Chapter XIV: Part 14

[1] To a man living in the belief of what is erroneous or the
practice of what is wrong you proclaim the truth, and what
happens? (1) Either he amends his creed or his conduct; or
(2) he _disregards_ what you say, and goes on as before; or
(3) he _rejects_ what you say, and cleaves to his error
more passionately than he would have done otherwise. The
latter is a very frequent result. For example, slavery once
prevailed throughout our colonies and the United States of
America. Holy men held slaves; they had no suspicion of the
wrongfulness of slavery. When its wrongfulness was
proclaimed, many abandoned it; but others held to it,--some
not caring whether it was wrong or right, looking only to
the fact that it was profitable; but others reasoned
themselves into a persuasion that it was right, that it is
Scriptural, and maintained the system with a tenacity and
passion they never felt before its wickedness was declared.
In thousands of cases that was the result of the
anti-slavery movement. God foresaw it, yet He raised up
faithful men to proclaim the doctrines of human brotherhood
and freedom, and sent them forth on their perilous errand,
saying to them in effect, _"Go, and tell this people, Hear
ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but
perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and convert, and be healed."_ He sent them
forth, notwithstanding that He foresaw that one inevitable
effect of their mission would be the confirmation of
thousands in error, the hardening of thousands in iniquity.
In like manner He raised up Isaiah and other prophets to
denounce their political schemes--their alliances now with
Egypt and now with Assyria--to be huge mistakes, and to
exhort them to a life of holiness and of simple trust in
God; He foresaw that the result of their efforts would
_not_ be the reformation of the nation, and yet He sent
them forth!

THE REJECTION OF DIVINE TRUTH.

vi. 9, 10. _And He said, Go, and tell this people, &c._

The Divine message--a message of melting pathos and of startling warning, of beseeching entreaty and of terrible threatening--must be delivered to men. "Go and tell this people" is a command that shatters excuses and imposes an imperative obligation. God's speakers have no option--speak they must (Jonah iii. 2). The effects of God's communications correspond to the willingness or the wilfulness of men.

+I. Divine truth elicits human disposition.+ In the spring season, the sun sits in judgment upon the trees of gardens and forests. Then the trees that have life have it more abundantly. Their latent powers and possibilities are developed and exhibited. The same sun-force smites the decaying trees and shrivels those having only goodliness without life. Is not the Sun of Righteousness "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"? When on earth, He who is "the Truth" evoked the hidden feelings, purposes, and qualities of men; and His manifold message repeats the process to the end of time (John ix. 39). The ministry of Isaiah was a revealing ministry: the character of men and the character of the nation by it were made manifest. +II. Divine truth repelled because of dislike.+ "Lest they see, hear, understand, be converted and healed." A diseased eye winces under the scorching sunlight, as a disordered soul will flinch under the fierce light that streams upon it from above. The disquieted conscience repels the entrance of the truth, because of the revolutions in thought, disposition, purpose, character, and activity which its admission would necessitate. None are so blind, deaf, insensible as those who do not want to see, hear, or feel (John iii. 19, 20). Men dislike the purpose of God's good but severe discipline: they want not to "be converted and healed," and they recoil from the painful process.[1] +III. Divine truth cannot be rejected without injury.+ Divine truth and grace will not be void of result, though the result may be most injurious (Rom ii. 4, 5). Consequences of lasting duration are involved in our action of opening or shutting the doors of the soul.[2] Not to receive the "grace upon grace" of God is to put the spirit into an attitude of opposition: this attitude can easily become a confirmed habit; and the habit, in righteous retribution, may be ratified (Rev. xxii. 11). Antagonism to God's revelation injures the soul's highest life; its power of vision is dimmed or veiled; the understanding loses its alertness and fails to comprehend; the affections become gross and carnal. Inexorable is the spiritual law and appalling the spiritual doom (Eph. iv. 18). Isaiah unfolded God's design of salvation; but the design was intercepted and frustrated by human perversity. Men "rejected the counsel of God against themselves," and persistent resistance rendered them "past feeling." "Take heed how ye hear." "Hear, and your soul shall live."[3]--_Matthew Braithwaite._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "There is light enough for those whose sincere desire is to
see; and darkness enough for those of a contrary
disposition. There is brightness enough to illuminate the
elect; and enough of obscurity to humble them. There is
obscurity enough to blind the reprobate; and brightness
enough to condemn them and to leave them without
excuse."--_Blaise Pascal._

[2] "The smallest particle of light falling on the sensitive
plate produces a chemical change that can never be undone
again; and the light of Christ's love, once brought to the
knowledge and presented for the acceptance of a soul,
stamps on it an ineffaceable sign of its having been there.
Once heard, it is henceforward a perpetual element in the
whole condition, character, and destiny of the hearer.
Every man that ever rejects Christ, does these things
thereby--wounds his own conscience, hardens his own heart,
and makes himself a worse man, just because he has had a
glimpse of holiness, and has willingly, and almost
consciously, "loved darkness rather than light." Unbelief
is its own judgment, its own condemnation: unbelief, as
sin, is punished like other sins, by the perpetuation of
deeper and darker forms of itself. Every time that you
stifle a conviction, fight down a conviction, or din away a
conviction, you have harmed your soul, made yourself a
worse man, lowered the tone of your conscience, enfeebled
your will, made your heart harder against love; you have
drawn another horny scale over the eye that will prevent
you from seeing the light that is yonder. You have, as much
as in you is, approximated to the other pole of the
universe (if I may say that), to the dark and deadly
antagonist of mercy, and goodness, and truth, and
grace."--_Alexander Maclaren._

