS
DESCRIBED.
1. These characters who follow after and seek after must be
spiritually alive. It would be strange to talk of a corpse in a churchyard
following after or seeking any favours at our hands. As strange would it be to
talk of a post in the street following after us
and pursuing us for the same
purpose.
2. There is a stirring in the living persons that begins to render
them somewhat conspicuous. Wherever there is this stirring inquiry
this
dissatisfaction with self
and a stirring to be right for eternity
there is
life Divine.
3. Then
there must be sincerity. “Then shall ye find Me
when ye
seek Me with your whole heart.”
4. We will go on to notice their eager following after righteousness.
It must be a righteousness that will justify. A righteousness that will
sanctify. A righteousness that will glorify. It is imperishable.
5. Follow on to the next description of character. “Ye that seek the
Lord.’ Mark a few characteristics of these seekers. They seek Him privately.
They seek Him in the place where His honour dwelleth. In His Word.
Perseveringly. Seeking souls are well known in heaven
earth and hell.
II. THE EXHORTATION
GIVEN. “Look unto the rock
” etc. (J. Irons.)
The Lord’s people
I. A DESCRIPTION
OF THE LORD’S PEOPLE. They “follow after righteousness.” If you ask what
righteousness is
I call upon you to behold Jesus! He is righteousness. The
Lord’s people “follow after righteousness. They therefore follow Him. Far
better for a man to strive to love Christ than to be trying to lay down certain
rules of morality. They “follow after righteousness.” Does not this imply that
they cannot find it in themselves? Some follow after righteousness in fear.
Others with many slips. The Lord’s people follow after righteousness with
humility. They follow after righteousness in love. Willingly. Perseveringly. I
saw a steamer on the canal drawing after it three large boats. The steamer
contained its own motive power
but had there been an engine and boiler in each
of those boats they also would have gone on to Liverpool urged on by inward
strength. Well
we follow after righteousness
not because Christ has placed
some band between Himself and us
but because He has Himself entered our
hearts. Christ is the living and moving power in our souls.
II. A KINDLY REMEMBRANCE.
The Lord speaks very kindly to those who seek but have not yet found Him. Many
are seeking the Lord without a light. Some may seek the Lord in unbelief. Some
in a wrong way.
Somebody else replies
“Ah
sir
I have no spiritual life
such as
I had once.” Well
who gave it to you in days gone by? The Lord. And will He
not restore it again?
III. A WORD OF
ENCOURAGEMENT.
1. Is your soul cast down? Well
remember what God has done for you.
Did He not hew you from the rock of the world?
2. If God has hewn us from the rock we ought to hope for all
humanity. (W. Birch.)
Look unto the rock whence
ye are hewn
Looking to beginnings
1. Look back to beginnings; look along the line from the beginning to
the sensations of to-day. A man should have his whole self before him in making
his forecast of the future. His whole self should be a Bible
chaptered and
versed
well numbered and properly displayed
having its Genesis
and running
straight on through prophecy and tragedy
and music and Gospel
into mysterious
Apocalypse. You have expurgated this life Bible
killed the promises and
Psalms
and have only failures left.
2. Take in all your life: if God has made so much of you
He can make
still more. The miracle is not in the great umbrageous tree; it is in that little
green blade that pierces the earth and looks like a thing that means to pray.
It is not the universe
but the molecule
that is a miracle to me. Looking back
at what we were
it is easy to believe and yearn to be more.
3. If God has made so much of you
he can make as much of others.
Therefore
do not contemn any man. God shows us in cathedrals what can be done
with all stones; He shows us in gardens what can be made of all waste places. I
do not read that there are two rocks out of which men are dug--one a very low
and disreputable rock
and the other a very high and grand piece of masonry. We
are all from the same rock and the same pit; we all have one Father
and we
have all suffered the catastrophe of a common apostasy. Have pity upon those
who are far behind.
4. Whence are ye hewn--digged; not whence ye hewed
digged
yourselves. Are you well educated? It is because others made the way plain and
smooth. Are you successful? It is the Lord thy God giveth thee power to get
wealth. How much you owe father
mother! As we rise
the account grows
and if
God do not forgive us we are lost. (J. Parker
D.D.)
Comparisons
Comparisons are odious; comparisons are highly profitable. They
are odious if prompted by malice or meanness. A genius who had risen to a seat
in the Commons was reminded by a shallow aristocrat in the lobby that he had
formerly been his servant. “Well
” retorted the man of talent
“and did I not
serve you well?” Such comparisons are hateful; but they may also prove
beneficial as promoting due humility and appreciative thankfulness. Take the
case of Paul
who
though an apostle of very exceptional ability
would remind
himself that he was the chief of sinners. As though he had said
“Now
Paul
look unto the rock whence you were hewn
and to the hole of the pit whence you
were digged. (W. J. Acomb.)
Spiritual statuary
It is doubtless serviceable for each of us
however devoted and
pure
to be now and then presented with a photograph of our former selves. We
can thus see what we should have remained if grace had not refined us. We can
measure our growth and development. We can certainly better understand the
obligations arising from improved conditions.
I. THE RETROSPECT
THAT WAS RECOMMENDED to this godly remnant of Israel. In all ages have existed
those to whom God could thus appeal. Their characteristics are ever the
same--viz
the endeavour to live righteously and the instinctive craving for a
fuller knowledge of God. Such were here bidden to recall the period when their
great father
Abraham
had been separated from heathen surroundings
led
and
instructed by the Divine Spirit till worthy of the appellation
Friend of God.
The nation had been a stone cut out of the mountain without hands and fashioned
into something like beauty and grace. In regard to individual stones
it would
appear that the work of the Divine statuary is threefold--
1. Detachment from the common mass of material. A stone has no
ability to leap from its place. The quarryman must by pick and gunpowder and
hammer set the granite free. There is grace at the outset
either in national
or individual life. People need graciously saving. You have to be rescued
separated from the power of death
lifted from the sphere of human passion. To
do this
various agencies are employed--some almost dynamic
others more
gentle.
2. Moulding by religious education and attrition of association.
Quarried stones need moulding
whether granite
limestone or freestone. Hammer
and chisel must be applied. So
when detached must expect to submit to peculiar
processes. Some stones necessitate great labour; others can easily be wrought
to any form. Heaps of stones about and in every one an angel!--only the angel
requires to be modelled out
chiselled out
filed out. We can’t see the angel;
God can. None can be a holy person without pain. Salvation is not the deed of a
moment
but is a gradual work
stage by stage
here a little and there a
little.
3. Vivification of spiritual faculties by the Holy Ghost. Many of you
have been extracted from the quarry and rough-hewn by Christian civilization;
but you require the grandest thing of all
the breath of spiritual life. Like
the child-delighting marionettes that are so skilfully moved by invisible
machinery
but which have no appreciation of the part they play
you may be
actuated by the forces of custom
or ambition
or fear
but remain dead to all
sensations of a purely spiritual nature.
II. THE PURPOSES OF
THE SUGGESTED RETROSPECTION. Judging from the context
the intention was--
1. To promote humility.
2. To stimulate hopefulness.
We instinctively argue
“If so much
why not more?” God has always
some better thing in store for us. Have we not a sure word of prophecy which
declares that Christ is able to present each one of us faultless before the
throne? (W. J. Acomb.)
Characters: unhewn and hewn
Shakespeare is given to present abstract ideas in concrete forms
to suit the ordinary obtuse Englishman. Thus we understand Caliban. This
low-type creature stands before us destitute of moral sense; his strongest motive
to action fear of punishment; he hates unreasonably the best of beings; he
luxuriates in grossest vice; his brain so feeble that he kneels to a drunkard.
Now the national poet has contrasted this brute-man with Prospero
the refined
courtier
the gentle father
the magnanimous Duke of Milan
thus exhibiting the
diverse effects of Christian culture and heathen neglect. In one you behold the
rough
angular
unhewn block; in the other the exquisitely moulded statue. To
assimilate them
what a complicated miracle would be requisite! This is the
mission of our Lord and Redeemer. (W. J. Acomb.)
Nature and grace
It is good for those that are privileged by a new birth to
consider what they were by their first birth; how they were conceived in
iniquity and shapen in sin. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. How hard
was that rock out of which we were hewn
unapt to receive impressions; and how
dirty the hole of the pit out of which we were digged! The consideration hereof
should fill us with low thoughts of ourselves
and high thoughts of Divine
grace. (M. Henry.)
A humble origin: John Bunyan
“I was of a low and inconsiderable generation
my father’s house
being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all families in the
land. I never went to school to Aristotle or Plato
but was brought up in my
father’s house in a very mean condition
among a company of poor countrymen.
Nevertheless
I bless God that by this door He brought me into the world to
partake of the grace and life that is by Christ in His Gospel.” This is the
account given of himself and his origin by a man whose writings have for two
centuries affected the spiritual opinions of the English race in every part of
the world more powerfully than any book or books
except the Bible. (J.
A. Froude.)
Verse 2-3
Look unto Abraham your father
Abraham
or the Christian’s rock
I.
THE
DEALINGS OF GOD WITH ABRAHAM.
1. God “called him alone.” How merciful this call! Our own call to
renounce this world
and to seek a better
even a heavenly country
is to be
traced
like Abraham’s
to the undeserved mercy of our heavenly Father.
2. The Lord “blessed” Abraham. And has He not “blessed” us? Has He
not given to us many of the blessings of this life? And
what is much more than
these
has He not redeemed us from sin and misery by Jesus Christ our Lord?
3. The Lord “increased” him. The worldly possessions of Abraham were
many. But Abraham was increased further in his posterity. But his spiritual
descendants are yet more numerous. So likewise is the faithful Christian
the
spiritual child of Abraham
“increased;” not indeed
it may be
in this world’s
riches and honours
but in spiritual wealth and dignity.
