,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 ,,isaiah ,,and ,,jeremiah ,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 ,,isaiah ,chaps4 ,i to ,,xlviii ,,contents ,,the ,,great ,,suit3 ,,jehovah versus ,,judah 7,isaiah i4 #a-i2 #af-bj7 ,,the ,,stupidity ,,of ,,godlessness 7,isaiah i4 #c7 ,,what ,,sin ,,does ,,to ,,men 7,isaiah i4 #cj-ca7 ,,the ,,perpetual ,,pillar ,,of ,,cloud ,,and ,,fire 7,isaiah iv4 #e7 ,a ,,prophet',s ,,woes 7,isaiah v4 #h-cj7 ,,vision ,,and ,,service 7,isaiah vi4 #a-ac7 ,,the ,,empty ,,throne ,,filled 7,isaiah vi4 #a7 ,a ,,seraph',s ,,wings 7,isaiah vi4 #b7 ,,the ,,making ,,of ,a ,,prophet 7,isaiah vi4 #e7 ,,shiloah ,,and ,,euphrates 7,isaiah viii4 #f1 #g7 ,,the ,,kingdom ,,and ,,the ,,king 7,isaiah ix4 #b-g7 ,,light ,,or ,,fire8 7,isaiah x4 #ag7 ,,the ,,sucker ,,from ,,the ,,felled ,,oak 7,isaiah xi4 #a-aj7 ,,the ,,well-,,spring ,,of ,,salvation 7,isaiah xii4 #c7 ,,the ,,harvest ,,of ,a ,,godless ,,life 7,isaiah xvii4 #aj1 #aa7 ',,in ,,this ,,mountain' 7,isaiah xxv4 #f-h7 ,,the ,,feast ,,on ,,the ,,sacrifice 7,isaiah xxv4 #f7 ,,the ,,veil ,,over ,,all ,,nations 7,isaiah xxv4 #g7 ,,the ,,song ,,of ,,two ,,cities 7,isaiah xxvi4 #a-aj7 ,,our ,,strong ,,city 7,isaiah xxvi4 #a-b7 ,,the ,,inhabitant ,,of ,,the ,,rock 7,isaiah xxvi4 #c-d7 ,,the ,,grasp ,,that ,,brings ,,peace 7,isaiah xxvii4 #e7 ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,drunkards ,,and ,,mockers 7,isaiah xxviii4 #a-ac7 ,a ,,crown ,,of ,,pride ,,or ,a ,,crown ,,of ,,glory 7,isaiah xxviii #c-e7 ,,man',s ,,crown ,,and ,,god',s 7,isaiah lxii #c7 ,,the ,,foundation ,,of ,,god 7,isaiah xxviii4 #af7 ,,god',s ,,strange ,,work 7,isaiah xxviii4 #ba7 ,,the ,,husbandman ,,and ,,his ,,operations 7,isaiah xxviii4 #bc-bi7 ',,quietness ,,and ,,confidence' 7,isaiah xxx4 #ae7 ,,god',s ,,waiting ,,and ,,man',s 7,isaiah xxx4 #ah7 ,,three ,,pictures ,,of ,,one ,,reality 7,isaiah xxxi4 #e7 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,furnace 7,isaiah xxxi4 #i7 ,,the ,,hiding-,,place 7,isaiah xxxii4 #b7 ,,how ,,to ,,dwell ,,in ,,the ,,fire ,,of ,,god 7,isaiah xxxiii4 #ad1 #ae2 ,i ,john iv4 #af7 ,,the ,,fortress ,,of ,,the ,,faithful 7,isaiah xxxiii4 #af7 ,,the ,,rivers ,,of ,,god 7,isaiah xxxiii4 #ba7 ,,judge1 ,,lawgiver1 ,,king 7,isaiah xxxiii4 #bb7 ,,miracles ,,of ,,healing 7,isaiah xxxv4 #e-f7 ,,mirage ,,or ,,lake 7,isaiah xxxv4 #f-g7 ,,the ,,king',s ,,highway 7,isaiah xxxv4 #h-i7 ,,what ,,life',s ,,journey ,,may ,,be 7,isaiah xxxv4 #i-aj7 ,,the ,,triumph ,,of ,,faith 7,isaiah xxxvii #ad-ba2 #cc-ch7 ,,where ,,to ,,carry ,,troubles 7,isaiah xxxvii4 #ad7 ,,great ,,voices ,,from ,,heaven 7,isaiah xl4 #a-aj7 ,o ,,thou ,,that ,,bringest ,,good ,,tidings 7,isaiah xl4 #i7 ',,have ,,ye ,,not8 ,,hast ,,thou ,,not' 7,isaiah xl4 #b2 #bh7 ,,unfailing ,,stars ,,and ,,fainting ,,men 7,isaiah xl4 #bf2 #bi7 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,immortal ,,youth 7,isaiah xl4 #cj1 #ca7 ,,christ ,,the ,,arrester ,,of ,,incipient ,,evil ,,and ,,the ,,nourisher ,,of ,,incipient ,,good 7,isaiah xlii4 #c1 #d7 ,,the ,,blind ,,man',s ,,guide 7,isaiah xlii4 #af7 ,,thy ,,name3 ,,my ,,name 7,isaiah xliii1 #a2 #g7 ,,jacob--,,israel--,,jeshurun 7,isaiah xliv4 #a1 #b7 ,,feeding ,,on ,,ashes 7,isaiah xliv4 #bj7 ,,writing ,,blotted ,,out ,,and ,,mist ,,melted 7,isaiah xliv4 #bb7 ,,hidden ,,and ,,revealed 7,isaiah xlv4 #ae1 #ai7 ,a ,,righteousness ,,near ,,and ,a ,,swift ,,salvation 7,isaiah xlv4 #ab1 #ac7 ,a ,,river ,,of ,,peace ,,and ,,waves ,,of ,,righteousness 7,isaiah xlviii4 #ah7 ,,the ,,great ,,suit3 ,,jehovah ,,versus ,,judah ',the vision of ,isaiah the son of ,amoz1 which he saw concerning ,judah and ,jerusalem1 in the days of ,uzziah1 ,jotham1 ,ahaz1 and ,hezekiah1 kings of ,judah4 ,i ,hear1 ,o heavens1 and give ear1 ,o earth1 for the ,lord hath spoken3 ,i have nourished and brought up children1 and they have rebelled against ,me4 #c4 ,the ox knoweth his owner1 and the ass his master's crib3 but ,israel doth not know1 my people doth not consider4 #d4 ,ah sinful nation1 a people laden with iniquity1 a seed of evildoers1 children that are corrupters3 they have forsaken the ,lord1 they have provoked the ,holy ,one of ,israel unto anger1 they are gone away backward4 #e4 ,why should ye be stricken any more8 ye will revolt more and more3 the whole head is sick1 and the whole heart faint4 #f4 ,from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it2 but wounds1 and bruises1 and putrifying sores3 they have not been closed1 neither bound up1 neither mollified with ointment4 #g4 ,your country is desolate1 your cities are burned with fire3 your land1 strangers devour it in your presence1 and it is desolate1 as overthrown by strangers4 #h4 ,and the daughter of ,zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard1 as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers1 as a besieged city4 #i4 ,except the ,lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant1 we should have been as ,sodom1 and we should have been like unto ,gomorrah4444 #af4 ,wash you1 make you clean2 put away the evil of your doings from before ,mine eyes2 cease to do evil2 #ag4 ,learn to do well2 seek judgment1 relieve the oppressed1 judge the fatherless1 plead for the widow4 #ah4 ,come now1 and let us reason together1 saith the ,lord3 though your sins be as scarlet1 they shall be as white as snow3 though they be red like crimson1 they shall be as wool4 #ai4 ,if ye be willing and obedient1 ye shall eat the good of the land4 #bj4 ,but if ye refuse and rebel1 ye shall be devoured with the sword3 for the mouth of the ,lord hath spoken it4'--,,isaiah #a1a-i2 #af-bj4 ,the first bars of the great overture to ,isaiah's great oratorio are here sounded4 ,these first chapters give out the themes which run through all the rest of his prophecies4 ,like most introductions1 they were probably written last1 when the prophet collected and arranged his life's labours4 ,the text deals with the three great thoughts1 the leit-motifs that are sounded over and over again in the prophet's message4 ,first comes the great indictment 7vs4 #b-d74 ,a true prophet's words are of universal application1 even when they are most specially addressed to a particular audience4 ,just because this indictment was so true of ,judah1 is it true of all men1 for it is not concerned with details peculiar to a long-past period and state of society1 but with the broad generalities common to us all4 ,as another great teacher in ,old ,testament times said1 ',i will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings1 to have been continually before me4' ,isaiah has nothing to say about ritual or ceremonial omissions1 which to him were but surface matters after all1 but he sets in blazing light the foundation facts of ,judah's 7and every man's7 distorted relation to ,god4 ,and how lovingly1 as well as sternly1 ,god speaks through him6 ,that divine lament which heralds the searching indictment is not unworthy to be the very words of the ,almighty ,lover of all men1 sorrowing over ,his prodigal and fugitive sons4 ,nor is its deep truth less than its tenderness4 ,for is not man's sin blackest when seen against the bright background of ,god's fatherly love8 ,true1 the fatherhood that ,isaiah knew referred to ,god's relation to the nation rather than to the individual1 but the great truth which is perfectly revealed by the ,perfect ,son was in part shown to the prophet4 ,the east was bright with the unrisen sun1 and the tinted clouds that hovered above the place of its rising seemed as if yearning to open and let him through4 ,man's neglect of ,god's benefits puts him below the animals that 'know' the hand that feeds and governs them4 ,some men think it a token of superior 'culture' and advanced views to throw off allegiance to ,god4 ,it is a token that they have less intelligence than their dog4 ,there is something very beautiful and pathetic in the fact that ,judah is not directly addressed1 but that verses #b-d are a divine soliloquy4 ,they might rather be called a father's lament than an indictment4 ,the forsaken father is1 as it were1 sadly brooding over his erring child's sins1 which are his father's sorrows and his own miseries4 ,in verse #d the black catalogue of the prodigal's doings begins on the surface with what we call 'moral' delinquencies1 and then digs deeper to disclose the root of these in what we call 'religious' relations perverted4 ,the two are inseparably united1 for no man who is wrong with ,god can be right with duty or with men4 ,notice1 too1 how one word flashes into clearness the sad truth of universal experience--that 'iniquity1' however it may delude us into fancying that by it we throw off the burden of conscience and duty1 piles heavier weights on our backs4 ,the doer of iniquity is 'laden with iniquity4' ,notice1 too1 how the awful entail of evil from parents to children is adduced--shall we say as aggravating1 or as lessening1 the guilt of each generation8 ,isaiah's contemporaries are 'a seed of evil-doers1' spring from such1 and in their turn are 'children that are corrupters4' ,the fatal bias becomes stronger as it passes down4 ,heredity is a fact1 whether you call it original sin or not4 ,but the bitter fountain of all evil lies in distorted relations to ,god4 ',they have forsaken the ,lord'2 that is why they 'do corruptly4' ,they have 'despised the ,holy ,one of ,israel'2 that is why they are 'laden with iniquity4' ,alienated hearts separate from ,him4 ,to forsake ,him is to despise ,him4 ,to go from ,him is to go 'away backward4' ,whatever may have been our inheritance of evil1 we each go further from ,him4 ,and this fatherly lament over ,judah is indeed a wail over every child of man4 ,does it not echo in the 'pearl of parables1' and may we not suppose that it suggested that supreme revelation of man's misery and ,god's love8 ,after the indictment comes the sentence 7vs4 #e-h74 ,perhaps 'sentence' is not altogether accurate1 for these verses do not so much decree a future as describe a present1 and the deep tone of pitying wonder sounds through them as they tell of the bitter harvest sown by sin4 ,the penetrating question1 ',why will ye be still stricken1 that ye revolt more and more8' brings out the solemn truth that all which men gain by rebellion against ,god is chastisement4 ,the ox that 'kicks against the pricks' only makes its own hocks bleed4 ,we aim at some imagined good1 and we get--blows4 ,no rational answer to that stern ',why8' is possible4 ,every sin is an act of unreason1 essentially an absurdity4 ,the consequences of ,judah's sin are first darkly drawn under the metaphor of a man desperately wounded in some fight1 and far away from physicians or nurses1 and then the metaphor is interpreted by the plain facts of hostile invasion1 flaming cities1 devastated fields4 ,it destroys the coherence of the verses to take the gruesome picture of the wounded man as a description of men's sins2 it is plainly a description of the consequences of their sins4 ,in accordance with the ,old ,testament point of view1 ,isaiah deals with national calamities as the punishment of national sins4 ,he does not touch on the far worse results of individual sins on individual character4 ,but while we are not to ignore his doctrine that nations are individual entities1 and that 'righteousness exalteth a nation' in our days as well as in his1 the ,christian form of his teaching is that men lay waste their own lives and wound their own souls by every sin4 ,the fugitive son comes down to be a swine-herd1 and cannot get enough even of the swine's food to stay his hunger4 ,the note of pity sounds very clearly in the pathetic description of the deserted 'daughter of ,zion4' ,jerusalem stands forlorn and defenceless1 like a frail booth in a vineyard1 hastily run up with boughs1 and open to fierce sunshine or howling winds4 ,once 'beautiful for situation1 the joy of the whole earth1444 the city of the great ,king'--and now6 ,verse #i breaks the solemn flow of the divine ,voice1 but breaks it as it desires to be broken4 ,for in it hearts made soft and penitent by the ,voice1 breathe out lowly acknowledgment of widespread sin1 and see ,god's mercy in the continuance of 'a very small remnant' of still faithful ones4 ,there is a little island not yet submerged by the sea of iniquity1 and it is to ,him1 not to themselves1 that the 'holy seed' owe their being kept from following the multitude to do evil4 ,what a smiting comparison for the national pride that is--'as ,sodom1' 'like unto ,gomorrah'6 ,after the sentence comes pardon4 ,verses #af and #ag properly belong to the paragraph omitted from the text1 and close the stern special word to the 'rulers' which1 in its severe tone1 contrasts so strongly with the wounded love and grieved pity of the preceding verses4 ,moral amendment is demanded of these high-placed sinners and false guides4 ,it is ,john the ,baptist's message in an earlier form1 and it clears the way for the evangelical message4 ,repentance and cleansing of life come first4 ,but these stern requirements1 if taken alone1 kindle despair4 ',wash you1 make you clean'--easy to say1 plainly necessary1 and as plainly hopelessly above my reach4 ,if that is all that a prophet has to say to me1 he may as well say nothing4 ,for what is the use of saying ',arise and walk' to the man who has been lame from his mother's womb8 ,how can a foul body be washed clean by filthy hands8 ,ancient or modern preachers of a self-wrought-out morality exhort to impossibilities1 and unless they follow their preaching of an unattainable ideal as ,isaiah followed his1 they are doomed to waste their words4 ,he cried1 ',make you clean1' but he immediately went on to point to ,one who could make clean1 could turn scarlet into snowy white1 crimson into the lustrous purity of the unstained fleeces of sheep in green pastures4 ,the assurance of ,god's forgiveness which deals with guilt1 and of ,god's cleansing which deals with inclination and habit1 must be the foundation of our cleansing ourselves from filthiness of flesh and spirit4 ,the call to repentance needs the promise of pardon and divine help to purifying in order to become a gospel4 ,and the call to 'repentance toward ,god1 and faith toward our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1' is what we all1 who are 'laden with iniquity1' and have forsaken the ,lord1 need1 if ever we are to cease to do evil and learn to do well4 ,as with one thunder-clap the prophecy closes1 pealing forth the eternal alternative set before every soul of man4 ,willing obedience to our ,father ,god secures all good1 the full satisfaction of our else hungry and ravenous desires4 ,to refuse and rebel is to condemn ourselves to destruction4 ,and no man can avert that consequence1 or break the necessary connection between goodness and blessedness1 'for the mouth of the ,lord hath spoken it1' and what ,he speaks stands fast for ever and ever4 ,,the ,,stupidity ,,of ,,godlessness ',the ox knoweth his owner1 and the ass his master's crib3 but ,israel doth not know1 ,my people doth not consider4'--,,isaiah i4 #c4 ,this is primarily an indictment against ,israel1 but it touches us all4 ',doth not know' i4e4 has no familiar acquaintance with2 'doth not consider1' i4e4 frivolously ignores1 never meditates on4 ,i4 ,this is a common attitude of mind towards ,god4 ,blank indifference towards ,him is far more frequent than conscious hostility4 ,take a hundred men at random as they hurry through the streets1 and how many of them would have to acknowledge that no thought of ,god had crossed their minds for days or months8 ,so far as they are concerned1 either in regard to their thoughts or actions1 ,he is 'a superfluous hypothesis4' ,most men are not conscious of rebellion against ,him1 and to charge them with it does not rouse conscience1 but they cannot but plead guilty to this indictment1 ',god is not in all their thoughts4' ,,ii4 ,this attitude is strange and unnatural4 ,that a man should be able to forget ,god1 and live as if there were no such ,being1 is strange4 ,it is one instance of that awful power of ignoring the most important subjects1 of which every life affords so many and tragic instances4 ,it seems as if we had above us an opium sky which rains down soporifics1 go that we are fast asleep to all that it most concerns us to wake to4 ,but still stranger is it that1 having that power of attending or not attending to subjects1 we should so commonly exercise it on this subject4 ,for1 as the ox that knows the hand that feeds him1 and the ass that makes for his 'master's crib' where he is sure of fodder and straw1 might teach us1 the stupidest brute has sense enough to recognise who is kind to him1 or has authority over him1 and where he can find what he needs4 ,the godless man descends below the animals' level4 ,and to ignore ,him is intensely stupid4 ,but it is worse than foolish1 for ,,iii4 ,this attitude is voluntary and criminal4 ,though there is not conscious hostility in it1 the root of it is a sub-conscious sense of discordance with ,god and of antagonism between ,his will and the man's ,when we are quite sure that we love another1 and that hearts beat in accord and wills go out towards the same things1 we do not need to make efforts to think of that other1 but our minds turn towards him or her as to a home1 whenever released from the holding-back force of necessary occupations4 ,if we love ,god1 and have our will set to do ,his will1 our thoughts will fly to ,him1 'as doves to their windows4' ,it is fed by preoccupation of thought with other things4 ,we have but a certain limited amount of energy of thought or attention1 and if we waste it1 as much as most of us do1 on 'things seen and temporal1' there is none left for the unseen realities and the ,god who is 'eternal1 invisible4' ,it is often reinforced by theoretical uncertainty1 sometimes real1 often largely unreal4 ,but after all1 the true basis of it is1 what ,paul gives as its cause1 'they did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge4' ,the criminality of this indifference6 ,it is heartlessly ungrateful4 ,dogs lick the hand that feeds them2 ox and ass in their dull way recognise something almost like obligation arising from benefits and care4 ,no ingratitude is meaner and baser than that of which we are guilty1 if we do not requite ,him 'in whose hands our breath is1 and whose are all our ways1' by even one thankful heart-throb or one word shaped out of the breath that ,he gives4 ,,iv4 ,this attitude is fatal4 ,it separates us from ,god1 and separation from ,him is the very definition of ,death4 ,a ,god of whom we never think is all the same to us as a ,god who does not exist4 ,strike ,god out of a life1 and you strike the sun out of the system1 and wrap all in darkness and weltering chaos4 ',this is life eternal1 to know ,thee'2 but if ',israel doth not know1' ,israel has slain itself4 ,,what ,,sin ,,does ,,to ,,men ',ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth1 and as a garden that hath no water4 #ca4 ,and the strong shall be as tow1 and ,his work as a spark2 and they shall both burn together1 and none shall quench them4'--,,isaiah i4 #cj-ca4 ,the original reference of these words is to the threatened retribution for national idolatry1 of which 'oaks' and 'gardens' were both seats4 ,the nation was1 as it were1 dried up and made inflammable2 the idol was as the 'spark' or the occasion for destruction4 ,but a wider application1 which comes home to us all1 is to the fatal results of sin4 ,these need to be very plainly stated1 because of the deceitfulness of sin1 which goes on slaying men by thousands in silence4 ',that grim wolf with privy paw ,daily devours apace4' ,i4 ,sin withers4 ,we see the picture of a blasted tree in the woods1 while all around are in full leaf1 with tiny leaves half developed and all brown at the edges4 ,the prophet draws another picture1 that of a garden not irrigated1 and therefore1 in the burning ,east1 given over to barrenness4 ,sin makes men fruitless and withered4 ,it involves separation from ,god1 the source of all fruitfulness 7,ps4 i474 ,think of how many pure desires and innocent susceptibilities die out of a sinful soul4 ,think of how many capacities for good disappear4 ,think of how dry and seared the heart becomes4 ,think of how conscience is stifled4 ,all sin--any sin--does this4 ,not only gross1 open transgressions1 but any piece of godless living will do it4 ,whatever a man does against his conscience--neglect of duty1 habitual unveracity1 idleness--in a word1 his besetting sin withers him up4 ,and all the while the evil thing that is drawing his life-blood is growing like a poisonous1 blotched fungus in a wine-cask4 ,,ii4 ,sin makes men inflammable4 ',as tow' or tinder4 ,a subsidiary reference may be intended to the sinful man as easily catching fire at temptation4 ,but the main thought is that sin makes a man ready for destruction1 'whose end is to be burned4' ,the materials for retribution are laid up in a man's nature by wrong-doing4 ,the conspirators store the dynamite in a dark cellar4 ,conscience and memory are charged with explosives4 ,if tendencies1 habits1 and desires become tyrannous by long indulgence and cannot be indulged1 what a fierce fire would rage then6 ,we have only to suppose a man made to know what is the real moral character of his actions1 and to be unable to give them up1 to have hell4 ,all this is confirmed by occasional glimpses which men get of themselves4 ,our own characters are the true ,medusa-head which turns a man into stone when he sees it4 ,what1 then1 are we really doing by our sins8 ,piling together fuel for burning4 ,,iii4 ,sin burns up4 ',work as a spark4' ,the evil deeds brought into contact with the doer work destruction4 ,that is1 if1 in a future life or at any time1 a man is brought face to face with his acts1 then retribution begins4 ,we shake off the burden of our actions by want of remembrance4 ,but that power of ignoring the past may be broken down at any time4 ,suppose it happens that in another world it can no longer be exercised1 what then8 ,evil deeds are the occasion of the divine retribution4 ,they are 'a spark4' ,it is they who light the pyre1 not ,god4 ,the prophet here protests in ,god's name against the notion that ,he is to be blamed for punishing4 ,men are their own self-tormentors4 ,the sinful man immolates himself4 ,like ,isaac1 he carries the wood and lays the pile for his own burning4 ,christ severs the connection between us and our evil4 ,he restores beauty and freshness to the blighted tree1 planting it as 'by the river of water1' so that it 'bringeth forth its fruit in its season1' and its 'leaf also doth not wither4' ,,the ,,perpetual ,,pillar ,,of ,,cloud ,,and ,,fire ',and the ,lord will create over the whole habitation of ,mount ,zion1 and over her assemblies1 a cloud and smoke by day1 and the shining of a flaming fire by night4'--,,isaiah iv4 #e4 ,the pillar of cloud and fire in the ,exodus was one3 there are to be as many pillars as there are 'assemblies' in the new era4 ,is it straining the language too much to find significance in that difference8 ,instead of the formal unity of the ,old ,covenant1 there is a variety which yet is a more vital unity4 ,is there not a hint here of the same lesson that is taught by the change of the one golden lamp-stand into the seven1 which are a better unity because ,jesus ,christ walks among them8 ,the heart of this promise1 thus cast into the form of ancient experiences1 but with significant variations1 is that of true communion with ,god4 ,that communion makes those who have it glorious4 ,that communion supplies unfailing guidance4 ,a man in close fellowship with ,god will have wonderful flashes of sagacity1 even about small practical matters4 ,the gleam of the pillar will illumine conscience1 and shine on many difficult1 dark places4 ,the 'simplicity' of a saintly soul will often see deeper into puzzling contingencies than the vulpine craftiness of the 'prudent4' ,the darker the night1 the brighter the guidance4 ,that communion gives a defence4 ,the pillar came between ,egypt and ,israel1 and kept the foe off the timid crowd of slaves4 ,whatever forms our enemies take1 fellowship with ,god will invest us with a defence as protean as our perils4 ,the same cloud is represented in the context as being 'a pavilion for a shadow in the heat1 and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain4' ,a ,,prophet',s ,,woes ',woe unto them that join house to house1 that lay field to field1 till there be no place1 that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth6 #i4 ,in mine ears said the ,lord of hosts1 ,of a truth many houses shall be desolate1 even great and fair1 without inhabitant4 #aj4 ,yea1 ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath1 and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah4 #aa4 ,woe unto them that rise up early in the morning1 that they may follow strong drink2 that continue until night1 till wine inflame them6 #ab4 ,and the harp1 and the viol1 the tabret1 and pipe1 and wine1 are in their feasts3 but they regard not the work of the ,lord1 neither consider the operation of ,his hands4 #ac4 ,therefore my people are gone into captivity1 because they have no knowledge3 and their honourable men are famished1 and their multitude dried up with thirst4 #ad4 ,therefore hell hath enlarged herself1 and opened her mouth without measure3 and their glory and their multitude1 and their pomp1 and he that rejoiceth1 shall descend into it4 #ae4 ,and the mean man shall be brought down1 and the mighty man shall be humbled1 and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled3 #af4 ,but the ,lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment1 and ,god that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness4 #ag4 ,then shall the lambs feed after their manner1 and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat4 #ah4 ,woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity1 and sin as it were with a cart rope3 #ai4 ,that say1 ,let ,him make speed1 and hasten ,his work1 that we may see it3 and let the counsel of the ,holy ,one of ,israel draw nigh and come1 that we may know it6 #bj4 ,woe unto them that call evil good1 and good evil2 that put darkness for light1 and light for darkness2 that put bitter for sweet1 and sweet for bitter6 #ba4 ,woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes1 and prudent in their own sight6 #bb4 ,woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine1 and men of strength to mingle strong drink3 #bc4 ,which justify the wicked for reward1 and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him6 #bd4 ,therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble1 and the flame consumeth the chaff1 so their root shall be as rottenness1 and their blossom shall go up as dust3 because they have cast away the law of the ,lord of hosts1 and despised the word of the ,holy ,one of ,israel4 #be4 ,therefore is the anger of the ,lord kindled against ,his people1 and ,he hath stretched forth ,his hand against them1 and hath smitten them3 and the hills did tremble1 and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets4 ,for all this ,his anger is not turned away1 but ,his hand is stretched out still4 #bf4 ,and ,he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far1 and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth3 and1 behold1 they shall come with speed swiftly3 #ag4 ,none shall be weary nor stumble among them2 none shall slumber nor sleep2 neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed1 nor the latchet of their shoes be broken3 #bh4 ,whose arrows are sharp1 and all their bows bent1 their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint1 and their wheels like a whirlwind3 #bi4 ,their roaring shall be like a lion1 they shall roar like young lions3 yea1 they shall roar1 and lay hold of the prey1 and shall carry it away safe1 and none shall deliver it4 #cj4 ,and in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea3 and if one look unto the land1 behold darkness and sorrow1 and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof4'--,,isaiah v4 #h-cj4 ,drunkenness is1 in this text1 one of a ring of plague-spots on the body politic of ,judah4 ,the prophet six times proclaims 'woe' as the inevitable end of these2 such 'sickness' is 'unto death' unless repentance and another course of conduct bring healing4 ,but drunkenness appears twice in this grim catalogue1 and the longest paragraph of denunciation 7vv1 #aa-ag7 is devoted to it4 ,its connection with the other vices attacked is loose1 but it is worth noting that all these have an inner kinship1 and tend to appear together4 ,they are 'all in a string1' and where a community is cursed with one1 the others will not be far away4 ,they are a knot of serpents intertwined4 ,we touch but slightly on the other vices denounced by the prophet's burning words1 but we must premise the general observation that the same uncompromising plainness and boldness in speaking out as to social sins ought to characterise ,christian teachers to-day4 ,the prophet's office is not extinct in the church4 ,the first plague-spot is the accumulation of wealth in few hands1 and the selfish withdrawal of its possessors from the life of the community4 ,in an agricultural society like that of ,judah1 that clotting of wealth took the shape of 'land-grabbing1' and of evicting the small proprietors4 ,we see it in more virulent forms in our great commercial centres1 where the big men often become big by crushing out the little ones1 and denude themselves of responsibility to the community in proportion as they clothe themselves with wealth4 ,wherever wealth is thus congested1 and its obligations ignored by selfish indulgence1 the seeds are sown which will spring up one day in 'anarchism4' ,a man need not be a prophet to have it whispered in his ear1 as ,isaiah had1 that the end of selfish capitalism is a convulsion in which 'many houses shall be desolate1' and many fields barren4 ,england needs the warning as much as ,isaiah's ,judah did4 ,such selfish wealth leads1 among other curses1 to indolence and drunkenness1 as the next woe shows4 ,the people described make drinking the business of their lives1 beginning early and sitting late4 ,they have a varnish of art over their swinishness1 and must have music as well as wine4 ,so1 in many a drink-shop in ,england1 a piano or a band adds to the attractions1 and gives a false air of aestheticism to pure animalism4 ,isaiah feels the incongruity that music should be so prostituted1 and expresses it by adding to his list of musical instruments 'and wine' as if he would underscore the degradation of the great art to be the cupbearer of sots4 ,such revellers are blind to the manifest tokens of ,god's working1 and the 'operation of ,his hands' excites only the tipsy gaze which sees nothing4 ,that is one of the curses which dog the drunkard-that he takes no warning from the plain results of his vice as seen in others4 ,he knows that it means shattered health1 ruined prospects1 broken hearts1 but nothing rouses him from his fancy of impunity4 ,high1 serious thoughts of ,god and ,his government of the world and of each life are strange to him4 ,his sin compels him to be godless1 if he is not to go mad4 ,but sometimes he wakes to a moment's sight of realities1 and then he is miserable till his next bout buys fatal forgetfulness4 ,the prophet forces the end of a drunken nation on the unwilling attention of the roisterers1 in verses #ac-ag1 which throb with vehemence of warning and gloomy eloquence4 ,what can such a people come to but destruction8 ,knowledge must languish1 hunger and thirst must follow4 ,like some monster's gaping mouth1 the pit yawns for them2 and1 drawn as by irresistible attraction1 the pomp and the wicked1 senseless jollity elide down into it4 ,in the universal catastrophe1 one thing alone stands upright1 and is lifted higher1 because all else has sunk so far1-the righteous judgment of the forgotten ,god4 ,the grim picture is as true for individuals and their deaths as for a nation and its decay4 ,and modern nations cannot afford to have this ulcer of drunkenness draining away their strength any more than ,judah could4 ',by the soul only are the nations great and free1' and a people can be neither where the drink fiend has his way4 ,three woes follow which are closely connected4 ,that pronounced on daring evil-doers1 who not only let sin draw them to itself1 but go more than halfway to meet it1 needing no temptation1 but drawing it to them eagerly1 and scoffing at the merciful warnings of fatal consequences1 comes first4 ,next is a woe on those who play fast and loose with plain morality1 sophisticating conscience1 and sapping the foundations of law4 ,such juggling follows sensual indulgence such as drunkenness1 when it becomes habitual and audacious1 as in the preceding woe4 ,loose or perverted codes of morality generally spring from bad living1 seeking to shelter itself4 ,vicious principles are an afterthought to screen vicious practices4 ,the last subject of the triple woes is self-conceit and pretence to superior illumination4 ,such very superior persons are emancipated from the rules which bind the common herd4 ,they are so very clever that they have far outgrown the creeping moralities1 which may do for old women and children4 ,do we not know the sort of people8 ,have we none of them surviving to-day8 ,then ,isaiah comes back to his theme of drunkenness1 but in a new connection4 ,it poisons the fountain of justice4 ,there is a world of indignant contempt in the prophet's scathing picture of those who are 'mighty' and 'men of strength1'-but how is their strength shown8 ,they can stand any quantity of wine1 and can 'mix their drinks1' and yet look sober6 ,what a noble use to put a good constitution to6 ,these valiant topers are in authority as judges1 and they sell their judgments to get money for their debauches4 ,we do not see much of such scandals among us1 but yet we have heard of leagues between liquor-sellers and municipal authorities1 which certainly do not 'make for righteousness4' ,when shall we learn and practise the lesson that ,isaiah was reading his countrymen1--that it is fatal to a nation when the private character of public men is regarded as of no account in political and civic life8 ,the prophet had no doubt as to what must be the end of a state of things in which the very courts of law were honeycombed with corruption1 and demoralised by the power of drink4 ,his tremendous image of a fierce fire raging across a dry prairie1 and burning the grass to its very roots1 while the air is stifling with the thick 'dust' of the conflagration1 proclaims the sure fate1 sooner or later1 of every community and individual that 'rejects the law of the ,lord of ,hosts1 and despises the word of the ,holy ,one of ,israel4' ,change the name1 and the tale is told of us2 for it is 'righteousness that exalteth a nation1' and no single vice drags after it more infallibly such a multitude of attendant demons as the vice of drunkenness1 which is a crying sin of ,england to-day4 ,,vision ,,and ,,service ',in the year that king ,uzziah died ,i saw also the ,lord sitting upon a throne1 high and lifted up1 and ,his train filled the temple4 #b4 ,above it stood the seraphims3 each one had six wings2 with twain he covered his face1 and with twain he covered his feet1 and with twain he did fly4 #c4 ,and one cried unto another1 and said1 ,holy1 holy1 holy1 is the ,lord of ,hosts3 the whole earth is full of ,his glory4 #d4 ,and the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried1 and the house was filled with smoke4 #e4 ,then said ,i1 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips3 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4 #f4 ,then flew one of the seraphims onto me1 having a live coal in his hand1 which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar3 #g4 ,and he laid it upon my mouth1 and said1 ,lo1 this hath touched thy lips2 and thine iniquity is taken away1 and thy sin purged4 #h4 ,also ,i heard the voice of the ,lord1 saying1 ,whom shall ,i send1 and who will go for us8 ,then said ,i1 ,here am ,i2 send me4 #i4 ,and he said1 ,go1 and tell this people1 ,hear ye indeed1 but understand not2 and see ye indeed1 but perceive not4 #aj4 ,make the heart of this people fat1 and make their ears heavy1 and shut their eyes2 lest they see with their eyes1 and hear with their ears1 and understand with their heart1 and convert1 and be healed4 #aa4 ,then said ,i1 ,lord1 how long8 ,and he answered1 ,until the cities be wasted without inhabitant1 and the houses without man1 and the land be utterly desolate1 #ab4 ,and the ,lord have removed men far away1 and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land4 #ac4 ,but yet in it shall be a tenth1 and it shall return1 and shall be eaten3 as a tell tree1 and as an oak1 whose substance is in them1 when they cast their leaves3 so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof4'--,,isaiah vi4 #a-ac4 ,,we may deal with this text as falling into three parts3 the vision1 its effect on the prophet1 and his commission4 ,i4 ,the ,vision4--',in the year that ,king ,uzziah died' is more than a date for chronological accuracy4 ,it tells not only when1 but why1 the vision was given4 ,the throne of ,david was empty4 ,god never empties places in our homes and hearts1 or in the nation or the ,church1 without being ready to fill them4 ,he sometimes empties them that ,he may fill them4 ,sorrow and loss are meant to prepare us for the vision of ,god1 and their effect should be to purge the inward eye1 that it may see ,him4 ,when the leaves drop from the forest trees we can see the blue sky which their dense abundance hid4 ,well for us if the passing of all that can pass drives us to ,him who cannot pass1 if the unchanging ,god stands out more clear1 more near1 more dear1 because of change4 ,as to the substance of this vision1 we need not discuss whether1 if we had been there1 we should have seen anything4 ,it was doubtless related to ,isaiah's thoughts1 for ,god does not send visions which have no point of contact in the recipient4 ,however communicated1 it was a divine communication1 and a temporary unveiling of an eternal reality4 ,the form was transient1 but ,isaiah then saw for a moment 'the things which are' and always are4 ,the essential point of the vision is the revelation of ,jehovah as king of ,judah4 ,that relation guaranteed defence and demanded obedience4 ,it was a sure basis of hope1 but also a stringent motive to loyalty1 and it had its side of terror as well as of joyfulness4 ',you only have ,i known of all the families of the earth3 therefore ,i will punish you for all your iniquities4' ,the place of vision is the heavenly sanctuary of which the temple was a prophecy4 ,eminently significant and characteristic of the whole genius of the ,old ,testament is the absence of any description of the divine appearance4 ,the prophet saw things 'which it is not lawful for a man to utter1' and his silence is not only reverent1 but more eloquent than any attempt to put the ,ineffable into words4 ,even in this act of manifestation ,god was veiled1 and 'there was the hiding of ,his power4' ,the train of ,his robe can be spoken of1 but not the form which it concealed even in revealing it4 ,nature is the robe of ,god4 ,it hides while it discloses1 and discloses while it hides4 ,the hovering seraphim were in the attitude of service4 ,they are probably represented as fiery forms1 but are spoken of nowhere else in ,scripture4 ,the significance of their attitude has been well given by ,jewish commentators1 who say1 'with two he covered his face that he might not see1 and with two he covered his body that he might not be seen' and we may add1 'with two he stood ready for service1 by flight whithersoever the ,king would send4' ,such awe-stricken reverence1 such humble hiding of self1 such alacrity for swift obedience1 such flaming ardours of love and devotion1 should be ours4 ,their song celebrated the holiness and the glory of ,jehovah of hosts4 ,we must ever remember that the root-meaning of 'holiness' is separation1 and that the popular meaning of moral purity is secondary and derivative4 ,what is rapturously sung in the threefold invocation of the seraphs is the infinite exaltation of ,jehovah above all creatural conditions1 limitations1 and1 we may add1 conceptions4 ,that separation1 of course1 includes purity1 as may be seen from the immediate effect of the vision on the prophet1 but the conception is much wider than that4 ,very beautifully does the second line of the song re-knit the connection between ,jehovah and this world1 so far beneath ,him1 which the burst of praise of ,his holiness seems to sever4 ,the high heaven is a bending arch2 its inaccessible heights ray down sunshine and drop down rain1 and1 as in the physical world1 every plant grows by ,heaven's gift1 so in the world of humanity all wisdom1 goodness1 and joy are from the ,father of lights4 ,god's 'glory' is the flashing lustre of ,his manifested holiness1 which fills the earth as the train of the robe filled the temple4 ,the vibrations of that mighty hymn shook the 'foundations of the threshold' 7,rev4 ,ver47 with its thunderous harmonies4 ',the house was filled with smoke' which1 since it was an effect of the seraph's praise1 is best explained as referring to the fragrant smoke of incense which1 as we know1 symbolised 'the prayers of saints4' ,,ii4 ,the effect of the vision on the prophet4--,the vision kindled as with a flash ,isaiah's consciousness of sin4 ,he expressed it in regard to his words rather than his works1 partly because in one aspect speech is even more accurately than act a cast1 as it were1 of character1 and partly because he could not but feel the difference between the mighty music that burst from these pure and burning lips and the words that flowed from and soiled his own4 ,not only the consciousness of sin1 but the dread of personal evil consequences from the vision of the holy ,god1 oppressed his heart4 ,we see ourselves when we see ,god4 ,once flash on a heart the thought of ,god's holiness1 and1 like an electric search-light1 it discloses flaws which pass unnoticed in dimmer light4 ,the easy-going ,christianity1 which is the apology for religion with so many of us1 has no deep sense of sin1 because it has no clear vision of ,god4 ',i have heard of ,thee by the hearing of the ear2 but now mine eye seeth ,thee3 wherefore ,i abhor myself1 and repent in dust and ashes4' ,the next stage in ,isaiah's experience is that sin recognised and confessed is burned away4 ,cleansing rather than forgiveness is here emphasised4 ,the latter is1 of course1 included1 but the main point is the removal of impurity4 ,it is mediated by one of the seraphim1 who is the messenger of ,god1 which is just a symbolical way of saying that ,god makes penitents 'partakers of ,his holiness1' and that nothing less than a divine communication will make cleansing possible4 ,it is effected by a live coal4 ,fire is purifying1 and the ,new ,testament has taught us that the true cleansing fire is that of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,but that live coal was taken from the altar4 ,the atoning sacrifice has been offered there1 and our cleansing depends on the efficacy of that sacrifice being applied to us4 ,the third stage in the prophet's experience is the readiness for service which springs up in his purged heart4 ,god seeks for volunteers4 ,there are no pressed men in ,his army4 ,the previous experiences made ,isaiah quick to hear ,god's call1 and willing to respond to it by personal consecration4 ,take the motive-power of redemption from sin out of ,christianity1 and you break its mainspring1 so that the clock will only tick when it is shaken4 ,it is the ,christ who died for our sins to whom men say1 ',command what ,thou wilt1 and ,i obey4' ,,iii4 ,the prophet's commission4--,he was not sent on his work with any illusions as to its success1 but1 on the contrary1 he had a clear premonition that its effect would be to deepen the spiritual deafness and blindness of the nation4 ,we must remember that in ,scripture the certain effect of divine acts is uniformly regarded as a divine design4 ,israel was so sunk in spiritual deadness that the issue of the prophet's work would only be to immerse the mass of 'this people' farther in it4 ,to some more susceptible souls his message would be a true divine voice1 rousing them like a trumpet1 and that effect was what ,god desired2 but to the greater number it would deepen their torpor and increase their condemnation4 ,if men love darkness rather than light1 the coming of the light works only judgment4 ,isaiah recoils from the dreary prospect1 and feels that this dreadful hardening cannot be ,god's ultimate purpose for the nation4 ,so he humbly and wistfully asks how long it is to last4 ,the answer is twofold1 heavy with a weight of apparently utter ruin in its first part1 but disclosing a faint1 far-off gleam of hope on its second4 ,complete destruction1 and the casting of ,israel out from the land1 are to come4 ,but as1 though a goodly tree is felled1 a stump remains which has vital force 7or substance7 in it1 so1 even in the utmost apparent desperateness of ,israel's state1 there will be in it 'the holy seed1' the 'remnant1' the true ,israel1 from which again the life shall spring1 and stem and branches and waving foliage once more grow up4 ,,the ,,empty ,,throne ,,filled ',in the year that ,king ,uzziah died ,i saw also the ,lord sitting upon a throne1 high and lifted up1 and ,his train filled the temple4'--,,isaiah vi4 #a4 ,uzziah had reigned for fifty-two years1 during the greater part of which he and his people had been brilliantly prosperous4 ,victorious in war1 he was also successful in the arts of peaceful industry4 ,the later years of his life were clouded1 but on the whole the reign had been a time of great well-being4 ,his son and successor was a young man of five-and-twenty2 and when he came to the throne ominous war-clouds were gathering in the ,north1 and threatening to drift to ,judah4 ,no wonder that the prophet1 like other thoughtful patriots1 was asking himself what was to come in these anxious days1 when the helm was in new hands1 which1 perhaps1 were not strong enough to hold it4 ,like a wise man1 he took his thoughts into the sanctuary2 and there he understood4 ,as he brooded1 this great vision was disclosed to his inward eye4 ',in the year that ,king ,uzziah died' is a great deal more than a date for chronological purposes4 ,it tells us not only the when1 but the why1 of the vision4 ,the earthly king was laid in the grave2 but the prophet saw that the true ,king of ,israel was neither the dead ,uzziah nor the young ,jotham1 but the ,lord of hosts4 ,and1 seeing that1 fears and forebodings and anxieties and the sense of loss1 all vanished2 and new strength came to ,isaiah4 ,he went into the temple laden with anxious thoughts2 he came out of it with a springy step and a lightened heart1 and the resolve ',here am ,i2 send me4' ,there are some lessons that seem to me of great importance for the conduct of our daily life which may be gathered from this remarkable vision1 with the remarkable note of time that is appended to it4 ,now1 before ,i pass on1 let me remind you1 in a word1 of that apparently audacious commentary upon this great vision1 which the ,evangelist ,john gives us3 ',these things said ,esaias1 when he had beheld ,his glory and spake of ,him4' ,then the ,christ is the manifest ,jehovah2 is the ,king of ,glory4 ,then the vision which was but a transitory revelation is the revelation of an eternal reality1 and 'the vision splendid' does not 'fade but brightens1 into the light of common day'2 when instead of being flashed only on the inward eye of a prophet1 it is made flesh and walks amongst us1 and lives our life1 and dies our death4 ,our eyes have seen the ,king in as true a reality1 and in better fashion1 than ever ,isaiah did amid the sanctities of the ,temple4 ,and the eyes that have seen only the near foreground1 the cultivated valleys1 and the homes of men1 are raised1 and lo6 the long line of glittering peaks1 calm1 silent1 pure4 ,who will look at the valleys when the ,himalayas stand out1 and the veil is drawn aside8 ,i4 ,let me say a word or two about the ministration of loss and sorrow in preparing for the vision4 ,it was when ',king ,uzziah died' that the prophet 'saw the ,lord sitting upon the throne4' ,if the ,throne of ,israel had not been empty1 he would not have seen the throned ,god in the heavens4 ,and so it is with all our losses1 with all our sorrows1 with all our disappointments1 with all our pains2 they have a mission to reveal to us the throned ,god4 ,the possession of the things that are taken away from us1 the joys which our sorrows smite into dust1 have the same mission1 and the highest purpose of every good1 of every blessing1 of every possession1 of every gladness1 of all love--the highest mission is to lead us to ,him4 ,but1 just as men will frost a window1 so that the light may come in but the sight cannot go out1 so by our own fault and misuse of the good things which are meant to lead us up to1 and to show us1 ,god1 we frost and darken the window so that we cannot see what it is meant to show us4 ,and then a mighty and merciful hand shivers the painted glass into fragments1 because it has been dimming 'the white radiance of ,eternity4' ,and though the casement may look gaunt1 and the edges of the broken glass may cut and wound1 yet the view is unimpeded4 ,when the gifts that we have misused are withdrawn1 we can see the heaven that they too often hide from us4 ,when the leaves drop there is a wider prospect4 ,when the great tree is fallen there is opened a view of the blue above4 ,when the night falls the stars sparkle4 ,when other props are struck away we can lean our whole weight upon ,god4 ,when ,uzziah dies the ,king becomes visible4 ,is that what our sorrows1 our pains1 losses1 disappointments do for us8 ,well for those to whom loss is gain1 because it puts them in possession of the enduring riches6 ,well for those to whom the passing of all that can pass is a means of revealing ,him who 'is the same yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever'6 ,the message to us of all these our pains and griefs is ',come up hither4' ,in them all our ,father is saying to us1 ',seek ye ,my face4' ,well for those who answer1 ',thy face1 ,lord1 will ,i seek4 ,hide not ,thy face far from me4' ,let us take care that we do not waste our griefs and sorrows4 ,they absorb us sometimes with vain regrets4 ,they jaundice and embitter us sometimes with rebellious thoughts4 ,they often break the springs of activity and of interest in others1 and of sympathy with others4 ,but their true intention is to draw back the thin curtain1 and to show us 'the things that are1' the realities of the throned ,god1 the skirts that fill the ,temple1 the hovering seraphim1 and the coal from the altar that purges4 ,,ii4 ,let me suggest how our text shows us the compensation that is given for all losses4 ,as ,i have pointed out already1 the thought conveyed to the prophet by this vision was not only the general one1 of ,god's sovereign rule1 but the special one of ,his rule over and for1 and ,his protection of1 the orphan kingdom which had lost its king4 ,the vision took the special shape that the moment required4 ,it was because the earthly king was dead that the living1 heavenly ,king was revealed4 ,so there is just suggested by it this general thought1 that the consciousness of ,god's presence and work for us takes in each heart the precise shape that its momentary necessities and circumstances require4 ,that infinite fulness is of such a nature as that it will assume any form for which the weakness and the need of the dependent creature call4 ,like the one force which scientists now are beginning to think underlies all the various manifestations of energy in nature1 whether they be named light1 heat1 motion1 electricity1 chemical action1 or gravitation1 the one same vision of the throned ,god1 manifest in ,jesus ,christ1 is protean4 ,here it flames as light1 there burns as heat1 there flashes as electricity2 here as gravitation holds the atoms together1 there as chemical energy separated and decomposes them2 here results in motion1 there in rest2 but is the one force4 ,and so the one ,god will become everything and anything that every man1 and each man1 requires4 ,he shapes himself according to our need4 ,the water of life does not disdain to take the form imposed upon it by the vessel into which it is poured4 ,the ,jews used to say that the manna in the wilderness tasted to each man as each man desired4 ,and the ,god1 who comes to us all1 comes to us each in the shape that we need2 just as ,he came to ,isaiah in the manifestation of ,his kingly power1 because the throne of ,judah was vacated4 ,so when our hearts are sore with loss1 the ,new ,testament ,manifestation of the ,king1 even ,jesus ,christ1 comes to us and says1 ',the same is my mother and sister and brother1' and ,his sweet love compensates for the love that can die1 and that has died4 ,when losses come to us ,he draws near1 as durable riches and righteousness4 ,in all our pains ,he is our anodyne1 and in all our griefs ,he brings the comfort2 ,he is all in all1 and each withdrawn gift is compensated1 or will be compensated1 to each in ,him4 ,so1 dear friends1 let us learn ,god's purpose in emptying hearts and chairs and homes4 ,he empties them that ,he may fill them with ,himself4 ,he takes us1 if ,i might so say1 into the darkness1 as travellers to the south are to-day passing through ,alpine tunnels1 in order that ,he may bring us out into the land where ',god ,himself is sun and moon1' and where there are ampler ether and brighter constellations than in these lands where we dwell4 ,he means that1 when ,uzziah dies1 our hearts shall see the ,king4 ,and for all mourners1 for all tortured hearts1 for all from whom stays have been stricken and resources withdrawn1 the old word is true3 ',lord shew us the ,father1 and it sufficeth us4' ,let me recall to you what ,i have already insisted on more than once1 that the perfecting of this vision is in the historical fact of the ,incarnate ,son4 ,jesus ,christ shows us ,god4 ,jesus ,christ is the ,king of ,glory4 ,if we will go to ,him1 and fix our eyes and hearts on ,him1 then losses may come1 and we shall be none the poorer2 death may unclasp our hands from dear hands1 but ,he will close a dearer one round the hand that is groping for a stay2 and nothing can betaken away but ,he will more than fill the gap it leaves by ,his own sweet presence4 ,if our eyes behold the ,king1 if we are like ,john the ,seer in his rocky ,patmos1 and see the ,christ in ,his glory and royalty1 then ,he will lay ,his hands on us and say1 ',fear not6 ,weep not2 ,i am the ,first and the ,last1' and forebodings1 and fears1 and sense of loss will all be changed into trustfulness and patient submission4 ',seeing ,him1 who is invisible1' we shall be able to endure and to toil1 until the time when the vision of earth is perfected by the beholding of heaven4 ,blessed are they who with purged eyes see1 and with yielding hearts obey1 the heavenly vision1 and turn to the ,king and offer themselves for any service ,he may require1 saying1 ',here am ,i2 send me4' ,a ,,seraph',s ,,wings ',with twain he covered his face1 and with twain he covered his feet1 and with twain he did fly4'--,,isaiah vi4 #b4 ,this is the only mention in ,scripture of the seraphim4 ,i do not need to enter upon the much-debated1 and in some respects interesting1 question as to whether these are to be taken as identical with the cherubim1 or as to whether they are altogether imaginary and symbolical beings1 nor as to whether they are identical with the angels1 or part of their hierarchy4 ,all that may be left on one side4 ,i would only notice1 before ,i deal with the specific words of my text1 the significance of the name4 ,it means 'the flaming' or 'burning ones1' and so the attendants of the divine glory in the heavens1 whether they be real or imaginary beings1 are represented as flashing with splendour1 as full of swift energy1 like a flame of fire1 as glowing with fervid love1 as blazing with enthusiasm4 ,that is the type of the highest creatural being1 which stands closest to ,god4 ,there is no ice in ,his presence1 and the nearer we get to ,him in truth1 the more we shall glow and burn4 ,cold religion is a contradiction in terms1 though1 alas1 it is a reality in professors4 ,and so with that explanation1 and putting aside all these other questions1 let us gather up some1 at least1 of the lessons as to the essentials of worship1 and try to grasp the prophecy of the heavenly state1 given us in these words4 ,i4 ,the ,wings of ,reverence4 ,he covered his face1 or they covered their faces1 lest they should see4 ,as a man brought suddenly into the sunlight1 especially if out of a darkened chamber1 by an instinctive action shades his eyes with his hand1 so these burning creatures1 confronted with the still more fervid and fiery light of the divine nature1 fold one pair of their great white pinions over their shining faces1 even whilst they cry ',holy6 ,holy6 ,holy6 is the ,lord ,god ,almighty6' ,and does not that teach us the incapacity of the highest creature1 with the purest vision1 to gaze undazzled into the shining light of ,god8 ,i1 for my part1 do not believe that any conceivable extension of creatural faculties1 or any conceivable hallowing of creatural natures1 can make the creature able to gaze upon ,god4 ,i know that it is often said that the joy of the future life for men is what the theologians call 'the beatific vision1' in which there shall be direct sight of ,god1 using that word in its highest sense1 as applied to the perceptions of the spirit1 and not of the sense4 ,but ,i do not think the ,bible teaches us that4 ,it does teach us ',we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,but who is the ',him'8 ,jesus ,christ4 ,and1 in my belief1 ,jesus ,christ will1 to all eternity1 be the medium of manifesting ,god1 and there will remain1 to all eternity1 the incapacity which clogs creatures in time--' ,no man hath seen ,god at any time1 nor can see ,him4' ,but my text1 whilst it thus suggests solemn thoughts of a ,light that cannot be looked at with undazzled eyes1 does also suggest to us by contrast the possibility of far feebler-sighted and more sinful creatures than these symbolical seraphs coming into a ,presence in which ,god shall be manifest to them2 and they will need no veil drawn by themselves across their eyes4 ,god has veiled ,himself1 that 'we1 with unveiled faces1 beholding ,his glory1 may be changed into the same image4' ,so the seraph1 with his white wings folded before his eyes1 may at once stand to us as a parallel and a contrast to what the ,christian may expect4 ,we1 we can see ,jesus1 with no incapacity except such as may be swept away by ,his grace and our will4 ,and direct vision of the whole ,christ is the heaven of heaven1 even as the partial vision of the partially perceived ,christ is the sweetest sweetness of a life on earth4 ,there is no need for us to draw any screen between our happy eyes and the ,face in which we 'behold the glory as of the only ,begotten of the ,father4' ,all the tempering that the divine lustre needed has been done by ,him who veils ,his glory with the veil of ,christ's flesh1 and therein does away the need for any veil that we can draw4 ,but1 beyond that1 there is another consideration that ,i should like to suggest1 as taught us by the use of this first pair of the six wings1 and that is the absolute need for the lowliest reverence in our worship of ,god4 ,it is strange1 but true1 ,i am afraid1 that the ,christian danger is to weaken the sense of the majesty and splendour and separation of ,god from ,his creatures4 ,and all that is good in the ,christian revelation may be so abused as that there shall come1 what ,i am sure does in effect sometimes come1 a terrible lack of due reverence in our so-called worship4 ,what does that lofty chorus of ',holy6 ,holy6 ,holy6' that burst from those immortal lips mean but the declaration that ,god is high above1 and separate from1 all limitations and imperfections of creatures8 ,and we ,christians1 who hear it re-echoed in the very last ,book of ,scripture by the four-and-twenty elders who represent redeemed humanity1 have need to take heed that we do not lose our reverence in our confidence1 and that we do not part with godly fear in our filial love4 ,if one looks at a congregation of professing ,christians engaged in their worship1 does not one feel and see that there is often a carelessness and shallowness1 a want of realisation of the majesty and sanctity and tremendousness of that ,father to whom we draw near8 ,brethren1 if a seraph hides his face1 surely it becomes us to see to it that1 since we worship a ,god who is a consuming fire1' we serve ,him with far deeper 'reverence and godly fear' than ordinarily mark our devotions4 ,,ii4 ,the ,wings of ,humility4 ',with twain he covered his feet4' ,the less comely and inferior parts of that fiery corporeity were veiled lest they should be seen by the ,eyes that see all things4 ,the wings made no screen that hid the seraph's feet from the eye of ,god1 but it was the instinctive lowly sense of unworthiness that folded them across the feet1 even though they1 too1 burned as a furnace4 ,the nearer we get to ,god1 the more we shall be aware of our limitations and unworthiness1 and it is because that vision of the ,lord sitting on ',his throne1 high and lifted up1' with the thrilling sense of ,his glory filling the holy temple of the universe1 does not burn before us that we can conceit ourselves to have anything worth pluming ourselves upon4 ,once lift the curtain1 once let my eye be flooded with the sight of ,god1 and away goes all my self-conceit1 and all my fancied superiority above others4 ,one little molehill is pretty nearly the same height as another1 if you measure them both against the top of the ,himalayas1 that lie in the background1 with their glittering peaks of snow4 ',star differeth from star in glory' in a winter's night1 but when the great sun swims into the sky1 they all vanish together4 ,if you and ,i saw ,god burning before us1 as ,isaiah saw ,him1 we should veil ourselves1 and lose all that which so often veils ,him from us--the fancy that we are anything when we are nothing4 ,and the nearer we get to ,god1 and the purer we are1 the more shall we be keenly conscious of our imperfections and our sins4 ',if ,i say ,i am perfect1' said ,job in his wise way1 'this also should prove me perverse4' ,consciousness of sin is the continual accompaniment of growth in holiness4 ',the heavens are not pure in ,his sight1 and ,he chargeth ,his angels with folly4' ,everything looks black beside that sovereign whiteness4 ,get ,god into your lives1 and you will see that the feet need to be washed1 and you will cry1 ',lord6 not my feet only1 but my hands and my head6' ,,iii4 ,lastly-,the ,wings for ,service4 ',with twain he did fly4' ,that is the emblem of joyous1 buoyant1 unhindered motion4 ,it is strongly1 sadly contrary to the toilsome limitations of us heavy creatures who have no wings1 but can at best run on ,his service1 and often find it hard to 'walk with patience in the way that is set before us4' ,but--service with wings1 or service with lame feet1 it matters not4 ,whosoever1 beholding ,god1 has found need to hide his face from that ,light even whilst he comes into the ,light1 and to veil his feet from the all-seeing ,eye1 will also feel impulses to go forth in ,his service4 ,for the perfection of worship is neither the consciousness of my own insufficiency1 nor the humble recognition of ,his glory1 nor the great voice of praise that thrilled from those immortal lips1 but it is the doing of ,his will in daily life4 ,some people say the service of man is the service of ,god4 ,yes1 when it is service of man1 done for ,god's sake1 it is so1 and only then4 ,the old motto1 ',work is worship1' may preach a great truth or a most dangerous error4 ,but there is no possibility of error or danger in maintaining this3 that the climax and crown of all worship1 whether for us footsore servants upon earth1 or for these winged attendants on the throne of the ,king in the heavens1 is activity in obedience4 ,and that is what is set before us here4 ,now1 dear brethren1 we1 as ,christians1 have a far higher motive for service than the seraphs had4 ,we have been redeemed1 and the spirit of the old ,psalm should animate all our obedience3 ',o ,lord1 truly ,i am ,thy servant4' ,why8 ,the next clause tells us3 ',thou hast loosed my bonds4' ,the seraphs could not say that1 and therefore our obedience1 our activity in doing the will of the ,father in heaven1 should be more buoyant1 more joyful1 more swift1 more unrestricted than even theirs4 ,the seraphim were winged for service even while they stood above the throne and pealed forth their thunderous praise which shook the ,temple4 ,may we not discern in that a hint of the blessed blending of two modes of worship which will be perfectly united in heaven1 and which we should aim at harmonising even on earth8 ',his servants serve ,him and see ,his face4' ,there is possible1 even on earth1 some foretaste of the perfection of that heavenly state in which no worship in service shall interfere with the worship in contemplation4 ,mary1 sitting at ,christ's feet1 and ,martha1 busy in providing for ,his comfort1 may be1 to a large extent1 united in us even here1 and will be perfectly so hereafter1 when the practical and the contemplative1 the worship of noble aspiration1 of heart-filling gazing1 and that of active service shall be indissolubly blended4 ,the seraphs sang ',holy6 ,holy6 ,holy6' but they1 and all the hosts of heaven1 learn a new song from the experience of earth1 and redeemed men are the chorus-leaders of the perfected and eternal worship of the heavens4 ,for we read that it is the four-and-twenty elders who begin the song and sing to the ,lamb that redeemed them by ,his blood1 and that the living creatures and all the hosts of the angels to that song can but say ',amen6' ,,the ,,making ,,of ,a ,,prophet ',then said ,i1 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips3 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4'--,,isaiah vi4 #e4 ,in previous pages we have seen how ,isaiah's vision of ,jehovah throned in the ,temple1 'high and lifted up1' derived significance from the time of its occurrence4 ,it was 'in the year that' the earthly ,king 'died' that the heavenly ,king was revealed4 ,the passing of the transient prepared the way for the revelation of the ,eternal1 and the revelation of the ,eternal more than compensated for the passing of the transient4 ,but strengthening and calming as these thoughts are1 they by no means exhaust the purpose of the vision1 nor do they describe all its effects on the recipient4 ,these were1 first and immediately1 the consciousness of unworthiness and sin1 expressed in the words that ,i have taken for my text4 ,then came the touch of the 'live coal from the altar1' laid on the unclean lips by the seraph2 and on that followed willing surrender for a perilous service4 ,these three stages flowing from the vision of ,god1 recognition of sin1 experience of purging1 abandonment to obedience and service1 must be repeated in us all1 if we are to live worthy lives4 ,there may be much that is beautiful and elevating and noble without these2 but unless in some measure we pass through the prophet's experience1 we shall fail to reach the highest possibilities of beauty and of service that open before us4 ,so ,i wish to consider1 very simply1 these three stages in my remarks now4 ,i4 ,if we see ,god we shall see our sin4 ,there came on the prophet1 as in a flash1 the two convictions1 one which he learned from the song of the seraphs1 ringing in music through the ,temple1 and one which rose up1 like an answering note from the voice of conscience within4 ,they sang ',holy6 holy6 holy6 ,lord ,god ,almighty4' ,and what was the response to that1 in the prophet's heart8--',i am unclean4' ,each major note has a corresponding minor1 and the triumphant doxology of the seraph wakes in the hearer's conscience the lowly confession of personal unlikeness to the holiness of ,god4 ,it was not joy that sprang in ,isaiah's heart when he saw the throned ,king1 and heard the proclamation of ,his name4 ,it was not reverence merely that bowed his head in the dust1 but it was the awakened consciousness1 ',thou art holy2 and now that ,i understand1 in some measure1 what ,thy holiness means1 ,i look on myself and ,i say1 unclean6 unclean6' ,the prophet's confession assumes a form which may strike us as somewhat singular4 ,why is it that he speaks of 'unclean lips1' rather than of an unclean heart8 ,i suppose partly because1 in a very deep sense1 a man's words are more accurately a cast1 as it were1 from a man's character than even his actions1 and partly because the immediate occasion of his confession was the words of the seraphim1 and he could not but contrast what came burning from their pure lips with what had trickled from1 and soiled1 his own4 ,but1 however expressed1 the consciousness of personal unlikeness to the holiness of ,god is the first result1 and the instantaneous result1 of any real apprehension of that holiness1 and of any true vision of ,him4 ,like some search-light flung from a ship over the darkling waters1 revealing the dark doings of the enemy away out yonder in the night1 the thought of ,god and ,his holiness streaming in upon a man's soul1 if it does so in any adequate measure1 is sure to disclose the heaving waters and the skulking foes that are busy in the dark4 ,but it was not only the consciousness of sinfulness and antagonism that woke up instantaneously in response to that vision of the holy ,god4 ,it was likewise a shrinking apprehension of personal evil from contact of ,god's light with ,isaiah's darkness4 ',who shall ascend into the hill of the ,lord8 ,he that hath clean hands and a pure heart4' ,what is to become1 then1 of the man that has neither the one nor the other8 ,the experience of all the world witnesses that whenever there comes1 in reality1 or in a man's conceptions or fancy1 the contact of the supernatural1 as it is called1 with the natural1 there is a shrinking1 a sense of eerieness1 an apprehension of vague possibilities of evil4 ,the sleeping snake that is coiled in every soul stirs and begins to heave in its bulk1 and wake1 when the thought of a holy ,god comes into the heart4 ,now1 ,i do not suppose that consciousness of sin is the whole explanation of that universal human feeling1 but ,i am very sure it is an element in it1 and ,i suspect that if there were no sin1 there would be no shrinking4 ,at all events1 be that as it may1 these are the two thoughts that1 involuntarily and spontaneously and immediately1 sprang in this man's heart when his purged eyes saw the ,king on ,his throne4 ,he did not leap up with gladness at the vision4 ,its consolatory and its strengthening aspects were not the first that impinged upon his eye1 or upon his consciousness1 but the first thing was an instinctive recoil1 ',woe is me2 ,i am undone4' ,now1 brethren1 ,i venture to think that one main difference between shallow religion and real is to be found here1 that the dim1 far-off vision1 if we may venture to call it so1 which serves the most of us for a sight of ,god1 leaves us quite complacent1 and with very slight and superficial conceptions of our own evil1 and that if once we saw1 in so far as it is possible for humanity to-day to see1 ,god as ,he is1 and heard in the depths of our hearts that ',holy6 holy6 holy6' from the burning seraphim1 the easy-going1 self-satisfied judgment of ourselves which too many of us cherish would be utterly impossible2 and would disappear1 shrivelled up utterly in the light of ,god4 ',i have heard of ,thee by the hearing of the ear1' said ,job1 'but now mine eye seeth ,thee2 therefore ,i abhor myself1 and repent in dust and ashes4' ,a hearsay ,god and a self-complacent beholder--a ,god really seen1 and a man down in the dust before ,him6 ,has that vision ever blazed in on you8 ,and if it has1 has not the light shown you the seaminess of much in which a dimmer light detects no flaws or stains8 ,thank ,god if1 having seen ,him1 you see yourselves4 ,if you have not felt1 ',i am unclean and undone1' depend upon it1 your knowledge of ,god is faint and dim1 and ,he is rather ,one heard of from the lips of others than realised in your own experience4 ,,ii4 ,again1 note the second stage here1 in the education of a soul for service--the sin1 recognised and repented1 is burned away4 ',then flew one of the seraphim unto me1 having a live coal in his hand1 which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar2 and he laid it upon my mouth1 and said1 ,lo6 this hath touched thy lips2 and thine iniquity is taken away1 and thy sin purged4' ,now1 ,i would notice as to this stage of the process1 first1 that ,isaiah singularly passes beyond all the old ritual in which he had been brought up1 and recognises another kind of cleansing than that which it embodied4 ,he had got beyond the ritual to what the ritual meant4 ,we have passed beyond the ritual1 too1 by another process2 and1 though ,i would by no means read full1 plain1 articulate ,christian thought into the vision of ,isaiah--which would be an anachronism1 and unfaithful to the gradual historical development of the idea and means of redemption--yet ,i cannot help pointing to the fact that1 even although this vision is located as seen in the ,temple1 there is not a single reference 7except that passing allusion to the altar7 to the ritual of the ,temple1 but the cleansing comes in another fashion altogether4 ,but far more important than that thought is the human condition that is required ere this cleansing can be realised4 ',i am a man of unclean lips4' ',i am undone6' ,it was because that conviction and confession sprang in the prophet's consciousness that the seraph winged his way with the purifying fire in his hands4 ,which being translated is just this3 faith alone will not bring cleansing4 ,there must go with it what we call1 in our ,christian phraseology1 repentance1 which is but the recognition of my own antagonism to the holiness of ,god1 and the resolve to turn my back on my own past self4 ,now1 it seems to me that a great deal of what is called1 and in a sense is1 ,evangelical teaching1 fails to represent the full counsel of ,god1 in the matter of man's redemption1 because it puts a one-sided emphasis on faith1 and slurs over the accompanying idea of repentance4 ,and ,i am here to say that a trust in ,jesus ,christ1 which is unaccompanied by a profound penitent consciousness and abhorrence of one's own sins1 and a resolve to turn away from them for the time to come1 is not a faith which will bring either pardon or cleansing4 ,we do not need to have less said about trust2 we need to have a great deal more said about repentance4 ,you have to learn what it is to say1 ',i abhor myself'2 you have to learn what it is to say1 ',i will turn right round1 and leave all that past behind me2 and go in the opposite direction'2 or the faith which you say you are exercising will neither save nor cleanse your souls nor your lives4 ,again1 note that we have here set forth most strikingly the other great truth that1 side by side1 and as closely synchronous as the flash and the peal1 as soon as the consciousness of sin and the aversion from it spring in a man's heart1 the seraph's wings are set in motion4 ,remember that beautiful old story in the historical books1 of how the erring king1 brought to sanity and repentance by ,nathan's apologue1 put all his acknowledgments in these words1 ',i have sinned against the ,lord'2 and how the confession was not out of his lips1 nor had died in its vibration in the atmosphere1 before the prophet1 with divine authority1 replied with equal brevity and completeness1 and as if the two sayings were parts of one sentence1 ',and the ,lord hath made to pass the iniquity of thy sin4' ,that is all4 ,simultaneous are the two things4 ,to confess is to be forgiven1 and the moment that the consciousness of sin rises in the heart1 that moment does the heavenly messenger come to still and soothe4 ,still further1 notice how the cleansing comes as a divine gift4 ,it is purifying1 much more than pardon1 that is set forth in the symbolical incident before us4 ,the seraph is the divine messenger1 and he brings a coal from the altar1 and lays that upon the prophet's lips1 which is but the symbolical way of saying that the man who is conscious of his own evil will find in himself a blessed despair of being his own healer1 and that he has to turn to the divine source1 the vision of which has kindled the consciousness1 to find there that which will take away the evil4 ,the ,lord is ',he that healeth us4' ,but1 further1 the cleansing is by fire4 ,by which1 as ,i suppose1 in the present context1 and at ,isaiah's stage of religious knowledge and experience1 we are to understand that great thought that ,god burns away our sins1 as you put a piece of foul clay into the fire1 and the stain melts from the surface like a dissipating cloud as the heat finds its way into the substance4 ',he will baptize with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire'--a fire that quickens4 ,a new impulse will be granted1 which will become the life of the sinful man's life1 and will emancipate him from the power of his own darkness and evil4 ,now1 let us remember that we have the fulness of all that was shadowed to the prophet in this vision1 and that the reality of every one of these emblems is gathered together--if ,i may so say--not with confusion1 but with abundance and opulence in ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,is ,he not the seraph8 ,is ,he not ,himself the burning coal8 ,is ,he not the altar from which it is taken8 ,all that is needed to make the foulest clean is given in ,christ's great work4 ,brethren1 we shall never understand the deepest secret of ,christ and of ,christianity until we learn and hold fast by the conviction that the central work of ,jesus is to deal with man's sin2 and that whatever else ,christianity is1 it is first and foremost ,god's way of redeeming the world1 and making it possible for the unholy to dwell with ,his holy self4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 and only a word1 the third stage here is--the purged spirit is ready for service4 ,god did not bid the prophet go on ,his mission till the prophet had voluntarily accepted the mission4 ,he said1 ',who will go for us8' ,he wants no pressed men in ,his army4 ,he does not work with reluctant servants4 ,there is1 first1 the yielding of the will1 and then there is the enduement with the privilege of service4 ,the prophet1 having passed through the preceding experiences1 had thereby received a quick ear to hear ,god's calling for volunteers4 ,and we shall not hear ,him asking ',who will go8' unless we have1 in our measure1 passed through similar experiences4 ,it will be a test of having done so1 of our having been purged from our evil1 if1 when other people think that it is only ,eli speaking1 we know that it is the ,lord that has called us1 and say1 ',here am ,i4' ,for such experiences as ,i have been describing do influence the will1 and mould the heart1 and make it a delight to do ,god's commandments1 and to execute ,his purpose1 and to be the ministers of ,his great ,word4 ,some of us are willing to say that we have learned ,god's holiness2 that we have seen and confessed our sins2 that we have received pardon and cleansing4 ,have these experiences made you ready for any service8 ,have they made your will flexible--made you dethrone yourself1 and enthrone the ,king whom the prophet saw8 ,if they have1 they are genuine2 if they have not1 they are not4 ,submission of will2 glorying in being the instrument of the divine purpose2 ears sharpened to catch ,his lowest whisper2 eyes that1 like those of a dog fixed on his master1 watch for the faintest indication from his guiding eye--these are the infallible tests and signs of having had lips and heart touched with the live coal that burns away our uncleanness4 ,so1 friends1 would that ,i could flash upon every conscience that vision6 ,but you can do so for yourselves4 ,let me beseech you to bring yourselves honestly into that solemn light of the character of ,god1 and to ask yourselves1 ',how can two walk together except they be agreed8' ,do not put away such thoughts with any shallow1 easy-going talk about how ,god is good and will not be hard upon a poor fellow that has tried to do his best4 ,god is good2 ,god is love4 ,but divine goodness and love cannot find a way by which the unclean shall dwell with the clean4 ,what then8 ,this then--,jesus ,christ has come4 ,we may be made clean if we trust in ,him1 and forsake our sins4 ,he will touch the heart and lips with the fire of ,his own ,spirit1 and then it will be possible to dwell with the everlasting burnings of that flaming fire which is a holy ,god4 ,blessed are they that have seen the vision2 blessed they that have felt it disclosing their own sins2 blessed they whose hearts have been purged4 ,blessed most of all they who1 educated and trained through these experiences1 have taken this as the motto of their lives1 ',here am ,i2 send me4' ,,shiloah ,,and ,,euphrates ,forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of ,shiloah that go softly 444 the ,lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river1 strong and many4' ,,isaiah viii4 #f1 #g4 ,the kingdom of ,judah was threatened with a great danger in an alliance between ,israel and ,damascus4 ,the cowardly ,king ,ahaz1 instead of listening to ,isaiah's strong assurances and relying on the help of ,god1 made what he thought a master-stroke of policy in invoking the help of the formidable ,assyrian power4 ,that ambitious military monarchy was eager to find an excuse for meddling in the politics of ,syria1 and nothing loath1 marched an army down on the backs of the invaders1 which very soon compelled them to hasten to ,judah in order to defend their own land4 ,but1 as is always the case1 the help invoked was his ruin4 ,like all conquering powers1 once having got its foot inside the door1 ,assyria soon followed bodily4 ,first ,damascus and ,israel were ravaged and subdued1 and then ,judah4 ,that kingdom only purchased the privilege of being devoured last4 ,like the ,spaniards in ,mexico1 the ,saxons in ,england1 the ,english in a hundred ,indian territories1 the allies that came to help remained to conquer1 and ,judah fell1 as we all know4 ,this is the simple original application of these words4 ,they are a declaration that in seeking for help from others ,judah was forsaking ,god1 and that the helper would become ruler1 and the ruler an oppressive tyrant4 ,the waters of ,shiloah that go softly stand as an emblem of the ,davidic monarchy as ,god meant it to be1 and1 since that monarchy was itself a prophecy1 they therefore represent the kingdom of ,god or the ,messianic ,king4 ,the 'waters strong and many' are those of the ,euphrates1 which swells and overflows and carries havoc1 and are taken as the emblem of the wasting sweep of the ,assyrian king1 whose capital stood on its banks4 ,but while thus there is a plain piece of political history in the words1 they are also the statement of general principles which apply to every individual soul and its relations to the kingdom1 the gentle kingdom1 of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,i4 ,the ,gentle ,kingdom4 ,that little brooklet slipping quietly along2 what a striking image of the ,kingdom of ,jesus ,christ6 ,it suggests the character of the ,king1 the 'meek and lowly in heart4' ,it suggests the manner of ,his rule as wielded in gentleness and exercising no compulsion but that of love4 ,it suggests the blessed results of ,his reign under the image of the fertility1 freshness1 and beauty which spring up wherever 'the river cometh4' ,that kingdom we are all summoned to enter4 ,,ii4 ,the ,rejection of the ,kingdom4 ,strange and awful fact that men do turn away from it and ,him4 ,in what does rejection consist8 ,in not trusting in ,his power to help and deliver4 ,in seeking help from other sources4 ,this rejection is often unconscious on the part of men who are guilty of it4 ,,iii4 ,the ,allies who are preferred to the gentle ,king4 ,the crowd of worldly things4 ,what is to be noticed is that at first the preference seems to answer and be all right4 ,,iv4 ,the ,allies becoming ,tyrants4 ,the swift ,euphrates in spate4 ,that is what the rejecters have chosen for themselves4 ,better to have lived by ,shiloah than to have built their houses by the side of such a raging stream4 ,mark how this is a divine retribution indeed1 but a natural process too4 7a7 ,if ,christ does not rule us1 a mob of tyrants will4 ,our own passions4 ,our own evil habits4 ,the fascinating sins around us4 7b7 ,they soon cease to seem helpers1 and become tyrants4 ,how quickly the pleasure of sin disappears--like some bird that loses its gay plumage as it grows old4 ,how stern becomes the necessity to obey2 how great the difficulty of breaking off evil habits6 ,so a man becomes the slave of his own lusts1 of his indulged tastes1 which rise above all restraints and carry away all before them1 like the ,euphrates in flood4 ,fertility is turned to barrenness2 a foul deposit of mud overlays the soil2 houses on the sand are washed away2 corpses float on the tawny wave4 ,the soul that rejects ,christ's gentle sway is harried and laid waste by a mob of base-born tyrants4 ,we have to make our choice--either ,christ or these2 either a service which is freedom1 or an apparent freedom which is slavery2 either a worship which exalts1 or a worship which embrutes4 ',if the ,son make you free1 ye shall be free indeed4' ',there is a river1 the streams whereof make glad the city of ,god4' ,it is peaceful to pitch our tents beside its calm flow1 whereon shall go no hostile fleets1 and whence we shall but pass to the city above1 in the midst of the street whereof the 'river of water of life1 clear as crystal1 proceeds out of the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb4' ,,the ,,kingdom ,,and ,,the ,,king ',the people that walked in darkness hare seen a great light3 they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death1 upon them hath the light shined4 #c4 ,thou hast multiplied the nation1 and not increased the joy3 they joy before ,thee according to the joy in harvest1 and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil4 #d4 ,for ,thou hast broken the yoke of ,his burden1 and the staff of ,his shoulder1 the rod of ,his oppressor1 as in the day of ,midian4 #e4 ,for every battle of the warrior is with confused noise1 and garments rolled in blood3 but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire4 #f4 ,for unto us a ,child is born1 unto us a ,son is given3 and the government shall be upon ,his shoulder3 and ,his name shall be called ,wonderful1 ,counsellor1 ,the mighty ,god1 ,the everlasting ,father1 ,the ,prince of ,peace4 #g4 ,of the increase of ,his government and peace there shall be no end1 upon the throne of ,david1 and upon ,his kingdom1 to order it1 and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever4 ,the zeal of the ,lord of hosts will perform this4'--,,isaiah ix4 #b-g4 ,the darker the cloud1 the brighter is the rainbow4 ,this prophecy has for its historical background the calamitous reign of the weak and wicked ,ahaz1 during which the heart of the nation was bowed1 like a forest before the blast1 by the dread of foreign invasion and conquest4 ,the prophet predicts a day of gloom and anguish1 and then1 out of the midst of his threatenings1 bursts this glorious vision1 sudden as sunrise4 ,with consummate poetic art1 the consequences of ,messiah's rule are set forth before ,he ,himself is brought into view4 ,i4 ,image is heaped on image to tell the blessedness of that reign 7vs4 #b-e74 ,each trait of the glowing description is appropriate to the condition of ,israel under ,ahaz2 but each has a meaning far beyond that limited application4 ,isaiah may1 or may not1 have been aware of 'what' or 'what time' his words portrayed in their deepest1 that is1 their true meaning1 but if we believe in supernatural prediction which1 though it may have found its point of attachment in the circumstances of the present1 was none the less the voice of the ,spirit of ,god1 we shall not make1 as is often done now1 the prophet's construction of his words the rule for their interpretation4 ,what the prophecy was discerned to point to by its utterer or his contemporaries1 is one thing2 quite another is what ,god meant by it4 ,first we have the picture of the nation groping in a darkness that might be felt1 the emblem of ignorance1 sin1 and sorrow1 and inhabiting a land over which1 like a pall1 death cast its shadow4 ,on that dismal gloom shines all at once a 'great light1' the emblem of knowledge1 purity1 and joy4 ,the daily mercy of the dawn has a gospel in it to a heart that believes in ,god2 for it proclaims the divine will that all who sit in darkness shall be enlightened1 and that every night but prepares the way for the freshness and stir of a new morning4 ,the great prophecy of these verses in its indefiniteness goes far beyond its immediate occasion in the state of ,judah under ,ahaz4 ,as surely as the dawn floods all lands1 so surely shall all who walk in darkness see the great light2 and wherever is a 'land of the shadow of death1' there shall the light shine4 ,it is 'the light of the world4' ,verse #c gives another phase of blessing4 ,israel is conceived of as dwindled in number by deportation and war4 ,but the process of depopulation is arrested and reversed1 and numerical increase1 which is always a prominent feature in ,messianic predictions1 is predicted4 ,that increase follows the dawning of the light1 for men will flock to the 'brightness of its rising4' ,we know that the increase comes from the attractive power of the ,cross1 drawing men of many tongues to it2 and we have a right to bring the interpretation1 which the world's history gives1 into our understanding of the prophecy4 ,that enlarged nation is to have abounding joy4 ,undoubtedly1 the rendering ',to it thou hast increased the joy' is correct1 as that of the ,authorized ,version 7based upon the ,hebrew text7 is clearly one of several cases in which the partial similarity in spelling and identity in sound of the ,hebrew words for 'not' and 'to it1' have led to a mistaken reading4 ,the joy is described in words which dance and sing1 like the gladness of which they tell4 ,the mirth of the harvest-field1 when labour is crowned with success1 and the sterner joy of the victors as they part the booty1 with which mingles the consciousness of foes overcome and dangers averted1 are blended in this gladness4 ,we have the joy of reaping a harvest of which we have not sowed the seed4 ,christ has done that2 we have but to enjoy the results of ,his toil4 ,we have to divide the spoil of a victory which we have not won4 ,he has bound the strong man1 and we share the benefits of ,his overcoming the world4 ,that last image of conquerors dividing the spoil leads naturally to the picture in verse #d of emancipation from bondage1 as the result of a victory like ,gideon's with his handful4 ,who the ,gideon of this new triumph is1 the prophet will not yet say4 ,the 'yoke of his burden' and 'the rod of his oppressor' recall ,egypt and the taskmasters4 ,verse #e gives the reason for the deliverance of the slaves2 namely1 the utter destruction of the armour and weapons of their enemy4 ,the ,revised ,version is right in its rendering1 though it may be doubtful whether its margin is not better than its text1 since not only are 'boot' and 'booted' as probable renderings of the doubtful words as 'armour' and 'armed man1' but the picture of the warrior striding into battle with his heavy boots is more graphic than the more generalised description in the ,revised ,version's text4 ,in any case1 the whole accoutrements of the oppressor are heaped into a pile and set on fire2 and1 as they blaze up1 the freed slaves exult in their liberty4 ,the blood-drenched cloaks have been stripped from the corpses and tossed on the heap1 and1 saturated as they are1 they burn4 ,so complete is the victory that even the weapons of the conquered are destroyed4 ,our conquering ,king has been manifested1 that ,he might annihilate the powers by which evil holds us bound4 ,his victory is not by halves4 ',he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted4' ,,ii4 ,now we are ready to ask1 ,and who is to do all this8 ,the guarantee for its accomplishment is the person of the conquering ,messiah4 ,the hopes of ,israel did not1 and those of the world do not1 rest on tendencies1 principles1 laws of progress1 advance of civilisation1 or the like abstractions or impersonalities1 but on a living ,person1 in whom all principles which make for righteousness and blessedness for individuals and communities are incarnated1 and whose vital action works perpetually in mankind4 ,in this prophecy the prophet is plainly speaking greater things than he knew4 ,we do not get to the meaning if we only ask ourselves what did he understand by his words1 or what did his hearers gather from them8 ,they and he would gather the certainty of the coming of ,messiah with wondrous attributes of power and divine gifts1 by whose reign light1 gladness1 liberty would belong to the oppressed nation4 ,but the depth of the prophecy needed the history of the ,incarnation for its disclosure4 ,if this is not a ,god-given prediction of the entrance into human form of the divine1 it is something very like miraculous that1 somehow or other1 words should have been spoken1 without any such reference1 which fit so closely to the supernatural fact of ,christ's incarnation4 ,the many attempts to translate verse #f so as to get rid of the application of ',mighty ,god1' ',everlasting ,father1' to ,messiah1 cannot here be enumerated or adequately discussed4 ,i must be content with pointing out the significance of the august fourfold name of the victor ,king4 ,it seems best to take the two first titles as a compound name1 and so to recognise four such compounds4 ,there is a certain connection between the first and second of these which respectively lay stress on wisdom of plan and victorious energy of accomplishment1 while the third and fourth are also connected1 in that the former gathers into one great and tender name what ,messiah is to ,his people1 and the latter points to the character of ,his dominion throughout the whole earth4 ',a wonder of a counsellor1' as the words may be rendered1 not only suggests ,his giving wholesome direction to ,his people1 but1 still more1 the mystery of the wisdom which guides ,his plans4 ,truly1 ,jesus purposes wonders in the depth of ,his redeeming design4 ,he intends to do great things1 and to reach them by a road which none would have imagined4 ,the counsel to save a world1 and that by dying for it1 is the miracle of miracles4 ',who hath been ,his counsellor in that overwhelming wonder8' ,he needs no teacher2 ,he is ,himself the teacher of all truth4 ,all may have ,his direction1 and they who follow it will not walk in darkness4 ',the mighty ,god4' ,chapter x4 #ba absolutely forbids taking this as anything lower than the divine name4 ,the prophet conceives of ,messiah as the earthly representative of divinity1 as having ,god with and in ,him as no other man has4 ,we are not to force upon the prophet the full new ,testament doctrine of the oneness of the incarnate ,word with the ,father1 which would be an anachronism4 ,but we are not to fall into the opposite error1 and refuse to see in these words1 so startling from the lips of a rigid monotheist1 a real prophecy of a divine ,messiah1 dimly as the utterer may have perceived the figure which he painted4 ,note1 too1 that the word 'mighty' implies victorious energy in battle4 ,it is often applied to human heroes1 and here carries warlike connotations1 kindred with the previous picture of conflict and victory4 ,thus strength as of ,god1 and1 in some profound way1 strength which is divine1 will be the hand obeying the brain that counsels wonder1 and all ,his plans shall be effected by it4 ,but these are not all ,his qualities4 ,he is 'the ,father of ,eternity'--a name in which tender care and immortal life are marvellously blended4 ,this ,king will be in reality what1 in old days1 monarchs often called themselves and seldom were1--the ,father of ,his people1 with all the attributes of that sacred name1 such as guidance1 love1 providing for ,his children's wants4 ,nor can ,christians forget that ,jesus is the source of life to them1 and that the name has thus a deeper meaning4 ,further1 ,he is possessed of eternity4 ,if ,he is so closely related to ,god as the former name implies1 that predicate is not wonderful4 ,dying men need and have an undying ,christ4 ,he is 'the same yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever4' ,the whole series of names culminates in 'the ,prince of ,peace1' which ,he is by virtue of the characteristics expressed in the foregoing names4 ,the name pierces to the heart of ,christ's work4 ,for the individual ,he brings peace with ,god1 peace in the else discordant inner nature1 peace amid storms of calamity--the peace of submission1 of fellowship with ,god1 of self-control1 of received forgiveness and sanctifying4 ,for nations and civic communities ,he brings peace which will one day hush the tumult of war1 and burn chariots and all warlike implements in the fire4 ,the vision tarries1 because ,christ's followers have not been true to their ,master's mission1 but it comes1 though its march is slow4 ,we can hasten its arrival4 ,verses #g and #h declare the perpetuity of ,messiah's kingdom1 ,his ,davidic descent1 and those characteristics of ,his reign1 which guarantee its perpetuity4 ',judgment' which ,he exercises1 and 'righteousness' which ,he both exercises and bestows1 are the pillars on which ,his throne stands2 and these are eternal1 and it never will totter nor sink1 as earthly thrones must do4 ,the very life-blood of prophecy1 as of religion1 is the conviction that righteousness outlasts sin1 and will survive 'the wreck of matter and the crash of worlds4' ,the great guarantee for these glowing anticipations is that the 'zeal of the ,lord of hosts' will accomplish them4 ,zeal1 or rather jealousy1 is love stirred to action by opposition4 ,it tolerates no unfaithfulness in the object of its love1 and flames up against all antagonism to the object4 ',he that toucheth you1 toucheth the apple of ,mine eye4' ,so the subjects of that ,messiah may be sure that a wall of fire is round about them1 which to foes without is terror and destruction1 and to dwellers within its circuit glows with lambent light1 and rays out beneficent warmth4 ,,light ,,or ,,fire8 ',and the ,light of ,israel shall be for a fire1 and his ,holy ,one for a flame3 and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day4'--,,isaiah x4 #ag4 ,with grand poetry the prophet pictures the ,assyrian power as a forest consumed like thistles and briers by the fire of ,god4 ,the text suggests solemn truths about the divine ,nature and its manifestations4 ,i4 ,the ,essential ,character of ,god4 ,light and ,holiness are substantially parallel4 ,light symbolises purity1 but also knowledge and joy4 ,holiness is ,separation from ,creatures1 but chiefly from their ,evils4 ,,ii4 ,the ,different ,attitudes which ,men assume to that ,character4 ',light of ,israel'3 ',his ,holy ,one4' ,god becomes ours1 and we have an interest in that radiant ,personality if we choose to claim it by faith1 love1 and obedience4 ,we are free to accept ,god as ours or to reject ,him4 ,,iii4 ,the ,opposite ,aspects which that ,character accordingly assumes4 7a7 ,the self-same divine ,character has two effects according to the character of the beholder4 ,to those who respond to ,god's love it is--heaven4 ,to those who are indifferent or alienated it may be pain1 and will harm them if they see it and do not yield to it4 ,god's holiness is not retributive justice but moral perfectness1 which to a good man will be joy1 and to a bad man1 intolerable4 ,the light which is gladsome to a healthy eye is agony to a diseased one4 7b7 ,all the manifestations and operations of that divine ,character have a twofold aspect4 ,christ is either a stone of stumbling or a sure foundation4 ,men are either the better or the worse for ,him4 ,the ,gospel is the savour of life unto life or of death unto death4 ,the tremendous 'either--or4' ,the ,cross rejected harms the moral nature1 hardens conscience1 deepens condemnation4 ,all divine operations are necessarily on the side of ,god's lovers and against those who love ,him not4 ,they are contrary to ,him1 therefore ,he is so to them4 ',with the froward ,thou wilt show ,thyself froward4' ,the final ,judgment will be either rapture or despair1 like the coming of a bridegroom1 or the fiery rain that burnt up ,sodom4 ,the very dew of ,heavenly ,bliss would be corroding poison to a godless spirit4 ,,the ,,sucker ,,from ,,the ,,felled ,,oak ',and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of ,jesse1 and a ,branch shall grow out of his roots3 #b4 ,and the ,spirit of the ,lord shall rest upon him1 the spirit of wisdom and understanding1 the spirit of counsel and might1 the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the ,lord2 #c4 ,and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the ,lord3 and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes1 neither reprove after the hearing of his ears3 #d4 ,but with righteousness shall he judge the poor1 and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth3 and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth1 and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked4 #e4 ,and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins1 and faithfulness the girdle of his reins4 #f4 ,the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb1 and the leopard shall lie down with the kid2 and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together2 and a little child shall lead them4 #g4 ,and the cow and the bear shall feed2 their young ones shall lie down together3 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox4 #h4 ,and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp1 and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den4 #i4 ,they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain3 for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the ,lord1 as the waters cover the sea4 #aj4 ,and in that day there shall be a root of ,jesse1 which shall stand for an ensign of the people2 to it shall the ,gentiles seek3 and his rest shall be glorious4'--,,isaiah xi4 #a-aj4 ,the hopeless fall of ,assyria is magnificently pictured in the close of chapter x41 as the felling of the cedars of ,lebanon by the axe swung by ,jehovah's own hand4 ,a cedar once cut down puts out no new shoots2 and so the ,assyrian power1 when it falls1 will fall for ever4 ,the metaphor is carried on with surpassing beauty in the first part of this prophecy1 which contrasts the indestructible vitality of the ,davidic monarchy with the irremediable destruction fated for its formidable antagonist4 ,the one is a cedar1 the stump of which rots slowly1 but never recovers4 ,the other is an oak1 which1 every woodman knows1 will put out new growth from the 'stool4' ,but instead of a crowd of little suckers1 the prophet sees but one shoot1 and that rising to more than the original height and fruitfulness of the tree4 ,the prophecy is distinctly that of ,one ,person1 in whom the ,davidic monarchy is concentrated1 and all its decadence more than recovered4 ,isaiah does not bring the rise of the ,messiah into chronological connection with the fall of ,assyria2 for he contemplates a period of decay for the ,israelitish monarchy1 and it was the very burden of his message as to ,assyria that it should pass away without harming that monarchy4 ,the contrast is not intended to suggest continuity in time4 ,the period of fulfilment is entirely undetermined4 ,the first point in the prophecy is the descent of the ,messiah from the royal stock4 ,that is more than ,isaiah's previous ,messianic prophecies had told4 ,he is to come at a time when the fortunes of ,david's house were at their worst4 ,there is to be nothing left but the stump of the tree1 and out of it is to come a 'shoot1' slender and insignificant1 and in strange contrast with the girth of the truncated bole1 stately even in its mutilation4 ,we do not talk of a growth from the stump as being a 'branch'2 and 'sprout' would better convey ,isaiah's meaning4 ,from the top of the stump1 a shoot2 from the roots half buried in the ground1 an outgrowth1--these two images mean but one person1 a descendant of ,david1 coming at a time of humiliation and obscurity4 ,but this lowly shoot will 'bear fruit1' which presupposes its growth4 ,the ,king-,messiah thus brought on the scene is then described in regard to ,his character 7v4 #b71 the nature of ,his rule 7vs4 #c-e71 the universal harmony and peace which ,he will diffuse through nature 7vs4 #f-i71 and the gathering of all mankind under ,his dominion4 ,there is much in the prophetic ideal of the ,messiah which finds no place in this prophecy4 ,the gentler aspects of ,his reign are not here1 nor the deeper characteristics of ,his 'spirit1' nor the chiefest blessings in ,his gift4 ,the suffering ,messiah is not yet the theme of the prophet4 ,the main point as to the character of the ,messiah which this prophecy sets forth is that1 whatever ,he was to be1 ,he was to be by reason of the resting on ,him of the ,spirit of ,jehovah4 ,the directness1 fulness1 and continuousness of ,his inspiration are emphatically proclaimed in that word 'shall rest1' which can scarcely fail to recall ,john's witness1 ',i have beheld the ,spirit descending as a dove out of heaven2 and it abode upon ,him4' ,the humanity on which the ,divine ,spirit uninterruptedly abides1 ungrieved and unrestrained1 must be free from the stains which so often drive that heavenly visitant from our breasts4 ,the white-breasted ,dove of ,god cannot brood over foulness4 ,there has never been but one manhood capable of receiving and retaining the whole fulness of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,the gifts of that ,spirit1 which become qualities of the ,messiah in whom ,he dwells1 are arranged 7if we may use so cold a word7 in three pairs2 so that1 if we include the introductory designation1 we have a sevenfold characterisation of the ,spirit1 recalling the seven lamps before the throne and the seven eyes of the ,lamb in the ,apocalypse1 and symbolising by the number the completeness and sacredness of that inspiration4 ,the resulting character of the ,messiah is a fair picture of one who realises the very ideal of a strong and righteous ruler of men4 ',wisdom and understanding' refer mainly to the clearness of intellectual and moral insight2 'counsel and might1' to the qualities which give sound practical direction and vigour to follow1 and carry through1 the decisions of practical wisdom2 while 'the knowledge and fear of the ,lord' define religion by its two parts of acquaintance with ,god founded on love1 and reverential awe which prompts to obedience4 ,the fulfilment1 and far more than fulfilment1 of this ideal is in ,jesus1 in whom were 'hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge1' to whom no circumstances of difficulty ever brought the shadow of perplexity1 who always saw clearly before ,him the path to tread1 and had always 'might' to tread it1 however rough1 who lived all ,his days in unbroken fellowship with the ,father and in lowly obedience4 ,the prophet saw not all the wonders of perfect human character which that indwelling ,spirit would bring to realisation in ,him2 but what he saw was indispensable to a perfect ,king1 and was1 at all events1 an arc of the mighty circle of perfection1 which has now been revealed in the life of ,jesus4 ,the possibilities of humanity under the influence of the ,divine ,spirit are revealed here no less than the actuality of the ,messiah's character4 ,what ,jesus is1 ,he gives it to ,his subjects to become by the dwelling in them of the spirit of life which was in ,him4 ,the rule of the ,king is accordant with ,his character4 ,it is described in verses #c-e4 ,the first characteristic named may be understood in different ways4 ,accord-to some commentators1 who deserve respectful consideration1 it means1 ',he shall draw ,his breath in the fear of ,jehovah'2 that is1 that that fear has become1 as it were1 ,his very life-breath4 ,but the meaning of 'breathing' is doubtful2 and the phrase seems rather to express1 as the ,revised ,version puts it1 ',his delight shall be in the fear of the ,lord4' ,that might mean that those who fear ,jehovah shall be ,his delight1 and this would free the expression from any shade of tautology1 when compared with the previous clause1 and would afford a natural transition to the description of ,his rule4 ,it might1 on the other hand1 continue the description of ,his personal character1 and describe the inward cheerfulness of ,his obedience1 like ',i delight to do ,thy will4' ,in any case1 the 'fear of the ,lord' is represented as a sweet-smelling fragrance2 and1 if we adopt the former explanation1 then it is almost a divine characteristic which is here attributed to the ,messiah2 for it is ,god to whom the fear of ,him in men's hearts is 'an odour of a sweet smell4' ,then follow the features of ,his rule4 ,his unerring judgment pierces through the seen and heard4 ,that is the quality of a monarch after the antique pattern1 when kings were judges4 ,it does not appear that the prophet rose to the height of perceiving the divine nature of the ,messiah2 but we cannot but remember how far the reality transcends the prophecy1 since ,he whose 'eyes are as a flame of fire' knows what is in man1 and the earliest prayers of the ,church were addressed to ,jesus as ',thou1 ,lord1 which knowest the hearts of all men4' ,the relation of ,messiah to two classes is next set forth4 ,the oppressed and the meek shall have ,him for their defender and avenger1--a striking contrast to the oppressive monarchs whom ,isaiah had seen4 ,we remember who said ',blessed are the poor in spirit1' ',blessed are the meek4' ,the ,king ,himself has taught us to deepen the meaning of the words of the prophet1 and to find in them the expression of the law of ,his kingdom by which its blessings belong to those who know their need and come with humble hearts4 ,but the same acts which are for the poor are against the oppressors4 ,the emendation which reads 'tyrant' 7arits7 for 'earth' 7erets7 brings the two clauses descriptive of the punitive acts into parallelism1 and is probably to be preferred4 ,the same pillar was light to ,israel and darkness to the ,egyptians4 ,christ is the savour of life unto life and of death unto death4 ,but what is ,his instrument of destruction8 ',the rod of ,his mouth' or 'the breath of ,his lips4' ,and who is ,he whose bare word thus has power to kill and make alive8 ,is not this a divine prerogative8 and does it not belong in the fullest sense to ,him whose voice rebuked fevers1 storms1 and demons1 and pierced the dull1 cold ear of death8 ,further1 righteousness1 the absolute conformity of character and act to the standard in the will of ,god1 and faithfulness1 the inflexible constancy1 which makes a character consistent with itself1 and so reliable1 are represented by a striking figure as being twined together to make the girdle1 which holds the vestments in place1 and girds up the whole frame for effort4 ,this righteous ,king 'shall not fail nor be discouraged4' ,he is to be reckoned on to the uttermost1 or1 as the ,new ,testament puts it1 ,he is 'the faithful and true witness4' ,this is the strong ,son of ,god1 who gathered all ,his powers together to run with patience the race set before ,him1 and to whom all may turn with the confidence that ,he is faithful 'as a ,son over ,his own house1' and will inviolably keep the promise of ,his word and of ,his past acts4 ,we pass from the picture of the character and rule of the ,king over men to that fair vision of ,paradise regained1 which celebrates the universal restoration of peace between man and the animals4 ,the picture is not to be taken as a mere allegory1 as if 'lions' and 'wolves' and 'snakes' meant bad men2 but it falls into line with other hints in ,scripture1 which trace the hostility between man and the lower creatures to sin1 and shadow a future when 'the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee4' ,the psalm which sings of man's dominion over the creatures is to be one day fulfilled2 and the ,epistle to the ,hebrews teaches that it is already fulfilled in ,christ1 who will raise ,his brethren1 for whom ,he tasted death1 to partake in ,his dominion4 ,the present order of things is transient2 and if earth is to be1 as some shadowy hints seem to suggest1 the scene of the future glories of redeemed humanity1 it may be the theatre of a fulfilment of such visions as this4 ,but we cannot dogmatise on a subject of which we know so little1 nor be sure of the extent to which symbolism enters into this sweet picture4 ,enough that there surely comes a time when the ,king of men and ,lord of nature shall bring back peace between both1 and restore 'the fair music that all creatures made ,to their great ,lord4' ,verse #aj begins an entirely new section1 which describes the relations of ,messiah's kingdom to the surrounding peoples4 ,the picture preceding closed with the vision of the earth filled with the knowledge of the ,lord1 and this verse proclaims the universality of ,messiah's kingdom4 ,by 'the root of ,jesse' is meant1 not the root from which ,jesse sprang1 but1 in accordance with verse #a1 the sprout from the house of ,jesse4 ,just as in that verse the sprout was prophesied of as growing up to be fruitbearing1 so here the lowly sucker shoots to a height which makes it conspicuous from afar1 and becomes1 like some tall mast1 a sign for the nations4 ,the contrast between the obscure beginning and the conspicuous destiny of ,messiah is the point of the prophecy4 ',i1 if ,i be lifted up from the earth1 will draw all men unto ,me4' ,strange elevation for a king is a cross6 ,but it is because ,he has died for men that ,he has the right to reign over them1 and that they 'shall seek' to ,him4 ',his resting-place shall be glorious4' ,the seat of ,his dominion is also the seat of ,his repose4 ,the beneficent activity just described is wielded from a calm1 central palace1 and does not break the ,king's tranquillity4 ,that is a paradox1 except to those who know that ,jesus ,christ1 sitting in undisturbed rest at the right hand of ,god1 thence works with and for ,his servants4 ,his repose is full of active energy2 ,his active energy is full of repose4 ,and that place of calm abode is 'glorious' or1 more emphatically and literally1 'glory4 ,he shall dwell in the blaze of the uncreated glory of ,god1--a prediction which is only fulfilled in its true meaning by ,christ's ascension and session at the right hand of ,god1 in the glory which ,he had with the ,father before the world was1 and into which ,he has borne that lowly manhood which ,he drew from the cut-down stem of ,jesse4 ,,the ,,well-,,spring ,,of ,,salvation ',therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation4 ,,isaiah xii4 #c4 ,there are two events separated from each other by more than fifteen hundred years which have a bearing upon this prophecy3 the one supplied the occasion for its utterance1 the other claimed to be its interpretation and its fulfilment4 ,the first of these is that scene familiar to us all1 where the ,israelites in the wilderness murmured for want of water1 and the law-giver1 being at his wits' end what to do with his troublesome charges1 took his anxieties to ,god1 and got for an answer the command to take with him the elders of ,israel and his miracle-working rod1 and to go to the rock1 'and the ,lord shall stand upon the rock before thee and them1 and the water shall flow forth4' ,it was not the rock1 nor the rod1 nor ,moses and the elders1 but the presence of ,god that brought the refreshing draught4 ,and that that incident was in ,isaiah's mind when he wrote our text is very clear to anybody who will observe that it occurs in the middle of a song of praise1 which corresponds to the ,israelites' song at the ,red ,sea after the destruction of ,pharaoh1 and is part of a great prophecy in which he describes ,god's future blessings and mercies under images constantly drawn from the ,egyptian bondage and the ,exodus in the desert4 ,now1 that interpretation1 or rather that application1 of the words of my text1 was very familiar to the ,jews long1 long before the ,new ,testament was thought about4 ,for1 as many of you will know1 there came in the course of time a number of ceremonies to be added to a feast established by ,moses himself--the ,feast of ,tabernacles4 ,that was a feast in which the whole body of the ,israelitish people dwelt for a week in leafy booths1 in order to remind them of the time when they were wanderers in the wilderness2 and as is usually the case1 the ritual of the celebration developed a number of additional symbolical observances which were tacked on to it in the course of centuries4 ,amongst these there was this very memorable one3 that on each of the days of the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 at a given point in the ceremonial1 the priests went from the temple1 winding down the rocky path on the temple mountain1 to the ,pool of ,siloam in the valley below1 and there in their golden vases they drew the cool sparkling water1 which they bore up1 and amidst the blare of trumpets and the clash of cymbals poured it on the altar1 whilst the people chanted the words of my text1 ',with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation4' ,that ceremonial had been going on for eight hundred years from ,isaiah's time2 and once more the period came round when it was to be performed2 and on the seven days of the feast1 punctually at the appointed time1 the procession wound down the rocky slopes1 drew the water in the golden vases1 bore it up to the temple1 and poured it upon the altar2 and on the last great day of the feast1 the same ceremonial went on up to a given point2 and just as the last rites of the chant of our text were dying on the ears1 there was a little stir amidst the crowd1 which parted to make way for him1 and a youngish man1 of mean appearance and rustic dress1 stepped forward1 and there1 before all the gathered multitudes and the priests standing with their empty urns1 symbol of the impotence of their system1 'on the last day1 that great day of the feast1 ,jesus stood and cried1 ,if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink4' ,brethren1 such a commentary1 at such a time1 from such a commentator1 may well absolve me from the necessity of enforcing the evangelistic bearing of the words of my text4 ,and so1 then1 with that understanding of the deepest meaning of these words that we have to look at1 ,i ask you to take them in the simplest possible way1 and to consider three points3 the ,well of ,salvation1 the ,act of ,drawing the ,water1 the ,gladness of those that draw4 ',with joy shall ye draw water out of the fountains of salvation4' ,now1 with regard to the first point1 let me remind you to begin with1 that the idea of the word here is not that which we attach to a well1 but that which we attach to a spring4 ,it does not describe the source of salvation as being a mere reservoir1 still less as being a created or manufactured thing2 but there lies in it the deep idea of a source from which the water wells up by its own inward energy4 ,then1 when we have got that explanation1 and the deep1 full1 pregnant meaning of the word salvation as a thing past1 a thing present1 a thing future1 a thing which negatively delivers a man from all sin and sorrow1 and a thing which positively endows a man with beauty1 happiness1 and holiness--when we have got that1 then the question next cries aloud for answer--this well-spring of salvation1 is--what8 ,who8 ,and the first answer and the last answer is ,,god--,,god ,,himself4 ,it is no mere bit of drapery of the prophet's imagery1 this well-spring of salvation2 it is something much more substantial1 much deeper than that4 ,you remember the old psalm1 ',with ,thee is the fountain of life3 in ,thy light shall we see light'2 and what ,david and ,john after him called life1 ,isaiah and ,paul after him calls salvation4 ,and you remember too1 no doubt1 the indictment of another of the prophets1 laying hold of the same metaphor in order to point to the folly and the suicide of all godless living3 ',my people have committed two evils3 they have forsaken ,me1 the fountain of living waters1 and they have hewn out for themselves broken cisterns4' ,they were manufactured articles1 and because they were made they could be cracked1 but the fountain1 because it rises by its own inherent energy1 springing up into everlasting life1 is all-sufficient4 ,god ,himself is the well-spring of salvation4 ,if ,i had time to enlarge upon this idea1 ,i might remind you how nobly and blessedly that principle is confirmed when we think of this great salvation1 past1 present1 and future1 negative and positive1 all-sufficient and complete1 as having its origin in ,his deep nature1 as having its process in ,his own finished work1 and as being in its essence the communication of ,himself4 ,that last thing ,i should like to say a word or two about4 ,if there is a man or a woman that thinks of salvation as if it were merely a shutting up of some material hell1 or the dodging round a corner so as to escape some external consequence of transgression1 let him and her hear this3 the possession of ,god is salvation1 that and nothing else4 ,to have ,him within me1 that is to be saved2 to have ,his life in ,his dear ,son made the foundation of my life1 to have my whole being penetrated and filled with ,god1 that is the essence of the salvation that is in ,jesus ,christ4 ,and because it comes unmotived1 uncaused1 self-originated1 springing up from the depths of ,his own heart2 because it is all effected by ,his own mighty work who has trodden the winepress alone1 and1 single-handed1 has wrought the salvation of the race2 and because its essence and heart is the communication of ,god ,himself1 and the bestowing upon us the participation in a divine nature1 therefore the depth of the thought1 ,god ,himself is the well-fountain of salvation4 ,but there is still another step to take4 ,if these things which ,i have only just been able to glance at in the most superficial1 and perhaps1 therefore1 confused manner1 in any measure commend themselves to your judgments and your consciences1 let me ask you to go with me one step further1 and to figure to yourselves the significance and the strangeness of that moment to which ,i have already referred1 when a man stood up in the temple court1 and1 with distinct allusion to the whole of the multitude of ,old ,testament sayings1 in which ,god and the communication of ,god's own energy were represented as being the fountain of salvation and the salvation from the fountain1 and said1 ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me4' ,why1 what a thing--let us put it into plain1 vulgar ,english--what a thing for a man to say--',if any man thirst4' ,who art ,thou that dost thus plant ,thyself opposite the race1 sure that ,thou hast no needs like them1 but1 contrariwise1 canst refresh and satiate the thirsty lips of them all8 ,who art ,thou that dost proclaim ,thyself as sufficient for the fruition of the mind that yearns for truth and thirsts for certitude1 of the parched heart that wearies and cracks for want of love1 of the will that longs to be rightly and lovingly commanded8 ,oh1 dear brethren1 not only the ,titanic presumption of proposing oneself as enough for a single soul1 but the inconceivable madness of proposing oneself as enough for all the race in all generations to the end of time1 except on one hypothesis1 marks this utterance of ,him who has also said1 ',i am meek and lowly of heart4' ,strange lowliness6 singular meekness6 ,who was ,he8 ,who is this that steps into the place that only a ,god can fill1 and says1 ',i can do it all4 ,if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink'8 ,dear brethren1 some of us can1 thank ,god1 answer that question as ,i pray that every one of you may be able to answer it1 ',thou art the ,king of ,glory1 ,o ,christ2 ,thou art the everlasting son of the ,father4 ,with ,thee is the fountain of life2 ,thou ,thyself art the living water4' ,but ,i think there is a still further step to be taken4 ,it is not only that our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 in ,his nature1 in ,his person1 is the communicator of the divine life to man1 just as--if you will let me take such a metaphor--just as up in the hills sometimes you will find some little tarn or loch all shut in2 but having trickling from it a thread of limpid life1 and1 wherever it flows1 the water of the loch goes2 only1 the one is lake and the other is river1 and the latter is the medium of communication of the former to the thirsty pastures of the wilderness4 ,and not only so1 but--if ,i might venture to build upon a word of the context--there seems to be another consideration there4 ,the words which precede my text are a quotation from a song of the ,israelites in their former ,exodus3 ',the ,lord ,jehovah is my strength and my song2 ,he also is become my salvation4' ,now1 if our ,bible has been correct--and ,i do not enter upon that question--in emphasising the difference between is and is become1 mark where it takes us4 ,it takes us to this1 that there was some single1 definite1 historical act wherein ,god became in an eminent manner and in reality what ,he had always been in purpose1 intent1 and idea4 ,then that to which my text originally alludes1 to which it looks back1 is the great deliverance wrought by the banks of the ,red ,sea4 ,it was because ,pharaoh and his hosts were drowned in it that ,miriam and her musical sisters1 with their timbrel and dance1 not only said1 ',the ,lord is my strength1' but ',he has become my strength'--there where the corpses are floating yet4 ,what answers to that in the matter with which we are concerned8 ,brethren1 it is not enough to say that ,god is the fountain of salvation1 it is not enough to say that the ,incarnate ,christ is the medium of salvation4 ,will you take the other step with us1 and say that the ,cross of ,christ is the realisation of the divine intention of salvation8 ,then ,he1 who from everlasting was the strength and song of all the strong and the songful1 is become the salvation of all the lost1 and the fountain is 'opened for sin and for uncleanness4' ,a definite1 historical act1 the manifestation of ,jesus ,christ1 is the bringing to man of the salvation of ,god4 ,so much1 then1 for that first point to which ,i desired to ask your attention4 ,and now let me say a word or two as to the second4 ,i wish to speak about this process of drawing from the fountain4 ,that metaphor1 without any further explanation1 might very naturally suggest more idea of human effort than in reality belongs to it4 ,men have said3 ',yes2 no doubt ,god is the fountain of salvation2 no doubt ,christ is the river of salvation2 no doubt ,his death is the opening of the fountain for sin and for uncleanness2 but how am ,i to bring myself into contact and connection with it8' ,and there have been all sorts of answers4 ,every kind of pump has been resorted to4 ,go up to the ,agricultural ,hall and you will see no end of contrivances for bringing water to the surface4 ,there are not so many there as men have found out for themselves to bring the water of salvation to their lips1 and the effect has always been the same4 ,there has been something wrong with the valves2 the pump has not worked properly2 there has been something wrong with the crank2 the pipe has not gone down to the water2 and there has been nothing but a great jingling of empty buckets1 and aching and wearied elbows1 and what the woman said to ,christ has been true all round1 ',sir1 thou hast nothing to draw with1 and the well is deep4' ,ay6 thank ,god1 it is deep2 and if we let our ,lord be ,his own interpreter1 we have only to put together three sayings of ,his in order to come to the true meaning of this metaphor4 ,my text says1 ',with joy ye shall draw water'2 and ,christ1 sitting at the well of ,samaria--what a strange combination of the weakness and the weariness of manhood and the strength and self-consciousness of ,divinity was there6--wearied with ,his journey1 said1 ',if thou knewest the gift of ,god1 and who it is that saith to thee1 ,give ,me to drink1 thou wouldest have asked of ,him and ,he would have given thee living water4' ,so1 then1 drawing is asking4 ,that is step number one4 ,take another word of the ,master's that ,i have already quoted for other purposes1 ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink4' ,so1 then1 drawing1 or asking1 or coming are all equivalent4 ,that is step number two4 ,and1 then1 take another word4 ',he that cometh unto ,me shall never hunger1 and he that believeth on ,me shall never thirst4' ,so1 then1 drawing1 asking1 coming1 all melt into the one simple word--believing4 ,trust in ,him1 and thou hast come1 thou hast asked1 thou hast drawn1 thou dost possess4 ,but whilst ,i would lay the foundation thus broad1 thus simple1 do not forget1 dear brethren1 what ,i was saying about a definite historical act4 ,you will hear people say1 ',oh1 ,i trust in ,christ6' ,what do you trust in ,christ8 ,you will hear people say1 ',oh1 ,i look to the goodness of ,god4' ,be it so4 ,god forbid ,i should say a word to prevent that2 but what ,i would insist upon is that a mere vague regard to a vague ,christ is not the faith that is equivalent to drawing from the fountain of salvation4 ,there must be a further object in a faith that saves4 ,it must lay hold of the definite historical act in which ,christ has become the salvation of the world4 ,do not take it upon my words1 take it upon ,his own4 ,he once said to ,his fellow-countrymen in ,his lifetime1 ',i am the living bread'2 and many of our modern teachers would go that length heartily4 ,was that where ,christ stopped8 ,by no means4 ,was ,his ,gospel a gospel of incarnation only8 ,certainly not4 ',i am the living bread that came down from heaven4' ,anything more8 ,yes2 this more1 'and the bread which ,i will give is ,my flesh1 which ,i will give for the life of the world4 ,he that eateth ,me he shall live by ,me4' ',well1' say some people1 'that means following ,his example1 accepting ,his teaching1 being loyal to ,his ,person1 absorbing ,his ,spirit4' ,yes1 it means all that2 but is that all it means8 ,take ,his own commentary3 ',he that eateth ,my flesh and drinketh ,my blood1 hath eternal life4' ,yes1 brethren1 a ,christ incarnate1 blessed be ,god6 ,a ,christ crucified1 blessed be ,god6 ,and not the one but both must be the basis of our faith and our hope4 ,now1 will you let me say one thing about this matter of drawing the water8 ,it is an act of faith in a whole ,jesus1 and eminently in the mighty act and sacrifice of ,his ,cross4 ,but to go back again to the context3 ',he also is become my salvation4 ',that is what ,i desire1 ,god helping me1 to lay on the hearts of all my hearers--that a definite act of faith in ,christ crucified is not enough unless it is a personal act1 unless it is what our old ,puritan forefathers used to call 'appropriating faith4' ,never mind about the somewhat dry and technical phraseology2 the thing is what ,i insist upon--'my salvation4' ,o brother6 what does it matter though all ,niagara were roaring past your door2 you might die of thirst all the same unless you put your own lips to it4 ,down on your knees like ,gideon's men2 it is safest there2 that is the only attitude in which a man can drink of this fountain4 ,down on your knees and put your lips to it--your very own lips--and drink for your own soul's salvation4 ,christ died for the world4 ,yes2 but the world for which ,christ died is made up of individuals who were in ,his heart4 ,it is ,paul's words that ,i would beseech you to make your own3 ',the ,son of ,god1 who loved me and gave ,himself for me4' ,every one of you is entitled to say that1 if you will4 ,you remember that verse filled with adoring contemplation that we sometimes sing1 one word in which seems to me to be coloured by the too sombre doctrine of the epoch from which it came3-- ',my soul looks back to see ,the burden ,thou didst bear1 ,when hanging on the accursed tree1 ,and knows her guilt was there4' ',he also is my strength and my song4 ,he is become my salvation2 therefore1 in joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation4' ,now1 ,i have left myself no time to do more than say one word about that last point1 the gladness of the water-drawers4 ,it is a pretty picture in our text1 full of the atmosphere and spirit of ,eastern life3 the cheery talk and the ringing laughter round the village well1 where the shepherds with their flocks linger all day long1 and the maidens from their tents come--a kind of rude ,exchange in the antique world2 and1 says our prophet1 ',as the dwellers in the land at their village springs1 so ye1 the weary travellers at the eye of the desert1 will draw with gladness4' ,so we have this joy4 ,dear brethren1 the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ is meant for something better than to make us glad1 but it is meant to make us glad too1 and he is but a very poor ,christian who has not found that it is the joy and rejoicing of his heart4 ,we need not put too much emphasis and stress upon that side of the truth2 but we need not either suppress it or disregard it in our modern high-flown disinterestedness4 ,there are joys worth calling so which only come from possessing this fountain of salvation4 ,how shall ,i enumerate them8 ,the best way1 ,i think1 will be to quote passages4 ,there is the gladness of forgiven sin and a quieted conscience3 ',make me to hear joy and gladness1 that the bones which ,thou hast broken may rejoice4' ,there is the joy of a conscious possession of ,god3 ',blessed are the people that know the joyful sound2 they shall walk1 ,o ,lord1 in the light of ,thy countenance4 ,in ,thy name shall they rejoice all the day4' ,there is the joy of fellowship and communion with ,jesus ,christ and ,his full presence3 ',i will see you again2 and your hearts shall rejoice1 and your joy no man taketh away from you4' ,there is the joy of willing obedience3 ',i delight to do ,thy will4' ',it is joy to the just to do judgment4' ,there is the joy of a bright hope of an inheritance 'incorruptible1' 'wherein ye greatly rejoice1' and there is a joy which1 like that ,greek fire they talk about1 burns brighter under water1 and glows as the darkness deepens--a joy which is independent of circumstances1 and can say1 ',although the fig-tree shall not blossom1 neither shall fruit be in the vines1 yet ,i will rejoice in the ,lord4' ,and all that1 brother and friend1 may be yours and mine2 and then what this same prophet says may also be true3 ',the ransomed of the ,lord shall return and come to ,zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads'--that is for the pilgrimage2 ',they shall obtain joy and gladness1 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away'--that is for the home4 ,there is another prophecy in this same book of ,isaiah3 ',ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters'2 that was the voice of the ,christ in prophecy4 ,there is a saying spoken in the temple courts3 ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink'2 that was the voice of the ,christ upon earth4 ,there is a saying at the end of ,scripture--almost the last words that the ,seer in ,patmos heard3 ',whosoever will1 let him take of the water of life freely'2 that was the voice of the ,christ from the throne4 ,and the triple invitation comes to every soul of man in the world1 and to thee1 and thee1 and thee1 my brother4 ,answer1 answer as the ,samaritan woman did3 ',sir1 give me this water that ,i thirst not1 neither come hither' any more to draw of the broken cisterns4 ,,the ,,harvest ,,of ,a ,,godless ,,life ',because thou hast forgotten the ,god of thy salvation1 and hast not been mindful of the ,rock of thy strength1 therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants1 and shalt set it with strange slips3 ,in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow1 and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish3 but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow4'--,,isaiah xvii4 #aj1 #aa4 ,the original application of these words is to ,judah's alliance with ,damascus1 which ,isaiah was dead against4 ,he saw that it would only precipitate the ,assyrian invasion1 as in fact it did4 ,judah had forsaken ,god1 and because they had done so1 they had gone to seek for themselves delights--alliance with ,damascus4 ,the image of planting a garden of pleasures1 and 'vine slips of a stranger' refers to sensuous idolatry as well as to the entangling alliance4 ,then follows a contemptuous description of the rapid growth of this alliance and of the care with which ,israel cultivated it4 ',in a day thou makest thy plant to grow' 7or fencest it71 and next morning it was in blossom1 so sedulously had they nursed and fostered it4 ,then comes the smiting contrast of what it was all for--',a harvest heap in the day of sickness and incurable pain4' ,now we may take this in a more general way as containing large truths which affect the life of every one of us4 ,i4 ,the ,sin of a ,godless ,life4 7a7 ,notice the ,sin charged4 ,it is merely negative--forgettest4 ,there is no charge of positive hostility or of any overt act4 ,this forgetfulness is most natural and easy to be fallen into4 ,the constant pressure of the world4 ,it indicates alienation of heart from ,god4 ,it is most common among us1 far more so than active infidelity1 far more so than gross sin1 far more so than conscious hostility4 7b7 ,the implied ,criminality of it4 ,he is the ',rock of thy strength' and the ',god of thy salvation4' ,rock is the grand ,old ,testament name of ,god1 expressing in a pregnant metaphor both what ,he is in ,himself and what in relation to those who trust ,him4 ,it speaks of stability1 elevation1 massiveness1 and of defence and security4 ,the parallel title sets ,him forth as the ,giver of salvation2 and both names set in clear light the sinful ingratitude of forgetting ,god1 and force home the question3 ',do ye thus requite the ,lord1 oh foolish people and unwise8' 7c7 ,the implied ,absurdity of it4 ,what a contrast between the safe 'munitions of rocks' and the unsheltered security of these ,damascene gardens6 ,what fools to leave the heights and come down into the plain6 ,think of the contrast between the sufficiency of ,god and the emptiness of the substitutes4 ,forgetfulness of ,him and preference of creatures cannot be put into language which does not convict it of absurdity4 ,,ii4 ,the ,busy ,effort and ,apparent ,success of a ,godless ,life4 7a7 ,if a man loses his hold on ,god and has not ,him to stay himself on1 he is driven to painful efforts to make up the loss4 ,god is needed by every soul4 ,if the soul is not satisfied in ,him1 then there are hungry desires4 ,this is the explanation of the feverish activity of much of our life4 7b7 ,such work is far harder than the work of serving ,god4 ,it takes a great deal of toil to make that garden grow4 ,the world is a hard taskmaster4 ,god's service is easy4 ,he sets us in ,eden to till and dress it1 but when we forget ,him1 the ground is cursed1 and bears thorns and thistles1 and sweat drips from our brows4 ,men take more pains to damn themselves than to save themselves4 ,there is nothing more wearying than the pursuit of pleasure4 ',pleasant plants'--that is a hopeless kind of gardening4 ,there is nothing more degrading4 ',ye lust and desire to have1'--what a contrast is in1 ,ask and have6 ,we might live even as the lilies or the ravens1 or with only this difference1 that we laboured1 but were as uncaring and as peaceful as they4 ,god is given4 ,the world has to be bought4 ,its terms are ',nothing for nothing4' 7c7 ,such work has sometimes quick1 present success4 ',in the day4' ,it is hard for men to labour towards far-off unseen good4 ,we like to have what will grow up in a night1 like ,jonah's gourd4 ,so these present satisfactions in a worldly life appeal to worldly1 sensuous natures4 ,and it is hard to set over against these a plant which grows slowly1 and only bears fruit in the next world4 ,,iii4 ,the ,end of it all4 ',a harvest heap in the day of grief4' ,this clearly points on to a solemn ending--the day of judgment4 7a7 ,how poor the fruit will be that a ,god-forgetting man will take out of life6 ,there is but one heap from all the long struggle4 ,he has 'sowed much and brought home little4' ,what shall we take with us out of our busy years as their net result8 ,a very small sack will be large enough to hold the harvest that many of us have reaped4 7b7 ,all this ,god-forgetting life of pleasure-seeking and idolatry is bringing on a terrible1 inevitable consummation4 ',put in the sickle1 for the harvest is ripe4' ,no doubt there is often a harvest of grief and desperate sorrow springing1 even in this life1 from forgetting ,god4 ,for it is only they who set their hopes on ,him that are never disappointed1 and only they who have chosen ,him for their portion who can always say1 ',i have a goodly heritage4' ,but the real harvest is not reaped till death has separated the time of sowing from that of ingathering4 ,the sower shall reap2 i4e4 every man shall inherit the consequences of his deeds4 ',they that have planted it shall eat it4' 7c7 ,that harvest home will be a day of sadness to some4 ,these are terrible words--'grief and desperate sorrow1' or 'pain and incurable sickness4' ,we dare not dilate on this4 ,but if we trust in ,christ and sow to the ,spirit1 we shall then 'rejoice before ,god as with the joy of harvest1' and 'return with joy1 bringing our sheaves with us4' ',,in ,,this ,,mountain' ',in this mountain shall the ,lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things1 a feast of wines on the lees1 of fat things full of marrow1 of wines on the lees well refined4 #g4 ,and ,he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people1 and the veil that is spread over all nations4 #h4 ,he will swallow up death in victory4'--,,isaiah xxv4 #f-h4 ,a poet's imagination and a prophet's clear vision of the goal to which ,god will lead humanity are both at their highest in this great song of the future1 whose winged words make music even in a translation4 ,no doubt it starts from the comparatively small fact of the restoration of the exiled nation to its own land4 ,but it soars far beyond that4 ,it sees all mankind associated with them in sharing their blessings4 ,it is the vision of ,god's ideal for humanity4 ,that makes it the more remarkable that the prophet1 with this wide outlook1 should insist with such emphasis on the fact that it has a local centre4 ,that phrase 'in this mountain' is three times repeated in the hymn2 two of the instances occurring in the verses of my text have lying side by side with them the expressions 'all people' and 'all nations1' as if to bring together the local origin1 and the universal extent1 of the blessings promised4 ,the sweet waters that are to pour through the world well up from a spring opened 'in this mountain4' ,the beams that are to lighten every land stream out from a light blazing there4 ,the world's hopes for that golden age which poets have sung1 and towards which earnest social reformers have worked1 and of the coming of which this prophet was sure1 rest on a definite fact1 done in a definite place1 at a definite time4 ,isaiah knew the place1 but what was to be done1 or when it was to be done1 he knew not4 ,you and ,i ought to be wiser4 ,history has taught us that ,jesus ,christ fulfils the visioned good that inspired the prophet's brilliant words4 ,we might say1 with allowable licence1 that 'this mountain1' in which the ,lord does the great things that this song magnifies1 is not so much ,zion as ,calvary4 ,brethren1 in these days1 when so many voices are proclaiming so many short cuts to the ,millennium1 this clear declaration of the source of the world's hope is worth pondering4 ,for us all1 individually1 this localisation of the origin of the universal good of mankind is an offer of blessings to us if we will go thither1 where the provision for the world's good is stored--',in this mountain'2 therefore1 to seek it anywhere else is to seek it in vain4 ,now1 ,i wish1 under the impression of that conviction1 to put before you just these three thoughts3 where the world's food comes from2 where the unveiling which gives light to the world comes from2 and where the life which destroys death for the world comes from--',in this mountain4' ,i4 ,where does the world's food come from8 ,physiologists can tell1 by studying the dentition--the system of the teeth--and the digestive apparatus of an animal1 what it is meant to live upon1 whether vegetables or flesh1 or a mingled diet of both4 ,and you can tell1 if you will1 by studying yourself1 what1 or whom1 you are meant to live upon4 ,the poet said1 ',we live by admiration1 hope1 and love4' ,but he did not say on what these faculties1 which truly nourish man's spirit1 are to fix and fasten4 ,he tells of the appetites2 he does not tell of their food4 ,my text does3 ',in this mountain shall the ,lord make unto all people a feast of fat things1 a feast of wines on the less well refined4' ,friends1 look at these hearts of yours with their yearnings1 with their passionate desires1 with their clamant needs4 ,will any human love--the purest1 the sweetest1 the most unselfish1 the most utter in its surrender--satisfy the heart-hunger of the poorest of us8 ,no6 ,look at the capacities of grasping thought and truth in our spirits1 which are ever seek1 seek1 seeking for absolutely certain foundations on which we may build the whole structure of our beliefs4 ,you have to go deeper down than the sand of man's thinkings and teachings before you can reach what will bear without shifting the foundations of a life's credence and confidence4 ,look at these tumultuous wills of ours that fancy they crave to be independent1 and really crave an absolute master whom it is blessedness to obey4 ,you will find none such beneath the stars4 ,the very elements of our being1 our heart1 will1 mind1 desires1 passions1 longings1 all with one voice proclaim that the only food for a man is ,god4 ,jesus ,christ brings the food that we need4 ,remember ,his own adaptation of this great vision of my text in more than one parable2 such as the supper that was provided1 and to which all men were invited1 and1 'with one consent1' declined the invitation4 ,remember ,his own utterance1' ,i am the ,bread of ,god which came down from heaven to give life to the world4' ,remembering such words1 let me plead with you to listen to the voice of warning as well as of invitation1 which sounds from ,cradle and ,cross and ,throne4 ',why will ye spend your money for that which is not bread'--you know it is not--'and your labour for that which satisfieth not8'--you know it does not4 ,turn to ,him1 'eat1 and your souls shall live4' ',in this mountain is prepared a feast444 for all nations4' ,notice that although it does not appear on the surface1 and to ,english readers1 this world's festival1 in which every want is met1 and every appetite satisfied1 is a feast on a sacrifice4 ,that touches the deepest need1 about which ,i shall have a word or two to say presently4 ,but in the meantime let me just press this upon you1 that the ,christ who died on the ,cross is to be lived on by us2 and that it is ,his sacrifice that is to be the nourishment of our spirits4 ,would that the earnest men1 who are trying to cure the world's evils and to still the world's wants1 and are leaving ,jesus ,christ and ,his religion out of their programme1 would take thought and ask themselves whether there is not something more in the hunger of humanity than their ovens can ever bake bread for6 ,they are spinning ropes of sand1 if they are trying to lift the world clear of its miseries and of its hunger1 and are not presenting ,jesus ,christ4 ,i hope ,i am no bigot2 ,i know that ,i sympathise earnestly with all these other schemes for helping mankind1 but this ,i am bound to say here--all of them put together will not reach the need of the case1 unless they start from1 and are subsidiary to1 and develop out of1 the presenting of the primal supply for the universal want1 ,christ1 who alone is able to still the hunger of men's hearts4 ,education will do much1 but university degrees and the highest culture will not satisfy a hungry heart4 ,fitting environment1 as it is fashionable to call it1 will do a great deal1 but nothing outside of a man will staunch his evils or still the hunger that coils and grips in his heart4 ,competent wealth is a good-there #as no need to say that in ,manchester-but millionaires have been known to be miserable4 ,a heart at rest in the love of husband1 wife1 parent1 child1 is a blessing earnestly to be sought and thankfully to be treasured by us all2 but there is more than that wanted4 ,put a man in the most favourable circumstances2 give him competent worldly means2 do all that modern philosophers who leave religion out of the question are trying to do2 put in practice your most advanced ,socialistic schemes1 and you will still have a man with a hungry heart4 ,he may not know what he wants2 very often he will entirely mistake what that is1 but he will be restless for want of an unknown good4 ,here is the only thing that will still his heart3 ',the bread which ,i give is ,my flesh1 which ,i will give for the life of the world4' ,brother and sister1 this is not a matter only for social reformers1 and to be dealt with as bearing upon wide movements that influence multitudes4 ,it comes home to you and me4 ,some of you do not in the least degree know what ,i am talking about when ,i speak of the hunger of men's hearts2 for you have lost your appetites1 as children that eat too many sweets have no desire for their wholesome meals4 ,you have lost your appetite by feeding upon garbage1 and you say you are quite content4 ,yes1 at present2 but deep down there lies in your hearts a need which will awake and speak out some day2 and you will find that the husks which the swine did eat are scarcely wholesome nutriment for a man4 ,and there are some of you that turn away with disgust1 and ,i am glad of it1 from these low1 gross1 sensuous delights2 and are trying to satisfy yourselves with education1 culture1 refinement1 art1 science1 domestic love1 wealth1 gratified ambition1 or the like4 ,there are tribes of degraded ,indians that in times of famine eat clay4 ,there is a little nourishment in it1 and it distends their stomachs1 and gives them the feeling of having had a meal4 ,and that is like what some of you do4 ,dear friends1 will you listen to this8--',why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread8' ,will you listen to this8--',i am the ,bread of ,life1' ,will you listen to this8--',in this mountain will the ,lord make unto all people a feast of fat things4' ,,ii4 ,where does the unveiling that gives light to the world come from8 ,my text1 as ,i have already remarked1 emphatically repeats 'in this mountain' in its next clause4 ',he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people1 and the veil that is spread over all nations4' ,now1 of course1 the pathetic picture that is implied here1 of a dark pall that lies over the whole world1 suggests the idea of mourning1 but still more emphatically1 ,i think1 that of obscuration and gloom4 ,the veil prevents vision and shuts out light1 and that is the picture of humanity as it presents itself before this prophet--a world of men entangled in the folds of a dark pall that lay over their heads1 and swathed them round about1 and prevented them from seeing2 shut them up in darkness and entangled their feet1 so that they stumbled in the gloom4 ,it is a pathetic picture1 but it does not go beyond the realities of the case4 ,for1 with all our light on other matters1 with all our freedom of action1 with all our frequent forgetfulness of the fact that we are thus encompassed1 it remains true that1 apart from the emancipation and illumination that are effected by ,jesus ,christ1 this is the picture of mankind as they are4 ,and you are beneath that veil1 and swathed1 obstructively as regards light and liberty1 by its heavy folds1 unless ,christ has freed you4 ,but we must go a step further than that1 ,i think2 and although one does not wish to force too much meaning on to a poetic metaphor1 still ,i cannot help supposing that that universal pall1 as ,i called it1 which is cast over all nations1 has a very definite and a very tragic meaning4 ,there is a universal fact of human experience which answers to the figure1 and that is sin4 ,that is the black thing whose ebon folds hamper us1 and darken us1 and shut out the visions of ,god and blessedness1 and all the glorious blue above us4 ,the heavy1 dark mist settles down on the plains1 though the sky above is undimmed by it1 and the sun is blazing in the zenith4 ,not one beam can penetrate through the wet1 chill obstruction1 and men stumble about in the fog with lamps and torches1 and all the while a hundred feet up it is brightness and day4 ,or1 if at some points the obstruction is thinned and the sun does come through1 it is shorn of all its gracious beams and power to warm and cheer1 and looks but like a copper-coloured1 livid1 angry ball4 ,so the 'veil that is spread over all nations1 'that awful fact of universal sinfulness1 shuts out ,god--who is our light and our joy--from us1 and no other lights or joys are more than twinkling tapers in the mist4 ,or it makes us see ,him as men in a fog see the sun--shorn of ,his graciousness1 threatening1 wrathful1 unlovely4 ,brethren1 the fact of universal sinfulness is the outstanding fact of humanity4 ,jesus ,christ deals with it by ,his death1 which is ,god's sacrifice and the world's atonement4 ,that ,lamb of ,god has borne away the world's sins1 and my sins and thy sins are there4 ,by the fact of ,his death ,he has rent the veil from the top to the bottom1 and the light comes in1 unhindered by the terrible solemn fact that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of ,god4 ,by ,his life ,he communicates to each of us1 if we will trust our poor sinful souls to ,him1 a new power of living which is triumphant over temptation1 and gives the victory over sin if we will be true to ,him4 ,and so the last shreds of the veil1 like the torn clouds of a spent thunderstorm1 are parted into filmy rags and float away below the horizon1 leaving the untarnished heavens and the flaming sunshine2 and 'we with unveiled faces' can lift them up to be irradiated by the light4 ',in this mountain will the ,lord destroy the covering that is spread over all nations4' ,the weak point of all these schemes and methods to which ,i have already referred for helping humanity out of the slough1 and making men happier1 is that they underestimate the fact of sin4 ,if a man comes to them and says1 ',i have broken ,god's law4 ,what am ,i to do8 ,i have a power within me that impels me now to evil4 ,how am ,i to get rid of it8' they have no adequate answer4 ,there is only one remedy that deals radically with the fact of human transgression2 only one power that will deliver each of us1 if we will1 from the penalty1 the guilt1 the power of sin2 and that is the sacrifice of ,christ on ,calvary1 and its result1 the inspiration of the spirit of life that was in ,jesus ,christ1 breathed into us from the ,throne itself4 ,thus1 and thus only1 is the veil done away in ,christ4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 where does the life that destroys death come from8 ',he will swallow up death in victory1' or1 as probably the word more correctly means1 ',he will swallow up death for ever4' ,none of the other panaceas for the world's evils that ,i have been speaking of even attempt to deal with that ',shadow feared of ,man' that sits at the end of all our paths4 ,jesus ,christ has dealt with it4 ,like the warrior of ,judah who went down into a pit and slew a lion1 ,he has gone down into the lair of the dreadful thing1 and has come up leaving ,death dead on the threshold4 ,by ,his death ,christ has so altered that grim fact1 which awaits us all1 that to those who will trust their souls to ,him it ceases to be death1 even though the physical fact remains unaltered4 ,for what is death8 ,is it simply the separation of soul from body1 the cessation of corporeal existence8 ,surely not4 ,we have to add to that all the spiritual tremors1 all the dreads of passing into the unknown1 and leaving this familiar order of things1 and all the other reluctances and half-conscious feelings which make the difference between the death of a man and the death of a dog4 ,and all these are swept clean away1 if we believe that ,jesus died1 and died as our ,redeemer and our ,saviour4 ,so1 unconsciously and instinctively1 the ,new ,testament writers will seldom condescend to call the physical fact by the ugly old name4 ,it has changed its character2 it is 'a sleep' now2 it is 'an exodus1' a 'going out' from the land of ,egypt into a land of peace4 ,it is a plucking up of the tent-pegs1 according to another of the words which the writers employ for death1 in preparation for entering1 when the 'tabernacle is dissolved1' into 'a house not made with hands1' a statelier edifice1 'eternal in the heavens4' ,to die in ,christ is not to die1 but becomes a mere change of condition and of place1 to be with ,him1 which is far 'better4' ,so an ,apostle who was coming within measurable distance of his own martyrdom1 even whilst the headsman's block was all but in his sight1 said3 ',he hath abolished death1' the physical fact remaining still4 ,by ,his resurrection ,jesus ,christ has established immortality as a certainty for men4 ,i can understand a man1 who has persuaded himself that when he dies he is done with1 dressing his limbs to die without dread if without hope4 ,but that is a poor victory over death1 which1 even in the act of getting rid of the fear of it1 invests it with supreme and ultimate power over humanity4 ,surely1 surely1 to believe that the grave is a blind alley1 with no exit at the other end1--to believe that1 however it may minister to a quiet departure1 is no victory over the grave4 ,but to die believing1 on the other hand1 that it is only a short tunnel through which we pass1 and come out into fairer lands on the other side of the mountains1 is to conquer that last foe even while it seems to conquer us4 ,jesus ,christ1 who died that we might never die1 lives that we may always live4 ,for ,his immortal life will give to each of us1 if we join ourselves to ,him by simple faith and lowly obedience1 an immortal life that shall persist through1 and be increased by1 the article of bodily death4 ,and when we pass into the higher realm of fulness of joy1 then--as ,paul quotes the words of my text--'shall be brought to pass the saying that is written1 ,death is swallowed up in victory4' ,dear brethren1 gather all these thoughts together4 ,do they not plead with you to cast yourselves on ,jesus ,christ1 and to turn to ,him alone8 ,he will give you the food of your souls2 if you will not sit at ,his table you will starve4 ,he will strip you of the covering that is cast over you1 as over us all2 if you will not let ,him unwind its folds from your limbs1 then like the clothes of a drowning man1 they will sink you4 ,he will give you immortal life1 which laughs at death1 and you will be able to take up the great song1 ',o ,death1 where is thy sting2 ,o grave1 where is thy victory8444 ,thanks be to ,god which giveth us the victory4' ',in this mountain' and in this mountain only1 are the food1 the illumination1 the life of the world4 ,i beseech you1 do not turn away from them1 lest you stumble on the dark mountains1 where are starvation and gloom and death1 but rather join that happy company of pilgrims who sing as they march1 ',come6 let us go up to the mountain of the ,lord4 ,he will teach us ,his ways1 and we will walk in ,his paths4' ,,the ,,feast ,,on ,,the ,,sacrifice ,and in this mountain shall the ,lord of hosts make unto all people a feast4' ,,isaiah xxv4 #f4 ,there is here a reference to ,sinai1 where a feast followed the vision of ,god4 ,it was the sign of covenant1 harmony1 and relationship1 and was furnished by a sacrifice4 ,i4 ,the ,general ,ideas contained in this ,image of a ,feast4 ,we meet it all through ,scripture2 it culminates in ,christ's parables and in the ',marriage ,supper of the ,lamb4' ,in the image are suggested3-- ,free familiarity of access1 fellowship1 and communion with ,him4 ,abundant ,supply of all wants and desires4 ,festal ,joy4 ,family ,intercommunion4 ,,ii4 ,the ,feast follows on ,sacrifice4 ,we find that usage of a feast following a sacrifice existing in many races and religions4 ,it seems to witness to a widespread consciousness of sin as disturbing our relations with ,god4 ,these could be set right only by sacrifice1 which therefore must precede all joyful communion with ,him4 ,the ,new ,testament accepts that truth and clears it from the admixture of heathenism4 ,god provides the ,sacrifice4 ,it is not brought by man4 ,there is no need for our efforts--no atonement to be found by us4 ,the sacrifice is not meant to turn aside ,god's wrath4 ,communion is possible through ,christ4 ,in ,him ,god is revealed4 ,objective hindrances are taken away4 ,subjective ones are removed4 ,dark fears--indifference--dislike of fellowship--,sin--these make communion with ,god impossible4 ,at ,sinai the elders 'saw ,god1 and did eat and drink' ,here the end of the preceding chapter shows the 'elders' gazing on the glory of ,jehovah's reign in ,zion4 ,,iii4 ,the ,feast consists of a ,sacrifice4 ,christ is the food of our souls1 ,he and ,his work are meant to nourish our whole being4 ,he is the object for all our nature4 ,the ,sacrifice must be incorporated with us4 ,it is not enough that it be offered1 it must also be partaken of4 ,now the ,sacrifice is eaten by faith1 and by occupation with it of each part of our being1 according to its own proper action4 ,through love1 obedience1 hope1 desire1 we may all feed on ,jesus4 ,the ,lord's ,supper presents the same thoughts1 under similar symbols1 as ,isaiah expressed in his prophecy4 ,symbolically we feast on the sacrifice when we eat the ,bread which is the ,body broken for us4 ,but the true eating of the true sacrifice is by faith4 ,crede et manducasti--,believe1 and thou hast eaten4 ,,the ,,veil ,,over ,,all ,,nations ',he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people1 and the veil that is spread over all nations4'--,,isaiah xxv4 #g4 ,the previous chapter closes with a prediction of the reign of ,jehovah in ,mount ,zion 'before ,his elders' in ,glory4 ,the allusion apparently is to the elders being summoned up to the ,mount and seeing the ,glory1 'as the body of heaven in its clearness4' ,the veil in this verse is probably a similar allusion to that which covered ,moses' face4 ,it will then be an emblem of that which obscures for 'all nations the face of ,god4' ,and what is that but sin8 ,i4 ,sin veils ,god from men's sight4 ,it is not the necessary inadequacy of the finite mind to conceive of the ,infinite that most tragically hides ,god from us4 ,that inadequacy is compatible with true and sufficient knowledge of ,him4 ,nor is it 'the veils of flesh and sense1' as we often hear it said1 that hide ,him4 ,but it is our sinful moral nature that darkens ,his face and dulls our eyes4 ',knowledge' of ,god1 being knowledge of a ,person1 is not merely an intellectual process4 ,it is much more truly acquaintance than comprehension2 and as such1 requires1 as all acquaintance does1 some foundation of sympathy and appreciation4 ,every sin darkens the witness to ,god in ourselves1 ,in a pure nature1 conscience would perfectly reveal ,god2 but we all know too sadly and intimately how it is gradually silenced1 and fails to discriminate between what pleases and what displeases ,god4 ,in a pure nature1 the obedient ,will would perfectly reveal ,god and the man's dependence on ,him4 ,we all know how sin weakens that4 ,every sin diminishes our power of seeing ,him in ,his external ,revelation4 ,every sin ruffles the surface of the soul1 which is a mirror reflecting the light that streams from ,creation1 from ,providence1 from ,history4 ,a mass of black rock flung into a still lake shatters the images of the girdling woods and the overarching sky4 ,every sin bribes us to forget ,god4 ,it becomes our interest1 as we fancy1 to shut ,him out of our thoughts4 ,adam's impulse is to carry his guilty secret with him into hiding among the trees of the garden4 ,we cannot shake off ,his presence1 but we can--and when we have sinned1 we have but too good reason to exercise the power--we can dismiss the thought of ,him4 ',they did not like to retain ,god in their knowledge4' ,individual sins may seem of small moment1 but an opaque veil can be woven out of very fine thread4 ,,ii4 ,to veil ,god from our sight is fatal4 ,we imagine that to forget ,him leaves us undisturbed in following aims disapproved by ,him1 and we spend effort to secure that false peace by fierce absorption in other pursuits1 and impatient shaking off of all that might wake our sleeping consciousness of ,him4 ,but what unconscious self-murder that is1 which we take such pains to achieve6 ,to know ,god is life eternal2 to lose ,him from our sight is to condemn all that is best in our nature1 all that is most conducive to blessedness1 tranquillity1 and strenuousness in our lives1 to languish and die4 ,every creature separated from ,god is cut off from the fountain of life1 and loses the life it drew from the fountain1 of whatever kind that life is4 ,and that in man which is most of kin with ,god languishes most when so cut off4 ,and when we have blocked ,him out from our field of vision1 all that remains for us to look at suffers degradation1 and becomes phantasmal1 poor1 unworthy to detain1 and impotent to satisfy1 our hungry vision4 ,,iii4 ,the ,veil is done away in ,christ4 ,he shows us ,god1 instead of our own false conceptions of ,him1 which are but distorted refractions of ,his true likeness4 ,only within the limits of ,christ's revelation is there knowledge of ,god1 as distinguished from guesses1 doubtful inferences1 partial glimpses4 ,elsewhere1 the greatest certitude as to ,him is a 'peradventure'2 ,jesus alone says ',verily1 verily4' ,jesus makes us able to see ,god4 ,jesus makes us delight in seeing ,him4 ,all dread of the 'steady whole of the ,judge's face' is changed to the loving heart's joy in seeing its ,beloved4 ,,iv4 ,the ,veil is wholly removed hereafter4 ,the prophecy from which the text is taken is obviously not yet fulfilled4 ,it waits for the perfect condition of redeemed manhood in another life4 ,but even then1 the chief reason why the ,christian is warranted in cherishing an unpresumptuous hope that he will know even as he is known is not that then he will have dropped the veil of flesh and sense1 but that he will have dropped the thicker1 more stifling covering of sin1 and1 being perfectly like ,god1 will be able perfectly to gaze on ,him1 and1 perfectly gazing on ,him1 will grow ever more perfectly like ,him4 ,the choice for each of us is whether the veil will thicken till it darkens the ,face altogether1 and that is death2 or whether it will thin away till the last filmy remnant is gone1 and 'we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4' ,,the ,,song ,,of ,,two ,,cities ',in that day shall this song be sung in the land of ,judah2 ,we have a strong city2 salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks4 #b4 ,open ye the gates1 that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in4 #c4 ,thou wilt keep him in perfect peace1 whose mind is stayed on ,thee2 because he trusteth in ,thee4 ,a4 ,trust ye in the ,lord for ever3 for in the ,lord ,jehovah is everlasting strength3 #e4 ,for ,he bringeth down them that dwell on high2 the lofty city1 ,he layeth it low2 ,he layeth it low1 even to the ground ,he bringeth it even to the dust4 #f4 ,the foot shall tread it down1 even the feet of the poor1 and the steps of the needy4 #g4 ,the way of the just is uprightness3 ,thou1 most upright1 dost weigh the path of the ,just4 #h4 ,yea1 in the way of ,thy judgments1 ,o ,lord1 have we waited for ,thee2 the desire of our soul is to ,thy name1 and to the remembrance of ,thee4 #i4 ,with my soul have ,i desired ,thee in the night2 yea1 with my spirit within me will ,i seek ,thee early3 for when ,thy judgments are in the earth1 the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness4 #aj4 ,let favour be shewed to the wicked1 yet will he not learn righteousness3 in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly1 and will not behold the majesty of the ,lord4'--,,isaiah xxvi4 #a-aj4' ',this song' is to be interpreted as a song1 not with the cold-blooded accuracy proper to a scientific treatise4 ,the logic of emotion is as sound as that of cool intellect1 but it has its own laws and links of connection4 ,first1 the song sets in sharp contrast the two cities1 describing1 in verses #a-d1 the city of ,god1 its strength defences1 conditions of citizenship1 and the peace which reigns within its walls2 and in verses #e and #f the fall and utter ruin of the robber city1 its antagonist ,jerusalem1 on its rocky peninsula1 supplies the form of ,isaiah's thought2 but it is only a symbol of the true city of ,god1 the stable1 invisible1 but most real1 polity and order of things to which men1 even while wandering lonely and pilgrims1 do come1 if they will4 ,it is possible even here and now to have our citizenship in the heavens1 and to feel that we belong to a great community beyond the sea of time1 though our feet have never trodden its golden pavements1 nor our eyes seen its happy glories4 ,in one aspect1 it is ideal1 but in truth it is more real than the intrusive and false things of this fleeting present1 which call themselves realities4 ',the things which are' are the things above4 ,the things here are but shows and shadows4 ,the city's walls are salvation4 ,there is no need to name the architect of these fortifications4 ,one hand only can pile their strength4 ,god appoints salvation in lieu of all visible defences4 ,whom ,he purposes to save are saved4 ,whom ,he wills to keep safe are kept safe4 ,they who can shelter behind that strong defence need no other4 ,weak1 sense-governed hearts may crave something more palpable1 but they do not really need it4 ,a parapet on an ,alpine road gives no real security1 but only satisfies imagination4 ,the sky needs no pillars to hold it up4 ,then an unknown voice breaks in upon the song1 calling on unnamed attendants to fling wide the gates4 ,the city is conceived of as empty2 its destined inhabitants must have certain qualifications4 ,they must be righteous1 and must 'keep faithfulness' being true to the ,god who is 'faithful and true' in all ,his relations4 ,none but the righteous can dwell in conscious citizenship with the ,unseen while here1 and none but the righteous can enter through the gates into the city4 ,that requirement is founded in the very nature of the case1 and is as emphatically proclaimed by the gospel as by the prophet4 ,but the gospel tells more articulately than he was enlightened to do1 how righteousness is to be won4 ,the last vision of the ,apocalypse1 which is so like this song in its central idea1 tells us of the fall of ,babylon1 of the descent to earth of the ,new ,jerusalem1 and leaves as its last message the great saying1 ',blessed are they that wash their robes that they may 444 enter in through the gate into the city4' ,our song gives some hint of similar thoughts by passing from the description of the qualifications for entrance to the celebration of the security which comes from trust4 ,the safety which is realised within the walls of the strong city is akin to the 'perfect peace' in which he who trusts is kept2 and the juxtaposition of the two representations is equivalent to the teaching that trust1 which is precisely the same as the ,new ,testament faith1 is the condition of entrance4 ,we know that faith makes righteous1 because it opens the heart to receive ,god's gift of righteousness2 but that effect of faith is implied rather than stated here1 where security and peace are the main ideas4 ,as some fugitives from the storm of war sit in security behind the battlements of a fortress1 and scarcely hear the din of conflict in the open field below1 the heart1 which has taken refuge by trust in ,god1 is kept in peace so deep that it passes description1 and the singer is fain to give a notion of its completeness by calling it 'peace1 peace4' ,the mind which trusts is steadied thereby1 as light things lashed to a firm stay are kept steadfast1 however the ship toss4 ,the only way to get and keep fixedness of temper and spirit amid change and earthquake is to hold on to ,god1 and then we may be stable with stability derived from the foundations of ,his throne to which we cling4 ,therefore the song breaks into triumphant fervour of summons to all who hear it1 to 'trust in ,jab ,jehovah for ever1' ,such settled1 perpetual trust is the only attitude corresponding to ,his mighty name1 and to the realities found in ,his character4 ,he is the ',bock of ,ages' the grand figure which ,moses learned beneath the cliffs of ,sinai and wove into his last song1 and which tells us of the unchanging strength that makes a sure hiding-place for all generations1 and the ample space which will hold all the souls of men1 and be for a shadow from the heat1 a covert from the tempest1 a shelter from the foe1 and a home for the homeless1 with many a springing fountain in its clefts4 ,the great act of judgment which the song celebrates is now 7vs4 #e1 #f7 brought into contrast with the blessed picture of the city1 and by the introductory 'for' is stated as the reason for eternal trust4 ,the language1 as it were1 leaps and dances in jubilation1 heaping together brief emotional and synonymous clauses4 ,so low is the once proud city brought1 that the feet of the poor tread it down4 ,these 'poor' and 'needy' are the true ,israel1 the suffering saints1 who had known how cruel the sway of the fallen robber city was2 and now they march across its site2 and its broken columns and ruined palaces strew the ground below their feet4 ',the righteous nation' of the one picture are 'the poor and needy' of the other4 ,no doubt the prophecy has had partial accomplishments more than once or twice1 when the oppressed church has triumphed1 and some hoary iniquity been levelled at a blow1 or toppled over by slow decay4 ,but the complete accomplishment is yet future1 and not to be realised till that last act1 when all antagonism shall be ended1 and the net result of the weary history of the world be found to be just these two pictures of ,isaiah's--the strong city of ,god with its happy inhabitants1 and the everlasting desolations of the fallen city of confusion4 ,the triumphant hurry of the song pauses for a moment to gaze upon the crash1 and in verse #g gathers its lessons into a kind of proverbial saying1 which is perhaps best translated ',the path of the just is smooth 7or plain72 ,thou levellest smooth the path of the just4' ,to render 'upright' instead of 'smooth' seems to make the statement almost an identical proposition1 and is tame4 ,what is meant is1 that1 in the light of the end1 the path which often seemed rough is vindicated4 ,the judgment has showed that the righteous man's course had no unnecessary difficulties4 ,the goal explains the road4 ,the good man's path is smooth1 not because of its own nature1 but because ,god makes it so4 ,we are to look for the clearing of our road1 not to ourselves1 nor to circumstances1 but to ,him2 and even when it is engineered through rocks and roughnesses1 to believe that ,he will make the rough places plain1 or give us shoes of iron and brass to encounter them4 ,trust that when the journey is over the road will be explained1 and that this reflection1 which breaks the current of the swift song of the prophet1 will be the abiding1 happy conviction of heaven4 ,lastly1 the song looks back and tells how the poor and needy1 in whose name the prophet speaks1 had filled the dreary past1 while the tyranny of the fallen city lasted1 with yearning for the judgment which has now come at last4 ,verses #h and #i breathe the very spirit of patient longing and meek hope4 ,there is a certain tone of triumph in that ',yea1' as if the singer would point to the great judgment now accomplished1 as vindicating the long1 weary hours of hope deferred4 ,that for which 'the poor and needy' wait is the coming 'in the path of ,thy judgments4' ,the attitude of expectance is as much the duty and support of ,christians as of ,israel4 ,we have a greater future clearer before us than they had4 ,the world needs ,god's coming in judgment more than ever2 and it says little for either the love to ,god or the benevolence towards man of average ,christians1 that they should know so little of that yearning of soul which breathes through so much of the ,old ,testament4 ,for the glory of ,god and the good of men1 we should have the desire of our souls turned to ,his manifestation of ,himself in ,his righteous judgments4 ,it was no personal end which bred the prophet's yearning4 ,true1 the 'night' round him was dreary enough1 and sorrow lay black on his people and himself2 but it was ,god's 'name' and 'memorial' that was uppermost in his desires4 ,that is to say1 the chief object of the devout soul's longings should be the glory of ,god's revealed character4 ,and the deepest reason for wishing that ,he would flash forth from ,his hiding-place in judgments1 is because such an apocalypse is the only way by which wilfully blind eyes can be made to see1 and wilfully unrighteous hearts can be made to practise righteousness4 ,isaiah believed in the wholesome effect of terror4 ,his confidence in the power of judgments to teach the obstinate corresponds to the ,old ,testament point of view1 and contains a truth for all points of view2 but it is not the whole truth4 ,we know only too well that sorrows and judgments do not work infallibly1 and that men 'being often reproved1 harden their necks4' ,we know1 too1 more clearly than any prophet of old could know1 that the last arrow in ,god's quiver is not some unheard-of awfulness of judgment1 but an unspeakable gift of love1 and that if that 'favour shown to the wicked' in the life and death of ,god's ,son does not lead him to 'learn righteousness1' nothing else will4 ,but while this is true1 the prophet's aspirations are founded on the facts of human nature too1 and judgments do sometimes startle those whom kindness had failed to touch4 ,it is an awful thought that human nature may so steel itself against the whole armoury of divine weapons as that favour and severity are equally blunted1 and the heart remains unpierced by either4 ,it is an awful thought that there may be induced such truculent obstinacy of love of evil that1 even when in 'a land of uprightness1' a man shall choose evil1 and forcibly shut his eyes1 that he may not see the majesty of the ,lord1 which he does not wish to see because it condemns his choice1 and threatens to burn up him and his work together4 ,a blasted tree when all the woods are green1 a fleece dry when all around is rejoicing in the dew1 a window dark when the whole city is illuminated1 one black sheep amid the white flock1 or anything else anomalous and alone in its evil1 is less tragic than the sight1 so common1 of a man so sold to sin that the presence of good only makes him angry and restless4 ,it is possible to dwell amidst the full light of ,christian truth1 and in a society moulded by its precepts1 and to be unblessed1 unsoftened thereby4 ,if not softened1 then hardened2 and the wicked who in the land of uprightness deals wrongfully is all the worse for the light which he hated because it showed him the sinfulness of the sin which he obstinately loved and would keep4 ,,our ,,strong ,,city ',in that day shall this song be sung in the land of ,judah2 ,we have a strong city2 salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks4 ,open ye the gates1 that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in4'--,,isaiah xxvi #a-b4 ,what day is 'that day'8 ,the answer carries us back a couple of chapters1 to the great picture drawn by the prophet of a world-wide judgment1 which is followed by a burst of song from the ransomed people of ,jehovah1 like ,miriam's chant by the shores of the ,red ,sea4 ,the 'city of confusion1' the centre of the power hostile to ,god and man1 falls2 and its fall is welcomed by a chorus of praises4 ,the words of my text are the beginning of one of these songs4 ,whether or not there were any historical event which floated before the prophet's mind is wholly uncertain4 ,if there were a smaller judgment upon some city of the enemy1 it passes in his view into a world-wide judgment2 and my text is purely ideal1 imaginative1 and apocalyptic4 ,its nearest ally is the similar vision of the ,book of the ,revelation1 where1 when ,babylon sank with a splash like a millstone in the stream1 the ransomed people raised their praises4 ,so1 then1 whatever may have been the immediate horizon of the prophet1 and though1 there may have stood on it some historical event1 the city which he sees falling is other than any material ,babylon1 and the strong city in which he rejoices is other than the material ,jerusalem1 though it may have suggested the metaphor of my text4 ,the song fits our lips quite as closely as it did the lips from which it first sprang1 thrilling with triumph3 ',we have a strong city2 salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks4 ,open ye the gates1 that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in4' ,there are three things1 then1 here3 the city1 its defences1 its citizens4 ,i4 ,the ,city4 ,now1 no doubt the prophet was thinking of the literal ,jerusalem2 but the city is ideal1 as is shown by the bulwarks which defend1 and by the qualifications which permit entrance4 ,and so we must pass beyond the literalities of ,palestine1 and1 as ,i think1 must not apply the symbol to any visible institution or organisation if we are to come to the depth and greatness of the meaning of these words4 ,no church which is organised amongst men can be the ,new ,testament representation of this strong city4 ,and if the explanation is to be looked for in that direction at all1 it can only be the invisible aggregate of ransomed souls which is regarded as being the ,zion of the prophecy4 ,but perhaps even that is too definite and hard4 ,and we are rather to think of the unseen but existent order of things or polity to which men here on earth may belong1 and which will one day1 after shocks and convulsions that shatter all which is merely institutional and human1 be manifested still more gloriously4 ,the central thought that was moving in the prophet's mind is that of the indestructible vitality of the true ,israel1 and the order which it represented1 of which ,jerusalem on its rock was but to him a symbol4 ,and thus for us the lesson is that1 apart altogether from the existing and visible order of things in which we dwell1 there is a polity to which we may belong1 for 'ye are come unto ,mount ,zion1 the city of the living ,god1' and that that order is indestructible4 ,convulsions come1 every ,babylon falls1 all human institutions change and pass4 ',the kingdoms old' are 'cast into another mould4' ,but persistent through them all1 and at the last1 high above them all1 will stand the stable polity of ,heaven1 'the city which hath the foundations4' ,there is a lesson for us1 brethren1 in times of fluctuation1 of change of opinion1 of shaking of institutions1 and of new social1 economical1 and political questions1 threatening day by day to reorganise society4 ',we have a strong city'2 and whatever may come--and much destructive will come1 and much that is venerable and antique1 rooted in men's prejudices1 and having survived through and oppressed the centuries1 will have to go2 but ,god's polity1 ,his form of human society of which the perfect ideal and antitype1 so to speak1 lies concealed in the heavens1 is everlasting4 ,therefore1 whatsoever changes1 whatsoever ancient and venerable things come to be regarded as of no account1 howsoever the nations1 like clay in the hands of the potter1 may have to assume new forms1 as certainly they will1 yet the foundation of ,god standeth sure4 ,and for ,christian men in revolutionary epochs1 whether these revolutions affect the forms in which truth is grasped1 or whether they affect the moulds into which society is run1 the only worthy temper is the calm1 triumphant expectation that through all the dust1 contradiction1 and distraction1 the fair city of ,god will be brought nearer and made more manifest to man4 ,isaiah1 or whoever was the writer of these great words of my text1 stayed his own and his people's hearts in a time of confusion and distress1 by the thought that it was only ,babylon that could fall1 and that ,jerusalem was the possessor of a charmed1 immortal life4 ,this strong city1 the order of human society which ,god has appointed1 and which exists1 though it be hidden in the heavens1 will be manifested one day when1 like the fair vision of the goddess rising from amidst the ocean's foam1 and shedding peace and beauty over the charmed waves1 there will emerge from all the wild confusion and tossing billows of the sea of the peoples the fair form of the ',bride1 the ,lamb's wife4' ,there shall be an apocalypse of the city1 and whether the old words which catch up the spirit of my text1 and speak of that ,holy ,city as 'descending from heaven' upon earth1 at the close of the history of the world1 are to be taken1 as perhaps they are1 as expressive of the truth that a renewed earth is to be the dwelling of the ransomed or no1 this at least is clear1 that the city shall be revealed1 and when ,babylon is swept away1 ,zion shall stand4 ,to this city--existent1 immortal1 and waiting to be revealed--you and ,i may belong to-day4 ',we have a strong city4' ,you may lay hold of life either by the side of it which is transient and trivial and contemptible1 or by the side of it which goes down through all the mutable and is rooted in eternity4 ,as in some seaweed1 far out in the depths of the ocean1 the tiny frond that floats upon the billow goes down and down and down1 by filaments that bind it to the basal rock1 so the most insignificant act of our fleeting days has a hold upon eternity1 and life in all its moments may be knit to the permanent4 ,we may unite our lives with the surface of time or with the centre of eternity4 ,though we dwell in tabernacles1 we may still be 'come to ,mount ,zion1' and all life be awful1 noble1 solemn1 religions1 because it is all connected with the unseen city across the seas4 ,it is for us to determine to which of these orders--the perishable1 noisy and intrusive and persistent in its appeals1 or the calm1 silent1 most real1 eternal order beyond the stars--our petty lives shall attach themselves4 ,,ii4 ,now note1 secondly1 the defences4 ',salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks4' ,this 'evangelical prophet1' as he has been called1 is distinguished1 not only by the clearness of his anticipations of ,jesus ,christ and ,his work1 but by the fulness and depth which he attaches to that word 'salvation4' ,he all but anticipates the ,new ,testament completeness and fulness of meaning1 and lifts it from all merely material associations of earthly or transitory deliverance1 into the sphere in which we are accustomed to regard it as especially moving4 ,by 'salvation' he means and we mean1 not only negative but positive blessings4 ,negatively it includes the removal of every conceivable or endurable evil1 'all the ills that flesh is heir to1' whether they be evils of sin or evils of sorrow2 and1 positively1 the investiture with every possible good that humanity is capable of1 whether it be good of goodness1 or good of happiness4 ,this is what the prophet tells us is the wall and bulwark of his ideal-real city4 ,mark the eloquent omission of the name of the builder of the wall4 ',god' is a supplement4 ,salvation 'will ,he appoint for walls and bulwarks4' ,no need to say who it is that flings such a fortification around the city4 ,there is only one hand that can trace the lines of such walls2 only one hand that can pile their stones2 only one that can lay them1 as the walls of ,jericho were laid1 in the blood of ,his first-born ,son4 ',salvation will ,he appoint for walls and bulwarks4' ,that is to say in a highly imaginative and picturesque form1 that the defense of the ,city is ,god ,himself2 and it is substantially a parallel with other words which speak about ,him as being 'a wall of fire round about it and the glory in the midst of it4' ,the fact of salvation is the wall and the bulwark4 ,and the consciousness of the fact and the sense of possessing it1 is for our poor hearts1 one of our best defenses against both the evil of sin and the evil of sorrow4 ,for nothing so robs temptation of its power1 so lightens the pressure of calamities1 and draws the poison from the fangs of sin and sorrow1 as the assurance that the loving purpose of ,god to save grasps and keeps us4 ,they who shelter behind that wall1 feel that between them and sin1 and them and sorrow1 there rises the inexpugnable defense of an ,almighty purpose and power to save1 lie safe whatever betides4 ,there is no need of other defenses4 ,zion ',needs no bulwarks1 ,no towers along the steep4' ,god ,himself is the shield and none other is required4 ,so1 brethren1 let us walk by the faith that is always confident1 though it depends on an unseen hand4 ,it is a grand thing to be able to stand1 as it were1 in the open1 a mark for all 'the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' and yet to feel that around us there are walls most real1 though invisible1 which permit no harm to come to us4 ,our feeble sense-bound souls much prefer a visible wall4 ,we1 like a handrail on the stair4 ,though it does not at all guard the descent1 it keeps our heads from getting dizzy4 ,it is hard for us1 as some travellers may have to do1 to walk with steady foot and unthrobbing heart along a narrow ledge of rock with beetling precipice above us and black depths beneath1 and we would like a little bit of a wall of some sort1 for imagination if not for reality1 between us and the sheer descent4 ,but it is blessed to learn that naked we are clothed1 solitary we have a ,companion1 and unarmed we have our defenceless heads covered with the shadow of the great wing1 which1 though sense sees it not1 faith knows is there4 ,a servant of ,god is never without a friend1 and when most unsheltered ',from marge to blue marge ,the whole sky grows his targe1 ,with sun's self for visible boss1' beneath which he lies safe4 ',salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks1' and if we realise1 as we ought to do1 ,his purpose to keep us safe1 and ,his power to keep us safe1 and the actual operation of ,his hand keeping us safe at every moment1 we shall not ask that these defences shall be supplemented by the poor feeble earthworks that sense can throw up4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 note the citizens4 ,our text is part of a 'song1' and is not to be interpreted in the cold-blooded fashion that might suit prose4 ,a voice1 coming from whom we know not1 breaks in upon the first strain with a command1 addressed to whom we know not--',open ye the gates'--the city thus far being supposed to be empty--'that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in4' ,the central idea there is just this1 ',thy people shall be all righteous4' ,the one qualification for entrance into the city is absolute purity4 ,now1 brethren1 that is true in regard to our present imperfect denizenship within the city2 and it is true in regard to men's passing into it in its perfect and final form4 ,as to the former1 there is nothing that you ,christian people need more to have dinned into you than this1 that your continuance in the state of a redeemed man1 with all the security and blessing that attach thereto1 depends upon your continuing to be righteous4 ,every sin1 every flaw1 every dropping beneath our own standard in conscience of what we ought to be1 has for its inevitable result that we are robbed for the time being of consciousness of the walls of the city being about us and of our being citizens thereof4 ',who shall ascend into the hill of the ,lord8 ,and who shall stand in ,his holy place8' ,the ,new ,testament1 as emphatically as the old psalm1 answers1' ,he that hath clean hands and a pure heart4' ',let no man deceive you4 ,he that doeth righteousness is righteous4' ,there is no way by which ,christian men here on earth can pass into and keep within the city of the living ,god1 except they possess personal purity1 righteousness of life1 and cleanness of heart4 ,they used to say that ,venice glass was so made that any poison poured into it shivered the vessel4 ,any drop of sin poured into your cup of communion with ,god1 shatters the cup and spills the wine4 ,whosoever thinks himself a citizen of that great city1 if he falls into transgression1 and soils the cleanness of his hands1 and ruffles the calm of his pure heart by self-willed sinfulness1 will wake to find himself not within the battlements1 but lying wounded1 robbed1 solitary1 in the pitiless desert4 ,my brother1 it is 'the righteous nation' that 'enters in1' even here on earth4 ,i do not need to remind you how1 admittedly by us all1 that is the case in regard to the final form of the city of our ,god1 into which nothing shall enter 'that defileth1 neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie4' ,heaven can only be entered into hereafter by1 as here and now it can only enter into1 those who are pure of heart4 ,all else there would shrivel as foul things born ,in the darkness do in the light1 and be consumed in the fire4 ,none but the pure can enter and see ,god4 ',the nation which keepeth the truth'--that does not mean adherence to any revelation1 or true creed1 or the like4 ,the word which is employed means1 not truth of thought1 but truth of character2 and might1 perhaps1 be better represented by the more familiar word in such a connection1 'faithfulness4' ,a man who is true to ,god1 keeping up a faithful relation to ,him who is faithful to us1 he1 and only he1 will pass into1 and abide in1 the city4 ,now1 brethren1 so far our text carries us1 but no further2 unless1 perhaps1 there may be a hint of something yet deeper in the next clause of this song4 ,if any one asks1 ,how does the nation become righteous8 the answer may lie in the immediately following exhortation--',trust ye in the ,lord for ever4' ,but whether that be so or not1 if we want an answer to the questions1 ,how can my stained feet be cleansed so as to be fit to tread the crystal pavements8 how can my foul garments be so purged as not to be a blot and an eyesore1 beside the white1 lustrous robes that sweep along them and gather no defilement there8 the only answer that ,i know of is to be found by turning to the final visions of the ,new ,testament1 where the spirit of this whole section of our prophet is reproduced4 ,again1 ,babylon falls amidst the songs of saints2 and then1 down upon all the dust and confusion of the crash of ruin1 the seer beholds the ,lamb's wife1 the new ,jerusalem1 descending from above4 ,to his happy eyes its glories are unveiled1 its golden streets1 its open gates1 its walls of precious stones1 its flashing river1 its peaceful inhabitants1 its light streaming from the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb4 ,and when that vision passes1 his last message to us is1 ',blessed are they that wash their robes that they may enter through the gates into the city4' ,none but those who wash their garments1 and make them white in the blood of the ,lamb1 can1 living1 come unto the city of the living ,god1 the heavenly ,jerusalem2 or1 dying1 can pass through the iron gate that opens to them of its own accord1 and find themselves as day breaks in the street of the ,jerusalem which is above4 ,,the ,,inhabitant ,,of ,,the ,,rock ',thou wilt keep him ,in perfect peace1 whose mind is stayed on ,thee3 because he trusteth in ,thee4 ,trust ye in the ,lord for ever3 for in the ,lord ,jehovah is everlasting strength4'--,,isaiah xxvi4 #c-d4 ,there is an obvious parallel between these verses and the two preceding ones4 ,the safety which was there set forth as the result of dwelling in the strong city is here presented as the consequence of trust4 ,the emblem of the fortified place passes into that of the ,rock of ,ages4 ,there is the further resemblance in form1 that1 just as in the two preceding verses we had the triumphant declaration of security followed by a summons to some unknown persons to 'open the gates1' so here we have the triumphant declaration of perfect peace1 followed by a summons to all to 'trust in the ,lord for ever4' ,if we may suppose the invocation of the preceding verses to be addressed to the watchers at the gate of the strong city1 it is perhaps not too fanciful to suppose that the invitation in my text is the watcher's answer1 pointing the way by which men may pass into the city4 ,whether that be so or no1 at all events ,i take it as by no means accidental that1 immediately upon the statement of the ,old ,testament law that righteousness alone admits to the presence of ,god1 there follows so clear and emphatic an anticipation of the great ,new ,testament ,gospel that faith is the condition of righteousness1 and that immediately after hearing that only 'the righteous nation which keepeth the truth' can enter there1 we hear the merciful call1 ',trust ye in the ,lord for ever4' ,so1 then1 ,i think we have in the words before us1 though not formally yet really1 very large teaching as to the nature1 the object1 the blessed effects1 and the universal duty of that trust in the ,lord which makes the very nexus between man and ,god1 according to the teaching of the ,new ,testament4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 ,i desire to notice in a sentence the insight into the true nature of trust or faith given by the word employed here4 ,now the literal meaning of the expression here rendered 'to trust' is to lean upon anything4 ,as we say1 trust is reliance4 ,as a weak man might stay his faltering1 tottering steps upon some strong staff1 or might lean upon the outstretched arm of a friend1 so we1 conscious of our weakness1 aware of our faltering feet1 and realising the roughness of the road1 and the smallness of our strength1 may lay the whole weight of ourselves upon the loving strength of ,jehovah4 ,and that is the trust of the ,old ,testament1 the faith of the ,new--the simple act of reliance1 going out of myself to find the basis of my being1 forsaking myself to touch and rest upon the ground of my security1 passing from my own weakness and laying my trembling hand into the strong hand of ,god1 like some weak-handed youth on a coach-box who turns to a stronger beside him and says3 ',take thou the reins1 for ,i am feeble to direct or to restrain4' ,trust is reliance1 and reliance is always blessedness4 ,,ii4 ,notice1 secondly1 the steadfast peacefulness of trust4 ,now there are difficulties about the rendering and precise significance of the first verse of my text with which ,i do not need to trouble you4 ,the ,authorised ,version1 and still more perhaps the ,revised ,version1 give substantially1 as ,i take it1 the prophet's meaning2 and the margin of the ,revised ,version is still more literal and accurate than the text1 ',a steadfast mind ,thou keepest in perfect peace1 because it trusteth in ,thee4' ,if this1 then1 be the true meaning of the words1 you observe that it is the steadfast mind1 steadfast because it trusts1 which ,god keeps ,in the deep peace that is expressed by the reduplication of the word4 ,and if we break up that complex thought into its elements1 it just comes to this1 first1 that trust makes steadfastness4 ,most men's lives are blown about by winds of circumstance1 directed by gusts of passion1 shaped by accidents1 and are fragmentary and jerky1 like some ship at sea with nobody at the helm1 heading here and there1 as the force of the wind or the flow of the current may carry them4 ,if my life is to be steadied1 there must not only be a strong hand at the tiller1 but some outward object which shall be for me the point of aim and the point of rest4 ,no man can steady his life except by clinging to a holdfast without himself4 ,some of us look for that stay in the fluctuations and fleetingnesses of creatures2 and some of us are wiser and saner1 and look for it in the steadfastness of the unchanging ,god4 ,the men who do the former are the sport of circumstances1 and the slaves of their own natures1 and there is no consistency in noble aim and effort throughout their lives1 corresponding to their circumstances1 relations1 and nature4 ,only they who stay themselves upon ,god1 and get down through all the superficial shifting strata of drift and gravel1 to the base-rock1 are steadfast and solid4 ,my brother1 if you desire to govern yourself1 you must let ,god govern you4 ,if you desire to be firm1 you must draw your firmness from the unchangingness of that divine nature which you grasp4 ,how can a willow be stiffened into an iron pillar8 ,only--if ,i might use such a violent metaphor--when it receives into its substance the iron particles that it draws from the soil in which it is rooted4 ,how can a bit of thistledown be kept motionless amidst the tempest8 ,only by being glued to something that is fixed4 ,what do men do with light things on deck when the ship is pitching8 ,lash them to a fixed point4 ,lash yourselves to ,god by simple trust1 and then you will partake of ,his serene immutability in such fashion as it is possible for the creature to participate in the attributes of the ,creator4 ,and then1 still further1 the steadfast mind--steadfast because it trusts--is rewarded in that it is kept by ,god4 ,it is no mere mistake in the order of his thought which leads this prophet to allege that it is the steadfast mind which ,god keeps4 ,for1 though it is true1 on the one hand1 that the real fixity and solidity of a human character come more surely and fully through trust in ,god than by any other means1 on the other hand it is true that1 in order to receive the full blessed effects of trust into our characters and lives1 we must persistently and doggedly keep on in the attitude of confidence4 ,if a man holds out to ,god a tremulous hand with a shaking cup in it1 which ,le sometimes presents and sometimes twitches back1 it is not to be expected that ,god will pour the treasure of ,his grace into such a vessel1 with the risk of most of it being spilt upon the ground4 ,there must be a steadfast waiting if there is to be a continual flow4 ,it is the mind that cleaves to ,god which ,god keeps4 ,i suppose that there was floating before ,paul's thoughts some remembrance of this great passage of the evangelical prophet when he uttered his words1 which ring so strikingly with so many echoes of them1 when he said1 ',the peace of ,god which passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4' ,it is the steadfast mind that is kept in perfect peace4 ,if we 'keep ourselves1' by that divine help which is always waiting to be given1' in the' faith and 'love of ,god1' ,he will keep us in the hour of temptation1 will keep us from falling1 and will garrison our hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4 ,and then1 still further1 this faithful1 steadfast heart and mind1 kept by ,god1 is a mind filled with deepest peace4 ,there is something very beautiful in the prophet's abandoning the attempt to find any adjective of quality which adequately characterises the peace of which he has been speaking4 ,he falls back upon the expedient which is the confession of the impotence of human speech worthily to portray its subject when he simply says1 ',thou shalt keep in peace1 peace 444 because he trusteth in ,thee4' ,the reduplication expresses the depth1 the completeness of the tranquillity which flows into the heart1 ,such continuity1 wave after wave1 or rather ripple after ripple1 is possible even for us4 ,for1 dear brethren1 the possession of this deep1 unbroken peace does not depend on the absence of conflict1 on distraction1 trouble1 or sorrow1 but on the presence of ,god4 ,if we are in touch with ,him1 then our troubled days may be calm1 and beneath all the surface tumult there may be a centre of rest4 ,the garrison in some high hill-fortress looks down upon the open where the enemy's ranks are crawling like insects across the grass1 and scarcely hears the noise of the tumult1 and no arrow can reach the lofty hold4 ,so1 up in ,god we may dwell at rest whate'er betide4 ,strange that we should prefer to live down amongst the unwalled villages1 which every spoiler can harry and burn1 when we might climb1 and by the might and the magic of trust in the ,lord bring round about ourselves a wall of fire which shall consume the poison out of the evil1 even whilst it permits the sorrow to do its beneficent work upon us6 ,,iii4 ,note again the worthiness of the divine ,name to evoke1 and the power of the divine character to reward1 the trust4 ,we pass to the last words of my text3--',in the ,lord ,jehovah is everlasting strength4' ,now ,i suppose we all know that the words feebly rendered in the ,authorised ,version 'everlasting strength' are literally 'the ,rock of ,ages'2 and that this verse is the source of that hallowed figure which1 by one of the greatest of our ,english hymns1 is made familiar and immortal to all ,english-speaking people4 ,but there is another peculiarity about the words on which ,i dwell for a moment1 and that is1 that here we have1 for one of the only two times in which the expression occurs in ,scripture1 the great name of ,jehovah reduplicated4 ',in ,jab ,jehovah is the ,rock of ,ages4' ,in the former verse the prophet had given up in despair the attempt to characterise the peace which ,god gave1 and fallen back upon the expedient of naming it twice over4 ,in this verse1 with similar eloquence of reticence1 he abandons the attempt to describe or characterise that great ,name1 and in adoration1 contents himself with twice taking it upon his lips1 in order to impress what he cannot express1 the majesty and the sufficiency of that name4 ,what1 then1 is the force of that name8 ,we do not need1 ,i suppose1 to do more than simply remind you that there are two great thoughts communicated by that self-revelation of ,god which lies in it4 ,jehovah1 in its literal grammatical signification1 puts emphasis upon the absolute1 underived1 and therefore unlimited1 unconditioned1 unchangeable1 eternal being of ,god4 ',i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am4' ,men and creatures are what they are made1 are what they become1 and some time or other cease to be what they were4 ,but ,god is what ,he is1 and is because ,he is4 ,he is the ,source1 the ,motive1 the ,law1 the ,sustenance of ,his own ,being2 and changeless and eternal ,he is for ever4 ,in that name is the ,rock of ,ages4 ,that mighty name1 by its place in the history of ,revelation1 conveys to us still further thoughts1 for it is the name of the ,god who entered into covenant with ,his ancient people1 and remains bound by ,his covenant to bless us4 ,that ,is to say1 ,he hath not left us in darkness as to the methods and purpose of ,his dealings with us1 or as to the attitude of ,his heart towards us4 ,he has bound ,himself by solemn words1 and by deeds as revealing as words4 ,so we can reckon on ,god4 ,to use a vulgarism which is stripped of its vulgarity if employed reverently1 as ,i would do it--we know where to have ,him4 ,he has given us the elements to calculate ,his orbit2 and we are sure that the calculation will come right4 ,so1 because the name flashes upon men the thought of an absolute ,being1 eternal1 and all-sufficient1 and self-modified1 and changeless1 and because it reveals to us the very inmost heart of the mystery1 and makes it possible for us to forecast the movements of this great ,sun of our heavens1 therefore in the name ',jab ,jehovah is the ,bock of ,ages4' ,the metaphor needs no expansion4 ,we understand that it conveys the idea of unchangeable defence4 ,as the cliffs tower above the river that swirls at their base1 and takes centuries to eat the faintest line upon their shining surface1 so the changeless ,god rises above the stream of time1 of which the brief breakers are human lives1 'sparkling1 bursting1 borne away4' ,they who fasten themselves to that ,rock are safe in its unchangeable strength1 ,god the ,unchangeable is the amulet against any change1 that is not growth1 in the lives of those who trust ,him4 ,some of us may recall some great precipice rising above the foliage1 which stands to-day as it did when we were boys1 unwasted in its silent strength1 while generations of leaves have opened and withered at its base1 and we have passed from childhood to age4 ,thus1 unaffected by the transiency that changes all beneath1 ,god rises1 the ,bock of ,ages in whom we may trust4 ',the conies are a feeble folk1 but they make their houses in the rocks4' ,so our weakness may house itself there and be at rest4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 note the summons to trust4 ,we know not whose voice it is that is heard in the last words of my text1 but we know to whose ears it is addressed4 ,it is to all4 ',trust ye in the ,lord for ever4' ,surely1 surely the blessed effects of trust1 of which we have been speaking1 have a voice of merciful invitation summoning us to exercise it4 ,the promise of peace appeals to the deepest1 though often neglected and misunderstood1 longings of the human heart4 ,inly we sigh for that repose4' ,o dear brethren1 if it is true that into our agitated and struggling lives there may steal1 and in them there may abide1 this priceless blessing of a great tranquillity1 surely nothing else should be needed to woo us to accept the conditions and put forth the trust4 ,it is strange that we should turn away1 as we are all tempted to do1 from that rest in ,god1 and try to find repose in what was only meant for stimulus1 and is altogether incapable of imparting rest4 ,storms live in the lower regions of the atmosphere2 get up higher and there is peace4 ,waves dash and break on the surface region of the ocean2 get down deeper1 nearer the heart of things1 and again there is peace4 ,surely the name of the ,bock of ,ages is an invitation to us to put our trust in ,him4 ,if a man knew ,god as ,he is1 he could not choose but trust ,him4 ,it is because we have blackened ,his face with our own doubts1 and darkened ,his character with the mists that rise from our own sinful hearts1 that we have made that bright ,sun in the heavens1 which ought to fall upon our hearts with healing in its beams1 into a lurid ball of fire that shines threatening through the dim obscurity of our misty hearts4 ,but if we knew ,him we should love ,him1 and if we would only listen to ,his own self-revelation1 we should find that ,he draws us to ,himself by the manifestation of ,himself1 as the sun binds all the planets to his mass and his flame by the eradiation of his own mystic energies4 ,the summons is a summons to a faith corresponding to that upon which it is built4 ',trust ye in the ,lora for ever1 for in the ,lord is the strength that endures for ever4' ,our continual faith is the only fit response to ,his unchanging faithfulness4 ,build rock upon rock4 ,the summons is a summons addressed to us all4 ',trust ye'--whoever ye are--'in the ,lord for ever4' ,you and ,i1 dear friends1 hear the summons in a yet more beseeching and tender voice than was audible to the prophet1 for our faith has a nobler object1 and may have a mightier operation1 seeing that its object is 'the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin of the world'2 and its operation1 to bring to us peace with ,god through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,when from the ,cross there comes to all our hearts the merciful invitation1 ',believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved1' why should not we each answer1 ',rock of ,ages1 cleft for me1 ,let me hide myself in ,thee'8 ,,the ,,grasp ,,that ,,brings ,,peace ',let him take hold of ,my strength1 that he may make peace with ,me2 yea1 let him make peace with ,me4'--,,isaiah xxvii4 #e4 ,lyrical emotion makes the prophet's language obscure by reason of its swift transitions from one mood of feeling to another4 ,but the main drift here is discernible4 ,god is guarding ,israel1 ,his vineyard1 and before ,him its foes are weak as 'thorns and briers1' whose end is to be burned4 ,with daring anthropomorphism1 the prophet puts into ,god's mouth a longing for the enemies to measure their strength against ,his1 a warrior's eagerness for the fight4 ,but at once this martial tone gives place to the tender invitation of the text1 and the infinite divine willingness to be reconciled to the enemy speaks wooingly and offers conditions of peace4 ,all this has universal application to our relations to ,god4 ,i4 ,the ,hostility4 ,that our relations with ,god are 'strained1' and that men are 'enemies of ,god1' is often repelled as exaggeration1 if not as directly false4 ,and1 no doubt1 the ,scripture representation has often been so handled as to become caricature rather than portraiture4 ,scripture does not deny the lingering presence in men of goodness1 partial and defective1 nor does it assert that conscious antagonism to ,god is active in godless men4 ,but it does assert that ',god is not in all their thoughts1' and that their wills are 'not subject to the law of ,god4' ,and in such a case as man's relations to ,god1 indifference and forgetfulness cannot but rest upon divergence of will and contrast of character4 ,why do men 'not like to retain ,god in their knowledge1 'but because they feel that the thought of ,him would spoil the feast1 like the skeleton in the banqueting chamber8 ,beneath the apparent indifference lie opposition of will1 meeting ,god's ',thou shalt' with man's ',i will not'2 opposition of moral nature1 impurity shrinking from perfect purity2 opposition of affection1 the warmth of human love being diverted to other objects than ,god4 ,,ii4 ,the entreating ,love that is not turned aside by hostility4 ,the antagonism is wholly on man's part4 ,true1 man's opposition necessarily turns certain sides of the divine character to present a hostile front to him4 ,not only ,god's physical attributes1 if we may so call them1 but the moral attributes which guide the energies of these1 namely1 ,his holiness and ,his righteousness1 and the acts of ,his sovereignty which flow from these1 must be in opposition to the man who has set himself in opposition to ,god4 ',the face of the ,lord is against them that do evil4' ,if it were not1 ,he would not be ,god4 ,but still1 ,god's love enfolds all men in its close and tender clasp4 ,as the context says1 in close connection with the threat to burn the briers and thorns1 ',fury is not in ,me4' ,man's hostility does not rouse ,god's4 ,he wars against the sin because ,he still loves the sinner4 ,his love 'must come with a rod1' but1 at the same time1 it comes 'with the spirit of meekness4' ,it gives its enemy all that it can2 but it cannot give all that it would4 ,he stoops to sue for our amity4 ,it is the creditor who exhausts beseechings on ,his debtor1 so much does ,he wish to 'agree with ,his adversary quickly4' ,the tender pleading of the ,apostle was but a faint echo of the marvellous condescension of ,god1 when he1 'in ,god's stead1 besought3 ',be ye reconciled to ,god4' ,,iii4 ,the grasp which ends alienation4 ,the word for 'strength' here means a stronghold or fortified place1 which serves as an asylum or refuge4 ,there may be some mingling of an allusion to the fugitive's taking hold of the horns of the altar1 and so being safe from the vengeance of his pursuers4 ,if we may take this double metaphor as implied in the text1 it vividly illustrates the essence of the faith which brings us into peace with ,god4 ,that faith is the flight of the soul to ,god1 and1 in another aspect1 it is the clinging of the soul to ,him4 ,how much more these two metaphors tell of the real nature of faith than many a theological treatise6 ,they speak of the urgency of the peril from which it seeks deliverance4 ,a fugitive with the hot breath of the avenger of blood panting behind him1 and almost feeling the spear-point in his back1 would not let the grass grow under his feet4 ,they speak of the energetic clutch of faith1 as that of the man gripping the horns of the altar4 ,they suggest that faith is something much more vital than intellectual assent or credence1 namely1 an act of the whole man realising his need and casting himself on ,god4 ,and they set in clear light what is the connection between faith and salvation4 ,it is not the hand that grasps the altar that secures safety1 but the altar itself4 ,it is not the flight to the fortress1 but the massive walls themselves1 which keeps those who hunt after the fugitive at bay4 ,it is not my faith1 but the ,god on whom my faith fastens1 that brings peace to my conscience4 ,,iv4 ,the peace that this grasp brings4 ,in ,christ ,god has 'put away all ,his wrath1 and turned ,himself from the fierceness of ,his anger4' ,and ,he was in ,christ1 reconciling the world to ,himself4 ,it is a one-sided warfare that men wage with ,him1 and when we abandon our opposition to ,him1 the war is ended4 ,we might say that ,god1 clasped by faith and trusted in and loved1 is the asylum from ,god opposed and feared4 ,his moral nature must be against evil1 but faith unites us to ,jesus1 and1 by union with ,him1 we receive the germ of a nature which has no affinity with evil1 and which ,god wholly delights in and loves4 ,to those who live by the life1 and growingly bear the image of ,his ,son1 the divine ,nature turns a face all bright and favouring1 and ,his moral and physical attributes are all enlisted on their side4 ,the fortress looks grim to outsiders gazing up at its strong walls and frowning battlements1 but to dwellers within1 these give security1 and in its inmost centre is a garden1 with flowers and a springing fountain1 whither the noise of fighting never penetrates4 ,we have but to cease to be against ,him1 and to grasp the facts of ,his love as revealed in the ,cross of ,christ1 the sacrifice who taketh away the sin of the world1 and we are at peace with ,god4 ,being at peace with ,him1 the discords of our natures warring against themselves are attuned into harmony1 and we are at peace within4 ,and when ,god and we are at one1 and we are at one with ourselves1 then all things will be on our side1 and will work together for good4 ,to such a man the ancient promise will be fulfilled3 ',thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field1 and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee4' ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,drunkards ,,and ,,mockers ',woe to the crown of pride1 to the drunkards of ,ephraim1 whose glorious beauty is a fading flower1 which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine6 #b4 ,behold1 the ,lord hath a mighty and strong one1 which1 as a tempest of hail1 and a destroying storm1 as a flood of mighty waters overflowing1 shall cast down to the earth with the hand4 #c4 ,the crown of pride1 the drunkards of ,ephraim1 shall be trodden under feet3 #d4 ,and the glorious beauty1 which is on the head of the fat valley1 shall be a fading flower1 and as the hasty fruit before the summer2 which when he that looketh upon it seeth1 while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up4 #e4 ,in that day shall the ,lord of hosts be for a crown of glory1 and for a diadem of beauty1 unto the residue of ,his people4 #f4 ,and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment1 and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate4 #g4 ,but they also have erred through wine1 and through strong drink are out of the way3 the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink1 they are swallowed up of wine1 they are out of the way through strong drink2 they err in vision1 they stumble in judgment4 #h4 ,for all tables are full of vomit and filthiness1 so that there is no place clean4 #i4 ,whom shall ,he teach knowledge8 and whom shall ,he make to understand doctrine8 them that are weaned from the milk1 and drawn from the breasts4 #aj4 ,for precept must be upon precept1 precept upon precept2 line upon line1 line upon line2 here a little1 and there a little3 #aa4 ,for with stammering lips1 and another tongue1 will ,he speak to this people4 #ab4 ,to whom ,he said1 ,this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest2 and this is the refreshing3 yet they would not hear4 #ac4 ,but the word of the ,lord was unto them precept upon precept1 precept upon precept2 line upon line1 line upon line2 here a little1 and there a little2 that they might go1 and fall backward1 and be broken1 and snared1 and taken4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #a-ac4 ,this prophecy probably falls in the first years of ,hezekiah1 when ,samaria still stood1 and the storm of war was gathering black in the north4 ,the portion included in the text predicts the fall of ,samaria 7verses #a-f7 and then turns to ,judah1 which is guilty of the same sins as the northern capital1 and adds to them mockery of the prophet's message4 ,isaiah speaks with fiery indignation and sharp sarcasm4 ,his words are aflame with loathing of the moral corruption of both kingdoms1 and he fastens on the one common vice of drunkenness--not as if it were the only sin1 but because it shows in the grossest form the rottenness underlying the apparent beauty4 ,i4 ,the woe on ,samaria 7verses #a-f74 ,travellers are unanimous in their raptures over the fertility and beauty of the valley in which ,samaria stood1 perched on its sunny1 fruitful hill1 amid its vineyards4 ,the situation of the city naturally suggests the figure which regards it as a sparkling coronet or flowery wreath1 twined round the brows of the hill2 and that poetical metaphor is the more natural1 since revellers were wont to twist garlands in their hair1 when they reclined at their orgies4 ,the city is 'the crown of pride'--that is1 the object of boasting and foolish confidence--and is also 'the fading flower of his sparkling ornament'2 that is1 the flower which is the ornament of ,ephraim1 but is destined to fade4 ,the picture of the city passes into that of the drunken debauch1 where the chief men of ,samaria sprawl1 'smitten down' by wine1 and with the innocent flowers on their hot temples drooping in the fumes of the feast4 ,but bright and sunny as the valley is1 glittering in the light as the city sits on her hill1 careless and confident as the revellers are1 a black cloud lies on the horizon1 and one of the terrible sudden storms which such lands know comes driving up the valley4 ',the ,lord hath a mighty and strong one'--the conqueror from the north1 who is ,god's instrument1 though he knows it not4 ,the swift1 sudden1 irresistible onslaught of the ,assyrian is described1 in harmony with the figure of the flowery coronal1 as a tempest which beats down the flowers and flings the sodden crown to the ground4 ,the word rendered 'tempest' is graphic1 meaning literally a 'downpour4' ,first comes hail1 which batters the flowers to shreds2 then the effect of the storm is described as 'destruction1' and then the hurrying words turn back to paint the downpour of rain1 'mighty' from its force in falling1 and 'overflowing' from its abundance1 which soon sets all the fields swimming with flood water4 ,what chance has a poor twist of flowers in such a storm8 ,its beauty will be marred1 and all the petals beaten off1 and nothing remains but that it should be trampled into mud4 ,the rush of the prophet's denunciation is swift and irresistible as the assault it describes1 and it flashes from one metaphor to another without pause4 ,the fertility of the valley of ,samaria shapes the figures4 ,as the picture of the flowery chaplet1 so that which follows of the early fig1 is full of local colour4 ,a fig in ,june is a delicacy1 which is sure to be plucked and eaten as soon as seen4 ,such a dainty1 desirable morsel will ,samaria be1 as sweet and as little satisfying to the all-devouring hunger of the ,assyrian4 ,but storms sweep the air clear1 and everything will not go down before this one4 ,the flower fadeth1 but there is a chaplet of beauty which men may wreathe round their heads1 which shall bloom for ever4 ,all sensuous enjoyment has its limits in time1 as well as in nobleness and exquisiteness2 but when it is all done with1 the beauty and festal ornament which truly crowns humanity shall smell sweet and blossom4 ,the prophecy had regard simply to the issue of the historical disaster to which it pointed1 and it meant that1 after the storm of ,assyrian conquest1 there would still be1 for the servants of ,god1 the residue of the people1 both in ,israel and in ,judah1 a fuller possession of the blessings which descend on the men who make ,god their portion4 ,but the principle involved is for ever true4 ,the sweeping away of the perishable does draw true hearts nearer to ,god4 ,so the two halves of this prophecy give us eternal truths as to the certain destruction awaiting the joys of sense1 and the permanence of the beauty and strength which belong to those who take ,god for their portion4 ,drunkenness seems to have been a national sin in ,israel2 for ,micah rebukes it as vehemently as ,isaiah1 and it is a clear bit of ,christian duty in ,england to-day to 'set the trumpet to thy mouth and show the people' this sin4 ,but the lessons of the prophecy are wider than the specific form of evil denounced4 ,all setting of affection and seeking of satisfaction in that which1 in all the pride of its beauty1 is 'a fading flower1' is madness and sin4 ,into every life thus turned to the perishable will come the crash of the destroying storm1 the mutterings of which might reach the ears of the feasters1 if they were not drunk with the fumes of their deceiving delights4 ,only one kind of life has its roots in that which abides1 and is safe from tempest and change4 ,amaranthine flowers bloom only in heaven1 and must be brought thence1 if they are to garland earthly foreheads4 ,if we take ,god for ours1 then whatever tempests may howl1 and whatever fragile though fragrant joys may be swept away1 we shall find in ,him all that the world 'fails to give to its votaries4 ,he is 'a crown of glory' and 'a diadem of beauty4' ,our humanity is never so fair as when it is made beautiful by the possession of ,him4 ,all that sense vainly seeks in earth1 faith finds in ,god4 ,not only beauty1 but 'a spirit of judgment1' in its narrower sense and in its widest1 is breathed into those to whom ,god is 'the master light of all their seeing'2 and1 yet more1 ,he is strength to all who have to fight4 ,thus the close union of trustful souls with ,god1 the actual inspiration of these1 and the perfecting of their nature from communion with ,god1 are taught us in the great words1 which tell how beauty1 justice1 and strength are all given in the gift of ,jehovah ,himself to ,his people4 ,,ii4 ,the prophet turns to ,judah 7vs4 #g-ac71 and charges them with the same disgusting debauchery4 ,his language is vehement in its loathing1 and describes the filthy orgies of those who should have been the guides of the people with almost painful realism4 ,note how the words 'reel' and 'stagger' are repeated1 and also the words 'wine' and 'strong drink4' ,we see the priests' and prophets' unsteady gait1 and then they 'stumble' or fall4 ,there they lie amid the filth1 like hogs in a sty4 ,it is very coarse language1 but fine words are the ,devil's veils for coarse sins2 and it is needful sometimes to call spades spades1 and not to be ashamed to tell men plainly how ugly are the vices which they are not ashamed to commit4 ,no doubt some of the drunken priests and false prophets in ,jerusalem thought ,isaiah extremely vulgar and indelicate1 in talking about staggering teachers and tables swimming in 'vomit4' ,but he had to speak out4 ,so deep was the corruption that the officials were tipsy even when engaged in their official duties1 the prophets reeled while they were seeing visions2 the judges could not sit upright even when pronouncing judgment4 ,verses #i and #aj are generally taken as a sarcastic quotation of the drunkards' scoffs at the prophet4 ,they might be put in inverted commas4 ,their meaning is1 ',does he take us grave and reverend seigniors1 priests and prophets1 to be babies just weaned1 that he pesters us with these monotonous petty preachings1 fit only for the nursery1 which he calls his message8' ,in verse #aj1 the original for 'precept upon precept1' etc41 is a series of short words1 which may be taken as reproducing the 'babbling tones of the drunken mockers4' ,the loose livers of all generations talk in the same fashion about the stern morality which rebukes their vice4 ,they call it weak1 commonplace1 fit for children1 and they pretend that they despise it4 ,they are much too enlightened for such antiquated teaching4 ,old women and children may take it in1 but men of the world1 who have seen life1 and know what is what1 are not to be fooled so4 ',what will this babbler say8' was asked by the wise men of ,athens1 who were but repeating the scoffs of the prophets and priests of ,jerusalem1 and the same jeers are bitter in the mouth of many a profligate man to-day4 ,it is the fate of all strict morality to be accounted childish by the people whom it inconveniently condemns4 ,in verse #aa and onwards the prophet speaks4 ,he catches up the mockers' words1 and retorts them4 ,they have scoffed at his message as if it were stammering speech4 ,they shall hear another kind of stammerers when the fierce invaders' harsh and unintelligible language commands them4 ,the reason why these foreign voices would have authority1 was the national disregard of ,god's voice4 ',ye would not hear' ,him when1 by ,his prophet1 ,he spoke gracious invitations to rest1 and to give the nation rest1 in obedience and trust4 ,therefore they shall hear the battle-cry of the conqueror1 and have to obey orders spoken in a barbarous tongue4 ,of course1 the language meant is the ,assyrian1 which1 though cognate with ,hebrew1 is so unlike as to be unintelligible to the people4 ,but is not the threat the statement of a great truth always being fulfilled towards the disobedient8 ,if we will not listen to that loving ,voice which calls us to rest1 we shall be forced to listen to the harsh and strident tones of conquering enemies who command us to slavish toil4 ,if we will not be guided by ,his eye and voice1 we shall be governed by whip and bridle4 ,our choice is either to hearken to the divine call1 which is loving and gentle1 and invites to deep repose springing from faith1 or to have to hear the voice of the taskmasters4 ,the monotony of despised moral and religious teaching shall give place to a more terrible monotony1 even that of continuous judgments4 ',the mills of ,god grind slowly4' ,bit by bit1 with gradual steps1 with dismal persistence1 like the slow drops on the rock1 the judgments of ,god trickle out on the mocking heart4 ,it takes a long time for a child to learn a pageful when he gets his lesson a sentence at a time4 ,so slowly do ,his chastisements fall on men who have despised the continuous messages of ,his love4 ,the word of the ,lord1 which was laughed at when it clothed itself in a prophet's speech1 will be heard in more formidable shape1 when it is wrapped in the long-drawn-out miseries of years of bondage4 ,the warning is as needful for us as for these drunken priests and scornful rulers4 ,the principle embodied is true in this day as it was then1 and we too have to choose between serving ,god in gladness1 hearkening to the voice of ,his word1 and so finding rest to our souls1 and serving the world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 and so experiencing the perpetual dropping of the fiery rain of ,his judgments4 ,a ,,crown ,,op ,,pride ,,or ,a ,,crown ,,of ,,glory ',the crown of pride1 the drunkards of ,ephraim1 shall be trodden under feet2 #d4 ,and the glorious beauty1 which is on the head of the fat valley1 shall be a fading flower1 and as the hasty fruit before the summer2 which when he that looketh upon it seeth1 while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up4 #e4 ,in that day shall the ,lord of hosts be for a crown of glory1 and for a diadem of beauty1 unto the residue of his people4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #c-e4 ,the reference is probably to ,samaria as a chief city of ,israel4 ,the image is suggested by the situation of ,samaria1 high on a hill-side1 crowning the valley1 and by the rich vegetation and bright flowers which makes it even now one of the few lovely scenes in ,palestine2 and by the luxurious riot and sensual excess that were always characteristic of the northern kingdom4 ,the destruction of ,samaria and of the kingdom1 then1 is here prophesied--the garland will fade1 the hail will batter all its drooping flowerets1 and it shall be trodden under foot4 ,look at that withered wreath that gleamed yesterday on some fair head1 to-day flung into the ashpit or kicked about the street4 ,that is a modern rendering of the prophet's imagery4 ,but the reference goes further than merely to the city3 the whole state of the nation is expressed by the symbol1 as doomed to quick decay1 fading in itself1 and further smitten down by divine judgments4 ,there is a contrasted picture1 that of 'the residue of the people' to whom there is an amaranthine crown1 a festal diadem glorious and beautiful1 which can never fade1 even ,god ,himself4 ,to them who love ,him ,he is an ornament1 and ,his presence is the consecration of the true joyful feast4 ,they who are crowned by ,him are crowned1 not for idle revelry1 but for strenuous toil 7'sit in judgment'7 and for brave purpose 7'turn the battle to the gate1'7 and their coronation day is ever the day when earthly garlands are withered1 whether it be the crises and convulsions of nations and institutions1 or times of personal trial1 or 'in the hour of death or in the day of judgment4' ,expanding then these thoughts1 we have-- ,i4 ,all godless joys are but fading chaplets4 ,of course the first application of such words is to purely sensuous delights4 ,men who seek to make life a mere revel and banquet4 ,nothing is so short-lived as gratification of appetite4 ,it is not merely that each act lasts but for a moment1 but also that past gratifications leave no sort of solace to the appetite behind them2 whereas past acquirements or deeds of goodness are a perpetual joy as well as the foundation of the present4 ,there is something essentially isolated in each act of sensuous delight4 ,no man can by so willing recall the taste of eaten food1 nor slake his thirst by remembrance of former draughts1 or cool himself by thinking of 'frosty ,caucasus4' ,but each such gratification is done when it is done1 and there is an end of its power to gratify4 ,further1 the power of enjoyment wanes1 though the lust for it waxes4 ,hence each act has less and less power of satisfying4 ,one sees blase young men of twenty-five4 ,it was a man of under thirty-five who wrote1 ',man delights not me1 no1 nor woman neither4' ,it was a used-up roue that was represented as saying1 ',vanity of vanities1 all is vanity4' ,it was of sensuous 'pleasures' that poor ,burns wrote1-- ',like the snowfall in the river1 ,a moment white1--then melts for ever4' ,when a people is given over to such excess1 late or soon the fate of ,samaria comes upon them4 ,think of the ,french ,revolution or of the fall of ,rome1 and learn that the prophet was announcing a law for all nations1 in his fiery denunciation1 and one which holds good to-day as ever4 ,but we may generalise more widely4 ,every godless life is essentially transitory2 of course1 all life is so in one view4 ,but suppose two men1 working side by side at the same occupation1 passing through the same circumstances4 ,so far as physical changes go1 these men are the same4 ,both lose much4 ,both leave behind much4 ,both cease to be interested in much that was dear to them4 ,both die at last1 and leave it all4 ,is there any difference8 ,the transitoriness is the same1 and the eternal consequences are eternal alike in both2 and yet there is a very solemn sense in which the one man's life has utterly perished1 and the other's abides4 ,suppose a man1 educated to be a first-rate man of business1 dies4 ,which of his trained faculties will he have scope for in that new order of things8 ,or a student1 or a lawyer1 or a statesman8 ,oh1 it is not our natural mortality that makes these thoughts so awful2 but it is the thought that the man who is doing these things is immortal4 ,the head which wears the fading wreath will live for ever4 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,,ii4 ,godly life brings unfading joys4 ,communion with ,god yields abiding joys4 ,the law of change remains the same4 ,the law of death remains the same4 ,but the motives which direct and impel the godly man are beyond the reach of change4 ,the habits which he contracts are for heaven as well as for earth4 ,the treasures which he amasses will always be his4 ,his life in its essence and his work are one in all worlds4 ,what a grand continuity1 then1 knits into one a godly life whether it is lived on earth or in heaven6 ,communion with ,god gives beauty and ornament to the whole character4 ,it brings the true refining and perfecting of the soul4 ,no doubt many ,christian men1 as we see them1 are but poor specimens of this effect of godliness2 still1 it is an effect produced in proportion to the depth and continuity of their communion4 ,we might dwell on the effect on ,will1 ,affections1 ,understanding1 produced by dwelling in ,god4 ,it is simple fact that the highest conceivable type of beauty is only reached through communion with ,god4 ,communion with ,god gives power as well as gladness4 ,the life of abiding with ,god is also one of strenuous effort and real warfare4 ,in the context it is promised that ,god will be for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate4 ,the luxurious life of self-indulgence ends1 as all selfish life must do1 in the vanishing of delights4 ,the life of joy in ,god issues1 as all true joy does1 in power for work and in power for conflict4 ',god doth anoint thee with ,his odorous oil1 to wrestle1 not to reign4' ,,iii4 ,there will be a coronation day4 ',in that day1' the day when 'the crown of pride shall be trodden under foot1' the people of ,god are crowned with the diadem of beauty which is ,god ,himself4 ,that twofold work of that one day suggests-- ,the double aspect of trials and sorrows4 ,the double aspect of death4 ,the double aspect of final ,judgment4 ',henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness1 which the ,lord1 the righteous ,judge1 shall give me at that day4' ,to be crowned or discrowned 'in that day' is the alternative set before each of us4 ,which of the two do we choose8 ,,man',s ,,crown ,,and ,,god',s ',in that day shall the ,lord of hosts be for a crown of glory1 and for a diadem of beauty4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #e4 ',thou shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the ,lord4'--,,isaiah lxii #c4 ,connection of first prophecy--destruction of ,samaria4 ,its situation1 crowning the hill with its walls and towers1 its fertile 'fat valley1' the flagrant immorality and drunkenness of its inhabitants1 and its final ruin1 are all presented in the highly imaginative picture of its fall as being like the trampling under foot of a garland on a reveller's head1 the roses of which fade and droop amid the fumes of the banqueting hall1 and are then flung out on the highway4 ,the contrast presented is very striking and beautiful4 ,when all that gross and tumultuous beauty has faded and died1 then ,god ,himself will be a crown of beauty to ,his people4 ,the second text comes into remarkable line with this4 ,the verbal resemblance is not quite so strong in the original4 ,the words for diadem and crown are not the same2 the word rendered glory in the second text is rendered beauty in the first1 but the two texts are entirely one in meaning4 ,the same metaphor1 then1 is used with reference to what ,god is to the ,church and what the ,church is to ,god4 ,he is its crown1 it is ,his4 ,i4 ,the ,possession of ,god is the ,coronation of ,man4 7a7 ,crowns were worn by guests at feasts4 ,they who possess ,god sit at a table perpetually spread with all which the soul can wish or want4 ,contrast the perishable delights of sense and godless life with the calm and immortal joys of communion with ,god2 'a crown that fadeth not away' beside withered garlands4 7b7 ,crowns were worn by kings4 ,they who serve ,god are thereby invested with rule over selves1 over circumstances1 over all externals4 ,he alone gives completeness to self-control4 7c7 ,crowns were worn by priests4 ,the highest honour and dignity of man's nature is thereby reached4 ,to have ,god is like a beam of sunshine on a garden1 which brings out the colours of all the flowers2 contrast with the same garden in the grey monotony of a cloudy twilight4 ,,ii4 ,the ,coronation of ,man in ,god is the ,coronation of ,god in ,man4 ,that includes the following thoughts4 ,the true glory of ,god is in the communication of ,himself4 ,what a wonderful light that throws on divine character6 ,it is equivalent to ',god is ,love4' ,he who is glorified by ,god glorifies ,god1 as showing the most wonderful working of ,his power in making such a man out of such material1 by an alchemy that can convert base metal into fine gold2 as showing the most wonderful condescension of ,his love in taking to ,his heart man1 into whose flesh the rotting leprosy of sin has eaten4 ,such a man will glorify ,god by becoming a conscious herald of ,his praise4 ,he who has ,god in his heart will magnify ,him by lip and life4 ,redeemed men are 'secretaries of ,his praise' to men1 and 'to principalities and powers in heavenly places is made known by the ,church the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,he who thus glorifies ,god is held in ,god's hand4 ',none shall pluck them out of ,my ,father's hand4' ,all this will be perfected in heaven4 ,redeemed men lead the universal chorus that thunders forth 'glory to ,him that sitteth on the throne4' ',he shall come to be glorified in ,his saints4' ',glorify ,thy ,son1 that ,thy ,son also may glorify ,thee4' ,,the ,,foundation ,,of ,,god ',therefore thus saith the ,lord ,god1 ,behold1 ,i lay in ,zion for a foundation a stone1 a tried stone1 a precious corner stone1 a sure foundation3 he that believeth shall not make haste4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #af4 ',therefore thus saith the ,lord4' ,then these great words are ,god's answer to something4 ,and that something is the scornful defiance by the rulers of ,israel of the prophet's threatenings4 ,by their deeds1 whether by their words or no1 they said that they had made friends of their enemies1 and that so they were sure that1 whatsoever came1 they were safe4 ,to this contemptuous and false reliance ,god answers1 not as we might expect1 first of all1 by a repetition of the threatenings1 but by a majestic disclosure of the sure refuge which ,he has provided1 set in contrast to the flimsy and false ones1 on which these men built their truculent confidence2 ',i lay in ,zion for a foundation a stone4' ,and then1 after the exhibition of the great mercy which has been evoked by the very blasphemy of the rulers1 and not till then1 does ,he reiterate the threatenings of judgment1 against which this foundation is laid1 that men may escape2 ,god first declares the refuge1 and then warns of the tempest4 ,without entering at all upon the question1 which for all believing and simple souls is settled by the ,new ,testament1 of the ,messianic application of the words before us1 ,i take it for granted4 ,there may no doubt be an allusion here to the great solid blocks which travellers tell us may still be seen at the base of the encircling walls of the ,temple hill4 ,a stone so gigantic and so firm ,god has laid for man to build upon4 ,i4 ,note1 then1 first1 the foundation1 which is ,christ4 ,there are many aspects of the great thought on which ,i cannot touch even for a moment4 ,for instance1 let me remind you how1 in a very deep sense1 ,jesus ,christ is the foundation of the whole of the divine dealings with us2 and how1 in another aspect1 historically1 since the day on which ,he appeared on earth1 ,he has more and more manifestly and completely been the foundation of the whole history of the world4 ,but passing these aspects1 let us rather fix upon those which are more immediately in the prophet's mind4 ,jesus ,christ is the foundation laid for all men's security against every tempest or assault4 ,the context has portrayed the coming of a tremendous storm and inundation1 in view of which this foundation is laid4 ,the building reared on it then is1 therefore1 to be a refuge and an asylum4 ,have not we all of us1 like these scornful men in ,jerusalem1 built our refuges on vain hopes1 on creatural affections1 on earthly possessions1 on this1 that1 and the other false thing1 all of which are to be swept away when the storm comes8 ,and does there not come upon us all the blast of the ordinary calamities to which flesh is heir1 and have we not all more or less consciousness of our own evil and sinfulness2 and does there not lie before every one of us at the end of life that solemn last struggle1 and beyond that1 as we most of us believe1 a judgment for all that we have done in the body8 ',i lay in ,zion for a foundation a stone4' ,build upon that1 and neither the tempest of earthly calamities1 changes1 disappointments1 sorrows1 losses1 nor the scourge that is wielded because of our sins1 nor the last wild tempest that sweeps a man on the wings of its strong blast from out of life into the dark region1 nor the solemn final retribution and judgment1 shall ever touch us4 ,and when the hail sweeps away the refuge of lies1 and the waters overflow the hiding-place1 this foundation stands sure-- ,and lo6 from sin and grief and shame ,i hide me1 ,jesus1 in ,thy name4 ,brethren1 the one foundation on which building1 we can build secure1 and safe as well as secure1 is that foundation which is laid in the incarnation1 death1 resurrection1 and ascension of the ,son of ,god4 ,the foundation of all our security is ,jesus ,christ4 ,we may look at the same thought under somewhat different aspects4 ,he is the foundation for all our thinking and opinions1 for all our belief and our knowledge4 ',in ,him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge1' and whatsoever of solid fact men can grasp in their thinkings in regard to all the most important facts and truths with which they come into relation1 is to be found in the life and death of ,jesus ,christ1 and in the truths which these reveal4 ,he is the foundation of all our knowledge of ,god1 and of all our true knowledge of ourselves1 of all our true knowledge of duty1 and all our true knowledge of the relations between the present and the future1 between man and ,god4 ,and in ,his life1 in the history of ,his death and resurrection1 is the only foundation for any real knowledge of the awful mysteries that lie beyond the grave4 ,he is the ,alpha from whom all truth must be deduced1 the ,omega to which it all leads up4 ,certitude is in ,him4 ,apart from ,him we are but groping amid peradventures4 ,if we know anything about ,god it is due to ,jesus ,christ4 ,if we know anything about ourselves it is due to ,him4 ,if we know anything about what men ought to do1 it is because ,he has done all human duty4 ,and if1 into the mist and darkness that wraps the future1 there has ever travelled one clear beam of insight1 it is because ,he has died and risen again4 ,if we have ,him1 and ponder upon the principles that are involved in1 and flow from1 the facts of ,his life and death1 then we know2 and 'the truth as it is in ,jesus' is the truth indeed4 ,to possess ,him is to hold the key to all mysteries1 and knowledge without ,him is but knowledge of the husk1 the kernel being all unreached4 ,that ,stone is the foundation on which the whole stately fabric of man's knowledge of the highest things must ever be reared4 ,he is the foundation of all restful love4 ,a ,czar of ,russia1 in the old days1 was mad enough to build a great palace upon the ice-blocks of the ,neva4 ,and when the spring came1 and the foundations melted1 the house1 full of delights and luxury1 sank beneath the river4 ,we build upon frozen water1 and when the thaw comes1 what we build sinks and is lost to sight4 ,instead of love that twines round the creature and trails1 bleeding and bruised1 along the ground when the prop is taken away1 let us turn our hearts to the warm1 close1 pure1 perfect changeless love of the undying ,christ1 and we shall build above the fear of change4 ,the dove's nest in the pine-tree falls in ruin when the axe is laid to the root4 ,let us build our nests in the clefts of the rock and no hand will ever reach them4 ,christ is the foundation on which we may build an immortal love4 ,he is the foundation for all noble and pure living4 ,he is the fixed pattern to which it may be conformed4 ,otherwise man's notions of what is virtuous and good are much at the mercy of conventional variations of opinion4 ,this class1 that community1 this generation1 that school1 all differ in their notions of what is true nobleness and goodness of life4 ,and we are left at the mercy of fluctuating standards unless we take ,christ in ,his recorded life as the one realised ideal of manhood1 the pattern of what we ought to be4 ,we cannot find a fixed and available model for conduct anywhere so useful1 so complete1 so capable of application to all varieties of human life and disposition as we find in ,him1 who was not this man or that man1 in whom the manly and the feminine1 the gentle and the strong1 the public and the private graces were equally developed4 ,in ,christ there is no limitation or taint4 ,in ,christ there is nothing narrow or belonging to a school4 ,this water has no taste of any of the rocks through which it flowed4 ,you cannot say of ,jesus ,christ that ,he is a ,jew or a ,gentile1 that ,he is man or woman1 that ,he is of the ancient age or the modern type1 that ,he is cut after this pattern or that4 ,all beauty and all grace are in ,him1 and every man finds there the example that he needs4 ,so1 as the perfect pattern1 ,he is the foundation for all noble character4 ,as the one sufficient motive for holy and beauteous living1 ,he is the foundation4 ',if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments4' ,that is a new thing in the world's morality1 and that one motive1 and that motive alone1 has power1 as the spring sunshine has1 to draw beauty from out the little sheaths of green1 and to tempt the radiance of the flowers to unfold their lustre4 ,they that find the reason and the motive for goodness and purity in ,christ's love to them1 and their answering love to ,christ1 will build a far fairer fabric of a life than any others1 let them toil at the building as they may4 ,so1 dear brethren1 on this foundation ,god has built ,his mercy to all generations1 and on this foundation you and ,i may build our safety1 our love1 our thinkings1 our obedience1 and rest secure4 ,,ii4 ,note next the tried preciousness of the foundation4 ,the language of the text1 'a stone of proof1' as it reads in the original1 probably means a stone which has been tested and stood the trial4 ,and because it is thus a tested stone1 it therefore is a precious stone4 ,there are two kinds of testing--the testing from the assaults of enemies1 and the testing by the building upon it of friends4 ,and both these methods of proof have been applied1 and it has stood the test4 ,think of all the assaults that have been made from this side and the other against ,christ and ,his gospel1 and what has become of them all8 ,travellers tell us how they often see some wandering tribes of savage ,arabs trying to move the great stones1 for instance1 of ,baalbec--those wonders of unfinished architecture4 ,but what can a crowd of such people1 with all their crowbars and levers1 do to the great stone bedded there1 where it has been for centuries8 ,they cannot stir it one hair's-breadth4 ,and so1 against ,jesus ,christ and ,his gospel there has stormed for eighteen hundred years an assaulting crowd1 varying in its individuals and in its methods of attack1 but the same in its purpose1 and the same in the fruitlessness of its effort4 ,century after century they have said1 as they are saying to-day1 ',now the final assault is going to be delivered2 it can never stand this4' ,and when the smoke has cleared away there may be a little blackening upon the edge1 but there is not a chip off its bulk1 and it stands in its bed where it did2 and of all the grand preparations for a shattering explosion1 nothing is left but a sulphurous smell1 and a wreath of smoke1 and both are floating away down into the distance4 ,generation after generation has attacked the gospel2 generation after generation has been foiled2 and ,i do not need to be a prophet1 or the son of a prophet1 to be quite sure of this1 that all who to-day are trying to destroy men's faith in the ,incarnate ,son of ,god1 who died for them and rose again1 will meet the same fate4 ,i can see the ancient and discredited systems of unbelief1 that have gone down into oblivion1 rising from their seats1 as the prophet in his great vision saw the kings of the earth1 to greet the last comer who had fought against ,god and failed1 with ',art thou also become weak as we8 ,art thou become like unto us8' ,the stone will stand1 whosoever tries to blow it up with his dynamite1 or to pound it with his hammers4 ,but there is the other kind of testing4 ,one proves the foundation by building upon it4 ,if the stone be soft1 if it be slender1 if it be imperfectly bedded1 it will crumble1 it will shift1 it will sink4 ,but this stone has borne all the weight that the world has laid upon it1 and borne it up4 ,did any man ever come to ,jesus ,christ with a sorrow that ,he could not comfort1 with a sin that ,he could not forgive1 with a soul that ,he could not save8 ,and we may trust ,him to the end4 ,he is a 'tried stone4' ',this poor man cried1 and the ,lord heard him1 and saved him out of all his troubles1' has been the experience of nineteen centuries4 ,so1 being tried1 it is precious1--precious to ,god who laid it there at a great and real cost to ,himself--having given up ',his only begotten ,son'2 precious1 inasmuch as building upon it is the one safety from the raging tempest and flood that would else engulf and destroy us4 ,,iii4 ,note1 next1 the process of building4 ,the metaphor seems to be abandoned in the last words of our text1 but it is only apparently so4 ',he that believeth shall not make haste4' ,so1 then1 we build by believing4 ,the act of building is simple faith in ,jesus ,christ4 ,we come to ,him1 as the ,apostle ,peter has it in his quotation of this text--come to ,him as unto a living stone1 and the coming and the building are both of them metaphors for the one simple thing1 trust in the ,lord4 ,the bond that unites men on earth with ,christ in ,heaven1 is the exercise of simple faith in ,him4 ,by it they come into contact with ,him1 and receive from ,him the security and the blessing that ,he can bestow4 ,nothing else brings a man into living fellowship with ,him4 ,when we trust in the ,lord we1 as it were1 are bedded into ,him2 and resting upon ,him with all our weight1 then we are safe4 ,that confidence involves the abandonment of all the 'refuges of lies4' ,there must be utter self-distrust and forsaking and turning away from every dependence upon anything else1 if we are to trust ourselves to ,jesus ,christ4 ,but the figure of a foundation which gives security and stability to the stones laid upon it1 does not exhaust all the blessedness of this building upon ,christ4 ,for when we really rest upon ,him1 there comes from the foundation up through all the courses a vital power4 ,thus ,peter puts it3 ',to whom1 coming as unto a living stone1 ye also as living stones are built up4' ,we might illustrate this by the supposition of some fortress perched upon a rock1 and in the heart of the rock a clear fountain1 which is guided by some pipe or other into the innermost rooms of the citadel4 ,thus1 builded upon ,christ1 'our defence shall be the munitions of rocks1 and our waters shall be sure4' ,from ,him1 the foundation1 there will rise into all the stones1 built upon ,him1 the power of ,his own endless life1 and they1 too1 become living stones4 ,,iv4 ,so note1 lastly1 the quiet confidence of the builders4 ',he that believeth shall not make haste4' ,the word is somewhat obscure1 and the ,,lxx41 which is followed by the ,new ,testament1 readers it1 ',shall not be confounded or put to shame4' ,but the rendering of our text seems to be accurate enough4 ',he shall not make haste4' ,remember the picture of the context--a suddenly descending storm1 a swiftly rising and turbid flood1 the lashing of the rain1 the howling of the wind4 ,the men in the clay-built hovels on the flat have to take to flight to some higher ground above the reach of the innundation1 on some sheltered rock out of the flashing of the rain and the force of the tempest4 ,he who is built upon the true foundation knows that his house is above the water-level1 and he does not need to be in a hurry4 ,he can remain quietly there till the flood subsides1 knowing that it will not rise high enough to drown or even disturb him4 ,when all the other buildings are gone1 his stands4 ,and he that thus dwells on high may look out over the wild flood1 washing and weltering to the horizon1 and feel that he is safe4 ,so shall he not have to make haste1 but may wait calm and quiet1 knowing that all is well4 ,dear friends1 there is only one refuge for any of us--only one from the little annoyances and from the great ones2 from to-day's petty troubles1 and from the day of judgment2 from the slight stings1 if ,i may so say1 of little sorrows1 cares1 burdens1 and from the poisoned dart of the great serpent4 ,there is only one refuge for any of us1 to build upon ,jesus ,christ1 as we can do by simple faith4 ,and oh6 remember1 ,he must either be the foundation on which we build1 or the stone of stumbling against which we stumble1 and which one day will fall upon us and grind us to powder4 ,do you make your choice2 and when ,god says1 as ,he says to each of us3 ',behold6 ,i lay in ,zion a foundation1' do you say1 ',and1 ,lord1 ,i build upon the foundation which ,thou hast laid4' ,,god',s ,,strange ,,work ',that ,he may do ,his work1 ,his strange work2 and bring to pass ,his act1 ,his strange act4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #ba4 ,how the great events of one generation fall dead to another6 ,there is something very pathetic in the oblivion that swallows up world-resounding deeds4 ,here the prophet selects two instances which to him are solemn and singular examples of divine judgment1 and we have difficulty in finding out to what he refers4 ,to him they seemed the most luminous illustrations he could find of the principle which he is proclaiming1 and to us all the light is burned out of them4 ,they are the darkest portion of the verse4 ,several different events have been suggested4 ,but most probably the historical references here are to ,david's slaughter of the ,philistines 7#b ,sam4 v41 and ,i ,chron4 xiv474 ,this is probable1 but by no means certain4 ,if so1 the words are made still more threatening by asserting that ,he will treat the ,israelites as if they were ,philistines4 ,but the point on which we should concentrate attention is this remarkable expression1 according to which judgment is ,god's strange work4 ,and that is made more emphatic by the use of a word translated 'act1' which means service1 and is almost always used for work that is hard and heavy--a toil or a task4 ,i4 ,the work in which ,god delights4 ,it is here implied that the opposite kind of activity is congenial to ,him4 ,the text declares judgment to be an anomaly1 out of ,his ordinary course of action and foreign to ,his nature4 ,we may pause for a moment on that great thought that ,god has a usual course of action1 which is usual because it is the spontaneous expression and true mirror of ,his character4 ,what ,he thus does shows that character to ,his creatures1 who cannot see ,him but in the glass of ,his works1 and have to infer ,his nature1 as they best may1 from ,his works4 ,the ,bible begins with ,his nature and thence interprets ,his work4 ,the work in which ,god delights is the utterance of ,his love in blessing4 ,the very essence of love is self-manifestation4 ,the very being of ,god is love1 and all being delights in its own self-manifestation1 in its own activity4 ,how great the thought is that ,he is glad when we let ,him satisfy ,his nature by making us glad6 ,the ordinary course of ,his government in the world is blessing4 ,,ii4 ,the ,task in which ,he does not delight1 or ,his ,strange ,work4 ,the consequences of sin are ,god's work4 ,the miseries consequent on sin are self-inflicted1 but they are also ,god's judgments on sin4 ,we may say that sin automatically works out its results1 but its results follow by the will of ,god on account of sin4 ,that work is a necessity arising from the nature of ,god4 ,it is foreign to ,his heart but not to ,his nature4 ,god is both 'the light of ,israel' for blessing1 and 'a consuming fire4' ,the two opposite effects are equally the result of the contact of ,god and man4 ,light pains a diseased eye and gladdens a sound one4 ,the sun seen through a mist becomes like a ball of red-hot iron4 ,the whole revelation of ,god becomes a pain to an unloving soul4 ,but ,god's very love compels ,him to punish4 ,some modern notions of the love of ,god seem to strike out righteousness from ,his nature altogether1 and substitute for it a mere good nature which is weakness1 not love1 and is cruelty1 not kindness4 ,there is nothing in the facts of the world or in the teachings of the gospel which countenances the notion of a ,god whose fondness prevents ,him from scourging4 ,what do you call it when a father spares the rod and spoils the child8 ,even this world is a very serious place for a man who sets himself against its laws4 ,its punishments come down surely and not always slowly4 ,there is nothing in it to encourage the idea of impunity4 ,that work is to ,him an ,unwelcome ,necessity4 ,bold words4 ',i have no pleasure in the death of a sinner4' ',he doth not willingly inflict4' ,the awful power of sin to divert the current of blessing4 ,christ's tears over ,jerusalem4 ,how unwelcome that work is to them is shown by the slowness of ,his judgments1 by multiplied warnings4 ',rising up early1' ,he tells men that ,he will smite1 in order that ,he may never need to smite4 ,that work is a certainty4 ,however reluctantly ,he smites1 the blow will fall4 ,,iii4 ,the ,strange ,work of ,redemption4 ,the mightiest miracle4 ,the revelation of ,god's deepest nature4 ,the wonder of the universe4 ,,the ,,husbandman ,,and ,,his ,,operations ',give ye ear1 and hear my voice2 hearken1 and hear my speech4 #bd4 ,doth the plowman plow all day to sow8 doth he open and break the clods of his ground6 #be4 ,when lie hath made plain the face thereof1 doth he not cast abroad the fitches1 and scatter the cummin1 and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place8 #bf4 ,for his ,god doth instruct him to discretion1 and doth teach him4 #bg4 ,for the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument1 neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin2 but the fitches are beaten out with a staff1 and the cummin with a rod4 #bh4 ,bread corn is bruised2 because he will not ever be threshing it1 nor break it with the wheel of his cart1 nor bruise it with his horsemen4 #bi4 ,this also cometh forth from the ,lord of ,hosts1 which is wonderful in counsel1 and excellent in working4'--,,isaiah xxviii4 #bc-bi4 ,the prophet has been foretelling a destruction which he calls ,god's strange act4 ,the ,jews were incredulous1 'scornful men4' ,they did not believe him2 and the main reason for their incredulity was that a divine destruction of the nation was so opposite to the divine conservation of it as to amount to an impossibility4 ,god had raised up and watched over the people4 ,he had planted it in the mountain of ,his inheritance1 and now was it going to be thrown down by the same hand which had built it up8 ,impossible4 ,the prophet's answer to that question is this parable of the husbandman1 who has to perform a great variety of operations4 ,he ploughs1 but that is not all4 ,he lays aside the plough when it has done its work1 and takes up the seed-basket1 and1 in different ways1 sows different seeds1 scattering some broadcast1 and dropping others carefully1 grain by grain1 into their place--'dibbling' it in1 as we should say4 ,but seedtime too1 passes1 and then he cuts down what he had so carefully sown1 and pulls up what he had so sedulously planted1 and1 in different ways1 breaks and bruises the grain4 ,is he inconsistent because he ploughs in winter and reaps in harvest8 ,does his carrying the seed-basket at one time make it impossible that he shall come with flail and threshing-oxen at another8 ,are not all the various operations co-operant to one end8 ,does not the end need them all8 ,is not one purpose going steadily forward through ploughing1 sowing1 reaping1 threshing8 ,is not that like the work of the great ,husbandman1 who changes ,his methods and preserves ,his plan through them all1 who has ,his 'time to sow' and ,his 'time to reap1' and who orders the affairs of men and kingdoms1 for the one purpose that ,he may gather ,his wheat into ,his garner1 and purge from it its chaff8 ,this parable sets forth a philosophy of the divine operations very beautiful and true1 and none the less impressive for the simple garb in which it is clothed4 ,i4 ,all things come from one steady1 divine purpose4 ,we may notice in passing how reverentially the prophet believes that agriculture is taught by ,god4 ,he would have said the same of cotton-spinning or coal-mining4 ,think how striking a figure that is1 of all the world as ,god's farm1 where ,he practises ,his husbandry to grow the crops which ,he desires4 ,what a picture the parable gives of sedulous and patient labour for a far-off result6 ,it insists on the thought of one steady divine purpose ever directing the movements of the divine hand4 ,that is the negation of the godless theory that the affairs of men are merely the work of men1 or are merely the result of impersonal causes4 ,the world is not a jungle where any or every plant springs of itself1 but it is cultivated ground which has an ,owner who looks after it4 ,it is the affirmation that ,god's action is regulated by a purpose which is intelligent1 unchanging1 all-embracing to us because revealed4 ,,ii4 ,that steady purpose is man's highest good4 ,the end of all the farmer's care is the ripening of the seed4 ,god's purpose is our moral1 intellectual1 and spiritual perfecting4 ,neither ,his own 'glory' nor man's 'happiness1' which are taken by different schools of thought to be the divine aim in creation and providence1 is an object worthy of ,him or adequate to explain the facts of every man's experience1 unless both are regarded as needing man's perfecting1 for their attainment4 ,god's glory is to make men godlike4 ,man's happiness cannot be secured without ,his holiness4 ,god has larger and nobler designs for us than merely to make us happy4 ',this is the will of ,god concerning you1 even your sanctification4' ,nothing short of that end would be worthy of ,god1 or would explain ,his methods4 ,,iii4 ,that purpose needs great variety of processes4 ,this is true about nations and about individuals4 ,different stages of growth need different treatment4 ,the parable names three operations3-- ,ploughing1 which is preparation2 ,sowing1 or casting in germinating principles2 ,threshing1 which is effected by tribulation1 a word which means driving a 'tribulum' or threshing-sedge over ears of grain4 ,so sorrow is indispensable for our perfecting4 ,by it earthly affections are winnowed away1 and our dependence on ,god increased4 ,a certain refinement of spirit results1 like the pallor on the face of a chronic invalid1 which has a delicate beauty unattainted by ruddy health4 ,a capacity for sympathy1 too1 is often the result of one's own trials4 ,rightly borne1 they tend to bend or break the will1 and they teach how great it is to suffer and be strong4 ,but sorrow is not enough2 joy is indispensable too4 ,the crop is threshed in tribulation1 but is grown mostly in sunshine4 ,calm1 uneventful hours1 continuous possession of blessings1 have a ministry not less than afflictions have4 ,the corn in the furrow1 waving in the western wind1 and with golden sunlight among its golden stems1 is preparing for the loaf no less than when bound in bundles and lying on the threshing-floor1 or cut and bruised by sharp teeth of dray or heavy hoofs of oxen1 or blows of swinging flails4 ,so do not suppose that sorrow is the only instrument for perfecting character1 and see that you do not miss the sanctifying and ripening effect of your joyous hours4 ,again1 different types of character require different modes of treatment4 ,in the parable1 'the fitches' are sown in one fashion1 and 'the cummin' in another the 'wheat' and 'barley' in still another2 and similar variety marks the methods of separating the grain from the husk1 one kind of crop being threshed another having a wheel turned upon it4 ,thus each of us gets the kind of joys and pains that will have most effect on us4 ,god knows where is the tenderest spot1 and makes no mistakes in ,his dealing4 ,he sends us 'afflictions sorted1 sorrows of all sizes4' ,let us see that we trust to ,his loving and wise adaptation of our trials to our temperaments and needs4 ,let us see that we never let clouds obscure the clearness of our perception1 or1 failing perception1 the serenity of our trust1 that all things work together1 and all work for our highest good--our being made like our ,lord4 ,we should less often complain of the mysteries of ,providence if we had learned the meaning of ,isaiah's parable4 ,,iv4 ,all the processes end in garnering the grain4 ,there is a barn or storehouse for the ripened and threshed crops4 ,the farmer's toil and careful processes would be absurd and unintelligible if1 after them all1 the crop1 so sedulously ripened and cultivated and cleansed1 was left to rot where it fell4 ,and no less certainly does the discipline of this life cry aloud for heaven and a conscious personal future life1 if it is not to be all set down as grim irony or utterly absurd4 ,there must be a heaven if we are not to be put to intellectual bewilderment4 ,what was needed for growth here drops away there1 as blossoms fall when their work is done4 ,sunshine and rain are no more necessary when the fields are cleared and the barn-yard is filled4 ,much in our nature1 in our earthly condition1 in ,god's varying processes1 will drop away4 ,when school-time is done the rod is burned4 ,but nothing will perish that can contribute to our perfecting4 ,so let us ask ,him to purge us with ,his fan in ,his hand now1 lest we should be found at last fruitless cumberers of the ground or chaff which is rootless1 and fit only to be swept out of the threshing-floor4 ',,quietness ,,and ,,confidence' ',in returning and rest shall ye be saved2 in quietness and confidence shall be your strength4'--,,isaiah xxx4 #ae4 ,,israel always felt the difficulty of sustaining itself on the height of dependence on the unseen1 spiritual power of ,god1 and was ever oscillating between alliances with the ,northern and ,southern powers1 linking itself with ,assyria against ,egypt1 or with ,egypt against ,assyria4 ,the effect was that whichever was victorious it suffered2 it was the battleground for both1 it was the prize of each in turn4 ,the prophet's warnings were political wisdom as truly as religious4 ,here ,judah is exhorted to forsake the entangling dependence on ,egypt1 and to trust wholly to ,god4 ,they had gone away from ,him in their fears4 ,they must come back by their faith4 ,to them the great lesson was trust in ,god4 ,through them to us the same lesson is read4 ,the principle is far wider than this one case4 ,it is the one rule of life for us all4 ,the two clauses of the text convey substantially the same idea4 ,they are in inverted parallelism4 ',returning and rest' correspond to 'quietness and confidence1' so as that 'rest' answers to 'quietness' and 'returning' to 'confidence4' ,in the former clause we have the action towards ,god and then its consequence4 ,in the latter we have the consequence and then the action4 ,i4 ,the returning4 ,men depart from ,god by speculative thought or by anxious care1 or by sin4 ,to 'return' is just to trust4 ,the parallel helps us here--'returning' is parallel with 'confidence4' ,this confidence is to be exercised especially in relation to one's own path in life and the outward trials and difficulties which we meet1 but its sphere extends far beyond these4 ,it is a disposition of mind which covers all things4 ,the attitude of trust1 the sense of dependence1 the assurance of ,god's help and love are in all life the secrets of peace and power4 ,am ,i sinful8 then trust4 ,am ,i bewildered and ignorant8 then trust4 ,am ,i anxious and harassed8 then trust4 ,note the thought1 that we come back to ,god by simple confidence1 not by preparing ourselves1 not by our expiation1 but only by trusting in ,him4 ,of course the temptations to the opposite attitude are many and great4 ,note1 too1 that every want of confidence is a departure from ,god4 ,we go away from ,him not only by open sin1 not only by denial of ,him1 but by forget-fulness1 by want of faith4 ,the ground of this confidence is laid in our knowledge of ,him1 especially in our knowledge of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the exercise of this confidence is treated as voluntary4 ,every man is responsible for his faith4 ,the elements of this confidence are1 as regards ourselves1 our sense of want in all its various aspects2 and1 as regards ,him1 our assurance of ,his love1 of ,his nearness to help4 ,,ii4 ,confiding nearness to ,god brings quiet rest4 ',rest' and 'being quiet' are treated here partly as consequences of faith1 partly as duties which we are bound to strive to achieve4 #a4 ,see how confidence in ,god stills and quiets the soul4 ,the very exercise of communion with ,him brings peace and rest1 inasmuch as all things are then possessed which we can desire4 ,there is a still fruition which nothing can equal and nothing destroy4 ,trust in ,god brings rest from our own evil consciences4 ,it brings rest from our own plans and purposes4 ,trust gives insight into the meaning of all this else unintelligible world4 ,it brings the calming and subduing of desires1 which in their eagerness torture1 in their fruition trouble1 and in their disappointment madden4 ,it brings the gathering in of ourselves from all the disturbing diffusion of ourselves through earthly trifles4 #b4 ,notice what this rest is not4 ,it does not mean the absence of causes of disturbance4 ,it does not mean the abnegation of forethought4 ,it does not mean an indolent passiveness4 #c4 ,notice the duty of being thus quiet and resting4 ,how much we fail in this respect4 ,we have faith1 but there seems some obstruction which stops it from flowing refreshingly through our lives4 ,we are bound to seek for its increased continuity and power in our hearts and lives4 ,,iii4 ,confidence and rest in ,god bring safety and strength4 ,that is true in the lowest sense of 'saved1' and not less true in the highest4 ,the condition of all our salvation from temporal as well as spiritual evils lies thus in the same thing--that we trust ,god4 ,no harm comes to us when we trust1 because then ,god is with us1 and works for us1 and cares for us4 ,so all departments of life are bound together by the one law4 ,trust is the condition of being 'saved4' ,and not only so1 but also trust is strength4 ,god works for us2 yes1 but better than that1 ,god works in us and fits us to work4 ,what powers we might be in the world6 ,trust should make us strong4 ,to have confidence in ,god should bring us power to which all other power is as nothing4 ,he who can feel that his foot is on the rock1 how firm he should stand6 ,best gives strength4 ,the rest of faith doubles our forces4 ,to be freed from anxious care makes a man much more likely to act vigorously and to judge wisely4 ,stillness of soul1 born of communion with ,god1 makes us strong4 ,stillness of soul1 born of deliverance from our fears1 makes us strong4 ,here then is a golden chain--or shall we rather say a live wire8--whereof one end is bound to the ,throne and the other encircles our poor hearts4 ,trust1 so shall we be at rest and safe4 ,being at rest and safe1 we shall be strong4 ,if we link ourselves with ,god by faith1 ,god will flash into us ,his mysterious energy1 and ,his strength will be made perfect in our weakness4 ,,god',s ,,waiting ,,and ,,man',s ',and therefore will the ,lord wait1 that ,he may be gracious unto you1 and therefore will ,he be exalted1 that ,he may have mercy upon you3 for the ,lord is a ,god of judgment3 blessed are they that wait for ,him4'--,,isaiah xxx4 #ah4 ,god's waiting and man's--bold and beautiful1 that ,he and we should be represented as sharing the same attitude4 ,i4 ,god's waiting1 #a4 ,the first thought is--why should ,he wait--why does ,he not act at once8 ,because something in us hinders4 ,we cannot enter into spiritual blessings till we are made capable of them by faith4 ,it would not be for our good to receive some temporal blessings till sorrow has done its work on us4 ,the great thought here is that ,god has a right time for help4 ,he is 'a ,god of judgment1' i4e44 discerns our moral condition and shapes ,his dealings thereby4 ,he never gives the wrong medicine4 #b4 ,his waiting is full of work to fit us to receive ,his grace4 ,it is not a mere passive standing by1 till the fit conditions are seen in us2 but ,he 'is exalted' while ,he waits1 i4e44 lifted up in the manifestation of ,his might1 and by ,his energy in preparing us for the gifts that ,he has prepared for us4 ',he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is ,god4' ,he who prepares a place for us is preparing us for the place4 ,he who has grace which ,he is ready to give us here1 is making us ready for ,his grace4 ,the meaning of all ,god's work on us is to form a character fit to possess ,his highest gifts4 #c4 ,his waiting is very patient4 ,the divine husbandman 'waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth1 being patient over it4' ,how wonderful that in a very real sense ,he attends on our pleasure1 as it were1 and lets us determine ,his time to work4 #d4 ,that waiting is full of divine desire to help4 ,it is not the waiting of indifference1 which says3 ',if you will have it--well and good4 ,if not1 it does not matter to ,me4' ,but 'more than they that watch for the morning1' ,god waits 'that ,he may be gracious unto you4' ,,ii4 ,man's waiting4 ,our attitude is to be in some real sense analogous to ,his4 ,its main elements are firm anticipation1 patient expectation1 steadfast desire1 self-discipline to fit us for the influx of ,god's grace4 ,we are not to prescribe 'times and seasons which the ,father hath put in ,his own power4' ,the clock of ,eternity ticks more slowly than our short-pendulumed timepieces4 ',if the vision tarry1 wait for it4' ,we may well wait for ,god when we know that ,he waits for us1 and that1 for the most part1 when ,he sees that we are waiting1 ,he knows that ,his time is come4 ,but it is to be noted that the waiting desire to which ,he responds is directed to something better and greater than any gifts from ,him1 even to ,himself1 for it is they who 'wait for ,him1' not only for ,his benefits apart from ,himself1 however precious these may be1 who are blessed4 ,the blessedness of such waiting1 how it calms the heart1 brings into constant touch with ,god1 detaches from the fever and the fret which kill1 opens our eyes to mark the meanings of our life's history1 and makes the divine gifts infinitely more precious when they do come4 ,after all1 the time of waiting is at the longest very short4 ,and when the perfect fruition is come1 and we enter into the great spaces of ,eternity1 it will seem as an handbreadth4 ',take it on trust a little while1 ,thou soon shalt read the mystery right ,in the full sunshine of ,his smile4' ,,three ,,pictures ,,of ,,one ,,reality ',as birds flying1 so will the ,lord of hosts defend ,jerusalem2 defending also ,he will deliver it2 and passing over ,he will preserve it'--,,isaiah xxxi4 #e4 ,the immediate occasion of this very remarkable promise is1 of course1 the peril in which ,jerusalem was placed by ,sennacherib's invasion2 and the fulfilment of the promise was the destruction of his army before its gates4 ,but the promise here1 like all ,god's promises1 is eternal in substance1 and applies to a community only because it applies to each member of that community4 ,jerusalem was saved1 and that meant that every house in ,jerusalem was saved1 and every man in it the separate object of the divine protection ,so that all the histories of ,scripture1 and all the histories of men in the world1 are but transitory illustrations of perennial principles1 and every atom of the consolation and triumph of this verse comes to each of us1 as truly as it did to the men that with tremulous heart began to take cheer1 as they listened to ,isaiah4 ,there is a wonderful saying in one of the other prophets which carries that lesson1 where1 bringing down the story of ,jacob's struggle with the angel of ,peniel to the encouragement of the existing generation1 he says1' ,he spake to us4' ,they were hundreds of years after the patriarch1 and yet had fallen heirs to all that ,god had ever said to him ,so1 from that point of view1 ,i am not spiritualising1 or forcing the meaning of these words1 when ,i bring them direct into the lives of each one of ourselves4 ,i4 ,and1 first1 ,i would note the very striking and beautiful pictures that are given in these verses4 ,there are three of them1 on each of which ,i must touch briefly4 ',as birds flying1 so will the ,lord of hosts defend ,jerusalem4' ,the form of the words in the original shows that it is the mother-bird that is thought about4 ,and the picture rises at once of her fluttering over the nest1 where the callow chickens are1 unable to fly and to help themselves4 ,it is a kind of echo of the grand metaphor in the song that is attributed to ,moses1 which speaks of the eagle fluttering over her nest1 and taking care of her young4 ,jerusalem was as a nest on which1 for long centuries1 that infinite divine love had brooded4 ,it was but a poor brood that had been hatched out1 but yet 'as birds flying' ,he had watched over the city4 ,can you not almost see the mother-bird1 made bold by maternal love1 swooping down upon the intruder that sought to rob the nest1 and spreading her broad pinion over the callow fledglings that lie below8 ,that is what ,god does with us4 ,as ,i said1 it is a poor brood that is hatched out4 ,that does not matter2 still the ,love bends down and helps4 ,nobody but a prophet could have ventured on such a metaphor as that1 and nobody but ,jesus ,christ would have ventured to mend it and say1 ',as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings1' when there are hawks in the sky4 ,so ,he1 in all the past ages1 was the ,one that 'as birds flying 444 defended' ,his people1 and would have gathered them under ,his wings1 only they would not4 ,now1 beautiful as this metaphor is1 as it stands1 it seems to me1 like some brilliant piece of colouring1 to derive additional beauty from its connection with the background upon which it stands out4 ,for just a verse before the prophet has given another emblem of what ,god is and does1 and if you will carry with you all those thoughts of tenderness and maternal care and solicitude1 and then connect them with that verse1 ,i think the thought of ,his tenderness will start up into new beauty4 ,for here is what precedes the text3 ',like as a lion1 and the young lion roaring on his prey when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him1 he will not be afraid of their voice1 nor bow himself for the noise of them4 ,so shall the ,lord of hosts come down to fight for ,mount ,zion4' ,look at these two pictures side by side1 on the one hand the lion1 with his paw on his prey1 and the angry growl that answers when the shepherds vainly try to drag it away from him4 ,that is ,god4 ,ay6 but that is only an aspect of ,god4 ',as birds flying1 so the ,lord will defend ,jerusalem4' ,we have to take that into account too4 ,this generation is very fond of talking about ,god's love2 does it believe in ,god's wrath8 ,it is very fond of speaking about the gentleness of ,jesus2 has it pondered that tremendous phrase1 'the wrath of the ,lamb'8 ,the lion that growls1 and the mother-bird that hovers--,god is like them both4 ,that is the first picture that is here4 ,the second one is not so obvious to ,english readers1 but it is equally striking1 though ,i do not mean to dwell upon it4 ,the word that is translated in our text twice1 'defend' and 'defending'--',so will the ,lord of hosts defend ,jerusalem1 and defending will deliver'--means1 literally1 'shielding4' ,thus we have the same general idea as that in the previous metaphor of the mother-bird hovering above the nest3 ,god is like a shield held over us1 and so flinging off front the broad and burnished surface of the ,almighty buckler1 all the darts that any foe can launch against as4 ',our ,god is a ,sun and ,shield4' ,i need not enlarge on this familiar metaphor4 ,but the third picture ,i wish to point to in more detail3 ',passing over1 ,he will deliver4' ,now1 the word that is there rendered 'passing over1' is almost a technical word in the ,old ,testament1 because it is that employed in reference to the ,passover4 ,and so you see the swiftness of genius with which the prophet changes his whole scene4 ,we had the nest and the mother-bird1 we had the battlefield and the shield2 now we are swept away back to that night when the ,destroying ,angel stalked through the land1 and 'passed over' the doors on which the blood had been sprinkled4 ,and thus this ,god1 who in one aspect may be likened to the mother-bird hovering with her little breast full of tenderness1 and made brave by maternal love conquering natural timidity1 and in another aspect may be likened to the broad shield behind which a man stands safe1 may also be likened to that ,destroying ,angel that went through ,egypt1 and smote wherever there were not the tokens of the blood on the lintels1 and 'passed over' wherever there were4 ,of course1 the original fulfilment of this third picture is the historical case of the army of ,sennacherib2 outside the walls1 widespread desolation2 inside the walls1 an untroubled night of peace4 ,that night in ,egypt is paralleled1 in the old ,jewish hymn that is still sung at the ,passover1 with the other night when ,sennacherib's men were slain2 and the parallel is based on our text4 ,so1 then1 here is another illustration of what ,i started with saying1 that the past events of ,scripture are transient expressions of perennial principles and tendencies4 ,for the ,passover night was not to be to the contemporaries of the prophet an event receding ever further into the dim distance1 but it was a present event1 and to be reproduced in that catastrophe when 'in the morning when they arose1 they were all dead corpses4' ,and the event is being repeated to-day1 and will be for each of us1 if we will4 ,so1 then1 there are these three pictures--the ,nest and the ,mother-bird1 the ,battlefield and the ,shield1 ,egypt and the ,destroying ,angel4 ,,ii4 ,we note the reality meant by these pictures4 ,they mean the absolute promise from ,god of protection for ,his people from every evil4 ,we are not to cut it down1 not to say that it applies absolutely in regard to the spiritual world1 but that it does not apply in regard to temporal things4 ,yes1 it does entirely1 only you have to rise to the height of ,god's conception of what is good and what is evil in regard to outward things1 before you understand how completely1 and without qualification or deduction1 this promise is fulfilled to every man that puts his trust in ,him4 ,of course1 ,i do not need to remind you1 for your own lives will do so sufficiently1 that this hovering protector1 this strong ,shield1 this ,destroying ,angel that passes by our houses if the blood is on the threshold1 does not guarantee us any exemption from the common 'ills that flesh is heir to4' ,we all know that well enough4 ,but what does it guarantee8 ,that all the poison shall be wiped off the arrow1 that all the evil shall be taken out of the evil1 that it will change its character1 that if we observe the conditions1 the sharpest sorrow will come to us with this written on it by the ,father's hand1 ',with ,my love to ,my child'2 that pain will be discipline1 and discipline will be blessed4 ,ah6 dear friends6 ,i am sure there are many of us that can set to our seals that ,god is true in this matter1 and that we have found that ,his rod does blossom1 and that our sorest sorrows have been our greatest mercies1 drawing us nearer to ,him2 ',defending ,he will deliver1 and passing over ,he will preserve4' ,,iii4 ,and now let me remind you of the way by which we can make the reality of these pictures ours4 ,you know that all the promises and prophecies of the ,old ,testament are conditional1 and that there are many of them that were never fulfilled1 and were spoken in order that they might not be fulfilled1 if only the people took warning4 ,i wish folk would carry a little more consciously in their minds that principle in interpreting them all1 and in asking about their fulfilment4 ,not only in regard to these ancient events1 but in regard to our individual experience1 ,god's promises and threatenings are conditional4 ,take that first metaphor of the hovering mother-bird4 ,listen to this expansion of it in one of the psalms3 ',he shall cover thee with ,his feathers1 and under ,his wings shalt thou trust4' ,the word for trust here means to 'fly into a refuge4' ,can you not see the picture8 ,a little brood round the parent bird1 frightened by some beast of prey1 or hovering hawk in the sky1 and fluttering under its wings1 and all safe and huddled together there close against the warm breast1 and in amongst the downy feathers4 ',under ,his wings shalt thou trust4' ,put thou thy trust in ,god1 and ,god is to thee the hovering bird1 the broad shield1 the ,angel that 'passes over4' ,take the other picture of the ,passover night4 ,only by our individual faith in ,jesus ,christ as our individual ,saviour can we put the blood on our door-posts so that the ,destroying ,angel shall pass by4 ,so1 if we would have the sweetness of such words as these fulfilled in our daily lives1 however disturbed and troubled and sorrowful and solitary they may be1 the first condition is that under ,his wings shall we flee for refuge1 and we do so by trust in ,him4 ,but having thus fled thither1 we must continue there1 if we would continue under ,his protection4 ,such continuance of safety because of continuous faith is possible only by continued communion4 ,remember our ,lord's expansion of the metaphor in ,his lament3 ',how often would ,i have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings1 and ye would not4' ,we can resist the drawing4 ,we can get away from the shelter of the wing4 ,we can lift up our wills against ,him4 ,and what becomes of the chicken that does not run to the mother's pinions when the hawk is hovering8 ,that is what becomes of the man that stops outside the refuge in ,christ1 or that by failure of his faith departs from that refuge4 ',ye would not2 therefore your house is left unto you desolate4' ,that house1 in the ,jerusalem which ,god 'defends1' is not defended4 ,another condition of divine protection is obedience4 ,we need not expect that ,god will take care of us1 and preserve us1 when we did not ask ,his leave to get into the dangerous place that we find ourselves in4 ,many of us do the converse of what the ,apostle condemns1 we begin 'in the flesh1' and think we shall end 'in the ,spirit'2 which being translated is1 we do not ask ,god's leave to do certain things1 to enter into certain engagements or arrangements with other people1 and the like1 and then we expect ,god to come and help us in or out of them4 ,that is by no means an uncommon form of delusion4 ,you remember what ,jesus ,christ said when the ,devil tried to entice ,him to do a thing of that sort1 by quoting ,scripture to ,him--',he shall give ,his angels charge concerning ,thee1 to keep ,thee in all ,thy ways4 ,cast ,thyself down4 ,trust to the promise as a kind of parachute to keep ,thee from falling bruised on the stones of the ,temple-court4' ,christ's answer was3 ',thou shalt not tempt the ,lord thy ,god4' ,you will not get ,god's protection in ways of your own choosing4 ,and so1 brethren1 'all things work together for good to them that love1' to them that trust1 to them that keep close1 to them that obey4 ,and for such the old faithful promise will be faithful and new once more1 ',because ,he hath set ,his love upon ,me1 therefore will ,i deliver ,him'--that will be the summing up of our lives2 'and ,i will set ,him on high because ,he hath known ,my ,name1' that will be the meaning of our deaths4 ,,the ,,lord',s ,,furnace ',the ,lord1 whose fire is in ,zion1 and ,his furnace in ,jerusalem4'--,,isaiah xxxi4 #i4 ,this very remarkable characterisation of ,god stands here as a kind of seal1 set upon the preceding prophecy4 ,it is the reason why that will certainly be fulfilled4 ,and what precedes is mainly a promise of a deliverance for ,israel1 which was to be a destruction for ,israel's enemies4 ,it is put in very graphic and remarkable metaphors3 ',like as a lion roareth on his prey when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him1 he will not be afraid of their voice1 nor abase himself for the noise of them3 so shall the ,lord of hosts come down to fight for ,mount ,zion4' ,the enemies of ,israel are picturesquely and poetically represented as a crowd of shepherds vainly trying to scare a lion by their shouts4 ,he stands undaunted1 with his strong paw on his prey1 and the boldest of them durst not venture to drag it from beneath his claws4 ,so1 says ,isaiah1 with singularly daring imagery1 ,god will put all ,his strength into keeping fast hold of ,israel1 and no one can pluck ,his people from ,his hands4 ,then1 with a sudden and striking change of metaphor1 the prophet passes from a picture of the extreme of fierceness to one of the extreme of tenderness4 ',as birds flying'--mother birds fluttering over their nests--'so will the ,lord of hosts defend ,jerusalem1' hovering over it and going from side to side to defend with ,his broad pinions1 'passing over1 ,he will preserve it4' ,these figures are next translated into the plain promise of utter discomfiture and destruction1 panic and flight as the portion of the enemies of ,israel1 and the whole has this broad seal set to it1 that ,he who promises is 'the ,lord1 whose fire is in ,zion1 and ,his furnace in ,jerusalem4' ,we shall not understand these great words if we regard them as only a revelation of destructive and terrible power4 ,they are that indeed1 but they are far more than that4 ,it is the very beauty and completeness of this emblem that has a double aspect1 and is no less rich in joy and blessing than pregnant with warning and terror4 ,as ,isaiah says in another place1 ,jerusalem is ',ariel1' which probably means 'the hearth of ,god4' ,his presence in the city is as a fire for the comfort and defence of the happy inhabitants1 and at the same time for the destruction of all evil and enemies4 ,far more truly than ,he dwelt in the city of ,david does ,god dwell in the ,church1 and ,his presence is its security4 ,what1 then1 of instruction and hope may we gather from this wonderful emblem8 ,i4 ,in the ,church1 ,god is present as a great reservoir of fervid love4 ,every language has taken fire as the symbol of love and emotion4 ,we speak so naturally of warm love1 fervent feeling1 glowing earnestness1 ardent enthusiasm and the like1 that we are scarcely aware of using figurative language4 ,we do not usually ascribe emotion to ,god1 but surely the deepest and most sacred of the senses in which it is true that fire is ,his emblem1 is that ,he is love4 ,his fire is in ,zion4 ,he dwells in ,his ,church1 a storehouse of blazing love1 heated seventy times seven hotter than any creatural love1 and pouring out its ardours for the quickening and gladdening of all who walk in the light of that fire1 and thaw their coldness at its blaze4 ,then1 if so1 how comes it that so many ,christian ,churches are ice-houses instead of furnaces8 ,how comes it that they who profess to live in the ,zion where this fire flames are themselves so cold8 ,if ,god's blazing furnace is in ,jerusalem1 it should send the thermometer up in all the houses of the city4 ,but what a strange contradiction it is for men to be in ,god's ,church1 the very focus and centre of ,his burning love1 and themselves to be almost down below zero in their temperature6 ,the ,christian ,church ought to be all aflame in all its members1 with the fire of love kindled and alight from ,god ,himself4 ,every community of ,christian people ought to radiate warmth and light which it has absorbed from its present ,god4 ,our love ought to answer ,his1 and1 being caught and kindled from that mighty fire1 should throw back to its source some of the heat received1 in fervours of reflected love1 and should pour the rest beneficently on all around4 ,love to ,god and love to man are regarded in ,christian morals as beams of the same fire1 only travelling in different directions4 ,but what a miserable contrast to such an ideal the reality in so many of our churches is6 ,a fiery furnace with its doors hung with icicles is no greater a contradiction and anomaly than a ,christian ,church or a single soul1 which professes to have been touched by the infinite loving kindness of ,god1 and yet lives as cold and unmoved as we do4 ,the ',lord's fire is in ,zion4' ,are there any tokens of that fire amongst us1 in our own hearts and in our collective temperature as ,christian ,churches8 ,there is no religion worth calling so which has not warmth in it4 ,we hear a great deal from people against whom ,i do not wish to say a word1 about the danger of an 'emotional ,christianity4' ,agreed1 if by that they mean a ,christianity which has no foundation for its emotion in principle and intelligence2 but not agreed if they mean to recommend a ,christianity which professes to accept truths that might kindle a soul beneath the ribs of death and make the dumb sing1 and yet is never moved one hair's-breadth from its quiet phlegmaticism4 ,there is no religion without emotion4 ,of course it must be intelligent emotion1 built upon the acceptance of divine truth1 and regulated and guided by that1 and so consolidated into principle1 and it must be emotion which works for its living1 and impels to ,christian conduct4 ,these two provisoes being attended to1 then we can safely say that warmth is the test of life1 and the readings of the thermometer1 which measure the fervour1 measure also the reality of our religion4 ,a cold ,christian is a contradiction in terms4 ,if the adjective is certainly applicable1 ,i am afraid the applicability of the noun is extremely doubtful4 ,if there is no fire1 what is there8 ,cold is death4 ,we want no flimsy1 transitory1 noisy1 ignorant1 hysterical agitation4 ,smoke is not fire4 ,if the temperature were higher1 and the fire more wisely fed1 there would not be any4 ,but we do want a more obvious and powerful effect of their solemn1 glorious1 and heart-melting beliefs on the affections and emotions of professing ,christians1 and that they may be more mightily moved by love1 to all heroisms and service and enthusiasms and to consecration which shall in some measure answer to the glowing heart of that fire of ,god which flames in ,zion4 ,,ii4 ,god's revelation of ,himself1 and presence in ,his ,church1 are an instrument of cleansing4 ,fire purifies4 ,in our great cities now there are 'disinfecting ovens1' where infected articles are taken1 and exposed to a high temperature which kills the germs of disease1 so that tainted things come out sweet and clean4 ,that is what ,god's furnace in ,zion is meant to do for us4 ,the true way of purifying is by fire4 ,to purify by water1 as ,john the ,baptist saw and said1 is but a poor1 cold way of getting outward cleanliness4 ,water cleanses the surface1 and becomes dirty in the process4 ,fire cleanses within and throughout1 and is not tainted thereby4 ,you plunge some foul thing into the flame1 and1 as you look1 the specks and spots melt out of it4 ,raise the temperature1 and you kill the poison germs4 ,that is the way that ,god cleanses ,his people2 not by external application1 but by getting up the heat4 ,the fire of ,his love1 the fire of ,his spirit1 is1 as ,st4 ,bernard says1 a blessed fire1 which 'consumes indeed1 but does not hurt2 which sweetly burns and blessedly lays waste1 and so puts forth the force and fire against our vices1 as to display the operation of the anointing oil upon our souls4' ,the ,hebrew captives were flung into the fiery furnace4 ,what did it burn8 ,only their bonds4 ,they themselves lived and rejoiced in the intense heat4 ,so1 if we have any real possession of the divine flame1 it will burn off our wrists the bands and chains of our old vices1 and we shall stand pure and clean1 emancipated by the fire which will consume only our sins1 and be for our true selves as our native home1 where we walk at liberty and expatiate in the genial warmth4 ,that is the blessed and effectual way of purifying1 which slays only the death that we carry about with us in our sin1 and makes us the more truly living for its death4 ,cleansing is only possible if we are immersed in the ,holy ,ghost and in fire1 as some piece of foul clay1 plunged into the furnace1 has all the stains melted out of it4 ,for all sinful souls seeking after cleansing1 and finding that the 'damned spot' will not 'out' for all their washing1 it is surely good news and tidings of great joy that the ,lord has ,his fire in ,zion1 and that its purifying power will burn out all their sin4 ,,iii4 ,further1 there is suggested another thought3 that ,god1 in ,his great revelation of ,himself1 by which ,he dwells in ,his ,church1 is a power of transformation4 ,fire turns all which it seizes into fire4 ',behold how much wood is kindled by how small a fire' 7,r4,v474 ,the heap of green wood with the sap in it needs but a tiny light pushed into the middle1 and soon it is all ablaze1 transformed into ruddy brightness1 and leaping heavenwards4 ,however heavy1 wet1 and obstinate may be the fuel1 the fire can change it into aspiring and brilliant flame4 ,and so ,god1 coming to us in ,his ',spirit of burning1' turns us into ,his own likeness1 and makes us possessors of some spark of ,himself4 ,therefore it is a great promise1 ',he shall baptize you in the ,holy ,ghost1 and in fire4' ,he shall plunge you into the life-giving furnace1 and so 'make ,his ministers like a flame of fire1' like the ,lord whom they serve4 ,the seraphim who stand round the throne are 'burning' spirits1 and the purity which shines1 the love which glows1 the swift life which flames in them1 are all derived from that unkindled and all-animating ,fire who is their and our ,god4 ,the transformation of all the dwellers in ,zion into miniature likenesses of this fire is the very highest hope that springs from the solemn and blessed truth that the ,lord has ,his fire in ,zion1 and ,his furnace in ,jerusalem4 ,,iv4 ,but1 further1 this figure teaches that the same divine fire may become destructive4 ,the emblem of fire suggests a double operation1 and the very felicity of it as an emblem is that it has these two sides1 and with equal naturalness may stand for a power which quickens1 and for one which destroys4 ,the difference in the effects springs not from differences in the cause1 but in the objects with which the fire plays4 ,the same ,god is the fire of life1 the fire of love1 of purifying and transformation and glad energy to whosoever will put his trust in ,him1 and a fire of destruction and anger unto whosoever resists ,him4 ,the alternative stands before every soul of man1 to be quickened by fire or consumed by it4 ,we may make the furnace of ,god our blessedness and the reservoir of a far more joyful and noble life than ever we could have lived in our coldness2 or we may make it terror and destruction4 ,there lie the two possibilities before every one of us4 ,we cannot stand apart from ,him2 we have relations with ,him1 whether we will or no2 ,he is something to us4 ,he is1 and must be for all1 a flaming fire4 ,we can settle whether it shall be a fire which is life-giving unto life1 or a fire which is death-giving unto death4 ,here are two buildings3 the one the life of the man that lives apart from ,god1 and therefore has built only with wood1 hay1 and stubble2 the other the life of the man that lives with ,god and for ,him1 and so has built with gold1 silver1 and precious stones4 ,the day and the fire come2 and the fates of these two are opposite effects of the same cause4 ,the licking tongues surround the wretched hut1 built of combustibles1 and up go wood and hay and stubble1 in a smoking flare1 and disappear4 ,the flames play round the gold and silver and precious stones1 and every leap of their light is answered by some facet of the gems that flash in their brilliancy1 and give back the radiance4 ,you can settle which of these two is to be your fate4 ',the ,lord's fire is in ,zion1 and ,his furnace in ,jerusalem4' ,to those who1 by faith in that dear ,lord who came to cast fire on earth1' have opened their hearts1 to the entrance of that searching1 cleansing flame1 and who therefore burn with kindred and answering fervours1 it is joy to know that their ',god is a consuming fire1' for therein lies their hope of daily purifying and ultimate assimilation4 ,to those1 on the other hand1 who have closed their hearts to the warmth of ,his redeeming love in ,christ1 and the quickening of ,his baptism by fire1 what can the knowledge be but terror1 what can contact with ,god in judgment be but destruction8 ',the day cometh1 it burneth as a furnace2 and all the proud1 and all that work wickedness1 shall be as stubble1 and the day that cometh shall burn them up4' ,what will that day do for you8 ,,the ,,hiding-,,place ',and a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind1 and a covert from the tempest2 as rivers of water in a dry place1 as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land4'--,,isaiah xxxii4 #b4 ,we may well say1 ,of whom speaketh the prophet this8 ,here are distinctly attributed to one of ourselves1 if we take the words in their simplicity and fulness1 functions and powers which universal experience has taught us not to look for in humanity4 ,and there have been a great many attempts--as it seems to me1 altogether futile and baseless ones--to break the force of these words as a distinct prophecy of ,jesus ,christ4 ,surely the language is far too wide to have application to any real or ideal ,jewish monarch1 except one whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom8 ,surely the experience of a hundred centuries might teach men that there is one man1 and one alone1 who is the refuge from all dangers1 the fruition of all desires1 the rest and refreshment in all toils4 ,and ,i1 for my part1 have no hesitation in saying that the only reference of these words which gives full value to their wealth of blessing1 is to regard them as a prophecy of the man--,christ ,jesus2 hiding in whom we are safe1 'coming' to whom we 'never thirst1' guarded and blest by whom no weariness can befall us1 and dwelling in whom this weary world shall be full of refreshment and peace6 ,i do not need to point out the exquisite beauty of the imagery or the pathos and peace that breathe in the majestic rhythm of the words4 ,there is something more than poetical beauty or rhetorical amplification of a single thought in those three clauses4 ,the 'hiding-place' and 'covert' refer to one class of wants2 the 'rivers of water in a dry place' to yet another2 and 'the shadow of a great rock in a weary land' to yet a third4 ,and1 though they are tinged and dyed in ,eastern imagery1 the realities of life in ,western lands1 and in all ages1 give them a deeper beauty than that of lovely imagery1 and are the true keys to understanding their meaning4 ,we shall1 perhaps1 best grasp the whole depth of that meaning according to the ,messianic reference which we give to the text1 if we consider the sad and solemn conception of man's life that underlies it2 the enigmatical and obstinate hope which it holds out in the teeth of all experience--',a man shall be a refuge'2 and the solution of the riddle in the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,i4 ,first1 there underlies this prophecy a very sad but a very true conception of human life4 ,the three classes of promises have correlative with them three phases of man's condition1 three diverse aspects of his need and misery4 ,the 'covert' and the 'hiding-place' imply tempest1 storm1 and danger2 the 'river of water' implies drought and thirst2 'the shadow of a great rock' implies lassitude and languor1 fatigue and weariness4 ,the view of life that arises from the combination of these three bears upon its front the signature of truth in the very fact that it is a sad view4 ,for1 ,i suppose1 notwithstanding all that we may say concerning the beauty and the blessedness scattered broadcast round about us2 notwithstanding that we believe1 and hold as for our lives the happy 'faith that all which we behold is full of blessing1' it needs but a very short experience of this life1 and but a superficial examination of our own histories and our own hearts1 in order to come to the conclusion that the world is full of strange and terrible sadness1 that every life has dark tracts and long stretches of sombre tint1 and that no representation is true to fact which dips its pencil only in light and flings no shadows on the canvas4 ,there is no depth in a ,chinese picture1 because there is no shade4 ,it is the wrinkles and marks of tear and wear that make the expression in a man's portrait4 ',life's sternest painter is its best4' ,the gloomy thoughts which are charged against ,scripture are the true thoughts about man and the world as man has made it4 ,not1 indeed1 that life needs to be so1 but that by reason of our own evil and departure from ,god there have come in as a disturbing element the retributive consequences of our own godlessness1 and these have made danger where else were safety1 thirst where else were rivers of water1 and weariness and lassitude where else were strength and bounding hope4 ,so then1 look for a moment at these three points that come out of my text1 in order to lay the foundation for subsequent considerations4 ,we live a life defenceless and exposed to many a storm and tempest4 ,i need but remind you of the adverse circumstances--the wild winds that go sweeping across the flat level1 the biting blasts that come down from the snow-clad mountains of destiny that lie round the low plain upon which we live4 ,i need but remind you of the dangers that are lodged for our spiritual life in the temptations to evil that are round us4 ,i need but remind you of that creeping and clinging consciousness of being exposed to a divinely commissioned retribution and punishment1 which perverts the ,name that ought to be the basis of all our blessedness into a ,name unwelcome and terrible1 because threatening judgment4 ,i need but remind you how men's sins have made it needful that when the mighty ,god1 even the ,lord1 appears before them1 'it shall be very tempestuous round about him4' ,men fear and ought to fear 'the blast of the breath of ,his nostrils1' which must burn up all that is evil4 ,and ,i need but remind you of that last wild wind of ,death that whirls the sin-faded leaves into dark corners where they lie and rot4 ,my brother1 you have not lived thus long without learning how defenceless you are against the storm of adverse circumstances4 ,you have not lived thus long without learning that though1 blessed be ,god6 there do come in all our lives long periods of halcyon rest1 when 'birds of calm sit brooding on the charmed wave1' and the heavens above are clear as sapphire1 and the sea around is transparent as opal--yet the little cloud1 no bigger than a man's hand1 may rise on the horizon1 and may thicken and blacken and grow greater and nearer till all the sky is dark1 and burst in lightning and rain and fierceness of wind1 till 'through the torn sail the wild tempest is streaming1' and the white crests of the waves are like the mane of ,death's pale horse leaping upon the broken ship4 ,we have all learnt in how profound a sense1 by reason of outward adverse circumstances and inward temptations1 by reason of the fears of a ,justice which we know is throned at the centre of the creation1 by reason of a death which to us is a terror1 and by reason of that universal fear of 'after death the judgment1' storm and tempest swoop upon our paths4 ,god made the sunshine1 and we have made it a storm4 ,god made life blessed and full of safety and peace1 and we have wrenched ourselves from ,him and stand defenceless amidst its dangers4 ,then1 there is another aspect and conception of life which underlies these words of my text4 ,the image of the desert was before the prophet's rapt vision4 ,he saw the sand whirled into mad dancing columns before the blast which swept across the unsheltered flat1 with nothing1 for a day's march1 to check its force4 ,but the wilderness is not only shelterless1 it is waterless too--a place in which wild and ravening thirst finds no refreshing draughts1 and the tongue cleaves to the blackening gums4 ',rivers of water in a dry place'2 and what is the prose fact of that8 ,that you and ,i live in the midst of a world which has no correspondence with1 nor power of satisfying1 our truest and deepest selves--that we bear about with us a whole set of longings and needs and weaknesses and strengths and capacities1 all of which1 like the climbing tendrils of some creeping plant1 go feeling and putting out their green fingers to lay hold of some prop and stay--that man is so made that for his rest and blessedness he must have an external object round which his spirit may cling1 on which his desires may fasten and rest1 by which his heart may be blessed1 which shall be authority for his will1 peace for his fears1 sprinkling and cleansing for his conscience1 light for his understanding1 shall be in complete correspondence with his inward nature--be water for his thirst1 and bread for his hunger4 ,and as thus1 on the very nature which each of us carries1 there is stamped the signature of dependence1 and the necessity of finding an external object on which to rest2 and as1 further1 men will not be tutored even by their own miseries or by the voice of their own wants1 and ever confound their wishes with their wants and their whims with their needs1 therefore it comes to pass that the appetite which was only meant to direct us to ,god1 and to be as a wholesome hunger in order to secure our partaking with relish and delight of the divine food that is provided for it1 becomes unsatisfied1 a torture1 and unslaked1 a ravening madness2 and men's needs become men's misery2 and men's hunger becomes men's famine2 and men's thirst becomes men's death4 ,we do dwell in a dry land where no water is4 ,all about us there are these creatures of ,god1 bright and blessed and beautiful1 fit for their functions and meant to minister to our gladness4 ,they are meant to be held in subordination4 ,it is not meant that we should find in them the food for our souls4 ,wealth and honour and wisdom and love and gratified ambition and successful purpose1 and whatsoever other good things a man may gather about him and achieve--he may have them all1 and yet in spite of them all there will be a great aching1 longing vacuity in his soul4 ,his true and inmost being will be groping through the darkness1 like a plant growing in a cellar1 for the light which alone can tinge its pale petals and swell its shrivelling blossoms to ripeness and fruit4 ,a dry place1 as well as a dangerous place--have not you found it so8 ,i believe that every soul of man has1 if he will be honest with himself1 and that there is not one among us who would not1 if he were to look into the deepest facts and real governing experience of his life1 confess--,i thirst3 'my soul thirsteth4' ,and oh1 brethren1 why not go on with the quotation1 and make that which is else a pain1 a condition of blessedness8 ,why not recognise the meaning of all this restless disquiet1 and say ',my soul thirsteth for ,god1 for the living ,god'8 ,and then there is the other idea also underlying these words1 yet another phase of this sad life of ours--not only danger and drought1 but also weariness and languor4 ,the desert stretches before us again1 where there is no shelter from the blast and no trickling stream amid the yellowing sand2 where the fierce ball above beats down cruelly1 and its hot rays are flung up cruelly into our faces1 and the glare blinds us1 and the stifling heat wearies us1 and work is a torture and motion is misery1 and we long for nothing so much as to be quiet and to hide our heads in some shade4 ,i was reading recently one of our last books of travel in the wilderness of the ,exodus1 in which the writer told how1 after toiling for hours under a scorching sun1 over the hot1 white1 marly flat1 seeing nothing but a beetle or two on the way1 and finding no shelter anywhere from the pitiless beating of the sunshine1 the weary travellers came at last to a little ,retem bush only a few feet high1 and flung themselves down and tried to hide1 at least1 their heads1 from those 'sunbeams like swords1' even beneath its ragged shade4 ,and my text tells of a great rock1 with blue dimness in its shadow1 with haply a fern or two in the moist places of its crevices1 where there is rest1 and a man can lie down and be cool1 while all outside is burning sun1 and burning sand1 and dancing mirage4 ,oh6 the weariness felt by us all1 of plod1 plod1 plodding across the sand6 ,that fatal monotony into which every man's life stiffens1 as far as outward circumstances1 outward joys and pleasures go6 the depressing influence of custom which takes the edge off all gladness and adds a burden to every duty6 the weariness of all that tugging up the hill1 of all that collar-work which we have to do6 ,who is there that has not his mood1 and that by no means the least worthy and man-like of his moods1 wherein he feels not1 perhaps1 that all is vanity1 but--'how infinitely wearisome it all is4' ,and so every race of man that ever has lived has managed out of two miseries to make a kind of shadowy gladness2 and1 knowing the weariness of life and the blackness of death1 has somewhat lightened the latter by throwing upon it the thought of the former1 and has said1 ',well1 at any rate1 if the grave be narrow and dark1 and if outside the warm precincts of the cheerful day there be that ambiguous night1 at least it is the place for sleep2 and1 if we cannot be sure of anything more1 we shall rest then1 at any rate4' ,so the hope of 'long disquiet merged in rest' becomes almost bright1 and man's weariness finds most pathetic expression in his thinking of the grave as a bed where he can stretch himself and be still4 ,life is hard1 life is dry1 life is dangerous4 ,,ii4 ,but another thought suggested by these words is--,the ,mysterious ,hope which shines through them4 ,one of ourselves shall deliver us from all this evil in life4 ',a man shall be a refuge1 rivers of water1 the shadow of a great rock4' ,such an expectation seems to be right in the teeth of all experience and far too high-pitched ever to be fulfilled4 ,it appears to demand in him who should bring it to pass powers which are more than human1 and which must in some inexplicable way be wide as the range of humanity and enduring as the succession of the ages4 ,it is worth while to realise to ourselves these two points which seem to make such words as these of our text a blank impossibility4 ,experience contradicts them1 and common-sense demands for their fulfilment an apparently impossible human character4 ,all experience seems to teach--does it not8--that no human arm or heart can be to another soul what these words promise1 and what we need4 ,and yet the men who have