Vera. 11-15.-0ur personal relation to God. It is clearly insufficient to know that we are on the same side as that of the majority of the good. The voice of God's people is not always his voice; their way not always his way (ver.11). They may call for" a confederacy" when he disapproves of it. They may cry "peace" when he sees only present confusion and future disaster. They may be shaken with fear when they ought to be calm and trustful (ver. 12). They may be full of complacency when they ou~ht to be overwhelmed with shame. We shall not be to God that which he demands of us, except we come into distinct, direct relation to himself. I. THAT GOD SOMETIMES ACTS Ul'ON us WITH CONSTBAINING POWER. "The Lord spake with a strong hand n (ver. 11; see Ezek. iii. 14). The Divine impulse was one that the prophet felt he must not resist. Not that it was absofotely irresistible, but one that a faithful man knew that he must not hesitate to obey. God often acts up<'n the soul of men with strong and urgent power to constrain or to restrain. He approaches and influences us thus by (1) his Divine providence; (2) one or other of the privileges he has provided for us; (3) his Holy Spirit. II. THAT GOD HIMSELF IS THE TRUE REFUGE OF THE HUM.AN SOUL. (Vers. 13, H.) Here is: 1. Our duty. We are to fear God, to pay a reverential regard to his will, to shrink from that which grieves him, to" dread" his wrath. 2. Its recompense. "He shall be for a Sanctuary." In him, as in a pavilion, we shall hide. He will either deliver us from trouble by saviug us from our enemies or in trouble, by granting us the sustaining grace which makes us "more than conquerors" in the midst of it. l f we who are his "saints" will but "fear him" with obedient reverence, we &hall tlieu "have nothing else to fear."
"How was it, lovers of your kind, Though ye were mooked and hated, Thtlt ye, with olear and patient mind, Truth's holy doctrine stated? In God as in nn ark ye kept; Around, and not above you, swept 'l'bo flood till it l\bl\ted," 158 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
III. THAT TO RESIST Gon IS TO WAJ,K IN Tlllil WAY OF WRONG A~D l\UIN,: .God is~ to the pcrrerse nnd the !"lbelhous, "a Stone of-stumbling and a Rook of offence " (ver. -14 ). God must. be evcrythrng to us, for life or death. If ollr rehtion to him is not to us the fountain of everlasting joy, then it will be to us the source of unspeakable sornnv. 'l'he rejection of his trut.h and of himself will be our sin on earth, our condemnation in judgment, the subject and source of our remorse and retribution in the long hereafter, Our God is One whom it is infinitely worth while to make our Friend, and One whom we must not make our Enemy~ if we have any love for ourselves, any. interest in our own destiny,---0. ---
Vers. 16--18.-The teacher's distress and his consolation. Those who have taken positions of prominence or of influence in the Church of Christ have to bear their own p('culiar burdens as they are gladdened with their own especial joys. 'l'he teacher of Divine truth., in whatever particular sphere he may be engaged, whether it be a hiah or a humble one, is subject to his own di~couragemcnts and encouragements, If we a:k what &re-'- I. Hrs SPECIAL TRIALS, the answer to that question is this : Apparent failure in hi~ work, with all the sorrows such discomfiture involves. It is an intensely bitter experi- ence for a human soul to pass through. What can be more distressing to one w-ho earnestly longs for, and is striving to promote, "the kingdom of God," than to look on and see faithful labonrs break down and issue in nothing? Such was the keen sorrow of Isaiah. It secrnrd to him as if God were "hiding his face from the. house of Jacob" (ver. 17); for the l'eople would not welcome his truth, would n·ot walk in his ways, would not trust in his mighty power. So was it with the. preacher of, righteousness (2 Pet. ii. 5--8), and with the psalmist (Ps.. cxix. 136), and with Elijah (I Kings xix. 10), and with Paul (Gal. i. 6; iii. 1 ; Phil. ii. 21; Acts xx. 29, 30); and so was it with the Mastrr himself (John Yi. 66, 6i). The human teacher. nt such- times is grievously troublecl, for he is apt to conclude (1) that God may be dissatisfied with his testimony; or (2) that he hilUSelf has not been a.s wise or as faithful as 4e mi.gilt have been; or (3) that those whom he has been addressing have incurred serious guilt,, But let us ask what are- II. H.rs co:,-;sou.TIONS. They are such as these: i. There are disciples who l~a,rn the truth and love it. "Bind up the t.estimony . . . among my disciples" (ver. lfi), Isaiah was not without some who received his word, and for whom he could pl'ay tha~ it would be engraven on their hearts. Elijah and Paul had theirdisciples; the Master, we know, bad his. If we will look further, we shall find that there are fruits on the bough, though m.i.ny branches be barren; good results are not invisible, though they are not so apparent as we could wish. 2. The God ef all truth is with us, and his ea;r is open to our appeal "I will wait upon the Lord" (ver. 17). Al! hearts are in his hand ; he is eam~lly desirous of blessing his children; his promisec. aid is a· strong assurance. 3. The h'IJ,man teacher is the organ of Divine truth. "I and the. chil~ren a.re for signs and wonders . . . from the Lord of hosts" (ver, 18). Even their very names were significant of some truth which came from Jehovah himself. Everything about the prophet, down to his children's names, was ordered from above. 'fho prophet only taught that which he was inspired to teach, and the truth of the everlasting God must ultimately prevail God will not let the words of him who speaks fai1hfully "fall to the ground" (1 Sam. iii. 19). Even as the word of him who was" the 'l'ruth" should oe,,er pass a.way, so shall the words of his faithful disciples abide, doing their work in unsuspect-ed places and in unimagined ways. The truth we have received from the Lord of hosts ID.ll.Y long be hidden, but it will not be lost.-C. • Vers. 19-22.-The confession of ungodliness, etc. The prevalence of the evil and sinister arts of necromancy is exceedingly significant. 'l'he attempt to supply know- ledge for the living by appealing to the dead (ver. 19) has been made in every latitude and longitude, in every age, in every condition of society. What is the significance of this fa.et? We have here- I. THE CONFESSION OF UNGODLlllESS AND IT8 DEGRADATION. When men have thrown off their alkgiance to God, when they have denied the exis~nce of their Crea.tor, when they have explicitly rdused to seek and to serve him "1n whom they ou. vru. 1-22.] 'IHE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 159