Chapter XVI: Part 16

In order to realise the practical impressiveness of such
symbolic acts and names upon Isaiah's contemporaries, we
must remember that Jerusalem was a very small town for size
and population compared with the notion we insensibly get
of a capital from our own vast London; and also that there
was as little in the ways of thinking and living of that
age and country as in the extent of the city to effect such
a separation between a public man's political and private
life as exists in England. We respect the domestic reserve
of our neighbours, and we fortify ourselves in the like
reserve, by our habit of learning what they are doing that
concerns us through the newspaper which we read by our own
fireside. With no newspapers, and a climate which
encouraged an out-of-door life, the people of Jerusalem
would become as familiar with that personal demeanour of
Isaiah in the market-place or elsewhere which he made a
part of his public ministry, as we are with the mental
habits and political conduct of Mr. Gladstone or Mr.
Disraeli, though the greater part of us would recognise
neither of them by sight, and still fewer know anything of
their personal and private life.--_Strachey._

[2] _A great roll._ Rather, _a large tablet:_ of wood or metal,
covered with a smooth surface of wax; which, when written
upon, was hung up in public for all to read (cf. Jer.
xxxii. 11, 14).--_Kay._

[3] _Faithful witnesses._ Or, _sure_ witnesses; whose testimony
none would be able to gainsay: partly, because of their
rank, but still more, it would seem, from their being
adherents of Ahaz. For "Uriah the priest" can scarcely be
any other than the one who made the Syrian altar after the
description sent him from Damascus by Ahaz (2 Kings
xvi. 10-16); thereby (as Mr. Birks notices) furnishing
incontrovertible evidence of the fulfilment of Isaiah's
prediction. Zechariah may have been Ahaz's own
father-in-law (2 Chron. xxix. 1).--_Kay._

[4] Isaiah's interview with Ahaz (chap. vii.), the preparation
of the tablet, the birth of Isaiah's child, and the
conquest of Syria and Israel by the Assyrians under
Tiglath-pileser all took place within the year 743-739 B.C.

_Alexander_ remarks on ver. 4:--"Samaria is here put for
the kingdom, and not for the capital city. But even if the
name be strictly understood, there is no reason to doubt
that Samaria was plundered by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings
xv. 29), although not destroyed. . . . The carrying away of
its wealth does not necessarily imply anything more than
such a spoiling of the capital as might be expected in the
course of a brief but successful invasion."

[5] See Dr. Kennicott's remarks on _Shear-jashub_ in preceding
paper: THE VIRGIN'S SON.

THE STREAM REJECTED FOR THE RIVER.

viii. 5-8. _Forasmuch as this people refuseth, &c._

For "rejoice _in_ Rezin and Remaliah's son," read "rejoice _concerning_ Rezin and Remaliah's son," _i.e.,_ rejoice in the disaster which had befallen the allied powers who had inflicted such disasters upon Judah, and had threatened it with utter destruction.

We have here a prophecy given in symbols. One of them is explained by the prophet himself. He explains that by "the river" he means the King of Assyria. Commentators are generally of opinion that by "the waters of Shiloah" is meant the Davidic dynasty, which God, on certain conditions, had pledged Himself to maintain. But this put them to hard shifts to explain the rejoicing of the people. It is better to regard "the waters of Shiloah" as symbolical of the help which God offered His people. The contrast then becomes intelligible. Because that help was unseen--apprehensible only by faith--it seemed to the multitudes, when compared with that which the King of Assyria was visibly rendering them, in the overthrow of Syria and Israel, to be as little worthy of consideration as is the little stream of Shiloah[1] in comparison with that mighty river, the Euphrates.[2] We have, then, here _the case of men who are rejoicing in a success that is godless,_ that has been obtained by the rejection of God; and we are here told what the end of that success must be. Thus we find a theme that bears upon our life to-day.