been disappointed and disenchanted a thousand times do still look among their fellows for what their fellows1 too1 are looking for1 and none have ever found4 ,have we found what we seek among men8 ,have we ever known amongst the dearest that we have clung to1 one arm that was strong enough to keep us in all danger8 ,has there ever been a human love to which we can run with the security that there is a strong tower where no evil can touch us8 ,there have been many delights in all our lives mediated and ministered to us by those that we loved4 ,they have taught us1 and helped us1 and strengthened us in a thousand ways4 ,we have received from them draughts of wisdom1 of love1 of joy1 of guidance1 of impulse1 of comfort1 which have been1 as water in the desert is1 more precious than gold4 ,our fellow-travellers have shared their store with us1 'letting down their pitchers upon their hand1' and giving us drink2 but has the draught ever slaked the thirst8 ,they carry but a pitcher1 and a pitcher is not a fountain4 ,have there been any in all the round of those that we have loved and trusted1 to whom we have trusted absolutely1 without having been disappointed8 ,they1 like us1 are hemmed in by human limitations4 ,they each bear a burdened and thirsty spirit1 itself needing such supplies4 ,and to the truest1 happiest1 most soul-sufficing companionship1 there comes at last that dread hour which ends all sweet commerce of giving and receiving1 and makes the rest of life1 for some of us1 one monotonous ashen-grey wilderness where no water is4 ,these things make it impossible for us to find anywhere amongst men our refuge and our fruition4 ,and yet how strange1 how pathetic1 is the fact that after all disappointments1 men still obstinately continue to look among their fellows for guidance and for light1 for consolation1 for defence1 and for strength6 ,after a thousand failures they still hope4 ,does not the search at once confess that hitherto they have not found1 else why be seeking still8--and that they yet believe they will yet find1 else why not cease the vain quest8 ,and surely ,he who made us1 made us not in vain1 nor cursed us with immortal hopes which are only persistent lies4 ,surely there is some living ,person who will vindicate these unquenchable hopes of humanity1 and receive and requite our love and trust1 and satisfy our longings1 and explain the riddle of our lives4 ,if there be not1 nor ever has been1 nor ever can be a man who shall satisfy us with his love1 and defend us with his power1 and be our all-sufficient satisfaction and our rest in weariness1 then much of man's noblest nature is a mistake1 and many of his purest and profoundest hopes are an illusion1 a mockery1 and a snare4 ,the obstinate hope that1 within the limits of humanity1 we shall find what we need is a mystery1 except on one hypothesis1 that it1 too1 belongs to 'the unconscious prophecies' that ,god has lodged in all men's hearts4 ,nor need ,i remind you1 ,i suppose1 how such functions as those of which my text speaks not only seem to be contradicted by all experience1 but manifestly and obviously to transcend the possibilities of human nature4 ,a man to defend me2 and he himself--does he need no defence8 ,a man to supply my wants2 and is his spirit1 then1 other than mine1 that it can become the all-sufficient fulness for my emptiness8 ,he that can do this for one spirit must be greater than the spirit for which he doeth it4 ,he that can do it for the whole race of man1 through all ages1 in all circumstances1 down to the end of time1 in every latitude1 under every condition of civilisation--who must he be who1 for the whole world1 evermore and always1 is their defence1 their gladness1 their shelter1 and their rest8 ,the function requires a divine power1 and the application of the power requires a human hand4 ,it is not enough that ,i should be pointed to a far-off heaven1 where there dwells an infinite loving ,god--,i believe that we need more than that4 ,we need both of the truths3 ',god is my refuge and my strength1' and ',a man shall be a hiding-place from the wind1 and a covert from the tempest4' ,,iii4 ,that brings me to the last point to be noticed1 namely3--,the solution of the mystery in the person of ,jesus ,christ4 ,that which seemed impossible is real4 ,the forebodings of humanity have not fathomed the powers of ,divine ,love4 ,there is a man1 our brother1 bone of our bone1 and flesh of our flesh1 who can be to single souls the adequate object of their perfect trust1 the abiding home of their deepest love1 the unfailing supply for their profoundest wants4 ,there is one man to whom it is wise and blessed to look as the exclusive source of all our peace1 the absolute ruler of all our lives4 ,there is a man in whom we find all that we have vainly sought in men4 ,there is a man1 who can be to all ages and to the whole race their refuge1 their satisfaction1 their rest4 ',it behoved ,him to be made in all points like unto ,his brethren1' that ,his succour might be ever near1 and ,his sympathy sure4 ,the man ,christ ,jesus who1 being man1 is ,god manifest in the flesh1 exercises in one and the same act the offices of divine pity and human compassion1 of divine and human guardianship1 of divine and human love4 ',and so the ,word had breath1 and wrought ,with human hands the creed of creeds ,in loveliness of perfect deeds1 ,more strong than all poetic thought4' ,the dreams of weary hearts that have longed for an impossible perfection are all below the reality4 ,the fact surpasses all expectation4 ,it is more than all prophecies1 it is more than all hopes1 it is more than all praise4 ,it is ,god's unspeakable gift4 ,well might an angel voice proclaim the mystery of love1 ',unto you is born a ,saviour1 which is ,christ the ,lord4' ,the ancient promise of our text is history now4 ,a man has been and is all these things for us4 ,a refuge and a hiding-place from every storm--adverse circumstances sweep upon us1 and ,his mighty hand is put down there as a buckler1 behind which we may hide and be safe4 ,temptations to evil storm upon us1 but if we are enclosed within ,him they never touch us4 ,the fears of our own hearts swirl like a river in flood against the walls of our fortress home1 and we can laugh at them1 for it is founded upon a rock6 ,the day of judgment rises before us solemn and certain1 and we can await it without fear1 and approach it with calm joy4 ,i call upon no mountains and hills to cover me4 ',rock of ages1 cleft for me1 ,let me hide myself in ,thee4' ',rivers of water in a dry place1'--hungry and thirsty1 my soul fainted within me4 ,i longed for light1 and behold darkness4 ,i longed for help1 and there was none that could come close to my spirit to succour and to give me drink in the desert4 ,my conscience cried in all its wounds for cleansing and stanching1 and no comforter nor any balm was there4 ,my heart1 weary of limited loves and mortal affections1 howsoever sweet and precious1 yearned and bled for one to rest upon all-sufficient and eternal4 ,i thirsted with a thirst that was more than desire1 that was pain1 and was coming to be death1 and ,i heard a voice which said1 ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink4' ',the shadow of a great rock in a weary land1'--and my heart was weary by reason of the greatness of the way1 and duties and tasks seemed toils and burdens1 and ,i was ready to say1 ',wherefore has ,thou made me and all men in vain8 ,surely all this is vanity and vexation of spirit1' and ,i heard ,one that laid ,his hand upon me and said1 ',come unto ,me1 and ,i will give thee rest4' ,i come to ,thee1 ,o ,christ1 faint and perishing1 defenceless and needy1 with many a sin and many a fear2 to ,thee ,i turn for ,thou hast died for me1 and for me thou dost live4 ,be ,thou my shelter and strong tower4 ,give me to drink of living water4 ,let me rest in ,thee while in this weary land1 and let ,thy sweet love1 my ,brother and my ,lord1 be mine all on earth and the heaven of my heaven6 ,,how ,,to ,,dwell ,,in ,,the ,,fire ,,of ,,god ',who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire8 who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings8 #ae4 ,he that walketh righteously1 and speaketh uprightly2 he that despiseth the gain of oppressions1 that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes1 that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood1 and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil4'--,,isaiah xxxiii4 #ad1 #ae4 ',he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god'--#a ,,john iv4 #af4 ,i have put these two verses together because1 striking as is at first sight the contrast in their tone1 they refer to the same subject1 and they substantially preach the same truth4 ,a hasty reader1 who is more influenced by sound than by sense1 is apt to suppose that the solemn expressions in my first text1 'the devouring fire' and' everlasting burnings1' mean hell4 ,they mean ,god1 as is quite obvious from the context4 ,the man who is to 'dwell in the devouring fire' is the good man4 ,he that is able to abide 'the everlasting burnings' is 'the man that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly1' that 'despiseth the gain of oppression1 that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes1 that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood1 and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil4' ,the prophet has been calling all men1 far and near1 to behold a great act of divine judgment in which ,god has been manifested in flaming glory1 consuming evil2 now he represents the 'sinners in ,zion1' the unworthy members of the nation1 as seized with sudden terror1 and anxiously asking this question1 which in effect means3 ',who among us can abide peacefully1 joyfully1 fed and brightened1 not consumed and annihilated1 by that flashing brightness and purity8' ,the prophet's answer is the answer of common-sense--like draws to like4 ,a holy ,god must have holy companions4 ,but that is not all4 ,the fire of ,god is the fire of love as well as the fire of purity2 a fire that blesses and quickens1 as well as a fire that destroys and consumes4 ,so the ,apostle ,john comes with his answer1 not contradicting the other one1 but deepening it1 expanding it1 letting us see the foundations of it1 and proclaiming that as a holy ,god must be surrounded by holy hearts1 which will open themselves to the flame as flowers to the sunshine1 so a loving ,god must be clustered about by loving hearts1 who alone can enter into deep and true friendship with ,him4 ,the two answers1 then1 of these texts are one at bottom2 and when ,isaiah asks1 ',who shall dwell with the everlasting fire8'--the perpetual fire1 burning and unconsumed1 of that divine righteousness--the deepest answer1 which is no stern requirement but a merciful promise1 is ,john's answer1 ',he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god4' ,the simplest way1 ,i think1 of bringing out the force of the words before us will be just to take these three points which ,i have already suggested3 the world's question1 the partial answer of the prophet1 the complete answer of the ,apostle4 ,i4 ,the ,world's ,question4 ,i need only remind you how frequently in the ,old ,testament the emblem of fire is employed to express the divine nature4 ,in many places1 though by no means in all1 the prominent idea in the emblem is that of the purity of the divine nature1 which flashes and flames as against all which is evil and sinful4 ,so we read in one grand passage in this book of ,isaiah1 'the ,light of ,israel shall become a fire'2 as if the lambent beauty of the highest manifestation of ,god gathered itself together1 intensified itself1 was forced back upon itself1 and from merciful1 illuminating light turned itself into destructive and consuming fire4 ,and we read1 you may remember1 too1 in the description of the symbolical manifestation of the divine nature which accompanied the giving of the ,law on ,sinai1 that 'the glory of the ,lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain1' and yet into that blaze and brightness the ,lawgiver went1 and lived and moved in it4 ,there is1 then1 in the divine nature a side of antagonism and opposition to evil1 which flames against it1 and labours to consume it4 ,i would speak with all respect for the motives of many men in this day who dread to entertain the idea of the divine wrath against evil1 lest they should in any manner trench upon the purity and perfectness of the divine love4 ,i respect and sympathise with the motive altogether2 and ,i neither respect nor sympathise with the many ferocious pictures of that which is called the wrath of ,god against sin1 which much so-called orthodox teaching has indulged in4 ,but if you will only remove from that word 'anger' the mere human associations which cleave to it1 of passion on the one hand1 and of a wish to hurt its object on the other1 then you cannot1 ,i think1 deny to the divine nature the possession of such passionless and unmalignant wrath1 without striking a fatal blow at the perfect purity of ,god4 ,a ,god that does not hate evil1 that does not flame out against it1 using all the energies of ,his being to destroy it1 is a ,god to whose character there cleaves a fatal suspicion of indifference to good1 of moral apathy4 ,if ,i have not a ,god to trust in that hates evil because ,he loveth righteousness1 then 'the pillared firmament itself were rottenness1 and earth's base built on stubble'2 nor were there any hope that this damnable thing that is killing and sucking the life-blood out of our spirits should ever be destroyed and cast aside4 ,oh6 it is short-sighted wisdom1 and it is cruel kindness1 to tamper with the thought of the wrath of ,god1 the 'everlasting burnings' of that eternally pure nature wherewith it wages war against all sin4 ,but then1 let us remember that1 on the other side1 the fire which is the destructive fire of perfect purity is also the fire that quickens and blesses4 ,god is love1 says ,john1 and love is fire1 too4 ,we speak of 'the flame of love1' of 'warm affections1' and the like4 ,the symbol of fire does not mean destructive energy only4 ,and these two are one4 ,god's wrath is a form of ,god's love2 ,god hates because ,he loves4 ,and the 'wrath' and the 'love' differ much more in the difference of the eyes that look1 than they do in themselves4 ,here are two bits of glass2 one of them sifts out and shows all the fiery-red rays1 the other all the yellow4 ,it is the one same pure1 white beam that passes through them both1 but one is only capable of receiving the fiery-red beams of the wrath1 and the other is capable of receiving the golden light of the love4 ,let us take heed lest1 by destroying the wrath1 we maim the love2 and let us take heed lest1 by exaggerating the wrath1 we empty the love of its sweetness and its preciousness2 and let us accept the teaching that these are one1 and that the deepest of all the things that the world can know about ,god lies in that double saying1 which does not contradict its second half by its first1 but completes its first by its second--,god is ,righteousness1 ,god is ,love4 ,well1 then1 that being so1 the question rises to every mind of ordinary thoughtfulness3 ',who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire8 who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings8' ,a ,god fighting against evil2 can you and ,i hope to hold familiar fellowship with ,him8 ,a ,god fighting against evil2 if ,he rises up to exercise ,his judging and ,his punishing energies1 can we meet ,him8 ',can thy heart endure and thy hands be strong1 in the day that ,i shall deal with thee8' is the question that comes to each of us if we are reasonable people4 ,i do not dwell upon it2 but ,i ask you to take it1 and answer it for yourselves4 ,to 'dwell with everlasting burnings' means two things4 ,first1 it means to hold familiar intercourse and communion with ,god4 ,the question which presents itself to thoughtful minds is--,what sort of man must ,i be if ,i am to dwell near ,god8 ,the lowliest bush may be lit by the divine fire and not be consumed by it2 and the poorest heart may be all aflame with an indwelling ,god1 if only it yield itself to ,him1 and long for ,his likeness4 ,electricity only flames into consuming fire when its swift passage is resisted4 ,the question for us all is--,how can ,i receive this holy fire into my bosom1 and not be burned8 ,is any communion possible1 and if it is1 on what conditions8 ,these are the questions which the heart of man is really asking1 though it knows not the meaning of its own unrest4 ',to dwell with everlasting burnings' means1 secondly1 to bear the action of the fire--the judgment of the present and the judgment of the future4 ,the question for each of us is--,how can we face that judicial and punitive action of that ,divine ,providence which works even here1 and how can we face the judicial and punitive action in the future8 ,i suppose you all believe1 or at least say that you believe1 that there is such a future judgment4 ,have you ever asked yourselves the question1 and rested not until you got a reasonable answer to it1 on which1 like a man leaning on a pillar1 you can lean the whole weight of your expectations--,how am ,i to come into the presence of that devouring fire8 ,have you any fireproof dress that will enable you to go into the furnace like the ,hebrew youths1 and walk up and down in the midst of it1 well and at liberty8 ,have you8 ',who shall dwell amidst the everlasting fires8' ,that question has stirred sometimes1 ,i know1 in the consciences of every man and woman that is listening to me4 ,some of you have tampered with it and tried to throttle it1 or laughed at it and shuffled it out of your mind by the engrossments of business1 and tried to get rid of it in all sorts of ways3 and here it has met you again to-day4 ,let us have it settled1 in the name of common-sense 7to invoke nothing higher71 once for all1 upon reasonable principles that will stand2 and do you see that you settle it to-day4 ,,ii4 ,and now1 look next at the prophet's answer4 ,it is simple4 ,he says that if a man is to hold fellowship with1 or to face the judgment of1 the pure and righteous ,god1 the plainest dictate of reason and common-sense is that he himself must be pure and righteous to match4 ,the details into which hid answer to the question runs out are all very homely1 prosaic1 pedestrian kind of virtues1 nothing at all out of the way1 nothing that people would call splendid or heroic4 ,here they are3--',he that walks righteously1'--a short injunction1 easily spoken1 but how hard6--'and speaketh uprightly1 he that despiseth the gain of oppression1 that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes1 that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood1 that shutteth his eyes from seeing evil4' ,righteous action1 righteous speech1 inward hatred of possessions gotten at my neighbour's cost1 and a vehement resistance to all the seductions of sense1 shutting one's hands1 stopping one's ears1 fastening one's eyes up tight so that he may not handle1 nor hear1 nor see the evil--there is the outline of a trite1 everyday sort of morality which is to mark the man who1 as ,isaiah says1 can 'dwell amongst the everlasting fires4' ,now1 if at your leisure you will turn to ,psalms xv4 and xxiv41 you will find there two other versions of the same questions and the same answer1 both of which were obviously in our prophet's mind when he spoke4 ,in the one you have the question put3 ',who shall abide in ,thy tabernacle8' ,in the other you have the same question put3 ',who shall ascend into the hill of the ,lord8' ,and both these two psalms answer the question and sketch the outline 7and it is only an outline7 of a righteous man1 from the ,old ,testament point of view1 substantially in the same fashion that ,isaiah does here4 ,i do not need to remark upon the altogether unscientific and non-exhaustive nature of the description of righteousness that is set forth here4 ,there are a great many virtues1 plain and obvious1 that are left out of the picture4 ,but ,i ask you to notice one very special defect1 as it might seem4 ,there is not the slightest reference to anything that we call religion4 ,it is all purely pedestrian1 worldly morality2 do righteous things2 do not tell lies2 do not cheat your neighbour2 stop your ears if people say foul things in your hearing2 shut your eyes if evil comes before you4 ,these are the kind of duties enjoined1 and these only4 ,the answer of my text moves altogether on the surface1 dealing only with conduct1 not with character1 and dealing with conduct only in reference to this world4 ,there is not a word about the inner nature1 not a word about the inner relation of a man to ,god4 ,it is the minimum of possible qualifications for dwelling with ,god4 ,well1 now1 do you achieve that minimum8 ,suppose we waive for the moment all reference to ,god2 suppose we waive for the moment all reference to motive and inward nature2 suppose we keep ourselves only on the outside of things1 and ask what sort of conduct a man must have that is able to walk with ,god8 ,we have heard the answer4 ,now1 then1 is that me8 ,is this sketch here1 admittedly imperfect1 a mere black-and-white swift outline1 not intended to be shaded or coloured1 or brought up to the round2 is this mere outline of what a good man ought to be1 at all like me8 ,yes or no8 ,i think we must all say ,no to the question1 and acknowledge our failure to attain to this homely ideal of conduct4 ,the requirement pared down to its lowest possible degree1 and kept as superficial as ever you can keep it1 is still miles above me1 and all ,i have to say when ,i listen to such words is1 ',god be merciful to me a sinner4' ,my dear friends1 take this one thought away with you3--the requirements of the most moderate conscience are such as no man among us is able to comply with4 ,and what then8 ,am ,i to be shut up to despair8 am ,i to say3 ,then nobody can dwell within that bright flame8 ,am ,i to say3 ,then when ,god meets man1 man must crumble away into nothing and disappear8 ,am ,i to say1 for myself3 ,then1 alas for me6 when ,i stand at ,his judgment bar8 ,,iii4 ,let us take the ,apostle's answer4 ,god is love1 and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god4' ,now1 to begin with1 let us distinctly understand that the ,new ,testament answer1 represented by ,john's great words1 entirely endorses ,isaiah's2 and that the difference between the two is not that the ,old ,testament1 as represented by psalmist and prophet1 said1 ',you must be righteous in order to dwell with ,god1' and that the ,new ,testament says1 ',you need not be4' ,not at all6 ,john is just as vehement in saying that nothing but purity can bind a man in thoroughly friendly and familiar conjunction with ,god as ,david or ,isaiah was4 ,he insists as much as anybody can insist upon this great principle1 that if we are to dwell with ,god we must be like ,god1 and that we are like ,god when we are like ,him in righteousness and love4 ',he that saith he hath fellowship with ,him1 and walketh in darkness1 is a liar6' ,that is ,john's short way of gathering it all up4 ,righteousness is as essential in the gospel scheme for all communion and fellowship with ,god as ever it was declared to be by the most rigid of legalists2 and if any of you have the notion that ,christianity has any other terms to lay down than the old terms--that righteousness is essential to communion--you do not understand ,christianity4 ,if any of you are building upon the notion that a man can come into loving and familiar friendship with ,god as long as he loves and cleaves to any sin1 you have got hold of a delusion that will wreck your souls yet1--is1 indeed1 harming1 wrecking them now1 and will finally destroy them if you do not got rid of it4 ,let us always remember that the declaration of my first text lies at the very foundation of the declaration of my second4 ,what1 then1 is the difference between them8 ,why1 for one thing it is this--,,isaiah tells us that we must be righteous1 ,john tells us how we may be4 ,the one says1 ',there are the conditions1' the other says1 ',here are the means by which you can have the conditions4' ,love is the productive germ of all righteousness2 it is the fulfilling of the law4 ,get that into your hearts1 and all these relative and personal duties will come4 ,if the deepest1 inmost life is right1 all the surface of life will come right4 ,conduct will follow character1 character will follow love4 ,the efforts of men to make themselves pure1 and so to come into the position of holding fellowship with ,god1 are like the wise efforts of children in their gardens4 ,they stick in their little bits of rootless flowers1 and they water them2 but1 being rootless1 the flowers are all withered to-morrow and flung over the hedge the day after4 ,but if we have the love of ,god in our hearts1 we have not rootless flowers1 but the seed which will spring up and bear fruit of holiness4 ,but that is not all4 ,isaiah says ',righteousness1' ,john says ',love1' which makes righteousness4 ,and then he tells us how we may get love1 having first told us how we may get righteousness3 ',we love ,him because ,he first loved us4' ,it is just as impossible for a man to work himself into loving ,god as it is for a man to work himself into righteous actions4 ,there is no difference in the degree of impossibility in the two cases4 ,but what we can do is1 we can go and gaze at the thing that kindles the love2 we can contemplate the ,cross on which the great ,lover of our souls died1 and thereby we can come to love ,him4 ,john's answer goes down to the depths1 for his notion of love is the response of the believing soul to the love of ,god which was manifested on the ,cross of ,calvary4 ,to have righteousness we must have love2 to have love we must look to the love that ,god has to us2 to look rightly to the love that ,god has to us we must have faith4 ,now you have gone down to the very bottom of the matter4 ,faith is the first step of the ladder1 and the second step is love and the third step is righteousness4 ,and so the ,new ,testament1 in its highest and most blessed declarations1 rests itself firmly upon these rigid requirements of the old law4 ,you and ,i1 dear brethren1 have but one way by which we can walk in the midst of that fire1 rejoicing and unconsumed1 namely that we shall know and believe the love which ,god hath to us1 love ,him back again 'with pure hearts fervently1' and in the might of that receptive faith and productive love1 become like ,him in holiness1 and ourselves be 'baptized with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire4' ,thus1 fire-born and fiery1 we shall dwell as in our native home1 in ,god ,himself4 ,,the ,,fortress ,,of ,,the ,,faithful ',he shall dwell on high3 his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks2 bread shall be given him2 his waters shall be sure4'--,,isaiah xxxiii4 #af4 ,this glowing promise becomes even more striking if we mark its connection with the solemn question in the previous context4 ',who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire8' is the prophet's question2 'who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings8' ,that question really means1 ,who is capable 'of communion with ,god'8 ,the prophet sketches the outline of the character in the subsequent verses1 and then recurring to his metaphor of a habitation1 and yet with a most lovely and significant modification1 he says1 'he'--the man that he has been sketching--'shall dwell1' not 'with the everlasting burnings1' but 'on high2 his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks1' like some little hill1 fort1 or city1 perched upon a mountain1 and having within it ample provision and an unfailing spring of water4 ',his bread shall1 be given him1 his water shall be sure4' ,to dwell with 'the devouring fire' is to 'dwell on high1' to be safe and satisfied4 ,so then1 whilst the words before us have1 of course1 direct and immediate reference to the ,assyrian invasion1 and promise1 in a literal sense1 security and exemption from its evils to the righteous in ,israel1 they widen and deepen into a picturesque1 but not less real1 statement of what comes into the religious life1 by communion with ,god4 ,there are three things3 elevation1 security1 satisfaction4 ',he shall dwell on high4' ,in the ,east1 and in all unsettled countries1 you will find that the sites of the cities are on the hilltops1 for a very plain reason1 and that is the fact that underlies the prophet's representation4 ,to hold fellowship with ,god1 to live in union with ,him1 to have ,his thoughts for my thoughts1 and ,his love wrapping my heart1 and ,his will enshrined in my will2 to carry ,him about with me into all the pettinesses of daily life1 and1 amidst the whirlpool of duties and changing circumstances1 to sit in the centre1 as it were the eye of the whirlpool where there is a dead calm1 that lifts a man on high4 ,communion with ,god secures elevation of spirit1 raising us clean above the flat that lies beneath4 ,there are many ways by which men seek for lofty thoughts1 and a general elevation above the carking cares and multiplied minutenesses of this poor1 mortal1 transient life2 but while books and great thoughts1 and the converse of the wise1 and art1 and music1 and all these other elevating influences have a real place and a blessed efficiency in ennobling life1 there is not one of them1 nor all of them put together1 that will give to the human spirit that strange and beautiful elevation above the world and the flesh and the devil1 which simple communion with ,god will give4 ,i have seen many a poor man who knew nothing about the lofty visions that shape and lift humanity1 who had no side of him responsive to aesthetics or art or music1 who was no thinker1 no student1 who never had spoken to anybody above the rank of a poor labouring man1 and to whom all the wisdom of the nations was a closed chamber1 who yet in his life1 ay6 and on his face1 bore marks of a spirit elevated into a serene region where there was no tumult1 and where nothing unclean or vicious could live4 ,a few of the select spirits of the race may painfully climb on high by thought and effort4 ,get ,god into your hearts1 and it will be like filling the round of a silken balloon with light air2 you will soar instead of climbing1 and 'dwell on high4' ,when you are up there1 the things below that look largest will dwindle and 'show1' as ,shakespeare has it1 'scarce so gross as beetles1' looked at from the height1 and the noises will sink to a scarcely audible murmur1 and you will be able to see the lie of the country1 and1 as it says in the context1 'your eyes shall behold the land that is very far off4' ,yes6 the hilltop is the place for wide views1 and for understanding the course of the serpentine river1 and it is the place to discover how small are the mightiest things at the foot1 and how little a way towards the sun the noises of human praise or censure can ever travel4 ',he shall dwell on high1' and he will see a long way off1 and understand the relative magnitude of things1 and the strife of tongues will have ceased for him4 ,and more than that is implied in the promise4 ,if we dwell on high1 we shall come down with all the more force on what lies below4 ,there is no greater caricature and misconception of ,christianity than that which talks as if the spirit that lived in daily communion with ,god1 high above the world1 was remote from the world4 ,why1 how do they make electricity nowadays8 ,by the fall of water from a height1 and the higher the level from which it descends1 the mightier the force which it generates in the descent4 ,so nobody will tell on the world like the man who lives above it4 ,the height from which a weight rushes down measures the force of its dint where it falls1 and of the energy with which it comes4 ',he shall dwell on high'2 and only the man that stands above the world is able to influence it4 ,again1 here is another blessing of the ,christian life1 put in a picturesque form3 ',his defence shall be munitions of rocks4' ,that is a promise of security from assailants1 which in its essence is true always1 though its truth may seem doubtful to the superficial estimate of sense4 ,the experience of the ,south ,african war showed how impregnable 'the munitions of rocks' were4 ,the ,boers lay safe behind them1 and our soldiers might fire lyddite at them all day and never touch them4 ,so1 the man who lives in communion with ,god has between him and all evil the ,rock of ,ages1 and he lies at the back of it1 quiet and safe1 whatever foe may rage on the other side of it4 ,now1 of course1 the prophet meant to tell his countrymen that1 in the theocracy of which they were parts1 righteousness and nothing else was the national security1 and if a man or a nation lived in communion with ,god1 it bore a charmed life4 ,that is a great deal more true1 in regard to externals1 in the miraculous 'dispensation1' as it is called1 of the ,old ,testament than it is now1 and we are not to take over these promises in their gross literal form into the ,christian era1 as if they were unconditional and absolutely to be fulfilled4 ,but at the same time1 if you reflect how many of our troubles do come to us mainly because we break our communion with ,god1 ,i think we shall see that this old word has still an application to our daily lives and outward circumstances4 ,deduct from any man's life all the discomfort and trouble and calamity which have come down upon him because he was not in touch with ,god1 and there will not be very much left4 ,yet there will be some1 and the deepest and sorest of all our sorrows are not to be interpreted as occasioned by defects in our dwelling in ,god4 ,then has my text no application to them8 ,yes1 because what still remains of earthly cares and sorrows and evils would1 in communion with ,god1 change its character4 ,the rind is the same2 but all the interior contents have been1 as children will do with a fruit1 scooped out1 and another kind of thing has been put inside1 so that though the outward appearance is the same1 what is at the heart of it is utterly different4 ,it is no longer some coarse1 palate-biting1 common vegetable1 but a sweet confection1 made by ,god's own hands1 and put into the gourd1 which has been hollowed out and emptied of its evil4 ,that is1 perhaps1 a very violent figure1 but take a plain case as illustration4 ,suppose two men1 each of them going to his wife's funeral4 ,the two hearses pass inside the cemetery gates1 one after the other4 ,outwardly the two afflictions are the same1 but the one man says1 ',the ,lord gave and the ,lord hath taken away'2 the other man says1 ',they have taken away my gods1 and what shall ,i do more8' ,are the two things the same8 ',he shall dwell on high1 his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks1' and if we do hide ourselves in the cleft1 then no evil shall befall us1 nor any plague come nigh our dwelling4 ,but there is another truth contained in this great promise1 viz41 that in regard to all the real evils which beset men1 and these are all summed up in the one1 the temptation to do wrong1 their arrows will be blunted1 and their force be broken1 if we keep our minds in touch with ,god through humble communion and lowly obedience4 ,dear brethren1 the way by which we can conquer temptations around1 and silence inclinations within which riotously seek to yield to the temptations is1 ,i believe1 far more by cultivating a consciousness of communion with ,god1 than by specific efforts directed to the overcoming of a given and particular temptation4 ,keep inside the fortress1 and no bullet will come near you4 ,array yourselves in the most elaborate precautions and step out from its shadow1 and every bullet will strike and wound4 ,let me keep up my fellowship with ,god1 and ,i may laugh at temptation4 ,security depends on continual communion with ,god by faith1 love1 aspiration1 and obedience4 ,now1 ,i need not say more than a word about the last element in these promises1 the satisfaction of desires4 ',his bread shall be given him1 and his water shall be sure4' ,in ancient warfare sieges were usually blockades2 and strong fortresses were reduced by famine much more frequently than by assault4 ,mafeking and ,ladysmith and ,port ,arthur were in most danger from that cause4 ,the promise here assures us that we shall have all supplies in our abode1 if ,god is our abode4 ,wherever he who dwells in ,god goes1 he carries with him his provisions1 and he does not need elaborate arrangements of pipes or reservoirs1 because there is a fountain in the courtyard that the enemy cannot get at4 ,they may stop the springs throughout the land1 they may cut off all water supplies1 so that 'there shall be no fruit in the vine1 and the labour of the olive shall fail1' but they cannot touch the fountain4 ',his water shall be sure1' and he can say1 ',in the days of famine ,i shall be satisfied4' ,god is and gives all that we need for sustenance1 for growth1 for refreshment1 for satisfaction of our desires4 ,keep near ,him1 and you will find in the heart of the devouring fire a shelter1 and you will have all that you want for life here4 ,my text will be true about us1 in the measure in which we do thus dwell1 and if we thus dwell here1 and so dwell on high1 with the munitions of rocks for our fortress1 and 'the bread of ,god that came down from heaven' for our food1 and the water of life for our refreshment1 then1 when there is no longer any need of places for defence1 the other saying will be true1 ',they shall hunger no more1 neither thirst any more1 for the ,lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them 444 and shall lead them to living fountains of waters1 and ,god1 the ,lord1 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes4' ,,the ,,rivers ,,of ,,god ',but there the glorious ,lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams2 wherein shall go no galley with oars1 neither shall gallant ship pass thereby4'--,,isaiah xxxiii4 #ba4 ,one great peculiarity of ,jerusalem1 which distinguishes it from almost all other historical cities1 is that it has no river4 ,babylon was on the ,euphrates1 ,nineveh on the ,tigris1 ,thebes on the ,nile1 ,rome on the ,tiber2 but ,jerusalem had nothing but a fountain or two1 and a well or two1 and a little trickle and an intermittent stream4 ,the water supply to-day is1 and always has been1 a great difficulty1 and an insuperable barrier to the city's ever having a great population4 ,that deficiency throws a great deal of beautiful light on more than one passage in the ,old ,testament4 ,for instance1 this same prophet contrasts the living stream1 the waters of ,siloam1 as an emblem of the gentle sway of the divine ,king of ,israel1 with 'the river1 strong and mighty1' which was the symbol of ,assyria2 and a psalm that we all know well1 sings1 ',there is a river1 the streams whereof make glad the city of ,god1'--a triumphant exclamation which is robbed of half its force1 unless we remember that the literal ,jerusalem had no river at all4 ,the vision of living waters flowing from the ,temple which ,ezekiel saw is a variation of the same theme1 and suggests that in the ,messianic days the deficiency shall be made good1 and a mysterious stream shall spring up from behind1 and flow out from beneath1 the temple doors1 and then with rapid increase and depth and width1 but with no tributaries coming into it1 shall run fertilising and life-giving everywhere1 till it pours itself into the noisome waters of the sullen sea of death and heals even them4 ,the same general representation is contained in the words before us4 ,isaiah's great vision is not1 as ,i take it1 of a future1 but of what the ,jerusalem of his day might be to the ,israelite if he would live by faith4 ,the mighty ,lord1 'the glorious ,lord1' shall ,himself 'be a place of broad rivers and streams4' ,i4 ,first1 then1 this remarkable promise suggests to me how in ,god there is the supply of all deficiencies4 ,the city was perched on its barren1 hot rock1 with scarcely a drop of water1 and its inhabitants must often have been tempted to wish that there had been running down the sun-bleached bed of the ,kedron a flashing stream1 such as laved the rock-cut temples and tombs of ,thebes4 ,isaiah says1 in effect1 ',you cannot see it1 but if you will trust yourselves to ,god1 there will be such a river4' ,in like manner every defect in our circumstances1 everything lacking in our lives--and we all have something which does not correspond with1 or which falls beneath1 our wishes and apparent needs--everything which seems to hamper us in some aspects1 and to sadden us in others1 may be compensated and made up if we will hold fast by ,god2 and although to outward sense we dwell 'in a dry and barren land where no water is1' the eye of faith will see1 flashing and flowing all around1 the rejoicing waters of the divine presence1 and they will mirror the sky1 and the reflections will teach us that there is a heaven above us4 ,if there is in any life a gap1 that is a prophecy that ,god will fill it4 ,if there is anything in your circumstances in regard to which you often feel sadly1 and are sometimes tempted to feel bitterly1 how much stronger and more fully equipped you would be1 if it were otherwise1 be sure that in ,god there is that which can supply the want1 and that the consciousness of the want is a merciful summons to seek its supply from and in ,him4 ,if there is a breach in the encircling wall of your defences1 ,god has made it in order that ,he ,himself1 and not an enemy1 may enter your lives and hearts4 ',in the year that ,king ,uzziah died1 ,i saw the ,lord sitting on a throne1' and it did not matter though that mortal king was dead1 for the true ,king was thereby revealed as living for ever1 just as when the summer foliage1 fluttering and green1 drops from the tree1 the sturdy stem and the strong branches are made the more visible4 ,our felt deficiencies are doors by which ,god may come in4 ,do you sometimes feel as if you would be better if you had easier worldly circumstances8 ,is your health precarious and feeble8 ,have you to walk a solitary path through this world1 and does your heart often ache for companionship8 ,you can have all your heart's desire fulfilled in deepest reality in ,god1 in the same way that that riverless city had ,jehovah for 'a place of broad rivers and streams4' ,,ii4 ,take another side of the same thought4 ,here is a revelation of ,god and ,his sweet presence as our true defence4 ,the river that lay between some strong city and the advancing enemy was its strongest fortification when the bridge of boats was taken away4 ,one of the ancient cities to which ,i have referred is described by one of the prophets as being held as within the coils of a serpent1 by which he means the various bendings and twistings of the ,euphrates1 which encompassed ,babylon1 and made it so hard to be conquered4 ,the primitive city of ,paris owed its safety in the wild old times when it was founded1 to its being on an island4 ,venice has lived through many centuries1 because it is girded about by its lagoons4 ,england is what it is1 largely because of 'the streak of silver sea4' ,so ,god's city has a broad moat all round it4 ,the prophet goes on to explain the force of his bold figure in regard to the safety promised by it1 when he says3 ',wherein shall go no galley with oars1 neither shall gallant ship pass thereby4' ,not a keel of the enemy shall dare to cut its waters1 nor break their surface with the wet plash of invading oars4 ,and so1 if we will only knit ourselves with ,god by simple trust and continual communion1 it is the plainest prose fact that nothing will harm us1 and no foe will ever get near enough to us to shoot his arrows against us4 ,that is a truth for faith1 and not for sense4 ,many a man1 truly compassed about by ,god1 has to go through fiery trial and sorrow and affliction4 ,but ,i venture to appeal to every heart that has known grief most acutely1 protractedly1 and frequently1 and has borne it in the faith of ,god1 and with submission to ,him2 and ,i know that they who are the 'experts1' and who alone have the right to speak with authority on the subject1 will confirm the statement that ,i make1 that sorrows recognised as sent from ,god are the truest blessings of our lives4 ,no real evil befalls us1 because1 according to the old superstition that money bewitched was cleansed if it was handed across running water1 our sorrows only reach us across the river that defends4 ,isaiah is full of symbols of various kinds for the impregnability of ,zion4 ,sometimes1 as in my text1 he falls back upon the thought of the bright waters of the moat on which no enemy can venture to sail4 ,sometimes he draws his metaphor from the element opposed to water1 and speaks of a wall of fire round about us4 ,but the simple reality that lies below all the poetry is1 that trust in ,god brings ,his presence around me1 and that makes it impossible that any evil should befall me1 and certain that whatever does befall me is ,his messenger1 ,his loving messenger1 for my good4 ,if we believed that1 and lived on the belief1 the whole world would be different4 ,,iii4 ,take1 again1 another aspect of this same thought1 which suggests to us ,god's presence as our true refreshment and satisfaction4 ,the waterless city depended on cisterns1 and they were often broken1 and were always more or less foul1 and sometimes the water fell very low in them4 ,isaiah says to us3 ,even when you are living in external circumstances like that3 ',when all created streams are dry1 ,thy fulness is the same4' ,the fountain of living waters--if we may slightly vary the metaphor of my text--never sinks one hair's-breadth in its crystal basin1 however many thirsty lips may be glued to its edge1 and however large may be their draughts from it4 ,this metaphor1 turned to the purpose of suggesting how in ,god every part of our nature finds its appropriate nourishment and refreshment which it does not find anywhere besides1 has become one of the commonplaces of the pulpit4 ,would it were the commonplace of our lives6 ,it is easy to talk about ,him as being the fountain of living waters2 it is easy to quote and to admire the words which the ,master spoke to the ,samaritan woman when ,he said1 ',i would have given thee living water1' and 'the water which ,i give will be a fountain springing up into everlasting life4' ,we repeat or learn such sayings1 and then what do we do8 ,we go away and try to slake our thirst at broken cisterns1 and every draught which we take is like the salt water from which a shipwrecked-boat's crew in its madness will sometimes not be able to refrain1 each drop increasing the raging thirst and hastening the impending death4 ,if we believed that ,god was the broad river from which we could draw and draw1 and drink and drink1 for ever and ever1 should we be clinging with such desperate tenacity1 as most of us exhibit1 to earthly goods8 ,should we whimper with such childish regrets1 as most of us nourish1 when these goods are diminished or withdrawn8 ,should we live as we constantly do1 day in and day out1 seldom applying ourselves to the one source of strength and peace and refreshment1 and trying1 like fools1 to find what apart from ,him the world can never give8 ,the rivers in northern ,tartary all lose themselves in the sand4 ,not one of them has volume or force enough to get to the sea4 ,and the rivers from which we try to drink are sand-choked long before our thirst is slaked4 ,so1 if we are wise1 we shall take ,isaiah's hint1 and go where the water flows abundantly1 and flows for ever4 ,,iv4 ,there is a last point that ,i would also suggest1 namely1 the manifold variety in the results of ,god's presence4 ,it shapes itself into many forms1 according to our different needs4 ',the glorious ,lord shall be a place of broad rivers4' ,yes2 but notice the next words--'and streams4' ,now1 the word which is there translated 'streams' means little channels for irrigation and other purposes1 by which the water of some great river is led off into the melon patches1 and gardens1 and plantations1 and houses of the inhabitants4 ,so we have not only the picture of the broad river in its unity1 but also that of the thousand little rivulets in their multiplicity1 and in their direction to each man's plot of ground4 ,it is the same idea that is in the psalm which ,i have already quoted3 ',there is a river1 the streams whereof make glad the city of our ,god4' ,you can divide the river up into very tiny trickles1 according to the moment's small wants4 ,if you make but a narrow channel1 you will get but a shallow streamlet2 and if you make your channel broad and deep1 you will get much of ,him4 ,it is of no profit that we live on the river's bank if we let its waters go rolling and flashing past our door1 or our gardens1 or our lips4 ,unless you have a sluice1 by which you can take them off into your own territory1 and keep the shining blessing to be the source of fertility in your own garden1 and of coolness and refreshment to your own thirst1 your garden will be parched1 and your lips will crack4 ,there is a 'broad river1' and there are also 'streams'2 which1 being brought down to its simplest expression1 just comes to this--that we may and must make ,god our very own property4 ,it is useless to say 'our ,god1' 'the ,god of ,israel1' 'the ,god of the ,church1' 'the ,great ,creator1' 'the ,universal ,father1' and so on1 unless we say 'my ,god and my ,saviour1' 'my ,refuge and my ,strength4' ,how much of the river have you dipped up in your own vessel8 ,how much of it have you taken with which to water your own vineyard and refresh your own souls8 ,the time comes when ,isaiah's prophecy shall be perfectly fulfilled1 according to the great words in the closing hook of ,scripture1 about the river of the water of life proceeding out of the ,throne of ,god and of the ,lamb4 ,but1 till that time comes1 we do not need to wander thirsty in a desert2 but all round us we may hear the mighty waters rolling everywhere1 and drink deep draughts of delight and supply for all our needs1 from the very presence of ,god ,himself4 ,,judge1 ,,lawgiver1 ,,king ',for the ,lord is our judge1 the ,lord is our lawgiver1 the ,lord is our ,king2 ,he will save us4'--,,isaiah xxxiii4 #bb4 ,there is reference here to the three forms of government in ,israel3 by ,moses1 by ,judges1 by ,kings4 ,in all1 ,israel was a ,theocracy4 ,isaiah looks beyond the human representative to the true divine ,reality4 ,i4 ,a truth for us1 in both its more specific and its more general forms4 7a7 ,specific4 ,christ is all these three for us--,authority2 ,his will law2 ,defender4 7b7 ,more general4 ,everything that human beings are to us1 they are by derivation from ,him--and ,he sums in ,himself all forms of good and blessing4 ,every name among men for any kind of helper belongs to ,him4 ,all tender1 helpful relationships are but 'broken lights of ,thee4' ,,ii4 ,a lesson hard to learn and to remember4 ,one knows not whether it is harder for faith to look beyond the visible helpers or delights to the ,unseen ,real ,one1 or to look through tears1 when these are gone1 and to see ,him clearly filling an otherwise empty field of vision4 ,when we have a palpable prop to lean on1 it is difficult to be clearly aware that1 unless the palpable support were held up by the ,unseen1 it could not be a prop1 and to lean on it would be like resting one's weight on a staff stuck in yielding mud4 ,but it is no less difficult to tell our hearts that we have all that we ever had1 when what we had leaned on for many happy days and found to hold us up is stricken from beneath us4 ,present1 the seen lawgiver1 judge1 or king stays the eyes that should travel past him to ,god ,himself2 removed1 his absence makes a great emptiness1 in whose vacuity it is difficult for faith to discern the real presence of ,him who is all that the departed seemed to be4 ,the painted glass stays the eye2 shattered1 it lets in only the sight of a void and far-off sky4 ,israel could not breathe freely in the rarefied air on the heights of a theocracy1 and demanded a visible king4 ,it had its desire1 and as a consequence1 'leanness in its soul4' ,christendom has found it as difficult to do without visible embodiments of authority1 law1 defence1 and hence many evils and corruptions in the institutions and practices of organised ,christianity4 ,,iii4 ,a conviction which makes strong and blessed4 ,to have dominant in our minds1 and operative through our lives1 the settled conviction that ,god in ,christ is for us judge1 lawgiver1 and king1 and that the purpose of all these offices or relationships is that ',he will save us' is the secret of tranquillity1 the fountain of courage1 the talisman which makes life all different and us who live in it different4 ,fear cannot survive where that conviction rules and fortifies a heart4 ,we shall not be slavish adherents of men if we are accustomed to take our orders from our ,lawgiver4 ,earthly prizes or dignities will not dazzle eyes that have seen the ,king in ,his beauty4 ,we shall pay little heed to men's judgments if there flames ever before conscience the thought1 ',he that judgeth me is the ,lord4' ',he will save us'2 who can destroy what ,his hand is stretched out to preserve8 ',if ,god is for us1 who is against us8 ,it is ,god that justifieth2 who is ,he that condemneth8' ,,miracles ,,of ,,healing ',then the eyes of the blind shall be opened1 and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped4 ,then shall the lame man leap as an hart1 and the tongue of the dumb sing4'--,,isaiah xxxv4 #e1f4 ',then'--when8 ,the previous verse answers1 ',behold1 your ,god will come1 ,he will come and save you4' ,and what or when is that 'coming'8 ,a glance at the place which this grand hymn occupies in the series of ,isaiah's prophecies answers that question4 ,it stands at the close of the first part of these1 and is the limit of the prophet's vision4 ,he has been setting forth the ,lord's judgments upon all heathen1 and ,his deliverance of ,israel from its oppressors2 and the 'coming' is ,his manifestation for that double purpose4 ,before its flashing brightness1 barrenness is changed into verdure1 diseases that lame men's powers vanish1 the dry and thirsty land gleams with the shining light of sudden streams4 ,across the wilderness stretches a broad path1 raised high above the bewildering monotony of pathless sand1 too plain to be missed1 too lofty for wild beasts' suppleness to spring upon it3 along it troop with song and gladness the returning exiles1 with hope in their hearts as they journey to ,zion1 where they find a joyful home undimmed by sorrow1 and in which sighing and sorrow are heard and felt no more4 ,now this is poetry1 no doubt2 the golden light of imagination suffuses it all1 but it is poetry with a solid meaning in it4 ,it is not a mere play of fancy exalting the 'coming of the ,lord' by heaping together all images that suggest the vanishing of evil and the coming of good4 ,if there is a basis of facts in it1 what are they8 ,what is the period of that emphatic 'then' at the beginning of our text8 ,the return of the ,jews from exile8 ,yes1 certainly2 but some greater event shines through the words4 ,some future restoration of that undying race to their own land8 ,yes1 possibly1 again we answer1 but that does not exhaust the prophecy4 ,the great coming of ,god to save in the gift of ,his ,son8 ,yes1 that in an eminent degree4 ,the second coming of ,christ8 ,yes1 that too4 ,all the events in which ,god has come for men's deliverance are shadowed here2 for in them all1 the same principles are at work1 and in all1 similar effects have followed4 ,but mainly the mission and work of ,jesus ,christ is pointed at here--whether in its first stage of ,incarnation and ,passion1 or in its second stage of ,coming in glory1 'the second time without sin1 unto salvation4' ,and the bodily diseases here enumerated are symbols1 just as ,christ's miracles were symbolical1 just as every language has used the body as a parable of the soul1 and has felt that there is such a harmony between them that the outward and visible does correspond to and shadow the inward and spiritual4 ,i think1 then1 that we may fairly take these four promises as bringing out very distinctly the main characteristics of the blessed effects of ,christ's work in the world4 ,the great subject of these words is the power of ,christ in restoring to men the spiritual capacities which are all but destroyed4 ,we have here three classes of bodily infirmities represented as cured at the date of that blessed ',then4' ,blindness and deafness are defects in perception1 and stand for incapacities affecting the powers of knowledge4 ,lameness affects powers of motion1 and stands for incapacity of activity4 ,dumbness prevents speech1 and stands for incapacity of utterance4 ,i4 ,christ as the restorer of the powers of knowing4 ,bodily diseases are taken to symbolise spiritual infirmities4 ,mark the peculiarities of ,scripture anthropology as brought out in this view of humanity3--- ,its gloomy views of man's actual condition4 ,its emphatic declaration that that condition is abnormal4 ,its confidence of effecting a cure4 ,its transcendentally glorious conception of what man may become4 ,men are blind and deaf2 that is to say1 their powers of perception are destroyed by reason of disease4 ,what a picture6 ,the great spiritual realities are all unseen1 as ,elisha's young servant was blind to the fiery chariots that girdled the prophet4 ,men are blind to the starry truths that shine as silver in the firmament4 ,they are deaf to the ,voice which is gone out to the ends of the earth1 and yet they have eyes and ears1 conscience1 intuitions4 ,they possess organs1 but these are powerless4 ,and while the blindness is primarily in regard to spiritual and religious truths1 it is not confined to these1 but wherever spiritual blindness has fallen1 the whole of a man's knowledge will suffer4 ,there will be blindness to the highest philosophy1 to the true basis and motive of morals1 to true psychology1 to the noblest poetry4 ,all will be of the earth1 earthy4 ,you cannot strike religion out of men's thoughts1 as you might take a stone out of a wall and leave the wall standing2 you take out foundation and mortar1 and make a ruinous heap4 ,i know1 of course1 that there may be much mental activity without any perception of spiritual realities1 but all knowledge which is not purely mathematical or physical suffers by the absence of such perception4 ,all this blindness is caused by sin4 ,christ is the giver of spiritual sight4 ,he restores the faculty by taking away the hindrance to its exercise4 ,further1 ,he gives sight because ,he gives light4 ,but turn to facts of experience1 and consider the mental apathy of heathenism as contrasted with the energy of mind within the limits of ,christendom4 ,greece1 of course1 is a brilliant exception1 but even there 7#a7 what of the conceptions of ,god8 7#b7 what of the effect of the wise on the mass of the nation8 ,think of the languid intellectual life of the ,east4 ,think of the energy of thought which has been working within the limits of ,christianity4 ,think of ,christian theology compared with the mythologies of idolatry4 ,and the contrast holds not only in the religious field but all over the field of thought4 ,there is no such sure way of diffusing a culture which will refine and strengthen all the powers of mind as to diffuse the knowledge of ,jesus1 and to make men love ,him4 ,in ,his light they will see light4 ,to know ,him and to keep company with ,him is 'a liberal education1' as is seen in many a lowly life1 all uninfluenced by what is called learning1 but enriched with the finest flowers of 'culture1' and having gathered them all in ,christ's garden4 ,christ is the true light2 in ,him do we see4 ,without ,him1 what is all other knowledge8 ,he is central to all1 like genial heat about the roots of a plant4 ,there is other knowledge than that of sense2 and for the highest of all our knowledge we depend on ,him who is the ,word4 ,in that region we can neither observe nor experiment4 ,in that region facts must be brought by some other means than we can command1 and we can but draw more or less accurate deductions from them4 ,logic without revelation is like a spinning-machine without any cotton1 busy drawing out nothing4 ,here we have to listen4 ',the entrance of ,thy words giveth light4' ,your ,god shall come and save you2 then1 by that divine coming and saving1 'the eyes of the blind shall be opened1 and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped4' ,,ii4 ,christ as the ,restorer of the ,powers of ,action4 ,again turn to heathenism1 see the apathetic indolence1 the unprogressive torpor1 ',better fifty years of ,europe than a cycle of ,cathay4' ,sin lames for service of ,god2 it leaves the lower nature free to act1 and that freedom paralyses all noble activity4 ,christianity brings the ,energising of the ,soul-- 7a7 ,by its reference of everything to ,god--our powers and our circumstances and our activities4 7b7 ,by its prominence given to ,retribution4 ,it speaks not merely of vita brevis--but of vita brevis and an ,eternity which grows out of it4 7c7 ,by its great motive for work--love4 7d7 ,by the freedom ,it brings from the weight that paralysed4 ,it takes away sin4 ,lifting that dreary load from our backs1 it makes us joyful1 strong1 and agile4 ,the true view of ,christianity is not1 as some of its friends1 and some of its foes1 mistakenly concur in supposing1 that it weakens interest in1 and energy on1 the ,present1 but that it heightens the power of action4 ,a life plunged in that jar of oxygen will glow with redoubled brilliance4 ,,iii4 ,christ as the ,restorer of ,powers of ,utterance4 ,the silence that broods over the world4 ,it is dumb for all holy1 thankful words2 with no voice to sing1 no utterance of joyful praise4 ,think of the effect of ,christianity on human speech1 giving it new themes1 refining words and crowding them with new meanings4 ,translate the ,bible into any language1 and that language is elevated and enriched4 ,think of the effect on human praise4 ,that great treasure of ,christian poetry4 ,think of the effect on human gladness4 ,christ fills the heart with such reasons for praise1 and makes life one song of joy4 ,thus ,christ is the ,healer4 ,to men seeking for knowledge1 ,he offers a higher gift--healing4 ,and as for true knowledge and culture1 in ,christ1 and in ,christ alone1 will you find it4 ,let your culture be rooted in ,him4 ,let your ,religion influence all your nature4 ,the effects of ,christianity are its best evidence4 ,what else does the like of that which it does8 ,let ,jannes and ,jambres 'do the same with their enchantments4' ,we may answer the question1 ',art ,thou ,he that should come8' as ,christ did1 ',the blind receive their sight1 and the lame walk2 the lepers are cleansed1 and the deaf hear4' ,the perfect ,restoration will be in heaven4 ,then1 indeed1 when our souls are freed from mortal grossness1 and the thin veils of sense are rent and we behold ,him as ,he is1 then when they rest not day nor night1 but with ever renewed strength run to ,his commandments1 then when ,he has put into their lips a new song--'then shall the eyes of the blind be opened1 and the ears of the deaf be unstopped2 then shall the lame man leap as an hart1 and the tongue of the dumb sing4' ,,mirage ,,or ,,lake ',for in the wilderness shall waters break out1 and streams in the desert4 ,and the glowing sand shall become a pool1 and the thirsty ground springs of water4' ,,isaiah xxxv4 #f1 #g4 ,what a picture is painted in these verses6 ,the dreary wilderness stretches before us1 monotonous1 treeless1 in some parts bearing a scanty vegetation which flourishes in early spring and dies before fierce summer heats1 but for the most part utterly desolate1 the sand blinding the eyes1 the ground cracked and gaping as if athirst for the rain that will not fall2 over it the tantalising mirage dancing in mockery1 and amid the hot sand the yelp of the jackals4 ,what does this dead land want8 ,one thing alone--water4 ,could that be poured upon it1 all would be changed2 nothing else will do any good4 ,and it comes4 ,suddenly it bursts from the sand1 and streams bring life along the desert4 ,it gathers into placid lakes1 with their whispering reeds and nodding rushes1 and the thick cool grass round their margins4 ,the foul beasts that wandered through dry places seeking rest are drowned out4 ,so full of blessed change will be the coming of the ,lord1 of which all this context speaks4 ,mark that this burst of waters is when 'the ,lord shall come1' and that it is the reason for the restoration of lost powers in men1 and especially for a chorus of praise from dumb lips4 ,this1 then1 is the central blessing4 ,it is not merely a joyful transformation1 but it is the reason for a yet more joyful transformation 7chap4 xliv4 #c74 ,recall ,christ's words to the ,samaritan woman and in the ,temple on the great day of the ,feast4 ,then this is pre-eminently a description of the work of ,christ4 ,i4 ,christ brings the ,supernatural ,communication of a ,new ,life4 ,we may fairly regard this metaphor as setting forth the very deepest characteristic of the gospel4 ,consider man's need1 as typified in the image of the desert4 ,mark that the supply for that need must come from without2 that coming from without1 it must be lodged in the heart of the race2 that the supernatural communication of a new life and power is the very essence of the work of ,christ2 that such a communication is the only thing adequate to produce these wondrous effects4 ,,ii4 ,this new life slakes men's thirst4 ,the pangs and tortures of the waterless wilderness4 ,the thirst of human souls2 they long1 whether they know it or not1 for-- ,truth for ,understanding4 ,love for ,heart4 ,basis and ,guidance for ,will and ,effort4 ,cleansing for ,conscience4 ,adequate objects for their powers4 ,they need that all these should be in ,one4 ,the gnawing pain of our thirst is not a myth2 it is the secret of man's restlessness4 ,we are ever on the march1 not only because change is the law of the world1 nor only because effort and progress are the law for civilised men1 but because1 like caravans in the desert1 we have to search for water4 ,in ,christ it is slaked2 all is found there4 ,,iii4 ,the ,communication of this ,new ,life turns ,illusions into ,realities4 ',the mirage shall become a pool4' ,life without ,christ is but a long illusion4 ',sin makes a mock of fools4' ,how seldom are hopes fulfilled1 and how still less frequently are they1 when fulfilled1 as good as we painted them6 ,the prismatic splendours of the rain bow1 which gleam before us and which we toil to catch1 are but grey rain-drops when caught4 ,joys attract and1 attained1 have incompleteness and a tang of bitterness4 ,the fish is never so heavy when landed on the sward as it felt when struggling on our hook4 ',all is vanity'--yes1 if creatures and things temporal are pursued as our good4 ,but nothing is vanity1 if we have the life in us which ,jesus comes to give4 ,his ,gospel gives solid1 unmingled joys1 sure promises which are greater when fulfilled than when longed for1 certain hopes whose most brilliant colours are duller than those of the realities4 ,the half has not been told of the 'things which ,god hath prepared for them that love ,him4' ,sure ,promises4 ,a certain ,hope4 ,,iv4 ,this ,new ,life gives ,fruitfulness4 ,it stimulates all our nature4 ,a godless life is in a very tragic sense barren1 and a wilderness4 ,there is in it nothing really worth doing1 nor anything that will last4 ,christ gives ,power1 ,motive1 ,pattern1 and makes a life of holy activity possible4 ,the works done by men apart from ,him are1 if measured by the whole relations and capacities of the doers1 unfruitful works1 however they may seem laden with ruddy clusters4 ,it is only lives into which that river of ,god which is full of water flows that bring forth fruit1 and whose fruit remains4 ,the desert irrigated becomes a garden of the ,lord4 ,note1 too1 how this river drowns out wild beasts4 ,the true way of conquering evil is to turn the river into it4 ,cultivate1 and weeds die4 ,the expulsive power of a new affection is the most potent instrument for perfecting character4 ,what is the use of water if we do not drink8 ,we may perish with thirst even on the river's bank4 ',if any man thirst1 let him come to ,me and drink4' ,,the ,,king',s ,,highway ',and an highway shall be there1 and a way1 and it shall be called the way of holiness2 the unclean shall not pass over it2 but it shall be for those3 the wayfaring men1 though fools1 shall not err therein4 ,no lion shall be there1 nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon1 it shall not be found there2 but the redeemed shall walk there4'--,,isaiah xxxv4 #h1 #i4 ,we can fancy what it is to be lost in a forest where a traveller may ride round in a circle1 thinking he is advancing1 till he dies4 ,but it is as easy to be lost in a wilderness1 where there is nothing to see1 as in a wood where one can see nothing4 ,and there is something even more ghastly in being lost below the broad heavens in the open face of day than 'in the close covert of innumerous boughs4' ,the monotonous swells of the sand-heaps1 the weary expanse stretching right away to the horizon1 no land-marks but the bleaching bones of former victims1 the gigantic sameness1 the useless light streaming down1 and in the centre one tiny1 black speck toiling vainly1 rushing madly hither and thither--a lost man--till he desperately flings himself down and lets death bury him1 that is the one picture suggested by the text4 ,the other is of that same wilderness1 but across it a mighty king has flung up a broad1 lofty embankment1 a highway raised above the sands1 cutting across them so conspicuously that even an idiot could not help seeing it1 so high above the land around that the lion's spring falls far beneath it1 and the supple tiger skulks baffled at its base4 ,it is like one of those roads which the terrible energy of conquering ,rome carried straight as an arrow from the milestone in the ,forum over mountains1 across rivers and deserts1 morasses and forests1 to flash along them the lightning of her legions1 and over whose solid blocks we travel to-day in many a land4 ,the prophet has seen in his vision the blind and deaf cured1 the capacities of human nature destroyed by sin restored4 ,he has told us that this miraculous change has come from the opening of a spring of new life in the midst of man's thirsty desert1 and now he gets before us1 in yet another image1 another aspect of the glorious change which is to follow that coming of the ,lord to save1 which filled the farthest horizon of his vision4 ,the desert shall have a plain path on which those diseased men who have been healed journey4 ,life shall no longer be trackless1 but ,god will1 by ,his coming1 prepare paths that we should walk in them2 and as ,he has given the lame man power to walk1 so will he also provide the way by which ,his happy pilgrims will journey to their home4 ,i4 ,the pathless wandering of godless lives4 ,the old1 old comparison of life to a journey is very natural and very pathetic4 ,it expresses life's ceaseless change2 every day carries us into a new scene1 every day the bends of the road shut out some happy valley where we fain would have rested1 every day brings new faces1 new associations1 new difficulties1 and even if the same recur1 yet it is with such changes that they are substantially new1 and of each day's march it is true1 even when life is most monotonous1 that 'ye have not passed this way heretofore4' ,it expresses life's ceaseless effort and constant plodding4 ,to-day's march does not secure to-morrow's rest1 but1 however footsore and weary1 we have to move on1 like some child dragged along by a careless nurse4 ,it expresses the awful crumbling away of life beneath us4 ,the road has an end1 and each step takes us nearer to it4 ,the numbers that face us on the milestones slowly and surely decrease2 we pass the last and on we go1 tramp1 tramp1 and we cannot stop till we reach the narrow chamber1 cold and dark1 where1 at any rate1 we have got the long march over4 ,but to many men1 the journey of life is one which has no definite direction deliberately chosen1 which has no all-inclusive aim1 which has no steady progress4 ,there may be much running hither and thither1 but it is as aimless as the marchings of a fly upon a window1 as busy and yet as uncertain as that of the ants who bustle about on an ant-hill4 ,now that is the idea1 which our text implies1 of all the activity of a godless life1 that it is not a steady advance to a chosen goal1 but a rushing up and down in a trackless desert1 with many immense exertions all thrown away4 ,then1 in contrast1 it puts this great thought3 that ,god has come to us and made for us a path for our feet4 ,,ii4 ,the highway that ,god casts up4 ,of course that coming we take to be ,christ's coming1 and we have just to consider the manner in which ,his coming fulfils this great promise1 and has made in the trackless wilderness a way for us to walk in4 #a4 ,christ gives us a ,definite ,aim for ,life4 ,i know1 of course1 that men may have this apart from ,him1 definite enough in all conscience4 ,but such aims are unworthy of men's whole capacities4 ,not one of them is fit to be made the exclusive1 all-embracing purpose of a life1 and1 taken together1 they are so multifarious that in their diversity they come to be equal to none4 ,how many we have all had6 ,most of us are like men who zig-zag about1 chasing after butterflies6 ,nor are any such aims certain to be reached during life1 and they all are certain to be lost at death4 ,godless men are enticed on like some dumb creature lured to slaughter-house by a bunch of fodder--once inside1 down comes the pole-axe4 ,but ,christ gives us a definite aim which is worthy of a man1 which includes all others2 which binds this life and the next into one4 #b4 ,christ gives us distinct knowledge of whither we should go4 ,it is not enough to give general directions2 we need to know what our next step is to be4 ,it is of no avail that we see the shining turrets far off on the hill1 if all the valleys between are unknown and trackless4 ,well3 we have ,him to point us our course4 ,he is the exemplar--the true ideal of human nature4 ,hour by hour ,his pattern fits to our lives4 ,true1 we shall often be in perplexity1 but that perplexity will clear itself by patient thought1 by holding our wills in suspense till ,he speaks1 and by an honest wish to go right4 ,there will no longer be doubt as to what is our law1 though there may be as to the application of it4 ,we are not to be guided by men's maxims1 nor by the standards and patterns round us1 but by ,him4 #c4 ,christ gives means by which we can reach the aim4 ,he does so by supplying a stimulus to our activity1 in the motive of ,his love2 by the removal of the hindrances arising from sin1 through ,his redeeming work2 by the gifts of new life from ,his ,spirit4 ',the labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them1 because he knoweth not how to go to the city4' ,but he that follows ,jesus treads the right way to the city of habitation4 #d4 ,christ goes with us4 ,the obscure words1 ',it shall be for those' are by some rendered1 ',he shall be with them1' and we may take them so1 as referring to the presence with ,his happy pilgrims of the ,lord ,himself4 ,perhaps ,isaiah may have been casting back a thought to the desert march1 where the pillar led the host4 ,but at all events we have the same companion to 'talk with us by the way1' and make 'our hearts burn within us1' as had the two disconsolate pedestrians on the road to ,emmaus4 ,it is ,jesus who goes before us1 whether ,he leads us to green pastures and waters of quietness or through valleys of the shadow of death1 and we can be smitten by no evil1 since ,he is with us4 ,,iii4 ,the travellers upon ,god's highway4 ,two conditions are laid down in the text4 ,one is negative-the unclean can find no footing there4 ,it is 'the way of holiness1' not only because holiness is in some sense the goal to which it leads1 but still more1 because only holy feet can tread it1 holy at least in the travellers' aspiration and inward consecration1 though still needing to be washed daily4 ,one is positive--it is 'the simple' who shall not err therein4 ,they who distrust themselves and their own skill to find or force a path through life's jungle1 and trust themselves to higher guidance1 are they whose feet will be kept in the way4 ,no lion or ravenous beast can spring or creep up thereon4 ,simple keeping on ,christ's highway elevates us above temptations and evils of all sorts1 whether nightly prowlers or daylight foes4 ,this generation is boasting or complaining that old landmarks are blotted out1 ancient paths broken1 footmarks obliterated1 stars hid1 and mist shrouding the desert4 ,but ,christ still guides1 and ,his promise still holds good3 ',he that followeth ,me shall not walk in the darkness1 but shall have the light of life4' ,the alternative for each 'traveller between life and death' is to tread in ,his footsteps or to 'wander in the wilderness in a solitary way1 hungry and thirsty1' with fainting soul4 ,let us make the ancient prayer ours3 ',see if there be any wicked way in me1 and lead me in the way everlasting4' ,,what ,,life',s ,,journey ,,may ,,be ',the redeemed shall walk there3 ,and the ransomed of the ,lord shall return1 and come to ,zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads3 they shall obtain joy and gladness1 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away4'--,,isaiah ,,xxxv #i1aj4 ,we have here the closing words of ,isaiah's prophecy4 ,it has been steadily rising1 and now it has reached the summit4 ,men restored to all their powers1 a supernatural communication of a new life1 a pathway for our journey--these have been the visions of the preceding verses1 and now the prophet sees the happy pilgrims flocking along the raised way1 and hears some faint strains of their glad music1 and he marks them1 rank after rank1 entering the city of their solemnities1 and through the gates can behold them invested with joy and gladness1 while sorrow and sighing1 like some night-loving birds shrinking from the blaze of that better sun which lights the city1 spread their black wings and flee away4 ,the noble rhythm of our ,english version rises here to a strain of pathetic music1 the very cadence of which stirs thoughts that lie too deep for tears1 and one shrinks from taking these lofty words of immortal hope--which life's sorrows have interpreted1 ,i trust1 for many of us--as the text of a sermon4 ,but ,i would fain try whether some of their gracious sweetness and power may not survive even our rude handling of them4 ,the prophet here is not only speaking of the literal return of his brethren from captivity4 ,the place which this prophecy holds at the very close of the book1 the noble loftiness of the language1 the entire absence of any details or specific allusions which compel reference to the ,captivity1 would be sufficient of themselves to make us suspect that there was very much more here4 ,the structure of prophecy is misunderstood unless it be recognised that all the history of ,israel was itself a prediction1 a great supernatural system of types and shadows1 and that all the interventions of the divine hand are one in principle1 and all foretell the great intervention of redeeming love1 in the person of ,jesus ,christ4 ,nor need that be unlikely in the eyes of any who believe that ,christ's coming is the centre of the world's history1 and that there is in prophecy a supernatural element4 ,we are not reading our own fancies into ,scripture2 we are not using1 in allowable freedom1 words which had another meaning altogether1 to adorn our own theology1 but we are apprehending the innermost meaning of prophecy1 when we see in it ,christ and ,his salvation 7#a ,peter i4 #aj74 ,we have then here a picture of what ,christ does for us weary journeyers on life's road1 ,i4 ,who are the travellers8 ',redeemed1' 'ransomed of the ,lord4' ,israel had in its past history one great act1 under the imagery of which all future deliverances were prophesied4 ,the events of the ,exodus were the great storehouse from which prophets drew the clothing of their brightest hopes2 and that is a lesson for us of how to use the history of ,god's past deliverances4 ,they believed that each transitory act was a revelation of an unchanging purpose and an unexhausted power1 and that it would be repeated over and over again4 ,experience supplied the material out of which ,hope wove its fairest webs1 but ,faith drove the shuttle4 ,here the names which describe the pilgrims come from the old story4 ,they are slaves1 purchased or otherwise set free from captivity by a divine act4 ,the epithets are transferred to the ,new ,testament1 and become the standing designation for those who have been delivered by ,christ4 ,that designation1 'ransomed of the ,lord1' opens out into the great evangelical thoughts which are the very life-blood of vital ,christianity4 ,emancipation from bondage is the first thing that we all need4 ',he that committeth sin is the slave of sin4' ,an iron yoke presses on every neck4 ,the needed emancipation can only be obtained by a ransom price4 ,the question of to whom the ransom is paid is not in the horizon of prophet or apostle or of ,jesus ,himself1 in using this metaphor4 ,what is strongly in their minds is that a great surrender must be greatly made by the ,emancipator4 ,jesus conceived of ,himself as giving ',his life a ransom for the many4' ,the emancipation must be a divine act4 ,it surpasses any created power4 ,there can be no happy pilgrims unless they are first set free4 ,,ii4 ,the end of the journey4 ',they shall come to ,zion4' ,it is one great distinctive characteristic and blessedness of the ,christian conception of the future that it takes away from it all the chilling sense of strangeness1 arising from ignorance and lack of experience1 and invests it with the attraction of being the mother-city of us all4 ,so the pilgrims are not travelling a dreary road into the common darkness1 but are like colonists who visit ,england for the first time1 and are full of happy anticipations of 'going home1' though they have never seen its shores4 ,that conception of the future perfect state as a 'city' includes the ideas of happy social life1 of a settled polity1 of stability and security4 ,the travellers who were often solitary on the march will all be together there4 ,the nomads1 who had to leave their camping-place each morning and let the fire that cheered them in the night die down into a little ring of grey ashes1 will 'go no more out1' but yet make endless progress within the gates4 ,the defenceless travellers1 who were fain to make the best 'laager' they could1 and keep vigilant watch for human and bestial enemies crouching beyond the ring of light from the camp-fires1 are safe at last1 and they that swallowed them up shall be far away4 ,contrast the future outlook of the noblest minds in heathenism with the calm certainty which the gospel has put within the reach of the simplest6 ',blessed are your eyes1 for they see4' ,,iii4 ,the joy of the road4 ,the pilgrims do not plod wearily in silence1 but1 like the tribes going up to the feasts1 burst out often1 as they journey1 into song4 ,they are like ,jehoshaphat's soldiers1 who marched to the fight with the singers in the van chanting ',give thanks unto the ,lord1 for ,his mercy endureth for ever4' ,the ,christian life should be a joyful life1 ever echoing with the 'high praises of ,god4' ,however difficult the march1 there is good reason for song1 and it helps to overcome the difficulties4 ',a merry heart goes all the day1 a sad heart tires in a mile4' ,why should the ransomed pilgrims sing8 ,for present blessings1 for deliverance from the burden of self and sin1 for communion with ,god1 for light shed on the meaning of life1 and for the sure anticipation of future bliss4 ',everlasting joy on their heads4' ,other joys are transitory4 ,it is not only 'we poets' who 'in our youth begin with gladness1' whereof 'cometh in the end despondency and madness'2 but1 in a measure1 these are the outlines of the sequence in all godless lives4 ,the world's festal wreathes wilt and wither in the hot fumes of the banqueting house1 and 'the crown of pride shall be trodden under foot4' ,but joy of ,christ's giving 'shall remain1' and even before we sit at the feast1 we may have our brows wreathed with a garland 'that fadeth not away4' ,,iv4 ,the perfecting of joy at last4 ',they shall obtain joy and gladness'3 but had they not had it on their heads as they marched8 ,yes2 but at last they have it in perfect measure and manner4 ,the flame that burned but dimly in the heavy air of earth flashes up into new brightness in the purer atmosphere of the city4 ,and one part of its perfecting is the removal of all its opposites4 ,sorrow ends when sin and the discipline that sin needs have ended4 ',the inhabitant shall not say3 ,i am sick2 the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity4' ,sighing ends when weariness1 loss1 physical pain1 and all the other ills that flesh is heir to have ceased to vex and weigh upon the spirit4 ,life purges the dross of imperfection from character4 ,death purges the alloy of sorrow and sighing from joy1 and leaves the perfected spirit possessor of the pure gold of perfect and eternal gladness4 ,,the ,,triumph ,,of ,,faith ',and ,hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers1 and read it3 and ,hezekiah went up unto the house of the ,lord1 and spread it before the ,lord4 #ae4 ,and ,hezekiah prayed unto the ,lord1 saying1 #af4 ,o ,lord of hosts1 ,god of ,israel1 that dwellest between the cherubims1 ,thou art the ,god1 even ,thou alone1 of all the kingdoms of the earth3 ,thou hast made heaven and earth4 #ag4 ,incline ,thine ear1 ,o ,lord1 and hear2 open ,thine eyes1 ,o ,lord1 and see3 and hear all the words of ,sennacherib1 which hath sent to reproach the living ,god4 #ah4 ,of a truth1 ,lord1 the kings of ,assyria have laid waste all the nations1 and their countries1 #ai4 ,and have cast their gods into the fire3 for they were no gods1 but the work of men's hands1 wood and stone3 therefore they have destroyed them4 #bj4 ,now therefore1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 save us from his hand1 that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ,thou art the ,lord1 even ,thou only4 #ba4 ,then ,isaiah the son of ,amoz sent unto ,hezekiah1 saying4 ,thus saith the ,lord ,god of ,israel1 ,whereas thou hast prayed to ,me against ,sennacherib king of ,assyria4444 #cc4 ,therefore thus saith the ,lord concerning the king of ,assyria1 ,he shall not come into this city1 nor shoot an arrow there1 nor come before it with shields1 nor cast a bank against it4 #cd4 ,by the way that he came1 by the same shall he return1 and shall not come into this city1 saith the ,lord4 #ce4 ,for ,i will defend this city to save it for mine own sake1 and for my servant ,david's sake4 #cf4 ,then the angel of the ,lord went forth1 and smote in the camp of the ,assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand3 and when they arose early in the morning1 behold1 they were all dead corpses4 #cg4 ,so ,sennacherib king of ,assyria departed1 and went and returned1 and dwelt at ,nineveh4 #ch4 ,and it came to pass1 as he was worshipping in the house of ,nisroch his god1 that ,adrammelech and ,sharezer his sons smote him with the sword2 and they escaped into the land of ,armenia3 and ,esarhaddon his you reigned in his stead4'--,,isaiah xxxvii4 #ad-ba1 #cc-ch4 ,is trust in ,jehovah folly or wisdom8 ,that was the question raised by ,sennacherib's invasion4 ,a glance at the preceding chapters will show how the high military official1 'the rabshakeh1' or chief of the officers1 shaped all his insolent and yet skilful mixture of threats and promises so as to demonstrate the vanity of trust in ,egypt or in ,jehovah1 or in any but 'the great king4' ,isaiah had been labouring to lift his countrymen to the height of reliance on ,jehovah alone1 and now the crucial test of the truth of his contention had come4 ,on the one hand were ,sennacherib and his host1 flushed with victory1 and sure of crushing this puny kinglet ,hezekiah and his obstinate little city1 perched on its rock4 ,on the other was nothing but a prophet's word4 ,where is the stronger force8 ,and does political prudence dictate reliance on the ,unseen or on the visible8 ,the moment is the crisis of ,isaiah's work1 and this narrative has been placed1 with true insight into its importance1 at the close of the first half of this book4 ,to grasp the significance of the text the preceding events have to be remembered4 ,hezekiah's kingdom had been overrun1 and tribute exacted from him4 ,the rabshakeh had been sent from the main body of the ,assyrian army1 which was down at ,lachish in the ,philistine low country on the road to ,egypt1 in order to try to secure ,jerusalem by promises and threats1 since it was too important a post to leave in the rear1 if ,egypt was to be invaded4 ,that attempt having failed1 and the ,egyptian forces being in motion1 this new effort was made to induce ,hezekiah to surrender4 ,a letter was sent1 whether accompanied by any considerable armed force or no does not appear4 ,at this point the narrative begins4 ,it may be best studied as an illustration of the trial of faith1 its refuge1 its pleading1 and its deliverance4 ,i4 ,note the trial of faith4 ,rabshakeh had derided the obstinate confidence in ,jehovah1 which kept these starving men on the walls grimly silent in spite of his coaxing4 ,the letter of ,sennacherib harps on the same string4 ,it is written in a tone of assumed friendly remonstrance1 and lays out with speciousness the apparent grounds for calling trust in ,jehovah absurdity4 ,there are no threats in it4 ,it is all an appeal to common sense and political prudence4 ,it marshals undeniable facts4 ,experience has shown the irresistible power of ,assyria4 ,there have been plenty of other little nations which have trusted in their local deities1 and what has become of them8 ,barbarous names are flourished in ,hezekiah's face1 and their wasted dominions are pointed to as warnings against his committing a parallel folly4 ,there is nothing in the letter which might not have been said by a friend1 and nothing which was not said by the ,jews who had lost their faith in their ,god4 ,it was but the putting into plain words of what 'common-sense' and faint faith had often whispered to ,hezekiah4 ,the very absence of temper or demand in the letter gives it an aspect of that 'sweet reasonableness' so dear to sense-bound souls4 ,mutatis mutandis1 the letter may stand for a specimen of the arguments which worldly prudence brings to shake faith1 in all ages4 ,we1 too1 are assailed by much that sounds most forcible from the point of view of mere earthly calculation4 ,sennacherib does not lie in boasting of his victories4 ,he and his shoals of soldiers are very real and potent4 ,it does seem madness for one little kingdom to stand out1 and all the more so because its king is cooped up in his city1 as the cuneiform inscription proudly tells1 'like a bird in a cage1' and all the rest of his land is in the conqueror's grip4 ,they who look only at the things seen cannot but think the men of faith mad4 ,they who look at the things unseen cannot but know that the men of sense are fools4 ,the latter elaborately prove that the former are impotent1 but they have left out one factor in their calculations1 and that is ,god4 ,one man and ,god at his back are stronger than ,sennacherib and all his mercenaries4 ,,ii4 ,note the refuge of tempted faith4 ,what was ,hezekiah to do with the crafty missive8 ,it was hoped that he would listen to reason1 and come down from his perch4 ,but he neither yielded nor took counsel with his servants1 but1 like a devout man1 went into the house of the ,lord1 and spread the letter before the ,lord4 ,it would have gone hard with him if he had not been to the house of the ,lord many a time before4 ,it is not easy to find our way thither for the first time1 when our eyes are blinded by tears or our way darkened by calamities4 ,but faith instinctively turns to ,god when anything goes wrong1 because it has been accustomed to turn to ,him when all was right1 according to the world's estimate of right and wrong4 ,whither should the burdened heart betake itself but to ,him who daily bears our burdens8 ,the impulse to tell ,god all troubles is as truly a mark of the faithful soul as the impulse to tell everything to the beloved is the life-breath of love4 ,the act of spreading the letter before the ,lord is an eloquent symbol1 which some prosaic and learned commentators have been dull enough to call gross1 and to compare to ,buddhist praying-mills6 ,its meaning is expressed in the prayer which follows4 ,it is faith's appeal to ,his knowledge4 ,it is faith's casting of its burden on the ,lord4 ,our faith is of little power to bless1 unless it impels us to take ,god into confidence in regard to everything which troubles us4 ,if the letter is not grave enough to be spread before ,him1 it is too small to annoy us4 ,if we truly live in fellowship with ,god1 we shall find ourselves in ,his house1 with the cause of our trouble in our hands1 before we have time to think4 ,instinct acts more quickly than reason1 and1 if our faith be vital1 it will not need to be argued into speaking to ,god of all that weighs upon us4 ,,iii4 ,note the pleading of faith4 ,hezekiah's address to ,god is no mere formal recapitulation of divine names1 but is the effort of faith to grasp firmly the truths which the enemy denies1 and on which it builds4 ,so considered1 the accumulation of titles in verse #af is very instructive1 and shows how a trustful soul puts forth the energy of its faith in summoning to mind the great aspects of the divine name as bulwarks against suggested fears1 and bases of supplication4 ,hezekiah appeals to 'the ,god of ,hosts1' the ,ruler of all the embattled forces of the universe1 as well as of the armies of angels4 ,what is ,sennacherib's array compared with these8 ,he appeals to the ',god of ,israel1' as pleading the ancient relationship1 which binds the unchangeable ,guardian of the people to be still what ,he has been1 and casts the responsibility of ,israel's preservation upon ,him4 ,he appeals to ,him 'who sits between the cherubim1' as thence defending and filling the threatened city4 ,he grasps the thought that ,jehovah is ',god alone' with a vividness which is partly due no doubt to ,isaiah's teaching1 but is also the indignant recoil of faith from the assumption of the letter1 that ,jehovah was but as the beaten deities of ,gozan and the rest4 ,faith clings the more tenaciously to truths denied1 as a dog will hold on to the stick that one tries to pull from it4 ,thus1 having heartened himself and pled with ,god by all these names1 ,hezekiah comes to his petition4 ,it is but translating into words the symbol of spreading the letter before ,god4 ,he asks ,god to behold and to hear the defiant words4 ,prayer tells ,god what it knows that ,he knows already1 for it relieves the burdened heart to tell ,him4 ,it asks ,him to see and hear what it knows that ,he does see and hear4 ,but the prayer is not for mere observance followed by no divine act1 but for taking knowledge as the precursor of the appropriate help4 ,of such seeing and hearing by ,god1 believing prayer is the appointed condition4 ',your ,father knoweth what things ye have need of1 before ye ask ,him'2 but that is not a reason for silence1 but for supplication4 ,hezekiah rightly regarded ,sennacherib's words as meant to reproach the living ,god1 for the point of the letter was to dissuade from trust in ,him1 as no more powerful than the petty deities of already conquered cities4 ,the prayer1 therefore1 pleads that ,god would take care of ,his own honour1 and by delivering ,jerusalem1 show ,his sole sovereignty4 ,it is a high and wonderful level for faith to reach1 when it regards personal deliverance mainly in its aspect as vindicating ,god and warranting faith4 ,we may too easily conclude that ,god's honour is involved in our deliverance1 and it is well to be on our guard against that4 ,but it is possible to die to self so fully as to feel that our cause is ,his1 because ,his is so entirely ours2 and then we may come to that heroic faith which seeks even personal good more for ,god's sake than for our own4 ,it was noble that this man should have no word to say about self but ',save us1 that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ,thou art ,god alone4' ,like him1 we may each feel that our defence is more ,god's affair than ours1 in proportion as we feel we are ,his rather than our own4 ,that siege of ,jerusalem was indeed as a duel between faith and unbelief on the one hand1 and between ,jehovah and the gods who were 'no gods' on the other4 ,sennacherib's letter was a defiant challenge to ,jehovah to do ,his best for this people1 and when faith repeated in prayer the insolence of unbelief only one result was possible4 ,it came4 ,,iv4 ,note the deliverance of faith4 ,isaiah's grand prophecy tempts us to linger over its many beauties and magnificent roll of triumphant scorn1 but it falls outside our purpose4 ,as for the catastrophe1 it should be noted that its place and time are not definitely stated1 and that probably the notion that the ,assyrian army was annihilated before ,jerusalem is a mistake4 ,sennacherib and his troops were at ,libnah1 on their way to meet the ,egyptian forces4 ,if there were any of them before ,jerusalem1 they would at most be a small detachment1 sufficient to invest it4 ,probably the course of events was that1 at some time not specified1 soon after the dismissal of the messengers who brought the letter1 the awful destruction fell1 and that1 when the news of the disaster reached the detachment at ,jerusalem1 as the psalm which throbs with the echoes of the triumph says1 ',they were troubled1 and hasted away4' ,how complete was the crushing blow the lame record of this campaign in the inscriptions shows1 in which the failure of the attempt to capture the city is covered up by vapouring about tribute and the like4 ,if it had not failed1 however1 the success would certainly have been told1 as all similar cases are told1 with abundant boasting4 ,the other fact is also to be remembered1 that ,sennacherib tried no more conclusions with ,jerusalem and ,jehovah1 and though he lived for some twenty years afterwards1 never again ventured on to the soil where that mighty ,god fought for ,his people4 ,the appended notice of ,sennacherib's death has been added by some narrator1 since it probably occurred after ,isaiah's martyrdom4 ',all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword4' ,such a career as his could not but give taste for violence and bloodshed1 and dimmish regard for human life4 ,retribution comes slowly1 for twenty years intervened between the catastrophe to the army and the murder of the king4 ,its penalties increase as its fall delays2 for first came the blotting out of the army1 and then1 when that had no effect1 at last the sword in his own heart4 ',he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed1 and that without remedy4' ,but the great lesson of that death is the same as that of the other king's deliverance4 ,hezekiah 'went unto the house of the ,lord1' and found ,him a very present help in trouble4 ,sennacherib was slain in the house of his god4 ,the two pictures of the worshippers and their fates are symbolic of the meaning of the whole story4 ,sennacherib had dared ,jehovah to try ,his strength against him and his deities4 ,the challenge was accepted1 and that bloody corpse before the idol that could not help preaches a ghastly sermon on the text1 ',they that make them are like unto them2 so is every one that trusteth in them4 ,o ,israel1 trust thou in the ,lord3 ,he is their help and their shield4' ,,where ,,to ,,carry ,,troubles ,and ,hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers1 and read it3 and ,hezekiah went up unto the house of the ,lord1 and spread it before the ,lord4'--,,isaiah xxxvii4 #ad4 ,when ,hezekiah heard the threatenings of ,sennacherib's servants1 he rent his clothes and went into the house of the ,lord1 and sent to ,isaiah entreating his prayers4 ,when he received the menacing letter1 his faith was greater1 having been heartened by ,isaiah's assurances4 ,so he then himself appealed to ,jehovah1 spreading the letter before ,him1 and himself prayed ,god to guard ,his own honour1 and answer the challenge flung down by the insolent ,assyrian4 ,it is noble when faith increases as dangers increase4 ,i4 ,we have here an example of what to do with troubles and difficulties4 ,we are to lay them out before ,god1 as we can do by praying about them4 ,hezekiah's trouble was great4 ,his kingdom could be crushed like an eggshell by the grasp of ,sennacherib's hand4 ,but little troubles as well as great ones are best dealt with by being 'spread before the ,lord4' ,whatever is important enough to disturb me is important enough for me to speak to ,god about it4 ,whether the poison inflaming our blood be from a gnat's bite1 or a cobra's sting1 the best antidote is--pray about it4 ,how much more real and fervid our prayers would be1 if we habitually turned all our affairs into materials for petition6 ,that is a very empty dispute as to whether we ought to pray for deliverance from outward sorrows4 ,if we are living in touch with ,god1 we cannot but take ,him into our confidence1 if we may so say1 as to everything that affects us4 ,and we should as soon think of hiding any matter from our dearest on earth as from our ,friend in heaven4 ',in everything1 by prayer and supplication' is the commandment1 and will be the instinct of the devout heart4 ,note ,hezekiah's assurance that ,god cares about him4 ,note his clear perception that ,god is his only help4 ,note his identification of his own deliverance with ,god's honour4 ,we cannot identify our welfare1 or deliverance in small matters1 with ,god's fair fame1 in such a fashion4 ,but we ought to be quite sure that ,he will not let us sink or perish1 and will never desert us4 ,and we can be quite sure that1 if we identify ourselves and our work with ,him1 ,he will identify ,himself with us and it4 ,his treatment of ,his servants will tell the world 7and not one world only7 what ,he is1 how faithful1 how loving1 how strong4 ,,ii4 ,we have here an example of how ,god answers ,his servants' prayers4 ,it was 'by terrible things in righteousness' that ,hezekiah's answer came4 ,his prayer was at one end of the chain1 and at the other was a camp full of corpses4 ,one poor man's cry can set in motion tremendous powers1 as a low whisper can start an avalanche4 ,that magnificent theophany in ,psalm xviii41 with all its majesty and terror of flashing lightnings and a rocking earth1 was brought about by nothing more than ',in my distress ,i called upon the ,lord1' and its purpose was nothing more than to draw the suppliant out of many waters and deliver him from his strong enemy4 ,that army swept off the earth may teach us how much ,god will do for a praying child of ,his4 ,his people's deliverance is cheaply purchased at such a price4 ',he reproved kings for their sake4' ,one man with ,god beside him is stronger than all the world4 ,as the psalmist learned in his hour of peril1 ',thou1 ,lord1 makest me to dwell in safety1 thou alone6' ,,great ,,voices ,,from ,,heaven ',comfort ye1 comfort ye my people1 saith your ,god4 #b4 ,speak ye comfortably to ,jerusalem1 and cry unto her1 that her warfare is accomplished1 that her iniquity is pardoned3 for she hath received of the ,lord's hand double for all her sins4 #c4 ,the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness1 ,prepare ye the way of the ,lord1 make straight in the desert a highway for our ,god4 #d4 ,every valley shall be exalted1 and every mountain and hill shall be made low3 and the crooked shall be made straight1 and the rough places plain3 #e4 ,and the glory of the ,lord shall be revealed1 and all flesh shall see it together3 for the mouth of the ,lord hath spoken it4 #f4 ,the voice said1 ,cry4 ,and he said1 ,what shall ,i cry8 ,all flesh is grass1 and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field3 #g4 ,the grass withereth1 the flower fadeth3 because the spirit of the ,lord bloweth upon it3 surely the people is grass4 #h4 ,the grass withereth1 the flower fadeth3 but the word of our ,god shall stand for ever4 #i4 #j ,zion1 that bringest good tidings1 get thee up into the high mountain2 ,o ,jerusalem1 that bringest good tidings1 lift up thy voice with strength2 lift it up1 be not afraid3 say unto the cities of ,judah1 ,behold your ,god6 #aj4 ,behold1 the ,lord ,god will come with strong hand1 and ,his arm shall rule for ,him3 behold1 ,his reward is with ,him1 and ,his work before ,him4'--,,isaiah xi4 #a-aj4 ,how majestically this second part of the ,book of ,isaiah opens with these mysterious voices6 ,other prophecies are wont to begin with symbolic visions1 but here the ear takes the place of the eye2 and instead of forms and flashing lights1 which need to be translated1 the prophet hears words1 the impressiveness of which is heightened by the absence of any designation of the speakers4 ,this much is clear1 that the first words are ,god's1 addressed to the prophets4 ,they are the keynote of the whole4 ,israel is comforted in the assurance that her trial is ended and her sin purged4 ,then there is silence1 broken by a voice to which no personality is attached1 the herald and forerunner of the coming ,king and ,god4 ,when the echoes of it have died away1 another is heard1 commanding yet another unnamed to 'cry1' and1 in response to the latter's asking what is to be the burden of his message1 bidding him peal out the frailty of man and the eternal vigour of the word of the ,lord1 which assures its own fulfilment4 ,then comes a longer pause4 ,the way has been prepared1 the coming ,god has come2 ,he has set up ,his throne in the restored ,jerusalem1 and ,his glory is seen upon her4 ,so there rings out from unnamed lips the stirring command to the city1 thus visited by the indwelling ,god1 to proclaim the glad tidings with a voice1 the strength of which shall correspond to their gladness and certainty4 ,this rapid glance at the structure of the whole naturally suggests the fourfold division to which we shall adhere4 ,i4 ,god speaks and bids ,his servants speak 7vs4 #a1 #b71 ,that is a wonderfully tender word with which the silence and sadness of exile are broken4 ,the inmost meaning of ,god's voice is ever comfort4 ,what a world of yearning love there is1 too1 in the two little words 'my' and 'your'6 ,the exiles are still ,his2 ,he who has hidden ,his face from them so long is still theirs4 ,and what was true of them is true of us2 for sin may separate us from ,god1 but it does not separate ,him from us1 and ,he still seeks to make us recognise the imperishable bond1 which itself is the ground of both our comfort and of ,his will that we should be comforted4 ,as the very first words go deep into the meaning of all ,god's voices1 and unveil the permanence of ,his relation of love even to sinful and punished men1 so the next disclose the tender manner of ,his approach to us1 and prescribe the tone for all ,his true servants3 ',speak ye to the heart of ,jerusalem1' with loving words1 which may win her love2 for is she not the bride of ,jehovah1 fallen though she be8 ,and is not humanity the beloved of ,jesus1 in whom ,god's heart is unveiled that our hearts may be won8 ,how shall human voices be softened to tenderness worthy of the message which they carry8 ,only by dwelling near enough to ,him to catch the echoes1 and copy the modulations1 of ,his voice1 as some birds are taught sweeter notes than their own4 ,the prophet's charge is laid upon all who would speak of ,christ to men4 ,speak to the heart1 not only to the head or to the conscience4 ,god beseeches in the person of ,his 'ambassadors4' ,the substance of the message may well find its way to the heart2 for it is the assurance that the long1 hard service of the appointed term of exile is past1 that the sin which brought it about is forgiven1 and1 more wonderful and gracious still1 that ,god's mercy reckons that the ills which followed on faithlessness have more than expiated it4 ,we need not seek for any other explanation of these startling words than the exuberance of the divine pity1 which 'doth not willingly afflict4' ,of course1 the captivity is in the foreground of the prophet's vision2 but the wider sense of the prophecy embraces the worse captivity of sin under which we all groan1 and the divine voice bids ,his prophets proclaim that ,jehovah comes1 to set us all free1 to end the weary bondage1 and to exact no more punishment for sins4 ,,ii4 ,the forerunner speaks4 ,there is something very impressive in the abrupt bursting in of this second voice1 all unnamed4 ,it is the reverberation1 as it were1 of the former1 giving the preparation on the side of man for the coming of ,jehovah4 ,israel in bondage in ,egypt had been delivered by ,jehovah marching through the wilderness1 a wilderness stretched between ,babylon and ,jerusalem2 these supply the scenery1 so to speak2 but the scenery is symbolic1 and the call is really one to prepare the way of the ,lord in the wilderness of human sin1 by raising up the cast-down by reason of transgressions or sorrows1 to subdue lofty thoughts and self-sufficiency by humble self-abnegation1 to make the 'crooked things' or 'rugged things' straight or smooth1 and the rough ground where heights were tumbled on heights a deep valley1 by forsaking evil4 ,the moral preparation1 not the physical1 is meant4 ,it was fitting that the road for such a coming should be prepared4 ,but the coming was not so contingent on the preparation that the 'glory of the ,lord' would not 'be revealed' unless men made a highway for ,him4 ,true1 that the revelation of ,his glory to the individual soul must be preceded by such a preparation2 but that raising of abjectness and levelling of loftiness needs some perception of ,him ere it can be done by man4 ,christ must come to the heart before the heart can be prepared for ,his coming4 ,john the ,baptist came crying in the wilderness1 but his fiery message did little to cast up a highway for the footsteps of the ,king4 ,john's immovable humility pierced to the very heart of the prophecy when he answered the question ',who art thou8' with ',i am a voice4 ,the voice was unnamed2 why1 what does it matter who ,i am8' ,the substance and the range of the coming manifestation are next defined4 ,it is to be the revelation of 'the glory of the ,lord1' and to be for all mankind1 not for ,israel only4 ,that lowly life and that shameful death were a strange revelation of ,god's glory4 ,if they revealed it1 then it cannot consist in power or any of the majestic 'attributes1' but in love1 pity1 and long-suffering4 ,love is the divinest thing in ,god4 ,the guarantee for all lies simply here1 that ,god has spoken it4 ,it is because the unnamed herald's ear has heard the divine voice uttering the gracious assurances of verse #a1 that his voice is lifted up in the commands and assurances of verse #d4 ,absolute faith in ,god's utterances1 however they seem to transcend experience1 is wisdom and duty4 ,,iii4 ,yet another voice1 whether sounding from heaven or earth is as uncertain as is the person to whom it is addressed1 authoritatively commands a third to 'cry1' and1 on being asked what is to be the burden of the call1 answers4 ,this new herald is to proclaim man's frailty and the immortal vigour of ,god's word1 which secures the fulfilment of ,his promises4 ,is it the questioning voice1 or the commanding one1 which says1 ',all flesh is grass1444 the people is grass'8 ,if the former1 it is the utterance of hopelessness1 all but refusing the commission4 ,but1 dramatic as that construction is1 it seems better to regard the whole as the answer to the question1 ',what shall ,i cry8' ,the repetition of the theme of man's frailty is not unnatural1 and gives emphasis to the contrast of the unchangeable stability of ,god's word4 ,an hour of the deadly hot wind will scorch the pastures1 and all the petals of the flowers among the herbage will fall4 ,so everything lovely1 bright1 and vigorous in humanity wilts and dies4 ,one thing alone remains fresh from age to age1--the uttered will of ,jehovah4 ,his breath kills and makes alive4 ,it withers the creatural1 and it speaks the undying word4 ,this message is to follow those others which tell of ,god's merciful promises1 that trembling hearts may not falter when they see all created stays sharing the common lot1 but may rest assured that ,god's promises are as good as ,god's facts1 and so may hope when all things visible would preach despair4 ,it was given to hearten confidence in the prophecy of a future revelation of the glory of ,god4 ,it remains with us to hearten confidence in a past revelation1 which will stand unshaken1 whatever forces war against it4 ,its foes and its friends are alike short-lived as the summer's grass4 ,the defences of the one and the attacks of the other are being antiquated while being spoken2 but the bare word of ,god1 the record of the incarnate ,word1 who is the true revelation of the glory of ,god1 will stand for ever1--',and this is the ,word which by the gospel is preached to you4' ,,iv4 ,the prophet seems to be the speaker in verses #i-aa1 or perhaps the same anonymous voice which already commanded the previous message summons ,jerusalem to become the ambassadress of her ,god4 ,the coming of the ,lord is conceived as having taken place1 and ,he is enthroned in ,zion4 ,the construction which takes ,jerusalem or ,zion 7the double name so characteristic of the second part of ,isaiah7 to be the recipient of the good tidings is much less natural than that which regards her as their bearer4 ,the word rendered 'tellest good tidings' is a feminine form1 and falls in with the usual personification of a city as a woman4 ,she1 long laid in ruins1 the ,niobe of nations1 the sad and desolate widow1 is bid to bear to her daughter cities the glad tidings1 that ,god is in her of a truth4 ,it is exactly the same thought as ',cry out and shout1 thou inhabitant of ,zion3 for great is the ,holy ,one of ,israel in the midst of thee4' ,the prophecy refers to the ,church4 ,it sets forth her highest office as being the proclamation of her indwelling ,king4 ,the possession of ,christ makes the ,church the evangelist for the world2 for it gives the capacity and the impulse as well as the obligation to speak the glad tidings4 ,every ,christian has this command binding on him by the fact of his having ,christ4 ,the command sets forth the bold clearness which should mark the herald's call4 ,naturally1 any one with a message to peal out to a crowd would seek some vantage-ground1 from which his words might fly the farther4 ,if we have a message to deliver1 let us seek the best place from which to deliver it4 ',lift up thy voice with strength4' ,no whisper will do4 ,bated breath is no fit vehicle for ,god's gospel4 ,there are too many of ,god's heralds who are always apologising for their message1 and seeking to reconcile it with popular opinions4 ,we are all apt to speak truth less confidently because it is denied2 but1 while it is needful to speak with all gentleness and in meekness to them that oppose1 it is cowardly1 as well as impolitic1 to let one tremor be heard in our tones though a world should deny our message4 ,the command tells the substance of the ,church's message4 ,its essence is the proclamation of the manifested ,god4 ,to gaze on ,jesus is to behold ,god4 ,that ,god is made known in the twin glories of power and gentleness4 ,he comes 'as a strong one4' ,his dominion rests on ,his own power1 and on no human allies4 ,his reign is retributive1 and that not merely as penally recompensing evil1 but as rewarding the faith and hope of those who waited for ,him4 ,but beyond the limits of our text1 in verse #aa1 we have the necessary completion of the manifestation1 in the lovely figure of the ,shepherd carrying the lambs in ,his arms1 and gently leading the flock of returning exiles4 ,the strength of ,jesus is ,his lowliness2 and ,his mighty arm is used1 not to wield an iron sceptre1 but to gather us to ,his bosom and guide us in ,his ways4 ,the paradox of the gospel1 which points to a poor1 weak man dying in the dark on a cross and says1 ',behold the great ,power of ,god6' is anticipated in this prophecy4 ,the triumphant paradox of the ,apostle is shadowed here3 ',we preach ,christ crucified1 444 the power of ,god1 and the wisdom of ,god4' ,o ,,thou ,,that ,,bringest ,,good ,,tidings ',o ,zion1 that bringest good tidings1 get thee up into the high mountain3 ,o ,jerusalem1 that bringest good tidings1 lift up thy voice with strength2 lift it up1 be not afraid2 say unto the cities of ,judah1 ,behold your ,god6'--,,isaiah xl4 #i4 ,there is something very grand in these august and mysterious voices which call one to another in the opening verses of this chapter4 ,first1 the purged ear of the prophet hears the divine command to him and to his brethren--,comfort ,jerusalem with the message of the ,god who comes for her deliverance4 ,then afar off another voice is heard1 the herald and forerunner of the approaching ,deity2 and when thus the foundation has been laid1 yet another takes up the speech1 and ',the voice said1 ,cry1' and the anonymous recipient of the command asks with what message he shall be entrusted1 and the answer is the signature and pledge of the divine fulfilment of the word thus spoken4 ,and then there comes1 as ,i take it1 a pause of silence1 within which the great ,epiphany and manifestation takes place1 and the coming ,god comes1 enters into the rebuilded city1 and there shines in ,his beauty2 and then breaks forth the rapturous commandment of my text to the resuscitated city1 to tell to all her daughters of ,judah the glad tidings of a present ,god4 ,i need not1 ,i suppose1 spend your time in vindicating the translation of our ,bible as against one which has been made very familiar by being wedded to ,handel's music1 and has commended itself to many1 according to which ,zion is rather the recipient than the herald of the tidings1 ',o thou that tellest good tidings to ,jerusalem1 lift up thy voice with strength1' and so on4 ,and ,i suppose ,i need not either spend any time in vindicating the transference of the text to the ,gentile ,church1 beyond the simple remark that1 whatever be the date of this second portion of ,isaiah's prophecy1 its standpoint is the time of the ,captivity1 when ,jerusalem lay desolate1 burned with fire1 and all their pleasant things were laid waste1 so that the city here addressed is the new form of the ancient ,zion1 which had risen from her ashes1 and had a better tidings of glad significance to impart to all the nations4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 looking at the words from that point of view1 ,i think that they may very fairly yield to us two or three very old-fashioned and well-worn thoughts1 which may yet be stimulating and encouraging to us4 ,i take them as simply as possible1 just as they run here in this text1 which brings out very strikingly and beautifully1 first1 the function of the ,evangelist ,zion2 secondly1 the manner of her message2 and lastly1 its contents4 ,i4 ,look with me at the thoughts that cluster round the name1 ',o ,zion1 that bringest glad tidings4' ,it is almost a definition of the ,church2 at any rate1 it is a description of her by her most characteristic office and function1 that which marks and separates her from all associations and societies of men4 ,this is her highest office2 this is the reason of her being2 this is her noblest dignity4 ,all mystical powers have been claimed for her1 men have been bidden to submit their judgment and manhood to her authority2 but her true dignity is that she bears a gospel in her hand1 and that grace is poured into her lips4 ,fond and sense-bound regrets have been sighed forth that her miracle-working gifts have faded away2 but so long as her voice can quicken dead souls1 and make the tongue of the dumb to speak1 her noblest energies remain unimpaired1 and so we may think of her as most exalted and dignified in that her ,master addresses her1 ',o ,zion1 that bringest good tidings4' ,now1 if ,i was right in my preliminary remark1 to the effect that1 prior to my text1 we are to suppose the manifestation and approach of the ,divine ,deliverer1 then ,i think it is quite clear that what constitutes ,zion the messenger of good tidings is the presence in her of the living ,god4 ,translate that into ,new ,testament language1 and it just comes to this3 that what constitutes the ,church the evangelist for the world is the simple possession of ,christ or of the ,gospel4 ,that thought branches into some considerations on which we may touch4 ,the first of them is this3 ,whoever has ,christ has the power to impart ,him4 ,all believers are preachers1 or meant to be so1 by virtue of the possession of that ,divine ,christ for your own4 ,we ,nonconformists are ready enough to proclaim the universal priesthood of all believers when we are opposing ecclesiastical assumption2 are we as ready to take it for the law of our own lives1 and to say1 ',yes1 priests by the imposition of a mightier hand1 and ministers of ,christ by the possession of ,christ1 and therefore bound and able to impart ,him to all around'8 ,he has given us ,his love1 and ,he thereby has made us fit to impart ,him4 ,zion only needed to receive its ,god1 in order thereby to possess the power to say unto all the cities of ,judah1 ',behold your ,god4' ,it does not take much genius1 it does not take much culture1 it does not need any prolonged training1 for a man who has ,christ to say1 ',behold1 ,i have ,him4' ,the very first ,christian sermon that was ever preached was a very short one1 and a very effectual one1 for it converted the whole congregation1 and it was this3 ',we have found the ,messiah4' ,that was all--the utterance of individual possession and personal experience--and it 'brought him to ,jesus4' ,take another point4 ,the possession of ,christ for ourselves imposes upon us the obligation to impart ,him4 ,all property in this world is trust property1 and everything that a man has that can help or bless the moral or spiritual or intellectual condition of his fellows1 he is thereby under solemn obligation to impart4 ,there is an obligation arising from the bands that knit us to one another1 so that no man can possess his good alone without being untrue to what we call nowadays the solidarity of humanity4 ,you have1 you say1 the bread of life3 very well1 what would you think of a man in a famine who1 when women were boiling their children1 and men were fighting with the swine on the dunghill for garbage1 was content to eat his morsel alone1 and leave others to perish by starvation8 ,you possess1 you say1 the healing for all the diseases of humanity3 very well1 what would you think of a man who1 in a pestilence1 was contented with swallowing his own specific1 and leaving others to die and to rot in the street8 ,if you have the ,christ1 you have ,him that you may impart ,him4 ',he that withholdeth bread1 the people shall curse him'2 of how much deeper malediction from despairing lips will they be thought worthy who call themselves the followers of ,him that gave ,his life to be the bread of the world1 and yet withhold it from famishing souls8 ,and it is an obligation that arises1 too1 from the very purposes of our calling4 ,what are ,christian men and women saved for8 ,for their own blessedness8 ,yes1 and no4 ,no creature in ,god's great universe but is great enough to be a worthy end of the divine action2 the happiness of the humblest and most insignificant moves ,his mighty hand4 ,ay1 but no creature in ,god's universe so great as that he is a worthy end of the divine action1 if he is going to keep all the divine gifts in himself4 ,we are all brought into the light that we may impart light4 ',heaven doth with us as we with torches do2 ,not light them for themselves2 for if our virtues ,did not go forth of us1 'twere all alike ,as if we had them not4 ,spirits are not finely touch'd ,but to fine issues4' ,,ii4 ,and now turn to the second thought which ,i desire to draw from these words4 ,we have here1 in a very picturesque and vivid form1 the setting forth of the manner in which the ,evangelist ,zion is to proclaim her message4 ,the fair-featured herald is bidden to get up into the high mountain--perhaps a mere picturesque detail1 perhaps some reference to the local position of the city set upon a hill--like the priests on ,ebal and ,gerizim1 or ,alpine shepherds1 calling to each other across the valleys1 to secure some vantage-ground1 and next1 to let her voice roll out across the glen4 ,no faltering whisper will do1 but a voice that compels audience1 that can be heard above the tumult and afar off1 and confident and loud and clear1 because courageous and without dread4 ',lift up thy voice with strength4' ,yes1 but a timid heart will make a tremulous voice1 and fear and doubt will whisper a message when courage will ring it out4 ',be not afraid' is the foundation of the clearness and the loudness with which the word is to be uttered4 ,that thought opens itself out into these two others1 on each of which ,i say a word or two4 ,our message is to be given with a courage and a force that are worthy of it2 ',be not afraid4' ,that is a lesson for this day1 my brethren4 ,there are plenty of causes of fear round about us if1 like poor ,peter on the water1 we look at the waves instead of at the ,master4 ,there are the great forces of evil that are always arrayed against ,christ4 ,there is the thoroughgoing and formidable rejection of all that is dearest to us1 which is creeping like poison through cultivated society at home2 there is the manifest disproportion between our resources and the task that we have set ourselves to4 ',they need not depart2 give ye them to eat1' said the ,master4 ,what6 five thousand people need not depart1 and only this scanty provision of loaves and fishes6 ,yes2 the ,master's hand can multiply it4 ,there is the consciousness of our own weakness2 there is the apparent slow progress of the ,gospel in the world4 ,all these things come surging in upon us when our spirits are low and our faith weak2 and yet the message comes to us1 ',be not afraid4' ,i venture to break that injunction up into two or three exhortations1 which ,i cast into the shape of exhortations1 not from any assumption of superiority1 but for the sake of point and force4 ,first of all1 ,i would say1 let us cherish a firm1 soul-absorbing confidence in the power and truth of the message we have to carry4 ,i do not speak now of the intellectual discipline which may be required from each of us to meet the difficulties of this day--that is outside of my present subject2 but there is a moral discipline quite as important as the intellectual4 ,there cannot be any question1 ,i suppose1 to any one who looks round about1 and notices the tendencies of his own mind1 but that all we ,christian people1 in our various circles and organisations1 are under a very great temptation to a very perceptible lowering of our key in the presence of widespread doubt4 ,we are tempted to fancy that a truth is less certain because it is denied2 that because a has attacked this thing1 and b's clever book has unsettled that thing1 and c's researches seem to cast a great deal of doubt upon that other thing1 therefore we are to surrender them all1 and talk about them as if they were doubtful problems or hypotheses rather than sure verities of our faith4 ,and there are some of us1 ,i venture to say1 who are in danger of another temptation1 and that is of getting a little ashamed and becoming afraid to say ',yes1 ,i stand by that great truth1 ,god in ,christ reconciling the world to ,himself1' for fear of being thought to be--well1 'narrow' is the favourite word1 'old-fashioned1' or 'holders of a creed outworn1' 'in antagonism with the spirit of the age1' and so on1 and so on4 ,brethren1 ,i am not the man1 ,i hope1 to preach an unreasonable attitude of antagonism2 ,i am not the man to ask anybody to exaggerate his beliefs because somebody else denies them1 but ,i do believe that among us all1 and especially among young men1 there is the temptation just to be a little bit afraid1 and not to let the voice ring out with that clear certitude which becomes the messenger of the ,cross4 ,try by mental discipline to find intellectual standing-ground that will be firm below your feet1 and then remember that that is not all1 but that moral discipline is wanted also that ,i may open my mouth boldly1 as ,i ought to speak4' ,and then1 if ,i might venture to dwell for a moment or two further upon this class of consideration1 ,i would say1 ,do not let us make too much of the enemy4 ,there is no need why we should take them at their own appraisement4 ,men are always tempted to think that no generation ever had such a fight as their own generation4 ,they have said that ever since there was a ,christian ,church4 ,but the true1 healthy way of looking at the adversary--and by that ,i mean all the various forms of difficulty which beset us in our evangelistic work1 difficulties in the mission-field1 difficulties in the state of things here round us--the true1 healthy way of looking at them all1 is to look at them as the brave ,apostle ,paul did1 when he said1 ',i am going to stop at ,ephesus till ,pentecost1 for there is a great and effectual door opened to me4' ,and how did he know that8 ,he tells us in the next clause1 ',there are many adversaries4' ,where there are many adversaries1 there is an effectual door1 if you and ,i are bold and big enough to go in and occupy4 ,and then ,i would venture to say1 still further1 let us remember the victories of the past4 ,let us make personal experience of the overcoming powers that are stored and hidden in ,christ's ,gospel4 ,and1 above all1 let us remember who fights with us4 ,jesus ,christ and one man are always the majority4 ,there is an old story1 which you may remember1 about the ,conqueror of ,rome1 who dashed his sword into the scales when the ransom was being weighed2 and ,christ flings ,his sharp sword with the two edges into the scales when we are weighing resources1 and the other kicks the beam4 ,there are enemies1 plenty of them1 all round about4 ,yes1 and the spreading forth of their wings fills the breadth of the land4 ,be it so4 ,but notwithstanding the irruption of the barbarous and cruel hosts1 it is ',thy land1 ,o ,emanuel6' ,and in ,his time ,he will sweep them before ,his presence1 as the north wind drives the locusts into the hindermost sea4 ,i do not know if any of you remember an ancient ,christian legend1 and ,i do not know whether it is a legend or a truth--it does not matter1 it will serve for our purpose all the same either way--how when the ,emperor ,julian1 surnamed the ,apostate1 once taunted a humble ,christian man with the question1 ',what is the carpenter's son doing now8' and the answer was1 ',hewing wood for the emperor's funeral pile1' and not very long after there came the fatal field on which1 according to ancient tradition1 he died with the words on his lips1 ',thou hast conquered1 ,galilean4 ,as in ,carlyle's grand translation of ,luther's ,hymn of the ,reformation-- ',of our own strength we nothing can1 ,full soon were we downridden2 ,but for us fights the proper ,man1 ,whom ,god ,himself hath bidden4 ,ask ye1 who is the same8 ,christ ,jesus is ,his name1 ,the ,lord ,sabaoth's ,son4 ,he and none other one ,shall conquer in this battle4' ',lift up thy voice with strength2 lift it up1 be not afraid4' ,,iii4 ,i come to the last thought that emerges from these words1 and that is the substance and contents of the ,evangelist ,zion's message3 ',say unto the cities of ,judah1 behold your ,god6' ,they were to be pointed to a great historical act1 in which ,god had manifested and made ,himself visible to men2 and the words of my text are1 not only an exclamation1 but they are an entreaty1 and the message was to be given to these little daughter cities of ,judah as representing all of those for whom the deliverance had been wrought--all which things are paralleled in the message that is committed to our hand4 ,for1 first of all1 we all have given to us the charge of pointing men to the great historical fact wherein ,god is visible to men1 and so crying1 ',behold your ,god6' ,god cannot be revealed by word1 ,god cannot be revealed by thought4 ,there is no way open to ,him to make ,himself known to ,his creatures except the way by which men make themselves known to one another2 that is1 by their deeds2 and so1 high above all speculation1 high above all abstraction1 nearer to us than all thought stands the historical fact in which ,god shows ,himself to the world1 and that is the person and work of ,jesus ,christ1 'the brightness of ,his glory and the express image of ,his person1' in whom the abysses of the divine nature are opened1 and through whom all the certitude of divine light that human eyes can receive pours itself in genial and yet intensest radiance upon the world4 ,how beautiful in that connection the verses following my text are ,i need only indicate in a word as ,i pass1 ',behold1 the ,lord ,god will come with strong hand1' and yet1 'behold1 ,he shall feed ,his flock like a shepherd4' ,and so in ,christ is the power of ,god1 for ,i take it that ,he is the arm of the ,lord2 and in ,christ is the gentleness of ,god2 and whilst men grope in the darkness1 our business is to point to the living1 dying ,son1 and to say1 ',there you have the complete1 the ultimate revelation of the unseen ,god4' ,and do not let us forget that the burning centre of all that brightness is the ,cross1 that ever-wondrous paradox2 that the depth of humiliation is the height of glorifying2 that ,christ's ,cross is the throne of the manifested divine power quite as much as it is the seat of the manifested divine love1 and that when ,he is hanging there in ,his weakness and mortal agony1 the words are yet true--strange1 paradoxical1 blessedly true--',he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father4' ,and when we say1 pointing to ,his ,cross and ,him there1 ,his brow paled with dying1 and ,his soul faint with loss--when we say1 ',behold the ,lamb6' we are also and therein saying1 ',behold your ,god6' ,and therefore1 with what of gentleness1 with what of tenderness1 with what of patient entreaty as well as strength and confidence1 the word that speaks of a strength manifested in weakness1 and a ,god made visible in ,christ1 should be spoken1 it needs not here to enlarge upon--only take that one last thought that ,i suggested1 that this message comes to all those for whom ,god has appeared1 and for whom the deliverance has been wrought4 ,we each have the right1 and we each have the charge1 to go to every man and say1 ',behold your ,god6' and the hearts of men will leap up to meet the message4 ,for1 though overlaid by sin1 perverted often into its own opposite by fear1 misinterpreted and misunderstood by the very men that bear it1 there yet lies deep in every heart the aching thirst for the living ,god1 and we have the word that alone can meet that thirst4 ,all around us men are saying--',in all the fields of science and of nature1 in human history and in the spirit of men1 ,i find no ,god1' and are falling back into that dreary negation1 ',behold1 we know not anything6' ,and some of them1 orphaned in their agony1 are crying1 though it be often in contemptuous tones that almost sound as if they meant the opposite1 ',oh1 that ,i knew where ,i might find ,him6' ,we have a word that can meet that4 ,for cultivated ,europe it has come to this--,christ or nothing2 either ,he has shown us the ,father1 or there is no knowledge of ,him possible4 ,we do not need to dread the alternative2 we can face it1 and overcome it4 ,and in far-off lands men are groping in twilight uncertainty1 worshipping1 with a nameless horror at their hearts1 gods capricious1 gods cruel1 gods terrible--tamely believing in gods far-off and mysterious1 cowering before gods careless and heartless1 degrading their manhood by imitating gods foul and bestial1 and yet all the while dimly feeling1 ',surely1 surely there is somewhere a good and a fair ,being1 that has an eye to see my sorrows1 and a heart to pity them2 an ear to hear my prayer1 and a hand to stretch out4' ,we have a word that can meet that4 ,let that word ring out1 brother1 as far as your influence can reach4 ,set the trumpet to thy mouth1 and say1 ',behold your ,god6' and be sure that from the uttermost parts of the earth we shall hear the choral songs of many voices answering1 ',lo6 this is our ,god1 we have waited for ,him1 and ,he will save us6 ,this is our ,god2 we will be glad and rejoice in ,his salvation6' ',,have ,,ye ,,not8 ,,hast ,,thou ,,not8' ',have ye not known1 have ye not heard8 hath it not been told yon from the beginning8 have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth8444 ,hast thou not known8 hast thou not heard8'--,,isaiah xl4 #ba and #bh4 ,the recurrence of the same form of interrogation in these two verses is remarkable4 ,in the first case the plural is used1 in the second the singular1 and we may reasonably conclude that as ,israel is addressed in the latter1 the nations outside the sphere illumined by ,revelation are appealed to in the former4 ,the context of the two passages confirms this reference1 for the witness of ,creation and ,history is summoned in the former section1 and that of ,god's inward dealings with trustful souls is brought out in the latter4 ,i4 ,what ,nature and ,history tell men about ,god4 ,observe that emphatic 'told you'2 then the witness here appealed to is truly a ,revelation1 though a silent one4 ',there is no speech nor language1' yet 'their line is gone out through all the earth1 and their words to the ends of the world4' ,the general idea of the divine nature1 as revealed 'from the beginning' and 'from the foundation of the earth1' is that of ,majesty transcending all comparison4 ,the contrast is drawn between ,him and men1 in the magnificent image of ,him as throned above 'the circle of the earth1' and so far above that all the busy tribes of men 'are as grasshoppers1' their restless activity but aimless leaping1 and 'the tumult of the peoples' only as a meaningless chirping4 ,god's creative and sustaining power is further set forth by that great image of ,his 'stretching out the heavens as a curtain1 and spreading them out as a tent to dwell in4' ,as easily as travellers set up their tents when the day's march is done1 did ,he stretch the great expanse above the low earth2 and all its depths and spaces are1 in comparison with ,him1 thin1 transient1 and as easily rolled up and put aside as the stuff that makes a nomad's home for a night4 ,nor are the two implied thoughts that 'the heavens' are a veil screening ,him from men even while they tell of ,him to men1 and that they are ,his lofty dwelling-place1 to be left out of view4 ,but in verse #bf we have a more specific and grander exhibition of ,god's relation to the ,universe4 ,the stars1 in number numberless1 are conceived of as a great army drilled and directed by ,him4 ,and that metaphor1 familiar to us as it is1 and condensed into the divine title so frequent in this prophetic book1 is pregnant with great truths4 ,it speaks of ,god as the ,imperator1 the ,commander1 exercising supreme authority by 'the word of ,his power1' and of creation as obedient thereto4 ',for ever1 ,o ,lord1 ,thy word is settled in the heavens4' ,the ,commander needs but to speak1 and so mystic is the power of ,his uttered will1 that effects on the material universe follow that altogether immaterial energy4 ,it speaks of the harmony and order of the whole ,creation4 ',by number' and 'by name' ,he sways and ranks them4 ',all things work together4' ,they are an ordered whole--a kosmos1 not a chaos4 ,modern science is slowly establishing by experiment the truth which is enshrined in that old name1 'the ,lord of hosts1' that all things in the physical universe are a unity4 ,it speaks of the perfectness of ,god's knowledge of each item in the mighty whole4 ',he calleth them all by name4' ,thereby are expressed authority1 ownership1 particular knowledge of1 and relation to1 each individual of the overwhelming aggregate4 ,god knows all1 because ,he knows each4 ,it speaks of the inexhaustible energy of ,his sustaining power1 and the consequent strength of ,his creatures4 ',preservation is a continued creation4' ,the prophet saw much deeper than the mechanical view of the creative act4 ,to him ,god was1 to use more modern language1 'immanent' as well as 'transcendent4' ,true1 ,he 'sits above the circle of the earth1' but as truly ,he is working on ,his creatures1 and it is by ,his communicated strength that they are strong4 ,if any being--star1 or insect--were separated utterly from ,him1 it would crumble into nothingness4 ,but the appeal to ,creation is singularly interrupted by an appeal to ,history4 ,the prophet drops from the serene expanse of the silent yet eloquent heavens to the stormy scenes of changing dynasties and revolutions of earth's kingdoms4 ,how calm the one1 how tumultuous the other6 ,how the one witnesses to ,him by its apparently unchanging continuance6 how the other witnesses by its swift mutations6 ,in the one1 ,he is revealed as ,preserver2 in the other1 the most clear demonstration of ,his power is given in ,his destroying of rebel kingdoms4 ,but in these acts by which ancient and firmly rooted dynasties are rooted up or withered as by the simoom1 ,he reveals a side of ,his nature to which the calm heavens bore no witness4 ,he is the moral ,governor of the world1 ',the history of the world is the judgment of the world1' and when hoary iniquities are smitten to death1 'the ,holy ,one' is revealed as the righteous ,judge4 ,and the conjoint witness of creation and of history attests that none can be 'likened' to ,him4 ,,ii4 ,what ,revelation tells ,israel about ,god4 ,it is noteworthy that in the section of which our first text is the centre1 there is no mention of the divine ,name1 and even the well-known title1 'the ,holy ,one of ,israel1' is truncated1 so as to leave out reference to the people of ,revelation2 whereas in this section ,he is not only designated as ,god and ,creator1 but as ,jehovah1 the ,god who has made a covenant with ,israel1 and made known ,his will and to some extent ,his nature4 ,the distinct climax in the divine ,names itself implies a nobler relation to men1 and a clearer revelation than was declared in the former part of this prophecy4 ,it is the fitting preparation for the loftier and infinitely more tender and touching aspect of the divine nature which shines with lambent1 inviting lustre within the sphere of ,revelation4 ,the distinctive glory of the long process of ,god's self-manifestation to ,israel is that1 while it emphasises all that nature and history affirm of ,him1 it sets ,him forth as restoring the weak1 as well as sustaining the strong4 ,the sad contrast between the untroubled and unwearied strength of the calm heavens and the soon-exhausted strength of struggling and often beaten men strikes the poet prophet's sensitive soul4 ,he did not know1 what modern astronomy teaches us1 that change1 convulsions1 ruin1 are not confined to earth1 but that stars as well as men faint and fail1 dwindle and die4 ,the scriptural view of ,nature is not that of the scientist1 but that of the poet and of the devout man4 ,it lies quite apart from the scientific attitude1 and has as good a right to exist as it has4 ,the contrast of heaven and earth is for the prophet the contrast of strength with weakness1 of joyful harmony with moral disorder1 of punctual1 entire obedience with rebellion and the clash of multitudes of anarchic self-willed men4 ,but there is a sadder contrast still--namely1 that between ,god and the wretched weaklings that men have made of themselves4 ',he fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ,strange anomaly that in ,his universe there should be the faint and 'them that have no might'6 ,the only explanation of such an exception to the order of ,creation is that men have broken loose from ,creation's dependence on ,god1 and that therefore the inflow of sustaining strength has been checked4 ,in other words1 man's weakness comes from man's sin4 ,hence to restore strength to those whose power has been drained away by sin is ,god's divinest work4 ,it is more to restore than to sustain4 ,it takes less energy to keep a weight stationary at a height than to roll it up again if it falls to the bottom4 ,since sin is the cause of our weakness1 the first step to deliver from the weakness is to deliver from the sin4 ,if we are ever to be restored1 hearts1 consciences1 averted wills must be dealt with--and but ,one ,hand can deal with these4 ,and not only does ,god outdo all ,his mightiest works in the work of restoring strength to the faint1 but ,he crowns that restoration by making the restored weakling like ,himself4 ',he fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ,they1 too1 'shall ran and not be weary1 they shall walk and not faint4' ,in the long drawn out grind of monotonous marching along the common path of daily small duties and uneventful life1 they shall not faint2 in the rare occasional spurts1 occurring in every man's experience1 when extraordinary tax is laid on heart and limbs1 they shall not be weary4 ,and they will be able both to walk and to run1 because they soar on wings as eagles4 ,and they do all because they wait on the ,lord4 ,communion with ,him buoys us above this low earth1 and bears us up into the heavenly places1 and1 living there1 we shall be fit for the slow hours of commonplace plodding and for the crowded moments of great crises4 ,,unfailing ,,stabs ,,and ,,fainting ,,men '444,for that ,he is strong in power2 not one faileth4444 ,he giveth power to the faint2 and to them that have no might ,he increaseth strength4'--,,isaiah xl4 #bf and #bi4 ,these two verses set forth two widely different operations of the divine power as exercised in two sadly different fields1 the starry heavens and this weary world4 ,they are interlocked1 as it were1 by the recurrence in the latter of the emphatic words of the former4 ,the one verse says1 ',he is strong in power'2 the other1 ',he giveth power4' ,in the former verse1 'the greatness of ,his might' sustains the stars2 in the latter verse1 a still diviner operation is set forth in that 'to them that have no might ,he increaseth strength4' ,thus there are three contrasts suggested3 that between unfailing stars1 and men that faint2 that between the unwearied ,god and wearied men2 and that between the sustaining power that is exercised in the heavens and the restoring power that is manifested on earth4 ,there is another interlocking between the latter of these two texts and its context1 which is indicated by a similar recurrence of epithets4 ,in my second text we read of the 'faint1' and in the verse that follows it1 again we find the expressions 'faint' and 'weary1' while in the verse before my text we read that 'the ,lord fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ,so again the contrast between ,him and us is set forth1 but1 in the verse that closes the chapter1 we read how that contrast merges into likeness1 inasmuch as the unfainting and unwearied ,god makes even the men that wait upon ,him unwearied and unfainting4 ,here1 then1 we have lessons that we may well ponder4 ,note1 first-- ,i4 ,that sad contrast4 ,the prophet in the former of these verses seems to be expanding the thoughts that lie in the name1 'the ,lord of hosts1' in so far as that name expresses the divine relation to the starry universe4 ,the image that underlies both it and the words of the text is that of a captain who commands his soldiers1 and they obey4 ,discipline and plan array them in their ranks2 they are not a mob1 but an army4 ,the voice that reads the roll-call summons one after another to his place1 and1 punctually obedient1 there they stand1 ready for any evolution that may be prescribed4 ,the plain prose of which is1 that night by night above the horizon rise the bright orbs1 and roll on their path obedient to the ,sovereign will2 'because ,he is strong in might not one' is lacking4 ,astronomers have taught us1 what the prophet did not know1 that even in the apparently serene spaces there are collisions and catastrophes1 and that stars may dwindle and dim1 and finally go out4 ,but while ,scripture deals with creation neither from the scientific nor from the aesthetic point of view1 it leaves room for both of these--for all that the poet's imagination can see or say1 for all that the scientist's investigation can discover1 it sees that beneath the beauty is the ,fountain of all loveliness1 beneath and behind the 'number' of the numberless stars works the infinite will of ,god4 ,surely an intelligible creation must have an intelligent source4 ,surely a universe in which ,mind can apprehend order and number must have a ,mind at the back of it4 ,wordsworth has nobly said of ,duty what we may more truly say of ,god3 ',thou dost preserve the stars from wrong1 ,and the most ancient heavens through ,thee are fresh and strong4' ',for that ,he is great in might1 not one faileth4' ,scripture bids us think of ,god1 not as a creative energy that set the universe in motion1 and leaves it to roll or spin1 but as of a ,divine ,presence--to use a word which can only be in a very modified sense applied to that mysterious1 intelligent ,entity--operating in1 and being the sustaining ,cause of1 all that is4 ,this ,divine ,presence stamps its signature on the unfailing strength of these bright creatures above4 ,but in our second text we drop from the illumination of the heavens to the shadowed plain of this low earth4 ,it is as if a man1 looking up into the violet sky1 with all its shining orbs1 should then turn to some reeking alley1 with its tumult and its squalor4 ,just because man is greater than the stars1 man 'fails1' whilst they shine on unwearied4 ,for what the prophet has in view as the clinging curse that cleaves to our greatness1 is not merely the bodily fatigue which is necessarily involved in the very fact of bodily existence1 since energy cannot be put forth without waste and weariness1 but it is far more the weary heart1 the heart that is weary of itself1 the heart that is weary of toil1 the heart that is weary of the momentary crises that demand effort1 and wearier still of the effortless monotony of our daily lives2 the heart that all of us carry1 and which to all of us sometimes whispers1 with a dark and gloomy voice which we cannot contradict1 ',vanity of vanities1 all is vanity4' ,i was going to say1 happy are you if you do not know that weariness1 but ,i check myself and say1 tenfold more miserable are you if you have never been sober and wise enough to have felt the weariness and weight of all this unintelligible world1 and of your own sorry selves4 ,for it is ever to be remembered that the faintness and the ebbing away of might1 which is the truly tragic thing in humanity1 does not depend upon physical constitution1 but upon separation from the ,source of all strength1 breaking the union between ourselves and ,god4 ,if a star could shake off its dependence1 and shut out the influx of the sustaining power that by continual creation preserves it1 it would die into darkness1 or crumble into dust4 ,it cannot1 and we cannot1 in so far as our physical being is concerned1 but we can shake ourselves free from ,god1 in so far as the life of the spirit is concerned1 and the godless spirit bears the ,cain-curse of restlessness and weariness ever upon it4 ,so the contrast between the unfailing strengths that ever shine down upon us from the heavens1 and the weariness of body and of mind afflicting the sleeping millions on whom they shine1 is tragical indeed4 ,but far more tragical is the contrast1 of which the other is but an indication because it is a consequence1 the contrast between the punctual obedience with which these hosts1 summoned by the great ,commander1 appear and take their places1 and the self-will which turns a man into a 'wandering star unto whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever4' ,above is peace and order1 because above is the supremacy of an uncontested will4 ,below is tumult and weariness1 because when ,god says ',thou shalt1' men respond1 ',i will not4' ,secondly1 my text suggests to us-- ,,ii4 ,another sad contrast1 melting into a blessed likeness4 ',he fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ',he giveth power to the faint4' ',even the youths shall faint and be weary1 and the young men shall utterly fail1' but waiting on ,god the curse removes1 and faintness and weariness cease1 and the humble man becomes in some measure participant of1 and conformed to1 that life which knows no exhausting1 operates unspent1 burns with an undying flame1 works and never wearies4 ,we may take to ourselves all the peace and strength that come from that transcendent hope1 whilst we are still subject1 as of course we must be1 to the limitations imposed on spirits fettered1 as well as housed1 in body4 ,whilst toil leaves as its consequence fatigue1 and as our days increase our strength wanes2 whilst physical weariness remains unaffected1 there may pour into our spirits the influx of divine power1 by which they will remain fresh and strong through advancing years and heavy tasks and stiff battles4 ,is it not something to believe it possible that ',in old age1 when others fade1 ,we fruit still forth shall bring' ,is it not something to know it as a possibility that we may have that within us which has no tendency to decay1 which neither perishes with the using nor is exhausted by exercise1 which grows the more the longer we live1 which has in it the pledge of immortality1 because it has in it the impossibility of exhaustion8 ,thus to all of us who know how weary life sometimes is1 thus to those of us who in the flush of our youth are deceived into thinking that the vigorous limbs will always be vigorous1 and the clear eyesight will always be keen1 and to those of us who1 in the long weary levels of middle life1 where there are few changes1 are worn out by the eventless recurrence1 day after day1 of duties that have become burdensome1 because they are so small1 and to those of us who are learning by experience how inevitably early strength utterly fails2 to us all surely it comes us a gospel1 ',they that wait on the ,lord shall renew their strength2 they shall run and not be weary1 they shall walk and not faint4' ,it is true2 and each of us may set to our seals1 if we will1 that the promise is faithful and sure4 ,is that not a higher exercise of power than to 'preserve the stars from wrong'8 ,is not the strength that restores mightier than the strength that sustains8 ,is not the hand that1 put beneath the falling body1 stops its plunge1 and lifts it whence it fell1 displaying a greater manifestation of strength1 than the hand that held it unfailing at the height8 ,the mighty miracle of the calm1 steadfast heavens1 with no vacant spaces where yesterday a star blazed1 is less than the miracle of that restoring energy which1 coming to men separated from the ,fountain of power1 re-establishes the connection between them1 and out of the fainting creature makes one that is neither faint nor weary for ever4 ,god is greater1 in the miracle that ,he works upon you and me1 poor strengthless souls1 than when ,he rolls the stars along4 ,redemption is more than ,creation1 and to the hosts of 'the principalities and powers in heavenly places1 is made known1' by the ,church1 'of restored and redeemed souls1 the manifold wisdom of ,god4' ,what are the consequences that the prophet traces to this restoring power8 ',they shall mount up with wings as eagles4' ,power to soar1 to lift our heavy selves from earth1 and to reach the heavenly places where we shall commune with ,god1 that is the greatest of all gifts to strengthened spirits4 ,and it is the foundation of all the others1 for it is only they who know how to soar that can creep1 and it is only they who have renewed their strength hour by hour1 by communion with the ,source of all energy and might1 who when they 'drop with quivering wings1 composed and still1' down to the low earth1 there live unwearied and unfainting4 ',they shall run and not be weary4' ,crises come--moments when circumstances demand from us more than ordinary energy and swifter rate of progress4 ,we have often1 in the course of our years1 to make short spurts of unusual effort4 ',they shall run and not be weary4 ,they shall walk4' ,the bulk of our lives is a slow jog-trot1 and it is harder to keep elasticity1 buoyancy1 freshness of spirit1 in the eventless mill-horse round of our trivial lives than it is in the rarer bursts4 ,excitement helps us in the one2 nothing but dogged principle1 and close communion with ,god1 'mounting on wings as eagles1' will help us in the other4 ,but we may have ,him with us in all the arid and featureless levels across which we have to plod1 as well as in the height to which we sometimes have to struggle upwards1 or in the depths into which we have sometimes to plunge4 ,if we have the life of ,christ within us1 then neither the one nor the other will exhaust our energy or darken our spirits4 ,lastly1 one word as to-- ,,iii4 ,the way by which these contrasts can be reconciled1 and this likeness secured4 ',they that wait upon the ,lord'--that is the whole secret4 ,what does waiting on the ,lord include8 ,let me put it in three brief exhortations4 ,keep near ,him2 keep still2 expect4 ,if ,i stray away from ,him1 ,i cannot expect ,his power to come to me4 ,if ,i fling myself about1 in vain impatience1 struggling1 resisting providences1 shirking duties1 perturbing my soul1 ,i cannot expect that the peace which brings strength1 or the strength which brings peace1 will come to me4 ,it must be a windless sea that mirrors the sunshine and the blue1 and the troubled heart has not ,god's strength in it4 ,if ,i do not expect to get anything from ,him1 ,he will not give me anything2 not because ,he will not1 but because ,he cannot4 ,take the old ,psalmist's words1 ',i have quieted myself as a weaned child1' and nestle on the great bosom1 and its warmth1 its fragrance1 its serenity will be granted to you4 ,keep hold of ,god's hand in expectation1 in submission1 in close union1 and the contact will communicate something of ,his own power4 ',in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength4' ,the bitter contrasts may all be harmonised1 and the miraculous assimilation of humanity to divinity may1 in growing measure according to our faith1 be realised in us4 ,and though we must still bear the limitations of our present corporeal condition1 and though life's tasks must still oftentimes be felt by us as toils1 and life's burdens as too burdensome for our feeble shoulders1 yet we shall be held up4 ',as thy day so shall thy strength be1' and at last1 when we mount up further than eagle's wings have ever soared1 and look down upon the stars that are 'rolled together as a scroll1' we shall through eternal ages 'run and not be weary' and 'walk and not faint4' ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,immortal ,,youth ',even the youths shall faint and be weary1 and the young men shall utterly fall4 ,but they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength2 they shall mount up with wings as eagles2 they shall run and not be weary2 and they shall walk and not faint4'--,,isaiah xl4 #cj1 #ca4 ,i remember a sunset at sea1 where the bosom of each wavelet that fronted the west was aglow with fiery gold1 and the back of each turned eastward was cold green2 so that1 looking on the one hand all was glory1 and on the other all was sober melancholy4 ,so differently does life look to you young people and to us older ones4 ,every man must buy his own experience for himself1 and no preaching nor talking will ever make you see life as we see it4 ,it is neither possible nor desirable that you should2 but it is both possible and most desirable that you should open your eyes to plain1 grave facts1 which do not at all depend on our way of looking at things1 and that if they be ascertainable1 as they are1 you should let them shape your lives4 ,here are a couple of facts in my text which ,i ask you to look steadily in the face1 and to take account of them1 because1 if you do so now1 it may save you an immense deal of disappointment and sorrow in the days that are to come4 ,you have the priceless prerogative still in your hands of determining