THE DEATH OF STATESMEN (_Funeral Sermon for the Right Hon. George Canning_.) Isaiah 3:1; Isaiah 3:3. _For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah … the counsellor, … and the eloquent orator_. By the death of a great statesman at the head of a government,... [ Continue Reading ]
SHAMELESS SINNERS Isaiah 3:9. _They declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not_. Extremes are generally detestable: equatorial heat, arctic cold; the speaker whom we must strain to hear, the orator who roars, &c. So in morals: foolhardy rashness, cowardice; prodigality, penuriousness; hypocrites,... [ Continue Reading ]
CHEERING WORDS AND SOLEMN WARNINGS Isaiah 3:10. _Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat of the fruit of their own doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him_. Into these two orders, the righteous and the... [ Continue Reading ]
BLIND LEADERS Isaiah 3:12. _O my people, they which lead thee_ [550] _cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths_. [550] The marginal reading, “they which call thee happy” (Malachi 3:12; Malachi 3:15), represents vividly the method adopted by the false prophets; who, instead of warning th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PLEADER AND THE JUDGE Isaiah 3:13. _The Lord standeth up to plead, &c._ I. THE PLEADER WHO HERE PRESENTS HIMSELF. Note 1. HIS MAJESTY. The ancient idea of an advocate was that of a venerable person who would be heard for his own sake, and who would therefore be able to secure for the cause of... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPRESSION OF THE POOR Isaiah 3:15. _What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts_. That infidelity should progress among the labouring classes is one of the most surprising and unreasonable things imaginable. For there is no book so em... [ Continue Reading ]
HAUGHTINESS Isaiah 3:16. _Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, … therefore the Lord will smite_. A terrible doom is here denounced against the Jewish women, not because they were vicious, but because they were haughty. Haughtiness is found also in men, though in them... [ Continue Reading ]
FEMALE PRIDE AND LUXURY Isaiah 3:16, Isaiah 4:1. _Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, &c._ We have here a terrible denunciation of female pride and luxury. Consider— I. ITS COMMONNESS. In almost every age and country there have been women such as are here described.... [ Continue Reading ]