That man will find sin obstinate, inveterate, indwelling, slow to confess itself beaten, is precisely in accordance with the implication of Scripture, which proceeds to repeat and urge the assurance that the grace of God will secure for man victory in the end. Establishment so firm that we need neither yield to temptation nor waver in faith, but may find ourselves strong enough to stand erect amidst the play upon us of all evil in- fluences, and to hold our own against every foe ; the rock felt to be steady beneath our feet, the favour of God compassing us as a shield, and the shelter of His wings above ; life spent day after day in ever closer, quieter, more dutiful fellowship with Him, and from that fellowship power streaming into every faculty^ until the entire manner of living becomes an irresistible testimony to the grace of God, a restraint upon evil, a theme of praise to " all the earth," — that is the hope concerning ourselves which the Bible warrants our cherishing.^
1 Our lives ought to be like the mirror of a reflecting tele-
^ R. W. Moss, TTic Discipline of the Soul, p. 158.
J
ISAIAH 485
scope. The astronomer does not look directly up into the sky- when he wants to watch the heavenly bodies, but down into the mirror, on which their reflection is cast. And so our little low lives down here upon the earth should so give back the starry bodies and infinitudes above us, that some dim eyes, which per- adventure could not gaze into the violet abysses with their lustrous points, may behold them reflected in the beauty of our life.
IT I remember hearing an old friend, long ago, speaking (in no uncharitable strain) of a neighbour, say, " I am sure he is a Christian, but he is a rather disagreeable one." He meant, I gathered, that this person took no pains at all to "adorn the doctrine." He worshipped God in Christ ; he recognised his own sinfulness and need ; he trusted his Saviour for pardon, and strove in His name to lead a pure and honest life. But it never occurred to him — at least it did not seem to do so — that part of his duty to his Lord was to learn at His feet the kindliness, the gentleness, the sympathy, the considerateness, which win and are attractive for Him. Let us see to it that we are not classed, by fair criticism, among the " disagreeable Christians." ^
^ H. C. G. Moule, Thmights for the Sundays of the Year, p. 29.
The Angel of His Presence.
■}\ p.
Literature.
Church (R. W.), Village Sermons, ii. 84.
Dyke (H. van), The Open Door, 125.
Forsyth (P. T.), Pulpit Parables for Young Hearers, 126.
Gamble (H. R.), The Ten Virgins, 115.
Kingsley (C), National Sermons, 59.
Landels (W.), Until the Day Break, 50.
Lowry (S. C), Lessons from the Passion, 51.
Maclaren (A.), Expositions : Isaiah xlix.-lxvi. 226.
Matheson (G.), Searchin^s in the Silence, 132.
Milne (W.), Looking unto Jesus, 203.
Price (A. C.), Fifty Sermons, v. 153.
Watson (J.), The Inspiration of Our Faith, 85.
Christian World Pulpit, xviii. 89 (Hell o well) ; xxvl 49 (Thomas);
xl. 43 (Clow) ; Ixxvii. 296 (Campbell). Church of England Pulpit, xxxv. 269 (Hogg). Contemporary Pulpit, 1st Ser., ii. Ill (Dykes). Preacher's Magazine, xii. 572 (Brewin).
The /ivzRL OF His Presence.
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. — Ixiii. 9.
These words occur in the course of a most affecting and pathetic prayer which the prophet utters. In the course of his prayer he recalls the wonderful love of Jehovah for His people during their early afflictions, His patience with their waywardness, and His surpassing gentleness and care while on their way to Pales- tine. He is the same mighty Helper as of old, and His mercy is not restrained.
It is an argument from God's own past, an argument which never fails to sustain His suffering saints, and it is no less cheer- ing to us than to the captive Jews ; nay, more so, all the records of His dealings with His ancient people are still witnesses to us, and from them we can gather with what manner of Saviour we have to do. We have had the clearer light of the Cross to illuminate the Christian story. We can make the use of the New Testament doubly precious when we can trace the connection between the G-od of the Old and New Testament. The media- torial office of Christ did not begin in the manger. It travels back to the door of history, before the birth of human souls. It is one Person all along the line, one character of patient loving- kindness and mercy that is revealed to us in both Testaments — more obscurely in the prophecies of the Old, more abundantly in the fulfilment of the New.
HIS SYMPATHY.
" In all their affliction he was afflicted." Wonderful are
those words. The more carefully they are studied, the more
489
490 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
surprising do they appear. It is only gradually that their meaning grows upon the mind, either filling it with increasing wonder or, where faith is strong enough to receive it, awakening overpowering feelings of gratitude and adoration. It must be understood at the outset that God's suffering is sympathetic. He shares in our afflictions, inasmuch as He has sympathy with us therein. We are so dear to Him as His children that He feels both with and for us.