[3] "The great iniquity is, or then is the Gospel hid in a
sinful sense, when men have it among them, or may have it,
and will not hear it; or do hear it, and never understand
it,--that is, never apply or set themselves to understand
it; or receive no conviction from it; or receive no
suitable impression on their hearts from it. Thus, all the
while, is the Gospel hid to them by their own iniquity,
that they do voluntarily make resisting efforts against it,
as everything of sin must have somewhat of _voluntarium_ in
it. It supposeth that otherwise a brute agent might be as
capable of sin as a rational one, and that cannot be. But
here lies the iniquity, that men might understand and they
will not; and there is a natural faculty that should turn
them, even in their very hearts; but there is a sinful
disinclination, and they will not turn. For it is the will
that is not turned: "Ye will not come unto me that ye might
have life." And so, when the Gospel is hid, it is hid, not
because men cannot see, but because they will not. They do
(as it were) pretend the veil; stretch forth the veil
before their eyes or bind it close over their own eyes,
hoodwink themselves that they will not see. Being thus
sinfully hidden, it comes also to be penally hidden by a
_nemesis,_ hidden by a just _vindicta._ Ye will not
understand, then ye shall not understand; ye will harden
your hearts against light, against grace, against the
design of the Gospel, and they shall be hardened. Since ye
will have it so, so let it be."--_John Howe._

P. D., 2938, 3391.

THE DURATION OF THE PROPHET'S MISSION.

vi. 11-13. _Then said I, Lord how long? &c._

For an exposition of this passage see note.[1]

Let us look steadily at the _facts_ before us, and then, perchance, we may discern the _lessons_ associated with them. Isaiah desires to know how long his strange and sad mission is to continue; and the answer is, until its utter failure to save his fellow-countrymen from their sins and their impending doom has been demonstrated, until nothing but the mere life-germ of the nation is left. Here really are three facts, full of instruction for us to-day. I. _Isaiah's mission and the calamities he desired to avert by it were to work together._ There was thus a twofold appeal to the men of that generation; and at its close God might have repeated the challenge, "What could I have done more?" (chap. v. 4). Both by offers of mercy and manifestations of righteous anger He sought to deliver them from the doom towards which they madly hastened. Thus God deals with the world to-day: His preachers of righteousness and His judgments because of unrighteousness work side by side; this fact is a conclusive proof that God is not willing that the sinner should die. This is true of nations, and it is true of individuals. II. _Isaiah was to prosecute his mission to the end, notwithstanding the proofs that his efforts to deliver his fellow-countrymen were vain._ This is always the duty of God's messengers: they are to deliver their message, and reiterate it. Whether it is popular or unpopular is a thing of which they are not even to think! the one thing they have to consider and remember is, that it is true. III. _In the midst of all the calamities of his time, Isaiah was sustained by the assurance that the nation he loves should not utterly perish._ Nothing could hurt "the holy seed" that constituted its true life. The Church of to-day is full of imperfections; the forces of unbelief are marshalling themselves against her; it may be that she will again be tried by fierce persecutions: but the Lord's true prophet can survey all these possible calamities with calmness; he knows that "the holy seed" which constitutes her true life cannot be injured by them.

Here, then, is instruction and encouragement for the Lord's prophet to-day. He is to preach the preaching which God has bidden him, regardless of everything but the fact that God had sent it forth. He is not to modify his message, to make it more palatable to his hearers. He must not cease to deliver it, although he sees that his hearers are hardening themselves against it, and so are bringing upon themselves a heavier doom. Comfort he will need, but he must find it in the fact that there is a "holy seed" to whom his ministry will be a blessing, and in whose salvation, if he be faithful to the end, he shall share.

