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 ]