Chapter XVII: Part 17

+I. Sin leads to suffering.+ 1. This is true of _individuals_ (H. E. I. 4603-4612). But because there is another life and a future retribution, the full results of sin are frequently not seen in this life. Nay, the sinner often appears prosperous, even to the end (Ps. lxxiii. 3-5). 2. But in the case of _nations,_ which as such have no immortality, it is otherwise (P. D. 2544); it is more prompt; it is often exceedingly terrible. This fact should make those who have any love for their children hostile to any national policy that is unrighteous, however politically "expedient" it may seem. +II. There is in suffering no sanctifying power.+ God may use it as a means of arresting the careless, or of making good men better, but there is in it no certain reformative energy. On the contrary it may harden men in iniquity.[1] +III. Suffering does nothing in itself to abate God's anger against sinners.+ We, when we are wronged, often yield to a passion of vindictiveness, which is sated when we have succeeded in inflicting a certain amount of pain on the wrong-doer. But God's anger is not vindictive, but righteous (H. E. I. 2288-2294); hence its terribleness. As it does not thirst for suffering, it is not satisfied by suffering. As long as the sinner holds to his sin, God's anger will burn against him, irrespective altogether of the suffering he may have endured. Nothing will turn away that anger but a genuine repentance (ix. 13).

1. In the hour of temptation, let us think of sin not as it then presents itself to us, but as it will certainly appear to us when its results are manifested (H. E. I. 4673-4676). 2. When suffering has come upon us, let us regard it as God's summons to repentance (H. E. I. 56-59); and let us obey it with thankfulness that God is willing to deal with us in the way of mercy.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See outline: MORAL OBDURACY, p. 16.

THE REMEDY OF THE WORLD'S MISERY.

(_Missionary Sermon._)

ix. 2-7. _The people that waited in darkness, &c._

The prophecies contained in this text are of a mixed kind; they are partly fulfilled and partly unfulfilled. We have the authority of the Evangelists to apply the passage to Gospel times, and to prevent it from being restricted to the Jews (Matt. iv. 14-16; Luke i. 79; ii. 32). Let us consider--

+I. The view taken by the Prophet of the moral state of the world previous to the glorious change which makes the subject of his prophecy.+ 1. _The people are represented as walking in darkness._ Darkness is an emblem of ignorance and error; and an emblem the most striking.[1] 2. _But darkness alone appears to the mind of the Prophet only a faint emblem of the state of the heathen:_ he adds, therefore, "the shadow of death." In Scripture this expression is used for the darkness of that subterranean mansion into which the Jews supposed the souls of men went after death. Figuratively, the expression is used for great distress; a state of danger and fear at the same time. Such is the state of the heathen. The religion of the heathen has ever been gloomy and horrible. 3. _The Prophet adds another note of the state of the heathen:_ Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy.[2] He beholdeth them increasing in number only to multiply their misery.[3] Universal experience proves that misery is multiplied when God and truth are unknown. In this case there is no redeeming principle; the remedy is lost; despair completes the wretchedness of the people, and were it not for the prospects opened by the Gospel, that despair would be final and absolute. Here, however, the text breaks upon us with a glorious and cheering view. The Prophet beholds a light rising in obscurity; a great light dispels the heavy gloom; comfort, joy, and salvation dawn upon the earth (ver. 2).

+II. On the blessed visitation we would now fix your attention.+ 1. _As darkness is an emblem of the religious sorrow which had overcast the world, so light is an emblem of the truth of the Gospel._ The Gospel is "light." (1.) This marks its origin from heaven. (2.) This notes its truth. It is fitting that what is truth, without mixture of error, should be compared to what is the most simple substance in nature. (3.) It is called "light" because of its penetrating and subtle nature. (4.) Because of the discoveries which it makes. (5.) Because it is life and health to the world. 2. _As in the vision light succeeds to darkness, so also joy succeeds to fear and misery_ (ver. 3). The joy here described is no common feeling; it is the joy of harvest, the joy of victory. The effect of the diffusion of the Gospel in producing joy is a constant theme of prophecy (chap. xxiv. 16; Ps. xcviii. 8; Luke ii. 10). True joy, as yet, there is none upon a large scale; of sorrow and sighing the world has ever been full; and as long as it remains in this state, even sighs might fail rather than cause to sigh. Even that which is called joy is mockery and unreal, an effort to divert a pained and wounded mind; it gleams like a transient light, only to make men more sensible of the darkness. As long as the world is wicked it must be miserable. All attempts to increase happiness, except by diminishing wickedness and strengthening the moral principle, are vain. The Gospel is the grand cure of human woe. When it has spread to the extent seen by the Prophet, a sorrowing world shall dry up its tears, and complaint give place to praise (Isa. xiv. 8; xxxii. 17). They shall joy as in victory, for the rod of the grand oppressor shall be broken; Satan shall fall, his reign be terminated; and one universal, transporting "Hallelujah" ascend from every land, to the honour of Him by whom the victory is achieved.

