Isai. 38:17.

Isai. 38:17.

But by “chambers” we may understand GOD himself, who is often spoken of in this light, and who is the sure refuge of all that flee unto him. Every perfection of his forms, as it were, a hiding-place whereto we may run for safety. His wisdom would be our guide, his power our defence, “his faithfulness and truth our shield and buckler.”

To us, who are taught to view God in the person of Christ, the word “chambers” may convey a more immediate intimation respecting Christ himself, who is our refuge, and whom this very prophet describes as “an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the stormu.” His person, work, and offices are a security to his people, that “they shall never perish, but shall have eternal life.”

To him therefore we should flee by faith, and hide ourselves from the impending judgments. As Noah entered into the ark, which was the appointed mean of delivering him from the deluge, and as the Israelites shut themselves up in their houses to escape the sword of the destroying angely, so are we to take refuge, as it were, in Christ, that the sword of divine justice may not slay, or the deluge of God’s wrath overwhelm us.]

While we listen to the voice of God, we must not overlook,

  III.      The particular manner in which the advice is given—

[Almost every word of this exhortation contains an argument for our compliance with it.

If we were bidden to hide ourselves in a pit or a dungeon, methinks, any place should be a welcome hiding-place from the wrath of God. But it is to our own “chamber,” where every thing is provided for our rest and comfort; yea, it is a pavilion, surrounded by guards, and furnished with royal dainties; it is even to the tabernaclea wherein God himself dwells, and where we shall have most intimate communion with him, that we are told to flee. Shall we need any inducement to yield to such advice?

If we cannot endure confinement (though surely we can have no reason to complain of that in such a retreat) we are told it is to be only for “a moment,” yea, lest that should appear too long, it is said to be only for “a little moment.” Did the Israelites think a single night too long, when they were to be screened from the destroying angel? and shall we think a moment, a little moment (for such in truth is the present life), too long to abide in Christ, that we may escape the wrath of an incensed God?

The certainty of success is another argument which may well induce us to follow this advice. Were there only a distant probability of obtaining deliverance from such unspeakable miseries, it were a very sufficient reason for our trying the experiment: but when success, as the text intimates, is certain to attend our efforts, shall we need any persuasion to exert ourselves?

On the other hand, the certainty that God’s indignation must fall upon us, if we be not found in Christ, ought to operate powerfully on our hearts: for “who can stand before his indignation? who can abide the fierceness of his anger?” The fate of those who despised the warnings of Moses, and sought not shelter from the storms of hail, shews us what we must expect, if we seek not refuge in Christ Jesusc.

Above all, the earnestness of the exhortation should overcome the reluctance of our hearts. To enter fully into its spirit, we should conceive a parent, seeing a savage beast running towards his heedless and unprotected child in order to destroy him. The affrighted father calls to him in the agony of his mind; “Come, my son, run into the house, shut the door, hide yourself till the danger be overpast.” Thus, precisely thus, does God himself cry to each of us. He knows our danger; he sees our inadvertence; and, with all the anxiety of a parent, he calls to us. Must we not be more deaf than adders, more obdurate than rocks, if we will not obey his voice?

But there is one thing yet, which must on no account be overlooked. The language is intentionally changed from the plural to the singular; “Come, my people, enter thou,” &c. One it ready to think, that he has no need to fear the indignation of God: another thinks he is too unworthy to be admitted into the chamber to which others have fled. But God addresses both the one and the other of them; “Enter thou;” for, however secure thou mayest think thyself, there is no security but in Christ; and “thou;” for unworthy as thou art, it is “thy” chamber; it was erected for such as thee; and the more unworthy thou art in thy own estimation, the more ready admittance shalt thou find there; the more certainly also shalt thou enjoy in it everlasting security.

Thus whether we consider the chamber to which we are to flee, the time we are to abide in it, the certainty of success, the danger of delay, or the earnest manner in which God addresses every one of us in particular, we should without hesitation follow the advice, and seek deliverance in Christ our Lord. None of us should indulge security; none of us should give way to desponding fears. But, rejoicing that the chamber is not yet barred against us, we should all hide ourselves in it; nor venture out of it one single moment, till the danger be for ever past.]

DCCCXCVII

GOD’S CARE FOR HIS CHURCH

  Isai. 27:3.

I the Lord do keep it: I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.

GOD has provided abundant consolation for his Church in seasons of the greatest trial: and he calls upon her to enjoy her privileges and to celebrate them in “a responsive song,” in firm expectation of safety, amidst the most awful and desolating judgments.

The first part of the song, which is begun by Jehovah himself, leads us to shew,

  I.      Whence the Church derives her security—

The Church, like a vineyard, is set apart in order to a more careful cultivation—

[This idea is elsewhere more fully opened by the same prophet: and it well illustrates the care taken to separate the Church from the world at large, and the exertions made to render her fruitful in the fruits of righteousness.]

At the same time she also resembles a vineyard, in that she is exposed to the assaults of many who would destroy her—

[A vineyard, however carefully fenced in, may have its fences broken down, and its plants destroyed, if it be not watched and guarded. And the Church is open to the incursion of numerous and potent enemies, who would soon destroy her, if she were not protected from their assaults.]

But she is preserved by an invisible, but almighty Protector—

[Jehovah himself interposes on her behalf. He preserves her, as the bush in the midst of the flames, burning, but not consumed. He protects his Church in general, that “the gates of hell may not prevail against her;” and he keeps all her members in particular, that none may be ever plucked out of his hand.]

Nor shall we tremble for her future welfare, when we consider,

  II.      What prospect she has of continued preservation—

The same Jehovah who says, “I do keep her,” adds also, “I will.” He promises (still keeping up the metaphor of a vineyard),

  1.      Culture—

[In a country that had only periodical rains, pools or reservoirs of water were indispensably necessary for the preservation of the vines in a season of drought. The Church too, and all the plants that are in it, need to be watered by God’s word, and Spiritg. Now God promises that he will take this care upon himself, and execute the work, as it were, with his own hands. Yea, inasmuch as we need fresh supplies of grace, not only every day, like a vineyard, but every moment, (as we need the light of the sun,) God suits his promise to our necessities, and tells us he will water us “every moment.”]

  2.      Protection—

[Our care in cultivating a vineyard would be in vain, unless we also protected it from those who would destroy it. Thus the Church, and every individual believer, would in vain receive the culture, if it did not enjoy also the protection, of heaven. But God promises to afford his people continual, and effectual protection. He will guard them “night and day” (for “he neither slumbers nor sleeps”) and will keep them, not only from destruction, but from any real injury: “No weapon formed against them shall ever prosper.”]

  We LEARN from hence,

  1.      Where to look in the midst of national calamities—

[God has, in this laud, a remnant, over whom he watches with the tenderest care, and for whose sake we trust he will spare the whole nation. At all events we may be sure that he will provide a hiding-place for his Church; so that, whatever be the fate of others, it shall not be overwhelmed. Let us not then trust in fleets and armies, but in the living God, who is omnipresent to behold, and almighty to defeat, the plots of our enemies: and let our supplications be made with increased frequency and fervour to him, whose past interpositions we have such abundant reason to acknowledge.]

  2.      Where to look in the midst of personal troubles—

[That which alone we ought to desire, is, that nothing may “hurt” us. As for the pruning, which may render us more fruitful, it should be received with submission and gratitude. The evils that tend to our destruction, we may deprecate, with an assurance that our prayer shall be heard and answered. We need not fear the drought which occasions God to water us, nor the weapons that call forth his effectual interposition. Only let us render him fruits suited to the culture bestowed upon us; and nothing shall come upon us without necessity; nothing which shall not eventually work for our goodo.]

DCCCXCVIII

THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF ISRAEL

  Isai. 27:6.

He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

OF all the people upon the earth, the Jews have been, beyond comparison, the most highly honoured of their God. To no other nation did Jehovah ever manifest himself by such miraculous interpositions; nor was any other ever blessed with such rich and glorious communications. Even their present state, degraded as it is, evinces the peculiar interest which Jehovah takes in them: for, though scattered over the face of the whole earth, they still remain a separate people; and are reserved for higher honours, and more signal blessings, than their most favoured ancestors ever enjoyed. The various nations that, in successive ages, have oppressed them, the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Grecian, Roman, have all sunk beneath the yoke which their respective conquerors have laid upon them, and have been mingled with their invaders in one common mass. Not so the Jews: they, though more cruelly oppressed than any, have still been kept distinct from the people amongst whom they have dwelt: and to this remarkable event the prophet refers, in the words following my text: “Hath God smitten him, as he smote those who smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?” No: “though God has made a full end of all other nations, he has not made a full end of them:” but he still has his eye upon them for good; and will, in due season, fulfil to them all his purposes of love and mercy: “He will yet cause them to take root, and blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”

In these words we may see,

  I.      What the Jews are destined to become—

Their state, both political and moral, is at present as low as can well be conceived. Scattered as they are amongst all nations, they have never yet been affiliated with any, so as to be regarded on a par with other citizens, or to enjoy the rights belonging to all the other classes of the community. The possession of landed property has been, till of late, universally denied them; so that they could never “take root” in any place, or be established in any country under heaven.

Nor have they been less degraded in their moral and religious character. Being despised of all, they have not been accustomed to respect themselves, or to affect that high sense of honour which elevates the characters of other people. In their religious assemblies they have not even the semblance of piety; so carnal are they in their spirit, and so irreverent in their whole conduct. Not “a blossom or a bud” of true godliness is to be seen among them: and so far are they from “filling the world with fruit,” that they are altogether immersed in selfishness, and lost to every thing but worldly gain.

But far other things are reserved for them. The time is coming when they shall be established in knowledge, fertile in piety, and abundant in usefulness throughout the world—

  1.      They shall be established in the knowledge of the true Messiah—

[They shall yet, I doubt not, take root” in their own land. So plainly is their future restoration foretold, that, if I did not know that some pious persons entertain doubts respecting it, I should be ready to say, it is impossible for any one who believes the Scriptures to question it. But with this, the Society which advocates their cause has nothing to do. It is with their spiritual concerns alone that we are called to interest ourselves: and we are fully assured, that our labour, in this respect, shall not be in vain. They have hitherto been ever ready to run after false Messiahs. Indeed, they have never conceived aright respecting the character of the Messiah whom God has promised to them, nor of the nature of that kingdom which he will establish in the earth. But the time is coming, when the veil shall be taken from their hearts; and when they shall see, beyond a possibility of doubt, that Jesus is the Christ. They have in their own Scriptures that which will tend to their establishment far beyond any other people on earth: and we may well expect, that, when they shall be brought to the knowledge of Christ, they will “take root” in him with a firmness that shall never be shaken. They will see how the whole of their ceremonial law shadows him forth; and how the moral law also directs them to him. They will see that all the prophets, with one voice, point to him as the promised Messiah: and, from this weight of evidence, they will feel a conviction, which heathens can scarcely ever attain. Exceeding deep will be their insight into the truths of the Gospel, when God shall “reveal to them,” as he has promised, “the abundance of peace and truth:” “The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord shall bind up the breach of his people, and heal the stroke of their woundb.” When once “they shall look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn,” so clear will be their views, and so deep their convictions, that it will be as if they saw him face to face: as it is said, “They shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.”]

  2.      They shall be fertile in the fruits of piety—

[As they are destined to “take root downward, so are they ordained also to bear fruit upward.” In that day shall be fulfilled that gracious declaration of Jehovah, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon: his branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell us Lebanon.” Much, very much, is spoken in the Scriptures respecting the spiritual change that shall then be wrought in them: “God will give them a new heart, and a new spirit will he put within them; and he will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flush; and will cause them to walk in his statutes, and to keep his judgments and do them.” In truth, the whole figurative language of prophecy, though primarily applicable to their temporal prosperity, has a further and far more important reference to their spiritual state: “Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, and for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.]

  3.      They shall be abundant in usefulness throughout the world—

[“They shall fill the face of the world with fruit.” Yes, verily, they are God’s appointed instruments for the conversion of the whole world. This is one end for which God, in his providence, has scattered them over the whole earth. He has sent them, unconscious and uncalled-for, even as the clouds of heaven, to pour out the blessings with which they are fraught, and to fertilize the desert places of the earth. The Prophet Micah speaks of them in these remarkable terms: “The remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.” It is thus that God has prepared the way for the conversion of the whole Gentile world. The Jews, in all the different countries of the earth, possess their own Scriptures, whereon Christianity is founded; and, being conversant with the languages of the people amongst whom they sojourn, they will be ready to proclaim the truth the very instant that the veil is removed from their own hearts. And that this is their destined office, we are sure; for God himself says respecting them, “They shall declare my glory among the Gentiles; and they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.” They are the appointed reapers of the whole world. Precisely as, by the Jews, God, in the apostolic age, reaped the first-fruits of the Gentiles, so will he, in due season, gather in by them the whole harvest.]

Here then we may also see,

  II.      What we ought now to be—

We are God’s Israel, as much as ever they were; and heirs of all these blessings no less than they: for, “if we be Christ’s, then are we Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Standing, then, in this relation to the Deity, can we doubt our obligation to serve and honour him? Surely it becomes all who “name the name of Christ,”

  1.      To take root in him—

[This is expressly told us by the Apostle Paul: “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” We are, by our very profession, “plants of righteousness, of the Lord’s planting;” and it is on Christ Jesus that we stand. Into him we must shoot forth our roots: and from him must we derive all the sap and nourishment, whereby we are to live, and to bring forth fruit to his glory. Nothing is to move us from him, even for a moment: nor must we entertain a thought of finding support from any other than him. It is “in him that all fulness dwells;” and “out of his fulness must we receive” all our supplies of grace and strength. Our whole life must be one continued exercise of faith in him; and we must “cleave unto him with full purpose of heart.”]

  2.      To bring forth fruit to his glory—

[Christians must not be like the world around them, “barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord;” but abounding in the fruits of righteousness, which are, by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Would you form a perfect idea of this distinction, go and behold two trees, one laden with leaves only, the other covered with blossoms and buds which promise an abundant supply of fruit. No person, with these objects before him, doubts of their comparative value: no one doubts which of the two better answers the end of all the cultivation bestowed upon it, or which is the more acceptable to him on whose ground they stand. Know ye then, my Brethren, that this is the evidence which ye must give of a work of grace within you. You must, as David speaks, “be beautified with salvation:” the power of divine grace must display itself within you, by all those holy dispositions which were in Christ himself. Behold the Saviour in his whole deportment towards God and man; how meek and lowly; how patient and forbearing; how superior to earthly things, and intent on the work assigned him! “His path was like the sun” in its course: and “such should yours be, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day:” yea, so clearly and constantly should it shine, that all who behold you should confess that God is with you, and should glorify him for the grace conferred upon you. It is in this way that we are to approve ourselves trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, “in whom he shall be glorified.”]

  3.      To extend the knowledge of him throughout the world—

[“No one of us should live unto himself.” From the moment that we are engrafted into Christ, we should begin to bring forth fruit to his glory, and should labour to diffuse to the utmost possible extent the benefits we have received. Our domestic circle should occupy our first attention; and then the neighbourhood in which we live: and then we should go on further, to extend our efforts, till we have “filled the face of the whole world with fruit.” This should be the ambition of every child of God: and, if facilities are afforded us for combined exertion, we should gladly avail ourselves of them, in order that our labours may be more useful, and that we may effect by union what cannot be wrought by individual exertion. In particular, we should look upon the state of the Jewish and Heathen world. We should lament to see in what darkness both the one and the other are lying: and, like the holy apostles, we should endeavour to advance the Redeemer’s kingdom throughout the world. Like St. Paul, we should have great heaviness and continual sorrow in our hearts for those who are “perishing for lack of knowledge;” and, by all the means within our reach, we should labour, that “all the kingdoms of the world may become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ.”]

And now, let me further IMPROVE this subject,

  1.      In a way of reproof to ourselves—

[How little of this piety is to be seen amongst us! Men are “rooted” indeed; but it is in the world, and not in Christ. And there is, to a certain degree, a form of godliness amongst us; but its power is sadly wanting. Nor is there altogether a want of benevolence; but it is displayed rather to the bodies than the souls of men; or, at all events, is exercised only towards those around us, instead of being extended to the whole world. Perhaps we may contribute towards the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures, and the sending of Missionaries to the Gentiles, and to the work that is carrying forward amongst the Jews: but, if we examine how far our hearts are interested in these things, we shall have reason to be ashamed before God, and to acknowledge that we are very far from having attained that holy zeal which should animate our souls. We say indeed, as our Lord has taught us, “Thy kingdom come:” but, as for our efforts for the establishment of it, they are as cold and partial as if the matter were of no importance. I pray you, Brethren, to lay this matter to heart. It is not in this way that our God ought to be served, and our Redeemer’s interests promoted. We should be full of zeal in this sacred cause, even of such “a zeal” as has a tendency to “consume us.” Our very life ought not to be dear to us, if that by any means we may advance the welfare of our fellow-creatures, and the glory of our God.]

  2.      In a way of encouragement, as it respects the Jews—

[We are apt to entertain desponding thoughts, as if it were impossible that the prophecies respecting that people should ever be accomplished. But is their state more desperate than it was in Egypt or in Babylon? Yet were the promised deliverances vouchsafed from thence. On the self-same day that had been foretold four hundred and thirty years before, were they brought out from Egypt; and precisely at the termination of the seventy years from Babylon. What reason, then, is there to doubt of God’s effectual interposition now? Has he forgotten his own word or promise? or, after so many centuries, “is his ear become heavy that he cannot hear, or is his arm shortened that he cannot save?” He has said, “I WILL CAUSE” this: and be assured, that not all the power of men or devils shall prevent the execution of his purpose: nor shall one jot or tittle of his word ever fail.” “Has he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” In engaging, then, in this cause, you have this consolation; that, though you should not live to see the work accomplished, it shall take place at the appointed time. The dispersed of Judah shall be brought back to God; and that event shall “be as life from the dead, to the whole world.”]

DCCCXCIX

CONVERSION OF THE JEWS GRADUAL

  Isai. 27:12, 13.

It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the Holy Mount at Jerusalem.

THE conversion of the Jews has till of late occupied a very small portion of attention in the Christian world: and even at this moment a sad indifference towards it too generally prevails. Notwithstanding the prophecies relating to it are so clear, the subject is scarcely ever brought before a Christian audience; and notwithstanding it is inseparably connected with the conversion of the Gentile world, it is overlooked for the most part as an event in which we have no interest. Degraded as the Jews are, God still declares, that “they are beloved of him for their fathers’ sakes:” but by us, who are indebted to their fathers for all the light that we enjoy, they are neglected and despised, as though their souls were of no value. This unconcern for their welfare is even justified by us, from a mistaken notion that God will in some miraculous way effect their conversion suddenly, and without the intervention of human means. But, whilst the prophecy before us serves to correct that error, it encourages us to exert ourselves in their behalf, and to expect that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

In it we see,

  I.      The mercy reserved for the Jewish people—

That “they shall be gathered” from their dispersion, and “worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem,” is certain: and,

  1.      It may well be thought that this shall be accomplished literally—

[There are even amongst wise and good men some who doubt whether the Jews shall literally be restored to their own land; and therefore I would spook with diffidence respecting it: but I confess that in my opinion the declarations of God respecting it are so strong and numerous, that I should scarcely know what to believe on the authority of Scripture, if I did not believe that. I will however content myself with mentioning only two passages; which yet, I consider as clearly determining the point. Moses, in one of his last addresses to the Jews, tells them, that if by their iniquities they should provoke God to drive them out of the land of Canaan, and to scatter them among the nations, yet he would, on their repentance, “have compassion on them, and gather them from all the nations whither they were scattered; yea, though they should be driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven, even from thence would the Lord fetch them, and bring them again into the land which their fathers possessed; and do them good there, and multiply them above their fathers.” This was never verified at their return from Babylon, since they were not brought “from the uttermost parts of heaven,” but almost exclusively from Babylon; nor did they ever afterwards become near so numerous, as they had been under David and Solomon. The other passage to which I will call your attention is taken from the Prophet Zechariah, who wrote after their return from Babylon. Extremely particular is the prophet in stating the populousness and prosperity of the nation at the period of their final return to their own land from their present dispersion: that “old men and old women should dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man walking with his staff in his hand for very age, whilst the streets should be full of boys and girls playing in them.” If it be inquired what period is there referred to, we are told, that it should be “when ten men out of all languages of the nations should take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.” When, I would ask, was this ever fulfilled? When were the Jews ever so high in favour with all the nations of the earth? At no past period assuredly: but they shall be at a future season, even at that season when God shall interpose to reestablish them in the land from whence they have been driven out. But, however this may be,]

  2.      It is confessed by all, that it shall be spiritually fulfilled—

[The Christian Church is called “Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” to which all true believers are come. And to it shall the Jewish people also come in due season. Scattered as they now are, and at the utmost possible distance from Christianity, the time is coming, when “the good Shepherd will seek and search them out, and bring them into his fold, and cause them to feed upon the mountains of Israel.” Then, says God, “I will set up one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; and he shall feed them, and be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them: I the Lord have spoken it.” Let this be compared with what the Prophet Hosea says to the same effect; and no doubt can remain, either respecting whom it is spoken, or at what period it is to be accomplishedg. Were we to take from the Old Testament all the passages which speak to the same purpose, we should transcribe no inconsiderable portion of the prophetic writings. But this is unnecessary, since there is not any one who believes the Scriptures, who does not believe that the Jews shall at a future period be converted to the faith of Christ, and acknowledge him as their Messiah. Yet we must on no account pass over the testimony of St. Paul, who occupies one entire chapter with this subject; assuring us, that there is yet among the Jews “a remnant according to the election of grace;” that “they shall again be graffed on their own olive-tree, from which for our sakes (though for their own transgressions) they have been broken off:” and that as their temporary rejection from the Church of God has been the means of introducing the Gentiles into it, so shall their restoration to it be an infinitely richer blessing to the Gentiles than ever their rejection was, being to the whole Gentile world “as life from the dead.”]

