Chapter I: Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES.

- Technical note: This book makes heavy use of SMALL CAPS
formatting. You may need to experiment with fonts and browsers
until you see the words "small caps" formatted in SMALL CAPS.

- This is a commentary on the first 39 chapters of the Biblical
book of Isaiah. It was written to help ministers with their
sermon preparation. Many of the thoughts presented are condensed
from published sermons. The book is a collection of man's
opinions on the inspired Word of God. The Transcriber does not
necessarily agree with every opinion expressed. Among the
disagreements are suggestions that the Church replaces Israel,
or is "the true Israel," or that human effort has any effect on
God's pacing of future events. Some of the opinions expressed
are unapologetically anti-Roman Catholic or culturally
insensitive. The book is a product of its time and place (late
nineteenth century greater London). The U.S. conflict between
North and South is still within memory and neither the great
European wars to come, nor England's loss of her colonial
possessions in India and Africa, nor the establishment of the
State of Israel is even foreshadowed.

- The page numbers in the first part of the book ("front-matter")
and the last part of the book ("back-matter") were modified from
unadorned Arabic numbers to make them unique. In this e-book,
front-matter pages are identified by lower-cased Roman numbers
and back-matter pages include the letter "A" (for "Appendix")
and either an "L" or an "R" to identify the left or right
column. The Appendix presents two translations of the whole book
of Isaiah and two additional translations of the fifty-second
and fifth-third chapters.

- In the original, the outlines are generally in order by
scripture reference and information in the page headers helps
one find an outline related to any desired passage. Due to the
length of the e-book, and the supplemental outlines added toward
the end, the Transcriber has inserted a listing of outlines in
sequential order by scripture reference after the Index of
Subjects, Index of Authors, and table of Times, Seasons, and
Occasions, and prior to the Introduction.

- The footnotes in the text are identified by sequential
lower-case Greek letters: ɑ, Β, etc. The Transcriber has changed
them to superscript bracketed numbers to comply with current
use. In the main portion of the book, the "footnotes" were set
in smaller type at the end of the respective outlines. In the
Appendix, footnotes were set at the bottom of each page. The
text and each footnote are hyperlinked both directions.

- Certain long outlines (The Virgin's Son, The Burden of Dumah)
and the Appendix were set almost entirely in footnote type to
save page count.

- The detailed list of Transcriber's changes is at the foot of the
document.

THE PREACHER'S COMPLETE HOMILETIC COMMENTARY ON THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS

THE OLD TESTAMENT _Volumes 1-21_

THE NEW TESTAMENT _Volumes 22-32_

Volume 15

The Preacher's Complete Homiletic COMMENTARY

ON THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET Isaiah Volume I

_By the_ REV. R. A. BERTRAM _and_ _The_ REV. ALFRED TUCKER

[LOGO] PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY NEW YORK

PREFATORY NOTES.

1. In the preparation of this Commentary, my aim throughout has
been evangelical and practical. A study of the Book of Isaiah
suggests many historical, critical, and speculative questions,
but these I have entirely disregarded. I have asked only, What
messages from God has this inspired prophet for the men of this
generation? What instruction has he to give us? What warnings?
What encouragements? What consolations? To these questions I
believe there are answers in the outlines I have myself
prepared, and in those I have obtained from other sources.

2. As my work proceeded, my methods somewhat changed. I discovered
that I had commenced the Commentary on too large a scale, and
that it was in danger of becoming too large and costly. I
therefore ceased to append illustrations to the outlines, and
contented myself with giving references to illustrations in my
_"Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations in Theology and
Morals"_ and my _"Dictionary of Poetical Illustrations,"_ using
for this purpose the letters H. E. I. and P. D.

3. I also ceased to prepare outlines on _all_ the texts, and
limited myself to those most likely to be profitable to ordinary
congregations.

4. As I proceeded, I also became more convinced that a book
intended to be helpful to many minds should contain the best
thoughts of many minds; and therefore, instead of preparing
outlines which might be expanded into sermons, I condensed
sermons preached by others into outlines. Remembering that I was
working for ministers, I stripped the _thoughts_ contained in
those sermons of most of their dress, and so the substance of a
sermon of twenty pages was frequently placed on a page. The
result is that in this volume a hundred and fifty students of
Scripture--Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and
Baptists--combine to offer to their brethren suggestions as to
the best practical uses to which the writings of Isaiah may be
put today.

5. On pp. 447-496 are some valuable outlines obtained too late for
insertion in their proper places. Three of them are interesting
specimens of Welsh preaching.

CONTENTS.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

Advent Thoughts and Joys Adversity, The Bread of Afflicted, The Duty of the Afflictions of God's People, The Allotments of Land to the Poor Altar and a Saviour for Egypt, An Amusement, Earthly Apostates, The Doom of the Appeal and an Argument, An Appropriation, The Grand Ariel Art, The Noblest Assyrian, The Assyrian Invasion of Judah Atonement, The

Babylon, The Doom of Beautiful Visions Exchanged for Realities Belief, The Restoration of Believer's Dignity and Power, The Blessed Life, A Blessedness of the Servant of God, The Blind Leaders Book That Will Bear Testing, A

Call to the Careless, A Call to the Revolted, A Call to Study, A Canticle, A Sad Chambers of Safety Chastisement Cheering Words and Solemn Warnings Children of Babylon, Their Doom Children, Spare the Child-Training Christ a Tested Saviour Christ, Comfort in Christ, His Empire Christ, His Government Christ, His Name--"Wonderful" Christ, His Second Coming Christ, His Titles and Government Christ, His Triumphs Christ Our Counsellor Christ, The Ensign of the Nations Christ, The Everlasting Father Christ, The Healer and Joy-Giver Christ, The Mighty God Christ, The Prince of Peace Christ, The Reconciler of Men Christ a Righteous Judge Christ a Sure Foundation Christ, The Beauty of His Character Christ, Suretyship of Christian Liberality Christian's Refuge, The Church of Christ, Characteristics of the Church, Fiery Ordeal of Church, The Christian, A Continuation of the Jewish Cleaning for the Vilest Cleaning Spirit, The Comfort for the Desponding Comfort in Christ Command, A Plain Conqueror Conquered, The Consideration, Religious Controlling Fact, A Conversion, A Happy Cords and Cart-Ropes Cords of Vanity Counsel, A Threefold Counsellor, The Only Covetousness Cry for Help, A Curse Done Away, The

Day of the Lord, The Day of Visitation, The Days of Deliverance Death and the Grave Death, Distress in Prospect of Death, Preparation for Death, The Contrasts of Deliverance, A Great Depravity, Total Depravity, Transmitted Despisers, The Doom of the Disabled Ship, The Discipline of Sin, The Divine Anger Divine Disappointments Divine Ideal of Israel Realised, The Divine Judgments, The Twofold Effect of Divine Patience, Trials of the Divine Salvation Rejected Dreaming Drink and Its Woes Drunkard, The Miseries of the Dumah, The Burden of