II. THE CHARACTER
AND CONDUCT OF ABRAHAM.
1. His faith. Let us look to Abraham as an example in this point of
view.
2. His obedience. Let no one whose works contradict his profession of
faith suppose himself to be a believer in God. (W.D. Johnston
M.A.)
Sarah
That Sarah is mentioned chiefly for rhythmical effect may be
inferred from the writer s now confining what he says to Abraham alone. (J.A.
Alexander.)
Hearken and look; or
encouragement for believers
The second verse contains my actual text. It is the argument by
which faith is led to look for the blessings promised in the third verse. It is
habitual with some persons to spy out the dark side of every question or fact:
they fix their eyes upon the “waste places
” and they study them till they know
every ruin
and are familiar with the dragons and the owls. They sigh most
dolorously that the former times were better than these
and that we have
fallen upon most degenerate days. The habit of looking continually towards the
widernesses is injurious because it greatly discourages; and anything that
discourages an earnest worker is a serious
leakage for his strength. My text
has near to it three times
“Hearken to Me. You have listened long enough to
dreary suggestions from within
to gloomy prophecies from desponding friends
to the taunts of foes
and to the horrible whisperings of Satan: now hearken to
Him who promises to make the wilderness like Eden
and the desert like the
garden of the Lord. O ye whose eyes are quick to discover evil
there are other
sights in the world besides waste places and deserts
and hence my text hath
near to it twice over the exhortation
“Look”--“Look unto the rock whence ye
are hewn;” “Look unto Abraham your father
and unto Sarah that bare you; for
there we may find comfort.
I. We shall first
look towards Abraham that we may see in him THE ORIGINAL OF GOD’S ANCIENT
PEOPLE.
1. The founder of God’s first people was called out of a heathen
family. Abraham
the founder of the great system in which God was pleased to
reveal Himself for so long a time
and to whose seed the oracles of God were
committed
was a dweller in Ur of the Chaldees
the city of the moon-god. We
cannot tell to what extent he was actually engrossed in the superstition of his
fathers
but it is certain that the family was years afterwards tainted with
idolatry; for in Jacob’s day the teraph was still venerated
and Rachel stole
her father’s images. Abraham
therefore
was called out from the place of his
birth
and from the household to which he belonged
that in a separated
condition
as a worshipper of the one God
he might keep the truth alive in the
world. Why
then
might not the Lord
if the cause of truth were this day
reduced to its utmost extremity
again raise up a Church out of one man? “Ah
”
you say
“but men are not called now
as Abraham was
by miraculous calls from
heaven.” Where ordinary means are so plentiful wisdom resorts not to signs and
wonders. The same Spirit who called Abraham by a supernatural voice can call
others by the word of truth. “Ah
” say you
“but Abraham was naturally a man of
noble mould.
Where do you find such a princely spirit as his?” I answer
Who
made him? He that made him can make another like him.
2. Look again
and observe that Abraham was but one man. If we should
ever be reduced
as we shall not be
to one man
yet by one man will God
preserve His Church
and work out His great purposes. Think of the power for
good or evil which may be enshrined in a single human life.
3. This one man was a lone man. He had no prestige of parentage
rank
or title. The fulfilment of his calling rested on his loneliness; for he must
get away from his kindred
and wander up and down with his flocks
even as the
Church of God now does
dwelling in a strange land
and feeding her flock
apart. “I called him alone
and blessed him
and increased him.” If in the town
or district where you live you seem to lose all your helpers; if they die one
by one
and it seems as if nobody would be left to you
still persevere
for it
is the lone man that God will bless.
4. He was a man who had to be stripped yet further. He must come away
from his kindred and his father’s house
and must dwell in Palestine till the
promised seed was born. But how long he waited for the expected heir! What a
feast there was that Isaac was born
filling the house with laughter. But he
must die! The grand old man is sure that even if he should actually slay his
son at God’s command the promise would somehow be kept. Look
then
to Abraham
your father
and say is he not the grandest human representative of the great
Father God Himself
who in the fulness of time spared not His own Son
but
freely delivered Him up for us all? If in all these trials Abraham was yet
blessed
and God s purposes were accomplished in him
can we not believe that
the same God can work by us also
despite our downcastings and humiliations!
Here is the sum and substance of this first head of my discourse: in looking to
the rock whence we are hewn
we have to see the Lord working the greatest
results from apparently inadequate causes. This teaches us to cease from
calculating means
possibilities and probabilities
for we have to deal with
God
with whom all things are possible.
II. THE MAIN
CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS CHOSEN MAN. The text says
“Look unto Abraham your
father
and unto Sarah that bare you
” and it must mean--consider him and see
what he was
that you may learn from him. His grand characteristic was his
faith. Abraham’s faith was such that it led him to obedience. The man of faith
is God’s man. Why? Because faith is the only faculty of our spirit which can
grasp God’s ideal. Faith
too
has a great power of reception
and therein lies
much of her adaptation to the Divine purpose. Then
again
faith always uses
the strength that God gives her. Faith
too
can wait the Lord s time and
place. God loveth faith and blesseth it
because it giveth Him all the glory.
III. OUR
RELATIONSHIP TO THAT ONE MAN. “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith
the same are the children of Abraham.” Something
surely
is expected of the
children of such a man as Abraham. Because we are the seed of Abraham
the
apostle declares that the blessing of Abraham has come upon us also.” What is
it? It is a covenant favour that belongs to all who are the servants of God by
faith. Here is the substance of it: “Surely blessing
I will bless thee
and in
multiplying
I will multiply thee.” The blessing is attended with multiplying.
The blessing of the Church is the increase of the Church. The success of truth
is the battle of the Lord
and the increase of His Church is according to HIS
own promise; therefore in quietness we may possess our souls.
IV. OUR POSITION
BEFORE ABRAHAM’S GOD. “Look to Abraham
but only as to the rook from which the
Lord quarried His people:” your main thought must be Jehovah Himself. “I
I
called him alone
and blessed him.” Let us joyfully recollect that the Lord our
God has not changed
nay
not in one jot or tittle. “His arm is not shortened
that He cannot save
” etc. The covenant of God has not changed. Read the
covenant words
“In blessing I will bless thee
and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven
” etc. But there is this
also to be added
that this work which we desire the Lord to do is in some
respects even less than that which He has done with Abraham. What ask we? Not
that He should begin with one man to build up a nation
or create a Church? No
but that Zion being builded
He should comfort her
and cause her waste places
to rejoice. What marvellous things hath God done on the face of the earth sines
Abraham’s days!--the stupendous marvel of incarnation; the wondrous work of
redemption
the highest
grandest
Divinest achievement of the Deity--all this
is done; what may we not expect after this? You know more of God than Abraham
could know. Trust Him
at least up to the level of the patriarch. How shall we
forge an excuse if we do not? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 3
For the Lord shall comfort Zion
Zion comforted
I.
THERE
IS A LOW ESTATE
OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSAL CHURCH
AND OF PARTICULAR BRANCHES
OF IT
AND LIKEWISE OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.
II. THERE ARE
GRACIOUS PROMISES OF REVIVAL
of restored fertility and productiveness.
III. THE MODE IT
WHICH THESE BLESSED EFFECTS MAY BE LOOKED AND SOUGHT FOR. When the eye of faith
is directed towards Christ
when we believe in Him as the Lord our
righteousness
when the prayer of faith ascends to heaven
when the ear
hearkens to the inspired Word
then we may expect that God will be gracious to
His inheritance
and refresh it when it is weary. We may not look for the
supplies of the Spirit of God unless we earnestly ask for them. (H. J.
Hastings
M.A.)
The depression
prosperity and delight of the Church
Taking these words as the prophet’s statement with regard to the
spiritual Church of God
under the appellation of Zion
we propose from these
words to call attention--
I. TO THE
DEPRESSION OF THE CHURCH.
1. This depression arises from the small number of those who belong
to the Church.
2. The depression consists also in the want of spiritual vigour on
the part of those who belong to the Church.
II. TO THE
PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH. Observe--
1. The source to which the prosperity of the Church is assigned. “For
the Lord shall comfort Zion
” etc. Christianity is
emphatically
the
ministration of the Spirit.
2. The nature of the prosperity by which the Church will be
distinguished. What: is the precise import of this comforting of Zion
this
comforting of her waste places
making her wilderness like the garden of Eden
and her desert like the garden of the Lord? Here you will observe
that a vast
augmentation of the numbers of the Church must plainly be regarded as included.
A great purification and refinement in the characters of those who do pertain
to the Church will signalize those future days.
3. The means to be adopted by the true friends of the Church in order
that the period of this predicted prosperity may arrive.
III. TO THE DELIGHT
OF THE CHURCH. “Joy and gladness shall be found therein
thanksgiving and the
voice of melody.” This emotion may properly arise from contemplating--
1. The wonderful change which shall have been accomplished in the
condition of the Church itself.
2. The connection between the prosperity of the Church and the
glorification of God.
3. The connection between the prosperity of the Church and the
happiness of mankind.
Conclusion:
1. Our first anxiety
of course
must be
that you may individually
belong to the Church of God yourselves.
2. What we next desire of you is
that you will labour in all the
appointed means and instrumentalities by which the prosperity of the Church of
God is to be secured. (J. Parsons.)
Zion comforted
A cheerful prospect
I. HEAVENLY
COMFORT PROMISED. This is a promise to God’s Church. The Church of
God--captured as it has been by Christ from the world
chosen to be the palace
where He dwells
builded together for a temple wherein He is worshipped--is
frequently called “Zion.”
1. The object of this comfort. “The Lord will comfort Zion.” Well He
may
for she is His chosen. “The Lord has chosen Zion.” He would have those
upon whom His choice is fixed be glad and happy.
