Isai. xxviii. 5. In that day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a crotvn of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people.
THE sublime expressions of Scripture frequently raise in our minds a pleasing sensation, while yet we entertain but very confused notions of the truths contained in them. It is scarcely possible to read the words of the text without being struck with wonder and admiration : but we cannot enter into their full import without a careful attention to the
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preceding context. Samaria was the capital of the ten tribes : it was situated on a high hill, and sur- rounded by fertile vallies, which were skirted with other hills : hence it was compared to a crown or chaplet ; which, while it adorned the adjacent coun- try, marked its pre-eminence above all the other cities of Israel. But for the pride and intemperance of its inhabitants, God denounced his judgments against it, declaring that this beautiful chaplet should be " a fading flower," and this boasted fortress, a desolation. He foretold that its wealth and beauty should but excite the avidity of its enemies, who, as soon as they came against it, should prevail over it, and greedily devour it, as one would devour a deli- cious piece of fruit which he unexpectedly found hanging on a tree. Then, to mark as strongly as pos- sible, the contrast betzveen them and his faithful people, he promises that He himself will be to his people a crown of glory that shall never perish, and a diadem of beauty that shall never fade —
This was fulfilled in the preservation of the two tribes under Hezekiah from the forces of the Assy- rians, after they had destroyed Samaria and carried captive the whole kingdom of Israel. But its full accomplishment must be sought for in the blessings which God vouchsafes to his people under the Gospel dispensation. To illustrate it we must observe, that,
I. In the most degenerate times God has a remnant of faithful people — There has been no season when God has not had some faithful adherents —
[In the antediluvian world all flesh had corrupted their way, and it seemed as if the very remembrance of God had been effaced from the minds of his creatures : but yet there was one small family who maintained their steadfastness, and openly acknowledged the true God. Before God separated the Israelites for himself, the world was again reduced to a state similar to that before the deluge : vet even then there were found an Abraham, a Melchizedec, a Job, and perhaps a few others connected with them. The times of Elijah were ex- tremely degenerate : yet then, though he thought himself the only servant of God in Israel, there were seven thousand others
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that had never bowed their knee to Baal. Though therefore the knowledge of God has frequently been almost extinct, yet there never has been a period when he had not some to be his witnesses in the ages in which they lived.]
But at no time has he had more than a little rem- nant—
[When first the twelve tribes were established in Canaan, piety prevailed among that nation more than at any other period : but there is no reason to imagine that the godly bore any proportion to the ungodly ; nor, if their whole nation had been pious, did they bear any proportion to the world at large. There were many converted in the days of the Apostles ; and religion flourished far beyond what it ever did before or since that time : yet Christians were even then " like the gleanings of the olive, one or two upon the topmost boughs." The name of Christ is indeed very widely spread ; but if his professed followers be sifted, how little true wheat would be found in com- parison of the chaff! Truly it is " a little flock," " a remnant according to the election of grace;" " though the nominal Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is only a small remnant that will eventually be saved a."]