Early Religious Training Earthly Song and the Heavenly Voice East Wind, The Day of the Encouragement for the Timid England's Crying Sin Evil-Doers, The Seed of Exiles' Return, The

Faith's Impregnable Citadel Faith, The Condition of Firmness False Refuges Female Pride and Luxury Fears and Comforts Feast for Faith, A Festivity and Forgetfulness Foolish King and a Wise One, A Forgetfulness of God Forsaken of God Forsaking the Lord

Gladness, The Duty of Glorifying God in the Fires God Avenging His Own Elect God Exalted in the Great Day God, His Goodness to the Church God's Gracious Invitation to Sinners God's Ideal of Goodness God's Invitation to Shelter God's Judgments God's Outstretched Hand God's Perpetual Presence with His People God's Promises God's Readiness to Listen to the Needy God's Reluctance to Punish God's Righteousness God Oppressed God Our Refuge or Our Ruin God, Two Constant Feelings in His Mind God's Outcasts God's People Forsaken Godly, Prospect of the Good and Evil, The Sin of Confounding Gospel, Future Triumphs of the Gospel, The Blessings of the Gospel Feast, The Gospel Trumpet, The Government, The Curse of a Weak Grave and its Mysteries, The Great Deliverance, A Great Dethronement, The Great Task, The Growing Light Guiding Voice, The

"Hallowed Be Thy Name" Harvest, The Joy of the Haughtiness Heaven, The Happiness of Heedfulness Hezekiah's Prayer Hezekiah's Prudent Silence Hezekiah's Resolution Hezekiah's Song Hezekiah's Strength and Weakness Hezekiah Tried Holiness Accomplished, Peace Ordained Holiness, Man's, God's Workmanship Home Life and Influence

Ignorance, The Evils of Illustrious Inhabitant, An Immanuel Impenitent, Certainty of the Destruction of the In Whom Art Thou Trusting? Inconsiderateness Incorrigible, Doom of the Iniquity a Burden Injustice, Legalised Instinct Followed, Reason Disregarded Intellectual Pride Isaiah, His Interview with Ahaz Isaiah, His Vision of the King and His Kingdom Isaiah, His Vision of God Isaiah, His Vision of the Last Days Isaiah, The Evangelical Prophet Israel, Future Prosperity of Israel, God's Indictment against Israel, The Doom of Impenitent

Joy of Salvation, The Joy of the Meek Joy Religious Just Man's Security, The

King in Trouble, A Knowledge of God Knowledge of God, Importance of Religious

Language, Its Influence on Character Latter-Day Glory, The Law and the Testimony, The Leadership Life, Its Diminutions and Changes Life, The Shortening of Light of the Lord, The Lip Service Instead of Heart Worship Littles, The Power of

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz Man's Imagined Independence of God Man's Insignificance and God's Supremacy Man Proposes, God Disposes Material and the Mortal, The Memorable Answer, A Messengers Wanted Messiah, The Glory of the Ministerial Duty, Some Aspects of Ministerial Fidelity, Dislike to Missionary Success, The Essential Condition of Mockery, Irreligious Momentous Decisions Momentous Inquiry, A Money, The Love of Moral Ablution Moral Declension Moral History of a Rising Soul, The Moral Obduracy Moral Perversity Moral Wilderness Transformed

National Bereavement, Lessons from a National Greatness National Peace, The Gift of God National Revival National Ungodliness Necromancy Needless Stripes New Song for New Hearts, A Night and Morning Night Longings for God No Sickness There! Nobility and Security

Opportunities, The Use of Oppressed and Their Relief, The Oppression of the Poor Our Trust and Our Test

Parable of the Husbandman, The Parable of the Vineyard, The Peace, National Peace, Perfect Peace, The Work of Righteousness Peaceful Keeping Perversion of Right and Wrong Piety, Irreligious Pleader and the Judge, The Politicians, Biblical Praise for Preservation Prayer, A Christian Prayer, A King's Prayer in Trouble Prayer, Reasons for the Rejection of Privileges, Great Prophecy the Voice of God Prophet of the Lord, The Prophet's Call, The Prophet's Mission, Duration of the Protecting Hand, The Providence Public Worship, The Possibilities of Punishment of the Wicked, The Punishment, The Purpose of Purposes and Panics

Quietness, Christian Quietness, Strength in

Rabshakehs, Modern Recompense, The Great Law of Recovery from Sickness Redemption, The Divine Idea of Rejected Sacrifices Rejection of Divine Truth, The Religion, True and False Remnants of Society, The Retirement, Religious Revelation of God, The Rivers, Enriching Rivers of Waters Road to the City, The

Saint's Attitude in Time of Trouble Sanctuary in God Scepticism Self-Conceit Self-Scrutiny in God's Presence Sensuality Sentence of Doom, A Seraphim, The Shameless Sinners Short Bed and the Narrow Covering, The Sick and Dying, Duties of the Sickness, Recovery from Sight of God and a Sense of Sin, A Sin and Grace Sin, Its Destructiveness Sin, The Origin and End of Sinner's Danger and Refuge, The Sinners Self-Destroyed Social Regeneration Sodom and Gomorrah Solemn Disclaimer, A Song to the Vineyard, A Sorrow, The Banishment of Spirit of the Lord, The Spiritual Husbandry Spiritual Usurpers Renounced Spirituality of the Divine Nature, The Spreading the Letter before the Lord Stability through Faith Startling Charge, A Statesmen, The Death of Stone of Stumbling, The Storms of Life, The Strange and Sad Errand, A Stream Rejected for the River, The Suffering, Unsanctified Submission under God's Rebuke Summons to Jerusalem, The Supplications, Fruitless

Taking Hold of God's Strength Teachers of Truth, Their Duty in Times of National Perversion Terrible Picture, A Terrible Resolve, A Things To Be Considered Thoughtlessness Threatened, But Safe Tophet Ordained of Old Tow and the Spark, The Transformation Trinity in Unity, The Trumpet, The Great Trust and Trials

Unbelief, The Inexcusableness of

Vanity of Earthly Help in Time of Trial Virgin's Son, The Volunteer Service

Waiting, Divine and Human Waiting on God War Waters of Shiloah, The Wells of Salvation Wild Grapes Wise Lessons from Wicked Lips World, A Sorrowless World's Misery, The Remedy of the Worthless Husks Wrong Names, The Sin of Using

Zion, The Controversy of Zion, The Futility of Fighting Against

INDEX OF AUTHORS.

Abbott, J. S. C. Adams, W. Adeney, W. F. Alexander, Dr. Ambrose, William Anderson, James Anderson, Dr. W.