Regarding then the bestowment of this mercy to the Jews as certain, we proceed to state,

  II.      The way in which it shall be vouchsafed to them—

This we will trace,

  1.      In its commencement—

[The extent of territory originally assigned to them in God’s covenant with Abraham, was that which is here specified in our text; it was from the river Euphrates to the Nile. But, having been driven from thence, they are compared to an olive-tree which has been stripped of all its fruit, except a few that were either hidden from the owner, or inaccessible to him, on the topmost boughsl. God, however, will send his servants to seek out this scattered fruit, and to “beat it off,” or shake it off, from the tree, in order to gather it for him. The success that will attend their labours will not be great: the Jews will be gathered only, as if it were, “one by one.” But to them it will be a joyful event, that they have not been left to be devoured by the birds, but have been collected for the Master’s use. This is elsewhere described by the same prophet: “When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive-tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done: they shall lift up their voice; they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord; they shall cry aloud from the sea.” To the same effect, God speaks also by the Prophet Jeremiah: “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family (or tribe), and I will bring you to Zion.”

Such will be the effects produced upon the Jews at the commencement of the efforts that shall be made for their restoration to God. As it respects the mass of the dispersed, the first converts will be only a small remnant, a gleaning after the gathering has been made; as the prophet has informed us: “Though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant only shall return:” but as it respects the complete in-gathering which shall ultimately follow, they will be as the first-fruits before the harvest, and the drop before the shower.]

  2.      In its progress—

[In due time “the great trumpet will be blown,” and the Jews that are scattered to the utmost ends of the earth shall hear it. The trumpets were, by God’s command, to be blown on different occasions; and especially, for the convoking of the people to the tabernacle in the wilderness; for the regulating of their journeys towards the Promised Land; and for the proclaiming every fiftieth year the year of Jubileeq. The Gospel is this trumpet, which will be “sounded out” through the whole world; and it will “come with power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance,” to “the outcast Israelites in the land of Egypt, and to those who are ready to perish in the land of Assyria.” Then will that be fulfilled which is spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah, “The watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord: Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child, together; a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.” &c. &c. — — — “Then shall the Lord set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people from Assyria, and from Egypt,” &c.; “and shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, &c.: and there shall be an high-way for the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” Nor shall they come alone from the places of their dispersion; for vast multitudes will accompany them, insomuch, that “Israel shall be only as a third of the whole number, whom the Lord of Hosts will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” Thus eventually “shall all Israel be saved: for this is God’s covenant with them, when he shall take away their sins.”]

  3.      In its consummation—

[“They shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem:” and O what worship will then be offered in every place! the worshippers all so enlightened! (for “the light of the moon will then be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun seven-fold, as the light of seven days:”) and their experience of heavenly things so deep! for “the knowledge of the Lord will then cover the earth, not in extent only, but in depth also, as the waters cover the sea:” and God revealing himself so gloriously in the midst of them! (for then “the sun will be no more their light by day, neither for brightness will the moon give light unto them; but the Lord will be an everlasting light unto them, and their God their glory.”) Then will be realized (at least in its incipient state), that vision of the beloved disciple, who says, “I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”]

  SEE then from hence,

  1.      How groundless is the objection which so many raise against the efforts that are making for the conversion of the Jews, that they are useless—

[Many ask, not with grief and sorrow, but with a kind of malignant triumph, What good have you done? Your society has now been instituted several years, and what has been their success? I answer, that no person can reasonably expect to sow and reap on the same day. No other society has prospered at the first moment of its institution. Inquire of missions to the heathen; Have they prospered all at once? How much less then can it be expected, that the Jews, with all their deep-rooted prejudices, should in a moment lay them all aside, and, overcoming obstacles greater than can be conceived, become at once the disciples of the despised Nazarene? But the Christian world have conceived a notion, that the Jews are to be converted all in a day. This however is a mistake. What God may do at a future period I presume not to say. I do myself conceive, that in God’s appointed time, when God’s servants shall “prophesy unto them,” and “the great trumpet be blown” throughout the earth, there will be a resurrection of the dry bones; and they will rise “a great army.” But this is not to be expected at the first commencement of our endeavours, as you have already heard. We are not taught to expect, in the first instance, more than the gleanings of an olive-tree: and, if we get “one of a city, and two of a tribe,” and gather them from different places, “one by one,” we are to account ourselves richly recompensed fur our labours. How many, I would ask, did our Lord Jesus Christ, and his twelve apostles, aided by seventy other disciples, convert in the four years previous to the day of Pentecost? Yet they wrought miracles in confirmation of their word. Was the smallness of their success during that period any ground for saying, that they had lost their labour, and that it would be useless to prosecute their object any further, especially since they must do it at so great a risk to themselves, and to all who should embrace their religion? Thus then I say, that as many have been gathered as, considering the contracted scale on which the efforts have been used, and the total want of a proper medium of access to them which till lately we have experienced, could in reason be expected. We grant that the converts have hitherto been few, and that yet for a season they may continue to be only us slender gleanings; but is this a reason why we should not search them out, and endeavour with care and labour to beat the tree? If a house with only half-a-dozen persons in it should be on fire, and some were exerting themselves for their preservation, what would you think of the humanity of the person who should deride and damp their efforts, from the consideration that they could only hope to benefit a few? Look at the text, and see the description given of the Jews: are they not “outcasts,” and “ready to perish?” And is not this a sufficient reason to seek their salvation, though we should save from destruction only “one or two?” They are called “the lost sheep of the House of Israel:” and has not our Lord taught us, that, if there be only one of a hundred gone astray, we should go after that one and seek to bring it home? Yea, has he not in this very connexion told us, that “it is not the will of your Father that one of his little ones should perish?” Should not we then be like-minded with God, and determine, that not one shall perish, through any want of effort on our part to save him? Should we not all unite as one man to carry into effect the purposes of God’s love towards them? Is there any hope that the few which invite our labours, shall be gathered in, if there be none to beat or shake the tree? or can there be a general convocation of them to the Lord, if there be none to go forth and sound the trumpet in their ears? Know ye then, that we want instruments, active and zealous instruments, to do the Lord’s work: we need pecuniary aid also, that we may send forth missionaries to the ends of the earth, with the Gospel trumpet in their hands, and the love of God in their hearts, to make known to the Jews their Messiah, and to “bring them home as an offering to the Lord their God.” O that God would stir us all up to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, and make use of us to hasten forward the period of their complete redemption!]

  2.      What we all need in order to our own salvation—

[Let us not, in our zeal for others, forget ourselves. We are all, with the exception of a small remnant, in as bad a state as the Jews themselves. The only difference between us is, that they are ignorant of Christ, but “we profess to know Christ, yet in works deny him.” As far as respects vital godliness, we are as far from God as they. “All we like sheep have gone astray; and, no less than they, do we need to return to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.” It is true of us, as well as of them, that the truly pious are but a remnant. “The god of this world” has the harvest; and the God of heaven nothing but “the gleanings.” The Lord’s people are but “a little flock;” and in comparison of the multitudes who go in “the broad road that leadeth to destruction,” they are but “few” who “enter in at the strait gate, and walk in the narrow path.” Forgive me, then, if with holy violence I enveavour to “beat you off” from the tree on which you are yet standing, and to “gather you” for the Lord. Let me sound in your ears the Gospel trumpet, which proclaims “liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound:” and let me entreat you to “return (as the remnant will assuredly do) to the living God,” “to worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” We must be content, we fear, to “gather you one by one:” for, notwithstanding all the efforts that are made for the restoration of your souls to God, it is a melancholy fact, that we succeed but little better with you in the midst of all your advantages, than we do with the Jews in the midst of all their disadvantages. If we labour ever so much, and can reach only “two or three upon the topmost bough, and four or five upon the outermost bough,” we are forced to be content, yea, and to think ourselves well repaid; so little power has the Gospel in the present day, and so sparingly is the Spirit of God poured out upon us. Know this however for your good. Whatever is necessary for the Jews, is necessary for us also. Must they believe in Christ? so must we. Must they give themselves up to him? so must we. Must they walk in his steps, and be conformed to his image? so must we. And sure I am, that the more we experience these blessings in our own souls, the more shall we labour to communicate them to the whole world, and more especially to those for whose sake God has imparted to us the superior blessings we enjoy.]

DCCCC

THE FELICITY OF GOD’S PEOPLE

  Isai. 28:5.

In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people.

THE sublime expressions of Scripture frequently raise in our minds a pleasing sensation, while yet we entertain but very confused notions of the truths contained in them. It is scarcely possible to read the words of the text without being struck with wonder and admiration: but we cannot enter into their full import without a careful attention to the preceding context. Samaria was the capital of the ten tribes: it was situated on a high hill, and surrounded by fertile vallies, which were skirted with other hills: hence it was compared to a crown or chaplet; which, while it adorned the adjacent country, marked its pre-eminence above all the other cities of Israel. But for the pride and intemperance of its inhabitants, God denounced his judgments against it, declaring that this beautiful chaplet should be “a fading flower,” and this boasted fortress, a desolation. He foretold that its wealth and beauty should but excite the avidity of its enemies, who, as soon as they came against it, should prevail over it, and greedily devour it, as one would devour a delicious piece of fruit which he unexpectedly found hanging on a tree. Then, to mark as strongly as possible, the contrast between them and his faithful people, he promises that He himself will be to his people a crown of glory that shall never perish, and a diadem of beauty that shall never fade—

This was fulfilled in the preservation of the two tribes under Hezekiah from the forces of the Assyrians, after they had destroyed Samaria and carried captive the whole kingdom of Israel. But its full accomplishment must be sought for in the blessings which God vouchsafes to his people under the Gospel dispensation. To illustrate it we must observe, that,

  I.      In the most degenerate times God has a remnant of faithful people—

There has been no season when God has not had some faithful adherents—

[In the antediluvian world all flesh had corrupted their way, and it seemed as if the very remembrance of God had been effaced from the minds of his creatures: but yet there was one small family who maintained their steadfastness, and openly acknowledged the true God. Before God separated the Israelites for himself, the world was again reduced to a state similar to that before the deluge: yet even then there were found an Abraham, a Melchizedec, a Job, and perhaps a few others connected with them. The times of Elijah were extremely degenerate: yet then, though he thought himself the only servant of God in Israel, there were seven thousand others that had never bowed their knee to Baal. Though therefore the knowledge of God has frequently been almost extinct, yet there never has been a period when he had not some to be his witnesses in the ages in which they lived.]

But at no time has he had more than a little remnant—

[When first the twelve tribes were established in Canaan, piety prevailed among that nation more than at any other period: but there is no reason to imagine that the godly bore any proportion to the ungodly; nor, if their whole nation had been pious, did they bear any proportion to the world at large. There were many converted in the days of the Apostles; and religion flourished far beyond what it ever did before or since that time: yet Christians were even then “like the gleanings of the olive, one or two upon the topmost boughs.” The name of Christ is indeed very widely spread; but if his professed followers be sifted, how little true wheat would be found in comparison of the chaff! Truly it is “a little flock,” “a remnant according to the election of grace;” “though the nominal Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is only a small remnant that will eventually be saved.”]

Their state however is peculiarly happy; for,

  II.      While they honour God, God greatly exalts and blesses them—

The terms used in the text import that God will be to his people a source of,

  1.      Honour—

[A crown is the highest honour to which a human being can aspire in this world. But how poor and contemptible is such a dignity, when compared with that which God confers on his people! “He is not ashamed to be called their God:” He acknowledges them as “his sons and daughters:” they are the very “members of Christ’s body,” yea, they “are one spirit” together with him. While monarchs are surrounded by their nobles, the saints are attended by holy angels, who, as “ministering spirits, are sent from heaven to minister unto them.” When they go hence they have a crown of righteousness, and a throne of glory on which they shall sit with Christ at the right hand of God, in whose presence they shall “reign as kings and priests for ever and ever.” “Such honour have all his saints.”]

  2.      Beauty—

[A crown is deemed the brightest ornament to the person that wears it; nor is any thing wanting to it that can increase its splendour. This idea is particularly marked in that a crown is called “a diadem of beauty.” But God puts a far brighter ornament around the head of his people: “He beautifies them with salvation.” He encircles them, as he did Moses of old, with rays of his own glory, insomuch that “his own glory is seen upon them.” A meek and quiet spirit is but a single grace out of many with which they are endued; yet that is “an ornament of great value even in the sight of God” himself; what then must be the constellation of graces that form their character? But what can God himself say more than this, that they are “renewed after his own image in righteousness and true holiness,” and that they are progressively “changed into his image from glory to glory by the agency of his almighty Spirit?” Is the ornament of a glittering bauble worthy to be compared with this?]

  3.      Happiness—

[Men conceive that the possession of imperial honours must of necessity contribute greatly to their happiness: hence, if such a station be within their reach, there is nothing which men will not do to attain it. But supposing that all the satisfaction which men expect from their elevation were invariably attached to it, how much greater happiness does God impart to his chosen people! Their “peace passeth all understanding;” their “hope is full of immortality;” their “joy is unspeakable and glorified.” They are not indeed exempt from sorrows; but they have “joys with which the stranger intermeddleth not.” No tongue can declare the comfort they sometimes feel in a sense of the divine favour; nor can the heart of man conceive those joys which are prepared for them at the right hand of God.]

  4.      Security—

[The idea of security attaches to the condition of a king, because, the instant that he is in danger, there are thousands at his command to rally round the throne, and to expose their lives in his defence. But if “the Lord of Hosts himself be our crown,” then are we secure indeed. And has he not said that “He standeth round about his people;” that “their place of defence is the munition of rocks;” that “He himself will be to them as a broad and rapid river that can neither be passed nor navigatedc;” yea, that “He will be a wall of fire round about them,” not only to protect their persons, but to destroy all that would invade their peace? Has he not assured us that “neither the power nor the policy of hell shall ever prevail against them?” and that “none shall ever pluck them out of his hand?” Having HIM, they have all. If “none can separate them from his love,” their honour and beauty, their happiness mid security, are as firm and immovable as God himself.]

  INFER—

  1.      How desirable is it to be found among the little remnant!

[Look at the greatest monarch upon earth; and the condition of Lazarus is infinitely preferable to his, unless he be among the number of God’s people. Created glory, like that of Samaria, is but “a fading flower;” but if we belong to God, we have a portion, substantial in its nature, and everlasting in its duration. Let us then seek this portion with all earnestness through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.]

  2.      How little should we regard the scoffs and contempt of men!

[It is indeed “a small matter to be judged of man’s judgment.” If God commend us as wise, we need not be concerned though men should account us fools. Time will show, who are the truly wise, they who through the love of the world or the fear of man displease their God, or they, who face the frowns of the world, and sacrifice its interests in order that they may please him. Indeed the ungodly themselves will soon alter their sentiments respecting these things. And, if a king upon his throne would not regard the ravings of a maniac who should conceit himself to be arrayed in royal majesty, so neither need we regard those who enjoy only the appearance of happiness, while we possess God himself for our crown of glory, and our diadem of beauty.]

  3.      How are we bound in our respective spheres to honour and glorify our God!

[Can we reflect a moment on such transcendent mercies, and not feel it our duty to walk worthy of them? If any ask, How shall I requite the Lord? We answer, “Be ye a crown of glory and a royal diadem in his hand.” It is true, we cannot add to his honour, beauty, happiness, or security; but, as a diadem is that on which the prince looks with peculiar complacency, so may we be objects of pleasure and delight in the hand of our God. Let us then endeavour so to walk that we may be his boast: so to shine, that it may be seen to whom we belong; and so to honour him, that he may acknowledge us as his in the day that he shall make up his jewels.]

DCCCCI

THE MILLENNIAL PERIOD FAST APPROACHING

  Isai. 29:17.

Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

OUR blessed Lord reproved the Scribes and Pharisees of his day; because when, from particular appearances in the atmosphere, they could judge with considerable accuracy what the state of the weather would be, they could not discern, from the clear evidences before them, that their Messiah was indeed come. We will not say that a similar reproof is due to those who see not the near approach of the Millennium now, because the evidences of it are by no means so clear and strong: but I think there is abundant ground for the appeal which the Prophet Isaiah made to the people of his day; “Is it not yet a very little while,” and all the wonderful blessings of the latter day shall overspread the earth?

In confirmation of this sentiment, I will set before you,

  I.      The event anticipated—

The prediction in my text relates to one great event—

[It is generally supposed to comprehend two events; namely, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the rejection of God’s ancient people. But I feel no doubt but that it relates generally to the conversion of the whole world to Christ; and that its true sense is this: “In a little time the uncultivated forest of the Gentile world shall become a fruitful field; and that which would now be reckoned a fruitful field, namely, the Jewish Church, shall be esteemed as a forest,” so incomparably more abundant shall its fruitfulness be in the latter day.

This accords best with the very words of my text; for it is not said that the fruitful field shall be turned into a forest, (as in the former clause,) but that it “shall be esteemed as a forest;” where the diversity of the words clearly marks the diversity of the sentiment contained in them.

This also well accords with the general strain of prophecy, which abounds in amplification, and, if I may so say, exaggertion. Thus this same prophet, speaking of this same period, says, “Behold, I create new heavens, and a now earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind … . . There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner, being an hundred years old shall be accursed,” i. e. shall be considered as having died under a kind of judicial sentence, by reason of his being removed at so early an age.

This, too, is most clearly marked in the context — — — It is also strongly marked in the context in a following chapter; where the very same words are used, by the same prophet — — — And again the very same event, foretold, though not in the same, yet in nearly similar terms, is associated with the very same identical facts, expressive of the blessings which shall then abound over the face of the whole earth — — —]

In a word; what the prophet here speaks respecting the state of the Church in his day, as compared with that which shall obtain in the latter day, is precisely to the same effect with that which St. Paul speaks respecting the Jewish and the Christian dispensations: “The former had a glory; but the latter far exceeded in glory; so that that which was made glorious had no glory, by reason of the glory that excelled.”]

And a most glorious event will this be—

[The whole world, which is like a desolate wilderness, will have the seed of the Gospel cast upon it, and, through the showers of divine grace falling upon it in rich abundance, will bring forth fruit to the praise and glory of our God. We doubt not but that the most savage people upon the face of the earth, who, in point of civilization and knowledge, are at present scarcely superior to the beasts, will, through the preaching of the Gospel, “be turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” And where the light of the Gospel has already come, it will shine with incomparably greater splendour; according as it is written, “The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” In that day, the prophet tells us, “the people shall be all righteoush:” “holiness to the Lord shall be written upon the very bells of the horses,” that are used in agricultural pursuits; and “all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of the Lord and his Christk.”]

