UNSPARING REPROOF Isaiah 58:1. _Cry aloud and spare not, &c._ Faithful dealing always objected to: called fault-finding, indulging in personalities, &c. The old cry is still heard, “Prophesy unto us smooth things.” O for the prayer (Psalms 139:23). I. ISRAEL’S SINFULNESS. A whole catalogue of sins... [ Continue Reading ]
FORMALISM Isaiah 58:2. _Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, &c._ One of the most wicked things that Machiavel ever said was this: “Religion itself should not be cared for, but only the appearance of it; the credit of it is a help; the reality and use is a cumber.” Such notions are... [ Continue Reading ]
PERIODICAL FASTS Isaiah 58:4. _Ye shall not fast as ye do this day._ Periodical fasts, such as the Ritualists would have us keep in Lent, instead of being well pleasing in the sight of God, are offensive to Him. I. THEY ARE BASED UPON A FALSE CONCEPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD. Their promoters say:... [ Continue Reading ]
A PLEA FOR THE DISTRESSED Isaiah 58:6. _Is not this the fast that I have chosen? &c._ In the former verses of this chapter we have a description of the state of heart of the Jewish people in the course of their mysterious preparation for destruction.… They are in a condition of all others the most... [ Continue Reading ]
A HEALTHY CHURCH Isaiah 58:8. _And thine health shall spring forth speedily_ I. ESSENTIALS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH. 1. _A scriptural constitution._ As Noah built the ark, Moses the tabernacle, and Solomon the temple, according to the Divine instructions; so a healthy church is formed according to the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REWARDS OF BENEVOLENCE Isaiah 58:10. _If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, &c._ The Bible has one grand and peculiar character,—it is the book of goodness; it everywhere recommends and extols the principle of benevolence; its two grand precepts are love to God and love to man. It never dis... [ Continue Reading ]
A HAPPY CHRISTIAN Isaiah 58:11. _And the Lord shall guide thee continually, &c._ The portrait of what the Christian is in his happiest times. The setting is a framework of duties (Isaiah 58:9, &c.). These blessings are not promised unconditionally, but they are fenced in with terms. I must, theref... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SABBATH [1737] [1737] See outlines on Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 56:6; and Dr. Barnes’ Commentary in _loco_. Isaiah 58:13. _If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, &c._ The first religious ordinance instituted by God in this new created earth was the Sabbath; the day of rest after six days work.... [ Continue Reading ]