In this passage there are also some supplementary lessons of general interest. 1. We have here an illustration of _the persistence and success of the Divine purposes._ God selected the descendants of Abraham as the instruments through whom He would bless the world (Exod. xix. 5, 6). Their history has been one long struggle against this purpose; but it has not been a frustration of it: their very waywardness and wickedness have afforded occasions for the manifestation of His character, and the consequent revelations both of His goodness and of His severity have been blessings in the world. In spite even of their rejection of His Son they are still His people, and He will at length make them a holy people (Rom. xi. 28-29). 2. _God does not hesitate to use any means that will help to conform His chosen ones to His own ideal._ It is a solemn thing to be chosen of God: that choice may involve possibilities from which flesh and blood shrinks.[2] The way to avoid those possibilities is to find out what God's purpose concerning us is, and endeavour to conform ourselves thereto: then we shall find His choice of us a well-spring of constant blessing. 3. _God does not despise the merest germs of goodness._ Insignificant, comparatively, as was "the holy seed" in Israel, He watched over it with ceaseless care. Comfort there is here for those who lament that there is in them so little of which God can approve. That little He will not despise (1 Kings xiv. 13; Isa. xlii. 3); He sees what possibilities of excellence there are in His chosen ones;[3] and those little germs of excellence He will nourish until they have developed into that which will satisfy even Himself.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] He inquired how long this service of hardening and this
state of hardness were to continue,--a question forced from
him by his sympathy with the nation to which he himself
belonged (cf. Exod. xxxii. 9-14), and one which was
warranted by the certainty that God, who is ever true to
His promises, could not cast off Israel as a people for
ever. The answer follows in ver. 11_b_-13: _"Until towns
are wasted without inhabitant, and houses are without man,
and the ground shall be laid waste, a wilderness, and
Jehovah shall put men far away, and there shall be many
forsaken places within the land. And is there still a tenth
therein, this also again is given up to destruction, like
the terebinth and the oak, of which, when they are felled,
only a root-stump remains: such a root-stump is the holy
seed."_ The hardening judgment would come to an end only
when the land of Israel had been made utterly desolate. Up
to the words "given up to destruction," the announcement is
a threatening one; but from this point to "remains" a
consolatory prospect begins to dawn; and in the last three
words this brighter prospect, like a distant streak of
light, bounds the horizon of the gloomy prophecy. It shall
happen as with the terebinth and the oak. These trees were
selected as illustrations, not only because they are so
near akin to evergreens, and produced a similar impression,
or because there were so many associations connected with
them in the olden times of Israel's history; but also
because they formed such fitting symbols of Israel, on
account of their peculiar facility for springing up again
from the root (like the beech and nut, for example), even
when they had been completely felled. . . . The root-stump
was the remnant that had survived the judgment, and the
remnant would become a seed, out of which a new Israel
would spring up after the old had been destroyed. Thus in a
few words is the way sketched out which God would
henceforth take with His people. The passage contains an
outline of the history of Israel to the end of time. Israel
as a nation was indestructible, by virtue of the promise of
God; but the mass of the people were doomed to destruction
through the judicial sentence of God, and only a remnant,
which would be converted, would perpetuate the nationality
of Israel, and inherit the glorious future. This law of a
blessing sunk in the depths of the curse actually inflicted
still prevails in the history of the Jews. The way of
salvation is open to all. Individuals find it, and give us
a presentiment of what might be and is to be; but the great
mass are hopelessly lost, and only when they have been
swept away will a holy seed, saved by a covenant-keeping
God, grow up into a new and holy Israel, which, according
to chap. xxvii. 6, will fill the earth with its fruits, or,
as the Apostle expresses it in Romans xi. 12, become "the
riches of the Gentiles."--_Delitzsch._

[2] _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations,_ 86-90, 99-115.

[3] As the eye of the cunning lapidary detects in the rugged
pebble, just digged from the mine, the polished diadem that
shall sparkle in the diadem of a king; or as the sculptor
in the rough block of marble, newly hewn from the quarry,
beholds the statue of perfect grace and beauty which is
latent there, and waiting but the touch of his hand,--so He
who sees all, and the end from the beginning, sees
oftentimes greater wonders than these. He sees the saint in
the sinner, the saint that shall be in the sinner that is;
the wheat in the tare; the shepherd feeding the sheep in
the wolf tearing the sheep; Paul in the preacher of the
faith in Saul the persecutor of the faith; Israel a prince
with God in Jacob the trickster and the supplanter; Matthew
the Apostle in Levi the publican; a woman that should love
much in a woman sinning much; and in some vine of the earth
bringing forth wild grapes and grapes of gall a tree which
shall yet bring forth good fruit, and wine to make glad the
heart; so that when some, like those over-zealous servants
in the parable, would have Him pluck it up, and to cast it
without more ado into the wine-press of the wrath of
Almighty God, He exclaims rather, "Destroy it not, for a
blessing is in it" (Isa. lxv. 8), and is well content to
await the end.--_Trench._

See also _Homiletic Encyclopædia,_ &c., 2454 and 3056.

FEARS AND COMFORTS.

vii. 1-9. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the son
of Jotham, &c._

The historical statements[1] in these verses afford illustrations of spiritual truths. +I. The powers of evil are confederate against the Lord's people+ (vers. 1, 2, 6). By the combined forces of evil, God's chosen ones have always been assailed. The conflict began in Eden, and has continued ever since. These combined forces attacked our Lord, and appeared for a time, outwardly at least, to conquer. We must expect similar assaults (John xvi. 33). The ultimate object of these foes is to destroy our spiritual life. +II. The Lord's people are often terrified by the action of their foes.+ Two things may contribute to this. 1. _A sense of personal guilt._ Conscience often slumbers in prosperity, but awakens and alarms us when danger threatens. No doubt Ahaz remembered his sin, when he saw his foes were coming. 2. _Distrust of the Lord._ It does not appear that Ahaz told the Lord about his trouble, or sought His help. His idolatry had led him into unbelief--a frequent cause of the Christian's terrors. He looks at his troubles, and sinks, because he does not lay hold on Christ (Matt. xiv. 30). +III. God seeks to allay the fears of His people in the hour of their trouble.+ This is done in three ways. 1. _By exhorting them to keep their minds calm._ "Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted." Picture Ahaz restless, excited, his breast fainting, hope and courage failing. How timely was the prophet's exhortation! how helpful it might have been to Ahaz! Who of us does not know the blessedness of such an appeal? We have been excited, trembling, fainting, because of temporal dangers or spiritual foes, and in our agitation have been likely to do something foolish. But a voice has said, "Fear not; be calm!" Who says, "Fear not"? The loving, omnipotent Saviour, who is able to deliver us. 2. _By showing His people the weakness of their foes._ They are only the "two tails of smoking firebrands." You think them powerful, but they are really weak (1 John iv. 4). 3. _By predicting the failure of the plans of their foes_ (vers. 7-9)--a prediction which was fulfilled sixty-five years afterwards, when Esarhaddon desolated the country, and filled it with foreigners. So God shows to us the weakness of our foes, and predicts their failure. +IV. God shows His people that faith is necessary for the establishment of their peace+ (ver. 9. See also 2 Chron. xx. 20; Isa. xxvi. 3).--_H. F. Walker._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For a statement of these circumstances see following paper:
THE VIRGIN'S SON.

