The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 91

I. 80111E DEB0RIPTI0NB OF CHRIST'S CHUBOH are given us ln the paesage now before us. The Church is composed of those who are" escaped of Israel;" those, tho.t is, who have come out from the world, and are separate; who have escaped through the re~cuinge of Divine mercy; who have been "plucked as brands from the burning." The bond uniting them together, and securing upon them the Divine blessing, is no personal peculiarity, no extraordinary goodness or attainment of their own. It ie not that they, differing from all others, have been without sin, but that the Lord has redeemed them from sin; the mark of the Lord's rescue must be upon them all. They are the left ones, the preserved ones, the escaped ones, the monuments of Divine mercy. But the description should keep us from a serious mistake. They are :lvt merely d,·/ivered ones ; they are escrrped, ones, that word conveying the idea tho.t their own energy has been put forth, their own will was in the escape. The hand of the angel "'a~ indeed upon them, but they also themselves hasted forth, and fled from the s11iritual Sodom. II. The text describes the CHARACTER OF CHRIST'S CHURCH. "Shall be called holy." The name thus put upon the Church is that of its most necessary and distinguishing quality. The term does not imply that each member has attained this holiness, but that each one has it in his heart as his great aim, and makes it, in his daily life, his great pursuit. "God bath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." We are "called to be saints," and the central idea of holiness is not absolute purity, but separation from sin, and unto God; separation from the world, from self-seeking, self. indulgence, self-serving, from all forms and features of evil; and separation unto every- thing that is righteous and lovely and of good report. This, then, is to be the one distinction of the members of Christ's Church-the one thing which they are to main- tain by their union together; their consecration unto God to the doing of his will; the choosing of what he will approve; the following whithersoever he may lead. 'l'he man who thus, in heart and life, is set on God, is in his measure a holy man, a saint. The Church which, in its collected life and labour, is thus set on God, is also in its measure a holy Church, made up of "saints and faithful brethren in Christ Jesus." 'rhe members of Christ's Church may properly be described as" e. peculiar people.'' Not odd, but peculiar; as an angel from heaven would be if he dwelt among men; peculiar, as Christ was when he went to and fro among the people of Judrea. Nowadays we too often find the Church striving to rob away all the marks of her peculiarity. The question asked by those who have been "called to be saints" is-How near may we go towards the world? To what extent may we yield. to its enticements? What of common earthly lu..xury and self-indulgence may we have without absolutely imperil- ling our eternal safety? While the Church asks such questions even in secret, and by its conduct and spirit rather than by its language, it is proved to be fallen-and falling -from the Divine standard. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father ia not in him." " Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."-R. T. Vere. 4-6.-0hrist', gracious dealings with his Church. In this passage they are presented under three forms: (1) as cleansings, (2) as guidings, (3) as preservings. L CHRIST 18 EVEB WOil.KING WITH A VIEW TO THE CLEANSING AND PURIFYING OF HIS CnuncH, so that it might be presented at last" a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." That work of cleansing demands more constant watchful- fulne~s, care, and toil than we are wont to in,agine. It requires that the Church, as a Church, shall pass again and again under Divine chastenings. We recognize how much the Lord does for us, as individuals, by the perplexities and disappointments and sorrows of our lives, but we do not so readily or so fully admit that such experiences are also needed for our Churches. Uninterrupted prosperities as surely imperil the life of the Christian Church as of the Christian man.· Indulgences in sin hurt Churches. The neglect of Church duties, the spirit of idle contentment, growing tendenc,: _to self-satisfaction, disregard of holy living, and the encroachments of the worldly spmt, all l.turt and spoil the Church. Under the influence of such things the light of the Church will as surely wax dim as the candle iu a foul atmosphere; the witness of the Church will become fainter than a whisper; the unity of the Church will be broken up, and its work will lie about it untouched. The descriptions of the seven Churches ol OH, V, 1-30.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 77