Chapter XX: Part 20

We shall make a great mistake if we end by thus admiringly noting how the ancient prophecy has been, and is being, fulfilled in the history of the world. _We_ are among the Gentiles of whom our text speaks: Have we sought unto the glorious Person of whom it speaks? You desire to do so. Do so, then, 1. _For right purposes;_ not merely that you may be delivered from suffering, but that you may be delivered from sin; not merely that you may ultimately gain admission to heaven, but that you may have and now render to Him the homage and the service to which He is entitled. 2. _In a right spirit;_ not vainly dreaming that you have, or can win, any claim upon His regard, but recognising that you can appeal only to His mercy, and that without it you are lost; and making this appeal penitently and believingly. So coming to Him, He will be found of you. He will cause you to share in His rest, by causing you to share in His triumphs; inspired and upheld by Him, you shall trample under foot the world, the flesh, the devil, and the fear of death. Your whole being will be at rest; your understanding no longer harassed by perplexing doubts; your conscience stilled and gladdened by a righteous peace; your affections centred at last around Him who alone is worthy of their supreme love; and this threefold rest, so sweet and blessed now, shall be perfected and perpetuated in heaven.--_George Smith, D.D._

The prophet here foresees that the Saviour's mission and work will so exalt Him in the eyes of the nations, that they will turn to Him as the one object and desire of their souls. (Compare John xii. 32.) This prediction declares that Christ would be a banner to attract men, that He would be the object of universal search, and that men in finding Him would attain to true rest and glory.

I. THE BANNER. 1. A banner is naturally "lifted up;" only thus can its purpose be accomplished (chap. xiii. 2; xviii. 3). Apt image this of Christ. Not merely in His death on Calvary. That exaltation was followed by His being lifted higher still by the preaching of the gospel, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John xvi. 14), by the devout lives of all His true followers. 2. A banner has usually some emblem or device representative of some great cause, or expressive of some great truth. (Give instances.) So when "Christ and Him crucified" are uplifted clearly in the view of men, they see God's hatred of sin, His love of man, and His provision for man's future happiness and glory.

II. THE OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL SEARCH. "To it shall the Gentiles seek." Search for Christ characterises all races of men (Hag. ii. 7) and all periods of time (Luke x. 24). The search is often prosecuted in ignorance. Men know not for what and for whom their souls yearn; but it _is_ Christ of whom unconsciously they are in quest; and it is towards Him, that by the else insatiable desires of their spiritual nature, they are being led.

III. THE FINDING OF TRUE REST. "His rest shall be glorious." 1. The rest we find in Christ is connected with a vital change effected in the heart and life. He does not simply do something _for_ us; He also does a work _within_ us. Every intelligent seeker knows that there can be no rest until the evil that is lodged within us is resisted and cast out (H. E. I., 1324). It is as we enter into the spirit of Christ and share His life, that we enter into rest (Matt. xi. 28-30). 2. Our new relations to God, entered into by faith in Christ Jesus, makes our rest very glorious. God is then known to us by the most precious and endearing names; He is our rock, our shield, &c. Each of these names represents to us some tender aspects of His love, some sweet ministry of His grace.

Are you in search of the highest peace, joy, holiness, rest? Here you may end your quest (1 Cor. i. 30; P. D., 481).--_William Manning._

THE RECONCILER OF MEN.

xi. 10-16. _And in that day there shall be, &c._

Several eminent commentators are of opinion that this prophecy will not be fulfilled until the Jews are restored as a nation to their own land. Others believe that the prophet used (it may be unconsciously) transient geographical phrases as symbols of eternal truths. Without entering upon this controversy, which can be settled only by the actual unfolding and accomplishment of God's plans as to the history of this world, let us think of the fundamental fact of the vision, that in it "the Root of David" was revealed to the prophet as _the reconciler of men._ His appearing in the world would be the setting up of a standard unto which all men, Gentiles (ver. 10) and Jews (vers. 11, 12), would seek; and before the influence then exerted upon them by Him rivalries and enmities, even though they were as inveterate and malignant as those of Judah and Ephraim (ver. 13), would disappear. No obstacles, even though they should be as immense as the geographical ones which are specified, would hinder their coming together and forming one united and triumphant people under His benignant sway. This is only saying what the prophet has said already (chap. ii. 4; ix. 7), that the kingdom of Christ would be a kingdom of peace. Consider--

+I. How marvellously and gloriously this prediction has been fulfilled.+ To appreciate this, we must recall the condition of the world at the time when "the day" of which our text speaks dawned upon it. Nations were everywhere divided from each other by jealousies and hatreds as virulent as those that divided Ephraim from Judah; there was peace only because they were restrained from active hostility by the strong hand of Roman power. Hatred of other nations was regarded not as a crime, but as a duty.[1] But Christ inaugurated the empire of universal brotherhood and love. Wars have not yet ceased even among nations professing Christianity, but they are no longer openly gloried in by those who wage them; they are apologised for as sad necessities. The apology is often insincere, but the fact that it is made at all is a marvellous tribute to the influence and authority of Christ. Wherever His true followers meet, national distinctions are forgotten, and they feel drawn to each other by a mightier and sweeter bond. As the centuries pass away, the love of Christ becomes more and more the uniting power of the world.

