Chapter XL: Part 40

_Separation._ Not the superiority of its soil to that of the surrounding country makes the vineyard, but its separation. It is not because the saints are by nature better than others that they are God's vineyard, but because they are set apart by Him. The idea of separation as regards the Church is made conspicuous in every age. The saints, the disciples, constitute the flock and the vineyard of the Old Testament, the Church of the New. When I speak of a separated Church, of course I do not allude to any sect, but to the Church in general. There are hypocrites in the Churches, but none in _the_ Church. It is in the world, but not of the world. The soul is in the body, but not of the body "Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord" (2 Cor. vi. 17). Ceremonials cannot plant the vine; there are necessarily ordinances, but circumcision could not make the Jews a godly people, and there were thousands of ungodly people partaking every year of the Passover. A change of heart, a change in the condition of the soul, constitutes the planting in the vineyard; not a ceremonial separation, but a change of mind; not the affixing of the stamp of a sect, but the impartation of the image of God (H. E. I. 1171-1183).

II. THE PROMISE.

A large and comprehensive one. It includes--

1. _Care._ "I the Lord do keep it." With regard to a vineyard, there is a special meaning in the word "keep." The vine requires great care. There is much work for the knife. From the pruning of the vine by the vine-dresser, there is much valuable instruction to be gained. We learn that what appear to be grievous losses may secure great gains (H. E. I. 63, 104, 126). Oh, this pruning how painful it often is! But it is not done because the Owner of the vineyard delights in it; it proves His love. See Jochebed taking an ark of bulrushes, putting the child Moses in it, and then laying it amidst the perils of the Nile: not because she hated him! No; love was at the bottom of it all, though it appeared otherwise. It behoves the pulpit still to assure God's people of His care for them.

2. _Provision._ "I will water it." There was necessity for watering the vineyard constantly. This was done by means of trenches conveying the water to the roots of the plants. For this purpose rain-water was carefully stored in cisterns; dew was also of great service. The means of grace are somewhat like watercourses. We are dry enough and withered in appearance, but what would we be without the means of grace? What is the dew? The noiseless influences of the Holy Spirit. We will compare revivals to showers; they are not with us, like the watercourses, always. I do not know whether the natural vineyards must have water without intermission; but the vineyard of the Lord of hosts requires it "every moment," and here is His promise to supply the need.

3. _Safety._ "Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." It shall be protected from the blighting frost, from thieves and spoilers, from "the boar out of the wood," from "the little foxes that spoil the vines." "I the Lord do keep it." He will not only give His angels charge concerning it, though He will do that. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him." That shall be done and more! "For _I,_ saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about her, and will be the glory in the midst of her." All things are in the hand of God, and under His control they shall co-operate for her safety. It is not surprising that Moses, as he surveyed Israel from the top of Mount Nebo, should say, "Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help? The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." In dwelling near God there is safety. Israel was always flourishing when with God. The safety of God's people means more than being kept together and saved from destruction: "Lest any _hurt_ it!" How excellent are the promises of God!--_Gweithiau Rhyddieithol,_ pp. 48-51, _by the late William Ambrose of Portmadoc, translated from the Welsh by the Rev. T. Johns, of Llanelly._

THE STORMS OF LIFE.

xxvii. 8. _In measure when it shooteth forth, &c._

+I. There is a special appropriateness in comparing the trials of life to storms.+ 1. _Storms are the exceptions and not the normal or common condition of the atmosphere._ "In the world ye shall have tribulation." True; but Christ in saying so does not assert that we shall have tribulation only. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." Yes; but it is not said that there is nothing but trouble. "Through much tribulation," &c. Yea, through many storms the mariner has to go through life; but there is fine weather also. 2. _Storms come from God._ See what is said about trouble (Job v. 6), "_All_ my springs are in THEE," the sweet and the bitter. 3. _Storms come from different directions:_ the family, the Church, business, &c. 4. _Storms are unpleasant to bear._ The anxiety of the sailor's wife. The traveller on the moor. 5. _Storms leave their traces behind._ The ravages of the sea. The effects of gales on edifices. So in life. The bereaved family. The capitalist reduced to want, &c. 6. But _storms are beneficial_ (Heb. xii. 10, 11).

+II. The storms of life are regulated and controlled by God.+ It is of Him that our text speaks. Who "debates in measure?" Who "stayeth His rough wind in the day of His east wind?" He who is almighty, all-wise, and good. His greatness, as shown in the firmament, hints that He is too great to observe human beings. But notice our Saviour's teaching: while instructing us concerning His Father, He speaks not of His omnipotence, &c., but of His observation of small things (Matt. x. 29, 30). Put a green leaf or a drop of water under a microscope, and you will see myriads of living animalcules. God observes every one. "Casting all your care on Him, for _He_ careth for _you._" "He" and "you!"

