THE CALL OF CYRUS A FRUIT OF THE CAPTIVITY Isaiah 41:1. _Keep silence before Me, &c._ Behold how of old the Lord called the people and the distant nations into judgment, and condescended to plead and question with them concerning the dispensations of His providence, that they might see and know th... [ Continue Reading ]
LESSONS FROM THE HEATHEN WORKERS Isaiah 41:5. _The isles saw it, and feared. &c._ These verses indicate the state of feeling which was created among the heathen nations by the rapid and victorious career of Cyrus. They remind us— 1. _That a sense of common danger promotes fraternal feeling and ac... [ Continue Reading ]
TWO KINDS OF HELP Isaiah 41:6. _They helped every one his neighbour, &c._ Isaiah 41:10. _Fear not; I will help thee, &c._ It is manifestly the intention of the prophet to exhibit the contrast between Israel and the heathen nations. In contemplating the promise of the 10th verse, we may be so absor... [ Continue Reading ]
COURAGE—ITS SOURCE AND NECESSITY Isaiah 41:13. _For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, &c._ These words were spoken to the Jews in an age of national peril and dismay; they had slowly been losing their ancient strength through a spirit of indifference, and at length the alarm had come tha... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORM AND THE MOUNTAIN Isaiah 41:14. _Fear not, thou worm Jacob, &c._ Though I have read to you only these verses, the treasury of truth upon which I intend to draw now is the whole paragraph in which they occur (Isaiah 41:10). In it the prophet comforts the Church by the promises wherewith he h... [ Continue Reading ]
CONSOLATION FOR THE DESPONDING Isaiah 41:17. _When the poor and needy seek water, &c._ I. IN WHAT EXTREMITIES GOD HERE PROMISES TO HELP HIS PEOPLE. 1. _In case of outward want_. This is a trying exercise to many, though little understood by those who have all things richly to enjoy. It is compared... [ Continue Reading ]