2. The Lord Himself is the Comforter. There are sorrows for which
there is no solace within the reach of the creature; there is a ruin which it
would baffle any mortal to retrieve. Happy for us that the Omnipotent comes to
our aid.
3. How does the Lord propose to comfort Zion? If you read the verse
through you will find it is by making her fertile. The true way to comfort the
Church is to build her synagogues
restore the desolation of former times
to
sow her fields
plant her vineyards
make her soil fruitful
call out the
industry of her sons and daughters
and fill them with lively
ardent zeal.
4. The promise is given in words that contain an absolute pledge. He
“shall” and He “will” are terms that admit of no equivocation.
II. THE MOURNFUL
CASES FAVOURED. “He will make her wilderness like Eden
and her desert like the
garden of the Lord.”
1. Are there not to be found in the visible Church persons whose
character is here vividly depicted?
2. Ask ye now
what does the Lord say He will do for them? He says
that He will make the wilderness like Eden. You know what Eden was. It was the
garden of the earth in the days of primeval probity. So the Lord says that when
He visits His Church He will make these poor backsliders
these immature
Christians
these nominal professors
like Eden. Moreover
as if to strengthen
the volume of His grace and of our hope
He says that He will make her desert
like the garden of the Lord. He shall come to you and delight your heart and
soul with His converse.
III. CERTAIN
DESIRABLE RESULTS WHICH ARE PREDICTED. “Joy and gladness shall be found therein
thanksgiving
and the voice of melody.” You notice the doubles. The parallelism
of Hebrew poetry
perhaps
necessitated them. Still I remember how John Bunyan
says that “all the flowers in God’s garden bloom double.” We are told of
“manifold mercies
” that is
mercies which are folded up one in another
so
that you may unwrap them and find a fresh mercy enclosed in every fold. Here we
have “joy and gladness
thanksgiving
and the voice of melody.” The Lord
multiplies His grace. Oh
what a delightful thing must a visitation from God be
to His Church! Without God all she can do is to groan. Nay
she will not always
do that. She sometimes indulges a foolish conceit
and says: “I am rich and
increased in goods
and have need of nothing.” After that will soon be heard
the hooting of dragons and the cry of owls. Let God visit His Church
and there
is sure to be thanksgiving and the voice of melody. This is the mark of a
revived Church everywhere. New impetus is given to the service of song. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
The garden of the Lord
The garden of God
(for children):--Here and elsewhere Holy Scripture pictures a
gathering of the upright and holy as a garden
and Christly people
whether men
or children
as the trees and plants and flowers in such a garden. In His garden--
I. GOD WILL HAVE
NO WEEDS. This reminds us--
1. What a number of evils must be destroyed. Idleness
falsehood
cowardice
disobedience
etc.
are weeds that must be plucked up and
destroyed.
2. The ways by which evils are to be destroyed.
II. THERE IS A
GREAT VARIETY OF FLOWERS. Rich rose
stately tulip
“sweet lily of the valley
etc.
a thousand varieties all helping us to understand the famous
preacher who said
Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to
put a soul into.” So there is great variety in the virtues; no monotony in
Christian character. There are virtues that
like lofty trees and brilliant
flowers
make heroes and martyrs. And there are others like flowers with tiny
petals and delicate tints. St. Francis of Sales said
“How carefully we should
cherish the little virtues which spring up at the foot of the Cross.” What are
they? some one asked him. “Humility
meekness
kindness
simplicity
candour
”
he replied.
III. HE HIMSELF HAS
JOY. Over true souls He rejoices. The prophet says
God rejoices “over them
with singing.” God seems to sing over those of whom He says
as of
David
“a
man after God s own heart;” as of Daniel
“O man greatly beloved;” as of the
Lord Jesus Christ
“My well-beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
IV. ALL THE BEAUTY
OF ALL THE FLOWERS IS TO BE TRACED TO HIS CARE.
1. He is the Owner.
2. He is the Sower.
3. He is the Gardener--Christ called God the Husbandman.
4. He is the Source of all life and beauty. For He is Sun
and Wind:
is as dew--and showers also. (U. R. Thomas
B.A.)
Verses 4-6
Hearken unto Me
My people
The absolute in human history
Time works mighty changes in human life.
Amidst the ceaseless whirl of mutation
is there nothing unchangeable? Is life
made up entirely of volatile contingencies? Has it no absolute elements? Oh
for a rock in this ebbing sea
where we might stand secure as the wreck of
years floats by! This Scripture responds to our questions
and meets our
aspirations. The word “law” designates God’s revelation; “judgment” and
“righteousness” are interchangeable terms
expressing the one idea--rectitude.
The great truths
therefore
enfolded in this rich oriental garb
are that rectitude
and salvation are the elements of God’s revelation; and that these elements are
the absolute in human history.
I. THEY ARE FOR
ALL LANDS--world-wide in their aspect--“a light of the people.” Man is
confessedly
a corrupt intelligence; and
in the nature of things
a knowledge
of his state is essential to his improvement. Will he ever seek a remedy or ask
for a refuge until he has felt the disease or descried the peril? Whence comes
this discovery? Nothing less than a special revelation of rectitude can meet
the case. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Next comes the other
element--“salvation.” Each of these two elements of our religion is equally
necessary for man everywhere. The value
however
of each depends upon mutual
connection; each is useless by itself.
II. THESE BLESSINGS
ARE FOR ALL TIMES
AS WELL AS FOR ALL LANDS. “The heavens shall vanish away
like smoke
” etc. These words suggest three solemn considerations--
1. That man is related to two distinct systems of things
the one
involving the “heavens and the earth
” the other “righteousness and
salvation”--the one material
the other spiritual. This twofold relation is a
peculiarity of our history. The other tenants of the globe are related to the
material as we are. But with the spiritual they appear to have no connection.
2. That one of the systems to which man is related is transient
the
other is permanent.
3. That the permanent system should command man’s chief concern. Hear
the sum of this address:--Beware of practical materialism. (D.
Thomas
D.D.)
Righteousness and salvation
I. THE CHARACTER
OF THOSE SPECIALLY ADDRESSED. By comparing the first and the seventh with the
fourth verse of the chapter
we find four leading features of their character
set forth:
1. They are said to know righteousness.
2. To follow after righteousness.
3. To seek the Lord.
4. To have the law of God in their hearts.
II. THE ADDRESS
ITSELF. It constitutes a sublime prophetic description of those spiritual
blessings to be ripened by the advent of the Messiah. It foretells the setting
up of that kingdom which cometh not by outward observation
but which is
“righteousness
and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost”--the publication of “that
better covenant established on better promises.” Many topics of deep interest
are suggested by this prophetic setting forth of the blessings and triumphs of
the Gospel. The text fully asserts--
1. Their certainty.
2. Their perpetuity. (T. Page
M.A.)
An evangelical law
The “law” here meant (Isaiah 51:4) is that of Zion Isaiah 2:3)
as distinguished from that
of Sinai--the Gospel of redemption. (F. Delitzsch
D.D.)
Verse 5
My righteousness is near
God’s righteousness and salvation
The Gospel of Christ shall be preached and published to the world.
“A law shall proceed from Me” (Isaiah 51:4)
an evangelical law
the law
of Christ
the law of faith (Isaiah 2:3).
I. THIS SHALL
BRING WITH IT RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SALVATION
shall open a ready way to the
children of men how they may be justified and saved. It is called God s
righteousness and salvation--
1. Because of His contriving and bringing it about.
2. It is a righteousness that He will accept for us
and accept us
for.
3. And a righteousness which He will work in us.
4. It is the salvation of the Lord
for it ariseth from Him
and
terminates in Him. Observe
there is no salvation without righteousness
and
wherever there is the righteousness of God
there shall be His salvation.
II. THIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SALVATION SHALL VERY SHORTLY APPEAR. It is near
it is gone
forth. It is near in time. It is near in place
not far to Romans 10:8).
III. THIS
EVANGELICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SALVATION SHALL NOT BE CONFINED TO THE JEWISH
NATION
BUT SHALL BE EXTENDED TO THE GENTILES. (M. Henry.)
God’s arm
God’s arm shall judge the people that are impenitent
and yet on
His arm shall others trust and be saved by it. (M. Henry.)
Verse 6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens.
The eternity of religion
From the thought of the universality of religion the prophet rises
to that of its eternity
which is here expressed by a contrast of surprising
boldness between the “things which are seen” and the “things which are not
seen.” (Prof. J. Skinner
D.D.)
The present and the future
I. We have to
speak to you of CREATED THINGS--the heavens above and the earth beneath--as
temporal either in themselves
or in regard to us who “must die in like
manner.” There may be much room for questioning whether there will be the
actual annihilation of matter; whether even this earth is to be so destroyed that
no vestige of it shall remain. We know that our bodies at least are not to be
annihilated; but that having gone through certain processes
they are to be
united to the soul
and remain in that re-union for ever. Without
however
supposing the actual annihilation of matter
we may speak of the universe as
destined to be destroyed
seeing that the systems which are to succeed to the
present will be wholly different
and wear all the traces of a new creation.
Our text marks out a second way in which our connection with visible
things--the heavens and the earth--may be brought to a close--“they that dwell
therein shall die in like manner.”
II. A CONTRAST is
drawn between God--His salvation and His righteousness--and the heavens and the
earth. It seems the design of the passage to affix a general character to the
objects of faith as distinguished from the objects of sense--the character of
permanence and distinguished from that of decline. (H. Melvill
B.D.)
Looking heavenward
Man hath a muscle more than ordinary to draw up his eyes
heavenward. (J. Trapp.)
The pershing and the stable
I. THE PERISHING
NATURE OF ALL WORLDLY OBJECTS
PURSUITS
AND COMFORTS.
II. THE STABILITY
OF THOSE WHICH THE GOSPEL PROPOSES. (W. Richardson.)