+III.+ So vast a change must be produced by causes proportionably powerful; and to +the means by which this astonishing revolution is effected,+ the Prophet next directs our attention (vers. 4, 5). These words speak of resistance and a struggle. He that expects the conversion of the world without the most zealous application and perseverance among God's agents, and opposition from His enemies, has not counted the cost. In the conduct of this battle two things distinguish it from every other contest: The absolute weakness and insufficiency of the assailants,[4] and their miraculous success. A remembrance of these things encourages us in our missionary operations. If our plans had been applauded by the wisdom of this world, there would have been too much of man in them, and we might have doubted the result (Jud. vii. 2). The victory shall be eminently of God. For the battle shall be, not "with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but with burning and fuel of fire." The demonstration of the Spirit, the power of God, is here compared to fire. The Spirit, in His saving operations, is always in Scripture compared to the most powerful principles in nature--to the rain and dew, to wind, to thunder, to fire. All these images denote His efficiency and the suddenness of the success; and the extent of the benefit shall proclaim the victory to be the Lord's. We have seen the effect of this vital influence at home; and we may, in some degree, conjecture what will be done abroad. Yet perhaps something very remarkable may take place, as is intimated in the text; some peculiar exertion of the Divine power upon the mind of the world.

+IV.+ But it may be said, "is not all this a splendid vision? You speak of weak instruments effecting a miraculous success; of the display and operation of a supernatural power touching the hearts of men and changing the moral state of the world, but what is the ground of this expectation?" This natural and very proper question our text answers (vers. 6, 7). In these verses we have +the grounds of that expectation of success which we form as to missionary efforts.+ The plan of Christianising the world is not ours; it was laid in the mind of God before the world was. The principal arrangements of the scheme are not left to us, but are already fixed by the infinite wisdom of God. The part we fill is very subordinate; and we expect success, not for the wisdom or the fitness of the means themselves, but because they are connected with mightier motives, whose success is rapid, and whose direction is Divine; because God has formed a scheme of universal redemption, to be gradually but fully developed; because He has given gifts to the world, the value of which is in every age to be more fully demonstrated; and because He has established offices in the person of Christ, which He is qualified to fill to the full height of the Divine idea (text).

Our text has set before us the moral misery of the human race; the purpose of God to remove it by the diffusion of His truth and grace; the means chosen for this purpose; and the ground of that certain success which must attend the application of the prescribed means under the Divine blessing. It now only remains for me to invite you to such a co-operation in this great work as your own ability and the importance of the enterprise demand.--_Richard Watson,_ "Works," vol. iv. pp. 206-224.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] As the pall of darkness is drawn over the world, the fair
face of nature fades from the sight; every object becomes
indistinct, or is wholly obscured, and all that can cheer
the sight or direct the steps of man vanishes. So the
gradual accumulation of religious errors, thickening with
every age, banished the knowledge of God and His truth from
the understandings of men, till all that was sublime in
speculation, cheering to the heart, supporting to the
hopes, or directive to the actions of men, passed away from
the soul, and left the intellectual world like that of
nature when deprived of light. The heaven of the soul was
hung with blackness, and "their foolish heart was
darkened."--_Watson._

[2] Alexander and several other modern scholars read: _"Thou
hast enlarged the nation, Thou hast increased its joy,"_
understanding the Prophet to mean that the true Israel had
been increased by the calling of the Gentiles, and that
this increase had been a cause of great gladness.

[3] If the Prophet speaks of the Jewish people, he declares a
fact remarkably striking. One of the blessings promised to
their founder, Abraham, was, that his seed should be
multiplied as the stars of heaven and the sands of the
sea-shore. But that which was designed as a blessing, and
is described as such in the promise, was made a curse by
the wickedness of the Jews. For what end, in the former
periods of their history, did they multiply, but to furnish
food for captives, slaughter, and oppression? In later
times, they have multiplied, and spread themselves over the
world; but their joy has not been increased. Degraded in
character, and despised by the nations where they sojourn,
without a country, a temple, or a sacrifice, they bear,
like Cain, the marks of God's curse, are vagabonds in the
earth, preserved to warn us of the just severity of God.

There is nothing, however, in the connection to induce us
to suppose that the Prophet particularly contemplated the
Jewish nation. The same thing must be affirmed of every
nation that abandons itself to wickedness. When nations are
multiplied, their political strength is increased; and
happiness would be multiplied too, were it not for sin. But
in wicked nations the "joy is not increased." This negative
expression signifies the misery is increased. God has not
added His blessing; and there is no joy.--_Watson._

[4] The weakness and insignificance of the instruments used in
breaking the rod and yoke of the oppressor is sufficiently
marked by the allusion to the destruction of the host of
Midian by Gideon and his three hundred men. The family of
Gideon was poor in Manasseh, and he was the least of his
father's house; the number of men assigned him was
contemptible; their weapons were no better than an earthen
pitcher, a torch, and a trumpet; the men who dreamed of
Gideon dreamed of him under the image of a barley-cake. All
this meanness was adopted that the deliverance of Israel
might appear to be the work of God; and this is the manner
in which He has ever wrought in the revival and spread of
godliness in the world. Who were the instruments of
spreading true religion in the Apostolic age, we know; they
were the despised fishermen of Galilee. Feeble and
unpromising instruments have also been employed in
subsequent revivals; and for the conformity of the present
missionary system of this model we augur will be of future
success.--_Watson._

THE JOY OF HARVEST.