+II. How sadly imperfect the fulfilment of this prediction still is!+ The era of universal peace has not yet dawned. The world is still cursed by wars and rumours of wars. Millions of men are maintained in constant readiness for war. There are bitter contentions among the sections of the Christian Church, these tribes of the modern Israel. Class is divided from class. So-called Christian families are saddened by bitter feuds.

+III. The blessedness of the era that shall yet dawn upon the world.+ The Christian often dreams of it; his dreams are sweet as those which hungry men have of banquets, and shipwrecked sailors drifting helplessly on rafts in the wide ocean have of their native village and of meeting with their loved ones there; and in their waking hours they, too, are apt to be saddened by the fear that their dreams too are as utterly incapable of realisation. But it is not so. They shall all be realised, for the authority of Christ shall yet be universal, real, absolute; and all the listening angels shall not be able to detect one sound of discord rising from the round world, for the whole world shall be full of the peace of Christ (P. D., 2465, 2466, 2676).

+IV. Our duty in regard to this prediction.+ We are not merely to dream dreams of the blessedness of the era that shall yet be ushered in. We are to _do_ something to hasten its dawning. 1. We are to pray for it with yearning hearts. 2. We are to do our utmost, in every possible way, to extend the knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world. The Gospel, not commerce, is the true civiliser and uniter of nations: commerce will prosper on the Gospel triumphs. True, many converts are only nominally Christians, but in many cases that _is_ the first step towards their becoming real Christians, _i.e.,_ men who will pray and labour for universal peace. 3. Minor and contributory duties. (1.) The diffusion of knowledge that will tend to bring home to the understandings and hearts of men the hurtfulness of war, and the preparation for war. (2.) The discouragement and overthrow of those statesmen, to whichever party they may belong, whose policy tends to foster national animosities. (3.) The discouragement of all pursuits and things that tend to familiarise men with war and keep alive in them a passion for it, _e.g.,_ the volunteer movement; pictures, poems, and newspapers that glorify successful soldiers, as if in them the noblest ideal of manhood were realised. (4.) Careful education of our children in Christian sentiments concerning foreign nations and war. By constant heedfulness of these duties, we shall do something to hasten the dawning of the era of universal peace and blessedness, and we shall not have lived in vain.

FOOTNOTES

[1] "Ancient morality was essentially national and exclusive.
Its creed was that a man is born not for himself, but for
his parents, his family, and the state. The state was
surrounded by others with which, unless some treaty had
been concluded, it was at war. To do as much good as
possible to one's own state, and as much harm as possible
to all other states, was therefore the whole duty of a
man."--_Ecce Homo,_ p. 125, small edition. (The student
will do well to read the whole chapter in which these
sentences occur.)

A NEW SONG FOR NEW HEARTS.

xii. 1. _And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, &c._

This prophecy is said by some to relate to the invasion by Sennacherib, and the marvellous deliverance therefrom. If so, it is an instance of sanctified affliction, and a lesson to us that whenever we smart under the rod we may look forward to the time when it shall be withdrawn; it is also an admonition to us, that when we escape from trial we should take care to celebrate the event with grateful praise. It is thought by others that the text mainly relates to the latter days, and I think it would be impossible to read the eleventh chapter without feeling such a reference is clear. Both these interpretations are true and instructive; but we shall find out the very soul of the passage, if we consider it as an illustration of what occurs to every one of God's people when he is brought out of darkness into God's marvellous light, when he is delivered from the spirit of bondage beneath Divine wrath, and led by the Spirit of adoption into the liberty wherewith Christ makes him free. In regarding the text from this point of view, we shall first observe the prelude of this delightful song, and then listen to the song itself.

I. THE PRELUDE OF THIS CHARMING SONG--"In that day thou shalt say." Here we have the tuning of the harps, the notes of the music follow after in the succeeding sentences. Note, 1. There is a _time_ for the joyous song here recorded, "In that day"--the day of the manifestation of the Divine power. 2. One word indicates the _singer._ "_Thou_ shalt say." One by one we receive eternal life and peace. Religion is an individual matter. The word "thou" is spoken to those brought down into the last degree of despair. Thou broken-hearted sinner, ready to destroy thyself because of the anguish of conscience, in the day of God's abounding mercy, _thou_ shalt rejoice! 3. The _Teacher_ of the song. "In that day thou _shalt_ say." Who but the Lord can thus command man's heart and speech? 4. The _tone_ of the song. "Thou shalt _say._" The song is to be an open one, vocally uttered, heard of men. It is not to be a silent feeling, a kind of soft music whose sweetness is spent within the spirit; but in that day thou shalt testify and bear witness what the Lord has done for thee (H. E. I., 3903-3921).