FAITH'S IMPREGNABLE CITADEL.

vii. 1-9. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the son
of Jotham, &c._

+I. There are many things calculated to fill us with fear+--sufferings, losses, temptations, death, &c. Especially alarming are combinations of evil: when they threaten, we are apt to feel as did Ahaz and his people (ver. 2). Afflictions seldom come singly: sickness brings poverty in its train, &c.; and the heart is apt to fail before such accumulations of misfortune. +II. But God guarantees the safety of those who trust in Him.+ 1. _He controls all events_ (ver. 7). The Prince of Orange, when he took the field against France and the Emperor, said he had made an alliance with Heaven, and feared not for the result. Much more may the believer be confident in the warfare of life (H. E. I. 200-203, 2372, 2373, 4049, 4055-4058). 2. _It is only while we trust in Him that we are thus in alliance with Him._ Only by trusting in Him are we kept from trusting in that which cannot deliver us--ourselves or our fellow-men, to the exclusion of God and the rejection of His proffered help. Only by trusting in Him are our hearts kept in peace (chap. xxvi. 3, H. E. I. 1893, 1894, 1911-1919, 1923-1926). Only by trusting in Him do we give Him the glory which is His due, and which He will not give to another (H. E. I. 4054). +III. The guarantee of safety which God offers to all who trust Him extends to the soul as well as the body.+ Because of our sins, and the enemies they bring against us, we might well fear; but in the Gospel help is offered, and perfect safety is guaranteed to them that believe. +IV. The inevitable result of refusal to accept the help which God mercifully offers us is ruin.+ Ahaz, refusing the sign offered him, and trusting in Assyria, was overthrown by his ally. There is deadly peril in any other alliance than that which God offers to form with us. Said our Lord to all who are tempted to apostacy, "Remember Lot's wife," and in like manner we may say to all who are tempted to disregard and reject God's offers of help, _Remember Ahaz!_--_John Johnston._

PURPOSE AND PANICS.

vii. 1, 2. _And it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz the
son of Jotham, &c._

In this brief record of events[1] that occurred so long ago, we may find suggestions of truths which it will be well for us to lay to heart to-day. +I. Men often confidently form purposes when they find it impossible to fulfil+ (ver. 1). Rezin and Pekah no doubt were sure their project would be successful; they left no means untried to make it a success; they had many things to encourage them (2 Chron. xxviii. 5-7); success seemed certain, yet they failed! In verse 6 we have another statement of their purpose, and in verse 7 we are told the real reason why it failed: GOD determined that it should not stand. This is an illustration of much that takes place in our own day, in our own life. Purposes daringly conceived, and wisely and energetically prosecuted, come to nothing; and in such cases GOD is often the real hindrance. He hinders, not because He has any capricious delight in frustrating our plans, but because in them we intend only our own self-aggrandisement. It is with our purposes as with our prayers (Jas. iv. 3). If He hinders, no alliance formed with men can profit us; even Rezin will help in vain. In forming our plans, let us remember and acknowledge our dependence on the permission and help of God (Jas. iv. 13-15; Ps. cxxvii. 1). If plans should be formed for our hurt or overthrow, let us comfort ourselves by remembering that all men are under God's control. The confederacy may be very powerful; most elaborate preparations may be made for the accomplishment of its purpose; but there can be no success unless the Lord will (Dan. iii. 16-18). +II. Men often give way to unreasonable panics+ (ver. 2). Panics are very common, very painful, very dangerous and hurtful. Their cause: lack of faith in God. Without faith in the controlling providence of God, men are naturally as liable to alarm as is a wealthy man who on a foggy night has to make his way through a dangerous quarter of a strange city; he knows not whether those footsteps he hears behind him are those of a policeman or of a garotter! Firmness is the reward of faith--of intelligent confidence exercised by righteous men in a righteous God (Ps. iii. 6; lvi. 11; xci. 5; cxii. 7, 8, &c.). Deliverance from fear is one of the respects in which "godliness has the promise of the life that now is." This blessing may be yours, if you will; yours in times of domestic, of commercial, of national alarm. You may be delivered, if you will, from the supreme fear--fear of death. Christ came into the world for the purpose of delivering you from it (Heb. ii. 14, 15). Yield yourself to be really His, and your end shall be peace (Ps. xxiii. 4; lxxiii. 26).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For a statement of these events, see following paper: THE
VIRGIN'S SON.