(_Harvest Thanksgiving Sermon._)

ix. 3. _They joy before Thee according to the joy in
harvest, &c._

+I. The joy of the natural harvest.+ Harvest was peculiarly interesting to the Jews.[1] Two things render "the joy of harvest" peculiar and impressive: 1. It is the completion and reward of the anxiety and labours of the year it closes. 2. It furnishes the supply of our needs in the year to come.--We call upon you to rejoice before the Lord to-day (P. D. 1710-1712), and to associate your thanksgiving with the name of Christ (Heb. xiii. 15). Let all outward gifts remind you of that unseen Mediator through whom they flow. Our gratitude should be deep and fervent; it should bear some proportion to the regret we should have felt if God had withheld the blessings in which we now rejoice, and had blighted the promise of the year. Yet now, when these temporal gifts abound, let us remember their inability to satisfy the needs of the soul. The satisfaction for these needs is to be found only in Christ. He who had more corn than his barns could hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue. +II. The joy of the spiritual harvest.+ The vicissitudes of the religious life are often compared to those of the seasons (Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6). The Christian husbandman has his anxieties, arising from the badness of the soil, the unfavourableness of the seasons, the delay of harvest, the fear of final loss. Yet he has his reaping seasons of joy even in this world--1. When a consciousness of sin which has long oppressed the soul is exchanged for a sense of pardoning mercy, through the application of the blood of sprinkling. 2. When, after a long period of depression, hope revisits the mind (H. E. I. 313, 314, 1658, 1659, 3041). 3. When there come to us the answers to our prayers that were long delayed (H. E. I. 3895, 3896). "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; _but when desire cometh, it is a tree of life._" 4. When the spiritual triumphs of the gospel are made manifest; to parents in their families; to ministers in their congregations; to missionaries abroad. Just in proportion to the toil and prolonged anxiety is the rapture of success. The harvest sometimes come to us after long delay, after many anxieties, after many fears (Jas. v. 7, 8). God sees fit to exercise His people with the discipline of suspense, but this is for their good (Lam. iii. 26). +III. The joy of the eternal harvest.+ When all Christ's people are gathered into His immediate presence (Matt. xiii. 39); then will the declaration of our text be fulfilled in the highest sense of which it is capable. The ransomed will rejoice when they think, 1. _Of the grace that reigns in their salvation._ By that grace they were transformed from being tares, the end of which is burning, into wheat meet for the garner. 2. _Of the great cost and care bestowed upon their culture,_ that they might be ripened for the heavenly kingdom. 3. _How often they despaired of their own safety._ 4. _Of their deliverance from the fearful fate of the tares and chaff,_ whose end is to be burned.--_Samuel Thodey._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] They had scarcely any foreign trade--none till Solomon's
time. Every family lived upon its own inheritance and upon
the produce of its own land. Consequently if harvest
failed, all failed. They expressed their great joy by
solemn offerings to the Lord. Not a field was reaped before
the wave-sheaf was placed upon the altar; and when it had
been waved there, amidst the loud thanksgiving of the
people, before the Lord of the whole land, the messengers
from the Temple carried the proclamation to the husbandman,
in the field, "Put ye in the sickle and reap!"--_Thodey._

THE TITLES AND GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST.

ix. 6. _For unto us a Child is born, &c._

+I. The Incarnation and Government of Jesus Christ.+ Let us contemplate Him, 1. _As the Incarnate One._ "Unto us a child is born" (H. E. I. 846-853). 2. _As a gift of Heaven to a fallen world._ "Unto us a Son is given." 3. _As advanced to supreme rule and authority._ "The government shall be upon His shoulder." +II. The names and characters by which He is distinguished.+ "His name," &c. +III. The adaptation of these qualities to the purposes of His spiritual reign.+ 1. We need wisdom, and He is the "counsellor." 2. We need reconciliation to God, and He is our "Peace." 3. We need support under the calamities of life, and this He gives us, for He is the "Mighty God." 4. We need comfort under the fears of death, and this He gives as "The Father of the Everlasting Age."--_George Smith, D.D._

THE GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST.

ix. 6. _The government shall be on His shoulder, &c._

Let me caution you against mistaking this government for that essential dominion which belongeth to our blessed Lord as God. To suppose that this had been _given_ to our Lord would be to deny His essential Godhead. The government here spoken of is one that He receives: a delegated government as the Mediator of the covenant: that which we are told (1 Cor. xv. 24-28) He will hereafter deliver up to the Father. Three particulars we may point out, in which He exercises this dominion. I. He rules _for_ His Church, as "The Lamb in the midst of the throne." II. He rules _in_ His Church, being its alone King and Lawgiver. The Church is never for one moment to assume the power of legislation; it belongs not to her, but to Him: _she_ has the executive--nothing more--to obey His laws, to carry them out according to the mind of Him who framed them. III. There is a third power--that which He exercises in the souls of His true subjects, ruling in and over them by the power of His own blessed Spirit.--_J. H. Evans, M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit,_ vol. vii. p 337.