II. THE SONG ITSELF.--1. All of it is concerning the Lord; it is all addressed to Him. "O Lord, I will praise _Thee:_ though _Thou_ wast angry with me, _Thine_ anger is turned away." When a soul is escaped from the bondage of sin, it resembles the apostles on Mount Tabor--it sees no man but Jesus only. 2. It includes repentant memories. The Hebrew would run something like this, "O Lord, I will praise Thee; Thou wast angry with me." We do this day praise God because He made us feel His anger. "What, is a sense of anger a cause for praise?" No, not if it stood alone, but because it has driven us to Christ. The song in its deep bass includes plaintive recollections of sin pressing heavily on the spirit. 3. It contains blessed certainties. "Thine anger _is_ turned away." "Can a man know that? Can he be quite sure he is forgiven?" He can be as sure of pardon as he is of his existence, as infallibly certain as he is of a mathematical proposition. The Scriptures teach that to the sinner who trusts in Jesus there is no condemnation, and every one may know whether he is trusting in Jesus or not (H. E. I., 309, 310, 324-334, 986, 989). 4. It includes holy resolutions. "I will praise Thee"--in secret, in public. For this purpose I will unite with Thy people. I will not be content unless all that I am and all that I have shall praise Thee. 5. It is a song which is peculiar in its characteristics, and appropriate only to the people of God. It is a song of strong faith, and yet of humility. Its spirit is a precious incense made up of many costly ingredients. Humility confesses, "Thou wast angry with me;" gratitude sings, "Thine anger is turned away;" patience cries, "Thou comfortest me," and holy joy springs up, and saith, "I will praise Thee." Faith, hope, love--all have their notes here, from the bass of humility up to the highest alto of glorious communion.

By way of practical results from this subject, let me speak, 1. A word of _consolation_ to those who are under God's anger. God never shut up a soul in the prison of conviction, but sooner or later He released the captive. The worst thing in the world is to go unchastised; to be allowed to sin and eat honey with it, this is the precursor of damnation; but to sin, and to have the wormwood of repentance with it, this is the prelude of being saved. If the Lord has embittered thy sin, He has designs of love towards thee; His anger shall yet be turned away. 2. A word of _admonition._ Some of you have been forgiven, but are you praising God as you should? (H. E. I., 3903-3911).--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit_ (vol. xvi. pp. 241-250).

The preceding chapter relates to the reign of the Messiah; the end of it especially to the ingathering of the Jews--a period which will be the spiritual jubilee to the tribes of Israel, and the beginning of the millennium to the world itself. _That_ is the day in which Israel shall say, "O Lord, I will praise thee," &c. This passage may be applied to every spiritual child of Abraham. Consider--

+I. The previous state referred to.+ "Thou wast angry with me." Anger in God is not, as it often is in us, a blind, furious passion; but a holy disapprobation of wrong, and a righteous determination to punish it (H. E. I., 2288-2294). 1. _Man's character and conduct, while in his natural state, are such as justly expose him to the Divine anger._ What does God survey in the sinner? Ignorance, unbelief, envy, malevolence, impurity, &c. In his conduct, likewise, how much there is that must necessarily be displeasing to God!--ingratitude, disobedience, selfishness, abuse of long-suffering, the rejection of Christ. 2. _No intelligent being need be in any doubt as to whether he is, or is not, an object of the Divine anger._ The teaching of Scripture is clear (Ps. vii. 11; xxxiv. 16, &c.) This is ratified by the workings of conscience. Let any one do good secretly, and contrast his state of mind with the feelings arising after the commission of secret evil. 3. _The Divine anger is of all things to be deprecated._ Remember what its effects have been upon impenitent sinners. Think of the old world; of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; of Sodom, &c. View the written in indelible and awful characters in the history of the Israelites. Nothing can resist it, alleviate it, or deliver from it.

+II. The delightful change experienced.+ 1. _The Divine displeasure is removed._ "Anger turned away." The cloud blotted out; no longer under condemnation, &c. This necessarily supposes a change in the creature. His enmity and opposition to God have ceased; he has seen the evil of sin; confessed and forsaken it; and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. A state of unbelief exposes us to the Divine wrath; a state of faith brings upon us His favour. God abhors the high and proud spirit; but He looks in pity on the lowly and contrite. 2. _The Divine favour is enjoyed._ "Thou comfortest me." We cannot stand in a neutral state with respect to God. The instant His anger is removed, His favour is enjoyed. Guilt, remorse, the burden of sin, are gone; and in their stead there is a sweet assurance of acceptance with God. This comfort is real, not visionary; suitable, abiding, and inexpressibly precious; it is associated with all good, both in this life and that which is to come; it is the precursor of everlasting felicity.

+III. The grateful return presented.+ "I will praise Thee." Acceptable praise, 1. _Includes the offering of a thankful heart._ It must arise from within; it must be the expression of the affections of the soul. Heart gratitude is alone real, and that which God will receive. 2. It must be _free and spontaneous._ "I will." Not I ought, or should, but "I will." 3. It must be _constant_ (Eph. v. 20; 1 Thess. v. 18; Ps. xxxiv. 1).

APPLICATION.--Let the text be 1. _The test of our state._ Can we use it? Is it so with us? Is God our reconciled friend? 2. _The test of our spirit and conduct._ Do we love and bless God? Is it our delight to do so? 3. _Let it be attractive to the convicted, mourning sinner._ There is a way to Divine peace, and to real and heavenly comfort. Christ is that way. Come now to God through Him.--_Jabez Burns, D.D.: Pulpit Cyclopædia_ (iii. 221-224).

