Ver. 1.-.Re«nJering false step,. The word "lamb" in this verse should .bo. rendered "lambs." From 2 Kings iii. 4 we learn that the tribute .rendered to the ;King of Israel by Mesba King of Moab, was a hundred thou11and lambs, and a hundred ~housaud rams with the 'wool. At the death of Ahab :Mesha refused to P"Y t)lis tdbute, and asserted his independence. In view of the exposure of Moab to aHacke •fiom"4ijeyria, this was a false step, and Mesha ie here urged to retrace that step, and at once send the tribute as n sign of renewed allegiance. 'fhe w:gency oL the casa .is :shown in the advice to send the tribute round the southern part of the Dead Sea, because the northern end was already blocked by the Assyriaos, This introduc~ the subject of oa. x\f1. 1--14,] THE I BOOK OF TilE PROPHET ISAIAH. 287
retracing our false steps i umloing the wrongs we have donej etopJ,ing back from our wllful·paths, and beginning once more in the right way. . . I.· 'l'mg 18 AllBOLUTELY NEOEBSARY WORK. Its necessity may be argued from these points of view: 1. It ie due to God'.that we fhoulcl prove our since1ity by reparation as a sign of repentance. 2. Jt. is due to those whom we have wronged that when we are brought to a right mind we ehouhl remove and undo the wrong. 3. It is due to ,ursclvee :that wo,sbonld clear away from memory and conscience the bad past, as far as its evil consequences .can be cleared. It is never enough for a man to " cease to do evil ; " he is bound to remove, as far as poSi!ible, the issues of his past evil; and the intensest bitterness a good man can ever know arises from the fact that he cannot heal the wounds he has .made, or. check the evil working of the influences he has exerted, or example· he has shown. When pleaded with in respect of his intense religious earnestness, John Newton is said to have replied, "How can the old bla~- pherner be silent?" He felt that life was not long enough, or powers large enough, for the undoing of the wrong wrought by a go<lless, vicious youth. And, further, if in life we swerve from the paths .of rectitude, we shall find tl1e~e i~ no going on round into those paths again; •We .must do one thing-we must go back the bad road we have chosen. , II. IluT THIS IS MOST DIFFICULT WORK. Ia either the larger or, smaller senses to which reference ho.a been made; , And: that becallll0: 1. It involves serious self- humiliations:: None of us can easily say, "I was wroag." 2. Because it exposes us to the scorn or the unprincipled,· who. regard all retracing of steps as a sign of weak- ness, and cannot understand the heroism of conquering the baser self. In the sense of undoing wrong that has been done it is most difficalt, because the issues of our words and deeds go on out of our reach. It is as if we dropped poison into the fountain- head of ·a river, and then in remorse.tried to-cleanse that fount. It can be done, but away down the valley. the poisoii has .been carried, and none can bring back to life the poor dead. fish that are borne on the current out to sea. The Apostle Paul never could 1,1Ddo the wrongs 0£ that time when he so bitterly persecuted the di,iciples of the Nazarene. II:L YET,'l'HIS'IB ALWAYS HOPEFULLY REMUNERATIVE woBK. It has its special rewards;,· 1 . .It satisfies our sense ,of..duty. 2. It rests a conscience which otherwise woulcl ceaS'elessly reproach. 3. It makes us clean-handed to appear before God. 4. It enables us to receive the assurance of Divine acceptance. 5. It becomes our witness to righteousness. Restitution, reparation, humbly going back the wiliul way we may have taken, meet: gracious Divine response. God. surely smiles. on the man who is brave enough to set wrongs right, and acknowleclge the fooli:iliness of his self-willed way.-R.T.
Ver; 3.-Practical. righteousness. It does not seem certain whether this counsel is addressed to Moab in relation to the people fleeing for shelter from the invasion of Sennacherib, or to Israel in relation to the outcasts from Moab. Whichever it be, the point of the counsel is that they should act. kindly, considerately, charitably. Righteousness is like "pure religion and undefiled; u it is doing something-" visiting the, fatherless and widows in their affliction." " He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous ; " " lf ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." Absolute righteousness, as before the all-searching God, is not a human possi- bility; but Scripture uses the term in reference to men. The psalmist says." Judge me according to mine integrity, and accoruing to my 1ighteousness which is in me." And our-Lord pleaded thus, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteous- ness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." I. RIGHTEOUSNESS MAY DE MERE SENTUIENT. A delusion of excited feeling, as it too. often is with persons who take up with "holiness theories." The danger of sentiment is that too often it satisfies, and iu the pleasant enjoyment of it a man has no care about,giving righteousness its duo expression. No fruits ever grew on the tree of sontimcnlRiity, and its leaves have no virtue for the healing of the nations. II. RIGHTEOUSNESS MAY BE A PnOFESSION, It is assumed in our being Christians. It is the· state into which we are called. It is guaranteed· in onr regeneration. Why, THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH, [oH, xn.1-
then, may we n<>t be satisfied with this profession? Because such righteousneea le at the best, something belonging to a class, and not to the individual ; and the o~ly right.eousness worth having is something which the individual has for himself' alone. III. RIGHTEOUSNESS MUST BE A PRACTICE. "Even as he [Christ] is rlght.eoua." and his righteousness was dist.inctly conduct, and the spirit of conduct. Righteousn:ss is truth, brotherliness, service, charity, self-denial, purity; it is God-likeness, and God is righteous in all his works. It is well for us to have and to cherish right feelings and gOO? resolves, but the question to ask ourselves is this-If we have the opportunity, do "'e give these good resolves, do we find for these good thoughts and feelings practical expression? The message sent to David has often been misunderstood and misused. In connection with building the temple God said, "Thou didst well that it was i11 thine heart." But we forget that David went as far as he was allowed, in giving practical expression to what was in his heart; he made preparations for what he might not himself accomplish.-R. T.