The appeal made to us respecting this blessed period leads me to shew,

  II.      The evidence we have of its near approach—

The prophet judged it near in his day—

[So certain and so clear were the views which the prophets had of the events which they were inspired to foretell, that they saw them already accomplished, as it were, before their eyes. “A thousand years were with them but as one day.” It is now two thousand six hundred years since these events were revealed to the prophet, and yet Jehovah spake of them as if they were already taking place: “Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on thee as a bride doth. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone: these, where had they been?” So again; “Who are these, that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windowsn?” Now then, if the prophet spoke of this period as so near in his day,]

Much more may we consider it as very near at this time—

[And indeed, besides the lapse of so many centuries, we have much additional evidence of its approach. The general scope of prophecy, so far as it designates the period of which our text speaks, points, if I may so say, to this very age in which we live. The one thousand two hundred and sixty years of Daniel are, beyond all doubt, near to their completion: and consequently the reign of Christ on earth, as its universal Monarch, is near to its commencement.

Besides, amongst both Jews and Gentiles there is a general expectation that some great change is at hand, and that God will shortly interpose to bring all nations to such an unity in religious faith and practice as has never yet been seen upon earth.

The efforts which are making throughout the whole Christian world for the accomplishment of this object, by translating the Holy Scriptures into the different languages of the earth, by sending out missionaries also to instruct both Jews and Gentiles, and by instilling into the rising generation the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. These efforts are altogether unprecedented, both in respect of energy and extent; and, whilst they shew that God is with his people to call forth their exertions, they are a pledge to them that their labours shall not be in vain.

The actual commencement of a work of grace in many places, where nothing but darkness reigned till of late, justifies a hope that we already see the dawn of approaching day, and experience somewhat of the drops that precede the shower.]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Let us look forward with holy earnestness to this blessed time—

[Did Abraham feel such delight in the prospect of our Saviour’s first advent! and shall not we, with similar emotions, look forward to the period when he shall come in his glory, and establish his kingdom over the face of the whole earth? — — — Even in heaven is this a ground of joy; and much more should it be to us, who hope, “in a very little while,” to participate in all the blessings which he is coming to bestow.]

  2.      Let us pray to God to hasten this long-wished-for day—

[We are taught to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” And it is in answer to prayer that “God will pour out his Spirit from on high, to effect that change which is promised in our text. It is by the Holy Spirit alone that this change can be wrought: and through his almighty power shall Pentecostal conversions be effected, in every quarter of the globe.]

  3.      Let every one of us, in our place, endeavour to help it forward—

[God has promised that “seed time and harvest shall never cease,” till the end of the world; but it is by the instrumentality of man that he effects his purposes: so also shall the diffusion of divine knowledge, and the increase of fertility throughout the whole earth, be effected by the instrumentality of man. But it is not by ministers only that God will pour out these benefits upon us, but by the agency of all who, in their place and station, endeavour to advance his cause in the world. Even in the Apostle’s days, females had their department of labour, and laboured too with good success, as well as men: and at this time, also, there is a call for the exertions of every soul amongst us: and though we have in ourselves no more power or efficiency than rams’ horns, yet will God by us demolish the strong holds of sin and Satan, and establish throughout the world the kingdom of his dear Son.]

DCCCCII

THE GOSPEL A SOURCE OF BLESSINGS TO MANKIND

  Isai. 29:18, 19.

In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness: the meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

THERE is a day frequently spoken of in Scripture under the emphatical title of “that day:” and it sometimes refers to the apostolic age, sometimes to the millennial period, and sometimes to the day of judgment. Commentators in general consider the first of these to be the time designated by that expression in the text. To this they are led by the interpretation of the preceding verse; which they understand thus: “In a very little while, Lebanon (the Gentile world, which has hitherto been a mere desert) shall be turned into a fruitful field (by means of the Gospel which shall be published); and the (hitherto) fruitful field (of the Jewish Church) shall be esteemed as a forest (or desert). And in that day (of the destruction of the Jewish Church and polity) shall the deaf hear the words of the book,” &c. &c. But I should rather incline to consider the second period, namely, the millennial æra, as the time intended: because I have no conception of “Lebanon,” which is constantly used in Scripture to characterize grandeur and fertility, being applied to designate a mere desert. I apprehend rather that in that verse there is a climax, descriptive of the state of the Church when the Jews shall be gathered into it: that then “Lebanon (which now is desolate) shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field (such as it will then exist) shall be esteemed as a forest;” seeing that “the handful of corn cast upon the top of the mountains” will spring up so abundantly, that “the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon.” This is the kind of climax which often occurs in relation to that very period, It may be seen in chap. 45:20. where it is said, in reference to the protracted age to which men will then live, that “a person dying at the age of an hundred years will die a mere child, and be accounted as one accursed,” that is, cut off prematurely, under a stroke of judicial vengeance. In chap. 32:15. also, the very expressions of the text are again used in this precise view: “When the Spirit shall be poured from on high, (it is said,) the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” Thus I understand the prophet as saying in our text, that “in a very little while” (it was but a little while even in Isaiah’s days, but now it is just at hand,) the Jews shall be converted to the faith of Christ, in such numbers as to be like the woods of Lebanon; and THEN the poor benighted Gentiles also shall be gathered into the fold of Christ, in a way and to an extent altogether unprecedented from the first publication of Christianity to that very hour.

In this view of the passage it has an equally favourable aspect both upon Jews and Gentiles: on Jews, to shew what blessings are in reserve for them, (and now just about to be poured out upon them;) and on Gentiles, who will by their means experience, as it were, throughout the whole world, “a resurrection from the dead.”

It is not however my intention to insist on this point: but, waving any further notice of the millennial period, I shall simply shew,

  I.      What is that book to which the attention of all men shall be called—

It is here called “the book;” and must undoubtedly be, the book of revelation, in which all “the visions” of the seers, and the predictions of the prophets, are contained. This is the book in relation to which God had poured out upon the Jewish nation a spirit of deep sleep, and had closed their eyes, even the eyes of their prophets, their rulers, and their seers; insomuch that it was altogether as “a sealed book,” which, “whether delivered to a learned or unlearned man,” was equally unintelligible to him. So completely were its contents hidden from them, that “the wisdom of their wise men perished, and the understanding of their prudent men was hid.”

From the New Testament we are able to speak more definitely on this point, and to say that this book is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: for this is the description which St. Paul gives of the Gospel, in reference to the very chapter before us. He says, that he was sent to preach the Gospel; but that it was to the great mass of his hearers “foolishness:” agreeable to what had been written; “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” “To the Jews,” he tells us, “it was a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but unto those who were called, whether Jews or Greeks, it was Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” This book contains the “hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world; which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Indeed “the natural man, whoever he be, cannot receive it; for it is foolishness unto him: neither can he know it, because it is spiritually discerned,” and can be known only through the influence of God’s Spirit upon the soulg.

Thus, by comparing the account given of this book by an inspired Apostle, in reference to the very chapter before us, we may with certainty declare what book is here intended.

Now, as the Gospel is the book which the deaf are to hear, and the blind to see, it will be proper,

  1.      To enter a little into its contents—

[It reveals to man a Saviour. It declares that God, in tender mercy to our fallen race, sent his only dear Son into the world, to make an atonement for us, and to effect by his own obedience unto death, our reconciliation with him — — — The Old Testament revealed this as to be effected in due season; and the New Testament gives an account of it as already accomplished — — — The New Testament moreover sets before us all his invitations and promises, together with the promise of the Holy Spirit, to render the whole effectual for our complete and final salvation — — —]

  2.      To shew briefly, that this is indeed God’s destined instrument for the salvation of the world—

[It is that with which he wrought from the very beginning: for, though it was comparatively but obscurely revealed, yet it was to this that Adam looked, as holding forth a promise of the seed of the woman to bruise the serpent’s head: and to this the faith of Abel had respect, when he presented the offering of a firsthng to the Lord. To this also Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs, and all the prophets, and all the saints and martyrs of the ancient Church, had respect; they viewed it through the medium of types and prophecies; and though they had not actually received the promised Saviour, they were saved by him, just as we are who live so many centuries posterior to his advent. There never was, nor ever shall be, “any other foundation” for a sinner’s hope, or “any other name whereby a sinner can be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ.”]

Having shewn what “the book” is, we are led to notice,

  II.      Its transcendent excellency—

It comes to the whole world, and commends itself to all,

  1.      As suited to their wants—

[It might be thought, that, whatever offers it made, it would be of no use, if men had not eyes to see it, or ears to hear it: but it engages that the deaf shall hear it, and that the blind shall see it out of obscurity and out of darkness. It not only presents to us things suited to our spiritual senses, but it gives us the very senses, whereby we are enabled to apprehend them. Now this is of peculiar importance; for there is no man by nature who has any spiritual discernment whatever: all are both deaf and blind: and, if any imagine that they are exempt from the general malady, they only prove the more strongly the universality of this truth. Under these two figures may be comprehended all the necessities of our fallen nature: for as a person who has from his birth been destitute of sight and hearing can possess no intellectual attainments, so those who are by nature cut off from all means of spiritual discernment must be destitute of spiritual good. Yet is there no spiritual good which the Gospel will not impart to those who seek it, because it will give both the blessing itself, and the faculty whereby it is to be enjoyed.

It were well if this matter were more generally considered; for it would cut off many sources of despondency, by which the people of God are discouraged. Nothing is more common than to consider a want of natural talent as an almost insurmountable obstacle to the attainment of divine knowledge; and more especially to regard long-contracted guilt as a ground for apprehending an utter exclusion from the hopes of the Gospel. But the Gospel meets the ignorant and the guilty with the same free offers of mercy as are presented to the possessors of learning and morality; and it takes occasion from their very discouragements to press on them in particular the acceptance of its benefits: “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst (a more desperate case can scarcely be painted); I the Lord will hear them; and will open for them rivers of waters in high places (the very reverse of what might naturally be expected), and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Whatever then be any man’s necessities, let him turn the greatness of those necessities into a plea, as David did; “Be merciful unto my sin, O God, for it is great!” and let him know, that the greater his necessities are, the more will God glorify himself in the supply of them.]

  2.      As sufficient for their necessities—

[Nothing is wanting to make the Gospel of Christ effectual. Human wisdom can add nothing to the teaching of God’s Spirit. Man’s righteousness can add nothing to the righteousness of Christ: nor can his strength add any thing to the strength communicated from on high. On the contrary, the least reliance on any thing human will invalidate every thing that is divine: for God will do all, and have all the glory, or leave man to his own inadequate and unassisted efforts. Of itself, it is “quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword;” and “mighty through God to the pulling down all the strong holds” of sin and Satan. If only it come in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, nothing can stand before it. It has already prevailed to a vast extent over the powers of darkness, and in God’s good time it shall “subdue all nations to the obedience of faith.”

One effect in particular it invariably produces, wherever it is received in spirit and in truth; it imparts “a joy with which a stranger to it intermeddleth not.” “The meek are they who will receive it; and they will increase their joy in the Lord: and the poor among men, for whose advancement it is preeminently designed, shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” Others may possess carnal joy: but these shall have a joy in the Lord, “a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.”]

  APPLICATION—

[Why should not “that day” be already come? Whether it be come or not to Jews or Gentiles, there is no reason why it should not be come to you. How blessed would it be to see the commencement of that day amongst you! See what is said of it in another part of Isaiah’s prophecies: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” Dear Brethren, implore help from God: and he will come now at last to give efficacy to his word, and to make it the power of God to the salvation of your souls.]

DCCCCIII

CONFIDENCE IN GOD RECOMMENDED

             Isai. 30:7.

Therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is, to sit still.

NOTHING is more strongly inculcated in the Holy Scriptures than trust in God. Nothing more dishonours him than the want of it: nothing more glorifies him than its unreserved exercise. Not that it supersedes the necessity of exertion on our part: for we are to “work out our own salvation,” notwithstanding we know that all our will and power to do so must proceed from God. Yet there are occasions whereon we must forbear to act, and simply wait on God to effect for us what we have no hope of effecting for ourselves. Such was the occasion before us. The Assyrian monarch was about to invade Judea; and the whole Jewish people were for delivering themselves from his power. This was most displeasing to God, who sent his prophet to inform them, that “the Egyptians should help in vain, and to no purpose. Therefore have I cried,” says he, “concerning this; Their strength is, to sit still.”

The prophet, you will see, limits his assertion to that particular occasion: so that the passage requires me to shew,

  I.      Under what circumstances activity is called for—

Certainly we are, in the general, to be “workers together with God:” more especially,

  1.      When we have to earn our temporal support—

[Immediately after the Fall, God imposed upon us a necessity to labour for our daily subsistence; saying, “In the sweat of thy face thou shall eat bread.” He also determined what portion of our time should be given to it: “Six days shah thou labourc.” In the Gospel he has renewed his injunctions, in the plainest terms: “Labour with thine hands the thing that is good.” And, “If any man will not labour neither shall he eate.” Even in subordinating our temporal engagements to those which are spiritual, he has shewn that the temporal are not to be neglected. The command, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” implies, that the things of time and sense are to occupy an important measure of our time. And, indeed, on our exertions our temporal prosperity is made to depend: for it is “the diligent hand, and that only, that maketh rich.”]

  2.      When any good works are to be done—

[In reference to them, a state of inactivity would be highly criminal. Our blessed Lord “went about doing good;” and he expects that all his people should follow him in this respect: for “he has set us an example, that we should follow his steps.” Indeed, our conformity to him in this respect will constitute a very principal subject of his inquiry at the last day, and a sure ground of his decision in the day of judgmentk. We are therefore instructed, expressly, “not to be weary in well-doing,” but, “by patient continuance in it, to seek for glory and honour and immortality.” We must therefore abound in every good workn;” and, “whatever our hand findeth to do, we must do it with all our might.”]

  3.      When the salvation of the soul is concerned—

[That salvation is the gift of God, is no reason why we should neglect to seek it. On the contrary, our Lord says, “Labour for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” All the images which are used to represent the Christian life imply great exertion on our part. We are to “run a race;” to “fight a good fight;” to “strive for the mastery:” but these things are not done without great exertion: so that, if in the hope and prospect of the heavenly prize, we were to sit still, we should insure to ourselves nothing but shame and loss. No election of God will ever save us, if we do not labour to save ourselves: “We must give all diligence to make our calling and election sure;” and must “add one virtue to another,” without any partiality or reserve, if ever we would “have an entrance ministered unto us into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”]

Still, however, there are occasions where it is proper to forbear working, and where “our strength is rather to sit still:” in confirmation of which, I will shew when activity may be suspended, and,

  II.      Under what circumstances it is to give way to confidence in God—

We may then “sit still,”

  1.      When, from the nature of the circumstances, activity can be of no avail—

[When God commanded the paschal lamb to be slain, and all the Hebrews to sprinkle their houses with its blood, as the means of averting from them the sword of the destroying angel, to what purpose would they have put forth any efforts of their own? Could they ward off the stroke which inflicted death on all the first-born of Egypt? No: “their strength was to sit still;” and to confide in God, who had promised to deliver them. Again; When the Red Sea was before them, and mountains and morasses were on either side, and the hosts of Egypt in their rear, what could they do to ward off the destruction that menaced them? They were as incapable of resisting Pharaoh, as if they had been already bound in chains before him. Their only hope was in God, who opened a way for them through the sea; and made that, which was a path to them, a grave to all their foes.

Now the same line of conduct becomes us also, in reference to the redemption of our souls. God says to us, “Christ, your passover is sacrificed for you:” sprinkle yourselves with his blood: rely on that for protection: and, though the curses of my law are following you, and all the powers of darkness are combined against you for your destruction, “yet shall you not perish, but have everlasting life.” If we will comply with this, our salvation is sure: but if we will have recourse to any efforts of our own, our doom is sealed: for we may as well hope, by our own power, to create a world, as by any works of ours to remove our guilt, and to obtain for ourselves the felicity of heaven. “We must be saved by faith, and not by works.” Any attempts to save ourselves by works will only invalidate what Christ has done for usu. Every endeavour, therefore, of this kind must for ever be relinquished: our whole strength, in relation to this matter, is only to “sit still.”]

  2.      When no means can be used, but such as are unlawful—

[To Rebekah it had been promised, whilst her twin children, Esau and Jacob, were yet in her womb, that the “elder should serve the younger.” But when Isaac, to all appearance, was dying, he called for Esau, in order to confer on him the honours and privileges of his birth-right. Rebekah, who had a partiality for her younger son Jacob, seeing this, and feuring that he would lose the honours which God had promised him, and having no prospect of turning Isaac from his purpose by any representations or remonstrances of hers, proposed and executed a most iniquitous device; by which she brought on herself and family a long series of afflictive dispensations. She should on no account have interposed to effect her wishes in such a way as this; but have placed her confidence in God, who was at no loss for means to accomplish his own decrees. Means were proposed to Daniel and the Hebrew Youths to avert the calamities with which they were menaced; but they acted as became them, and experienced from God the aid for which they relied upon him. And thus it becomes us also, when menaced by our enemies, to “cast our care on God.” We are not, because of any conspiracies against us, to cry with desponding apprehension, “A confederacy, a confederacy! but to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and to make him our fear, and him only our dread.” We are never to betake ourselves to dissimulation, or any unworthy methods of deliverance; but to wait the Lord’s leisure, and assure ourselves that “in the mount of difficulty he will be seen.” The direction to all the Lord’s people is, “He that believeth, shall not make hasted.”]

  3.      When personal exertion will take the matter out of God’s hands—

[We admire the conduct of David, who, in his conflict with Goliath, would take nothing with him but a sling and a stone. Here, not in word only, but in deed also, he shewed where his trust was, even in God, who had assured him of the victory. On the other hand, King Asa, though on the whole a pious monarch, brought on himself the displeasure of the Most High, because “in a time of sickness he sought to the physicians rather than to his Godf.” He was not to blame for applying to the physicians, as God’s instruments for his relief: his fault was, in relying on their skill, rather than on God’s power and grace. It is not every use of menus that violates the rule that is here prescribed: they may be used, if they are used simply as means: but our trust must be as entirely on God as if no means whatever were employed. The Apostles were directed, when brought before kings and governors for the Gospel sake, to “take no thought what they should say, in defence of themselves, or of the Gospel which they preached: they were told, that, in the precise time of need, they should be instructed by God what they should speak.” That was necessary, in order to shew that they spake not of their own minds, but by inspiration of God. But if ministers, in their stated services, without any such call from God, were to neglect to prepare for their public addresses, they would only tempt the Lord; who authorizes none to “offer to Him that which costs them nothing.” After all our preparation, our reliance must be on Him, “who alone can give the increase, even though Paul should plant, and Apollos water.” The true distinction is, that “in the spirit of our minds” we are to sit still, whether we use any means or not: and, when God’s agency will be more seen and known and acknowledged, and his glory be thereby the more advanced, then we are to forbear the use of means altogether, or only use them as the prophet did the lump of figs, to heal in Hezekiah a fatal disorder.]

  Let me now ADD,

  1.      A word of caution—

[Doubtless this doctrine is open to abuse. In truth, there are many, who, when urged to seek after God for the salvation of their souls, will say, ‘I have no fear; I trust in God.’ But it is a desperate delusion to say, ‘I trust in God,’ when they use not the means which God himself has appointed for the attainment of the end. What would these persons themselves think of a man who should say, ‘I trust in God for an harvest,’ whilst he neglected to plough and sow his field? Yet this man would act as rationally as they. Be it so, that all depends on the election of God: but, if we are “elect of God the Father, it is through sanctification of the Spirit, and through sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” The means are ordained, as well as the end: yea, the end is ordained by and through the means: and if we will not go to Christ to “sprinkle our consciences with his blood,” or apply to the “Holy Spirit to sanctify” our souls, we shall in vain hope to attain the end. I warn you therefore, Brethren, not to “pervert the Scriptures to your destruction,” but to seek that conformity to them, in all things, which God requires.]

  2.      A word of encouragement—

[To you at this day, no less than to his people of old, does God say, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness und confidence shall be your strength.” And is not this sufficient for you? Whom did God ever forsake? Who that ever trusted in him was confounded? Is he not the same God now as ever he was? “Is his arm shortened, that he cannot save? or is his ear heavy, that he cannot hear?” The tempest-tossed disciples were rebuked for entertaining a fear, when Jesus was embarked with them, though they had no specific promise in relation to that particular storm: but ye have promises which relate to every danger to which a human being can be exposed. “Know then in whom ye have believed, that He is able to save that which you have committed to himo:” and, under the darkest circumstances that can ever be imagined, “be strong in faith, giving glory to your God.”]