+III. The storms of life are proportioned to His people's strength.+ "In measure." (See outlines THE AFFLICTIONS OF GOD'S PEOPLE and THE DISCIPLINE OF SIN, pp. 290, 291.) A Jew never exercised greater care and exactitude in weighing out his gold and diamonds than does God while meting out trials to His people. "Grace to help in time of need;" yea, and storms equal to our strength. We do not know how much our strength is. One man over-estimates his strength, another under-estimates it. "But He knoweth our frame." "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" (H. E. I. 179-188, 3675-3695).

In various ways He maintains the merciful proportion of the storm to the strength. 1. He does so sometimes _by sending the lesser storms before the greater._ Jacob at Bethel was unable to undergo the trials of Jacob at Mahanaim. By the time he reached the latter place, he had become a prince, an Israel. Carrying the least burden prepares a man for carrying the greatest (Hercules and the ox). 2. _Sometimes by sending the heaviest first._ The man may then be in the fulness of his vigour, or in spirit he may be so contumacious that some rough handling may be necessary to bring his pride into subjection. 3. _By removing one trial before another comes._ Poverty is taken away before ill-health sets in. "He stayeth His rough wind." 4. _By sending each one in its time._ "It could not have come at a worse time." Who says so? "If it had happened at another time, it would have been easier to bear." That may be so, but would it have been as profitable? It was necessary for you to _feel._ Less suffering would not have sufficed for that end.

+IV. The storms of life promote purposes of wisdom and love.+ 1. _The Lord sometimes orders trials as chastisements._ It is not always so; we are too apt to explain everything as chastisement. But God has promised to correct (Jer. xxx. 11), and it is the promise of a father, not the threatening of a judge. (1.) Sometimes one correction prevents many more. (2.) When the Lord sends trials in the way of correction, He graciously gives His children the reasons for thus dealing with them. "The iniquity which he _knoweth_" (1 Sam. iii. 13). What father would correct a child without explaining to him what it was for? And what correction would benefit the saints while ignorant of the object in view? Possibly the neighbours may not know, but he has himself a private account with God. Hence arises a consequent duty (H. E. I. 144). (3.) When God thus sends trials, they are _corrections,_ and not merely punishments; manifestations not of vengeance, but of His love. A gardener uses the pruning-knife only for the good of the fruit-bearing trees in his garden. God's corrections are designed only to take away the sin of His people (see ver. 9, and Zech. xiii. 9; H. E. I. 56-74).

2. _The Lord sometimes orders trials as exhibitions of the graces of His people._ The tempest which beat upon Job was not corrective, though he thought so while it lasted (Job x. 2, xiii. 24). The trial brought out into view his trust in God: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." The Lord's purpose was to prove that Job was "a perfect and an upright man" (H. E. I. 91-98).

3. _Storms are sometimes preventive._ A fiery trial is approaching; the man is in danger, for he is too weak to withstand it; by a lesser trial he is withdrawn from it. Two ships are drawing near in a fog; they are making towards each other at a perfect angle. The top-mast of one is blown down; the men on deck bemoan the misfortune; but it was the means of slackening the pace of the vessel, and so prevented a collision. A man is sometimes laid on a bed of sickness to save his life--to save his soul!

4. _Storms sometimes prepare men for nobler work._ Moses, after being brought up in the lap of luxury, is watching the flock forty years in Midian. All the learning of Egypt is lost in a shepherd. Nay! Moses requires a double education, for he has a duplicate work to perform--appearing before Pharaoh in the palace, and leading Israel through the wilderness. _E.g.,_ what good can a preacher do, if he has no _experience_ of his own? (Ps. li. 12, 13; 2 Cor. i. 3-6; H. E. I. 101-108, 2464, 2465).

Some one may say that he has no knowledge of storms from experience. Wait! Peradventure thou shalt know. Should they come, _bow._ Nothing breaks, if it bends.--_Gweithiau Rhyddieithol,_ pp. 78-81, _by the late William Ambrose of Portmadoc. Translated from the Welsh by the Rev. T. Johns of Llanelly._

THE GREAT TRUMPET.

xxvii. 13. _And it shall come to pass in that day, &c._

This prophecy was literally fulfilled (Ezra i.); but it has a wider meaning, and this also it shall be fulfilled.

I. THE GREATNESS OF THE GOSPEL. "The great trumpet." 1. _It is designed for the world._ When liberty was proclaimed for the slaves of the West Indies, the slaves of America remained in bondage. When the slaves of America were liberated, the bondmen in Cuba, Peru, &c., were not set free. But here is a blessing for the whole world. "Which shall be to all people, . . . a light to lighten the Gentiles" (Luke ii. 10, 32). One side of the earth can only enjoy the rays of the sun at the same time; but this "light" shall shed its rays on the whole world. 2. _It is designed for the world in its most important interests._ There are inventions and scientific discoveries--such as the steam-engine, &c.--which are valuable to the whole world. But they are valuable only in regard to the present life. But the Gospel meets the wants of the soul, and concerns the endless life beyond. 3. _It is so great that all other things in the world are small in comparison with it;_ trade, learning, &c. 4. _It is so great that it bestows greatness upon everything it touches._ Upon oratory, although it is independent of excellency of speech. Upon any country in which it is proclaimed and accepted; _e.g.,_ Great Britain, America. Under its shelter liberty, learning, &c., flourish (H. E. I. 1124-1132).

II. THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. "The great trumpet shall be blown." What is the good of a trumpet without some one to blow it? (Rom. x. 14).

+1. Who is to blow it?+ Not angels (Heb. ii. 5). The law was given by the ministry of angels; by them the trumpet was blown on Mount Sinai (Acts vii. 53). But they recognise that the trumpet of the Gospel is to be blown by _men_ (Acts v. 20, x. 31, 32). This treasure is in earthen vessels. Gideon's Lamps. Men are better than angels for this purpose. This is proved by the fact that God ordered it so. But there are other minor satisfactory arguments, such as: (1.) _The danger of glorifying the missionary above the mission._ (2.) _The angels' disadvantages._ They lack the necessary experience. Blessed lack, in all other respects! They have never been contaminated by sin, and hence know not how to speak to the heart of the sinner. By men the trumpet is now being blown, and will be blown to the end of time. The trumpeters are falling, ministers are dying, but the ministry is alive!

+2. How is it to be blown?+ (1.) _Clearly_ (1 Cor. xiv. 8). If the promises are proclaimed, care must be taken to show to whom they belong. So with the threatenings, &c. (2.) _Vigorously._ It must be done thoroughly, or not at all. (3.) _Bravely_ (Eph. vi. 19). The question is not what will "take," what is popular, what would please the masses, but "What saith the Lord?"

III. THE OBJECTS OF THE MINISTRY. "They which were ready to perish." 1. _Pagans are such_ (Rom. i.) "Them which sat in the region and shadow of death" (Matt. iv. 16). 2. _Every unconverted sinner._ They are all to be addressed as those who are "ready to perish." The matter cannot be compromised because there are seat-holders, contributors, &c. Your kindness shall not prevent our blowing from the trumpet the tones you need to hear.

IV. THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL. "And they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." 1. _Whence shall they come?_ From the Pharisaical hiding-places, the quicksands of excuses, &c. They are bound in the chains of slavery; but "they shall come!" This is as certain as the deliverance from Babylon. Take us your harps and strike them! 2. _How will they come?_ Weeping. Without delay. Confidently. 3. _Whither and to whom will they come?_ (1.) To Christ; they cannot live without Him. (2.) To His house.

APPLICATIONS.--1. Thousands have come; will you? 2. God has another trumpet.--_Gweithiau Rhyddiethol_ (pp. 174-176), _by the late Rev. W. Ambrose, Portmadoc. Translated from the Welsh by the Rev. T. Johns, Llanelly._

REJECTERS OF THE GOSPEL ADMONISHED.

xxviii. 12. _To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye
may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing:
yet they would not hear._

Isaiah was one of the most eloquent of preachers, yet he could not win the ears and hearts of those to whom he spoke. He spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest of the prophets, yet the message of love was treated as though it were an idle tale. His doctrine was clear as the daylight, yet men would not see it (chap. liii. 1). It was not the fault of the preacher that Israel rejected his warnings: all the fault lay with the disobedient and gainsaying nation. The people to whom he spoke so earnestly were drunken in a double sense:--

1. They were overcome with wine (vers. 7, 8). How is it likely that the truth shall enter an ear which has been rendered deaf by this degrading vice? How is the Word of God likely to operate upon a conscience that has been drenched and drowned by strong drink? Flee from this destroyer before your hands are made strong and you are hopelessly fettered by the habit.

2. They were also intoxicated with pride. Their country was fruitful, and its chief city, Samaria, stood on the hill-top, like a diadem of beauty crowning the land, and they delighted in it. Among them were many champions whose strength sufficed to turn the battle to the gate, therefore they hoped to resist every invader, and so their hearts were lifted up. Moreover, they said, "We are an intelligent people; we are men of cultured intellect, instructed scribes, and we do not need persons like Isaiah to weary us with the ding-dong of 'precept upon precept, line upon line,' as if we were mere children at school. Besides, we are good enough. Do we not worship our God under the form of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel? Do we not respect the sacrifice and the holy days?" So spoke the more religious of them, while the rest gloried in their shame. Being intoxicated with pride, it was not likely that they would hear the message of the prophet who made them turn from their evil ways. Pride is the devil's drag-net, in which he taketh more fishes than in any other, except procrastination.

The two forms of drunkenness are equally destructive. Whether body or soul be intoxicated, mischief will surely come of it. Let us not get drunk with pride because we are not drunkards; for if we are so vain and foolish, we shall as certainly perish by pride as we should have done by drink.

I. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE GOSPEL as it is set forth in the passage before us. This Scripture does not allude to the Gospel primarily, but to the message which Isaiah had to deliver, which was in part the command of the law and in part the promise of grace: but the same rule holds good of all the words of the Lord; and indeed any excellence which was found in the prophet's message is found yet more abundantly in the fuller testimony of the Gospel in Christ Jesus.

