Isai. xliii. 22 — 26. Thou hast not called upon me, 0 Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, 0 Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings ; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor ivearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices : but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast ivearied me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgres- sions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance : let us plead together : declare thou, that thou may est be justified.
THE sinfulness of man, and the goodness of God, are subjects which mutually illustrate each other : neither can be viewed in its true colours, unless it be considered in its relation to the other : but both ap- pear in perfection, when they are brought into imme- diate contrast together. This is the view in which they are frequently presented to us in the holy Scrip- tures, and especially in the passage now before us ; in which we have,
I. A contrasted view of God's conduct towards us, and of ours towards him —
God has not required any oppressive services of us —
[God, as the author of our being, has a right to all our time, and all our faculties : but he requires of us only one day in seven, to be spent in his more immediate service. The law, which he imposed upon the Jews, appeared indeed burthen- some, through the infirmity of their flesh; though, when considered in its true light, it ought not to have appeared soa. As for us, we are wholly freed from that yoke, and have only two easy and significant rites to observe. Nor is the moral law burthensome ; for the whole substance of it is, Be holy, and be happy b: and if a permission were given us to violate any one of its commands, it would be, in fact, a dispensation to make ourselves miserable.]
But we have been backward to offer him any token
of respect and love —
[The Jews grudged to purchase a little calamus for the holy perfume and incense0. Nor, if they brought any sacri- fices, would they present the fat and good of their flocks, but rather, such as were lean and refuse d. Thus have we been averse to "call upon him," being soon " weai-y" of that holy
employment or, if we have just waited upon God in
his outward ordinances, we have withheld from him that which alone could render our services pleasing in his sight, the tri- bute of an humble, contrite, and grateful heart. To mortify our lusts, and exercise devout and heavenly affections, would have cost us more pain and labour than we have been willing to afford : we have therefore wholly declined such services, and contented ourselves with offering only the cheap sacrifices of external and occasional formalities.]
Yea, instead of serving him aright, we have even " wearied him with our iniquities" —
[How awful the charge, which God himself here brings against us ! He, who might justly demand any thing of us, has not required of us any great services, or wearied us with an intolerable yoke : but we, who are bound by every tie to please and honour him to the uttermost, have quite oppressed and wearied him by our long continued iniquities, till he is even " pressed under us, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves6." There is scarcely an evil desire, which we have not harboured and indulged. Pride, envy, malice, revenge,
a It was necessary, in order to keep them separate from the heathen : it was the means of directing their attention to the Messiah, and of preparing them for the fuller light and liberty of the Gospel : it was also the means of their maintaining communion with the Deity, and of obtaining his richest blessings.