Chapter XIX: Part 19

Learn, 1. _The folly of leaving God out of our plans._ To plan without Him is presumptuous arrogance (vers. 15). It is to invite defeat, our knowledge being so limited and so certain to leave out some disturbing influence that will frustrate all our anticipations. A godless plan always means defeat in proportion to its apparent successes. The choice that really lies before us is to work _with_ God as His children, or _for_ Him as his slaves, His tools, His instruments. Our choice will be left perfectly free; but if we choose to reject His paternal guidance, we shall find that all we have secured for ourselves is merely the contemptible honour of figuring in our small way as reprobates (Exod. ix. 15). 2. _The dignity of human life generally,_ as being comprehended in the supreme plans of God (Gen. xlv. 8).[2] 3. _How to regard the disappointments of life._ When things turn out differently than we "meant" or "thought," it is useless to fret and fume against them. Instructed by God's Word, let us humbly and reverently acquiesce in our disappointments as forming part of a plan of God, conceived in paternal love, which is unfolding moment by moment: each event, whether bright or dark, having its mission from Him, and clothed with the grandeur of an unerring counsel. If our purpose has been a righteous or beneficent one, though it may seem for a time to have been utterly set aside, yet in the _end_ we shall find that God has used it to further results more important and glorious than it entered into our mind to ask or think.[3]--_William Manning._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] P. D., 2899, 2906.

See the whole article PROVIDENCE in the H. E. I., and the
other references given under this heading in the "Index of
Arrangement."

[2] See Outline: EVERY MAN'S LIFE A PLAN OF GOD, chap. xlv. 5.

[3] P. D., 863, 865, 867, 868, 2101, 3239.

"God's help is always sure,
His mercies seldom guessed;
Delay will make our pleasure pure,
Surprise will give it zest;
His wisdom is sublime,
His heart profoundly kind;
God never is before His time,
And never is behind."--_Lynch._

A HAPPY CONVERSION.

x. 20. _And it shall come to pass, &c._

Consider, +I. What is said of their former error.+ When it is said that they "shall no more stay upon him that smote them," it surely implies that they had done this before: this was their error. They had stayed upon another--upon Assyria as a refuge and defence against the confederacy that threatened Ahaz (chap. vii. 1-12, viii. 4-9), just as at other times they relied upon Egypt as a defence against Assyria,--and they were to be delivered for this tendency to trust in human help, and were to be taught to "stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth." Three things are here implied and expressed. 1. _They had exercised an improper dependence._ To this we are all naturally prone. We need help, and are apt to seek it in some creature rather than in the Creator. The evil of this course is, that thus we are kept away from God (H. E. I., 169-177). 2. _Their dependence had been disappointed._ That on which they stayed, not only failed them, it injured them (2 Chron. xxviii. 20; Jer. xvii. 5, 6). Creature confidence brings a curse upon us in two ways. (1) By disappointments (Prov. xxiii. 5; Ps lxii. 9, cxlvi. 3, 4; Isa. ii. 22). (2) By Divine rebukes (Jer. ii. 17-19; Jonah iv. 6, 7). 3. _Their folly was to be corrected by their sovereign._ They were to be taught wisdom by the things they suffered. But, alas! men often harden themselves against even such instruction (Isa ix. 13; Jer. v. 3; Amos iv. 6-11). Here we see the depravity of human nature in rendering inefficacious all these Divine chastisements. When this is the case, there is a danger of one of two things: either that God in anger will throw down the rod (Hos. iv. 17), or that He will fulfil His own threatenings (Lev. xxvi. 21, 23, 24, 27, 28; H. E. I., 145-147). God has a merciful design in all your crosses, trials, and afflictions (H. E. I., 56-74). When this is accepted, and afflictions thus sanctified, the penitent sufferer will put his trust in God only. Thus the prodigal was starved back "He began to be in want"--and it was a blessed want that led him to think of his father's house, and resolved him to return. You have no reason to complain when your earthly props are taken away, if thus you are induced to take fresh hold of God.

+II. What is said of their renewed experience.+ "But shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel." Glance at three views of it. 1. _It is an enlightened confidence._ Confidence is the offspring both of ignorance and wisdom; ignorance leads some persons to entrust precious deposits to strangers or to villains, but the wise man seeks first to know those in whom he is asked to trust. It is foolish to trust without inquiry, and to refuse to trust the trustworthy. The Christian stays himself upon God, because he has ascertained what His character is (Ps. cxix. 107; 2 Tim. i. 12). 2. _Their confidence is very extensive._ It covers all times (Ps. lxii. 8; Isa. xxvi. 4); all events that can awaken our anxiety; every condition in which we can be found; all that appertains to life and godliness, not only grace, but glory; not only our journey's end, but also the way. Thus it should be with us, but it is not always so. Strange to say, while we readily trust God for eternal life, we often find it difficult to trust Him for what we need in this life. How foolish is this (Rom. viii. 32; Ps. lxxxiv. 11)! 3. _It is a blessed confidence_ (Prov. xxix. 25; Ps. cxxv. 1; Isa. xxvi. 3; Jer. xvii. 7, 8; H. E. I., 1191-1934; P. D., 1157, 1160).