Barfield, A. F. Barry, Bishop Bateman, Josiah Bather, Archdeacon Baxendale, Walter Beecher, Henry Ward Bennett, Dr. Bertram, R. A. Bingham, R. Blomfield, Bishop Blunt, H. Boone, J. S. Bradley, Charles Brathwaite, M. Brierley, J. Brooke, Stopford A. Brooks, William Buckingham, S. G. Bunting, Dr. Burns, Dr. Jabez Burrows, W. Bushnell, Dr. Butler, William Archer

Cheever, Dr. Clark, George Clayton, G. Clemance, Dr. Close, Dean Cooper, Edward Corbin, John Cowles, Dr. Creswell, Henry Crow, E. Currie, D. D.

Davies, Samuel Dowling, J. G.

Edmond, Dr. Emmons, Dr. Erskine, Ralph Exell, J. S.

Forrest, R. W. Foster, John Fraser, Bishop Fuller, Andrew

Gerard, Dr. Gibson, A. Gilfillan, G. Goodwin, H. Goulburn, Dean Griffin, E. Guinness, H. G. Gurney, J. H. Guthrie, William

Hall, Robert Hancock, W. Hare, Julius Charles Harris, W. Hawes, Dr. Heber, Reginald Hobart, Dr. Holdeck, Dr. Hood, E. Paxton Hubbard, W.

Irons, Joseph

James, John Angell Jay, William Johnson, John Johnston, John Jonas, William Jupe, Charles

Kennedy, Dr. Kennicott, Dr. Kidd, Thornhill Kollock, Dr.

Lewis, Dr. Liddon, Canon Lilley, J. Osborne Logan, John Lyth, Dr.

Macculloch, R. Maclaren, A. Magie, Dr. Manning, W. Marriott, John Mathew, G. Maurice, F. D. McAuslane, Dr. Melvill, H. Miall, G. R. Milne, John Milner, Dr. Moore, Charles Monks, Richard Monod, Horace Morgan, James

Neave, Thomas Nesbit, R. Newman, John Henry Norton, John N.

Oliver, T.

Packer, John Parker, Dr. Parkes, William Parkman, R. C. Piele, Dr. Pott, J. H. Pratten, B. P. Punshon, Dr.

Rawlinson, John Reeve, William Roberts, Arthur Roberts, William Robins, S. Robjohns, H. T.

Salomon, G. Scott, Adam Shedd, Dr. Sherman, J. Sherwood, J. M. Shuttleworth, Dr. Simcock, J. Macrae Skelton Smith, George Spencer, Thomas Spurgeon, C. H. Statham, W. M. "Stems and Twigs" Stirling, J. Storrs, Dr. Superville, Daniel de

Talmage, Dr. Taylor. Dr. W. M. Thodey, Samuel Thomas, Dr. David Thompson, B. Tucker, Dr.

Villiers, H. M.

Walker, H. F. Watson, Richard Watt, John Wood, J. R. Woodford, J. R.

TIMES, SEASONS, AND OCCASIONS.

Advent Sermons Bible Society Sermon Christmas Sermons Death of a Statesman Easter Sunday First Sunday of the Year Freehold Land Society Sermon Funeral Sermon Harvest Thanksgiving Last Sermon of the Year Missionary Sermons Ordination or Visitation Sermons Parliamentary Election Sermon Peace Society Sermons Seamen, Sermon to Sunday-School Anniversary Temperance Sermons Thanksgiving Sermon Time of National Distress Trinity Sunday Whitsuntide

TEXTS.

i. 1. The Prophet of the Lord

i. 2. Prophecy the Voice of God

i. 2, 3. An Appeal and an Argument

i. 2-6. God's Indictment against Israel

i. 3. Thoughtlessness
Inconsiderateness
Things to be Considered
Religious Consideration
Instinct Followed--Reason Disregarded

i. 4. Iniquity a Burden
Transmitted Depravity
Forsaking the Lord

i. 5. Moral Obduracy
Needless Stripes

i. 5-8. Total Depravity

i. 9. God's Reluctance to Punish

i. 10. The Summons to Jerusalem

i. 11. Rejected Sacrifices

i. 11, 16, 17. True and False Religion

i. 13. The Possibilities of Public Worship

i. 14. God Oppressed

i. 15. Worthless Husks
Reasons for the Rejection of Prayer
A Startling Charge

i. 16. Moral Ablution
A Plain Command

i. 17. The Great Task
The Noblest Art
The Oppressed and Their Relief
God's Ideal of Goodness

i. 18. God's Gracious Invitation to Sinners
Cleansing for the Vilest
Comfort for the Desponding
Sin and Grace
Self-scrutiny in God's Presence

i. 19-20. Sinners Self-destroyed

i. 20. The Certainty of the Destruction of the Impenitent

i. 21-23. Moral Declension

i. 21. An Illustrious Inhabitant

i. 22. The Possible Degeneracy of Valuable Things

i. 24. A Terrible Resolve

i. 24-27. The Purpose of Punishment

i. 25, 26. The Divine Idea of Redemption

i. 26. Social Regeneration

i. 27, 28. The Twofold Effect of Divine Judgments

i. 28. Forsaking the Lord

i. 28-31. The Doom of the Apostates

i. 31. The Tow and the Spark

ii. 1-5. Isaiah's Vision of the Last Days

ii. 2-5. The Latter-Day Glory

ii. 2. The Future Triumphs of the Gospel

ii. 4. The Cessation of War

ii. 5. The Light of the Lord
The Walk of the Soul in the Light of the Lord

ii. 6-22. A Terrible Picture

Heb. xiii. 5, ii. 6. God's People Forsaken

ii. 6. Forsaken of God

ii. 6-9. The Material and the Moral

ii. 10. The Sinner's Danger and Refuge

ii. 17. God Exalted in the Great Day

ii. 18. The Great Dethronement

ii. 22. Man's Insignificance and God's Supremacy
Lessons from a National Bereavement