+1. The excellence of that Gospel lies, first in its object.+ For

(1.) _It is a revelation of rest._ Christ's ambassadors are sent to proclaim to you that which shall give you ease, peace, quiet, rest. It is true that we have to begin with certain truths that disturb and distress; but our object is to dig out the foundation into which may be laid the stones of restfulness. The object of the Gospel is not to make men anxious, but to calm their anxieties; not to fill them with endless controversy, but to lead them into all truth. The Gospel gives rest of conscience, by the complete forgiveness of sin through the atoning blood of Christ; rest of heart, by supplying an object for the affections worthy of their love; and rest of intellect, by teaching it certainties which can be accepted without question. Our message does not consist of things guessed at by wit, nor evolved out of men's inner consciousness by study, not developed by argument through human reason; but it treats of revealed certainties, absolutely and infallibly true, upon which the understanding may rest itself as thoroughly as a building rests upon a foundation of rock. The Word of the Lord comes to give believing men rest about the present by telling them that God ordereth all things for their good; and as for the future, it brightens all coming time and eternity with promises. The man who will hear the Gospel message, and receive it into his soul, shall know the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, and shall keep his heart and mind by Jesus Christ.

(2.) _It is the cause of rest._ "This is the rest wherewith ye may _cause_ the weary to rest." The Gospel of our salvation is not only a command to rest, but it brings the gift of rest within itself. Let the Gospel be admitted into the heart, and it will create a profound calm, hushing all the tumult and strife of conscience, removing all apprehensions of Divine wrath, stilling all rebellion against the supreme Will, and so working in the spirit by the energy of the Holy Ghost a deep and blessed peace.

(3.) _This rest is especially meant for the weary._ "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest." Oh, ye that are weary with the round of worldly pleasure, worn with ambition, fretted with disappointment, embittered by the faithlessness of those you trusted in, come and confide in Jesus and be at rest. Here is the rest, here is the refreshing. Jesus expressly puts it: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Despondent and despairing, condemned, and in your conscience cast out to the gates of hell, yet look to Jesus and rest shall be yours.

(4.) In addition to bringing us rest, _the message of mercy points to a refreshing._ "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing." If the rested one should grow weary again, the Good Shepherd will give him refreshing; if he wanders, the Lord will restore him; yea, He has begun His gracious work of renewing, and He will continue it by renewing the heart from day to day, blending the will with His own, and making the whole man more and more to rejoice in Him.

Now, note with peculiar joy that Isaiah did not come to these people to talk about rest in dubious terms, and say, "There is no doubt a rest to be found somewhere in that goodness of God of which it is reasonable to conjecture." No; he puts his finger right down on the truth, and he says, "_This is_ the rest, and _this is_ the refreshing." Even so we at this day, when we come to you with a message from God, come _with definite teaching;_ we proclaim in the name of God that whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus hath everlasting life: this is the rest, and this is the refreshing.

_Nor did he preach a rest of a selfish character._ They say we teach men to get peace and rest for themselves, and make themselves comfortable, whatever becomes of others. They know better, and they forge these falsehoods because their heart is false. Are we not always bidding men look out from themselves, and love others even as Christ has loved them? We abhor the idea that personal safety is the consummation of a religious man's desires, for we believe that the life of grace is the death of selfishness. This is one of the glories of the Gospel, that "this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest." Get rest yourself, and you will soon cause other weary minds to rest. That secret something which your own heart possesses shall enable you to communicate good cheer to many a weary heart, and hope to many a desponding mind.

+2. The other excellence of the Gospel of which I shall speak at this time lies in its manner.+

(1.) _It comes with authority._ The Gospel does not pretend to be a speculative scheme or a theory of philosophy which will suit the nineteenth century, but will be exploded in the twentieth. No; it comes to men as a message from God, and he that speaks it aright does not speak it as a thinker uttering his own thoughts; but he utters what he has learned, and acts as God's tongue, repeating what he finds in God's Word by the power of God's Spirit.

(2.) _It was delivered with great simplicity._ Isaiah came with it "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little." It is the glory of the Gospel that is so plain. If it were so profound that we must take a degree at a university before we could comprehend it, what a miserable Gospel it would be for mocking the world with! But it is Divinely sublime in its simplicity, and hence the common people hear it gladly. As the verse seems to imply, it is fitted for those who are weaned from the breast; those who are little more than babes may yet drink in this unadulterated milk of the Word. Many a little child has comprehended the salvation of Jesus Christ sufficiently to rejoice in it. I bless God for a simple Gospel, for it suits me, and thousands of others whose minds cannot boast of greatness or genius. It equally suits men of intellect, and it is only quarrelled with by pretenders. A man who really has a capacious mind is usually childlike, and, like Sir Isaac Newton, is glad to sit at Jesus' feet. Great minds love the simple Gospel of God, for they find rest in it from all the worry and the weariness of questions and of doubts.

(3.) _It is taught us by degrees._ It is not forced home upon men's minds all at once, but it comes "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little." God does not flash the everlasting daylight on weak eyes in one blaze of glory, but there is at first a dim dawn, and the soft incoming of a tender light for tender eyes, and so by degrees we see.