what that future is to be2 but you will never use that power rightly if you are guided by illusions1 or if1 unguided by anything but inclination1 you let things drift1 and do as you like4 ,so1 then1 my object is simply to deal with these two forecasts which my text presents2 the one a dreary certainty of weariness and decay1 the other a blessed possibility of inexhaustible and incorruptible strength and youth1 and on the contrast to build as earnest an appeal to you as ,i can make4 ,i4 ,now1 then1 look at the first fact here1 that of the dreary certainty of weariness and decay4 ,i do not need to spend much time in talking about that4 ,it is one of the commonplaces which are so familiar that they have lost all power of impression1 and can only be rescued from their trivial insignificance by being brought into immediate connection with our own experience4 ,if1 instead of the toothless generality1 'the youths shall faint and be weary1' ,i could get you young people to say1 ',i--,i shall faint and be weary1 and1 as sure as ,i am living1 ,i shall lose what makes to me the very joy of life at this moment1' ,i should not have preached in vain4 ,of course the words of my text point to the plain fact that all created and physical life1 by the very law of its being1 in the act of living tends to death2 and by the very operation of its strength tends to exhaustion4 ,there are three stages in every creature's life--that of growth1 that of equilibrium1 that of decay4 ,you are in the first4 ,if you live1 it is as certain as fate that you will come to the second and the third4 ,your 'eyes will grow dim1' your 'natural force' will be 'abated1' your body will become a burden1 your years that are full of buoyancy will be changed for years of heaviness and weariness1 strength will decay1 'and the young men'--that is you--'shall utterly fall4' ,and the text points also to another fact1 that1 long before your natural life shall have begun to tend towards decay1 hard work and occasional sorrows and responsibilities and burdens of all sorts will very often make you wearied and ready to faint4 ,in your early days you dream of life as a kind of enchanted garden1 full of all manner of delights2 and you stand at the threshold with eager eyes and outstretched hands4 ,ah6 dear young friend1 long before you have traversed the length of one of its walks1 you will often have been sick and tired of the whole thing1 and weary of what is laid upon you4 ,my text points to another fact1 as certain as gravitation1 that the faintness and weariness and decay of the bodily strength will be accompanied with a parallel change in your feelings4 ,we are drawn onward by hopes1 and when we get them fulfilled we find that they are disappointing4 ,custom1 which weighs upon us 'heavy as frost1 and deep almost as life1' takes the edge off everything that is delightsome1 though it does not so completely take away the pain of things that are burdensome and painful4 ,men travel from a tinted morning into the sober light of common day1 and with failing faculties and shattered illusions and dissipated hopes1 and powers bending under the long monotony of middle life1 most of them live4 ,now all that is the veriest threadbare morality1 and ,i dare say while ,i have been speaking1 some of you have been thinking that ,i am repeating platitudes that every old woman could preach4 ,so ,i am4 ,that is to say1 ,i am trying to put into feeble words the universal human experience4 ,that is your experience1 and what ,i want to get you to think about now is that1 as sure as you are living and rejoicing in your youth and strength1 this is the fate that is awaiting you--'the youths shall faint and be weary1 and shall utterly fall4' ,well1 then1 one question3 ,do you not think that1 if that is so1 it would be as well to face it8 ,do you not think that a wise man would take account of all the elements in forecasting his life and would shape his conduct accordingly8 ,if there be something certain to come1 it is a very questionable piece of wisdom to make that the thing which we are most unwilling to think about4 ,i do not want to be a kill-joy2 ,i do not want to take anything out of the happy buoyancy of youth4 ,i would say1 as even that cynical1 bitter ,ecclesiastes says1 ',rejoice1 ,o young man1 in thy youth2 and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth4' ,by all means2 only take all the facts into account1 and if you have joys which shrivel up at the touch of this thought1 then the sooner you get rid of such joys the better4 ,if your gladness depends upon your forcibly shutting your eyes to what is inevitably certain to come about1 do you not think that you are living in a fool's paradise that you had better get out of as soon as possible8 ,there is the fact4 ,will you be a wise and brave man and front it1 and settle how you are going to deal with it1 or will you let it hang there on your horizon1 a thunder-cloud that you do not like to look at1 and that you are all the more unwilling to entertain the thought of1 because you are so sure that it will burst in storm8 ,lay this1 then1 to heart1 though it is a dreary certainty1 that weariness and decay are sure to be your fate4 ,,ii4 ,now turn1 in the next place1 to the blessed opposite possibility of inexhaustible and immortal strength4 ',they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength2 they shall mount up with wings as eagles2 they shall run and not be weary2 they shall walk and not faint4' ,the life of nature tends inevitably downward1 but there may be another life within the life of nature1 which shall have the opposite motion1 and tend as certainly upwards4 ',the youths shall faint and be weary'--whether they be ,christians or not1 the law of decay and fatigue will act upon them2 but there may be that within each of us1 if we will1 which shall resist that law1 and have no proclivity whatsoever to extinction in its blaze1 to death in its life1 to weariness in its effort1 and shall be replenished and not exhausted by expenditure4 ',they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength1' and1 in all forms of motion possible to a creature they shall expatiate and never tire4 ,so let us look on this blessed possibility a little more closely4 ,note1 then1 how to get at it4 ',they that wait upon the ,lord' is ,old ,testament dialect for what in ,new ,testament phraseology is meant by ',believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4' ,for the notion expressed here by 'waiting' is that of expectant dependence1 and the ,new ,testament 'faith' is the very same in its attitude of expectant dependence1 while the object of the ,old ,testament 'waiting1' ,jehovah1 is identical with the object of the ,new ,testament faith1 which fastens on ,god manifest in the flesh1 the ,man ,jesus ,christ4 ,therefore1 ,i am not diverting the language of my text from its true meaning1 but simply opening its depth1 when ,i say that the condition of the inflow of this unwearied and immortal life into our poor1 fainting1 dying humanity is simply the trust in ,jesus ,christ the ,redeemer of our souls4 ,true1 the revelation has advanced2 the contents of that which we grasp are more developed and articulate1 blessed be ,god6 ,true1 we know more about ,jehovah1 when we see ,him in ,jesus ,christ1 than ,isaiah did4 ,true1 we have to trust in ,him as dying on the ,cross for our salvation and as the pattern and example in ,his humanity of all nobleness and beauty of life for young or old1 but the ,christ is the 'same yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever4' ,and the faith that knit the furthest back of the saints of old to the ,jehovah1 whom they dimly knew1 is in essence identical with the faith that binds my poor sinful heart to the ,christ that died and that lives for my redemption and salvation4 ,so1 dear brethren1 here is the simple old message for each of you1 young or old4 ,no matter where we stand on the course of life1 there may come into our hearts a ,divine ,indweller1 who laughs at weariness and knows nothing of decay2 and ,he will come if1 as sinful men1 we turn ourselves to that dear ,lord1 who fainted and was weary many a time in ,his humanity1 and who now lives1 the 'strong ,son of ,god1 immortal love1' to make us partakers in ,his immortality and ,his strength4 ,the way1 then1 by which we get this divine gift is by faith in ,jesus ,christ1 which is the expansion1 as it was the root1 of trust in ,jehovah4 ,further1 what is this strength that we thus get1 if we will1 by faith8 ,it is the true entrance into our souls of a divine life4 ,god in ,his ,son will come to us1 according to ,his own gracious and profound promise3 ',if any man open the door ,i will enter in4' ,he will come into our hearts and abide there4 ,he will give to us a life derived from1 and therefore1 kindred with1 ,his own4 ,and in that connection it is very striking to notice how the prophet1 in the context1 reiterates these two words1 'fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ,he begins by speaking of ',god1 the ,lord1 the ,creator of the ends of the earth1 who fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ,he passes on to speak of ,his gift of power to the faint4 ,he returns to the contrast between the ,creator's incorruptible strength and the fleeting power of the strongest and youngest4 ,and then he crowns all with the thought that the same characteristics will mark them in whom the unwearied ,god dwells1 as mark ,him4 ,we too1 like ,him1 if we have ,christ in our hearts by faith1 will share1 in some fashion and degree1 in ,his wondrous prerogative of unwearied strength4 ,so1 brethren1 here is the promise4 ,god will give ,himself to you1 and in the very heart of your decaying nature will plant the seed of an immortal being which shall1 like ,his own1 shake off fatigue from the limbs1 and never tend to dissolution or an end4 ,the life of nature dies by living2 the life of grace1 which may belong to us all1 lives by living1 and lives evermore thereby4 ,and so that life is continuous and progressive1 with no tendency to decay1 nor term to its being4 ',the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more1' until it riseth to the zenith of the noontide of the day4 ,each of you1 looking forward to the certain ebbing away of creatural power1 to the certain changes that will pass upon you1 may say1 ',i know that ,i shall have to leave behind me my present youthful strength1 my unworn freshness1 my buoyancy1 my confidence1 my wonder1 my hope2 but ,i shall carry my ,christ2 and in ,him ,i shall possess the secret of an immortal youth4' ,the oldest angels are the youngest4 ,the longer men live in fellowship with ,christ1 the stronger do they grow4 ,and though our lives1 whether we are ,christians or no1 are necessarily subject to the common laws of mortality1 we may carry all that is worth preserving of the earliest stages into the latest2 and when grey hairs are upon us1 and we are living next door to our graves1 we may still have the enthusiasm1 the energy1 and above all1 the boundless hopefulness that made the gladness and the spring of our long-buried youth4 ',they shall still bring forth fruit in old age4' ',the youths shall faint and be weary1 but they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength4' ,there is one more point to touch1 and then ,i have done1 and that is the manner in which this immortal strength is exercised4 ,the latter clauses of my text give us1 so to speak1 three forms of motion4 ',they shall mount up with wings as eagles4' ,some good commentators find in this a parallel to the words in the #ajcrd ,psalm1 ',my youth is renewed like the eagle's1' and propose to translate it in this fashion1 ',they shall cast their plumage like the eagle4' ,but it seems much more in accordance with the context and the language to adopt substantially the reading of our ,english version here1 or to make the slight change1 ',they shall lift up their wings as the eagle1' implying1 of course1 the steady upward flight towards the light of heaven4 ,so1 then1 there are three forms of unwearied strength lying ready for you1 young men and women1 to take for your very own if you like3 strength to soar1 strength to run1 strength to walk4 ,there is strength to soar4 ,old men generally shed their wings1 and can only manage to crawl4 ,they have done with romance4 ,enthusiasms are dead4 ,sometimes they cynically smile at their own past selves and their dreams4 ,and it is a bad sign when an old man does that4 ,but for the most part they are content1 unless they have got ,christ in their hearts1 to keep along the low levels1 and their soaring days are done4 ,but if you and ,i have ,jesus ,christ for the life of our spirits1 as certainly as fire sends its shooting tongues upwards1 so certainly shall we rise above the sorrows and sins and cares of this 'dim spot which men call earth1' and find an ampler field for buoyant motion high up in communion with ,god4 ,strength to soar means the gracious power of bringing all heaven into our grasp1 and setting our affections on things above4 ,as the night falls1 and joys become fewer and life sterner1 and hopes become rarer and more doubtful1 it is something to feel that1 however straitened may be the ground below1 there is plenty of room above1 and that1 though we are strangers upon earth1 we can lift our thoughts yonder4 ,if there be darkness here1 still we can 'outsoar the shadow of our night1' and live close to the sun in fellowship with ,god4 ,dear brethren1 life on earth were too wretched unless it were possible to 'mount up with wings as eagles4' ,again1 you may have strength to run--that is to say1 there is power waiting for you for all the great crises of your lives which call for special1 though it may be brief1 exertion4 ,such crises will come to each of you1 in sorrow1 work1 difficulty1 hard conflicts4 ,moments will be sprung upon you without warning1 in which you will feel that years hang on the issue of an instant4 ,great tasks will be clashed down before you unexpectedly which will demand the gathering together of all your power4 ,and there is only one way to be ready for such times as these1 and that is to live waiting on the ,lord1 near ,christ1 with ,him in your hearts1 and then nothing will come that will be too hard for you4 ,however rough the road1 and however severe the struggle1 and however swift the pace1 you will be able to keep it up4 ,though it may be with panting lungs and a throbbing heart1 and dim eyes and quivering muscles1 yet if you wait on the ,lord you will run and not be weary4 ,you will be masters of the crises4 ,strength to walk may be yours--that is to say1 patient power for persistent pursuit of weary1 monotonous duty4 ,that is the hardest1 and so it is named last4 ,many a man finds it easy1 under the pressure of strong excitement1 and for a moment or two1 to keep up a swift pace1 who finds it very difficult to keep steadily at unexciting work4 ,and yet there is nothing to be done except by doggedly plodding along the dusty road of trivial duties1 unhelped by excitement and unwearied by monotony4 ,only one thing will conquer the disgust at the wearisome round of mill-horse tasks which1 sooner or later1 seizes all godless men1 and that is to bring the great principles of the gospel to bear on them1 and to do them in the might and for the sake of the dear ,lord4 ',they shall run and not be weary1 they shall walk' along life's common way in cheerful godliness1 'and they shall not faint4' ,dear friends1 life to us all is1 and must be1 full of sorrow and of effort4 ,constant work and frequent sorrows wear us all out1 and bring us many a time to the verge of fainting4 ,i beseech you to begin right1 and not to add to the other occasions for weariness that of having to retrace1 with remorseful heart and ashamed feet1 the paths of evil on which you have run4 ,begin right1 which is to say1 begin with ,christ and take ,him for inspiration1 for pattern1 for guide1 for companion4 ',run with patience the race set before you1 looking unto ,jesus the author of your faith1 lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds4' ,and if you have ,him in your hearts1 then1 however your creatural power may grow weary1 yet because ,he is with you1 'your shoes shall be iron and brass1 and as your days so shall your strength be1' and you may lift up in your turn the glad1 triumphant acknowledgment3 ',for this cause we faint not1 but though our outward man perish1 our inward man is renewed day by day4' ,god bless you all and make that your experience6 ,,christ ,,the ,,arrester ,,of ,,incipient ,,evil ,,and ,,the ,,nourisher ,,of ,,incipient ,,good ',a bruised reed shall ,he not break1 and the smoking flax shall ,he not quench4444 ,he shall not fail nor be discouraged4'--,,isaiah xlii4 #c1 #d4 ,the two metaphors which we have in the former part of these words are not altogether parallel4 ',a bruised reed' has suffered an injury which1 however1 is neither complete nor irreparable4 ',smoking flax1' on the other hand--by which1 of course1 is meant flax used as a wick in an old-fashioned oil lamp--is partially lit4 ,in the one a process has been begun which1 if continued1 ends in destruction2 in the other1 a process has been begun which1 if continued1 ends in a bright flame4 ,so the one metaphor may refer to the beginnings of evil which may still be averted1 and the other the beginnings of incipient and incomplete good4 ,if we keep this distinction in mind1 the words of our text gain wonderfully in comprehensiveness4 ,then again1 it is to be noticed that in the last words of our text1 which are separated from the former by a clause which we omit1 we have an echo of these metaphors4 ,the word translated 'fail' is the same as that rendered in the previous verse 'smoking1' or 'dimly burning'2 and the word 'discouraged' is the same as that rendered in the previous verse 'bruised4' ,so then1 this ',servant of the ,lord1' who is not to break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax1 is fitted for ,his work1 because ,he ,himself has no share in the evils which ,he would heal1 and none in the weaknesses which ,he would strengthen4 ,his perfect manhood knows no flaws nor bruises2 ,his complete goodness is capable of and needs no increase4 ,neither outward force nor inward weakness can hinder ,his power to heal and bless2 therefore ,his work can never cease till it has attained its ultimate purpose4 ',he shall not fail nor be discouraged'2 shall neither be broken by outward violence1 nor shall the flame of ,his fading energy burn faint until ,he hath 'set judgment in the earth1' and crowned ,his purposes with complete success4 ,we have1 then1 here set before us three significant representations of the servant of the ,lord1 which may well commend ,him to our confidence and our love4 ,i shall not spend any time in answering the question3 ,of whom speaketh the prophet this8 ,the answer is plain for us4 ,he speaks of the personal ,servant of the ,lord1 and the personal ,servant of the ,lord is ,jesus ,christ our ,saviour4 ,i ask you then to come with me while ,i deal1 as simply as may be1 with these three ideas that lie before us in this great prophecy4 ,i4 ,consider then1 first1 the representation of the ,servant of the ,lord as the arrester of incipient ruin4 ',he shall not break the bruised reed4' ,here is the picture--a slender bulrush1 growing by the margin of some tarn or pond2 its sides crushed and dented in by some outward power1 a gust of wind1 a sudden blow1 the foot of a passing animal4 ,the head is hanging by a thread1 but it is not yet snapped or broken off from the stem4 ,but1 blessed be ,god6 there emerges from the metaphor not only the solemn thought of the bruises by sin that all men bear1 but the other blessed one1 that there is no man so bruised as that he is broken2 none so injured as that restoration is impossible1 no depravity so total but that it may be healed1 none so far off but that he may be brought nigh4 ,on no man has sin fastened its venomous claws so deeply but that these may be wrenched away4 ,in none of us has the virus so gone through our veins but that it is capable of being expelled4 ,the reeds are all bruised1 the reeds are none of them broken4 ,and so my text comes with its great triumphant hopefulness1 and gathers into one mass as capable of restoration the most abject1 the most worthless1 the most ignorant1 the most sensuous1 the most godless1 the most ,christ-hating of the race4 ,jesus looks on all the tremendous bulk of a world's sins with the confidence that ,he can move that mountain and cast it into the depths of the sea4 ,there is a man in ,paris that says he has found a cure for that horrible disease of hydrophobia1 and who therefore regards the poor sufferers of whom others despair as not beyond the reach of hope4 ,christ looks upon a world of men smitten with madness1 and in whose breasts awful poison is working1 with the calm confidence that ,he carries in ,his hand an elixir1 one drop of which inoculated into the veins of the furious patient will save him from death1 and make him whole4 ',the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth from all sin4' ',he will not break1' and that means ,he will restore1 'the bruised reed4' ,there are no hopeless outcasts4 ,none of you are beyond the reach of a ,saviour's love1 a ,saviour's blood1 a ,saviour's healing4 ,but then the words in my text may be taken in a somewhat narrower sense1 applying more particularly to a class4 ,in accordance with other metaphors of ,scripture1 we may think of 'the bruised reed' as expressive of the condition of men whose hearts have been crushed by the consciousness of their sins4 ',the broken and the contrite heart1' bruised and pulverised1 as it were1 by a sense of evil1 may be typified for us by this bruised reed4 ,and then from the words of my text there emerges the great and blessed hope that such a heart1 wholesomely removed from its self-complacent fancy of soundness1 shall certainly be healed and bound up by ,his tender hand4 ,did you ever see a gardener dealing with some plant1 a spray of which may have been wounded8 ,how delicately and tenderly the big1 clumsy hand busies itself about the tiny spray1 and by stays and bandages brings it into an erect position1 and then gives it water and loving care4 ,just so does ,jesus ,christ deal with the conscious and sensitive heart of a man who has begun to find out how bad he is1 and has been driven away from all his foolish confidence4 ,christ comes to such an one and restores him1 and just because he is crushed deals with him gently1 pouring in ,his consolation4 ,wheresoever there is a touch of penitence1 there is present a restoring ,christ4 ,and the words may be looked at from yet another point of view4 ,we may think of them as representing to us the merciful dealing of the ,master with the spirits which are beaten and bruised1 sore and wounded1 by sorrows and calamities2 to whom the ,christ comes in all the tenderness of ,his gentleness1 and lays a hand upon them--the only hand in all the universe that can touch a bleeding heart without hurting it4 ,brother and sister suffering from any sorrow1 and bleeding from any wound1 there is a balm and a physician4 ,there is one hand that will never be laid with blundering kindness or with harshness upon our sore hearts1 but whose touch will be healing1 and whose presence will be peace4 ,the ,christ who knows our sins and sorrows will not break the bruised reed4 ,the whole race of man may be represented in that parable that came from ,his own lips1 as fallen among thieves that have robbed him and wounded him and left him bruised1 but1 blessed be ,god6 only 'half dead'2 sorely wounded1 indeed1 but not so sorely but that he may be restored4 ,and there comes ,one with the wine and the oil1 and pours them into the wounds4 ',the bruised reed shall ,he not break4' ,,ii4 ,now1 in the next place1 look at the completing thought that is here1 in the second clause1 which represents ,christ as the fosterer of incipient and imperfect good4 ',the dimly-burning wick ,he shall not quench4' ,a process1 as ,i have said1 is begun in the smoking flax1 which only needs to be carried on to lead to a brilliant flame4 ,that represents for us not the beginnings of a not irreparable evil1 but the commencement of very dim and imperfect good4 ,now1 then1 who are represented by this 'smoking flax'8 ,you will not misunderstand me1 nor think that ,i am contradicting what ,i have already been saying1 if ,i claim for this second metaphor as wide a universality as the former1 and say that in all men1 just because the process of evil and the wounds from it are not so deep and complete as that restoration is impossible1 therefore is there something in their nature which corresponds to this dim flame that needs to be fostered in order to blaze brightly abroad4 ,there is no man out of hell but has in him something that needs but to be brought to sovereign power in his life in order to make him a light in the world4 ,you have consciences at the least2 you have convictions1 you know you have1 which if you followed them out would make ,christians of you straight away4 ,you have aspirations after good1 desires1 some of you1 after purity and nobleness of living1 which only need to be raised to the height and the dominance in your lives which they ought to possess1 in order to revolutionise your whole course4 ,there is a spark in every man which1 fanned and cared for1 will change him from darkness into light4 ,fanned and cared for it needs to be1 and fanned and cared for it can only be by a divine power coming down upon it from without4 ,this second metaphor of my text1 as truly as the other1 belongs to every soul of man upon the earth4 ,he from whom all sparks and light have died out is not a man but a devil4 ,and for all of us the exhortation comes3 ',thou hast a voice within testifying to ,god and to duty'2 listen to it and care for it4 ,then again1 dear brethren1 in a narrower way1 the words may be applied to a class4 ,there are some of us who have in us a little spark1 as we believe1 of a divine life1 the faint beginnings of a ,christian character4 ,we call ourselves ,christ's disciples4 ,we are2 but oh6 how dimly the flax burns4 ,they say that where there is smoke there is fire4 ,there is a great deal more smoke than fire in the most of ,christian people in this generation1 and if it were not for such thoughts as this of my text about that dear ,christ who will not lay a hasty hand upon some little tremulous spark1 and by one rash movement extinguish it for ever1 there would be but small hope for a great many of us4 ,whether1 then1 the dimly-burning wick be taken to symbolise the lingering remains of a better nature which still abides with all sinful men1 yet capable of redemption1 or whether it be taken to mean the low and imperfect and inconsistent and feeble ,christianity of us professing ,christians1 the words of my text are equally blessed and equally true4 ,christ will neither despise1 nor so bring down ,his hand upon it as to extinguish1 the feeblest spark4 ,look at ,his life on earth1 think how ,he bore with those blundering1 foolish1 selfish disciples of ,his2 how patient the divine ,teacher was with their slow learning of ,his meaning and catching of ,his character4 ,remember how1 when a man came to ,him with a very imperfect goodness1 the ,evangelist tells us that ,jesus1 beholding him1 loved him4 ,and take out of these blessed stories this great hope1 that howsoever small men 'despise the day of small things1' the ,greatest does not2 and howsoever men may say ',such a little spark can never be kindled into flame1 the fire is out1 you may as well let it alone1' ,he never says that1 but by patient teaching and fostering and continual care and wise treatment will nourish and nurture it until it leaps into a blaze4 ,how do you make 'smoking flax' burn8 ,you give it oil1 you give it air1 and you take away the charred portions4 ,and ,christ will give you1 in your feebleness1 the oil of ,his ,spirit1 that you may burn brightly as one of the candlesticks in ,his ,temple2 and ,he will let air in1 and sometimes take away the charred portions by the wise discipline of sorrow and trial1 in order that the smoking flax may become a shining light4 ,but by whatsoever means ,he may work1 be sure of this1 that ,he will neither despise nor neglect the feeblest inclination of good after ,him1 but will nourish it to perfection and to beauty4 ,the reason why so many ,christian men's ,christian light is so fuliginous and dim is just that they keep away from ,jesus ,christ4 ',abide in ,me and ,i in you4' ',as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself1 except it abide in the vine1 no more can ye1 except ye abide in ,me4' ,how can the ,temple lamps burn bright unless the ,priest of the ,temple tends them8 ,keep near ,him that ,his hand may nourish your smoking dimness into a pure flame1 leaping heavenward and illuminating your lives4 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 we have here the representation of the servant of the ,lord's exemption from human evil and weakness1 as the foundation of ,his restoring and fostering work4 ',he shall not burn dimly nor be broken till ,he hath set judgment in the earth4' ,there are no bruises in this reed2 that is to say1 ,christ's manhood is free from all scars and wounds of evil or of sin4 ,there is no dimness in this light1 that is to say1 ,christ's character is perfect1 ,his goodness needs no increase4 ,there is no trace of effort in ,his holiness1 no growth manifest in ,his ,god-likeness1 from the beginning to the end4 ,there is no outward violence that can be brought to bear upon ,him that will stay ,him in ,his purpose4 ,there is no inward failure of strength in ,him that may lead us to fear that ,his work shall not be completed4 ,and because of these things1 because of ,his perfect exemption from human infirmity1 because in ,him was no sin4 ,he is manifested to take away our sins4 ,because in ,him there was goodness incapable of increase1 being perfect from the beginning1 therefore ,he is manifested to make us participants of ,his own unalterable and infinite goodness and purity4 ,because no outward violence1 no inward weakness1 can ever stay ,his course1 nor make ,him abandon ,his purpose1 therefore ,his gospel looks upon the world with boundless hopefulness1 with calm triumph2 will not hear of there being any outcast and irreclaimable classes2 declares it to be a blasphemy against ,god and ,christ to say that any men or any nations are incapable of receiving the gospel and of being redeemed by it1 and comes with supreme love and a calm consciousness of infinite power to you1 my brother1 in your deepest darkness1 in your moods most removed from ,god and purity1 and insures you that it will heal you1 and will raise all that in you is feeble to its own strength4 ,every man may pray to that strong ,christ who fails not nor is discouraged-- ',what in me is dark ,illumine2 what is low1 raise and support1' in the confidence that ,he will hear and answer4 ,if you do that you will not do it in vain1 but ,his gentle hand laid upon you will heal the bruises that sin has made4 ,out of your weakness1 as of 'a reed shaken with the wind1' the ,restorer will make a pillar of marble in the ,temple of ,his ,god4 ,and out of your smoking dimness and wavering light1 a spark at the best1 almost buried in the thick smoke that accompanies it1 the fostering ,christ will make a brightness which shall flame as the perfect light that 'shineth more and more unto the noontide of the day4' ,,the ,,blind ,,man',s ,,guide ',i will bring the blind by a way that they knew not2 ,i will lead them in paths that they have not known3 ,i will make darkness light before them1 and crooked things straight4 ,these things will ,i do unto them1 and not forsake them4'--,,isaiah xiii4 #af4 ,the grand stormy verses before these words1 with all their dread array of natural convulsions1 have one object--the tender guidance promised in the text4 ,so we have the combination of terror and love1 the blending in the divine government of terrible judgments and most gentle guidance4 ,the words apply1 of course1 primarily to the redemption of ,israel2 but through them shines a picture of the greater redemption of humanity4 #a4 ,the blind travellers4 ,they are blind1 and their road is unknown to them4 ,it is a symbol of our condition and of our paths in life4 ,our limited foresight cannot discern certainly even the next moment4 ,it is always the unexpected that happens4 ,we cannot tell what lies behind the next bend in the road1 and there are so many bends2 and behind one of them1 we cannot tell whether it may be the next1 sits 'the ,shadow feared of man4' ,life is like the course of the ,congo1 which makes so mighty a bend northward that1 till it had been followed from source to mouth1 no one could have supposed that it was to enter the ocean far away to the west4 ,not only ,god's mercies1 but our paths1 are 'new every morning4' ,experience1 like conscience1 sheds light mainly on what lies behind1 and scarcely 'doth attain to something of prophetic strain4' #b4 ,the ,leader4 ,how tenderly ,god makes ,himself the leader of the blind pilgrims6 ,it does not matter about being blind1 if we put our hands in ,his4 ,then ,he will 'be to us instead of eyes4' ,jesus took the blind man by the hand4 ,so here is the promise of guidance by ,providence1 ,word1 ,spirit4 ,and here is the condition of receiving it1 namely1 our conscious blindness and realisation of the complexities of life1 leading to putting ourselves into ,his hands in docile faith4 #c4 ,the gradual light4 ,darkness is made light4 ,we receive the knowledge of each step1 when it needs to be taken2 the light shines only on the next2 we are like men in a fog1 who are able only to see a yard ahead4 #d4 ,the clearing away of hindrances4 ',crooked things straight4' ,a careful guide lifts stones out of a blind man's way4 ,how far is this true8 ,there will be plenty of crooked things left crooked1 but still so many straightened as to make our road passable4 #e4 ,the perpetual ,presence4 ,if ,god is with me1 then all these blessings will surely be mine4 ,he will be with me if ,i keep myself with ,him4 ,it is ,his felt presence that gives me light on the road1 and levels and straightens out the crookedest and roughest path4 ,,thy ,,name3 ,,my ,,name ',i have called thee by thy name4'--,,isaiah xliii4 #a4 ',every one that is called by ,my name4'--,,isaiah xliii4 #g4 ,great stress is laid on names in ,scripture4 ,these two parallel and antithetic clauses bring out striking complementary relations between ,god and the collective ,israel4 ,but they are as applicable to each individual member of the true ,israel of ,god4 ,i4 ,what does ,god's calling a man by his name imply8 #a4 ,intimate knowledge4 ,adam naming the creatures4 ,christ naming ,his disciples4 #b4 ,loving friendship4 ,moses1 ',i know thee by name1 and thou hast found grace in my sight4' #c4 ,designation and adaptation to work4 ,bezaleel--,exodus xxxi4 #b2 ,cyrus--,,isaiah xlv4 #c2 ,servant of the ,lord--,,isaiah xlix4 #a4 ,,ii4 ,what does ,god's calling a man by ,his name imply8 #a4 ,god's possession of him4 ,that possession by ,god involves ,god's protection and man's safety4 ,he does not hold ,his property slackly4 ',none shall pluck them out of ,my ,father's hand4' #b4 ,kindred4 ,the man bears the family name4 ,he is adopted into the household4 ,the sonship of the receiver of the new name is dimly shadowed4 #c4 ,likeness4 ,the ,biblical meaning of 'name' is 'character manifested4' ,nomen and omen coincide4 ,we must bring into connection with the texts the prominence given in the ,apocalypse to analogous promises4 ',i will write on him the name of ,my ,god4' ,that means a fuller disclosing of ,god's character1 and a clear impress of that character on perfected men ',his name shall be in their foreheads4' ,,jacob--,,israel--,,jeshurun ',yet now hear1 ,o ,jacob ,my servant2 and ,israel1 whom ,i have chosen4444 ,fear not1 ,o ,jacob1 ,my servant2 and thou1 ,jeshurun1 whom ,i have chosen4--,,isaiah xliv4 #a1 #b4 ,you observe that there are here three different names applied to the ,jewish nation4 ,two of them1 namely ,jacob and ,israel1 were borne by their great ancestor1 and by him transmitted to his descendants4 ,the third was never borne by him1 and is applied to the people only here and in the ,book of ,deuteronomy4 ,the occurrence of all three here is very remarkable1 and the order in which they stand is not accidental4 ,the prophet begins with the name that belonged to the patriarch by birth2 the name of nature1 which contained some indications of character4 ,he passes on to the name which commemorated the mysterious conflict where1 as a prince1 ,jacob had power with ,god and prevailed4 ,he ends with the name ,jeshurun1 of which the meaning is 'the righteous one1' and which was bestowed upon the people as a reminder of what they ought to be4 ,now1 as ,i take it1 the occurrence of these names here1 and their sequence1 may teach us some very important lessons2 and it is simply to these lessons1 and not at all to the context1 that ,i ask your attention4 ,i4 ,i take1 then1 these three names in their order as teaching us1 first1 the path of transformation4 ,every ',jacob' may become a 'righteous one1' if he will tread ,jacob's road4 ,we start with that first name of nature which1 according to ,esau's bitter etymology of it1 meant 'a supplanter'--not without some suggestions of craft and treachery in it4 ,it is descriptive of the natural disposition of the patriarch1 which was by no means attractive4 ,cool1 calculating1 subtle1 with a very keen eye to his own interests1 and not at all scrupulous as to the means by which he secured them1 he had no generous impulses1 and few unselfish affections4 ,he told lies to his poor old blind father1 he cheated his brother1 he met the shiftiness of ,laban with equal shiftiness4 ,it was 'diamond cut diamond' all through4 ,he tried to make a bargain with ,god ,himself at ,bethel1 and to lay down conditions on which he would bring ,him the tenth of his substance4 ,and all through his earlier career he does not look like the stuff of which heroes and saints are made4 ,but in the mid-path of his life there came that hour of deep dejection and helplessness1 when1 driven out of all dependence on self1 and feeling round in his agony for something to lay hold upon1 there came into his nightly solitude a vision of ,god4 ,in conscious weakness1 and in the confidence of self-despair1 he wrestled with the mysterious ,visitant in the only fashion in which ,he can be wrestled with4 ',he wept and made supplication to ,him1' as one of the prophets puts it1 and so he bore away the threefold gift--blessing from those mighty lips whose blessing is the communication1 and not only the invocation1 of mercy1 a deeper knowledge of that divine and mysterious ,name1 and for himself a new name4 ,that new name implied a new direction given to his character4 ,hitherto he had wrestled with men whom he would supplant1 for his own advantage1 by craft and subtlety2 henceforward he strove with ,god for higher blessings1 which1 in striving1 he won4 ,all the rest of his life was on a loftier plane4 ,old ambitions were dead within him1 and though the last of these names in our text was never actually borne by him1 he began to deserve it1 and grew steadily in nobleness and beauty of character until the end1 when he sang his swan-song and lay down to die1 with thanksgiving for the past and glowing prophecies for the future1 pouring from his trembling lips4 ,and now1 brethren1 that is the outline of the only way in which1 from out of the evil and the sinfulness of our natural disposition1 any of us can be raised to the loftiness and purity of a righteous life4 ,there must be a ,peniel between the two halves of the character1 if there is to be transformation4 ,have you ever been beaten out of all your confidence1 and ground down into the dust of self-disgust and self-abandonment8 ,have you ever felt1 'there is nothing in me or about me that ,i can cling to or rely upon'8 ,have you ever in the thickest of that darkness had1 gleaming in upon your solitude1 the vision of ,his face1 whose face we see in ,jesus ,christ8 ,have you ever grasped ,him who is infinitely willing to be held by the weakest hand1 and who never 'makes as though ,he would go further1' except in order to induce us to say1 with deeper earnestness of desire1 ',abide with us1 for it is dark'8 ,and have you ever1 in fellowship with ,him thus1 found pouring into your enlightened mind a deeper reading of the meaning of ,his character and a fuller conception of the mystery of ,his love8 ,and have you ever--certainly you have if these things have preceded it1 certainly you have not if they have not--have you ever thereby been borne up on to a higher level of feeling and life1 and been aware of new impulses1 hopes1 joys1 new directions and new capacities budding and blossoming in your spirit8 ,brethren6 there is only one way by which1 out of the mire and clay of earth1 there can be formed a fair image of holiness1 and that is1 that ,jacob's experience1 in deeper1 more inward1 more wonderful form1 should be repeated in each one of us2 and that thus1 penitent and yet hopeful1 we should behold the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ1 and draw from ,him our righteousness4 ,that is the path of transformation4 ,the road passes through ,peniel1 and ,jacob must become ,israel before he is ,jeshurun4 ,he must hold communion with ,god in ,christ before he is clothed with righteousness4 ,how different that path is from the road which men are apt to take in working out their own self-improvement6 ,how many forms of religion1 and how many toiling souls put the cart before the horse1 and in effect just reverse the process1 and say practically--'first make yourselves righteous1 and then you will have communion with ,god'6 ,that is an endless and a hopeless task4 ,i have no doubt that some of you have spent--and ,i would not say wasted1 but it has been almost so--years of life1 not without many an honest effort1 in the task of self-improvement1 and are very much where you were long ago4 ,why have you failed8 ,because you have never been to ,peniel4 ,you have never seen the face of ,god in ,christ1 ,you have not received from ,him the blessing1 even righteousness1 from the ,god of your salvation4 ,dear friends1 give up treading that endless1 weary path of vain effort2 and learn--oh6 learn--that the righteousness which makes a soul pure and beautiful must come as a gift from ,god1 and is given only in ,jesus ,christ4 ,this sequence too1 ,i think1 may very fairly be used to teach us the lesson that there is no kind of character so debased but that it may partake of the purifying and ennobling influence4 ,all the ,jacobs may be turned into righteous ones1 however crafty1 however subtle1 however selfish1 however worldly they are4 ,christianity looks at no man and says1 ',that is too bad a case for me to deal with4' ,it will undertake any and every case1 and whoever will take its medicines can be cured 'of whatsoever disease he had4' ,to all of us1 no matter what our past may have been1 this blessed message comes3 ',there is hope for thee1 if thou wilt use these means4' ,only remember1 the road from the depths of evil to the heights of purity always lies through ,peniel4 ,you must have power with ,god and draw a blessing from ,him1 and hold communion with ,him1 before you can become righteous4 ,how do they print photographs8 ,by taking sensitive paper1 and laying it1 in touch with the negative1 in the sun4 ,lay your spirits on ,christ1 and keep them still1 touching ,him1 in the light of ,god1 and that will turn you into ,his likeness4 ,that1 and nothing else will do it4 ,,ii4 ,and now there is a second lesson from the occurrence of these three names1 viz41 here we may find expressed the law for the ,christian life4 ,there are some religious people that seem to think that it is enough if only they can say2 ',well6 ,i have been to ,jesus ,christ and ,i have got my past sins forgiven2 ,i have been on the mountain and have held communion with ,god2 ,i do know what it is to have fellowship with ,him1 in many an hour of devout communion4' and who are in much danger of treating the further stage of simple1 practical righteousness as of secondary importance4 ,now the order of these names here points the lesson that the apex of the pyramid1 the goal of the whole course1 is--,righteousness4 ,the object for which the whole majestic structure of ,revelation has been builded up1 is simply to make good men and women4 ,god does not tell us ,his ,name merely in order that we may know ,his ,name1 but in order that1 knowing it1 we may be smitten with the love of it1 and so may come into the likeness of it4 ,there is no religious truth which is given men for the sake of clearing their understandings and enlightening their minds only4 ,we get the truth to enlighten our minds and to clear our understandings in order that thereby1 as becomes reasonable men with heads on our shoulders1 we may let our principles guide our conduct4 ,conduct is the end of principle1 and all ,revelation is given to us in order that we may be pure and good men and women4 ,for the same end all ,god's mercy of forgiveness and deliverance from guilt and punishment in ,jesus ,christ is given to you1 not merely in order that you may escape the penalties of your evil1 but in order that1 being pardoned1 you may in glad thankfulness be lifted up into an enthusiasm of service which will make you eager to serve ,him and long to be like ,him4 ,he sets you free from guilt1 from punishment1 and ,his wrath1 in order that by the golden cord of love you may be fastened to ,him in thankful obedience4 ,god's purpose in redemption is that 'we1 being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve ,him without fear1 in holiness and righteousness before ,him all our days4' ,and in like manner1 righteousness1 by which1 in the present connection1 we mean simply the doing of the things1 and the being the character1 which a conscience enlightened by the law of ,god dictates to us to be and to do--righteousness is the intention and the aim of all religious emotion and feeling4 ,it is all very well to have the joy of fellowship with ,god in our inmost soul1 but there is a type of ,christianity which is a great deal stronger on the side of devout emotion than on the side of transparent godliness2 and although it becomes no man to say what ,jesus ,christ could say to those whose religion is mainly emotional1 ',hypocrites6' it is the part of every honest preacher to warn all that listen to him that there does lie a danger1 a very real danger1 very close to some of us1 to substitute devout emotion for plain1 practical goodness1 and to be a great deal nearer ,god in the words of our prayers than we are in the current and set of our daily lives4 ,take1 then1 these three names of my text as flashing into force and emphasis the exhortation that the crown of all religion is righteousness1 and as preaching1 in antique guise1 the same lesson that the very ,apostle of affectionate contemplation uttered with such earnestness3--',little children6 let no man deceive you4 ,he that doeth righteousness is righteous1 even as ,he is righteous4' ,an ounce of practical godliness is worth a pound of fine feeling and a ton of correct orthodoxy4 ,remember what the ,master said1 and take the lesson in the measure in which you need it3 ',many will say to ,me in that day1 ,lord1 ,lord1 have we not prophesied in ,thy name1 and in ,thy name have cast out devils1 and in ,thy name done many wonderful works8 ,and then will ,i profess unto them1 ,i never knew you1 depart from ,me4' ,and the proof that ,i never knew you1 nor you ,me1 is3 ',ye that work iniquity4' ,,iii4 ,then there is another lesson still which ,i draw from these words1 viz4 the merciful judgment which ,god makes of the character of them that love ,him4 ,jeshurun means 'the righteous one4' ,how far beneath the ideal of the name these ,jewish people fell we all know1 and yet the name is applied to them4 ,although the realisation of the ideal has been so imperfect1 the ideal is not destroyed4 ,although they have done so many sins1 yet ,he calls them by ,his name of 'righteous4' ,and so we ,christian people find that the ,new ,testament calls us 'saints4' ,that name is not applied to some select and lofty specimens of ,christianity1 but to all ,christians1 however imperfect their present life and character may be4 ,then people sneer and say1 ',ah6 a strange kind of saints these ,christians are6 ,do you think that a man can condone practical immorality by saying that he is trusting in ,jesus ,christ8 ,the ,church's saint seems to mean less than the world's man of honour4' ,god forbid that it should be fancied that ,christian sainthood is more tolerant of evil than worldly morality1 or has any fantastic standard of goodness which makes up for departures from the plain rule of right by prayers and raptures4 ,but surely there may be a principle of action deep down at the bottom of a heart1 very feeble in its present exercise and manifestation1 which yet is the true man1 and is destined to conquer the whole nature which now wars against it4 ,here1 for instance1 is a tiny spark1 and there is a huge pile of damp1 green wood4 ,yes2 and the little spark will turn all the wood into flame1 if you give it time and fair play4 ,the leaven may be hid in an immensely greater mass of meal1 but it1 and not the three measures of flour1 is the active principle4 ,and if there is in a man1 overlaid by ever so many absurdities1 and contradictions1 and inconsistencies1 a little seed of faith in ,jesus ,christ1 there will be in him proportionately a little particle of a divine life which is omnipotent1 which is immortal1 which will conquer and transform all the rest into its own likeness2 and ,he who sees not as men see1 beholds the inmost tendencies and desires of the nature1 as well as the facts of the life1 and discerning the inmost and true self of ,his children1 and knowing that it will conquer1 calls us 'righteous ones1' even while the outward life has not yet been brought into harmony with the new man1 created in righteousness after ,god's image4 ,all wrong-doing is inconsistent with ,christianity1 but1 thank ,god1 it is not for us to say that any wrong-doing is incompatible with it2 and therefore1 for ourselves there is hope1 and for our estimate of one another there ought to be charity1 and for all ,christian people there is the lesson--live up to your name4 ,noblesse oblige6 ,fulfil your ideal4 ,be what ,god calls you1 and 'press toward the mark for the prize4' ,if one had time to deal with it1 there is another lesson naturally suggested by these names1 but ,i only put it in a sentence and leave it2 and that is the union between the founder of the nation and the nation4 ,the name of the patriarch passes to his descendants1 the nation is called after him that begat it4 ,in some sense it prolongs his life and spirit and character upon the earth4 ,that is the old-world way of looking at the solidarity of a nation4 ,there is a ,new ,testament fact which goes even deeper than that4 ,the names which ,christ bears are given to ,christ's followers4 ,is ,he a ,king1 is ,he a ,priest8 ,he 'makes us kings and priests4' ,is ,he anointed the ,messiah8 ,god 'hath anointed us in ,him4' ,is ,he the ,light of the ,world8 ',ye are the lights of the world4' ,his life passeth into all that love ,him in the measure of their trust and love4 ,we are one with ,jesus if we rest upon ,him2 one in life1 one in character1 approximating by slow degrees1 but surely1 to ,his likeness2 and blessed be ,his name6 one in destiny4 ,then1 my friend1 if you will only keep near that ,lord1 trust ,him1 live in the light of ,his face1 go to ,him in your weakness1 in your despair1 in your self-abandonment2 wrestle with ,him1 with the supplication and the tears that ,he delights to receive1 then you will be knit to ,him in a union so real and deep that all which is ,his shall be yours1 ,his life shall be the life of your spirit1 ,his power the strength of your life1 ,his dominion the foundation of your dignity as a prince with ,god1 ,his all-prevailing priesthood the security that your prayer shall have power1 and the spotless robe of ,his righteousness the fine linen1 clean and white1 in which arrayed1 you shall be found of ,him1 and in ,him at last1 in peace1 'not having your own righteousness1 but that which is through the faith of ,christ1 the righteousness which is of ,god by faith4' ,,feeding ,,on ,,ashes ',he feedeth on ashes3 a deceived heart hath turned him aside1 that he cannot deliver his soul1 nor say1 ,is there not a lie in my right hand8'--,,isaiah xliv4 #bj4 ,the prophet has been pouring fierce scorn on idolaters4 ,they make1 he says1 the gods they worship4 ,they take a tree and saw it up3 one log serves for a fire to cook their food1 and with compass and pencil and plane they carve the figure of a man1 and then they bow down to it and say1 ',deliver me1 for thou art my god6' ,he sums up the whole in this sentence of my text1 in which the tone changes from bitter irony to astonished pity4 ,now1 if this were the time and the place1 one would like to expand and illustrate the deep thoughts in these words in reference to idolatry2 thoughts which go dead in the teeth of a great deal that is now supposed to be scientifically established1 but which may be none the more true for all that4 ,he asserts that idolatry is empty1 a feeding on ashes4 ,he declares1 in opposition to modern ideas1 that the low1 gross forms of polytheism and idol-worship are a departure from a previous higher stage1 whereas to-day we are told by a hundred voices that all religion begins at the bottom1 and slowly struggles up to the top4 ,isaiah says the very opposite4 ,the pure form is the primitive2 the secondary form is the gross1 which is a corruption4 ,they tell us too1 nowadays1 that all religion pursues a process of evolution1 and gradually clears itself of its more imperfect and carnal elements4 ,isaiah says1 'he cannot deliver his soul'2 and no religion ever worked itself up1 unless under the impulse of a revelation from without4 ,that is ,isaiah's philosophy of idolatry1 and ,i expect it will be accepted as the true one some day4 ,but my text has a wider bearing4 ,it not only describes1 in pathetic language1 the condition of the idolater1 but it is true about all lives1 which are really idolatrous in so far as they make anything else than ,god their aim and their joy4 ,every word of this text applies to such lives--that is to say1 to the lives of a good many people listening to me now4 ,and ,i would fain try to lay the truths here on some hearts4 ,let me just take them as they lie in the words before me4 ,i4 ,a life that substantially ignores ,god is empty of all true satisfaction4 ',he feedeth on ashes'6 ,very little imagination will realise the force of that picture4 ,the gritty cinders will irritate the lips and tongue1 will dry up the moisture of the mouth1 will interfere with the breathing1 and there will be no nourishment in a sackful of them4 ,dear brethren1 the underlying truth is this--,god is the only food of a man's soul4 ,you pick up the skeleton of a bird upon a moor2 and if you know anything about osteology--the science of bones--you will see1 in the very make of its breast-bone and its wing-bones1 the declaration that its destiny was to soar into the blue4 ,you pick up the skeleton of a fish lying on the beach1 and you will see in its very form and characteristics that its destiny is to expatiate in the depths of the sea4 ,and1 written on you1 as distinctly as flight on the bird1 or swimming on the fish1 is this1 that you are meant1 by your very make1 to soar up into the heights of the glory of ,god1 and to plunge deep into the abysses of ,his infinite love and wisdom4 ,man is made for ,god4 ',whose image and superscription hath it8' said ,christ4 ,the coin belongs to the king whose head and titles are displayed upon it2 and on your heart1 friend1 though a usurper has tried to recoin the piece1 and put his own foul image on the top of the original one1 is stamped deep that you belong to the ,king of kings1 to ,god ,himself4 ,for what does our heart want8 ,a perfect1 changeless1 all-powerful love4 ,and what does our mind want8 ,reliable1 guiding1 inexhaustible1 and yet accessible truth4 ,and what does our will want8 ,commandments which have an authoritative ring in their very utterance1 and which will serve for infallible guides for our lives4 ,and what do our weak1 sinful natures want8 ,something that shall free our consciences1 and shall deliver us from the burden of our transgressions1 and shall calm our fears1 and shall quicken and warrant our lofty hopes4 ,and what do men whose destiny is to live for ever want but something that shall go with them through all changes of condition1 and1 like a light in the midst of the darkest tunnel1 shall burn in the passage between this and the other world1 and shall never be taken away from them8 ,we want a ,person to be everything to us4 ,no accumulation of things will satisfy a man4 ,and we want all our treasures to be in one ,person1 and we need that that ,person shall live as long as we live1 and as long as we need shall be sufficient to supply us4 ,and all this is only the spelling in many letters of the one name--,god4 ,that is what we want1 that1 and nothing less4 ,then the next step that ,i suggest to you is1 that where a man will take ,god for the food of his spirit1 and turn love and mind and will and conscience and practical life to ,him1 seeing ,him in everything1 and seeing all things in ,him2 saturating1 as it were1 the universe with the thought of ,god1 and recreating his own spirit with communion of friendship to ,him2 to that man lower goods do first disclose their real sweetness1 their most poignant delight1 and their most solid satisfaction4 ,to say of a world where ,god has set us1 that it is all 'vanity and vexation of spirit1' goes in flat contradiction to what ,he said when1 creation finished1 ,he looked upon ,his world1 and proclaimed to the waiting seraphim around that 'it was very good4' ,there is a view of the world which calls itself pious1 but is really an insult to ,god2 and the irreligious pessimism that is fashionable nowadays1 as if human life were a great mistake1 and everything were mean and poor and insufficient1 is contrary to the facts and to the consciousness of every man4 ,but if you make things first which were meant to be second1 then you make what was meant to be food 'ashes4' ,they are all good in their place4 ,wealth is good2 wisdom is good2 success is good2 love is good4 ,and all these things may be enjoyed without ,god1 and will each of them yield their proportional satisfaction to the part of our nature to which they belong4 ,but if you put them first you degrade them2 a change passes over them at once4 ,a long row of cyphers means nothing2 put a significant digit in front of it1 and it means millions4 ,take away the digit1 and it goes back to nothing again4 ,the world1 and all its fading sweets1 if you put ,god in the forefront of it1 and begin the series with ,him1 is sweet1 though it may be fleeting1 and is meant to be felt by us as such4 ,but if you take away ,him1 it is a row of cyphers signifying nothing1 and able to contribute nothing to the real1 deepest necessities of the human soul4 ,and so the old question comes--',why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread8' ,it is bread1 if only you will remember first that ,god is the food of your souls4 ,but if you try to nourish yourselves on it alone1 then1 as ,i said1 a sackful of such ashes will not stay your appetite4 ,oh6 brethren1 ,god has not so blundered in making the world that ,he has surrounded us with things that are all lies1 but ,he has so made it that whosoever flies in the face of the gracious commandment which is also an invitation1 ',seek ye first the ,kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1' has not only no security that the 'other things' shall 'be added unto him1' but has the certainty that though they were added to him1 in degree beyond his dreams and highest hopes1 they would avail nothing to satisfy the hunger of his heart4 ,as ,george ,herbert puts it-- ,shadows well mounted1 dreams in a career1 ,embroidered lies1 nothing between two dishes1 ,these are the pleasures here4' ',he feedeth on ashes1' because he does not take ,god for the food of his soul4 ,,ii4 ,so1 secondly1 notice that a life which thus ignores ,god is tragically unaware of its own emptiness4 ',a deceived heart hath turned him aside4' ,that explains how the man comes to fancy that ashes are food4 ,his whole nature is perverted1 his vision distorted1 his power of judgment marred4 ,he is given over to hallucinations and illusions and dreams4 ,that explains1 too1 why men persist in this feeding on ashes after all experience4 ,there is no fact stranger or more tragical in our histories than that we do not learn by a thousand failures that the world will not avail to make us restful and blessed4 ,you will see a dog chasing a sparrow1--it has chased hundreds before and never caught one4 ,yet1 when the bird rises from the ground1 away it goes after it once more1 with eager yelp and rush1 to renew the old experience4 ,ah6 that is like what a great many of you are doing1 and you have not the same excuse that the dog has4 ,you have been trying all your lives--and some of you have grey hairs on your heads--to slake your thirst by dipping leaky buckets into empty wells1 and you are at it yet4 ,as some one says1 'experience throws a light on the wave behind us1' but it does very little to fling a light on the sea before us4 ,experience confirms my text1 for ,i venture to put it to the experience of every man--how many moments of complete satisfaction and rest can you summon up in your memory as having been yours in the past8 ',he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver1 nor he that loveth abundance with increase4' ,appetite always grows faster than supply4 ,and so1 though we have tried them in vain so often1 we turn again to the old discredited sources1 and fancy we shall do better this time4 ,is it not strange8 ,is there any explanation of it1 other than that of my text8 ',a deceived heart hath turned him aside4' ,and that deceived heart1 stronger than experience1 is also stronger than conscience4 ,do you not know that you ought to be ,christians8 ,do you not know that it is both wrong and foolish of you to ignore ,god8 ,do you not know that you will have to answer for it8 ,have you not had moments of illumination when there has risen up before you the whole vanity of your past lives1 and when you have felt ',i have played the fool1 and erred exceedingly'8 ,and yet1 what has come of it all with some of you8 ,why1 what comes of it with the drunkard in the ,book of ,proverbs1 who1 as soon as he has got over the bruises and the sickness of his last debauch1 says1 ',i will seek it yet again4' ',a deceived heart hath turned him aside4' ,and how is it that this hallucination that you have fed full and been satisfied1 when all the while your hunger has not been appeased1 can continue to act on us8 ,for the very plain reason that every one of us has in himself a higher and a lower self1 a set of desires for the grosser1 more earthly1 and1 using the word in its proper sense1 worldly sort--that is to say1 directed towards material things1 and a higher set which look right up to ,god if they were allowed fair play4 ,and of these two sets--which really are one at bottom1 if a man would only see it--the lower gets the upper hand1 and suppresses the higher and the nobler4 ,and so in many a man and woman the longing for ,god is crushed out by the grosser delights of sense4 ,one sometimes hears of cowardly1 unmanly sailors1 who in shipwreck push the women and children aside1 and struggle to the boats4 ,and there are in all of us groups of sturdy mendicants1 so to speak1 who elbow their way to the front1 and will have their wants satisfied4 ,what becomes of the gentler group that stand behind1 unnoticed and silent8 ,it is an awful thing when men and women do1 as so many of us do1 pervert the tastes that are meant to lead them to ,god1 in order to stifle the consciousness that they need a ,god at all4 ,there are tribes of low savages who are known as 'clay-eaters4' ,that is what a great many of us are2 we feed upon the serpent's meat1 the dust of the earth1 and let all the higher heavenly food1 which addresses itself first to loftier desires1 but also satisfies these lower ones1 stand unnoticed1 unsought for1 unpartaken of4 ,dear friends1 do not be befooled by that treacherous heart of yours1 but let the deepest voices in your soul be heard4 ,understand1 ,i beseech you1 that their cry is for no created person or thing1 and that only ,god ,himself can satisfy them4 ,,iii4 ,and now1 lastly1 notice that a life thus ignoring ,god needs a power from without to set it free4 ',he cannot deliver his soul4' ,can you8 ,do you think you can break the habits of a lifetime8 ,do you think that1 left to yourself1 you would ever have any inclination to break them8 ,certainly1 left to yourselves1 you will never have the power4 ,these long indulged appetites of ours grow with indulgence2 and that which first was light as a cobweb1 and soft as a silken bracelet1 becomes heavier and solider until it is an iron fetter upon the limb1 which no man can break4 ,there is nothing more awful in life than the influence of habit1 so unthinkingly acquired1 so inexorably certain1 so limiting our possibilities and enclosing us in its grip4 ,dear brethren1 there is something more wanted than yourselves to break this chain4 ,you have tried1 ,i have no doubt1 in the course of your lives1 more and more resolutely1 to cure yourselves of some more or less unworthy habits4 ,they may be but mere slight tricks of attitude or intonation1 or movement4 ,has your success been such as to encourage you to think that you can revolutionise your lives1 and dethrone the despots that have ruled over you in the past8 ,i leave the question to yourselves4 ,to me it seems that the world of men is certain to go on ignoring ,god1 and seeking its delight only in the world of creatures1 unless there comes in an outside power into the heart of the world and revolutionises all things4 ,it is that power that ,i have to preach1 the ,christ who is the ',bread of ,god that came down from ,heaven1' who can lift up any soul from the most obstinate and long-continued grovelling amongst the transitory things of this limited world1 and the superficial delights of sense and a gratified bodily life2 who can bring the forgiveness which is essential1 the deliverance from the power of evil which is not less essential1 and who can fill our hearts with ,himself the food of the world4 ,he comes to each of us2 ,he comes to you1 with the old unanswerable question upon ,his lips1 ',why do you spend your money for that which is not bread1 and your labour for that which satisfieth not8' ,it is unanswerable1 for you can give no reason sufficient for such madness4 ,all that you could say1 and you durst not say it to ,him1 is1 'a deceived heart hath turned me aside4' ,he comes with the old gracious word upon ,his lips1 ',take6 eat6 this is ,my body which is broken for you4' ,he offers us ,himself4 ,he can stay all the hungers of all mankind4 ,he can feed your heart with love1 your mind with truth which is ,himself1 your will with ,his sweet commands4 ,as of old ,he made the thousands sit down upon the grass1 and they did all eat and were filled1 so ,he stands before the world to-day and says1 ',i am the ,bread of ,life2 ,he that cometh to ,me shall never hunger4' ,and if you will only come to ,him--that is to say1 will trust yourselves altogether to the merits of ,his sacrifice1 and the might of ,his indwelling ,spirit--,he will take away all the taste for the leeks and onions and garlic1 and will give you the appetite for heavenly food4 ,he will spread for you a table in the wilderness1 and what would else be ashes will become sweet1 wholesome1 and nourishing4 ,nor will ,he cease there1 for in ,his own good time ,he will call us to the banqueting house above1 where ,he will make us to sit down to meat1 and come forth ,himself and serve us4 ,here1 hunger often brings pain1 and eating is followed by repletion4 ,but there1 appetite and satisfaction will produce each other perpetually1 and the blessed ones who then hunger will not hunger so as to feel faintness or emptiness1 nor be so filled as to cease to desire larger portions of the ,bread of ,god4 ,i beseech you1 cry1 ',lord1 ever more give us this bread6' ,,writing ,,blotted ,,out ,,and ,,mist ,,melted ',i have blotted out1 as a thick cloud1 thy transgressions1 and1 as a cloud1 thy sins4'--,,isaiah xliv4 #bb4 ,isaiah has often and well been called the ,evangelical ,prophet4 ,many parts of this second half of his prophecies referring to the ,messiah read like history rather than prediction4 ,but it is not only from the clearness with which the great figure of the future king of ,israel stands out on his page that he deserves that title4 ,other thoughts belonging to the very substance of the gospel appear in him with a vividness and a frequency which well warrants its application to him4 ,he speaks much of the characteristically ,christian conceptions of sin1 forgiveness1 and redemption4 ,the whole of the latter parts of this book are laden with that burden4 ,they are gathered up in the extraordinarily pregnant and blessed words of my text1 in which metaphors are blended with much disregard to oratorical propriety1 in order to bring out the whole fulness of the prophet's meaning4 ',i have blotted out'--that suggests a book4 ',i have blotted out as a cloud'--that suggests the thinning away of morning mists4 ,the prophet blends the two thoughts together1 and on that great revelation of a forgiveness granted before it has been asked1 and given1 not only to one penitent soul wailing out like the abased king of ,israel in his deep contrition1 'according to the multitude of ,thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions1' but promised to a whole people1 is rested the great invitation1 ',return unto ,me1 for ,i have redeemed thee4' ,let me try and bring out1 as simply and earnestly as ,i can1 the great teaching that is condensed into these words4 ,i4 ,observe here the penetrating glance into the very essential characteristics of all sin4 ,there are two words1 as you see1 employed in my text1 'transgressions' and 'sins4' ,they apply to the same kind of actions1 but they look at them from different angles and points of view4 ,they are partially synonymous1 but they cover very various conceptions1 and if we take note of the original significations of the two words1 we get two very important and often forgotten thoughts4 ,for that expression rendered in my text1 and rendered correctly enough--transgressions--means at bottom1 'rebellion1' the rising up of a disobedient will1 not only against a law1 but against a lawgiver4 ,there we have a deepening of that solemn fact of a man's wrongdoing1 which brings it into immediate connection with ,god1 and marks its foulness by reason of that connection4 ,ah6 brethren1 it makes all the difference to a man's notions of right and wrong1 whether he stops on the surface or goes down to the depths2 whether he says to himself1 ',the thing is a vice2 it is wrong2 it is contrary to what ,i ought to be'2 or whether he gets down to the darker1 deeper1 and truer thought1 and says1 ',the damnable thing about every little evil that ,i do is this1 that in it ,i--poor puny ,i--perk myself up against ,god1 and say to ,him1 ,thou wilt2 wilt thou8 ,i shall not6' ,sin is rebellion4 ,and so what becomes of the hazy distinction between great sins and little ones8 ,an overt act of rebellion is of the same gravity1 whatsoever may be its form4 ,the man that lifts his sword against the sovereign1 and the man behind him that holds his horse1 are equally criminal4 ,and when once you let in the notion that in all our actions we have to do with a ,person1 to whom we are bound to be obedient1 then the distinction which sophisticates so many people's consciences1 and does such infinite harm in so many lives1 between great and small transgressions1 disappears altogether4 ,sin is rebellion4 ,then the other word of my text is equally profound and significant4 ,for it1 literally taken1 means--as the words for 'sin' do in other languages besides the ,hebrew--missing a mark4 ,every wrong thing that any man does is beside the mark1 at which he1 by virtue of his manhood1 and his very make and nature1 ought to aim4 ,it is beside the mark in another sense than that4 ,as some one says1 ',a rogue is a roundabout fool4' ,no man ever secures that1 and only that1 which he aims at by any departure from the straight path of imperative duty4 ,for if he gets some vulgar and transient titillation of appetite1 or satisfaction of desire1 he gets along with it something that takes all the gilt off the gingerbread1 and all the sweetness out of the satisfaction4 ,so that it is always a blunder to be bad1 and every arrow that is drawn by a sinful hand misses the target to which all our arrows should be pointed1 and misses even the poor mark that we think we are aiming at4 ,take these two thoughts with you--,i will not dwell on them1 but ,i desire to lay them upon all your hearts--all evil is sin1 and every sin is rebellion against ,god1 and a blunder in regard to myself4 ,,ii4 ,and now ,i come to the second point of our text1 and ask you to note the permanent record which every sin leaves4 ,i explained in the earlier part of my remarks that we have a case here of the thing that horrifies rhetoricians1 but does not matter a bit to a prophet1 the blending or confusing of two metaphors4 ,the first of them--',i have blotted out'--suggests a piece of writing1 a book1 or manuscript of some sort4 ,and the plain ,english of what lies behind that metaphor is this solemn thought1 which ,i would might blaze before each of us1 in all our lives1 that ,god's calm and all-comprehensive knowledge and remembrance takes and keeps filed1 and ready for reference1 the whole story of our whole acts4 ,there is a book4 ,it is a violent metaphor1 no doubt1 but there is a solemn truth underlying it which we are too apt to forget4 ,the world is groaning nowadays with two-volume memoirs of men that nobody wants to know anything more about4 ,but every man is ever writing his autobiography with invisible but indelible ink4 ,you have seen those old-fashioned 'manifold writers' in your places of business1 and the construction of them is this3 a flimsy sheet of tissue paper1 a bit of black to be put in below it1 and then another sheet on the other side2 and the pen that writes on the flimsy top surface makes an impression that is carried through the black to the sheet below1 and there is a duplicate which the writer keeps4 ,you and ,i1 upon the flimsinesses of this fleeting--sometimes1 we think1 futile--life1 are penning what is neither flimsy nor futile1 which goes through the opaque dark1 and is reproduced and docketed yonder4 ,that is what we are doing every day and every minute1 writing1 writing1 writing our own biography4 ,and who is going to read it8 ,well1 ,god does read it now1 and you will have to read it out one day1 and how will you like that8 ,this metaphor will bear a little further expansion4 ,scripture tells us1 and conscience tells us1 what manner of manuscript it is that we are each so busy adding line upon line to4 ,it is a ledger2 it is an indictment4 ,our own handwriting puts down in the ledger our own debts1 and we cannot deny our own handwriting when we are confronted with it4 ,it is an indictment1 and our own hand draws it1 and we have to plead 'guilty1' or 'not guilty1' to it4 ,which1 being translated into plain fact1 is this--that there goes with all our deeds some sense and reality of responsibility for them1 and that all our rebellions against ,god1 and our blunders against self1 be they great or small1 carry with them a sense of guilt and a reality of guilt whether we have the sense of it or not4 ,god has a judgment at this moment about every man and woman1 based upon the facts of the unfinished biography which they are writing4 ,mystical and awful1 yet blessed and elevating1 is the thought that nothing--nothing1 ever dies2 and that what was1 is now1 and always will be4 ,amongst the specimens from the coal measures in a museum you will find slabs upon which the tiniest fronds of ferns that grew nobody knows how many millenniums since are preserved for ever4 ,our lives1 when the blow of the last hammer lays them open1 will1 in like manner1 bear the impress of the minutest filament of every deed that we have ever done4 ,but my metaphor will bear yet further expansion1 for this autobiographical record which we are busy preparing1 which is at once ledger and indictment1 is to be read out one day4 ,there is a great scene in the last book of ,scripture1 the whole solemn significance of which1 ,i suppose1 we shall not understand till we have learned it by experience1 but the truth of which we have sufficient premonitions to assure us of1 which declares that at a given time1 on the confines of ,eternity1 the ,great ,white ,throne is to be set1 and the books are to be opened1 and the dead are judged 'out of the books1' which1 the seer goes on to explain1 is 'according to their works4' ,the story of ,esther tells us how the sleepless monarch in the night-watches sent for the records of the kingdom and had them read to him4 ,the ,king who never slumbers nor sleeps1 in that dawning of heaven's eternal morning1 will have the books opened before ,him1 and my deeds will be read out4 ,he and ,i will hear them1 whether any else may hear or no4 ,that is my second lesson4 ,,iii4 ,the third is1 that we have here suggested the darkening power of sin4 ,the prophet1 as ,i said1 mixes metaphors4 ',i have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions4' ,he uses two words for 'cloud' here2 both of them mean substantially the same thing1 and both suggest the same idea4 ,when cloud fills the sky it darkens the earth1 and shuts out the sunshine and the blue1 it closes the petals of the little flowers1 it hushes the songs of the birds4 ,sin makes for the sinning man 'an under-roof of doleful grey1' which shuts out all the glories above4 ,put that metaphor into plain ,english1 and it is just this1 ',your sins have separated between you and your ,god1 and your iniquities have hid ,his face from you that ,he will not hear4' ,it is impossible for a man that has his heart all stiffened by the rebellion of his will against ,god's1 or all seething with unrestrained passions1 or perturbed with worldly longings and desires1 to enter into calm fellowship with ,god or to keep the thought of ,god clear before his mind4 ,for we know ,him1 not by sense nor by reason1 but by sympathy and by feeling4 ,and whatsoever comes in to disturb a man's purity1 comes in to hinder his vision of ,god4 ',blessed are the pure in heart1 for they'--and they only--'shall see ,god4' ,whenever from the undrained swamps of my own passions and sensualities1 or from the as malarious though loftier grounds of my own self-regard1 be ,i student or thinker1 or moral man1 there rise up these light mists1 they will fill the sky and hide the sun4 ,on a winter's night you will see the ,pleiades1 or other bright constellations1 varying in brilliancy from moment to moment as some invisible cloud-wrack floats across the heavens4 ,so1 brother1 every evil thing that we do rises up and gets diffused through our atmosphere1 and blots out from our vision the face of ,god ,himself1 the blessed ,son4 ,not only by reason of dimming and darkening my thoughts of ,him is my sin rightly compared to an obscuring cloud2 but the comparison also holds good because1 just as the blanket of a wet mist swathing the wintry fields prevents the sunshine from falling upon them in blessing1 so the accumulated effect of my evil doings and evil designings and thinkings and willings comes between me and all spiritual blessings which ,god can bestow1 so that the very light of light1 the highest blessings that ,he yearns to give1 and we faint for want of possessing1 are impossible even to ,his love to communicate until the cloud is swept away4 ,so my sin darkens my soul1 and separates me from the light of life4 ,but the metaphor carries with it1 too1 a suggestion of the limitations of the power of sin4 ,for when the cloud is thickest and most obscuring it only hugs the earth1 and rises but a little way ,into the heavens2 and far above it the blue is as blue1 and the sunshine as bright1 as if there were no mist or fog in the lower regions4 ,therefore1 let us remember that1 while the cloud must veil us from the light1 the light is above it1 and 'every cloud that veileth love' may some day be thinned away by the love it veils4 ,,iv4 ,that brings me to the last word of my text1--viz4 the prophet's teaching as to the removal of the sin4 ,we have to carry both the metaphors together with us here4 ',i have blotted out'--that is1 as erasing from a book4 ',i have blotted out as a cloud'--that is1 the thinning away of the mist4 ,the blurred and stained page can be cancelled4 ,chemicals will take the ink out4 ',the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth from all sin'2 and it1 passed over all that foul record1 makes it pure and clean4 ',what ,i have written1 ,i have written1' said ,pilate in his obstinacy4 ',what ,i have written1 ,i have written1' wails many a man in the sense of the irrevocableness of his past4 ,brother6 be not afraid4 ,christ can take away all that stained record1 and give you back the page ready to receive holier words4 ,the cloud is thinned away4 ,what thins the cloud8 ,as ,i have said1 the light which the cloud obscures1 shining on the upper surface of it1 dissipates it layer by layer till it gets down at last to the lowermost1 and then rends a gap in it1 and sends the shaft of the sunbeam through on to the green earth4 ,and that is only a highly imaginative way of saying that it is the love against which we transgress that thins away the cloud of transgression1 and at last1 as the placid moon1 by simply shining silently on1 will sweep the whole sky clear of its clouds1 dissipates them all1 and leaves the calm blue4 ,god forgives4 ,the ledger account--if ,i may use so grossly commercial a figure--is settled in full2 the indictment is endorsed1 'acquitted4' ,he remembers the sins only to breathe into the child's heart the assurance of pardon1 and no obstacle rises by reason of forgiven transgression between the sinning man and the reconciled ,god4 ,now1 all this preaching of ,isaiah's is enlarged and confirmed1 and to some extent the rationale of it is set before us in the great ,gospel truth of forgiveness through the blood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,unless we know that truth1 we may well stand amazed and questioning as to whether a righteous ,god1 administering a rigorous universe1 can ever pardon sin4 ,and unless we know that by the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ1 granted to our spirits1 our whole nature may be remade and moulded1 we might well be tempted to say1 ,ah6 the ,ethiopian cannot change his skin nor the leopard his spots4 ,but ,jesus ,christ can change more than skin1 even the heart and spirit1 the inmost depths of the nature4 ,now1 brother1 my text speaks of this great blotting out as a past fact4 ,it is so in the divine mind with regard to each of us1 because ,christ's great work has made reconciliation and atonement for all the sins of all the world4 ,and on the fact that it is past is based the exhortation1 ',return unto ,me1 for ,i have redeemed thee4' ,god does not say1 ',come back and ,i will forgive'2 ,he does not say1 ',return and ,i will blot out'2 but ,he says1 ',return1 for ,i have blotted out4' ,though accomplished1 the forgiveness has to be appropriated by individual faith4 ,the sins of the world have been borne1 and borne away1 by the ,lamb of ,god1 but your sins are not borne away unless your hand is laid on this head4 ,if it is1 then you do not need to say1 ',what ,i have written is written1 and it cannot be blotted out4' ,but as in the old days a monk would take some manuscript upon which filthy stories about heathen gods and foolish fables were written1 and erase these to write the legends of saints1 or perhaps the words of the ,gospels themselves2 so on our hearts1 which have been scribbled all over with obscenities and follies1 ,he will write ,his new best name of ,love1 and we may be epistles of ,christ1 written with the ,spirit of the living ,god4 ,,hidden ,,and ,,revealed ',verily thou art a ,god that hidest ,thyself1 ,o ,god of ,israel1 the ,saviour4444 ,i have not spoken in secret1 in a dark place of the earth2 ,i said not unto the seed of ,jacob1 ,seek ye ,me in vain3 ,i the ,lord speak righteousness1 ,i declare things that are right4'--,,isaiah xlv1 #ae1ai4 ,the former of these verses expresses the thoughts of the prophet in contemplating the close of a great work of ,god's power which issues in the heathen's coming to ,israel and acknowledging ,god4 ,he adores the depth of the divine counsels which1 by devious ways and after long ages1 have led to this bright result4 ,and as he thinks of all the long-stretching preparations1 all the apparently hostile forces which have been truly subsidiary1 all the generations during which these ,egyptian and ,ethiopian tribes have been the enemies and oppressors of that ,israel whom they at last acknowledge for the dwelling-place of ,god1 and enemies of that ,jehovah before whom they finally bow down1 he feels that he has no measuring-line to fathom the divine purposes1 and bows his face to the ground in reverent contemplation with that word upon his lips3 ',verily ,thou art a ,god that hidest ,thyself1 ,o ,god of ,israel1 the ,saviour4' ,it is a parallel to the apostolic words1 ',o the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of ,god4 ,how unsearchable are ,his judgments1 and ,his ways past finding out4' ,but such thoughts are but a half truth1 and may very easily become in men's minds a whole error1 and therefore they are followed by a marvellous section in which the ,lord ,himself speaks1 and of which the whole burden is--the clearness and fulness with which ,god makes ,himself known to men4 ,true it is that there are depths inaccessible in the divine nature4 ,true it is that there are mysteries unrevealed in the method of the divine procedure1 and especially in that of the relation of heathen tribes to ,his gospel and ,his love4 ,true it is that there are mysteries opened in the very word of ,his grace4 ,but notwithstanding all this--it is also true that ,he makes ,himself known to us all1 that ,he declares righteousness1 that ,he calls us to seek ,him1 and that ,he wills to be found and known by us4 ,the collocation of these two passages may be taken1 then1 as representing the two phases of the ,divine ,manifestation1 the obscurity which must ever be associated with all our finite knowledge of ,god1 and the clear sunlight in which blazes all that we need to know of ,him4 ,i4 ,after all revelation1 ,god is hidden4 ,there is revelation of ,his ,name in all ,his works4 ,his action must be all self-manifestation4 ,but after all it is obscure and hidden4 #a4 ,nature hides while it reveals4 ,nature's revelation is unobtrusive4 ,god is concealed behind second causes4 ,god is concealed behind regular modes of working 7laws74 ,nature's revelation is partial1 disclosing only a fragment of the name4 ,nature's revelation is ambiguous4 ,dark shadows of death and pain in the sensitive world1 of ruin and convulsions1 of shivered stars1 seem to contradict the faith that all is very good2 so that it has been possible for men to drop their plummet in the deep and say1 ',i find no ,god1' and for others to fall into ,manichaeism or some form or other of dualism4 #b4 ,providence hides while it reveals4 ,that is the sphere in which men are most familiar with the idea of mystery4 ,there is much of which we do not see the issue4 ,the process is not completed1 and so the end is not visible4 ,even when we believe that 'to ,him' and 'for good' are 'all things1' we cannot tell how all will come circling round4 ,we are like men looking only at one small segment of an ellipse which is very eccentric4 ,there is much of which we do not see the consistency with the divine character4 ,we are confronted with stumbling-blocks in the allotment of earthly conditions2 in the long ages and many tribes which are without knowledge of ,god2 in the sore sorrows1 national and individual4 ,we can array a formidable host4 ,but it is to be remembered that revelation actually increases these4 ,it is just because we know so much of ,god that we feel them so keenly4 ,i suppose the mysteries of the divine government trouble others outside the sphere of revelation but little4 ,the darkness is made visible by the light4 #c4 ,even in 'grace' ,god is hidden while revealed4 ,the ,infinite and ,eternal cannot be grasped by man4 ,the conception of infinity and eternity is given us by revelation1 but it is not comprehended so that its contents are fully known4 ,the words are known1 but their full meaning is not1 and no revelation can make them1 known to finite intelligences4 ,god dwells in light inaccessible1 which is darkness4 ,revelation opens abysses down which we cannot look4 ,it raises and leaves unsettled as many questions as it solves4 ,the telescope resolves many nebulae1 but only to bring more unresolvable ones into the field of vision4 ,now all this is but one side of the truth4 ,there is a tendency in some minds to underrate what is plain because all is not plain4 ,for some minds the obscure has a fascination1 apart altogether from its nature1 just because it is obscure4 ,it is a noble emulation to press forward and 'still to be closing up what we know not with what we know4' ,but neither in science nor in religion shall we make progress if we do not take heed of the opposing errors of thinking that all is seen1 and of thinking that what we have is valueless because there are gaps in it4 ,the constellations are none the less bright nor immortal fires1 though there be waste places in heaven where nothing but opaque blackness is seen4 ,in these days it is especially needful to insist both on the incompleteness of all our religious knowledge1 and to say that-- ,,ii4 ,notwithstanding all obscurity1 ,god has amply revealed ,himself4 ,though ,god hides ,himself1 still there comes from heaven the voice--',i have not spoken in secret1' ,now these words contain these thoughts-- #a4 ,that whatever darkness there may be1 there is none due to the manner of the revelation4 ,god has not spoken in secret1 in a corner4 ,there are no arbitrary difficulties made or unnecessary darkness left in ,his revelation4 ,we have no right to say that ,he has left difficulties to test our faith4 ,he ,himself has never said so4 ,he deals with us in good faith1 doing all that can be done to enlighten1 regard being had to still loftier considerations1 to the freedom of the human will1 to the laws which ,he has ,himself imposed on our nature1 and the purposes for which we are here4 ,it is very important to grasp this4 ,we have been told as much as can be told4 ,contrast with such a revelation the cave-muttered oracles of heathenism and their paltering double sense4 ,be sure that when ,god speaks1 ,he speaks clearly and to all1 and that in ,christianity there is no esoteric teaching for a few initiated only1 while the multitude are put off with shows4 #b4 ,that whatever obscurity there may be1 there is none which hides the divine invitation or ,him from those who obey it4 ',i have never said 444 seek ye ,me in vain4' ,much is obscure if speculative completeness is looked for1 but the moral relations of ,god and man are not obscure4 ,all which the heart needs is made known4 ,his revelation is clearly ,his seeking us1 and ,his revelation is ,his gracious call to us to seek ,him4 ,he is ever found by those who seek4 ,they have not to press through obscurities to find ,him1 but the desire to possess must precede possession in spiritual matters4 ,he is no hidden ,god1 lurking in obscurity and only to be found by painful search4 ,they who 'seek' ,him know where to find ,him1 and seek because they know4 #c4 ,that whatever may be obscure1 the ,revelation of righteousness is clear4 ,we have to face speculative difficulties in plenty1 but the great fact remains that in ,revelation steady light is focussed on the moral qualities of the divine ,nature and especially on ,his righteousness4 ,and the revelation of the divine righteousness reaches its greatest brightness1 as that of all the divine ,nature does1 in the ,person and work of ,jesus4 ,very significantly the idea of ,god's righteousness is fully developed in the immediately subsequent context4 ,there we find that attribute linked in close and harmonious conjunction with what shallower thought is apt to regard as being in antagonism to it4 ,he declares ,himself to be 'a just 7righteous7 ,god and a ,saviour4' ,so then1 if we would rightly conceive of ,his righteousness1 we must give it a wider extension than that of retributive justice or cold1 inflexible aloofness from sinners4 ,it impels ,god to be man's saviour4 ,and with similar enlarging of popular conceptions there follows3 ',in the ,lord is righteousness and strength1' and therefore1 ',in the ,lord shall all the seed of ,israel be justified 7declared and made righteous7 and shall glory'--then1 the divine ,righteousness is communicative4 ,all these thoughts1 germinal in the prophet's words1 are set in fullest light1 and certified by the most heart-moving facts1 in the ,person and work of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he 'declares at this time ,his righteousness1 that ,he might ,himself be righteous and the maker righteous of them that have faith in ,jesus4' ,whatever is dark1 this is clear1 that ',jehovah our ,righteousness' has come to us in ,his ,son1 in whom seeking ,him we shall never seek in vain1 but 'be found in ,him1 not having a righteousness of our own1 even that which is of the law1 but that which is through faith in ,christ1 the righteousness which is of ,god by faith4' ,if the great purpose of revelation is to make us know that ,god loves us1 and has given us ,his ,son that in ,him we may know ,him and possess ,his ,righteousness1 difficulties and obscurities in its form or in its substance take a very different aspect4 ,what need we more than that knowledge and possession8 ,be not robbed of them4 ,many things are not written in the book of the divine ,revelation1 whether it be that of ,nature1 of human history1 or of our own spirits1 or even of the ,gospel1 but these are written that we may believe that ,jesus is the ,son of ,god1 and believing1 may have life in ,his name4 ,a ,,righteousness ,,near ,,and ,a ,,swift ,,salvation ',hearken unto ,me1 ye stout-hearted1 that are far from righteousness3 ,i bring near ,my righteousness2 it shall not be far off1 and ,my salvation shall not tarry4'--,,isaiah xlvi4 #ab1ac4 ,god has promised that ,he will dwell with him that is humble and of a contrite heart4 ,jesus has shed the oil of ,his benediction on the poor in spirit4 ,it is the men who form the exact antithesis to these characters who are addressed here4 ,the 'stout-hearted' are those who1 being untouched in conscience and ignorant of their sin1 are self-reliant and almost defiant before ,god4 ,that temper is branded here1 though1 of course1 there is a sense in which a stout heart is a priceless possession1 but that sort of stoutness of heart is best secured by the contrite of heart4 ,those who are far from righteousness are those who are not only sinful in act1 but do not desire to be otherwise1 having no approximation or drawing towards a nobler life1 by aspiration or effort4 ,to such men ,god speaks1 as in the tone of a royal proclamation2 and what should we expect to hear pealing from ,his lips8 ,words of rebuke1 warning1 condemnation8 ,no2 ,his voice is gentle and wooing1 and does not threaten blows1 but proffers blessings3 ',i will bring near ,my righteousness4 ,it shall not be far off1' though the stout-hearted maybe 'far from' it4 ,here we have a divine proclamation of a divine ,love that will not let us away from its presence2 of a divine ,work for us that is finished without us2 of an all-sufficient ,gift to us4 ,i4 ,a divine proclamation of a divine ,love that will not let us away from its presence4 ,there is a great contest between ,god and man3 man seeking to withdraw from ,god1 and ,god following in patient1 persistent love4 #a4 ,in general terms ,god keeps near us1 however far away we go from ,him4 ,think of our forgetfulness of ,him and ,his continual thought of us4 ,think of our alienated hearts and ,his unchanging love4 ,we cannot turn away ,his care1 we cannot exhaust ,his compassion1 we cannot alienate ,his heart4 ,all men everywhere are objects of these1 as in every corner of the world the sky is overhead1 and all lands have sunshine4 ,what a picture of divine patience and placability that truth points for us6 ,it shows the ,father coming after ,his prodigal son1 and so surpasses even the pearl of the parables4 #b4 ,the special reference to ,christ's work4 ,that work is the exhibition in manhood and to men of a perfect righteousness4 ,it is the implanting in the corrupt world of a new beginning4 ,it is the clothing us with ,christ's righteousness1 for which we are forgiven and in which we are sanctified4 ,so ,christ's work is ,god's coming to bring near ,his righteousness1 and now 'it is nigh thee in thy mouth and in thy heart4' ,,ii4 ,a divine proclamation of a divine ,work which is finished without us4 ,the divine righteousness and its consequence are here represented as being brought near while men are still 'stout-hearted4' ,we must feel the emphasis laid on ',i will bring near ,my righteousness1' and the impression of merciful speed given by ',my salvation shall not tarry4' ,the whole suggests such thoughts as these3-- ,the divine love is not drawn out by anything in us1 but pours out on us1 even while we are far off and indifferent to it4 ,his bringing near of righteousness1 and setting ,his salvation to run very swiftly side by side with it1 originates in ,himself4 ,it is the self-impelled and self-fed flow of a fountain1 and we need no pump or machinery to draw it forth4 ,the divine work is accomplished without man's co-operation4 ',it is finished1' was ,christ's dying cry4 ,but what is finished8--,bringing the righteousness near4 ,what still remains to be done8--,making it mine4 ,and that is accomplished by faith4 ,it is mine if by faith ,i claim it as mine1 and knit myself with ,him who is righteousness and salvation for every man that they may be accessible to and possessed by any man4 ,a man may be far from righteousness though it is near him and all around him4 ,like ,gideon's fleece1 he may be dry when all is wet1 or like some rock in a field1 barren and sullen1 while all around the corn is waving4 ,,iii4 ,the proclamation of an all-sufficient ,gift4 ,righteousness1 salvation1 glory1 are here brought together in significant sequence4 ,they are but several names for the same divine gift1 looked at from different angles4 ,a diamond flashes varying prismatic hues from its different facets4 ,that encyclopaedical gift1 which in regard to man considered as sinful brings pardon and a new nature 'in righteousness and holiness of truth1' brings deliverance from peril and from every form of evil and death1 to him considered as exposed to consequences of sin both physical and moral1 and a true though limited participation in the divine glory1 even now1 with the hope of entering into the blaze of it hereafter1 to him as considered as made in the divine image and having lost it4 ,and all this wonderful triple hope1 rapturous and impossible as it seems when we think of man as he is1 and of each of ourselves as we each feel ourselves to be1 is for us a sober certainty and a fact sufficiently accomplished1 to give firm ground for our largest expectations if we hold fast by ,jesus who brings that all-sufficient gift of ,god within reach of each of us4 ,the divine patience and love follow us in all our wild wanderings1 praying us 'with much entreaty that we should receive the gift4' ,jesus1 who is ,god's righteousness and love incarnate1 beseeches us to take ,him1 and in ,him righteousness1 salvation1 and glory4 ,a ,,river ,,of ,,peace ,,and ,,waves ,,of ,,righteousness ',oh that thou hadst hearkened to ,my commandments6 then had thy peace been as a river1 and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea4'--,,isaiah xlviii4 #ah4 ,i4 ,the ,wonderful ,thought of ,god here4 ,this is an exclamation of disappointment2 of thwarted love4 ,the good which ,he purposed has been missed by man's fault1 and ,he regards the faulty ,israel with sorrow and pity as a would-be benefactor balked of a kind intention might do4 ,o ,jerusalem6 'how often would ,i have gathered thee4' ',if thou hadst known 444 the things that belong unto thy peace6' ,,ii4 ,man's opposition to ,god's loving purpose for us4 ,to have hearkened to ,his commandments would have enabled ,him to let ,his kindness have its way4 ,it is not only our act contrary to ,god's ,law1 but the source of that act in our antagonistic will1 which fatally bars out the possibility of ,god's intended good from us4 ,it is 'not hearkening' which is the root of not doing4 ,that possibility of lifting up our puny wills against the all-sovereign1 ,infinite ,will is the mystery of mysteries4 ,the fact that the mysterious possibility becomes an actuality in us is still more mysterious4 ,if we could solve those two mysteries1 we should be far on the way to solve all the mysteries of man's relation to ,god1 and ,god's to man4 ,a will absolutely submitted to ,him is ,his great ideal of human nature4 ,and that ideal we all can thwart1 and alas1 alas6 we all do4 ,it is the deepest mystery2 it is the blackest sin2 it is the intensest folly4 ,sin is negative as well as positive4 ,not to hearken is as bad as to act in dead opposition to4 ,,iii4 ,the lost good4 ,the great purpose of the divine ,commandment is to show us1 for our own sakes1 the path that leads to all blessedness4 ,peace and ,righteousness1 or1 in more modern words1 all well-being and all goodness1 are the sure results of taking ,god's expressed ,will as the guide of life4 ,these two are inseparable4 ,indeed they are one and the same fact of human experience1 looked at from two points of view4 ,the force of the metaphor in both clauses is substantially the same4 ,it suggests in both--,abundance--,continuity--,uninterr upted ,succession4 ,but regarded separately each has its own fair promise4 ',as a river'--flowing softly1 not stagnant--that suggests the calm and gentle flow of a placid and untroubled stream refreshing and fertilising4 ',as waves of the sea1' these suggest greater force than 'river4' ,the image speaks of a righteousness massive and having power and a resistless swing in it4 ,it is the more striking because the waves of the sea are the ordinary emblem of rebellious power4 ,but here they stand as emblem of the strength of a submissive1 not of a rebellious1 will4 ,in that obedience human nature rises to a higher type of strength than it ever attains while in opposition to the ,source of all strength4 ,contrast--',whose waters cast up mire and dirt4' ,,iv4 ,the lost good regained4 ,god has yet a method to accomplish ,his loving desire4 ,even those who have not hearkened may receive through ,christ the good which they have sinned away4 ,in ,him is peace2 in ,him is ,righteousness1 which comes from faith4 ',hear1 and your soul shall live4' ,,expositions ,,of ,,holy ,,scripture ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4 ,d41 ,litt4 ,d4 ,,isaiah ,,and ,,jeremiah ,isaiah1 ,chaps4 ,,xlix to ,end4 ,jeremiah4 ,,contents4 ,,feeding ,,in ,,the ,,ways 7,isaiah xlix4 #i7 ,,the ,,mountain ,,road 7,isaiah xlix4 #aa7 ,,the ,,writing ,,on ,,god',s ,,hands 7,isaiah xlix4 #af7 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,words ,,to ,,the ,,weary 7,isaiah l4 #d7 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,obedience 7,isaiah l4 #e7 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,voluntary ,,sufferings 7,isaiah l4 #f7 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,inflexible ,,resolve 7,isaiah l4 #g7 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,triumph 7,isaiah l4 #h1 #i7 ,a ,,call ,,to ,,faith 7,isaiah l4 #aj7 ,,dying ,,fires 7,isaiah l4 #aa7 ,,the ,,awakening ,,of ,,zion 7,isaiah lii4 #a7 ,a ,,paradox ,,of ,,selling ,,and ,,buying 7,isaiah lii4 #c7 ,,clean ,,carriers 7,isaiah lii4 #aa7 ,,marching ,,orders 7,isaiah lii4 #aa1 #ab7 ,,the ,,arm ,,of ,,the ,,lord 7,isaiah liii4 #a7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,i4 7,isaiah liii4 #b1c7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,ii4 7,isaiah liii4 #d-f7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,iii4 7,isaiah liii4 #g-i7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,iv4 7,isaiah liii4 #aj7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,v4 7,isaiah liii4 #aa7 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,vi4 7,isaiah liii4 #ab7 ,,the ,,passing ,,and ,,the ,,permanent 7,isaiah liv4 #aj7 ,,the ,,call ,,to ,,the ,,thirsty 7,isaiah lv4 #a-ac7 ,,the ,,great ,,proclamation 7,isaiah lv4 #a7 ,,god',s ,,ways ,,and ,,man',s 7,isaiah lv4 #h1 #i7 ,,can ,,we ,,make ,,sure ,,of ,,to-,,morrow8 7,isaiah lvi4 #ab7 ,,flimsy ,,garments 7,isaiah lix4 #f2 ,rev4 iii4 #ah7 ,,the ,,sunlit ,,church 7,isaiah lx4 #a-c7 ,,walls ,,and ,,gates 7,isaiah lx4 #ah7 ,,the ,,joy-,,bringer 7,isaiah lxi4 #c7 ,,the ,,heavenly ,,workers ,,and ,,the ,,earthly ,,watchers 7,isaiah lxii4 #a1 #f1 #g7 ,,mighty ,,to ,,save 7,isaiah lxiii4 #a7 ,,the ,,winepress ,,and ,,its ,,treader 7,isaiah lxiii4 #b1 #c7 ,,the ,,sympathy ,,of ,,god 7,isaiah lxiii4 #i7 ,,how ,,to ,,meet ,,god 7,isaiah lxiv4 #e7 ',,the ,,god ,,of ,,the ,,amen' 7,isaiah lxv4 #af7 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jeremiah ,,god',s ,,lawsuit 7,jer4 ii4 #i7 ,,stiff-,,necked ,,idolaters ,,and ,,pliable ,,christians 7,jer4 ii4 #aa7 ,,fountain ,,and ,,cisterns 7,jer4 ii4 #ac7 ,,forsaking ,,jehovah 7,jer4 ii4 #ai7 ,a ,,colloquy ,,between ,a ,,penitent ,,and ,,god 7,jer4 iii4 #ba1 #bb7 ,a ,,question ,,for ,,the ,,beginning 7,jer4 v4 #ca7 ,,possessing ,,and ,,possessed 7,jer4 x4 #af1 ,r4,v47 ,,calms ,,and ,,crises 7,jer4 xii4 #e1 ,r4,v47 ,,an ,,impossibility ,,made ,,possible 7,jer4 xiii4 #bc2 #b ,cor4 v4 #ag2 ,rev4 xxi4 #e7 ,,triumphant ,,prayer 7,jer4 xiv4 #g-i7 ,,sin',s ,,writing ,,and ,,its ,,erasure 7,jer4 xvii1 #a2 #b ,cor4 iii4 #c2 ,col4 ii4 #ad7 ,,the ,,heath ,,in ,,the ,,desert ,,and ,,the ,,tree ,,by ,,the ,,river 7,jer4 xvii4 #f1 #h7 ,a ,,soul ,,gazing ,,on ,,god 7,jer4 xvii4 #ab7 ,,two ,,lists ,,of ,,names 7,jer4 xvii4 #ac2 ,luke x4 #bj7 ,,yokes ,,of ,,wood ,,and ,,of ,,iron 7,jer4 xxviii4 #ac7 ,,what ,,the ,,stable ,,creation ,,teaches 7,jer4 xxxi4 #cf7 ,,what ,,the ,,immense ,,creation ,,teaches 7,jer4 xxxi4 #cg7 ,a ,,threefold ,,disease ,,and ,a ,,twofold ,,cure 7,jer4 xxxiii4 #h7 ,,the ,,rechabites 7,jer4 xxxv4 #af7 ,,jeremiah',s ,,roll ,,burned ,,and ,,reproduced 7,jer4 xxxvi4 #cb7 ,,zedekiah 7,jer4 xxxvii4 #a7 ,,the ,,world',s ,,wages ,,to ,a ,,prophet 7,jer4 xxxvii4 #aa-ba7 ,,the ,,last ,,agony 7,jer4 xxxix4 #a-aj7 ,,ebedmelech ,,the ,,ethiopian 7,jer4 xxxix4 #ah7 ,,god',s ,,patient ,,pleadings 7,jer4 xliv4 #d7 ,,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,lord 7,jer4 xlvii4 #f1 #g7 ,,the ,,kinsman-,,redeemer 7,jer4 #a4 #cd7 ',as ,,sodom' 7,jer4 lii4 #a-aa7 ,,feeding ,,in ,,the ,,ways ',they shall feed in the ways1 and their pastures shall be in all high places4' ,,isaiah xlix4 #i4 ,this is part of the prophet's glowing description of the return of the ,captives1 under the figure of a flock fed by a strong shepherd4 ,we have often seen1 ,i suppose1 a flock of sheep driven along a road1 some of them hastily trying to snatch a mouthful from the dusty grass by the wayside4 ,little can they get there2 they have to wait until they reach some green pasture in which they can be folded4 ,this flock shall 'feed in the ways'2 as they go they will find nourishment4 ,that is not all2 the top of the mountains is not the place where grass grows4 ,there are bare1 savage cliffs1 from which every particle of soil has been washed by furious torrents1 or the scanty vegetation has been burnt up by the fierce 'sunbeams like swords4' ,there the wild deer and the ravens live1 the sheep feed down in the valleys4 ,but 'their pasture shall be in all high places4' ,the literal rendering is even more emphatic3 ',their pasture shall be in all bare heights1' where a sudden verdure springs to feed them according to their need4 ,whilst1 then1 this prophecy is originally intended simply to suggest the abundant supplies that were to be provided for the band of exiles as they came back from ,babylon1 there lie in it great and blessed principles which belong to the ,christian pilgrimage1 and the flock that follows ,christ4 ,they who follow ,him1 says my text1 to begin with1 shall find in the dusty paths of common life1 and in all the smallnesses and distractions of daily duty1 nourishment for their spirits4 ,do you remember what ,jesus said8 ',my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent ,me1 and to finish ,his work4' ,we1 too1 may have the same meat to eat which the world knows not of1 and ,he will give that hidden manna to the combatant as well as 'to him that overcometh4' ,in the measure in which 'we follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth1' in that measure do we find--like the stores of provisions that ,arctic explorers come upon1 cached for them--food in the wilderness1 and nourishment for our highest life in our common work4 ,that is a great promise1 and it is a great duty4 ,it is a promise the fulfilment of which is plainly guaranteed by the very nature of the case4 ,religion is meant to direct conduct1 and the smallest affairs of life are to come under its imperial control1 and the only way by which a man can get any good out of his ,christianity is by living it4 ,it is when he sets to work on the principles of the ,gospel that the ,gospel proves itself to be a reality in his blessed experience4 ,it is when he does the smallest duties from the great motives that these great motives are strengthened by exercise1 as every motive is4 ,if you wish to weaken the influence of any principle upon you1 do not work it out1 and it will wither and die4 ,if a man would grasp the fulness of spiritual sustenance which lies in the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 let him go to work on the basis of the ,gospel1 and he 'shall feed in the ways1' and common duties will minister strength to him instead of taking strength from him4 ,we can make the smallest daily incidents subserve our growth and our spiritual strength1 because1 if we thus do them1 they will bring to us attestations of the reality of the faith by which we act on them4 ,for convincing a man that a lifebuoy is reliable there is nothing like having had experience of its power to hold his head above the waves when he has been cast into them4 ,live your ,christianity1 and it will attest itself4 ,there will come1 besides that1 the blessed memory of past times in which we trusted in the ,lord and were lightened1 we obeyed ,god and found ,his promises true1 we risked all for ,god and found that we had all more abundantly4 ,it is only an active ,christian life that is a nourished and growing ,christian life4 ,the food which ,god gives us is not only to be taken by faith1 but it has to be made ours more abundantly by work4 ,saint ,augustine said in another connection1 ',believe1 and thou hast eaten4' ,yes1 that is blessedly true1 but it needs to be supplemented by 'they shall feed in the ways1' and their work will bring them nourishment4 ,but this is a great duty as well as a great promise4 ,how many of us ,christian people have but little experience of getting nearer to ,god because of our daily occupations8 ,to by far the larger number of us1 in by far the greater space of time in our lives1 our daily work is a distraction1 and tends to obscure the face of ,god to us and to shut us out from many of the storehouses of sustenance by which a quiet1 contemplative faith is refreshed4 ,therefore we need times of special prayer and remoteness from daily work2 and there will be very little realisation of the nourishing power of common duties unless there is familiar to us also the entrance into the 'secret place of the ,most ,high1' where ,he feeds ,his children on the bread of life4 ,we must not neglect either of these two ways by which our souls are fed1 and we must ever remember that the reason why so many ,christian people cannot set to their seal that this promise is true1 lies mainly in this1 that the ways on which they go are either not the ways that the ,shepherd has walked in before them1 or that they are trodden in forgetfulness of ,him and without looking to ,his guidance4 ,the work that is to minister to the ,christian life must be work conformed to the ,christian ideal1 and if we fling ourselves into our secular business1 as it is called--if you go to your counting-houses and shops1 and ,i go to my desk and books1 and forget the ,shepherd--then there is no grass by the wayside for such sheep4 ,but if we subject our wills to ,him1 and if in all that we do we are trying to refer to ,him and are working in dependence on ,him1 and for ,him1 then the poorest work1 the meanest1 the most entirely secular1 will be a source of ,christian nourishment and blessing4 ,we have to settle for ourselves whether we shall be distracted1 torn asunder by pressure of cares and responsibilities and activities1 or whether1 far below the agitated surface which is ruffled by the winds1 and borne along by the tidal wave1 there will be a great central depth1 still but not stagnant--whether we shall be fed1 or starved in our ,christian life1 by the pressure of our worldly tasks4 ,the choice is before us4 ',they shall feed in the ways1' if the ways are ,christ's ways1 and ,he is at every step their ,shepherd4 ,further1 my text suggests that for those who follow the ,lamb there shall be greenness and pasture on the bare heights4 ,strip that part of our text of its metaphor1 and it just comes to the blessed old thought1 which ,i hope many of us have known to be a true one1 that the times of sorrow are the times when a ,christian may have the most of the presence and strength of ,god4 ',in the days of famine they shall be satisfied1' and up among the most barren cliffs1 where there is not a bite for any four-footed creature1 they shall find springing grass and watered pastures4 ,our prophet puts the same thought1 under a kindred though somewhat different metaphor1 in another place in this book1 where he says1 ',i will open rivers in high places4' ,that is clean contrary to nature4 ,the rivers do not run on the mountain-tops1 but down in the low ground4 ,but for us1 as the darkness thickens1 the pillar may glow the brighter2 as the gloom increases1 the glory may grow2 the less of nutriment or refreshment earth affords1 the more abundantly does ,god spread ,his stores before us1 if we are wise enough to take them4 ,it is an experience1 ,i suppose1 common to all devout men1 that their times of most rapid growth were their times of trouble4 ,in nature winter stops all vegetable life4 ,in grace the growing time is the winter4 ,they tell us that up in the ,arctic regions the reindeer will scratch away the snow1 and get at the succulent moss that lies beneath it4 ,when that ,shepherd1 ,who ,himself has known sorrows1 leads us up into those barren regions of perpetual cold and snow1 ,he teaches us1 too1 how to brush it away1 and find what we need buried and kept safe and warm beneath the white shroud4 ,it is the prerogative of the ,christian soul not to be without trouble1 but to turn the trouble into nourishment1 and to feed on the barest heights4 ,may ,i turn these latter words of our text a somewhat different way1 attaching to them a meaning which does not belong to them1 but by way of accommodation8 ,if ,christian people want to have the bread of ,god abundantly1 they must climb4 ,it is to those who live on the heights that provision comes according to their need4 ,if you would have your ,christian life starved1 go down into the fertile valleys4 ,remember ,abraham and ,lot1 and the choice which each made4 ,the one said3 ',i want cattle and wealth1 and ,i am going down to ,sodom4 ,never mind about the vices of the inhabitants4 ,there is money to be made there4' ,abraham said3 ',i am going to stay up here on the heights1 the breezy1 barren heights1' and ,god stayed beside him4 ,if we go down we starve our souls4 ,if we desire them to be fat and flourishing1 nourished with the hidden manna1 then we must go up4 ',their pasture shall be in all high places4' ,before ,i finish1 let me remind you of the application of the words of my text1 which we owe to the ,new ,testament4 ,the context runs1 as you will remember1 'they shall not hunger nor thirst1 neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them4 ,for ,he that hath mercy on them shall lead them1 even by the springs of water shall ,he guide them4' ,and you remember the beautiful variation and deepening of this promise in that great saying which the ,seer in the ,apocalypse gives us1 when he speaks of those 'who follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth1' and are led 'by living fountains of water1' where ',god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes4' ,so we are entitled to believe that on the loftiest heights1 far above this valley of weeping1 there shall be immortal food1 and that on the high places of the mountains of ,god there shall be pasture that never withers4 ,the prophet ,ezekiel has a similar variation of my text1 and transfers it from the captives on their march homewards1 to the happy pilgrims who have reached home1 when he says3 ',i will bring them unto their own land1 and feed them upon the mountains of ,israel'--when they have reached them at last after the weary march--' ,i will feed them in a good pasture1 and upon the mountains of ,israel shall their fold be2 there shall they lie in a good fold1 and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of ,israel4' ,,the ,,mountain ,,road ',and ,i will make all ,my mountains a way1 and ,my highways shall be exalted4'--,,isaiah xlix4 #aa4 ,this grand prophecy is far too wide to be exhausted by the return of the exiles4 ,there gleamed through it the wider redemption and the true return of the real captives4 ,the previous promises all find their fulfilment in the experiences of the soul on its journey back to ,god4 ,here we have two characteristics of that journey4 ,i4 ,the ,path through the mountains4 ',my mountains4' ,that is the claim that all the world is ,his2 and also the revelation that ,he is the ,lord of ,providence4 ,he makes our difficult and steep places4 ,submission comes with that thought1 and even 'for the strength of the hills we bless ,thee4' ,there are mountains which are not ,his but ours1 artificial difficulties of our own creating4 #a4 ,our way does lie over the mountains4 ,there are difficulties4 ,the ,christian course is like a ,roman road which never turned aside1 but went straight up and on4 ,so much the better4 ,a keener air blows1 bracing and health-giving1 up there4 ,mosquitoes and malaria keep to the lower levels4 #b4 ,there is always a path over the mountains4 ,some way opens when we get close up1 like a path through heather1 which is not seen till reached4 ,we walk by faith4 ,we foolishly forebode and fancy that we cannot live if something happens1 but there is no cul de sac in our paths if ,god's mountain-way is our way1 nor does the faint track ever die out if our faith is keen-sighted and docile4 ,,ii4 ,the ,pasture on the mountains--lit4 'bare heights4' ,pastures in the ,east are down in bottoms1 not1 like ours1 upon the hills4 ,but this flock finds supplies on the barren hill-tops4 ,sustenance in ,sorrow and ,loss4 #a4 ,promise that whatever be our trials and losses we shall be taken care of4 ,not1 perhaps1 as we should have liked1 nor as abundantly fed as down in the valleys1 but still not left to starve4 ,no carcases strewed on the bleakest bit of road as one sees dead camels by the side of the tracks in the desert4 #b4 ,promise of sustenance of a higher kind even in sorrow4 ,the ,alpine flora is specially beautiful1 though minute4 ,the blessings of affliction2 the more intimate knowledge of ,his love1 submission of will4 ',out of the eater came forth meat4' ',passing through the valley of weeping they make it a well'2 the tears shed in times of rightly borne sorrow are gathered into a reservoir from which refreshment1 patience1 trust and strength may be drawn in later days4 ,but the perfect fulfilment of the promise lies beyond this life4 ',on the high mountains of ,israel shall their fold be1' and they who have found pasture on the barren heights of earthly sorrow shall 'summer high in bliss upon the hills of ,god1' and shall at once both lie 'for ever in a good fold1' and 'follow the ,lamb whithersoever ,he goeth1' and find fountains of living water bursting forth for ever on these fertile heights4 ,,the ,,writing ,,on ,,god',s ,,hands ',behold6 ,i have graven thee upon the palms of ,my hands2 thy walls are continually before ,me4'--,,isaiah xlix4 #af4 ,in the preceding context we have the infinitely tender and beautiful words3 ',zion hath said1 ,the ,lord hath forsaken me4 ,can a woman forget her sucking child8 444 yea1 they may forget1 yet will ,i not forget thee4' ,there is more than a mother's love in the ,father's heart4 ,but wonderful in their revelation of ,god1 and mighty to strengthen1 calm1 and comfort1 as these transcendent words are1 those of my text1 which follow them1 do not fall beneath their loftiness4 ,they are a singularly bold metaphor1 drawn from the strange and half-savage custom1 which lingers still among sailors and others1 of having beloved names or other tokens of affection and remembrance indelibly inscribed on parts of the body4 ,sometimes worshippers had the marks of the god thus set on their flesh2 here ,god writes on ,his hands the name of the city of ,his worshippers4 ,and it is not its name only1 but its very likeness that ,he stamps there1 that ,he may ever look on it1 as those who love bear with them a picture of one dear face4 ,the prophecy goes on3 ',thy walls are continually before ,me1' but in the prophet's time the walls were in ruins1 and yet they are present to the divine mind4 ,i4 ,now1 the first thought suggested by these great words is that here we have set forth for our strength and peace a divine remembrance1 tender as--yea1 more tender than--a mother's4 ,when ,israel came out of ,egypt1 the ,passover was instituted as 'a memorial unto all generations1' or1 as the same idea is otherwise expressed1 'it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand4' ,here ,god represents ,himself as doing for ,israel what ,he had bid ,israel do for ,him4 ,they were1 as it were1 to write the supreme act of deliverance in the ,exodus upon their hands1 that it might never be forgotten4 ,he writes ,zion on ,his hands for the same purpose4 ,now1 of course1 the text does not primarily refer to individuals1 but to the community1 whether ,zion is understood1 as the prophet understood the name1 to be ancient ,israel1 or as the ,christian ,church4 ,but the recognition of that fact should not be allowed to rob us of the preciousness of this text in its bearing on the individual4 ,for ,god remembers the community1 not as an abstraction or a generalised expression1 but as the aggregate of all the individuals composing it4 ,we lose sight of the particulars when we generalise4 ,we cannot see the trees for the wood4 ,we think of 'the ,church1' and do not think of the thousands of men and women who make it up4 ,we cannot discern the separate stars in the galaxy4 ,but ,god's eye resolves what to us is a nebula1 and to ,him every single glittering point of light hangs rounded and separate in the heaven4 ,therefore this assurance of our text is to be taken by every single soul that loves ,god1 and trusts ,him through ,jesus ,christ1 as belonging to it1 as though there were not another creature on earth but itself4 ',the sun whose beams most glorious are1 ,disdaineth no beholder4' ,its light floods the world1 yet seems to go straight into the eyeball of every man that looks at it4 ,and such is the divine love and remembrance4 ,there is no jostling nor confusion in the wide space of the heart of ,god4 ,they that go before shall not hinder them that come after4 ,the hungry crowd sat down in companies on the green grass1 and the first fifty1 no doubt1 were envied by the last of the hundred fifties that made up the five thousand1 and wondered whether the five loaves and the two small fishes could go round1 but the last fed full as did the first4 ,the great promise of our text belongs to me and thee1 and therefore belongs to us all4 ,that remembrance which each man may take for himself--and we are poor ,christians if we do not live in its light--is infinitely tender4 ,the echo of the music of the previous words still haunts the verse1 and the remembrance promised in it is touched with more than a mother's love4 ',i am poor and needy1' says the ,psalmist1 'yet the ,lord thinketh upon me4' ,he might have said1 ',i am poor and needy1 therefore the ,lord thinketh upon me4' ,that remembrance is in full activity when things are darkest with us4 ,israel said1 ',my ,lord hath forgotten me1' because at the point of view taken in the second half of ,isaiah1 it was captive in a far-off land4 ,you and ,i sometimes are brought into circumstances in which we are ready to think ',god has1 somehow or other1 left me1 has forgotten me4' ,never6 never6 ,however mirk the night1 however apparently solitary the way1 however mysterious and insoluble the difficulties of our position1 let us fall back on this1 that the captive ,israel was remembered by ,god1 and let us be sure that no circumstances of our lives are so dark or mysterious as to warrant the faintest shadow of suspicion creeping over the brightness of our confidence in this great promise4 ,his divine remembrance of each of ,his servants is certain4 ,but do not let us forget that it was a very sinful ,zion that ,god thus remembered4 ,it was because the nation had transgressed that they were captives1 but their very captivity was a proof that they were not forgotten4 ,the loving divine remembrance had to smite in order to prove that it was active4 ,let us neither be puzzled by our sorrows nor made less confident when we think of our sins4 ,for there is no sin that is strong enough to chill the divine love1 or to erase us from the divine remembrance4 ',captive ,israel6 captive because sinful1 ,i have graven thee on the palms of ,my hands4' ,,ii4 ,a second thought here is that the divine remembrance guides the divine action4 ,the palm of the hand is the seat of strength1 the instrument of work2 and so1 if ,zion's name is written there1 that means not only remembrance1 but remembrance which is at the helm1 as it were1 which is moulding and directing all the work that is done by the hand that bears the name inscribed upon it4 ,the thought is identical with the one which is suggested by part of the ,high ,priest's official dress1 although there the thought has a different application4 ,he bore the names of the twelve tribes graven upon his shoulder1 the seat of power1 and upon his breastplate that lay above the heart1 the home of love4 ,god holds out the mighty ,hand which works all things1 and says to ,his children3 ',look1 you are graven there'--at the very fountain-head1 as it were1 of the divine activity4 ,which1 being turned into plain ,english1 is just this1 that for ,his ,church as a whole1 ,he does move amidst the affairs of nations4 ,you remember the grand words of one of the ,psalms1--',he reproved kings for their sakes1 saying1 ,touch not ,mine anointed1 and do ,my prophets no harm4' ,it is no fanatical reading of the history of earthly politics and kingdoms1 if we recognise that one of the most prominent reasons for the divine activities in moulding the kingdoms1 setting up and casting down1 is the advancement of the kingdom of heaven and the building of the ,city of ,god4 ',i have graven thee on the palms of ,my hands'--and when the hands go to work1 it is for the ,zion whose likeness they bear4 ,but the same truth applies to us individually4 ',all things work together'2 they would not do so1 unless there was one dominant ,will which turned the chaos into a cosmos4 ',all things work1' that is very plain4 ,the tremendous activities round us both in ,nature and in history are clear to us all4 ,but if all things and events are co-operant1 working into each other1 and for one end1 like the wheels of a well-constructed engine1 then there must be an ,engineer1 and they work together because ,he is directing them4 ,thus1 because my name is graven on the palms of the mighty ,hand that doeth all things1 therefore 'all things work together for my good4' ,if we could but carry that quiet conviction into all the mysteries1 as they sometimes seem to be1 of our daily lives1 and interpret everything in the light of that great thought1 how different all our days would be6 ,how far above the petty anxieties and cares and troubles that gnaw away so much of our strength and joy2 how serene1 peaceful1 lofty1 submissive1 would be our lives1 and how in the darkest darkness there would be a great light1 not only of hope for a distant future1 but of confident assurance for the present4 ',i have graven thee on the palms of ,my hands '--do ,thou1 then1 as ,thou wilt with me4 ,,iii4 ,a last thought here is that the divine remembrance works all things1 to realise a great ideal end1 as yet unreached4 ',thy walls are continually before ,me4' ,when this prophecy was uttered the ,israelites were in captivity1 and the city was a wilderness1 'the holy and beautiful ,house'--as this very book says--'where the fathers praised ,thee was burned with fire1' the walls were broken down1 rubbish and solitude were there4 ,yet on the palms of ,god's hands were inscribed the walls which were nowhere else6 ,they were 'before ,him1' though ,jerusalem was a ruin4 ,what does that mean8 ,it means that that divine remembrance sees 'things that are not1 as though they were4' ,in the midst of the imperfect reality of the present condition of the ,church as a whole1 and of us1 its actual components1 it sees the ideal1 the perfect vision of the perfect future1 and 'all the wonder that shall be4' ,zion may be desolate1 but 'before ,him' stands what will one day stand on the earth before all men1 'the new ,jerusalem1 coming down from heaven1' having walls great and high1 and its foundations garnished with all manner of precious stones4 ',thy walls are before ,me1' though the ruins are there before men4 ,so1 brethren1 the most radiant optimism is the only fitting attitude for ,christian people in looking into the future1 either of the ,church as a whole1 or of themselves as individual members of it4 ,god's hand is working for ,zion and for me4 ,it is guided by love that does not lose the individual in the mass1 nor ever forgets any of its children1 and it works towards the attainment of unattained perfection4 ',this ,man' does not 'begin to build and' prove 'not able to finish4' ,so let us be sure that1 if only we keep ourselves in the love1 and continue in the grace of ,god1 ,he will not slack nor stay ,his hand on which ,zion is graven1 until it has 'perfected that which concerneth us1' and fulfilled to each of us that 'which ,he has spoken to us of4' ,i said at the beginning of these remarks that ,god did what ,he bids us do4 ,god bids us do what ,he does4 ,his name should be on our hands2 that is to say1 memory of ,him1 love of ,him1 regard to ,him1 confidence in ,him should mould and guide all our activity1 and the aim that we shall be builded up for a habitation of ,god through the ,spirit should be the conscious aim of our lives1 as it is the aim which ,he has in view in all ,his dealings with us4 ,our names on ,his hand2 ,his name on our hands2 so shall we be blessed4 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,words ,,to ,,the ,,weary ',the ,lord ,god hath given me the tongue of them that are taught1 that ,i should know how to sustain with words him that is weary2 he wakeneth morning by morning1 he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught4'--,,isaiah l4 #d4 ,in chapter xlix4 #a-f1 the beginning of the continuous section of which these verses are part1 a transition is made from ,israel as collectively the ideal servant of the ,lord1 to a personal ,servant1 whose office it is 'to bring ,jacob again to ,him4' ,we see the ideal in the very act of passing to its highest form1 and that in which it is finally fulfilled in history1 namely1 by the person ,jesus4 ,that ,jesus was ',thy ,holy ,servant' was the earliest gospel preached by ,peter and ,john before people and rulers4 ,it is not the most vital conception of our ,lord's nature and work4 ,the prophet does not here pierce to the core1 as in his fifty-third chapter with its vision of the ,suffering ,servant1 but this is prelude to that1 and the office assigned here to the ,servant cannot be fully discharged without that ascribed to ,him there1 as the prophet begins to discern almost immediately4 ,the text gives us a striking view of the purpose of ,messiah's mission and of ,his training and preparation for it4 ,i4 ,the purpose of ,christ's mission4 ,there is a remarkable contrast between the stately prelude to the section of the prophecy in chapter xlix41 and the ideal in this text4 ,there the ,servant calls the isles and the distant peoples to listen1 and declares that ,his mouth is 'like a sharp sword'2 here all that is keen and smiting in ,his word has softened into gentle whispers of comfort to sustain the weary4 ,a mission addressed to 'the weary' is addressed to every man1 for who is not 'weighed upon with sore distress1' or loaded with the burden and the weight of tasks beyond his power or distasteful to his inclinations1 or monotonous to nausea1 or prolonged to exhaustion1 or toiled at with little hope and less interest8 ,who is not weary of himself and of his load8 ,what but universal weariness does the universal secret desire for rest betray8 ,we are all 'pilgrims weary of time1' and some of us are weary of even prosperity1 and some of us are worn out with work1 and some of us buffeted to all but exhaustion by sorrow1 and all of us long for rest1 though many of us do not know where to look for it4 ,jesus may have had this word in mind1 when ,he called to ,him all them 'that labour and are heavy laden4' ,at all events1 the prophet's ideal and the evangelists' story accurately correspond4 ,christ's words have other characteristics1 but are eminently words that sustain the weary and comfort the down-hearted4 ,who can ever calculate the new strength poured by them into fainting hearts and languid hands1 the all but dead hopes that they have reanimated1 the sorrows they have comforted1 the wounds they have stanched8 ,what a lesson here as to the noblest use of high endowments6 ,what a contrast to the use that so many of those to whom ,god has given 'the tongue of them that are taught' make of their great gifts6 ,literature yields but few examples of great writers who have faithfully employed their powers for that purpose1 which seems so humble and is so lofty1 the help of the weary1 the comfort of the sad4 ,many pages in famous books would be cancelled if all that had been written without consideration for these classes were obliterated1 as it will be one day4 ,but ,christ not only speaks by outward words1 but has other ways of lodging sustenance and comfort in souls than by vocables audible to the ear or visible to the eye on the page4 ',the words that ,i speak unto you1 they are spirit and they are life4' ,he spoke by ,his deeds on earth1 and in one and the same set of facts1 ,he 'began to do and to teach1' the doing being named first4 ,he 'now speaketh from ,heaven' by many an inward whisper1 by the communication of ,his own ,spirit1 on ,whom this very office of ministering sustenance and comfort is laid1 and whose very name of the ,comforter means ,one who by his being with a man strengthens him4 ,,ii4 ,the training and preparation of the ,messiah for ,his mission4 ,the ,messiah is here represented as having the tongue of 'them that are taught1' and as having it1 because morning by morning ,he has been wakened to hear ,god's lessons4 ,he is thus ,god's scholar--a thought of which an unreflecting orthodoxy has been shy1 but which it is necessary to admit unhesitatingly and ungrudgingly1 if we would not reduce the manhood of ,jesus to a mere phantasm4 ,he ,himself has said1 ',as the ,father taught ,me1 ,i speak these things4' ,with emphatic repetition1 ,he was continually making that assertion1 as1 for instance1 ',i have not spoken of ,myself1 but the ,father which sent ,me1 ,he gave ,me a commandment what ,i should say1 and what ,i should speak 444 the things therefore which ,i speak1 even as the ,father hath said unto ,me1 so ,i speak4' ,the ,gospels tell us of the prayers of ,jesus1 and of rare occasions in which a voice from heaven spoke to ,him4 ,but while these are palpable instances of ,his communion with ,god1 and precious tokens of ,his true brotherhood with us in the indispensable characteristics of the life of faith1 they are but the salient points on which the light falls1 and behind them1 all unknown by us1 stretches an unbroken chain of like acts of fellowship4 ,in that subordination as of a scholar to teacher1 both ,his divine and ,his human nature concurred1 the former in filial submission1 the latter in continual1 truly human derivation and reception4 ,the man ,jesus was taught and1 like the boy ,jesus1 'increased in wisdom4' ,but while ,he learned as truly as we learn from ,god1 and exercised the same communion with the ,father1 the same submission to ,him1 which other men have to exercise1 and called 'us brethren1 saying1 ,i will put my trust in ,him1' the difference in degree between ,his close fellowship with ,god the ,father1 and our broken and always partial fellowship1 between ,his completeness of reception of ,god's words and our imperfect comprehension1 between ,his perfect reproduction of the words ,he had heard and our faint1 and often mistaken echo of them1 is so immense as to amount to a difference in kind4 ,his unity of will and being with the ,father ensured that all ,his words were ,god's4 ',never man spake like this man4' ,the man who speaks to us once for all ,god's words must be more than man4 ,other men1 the highest1 give us fragments of that mighty voice2 ,jesus speaks its whole message1 and nothing but its message4 ,of that perfect reproduction ,he is calmly conscious1 and claims to give it1 in words which are at once lowly and instinct with more than human authority3 ',all things that ,i have heard of ,my ,father ,i have made known unto you4' ,who besides ,him dare make such a claim8 ,who besides ,him could make it without being met by incredulous scorn8 ,his utterance of the ,father's words was unmarred by defect on the one hand1 and by additions on the other4 ,it was like pure water which tastes of no soil4 ,his soul was like an open vessel plunged in a stream1 filled by the flow and giving forth again its whole contents4 ,that divine communication to ,jesus was no mere impartation of abstractions or 'truths1' still less of the poor words of man's speech1 but was the flowing into ,his spirit of the living ,father by whom ,he lived4 ,and it was unbroken4 ',morning by morning' it was going on4 ,the line was continuous1 whereas for the rest of us1 at the best1 it is a series of points more or less contiguous1 but with dark spaces between4 ',god giveth not the ,spirit by measure unto ,him4' ,so1 then1 let us hold fast by ,him1 the ,son in whom ,god has spoken to us1 and to all voices without and within that would woo us to listen1 let us answer with the only wise answer3 ',to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4' ,,the ,,servant',s ,,obedience ',i was not rebellious1 neither turned away back'--,,isaiah l4 #e4 ,i4 ,the secret of ,christ's life1 filial obedience4 ,the fact is attested by ,scripture4 ,by ,his own words3 ',my meat is to do the will of ,my ,father'2 ',for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness'2 ',i came down from heaven not to do ,my own will4' ,by ,his servant's words3 ',obedient unto death'2 ',made under the law'2 ',he learned obedience by the things which ,he suffered4' ,it is involved in the belief of ,his righteous manhood4 ,it is essential to true manhood4 ,the highest ideal for humanity is conscious dependence on ,god1 and the very definition of righteousness is conscious conformity to the ,will of ,god4 ,if ,christ had done the noblest acts and yet had not always had this sense of being a servant1 ,he would not have been pure and holy4 ,it is not inconsistent with ,his true ,divinity4 ,we stand afar off1 but we can see this much4 ,the completeness of that obedience4 ,it was continuous and it was entire4 ,the living heart of it3 ',i delight to do ,thy ,will4' ,the ,father's ,will was not a force without1 but ,christ's whole being was conformed to it1 and it was shrined within ,his heart and had become ,his choice and delight4 ,the expressions of ,his obedience were ,his perfect fulfilment of the divine commands1 and ,his perfect endurance of the divine appointments4 ,thus ,god's ,will was the keynote1 to which ,christ's will struck the full chord4 ,,ii4 ,the yet deeper mysteries which that perfect obedience discloses4 #a4 ,a sinless human life must be more than human4 ,the contrast with all which we have known--the impossibility of retaining belief in the perfect obedience of ,jesus unless we have underlying it the belief in ,his divinity4 ',there is none good but one1 that is ,god4' #b4 ,the sinless human life suffers not for itself but for us4 ,the combination of holiness and sorrow leads on to the mystery of atonement4 ,the sinlessness is indispensable to the doctrine of ,his sacrificial death4 ,,iii4 ,the glorious gifts which flow from that perfect obedience4 #a4 ,it gives us a living law to obey4 #b4 ,it gives us a transforming power to receive4 #c4 ,it gives us a perfect righteousness to trust to4 ,this perfect obedience may be ours4 ,being ours1 our lives will be strong1 free1 peaceful4 ,that obedience becomes ours by faith1 which leads to love1 and love to the glad obedience of sons4 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,voluntary ,,sufferings ',i gave ,my back to the smiters1 and ,my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair3 ,i hid not ,my face from shame and spitting4'--,,isaiah l4 #f4 ,such words are not to be dealt with coldly4 ,unless they be grasped by the heart they are not grasped at all4 ,we do not think of analysing in the presence of a great sorrow4 ,there can be no greater dishonour to the name of ,christ than an unemotional consideration of ,his sufferings for us4 ,the hindrances to a due consideration of these are manifold2 some arising from intellectual1 and some from moral1 causes4 ,most men have difficulty in vivifying any historical event so as to feel its reality4 ,there is no nobler use of the historical imagination than to direct it to that great life and death on which the salvation of the world depends4 ,the prophet here has advanced from the first general conception of the ,servant of the ,lord as recipient of divine commission1 and submissive to the divine voice1 to thoughts of the sufferings which ,he would meet with on ,his path1 and of how ,he bore them4 ,i4 ,the sufferings of the ,servant4 ,the minute particularity is very noteworthy1 scourging1 plucking the beard1 shame1 all sorts of taunts and buffets on the face1 and the last indignity of spitting4 ,clearly1 then1 ,he is not only to suffer persecution1 but is to be treated with insult and to endure that strange blending1 so often seen1 of grim infernal laughter with grim infernal fury1 the hyena's laugh and its ferocity4 ,wherever it occurs1 it implies not only fell hate and cruelty1 but also contempt and a horrible delight in triumphing over an enemy4 ,it is found in all corrupt periods1 and especially in religious persecutions4 ,here it implies the rejection of the ,servant4 ,the prophecy was literally fulfilled1 but not in all its traits4 ,this may give a hint as to the general interpretation of prophecy and may teach that external fulfilment only points to a deeper correspondence4 ,the most salient instance is in ,jesus' entrance into ,jerusalem riding on an ass1 which was but a finger-post to guide men's thoughts to ,his fulfilling the ideal of the ,messianic ,king4 ,and yet1 the minute correspondences are worth noticing4 ,what a strange1 solemn glimpse they give into that awful divine omniscience1 and into the mystery of the play of the vilest passions as being yet under control in their extremest rage6 ,we must note the remarkable prominence in the narratives of the ,passion1 of signs of contempt and mockery2 ,judas' kiss1 the purple robe1 the crown of thorns1 'wagging their heads1' 'let be1 let ,elias come1' etc4 ,think of the exquisite pain of this to ,christ4 ,that ,he was sinless and full of love made it all the worse to bear4 ,not the physical pain1 but the consciousness that ,he was encompassed by such an atmosphere of evil1 was the sharpest pang4 ,we should think with reverent sympathy of ,his perfect discernment of the sinful malignant hearts from which the sufferings came1 of ,his pained and rejected love thrown back on itself1 of ,his clear sight of what their heartless infliction of tortures would end in for the inflicters1 of ,his true human feeling which shrank from being the object of contempt and execration4 ,,ii4 ,his patient submission4 ',i gave1'--purely voluntary4 ,that word originally expressed the patient submission with which ,he endured at the moment1 when the lash scored ,his back1 but it may be widened out to express ,christ's perfect voluntariness in all ,his passion4 ,at any moment ,he could have abandoned ,his work if ,his filial obedience and ,his love to men had let ,him do so4 ,his would-be captors fell to the ground before one momentary flash of ,his majesty1 and they could have laid no hand on ,him1 if ,his will had not consented to ,his capture4 ,fra ,angelico has grasped the thought which the prophet here uttered1 and which the evangelists emphasise1 that all ,his suffering was voluntary1 and that ,his love to us restrained ,his power1 and led ,him to the slaughter1 silent as a sheep before her shearers4 ,for he has pourtrayed the majestic figure seated in passive endurance1 with eyes blindfolded but yet wide open behind the bandage1 all-seeing1 wistful1 sad1 and patient1 while around are fragments of rods1 and smiting hands1 and a cruel face blowing spittle on the unshrinking cheeks4 ,he seems to be saying3 ',these things hast thou done1 and ,i kept silence4' ',thou couldest have no power at all against ,me unless it were given thee4' ,,iii4 ,his submission to suffering in obedience to the ,father's ,will4 ,the context connects ,his opened ear and ,his not being rebellious with ,his giving ,his back to the smiters4 ,that involves the idea that these indignities and insults were part of the divine counsel in reference to ,him4 ,that same combination of ideas is strongly presented in the early addresses of ,peter1 recorded in the first chapters of ,acts1 of which this is a specimen3 ',him1 being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of ,god1 ye with wicked hands have crucified and slain4' ,the full significance of ,christ's passion as that of the atoning sacrifice was not yet clear to the apostle1 any more than the ,servant's sufferings were to the prophet1 but both prophet and apostle were carried on by fuller experience and reflection on what they already saw clearly1 to discern the inwardness and depth of these4 ,the one soon came to see that 'by ,his stripes we are healed1' and the other finally wrote3 ',who ,his own self bare our sins in ,his own body on the tree4' ,and whoever deeply ponders the startling fact that 'it pleased the ,lord to bruise ,him1' sinless and ever obedient as ,he was1 will be borne1 sooner or later1 into the full sunlight of the blessed belief that when ,jesus suffered and died1 ',he died for all4' ,his sufferings were those of a martyr for truth1 who is willing to die rather than cease to witness for it2 but they were more4 ,they were the sufferings of a lover of mankind who will face the extremest wrong that can be inflicted1 rather than abandon ,his mission2 but they were more4 ,they were not merely the penalty which ,he had to pay for faithfulness to ,his work2 they were themselves the crown and climax of ,his work4 ,the ,son of ,man came1 indeed1 'not to be ministered to but to minister1' but that1 taken alone1 is but a maimed view of what ,he came for1 and we must whole-heartedly go on to say as ,he said1 'and to give ,his life a ransom for many1' if we would know the whole truth as to the sufferings of ,jesus4 ,again1 since ,christ suffers according to the will of ,god1 it is clear that all representations of the scope of ,his atoning death1 which represent it as moving the will of the ,father to love and pardon1 are travesties of the truth and turn cause into effect4 ,god does not love1 because ,jesus died1 but ,jesus died because ,god loved4 ,further1 it is to be noted that ,his sufferings are the great means by which ,he sustains the weary4 ,the word to which ,his ears were opened1 morning by morning1 was the word to which ,he was docile when ,he gave ,his back to the smiters4 ,it is ,his passion1 regarded as the sacrifice for a world's sin1 from which flow the most powerful stimulants to service and tonics for weary souls1 the tenderest comfortings for sorrow4 ,he sustains and comforts by the example of ,his life1 but far more1 and more sweetly1 more mightily1 by that which flows to us through ,his death4 ,his sufferings are powerful to sustain1 when thought of as our example1 but they are a tenfold stronger source of patience and strength1 when laid on our hearts as the price of our redemption4 ,the ,cross is1 in all senses of the expression1 the tree of life4 ,wonder1 reverence1 love1 gratitude1 should well forth from our hearts1 when we think of these cruel sufferings1 but the deepest fountains in them will not be unsealed1 unless we see in the suffering ,servant the atoning ,son4 ,,the ,,servant',s ,,inflexible ,,resolve ',for the ,lord ,god will help ,me2 therefore shall ,i not be confounded3 therefore have ,i set ,my face like a flint4'--,,isaiah l4 #g4 ,what a striking contrast between the tone of these words and of the preceding6 ,there all is gentleness1 docility1 still communion1 submission1 patient endurance4 ,here all is energy and determination1 resistance and martial vigour4 ,it is like the contrast between a priest and a warrior4 ,and that gentleness is the parent of this boldness4 ,the same ,will which is all submission to ,god is all resistance in the face of hostile men4 ,the utmost lowliness and the most resolved resistance to opposing forces are found in that prophetic image of the ,servant of the ,lord--even as they are found in the highest degree and most perfectly in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the sequence in this context is worth noting4 ,we had first ,christ's communion with ,god and communications from the ,father2 then the perfect submission of ,his ,will2 then that submission expressed in ,his voluntary sufferings2 and now we have ,his immovable steadfastness of resistance to the temptation1 which lay in these sufferings1 to depart from ,his attitude of submission1 and to abandon ,his work4 ,the former verse led us up to the verge of the great mystery of ,his sacrificial death4 ,this gives us a glimpse into the depths of ,his human life1 and shows ,him to us as our example in all holy heroism4 ,i4 ,the need which ,christ felt to exercise firm resistance4 ,the words of the text are found almost reproduced in ,jeremiah i4 and ,ezekiel iii4 ,all prophets and servants of ,god have had thus to resist1 and it would be superfluous to show how resistance to opposing influences is the condition of all noble life and of all true service4 ,but was it so with ,him8 ,the more accurate translation of the second clause of our text is to be noticed3 ',therefore ,i will not suffer ,myself to be overcome by the shame4' ,then the shame had in it some tendency to divert ,him from ,his course4 ,christ's humanity felt natural human shrinking from pain and suffering4 ,it shrank from the contempt and mockery of those around ,him1 and did so with especial sensitiveness because of ,his pure and sinless nature1 ,his yearning sympathy1 the atmosphere of love in which ,he dwelt1 ,his clear sight of the sin1 and ,his prevision of the consequent sorrow4 ,if so1 ,his sufferings did appeal to ,his human nature and constituted a temptation4 ,at the beginning the ,tempter addressed himself to natural desires to procure physical gratification 7bread71 and to the equally natural desire to avoid suffering and pain1 and to secure ,his kingdom by an easier method 7',all these will ,i give ,thee1 if--'74 ,and the latter temptation attended ,him all through ,his life1 and was most insistent at its close4 ,the shadow of the cross stretched along ,his path from its beginning4 ,but it is to be remembered that he had not the same need of self-control which we have1 in that ,his ,will was not reluctant1 and that no rebellious desires had escaped from its control and needed to be reduced to submission4 ',i was not rebellious4' ',the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' was true in the fullest extent only of ,him4 ,so the context gives us ,his perfect submission of will1 and yet the need to harden ,his face toward externals from which1 instinctively and without breach of filial obedience1 ,his sensitive nature recoiled4 ,the reality of the temptation1 the limits of its reach1 ,his consciousness of it1 and ,his immovable obedience and resistance1 are all expressed in the deep and wonderful words1 ',if it be possible1 let this cup pass from ,me1 nevertheless not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt4' ,,ii4 ,the perfect inflexible resolve4 ',face like a flint' seems to be quoted in ,luke ix4 #ea2 ',steadily set ,his face4' ,the whole story of the ,gospels gives the one impression of a life steadfast in its great resolve4 ,there are no traces of ,his ever faltering in ,his purpose1 none of ,his ever suffering ,himself to be diverted from it1 no parentheses and no digressions4 ,there are no blunders either4 ,but what a contrast in this respect to all other lives6 ,mark's ,gospel1 which is eminently the gospel of the ,servant1 is full of energy and of this inflexible resolve1 which speak in such sayings as ',i must be about ,my ,father's business'2 ',i must work the works of ,my ,father while it is day4' ,that last journey1 during which ,he 'steadfastly set ,his face to go to ,jerusalem1' is but a type of the whole4 ,christ's life was a continuous or rather a continually repeated effort4 ,this inflexible resolve is associated in ,him with characteristics not usually allied with it4 ,the gentleness of ,christ is so obvious in ,his character that little needs to be said to point it out4 ,to the influence of ,his character more than to any other cause may be traced the change in the perspective1 so to speak1 of ,virtue1 which characterises modern notions of perfection as contrasted with antique ones4 ,contrast the ,greek and ,roman type with the mediaeval ascetic1 or with the philanthropic type of modern times4 ,carlyle's ideal is retrograde and an anachronism4 ,women and patient sufferers find example in ,him4 ,but we have in ,jesus ,christ1 too1 the highest example of all the stronger and robuster virtues1 the more distinctly heroic1 masculine2 and that not merely passive firmness of endurance such as an ,american ,indian will show in torments1 but active firmness which presses on to its goal1 and1 immovably resolute1 will not be diverted by anything4 ,in ,him we see a resolved ,will and a gentle loving ,heart in perfect accord4 ,that is a wonderful combination4 ,we often find that such firmness is developed at the expense of indifference to other people4 ,it is like a war chariot1 or artillery train1 that goes crashing across the field1 though it be over shrieking men and broken bones1 and the wheels splash in blood4 ,resolved firmness is often accompanied with self-absorption which makes it gloomy1 and with narrow limitations4 ,such men gather all their powers together to secure a certain end1 and do it by shutting the eyes of their mind to everything but the one object1 like the painter1 who blocks up his studio window to get a top light1 or as a mad bull lowers his head and blindly rushes on4 ,there is none of all this in ,christ's firmness4 ,he was able at every moment to give ,his whole sympathy to all who needed it1 to take in all that lay around ,him1 and ,his resolute concentration of ,himself on ,his work made ,him none the less perfect in all which goes to make up complete manhood4 ,not only was ,christ's firmness that of a fixed ,will and a most loving ,heart1 like one of these 'rocking stones1' whose solid mass can be set vibrating by a poising bird1 but the fixed ,will came from the loving ,heart4 ,the very compassion and pity of ,his nature led to that resolved continuance in ,his path of redeeming love1 though suffering and mockery waited for ,him at each turn4 ,and so ,he is the ,joshua1 the ,warrior-,king1 as well as the ,priest4 ,that ,face1 ever ready to kindle into pity1 to melt into tenderness1 to express every shade of tender feeling1 was 'set as a flint4' ,that ,eye1 ever brimming with tears1 was ever fixed on one goal4 ,that ,character is the type of all strength and of all gentleness4 ,,iii4 ,the basis of ,christ's fixed resolve in filial confidence4 ',the ,lord ,god will help ,me4' ,so ,christ lived by faith4 ,that faith led to this heroic resistance and immovable resolution4 ,that confidence of divine help was based upon consciousness of obedience4 ,it is most blessed for us to have ,him as our example of faith and of brave opposition to all the antagonistic forces around us4 ,but we need more than an example4 ,he will but rebuke our wavering purposes of obedience1 if ,he is no more than our pattern4 ,thank ,god1 ,he is more1 even our ,fountain of ,power1 from ,whom we can draw life akin to1 because derived from1 ,his own4 ,in ,him we can feel strength stealing into flaccid limbs1 and gain 'the wrestling thews that throw the world4' ,if we are 'in ,christ' and on the path of duty1 we too may be able to set our faces as a flint1 and to say truthfully3 ',none of these things move me1 neither count ,i my life dear to myself1 that ,i may finish my course with joy4' ,and yet we may withal be gentle1 and keep hearts 'open as day to melting charity1' and have leisure and sympathy to spare for every sorrow of others1 and a hand to help and 'sustain him that is weary4' ,,the ,,servant',s ,,triumph ',he is near that justifieth ,me2 who will contend with ,me8 let us stand together3 who is ,mine adversary8 let him come near to ,me4 #i4 ,behold1 the ,lord ,god will help ,me2 who is he that shall condemn ,me8 lo1 they all shall wax old as a garment2 the moth shall eat them up4'--,,isaiah l4 #h1 #i4 ,we have reached the final words of this prophecy1 and we hear in them a tone of lofty confidence and triumph4 ,while the former ones sounded plaintive like soft flute music1 this rings out clear like the note of a trumpet summoning to battle4 ,the ,servant of the ,lord seems here to be eager for the conflict1 not merely patient and enduring1 not merely setting ,his face like a flint1 but confidently challenging ,his adversaries1 and daring them to the strife4 ,as for the form of the words1 the image underlying the whole is that of a suit at law4 ,it is noteworthy that since ,isaiah xli4 this metaphor has run through the whole prophecy4 ,the great controversy is ,god versus ,idols4 ,god appears at the bar of men1 pleads ,his cause1 calls ,his witnesses 7xliii4 #i74 ',let them' 7i4e4 idols7 'bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified4' ,possibly the form of the words here is owing to the dominance of that idea in the context1 and implies nothing more than the general notion of opposition and victory4 ,but it is at least worth remembering that in the life of ,christ we have many instances in which the prophetic images were literally fulfilled even though their meaning was mainly symbolical3 as