+III. The reality of their change.+ "They shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, _in truth._" This confidence is distinguishable, 1. _from mere pretensions._ There are those who profess to know God, but in works deny Him. It seems strange that persons should act the hypocrite here, for what do they gain (Job xx. 5, xxvii. 8)? 2. _From imaginary confidence._ Persons may not endeavour to deceive others, yet they may deceive themselves (Prov. xxx. 12). How unreal may be the confidence that seems most assured. (Comp. Mark xiv. 27-31, with verse 50.) Therefore--

"Beware of Peter's word,
Nor confidently say,
I will never deny Thee, Lord,
But grant, I never may."

_William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons and Thursday Evening Lectures,_ pp. 290-296.

THE REMNANTS OF SOCIETY.

x. 20-23. _And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
remnant of Israel, &c._

We can hardly understand such language as this, because in our national life and personal history we have never been subject to these strange mutations which befell the kingdom of Israel. We can hardly understand what it means where a whole nation is torn up by the roots, and carried away into a foreign land; and where, by and by, in the capricious mood of some despot, a portion of them are allowed to go back again,--a mere fragment. For in the carrying away of a million people, how many perish! And when a few are gathered together, and they turn to go back, how much is this remnant to be pitied! Wandering from place to place in the promised land, crossing the Jordan, finding a heap where once there was a flourishing city, drawing near to the home of their ancestry and finding it in the hands of foreigners, themselves regarded as intruders and outcasts, what a harrowing experience theirs must be!

It was under such circumstances as these that the prophets did their chief work. It was one of their principal functions to encourage a nation plunged into profound despondency. In this chapter, the prophet, with words of cheer, and with an inexpressible richness of imagery, comforts the poor, despoiled band of people, and makes them feel that the hand of power shall not for ever be so strong against them.

Looked at in its interior spirit, as God meant that it should be viewed, is it not calculated to encourage and comfort people who are in desolateness and distress? Think what is meant by _"a remnant."_ It does not mean simply a few; neither does it mean merely the last things; though it includes both these ideas. There are "remnants" in the tailor's shop, in the carpenter's shop, in the household after a meal, in the harvest field--the waste and refuse that is left after the main and best parts have been taken away and used. So, in all the phases of society there is a remnant constantly coming up; it is the portion which is left after the better or more favoured have been culled out and used; the unsuccessful man, and the men who have broken down; and it is in respect to the remnants of society that I am going to speak this morning.

Consider God's great tenderness towards the remnant of His people. . . . Did you ever think of the remnants of society--how numerous they are, and how much they are to be pitied? We are observant of the prosperous and successful, but who cares for the remnants of society? God does!

Let us look at some of these remnants. I. _Those who are broken in health, and are utterly turned away by that reason from all that they sought._ How many they are! How full of sorrow is their lot! By accident or disease suddenly rendered useless! Like a ship cast upon the land, where the sun beats upon it, and the heat shrinks and cracks it, and opens the seams wider and wider, till by and by it drops to pieces. So it is their pitiful lot to be able to do nothing but wait for the end. II. _Those who have misapplied their powers, and consequently have failed._ How many give themselves to professions for which they are utterly unfit! Every day men are ruined because they do not know what they are, nor what they are set to do, and are not willing to do the things which they could do, but are aspiring to do the things they are not fitted for. III. _Men who were adapted to their work, but were overtaxed, and who had not the endurance which their circumstances required._ Hundreds of men, under the intense strain of modern society, break down; and then all is gone so far as they are concerned. IV. _A great many more break down from a secret mismanagement of themselves._ They live in neglect or violation of the simplest and most fundamental laws of health, or they indulge in vices that are destructive. V. _They who have violated the laws of society, and have been detected, convicted, and branded with shame._ It is scarcely possible for such men, however earnestly and honestly they may desire it, to be anything else than mere "remnants" in society.

1. In regard to all those who are in this great struggling mass--the remnants of society--I have to say: Take pity on them; have compassion on them; do something to rescue, to strengthen, to cheer some of them. 2. To all who are cast down and suffering, I say, There is a God who is sorry for you. If men disown you, God thinks of you, and will succour you. Beware, then, of desperation. Do not throw yourselves away. Though all else should be against you, God is for you. There is immortality--seek for that. There is bright and blessed manhood just beyond. If you have failed for this life, do not fail for the other too. There is very much that may yet be done, even in the afternoon and twilight of men's lives, if they are hopeful and active. Do not give yourselves over to complaining and mourning. Be patient. However low you may have got, you have not got so low as Christ was when He died a death of shame and contumely for us. Shall the servant be greater than his Lord? Be patient. It cannot be long before God's angel shall come, and then your troubles shall be over. Pluck up your courage. Wait. And if need be, suffer, and suffer patiently to the end. Let everything go but this: "God loves me; heaven waits for me;" and in that hope stand. Though the world perish around you, _stand,_ comforted and cheered by the confidence that God cares for you as the remnants of His Israel (H. E. I., 958-961, 2310, 2311, 4015-4018).--_Henry Ward Beecher: Christian World Pulpit_ (vol. iii. p. 43).

ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE KING AND OF HIS KINGDOM.

CHAPTERS XI. AND XII.

This is one of the visions that Isaiah _saw_ (chap. i. 1, ii. 1, &c.). He was a dreamer of dreams. With a keen perception, not surpassed, of the men and things actually surrounding him, much of his life was passed in an ideal and future world. There he found comfort and strength to endure the sorrows that otherwise would have crushed him. At the outset of his ministry, when the great king who had done so much to restore the prosperity of the nation was about to be removed, there was vouchsafed to him a vision of the King immortal, eternal, invisible, throned in the temple, and surrounded by the exalted intelligences who do His will (chap. vi. 1-4); and now, at the close of the wicked and disastrous reign of Ahaz, when his hopes concerning his race would naturally have failed, there was granted him a vision of a King of righteousness and peace, who on earth would rule over a kingdom such as the world had never seen. His soul had been stirred and appalled by a vision of disaster and woe. He was the king of Assyria, then the terror of the earth, utterly broken, his vast armies hewn down as forests fall before the axes of the woodmen (chap. x. 33, 34); a vision of blood and terror which may well have filled him with trembling. But just as sometimes the sweetest daylight follows a night of storm, this vision of terror fades away, and he sees--

I. A KING (chap. xi. 1-5). 1. _Royally descended,_ "a rod out of the stem of _Jesse._" A simple farmer on the hills of Bethlehem, and yet a father of kings. Not an accident. We are here confronted with the mystery of blood, of race. No common man was he from whom sprang David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, and a long line of kings. In his ordinary hours, Isaiah may well have derived assurance that the vision that gladdened him was given him from above, from the fact that it was in harmony with God's promise (2 Sam. vii. 12-16). Without dismay he could view the royal house lapsing into the obscurity from which it sprang--becoming merely a house of _Jesse_ once more--assured that in His own time God would again raise it up to glory.[1] It is always well when our hopes rest upon the Word of God. 2. _Royally endowed;_ a King by truest "right divine," because possessed of royal qualities of heart and mind (chap. xi. 2, 3). Of the thousands who have sat on thrones, how few have possessed them! How many have ruled over the miserable wretches subject to their sway merely by the craft of the serpent or the cruelty of the tiger! Of those who have been popular, how many have owed their popularity to mere physical prowess and politic good-nature (Richard I., Charles II.)! How few have endeavoured to approach the Biblical conception of what a ruler ought to be (Deut. xvii. 14-20; 2 Sam. xxiii. 3; Ps. lxxii. 4; Prov. xx. 28)! In the marvellous superiority of that conception to anything that has prevailed among men, have we not another proof that the sacred writers were indeed inspired by the Spirit of God? 3. _Ruling in righteousness;_ using His marvellous endowments for the welfare of those subjected to His authority (chap. xi. 3-5); not judging of things or men by their mere appearance, nor by common report; caring for the poor, befriending the shrinking and helpless, fearless in His dispensation of justice; His very words being swords that smote and overthrew the arrogant oppressor; made strong by the very righteousness which merely politic men would have feared to display in view of the might of iniquity in this disordered world; a Hero of the truest and divinest kind, in actual life setting forth the ideal to which the noblest knights in the purest days of chivalry strove to conform. Such was the King whom the prophet "saw" in an age when "ruler" was merely another word for tyrant and oppressor. Surely the vision so fair and wondrous was given him from above!

II. He also saw THE KINGDOM. 1. _A kingdom of righteousness_ (chap. xi. 9). The kingdom necessarily resembles the king. Appalling is the influence of a court upon a nation. Correspondingly great is the responsibility of those who sit in high places. 2. _A kingdom of peace._ Set forth by the most beautiful symbolism (chap. xi. 6-10, 13). 3. _A kingdom of prosperity._ Those included in it are no longer miserable exiles and bond slaves; rather they rule over those by whom they were spoiled and oppressed (chap. xi. 14). This is the true interpretation of a symbol that is in itself harsh and repulsive. The coarseness of the symbol is due to the coarseness of the minds it was first intended to touch. 4. _A kingdom of gladness and joy._ There pervades it the gladness of exiles who have been restored to their own land (chap. xi. 15, 16); the true and religious joy of men who recognise that the deliverances which inspire their songs have been wrought for them by God (chap. xii. 1-5); the joy of men who are absolutely assured of continual safety (chap. xii. 2, 6).