(4.) _The Gospel is repeated._ If we do see it at once, it comes again to us, for it is "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little." From morning to morning, from Sunday to Sunday, book after book, by text after text, by spiritual impression after spiritual impression, the Divine gentleness makes us wise unto salvation.

(5.) _It is brought home to us in ways suitable to our capacity._ It is told to us, as it were, with stammering lips (see ver. 11), just as mothers teach their little children in a language all their own. In much of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God condescends to lay aside His own speech and talk the language of men. He bows to us and tells us His mind in types and ordinances, which are a sort of child-language fitted to our capacity. If you do not understand the Word of God, it is not because He does not put it plainly, but because of the blindness of your heart and the besotted condition of your spirit. Take heed that you are not drunken with the wine of pride, but be willing to learn; for God Himself hath not darkened counsel by mysterious words, but He has put His mind before you as plainly as the sun in the heavens. "Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little."

II. THE OBJECTIONS WHICH ARE TAKEN TO THE GOSPEL.

1. They are most _wanton._ Men object to that which promises them rest! Above all the things in the world this is what our troubled spirits need. Oh, the intense folly of men, that when the Gospel sets rest before them they will not hear it, but turn upon their heel. There is no system of doctrine under heaven that can give quiet to the conscience of men, quiet that is worth having, except the Gospel; and there are thousands of us who bear witness that we live in the daily enjoyment of peace through believing in Jesus, and yet our honest report is not believed; nay, they will not hear the truth.

2. Objections against the Gospel are _wilful,_ even as it is here said, "This is the refreshing, yet they would not hear." When man say they cannot believe the Gospel, ask them whether they will patiently hear it in all its simplicity. No, they say, they do not want to hear it. The Gospel is so difficult to believe; so they say. Will they come and hear it preached in its fulness? Will they read the Gospels for themselves carefully? Oh, no; they cannot take the trouble. Just so. But a man who does not want to be convinced must not blame anybody if he remains in error, nor wonder that objections swarm in his mind.

3. Such objections are _wicked,_ because they are rebellion against God and an insult to His truth and mercy. If this Gospel be of God, I am bound to receive it: I have no right to cavil at it, nor raise questions, philosophical or otherwise. It is mine just to say, "Does God say this and that? Then it is true, and I yield to it. Does the Lord thus set before me a way of salvation? I will run in it with delight."

4. These people raised objections that were _the outgrowth of their pride._ They objected to the simplicity of Isaiah's preaching. They said, "Who is he? You should not go to hear him; he talks to us as if we were children. Besides, it is the same thing over and over again. You may go when you like, he is always harping on the same string." Have you not heard folks say in these days concerning a true Gospel preacher, that he is always preaching about sovereign grace, or the blood of Christ, or crying out, "Believe, believe, and you shall be saved"? They sneer and say, "It is the old ditty over and over again." The passage translated "precept upon precept, line upon line," was uttered in ridicule, and sounded like a ding-dong rhyme with which they mocked Isaiah. The words were intended to caricature the preacher; though they do not suggest the idea when translated, they do suggest it readily enough in the Hebrew. There are people now living who, when the Gospel is plainly and simply preached, exclaim, "We want progressive thought; we want"--they do not quite know what they do want. Too many wish for a map to heaven so mysteriously drawn that they may be excused from following it. Multitudes prefer the Gospel shrouded in a mist; they love to see the wisdom of man shut out the wisdom of God. This was the style of objection current in Israel's day, and it is fashionable still.

III. THE DIVINE REQUITAL OF THESE OBJECTORS.

1. The Lord threatens them _with the loss of that which they despised._ He has sent them a message of rest and they will not have it, and therefore in the 20th verse He warns them that they shall have no rest henceforth: "For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it." All those who wilfully reject the Gospel and take up with philosophies and speculations will be rewarded with inward discontent. Ask the preachers of that kind of doctrine whether they themselves have found an anchorage, and as a rule they will answer, "No, no; we are in pursuit of truth; we are hunting after it, but we have not reached it yet." They are never likely to reach it, for they are on the wrong track. The Gospel was made to rest conscience, soul, heart will, memory, hope, fear, yes, the entire man; but when men laugh at all fixity of belief, how can they be rested? This is the condemnation of the unbeliever, that he shall never find a settlement, but, like the wandering Jew, shall roam for ever. Leave the Cross, and you have left the hinge of all things, and neglected the one sure corner-stone and fixed foundation, and henceforth you shall be as a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

2. _They shall be punished by a gradual hardening of heart._ They said that Isaiah's message was "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little," and justice answers them, "Even so it shall be to you a thing despised and ridiculed, so that you will go farther away from it; you will fall backward and be broken, and snared and taken" (ver. 13). A fall backward is the worst kind of fall. If a man falls forward, he may somewhat save himself and rise again; but if he falls backward, he falls with all his weight and is helpless. Those who stumble at Christ, the sure foundation-stone, shall be broken. When oppressors hope to retrieve their position, they find themselves snared by their habits, entangled in the net of the great fowler, and taken by the destroyer. This downward course is followed full often by those who begin cavilling at the simple Gospel; they cavil more and more, and become its open enemies to their eternal ruin.