DCCCCIV

BENEFITS ARISING FROM GOD’S RETURN TO THE SOUL

  Isai. 30:26.

Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

THE dispensations of Providence, if rightly improved, are calculated to promote our spiritual welfare.

The Jews derived many instructive lessons from the dealings of God with them in Egypt and the wilderness. But God here promises them more abundant knowledge and joy by means of their deliverance from the Assyrian host. The grandeur, however, of the words before us evidently shews, that the prophet had respect to more distant times, and to blessings which no temporal deliverance was able to convey. We must say of this promise,

  I.      That it is verified amongst us at this day—

It is fulfilled to us,

  1.      At the first reconciliation of our souls to God—

[The convictions of an awakened conscience are as deep wounds to the soul. Sin, though it be honey in the mouth, becomes gall in the stomach: Peter, Judas, and David in particular, shew what “wounds” it will make in the soul; nor can any one view it aright, without having his heart broken with a sense of its malignity.

But reconciliation with God heals these wounds. The blood of Christ is that “balm of Gilead,” which never was applied in vain. It operates as the sight of the brazen serpent on the dying Israelites, to restore to life and vigour those, whose state seems altogether desperated. David, after the foulest transgressions, declared his persuasion of its efficacy to cleanse even him. And all who are reconciled to God through Christ experience its full effectsf.

Now this is a season wherein the knowledge and joy of the soul are much enlarged. Till this great event is accomplished, the views of the soul are very contracted; nor is it acquainted with any joy but what is carnal: but no sooner has this taken place, than the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines into the heart, and all his perfections are admired and adored. Now also the excellency of the Gospel salvation is discovered; and the reasonableness of a life devoted to God is deeply felt. Now is a new and inexhaustible source of happiness opened to the soul: and its peace and joy flow down like a river; and all the pleasures that it ever enjoyed in the ways of sin, are no more in comparison of its present consolations, than the faint “light of the moon” to the invigorating rays of the meridian “sun.” But this promise has a further accomplishment,]

  2.      At any return of God to the soul after a season of darkness and desertion—

[God finds it necessary sometimes to hide his face from his people, and thus to wound their souls afresh. How the loss of God’s presence afflicts a pious soul, may be seen in the lamentations and complaints which the most eminent saints have uttered on such occasions. Job tells us, that God’s arrows stuck fast in him, and that the poison of them drank up his spirit And David even “roared for the disquietness of his heart.” Nor are there wanting at this day many whose experience accords with the description which that eminent saint has given of hish.

But the return of God binds up this breach. The deliverance from such a state is compared by our Lord to the joy that succeeds the pangs of childbirth: nor can its effects upon the soul be more fitly represented than in the language of the Jews on their return from Babylonk.

And this also is another season of peculiar instruction and comfort. By this the soul obtains much deeper discoveries of its own corruptions; and more encouraging views of God’s power and faithfulnessm: the depths of Satan’s devices also are more clearly discerned, and, if its joys are less ecstatic than before, they are more pure and refined. The still fuller accomplishment of the text will take place,]

  3.      At the hour of dissolution—

[God never entirely withholds his chastening rod in this world. The whole of this life is a state of discipline — — — But at death there is an end of every thing that is penal or painful. Whatever wounds may have pained us here, death will heal them all — — —

Then will this promise be fulfilled in its utmost extent. What amazing discoveries will be made to the soul on its first dismission from the body! And with what inconceivable raptures will it be transported, as soon as ever it shall enter the gates of heaven! Whatever it may have heard of the blessedness of the saints, it will surely say, that not a thousandth part had been declared to it. Then shall those descriptions given by the prophets all be realized. As for the joys it experienced below, they shall appear as nothing in comparison of those it will then possess. What the saints tasted here was through the medium of ordinances, and mixed with frequent sorrows, and, at best of short duration; but what they possess in heaven will be immediate, unmixed, and everlasting.]

But the true import of the promise leads me to shew,

  II.      That it shall hereafter be more abundantly verified amongst God’s ancient people—

They shall be healed of their wounds at a period not far distant—

[Certainly “their breach” is grievous, and “their wounds” are to all human appearance “incurable.” So has God himself declared. Nevertheless God in due season will surely “restore health to them, and heal them of their wounds.” Through the preaching of the Gospel shall this blessed consummation be effectedr, and happiness shall be restored, not to that nation only, but through them to the whole world — — —]

And oh! what light and joy and holiness will then abound!

[Methinks, when it is said that “the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea,” we must understand it as predicting not the extent only of divine knowledge, but its depth also, and the blessedness arising from it: “the light of the moon will then indeed be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold, as the light of seven days;” yea “the moon shall be confounded, and the sun itself ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and before his ancients gloriously.” This is beyond all doubt to be accomplished in due season; “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Of the extent of their knowledge in that day, and the fulness of their joy, we at present can form scarcely any conception. What surprising views will they then have of the whole mystery of redemption, when they shall see all the prophecies fulfilled, and all the types and shadows realized in the person and work of Christ! Of that season, no less than of heaven, it is said, “The city will have no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God will lighten it, and the Lamb be the light thereof. And ~there shall be no night there; and they need no light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever.”]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Let us look forward then to that blessed period—

[We need not be distracting our minds, and the minds of others, with curious questions about the precise manner in which Christ and his saints will reign: still less is it expedient to dogmatize upon this matter, as some are doing at this day: but we should look forward to it with holy joy, and expect it with most confident assurance: and the 98th Psalm should express the habitual frame of all our minds — — —]

  2.      Let us seek the foretaste of it in our own souls—

[Why should we rest satisfied with low measures of holiness or of joy, when it is our privilege to “rejoice in Christ with joy unspeakable and full of glory?” We are not contented with the light of the moon, when we can have the light of the sun, nor are we satisfied with the sun in its early dawn, when we can enjoy it in its meridian height. Let us, then, extend this desire to all spiritual blessings, and never be satisfied, till we are as holy and as happy as God himself can make us.]

DCCCCV

GOD THE PROTECTOR OF HIS PEOPLE

  Isai. 31:4, 5.

Thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

THE first of the commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” And that is directly violated, when we alienate from God the confidence that is due to him alone, and place it on any creature in preference to him. This was the sin which the prophet reproved, both in this and the whole foregoing chapter. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, had come against Jerusalem with a powerful, and, humanly speaking, irresistible army. Many of the Jews, instead of looking to Jehovah for his gracious and merciful protection, applied to Egypt for help, and carried their wealth to Egypt, in order to obtain it. God, offended with this want of confidence in him, sent them word, that the Egyptians should help in vain, and to no purpose; and that their real strength was, to sit still, and to rely on God alone — — — If they would with real penitence and faith rely on him, He would afford them speedy and effectual deliverance. This assurance God delivered to them under the different images which are contained in my text; which shew, not only what God would be to them, but what he will be to his Church and people in all ages of the world.

Let me, with a special view to these images, point out to you,

  I.      The protection which God will afford to his people—

We are told, that, “as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever: and that they who trust in him shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” But, as the emergency that existed at the time the prophet uttered my text was extremely urgent, so the images by which he was directed to encourage their affiance in him were precisely such as were suited to the occasion. God promised to protect them—

With the firmness of a lion—

[A lion, growhng over his prey, regards not the shouts of a multitude of shepherds: unmoved himself, he infuses terror into them; and would soon make them repent of their temerity, if they dared to approach him. And who shall prevail on Jehovah to relinquish his defence of Jerusalem? in reference to the Assyrian army, which God was determined to destroy, the prophet says, “The Lord of Hosts hath purposed; and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out; and who shall turn it back?” The same also we may say in reference to the weakest of all his saints: “If God be for you, who can be against youd?” “Who is he that shall harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” God is not only a tower of defence to his people to preserve them, but “a wall of fire round about them,” that shall devour their assailants. He may indeed suffer the enemies of his people to prevail for a season; and they may vaunt, as the Assyrians did, of all their conquests: but they are only as a rod in Jehovah’s hands; and all which they effect is only as the axe or saw that accomplishes the will of him who uses it: but when they have effected his purpose, they themselves, who sought nothing but to gratify their own ambition, shall be made monuments of his righteous indignation: “The light of Israel will be to them for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.” Yes, verily, “God’s counsel shall stand, and he will do all his willh:” and “when He works, who shall let it?” “The Lion of the tribe of Judahk” shall assuredly prevail, though all the powers of earth and hell were combined against him.]

  2.      With the tenderness of a parent bird—

[A bird, though utterly unable to cope with a bird of prey which it sees hovering over its nest, will fly to protect its young; and, insensible to its own danger, will intercept its potent adversary, and rather perish itself than give up its offspring to the devourer. And, “for our miseries is Jehovah grieved;” yea, in all our afflictions, too, our God himself is afflictedm:” and whosoever “toucheth us, toucheth the apple of his eye.” When Pharaoh had overtaken the Hebrews at the Red Sea, “the pillar of fire, which had hitherto led the fugitives, went and stood between the Egyptian camp and them; so that they came not near to his people all the night,” during which period an opening was made for their escape. And in ten thousand instances has God interposed for his people in every age; nor is there any one, who, if he could review all the dealings of God towards him, might not find, in his own experience, some interpositions fully answerable to the image that is before us.]

  3.      With the success of the attendant angel—

[At the destruction of the Egyptian first-born, Jehovah, the Angel of the Covenant, accompanied the destroying angel; and, wherever he saw the blood of the paschal lamb sprinkled on the door-posts, immediately interposed, and constrained the destroyer to pass over that house: in remembrance of which marvellous deliverance, a feast was instituted, and was called “The Feast of the Lord’s Passover.” To that the prophet, in my text, refers; saying, that “Jehovah, passing over Jerusalem, will preserve it.” Now, so effectual was the Lord’s intervention in that instance, that, whilst in every other house, throughout all the land of Egypt, the first-born both of man and beast was slain, in the houses of the Hebrews died not so much as one. And, when was so much as one true believer ever left to perish? We are expressly told, that “it is not the will of our Father that one of his little ones should perishr.” No: however sifted his people be, “not the smallest grain shall ever full upon the earth.” Behold the Apostle Paul: no less than forty persons had bound themselves, by an oath, to murder him: and so well were their plans laid, that there did not appear the slightest chance for his escape. But God so ordered it, that Paul’s own nephew overheard the plot, and, by a timely mention of it to the governor, defeated it: and thus was that valuable life preserved. Peter too, according to all human appearance, was consigned to death, there being only a few hours to elapse before he was to be brought forth from prison for execution. But with irresistible power did God cause the irons, with which his servant was bound, to fall off; and the prison doors to open, as it were of their own accord: and thus was the stroke averted in the very instant that it was about to fall. What dangers have awaited us, we shall never know till we stand before our God in judgment: but then it will be found, that God has been our shield from numberless assaults; and that, through the agency of his holy angels, we have “been kept, on ten thousands of occasions, from dashing our foot against a stone.”]

Such being the security promised to us, let us consider,

  II.      Our duty resulting from it—

This merciful care, which God vouchsafes to us, doubtless calls for corresponding feelings on our part. If he affords us such marvellous protection, we ought to surrender up ourselves to him in a way of,

  1.      Affiance—

[The fault of the Hebrews was, that they leaned on an arm of flesh, instead of relying solely upon God. And we must be on our guard against this sad propensity. We are “not to say, ‘A confederacy, A confederacy,’ with them that say, ‘A confederacy;’ but to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and to make Him our fear and Him our dread.” The language of David should, under any emergency whatever, be the language of our hearts: “Shall I lift up mine eyes unto the hills (to any earthly powers)? From whence then cometh our help? Our help cometh from the Lord, who (is not only above them all, but made them all, yea,) made heaven and earth.” It is not possible for our confidence in God to be too strong, provided we leave to God the time and manner of fulfilling his promises. He may, as he did in the case of Jerusalem, suffer matters to proceed to the greatest extremity: but “the vision will come at its appointed time:” and, in a full assurance that it shall not tarry beyond that time, we should say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in himb.” The well-known boast of the Apostle should be ours — — — And in dependence upon God, we should hurl defiance on all our enemies, even as Hezekiah was taught to do in the very depth of his extremityd.]

  2.      Gratitude—

[“If the Lord had not been on our side, now may Israel f the Lord had not been on our side when men rose up against us, they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul.” Never, till all the wonders of God’s love shall be revealed, shall we have any idea of the deliverances that have been vouchsafed unto us, and of our obligation to God on account of them. “Satan, that subtle adversary, who beguiled our first parents in Paradise, has, on thousands of occasions, sought to draw our minds from the simplicity that is in Christ:” yea, “as a roaring lion, also, he has been seeking to devour us.” And is it owing to our own wisdom or strength that we have not fallen a prey unto his teeth? No: the Lord has interposed to screen us from his fiery darts; and has again and again rescued us from the snares which he had laid for our feet. See how David was kept from shedding blood, and Peter from utter apostasyi! and who can tell what evils you might have perpetrated, and what your state might have at this moment been, if God had not “kept you as the apple of his eye,” and “borne you, as on eagle’s wings,” throughout this dreary wilderness? I tell you, Brethren, that his visible interpositions for his people of old have been only shadows of what he has invisibly done, and is at this moment doing, for you, if only you place your trust in him: and that David’s acknowledgment is that which it becomes every one of you to make: “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.”]

  3.      Fidelity—

[Believing in God, we have nothing to fear, and nothing even to think of, but how we may best serve and honour him. St. Paul, when in daily expectation of a cruel death, said, “None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto me, so that I may but finish my course with joy, and fulfil the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus.” And I would ask, of all who believe the declarations in my text, Should not such “love constrain you to live unto your God?” Realize the determination which he formed from all eternity, and from which not all the wickedness of our ruined world has ever been able to divert him, to save our souls from death by the sacrifice of his only dear Son in our stead. Realize the merciful interposition of the Lord Jesus Christ between us and the wrath of our offended God, and his actually becoming a curse for us. Realize his dying in our place and stead, and by his own obedience unto death effecting a reconciliation for us, and purchasing for us all the glory of heaven. Realize, I say, the deliverances shadowed forth by those vouchsafed to Jerusalem, and spiritually fulfilled in you; and what, think you, will be your feelings on the occasion, or your expression of them? Will there be any bounds to your love, any limits to your obedience, any intermission to your songs of praise? No: you will be “ready either to be bound or to die for His sake,” who has “so loved you, and given himself for you;” and “you will be satisfied with no attainment, till you shall awake up after the likeness of his perfect righteousness.”]

DCCCCVI

SECURITY AND COMFORT IN CHRIST

  Isai. 32:2.

A man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

THERE is no greater blessing to a nation than a well-ordered government. The due administration of justice, together with the protection of our person and property, afford to any people a just ground of joy and thankfulness. Such a government did God promise to the Jews under Hezekiah; but a greater than Hezekiah is here. Under the figure of an earthly monarch, Christ is promised; and the text informs us,

  I.      What blessings we enjoy in and through Christ—

The metaphors, though four in number, suggest but two ideas:

  1.      Security—

[We have very little conception of winds and tempests in this climate. But the wind that rent the mountains before Elijah, and the tempest that desolated the land of Egypt, may serve to shew us how welcome a secure place must be to one who is exposed to such formidable dangers. Yet no storms on earth can fully paint to us the dangers to which we are exposed by reason of sinc. But the Lord Jesus Christ affords us perfect security from them all. In him we have a Goshen where no hail can come, a mountain which the wind can never affect. The billows, which shall overwhelm the whole creation besides, shall not be able to destroy us. In Christ, we have an ark that can never perish.]

  2.      Comfort—

[We, in this quarter of the globe, know as little of excessive drought and heat, as of overwhelming storms and tempests. But the state of the Israelites in the wilderness, and of Jonah at Ninevehe, may aid our conceptions. How delightful was the gourd to him, and how reviving to them were the streams that gushed from the rock! And does not a soul oppressed with sin or persecution, or fainting with desire after righteousness, experience as much distress as they? Behold then the preciousness of Christ! He will be not only as a shade or as water to the weary and thirsting soul, but as “rivers of water” that can never be exhausted, and a “shadow of a great rock” through which the beams of the sun can never penetrate. Many can attest his excellency in these respects. Nor shall any who seek refuge in him be ever disappointed of their hope.]

But as these things are spoken of Christ as “a man,” it will be proper to shew,

  II.      How we enjoy them in him as “a man”—

Christ is truly and properly God, but he is God manifest in the flesh; and it is to him as incarnate that we stand indebted for these blessings.

  1.      As man, he died for our sins—

[To his atonement we owe all our hopes of salvation. If he had not expiated our guilt we could never have obtained mercy. If he had not purchased for us the gift of the Holy Ghost, we never could have mortified our inward corruptions. But through his death we are freed from the apprehensions of wrath; and through his Spirit we are filled with righteousness, and peace, and joy. Hence our song will ever be, To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, be glory and honourg.]

  2.      As man, he intercedeth for us in heaven—

[As our peace was effected by the death of Christ, so is it maintained by his intercession. Now it is as man that he appears in the presence of God for us; and liveth on purpose to carry on this part of his priestly office. By virtue of this, our persons and services find acceptance with God, pardon is given us for our renewed transgressions, and strength is imparted to surmount our manifold temptations. Hence is our salvation justly ascribed, and that in a very peculiar manner, to his intercession for us.]

  3.      As man, he is our Head and Representative—

[Christ is the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. Our life is now treasured up in him, that it may no longer be exposed to the assaults of our great adversary. It has pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and that out of his fulness all should receive, who shall ever be partakers of his grace, or of his glory. Whether we want wisdom to guide us, righteousness to justify us, or sanctification to make us holy, we must look for all of it in and through Christ. As in Adam, our first covenant-head, all died, so in Christ, our new covenant-head, shall all be made alivem.]

  4.      As man, he shall judge the world in the last day—

[All judgment is committed to him because he is the Son of man. And what can tend more to our security and comfort than this? Will He, who shed his blood for us, give up what he has so dearly purchased? or He who both interceded for us, and supplied our wants, consign us over to perdition? Will he not rather bear testimony in opposition to our fierce accuser, and own the work he had wrought both for us and in us? Doubtless, if we should feel a degree of security and comfort in having a very dear friend for our judge on earth, much more may we rejoice in having for our judge in the last day, him who bought us with his blood and renewed us by his Spirit.]

We do not mean to exclude his Godhead from this great work of redemption: it is that which gives efficacy to all which he did and suffered as man. But nevertheless it is as man, that is, as the God-man, that we feel our relation to him, and have access unto him as our sympathizing friend.

  INFER—

  1.      What objects of pity are they who have no interest in Christ!

[They are exposed to all the wrath of a sin-avenging God: And where, where will they flee for safety? Where will they even procure a drop of water in that land of drought and misery, to which they shall be banished? Alas! there is no protection but in this city of refuge; there is no water but in this fountain. O that men would consider what they shall do in the day of their visitation; and flee for refuge to the hope that is now set before them!]

  2.      How highly privileged are they who believe in Christ

[They are not exempt from occasional distress either of soul or body, but they have an almighty Friend to whom they can carry their distress: they go to him when heavy-laden; and find rest unto their souls. They feel themselves secure in their blood-sprinkled dwellings. But their privileges will not be fully seen till the last day. Then how happy in having a covert from the wrath that overwhelms the ungodly world! Then to have their Saviour both for their witness and their judge! Let us all cleave to him with full purpose of heart; and desire to know him more and more as “our friend and our beloved.”]

DCCCCVII

THE WORK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS PEACE

  Isai. 32:16, 17.

Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.

THROUGH the introduction of sin into the world, man was altogether despoiled both of holiness and happiness: and the design of God in sending to us his Gospel was, to restore both the one and the other to our fallen race. This in a former chapter is set forth under the image of the brute creation, which, having through the fall of man been reduced to a state of the greatest disorder, shall be restored once more to universal harmony and peace. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: and the calf and the young lion and the fathng together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox: and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den: they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” In the passage before us the same truth is set forth under a different image, namely, that of the vegetable creation; which, having been reduced to the condition of a wilderness through the curse inflicted on it, shall be rendered fruitful, even beyond the most fertile parts of Palestine in the most fruitful seasons.

That the passage really relates to the times of the Gospel, does not admit of doubt. In the beginning of the chapter it is said, “Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness; and princes shall rule in judgment: and a man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” A season indeed of great desolation should intervene between the prophecy and its accomplishmentc: but at the appointed time “the Spirit should be poured out in such abundance from on high, that the wilderness should become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be so productive as to be counted for a forest.”