Was all this merely a bright vision? 1. It has been already fulfilled in part. 2. In our own day it is being fulfilled more completely than ever before. 3. It shall yet be fulfilled triumphantly.[2] Let us then, 1. Recognise and rejoice in the fact that we are living under the rule of this righteous King. This is at least the dawning of the "day" which Isaiah saw (Matt. xiii. 16). 2. Exult in view of the certain future of our race. The kingdom of God shall come generation after generation with mightier power (H. E. I., 3421-3423). 3. Labour as well as pray that future may be hastened.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The image is now transferred to the state and king of
Israel, which is also to be cut down to the stump, like the
tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. But out of that stump, and
from its living roots, shall grow up a scion--one of those
slender shoots which we see springing up from, and
immediately around, the stock of a truncated tree. A king
of the race of Jesse shall sit on the throne of his
fathers, in accordance with the covenant made with David
(Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4).--_Strachey._

When the axe is laid to the imperial power of the world, it
falls without hope (chap. x. 33, 34). But in Israel spring
is returning (chap. xi. 1). The world-power resembles the
cedar-forest of Lebanon; the house of David, on the other
hand, because of its apostasy, is like the stump of a
felled tree, like a root without stem, branches, or crown.
The world-kingdom, at the height of its power, presents the
most striking contrast to Israel and the house of David in
the uttermost depth announced in chapter vi., _fin.,_
mutilated and reduced to the lowliness of its
Bethlehemitish origin. But whereas the Lebanon of the
imperial power is thrown down, to remain prostrate, the
house of David renews its youth. . . . Out of the stump of
Jesse--_i.e.,_ out of the remnant of the chosen royal
family, which has sunk down to the insignificance of the
house from which it sprang--there comes forth a twig
(_choter_), which promises to supply the place of the trunk
and crown; and down below, in the roots covered with earth,
and only rising a little above it there shows itself a
_nētzer, i.e.,_ a fresh, green shoot. In the historical
account of the fulfilment, even the ring of the words of
the prophecy is noticed: the _nētzer,_ at first so humble
and insignificant, was a poor despised _Nazarene_ (Matt.
ii. 23).--_Delitzsch._

[2] For additional suggestions on this part of the subject, see
outlines on pages 71-73 (ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE LAST DAYS,
THE LATTER-DAY GLORY, THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL),
101 (THE DIVINE IDEAL OF ISRAEL REALISED), 182 (THE REMEDY
OF THE WORLD'S MISERY), 186 (THE GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST),
191-194 (THE PRINCE OF PEACE, THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST, THE
SECURITY FOR THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES, THE
OUTSTRETCHED HAND OF GOD).

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD.

xi. 2. _The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him._

This is declared concerning the Messiah. Short as this declaration is, some of the profoundest of all truths are involved in it. It is implied that God is a person, that from Him there goes forth an influence by which the character of other persons is affected, and that all that qualified Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah came from God. Let us think of these things. Do not be deterred from doing so by the idea that they are transcendental, far away from our daily life. They need not be so; we shall be very blameworthy if we make them so.

+I. God is a person.+ There are those who would have us put away this faith. In their view, God is merely the great controlling Force behind all other forces, the life of the universe, diffused throughout it, manifesting itself in innumerable forms. As it is the same life in the tree that manifests itself in root, trunk, branch, spray, twig, leaf, blossom, fruit, so all things that exist are not the creations of a personal will, but the manifestations of an impersonal and all-pervading life; all forces, convertible the one into the other, are but varying forms of the one underlying force. Every individual life is but a wave that seems for a moment to be separated from the one universal ocean of life; it leaps up from it, falls back into it, is absorbed by it. True, these waves are often strangely diverse--Nero and St. Paul, John Howard and Napoleon, the Virgin Mary and Lucrezia Borgia; but in that great Unity of which they are all manifestations, there is an all-comprehensive reconciliation, though it may elude our grasp. For Pantheism, many would have us put away the doctrine of a personal God. But this exchange, if it could be forced upon us by some logical necessity (which it is not), would not be a gain, but a tremendous loss. For, 1. _There would be a tremendous loss to the heart._ A force may be feared, but not loved. To gravitation we owe much, but no one ever professed to love it. A force cannot be loved, because it does not love. Strike out of our life all that comes to us from the confidence that God loves us, and from the responsive love that springs up in our hearts towards Him, and how much is lost! Then there is no longer any assurance amid the mysteries of life, nor consolation in its sorrows. In a word, we are orphaned: we can no longer say, "Our Father, who art in heaven." There is no longer a Father, knowing us, loving us, causing all good things to work together for our good; there is only a Force, to which it is useless to appeal, against which it is impossible to contend. 2. _We should also lose one of the greatest of all helps to a noble life._ Not to dwell on the fact that to speak of virtue or vice would then be absurd,--then we should no longer sin, we should merely make mistakes,--consider how much the world owes to the aspiration to be like God which has stirred so many noble souls. Through them the average morality of the world has been marvellously raised; but this would have been impossible but for the stimulus these inspiring souls found in the character of God. That is the first fact of which this text reminds us, that God is a person from whom a spirit--an influence--can go forth affecting the character of other persons.

+II. From God such an influence does go forth.+ The possibility is a glorious fact. That from God a "spirit" should go forth, and that it should do so invisibly, is in accordance with all that we know of the universe which God has made, and which is in some sort a revelation of Him. 1. Nothing in the universe is unrelated. From orb to orb influences go forth by which they are mutually affected. 2. The mightiest influences are invisible. In all this, the material is a counter-fact and revelation of the spiritual. It would be altogether abnormal, if from God there did not go forth an influence operating upon and affecting other persons. It is invisible, but its effects are recognisable. One of them is the activity of conscience, rightly understood. Another is the moral growth and refinement which those in whom it is most conspicuous, most invariably and distinctly attribute to influences exerted upon them by God. Even Socrates did so. This also is a doctrine full of hope and comfort. If we need moral transformation, there streams from God an influence capable of effecting it: to that influence let us submit ourselves, and the transformation shall come to pass; the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon us, and we shall become like Him.