In this verse we have a representation--+I. Of the natural condition of sinful men.+ An object of Divine anger. 1. The nature of the emotion described; 2. The cause of this anger; 3. How much it is to be feared. Unlike the anger of man it is changeless, and behind it is boundless wisdom and irresistible power. +II. Of the change effected in the state of believers by Divine grace.+ They are blessed, 1. By the removal of the Divine displeasure, effected by the work accomplished _for_ them by the Son of God, and _in_ them by the Holy Spirit. 2. In the enjoyment of Divine consolation. +III. Of the adoring thankfulness which the change demands and calls forth.+ 1. The individual character of the declaration: "_Thou_ shalt say." 2. The vocal proclamation: Thou "shalt _say._" True gratitude is never silent (Ps. lxvi. 16, &c.) 3. The delightful burden of the song.--_George Smith, D.D._

In this verse we have three pictures. I. God angry with the sinner. II. God reconciled to the sinner. III. God comforting the sinner.--_H. F. Walker._

WELLS OF SALVATION.

xii. 3. _Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the
wells of salvation._

Salvation is the great theme of the Bible, and thus it meets man's great need. Think, I. Of THE WELLS, the sources of salvation. Clearly these are not found in man himself. Salvation originated in the eternal love of God for man; it flows to sinners through the work of Jesus; it is by the influence of the Holy Spirit that the sinner is made willing to partake of it. These truly are _wells_ of salvation; not rills that may dry up; not even rivers, which may fail because the streams from the mountains have failed; but wells, fountains over-flowing, inexhaustible as the nature of God. II. Of THE WATER. A beautiful symbol of a great reality. Excepting the air we breathe, there is no element so widely diffused, nor so essential to life, as water. Imagine a great city, a whole district, a ship's crew without water.[1] 1. Water _revives._ How the traveller dying from thirst begins to revive the instant water touches his lips; so the salvation of the gospel imparts new life to the soul; an invigoration, moreover, that shall not pass away (John iv. 14). 2. Water _cleanses._ So does the salvation of the gospel (Rev. i. 5; Heb. ix. 14; Ezek. xxxvi. 25; Zech. xiii. 1). 3. Water _fertilises._ The water of salvation enriches and fertilises the spiritual soil, so that the blossoms of hope in the early spring-time of piety, and the matured fruits of holiness in the autumn of life, adorn the garden of the Lord (Isa. lviii. 11; Jer. xxxi. 12; Ps. i. 3; Num. xxiv. 6). III. Of THE JOY. 1. This can only be experienced by such as draw water out of the wells of salvation. Necessarily it _is_ a matter of experience. There are many things that must be felt to be known, and this is one of them. 2. This joy may be expected in the very act of drawing the water of salvation. If you were to overtake a traveller in a sandy desert dying from thirst, he would begin to enjoy the very moment he became conscious of the touch of the precious fluid. So with the Christian (Rom. xv. 13). And as he may and ought to be constantly drawing from the wells of salvation, his life should always be a happy life (H. E. I. 3037-3051; P. D. 2085).

Our text may be regarded--1. As giving full permission to do that of which it speaks. However unworthy we may be, we may come to the wells of salvation, and draw as much as we need (Rev. xxii. 17; H. E. I., 2331, 2361, 2362, 4086). 2. Nay, as a command. When a sovereign prepares a banquet, and issues his invitations, those invitations have the force of commands. God has graciously provided salvation for your souls in Christ: will you turn away and despise His love?--_John Rawlinson._

Salvation--let us not think of it meanly. It has past, present, future aspects. Too often we content ourselves with the _past_ view of it, and that in a selfish way. Twenty or thirty years ago, we "believed" and were "saved," _i.e.,_ got out of harm's way. What is God's grace _doing_ for us? Is it making us purer, nobler? And what are our _aspirations_ and _prospects?_ Are we imitators of the great Apostle? (Phil. iii. 13, 14).

This comprehensive and glorious salvation, what is its source? Whence is it to be drawn? From GOD. "Behold, _God_ is my salvation. . . . Therefore," &c. The third verse must never be separated in thought from the second, "With Thee is the fountain of life"--with God as revealed to us in Christ. This is the claim of Christ Himself (John vii. 37, 38).[2] He stands over against all the ignorance, the guilt, the pollution, and the deathfulness of man, as the infinite Fulness (1 Cor. i. 30; Col. i. 19; John i. 16; H. E. I., 934-941). As the wells of salvation are in Him; and from Him His people draw the priceless "water" with joy. This is a duty, but it is performed by them as freely and spontaneously as on a summer morning the birds fill the air with music. They do so--1. _Because the wells of salvation are free to all, and easily accessible by all._ Were it not so, we might fear that we or our friends were excluded therefrom. But God's salvation, like all His best gifts--air, light, water--is free to all alike (H. E. I., 942, 943, 2331, 2361, 2362). And it is easily accessible; not harder terms are imposed upon us than it is possible and right for us to comply with. (All this is summed up in chap. lv. 1.) 2. _Because "the wells of salvation" are inexhaustible._ Picture the fainting and despairing condition of a traveller who, in a time of scorching heat, comes to a well, and finds it empty. No such fate awaits the true seeker after God. Other sources of help will deceive and fail us (Jer. ii. 13). 3. _Because of the deep satisfaction which is derived therefrom_ (John iv. 14; H. E. I., 968-971, 1658, 1659, 2738-2837, 4627-4630, 4790). 4. _Because the fulness that thus becomes ours is a source of blessing to others_ (Gen. xii. 2; xxxix. 5; Prov. xviii. 4; Isa. lviii. 11; Ezek. xlvii. 12; Zech. xiv. 8; H. E. I., 1740-1743).[3]

Come to the Well-spring of life. It is open to you all. Whosoever will may come. Jesus stands ready to satisfy your deepest longings.--_William Manning._

This chapter should be read in connection with the preceding, which determines its application to the times of Messiah. The peaceful state of the Church in Hezekiah's time is made the emblem of the peaceful era of the Gospel; as the Israelites who had been carried away in various invasions thus returned to their own country, so the nations should be gathered to the standard of Christ (Isa. xi. 10-16).

