_Woe to Ariel_ ARIEL The simplest meaning of “Ariel” is “lion of God”; but it also signifies “hearth of God” when derived from another root. In the former sense it comes to mean “a hero,” as in 2 Samuel 23:20; Isaiah 33:7;and in the latter it occurs in Ezekiel 43:15 for the brazen hearth of the gr... [ Continue Reading ]
_As a dream of a night vision_ THE VISIONS OF SIN There are two grand truths of a most stirring import unfolded in the text. 1. That wicked men are frequently employed to execute the Divine purpose. The Almighty determined to humble Jerusalem, and He employed Sennacherib as the engine of His just... [ Continue Reading ]
_Stay yourselves, and wonder, they are drunken, but not with wine_ SPIRITUAL DRUNKENNESS By spiritual drunkenness (Isaiah 29:9) we are probably to understand unsteadiness of conduct and a want of spiritual discernment. (_J. A. Alexander._) SPIRITUAL DRUNKENNESS WORSE THAN BODILY, AND MORE PREVAL... [ Continue Reading ]
_The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed_ THE UNIVERSALITY OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS What is affirmed in these verses holds so strikingly true of God’s general revelation to the world, that we deem the lesson contained in them to be not of partial, but permanent app... [ Continue Reading ]
_This people draw near Me with their mouth_ RITUALISM When any form so obtrudes itself as to be a hindrance instead of a help to the worshipper, that is ritualism. (_Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone._) FORMALISM All vice is said to be an abuse of virtue; all evil, good run mad. Generosity may become ex... [ Continue Reading ]
_Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord_ THE FOLLY OF ACTING SEPARATELY FROM GOD I. THEIR POLITICS DESCRIBED (Isaiah 29:15). The consultations they had about their own safety they kept to themselves, and never asked God’s advice concerning them. See what foolish, fruitles... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field_ THE FRUITFUL FIELD AND THE FOREST The comparison is evidently not between the high and the low, but between the cultivated and the wild, the field and the forest. (_J. A. Alexander._) THE FIRST LAST AND THE LAST FIRST The only natural interpretati... [ Continue Reading ]
_The deaf. .. the blind. .. the meek. .. the poor_ THE GOSPEL DAY I. We may regard these words as containing A DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE IN WHICH THE GOSPEL FINDS THOSE TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED. The epithets are designed to be descriptive of their spiritual character. II. THE PLEASING INTIMATION WH... [ Continue Reading ]
_The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel_ REASONS WHY THE POOR MAY REJOICE IN GOD One of the most striking proofs of the Divine origin of Christianity is its universal adaptation to the condition and the wants of the whole family of men. It is not designed to be the religion of... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the terrible one is brought to nought_ SCORNERS AND THEIR PUNISHMENT Observe what had been the wickedness of these scorners, for which they should be cut off. 1. They ridiculed the prophets and the serious professors of religion. They despised them, and did their utmost to bring them into co... [ Continue Reading ]