3. This is to be followed by _a growing inability to understand._ "For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people." Since they would not hear plain speech, God will make simplicity itself to seem like stammering to them. Men that cannot endure simple language shall at last become unable to understand it. If men will not understand, they shall not understand. A man may shut his eyes so long that he cannot open them. In India many devotees have held up their arms so long that they can never take them down again. Beware lest an utter imbecility of heart come upon those of you who refuse the Gospel.

Lastly, this warning is given to those who object to the Gospel, that _whatever refuge they choose for themselves shall utterly fail them._ Thus saith the Lord, "Judgment will I also lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place." Down come the great hailstones dashing everything to shivers, the threatenings of God's Word breaking to pieces all the false and flattering hopes of the ungodly. Then comes the active wrath of God like an overwhelming flood to sweep away everything on which the sinner stood, and he, in his obstinate unbelief, is carried away as with a flood into that utter destruction, that everlasting misery, which God has declared shall be the lot of all those who refuse the living Christ.--_C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_ No. 1593.

FALSE REFUGES.

xxviii. 18. _Your covenant with death shall be
disannulled._

Like the sinners spoken of in this chapter, most sinful men say in effect, "We have made a covenant with death," &c. (ver. 15).

+I. That he may escape the dreaded consequences of sin, the troubled sinner seeks a refuge.+ He flees--1. _From the voice of reason._ The presence of a reasoning power in man is incompatible with the practice of sin. This is seen in the fact that when sinners can be brought to think, they at once admit themselves to be wrong. The moment a man commences to think about sin, that moment he becomes aware that it will not bear thinking about. It is because a sinful life is an unthinking life that God's invitations to sinners are invitations to reason (chap. i. 18; Ps. l. 22-23). 2. _From an accusing conscience._ The authority of conscience is supreme, and no man can sin without feeling its sting. To escape remorse, which is conscience at work, men seek a refuge. 3. _From an offended God._ Sin is offensive to God's holiness; for being pure, He must hate impurity. Because sinners are conscious that they have rendered themselves obnoxious to God, they seek a refuge. 4. _From a broken law._ In obedience to law there is safety, right, and happiness; while in disregarding law there is nothing but disaster. And from the consequences of the broken law--the broken law of God written on the heart, proclaimed in Nature, revealed in the Bible--the sinner tries to hide. 5. _From an endless future._ This more than anything else terrifies sinners and drives them to seek shelter.

+II. Sinners, blindly infatuated, seek a refuge in the wrong objects.+ They make a covenant with death and an agreement with hell. The terms "death" and "hell" stand for the whole class of false securities in which men seek shelter by making a covenant and agreement with them. 1. _Unbelief_ is one of the most modern refuges of sin. When men can blot out of the universe the idea of God, quench the sense of moral responsibility, remove the belief in immortality, persuade themselves that there is no other world, that death is an eternal sleep, that heaven is only an air-castle, and hell a mere chimera, they may then indulge in evil to their hearts' content. 2. _Superstition_ is another. Not in open unbelief, but under the cover of a false religion others seek to shelter. Unable to shake off belief in God and in a spiritual world, they search for some system which will at once allow a profession of religion and a practice of wickedness. Nor are such systems wanting, nor are they without disciples. Romanism offers indulgences for gold and pardons for peace, and thus provides a refuge for the stronger in pocket than in brain. 3. _Annihilation_ is another. According to some, such is the awfulness of the thought of extinction of being, that men revolt from it. Establish it that when sinners die they cease to live, and what better refuge for sin is possible, and what other is needed? Sinful men will soon say, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." 4. _Excess_ is another. When the previous ones have failed to give comfort, the sinner rushes madly into excess. The drunkard seeks in increased intemperance to drown the sorrow his indulgence has occasioned. 5. _Indifference_ is the last. This is the only comfort some men can find in their career of evil. But indifference is impossible without a denial of human responsibility. Sad indeed must the condition of human nature be when brought to this.

+III. The refuges so confidently trusted in are utterly insecure.+ 1. _Because they are incompatible with the real need of man._ Only that can be conducive to man's safety which meets man's need. No human need is met by infidelity, or by superstition, or by annihilation, or by indulgence, or by indifference. Any one of these, tested by this argument drawn from human necessities, will be found a refuge of lies. 2. _Because they are at variance with human instincts._ Instinctively men believe in a Divine existence, in moral accountability, and in immortality. 3. _Because they contradict human experience._ They have all been tried, and as often as they have been tried they have been found false. 4. _Because they are opposed to the teaching of revelation, both natural and Biblical._ Nature proclaims loudly against all sin-sought refuges. The teaching of Nature and the Bible is that man is incompetent to provide for his own security, and that God only, in the exercise of His Divine prerogative, can provide for sinners the security they need.

