The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 266

Ver~. 1-3.-11,e reign of st'.n and the rest of God. Taking the period of exile as a picture of the condition of ihe liuman soul when i.t is in a foreign land, under tho sway of the enemy, apart ,,nd afar from its trne heritage, and regarding the return and the "rest" (ver. 3) in their own land as a picture of the soul's condition when it has been brought back to God and bas re-entered on his service, we have here some v1'1uable sugge~tions. ,: , 1,..., I. OUR SPIRITUAL 00::-.'DITION UNDER THE REIGN OF BIN. 1. r, is one in which we may wok for sorrow, and sorrow unrelieved by those alleviations in ~hich godliness finds its solace (ver. 3). Sin aud _sorrow go hand-in-liand, or, if not thus conjoined, the latter follows surely and steadily on the steps of tho former.. The .grosser trans- gressions bring the sterner miseries, but all departure from God and from rectit11de leads down to trouble, to dissatisfaction, to sadness of spirit. 2. It is one in which anxi'.ety is always appropriate. "Thy fear" (ver. 3). For it is a condition in which the Di vine Disposer of everything is unreconciled ,to us, is .decidedly and seriously dis- pleased with us, is warn_ing ~s of an evil doom; in which _we have no right tP reckon on tlie contmuance of his krndness for another hour, and m which the termination of our earthly course places us before a judgment-bar at which we are not prepared to ·stand. 3. It i,s one of spiritual, bondage. "Thy hard bondage" (ver. 3.). How truly sin i11 a slavery we see when we regard it in its more fl_agrant forms. We see the drunkard, the opium-oater, the liar, so enslaved by their .respectiv;~. vices, that"~ry ho.w t~1qy may: to free themselves, they are held down as by an unseverable cha.in. The. children of folly are its pitiable viqtims, he1d in a "hard bondage," from which they strive. to es~, and often strive in vain. .All sin, that of omission.as well as commission, is em,laving. ·The withholding from God that which he claims leads the soul down into a :confirmed habit of neglect, of indifference, of procrastination, wh~ch holds it fast ~n}ts evil toils. 4. It is one of exile. They who are living in 1 sin are living'. in ,a coun~~y, which, emphatically, is not" their own land" (ver. 1),, 'Ji'~y wer~ cr~t~ to- live wi~ 1 God, consciously near to him, r~joicing in him, engaged ,perI1etually in, his service; unde.;, the sw3:y o~_sin~hll,pjl.~J;l 99:ws are ll,vipg_iµar_plf,~n a foreigllccountry,in a" strange land (Ps.cxxx:vu.4). • 1 ____ ., , , , 1 : : ,,; IL THE REST WBICB Gon GIVES us HERE. 1. He sets his "fteart on us to deliver us. He "has mercy on us; he cliooses us" (ver 1). .:,Ha looks upon each one qf. u1;1_with dis- tinguishing interest, affection, yearning. He "earnestly ,r~members" us, that he. puiy, save us; 2. He lP.ads us ba~k to hi'Tfl,Selj. By diffei;-ent,wa.ye he leads us,h.Qme, and "ee,ts us in.our own land." He so'·.acts upon cmr souls, in his grace and in liis providence, tba.t we are led to penitenc~ and faith, and,thus fin,d ourselves baclt in.his fa.vo,qr, and his service. 3. The condition to wp,ich ..God restores us is one of spiritual,.r.ut, (1) We rest from sorrow in the possession of inward peace and abiding fay, . (2). We rest from fear in the enjoyment of well~_groµnded tr?µt, a.nil a.Jiape which will never make ashamed. (3) We rest from bondage in the .herHag~ of a spiritual free.dom (Jo41l viiL 36; Rom. viii 21; Gal. v.1, 13). 4. The rut wh~,h we ,h,cwe/TfJ'!ll M,m is ~si~t~nA wiJ,h a "large 'll'Ulaliure of holy usefulness, The !)hiJ,4r~n of Isr~jll w1ir~, t\> take b~ck; ,witji them to their own land these" strangers," who were thenceforth to be their ser.va.nts; instead of their oppressors (vers. 1, 2). So are the-~hildren _of God, by pa.tiimt, strenuous activity, to win their adversaries to the faith and love of .Christ; to mak~ them possessors of the privileges of the kingdom. of God even with th~mselvee, and t~ secnra their active help in the conquests they have still to make.--0. . Vers. 4--23.-Sin and its humiUations. This strong, poetical utterance of Isaiah~ though primarily directed against one p!!,rticular city and, probably; one individual king, ma.y convey to us all some 8ervicea.ble lessons respecting sin generally, and more especially the humiliations which are in itl;) tr)lin. Weg:i,ther the~efrom- , I. 'IRAT THE OPPilESSIVENESS OF SIN, TllOUGli LONG CONTINUED, WILL CERT.A.INLY DE BROKEN DOWN. (VerJ;. 4-7.) Sin is constantly, naturally, oppressive. It grasps at power that H may wield it to its own satisfaction, irrespective of the rights of the weak and the helpless. Often its usurpation, like that of Babylon, is very long con- tinued. Tbe oppressed are weary 11ndcr (.heir affliction; they cry patiently to Heaven for deliverance and redress; they are .sometimes apt to think that they are forgottc11 by. the righteous and merciful One. Dut they .are not unobserved .by him (Exod. iii. 7).  259