+III. To the influence exerted upon Him by the Spirit of the Lord, Jesus of Nazareth owed all that qualified Him to be the Messiah+ (vers. 2-5). That which was born of the Virgin Mary was a true human child. A sinless child, yet sinless not as the result of the sinlessness of the mother (as Rome teaches), but of the influence of the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him from the beginning of his earthly life. His was a real humanity--_our_ humanity sanctified. All that was pure, noble, Godlike in Him was "born not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." How full of comfort and hope is this truth also! To us also is offered the same Spirit. Nothing can be more express than the declarations that we may have it if we will, and that, if we have it, the ultimate result will be that we shall be found partakers of the holiness of God. Let us not be unwisely cast down by the frailty and pollution of our nature; if the Spirit of the Lord rest upon us, the purity and the strength of God will become ours, and at length the Father will say to each of us, as He did of Jesus of Nazareth, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.

xi. 3. _And He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of His ears._

A glorious difference between our Lord and ourselves. "He knew what was in man," and needed not the evidence of external signs, which often mislead _us._ He should deal with the motives of the heart (H. E. I., 3332, 4147). Not by human sight, but by Divine _insight,_ He judged the conduct and character of men. 1. Our judgment is enfeebled by _ignorance._ We do not see and hear all, and from our imperfect knowledge of facts we draw wrong and often disastrous conclusions (H. E. I., 2997-3005). But Our Lord could go behind the visible works, and detect what often deceived men--_e.g.,_ His treatment of pharisaism. 2. Our judgment is enfeebled by _prejudice._ This is often the result of ignorance. Seeing only certain sides of men, we dislike them, and frame our judgments accordingly--_e.g.,_ Nathanael (John i. 46). With no better reason than Nathanael had, we regard many a man as an enemy, or otherwise place him in a false light. But our Lord dealt with none in this way. Seeing men as they really were, no preconceived opinions led Him to unworthy conclusions. 3. _Partiality_ enfeebles and perverts our judgment. Judging by sight and hearing, we approve of one man more than another, because he has certain artful or pleasing methods for winning our favour: flattery, offers of gain, &c. (P. D., 1275, 1281, 1283). But our Lord could not be won in this way (Mark xii. 14; John vi. 15). He was infinitely compassionate, tender, forgiving, but no feeble partiality interfered to prevent most righteous judgment. 4. Our judgment is often perverted by _passion._ In the pursuit of some unlawful and all-absorbing aim, we become too disturbed to weigh calmly even the evidences we can see and hear. We look at everything in the light of our false affection, and are thereby rendered absolutely incapable of beholding others in their true light, especially if they stand in our way and oppose our progress (P. D., 2060). But the one absorbing and unremittent purpose of Jesus of Nazareth was to do the will of His Heavenly Father, and to finish the work He had given Him to do. Hence He dwelt always on a pure altitude, in whose clear atmosphere He saw men and things as they are. 5. _Our natural depravity_ is also a serious hindrance to our right judging. Our very organs of knowledge, our affections, our conscience, have been perverted. Let a man be ever so disposed to take correct views of men and things, there will be some flaw in his vision, some defect in his hearing. Hence there are times when we cannot accept as final the judgment of the best and holiest of men. But Christ has no secret evil to lead Him wrong.

In view of all this, how fitting it is that Christ should be our judge! How well, too, He is qualified to be the merciful High Priest who we need (Heb. iv. 15, 16). He who tenderly sympathises with us is He who perfectly knows us (H. E. I., 956; P. D., 462).--_William Manning._

THE UNIVERSAL DIFFUSION AND REDEMPTIVE POWER OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

(_Missionary Sermon._)

xi. 9. _They shall not hurt nor destroy, &c._

We have here a picture of the golden age. I. The whole earth shall be as Mount Zion. II. Shall be freed from injustice and violence. III. Shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. 1. Wherein this knowledge consists. 2. To what extent it shall prevail--universal, deep. 3. By what means it is to be diffused.--_J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletical Treasury_ (p. 18).

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy _mountain,_ for the _earth_ shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." It seems clear that in these words the prophet intended to be understood of speaking of the whole earth. He would scarcely, in the same sentence, have used the expressions in question--the _holy mountain_ in the first clause, and the _earth_ in the other--if by these expressions he had not meant the same thing, namely, the whole globe of the earth, when the dwellers thereon should come to be true worshippers, like those who first worshipped at Mount Zion, and who were a type of the greater assembly of worshippers, the holy and universal Church, which in the fulness of time would be established.