+IV. By Divine appointment the refuges so madly sought shall be totally destroyed.+ "Your covenant with death shall be disannulled." 1. _By consequence of their inherent character._ They are "refuges of lies," and necessarily all refuges built on lies must perish. 2. _By necessity of strict justice._ "Judgment will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet" (ver. 17). 3. _By the exertion of Almighty power._ "And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place."

CONCLUSION.--God has mercifully provided a true refuge. He only cuts off the false that He may exhibit the true. "Behold, I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone," &c. (ver. 16).--_William Brooks: Study and the Pulpit,_ New Series, vol. i. pp. 413-416.

SOME ASPECTS OF MINISTERIAL DUTY.

xxx. 7. _Therefore have I cried concerning this, Their
strength is to sit still._

Jerusalem and Judah were threatened by Sennacherib with dangers and desolations. This people's sin, for which they were reproved by Isaiah, was their trusting to the Egyptians; they were all in a hurry to obtain help from them, without seeking counsel of God and resting upon Him. Isaiah saw that the help of the Egyptians would be worthless to them, and therefore he counselled them to "sit still," trusting in the power, providence, and promise of God, from whom too much cannot be expected.

+I. Notice the prophet's intermeddling in this important matter.+ He publishes God's mind concerning it. It is the duty of ministers to meddle sometimes in public matters, whether in Church or State; they are to show Jacob their sins, and Israel their transgressions. This is a part of ministers' work, to testify against sin in all. Christ was the light of the _world;_ and they should be like their Master, testifying against all works of darkness. True, the world quarrels with the servants of God because they bear testimony against its sins; and on this account many ministers who have some light, put their light in prison: "They hold the truth in unrighteousness." They do this by not bearing witness against public wrongs, and the sin and defection of statesmen. But it was a gracious expression of a graceless Cain, "Am I my brother's keeper?" "What am I concerned with the souls or the sins of others? What am I concerned with the public evils of the day I live in?" True religion begins at home, but it does not end there; it will come without doors with us (H. E. I. 1184-1186).

+II. Observe the manner of the prophet's address to this people.+ "Therefore have I _cried_ concerning this." It is the duty of ministers to be earnest and zealous in reproving sin and reclaiming sinners. They are to be both seers and criers; and when they see any danger, they should CRY, that the people may hear and flee out of harm's way.

1. This is true in regard to public wrongs and national projects which are contrary to the Will of God (P. D. 2855).

2. They need to _cry_ about matters of eternity, that people may secure something that death may not be able to take from them--such as these: saving knowledge, saving faith, pardon of sin, evangelical love of God in Christ, faithful labours for the honour and glory of God.--_Ralph Erskine, A. M.: Sermons,_ vol. ii. pp. 252, 253.

GROWING LIGHT.

xxx. 26. _Moreover, the light of the moon, &c._

These words, doubtless, look forward to the restoration of Israel. But there are spiritual truths implied in them, which are of present and immediate application. We have here different _kinds_ of light; different _degrees_ of the same light; and also the _seasons_ which such increase of light is vouchsafed.

I. THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. It is a real light, but it is reflected light. It does not come to us direct from the sun, but is thrown first upon the moon, and from her it comes to us. Hence its peculiarities. It is a dim light; it does not warm and quicken; it does not make things grow and vegetate. It is a waning light; sometimes it is full, but it soon begins to decline, and for a season it is wholly withdrawn. It is a light which never makes day; even at its fullest, it is still night; men occasionally walk and work in it, but usually they rest and sleep.

Why do I notice these things, which are obvious to all on a moment's reflection? Because I believe there is important Divine truth hidden under them. All Nature is a prefiguring or shadowing forth of grace and truth (H. E. I. 5, 6).

We have been describing the religious knowledge of not a few. It is moonlight; it does not come to them direct from Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, the Source of all true light; it is hearsay; they have learned it from their fellow-men. It is not experimental, and hence its deficiencies. It is a vague, dim knowledge; they see nothing clearly, neither sin nor salvation, neither Christ nor themselves, neither law nor gospel, neither grace nor glory. It is a cold, heartless knowledge; it does not warm, quicken, stir their affections, influence their wills. It is a waning knowledge; sometimes they seem full of it--after a stirring sermon, or when they are in the company of frank, lively Christians--but a short time passes and it is all gone, as if it had never been. It never makes them children of the day, it never arouses them from the sleep of sin and worldliness, nor sends them forth to work for God and for eternity.

Such is this moonlight knowledge. Still it would be something if it led those who have it to Christ, the true Light. The people of Sychar had the moonlight when the woman on whom the Sun had just arisen came and cast a portion of her light upon them. But they did not rest on this; they went out of the city and saw and heard for themselves, and so many believed and were saved. But this is what many fail to do in revival times. The Lord has visited His people, and refreshed and saved them; and others speak freely of the good they have received, sing gladly their new songs, and are for the time stirred and affected. But it is only moonlight; they have never come to Him who changes not; and so when the warmth and stir of the revival passes they fall back, and perhaps become worse than before. Not a few are still in the moonlight, and are satisfied with it. You hear about Christ, perhaps can talk about Him, but this is not salvation (H. E. I. 3148).