An eternal salvation
We must never expect any other way of salvation
any other
covenant of peace
or rule of righteousness
but what we have in the Gospel
and what we have there shall continue to the end. (M. Henry.)
God’s everlasting salvation
There are brought before us in the text
three great varieties of
existence
viz those of man
the earth
and the starry heavens; and contrasted
with God’s salvation and righteousness.
I. GOD’S SALVATION
IS INDEPENDENT OF
AND WILL OUTLIVE
EVERYTHING HUMAN. “When they that dwell
therein shall die in like manner
” i.e.
like the old earth itself. “My
salvation shall be for ever.” Not only is the power of God unto salvation
independent of its friends
but unconquerable by its foes.
II. THE GRASS
WITHERETH
THE FLOWER FADETH AND SO
TOO
WILL THE EARTH OUT OF WHICH THEY
SPRING. It “shall wax old like a garment.” To the same intent speaks science.
Will religion wax old too? When the aged planet’s voice is low and indistinct
will the truth of God also be less clear and defined? I trow not. The world
in
its youth and beauty
was but a great symbol. The symbol is gone; the truth
remains. The time may come when the resources of earth may be dried up; not so
the resources of Heaven. There may be no sunshine to cheer the earth; there
will be sunshine for the hearts of men;--no dew to refresh a thirsty earth;
there will be life-giving dew for the soul of man.
III. OVER THE WHOLE
EARTH BROODS THE MIGHTY LAW OF CHANGE. Everywhere there are births and
dissolutions. Almost everything yields to its power. From the tiny flower
to
the huge mountain; from the life of the insect that is born and dies in a day
to the life of men
of nations
of the whole world. The dominion of the
changeable
however
is not confined to this world; it extends to all worlds.
And why should it remain any longer when a grander universe has begun? The work
of the old one is done. It came into being only to speak the great truths of
God. It has done so; let it pass. Its bright suns
the centres of life and
light
all spoke of one Eternal Sun from whom comes all life and all light. Let
the changing
decaying systems of the old universe now disappear; their
existence would be but a mockery beside the one everlasting system of
righteousness. Let all that must pass away now pass. The watchword is
“For
ever and ever
” for ever one system
one will
one obedience
one atmosphere of
love. (D. Johnson
M.A.)
The eternity of God’s salvation
This is evidently one of those predictions having special
reference to the introduction of the Gospel dispensation
with which this book
is so thickly studded. We may regard Isaiah 51:4; Isaiah 5:1-30 as forming a kind of
preface to Isaiah 51:6; and in that preface the clue
is given m four ruling words
viz law
judgment
righteousness
and salvation.
1. The Gospel is a law--not written upon tables of stone
but upon
the fleshly tables of the heart by the Spirit of the living God; it is a law of
faith
and love
and obedience; it is the law by which God Will henceforth
govern men. As the prophet in another place says “The Lord is our judge
the Lord
is our lawgiver
the Lord is our king; He will save us.” His law is in order to
His rule; and His rule is in order to the salvation of men.
2. The word “judgment” is here used in the sense of a body or code of
laws
such as form the basis of the constitution of a kingdom. It must point to
the body of Gospel truth which God is about to reveal to the world. The
doctrines
precepts
promises
which centre upon the person and work
which
together are bound up in the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ
these form the basis
the foundation which God will “make settled” for
a light to the people.
3. “My righteousness is near.” It is about
to be signally
manifested
and in an unheard-of way
by the death of My only begotten Son.
Therein am I about to be seen
just
and yet the Justifier of him that
believeth in Jesus.
4. “My salvation is gone forth
” etc. The good news that men
are to be saved by the free grace of God
is already published
and it shall
awaken loving trust in Me wherever it is known. Then comes the climax upon this
preface; the eternal endurance which is the destiny of this saving rule of the
Almighty--“Lift up your eyes to the heavens
” etc. Three things here
present themselves for our consideration--
I. THE DESTINY OF
THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH.
1. Let us think of their nature. They are an emanation from the mind
of God.
2. The design of the creation.
II. THE DESTINY OF
THE MORTAL RACE OF MAN. “They that dwell therein shall die in like manner.” Man
and the world date from the same origin
and are formed of the same material.
1. Let us consider the nature of the mortal race of man. It is simply
a part of the visible material creation.
2. Think again of the design of our mortal race. It is pre-eminently
to declare the glory of God. “I have created him for my glory
I have formed
him; yea
I have made him.” But this glory that excelleth God is to derive not
so much from our bodily nature
for this is but the kind of glory that all His
other works render to Him
an unconscious glory; as from our spiritual nature
from renovated wills
from purified affections
from a redeemed and sanctified
nature.
3. We shall gain further light upon the purpose of God with regard to
our earthly race
if we glance at the analogy between the individual life and
that of the whole race. Each man among us is the miniature
the epitome of the
history of the world. He is the microcosm; you trace in yourself imperfections
of bodily and mental powers; you are conscious of the seeds of death within
you; all connected with your present condition speaks plainly the lesson that
you are in dissolving
uncertain
precarious
transitory condition. It is fitly
described in the emblems of Scripture
a tent
not a fixed habitation
a
lodging
not a final rest. Now
I say you may trace a close analogy to all this
in the history of the whole race. The world grows old; there are wrinkles on
its brow.
4. Then remember that this is the predicted destiny of our mortal
race. All living men and all their sensuous surroundings shall be utterly swept
away.
III. THE DESTINY OF
GOD’S SAVING RULE.--“My salvation
” etc. By the saving rule of God we
mean that rule which God has revealed in the Gospel
in conforming to which man
enjoy salvation; the rule which demands repentance
implicit faith in the
Mediator and obedience to the Holy Ghost. It is God s plan
or rule
or way of
salvation
and it is founded upon the immutable attribute of His righteousness.
1. Look at its nature. The Gospel is the hill and perfect exhibition
of the mind of God.
2. Look at its design. It is in order to the complete blessedness of
our immortal spirits in earth and heaven--here and hereafter
and for ever and
ever.
3. God s saving rule shall endure for ever and ever. Conclusion: The
rule of God must either save and bless
and eternally exalt you
or it must
crush and destroy you. (E. Johnson
B.A.)
The contrast
I. A CHANGING
PASSING WORLD. “Lift up your eyes
” etc. God calls on us to interrupt
for a short season our busy occupations
and to meditate on things seen and
unseen
things temporal and things eternal.
1. The framework of creation is changing
--passing.
2. The riches
the comforts
the enjoyments of life are passing.
3. The cares
and anxieties
and sorrows of life are passing.
4. Life itself is passing.
II. AN UNCHANGING
ETERNAL SALVATION.
1. The blessing itself is salvation.
2. It has God for its author.
3. Eternity is its duration.
4. Sinners are the partakers of this blessing.
Which has your heart--your hopes? The love of both cannot dwell in
the same breast
“If any man love the world
the love of the Father is not in
him.” (F. Storr
M.A.)
Verse 7-8
Hearken unto Me
ye that know righteousness
Christians encouraged against the fear of man
I.
THE
PERSONS ADDRESSED.
1. Those who “know righteousness.”
2. They have the law of God in their heart.
II. THE ADDRESS
MADE TO THEM. “Hearken unto Me
” etc.
1. Let us remember who is the speaker of these words.
2. The address may be considered as containing an encouraging
exhortation enforced by powerful arguments.
3. Consider by what powerful arguments this exhortation is enforced:
They who now revile the people of God will quickly be brought to an end. If
their malice be not extinguished
yet the means of gratifying it will be no
more. They are mortals
and as such they must soon die.
4. On the other hand
“My righteousness (saith the Lord) shall be for
ever
and My salvation from generation to generation.” In vain do ungodly men
speak evil of His cause. It shall survive all their attacks; and shall
increase
when they who reviled
or opposed it
shall be silent in darkness. In
vain are His people reproached. They cannot be really injured by such attempts.
(E. Cooper.)
Man’s mortality
The matter is not great which they say of us who must be worm’s
meat shortly. (M. Henry.)
Futility of human opposition to the Gospel
Clouds darken the sun
but give no obstruction to its progress. (M.
Henry.)
Verse 9-10
Awake
awake
put on strength
O arm of the Lord
The awaking of Zion
(with Isaiah 52:1 (a)):--Both these verses are
I think
to be
regarded as spoken by one voice
that of the Servant of the Lord.
In the one
as Priest and Intercessor
He lifts the prayers of earth to heaven
in His own holy hands--and in the other
as Messenger and Word of God
He
brings the answer and command of heaven to earth on His own authoritative
lips--thus setting forth the deep mystery of His person and double office as
mediator between man and God. But even if we set aside that thought the
correspondence and relation of the two passages remain the same. In any case
they are intentionally parallel in form and connected in substance. The latter
is the answer to the former. The cry of Zion is responded to by the call of
God. The awaking of the arm of the Lord is followed by the awaking of the
Church. He puts on strength in clothing us with His might
which becomes ours.
I. We have here a
common principle underlying both the clauses
namely
THE OCCURRENCE IN THE
CHURCH’S HISTORY OF SUCCESSIVE PERIODS OF ENERGY AND OF LANGUOR. It is freely
admitted that such alternation is not the highest ideal of growth
either in
the individual or in the community. Our Lord’s own parables set forth a more
excellent way--the way of uninterrupted increase. So might our growth be
if the
mysterious life in the seed met no checks. But
as a matter of fact
the Church
has not thus grown. Rather
at the best
its emblem is to be looked for
not in
corn but in the forest tree--the very rings in whose trunk tell of recurring
seasons when the sap has risen at the call of spring
and sunk again before the
frowns of winter. In our own hearts we have known such times. And we have seen
a like palsy smite whole regions and ages of the Church of God. Where is the
joyful buoyancy and expansive power with which the Gospel burst into the world?
