_Listen, O isles, unto Me_ A FORECAST OF THE UNIVERSAL RELIGION In the previous Chapter s we find very glorious things spoken of the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon. But in this chapter we seem to commence a new departure, to rise to a higher strain, and to launch out into broader and grande... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword_ A SHARP SWORD 1. God does not undo, in His relationship to us as Re-creator, the work which He has already performed as Creator. He does not strip us of our natural faculties, and endow us with others altogether distinct from these. Our natural facult... [ Continue Reading ]
_And said unto me, Thou art My servant_ THE SERVICE OF MAN THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S HIGHEST GLORY How numerous are God’s servants! All things in heaven and upon earth, all worlds, all elements, and all creatures are His servants, which obey His word, and declare His greatness and glory. But of a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then I said, I have laboured in vain_ CHRIST IN PROPHECY These prophetic sayings go to Christ, not outside of and separate from man’s struggle, but in and through it. As all true Christians are living over again, in an imperfect way, the details of Christ’s own experience, so were all true godly... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now, saith the Lord_ PARADOXES OF PROPHECY I would weigh with you two of those larger, and at the same time intense paradoxes of prophecy, which run throughout the prophetic word, and which Isaiah, in these wonderful words concentrates in one. 1. That He, who was foretold should Himself be t... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant_ THE EVANGELICAL PROPHET: HIS WIDE OUTLOOK In the whole of this prophetical book there is not a single verse in which the character of the evangelical prophet is more conspicuous than it is here. How must he have been transported... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel_ THE REDEEMER OF ISRAEL Israel shall be raised from the deepest degradation to the highest honour. The verse is remarkable as anticipating the main idea of Isaiah 52:13. (_Prof. J. Skinner, D. D._) CHRIST’S FUTURE REIGN I. THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN OF TH... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time_ THE WORLD GIVEN TO CHRIST The prophet was looking forward to the Messiah and His times. It was customary for some kings to grant to favoured ones whatever they requested (Psalms 2:8). God’s kingly Son is represented as having asked, and this is the ans... [ Continue Reading ]
_That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth_ OUT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT When Jesus comes to the soul, He delivers us from that direst of all bondages, fetches us out from that cruellest of all slaveries, the bondage of the spirit, the slavery of the heart. Then we are told that, if there are... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall not hunger nor thirst_ PROMISE OF CHRIST TO HIS PEOPLE The people of God are represented as a flock of sheep travelling under the care of their good shepherd, in the heat of summer, through a barren and dry wilderness, towards a land of plenty, security, and everlasting rest. Under su... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will make all My mountains a way_ GOD’S MOUNTAINS Since the world was, mountains have been the obstructors of ways, the natural frontiers between nations, the barriers that have kept people separate, disunited, and hostile. And yet even in the natural sphere the fact of the existence of mou... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, these shall come from far_ GATHERED FROM AFAR Whatever bearing this prophecy may have had upon the time of Isaiah, or the time immediately after him, it has an important bearing on the time of the Messiah, and the course of His kingdom. The sentiment is that the redeemed Church of Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me_ THE MORE THAN PARENTAL LOVE OF GOD I. ZION’S BUILDING. “Zion” here signifies the true Church. Elsewhere she is called Jerusalem; and very frequently is she spoken of as a city or building. 1. If we inquire who is her builder, we find that there is but on... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can a woman forget her sucking child?_ UNFORGETTING LOVE 1. As. Jehovah,, had just been announcing His” purposes of world-wide mercy--salvation “to the ends of the earth”--we may take these words, in the first instance, as the plaint of literal Israel: “The Lord has chosen the Gentile, and in do... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands_ GOD’S LOVING REGARD FOR HIS PEOPLE It is not only the name of Zion which is engraved on His hands, but her picture. And it is not her picture as she lies in her present ruin and solitariness, but her restored and perfect state. “Thy walls ar... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lift up thine eyes round about--_ PROMISES FOR THE CHURCH I. THE PROMISED INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. 1. In number. 2. In honour. 3. In triumph. II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT IT AFFORDS US FOR MISSIONARY EXERTIONS. 1. God is able to effect this great thing. 2. He has engaged to effect it. 3. The begin... [ Continue Reading ]
_The children which thou shalt have._ THE CHURCH A MOTHER I. THE CHURCH IS A MOTHER. 1. Because it is her privilege to bring forth into the world the spiritual children of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. When these little ones are born, the Church’s business is to feed them. 3. It is her endeavour to... [ Continue Reading ]
_And kings shall be thy nursing fathers_ PRINCES AND RULERS SHOULD PROMOTE THE WILL OF GOD I. PRINCES, OR RULERS, AS SUCH, ARE THE POSITIVE SERVANTS OF GOD, AND THEREFORE ARE BOUND TO PROMOTE, ABOVE ALL THINGS, THE INTERESTS OF HIS REVEALED WORD, AND THE HONOUR OF HIS NAME, IN THE WELFARE OF HIS CH... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?_ DELIVERANCE FROM BONDAGE AND DEATH I. THE STATE OF FALLEN MAN IS ONE OF MISERY AND BONDAGE. 1. Misery because he is the prey of a mighty tyrant, the devil. 2. Bondage because he is the slave of a terrible master, death. II. JESUS CAN SET US FREE, FOR H... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh._ SELF-DESTRUCTION Here is a terrible picture of retributive justice. But the words represent a general principle, which is universal, in the punishment of sin. The sinner is his own avenger. I. TAKE THE DRUNKARD. He is drinking the poi... [ Continue Reading ]