I. _The prophet grounds the hope of that reformed and purified state of the moral_ _world, described in the beautiful words of the text, upon the increase of religious knowledge_ which he saw to be coming. "They shall not hurt . . . for the earth shall be full of the _knowledge of the Lord._" II. These words may be taken as _descriptive of the legitimate effect of Christian knowledge._ The general scope, aim, and tendency of Gospel principles is such as would produce the change described, were it not counteracted by the tendency within us to what is wrong. III. They are more than this: they are _prophetic of the actual results of Christian knowledge._ The Gospel will render war impossible. True, so-called "Christian" nations have not yet ceased to wage war with one another, nor so-called "Christian" men to rob and circumvent and ruin each other. Nevertheless, this prophecy shall yet be fulfilled. We see it in the process of fulfilment. The condition of the moral world has been meliorated by Christianity. Wars have not ceased, but their conduct has been mitigated. In their private dealings with each other, men have become more just and trustworthy. Already there are millions of men who would shrink from doing harm of any kind to their fellow-men. Compare Christendom with heathendom, and you will see what mighty changes the Gospel has already wrought. The practice even of Christian men falls short of their knowledge. Nevertheless, the practice and the morals of men are, generally speaking, the best where their knowledge is the most. The prophet's words are justified by fact, and men forbear one another most, and hurt and destroy least, where knowledge is the greatest. It is a fact that life and property are more safe and secure in the Christian portion of the earth, than in any other portions. And the knowledge of the Lord grows year by year; partly through the labours of missionaries in many places; still more by the rapid growth of the nations that are Christian. The violent and lawless races of the earth are dwindling away. The only races that are increasing are those that fear God, and are willing to respect the rights, the properties, and the lives of their neighbours. Through the medium of this natural increase of peace-loving races, and through the conversion of many among the benighted nations, this prophecy is receiving a gradual, but very appreciable, fulfilment. The world is advancing, with ever-accelerating speed towards knowledge and peace, and this declaration shall yet be literally fulfilled (H. E. I., 979, 1161-1168; P. D., 2465, 2466).

_Application._--1. We are permitted to rejoice in the hope of a period when justice and benevolence shall prevail in the world. 2. We are required to contribute towards the realisation of this hope. This we are to do (1) by the purification of our own hearts; by the conquest of every passion and desire that would make us hurtful to our neighbours. (2) By prayer (Matt. vi. 9, 10). (3) By helping to diffuse that "knowledge of the Lord" which is the great peace-maker in the earth.--_A. Gibson, M.A.: Sermons on Various Subjects; Second Series_ (pp. 246-265).

In this and the preceding verses we have a beautiful picture of a state of human society entirely different from anything that has been witnessed since the Fall. The prophet beholds changes in human character so great that he feels he can only symbolise them by transformations in the members of the animal kingdom of the most astonishing kind. Verses 6-8 _are_ symbolical, and are intended to excite within us the liveliest anticipations of the glorious effects that would follow the universal proclamation and acceptation of the gospel. Thus we are led to speak of the nature, the diffusion, and the effect of the knowledge of the Lord.

I. ITS EXALTED NATURE. By "the knowledge of the Lord" may be meant that of which He is the revealer (2 Chron. xxx. 22), or that of which He is the theme (2 Pet. ii. 20). God can only be revealed by Himself; and He has given us a threefold revelation of Himself--in nature, in providence, and in Holy Scripture. In the latter we have the record of the fullest revelation which He has vouchsafed, that given us in His Son. God is never truly known by man until He is known in Christ. "The knowledge of the Lord" and "the Gospel" are terms of the same meaning.

II. ITS DESTINED DIFFUSION. The figure employed by the prophet brings before us impressively the universality of its diffusion. The imagination is called in to instruct our faith.[1] The world-wide diffusion of the gospel is a matter--1. Of _prophetic certainty._ Nothing could be more plain than the prophetic declarations concerning this matter. But if any man asks _when_ the promise will be fulfilled, only one answer can be given him (Acts i. 7). 2. Involving _Divine agency._ Utterly false is the notion that, after creating the universe, God withdrew from it, and left it to go on by its own momentum (John v. 17); and utterly false is the notion that, after giving the gospel to the world, God has left it to make its own way therein. By Divine agency men are raised up to proclaim it (Eph. iv. 11). While they are so engaged Christ Himself is with them (Matt. xxviii. 20); and while they preach, the Holy Spirit strives in the hearts of men to prepare and dispose them to receive the glad tidings (1 Thess. i. 5). When, therefore, we look at the glorious promise of our text, we must not forget that God Himself is working for its accomplishment. This will save us from unbelief and despair concerning it. 3. Involving _human instrumentality._ Not that this is absolutely necessary. Without human husbandry God could have caused the earth to bring forth food for man and beast, and without human instrumentality He could have saved the world. But it has pleased Him to commit to us the Word of reconciliation. The consequent duty of preaching it must be taken in connection with, and regarded as the condition of, the promise; just as the promise that there shall be a harvest till the end of the world is conditioned by man's sowing the seed in the appointed season. The promise must not be used as an excuse for indolence, but as a stimulus to industry.

III. ITS BLESSED EFFECT. The Gospel is a harmonising power. It has a transforming efficacy equal to any that would be needed to bring about a literal fulfilment of verses 6-8. Wherever it comes in its saving power it new creates human hearts, and thus dries up the causes of hatred and discord at their fountain. For it is a principle, 1. of _righteousness,_ and 2. of _love._ Hence it brings peace. For all discord is due to injustice that is prompted by selfishness (James iv. 1). Where righteousness and love combine and rule, there must be peace and security; for the very desire to injure is taken away. The universal prevalence of the gospel necessarily means universal peace (H. E. I., 1120, 1127, 1129).