e4g4 the riding on the ass1 the birth in ,bethlehem1 the silence before accusers1 'a bone of ,him shall not be broken1' and in this very contest1 'shame and spitting4' ,so here there may be included a reference to that time when the hatred of opposition reached its highest point--in the sufferings and death of our ,lord4 ,and it is at least a remarkable coincidence that that highest point was reached in formal trials before the ecclesiastical and civil authorities1 for the purpose of convicting ,him1 and that these processes as legal procedures broke down so signally4 ,keeping up the metaphor1 we mark here-- ,i4 ,the ,messiah's lofty challenge to ,his accusers4 ,,ii4 ,the ,messiah's expectation of divine vindication and acquittal4 ,,iii4 ,the ,messiah's confidence of ultimate triumph4 ,i4 ,messiah's lofty challenge to ,his accusers4 ,the 'justifying' which ,he expects may refer either to personal character or to official functional faithfulness4 ,i think it refers to both1 and that we have here1 expressed in prophetic outline1 not only the fact of ,christ's sinlessness1 but the fact of ,his consciousness of sinlessness4 ,the words are the strongest assertion of ,his absolute freedom from anything that an adversary could lay hold of on which to found a charge1 and not merely so1 but they also dare to assert that the unerring and all-penetrating eye of the ,judge of all will look into ,his heart1 and find nothing there but the mirrored image of ,his own perfection4 ,i do not need to dwell on the fact of ,christ's sinlessness1 that ,he is perfect manhood without stain1 without defect4 ,i have had occasion to touch upon that truth in a former sermon on ',i was not rebellious4' ,here we have to do not so much with sinlessness as with the consciousness of sinlessness4 ,now note that consciousness on ,christ's part4 ,we have to reckon with the fact of it as expressed in ,his own words3 ',i do always the things that please ,him4 ,which of you convinceth ,me of sin8' ',the ,prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in ,me4' ,in ,him there is the absence of all trace of sense of sin4 ,no prayer for forgiveness comes from ,his lips4 ,no penitence1 no acknowledgment of even weakness is heard from ,him4 ,even in ,his baptism1 which for others was an acknowledgment of impurity1 ,he puts ,his submission to the rite1 not on the ground of needing to be washed from sin1 but of 'fulfilling all righteousness4' ,now1 unless ,christ was sinless1 what do we say of these assertions8 ',if we say that we have no sin1 we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us'--are we to apply that canon to ,him when ,he stands before us and asks1 ',which of you convinceth ,me of sin8' ,surely it augurs small self-knowledge or a low moral standard if1 from the lips of a religious teacher1 there never comes one word to indicate that he has felt the hold of evil on him4 ,i make bold to say that if ,christ were not sinless1 the ,apostle ,paul stood far above ,him1 with his 'of whom ,i am chief4' ,what difference would there be between ,him and the ,pharisees who called forth ,his bitterest words by this very absence in them of consciousness of sin3 ',if ye were blind ye would have no sin1 but now ye say1 ,we see1 therefore your sin remaineth4' ,singularly enough the world has accepted ,him at ,his own estimate1 and has felt that these lofty assertions of absolute perfection were borne out by ,his life1 and were consistent with the utmost lowliness of heart4 ,as to the adversary's failure1 ,i need only recall the close of ,his life1 which is representative of the whole impression made on the world by ,him4 ,what a wonderful and singular concurrence of testimonies was borne to ,his pure and blameless life6 ,after months of hatred and watching1 even the rulers' lynx-eyed jealousy found nothing1 and they had to fall back upon false witnesses4 ',hearest thou not how many things they witness against ,thee8' ,he stood with unmoved silence1 and the lies fell down dead at ,his feet4 ,had ,he answered1 they would have been preserved and owed their immortality to the ,gospels3 ,he held ,his peace and they vanished4 ,all attempts failed so signally that at the last they were fain1 in well-simulated holy abhorrence1 to base ,his condemnation on what ,he had said in their presence4 ',how think ye1 ye have heard the blasphemy8' ,so all that the adversary1 raking through a life1 could find1 was that one word4 ,that was ,his sin2 in all else ,he was pure4 ,remember ,pilate's acquittal3 ',i find no fault in ,him1' and his wife's warning1 ',have thou nothing to do with that just ,person4' ,think of ,judas1 ',i have sinned in that ,i have betrayed the innocent blood4' ,listen to the penitent thief's low voice gasping out in his pangs and almost collapse3 ',this man hath done nothing amiss4' ,listen to the ,centurion telling the impression made even on his rough nature3 ',truly this was a righteous ,man4' ,these are the answers to the ,servant's challenge1 wrung from the lips of ,his adversaries2 and they but represent the universal judgment of humanity4 ,there is one ,man whose life has been without stain or spot1 whose soul has never been crossed by a breath of passion1 nor dimmed by a speck of sin1 whose will has ever been filled with happy obedience1 whose conscience has been undulled by evil and untaught to speak in condemnation1 whose whole nature has been like some fair marble1 pure in hue1 perfect in form1 and unstained to the very core4 ,there is one ,man who can front the most hostile scrutiny with the bold challenge1 ',which of you convinceth ,me of sin8' and ,his very haters have to answer1 ',i find no fault in ,him1' while those that love ,him rejoice to proclaim ,him 'holy1 harmless1 undefiled1 and separate from sinners4' ,there is one ,man who can front the most rigid ,law of ,duty and say1 ',i came not to destroy but to fulfil1' and the stony tables seem to glow with tender light1 as of rocky cliffs in morning sunshine1 attesting that ,he has indeed fulfilled all righteousness4 ,there is one ,man who can stand before ,god without repentance or confession1 and whose claim ',i do always the things that please ,him1' the awful voice from the opening heavens endorses1 when it proclaims2 ',this is ,my beloved ,son in whom ,i am well pleased4' ,the lowly ,servant of ,god flings out ,his challenge to the universe3 ',who will contend with ,me8' and that gage has lain in the lists for nineteen centuries unlifted4 ,,ii4 ,the ,messiah's expectation of divine vindication and acquittal4 ,like many another man1 ,christ had to strengthen ,himself against calumny and slander by turning to ,god1 and finding comfort in the belief that there was ,one who would do ,him right1 and as throughout this context we have had the true humanity of our ,lord in great prominence1 it is worth while to dwell for a moment on that thought of ,his real sharing in the pain of misconstruction and groundless charges1 and of ,his too having to say1 as we have so often to say1 ',well1 there is one who knows4 ,men may condemn but ,god will acquit4' ,but there is something more than that here4 ,the divine vindication and acquittal is not a mere hidden thought and judgment in the mind of ,god4 ,it is a declaring and showing to be innocent1 and that not by word but by deed4 ,that expectation seemed to be annihilated and made ludicrous by ,his death4 ,but the 'justifying' of which our text speaks takes place in ,christ's resurrection and ascension4 ',manifest in the flesh1 justified in the spirit' 7#a ,timothy iii4 #af74 ',declared to be the ,son of ,god with power1 444 by the resurrection from the dead' 7,rom4 i4 #d74 ,his death seems the entire abandonment of this holy and sinless man4 ,it seems to demonstrate ,his claims to be madness1 ,his hope to be futile1 ,his promises to be wind4 ,no wonder that the sorrowing apostles wailed1 ',we trusted that it had been ,he who should have redeemed ,israel4' ,the death of ,christ1 if it were but a martyr's death1 and if we had to believe that that frame had crumbled into dust1 and that heart ceased for ever to beat1 would not only destroy the worth of all that ,he spoke1 but would be the saddest instance in all history of the irreversible sway that death wields over all mankind1 and would deepen the darkness and sadden the gloom of the grave4 ,true1 there were not wanting even in ,his dying hours mysterious indications1 such as ,his promise to the penitent thief4 ,but these only make the disappointment the deeper1 if there was nothing more after ,his death4 ,so ,christ's justification is in ,his resurrection and ascension4 ,,iii4 ,the ,messiah's confidence of ultimate triumph4 ,in the last words of the text the adversaries are massed together4 ,the confidence that the ,lord ,god will help and justify leads to the conviction that all opposition to ,him is futile and leads to destruction4 ,we see the historical fulfilment in the fate of the nation4 ',his blood be upon us and upon our children4' ,we have a truth applying universally that antagonism to ,him is self-destructive4 ,two forms of destruction are here named4 ,there is a slow decay going on in the opponents and their opposition1 as a garment waxing old1 and there is a being fretted away by the imperceptible working of external causes1 as by gnawing moths4 ,applied to persons4 ,to opposing systems4 ,how many antagonists the ,gospel has had1 and one after another has been antiquated1 and their books are only known because fragments of them are preserved in ,christian writings4 ,paganism is gone from ,europe1 and its idols are in our museums4 ,each generation has its own phase of opposition1 which lasts for a little while4 ,the mists round the sun melt1 the clouds piled in the north1 surging up to bury it beneath their banks1 are dissipated4 ,the sea roars and smashes on the cliffs1 but it ebbs and calms4 ,some of us have seen more than one school of thought which came to the assault of ,christianity1 with colours flying and drums rattling1 defeated utterly and forgotten1 and so it will always be4 ,one may be sure that each enemy in turn will descend to the oblivion that has already received so many1 and can imagine these beaten foes rising from their seats to welcome the newcomer with the sad greeting3 ',art thou also become weak as we8 art thou become like unto us8' ,we are 'justified' in ,his 'justification4' ,the real connection between us and ,christ by faith1 makes our justification to be involved in ,his1 so that it is no mere accommodation but a profound perception of the real relation between ,christ and us1 when ,paul1 in ,romans viii4 #cd1 triumphantly claims the words of our text for ,christ's disciples1 and rings out their challenge on behalf of all believers3 ',it is ,god that justifieth1 who is he that condemneth8' ,do you trust in ,christ8 ,then you too can dare to say3 ',the ,lord ,god will help me2 who is he that shall condemn me8' ',who is among you that feareth the ,lord1 that obeyeth the voice of his servant1 that walketh in darkness1 and hath no light8 let him trust in the name of the ,lord1 and stay upon his ,god4'--,,isaiah l4 #aj4 ,the persons addressed in this call to faith are 'those who fear the ,lord1' and 'obey the voice of ,his ,servant4' ,in that collocation is implied that these two things are necessarily connected1 so that obedience to ,christ is the test of true religion1 and the fear of the ,lord does not exist where the word of the ,son is neglected or rejected4 ,but besides that most fruitful and instructive juxtaposition1 other important thoughts come into view here4 ,the fact that the call to faith is addressed to those who are regarded as already fearing ,god suggests the need for renewed and constantly repeated acts of confidence1 at every stage of the ,christian life1 and opens up the whole subject of the growth and progress of individual religion1 as secured by the continuous exercise of faith4 ,the call is addressed to all at every stage of advancement4 ,of course it is addressed also to those who are disobedient and rebellious4 ,but that wider aspect of the merciful invitation does not come into view here4 ,but there is another clause in the description of the persons addressed1 ',who walketh in darkness and hath no light4' ,this is1 no doubt1 primarily a reference to the great sorrow that filled1 like a gloomy thundercloud1 the horizon of ,jewish prophets1 small and uninteresting as it seems to us1 namely1 the captivity of ,israel and their expulsion from their land4 ,the faithful remnant are not to escape their share in the national calamity4 ,but while it lasts1 they are to wait patiently on the ,lord1 and not to cast away their confidence1 though all seems dark and dreary4 ,the exhortation thus regarded suggests the power and duty of faith even in times of disaster and sorrow4 ,but another meaning has often been attached to these words1 they have been lifted into another region1 the spiritual1 and have been supposed to refer to a state of feeling not unknown to devout hearts1 in which the religious life is devoid of joy and peace4 ,that is a phase of ,christian experience1 which meets any one who knows much of the workings of men's hearts1 and of his own1 when faith is exercised with but little of the light of faith1 and the fear of the ,lord is cherished with but scant joy in the ,lord4 ,now if it be remembered that such an application of the words is not their original purpose1 there can be no harm in using them so4 ,indeed we may say that1 as the words are perfectly general1 they include a reference to all darkness of life or soul1 however produced1 whether it come from the night of sorrow falling on us from without1 or from mists and gloom rising like heavy vapours from our own hearts4 ,so considered1 the text suggests the one remedy for all gloom and weakness in the spiritual life4 ,thus1 then1 we have three different sets of circumstances in which faith is enforced as the source of true strength and our all-embracing duty4 ,in outward sorrow and trial1 trust2 in inward darkness and sadness1 trust2 in every stage of ,christian progress1 trust4 ,or ,i4 ,faith the light in the darkness of the world4 ,,ii4 ,faith the light in the darkness of the soul4 ,,iii4 ,faith the light in every stage of ,christian progress4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i4 ,faith our light in the darkness of the world4 ,the mystery and standing problem of the ,old ,testament is the coexistence of goodness and sorrow1 and the mystery still remains1 and ever will remain1 a fact4 ,it is partially alleviated if we remember that one main purpose of all our sorrows is to lead us to this confidence4 #a4 ,the call to faith is the true voice of all our sorrows4 ,it seems easy to trust when all is bright1 but really it is just as hard1 only we can more easily deceive ourselves1 when physical well-being makes us comfortable4 ,we are less conscious of our own emptiness1 we mask our poverty from ourselves1 we do not seem to need ,god so much4 ,but sorrow reveals our need to us4 ,other props are struck away1 and it is either collapse or ,him4 ,we learn the vanity1 the transiency1 of all besides4 ,sorrow reveals ,god1 as the pillar of cloud glowed brighter when the evening fell4 ,sorrow is meant to awaken the powers that are apt to sleep in prosperity4 ,so the true voice of all our griefs is ',come up hither4' ,they call us to trust1 as nightfall calls us to light up our lamps4 ,the snow keeps the hidden seeds warm2 shepherds burn heather on the hillside that young grass may spring4 #b4 ,the call to faith echoes from the voice of the ,servant4 ,jesus in ,his darkness rested on ,god1 and in all ,his sorrows was yet anointed with the oil of gladness4 ,in every pang ,he has been before us4 ,the rack is sanctified because ,he has been stretched upon it4 #c4 ,the substance of the call4 ,it is to trust1 not to anything more4 ,no attempts to stifle tears are required4 ,there is no sin in sorrow4 ,the emotions which we feel to ,god in bright days are not appropriate at such times4 ,there are seasons in every life when all that we can say is1 ',truly this is a grief1 and ,i will bear it4' ,what then is required8 ,assurance of ,god's loving will sending sorrow4 ,assurance of ,god's strengthening presence in it1 assurance of deliverance from it4 ,these1 not more1 are required2 these are the elements of the faith here called for4 ,such faith may co-exist with the keenest sense of loss4 ,the true attitude in sorrow may be gathered from ,christ's at the grave of ,lazarus1 contrasted with the excessive mourning of the sisters1 and the feigned grief of the ,jews4 ,there are times when the most that we can do is to trust even in the great darkness1 ',though ,he slay me yet will ,i trust in ,him4' ,submissive silence is sometimes the most eloquent confession of faith4 ',i was dumb1 ,i opened not my mouth1 because ,thou didst it4' #d4 ,the blessed results of such faith4 ,it is implied that we may find all that we need1 and more1 in ,god4 ,have we to mourn friends8 ',in the year that ,king ,uzziah died1 ,i saw the ,lord sitting on a throne4' ,have we lost wealth8 ,we have in ,him a treasure that moth or rust cannot touch4 ,are our hopes blasted8 ',happy is ,he 444 whose hope is in the ,lord his ,god4' ,is our health broken8 ',i shall yet praise ,him1 who is the health of my countenance4' ',the ,lord is able to give thee much more than these4' ,how can we face the troubles of life without ,him8 ,god calls us when in darkness1 and by the darkness1 to trust in ,his name and stay ourselves on ,him4 ,happy are we if we answer ',though the fig-tree shall not blossom1 neither shall fruit be in the vines 444 yet ,i will rejoice in the ,lord1 and joy in the ,god of my salvation4' ,,ii4 ,faith1 our light in the darkness of the soul4 ,no doubt there may be such a thing as true fear of ,god in the soul along with spiritual darkness1 faith without the joy of faith4 ,now this condition seems contradictory of the very nature of the ,christian life4 ,for religion is union with ,god who is light1 and if we walk in ,him1 we are in the light4 ,how then can such experience be8 ,we must dismiss the notion of ,god's desertion of the trusting soul4 ,he is always the same2 ,he has 'never said to the seed of ,jacob1 ,seek ye ,me in vain4' ,but while putting aside that false explanation1 we can see how such darkness may be4 ,if our religious life was in more vigorous exercise1 more pure1 perfect and continuous1 there would be no separation of faith and the joy of faith4 ,but we have not such unruffled1 perfect1 uninterrupted faith1 and hence there may be1 and often is1 faith without much joy of faith4 ,i would not say that such experience is always the fruit of sin4 ,but certainly we are not to blame ,him or to think of ,him as breaking ,his promises1 or departing from ,his nature4 ,no principles1 be they ever so firmly held1 ever so undoubtingly received1 ever so passionately embraced1 exert their whole power equally at all moments in a life4 ,there come times of languor when they seem to be mere words1 dead commonplaces1 as unlike their former selves as sapless winter boughs to their summer pride of leafy beauty4 ,the same variation in our realising grasp affects the truths of the ,gospel4 ,sometimes they seem but words1 with all the life and power sucked out of them1 pale shadows of themselves1 or like the dried bed of a wady with blazing1 white stones1 where flashing water used to leap1 and all the flowerets withered1 which once bent their meek little heads to drink4 ,no facts are always equally capable of exciting their correspondent emotions4 ,those which most closely affect our personal life1 in which we find our deepest joys1 are not always present in our minds1 and when they are1 do not always touch the springs of our feelings4 ,no possessions are always equally precious to us4 ,the rich man is not always conscious with equal satisfaction of his wealth4 ,if1 then1 the way from the mind to the emotions is not always equally open1 there is a reason why there may be faith without light of joy4 ,if the thoughts are not always equally concentrated on the things which produce joy1 there is a reason why there may be the habit of fearing ,god1 though there be not the present vigorous exercise of faith1 and consequently but little light4 ,another reason may lie in the disturbing and saddening influence of earthly cares and sorrows4 ,there are all weathers in a year4 ,and the highest hope and nearest possible approach to joy is sometimes ',unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness4' ,our lives are sometimes like an ,arctic winter in which for many days is no sun4 ,another reason may be found in the very fact that we are apt to look impatiently for peace and joy1 and to be more exercised with these than with that which produces them4 ,another may be errors or mistakes about ,god and ,his ,gospel4 ,another may be absorption with our own sin instead of with ,him4 ,to all these add temperament1 education1 habit1 example1 influence of body on the mind1 and of course also positive inconsistencies and a low tone of ,christian life4 ,it is clear then that1 if these be the causes of this state1 the one cure for it is to exercise our faith more energetically4 ,trust1 do not look back4 ,we are tempted to cast away our confidence and to say3 ,what profit shall ,i have if ,i pray unto ,him8 ,but it is on looking onwards1 not backwards1 that safety lies4 ,trust1 do not think about your sins4 ,trust1 do not think so much about your joy4 ,it is in the occupation of heart and mind with ,jesus that joy and peace come4 ,to make them our direct aim is the way not to attain them4 ,though now there seems a long wintry interval between seed time and harvest1 yet 'in due season we shall reap if we faint not4' ',in the fourth watch of the night ,jesus came unto them4' ,,iii4 ,faith our guiding light in every stage of ,christian progress4 ,those who already 'fear ,god' are in the text exhorted to trust4 ,in the most advanced ,christian life there are temptations to abandon our confidence4 ,we never on earth come to such a point as that1 without effort1 we are sure to continue in the way4 ,true1 habit is a wonderful ally of goodness1 and it is a great thing to have it on our side1 but all our lives long1 there will be hindrances without and within which need effort and self-repression4 ,on earth there is no time when it is safe for us to go unarmed4 ,the force of gravitation acts however high we climb4 ,not till heaven is reached will 'love' be 'its own security1' and nature coincide with grace4 ,and even in heaven faith 'abideth1' but there it will be without effort4 #a4 ,the most advanced ,christian life needs a perpetual renewal and repetition of past acts of faith4 ,it cannot live on a past any more than the body can subsist on last year's food4 ,the past is like the deep portions of coral reefs1 a mere platform for the living present which shines on the surface of the sea1 and grows4 ,we must gather manna daily4 ,the life is continued by the same means as that by which it was begun4 ,there is no new duty or method for the most advanced ,christian2 he has to do just what he has been doing for half a century4 ,we cannot transcend the creatural position1 we are ever dependent4 ',to hoar hairs will ,i carry you4' ,the initial point is prolonged into a continuous line4 #b4 ,the most advanced and mature faith is capable of increase1 in regard to its knowledge of its object1 and in intensity1 constancy1 power4 ,at first it may be a tremulous trust1 afterwards it should become an assured confidence4 ,at first it may be but a dim recognition1 as in a glass darkly1 of the great love which has redeemed us at a great price2 afterwards it should become the clear vision of the trusted ,friend and lifelong companion of our souls1 who is all in all to us4 ,at first it may be an interrupted hold1 afterwards it should become such a grasp as the roots of a tree have on the soil4 ,at first it may be a feeble power ruling over our rebel selves1 like some king beleaguered in his capital1 who has no sway beyond its walls1 afterwards it should become a peaceful sovereign who guides and sways all the powers of the soul and outgoings of the life4 ,at first it may be like a premature rose putting forth pale petals on an almost leafless bough1 afterwards the whole tree should be blossomed over with fragrant flowers1 the homes of light and sweetness4 ,the highest faith may be heightened1 and the spirits before the throne pray the prayer1 ',lord1 increase our faith4' ,for us all1 then1 the merciful voice of the servant of the ,lord calls to ,his light4 ,our faith is our light in darkness1 only as a window is the light of a house1 or the eye1 of the body1 because it admits and discerns that true light4 ,he calls us each from the darkness4 ,do not try to make fires for yourselves1 ineffectual and transient1 but look to ,him1 and you shall not walk in darkness1 even amid the gloom of earth1 but shall have light in your darkness1 till the time come when1 in a clearer heaven and a lighter air1 ',thy sun shall no more go down1 neither shall thy moon withdraw itself1 for the ,lord shall be thine everlasting light1 and the days of thy mourning shall be ended4' ,,dying ,,fires ',behold1 all ye that kindle a fire1 that gird yourselves about with firebrands3 walk ye in the flame of your fire1 and among the brands that ye have kindled4 ,this shall ye have of mine hand2 ye shall lie down in sorrow4'--,,isaiah l4 #aa4 ,the scene brought before us in these words is that of a company of belated travellers in some desert1 lighting a little fire that glimmers ineffectual in the darkness of the eerie waste4 ,they huddle round its dying embers for a little warmth and company1 and they hope it will scare wolf and jackal1 but their fuel is all burned1 and they have to go to sleep without its solace and security4 ,the prophet's imaginative picture is painted from life1 and is a sad reality in the cases of all who seek to warm themselves at any fire that they kindle for themselves1 apart from ,god4 ,i4 ,a sad1 true picture of human life4 ,it does not cover1 nor is presented by the prophet as covering1 all the facts of experience4 ,every man has his share of sunshine1 but still it is true of all who are not living in dependence on and communion with ,god1 that they are but travellers in the dark4 ,scripture uses the image of darkness as symbolic of three sad facts of our experience3 ignorance1 sin1 sorrow4 ,are not all these the characteristics of godless lives8 ,as for ignorance--a godless man has no key to the awful problems that front him4 ,he knows not ,god1 who is to him a dread1 a name1 a mystery4 ,he knows not himself1 the depths of his nature1 its possibilities for good or evil1 whence it cometh nor whither it goeth4 ,he has no solution for the riddle of the universe4 ,it is to him a chaos1 and darkness is upon the face of the deep4 ,as to sin1 the darkness of ignorance is largely due to the darkness of sin4 ,in every heart comes sometimes the consciousness that it is thus darkened by sin4 ,the sense of sin is with all men more or less--much perverted1 often wrong in its judgments1 feeble1 easily silenced1 but for all that it is there--and it is great part of the cold obstruction that shuts out the light4 ,sin weaves the pall that shrouds the world4 ,as for darkness of sorrow--we must beware that we do not exaggerate4 ,god makes ,his sun to rise on the evil and the good1 and there is gladness in every life1 much that arises from fulfilled desires1 from accomplished purposes1 from gratified affections4 ,but when all this has been freely admitted1 still sadness crouches somewhere in all hearts1 and over every life the storm sometimes stoops4 ,we need nothing beyond our own experience and the slightest knowledge of other hearts to know how shallow and one-sided a view of life that is which sees only the joy and forgets the sorrow1 which ignores the night and thinks only of the day2 which1 looking out on nature1 is blind to the pain and agony1 the horror and the death1 which are as real parts of it as brightness and beauty1 love and life4 ,every little valley that lies in lovely loneliness has its scenes of desolation1 and tempest has broken over the fairest scenes4 ,every river has drowned its man4 ,over every inch of blue sky the thunder cloud has rolled4 ,every summer has its winter1 every day its night1 every life its death4 ,all stars set1 all moons wane4 ',bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang' come after every leafy ,june4 ,sorrow is as deeply embedded in the necessity and constitution of things as joy4 ',god hath set one over against another1 and hath made all things double4' ,,ii4 ,the vain attempts at light4 ,there is bitter irony in the prophet's description of the poor flickering spot of light in the black waste and of its swift dying out4 ,the travellers without a watch-fire are defenceless from midnight prowlers4 ,how full of solemn truth about godless lives the vivid outline picture is6 ,men try to free themselves from the miseries of ignorance1 sin1 and sorrow4 ,think of the insufficiency of all such attempts1 the feeble flicker which glimmers for an hour1 and then fuel fails and it goes out4 ,then the travellers can journey no further1 but 'lie down in sorrow1' and without a watchfire they become a prey to all the beasts of the field4 ,it is a little picture taken from the life4 ,it vividly paints how men will try to free themselves from the miseries of their condition1 how insufficient all their attempts are1 how transient the relief1 and how bitter and black the end4 ,we may apply these thoughts to-- #a4 ,men-made grounds of hope before ,god4 #b4 ,men-made attempts to read the mysteries4 ,we do not say this of all human learning1 but of that which1 apart from ,god's revelation1 deals with the subjects of that revelation4 #c4 ,men-made efforts at self-reformation4 #d4 ,men-made attempts at alleviating sorrow4 ,scripture abounds in other metaphors for the same solemn spiritual facts as are set before us in this picture of the dying watchfire and the sad men watching its decline4 ,godless lives draw from broken cisterns out of which the water runs4 ,they build with untempered mortar4 ,they lean on broken reeds that wound the hand pressed on them4 ,they spend money for that which is not bread4 ,but all these metaphors put together do not tell all the vanity1 disappointments1 and final failure and ruin of such a life4 ,that last glimpse given in the text of the sorrowful sleeper stretched by the black ashes1 with darkness round and hopeless heaviness within1 points to an issue too awful to be dwelt on by a preacher1 and too awful not to be gravely considered by each of us for himself4 ,,iii4 ,the light from ,god4 ,what would the dead fire and the ring of ashes on the sand matter when morning dawned8 ,jesus is our ,sun4 ,he rises1 and the spectres of the night melt into thin air1 and 'joy cometh in the morning4' ,he floods our ignorance with knowledge of the ,father whose name ,he declares1 with knowledge of ourselves1 of the world1 of our destiny and our duty1 our hopes and our home4 ,he takes away the sin of the world4 ,he gives the oil of joy for mourning4 ,for every human necessity ,he is enough4 ,follow ,him and your life's pilgrimage shall not be a midnight one1 but accomplished in sunshine4 ',i am the light of the world2 he that followeth ,me shall not walk in darkness1 but shall have the light of life4' ,,the ,,awakening ,,of ,,zion ',awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,o arm of the ,lord2 awake1 as in the ancient days1 in the generations of old4'--,,isaiah li4 #i4 ',awake1 awake2 put on thy strength1 ,o ,zion4'--,,isaiah lii4 #a4 ,both these verses are1 ,i think1 to be regarded as spoken by one voice1 that of the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,his majestic figure1 wrapped in a light veil of obscurity1 fills the eye in all these later prophecies of ,isaiah4 ,it is sometimes clothed with divine power1 sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness1 sometimes appearing like the collective ,israel1 sometimes plainly a single person4 ,we have no difficulty in solving the riddle of the prophecy by the light of history4 ,our faith knows ,one who unites these diverse characteristics1 being ,god and man1 being the ,saviour of the body1 which is part of ,himself and instinct with ,his life4 ,if we may suppose that ,he speaks in both verses of the text1 then1 in the one1 as priest and intercessor1 ,he lifts the prayers of earth to heaven in ,his own holy hands--and in the other1 as messenger and ,word of ,god1 ,he brings the answer and command of heaven to earth on ,his own authoritative lips--thus setting forth the deep mystery of ,his person and double office as mediator between man and ,god4 ,but even if we put aside that thought1 the correspondence and relation of the two passages remain the same4 ,in any case they are intentionally parallel in form and connected in substance4 ,the latter is the answer to the former4 ,the cry of ,zion is responded to by the call of ,god4 ,the awaking of the arm of the ,lord is followed by the awaking of the ,church4 ,he puts on strength in clothing us with ,his might1 which becomes ours4 ,the mere juxtaposition of these verses suggests the point of view from which ,i wish to treat them on this occasion4 ,i hope that the thoughts to which they lead may help to further that quickened earnestness and expectancy of blessing1 without which ,christian work is a toil and a failure4 ,we have here a common principle underlying both the clauses of our text1 to which ,i must first briefly ask attention1 namely-- ,i4 ,the occurrence in the ,church's history of successive periods of energy and of languor4 ,it is freely admitted that such alternation is not the highest ideal of growth1 either in the individual or in the community4 ,our ,lord's own parables set forth a more excellent way--the way of uninterrupted increase1 whereof the type is the springing corn1 which puts forth 'first the blade1 then the ear1 after that the full corn in the ear1' and passes through all the stages from the tender green spikelets that gleam over the fields in the spring-tide to the yellow abundance of autumn1 in one unbroken season of genial months4 ,so would our growth be best1 healthiest1 happiest4 ,so might our growth be1 if the mysterious life in the seed met no checks4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 the ,church has not thus grown4 ,rather at the best1 its emblem is to be looked for1 not in corn1 but in the forest tree-the very rings in whose trunk tell of recurring seasons when the sap has risen at the call of spring1 and sunk again before the frowns of winter4 ,i have not to do now with the causes of this4 ,these will fall to be considered presently4 ,nor am ,i saying that such a manner of growth is inevitable4 ,i am only pointing out a fact1 capable of easy verification and familiar to us all4 ,our years have had summer and winter4 ,the evening and the morning have completed all the days since the first4 ,we all know it only too well4 ,in our own hearts we have known such times1 when some cold clinging mist wrapped us round and hid all the heaven of ,god's love and the starry lights of ,his truth2 when the visible was the only real1 and ,he seemed far away and shadowy2 when there was neither confidence in our belief1 nor heat in our love1 nor enthusiasm in our service2 when the shackles of conventionalism bound our souls1 and the fetters of the frost imprisoned all their springs4 ,and we have seen a like palsy smite whole regions and ages of the ,church of ,god1 so that even the sensation of impotence was dead like all the rest1 and the very tradition of spiritual power had faded away4 ,i need not point to the signal historical examples of such times in the past4 ,remember ,england a hundred years ago--but what need to travel so far8 ,may ,i venture to draw my example from nearer home1 and ask1 have we not been living in such an epoch8 ,i beseech you1 think whether the power which the ,gospel preached by us wields on ourselves1 on our churches1 on the world1 is what ,christ meant it and fitted to exercise4 ,why1 if we hold our own in respect to the material growth of our population1 it is as much as we do4 ,where is the joyful buoyancy and expansive power with which the ,gospel burst into the world8 ,it looks like some stream that leaps from the hills1 and at first hurries from cliff to cliff full of light and music1 but flows slower and more sluggish as it advances1 and at last almost stagnates in its flat marshes4 ,here we are with all our machinery1 our culture1 money1 organisations--and the net result of it all at the year's end is but a poor handful of ears4 ',ye sow much and bring home little4' ,well may we take up the wail of the old ,psalm1 ',we see not our signs4 ,there is no more any prophet2 neither is there any among us that knoweth how long--arise1 ,o ,lord1 plead ,thine own cause4' ,if1 then1 there are such recurring seasons of languor1 they must either go on deepening till sleep becomes death1 or they must be broken by a new outburst of vigorous life4 ,it would be better if we did not need the latter4 ,the uninterrupted growth would be best2 but if that has not been attained1 then the ending of winter by spring1 and the suppling of the dry branches1 and the resumption of the arrested growth1 is the next best1 and the only alternative to rotting away4 ,and it is by such times that the ,kingdom of ,christ always has grown4 ,its history has been one of successive impulses gradually exhausted1 as by friction and gravity1 and mercifully repeated just at the moment when it was ceasing to advance and had begun to slide backwards4 ,and in such a manner of progress1 the ,church's history has been in full analogy with that of all other forms of human association and activity4 ,it is not in religion alone that there are 'revivals1' to use the word of which some people have such a dread4 ,you see analogous phenomena in the field of literature1 arts1 social and political life4 ,in them all1 there come times of awakened interest in long-neglected principles4 ,truths which for many years had been left to burn unheeded1 save by a faithful few watchers of the beacon1 flame up all at once as the guiding pillars of a nation's march1 and a whole people strike their tents and follow where they lead4 ,a mysterious quickening thrills through society4 ,a contagion of enthusiasm spreads like fire1 fusing all hearts in one4 ,the air is electric with change4 ,some great advance is secured at a stride2 and before and after that supreme effort are years of comparative quiescence2 those before being times of preparation1 those after being times of fruition and exhaustion--but slow and languid compared with the joyous energy of that moment4 ,one day may be as a thousand years in the history of a people1 and a nation may be born in a day4 ,so also is the history of the ,church4 ,and thank ,god it is so1 for if it had not been for the dawning of these times of refreshing1 the steady operation of the ,church's worldliness would have killed it long ago4 ,surely1 dear brethren1 we ought to desire such a merciful interruption of the sad continuity of our languor and decay4 ,the surest sign of its coming would be a widespread desire and expectation of its coming1 joined with a penitent consciousness of our heavy and sinful slumber4 ,for we believe in a ,god who never sends mouths but ,he sends meat to fill them1 and in whose merciful providence every desire is a prophecy of its own fruition4 ,this attitude of quickened anticipation1 diffusing itself silently through many hearts1 is like the light air that springs up before sunrise1 or like the solemn hush that holds all nature listening before the voice of the ,lord in the thunder4 ,and another sign of its approach is the extremity of the need4 ',if winter come1 can spring be far behind8' ,for ,he who is always with ,zion strikes in with ,his help when the want is at its sorest4 ,his 'right early' is often the latest moment before destruction4 ,and though we are all apt to exaggerate the urgency of the hour and the severity of our conflict1 it certainly does seem that1 whether we regard the languor of the ,church or the strength of our adversaries1 succour delayed a little longer would be succour too late4 ',the tumult of those that rise up against ,thee increaseth continually4 ,it is time for ,thee to work4' ,the juxtaposition of these passages suggests for us-- ,,ii4 ,the twofold explanation of these variations4 ,that bold metaphor of ,god's sleeping and waking is often found in ,scripture1 and generally expresses the contrast between the long years of patient forbearance1 during which evil things and evil men go on their rebellious road unchecked but by ,love1 and the dread moment when some throne of iniquity1 some ,babylon cemented by blood1 is smitten to the dust4 ,such is the original application of the expression here4 ,but the contrast may fairly be widened beyond that specific form of it1 and taken to express any apparent variations in the forth-putting of ,his power4 ,the prophet carefully avoids seeming to suggest that there are changes in ,god ,himself4 ,it is not ,he but ,his arm1 that is to say4 ,his active energy1 that is invoked to awake4 ,the captive ,church prays that the dormant might which could so easily shiver her prison-house would flame forth into action4 ,we may1 then1 see here implied the cause of these alternations1 of which we have been speaking1 on its divine side1 and then1 in the corresponding verse addressed to the ,church1 the cause on the human side4 ,as to the former1 it is true that ,god's arm sometimes slumbers1 and is not clothed with power4 ,there are1 as a fact1 apparent variations in the energy with which ,he works in the ,church and in the world4 ,and they are real variations1 not merely apparent4 ,but we have to distinguish between the power1 and what ,paul calls 'the might of the power4' ,the one is final1 constant1 unchangeable4 ,it does not necessarily follow that the other is4 ,the rate of operation1 so to speak1 and the amount of energy actually brought into play may vary1 though the force remains the same4 ,it is clear from experience that there are these variations2 and the only question with which we are concerned is1 are they mere arbitrary jets and spurts of a divine power1 sometimes gushing out in full flood1 sometimes trickling in painful drops1 at the unknown will of the unseen hand which controls the flow8 ,is the 'law of the ,spirit of life' at all revealed to us2 or are the reasons occult1 if there be any reasons at all other than a mere will that it shall be so8 ,surely1 whilst we never can know all the depths of ,his counsels and all the solemn concourse of reasons which1 to speak in man's language1 determine the energy of ,his manifested power1 ,he has left us in no doubt that this is the weightiest part of the law which it follows--the might with which ,god works on the world through ,his ,church varies according to the ,church's receptiveness and faithfulness4 ,our second text tells us that if ,god's arm seems to slumber and really does so1 it is because ,zion sleeps4 ,in itself that immortal energy knows no variableness4 ',he fainteth not1 neither is weary4' ',the ,lord's arm is not shortened that ,he cannot save4' ',he that keepeth ,israel shall neither slumber nor sleep4' ,but ,he works through us2 and we have the solemn and awful power of checking the might which would flow through us2 of restraining and limiting the ,holy ,one of ,israel4 ,it avails nothing that the ocean stretches shoreless to the horizon2 a jar can hold only a jarful4 ,the receiver's capacity determines the amount received1 and the receiver's desire determines his capacity4 ,the law has ever been1 'according to your faith be it unto you4' ,god gives as much as we will1 as much as we can hold1 as much as we use1 and far more than we deserve4 ,as long as we will bring our vessels the golden oil will flow1 and after the last is filled1 there yet remains more that we might have had1 if we could have held it1 and might have held if we would4 ',ye are not straitened in ,me1 ye are straitened in yourselves4' ,so1 dear brethren1 if we have to lament times of torpor and small success1 let us be honest with ourselves1 and recognise that all the blame lies with us4 ,if ,god's arm seems to slumber1 it is because we are asleep4 ,his power is invariable1 and the ,gospel which is committed to our trust has lost none of its ancient power1 whatsoever men may say4 ,if there be variations1 they cannot be traced to the divine element in the ,church1 which in itself is constant1 but altogether to the human1 which shifts and fluctuates1 as we only too sadly know4 ,the light in the beacon-tower is steady1 and the same2 but the beam it throws across the waters sometimes fades to a speck1 and sometimes flames out clear and far across the heaving waves1 according to the position of the glasses and shades around it4 ,the sun pours out heat as profusely and as long at midwinter as on midsummer-day1 and all the difference between the frost and darkness and glowing brightness and flowering life1 is simply owing to the earth's place in its orbit and the angle at which the unalterable rays fall upon it4 ,the changes are in the terrestrial sphere2 the heavenly is fixed for ever the same4 ,may ,i not venture to point an earnest and solemn appeal with these truths8 ,has there not been poured over us the spirit of slumber8 ,does it not seem as if an opium sky had been raining soporifics on our heads8 ,we have had but little experience of the might of ,god amongst us of late years1 and we need not wonder at it4 ,there is no occasion to look far for the reason4 ,we have only to regard the low ebb to which religious life has been reduced amongst us to have it all and more than all accounted for4 ,i fully admit that there has been plenty of activity1 perhaps more than the amount of real life warrants1 not a little liberality1 and many virtues4 ,but how languid and torpid the true ,christian life has been6 how little enthusiasm6 how little depth of communion with ,god6 how little unworldly elevation of soul6 how little glow of love6 ,an improvement in social position and circumstances1 a freer blending with the national life1 a full share of civic and political honours1 a higher culture in our pulpits1 fine chapels1 and applauding congregations--are but poor substitutes for what many of us have lost in racing after them4 ,we have the departed prophets' mantle1 the outward resemblance to the fathers who have gone1 but their fiery zeal has passed to heaven with them2 and softer1 weaker men1 we stand timidly on the river's brink1 invoking the ,lord ,god of ,elijah1 and too often the flood that obeyed them has no ear for our feebler voice4 ,i speak to many who are in some sort representatives of the churches throughout the land1 and they can tell whether my words are on the whole true or overstrained4 ,we who labour in our great cities1 what say we8 ,if one of the number may speak for the rest1 we have to acknowledge that commercial prosperity and business cares1 the eagerness after pleasure and the exigencies of political strife1 diffused doubt and widespread artistic and literary culture1 are eating the very life out of thousands in our churches1 and lowering their fervour till1 like molten iron cooling in the air1 what was once all glowing with ruddy heat is crusted over with foul black scoriae ever encroaching on the tiny central warmth4 ,you from rural churches1 what say you8 ,have you not to speak of deepening torpor settling down on quiet corners1 of the passing away of grey heads which leave no successors1 of growing difficulties and lessened power to meet them1 that make you sometimes all but despair8 ,i am not flinging indiscriminate censures4 ,i know that there are lights as well as shades in the picture4 ,i am not flinging censures at all4 ,but ,i am giving voice to the confessions of many hearts1 that our consciousness of our blame may be deepened1 and we may hasten back to that dear ,lord whom we have left to serve alone1 as ,his first disciples left ,him once to agonise alone under the gnarled olives in ,gethsemane1 while they lay sleeping in the moonlight4 ,listen to ,his gentle rebuke1 full of pain and surprised love1 ',what1 could ye not watch with ,me one hour8' ,listen to ,his warning call1 loving as the kiss with which a mother wakes her child1 ',arise1 let us be going'--and let us shake the spirit of slumber from our limbs1 and serve ,him as those unsleeping spirits do1 who rest not day nor night from vision and work and praise4 ,,iii4 ,the beginning of all awaking is the ,church's earnest cry to ,god4 ,it is with us as with infants1 the first sign of whose awaking is a cry4 ,the mother's quick ear hears it through all the household noises1 and the poor little troubled life that woke to a scared consciousness of loneliness and darkness1 is taken up into tender arms1 and comforted and calmed4 ,so1 when we dimly perceive how torpid we have been1 and start to find that we have lost our ,father's hand1 the first instinct of that waking1 which must needs be partly painful1 is to call to ,him1 whose ear hears our feeble cry amid the sound of praise like the voice of many waters1 that billows round ,his throne1 and whose folding arms keep us 'as one whom his mother comforteth4' ,the beginning of all true awaking must needs be prayer4 ,for every such stirring of quickened religious life must needs have in it bitter penitence and pain at the discovery flashed upon us of the wretched deadness of our past--and1 as we gaze like some wakened sleepwalker into the abyss where another step might have smashed us to atoms1 a shuddering terror seizes us that must cry1 ',hold ,thou me up1 and ,i shall be safe4' ,and every such stirring of quickened life will have in it1 too1 desire for more of ,his grace1 and confidence in ,his sure bestowal of it1 which cannot but breathe itself in prayer4 ,nor is ,zion's cry to ,god only the beginning and sign of all true awaking3 it is also the condition and indispensable precursor of all perfecting of recovery from spiritual languor4 ,i have already pointed out the relation between the waking of ,god and the waking of ,his ,church1 from which that necessarily follows4 ,god's power flows into our weakness in the measure and on condition of our desires4 ,we are sometimes told that we err in praying for the outpouring of ,his ,holy ,spirit1 because ever since ,pentecost ,his ,church has had the gift4 ,the objection alleges an unquestioned fact1 but the conclusion drawn from it rests on an altogether false conception of the manner of that abiding gift4 ,the ,spirit of ,god1 and the power which comes from ,him1 are not given as a purse of money might be put into a man's hand once and for all1 but they are given in a continuous impartation and communication and are received and retained moment by moment1 according to the energy of our desires and the faithfulness of our use4 ,as well might we say1 ,why should ,i ask for natural life1 ,i received it half a century ago8 ,yes1 and at every moment of that half-century ,i have continued to live1 not because of a past gift1 but because at each moment ,god is breathing into my nostrils the breath of life4 ,so is it with the life which comes from ,his ,spirit4 ,it is maintained by constant efflux from the fountain of ,life1 by constant impartation of ,his quickening breath4 ,and as ,he must continually impart1 so must we continually receive1 else we perish4 ,therefore1 brethren1 the first step towards awaking1 and the condition of all true revival in our own souls and in our churches1 is this earnest cry1 ',awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,o arm of the ,lord4 ,thank ,god for the outpouring of a long unwonted spirit of prayer in many places4 ,it is like the melting of the snows in the high ,alps1 at once the sign of spring and the cause of filling the stony river beds with flashing waters1 that bring verdure and growth wherever they come4 ,the winter has been long and hard4 ,we have all to confess that we have been restraining prayer before ,god4 ,our work has been done with but little sense of our need of ,his blessing1 with but little ardour of desire for ,his power4 ,we have prayed lazily1 scarcely believing that answers would come2 we have not watched for the reply1 but have been like some heartless marksman who draws his bow and does not care to look whether his arrow strikes the target4 ,these mechanical words1 these conventional petitions1 these syllables winged by no real desire1 inspired by no faith1 these expressions of devotion1 far too wide for their real contents1 which rattle in them like a dried kernel in a nut1 are these prayers8 ,is there any wonder that they have been dispersed in empty air1 and that we have been put to shame before our enemies8 ,brethren in the ministry1 do we need to be surprised at our fruitless work1 when we think of our prayerless studies and of our faithless prayers8 ,let us remember that solemn word1 ',the pastors have become brutish1 and have not sought the ,lord1 therefore they shall not prosper1 and all their flocks shall be scattered4' ,and let us all1 brethren1 betake ourselves1 with penitence and lowly consciousness of our sore need1 to prayer1 earnest and importunate1 believing and persistent1 like this heaven-piercing cry which captive ,israel sent up from her weary bondage4 ,look at the passionate earnestness of it--expressed in the short1 sharp cry1 thrice repeated1 as from one in mortal need2 and see to it that our drowsy prayers be like it4 ,look at the grand confidence with which it founds itself on the past1 recounting the mighty deeds of ancient days1 and looking back1 not for despair but for joyful confidence1 to the generations of old2 and let our faint-hearted faith be quickened by the example1 to expect great things of ,god4 ,the age of miracles is not gone4 ,the mightiest manifestations of ,god's power in the spread of the ,gospel in the past remain as patterns for ,his future4 ,we have not to look back as from low-lying plains to the blue peaks on the horizon1 across which the ,church's path once lay1 and sigh over the changed conditions of the journey4 ,the highest watermark that the river in flood has ever reached will be reached and overpassed again1 though to-day the waters may seem to have hopelessly subsided4 ,greater triumphs and deliverances shall crown the future than have signalised the past4 ,let our faithful prayer base itself on the prophecies of history and on the unchangeableness of ,god4 ,think1 brethren1 of the prayers of ,christ4 ,even ,he1 whose spirit needed not to be purged from stains or calmed from excitement1 who was ever in ,his ,father's house whilst ,he was about ,his ,father's business1 blending in one1 action and contemplation1 had need to pray4 ,the moments of ,his life thus marked are very significant4 ,when ,he began ,his ministry1 the close of the first day of toil and wonders saw ,him1 far from gratitude and from want1 in a desert place in prayer4 ,when ,he would send forth ,his apostles1 that great step in advance1 in which lay the germ of so much1 was preceded by solitary prayer4 ,when the fickle crowd desired to make ,him the centre of political revolution1 ,he passed from their hands and beat back that earliest attempt to secularise ,his work1 by prayer4 ,when the seventy brought the first tidings of mighty works done in ,his name1 ,he showed us how to repel the dangers of success1 in that ,he thanked the ,lord of heaven and earth who had revealed these things to babes4 ,when ,he stood by the grave of ,lazarus1 the voice that waked the dead was preceded by the voice of prayer1 as it ever must be4 ,when ,he had said all that ,he could say to ,his disciples1 ,he crowned all with ,his wonderful prayer for ,himself1 for them1 and for us all4 ,when the horror of great darkness fell upon ,his soul1 the growing agony is marked by ,his more fervent prayer1 so wondrously compact of shrinking fear and filial submission4 ,when the cross was hid in the darkness of eclipse1 the only words from the gloom were words of prayer4 ,when1 ,godlike1 ,he dismissed ,his spirit1 manlike ,he commended it to ,his ,father1 and sent the prayer from ,his dying lips before ,him to herald ,his coming into the unseen world4 ,one instance remains1 even more to our present purpose than all these--',it came to pass1 that ,jesus also being baptized1 and praying1 the heaven was opened1 and the ,holy ,ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon ,him4' ,mighty mystery6 ,in ,him1 too1 the ,son's desire is connected with the ,father's gift1 and the unmeasured possession of the ,spirit was an answer to ,his prayer4 ,then1 brethren1 let us lift our voices and our hearts4 ,that which ascends as prayer descends as blessing1 like the vapour that is drawn up by the kiss of the sun to fall in freshening rain4 ',call upon ,me1 and ,i will answer thee1 and show thee great and hidden things which thou knowest not4' ,,iv4 ,the answering call from ,god to ,zion4 ,our truest prayers are but the echo of ,god's promises4 ,god's best answers are the echo of our prayers4 ,as in two mirrors set opposite to each other1 the same image is repeated over and over again1 the reflection of a reflection1 so here1 within the prayer1 gleams an earlier promise1 within the answer is mirrored the prayer4 ,and in that reverberation1 and giving back to us our petition transformed into a command1 we are not to see a dismissal of it as if we had misapprehended our true want4 ,it is not tantamount to1 ,do not ask me to put on my strength1 but array yourselves in your own4 ,the very opposite interpretation is the true one4 ,the prayer of ,zion is heard and answered4 ,god awakes1 and clothes ,himself with might4 ,then1 as some warrior king1 himself roused from sleep and girded with flashing steel1 bids the clarion sound through the grey twilight to summon the prostrate ranks that lie round his tent1 so the sign of ,god's awaking and the first act of ,his conquering might is this trumpet call--',the night is far spent1 the day is at hand1 let us put off the works of darkness1'--the night gear that was fit for slumber--'and put on the armour of light1' the mail of purity that gleams and glitters even in the dim dawn4 ,god's awaking is our awaking4 ,he puts on strength by making us strong2 for ,his arm works through us1 clothing itself1 as it were1 with our arm of flesh1 and perfecting itself even in our weakness4 ,nor is it to be forgotten that this1 like all ,god's commands1 carries in its heart a promise4 ,that earliest word of ,god's is the type of all ,his latter behests3 ',let there be light1' and the mighty syllables were creative and self-fulfilling4 ,so ever1 with ,him1 to enjoin and to bestow are one and the same1 and ,his command is ,his conveyance of power4 ,he rouses us by ,his summons1 ,he clothes us with power in the very act of bidding us put it on4 ,so ,he answers the ,church's cry by stimulating us to quickened zeal1 and making us more conscious of1 and confident in1 the strength which1 in answer to our cry1 ,he pours into our limbs4 ,but the main point which ,i would insist on in what remains of this sermon1 is the practical discipline which this divine summons requires from us4 ,and first1 let us remember that the chief means of quickened life and strength is deepened communion with ,christ4 ,as we have been saying1 our strength is ours by continual derivation from ,him4 ,it has no independent existence1 any more than a sunbeam could have1 severed from the sun4 ,it is ours only in the sense that it flows through us1 as a river through the land which it enriches4 ,it is ,his whilst it is ours1 it is ours when we know it to be ,his4 ,then1 clearly1 the first thing to do must be to keep the channels free by which it flows into our souls1 and to maintain the connection with the great ,fountainhead unimpaired4 ,put a dam across the stream1 and the effect will be like the drying up of ,jordan before ,israel3 'the waters that were above rose up upon an heap1 and the waters that were beneath failed and were cut off1' and the foul oozy bed was disclosed to the light of day4 ,it is only by constant contact with ,christ that we have any strength to put on4 ,that communion with ,him is no mere idle or passive attitude1 but the active employment of our whole nature with ,his truth1 and with ,him whom the truth reveals4 ,the understanding must be brought into contact with the principles of ,his word1 the heart must touch and beat against ,his heart1 the will meekly lay its hand in ,his1 the conscience draw at once its anodyne and its stimulus from ,his sacrifice1 the passions know ,his finger on the reins1 and follow1 led in the silken leash of love4 ,then1 if ,i may so say1 ,elisha's miracle will be repeated in nobler form1 and from ,himself1 the ,life thus touching all our being1 life will flow into our deadness4 ',he put his mouth upon his mouth1 and his eyes upon his eyes1 and his hands upon his hands1 and he stretched himself upon the child1 and the flesh of the child waxed warm4' ,so1 dear brethren1 all our practical duty is summed up in that one word1 the measure of our obedience to which is the measure of all our strength-',abide in ,me1 and ,i in you4 ,as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself1 except it abide in the vine1 no more can ye1 except ye abide in ,me4' ,again1 this summons calls us to the faithful use of the power which1 on condition of that communion1 we have4 ,there is no doubt a temptation1 in all times like the present1 to look for some new and extraordinary forms of blessing1 and to substitute such expectation for present work with our present strength4 ,there is nothing new to look for4 ,there is no need to wait for anything more than we possess4 ,remember the homely old proverb1 ',you never know what you can do till you try1' and though we are conscious of much unfitness1 and would sometimes gladly wait till our limbs are stronger1 let us brace ourselves for the work1 assured that in it strength will be given to us that equals our desire4 ,there is a wonderful power in honest work to develop latent energies and reveal a man to himself4 ,i suppose1 in most cases1 no one is half so much surprised at a great man's greatest deeds as he is himself4 ,they say that there is dormant electric energy enough in a few raindrops to make a thunderstorm1 and there is dormant spiritual force enough in the weakest of us to flash into beneficent light1 and peal notes of awaking into many a deaf ear4 ,the effort to serve your ,lord will reveal to you strength that you know not4 ,and it will increase the strength which it brings into play1 as the used muscles grow like whipcord1 and the practised fingers become deft at their task1 and every faculty employed is increased1 and every gift wrapped in a napkin melts like ice folded in a cloth1 according to that solemn law1 ',to him that hath shall be given1 and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath4' ,then be sure that to its last particle you are using the strength you have1 ere you complain of not having enough for your tasks4 ,take heed of the vagrant expectations that wait for they know not what1 and the apparent prayers that are really substitutes for possible service4 ',why liest thou on thy face8 ,speak unto the children of ,israel that they go forward4' ,the ,church's resources are sufficient for the ,church's work1 if the resources are used4 ,we are tempted to doubt it1 by reason of our experience of failure and our consciousness of weakness4 ,we are more than ever tempted to doubt it to-day1 when so many wise men are telling us that our ,christ is a phantom1 our ,god a stream of tendency1 our ,gospel a decaying error1 our hope for the world a dream1 and our work in the world done4 ,we stand before our ,master with doubtful hearts1 and1 as we look along the ranks sitting there on the green grass1 and then at the poor provisions which make all our store1 we are sometimes tempted almost to think that ,he errs when ,he says with that strange calmness of ,his1 ',they need not depart1 give ye them to eat4' ,but go out among the crowds and give confidently what you have1 and you will find that you have enough and to spare4 ,if ever our stores seem inadequate1 it is because they are reckoned up by sense1 which takes cognizance of the visible1 instead of by faith which beholds the real4 ,certainly five loaves and two small fishes are not enough1 but are not five loaves and two small fishes and a miracle-working hand behind them1 enough8 ,it is poor calculation that leaves out ,christ from the estimate of our forces4 ,the weakest man and ,jesus to back him are more than all antagonism1 more than sufficient for all duty4 ,be not seduced into doubt of your power1 or of your success1 by others' sneers1 or by your own faint-heartedness4 ,the confidence of ability is ability4 ',screw your courage to the sticking place1' and you will not fail--and see to it that you use the resources you have1 as good stewards of the manifold grace of ,god4 ',put on thy strength1 ,o ,zion4' ,so1 dear brethren1 to gather all up in a sentence1 let us confidently look for times of blessing1 penitently acknowledge that our own faithlessness has hindered the arm of the ,lord1 earnestly beseech ,him to come in ,his rejoicing strength1 and1 drawing ever fresh power from constant communion with our dear ,lord1 use it to its last drop for ,him4 ,then1 like the mortal leader of ,israel1 as he pondered doubtingly with sunken eyes on the hard task before his untrained host1 we shall look up and be aware of the presence of the sworded angel1 the immortal ,captain of the host of the ,lord1 standing ready to save1 'putting on righteousness as a breastplate1 an helmet of salvation on ,his head1 and clad with zeal as a cloak4' ,from ,his lips1 which give what they command1 comes the call1 ',take unto you the whole armour of ,god1 that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day1 and having done all1 to stand4' ,hearkening to ,his voice1 the city of the strong ones shall be made an heap before our wondering ranks1 and the land shall lie open to our conquering march4 ,wheresoever we lift up the cry1 ',awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,o arm of the ,lord1' there follows1 swift as the thunderclap on the lightning flash1 the rousing summons1 ',awake1 awake1 put on thy strength1 ,o ,zion2 put on thy beautiful garments1 ,o ,jerusalem6' ,wheresoever it is obeyed there will follow in due time the joyful chorus1 as in this context1 ',sing together1 ye waste places of ,jerusalem2 the ,lord hath made bare ,his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations1 and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our ,god4' ,a ,,paradox ,,of ,,selling ,,and ,,buying ',ye have sold yourselves for nought2 and ye shall be redeemed without money4'--,,isaiah iii4 #c4 ,,the first reference of these words is of course to the ,captivity4 ,they come in the midst of a grand prophecy of freedom1 all full of leaping gladness and buoyant hope4 ,the ,seer speaks to the captives2 they had 'sold themselves for nought4' ,what had they gained by their departure from ,god8--bondage4 ,what had they won in exchange for their freedom8--only the hard service of ,babylon4 ,as ,deuteronomy puts it3 ',because thou servedst not the ,lord thy ,god with joyfulness444 by reason of the abundance of all things1 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies444in want of all things4' ,a wise exchange6 a good market they had brought their goods to6 ,in striking ironical parallel the prophet goes on to say that so should they be redeemed4 ,they had got nothing by bondage1 they should give nothing for liberty4 ,this text has its highest application in regard to our captivity and our redemption4 ,i4 ,the reality of the captivity4 ,the true idea of bondage is that of coercion of will and conscience1 the dominance and tyranny of what has no right to rule4 ,so men are really in bondage when they think themselves most free4 ,the only real slavery is that in which we are tied and bound by our own passions and lusts4 ',he that committeth sin is the slave of sin4' ,he thinks himself master of himself and his actions1 and boasts that he has broken away from the restraints of obedience1 but really he has only exchanged masters4 ,what a ,master to reject--and what a master to prefer6 ,,ii4 ,the voluntariness of the captivity4 ',ye have sold yourselves1' and become authors of your own bondage4 ,no sin is forced upon any man1 and no one is to blame for it but himself4 ,the many excuses which people make to themselves are hollow4 ,now-a-days we hear a great deal of heredity1 how a man is what his ancestors have made him1 and of organisation1 how a man is what his body makes him1 and of environment1 how a man is what his surroundings make him4 ,there is much truth in all that1 and men's guilt is much diminished by circumstances1 training1 and temperament4 ,the amount of responsibility is not for us to settle1 in regard to others1 or even in regard to ourselves4 ,but all that does not touch the fact that we ourselves have sold ourselves4 ,no false brethren have sold us as they did ,joseph4 ,the strong tendency of human nature is always to throw the blame on some one else2 ,god or the devil1 the flesh or the world1 it does not matter which4 ,but it remains true that every man sinning is 'drawn away of his own lust and enticed4' ,after all1 conscience witnesses to the truth1 and by that mysterious sense of guilt and gnawing of remorse which is quite different from the sense of mistake1 tears to tatters the sophistries4 ,nothing is more truly my own than my sin4 ,,iii4 ,the profitlessness of the captivity4 ',for nought'2 that is a picturesque way of putting the truth that all sinful life fails to satisfy a man4 ,the meaning of one of the ,hebrew words for sin is 'missing the mark4' ,it is a blunder as well as a crime4 ,it is trying to draw water from broken cisterns4 ,it is 'as when a hungry man dreameth and behold he eateth1 but he awaketh and his soul is empty4' ,sin buys men with fairy money1 which looks like gold1 but in the morning is found to be but a handful of yellow and faded leaves4 ',why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread8' ,it cannot but be so1 for only ,god can satisfy a man1 and only in doing ,his will are we sure of sowing seed which will yield us bread enough and to spare1 and nothing but bread4 ,in all other harvests1 tares mingle and they yield poisoned flour4 ,we never get what we aim at when we do wrong1 for what we aim at is not the mere physical or other satisfaction which the temptation offers us1 but rest of soul--and that we do not get4 ,and we are sure to get something that we did not aim at or look for--a wounded conscience1 a worsened nature1 often hurts to health or reputation1 and other consequent ills1 that were carefully kept out of sight1 while we were being seduced by the siren voice4 ,the old story of the traitress1 who bargained to let the enemies into the city1 if they would give her 'what they wore on their left arms1' meaning bracelets1 and was crushed to death under their shields heaped on her1 is repeated in the experience of every man who listens to the 'juggling fiends1 who keep the word of promise to the ear1 but break it to the hope4' ,the truth of this is attested by a cloud of witnesses4 ,conscience and experience answer the question1 ',what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed8' ,wasted lives answer2 tyrannous evil habits answer2 diseased bodies1 blighted reputations1 bitter memories answer4 ,,iv4 ,the unbought freedom4 ',ye shall be redeemed without money4' ,you gained nothing by your bondage2 you need give nothing for your emancipation4 ,the original reference is1 of course1 to the great act of divine power which set these literal captives free1 not for price nor reward4 ,as in the ,exodus from ,egypt1 so in that from ,babylon1 no ransom was paid1 but a nation of bondsmen was set at liberty without war or compensation4 ,that was a strange thing in history4 ,the paradox of buying back without buying is a symbol of the ,christian redemption4 7#a7 ,a price has been paid4 ',ye were redeemed not with corruptible things as silver and gold1 but with the precious blood of ,christ4' ,the ,new ,testament idea of redemption1 no doubt1 has its roots in the ,old ,testament provisions for the ,goel or kinsman redeemer1 who was to procure the freedom of a kinsman4 ,but whatever figurative elements may enter into it1 its core is the ethical truth that ,christ's death is the means by which the bonds of sin are broken4 ,there is much in the many-sided applications and powers of that ,death which we do not know1 but this is clear1 that by it the power of sin is destroyed and the guilt of sin taken away4 7#b7 ,that price has been paid for all4 ,we have therefore nothing to pay4 ,a slave cannot redeem himself1 for all that he has is his master's already4 ,so1 no efforts of ours can set ourselves free from the 'cords of our sins4' ,men try to bring something of their own4 ',i do my best and ,god will have mercy4' ,we will bring our own penitence1 efforts1 good works1 or rely on ,church ordinances1 or anything rather than sue in forma pauperis4 ,how hard it is to get men to see that ',it is finished1' and to come and rest only on the mere mercy of ,god4 ,how do we ally ourselves with that completed work8 ,by simple faith1 of which an essential is the recognition that we have nothing and can do nothing4 ,suppose an ,israelite in ,babylon who did not choose to avail himself of the offered freedom2 he must die in bondage4 ,so must we if we refuse to have eternal life as the gift of ,god4 ,the prophet's paradoxical invitation1 ',he that hath no money1 come ye1 buy444without money1' is easily solved4 ,the price is to give up ourselves and forsake all self-willed striving after self-purchased freedom which is but subtler bondage4 ',if the ,son make you free1 ye shall be free indeed4' ,if not1 then are ye slaves indeed1 having 'sold yourselves for nought1' and declined to be 'redeemed without money4' ,,clean ,,carriers ',be ye clean1 that bear the vessels of the ,lord4'--,,isaiah lii4 #aa4 ,the context points to a great deliverance4 ,it is a good example of the prophetical habit of casting prophecies of the future into the mould of the past4 ,the features of the ,exodus are repeated1 but some of them are set aside4 ,this deliverance1 whatever it be1 is to be after the pattern of that old story1 but with very significant differences4 ,then1 the departing ,israelites had spoiled the ,egyptians and come out1 laden with silver and gold which had been poured into their hands2 now there is to be no bringing out of anything which was tainted with the foulness of the land of captivity4 ,then the priests had borne the sacred vessels for sacrifice1 now they are to exercise the same holy function1 and for its discharge purity is demanded4 ,then1 they had gone out in haste2 now1 there is to be no precipitate flight1 but calmly1 as those who are guided by ,god for their leader1 and shielded from all pursuit by ,god as their rearward1 the men of this new ,exodus are to take their march from the new ,egypt4 ,no doubt the nearest fulfilment is to be found in the ,return from ,babylon1 and the narrative in ,ezra may be taken as a remarkable parallel to the prophecy here4 ,but the restriction to ,babylon must seem impossible to any reader who interprets aright the significance of the context1 and observes that our text follows the grand words of verse #aj1 and precedes the ,messianic prophecy of verse #ac and of ch4 liii4 ,to such a reader the principle will not be doubtful according to which ,egypt and ,babylon are transparencies through which mightier forms shine1 and a more wonderful and world-wide making bare of the arm of the ,lord is seen4 ,christ's great redemption is the highest interpretation of these words2 and the trumpet-call of our text is addressed to all who have become partakers of it4 ,so ,paul quotes the text in #b ,cor4 vi4 #ag1 blending with it other words which are gathered from more than one passage of ,scripture4 ,we may then take the whole as giving the laws of the new ,exodus1 and also as shadowing certain great peculiarities connected with it1 by which it surpasses all the former deliverances4 ,i4 ,the ,pilgrims of this new ,exodus4 ,a true ,christian is a pilgrim1 not only because he1 like all men1 is passing through a life which is transient1 but because he is consciously detached from the ,visible and ,present1 as a consequence of his conscious attachment to the ,unseen and ,eternal4 ,what is said in ,hebrews of ,abraham is true of all inheritors of his faith3 'dwelling in tabernacles1 for he looked for the city4' ,,ii4 ,the priests4 ,priests and ,levites bore the sacred vessels4 ,all ,christians are priests4 ,the only true priesthood is ,christ's1 ours is derived from ,him4 ,in that universal priesthood of believers are included the privileges and obligations of a4 ,access to ,god--,communion4 b4 ,offering spiritual sacrifices4 ,service and self-surrender4 c4 ,mediation with men4 ,proclamation4 ,intercession4 ,thus follows d4 ,bearing the holy vessels4 ,a sacred deposit is entrusted to them--the honour and name of ,god2 the treasure of the ,gospel4 ,,iii4 ,the separation that becomes pilgrims4 ',come out and be ye separate4' ,the very meaning of our ,christian profession is separation4 ,there is ludicrous inconsistency in saying that we are ,christians and not being pilgrims4 ,of course1 the separation is not to be worked out by mere external asceticism or withdrawal from the world4 ,that has been so thoroughly preached and practised of late years that we much need the other side to be put4 ,there should be some plain difference between the life of ,christians and that of men whose portion is in this life4 ,they should differ in the aspect under which all outward things are regarded4 ,to a ,christian they are to be means to an end1 and ever to be felt to be evanescent4 ,they should differ in the motive for action1 which should1 for a ,christian1 ever be the love of ,god4 ,they should differ in that a ,christian abstains from much which non-,christians feel free to do1 and often has to say1 ',so did not ,i1 because of the fear of the ,lord4' ,he who marches light marches quickly and marches far2 to bring the treasures of ,egypt along with us1 is apt to retard our steps4 ,,iv4 ,the purity that becomes priests4 ,the ,levites would cleanse themselves before taking up the holy vessels4 ,and for us1 clean hands and a pure heart are essential4 ,there is no communion with ,god without these2 a small speck of dust in the eye blinds us4 ,there is no sacrificial service without them4 ,no efficient work among men can be done without them4 ,one main cause of the weakness of our ,christian testimony is the imperfection of character in the witnesses1 which is more powerful than all talk and often neutralises much effort4 ,keen eyes are watching us4 ,the consciousness of our own impurity should send us to ,jesus1 with the prayer and the confidence1 ',cleanse me and ,i shall be clean4' ',the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth from all sin4' ',he hath loosed us from our sins and made us kings and priests to ,god4' ,,marching ,,orders ',depart ye1 depart ye1 go ye out from thence1 touch no unclean thing2 go ye out of the midst of her2 be ye clean1 that bear the vessels of the ,lord4 #ab4 ,for ye shall not go out with haste1 nor go by flight3 for the ,lord will go before you1 and the ,god of ,israel will be your reward4'--,,isaiah iii4 #aa1 #ab4 ,these ringing notes are parts of a highly poetic picture of that great deliverance which inspired this prophet's most exalted strains4 ,it is described with constant allusion to the first ,exodus1 but also with significant differences4 ,now no doubt the actual historical return of the ,jews from the ,babylonish captivity is the object that fills the foreground of this vision1 but it by no means exhausts its significance4 ,the restriction of the prophecy to that more immediate fulfilment may well seem impossible when we note that my text follows the grand promise that 'all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our ,god1' and immediately precedes the ,messianic prophecy of the fifty-third chapter4 ,egypt was transparent1 and through it shone ,babylon2 ,babylon was transparent1 and through it shone ,christ's redemption4 ,that was the real and highest fulfilment of the prophet's anticipations1 and the trumpet-calls of my text are addressed to all who have a share in it4 ,we have1 then1 here1 under highly metaphorical forms1 the grand ideal of the ,christian life2 and ,i desire to note briefly its various features4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 we have it set forth as a march of warrior priests4 ,note that phrase--',ye that bear the vessels of the ,lord4' ,the returning exiles as a whole are so addressed1 but the significance of the expression1 and the precise metaphor which it is meant to convey1 may be questionable4 ,the word rendered 'vessel' is a wide expression1 meaning any kind of equipment1 and in other places of the ,old ,testament the whole phrase rendered here1 'ye that bear the vessels1' is translated 'armour-bearers4' ,such an image would be quite congruous with the context here1 in which warlike figures abound4 ,and if so1 the picture would be that of an army on the march1 each man carrying some of the weapons of the great ,captain and ,leader4 ,but perhaps the other explanation is more likely1 which regards 'the vessels of the ,lord' as being an allusion to the sacrificial and other implements of worship1 which1 in the first ,exodus1 the ,levites carried on the march4 ,and if that be the meaning1 as seems more congruous with the command of purity which is deduced from the function of bearing the vessels1 then the figure here1 of course1 is that of a company of priests4 ,i venture to throw the two ideas together1 and to say that we may here find an ideal of the ,christian community as being a great company of warrior-priests on the march1 guarding a sacred deposit which has been committed to their charge4 ,look1 then1 at that combination in the true ,christian character of the two apparently opposite ideas of warrior and priest4 ,it suggests that all the life is to be conflict1 and that all the conflict is to be worship2 that everywhere1 in the thick of the fight1 we may still bear the remembrance of the 'secret place of the most ,high4' ,it suggests1 too1 that the warfare is worship1 that the offices of the priest and of the warrior are one and the same thing1 and both consist in their mediating between man and ,god1 bringing ,god in ,his ,gospel to men1 and bringing men through their faith to ,god4 ,the combination suggests1 likewise1 how1 in the true ,christian character1 there ought ever to be blended1 in strange harmony1 the virtues of the soldier and the qualities of the priest2 compassion for the ignorant and them that are out of the way1 with courage2 meekness with strength2 a quiet1 placable heart hating strife1 joined to a spirit that cheerily fronts every danger and is eager for the conflict in which evil is the foe and ,god the helper4 ,the old ,crusaders went to battle with the ,cross on their hearts1 and on their shoulders1 and on the hilts of their swords2 and we1 too1 in all our warfare1 have to remember that its weapons are not carnal but spiritual1 and that only then do we fight as the ,captain of our salvation fought1 when our arms are meekness and pity1 and our warfare is waged in gentleness and love4 ,note1 further1 that in this phrase we have the old1 old metaphor of life as a march1 but so modified as to lose all its melancholy and weariness and to become an elevating hope4 ,the idea which runs through all poetry1 of life as a journey1 suggests effort1 monotonous change1 a uniform law of variety and transiency1 struggle and weariness1 but the ,christian thought of life1 while preserving the idea of change1 modifies it into the blessed thought of progress4 ,life1 if it is as ,christ meant it to be1 is a journey in the sense that it is a continuous effort1 not unsuccessful1 toward a clearly discerned goal1 our eternal home4 ,the ,christian march is a march from slavery to freedom1 and from a foreign land to our native soil4 ,again1 this metaphor suggests that this company of marching priests have in charge a sacred deposit4 ,paul speaks of the 'glorious ,gospel which was committed to my trust4' ',that good thing which was committed unto thee by the ,holy ,ghost1 keep4' ,the history of the return from ,babylon in the ,book of ,ezra presents a remarkable parallel to the language of my text1 for there we are told how1 in the preparation for the march1 the leader entrusted the sacred vessels of the temple1 which the liberality of the heathen king had returned to him1 to a group of ,levites and priests1 weighing them at the beginning1 and bidding them keep them safe until they were weighed again in the courts of the ,lord's house in ,jerusalem4 ,and1 in like manner1 to us ,christians is given the charge of ,god's great weapons of warfare1 with which ,he contends with the wickedness of the world--viz4 that great message of salvation through1 and in1 the ,cross of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and there are committed to us1 further1 to guard sedulously1 and to keep bright and untarnished and undiminished in weight and worth1 the precious treasures of the ,christian life of communion with ,him4 ,and we may give another application to the figure and think of the solemn trust which is put into our hands1 in the gift of our own selves1 which we ourselves can either waste1 and stain1 and lose1 or can guard and polish into vessels 'meet for the ,master's use4' ,gathering1 then1 these ideas together1 we take this as the ideal of the ,christian community--a company of priests on the march1 with a sacred deposit committed to their trust4 ,if we reflected more on such a conception of the ,christian life1 we should more earnestly hearken to1 and more sedulously discharge1 the commands that are built thereon4 ,to these commands ,i now turn4 ,,ii4 ,note the separation that befits the marching company4 ',depart ye1 depart ye1 go ye out from thence1 touch no unclean thing1 go ye out of the midst of her4' ,in the historical fulfilment of my text1 separation from ,babylon was the preliminary of the march4 ,our task is not so simple2 our separation from ,babylon must be the constant accompaniment of our march4 ,and day by day it has to be repeated1 if we would lift a foot in advance upon the road4 ,there is still a ,babylon4 ,the order in the midst of which we live is not organised on the fundamental laws of ,christ's ,kingdom4 ,and wherever there are men who seek to order their lives as ,christ would have them to be ordered1 the first necessity for them is1 ',come out from amongst them1 and be ye separate1 saith the ,lord4' ,there is no need in this day to warn ,christian people against an exaggerated interpretation of these commandments4 ,i almost wish there were more need4 ,we have been told so often1 in late years1 of how ,christian men ought to mingle with all the affairs of life1 and count nothing that is human foreign to themselves1 that it seems to me there is vast need for a little emphasis being put on the other side of the truth1 and for separation being insisted upon4 ,wherever there is a real grasp of ,jesus ,christ for a man's own personal ,saviour1 and a true submission to ,him as the ,pattern and ,guide of life1 a broad line of demarcation between that man and the irreligious life round him will draw itself4 ,if the heart have its tendrils twined round the ,cross1 it will have detached them from the world around4 ,separation by reason of an entirely different conception of life1 separation because the present does not look to you as it looks to the men who see only it1 separation because you and they have not only a different ideal and theory of life1 but are living from different motives and for different ends and by different powers1 will be the inevitable result of any real union with ,jesus ,christ4 ,if ,i am joined to ,him ,i am separated from the world2 and detachment from it is the simple and necessary result of any real attachment to ,him4 ,there will always be a gulf in feeling1 in purpose1 in view1 and therefore there will often have to be separation outward things4 ',so did not ,i because of the fear of the ,lord' will have to be said over and over again by any real and honest follower of the ,master4 ,this separation will not only be the result of union with ,jesus ,christ1 but it is the condition of all progress in our union with ,him4 ,we must be unmoored before we can advance4 ,many a caravan has broken down in ,african exploration for no other reason than because it was too well provided with equipments1 and so collapsed of its own weight4 ,therefore1 our prophet in the context says1 ',touch no unclean thing4' ,there is one of the differences between the new ,exodus and the old4 ,when ,israel came out of ,egypt they spoiled the ,egyptians1 and came away laden with gold and jewels2 but it is dangerous work bringing anything away from ,babylon with us4 ,its treasure has to be left if we would march close behind our ,lord and ,master4 ,we must touch 'no unclean thing1' because our hands are to be filled with the 'vessels of the ,lord4' ,i am preaching no impossible asceticism1 no misanthropical withdrawal from the duties of life1 and the obligations that we owe to society4 ,god's world is a good one2 man's world is a bad one4 ,it is man's world that we have to leave1 but the lofties1 sanctity requires no abstention from anything that ,god has ordained4 ,now1 dear friends1 ,i venture to think that this message is one that we all dreadfully need to-day4 ,there are a great many ,christians1 so-called1 in this generation1 who seem to think that the main object they should have in view is to obliterate the distinction between themselves and the world of ungodly men1 and in occupation and amusements to be as like people that have no religion as they possibly can manage4 ,so they get credit for being 'liberal' ,christians1 and praise from quarters whose praise is censure1 and whose approval ought to make a ,christian man very uncomfortable4 ,better by far the narrowest ,puritanism--,i was going to say better by far monkish austerities--than a ,christianity which knows no self-denial1 which is perfectly at home in an irreligious atmosphere1 and which resents the exhortation to separation1 because it would fain keep the things that it is bidden to drop4 ,god's reiteration of the text through ,paul to the ,church in luxurious1 corrupt1 wealthy ,corinth is a gospel for this day for ,english ,christians1 ',come out from among them1 and ,i will receive you4' ,,iii4 ,further1 note the purity which becomes the bearers of the vessels of the ,lord4 ',be ye clean4' ,the priest's hands must be pure1 which figure1 being translated1 is that transparent purity of conduct and character is demanded from all ,christian men who profess to bear ,god's sacred deposit4 ,you cannot carry it unless your hands are clean1 for all the gifts that ,god gives us glide from our grasp if our hands be stained4 ,monkish legends tell of sacred pictures and vessels which1 when an impure touch was laid upon them1 refused to be lifted from their place1 and grew there1 as rooted1 in spite of all efforts to move them4 ,whoever seeks to hold the gifts of ,god in ,his ,gospel in dirty hands will fail miserably in the attempt2 and all the joy and peace of communion1 the assurance of ,god's love1 and the calm hope of immortal life will vanish as a soap bubble1 grasped by a child1 turns into a drop of foul water on its palm1 if we try to hold them in foul hands4 ,be clean1 or you cannot bear the vessels of the ,lord4 ,and further1 remember that no priestly service nor any successful warfare for ,jesus ,christ is possible1 except on the same condition4 ,one sin1 as well as one sinner1 destroys much good1 and a little inconsistency on the part of us professing ,christians neutralises all the efforts that we may ever try to put forth for ,him4 ,logic requires that ,god's vessels should be carried with clean hands4 ,god requires it1 men require it1 and have a right to require it4 ,the mightiest witness for ,him is the witness of a pure life1 and if we go about the world professing to be ,his messengers1 and carrying ,his epistle in our dirty fingers1 the soiled thumb-mark upon it will prevent men from caring for the message2 and the ,word will be despised because of the unworthiness of its bearers4 ',be ye clean that bear the vessels of the ,lord4' ,,iv4 ,lastly1 notice the leisurely confidence which should mark the march that is guarded by ,god4 ',ye shall not go out with haste1 nor go by flight1 for the ,lord will go before you1 and the ,god of ,israel will be your reward4' ,this is partly an analogy and partly a contrast with the story of the first ,exodus4 ,the unusual word translated 'with haste' is employed in the ,pentateuch to describe the hurry and bustle1 not altogether due to the urgency of the ,egyptians1 but partly also to the terror of ,israel1 with which that first flight was conducted4 ,and1 says my text1 in this new coming out of bondage there shall be no need for tremor or perturbation1 lending wings to any man's feet2 but1 with quiet deliberation1 like that with which ,peter was brought out of his dungeon1 because ,god knew that ,he could bring him out safely1 the new ,exodus shall be carried on4 ',he that believeth shall not make haste4' ,why should he8 ,there is no need for a ,christian man ever to be flurried1 or to lose his self-command1 or ever to be in an undignified and unheroic hurry4 ,his march should be unceasing1 swift1 but calm and equable1 as the motions of the planets1 unhasting and unresting4 ,there is a very good reason why we need not be in any haste due to alarm4 ,for1 as in the first ,exodus1 the guiding pillar led the march1 and sometimes1 when there were foes behind1 as at the ,red ,sea1 shifted its place to the rear1 so 'the ,lord will go before you1 and the ,god of ,israel will be your rereward4' ,he besets us behind and before1 going in front to be our ,guide1 and in the rear for our protection1 gathering up the stragglers1 so that there shall not be 'a hoof left behind1' and putting a wall of iron between us and the swarms of hovering enemies that hang on our march4 ,thus encircled by ,god1 we shall be safe4 ,christ fulfils what the prophet pledged ,god to do2 for ,he goes before us1 the ,pattern1 the ,captain of our salvation1 the ,forerunner1 'the ,breaker is gone up before them '2 and ,he comes behind us to guard us from evil2 for ,he is 'the ,alpha and ,omega1 the beginning and the ending1 the ,almighty4' ,dear brethren1 life for us all must be a weary pilgrimage4 ,we cannot alter that4 ,it is the lot of every son of man4 ,but we have the power of either making it a dreary1 solitary tramp over an undefended desert1 to end in the great darkness1 or else of making it a march in which the twin sisters ,joy and ,peace shall lead us forth1 and go out with us1 and the other pair of angel-forms1 ',goodness and ,mercy1' shall follow us all the days of our lives4 ,we may make it a journey with ,jesus for ,guide and ,companion1 to ,jesus as our ,home4 ',the ransomed of the ,lord shall return1 and come to ,zion with songs1 and everlasting joy upon their heads4' ,,the ,,arm ,,of ,,the ,,lord ',to whom is the arm of the ,lord revealed8'---,,isaiah liii #a4 ,in the second ,isaiah there are numerous references to 'the arm of the ,lord4' ,it is a natural symbol of the active energy of ,jehovah1 and is analogous to the other symbol of 'the ,face of ,jehovah1' which is also found in this book1 in so far as it emphasises the notion of power in manifestation1 though 'the ,face' has a wider range and may be explained as equivalent to that part of the divine ,nature which is turned to men4 ,the latter symbol will then be substantially parallel with 'the ,name4' ,but there are traces of a tendency to conceive of 'the arm of the ,lord' as personified1 for instance1 where we read 7ch4 lxiii4 #ab7 that ,jehovah 'caused ,his glorious arm to go at the right hand of ,moses4' ,moses was not the true leader1 but was himself led and sustained by the divine ,power1 dimly conceived as a person1 ever by his side to sustain and direct4 ,there seems to be a similar imperfect consciousness of personification in the words of the text1 especially when taken in their close connection with the immediately following prophecy of the suffering servant4 ,it would be doing violence to the gradual development of ,revelation1 like tearing asunder the just-opening petals of a rose1 to read into this question of the sad prophet full-blown ,christian truth1 but it would be missing a clear anticipation of that truth to fail to recognise the forecasting of it that is here4 ,i4 ,we have here a prophetic forecast that the arm of the ,lord is a person4 ,the strict monotheism of the ,old ,testament does not preclude some very remarkable phenomena in its modes of conception and speech as to the divine ,nature4 ,we hear of the 'angel of ,his face1' and again of 'the angel in whom is ,his ,name4' ,we hear of 'the angel' to whom divine worship is addressed and who speaks1 as we may say1 in a divine dialect and does divine acts4 ,we meet1 too1 with the personification of ,wisdom in the ,book of ,proverbs1 to which are ascribed characteristics and are attributed acts scarcely distinguishable from divine1 and eminently associated in the creative work4 ,our text points in the same direction as these representations4 ,they all tend in the direction of preparing for the full ,christian truth of the personal ',power of ,god4' ,what was shown by glimpses 'at sundry times and in divers manners1' with many gaps in the showing and much left all unshown1 is perfectly revealed in the ,son4 ,the ,new ,testament1 by its teaching as to 'the ,eternal ,word1' endorses1 clears1 and expands all these earlier dimmer adumbrations4 ,that ,word is the agent of the divine energy1 and the conception of power as being exercised by the ,word is even loftier than that of it as put forth by 'the arm1' by as much as intelligent and intelligible utterance is more spiritual and higher than force of muscle4 ,the apostolic designation of ,jesus as 'the power of ,god and the wisdom of ,god' blends the two ideas of these two symbols4 ,the conception of ,jesus ,christ as the arm of the ,lord1 when united with that of the ,eternal ,word1 points to a threefold sphere and manner of ,his operations1 as the personal manifestation of the active power of ,god4 ,in the beginning1 the arm of the ,lord stretched out the heavens as a tent to dwell in1 and without ,him 'was not anything made that was made4' ,in ,his ,incarnation1 ,he carried into execution all ,god's purposes and fulfilled ,his whole will4 ,from ,his throne ,he wields divine power1 and rules the universe4 ',the help that is done on earth1 ,he doeth it all ,himself1' and ,he works in the midst of humanity that redeeming work which none but ,he can effect4 ,,ii4 ,we have here a prophetic paradox that the mightiest revelation of the arm of the ,lord is in weakness4 ,the words of the text stand in closest connection with the great picture of the ,suffering ,servant which follows1 and the pathetic figure portrayed there is the revealing of the arm of the ,lord4 ,the close bringing together of the ideas of majesty and power and of humiliation1 suffering1 and weakness1 would be a paradox to the first hearers of the prophecy4 ,its solution lies in the historical manifestation of ,jesus4 ,looking on ,him1 we see that the growing up of that root out of a dry ground was the revelation of the great power of ,god4 ,in ,jesus' lowly humanity ,god's power is made perfect in man's weakness1 in another and not less true sense than that in which the apostle spoke4 ,there we see divine power in its noblest form1 in its grandest operation1 in its widest sweep1 in its loftiest purpose4 ,that humble man1 lowly and poor1 despised and rejected in life1 hanging faint and pallid on the ,roman cross1 and dying in the dark1 seems a strange manifestation of the 'glory' of ,god1 but the ,cross is indeed ,his throne1 and sublime as are the other forms in which ,omnipotence clothes itself1 this is1 to human eyes and hearts1 the highest of them all4 ,in ,jesus the arm of the ,lord is revealed in its grandest operation4 ,creation and the continual sustaining of a universe are great1 but redemption is greater4 ,it is infinitely more to say1 ',he giveth power to the faint1' than to say1 ',for that ,he is strong in might1 not one faileth1' and to principalities and powers in heavenly places who have gazed on the grand operations of divine power for ages1 new lessons of what it can effect are taught by the redemption of sinful men4 ,the divine power that is enshrined in ,jesus' weakness is power in its widest sweep1 for it is to every one that believeth1 and in its loftiest purpose1 for it is 'unto salvation4' ,,iii4 ,we have here a prophetic lament that the power revealed to all is unseen by many4 ,the text is a wail over darkened eyes1 blind at noonday4 ,the prophet's radiant anticipations of the ,servant's exaltation1 and of ,god's holy arm being made bare in the eyes of all nations1 are clouded over by the thought of the incredulity of the multitude to 'our report4' ,jehovah had indeed 'made bare ,his arm1' as a warrior throws back his loose robe1 when he would strike4 ,but what was the use of that1 if dull eyes would not look8 ,the 'report' had been loudly proclaimed1 but what was the use of that1 if ears were obstinately stopped8 ,alas1 alas6 nothing that ,god can do secures that men shall see what ,he shows1 or listen to what ,he speaks4 ,the mystery of mysteries is that men can1 the tragedy of tragedies is that they will1 make any possible revelation of none effect1 so far as they are concerned4 ,the ,arm is revealed1 but only by those who have 'believed our report' does the prophet deem it to be actually beheld4 ,faith is the individual condition on which the perfected revelation becomes a revelation to me4 ,the 'salvation of our ,god' is shown in splendour to 'all the ends of the earth1' but only they who exercise faith in ,jesus1 who is the power of ,god1 will see that far-shining light4 ,if we are not of those who 'believe the report1' we shall1 notwithstanding that ',he hath made bare ,his holy arm1' be of those who grope at noonday as in the dark4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant-,i ',for ,he grew up before ,him as a tender plant1 and as a root out of a dry ground ,he hath no form nor comeliness2 and when we see ,him1 there is no beauty that we should desire ,him4 #c4 ,he was despised1 and rejected of men1 a ,man of ,sorrows1 and acquainted with grief3 and as one from whom men hide their face ,he was despised1 and we esteemed ,him not4'--,,isaiah liii1 #b1 #c4 ,to hold fast the fulfilment of this prophecy of the ,suffering ,servant in ,jesus it is not necessary to deny its reference to ,israel4 ,just as offices1 institutions1 and persons in it were prophetic1 and by their failures to realise to the full their own role1 no less than by their partial presentation of it1 pointed onwards to ,him1 in whom their idea would finally take form and substance1 so this great picture of ,god's ,servant1 which was but imperfectly reproduced even by the ,israel within ,israel1 stood on the prophet's page a fair though sad dream1 with nothing corresponding to it in the region of reality and history1 till ,he came and lived and suffered4 ,if we venture to make it the theme of a short series of sermons1 our object is simply to endeavour to bring out clearly the features of the wonderful portrait4 ,if they are fully apprehended1 it seems to us that the question of who is the original of the picture answers itself4 ,we must note that the whole is introduced by a ',for1' that is to say1 that it is all explanatory of the unbelief and blindness to the revealed arm of the ,lord1 which the prophet has just been lamenting4 ,this close connection with the preceding words accounts for the striking way in which the description of the person of the ,servant is here blended with1 or interrupted by1 that of the manner in which he was treated4 ,i4 ,the ,servant's lowly origin and growth4 ',he grew1'--not 'shall grow4' ,the whole is cast into the form of history1 and to begin the description with a future tense is not only an error in grammar but gratuitously introduces an incongruity4 ,the word rendered 'tender plant' means a sucker1 and 'root' probably would more properly be taken as a shoot from a root1 the tree having been felled1 and nothing left but the stump4 ,there is here1 then1 at the outset1 an unmistakable reference to the prophecy in ch4 xi4 #a1 which is ,messianic prophecy1 and therefore there is a presumption that this too has a ,messianic reference4 ,in the original passage the stump or 'stock' is explained as being the humiliated house of ,david1 and it is only following the indications supplied by the fact of the second ,isaiah's quotation of the first1 if we take the implication in his words to be the same4 ,royal descent1 but from a royal house fallen on evil days1 is the plain meaning here4 ,and the eclipse of its glory is further brought out in that not only does the shoot spring from a tree1 all whose leafy honours have long been lopped away1 but which is 'in a dry ground4' ,surely we do not force a profounder meaning than is legitimate into this feature of the picture when we think of the ,carpenter's ,son 'of the house and lineage of ,david1' of the ,son of ,god 'who was found in fashion as a man1' of ,him who was born in a stable1 and grew up in a tiny village hidden away among the hills of ,galilee1 who1 as it were1 stole into the world 'not with observation1' and opened out1 as ,he grew1 the wondrous blossom of a perfect humanity such as had never before been evolved from any root1 nor grown on the most sedulously cultured plant4 ,is this part of the prophet's ideal realised in any of the other suggested realisations of it8 ,but there is still another point in regard to the origin and growth of the lowly shoot from the felled stump--it is 'before ,him4' ,then the unnoticed growth is noticed by ,jehovah1 and1 though cared for by no others1 is cared for1 tended1 and guarded1 by ,him4 ,,ii4 ,the ,servant's unattractive form4 ,naturally a shoot springing in a dry ground would show but little beauty of foliage or flower4 ,it would be starved and colourless beside the gaudy growths in fertile1 well-watered gardens4 ,but that unattractiveness is not absolute or real2 it is only 'that we should desire ,him4' ,we are but poor judges of true 'form or comeliness1' and what is lustrous with perfect beauty in ,god's eyes may be1 and generally is1 plain and dowdy in men's4 ,our tastes are debased4 ,flaunting vulgarities and self-assertive ugliness captivate vulgar eyes1 to which the serene beauties of mere goodness seem insipid4 ,cockatoos charm savages to whom the iridescent neck of a dove has no charms4 ,surely this part of the description fits ,jesus as it does no other4 ,the entire absence of outward show1 or of all that pleases the spoiled tastes of sinful men1 need not be dwelt on4 ,no doubt the world has slowly come to recognise in ,him the moral ideal1 a perfect man1 but ,he has been educating it for nineteen hundred years to get it up to that point1 and the educational process is very far from complete4 ,the real desire of most men is for something much more pungent and dashing than ,jesus' meek wisdom and stainless purity1 which breed in them ennui rather than longing4 ',not this man but ,barabbas1' was the approximate realisation of the ,jewish ideal then2 not this man but--some type or other of a less oppressive perfection1 and that calls for less effort to imitate it1 is the world's real cry still4 ,pilate's scornfully wondering question3 ,art ,thou--such a poor-looking creature--the ,king of the ,jews8 is very much of a piece with the world's question still3 ,art ,thou the perfect instance of manhood8 ,art ,thou the highest revelation of ,god8 ,,iii4 ,the ,servant's reception by men4 ,the two preceding characteristics naturally result in this third4 ,for lowliness of condition and lack of qualities appealing to men's false ideals will certainly lead to being 'despised and rejected4' ,the latter expression is probably better taken1 as in the margin of the ,rev4 ,ver4 as 'forsaken4' ,but whichever meaning is adopted1 what an ,iliad of woes is condensed into these two words6 ',the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes1' the loneliness of one who1 in all the crowd descries none to trust--these are the wages that the world ever gives to its noblest1 who live but to help it and be misunderstood by it1 and as these are the wages of all who with self-devotion would serve ,god by serving the world for its good1 they were paid in largest measure to 'the ,servant of the ,lord4' ,his claims were ridiculed1 ,his words of wisdom thrown back on ,himself2 none were so poor but could afford to despise ,him as lower than they1 ,his love was repulsed1 surely ,he drank the bitterest cup of contempt4 ,all ,his life ,he walked in the solitude of uncomprehended aims1 and at ,his hour of extremest need appealed in vain for a little solace of companionship1 and was deserted by those whom ,he trusted most4 ,his was a lifelong martyrdom inflicted by men4 ,his was a lifelong solitude which was most utter at the last4 ,and ,he brought it all on ,himself because ,he would be ,god's ,servant in being men's ,saviour4 ,,iv4 ,the ,servant's sorrow of heart4 ,the remarkable expression 'acquainted with grief' seems to carry an allusion to the previous clause1 in which men are spoken of as despising and rejecting the ,servant4 ,they left ,him alone1 and ,his only companion was 'grief'--a grim associate to walk at a man's side all his days6 ,it is to be noted that the word rendered 'grief' is literally sickness4 ,that description of mental or spiritual sorrows under the imagery of bodily sicknesses is intensified in the subsequent terrible picture of ,him as one from whom men hide their faces with disgust at ,his hideous appearance1 caused by disease4 ,possibly the meaning may rather be that ,he hides ,his face1 as lepers had to do4 ,now probably the 'sorrows' touched on at this point are to be distinguished from those which subsequently are spoken of in terms of such poignancy as laid on the ,servant by ,god4 ,here the prophet is thinking rather of those which fell on ,him by reason of men's rejection and desertion4 ,we shall not rightly estimate the sorrowfulness of ,christ's sorrows1 unless we bring to our meditations on them the other thought of ,his joys4 ,how great these were we can judge1 when we remember that ,he told the disciples that by ,his joy remaining in them their joy would be full4 ,as much joy then as human nature was capable of from perfect purity1 filial obedience1 trust1 and unbroken communion with ,god1 so much was ,jesus' permanent experience4 ,the golden cup of ,his pure nature was ever full to the brim with the richest wine of joy4 ,and that constant experience of gladness in the ,father and in ,himself made more painful the sorrows which ,he encountered1 like a biting wind shrieking round ,him1 whenever ,he passed out from fellowship with ,god in the stillness of ,his soul into the contemptuous and hostile world4 ,his spirit carrying with it the still atmosphere of the ,holy ,place1 would feel more keenly than any other would have done the jarring tumult of the crowds1 and would know a sharper pain when met with greetings in which was no kindness4 ,jesus was sinless1 ,his sympathy with all sorrow was thereby rendered abnormally keen1 and ,he made others' griefs ,his own with an identification born of a sympathy which the most compassionate cannot attain4 ,the greater the love1 the greater the sorrow of the loving heart when its love is spurned4 ,the intenser the yearning for companionship1 the sharper the pang when it is repulsed4 ,the more one longs to bless1 the more one suffers when his blessings are flung off4 ,jesus was the most sensitive1 the most sympathetic1 the most loving soul that ever dwelt in flesh4 ,he saw1 as none other has ever seen1 man's miseries4 ,he experienced1 as none else has ever experienced1 man's ingratitude1 and1 therefore1 though ,god1 even ,his ,god1 'anointed ,him with the oil of gladness above ,his fellows1' ,he was 'a ,man of ,sorrows1' and grief was ,his companion during all ,his life's course4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant-,,ii ',surely ,he hath borne our griefs1 and carried our sorrows3 yet we did esteem ,him stricken1 smitten of ,god1 and afflicted4 #e4 ,but ,he was wounded for our transgressions1 ,he was bruised for our iniquities3 the chastisement of our peace was upon ,him2 and with ,his stripes we are healed4 #f4 ,all we like sheep have gone astray2 we have turned every one to his own way2 and the ,lord hath laid 7made to light7 on ,him the iniquity of us all4'--,,isaiah liii4 #d-f4 ,the note struck lightly in the close of the preceding paragraph becomes dominant here4 ,one notes the accumulation of expressions for suffering1 crowded into these verses--griefs1 sorrows1 wounded1 bruised1 smitten1 chastisement1 stripes4 ,one notes that the cause of all this multiform infliction is given with like emphasis of reiteration--our griefs1 our sorrows1 and that these afflictions are invested with a still more tragic and mysterious aspect1 by being traced to our transgressions1 our iniquities4 ,finally1 the deepest word of all is spoken when the whole mystery of the servant's sufferings is referred to ,jehovah's making the universal iniquity to lie1 like a crushing burden1 on ,him4 ,i4 ,the ,burdened ,servant4 ,it is to be kept in view that the 'griefs' which the servant is here described as bearing are literally 'sicknesses1' and that1 similarly1 the 'sorrows' may be diseases4 ,matthew in his quotation of the verse 7viii4 #ag7 takes the words to refer to bodily ailments1 and finds their 'fulfilment' in ,christ's miracles of healing4 ,and that interpretation is part of the whole truth1 for ,hebrew thought drew no such sharp line of distinction between diseases of the body and those of the soul as we are accustomed to draw4 ,all sickness was taken to be the consequence of sin1 and the intimate connection between the two was1 as it were1 set forth for all forms of bodily disease by the elaborate treatment prescribed for leprosy1 as pre-eminently fitted to stand as type of the whole4 ,but the fulfilment through the miracles is but a parable of the deeper fulfilment in regard to the more virulent and deadly diseases of the soul4 ,sin is the sickness1 as it is also the grief1 which most afflicts humanity4 ,of the two words expressing the ,servant's taking their burden on ,his shoulders1 the former implies not only the taking of it but the bearing of it away1 and the latter emphasises the weight of the load4 ,following ,matthew's lead1 we may regard ,christ's miracles of healing as one form of ,his fulfilment of the prophecy1 in which the principles that shape all the forms are at work1 and which1 therefore1 may stand as a kind of pictorial illustration of the way in which ,he bears and bears away the heavier burden of sin4 ,and one point which comes out clearly is that1 in these acts of healing1 ,he felt the weight of the affliction that ,he took away4 ,even in that region1 the condition of ability to remove it1 was identifying ,himself with the sorrow4 ,did ,he not 'sigh and look up' in silent appeal to heaven before ,he could say1 ,ephphatha8 ,did ,he not groan in ,himself before ,he sent the voice into the tomb which the dead heard8 ,his miracles were not easy1 though ,he had all power1 for ,he felt all that the sufferers felt1 by the identifying power of the unparalleled sympathy of a pure nature4 ,in that region ,his pain on account of the sufferers stood in vital relation with ,his power to end their sufferings4 ,the load must gall ,his shoulders1 ere ,he could bear it away from theirs4 ,but the same principles as apply to these deeds of mercy done on diseases apply to all ,his deeds of deliverance from sorrow and from sin4 ,in ,him is set forth in highest fashion the condition of all brotherly help and alleviation4 ,whoever would lighten a brother's load must stoop his own shoulders to carry it4 ,and whilst there is an element in our ,lord's sufferings1 as the text passes on to say1 which is not explained by the analogy with what is required from all human succourers and healers1 the extent to which the lower experience of such corresponds with ,his unique work should always be made prominent in our devout meditations4 ,,ii4 ,the ,servant's sufferings in their reason1 their intensity1 and their issue4 ,the same measure that was meted out to ,job by his so-called friends was measured to the servant1 and at the ,impulse of the same heartless doctrinal prepossession4 ,he must have been had to suffer so much2 that is the rough and ready verdict of the self-righteous4 ,with crashing emphasis1 that complacent explanation of the ,servant's sufferings and their own prosperity is shivered to atoms1 by the statement of the true reason for both the one and the other4 ,you thought that ,he was afflicted because ,he was bad and you were spared because you were good--no1 ,he was afflicted because you were bad1 and you were spared because ,he was afflicted4 ,the reason for the ,servant's sufferings was 'our transgressions4' ,more is suggested now than sympathetic identification with others' sorrows4 ,this is an actual bearing of the consequences of sins which ,he had not committed1 and that not merely as an innocent man may be overwhelmed by the flood of evil which has been let loose by others' sins to sweep over the earth4 ,the blow that wounds ,him is struck directly and solely at ,him4 ,he is not entangled in a widespread calamity1 but is the only victim4 ,it is pre-supposed that all transgression leads to wounds and bruises2 but the transgressions are done by us1 and the wounds and bruises fall on ,him4 ,can the idea of vicarious suffering be more plainly set forth8 ,the intensity of the ,servant's sufferings is brought home to our hearts by the accumulation of epithets1 to which reference has already been made4 ,he was 'wounded' as one who is pierced by a sharp sword2 'bruised' as one who is stoned to death2 beaten and with livid weales on ,his flesh4 ,a background of unnamed persecutors is dimly seen4 ,the description moves altogether in the region of physical violence1 and that violence is more than symbol4 ,it is no mere coincidence that the story of the ,passion reproduces so many of the details of the prophecy1 for1 although the fulfilment of the latter does not depend on such coincidences1 they are not to be passed by as of no importance4 ,former generations made too much of the physical sufferings of ,jesus2 is not this generation in danger of making too little of them8 ,the issue of the ,servant's sufferings is presented in a startling paradox4 ,his bruises and weales are the causes of our being healed4 ,his chastisement brings our peace4 ,surely it is very hard work1 and needs much forcing of words and much determination not to see what is set forth in as plain light as can be conceived1 to strike the idea of atonement out of this prophecy4 ,it says as emphatically as words can say1 that we have by our sins deserved stripes1 that the ,servant bears the stripes which we have deserved1 and that therefore we do not bear them4 ,,iii4 ,the deepest ground of the ,servant's sufferings4 ,the sad picture of humanity painted in that simile of a scattered flock lays stress on the universality of transgression1 on its divisive effect1 on the solitude of sin1 and on its essential characteristic as being self-willed rejection of control4 ,but the isolation caused by transgression is blessedly counteracted by the concentration of the sin of all on the ,servant4 ,men fighting for their own hand1 and living at their own pleasure1 are working to the disruption of all sweet bonds of fellowship4 ,but ,god1 in knitting together all the black burdens into one1 and loading the ,servant with that tremendous weight1 is preparing for the establishment of a more blessed unity1 in experience of the healing brought about by ,his sufferings4 ,can one man's 'iniquity1' as distinguished from the consequences of iniquity1 be made to press upon any other8 ,it is a familiar and not very profound objection to the ,christian ,atonement that guilt cannot be transferred4 ,true1 but in the first place1 ,christ's nature stands in vital relations to every man1 of such intimacy that what is impossible between two of us is not impossible between ,christ and any one of us2 and1 secondly1 much in ,his life1 and still more in ,his passion1 is unintelligible unless the black mass of the world's sin was heaped upon ,him1 to ,his own consciousness4 ,in that dread cry1 wrung from ,him as ,he hung there in the dark1 the consciousnesses of possessing ,god and of having lost ,him are blended inextricably and inexplicably4 ,the only approach to an explanation of it is that then the world's sin was felt by ,him1 in all its terrible mass and blackness1 coming between ,him and ,god1 even as our own sins come1 separating us from ,god4 ,that grim burden not only came on ,him1 but was laid on ,him by ,god4 ,the same idea is expressed by the prophet in that awful representation and by ,jesus in that as awful cry1 ',why hast ,thou forsaken ,me8' ,the prophet constructs no theory of ,atonement4 ,but no language could be chosen that would more plainly set forth the fact of ,atonement4 ,and it is to be observed that1 so far as this prophecy is concerned1 the ,servant's sole form of service is to suffer4 ,he is not a teacher1 an example1 or a benefactor1 in any of the other ways in which men need help4 ,his work is to bear our griefs and be bruised for our healing4 ',he was oppressed1 yet ,he humbled ,himself and opened not ,his mouth2 as a lamb that is led to the slaughter1 and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb2 yea1 ,he opened not ,his mouth4 #h4 ,by oppression and judgment ,he was taken away2 and as for ,his generation1 who among them considered that ,he was cut off out of the land of the living8 for the transgression of my people was ,he stricken4 #i4 ,and they made ,his grave with the wicked1 and with the rich in ,his death2 although ,he had done no violence1 neither was any deceit in ,his mouth'--,,isaiah liii1 #g-i4 ,r4 ,v4 ,in this section of the prophecy we pass from contemplating the sufferings inflicted on the ,servant to the attitude of ,himself and of ,his contemporaries towards these1 ,his patience and their blindness4 ,to these is added a remarkable reference to ,his burial1 which strikes one at first sight as interrupting the continuity of the prophecy1 but on fuller consideration assumes great significance4 ,i4 ,the unresisting endurance of the ,servant4 ,the ,revised ,version's rendering of the first clause is preferable to that of the ,authorised ,version4 ',afflicted' would be little better than tautology1 but 'humbled ,himself' strikes the keynote of the verse1 which dwells not on the ,servant's afflictions1 but on ,his bearing under them4 ,similarly1 the pathetic imagery of the lamb led and the sheep dumb gives the same double representation1 first of the indignities1 and next of ,his demeanour in enduring them1 as is conveyed in ',he was oppressed1 yet ,he humbled ,himself4' ,unremonstrating1 unresisting endurance1 then1 is the point emphasised in the lovely metaphor4 ,we recall the fact that this emphatically reduplicated phrase 'opened not ,his mouth' was verbally fulfilled in our ,lord's silence before each of the three authorities to whom ,he was presented1 before the ,jewish rulers1 before ,pilate1 and before ,herod4 ,only when adjured by the living ,god and when silence would have been tantamount to withdrawal of ,his claims1 did ,he speak before the ,sanhedrin4 ,only when silence would have been taken as disowning ,his ,kingship1 did ,he speak before ,pilate4 ,and ,herod1 who had no right to question ,him1 received no answer at all4 ,jesus' lips were opened in witness but never in complaint or remonstrance4 ,no doubt1 the prophecy would have been as really fulfilled though there had been no such majestic silences1 for its substance is patient endurance1 not mere abstinence from speech4 ,still1 as with other events in ,his life1 the verbal correspondence with prophetic details may help1 and be meant to help1 to bring out more clearly1 for purblind eyes1 the true fulfilment4 ,so we may meditate on the wonder and the beauty of that picture which the evangelists draw1 and which the world has recognised1 with whatever differences as to its interpretation1 as the most perfect1 pathetic1 and majestic picture of meek endurance that has ever been painted4 ,but we gather only the most superficial of its lessons1 if that is all that we find to say about it4 ,for the main point for us to lay to heart is not merely the fact of that silent submission1 but the motive which led to it4 ,he opened not ,his mouth1 because ,he willingly embraced the ,cross1 and ,he willingly embraced the ,cross because ,he loved the ,father and would do ,his will1 because ,he loved the world and would be its ,saviour1 ,that touching imagery of the dumb lamb has manifold felicities and significances beyond serving to figure meekness4 ,and we are not forcing unintended meanings into a mere piece of poetic imagination when we note how remarkably the metaphor links on to that of strayed sheep in the preceding verse1 or when we venture to recall ,john ,baptist's first proclamation of the ,lamb of ,god1 and ,peter's quotation of this very prophecy1 and the continual recurrence in the ,apocalypse of the name of ,the ,lamb as the title of honour of ',him who sitteth on the throne4' ,a kind of nimbus or aureole shines round the humble figure as drawn by the prophet4 ,,ii4 ,the misunderstood end of the ,servant's life4 ,the difficult expressions of verse #h are rendered in the ,revised ,version with clearness and so as to yield a profound meaning4 ,we may note that here1 for the first time1 is spoken out that end to which all the preceding description of sufferings has been leading up1 and yet it is spoken with a kind of solemn reticence1 very impressive4 ,the ,servant is 'taken away1' 'cut off1' 'stricken4' ,not yet is the grim word 'death' plainly uttered2 that comes in the next verse1 only after the ,servant's death is supposed to be past4 ,the three words suggest1 at all events1 though in half-veiled language1 violence and suddenness in the ,servant's fate4 ,who were the agents who took ,him1 cut ,him off and struck ,him1 is left in impressive obscurity4 ,but the fact that ,his death was a judicial murder is set in clear light4 ,whether we read ',by' or ',from--oppression and judgment ,he was taken away1' the forms of law are represented as wrested to bring about flagrant injustice4 ,and1 if it were my object now to defend the ,messianic interpretation1 one might ask where any facts corresponding to this element in the picture are to be found in regard to either the national ,israel1 or the ,israel within the nation4 ,that unjust death by illegal violence under the mask of law was1 further1 wholly misunderstood by ',his generation4' ,we need not do more than remark in a sentence how that feature corresponds with the facts in regard to ,jesus1 and ask whether it does so on any other theory of 'fulfilment4' ,neither friends nor foes had even the faintest conception of what the death of ,jesus was or was to effect4 ,and it is worth while to dwell for a moment on this1 because we are often told that there is no trace of the doctrine of an atoning sacrifice in the ,gospels1 and the inference is drawn that it was an afterthought of the apostles1 and therefore to be set aside as an excrescence on ,christianity according to ,christ4 ,the silence of ,jesus on that subject is exaggerated2 but certainly no thought of ,his being the ,sacrifice for the sins of the world was in the minds of the sad watchers by the ,cross1 nor for many a day thereafter4 ,is it not worth noting that precisely such a blindness to the meaning of ,his death had been prophesied eight hundred years before8 ,but the reason why this feature is introduced seems mainly to be to underscore the lesson1 that those who exercised the violence which hurried the ,servant from the land of the living were blind instruments of a higher power4 ,and may we not also see in it a suggestion of the great solitude of sorrow in which the ,servant was to die1 even as ,he had lived in it8 ,misapprehended and despised ,he lived1 misapprehended ,he died4 ,jesus was the loneliest man that ever breathed human breath4 ,he gave up ,his breath in a more awful solitude than ever isolated any other dying man4 ,utterly solitary1 ,he died that none of us need ever face death alone4 ,,iii4 ,the ,servant's ,grave4 ,following on the mystery of the uncomprehended death comes the enigma of the burial4 ,the words are an enigma1 but they seem meaningless on any hypothesis but the ,messianic one4 ,as they stand1 they assert that unnamed persons gave ,him a grave with the wicked1 as they would do by putting ,him to death under strained forms of law1 and that then1 somehow1 the criminal destined to be buried with other criminals in a dishonoured grave was laid in a tomb with the rich4 ,it seems a singularly minute trait to find place in such a prophecy4 ,the remarks already made as to similar minute correspondences in details of the prophecy with purely external facts in ,christ's life need not be repeated now4 ,one does not see that it is a self-evident axiom needing only to be enunciated in order to be accepted1 that such minute prophecies are beneath the dignity of revelation4 ,it might rather seem that1 as one element in prophecy1 they are eminently valuable4 ,the smaller the detail1 the more remarkable the prevision and the more striking the fulfilment4 ,for a keen-sighted man may forecast tendencies and go far to anticipate events on the large scale1 but only ,god can foresee trifles4 ,the difficulty in which this prediction of the ,servant's grave being 'with the rich' places those who reject the ,messianic reference of the prophecy to our ,lord may be measured by the desperate attempts to evade it by suggesting other readings1 or by making 'rich' to be synonymous with 'wicked4' ,the words as they stand have a clear and worthy meaning on one interpretation1 and we even venture to say1 on one interpretation only1 namely1 that they refer to the reverent laying of the body of the ,lord in the new tomb belonging to 'a certain rich man from ,arimathea1 named ,joseph4' ,if in the latter clause of verse #i we render ',because' rather than ',although1' we get the thought that the burial was a sign that the ,servant1 slain as a criminal1 yet was not a criminal4 ,the criminals were either left unburied or disgraced by promiscuous interment in an unclean place4 ,but that body reverently bedewed with tears1 wrapped in fine linen clean and white1 softly laid down by loving hands1 watched by love stronger than death1 lay in fitting repose as the corpse of a ,king till ,he came forth as a ,conqueror4 ,so once more the dominant note is struck1 and this part of the prophecy closes with the emphatic repetition of the sinlessness of the ,suffering ,servant1 which makes ,his sufferings a deep and bewildering mystery1 unless they were endured because of 'our transgressions4' ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,iv ',it pleased the ,lord to bruise ,him2 ,he hath put ,him to grief3 when ,thou shalt make ,his soul an offering for sin1 ,he shall see ,his seed1 ,he shall prolong ,his days1 and the pleasure of the ,lord shall prosper in ,his hand4'--,,isaiah liii4 #aj4 ,we have seen a distinct progress of thought in the preceding verses4 ,there was first the outline of the sorrows and rejection of the ,servant2 second1 the profound explanation of these as being for us2 third1 the sufferings1 death and burial of the ,servant4 ,we have followed ,him to the grave4 ,what more can there be to be said8 ,whether the ,servant of the ,lord be an individual or a collective or an ideal1 surely all fitness of metaphor1 all reality of fact would require that ,his work should be represented as ending with ,his life1 and that what might follow ,his burial should be the influence of ,his memory1 the continued operation of the principles ,he had set agoing and so on1 but nothing more4 ,now observe that1 however we may explain the fact1 this is the fact to be explained1 that there is a whole section1 this closing one1 devoted to the celebration of ,his work after ,his death and burial1 and1 still more remarkable1 that the prophecy says nothing about ,his activity on the world till after death4 ,in all the former portion there is not a syllable about ,his doing anything1 only about ,his suffering2 and then when ,he is dead ,he begins to work4 ,that is the subject of these last three verses1 and it would be proper to take them all for our consideration now1 but fur two reasons1 one1 because of their great fulness and importance1 and one because1 as you will observe1 the two latter verses are a direct address of ,god's concerning the ,servant4 ,the prophetic words1 spoken as in his own person1 end with verse #aj1 and1 catching up their representations1 expanding1 defining1 glorifying them1 comes the solemn thunder of the voice of ,god4 ,i now deal only with the prophet's vision of the work of the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,one other preliminary remark is that the work of the ,servant after death is described in these verses with constant and very emphatic reference to ,his previous sufferings4 ,the closeness of connection between these two is thus thrown into great prominence4 ,i4 ,the mystery of ,god's treatment of the sinless ,servant4 ,the first clause is to be read in immediate connection with the preceding verse4 ,the ,servant was of absolute sinlessness1 and yet the ,divine ,hand crushed and bruised ,him4 ,certainly1 if we think of the vehemence of prophetic rebukes1 and of the standing doctrine of the ,old ,testament that ,israel was punished for its sin1 we shall be slow to believe that this picture of the ,sinless ,one1 smitten for the sins of others1 can have reference to the nation in any of its parts1 or to any one man4 ,however other poetry may lament over innocent sufferers1 the ,old ,testament always takes the ground3 ',our iniquities1 like the wind1 have carried us away4' ,but mark that here1 however understood1 the prophet paints a figure so sinless that ,god's bruising ,him is an outstanding wonder and riddle1 only to be solved by regarding these bruises as the stripes by which our sins were healed1 and by noting that 'the pleasure of the ,lord' is carried on through ,him1 after and through ,his death4 ,what conceivable application have such representations except to ,jesus8 ,we note1 then1 here3-- #a4 ,the solemn truth that ,his sufferings were divinely inflicted4 ,that is a truth complementary to the other views in the prophecy1 according to which these sufferings are variously regarded as either inflicted by men 7',by oppression and judgment ,he was taken away'7 or drawn on ,him by ,his own sacrificial act 7',his soul shall make an offering for sin'74 ,it was the divine counsel that used men as its instruments1 though they were none the less guilty4 ,the hands that 'crucified and slew' were no less 'the hands of lawless men1' because it was 'the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of ,god' that 'delivered ,him up4' ,but a still deeper thought is in these words4 ,for we can scarcely avoid seeing in them a glimpse into that dim region of eclipse and agony of soul from which1 as from a cave of darkness1 issued that last cry3 ',eloi1 ,eloi1 lama sabacthani8' ,the bruises inflicted by the ,god1 who made to meet on ,him the iniquities of us all1 were infinitely more severe than the weales of the soldiers' rods1 or the wounds of the nails that pierced ,his hands and feet4 #b4 ,the staggering mystery of ,his sinlessness and sufferings4 ,the world has been full from of old of stories of goodness tortured and evil exalted1 which have drawn tears and softened hearts1 but which have also bewildered men who would fain believe in a righteous ,governor and loving ,father4 ,but none of these have cast so black a shadow of suspicion on the government of the world by a good ,god as does the fate of ,jesus1 unless it is read in the light of this prophecy4 ,standing at the cross1 faith in ,god's goodness and providence can scarcely survive1 unless it rises to be faith in the atoning sacrifice of ,him who was wounded there for our transgressions4 ,,ii4 ,the ,servant's work in ,his sufferings4 ,the margin of the ,revised ,version gives the best rendering--',his soul shall make an offering for sin4' ,the word employed for 'offering' means a trespass offering1 and carries us at once back to the sacrificial system4 ,the trespass offering was distinguished from other offerings4 ,the central idea of it seems to have been to represent sin or guilt as debt1 and the sacrifice as making compensation4 ,we must keep in view the variety of ideas embodied in ,his sacrifice1 and how all correspond to realities in our wants and spiritual experience4 ,now there are three points here3-- a4 ,the representation that ,christ's death is a sacrifice4 ,clearly connecting with whole ,mosaic system--and that in the sense of a trespass offering4 ,christ seems to quote this verse in ,john x4 #ae1 when ,he speaks of laying down ,his life1 and when ,he declares that ,he came to 'give ,his life a ransom for many4' ,at any rate here is the great word1 sacrifice1 proclaimed for the first time in connection with ,messiah4 ,here the prophet interprets the meaning of all the types and shadows of the law4 ,that sacrificial system bore witness to deep wants of men's souls1 and prophesied of ,one in whom these were all met and satisfied4 b4 ,his voluntary surrender4 ,he is sacrifice1 but ,he is ,priest also4 ,his soul makes the offering1 and ,his soul is the offering and offers itself in concurrence with the ,divine ,will4 ,it is difficult and necessary to keep that double aspect in view1 and never to think of ,jesus as an unwilling ,victim1 nor of ,god as angry and needing to be appeased by blood4 c4 ,the thought that the true meaning of ,his sufferings is only reached when we contemplate the effects that have flowed from them4 ,the pleasure of the ,lord in bruising ,him is a mystery until we see how pleasure of the ,lord prospers in the hand of the ,crucified4 ,,iii4 ,the work of the ,servant after death4 ,surely this paradox1 so baldly stated1 is meant to be an enigma to startle and to rouse curiosity4 ,this dead ,servant is to see of the travail of ,his soul1 and to prolong ,his days4 ,all the interpretations of this chapter which refuse to see ,jesus in it shiver on this rock4 ,what a contrast there is between platitudes about the spirit of the nation rising transformed from its grave of captivity 7which was only very partially the case71 and the historical fulfilment in ,jesus ,christ6 ,here1 at any rate1 hundreds of years before ,his ,resurrection1 is a word that seems to point to such a fact1 and to me it appears that all fair interpretation is on the side of the ,messianic reference4 ,note the singularity of special points4 a4 ,having died1 the ,servant sees ,his offspring4 ,the sacrifice of ,christ is the great power which draws men to ,him1 and moves to repentance1 faith1 love4 ,his death was the communication of life4 ,nowhere else in the world's history is the teacher's death the beginning of ,his gathering of pupils1 and not only has the dead ,servant children1 but ,he sees them4 ,that representation is expressive of the mutual intercourse1 strange and deep1 whereby we feel that ,he is truly with us1 ',jesus ,christ1 whom having not seen we love4' b4 ,having died1 the ,servant prolongs ,his days4 ,he lives a continuous life1 without an end1 for ever4 ,the best commentary is the word which ,john heard1 as he felt the hand of the ,christ laid on his prostrate form3 ',i became dead1 and lo1 ,i am alive for evermore4' c4 ,having died1 the ,servant carries into effect the divine purposes4 ',prosper' implies progressive advancement4 ,christ's ,sacrifice carried out the divine pleasure1 and by ,his ,sacrifice the divine pleasure is further carried out4 ,if ,christ is the means of carrying out the divine purpose1 consider what this implies of divinity in ,his nature1 of correspondence between ,his will and the divine4 ,but ,jesus not only carries into effect the divine purpose as a consequence of a past act1 but by ,his present energy this dead man is a living power in the world today4 ,is ,he not8 ,the sole explanation of the vitality of ,christianity1 and the sole reason which makes its message a gospel to any soul1 is ,christ's death for the world and present life in the world4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,v ',he shall see of the travail of ,his soul1 and shall be satisfied3 by ,his knowledge shall ,my righteous servant justify many2 and ,he shall bear their iniquities'--,,isaiah liii4 #aa4 ,these are all but the closing words of this great prophecy1 and are the fitting crown of all that has gone before4 ,we have been listening to the voice of a member of the race to whom the ,servant of the ,lord belonged1 whether we limit that to the ,jewish people or include in it all humanity4 ,that voice has been confessing for the speaker and his brethren their common misapprehensions of the ,servant1 their blindness to the meaning of ,his sufferings and the mystery of ,his death4 ,it has been proclaiming the true significance of these as now he had learned them1 and has in verse #aj touched the mystery of the reward and triumph of the ,servant4 ,that note of ,his glory and coronation is caught up in the two closing verses1 which1 in substance1 are the continuation of the idea of verse #aj4 ,but this identity of substance makes the variety of form the more emphatic4 ,observe the ',my ,servant' of verse #aa1 and the ',i will divide' of verse #ab4 ,these oblige us to take this as the voice of ,god4 ,the confession and belief of earth is hushed1 that the recognition and the reward of the ,servant may be declared from heaven4 ,an added solemnity is thus given to the words1 and the prophecy comes round again to the keynote on which it started in chapter lii1 #ac1 ',my ,servant4' ,notice1 too1 how the same characteristic is here as in verse #aj--that the recapitulation of the sufferings is almost equally prominent with the description of the reward4 ,the two are so woven together that no power can part them4 ,we may take these two verses as setting forth mainly two things--the divine promise that the ,servant shall give righteousness to many1 and the divine promise that the ,servant shall conquer many for ,himself4 ,as to the exposition1 'of' here is probably casual1 not partitive1 as the ,authorised ,version has it2 'travail' is not to be understood in the sense of childbirth1 but of toil and suffering2 'soul' is equivalent to life4 ,this fruit of ,his soul's travail is further defined in the words which follow4 ,the great result which will be beheld by ,him and will fill and content ,his heart is that 'by ,his knowledge ,he shall justify many4' ',by ,his knowledge' certainly means1 by the knowledge of ,him on the part of others4 ,the phrase might be taken either objectively or subjectively1 but it seems to me that only the former yields an adequate sense4 ',my righteous servant' is scarcely emphatic enough4 ,the words in the original stand in an unusual order1 which might be represented by 'the righteous one1 ,my servant1' and is intended to put emphasis on the ,servant's righteousness1 as well as to suggest the connection between ,his righteousness and ,his 'justifying1' in virtue of ,his being righteous4 ',justify' is an unusual form1 and means to procure for1 or impart righteousness to4 ',the many' has stress on the article1 and is the antithesis not to all1 but to few4 ,we might render it 'the masses1' an indefinite expression1 which if not declaring universality1 approaches very near to it1 as in ,romans v4 #ai and ,matthew xxvi4 #bh4 ',he shall bear1' a future referring to the ,servant in a state of exaltation1 and pointing to ,his continuous work after death4 ,this bearing is the root of our righteousness4 ,we may put the thoughts here in a definite order4 ,i4 ,the great work which the ,servant carries on4 ,it consists in giving or imparting righteousness4 ,it seems to me that it is out of place to be too narrow here in interpreting so as to draw distinctions between righteousness imparted and righteousness bestowed4 ,we should rather take the general idea of making righteous1 making1 in fact1 like ,himself4 ,note that this is the work which is ,christ's characteristic one4 ,all thoughts of ,his blessings to the world which omit that are imperfect4 ,,ii4 ,the preparation for that making of us righteous4 ,the roots of our being made righteous by the righteous ,servant are found in ,his bearing our sins4 ,his sin-bearing work is basis of our righteousness4 ,christ justifies men by giving to them ,his own righteousness1 and taking in turn their sins on ,himself that ,he may expiate them4 ,not only 'did ,he bear our sins in ,his own body on the tree1' but ,he will bear them in ,his exaltation to the ,throne1 and only because ,he continuously and eternally does so are we justified on earth and shall we be sanctified in heaven4 ,,iii4 ,the condition on which ,he imparts righteousness4 ',his knowledge1' which is to be taken in the profound ,biblical sense as including not only understanding but experience also4 ,parallels are found in ',this is life eternal to know ,thee' 7,john xvii4 #c71 and in ',that ,i may know ,him' 7,phil4 iii4 #aj74 ,so this prophecy comes very near to the ,new ,testament proclamation of righteousness by faith4 ,,iv4 ,the grand sweep of the ,servant's work4 ',the many' is indefinite1 and its very indefiniteness approximates it to universality4 ,a shadowy vision of a great multitude that no man can number stretches out1 as to the horizon1 before the prophet4 ,how many they are he knows not4 ,he knows that they are numerous enough to 'satisfy' the ,servant for all ,his sufferings4 ,he knows1 too1 that there is no limit to the happy crowd except that which is set by the necessary condition of joining the bands of 'the justified'--namely1 'the knowledge of ,him4' ,they who receive the benefits which the ,servant has died and will live to bring cannot be few2 they may be all4 ,if any are shut out1 they are self-excluded4 ,v4 ,the ,servant's satisfaction4 ,it may be that the word employed means 'full1' rather than 'content1' but the latter idea can scarcely be altogether absent from it4 ,we have1 then1 the great hope that the ,servant1 gazing on the results of ,his sufferings1 will be content1 content to have borne them1 content with what they have effected4 ',the glory dies not and the grief is past4' ,and the 'grief' has had for fruit not only 'glory' gathering round the thorn-pierced head1 but reflected glory shining on the brows of 'the many1' whom ,he has justified and sanctified by their experience of ,him and ,his power4 ,the creative week ended with the 'rest' of the ,creator1 not because ,his energy was tired and needed repose1 but because ,he had fully carried out ,his purpose1 and saw the perfected idea embodied in a creation that was 'very good4' ,the redemptive work ends with the ,servant's satisfied contemplation of the many whom ,he has made like ,himself1 ,his better creation4 ,,the ,,suffering ,,servant--,,vi ',therefore will ,i divide ,him a portion with the great1 and ,he shall divide the spoil with the strong2 because ,he hath poured out ,his soul unto death3 and was numbered with the transgressors2 and ,he bare the sins of many1 and made intercession for the transgressors4'--,,isaiah liii4 #ab4 ,the first clause of this verse is somewhat difficult4 ,there are two ways of understanding it4 ,one is that adopted in ,a4 ,v41 according to which the suffering ,servant is represented as equal to the greatest conquerors4 ,he is to be as gloriously successful in ,his victory as they have been in theirs4 ,but there are two very strong objections to this rendering-first1 that it takes 'the many' in the sense of mighty1 thus obscuring the identity of the expression here and in the previous verse and in the end of this verse2 and secondly1 that it gives a very feeble and frigid ending to the prophecy4 ,it does not seem a worthy close simply to say that the ,servant is to be like a ,cyrus or a ,nebuchadnezzar in ,his conquests4 ,the other rendering1 though there are some difficulties1 is to be preferred4 ,according to it 'the many' and 'the strong' are themselves the prey or spoil4 ,the words might be read1 ',i will apportion to ,him the many1 and ,he shall apportion to ,himself the strong ones4' ,this retains the same meaning of 'many' for the same expression throughout the context1 and is a worthy ending to the prophecy4 ,the force of the clause is then to represent the suffering ,servant as a conqueror1 leading back from ,his conquests a long train of captives1 a rich booty4 ,notice some points about this closing metaphor4 ,mark its singular contrast to the tone of the rest of the prophecy4 ,note the lowliness1 the suffering1 the minor key of it all1 and then1 all at once1 the leap up to rapture and triumph4 ,the special form of the metaphor strikes one as singular4 ,nothing in the preceding context even remotely suggests it4 ,even the previous clause about 'making the many righteous' does not do much to prepare the way for it4 ,whatever be our explanation of the words1 it must be one that does full justice to this metaphor1 and presents some conquering power or person1 whose victories are brilliant and real enough to be worthy to stand at the close of such a prophecy4 ,we must keep in mind1 too1 what has been remarked on the two previous verses1 that this victorious campaign and growing conquest is achieved after the ,servant is dead4 ,that is a paradox4 ,and note that the strength of language representing ,his activity can scarcely be reconciled with the idea that it is only the post-mortem influence of ,his life which is meant4 ,note1 too1 the singular blending of ,god's power and the ,servant's own activity in the winning of this extended sovereignty4 ,side by side the two are put4 ,the same verb is used in order to emphasise the intended parallel4 ',i will divide1' ',he shall divide4' ,i will give ,him--,he shall conquer for ,himself4 ,remember the intense vehemence with which the ,old ,testament guards the absolute supremacy of divine power1 and how strongly it always puts the thought that ,god is everything and man nothing4 ,look at the contrast of the tone when a human conqueror1 whose conquests are the result of ,god's providence1 is addressed 7xlv4 #a-c74 ,there is an entire suppression of his personality1 not a word about his bravery1 his military genius1 or anything in him4 ,it is all ,i1 ,i1 ,i4 ,remember how1 in chapter x41 one of the sins for which the ,assyrian is to be destroyed is precisely that he thought of his victories as due to his own strength and wisdom4 ,so he is indignantly reminded that he is only 'a staff in ,mine hand1' the axe with which ,god hewed the nations1 whereas here the voice of ,god ,himself speaks1 and gives a strange place beside ,himself to the will and power of this ,conqueror4 ,this feature of the prophecy should be accounted for in any satisfactory interpretation4 ,note1 too1 the wide sweep of the ,servant's dominion1 which carries us back to the beginning of this prophecy in chapter lii4 #ae1 where we hear of the ,servant as 'sprinkling' 7or startling'7 many nations1 and the 'kings' is parallel with the 'strong' in this verse4 ,no bounds are assigned to the ,servant's conquests1 which are1 if not declared to be universal1 at least indefinitely extended and striding on to world-wide empire4 ,these points are plainly here4 ,i do not dilate upon them4 ,but ,i ask whether any of the interpretations of these words1 except one1 gives adequate force to them8 ,is there anything in the history of the restored exiles which corresponds to this picture8 ,even if you admit the violent hypothesis that there was a better part of the nation1 so good that the national sorrows had no chastisement for them1 and the other violent hypothesis that the devoutest among the exiles suffered most1 and the other that the death and burial and resurrection of the ,servant only mean the reformation wrought on ,israel by captivity4 ,what is there in the history of ,israel which can be pointed at as the conquest of the world8 ,was the nation that bore the yokes of a ,ptolemy1 an ,antiochus1 a ,herod1 a ,caesar1 the fulfiller of this dream of world-conquest8 ,there is only one thing which can be called the ,jew conquering the world4 ,it is that which1 as ,i believe1 is meant here1 viz4 ,christ's conquest4 ,apart from that1 ,i know of nothing which would not be ludicrously disproportionate if it were alleged as fulfilment of this glowing prophecy4 ,this prophetic picture is at least four hundred years before ,christ1 by the admission of those who bring it lowest down1 in their eagerness to get rid of prophecy4 ,the life of ,christ does correspond to it1 in such a way that1 clause by clause1 it reads as if it were quite as much a history of ,jesus as a prophecy of the ,servant4 ,this certainly is an extraordinary coincidence if it be not a prophecy4 ,and there is really no argument against the ,messianic interpretation1 except dogmatic prejudice--'there cannot be prophecy4' ,no straining is needed in order to fit this great prophetic picture of the world-,conqueror to ,jesus4 ,even that1 at first sight incongruous1 picture of a victor leading long lines of captives1 such as we see on ,assyrian slabs and ,egyptian paintings1 is historically true of ,him who 'leads captivity captive1' and is1 through the ages1 winning ever fresh victories1 and leading ,his enemies1 turned into lovers1 in ,his triumphal progress4 ,he1 and ,he only1 really owns men4 ,his slaves have made real self-surrenders to ,him4 ,other conquerors may imprison or load with irons or deport to other lands1 but they are only lords of bodies4 ,jesus' chains are silken1 and bind hearts that are proud of their bonds4 ,he carries off ,his free prisoners 'from the power of darkness' into ,his kingdom of light4 ,his slaves rejoice to say1 ',i am not my own1' and he only truly possesses himself who has given himself away to the ,conquering ,christ4 ,for all these centuries ,he has been conquering hearts1 enthralling and thereby liberating wills1 making ,himself the life of lives4 ,there is nothing else the least like the bond between ,jesus and millions who never saw him4 ,who among all the leaders of thought or religious teachers has been able to impress his personality on others and to dominate them in the fashion that ,jesus has done and is doing to-day8 ,how has ,he done this thing1 which no other man has been able in the least to do8 ,what is ,his charm1 the secret of ,his power8 ,the prophet has no doubt what it is1 and unfolds it to us with a significant ',for4' ,we turn1 then1 to the prophetic explanation of that worldwide empire and note-- ,,ii4 ,the foundation of the ,servant's dominion4 ,that explanation is given in four clauses which fall into two pairs4 ,they remarkably revert to the thought of the ,servant's sufferings1 but in how different a tone these are now spoken of1 when they are no longer regarded as the results of man's blind failure to see ,his beauty1 or as inflicted by the mysterious 'pleasure of ,jehovah1' but as the causes of ,his triumph6 ,echoes of both the two first clauses are heard from the lips of ,jesus4 ,as ,he passed beneath the tremulous shadow of the olives of ,gethsemane1 ,he appealed for the companionship of the three1 by an all but solitary revelation of ,his weakness and sorrow1 ',my soul is exceeding sorrowful1 even unto death2 abide ye here and watch with ,me4' ,and even more distinctly did ,he lay ,his hand on this prophecy when ,he ended all ,his words in the upper room with ',this which is written must be fulfilled in ,me1 ,and ,he was reckoned with transgressors4' ,may we not claim ,jesus as endorsing the ,messianic interpretation of this prophecy8 ,he gazed on the portrait painted ages before that night of sorrow1 and saw in it ,his own likeness1 and said1 ,that is meant for ,me4 ,some of us feel that1 kenosis or no kenosis1 ,he is the best judge of who is the original of the prophet's portrait4 ,the two final clauses are separated from the preceding by the emphatic introduction of the pronominal nominative1 and cohere closely as gathering up for the last time all the description of the ,servant1 and as laying broad and firm the basis of ,his dominion1 in the two great facts which sum up ,his office and between them stretch over the past and the future4 ',he bare the sin of many1 and maketh intercession for the transgressors4' ,the former of these two clauses brings up the pathetic picture of the scapegoat who 'bore upon him all their iniquities into a solitary land4' ,the ,servant conquers hearts because ,he bears upon ,him the grim burden which a mightier hand than ,aaron's has made to meet on ,his head1 and because ,he bears it away4 ,the ancient ceremony1 and the prophet's transference of the words describing it to his picture of the ,servant who was to be ,king1 floated before ,john the ,baptist1 when he pointed his brown1 thin finger at ,jesus and cried3 ',behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which taketh away the sin of the world4' ,the goat had borne the sins of one nation2 the prophet had extended the ,servant's ministry indefinitely1 so as to include unnumbered 'many'2 ,john spoke the universal word1 'the world4' ,so the circles widened4 ,but it is not enough to bear away sins4 ,we need continuous help in the present4 ,our daily struggles1 our ever-felt weakness1 all the ills that flesh is heir to1 cry aloud for a mightier than we to be at our sides4 ,so on the ,servant's bearing the sins of the many there follows a continuous act of priestly intercession1 in which1 not merely by prayer1 but by meritorious and prevailing intervention1 ,he makes ,his own the cause of the many whose sins ,he has borne4 ,on these two acts ,his dominion rests4 ,sacrifice and ,intercession are the foundations of ,his throne4 ,the empire of men's hearts falls to ,him because of what ,he has done and is doing for them4 ,he who is to possess us absolutely must give ,himself to us utterly4 ,the empire falls to ,him who supplies men's deepest need4 ,he who can take away men's sins rules4 ,he who can effectually undertake men's cause will be their ,king4 ,if ,jesus is or does anything less or else1 ,he will not rule men for ever4 ,if ,he is but a ,teacher and a ,guide1 oblivion1 which shrouds all1 will sooner or later wrap ,him in its misty folds4 ,that ,his name should so long have resisted its influence is due altogether to men having believed ,him to be something else4 ,he will exercise an everlasting dominion only if ,he have brought in an everlasting righteousness4 ,he will sit ,king for ever1 if and only if ,he is a priest for ever4 ,all other rule is transient4 ,a remarkable characteristic of this entire prophecy is the frequent repetition of expressions conveying the idea of sufferings borne for others4 ,in one form or another that thought occurs1 as we reckon1 eleven times1 and it is especially frequent in the last verses of the chapter4 ,why this perpetual harking back to that one aspect8 ,it is to be further noticed that throughout there is no hint of any other kind of work which this ,servant had to do4 ,he fulfils ,his service to ,god and man by being bruised for men's iniquities4 ,he came not to be ministered unto but to minister1 and the chief form of ,his ministry was that ,he gave ,his life a ransom for the many4 ,he came not to preach a gospel1 but to die that there might be a gospel to preach4 ,the ,cross is the centre of ,his work1 and by it ,he becomes the ,centre of the world4 ,look once more at the sorrowful1 august figure that rose before the prophet's eye--with its strange blending of sinlessness and sorrow1 ,god's approval and ,god's chastisement1 rejection and rule1 death and life1 abject humiliation and absolute dominion4 ,listen to the last echoes of the prophet's voice as it dies on our ear--',he bore the sins of the many4' ,and then hearken how eight hundred years after another voice takes up the