In this verse we have a constellation of titles, all of which illustrate the essential dignity and mediatorial claims of Jesus, and tend to awaken the confidence of the Church. The very first declaration, His "name shall be called Wonderful," fitly prepares us for all that is to follow, teaching us to expect something beyond the ordinary works of God. He is "wonderful" in His incarnation, in His government, in the counsels He originates, in the divinity of His nature, in the eternity of His existence, in the results of His mediatorial rule, for He is "the Prince of Peace," swaying the sceptre of mercy over an apostate and disordered world. There is a beautiful consistency in all this; for if the government of earth and heaven, the sovereignty of the Church and of the world, is to be exercised by the Redeemer, it is necessary that He should be possessed of attributes equal to the immense responsibilities. But these attributes are His, and hence the command, "Rejoice, for the Lord reigneth!" +I. It is a cause of peculiar rejoicing to all good men that the government of the world is in the hands of Christ.+ Their interest and joy in this fact arise--1. From the near and sacred relation in which Jesus stands to them. 2. From the glorious perfectness of His character, which guarantees the wisdom and blessedness of His sway. 3. From the changelessness, perpetuity, and destined universality of His rule. +II. The sovereignty of Christ affords great relief in contemplating the abject condition of the heathen world.+ The heathen have been given to Him for His inheritance, and He will certainly deliver them from the superstitions and miseries by which they are oppressed. +III. This fact gives us a deep interest in beholding the vast extent of the universe of God.+ Every part of it is but a province in Christ's boundless empire.--_Samuel Thodey._

HIS NAME . . . WONDERFUL.

ix. 6. _His name shall be called Wonderful, &c._

+I. Christ is wonderful in His nature.+ He is wonderful, 1. In respect of _His essential Godhead._ 2. In respect of _His perfect manhood._ _All_ excellencies were combined in him as a man, unlike even His most eminent servants, who are distinguished for the possession of _special_ graces, which too often are clouded by some opposite defect. 3. In respect of the _union in Him of Deity and humanity_ (1 Tim. iii. 16).

+II. Christ is wonderful in His offices,+ at once Prophet, Priest, and King. 1. As a _Prophet,_ what wonderful disclosures He has made to us of the Divine nature and will, and of human duty and destiny; with what wonderful authority He spoke; with what wonderful completeness and beauty He fulfilled all His own commandments! 2. As a _Priest,_ how wonderfully He was at once sacrifice and offerer: how wonderfully He still carries on the work of reconciliation (Rom. viii. 34). 3. As a _King,_ how wonderfully He rules, with omnipotent power, yet with lamblike gentleness.

+III. Christ is wonderful in his relation to His people.+ 1. In the care He exercises over them (Ezek. xxxiv. 11-16). 2. In the abundance of the grace which He ministers to them (2 Cor. xii. 9; John i. 16; H. E. I. 936). 3. In His condescending thoughtfulness for each one of them (John x. 3, 14, 15).[1] 4. In the perfectness of His sympathy with them. He identifies Himself so entirely with His people, that they have not a single care, trial, or temptation of any sort, but it is as much _His_ as it is _theirs_ (H. E. I. 952-961).--_J. H. Evans, M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit,_ vol. vii. pp. 336-348.

We are continually struck with one marked contrast between the greatness that is human and the greatness that is Divine: human greatness the more it is examined the less wonderful it appears, but Divine productions, the more closely they are investigated the more brightly they shine. We shall see that Christ is wonderful, if we consider--I. _The excellences that compose His mediatorial character._ God and man! Nor is this a wonder to men only (1 Pet. i. 12). II. _The stupendous blessings He bestows on His friends._ III. _The reserves of glory which He waits to exhibit in now unseen and future worlds._

Behold Him, and 1. Never hesitate to acknowledge Him as your Saviour and Lord. 2. Yield a ready obedience to His authority. 3. Anticipate His coming in glory.--_Samuel Thodey._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Oh, how "wonderful" must He be, that suits Himself to the
cares of all, as if He had but one! cares for each as much
as He cares for all, and cares for each as if he _were_
all! We are lost in this deep. I sometimes get some light
from this thought:--Why, the sun can shine into the attic
as well as into the Queen's palace; it occasions no
difficulty to the sun. Blessed Jesus! there is no
difficulty for Thee to supply all our minutest wants; in
Thee there is the abundance of power, and quite as great an
abundance of love.--_J. H. Evans, M.A._

CHRIST OUR COUNSELLOR.

ix. 6. _His name shall be called . . . Counsellor, &c._

+I. How Christ may be our Counsellor.+ Immediate, close and confidential intercourse is involved in our idea of taking counsel. When we are in perplexity, we lay the whole matter before a friend in whose wisdom we trust. So we may spread our difficulties before Christ in prayer. Thus far, all is clear. But how can we receive from Christ the answer and guidance we seek? How does an earthly friend help us in such a case? _By producing a certain impression on our mind._ He may do it by spoken words, by letter, or even by a gesture. The _manner_ is unimportant. So Christ guides us _by producing impression on our mind; how,_ we know not, nor does it matter greatly. The well-instructed Christian seeks counsel from Christ in all things. He prays for _daily_ guidance. Special difficulties he makes matter of special prayer. Then, upon the mind previously made calm and willing, there comes a sense of rectitude, and a feeling of resolution. One course, generally that which involves most self-denial and manifests least self-dependence, comes prominently forth in strong relief, as most to be preferred. Its advantages each moment look clearer and brighter; its consistency with his religious profession, conformity to the will of God, and true wisdom, are more and more strongly impressed upon his mind. He doubts no more. He has arrived at a decision. Christ's counsel has prevailed. It is our privilege thus to be directed at every stage and in every vicissitude of life.

+II. Why we should take Christ for our Counsellor.+ Because in Him are all the qualities that would cause us to value and seek the counsel of an earthly friend--tenderness, wisdom, and power. He can help us to carry out His counsels.