iii. 1-3. The Death of Statesmen

iii. 1-8. National Greatness

iii. 9. Shameless Sinners

iii. 10, 11. Cheering Words and Solemn Warnings
The Great Law of Recompense

iii. 12. The Curse of a Weak Government
Blind Leaders

iii. 15. Oppression of the Poor

iii. 13-15. The Pleader and the Judge

iii. 16, 17. Haughtiness

iii. 16--iv. 1. Female Pride and Luxury

iv. 1. The Desolating and Disorganising Power of War

iv. 2-6. The Divine Ideal of Israel Realised

iv. 2-5. God's Perpetual Presence with His People

iv. 4. The Cleansing Spirit

v. 1-7. The Parable of the Vineyard
The Parable of the Vineyard
Great Privileges

v. 2. Divine Disappointments

v. 4. The Inexcusability and Hopelessness of Unbelief

v. 4-6. A Sad Canticle

v. 7, 8. On the Advantage of Small Allotments of Land to the
Poor

v. 8-21. Wild Grapes

v. 8-10. Covetousness

v. 8. God's Curse on the Covetous

v. 11. The Miseries of the Drunkard

v. 11-17. National Ungodliness

v. 11, 12. Sensuality

v. 12. Earthly Amusement
Festivity and Forgetfulness

v. 13-15. The Evils of Ignorance

v. 14, 15. Death and the Grave

v. 18. Cords of Vanity
Cords and Cart-Ropes

v. 19. Scepticism

v. 20. The Influence of Language on Character
The Sin of Confounding Good and Evil
On the Perversion of Right and Wrong
The Sin of Using Wrong Names
Moral Perversity

v. 21. Self-Conceit
Intellectual Pride

v. 22. The Woe of the Drunkard
The Woe of the Drunkard
Drink and Its Woes

v. 24. The Doom of Despisers

v. 24-30. The Doom of Impenitent Israel

vi. 1-12. The Prophet's Call

vi. 1, 2, 5-7. The Service of the Seraphim

vi. 1-3. The Trinity in Unity

vi. 1-5. Revelations of God

vi. 1-7. Isaiah's Vision

vi. 1-2. The Seraphim

vi. 2. A Glorious Example

vi. 2-4. The Seraphim and Their Song

vi. 5-7. A Sight of God and a Sense of Sin

vi. 5-8. The Moral History of a Rising Soul

vi. 8. Volunteer Service
Messengers Wanted

vi. 9, 10. A Strange and Sad Errand
The Rejection of Divine Truth

vi. 11-13. The Duration of the Prophet's Mission

vii. 1-9. Fears and Comforts
Faith's Impregnable Citadel

vii. 1, 2. Purpose and Panics

vii. 3-25. Isaiah's Interview with Ahaz

vii. 4. A Threefold Counsel
Heedfulness

vii. 9. Faith, The Condition of Firmness
Stability through Faith

vii. 12. Man's Imagined Independence of God
Momentous Decisions
Irreligious Piety

vii. 13. Trials of the Divine Patience

vii. 13-16. The Virgin's Son

vii. 14. Immanuel

vii. 15. The Great Object of Child-Training

vii. 17-25. A Sentence of Doom

viii. 1-4. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz

viii. 5-8. The Stream Rejected for the River

viii. 6-8. The Waters of Shiloah

viii. 9, 10. Threatened, But Safe

viii. 11-15. Biblical Politicians

viii. 13. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"

viii. 14. God Our Refuge, or Our Ruin
The Stone of Stumbling
Sanctuary in God

viii. 16-18. The Duty of Teachers of Truth in Times of
National Perversion

viii. 17. Waiting on the Lord in Desertion and Gloom
Penitential Waiting on God

viii. 19-22. Necromancy

viii. 20. The Law and the Testimony

viii. 21, ix. 13. Unsanctified Suffering

ix. 2-7. The Remedy of the World's Misery

ix. 3. The Joy of Harvest

ix. 6. The Titles and Government of Christ
The Government of Christ
His Name . . . Wonderful
Christ our Counsellor
The Mighty God
The Everlasting Father
The Prince of Peace

ix. 7. The Empire of Christ
The Security for the Fulfilment of God's Promises

ix. 8-x. 4. The Outstretched Hand of God

ix. 10. Wise Lessons from Wicked Lips

ix. 14. The Duty of the Afflicted

ix. 15, 16. Leadership

ix. 17. Two Constant Feelings in the Mind of God
Divine Anger

ix. 19. The Destructiveness of Sin

x. 1-4. Legalised Injustice

x. 3. The Day of Visitation

x. 5-34. The Assyrian Invasion of Judah
The Assyrian

x. 7-15. Man Proposes, God Disposes

x. 20. A Happy Conversion

x. 20-23. The Remnants of Society

xi. and xii. Isaiah's Vision of the King and His Kingdom

xi. 2. The Spirit of the Lord

xi. 3. The Righteous Judge

xi. 9. The Universal Diffusion and Redemptive Power of the
Knowledge of God
The Diffusion of the Knowledge of God

xi. 10. The Ensign of the Nations

xi. 10-16. The Reconciler of Men

xii. 1. A New Song for New Hearts

xii. 3. Wells of Salvation

xii. 6. The Duty of Gladness

xiii. 1. The Proud City Doomed

xiii. 6. The Day of the Lord

xiii. 16. The Doom of the Children of Babylon

xiii. 17. The Love of Money

xiii. 18. Spare the Children

xiii. 19. Sodom and Gomorrah

xiv. 3, 4. The Joy of Salvation

xiv. 9-12. The Grave and Its Mysteries

xiv. 11. The Contrasts of Death
The Conqueror Conquered

xiv. 20. The Seed of Evildoers

xiv. 32. A Memorable Answer

xvi. 4. God's Outcasts

xvi. 12. Fruitless

xvii. 5-7. Diminutions and Changes of Life

xvii. 7, 8. Sanctified Affliction

xvii. 10, 11. Forgetfulness of God

xvii. 12. The Punishment of the Wicked

xix. 1-3, 14. True National Greatness

xix. 18-20. An Altar and a Saviour for Egypt

xix. 27 Chastisement

xxi. 11, 12. The Burden of Dumah
Night and Morning
A Momentous Inquiry

xxi. 15. The Grievousness of War

xxii. 18. The Irresistibleness of God's Judgments

xxii. 24. The Glory of the Messiah

xxiv. 15. Glorifying God in the Fires

xxv. 1. The Grand Appropriation

xxv. 6-8. The Gospel Feast
The Blessings of the Gospel

xxv. 8. The Triumphs of Christ
A Sorrowless World

xxv. 9. Advent Thoughts and Joys

xxv. 10. The Protecting Hand

xxvi. 1-2. Days of Deliverance

xxvi. 3-4. Perfect Peace
Peaceful Keeping

xxvi. 7. The Righteousness of God and His People
The Just Man's Security

xxvi. 8. The Way of God's Judgments

xxvi. 8, 9. Trust and Trials

xxvi. 9. Night Longings for God
The Necessity and Profitableness of Chastisement

xxvi. 9, 10. The Use and Abuse of the Judgments of God

xxvi. 12. National Peace the Gift of God
Holiness Accomplished, Peace Ordained
Man's Holiness, God's Workmanship