1. Whatever be our life-work, there are two ways of seeking success in it--with God, or without God. 2. If we take God to be our ally, we must do our work on _His_ terms and plans. But these are frequently contrary to our natural expectations, and opposed to what the world calls "common sense." As helps to a speedy and great success, they seem to most men as despicable as the little stream of Shiloah in comparison with the broad river Euphrates. 3. Consequently the vast majority of men reject them, and seek for success without God, and contrary to His methods (H. E. I. 4198). 4. In this way, they frequently speedily attain to a success which appears to be a complete justification of the wisdom of their policy. When the prophecy contained in our text was uttered, the forces of Syria and Israel were being swept away by the triumphant Assyrian host, and no doubt Ahaz and His court felt they could afford to laugh at Isaiah, who had steadily opposed the alliance which appeared to have been so advantageous. 5. But the triumph of the wicked is short. The unholy success in which bad men rejoice contains within itself the seeds of peril and pain, of retribution, and ruin (H. E. I. 4609, 4612). The ally in whom Ahaz had trusted presently became his oppressor; it was a verification in actual life of the fable of the horse that took a man for its ally. So it is to-day with all who prosper without God and against God. Their prosperity is, strictly speaking, unnatural, and everything that is unnatural speedily brings on disorder. For example, a family has been enriched by godless plans; to those who have no fear of God in their hearts, there is nothing so perilous as wealth; it is used for the gratification of the baser passions; by this gratification health is broken down; when the physical frame is shattered, conscience, that has been suppressed, breaks forth into freedom and activity, and remorse turns the gilded palace into a hell. The illustrations of the working of this great law are endless.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.--1. In the conduct of daily life, as well as in our spiritual concerns, let us walk by faith, not by sight. God's help, though it may seem inconsiderable as Shiloah's stream, is yet, like that stream, constant. Our reliance upon it will never issue in disappointment. By means of it we shall certainly attain to all the prosperity that would be for our real welfare (H. E. I. 3984-3986, 5059, 5060). 2. Let us not envy the prosperity of the wicked (H. E. I. 4943-4948, 4961-4966). It is short-lived, like the mighty flood of Euphrates itself. Out of that very prosperity heart-aches innumerable will spring. The rejoicing that is so exultant and scornful to-day, to-morrow will be turned into lamentation and woe. Then those who triumphed without God will find that in defeat they are without Him: this will be their description, "Without God, and without hope in the world." 3. When Jesus of Nazareth was called to choose between the stream and the river, His decision was prompt and unhesitating (Matt. iv. 8-10). Up to the very end of His life His choice seemed to have been a foolish one (Matt. viii. 20); on Calvary it seemed to have been madness: but all history since has been a vindication of its wisdom (Phil. ii. 9, 10).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] All accounts combined in asserting that the waters of the
two pools of Siloam, as well as that of the many fountains
of the "Mosque of Omar," proceed from a spring or reservoir
of water beneath the Temple vaults. There was no period of
its history when such a provision would not have been
important to the Temple for the ablutions of the Jewish, no
less than of the Mussulman, worship; or to the city, which
else was dry even to a proverb. It was the treasure of
Jerusalem, its support through all its numerous sieges, the
_"fons perennis aquæ"_ of Tacitus, the source of Milton's

"Brook that flowed
Hard by the oracle of God."

But, more than this, it was the image which entered into
the very heart of the prophetical idea of Jerusalem (Ps.
xlvi. 4, lxxxvii. 7; Isa. xii. 3). It is the source of all
the freshness and verdure of the vale of Hinnom. In
Ezekiel's vision the thought is expanded into a vast
cataract flowing out through the Temple rock eastward and
westward into the ravines of Hinnom and Kedron, till they
swell into a mighty river, fertilising the desert of the
Dead Sea. And with still greater distinctness the thought
appears again, and for the last time, in the discourse,
when in the courts of the Temple, "in the last day, that
great day of the feast" [of Tabernacles], "Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto
Me. . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water."--_Stanley._

The expression in Isaiah, "waters of Shiloah that go
softly," seems to point to the slender rivulet, flowing
gently, though once very profusely, out of Siloam into the
lower breadth of level, where the king's gardens, or "royal
paradise," stood, and which is still the greenest spot
about the Holy City, reclaimed from sterility into a fair
oasis of olive groves, fig-trees, pomegranates, &c., by the
tiny rill that flows out of Siloam. A winter-torrent, like
the Kedron, or a swelling river like the Euphrates, carries
havoc with it by sweeping off soil, trees, and terraces;
but this Siloam-fed rill flows softly, fertilising and
beautifying the region through which it passes.--_Bonar._

[2] The Euphrates, _i.e.,_ the good and abounding river. The
Euphrates is the largest, the longest, and by far the most
important of the rivers of Western Asia. It rises from two
chief sources in the Armenian mountains . . . they meet at
_Kebben-Maten,_ nearly in the long. 39° E. from Greenwich,
having run respectively 400 and 270 miles. Here the stream
formed by their combined waters is 120 yards wide, rapid
and very deep. . . . The entire course is calculated at
1760 miles, nearly 650 more than that of the Tigris, and
only 200 short of that of the Indus; and of this distance
more than two-thirds (1200 miles) is navigable for boats,
and even, as the expedition of Colonel Chesney proved, for
small steamers. The width of the river is greatest at the
distance of 700 or 800 miles from its mouth, that is to
say, from its junction with the _Khabour_ to the village of
Werai. It there averages 400 yards. . . . The annual
inundation of the Euphrates is caused by the melting of the
snows in the Armenian highlands. It occurs in the month of
May. . . . The Tigris scarcely ever overflows, but the
Euphrates inundates large tracts on both sides of its
course from Hît downwards.--_Rawlinson._

Considered in a commercial respect, as well as with regard
to its uses in agriculture, the Euphrates manifestly stood
in the same relation to Babylon and the surrounding region
that the Nile did to Egypt; it was the source, to a large
extent, of its prosperity, and the most important element
of its greatness. It is in this relation that the
_symbolical_ use of the Euphrates in Scripture proceeds,
and by keeping it in view the several passages will be
found to admit to an easy explanation. Contributing so
materially to the resources and wealth of Babylon, the
river was naturally taken for an emblem or representative
of the city itself, and of the empire of which it was the
capital. In this respect a striking application is made of
it by the prophet Isaiah (chap. viii. 5-8), where the
little kingdom of Judah, with its circumscribed territory
and its few earthly resources, on the one hand is seen
imaged in the tiny brooklet of Shiloah; while, on the
other, the rising power of Babylon is spoken of under the
emblem of "the waters of the river, strong and many, even
the King of Assyria and all his glory." And he goes on to
expose the folly of Israel's [Judah's] trusting in this
foreign power on account of its material greatness, by
declaring that in consequence of this mistaken trust, and
in chastisement of it, the mighty stream would, as it were,
desert its proper channel, and turn its waters in a
sweeping and desolating flood over the Holy
Land.--_Fairbairn._