If
then
there be such recurring seasons of languor
they must either go on
deepening till sleep becomes death
or they must be broken by a new outburst of
vigorous life. And it is by such times that the Kingdom of Christ always has
grown. Its history has been one of successive impulses gradually exhausted
as
by friction and gravity
and mercifully repeated just at the moment when it was
ceasing to advance and had begun to slide downwards.
II. THE TWOFOLD
EXPLANATION OF THESE VARIATIONS. That bold metaphor of God sleeping and waking
is often found in Scripture
and generally expresses the contrast between the
long years of patient forbearance
during which evil things and evil men go on
their rebellious road unchecked but by Love
and the dread moment when some
throne of iniquity is smitten to the dust. Such is the original application of
the expression here. But the contrast may fairly be widened beyond that
specific form of it
and taken to express any apparent variations in the
forth-putting of His power. We may
then
see here implied the cause of these
alternations on its Divine side
and then
in the corresponding verse addressed
to the Church
the cause on the human side.
1. As to the former. We have to distinguish between the power
and
what Paul calls “the might of the power.” The one is final
constant
unchangeable. It does not necessarily follow that the other is. The rate of
operation
so to speak
and the amount of energy actually brought into play may
vary
though the force remains the same.
2. Our second text tells us that if God’s arm seems to slumber
and
really does so
it is because Zion sleeps. He works through us; and we have the
solemn and awful power of checking the might which would flow through us.
III. THE BEGINNING
OF ALL AWAKING IS THE CHURCH’S EARNEST CRY TO GOD. It is with us as with
infants
the first sign of whose awaking is a cry. For every such stirring of
quickened religious life must needs have in it bitter penitence and pain at the
discovery flashed upon us of the wretched deadness of our past. Nor is Zion s
cry to God only the beginning and sign of all true awaking; it is also the
condition and indispensable precursor of all perfecting of recovery from
spiritual languor. Look at the passionate earnestness of it--and see to it that
our drowsy prayers be like it. Look at the grand confidence with which it
founds itself on the past
recounting the mighty deeds of ancient days
and
looking back
not for despair
but for joyful confidence on the generations of
old; and let our faint-hearted faith be quickened by the example
to expect
great things of God.
IV. THE ANSWERING
CALL FROM GOD TO ZION. Our truest prayers are but the echo of God’s promises.
God’s best answers are the echo of our prayers. As in two mirrors set opposite
to each other
the same image is repeated over and over again
the reflection
of a reflection
so here
within the prayer
gleams an earlier promise
within
the answer is mirrored the prayer. And in that reverberation
and giving back
to us of our petition transformed into a command
we are not to see a dismissal
of it as if we had misapprehended our true want. The very opposite
interpretation is the true one. The prayer of Zion is heard and answered. God
awakes
and clothes Himself with might. Then
as some warrior king
himself
roused from sleep and girded with flashing steel
bids the clarion sound
through the grey twilight to summon the prostrate ranks that lie round his
tent
so the sign of God’s awaking and the first act of His conquering might is
this trumpet call--“The night is far spent
the day is at hand”--“put off the
works of darkness
” the night gear that was fit for slumber--“and put on the
armour of light
” the mail of purity that gleams and glitters even in the dim
dawn. Nor is it to be forgotten that this
like all God s commands
carries in
its heart a promise. But the main point which I would insist on is the
practical discipline which this Divine summons requires from us.
1. The chief means of quickened life and strength is deepened
communion with Christ.
2. This summons calls us to the faithful use of the power which
on
condition of that communion
we have. So
let us confidently look for times of
blessing
penitently acknowledge that our own faithlessness has hindered the
arm of the Lord
earnestly beseech Him to come in His rejoicing strength
and
drawing ever fresh power from constant communion with our dear Lord
use it to
its last drop for Him. (A. Maclaren
D.D.)
The Church s cry and the Divine answer
(with Isaiah 52:1):--
I. THE CHURCH’S
CALL ON GOD. “Awake
awake
O arm of the Lord.”
1. The figure used here is simple enough. The “arm” is a natural
symbol of power
for it is through it that we execute our purpose. If it is
benumbed
insensitive
and motionless
we say that it is asleep; but when it is
stretched out for action it is awake. And what the prophet pleads for is that
some display of Divine power might be granted
such as had once been seen in
Egypt
when “Rahab” (the fierce and boastful power of heathenism) had been
broken in pieces and “the dragon” (or rather the crocodile
the recognized
symbol of Egypt) had been sorely wounded. Now
the uses to which we put our arm
may
any of them
suggest the actions to which we would summon our God in
earnest prayer. The arm of the warrior bears the shield which protects his own
body and those of weak and wounded friends lying at his feet; and we want such
overshadowing protection against the fiery darts of the wicked. The arm is
naturally outstretched to point the way to one who is ignorant and bewildered
and when we are perplexed as to doctrine or duty
we find it is not a vain
thing to pray: “Teach me Thy way
O Lord.” What is needed now
as of old
is
the realization and the manifestation of the presence of God in the Person of
Christ
His Son; so that now there may come about a true revival of religion
a
living
unshakable belief that God is amongst His people of a truth. If only He
reveals Himself in and through His Church
sin will be conquered and the world
redeemed.
2. The necessity for this prayer arises from the fact that the work
which lies before us as Christian Churches cannot be done by human power.
II. GOD’S CALL UPON
THE CHURCH. “Awake
awake; put on thy strength
O Zion
” etc.. God never
does for His people what they can do for themselves.
1. The Church is called upon to arouse from slumber--and whether it
is the result of despondency
or of indolence
sleep must be shaken off.
2. The Church is also to endue herself with strength
to resume
courage
and renew effort with a fresh sense of her responsibility.
3. But let us be thankful that there is room in God’s heart for
quieter service. They who fail to put on strength
can at least put on the.
“beautiful garments” of holiness; and although these should endue the most
active worker
they can transform into a saintly witness the solitary sufferer.
4. The Church is summoned here to consecrate herself anew to God. She
is represented as a female captive in degrading servitude
whose hour of
deliverance has come
and who is to shake herself free from the bands which
have held her
and rejoice in new found liberty. It is not only sin which holds
the Church in bondage
but sometimes formalism and ceremonialism
and we must
beware
lest
with our love for order
we become thereby crippled and hindered.
Let us be ready to make any change of mode or organization
to cast off any
prejudices
if they prevent successful whole-hearted service for our God
and
let us regard this as a time for renewed consecration to Him
to whom we owe
ourselves
our time
our all. (A. Rowland
LL. B.)
The arm of the Lord invoked
I. EXPLAIN WHAT IT
IS TO WHICH THE INVOCATION IS ADDRESSED. “O arm of the Lord.”
II. THE OBJECTS
WHICH THIS INVOCATION INVOLVES. “Awake
awake
” etc. It is an earnest
application on the part of the prophet
that God would come forth as He had
done in former periods. We may refer to a number of great events
of which the
people of old could scarcely form an idea. We remember what God did in the
fulness of time when He sent His Son into the world to restore mankind. We
remember what He did on the hill of Calvary. We remember what He did when He
“raised Him up from the dead
and set Him on His own right hand
and gave Him
to be head over all things to the Church.” We remember what He did on the
Pentecostal day
when He sent down His Holy Spirit. After allusion has thus
been made to the former displays of the Divine power
there is an evident
contrast as to what was the state of things in the prophet’s day. There seemed
to be a suspension of this energy; the heritage of God was wasted
His truth
was insulted
His worship was slighted
His requirements were contemned. And
what is it we want? We want His power to accompany the preaching of the Word.
It must be remembered that there is no manifestation of the Divine power so
glorious as that which is seen in the extension of the Gospel
and its power on
the souls of men.
III. THE
ENCOURAGEMENTS WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THE INVOCATION SHALL BE FULFILLED.
1. Consider the care of God over the Church in past ages of the
world.
2. From the character of God as the hearer and answerer of prayer.
3. From the nature of the promises recorded in the sacred pages. (J.
Parsons.)
Prayer for national prosperity
and for the revival of religion
inseparably connected
I. THE IMPORT OF
THIS PRAYER. “Awake
awake
put on strength
O arm of the Lord!” In general
such a petition as this suggests to us that our prayers for Divine
interposition and deliverance from public calamities should be supremely
directed to the glory of God. A just regard to the glory of God in our prayers
implies the two following things:
1. That we expect deliverance from God alone
desire that it may be
attended with such circumstances as His hand and power may be seen in it
and
are willing to acknowledge Him as the supreme and only Author of it.
2. We ought also to pray for a dispensation of His grace and mercy
that a revival of religion may accompany temporal relief.
II. THE
ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAYER. “Awake as in the ancient days
as in the generations
of old
” etc. The prophet animates his faith
and encourages his own
dependence
and that of others
upon the promises of God
by celebrating the
greatness of His power
as manifested in former memorable deliverances granted
to His chosen people. Consider the effect of such a view upon the mind
and its
influence in prayer.
1. It satisfies us of the power of God
and His ability to save.
2. The same view serves to ascertain us of the mercy of God
and His
readiness to help us in distress.
III. APPLY THE
TRUTHS on this subject to our own present situation as to public affairs. Let
us remember that we serve an unchangeable God. (J. Witherspoon
D.D.)
Christ the arm of God
Christ is here called the arm of the Lord. The arm of the Lord
means God in action. The grand purposes of redemption
conceived in eternity
were dead thought
if lawful so to speak
in the mind of God
until they were
revealed in Christ
the executor of the thoughts of the Godhead. Christ was
ever called the Logos
the expression of Divinity. When the hand is spoken of
in the Bible
it means the exact working of God in nature
providence and
grace. The arm is that which sends the hand into action. “The outstretched arm”
is the far-reaching power of God. By the right hand or arm of God we are to
understand a more special and dazzling display of God’s power. In all instances
the hand or arm of God means Christ. The prophet appeals to the past
“Awake
as in the ancient days
” etc. In the context he looks to the future and
catches glimpses of the glory of the Advent
and he cries
It is the arm of
God! The text is an invocation for Christ to come in the Advent. This arm of
God is the revelation--
I. OF GOD’S GLORY.
II. OF HIS SAVING
POWER. It is an arm that can reach everywhere. There is no height so high or
depth so deep as to be beyond its reach to save.