ISAIAH'S INTERVIEW WITH AHAZ.

vii. 3-25. _Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, &c._

In this interview of Isaiah with Ahaz we have an instance--+I. Of God's efforts to turn men from ruinous courses.+ God is the great Lawgiver, and the Judge before whose bar all impenitent transgressors of His law will have to stand. Absolute inflexibility is necessarily His characteristic in both these capacities. But these are not the only capacities He seeks to sustain to us. It is His ambition to be the Saviour of men from sin and ruin. Consequently, He does not merely lay down His law and stand coldly by, to see whether men will keep it or not. He plies them with inducements to keep it. When He sees them bent on transgression, He endeavours to arrest them in their foolish and fatal purpose. Short of that destruction of the freedom of their will, which would be the destruction also of their responsibility and of their possibilities of virtue, He leaves nothing undone to turn them from the broad road that leads to death.[1] By adverse providences, by the strivings of His Holy Spirit, by awakening conscience to an active exercise of its functions, He works upon and in them to will and to do His good pleasure. No sinner has ever gone down to perdition unheeded, unpitied, without attempts to rescue him. Your own experience attests the truth of these statements: you know you had to fight your way through to those transgressions of which you are now ashamed. God's "preventing grace" is a great fact of which we should take reverent heed, and for which we should give fervent thanks.[2] +II. Of the manner in which sinners, by insincere pretences, resist God's saving purposes.+ The stubbornness and insincerity of Ahaz are obvious.[3] But in neither of these is he singular. Sinners who are bent on their sins not seldom go on to the under pretexts of righteousness, with which they endeavour to deceive themselves and others. The greatest crime ever committed was done under a pretext of righteousness (Matt. xxvi. 65). So has it been with countless crimes since. Let us be on our guard against our own hearts (Jer. xvi. 9; Prov. xiv. 12) Let us not act upon any reason which we do not really believe will bear the scrutiny of God. +III. Of the twofold result which always follows such resistance to the Divine purposes.+ 1. _The sinner is, ere long, compelled to confess that the counsels he set aside were counsels of truth and wisdom._ In less than three years, Ahaz had cause to acknowledge the soundness of the advice to which on this memorable day he refused to listen.[4] A typical case. 2. _The obstinate sinner is left to the ruin from which he would not permit God to deliver him._ There is no salvation by force. God acts upon our will, but He will not save us against our will. Neither shall those who refused to be saved from sin be saved from its consequences. If we choose evil, no act of omnipotence will render the choice harmless (chap. iii. 11). Ahaz chose the help of Assyria rather than the help of Jehovah, and with the help of that great and unscrupulous power he had to take its domination and destructiveness (2 Chron. xxviii. 16, 20). Again a typical case. The retributive justice of God is a fact of which it behoves us to be heedful.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Augustine, in his _Confessions,_ makes thankful note of the
manner in which in the years of his ungodliness, God had
raised up obstacles in his path of sin. When sinful desires
raged within him, he says, the means for gratifying them
were absent; or when the desires and the means of
gratifying them came together, some witness was present to
deter him; and when the means were present, and no
witnesses stood by to hinder him, the desire to transgress
was wanting. He rightly judges that these were no mere
accidents or coincidences.

[2] The preventing methods of grace may deservedly pass for
some of the prime instances of the Divine mercy to men in
this world. For though it ought to be owned for an eminent
act of grace to restore one actually fallen, yet there are
not wanting arguments to persuade, that it is a greater to
keep one from falling. Not to break a limb is more
desirable than to have it set and healed, though never so
skilfully and well. Preservation in this, as in many other
cases, being better a great deal than restoration; since
after all is done, it is odds but the scar will remain when
the wound is cured and the danger over.--_South._

[3] Ahaz listened in sullen and incredulous silence; and the
prophet resumes--"Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask
it either in the depth, or in the height above." But Ahaz,
who looked on Jehovah not as his God, but only (like any of
his heathen neighbours) as the god of Judæa, and as such
inferior to the god of Assyria; and who had determined to
apply to the king of Assyria, or perhaps had already
applied to him, as a more trustworthy helper than Jehovah,
in the present strait; declines to ask a sign, excusing
himself by a contrary use of the words of Moses, "Thou
shalt not tempt Jehovah." He refused the sign, because he
knew it would confirm the still struggling voice of his
conscience; and that voice he had resolved not to obey,
since it bid him give up the Assyrian, and trust in Jehovah
henceforth.--_Strachey._

[4] Within the space of time figuratively indicated by the time
necessary for the child of the prophet to become capable of
discerning between good and evil--_i.e.,_ in about three
years,--Rezin and Pekah were slain, and the fact that they
were but "two tails of smoking firebrands" demonstrated.
(See 2 Kings xv. 27-30; xvi. 1-9.)

