Isai. liv. 13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
THE Jewish Church was often in a state of great distress, under the judgments of Almighty God. In
Babylon especially was she at the lowest ebb of de- gradation and misery. But there was consolation provided for her in a prospect of glorious times, when her light, and peace, and joy, and purity, should far exceed any thing which she had ever experienced in her most prosperous state ; and the whole Gentile worldalso should be made partakers of her blessedness.
In the words before the text, the Jewish Church is represented as a tent or tabernacle torn and " tossed by the winds," and reduced to a most deso- late condition : and a promise is given to her, that God will build her as a palace, every part of which shall be composed of precious stones ; her foundations being of sapphires, her windows of agates, her gates of carbuncles, and even her borders, or outward walls, of pleasant stones a." In her former state, her whole service consisting of rites and ordinances; she was forced to receive her instructions from men, whose peculiar duty was to ascertain and execute the will of God in every one of his appointments : and in the performance of these burthensome rites there was but little satisfaction to the soul. But in the state to which she was encouraged to look forward, a different system was to prevail : the instruction that was to be conveyed was spiritual ; and a compliance with it was to be attended with much delight. Hence it was said to her, " All thy children shall be taught of God: and great shall be the peace of thy children."
The promises here made to the Church relate to the two things which were chiefly wanted under that shadowy dispensation ; namely,
I. Divine illumination —
This is a blessing which every human being needs —
[We may obtain from men and books a speculative know- ledge of religion, as well as of any other science : but a spiritual discernment can be given us by God alone. This is declared by an inspired Apostle : " The natural man receiveth not the tilings of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- cerned1'." In like manner our blessed Lord testifies: "All
a ver. 11, 12. b 1 Cor. ii. 14.