The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 303

the borden. But in tl1e evening, when heart and strength fa.ii, we look for quiet cGmfort and considerate friends, and the gentle t\7ords of lo'l'e. '!'rouble in the evening is a peosi,•e sight. But if it be connectoo with tin, with personal wrong-doing how bitter a cup it is_! '17,en, when there should be memory of holy deeds and ee.rnellt words1 the7:, when we may fairly think of an honourable reputation well earned, and l\ll influence which we may hope, indeed, wm be an "after-glow" after we are dead, .Yet so it is, Sin has its judgments, which "follow after" even here below, · II. TBOUDLE m THE EVENING IS WELT, EXPLAINED. The prophet says (ver. 18}, "God shall rebuke them." It is all contained in that. Rebuke! That involves in its utterance conscience and memory, else how could we feel rebuke? We feel all that is meant by rebuke more from some than others. It does not always necdwbrds. A little ~poctacle tha~ recalls some past s<:ene, a~ old letter, the visiting of half-fotgotten places, the swift ru;;h at tunes of old memor1es,-these often· have rebukes in them. We hJ.ve _neglected so many nevcr~r~curring opportunities, we have scattered so many seeds of evil. l3ut when God, the hvrng God, rebukes us, how oan we.stand? For he knows our most s~cret thoughts, and in his book all the life is written. IIL TnoUBLE IN THE EVEl:-.'IKG MA y ST[T,L BE THE LAST ANGEL OF Gon's IIIEBOY HERE. Even then it is evening, and the light lingers. The Saviour's power to save is stm the same. The city of refuge has its gates open. God's renewing and redeeming grace may yet be ours. Not even then need we despai(; for as there is a strain of hope comin~ forth~ nation Is~l which. will occupy us fui:the.r •On in these prophecies, so there 1s hope in personal hfe, even In the latter days, .if we turn to the Lord with full purp.Jse of heart. The lingering light of evening still falls on the cross of him who said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to ropentance."-W. M. S. , Vers.1-6.-Reduction. lo the spoliation and consequent decrepitude of Damascus and Samaria we have a picture of- •• , •. • I. A NATION DEl.'UDED oF rrs POWER. Under.the judgments of-Jehovah the proud city of Damascus becomes a" ruinous heap "·(ver; 1), the populous towns are pasturage for herds and flocks (ver. 2), the strong places are reduced to utter weakness like the departed glory of Israel (ver. 3); under his judgn1ent Ephraim also shall waste• away, shall be as barren as the reaped corn-field, shall be reduced miserably like the tree on whose uppermost branches only a few thin berries can be discovered (vers. 4---6). Under the action of God's righteous laws, the strong nation is thus reduced by sin, from power to weakness, from pride to humiliation, from wealth to poverty; from populousness to depopulation. And it is always sin which is the true account of the reduction. Violence may be the immediate cause of overthrow, but violence only.succeeds when corruption has brought enfeeblement and decline. Greece fell, not by the Roman sword, but by its own inherent weakness. The fall of Rome was due, not to the might of the barbarians, but to the corruption which sapped it of its strength, and thinned the ranks of its citizens. If England falls at some future, day, it will not be because aome European power l1as become irresistible, but because luxury will have. bred corruption, and corruption have laid it open to the weapon of its foes. Its fatness will become thin, its strength will be seen only on its uppermost boughs; it will fall a prey to the first strong adversary that assails it. _ II. A CHURCH BEREFT OF ITS BEAUTY AND ITS INFLUENCE. -Churches do not, usually, suffer loss by the hand of violeuce. But, by sins of their own,-they are often painfully reduced,·so that they are as a man whose" fatness has waxed t.hin," as the field of corn that has been cut, as a tree stripped of its goodly fruit, with nobhing left bnt "two or three berries in the top of the uttermost bough." The enemies which work this waste; which bring this pitiful reduction, are these. 1. Discord within the ranks. 2. 'l'he spirit of worldline,ss, robbing of devotion and therefore of strength. 3. ·Unbelief, acting as a cancer that cuts off all spiritual nourishment. 4. Inactivity, begetting selfishnesa of aim, and causing the Church to miss that noble exercise \\•hich is the source and spring of all moral vigour. 'l'he Church that would not be thus wretchedly reduced must sedulously shun these sources of reduction; that one which has to lament its was~d condition must "repent, and do the first works," and the field shall yet be covered with ihc precious grain, the tree with its clusters of fruit. • III. 'l'lill: INDIVIDUAL JUN DEPRIVED OF HIB POSITION OR BIB STllENOTH, 1n oJ/. xvu, 1-14,J THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 299