Ver. 1."°""."The burden of the Lord. "The burden of Babylon" (see eh. xv.1; xvii. 1; xix. 1, etc.). The use of the word" burden," to signify a message and its subsequent expansion .into the phrnse "the burden of the Lord" (see Jer. xxiii. 33), suggest to US;-. • J.. THAT TO ALL MEN EVERYWHERE BELONGS THE SACRED DUTY OF caB.RYING TUE MESSAGE)> OF GoD. The term here used may simply signify this-the bearing of the Word of God to those for whom it was intended. This is 11 work which belongs to every filial son, to every faithful servant. Possessed of it ourselves, aod experiencing its exceeding precicusoess, we are to convey it to all who aro. in need of it. We can all carry to the .souls of men "the will of God concerning them in Christ Jesus,'' liis Divine desire that they should turn from. all iniquity, should believe in his Sou,their Saviour and Lord, and should.follow him in e\·ory path of purity, integrity, lo,ve, . , , II. THAT ON SOME MEN THERE SOMETIMES DEVOLVES THE PAINFUL DUTY OF DELIVER- ING BURDENSOME MESSA.0ES 1moM Goo. 'l'his was notably the case with the Hebrew prophets. They were frequently commissioned to convey unpleasant, unpalatable truths to men and naUons, such as few cared to announce nud none li!{ed to receive; e.g. the message of Moses to Pharaoh, of Nathan to David, and of Elijah to Ahab; such, also, ns these" burdens" to Babylon, Moab, Egypt. The faithful parent, teacher, minister, Ima often a message to make known which is a burden in this sense; it is that which is likely to weigh heavy on the heart of him that receives it; it is (1) the condem• 236 TllE BOOK OF 'l'liE PROPHE'1' ISAlAll. [orr. :uu. 1-22.
nation by the RighteC1us One of some form of sin and wrong; (2) it is t.he pnrposo of him who is the True One to visit persistent folly and impenitence with the marks of his Di'<"ine displeasure both in the body and in the spirit, both here and hereafter, JTJ. THAT ON THOSE IN WHOM IS 'l'IIE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, SACRED TRUTH BESTS AS A BURDE_N, fro~ which they ea~ only be delivered_ by faithful utterance, So was it with the Saviour himself (Luke xu. 50); and so with the prophets (Ps. xxxix. 3 • Job xxxii. 18; Jer. xx. 9) ; and so with the apostles (1 Cor. ix. 16). So should it be' with us. We ought to feel burdened with a sense of the sin and sorrow of the world, tocrether with the fact that we have in our minds the knowledge of those truths whi~h are divinely suited to destroy that sin and to disperse that sorrow. This is "the burden of the Lord," resting on the man in whom is much of the Spirit of Christ--a burden which will only be lifted from him when he has spoken his most earnest word and done his most devoted work, to teach, to heal, to save.-C.
Vers. 2---5.-7Vie kingdom of God. These stirring, eloquent words of the prophet describing the gathering of the hosts at the summons of Jehovah speak to us of- I. THE EXCEEDING BREADTH OF THE DIVINE CLAlll. All things, all nations, are Jehovah's; all these hosts that are to be gathered together are "my sanctified ones;" they are "my mighty ones." They did not know him, but, notwithstanding, God claims them as belonging to himself. He does claim all nations and peoples as his own ; not only those who own their allegiance, but those also who are ignorant of his Name, and are worshippers at other shrines. II. THE OOMPREHE?-SIVENESS OF THE DIVINE PURPOSE. God has his purposes (1) regarding the various nations of the earth. He had a certain work for his own pcop)e, Israel, to accomplish. But his " wise designs" covered a far wider area than any Holy Land; they embraced Syria, Assyria, Babylonia, Media, Persia, Egypt, Rome, Greece, etc. He arranged for them a part to play in his great redemptive scheme. But though this large aspect is a true one, a.nd Isaiah, in prophetic vision, heard the "noise of a multitude . . . like as of a great people, .•. a noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together," coming "from a far country," yet is it equally true, and it is a truth of at least equal value, that God has his purposes (2) respecting each humble individual life. The Christian minister has the right, without special vision, to declare to every man that God has a purpose to be fulfilled in his particular life, and that he is marshalling events and mlll!tering "forces" in order that it may be carried out. It ought to raise our estimate of the sacredneBB and value of the life God bas given us to live on the earth when we remember that "every man's life is a plan of God," and that by it he desires and designs to accomplish some especial end. III. THE GRE.An."Ess OF DIVINE POWER. I. We understand that God has unlimited power over unresisting, inert matter. 2. We have a larger view of his omnipotence when we realize that he controls all sentient life, making every living creature to praise and serve him. 3. Our thought rises far higher as we consider how he is directing the activities of his obedient children, his voluntary servants, in all worlds. 4. We reach the largest and loftiest conception of Divine wisdom and power, in marvellous co- operation, when we dwell on his overrtding energy. Jehovah so turns the selfish and ungodly projects of kings and arwies to his own Divine account, that he can speak of Medes and PersianB as " his sanctified ones," or as those set apart by him for this especial work; that he can represent them as "rejoicing in his highness" when they were eagerly bent on their own purposes; that he can designate them "the weapons of his indignation." (1) We little think how, under Divine interposition, we are contri- buting to one cause when we are absorbed in another, (2) How immeasurably preferable is the eervice which is voluntary and conscious to that which is involuntary and unconscious I It is only the former which gives pleasure to the Supreme, and which will secure approval and reward for the human worker.-C. Ver. 6.-" 7Vie day of the Lord." We may truly speak of every day as a "day of the Lord." For when does the morning come on which we cannot say, "'l'his is the day which the Lord has made" (Ps. cxviii. 24)? Every day brings with it fresh tokens of his presence, new proofs of his power. The refreshment and invigoration of sleep, the provisions of the table, the enjoyment of the hearth, the activities of outward life, the OH, XIII, 1--2:!,] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 237