+III. What will the effects of making Christ the Man of our counsel?+ 1. _A special consistency of Christian conduct._ Inconsistency arises from listening to contradictory advisors; sometimes going to Christ, and sometimes taking counsel from flesh and blood. 2. _A conformity and likeness to Christ._ You will learn to love what He loves, and to desire what He promises. In the man who constantly makes Christ his counsellor, there is begotten a spirituality of mind, a deadness to the world, a fixedness of purpose, a cheerfulness of temper, a self-possession and patience, which are scarcely conceivable and quite invaluable. A man is powerfully influenced by the company he keeps--whether it be refined and moral, or coarse and profligate. What, then, must be the effect of habitual intercourse with the Lord of light and grace and glory? 3. _A preparedness for Christ's presence in heaven._ What is the bliss of heaven? It is the vision of the Almighty; unclouded and uninterrupted intercourse with the Saviour and Lord of all. The more we have cultivated this here, the more fitted we shall be for it hereafter.--_Josiah Bateman, M.A.: Sermons,_ pp. 1-18.

THE MIGHTY GOD.

ix. 6. _His name shall be called . . . The Mighty God._

Various devices to escape from the force of this declaration have been tried.[1] But after a discussion prolonged through centuries, it is now conceded by the foremost Hebrew scholars of our time, that, whether we accept or reject it, Isaiah's declaration _is_ that the Person concerning whom he wrote should be called "The mighty God;" which is merely the Scriptural way of asserting that He should _be_ "The mighty God," for names Divinely given represent realities. That the Person concerning whom this declaration was made is our Lord Jesus Christ is the conviction of the whole Christian Church. _He_ is the "Child," the "Son," the "Mighty God," concerning whom Isaiah wrote. Let us do more than give our assent to this statement: let us think about it.

+I.+ It is essential to soundness of creed, and to any full realisation of the doctrine of +the perfect humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ.+ He was a _man_ in the same sense that this is true of any man here; whatever was essential to perfectness of manhood existed in Him. Unless we grasp this great truth intelligently and firmly, 1. His _example_ can be of no considerable help to us (H. E. I. 898). The example of an angel, though it might excite our admiration, would also smite us with despair. 2. His _sympathy_ with men, because of His identity with them in their experience, can never be to us, what it has been to missions, one of the most comforting and strengthening of all thoughts (Heb. ii. 17, 18; iv. 15; H. E. I. 872, 954). +II.+ It is equally necessary that we should hold firmly +the doctrine of His Deity.+ That He is "the mighty God" is the testimony, 1. Of His _works_ (Matt. xiv. 32, 33, &c.). 2. Of His _words_ (John vi. 48; vii. 37; viii. 12; &c.; H. E. I. 836, 840-842). This doctrine pervades the New Testament (H. E. I. 835, 838). The sum of its teaching concerning Him is, that in Him God was manifest, that He is the true God (1 Tim. iii. 16; 1 John v. 20). It is not only one of the profoundest of all doctrines, it is the most practical. Let me doubt it, and how can Christ be to me a Saviour? How can He be more to me than any other eminently holy and wise man who died centuries ago, or yesterday? 1. What comfort can I derive from the declaration that He died for me? Could a _man_ atone for the sins of the whole world, for my sins? 2. What comfort can I derive from the declaration that He now lives and is in heaven? If so, as a _man,_ doubtless, He will sympathise with me, but how can I be assured in times of distress and danger I raise? or that, if He hears me, He is able to help?

1. This complex Christian life of ours can be sustained only by the complex and unfathomably mysterious doctrine of the Divine-human nature of Christ, just as our physical life can be sustained only by the compound yet simple atmosphere we breathe. To simplify the atmosphere by taking away, if it were possible, either of its main constituents would transform the earth into a sepulchre; and to "simplify" Christian doctrine by taking away the doctrine either of our Lord's humanity or of His Deity is the destruction of spiritual life. 2. Let us, then, accept in all their fulness the declarations of Scripture concerning the Person of Our Lord. Those declarations transcend our reason, but they do not contradict it (H. E. I. 851, 4809-4814), and they should be joyfully accepted by our faith. 3. Let us think much of Christ as the Son of man, that by His example we may be incited to strive after a noble manhood, and that by the assurance of His sympathy we may be sustained amid all the struggles and sorrows of life. 4. Let us think much of Him as "the mighty God," that our faith may rejoice in His ability to accomplish for us a complete redemption; that our reason and conscience may be let to bow to the authority which must therefore belong to all His utterances; that our love for Him, which is tender and ardent, may be also reverent; and that our soul may feel itself free to give expression to the feelings of adoration that rise up within us when we contemplate His perfections, His purposes, and the work which it is declared He has accomplished on our behalf.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The following translations have been given by sceptical
scholars, but have all been conclusively rejected by sound
scholarship:--

"Mighty Hero."--_Gresenius._

"Counsellor of the Mighty God."--_Grotius._

"Counsellor of God, Mighty."--_Carpenter._

"And He who is Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God,
the everlasting Father, calls His name the Prince of
peace."--_Jarchi_ and _Kimchi._

THE EVERLASTING FATHER.