1. This suggests the answer to the questions, Why Christian nations make war against each other, and why even in Christian churches there are fierce contentions? The answer is, either that those nations or churches are Christian only in name, or that they have only very partially attained to "the knowledge of the Lord." They are only in infant-class in Christ's great school; as they learn of Him, their rivalries and hatreds will pass away. 2. The Gospel being so blessed in its effects, it is plain that it is the duty of all good men to extend the knowledge of it.--_John Rawlinson._

A remarkable declaration this, especially if the Hebrew prophets were, as some learned sceptics tell us, men of narrow mind, worshipping a merely local god, and hating all men not descended from Jacob. By the noble simile employed by Isaiah two ideas are suggested--1. _Universality._ mankind is the area to be covered. 2. _Ease._ All the creeks, bays, channels, and broad highways of the vast ocean are filled in their appointed time. The mighty tide rises, sweeps onward, and the work is done. There was one great flood-tide of gospel-truth in the days of the apostles, and there is a greater still to come. Meanwhile, many difficulties attend the efforts of God's people to extend the knowledge of His truth; but, in the world's fulness, great ease will characterise the progress and triumphs of the gospel (Ps. cx. 3; Heb. viii. 11). This declaration suggests two great subjects:--

1. THE HOPE OF THE WORLD. Shut the Bible, and our outlook on the world and its future is dark and sad. Open it, and let its light shine into our minds, and with the light will come encouragement and hope. 1. If it is true that "the earth . . . the sea," then God takes an interest in the affairs of the world, and takes an interest in them _now._ This mighty world is not left to drift into an unknown and perilous future without a steersman to guide it. 2. If God makes such abundant provision for the instruction of men in the knowledge of Himself, then He will be accessible to them when, by that knowledge, they are led to approach Him; and He is accessible to us. 3. Himself opening for men a way of access to Him, we may be sure that when they avail themselves of it He will deal with them in the way of mercy and love; and so He will deal with us. Who can doubt this who looks on the fact of Christ, through whom God has given us the truest knowledge of Himself (2 Cor. iv. 6)? 4. He means to be known to the _world,_ and therefore His gracious offers extend to _all,_ to us.

II. THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH. In view of this declaration, 1. _Take enlarged views of your work._ Think how much remains to be done. Even if you could suppose that your family, your street, your town, your country were filled with the blessed tide of the knowledge of the Lord, yet think of the _earth,_ and all its myriad claims resting upon the servants of God. 2. _Spare no efforts in promoting the cause of Christian missions._ In advancing these, you are working in harmony with the great purposes of God, and for an object which is dear to Him--that object for which He has already given His Son! Will you withhold from it the money with which He has entrusted you, and for which you will have to give account at the last day? 3. There are many present difficulties in the prosecution of mission-work, but meanwhile _take comfort from the large purposes of God._ "Have faith in God." His plans are vast, but His glorious promises are great as His counsels, and His resources as glorious as His promises. The process of filling the earth with "the knowledge of the Lord" may seem to us to be tedious, the obstacles may be many, the time may be long; if the work were left to us, it would be hopeless; but GOD will hasten it all in His time.--_William Manning._

It is here declared that there is yet to dawn upon the world an era of perfect light, and that that shall be also and therefore an era of perfect love. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, FOR the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord."

It is a mystery, but it is a fact, that knowledge is not necessarily a blessing. The devils believe--and therefore know--yet remain devils still (Jas. ii. 19). Many men of unholy life have been men of eminent knowledge (Rom. i. 21). But this is a moral monstrosity, a result of the unnatural condition into which we have been brought by sin; just as in certain forms of disease food becomes poison. Knowledge is one of those forces which naturally tend to elevate and sanctify (H. E. I., 3106); to know God truly is eternal life (John xvii. 3); and the declaration is, that knowledge shall be world-wide, and that by it the world shall be morally revolutionised. Remembrance of two facts will give intelligence and strength to our faith in these glorious predictions. 1. _As man's knowledge of God has grown, the human race has risen._ Except in those abnormal cases already referred to, it may be declared that man cannot learn to know God and remain as they were--_e.g.,_ wherever the knowledge of the unity of God is restored to man, idolatry becomes impossible; as soon as the knowledge of the spirituality of God really enters the mind, formalism in worship becomes an impossibility. So every truth concerning God, as soon as it is really known, becomes a correcting and converting force. The tendency of this knowledge, as of light, is to quicken and beautify. The way to grow in grace is to grow in the knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. iii. 18). 2. _The knowledge of God is a thing that grows, and grows slowly, in the human soul._ This is true of all knowledge.[2] But in proportion as it grows, sanctification takes place in the individual life, reformation in the national life.[3] It is the most radical and successful of all revolutionists. It is impossible for us to dream of the changes it will accomplish upon the earth. But this we know, that by it war and every form of violence shall be abolished (text; Isa. ii. 4, &c.)

