The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 330

Ver. 3.-Temptation w trust in diviners. "They shall seek •.. to the charmers." "A time of panic,_ wh~n the coun~els of ordin~ry st~tesmen failed, was sure in Egypt, as at Athens in its times of peril, to be fruitful 111 oracles and divinations." 'l'he most remarkable instance recorded in Scripture is that of King Saul, who in his extremity, and after ha"ing himsclf driven the witches out of his .. laud, imperilled his life to consult the witch of Endor. An~ even in these days there are ·most curious survivals of the old spirit, in the consulta.iions of fortune-tellers, a.nd the confidence placed in the guesses of prophesiers, and the vague generalities of so-calied astrologers. La.rge numbers of ignorant and only partly educated p,eople hold to this day their confidence in lucky and unlucky times, a.nd their fears of thirteen at the table, the ticking of the death-watch, and the coffin-shaped cinder. In times of national distress men who pretend to prophesy find their harvest, an,d trade upon the fears and hopes of men. - L THE ffi<"IVEBSAL DESIBE TO PIERCE THE UNSEEN AND THE FUTOBE. On this desire rests the success of modern spiritualism. Where there is no restful confidence .in God'H love and lead, men try to force aside the veils. that hide God and God's purposes from mortal view. Man can do so much in the present tha.t he is fretted and annoyed because he can get no guarantees for.to-morrow,and every day must e.ct upon the uncertainty whether, for him, there will be any to-morrow. After thiij life, what then? Men a.re angry because no fellow-man has ever answered that question or ever can. Revelation from God can alone relieve the mystery. Show how in all ages men ha.ve peered into the dark future, and been compelled to confess that they could see no~ing but the "folds of the wondrous veil." IL THE MORAL REASONS WHY THE FUTURE IS HIDDEN FBOJII us. 1. It is necessary for our probation. 2. It prevents procrastination by impression of the suprem1,1 Yalue of now. 3. It keeps from the self-security, which nourishes free indulgence, in sin. 4. It makes our life manifestly a life of faith. ill THE BEST WHICH RELIGION GIVES FBOI[ THE OARE ABOUT THE FUTOBE. Religivn brings God into direct relations, and graciollll relations, with the individual. Past, present, future, e.re all in God's control If the soul is in right relations with God, t:\ie present is bis overruling, and the future is his provision. If we are with God, all is well, here or there.-R. T. Yem. 5-10.-The withholdi-n,g of God', gifts making man', ~:oe. These verses &l'e suggestive of the thousandfold forms of trouble that follow on an unusually low Nile, or the failure of the Nile flood. It is pecul4r to the valley of .the Nile, and the Delta forming the land of Egypt, that cultivation of the soil depends upon the yearly fiooding of the river, which, by canals, sluices, ponds, ap.d ditches, i~ led over the fields as the great fertilizer. Holy Scripture gi vcs us the picture of suprem.c distress following on the failure of the Nile for seven successive years in the times of Joseph. The complete dependence of the country on t.his periodical overflow, and the fact.that all e.gricllltural arrangemeuts are adapted to this peculiarity, involved a remarkable Lelplessne£s tbrouuhout the la.ud when the Nile failed to rise. The people could not do what they were°accustomed to do, so they did not know what to do, and cou_ld not, in any effective way, make up for this calamity, If their river be dried up, their fruitful cu. xix. 1-26.J '.l'HE BOOK O.li' '.!;HE PROPHE'r ISAIAH. 327