III. A UNIVERSAL
REVELATION OF GOD. It means the revealing of God in creation
in providence
in
redemption
in the family in the closet
in the soul
in death
at the
judgment
in eternity
where it will secure the eternal triumph of those whose
faith will then merge into sight. Conclusion:
1. What are your relations to this arm of God? Has it been to you
only an object of wonder as the bow in the clouds
or has it been an arm bared
to the shoulder
entwined about you
filled with a vitality which it imparted
to you as it defended and lifted you?
2. Have you thought what this arm hath wrought for you? How it
suffered itself to De shorn of its strength that you might be strong!
3. Have you not thought of the final triumph of that arm? (N. Schenck
D.D.)
Thy strength! my strength
(with Isaiah 52:1):--
1. Everything seemed to have gone against the exile. Life had no
longer for him a programme
but only a retrospect; no longer a radiant hope
but only a fading reminiscence; no longer an alluring vision
but only a
distinguished history. Here he lay in captivity; the songs of Zion had fled
from his lips
and his mouth was filled with wailing and complaint. “The Lord
hath forsaken me
and my Lord hath forgotten me.” “Where is He that brought us
up out of the sea with the Shepherd of His flock? Where is He that put His Holy
Spirit within us?” And now and again the exile half-turned himself in angry
hopeless cry
“Oh
that Thou wouldst rend the heavens
that Thou
wouldst come
down!” And again he relapsed into the low and cheerlees moan: “My Lord hath
forgotten me.” And yet again he pierced the heaven with his searching
supplication: “Awake
awake
put on Thy strength
O arm of the Lord
as in the
ancient days
in the generations of old.
2. What will be the Lord’s reply to the cry of the exile? Here it is:
“Awake
awake
put on thy strength
O Zion!” The Divine response is a sharp
retort. “It is not thy God who sleepeth! It is thou thyself who art wrapt about
in a sluggish and consuming indolence! Thou art crying out for more strength;
but what of the strength thou hast? Thy trumpet is silent
and thine armour is
rusting upon the walls! Thou art like a vagrant asking for help
when thou hast
a full purse hidden between the covers of an idle bed! Thou art pleading for
reinforcements
and thy soldiers are on the couch! Thy prayer is the
supplication of a man who is not doing his best! Clothe thyself in thy present
powers
consecrate thine all to the purpose of thy prayer
and stand forth in battle
array.” I need not say that there is nothing in the Lord s response which
disparages the ministry of prayer. It does
however
tend to put prayer in its
right place
and to give a true apprehension of its purpose and ministry.
Prayer is not a talisman
to be used as an easy substitute for our activity and
vigilance. Prayer is a ministry in which our own powers can be quickened into
more vigorous and healthy service. God has given us certain endowments. Certain
talents are part of our original equipment. We are possessed of powers of
judgment
of initiative
of sympathy; and the primary implication of all
successful prayer is that these powers are willingly placed upon the altar of
sacrifice. Any prayer is idle when these powers are indolent. We too frequently
pray to be carried like logs
and it is the Lord’s will that we should contend
like men! The principle is this--our “strength” must back our supplications. Is
the backing always present?
(3) There is the matter of social redemption. How often have we prayed
for the city: “Awake
awake
lint on strength
O arm of the Lord!” And still
I
think
there comes the Divine retort
“Put on thy strength
O Zion!” We abuse
the privilege of prayer when we make it a minister of personal evasion and
neglect. That is my message. There is no true prayer without a full
consecration. (J. H. Jowett
M.A.)
Verse 11
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return
Great deliverances
The return of the light of morning after the darkness of the
night; of a fine summer after a cold and cheerless winter; of health and
strength after a season of sickness and pain
is refreshing and delightful
and
demands the gratitude of the heart.
The deliverance of a nation from temporal slavery or subjection has often
kindled a fire in the breast of the patriot
the painter
the poet and the
historian; but what are all earthly blessings when compared with those which
are spiritual and eternal? (New Irish Pulpit.)
The present and future joy of the redeemed of the Lord
There is the greatest harmony throughout the whole Bible
and its
glowing descriptions of future events have always some relation to the
spiritualizing effects of the Gospel of Christ.
1. Who can with such propriety be called the redeemed of the Lord
as
they whom He has delivered from the power as well as penalty of sin?
2. Who again can with such propriety be ca]led the redeemed of the
Lord
as they whom He ransoms from that all-conquering foe
who puts all things
under his feet?
3. But must the soul lie insensible with the body until this general
redemption? Must ages pass before the redeemed of the Lord enjoy a foretaste of
their redemption? No! “To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”
4. But are there not some considerations
to be taken by us into
account on this subject? Is there not some blessing--a blessing beyond all
other blessings
which makes these a matter of everlasting joy to the redeemed
of the Lord? In bringing many sons to glory Jesus has been made perfect through
sufferings; He has made reconciliation for sin. (W. M. Harte.)
The joy of the ransomed
No New Testament utterance could be more beautiful than this
picturing of the return of the redeemed of the Lord to Zion.
1. It points
at the outset
to the grounds of their confidence and
joy. They are ransomed travellers: they have found the “righteousness” and the
“salvation” spoken of at the commencement of the chapter. They go
on their
pilgrim way exulting in Him whose arm “hath wounded the dragon”--the “Man of
God’s right hand
” who in His cross and passion hath“destroyed him that had the
power of death
that is the devil
and delivered them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” They are more than conquerors
through Him that loved them.
2. They are further here truthfully represented
even in the course
of their journey through the wilderness
as filled “with peace and joy in
believing
” “abounding in hope.” The Christian is a joyful man. Though it be a
wilderness he treads
and though sorrow and mourning are also depicted as
tracking his footsteps
yet he has elements of tranquil happiness within him
which make the song
not the tear
the appropriate exponent of his thoughts and
emotions. It were strange
indeed
were it otherwise. At peace with God; sin
forgiven; the heart changed; the affections elevated; grace moulding
sustaining
quickening
sanctifying; and
rising above all
the assured hope of
glory hereafter.
3. The words
too
seem to tell of an ever-augmenting joy. As the
portals of glory draw nearer
the song
deepens in melody and strength. They
come to. Zion “with singing;” then “everlasting joy is on their head. Then
they obtain a new anointing of “gladness;” and finally “sorrow and
mourning”--these two companions of the wilderness-rise on their sombre
gloomy
wings
and speed away for ever! (J. R. Macduff
D. D.)
Journey and song
I. A REDEEMED
PEOPLE.
II. THE REDEEMED OF
THE LORD AS TRAVELLERS.
III. THE REDEEMED OF
THE LORD AS SINGERS. (J. M. Blackie
LL.B.)
I
even I
am He that
comforteth you
Divine comfort is strength
They prayed for the
operations of His power (Isaiah 51:9); He answers them with the consolations of His grace
which may
well be accepted as an equivalent.
(M. Henry.)
Our true Comforter
I. THE LORD
COMFORTS ALL WHO TRUST HIM
BY REVEALING HIS RELATIONSHIP. It is a delight to
know that if the Almighty be a king
He is seated on a throne of grace
to
which every man is at liberty to: come; but it is a much more comforting
consolation to know that the Lord does not wish to be known to us as our king;
it is His desire for us to approach Him as our Father. If you gather the record
of all the good and lovable fathers who have ever existed
and can imagine them
welded into one being
you will have some idea of our Heavenly Father.
II. THE LORD
COMFORTS US
BY HIS CONTINUAL PRESENCE. Have you thought what it means
in
prayer
when you close your eyes?
III. THE LORD
COMFORTS US
BY PROVING HIS EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. Perhaps you may have sinned
grievously
and
though you have repented
and are struggling bravely
the
unfeeling world may point its finger of scorn; but do not despair. Listen to
the voice of your Heavenly Father
“I
even I
am He that comforteth you I”
IV. THE LORD
COMFORTS US
BY SHOWING THAT HE GOVERNS ALL THINGS. Fear hath torment
and it
is the parent of all our cares and anxieties. (W. Birch.)
Who art thou
that thou shouldest be afraid of a man?--
The comparative fear of
God and man
I. There are TWO
PARTIES here spoken of--man that shall die
“the son of man that shall be made
as grass;” and “the Lord our Maker
that stretched forth the heavens
and laid
the foundations of the earth.” It appears to be a main object of the
Scriptures
elsewhere as in the text
to set in the most vivid contrast with
each other the meanness
the emptiness
the nothingness of man; and the
all-sufficiency
the majesty
and the glory of God.
II. In the common
intercourse of the world
THE FORMER OF THESE PARTIES
RATHER THAN THE LATTER
IS PRACTICALLY THE OBJECT OF
REVERENCE
RESPECT AND
FEAR. Indeed
the whole system of society seems founded on the principle that
human sanctions are above Divine.
III. THE MEANING OF
THAT EMPHATIC QUESTION WITH WHICH THESE WORDS COMMENCE
“WHO ART THOU?”
1. The inquiry seems to have been primarily addressed to those whose
prevailing fear of man was the result rather of weakness under trying
circumstances
than of carnal blindness and depravity of heart. It seems
intended for the encouragement of God’s people when threatened with dangers
and particularly when harassed by the terrors which cruel enemies inspire.
2. But in another sense
and with far different emphasis
does it
apply to those who
in the genuine spirit of the world
and with the full
agreement of the will
pay that homage to man which the deliberately refuse to
God. Well may it be said to such
in a tone of mingled indignation and
surprise
“Who art thou?” (H. Woodward
M.A.)