In my text the metaphor is explained: and we are told in plainer terms what shall be,

  I.      The character of Gospel times—

By “judgment and righteousness,” I understand not merely that which is called justice between man and man, but universal holiness. And this will certainly characterize the Gospel dispensation—

[This is evident from the very metaphor before us. In other parts of this prophecy the metaphor is yet further opened and explained. Thus in the 35th chapter it is said, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose: it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God … . . For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert … . . And an high-way shall be there, and a way; and it shall be called the way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it; but the redeemed shall walk there.” The change itself also is described in appropriate terms: “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, and for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” The works of the flesh are here contrasted with the fruits of the Spirit: and it is declared, that these latter shall abound on the face of the whole earth; and that, “as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.”

This is yet further evident from the universal testimony of Scripture. If we look into the Old Testament, we find the prophet Ezekiel describing that period thus: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh: and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes; and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” In the New Testament the same thing is continually declared. Even before the birth of our Saviour, Zacharias, speaking of him as about to visit and redeem his people, represents the end of his advent as being to “deliver his people out of the hands of their (spiritual) enemies, that they may serve him without fear in righteousness and holiness before him all the days of their life.” And St. Paul assures us, that “the grace of God which bringeth salvation, was designed to teach us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”]

But it is not the occasional existence, so much as the abiding habit, of holiness, which is to distinguish this day—

[“Judgment is to dwell, and righteousness to remain,” in this our field. At all times, and under all circumstances, piety is to prevail. We are to be “fruitful in every good work, and “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.” Our blessed Lord told his disciples, that he “had ordained them that they should go and bring forth fruit, and that their fruit should remainm:” and through the whole world are they to be distinguished as “a holy nation,” “a peculiar people zealous of good workso.”

Now it is greatly to be desired, that this distinction should be visible amongst us. But, if a heathen were directed by this mark to find the Gospel ministered in its purity, would he fix on us, on us individually, on us collectively, as possessing that inestimable treasure? Would he, if he followed us to our respective places of abode, and beheld the whole of our deportment through the day, and witnessed our spirit and temper under circumstances of trial, would he say, “That is the garden of the Lord, and those are the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in which he is glorified?” — — — O Brethren, look well to this matter, and take care that you “shine as lights in a dark world, holding forth the word of life,” not by your profession merely, but by the whole of your conduct and conversation.]

That you may be encouraged to these exertions, consider,

  II.      The fruit of Gospel experience—

“The fruit of righteousness is peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” To this also the whole Scripture bears witness: and it is confirmed by fact also, that happiness is the inseparable companion of true piety. It is an attendant on piety,

  1.      As the natural result of holy habits—

[A man cannot commit sin, but he will find it sooner or later productive of pain. He may roll it as a sweet morsel under his tongue for a moment; but it will prove the gall of aspe within him. There is no exception to that truth, “The way of transgressors is hard.” But there is not a grace which can be exercised that does not tranquillize the mind. All imaginable graces, whether towards God or man, may be resolved into the one principle of love: and how sweet that is, we need not to observe: it carries its own evidence along with it. In truth, this is the very thing asserted in our text; “The fruit of righteousness is peace:” peace is the odour which that holy ointment invariably diffuses; as the Psalmist has said, “In keeping God’s commandments there is great reward.”

If it be thought that the duties of penitence and self-denial are rather of a painful nature, we appeal to all who know what penitence and self-denial are, Whether they have not found an exquisite joy in penitential sorrow, and a more lively satisfaction in the exercise of self-denial, than in all the gratifications which sin could possibly administer? We say again, without fear of contradiction, that there is no exception to this rule.]

  2.      As bringing with it the testimony of a good conscience—

[This is a source of unspeakable comfort: “Our rejoicing is this,” says the Apostle, “the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world.” It will not unfrequently happen that our principles and conduct may be misinterpreted; so that we may incur blame on account of those very things, which, if rightly viewed, would have entitled us to applause: but, if we have a consciousness that we have really endeavoured to fulfil the will of God, we shall not lay much to heart the obloquy that is cast upon us, but shall say with the Apostle, “It is a small matter to be judged of you or of man’s judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” In the hour of death more especially will peace and assurance fill the soul of one who has truly and unreservedly devoted himself to God. Not that he will be trusting in a well-spent life as meritorious in the sight of God, or as able to justify him at the bar of judgment: no man who knows any thing of the Gospel can entertain such a delusive hope as that; for the whole Scriptures testify that Christ alone is the foundation of a sinner’s hope, and that no man can be accepted of God but through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus: but still a consciousness that we have truly lived to God and for God, in holy obedience to his commands, will be to us an evidence of the truth of our faith, and the sincerity of our love; and will inspire us with confidence in reference to the future judgment: for St. John says, “Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him: for if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things: but if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.” And hence we may say to the whole world, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.”]

  3.      As being honoured with tokens of God’s special approbation—

[God will “manifest himself unto his people as he does not unto the world.” He will “shed abroad his love in their hearts;” and by the immediate influences of “his Spirit bear witness to, and with, their spirits, that they are his children.” He will “seal, as it were, their souls unto the day of redemption,” and give them already “the earnest and foretaste of their eternal inheritance.” But who are these favoured people? Are they those who live in a neglect of holy duties, and in the commission of any known sin? No: “If any man regard iniquity in his heart, the Lord will not hear him;” much less will he favour him with such communications as these. But “of his children, who keep his law, great shall be the peacey,” even “a peace that passeth all understanding:” “they shall go forthwith joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before them into singing; and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”]

  LEARN then from hence, Brethren,

  1.      How to approve yourselves Christians indeed—

[“By their fruits ye shall know them,” says our blessed Lord: and again, “Bring forth much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples:” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” You well know that it is in this way that you form your estimate of a field, or of a tree: and this is the only true way of estimating your own character. Your professions are of no value, any further than the truth of them is attested by your practice. You may say, Lord, Lord, with as much confidence as you will: but, if you do not the will of your heavenly Father, Christ will disown you, and cast you from him at the last day. You may now so resemble the wheat amongst which you grow, as not to admit of being easily distinguished from it by a human eye, or separated from it by a human hand. But in the last day the tares and the wheat will be infallibly separated from each other; the one for the fire of hell, the other for the granary of heaven. I say then, bring yourselves to this test: and never be satisfied with any faith or any profession, that does not approve itself genuine according to the standard of God’s unerring word.]

  2.      How to be happy in your own souls—

[It is not any earthly gratification that can make you happy. Our Lord does not say, Blessed are the rich, the gay, the respected; but, “Blessed are the humble, the pure, the meek, and those who are even persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” We grant, that this is far from according with the sentiments of the world at large; but it is not the less true on that account. They who have never sought for happiness in God, can have no idea of the happiness that is to be found in him. But the more any one knows of the world, the more will he see that “Vanity and vexation of spirit” is written upon every thing that is in it. Seek not then your happiness, beloved, in “broken cisterns that can hold no water, but seek it in the Fountain of living waters,” even in Him who is a source of blessedness to all his peopled. Then shall you here enjoy “a full assurance of hope,” whilst you live; “have an abundant entrance into heaven” when you dief; and sit down for ever “at the right hand of your God, where there is fulness of joy for evermore.”]

DCCCCVIII

THE USE AND EXCELLENCY OF TRUE WISDOM

  Isai. 33:6.

Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

THIS is spoken respecting Hezekiah, king of Judah. His country had been invaded by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, by whom all the fenced cities of Judah had been taken. To arrest his course, and to save Jerusalem itself, Hezekiah sent to implore forgiveness for having rebelled against Sennacherib (to whom King Ahaz had made the kingdom tributary), and to declare his readiness to submit to any terms which the conqueror should impose. A very heavy contribution in silver and gold, amounting to above 266,000/., was exacted of him; and he was constrained to send “all the silver that was found in the House of the Lord and in the king’s house, and to cut off the gold from the doors of the Temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which he himself had overlaid,” in order to satisfy the demand. Having thus paid the tribute, he hoped for peace. But Sennacherib soon violated his engagement; and, setting aside the treaty, sent his servant against Jerusalem, with an immense army, to besiege it. No hope now remained to Hezekiah, but from God himself; to whom he applied in fervent prayerc. And, on that occasion, the Prophet Isaiah, who had joined with him in crying unto God, was inspired to denounce against Sennacherib this judgment: “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.” This was speedily and literally fulfilled: for a hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib’s army being slain by an angel in one night, the remainder of them broke up the siege and retreated, leaving a great quantity of spoil behind them: and Sennacherib himself, on his return home, was “murdered by his own sons, whilst he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god.” Thus did prayer effect what all the wealth of Hezekiah was unable to accomplish: and the reformation made amongst his subjects procured for him what all his armies had in vain endeavoured to effect—a complete deliverance from his powerful and victorious enemies: “Wisdom and knowledge, accompanied with real piety, became to him the stability of his times, and the strength of salvation: and the fear of the Lord was his best and most effectual treasure.”

Now, from this passage I will take occasion to shew the influence of true wisdom: First, As promoting the stability of an empire: and, Secondly, As advancing the prosperity of the soul.

  I.      Consider wisdom as promoting the stability of an empire—

By “wisdom and knowledge” we are not to understand what we generally comprehend under the term “science;” for we do not apprehend that the Jewish nation, at that time, or indeed at any time, made any grout proficiency in that species of learning. By “wisdom and knowledge” is meant a conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God; a wisdom inseparably connected with “the fear of the Lord.” This appears from the preceding verse, where it is said, “The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: He hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness: and wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the tear of the Lord is his treasure.” Indeed, it may be doubted whether what we call learning and science do at all necessarily advance the stability of an empire. They are doubtless of very extensive use to an empire, in a variety of views: but they are capable of great abuse; and, if separated from religion, may lead to the overthrow, as well as to the establishment, of an empire; as the recent history of a neighbouring kingdom has evinced. But the knowledge of which my text speaks, is a security to a kingdom. That “knowledge” is thus described by the Prophet Jeremiah: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth ME, that I am the Lord, which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” This explanation of the terms necessarily leads our minds to God as reconciled to us in the Son of his love: for it is in Christ Jesus alone that “the loving-kindness” of God has free scope for exercise towards fallen man; or indeed can be exercised at all, consistently with the demands of “righteousness and judgment:” and it is this knowledge alone which generates a filial “fear” in the heart of man.

Now, of this “wisdom and knowledge” it may be justly affirmed, that it tends to the stability of every empire in which it is found. So far as it prevailed at any time in the Jewish State, (for it was revealed to them, though darkly, in their ceremonial law,) they prospered: and whenever it was banished, they were delivered up into the hand of their enemies; as their whole history very clearly shews. The separation of the ten tribes, which proved such a permanent and fatal calamity to the whole nation, was appointed of God as a punishment for that iniquity which Solomon had introduced, and which had overspread the whole land. On the other hand, in consequence of the reformation introduced by Hezekiah, (which gave, as it were, for a time, a new character to his people,) the Prophet says, “Their place of defence shall be the munition of rocks; bread shall be given them, and their water shall be sure;” yea, “the Lord will be to them as a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein can go no galley with oars, neither can gallant ship pass therebyh;” that is, whilst they were protected by the river, they should be inaccessible by vessels of any kind, the waters being too tempestuous for smaller boats, and too full of rocks and shoals to be navigated by larger ships; and thus, in the midst of hostile nations, should “Jerusalem be a quiet habitation, and a tabernacle that not all the power of their most inveterate enemies could move.”

True it is, that we, at this day, are not to look for such visible interpositions of the Deity as were vouchsafed to the Jews under what we may call their Theocracy. But God is still the Governor of the Universe, and does still deal with his people, in a measure, as in former days; punishing or protecting them, according as their iniquities are flagrant, or their piety profound. And I cannot but think, that though, for our abounding iniquities, God sorely chastened our nation in the last war, the prayers of thousands in this land prevailed to avert from us a vast pressure of calamity, to which all the rest of Europe was exposed. Certain I am, that “true wisdom and knowledge” have a proper tendency to promote our national welfare: as it is said, “Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is the reproach of any people.” Mere science may be associated with every thing that is evil: but piety, so far as it is true and genuine, will diffuse, through all ranks of people, a due attention to their respective duties, calling forth from Rulers equity and benevolence, and generating amongst subjects the habits of industry and content. Formed as human nature is, we cannot expect these things to be universal: but I hesitate not to say, that, in proportion as piety is the predominant feature of any people, there will be among them a patriotic ardour for the benefit of the community, and a simultaneous effort for the promotion of it.

But, to bring the matter more home to our own business and bosoms, I proceed to observe,

  II.      That “wisdom and knowledge, when attended with a fear of the Lord,” will advance the prosperity of the soul.

“The fear of the Lord” is an essential part of true wisdom: as the Psalmist has said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And this is indeed “a treasure,” an inestimable treasure, to every one that possesses it: it is, in fact, a mine of wealth, of intellectual wealth, of moral wealth, of spiritual wealth, and of eternal wealth.

It is a source of Intellectual wealth. However this wisdom may, by many, be reputed folly, and considered as an indication of a weak mind, it most assuredly enlarges the understanding, and elevates its possessor above his fellows; yea, and above others also, who in natural capacity, and in literary attainments, are far his superiors. If we set before us two persons, one illiterate, and the other versed in arts and sciences, we should suppose, of course, that there can be no comparison between the two in point of intellect: and this is true, so far as arts and sciences are concerned; but let the weaker of them be imbued with divine wisdom, and actuated by the fear of God, and he will have a far juster apprehension of all the things of time and sense than the man of learning has ever attained. David says, “I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” The mere worldly man, in his estimate of things, keeps eternity out of view: no wonder, therefore, that he “calls evil good, and good evil; and puts darkness for light, and light for darkness; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” But the man who is taught of God has learned to view things in their true light, even as God himself views them; and he speaks of them in accordance with the representation given of them in the inspired volume. The principle of piety which is implanted in his soul has corrected and rectified his judgment: and if the conversation of these two men, the learned and the unlearned, each with his fellows, for the space of one hour, were recorded, we should be perfectly amazed at the mass of error contained in the one; whilst truth, with perhaps scarcely any mixture of error, pervaded the other. In fact, if the most learned of unregenerate men were, in his daily conversation, to betray as much ignorance of philosophical truth as he does of moral and religious truth, he would, to say the least, stand very low in the estimation of all who knew him: so true is that declaration of our blessed Lord, that “God has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes.” I again therefore say, that the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus is that which alone deserves the name of “wisdom;” and that all other knowledge, though, in reference to earthly things, of the highest value, is yet, in reference to heavenly things, no better than learned folly; as the Scriptures have most pointedly declared: for it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

But next, this knowledge is a mine of moral wealth. A man imbued with divine “wisdom” has within himself an entirely new standard, whereby to judge of morals, and to regulate his life. Previous to the enlightening of his mind by the Spirit of God, and to his acquaintance with God as reconciled to him in Christ Jesus, he was satisfied with refraining from outward acts of sin: he took little notice of his inward inclinations: he thought little of the sensual look, or the angry word; though God himself tells us, that in his estimation, the one is adultery, and the other murder. He made little account, also, of what the Apostle calls “spiritual filthiness;” such as, pride, envy, discontent, covetousness, and the whole list of corruptions that reside chiefly in the soul. In a word, he was ignorant of the extent of the moral law, which requires a perfect conformity to God’s mind and will in every thing. But now he can be satisfied with nothing less than a perfect transformation into the divine mage. He longs to “mortify the whole body of sin:” and his one continued labour through life is, to “put off the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts; and to put on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Now, then, compare him with the unregenerate man in this respect also; and say whether he is not greatly enriched by his heavenly knowledge, and this fear of God? If it be true that man by sin was impoverished at first: then it is also true, that every man is enriched in proportion as he is sanctified. We may instance this in one single disposition, “a meek and quiet spirit;” respecting which I am authorized to affirm, that, in the sight of God, “it is an ornament of great price.” Our Lord compares such graces to “gold tried in the fire;” and declares the possessor of them to be truly “richt.” We say, then, in reference to all such moral attainments, that they are a rich “treasure;” since “godliness, with contentment, is great gain.”

I may further add, that this wisdom is a mine of spiritual wealth. Here I must bespeak your candour; because, in bringing forth “the deep things of God,” I may be led into a field not commonly explored by the great and learnedy. But, without entering into this view of divine wisdom, I cannot do justice to my subject. I observe, then, that “the fear of God” opens, if I may so say, a new world to him in whom it is found. To speak of God as giving to his redeemed people a new sense, would doubtless be erroneous: for the spiritual man has no new faculty, but only a new application and use of the faculties he before possessed: but the Spirit of God, at the time of our conversion, does bring new objects to our senses; and enables us, through faith, to discern things which are altogether hid from the carnal man. Nor let this appear strange. We all know the power of glasses to bring to our view things which, on account of their diminutiveness or distance, are incapable of being clearly discerned by our unassisted organs. We know, too, the power of light, which can render even the motes in the air visible to the naked eye, yea, and visible to one man, whilst they are hid from another who is close at his side. Now, such is the power with which the Spirit of God invests us, when he imparts to us “a spiritual discernment.” He brings to the eye of our minds “Him who is invisibleb;” and reflects such a light upon spiritual objects, as to give us a clear apprehension of them, and to make us as certain of their existence as if we beheld them with our bodily eyes. For instance, the man who is truly taught of God, sees God himself upon his throne as a reconciled God and Father; and beholds also the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God, perpetually interceding for him. He apprehends, also, the love of God beaming in the Saviour’s countenance; and “comprehends it too, so far as a finite creature can comprehend it, in all its breadth and length, and depth and height.” By the Holy Spirit, also, he is enabled to realize in his soul those divine impressions, “a spirit of adoption,” “the witness of the Spirit,” “the sealing of the Spirit,” and “the earnest of the Spirit;” and by means of these impressions, he feels “the love of God shed abroad in his heart,” and is filled with “a peace that passeth all understanding,” and “a joy that is unspeakable and glorified.”

I am aware that I have here entered upon ground untrodden by the natural man, and therefore unknown to him, and despised by him. But “among them that are perfect,” as the Apostle says, “we speak wisdom; not indeed the wisdom of this world, but the wisdom of God in a mystery,” which yet is “revealed to all whom God instructs by his Holy Spirit.” And now, I ask, What “treasure” in the universe can be compared with this 1 What is all earthly science in comparison of this? It is only as the twinkling of a star when compared with the splendour of the noon-day sun. This is well called “a treasure hid in a field:” to purchase which, every wise man will part with all that he possesses in the world.

But we can never appreciate this wisdom aright, till we regard it as putting us into the possession of eternal wealth. We are told, that “godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Its value, if this world alone were considered, would be inestimable: but when eternity is taken into the account, “its riches are absolutely unsearchable;” so that if all the angels in heaven were to exert their powers, they would never be able to compute them. Who shall say what it is to be admitted into the presence of the Most High; to behold the Saviour face to face; to participate his throne, and to be joint-heirs of his glory? In attempting to bring before you such a subject as this, we only “darken counsel by words without knowledge.” But all the glory and felicity of heaven are ours, if only we truly fear God. Indeed, God himself tells us, that “his delight is in them that fear him.” And what, I would ask, shall be done to those whom God delights to honour? Not even the angels around the throne are so blest as they whom the Saviour has washed in his own blood, and clothed in his own righteousness, and “presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy:” for the saints are represented as standing immediately around the throne of God; whereas the angels are placed in an exterior circle round about the saintsh. And well it may be so, since the angels have but the righteousness of a creature; while the saints are clothed in the righteousness of Emmanuel, their redeeming God. I need not ask what the wisdom of this world can do for us in comparison of this? In the view of these things, it is mere “foolishness.” It may edify and exalt us in this world; but it can do nothing for us in the world to come.

Enough, I think, has now been said to elucidate my text; and to shew, that that “wisdom” which brings in its train “the fear of God” is the richest of all “treasures;” and that, though a man possess nothing else, “in having that, he really possesses all things.”