ix. 6. _The Everlasting Father._

We usually associate the name of father with the first "Person" of the adorable Godhead. But there is no manner of doubt that the title here belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ--to the very same Person who, in human nature was a Child born, and a Son given up for the salvation of men. But there is this difference: the title given to the Son born is not merely "the Father," but "the _everlasting_ Father." The title is not "Father," but the entire phrase. Read more exactly in accordance with the original words, the phrase is this: "the father of perpetuity, the father of eternity, the father of for ever." "Father" means here simply possessor or author. To be the "Father of eternity" is to _have_ eternity, and to _rule_ in eternity--to be the Lord of eternity. Christ Jesus, who hath the government upon His shoulders, hath it on His shoulders for ever; He is King of kings and Lord of lords throughout eternity. The eternity here spoken of is not the eternity that is bygone--if we may so speak of eternity; it is the ongoing and unending duration that lies before us, and Christ Jesus is Lord and Ruler of it all. No doubt He who can hold the future eternity in His hand, and who can rule all its affairs, must have been Himself the Unbeginning and Eternal One; and the Scriptures leave no doubts about that being the attribute of our Lord Jesus Christ (John viii. 58; Col. i. 17; John i. 3). But it is that for ever which lies before us which Christ is here said to be the Father of. He is so as its Possessor--He has it; as its Originator--He makes it what it is; as its Controller--He rules in it.

I. Jesus Christ is the father of the eternity that lies before us, the father of the for ever, because He Himself lives for ever. He has it. Observe, this is true of the Second Person of the Godhead in human nature. The connection of the text will not permit us to forget that. It is the Child born and the Son given who is said to live for ever. That is a great thought; the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ in humanity is to live for ever is a stupendous expectation and belief. Sometimes it has seemed to me as it were more wonderful even than the Incarnation. It seems as if it would have been less strange for the Son of God, for some great purpose, to have clothed Himself with a creature's nature, and then, having accomplished that purpose, to have laid down that nature as a thing too far down from the Infinite to be worn for ever. But now the wonder is, that having made Himself our kinsman, He is to be our Head for ever, and is never to cease to wear the human nature in which He died on Calvary. That this is an important thought appears from two considerations. 1. It is part of the Divine promise of the Father to our Lord, and it is a thing for which our Lord prayed as part of His Father's promise (compare Isa. liii. 10, Ps. lxxii. 15; xxi. 4). 2. It implies that His work was finished to His Father's satisfaction. It is clearly spoken of as a reward for work well done. Hence this title "Father of eternity"--hath in germ within it the great facts of Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, and session in glory (comp. Rev. i. 18). From this fact two inferences can be drawn, both of a most consolatory and joyful character. 1. To God's people. What a Saviour they have! They need never fear that they will find a world in all the universe where He is not with them, and they cannot live on to any age when He shall cease to be their light and King. 2. The same thing brings comfort to every sinner (Heb. vii. 25). Do not lose yourselves in a great general thought of Christ living for ever; rather narrow the broad and grand conception, and fasten it down upon the present fleeting moment. Christ lives _now,_ and lives _here_--lives _here_ and _now_ to save the sinner and bless the saint. Apply to Him, and rejoice in Him that liveth now and for ever and ever.

II. He originated this age that is spoken of. As by His death He secured His own immortality on the basis of the faithful covenant, and received life for ever because He had done the Father's will; so by the same completion of His mediatorial work on earth He purchased this immortality for His people. All that is valuable in the prospect of unending existence to any human being he owes to our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the father of the eternal age; it could not have been without Him.

III. As Jesus Christ, personally and in humanity, lives through this eternal age, and as He introduced it and gave it its great characteristics, so the administration of its whole affairs is in His hands. The Author of our Faith is the ruler of its progress, and that not on earth alone, but in heaven (Matt. xxviii. 18). What follows from that? 1. What a terrible and what a hopeless thing it must be to resist Christ! To resist Him effectually, we would require to be able to do one or other of two things: We should need either to go beyond infinite distance and get away from Him that way, or live longer than for ever, which is equally impossible. The only question is this, "Am I in Christ's hands to be slain by Him, or to be saved by Him?" and that turns on my submission to His will. "Am I to sit on the throne beside Him? or take the other alternative and be made His footstool?" 2. What a good thought it is for the Christian, that he can never go away from Christ's care, that He can never be for a moment without his Friend watching over him, and never in any place in which he does not hear the music of those precious words, "Lo, I am with you alway!" (Matt. xxviii. 20).--_J. Edmond, D.D.: Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. ix. pp. 145-148.

THE PRINCE OF PEACE.

ix. 6. _The Prince of Peace._

How peaceful was the scene when the first Sabbath shone upon this world! How reversed was the scene when sin entered to revolutionise it! Think of the widespread and woful war which sin has entailed on this world, and see the need of such a Prince as our text reveals to restore the primitive peace. See, too, the magnitude of the work to which the Redeemer stands appointed when He is presented in the character of a pacificator who is to bring this strife to a happy conclusion for man.

I. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST FOR ACTING AS "THE PRINCE OF PEACE." We find these, 1. In His original personal excellence as the only begotten of the Father. 2. In His Father's ordination of Him to the office. 3. In the meritoriousness of the work He accomplished as the substitute for sinners. 4. In the station to which He has been exalted, and the executive power which has been lodged in His hands. First of all, He has been appointed Intercessor, to plead the cause of His people on the foundation of the work He has done for them; and, secondly, He has been anointed a King with all the influence and energy of the Almighty Spirit placed at His disposal to carry into execution all the favourable purposes of the Divine government on behalf of those whose cause He has won by His intercession. 5. In the fervency with which His heart is dedicated to the attainment of His object.

II. THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF THAT PEACE OF WHICH CHRIST IS, OR SHALL YET BE, THE MINISTERING PRINCE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE ON HIM. 1. He hath effected reconciliation between God and man. 2. In Christ we cease to war against ourselves. 3. Our Prince hath reconciled us to the angels. 4. Reconciliation is effected between Jew and Gentile (Eph. ii. 14-16). 5. The general reconciliation of man to man, the destruction of selfishness, and the diffusion of benevolence Christ came by His dying for all, to teach that all were as brethren, and ought to regard one another with fraternal affection. How much the world required this lesson! How imperfectly it has been learned (H. E. I., 884).--_William Anderson, L.L.D.; Christian World Pulpit,_ vol. x. pp. 392-394.

+I. The character of Christ:+ "the Prince of Peace." How wonderful and glorious is this character when viewed in connection with this title! Infinite wisdom and almighty power employed not for purposes of war, but of peace! (Isa. lv. 8, 9). 1. He procures peace. 2. He proclaims peace. 3. He imparts peace. 4. He maintains peace. 5. He perfects peace. +II. The character of His religion.+ It is a religion of peace. True, at its first introduction, it leads to conflicts (Matt. x. 34); but in the end it secures a permanent peace (Jas. iii. 17). It will give peace, but only on its terms. +III. Character of the followers of Christ.+ They are the sons of peace. 1. They seek peace with God through the mediation of Christ. 2. They exemplify a spirit like His own, and thus help to heal the wounds of a bleeding world. 3. They extend through the world the gospel of peace. 4. They anticipate in heaven the reign of unbroken peace.--_Samuel Thodey._

THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST.

ix. 7. _Of the increase of His government, &c._

If any man asks, "Concerning whom does the Prophet write these things?" the answer is, "Concerning Christ." "Of the increase of _His_ government and peace there shall be no end."[1] The world has seen many great empires, that bade fair to be everlasting, crumble away; and in view of the history of the past, it is unreasonable to believe that any modern empire, except so far as it is obedient to Christ, will be more durable. This is a world of change, and it is vain to hope that political revolutions are altogether things of the past. Two thousand years hence, should the present era so long continue, the map of this will be very different from what it is to-day. But the empire of Christ is to continue for ever. Unlike all other empires, it is to be continually progressing in extent and cohesion.

_What are our grounds for believing this?_ +I. The distinct promises of Scripture+ (Ps. ii. 8, xxii. 27, lxxxii. 8-11; Dan. vii. 13, 14). For a Christian this is sufficient. But even to those whose reverence for God's Word is most profound and unquestioning, it is interesting to see--+II.+ That +the nature of things+[2] is all in favour of the fulfilment of this prediction. Under this division of our subject, look at some of the differences between all human empires and the empire of Christ. 1. As to their _origin._ They have usually been created by the genius and energy of some great man. But even such men as David, Alexander, and Cæsar are mortal, and because it is impossible to secure a constant succession of men of genius, the empires they found crumble away. To David and Solomon succeeds a Rehoboam, and Rehoboam means ruin. But Christ wields the enormous "power of an endless life."[3] 2. As to their _progress._ (1.) Vast empires fall to pieces by reason of their very vastness. Time brings many changes even to great empires, and among them at least a temporary weakening of the central power; the heart is enfeebled, and the whole body is enfeebled and begins to decay. (2.) Great empires afford multiplied opportunities for great corruption, and this ultimately kills a state. (3.) Great empires include many conflicting interests; there is a perpetual struggle to maintain the balance of power; mutinies and rebellions are inevitable, and in the end some of these are successful, and the empire is broken. But none of these things can happen in the empire of Christ; none of these causes will tend to check the increase of _His_ government. 3. As to their _aims._ This is a consideration even more important and vital than the others. All empires have really had for their aim the aggrandisement of some ambitious man or nation. The inspiring motive has been supremely selfish. Hence fraud and force have been unhesitatingly employed for their advancement, and, because God really rules on earth as well as in heaven, these things, though they secure a temporary triumph, ultimately lead to inevitable ruin (H. E. I. 4612, P. D. 2544, 2995). By similar means the great empire has to be maintained, and in every part of it there are millions watching for an opportunity to subvert it by the same means; because its aims are selfish, it is hated, not loved, by those over whom it triumphs. But the inspiring aims of Christ's empire are righteousness and peace; it is to extend these blessings that His limitless resources are employed; the manner in which these resources is employed is in accordance with the ends sought; and hence (1) all the laws of God's universe are on His side, and (2) He is loved most intensely precisely by those over whom His authority is most completely established.[4] +III.+ If any further confirmations of our faith in Christ's ultimate triumph is needed, we have it in +the history of the world since His crucifixion.+ When He was crucified they nailed over His head the inscription, "THE KING OF THE JEWS." It was intended to be an act of mockery; it was the declaration of a great truth. And since then He has become the King of the Gentiles also. The mighty empire that tried to stop the progress of His kingdom was ground to powder in the conflict. And now by all the most powerful kingdoms of the earth He is, nominally at least, acknowledged as the supreme Authority. That which is nominal shall become real (Rev. xi. 15).