+I. The sources of consolation which God has opened up to the Church in the revelation of His Son.+ In a dry and thirsty land like this--in a world where there are so many sorrows arising from sin, and so many difficulties in our way to heaven--we need sources of supply, fountains of consolation. And in the Word of God we have them; "_wells_ of salvation," not running streams, not brooks, full in spring and dry in summer, but wells! 1. Christ is the great fountain (John vii. 37, 38). When He was lifted up upon the cross, the fountain of grace that is in Him was opened, and healing streams shall never cease to flow from it, till the last weary pilgrim has reached the abodes of blessedness. Do we thirst for the pardon of sin? (Matt. xii. 31). For the favour and friendship of God? (Matt. v. 6). For solid and spiritual happiness? (Isa lv. 1; Rev. xxii. 17). 2. The religion of Christ is a system of consolation and joy; it is the only one that deserves the name; all others work as with unmeaning ceremonies or unfounded expectations. All the parts of Christ's religion, properly understood and personally enjoyed, promote solid comfort and true joy. Its doctrine (Rom. v. 11). Its promises (Ps. xcvii. 11). Its precepts (Ps. cxix. 54). Its prospects (Rom. v. 2; H. E. I., 4161-4163). 3. God is "the God of comfort." Christ is "the consolation of Israel." The Holy Spirit is "the Comforter." How ample are the sources of comfort and joy mentioned in this chapter! (1.) The removal of a sense of Divine displeasure (ver. 1). (2.) Hope of interest in God's special favour as our covenant God (ver. 2).

+II. What is necessary to our personal appropriation of these comforts and joys.+[4] Many persons, who appear to be disciples of Christ, are without the satisfaction which the text promises. They may be safe, but they are not happy (H. E. I., 306-314). The fault is not in the Gospel: the promise is express, the provision is free, the invitation is open. If the Christian would know the joy of which the text speaks, 1. _He must learn to set a higher value upon spiritual blessings._ It is the order of divine procedure to awaken a high sense of the value of His gifts before He communicates them. Many seem indifferent whether they enjoy the higher blessings of religion or no. The saints in former times were more earnest (Ps. xlii. 1). 2. _He must cultivate those graces of religion which are immediately connected with its enjoyments:_ humility of mind, a teachable spirit, a more spiritual order of affections (Ps. xxv. 9, 14; Col. iii. 2; Phil. iv. 5-7). 3. _Especially he must cultivate a prayerful spirit and expectant dependence upon divine illumination._ Prayer is the key that opens the treasury of heaven (Ps. xxxiv. 5; cxix. 18). Neglect of the Spirit's influences is a frequent cause of degeneracy and distress. 4. _He must avoid whatever would hinder the life and power of religion:_ the secret love of sin, undue attachment to the world, prevalence of unholy tempers. It is a matter of perfect impossibility that the comforts of religion can be enjoyed where sin and inconsistency prevail. Is there no sin indulged, no self-dependence, no conformity to the world, no neglect of private duties? (Jer. ii. 17, 18). Heaven is a realm of perfect happiness, because it is the realm of perfect holiness. 5. _He must diligently use all the appointed means of grace._

+III. Particular seasons when the prophetic promise is fulfilled.+ Private meditation, public ordinance, trouble, death, entrance into heaven.--_Samuel Thodey._

By "the wells of salvation" we may understand "the means of grace."[5]

I. _These wells of salvation have been opened for the supply of human needs;_ not for God's benefit, but for ours. What wells are to travellers through a desert, these are to us in our pilgrimage to Zion. II. _Men should come to these wells for the purpose of having their needs supplied;_ not from habit, not that we may set a good example, &c., but that we ourselves may be refreshed and strengthened. III. _No frequency in coming to these wells can be in any sense meritorious._ Expose the mistake of the Pharisee and the Ritualist. The oftener we avail ourselves of them, the more we increase, not our claims upon God, but our obligations to Him; and the more should increase, not our pride and self-righteousness, but our thankfulness to God for His goodness in providing them. IV. _The wells are nothing: the water in them is everything._ A dry well, however deep it may be, or whatever historic associations may cluster around it, is worthless; and so are all religious ordinances apart from the Spirit of God. We must ever remember that they are _means_ of grace--channels through which the God of all grace will satisfy the soul's thirst of those who seek Him in sincerity and truth. V. _Nevertheless we are not to stay away from the wells, nor despise them._ That is a false spirituality that disparages divine ordinances. We are not to trust in the wells, yet neither are we to refuse to draw water out of them:--1. Because GOD opened them, and to neglect them it to charge Him with foolishly providing what we do not need. 2. Because it pleases Him to give us water through them; and we are to accept the blessing in whatever way He chooses to impart it to us. Naaman (2 Kings v. 11-13); the blind man (John ix. 6, 7). 3. Because we need refreshment and reinvigoration day by day (Isa. xl. 31; Ps. lxxxiv. 7; H. E. I., 555, 556, 3866-3876). 4. Because our Master in the days of His flesh used the means of grace; no true Christian will seek in this respect to be above his Lord. VI. _God has opened_ WELLS _of salvation;_ not one, but many; none needlessly. We must use them all. Their benefit lies in their conjunction. For the production of a harvest, the sun and the rain are both needed; the sun alone would make a desert, the rain alone a swamp. No bird can fly with _one_ wing, &c. We must read as well as pray, &c.