And now permit me to recommend this wisdom to your special attention. For the attainment of it, all our noble institutions were formed, and especially those which were established by our pious Founder. And certainly our advantages, for the prosecution of it, are exceedingly great. Our freedom from earthly cares, and our seclusion from the world, afford us valuable opportunities for the acquisition of self-knowledge, and the knowledge of our God. Let us only be convinced that the pursuit of these is “wisdom,” and that the possession of them is “treasure,” and we shall have reason to bless our God for the peculiar benefits which we here enjoy. Let me not, however, be thought to undervalue science. I am far from wishing to detract from its merits. It is, as I have before said, of exceeding great value, both to the State, and to the person enriched by it. It has in the world a just pre-eminence above rank or wealth, and deservedly raises the possessor of it in the estimation of till around him. It is not the man of splendid title, or of great estate, that stands high in the esteem of his countrymen; but the man who, by his wisdom and knowledge, is enabled to explore the depths of philosophy, and to instruct mankind in the different departments of learning and science. I therefore would earnestly press upon my auditors, a diligent prosecution of knowledge in all those branches which are held in repute amongst us, and which administer to the improvement both of ourselves and others. But yet, its God, without intending to depreciate the sacrifices which he had enjoined, says, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice;” so, without intending to disparage human learning, I would say, “Wisdom, divine wisdom, is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom; and with all your getting, get understanding.” Follow David in this respect: “One thing have I desired of the Lord,” says he, “which I will seek after, even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” And, if for this you are called to make any sacrifice, learn from St. Paul to say, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ; yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” I would further say, Spare no pains for the attainment of this knowledge. We well know what labour many endure in the prosecution of earthly knowledge; and shall we do less for the attainment of that which is divine? Nor let us be satisfied with a superficial view, and a slight experience, of these things; but rather, whatever we may have attained, let us, with St. Paul, “forget the things which are behind; and reach forth unto those that are before, and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” We have enemies, greater than Sennacherib, to withstand, and difficulties greater than Hezekiah’s to overcome. We have to combat the world, the flesh, and the devil: but the principle which prevailed in Hezekiah will prevail in us; and the victory which awaited him awaits us also, if we will betake ourselves to God in prayer, and place all our confidence in him alone. “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the strength of salvation” to us; and we shall be “more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

And well may such a victory be expected of us. We have long been, through the munificence of our Founder, and are now become, in a more especial manner, elevated to a very high degree of celebrity through the splendour of our outward appointments. Why, then, should we not be alike distinguished for our eminence in those moral excellencies which he wished us to aspire after; and which we are bound, by every consideration of gratitude and of duty, to display? He sought not to make us rich in this world, but “rich towards God:” and by the competence he has provided for us, he has cut off all excuse as arising from the pressure of conflicting duties. The world, then, may well expect this at our hands. And does not God expect it also? It is He, in fact, who has brought us hither, and invested us with these advantages. Yea, he has done infinitely more for us: he has given us his only-begotten Son, “who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.” Let us seek, then, “the true riches,” even those which Christ has purchased for us on the cross, and which he freely offers to us in his Gospel. We must all admit, that these treasures have had but little attraction hitherto in our eyes, and that we have sadly misimproved the talent committed to us. But henceforth let us awake to our duty, and no longer hide our talent in a napkin. Let us remember, that “where much has been given, much will be required;” and that if we labour not for these riches, we only deceive our own souls: for “where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.”

DCCCCIX

PROTECTION PROMISED TO THE GODLY

  Isai. 33:16.

He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

WE cannot judge of men’s moral state by the dispensations of God’s providence towards them. Among the Jews indeed virtue was inculcated and enforced chiefly by temporal sanctions; and their national prosperity or adversity bore a very manifest reference to their national conduct. In some degree also the same observation will extend to individuals among them. But to us, under the Gospel, God has not bound himself to distinguish his favourites by any temporal advantages. Nevertheless, what the pious Jews enjoyed visibly in relation to their bodies, that the obedient Christian shall enjoy invisibly in his soul.

To enter properly into the subject before us, we must consider,

  I.      The character to whom the promise is made—

This appears clearly in the two preceding verses; in one of which it is implied, and in the other it is clearly expressed:

  1.      He is sincere in his profession of religion—

[The greater part of the Jews were “sinners in Zion, and hypocrites;” and they had good reason to tremble for their approaching calamities. The person spoken of in the text is placed in direct opposition to them: he really belongs to Zion, and to Zion’s God: he does not make religion a cloak for habitual and indulged lusts; or profess what he does not experience: if he implore mercy as a “miserable sinner;” and declare his trust in the mere “mercy of God through Christ Jesus;” and desire “that he may henceforth live a sober, righteous, and godly life, to the glory of God’s holy name,” he does not mock God with unmeaning words, or hypocritically assume a character which belongs not to him: he feels in his heart what he utters with his lips; and desires to fulfil his duties in Zion, as much as to enjoy her privileges.]

  2.      He is consistent in the practice of it—

[He has learned in a measure that important lesson, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” The whole tenour of his conversation is agreeable to the strictest rules of righteousness. In all his dealings he is both just and honourable, not taking advantage of the ignorance or necessities of others, but endeavouring to do as he would be done unto. Nor is he less observant of his words than of his actions: he not only “walketh righteously,” but “speaketh uprightly:” he rigidly adheres to truth, and avoids every deviation from it, whether in criminating others, or exculpating himself.

As he thus “cleaves to what is good, so he abhors that which is evil.” Could he gain ever so much by an act of oppression, or were he offered ever so great a bribe to bias his judgment und to violate his conscience, he would “despise the gain,” and “shake from his hands the polluted gift” with utter abhorrence. Were he advised to do any thing injurious or vindictive, he would “stop his ears” with indignation, and not allow the thought for one moment to dwell upon his mind. Did a contaminating object present itself to his view, or any thing whereby his own corruptions might be stirred up, he would “shut his eyes,” even like holy Job, who “made a covenant with his eyes that he would not look upon a maid.”

We say not that the Christian is never drawn aside through the influence of temptation and corruption; (for then where shall we find a Christian upon earth?) but if at any time he be overtaken with a fault, he returns to God with deepest humiliation and contrition, and renews his course with increased vigilance and circumspection.

That this is indeed the character to whom alone the promise in the text is made, is evident from parallel passages in the Psalms, and from the strongest possible declarations in the New Testamentd. O that all persons, whether professors of religion or others, would duly consider this!. Our conduct must be upright towards God and man: we must embrace the religion of the Gospel with sincerity, and adorn it by a holy conversation: nor can a person of any other character than this have any part or lot in the promises of God.]

Let us now turn our attention to,

  II.      The promise itself—

To understand this, we must consider the occasion whereon it was delivered. The Assyrian army, that had overrun almost the whole of Judea, were now encompassing Jerusalem. The wicked Jews are given up to terror and consternation; but the righteous are encouraged with a promise of,

  1.      Protection—

[A fortress situated on an eminence which no weapons can reach, and founded on a rock which no human efforts can shake, may be considered as impregnable. Such a place should Jerusalem be to God’s obedient people.

To us, who are surrounded with spiritual enemies, the promise has a spiritual import. “The archers will shoot at us:” the world, the flesh, and the devil will combine against us to destroy us: but the true Christian “shall dwell on high,” out of their reach; and “his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks” which cannot be undermined. If his enemies wound his body, they shall “not be able to kill his soul;” for that is “hid with Christ in God:” and he may say to his enemies, as Hezekiah said to the besieging and blaspheming General, “The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.”]

  2.      Provision—

[There are but two ways in which a fortress, which will not capitulate, can be taken; namely, by assault or famine. Against both of these God promised to guard his obedient people: for as their fortress should be impregnable, so it should be supplied with manna from heaven, and with water springing out of the rocks on which they dwelt. To us also the promise may be applied with strictest propriety. Our enemies may deal with us us with Paul and Silas of old, who were cruelly scourged, and thrust into an inner prison, and their feet were made fast in the stocks: but, though there was no access to them for earthly friends, were the visits of their God intercepted? Could their supplies of strength and consolation be cut off? Did not rather their consolations abound as their afflictions abounded? Thus it shall be with us: “broad shall be given us” for the support of our souls, and “the Holy Spirit shall be within us a well of water, springing up” for our continual refreshment. Difficulties and dangers we may experiences but they shall issue only in the contusion of our enemies, and in brighter discoveries of God’s power und grace.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      To those who rest in presumptuous hopes—

[The wicked Jews laughed at the judgments of God when they were at a distance, but were filled with horror at their approach, and cried out, “Who shall dwell with the devouring fire? who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Similar consternation will ere long seize on those who now slight the threatenings of the Gospel. The day of vengeance is hastening on apace, and God will then shew himself to be “a consuming fire.” How will his enemies then stand appalledg! How “will they cry to the rocks to fall upon them, and the hills to cover them from the wrath of the Lamb!” How terrible will the devouring fire then appear! How awful those everlasting burnings in which they will be doomed to dwell! Let the “sinners in Zion,” the people who name the name of Christ without departing from iniquity, awake from their delusions; let “the hypocrites” also deceive themselves no longer. Let a holy fear possess all our souls: let us cry out, as on the day of Pentecost, “What shall we do to be saved?” and let us improve the present season of God’s mercy and forbearance in “fleeing from the wrath to come.”]

  2.      To those who are agitated with unbelieving fears—

[Many spend their time in anxious inquiries, Will God save me? Well would it be if we would leave God to do his part, and mind only our own. God’s part is, to save us: ours is, to serve and glorify him. This is obvious in the passage before us, and in numberless other passages of Holy Writ. We have nothing to fear but sin. Let us be sincere in embracing the Gospel, and consistent in obeying it, and we need not fear the united attempts of men and devils. God is engaged to be the God of his believing and obedient people: and, “if he be for us, who can be against us?” He will “hide us in his pavilion,” where we shall be surrounded with hosts of angels for our guard, and supplied with the richest viands for our support: and “in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh us.” Let us then dismiss our unbelieving fears, and look to him to “fulfil his promises, wherein he has caused us to put our trust.”]

DCCCCX

THE CHURCH’S SECURITY

  Isai. 33:20–22.

Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

IN times of national calamity or danger, if we do not immediately see the means of our preservation, “our hearts are apt to meditate terror,” and to tremble even for the ark of God. But, though we ought to mourn for the desolations of Zion, and to desire its prosperity, we may safely leave the concerns of the church to him who has founded it on a rock, and who is incessantly engaged for its defence. God may purge his floor, and burn up the chaff; but he will not suffer one grain of pure wheat to be lost. This was the consolatory truth with which the prophet encouraged the godly, while he foretold the miseries which the Jewish nation should endure in the Babylonish captivity: and it is equally applicable to the church of God in all ages. In the words before us are contained,

  I.      The promise which God makes to his Church—

The Church is here compared to Jerusalem and the tabernacle, particularly with a view to its weakness and danger—

[Jerusalem was “the city of their solemnities,” whither all the tribes went up at stated seasons to worship God: and the tabernacle was the place where God in a more especial manner revealed himself to his believing people. But though, in these points of view, they were objects of God’s peculiar regard, they were at the same time peculiarly exposed to danger. Jerusalem was encompassed with enemies, who incessantly sought its destruction: and the tabernacle (which on this account is mentioned rather than the temple) was assailed by storms and tempests, in the wilderness, und in Shiloh, for many hundred years.

Thus the Church is that society of godly persons, to which all in every place unite themselves, as soon as ever they are converted to God: and it enjoys exclusively the manifestations of God’s love and favour. But it is hated by the world with a deadly hatred: and is often menaced by all the powers of earth and hell.]

But God promises that, notwithstanding its weakness, it shall enjoy quietness and stability—

[This was in part fulfilled in the preservation of the Jews at those seasons when all the males were withdrawn from the country, and collected in Jerusalem; none of their enemies ever being permitted to take advantage of their absence, and to attack their land at those times, It was also fulfilled in part, when the temple worship was restored after the Babylonish captivity. But its full accomplishment must be looked for in the apostolic and millennial periods. In the days of the Apostles the Church was assaulted on every side; but it defied the storms, and stood unmoved in the midst of all its enemies. Hypocrites indeed were cast down; but the Church itself stood; “not one of its stakes was moved, nor one of its cords broken.” From the days of Christ to the latest period of time may it be said, with exultation and triumph, “Look upon our Zion;” though apparently defenceless, it stands secure; though fiercely assailed, it is “a quiet habitation;” though it be as a sycamore planted in the midst of the sea, it can never be rooted up. What our ears have heard, “our eyes have seen;” and we believe that it shall endure to all generations.]

Nor will this appear improbable, if we consider,

  II.      The means of its accomplishment—

The way whereby this promise shall be fulfilled, is set forth,

  1.      Figuratively—

[Jerusalem was despised as having no river to protect it, as the Church also is on account of its defenceless state. But God promises that “he himself will be to it as a broad and rapid river.” But it may be said that if, in one view, a river defends a city, in another view it affords means of attacking it to advantage. But God fully obviates this by saying, that he will be such a river as shall not be navigated by vessels, either great or small: yea, that in protecting his Church, he will shew himself to be “the glorious,” the irresistible “Jehovah.” Hence that triumphant language of the Psalmist, “Walk about Zion, and go round about her, tell the towers thereof; mark well her Bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following; for this God is our God for ever and ever.”]

  2.      Plainly—

[The Church is under the immediate government of God, as Israel was of old. He is its Judge, its Lawgiver, and its King, who, while he requires the obedience of his people, is pledged by that very relation to afford them his protection. Men, standing in that relation to us, may be overcome; and we may fall together with them: but we are thrice reminded, that it is JEHOVAH who is our defence. Whom then can we have to fear, when the honour, the power, the veracity of Jehovah are pledged for our protection? How absurd is it to be alarmed on account of our own weakness, or of the power and malignity of our enemies! The answer which David gave to those who persuaded him to flee, is that which should be our solace in the most discouraging circumstances; “How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain, for the foundations are destroyed, and what can the righteous do?” (Tell me not of the failure of earthly helps; for) “JEHOVAH is in his holy temple, JEHOVAH’S throne is in heaven.”]

  INFER—

  1.      Whither we are to look for the continued enjoyment of our religious privileges—

[It is a mercy to us, that, notwithstanding the enmity of the carnal mind against God is as great as ever, we are preserved by the laws from such persecutions as have been endured by the Church in former ages. But men are changing, and laws may change with them. Our safety therefore does not depend on man, but on God: and on him alone must we rely for the peace and prosperity of Zion. Let us trust in him; and “he will be a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us.”]

  2.      Whither we are to look for the peace and stability of our own souls—

[We should first take care that God be indeed the Judge, the Lawgiver, and the King whom we unfeignedly obey: for, if we refuse allegiance to him, it will be in vain to expect protection from him. But, if we have the testimony of our conscience that we devote ourselves unfeignedly to him, we may say with David, “I will not fear, though the earth be moved, and the hills be carried into the midst of the sea.” We have an almighty Defender, who is interested in the welfare of his subjects, and is moreover pledged to us by promise and by oath. Let us then “believe his declaration; so shall we prosper; and believe his promises; so shall we be established:” “we shall be even as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but standeth fast for ever.”]

DCCCCXI

ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE WEAK

             Isai. 33:23.

The lame take the pray.

IT is impossible to read the Scriptures with attention, and not be struck with the amazing condescension of God, towards the poor, the weak, the desponding. I think we may say, that if God had permitted them to dictate to him what he should say for their encouragement, they could never have ventured to put into his mouth what he has really spoken; so inconceivably gracious and condescending are the promises which he has given them. Let us only look at one or two which are recorded by the Prophet Isaiah. Speaking of his enemies, who thought to injure his people with impunity, he says, “He bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust: the foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the feet of the needy.” And again: “Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slainb;” that is, if there were not one of my people whom they had not imprisoned or slain, the prisoners should come forth from their dungeons, and the slain should arise from their graves, to crush and to destroy them. Indeed God assumes this as his very name whereby he is to be known: “The Lord is his name, that strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.” It is with this view that the words of my text were uttered. The Assyrians menaced Jerusalem with an immense, and, as they supposed, an irresistible army; and God comforted his people by an assurance, not only that their enemies should not prevail, but that they should flee, and leave an immense booty behind them; and that even “the lame amongst his people,” who were scarcely able to walk, should yet go forth and “seize the spoil,” and be enriched by it.

To mark the force of this expression, I will shew,

  I.      How it was fulfilled on the occasion referred to—

[So exceeding large and powerful was the Assyrian army that was besieging Jerusalem, that there seemed to be no hope of deliverance, but by means of some special interposition of the Deity himself — — — As for Hezekiah and his people, they seemed to be in the situation of a travailing woman, who, not having strength to bring forth, was at the point of deathe. But prayer was made by him and the Prophet Isaiah to the Lord: and “in one night an angel of the Lord slew no less than one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian army:” upon which the rest of the army retired in haste, leaving all their property behind them; so that all the people of Jerusalem, like Samaria on another occasion, were enriched by it, and the very weakest amongst them seized his portion of the prey. Thus was the promise in my text literally fulfilled; and a pledge was given to the Church, that neither men nor devils should ever prevail against those who should put their trust in Him.]

The text, thus explained, may serve to shew us, in a measure,

  II.      How it is fulfilling at this time—

Still are the weak triumphant, through the power and grace of God.

Are any weak in understanding?

[Fear not: deep as the mysteries of our holy religion are, and infinitely as they surpass the powers of unassisted reason to comprehend, you shall comprehend them, if you look to God for the teaching of his good Spirit: yes, “you shall comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge:” whilst the wise of this world shall “account them nothing but foolishnessh.” So it was with the poorer classes of the community in the days of our blessed Lord: “they heard his word gladly,” and received it thankfully; whilst the Scribes and Pharisees “rejected the counsel of God against themselves.” Thus it was also in the Apostle’s days. St. Paul appealed to those at Corinth: “Ye see your calling, Brethren, now that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence.” And to all who come to Christ for instruction, it is promised that their eyes shall be opened to see the truth, since God had determined that “the things which were hid from the wise and prudent should be revealed unto babes.” Thus is provision made, even for the weakest, to guide them into all truth; and an assurance is given, that “the way-faring man, though a fool, shall not err thereinl.”]

Are any weak in grace?

[They need not despond: for “it is not the will of our Father that one of his little ones should perish.” “Christ will carry the Lambs in his bosom, and gently lead that which is with youngn.” Weakness, if felt and deplored, shall never prevent the ultimate success of any soul whatever. Indeed conscious weakness is, if I may so speak, a source of strength, since it will constrain a man to look unto Christ for strength; and “Christ will perfect his own strength in his people’s weakness:” So true is that paradoxical expression of St. Paul, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” When did we ever hear of one “who was plucked out of the Saviour’s handsp?” We are assured by the prophet, that, however violently God’s people may be sifted, “not so much as the smallest grain shall ever fall to the earth.” The weakest person in the universe shall “be able to do all things, through the strength of Christr;” and however numerous his trials be, he shall be more than conqueror, through Him that loved him.”]

Are any weak in faith?

[This is the most discouraging state of all; because a person strong in faith cannot fail of obtaining all that he can desire; whereas a person of a wavering and doubtful mind has but little reason to expect such ready communications as his necessities may requireu. Still, however, if our faith be genuine, it shall prevail; and though it be only as a grain of mustard-seed, yet shall it enable its possessor to pluck up a mountain by its roots, and cast it into the sea. “To him that believeth, nothing shall be impossibley.” And it is worthy of observation, that salvation is promised, not to him that is strong in faith, but to him that believeth. Our commiesion from Christ himself is, to declare, without any reserve, “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned.”]

Thus, at this present time, is the text fulfilled to the least and weakest of God’s people; not one of them, however lame, being so left as not ultimately to “take the prey.”

But we are yet further to shew,

  III.      How it shall be fulfilled in the millennial age—

[To this period does the prophet apply the very same kind of language as that which I have already so copiously cited from him: “The Lord will have mercy on Jacob; and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.” It seems impossible that the whole world of Jews and Gentiles should be so effectually combated, as to be turned to the worship of the true God, especially by such weak instruments as are now upon earth. But who spread our holy religion through the whole Roman Empire? A few poor fishermen. And what if the servants of God at this day be but few and weak; Is not God able to work by them? Has he not even “put his treasure into earthen vessels, on purpose that the excellency of the power may be seen to be of Him, and not of us?” How did the walls of Jericho fall, but by the sound of rams’ horns? and how were the host of Midian vanquished, but by the breaking of Gideon’s lamps, and the vociferation of a few dispersed men? What effects, then, may we not expect from the preached Gospel at this day, if God be pleased to accompany it with his power from on high? It is as able at this day, as ever it was, to “cast down every thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ:” and in God’s good time it shall run and be glorified throughout the whole earthd.” Unbelief, viewing the world as dead in trespasses and sins, is ready to ask, “Can these dry bones live?” But, in answer to this, I say, Yes, they both can and shall live: and at the time when God, in answer to the prayers of his servants, shall be pleased to pour out his Spirit upon them, they shall not only resume the human form, but “shall live, and stand up on their feet, an exceeding great army.” “A nation shall be born in a day:” and, by the simple preaching of a crucified Saviour, “all the ends of the earth shall be brought to see the salvation of Godg.”]