THE WATERS OF SHILOAH.

viii. 6-8. _Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of
Shiloah that go softly, &c._

Reminded, I. That the peaceful blessing of the people of God appear in lovely contrast to the false and tumultuous pursuits and pleasures of the world (H. E. I. 1080-1084, 4163-4168). II. That those who despise and neglect God's promised blessings expose themselves to His severe displeasure.--_Samuel Thodey._

I. _The state of mind referred to:_ A disposition to reject God's promises of salvation, and rest on the hopes, promises, and resources of the world. We see it manifested, 1. In the systems of religion men prefer. 2. In the schemes of worldly aggrandisement they pursue. 3. In the sources of consolation to which they betake themselves (H. E. I. 174). II. _The consequence of continuance in this state of mind._ 1. Mental darkness and sorrow of heart. 2. Providential chastisements.--_Samuel Thodey._

THREATENED, BUT SAFE.

viii. 9, 10. _Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be
broken in pieces, &c._

This is a shout of triumphant defiance which Ahaz and his people might have raised, had they listened to Isaiah's counsels, and turned to the Lord with full purpose of heart. Then they might have been threatened by foes numerous, powerful, determined, and confederated, but they would have been safe. Its doctrine clearly is, that it matters not who may be against us, if God be with us. This has been the faith of God's people in all generations.

+I. On what ground does it rest?+ 1. On what may be regarded as a settled conviction of the human mind, that this world, disordered as it is, is really governed by a righteous Ruler, omnipotent and all-wise, and that it must be well with those who have Him on their side. 2. On the declarations of God's Word (Gen. xv. 1; Ps. xxxiv. 7; Isa. liv. 17, &c.) 3. On the experience of His people as recorded in His Word. The promise to Abraham was kept; David (1 Sam. xvii. 37); Hezekiah (2 Kings xix. 32-35); Daniel and his companions (Dan. vi. 22, iii. 28); Peter (Acts xii. 7). On these accounts His people have felt and expressed the utmost contempt for, and defiance of, their foes (Ps. xxvii. 1-6; Micah vii. 8-10). Old as these utterances are, they express the confidence of countless thousands to-day. But, +II.+ Let us look at +the grounds that might cause us to hesitate to receive it.+ 1. There is the undoubted fact that we are living in a world in which many things happen that are contrary to what we would have expected; and it would be only one more contradiction of our _à priori_ expectations if a good man, or a number of good men, were utterly destroyed by a number of bad men. 2. As a matter of fact, this has often happened. Who were "the noble army of martyrs," but good men who suffered intolerable wrongs, and were put to cruel deaths? If Peter was delivered, James, his fellow-apostle, was left to his fate (Acts xii. 2); yea, Peter himself at last died by the hands of the executioner, as did nearly all the Apostles. See, what a terrible record of the sufferings of righteous men we have in Heb. xi. 35-37. +III. How are these two sets of facts to be harmonised?+ How account for it that, notwithstanding the latter set, which are obvious and not denied, it is still the settled conviction of pious and otherwise sensible men, that it shall be well with the righteous? 1. This _is_ undoubtedly true, on the whole. We see what is the teaching of experience, taken on any considerable scale, in the familiar proverb, "Honesty is the best policy." Deadly as is the conflict between the powers of good and of evil, on the whole, the victory is on the side of goodness, of righteousness, of truth. The world grows better, not worse (H. E. I. 1161, 1162). And it is manifest that "godliness has the promise of the life that now is, as well of that which is to come." 2. The exceptions to which our attention is directed are necessary. Without them the difficulties in the way of the existence and growth of virtue would be immensely increased. If those who served God ran no risk in doing so, it would be as difficult for them to show that they loved Him for His own sake, as it would be for soldiers to prove their bravery, if it were possible to send them forth to battle in absolutely impregnable armour. If the safety assured to God's people were absolute and without exceptions, there would be no room for the exercise of faith and loyalty. 3. This life is not all. It is but the prelude to our real existence; and for whatever we suffer in God's cause here, we shall be abundantly compensated hereafter. So that, with Sir Thomas More, we may say, "They may take off my head, but hurt me they cannot."

This is a plain and sober statement of the facts of this great problem. What are the practical inferences to be drawn from it? 1. _Let us dismiss from our minds all fears for the cause of truth and righteousness. That_ is safe (2 Cor. xiii. 8). God's Church and God's Word will survive all the assaults that are made upon them (H. E. I. 642-645, 1246-1251, 2449). 2. _Let us not be greatly concerned as to what may happen to ourselves._ If God pleases, He can deliver us from any danger that may threaten us. If He is not pleased to do so, He knows how to make our sufferings promote the cause we have at heart. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" (P. D. 2421, 2422, 2426). 3. _If we are called to suffer, let us rejoice_ (Phil. i. 29; 2 Tim. ii. 9; P. D. 2419).