Fear of man removed by
reflecting upon God
If
being children of God
by faith in Jesus Christ
we duly reflected on our “high calling
” and wisely
valued our privileges
we should certainly neither stand so much in awe of one
another
nor be so guilty as we are of forgetfulness of the Almighty.
I. “WHO ART THOU?”
The question was put to Israel
with reference
not to what they were in
themselves--in dependence upon their own strength or holiness; for they were
weak and miserable offenders
suffering the punishment of their offences;
conquered
and carried into exile by heathen enemies; friendless and hopeless:
but it referred to Jehovah s choice of them as a peculiar people
to their
experience of the Divine protection
and their covenanted right in the Divine
promises. And
without reference to God
and His salvation
what can be the
answer of any human being to the question
“Who
or what art
thou?”--nothing
and less than nothing; a vapour
that is exhaled and is not;
an atom
that perishes and is forgotten; a sinful and miserable being
the
child of perdition
“at his best estate altogether vanity.” It is not so
however
that God sees us. He beholds all things here below in His blessed Son.
Redemption enables every believer to return a lofty answer to the inquiry
“Who
art thou?”
II. If such be a
correct draught of the reply which the faithful Christian can make to
the question
“Who art thou?” THE UNFITNESS
THE IMPROPRIETY OF HIS YIELDING TO
THE FEAR OF MAN IS MANIFEST.
1. It saps the vital strength of the Christian character
in
undermining our faith. I cannot truly believe in God
as He has revealed
Himself
and yet stoop to this fear.
2. It leads men to vain
and unworthy expedients--to trust in the
“arm of flesh” and in “refuges of lies.”
3. Carnal fear is the very worst form of that unreasonable care and
anxiety
against the encroachments of which our Lord cautions
us.
4. “But
” asks the prophet
“who art thou
that thou shouldest be
afraid? Art not thou--thou
the child of God--of so high a dignity
of a strain
and lineage so glorious
that thou oughtest not to be suspected of so degrading
a passion as ignoble fear?
III. ALWAYS
CONNECTED WITH FEAR OF MAN
IS FORGETFULNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD. (R. Cattermole
B.D.)
God more to be feared than
man
That of two evils the
greatest is most to be feared
is a self-evident principle
which
as soon as
it is proposed
commands our assent; that he who can inflict a greater evil
“IS” more to be dreaded than he who can inflict only a less
is an immediate
consequence of that self-evident principle; that the Lord our Maker
who hath
stretched forth the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth
is armed
with greater power
and can inflict greater and more durable evils than “man
who shall die
and the son of man who shall be made as grass
” is more forcibly
expressed than if it were in direct terms declared in the expostulation of the
text: that man therefore is not to be feared
and that God is; or that man is
not to be feared in comparison with God; not equally to be feared with Him; not
at all to be feared
when the fear of man would betray us to do things
inconsistent with the fear of God
and such as would argue us to have forgotten
“the Lord our Maker
” is a truth as clearly
plainly and fully demonstrable as
any proposition in mathematics.
I. It is certain
mater of fact
that IN THE CONDUCT OF OUR LIVES WE ARE MORE AWED BY THE FEAR OF
MAN THAN WE ARE BY THE FEAR OF GOD. This is proved from experience and
observation. As evident as it is
that men commit those sins in secret which
they dare not commit openly; that they take more care to appear religious than
really to be religious; that in a licentious age they are afraid to own
themselves to be under the influences of religion; that they commit greater
sins to hide less; that they choose rather obstinately to persist in an error
than to own they were in the wrong; that they choose rather to break the laws
of God than to be out of fashion; that they are time-servers
and play fast and
loose with their principles
in order to secure or to promote their interest;
that they “make shipwreck of their faith” when storms arise
and fall away in
times of persecution; so evident is it
that in the conduct of their lives they
are more swayed by the fear of men than they are by the fear of God.
II. INQUIRE HOW
THIS COMES TO PASS.
1. As to the case of habitual
profligate
daring sinners
their
conduct in this matter is easily accounted for. By a constant
uninterrupted
course of sinning they have worn out all sense of religion
all notions of God
all apprehensions of a future state
and a judgment to come.
2. Every disciple of Christ is not so great a proficient in the
doctrine of the Cross
as to reach up to that fulness of stature in Christ to
which St. Paul was arrived
when he could
without arrogance
declare his
undaunted courage and resolution of mind in that magnanimous
but sincere
profession
which we find him making
“Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?” etc.
3. If persecution is proved to be so strong a temptation
and the
faith of the generality of Christians is so weak
it is no great matter of
surprise
that men should often yield to the violence of such pressing trials
and should be overawed into sinful compliances
by the fear of those evils
which
though they bear no proportion to the wrath of God
that shall be
revealed in the last day
are yet strong enough to betray the succours which
reason and religion offer.
4. But still what account can be given why men venture the loss of
their immortal souls
to avoid evils of a much less magnitude; such as are
shame
disrepute
the displeasure of superiors
the dislike of equals
or even
sometimes the disapprobation of inferiors? The best account I am able to give
of such extravagant and unjustifiable conduct is this: the sins to which men
are drawn by such slight temptations are not usually of that heinous kind
as
those are to which they are tempted by the terrors of greater evils; as the
temptation is mush weaker
me the aims to which they are tempted are much
lighter: though therefore they cannot plead the violence of the temptation
yet
they are apt to hope
that the sins into which they are so easily betrayed
being not of the deepest die
will the sooner be blotted out.
III. SHOW THE
EXTREME FOLLY AND UNREASONABLENESS OF IT. By the order of nature our passions
ought to be under the government of reason; by the laws of God they ought to be
subject to the rules of religion. Our reason tells us
that the greatest evils
are most to be feared; our religion teaches us
that the evils to come are
exceedingly greater than any we can feel at present: both reason
therefore
and religion agree to condemn the avoiding lesser evils
by running into
greater
which we always so
when out of fear to offend men we presume to sin
against God.
IV. GIVE SOME RULES
HOW WE MAY CONQUER THIS VICIOUS AND IMMODERATE FEAR OF MAN.
1. We fear men more than God
because the evils threatened by men are
apprehended to be nearer than those threatened by God. To weaken the force of
this motive to the fear of men
we should consider that this apprehension of
ours may be false; for though the sentence of God against evil works is not
always executed speedily
yet the judgments of God do sometimes seize upon the
sinner
even in the very act of sinning. But allowing them to be as yet far
removed
and to advance with the slowest pace
yet the disproportion which they
bear to the sorest evils men can inflict
is so great
that if we view them
together
the “treasures of wrath which are laid up against the day of wrath”
cannot appear light and inconsiderable
notwithstanding their present distance.
But to take away all danger of our being imposed upon by viewing them as far
remote
we ought in our thoughts to bring them nearer to us.
2. It will be further expedient for us to strengthen our good
resolutions by considering those supports which we may expect from God
if we
bravely bear up against those trials by which our virtue is
at any time
assaulted. The same power of God which will be manifested in our punishment
if
we give way to the vicious fear of men
will exert itself in our assistance
that
we may effectually overcome it. Having
therefore
these threats and promises
of the Lord
let us act like men who are endued with reason
and like
Christians who are strong in faith. (Bp. Smalridge.)
Foolish and impious fears
I. THE ABSURDITY
OF THOSE FEARS. It is a disparagement to us to give way to them. In the
original the pronoun is feminine
“Who art thou
O woman;” unworthy the name of
a man
such a weak and womanish thing is it to give way to perplexing fears. It
is absurd--
1. To be in such a dread of a dying man.
2. To fear “continually every day” (Isaiah 51:13); to put ourselves upon a constant rack
so as never to be easy
nor have any enjoyment of ourselves. Now and then a danger may be imminent and
threatening
and it may be prudence to fear it; but to be always in a toss
to
tremble at the shaking of every leaf
is to make ourselves all our lifetime
subject to bondage
and to bring upon ourselves that sore judgment which is
threatened Deuteronomy 28:66-67).
3. To fear beyond what there is cause for. Thou art afraid of “the
fury of the oppressor.” It is true there is an oppressor
and he is furious. He
designs
it may be
when he has an opportunity
to do thee mischief
and it
will be thy wisdom
therefore
to stand upon thy guard; but thou art afraid of
him “as if he were ready to destroy
” as if he were just now going to cut thy
throat and there were no possibility of preventing
it. A. timorous spirit is
thus apt to make the worst of everything
and sometimes God is pleased
presently to show us the folly of it. “Where is the fury of the oppressor?” It
is gone in an instant
and the danger is over ere thou art aware. His heart is
turned
or his hands are tied.
II. THE IMPIETY OF
THOSE FEARS. Thou “forgettest the Lord
thy Maker
” etc. Our inordinate
fearing of man is an implicit forgetting of God. (M. Henry.)
Verse 13
And forgettest the Lord thy Maker
God the Creator
What is it to create the heavens and the earth?
Who has seen the process of creation? I see a man shape a piece of iron or of
wood into a useful instrument
and the process seems simple enough. But here I
see the hand that works and the material on which it works. But that is not
creation--creation out of nothing. I see no hand shaping the trees and hills; I
never see something rising out of nothing. I can watch the growth of a flower
as I can the building of a house. And I know that in the former case
as in the
latter
there is some force in activity. But force is not God. Behind that
force God is still hidden
and the mysterious question remains
Who is He! More
mysterious still when I have to reflect that millions of flowers an the world
over are being formed
and that a similar force is in operation through all the
worlds of boundless space. And everywhere behind this force God is. God is my
Maker too. I eat and drink
I live and grow
and feel the energy of life. And
that
too
is God. So near to me--so immeasurably distant; and yet nowhere
visible. How
then
shall I think of Him
and answer to my heart the question
Who is God? (S. Edger
B.A.)
