hum1m aid-" trust in Egypt, fly to AssyriR "--thi,nk to be safe if some great klna, or powerful stMesm&n, or important country, will take them under protection. But e;ery such refnge is nntrustwonhy. St.Rtes prove themselves" brnised reeds," in the ,time 0f trouble, "piercing the hand which leans on them" (2 Kings xviii. 21). Princes disappoint expectRtion, and show that "there is no help in them" (Ps. cxlvi. 8). St.Rtesmen find it inconvenient ro redeem the pledges which they have given, and tum a deaf e.ar to the appeals for aid addressed to them. But the ear of God is always open to men's cries. They may appeal with confidence to him either in- I. TITE EARTHLY ZION, his holy mountain, the "city set upon an hill" (Matt. T, 14), in which he has promised that there shall dwell his presence for ever, The Church of God, founded upon the sure rock of faith in Christ, is a refuge from the assaults of doubt and unbelief, from the wiles of Satan, from the seductions of evil men. When the great amiy of unbelief advances, like a smoke from the north (ver. 31), _and threatens to obscure the whole world with the dark mantle of agnosticism, marshalling its hosts with military precision, so that "there is not one straggler at the rendez• vous," let men r,·member one thing, "The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people may trust in it" (ver. 32). 'l'he poor of his people, such as feel themselves "wretched, nn<l miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. iii. 17), may find in the Church of Christ-the Church with which he continues always, "even unto the end of the world "-a refuge, a defence, a rallying-point, from which they may defy the dark host of their enemies. Against the Church the gates of bell shall not prevail. Her Lord is her Defender, and wi.11 give her victory over all. her foes.. The Lord~s people may safely trust in her. Or, if this does not suffice, if (as happens to men, in some mood,) every earthly stay seems vain, they may go "boldly to the throne.of grace" (I-fob. iv. 16), and address themselves directly to God in-., . . • . II. 'l'nE REA VENLY ZION-the "heaven of heavens "-the sphere. where he sits enthroned above angels and archangels, yet from which he is ever lending an attentive car to the cry of all his creatures. The earthly Zion is but a temp_orary abiding-place for individu.'\lo; the heavenly Zion is alone their true home. In the heavenly Zion alone are they wholly safe-saved, garnered, gathered in, secure for ever. 'l'here is the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. xxii. 1); there is "the river of the water of life, clear as crystal" (Rev. xxii. 1); there is the "tree of life," with its "twelve manner of fruits," and its leaves which are" for the healing of the nations" (Rev; iiii. 2). The earthly Zion is bnt a type of the heavenly; it is on the heavenly that oar thoughts should rest, our minds dwell, our spirits stay themselves (Ool. iii. 1-3).
HOMILIES BY V ARTOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-23.-tong of redeemed Israel. I. THE OCCASION OF THE BONG.: (Vera. 1-3.) The immediate purpose of that awful convulsion of the nations described in the preceding cha,,tcr was judgment; but beyond this lies the purpose of mercy. The inspired song of Israel is ever of "mercy and judgment." One loving purpose works, whether through the hiding of the cloud and the storm, or in the manifest brightness of the calm summer <lay. Whether he makes himself known to us amidst terror and trembling, -or in peace and tranq nilly flowing ~ours, "Go~'s in his ~eaven, all's right with the world." After the storm comes the still small voice, heard m the sanctuary, echoed in the heart," F,ear not; I am with thee." Jehovah will give his people rest in their land from the cruel sufferings of slavery. 'l'he heathen will look on, astonished at the deliverance of I.srael, and will be convinced that there is a truth in the religion of Israel superior to that of their own. 'l'hey will escort the people of Jehovah to tho sacred 1,lace, and there Lecome attached to their service as dependents. To the pro- phetic conscience it iscews that this is but in accordance with the law of compensatiou. It seems preposterous, nothing less than an invasion of the true order of things, f?r a community which holds the purest principles to be enslav~d to one whose I?W~r 1s built on falsehood. 'l'he conscience of the eophet teaches lum that BS God _IS right. so there must be a n,ctification of the worlds wrong. 'J'he present first must become tlic last, and the last first, and the world must be turned upside down, t_hat Israel may vcL.ain auu retain h~r destined lead among the nations, '!'his is a leading ideal of on. :nv. 1-82.] 'rllE BOOK OF 'l'HE PROPHET ISAIAH. 251