xxvi. 13, 14. Spiritual Usurpers Renounced

xxvi. 16. Prayer in Trouble

xxvi. 19. National Revival

xxvi. 20. God's Invitation to Shelter
Chambers of Safety
Religious Retirement

xxvii. 2, 3. God's Goodness to the Church
The Song to the Vineyard

xxvii. 4, 5. A Solemn Disclaimer

xxvii. 5. Taking Hold of God's Strength

xxvii. 6. The Future Prosperity of Israel

xxvii. 8. The Day of the East Wind
The Storms of Life

xxvii. 7-9. The Afflictions of God's People

xxvii. 9. The Discipline of Sin

xxvii. 10, 11. The Doom of the Incorrigible

xxvii. 13. The Gospel Trumpet
The Great Trumpet

xxviii. 1-4. England's Crying Sin

xxviii. 5, 6. The Believer's Dignity and Power

xxviii. 9, 10. Early Religious Training

xxviii. 10. The Power of Littles

xxviii. 12. Rejecters of the Gospel Admonished

xxviii. 16. The Sure Foundation
Our Trust and Our Test
A Tested Saviour

xxviii. 17. False Refuges

xxviii. 18. False Refuges

xxviii. 20. The Short Bed and the Narrow Covering

xxviii. 22. Irreligious Mockery

xxviii. 24, 25. The Parable of the Husbandman

xxviii. 29. A Feast for Faith

xxix. 1. Ariel

xxix. 7, 8. Dreaming

xxix. 8. Awakened from the Dream
The Futility of Fighting against Mount Zion

xxix. 13, 14. Lip-Service Instead of Heart-Worship

xxix. 19. The Joy of the Meek
Religious Joy

xxx. 1-3. The Origin and the End of Sin

xxx. 7. Strength in Quietness
Some Aspects of Ministerial Duty

xxx. 9-11. Dislike to Ministerial Fidelity

xxx. 15. Christian Quietness

xxx. 15, 16. The Vanity of Earthly Help in Time of Trial,
and the Profit of Patient Waiting

xxx. 15-17. Divine Salvation Rejected

xxx. 18. Waiting, Divine and Human
Waiting for the Lord

xxx. 19. God's Readiness to Listen to the Needy

xxx. 20, 21. The Bread of Adversity

xxx. 21. The Guiding Voice

xxx. 25, 26. Rivers of Waters

xxx. 26. Growing Light

xxx. 29-33. The Earthly Song and the Heavenly Voice

xxx. 33. Tophet Ordained of Old

xxxi. 1-3. The Only Counsellor

xxxi. 3. The Spirituality of the Divine Nature

xxxi. 6. A Call to the Revolted

xxxi. 9. The Fiery Ordeal of the Church

xxxii. 2. The Preciousness of Christ
The Christian's Refuge
Rivers of Water in a Dry Place
Comfort in Christ

xxxii. 8. Christian Liberality

xxxii. 11. A Call to the Careless

xxxii. 13-15. The Essential Condition of Missionary Success

xxxii. 15. The Moral Wilderness Transformed

xxxii. 17. Peace the Work of Righteousness

xxxii. 18. The Peaceful Habitation

xxxii. 20. Spiritual Husbandry
The Use of Opportunities

xxxiii. 1. Providence

xxxiii. 2. The Saint's Attitude in the Time of Trouble

xxxiii. 6. The Importance of Religious Knowledge

xxxiii. 7-12. God Avenging His Own Elect

xxxiii. 15-17. A Blessed Life

xxxiii. 15, 16. Nobility and Security

xxxiii. 16. The Blessedness of the Servant of God

xxxiii. 17. The Prospect of the Godly
The Beauty of Christ's Character

xxxiii. 20. Characteristics of the Church of Christ

xxxiii. 21. Enriching Rivers

xxxiii. 22. A Controlling Fact
The Atonement; or, Salvation Consistent with the
Regal and Judicial Character of God

xxxiii. 23. The Disabled Ship

xxxiii. 24. No Sickness There
Recovery from Sickness

xxxiv. 8. The Controversy of Zion

xxxiv. 16. A Call to Study
The Book That Will Endure Testing

xxxiv. 16, 17. The Certainty of God's Judgments

xxxv. 1, 2, 7. Transformation

xxxv. 3, 4. Encouragement for the Timid

xxxv. 5, 6. The Healer and Joy-Giver
The Curse Done Away

xxxv. 7. Beautiful Visions Exchanged for Realities

xxxv. 8-10. The Exiles' Return
The Road to the City

xxxv. 10. The Happiness of Heaven
The Banishment of Sorrow

xxxvi. 4. Modern Rabshakehs, And Their Attempts to Terrify
God's People into a Humble Surrender

xxxvi. 5. In Whom Art Thou Trusting?

xxxvi. 21. Hezekiah's Prudent Silence

xxxvii. 1. A Foolish King and a Wise One

xxxvii. 14. A King in Trouble
Spreading the Letter before the Lord

xxxvii. 15-20. A King's Prayer

xxxvii. 20. A Christian Prayer

xxxvii. 31. The Christian Church a Continuation of the Jewish

xxxviii. 1-19. Hezekiah's Prayer

xxxviii. 1. Preparation for Death
Duties of the Sick and Dying

xxxviii. 2, 3. Distress in Prospect of Death

xxxviii. 10. The Shortening of Human Life

xxxviii. 14. A Cry for Help
The Suretyship of Christ

xxxviii. 15-20. Hezekiah's Resolution

xxxviii. 15. The Restoration of Belief

xxxviii. 17. A Great Deliverance
Forgiveness of Sin

xxxviii. 18, 19. The Song of Hezekiah

xxxviii. 19. Praise for Preservation

xxxix. 1, 2. Hezekiah's Strength and Weakness

xxxix. 4. Home Life and Influence

xxxix. 8. Hezekiah Tried
Submission Under God's Rebuke

APPENDIX.

- Introduction - Alexander's translation of Isaiah - Delitzsch's translation of Isaiah - Calkins' translation of Isaiah lii. 12-liii. - Urwick's translation of Isaiah lii. 12-liii.

ISAIAH.

INTRODUCTION.

Of Isaiah, "the evangelical prophet," nothing is _known_ beyond what we are told of him in the Scriptures. Various traditions concerning him are current among the Jews, such as that his father Amoz was brother of King Amaziah, and that he himself died a martyr's death, being sawn asunder by order of Manasseh; but all that is _certain_ is, that he was the son of Amoz; that his prophetic ministry commenced in the reign of Uzziah, and closed in that of Hezekiah (ch. i. 1); that his wife was a prophetess (ch. viii. 3), and bare him two sons (ch. vi. 3; viii. 3); and that he was the author of a portion of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (2 Chron. xxvi. 22).

His name signifies _The Salvation of the Lord,_ and this--_the salvation which God works for His people from their sins and consequent misery_--is the great, though not the exclusive, theme of his prophecy.