A THREEFOLD COUNSEL.

vii. 4. _Take heed, and be quiet; fear not._

+I. "Take heed."+ This is just what Ahaz fancied he was doing. He was taking heed to the alliance which had been formed for his overthrow, and he was at that very moment doing his best to frustrate it--by strengthening the fortifications of Jerusalem, and by summoning the king of Assyria to his help. This seemed to him and his court supremely wise: it was eminently foolish. He was taking heed exclusively to the danger, and had no attention left for the Divinely-provided defence against it. That defence lay in God's promise made to David (2 Sam. vii. 12-16). From one point of view, it may be said that in allying themselves for the destruction of the royal house of David, Rezin, Pekah, and the son of Tabeal embarked on an enterprise foredoomed to failure; they might as well have conspired to prevent the sun from rising any more in the east. That the descendants of David should reign in Jerusalem and that the sun should rise in the east, were both guaranteed by the same thing--the will and appointment of God. Resistance was as vain in the one case as in the other--that is, while the conditions attached to the promise made to David were observed. For there were conditions attached to it (1 Chron. xxviii. 9; 2 Chron. xv. 2). It was to this great promise and to its essential conditions that God would have Ahaz "take heed."

_"Take heed"_ is good counsel to give to every man standing in covenant relations with God. Many of us stand in such relations to Him, both as the result of the relations in which our parents stood to Him (Ex. xx. 6; Deut. vii. 9, &c.), and as the result of our personal acts; "the seed of the righteous," we have ourselves voluntarily taken the Lord to be our God, and have solemnly sworn to walk before Him in righteousness all the days of our life. Let us then evermore "take heed" to this covenant which God has condescended to make with us. It lays upon us great responsibilities, but it secures to us glorious privileges. Conspicuous among them is this that we need not fear the might of any of our adversaries, whether they be those of the body or of the soul (ch. liv. 17).

+II. "Be quiet."+ Or better, "_And_ be quiet." Quietness would follow naturally from right heed-taking. What was Ahaz doing? He was straining every nerve to do for himself what God had promised to do for him. God had promised to defend Zion and her king, and if Ahaz had had faith in God's promise, the appeal to Assyria for succour would never had been made. Alas! how often have better men than Ahaz failed in this very respect. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the founders of the Hebrew nation, all fell into grievous sin through the want of faith in God's promises which led them to try to do for themselves what God had promised to do for them (cf. Gen. xv. 1, and xx. 11-13; xxvi. 3 and 7; xxv. 23, and xxvii. 24). To what a shameful state of degradation was David brought by the same cause (cf. 1 Sam. xvi. 13 and xxi. 12, 13). How many imitators they have had! God has promised that His people shall be safe and prosperous; but not taking heed to His promises, to how many tricks and devices have they had recourse to secure for themselves the blessing God would surely have sent to them if they had been obedient and believing, and into what shame, misery, and ruin have they plunged themselves.[1] Let their sins be to us as beacons; let us "take heed" to God's covenant on both its sides, and be quiet (Ps. xxxvii. 3-9).

+III. "Fear not."+ Yet there seemed good reason for fear. It was really a powerful confederacy that threatened Ahaz with destruction. Looked at on its human side, it was no groundless panic that had smitten him and his people. Yet the pain of mind and heart which they endured (ver. 2), they endured needlessly. They were really in no danger for their enemies. Their danger lay only in the unbelief and stubbornness of their own hearts. They had but to return to the Lord and they would find Him a refuge and strong tower, as their fathers had done aforetime. _"Fear not"_ is the counsel which I give to God's people to-day. Some of you are fearing greatly; some concerning temporal things, some lest the spiritual conflict you are waging should issue in defeat and eternal ruin. "Take heed" to the promises God has made to you in both these respects; "be quiet," and fret not yourselves in any wise to do evil; with calm and courageous hope wait for the fulfilment of these promises; instead of yielding to distressing, utterly unnecessary, and God-dishonouring fears, say with David (Ps. xxvii. 1, xxxiv. 22).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See _Homiletic Encyclopædia of Illustrations,_ NOS.
173-175, 2017.

HEEDFULNESS.

vii 4. _Take heed._

The Hebrew word signifies, to prevent or keep off any evil with which we are threatened. The direction ought to extend to all that we do; for not one duty can be rightly performed without diligent attention, and it is no less incumbent upon us than upon the king and people of Judah (H. E. I. 4880-4890). It is a necessary and useful caution, which ought to be reduced to practice at all times, especially in seasons of perplexity and distress, such as that wherein Ahaz and his subjects received this admonition. 1. Take heed to your _senses,_ particularly what you see and hear; for these are the avenues by which sin and vanity, or wisdom and instruction, enter into the heart (H. E. I. 4895). 2. Take heed to your _actions,_ what you do, and how you act, and for what purpose you are employed, that you may happily avoid the many sins and dangers to which you are exposed, and attain the great ends which you ought uniformly to pursue. 3. Take heed to your _tongue,_ that you sin not with your mouth; consider wisely what you say, to whom you speak, and to what purpose, especially when your minds are fretted, and when you feel yourselves under the influence of timidity and disappointment (P. D. 3558, 3559). 4. Take heed to your _hearts,_ and keep them with all diligence, for out of them are the issues of life; attend to the secret operations of your minds, and the objects on which your affections terminate, that you may perceive whether they are properly moderated and directed (H. E. I. 2695-2705, 4887; P. D. 1735).--_Robert Macculloch: Lectures on Isaiah,_ vol. i. p. 395.

FAITH, THE CONDITION OF FIRMNESS.

vii. 9. _If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established._

"Established" is what every man wishes to be--fixed in fact and in feeling; established like a great oak which, because its roots take fast hold of the soil, is able to grow broader and higher and more luxuriant year by year. Such growth is impossible to a tree that is frequently transplanted. Notwithstanding--nay, in perfect harmony with the desire for progress that is in us all, we all desire to be "established."