BIBLICAL POLITICIANS.

viii. 11-15. _For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong
hand, &c._[1]

God's people are to be "a peculiar people." Their whole life is to be governed by Divine principles. 1. By these principles they will be saved from the grievous practical heresy of abstention from public life.[2] Civilised life, especially in a free community, is a partnership, and no man has a right to take all the advantages of a partnership and evade all its labours and obligations. "Owe no man anything." We are bound to labour as well as pray, that God's will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The result of abstention on the part of Christian men from public life is the domination of bad men, and the employment of the resources of the community for evil purposes (Ps. xii. 8). If we need example in this matter, we have the example of the prophets, who were much more than preachers of a monastic piety: they were active politicians, and yet politicians of an utterly unworldly type. 2. By these principles they will be guided and kept aid all the duties and difficulties of public life. They will be uplifted above party spirit in all its narrow and debasing forms. Theirs will be that true patriotism which consists in a steady loyalty to truth, and righteousness, and mercy.

If we are to be Biblical politicians, and this is the duty of every man among us, +I. We shall not necessarily be found on the side of the majority+ (ver. 11). How often God's people have been called to stand in what is called "a miserable minority!" (Exod. xxiii. 2). +II. We shall not necessarily adopt as our own the popular cries+ (ver. 12).[3] _Vox populi_ is often far other than _Vox Dei._ +III. We shall not necessarily share in the prevalent feelings of our time,+ whether they be those of fear or of hope (ver. 13). We shall know that no permanent hurt can be done to our nation while it is in pursuit of righteousness, and that no real advantage can be gained by methods that will not bear the Divine scrutiny. +IV. Our supreme desire will be, not to conciliate men, but to please God+ (ver. 13). We shall consider all public questions, and vote for, and withhold our vote from, all public men, as in His sight (Heb. xi. 27). This may cause us often to cut ourselves off from our "party," but this will not trouble us. Hostility may thus be excited against us--will be excited against us, for such "impracticable men" are the abhorrence of mere politicians; but then God Himself will be to us "for a sanctuary."[4] +V. We shall never lose sight of the fact that the penalty of ungodliness in public life is ruin+ (vers. 14, 15). The real Ruler of the world is God, who governs it according to a plan of truth, righteousness, and mercy; and every human "policy" which is not consistent therewith, though it may win for its authors a short-lived triumph, will inevitably plunge those who accept it into disaster. From those who fight against God, utter defeat cannot be far off.

When these facts are inwrought in the understandings and consciences of God's people and have become influential in their public and political life, much will have been done to usher in the millennium for which we daily pray, and of which Isaiah himself has given us such glowing pictures (chaps. ii. 4, xxxii. 16, 17; lx. 17).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] There was a general panic among the people: "their heart
was moved as the trees of the wood are moved by the wind,"
when they heard that Syria was confederate with Ephraim;
their cry was everywhere, "A confederacy has been made
against us, and we must meet it by a counter-alliance with
Assyria;" and the prophet says that he too should have
fallen under the influence of this panic, if Jehovah had
not laid hold of him with a strong hand, to keep him in the
way of dependence on Himself, and if He had not taught him
to escape the fear which possessed his fellow-countrymen,
by making the Lord of hosts his fear and his dread, by
sanctifying Him himself, as he now in His name calls on
them to do. To sanctify Jehovah is in mind and practice to
recognise Him as the _holy_ God, the Lord who is _absolute_
(absolutus), free from the limitations which hinder all
other beings from carrying their wills into full operation,
and to believe with the whole heart that God does and can
govern all things according to the counsel of His own will,
and that what He determines does certainly come to pass,
however probabilities and appearances may be against the
belief (Num. xx. 12; Deut. xxxii. 51; Isa. xxix. 23). To
the nation which thus sanctifies Jehovah, He (says Isaiah)
will be their sanctuary--their protection against all their
enemies. Such was His original covenant with both the
houses of Israel, and it still holds good. If, therefore,
they will break and renounce it, it becomes a
stumbling-block to them. When their statesmen endeavour to
remedy present mischief and secure future prosperity, by
craftily playing off against one another the nations who
they cannot hope to match by force, they are attempting to
go counter to the whole plan of Jehovah's government, and
they will do it only to their own confusion.--_Strachey._

[2] H. E. I. 4137-4139.

[3] The prophet, and such as were on his side, were not to call
that _kesher_ which the great mass of the people called
_kesher_ (cf. 2 Chron. xxiii. 13, "She said, Treason,
treason! _Kesher, kesher!"); . . . the reference is to the
conspiracy, as it was called, of the prophet and his
disciples. The same thing happened to Isaiah as to Amos
(Amos vii. 10) and to Jeremiah. Whenever the prophets were
at all zealous in their opposition to the appeal for
foreign aid, they were accused and branded as standing in
the service of the enemy, and conspiring for the overthrow
of the kingdom.--_Delitzsch._

[4] _Mikdash_ generally means the sanctified place or
sanctuary, with which the idea of an asylum would easily
associate itself, since even among the Israelites the
Temple was regarded and respected as an asylum (1 Kings
i. 50; ii. 28). . . . _Mikdash_ is really to be taken in
this sense, although it cannot be exactly rendered
"asylum," since this would improperly limit the meaning of
the word. The Temple was not only a place of shelter, but
also of grace, blessing, and peace. All who sanctified the
Lord of lords He surrounded like temple walls; hid them in
Himself, whilst death and tribulation reigned without, and
comforted, fed, and blessed them in his own gracious
fellowship (chap. iv. 5, 6; Ps. xxvii. 5;
xxxi. 20).--_Delitzsch._