CONCLUDING LESSONS.--1. _Why God sometimes leaves the wells dry._ His people sometimes come so to delight in the means of grace, that they forget they are only _means,_ and then He withholds His blessings, that they may be taught that He alone can satisfy their souls (Ps. lxxxiv. 2, lxii. 5). 2. _Why, when there is water in the wells, some are not quickened and refreshed._ (1.) Water revives the living, not the dead. (2.) Some forget to bring their buckets. They have no real desires after God, not true faith in His power and willingness to bless them, and to each of them we may say, "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the wells are deep" (John iv. 11).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down
'Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody sun at noon
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath, nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.--_Coleridge: "Ancient Mariner."_

[2] The Talmudists refer the words, "With joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation," to the custom of
making an oblation of water on the last day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, when a priest fetched water in a golden
pitcher from the fountain of Siloah, and poured it mixed
with wine on the morning sacrifice as it lay on the altar;
while at the evening offering the same was done amidst
shouts of joy from the assembled people. It was in obvious
allusion to this rite that, "in the last day, that great
day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto Me and drink;" but as it is not
prescribed in the law of Moses, it has been doubted whether
it dates back earlier than the times of the Maccabees. It
is, however, at least as probable that the Asmonean princes
should have restored an ancient as ordained a new rite:
such a rite, to acknowledge God's gift of water without
which harvest and vintage must have failed, would always
have been a likely accompaniment of the feast in which
these were celebrated; and the like acts of Samuel and
Elijah, though for different purposes, perhaps go in
confirmation of the ancient existence of such a practice
(1 Sam vii. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 33-35). Be this as it may,
the idea conveyed by the image of the living water will be
the same:--"Such as is the refreshment of water from the
spring, and from the clouds of heaven, to the parched lips
and the thirsty land, in this our sultry climate, such
shall be the refreshment of your spirit in that day from
the salvation of Jehovah He shall dwell among you, and His
Spirit shall be a well of life to the whole
nation."--_Strachey._

The last day of the feast, known as "the Hosanna Rabba" and
the "Great Day," found Him, as each day before, doubtless,
had done, in the Temple arcades. He had gone thither early,
to meet the crowds assembled for morning prayer. It was a
day of special rejoicing. A great procession of pilgrims
marched seven times round the city, with their lulats
[branches of palm woven round with willow and myrtle],
music, and loud-voiced choirs preceding, and the air was
rent with shouts of Hosanna, in commemoration of the taking
of Jericho, the first city in the Holy Land that fell into
the hands of their fathers. Other multitudes streamed to
the brook of Shiloah, after the priests and Levites,
bearing the golden vessels, with which to draw some of the
water. As many as could get near the stream drank of it,
amidst loud chanting of the words of Isaiah--"Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," "With joy shall we
draw water from the wells of salvation,"--rising in
jubilant chants on every side. The water drawn by the
priests was meanwhile borne up to the Temple, amid the
boundless excitement of a vast throng. Such a crowd was,
apparently, passing at this moment.

Rising, as the throng went by, His Spirit was moved at such
honest enthusiasm, yet saddened at the moral decay which
mistook a mere ceremony for religion. It was burning autumn
weather, when the sun had for months shone in a cloudless
sky, and the early rains were longed for as the monsoons in
India after the summer heat. Water at all times is a magic
word in a sultry climate like Palestine, but at this moment
it had a double power. Standing, therefore, to give His
words more solemnity, His voice now sounded far and near
over the throng, with soft clearness, which arrested all--

"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink, for I
will give him the living waters of God's heavenly grace, of
which the water you have now drawn from Shiloah is only, as
your Rabbis tell you, a type. He that believes in Me drinks
into his soul of My fulness, as from a fountain, the riches
of Divine grace and truth. Nor do they bring life to him
alone who thus drinks. They become in his own heart, as the
whole burden of Scripture tells, a living spring, which
shall flow from his lips and life in holy words and deeds,
quickening the thirsty around him."--_Geikie._

[3] John vii. 38, "In the Book Sohar we find the same metaphor,
fol. 40, col. 4, 'When a man turns to God, he becomes like
a spring of fresh living water, and streams flow out from
him to all men.'"--_Geikie._

[4] See H. E. I., 315-352, 1252-1285.

[5] See H. E. I., 3309-3311, 3424-3465, 5075-5081.

THE DUTY OF GLADNESS.

xii. 6. _Cry out and shout, &c._

Two things are here observable:--1. _The person addressed,_ "thou inhabitant of Zion,"[1] _i.e.,_ one who is no longer a stranger and foreigner, but a fellow-citizen with the saints (Eph. ii. 12, 19) 2. _The admonition given,_ "Cry out and shout." Consider--

I. THE TRUTH ON WHICH THE ADMONITION IS FOUNDED. "Great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." This includes--1. _His character,_ "the Holy One of Israel." The holiness of God has shown forth in all that He has done in heaven and on earth (Ps. cxlv. 17); in heaven it is the theme of the songs of the most exalted intelligences (Isa. vi. 3); on earth it inspires bad men with dread and dislike (Isa. xxx. 11), and good men with thankfulness and hope (Ps. xxx. 4; Heb. xii. 10; H. E. I., 2275, 2843). 2. _His greatness._ "Great"--in duration, wisdom, power, dominion, and resources. All these render Him terrible as an enemy, desirable as a friend.[2] 3. _His residence._ "In the midst of thee." But is not God everywhere? Yes, but not everywhere in the same character; not in heaven as in earth, &c. Wherever His presence is spoken of in a way of promise or privilege, it is to be distinguished from His attribute of omnipresence, for it has then in it something peculiarly beneficial and saving (Deut. iv. 7; Ps. xxxiv. 18). God's presence in the midst of His people is the guarantee of their safety and the source of their joy. Let them adore the condescension He shows in dwelling in their midst.