echoes--but instead of pointing away down the centuries1 points to ,one at his side1 and cries1 ',behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which taketh away the sin of the world4' ,look at that life1 that death1 that grave1 that resurrection1 that growing dominion1 that inexhaustible intercession--and say1 ',of whom speaketh the prophet this8' ,may we all be able to answer with clear confidence1 ',these things saith ,esaias when he saw ,his glory and spake of ,him4' ,may we all take up the ancient confession3 ',surely ,he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows4444 ,he was wounded for our transgressions1 ,he was bruised for our iniquities1 the chastisement of our peace was upon ,him1 and with ,his stripes we are healed4' ,,the ,,passing ,,and ,,the ,,permanent ',for the mountains shall depart1 and the hills be removed2 but ,my kindness shall not depart from thee1 neither shall the covenant of ,my peace be removed1 saith the ,lord that hath mercy on thee4'--,,isaiah liv1 #aj4-- ,there is something of music in the very sound of these words4 ,the stately march of the grand ,english translation lends itself with wonderful beauty to the melody of ,isaiah's words4 ,but the thought that lies below them1 sweeping as it does through the whole creation1 and parting all things into the transient and eternal1 the mortal and immortal1 is still greater than the music of the words4 ,these are removed2 this abides4 ,and the thing in ,god which abides is all-gentle tenderness1 that strange love mightier than all the powers of ,deity beside1 permanent with the permanence of ,his changeless heart4 ,the mountains shall depart1 the emblems of eternity shall crumble and change and pass1 and the hills be removed2 but this immortal1 impalpable1 and1 in some men's minds1 fantastic and unreal something1 ',my loving kindness and the covenant of ,my peace1' shall outlast them all4 ,and this great promise is stamped with the sign manual of ,heaven1 being spoken by the ,lord that hath mercy on thee4' ,so then1 dear friends1 ,i think ,i shall most reverentially deal with these words if ,i handle them in the simplest possible way1 and think1 first of all1 of that great antithesis that is set before us here--what passes and what abides2 and1 secondly1 draw two or three plain1 homely lessons and applications from the thoughts thus suggested4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 we have to deal with the contrast between the apparently enduring which passes1 and that which truly abides4 ',the mountains depart1 the hills remove1 ,my loving-kindness shall not depart1 neither shall the covenant of ,my peace be removed4' ,let me then say a word or two about that first thought--'the mountains shall depart4' ,there they tower over the plains1 looking down upon the flat valley beneath as they did when the prophet spoke4 ,the eternal buttresses of the hills stand to the eyes of the fleeting generations as emblems of permanence1 and yet winter storms and summer heats1 and the slow processes of decay which we call the gnawing of time1 are ever working upon them1 and changing their forms1 and at last they shall pass4 ,modern science1 whilst it has all but incalculably enlarged our conceptions of the duration of the material universe1 emphasises1 as faith alone never could1 the thought of the ultimate perishing of this material world4 ,for geology tells us that 'where rears the cliff there rolled the sea1' that through the cycles of the shifting history of the world there have been elevations and depressions so that the ancient hills in many places are the newest of all things1 and the world's form has changed many and many a time since first it circled as a planet4 ,and researches into the ultimate constitution of matter have taught us to think of solids and liquids and gases1 as being an infinite multitude of atoms all in rapid motion with inconceivable velocity1 and have shown us the very atoms in the act of breaking up4 ,so that the old guess of the infancy of physical science which divined that 'all things are in a state of flux' is confirmed by its last utterances4 ,science prophesies too1 and bids us expect that the earth shall one day become1 like some of the stars1 a burnt out mass of uniform temperature1 incapable of change or of sustaining life1 and shall end by falling into the diminished sun1 and so the old word will be fulfilled that 'the earth and the works that are therein shall be burnt up4' ,none should be able to utter the words of my text1 ',the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed1' with such emphasis of certitude as the present students of physical science4 ,but our text does not stop there4 ,it brings into view the transiency of the transient1 in order to throw into greater relief and prominence the perpetuity of the abiding4 ,if we had nothing abiding beyond this perishable material universe1 it would indeed be misery to exist4 ,life would be not only insignificant but wretched1 and a ghastly irony1 a meaningless1 aimless ripple on the surface of that silent1 shoreless sea4 ,the great ',but' of this text lifts the oppression from humanity with which the one-sided truth of the passing of all the ,visible loads it4 ,and so turn for a moment to the other side of this great text4 ,there stands out above all that is mortal1 which1 although it counts its existence by millenniums1 is but for an instant1 visible to the eye of faith1 the ,great ,spirit who moves all the material universe1 ,himself unmoved1 and lives undiminished by creation1 and undiminished if creation were swept out of existence4 ,let that which may pass1 pass2 let that which can perish1 perish2 let the mountains crumble and the hills melt away2 beyond the smoke and conflagration1 and rising high above destruction and chaos1 stands the calm throne of ,god1 with a loving ,heart upon it1 with a council of peace and purpose of mercy for you and for me1 the creatures of a day indeed1 but who are to live when the days shall cease to be4 ',my kindness6' ,what a wonderful word that is1 so far above all the cold delusion of so-called theism6 ',my kindness6' the tender-heartedness of an infinite love1 the abounding favour of the ,father of my spirit1 ,his gentle goodness bending down to me1 ,his tenderness round about me1 eternal love that never can die2 the thing that lasts in the universe is ,his kindness1 which continues from everlasting to everlasting4 ,what a revelation of ,god6 ,oh1 dear friends1 if only our hearts could open to the full acceptance of that thought1 sorrow and care and anxiety1 and every other form of trouble1 would fade away and we should be at rest4 ,the infinite1 undying1 imperishable love of ,god is mine4 ,older than the mountains1 deeper than their roots1 wider than the heavens1 and stronger than all my sin1 is the love that grasps me and keeps me and will not let me go1 and lavishes its tenderness upon me1 and beseeches me1 and pleads with me1 and woos me1 and rebukes me1 and corrects me when ,i need1 and sent ,his ,son to die for me4 ',my kindness shall not depart from thee4' ,but even that great conception does not exhaust the encouragement which the prophet has to give to souls weighed upon with the transiency of the material4 ,he speaks of 'the covenant of ,my peace4' ,we are to think of this great1 tender1 changeless love of ,god1 which underlies all things and towers above all things1 which overlaps them all and fills eternity1 as being placed1 so to speak1 under the guarantee of a solemn obligation4 ,god's covenant is a great thought of ,scripture which we far too little apprehend in the depth and power of its meaning4 ,his covenant with you and me1 poor creatures1 is this1 ',i promise that ,my love shall never leave thee4' ,he makes ,himself a constitutional monarch1 so to speak1 giving us a plighted word to which we can appeal and go to ,him and say1 ',there1 that is the charter given by ,thyself1 given irrevocably for ever1 and ,i hold ,thee to it4 ,fulfil it1 ,o ,thou ,god of ,truth4' ',my covenant of peace4' ,dear friends1 the prophet spoke a deeper thing than he knew when he uttered these words4 ,let me remind you of the large meaning which the ,new ,testament puts into them4 ',now the ,god of ,peace that brought again from the dead our ,lord ,jesus1 the ,great ,shepherd of the ,sheep1 through the blood of the everlasting ,covenant1 make us perfect in every good work1 to do ,his will4' ,god has bound ,himself by ,his promise to give you and me the peace that belongs to ,his own nature1 and that covenant is sealed to us in the blood of ,jesus ,christ upon the ,cross1 and so we sinful men1 with all the burden of our evil upon us1 with all our sins known to us1 with all our manifest failings and infirmities1 can turn to ,him and say1 ',thou hast pledged ,thyself to forgive and accept1 and that covenant is made sure to me because ,thy ,son hath died1 and ,i come and ask ,thee to fulfil it4' ,and be sure of this1 that no poor creature upon earth1 however lame his hand1 who puts out that hand to grasp that peaceful covenant--that new covenant in the blood of ,christ--can plead in vain4 ,my brother1 have you done that8 ,have you entered into this covenant of peace with ,god--peace in believing1 peace by the blood of ,christ1 peace that fills a new heart1 peace that rules amidst all the perturbations and disappointments of life8 ,then you may be sure that that covenant will stand for evermore1 though the mountains depart and the hills be removed4 ,,ii4 ,now turn with me to a few practical lessons which we may gather from these great contrasts here1 between the perishable mortal and the immortal divine love4 ,surely the first plain one is a warning against fastening our love1 our hope1 or our trust on these transient things4 ,what folly it is for a man to risk his peace and the strength and the joy of his life upon things that crumble and change1 when all the while there is lying before him open for his entrance1 and wooing him to come into the eternal home of his spirit1 this covenant6 ,here are we1 from day to day1 plunged into these passing vanities1 and always tempted to think that they are the true abiding things1 and it needs great discipline and watchfulness to live the better life4 ,there is nothing that will help us to do it like a firm grasp of the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ4 ,then we can hold these mortal joys with a loose hand1 knowing that they are only for a little time1 and feeling that they are passing whilst we look at them1 and are changing like the scenery in the sky on a summer's night1 with its cliffs and hills in the clouds1 even while we gaze4 ,where there was a mountain a moment ago up there1 there is now a depression1 and the world and everything in it lasts very little longer than these4 ,it is only a film on the surface of the great sea of eternity--there is no reality about it4 ,it is but a dream--a vision1 slipping1 slipping1 slipping away1 and you and ,i slipping along with it4 ,how foolishly1 how obstinately1 we all cling to it1 though even the very grasp of our hands tends to make it pass away1 as the children coming in from the fields with their store of buttercups and daisies in their hot hands1 which by their very clutch hasten the withering4 ,and that is just our position4 ,we have them for a brief moment1 and they all perish in the using4 ,oh1 brother1 have you set your heart on that which is not1 when all the while there1 longing to bless and love us1 stands the ,eternal ,god1 with ,his unchanging love and faithful covenant of ,his perpetual peace8 ,surely it were wiser--wiser1 to put it on the lowest ground--to seek the things that are above1 and1 knowing as we do that the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed1 so make our portion the kindness which shall not depart1 and seek our share in the peace that shall not pass away4 ,but there is another lesson to be put in the same simple fashion4 ,surely we ought to use thoughts like these of my text in order to stay the soul in seasons which come to every one sometimes1 when we are made painfully conscious of the transiency of this ,present4 ,meditative hours come to us all--moments when perhaps some strain of music gives us back childhood's days2 when perhaps some perfume of a flower reminds us of long-vanished gardens and hands that have crumbled into dust2 when some touch of a sunset sky1 or some word of a book1 or some providence of our lives1 comes upon the heart and mind1 reminding us how everything is passing4 ,you have all had these thoughts4 ,some of us stifle them--they are not pleasant to many of us2 some of us brood over them unwholesomely1 and that is not wise2 but the best use of them is to bear us onward into the peaceful region where we clasp to our troubled hearts that which cannot go4 ,if any of us are making experience to-day of earthly change1 if any of us have hearts heavy with earthly losses1 if any of us are bending under the weight of that awful law1 that everything becomes part and parcel of that dreadful past1 if any of us are looking at our empty hands and saying1 ',they have taken away my god and what have ,i more8' let us listen to the better voice that says1 ',my kindness shall not depart from thee1 and so1 whatever goes1 thou canst not be desolate if thou hast ,me4' ,and then1 still further1 let me remind you that this same thought may avail to give to us hopes of years as immortal as itself4 ,we do not belong to the mountains and hills that shall depart1 or to the order of things to which they belong4 ,there is coming a very solemn day1 ,i believe1 not by any mere processes of natural decay as ,i take it1 but by the action of ,god ,himself1 the ,judge that 'day of the ,lord that shall come as a thief in the night'--when the mountains shall depart1 and the hills be removed1 and the throne of judgment shall be set1 and you and ,i will be there4 ,my brother1 lay your hand on that covenant of peace which is made for us all in ,christ ,jesus the ,lord1 and then 'calm as the summer's ocean we shall be1 and all the wreck of nature' cannot disturb us1 for we shall abide unshaken as the throne of ,god4 ,the mountains may pass1 the hills be removed1 but herein is our love made perfect1 that we may have boldness in the day of 'judgment1' for that kindness shall not depart from us1 and ,god's gentle tenderness is eternal as ,himself4 ,then we shall not depart from it either1 and we are immortal as the tenderness that encloses us4 ,god's endless love must have undying creatures on whom to pour itself out1 and if to-day ,i possess--as we all may possess in however feeble a measure--some sips and prelibations of that great flood of love that is in ,god1 ,i can look unblanched right into the eyes of death and say1 ',thou hast no power at all over me1 ,i am eternal because the ,god that loves me is so1 and since ,he hath loved me with an everlasting love1 ,his loving-kindness shall not depart from me4 ,therefore1 seeing that all these things shall be dissolved1 ,i know that ,i have a building of ,god1 a house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens1 and because ,he lives ,i shall live also4' ,the hope that is built upon the eternal love of ,god in ,christ is the true guarantee to me of immortal existence1 and this hope is ours if1 and only if1 we come into the covenant--the covenant of peace4 ,god says1 ',i will love thee1 ,i will bless thee1 ,i will keep thee1 ,i will pardon thee1 ,i will save thee1 ,i will glorify thee1 and there is ,my bond on that ,cross1 the new covenant in ,his blood4' ,close with the covenant that ,god is ready to make with you1 and then 'life and death1 principalities and powers1 things present and things to come1 height and depth1 and every other creature shall be impotent to separate you from the love of ,god that is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4' ',ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters1 and he that hath no money2 come ye1 buy1 and eat2 yea1 come1 buy wine and milk without money and without price4 #b4 ,wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread8 and your labour for that which satisfieth not8 hearken diligently unto ,me1 and eat ye that which is good1 and let your soul delight itself in fatness4 #c4 ,incline your ear1 and come unto ,me1 hear1 and your soul shall live2 and ,i will make an everlasting covenant with you1 even the sure mercies of ,david4 #d4 ,behold1 ,i have given him for a witness to the people1 a leader and commander to the people4 #e4 ,behold1 thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not1 and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the ,lord thy ,god1 and for the ,holy ,one of ,israel2 for ,he hath glorified thee4 #f4 ,seek ye the ,lord while ,he may be found1 call ye upon ,him while ,he is near3 #g4 ,let the wicked forsake his way1 and the unrighteous man his thoughts3 and let him return unto the ,lord1 and ,he will have mercy upon him2 and to our ,god1 for ,he will abundantly pardon4 #h4 ,for ,my thoughts are not your thoughts1 neither are your ways ,my ways1 saith the ,lord4 #i4 ,for as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,my ways higher than your ways1 and ,my thoughts than your thoughts4 #aj4 ,for as the rain cometh down1 and the snow from heaven1 and returneth not thither1 but watereth the earth1 and maketh it bring forth and bud1 that it may give seed to the sower1 and bread to the eater3 #aa4 ,so shall ,my word be that goeth forth out of ,my mouth3 it shall not return unto ,me void1 but it shall accomplish that which ,i please1 and it shall prosper in the thing whereto ,i sent it4 #ab4 ,for ye shall go out with joy1 and be led forth with peace3 the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing1 and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands4 #ac4 ,instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree1 and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree3 and it shall be to the ,lord for a name1 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off4'--,,isaiah lv4 #a-ac4 ,the call to partake of the blessings of the ,messianic salvation worthily follows the great prophecy of the suffering ,servant4 ,no doubt the immediate application of this chapter is to the exiled nation1 who in it are summoned from their vain attempts to find satisfaction in the material prosperity realised in exile1 and to make the only true blessedness their own by obedience to ,god's voice4 ,but if ever the prophet spoke to the world he does so here4 ,it is no unwarranted spiritualising of his invitation which hears in it the voice which invites all mankind to share the blessings of the gospel feast4 ,the glorious words need little exposition4 ,what we have to do is to see that they do not fall on our ears in vain4 ,they may be roughly divided into two sections--the invitation to the feast1 with the promises to the obedient ,israel 7verses #a-e71 and the summons to the necessary preparation for the feast1 namely1 repentance1 with the reason for its necessity1 and the encouragements to it in the might of ,god's faithful promises 7verses #f-ac74 ,i4 ,whose voice sounds so beseechingly and welcoming in this great call1 which rings out to all thirsty souls8 ,if we note the ',me' and ',i' which follow1 we shall hear ,god ,himself thus taking the office of summoner to ,his own feast4 ,by whatever media the gospel call reaches us1 it is in reality ,god's own voice to our hearts1 and that makes the responsibility of hearing more tremendous1 and the folly of refusing more inexcusable4 ,who are invited8 ,there are but two conditions expressed in verse #a1 and these are fulfilled in every soul4 ,all are summoned who are thirsty and penniless4 ,if we have in our souls desires that all the broken cisterns of earth can never slake-and we all have these-and if we have nothing by which we can procure what will still the gnawing hunger and burning thirst of our souls--and none of us has--then we are included in the call4 ,universal as are the craving for blessedness and the powerlessness to satisfy it1 are the adaptation and destination of the gospel4 ,what is offered8 ,water1 wine1 milk--all the beverages of a simple civilisation1 differing in their operation1 but all precious to a thirsty palate4 ,water revives1 wine gladdens and inspirits1 milk nourishes4 ,all that any man needs or desires is to be found in ,christ4 ,we shall not understand the nature of the feast unless we remember that ,he ,himself is the 'gift of ,god4' ,what these three draughts mean is best perceived when we listen to ,him saying1 in a plain quotation of this call1 ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink4' ,nothing short of ,himself can satisfy the thirst of one soul1 much less of all the thirsty4 ,like the flow from the magic fountain of the legend1 ,jesus becomes to each what each most desires4 ,how does ,he become ours8 ,the paradox of buying with what is not money is meant1 by its very appearance of contradiction1 to put in strongest fashion that the possession of ,him depends on nothing in us but the sense of need and the willingness to accept4 ,we buy ,christ when we part with self1 which is all that we have1 in order to win ,him4 ,we must be full of conscious emptiness and desire1 if we are to be filled with ,his fulness4 ,jesus interpreted the meaning of 'come to the waters' when ,he said1 ',he that cometh to ,me shall never hunger1 and he that believeth on ,me shall never thirst4' ,faith is coming1 faith is drinking1 faith is buying4 ,the universal call1 with is clear setting forth of blessing and conditions of possessing1 is followed by a pleading remonstrance as to the folly of lavishing effort and money on what is not bread4 ,it is strange that men will cheerfully take more pains to continue thirsty than to accept the satisfaction which ,god provides4 ,they toil and continue unsatisfied4 ,experience does not teach them1 and all the while the one real good is waiting to be theirs for nothing4 '',tis heaven alone that is given away2 ',tis only ,god may be had for the asking4' ,christ goes a-begging1 and we spend our strength in vain toil to acquire what we turn away from when it is offered us in ,him4 ,when the great ,father offers bread for nothing1 we will not have it1 but we are ready to give any price for a stone4 ,it is not the wickedness1 but the folly1 of unbelief1 which is the marvel4 ,the contrast between the heavy price at which men buy hunger1 and the easy rate at which they may have full satisfaction1 is further set forth by the call to 'incline the ear1' which is all that is needed in order that life and nourishment which delights the soul may be ours4 ',hearken1 and eat' is equivalent to ',hearken1 and ye shall eat4' ,the real 'good' for man is only to be found in listening to and obeying the divine voice1 whether it sound in invitation1 promise1 or command4 ,the true life of the soul lies in that listening receptiveness which takes for one's own ,god's great gift of ,christ1 and yields glad obedience to ,his every word4 ,the exiled ,israel was promised an 'everlasting covenant' as the result of their acceptance of the invitation2 and we know whose blood it is that has sealed the new covenant1 which abides as long as ,christ's fulness and men's need shall last4 ,that covenant1 of which we seldom hear in ,isaiah1 but which fills a prominent place in ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1 is further explained as being 'the sure mercies of ,david4' ,this phrase and its context are difficult1 but the general meaning is clear4 ,the great promises of ,god's unfailing mercy1 made to the historical founder of the royal house1 shall be transferred and continued1 with inviolable faithfulness1 to those who drink of the gift of ,god4 ,this parallel between the great ,king and the whole mass of the true ,israel is further set forth in verses #d and #e4 ,each begins with ',behold1' and the similar form indicates similarity in contents4 ,the son of ,jesse was in some degree ,god's witness to the heathen nations1 as is expressed in several psalms2 and1 what he was imperfectly1 the ransomed ,israel would be to the world4 ,the office of the ,christian ,church is to draw nations that it knew not1 to follow in the blessed path1 in which it has found satisfaction and the dawnings of a more than natural glory transfiguring it4 ,they who have themselves drunk of the unfailing fountain in ,christ are thereby fitted and called to cry to others1 ',come ye to the waters4' ,experience of ,christ's preciousness1 and of the rest of soul which comes from partaking of ,his salvation1 impels and obliges to call others to share the bliss4 ,,ii4 ,the second part of the chapter begins with an urgent call to repentance1 based upon the difference between ,god's ways and man's1 and on the certainty that the divine promises will be fulfilled4 ,the summons in verses #f and #g is first couched in most general terms1 which are then more closely defined4 ,to 'seek the ,lord' is to direct conduct and heart to obtain possession of ,god as one's own4 ,of that seeking1 the chief element is calling upon ,him2 since such is ,his desire to be found of us that it only needs our asking in order to receive4 ,as surely as the mother hears her child's cry1 so surely does ,he catch the faintest voice addressed to ,him4 ,but1 men being what they are1 a change of ways and of their root in thoughts is indispensable4 ,seeking which is not accompanied by forsaking self and an evil past is no genuine seeking1 and will end in no finding4 ,but this forsaking is only one side of true repentance2 the other is return to ,god1 as is expressed in the ,new ,testament word for it1 which implies a change of mind1 purpose1 and conduct4 ,the faces which were turned earthward and averted from ,god are to be turned ,god-ward and diverted from earth4 ,whosoever thus seeks may be confident of finding and of abundant pardon4 ,the belief in ,god's loving forgivingness is the strongest motive to repentance1 and the most melting argument to listen to the call to seek ,him4 ,but there is another motive of a more awful kind2 namely1 the consideration that the period of mercy is limited1 and that a time may come1 and that soon1 when ,god no longer 'may be found' nor 'is near4' ,the need for such a radical change in conduct and mind is further enforced1 in verses #h and #i1 by the emphatic statement of present discord between the exiled ,israel and ,god4 ,mark that the deepest seat of the discord is first dealt with1 and then the manifestation of it in active life4 ,mark also that the order of comparison is inverted in the two successive clauses in verse #h4 ,god's thoughts have not entered into ,israel's mind and become theirs4 ,the 'thinkings' not being regulated according to ,god's truth1 nor the desires and sentiments brought into accord with ,his will and mind1 a contrariety of 'ways' must follow1 and the paths which men choose for themselves cannot run parallel with ,god's1 nor be pleasing to ,him4 ,therefore the stringent urgency of the call to forsake 'the crooked1 wandering ways in which we live1' and to come back to the path of righteousness which is traced by ,god for our feet4 ,but divergence which necessitates repentance is not the only relation between our ways and ,god's4 ,there is elevation1 transcendency1 like that of the eternal heavens1 high1 boundless1 the home of light1 the storehouse of beneficent influences which fertilise4 ,if we think of the dreary1 flat plains where the exiles were1 and the magnificent sweep of the sky over them1 we shall feel the beauty of the figure4 ,if ',my thoughts are not your thoughts' was all that was to be said1 repentance would be of little use1 and there would be little to encourage to it2 but if ,god's thoughts of love and ways of blessing arch themselves above our low lives as the sky bends1 pitying and bestowing1 above squalor1 barrenness1 and darkness1 then penitence is not in vain1 and the low earth may be visited with gifts from the highest heaven4 ,the certainty that such gifts will be bestowed is the last thought of this magnificent summons4 ,the prophet dilates on that assurance to the end of the chapter4 ,he seems to catch fire1 as it were1 from the introduction of that grand figure of the lofty heavens domed above the flat earth4 ,in effect1 what he says is3 ,they are high and inaccessible1 but think what pours down from them1 and how all fertility depends on their gifts of rain and snow1 and how the moisture which they drop is turned into 'seed to the sower1 and bread to the eater4' ,thinking of that continuous benefaction and miracle1 we should see in it a symbol of the better gifts from the higher heavens4 ,so does ,god's word come down from ,his throne4 ,so does it turn barrenness into nodding harvest4 ,so does it quicken undreamed of powers of fruitfulness in human nature and among the forces of the world4 ,so does it supply nourishment for hungry souls1 and germs which shall bear fruit in coming years4 ,no complicated machinery nor the most careful culture can work what the gentle dropping rain effects4 ,there is mightier force in it than in many thunder-clouds4 ,the gospel does with ease and in silence what nothing else can do4 ,it makes barren souls fruitful in all good works1 and in all happiness worthy of men4 ,therefore the summons to drink of the springing fountain and to turn from evil ways and thoughts is recommended by the assurance that ,god's word is faithful1 and all ,his promises firm4 ,the final verses 7verses #ab1 #ac7 give the glowing picture of the return from exile amid the jubilation of a transformed world1 as the strongest motive to the obedient hearkening to ,god's voice1 to which the chapter has summoned1 and as the great instance of ,god's keeping ,his word4 ,the flight from ,egypt was 'in haste' 7,deut4 xvi4 #c72 but this shall be a triumphal exodus1 without conflict or alarms4 ,all nature shall participate in the joy4 ,mountains and hills shall raise the shrill note of rejoicing1 and the trees wave their branches1 as if clapping hands in delight4 ,this is more than mere poetic rhetoric4 ,a redeemed humanity implies a glorified world4 ,nature has been involved in the consequences of sin1 and will share in the results of redemption1 and have some humble reflected light from 'the liberty of the glory of the sons of ,god4' ,the fulfilment of this final promise is not yet4 ,all earlier returns of the exiled ,israel from the ,babylon of their bondage to ,god and the city of ,god1 such as the historical one which the prophet foretold1 and the spiritual one which is repeated age by age in the history of the ,christian ,church and of single penitent souls1 point on to that last triumphant day when 'the ransomed of the ,lord shall return1' and the world be transfigured to match the glory that they inherit4 ,that fair world without poison or offence1 and the nations of the saved who inhabit its peaceful spaces1 shall be1 in the fullest stretch of the words1 'to the ,lord for a name1 and for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off4' ,the redemption of man and his establishing amid the felicities of a state correspondent to ,his ,god-given glory shall be to all eternity and to all possible creations the highest evidence of what ,god is1 and ,his token to all beings4 ,,the ,,great ,,proclamation ',ho1 every one that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters1 and he that hath no money2 come ye1 buy and eat2 yea1 come1 buy wine and milk without money and without price4'--,,isaiah lv4#a4 ,the meaning of the word preach is 'proclaim like a herald'2 or1 what is perhaps more familiar to most of us1 like a town-crier2 with a loud voice1 clearly and plainly delivering the message4 ,now1 there are other notions of a sermon than that2 and there is other work which ministers have to do1 of an educational kind4 ,but my business now is to preach4 ,we have ventured to ask others than the members of our own congregation to join us in this service2 and ,i should be ashamed of myself1 and have good reason to be so1 if ,i had asked you to come to hear me talk1 or to entertain you with more or less eloquent and thoughtful discourses4 ,there is a time for everything2 and what this is the time for is to ring out like a bellman the message which ,i believe ,god has given me for you4 ,it cannot but suffer in passing through human lips2 but ,i pray that my poor words may not be all unworthy of its stringency1 and of the greatness of its blessing4 ,my text is ,god's proclamation1 and all that the best of us can do is but to reiterate that1 more feebly alas1 but still earnestly4 ,suppose there was an advertisement in to-morrow morning's papers that any one that liked to go to a certain place might get a fortune for going1 what a queue of waiting suppliants there would be at the door6 ,here is ,god's greatest gift going a-begging2 and there are no doubt some among you who listen to my text with only the thought1 ',oh1 the old threadbare story is what we have been asked to come and hear6' ,brethren1 have you taken the offer8 ,if not1 it needs to be pressed upon you once more4 ,so my purpose in this sermon is a very simple one4 ,i wish1 as a brother to a brother1 to put before you these three things3 to whom this offer is made2 what it consists of2 and how it may be ours4 ,i4 ,to whom this offer is made4 ,it is to every one thirsty and penniless4 ,that is a melancholy combination1 to be needing something infinitely1 and to have not a farthing to get it with4 ,but that is the condition in which we all stand1 in regard to the highest and best things4 ,this invitation of my text is as universal as if it had stopped with its third word4 ',ho1 every one' would have been no broader than is the offer as it stands4 ,for the characteristics named are those which belong1 necessarily and universally1 to human experience4 ,if my text had said1 ',ho1 every one that breathes human breath1' it would not have more completely covered the whole race1 and enfolded thee and me1 and all our brethren1 in the amplitude of its promise1 than it does when it sets up as the sole qualifications thirst and penury--that we infinitely need1 and that we are absolutely unable to acquire1 the blessings that it offers4 ',every one that thirsteth'--that means desire4 ,yes2 but it means need also4 ,and what is every man but a great bundle of yearnings and necessities8 ,none of us carry within ourselves that which suffices for ourselves4 ,we are all dependent upon external things for being and for wellbeing4 ,there are thirsts which infallibly point to their true objects4 ,if a man is hungry he knows that it is food that he wants4 ,and just as the necessities of the animal life are incapable of being misunderstood1 and the objects which will satisfy them incapable of being confused or mistaken1 so there are other nobler thirsts1 which1 in like manner1 work automatically1 and point to the thing that they need4 ,we have social instincts2 we need love2 we need friendship2 we need somebody to lean upon2 we thirst for some heart to rest our heads upon1 for hands to clasp ours2 and we know where the creatures and the objects are that will satisfy these desires4 ,and there are the higher thirsts of the spirit1 that 'follows knowledge1 like a sinking star1 beyond the furthest bounds of human thought'2 and a man knows where and how to gratify the impulse that drives him to seek after the many forms of knowledge and wisdom4 ,but besides all these1 besides sense1 besides affection1 besides emotions1 besides the intellectual spur of which we are all more or less conscious1 there come in a whole set of other thirsts that do not in themselves carry the intimation of the place where they can be slaked4 ,and so you get men restless1 as some of you are2 always dissatisfied1 as some of you are2 feeling that there is something wanting1 yet not knowing what1 as some of you are4 ,you remember the old story in the ,arabian ,nights1 of the man who had a grand palace1 and lived in it quite contentedly1 until some one told him that it needed a roc's egg hanging from the roof to make it complete1 and he did not know where to get that1 and was miserable accordingly4 ,we build our houses1 we fancy that we are satisfied2 and then there comes the stinging thought that it is not all complete yet1 and we go groping1 groping in the dark1 to find out where the lacking thing is4 ,shipwrecked sailors sometimes1 in their desperation1 drink salt water1 and that makes them thirstier than ever1 and brings on madness and death4 ,some publicans drug the vile liquors which they sell1 so that they increase thirst4 ,we may make no mistake about how to satisfy the desires of sense or of earthly affections2 we may be quite certain that 'money answereth all things1' and that it is good to get on in business in ,manchester2 or may have found a pure and enduring satisfaction in study and in books--yet we have thirsts that some of us know not where to satisfy2 and so we have parched lips and swollen tongues1 and raging desire that earth can give nothing to fill4 ,my brother1 do you know what it is that you want8 ,it is ,god4 ,nothing else1 nothing less4 ',my soul thirsteth for ,god1 for the living ,god4' ,the man that knows what it is of which he is in such sore need1 is blessed4 ,the man who only feels dimly that he needs something1 and does not know that it is ,god whom he does need1 is condemned to wander in a dry and thirsty land1 where no water is1 and where his heart gapes1 parched and cracked like the soil upon which he treads4 ,understand your thirst4 ,interpret your desires aright4 ,open your eyes to your need2 and be sure of this1 that mountains of money and the clearest insight into intellectual problems1 and fame1 and love1 and wife1 and children1 and a happy home1 and abundance of all things that you can desire1 will leave a central aching emptiness that nothing and no person but ,god can ever fill4 ,oh1 that we all knew what these yearnings of our hearts mean6 ,aye6 but there are dormant thirsts too4 ,it is no proof of superiority that a savage has fewer wants than you and ,i have1 for the want is the open mouth into which supply comes4 ,and it is no proof that you have not1 deep in your nature1 desires which1 unless they are satisfied1 will prevent your being blessed1 that these desires are all unconscious to yourselves4 ,the business of us preachers is1 very largely1 to get the people who will listen to us1 to recognise the fact that they do want things which they do not wish2 and that1 for the perfection of their natures1 the cherishing of noble longings and thirstings is needful1 and that to be without this sense of need is to be without one of the loftiest prerogatives of humanity4 ,some of you do not wish forgiveness4 ,many of you would much rather not have holiness4 ,you do not want to have ,god4 ,the promises of the ,gospel go clean over your heads1 and are as impotent to influence you as the wind whistling through a keyhole1 because you have never been aware of the wants to which these promises correspond1 and do not understand what it is that you truly require4 ,and yet there is no desire--that is to say1 consciousness of necessities--so dormant but that its being un-gratified makes a man restless4 ,you do not wish forgiveness1 but you will never be happy till you get it4 ,you do not wish to be good and true and holy men1 but you will never be blessed till you are4 ,you do not want to have ,god1 some of you1 but you will be restless till you find ,him4 ,you fancy you wish heaven when you are dead2 you do not want it while you are living4 ,but until your earthly life is like the life of ,jesus ,christ in heaven1 though in an inferior degree1 whilst it is on earth1 you will never be at rest4 ,you are thirsty enough after these things to be ill at ease without them1 when you bethink yourselves and pass out of the region of mere mechanical and habitual existence2 but until you get these things that you do not desire1 be sure of this3 that you will be tortured with vain unrest1 and will find that the satisfactions which you do seek turn to ashes in your mouth4 ',bread of deceit1' says the ,book1 'is sweet to a man4' ,the writer meant by that that there were people to whom it was pleasant to tell profitable lies4 ,but we might widen the meaning1 and say that all these lower satisfactions1 apart from the loftier ones of forgiveness1 acceptance1 reconciliation with ,god1 the conscious possession of ,him1 a well-grounded hope of immortality1 the power to live a noble life and to look forward to a glorious heaven1 are 'bread of deceit1' which promises nourishment and does not give it1 but breaks the teeth that try to masticate it2 'it turneth to gravel4' ',ho1 every one that thirsteth4' ,that designation includes us all4 ',and he that hath no money4' ,who has any8 ,notice that the persons represented in our text as penniless are1 in the next verse1 remonstrated with for spending 'money4' ,so then the penniless man had some pence away in some corner of his pocket which he could spend4 ,he had the money that would buy shams1 'that which is not bread' but a stone though it looks like a loaf1 but he had no money for the true food4 ,which being translated out of parable into fact1 is simply this1 that our efforts may and do win for us the lower satisfactions which meet our transitory and superficial necessities1 but that no effort of ours can secure for us the loftier blessings which slake the diviner thirsts of immortal souls4 ,a man lands in a far country with ,english shillings in his pocket1 but he finds that no coins go there but thalers1 or francs1 or dollars1 or the like2 and his money is only current in his own land1 and he must have it changed before he can make his purchases4 ,so though he has a pocketful of it he may as well be penniless4 ,and1 in like fashion1 you and ,i1 with all our strenuous efforts1 which we are bound to make1 and which there is joy in making1 after these lower good things that correspond to our efforts1 find that we have no coinage that will buy the good things of the kingdom of heaven1 without which we faint and die4 ,for them our efforts are useless4 ,can a man by his penitence1 by his tears1 by his amendment1 make it possible for the consequences of his past to be obliterated1 or all changed in their character into fatherly chastisement8 ,no6 ,a thousand times1 no6 ,the superficial notions of ,christianity1 which are only too common amongst both educated and uneducated1 may say to a man1 ',you need no divine intervention1 if only you will get up from the dust1 and do your best to keep up when you are up4' ,but those who realise more deeply what the significance of sin is1 and what the eternal operation of its consequences upon the soul is1 and what the awful majesty of a divine righteousness is1 learn that the man who has sinned can1 by nothing that he can do1 obliterate that awful fact1 or reduce it to insignificance1 in regard to the divine relations to him4 ,it is only ,god who can do that4 ,we have no money4 ,so we stand thirsty and penniless--a desperate condition6 ,ay6 brother1 it is desperate1 and it is the condition of every one of us4 ,i wish ,i could turn the generalities of my text into the individuality of a personal address4 ,i wish ,i could bring its wide-flowing beneficence to a sharp point that might touch your conscience1 heart1 and will4 ,i cannot do that2 you must do it for yourself4 ',ho1 every one that thirsteth4' ,will you pause for a moment1 and say to yourself1 ',that is ,i'8 ',and he that hath no money'--that is ,i4 ',come ye to the waters'--that is ,i4 ,the proclamation is for thine ear and for thy heart2 and the gift is for thy hand and thy lips4 ,,ii4 ,in what this offer consists4 ,they tell an old story about the rejoicings at the coronation of some great king1 when there was set up in the market-place a triple fountain1 from each of whose three lips flowed a different kind of rare liquor which any man who chose to bring a pitcher might fill it with1 at his choice4 ,notice my text1 'come ye to the waters' 444 'buy wine and milk4' ,the great fountain is set up in the market-place of the world1 and every man may come2 and whichever of this glorious triad of effluents he needs most1 there his lip may glue itself and there it may drink1 be it 'water' that refreshes1 or 'wine' that gladdens1 or 'milk' that nourishes4 ,they are all contained in this one great gift that flows out from the deep heart of ,god to the thirsty lips of parched humanity4 ,and what is that gift8 ,well1 we may say1 salvation2 or we may use many other words to define the nature of the gifts4 ,i venture to take a shorter one1 and say1 it means ,christ4 ,he1 and not merely some truth about ,him and ,his work2 ,he ,himself1 in the fulness of ,his being1 in the all-sufficiency of ,his love1 in the reality of ,his presence1 in the power of ,his sacrifice1 in the daily derivation1 into the heart that waits upon ,him1 of ,his life and ,his spirit1 ,he is the all-sufficient supply of every thirst of every human soul4 ,do we want happiness8 ,christ gives us ,his joy1 abiding and full1 and not as the world gives4 ,do we want love8 ,he gathers us to ,his heart1 in which 'there is no variableness1 neither shadow cast by turning1' and binds us to ,himself by bonds that death1 the separator1 vainly attempts to untie1 and which no unworthiness1 ingratitude or coldness of ours will ever be able to unloose4 ,do we want wisdom8 ,he will dwell with us as our light4 ,do our hearts yearn for companionship8 ,with ,him we shall never be solitary4 ,do we long for a bright hope which shall light up the dark future1 and spread a rainbow span over the great gorge and gulf of death8 ,jesus ,christ spans the void1 and gives us unfailing and undeceiving hope4 ,for everything that you and ,i need here or yonder1 in heart1 in will1 in practical life1 ,jesus ,christ ,himself is the all-sufficient supply4 ',my life in death1 my all in all4' ,what is offered in ,him may be described by all the glorious and blessed names which men have invented to designate the various aspects of the ,good4 ,these are the goodly pearls that men seek1 but there is one of great price which is worth them all1 and gathers into itself all their clouded and fragmentary splendours4 ,christ is all1 and the soul that has ,him shall never thirst4 ',thou of life the fountain art1 ,freely let me take of ,thee4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 how do we obtain the offered gifts8 ,the paradox of my text needs little explanation1 ',buy without money and without price4' ,the contradiction on the surface is but intended to make emphatic this blessed truth1 which ,i pray may reach your memories and hearts1 that the only conditions are a sense of need1 and a willingness to take--nothing less and nothing more4 ,we must recognise our penury and must abandon self1 and put away all ideas of having a finger in our own salvation1 and be willing--which1 strangely and sadly enough1 many of us are not-to be under obligations to ,god's unhelped and undeserved love for all4 ,cheap things are seldom valued4 ,ask a high price and people think that the commodity is precious4 ,a man goes into a fair1 for a wager1 and he carries with him a try full of gold watches and offers to sell them for a farthing apiece1 and nobody will buy them4 ,it does not1 ,i hope1 degrade the subject1 if ,i say ,jesus ,christ comes into the market-place of the world with ,his hands full of the gifts which ,his pierced hands have bought1 that ,he may give them away4 ,he says1 ',will you take them8' ,and you1 and you1 and you1 pass by on the other side1 and go away to another merchant1 and buy dearly things that are not worth the having4 ',my father1 my father1 if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing1 wouldst thou not have done it8' ,would you not8 ,swing at the end of a pole1 with hooks in your back2 measure all the way from ,cape ,comorin to the ,himalayas1 lying down on your face and rising at each length2 do a hundred things which heathens and ,roman ,catholics and unspiritual ,protestants think to be the way to get salvation2 deny yourselves things that you would like to do2 do things that you do not want to do2 give money that you would like to keep2 avoid habits that are very sweet1 go to church or chapel when you have no heart for worship2 and so try to balance the account4 ,if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing1 thou wouldst have done it4 ,how much rather when he says1 ',wash1 and be clean4' ',nothing in my heart ,i bring4' ,you do not bring anything4 ',simply to ,thy ,cross ,i cling4' ,do you8 ,do you8 ,jesus ,christ catches up the 'comes' of my text1 and ,he says1 ',come unto ,me1 all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4' ',if any man thirst1 let him come unto ,me and drink4' ,brethren1 ,i lay it on your hearts and consciences to answer ,him--never mind about me--to answer ,him3 ',sir1 give me this water that ,i thirst not4' ,,god',s ,,ways ,,and ,,man',s ',for ,my thoughts are not your thoughts1 neither are your ways ,my ways1 saith the ,lord4 #i4 ,for as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,my ways higher than your ways1 and ,my thoughts than your thoughts4'--,,isaiah lv4 #h1 #i4 ,scripture gives us no revelations concerning ,god merely in order that we may know about ,him4 ,these words are grand poetry and noble theology1 but they are meant practically and in fiery earnestness4 ,the 'for' at the beginning of each clause points us back to the previous statement1 and both of the verses of our text are in different ways its foundation4 ,and what has preceded is this3 ',let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts1 and let him return unto the ,lord1 for ,he will have mercy upon him1 and to our ,god1 for ,he will abundantly pardon4' ,that is why the prophet dilates upon the difference between the 'thoughts' and the 'ways' of ,god and of men4 ,if we look at these two verses a little more closely we shall perceive that they by no means cover the same ground nor suggest the same idea as to the relationship between ,god's 'ways' and 'thoughts' and ours4 ,the former of them speaks of unlikeness and opposition1 the latter of elevation and superiority2 the former of them is the basis of an indictment and an exhortation1 the latter is the basis of an encouragement and a promise4 ,the former of them is the reason why 'the wicked' and 'unrighteous man' ought to and must 'turn' from 'his ways' and 'thoughts1' the latter of them is the reason why1 'turning1' he may be sure that the ,lord 'will abundantly pardon4' ,and so we have here two things to consider in reference to the relation between the divine purposes and acts and man's purposes and acts4 ,first1 the antagonism1 and the indictment and exhortation that are based upon that2 second1 the analogy but superiority1 and the exhortation and hope that are built upon that4 ,let me deal1 then1 with these separately4 ,i4 ,we have here an unlikeness declared1 and upon that is rested an appeal4 ,notice the remarkable order and alternation of pronouns in the first verse4 ',my thoughts are not your thoughts1' saith the ,lord4 ,the things that ,god thinks and purposes are not the things that man thinks and purposes1 and therefore1 because the thoughts are different1 the outcomes of them in deeds are divergent4 ,god's 'ways' are ,his acts1 the manner and course of ,his working considered as a path on which ,he moves1 and on which1 in some sense1 we can also journey4 ,our 'ways'--our manner of life--are not parallel with ,his1 as they should be4 ,but that opposition is expressed with a remarkable variation4 ,observe the change of pronouns in the two clauses4 ,first1 ',my thoughts are not your thoughts'--you have not taken ,my truth into your minds1 nor ,my purposes into your wills2 you do riot think ,god's thoughts4 ,therefore--'your ways 7instead of ',my1' as we should have expected1 to keep the regularity of the parallelism7 are not ,my ways'--,i repudiate and abjure your conduct and condemn it utterly4 ,now1 of course1 in this charge of man's unlikeness to ,god1 there is no contradiction of1 nor reference to1 man's natural constitution1 in which there are1 at one and the same time1 the likeness of the child with the parent and the unlikeness between the creature and the ,creator4 ,if our thoughts were not in a measure like ,god's thoughts1 we should know nothing about ,him4 ,if our thoughts were not like ,god's thoughts1 we should have no standard for life or thinking4 ,righteousness and beauty and truth and goodness are the same things in heaven and earth1 and alike in ,god and man4 ,we are made after ,his image1 poor creatures though we be2 and though there must ever be a gulf of unlikeness1 which we cannot bridge1 between the thoughts of ,him whose knowledge has no growth nor uncertainty1 whose wisdom is infinite and all whose nature is boundless light1 and our knowledge1 and must ever be a gulf between the workings and ways of ,him who works without effort1 and knows neither weariness nor limitation1 and our work1 so often foiled1 so always toilsome1 yet in all the unlikeness there is 7and no man can denude himself of it7 a likeness to the ,father4 ,for the image in which ,god made man at the beginning is not an image that it is in the power of men to cast away1 and in the worst of his corruptions and the widest of his departures he still bears upon him the signs of likeness 'to ,him that created him4' ,the coin is rusty1 battered1 defaced2 but still legible are the head and the writing4 ',whose image and superscription hath it8' ,render unto ,god the things that are declared to be ,god's1 because they bear ,his likeness and are stamped with ,his signature4 ,but that very necessary and natural likeness between ,god and man makes more solemnly sinful the voluntary unlikeness which we have brought upon ourselves4 ,if there were no analogy1 there could be no contrast4 ,if ,god and man were utterly unlike1 then there would be no evil in our unlikeness and no need for our repentance4 ,the true state for each of us is that we should1 as the great astronomer said he had done in regard to his own science1 'think ,god's thoughts after ,him1' and have our minds filled with ,his truth and our wills all harmonised with ,his purposes1 and that we should thus make our ways to run parallel with the ways of ,god4 ,the blessedness1 the peace1 the true manhood of a man1 are that his ways and thoughts should be like ,god's4 ,and so my text comes with its indictment--,you who by nature were formed in ,his image1 you to whom it is open to sympathise with ,his designs1 to harmonise your wills with ,his will1 and to bring all the dark and crooked ways in which you walk into full parallelism with ,his way--you have departed into darkness of unlikeness1 and in thought and in ways are the opposites of ,god4 ,mark how wonderfully1 in the simple language of my text1 deep truths about this sin of ours are conveyed4 ,notice its growth and order4 ,it begins with a heart and mind that do not take in ,god's thoughts1 truths1 purposes1 desires1 and then the alienated will and the darkened understanding and the conscience which has closed itself against ,his imperative voice issue afterwards in conduct which ,he cannot accept as in any way corresponding with ,his4 ,first comes the thought unreceptive of ,god's thought1 and then follow ways contrary to ,god's ways4 ,notice the profound truth here in regard to the essential and deepest evil of all our evil4 ',your thoughts'2 'your ways1'--self-dependence and self-confidence are the master-evils of humanity4 ,and every sin is at bottom the result of saying--',i will not conform myself to ,god1 but ,i am going to please myself1 and take my own way4' ,my own way is never ,god's way2 my own way is always the devil's way4 ,and the root of all sin lies in these two strong1 simple words1 ',your thoughts not ,mine2 your ways not ,mine4' ,notice1 too1 how there are suggested the misery and retribution of this unlikeness4 ',if you will not make ,my thoughts your thoughts1 ,i shall not take your ways as ,my ways4 ,i will leave you to them4' ',you will be filled with the fruit of your own devices4 ,i shall not incorporate your actions into ,my great scheme and purpose4' ,men ',would not know ,his ways1 ,and ,he has left them to their own4' ,so here we have the solemn indictment brought by ,god's own voice against us all4 ,the criminality of our unlikeness to ,him rests upon our original likeness4 ,the unlikeness roots itself in thought1 and blossoms in the poisonous flower of ,god-displeasing acts4 ,it brings down upon our heads the solemn retribution of separation from ,him1 and being filled with the fruit of our own devices4 ,such is the indictment brought against every soul of man upon the earth1 and there is built upon it the call to repentance and change1' let the wicked forsake his way1 and the unrighteous man his thoughts4' ,the question rises in many a heart1 ',how am ,i to forsake these paths on which my feet have so longed walked8' ,and if ,i do1 what about all the years behind me1 full of wild wanderings and thoughts in all of which ,god was not8 ,,ii4 ,the second verse of our text meets that despairing question4 ,it proclaims the elevation of ,god's ways and thoughts above ours1 and thereon bases the assurance of pardon4 ,the relation is not only one of unlikeness and opposition1 but it is also one of analogy and superiority4 ,the former clause began with thoughts which are the parents of ways1 and1 as befits the all-seeing ,judge1 laid bare first the hidden discord of man's heart and will1 ere it pointed to the manifest antagonism of his doings4 ,this clause begins with ,god's ways1 from which alone men can reach the knowledge of ,his thoughts4 ,the first follows the order of ,god's knowledge of man2 the second1 that of man's knowledge of ,god4 ,it is a wonderful and beautiful turn which the prophet here gives to the thought of the transcendent elevation of ,god4 ,the heavens are the very type of the unattainable2 and to say that they are 'higher than the earth' seems1 at first sight1 to be but to say1 ',no man hath ascended into the heavens1' and you sinful men must grovel here down upon your plain1 whilst they are far above1 out of your reach4 ,but the heavens bend4 ,they are an arch1 and not a straight line4 ,they touch the horizon2 and there come from them the sweet influences of sunshine and of rain1 of dew and of blessing1 which bring fertility4 ,so they are not only far and unattainable1 but friendly and beneficent1 and communicative of good4 ,like them1 in true analogy but yet infinite superiority to the best and noblest in man1 is the boundless mercy of our pardoning ,god3 ',the glorious sky1 embracing all1 ,is like its ,maker's love1 ,wherewith encompassed1 great and small ,in peace and order move4' ',as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,my ways higher than your ways4' ,the special 'thought' and 'way' which is meant here is ,god's thought and way about sin4 ,there are three points here on which ,i would touch for a moment4 ,first1 ,god's way of dealing with sin is lifted up above all human example4 ,there is such a thing as pardoning mercy amongst men4 ,it is a faint analogy of1 as it is an offshoot from1 the divine pardon1 but all the forgivingness of the most placable and long-suffering and gladly pardoning of men is but as earth to heaven compared with the greatness of ,his4 ,our forgiveness has its limitations4 ,we sometimes cannot pardon as freely as we thought1 because there blends with our indignation against evil a passionate personal sense of wrong done to us which we cannot get rid of1 and that disturbs the freeness and the joyfulness of many a human pardon4 ,but ,god's pardon is undisturbed and hindered by any sense of personal resentment1 though sin is an offense against ,him1 and in its freeness1 its fulness1 its frequency1 and its sovereign power to melt away that which it forgives1 it towers above the loftiest of earth's beauties of forgiveness1 as the starry heavens do above the flat plain4 ,god's pardon is above all human example1 even though1 having once been received by us1 it ought to become for us the pattern by which we shape and regulate our own lives4 ,nothing of which we have any experience in ourselves or in others is more than as a drop to the ocean compared with the absolute fulness and perfect freeness and unwearied frequency of ,his forgiveness4 ',he will abundantly pardon4' ,he will multiply pardon4 ',with ,him there is plenteous redemption4' ,we think we have stretched the elasticity of long suffering and forgiveness further than we might have been reasonably expected to do if seven times we forgive the erring brother1 but ,god's measure of pardon is seventy times seven1 two perfectnesses multiplied into themselves perfectly2 for the measure of ,his forgiveness is boundless1 and there is no searching of the depths of ,his pardoning mercy4 ,you cannot weary ,him out1 you cannot exhaust it4 ,it is full at the end as at the beginning2 and after all its gifts still it remains true1 ',with ,him is the multiplying of redemption4' ,again1 ,god's way of dealing with sin surpasses all our thought4 ,all religion has been pressed with this problem1 how to harmonise the perfect rectitude of the divine nature and the solemn claims of law with forgiveness4 ,all religions have borne witness to the fact that men are dimly aware of the discord and dissonance between themselves and the divine thoughts and ways2 and a thousand altars proclaim to us how they have felt that something must be done in order that forgiveness might be possible to an all-righteous and ,sovereign ,judge4 ,the ,jew knew that ,god was a pardoning ,god1 but to him that fact stood as needing much explanation and much light to be thrown upon its relations with the solemn law under which he lived4 ,we have ,jesus ,christ4 ,the mystery of forgiveness is solved1 in so far as it is capable of solution1 in ,him and in ,him alone4 ,his death somewhat explains how ,god is just and the ,justifier of him that believeth4 ,high above man's thoughts this great central mystery of the ,gospel rises1 that with ,god there is forgiveness and with ,god there is perfect righteousness4 ,the ,cross as the basis of pardon is the central mystery of revelation2 and it is not to be expected that our theories shall be able to sound the depths of that great act of the divine love4 ,perhaps our plummets do not go to the bottom of the bottomless after all2 but is it needful that we should have gone to the rim of the heavens1 and round about it on the outside1 before we rejoice in the sunshine8 ,is it needful that we should have traversed the abysses of the heavens1 and passed from star to star and told their numbers1 before we can say that they are bright1 or before we can walk in their light8 ,we do not need to understand the 'how' in order to be sure of the fact that ,christ's death is our forgiveness4 ,do not be in such a hurry as some people are nowadays1 to declare that the doctrine of the ,cross is contrary to man's conceptions4 ,it surpasses them1 and the very fact that it surpasses ought to stop us from pronouncing that it contradicts4 ',as the heavens are higher than the earth1 so are ,my thoughts higher than your thoughts4' ,lastly1 we are taught here that ,god's way of dealing with sin is the very highest point of ,his self-revelation4 ,there are many glories of the divine nature set forth in all ,his ways1 but the loftiest of them all is this1 that ,he can neutralise and destroy the fact of man's transgressing1 wiping it out by pardon2 and in the very act of pardon reconstituting in purity1 and with a heart for all holiness1 the sinful men whom ,he forgives4 ,this is the shining apex of all that ,he has done1 rising above creation and every other 'way' of ,his1 as high as the loftiest heavens are above the earth4 ,therefore1 have a care of all forms of ,christianity which do not put ,god's pardoning mercy in the foreground4 ,they are maimed1 and in them mist and cloud have covered with a roof of doleful grey the low-lying earth1 and separated it from the highest heavens4 ,the true glory of the revelation of ,god gathers round that central ,cross2 and there1 in that ,man dying upon it in the dark--the sacrifice for a world's sin--is the loftiest1 most heavenly revelation of the all-revealing ,god4 ,strike out the ,cross from ,christianity1 or weaken its aspect as a message of forgiveness and redemption1 and you have quenched its brightest light1 and dragged it down to be but a little higher1 if any1 than many another scheme of other moralists1 philosophers1 poets1 and religious teachers4 ,the distinctive glory of ,christianity is this--it tells us how ,god sweeps away sin4 ,and so my last thought is that1 if we desire to see up on the highest heavens of ,god's character1 we must go down into the depths of the consciousness of our own sin1 and learn first1 how unlike our ways and thoughts are to ,god1 ere we can understand how high above us1 and yet beneficently arching over us1 are ,his ways and thoughts to us4 ,we lie beneath the heavens like some foul bog full of black ooze1 rotten earth and putrid water1 where there is nothing green or fair4 ,but the promise of the bending heavens1 with their sweet influences1 declares the possibility of reclaiming even that waste1 and making it rejoice and blossom as the rose4 ,spread yourselves out1 dear friends1 in lowly submission and penitent acknowledgment beneath the all-vivifying mercy of that shining heaven of ,god's pardon2 and then the old promise will be fulfilled in you3 ',truth shall spring out of the earth1 and righteousness shall look down from heaven2 yea1 the ,lord shall give that which is good1 and our land'--barren and poisoned as it has been--responding to the skyey influences1 'shall yield her increase4' ,,we ,,sure ,,of ,,to-,,morrow8 ,a ,,new ,,year',s ,,sermon ',to-morrow shall be as this day1 and much more abundant4'--,,isaiah lvi4 #ab4 ,these words1 as they stand1 are the call of boon companions to new revelry4 ,they are part of the prophet's picture of a corrupt age when the men of influence and position had thrown away their sense of duty1 and had given themselves over1 as aristocracies and plutocracies are ever tempted to do1 to mere luxury and good living4 ,they are summoning one another to their coarse orgies4 ,the roystering speaker says1 ',do not be afraid to drink2 the cellar will hold out4 ,to-day's carouse will not empty it2 there will be enough for to-morrow4' ,he forgets to-morrow's headaches2 he forgets that on some tomorrow the wine will be finished2 he forgets that the fingers of a hand may write the doom of the rioters on the very walls of the banqueting chamber4 ,what have such words1 the very motto of insolent presumption and short-sighted animalism1 to do with ,new ,year's thoughts8 ,only this1 that base and foolish as they are on such lips1 it is possible to lift them from the mud1 and take them as the utterance of a lofty and calm hope which will not be disappointed1 and of a firm and lowly resolve which may ennoble life4 ,like a great many other sayings1 they may fit the mouth either of a sot or of a saint4 ,all depends on what the things are which we are thinking about when we use them4 ,there are things about which it is absurd and worse than absurd to say this1 and there are things about which it is the soberest truth to say it4 ,so looking forward into the merciful darkness of another year1 we may regard these words as either the expressions of hopes which it is folly to cherish1 or of hopes that it is reasonable to entertain4 ,i4 ,this expectation1 if directed to any outward things1 is an illusion and a dream4 ,these coarse revellers into whose lips our text is put only meant by it to brave the future and defy to-morrow in the riot of their drunkenness4 ,they show us the vulgarest1 lowest form which the expectation can take1 a form which ,i need say nothing about now4 ,but ,i may just note in passing that to look forward principally as anticipating pleasure or enjoyment is a very poor and unworthy thing4 ,we weaken and lower every day1 if we use our faculty of hope mainly to paint the future as a scene of delights and satisfactions4 ,we spoil to-day by thinking how we can turn it to the account of pleasure4 ,we spoil to-morrow before it comes1 and hurt ourselves1 if we are more engaged with fancying how it will minister to our joy1 than how we can make it minister to our duty4 ,it is base and foolish to be forecasting our pleasures2 the true temper is to be forecasting our work4 ,but1 leaving that consideration1 let us notice how useless such anticipation1 and how mad such confidence1 as that expressed in the text is1 if directed to anything short of ,god4 ,we are so constituted as that we grow into a persuasion that what has been will be1 and yet we can give no sufficient reason to ourselves of why we expect it4 ',the uniformity of the course of nature is the corner-stone1 not only of physical science1 but1 in a more homely form1 of the wisdom which grows with experience1 ,we all believe that the sun will rise to-morrow because it rose to-day1 and on all the yesterdays4 ,but there was a today which had no yesterday1 and there will be a to-day which will have no to-morrow4 ,the sun will rise for the last time4 ,the uniformity had a beginning and will have an end4 ,so1 even as an axiom of thought1 the anticipation that things will continue as they have been because they have been1 seems to rest on an insufficient basis4 ,how much more so1 as to our own little lives and their surroundings6 ,there the only thing which we may be quite sure of about to-morrow is that it will not be 'as this day4' ,even for those of us who may have reached1 for example1 the level plateau of middle life1 where our position and tasks are pretty well fixed1 and we have little more to expect than the monotonous repetition of the same duties recurring at the same hour every day--even for such each day has its own distinctive character4 ,like a flock of sheep they seem all alike1 but each1 on closer inspection1 reveals a physiognomy of its own4 ,there will be so many small changes that even the same duties or enjoyments will not be quite the same1 and even if the outward things remained absolutely unaltered1 we who meet them are not the same4 ,little variations in mood and tone1 diminished zest here1 weakened power there1 other thoughts breaking in1 and over and above all the slow1 silent change wrought on us by growing years1 make the perfect reproduction of any past impossible4 ,so1 however familiar may be the road which we have to traverse1 however uneventfully the same our days may sometimes for long spaces in our lives seem to be1 though to ourselves often our day's work may appear as a mill-horse round1 yet in deepest truth1 if we take into account the whole sum of the minute changes in it and in us1 it may be said of each step of our journey1 ',ye have not passed this way heretofore4' ,but1 besides all this1 we know that these breathing-times when 'we have no changes1' are but pauses in the storm1 landing-places in the ascent1 the interspaces between the shocks4 ,however hope may tempt us to dream that the future is like the present1 a deeper wisdom lies in all our souls which says ',no4' ,drunken bravery may front that darkness with such words as these of our text1 but the least serious spirit1 in its most joyous moods1 never quite succeeds in forgetting the solemn probabilities1 possibilities1 and certainties which lodge in the unknown future4 ,so to a wise man it is ever a sobering exercise to look forward1 and we shall be nearest the truth if we take due account1 as we do today1 of the undoubted fact that the only thing certain about to-morrow is that it will not be as this day4 ,there are the great changes which come to some one every day1 which may come to any of us any day1 which will come to all of us some day4 ,some of us will die this year2 on a day in our new diaries some of us will make no entry1 for we shall be gone4 ,some of us will be smitten down by illness2 some of us will lose our dearest2 some of us will lose fortune4 ,which of us it is to be1 and where within these twelve months the blow is to fall1 are mercifully hidden4 ,the only thing that we certainly know is that these arrows will fly4 ,the thing we do not know is whose heart they will pierce4 ,this makes the gaze into the darkness grave and solemn4 ,there is ever something of dread in ,hope's blue eyes4 ,true1 the ministry of change is blessed and helpful2 true1 the darkness which hides the future is merciful and needful1 if the present is not to be marred4 ,but helpful and merciful as they are1 they invest the unknown to-morrow with a solemn power which it is good1 though sobering1 for us to feel1 and they silence on every lip but that of riot and foolhardy debauchery the presumptuous words1 ',to-morrow shall be as this day1 and much more abundant4' ,,ii4 ,but yet there is a possibility of so using the words as to make them the utterance of a sober certainty which will not be put to shame4 ,so long as our hope and anticipations creep along the low levels of earth1 and are concerned with external and creatural good1 their language can never rise beyond1 ',to-morrow may be as this day4' ,oftenest they reach only to the height of the wistful wish1 ',may it be as this day6' ,but there is no need for our being tortured with such slippery possibilities4 ,we may send out our hope like ,noah's dove1 not to hover restlessly over a heaving ocean of change1 but to light on firm1 solid certainty1 and fold its wearied wings there4 ,forecasting is ever close by foreboding4 ,hope is interwoven with fear1 the golden threads of the weft crossing the dark ones of the warp1 and the whole texture gleaming bright or glooming black according to the angle at which it is seen4 ,so is it always until we turn our hope away from earth to ,god1 and fill the future with the light of ,his presence and the certainty of ,his truth4 ,then the mists and doubts roll away2 we get above the region of 'perhaps' into that of 'surely'2 the future is as certain as the past1 hope as assured of its facts as memory1 prophecy as veracious as history4 ,looking forward1 then1 let us not occupy ourselves with visions which we know may or may not come true4 ,let us not feed ourselves with illusions which may make the reality1 when it comes to shatter them1 yet harder to bear4 ,but let us make ,god in ,christ our hope1 and pass from peradventures to certitudes2 from ',to-morrow may be as this day--would that it might1' to ',it shall be1 it shall be1 for ,god is my expectation and my hope4' ,we have an unchanging and an inexhaustible ,god1 and ,he is the true guarantee of the future for us4 ,the more we accustom ourselves to think of ,him as shaping all that is contingent and changeful in the nearest and in the remotest to-morrow1 and as being ,himself the immutable portion of our souls1 the calmer will be our outlook into the darkness1 and the more bright will be the clear light of certainty which burns for us in it4 ,to-day's wealth may be to-morrow's poverty1 to-day's health to-morrow's sickness1 to-day's happy companionship of love to-morrow's aching solitude of heart1 but to-day's ,god will be to-morrow's ,god1 to-day's ,christ will be to-morrow's ,christ4 ,other fountains may dry up in heat or freeze in winter1 but this knows no change1 'in summer and winter it shall be4' ,other fountains may sink low in their basins after much drawing1 but this is ever full1 and after a thousand generations have drawn from it1 its stream is broad and deep as ever4 ,other springs may be left behind on the march1 and the wells and palm-trees of each ,elim on our road may be succeeded by a dry and thirsty land where no water is1 but this spring follows us all through the wilderness1 and makes music and spreads freshness ever by our path4 ,we can forecast nothing beside2 we can be sure of this1 that ,god will be with us in all the days that lie before us4 ,what may be round the next headland we know not2 but this we know1 that the same sunshine will make a broadening path across the waters right to where we rock on the unknown sea1 and the same unmoving mighty star will burn for our guidance4 ,so we may let the waves and currents roll as they list--or rather as ,he wills1 and be little concerned about the incidents or the companions of our voyage1 since ,he is with us4 ,we can front the unknown to-morrow1 even when we most keenly feel how solemn and sad are the things it may bring4 ',it can bring with it nothing ,but ,he will bear us through4' ,if only our hearts be fixed on ,god and we are feeding our minds and wills on ,him1 ,his truth and ,his will1 then we may be quite certain that1 whatever goes1 our truest riches will abide1 and whoever leaves our little company of loved ones1 our best ,friend will not go away4 ,therefore1 lifting our hopes beyond the low levels of earth1 and making our anticipations of the future the reflection of the brightness of ,god thrown on that else blank curtain1 we may turn into the worthy utterance of sober and saintly faith1 the folly of the riotous sensualist when he said1 ',to-morrow shall be as this day4' ,the past is the mirror of the future for the ,christian2 we look back on all the great deeds of old by which ,god has redeemed and helped souls that cried to ,him1 and we find in them the eternal laws of ,his working4 ,they are all true for to-day as they were at first2 they remain true forever4 ,the whole history of the past belongs to us1 and avails for our present and for our future4 ',as we have heard1 so have we seen in the city of our ,god4' ,to-day's experience runs on the same lines as the stories of the 'years of old1' which are 'the years of the right hand of the ,most ,high4' ,experience is ever the parent of hope1 and the latter can only build with the bricks which the former gives4 ,so the ,christian has to lay hold on all that ,god's mercy has done in the ages that are gone by1 and because ,he is a 'faithful ,creator' to transmute history into prophecy1 and triumph in that 'the ,god of ,jacob is our refuge4' ,nor only does the record of what ,he has been to others come in to bring material for our forecast of the future1 but also the remembrance of what ,he has been to ourselves4 ,has ,he been with us in six troubles8 ,we may be sure ,he will not abandon us at the seventh4 ,he is not in the way of beginning to build and leaving ,his work unfinished4 ,remember what ,he has been to you1 and rejoice that there has been one thing in your lives which1 you may be sure1 will always be there4 ,feed your certain hopes for to-morrow on thankful remembrances of many a yesterday4 ',forget not the works of ,god1' that you may 'set your hopes on ,god4' ,let our anticipations base themselves on memory1 and utter themselves in the prayer1 ',thou hast been my help2 leave me not1 neither forsake me1 ,o ,god of my salvation4' ,then the assurance that ,he whom we know to be good and wise and strong will shape the future1 and ,himself be the ,future for us1 will take all the fear out of that forward gaze1 will condense our light and unsubstantial hopes into solid realities1 and set before us an endless line of days1 in each of which we may gain more of ,him whose face has brightened the past and will brighten the future1 till days shall end and time open into eternity4 ,,iii4 ,looked at in another aspect1 these words may be taken as the vow of a firm and lowly resolve4 ,there is a future which we can but very slightly influence1 and the less we look at that the better every way4 ,but there is also a future which we can mould as we wish--the future of our own characters1 the only future which is really ours at all--and the more clearly we set it before ourselves and make up our minds as to whither we wish it to be tending1 the better4 ,in that region1 it is eminently true that 'to-morrow shall be as this day1 and much more abundant4' ,the law of continuity shapes our moral and spiritual characters4 ,what ,i am to-day1 ,i shall increasingly be to-morrow4 ,the awful power of habit solidifies actions into customs1 and prolongs the reverberation of every note once sounded1 along the vaulted roof of the chamber where we live4 ,to-day is the child of yesterday and the parent of to-morrow4 ,that solemn certainty of the continuance and increase of moral and spiritual characteristics works in both good and bad1 but with a difference4 ,to secure its full blessing in the gradual development of the germs of good1 there must be constant effort and tenacious resolution4 ,so many foes beset the springing of the good seed in our hearts--what with the flying flocks of light-winged fugitive thoughts ever ready to swoop down as soon as the sower's back is turned and snatch it away1 what with the hardness of the rock which the roots soon encounter1 what with the thick-sown and quick-springing thorns--that if we trust to the natural laws of growth and neglect careful husbandry1 we may sow much but we shall gather little4 ,but to inherit the full consequences of that same law working in the growth and development of the evil in us1 nothing is needed but carelessness4 ,leave it alone for a year or two and the 'fruitful field will be a forest1' a jungle of matted weeds1 with a straggling blossom where cultivation had once been4 ,but if humbly we resolve and earnestly toil1 looking for ,his help1 we may venture to hope that our characters will grow in goodness and in likeness to our dear ,lord1 that we shall not cast away our confidence nor make shipwreck of our faith1 that each new day shall find in us a deeper love1 a perfecter consecration1 a more joyful service1 and that so1 in all the beauties of the ,christian soul and in all the blessings of the ,christian life1 'to-morrow shall be as this day1 and much more abundant4' ',to him that hath shall be given4' ',the path of the just is as the shining light1 that shineth more and more until the noontide of the day4' ,so we may look forward undismayed1 and while we recognise the darkness that wraps to-morrow in regard to all mundane affairs1 may feed our fortitude and fasten our confidence on the double certainties that we shall have ,god and more of ,god for our treasure1 that we shall have likeness to ,him and more of likeness in our characters4 ,fleeting moments may come and go4 ,the uncertain days may exercise their various ministry of giving and taking away1 but whether they plant or root up our earthly props1 whether they build or destroy our earthly houses1 they will increase our riches in the heavens1 and give us fuller possession of deeper draughts from the inexhaustible fountain of living waters4 ,how dreadfully that same law of the continuity and development of character works in some men there is no need now to dwell upon4 ,by slow1 imperceptible1 certain degrees the evil gains upon them4 ,yesterday's sin smooths the path for to-day's4 ,the temptation once yielded to gains power4 ,the crack in the embankment which lets a drop or two ooze through is soon a great hole which lets in a flood4 ,it is easier to find a man who has never done a wrong thing than to find a man who has done it only once4 ,peter denied his ,lord thrice1 and each time more easily than the previous time4 ,so1 before we know it1 the thin gossamer threads of single actions are twisted into a rope of habit1 and we are 'tied with the cords of our sins4' ,let no man say1 ',just for once ,i may venture on evil2 so far ,i will go and no farther4' ,nay1 'to-morrow shall be as this day1 and much more abundant4' ,how important1 then1 the smallest acts become when we think of them as thus influencing character6 ,the microscopic creatures1 thousands of which will go into a square inch1 make the great white cliffs that beetle over the wildest sea and front the storm4 ,so1 permanent and solid character is built up out of trivial actions1 and this is the solemn aspect of our passing days1 that they are making us4 ,we might well tremble before such a thought1 which would be dreadful to the best of us1 if it were not for pardoning mercy and renewing grace4 ,the law of reaping what we have sown1 or of continuing as we have begun1 may be modified as far as our sins and failures are concerned4 ,the entail may be cut off1 and to-morrow need not inherit to-day's guilt1 nor to-day's habits4 ,the past may be all blotted out through the mercy of ,god in ,christ4 ,no debt need be carried forward to another page of the book of our lives1 for ,christ has given ,himself for us1 and ,he speaks to us all--',thy sins be forgiven thee4' ,no evil habit need continue its dominion over us1 nor are we obliged to carry on the bad tradition of wrongdoing into a future day1 for ,christ lives1 and 'if any man be in ,christ1 he is a new creature2 old things are passed away1 all things are become new4' ,so then1 brethren1 let us humbly take the confidence which these words may be used to express1 and as we stand on the threshold of a new year and wait for the curtain to be drawn1 let us print deep on our hearts the uncertainty of our hold of all things here1 nor seek to build nor anchor on these1 but lift our thoughts to ,him1 who will bless the future as ,he has blessed the past1 and will even enlarge the gifts of ,his love and the help of ,his right hand4 ,let us hope for ourselves not the continuance or increase of outward good1 but the growth of our souls in all things lovely and of good report1 the daily advance in the love and likeness of our ,lord4 ,so each day1 each succeeding wave of the ocean of time shall cast up treasures for us as it breaks at our feet4 ,as we grow in years1 we shall grow in the grace and knowledge of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ1 until the day comes when we shall exchange earth for heaven4 ,that will be the sublimest application of this text1 when1 dying1 we can calmly be sure that though to-day be on this side and to-morrow on the other bank of the black river1 there will be no break in the continuity1 but only an infinite growth in our life1 and heaven's to-morrow shall be as earth's to-day1 and much more abundant4 ,,flimsy ,,garments ',their webs shall not become garments4'--,,isaiah lix4 #f4 ',i counsel thee to buy of me 444 white raiment1 that thou mayest be clothed1 and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear4'--,,rev4 iii4 #ah4 ,the force of these words of the prophet is very obvious4 ,he has been pouring out swift1 indignant denunciation on the evil-doers in ,israel2 and1 says he1 'they hatch cockatrice's eggs and spin spiders' webs1' pointing1 as ,i suppose1 to the patient perseverance1 worthy of a better cause1 which bad men will exercise in working out their plans4 ,then with a flash of bitter irony1 led on by his imagination to say more than he had meant1 he adds this scathing parenthesis1 as if he said1 ',yes1 they spin spiders' webs1 elaborate toil and creeping contrivance1 and what comes of it all6 ,the flimsy foul thing is swept away by ,god's besom sooner or later4 ,a web indeed6 but they will never make a garment out of it4 ,it looks like cloth1 but it is useless4' ,that is the old lesson that all sin is profitless and comes to nothing4 ,i venture to connect with that strongly figurative declaration of the essential futility of godless living1 our second text1 in which ,jesus uses a similar figure to express one aspect of ,his gifts to the believing soul4 ,he is ready to clothe it1 so that 'being clothed1 it will not be found naked4' ,i4 ,sin clothes no man even here4 ,notice in passing what a hint there is of the toil and trouble that men are so willing to take in a wrong course4 ,hatching and spinning both suggest protracted1 sedulous labour4 ,and then the issue of it all is--nothing4 ,take the plainest illustrations of this truth first--the breach of common laws of morality1 the indulgence1 for instance1 in dissipation4 ,a man gets a certain coarse delight out of it1 but what does he get besides8 ,a weakened body1 a tyrannous craving1 ruined prospects1 oftenest poverty and shame1 the loss of self-respect and love2 of moral excellences1 of tastes for what is better4 ,he is not a beast1 and he cannot live for pure animalism without injuring himself4 ,then take actual breaches of human laws4 ,how seldom these 'pay1' even in the lowest sense4 ,thieves are always poor4 ,the same experience of futility dogs all coarse and palpable breaches of morality4 ,it is always true that ',he that breaketh a hedge1 a serpent shall bite him4' ,the reasons are not far to seek4 ,this is1 on the whole1 ,god's world1 a world of retribution4 ,things are1 on the whole1 on the side of goodness4 ,god is in the world1 and that is an element not to be left out in the calculation4 ,society is on the side of goodness to a large extent4 ,the constitution of a man's own soul1 which ,god made1 works in the same direction4 ,young men who are trembling on the verge of youthful yieldings to passion1 are tempted to fancy that they can sow sin and not reap suffering or harm4 ,would that they settled it in their thoughts that he who fires a fuse must expect an explosion6 ,but the same rule applies to every godless form of life4 ,take our ,manchester temptation1 money or success in business4 ,take ambition4 ,take culture1 literary fame4 ,take love and friendship4 ,what do they all come to1 if godless8 ,i do not point to the many failures1 but suppose success3 would that make you a happy man8 ,if you won what you wanted1 would it be enough8 ,what 'garments' for your conscience1 for your sense of sin1 for your infinite longings would success in any godless course provide8 ,you would have what you wanted1 and what would it bring with it8 ,cares and troubles and swift satiety1 and not seldom incapacity to enjoy what you had won with so much toil4 ,if you gained the prize1 you would find clinging to it something that you did not bargain for1 and that took most of the dazzle away from it4 ,,ii4 ,the rags are all stripped off some day4 ,death is a becoming naked as to the body1 and as to all the occupations that terminate with bodily life4 ,it necessarily involves the loss of possessions1 the cessation of activities1 the stripping off of self-deceptions1 and exposure to the gaze of the ,judge1 without defence4 ,the godless soul will 'be found naked' and ashamed4 ,all 'works of darkness1' laden with rich blossom or juicy fruit though they have seemed to be1 will then be seen to be in tragic truth 'fruitless4' ,a life's spinning and weaving1 and not a rag to cover the toiler after all6 ,is that 'productive labour'8 ,,iii4 ,christ will clothe you4 ',white raiment4' ,pure character4 ,covering before the ,judge4 ,festal robe of ,victory4 ',buy'--how8 ,by giving up self4 ,,the ,,sunlit ,,church ',arise1 shine2 for thy light is come1 and the glory of the ,lord is risen upon thee4 #b4 ,for1 behold1 the darkness shall cover the earth1 and gross darkness the people2 but the ,lord shall arise upon thee1 and ,his glory shall be seen upon thee4 #c4 ,and the ,gentiles shall come to thy light1 and kings to the brightness of thy rising4'--,,isaiah lx4 #a-c4 ,the personation of ,israel as a woman runs through the whole of this second portion of ,isaiah's prophecy4 ,we see her thrown on the earth a mourning mother1 a shackled captive4 ,we hear her summoned once and again to awake1 to arise1 to shake herself from the dust1 to loose the bands of her neck4 ,these summonses are prophecies of the impending ,messianic deliverance4 ,the same circle of truths1 in a somewhat different aspect1 is presented in the verses before us4 ,the prophet sees the earth wrapped in a funeral pall of darkness1 and a beam of more than natural light falling on one prostrate form4 ,the old story is repeated1 ,zion stands in the light1 while ,egypt cowers in gloom4 ,the light which shines upon her is 'the ,glory of the ,lord1' the ancient brightness that dwelt between the cherubim within the veil in the secret place of the ,most ,high1 and is now come out into the open world to envelop the desolate captive4 ,thus touched by the light she becomes light1 and in her turn is bidden to shine4 ,there is a very remarkable correspondence reiterated in my text between the illuminating ,god and the illuminated ,zion4 ,the word for shine is connected with the word for light1 and might fairly be rendered 'lighten1' or 'be light4' ,twice the phrase 'thy light' is employed2 once to mean the light which is thine because it shines on thee2 once to mean the light which is thine because it shines from thee4 ,the other word1 three times repeated1 for rising1 is the technical word which expresses the sunrise1 and it is applied both to the flashing glory that falls upon ,zion and to the light that gleams from her4 ,touched by the sun1 she becomes a sun1 and blazes in her heaven in a splendour that draws men's hearts4 ,so1 then1 if that be the fair analysis of the words before us1 they present to us some thoughts bearing on the ,missionary work of the ,church1 and ,i gather them all up in three--the fact1 the ringing summons1 and the confident promise4 ,i4 ,now1 as to the fact4 ,beneath the poetry of my text there lie very definite conceptions of a very solemn and grave character1 and these conceptions are the foundation of the ringing summons that follows1 and which reposes upon a double basis--viz4 'for thy light is come1' and 'for darkness covers the earth4' ,there is a double element in the representation4 ,we have a darkened earth1 and a sunlit and a sunlike church2 and unless we hold these two convictions--both of them-in firm grasp1 and that not merely as convictions that influence our understanding1 but as ever present forces acting on our emotions1 our consciences1 our wills1 we shall not do the work which ,god has set us to do in the world4 ,i need not dwell long on the former of these1 or speak of that funeral pall that wraps the whole earth4 ,only remember that it is no darkness that came from ,his hand who forms the light and creates darkness1 but is like the smoke that lies over our great cities--the work of many an earth-born fire1 whose half-consumed foulness hides the sun from us4 ,if we take the sulphureous and smoky pall that wraps the earth1 and analyse its contents1 they are these3 the darkness of ignorance1 the darkness of sorrow1 the darkness of sin4 ,of ignorance2 for throughout the wide regions that lie beneath that covering spread over all nations is there any certitude about ,god1 about man1 about morals1 about responsibilities1 about eternity8 ,peradventures1 guesses1 dreams1 precious fragments of truth1 twisted in with the worst of lies1 noble aspirations side by side with bestial representations--these are the things on which our brethren repose1 or try to repose4 ,we do not forget that light which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world4 ,we do not forget1 of course1 that everywhere there are feelings after ,him1 and everywhere there are gleams and glimpses of a vanishing light1 else life were impossible2 but oh1 dear brethren1 let us not forget either that the people sit in darkness of ignorance1 which is the saddest darkness that can afflict men4 ,and it is a darkness of sorrow1 for all the ills that flesh is heir to press1 unalleviated and unsustained by any known helper in the heavens1 upon millions of our fellows4 ,they stand1 as the great ,german poet describes himself as standing1 in one of the most pathetic of his lyrics1 before the marble image of the fair goddess1 who has pity on her face and beauty raying from her limbs1 but she has no arms4 ,so tears fall undried4 ,the light-hearted savage is a fiction4 ,what a heavy gloom lies upon his past and his present1 which darkens into an impenetrable mist that wraps and hides the future6 ,and the darkness is a darkness of sin as well as of sorrow and of ignorance4 ,on that point ,i need not dwell4 ,we all believe that all have 'sinned and come short of the glory of ,god1' and we all believe that idolatry1 as we see it1 and as it is wrought out1 is an ally of impurity and of sin4 ,the process is this3 men make gods in their own image1 and the gods make devils of the men4 ',they that make them are like unto them1 so is every one that trusteth in them4' ,we need no other principle than that to account for the degradation of heathenism and for the obscenities and foul transgression within the very courts of the temple4 ,now1 dear friends1 that ,i may not dwell too long upon the ,a ,b ,c of our belief1 let me urge you in one sentence to be on your guard against present-day tendencies which weaken the force of this solemn1 tragical conviction as to the realities of heathendom4 ,the new science of comparative religion has done much for us4 ,i am not saying one word against this pursuit1 or the conclusions which are drawn from it4 ,but ,i pray you to remember that the underlying truths buried beneath the system that any men hold as their religion are one thing1 and the practical working of that system1 as we see it in daily life1 is altogether another4 ,the actual character of heathenism is not to be learned from the sacred books of all nations and the precious gleams of wisdom and feeling after the ,divine which we recognise in man4 ,as a simple matter of fact1 all over the world the religion of heathen nations is a mass of obscenity1 intertwined so closely with nobler thoughts that the two seem to be inseparable4 ,unalleviated sorrows1 hideous foulnesses1 a gross ignorance covering all the most important realities for men--these are the facts with which we have to grapple4 ,do not let us forget them4 ,and on the other side1 remember the contrasted picture here of the sunlit and sunny church4 ,the incarnation of ,jesus ,christ is the fulfilment of my text4 ',we behold ,his glory1 the glory as of the only begotten of the ,father1 full of grace and truth4' ,if you and ,i are ,christians1 we are bound to believe in ,him as the exclusive source of certainty4 ,we hear from ,him no peradventure1 but ,his word is1 ',verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1' and on that word we rest all our knowledge of ,god1 of duty1 of man1 and of the future4 ,instead of fears1 doubt1 perhapses1 we have a living ,christ and ,his rock-word4 ,and in ,him is all joy1 and in ,him is the cleansing from all sin4 ,and this threefold radiance1 into which the one pure light may be analysed1 falls upon us4 ,it falls all over the world as well2 but they into whose hearts it has come1 they whose faces are turned to it1 they receive it in a sense in which the unreceptive and unresponsive darkness of the world does not4 ,the light shineth in the darkness1 and the darkness will have none of it1 and so it is darkness yet4 ,the light shineth upon us1 and if by ,his mercy we have opened our hearts to it1 then1 according to the profound teaching of this context1 we are not only a sun-lighted but a sunlike ,church1 and to us the commandment comes1 ',arise1 shine1 for thy light is come1' and has turned thy poor darkness into a sun too4 ,if we have the light we shall be light4 ,that is but putting in a picturesque form the very central truth of ,christianity4 ,the last word of the gospel is transformation4 ,we become like ,him if we live near ,him1 and the end for which the ,master became like unto us in ,his incarnation and passion was that we might become like to ,him by the reception of ,his very own life unto our souls4 ,light makes many a surface on which it falls flash1 but in the optics of earth it is the rays which are not absorbed that are reflected2 but in this loftier region the illumination is not superficial but inward1 and it is the light which is swallowed up within us that then comes forth from us4 ,christ will dwell in our hearts1 and we shall be like some poor little diamond-shaped pane of glass in a cottage window which1 when the sun smites it1 is visible over miles of the plain4 ,if that sun falls upon us1 its image will be mirrored in our hearts and flashing in our lives4 ,the clouds that lie over the sunset1 though in themselves they be but poor1 grey1 and moist vapour1 when smitten by its beneficent radiance1 become not unworthy ministers and attendants upon its glory4 ,so1 my brethren1 it may be with us1 for ,christ comes to be our light1 ,because ,he is in us and with us we are changed into ,his likeness1 and the names that are most appropriate to ,him ,he shares with us4 ,is ,he the ',son'8--we are sons4 ,is ,he 'the ,light of the world'8 ,his own lips tell us1 ',ye are the light of the world4' ,is ,he the ,christ8 ,the ,psalm says3 ',touch not my ,christs1 and do ,my prophets no harm4' ,critics have quarrelled over these last chapters of the ,book of ,isaiah1 as to whom the servant of the ,lord is2 whether he is the personal or collective ,israel1 whether he is ,christ or ,his ,church4 ,let us take the lesson that ,he and we are so united that ,his office that made the union possible1 wherein ,he was sacrificed on the ,cross for us all--belongs by derivation to ,his servants1 and that ,he1 the ,sun of ,righteousness1 moves in the heavens circled by many another sun4 ,so1 dear friends1 these two convictions of these two facts1 the dark earth1 the sunlit1 sunlike church1 lie at the basis of all our missionary work4 ,if once we begin to doubt about them1 if once we begin to think that men have got a good deal of light already1 and can do very well without much more1 or if we at all are hesitant about our possession of the light1 and the certitudes and the joys that are in it1 then good-bye to our missionary zeal4 ,we shall soon begin to ask the question1 ',to what purpose is this waste8'--though the lips that first asked it1 by the bye1 did not much recommend it--and shall consider that money and resources and precious lives are too precious to be thrown away thus4 ,but if we rightly appreciate the force of these twin principles1 then we shall be ready to listen to the ringing summons4 ,,ii4 ,we have here1 in the second place1 based upon these two facts1 the summons to the ,church4 ',shine1 for thy light is come4' ,if we have light1 we are light4 ,if we are light1 we shall shine2 but the shining is not altogether spontaneous and effortless4 ,stars do not need to be bidden to shine nor candles either2 but we need the exhortation1 because there are many things that dim the brilliance of our light and interfere with its streaming forth4 ,true1 the property of light is to shine1 but we can rob the inward light of its beams4 ,the silent witness of a ,christian life transformed into the likeness of ,jesus ,christ is1 perhaps1 the best contribution that any of us can make to the spread of ,his kingdom4 ,it is with us as it is with the great lights in the heavens4 ',there is no speech nor language2 their voice is not heart1' yet1 'their line has gone through all the earth1 and their words to the end of the world4' ,so we may quietly ray out the light in us and witness the transforming power of our ,master by the transparent purity of our lives4 ,but the command suggests likewise effort1 and that effort must be in the direction of the specific vocal proclamation of ,his name4 ,i take both these methods of fulfilling the command into my view1 in the further remarks that ,i make1 and ,i put that which ,i have to say upon this into three sentences3 if we are light1 we shall be able to shine2 if we are light1 we are bound to shine2 if we are light1 we shall wish to shine4 ,we shall be able to shine4 ,and man can manifest what he is unless he is a coward4 ,any man can talk about the things that are interesting to him if only they are interesting to him4 ,any man that has ,jesus ,christ can say so2 and perhaps the utterance of the simple personal conviction is the best method of proclaiming ,his name4 ,all other things are surplusage4 ,they are good when they come1 they may be done without4 ,learning1 eloquence1 and the like of these1 are the adornments of the lamp1 but it does not matter whether the lamp be a gorgeous affair of gilt and crystal1 or whether it be a poor piece of block tin2 the main question is3 are there wick and oil in it8 ,the pitcher may be gold and silver1 or costly china1 or it may be a poor potsherd4 ,never mind4 ,if there is water in it1 it will be precious to a thirsty lip4 ,and so1 dear brethren1 ,i press this upon you3 every ,christian man has the power1 if he is a ,christian1 to proclaim his ,master1 and if he has the ,light he will be able to show it4 ,i pause for a moment to say that this suggests for us the condition of all faithful and effectual witness for ,jesus ,christ4 ,cultivate understanding and all other faculties as much as you like3 but oh6 you ,christian ministers1 as well as others in less official and public positions1 remember this3 the fitness to impart is to possess1 and that being taken for granted1 the main thing is secured4 ,as long as the electric light is in contact with the battery1 so long does it burn4 ,electricians have been trying during the past few years to make accumulators1 things in which they can store the influence and put it away in a corner and use it so that the light need not be in connection with the battery2 and they have not succeeded--at least it is only a very partial success4 ,you and ,i cannot start accumulators4 ,let us remember that personal contact with ,jesus is power1 and only that personal contact is so4 ,arise1 shine6 but if thou hast gone out of the light1 thou wilt shine no more4 ,but again1 if we are light we are bound to shine4 ,that is an obvious principle4 ,the capacity to shine is the obligation to shine1 for we are all knit together by such mystical cords in this strange brotherhood of humanity that every one of us holds his possession as trust property for the use and behoof of others1 and in the present case that which we have received1 and the price at which we have received it1 give an edge to the keenness of the obligation1 and add a new grip to the stringency of the command4 ,it is because ,christ has given ,himself thus to us that the possession of ,him binds us to the imitation of ,his example1 and the impartation of ,him to all our brethren4 ,the obligation lies at our doors1 and cannot be delegated or devolved4 ,if we have light1 we shall wish to shine4 ,what shall we say about the ,christian people who never really had such a wish8 ,god forbid that ,i should say they have no light2 but this ,i will say1 it burns very dimly4 ,dear brethren1 there is no better test of the depth and the purity of our personal attachment to1 and possession of1 our ,master than the impulse that will spring from them to communicate ,him to others4 ',necessity is laid upon me1 yea1 woe is me if ,i preach not4' ,that should be the word of every one of us1 and it will be so in the measure in which we ourselves have thoroughly laid hold of ,jesus ,christ4 ',this is a day of good tidings1 and we cannot hold our peace1' said the handful of lepers in the camp4 ',if we are silent some mischief will come to us4' ',thy word1 when ,i shut it up in my bones and said1 ,i will speak no more in ,thy name1 was like a fire1 and was weary of forbearing and could not stay4' ,brother1 do you know anything of the divine necessity to share your blessing with the men around you8 ,did you ever feel what it was to carry a burden of the ,lord that drove you to speech1 and left you no rest until you had done what it impelled you to do8 ,if not1 ,i beseech you to ask yourselves whether you cannot get nearer to the sun than away out there on the very edge of its system1 receiving so few of its beams1 and these so impotent that they can scarcely do more than melt the surface of the thick-ribbed ice that warps your spirit4 ,if we are light we shall be enabled1 we shall be bound1 we shall wish1 to shine4 ,christian men and women1 is this true of you8 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 notice here the confident promise4 ',the ,gentiles shall come to thy light1 and kings to the brightness of thy rising4' ,if we have the light we shall be light2 if we are light we shall shine1 and if we shine we shall attract4 ,certainly men and women with the light of ,christ in them will draw others to them1 just as many an eye that cannot look undazzled upon the sun can look upon it mirrored upon some polished surface4 ,a painter will fling upon his canvas a scene that you and ,i1 with our purblind eyes1 have looked at hundreds of times1 and seen no beauty2 but when we gaze on the picture1 then we know how fair it is4 ,there is an attractive power in the light of ,christ shining from the face of a man4 ,of course1 we have to moderate our expectations4 ,we have to remember that whilst it is true that some men will come to the light1 it is also true that some men 'love the darkness1 and will not come to the light because their deeds are evil'2 and we have to remember that we have no right to anticipate rapid results4 ',an inheritance may be begotten hastily at the beginning1 but the end thereof shall not be blessed1' said the wise man2 and the history of the ,christian ,church in many of its missionary operations is a sad commentary upon the saying4 ,we must remember that we cannot estimate how long the preparation for a change1 which will be developed swiftly1 may be4 ,the sun on autumn mornings shines upon the fog2 and the people below1 because there is a fog1 do not know that it is shining2 but it is doing its work on the upper layer all the while1 and at length eats its way through the fleecy obstruction1 which then swiftly disappears4 ,that must be a very1 very long day of which the morning twilight has been nineteen hundred years4 ,therefore1 although the vision tarries1 we may fall back with unswerving confidence on these words of my text--',the ,gentiles shall come to the brightness of thy rising4' ,but after all this has been said1 are you satisfied with the rate of progress1 are you satisfied with the swiftness of the fulfilment of such hopes8 ,whose fault is it that the rate of progress is what it is8 ,yours and mine and our predecessors'4 ,there is such a thing as 'hasting the day of the ,lord1' and there is such a thing as protracting the time of waiting4 ,dear brethren1 the secret of our slow growth at home and abroad lies in my text4 ,fulfil the conditions and you will get the result2 but if you are not shining by a light which is ,christ's light1 who promised that it would have attraction or draw men to it8 ,a great deal of the work of the ,christian ,church--but do not let us hide ourselves in the generality of that word--a great deal of our work is artificial light1 brewed out of retorts1 and smelling sulphureous2 and a great deal more of it is the phosphorescence that glimmers above decay4 ,if the ,christian ,church has ceased in any measure1 or in any of its members1 to be able to attract by the exhibition of its light1 let the ,christian ,church sit down and bethink itself of the sort of light it gives1 and perhaps it will find a reason for its failure4 ,it is ,christ1 the holy ,christ1 the loving ,christ1 the ,christ in us making us wise and gentle1 it is the ,christ manifested by word and by work1 who will draw the nations to ,him4 ,so1 men and brethren1 do you keep near your ,master and live close by ,his side till you are drenched and saturated with ,his glory1 and all your cold vapours turned into visible divinity and manifested ,jesus4 ,keep near to ,him4 ,as long as a bit of scrap-iron touches a magnet1 it is a magnet3 as soon as the contact is broken it ceases to attract4 ,if you live in the full sunshine of ,christ and have ,him1 not merely playing upon the surface of your mind1 but sinking deep down into it and transforming your whole being1 then some men will1 as they look at you1 be filled with strange longings1 and will say3 ',come1 let us walk in the light of the ,lord4' ,so may you and ,i live1 like the morning star1 which1 from its serene altitudes1 touched into radiance by the sun unseen from the darkened plains1 prophesies its rising to a sleeping world1 and is content to be lost in the lustre of that unsetting ,light6 ,,walls ,,and ,,gates ',thou shalt call thy walls ,salvation1 and thy gates ,praise'--,,isaiah lx4 #ah4 ,the prophet reaches the height of eloquence in his magnificent picture of the restored ,jerusalem1 'the city of the ,lord1 the ,zion of the ,holy ,one of ,israel4' ,to him the city stands for the embodiment of the nation1 and his vision of the future is moulded by his knowledge of the past4 ,israel and ,jerusalem were to him the embodiments of the divine idea of ,god's dwelling with men1 and of a society founded on the presence of ,god in its midst4 ,we are not forcing meanings on his words which they will not bear1 when we see in the society of men redeemed by ,christ the perfect embodiment of his vision4 ,nor is the prophet of the ,new ,testament doing so when he casts his vision of the future which is to follow ,resurrection and ,judgment into a like form1 and shows us the new ,jerusalem coming down out of heaven4 ,the end of the world's history is to be1 not a garden but a city1 a visible community1 bound together because ,god dwells in it1 and yet not having lost the blessed characteristics of the ,garden from which man set out on his long and devious march4 ,the ,christian form of the prophet's vision is the ,christian ,society1 and in that society1 each individual member possesses his own portion of the common blessings1 so that the great words of this text have a personal as well as a general application4 ,we shall best bring out their rich contents by simply taking them as they stand1 and considering what is promised by the two eloquent metaphors1 which liken salvation to the walls and praise to the gates of the ,city of ,god4 ,i4 ,salvation is to be the city's wall4 ,another prophet foretold that the returning exiles would dwell in a ,jerusalem that had no walls1 'for ,i1 saith the ,lord1 will be unto her a wall of fire round about'2 and ,isaiah sang1 ',we have a strong city2 salvation will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks4' ,there is no need for material defences for the community or the individual whom ,god defends4 ,would that the ,church had lived up to the height of that great thought6 ,would that we each believed it true in regard to our own lives6 ,there are three ways in which this promise may be viewed4 ,we may think of 'salvation' as meaning ,god's purpose to save4 ,and then the comfort and sense of security will be derived from the thought that what ,he intends ,he performs1 and that nothing can traverse that purpose except our own rebellions self-will4 ,they whom ,god designs to keep are kept2 they whom ,god wills to save are saved1 unless they oppose ,his will1 which opposition is in itself to be lost1 and leads to ultimate and irreparable loss4 ,we may think of salvation as an actually begun work4 ,then the comfort and sense of security will be derived from that great work by which salvation has begun to be ours4 ,the work of ,christ keeps us from all danger1 and no foes can make a breach in that wall1 nor reach those who stand safe behind its strong towers4 ,we may think of salvation as a personal experience1 and then the comfort and sense of security will be derived from that blessed consciousness of possessing in some measure at least the spirit1 not of bondage1 but of a son4 ,the consciousness of having 'salvation' is our best defence against spiritual foes and our best shield against temporal calamities4 ,it is good for us to live by faith1 to be thrown back on our unseen protector1 to feel with the psalmist1 ',thou1 ,lord1 makest me to dwell in safety1 though alone1' and to see the wall great and high that is drawn round our defenceless tent pitched on the sands of the flat desert4 ,,ii4 ,praise is to be the city's gate4 ,as to the ,church1 this prophecy anticipates the ,apostle's teaching that the whole divine work of ,redemption1 from its fore-ordination before the foundation of the world1 to its application to each sinful soul1 is 'to the end that we should be unto the praise of ,his glory' or1 as he elsewhere expands and enriches the expression1 'to the praise of the glory of ,his grace4' ,we are 'secretaries of ,his praise4' ,a gate is that by which the safe inhabitants go out into the region beyond1 and the outgoings of the active life of every ,christian should be such as to make manifest the blessings that he enjoys within the shelter of the city's walls4 ,only if our hidden life is blessed with a begun salvation will our outward life be vocal with the music of praise4 ,the gate will be praise if1 and only if1 the wall is salvation4 ,and praise is the gate by which we should go out into the world1 even when the world into which we go is dark and the ways rough and hard4 ,if we have the warm glow of a realised salvation in our hearts1 sorrows that are but for a moment will not silence the voice of praise1 though they may cast it into a minor key4 ,the praise that rises from a sad heart is yet more melodious in ,god's ear than that which carols when all things go well4 ,the bird that sings in a darkened cage makes music to its owner4 ',songs in the night' have a singular pathos and thrill the listeners4 ,when we 'take the cup of salvation' and call on the name of the ,lord1 we shall offer to ,him the sacrifices of thanksgiving1 though ,he may recall some of the precious gifts that ,he gave4 ,for ,he never takes away the wall of salvation which ,he has built around us1 and as long as that wall stands1 its gates will be praise4 ,submission1 recognition of ,his will1 and even 'silence because ,thou didst it1' are praise to ,his ear4 ,,the ,,joy-,,bringer ',to appoint unto them that mourn in ,zion1 to give unto them beauty for ashes1 the oil of joy for mourning1 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness4'--,,isaiah lxi4 #c4 ,in the little synagogue of ,nazareth ,jesus began ,his ministry by laying ,his hand upon this great prophecy and saying1 ',it is ,mine6 ,i have fulfilled it4' ,the prophet had been painting the ideal ,messianic ,deliverer1 with special reference to the return from the ,babylonian captivity4 ,that was 'the liberty to the captives1 and the opening of the prison to them that are bound1' and about which he was thinking4 ,but no external deliverance of that sort could meet the needs1 nor satisfy the aspirations1 of a soul that knows itself and its circumstances4 ,isaiah1 or the man who goes by his name1 spoke greater things than he knew4 ,i am not going to enter upon questions of interpretation2 but ,i may say1 that no conception of ,jewish prophecy can hold its ground which is not framed in the light of that great saying in the synagogue of ,nazareth4 ,so1 then1 we have here the ',man of ,sorrows1' as this very prophet calls ,him in another place1 presenting ,himself as the ,transformer of sorrow and the ,bringer of joy1 in regard to infinitely deeper griefs than those which sprang in the heart of the nation because of the historical captivity4 ,there is another beautiful thing in our text1 which comes out more distinctly if we follow the ,revised ,version1 and read 'to give unto them a garland for ashes1 the oil of joy for mourning1 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness4' ,there we have two contrasted pictures suggested3 one of a mourner with grey ashes strewed upon his dishevelled locks1 and his spirit clothed in gloom like a black robe2 and to him there comes ,one who1 with gentle hand1 smoothes the ashes out of his hair1 trains a garland round his brow1 anoints his head with oil1 and1 stripping off the trappings of woe1 casts about him a bright robe fit for a guest at a festival4 ,that is the miracle that ,jesus ,christ can do for every one1 and is ready to do for us1 if we will let ,him4 ,let us look at this wonderful transformation1 and at the way by which it is effected4 ,the first point ,i would make is that-- ,i4 ,jesus ,christ is the ,joy-bringer to men because ,he is the ,redeemer of men4 ,remember that in the original application of my text to the deliverance from captivity1 this gift of joy and change of sorrow into gladness was no independent and second bestowment1 but was simply the issue of the one that preceded it1 viz41 the gift of liberty to the captives1 and the opening of the prison to them that were bound4 ,the gladness was a gladness that welled up in the heart of the captives set free1 and coming out from the gloom of the ,babylonian dungeon into the sunshine of ,god's favour1 with their faces set towards ,zion 'with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads4' ,now you have only to keep firm hold of this connection between these two thoughts to come to the crown and centre-point of this great prophecy1 as far as it applies to us1 and that is that it is ,christ as the ,emancipator1 ,christ as the ,deliverer1 ,christ as ,he who brings us out of the prison of bondage of the tyranny of sin1 who is the great ,joy-,giver4 ,for there is no real1 deep1 fundamental and impregnable gladness possible to a man until his relations to ,god have been rectified1 and until1 with these rectified relations1 with the consciousness of forgiveness and the divine love nestling warm at his heart1 he has turned himself away from his dread and his sin1 and has recognised in his ,father ,god 'the gladness of his joy4' ,of course1 there are many of us who feel that life is sufficiently comfortable and moderately happy1 or at least quite tolerable1 without any kind of reference to ,god at all4 ,and in this day of growing materialism1 and growing consequent indifference to the deepest needs of the spirit and the claims of religion1 more and more men are finding1 or fancying that they find1 that they can rub along somehow1 and have a fair share of gladness and satisfaction1 without any need for a redeeming gospel and a forgiving ,christ4 ,but about all that kind of surface-joy the old words are true1 'even in laughter the heart is sorrowful1' and hosts of us are satisfied with joys which ,jesus has no part in bringing1 simply because our truest self has never once awakened4 ,when it does-and perhaps it will do so with some of you1 like the sleeping giant that is fabled to lie beneath the volcano whose sunny slopes are smiling with flowers--then you will find out that no one can bring real joy who does not take away guilt and sin4 ,jesus ,christ is the ,joy-bringer1 because ,jesus ,christ is the ,emancipator4 ,and true gladness is the gladness that springs from the conscious possession of liberty from the captivity which holds men slaves to evil and to their worst selves4 ,brethren1 let us not fancy that these surface-joys are the joys adequate to a human spirit4 ,they are ignoble1 and they are infinitely foolish1 because a touch of an awakened conscience1 a stirring of one's deeper self1 can scatter them all to pieces4 ,so then1 that is my first thought4 ,let us suggest a second1 that-- ,,ii4 ,jesus ,christ transforms sorrow because ,he transforms the mourner4 ,in my text1 all that this ,joy-bringer and ,transmuter of grief into its opposite is represented as doing is on the man who feels the sorrow4 ,and although1 as ,i have said1 the text1 in its original position1 is simply a deduction from the previous great prophecy which did point to a change of circumstances1 and although ,jesus does bring the 'joy of salvation' by a great change in a man's relations1 yet in regard to the ordinary sorrows of life1 ,he affects these not so much by an operation upon our circumstances as by an operation upon ourselves1 and transforms sorrow and brings gladness1 because ,he transforms the man who endures it4 ,the landscape remains the same1 the difference is in the colour of the glass through which we look at it4 ,instead of having it presented through some black and smoked medium1 we see it through what the painter calls a ',claude ,lorraine' glass1 tinged golden1 and which throws its own lovely light upon all that it shows us4 ,it is possible--the eye that looks being purged and cleansed1 so as to see more clearly-that the facts remaining identical1 their whole aspect and bearing may be altered1 and that which was felt1 and rightly felt1 to be painful and provocative of sadness and gloom1 may change its character and beget a solemn joy4 ,it would be but a small thing to transform the conditions2 it is far better and higher to transform us4 ,we all need1 and some of us1 ,i have no doubt1 do especially need1 to remember that the ,lord who brings this sudden transformation for us1 does so by ,his operation within us1 and1 therefore1 to that operation we should willingly yield ourselves4 ,how does ,he do this8 ,one answer to that question is--by giving to the man with ashes on his head and gloom wrapped about his spirit1 sources of joy1 if he will use them1 altogether independent of external circumstances4' ,though the fig-tree shall not blossom1 and there be no fruit in the vine 444 yet will ,i rejoice in the ,lord4' ,and every ,christian man1 especially when days are dark and clouds are gathering1 has it open to him1 and is bound to use the possibility1 to turn away his mind from the external occasions of sadness1 and fix it on the changeless reason for deep and unchanging joy--the sweet presence1 the strong love1 the sustaining hand1 the infinite wisdom1 of his ,father ,god4 ,brethren1 the paradox of the ,christian life is1 'as sorrowful1 yet always rejoicing4' ,christ calls for no hypocritical insensibility to 'the ills that flesh is heir to4' ,he has sanctioned by ,his example the tears that flow when death hurts loving hearts4 ,he commanded the women of ,jerusalem to 'weep for themselves and for their children4' ,he means that we should feel the full bitterness and pain of sorrows which will not be medicinal unless they are bitter1 and will not be curative unless they cut deep4 ,but ,he also means that whilst thus we suffer as men1 in the depths of our own hearts we should1 at the same time1 be turning away from the sufferings and their cause1 and fixing our hearts1 quiet even then amidst the distractions1 upon ,god ,himself4 ,ah6 it is hard to do1 and because we do not do it1 the promise that ,he will turn the sorrow into joy often seems to be a vain word for us4 ,it is not ours to rejoice as the world does1 nor is it ours to sorrow as those who have no hope1 or as those who have no ,god with them4 ,but the two opposite emotions may1 to a large extent1 be harmonised and co-existent in a ,christian heart1 and1 since they can be1 they should be4 ,the ,christian in sorrow should be as an island set in some stormy sea1 with wild waves breaking against its black1 rocky coast1 and the wind howling around it1 but in the centre of it there is a deep and shady dell 'that heareth not the loud winds when they call1' and where not a leaf is moved by the tempest4 ,in a like depth of calm and central tranquillity it is possible for us to live1 even while the storm hurtles its loudest on the outermost coasts of our being2 'as sorrowful1 yet always rejoicing1' because the ,joy-bringer has opened for us sources of gladness independent of externals4 ,and then there is another way by which1 for us1 if we will use our privileges1 the sorrows of life may be transmuted1 because we1 contemplating them1 have come to a changed understanding of their meaning4 ,that is1 after all1 the secret charm to be commended to us at all times1 but to be commended to us most when our hearts are heavy and the days are dark around us4 ,we shall never understand life if we class its diverse events simply under the two opposite categories of good--evil2 prosperity--adversity2 gains--losses2 fulfilled expectations--disappointed hopes1 ,put them all together under one class--discipline and education2 means for growth2 means for ,christlikeness4 ,when we have found out1 what it takes a long while for us to learn1 that the lancet and the bandage are for the same purpose1 and that opposite weathers conspire to the same end1 that of the harvest1 the sting is out of the sorrow1 the poison is wiped off the arrow4 ,we can have1 if not a solemn joy1 at least a patient acquiescence1 in the diversities of operation1 when we learn that the same hand is working in all for the same end1 and that all that contributes to that end is good4 ,here we may suggest a third way by which a transformation wrought upon ourselves transforms the aspect of our sorrows1 and that is1 that possessing independent sources of joy1 and having come to learn the educational aspect of all adversity1 we hereby are brought by ,jesus ,christ ,himself to the position of submission4 ,and that is the most potent talisman to transform mourning into praise4 ,an accepted grief is a conquered grief2 a conquered grief will very soon be a comforted grief2 and a comforted grief is a joy4 ,by all these means ,jesus ,christ1 here and now1 is transmuting the lead and iron of our griefs into the gold of a not ignoble nor transient gladness4 ,and may ,i say one last word8 ,my text suggests not only these two points to which ,i have already referred--viz4 that ,jesus ,christ is the ,joy-bringer because ,he is the ,emancipator1 and that ,he transforms sorrow by transforming the mourner--but1 lastly1 that ,,iii4 ,jesus gives joy after sorrow4 ',nevertheless1 afterward' is a great word of glowing encouragement for all sad hearts4 ',fools and children1' says the old proverb1 'should not see half-done work '2 at least1 they should not judge it4 ,when the ploughshare goes deep into the brown1 frosty ground1 the work is only begun4 ,the earth may seem to be scarped and hurt1 and1 if one might say1 to bleed1 but in six months' time 'you scarce can see' the soil for waving corn4 ,yes2 and sorrow1 as some of us could witness1 is the forecast of purest joy4 ,i have no doubt that there are men and women here who could say1 ',i never knew the power of ,god1 and the blessedness of ,christ as a ,saviour1 until ,i was in deep affliction1 and when everything else went dark1 then in ,his light ,i saw light4' ,do not some of you know the experience8 and might we not all know it8 and why do we not know it8 ,jesus ,christ1 even here and now1 gives these blessed results of our sorrows1 if they are taken to the right place1 and borne in right fashion4 ,for it is they 'that mourn in ,zion' that ,he thus blesses4 ,there are some of us1 ,i fear1 whose only resource in trouble is to fling ourselves into some work1 or some dissipation4 ,there are people who try to work away their griefs1 as well as people who try feverishly to drink them away4 ,and there are some of us whose only resource for deliverance from our sorrows is that1 after the wound has bled all it can1 it stops bleeding1 and the grief simply dies by lapse of time and for want of fuel4 ,an affliction wasted is the worst of all waste4 ,but if we carry our grief into the sanctuary1 then1 here and now1 it will change its aspect and become a solemn joy4 ,i say nothing about the ultimate result where every sorrow rightly borne shall be represented in the future life by some stage in grace or glory1 where every tear shall be crystallised1 if ,i might say so1 into a flashing diamond1 which flings off the reflection of the divine light1 where 'there shall be no sorrow nor sighing1 nor any more pain1 for the former things are passed away4' ,when the lesson has been learned1 ,god burns the rod4 ,but1 brethren1 there is another sadder transformation4 ,i have been speaking about the transformation of sorrow into joy4 ,there is also the transformation of joy into sorrow4 ,i spoke a little while ago about the 'laughter' in which the heart is 'sorrowful1' and the writer from whom ,i quoted the words goes on to say1 ',the end of that mirth is heaviness4' ',thereof cometh in the end despondency and madness4' ,i saw1 on a hilltop1 a black circle among the grass and heather4 ,there had been a bonfire there on ,coronation ,night1 and it had all died down1 and that was the end--a hideous ring of scorched barrenness amidst the verdure4 ,take care that your gladnesses do not die down like that1 but that they are pure1 and being pure are undying4 ,union with ,jesus ,christ makes sorrow light1 and secures that it shall merge at last into 'joy unspeakable and full of joy4' ,i believe that separation from ,christ makes joy shallow1 and makes it certain that at last1 instead of a garland1 shall be ashes on the head1 and that1 instead of a festal robe1 the spirit shall be wrapped in a garment of heaviness4 ,,the ,,heavenly ,,workers ,,and ,,the ,,earthly ,,watchers ',for ,zion's sake will ,i not hold my peace1 and for ,jerusalem's sake ,i will not rest 444 ,i have set watchmen upon thy walls1 ,o ,jerusalem1 which shall never hold their peace day nor night3 ye that make mention of the ,lord1 keep not silence1 and give ,him no rest'--,,isaiah lxii4 #a1 #f1 #g4 ,two remarks of an expository nature will prepare the way for the consideration of these words4 ,the first is that the speaker is the personal ,messiah4 ,the second half of ,isaiah's prophecies forms one great whole1 which might be called ,the ,book of the ,servant of the ,lord4 ,one majestic figure stands forth on its pages with ever-growing clearness of outline and form4 ,the language in which ,he is described fluctuates at first between the collective ,israel and the one ,person who is to be all that the nation had failed to attain4 ,but even near the beginning of the prophecy we read of ',my servant whom ,i uphold1' whose voice is to be low and soft1 and whose meek persistence is not to fail till ,he have 'set judgment in the earth4' ,and as we advance the reference to the nation becomes less and less possible1 and the recognition of the person more and more imperative4 ,at first the music of the prophetic song seems to move uncertainly amid sweet sounds1 from which the true theme by degrees emerges1 and thenceforward recurs over and over again with deeper1 louder harmonies clustering about it1 till it swells into the grandeur of the choral close4 ,in the chapter before our text we read1 ',the ,spirit of the ,lord ,god is upon me1 because the ,lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek4' ,throughout the remainder of the prophecy1 with the exception of one section which contains the prayer of the desolate ,israel1 this same person continues to speak2 and who he is was taught in the synagogue of ,nazareth4 ,whilst the preceding chapter1 then1 brings in ,christ as proclaiming the great work of deliverance for which ,he is anointed of ,god1 the following chapter presents ,him as 'treading the wine-press alone1' which is a symbol of the future judgment by the glorified ,saviour4 ,between these two prophecies of the earthly life and of the still future judicial energy1 this chapter of our text lies1 referring1 as ,i take it1 to the period between these two--that is1 to all the ages of the ,church's development on earth4 ,for these ,christ here promises ,his continual activity1 and ,his continual bestowment of grace to ,his servants who watch the walls of ,his ,jerusalem4 ,the second point to be noticed is the remarkable parallelism in the expressions selected as the text3 ',i will not hold ,my peace'2 the watchmen 'shall never hold their peace4' ,and ,his command to them is literally1 ',ye that remind ,jehovah--no rest 7or silence7 to you1 and give not rest to ,him4' ,so we have here ,christ1 the ,church1 and ,god all represented as unceasingly occupied in the one great work of establishing ',zion' as the centre of light1 salvation1 and righteousness for the whole world4 ,the consideration of these three perpetual activities may open for us some great truths and stimulating lessons4 ,i4 ,first1 then1 ,the glorified ,christ is constantly working for ,his ,church4 ,we are too apt to regard our ,lord's real work as all lying in the past1 and1 from the very greatness of our estimate of what ,he has done1 to forget the true importance of what ,he evermore does4 ',christ that died' is the central object of trust and contemplation for devout souls--and that often to the partial hiding of ,christ that is 'risen again1 who is even at the right hand of ,god1 who also maketh intercession for us4' ,but ,scripture sets forth the present glorious life of our ascended ,lord under two contrasted and harmonious aspects--as being rest1 and as being continuous activity in the midst of rest4 ,he was 'received up into heaven1 and sat on the right hand of ,god4' ,in that session on the throne manifold and mighty truths are expressed4 ,it proclaims the full accomplishment of all the purposes of ,his earthly ministry2 it emphasises the triumphant completion of ,his redeeming work by ,his death2 it proclaims the majesty of ,his nature1 which returns to the 'glory which ,he had with the ,father before the world was'2 it shows to the world1 as on some coronation day1 its ,king on ,his throne1 girded with power and holding the far-reaching sceptre of the universe2 it prophesies for men1 in spite of all present sin and degradation1 a share in the dominion which manhood has in ,christ attained1 for though we see not yet all things put under ,him1 we see ,jesus crowned with glory and honour4 ,it prophesies1 too1 ,his final victory over all that sets itself in unavailing antagonism to ,his love4 ,it points us backward to an historical fact as the basis of all our hopes for ourselves and for our fellows1 giving us the assurance that the world's deliverance will come from the slow operation of the forces already lodged in its history by ,christ's finished work4 ,it points us forwards to a future as the goal of all these hopes1 giving us that confidence of victory which ,he has who1 having kindled the fire on earth1 henceforward sits at ,god's right hand1 waiting in the calm and sublime patience of conscious omnipotence and clear foreknowledge 'until ,his enemies become ,his footstool4' ,but whilst on the one side ,christ rests as from a perfected work which needs no addition nor repetition1 on the other ,he 'rests not day nor night4' ,and this aspect of ,his present state is as distinctly set forth in ,scripture as that is4 ,indeed the words already quoted as embodying the former phase contain the latter also4 ,for is not 'the right hand of ,god' the operative energy of the divine nature8 ,and is not 'sitting at the right hand of ,god' equivalent to possessing and wielding that unwearied1 measureless power8 ,are there not blended together in this pregnant phrase the ideas of profoundest calm and of intensest action1 that being expressed by the attitude1 and this by the locality8 ,therefore does the evangelist who uses the expression expand it into words which wonderfully close his gospel1 with the same representation of ,christ's swift and constant activity as he had been all along pointing out as characterising ,his life on earth4 ',they went forth1' says he1 'and preached everywhere'--so far the contrast between the ,lord seated in the heavens and ,his wandering servants fighting on earth is sharp and almost harsh4 ,but the next words tone it down1 and weave the two apparently discordant halves of the picture into a whole3 'the ,lord working with them4' ,yes6 in all ,his rest ,he is full of work1 in all their toils ,he shares1 in all their journeys ,his presence goes beside them4 ,whatever they do is ,his deed1 and the help that is done upon the earth ,he doeth it all ,himself4 ,is not this blessed conviction of ,christ's continuous operation in and for ,his ,church that which underlies1 as has often been pointed out1 the language of the introduction to the ,acts of the ,apostles1 where mention is made of the former treatise that told 'all which ,jesus began both to do and teach'8 ,the gospel records the beginning1 the ,book of the ,acts the continuance2 it is one biography in two volumes4 ,being yet present with them ,he spoke and acted4 ,being exalted ,he 'speaketh from heaven1' and from the throne carries on the endless series of ,his works of power and healing4 ,the whole history is shaped by the same conviction4 ,everywhere 'the ,lord' is the true actor1 the source of all the life which is in the ,church1 the arranger of all the providences which affect its progress4 ,the ,lord adds to the ,church daily4 ,his name works miracles4 ,to the ,lord believers are added4 ,his angel1 ,his ,spirit1 bring messages to ,his servants4 ,he appears to ,paul1 and speaks to ,ananias4 ,the ,gentiles turn to the ,lord because the hand of the ,lord is with the preachers4 ,the ,lord calls ,paul to carry the gospel to ,macedonia4 ,the ,lord opens the heart of ,lydia1 and so throughout4 ,not 'the ,acts of the ,apostles1' but 'the ,acts of the ,lord in and by ,his servants1' is the accurate title of this book4 ,the vision which flashed angel radiance on the face1 and beamed with divine comfort into the heart1 of ,stephen1 was a momentary revelation of an abiding reality1 and completes the representation of the ,saviour throned beside ,almighty power4 ,he beheld his ,lord1 not seated1 as if careless or resting1 while ,his servant's need was so sore1 but as if risen with intent to help1 and ready to defend--'standing on the right hand of ,god4' ,and when once again the heavens opened to the rapt eyes of ,john in ,patmos1 the ,lord whom he beheld was not only revealed as glorified in the lustre of the inaccessible light1 but as actively sustaining and guiding the human reflectors of it4 ,he 'holdeth the seven stars in ,his right hand1' and 'walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks4' ,not otherwise does my text represent the present relation of ,christ to ,his ,church4 ,it speaks of a continuous forth-putting of power1 which it is1 perhaps1 not over-fanciful to regard as dimly set forth here in a twofold form--namely1 work and word4 ,at all events1 that division stands out clearly on the pages of the ,new ,testament1 which ever holds forth the double truth of our ,lord's constant action on1 in1 through1 and for ,his ,zion1 and of our ,high ,priest's constant intercession4 ',i will not rest4' ,through all the ages ,his power is in exercise4 ,he inspires in good men all their wisdom1 and every grace of life and character4 ,he uses them as ,his weapons in the contest of ,his love with the world's hatred2 but the hand that forged1 and tempered1 and sharpened the blade is that which smites with it2 and the axe must not boast itself against him that heweth4 ,he1 the ,lord of lords1 orders providences1 and shapes the course of the world for that ,church which is ,his witness3 ',yea1 ,he reproved kings for their sake1 saying1 ,touch not ,mine anointed1 and do ,my prophets no harm4' ,the ancient legend which told how1 on many a well-fought field1 the ranks of ,rome discerned through the battle-dust the gleaming weapons and white steeds of the ,great ,twin ,brethren far in front of the solid legions1 is true in loftier sense in our ,holy ,war4 ,we may still see the vision which the leader of ,israel saw of old1 the man with the drawn sword in his hand1 and hear the majestic word1 ',as ,captain of the ,lord's host am ,i now come4' ,the ,word of ,god1 with vesture dipped in blood1 with eyes alit with ,his flaming love1 with the many crowns of unlimited sovereignty upon ,his head1 rides at the head of the armies of heaven2 'and in righteousness doth ,he judge and make war4' ,for the single soul struggling with daily tasks and petty cares1 ,his help is near and real1 as for the widest work of the collective whole4 ,he sends none of us tasks in which ,he has no share4 ,the word of this ,master is never ',go1' but ',come4' ,he unites ,himself with all our sorrows1 with all our efforts4 ',the ,lord also working with them' is a description of all the labours of ,christian men1 be they great or small4 ,nor is this all4 ,there still remains the wonderful truth of ,his continuous intercession for us4 ,in its widest meaning that word expresses the whole of the manifold ways by which ,christ undertakes and maintains our cause4 ,but the narrower signification of prayer on our behalf is applicable1 and is in ,scripture applied1 to our ,lord4 ,as on earth1 the climax of all ,his intercourse with ,his disciples was that deep yet simple prayer which forms the ,holy of ,holies of ,john's ,gospel1 so in heaven ,his loftiest office for us is set forth under the figure of ,his intercession4 ,before the ,throne stands the slain ,lamb1 and therefore do the elders in the outer circle bring acceptable praises4 ,within the veil stands the ,priest1 with the names of the tribes blazing on the breastplate and on the shoulders of ,his robes1 near the seat of love1 near the arm of power4 ,and whatever difficulty may surround that idea of ,christ's priestly intercession1 this at all events is implied in it1 that the mighty work which ,he accomplished on earth is ever present to the divine mind as the ground of our acceptance and the channel of our blessings2 and this further1 that the utterance of ,christ's will is ever in harmony with the divine purpose4 ,therefore ,his prayer has in it a strange tone of majesty1 and1 if we may so say1 of command1 as of one who knows that ,he is ever heard3 ',i will that they whom ,thou hast given ,me1 be with ,me where ,i am4' ,the instinct of the ,church has1 from of old1 laid hold of an event in ,his earthly life to shadow forth this great truth1 and has bid us see a pledge and a symbol of it in that scene on the ,lake of ,galilee3 the disciples toiling in the sudden storm1 the poor little barque tossing on the waters tinged by the wan moon1 the spray dashing over the wearied rowers4 ,they seem alone1 but up yonder1 in some hidden cleft of the hills1 their ,master looks down on all the weltering storm1 and lifts ,his voice in prayer4 ,then when the need is sorest1 and the hope least1 ,he comes across the waves1 making their surges ,his pavement1 and using all opposition as the means of ,his approach1 and ,his presence brings calmness1 and immediately they are at the land4 ,so we have not only to look back to the ,cross1 but up to the ,throne4 ,from the ,cross we hear a voice1 ',it is finished4' ,from the ,throne a voice1 ',for ,zion's sake ,i will not hold ,my peace1 and for ,jerusalem's sake ,i will not rest4' ,,ii4 ,secondly1 ,christ's servants on earth derive from ,him a like perpetual activity for the same object4 ,the ,lord1 who in the former portion of these verses declares ,his own purpose of unwearied action for ,zion1 associates with ,himself in the latter portion the watchmen1 whom ,he appoints and endows for functions in some measure resembling ,his own1 and exercised with constancy derived from ,him4 ',i have set watchmen upon thy walls1 ,o ,jerusalem1 which shall never hold their peace day nor night4' ,on the promise follows1 as ever1 a command 7for all divine gifts involve the responsibility of their use1 and it is not ,his wont either to bestow without requiring1 or to require before bestowing71 ',ye that remind ,jehovah1 keep not silence4' ,there is distinctly traceable before a reference to a two-fold form of occupation devolving on these ,christ-sent servants4 ,they are watchmen1 and they are also ,god's remembrancers4 ,in the one capacity as in the other1 their voices are to be always heard4 ,the former metaphor is common in the ,old ,testament1 as a designation of the prophetic office1 but1 in the accordance with the genius of the ,new ,testament1 as expressed on ,pentecost1 when the ,spirit was poured out on the lowly as well as on the high1 on the young as on the old1 and all prophesied1 it may be fairly extended to designated not to some selected few1 but the whole mass of ,christian people4 ,the watchman's office falls to be done by all who see the coming peril1 and have a tongue to echo it forth4 ,the remembrancer's priestly office belongs to every member of ,christ's priestly kingdom1 the lowest and least of whom has the privilege of unrestrained entry into ,god's presence-chamber1 and the power of blessing the world by faithful prayer4 ,what should we think of a citizen in a beleaguered city1 who saw enemy mounting the very ramparts1 and gave no alarm because that was the sentry's business8 ,in such extremity every man is a soldier1 and women and children can at least keep watch and raise shrill cries of warning4 ,the gifts1 then1 here promised1 and the duties that flow from them1 are not the prerogatives or the tasks of any class or order1 but the heritage and the burden of the ,lord to every member of ,his ,church4 ,our voices should ever be heard on earth4 ,a solemn message is committed to us1 by the very fact of our belief in ,jesus ,christ and ,his work4 ,with that faith come responsibilities of which no ,christian can denude himself4 ,to warn the wicked man to turn from ,his wickedness2 to blow the trumpet when we see the sword coming2 to catch ever gleaming on the horizon1 like the spears of an army through the dust of the march1 the outriders and advance-guard of the coming of ,him whose coming is life or death to all1 and to lift up our voices with strength and say1 ',behold your ,god'2 to peal into the ears of men1 sunken in earthliness and dreaming of safety1 the cry which may startle and save2 to ring out in glad tones to all who wearily ask1 ',watchman1 what of the night8 will the night soon pass8' the answer which the slow dawning east has breathed into our else stony lips1 ',the morning cometh'2 to proclaim ,christ1 who came once to put away sin by the sacrifice of ,himself1 who comes ever1 through the ages1 to bless and uphold the righteousness which ,he loves and to destroy the iniquity which ,he hates1 who will come at the last to judge the world--this is the never-ending task of the watchmen on the walls of ,jerusalem4 ,the ,new ,testament calls it 'preaching1' proclaiming as a herald does4 ,and both metaphors carry one common lesson of the manner in which the work should be done4 ,with clear loud voice1 with earnestness and decision1 with faithfulness and self-oblivion1 forgetting himself in his message1 must the herald sound out the will of his ,king1 the largess of his ,lord4 ,and the watchman who stands on his watch-tower whole nights1 and sees foemen creeping through the gloom1 or fire bursting out among the straw-roofed cottages within the walls1 shouts with all his might the short1 sharp alarm1 that wakes the sleepers to whom slumber were death4 ,let us ponder the pattern4 ,our voices should ever be heard in heaven4 ,they who trust ,god remind ,him of ,his promises by their very faith2 it is a mute appeal to ,his faithful love1 which ,he cannot but answer4 ,and1 beyond that1 their prayers come up for a memorial before ,god1 and have as real an effect in furthering ,christ's kingdom on earth as is exercised by their entreaties and proclamations to men4 ,how distinctly these words of our text define the region within which our prayers should ever move1 and the limits which bound their efficacy6 ,they remind ,god4 ,then the truest prayer is that which bases itself on ,god's uttered will1 and the desires which are born of our own fancies or heated enthusiasms have no power with ,him4 ,the prayer that prevails is a reflected promise4 ,our office in prayer is but to receive on our hearts the bright rays of ,his word1 and to flash them back from the polished surface to the heaven from whence they came4 ,these two forms of action ought to be inseparable4 ,each1 if genuine1 will drive us to the other1 for who could fling himself into the watchman's work1 with all its solemn consequences1 knowing how weak his voice was1 and how deaf the ears that should hear1 unless he could bring ,god's might to his help8 and who could honestly remind ,god of ,his promises and forget his own responsibilities8 ,prayerless work will soon slacken1 and never bear fruit2 idle prayer is worse than idle4 ,you cannot part them if you would4 ,how much of the busy occupation which is called ',christian work' is detected to be spurious by this simple test6 ,how much so-called prayer is reduced by it to mere noise1 no better than the blaring trumpet or the hollow drum6 ,the power for both is derived from ,christ4 ,he sets the watchmen2 ,he commands the remembrancers4 ,from ,him flows the power1 from ,his good ,spirit comes the desire1 to proclaim the message4 ,that message is the story of ,his life and death4 ,but for what ,he does and is we should have nothing to say2 but for ,his gift we should have no power to say it2 but for ,his influence we should have no will to say it4 ,he commands and fits us to be intercessors1 for ,his mighty work brings us near to ,god2 ,he opens for us access with confidence to ,god4 ,he inspires our prayers4 ,he 'hath made us priests to ,god4' ,and1 as the ,christian power of discharging these twofold duties is drawn from ,christ1 so our pattern is ,his manner of discharging them1 and the condition of receiving the power is to abide in ,him4 ,he proposes ,himself as our ,example4 ,he calls us to no labours which ,he has not ,himself shared1 nor to any earnestness or continuance in prayer which ,he has not ,himself shown forth4 ,this ,master works in front of ,his men4 ,the farmer that goes first among all the sowers1 and heads the line of reapers in the yellowing harvest-field1 may well have diligent servants4 ,our ,master 'went forth1 weeping1 bearing precious seed1' and has left it in our hands to sow in all furrows4 ,our ,master is the ,lord of the harvest1 and has borne the heat of the day before ,his servants4 ,look at the amount of work1 actual hard work1 compressed into these three short years of ,his ministry4 ,take the records of the words ,he spake on that last day of ,his public teaching1 and see what unwearied toil they represent4 ,ponder upon that life till you catch the spirit which breathed through it all1 and1 like ,him1 embrace gladly the welcome necessity of labour for ,god1 under the sense of a vocation conferred upon you1 and of the short space within which your service must be condensed4 ',i must work the work of ,him that sent me1 while it is day3 the night cometh1 when no man can work4' ,christ asks no romantic impossibilities from us1 but ,he does ask a continuous1 systematic discharge of the duties which depend on our relation to the world1 and on our relation to ,him4 ,let it be our life's work to show forth ,his praise2 let the very atmosphere in which we move and have our being be prayer4 ,let two great currents set ever through our days1 which two1 like the great movements in the ocean of the air1 are but the upper and under halves of the one movement--that beneath with constant energy of desire rushing in from the cold poles to be warmed and expanded at the tropics1 where the all-moving sun pours his directest rays2 that above charged with rich gifts from the ,lord of light1 glowing with heat drawn from ,him1 and made diffusive by ,his touch1 spreading itself out beneficent and life-bringing into all colder lands1 swathing the world in soft1 warm folds1 and turning the polar ice into sweet waters4 ,in the tabernacle of ,israel stood two great emblems of the functions of ,god's people1 which embodied these two sides of the ,christian life4 ,day by day1 there ascended from the altar of incense the sweet odour1 which symbolised the fragrance of prayer as it wreathes itself upwards to the heavens4 ,night by night1 as darkness fell on the desert and the camp1 there shone through the gloom the hospitable light of the great golden candlestick with its seven lamps1 whose steady rays outburned the stars that paled with the morning4 ,side by side they proclaimed to ,israel its destiny to be the light of the world1 to be a kingdom of priests4 ,the offices and the honour have passed over to us1 and we shall fall beneath our obligations unless we let our light shine constantly before men1 and let our voice rise like a fountain night and day' before ,god--even as ,he did who1 when every man went to his own house1 went alone to the ,mount of ,olives1 and in the morning1 when every man returned to his daily task1 went into the ,temple and taught4 ,by ,his example1 by ,his gifts1 by the motive of ,his love1 our resting1 working ,lord says to each of us1 ',ye that remind ,god1 keep not silence4' ,let us answer1 ',for ,zion's sake will ,i not hold my peace1 and for ,jerusalem's sake ,i will not rest4' ,,iii4 ,finally1 ,the constant activity of the servants of ,christ will secure the constant operation of ,god's power4 ',give ,him no rest'3 let there be no cessation to ,him4 ,these are bold words1 which many people would not have been slow to rebuke if they had been anywhere else than in the ,bible4 ,those who remind ,god are not to suffer ,him to be still4 ,the prophet believes that they can regulate the flow of divine energy1 can stir up the strength of the ,lord4 ,it is easy to puzzle ourselves with insoluble questions about the co-operation of ,god's power and man's2 but practically1 is it not true that ,god reaches ,his end1 of the establishment of ,zion1 through the ,church8 ,he has not barely willed that the world should be saved1 nor barely that it should be saved through ,christ1 nor barely that it should be saved through the knowledge of ,christ2 but ,his will is that the world shall be saved1 by faith in the person and work of ,christ1 proclaimed as a gospel by men who believe it4 ,and1 as a matter of fact1 is it not true that the energy with which ,god's power in the gospel manifests itself depends on the zeal and activity and prayerfulness of the ,church8 ,the great reservoir is always full--full to the brim2 however much may be drawn from it1 the water sinks not a hairsbreadth2 but the bore of the pipe and the power of the pumping-engine determine the rate at which the stream flows from it4 ',he could there do no mighty works because of their unbelief4' ,the obstruction of indifference dammed back the water of life4 ,the city perishes for thirst if the long line of aqueduct that strides across the plain towards the home of the mountain torrents be ruinous1 broken down1 choked with rubbish4 ,god is always the same--equally near1 equally strong1 equally gracious4 ,but our possession of ,his grace1 and the impartation of ,his grace through us to others1 vary1 because our faith1 our earnestness1 our desires1 vary4 ,true1 these no doubt are also ,his gifts and ,his working1 and nothing that we say now touches in the least on the great truth that ,god is the sole originator of all good in man2 but while believing that1 as no less sure in itself than blessed in its message of confidence and consolation to us1 we also have to remember1 ',if any man open the door1 ,i will come in to him4' ,we may have as much of ,god as we want1 as much as we can hold1 far more than we deserve4 ,and if ever the victorious power of ,his ,church seems to be almost paling to defeat1 and ,his servants to be working no deliverance upon the earth1 the cause is not to be found in ,him who is 'without variableness1' nor in ,his gifts1 which are 'without repentance1' but solely in us1 who let go our hold of the ,eternal ,might4 ,no ebb withdraws the waters of that great ocean2 and if sometimes there be sand and ooze where once the flashing flood brought life and motion1 it is because careless warders have shut the sea-gates4 ,an awful responsibility lies on us4 ,we can resist and refuse1 or we can open our hearts and draw into ourselves ,his strength4 ,we can bring into operation those energies which act through faithful men faithfully proclaiming the faithful saying2 or we can limit the ,holy ,one of ,israel4 ',why could not we cast him out8' ',because of your unbelief4' ,with what grand confidence1 then1 may the weakest of us go to his task4 ,we have a right to feel that in all our labour ,god works with us2 that1 in all our words for ,him1 it is not we that speak1 but the ,spirit of our ,father that speaks in us2 that if humbly and prayerfully1 with self-distrust and resolute effort to crucify our own intrusive individuality1 we wait for ,him to enshrine ,himself within us1 strength will come to us1 drawn from the deep fountains of ,god1 and we too shall be able to say1 ',not ,i1 but the grace of ,god in me4' ,how this sublime confidence should tell on our characters1 destroying all self-confidence1 repressing all pride1 calming all impatience1 brightening all despondency1 and ever stirring us anew to deeds worthy of the 'exceeding greatness of the power which worketh in us'--,i can only suggest4 ,on all sides motives for strenuous toil press in upon us--chiefly those great examples which we have now been contemplating4 ,but1 besides these1 there are other forms of activity which may point the same lesson4 ,look at the energy around us4 ,we live in a busy time4 ,life goes swiftly in all regions4 ,men seem to be burning away faster than ever before1 in an atmosphere of pure oxygen4 ,do we work as hard for ,god as the world does for itself8 ,look at the energy beneath us3 how evil in every form is active2 how lies and half-truths propagate themselves quick as the blight on a rose-tree2 how profligacy1 and crime1 and all the devil's angels are busy on his errands4 ,if we are sitting drowsy by our camp-fires1 the enemy is on the alert4 ,you can hear the tramp of their legions and the rumble of their artillery through the night as they march to their posts on the field4 ,it is no time for ,god's sentinels to nod4 ,if they sleep1 the adversary does not1 but glides