Verse 16
And I have put My words in thy mouth
The seed-corn of a new world
The words in their mouth are the seed-corn of a new world in the
midst of the old.
(F. Delitzsch
D.D.)
Commissioned
endowed
preserved
Like the first creation
the new is a gradual process
advancing
from age to age.
I. IN THIS WORK
GOD EMPLOYS HIS SERVANTS. When it is said
“That I may plant
” etc.
it
is obvious that it is through Israel the work is to be 1 Corinthians 3:9).
II. FOR THIS WORK
GOD ARMS HIS SERVANTS. “I have put My words in thy mouth.”
III. FOR THIS WORK
AND IN IT GOD PRESERVES HIS SERVANTS. “I have covered thee
” etc. (W.
Guthrie
M.A.)
Awake
awake
stand up
O Jerusalem
Brighter time for exiled Israel:
Jerusalem is pictured as a woman
prostrate through misfortune
lying helplessly as though drunken
on the roadside
her sons unable to guide
or assist her: but she is to stand up; the past is now solemnly reversed.
; and the cup of “reeling” which she has drunk is to be given to them that
afflicted her (Isaiah 51:17-23). (Prof. S.
R. Driver
D. D.)
A call to abandon despair
It is a call to awake
not so much out of the sleep of sin (though
that also is necessary
in order to their being ready for deliverance)
as out
of the stupor of despair. (M. Henry.)
The cup of trembling.
The cup of trembling
Such a cup is sooner or later placed in all our hands. Some may
ask us
indeed
if Christianity is not a religion of joy? Yes! But it is not a
religion of hilarity. The Christian life is the reproduction of the Master’s
image in the world! And as He was the Man of Sorrows
so beneath all there will
be tribulation in our hearts
even when we share the legacy of the Master’s
joy! The cup must be taken. The red wine is poured out by the good hand
and
the child with bowed knee and bruised heart says
“Even so
Father
for so it
seemeth good in Thy sight.” Good in the sight which sees the end from the
beginning
which culminates in the ultimate issues of glory and reward.
I. THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE PRESENT LIFE CREATES A SPIRIT OF TREMBLING. We are in a
world of instability and uncertainty. Tremendous possibilities are involved in
our daily lives. Health is so soon undermined. Disaster so suddenly comes. This
life needs indeed a Brother and a Saviour. There must be with the Christian an
element of sobriety in all human joys.
II. THE
ALL-SURROUNDING PRESENCE OF TEMPTATION CREATES A SPIRIT OF TREMBLING. Vain
self-confidence is contemptible.
III. THE LAW OF
DEPENDENCE ON OTHERS CREATES A SPIRIT OF TREMBLING.
1. Illness comes
and we are dependent on the wisdom of the physician
and the watchfulness of the nurse; great risk comes
and we are dependent on
the command of the captain and the sobriety of the crew; or we need the safety
of the wisest jurisprudence
and we are dependent on the carefulness of the
lawyer and the skill of the counsel.
2. Or we have to take care of others. Wives and children who may
presently be alone in the world--alone where there is such eager competition
and self-concern
such neglect of the weakest and the neediest; and we must
leave our simple savings to directors or to others who may mismanage our
affairs
or to trustees who may be false to their trust. And who shall say that
this is not to many anxious parents a “cup of trembling”!
3. Then we are citizens--men who have vast interest in all that
appertains to the life and honour of the fatherland; and all these
representatively
we have to leave in the hands of men
who may through pride
or ambition risk the nation s highest weal.
4. Then we are living souls
dependent on the great law of moral
influence around us to a much greater extent than we think. And we cannot
altogether escape from the contagion of the fashion of this present world.
IV. THE NEAR
APPROACH OF THE GREAT ACCOUNT CREATES A SPIRIT OF TREMBLING. Have you ever
thought how nearness affects you? Disease in a near city--in your city--m your
street--next door to your house!
Have you ever thought how even the judgment of earth
as it comes
nearer and nearer
affects the indifference of the criminal? But I am supposing
that we are Christians. We have an account to render of life’s stewardship.
Into each of our hands God has placed the cup of personality
responsibility
and accountability; and now
after a long time
“the Lord of those servants
cometh and reckoneth with them.” This is no mere figure of speech.
V. THE SEASON OF
SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE WILL CREATES A SPIRIT OF TREMBLING. We can in no sense
ever feel this as Christ our Lord and Master did. But though in this He stands
alone
His whole earthly history was a spectacle of submission. Every man must
bear his own burden
must drink his own cup. But Christ’s comfort is ours! With
trembling heart we seek the quiet pavilion of our Father. Better anything than
a God-emptied life. Christ our Brother and Saviour alone can succour us in
hours of submission. (W. M. Statham.)
Thus saith thy Lord
God our Advocate
How can God be both judge and advocate?
Maybe Isaiah would have said
“I see it not clearly myself yet.” But the riddle
is all explained when you bear in mind the distinction of the persons in the
Godhead. He pleads His people’s cause for them by the Son
and in them by the
Holy Ghost. This wonderful title
“God that pleadeth the cause of His people
”
has been already vindicated in the history of Israel. But what is it God
pleads? We may go very much astray unless we emphasize that word “cause.” It is
not
He pleadeth the whims of His people. Everything that I may want or like
God is not going to provide. That word “cause” means the strife
the battle
the controversy. The Church of God is just the expression of a great conflict
that has been going on for ages. I want to show you how Jesus has pleaded the
cause of His people
and He has done it in different courts.
I. He pleaded the
cause of His people first in the COURT OF JUDGMENT that was situated at Golgotha.
As to proving men innocent
that is impossible; they are guilty and condemned
and yet Christ steps forward and says
“I will plead their cause.” And He stood
in my place and yours
and pleaded our cause: but pleading our cause took Him
to the Cross and into the tomb.
II. Having pleaded
my cause in the court of judgment
He now pleads my cause IN THE COURT OF LAW
AND JUSTICE. It is not enough for a soul to be free from sin; that is the
negative side. How can any man enter heaven apart from righteousness? I will
suppose for a moment that this difficulty is raised in court. Yes
the past sin
is atoned for; but where is the man’s righteousness? I say
“Oh
my Lord
Thou
who didst plead for me just now
plead again!” and I hear Him say
“I lived the
life of perfect righteousness
I obeyed the law in every jot and tittle
I had
Thy word hidden in My heart.” And the answer comes
“The plea is perfect:
sinner
thou art not only forgiven
thou art justified; thy God hath pleaded
thy cause.”
III. Jesus now pleads
my cause IN HEAVEN ITSELF. If I am a saint
I am sure to pray
but being an
earthly saint I am sure to pray very badly; being a believer
I am sure to
sing
but having an earthly nature I am sure there are many low grovelling
notes. How are my prayers to enter heaven? how are my prayers to be accepted?
He who pleaded my cause on Golgotha
and He who pleaded my cause in the court
of law
He now as High Priest pleads my cause before the golden altar.
IV. And Jesus has
not yet concluded His pleading work. Personally I am looking for a day that is
yet to dawn when JESUS WILL PERFECTLY PLEAD ON BEHALF OF HIS PEOPLE THAT THEY
MAY RECEIVE ALL THE RIGHTS OF REDEMPTION.
V. I have only
dealt thus far with the Father and the Son
but it is the whole Trinity that
pleads the cause of His people
and therefore our final point is this
that
whilst Jesus has pleaded for me at Golgotha and does plead for me yonder in the
court of Heaven
THE HOLY GHOST IS PLEADING MY CAUSE WITHIN. (A. G.
Brown.)
The Advocate on high
How majestic are these appellations; and if we mark the variation
of the appearance of the word “Lord
” it opens to our view at once a fund of
information and comfort which would be lost if that were overlooked. The first
time the word is used
thy “Lord
” the translators have given it to us in small
letters
simply signifying a sovereign ruler and governor. The second time they
have given it in capital letters
which method they adopted to distinguish the
word “Jehovah” from the word “Adonai
” or Lord. When the word “Jehovah”
presents itself to our view
we are at once filled with a consciousness of the
presence of a self-existent Being
giving being to all
deriving being from
none
with all worlds at His command
and all creatures under His sway. And
then to have the sovereign governor
the self-existent Deity
presented to our
view in His covenant character as “thy God
” is peculiarly sweet. There is a
sevenfold preciousness in this introduction which Jehovah gives of Himself to
the notice of His people
and that
too
under circumstances particularly
affecting; because what the Lord was about to say to them was just called for
by the exigencies in which they were placed.
I. THE
APPELLATIONS that are employed. “Thy Lord;” “THE LORD” “thy God.”
II. OUR CLAIM TO AN
INTEREST IN THEM
as warranted by Scripture. I will refer to the infinite
perfections of the Deity to be claimed by the poor worm of the earth. What
I
allowed to claim Omniscience
Omnipotence to watch over me
Omnipresence to be
my company
Immutability to be my security
eternity the open prospect for me!
What
I view all the perfections and attributes of the Deity
such as His
justice
His holiness
His truth
His mercy
His faithfulness
everlastingly
pledged for my salvation? This is something solid. What is requisite to prove
the claim? You will find substantial proof nowhere but in spiritual life
imparted to the soul.
III. THE TRANSACTION
REFERRED TO. “That pleadeth the cause of His people.”
1. Let us first glance at the Divine
the sacred office assumed
as
stated the text
“If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father
Jesus
Christ the righteous.” That glorious Advocate is wise
faithful
condescending
affectionate.
2. The extraordinary nature of the cause of God’s people.
3. The legal process. The only great mark of the legal process is for
God’s holiness to be vindicated. Then the process must be by exacting or by
surety; and it must be by His life of obedience and His death of ignominy. If
the legal process be pleading with the guilty
ruined sinner
there are two or
three things I shall name.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》