II. THE STIRRING EXHORTATION. 1. _Religion is animated._ "Cry out and shout," &c. What is here required cannot be merely the exclamation, separate from suitable dispositions and sentiments, as is the case with some. Noise is in itself worth nothing. On the other hand, where there are these feelings, it is permissible, yea, praiseworthy, to give free and exultant expression to them (Rev. v. 12). Some disparage such expressions as enthusiasm, but there is nothing that should call forth enthusiasm like the Gospel. Religion calls for not only feeling and sentiment, but for the highest degree of feeling and sentiment.[3] 2. _Religion, rational as well as animated._ Why is the inhabitant of Zion to cry aloud and shout? _"For_ great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." This more than justified him, for from hence the Church can infer _safety, assistance, consolation, honour._ Thus God is with His people, and this is _grace:_ soon they shall be with Him, and that is _glory._--_William Jay: Sunday Evening Sermons and Thursday Evening Lectures,_ pp. 297-305.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Zion was the name of a high mound situated upon a bed of
rock enclosed within the walls of Jerusalem, and making the
finest and strongest part thereof. Here was first the
Tabernacle, and then the Temple, and concerning it great
things are declared (Ps. cxxxii. 13-18). If we look through
the literal description to the spiritual glory discernible,
we shall soon see that it was typical of a higher state,
and a shadow of good things to come. I need hardly remind
you that, by a figure of speech, Zion is used in the New
Testament as significant of the Church of the Living God
(Heb. xii. 22).--_Jay._

Such are the encouragements that consoled the ancient city
of God in the day of her trouble. Harassed, her garrisons
stormed, her armies scattered, her very sanctuary
threatened with violation, she was bade remember her
Eternal King, and take comfort in the thought of that
watchful Guardian who sooner or later would assuredly
avenge her wrongs. Often was she taught the same lesson;
and often, in despite of her own froward and unbelieving
heart, was the prediction realised. The Lord still "loved
the gates of Zion;" the streams of His holy "river still
made glad the city of God;" and He was "known in her palace
for a refuge." But a gloomier hour at length arrived; even
Divine patience has its limits; and the last dread crime of
Zion could only be expiated in her ruin. Blood had flowed
beneath her hands, every drop of which was worth a
universe, and she had invoked its curse upon her own head
and the head of her children. And now, behold, in the
fearful words of her own prophets, "the lion is come up
from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on
his way,"--Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen, because
their tongues and their doings are against the Lord to
provoke the eyes of His glory. "But what?--is this the city
of which such glorious things are spoken--that the Highest
Himself should establish her, that she should not be
moved?" Where are His mighty promises of perpetuity? Where
is that foundation which no power should ever shake--that
Zion, in which the poor of His people were to trust?

Brethren, look around you, and you behold the evidences of
its existence, and of the eternal faithfulness of Him who
is pledged to its immortality. A greater than Zion inherits
her name; a greater than Zion bore it in the far-reaching
scope of the prophetic vision. That "city of the great
King" was but a perishable emblem of a "city whose builder
and maker is God." It is true she was honoured by His
symbolic presence and sanctified by His sacred worship; it
is true that for ages she alone, in a world of darkness,
held the precious lamp of His truth; but what are these
characters of honour to hers, whose every living stone is
quickened by His indwelling energy, whose worship is no
more in type and shadow, but in spirit and in substance;
whose preaching and teaching, no longer shrouded in
obscurity and limited to a corner of the earth, spreads
over all lands, embraces the whole family of mankind, and
makes even the course of that sun whose "going forth is
from the end of the heaven and his circuit unto the ends of
it, and from whose light nothing is hid," a faint image of
the power with which she diffuses through all nations "the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ"? (See also 2 Cor. iii. 10, 11.)--_Archer
Butler._

[2] How well may the Church on Zion rejoice to have such a God
dwelling in the midst of it! He is great as the Giver of
promises, and great in fulfilling them; great in all His
saving acts which spread from Israel to all
mankind.--_Delitzsch._

[3] Take the Gospel. What is it? Not a decision of Parliament,
or the termination of a debate which may have no effect on
our welfare. It brings us glad tidings of great joy. It is
infinitely important, it is eternally interesting to us. It
is our life. It is all our salvation, and it should be all
our desire. Therefore we should receive it as a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation. We should receive it
as a dying man would a remedy, or as a condemned criminal
would hail a reprieve. We should receive it with feelings
superior to those with which we receive anything else. It
is a subject which rises infinitely above all others in
interest and importance, and demands all the energies of
the soul, and renders Dr. Young's words the words of truth
and soberness:--

"On such a theme 'twere impious to be calm:
Passion is reason; transport, temper here."--_Jay._

THE DAY OF THE LORD.

xiii. 6. _Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand._

Sad and unnatural is the condition of those to whom the coming of "the day of the Lord" is a cause for dismay. But this is the condition of the wicked. They can think of God prevailing and asserting Himself only with dread. Dread must take possession of them whenever they think of the future, for the profoundest and most ineradicable instincts of their nature assure them that the "day of the Lord"--a day of judgment and retribution--must come.