in the congenial darkness1 sowing his baleful tares4 ,do we work as hard for ,god as the emissaries of evil do for their master8 ,look at the energy above us4 ,on the throne of the universe is the immortal ,power who slumbereth not nor sleepeth4 ,before the altar of the heavens is the ,priest of the world1 the ,lord of ,his ,church1 'who ever liveth to make intercession for us4' ,round ,him stand perfected spirits1 the watchmen on the walls of the ,new ,jerusalem1 who 'rest not day and night1 saying1 ,holy1 ,holy1 ,holy1 ,lord ,god ,almighty4' ,from ,his presence come1 filling the air with the rustle of their swift wings and the light of their flame-faces1 the ministering spirits who evermore 'do ,his commandments1 hearkening to the voice of ,his word4' ,and we1 ,christian brethren1 where are we in all this magnificent concurrence of activity1 for purposes which ought to be dear to our hearts as they are to the heart of ,god8 ,do we work for ,him as ,he and all that are with ,him do8 ,is ,his will done by us on earth1 as it is heaven8 ,alas6 alas6 have we not all been like those three apostles whose eyes were heavy with sleep even while the ,lord was wrestling with the tempter under the gnarled olives in the pale moonlight of ,gethsemane8 ,let us arouse ourselves from our sloth4 ,let us lift up our cry to ,god3 ',awake1 awake1 put on strength1 ,o arm of the ,lord1 as in the ancient days in the generations of old'2 and the answer shall sound from the heavens to us as it did to the prophet1 an echo of his prayer turned into a command1 ',awake1 awake1 put on thy strength1 ,o ,zion4' ,,mighty ,,to ,,save ',mighty to save4'--,,isaiah lxiii4 #a4 ,we have here a singularly vivid and dramatic prophecy1 thrown into the form of a dialogue between the prophet and a stranger whom he sees from afar striding along from the mountains of ,edom1 with elastic step1 and dyed garments4 ,the prophet does not recognise him1 and asks who he is4 ,the ,unknown answers1 ',i that speak in righteousness1 mighty to save4' ,another question follows1 seeking explanation of the splashed crimson garments of the stranger1 and its answer tells of a tremendous act of retributive destruction which he has recently launched at the nations hostile to ',my redeemed4' ,now we note that this prophecy follows1 both in the order of the book and in the evolution of events1 on those in chapter lxi41 which referred to our ,lord's work on earth1 and in chapter lxii1 which has for part of its theme ,his intercession in heaven4 ,and we are entitled to take the view that the place as well as the substance of this prophecy referred to the solemn act of final ,judgment in which the returning ,lord will manifest ,himself4 ,very significant is it that the prophet does not recognise in this ,conqueror1 with blood-bespattered robes1 the meek sufferer of chapter liii41 or ,him who in chapter lxi4 came to bind up the broken-hearted4 ,and very instructive is it that the title in our text comes from the stranger's own lips1 as relevant to the tremendous act of judgment from which ,he is seen returning4 ,the title might seem rather to look back to the former manifestation of ,him as bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows4 ,it does indeed1 thank ,god1 look back to that never-to-be-forgotten miracle of mercy and power1 but it also brings within the sweep of ,his saving might the judgment still to come4 ,i4 ,the mighty ,saviour as made known in the past and present4 ,we think much of the meek and gentle side of ,christ's character4 ,perhaps we do not think enough of the strength of it4 ,we trace ,his great sacrifice to ,his love1 and we can never sufficiently adore that incomparable manifestation of a love deeper than our plummets can fathom4 ,but probably we do not sufficiently realise what gigantic strength went to the completion of that sacrifice4 ,we know the solemn imagining of a great artist who has painted a colossal ,death overbearing the weak resistance of a puny ,love2 but here love is the giant1 and his sovereign command brings ,death obedient to it1 to do his work4 ,yes1 that weak man hanging on the ,cross is therein revealed as 'the power of ,god4' ,strange clothing of weakness which yet cannot hide the mighty limbs that wear it6 ,and if we think of our ,lord's life we see the same combination of gentleness and power4 ,his very name rings with memories of the captain whose one commanded duty was to 'be strong and of a good courage4' ,in ,him was all strength of manhood--inflexible1 iron will1 unchanging purpose1 strength from consecration1 strength from righteousness4 ,in ,him was the heroism of prophets and martyrs in supreme degree4 ,in ,him was the strength of indwelling ,divinity4 ,he fought and conquered all man's enemies1 routed sin1 and triumphed over ,death4 ,in the ,cross we see divine power in operation in its noblest form1 in its intensest energy1 in its widest sweep1 in its most magnificent result4 ,he is able to save1 to save all1 to save any4 ,he is mighty to save1 and is able to save unto the uttermost1 because ,he lives for ever1 and ,his power is eternal as ,himself4 ,,ii4 ,the mighty ,saviour as to be manifested in the future4 ,clearly the imagery of the context describes a tremendous act of judgment4 ,and as clearly the ,apocalyptic ,seer understood this prophecy as not only pointing to ,christ1 but as to be fulfilled in the final act of judgment4 ,he quotes its words when he paints his magnificent vision of the ,conqueror riding forth on his white horse1 with garments sprinkled with blood and treading the 'winepress of the fierceness and wrath of ,almighty ,god4' ,and the vision is interpreted unmistakably when we read that1 though this ,conqueror had a name unknown to any but ,himself1 ',his name is called the ,word of ,god4' ,so the unity of person in the ,word made flesh who dwelt among us1 full of grace and of this ,mighty ,one girt for battle1 is taught4 ,keeping fast hold of this clue1 the contrast between the characteristics of the historical ,jesus and of the rider on the white horse becomes solemn and full of warning4 ,and the contrast between the errand of the historical ,jesus and that of the ,conqueror bids us ponder on the possibilities that may sleep in perfect love4 ,we have to widen our conceptions1 if we have thought of our ,jesus only as love1 and have thought of love as shallow1 as most men do4 ,we are sometimes told that these two pictures1 that of the ,christ of the ,gospels and that of the ,christ of the ,apocalypse1 are incapable of being fused together in one original4 ,but they can be stereoscoped1 if we may say so4 ,and they must be1 if we are ever to understand the greatness of ,his love or the terribleness of ,his judgments4 ',the wrath of the ,lamb' sounds an impossibility1 but if we ponder it1 we shall find depths of graciousness as well as of awe in it4 ,let us learn that the righteous ,judge is logically and chronologically the completion of the picture of the merciful ,saviour4 ,in this age there is a tendency to treat sin with too much pity and too little condemnation4 ,and there is not a sufficiently firm grasp of the truth that divine love must be in irreconcilable antagonism with human sin1 and can do nothing but chastise and smite it4 ,,iii4 ,the saving purpose of even that destructive might4 ,through the whole ,old ,testament runs the longing that ,god would 'awake' to smite evil4 ,the tragedy of the drowned hosts in the ,red ,sea1 and ,miriam and her maidens standing with their timbrels and shrill song of triumph on the bank1 is a prophecy of what shall be4 ',ye shall have a song as in the night a holy feast is kept1 and gladness of heart as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of the ,lord4' ,and at the thought of that solemn act of judgment they who love the ,judge1 and have long known ,him1 'may lift up their heads' in the confidence that 'their redemption draweth nigh4' ,that is the last1 and in some sense the mightiest1 greatest act by which ,he shows ,himself 'mighty to save ,his redeemed4' ,so we may1 like the prophet1 see that swift form striding nearer and nearer1 but1 unlike the prophet1 we need not to ask1 ',who is this that cometh8' for we have known ,him from of old1 and we remember the voice that said1 ',this same ,jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen ,him go into heaven4' ',herein is our love made perfect1 that we may have boldness before ,him in the day of judgment4' ,,the ,,winepress ,,and ,,its ,,treader ',wherefore art thou red in thine apparel1 and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat8 ,i have trodden the winepress alone4'--,,isaiah lxiii4 #b1 #c4 ,the structure of these closing chapters is chronological1 and this is the final scene4 ,what follows is epilogue4 ,the reference of this magnificent imagery to the sufferings of ,jesus is a complete misapprehension4 ,these sufferings were dealt with once for all in chapter liii41 and it is ,messiah triumphant who has filled the prophet's vision since then4 ,i4 ,the treading of the winepress4 ,the nations are flung into the press1 as ripe grapes4 ,the picture is plainly a figure of some tremendous judgment in which the powers that oppose the majestic march of the triumphant ,messiah will be crushed and trampled to ruin4 ,they are trodden 'in ,mine anger1 and their life-blood is sprinkled on ,my garments4' ,it is ,he who crushes1 not ,he who is crushed4 ,the winepress which ,he treads is the 'winepress of the wrath of ,almighty ,god1' and ,his treading of it is ,his executing of ,god's judgments on those whose antagonism to ,him and to ,his 'redeemed' has brought them within their sweep4 ,the prophetic imagination kindles and casts its thought into that terrible picture1 which some fastidious people would think coarse1 of a peasant standing up to his knees in a vat heaped with purple clusters1 and fiercely trampling them down1 while the red juice splashes upon his girt-up clothes4 ,the prophet does not date his vision4 ,it has been realised many a time1 and will be many a time still4 ,wherever opposition to ,christ and ,his kingdom has reached ripeness1 wherever antagonistic tendencies have borne fruit which has matured1 the winepress is set up and the treading begins4 ',wheresoever the carcass is1 there will the eagles be gathered together4' ',immediately he putteth in the sickle because the harvest is done4' ,the judgments tarry long1 and ,christ's servants1 oppressed or hard pressed1 get impatient1 and cry ',how long1 ,o ,lord1 dost ,thou not judge8 ,it is time for ,thee to work4' ,but long patience precedes the divine awaking1 for it is not ,god's way nor ,christ's to cut down even a cumbering tree1 until the possibility of its bearing fruit is plainly ended1 and the last use that ,he makes of anything is to burn it4 ,the repeated settings up of ,christ's winepress have all been one in principle1 and they all point onwards to a final one4 ,there have been many 'days of the ,lord1' and if men were wise and 'observed these things1'--which most of them are not1--they would see that these lesser 'days' made a 'final great and terrible day of the ,lord' supremely probable1 and in perfect analogy with all that experience and history have testified as to the method of the divine government4 ,surely it is strange that the groundless expectation of the unbroken continuance of the present order should be so strong that many should utterly ignore the truth taught by such teachers as these1 and reiterated by science1 which declares that the physical universe had a beginning and will have an end1 and confirmed by ,jesus ,himself4 ,there will come a to-morrow when the sun will not rise4 ,there will come a to-morrow which will be 'the day of the ,lord1' of which all these earlier and partial epochs of judgment were but precursors and prophets4 ,,ii4 ,the ,treader of the ,winepress4 ,the context clearly shows that1 in the prophet's view1 the suffering ,messiah in ,his exalted royalty is the agent of this1 as of all divine acts4 ,he is clothed with majesty1 and it is 'in ,his hand1' or through ,his agency1 that all 'the pleasure of the ,lord' is brought to pass4 ,the contrast with the figure in chap4 liii4 is ever to be kept in view4 ,the lowliness1 the weales and bruises1 the form without comeliness are gone1 and for these we see a conqueror1 glorious in apparel and striding onwards in conscious strength4 ,but the access of majesty does not imply the putting off of lowliness and meekness4 ,there is much that is severe and terrible in the figure that rises here before the prophet's vision1 but both aspects equally belong to the glorified ,christ1 and that duality in ,his character makes each element more impressive4 ,his long-suffering mercy and more than human tenderness do not hamper ,his arm when it is bared to smite2 ,his judicial severity does not dam up the flow of ,his mercy and tenderness4 ,when ,he was on earth1 ,he wept over ,jerusalem1 but ,his tears did not hinder ,his pronouncing woe on the city4 ,his love leads ,him to warn before ,he smites1 but it does not contradict ,his threatenings1 nor augur our impunity4 ,nay rather1 love compels ,him to smite4 ,and1 more terrible still1 it is ,his very love that smites most severely hearts that have rejected it and learn their folly and sin too late4 ,,iii4 ,why the winepress is trodden4 ,the context tells us4 ,the triumphant figure1 seen by the prophet striding onwards from ,edom1 answers the question as to ,his identity with1 ',i that speak in righteousness1 mighty to save4' ,then the treading of the winepress1 from which ,he is represented as coming1 is regarded as an exemplification of both these characteristics4 ,it is a great act of righteousness4 ,it is a great act of salvation4 ,similarly1 ,he is represented as having been moved to that destructive judgment by the 'vengeance' that burned in ,his heart1 and by ,his seeing that there were none to help ,his 'redeemed4' ,so1 then1 the destructive act is a manifestation of ,righteousness1 which in such a connection means retributive justice4 ,awe-inspiring as it may be1 the thunderstorm brings relief to a world sweltering in a stagnant atmosphere1 and each blinding flash freshens the air4 ',when the wicked perish1 there is shouting4' ,the destruction of some hoary evil that has long afflicted humanity and blocked the progress of the kingdom which is 'righteousness and peace and joy1' is a good4 ,christ's 'terrible things' are all 'in righteousness1' and meant to set ,him forth as 'the confidence of all the ends of the earth4' ,to clear ,his character and government from all suspicion of moral indifference1 to demonstrate by facts which the blindest can see1 that it is not all the same to ,him whether men are good or bad1 to write in great letters which1 like the capitals on a map1 stretch across a whole land1 ',the ,judge of all the earth shall do right'--surely these are worthy ends to move even the loving ,christ to tread the winepress4 ,further1 ,his destructive judgments1 however terrible1 will always be accurately measured by righteousness4 ,they are not outbursts of feeling2 they are in exact correspondence with the evils that bring them down4 ,the lava flows according to its own density and the lie of the land which it covers4 ,these judgments are deformed by no undue severity2 no base elements of temper1 no errors as to the degree of criminality mar them4 ,they are calm and absolutely accurate judgments of ,him who is not only just but ,justice4 ,but the context further teaches us that the true point of view from which to regard ,christ's treading of the winepress is to think of it as redemptive and contributory to the salvation of ',my redeemed4' ,therefore there follows immediately on this picture of the conqueror treading the peoples in ,his fury and pouring their life-blood on the earth1 the song of the delivered4 ,up through the troubled air1 heavy with thunder-clouds1 soars their praise1 as a lark might rise and pour its strains above a volcano in eruption--',i will mention the loving kindness of the ,lord1 and the praises of the ,lord1 according to all that the ,lord hath bestowed on us and the great goodness toward the house of ,israel which ,he hath bestowed on them1 according to ,his mercies1 and according to the multitude of ,his loving kindnesses4' ,pharaoh is drowned in the ,red ,sea2 ,miriam and her maidens on the bank clash their cymbals1 and lift shrill voices in their triumphant hymn4 ,babylon sinks like a millstone in the great waters--'and ,i heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven saying1 ,hallelujah2 salvation and glory and power belong to our ,god1 for true and righteous are ,his judgments4' ,the innermost impulse of judgment is love4 ,,the ,,sympathy ,,of ,,god ',in all their afflictions ,he was afflicted1 and the angel of ,his presence saved them'--,,isaiah lxiii4 #i4 ,i4 ,the wonderful glimpse opened here into the heart of ,god4 ,it is not necessary to touch upon the difference between the text and margin of the ,revised ,version1 or to enter on the reason for preferring the former4 ,and what a deep and wonderful thought that is1 of divine sympathy with human sorrow6 ,we feel that this transcends the prevalent tone of the ,old ,testament4 ,it is made the more striking by reason of the other sides of the divine nature which the ,old ,testament gives so strongly2 as1 for instance1 the unapproachable elevation and absolute sovereignty of ,god1 and the retributive righteousness of ,god4 ,affliction is ,his chastisement1 and is ever righteously inflicted4 ,but here is something more1 tender and strange4 ,sympathy is a necessary part of love4 ,there is no true affection which does not put itself in the place and share the sorrows of its objects4 ,and ,his sympathy is none the less because ,he inflicts the sorrow4 ,these afflictions wherein ,he too was afflicted1 were sent by ,him4 ,like an earthly father who suffers more than the child whom he chastises1 the ,heavenly ,father feels the strokes that ,he inflicts4 ,that sympathy is consistent with the blessedness of ,god4 ,even in the pain of our human sympathy there is a kind of joy1 and we may be sure that in ,his nature there is nothing else4 ,contrast with other thoughts about ,god4 ,the vague agnosticism of the present day1 which knows only a dim ,something of which we can predicate nothing4 ,the ,god of the philosophers--whom we are bidden to think of as passionless and unemotional4 ,no wave of feeling ever ripples that tideless sea4 ,the attribute of infinitude or sovereign completeness is dwelt on with such emphasis as to obscure all the rest4 ,the gods of men's own creation are careless in their happiness1 and cruel in their vengeance4 ,but here is a ,god for all the weary and the sorrowful4 ,what a thought for us in our own burdened days6 ,,ii4 ,the mystery of the divine salvation4 ,of course the salvation here spoken of is the deliverance from ,egyptian bondage4 ,this is a summary of the ,exodus4 ,but we must mark well that significant expression1 'the angel of ,his face' or 'presence4' ,we can only attempt a partial and bald enumeration of some of the very remarkable references to that mysterious person1 'the angel of the ,lord 'or 'of the presence4' ,the dying ,jacob ascribed his being 'redeemed from all evil' to 'the ,angel1' and invoked his blessing on 'the lads4' ',the angel of the ,lord' appeared to ,moses out of the midst of the burning bush4 ,on ,sinai1 ,jehovah promised to send an 'angel' in whom was ,his own name1 before the people4 ,the promise was renewed after ,israel's sin and repentance1 and was then given in the form1 ',my presence shall go with thee4' ,joshua saw a man with a drawn sword in his hand1 who declared himself to be the ,captain of the ,lord's host4 ',the angel of the ,lord' appeared to ,manoah and his wife1 withheld his name from them because it was 'wonderful' or 'secret1' accepted their sacrifice1 and went up to heaven in its flame4 ,wherefore ,manoah said1 ',we have seen ,god4' ,long after these early visions1 a psalmist knows himself safe because 'the angel of the ,lord encampeth round about them that fear ,him4' ,hosea1 looking back on the story of ,jacob's wrestling at ,peniel1 says1 first1 that 'he had power with ,god1 yea1 he had power over the angel1' and then goes on to say that 'there ,he spake with us1 even ,jehovah4' ,and ,malachi1 on the last verge of ,old ,testament prophecy1 goes furthest of all in seeming to run together the conceptions of ,jehovah and the ,angel of ,jehovah1 for he says1 ',the ,lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to ,his temple2 and the angel of the covenant 444 behold1 he cometh4' ,from this imperfect resume1 we see that there appears in the earliest as in the latest books of the ,old ,testament1 a person distinguished from the hosts of angels1 identified in a very remarkable manner with ,jehovah1 by alternation of names1 in attributes and offices1 and in receiving worship1 and being the organ of ,his revelation4 ,that special relation to the divine revelation is expressed by both the representation that ',jehovah's name is in him1' and by the designation in our text1 'the angel of ,his presence1' or literally1 'of ,his face4' ,for 'name' and 'face' are in so far synonymous that they mean the side of the divine nature which is turned to the world4 ,for the present ,i go no further than this4 ,it is clear1 then1 that our text is at all events remarkable1 in that it ascribes to this 'angel of ,his presence' the praise of ,jehovah's saving work4 ,the loving heart1 afflicted in all their afflictions1 sends forth the messenger of ,his face1 and by ,him is salvation wrought4 ,the whole sum of the deliverance of ,israel in the past is attributed to ,him4 ,surely this must have been felt by a devout ,jew to conceal some great mystery4 ,,iii4 ,the crowning revelation both of the heart of ,god and of ,his saving power4 7a7 ,jesus ,christ is the true 'angel of the face4' ,i do not need to enter on the question of whether in the ,old ,testament the angel of the ,covenant was indeed a pre-manifestation of the eternal ,son4 ,i am disposed to answer it in the affirmative4 ,but be that as it may1 all that was spoken of the angel is true of ,him4 ,god's name is in ,him1 and that not in fragments or half-syllables but complete4 ,the face of ,god looks lovingly on men in ,him1 so that ,jesus could declare1 ',he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father4' ,his presence brings ,god's presence1 and ,he can venture to say1 ',we will come and make our abode with ,him4' ,he is the agent of the divine salvation4 ,the identity and the difference are here in their highest form4 7b7 ,the mystery of ,god's sharing our sorrows is explained in ,him4 ,we may find a difficulty in the thought of a suffering and sympathising ,god4 ,but if we believe that ',my name is in ,him1' then the sympathy and gentleness of ,jesus is the compassion of ,god4 ,this is a true revelation4 ,so tears at the grave sighs in healing1 and all the sorrows which ,he bore are an unveiling of the heart of ,god4 ,that sharing our sorrows is the very heart of ,his work4 ,we might almost say that ,he became man in order to increase ,his power of sympathy1 as a prince might temporarily become a pauper4 ,but certainly ,he became man that ,he might bear our burdens4 ',himself took our infirmities4' ',forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood1 ,he himself also likewise took part of the same4' ,the atoning death is the climax of ,christ's being afflicted with our afflictions4 ,his priestly sympathy flows out now and for ever to us all4 ,so complete is ,his unity with ,god1 that ,he works the salvation which is ,god's1 and that ,god's name is in ,him4 ,so complete is ,his union with us1 that our sorrows touch ,him and ,his life becomes ours4 ',ye have done it unto ,me4' ',saul1 ,saul1 why persecutest thou ,me8' ,for us in all our troubles there are no darker rooms than ,christ has been in before us4 ,we are like prisoners put in the same cell as some great martyr4 ,he drank the cup1 and we can put the rim to our lips at the place that ,his lips have touched4 ,but not only may we have our sufferings lightened by the thought that ,he has borne the same1 and that we know the 'fellowship of ,christ's sufferings1' but we have the further alleviation of being sure that ,he makes our afflictions ,his by perfect sympathy1 and1 still more wonderful and blessed1 that there is such unity of life and sensation between the ,head and the members that our afflictions are ,his1 and are not merely made so4 ',think not thou canst sigh a sigh1 ,and thy ,saviour is not by2 ,think not thou canst shed a tear ,and thy ,saviour is not near4' ,do not front the world alone4 ,in all our afflictions ,he is with us2 out of them all ,he saves4 ,,how ,,to ,,meet ,,god ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness1 those that remember ,thee in ,thy ways4'--,,isaiah lxiv4 #e4 ,the prophet here shows us how there is a great staircase which we ourselves build1 which leads straight from earth to heaven1 and how we can secure that we shall meet with ,god and ,god with us4 ',isaiah' is often called the evangelical prophet4 ,he is so1 not only because of his predictions of the suffering ,servant of ,jehovah which are 'fulfilled' in ,christ1 but because his conceptions of the religious life tremble on the very verge of the full-orbed teaching of the ,new ,testament4 ,in these ancient words of my text1 in very different phraseology indeed1 we see a strikingly accurate and full anticipation of the very central teaching of ,paul and his brother apostles1 as to the way by which ,god and man come into union with one another4 ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth'2 that joy is to be manifested by 'working righteousness1' but the joy which is the parent of righteousness is the child of something else--'those that remember ,thee in ,thy ways4' ,if we ponder these words1 and carefully mark their relation to each other1 we may discern1 as it were1 a great staircase with three flights in it1 and at the top ,god's face4 ,we have to begin with the last clause of our text--',thou meetest him 444 that remembers ,thee in ,thy ways4' ,the first stage on the road which will bring any man into1 and keep any man in1 contact with ,god1 and loving fellowship with ,him1 is the contemplation of ,his character as it is made known to us by ,his acts4 ,god1 like man1 is known by ,his 'fruits4' ,you cannot get at a clear conception of ,god by speculation1 or by thinking about ,him or about what ,he is in ,himself4 ,lay hold of the clue of ,his acts1 and it leads you straight into ,his heart4 ,but the act of acts1 in which the whole ,godhead concurs1 in which all its depths and preciousness are concentrated1 like wine in a golden cup1 is the incarnation and life and death of ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,there1 and not in the thoughts of our own hearts nor the tremors of our own consciences1 nor in the enigmatical witness of ,providence--which is enigmatical until it is interpreted in the light of the ,incarnation and the ,crucifixion--there we see most clearly the 'ways' of ,god1 the beaten1 trodden path by which ,he is wont to come forth out of the thick darkness into which no speculation can peer an inch1 and walk amongst men4 ,the cross of ,christ1 and1 subordinately1 ,his other dealings with us1 as interpreted thereby1 is the 'way of the ,lord1' from everlasting to everlasting4 ,and it is by a loving gaze upon that 'way' that we learn to know ,him for what ,he is4 ,it is there1 and there only1 that the thick darkness passes into glorious light4 ,it is at that point alone that the closed circle of the ,infinite nature of ,deity opens so as that a man can press into the very centre of the glory1 and feel himself at home in the blaze4 ,it is 'those that remember ,thee in ,thy ways1' and especially in that way of righteousness and peace1 the way of the cross--it is they who have built the first flight of the solemn staircase that leads up from the lownesses and darknesses of earth into the loftinesses and lights of heaven4 ,but note that word ',remember1' for it suggests the warning that such contemplation of the ways of the ,lord will not be realised by us without effort4 ,we shall forget1 assuredly1 unless we earnestly try to 'remember4' ,there are so many things within us to draw us away1 the duties1 and the joys1 and the sorrows of life so insist upon having a place in our hearts and thoughts1 that assuredly1 unless by resolute effort1 frequently repeated1 we clear a space in this crowded and chattering market-place1 where we can stand and gaze on the white summits far beyond the bustling crowd1 we shall never see them1 though they are visible from every place4 ,unless you try to remember1 you will certainly forget4 ,many voices preach to-day many duties for ,christians4 ,let me plead for times of quiet1 for times of 'doing' nothing1 for fruitful times of growth1 for times when we turn all the rout and rabble of earthly things1 and even the solemn company of pressing duties1 out of our hearts and thoughts1 and shut up ourselves alone with ,god4 ,be sure you will never build even the first step of the staircase unless you know what it is to go into the secret place of the ,most ,high1 and1 alone with ,god1 to summon to 'the sessions of sweet1 silent thought' ,his ways1 and especially ,him who is 'the ,way1' both of ,god to us1 and of us to ,god4 ,now1 the second flight of this great staircase is pointed out in the first clause of my text3 ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth4' ,that meditative remembrance of the ways of ,god will be the parent of holy joy which will bring ,god near to our heart4 ,alas6 it is too often the very opposite of true that men's joys are such as to bring ,god to them4 ,the excitement1 and often the impure elements1 that mingle with what the world calls 'joy1' are such as to shut ,him out from us4 ,but there is a gladness which comes from the contemplation of ,him as ,he is1 and as ,he is known by ,his 'ways' to be1 which brings us very near to ,god1 and ,god very near to us4 ,it is that joy which was spoken of in an earlier part of this context3 ',i will greatly rejoice in the ,lord1 ,my soul shall be joyful in my ,god2 for ,he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation4' ,here1 then1 is the second stage--gladness1 deep1 pure1 based upon the contemplation of ,god's character as manifested in ,his work4 ,i do not think that the ordinary type of modern ,christianity is half joyful enough4 ,and ,i think that we have largely lost the very thought that gladness is a plain ,christian duty1 to be striven after in the appropriate manner which my text suggests1 and certainly to be secured if we seek it in the right way4 ,we all know how outward cares1 and petty annoyances1 and crushing sorrows1 and daily anxieties1 and the tear and wear of work1 and our own restlessness and ungovernableness1 and the faults that still haunt our lives1 and sometimes make us feel as if our ,christianity was all a sham--how all these things are at enmity with joy in ,god4 ,but in face of them all1 ,i would echo the old grand words of the epistle of gladness written by the apostle in prison1 and within hail of his death3 ',rejoice in the ,lord alway1 and again ,i say rejoice4' ,recognise it as your duty to be glad1 and if it is hard to be so1 ask yourselves whether you are doing what will make you so1 remembering ',thee in ,thy ways4' ,that is the second flight of the staircase4 ,the third stage is working righteousness because of such joy4 ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth1 and '--because he does--'worketh righteousness4' ,every master knows how much more work can be got out of a servant who works with a cheery heart than out of one that is driven reluctantly to his task4 ,you remember our ,lord's parable where ,he traces idleness to fear3 ',i knew thee that thou wast an austere man1 gathering where thou didst not strew1 and ,i was afraid1 and ,i went and hid thy talent4' ,no work was got out of that servant because there was no joy in him4 ,the opposite state of mind--diligence in righteous work1 inspired by gladness which in its turn is inspired by the remembrance of ,god's ways--is the mark of a true servant of ,god4 ,the prophet's words have the germ of the full ,new ,testament doctrine that the first step to all practical obedience and righteous living is the recognition of the great truth of ,christ's death for us on the ,cross2 that the second step is the acceptance of that great work1 and the gladness that comes from the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance with ,god1 and that the issue of both these things1 the preached gospel and the faith that grasps it and the love by which the faith is followed1 is obedience1 instinct with willingness and buoyant with joyfulness1 and therefore tending to be perfect in degree and in kind4 ,the work that is worth doing1 the work which ,god regards as 'righteous1' comes1 and comes only1 from the motives of 'remembering ,thee in ,thy ways1' and rejoicing because we do remember4 ,and the gladness which is wholesome and blessed1 and is 'joy in the ,lord1' will manifest itself by efflorescing into all holiness and all loftiness and largeness of obedience4 ,you may try to frighten men into righteousness1 you will never succeed4 ,you may try to coerce their wills1 and your strongest bands will be broken as the iron chains were by the demoniac4 ,but put upon them the silken leash of love1 and you may lead them where you will4 ,you cannot grow grapes on an iceberg1 and you cannot get works of righteousness out of a man that has a dread of ,god at the back of his heart1 killing all its joy4 ,but let the spring sunshine come1 and then all the frost-bound earth opens and softens1 and the tender green spikelets push themselves up through the brown soil1 and in due time come 'the blade1 and the ear1 and the full corn in the ear4' ,isaiah anticipated ,paul when he said1 ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness4' ,lastly1 we have the landing-place to which the stair leads4 ,god comes to such a man4 ,he meets him indeed at all the stages1 for there is a blessed communion with ,god1 that springs immediately from remembering ,him in ,his ways1 and a still more blessed one that springs from rejoicing in ,his felt friendship and ,fatherhood1 and a yet more blessed one that comes from practical righteousness4 ,for if there is anything that breaks our communion with ,god1 it is that there linger in our lives evils which make it impossible for ,god and us to come close together4 ,the thinnest film of a non-conductor will stop the flow of the strongest electric current1 and an almost imperceptible film of self-will and evil1 dropped between oneself and ,god1 will make a barrier impermeable except by that divine ,spirit who worketh upon a man's heart and who may thin away the film through his repentance1 and then the ,father and the prodigal embrace4 ',thou meetest him1' not only 'that worketh righteousness1' but that hates his sin4 ,only remember1 if there is the practice of evil1 there cannot be the sunshine of the ,presence of ,god4 ,but remember1 too1 that the commonest1 homeliest1 smallest1 most secular tasks may become the very highest steps of the staircase that brings us into ,his ,presence4 ,if we go about our daily work1 however wearisome and vulgar and commonplace it often seems to us1 and make it a work of righteousness resting on the joy of salvation1 and that reposing on the contemplation of ,god as ,he is revealed in ,jesus ,christ1 our daily work may bring us as close to ,god as if we dwelt in the secret place of the ,most ,high1 and the market and the shop may be a temple where we meet with ,him4 ,dear brethren1 there are two kinds of meeting ,god3 ',thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness1' and that is blessed1 as when ,christ met the two disciples on the road to ,emmaus4 ,there is another kind of meeting with ,god4 ',who1 making war1 sitteth not down first1 and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand8' ',,the ,,god ,,of ,,the ,,amen' ',he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the ,god of truth2 and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the ,god of truth4'--,,isaiah lxv4 #af4 ,the full beauty and significance of these remarkable words are only reached when we attend to the literal rendering of a part of them which is obscured in our version4 ,as they stand in the original they have1 in both cases1 instead of the vague expression1 ',the ,god of truth1' the singularly picturesque one1 ',the ,god of the ,amen4' ,i4 ,note the meaning of the name4 ,now1 ,amen is an adjective1 which means literally firm1 true1 reliable1 or the like4 ,and1 as we know1 its liturgical use is that1 in the olden time1 and to some extent in the present time1 it was the habit of the listening people to utter it at the close of prayer or praise4 ,but besides this use at the end of some one else's statement1 which the sayer of the ',amen' confirms by its utterance1 we also find it used at the beginning of a statement1 by the speaker1 in order to confirm his own utterance by it4 ,and these two uses of the expression reposing on its plain meaning1 in the first instance signifying1 ',i tell you that it is so'2 and in the second instance signifying1 ',so may it be6' or1 ',so we believe it is1' underlie this grand title which ,god takes to ,himself here1 'the ,god of the ,amen1' both ,his ,amen and ours4 ,so that the thought opens up very beautifully and simply into these two1 ,his truth and our faith4 ,first1 it emphasises the absolute truthfulness of every word that comes from ,his lips4 ,there is implied in the title that ,he really has spoken1 and declared to man something of ,his will1 something of ,his nature1 something of ,his purposes1 something of our destiny4 ,and now ,he puts1 as it were1 the broad seal upon the charter and says1 ',amen6 ,verily it is so1 and ,my word of ,revelation is no man's imagination1 and ,my word of command is the absolute unveiling of human duty and human perfectness1 and ,my word of promise is that upon which a man may rest all his weight and be safe for ever4' ,god's word is ',amen6' man's word is 'perhaps4' ,for in regard to the foundation truths of man's belief and experience and need1 no human tongue can venture to utter its own asseverations with nothing behind them but itself1 and expect men to accept them2 but that is exactly what ,god does1 and alone has the right to do4 ,his word absolutely1 and through and through1 in every fibre of it1 is reliable and true4 ,now do not forget that there was one who came to us and said1 ',amen6 ,amen6 ,i say unto you4' ,jesus ,christ1 in all ,his deep and wonderful utterances1 arrogated to ,himself the right which ,god here declares to be exclusively ,his1 and ,he said1 ',i too have1 and ,i too exercise1 the right and the authority to lay ,my utterances down before you1 and expect you to take them because of nothing else than because ,i say them4' ,god is the ,god of the ,amen6 ,the last book of ,scripture1 when it draws back the curtain from the mysteries of the glorified session of ,jesus ,christ at the right hand of ,god1 makes ,him say to us1 ',these things saith the ,amen6' ,and if you want to know what that means1 its explanation follows in the next clause1 'the faithful and true witness4' ,but then1 on the other hand1 necessarily involved in this title1 though capable of being separately considered1 is not only the absolute truthfulness of the divine word1 but also the thorough-going reliance1 on our parts1 which that word expects and demands4 ,god's ',amen1' and ',verily1' of confirmation1 should ever cause the ',amen' of acceptance and assent to leap from our lips4 ,if ,he begins with that mighty word1 so soon as the solemn voice has ceased its echo should rise from our hearts4 ,the city that cares for the charter which its ,king has given it will prepare a fitting1 golden receptacle in which to treasure it4 ,and the men who believe that ,god in very deed has spoken laws that illuminate1 and commandments that guide1 and promises that calm and strengthen and fulfil themselves1 will surely prepare in their hearts an appropriate receptacle for those precious and infallible words4 ,god's truth has corresponding to it our trust4 ,god's faithfulness demands1 and is only adequately met by1 our faith4 ,if ,he gives us the sure foundation to build upon1 it will be a shame for us to bring wood1 hay1 stubble1 and build these upon the ,rock of ,ages4 ,the building should correspond with its foundation1 and the faith which grasps the sure word should have in it something of the unchangeableness and certainty and absoluteness of that word which it grasps4 ,if ,his revelation of ,himself is certain1 you and ,i ought to be certain of ,his revelation of ,himself4 ,our certitude should correspond to its certainty4 ,ah6 my friend1 what a miserable contrast there is between the firm1 unshaken1 solid security of the divine word upon which we say that we trust1 and the poor1 feeble1 broken trust which we build upon it4 ',let not that man think that ,he shall receive anything of the ,lord'2 but let us expect1 as well as 'ask1 in faith1 nothing wavering'2 and let our ',amen6' ring out in answer to ,god's4 ,the ,apostle ,paul has a striking echo of the words of my text in the second ,epistle to the ,corinthians3 ',all the promises of ,god in ,him are yea6 and through ,him also is the ,amen6' ,the assent1 full1 swift1 frank--the assent of the believing heart to the great word of ,god comes through the same channel1 and reaches ,god by the same way1 as ,god's word on which it builds comes to us4 ,the ',god of the ,amen1' in both senses of the word1 is the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who is the seal as well as the substance of the divine promises1 and whose voice in us is the answer to1 and the grasp of1 the promises of which ,he is the substance and soul4 ,,ii4 ,now notice1 next1 how this ,god of the ,amen is1 by reason of that very characteristic1 the source of all blessing4 ',he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the ,god of ,truth4' ,that phrase of blessing oneself in1 which is a frequent ,old ,testament expression1 is roughly equivalent to invoking1 and therefore receiving1 blessing from4 ,you find it1 for instance1 in the seventy-second ,psalm1 in that grand burst which closes one of the books of the ,psalter and hails the coming of the ,messianic times1 of which my text also is a prediction4 ',men shall be blessed in ,him1' or rather1 'shall bless themselves in ,him1' which is a declaration1 that all needful benediction shall come down upon humanity through the coming ,messias1 as well as that men shall recognise in that ,messias the source of all their blessing and good4 ,so the text declares that1 in those days that are yet to come1 the whole earth shall be filled with men whose eyes have been purged from ignorance and sin1 and from the illusions of sense and the fascinations of folly1 and who have learned that only in the ,god of the ,amen is the blessing of their life to be found4 ,of course it is so4 ,for only on ,him can ,i lean all my weight and be sure that the stay will not give4 ,all other bridges across the great abysses which we have to traverse or be lost in them1 are like those snow-cornices upon some ,alp1 which may break when the climber is on the very middle of them1 and let him down into blackness out of which he will never struggle4 ,there is only one path clear across the deepest gulf1 which we poor pilgrims can tread with absolute safety that it will never yield beneath our feet4 ,my brother6 there is one support that is safe1 and one stay upon which a man can lean his whole weight and be sure that the staff will never either break or pierce his palm1 and that is the faithful ,god1 in whose realm are no disappointments1 amongst whose trusters are no heart-broken and deceived men1 but who gives bountifully1 and over and above all that we are able to ask or think4 ,they who have made experience1 as we have all made experience1 of the insufficiency of earthly utterances1 of the doubtfulness of the clearest words of men1 of the possible incapacity of the most loving1 to be what they pledge themselves to be1 and of the certainty that even if they are so for a while they cannot be so always--have surely learned one half1 at least1 of the lesson that life is meant to teach us2 and it is our own fault if we have not bettered it with the better half1 having uncoiled the tendrils of our hearts from the rotten props round which they have been too apt to twine themselves1 and wreathed them about the pillars of the eternal throne1 which can never shake nor fail4 ',he that blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself'--unless he is a fool--'in the ,god of the ,amen6' and not in the man of the 'peradventure4' ,,iii4 ,lastly1 note how the ,god of the ,amen should be the pattern of ,his servants4 ',he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the ,god of truth1' or1 'of the ,amen4' ,the prophet deduces from the name the solemn thought that those who truly feel its significance will shape their words accordingly1 and act and speak so that they shall not fear to call ,his pure eyes to witness that there are neither1 hypocrisy1 nor insincerity1 nor vacillation1 nor the 'hidden things of dishonesty' nor any of the skulking meannesses of craft and self-seeking in them4 ',i swear by the ,god of the ,amen1 and call ,thy faithfulness to witness that ,i am trying to be like ,thee1' that is what we ought to do if we call ourselves ,christians4 ,if we have any hold at all of ,him1 and of ,his love1 and of the greatness and majesty of ,his faithfulness1 we shall try to make our poor little lives1 in such measure as the dewdrops may be like the sun1 radiant like ,his1 and of the same shape as ,his1 for the dewdrop and the sun are both of them spheres4 ,that is exactly what the apostle does1 in that same chapter in #b ,cor41 to which ,i already referred4 ,he takes these very thoughts of my text1 and in their double aspect too1 and says1 ',just because ,god is faithful1 do you ,corinthians think that1 when ,i told you that ,i was coming to see you1 ,i did not mean it8' ,he brings the greatest thought that ,he can find about ,god and ,god's truth1 down to the settlement of this very little matter1 the vindication of ,himself from the charge1 on the one hand1 of facile and inconsiderate vacillation1 and1 on the other hand1 of insincerity4 ,so1 we may say1 the greatest thoughts should regulate the smallest acts4 ,though our maps be but a quarter of an inch to a hundred miles1 let us see that they are drawn to scale4 ,let us see that ,he is our ,pattern2 and that the truthfulness1 the simplicity1 and faithfulness1 which we rest upon as the very foundation of our intellectual as well as our moral and religious being1 are1 in our measure1 copied in ourselves4 ',as ,god is faithful1' said ,paul1 'our word to you was not yea6 and nay6' ,and they who are trusting to the ,god of the ,amen6 will live in all simplicity and godly sincerity2 their yea will be yea1 and their nay1 nay4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jeremiah ,,god',s ,,lawsuit ',wherefore ,i will yet plead with you1 saith the ,lord1 and with your children's children will ,i plead4'--,,jer4 ii4 #i4 ,point out that 'plead' is a forensic term4 ,there is a great lawsuit in which ,god is plaintiff and men defendants4 ,the word is frequent in ,isaiah4 ,i4 ,the reason for ,god's pleading4 ,the cause--'wherefore4' ,our transgression does not make ,him turn away from us4 ,it does profoundly modify the whole relation between us4 ,it does give an aspect of antagonism to ,his dealings4 ,,ii4 ,the manner4 ,the whole history of the world and of each individual4 ,all outward providences4 ,all the voice of ,conscience4 ,christ4 ,spirit1 who convinces the world of ,sin4 ,,iii4 ,the purpose4 ,wholly our being drawn from our evil4 ,the purely reformatory character of all punishment here4 ,the sole object to win us back to ,himself4 ,he conquers in this lawsuit when we come to love ,him4 ,,iv4 ,the patience4 ,that merciful pleading--',i will yet'--runs on through all sin1 and is only made more earnest by deepening hostility4 ,after rejections still lingers4 ,extends over a thousand generations4 ,is exercised even where ,he foresees failure4 ,,stiff-,,necked ,,idolaters ,,and ,,pliable ,,christians ',hath a nation changed their gods1 which are yet no gods8 but ,my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit4'--,,jer4 ii4 #aa4 ,the obstinacy of the adherents of idolatry is in striking contrast with ,israel's continual tendency to forsake ,jehovah4 ,it reads a scarcely less forcible lesson to many nominal and even to some real ,christians4 ,i4 ,that contrast carries with it a disclosure of the respective origins of the two kinds of ,religion4 ,the strangeness of the contrasted conduct is intensified when we take into account the tremendous contrast between the two ,objects of worship4 ,israel's ,god was ,israel's ',glory'2 the idol-worshipper bowed down before 'that which doth not profit1' and yet no experience of ,god could bind ,his fickle worshippers to ,him1 and no experience of the impotence of the idol could shake its votaries' devotion4 ,they cried and were not heard4 ,they toiled and had no results4 ,they broke their teeth on 'that which is not bread1' and filled their mouths with gritty ashes that mocked them with a semblance of nourishment and left them with empty stomachs and excoriated gums1 yet by some strange hallucination they clung to 'vanities1' while ,israel was always hankering after opportunity to desert ,jehovah4 ,the stage of civilisation partly accounts for the strange fascination of idolatry over the ,israelites4 ,but the deeper solution lies in the fact that the one religion rises from the hearts of men1 corresponds to their moral condition1 and is largely moulded by their lower nature2 while the other is from above1 corresponds1 indeed1 with the best and deepest longings and needs of souls1 but contravenes many of their most clamant wishes1 and necessarily sets before them a standard high and difficult to reach4 ,men make their gods in their own image1 and are conscious of no rebuke nor stimulus to loftier living when they gaze on them4 ,the ,god of ,revelation bids men remake themselves in ,his image1 and that command requires endless effort4 ,the average man has to put a strain on his intellect in order to rise to the apprehension of ,god1 and a still more unwelcome strain on his moral nature to rise to the imitation of ,god4 ,no wonder1 then1 if the dwellers on the low levels should cleave to them1 and the pilgrims to the heights should often weary of their toil and be distressed with the difficulty of breathing the thin air up there1 and should give up climbing and drop down to the flats once more4 ,,ii4 ,that contrast carries with it a rebuke4 ,many voices echo the prophet's contrast nowadays4 ,our travelling countrymen1 especially those of them who have no great love for earnest religion1 are in the habit of drawing disparaging contrasts between ,buddhists1 ,brahmins1 ,mohammedans1 any worshippers of other gods and ,christians4 ,one may not uncharitably suspect that a more earnest ,christianity would not please these critics much better than does the tepid sort1 and that the pictures they draw both of heathenism and of ,christianity are coloured by their likes and dislikes4 ,but it is well to learn from an enemy1 and caricatures may often be useful in calling attention to features which would escape notice but for exaggeration4 ,so we may profit by even the ill-natured and distorted likenesses of ourselves as contrasted with the adherents of other religions which so many 'liberal-minded' writers of travels delight to supply4 ,think1 then1 of the rebuke which the obstinate adherence of idolaters to their idols gives to the slack hold which so many professing ,christians have on their religion4 ,think of the way in which these lower religions pervade the whole life of their worshippers1 and of how partial is the sway over a little territory of life and conduct which ,christianity has in many of its adherents4 ,the absorption in worship shown by ,mohammedans1 who will spread their prayer carpets anywhere and perform their drill of prayers without embarrassment or distraction in the sight of a crowd1 or the rapt 'devotion' of fakirs1 are held up as a rebuke to us ',christians' who are ashamed to be caught praying4 ,one may observe1 in mitigation1 that the worship which is of the heart is naturally more sensitive to surrounding distractions than that which is a matter of posturing and repetition by rote4 ,but there still remains substance enough in the contrast to point a sharp arrow of rebuke4 ,and there is no denying that in these 'heathen' religions1 religion is intertwined with every act of life in a fashion which may well put to shame many of us4 ,remember how ,paul had to deal at length with the duty of the ,corinthians in view of the way in which every meal was a sacrifice to some god1 and how the same permeation of life with religion is found in all these 'false faiths4' ,the octopus has coiled its tentacles round the whole body of its victim4 ,bad and sad and mad as idolatry is1 it reads a rebuke to many of us1 who keep life and religion quite apart1 and lock up our ,christianity in our pews with our prayer-books and hymnaries4 ,think of the material sacrifices made by idolaters1 in costly offerings1 in painful self-tortures1 and in many other ways1 and the niggardliness and self-indulgence of so many so-called ,christians4 ,,iii4 ,the contrast suggests the greatness of the power which can overcome even such obstinate adherence to idols4 ,there is one1 and only one1 solvent for that rock-like obstinacy--the ,gospel4 ,the other religions have seldom attempted to encroach on each other's territory1 and where they have1 their instrument of conversion has generally been the sword4 ,the ,gospel has met and mastered them all4 ,it1 and it only1 has had power to draw men to itself out of every faith4 ,the ancient gods who bewitched ,israel1 the gods of ,greece1 the gods of our own ancestors1 the gods of the islands of the ,south ,seas1 lie huddled together1 in undistinguished heaps1 like corpses on a battlefield1 and the deities of ,india and the ,east are wounded and slowly bleeding out their lives4 ',bel boweth down1 ,nebo stoopeth1 the idols are upon the beasts1' all packed up1 as it were1 and ready to be carried off4 ,the rate of progress in dethroning them varies with the varying national conditions4 ,it is easier to cut a tunnel through chalk than through quartz4 ,,iv4 ,that contrast carries with it a call for ,christian effort to spread the conquering ,gospel4 ,,fountain ,,and ,,cisterns ',they have forsaken ,me1 the fountain of living waters1 and hewed them out cisterns1 broken cisterns1 that can hold no water'--,,jer4 ii4 #ac4 ,the proclivity of the ,jews to idolatry is an outstanding fact all through their history4 ,that persistent national tendency surely compels us to recognise a divine inspiration as the source of the prophetic teaching and of the lofty spiritual theology of the ,old ,testament1 which were in sharpest unlikeness and opposition to the whole trend of the people's thoughts4 ,it is this apostasy which is referred to here4 ,the false gods made by men are the broken cisterns4 ,but the text embodies a general truth4 ,i4 ,the irksomeness of a godless life4 ,the contrast is between the springing fountain1 there in the desert1 with the lush green herbage round about1 where a man has only to stoop and drink1 and the painful hewing of cisterns4 ,this emblem of the fountain beautifully suggests the great thought of ,god's own loving will as the self-originated impulse by which ,he pours out all good4 ,apart from all our efforts1 the precious gift is provided for us4 ,our relation is only that of receivers4 ,we have the contrast with this in the laborious toils to which they condemn themselves who seek for created sources of good4 ',hewn out cisterns'--think of a man who1 with a fountain springing in his courtyard1 should leave it and go to dig in the arid desert1 or to hew the live rock in hopes to gain water4 ,it was already springing and sparkling before him4 ,the conduct of men1 when they leave ,god and seek for other delights1 is like digging a canal alongside a navigable river4 ,they condemn themselves to a laborious and quite superfluous task4 ,the true way to get is to take4 ,illustrations in religion4 ,think of the toil and pains spent in idolatry and in corrupt forms of ,christianity4 ,illustrations in common life4 ,your toils--aye1 and even your pleasures--how much of them is laboriously digging for the water which all the while is flowing at your side4 ,,ii4 ,the hopelessness of a godless life4 ,the contrast further is between living waters and broken cisterns4 ,god is the fountain of living waters2 in other words1 in fellowship with ,god there is full satisfaction for all the capacities and desires of the soul2 heart--conscience--will--understanding-- hope and fear4 ,the contrast of the empty cisterns4 ,what a deep thought that with all their work men only make 'cisterns1' i4e4 they only provide circumstances which could hold delights1 but cannot secure that water should be in them6 ,the men-made cisterns must be ,god-filled1 if filled at all4 ,the true joys from earthly things belong to him who has made ,god his portion4 ,further1 they are 'broken cisterns1' and all have in them some flaw or crack out of which the water runs4 ,that is a vivid metaphor for the fragmentary satisfaction which all earthly good gives1 leaving a deep yearning unstilled4 ,and it is temporary as well as partial4 ',he that drinketh of this water shall thirst again'--nay1 even as with those who indulge in intoxicating drinks1 the appetite increases while the power of the draught to satisfy it diminishes4 ,but the crack in the cistern points further to the uncertain tenure of all earthly goods and the certain leaving of them all4 ,all godless life is a grand mistake4 ,,iii4 ,the crime of a godless life4 ,it is right to seek for happiness4 ,it is sin to go away from ,god4 ,you are thereby not merely flinging away your chances1 but are transgressing against your sacredest obligations4 ,our text is not only a remonstrance on the grounds of prudence1 showing ,god-neglecting men that they are foolish1 but it is an appeal to conscience1 convincing them that they are sinful4 ,god loves us and cares for us4 ,we are bound to ,him by ties which do not depend on our own volition4 ,and so there is punishment for the sin1 and the evils experienced in a godless life are penal as well as natural4 ,we recall the ,new ,testament modification of this metaphor1 ',the water that ,i shall give him shall be in him a fountain of water4' ,arabs in desert round dried--up springs4 ,hagar4 ,shipwrecked sailors on a reef4 ,christ opens 'rivers in the wilderness and streams in the desert4' ,,forsaking ,,jehovah ',know therefore1 and see1 that it is an evil thing and bitter1 that thou hast forsaken the ,lord thy ,god1 and that ,my fear is not in thee1 saith the ,lord ,god of hosts4'--,,jer4 ii4 #ai4 ,of course the original reference is to national apostasy1 which was aggravated by the national covenant1 and avenged by national disasters1 which are interpreted and urged by the prophet as ,god's merciful pleading with men4 ,but the text is true in reference to individuals4 ,i4 ,the universal indictment4 ,this is not so much a charge of isolated overt acts1 as of departure from ,god4 ,that departure1 itself a sin1 is the fountain of all other sins4 ,every act which is morally wrong is religiously a departure from ,god2 it could not be done1 unless heart and will had moved away from their allegiance to ,him4 ,so the solemn mystery of right and wrong becomes yet more solemn1 when our personal relation to the personal ,god is brought in4 ,then--consider what this forsaking is-at bottom aversion of will1 or rather of the whole nature1 from ,him4 ,how strange and awful is that power which a creature possesses of closing his heart against ,god1 and setting up a quasi-independence6 ,how universal it is-appeal to each man's own consciousness4 ,,ii4 ,the special aggravation4 ',thy ,god '---the original reference is to ,israel1 whom ,god had taken for ,his and to whom ,he had given ,himself as theirs1 by ,his choice from of old1 by redemption from ,egypt1 by covenant1 and by centuries of blessings4 ,but the designation is true in regard to ,god and each of us4 ,it points to the personal relation which we each sustain to ,him1 and so is a pathetic appeal to affection and gratitude4 ,,iii4 ,the bitter fruit4 #f ,evil' may express rather the moral character of forsaking ,god1 while 'bitter' expresses rather the consequences of it1 which are sorrows4 ,so the prophet appeals to experience4 ,as the ,psalmist confidently invites to 'taste and see that ,god is good1' so ,jeremiah boldly bids the apostates know and see that departing is bitter4 ,it is so1 for it leaves the soul unsatisfied4 ,it leads to remorse4 ,it drags after it manifold bitter fruits4 ',the wages of sin is death4' ,sin without consequent sorrow is an impossibility if there is a ,god4 ,,iv4 ,the loving appeal4 ,the text is not denunciation1 but tender1 though indignant1 pleading1 in hope of winning back the wanderers4 ,the prophet has just been pointing to the sorrowful results which necessarily follow on the nation's apostasy1 and tells ,israel that its own wickedness shall correct it1 and then1 in the text1 he beseeches them not to be blind to the meaning of their miseries1 but to let these teach them how sinful and how sorrowful their apostasy is4 ,men's sorrows are a mystery1 but that sinners should not have sorrows were a sadder mystery still4 ,and ,god pleads with us all not to lose the good of our experiences of the bitterness of sin by our levity or our blindness to their meaning4 ,by ,his providences1 by ,his ,spirit working on us1 by the plain teachings and loving pleadings of ,his word1 ,he is ever striving to open our eyes that we may see ,good and ,evil1 and recognise that all ,good is bound up for us with cleaving to ,god1 and all ,evil with departing from ,him4 ,when we turn our backs on ,him we are full front with the deformed figure of ,evil2 when we turn away from it1 we are face to face with ,him1 and in ,him1 with all ,good4 ,a ,,colloquy ,,between ,a ,,penitent ,,and ,,god ',a voice was heard upon the high places1 weeping and supplications of the children of ,israel3 for they have perverted their way1 and they have forgotten the ,lord their ,god4 ,return1 ye backsliding children1 and ,i will heal your backslidings4 ,behold1 we come unto ,thee2 for ,thou art the ,lord our ,god4'---,,jer4 iii4 #ba1 #bb4 ,we have here a brief dramatic dialogue4 ,first is heard a voice from the bare heights1 the sobs and cries of penitence1 produced by the prophet's earnest remonstrance4 ,the penitent soul is absorbed in the thought of its own evil4 ,its sin stands clear before it4 ,israel sees its sin in its two forms4 ',they have perverted their way1' or have led a wrong outward life of action1 and the reason is that 'they have forgotten ,god1' or have been guilty of inward alienation and departure from ,him4 ,here is the consciousness of sin in its essential character1 and that produces godly sorrow4 ,the distinction between mere remorse and repentance is here already1 in the 'weeping and supplication4' ,i4 ,so we have here a consciousness of sin in its true nature1 as embracing both deeds and heart1 as originating in departure from ,god1 and manifested in perverted conduct4 ,further1 we have here sorrow4 ,there may be consciousness of sin in its true nature without any sorrow of heart4 ,it is fatal when a man looks upon his evil1 gets a more or less clear sight of it1 and is not sorry and penitent4 ,it is conceivable that there should be perfect knowledge of sin and perfect insensibility in regard to it4 ,a sinful man's true mood should be sorrow--not flinging the blame on others1 or on fate1 or circumstances2 not regarding his sin as misfortune or as inevitable or as disease4 ,conscience is meant to produce that consciousness and that sorrow3 but conscience may be dulled or silenced4 ,it cannot be anyhow induced to call evil good1 but it may be mistaken in what is evil4 ,the gnomon is true1 but a veil of cloud may be drawn over the sky4 ,further1 we have here supplication4 ,these two former may both be experienced1 without this third4 ,there may be consciousness of sin and sorrow which lead to no blessing4 ',my bones waxed old through my roaring4' ,sorrow after a godly sort may be hindered by false notions of ,god's great love1 or by false notions of what a man ought to do when he finds he has gone wrong4 ,it may be hindered by cleaving1 subtle love of sin1 or by self-trust4 ,but where all these have been overcome there is true repentance4 ,,ii4 ,the loving divine answer4 ,another ear than the prophet's has heard the plaint from the bare heights4 ,many a frenzied shriek had gone up from these shrines of idolatrous worship1 and as with ,baal's prophets1 it had brought no answer1 nor had there been any that regarded4 ,but this weeping reaches the ear that is never closed4 ,contrast with verse #bc3 ',truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills1 the shouting 7of idol-worshippers7 on the mountains4' ,the instantaneousness of ,god's answer is very beautiful4 ,it is like the action of the father in the parable of the prodigal son1 who saw his repentant boy afar off and ran and kissed him4 ,there seems to be1 in both the invitation to return and in the promise to hear the backslidings1 a quotation from ,hosea xiv4 7#a-d74 ,we see here how ,god meets the penitent with a love that recognises all his sin and yet is love4 ,it is not rebuke or reproach that lies in that designation1 'backsliding children4' ,it is tenderest mercy that lets us see that ,he knows exactly what we are1 and yet promises ,his love and forgiveness4 ,he loves us sinners with a love that beckons us back to ,himself1 with a love that promises healing4 ,the truth which should be taken into the mind and heart of the man conscious of sin is ,god's knowledge of it all already and yet ,his undiminished love1 ,god's welcome of him back1 ,god's ready pardon4 ,all this is true for the world in ,christ1 and is true for every individual soul4 ,the answer and the invitation here are immediate4 ,there is often a long period of painful struggle4 ,it looks as if the answer were not immediate4 ,but that is because we do not listen to it4 ,,iii4 ,the happy response of the returning soul4 ,that too is immediate4 ,the soul believes ,god's promises4 ,it recognises ,god's claim4 ,it returns to ,him4 ,we are attracted by ,his grace4 ,the sunflower turns to the sun4 ,the penitent is not driven only1 but drawn--,god's own loving self-revelation in ,christ is ,his true power4 ',i1 if ,i am lifted up1 will draw all men unto ,me4' ,the consciousness of sin remains and is even deepened 7subsequent verses71 and yet is different4 ,a light of hope is in it4 ,the very sense of sin brings us to ,him1 to hide our faces on ,his heart like a child in its mother's lap4 ,this response of the soul may be instantaneous4 ,if it is not immediate1 it too probably will never be at all4 ,a ,,question ,,for ,,the ,,beginning ',what will ye do in the end8'--,,jer4 v4 #ca4 ,i find that ,i preached to the young from this text just thirty years since--nearly a generation ago4 ,how few of my then congregation are here to-night6 how changed they and ,i are6 and how much nearer the close we have drifted6 ,how many of the young men and women of that evening have gone to meet the end1 and how many of them have wrecked their lives because they would not face and answer this question6 ,ah1 dear young friends1 if ,i could bring some of the living and some of the dead1 and set them to witness here instead of me1 they would burn in on you1 as my poor words never can do1 the insanity of living without a satisfactory and sufficient reply to the question of my text1 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,in its original application these words referred to a condition of religious and moral corruption in which a whole nation was involved4 ,the men that should have spoken for ,god were 'prophesying lies4' ,the priests connived at profitable falsehoods because by these their rule was confirmed4 ,and the deluded populace1 as is always the case1 preferred smooth falsehoods to stern truths4 ,so the prophet turns round indignantly1 and asks what can be the end of such a welter and carnival of vice and immorality1 and beseeches his contemporaries to mend their ways by bethinking themselves of what their course led to4 ,but we may dismiss the immediate application of the words for the sake of looking at the general principle which underlies them4 ,it is a very familiar and well-worn one4 ,it is simply this1 that a large part of the wise conduct of life depends on grave consideration of consequences4 ,it is a sharp-pointed question1 that pricks many a bubble1 and brings much wisdom down into the category of folly4 ,there would be less misery in the world1 and fewer fair young lives cast away upon grim rocks1 if the question of my text were oftener asked and answered4 ,i4 ,i note1 first1 that here is a question which every wise man will ask himself4 ,i do not mean to say that the consideration of consequences is the highest guide1 nor that it is always a sufficient one2 nor that it is1 by any means1 in every case1 an easily applied one4 ,for we can all conceive of circumstances in which it is the plainest duty to take a certain course of action1 knowing that1 as far as this life is concerned1 it will bring down disaster and ruin4 ,do right6 and face any results therefrom4 ,he who is always forecasting possible issues has a very leaden rule of conduct1 and will be so afraid of results that he will not dare to move2 and his creeping prudence will often turn out to be the truest imprudence4 ,but whilst all that is true1 and many deductions must be made from the principle which ,i have laid down1 that the consideration of circumstances is a good guide in life1 yet there are regions in which the question comes home with direct and illuminating force4 ,let me just illustrate one or two of these4 ,take the lower application of the question to nearer ends in life4 ,now this awful life that we live is so strangely concatenated of causes and effects1 and each little deed drags after it such a train of eternal and ever-widening consequences1 that a man must be an idiot if he never looks an inch beyond his nose to see the bearing of his actions4 ,i believe that1 in the long-run1 and in the general1 condition is the result of character and of conduct2 and that1 whatsoever deductions may be necessary1 yet1 speaking generally1 and for the most part1 men are the architects of their own condition1 and that they make the houses that they dwell in to fit the convolutions of the body that dwells within them4 ,and1 that being so1 it being certain that 'whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap1' and that no deed1 be it ever so small1 be it ever so evanescent1 be it ever so entirely confined within our own inward nature1 and never travelling out into visibility in what men call actions--that every one of such produces an eternal1 though it may be an all but imperceptible effect1 upon ourselves2 oh1 surely there can be nothing more ridiculous than that a man should refrain from forecasting the issue of his conduct1 and saying to himself8 ',what am ,i to do in the end8' ,if you would only do that in regard to hosts of things in your daily life you could not be the men and women that you are4 ,if the lazy student would only bring clearly before his mind the examination-room1 and the unanswerable paper1 and the bitter mortification when the pass-list comes out and his name is not there1 he would not trifle and dawdle and seek all manner of diversions as he does1 but he would bind himself to his desk and his task4 ,if the young man who begins to tamper with purity1 and in the midst of the temptations of a great city to gratify the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh1 because he is away from the shelter of his father's house1 and the rebuke of his mother's purity1 could see1 as the older of us have seen1 men with their bones full of the iniquity of their youth1 or drifted away from the city to die1 down in the country like a rat in a hole1 do you think the temptations of the streets and low places of amusement would not be stripped of their fascination8 ,if the man beginning to drink were to say to himself1 ',what am ,i to do in the end8' when the craving becomes physical1 and volition is suspended1 and anything is sacrificed in order to still the domineering devil within1 do you think he would begin8 ,i do not believe that all sin comes from ignorance1 but sure ,i am that if the sinful man saw what the end is he would1 in nine cases out of ten1 be held back4 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,use that question1 dear friends1 as the ,ithuriel spear which will touch the squatting tempter at your ear1 and there will start up1 in its own shape1 the fiend4 ,but the main application that ,i would ask you to make of the words of my text is in reference to the final end1 the passing from life4 ,death1 the end1 is likewise ,death1 the beginning4 ,if it were an absolute end1 as coarse infidelity pretends to believe it is1 then1 of course1 such a question as my text would have no kind of relevance4 ',what will ye do in the end8' ',nothing6 for ,i shall be nothing4 ,i shall just go back to the nonentity that ,i was4 ,i do not need to trouble myself4' ,ah1 but ,janus has two faces1 one turned to the present and one to the future4 ,his temple has two gates1 one which admits from this lower level1 and one1 at the back1 which launches us out on to the higher level4 ,the end is a beginning1 and the beginning is retribution4 ,the end of sowing is the beginning of harvest4 ,the man finishes his work and commences to live on his wages4 ,the brewing is over1 and the drinking of the brewst commences4 ,and so1 brother1 ',what will ye do in the end--which is not an end1 but which is a beginning8 ',surely every wise man will take that question into consideration4 ,surely1 if it be true that we all of us are silently drifting to that one little gateway through which we have to pass one by one1 and then find ourselves in a region all full of consequences of the present1 he has a good claim to be counted a prince of fools who 'jumps the life to come1' and1 in all his calculations of consequences1 which he applies wisely and prudently to the trifles of the present1 forgets to ask himself1 ',and1 after all that is done1 what shall ,i do then8' ,you remember the question in the old ballad3 ',what good came of it at last8' 444 ',nay1 that ,i cannot tell1' quoth he2 ,but 'twas a famous victory4' ,ay1 but what came of it at the last8 ,oh brother1 that one question1 pushed to its issues1 condemns the wisdom of this world as folly1 and pulverises into nothingness millions of active lives and successful schemes4 ,what then8 ,what then8 ',i have much goods laid up for many years4' ,well and good1 what then8 ',i will say to my soul1 ,take thine ease1 eat1 drink1 and be merry4' ,yes1 what then8 ',this night thy soul shall be required of thee4' ,he never thought of that6 ,and so his epitaph was ',thou fool6' ,,ii4 ,so1 secondly1 mark1 here is a question which a great many of us never think about4 ,i do not mean1 now1 so much in reference to the nearer ends compassed in this life1 though even in regard to them it is only too true2 ,i mean rather in regard to that great and solemn issue to which we are all tending4 ,but in regard of both1 it seems to me one of the strangest things in all the world that men should be content so commonly to be ignorant of what they perfectly well know1 and never to give attention to that of which1 should they bethink themselves1 they are absolutely certain4 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,why6 half of us put away that question with the thought in our minds1 if not expressed1 at least most operative1 ',there is not going to be any end2 and it is always going to be just like what it is to-day4' ,did you ever think that there is no good ground for being sure that the sun will rise to-morrow2 that it rose for the first time once2 that there will come a day when it will rise for the last time8 ,the uniformity of ,nature may be a postulate1 but you cannot find any logical basis for it4 ,or1 to come down from heights of that sort1 have you ever laid to heart1 brother1 that the only unchangeable thing in this world is change1 and the only thing certain1 that there is no continuance of anything2 and that1 therefore1 you and ,i are bound1 if we are wise1 to look that fact in the face1 and not to allow ourselves to be befooled by the difficulty of imagining that things will ever be different from what they are8 ,oh6 many of us--,i was going to say most of men1 ,i do not know that it would be an exaggeration--are like the careless inhabitants of some of those sunny1 volcanic isles in the ,eastern ,ocean1 where ,nature is prodigally luxuriant and all things are fair1 but every fifty years or so there comes a roar and the island shakes1 and half of it1 perhaps1 is overwhelmed1 and the lava flows down and destroys gleaming houses and smiling fields1 and heaven is darkened with ashes1 and then everything goes on as before1 and people live as if it was never going to happen again1 though every morning1 when they go out1 they see the cone towering above their houses1 and the thin column of smoke1 pale against the blue sky4 ,it is not altogether sinful or bad that we should live1 to some extent1 under the illusion of a fixity and a perpetuity which has no real existence1 for it helps to concentrate effort and to consolidate habit1 and to make life possible4 ,but for men to live1 as so many of us do1 never thinking of what is more certain than anything else about us1 that we shall slide out of this world1 and find ourselves in another1 is surely not the part of wisdom4 ,another reason why so many of us shirk this question is the lamentable want of the habit of living by principle and reflection4 ,most men never see their life steadily1 and see it whole4 ,they live from hand to mouth1 they are driven this way and that way2 they adapt means to ends ,in regard to business or the like1 but in the formation of their character1 and in the moulding of their whole being1 crowds of them live a purely mechanical1 instinctive1 unreflective life4 ,there is nothing more deplorable than the small extent to which reflection and volition really shape the lives of the bulk of mankind4 ,most of us take our cue from our circumstances1 letting them dominate us4 ,they tell us that in ,nature there is such a thing as protective mimicry1 as it is called-animals having the power--some of them to a much larger extent than others--of changing their hues in order to match the gravel of the stream in which they swim or the leaves of the trees on which they feed4 ,that is like what a great many of us do4 ,put us into a place where certain forms of frivolity or vice are common1 and we go in for them4 ,take us away from these and we change our hue to something a little whiter4 ,but all through we never know what it is to put forth a good solid force of resistance and to say1 ',no6 ,i will not6' or1 what is sometimes quite as hard to say1 ',yes6 though1' as ,luther said in his strong way1 'there were as many devils in ,worms as there are tiles on the housetops1 ,i will6' ,if people would live more by reflection and by the power of a resisting will1 this question of my text would come oftener to them4 ,and there is another cause that ,i must touch on for one moment1 why so many people neglect this question1 and that is because they are uneasily conscious that they durst not face it4 ,i know of no stranger power than that by which men can ignore unwelcome questions2 and ,i know of nothing more tragical than the fact that they choose to exercise the power4 ,what would you think of a man who never took stock because he knew that he was insolvent1 and yet did not want to know it8 ,and what do you think of yourselves if1 knowing that the thought of passing into that solemn eternity is anything but a cheering one1 and that you have to pass thither1 you never turn your head to look at it8 ,ah1 brother1 if it be true that this question of my text is unpleasant to you to hear put1 be sure that that is the strongest reason why you should put it4 ,,iii4 ,thirdly1 here is a question especially directed to you young folk4 ,it is so because you are specially tempted to forget it4 ,it may seem as if there were no people in the world that had less need to be appealed to1 as ,i have been appealing to you1 by motives drawn from the end of life1 than you who are only standing at its beginning4 ,but it is not so4 ,an old rabbi was once asked by his pupil when he should fulfil a certain precept of the law1 and the answer was1 ',the day before you die4' ',but1' said the disciple1 ',i may die to-morrow4' ',then1' said the master1 'do it to-day4' ,and so ,i say to you1 do not make sure that the beginning at which you stand is separated by a long tract of years from the end to which you go4 ,it may be1 but it may not be4 ,i know that arguments pleading with men to be ,christians1 and drawn from the consideration of a future life1 are not fashionable nowadays1 but ,i am persuaded that that preaching of the ,gospel is seriously defective1 and will be lamentably ineffective1 which ignores this altogether4 ,and1 therefore1 dear friends1 ,i say to you that1 although in all human probability a stretch of years may lie between you and the end of life1 the question of my text is one specially adapted to you4 ,and it is so because1 with your buoyancy1 with your necessarily limited experience1 with the small accumulation of results that you have already in your possession1 and with the tendencies of your age to live rather by impulse than by reflection1 you are specially tempted to forget the solemn significance of this interrogation4 ,and it is a question especially for you1 because you have special advantages in the matter of putting it4 ,we older people are all fixed and fossils1 as you are very fond of telling us4 ,the iron has cooled and gone into rigid shapes with us4 ,it is all fluent with you4 ,you may become pretty nearly what you like4 ,i do not mean in regard to circumstances3 other considerations come in to determine these2 but circumstances are second1 character is first2 and ,i do say1 in regard to character1 you young folk have all but infinite possibilities before you2 and1 ,i repeat1 may become almost anything that you set yourselves to be4 ,you have no long1 weary trail of failures behind you1 depressing and seeming to bring an entail of like failure with them for the future4 ,you have not yet acquired habits--those awful things that may be our worst foes or our best friends--you have not yet acquired habits that almost smother the power of reform and change4 ,you have1 perhaps1 years before you in which you may practise the lessons of wisdom and self-restraint which this question fairly fronted would bring4 ,and so ,i lay it on your hearts1 dear young friends4 ,i have little hope of the old people4 ,i do not despair of any1 ,god forbid6 but the fact remains that the most of the men who have done anything for ,god and the world worth doing have been under the influence of ,christian principle in their early days4 ,and from fifteen to one or two and twenty is the period in which you get the set which1 in all likelihood1 you will retain through eternity4 ,so1 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,answer the question whilst yet it is possible to answer it1 with a stretch of years before you in which you may work out the conclusions to which the answer brings4 ,,iv4 ,and that leads me to say1 last of all1 and but a word1 that here is a question which ,jesus ,christ alone enables a man to answer with calm confidence4 ,as ,i have said1 the end is a beginning2 the passage from life is the entrance on a progressive and eternal state of retribution4 ,and ,jesus ,christ tells us two other things4 ,he tells us that that state has two parts2 that in one there is union with ,him1 life1 blessedness for ever2 and that in the other there is darkness1 separation from ,him1 death1 and misery4 ,these are the facts1 as revealed by the incarnate ,word of ,god1 on which answers to this question must be shaped4 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,if ,i am trusting to ,him2 if ,i have brought my poor1 weak nature and sinful soul to ,him1 and cast them upon ,his merciful sacrifice and mighty intercession and life-giving ,spirit1 then ,i can say3 ',as for me1 ,i shall behold ,thy face in righteousness2 ,i shall be satisfied when ,i awake with ,thy likeness4' ,ay1 and what about those who do not take ,him for their ,prince and their ,saviour8 ',what will ye do in the end8' ,when life's illusions are over1 when all its bubbles are burst1 when conscience awakes1 and when you stand to give an account of yourself to ,god1 ',what will ye do in the end' which is a beginning8 ',can thy heart endure and thy hand be strong in the day that ,i shall deal with thee8' ,oh brother1 do not turn away from that ,christ who is the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the beginning and the ending6 ,if you will cleave to ,him1 then you may let the years and weeks slip away without regret2 and whether the close be far off or near1 death will be robbed of all its terrors1 and the future so filled with blessedness1 that of you the wise man's paradox will be true3 ',better is the end of a thing than the beginning1 and the day of death than the day of birth4' ,,possessing ,,and ,,possessed ',the portion of ,jacob is not like them--for ,he is the former of all things3 and ,israel is the tribe of ,his inheritance4 ,the ,lord of ,hosts is ,his name4'--,,jer4 x4 #af1 ,r4,v4 ,here we have set forth a reciprocal possession4 ,we possess ,god1 ,he possesses us4 ,we are ,his inheritance1 ,he is our portion4 ,i am ,his2 ,he is mine4 ,this mutual ownership is the very living centre of all religion4 ,without it there is no relation of any depth between ,god and us4 ,how much profounder such a conception is than the shallow notions about religion which so many men have6 ,it is not a round of observance2 not a painful effort at obedience1 not a dim reverence for some vague supernatural1 not a far-off bowing before ,omnipotence1 not the mere acceptance of a creed1 but a life in which ,god and the soul blend in the intimacies of mutual possession4 ,i4 ,the mutual possession4 ,god is our portion4 ,that thought presupposes the possibility of our possessing ,god4 ,it presupposes the fact that ,he has given ,himself to us1 and the answering fact that we have taken ,him for ours4 ,we are ,god's inheritance4 ,we give ourselves to ,him--we do so where we apprehend that ,he has given ,himself to us2 it is ,his giving love that moves men to yield themselves to ,god4 ,he takes us for ,his4 ,what a wonderful thought that ,he delights in possessing us6 ,the all-sufficiency of our portion is guaranteed because ,he is 'the former of all things4' ,the safety of ,his inheritance is secured because 'the ,lord of ,hosts is ,his name4' ,and that name accentuates the wonder that ,he to whom all the ordered armies of the universe submit and belong should still take us for ,his inheritance4 ,mark the contrast of this true possession with the false and merely external possessions of the world4 ,those outward things which a man has stand in no real relation with him4 ,they fade and fleet away1 or have to be left1 and1 even while they last1 are not his in any real sense4 ,only what has indissolubly entered into1 and become one with1 our very selves is truly ours4 ,our possession of ,god suggests a view of our blessedness and our obligation4 ,it secures blessedness--for we have in ,him an all-sufficient object and a treasure for all our nature4 ,it imposes the obligation to let our whole nature feed upon1 and be filled by1 ,him1 to see that the temple where ,he dwells is clean1 and not to fling away our treasure4 ,his possession of us suggests a corresponding view of our blessedness and our obligation4 ,we are ,his--as slaves are their owners' property4 ,so we are bound to submission of will4 ,to be owned by ,god is an honour4 ,the slave's goods and chattels belong to the master4 ,his possession of us binds us to consecrate ourselves1 and so to glorify ,him in 'body and spirit which are ,his4' ,it ensures our safety4 ,how constantly this calming thought is dwelt on in ,scripture--that they who belong to ,him need fear nothing4 ',fear not1 ,i have called thee by thy name1 them art ,mine4' ,god does not hold ,his possessions with so slack a grasp as to lose them or to suffer them to be wrenched away4 ,a psalmist rose to the hope of immortality by meditating on what was involved in his being ,god's possession here and now4 ,he was sure that even ,death's bony fingers could not keep their hold on him1 and so he sang1 ',thou wilt not suffer ,thine ,holy ,one to see corruption4' ,the seal on the foundation of ,god which guarantees its standing sure is1 ',the ,lord knoweth them that are ,his4' ',they shall be ,mine in the day that ,i do make1 even a peculiar treasure1' is ,his own assurance1 on which resting1 a trembling soul may 'have boldness in the day of judgment4' ,,ii4 ,the human response by which ,god becomes ours and we ,his4 ,that response is first the act of faith1 which is an act of both reason and will1 and then the act of love and self-surrender which follows faith1 and then the continuous acts of communion and consecration4 ,all must commence with recognition of ,his free gift of ,himself to us in ,christ4 ,we come empty-handed4 ,that gift recognised and accepted moves us to give ourselves to ,him4 ,when we give ourselves to ,him we find that we possess ,him4 ,further1 there must be continuous communion4 ,this mutual possession depends on our occupation of mind and heart with ,him4 ,we possess ,him and are possessed by ,him1 when our wills are kept in harmony with1 and submission to1 ,him1 when our thoughts are occupied with ,him and ,his truth1 when our affections rest in ,him1 when our desires go out to ,him1 when our hopes are centred in ,him1 when our practical life is devoted to ,him4 ,,iii4 ,the blessedness of this mutual possession4 ,to possess ,god is to have an all-sufficient object for all our nature4 ,he who has ,god for his very own has the fountain of life in himself1 has the spring of living water1 as it were1 in his own courtyard1 and needs not to go elsewhere to draw4 ,he need fear no loss1 for his wealth is so engrained in the very substance of his being that nothing can rob him of it but himself1 and that whilst he lasts it will last with1 because in1 him4 ,how marvellous that into the narrow room of one poor soul ,he should come whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain6 ,solomon said1 ',how much less this house which ,i have built1'--well may we say the same of our little hearts4 ,but ,he can compress ,himself into that small compass and expand ,his abode by dwelling in it4 ,nor is the blessedness of being possessed by ,him less than the blessedness of possessing ,him4 ,for so long as we own ourselves we are burdens to ourselves1 and we only own ourselves truly when we give ourselves away utterly4 ,earthly love1 with its blessed mysteries of mutual possession1 teaches us that4 ,but all its depth and joy are as nothing when set beside the liberty1 the glad peace1 the assured possession of our enriched selves1 which are ours when we give ourselves wholly to ,god1 and so for the first time are truly lords of ourselves1 and find ourselves by losing ourselves in ,him4 ,nor need we fear to say that ,god1 too1 delights in that mutual possession1 for the very essence of love is the desire to impart itself1 and ,he is love supreme and perfect4 ,therefore is ,he glad when we let ,him give ,himself to us1 and moved by 'the mercies of ,god1 yield ourselves to ,him a sacrifice of a sweet smell1 acceptable to ,god4' ,,calms ,,and ,,crises ',if thou hast run with the footmen1 and they have wearied thee1 then how canst thou contend with horses8 and though in a land of peace thou art secure1 yet how wilt thou do in the pride of ,jordan8'--,,jer4 xii4 #e1 ,r4,v4 ,the prophet has been complaining of his persecutors4 ,the divine answer is here1 reproving his impatience1 and giving him to understand that harder trials are in store for him4 ,both clauses mean substantially the same thing1 and are of a parabolic nature4 ,the one adduces the metaphor of a race3 ',footmen have beaten you1 have they8 ,then how will you run with cavalry8' ,the other is more clear in the ,revised ,version rendering3 ',though in a land of peace you are secure1 what will you do in ,jordan when it swells8' ,the 'swelling of ,jordan' is a figure for extreme danger4 ,the questions may be taken as referring to our own lives4 ,note how the one refers more to strength for duties1 the other to peace and safety in dangers4 ,they both recognise that life has great alternations as to the magnitude of its tasks and trials1 and they call on experience to answer the question whether we are ready for times of stress and peril4 ,i4 ,think of what may come to us4 ,we all have had the experience of how in our lives there are long stretches of uneventful days1 and then1 generally without warning1 some crisis is sprung on us1 which demands quite a different order of qualities to cope with it4 ,our typhoons generally come without any warning from a falling barometer4 ,we may at any moment be confronted with some hard duty which will task our utmost energy4 ,we may at any moment be plunged in some great calamity to which the quiet course of our lives for years will be as the still flow of the river between smiling lawns is to the dash and fierce currents of the rapids in a grim canyon4 ,the tasks that may come on us and the tasks that must come1 the dangers that may beset us and the dangers that must envelop us1 the possibilities that lie hidden in the future1 and the certainties that we know to be shrouded there1 should surely sometimes occupy a wise man's thoughts4 ,it is but living in a fool's paradise to soothe ourselves with the assurance which a moment's thought will shatter3 ',to-morrow shall be as this day4' ,we shall not always have the easy competition with footmen2 there will some time come a call to strain our muscles to keep up with the gallop of cavalry4 ,we shall have to struggle to keep our feet in the swelling of ,jordan1 and must not expect to have a continual leisurely life in 'a land of peace4' ,,ii4 ,think of what experience tells us as to our power to meet these crises4 ,the footmen have wearied you4 ,the small tasks have been more than your patience and strength could manage4 ,no doubt great exigencies often call forth great powers that were dormant in the humdrum of ordinary life4 ,but the man who knows himself best will be the most ready to shrink with distrust from the dread possibilities of duty4 ,if we think of the 'footmen' with whom we have contended as representing the smaller faults that we have tried to overcome1 does our success in conquering some small bad habit1 some 'little sin1' encourage the hope that we could keep our footing when some great temptation of a lifetime came down on us with a rush like the charge of a battalion of horsemen8 ,or1 if we cast our eyes forward to the calamities that lie still 'on the knees of the gods' for us1 do we feel ready to meet the hours of desolating disaster1 the 'hour of death and the day of judgment'8 ,even in a land of peace we have all had alarms1 perturbations1 and defeats enough1 and our security has been at the mercy of marauders so often that if we are wise1 and take due heed of what experience has to say to us of our reserve of force1 we shall not be hopeful of keeping our footing in the whirling currents of a river in full flood4 ,,iii4 ,think of the power that will fit us for all crises4 ,with the power of ,jesus in our spirits we shall never have to attempt a duty for which we are not strengthened1 nor to front a danger from and in which ,he will not defend us4 ,with ,his life in us we shall be ready for the long hours of uneventful1 unexciting duties1 and for the short spurts that make exacting calls on us4 ,we 'shall run and not be weary2 we shall walk and not faint4' ,if we live in ,jesus we shall always be in 'a land of peace1' and no 'plague shall come nigh our dwelling4' ,even when the soles of our feet rest in the waters of ,jordan1 the waters of ,jordan shall be cut off1 and we shall pass over on dry ground into the land of peace1 where they that would swallow us up shall be far away for ever4 ,,an ,,impossibility ,,made ,,possible ',can the ,ethiopian change his skin8'--,,jer4 xiii4 #bc4 ',if any man be in ,christ1 he is a new creature4'--#b ,,cor4 v4 #ag4 ',behold1 ,i make all things new4'--,,rev4 xxi4 #e4 ,put these three texts together4 ,the first is a despairing question to which experience gives only too sad and decisive a negative answer4 ,it is the answer of many people who tell us that character must be eternal1 and of many a baffled man who says1 ',it is of no use--,i have tried and can do nothing4' ,the second text is the grand ,christian answer1 full of confidence4 ,it was spoken by one who had no superficial estimate of the evil1 but who had known in himself the power of ,christ to revolutionise a life1 and make a man love all he had hated1 and hate all he had loved1 and fling away all he had treasured4 ,the last text predicts the completion of the renovating process lying far ahead1 but as certain as sunrise4 ,i4 ,the unchangeableness of character1 especially of faults4 ,we note the picturesque rhetorical question here4 ,they were occasionally accustomed to see the dark-skinned1 ,ethiopian1 whether we suppose that these were true negroes from ,southern ,egypt or dark ,arabs1 and now and then leopards came up from the thickets on the ,jordan1 or from the hills of the southern wilderness about the ,dead ,sea4 ,the black hue of the man1 the dark spots that starred the skin of the fierce beast1 are fitting emblems of the evil that dyes and speckles the soul4 ,whether it wraps the whole character in black1 or whether it only spots it here and there with tawny yellow1 it is ineradicable2 and a man can no more change his character once formed than a negro can cast his skin1 or a leopard whiten out the spots on his hide4 ,now we do not need to assert that a man has no power of self-improvement or reformation4 ,the exhortations of the prophet to repentance and to cleansing imply that he has4 ,if he has not1 then it is no blame to him that he does not mend4 ,experience shows that we have a very considerable power of such a kind4 ,it is a pity that some ,christian teachers speak in exaggerated terms about the impossibility of such self-improvement4 ,but it is very difficult4 ,note the great antagonist as set forth here--,habit1 that solemn and mystical power4 ,we do not know all the ways in which it operates1 but one chief way is through physical cravings set up4 ,it is strange how much easier a second time is than a first1 especially in regard to evil acts4 ,the hedge once broken down1 it is very easy to get through it again4 ,if one drop of water has percolated through the dyke1 there will be a roaring torrent soon4 ,there is all the difference between once and never2 there is small difference between once and twice4 ,by habit we come to do things mechanically and without effort1 and we all like that4 ,one solitary footfall across the snow soon becomes a beaten way4 ,as in the banyan-tree1 each branch becomes a root4 ,all life is held together by cords of custom which enable us to reserve conscious effort and intelligence for greater moments4 ,habit tends to weigh upon us with a pressure 'heavy as frost1 and deep almost as life4' ,but also it is the ally of good4 ,the change to good is further made difficult because liking too often goes with evil1 and good is only won by effort4 ,it is a proof of man's corruption that if left alone1 evil in some form or other springs spontaneously1 and that the opposite good is hard to win4 ,uncultivated soil bears thistles and weeds4 ,anything can roll downhill4 ,it is always the least trouble to go on as we have been going4 ,further1 the change is made difficult because custom blinds judgment and conscience4 ,people accustomed to a vitiated atmosphere are not aware of its foulness4 ,how long it takes a nation1 for instance1 to awake to consciousness of some national crime1 even when the nation is ',christian'6 ,and how men get perfectly sophisticated as to their own sins1 and have all manner of euphemisms for them6 ,further1 how hard it is to put energy into a will that has been enfeebled by long compliance4 ,like prisoners brought out of the ,bastille4 ,so if we put all these reasons together1 no wonder that such reformation is rare4 ,i do not dwell on the point that it must necessarily be confined within very narrow limits4 ,i appeal to experience4 ,you have tried to cure some trivial habit4 ,you know what a task that has been--how often you thought that you had conquered1 and then found that all had to be done over again4 ,how much more is this the case in this greater work6 ,often the efforts to break off evil habits have the same effect as the struggles of cattle mired in a bog1 who sink the deeper for plunging4 ,the sad cry of many a foiled wrestler with his own evil is1 ',o wretched man that ,i am6 who shall deliver me from the body of this death8' ,we do not wish to exaggerate1 but simply to put it that experience shows that for men in general1 custom and inclination and indolence and the lack of adequate motive weigh so heavily that a thorough abandonment of evil1 much more a hearty practice of good1 are not to be looked for when once a character has been formed4 ,so you young people1 take care4 ,and all of us listen to--- ,,ii4 ,the great hope for individual renewal4 ,the second text sets forth a possibility of entire individual renewal1 and does so by a strong metaphor4 ',if any man be in ,christ he is a new creature1' or as the words might be rendered1 'there is a new creation1' and not only is he renewed1 but all things are become new4 ,he is a new ,adam in a new world4 ,now 7a7 let us beware of exaggeration about this matter4 ,there are often things said about the effects of conversion which are very far in advance of reality1 and give a handle to caricature4 ,the great law of continuity runs on through the change of conversion4 ,take a man who has been the slave of some sin4 ,the evil will not cease to tempt1 nor will the effects of the past on character be annihilated4 ',whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap1' remains true4 ,in many ways there will be permanent consequences4 ,there will remain the scars of old wounds2 old sores will be ready to burst forth afresh4 ,the great outlines of character do remain4 7b7 ,what is the condition of renewal8 ',if any man be in ,christ'--how distinctly that implies something more than human in ,paul's conception of ,christ4 ,it implies personal union with ,him1 so that ,he is the very element or atmosphere in which we live4 ,and that union is brought about by faith in ,him4 7c7 ,how does such a state of union with ,christ make a man over again8 ,it gives a new aim and centre for our lives4 ,then we live not unto ourselves2 then everything is different and looks so1 for the centre is shifted4 ,that union introduces a constant reference to ,him and contemplation of ,his death for us1 it leads to self-abnegation4 ,it puts all life under the influence of a new love4 ',the love of ,christ constraineth4' ,as is a man's love1 so is his life4 ,the mightiest devolution is to excite a new love1 by which old loves and tastes are expelled4 ',a new affection' has 'expulsive power1' as the new sap rising in the springtime pushes off the lingering withered leaves4 ,so union with ,him meets the difficulty arising from inclination still hankering after evil4 ,it lifts life into a higher level where the noxious creatures that were proper to the swamps cannot live4 ,the new love gives a new and mighty motive for obedience4 ,that union breaks the terrible chain that binds us to the past4 ',all died4' ,the past is broken as much as if we were dead4 ,it is broken by the great act of forgiveness4 ,sin holds men by making them feel as if what has been must be--an awful entail of evil4 ,in ,christ we die to former self4 ,that union brings a new divine power to work in us4 ',i live1 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me4' ,it sets us in a new world which yet is the old4 ,all things are changed if we are changed4 ,they are the same old things1 but seen in a new light1 used for new purposes1 disclosing new relations and powers4 ,earth becomes a school and discipline for heaven4 ,the world is different to a blind man when cured1 or to a deaf one1--there are new sights for the one1 new sounds for the other4 ,all this is true in the measure in which we live in union with ,christ4 ,so no man need despair1 nor think1 ',i cannot mend now4' ,you may have tried and been defeated a thousand times4 ,but still victory is possible1 not without effort and sore conflict1 but still possible4 ,there is hope for all1 and hope for ,,me4 ,,iii4 ,the completion in a perfectly renewed creation4 ,the renovation here is only partial4 ,its very incompleteness is prophetic4 ,if there be this new life in us1 it obviously has not reached its fulness here1 and it is obviously not manifested here for all that even here it is4 ,it is like some exotic that does not show its true beauty in our greenhouses4 ,the life of a ,christian on earth is a prophecy by both its greatness and its smallness1 by both its glory and its shame1 by both its brightness and its spots4 ,it cannot be that there is always to be this disproportion between aspiration and performance1 between willing and doing4 ,here the most perfect career is like a half-lighted street1 with long gaps between the lamps4 ,the surroundings here are uncongenial to the new creatures4 ',foxes have holes'--all creatures are fitted for their environment2 only man1 and eminently renewed man1 wanders as a pilgrim1 not in his home4 ,the present frame of things is for discipline4 ,the schooling over1 we burn the rod4 ,so we look for an external order in full correspondence with the new nature4 ,and ,christ throned 'makes all things new4' ,how far the old is renewed we cannot tell1 and we need not ask4 ,enough that there shall be a universe in perfect harmony with the completely renewed nature1 that we shall find a home where all things will serve and help and gladden and further us1 where the outward will no more distract and clog the spirit4 ,brethren1 let that mighty love constrain you2 and look to ,christ to renew you4 ,whatever your old self may have been1 you may bury it deep in ,his grave1 and rise with ,him to newness of life4 ,then you may walk in this old world1 new creatures in ,christ ,jesus1 looking for the blessed hope of entire renewal into the perfect likeness of ,him1 the perfect man1 in a perfect world1 where all old sorrows and sins have passed away and ,he has made all things new4 ,through eternity1 new joys1 new knowledge1 new progress1 new likeness1 new service will be ours--and not one leaf shall ever wither in the amaranthine crown1 nor 'the cup of blessing' ever become empty or flat and stale4 ,eternity will be but a continual renewal and a progressive increase of ever fresh and ever familiar treasures4 ,the new and the old will be one4 ,begin with trusting to ,him to help you to change a deeper blackness than that of the ,ethiopian's skin1 and to erase firier spots than stain the tawny leopard's hide1 and ,he will make you a new man1 and set you in ,his own time in a 'new heaven and earth1 where dwelleth righteousness4' ,,triumphant ,,prayer ',o ,lord1 though our iniquities testify against us1 do ,thou it for ,thy name's sake3 for our backslidings are many2 we have sinned against ,thee4 #h4 ,o the hope of ,israel1 the saviour thereof in time of trouble1 why shouldest ,thou be as a stranger in the land1 and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night8 #i4 ,why shouldest ,thou be as a man astonied1 as a mighty man that cannot save8 yet ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 art in the midst of us1 and we are called by ,thy name2 leave us not4'--,,jer4 xiv4 #g-i4 ,my purpose now carries me very far away from the immediate occasion of these words2 yet ,i cannot refrain from a passing reference to the wonderful pathos and picturesque power with which the long-forgotten calamity that evoked them is portrayed in the context4 ,a terrible drought has fallen upon the land1 and the prophet's picture of it is1 if one might say so1 like some of ,dante's in its realism1 in its tenderness1 and in its terror4 ,in the presence of a common calamity all distinctions of class have vanished1 and the nobles send their little ones to the well1 and they come back with empty vessels and drooping heads instead of with the gladness that used to be heard in the place of drawing of water4 ,the ploughmen are standing among the cracked furrows1 gazing with despair on the brown chapped earth1 and in the field the very dumb creatures are sharing in the common sorrow1 and the imperious law of self-preservation overpowers and crushes the maternal instincts4 ',yea1 the hind also calved in the field1 and forsook it1 because there was no grass4' ,and on every little hilltop where cooler air might be found1 the once untamable wild asses are standing with open nostrils panting for the breeze1 their filmy eyes failing them1 gazing for the rain that will not come4 ,and then1 from contemplating all that sorrow1 the prophet turns to ,god with a wondrous burst of strangely blended confidence and abasement1 penitence and trust1 and fuses together the acknowledgment of sin and reliance upon the established and perpetual relation between ,israel and ,god1 pleading with ,him about ,his judgments1 presenting before ,him the mysterious contradiction that such a calamity should fall on those with whom ,god dwelt1 and casting himself lowly before the throne1 and pleading the ancient name3 ',do ,thou it6 ,leave us not4' ,it is to the wonderful fulness and richness of this prayer that ,i ask your attention in these few remarks4 ,expositors have differed as to whether the drought that forms its basis was a literal one1 or is the prophet's way of putting the sore calamities that had fallen on ,israel4 ,be that as it may1 ,i need not remind you how often in ,scripture that metaphor of the 'rain that cometh down from heaven and watereth the earth' is the symbol for ,god's divine gift of ,his ,spirit1 and how1 on the other hand1 the picture of the 'dry and thirsty land where no water is' is the appropriate figure for the condition of the soul or of the ,church void of the divine presence4 ,and ,i think ,i shall not mistake if ,i say that though we have much to make us thankful1 yet you and ,i1 dear brethren1 and all our ,churches and congregations1 are suffering under this drought1 and the merciful 'rain1 wherewith ,thou dost confirm ,thine inheritance when it is weary' has not yet come as we would have it4 ,may we find in these words some gospel for the day that may help us to come to the temper of mind into which there shall descend the showers to 'make soft the earth and bless the springing thereof6' ,glancing over these clauses1 then1 and trying to put them into something like order for our purpose1 there are four things that ,i would have you note4 ,the first is the mysterious contradiction between the ideal ,israel and the actual state of things2 the second is the earnest inquiry as to the cause2 the third the penitent confession of our sinfulness2 and the last1 the triumphant confidence of believing prayer4 ,i4 ,first of all1 then1 look at the illustration given to us by these words of the mysterious contradiction between the ideal of ,israel and the actual condition of things4 ,recur1 for the sake of illustration1 to the historical event upon which our text is based4 ,the old prophet had said1 ',the ,lord thy ,god giveth thee a good land1 a land full of brooks and water1 rivers and depths1 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness1 thou shalt not lack anything in it'2 and the startling fact is1 that these men saw around them a land full of misery for want of that very gift which had been promised4 ,the ancient charter of ,israel's existence was that ,god should dwell in the midst of them1 and what was it that they beheld8 ',as things are1' says the prophet1 'it looks as if that perennial presence which ,thou hast promised had been changed into visits1 short and far between4 ,why shouldest ,thou be as a stranger in the land1 and as a wayfaring man1 that turneth aside to tarry for a night8' ,now1 ,i suppose there are two ideas intended to be conveyed--the brief1 transitory1 interrupted visits1 with long1 dreary stretches of absence between them2 and the indifference of the visitant1 as a man who pitches his tent in some little village to-night cares very little about the people that he never saw before this afternoon's march1 and will never see after to-morrow morning4 ,and not only is it so1 but1 instead of the perpetual energy of this divine aid that had been promised to ,israel1 as things are now1 it looks as if ,he was a mighty man astonied1 a hero that cannot save--some warrior stricken by panic fear into a paralysis of all his strength--a ,samson with his locks shorn4 ,the ideal had been so great--perpetual gifts1 perpetual presence1 perpetual energy2 the reality is chapped ground and parched places1 occasional visitations1 like vanishing gleams of sunshine in a winter's day1 and a paralysis1 as it would appear1 of all the ancient might4 ,dear ,christian friends1 am ,i exaggerating1 or dealing only with one set of phenomena1 and forgetting the counterpoising ones on the other side1 when ,i say1 ,change the name1 and the story is told about us8 ,god be thanked we have much that shows us that ,he has not left us1 but yet1 when we think of what we are1 and of what ,god has promised that we should be1 surely we must confess that there is the most sad1 and1 but for one reason1 the most mysterious contradiction between the divine ideal and the actual facts of the case4 ,need we go further to learn what ,god meant ,his ,church to be1 than the last words that ,jesus ,christ said to us--',lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even to the end of the world'8 ,need we go further than those metaphors which come from ,his lips as precepts1 and1 like all ,his precepts1 are a commandment upon the surface1 but a promise in the sweet kernel--',ye are the salt of the earth1' 'ye are the light of the world'--or than the prophet's vision of an ,israel which 'shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the ,lord'8 ,is that the description of what you and ,i are8 ,have not we to say1 ',we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth1 neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen'8 ',salt of the earth1' and we can hardly keep our own souls from going putrid with the corruption that is round about us4 ',light of the world1' and our poor candles burnt low down into the socket1 and sending up rather stench and smoke than anything like a clear flame4 ,the words sound like irony rather than promises1 like the very opposite of what we are rather than the ideals towards which our lives strive4 ,in our lips they are presumption1 and in the lips of the world1 as we only too well know1 they are a not undeserved scoff1 to be said with curved lip1 ',the salt of the earth1' and 'the light of the world'6 ,and look at what we are doing3 scarcely holding our own numerically4 ,here and there a man comes and declares what ,god has done for his soul4 ,but what is the ,church1 what are the ,christian men of ,england1 with all their multifarious activities1 performing8 ,are we leavening the national mind8 ,are we breathing a higher godliness into trade1 a more wholesome1 simple style of living into society8 ,and as for expansion1 why1 the ,church at home does not keep up with the actual increase of the population2 and we are conquering heathendom as we might hope to drain the ocean by taking out thimblefuls at a time4 ,is that what the ,lord meant us to do8 ,our ,father with us2 yes1 but oh6 as a 'mighty man1 astonied1' as ,he might well be1 'that cannot save' for the old1 old reason1 ',he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief4' ,no wonder that on the other side men are saying--and it is not such a very presumptuous thing to say1 if you have regard only to the facts that appear on the surface--men are saying1 'wait a little while1 and all these organisations will come to nothing2 these ,christian churches1 as they are called1' and everything that you and ,i regard as distinctive of ,christianity1 'will be gone and be forgotten4' ,we believe ourselves to be in possession of an eternal light2 the world looks at us and sees that it is like a flickering flame in a dying lamp4 ,dear brethren1 if ,i think of the lowness of our own religious characters1 the small extent to which we influence the society in which we live1 of the slow rate at which the ,gospel progresses in our land1 ,i can only ask the question1 and pray you to lay it to heart1 which the old prophet asked long ago3 ',o ,thou that art named the house of ,jacob1 is the ,spirit of the ,lord straitened8 ,are these ,his doings8 ,do not my words do good to them that walk uprightly8' ',why shouldest ,thou be as a mighty man that cannot save8' ,,ii4 ,let me ask you to look at the second thought that ,i think may fairly be gathered from these words1 namely1 that this consciousness of our low and evil condition ought to lead to very earnest and serious inquiry as to its cause4 ,the prophet having acknowledged transgression yet asks a question1 ',why shouldest ,thou leave us8 ,why have all these things come upon us8' ,and he asks it not as ignorant of the answer1 but in order that the answer may be deepened in the consciences and perceptions of those that listen to him1 and that they together may take the answer to the ,throne of ,god4 ,there can be no doubt in a ,christian mind as to the reason1 and yet there is an absolute necessity that the familiar truth as to the reason should be driven home to our own consciences1 and made part of our own spiritual experience1 by our own honest reiteration of it and reflection upon it4 ',why shouldest ,thou leave us8' ,now1 ,i need not spend time by taking into consideration answers that other people might give4 ,i suppose that none of us will say that the reason is in any variableness of that unalterable1 uniform1 ever present1 ever full1 divine gift of ,god's ,spirit to ,his children4 ,we do not believe in any arbitrary sovereignty that withdraws that gift2 we do not believe that that gift rises and falls in its fulness and its abundance4 ,we believe that the great reservoir is always full1 and that1 if ever our small tanks be empty1 it is because there is something choking the pipe1 not because there is anything less in the centre storehouse4 ,we believe1 if ,i may take another illustration1 that it is with the seasons and the rotation of day and night in the religious experience as it is with them in the natural world4 ,summer and winter come and go1 not because of any variableness in the centre orb1 but because of the variation in the inclination of the circling satellite2 day and night come not by reason of any 'shadow cast by turning' from the sun that revolves not at all--but by reason of the side that is turned to his life-giving and quickening beams4 ,we believe that all the clouds and mist that come between us and ,god are like the clouds and mist of the sky1 not dropped upon us from the blue empyrean above1 but sucked up from the undrained swamps and poisonous fens of the lower earth4 ,that is to say1 if there be any change in the fulness of our possession of the divine ,spirit1 the fault lies wholly within the region of the mutable and of the human1 and not at all in the region of the perennial and divine4 ,nor do we believe1 ,i suppose1 any of us1 that we are to look for any part of the reason in failure of the adaptation of ,god's work and ,god's ordinances to the great work which they have to do4 ,other people may tell us1 if they like--it will not shake our confidence--that the fire that was kindled at ,pentecost has all died down to grey ashes1 and that it is of no use trying to cower over the burnt-out embers any more in order to get heat out of them4 ,they may1 and do1 tell us that the 'rushing1 mighty wind that filled the house' obeys the law of cycles as the wind of the natural universe1 and will calm into stillness after a while1 and then set in and blow from the opposite quarter4 ,they may tell us1 and they do tell us1 that the 'river of the water of life that flows from the ,throne of ,god and of the ,lamb' is lost in the sands of time1 like the streams in the great ,mongolian plateau4 ,we do not believe that4 ,everything stands exactly as it always has been in regard to the perennial possession of ,christ's ,spirit as the strength and resource of ,his ,church2 and the fault1 dear friends1 lies only here3 ',o ,lord1 our iniquities testify against us2 our backslidings are many2 we have sinned against ,thee4' ,oh1 let me urge upon you1 and upon myself1 that the first thing which we have to do is prayerfully and patiently and honestly to search after this cause1 and not look to superficial trifles such as possible variations and improvements in order and machinery1 and polity or creed1 or anything else1 as the means of changing and bettering the condition of things1 but to recognise this as being the one sole cause that hinders--the slackness of our own hold on ,christ's hand1 and the feebleness and imperfection of our own spiritual life4 ,dear brethren1 there is no worse sign of the condition of churches than the calm indifference and complacency in the present condition of things which visits very many of us2 it is like a deadly malaria wherever it is to be found1 and there is no more certain precursor of a blessed change than a widespread dissatisfaction with what we are1 and an honest1 earnest search after the cause4 ,the sleeper that is restless1 and tosses and turns1 is near awakening2 and the ice that cracks1 and crumbles1 and groans1 and heaves1 is on the point of breaking up4 ,when ,christian men and women are aroused to this1 the startled recognition of how far beneath the ideal--no1 ,i should not say how far beneath1 but rather how absolutely opposed to1 the ideal--so much of our ,christian life and work is1 and when further they push the inquiry for the cause1 so as to find that it lies in their own sin1 then we shall be near the time1 yea1 the 'set time1 to favour ,zion4' ,,iii4 ,and so let me point you1 in the next place--and but a word or two on that matter--to the consideration that the consciousness of the evil condition and knowledge of its cause leads on to lowly penitence and confession4 ,i dwell upon that for a moment for one reason mainly4 ,i suppose that it is a very familiar observation with us all that when1 by ,god's mercy1 any of us individually1 or as communities1 are awakened to a sense of our own departure from what ,he would have us be1 and the feebleness of all our ,christian work1 we are very apt to be led away upon the wrong scent altogether1 and instead of seeking improvement and revivification in ,god's order1 we set up an order of our own1 which is a great deal more pleasing to our own natural inclinations4 ,for instance1 to bring the thing to a practical illustration1 suppose ,i were1 after these remarks of mine1 as a kind of corollary from them1 to ask for volunteers for some new form of ,christian work1 ,i believe ,i should get twenty for one that ,i should get if ,i simply said1 ',brethren1 let us go together and confess our sins before ,god1 and ask ,him not to leave us4' ,we are always tempted to originate some new kind of work1 to manufacture a revival1 to begin by bringing together the outcasts into the fold1 instead of to begin by trying to deepen our own ,christian character1 and purifying our own hearts1 and getting more and more of the life of ,god into our own spirits1 and then to let the increase from without come as it may4 ,the true law for us to follow is to begin with lowly abasement at ,his footstool1 and when we have purged ourselves from faults and sins in the very act of confessing them1 and of shaking them from us1 then when we are fit for growth1 external growth1 we shall get it4 ,but the revival of the ,church is not what people fancy it to be so often nowadays1 the gathering in of the unconverted into its fold--that is the consequence of the revival4 ,the revival comes by the path of recognition of sin1 and confession of sin1 and forsaking of sin1 and waiting before ,him for ,his blessing and ,his ,spirit4 ,let me put all that ,i would say about this matter into the one remark1 that the law of the whole process is the old one which was exemplified on the day of ,pentecost4 ',sanctify a fast1 call a solemn assembly2 gather the people1 assemble the elders2 let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber1 and the bride out of her closet2 let the priests1 the ministers of the ,lord1 weep between the porch and the altar4 ,yea1 the ,lord will be zealous for ,his land1 and will pity ,his people2 and ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit upon all flesh4' ,brethren1 to our knees and to confessions6 ,let us see to it that we are right in our own inmost hearts4 ,,iv4 ,and so1 finally1 look at the wonderful way in which in this text of ours the prophet fuses together into one indistinguishable and yet not confused whole1 confession1 and pleading remonstrance and also the confidence of triumphant prayer4 ,i cannot touch upon the various points of that as ,i would gladly do2 but ,i must suggest one or two of them for your consideration4 ,look at the substance of his petition3 ',do ,thou it for ,thy name's sake4' ',leave us not4' ,that is all he asks4 ,he does not prescribe what is to be done4 ,he does not ask for the taking away of the calamity1 he simply asks for the continual presence and the operation of the divine hand1 sure that ,god is in the midst of them1 and working all things right4 ,let us shape our expectations in like fashion1 not being careful to discover paths for ,him to run in2 but contented if we can realise the sweetness and the strength of ,his calming and purging presence1 and willing to leave the manner of ,his working in ,his own hand4 ,then1 look at what the text suggests as pleas with ,god1 and grounds of confidence for ourselves4 ',do ,thou it for ,thy name's sake1 the hope of ,israel1 the ,saviour thereof in time of trouble4 ,thou art in the midst of us1 we are called by ,thy name4' ,there are three grounds upon which we may base our firm confidence4 ,the one is the name--all the ancient manifestations of ,thy character1 which have been from of old1 and remain for our perpetual strength4 ',as we have heard1 so have we seen in the city of the ,lord of ,hosts4' ',that which is ,thy memorial unto all generations pledges ,thee to the constant reiteration and reproduction1 hour by hour1 according to our necessity1 of all the might1 and the miracles1 and the mercies of the past4 ,do ,thou it for ,thy name's sake4' ,and then ,jeremiah turns to the throne of ,god with another plea--'the hope of ,israel'--and thereby fills his mouth with the argument drawn from the fact that the confidence of the ,church is fixed upon ,him1 and that it cannot be that ,he will disappoint it4 ',because ,thou hast given us ,thy name1 and because ,thy name1 by ,thy grace1 has become1 through our faith1 our hope1 ,thou art doubly bound--bound by what ,thou art1 bound by what we expect--to be with us1 our strength and our confidence4' ,and the final plea is the appeal to the perennial and essential relationship of ,god to ,his ,church4 ',we are called by ,thy name'--'we belong to ,thee4 ,it were ,thy concern and ours that ,thy ,gospel should spread in the world1 and the honour of our ,lord should be advanced4 ,thou hast not surely lost ,thy hold of ,thine own1 or ,thy care for ,thine own property4' ,the psalmist said1 ',thou wilt not suffer him that is devoted to ,thee to see corruption4' ,and what his faith felt to be impossible in regard to the bodily life is still more unthinkable in regard to the spiritual4 ,it cannot be that that which belongs to ,him should pass and perish4 ',we are called by ,thy name1 and ,thou1 ,lord1 art in the midst of us'--not a ,samson shorn of his locks2 not a wayfaring man turning aside to delay for a night2 but the abiding ,presence which makes the ,church glad4 ,dear brethren1 calm and confident expectation should be our attitude1 and lowly repentance should rise to triumphant believing hope1 because ,god is moving round about us in this day4 ,thanks be to ,his name1 there is spread through us all an expectation of great things4 ,that expectation brings its own fulfilment1 and is always ,god's way of preparing the path for ,his own large gifts1 like the strange1 indefinable attitude of expectation which we know filled the civilised world before the birth of ,jesus ,christ--like the breath of the morning that springs up before the sun rises1 and says1 ',the dawn2 the dawn1' and dies away4 ,the expectation is the precursor of the gift1 and the prayer is the guarantee of the acceptance4 ,take an illustration4 ,those great lakes in ,central ,africa that are said to feed the ,nile are filled with melting snows weeks and weeks before the water rises away down in ,egypt1 and brings fertility across the desert that it makes to glisten with greenness1 and to rejoice and blossom as the rose4 ,and so in silence1 high up upon the mountains of ,god1 fed by communion with ,himself1 the expectation rises to a flood-tide ere it flows down through all the channels of ,christian organisation and activity1 and blesses the valleys below4 ,it is not for us to hurry the work of ,god1 nor spasmodically to manufacture revivals4 ,it is not for us1 under the pretence of waiting for ,him1 to be cold and callous2 but it is for us to question ourselves wherefore these things have come upon us1 with lowly1 penitent confession to turn to ,god1 and ask ,him to bless us4 ,oh1 if we were to do this1 we should not ask in vain6 ,let us take the prayer of our context1 and say1 ',we acknowledge1 ,o ,lord1 our wickedness1 and the iniquity of our fathers2 for we have sinned against ,thee4 ,are there any among the vanities of the ,gentiles that can cause rain8 or can the heavens give showers8 art not ,thou ,he1 ,o ,lord1 our ,god8 ,therefore we will wait upon ,thee4' ,be sure that the old merciful answer will come to us1 ',i will pour rivers of water upon him that is thirsty1 and floods upon the dry ground2 and ,i will pour ,my ,spirit upon thy seed1 and ,my blessing upon thine offspring4' ,,sin',s ,,writing ,,and ,,its ,,erasure ',the sin of ,judah is written with a pen of iron1 and with the point of a diamond3 it is graven upon the table of their heart1 and upon the horns of your altars4'--,,jer4 xvii4 #a4 ',ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of ,christ ministered by us1 written not with ink1 but with the ,spirit of the living ,god2 not in tables of stone1 but in fleshy tables of the heart4'-#b ,,cor4 iii4 #c4 ',blotting out the handwriting that was against us4'---,,col 4ii4 #ad4 ,i have put these verses together because they all deal with substantially the same metaphor4 ,the first is part of a prophet's solemn appeal4 ,it describes the sin of the nation as indelible4 ,it is written in two places4 ,first1 on their hearts1 which reminds us of the promise of the new covenant to be written on the heart4 ,the 'red-leaved tablets of the heart' are like waxen tables on which an iron stylus makes a deep mark1 an ineradicable scar4 ,so ,judah's sin is1 as it were1 eaten into their heart1 or1 if we might so say1 tattooed on it4 ,it is also written on the stone horns of the altar1 with a diamond which can cut the rock 7an illustration of ancient knowledge of the properties of the diamond74 ,that sounds a strange place for the record of sin to appear1 but the image has profound meaning1 as we shall see presently4 ,then the two ,new ,testament passages deal with other applications of the same metaphor4 ,christ is1 in the first1 represented as writing on the hearts of the ,corinthians1 and in the second1 as taking away 'the handwriting contrary to us4' ,the general thought drawn from all is that sin's writing on men's hearts is erased by ,christ and a new inscription substituted4 ,i4 ,the handwriting of sin4 ,sin committed is indelibly written on the heart of the doer4 ',the heart1' of course1 in ,hebrew means more than merely the supposed seat of the affections4 ,it is figuratively the centre of the spiritual life1 just as physically it is the centre of the natural4 ,thoughts and affections1 purposes and desires are all included1 and out of it are 'the issues of life1' the whole outgoings of the being4 ,it is the fountain and source of all the activity of the man1 the central unity from which all comes4 ,taken in this wide sense it is really the whole inner self that is meant1 or1 as is said in one place1 'the hidden man of the heart4' ,and so the thought in this vigorous metaphor may be otherwise put1 that all sin makes indelible marks on the whole inward nature of the man who does it4 ,now to begin with1 think for a moment of that truth that everything which we do reacts on us the doers4 ,we seldom think of this4 ,deeds are done1 and we fancy that when done1 they are done with4 ,they pass1 as far as outward seeming goes1 and their distinguishable consequences in the outward world1 in the vast majority of cases1 soon apparently pass4 ,all seems evanescent and irrecoverable as last year's snows1 or the water that flowed over the cataract a century ago4 ,but there is nothing more certain than that all which we do leaves indelible traces on ourselves4 ,the mightiest effect of a man's actions is on his own inward life4 ,the recoil of the gun is more powerful than the blow from its shot4 ,our actions strike inwards and there produce their most important effects4 ,the river runs ceaselessly and its waters pass away1 but they bring down soil1 which is deposited and makes firm land1 or perhaps they carry down grains of gold4 ,this is the true solemnity of life1 that in all which we do we are carrying on a double process1 influencing others indeed1 but influencing ourselves far more4 ,consider the illustrations of this law in regard to our sins4 ,now the last thing people think of when they hear sermons about 'sin' is that what is meant is the things that they are doing every day4 ,i can only ask you to try to remember1 while ,i speak1 that ,i mean those little acts of temper1 or triflings with truth1 or yieldings to passion or anger1 or indulgence in sensuality1 and above all1 the living without ,god1 to which we are all prone4 7a7 ,all wrong-doing makes indelible marks on character4 ,it makes its own repetition easier4 ,habit strengthens inclination4 ,peter found denying his ,lord three times easier than doing it once4 ,it weakens resistance4 ,in going downhill the first step is the only one that needs an effort2 gravity will do the rest4 ,it drags after it a tendency to other evil4 ,all wrong things have so much in common that they lead on to one another4 ,a man with only one vice is a rare phenomenon4 ,satan sends his apostles forth two by two4 ,sins hunt in couples1 or more usually in packs1 like wolves1 only now and then do they prey alone like lions4 ,small thieves open windows for greater ones4 ,it requires continually increasing draughts1 like indulgence in stimulants4 ,the palate demands cayenne tomorrow1 if it has had black pepper to-day4 ,so1 whatever else we do by our acts1 we are making our own characters1 either steadily depraving or steadily improving them4 ,there will come a slight slow change1 almost unnoticed but most certain1 as a dim film will creep over the peach1 robbing it of all its bloom1 or some microscopic growth will steal across a clearly cut inscription1 or a breath of mist will dim a polished steel mirror4 7b7 ,all wrong-doing writes indelible records on the memory1 that awful and mysterious power of recalling past things out of the oblivion in which they seem to lie4 ,how solemn and miserable it is to defile it with the pictures of things evil6 ,many a man in his later years has tried to 'turn over a new leaf1' and has never been able to get the filth out of his memory1 for it has been printed on the old page in such strong colours that it shines through4 ,i beseech you all1 and especially you young people1 to keep yourselves 'innocent of much transgression1' and 'simple concerning evil'--to make your memories like an illuminated missal with fair saints and calm angels bordering the holy words1 and not an ,illustrated ,police ,news4 ,probably there is no real oblivion4 ,each act sinks in as if forgotten1 gets overlaid with a multitude of others1 but it is there1 and memory will one day bring it to us4 ,and all sin pollutes the imagination4 ,it is a miserable thing to have one's mind full of ugly foul forms painted on the inner walls of our chamber of imagery1 like the hideous figures in some heathen temple1 where gods of lust and murder look out from every inch of space on the walls4 7c7 ,all wrong-doing writes indelible records on the conscience4 ,it does so partly by sophisticating it--the sensibility to right and wrong being weakened by every evil act1 as a cold in the head takes away the sense of smell4 ,it brings on colour-blindness to some extent4 ,one does not know how far one may go towards ',evil6 be thou my good'--or how far towards incapacity of distinguishing evil4 ,but at all events the tendency of each sin is in that direction4 ,so conscience may become seared1 though perhaps never so completely as that there are no intervals when it speaks4 ,it may long lie dormant1 as ,vesuvius did1 till great trees grow on the floor of the crater1 but all the while the communication with the central fires is open1 and one day they will burst out4 ,the writing may be with invisible ink1 but it will be legible one day4 ,so1 then1 all this solemn writing on the heart is done by ourselves4 ,what are you writing8 ,there is a presumption in it of a future retribution1 when you will have to read your autobiography1 with clearer light and power of judging yourselves4 ,at any rate there is retribution now1 which is described by many metaphors1 such as sowing and reaping1 drinking as we have brewed1 and others--but this one of indelible writing is not the least striking4 ,sin is graven deep on sinful men's worship4 ,the metaphor here is striking and not altogether clear4 ,the question rises whether the altars are idolatrous altars1 or ,jehovah's4 ,if the former1 the expression may mean simply that the ,jews' idolatry1 which was their sin1 was conspicuously displayed in these altars1 and had1 as it were1 its most flagrant record in their sacrifices4 ,the altar was the centre point of all heathen and ,old ,testament worship1 and altars built by sinners were the most conspicuous evidences of their sins4 ,so the meaning would be that men's sin shapes and culminates in their religion2 and that is very true1 and explains many of the profanations and abominations of heathenism1 and much of the formal worship of so-called ,christianity4 ,for instance1 a popular religion which is a mere ,deism1 a kind of vague belief in a providence1 and in a future state where everybody is happy1 is but the product of men's sin1 striking out of ,christianity all which their sin makes unwelcome in it4 ,the justice of ,god1 punishment1 sinfulness of sin1 high moral tone1 are all gone4 ,and the very horns of their altars are marked with the signs of the worshippers' sin4 ,but the 'altars' may be ,god's altars1 and then another idea will come in4 ,the horns of the altar were the places where the blood of the sacrifice was smeared1 as token of its offering to ,god4 ,they were then a part of the ritual of propitiation4 ,they had1 no doubt1 the same meaning in the heathen ritual4 ,and so regarded1 the metaphor means that a sense of the reality of sin shapes sacrificial religion4 ,there can be no doubt that a very real conviction of sin lies at the foundation of much1 if not all1 of the system of sacrifices4 ,and it is a question well worth considering whether a conviction so widespread is not valid1 and whether we should not see in it the expression of a true human need which no mere culture1 or the like1 will supply4 ,at all events1 altars stand as witnesses to the consciousness of sin4 ,and the same thought may be applied to much of the popular religion of this day4 ,it may be ineffectual and shallow but it bears witness to a consciousness of evil4 ,so its existence may be used in order to urge profounder realisation of evil on men4 ,you come to worship1 you join in confessions1 you say 'miserable sinners'--do you mean anything by it8 ,if all that be true1 should it not produce a deeper impression on you8 ,but another way of regarding the metaphor is this4 ,the horns of the altar were to be touched with the blood of propitiation4 ,but look6 the blood flows down1 and after it has trickled away1 there1 deep carven on the horns1 still appears the sin1 i4e4 the sin is not expiated by the sinner's sacrifice4 ,jeremiah is then echoing ,isaiah's word1 ',bring no more vain oblations4' ,the picture gives very strikingly the hopelessness1 so far as men are concerned1 of any attempt to blot out this record4 ,it is like the rock-cut cartouches of ,egypt on which time seems to have no effect4 ,there they abide deep for ever4 ,nothing that we can do can efface them4 ',what ,i have written1 ,i have written4' ,pen-knives and detergents that we can use are all in vain4 ,,ii4 ,sin's writing may be erased1 and another put in its place4 ,the work of ,christ1 made ours by faith1 blots it out4 7a7 ,its influence on conscience and the sense of guilt4 ,the accusations of conscience are silenced4 ,a red line is drawn across the indictment1 or1 as ,colossians has it1 it is 'nailed to the cross4' ,there is power in ,his death to set us free from the debt we owe4 7b7 ,its influence on memory4 ,christ does not bring oblivion1 but yet takes away the remorse of remembrance4 ,faith in ,christ makes memory no longer a record which we blush to turn over1 or upon which we gloat with imaginative delight in guilty pleasures past1 but a record of our shortcomings that humbles us with a penitence which is not pain1 but serves as a beacon and warning for the time to come4 ,he who has a clear beam of memory on his backward track1 and a bright light of hope on his forward one1 will steer right4 7c7 ,its influence on character4 ,we attain new hopes and tastes4 ',we become epistles of ,christ known and read of all men1' like palimpsests1 ,homer or ,ovid written over with the ,new ,testament gospels or epistles4 ,christ's work is twofold1 erasure and rewriting4 ,for the one1 ',i will blot out as a cloud their transgressions4' ,none but ,he can remove these4 ,for the other1 ',i will put ,my law into their minds and will write it on their hearts4' ,he can impress all holy desires on1 and can put ,his great love and ,his mighty spirit into1 our hearts4 ,so give your hearts to ,him4 ,they are all scrawled over with hideous and wicked writing that has sunk deep into their substance4 ,graven as if on rock are your sins in your character4 ,your worship and sacrifices will not remove them1 but ,jesus ,christ can4 ,he died that you might be forgiven1 ,he lives that you may be purified4 ,trust yourself to ,him1 and lean all your sinfulness on ,his atonement and sanctifying power1 and the foul words and bad thoughts that have been scored so deep into your nature will be erased1 and ,his own hand will trace on the page1 poor and thin though it be1 which has been whitened by ,his blood1 the fair letters and shapes of ,his own likeness4 ,do not let your hearts be the devil's copybooks for all evil things to scrawl their names there1 as boys do on the walls1 but spread them before ,him1 and ask ,him to make them clean and write upon them ,his new name1 indicating that you now belong to another1 as a new owner writes his name on a book that he has bought4 ,,the ,,heath ,,in ,,the ,,desert ,,and ,,the ,,tree ,,by ,,the ,,river ',he shall be like the heath in the desert1 and shall not see when good cometh2 but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness1 a salt land and not inhabited444,he shall be as a tree planted by the waters1 and that spreadeth out her roots by the river1 and shall not see when heat cometh1 but her leaf shall be green2 and shall not be careful in the year of drought1 neither shall cease from yielding fruit4'--,,jer4 xvii4 #f1 #h4 ,the prophet here puts before us two highly finished pictures4 ,in the one1 the hot desert stretches on all sides4 ,the fierce 'sunbeams like swords' slay every green thing4 ,the salt particles in the soil glitter in the light4 ,no living creature breaks the melancholy solitude4 ,it is a 'waste land where no one came1 or hath come since the making of the world4' ,here and there a stunted1 grey1 prickly shrub struggles to live1 and just manages not to die4 ,but it has no grace of leaf1 nor profitableness of fruit2 and it only serves to make the desolation more desolate4 ,the other carries us to some brimming river1 where everything lives because water has come4 ,the pictures are coloured by ,eastern experience4 ,for in those lands more than beneath our humid skies and weaker sunshine1 the presence or absence of running water makes the difference between barrenness and fertility4 ,dipping their boughs in the sparkling current1 and driving their roots through the moist soil1 the bordering trees lift aloft their pride of foliage and bear fruits in their season4 ,so1 says ,jeremiah1 the two pictures represent two sets of men2 the one1 he who diverts from their true object his heart-capacities of love and trust1 and clings to creatures and to men1 'making flesh his arm and departing from the living ,god'2 the other1 he who leans the whole weight of his needs and cares and sins and sorrows upon ,god4 ,we can make choice of which shall be the object of our trust1 and according as we choose the one or the other1 the experience of these vivid pictures will be ours4 ,let me briefly1 then1 draw out the points of contrast in these two companion sketches4 ,i4 ,the one is in the desert1 the other by the river4 ,underneath the pictures there lies this thought1 that the direction of a man's trust determines the whole cast of his life1 because it determines1 as it were1 the soil in which he grows4 ,we can alter our habitat4 ,the plant is fixed2 but ',i saw men as trees--yes6 but as 'trees walking4' ,we can walk1 and can settle where we shall be rooted and whence we shall draw our inspiration1 our confidence1 our security4 ,the man that chooses-for it is a matter of choice--to trust in any creature thereby wills1 though he does not know it1 that he shall dwell in a 'salt land and not inhabited4' ,the man that chooses to cast his whole self into the arms of ,god1 and in a paroxysm of self-distrust to realise the divine helpfulness and presence1 that man will soon know that he is 'planted by the river4' ,now1 the poor1 little dusty shrub in the desert1 whose very leaves have been modified into prickles1 is fit for the desert1 and is as much at home there as are the willows by the water-courses with their lush vegetation in their moist bed4 ,but if a man makes that fatal choice which so-many of us are making1 of shutting out ,god from his confidence and his love1 and squandering these upon earth and upon creatures1 he is as fatally out of harmony with the place which he has chosen for himself1 and as much away from his natural soil1 as a tropical plant would be amongst the snows of ,arctic glaciers1 or a water-lily in the ,sahara4 ,considering all that ,i am and need1 what and where is my true home and the soil in which ,i can grow securely1 and fear no evil8 ,brethren1 there is only one answer to that question4 ,the very make of a man's spirit points to ,god1 and to ,god alone1 as the natural place for him to root and grow in4 ,you1 ,i1 the poorest and humblest of men1 will never be right1 never feel that we are in our native soil1 and compassed with the appropriate surroundings1 until we have laid our hearts and our hands on the breast of ,god1 and rested ourselves on ,him4 ,not more surely do gills and fins proclaim that the creature that has them is meant to roam through the boundless ocean1 nor the anatomy and wings of the bird witness more plainly to its destination to soar in the open heavens than the make of your spirits testifies that ,god1 and none less or lower1 is your portion4 ,we are built for ,god1 and unless we recognise and act upon that conviction1 we are like the prickly shrub in the desert1 whatever good may be around us2 and if we do recognise and act upon it1 whatever parched ground may seem to stretch on all sides1 there will be soil moist enough for us to draw refreshment and vitality from it4 ,if that be so1 brethren1 what insanity the lives of multitudes of us are6 ,as well might bees try to suck honey from a vase of wax flowers as we to draw what we need from creatures1 from ourselves1 from visible and material things4 ,what would you business men think of some one who went and sold out all his stock of ,government or other sound securities1 and then flung the proceeds down a hole in ,south ,africa1 out of which no gold will ever come8 ,he would be about as wise as are the people who fancy that these hearts of theirs will ever be at home except they find a home in ,god4 ,where else will you find love that will never fail1 nor change1 nor die8 ,where else will you find an object for the intellect that will yield inexhaustible material of contemplation and delight8 ,where else infallible direction for the will8 ,where else shall weakness find unfailing strength1 or sorrow1 adequate consolation1 or hope1 certain fulfilment1 or fear1 a safe hiding-place8 ,nowhere besides4 ,oh6 then1 brethren1 do1 ,i beseech you1 turn away your heart's confidence and love from earth and creatures2 for until the roots of your life go down into ,god1 and you draw your life from ,him1 you are not in your right soil4 ,,ii4 ,the one can take in no real good2 the other can fear no evil4 ,one verse of our text says1 ',he shall not see when good cometh'2 the other one1 according to our ,authorised ,version1 ',he shall not see when heat cometh4' ,but a very slight alteration of one word in the original gives a better reading1 which is adopted in the ,revised ,version1 where we have1 'and shall not fear when heat cometh4' ,that alteration is obviously correct1 because there follows immediately a parallel clause1 'and shall not be careful'--or anxious--'in the year of drought4' ,in both these clauses the metaphor of the tree is a little let go2 and the man who is signified by it comes rather more to the front than in the remainder of the picture4 ,but that is quite natural4 ,so look at these two simple thoughts for a moment4 ,he whose trust is set upon creatures is thereby disabled from recognising what is his highest good4 ,his judgment is perverted4 ,there is the explanation of the fact that men are contented with the partial and evanescent blessedness that may be drawn from human loves and companionship and material things4 ,it is because they have gone blind1 and the false direction of their confidence1 has put out their eyes4 ,and if any of my hearers are living careless about ,god1 and all that comes from ,him1 and perfectly contented with that which they find in this visible1 diurnal sphere1 that is not because they have the good which they need1 but because they do not know that good when they see it1 and have lost the power of discerning what is really for their benefit and blessedness4 ,there is nothing sadder in this world than the conspiracy into which men seem to have entered to ignore the highest good1 and to profess themselves contented with the lowest4 ,i remember a rough parable of ,luther's--the roughness of which may be pardoned for the force and vividness of it--which bears on this matter4 ,he tells how a company of swine were offered all manner of dainty and refined foods1 and how1 with a unanimous swinish grunt1 they answered that they preferred the warm1 reeking 'grains' from the mash-tub4 ,the illustration is coarse1 but it is not an unfair representation of the choice that some of us are making4 ',he cannot see when good cometh4' ,god comes1 and ,i would rather have some more money4 ,god comes1 and ,i prefer some woman's love4 ,god comes1 and ,i would rather have a prosperous business4 ,god comes1 and ,i prefer beer4 ,so ,i might go the whole round4 ,the man that cannot see good when it is there before his face1 because the false direction of his confidence has blinded his eyes1 cannot open his heart to it4 ,it comes1 but it does not come in4 ,it surrounds him1 but it does not enter into him4 ,you are plunged1 as it were1 in a sea of possible felicity1 which will be yours if your heart's direction is towards ,god1 and the surrounding ocean of blessedness has as little power to fill your heart as the sea has to enter some hermetically sealed flask1 dropped into the middle of the ,atlantic4 ',he cannot see when good cometh4' ,blind1 blind1 blind6 are multitudes of us4 ,turn to the other side4 ',he shall not fear when heat cometh1' which is evil in those ,eastern lands1 'and shall not be careful in the year of drought4' ,the tree1 that sends its roots towards a river that never fails1 does not suffer when all the land is parched4 ,the man who has driven his roots into ,god1 and is drawing from that deep source what is needful for his life and fertility1 has no occasion to dread any evil1 nor to gnaw his heart with anxiety as to what he is to do in parched days4 ,troubles may come1 but they do not go deeper than the surface4 ,it may be all cracked and caked and dry1 'a thirsty land where no water is1' and yet deep down there may be moisture and coolness4 ,faith1 which is trust1 and fear are opposite poles4 ,if a man has the one1 he can scarcely have the other in vigorous operation4 ,he that has his trust set upon ,god does not need to dread anything except the weakening or the paralysing of that trust2 for so long as it lasts it is a talisman which changes evil into good1 the true philosopher's stone which transmutes the baser metals into gold2 and1 so long as it lasts1 ,god's shield is round him and no evil can befall him4 ,brethren1 if our trust is in ,god1 it is unworthy of it and of us to fear1 for all things are ,his1 and there is no evil in evil as men call it1 so long as it does not draw away our hearts from our ,father and our ,hope4 ,therefore1 he that fears let him trust2 he that trusts let him not be afraid4 ,he that sets his heart and anchors his hopes of safety on any except ,god1 let him be afraid1 for he is in a very stern world1 and if he is not fearful he is a fool4 ,so the direction of our trust1 if it is right1 shuts all real evil out from us1 and if it is wrong1 shuts us out from all real good4 ,,iii4 ,the one is bare1 the other clothed with the beauty of foliage4 ,the word which is translated 'heat' has a close connection with1 if it does not literally mean1 'naked' or 'bare4' ,probably1 as ,i have said1 it designates some inconspicuously leaved desert shrub1 the particular species not being ascertainable or a matter of any consequence4 ,leaves1 in ,scripture1 have a recognised symbolical meaning4 ',nothing but leaves' in the story of the fig-tree meant only beautiful outward appearance1 with no corresponding outcome of goodness of heart1 in the shape of fruit4 ,so ,i may venture here to draw a distinction between leafage and fruit1 and say that the one points rather to a man's character and conduct as lovely in appearance1 and in the other as morally good and profitable4 ,this is the lesson of these two clauses--misdirected confidence in creatures strips a man of much beauty of character1 and true faith in ,god adorns a soul with a leafy vesture of loveliness4 ,now1 ,i have no doubt that there start up in your minds at once two objections to that statement3 first1 that a great many godless men do present fair and attractive features of character2 and secondly1 that a great many ,christian men do not4 ,i admit both things frankly1 and yet ,i say that1 for the highest good1 the perfect crowning beauty of any human character1 this is needed1 that it should cling to ,god4 ',whatsoever things are lovely and of good report' lack their supreme excellence1 the diamond on the top of the royal crown1 the glittering gold on the summit of the campanile1 unless there is in them a distinct reference to ,god4 ,i believe that ,i am speaking to some who would not profess themselves to be religious men1 and who yet are truly desirous of cultivating in their character the ,fair and the ,good4 ,to them ,i would venture to say--brethren1 you will never be so completely1 so refinedly1 so truly1 graceful as you might be1 unless the roots of your character 'are hid with ,christ in ,god4' ',a servant with this clause ,makes drudgery divine1' said good old ,george ,herbert4 ,and any act1 however humble1 on which the light from ,god falls1 will gleam with a lustre else unattainable1 like some piece of broken glass in the furrows of a ploughed field4 ,sure ,i am that if we ,christian people had a deeper faith1 we should have fairer lives4 ,and ,i beseech you1 my fellow-believers in ,jesus ,christ1 not to supply the other side with arguments against ,christianity1 by showing that it is possible for a man to say and to suppose that he sets his heart on ,god1 and yet to bear but little leafage of beauty or grace of character4 ,goodness is beauty2 beauty is goodness4 ,both are to be secured by communion and union with ,him who is fairer than the children of men4 ,dip your roots into the fountain of life--it is the fountain of beauty as well as of life1 and your lives will be green4 ,,iv4 ,lastly1 the one is sterile1 the other fruitful4 ,i admit1 as before1 that this statement often seems to be contradicted1 both by the good works of godless men1 and by the bad works of godly ones4 ,but for all that1 ,i would urge you to consider that the only works of men worth calling 'fruit1' if regard is had to their capacities1 relations1 and obligations1 are those done as the outcome and consequence of hearts trusting in the ,lord4 ,the rest of the man's activities may be busy and multiplied1 and1 from the point of view of a godless morality1 many may be fair and good2 but if we think of him as being destined1 as his chief end1 'to glorify ,god1 and 7so7 to enjoy ,him for ever1' what correspondence between such a creature and acts that are done without reference to ,god can there ever be8 ,they are not worth calling 'fruit4' ,at the most they are 'wild grapes1' and there comes a time when they will be tested and the axe laid to the root of the trees1 and these imperfect deeds will shrivel up and disappear4 ,trust will certainly be fruitful4 ,in so saying we are upon ,christian ground1 which declares that the outcome of faith is conduct in conformity with the will of ,him in whom we trust1 and that the productive principle of all good in man is confidence in ,god manifest to us in ,jesus ,christ4 ,so we have not to begin with work2 we have to begin with character4 ',make the tree good1' and its fruit will be good4 ,faith will give power to bring forth such fruit2 and faith will set agoing the motive of love which will produce it4 ,thus1 dear brethren1 we come back to this--the prime thing about a man is the direction which his trust takes4 ,is it to ,god8 ,then the tree is good2 and its fruit will be good too4 ,if you will trust yourselves to ',god manifest in the flesh1' to ,jesus ,christ and ,his work for you and in you1 then you will be as if 'planted by the rivers of water1' you will be able to receive into yourselves1 and will receive1 all good1 and be masters of all evil1 will exhibit graces of character else impossible1 and will bring forth 'fruit that shall remain4' ,separated from ,him we are nothing1 and can bring forth nothing that will stand the light of that last moment4 ,brother1 turn your trust to that dear ,lord1 and