  BEHOLD then,

  1.      What encouragement is here given to serve the Lord—

[No one need despond. There is no mountain of guilt that shall not be removed by the blood of Christ; nor any inveteracy of corruption that shall not be subdued by the Spirit of Christ. Nor is there any confederacy, either of men or devils, that shall prevail to destroy the weakest saint upon the earthk. “A worm shall thresh the mountains, and make them all like the dust of the summer threshing-floor.” But some, apprehending that there is somewhat peculiar in their case, are ready to ask, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Yes: thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Be it known to all these, for their comfort, that “greater is he that is in them, than he that is in the worldn;” and that “it is not by might or by power that any one is to succeed, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.”]

  2.      What honour will be given to the Saviour at the last day—

[Every one, in that day, will bless himself as the most distinguished monument of mercy that is to be found in heaven. When a saint looks back, and sees with what powers he has conflicted, and yet come off victorious, O! what thanks will he render to the Captain of his salvation, through whom alone he was enabled to maintain the conflict! and what songs of praise will he pour forth to God and to the Lamb for ever! It was in proud self-confidence that the Jebusites defied David, saying, that “except he should take away the blind and the lame, (whom, if there were no others, they supposed capable of defending their impregnable fortress against him,) he should not come within their city: but it is in dependence on Christ that we defy all our enemies, and say without fear, that “the blind and the lame shall repel them all.” “His is the kingdom, and his the power; and his shall be the glory, for ever and ever.”]

DCCCCXII

GLORIOUS PROSPECTS OF THE GOSPEL CHURCH

  Isai. 35:1, 2.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God,

AS the planting of the Jews in Canaan was accompanied with the slaughter of the Canaanites, so in every age the establishment of God’s Church on earth is represented as immediately connected with, and in a measure consequent upon, the judgments inflicted on her enemies. This appears, as in many other places, so especially from the words of our text; which are a continuation of the prophecy contained in the preceding chapter, or rather, a transition from one part of the subject to another part of the same subject. In the foregoing chapter, the destruction of the Edomites was predicted, as introductory to the enlargement of the Redeemer’s kingdom. But the devastation of their country by Nebuchadnezzar did not by any means correspond with the strong expressions used to describe it; nor did the reformation under Hezekiah at all answer to the exalted terms in which the prosperity of Zion is set forth. The true sense of the passage must be found in events yet future. Edom is here considered as a type of all the Church’s enemies, which at some future period will be fearfully destroyed; and then will the Church be enlarged and prosper, in a way that has never yet been seen upon earth. “For them,” that is, for those judgments before spoken of, “will the wilderness and the solitary place be glad,” because they will open a way for the accomplishment of God’s gracious designs towards his Church and people.

The words, as thus explained, lead us naturally to contemplate,

  I.      The state of persons and places unenlightened by the Gospel—

Whatever advantages any place may possess, it is, if destitute of the Gospel, a dreary wilderness—

[Let us suppose a place in point of beauty and fertility like Paradise itself; let it be the seat of arts and sciences, the emporium of commerce, the centre of civilized and polished society; let it abound with every thing that can amuse the mind, or gratify the taste; still, What is it without the Gospel? What does it afford that can nourish an immortal soul? No heavenly manna is found there: no wells of salvation are open to the thirsty traveller; none are at hand to point out the way to life: its only produce is thorns and briers, which entangle, and impede, and wound us, every step we take; and on every side are snares and temptations, which, like noxious animals, lie in wait for us, ever ready to accomplish our eternal ruin. The cities of Athens and of Rome must in this respect be viewed on a level with the most desolate spots upon the globe: for, whatever they might furnish for the edification or comfort of the carnal mind, they would afford no nutriment to him who was perishing for lack of spiritual food.]

The same observations we must make in relation to the souls of men—

[Whatever strength of intellect a man may possess, or however deeply he may be versed in every branch of human learning; whatever amiable qualities he may have to distinquish him from others; yea, whatever actual enjoyment he may receive from the riches, the honours, the pleasures of the world; yet is his soul “a wilderness,” “a solitude,” “a desert:” God is not there: the fruits of the Spirit are not found there: no heavenly consolations are ever tasted by him: he is without a track, with a guide, without a shelter in the day of trouble, and without any other prospect than that of falling a prey to enemies, or perishing with hunger. The unenlightened soul is compared by Jeremiah, not to a desert merely, but to “a heath in a desert, where no good ever comes.” O that those who fancy themselves “rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing, were made sensible, how wretched they are, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked!”]

Let us turn from this humiliating contemplation, to consider,

  II.      The state to which they are brought by the Gospel—

Beautiful is the description given by the prophet of the change that is wrought by the Gospel of Christ. The souls of men assume altogether a new aspect. In them is found,

The beauty of the rose—

[Where there was but lately no appearance of life, now there arise a holy desire after God, a delight in heavenly exercises, a love to all the people of the Lord, and an ambition to resemble God in righteousness and true holiness. First, but a blossom appears; but gradually the rising foliage bursts from its confinement, and expands itself to the eyes of all, diffusing fragrance all around it. The believer, blessed in himself, makes the very place of his residence a blessing; according to that description given of him by the Prophet Ezekiel; “I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessings.” Thus by the power of his Gospel “the Lord comforts Zion! he comforts all her waste places; he makes her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord: joy and gladness are found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”]

The stability of the cedar—

[The woods of Lebanon were proverbially grand: its cedars and its pines grew up to heaven, and defied all the storms with which they could be assailed. This was “the glory of Lebanon:” and this glory shall be given to all who are “rooted and grounded in the Lord.” Weak as the beginnings of grace are in the believer’s soul, he shall “shoot forth his roots as Lebanon,” and become “a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that HE may be glorified.” Storms and tempests will beat upon him; but they shall only cause him to take deeper root, and to evince more clearly, in the sight of all men, that “God’s strength is perfected in his people’s weakness.” In like manner shall the Church at large be kept;, and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”]

The fruitfulness of the richest pastures—

[Carmel and Sharon were famous for their pasturage and flocks: such excellency shall be seen wherever the Gospel is preached with life and power, How precious are the ordinances made! What pastures are laid open in the word of God! How strengthening and refreshing does that feast become, which the Lord Jesus Christ has prepared for us at his table! The souls, thus richly fed, “grow up as calves of the stall:” the trees, thus watered by “the river of God,” abound in all manner of fruits, even in “the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.” Contemplate every “fruit of the Spirit;” and that is what is produced by “every plant which God’s right hand hath planted.”]

Unutterable joy as the result of all—

[The expressions in our text fitly characterize the state of those who are brought out of darkness into the marvellous light of the Gospel: they “are glad, and rejoice, and blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.” Let any one who has ever beheld a desert brought by cultivation to a fruitful field, and seen it “standing so thick with corn as to laugh and sing;” let him contemplate it awhile; and he will have a faint image, though a very faint one, of “a wilderness” place or person that is “made to blossom as the rose.” O that we might behold the picture realised in this place, and that every one amongst us might have the image of it in his own soul!]

But it is necessary that we should draw your attention to,

  III.      That particular view of the Gospel by which these effects are wrought—

It is not by a mutilated and perverted Gospel that these effects are produced, but by a simple exhibition of Christ crucified, and of the perfections of God as united and harmonizing in the work of Redemption.

To this it is uniformly ascribed in the word of God—

[Look at the prophets, and you will find it is “the glory of the Lord” that they speak of, as revealed to men by the Gospel, and as seen by men in order to their conversion — — — Look at the Apostles, and the same truth is attested by them all; insomuch that they all “determined to know nothing in their ministrations, but Jesus Christ and him crucified:” the one object which they sought by all possible means to attain, was, so to preach, that “God might shine into his people’s hearts, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ:” and till they saw “Christ formed in them,” they were satisfied with no change however great, no profession however confident. The commission given to them all, was to “say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your Godl!” and this they all fulfilled, saying to their people from time to time, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!”]

To this also must the effect be traced in the experience of all—

[Who that hears a perverted Gospel, is ever brought effectually to God by it? We may represent the Gospel as a kind of remedial law, that supersedes the necessity of perfect obedience, and requires only sincere obedience in its stead; or we may represent the Gospel as proposing a salvation partly by Christ’s righteousness, and partly by our own; but we shall never see such effects produced as are described in our text. Let this matter be scrutinized; and the more it is scrutinized, the more the truth of it will be confirmed. It is notorious, that in some persons, and some places, a great change is wrought: and it will be found to be owing to this one thing, that “Christ is preached,” and he is received into the heart as “All in all.” The people are made to “see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God;” and therefore do they rejoice, and consecrate themselves to the service of their God and Saviour. Hence also is their stability; for they would rather die a thousand deaths, than renounce their hope in Him; and hence also their fertility, for they think they can never do enough for him, who has done and suffered such things for them. And this is expressly declared by the Apostle: “We, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”]

  OBSERVE,

  1.      What encouragement is here for those who minister in holy things—

[Ministers, especially when invited to labour among un-enlightened heathens, are apt to draw back, under an idea that they can never hope to reap a crop in such a soil. But if God has promised that “the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as the rose,” why should we despond? Is not his word as quick and powerful as ever? and can he not, by whomsoever, or to whomsoever it is delivered, make it “sharper than any two-edged sword,” so that it shall be “the power of God to the salvation of men?” Only let “his Spirit be poured out from on high, and the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” Though the corn be but an handful, and cast on the summit of a barren mountain, its produce shall be great, and your harvest sureq.]

  2.      What encouragement also for those who are dejected on account of the state of their own souls—

[When all your grounds of dejection are stated, they amount to no more than this, that your hearts are a very “desert.” But “God’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor is his ear heavy that he cannot hear.” Possibly you may feel additional ground of despondency, because you have backslidden from the Lord, and therefore fear that he will give you up to final impenitence. If so, then plead with him that promise which is made to persons in your very condition; and rest assured, that he will fulfil it to you, if you trust in him. You may wait long, as the husbandman does, for the fruit of your labour; but you shall not wait in vains.]

DCCCCXIII

ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE WEAK

  Isai. 35:3, 4.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.

OUR blessed Lord, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, has set an example to all inferior pastors, how to watch over their flock. And in the words before us he gives them special direction how to treat the weak and the diseased.

  I.      Consider the characters here described—

Among the people of God, all of whom are weak as sheep, there are many that, from their peculiar weakness and infirmities, are characterized rather as “lambs, or as sheep that are big with young.” These are described in the text,

  1.      As feeling their weakness—

[The “hands and feet” being those members of the body that are fitted for labour, they not improperly represent the active powers of the soul: and the feebleness which they experience through excessive fatigue, gives us a just idea of a soul weary with its labours, and heavy laden with its spiritual burthens. Many there are that are precisely in this state: they have been maintaining a conflict with sin and Satan; they have been enduring the pressure of many trials; and they scareely know how to support their difficulties any longer: their “hands are so weak and their knees so feeble,” that they are ready to give up in utter despair — — —]

  2.      As discouraged by reason of it—

[Many are the misgiving thoughts that arise in the minds of God’s tempted people. When they find their insufficiency to support their burthens, and to overcome their spiritual enemies, they have “great searchings of heart:” they begin to doubt whether they have not altogether deceived their own souls; and whether they may not as well cease from those contests which they have hitherto found so ineffectual. They fear that God has cast them off; that all their professions are mere hypocrisy; and that their renewed exertions will only issue in their greater disappointment — — ]

If there be any present, whose experience accords with this description, we proceed to,

  II.      Deliver to them a message from the most high God—

God would not that his ministers should ever “break a bruised reed,” or “despise the day of small things:” on the contrary, he says, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.” “Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.” But, because we should be at a loss to know what to say, and all that we could say would be to no purpose, if it were the mere offspring of our own imaginations, God himself has put words into our mouths; which therefore we may safely, and confidently, deliver.

[Let the drooping and disconsolate now listen as to the voice of God himself; for it is God, and not man, that thus audibly speaks unto them.

“Be strong, fear not.” This may appear a strange address to those who feel within themselves such reason for despondency: but it is God’s message to them; and therefore in God’s name we deliver it.

But in the text the grounds of this encouragement are stated: and, if duly applied to the soul, they are sufficient to comfort the most distressed, and to invigorate the weakest. “Behold then, your God will come:” yes, that God who, notwithstanding all your fears, is, and will be, your God. Think what is implied in this relation, and then say, whether you have not in this word alone an inexhaustible fund of consolation.

He will come “with vengeance” to your enemies, and “with a recompence” to you. He sees with indignation those evil spirits that assault you, and those ungodly men that despise and persecute you, and all those indwelling lusts that harass and defile you: and he has doomed them all to destruction; your lusts, by the operation of his grace, and your enemies, whether men or devils, by his avenging arm. But with respect to yourselves, there is not a tear, which he has not treasured up in his vial; nor a sigh, a groane, a purpose, a wishg, a thought, which he has not noted in the book of his remembrance, in order to recompense it at the resurrection of the just.

In short, “he will come and save you.” He is interested in your welfare; and suffers you to be thus tried, and tempted, only for your good. He knows “when your strength is gone,” and will make your extremity the season of his effectual interposition.

Notice the repetitions in this message; for they surely were not inserted thus for nought. It is “God, even God,” that will come for your relief: it is not a man, or an angel, but JEHOVAH himself, to whom all things are alike possible, and alike easy. Moreover, it is said, “He will come, he WILL come;” you need not doubt it, for it is as certain as that he himself exists. He may tarry long: but wait his leisure; and he will come at last.]

  INFER,

  1.      How anxious is God for the comfort of his people!

[He charges all his servants to exert themselves for the relief of his people’s minds: and expressly sends them a message of love and mercy under their multiplied afflictions. And, lest they should put away from them the word, as not applicable to themselves, he describes them, not by their attainments, but by their defects; not by their hopes, but by their fears, He describes them by the very terms which they themselves make use of to describe their own state. What marvellous condescension is this! Moreover, he sends them exactly such a message as they themselves would desire, if they were commissioned to declare beforehand what they would consider as an adequate ground of consolation. Can any thing exceed this kindness?

Let us then entertain worthy conceptions of our gracious God; and learn never to doubt his love, or to distrust his care. And, instead of distressing ourselves with fears on account of our own weakness, let us look unto our Almighty Saviour to “perfect his own strength by means of it.”]

  2.      How differently must ministers conduct themselves towards the different objects of their care!

[That same divine Shepherd who says, “I will strengthen that which was sick,” adds, “But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.” Now there are many who perhaps will bless themselves, that they are strangers to the faintings and fears which are so distressing to others. What message then have we from God to them? Shall we endeavour to “confirm and strengthen” them? They need not our assistance; they would despise our proffered help. Shall we say to them, “Be strong, fear not?” Alas! how “shall they be strong in the day that God shall deal with them?” They rather need to fear and tremble for the judgments that are coming upon them. “God is coming;” but he is not their God; for they have never chosen him for their God, nor given themselves up to him as his people. He is coming with awful “vengeance,” and with a just “recompence” for all their neglect of him. He is coming not to “save,” but to destroy them. Let them then hear the message of God to them, and tremble. They must be sick in order to know the value of a physician; and must feel themselves lost, if ever they would be interested in the salvation of Christq.]

DCCCCXIV

STREAMS IN THE DESERT

  Isai. 35:5–7.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the fame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

THOUGH the truths which we have to proclaim lie in a very small compass, yet do they admit of an endless diversity of illustration; so that, though old and well known, they appear ever new. The figure under which the Gospel is here set forth is indeed frequently used in the Holy Scriptures: and well it may be, since it is peculiarly adapted to bring home to our very senses, as it were, the nature and operation of the Gospel, and to display its energy visibly before our eyes. We can conceive of a desert converted into a fertile garden; and we can form some idea of the multitudes who were healed of all manner of diseases by our blessed Lord. And under these images is the Gospel here exhibited to our view. In the words before us, we are led to contemplate,

  I.      Its miraculous establishment—

A desert is but too just a picture of the world at large—

[In this country we have a very faint notion of a desert. In some parts of the world there are large tracts of country perfectly sterile, consisting only of burning sands, in which nothing will grow; and these are infested with all manner of noxious animals. Now certainly this appears, at first sight, to be a very exaggerated representation of human nature: and doubtless it would be so, if we took into the account only man’s conduct towards his fellow-man. For it must be confessed, and we bless God for it, that man is not so fallen, but that there yet remain within him many traits of his original worth and excellency. Benevolence, integrity, a sense of honour, a feeling of compassion, are by no means eradicated from every breast; though, through the violence of temptation, they do not operate so extensively or so uniformly as they ought; and in many persons, through habits of wickedness, they are almost wholly effaced. But towards God there remains in us nothing that is truly and properly good. We are in this respect all upon a level: we all, without exception, are alike alienated from the life of God, without one spiritual affection towards him. To please him, to serve him, to honour him, we have no purpose, no desire whatever. Self has altogether usurped his throne, and is the only object of our solicitude: and if only self may be advanced and gratified, we are content to forget God, and to live “without him in the world.” Thus, considering a desert to be a place destitute of all good, and full of all evil, we may, so far as our state before God is concerned, consider it as a just picture of our fallen condition.]

But by the Gospel a wonderful change is effected in us—

[Conceive of such a desert, as has been described, being, by the almighty power of God, filled at once with springs and rivers, and verdant hills and valleys: conceive of it as freed from all its venomous inhabitants, and covered with flocks and herds for the use of man: and then you will have some idea of what is wrought by the Gospel, wherever it is established. Let the day of Pentecost serve as a specimen. Certainly, if ever there were incarnate fiends, such were the great mass of those who put our blessed Lord to death. But see the change wrought on thousands of them in one hour! It would be deemed incredible, if we did not know that such was really the fact: “the Holy Spirit then poured out,” in confirmation of the Apostle’s word, “turned at once the wilderness into a fruitful field, so that the fruitful field might be counted for a forest.” What takes place at this day, upon a smaller scale, is not so visible, or so well authenticated, as that to which we have referred; but it is altogether of the same character: for when once “the waters break out in the wilderness, and the streams in the desert, the parched ground becomes a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; and in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, there is grass with reeds and rushes;” vegetation and beauty supplying the place of sterile deformity.

It is scarcely necessary to observe, that this must be the work of God. It far exceeds the power of man. It was the work of Omnipotence in the apostolic age: and, as such, it is here promised to be extended over the face of the whole earth. Jerusalem was indeed the primary seat of this glorious change: but it is to be extended, as the Lord hath said: “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”]

In accordance with this change, will be found,

  II.      Its characteristic benefits—

At the introduction of Christianity, many glorious miracles were wrought by our blessed Lord, in confirmation of his word. These were predicted in the passage before us; and to these did our blessed Lord appeal, in proof of his divine mission. “John sent two of his disciples to him, to inquire, Art thou He that should come; or do we look for another? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go, and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” But it is in a spiritual sense, chiefly, that these blessed effects are to be wrought. In a general, view these have been already described: but now we must notice them under a different image, and with a more minute attention to circumstances.

In all our faculties, and in all our powers, we are fallen—

[It is worthy of observation, that, for the elucidation of this point, St. Paul collects a number of unconnected passages from the Old Testament, and strings them, as it were, all together, in order that, by their accumulated weight, they may bear down all opposition to his argument; which is, to prove that “men are all gone out of the way, and that there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” “Their mouth,” says he, “is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood.” Thus, in my text, it is intimated, that men’s eyes are by nature shut against the light of divine truth; that their ears are deaf to the voice of God in his word; that their feet never move in the service of their God; and that their tongues are never employed in his praise. A very little acquaintance with what is passing in the world around us, or in our own hearts, will suffice to confirm this melancholy description: so true is it, that all of us, even every child of man, are “gone back; they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”]

But in all these respects, through the Gospel of Christ, we are renewed—

[By the preached Gospel, when accompanied with the Spirit of God, “the eyes of the blind are opened;” so that, with different measures of clearness, they “see the things that are invisible” to mortal eyes, even the evil of sin, the beauty of holiness, and “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” By it, too, “the ears of the deaf are unstopped; so that they hear “the small still voice” of God to them, whispering peace to their souls, and “saying unto them, This is the way; walk ye in it.” By it, also, “the feet of the lame man are made to leap as an hart;” so that they not only walk, but “run in the way of God’s commandments with enlarged hearts.” Lastly, by it is “the tongue of the dumb made to sing the praises of Jehovah,” and to anticipate, amidst all the troubles of this earthly state, the felicity of heaven.