Concerning the complete fulfilment of the prediction of our text, we need therefore have no fear. And hence,--

1. We can look without dismay at the mighty forces arrayed against Christ and His truth,--heathenism abroad and infidelity at home (H. E. I. 642). 2. We can look forward to the future of the world with hope. A golden age is yet to dawn (H. E. I. 3421-3423). 3. We can labour for the extension of Christ's kingdom with all the hopeful energy of those who know that the end of all their efforts is not failure, but a glorious success (H. E. I. 979, 1161, 1162, 1166-1168).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Upon the throne of David._ This was in accordance with the
promise made to David (1 Kings viii. 25; 2 Sam. vii. 12,
13; Ps. cxxxii. 11). This promise was understood as
referring to the Messiah. The primary idea is, that He
should be descended in the line of David, and accordingly
the New Testament writers are often at pains to show that
the Lord Jesus was of that family (Luke ii. 4). When it is
said that He would sit upon the throne of David, it is not
to be taken literally. The peculiarity of the reign of
David was, that _he reigned over the people of God._ . . .
To sit upon the throne of David, therefore, means to reign
over the people of God; and in this sense the Messiah sits
on his throne.--_Barnes._

The angel who came to Mary affirmed these very things of
the Son then to be born (Luke i. 32, 33).--_Cowles._

[2] According to my view of the Unity of the Divine nature, God
is one, as we meet Him in the Old Testament and the Oldest;
in the New and the Newest. There are four Testaments: an
Oldest and an Old, a New and a Newest. _The Oldest
Testament is the Nature of Things._ The Newest is Christ's
continued life in the present influences of the Holy
Spirit. The Oldest and the Newest are unwritten; the Old
and New are written; but the voices of the four are
one.--_Joseph Cook._

[3] See Bushnell's sermon on "The Power of an Endless Life," in
"The New Life," pp. 287-307.

[4] The remarkably emphatic repetition of the idea of His
ruling in righteousness, justice, and real benevolence,
suggests how fearfully the world has been _misgoverned,_
and how little the great body of human government in even
civilised nations have sought and practically secured the
welfare of the millions.--_Cowles._

THE SECURITY FOR THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES.

ix. 7. _The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this._

It may be affirmed with equal truth, that from what zeal is in man we may know what it is in God; and that from what zeal is in man we cannot tell what it is in God (H. E. I. 2229-2240). We can tell what its nature is, but we cannot tell its power. 1. Zeal is in man an intense passionateness of desire for the accomplishment of some purpose; this leads to an energy and continuity of action that in many cases triumphs over obstacles, and accomplishes what seemed impossible. True zeal in man is intelligent, calm, persistent, and unweariable; and all this we know it must be in God. 2. But what its power is in God we cannot tell. Water in the mass, and fire in the mass, is an utterly different thing from water or fire on a small scale.[1] "The zeal of the Lord of hosts" is a tremendous conception which the mind cannot grasp.

This declaration is the consummation and crown of a great promise concerning the Messiah. It is the guarantee that, great as that promise is, it shall not remain unfulfilled; the heart of God is set upon its accomplishment, and He is "the Lord of hosts." We have here a general and blessed principle, applicable to all God's promises. For two reasons many human purposes remain unfulfilled: those who entertain them are not in earnest about them, or they lack power to carry them into effect. But both these essential requisites meet in God--earnestness and power. He makes no promise lightly; He attaches importance to every pledge He has ever entered into; and He will fulfil His promises, according to the largest interpretation that can be put upon them (Eph. iii. 20).

Let us use this declaration for the comforting and strengthening of our hearts. There are many great and precious promises, +I. Concerning the extension of Christ's kingdom,+ _e.g.,_ in the words preceding our text. It is declared that the influence and authority of Christ shall be unceasingly exerted with constantly augmenting effect, until all the disorder and misery of the world shall be brought to an end. So glowing is the picture given by the prophets of the world's future that we are tempted to fear that it will never be realised. But "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform _this_"; and those who by their prayers, efforts, and sacrifices are trying to contribute to the extension of Christ's kingdom, may rejoice in the assurance that they are not labouring in vain, nor spending their strength for nought (H. E. I. 979, 1161, 1162, 1166-1168; P. D. 475, 517, 2465, 2466). +II. Concerning the temporal well-being of Christ's people.+ 1. _Deliverance in time of danger_ (Isa. liv. 17). Illustrate by the account of the deliverance of Hezekiah (Isa. xxxvii.), noting especially that the promise then given was enforced by the very same declaration: "the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do _this_" (ver. 32; H. E. I. 4058). 2. _Supply for all temporal necessities_ (Matt. vi. 25-34; H. E. I. 4507). +III. Concerning the spiritual necessities and ultimate perfection of Christ's people.+ After each of them Faith sees written, though not with ink, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform _this_" (H. E. I. 1063-1071, 1106, 1112-1119). By and by there is to be a great gathering of Christ's ransomed ones in the heavenly world, and this will then be their grateful acknowledgement (Josh. xxiii. 14). Meanwhile, whensoever in our search of the Scriptures we find a promise specially adapted to our needs, let us lay hold of it, saying with joyful confidence, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform _this!_"

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The nature of water in a little pool left on the sea-shore
by the receding tide is the same as in the great sea
itself; but from the little pool we cannot form any
conjecture as to the power of water when moving in mighty
waves. So with fire,--its nature is the same in a lighted
match and in a great conflagration such as reduced Chicago
to ashes; but how different its power in the two cases!
Scientific observers have left it on record, that while
watching that conflagration it was revealed to them for the
first time what power there is latent in fire, when massed
in a great body; when at its height, solid granite
buildings were consumed and passed away as if they had been
made of thin pasteboard.

THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND OF GOD.