The length of his ministry is variously estimated. The lowest estimate would make it comprise forty-nine years, from the last year of Uzziah to the seventeenth of Hezekiah (B.C. 759-710); the highest, sixty-four years, from the fourth year before Uzziah's death to the last year of Hezekiah (B.C. 762-698).

In the following Commentary it is assumed that the whole of the sixty-six chapters of which the Book of Isaiah is composed, were written by one pen. For clear and conclusive refutations of the theory of a second Isaiah, see the introductions to the Commentaries of Alexander, Delitsch, and Kay, and the article ISAIAH in Smith's, Kitto's, and Fairbairn's _Dictionaries of the Bible._

Appended are Ewald's criticisms on Isaiah's style,[1] and some admirable observations by Dr. Kay on the _title_ of Isaiah's prophecy, which readers of it will do to bear in mind throughout.[2]

FOOTNOTES.

[1] In Isaiah we see prophetic authorship reaching its
culminating point. Everything conspired to raise him to an
elevation which no prophet before or after could as writer
attain. Among the other prophets, each of the more
important ones is distinguished by some one particular
excellence, and some one particular talent. In Isaiah all
kinds of talent, and all beauties of prophetic discourse,
meet together, so as mutually to temper and qualify each
other; it is not so much any single feature that
distinguished him as the symmetry and perfection of the
whole.

We cannot fail to assume, as the first condition of
Isaiah's particular historical greatness, a native power,
and a vivacity of spirit which, even among prophets, is
seldom to be met with. It is but rarely that we see
combined in one and the same spirit the three several
characteristics of--first, the most profound prophetic
excitement and the purest sentiment; next, the most
indefatigable and successful practical activity amidst all
perplexities and changes of outward life; and, thirdly,
that facility and beauty in representing thought which is
the characteristic of the genuine poet; but this threefold
combination we find realised in Isaiah as in no other
prophet; and form the traces which we can perceive of the
unceasing joint-working of these three powers, we must draw
our conclusions as to the original greatness of his genius.
But as prophet and as author, Isaiah stands upon that calm,
sunny height, which in each several branch of ancient
literature one eminently favoured spirit at the right time
takes possession of; which seems, as it were, to have been
waiting for _him;_ and which, when he has come and mounted
the ascent, seems to keep and guard him to the last as its
own right man. In the sentiments which he expresses, in the
topics of his discourses, and in the manner of expression,
Isaiah uniformly reveals himself as the kingly prophet.

In reference to the last-named point, it cannot be said
that his method of elaborating thought is elaborate and
artificial: it rather shows a lofty simplicity and an
unconcern about external attractiveness, abandoning itself
freely to the leading and requirement of each several
thought; but, nevertheless, it always rolls along in a full
stream which overpowers all resistance, and never fails at
the right place to accomplish at every turn its object
without toil or effort.

The progress and development of the discourse is always
majestic, achieving much with few words, which, though
short, are yet clear and transparent; an overflowing
fulness of thought, which might readily lose itself in the
vast and indefinite, but which always at the right time
with tight rein collects and tempers its exuberance; to the
bottom exhausting the thought and completing the utterance,
and yet never too diffuse. This severe self-control is the
most admirably seen in those shorter utterances which by
briefly-sketched images and thoughts give us the vague
apprehension of something infinite, whilst, nevertheless,
they stand before us complete in themselves and clearly
delineated; _e.g._, viii. 6--ix. 6, xiv. 23-32, xviii. 1-7,
xxi. 11, 12; while in the long piece, xxviii.-xxxii., if
the composition here and there for a moment languishes, it
is only to lift itself again afresh with all the greater
might. In this rich and thickly-crowded fulness of thought
and word it is but seldom that the simile which is employed
appears apart, to set forth and complete itself (xxxi. 4,
5); in general, it crowds into the delineation of the
object which it is meant to illustrate, and is swallowed up
in it,--ay, and frequently simile after simile; and yet the
many threads of the discourse, which for a moment appeared
ravelled together, soon disentangle themselves into perfect
clearness;--a characteristic which belongs to this prophet
alone, a freedom of language which with no one else so
easily succeeds.

The versification, in like manner, is always full, and yet
strongly marked: while, however, this prophet is so little
concerned about anxiously weighing out to each verse its
proper number of words, not unfrequently he repeats the
same word in two members (xxxi. 8, xxxii. 17, xi. 5,
xix. 13), as if, with so much power and beauty in the
matter within, he did not so much require a painstaking
finish in the outside. The structure of the strophe is
always easy and beautifully rounded.

Still the main point lies here,--that we cannot in the case
of Isaiah, as in that of other prophets, specify any
particular peculiarity, or any favourite colour as
attaching to his general style. _He is not the especially
lyrical prophet, or the especially elegiacal prophet, or
the especially oratorical and hortatory prophet, as we
should describe a Joel, a Hosea, a Micah, with whom there
is a greater prevalence of some particular colour; but,
just as the subject requires, he has readily at command
every several kind of style and every several change of
delineation; and it is precisely this that, in point of
language, establishes his greatness, as well as in general,
forms out of his most towering points of excellence._ His
only fundamental peculiarity is the lofty, majestic,
calmness of his style, proceeding out of the perfect
command which he feels he possesses over his subject
matter. This calmness, however, no way demands that the
strain shall not, when occasion required, be more
vehemently excited, and assail the hearer with mightier
blows; but even the extremest excitement, which does here
and there intervene, is in the main bridled still by the
same spirit of calmness, and, not overstepping the limits
which that spirit assigns, it soon with lofty self-control
returns to its wonted tone of equability (ii. 10--iii. 1,
xxviii. 11-23, xxix. 9-14). Neither does this calmness in
discourse require that the subject shall always be treated
only in a plain level way, without any variation of form;
rather, Isaiah shows himself master in just that variety of
manner which suits the relation in which his hearers stand
to the matter now in hand. If he wishes to bring home to
their minds a distant truth which they like not to hear,
and to judge them by a sentence pronounced by their own
mouth, he retreats into a popular statement of a case drawn
from ordinary life (v. 1-6, xxviii. 23-20). If he will draw
the attention of the over wise to some new truth, or to
some future prospect, he surprises them by a brief oracle
clothed in an enigmatical dress, leaving it to their
penetration to discover its solution (vii. 14-16,
xxix. 1-8). When the unhappy temper of the people's minds
which nothing can amend leads to loud lamentation, his
speech becomes for a while the strain of elegy and lament
(i. 21-23, xxii. 4, 5). Do the frivolous leaders of the
people mock? he outdoes them at their own weapons, and
crushes them under the fearful earnest of divine mockery
(xxviii. 10-13). Even a single ironical word in passing
will drop from the lofty prophet (xxvii. 3, _glory_). Thus
his discourse varies into every complexion: _it is tender
and stern, didactic and threatening, mourning and again
exulting in divine joy, mocking and earnest;_ but ever at
the right time it returns to its original elevation and
repose, and never loses the clear ground-colour of its
divine seriousness.--_Ewald, quoted in Smith's Dictionary
of the Bible,_ vol. i. pp. 888, 889, article ISAIAH.