Now this is not a poetic fiction, but a plain and undeniable reality. This is the state of men wherever the Gospel of Christ produces its proper and legitimate effects. It is not among the rich only or the poor, the old or the young, that it operates in this way, but in persons of every age and every class. Wherever it is preached, “with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,” there it is “quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,” and becomes to multitudes the power of God to the salvation of their souls. The miracles wrought by our blessed Lord were but a shadow of what is wrought, and shall be wrought, by the preached Gospel: and, I thank God, there are millions this day upon earth who can bear witness to this blessed truth, that, in their own actual experience, they are become altogether “new creatures; old things having passed away, and all things being become new.”]

  OBSERVE then, from hence,

  1.      What little reason any person has to despond—

[Can any one conceive himself to be in a worse state than that of a desert, destitute of all good, and filled with every thing that is of the most malignant quality? Or, if he take humanity for his standard, can he conceive of himself as in a more deplorable condition than one blind, and deaf, and lame, and dumb? Yet these are the maladies which the Gospel is sent especially to relieve. It does not merely suffice for these things; but it is the prescribed remedy, which never did, nor ever can, fail. Instead therefore of being discouraged by any sense that we have of our own extreme want and wretchedness, we should take occasion, from our very necessities, to glorify God, and to enlarge our expectations of relief from him; assured, that “his strength shall be made perfect in our weakness,” and his grace be magnified in our unworthiness.]

  2.      What glorious prospects are before us—

[We believe that these wonderful changes shall take place in God’s appointed time, and that “all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ.” The change from the dreary barrenness of winter to the verdure and fertility of spring, is pleasing to the sight: but, oh! what is it to see a place, where Christ was neither known nor thought of, filled with persons displaying in their souls all the wonderful operations of his grace! And what must it be, to behold those scenes spreading from city to city, from kingdom to kingdom, till “the whole earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea!” Well, certain it is, that this blessed period is fast approaching; and that “God will comfort, not Zion only, but all the waste places of the earth; making her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; so that in every place shall joy and gladness be found, and nothing be heard but thanksgiving and the voice of melody.” Let us look forward to this time; yea, let us help it forward to the utmost of our power: and if, but in a single instance, the blind, or deaf, or lame, or dumb, receive the relief which they stand in need of, we shall have no reason to complain that we have run in vain, or laboured in vain.]

  3.      What ground for gratitude has every believing soul—

[Who is it that has made you to differ from others? Who is it that has healed the maladies of your souls, or that has made “your wilderness soul to blossom as the rose?” This, as we have before said, is the work of God, and of God alone: “He that hath wrought us to the self-same thing, is God.” And is this no call for gratitude? Look at heathen lauds, and see their people bowing down to stocks and stones. Or look nearer home, and see the multitudes around you as unaffected with the Gospel as if it had never visited this highly-favoured country. Perhaps your nearest and dearest relatives are at this moment, in respect of spiritual things, as barren as the most dreary desert, and as destitute of perception as if they had never possessed the organs of sight and hearing. Learn to pity and to pray for them, whilst your souls are transported with joy and gratitude for the mercies vouchsafed to you. And now shew, by your fruits, what a change has been wrought within you, and, by the devotion of all your faculties to God, the healing virtue which you have received.]

DCCCCXV

THE WAY TO ZION

  Isaiah 35:8–10.

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and coma to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

IN the volume of inspiration, the progress of the Gospel in the apostolic and millennial periods is often set forth as a counterpart of the redemption of Israel from the land of Egypt. The power effecting the conversion of men, and all the blessings attending it, are described in terms precisely similar to those which, in their literal sense, are applicable only to the deliverance of the Hebrews from their Egyptian bondage. The power exerted for its accomplishment is the same, as are also the blessings attendant on it. The Prophet Isaiah speaking of that day, when Christ, “the root of Jesse, shall stand for an ensign, to which the Gentiles shall seek,” says, “the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” It is of the same periods, and the same events, that he speaks in the chapter before us, and especially in the words of our test; wherein he describes,

  I.      The way which is prepared for the redeemed to walk in—

Strange as it may appear, the text itself, if not taken in connexion with other passages, may give us an erroneous notion respecting the way of life and salvation. The way is called, and justly called, “The way of holiness:” but we are not therefore to suppose that there is nothing necessary for our salvation but the performance of some good works: for the same prophet, who in our text calls the way to Zion “The way of holiness,” tells us more fully, in another place, that it is the way of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To mark this, and to bear it ever in mind, is of great importance and indispensable necessity; since our Lord Jesus Christ himself assures us, that “HE is the way, the truth, and the life; and that no man cometh to the Father but by HIM.”

Bearing this then in mind, that the way to heaven is solely by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we observe respecting it, that it is,

  1.      A high and holy way—

[As, in forming a highway, the stones are cast up, and the road is made above the level of the adjacent ground, so is this way far above the low and grovelling paths which are trodden by the world around us: and they who walk in it are walking comparatively “in the high places of the earth.” Raised above the miry clay of sin, it is a holy path: the faith itself is a “most holy faith;” and they who are brought to it, are “called with a holy callingf,” and are themselves “a holy nation,” “a peculiar people, zealous of good worksh.” Persons who are ignorant of the Gospel, are ready to suppose that the doctrine of salvation by faith only must be injurious to the interests of morality; but the very reverse of this is true: for they, and they only, who look to Christ for salvation, have either will or power to fulfil the high demands of the Gospel: they, and they only, desire to be “sanctified throughout, in body, soul, and spirit:” and that is the holiness, which alone is acceptable in the sight of God. No latitude is allowed to any man: there is the same law for all: and every statute, every ordinance, every injunction in the whole Gospel has the same tendency to make us holy: the more the laws and regulations of Christ’s family are scrutinized, the more it will appear, that “This is the law of the house; behold, this is the law of the house.”]

  2.      A strait and narrow way—

[It is “not for the unclean, but for the redeemed alone.” Not that there is any prohibition to any man to walk in it; but the ungodly have no inclination to walk in it: the work of mortification and self-denial is to them distasteful; nor have they any root in themselves from whence the fruits of the Spirit can proceed. But to the redeemed the whole work of holiness is delightful: it is the very element they delight to move in: so far from wishing to be left at liberty to commit any sin, they would gladly “have every thought of their heart brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” They consider holiness as the very end of their now creation, yea, the very end also for which they were electedo, and to which they were predestinated, from all eternity: and, if they could have the desire of their hearts, they would “be holy, as God himself is holyq,” and “pure, as God himself is pure.” Justly therefore is it said by our Lord, that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find its.”]

  3.      A plain and obvious way—

[To those who have no experience of its power, the Gospel, both in its doctrines and precepts, is altogether foolishness: but it is so only because they are ignorant of its real nature: they are blinded by Satan and their own lustsu; and, like the Syrian host, fancy that they are journeying to the heavenly city, when in truth they are going into the heart of an enemy’s country, even to the regions of darkness and despair. But “what God has hid from the wise and prudent, he has revealed unto babesy:” and to those whose eyes he has opened, the way is clear as the light itself. “The knowledge of it is easy to him that understandeth:” for a light shines upon it; and “the Angel of the Covenant goes before them in the way, to lead them to the city prepared for thema.” Thus “darkness is made light before them, and crooked things straight:” and if at any time they are perplexed with any important doubts, they need only look up to God, and they hear a word behind them, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it;” by which they are kept from “turning either to the right hand or to the left.” Nor is this the privilege of the learned only, but of all, even the meanest and the least, seeing “they have an unction of the Holy One that teacheth them all things:” and so direct is their way made, “that the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein.” Of course, we must not be understood to say, that any person is infallible: but this we do and must affirm, that none, however weak, shall be left to mistake the path to heaven, since God has pledged himself to us, that “the meek ho will guide in judgment, the meek he will teach his way.”]

  4.      A safe and secure way—

[It is probable that the strong expressions in our text may refer more particularly to the millennial state: for they exactly agree with what the Prophet Ezekiel has manifestly spoken with an immediate reference to that day. But they are true to a certain extent in every age: for though there are lions, and, above all, that “roaring lion, the devil, seeking to devour us,” they are all either chained, that they cannot reach us, or restrained, that they cannot hurt us. Though therefore “the redeemed” appear an easy prey to their enemies, they walk at large without any anxious fear. By faith “they see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about them;” and they know that “they could have legions of angels sent themi” at their request, if they stood in need of their protection. They are sensible indeed of the number, the power, and the malice of their enemies i but as persons travelling through places infested by wild beasts make a fire round them and are secure, so they feel themselves secure, because “God himself is a wall of fire round about them, and their glory in the midst of them.”]

Such is the way to Zion: and O that God by his Holy Spirit may draw us, whilst we declare,

  II.      The happiness of those who journey in it!

“Happy indeed art thou, O Israel, O people saved by the Lord:” thrice happy they who walk in his ways! Inexpressibly happy are they,

  1.      Throughout all their journey—

[Did Israel, when redeemed from Egypt, sing praises to their God? Much more do they who are redeemed from death and hell: as soon as ever they are “brought out of the horrible pit, and have set their feet upon the King’s highway, there is a new song put into their mouth, even praise unto our Godn.” It is true they are represented by the prophet, even “the whole company of them, the blind and the lame, the women with child, and she that travaileth with child together, as coming with weeping and with supplication;” but this is so far from destroying their joy, that it is the very root from which it springs, the seed from which the harvest of joy proceeds. There is in the weeping of a real penitent a holy tenderness, which is no less grateful to his soul than the livelier ebullitions of joy itself: yea, so deeply does he feel his own unworthiness, that he would not wish to “rejoice, but with trembling: nor, if he were transported to heaven itself, would he so exult, as to forget to cast his crown before the Saviour’s feet.” Indeed this very mixture of ingenuous shame with triumphant exultation is intimated by the Prophet Jeremiah, who, immediately after representing the saints as “weeping,” proceeds to paint their happiness as most sublime, not only on account of the deliverance they have experienced, but on account of the continued communications of all spiritual blessings to their souls — — — And well may we expect them to “return with singing,” when they consider from what paths they have been brought, and to what a glorious state they are “coming;” and, above all, by what a price they have been ransomed, even by the blood of God’s only dear Son. Had they been “redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,” they could not but rejoice; but having been ransomed “by the? precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,” they are filled with wonder; and are ready almost to account it all a dreamt; like Peter, who, when delivered from prison, could scarcely credit his deliverance, but “thought ho saw a vision.” Doubtless this joyous frame does not exist in all alike, nor in any equally at all times: their remaining infirmities are sometimes called forth to the wounding of their consciences, and the clouding of their souls. Even Paul himself sometimes cried, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?” But still, by renewed applications of the blood of Christ to their souls, their consciences are purged from guilt, and their joy in the Lord is revived. Thus, whilst they go through the valley of Baca, they find wells of salvation, from which they draw water with joy, and are refreshed; and thus they go on from strength to strength, till they appear before God in Zion.]

  2.      At their journey’s end—

[It has been just observed, that “sighing and sorrow” occasionally interrupt the Believer’s joy; and indeed they follow him at a greater or less distance all his journey through: but when once he arrives at the gate of heaven, those blest inhabitants, “joy and gladness,” come forth to meet him; and “sorrow and sighing flee away.” Then is his joy uninterrupted and unmixt; for he is introduced into “the presence of his God, where there is fulness of joy, and pleasure for evermore.” Could we but get a glimpse of him in those sacred mansions, could we behold the raptures with which he tunes his harp to the praises of his God and Saviour, truly, we should proclaim him blessed beyond all expression or conception. Let us then look into heaven; (for so it is permitted us;) and let us listen to his voice. Methinks we hear the full chorus of the redeemed, singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!” — — — And, if we inquire concerning them, “Who they are? and Whence they came?” we shall be informed distinctly, not that they were innocent in themselves, or had done to many good works, but, that “they had washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: therefore are they before the throne of God.” And that which constitutes no small measure of their happiness is, an inward consciousness that it shall continue for ever without any mixture, intermission, or end: “They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat: for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” What an amazing change is this, even from the best state that can be enjoyed here below I Well may it be said, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord;” for, whilst every thing painful has for ever passed away, they are unceasingly occupied in the immediate vision and complete fruition of their God.]

  EXHORTATION—

[Permit me now to address myself to every individual amongst you. And what terms can we und move apposite, than those wherein Moses addressed his father-in-law? “We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you. Come with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.” Consider, what a blessed way it is: it is “the good old wayc, wherein the Prophets and Apostles walked; yea, and wherein our blessed Lord himself walked, “leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps.” What way can the world point out that is comparable to this? Think too of the end to which it leads: shall not this thought engage you to come with us; and not only to begin with zeal, but also to “run with patience, the race that is set before you?” — — — As for you who have commenced your journey heavenward, lift up your hearts to God, that he would enable you to “hold on your way,” and “so to run that you may obtain the prizef.” Pray that you may never be weary, never halt, never turn back; but that your course may be uniformly holy i or rather, that “your light may shine more and more unto the perfect day.”]

DCCCCXVI

HELP FOR US IN GOD

             Isai. 38:14.

O Lord, I am oppressed: undertake for me!

THE time of death is an awful season to every child of man: but it may be more or less terrible, according to circumstances. There may, in that hour, be such manifestations of God’s presence vouchsafed to the soul, and such bright prospects of a glorious immortality, as altogether to divest death of its sting, and to render it an object of intense desire. On the other hand, there may be such darkness of mind, or anguish of body, or such urgent considerations of a personal or domestic nature, as may exceedingly embitter the thoughts of approaching dissolution. The account which we have of Hezekiah’s feelings on an occasion like this, fills us with deep commiseration. His disorder was so violent, that he expected every day to be his last; and God seemed to him like a lion, likely to break all his bones, and to devour him every instant. Hence “he mourned as a dove; and his eyes failed with looking upward:” and in utter despair of help, except from God, he poured out the prayer which we have just read, “O Lord, I am oppressed: undertake for me!” There were in his case some peculiar reasons for deprecating with more than common earnestness the impending stroke: for he was but in the middle age of life; and hoped to proceed with the work of reformation which he had successfully commenced through the whole nation. In the event of his removal too, he had no son to succeed him: and he feared that the people, just beginning to return to the Lord their God, would immediately relapse into all the idolatries, from which he had strenuously exerted himself to reclaim them. To this chiefly we trace the extreme desire which he expressed for the prolongation of his life, and the overwhelming agony with which, in the words before us, he committed his cause to God.

But here we see,

  I.      The privilege of God’s people in seasons of deep distress—

They are at liberty to commit their every concern to God—

[Of whatever kind their trials may be, they may spread them all before the Lord, with a confidence that he will afford them effectual relief. They may even “cast all their care on God himself,” in an assured hope that he will “undertake for them,” and take upon himself the entire charge of all their concerns, They may commit to him the directing of their path, the supplying of their wants, “the keeping of their souls,” not doubting but that, as their Creator, their Governor, and their Redeemer, he will be faithful to his own engagements, and execute for them whatsoever in his unerring wisdom he sees best for them — — —]

This is their most inestimable privilege—

[They are not left to bear their burthens alone: if they were, they would utterly sink under them. We see in the case of Job how difficult it is to support affliction; (for even he at last cursed the day of his birth;) and daily experience shews us how unable any of us are, of ourselves, to bear up under the various trials of life. But we have a God to go unto; a God who says, “Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee.” As for spiritual trouble, we are no more able to endure it than Judas was, who, from a sense of guilt, took refuge in suicide. If “help were not laid upon One that is mighty,” upon One who says to us, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;” what hope could any one of us enjoy? But with such a Refuge, and such a Friend, we may well be satisfied: for “He is both a sun to enlighten us, and a shield to protect us; and he will give both grace and glory; and no good thing, cither in time or in eternity, will he withhold from us,” if we humbly and unfeignedly commit our cause to him.]

In Hezekiah’s use of this privilege, we see,

  II.      The success that shall attend the exercise of it—

It is of little importance to inquire how far the application of a fig to Hezekiah’s boil was an appropriate remedy for his disorder. Whatever its operation was, it was God alone that rendered it effectual: and the same divine power can give success to any means which shall be used for our good, either in a temporal or spiritual view. The imminence of our danger is no bar to God’s interposition. All that he wants is, the prayer of faith: and that once offered, the deliverance, now difficult soever it may be, shall be vouchsafed.

Only let us commit our cause entirely to God—

[We must despair of help from the creature. God permits our trials to increase, in order to produce this very effect upon us. “We must have the sentence of death in ourselves, that we may not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raiseth the dead.” Whilst there is any mixture of self-dependence in us, God will not interpose: but when, like Peter sinking in the waves, we cry, “Save, Lord, or I perish!” he will instantly stretch out his almighty hand, and afford us the succour we implore.]

His intervention then shall bear upon it the evident stamp of his Divine agency—

[In a multitude of instances in which he “undertook for his people” of old, his power was as evident as in the passage of the Red Sea, or in the ruin of the walls of Jericho. I say not that his interposition in our behalf shall be as visible to the eye of sense: but to the eye of faith it shall. Wonderful will be the support which he will give to the troubled spirit; insomuch that, whilst all outward circumstances remain the same, it shall have “the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Look at the 107th Psalm: it is realized every day. Such are the spiritual distresses of God’s people, and such their deliverances in Answer to their prayers — — — If therefore there be any one that is now “oppressed” with any grievous affliction, let him go to the Lord Jesus Christ, and spread his wants before him, with confidence that he shall not pray in vain. Let the 143d Psalm be his pattern and his encouragement. David there says, “My spirit is overwhelmed within me, and my heart within me is desolate. But I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit: cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” Spread your wants before your God in that way; and be assured, that “though heaviness may continue for a night, joy shall come to you in the morning.” “God will not contend with you for ever, lest your spirit should fail before him:” but “he will be with you in trouble,” and “be to you a light in your darkness,” and “give you songs in the night.” “These things will he do to you, and not forsake you,” till “he has turned your mourning into dancing, and put off your sackcloth, and girded you with gladness:” for “never yet failed he any one who trusted in him;” “nor said to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain.”]

DCCCCXVII

FORGIVENESS KNOWN AND ENJOYED

  Isai. 38:17.

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

IN all the Scriptures there is not any thing more tender and pathetic than this “writing of Hezekiah after he had recovered from his sickness.” In it he delineates all his feelings in the view of his expected dissolution. He could appeal to God that he had “walked before God with truth and with a perfect heart;” and yet in the prospect of death was more alarmed and agitated than any other person of whom we read. To account for this, commentators have supposed that he had respect only to the welfare of his Church and people, who by his removal would lose the benefit of all his past exertions for their good, and of those which he yet contemplated. But whilst we agree in ascribing much of his grief to this, we yet think that it by no means sufficiently accounts for many of his expressions, which evidently refer to his own personal concerns. In our text he complains that “for peace he had had great bitterness;” though from it he was now mercifully relieved. His “anguish being now changed,” he returned thanks to God, saying, “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”

These words of his I shall,

  I.      Explain—

They may not unfitly be considered as referring to,

  1.      The recovery of his body—

[Sickness and death were originally introduced by sin: and in many instances have they been inflicted in token of God’s displeasure on account of sin. The leprosy of Miriam was a visitation on account of sin, as was that also of Gehazi. And the worms which preyed on the vitals of King Herod received their commission from an offended God. Even the Christian Church is exposed to the same kind of correction from the hand of an angry Father: for, on account of the abuses which obtained among the Corinthians at the Lord’s supper, “many were weak and sickly among them, and many had fallen asleep.” Not unfrequently were temporal judgments inflicted with an express view to prevent the necessity of inflicting far heavier judgments in the world to comed.

Now it seems evident that Hezekiah viewed his sickness in this light, namely, as a judgment sent from God on account of some iniquity which he had committed. As the enemies of David said in his sickness, “An evil disease, that is, a disease judicially inflicted, cleaveth fast unto him;” and as the enemies of the Lord Jesus accounted him to be judicially “stricken, smitten of God, and afflictedf;” so did Hezekiah judge respecting himself at that time: he thought that God was now “calling his sins to remembrance,” and punishing him on account of them.

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