"HALLOWED BE THY NAME!"

viii. 13. _Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him
be your fear, &c._

+I. What is it to "sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself"?+ It is, 1. To fill our minds with the right thoughts concerning Him.[1] 2. To fill our hearts with right feelings towards Him (P. D. 1492-1526). +II. How is this to be done?+ By frequent, devout, prayerful, intense meditation on the revelations of Himself which He has been pleased to give (H. E. I. 3507-3514). +III. What will be the effect of doing it?+ 1. All other fear and dread will vanish from our minds (1 Sam. xiv. 6, xvii. 37; Jer. xxxii. 17; 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15). 2. Thus we shall unconsciously and inevitably attain to that heroism of which some of us dream (Ps. xvi. 8; Dan. iii. 16-18; Acts iv. 19, 20). 3. Thus we shall be qualified for the noblest service of God and man (Heb. xi. 24-27; 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4). 4. Thus a divine peace and joy will fill our whole being, as a mighty tide fills every nook and cranny of a wide-stretching bay (Ps. civ. 34). We shall rejoice in God as a soldier rejoices in a mighty fortress in which he feels secure from all assaults (2 Sam. xxii. 2, 3).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See note [1] from preceding outline: BIBLICAL POLITICIANS.

GOD OUR REFUGE, OR OUR RUIN.

viii. 14. _And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone
of stumbling, &c._

In God "we live, and move, and have our being." We cannot be independent of, or indifferent to, Him, as we can in regard to some of our fellow-men. There can be no neutrality between Him and us. We must be obedient or disobedient to Him, and therefore we must find in Him our refuge or our ruin--our helper or our destroyer. That this vast truth may be received in our minds, let us take it somewhat in detail.

+I. We have to do with God in Nature.+ It is His world we live in; and all its substances and forces are things which He hath made, and intends to be used according to His plans. Nay, He acts in them,[1] in them He is willing to be our ally, but not our slave. We cannot use Him to carry into effect our whims and fancies, as the old magicians were said to use the genii supposed to be under their control. God is of one mind, He changeth not; what is called "the uniformity of the laws of nature" is one manifestation of His unchangeableness; and that unchangeableness is most merciful (H. E. I. 3156, 3157, 3173-3177). If we fall in with His laws of nature, all nature is on our side; wind and tide then combine to bear us into our desired haven; but if we will not do so, the very stones of the field will be in league against us (Job v. 23; H. E. I. 3172, 4612).[2] _E.g.,_ gravitation. If a builder comply with the demands of this great law, it will give stability to his structure; but if not, from the very moment they are departed from, it will begin to pull down the hut or the palace he has builded. So with all the other substances and forces by which we are surrounded; they are for us or against us: there is no neutrality possible.

+II. We have to do with God in Providence.+ Not only are we in this world, but whether we like or not, we are under His government. He has laid down laws for our guidance, as communities and as individuals. These laws are vast and comprehensive; they cover every realm of activity and relationship of life; it is impossible for us to find ourselves in any place or circumstances in which some of them are not in force. If we obey them, they will be our helpers; if we disobey them, they will be our destroyers: obey one, and all others stand ready to befriend us; disobey one, and more manifestly all others become hostile to us. Illustrate--1. _Communities._ The law of frugality. The law of freedom of exchange. The supreme law for every nation is, that God shall be acknowledged as the supreme ruler, _His_ will done, His protection sought and trusted in. It was this law that Ahaz and his people were setting at defiance (chap. vii.), and God forewarned them that He would not stand idly by and see it broken (chap. vii. 17-20). If any nation commit itself to a godless policy, it may achieve a transient triumph thereby (ver. 6), but disaster is inevitable (ver. 7). It may be delayed, but it is only that it may come in more awful form. United States of America: their maintenance of slavery when England abolished it, and their civil war. 2. _Individuals._ The comprehensive law (Matt. vii. 12): if a man obey it, the very constitution of society fights for him; if he disobey it, that same constitution fights against him. From God, as the God of Providence, we cannot escape; we must have to do with Him as friend or foe. Those men who deliberately put Him out of their thoughts and plans find it so: just when they seem to themselves to be triumphing in their godless courses, they stumble against Him unawares. They are snared and taken in the great retributive laws of His universe.

+III. We have to do with God in Redemption.+ In Christ, God is revealed, and therefore we are not to be surprised when we see this great Old Testament truth conspicuously illustrated in Him. In the New Testament we are distinctly taught that neutrality in regard to Christ is impossible (Matt. xii. 30; 2 Cor. ii. 16; Matt. xxii. 37-44). Not to accept His salvation, is to reject it; not to submit to His authority, is to rebel against it. We cannot choose whether we will have to do with Christ or not! All that we can decide is the nature of the relationship that shall subsist between us. We can make Him our sanctuary, and then all blessing is ours; or we can refuse to do this, and then He becomes to us a stumbling-block and a snare. Not as the result of any vindictive action on His part, but as the inevitable result of the working of our own nature and of the constitution of the universe. 1. The phrase, "Gospel-hardened," represents a terrible reality (H. E. I. 2439-2442). 2. By our rejection of Christ, and consequent rebellion against His authority, we put ourselves on the side of those powers of evil which He is pledged to destroy, and then His very Almightiness, which would have insured our salvation, becomes our ruin, just as the very same force of wind and wave, which would carry a vessel rightly steered into the desired haven, hurls it when wrongly steered as a miserable wreck on the rocks outside.