II. THE LIGHT OF THE SUN. This comes immediately from the sun, and hence its excellence. It is a clear, bright light, and so things afar off and near at hand are distinctly seen. It is a warm light; there is heat in it; it thaws and chases away the winter; it makes spring and summer; it causes all things to grow and vegetate. It is an awakening light; it makes day, and men arise and go to their work, and wild creatures and evil-doers retire. It is a constant light. The sun never waxes or wanes; he is ever the same. True, there are wintry days, dark, dreary days, but still the sun is there, shining through the clouds, and shining them away, and soon breaking forth again in his glory. Is this the character of your religious knowledge? [Work out the details of the comparison.]

III. DIFFERENT DEGREES OF LIGHT. "The light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days." Here there is only a change of degree. There is no new luminary; it is still the sun, but it is far more intense and continuous. We can conceive what would be the effect of this in the natural world. Things now invisible from their minuteness or indistinctly seen from their distance would then be clearly revealed, and fruits and flowers which cannot at present be reared in our climate would then be common and indigenous among us. There can be a sevenfold Divine light and Divine warmth. Christ has it to give. He will one day give it to all His people, and the weak shall be as David, and David as the angel of the Lord. Even now He grants it to those who seek Him with the whole heart. The patriarchs, prophets, apostles had it. Nor are these peculiar, exceptional cases. I believe there is more of it than we are aware of and probably there would be more if we did not straighten and hinder the Lord by our want of desire and expectation.

IV. THE TIMES WHEN THIS BLESSING IS VOUCHSAFED. "In the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." This evidently looks forward to the time when the long alienation between Israel and their God will be healed. But is He the God of the Jews only? Nay, of the Gentiles also. There are two opposite errors into which men fall on the reading of these promises. Some see only the Jew in them; others do not see the Jew in them at all. But there is room for both in these green pastures. Even now there are fulfilments of this promise in its truest, highest sense. Even now the light of the moon becomes as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun as that of seven days. It is so, for instance, often at conversion; it is a passing from darkness into marvellous light. It is often so when the backslider returns. Look at David in the 51st Psalm, what light he has got! It is so often in times of sore affliction. Then the exceeding great and precious promises come out into view, as darkness shows us worlds of light we never saw by day (Ps. xciv. 12). It is so at death, when the soul leaves its cage and soars away into heavenly light and liberty. It will be so when the Lord comes on the resurrection morn. And once more, oh! the light there will be when the Lamb opens the books and makes every mystery plain! (H. E. I. 3127, 3128).--_John Milne: Gatherings from a Ministry,_ pp. 114-122.

NOBILITY AND SECURITY.

xxxiii. 15, 16. _He that walketh righteously, &c._

These were terrible times in Jerusalem. The Assyrian power was exceedingly formidable; it was as ferocious as it was strong. The Assyrian had come up into the land, yet God had given a promise to His people that they should be preserved (chap. xxxvii. 33, 34). Some in the city rested content with the promise of God, and went about their daily business feeling perfectly safe. But there were a few such. A great number were afraid they would be destroyed--they were sure of it. Who was to save them, or what power could stand in the way of Sennacherib? These were the sinners and hypocrites, and the time of trial developed them. They could not live, they said; the land was smoking, for the Assyrian had set everything on fire. Some who dwell among God's people are sinners and not saints, hypocrites and not believers. When all goes well with the Church of God you cannot detect the difference. But when the time of trial comes, the hypocrites and sinners will be discovered by their own fear. Let us not be satisfied with being in Zion--in the Church; let us not rest till we are quite sure we are not sinners or hypocrites in it. If our religion is worth anything, it is worth most in the hour of trial; and if it does not stand us in good stead in the time of temptation and sorrow, what is the use of it?

I. THE CHARACTER OF GOD'S PEOPLE. They are partly described in the words of our text, but I am obliged to go a little farther afield for one part of their character. Those who in the time of danger will be kept and comforted are a people who have a humble, patient, present faith in God. I am sure there are such, for they are described--they describe themselves--in the second verse of the chapter before us. They are a humble people, who dare not trust themselves, but trust in God. They are a praying people, who make their appeal to God under a sense of need. Their appeal is to His free grace. They are a waiting people. If at once they have not comfort and joy, they tarry and are perfectly content to abide His time, for it is sure to be best. That have a present faith in God, for "Be Thou their arm every morning" is their prayer. They did not trust in God years ago and get saved, and think they can live without faith, but they believe "the just shall _live_ by faith." They look for everything to their God: "_Thou_ art our salvation in the time of trouble."

Our text gives a description of these people by their various features. It describes how they walk: "He that walketh righteously." Faith has an elevating, ennobling effect upon our entire manhood. The promise belongs only to the people who come under the description; see to it that you do not take the comfort, if you do not come under the character! Study the description of the daily walk and conversation of this blessed man who is to dwell on high.