But no man can be "established" unless he believes. It is a universal law: No faith, no firmness. There are two things essential to "establishment," to blessedness and peace in life: First, that we should find a good foundation, and then that we should rest upon it calmly and immovably. These are the conditions of social, commercial, political, and scientific blessedness and prosperity. In every realm of human activity, if we would be strong in fact and in feeling, it is essential that we should find something trustworthy, and then that we should trust (H. E. I. 1882-1888).

We are only stating this general truth in its highest form, when we say that if men do not believe in God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, they cannot be "established." 1. God has revealed Himself in His Word _as the righteous Ruler of nations,_ who will exalt the nations that seek after righteousness, and bring swift vengeance upon those who follow courses of evil. What will happen if a statesman, like Ahaz, does not really believe this? He will become a mere politician; he will do what seems to him "expedient." This will often be iniquitous, and this at no distant period will inevitably lead to disaster and ruin (P. D. 2544). 2. God has revealed Himself _as the supporter and rewarder of individual men who are resolved always and simply to do what is right._ Confidence in God as thus revealed to them was the secret of the courage and endurance of the martyrs (Dan. iii. 16-18), and of countless sacrifices for truth and righteousness known only to God, but which He will never forget. But if a man does not really believe this truth, how easily is he swept away by temptation, whether it presents itself threateningly or seductively! 3. God has revealed Himself _as, for Christ's sake, pardoning absolutely all who repent and believe._ Into the hearts of those who accept this revelation there come peace and joy, but into their hearts only. Want of faith in this revelation is the secret of all painful efforts to merit the Divine mercy. 4. God reveals Himself _as the Saviour of His people from sin,_ as their Sanctifier from all the stains of iniquity. Want of faith in this revelation is the secret of the trouble that fills and oppresses many devout souls. They will never travel towards Zion with steadfast feet and rejoicing hearts until they do indeed believe it (Jude 24, 25). 5. God reveals Himself in Christ _as the Good Shepherd who is with His people always._ How troubled, because of the possibilities of life and the mystery of death, are those who do not with any vital faith accept this revelation which He has been pleased to give us! But the twenty-third Psalm is the song of those who do believe it (P. D. 1156-1160).

The practical application of all this is very simple, but supremely important. First, let us inquire whether God is worthy of our trust; and then, if the inquiry should lead us to an affirmative conclusion, let us trust Him. This trust will transform our whole life. No terrors shall have power to dismay us. The misery of Ahaz and his people (ver. 2) we shall never know (H. E. I. 1911-1919); but ours shall be the rejoicing confidence of the spiritual hero of whom Ahaz was such an unworthy descendant (Ps. xxvii. 1-6; P. D. 1177).

STABILITY THROUGH FAITH.

vii. 9. _If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established._

Thus closes the address of Isaiah to Ahaz and his people on a very memorable and trying occasion. . . . Its meaning is, Take God at His word; place entire reliance upon Him, and not upon an arm of flesh. If ye will not do this as a country, the state cannot be safe; and if you will not do this as individuals, your minds cannot be composed and established. Now, let us pass from the house of David naturally to the house of David spiritually, and pursue the train of thought set in motion. Let us consider the stability of faith, and the peace it induces. In the Christian's life there are three kinds of stability. +I. There is a stability of judgment.+ This regards the _truths_ of religion. It is of great importance to have a judgment clear and fixed, as it respects the great concerns of the soul and eternity, and the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ; for as we think we feel, as we feel we desire, and as we desire we act, and as we act our characters are formed and our conditions determined. Instability concerning these great truths is both perilous and painful; but whence is stability to come? Not through human authority; for what one patronises, another denies. Not through human reason (H. E. I. 537, 1087, 2022-2024; P. D. 2926, 2929, 2931, 2934). There must be a revelation received by faith; Divine declarations, believed because God has made them. This leads to an experience which tends still further to establish the Christian in the faith (H. E. I. 1087, 1142-1148). +II. There is a stability of practice.+ This regards the _duties_ of religion (1 Pet. i. 5). In order to see the strength and beauty of the sentiment contained in the text, let us place the believer in three positions. 1. In a place of _secrecy._ To many this is a place of temptation. Not so to the believer. Faith brings God and places Him before us (Gen. xvi. 13; xxxix. 9). 2. _In prosperity and indulgence_ (Prov. i. 32). But faith brings to the Christian the earnests of a better country, the first-fruits and foretastes of it, and thus gives him a victory which others can never achieve (1 John v. 4). 3. In a condition of _suffering and danger_ (Heb. xi. 24-27; Dan. vi. 10; H. E. I. 1911-1919). +III. There is a stability of hope.+ This regards the _comforts_ of religion (Rom. xv. 13; 1 Pet. i. 8; Ps. xxiii. 1, 4, 6). 1. _Beware of unbelief._ It is a grievous offence against God; it is hurtful and perilous to man. Every sin renders our salvation impossible by the law, but only one sin renders it impossible by the Gospel, and that is unbelief; not by any desire or threatening of God, but by its natural tendency and result. For there is only one remedy that can restore a perishing sinner, and if this be rejected, destruction is inevitable (H. E. I. 443). 2. _Labour and pray for an increase of faith_ (Mark ix. 23; 2 Chron. xx. 20).--_William Jay: Sunday Morning Sermons,_ pp. 101-109.