Thus, in all the realms of life, we must have God with us or against us; and if God be against us, we have cause to lament that He is God--a being whom we cannot resist, from whom we cannot escape. Therefore, 1. _Let us recognise what the realities of our position are._ Let us not go on to eternal ruin through ignorance or heedlessness. 2. _Let us make God our "sanctuary."_ We may do this. He invites us to do it. Having done it, everything in Him that otherwise would terrify us will be to us a cause of joy (Rom. v. 11).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "He this flowery carpet made
Made this earth on which we tread,
God refreshes in the air,
Covers with the clothes we wear,
Feeds us with the food we eat,
Cheers us by His light and heat,
Makes His sun on us to shine:
All our blessings are divine!"--_C. Wesley._

[2] Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, does and
understands as much as his observations on the order of
nature, either with regard to things or the mind, permit
him, and neither knows, nor is capable of more. . . .
_Nature is only subdued by submission._--_Bacon._

THE STONE OF STUMBLING.

viii. 14. _And He shall be for . . . a stone of stumbling
and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel._

This prophecy refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it has had a threefold fulfilment. It was fulfilled--+1. In His own personal history.+ When He was made manifest to Israel He was so contrary to their conceptions of what the Messiah would be--in the lowliness of His condition, in the spirituality of the kingdom He set up, and, above all, in the ignominiousness of the death He accomplished at Jerusalem,--that they "stumbled at" and rejected Him. +2. In the experience of His disciples in all ages.+ In them He has been again despised and rejected. This He foresaw and predicted (John xv. 18-21, &c.). In the world there is an irreconcilable hatred of Christ as He reappears in His people (Gal. iii. 28, 29). +3. In the hostility which faithful preaching has always created.+ The preaching of the Gospel is the preaching of Christ (Acts v. 42; 1 Cor. i. 23; 2 Cor. iv. 5). The great evangelical doctrines all centre in and flow from "Christ and Him crucified," and can never be clearly and faithfully proclaimed without awakening the disgust and enmity of the carnal heart. They necessarily humble sinful men, and they hate to be humbled. The offence of the cross is not yet ceased; multitudes still stumble at the truth, being disobedient.

1. How sad that Christ should be an offence and a stumbling-stone to a single soul! That His Word, which is sufficient for all the purposes of salvation, should become to any "the savour of death unto death"! 2. How terrible, and earnestly to be shunned, is that unbelief which thus reverses the design of God's greatest mercies! 3. Whatever others may do, let us, with penitent and thankful hearts, make Christ our "sanctuary."--_Manuscript Sermon._

THE DUTY OF TEACHERS OF TRUTH IN TIMES OF NATIONAL PERVERSION.

viii. 16-18.

In Heb. ii. 13 the commencement of verse 18 is quoted as an utterance of the Messiah. This opens up questions concerning the New Testament quotations from the Old which cannot be fully discussed in this commentary. It may suffice to remark that the Spirit inspiring Isaiah was the Spirit of Christ, and that therefore Isaiah's utterances generally may be regarded as the utterances of Christ; and further, this is especially true in those cases in which there is a close similarity in the position occupied by the great prophet of the Messiah and the Messiah Himself. At times Isaiah appears to be merely the spokesman of the Messiah; but in others, while his words had their ultimate and highest fulfilment in Christ, they were primarily true of himself, and this appears to be the case here.

There are times when a nation goes utterly wrong, politically, socially, and, as the root of all the evil, religiously. God is forgotten, and the people give themselves over to purposes of ambition or of sensual pleasure. It is a time of formalism and pharisaism, of infidelity and blasphemy, of luxury and vice. So strong is this current of evil that it seems a hopeless and foolish thing for any man or body of men to resist it. What, then, is the prophet or faithful preacher to do? Prudence counsels compliance with the prevailing temper (2 Chron. xviii. 12), or at least a temporary silence. Shall he listen to prudence, and bid principle wait for a more fitting season? Nay, but--+I. Let him betake himself in prayer to God+ (ver. 16). Let him pray especially that Divine truth may be kept in the hearts of the few who have been led to receive it.[1] +II. Let him wait upon God+ with immovable confidence that His truth shall yet prevail in the earth (ver. 17). Thus did the Primitive Christians, the Puritans, and the Covenanters in the evil days in which they lived. +III. Let him recognise and glory in the position he occupies+ (ver. 18). He and his spiritual children are God's witnesses (Isa. xliv. 8); what position could be more honourable? Let them not shrink from its conspicuousness (Phil. ii. 15); let them not be disheartened by the singularity it involves (H. E. I. 1032-1045, 3906, 3914; P. D. 1188). Amid all that is depressing and threatening in the position to which they have been Divinely called, let them remember their Lord's declarations (Matt. x. 32; Rev. iii. 5).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I agree with Vitringa, Dreschler, and others in regarding
verse 16 as the prophet's own prayer to Jehovah. We
_"bind"--tie together_--what we wish to keep from getting
separated and lost; we _"seal"_ what is to be kept secret,
and only opened by a person duly qualified. And so the
prophet here prayed that Jehovah would take his testimony
with regard to the future, and his intimation, which was
designed to prepare for the future that _testimony_ and
_thorah_ which the greatest mass, in their hardness, did
not understand, and in their self-hardening despised, and
lay them up well secured and well preserved, as if by bond
and seal, in the hearts of those who receive the prophet's
words with loving obedience. For it would be all over with
Israel unless a community of believers should be preserved,
and all over with the community if the word of God, which
was the ground of their life, should be allowed to slip out
of their hearts.--_Delitzsch._

