The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 368

riao be the means of awakening ?there who ar~ carde~s, but who ought to be preparing to meet the trouble, our very griefs may be a" fore-warning." II., WE MA,Y WEEP IN TIME OIi' TBOUJILE. Because tears are the natural expres-- sions of feeling, an\! the natnral relief of overcharged feeling. Danger to brain and heart ~I.tend undue restraint of tears. III; WE MAY ~EEP IN SYMPATHY WITH OTHERS. Often such silent sympathy is more effective than any wordR. To feel with another so as to join in the same expression of feeling is most soothing anil col)lforting. The sublime illustration of this _ie our Redeemer weeping in human sympa:thy with gentle Mary at the grave of Lazarus. IV. WE MUST NOT LET otm WEEPING BECOME A BELF-INDULGENCE. Thi1 is a greater peril to us all than we are wont to estimate. There is a luxury of grief; a keeping it up for the sake of the comforting and petting it brinis; a pleasant giving way. Weeping is wrong, is mischievous, the moment it passes beyond the bounds of what _is neceRsary for relief. As soon as self comes io, and we wi7l to give way, our weeping becomes sin. • V; WE MAY WEEP AB A TESTIMONY. For this we have the example of our Divine Lord and Master, who" when be beh_eld the city [of Jerusalem-the very city concerning which Isaiah wept], wept over it, saying, Oh that thou hadst known, in this thy day, the things that make for thy peace I " John Howe most suggestively calla this "The Redeemer's tears wept over lost souls."-R. T. Ver. 8. -Man's trust in his weapons. "Thou didst look in that day to the armour <•f the house of the forest." A sermon for the times, in which the hi!!hest science and inventive skill are devoted to the perfecting of the deadliest engines of war; and when men dare to say that "Providence ie always on the side of the largrst battalion~." "Some tru11t in horsc·s, and some in chariots, but we wiH trust in the Name of the Lord; " "A h_orse is a vain thing for safety;•• "God is a Refuge for us." I. _MEN TRUSTING IN WEAPONS ONLY. By 1he term "weapons" understanding all that' belongs to armies, navies, fortifications, and the material forces on which nations depe!Jd (s_e~ vers. 9-11). So often we_ J;iear _that "Her navy is England's defence;" "Her i,nsnlar position is her security.'' Great guns, powerful ships, efficient drill, brave hearts-these, they 8ay, guard Albion's honour. But these are only things, and they have to be continually changed and renewed. ·we can never be quite sure that we are abreast of the war-engines or the war-force of other nations, and trust in mere weapons involves keeping the nation at a Jlerpetual strain. Again and again we are alarmed as somebody argues our insecurity because .of the state of our army and navy and coaling-stations. • II. MEN TRUSTING IN Gon ONLY. They should trust in God first and chiefly; but not only, if by that is meant letting the trust keep onr hands idle, and put us on an expectation of mirnculous deliverance. There have been times in the history of our race when men were required to do nothing, and simply to trust. In face of the Red Sea Moses said," Stand still, and see the s,1lvation of the Lord.'' And Sennacherib', army was overthrown without use of man's military forces. But these are exceptional cases, designed to impress one side of truth, III. MAN MAKING BIB TRUST IN Goo APPEAR THROUGH THE USE OF ms WEAPO~S. This is, in every way, man's most difficult work. It may be dangerous self-confidence to trust weapons only. It may be mere listlessness to trust God only. It is the essence of piety to brace ourselves to all noble and wise endeavour, and keep through all our doing& a soul full of trustings in God. This is but illustration in the war- spheres of the 1,1niversal rule," \York o_ut your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure.''-R. T. Ver. 12.-God's call to penitence. "In that day did tho Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, an~ to baldn~ss, and to girdi_n_g ~ith sackcloth.''. These ~e the Eastern eians and express10ns of pemtence and hum1hat10n ; as may be illustrated m the case of Ni~eveh, which repented at the preaching of Jonah (Iii. 5-9). God calls on ~RI' peopl~ _to" lament their sins, by which th~y lrnd br~u~?t these _iudgmen~s upon their and; and to dispose themselves to a reformation of their lives by a holy senousness, and 8GB THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [on. x.x11.1-2G