[2] The title of the book is _"The_ VISION _of Isaiah,"_ which
suggests these remarks--

(1.) Being a _vision,_ it will frequently speak of events
that are yet future, as if they had already occurred. So in
iii. 8: "Jerusalem _is ruined;_ Judah _is fallen."_ In
v. 13: "Therefore my people _are gone into captivity._"

(2.) What is seen in vision must be subject to the laws of
_perspective._ One who views the snowy Alps from a distance
may see two mountain peaks, which really are many miles
apart, as one object. The illustration is imperfect; yet it
may serve to explain how, to the eye of a seer, a nearer
event may be blended with one that is _in the same
direction, but vastly more remote;_ the type, for instance,
melting into the antitype, or the interval between the
first and second advents of the Messiah being indiscernible.

(3.) It is, as a whole, _The Vision;_--_one_ vision. It
consists, indeed, of various parts; yet from the very
outset these represent the same _vision._ Judah _is
rebellious; is sentenced to exile; is redeemed; is
purified. These elements, on a large scale, compose the
book as a whole;_ and, on a smaller scale, they compose the
first chapter. The body is made up of portions similar in
quality to itself, and to each other. The visions are
greatly diversified in size, form, colouring, and other
detail; but in essential characteristics it is one
vision.--_Dr. Kay, in The Speaker's Commentary,_ vol. v. p.
19.

THE PROPHET OF THE LORD.

i. 1. _The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah._

+I. The nature of the prophet's endowment:+ a "vision" into the very heart of things, a power of distinguishing between the seeming and the real. +II. The sadness and the joy of the prophet's life:+ sadness arising from his "vision" of human sin (vers. 2-15); joy arising from his "vision" of the wondrousness of the Divine mercy (ver. 18).

_Application._--1. In these latter days the prophetic endowment, to a greater or lesser extent, is possessed by all God's people (1 John ii. 20). 2. The Church should pray that it may be possessed to the fullest extent by all who are called to minister in holy things. Prophets of clear and penetrating "vision" are among the greatest gifts which God can confer upon the Church.[1] 3. This great endowment must be used not merely for the detection and exposure of human sin, lest we become cynical and inhuman, but also for the discovery of the abounding evidence of the Divine compassion (as in v. 9), that we may be brought into more perfect sympathy with Him who hates sin but desires and seeks to save the sinner.

FOOTNOTES.

[1] A preacher who is not in some way a seer is not a preacher
at all. You can never make people see religious realities
by correct definitions. They will not believe in the
reality of God on the word of a man who merely demonstrates
it to them. You must see such things yourself if you are
going to help others to see them. This is the secret of all
the preaching that ever was good since preaching
began.--_Beecher._

PROPHECY THE VOICE OF GOD.

i. 2. _The Lord hath spoken._

Thus at the very outset of this book Divine authority is claimed for the utterances contained in it. Three views may be taken of the writings of the Hebrew prophets. 1. They are the writings of men who knew they were uttering that which is false when they claimed to be messengers of the Most High. 2. They are the writings of enthusiasts who mistook the ecstasies of their excited imaginations for Divine inspirations. 3. They are the writings of holy men who were inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Against the first of these views is to be set the fact that the whole influence of the prophets was exerted on behalf of national righteousness and individual virtue; that for these things they suffered; that for these things some of them died. Is it credible that men who _so_ sought to promote _such_ ends would begin and continue their mission with a blasphemous lie?

Against the second is to be set the fact that many of their predictions have been fulfilled--fulfilled after intervals, so long, and with such minute accuracy, that sceptics have sought to account for such fulfilments by asserting that the prophecies were written subsequently to the events to which they refer; an assertion which the most competent scholars repel even with contempt.

There remains then only the third view; and in support of it may be urged--in addition to the _conclusive_ fact just named--such considerations as these: 1. That their conceptions of God and of human duty are such as to satisfy the loftiest demands of the most enlightened reason and the best instructed conscience. Give examples (ch. xl. 12-26; lviii. 3-7, &c.) 2. That their conceptions of God and of human duty have not been surpassed by those of the sublimest poets or the ablest philosophers of any subsequent age. 3. That their sublime conceptions of God and of human duty, which still stand as the Alps or Himalaya of human thought, were given to the world in an age when, with the exception only of the prophets and those who accepted their teaching, the whole human race was given over to the most debasing idolatries and superstitions. 4. That the Hebrew prophets stood out in regard to these conceptions not only distinct from the men of their own age, but from the men of their own nation, from whom they had only words of rebuke, and against whose most cherished convictions and steadfast tendencies they set themselves in resolute opposition. Give examples (ch. i. 11-15; lxvi. 1, 2, &c.) If due weight be given to these considerations, we shall see that there is no escape from the conclusion that the Hebrew prophets owed their conceptions of God and duty to God Himself. They spake and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

If this be so, then--1. We should earnestly study the prophetic utterances. How mentally as well as morally debased is the man who is not alert and concerned to hear and understand what "the LORD hath spoken"! 2. Such of their utterances as are predictive should kindle within us confident and joyful hopes. They are the promises of Him who cannot lie, and who has ample power to perform. 3. To those which are preceptive we should give prompt, comprehensive, and careful obedience. To withhold such obedience, is to array against ourselves omnipotent power; to yield it, is to secure for ourselves eternal rewards (ch. iii. 10, 11).

AN APPEAL AND AN ARGUMENT.

i. 2, 3. _Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the
Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children,
and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his
owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not
know, my people doth not consider._

+I. The unnaturalness of sin.+ The heavens and the earth obey the laws to which they have been subjected; the very beasts are faithful to their instincts; it is only man who falls in duty and goes astray. +II. The baseness of ingratitude:+ as displayed--1. By man to man;[1] 2. By children to their parents;[2] 3. By men to their Heavenly Father.[3] +III. The reasonableness of God's claim to their obedience and love.+ 1. He is our Father.[4] 2. To all parental duties He has been faithful. 3. He has been more than faithful; He has caused our cup to run over with His lovingkindness.[5] +IV. Privilege is the measure of responsibility and the aggravation of guilt.+ The point of the condemnation in these verses does not lie in the contrast between the conduct of animals and men, but in the contrast between the conduct of animals and that of God's people. "_Israel_ doth not know, _my people_ doth not consider!" This is the wonder and the monstrosity. That privilege is the measure of responsibility and the aggravation of guilt, is a very familiar truth; a truth often forgotten; and yet absolutely certain and tremendously important (Luke xii. 48; Heb. vi. 7, 8). What need _we_ have to lay it to heart!