Thus far all is plain. But when we read and think about what is to take place on "the day of the Lord" (vers. 7, 8, 15, 16, 18), astonishment takes possession of us, and we feel disposed to call it "the day of the devil." How _can_ a day like this be called "the day of the Lord"? Note--1. That all the cruelties here described were inflicted by men. 2. That these men were moved to inflict these cruelties by their own passions; that they acted as free agents, and without any thought of fulfilling a Divine purpose. 3. That the supreme passion by which they were moved was the passion of revenge--of revenge for cruelties equally frightful inflicted by the sufferers of that day. Nothing can exceed in horror the picture which the Babylonians themselves drew of the enormities perpetrated by them on conquered nations. 4. That, consequently, the Babylonians were reaping as they had sown. The day that was coming upon them was a day of retribution, and in this sense emphatically "a day of the Lord." As a matter of fact, retribution is one of the laws under which we live (H. E. I., 4609, 4611, 4612), and it is a Divine law, a law worthy of God. It is an ordinance of mercy, for the tendency of it is to restrain men from sin. By their knowledge of its existence and the certainty of its operation (P. D., 2995), wicked men are undoubtedly greatly restrained from wickedness. Were it not for the days when it is manifestly seen in operation, when great transgressors are overwhelmed with great sufferings, atheism would prevail; a reign of terror and of restrained cruelty would begin, and every day would be a day of the devil. 5. This day, with all its horrors, was an essential preliminary to the accomplishment of God's purposes of mercy in regard to His people. For _them_ it was emphatically "a day of the Lord," for it was the day of their deliverance from bondage, a day of exultant thanksgiving that the power of their relentless oppressors was for ever broken (chap. xiv. 1-6). In the history of our race there have been many such days, _e.g.,_ the French Revolution of 1789, the American Civil War; days when the worst passions of humanity were manifested without restraint; but days when the wisdom of God was displayed in bringing good out of evil, in punishing the iniquities of the past, in ushering in a brighter and better era of freedom and justice.

The record of such "days of the Lord" should be eminently instructive to us. 1. They should teach us the true characters of those statesmen who use national power for purposes of unrighteous national aggrandisement. They are patriots but traitors, rendering inevitable a bitter harvest of national shame and sorrow. 2. They show the folly of supposing that the great power of any nation justifies it in the hope that it may safely deal unjustly with other and weaker nations. Guilty nations set in operation forces mightier and surer in their operation than any they can command--those forming the instrumentality by which God governs the earth, and in spite of human passions, maintains the existence and carrying forward the development of the human race; these, combining, bring on a "day of the Lord," in which, by the overthrow of the haughtiest wrongdoers, His existence and authority, and the folly of the practical atheism to which great nations are prone, are demonstrated (P. D., 2544).

THE DOOM OF THE CHILDREN OF BABYLON.

xiii. 16. _Their children also shall be dashed to pieces
before their eyes._

Consider this terrible declaration--

+I. As it regards man.+ 1. As a revelation of the degradation of which he is capable. History may be said to be a manifold revelation to this effect; the Bible alone gives hope for man, by disclosing his capabilities of development and exaltation. 2. As a remindal that no earthly empire is in and of itself secure against utter overthrow. 3. As a remindal that what are called national disasters, are made up of sufferings endured by a vast number of individuals.

+II. As it regards God.+ So considered, it should be remembered--1. That His permission of such things is, when viewed comprehensively, only part of the great mystery of the permission of evil. 2. That this is an instance of the working of one of the great natural laws by which God governs the universe--the law of retribution. 3. That in the heart of this terrible prediction there is a bright ray of hope. When you see a surgeon performing a terrible operation on a patient, you are sure that he is confident that the patient will be restored to health. So when we look at the world as it _is,_ we are certified that there is a better world _to be._ God would never have permitted the world to be, if He did not see how out of this present misery He could educe eternal and triumphant blessedness. Towards that better future God is leading on the world (H. E. I., 3421-3423). The revulsion of feeling with which we read this prediction is one proof of it; there was a time when such incidents in the prosecution of a war would have been regarded as a matter of course. That it should not be so now marks an advance, and is a prophecy of further advances.

THE LOVE OF MONEY.

xiii. 17. _The Medes . . . shall not regard silver; and as
for gold, they shall not delight in it._

I. One of the most universal and powerful of all passions is the love of money. Consider--1. How _wide-spread_ is this passion. The instant men rise above utter barbarism, it manifests itself. Paradoxical as it may sound, it is one of the first signs that civilisation has begun. In every civilised land, and among all classes, it constantly manifests itself.[1] It is one of the inspiring and moulding forces that are always at work. 2. How _powerful_ it is in its operation! It leads them to face appalling dangers. It persuades them to endure distressing privations. It betrays them into the basest crimes. Up to a certain point, it may be said to be a useful servant; it works to promote our welfare, by overbalancing other tendencies that would degrade and ruin us; but when once that limit is overpassed, it transforms itself into a tyrannical master. Like many an Eastern tyrant, it destroys all other lawful passions that might dispute with it the throne (H. E. I., 400, 402).