WAITING ON THE LORD IN DESERTION AND GLOOM.

viii. 17. _And I will wait upon the Lord, &c._

+I. The characteristic appellation of Jehovah.+ "The God who hideth Himself."[1] +II. The implied mysteriousness of His dealings with His people.+ It is not merely from Babylon or Egypt, from Tyre or Nineveh, that He hides His face, but from "the house of Jacob." 1. The persons referred to may be regarded as typical of the Church. Though descended from Abraham, they were called "the house of _Jacob_," to denote that they were a _chosen_ people--a _praying_ people (this at least was true of the best men among them)--a people _in whom God delighted._ 2. With these persons He dealt in a manner contrary to what we should have expected. Looking only at the relation in which He stood to them, we should have expected that the light of His countenance would have gladdened them continually. Yet He hid Himself; and He frequently hides Himself not only from the world, but from the Church; not only from the wicked man, but from the believer. Yet here is a difference: in the one case it is total and constant, in the other it is but partial and temporary. In the one case it is in anger, in the other it is in love (Rev. iii. 19). 3. The modes in which He hides Himself. (1) In the cloud of providential darkness--affliction, bereavement, &c. (Isa. l. 10) (2) In the withholding of the conscious enjoyment of religion (Job xv. 11; xxii. 2).[2] +III. The resolve of the believer under this visitation.+ In nothing does the grace of God shine more unmistakably than in the way in which the Christian bears trouble. "Behold, this evil is of the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?" said a wicked man of old; but "I will look unto the Lord, and will wait for Him," is the prophet's resolve. 1. As to _looking_ for Him. (1.) _For whom_ do we look? For our God--our Father--our Friend--our Deliverer. (2.) _Where_ shall we look for Him? He is near, though concealed. Then look for Him in Christ, in whom He is reconciling the world unto Himself, in whom He is well pleased even with us. Look for Him in His promises--in His ordinances--in your closet. (3.) _How_ shall we look for him? With faith--zeal--energy--determination (Job xxxv. 10; Jer. xxix. 13). 2. As to _waiting_ for Him. This is a state of mind frequently enjoined and commended in the Bible. Waiting implies faith--desire--patience (P. D. 2643). When you have found Him, fall at His feet and confess your unworthiness. Resolve to follow Him fully. Cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Pray, "Abide with me!"--_George Smith, D.D._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For details and suggestions under this division, see
outline: THE CONCEALMENT OF GOD, chap. xlv. 15.

[2] For various suggestions and illustrations, see H. E. I.
200, 1644-1659, and P. D. 815.

PENITENTIAL WAITING ON GOD.

viii. 17. _And I will wait upon the Lord, &c._

Believers are in the Scriptures abundantly encouraged to wait upon God (Ps. xxvii. 14; Isa. xxv. 9). In Ps. lxii. 5, it is suggested that this waiting upon God is connected with hopeful expectation of receiving a blessing. The same truth is taught us by our Lord in His parable on prayer (Luke xviii. 1-8). However long God delays, we must wait expectantly. In our text, however, we have the idea of waiting upon God while He is hiding His face from His people. The very possibility that He should assume this attitude towards us is depressing, and not unfrequently in our religious exercises we are haunted by the fear that this _is_ the attitude He has assumed towards us. Through fears and doubts that intercept our vision of Him, we look up to see the face of our Father, and behold only a cloud! In such a case our faith needs quickening, that our hopes may be raised and our courage renewed. The following thoughts may conduce to this end. I. _God does not hide His face from us because His blessings have diminished_ (Isa. xl. 26-31; Jer. ii. 13; xvii. 13). II. _God does not hide His face from us on account of any weariness in His love_ (John xiii. 1; Isa. xlix. 15). III. _God does not hide His face from us because of any caprice in His nature_ (Jas. i. 16-17). IV. _If God does hide His face from us, it is only on account of our sinfulness._ This is the dark atmosphere in which God becomes lost to us (chap. lix. 1, 2). V. Consequently, _if God's face is hidden from us, it is at once our only hope and our positive duty to wait upon Him_ (Jas. iv. 8). Let us wait for Him and look for Him. 1. Penitently. 2. Believingly. 3. Patiently. Then will the Lord turn us again; He will cause His face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved.--_William Manning._

NECROMANCY.