then you will have your 'fruit unto holiness1 and the end shall be everlasting life1' when the transplanting season comes1 and they that have been 'planted in the house of the ,lord' below shall 'flourish in the courts of our ,god' above1 and grow more green and fruitful1 beside the 'river of the water of life that proceedeth from the throne of ,god and of the ,lamb4' ,a ,,soul ,,gazing ,,on ,,god ',a glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary4'--,,jer4 xvii4 #ab4 ,i must begin by a word or two of explanation as to the language of this passage4 ,the word 'is' is a supplement1 and most probably it ought to be omitted1 and the verse treated as being1 not a statement1 but a series of exclamations4 ,the next verse runs thus1 ',o ,lord6 the hope of ,israel1 all that forsake ,thee shall be ashamed'2 and the most natural and forcible understanding of the words of my text is reached by connecting them with these following clauses3 ',o ,lord6 the hope of ,israel1' and1 regarding the whole as one long exclamation of adoring contemplation1 ',a glorious throne1' or ',thou glorious throne1 high from the beginning2 the place of our sanctuary1 ,o ,lord6 the hope of ,israel4' ,i4 ,if we look at the words so1 we have here1 to begin with1 a wonderful vision of what ,god is4 ',a glorious throne1' or1 as the original has it1 'a throne of glory1'--which is not quite the same thing--' high from the beginning1 the place of our sanctuary4' ,there are three clauses4 ,now they all seem to me to have reference to the ,temple in ,jerusalem1 which is taken1 by a very natural figure of speech1 as a kind of suggestive description of ,him who is worshipped there4 ,there is the same kind of use of the name of a place to stand for the person who occupies or inhabits it1 in many familiar phrases4 ,for instance1 ',the ,sublime ,porte' is properly the name of a lofty gateway which belonged to the palace in ,constantinople1 and so has come to mean the ,turkish ,government if ,government it can be called4 ,so we talk of the ',papal ,see' having done this or that1 and scarcely remember that a 'see' is a bishop's seat1 or1 again1 the decision of 'the ,chair' is final in the ,house of ,commons4 ,or1 if you will accept a purely municipal parallel1 if any one were told that 'the ,town ,hall' had issued a certain order1 he would know that our authorities1 the ,mayor and ,corporation1 had decreed so and so4 ,so1 in precisely the same way here1 the prophet takes the outward facts of the ,temple as symbolising great and blessed spiritual thoughts of the ,god that filled the ,temple with ,his own lustre4 ',a glorious throne'--that is grand1 but that is not what ,jeremiah means--',a throne of glory' is the true rendering4 ,and to what does that refer8 ,now1 in the greater number of cases1 you will find that in the ,old ,testament1 where 'glory' is ascribed to ,god1 the word has a very distinct and specific meaning1 viz4 the light which was afterwards called the ',shekinah1' and dwelt between the cherubim1 and was the symbol of the divine presence and the assurance that that presence would be self-revealing and would manifest ,himself to ,his people4 ,so here the throne on which glory rests is what we call the mercy-seat within the veil1 where1 above the propitiatory table on which once a year the ,high ,priest sprinkled the blood of sacrifice1 and beneath which were shut up the tables of the covenant which constituted the bond between ,god and ,israel1 shone the ,light in the midst of the darkness of the enclosed inner shrine1 the token of the divine presence4 ,the throned glory1 the glory that reigns and rules as ,king in ,israel1 is the idea of the words before us4 ,it is the same throne that a later writer in the ,new ,testament speaks of when he says1 ',let us come boldly to the ,throne of ,grace4' ,for that light of a manifested divine presence was no malign lustre that blinded or slew those who gazed upon it1 but though no eye but that of the ,high ,priest dared of old to look1 yet he1 the representative and1 as it were1 the concentration of the collective ,israel1 could stand1 unshrinking and unharmed1 before that piercing light1 because he bore in his hand the blood of sacrifice and sprinkled it on the mercy-seat4 ,so was it of old1 but now we all can draw near1 through the rent veil1 and wall rejoicingly in the light of the ,lord4 ,his glory is grace2 ,his grace is glory4 ,this1 then1 is the first of ,jeremiah's great thoughts of ,god1 and it means--',the ,lord ,god omnipotent reigneth1' there is none else but ,he1 and ,his will runs authoritative and supreme into all corners of the universe4 ,but it is 'glory' that is throned4 ,that is equivalent to the declaration that our ,god has never spoken in secret1 in the dark places of the earth1 nor said to any seeking heart1 ',seek ye ,my face in vain4' ,for the light which shone in that ,holy ,place as ,his symbol1 had for its message to ,israel the great thought that1 as the sun pours out its lustre into all the corners of its system1 so ,he1 by the self-communication which is inherent in ,his very nature1 manifests ,himself to every gazing eye1 and is a ,god who is ,light1 'and in whom is no darkness at all4' ,but reigning glory is also redeeming grace4 ,for the light of the bright cloud1 which is the glory of the ,lord1 shines still1 with no thunder in its depths1 nor tempests in its bosom1 above the mercy-seat1 where spreads the blood of sprinkling by which ,israel's sins are all taken away4 ,well may the prophet lift up his heart in adoring wonder1 and translate the outward symbol into this great word1 ',the throne of glory2 ,jehovah1 the hope of ,israel4' ,then the next clause is1 ,i think1 equally intelligible by the same process of interpretation--' ,high from the beginning4' ,it was a piece of the patriotic exaggeration of ,israel's prophets and psalmists that they made much of the little hill upon which the ,temple was set4 ,we read of the 'hill of the ,lord's house' being 'exalted above the tops of the mountains4' ,we read of it being a high hill1 'as the hill of ,bashan4' ,and though to the eye of sense it is a very modest elevation1 to the eye of faith it was symbolical of much4 ,jeremiah felt it to be a material type1 both of the elevation and of the stable duration of the ,god whom he would commend to ,israel's and to all men's trust4 ',high from the beginning1' separated from all creatural limitation and lowness1 ,he whose name is the ,most ,high1 and on whose level no other being can stand1 towers above the lowness of the loftiest creature1 and from that inaccessible height ,he sends down ,his voice1 like the trumpet from amidst the darkness of ,sinai1 proclaiming1 ',i am ,god1 and there is none beside ,me4' ,yet while thus 'holy'--that is1 separate from creatures--,he makes communion with ,himself possible to us1 and draws near to us in ,christ1 that we in ,christ may be made nigh to ,him4 ,and the loftiness involves1 necessarily1 timeless and changeless ,being2 so that we can turn to ,him1 and feel ,him to be 'the same yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever4' ,no words are needed1 and no human words are anything but tawdry attempts to elaborate1 which only result in weakening1 these two great thoughts4 ',high--from the beginning4' ,the last of this series of symbols1 even more plainly than the other two1 refers originally to the ,temple upon the hill of ,zion2 and symbolically1 to the ,god who filled the ,temple4 ,he is 'the place of our sanctuary4' ,that is as though the prophet would point1 as the wonderful climax of all1 to the fact that ,he of whom the former things were true should yet be accessible to our worship2 that1 if ,i might so say1 our feet could tread the courts of the great ,temple2 and we draw near to ,him who is so far above the loftiest1 and separate from all the magnificences which ,himself has made1 and who yet is 'our sanctuary1' and accessible to our worship4 ,ay6 and more than that--',lord6 ,thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations4' ,in old days the ,temple was more than a place of worship4 ,it was a place where a man coming had1 according to ancient custom1 guest rights with ,god2 and if he came into the ,temple of the ,most ,high as to an asylum1 he dwelt there safe and secure from avengers or foes4 ',the place of our sanctuary1' then1 declares that ,god ,himself1 like some ancestral dwelling-place in which generation after generation of fathers and children have abode1 whence they have been carried1 and where their children still live1 is to all generations their home and their fortress4 ,the place of our sanctuary implies access to the inaccessibly ,high1 communion with the infinitely ,separate1 security and abode in ,god ,himself4 ,he that dwelleth in ,god dwelleth in peace4 ,these1 then1 are the points of the prophet's vision of ,god4 ,,ii4 ,note1 further1 the soul rapt in meditation and this vision of ,god4 ,to me1 this long-drawn-out series of linked clauses without grammatical connection1 this succession of adoring exclamations of rapture1 wonder1 and praise1 is very striking4 ,it suggests the manner in which we should vivify all our thoughts of ,god1 by turning them into material for devout reverence2 awe-struck1 considering meditation4 ,there is nothing told us in the ,bible about ,god simply in order that we may know it4 ,it is all meant to be fuel to the fire of our divine affection2 to kindle in us the sentiments of faith and love and rapturous adoration4 ,it is easy to know the theology of the ,old and the ,new ,testaments1 and a man may rattle over the catalogue of the divine 'attributes1' as they are called1 with perfect accuracy1 and never be a hair the better for knowing all of them4 ,so ,i urge1 on you and on myself1 the necessity of warming our thoughts and kindling our conceptions of what ,god is until they melt us into fluidity and adoration and love4 ,i believe that there are few things which we ,christian people more lack in this generation1 and by the lack of which we suffer more1 than the comparative decay of the good old habit of frequent and patient meditation on the things that we most surely believe4 ,we are so busy in adding to our stock of knowledge1 in following out to their latest consequence the logical effects of our ,christianity1 and in defending it1 or seeking to be familiar with the defences1 against modern assaults1 or in practical work on its behalf1 that the last thing that a great many of us do is to feed upon the truth which we know already4 ,we should be like ruminant animals who first crop the grass--which1 being interpreted1 means1 get ,scripture truth into our heads--and then chew the cud1 which being interpreted is1 then put these truths through a second process by meditation on them1 so that they may turn into nourishment and make flesh4 ',he that eateth ,me1' said ,jesus ,christ 7and ,he used there the word which is specially applied to rumination71 'shall live by ,me4' ,it does us no good to know that ,god is 'the ,throne of ,glory1 high from the beginning1 the place of our sanctuary1' unless we turn theology into devotion by meditation upon it4 ',suffer the word of exhortation '--in busy1 great communities like ours1 where we are all driven so hard1 there is need for some voices sometimes to be lifted up in pressing upon ,christian people the duty of quiet rumination upon the truths that they have4 ,,iii4 ,we may see in our text1 further1 the meditative soul going out to grasp ,god thus revealed1 as its portion and hope4 ,as ,i have already said1 the text is best understood as part of a series of exclamations which extends into the following verse4 ,if we take account of the whole series1 and regard the subsequent part of it as led up to1 by the part which is our text1 we get an important thought as to what should be the outcome of the truths concerning ,god1 and of our meditative contemplation of them4 ,my relation to these truths is not exhausted even when ,i have meditated upon them1 and they have touched me into a rapture of devotion4 ,i can conceive that to have been done1 and yet the next necessary step not to have been taken4 ,what is that step8 ,the next verse tells us1 when it goes on to exclaim1 ',o ,lord6 the hope of ,israel4' ,i must cast myself upon ,him by faith as my only hope1 and turn away from all other confidences which are vain and impotent4 ,so we are back upon that familiar ,christian ground1 that the bond which knits a man to ,god1 and by which all that ,god is becomes that man's personal property1 and available for the security and the shaping of his life1 is the simple flinging of himself into ,god's arms1 in sure and certain trust4 ,then1 every one of these characteristics of which ,i have been speaking will contribute its own special part to the serenity1 the security1 the godlikeness1 the blessedness1 the righteousness1 the strength of the man who thus trusts4 ,but such confidence which makes all these things my own possessions1 which makes ,him 'a throne of glory1' to which ,i have access2 which makes ,him a place in which ,i dwell by this exercise of personal faith2 which makes ,him my hope1 has for its other side the turning away from all other grounds of confidence and security4 ,the subsequent context tells us how wise it is thus to turn away1 and what folly it is to make anything else our hope except that 'throne of glory4' ',they that depart from ,me shall be written in the earth1' because 'they have forsaken the ,lord1 the fountain of living waters4' ,if we say1 ',o ,lord6 ,thou art my hope1' we shall have the 'anchor of the soul1 sure and steadfast1 which entereth within the veil1' and fixes on ,him who is within it1 the throned ,grace between the cherubim1 our ,brother and our ,hope4 ,so we may dwell in ,god1 and from the secure height of our house look down serenely on impotent foes1 and never know the bitterness of vain hopes1 nor remove from the safe asylum of our home in ,god4 ,,two ,,lists ,,of ,,names ',they that depart from ,me shall be written in the earth'--,,jer4 xvii4 #ac4 ',rejoice that your names are written in heaven4'--,,luke x4 #bj4 ,a name written on earth implies that the bearer of the name belongs to earth1 and it also secondarily suggests that the inscription lasts but for a little while4 ,contrariwise1 a name written in heaven implies that its bearer belongs to heaven1 and that the inscription will abide4 ,we find running throughout ,scripture the metaphor of books in which men's names are written4 ,moses thought of a book which ,god has written1 and in which his name was enrolled4 ,a psalmist speaks of the 'book of the living1' and ,isaiah of those who are 'written among the living in ,jerusalem4' ,ezekiel threatens the prophets who speak lies in ,jehovah's name that they 'shall not be written in the writing of the house of ,israel4' ,the ,apocalypse has many references to the book which is designated as 'the ,lamb's book of life1' and which is opened at the final judgment along with the books in which each man's life-history is written1 and only 'they who are written in the ,lamb's book of life' enter into the city that comes down out of heaven4 ,i4 ,the principle on which the two lists are made up4 ,it is commonly supposed that the idea of unconditional predestination is implied in the writing of the names in the book of life4 ,there is nothing in the figure itself to lead to that1 and the text from ,jeremiah suggests1 on the contrary1 that the voluntary attitude of men to ,god determines their being or not being inscribed in the book of heaven1 since it is 'they who depart from ,god' whose 'names are written on earth4' ,then1 since in the ,new ,testament the book of life is called 'the ,lamb's1' we are led to think of ,christ as writing in it1 and hence of our faith in ,him as being the condition of enrolling our names4 ,,ii4 ,the significance of the lists4 ,they are lists of the living and of the dead4 ,true life is in fellowship with ,god4 ,the other is the register of the burials in a graveyard4 ,they are lists of the citizens of two cities4 ,the idea is that the one class have relations and affinities with the celestial1 are 'fellow-citizens with the saints1' and have heaven as their metropolis1 their mother city4 ,therefore they are but as aliens here1 and should not wish to be naturalised4 ,the other class are citizens of the earthly1 belonging to the present1 with all their thoughts and desires bounded by this visible diurnal sphere4 ,they are lists of those who shall be forgotten1 and their works annihilated1 and of those who shall be remembered and their work crowned4 ,the names written on earth are swiftly obliterated1 like a child's scrawl on the sand which is washed away by the next tide1 or covered up by the next storm that blows about the sand-hills4 ,what a contrast is that of the names written on the heavens1 high up above all earthly mutations6 ,in one sense oblivion soon seizes on us all4 ,in another none of us is ever forgotten by ,god1 but good and bad alike live in ,his thought4 ,still this idea of a special remembrance has place1 as suggesting that1 however unnoticed or forgotten on earth1 ,god's children live in the true ',golden ,book4' ,their names are in the book of life4 ',of so much fame1 in heaven expect the meed4' ,ay1 and as1 too1 suggesting how brief after all is the honour that comes from men4 ,also1 there will be annihilation or perpetuation of their life's work4 ,nothing lasts but the will of ,god4 ,men who live godless lives are engaged in true ,sisyphean labour4 ,they are running counter to the whole stream of things1 and what can be left at the end but frustrated endeavours covered with a gloomy pall8 ,is your life to be wasted8 ,they are lists of those who are accepted in judgment1 and of those who are not4 ,rev4 xx4 #ab1 #ae2 xxi4 #bg4 ,the books of men's lives are to be opened1 and also the book of life4 ,what is written in the former can only bring condemnation4 ,if our names are written in the latter1 then ,he will 'confess our names before ,his ,father and the holy angels4' ,and ,he will joyfully inscribe them there if we say to ,him1 like the man in ,pilgrim's ,progress1 ',set down my name4' ,he will write them not only there1 but on the palms of ,his hands and the tablets of ,his heart4 ,,yokes ,,of ,,wood ,,and ,,iron ',go and tell ,hananiah1 saying1 ,thus saith the ,lord2 ,thou hast broken the yokes of wood2 but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron4'--,,jer4 xxviii4 #ac4 ,i suppose that ,i had better begin by a word of explanation as to the occasion of this saying4 ,one king of ,judah had already been carried off to ,babylon1 and the throne refilled by his brother1 a puppet of the conquerors4 ,this shadow of a king1 with the bulk of the nation1 was eager for revolt4 ,jeremiah had almost single-handed to stem the tide of the popular wish4 ,he steadfastly preached submission1 not so much to ,nebuchadnezzar as to ,god1 who had sent the invaders as chastisement4 ,the lesson was a difficult one to learn1 and the people hated the teacher4 ,in the ,jerusalem of ,jeremiah's day1 as in other places and at other times1 a love of country which is not blind to its faults and protests against a blatant militarism1 was scoffed at as 'unpatriotic1' 'playing into the hands of the enemy1' 'seeking peace at any price1' whilst an insane eagerness to rush to arms without regard to resources or righteousness was called a 'spirited foreign policy4' ,so ,jeremiah had plenty of enemies4 ,he had adopted a strange way of enforcing his counsel1 which would be ridiculous to-day1 but was natural and impressive then and there4 ,he constantly for months went about with an ox-yoke on his neck1 as a symbol of the submission which he advocated4 ,one day1 in the temple1 before a public assembly1 a certain ,hananiah1 a member of the opposite faction1 made a fierce attack on the prophet and his teaching1 and uttered a counter-prophecy to the effect that1 in two years1 the foreign invasion would be at an end1 and all would be as it used to be4 ,our prophet answered very quietly1 saying in effect1 ',i hope to ,god that it may be true2 the event will show4' ,and then ,hananiah1 encouraged by his meekness1 proceeded to violence1 tore the yoke off his shoulders and snapped it in two1 reiterating his prophecy4 ,then ,jeremiah went away home4 ,soon after1 the voice which he knew to be ,god's1 and not his own thoughts1 spoke within him1 and gave a much sharper answer4 ,god declared1 through ,jeremiah1 the plain truth that1 for a tiny kingdom like ,judah to perk itself up in the face of a world-conquering power like ,babylon1 could only bring down greater severity from the conqueror4 ,and then he declared that ,hananiah1 for rebellion--not against ,babylon1 but against ,god1 the true ,king of ,israel--would be taken from the earth4 ,he died in a couple of months4 ,my text forms the first word of this divine message4 ,i have nothing more to do with its original application4 ,it gives a picturesque setting to a very impressive and solemn truth2 very familiar1 no doubt1 but none the less because of its familiarity needing to be dinned into people's ears4 ,it is that to throw off legitimate authority is to bind on a worse tyranny4 ,to some kind of yoke all of us must bend our necks1 and if we slip them out we do not thereby become independent1 but simply bring upon ourselves a heavier pressure of a harder bondage4 ,the remainder of my remarks will simply go to illustrate that principle in two or three cases of ascending importance4 ,i begin at the bottom4 ,i4 ,we have the choice between the yoke of law and the iron yoke of lawlessness4 ,we all know that society could not be held together without some kind of restraints upon what is done1 and some stimulus to do what is apt to be neglected4 ,even a band of brigands1 or a crew of pirates1 must have some code4 ,i have read somewhere that the cells in a honeycomb are circles squeezed by the pressure of the adjacent cells into the hexagonal shape which admits of contiguity4 ,if they continued circles there would be space and material lost1 and no complete continuity4 ,so1 in like manner1 you cannot keep five men together without some mutual limitations which are shaped into a law4 ,now1 as long as a man keeps inside it1 he does not feel its pressure4 ,a great many of us1 for instance1 who are in the main law-abiding people1 do not ever remember that there is such a thing as restrictions upon our licence1 or as obligations to perform certain duties2 for we never think either of taking the licence or of shirking the duties4 ,the yoke that is accepted ceases to press4 ,once let a man step outside1 and what then8 ,why1 then1 he is an outlaw2 and the rough side of the law is turned to him1 and all possible terrors1 which people within the boundary have nothing to do with1 gather themselves together and frown down upon him4 ,the sheep that stops inside the pasture is never torn by the barbed wires of the fence4 ,if you think of the life of a criminal1 with all its tricks and evasions1 taking 'every bush to be an officer1' as ,shakespeare says2 or as the first of the brood who was the type of them all said1 ',every man that seeth me shall kill me'3 if you think of the sword that hangs over the head of every law-breaker1 and which he knows is hanging by a hair2 if you think of men in counting-houses who have manipulated the books of the firm1 and who durst not be away from their desks for a day lest all should come to light2 and if you think of the punishment that follows sooner or later1 you will see that it is better to bear the light yoke of the law than the heavy yoke of crime4 ,some men buy their ruin very dearly4 ,so much for the individual4 ,but there is another aspect of this same principle on which ,i venture to say a word1 although it is only a word1 in passing4 ,i do not suppose that there are many of my hearers who are likely to commit overt breaches of the law4 ,but there are a great many of us who are apt to neglect the obligations of citizenship4 ,in a community like ours1 laziness1 fastidiousness1 absorption in our own occupations1 and a number of other more or less reputable reasons1 tempt many to stand aloof from the plain imperative obligations of every citizen in a free country4 ,every man who thus neglects to do his part for the common weal does his part in handing over the rule of the community to the least worthy4 ,you will find--as you see in some democratic countries to-day1 where the cultivated classes1 and the classes with the sternest morality1 have withdrawn in disgust from the turmoil--the mob having the upper hand1 the least worthy scrambling into high places1 and the community suffering1 and bearing a heavier yoke1 by reason of the unwillingness of some to bear the yoke and do the duty of a citizen4 ,vice lifts up its head1 morality is scouted1 self-interest is pursued unblushingly1 and the whole tone of public opinion is lowered4 ,christian men and women1 remember that you are members of a community1 and you bear the yoke of responsibility therefore2 and if you do not discharge your obligation1 then you will have a heavier burden still to bear4 ,i need not remind you1 ,i suppose1 of how this same thesis--that we have to choose between the yoke of law and the iron yoke of lawlessness--is illustrated in the story of almost all violent revolutions4 ,they run the same course4 ,first a nation rises up against intolerable oppression1 then revolution devours its own children1 and the scum rises to the top of the boiling pot4 ,then comes1 in the language of the picturesque historian of the ,french ,revolution1 the type of them all--then comes at the end 'the whiff of grapeshot' and the despot4 ,first the government of a mob1 and then the tyranny of an emperor1 crush the people that shake off the yoke of reasonable law4 ,that is my first point4 ,,ii4 ,let me take a higher illustration2--we have to choose between the yoke of virtue and the iron yoke of vice4 ,we are under a far more spiritual and searching law than that written in any statute-book1 or administered by any court4 ,every man carries within his own heart the court1 the tribunal2 the culprit and the judge4 ,and here too1 if law is not obeyed1 the result is not liberty1 but the slavery of lawlessness4 ,no man can ponder his own nature and make without feeling that on every fibre of him is stamped a great law which he is bound to obey1 and that on every fibre of him is impressed the necessity of part of his nature coercing1 restraining1 or spurring other parts of it4 ,for1 if we take stock of ourselves1 what do we find8 ,the broad basis of the pyramid1 as it were1 is laid in the faculties nearest the earth1 the appetites which are inseparable from our corporeal being1 and these know nothing about right or wrong1 but are utterly blind to such distinctions4 ,put a loaf before a hungry man1 and his mouth waters1 whether the loaf belongs to himself or whether it is inside a baker's window4 ,then above these1 as the next course of the pyramid1 there are other desires1 sentiments1 affections1 and emotions1 less grossly sensuous than those of which ,i have been speaking1 but still equally certain to be excited by the presence of their appropriate object1 without any consideration of whether law is broken or kept in securing of it4 ,above these1 which are1 so to speak1 branded on their very foreheads with the iron of slavery1 stand certain faculties which are as clearly anointed to rule as the others are intended to serve4 ,there is reason or intelligence1 which is evidently meant to be eyes to these blind instincts and emotions of desire1 and there is what we call the power of will1 that stands like an engine-driver with his hand upon the lever which will either stop the engine or accelerate its revolutions4 ,it says to passions and desires ',go6' and they go2 and1 alas6 it sometimes says ',halt6' and they will not halt4 ,then there is conscience1 which brings to light for every man something higher than himself4 ,a great philosopher once said that the two sublimest things in the universe were the moral law and the starry heavens2 and that law ',i ought' bends over us like the starry heavens with which he associated it4 ,no man can escape from the pressure of duty1 and on every man is laid1 by his very make1 the twofold obligation1 first to look upwards and catch the behests of that solemn law1 and then to turn his eyes and his strength inwards and coerce or spur1 as the case may be1 the powers of his nature1 and rule the kingdom within himself4 ,now1 as long as a man lets the ruling parts of his nature guide the lower faculties1 he feels comparatively no pressure from the yoke4 ,but1 if he once allows beggars to ride on horseback whilst princes walk--sense and appetite and desire1 and more or less refined forms of inclination1 to take the place which belongs only to conscience interpreting duty--then he has exchanged the easy yoke for one that is heavy indeed4 ,what does a man do when1 instead of loyally accepting the conditions of his nature1 and bowing himself to serve the all-embracing and all-penetrating law of duty1 he sets up inclination of any sort in its place8 ,what does he do8 ,i will tell you4 ,he unships the helm2 he flings compass and sextant overboard2 he fires up the furnaces1 and screws down the safety-valve1 and says1 ',go ahead6' ,and what will be the end of that1 think you8 ,either an explosion or a crash upon a reef2 and you may take your choice of which is the better kind of death--to be blown up or to go down4 ,keep within the law of conscience1 and let it govern all inclinations1 and most of all the animal part of your nature2 and you will feel little pressure1 and no pain1 from the yoke4 ,shake it off1 and there is fulfilled in the disobedient man the threatening of my text1 which rightly translated ought to be1 ',thou hast broken the yokes of wood1 and thou hast made instead of them yokes of iron4' ,for do you think it will be easy to serve the base-born parts of your nature1 when you set them on the throne and tell them to govern you8 ,did you never hear of such a thing as a man's vices getting such a hold on him that1 when his weakened will tried to shake them off1 they laughed in his face and said1 ',here we are still'8 ,did you never hear of that other solemn truth--and have you never experienced how true it is8--that no man can say1 ',i will let my inclination have its fling this once'8 ,there are never 'this onces4' or very1 very seldom4 ,when you are glissading down a snowy ,alpine slope1 you cannot stop when you like1 though you strike your alpenstock ever so deep into the powdery snow4 ,if you have started1 away you must go4 ,god be thanked6 the illustration does not altogether apply1 for a man can stop if he will repent1 but he cannot stop unless he does4 ,did you never hear that a teaspoonful of narcotic to-day will have to be a tablespoonful in a week or two1 to produce the same effect8 ,are there not plenty of men who have said with all the force that a weakened will has left in it1 ',i will never touch a drop of drink again1 as long as ,i live1 ,god helping me'8--and they have gone down the street1 and they have turned in1 not at the first or the second public-house1 but at the fourth or the fifth4 ,ah6 brother1 'they promised them liberty1 but they are the servants of corruption4' ,fix this in your minds4 ',he that committeth sin is the slave of sin1' of the sin that he commits4 ,do not put off the easy yoke of obedience to conscience and duty1 or you will find that there is an iron one1 with many a sharp point in its unpolished surface rubbing into your skin and wounding your shoulders4 ',it's wiser to be good than bad4 ,it's safer to be meek than fierce4' ',thou hast broken the yokes of wood'2 it is not difficult to do that2 'thou hast made instead of them yokes of iron4' ,that is my second point4 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 we have the choice between the yoke of ,christ and the iron yoke of godlessness4 ,you may think that to be a very harsh saying1 and much too vehement an antithesis4 ,let me vindicate it according to my own belief in a sentence or two4 ,it seems to me that for civilised and cultivated ,europe at this day1 the choice lies between accepting ,jesus ,christ as the ,revealer of ,god1 or wandering away out into the wastes of uncertainty1 or as they call it nowadays1 agnosticism and doubt4 ,i believe myself1 and ,i venture to state it here--though there is not time to do more than state it--that no form of what is now called ,theism1 which does not accept the historic revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ as the 'master-light of all our seeing1' will ever be able to sustain itself permanently in the face of present currents of opinion4 ,if you do not take ,christ for your ,teacher1 you are handed over either to the uncertainty of your own doubts1 or to pinning your faith to some man and enrolling yourself as a disciple who is prepared to swallow down whole whatsoever the rabbi may say1 and so giving to him what you will not give to ,jesus2 or else you will sink back into utter indolence and carelessness about the whole matter2 or else you will go and put your belief and your soul into the hands of a priest1 and shut your eyes and open your mouth and take whatever tradition may choose to send you4 ,the one refuge from all these1 as ,i believe1 is to go to ,him and learn of ,him1 and so take ,his yoke upon your shoulders4 ,but1 let me say further1 it is better to obey ,christ's commandments than to set ourselves against them4 ,for if we will take ,his will for our law1 and meekly assume the yoke of loyal and loving obedience to ,him1 the door into an earthly paradise is thrown open to us4 ,his yoke is easy1 not because its prescriptions and provisions lower the standard of righteousness and morality1 but because love becomes the motive2 and it is always blessed to do that which the ,beloved desires4 ,when ',i will' and ',i ought' cover exactly the same ground1 then there is no kind of pressure from the yoke4 ,christ's yoke is easy because1 too1 ,he gives the power to obey ,his commandments4 ,his burden is such a burden 7as ,i think one of the old fathers puts it7 as sails are to a ship or wings to a bird4 ,they add to the weight1 but they carry that which carries them4 ,so ,christ's yoke bears the man that bears it4 ,it is easy1 too1 because 'in1' and not only after or for1 'keeping of it there is great reward'2 seeing that ,he commands nothing which is not congruous with the highest good1 and bringing along with it the purest blessing4 ,instead of that yoke1 what has the world to offer1 or what do we get to dominate us1 if we cast off ,christ8 ,self1 the old anarch self1 and that is misery4 ,to be self-ruled is to be self-destroyed4 ,there is no need that ,i should remind you of how it is better to accept ,christ's providences than to kick against them4 ,sorrow to which we submit loses all its bitterness and much of its sadness4 ,kicking against the affliction makes its sharp point penetrate our limbs4 ,the bird that will dash itself against the wires of its cage beats itself all bloody and torn4 ,let us take the providence and it ceases to be hard4 ,one last word2--we all carry an iron yoke upon our shoulders4 ,for1 hard as it is for us preachers to get our friends that listen to us to believe and realise it1 ',we all have sinned and come short of the glory of ,god4' ,that yoke is on us all4 ,and ,i1 for my part1 believe that no man by his own efforts can cast it off1 but that the attempt to do so often brings greater strength to the sins that we seek to cast out1 just as the more you mow the grass1 the thicker and the stronger it grows4 ,so ,i come with the great message which ,jesus ,christ ,himself struck as the keynote and prelude of ,his whole ministry1 when in the synagogue ,he said1 ',the ,spirit of the ,lord ,god is upon ,me 444 to preach deliverance to the captives1 and the opening of the prison to them that are bound4' ,he1 and ,he only1 will break every yoke and let the oppressed go free4 ,and then ,he addresses us1 after ,he has done that1 with the immortal words1 the sweetness of whose sound1 sweet as it is1 is less than the sweetness of their sense3 ',take ,my yoke upon you 444 and ye shall find rest to your souls4' ,oh1 brother6 will you not answer1 ',o ,lord6 truly ,i am ,thy servant4 ,thou hast loosed my bonds1 and thereby bound me for ever to wear ,thy yoke'2 as the slave clings to his ransomer1 and delights to serve him all the days of his life8 ,,what ,,the ,,stable ,,creation ,,teaches ',if those ordinances depart from before ,me1 saith the ,lord1 then the seed of ,israel also shall cease from being a nation before ,me for ever4'--,,jer4 xxxi4 #cf4 ,this is the seal of the new covenant1 which is to be made in days future to the prophet and his contemporaries1 with the house of ,israel and of ,judah4 ,that new covenant is referred to in ,hebrews as the fundamental law of ,christ's kingdom4 ,therefore we have the right to take to ourselves the promises which it contains1 and to think of 'the house of ,israel' and 'the seed of ,jacob' as including us1 'though ,abraham be ignorant of us4' ,the covenant and its pledge are equally grand4 ,the very idea of a covenant as applied to ,god is wonderful4 ,it is meant to teach us that1 from all the infinite modes of action possible to ,him1 ,he has chosen ,one2 that ,he has1 as it were1 marked out a path for ,himself1 and confined the freedom of ,his will and the manifold omnipotences of ,his power to prescribed limits1 that ,he has determined the course of ,his future action4 ,it is meant to teach us1 too1 the other grand thought that ,he has declared to us what that course is1 not leaving us to learn it piecemeal by slow building up of conclusions about ,his mind from ,his actions as they come forth1 but inversely telling us ,his mind and purpose in articulate and authentic words by which we are to interpret each successive work of ,his4 ,he makes known ,his purposes4 ',before they spring forth ,i tell you of them4' ,it is meant to teach us1 too1 that ,he regards ,himself as bound by the declaration which ,he has made1 so that we may rest secure on this strong foundation of ,his faithfulness and ,his truth1 and for all doubts and fears find the sufficient cure in ,his own declaration3 ',my covenant will ,i not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of ,my lips4' ,no wonder that the dying king found the strength of his failing heart in the thought1 ',he hath made with me an everlasting covenant1 ordered in all things and sure4' ,the weighty promises of this solemn bond of ,god's cover the whole ground of our spiritual necessities--forgiveness of sins1 true1 personal1 direct acquaintance with ,god1 an intercommunion of mutual possession between ,him who is ours and us who are ,his1 and an inward sanctification by which ,his precepts shall coincide with our desires4 ,these are the blessings which ,he binds ,himself to bestow4 ,and of this transcendent pact1 the seal and guarantee is worthy4 ,god descends to ratify a bond with man4 ,by it ,he binds ,himself to give all possible good for the soul4 ,and to confirm it heaven and earth are called in4 ,he points us to all that is august1 stable1 immense1 inscrutable in the works of ,his hands1 and bids us see there ,his pledge that ,he will be a faithful1 covenant-keeping ,god4 ,sun1 moon and stars1 heaven1 earth and sea--'ye are ,my witnesses1' saith the ,lord4 ,god's unchangeable love is the true lesson from the stable regularity of the universe4 ,the tone in which ,scripture speaks of external nature in all its parts is very remarkable1 altogether peculiar4 ,it does not take the aesthetic or the scientific1 but the purely religious point of view4 ,i4 ,the facts4 ,all nature is directly the effect of ,god's will and power4 ',he giveth1' ',he divideth' 7v4 #ce74 ,the physical universe presents a spectacle of stable regularity4 ,this regularity is the consequence of sovereign1 divine will4 ,these ordinances are not laws of nature1 but of ,god4 ,,ii4 ,the use commonly made of the facts4 ,ordinary unthinking worldliness sees nothing noticeable in them because they come uniformly4 ,earthquakes startle1 but the firmness of the solid earth attracts no observation4 ,god is thought to speak in the extraordinary1 but most men do not hear ,his voice in the normal4 ,scientific godlessness formularises this tendency into a system1 and proclaims that laws are everything and ,god a mere algebraical x4 ,,iii4 ,the lesson which they are meant to teach4 ,god's works are a revelation of ,god4 ,there is nothing in effect which is not in cause1 and the stability of these ordinances carries our thoughts back to an unchanging ,ordainer4 ,they witness to ,his constancy of purpose or will4 ,his acts do not come from caprice1 nor are done as experiments1 but are the stable expression of uniform and unchanging will4 ,they witness to ,his unfailing energy of power1 which 'operates unspent' and is to-day as fresh as at creation's birth4 ,they witness to a single end pursued through all changes1 and by all varieties of means4 ,darkness and light1 sun rising and setting1 storm and sunshine1 summer and winter1 all serve one end4 ,as a horizontal thrust may give rise to opposite circular motions which all issue in working out an onward progress1 so the various dealings of ,providence with us are all adapted to 'work together1' and that 'for good4' ,they witness that life1 joy1 beauty1 flow from obedience4 ,thus1 then1 these ordinances in their stability are witnesses4 ,but they are inferior witnesses4 ,the noblest revelation of the divine faithfulness and unchangeable purpose of good is in ,jesus4 ,and these witnesses will one day pass4 ,even now they have their changes1 slow and unmarked by a short-lived man4 ,stars burn out1 there have been violent convulsions1 shocks and shatterings in the heavens1 and a time comes1 as even physical science predicts1 when 'the heavens shall vanish away like smoke1 and the earth shall wax old like a garment1' but that to which they witnessed shall endure1 ',my salvation shall be for ever1 and ,my righteousness shall not be abolished4' ,the created lights grow dim and die out1 but in 'the ,father of lights' is 'no variableness1 neither shadow that is cast by turning4' ,hence we see what our confidence should be4 ,it should stand firm and changeless as the ,covenant1 and we should move in our orbits as the stars and hearken to the voice of ,his word as do they4 ,let us see to it that we have faith to match ,his faithfulness1 and that our confidence shall be firmer than the mountains1 more stable than the stars4 ,,what ,,the ,,immense ,,creation ,,teaches ',if heaven above can be measured1 and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath1 ,i will also cast off all the seed of ,israel for all that they have done1 saith the ,lord4'--,,jer4 xxxi4 #cg4 ,in the former sermon we considered the previous verse as presenting the stability of creation as a guarantee of the firmness of ,god's gracious covenant4 ,now we have to consider these grand closing words which bring before us another aspect of the universe as a guarantee for another side of ,god's gracious character4 ,the immensity of creation is a symbol of the inexhaustibleness of the forgiving love of ,god4 ,i4 ,a word or two as to the fact here used as a symbol of the divine long-suffering4 ,the prophet had very likely no idea at all beyond the ordinary one that presents itself to the senses--a boundless vault above an endless plain on which we stand1 deep1 sunless foundations1 the ,titanic substructions on which all rests1 going down who knows where1 resting on who knows what4 ,we may smile at the rude conception1 but it will be well for us if we can get as vivid an impression of the fact as ,he had4 ,we thankfully avail ourselves of modern science to tell us something about the dimensions of this awful universe of ours4 ,we learn to know that there are millions of miles between these neighbour orbs1 that light which has been travelling for thousands of years may not yet have fallen on some portion of the mighty whole1 that the planetary masses of our system are but tiny specks in the whole1 that every fresh stride which astronomical observation takes but opens up new nebulae to be resolved1 where suns and constellations and systems are dwarfed by distance into hazy brightness which hardly deserves the name of light4 ,we know all this1 and can find all about the distances in any book4 ,so much for space4 ,then the geologist comes to bewilder us still more1 with extension in time4 ,but while all this may serve to give definiteness to the impression1 after all1 perhaps1 it is the eye alone1 as it gazes1 that really feels the impression4 ,astronomy is really a very prosaic science4 ,,ii4 ,the effects which this immensity often produces on men4 ,very commonly in old days it led to actual idolatry1 bowing down before these calm1 unreachable brightnesses4 ,in our days it too often leads to forgetting ,god altogether1 and not seldom to disbelief that man can be of any account in such a universe4 ,we are told that the notions of a covenant1 a redemption1 or that ,god cares about us are presumptuous4 ,we all know the talk of men who are so modestly conscious of their own insignificance that they rebuke ,god for saying that ,he loves us1 and ,christians for believing ,him4 ,,iii4 ,the true lesson4 ,the immensity of the material universe is for us a symbol of the infinity of ,god's long-suffering love4 ,the creation proceeds from a greater ,creator4 ,that gigantic and overwhelming magnitude1 that hoary and immemorial age1 that complicated and innumerable multitude of details1 what less can they show than ,,one ,eternal and ,infinite8 ,the immense suggests the infinite4 ,granted that you cannot from the immense creation rise logically to the ,infinite ,creator1 still the facts that the soul conceives that there is an infinite ,god1 and is conscious of the spontaneous evoking of that thought by the contemplation of the immeasurable1 are strong reasons for believing that it is a legitimate process of thought which hears the name of ,god thundered from the far-off depths of the silent heavens4 ,the heavens cannot be measured1 no plummet can reach to the deep foundations of the earth4 ,we are surrounded by a universe which to our apprehensions is boundless4 ,how much more so from expansions of our conceptions of celestial magnitudes since ,jeremiah's days1 and what is to be the lesson from that8 ,that we are insignificant atoms in this mighty whole8 that ,god is far away from us8 that the material stretches so far that perhaps there is nothing beyond8 ,the thought of faith is that the material immensity teaches me my ,god's infinity1 and especially ,his inexhaustible patience with us sinners4 ,it teaches us the unfathomed depths of ,his gracious heart1 and the abysses of ,his mysterious providence1 and the unbounded sweep of ,his long-suffering forgiveness4 ,his forgiving forbearance reaches further than the limits of the heavens4 ,not till these can be measured will it be exhausted1 and the seed of ,israel cast off for what they have done4 ,he1 the ,infinite ,father1 above all creation1 mightier than it1 is our true home1 and living in ,him we have an abode which can never be 'dissolved1' and above us stretch far-shining glories1 unapproached masses of brightness1 nebulae of blessedness1 spaces where the eye fails and the imagination faints4 ,all is ours1 our eternal possession1 the inexhaustible source of our joy4 ,astronomers tell of light which has been travelling for millenniums and has not yet reached this globe2 but what is that to the flashing glories which through eternity shall pour on us from ,him8 ,so1 then1 our confidence should be firm and inexhaustible4 ,god has written wondrous lessons in ,his creation4 ,but they are hieroglyphs1 of which the key is lost1 till we hear ,christ and learn of ,him4 ,god has set ,his glories in the heavens and the earth is full of ,his mercy1 but these are lesser gifts than that which contains them all and transcends them all1 even ,his ,son by whom ,he made the worlds1 and--mightier still--by whom ,he redeemed man4 ,god has written ,his mercy in the heavens and ,his faithfulness in the clouds1 but ,his mercy and ,his faithfulness are more commended to us in ,him who was before all things1 and of whom it is written3 ',as a vesture shalt ,thou fold them up1 but ,thou art the same and ,thy years shall not fail4' ,god has confirmed the covenant of ,his love to us by the faithful witnesses in the heavens1 but the love shall abide when they have perished4 ,the heavens bend above us all1 and over the head of every man the zenith stands4 ,every spot of this low earth is smiled upon by that serene apocalypse of the loving will of ,god4 ,no lane is so narrow and foul in the great city1 no spot is so bare and lonely in the waste desert1 but that thither the sunlight comes1 and there some patch of blue above beckons the downcast eye to look up4 ,the day opens its broad bosom bathed in light1 and shows the sun in the heavens1 the ,lord of light1 to preach to us of the true light4 ,the night opens deeper abysses and fills them with stars1 to preach to us how fathomless and immense ,his loving kindnesses and tender mercy are4 ,they are witnesses to thee1 dear friend1 whatsoever thy heart1 whatsoever thy sins1 whatsoever thy memories4 ,no iniquity can shut out ,god's forgiving love4 ,you cannot build out the heavens4 ,he will not be sent away2 you cannot measure1 you cannot conceive1 you cannot exhaust1 ,his pardoning love4 ,no storms disturb that serene sky4 ,it is always there1 blazing down upon us unclouded with all its orbs4 ,trust ,christ2 and then as years roll on1 you will find that infinite love growing ever greater to your loving eyes1 and through eternity will move onwards in the happy atmosphere and boundless heaven of the inexhaustible1 deep heart and changeless love of ,god4 ,a ,,threefold ,,disease ,,and ,a ,,twofold ,,cure4 ',i will cleanse them from all their iniquity1 whereby they have sinned against ,me2 and ,i will pardon all their iniquities1 whereby they have sinned1 and whereby they have transgressed against ,me4'--,,jer4 xxxiii4 #h4 ,jeremiah was a prisoner in the palace of the last ,king of ,judah4 ,the long1 national tragedy had reached almost the last scene of the last act4 ,the besiegers were drawing their net closer round the doomed city4 ,the prophet had never faltered in predicting its fall1 but he had as uniformly pointed to a period behind the impending ruin1 when all should be peace and joy4 ,his song was modulated from a saddened minor to triumphant jubilation4 ,in the beginning of this chapter he has declared that the final struggles of the besieged will only end in filling the land with their corpses1 and then1 from that lowest depth1 he soars in a burst of lyrical prophecy conceived in the highest poetic style4 ,the exiles shall return1 the city shall be rebuilt1 its desolate streets shall ring with hymns of praise and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride4 ,the land shall be peopled with peaceful husbandmen1 and white with flocks4 ,there shall be again a ,king upon the throne2 sacrifices shall again be offered4 ',in those days1 and at that time1 will ,i cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto ,david4444 ,in those days shall ,judah be saved1 and ,jerusalem shall dwell safely2 and this is the name wherewith she shall be called1 the ,lord our righteousness4' ,that fair vision of the future begins with the offer of healing and cure1 and with the exuberant promise of my text4 ,the first thing to be dealt with was ,judah's sin2 and that being taken away1 all good and blessing would start into being1 as flowerets will spring when the baleful shadow of some poisonous tree is removed4 ,now1 my text at first reading seems to expend a great many unnecessary words in saying the same thing over and over again1 but the accumulation of synonyms not only emphasises the completeness of the promise1 but also presents different aspects of that promise4 ,and it is to these that ,i crave your attention in this sermon4 ,the great words of my text are as true a gospel for us--and as much needed by us1 ,god knows6--as they were for ,jeremiah's contemporaries2 and we can understand them better than either he or they did1 because the days that were to come then have come now1 and the ,king who was to reign in righteousness is reigning to-day1 and ,his ,name is ,christ4 ,my object now is1 as simply as ,i can1 to draw your attention to the two points in this text3 a threefold view of our sad condition1 and a twofold bright hope4 ,now for the first of these4 ,there is here-- ,i4 ,a threefold view of the sad condition of humanity4 ,observe the recurrence of the same idea in our text in different words3 ',their iniquity whereby they have sinned against ,me4' 444 ',their iniquity whereby they have sinned1 and whereby they have transgressed against ,me4' ,you see there are three expressions which roughly may be taken as referring to the same ugly fact1 but yet not meaning quite the same--'iniquity1 or iniquities1 sin1 transgression4' ,these three all speak of the same sad element in your experience and mine1 but they speak it from somewhat different points of view1 and ,i wish to try to bring out that difference for you4 ,suppose that three men were to describe a snake4 ,one of them fixes his attention on its slimy coils1 and describes its sinuous gliding movements4 ,another of them is fascinated by its wicked beauty1 and talks about its livid markings and its glittering eye4 ,the third thinks only of the swift-darting fangs1 and of the poison-glands4 ,they all three describe the snake1 but they describe it from different points of view2 and so it is here4 ',iniquity1' 'sin1' 'transgression' are synonyms to some extent1 but they do not cover the same ground4 ,they look at the serpent from different points of view4 ,first1 a sinful life is a twisted or warped life4 ,the word rendered 'iniquity1' in the ,old ,testament1 in all probability literally means something that is not straight1 but is bent1 or1 as ,i said1 twisted or warped4 ,that is a metaphor that runs through a great many languages4 ,i suppose 'right' expresses a corresponding image1 and means that which is straight and direct2 and ,i suppose that 'wrong' has something to do with 'wrung'--that which has been forcibly diverted from a right line4 ,we all know the conventional colloquialism about a man being 'straight1' and such-and-such a thing being 'on the straight4' ,all sin is a twisting of the man from his proper course4 ,now there underlies that metaphor the notion that there is a certain line to which we are to conform4 ,the schoolmaster draws a firm1 straight line in the child's copybook2 and then the little unaccustomed hand takes up on the second line its attempt1 and makes tremulous1 wavering pot-hooks and hangers4 ,there is a copyhead for us1 and our writing is1 alas6 all uneven and irregular1 as well as blurred and blotted4 ,there is a law1 and you know it4 ,you carry in yourself--,i was going to say1 the standard measure1 and you can see whether when you put your life by the side of that1 the two coincide4 ,it is not for me to say2 ,i know about my own1 and you may know about yours1 if you will be honest4 ,the warped life belongs to us all4 ,the metaphor may suggest another illustration4 ,a ,czar of ,russia was once asked what should be the course of the railway from ,st4 ,petersburg to ,moscow1 and he took up a ruler and drew a straight line upon the chart1 and said1 ',there2 that is the course4' ,there is a straight road marked out for us all1 going1 like the old ,roman roads1 irrespective of physical difficulties in the contour of the country1 climbing right over ,alps if necessary1 and plunging down into the deepest valleys1 never deflecting one hairsbreadth1 but going straight to its aim4 ,and we--what are we8 what are 'our crooked1 wandering ways in which we live1' by the side of that straight path8 ,this very prophet has a wonderful illustration1 in which he compares the lives of men who have departed from ,god to the racing about in the wilderness of a wild dromedary1 'entangling her ways1' as he says1 crossing and recrossing1 and getting into a maze of perplexity4 ,ah1 my friend1 is that not something like your life8 ,here is a straight road1 and there are the devious footpaths that we have made1 with many a detour1 many a bend1 many a coming back instead of going forward4 ',the labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them1 because he knoweth not how to go to the city4' ,all sin is deflection from the straight road1 and we are all guilty of that4 ,let me urge you to consult the standard that you carry within yourselves4 ,if you never have done it before1 do it now2 or1 better1 when you are alone by yourselves4 ,it is easy to imagine that a line is straight4 ,but did you ever see the point of a needle under a microscope8 ,however finely it is polished1 and apparently tapering regularly1 the scrutinising investigation of the microscope shows that it is all rough and irregular4 ,what would a builder do if he had not a ,t-square and a level8 ,his wall would be ever so far out1 whilst he thought it perfectly perpendicular4 ,and remember that a line at a very acute angle of deflection only needs to be carried out far enough to diverge so widely from the other line that you could put the whole solar system in between the two4 ,the smallest departure from the line of right will end1 unless it is checked1 away out in the regions of darkness beyond4 ,that is the lesson of the first of the words here4 ,the second of them1 rendered in our version 'sin1' if ,i may recur to my former illustration1 looks at the snake from a different point of view1 and it declares that all sin misses the aim4 ,the meaning of the word in the original is simply 'that which misses its mark4' ,and the meaning of the prevalent word in the ,new ,testament for 'sin' means1 in accordance with the ethical wisdom of the ,greek1 the same thing4 ,now1 there are two ways in which that thought may be looked at4 ,every wrong thing that we do misses the aim1 if you consider what a man's aim ought to be4 ,we have grown a great deal wiser than the ,puritans nowadays1 and people make cheap reputations for advanced thought by depreciating their theology4 ,we have not got beyond the first answer of the ,shorter ,catechism1 ',man's chief end is to glorify ,god1 and to enjoy ,him for ever4' ,that is the only aim which corresponds to our constitution1 to our circumstances4 ,a palaeontologist will pick up part of a skeleton embedded in the rocks1 and from the study of a bone or two will tell you whether that creature was meant to swim1 or to fly1 or to walk2 whether its element was sea1 or sky1 or land4 ,our destination for ,god is as plainly stamped on heart1 mind1 will1 practical powers1 as is the destination of such a creature deducible from its skeleton4 ',whose image and superscription hath it8' ,god's1 stamped deep upon us all4 ,and so1 brother1 whatever you win1 unless you win ,god1 you have missed the aim4 ,anything short of knowing ,him and loving ,him1 serving ,him1 being filled and inspired by ,him1 is contrary to the destiny stamped upon us all4 ,and if you have won ,god1 then1 whatever other human prizes you may have missed1 you have made the best of life4 ,unless ,he is yours1 and you are ,his1 you have made a miss1 and if ,i might venture to add1 a mess1 of yourself and of your life4 ,then there is another side to this4 ,the solemn teaching of this word is not confined to that thought1 but also opens out into this other1 that all godlessness1 all the low1 sinful lives that so many of us live1 miss the shabby aim which they set before themselves4 ,i do not believe that any men or women ever got as much good1 even of the lowest kind1 out of a wrong thing as they expected to get when they ventured on it4 ,if they did1 they got something else along with it that took all the gilt off the gingerbread4 ,take the lowest kind of gross evil--sins of lust or of drunkenness4 ,well1 no doubt the physical satisfaction desired is secured4 ,yes2 and what about what comes after1 in addition1 that was not aimed at8 ,the drunkard gets his pleasurable oblivion1 his desired excitement4 ,what about the corrugated liver1 the palsied hand1 the watery eye1 the wrecked life1 the broken hearts at home1 and all the other accompaniments8 ,there is an old ,greek legend about a certain messenger that came to earth with a box1 in which were all manner of pleasant gifts1 and down at the bottom was a speckled pest that1 when the box was emptied1 crawled out into the sunshine and infected the land4 ,that ,pandora's box is like 'the good things' that sin brings to men4 ,you gain1 perhaps1 your advantage1 and you get something that spoils it all4 ,is not that your experience8 ,i do not deny that you may satisfy your lower desires by a godless life4 ,i know only too well how hard it is to get people to have higher tastes1 and how all we ministers of religion are spending our efforts in order to win people to love something better than the world can give them4 ,i also know that1 if ,i could get to the very deepest recess of your hearts1 you would admit that pleasures or advantages that are complete1 that is to say1 that satisfy you all round1 and that are lasting1 and that can front conscience and ,god who is at the back of conscience1 are not to be won on the paths of sin and godlessness4 ,there is an old story that speaks of a knight and his company who were travelling through a desert1 and suddenly beheld a castle into which they were invited and hospitably welcomed4 ,a feast was spread before them1 and each man ate and drank his fill4 ,but as soon as they left the enchanted halls1 they were as hungry as before they sat at the magic table4 ,that is the kind of food that all our wrongdoing provides for us4 ',he feedeth on ashes1' and hungers after he has fed4 ,so1 dear friends1 learn this ancient wisdom1 which is as true today as it ever was2 and be sure1 of this1 that there is only one course in this world which will give a man true1 lasting satisfaction2 that there is only one life1 the life of obedience to and love of ,god1 about which1 at the end1 there will not need to be said1 ',this their way is their folly4' ,and now1 further1 there is yet another word here1 carrying with it important lessons4 ,the expression which is translated in our text 'transgressed1' literally means 'rebelled4' ,and the lesson of it is1 that all sin is1 however little we think it1 a rebellion against ,god4 ,that introduces a yet graver thought than either of the former have brought us face to face with4 ,behind the law is the ,lawgiver4 ,when we do wrong1 we not only blunder1 we not only go aside from the right line1 but also we lift up ourselves against our ,sovereign ,king1 and we say1 ',who is the ,lord that we should serve ,him8 ,our tongues are our own4 ,who is ,lord over us8 ,let us break ,his bands asunder1 and cast away ,his cords from us4' ,there are crimes against law2 there are faults against one another4 ,sins are against ,god2 and1 dear friends1 though you do not realise it1 this is plain truth1 that the essence1 the common characteristic1 of all the acts which1 as we have seen1 are twisted and foolish1 is that in them we are setting up another than the ,lord our ,god to be our ruler4 ,we are enthroning ourselves in ,his place4 ,do you not feel that that is true1 and that in some small thing in which you go wrong1 the essence of it is that you are seeking to please yourself1 no matter what duty--which is only a heathen name for ,god--says to you8 ,does not that thought make all these apparently trivial and insignificant deeds terribly important8 ,treason is treason1 no matter what the act by which it is expressed4 ,it may be a little thing to haul down a union-jack from a flagstaff1 or to tear off a barn-door a proclamation with the royal arms at the top of it1 but it may be rebellion4 ,and if it is1 it is as bad as to turn out a hundred thousand men in the field1 with arms in their hands4 ,there are small faults1 there are trivial crimes2 there are no small sins4 ,an ounce of arsenic is arsenic1 just as much as a ton2 and it is a poison just as surely4 ,now ,i have enlarged perhaps unduly on this earlier part of my subject1 and can but briefly turn to the second division which ,i suggested1 viz43-- ,,ii4 ,the twofold bright hope which shines through this darkness4 ',i will cleanse 444 ,i will pardon4' ,if sin combines in itself all these characteristics that ,i have touched upon1 then clearly there is guilt1 and clearly there are stains2 and the gracious promise of this text deals with both the one and the other4 ',i will pardon4' ,what is pardon8 ,do not limit it to the analogy of a criminal court4 ,when the law of the land pardons1 or rather when the administrator of the law pardons1 that simply means that the penalty is suspended4 ,but is that forgiveness8 ,certainly it is only a part of it1 even if it is a part4 ,what do you fathers and mothers do when you forgive your child8 ,you may use the rod or you may not1 that is a question of what is best for the child4 ,forgiveness does not lie in letting him off the punishment2 but forgiveness lies in the flowing to the child1 uninterrupted1 of the love of the parent heart1 and that is ,god's forgiveness4 ,penalties1 some of them1 remain--thank ,god for it6 ',thou wast a ,god that forgavest them1 though ,thou tookest vengeance of their inventions1' and the chastisement was part of the sign of the forgiveness4 ,the great penalty of all1 which is separation from ,god1 is taken away2 but the essence of that pardon1 which it is my blessed work to proclaim to all men1 is1 that in spite of the prodigal's rags and the stench of the sty1 the ,father's love is round about him4 ,it is round about you1 brother4 ,do you need pardon8 ,do you not8 ,what does conscience say8 ,what does the sense of remorse that sometimes blesses you1 though it tortures1 say8 ,there are tendencies in this generation1 as always1 but very strong at present1 to ignore the fact that all sin must necessarily lead to tremendous consequences of misery4 ,it does so in this world1 more or less4 ,a man goes into another world as he left this one1 and you and ,i believe that 'after death is the judgment4' ,do you not require pardon8 ,and how are you to get it8 ',himself bore our sins in ,his own body on the tree4' ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 died that the loving forgiveness of ,god might find its way to every heart1 and might take all men to its bosom1 whilst yet the righteousness of ,god remained untarnished4 ,i know not any gospel that goes deep enough to touch the real sore place in human nature1 except the gospel that says to you and me and all of us1 ',behold the ,lamb of ,god that taketh away the sin of the world4' ,but forgiveness is not enough1 for the worst results of past sin are the habits of sin which it leaves within us2 so that we all need cleansing4 ,can we cleanse ourselves8 ,let experience answer4 ,did you ever try to cure yourself of some little trick of gesture1 or manner1 or speech8 ,and did you not find out then how strong the trivial habit was8 ,you never know the force of a current till you try to row against it4 ',can the ,ethiopian change his skin8' ,no2 but ,god can change it for him4 ,so1 again1 we say that ,jesus ,christ who died for 'the remission of sins that are past1' lives that ,he may give to each of us ,his own blessed life and power1 and so draw us from our evil1 and invest us in ,his good4 ,dear brother1 ,i beseech you to look in the face the fact of your rebellion1 of your missing your aim1 of your perverted life1 and to ask yourself the question1 ',can ,i deal either with the guilt of the past1 or with the imperative tendency to repeated sin in the future8' ,you may have your leprous flesh made 'like the flesh of a little child4' ,you may have your stained robe washed and made lustrous 'white in the blood of the ,lamb4' ,pardon and cleansing are our two deepest needs4 ,there is one hand from which we can receive them both1 and one only4 ,there is one condition on which we shall receive them1 which is that we trust in ,him1 ',who was crucified for our offences1 and lives to hallow us into ,his own likeness4' ,,the ,,rechabites ',the sons of ,jonadab the son of ,rechab have performed the commandment of their father1 which he commanded them2 but this people have not hearkened unto ,me4'--,,jer4 xxxv4 #af4 ,the ,rechabites had lived a nomad life1 dwelling in tents1 not practising agriculture1 abstaining from intoxicants4 ,they were therein obeying the command of their ancestor1 ,jonadab4 ,they had been driven by the ,babylonian invasion to take refuge in ,jerusalem1 and1 no doubt1 were a nine days' wonder there1 with their strange ways4 ,jeremiah seized on their loyalty to their dead ancestor's command as an object-lesson1 by which he put a still sharper edge on his rebukes4 ,the ,rechabites gave their ancestral law an obedience which shamed ,judah's disobedience to ,jehovah4 ,god asks from us only what we are willing to give to one another1 and ,god is often refused what men have but to ask and it is given4 ,the virtues which we exercise to each other rebuke us1 because we so often refuse to exercise them towards ,god4 ,i4 ,men's love to men condemns their lovelessness towards ,god4 ,these ,rechabites witnessed to the power of loyal love to their ancestor4 ,think of the wealth of love which we have all poured out on husbands1 wives1 parents1 children1 and of the few drops that we have diverted to flow towards ,god4 ,what a full flood fills the one channel2 what a shrunken stream the other6 ,think of the infinitely stronger reasons for loving ,god than for loving our dearest4 ,,ii4 ,men's faith in men condemns their distrust of ,god4 ,however you define faith1 you find it abundantly exercised by us on the low plane of earthly relations4 ,is it belief in testimony8 ,you men of business regulate your course by reports of markets on the other side of the world1 and in a hundred ways extend your credence to common report1 with but little1 and often with no examination of the evidence4 ',if we believe the witness of men1 the witness of ,god is greater4' ,and how do we treat it8 ,we are ready to accept and to act on men's testimony2 we are slow to believe ,god's1 and still slower to act on it1 and to let it mould our lives4 ,is faith the realising of the unseen8 ,we exercise it in reference to the earthly unseen2 we are slow to do so in reference to the heavenly things which are invisible4 ,is faith the act of trust8 ,life is impossible without it4 ,not only is commerce a great system of credit1 but no relations of life could last for a day without mutual confidence4 ,we depend on one another1 like a row of slightly built houses that help to hold each other up4 ,these earthly exercises of trust should make it easier for us to rise to trusting ,god as much as we do each other4 ,they ought to reveal to us the heavenly things4 ,for indeed our human trust in one another should be a sample and shadow of our wise trust in the adequate ,object of trust4 ,,iii4 ,men's obedience to human authority condemns their rebellion against ,god4 ,jonadab's commandment evoked implicit obedience from his descendants for generations4 ,side by side in man's strange nature1 with his self-will and love of independence1 lies an equally strong tendency to obey and follow any masterful voice that speaks loudly and with an assumption of authority4 ,the opinions of a clique1 the dogmas of a sect1 the habits of a set1 the sayings of a favourite author1 the fashions of our class--all these rule men with a sway far more absolute than is exercised on them by the known will of ,god4 ,the same man is a slave to usurped authority and a rebel against rightful and divine dominion4 ,whether we consider the law of ,god in its claims or its contents1 or its ultimate object1 it is worthy of entire obedience4 ,and what does it receive8 ,god asks from us only what we willingly give to men4 ,even the qualities and acts1 such as love1 trust1 obedience1 which as exercised towards men give dignity and beauty and strength1 rise up in judgment to condemn us4 ,there is a sense in which ,augustine's often-denounced saying that they are 'splendid vices' is true1 for they are turned in the wrong direction1 and very often their being directed so completely towards men and women is the reason why they are not directed towards ,god1 who alone deserves and alone can satisfy and reward them4 ,then they become sins and condemn us4 ,,jeremiah',s ,,roll ,,burned ,,and ,,reproduced ',then took ,jeremiah another roll1 and gave it to ,baruch 444 who wrote therein 444 all the words of the book which ,jehoiakim king of ,judah had burned in the fire1 and there were added besides unto them many like words4'--,,jer4 xxxvi4 #cb4 ,this story brings us into the presence of the long death agony of the ,jewish monarchy4 ,the wretched ,jehoiakim1 the last king but two who reigned in ,jerusalem1 was put on the throne by the ,king of ,egypt1 as his tributary1 and used by him as a buffer to bear the brunt of the ,babylonian invasion4 ,he seems to have had all the vices of ,eastern sovereigns4 ,he was covetous1 cruel1 tyrannous1 lawless1 heartless1 senseless4 ,he was lavishing money on a grand palace1 built with cedar and painted in vermilion1 when the nation was in its death-throes4 ,he had neither valour nor goodness1 and so little did he understand the forces at work in his times that he held by the rotten support of ,egypt against the grim power of ,babylon1 and of course1 when the former was driven like chaff before the assault of the latter1 he shared the fate of his principal1 and ,judaea was overrun by ,babylon1 ,jerusalem captured1 and the poor creature on the throne bound in chains to be carried to ,babylon1 but1 as would appear1 discovered by ,nebuchadnezzar to be pliable enough to make it safe to leave him behind1 as his vassal4 ,his capture took place but a few months after the incident with which ,i am dealing now4 ,it would appear probable that the confusion and alarm of the ,babylonian assault on ,egypt had led to a solemn fast in ,jerusalem1 at which the nation assembled4 ,jeremiah1 who had been prophesying for some thirty years1 and had already been in peril of his life from the godless tyrant on the throne1 was led to collect1 in one book1 his scattered prophecies and read them in the ears of the people gathered for the fast4 ,that reading had no effect at all on the people4 ,the roll was then read to the princes1 and in them roused fear and interested curiosity1 and kindly desire for the safety of ,jeremiah and ,baruch1 his amanuensis4 ,it was next read to the king1 and he cut the roll leaf by leaf and threw it on the brasier1 not afraid1 nor penitent1 but enraged and eager to capture ,jeremiah and ,baruch4 ,the burnt roll was reproduced by ,god's command1 'and there were added besides 444 many like words4' ,i4 ,the love of ,god necessarily prophesying evil4 ,as a matter of fact1 the prophets of the ,old ,testament were all prophets of evil4 ,they were watchmen seeing the sword and giving warning4 ,no one ever spoke more plainly of the penalties of sin than did ,christ4 ,the authoritative revelation of the consequences of wrongdoing is an integral part of the gospel4 ,it is not the highest form of appeal4 ,it would be higher to say1 ',do right because it is right2 love ,christ because ,christ is lovely4' ,the purpose of such an appeal is to prepare us for the true gospel4 ,but the appeal to a reasonable self-love1 by warnings of the death which is the wages of sin1 is perfectly legitimate4 ,dehortations from sin on the ground of its consequences is part of ,god's message4 ,further1 the warning comes from love4 ,punishment must needs follow on sin4 ,even ,his love must compel ,god to punish1 and to warn before ,he does4 ,surely that is kind4 ,his punishments are made known beforehand that we may be sure that caprice and anger have no part in inflicting them1 but that they are the settled order of an inviolable law1 and constitutional procedure of a just kind4 ,whether is it better to live under a despot who smites as he will1 or under a constitutional king whose code is made public4 ,surely it is needful to have clearly set forth the consequences of sin1 in view of the sophistries buzzing round us all and nestling in our own hearts1 of the deceitfulness of sin1 of siren voices whispering1 ',ye shall not surely die4' ,god's prophecies of evil are all conditional4 ,they are sent on purpose that they may not be fulfilled4 ,,ii4 ,the loving warnings disregarded and disliked4 ,jehoiakim's behaviour is very human and like what we all do4 ,we see the same thing repeated in all similar crises4 ,cassandra4 ,jewish prophets4 ,christ4 ,english ,commonwealth4 ,french ,revolution4 ,blindness to all signs and hostility to the men that warn4 ,we see it in the attitude to the gospel revelation4 ,the ,scripture doctrine of punishment always rouses antagonism1 and in this day revolts men4 ,there is much in present tendencies to weaken the idea of future retribution4 ,modern philanthropy makes it hard sometimes to administer even human laws4 ,the feeling is good1 but this exaggeration of it bad4 ,it is a reaction to some extent against an unchristian way of preaching ,christian truth1 but even admitting that1 it still remains true that an integral part of the ,christian revelation is the revelation of death as the wages of sin4 ,we see the same recoil of feeling operating in individual cases4 ,how many of you are quite indifferent to the preaching of a judgment to come1 or only conscious of a movement of dislike6 ,but how foolish this is6 ,if a man builds a house on a volcano1 is it not kind to tell him that the lava is creeping over the side8 ,is it not kind to wake1 even violently1 a traveller who has fallen asleep on the snow1 before drowsiness stiffens into death8 ,,iii4 ,the impotent rejection and attempted destruction of the message4 ,the roll is destroyed1 but it is renewed4 ,you do not alter facts by neglecting them1 nor abrogate a divine decree by disbelieving it4 ,the awful law goes on its course4 ,it is not pre-eminent seamanship to put the look-out man in irons because he sings out1 ',breakers ahead4' ,the crew do not abolish the reef so1 but they end their last chance of avoiding it1 and presently the shock comes1 and the cruel coral tears through the hull4 ,,iv4 ,the neglected message made harder and heavier4 ,every rejection makes a man more obdurate4 ,every rejection increases criminality1 and therefore increases punishment4 ,every rejection brings the punishment nearer4 ,the increased severity of the message comes from love4 ,oh1 think of the infinite 'treasures of darkness' which ,god has in reserve1 and let the words of warning lead you to ,jesus1 that you may only hear and never experience the judgments of which they warn4 ,give ,christ the roll of judgment and ,he will destroy it1 nailing it to ,his cross1 and instead of it will give you a book full of blessing4 ,,zedekiah ',zedekiah the son of ,josiah reigned as king 444 whom ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon made king'--,,jer4 xxxvii4 #a4 ,zedekiah was a small man on a great stage1 a weakling set to face circumstances that would have taxed the strongest4 ,he was a youth at his accession to the throne of a distracted kingdom1 and if he had had any political insight he would have seen that his only chance was to adhere firmly to ,babylon1 and to repress the foolish aristocracy who hankered after alliance with the rival power of ,egypt4 ,he was mad enough to form an alliance with the latter1 which was constructive rebellion against the former1 and was strongly reprobated by ,jeremiah4 ,swift vengeance followed2 the country was ravaged1 ,zedekiah in his fright implored ,jeremiah's prayers and made faint efforts to follow his counsels4 ,the pressure of invasion was lifted1 and immediately he forgot his terrors and forsook the prophet4 ,the ,babylonian army was back next year1 and the final investment of ,jerusalem began4 ,the siege lasted sixteen months1 and during it1 ,zedekiah miserably vacillated between listening to the prophet's counsels of surrender and the truculent nobles' advice to resist to the last gasp4 ,the miseries of the siege live for ever in the ,book of ,lamentations4 ,mothers boiled their children1 nobles hunted on dunghills for food4 ,their delicate complexions were burned black1 and famine turned them into living skeletons4 ,then1 on a long summer day in ,july came the end4 ,the king tried to skulk out by a covered way between the walls1 his few attendants deserted him in his flight1 he was caught at last down by the fords of the ,jordan1 carried prisoner to ,nebuchadnezzar at ,riblah away up in the north beyond ,baalbec1 and there saw his sons slain before his eyes1 and1 as soon as he had seen that last sight1 was blinded1 fettered1 and carried off to ,babylon1 where he died4 ,his career teaches us lessons which ,i may now seek to bring out4 ,i4 ,a weak character is sure to become a wicked one4 ,moral weakness and inability to resist strong pressure was the keynote of ,zedekiah's character4 ,there were good things in him2 he had kindly impulses1 as was shown in his emancipation of the slaves at a crisis of ,jerusalem's fate4 ,left to himself1 he would at least have treated ,jeremiah kindly1 and did rescue him from lingering death in the foul dungeon to which the ruffian nobility had consigned him1 and he provided for his being at least saved from dying of starvation during the siege4 ,he listened to him secretly1 and would have accepted his counsel if he had dared4 ,but he yielded to the stronger wills of the nobles1 though he sometimes bitterly resented their domination1 and complained that 'the king is not he that can do anything against you4' ,like most weak men1 he found that temptations to do wrong abounded more than visible inducements to do right1 and he was afraid to do right1 and fancied that he was compelled by the force of circumstances to do wrong4 ,so he drifted and drifted1 and at last was smashed to fragments on the rocks1 as all men are who do not keep a strong hand on the helm and a steady eye on the compass4 ,the winds are good servants but bad masters4 ,if we do not coerce circumstances to carry us on the course which conscience has pricked out on the chart1 they will wreck us4 ,,ii4 ,a man may have a good deal of religion and yet not enough to mould his life4 ,zedekiah listened to the prophet by fits and starts4 ,he was eager to have the benefit of the prophet's prayers4 ,he liberated the slaves in ,jerusalem4 ,he came secretly to ,jeremiah more than once to know if there were any message from ,god for him4 ,yet he had not faith enough nor submission enough to let the known will of ,god rule his conduct1 whatever the nobles might say4 ,are there not many of us who have a belief in ,god and a general acquiescence in ,christ's precepts1 who order our lives now and then by these1 and yet have not come up to the point of full and final surrender8 ,alas1 alas1 for the multitudes who are 'not far from the kingdom1' but who never come near enough to be actually in it6 ,to be not far from is to be out of1 and to be out of is to be1 like ,zedekiah1 blinded and captived and dead in prison at last4 ,,iii4 ,god's love is wonderfully patient4 ,jeremiah was to ,zedekiah the incarnation of ,god's unwearied pleadings4 ,during his whole reign1 the prophet's voice sounded in his ears1 through all the clamours and cries of factions1 and mingled at last with the shouts of the besiegers and the groans of the wounded1 like the sustained note of some great organ1 persisting through a babel of discordant noises4 ,it was met with indifference1 and it sounded on4 ,it provoked angry antagonism and still it spoke4 ,violence was used to stifle it in vain4 ,and it was not only ,jeremiah's courageous pertinacity that spoke through that persistent voice1 but ,god's unwearied love1 which being rejected is not driven away1 being neglected becomes more beseeching1 'is not easily provoked 'to cease its efforts1 but 'beareth all' despite1 and hopeth for softened hearts till the last moment before doom falls4 ,that patient love pleads with each of us as persistently as ,jeremiah did with ,zedekiah4 ,,iv4 ,the long-delayed judgment falls at last4 ,with infinite reluctance the divine love had to do what ,god ,himself has called ',his strange work4' ,divine ,justice travels slowly1 but arrives at last4 ,her foot is 'leaden' both in regard to its tardiness and its weight4 ,there is no ground in the long postponement of retribution for the fond dream that it will never come1 though men lull themselves to sleep with that lie4 ',because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily1 therefore the heart of the sons of men is thoroughly set in them to do evil4' ,but the sentence will be executed4 ,the pleading love1 which has for many returning autumns spared the barren tree and sought to make it fit to bear fruit1 does not prevent the owner saying at last to his servant with the axe in his hand1 ',now6 thou shalt cut it down4' ,,the ,,world',s ,,wages ,,to ,a ,,prophet ',and it came to pass1 that when the army of the ,chaldeans was broken up from ,jerusalem for fear of ,pharaoh's arm1 #ab4 ,then ,jeremiah went forth out of ,jerusalem to go into the land of ,benjamin1 to separate himself thence in the midst of the people4 #ac4 ,and when he was in the gate of ,benjamin1 a captain of the ward was there1 whose name was ,irijah1 the son of ,shelemiah1 the son of ,hananiah2 and he took ,jeremiah the prophet1 saying1 ,thou fallest away to the ,chaldeans4 #ad4 ,then said ,jeremiah1 ,it is false2 ,i fall not away to the ,chaldeans4 ,but he hearkened not to him3 so ,irijah took ,jeremiah1 and brought him to the princes4 #ae4 ,wherefore the princes were wroth with ,jeremiah1 and smote him1 and put him in prison in the house of ,jonathan the scribe3 for they had made that the prison4 #af4 ,when ,jeremiah was entered into the dungeon1 and into the cabins1 and ,jeremiah had remained there many days2 #ag4 ,then ,zedekiah the king sent1 and took him out3 and the king asked him secretly in his house1 and said1 ,is there any word from the ,lord8 ,and ,jeremiah said1 ,there is3 for1 said he1 thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of ,babylon4 #ah4 ,moreover1 ,jeremiah said unto king ,zedekiah1 ,what have ,i offended against thee1 or against thy servants1 or against this people1 that ye have put me in prison8 #ai4 ,where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you1 saying1 ,the king of ,babylon shall not come against you1 nor against this land8 #bj4 ,therefore hear now1 ,i pray thee1 ,o my lord the king3 let my supplication1 ,i pray thee1 be accepted before thee2 that thou cause me not to return to the house of ,jonathan the scribe1 lest ,i die there4 #ba4 ,then ,zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit ,jeremiah into the court of the prison1 and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street1 until all the bread in the city were spent4 ,thus ,jeremiah remained in the court of the prison4'--,,jer4 xxxvii4 #aa-ba4 ,,some sixteen years had passed since ,jehoiakim had burned the roll1 during all of which the slow gathering of the storm1 which was to break over the devoted city1 had been going on1 and ,jeremiah had been vainly calling on the people to return to ,jehovah4 ,the last agony was now not far off4 ,but there came a momentary pause in the siege1 produced by the necessity of an advance against a relieving army from ,egypt1 which created fallacious hopes in the doomed city4 ,it was only a pause4 ,back came the investing force1 and again the terrible1 lingering process of starving into surrender was resumed4 ,our text begins with the raising of the siege1 and extends to some point after its resumption4 ,it needs little elucidation1 so clearly is the story told1 and so natural are the incidents2 but perhaps we shall best gather its instruction if we look at the three sets of actors separately1 and note the hostile authorities1 the patient prophet and prisoner1 and the feeble king4 ,the play of these strongly contrasted characters is full of vividness and instruction4 ,i4 ,we have that rough 'captain of the ward1' who laid hands on the prophet at the gate on the north side of the city1 leading to the road to the territory of ,benjamin4 ,no doubt there was a considerable exodus from ,jerusalem when the ,assyrian lines were deserted1 and common prudence would have facilitated it1 as reducing the number of mouths to be fed1 in case the siege were renewed2 but malice is not prudent1 and1 instead of letting the hated ,jeremiah slip quietly away home to ,anathoth1 and so getting rid of his prophecies and him1 ,irijah 7'the ,lord is a beholder'7 arrested him on a charge of meditating desertion to the enemy4 ,it was a colourable accusation1 for ,jeremiah's constant exhortation had been to 'go out to the ,chaldeans1' and so secure life and mild treatment4 ,but it was clearly false1 for the ,chaldeans were for the moment gone1 and the time was the very worst that could have been chosen for a contemplated flight to their camp4 ,the real reason for the prophet's wish to leave the city was only too simple4 ,it was to see if he could get 'a portion'--some of his property1 or perhaps rather some little store of food--to take back to the famine-scourged city1 which1 he knew1 would soon be again at starvation-point4 ,there appears to have been a little company of fellow-villagers with him1 for 'in the midst of the people' 7v4 #ab7 is to be construed with 'to go into the land of ,benjamin4' ,the others seem to have been let pass1 and only ,jeremiah detained1 which makes the charge more evidently a trumped-up excuse for laying hands on him4 ,jeremiah calls it in plain words what it was--'a lie'--and protests his innocence of any such design4 ,but the officious ,irijah knew too well how much of a feather in his cap his getting hold of the prophet would be1 to heed his denials1 and dragged him off to the princes4 ,sixteen years ago 'the princes' round ,jehoiakim had been the prophet's friends2 but either a new generation had come with a new king1 or else the tempers of the men had changed with the growing misery4 ,their behaviour was more lawless than the soldiers' had been4 ,they did not even pretend to examine the prisoner1 but blazed up at once in anger4 ,they had him in their power now1 and did their worst1 lawlessly scourging him first1 and then thrusting him into 'the house of the pit'--some dark1 underground hole1 below the house of an official1 where there were a number of 'cells'--filthy and stifling1 no doubt2 and there they left him4 ,what for8 ,the charge of intended desertion was a mere excuse for wreaking their malice on him4 ,they hated ,jeremiah because he had steadily opposed the popular determination to fight1 and had foretold disaster4 ,add to this that he had held up a high standard of religion and morality to a corrupt and idolatrous people1 and his 'unpopularity' is sufficiently explained4 ,would that the same causes did not produce the same effects now6 ,individuals still think an honest rebuke of their faults an insult1 and a plain statement of their danger a sign of ill-feeling4 ,try to warn a drunkard or a profligate by telling him of the disease and misery which will dog his sins1 or by setting plainly before him ,god's law of purity and sobriety1 and you will find that the prophet's function still brings with it1 in many cases1 the prophet's doom4 ,but still more truly is this the case with masses1 whether nations or cities4 ,a spurious patriotism resents as unpatriotic the far truer love of country which sets a trumpet to its mouth to tell the people their sins4 ,in all democratic communities1 whether republican or regal in their form of government1 a crying evil is flattery of the masses1 exalting their virtues and foretelling their prosperity1 while hiding their faults and slurring over the requirements of morality and religion1 which are the foundations of prosperity4 ,what did ,england do with her prophets8 ,what did ,america do with hers8 ,what wages do they get to-day8 ,the men who dare to tell their countrymen their faults1 and to preach temperance1 peace1 civic purity1 personal morality1 are laid hold of by the ,irijahs who preside over the newspapers1 and are pilloried as deserters and half traitors at heart4 ,,ii4 ,we see the patient1 unmoved prophet4 ,one flash of honest indignation repels the charge of deserting1 and then he is silent4 ',as a sheep before her shearers is dumb1 so he opened not his mouth4' ,it is useless to plead before lawless violence4 ,a silent martyr eloquently condemns an unjust judge4 ,so1 without opposition or apparent remonstrance1 ,jeremiah is cast into the foul den where he lies for 'many days1' patiently bearing his fate1 and speaking his complaint to ,god only4 ,how long his imprisonment lasted does not appear2 but the context implies that during it the siege was resumed1 and that there was difficulty in procuring bread4 ,then the king sent for him secretly4 ,zedekiah's temper at the time will be considered presently4 ,here we have to do with ,jeremiah's answer to his question4 ,in it we may note1 as equally prominent and beautifully blended1 respect1 submission1 consciousness of peril and impending death1 and unshaken boldness4 ,he knew that his life was at the disposal of the capricious1 feeble ,zedekiah4 ,he bows before him as his subject1 and brings his 'supplication'2 but not one jot of his message will he abate1 nor smooth down its terribleness an atom4 ,he repeats as unfalteringly as ever the assurance that the king of ,babylon will take the city4 ,he asserts his own innocence as regards king and courtiers and people2 and he asks the scornful question what has become of all the smooth-tongued prophets of prosperity1 as if he were bidding the king look over the city wall and see the tokens of their lies and of ,jeremiah's truth in the investing lines of the all but victorious enemy4 ,such a combination of perfect meekness and perfect courage1 unstained loyalty to his king1 and supreme obedience to his ,god1 was only possible to a man who lived in very close communion with ,jehovah1 and had learned thereby to fear none less1 because he feared ,him so well1 and to reverence all else whom ,he had set in places of reverence4 ,true courage1 of the pattern which befits ,god's servants1 is ever gentle4 ,bluster is the sign of weakness4 ,a ,christian hero--and no man will be a ,christian as he ought to be1 who has not something of the hero in him--should win by meekness4 ,does not the ,king of all such ride prosperously 'because of truth and meekness1' and must not the armies which follow ,him do the same8 ,faithful witnessing to men of their sins need not be rude1 harsh1 or self-asserting4 ,but we must live much in fellowship with the ,lord of all the meek and the pattern of all patient sufferers and faithful witnesses1 if we are ever to be like ,him1 or even like ,his pale shadow as seen in this meek prophet4 ,the fountains of strength and of patience spring side by side at the foot of the cross4 ,,iii4 ,we have the weak ,zedekiah1 with his pitiable vacillation4 ,he had been ,nebuchadnezzar's nominee1 and had served him for some years1 and then rebelled4 ,his whole career indicates a feeble nature1 taking the impression of anything which was strongly laid on it4 ,he was a king of putty1 when the times demanded one of iron4 ,he was cowed by the 'princes4' ,sometimes he was afraid to disobey ,jeremiah1 and then afraid to let his masters know that he was so4 ,thus he sends for the prophet stealthily1 and his first question opens a depth of conflict in his soul4 ,he did believe that the prophet spoke the word of ,jehovah1 and yet he could not muster up courage to follow his convictions and go against the princes and the mob4 ,he wanted another 'word' from ,jehovah1 by which he meant a word of another sort than the former4 ,he could not bring his mind to obey the word which he had1 and so he weakly hoped that perhaps ,god's word might be changed into one that he would be willing to obey4 ,many men are1 like him1 asking1 ',is there any word from the ,lord8' and meaning1 ',is there any change in the condition of receiving ,his favour8' ,he had interest enough in the prophet to interfere for his comfort1 and to have him put into better quarters in the palace and provided with a 'circle' 7a round loaf7 of bread out of ,baker ,street1 as long as there was any in the city--not a very long time4 ,but why did he do so much1 and not do more8 ,he knew that ,jeremiah was innocent1 and that his word was ,god's2 and what he should have done was to have shaken off his masterful 'servants1' followed his conscience1 and obeyed ,god4 ,why did he not8 ,because he was a coward1 infirm of purpose1 and therefore 'unstable as water4' ,he is another of the tragic examples1 with which all life as well as scripture is studded1 of how much evil is possible to a weak character4 ,in this world1 where there are so many temptations to be bad1 no man will be good who cannot strongly say ',no4' ,the virtue of strength of will may be but like the rough fence round young trees to keep cattle from browsing on them and east winds from blighting them4 ,but the fence is needed1 if the trees are to grow4 ',to be weak is to be miserable1' and sinful too1 generally4 ',whom resist' must be the motto for all noble1 ,god-like1 and ,god-pleasing life4 ,,the ,,last ,,agony ',in the ninth year of ,zedekiah king of ,judah1 in the tenth month1 came ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon and all his army against ,jerusalem1 and they besieged it4 #b4 ,and in the eleventh year of ,zedekiah1 in the fourth month1 the ninth day of the month1 the city was broken up4 #c4 ,and all the princes of the king of ,babylon came in1 and sat in the middle gate1 even ,nergal-sharezer1 ,samgar-nebo1 ,sarse-chim1 ,rab-saris1 ,nergal-sharezer1 ,rab-mag1 with all the residue of the princes of the king of ,babylon4 #d4 ,and it came to pass1 that when ,zedekiah the king of ,judah saw them1 and all the men of war1 then they fled1 and went forth out of the city by night1 by the way of the king's garden1 by the gate betwixt the two walls3 and he went out the way of the plain4 #e4 ,but the ,chaldeans' army pursued after them1 and overtook ,zedekiah in the plains of ,jericho2 and when they had taken him1 they brought him up to ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon to ,riblah in the land of ,hamath1 where he gave judgment upon him4 #f4 ,then the king of ,babylon slew the sons of ,zedekiah in ,riblah before his eyes3 also the king of ,babylon slew all the nobles of ,judah4 #g4 ,moreover he put out ,zedekiah's eyes1 and bound him with chains1 to carry him to ,babylon4 #h4 ,and the ,chaldeans burned the king's house1 and the houses of the people1 with fire1 and brake down the walls of ,jerusalem4 #i4 ,then ,nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into ,babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city1 and those that fell away1 that fell to him1 with the rest of the people that remained4 #aj4 ,but ,nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people1 which had nothing1 in the land of ,judah1 and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time4'--,,jer4 xxxix4 #a-aj4 ,two characteristics of this account of the fall of ,jerusalem are striking1--its minute particularity1 giving step by step the details of the tragedy1 and its entire suppression of emotion4 ,the passionless record tells the tale without a tear or a sob4 ,for these we must go to the ,book of ,lamentations4 ,this is the history of ,god's judgment1 and here emotion would be misplaced4 ,but there is a world of repressed feeling in the long-drawn narrative1 as well as in the fact that three versions of the story are given here 7chap1 lii41 #b ,kings xxv474 ,sorrow curbed by submission1 and steadily gazing on ,god's judicial act1 is the temper of the narrative4 ,it should be the temper of all sufferers4 ',i was dumb1 ,i opened not my mouth2 because thou didst it4' ,but we may note the three stages in the final agony which this section distinguishes4 ,i4 ,there is the entrance of the enemy4 ,jerusalem fell not by assault1 but by famine4 ,the siege lasted eighteen months1 and ended when 'all the bread in the city was spent4' ,the pitiful pictures in ,lamentations fill in the details of misery1 telling how high-born women picked garbage from dung-heaps1 and mothers made a ghastly meal of their infants1 while the nobles were wasted to skeletons1 and the little children piteously cried for bread4 ,at length a breach was made in the northern wall 7as ,josephus tells us1 'at midnight'71 and through it1 on the ninth day of the fourth month 7corresponding to ,july71 swarmed the conquerors1 unresisted4 ,the commanders of the ,babylonians planted themselves at 'the middle gate1' probably a gate in the wall between the upper and lower city1 so securing for them the control of both4 ,how many of these fierce soldiers are named in verse #c8 ,at first sight there seem to be six1 but that number must be reduced by at least two1 for ,rab-saris and ,rab-mag are official titles1 and designate the offices 7chief eunuch and chief magician7 of the two persons whose names they respectively follow4 ,possibly ,samgar-,nebo is also to be deducted1 for it has been suggested that1 as that name stands1 it is anomalous1 and it has been proposed to render its first element1 ,samgar1 as meaning cup-bearer1 and being the official title attached to the name preceding it2 while its second part1 ,nebo1 is regarded as the first element in a new name obtained by reading shashban instead of ,sarsechim1 and attaching that reading to ,nebo4 ,this change would bring verse #c into accord with verse #ac1 for in both places we should then have ,nebo-shashban designated as chief of the eunuchs4 ,however the number of the commanders is settled1 and whatever their names1 the point which the historian emphasises is their presence there4 ,had it come to this1 that men whose very names were invocations of false gods 7',nergal protect the king1' ',nebo delivers me' if we read ',nebo-shashban1' or ',be gracious1 ,nebo1' if ,samgar-nebo7 should sit close by the temple1 and have their talons fixed in the ,holy ,city8 ,these intruders were all unconscious of the meaning of their victory1 and the tragedy of their presence there4 ,they thought that they were ,nebuchadnezzar's servants1 and had captured for him1 at last1 an obstinate little city1 which had given more trouble than it was worth4 ,its conquest was but a drop in the bucket of his victories4 ,how little they knew that they were serving that ,jehovah whom they thought that ,nebo had conquered in their persons6 ,how little they knew that they were the instruments of the most solemn act of judgment in the world's history till then6 ,the causes which led to the fall of ,jerusalem could be reasonably set forth as purely political without a single reference to ,israel's sins or ,god's judgment2 but none the less was its capture the divine punishment of its departure from ,him1 and none the less were ,nergal-sharezer and his fellows ,god's tools1 the axes with which ,he hewed down the barren tree4 ,so does ,he work still1 in national and individual history4 ,you may1 in a fashion1 account for both without bringing ,him in at all2 but your philosophy of either will be partial1 unless you recognise that 'the history of the world is the judgment of the world4' ,it was the same hand which set these harsh conquerors at the middle gate of ,jerusalem that sent the ,german armies to encamp in the ,place de la ,concorde in ,paris2 and in neither case does the recognition of ,god in the crash of a falling throne absolve the victors from the responsibility of their deeds4 ,,ii4 ,we have the flight and fate of ,zedekiah and his evil advisers 7vs4 #d-g74 ,his weakness of character shows itself to the end4 ,why was there no resistance8 ,it would have better beseemed him to have died on his palace threshold than to have skulked away in the dark between the shelter of the 'two walls4' ,but he was a poor weakling1 and the curse of ,god sat heavy on his soul1 though he had tried to put it away4 ,conscience made a coward of him2 for he1 at all events1 knew who had set the strangers by the middle gate4 ,men who harden heart and conscience against threatened judgments are very apt to collapse1 when the threats are fulfilled4 ,the frost breaks up with a rapid thaw4 ,ezekiel 7,ezek4 xii4 #ab7 prophesied the very details of the flight4 ,it was to be 'in the dark1' the king himself was to 'carry' some of his valuables1 they were to 'dig through' the earthen ramparts2 and all appears to have been literally fulfilled4 ,the flight was taken in the opposite direction from the entrance of the besiegers2 two walls1 which probably ran down the valley between ,zion and the temple mount1 afforded cover to the fugitives as far as to the south city wall1 and there some postern let them out to the king's garden4 ,that is a tragic touch4 ,it was no time then to gather flowers4 ,the forlorn and frightened company seems to have scattered when once outside the city2 for there is a marked contrast in verse #d between 'they fled' and 'he went4' ,in the description of his flight ,zedekiah is still called1 as in verses #a and #b1 the king2 but after his capture he is only ',zedekiah4' ,down the rocky valley of the ,kedron he hurried1 and had a long enough start of his pursuers to get to ,jericho4 ,another hour would have seen him safe across ,jordan1 but the prospect of escape was only dangled before his eyes to make capture more bitter4 ,probably he was too much absorbed with his misery and fear to feel any additional humiliation from the mighty memories of the scene of his capture2 but how solemnly fitting it was that the place which had seen ,israel's first triumph1 when 'by faith the walls of ,jericho fell down1' should witness the lowest shame of the king who had cast away his kingdom by unbelief6 ,the conquering dead might have gathered in shadowy shapes to reproach the weakling and sluggard who had sinned away the heritage which they had won4 ,the scene of the capture underscores the lesson of the capture itself2 namely1 the victorious power of faith1 and the defeat and shame which1 in the long-run1 are the fruits of an 'evil heart of unbelief1 departing from the living ,god4' ,that would be a sad march through all the length of the fair land that had slipped from his slack fingers1 up to far-off ,riblah1 in the great valley between the ,lebanon and the anti-,lebanon4 ,observe how1 in verses #e and #f1 the king of ,babylon has his royal title1 and ,zedekiah has not4 ,the crown has fallen from his head1 and there is no more a king in ,judah4 ,he who had been king now stands chained before the cruel conqueror4 ,well might the victor think that ,nebo had overcome ,jehovah1 but better did the vanquished know that ,jehovah had kept his word4 ,cruelty and expediency dictated the savage massacre and mutilation which followed4 ,the death of ,zedekiah's sons1 and of the nobles who had scoffed at ,jeremiah's warnings1 and the blinding of ,zedekiah1 were all measures of precaution as well as of savagery4 ,they diminished the danger of revolt2 and a blind1 childless prisoner1 without counsellors or friends1 was harmless4 ,but to make the sight of his slaughtered sons the poor wretch's last sight1 was a refinement of gratuitous delight in torturing4 ,thus singularly was ,ezekiel's enigma solved and harmonised with its apparent contradictions in ,jeremiah's prophecies3 ',yet shall he not see it1 though he shall die there' 7,ezek4 xii4 #ac74 ,zedekiah is one more instance of the evil which may come from a weak character1 and of the evil which may fall on it4 ,he had good impulses1 but he could not hold his own against the bad men round him1 and so he stumbled on1 not without misgivings1 which only needed to be attended to with resolute determination1 in order to have reversed his conduct and fate4 ,feeble hands can pull down venerable structures built in happier times4 ,it takes a ,david and a ,solomon to rear a temple1 but a ,zedekiah can overthrow it4 ,,iii4 ,we have the completion of the conquest 7vs4 #h-aj74 ,the first care of the victors was1 of course1 to secure themselves1 and fires and crowbars were the readiest way to that end4 ,but the wail in the last chapter of ,lamentations hints at the usual atrocities of the sack of a city1 when brutal lust and as brutal ferocity are let loose4 ,chapter lii4 shows that the final step in our narrative was separated from the capture of the city by a month1 which was1 no doubt1 a month of nameless agonies1 horrors1 and shame4 ,then the last drop was added to the bitter cup1 in the deportation of the bulk of the inhabitants1 according to the politic custom of these old military monarchies4 ,what rending of ties1 what weariness and years of long-drawn-out yearning1 that meant1 can easily be imagined4 ,the residue left behind to keep the country from relapsing into waste land was too weak to be dangerous1 and too cowed to dare anything4 ,one knows not who had the sadder lot1 the exiles1 or the handful of peasants left to till the fields that had once been their own1 and to lament their brethren gone captives to the far-off land4 ,surely the fall of ,jerusalem1 though all the agony is calmed ages ago1 still remains as a solemn beacon-warning that the wages of sin is death1 both for nations and individuals2 that the threatenings of ,god's ,word are not idle1 but will be accomplished to the utmost tittle2 and that ,his patience stretches from generation to generation1 and ,his judgments tarry because ,he is not willing that any should perish1 but that for all the long-suffering there comes a time when even divine love sees that it is needful to say ',now68 and the bolt falls4 ,the solemn word addressed to ,israel has application as real to all ,christian churches and individual souls3 ',you only have ,i known of all the inhabitants of the earth2 therefore ,i will punish you for your iniquities4' ,,ebedmelech ,,the ,,ethiopian ',for ,i will surely deliver thee1 and thou shalt not fall by the sword1 but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee3 because thou hast put thy trust in ,me1 saith the ,lord4'--,,jer4 xxxix4 #ah4 ,ebedmelech is a singular anticipation of that other ,ethiopian eunuch whom ,philip met on the desert road to ,gaza4 ,it is prophetic that on the eve of the fall of the nation1 a heathen man should be entering into union with ,god4 ,it is a picture in little of the rejection of ,israel and the ingathering of the ,gentiles4 ,i4 ,the identity in all ages of the bond that unites men to ,god4 ,it is a common notion that faith is peculiar to the ,new ,testament4 ,but the ,old ,testament 'trust' is identical with the ,new ,testament 'faith1' and it is a great pity that the variation in translation has obscured that identity4 ,the fact of the prominence given to law in the ,old ,testament does not affect this4 ,for every effort to keep the law must have led to consciousness of imperfection1 and that consciousness must have driven to the exercise of penitent trust4 ,the difference of degrees of revelation does not affect it1 for faith is the same1 however various the contents of the creed4 ,note further the personal object of ,faith--'in ,,me4' ,the object of ,faith is not a proposition but a ,person4 ,that ,person is the same in the ,old ,testament and in the ,new4 ,the ,jehovah of the one is the ,god in ,christ of the other4 ,consequently faith must be more than intellectual assent1 it must be voluntary and emotional1 the act of the whole man1 'the synthesis of the reason and the will4' ,,ii4 ,the contrast of a formal and real union with ,god4 ,the king1 prophets1 priests1 the whole nation1 had an outward connection with ,him1 but it meant nothing4 ,and this foreigner1 a slave1 perhaps not even a proselyte1 a eunuch1 had what the children of the covenant had not1 a true union with ,god through ,faith4 ,judaism was not an exclusive system1 but was intended to bring in the nations to share in its blessings4 ,outward descent gave outward place within the covenant1 but the distinction of real and formal place there was established from the beginning4 ,what else than this is the meaning of all the threatenings of ,deuteronomy8 ,what else did ,isaiah mean when he called the rulers in ,jerusalem ',rulers of ,sodom'8 ,here the fates of ,ebedmelech and of ,zedekiah illustrate both sides of the truth4 ,the danger of trusting in outward possession and of thinking that ,god's mercy is our property besets all ,churches4 ,organisations of ,christianity are necessary1 but it is impossible to tell the harm that formal connection with them has done4 ,there is only one bond that unites men to ,god--personal trust in ,him as 'in ,christ reconciling the world to ,himself4' ,,iii4 ,the possibility of exercising uniting faith even in most unfavourable circumstances4 ,this ,ebedmelech had everything against him4 ,the contemptuous exclusion of him from any share in the covenant might well have discouraged him4 ,the poorest ,jew treated him as a heathen dog1 who had no right even to crumbs from the table spread for the children only4 ,he was plunged into a sea of godlessness1 and saw examples enough of utter carelessness as to ,jehovah in ,his professed servants to drive him away from a religion which had so little hold on its professed adherents4 ,the times were gloomy1 and the ,jehovah whom ,judah professed to worship seemed to have small power to help ,his worshippers4 ,it would have been no wonder if the conduct of the people of ,jerusalem had caused the name of ,jehovah to be blasphemed by this ,gentile1 nor if he had revolted from a religion that was alleged to be the special property of one race1 and that such a race6 ,but he listened to the cry of his own heart1 and to the words of ,god's prophet1 and his faith pierced through all obstacles--like the roots of some tree feeling for the water4 ,he found the vitalising fountain that he sought1 and ,his name stands to all ages as a witness that no seeking heart1 that longs for ,god1 is ever balked in its search1 and that a faith1 very imperfect as to its knowledge1 may be so strong as to its substance that it unites him who exercises it with ,god1 while the possessors of ecclesiastical privileges and of untarnished and full-orbed orthodox knowledge have no fellowship with ,him4 ,,iv4 ,the safety given by such uniting faith4 ,to ,ebedmelech1 escape from death by the besiegers' swords was promised4 ,to us a more blessed safety and exemption from a worse destruction are assured4 ',the life which is life indeed' may be ours1 and shall assuredly be ours1 if our trust knits us to ,him who is the ,life1 and who has said ',he that liveth and believeth in ,me shall never die4' ,,god',s ,,patient ,,pleadings ',i sent unto you all my servants the prophets1 rising early and sending them1 saying1 ,oh1 do not this abominable thing that ,i hate4'--,,jer4 xliv4 #d4 ,the long death-agony of the ,jewish kingdom has come to an end4 ,the frivolous levity1 which fed itself on illusions and would not be sobered by facts1 has been finally crushed out of the wretched people4 ,the dreary succession of incompetent kings--now a puppet set up by ,egypt1 now another puppet set up by ,babylon1 has ended with the weak ,zedekiah4 ,the throne of ,david is empty1 and the long line of kings1 which numbered many a strong1 wise1 holy man1 has dwindled into a couple of captives1 one of them blind and both of them paupers on an idolatrous monarch's bounty4 ,the country is desolate1 the bulk of the people exiles1 and the poor handful1 who had been left by the conqueror1 flitting like ghosts1 or clinging1 like domestic animals1 to their burnt homes and wasted plains1 have been quarrelling and fighting among themselves1 murdering the ,jewish ruler whom ,babylon had left them1 and then in abject terror have fled en masse across the border into ,egypt1 where they are living wretched lives4 ,what a history that people had gone through since they had lived on the same soil before6 ,from ,moses to ,zedekiah1 what a story6 ,from ,goshen till now it had been one long tragedy which seems to have at last reached its fifth act4 ,nine hundred years have passed1 and this is the issue of them all6 ,the circumstances might well stir the heart of the prophet1 whose doleful task it had been to foretell the coming of the storm1 who had had to strip off ,judah's delusions and to proclaim its certain fall1 and who in doing so had carried his life in his hand for forty years1 and had never met with recognition or belief4 ,jeremiah had been carried off by the fugitives to ,egypt1 and there he made a final effort to win them back to ,god4 ,he passed before them the outline of the whole history of the nation1 treating it as having accomplished one stadium--and what does he find8 ,in all these days since ,goshen there has been one monotonous story of vain divine pleadings and human indifference1 ,god beseeching and ,israel turning away--and now at last the crash1 long foretold1 never credited1 which had been drawing nearer through all the centuries1 has come1 and ,israel is scattered among the people4 ,such are the thoughts and emotions that speak in the exquisitely tender words of our text4 ,it suggests-- ,i4 ,god's antagonism to sin4 ,,ii4 ,the great purpose of all ,his pleadings4 ,,iii4 ,god's tender and unwearied efforts4 ,,iv4 ,the obstinate resistance to ,his tender pleadings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i4 ,god's antagonism to sin4 ,it is the one thing in the universe to which ,he is opposed4 ,sin is essentially antagonism to ,god4 ,people shrink from the thought of ,god's hatred of sin1 because of-- ,an underestimate of its gravity4 ,contrast the human views of its enormity1 as shown by men's playing with it1 calling it by half-jocose names and the like1 with ,god's thought of its heinousness4 ,a false dread of seeming to attribute human emotions to ,god4 ,but there is in ,god what corresponds to our human feelings1 something analogous to the attitude of a pure human mind recoiling from evil4 ,the divine love must necessarily be pure1 and the mightier its energy of forth-going1 the mightier its energy of recoil4 ,god's 'hate' is ,love inverted and reverted on itself4 ,a divine love which had in it no necessity of hating evil would be profoundly immoral1 and would be called devilish more fitly than divine4 ,,ii4 ,the great purpose of the divine pleadings4 ,to wean from sin is the main end of prophecy4 ,it is the main end of all revelation4 ,god must chiefly desire to make ,his creatures like ,himself4 ,sin makes a special revelation necessary4 ,sin determines the form of it4 ,,iii4 ,god's tender and unwearied efforts4 ',rising early' is a strong metaphor to express persistent effort4 ,the more obstinate is our indifference1 the more urgent are ,his calls4 ,he raises ,his voice as our deafness grows4 ,mark1 too1 the tenderness of the entreaty in this text1 ',oh1 do not this abominable thing that ,i hate6' ,his hatred of it is adduced as a reason which should touch any heart that loves ,him4 ,he beseeches as if ,he1 too1 were saying1 ',though ,i might be bold to enjoin thee' that which is fitting1 'yet for love's sake ,i rather beseech thee4' ,the manifestation of ,his disapproval and the appeal to our love by the disclosure of ,his own are the most powerful1 winning and compelling dehortations from sin4 ,not by brandishing the whip1 not by a stern law written on tables of stone1 but by unveiling ,his heart1 does ,god win us from our sins4 ,,iv4 ,the obstinate resistance to ,god's tender pleadings4 ,the tragedy of the nation is summed up in one word1 ',they hearkened not4' ,that power of neglecting ,god's voice and opposing ,god's will is the mystery of our nature4 ,how strange it is that a human will should be able to lift itself in opposition to the ,sovereign ,will6 ,but stranger and more mysterious and tragic still is it that we should choose to exercise that power and find pleasure1 and fancy that we shall ever find advantage1 in refusing to listen to ,his entreaties and choosing to flout ,his uttered will4 ,such opposition was ,israel's ruin4 ,it will be ours if we persist in it4 ',if ,god spared not the natural branches1 neither will ,he spare thee4' ,,the ,,sword ,,of ,,the ,,lord ',o thou sword of the ,lord1 how long will it be ere thou be quiet8 put up thyself into thy scabbard1 rest1 and be still4 #g4 ,how can it be quiet1 seeing the ,lord hath given it a charge8'--,,jer4 xlvii4 #f1 #g4 ,the prophet is here in the full tide of his prophecies against the nations round about4 ,this paragraph is entirely occupied with threatenings4 ,bearing the cup of woes1 he turns to one after another of the ancestral enemies of ,israel1 ,egypt and ,philistia on the south and west1 ,moab on the south and east1 then northwards to ,ammon1 south to ,edom1 north to ,damascus1 ,kedar1 ,hagor1 ,elam1 and finally to the great foe--,babylon4 ,in the hour of ,israel's lowest fortunes and the foe's proudest exultation these predictions are poured out4 ,jeremiah stands as if wielding the sword of which our text speaks1 and whirls and points the flashing terror of its sharpened edge against the ring of foes4 ,it turns every way1 like the weapon of the angelic guard before the lost paradise1 and wherever it turns a kingdom falls4 ,in the midst of his stern denunciations he checks himself to utter this plaintive cry of pity and longing4 ,a tender gleam of compassion breaks through the heart of the thunder-cloud4 ,it is very beautiful to note that the point at which the irrepressible welling up of sweet waters breaks the current of his prophecy is the prediction against ,israel's bitterest1 because nearest1 foe1 'these uncircumcised ,philistines4' ,he beholds the sea of wrath drowning the great ,philistine plain1 its rich harvests trampled under foot by 'stamping of hoofs of his strong ones1' and that desolation wrings from his heart the words of our text4 ,i take them to be spoken by the prophet4 ,that1 of course1 is doubtful4 ,it may be that they are meant to give in a vivid dramatic form the effect of the judgments on the sufferers4 ,they recognise these as 'the sword of the ,lord4' ,their only thought is an impatient longing that the judgments would cease1--no confession of sin1 no humbling of them selves1 but only--'remove ,thy hand from us4' ,and the answer is either the prophet's or the divine voice2 spoken in the one case to himself1 in the other to the ,philistines2 but in either setting forth the impossibility that the sweeping sword should rest1 since it is the instrument in ,god's hand1 executing ,his charge and fulfilling ,his appointment4 ,i4 ,the shrinking from the unsheathed sword of the ,lord4 ,we may deal with the words as representing very various states of mind4 ,they may express the impatience of sufferers4 ,afflictions are too often wasted4 ,whatever the purpose of chastisement1 the true lesson of it is so seldom learned1 even in regard to the lowest wisdom it is adapted to teach4 ,in an epidemic1 how few people learn to take precautions1 such as cleanliness or attention to diet6 ,in hard times commercially1 how slow most are to learn the warning against luxury1 over-trading1 haste to be rich6 ,and in regard to higher lessons1 men have a dim sense sometimes that the blow comes from ,god1 but1 like ,balaam1 go on their way in spite of the angel with the sword4 ,it does not soften1 nor restrain1 nor drive to ,god4 ,the main result is1 impatient longing for its removal4 ,the text may express the rooted dislike to the thought and the fact of punishment as an element in divine government4 ,this is a common phase of feeling always1 and especially so now4 ,there is a present tendency1 good in many aspects1 but excessive1 to soften away the thought of punishment2 or to suppose that ,god's punishments must have the same purposes as men's4 ,we cannot punish by way of retribution1 for no balance of ours is fine enough to weigh motives or to determine criminality4 ,our punishments can only be deterrent or reformatory1 but this is by reason of our weakness4 ,he has other objects in view4 ,current ideas of the love of ,god distort it by pitting it against ,his retributive righteousness4 ,current ideas of sin diminish its gravity by tracing it to heredity or environment1 or viewing it as a necessary stage in progress4 ,the sense of ,god's judicial action is paralysed and all but dead in multitudes4 ,all these things taken together set up a strong current of opinion against any teaching of punitive energy in ,god4 ,the text may express the pitying reluctance of the prophet4 ,jeremiah is remarkable for the weight with which 'the burden of the ,lord' pressed upon him4 ,the true prophet feels the pang of the woes which he is charged to announce more than his hearers do4 ,unfair charges are made against gospel preachers1 as if they delighted in the thought of the retribution which they have to proclaim4 ,,ii4 ,the solemn necessity for the unsheathing of the sword4 ,the judgments must go on4 ,in the text the all-sufficient reason given is that ,god has willed it so4 ,but we must take into account all that lies in that name of ',lord' before we understand the message1 which brought patience to the heart of the prophet4 ,if a ,jewish prophet believed anything1 he believed that the will of the ,lord was absolutely good4 ,jeremiah's reason for the flashing sword is no mere beating down human instincts1 by alleging a will which is sovereign1 and there an end4 ,we have to take into account the whole character of ,him who has willed it1 and then we can discern it to be inevitable that ,god should punish evil4 ,his character makes it inevitable4 ,god's righteousness cannot but hate sin and fight against it4 ,to leave it unpunished stains ,his glory4 ,god's love cannot but draw and wield the sword4 ,it is unsheathed in the interests of all that is 'lovely and of good report4' ,if ,god is ,god at all1 and not an almighty devil1 ,he must hate sin4 ,the love and the righteousness1 which in deepest analysis are one1 must needs issue in punishment4 ,there would be a blight over the universe if they did not4 ,the very order of the universe makes it inevitable4 ,all things1 as coming from ,him1 must work for ,his lovers and against ,his enemies1 as 'the stars in their courses fought against ,sisera4' ,the constitution of men makes it inevitable4 ,sin brings its own punishment1 in gnawing conscience1 defiled memories1 incapacity for good1 and many other penalties4 ,it is to be remembered that the text originally referred to retribution on nations for national sins1 and that what ,jeremiah regarded as the strokes of the ,lord might be otherwise regarded as political catastrophes4 ,let us not overlook that application of the principles of the text4 ,scripture regards the so-called 'natural consequences' of a nation's sins as ,god's judgments on them4 ,the ,christian view of the government of the world looks on all human affairs as moved by ,god1 though done by men4 ,it takes full account of the responsibility of men the doers1 but above all1 recognises 'the rod and ,him who hath appointed it4' ,we see exemplified over and over again in the world's history the tragic truth that the accumulated consequences of a nation's sins fall on the heads of a single generation4 ,slowly1 drop by drop1 the cup is filled4 ,slowly1 moment by moment1 the hand moves round the dial1 and then come the crash and boom of the hammer on the deep-toned bell4 ,good men should pray not1 ',put up thyself into thy scabbard1' but1 ',gird ,thy sword on ,thy thigh1 ,o thou most mighty444 on behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness4' ,,iii4 ,the sheathing of the sword4 ,the passionate appeal in the text1 which else is vain1 has in large measure its satisfaction in the work of ,christ4 ,god does not delight in punishment4 ,he has provided a way4 ,christ bears the consequence of man's sin1 the sense of alienation1 the pains and sorrows1 the death4 ,he does not bear them for ,himself4 ,his bearing them accomplishes the ends at which punishment aims1 in expressing the divine hatred of sin and in subduing the heart4 ,trusting in ,him1 the sword does not fall on us4 ,in some measure indeed it still does4 ,but it is no longer a sword to smite1 but a lancet to inflict a healing wound4 ,and the worst punishment does not fall on us4 ,god's sword was sheathed in ,christ's breast4 ,so trust in ,him1 then shall you have 'boldness in the day of judgment4' ,,the ,,kinsman-,,redeemer ',their ,redeemer is strong2 the ,lord of ,hosts is ,his name3 ,he shall thoroughly plead their cause4'--,,jer4 l4 #cd4 ,among the remarkable provisions of the ,mosaic law there were some very peculiar ones affecting the next-of-kin4 ,the nearest living blood relation to a man had certain obligations and offices to discharge1 under certain contingencies1 in respect of which he received a special name2 which is sometimes translated in the ,old ,testament ',redeemer1' and sometimes ',avenger' of blood4 ,what the etymological signification of the word may be is1 perhaps1 somewhat doubtful4 ,it is taken by some authorities to come from a word meaning 'to set free4' ,but a consideration of the offices which the law prescribed for the ',goel' is of more value for understanding the peculiar force of the metaphor in such a text as this1 than any examination of the original meaning of the word4 ,jehovah is represented as having taken upon ,himself the functions of the next-of-kin1 and is the ,kinsman-,redeemer of ,his people4 ,the same thought recurs frequently in the ,old ,testament1 especially in the second half of the prophecies of ,isaiah1 and it were much to be desired that the ,revised ,version had adopted some means of showing an ,english reader the instances1 since the expression suggests a very interesting and pathetic view of ,god's relation to ,his people4 ,i4 ,let me state briefly the qualifications and offices of the kinsman-redeemer1 'the ,goel4' ,the qualifications may be all summed up in one--that he must be the nearest blood relation of the person whose ,goel he was4 ,he might be brother1 or less nearly related1 but this was essential1 that of all living men1 he was the most closely connected4 ,that qualification has to be kept well in mind when thinking of the transference of the office to ,god in ,his relation to ,israel1 and through ,israel to us4 ,such being his qualification1 what were his duties8 ,mainly three4 ,the first was connected with property1 and is thus stated in the words of the law1 ',if thy brother be waxen poor1 and sell some of his possession1 then shall his kinsman that is next unto him come1 and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold' 7,lev4 xxv4 #be1 ,r4 ,v474 ,the ,mosaic law was very jealous of large estates4 ,the prophet pronounced a curse upon those who joined 'land to land1 and field to field444 that they may be alone in the midst of the earth4' ,one great purpose steadily kept in view in all the ,mosaic land-laws was the prevention of the alienation of the land from its original holders1 and of its accumulation in a few hands4 ,the idea underlying the law was that of the tribal or family ownership--or rather occupancy1 for ,god was the owner and ,israel but a tenant--and not individual possession4 ,that thought carries us back to a social state long since passed away1 but of which traces are still left even among ourselves4 ,it was carried out thoroughly in the law of ,moses1 however imperfectly in actual practice4 ,the singular institution of the year of ,jubilee operated1 among other effects1 to check the acquisition of large estates4 ,it provided that land which had been alienated was to revert to its original occupants1 and so1 in substance1 prohibited purchase and permitted only the lease of land for a maximum term of fifty years4 ,we do not know how far its enactments were a dead letter1 but their spirit and intention were obviously to secure the land of the tribe to the tribe for ever1 to keep the territory of each distinct1 to discourage the creation of a landowning class1 with its consequent landless class1 to prevent the extremes of poverty and wealth1 and to perpetuate a diffused1 and nearly uniform1 modest wellbeing amongst a pastoral and agricultural community1 and to keep all in mind that the land was 'not to be sold for ever1 for it is ,mine1' saith the ,lord4 ,the obligation on the next-of-kin to buy back alienated property was quite as much imposed on him for the sake of the family as of the individual4 ,the second of his duties was to buy back a member of his family fallen into slavery4 ',if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxen rich1 and thy brother be waxen poor beside him1 and sell himself unto the stranger444 after that he is sold1 he may be redeemed2 one of his brethren may redeem him4' ,the price was to vary according to the time which had to elapse before the year of ,jubilee1 when all slaves were necessarily set free4 ,so ,hebrew slavery was entirely unlike the thing called by the same name in other countries1 and by virtue of this power of purchase at any time1 which was vested in the nearest relative1 taken along with the compulsory manumission of all 'slaves' every fiftieth year1 came to be substantially a voluntary engagement for a fixed time1 which might be ended even before that time had expired1 if compensation for the unexpired term was made to the master4 ,it is to be observed that this provision applied only to the case of a ,hebrew who had sold himself4 ,no other person could sell a man into slavery4 ,and it applied only to the case of a ,hebrew who had sold himself to a foreigner4 ,no ,jew was allowed to hold a ,jew as a slave4 ',if thy brother be waxen poor with thee1 and sell himself unto thee1 thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant3 as an hired servant1 and as a sojourner1 he shall be with thee4' 7,lev4 xxv4 #ci1 ,r4 ,v474 ,the last of the offices of the kinsman-redeemer was that of avenging the blood of a murdered relative4 ,if a man were stricken to death1 it became a solemn obligation to exact life for life1 and the blood-feud incumbent on all the family was especially binding on the next-of-kin4 ,the obligation shocks a modern mind1 accustomed to relegate all punishment to the action of law which no criminal thinks of resisting4 ,but customs and laws are unfairly estimated when the state of things which they regulated is forgotten or confused with that of today4 ,the law of blood-feud among the ,hebrews was all in the direction of restricting the wild justice of revenge1 and of entrusting it to certain chosen persons out of the kindred of the murdered man4 ,the savage vendetta was too deeply engrained in the national habits to be done away with altogether4 ,all that was for the time possible was to check and systematise it1 and this was done by the institution in question1 which did not so much put the sword into the hand of the next-of-kin as strike it out of the hand of all the rest of the clan4 ,these1 then1 were the main parts of the duty of the ,goel1 the kinsman-redeemer--buying back the alienated land1 purchasing the freedom of the man who had voluntarily sold himself as a slave1 and avenging the slaying of a kinsman4 ,,ii4 ,notice the grand mysterious transference of this office to ,jehovah4 ,this singular institution was gradually discerned to be charged with lofty meaning and to be capable of being turned into a dim shadowing of something greater than itself4 ,you will find that ,god begins to be spoken of in the later portions of ,scripture as the ,kinsman-,redeemer4 ,i reckon eighteen instances1 of which thirteen are in the second half of ,isaiah4 ,the reference is1 no doubt1 mainly to the great deliverance from captivity in ,egypt and ,babylon1 but the thought sweeps a much wider circle and goes much deeper down than these historical facts4 ,there was in it some dim feeling that though ,god was separated from them by all the distance between finitude and infinitude1 yet they were nearer to ,him than to any one else2 that the nearest living relation whom these poor persecuted ,jews had was the ,lord of ,hosts1 beneath whose wings they might come to trust4 ,therefore does the prophet kindle into rapture and triumphant confidence as he thinks that the ,lord of ,hosts1 mighty1 unspeakable1 high above our thoughts1 our words1 or our praise1 is ,israel's ,kinsman1 and1 therefore1 their ,redeemer4 ,how profound a consciousness that man was made in the image of ,god1 and that1 in spite of all the gulf between finite and infinite1 and the yet deeper gulf between sinful man and righteous ,god1 ,he was closer to a poor struggling soul than even the dearest were1 must have been at all events dawning on the prophet who dared to think of the ,holy ,one in the ,heavens as ,israel's ,kinsman4 ,no doubt1 he was dwelling mostly on historical outward deliverances wrought for the nation1 and his idea of ,israel's kinship to ,god applied to the people1 not to individuals1 and meant chiefly that the nation had been chosen for ,god's4 ,but still the thought must have been felt to be great and wonderful1 and some faint apprehension of the yet deeper sense in which it is true that ,god is the next-of-kin to every soul and ready to be its ,redeemer1 would no doubt begin to be felt4 ,the deepening of the idea from a reference to external and national deliverances1 and the large1 dim hopes which clustered round it1 may be illustrated by one or two significant instances4 ,take1 for example1 that mysterious and very beautiful utterance in the ,book of ,job1 where the man1 in the very depth of his despair1 and just because there is not a human being that has any drop of pity for him1 turns from earth1 and striking confidence out of his very despair1 like fire from flint1 sees there his ,kinsman-,redeemer4 ',i know that my ,redeemer liveth4' ,men may mock him1 friends may turn against him1 the wife of his bosom may tempt him1 comforters may pour vitriol instead of oil into his wounds1 yet he1 sitting on his dunghill there1 poverty-stricken and desolate1 knows that ,god is of kin to him1 and will do the kinsman's part by him4 ,the very metaphor implies that the divine intervention which he expects is to take place after his death4 ,it was a dead man whose blood the ,goel avenged4 ,thus the view which sees in the subsequent words a hope1 however dim and undefined1 of an experience of a divine manifestation on his behalf beyond the grave is the only one which gives its full force to the central idea of the passage1 as well as to the obscure individual expressions4 ,most strikingly1 then1 he goes on to say1 carrying out the allusion1 'and that he shall stand at the last upon the dust4' ,little did it boot the murdered man1 lying there stark1 with the knife in his bosom1 that the murderer should be slain by the swift justice of his kinsman-avenger1 but ,job felt that1 in some mysterious way1 ,god would appear for him1 after he had been laid in the dust1 and that he would somehow share in the gladness of ,his manifestation--for he believes that 'without his flesh' he will see ,god1 'whom ,i shall see for myself1 and mine eyes shall behold1 and not another4' ,large and mysterious hopes are gathering round the metaphor1 which flash some light into the darkness of the grave1 and give to the troubled soul the assurance that when life with all its troubles is past1 and flesh has seen corruption1 the inmost personal being of every man who commits his cause to ,god will behold ,him coming forth his ,kinsman-,redeemer4 ,another illustration of the hopes which gathered round this image is found in the great psalm which prophesies of the true ,king of ,peace1 in language too wide for any poetical licence to warrant if intended only to describe a ,jewish king 7,ps4 lxxii4 #ad74 ,the universal dominion of this great ,king is described in terms which1 though they may be partly referred to the ,jewish monarchy at its greatest expansion1 sweep far beyond its bounds in exulting anticipation that 'all kings shall fall down before ,him1 all nations shall serve ,him4' ,the reason for this world-wide dominion is not military power1 as was the case with the warrior kings of old1 who bound nations together for a little while in an artificial unity with iron chains1 but ,his dominion is universal1 'for ,he shall deliver the needy when he crieth1444,he shall redeem their souls from oppression and violence1 and precious shall their blood be in ,his sight4' ,two of the functions of the ,kinsman-,redeemer are here united4 ,he buys back slaves from their tyrannous masters1 and ,he avenges their shed blood4 ,and because ,his ,kingdom is a kingdom of gentle pity and loving help1 because ,he is of the same blood with ,his subjects1 and brings liberty to the captives1 therefore it is universal and everlasting4 ,for the strongest thing in all the world is love1 and ,he who can staunch men's wounds1 and will hear their cries and help them1 will rule them with authority which conquerors cannot wield4 ,this universal ,king1 the kinsman and the sovereign of all the needy1 is not ,god4 ,a human figure is rising before the prophet-psalmist's eye1 whose meekness as well as ,his majesty1 and whose kingdom as well as ,his redeeming power1 seem to pass beyond human limits4 ,divine offices seem to be devolved on a man's shoulders4 ,dim hopes are springing which point onwards4 ,so that great psalm leads us a step further4 ,,iii4 ,see the perfect fulfilment of this divine office by the man ,christ ,jesus4 ,job's anticipation and the psalmist's rapturous vision are fulfilled in the ,incarnate ,word1 in whom ,god comes near to us all and makes ,himself kindred to our flesh1 that ,he may discharge all those blessed offices1 of redeeming from slavery1 of recovering our alienated inheritance1 and of guarding our lives1 which demand at once divine power and human nearness4 ,christ is our ,kinsman4 ,true1 the divine nature and the human are nearly allied1 so that even apart from the ,incarnation1 men may feel that none is so truly and closely akin to them as their ,father in ,heaven is4 ,but how much more blessed than even that kinship is the consanguinity of ,christ1 who is doubly of kin to each soul of man1 both because in ,his true manhood ,he is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh1 and because in ,his divinity ,he is nearer to us than the closest human kindred can ever be4 ,by both ,he comes so near to us that we may clasp ,him by our faith1 and rest upon ,him1 and have ,him for our nearest friend1 our brother4 ,he is nearer to each of us than our dearest is4 ,he loves us with the love of kindred1 and can fill our hearts and wills1 and help our weakness in better1 more inward ways than all sympathy and love of human hearts can do4 ,between the atoms of the densest of material bodies there is an interspace of air1 as is shown by the fact that everything is compressible if you can find the force sufficient to compress it4 ,that is to say1 in the material universe no particle touches another4 ,and so in the spiritual region1 there is an awful film of separation between each of us and all others1 however closely we may be united4 ,we each live on our own little island in the deep1 'with echoing straits between us thrown4' ,we have a solemn consciousness of personality1 of responsibility unshared by any1 of a separate destiny parting us from our dearest4 ,arms may be twined1 but they must be unlinked some day1 and each in turn must face the awful solitude of death1 as each has really faced that scarcely less awful solitude of life1 alone4 ,but 'he that is joined to the ,lord is one spirit1' and our kinsman1 ,christ1 will come so near to us1 that we shall be in ,him and ,he in us1 one spirit and one life4 ,he is your nearest relation1 nearer than husband1 wife1 parent1 brother1 sister1 or friend4 ,he is nearer to you than your very selves4 ,he is your better self4 ,that is ,his qualification for ,his office4 ,because ,he is man's kinsman1 ,he buys back ,his enslaved brethren4 ,the bondage from which 'one of ,his brethren' might 'redeem' the ,israelite was a voluntary bondage into which he had sold himself4 ,and such is our slavery4 ,none can rob us of our freedom but ourselves4 ,the world and the flesh and the devil cannot put their chains on us unless our own wills hold out our hands for the manacles4 ,and1 alas6 it is often an unsuspected slavery4 ',how sayest thou1 ye shall be made free4 ,we were never in bondage to any man1' boasted the angry disputants with ,christ4 ,and if they had lifted up their eyes they might have seen from the ,temple courts in which they stood1 the citadel full of ,roman soldiers1 and perhaps the golden eagles gleaming in the sunshine on the loftiest battlements4 ,yet with that strange power of ignoring disagreeable facts they dared to assert their freedom4 ',never in bondage to any man6'--what about ,egypt1 and ,assyria1 and ,babylon8 ,had there never been an ,antiochus8 ,was ,rome a reality8 ,did it lay no yoke on them8 ,was it all a dream8 ,some of us are just as foolish1 and try as desperately to annihilate facts by ignoring them1 and to make ourselves free by passionately denying that we are slaves4 ,but 'he that committeth sin is the slave of sin4' ,that sounds a paradox4 ,i am master of my own actions1 you may say1 and never freer than when ,i break the bonds of right and duty and choose to do what is contrary to them1 for no reason on earth but because ,i choose4 ,that is liberty1 emancipation from the burdensome restraints which your narrow preaching about law and conscience would impose4 ,yes1 you are masters of your actions1 and your sinful actions very soon become masters of you4 ,do we not know that that is true8 ,you fall into1 or walk into a habit1 and then it gets the mastery of you1 and you cannot get rid of it4 ,whosoever sets his foot upon that slippery inclined plane of wrongdoing1 after he has gone a little way1 gravitation is too much for him and away he goes down the hill4 ',whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin4' ,did you ever try to kill a bad habit1 a vice8 ,did you find it easy work8 ,was it not your master8 ,you thought that a chain no stronger than a spider's web was round your wrist till you tried to break it2 and then you found it a chain of adamant4 ,many men who boast themselves free are 'tied and bound with the cords of their sins4' ,dreaming of freedom1 you have sold yourself1 and that 'for nought4' ,is that not true1 tragically true8 ,what have you made out of sin8 ,is the game worth the candle8 ,will it continue to be so8 ,ye shall be redeemed without money1 for ,jesus ,christ laid down ,his life for you and me1 that by ,his death we might receive forgiveness and deliverance from the power of sin4 ,and so your ,kinsman1 nearer to you than all else1 has bought you back4 ,do not refuse the offered emancipation1 but 'if thou mayest be made free1 use it rather4' ,be not like the spiritless slaves1 for whose servile choice the law provided1 who had rather remain bond than go out free4 ,surely when ,christ calls you to liberty1 you will not turn from ,him to the tyrannous masters whom you have served1 and1 like the ,hebrew slave1 let them fasten you to their door-posts with their awl through your ear4 ,do you hug your chains and prefer your bondage8 ,your ,kinsman-,redeemer brings back your squandered inheritance1 which is ,god4 ,god is the only possession that makes a man rich4 ,he alone is worth calling 'my portion4' ,it is only when we have ,god in our hearts1 ,god in our heads1 ,god in our souls1 ,god in our life--it is only when we love ,him1 and think about ,him1 and obey ,him1 and bring our characters into harmony with ,him1 and so possess ,him--it is only then that we become truly rich4 ,no other possession corresponds to our capacities so as to fill up all our needs and satisfy all our being4 ,no other possession passes into our very substance and becomes inseparable from ourselves4 ,so the mystical fervour of the psalmist's devotion spoke a simple prose truth when he exclaimed1 ',the ,lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup4' ,we have squandered our inheritance4 ,we have sinned away fellowship with ,god4 ,we have flung away our true wealth1 'wasted our substance in riotous living4' ,and here is our ,elder ,brother1 our nearest relative1 who has always been with the ,father2 but who1 instead of grudging the prodigals their fatted calf and their hearty welcome when they come back1 has ,himself1 by the sacrifice of ,himself1 won for them the inheritance1 its earnest in the possession of ,god's spirit here and its completion in the broad fields of 'the inheritance of the saints in light1' the entire fruition and possession of the divine in the life to come4 ',if children1 then heirs1 heirs of ,god and joint heirs with ,christ4' ,your ,kinsman-,redeemer will keep your lives under ,his care1 and be ready to plead your cause4 ',he that touches you1 touches the apple of ,mine eye4' ',he reproved kings for their sake1 saying1 ,touch not ,mine anointed4' ,not in vain does the cry go up to ,him1 ',avenge1 ,o ,lord1 ,thy slaughtered saints1'--and if no apparent retribution has followed1 and if often ,his servant's blood seems to have been shed in vain1 still we know that it has often been the seed of the ,church1 and that ,he who puts our tears into ,his bottle will not count our blood less precious in ,his sight4 ,so we may rest confident that our ,kinsman-,redeemer will charge ,himself with pleading our cause and intervening in our behalf1 that ,he will compass us about with ,his protection1 and that we are knit so close to ,him that our woes and foes are ,his1 and that we cannot die as long as ,he lives4 ,so1 dear brethren1 be sure of this1 that if only you will take ,christ for your ,saviour and brother1 your ,helper and ,friend1 if only you will rest yourself upon that complete sacrifice which ,he has made for the sins of the world1 ,he will give you liberty1 and restore your lost inheritance1 and your blood shall be precious in ,his sight1 and ,he will keep ,his hand around you and preserve you2 and finally will bring you into ,his home and yours4 ',in ,him we have redemption through ,his blood1' and ,he comes to every one of you now1 even through my poor lips1 with ,his ancient word of merciful invitation3 ',behold6 ,i have blotted out as a cloud thy sins and as a thick cloud thy transgressions4 ,turn unto ,me1 for ,i have redeemed thee4' ',,as ,,sodom' ',zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign1 and he reigned eleven years in ,jerusalem4 ,and his mother's name was ,hamutal the daughter of ,jeremiah of ,libnah4 #b4 ,and he did that which was evil in the eyes of the ,lord1 according to all that ,jehoiakim had done4 #c4 ,for through the anger of the ,lord it came to pass in ,jerusalem and ,judah1 till he had cast them out from his presence1 that ,zedekiah rebelled against the king of ,babylon4 #d4 ,and it came to pass1 in the ninth year of his reign1 in the tenth month1 in the tenth day of the month1 that ,nebuchadnezzar king of ,babylon came1 he and all his army1 against ,jerusalem1 and pitched against it1 and built forts against it round about4 #e4 ,so the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king ,zedekiah4 #f4 ,and in the fourth month1 in the ninth day of the month1 the famine was sore in the city1 so that there was no bread for the people of the land4 #g4 ,then the city was broken up1 and all the men of war fled1 and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls1 which was by the king's garden2 7now the ,chaldeans were by the city round about7 and they went by the way of the plain4 #h4 ,but the army of the ,chaldeans pursued after the king1 and overtook ,zedekiah in the plains of ,jericho2 and all his army was scattered from him4 #i4 ,then they took the king1 and carried him up unto the king of ,babylon to ,riblah in the land of ,hamath2 where he gave judgment upon him4 #aj4 ,and the king of ,babylon slew the sons of ,zedekiah before his eyes3 he slew also all the princes of ,judah in ,riblah4 #aa4 ,then he put out the eyes of ,zedekiah2 and the king of ,babylon bound him in chains1 and carried him to ,babylon1 and put him in prison till the day of his death4'--,,jer4 lii4 #a-aa4 ,this account of the fall of ,jerusalem is all but identical with that in #b ,kings xxv4 ,it was probably taken thence by some editor of ,jeremiah's prophecies1 perhaps ,baruch1 who felt the appropriateness of appending to these the verification of them in that long-foretold and disbelieved judgment4 ,the absence of every expression of emotion is most striking4 ,in one sentence the wrath of ,god is pointed to as the cause of all2 and1 for the rest1 the tragic facts which wrung the writer's heart are told in brief1 passionless sentences1 which sound liker the voice of the recording angel than that of a man who had lived through the misery which he recounts4 ,the ,book of ,lamentations weeps and sobs with the grief of the devout ,jew2 but the historian smothers feeling while he tells of ,god's righteous judgment4 ,zedekiah owed his throne to 'the king of ,babylon1' and1 at first1 was his obedient vassal1 himself going to ,babylon 7,jer4 li4 #ei7 and swearing allegiance 7,ezek4 xvii4 #ac74 ,but rebellion soon followed1 and the perjured young king once more pursued the fatal1 fascinating policy of alliance with ,egypt4 ,there could be but one end to that madness1 and1 of course1 the ,chaldean forces soon appeared to chastise this presumptuous little monarch1 who dared to defy the master of the world4 ,our narrative curtails its account of ,zedekiah's reign1 bringing into strong relief only the two facts of his following ,jehoiakim's evil ways1 and his rebellion against ,babylon4 ,but behind the rash1 ignorant young man1 it sees ,god working1 and traces all the insane bravado by which he was ruining his kingdom and himself to ,god's 'wrath1' not thereby diminishing ,zedekiah's responsibility for his own acts1 but declaring that his being 'given over to a reprobate mind' was the righteous divine punishment for past sin4 ,an eighteen months' agony is condensed into three verses 7,jer4 lii4 #d-f71 in which the minute care to specify dates pathetically reveals the depth of the impression which the first appearance of the besieging army made1 and the deeper wound caused by the city's fall4 ,the memory of these days has not faded yet1 for both are still kept as fasts by the synagogue4 ,we look with the narrator's eye at the deliberate massing of the immense besieging force drawing its coils round the doomed city1 like a net round a deer1 and mark with him the piling of the mounds1 and the erection on them of siege-towers4 ,we hear of no active siege operations till the final assault4 ,famine was ,nebuchadnezzar's best general4 ',sitting down they watched' her 'there1' and grimly waited till hunger became unbearable4 ,we can fill up much of the outline in this narrative from the rest of ,jeremiah1 which gives us a vivid and wretched picture of imbecility1 divided counsels1 and mad hatred of ,god's messenger1 blind refusal to see facts1 and self-confidence which no disaster could abate4 ,and1 all the while1 the monstrous serpent was slowly tightening its folds round the struggling1 helpless rabbit4 ,we have to imagine all the misery4 ,the narrative hurries on to its close4 ,what widespread and long-drawn-out privation that one sentence covers3 ',the famine was sore in the city1 so that there was no bread for the people'6 ,lamentations is full of the cries of famished children and mothers who eat the fruit of their own bodies4 ,at last1 on the memorable black day1 the ninth of the fourth month 7say ,july71 'a breach was made1' and the ,chaldean forces poured in through it4 ,jeremiah xxxix4 #c tells the names of the ,babylonian officers who 'sat in the middle gate' of the ,temple1 polluting it with their presence4 ,there seems to have been no resistance from the enfeebled1 famished people2 but apparently some of the priests were slain in the sanctuary1 perhaps in the act of defending it from the entrance of the enemy4 ,the ,chaldeans would enter from the north1 and1 while they were establishing themselves in the ,temple1 ,zedekiah 'and all the men of war' fled1 stealing out of the city by a covered way between two walls1 on the south side1 and leaving the city to the conqueror1 without striking a blow4 ,they had talked large when danger was not near2 but braggarts are cowards1 and they thought now of nothing but their own worthless lives4 ,then1 as always1 the men who feared ,god feared nothing else1 and the men who scoffed at the day of retribution1 when it was far off1 were unmanned with terror when it dawned4 ,the investment had not been complete on the southern side1 and the fugitives got away across ,kedron and on to the road to ,jericho1 their purpose1 no doubt1 being to put the ,jordan between them and the enemy4 ,one can picture that stampede down the rocky way1 the anxious looks cast backwards1 the confusion1 the weariness1 the despair when the rush of the pursuers overtook the famine-weakened mob4 ,in sight of ,jericho1 which had witnessed the first onset of the irresistible desert-hardened host under ,joshua1 the last king of ,israel1 deserted by his army1 was 'taken in their pits1' as hunters take a wild beast4 ,the march to ,riblah1 in the far north1 would be full of indignities arid of physical suffering4 ,the soldiers of that 'bitter and hasty' nation would not spare him one insult or act of cruelty1 and he had a tormentor within worse than they4 ',why did ,i not listen to the prophet8 ,what a fool ,i have been6 ,if ,i had only my time to come over again1 how differently ,i would do6' ,the miserable self-reproaches1 which shoot their arrows into our hearts when it is too late1 would torture ,zedekiah1 as they will sooner or later do to all who did not listen to ,god's message while there was yet time4 ,the sinful1 mad past kept him company on one hand2 and1 on the other1 there attended him a dark1 if doubtful1 future4 ,he knew that he was at the disposal of a fierce conqueror1 whom he had deeply incensed1 and who had little mercy4 ',what will become of me when ,i am face to face with ,nebuchadnezzar8 ,would that ,i had kept subject to him6' ,a past gone to ruin1 a present honey-combed with gnawing remorse and dread1 a future threatening1 problematical1 but sure to be penal--these were what this foolish young king had won by showing his spirit and despising ,jeremiah's warnings1 ,it is always a mistake to fly in the face of ,god's commands4 ,all sin is folly1 and every evildoer might say with poor ,robert ,burns3 ',i backward cast my e'e ,on prospects drear6 ,an' forward1 tho' ,i canna see1 ,i guess an' fear4' ,nebuchadnezzar was in ,riblah1 away up in the north1 waiting the issue of the campaign4 ,zedekiah was nothing to him but one of the many rebellious vassals of whom he had to make an example lest rebellion should spread1 and who was especially guilty because he was ,nebuchadnezzar's own nominee1 and had sworn allegiance4 ,policy and his own natural disposition reinforced by custom dictated his barbarous punishment meted to the unfortunate kinglet of the petty kingdom that had dared to perk itself up against his might4 ,how little he knew that he was the executioner of ,god's decrees6 ,how little the fact that he was so1 diminished his responsibility for his cruelty6 ,the savage practice of blinding captive kings1 so as to make them harmless and save all trouble with them1 was very common4 ,zedekiah was carried to ,babylon1 and thus was fulfilled ,ezekiel's enigmatical prophecy1 ',i will bring him to ,babylon1444 yet shall he not see it1 though he shall die there' 7,ezek4 xii4 #ac74 ,the fall of ,jerusalem should teach us that a nation is a moral whole1 capable of doing evil and of receiving retribution1 and not a mere aggregation of individuals4 ,it should teach us that transgression does still1 though not so directly or certainly as in the case of ,israel1 sap the strength of kingdoms2 and that to-day1 as truly as of old1 'righteousness exalteth a nation4' ,it should accustom us to look on history as not only the result of visible forces1 but as having behind it1 and reaching its end through the visible forces1 the unseen hand of ,god4 ,for ,christians1 the vision of the ,apocalypse contains the ultimate word on 'the philosophy of history4' ,it is 'the ,lamb before the ,throne1' who opens the roll with the seven seals1 and lets the powers of whom it speaks loose for their march through the world4 ,it should teach us ,god's long-suffering patience and loving efforts to escape the necessity of smiting1 and also ,god's rigid justice1 which will not shrink from smiting when all these efforts have failed4