MAN'S IMAGINED INDEPENDENCE OF GOD.

vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I
tempt the Lord._

We are commanded to ask for all we need and desire (Matt. vii. 7; Phil. iv. 6). But many say, "I will not ask." +I. Men are apt to act thus when possessed of earthly resources.+ How hard it is for a man of wealth to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread!" He has much goods laid up for many years. How natural for a man in health and prosperity thus to forget his dependence on God (H. E. I. 4000, 4001). Even in trouble a man is apt to look elsewhere for aid: _e.g.,_ in sickness to the physician; even when convinced of sin, to his own efforts, or to a human priest. +II. Men often act thus on the pretence of not tempting God.+ On the ground that their affairs are beneath His notice (H. E. I. 4015-4025, 2245-2248, 2325, 3226, 3403). On the ground that God has already established the laws by which all things are regulated (H. E. I. 3179-3182, 3751, 3752, 3757). +III. But the real reasons why men act thus are because they trust in themselves, and have no real faith in God.+ The real reason why Ahaz did not ask was because he was bent on forming an alliance with Assyria. Let it be ours gratefully to accept the privilege so graciously offered, seeing that God has given us far more than was given to Ahaz: we have all the great and precious promises contained in the Scriptures, the knowledge of the unspeakable gift of God's dear Son, the accumulated experience of all generations of His faithfulness as the hearer of prayer. We may have our own experience of it; if we will but ask, we shall receive. How much greater our sin than that of Ahaz, if in these circumstances we say, "I will not ask!"--_John Johnston._

MOMENTOUS DECISIONS.

vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, &c._

In studying what the commentators have to say about this chapter, I met with a sentence that set me thinking. It was this: "In that very hour, in which Isaiah was standing before Ahaz, the fate of Jerusalem was decided for more than two thousand years" (_Delitzsch_). +I. How true is this declaration!+ Ahaz was called upon to choose between the alliance with Assyria and alliance with God. His choice was announced in these four words, "I will not ask;" then he decided against God, and all the disasters which have come upon Jerusalem since that day have been in a very real sense the result of that fatal decision. +II. How typical is this incident!+ How often men, like Ahaz, arrive at decisions which are irrevocable, and unspeakably momentous! 1. To have to make decisions that may be solemn in both these senses is one of the things that make the position of a ruler or statesman so serious. Not to be coveted are the positions in which a man's resolves and utterances become fateful for whole peoples. But Pharaoh was in such a position, and like Ahaz he made a fatal mistake (Exod. x. 28). 2. Few are called to fill positions of such responsibility, but every man is at some juncture called to make a decision the results of which to him individually will be of unspeakable importance. The Young Ruler arrived at such a juncture, and made such a decision. Every one of you will at some moment be called upon to decide for or against Christ, and the decision will be final and irreversible. The fact that it is so will probably not be suspected by you; you will decide against Christ, in the expectation of reversing the decision on some other occasion, _which will never come to you._ This decision you _may_ make now; it is the undeniable possibility which makes the preaching and hearing of the Gospel so solemn a thing. This supreme decision may be made by you in another manner. The test may come to you in another form--in the shape of a temptation appealing to some passion of the mind or lust of the flesh, and your eternal destiny may be determined by the manner in which you deal with that _one_ temptation (H. E. I. 4737, 4738, 4636). 3. Like a railway train, we are continually arriving at "points," and the manner in which we "take" them affects our whole after career. This is true in regard to many things, unspeakably inferior in importance to the questions of surrender or non-surrender to Christ, or of loyalty or disloyalty to Him, but yet of marvellous influence in determining whether our after life is to be happy or miserable: business, social and domestic relations.

In view of these facts--that so much may depend upon any decision we make, and that it is absolutely concealed from us _which_ decisions are final and irrevocable--what is it that, as wise men, it becomes us to do? +1. Let us settle each question that is put before us in the spirit of righteousness.+ Always let us ask only, What is _right?_ (1.) This is the only path of _safety._ (2.) By this path _heroism_ is reached, and _world-wide influence_ may be reached. We think of Moses (Heb. xi. 24-27), of the Apostles (Acts iv. 19, 20), and of Luther before the Diet of Worms, as heroes; but _they_ had no such thought--their only thought was that of fidelity to duty; and it is thus only that true heroism can be reached (P. D. 1189). +2. Let us day by day commit ourselves to the guidance of God,+ praying Him to strengthen our conscience, to sanctify our desires, and so to "work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

IRRELIGIOUS PIETY.

vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I
tempt the Lord._

Ahaz here poses as a better man than the prophet. He refuses to follow the direction which Isaiah has given him, and refuses, because he alleges, to do so would be wrong. His disregard of what he knows to be a Divine direction, he covers by an appeal to a general principle which God has been pleased to give for our guidance (Deut. vi. 16). Thus he sought to silence the reproaches of conscience within, and of good men without. We may take him as the representative of that large class of persons who for their actions assign reasons that really are not their governing motives, and cover wrong actions by what appear to be cloaks of righteousness, but really are cloaks of hypocrisy.