FOOTNOTES:

[1] All should unite to punish the ungrateful:
Ingratitude is treason to mankind.--_Thomson._

He that's ungrateful has no guilt but one;
All other crimes may pass for virtues in him.--_Young._

[2] Sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child.--_Shakespeare._

[3] An ungracious soul may be burdened with many sins; but she
never makes up her full load till she hath added the sin of
unthankfulness. He leaves out no evil in a man who calls
him unthankful. Ingratitude dissolves the joints of the
whole world. A barren ground is less blamed, because it
hath not been dressed. But till it with the plough; trust
it with seed; let the clouds bless it with their rain, the
sun with his heat, the heavens with their influence, and
then if it be unfertile, the condition is worse; before it
was contemned, now it is cursed (Heb. vi. 8).--_Adams,_
1654.

Some are such brutes, that, like swine, their nose is
nailed to the trough in which they feed; they have not the
use of their understanding so far as to lift their eye to
heaven, and say, "There dwells that God that provides this
for me, that God by whom I live."--_Gurnall._

You would count it a sad spectacle to behold a man in a
lethargy, with his senses and reason so blasted by his
disease that he knows not his nearest friends, and takes no
notice of those that tend him, or bring his daily food to
him. How many such senseless wretches are at this day lying
upon God's hands! He ministers daily to their necessities,
but they take no notice of His care and
goodness.--_Gurnall,_ 1617-1679.

The frozen snake in the fable stingeth him that refreshed
it. Thus is it with all unthankful men: God leadeth them
daily with benefits and blessings, and they load Him with
sins and trespasses.--_Stapleton,_ 1535-1598.

[4] It is an excellent representation of St. Austin: if a
sculptor, after his fashioning a piece of marble in a human
figure, could inspire it with life and sense, and give it
motion and understanding and speech, can it be imagined not
the first act of it would be to prostrate itself at the
feet of the maker in subjection and thankfulness, and to
offer whatever it is, and can do, as homage to him? The
almighty hand of God formed our bodies. He breathed into us
the spirit of life, and should not the power of love
constrain us to live wholly to His will?--_Bates,_
1625-1629.

[5] We find the fiercest things that live,
The savage born, the wildly rue,
When soothed by Mercy's hand will give
Some faint response of gratitude.

But man!--oh! blush, ye lordly race!--
Shrink back, and question thy proud heart!
Dost thou not lack that thankful grace
Which ever forms the soul's best part?

Wilt thou not take the blessings given,
The priceless boon of ruddy health,
The sleep unbroken, peace unriven,
The cup of joy, the mine of wealth?

Wilt thou not take them all, and yet
Walk from the cradle to the grave
Enjoying, boasting, and forget
To think upon the God that gave?

Thou'lt even kneel to blood-stained kings,
Nor fear to have thy serfdom known;
Thy knee will bend for bauble things,
Yet fail to seek its Maker's throne.--_Eliza Cook_

GOD'S INDICTMENT AGAINST ISRAEL.

i. 2-6. _Hear, O heavens, &c._

God sometimes speaks to man abruptly; when this is done, the truth expressed demands the most profound attention. In our text the heavens and the earth are suddenly called to attend to what is about to be said; God is charging the human race with fearful wrongs; the matter at issue is between the creature and Creator, child and Parent. Our attention is called to--

+I. The Fatherhood of God.+ "I have nourished," &c. Divine paternity is a truth which runs through the whole Bible, here and there shining out with resplendent lustre, as in our text. The fatherhood of God was manifested towards Israel--1. In _supply._ As it affected the Jewish nation this declaration (I have nourished, &c.) pressed with tremendous force. Their supplies were marked by miracle, at least all the time they were in the wilderness; and the utterance has weight to-day. All nature is made to minister to man's necessities. 2. In _guardianship._ "Brought up children." This should have been sufficient to strike the ear as a thunderclap, seeing how far they had strayed from Him. Out of a mean, despised, and enslaved people He had developed a wealthy, mighty nation; and His guardianship reaches to all to-day. 3. In _defence._ The early history of these people was one unbroken chain of Divine interpositions. From the first day Moses stood before the king, until they were fully established in Palestine, God's arm was stretched out to defend them. The blood on the door-post, their sea-path, and the sea-grave of the Egyptians, together with the hovering cloud in the wilderness, all speak of strong defence; and still there are evidences of defence in the life of every man.

+II. The wickedness of man.+ Men are universally the same; as the father so is the son, as the Jew so is the Gentile; and hence in this chapter we have a true picture of the whole human family. Let us mark some of the many features of guilt: 1. _Degeneracy._ God bears with weaknesses and infirmities, but wilful backsliding He abhors. The Jews were evil-doers; they went astray from God and all that was good. It is the wilful sinning of men that now grieves Him. 2. _Insensibility._ Wrong-doing is sure to produce wrong feeling, or, what is worse, no feeling at all. A sinful life results in a dark heart. Here is a people more insensible of good bestowed than the stupid ox or more stupid ass; and there are still persons to be found less acquainted with the source of their supplies than the dumb, unconscious brute.[1] 3. _Defiance._ They rebelled against God. Fear ceased to check them, and hatred led them to bold, defiant deeds. The day was to them as the night, and oppression and murder were but small sins to be indulged in. So it is with many to-day; they have no shame, remorse, or compunction for sin, openly defying the living God.

+III. The purpose of Divine chastisement.+ No true parent finds any pleasure in chastising his children, and any pain inflicted without pure motives would be an evil. God corrects--1. _To restrain from Sin._ This explains much that happened to the Israelites, and also much that transpires in the history of all men. God sees the danger, the leaning to wrong, and with Him prevention is better than cure.[2] 2. _To show the consequences of sin._ Men profess to be practical, and wish to be practically dealt with; hence they say: "Words are not enough; there must be blows." The transgressor must feel as well as hear, or he will run mad. God has always taught men that His laws are more than mere word-rules; there is force in them, and he that breaks them must suffer. 3. _To bring to Himself._[3] Hence we often hear Him say, "Why will ye be stricken any more?" Remonstrance always precedes the lash to show His love and tenderness.--_Charles Jupe._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The stall-fed ox, that is grown fat, will know
His careful feeder, and acknowledge too;
The generous spaniel loves his master's eye,
And licks his fingers though no meat be by;
But man, ungrateful man, that's born and bred
By Heaven's immediate power; maintained and fed
By His providing hand; observed, attended,
By His indulgent grace; preserved, defended,
By His prevailing arm; this man, I say,
Is more ungrateful, more obdure than they.
Man, O most ungrateful man, can ever
Enjoy Thy gift, but never mind the Giver;
And like the swine, though pampered with enough,
His eyes are never higher than the trough.--_Frances Quarles._