viii. 19-22. _Seek unto them, &c._

As bearing upon the doctrine of necromancy, an exhaustive discussion of these verses would involve the following points: 1. Under the instigation of a prurient curiosity, or under the pressure of affliction, godless men are wont to seek knowledge and help from the spirits of the dead. 2. Hence, in every age of the world and in every nation of universal history, there have been necromancers, wizards, &c., known by various names, practising various arts of divination and legerdemain; playing with the credulity of men and women, and claiming access to supernatural knowledge and power. The spirits of modern times are the latest species of this genus of necromancers. 3. This passage implies irresistibly that God frowns upon and condemns necromancy in whatever form. 4. The expostulations, rebukes, and threatenings of the Lord, through His prophet in this passage, assumes it to be impossible for man to get knowledge or help for the living from the dead. The power of _God_ to send back to earth the spirits of the dead is quite another thing; yet as to this the practical question is--Does He see fit to use it? 5. Hence, to discard the light of God's revealed Word and to seek light and help from the dead, is to hurl oneself against the impermeable and impassable wall with which God has shut in the living of our world, and involves both positive conflict against God and contemptuous rejection of His Divine Word. 6. As Satan has a natural sympathy with everything abhorrent to God and ruinous to man, we ought to look for his hand in these agencies of necromancy, to whatever extent God may give him scope and range for action. What these limits may be, who can tell? It is man's wisdom to keep himself utterly aloof from the sphere of Satan's agencies and temptations. 7. Necromancers and spirits practically league themselves with Satan against God, and should be aware that his lot must be theirs, and their end be as their works, no dawn of day ever breaking forth on the midnight of their gloom.--_Henry Cowles, D.D., Commentary on Isaiah,_ pp. 68, 69.

THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY.

viii. 20. _To the law and to the testimony, &.c,_

This was one of the watchwords of the Reformation, and since then it has been a favourite text with Protestants. The noble Sixth Article of the Church of England[1] is but an extension of it. It assumes that there is one standard of truth, one infallible oracle, to which in all their moral perplexities and spiritual difficulties, it is the wisdom, if not the duty, of all men to appeal. And _we_ are persuaded that we have this standard, this oracle, in the Bible (H. E. I. 543). If men neglect it,--if they strive to construct a creed or direct their conduct without it, two things are certain: 1. _They lack the knowledge and wisdom essential to success in life._ Their neglect of it shows that they have no light in them.[2] 2. _There await them disappointment, disaster, and despair._ This is the teaching of the other beautiful translation which many eminent scholars have adopted: "To the teaching of God, and to the testimony! If they do not according to this word, they are _a people for whom no morning dawns_" (H. E. I. 641).

"But all who consult the Bible do not obtain from it sure guidance: the proof of this is the difference among those who consult it, both as to belief and practice. In support of the most absurd doctrines and the most pernicious practices, the authority of Scripture is claimed." True, but the error lies not in "the law," but in the men who refer to it.[3] If the Bible is to be really helpful to us, we must consult it _honestly_ (H. E. I. 573, 574, 4854). _Humbly_ (H. E. I. 387-389, 562-567, 587, 599). _With a constant recognition of our help of the Holy Spirit_ (H. E. I. 622, 623, 2877-2882). _Prayerfully_ (H. E. I. 570, 571, 598, 4856). _Diligently_ (H. E. I. 576-580; P. D. 315). _Intelligently._ (1.) In regard to the subjects concerning which we seek instruction (H. E. I. 540-542, 558-560). (2.) In regard to our interpretation[4] and application of its utterances (H. E. I. 544-550, 568, 569). The man who thus uses the Bible[5] will be cheered as he advances in life by a dawn that will brighten and broaden into perfect day. He will be led by it to Christ, "The Light of the world," and following Him in loving obedience and unswerving loyalty, he will find the declaration for ever true, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may
be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that
it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be
thought requisite or necessary to salvation."

Here also may be quoted the declaration of the Westminster
Assembly of Divines:--

"VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things
necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and
life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good
and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture:
unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by
new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men.
Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the
Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding
of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there
are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and
government of the Church, common to human actions and
societies, which are so ordered by the light of nature and
Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the
Word, which are always to be observed.

"VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in
themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things
which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for
salvation, are so clearly propounded or offered in some
scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the
unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain
unto a sufficient understanding of them. . . .

"X. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of
religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils,
opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men and private
spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are
to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in
the Scripture."--_The Confession of Faith._

[2] Just as it would be conclusive proof of ignorance of
geology if a prospecting party of miners left unexplored
the very spot concerning which the character of the rocks
and soil cried loudly, _Gold!_ Or if some professional men,
perplexed by a serious and embarrassing case, should leave
unconsulted the standard works containing the solution of
the problem.

[3] Lawyers and doctors, professedly consulting the standard
works of their profession, have misled their clients and
killed their patients; but the fault has not been in those
standard works, but in the men who failed to use them
aright. Bradshaw's Railway Guide is not a safe guide in the
hands of every traveller.

[4] The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the
Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question
about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is
not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by
other places that speak more clearly.--_The Confession of
Faith._

[5] The Holy Scriptures are to be read with an high and
reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they
are the very Word of God, and that He only can enable us to
understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the
will of God revealed in them; with diligence and attention
to the matter and scope of them; with meditation,
application, self-denial, and prayer.--_The Larger
Catechism._

UNSANCTIFIED SUFFERING.

viii. 21, and ix. 13. _And they shall pass through it, &c._