In this subject there is, 1. _A complete justification of all missionary enterprises._ They are not visionary schemes foredoomed to failure; they are intensely practical, and shall be triumphantly successful. The time may be far off, but it is advancing, when every man shall know God.[4] The effect of that knowledge will be the destruction of the desire to destroy or injure. 2. _An argument for patience._ In view of the wrongs that prevail upon the earth, many noble souls find it difficult to exercise it. Of finer taste, of clearer vision, of truer sympathy with God than is common amongst men, the wickedness that triumphs in the world fills them with continual agony. It drives them almost into atheism. They ask, "Can God see these things, and not use His power to bring them to an end? If there were a God, would He not instantly smite the oppressors with destruction?" Let them be patient. God does see; God does feel; God is hastening on the better day by the only means by which it can really be brought in. Another deluge would not cleanse the world from crime; if but eight souls were spared, sin would once more begin to prevail. The era of purity and peace can be ushered in only by the revelation of God to man, and thus it is advancing towards us; thus it is already begun; between Christian and heathen lands there is a real contrast; and ere long there shall be as great a contrast between Christian lands uplifted by a fuller knowledge of God and these lands as they now are. The millennium is not merely a prophetic dream, it shall be a glorious fact. Patience! (H. E. I., 1134, 1135, 1166-1168, 3421-3423; P. D., 2465, 2466). 3. _An argument for hopeful Christian effort._ We must not merely dream of the millennium, we must labour to hasten its dawn. Work is needful: Sunday-school work, &c. Every one who prays, "Thy kingdom come," thereby unless he means to mock God, pledges himself to work to hasten its coming, and thus to be a "fellow-labourer with God." There is need for individual effort, and for united effort. Such effort should always be hopeful. We are not attempting what is impossible; we are working in the line of God's promises, and with God! Remembering that the sense of our own weakness will not unduly depress us. It does not require a giant's strength to row with the tide; and a mightier force than that of ocean is bearing us on to a victory that shall fill earth with blessing and heaven with gladness.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, _as
the waters cover the sea._" The expression is remarkable
for its force. In looking over the face of the ocean, no
differences are to be perceived: one part is not fuller
than the other; one part is not covered, and another left
dry; but all is one unbroken stream, filling and covering
the whole. So shall it be with the Word of God among men.
It shall not be known to some, and hidden from others. It
shall not be fully declared in one place, and only
partially set forth in another. Whatever knowledge it
pleased Him to give at all, shall be given to all men
equally and without distinction. Such is clearly the
purpose of God in His own appointed time.--_W. H. Sulivan._

_"As the waters cover the sea."_ The idea of universality
could scarcely have been better expressed than by this
magnificent simile. You have looked forth on the
illimitable expanse of waters with wonder and awe. Your
imagination has followed the depths far beyond the lowest
tide-line to the unfathomed valleys and caverns that form
the ocean bed; and you have endeavoured to take fully into
your mind the thought that the lowest depths and the most
distant shores were filled and covered by the all-diffusive
and all-searching element.--_Rawlinson._

[2] The knowledge of God comes into the soul as a king is born
into a country over which he is ultimately to rule; at the
beginning it is but a babe; for a long time it is weak, and
needs to be defended and nurtured; many years elapse before
it rules; rarely in this life does it exercise full power
and undisputed sway.

[3] Many evils continue to exist and flourish even in Christian
lands, because their contrariety to the character of God
has not yet been apprehended and felt. Many godly men were
slave-holders and slave-dealers, because they did not fully
know God. But now the knowledge of God has so grown among
men, that it is no longer possible in a Christian land for
a godly man to be a slave-holder. So with polygamy, which
was once practised without scruple by some of the noblest
and most devout men who ever lived. This practice has been
killed, not by any express prohibition, but by growth among
men of the knowledge of God. That knowledge is predestined
still further to grow, and to kill many things more.

[4] The text for this footnote was omitted. Transcriber.

THE ENSIGN OF THE NATIONS.

xi. 10. _And in that day there shall be, &c._

I. In the two parts of this verse we have a twofold metaphorical representation of the Redeemer: one expressed, one implied. 1. +An ensign of the people+ = banner or standard, such as is set up as a rallying-point around which, (1) the subjects of a king assemble to do him homage; and (2) the soldiers of an army gather to receive the commands and exhortations of their general. 2. This second use of a standard leads to the second metaphorical representation of the Redeemer, that of a +victorious general:+ "His rest shall be glorious." We are thus directed to the final result of the uplifting of Christ as an ensign: the great campaign brought to a successful conclusion, the Victor in it rests gloriously, surrounded by the soldiers whom He has led on to triumph, and the people to whom He has given liberty and peace.

II. Consider how these predictions have been fulfilled. 1. By the preaching of the gospel Christ has been lifted up, and as the result men of all nations have sought unto Him, and will seek Him more and more. 2. Having done and suffered all that was necessary ultimately to secure the final victory, He has taken His place at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and rests there gloriously; the glory of His rest arising from the number of the subjects who do Him homage, and of the soldiers who delight to fight His battles, from the triumphs which He has already enabled them to achieve, and from the prosperity and peace of all His people.