good, Thie was founded in truth, but it involved men's having right ideas or what are "good things," and whet is "being good." Men made it mean that they would be 1ure to get temporal blessings if they made large outward show of goodness. And therefore temporal distresses and anxieties were precisely the things that would awaken men to o sense of their mistake, and to a worthier apprehension of Divine claims. Temporal safety 11nd blessing did not attend such goodness as their3, and so they were led to suspect their goodness. So we, finding our religion fail us in the evil day, are brought to see that formal religion never can be acceptable unto him who " desires truth in the inward parts." IV. THE ISSUE OF DIVINE DEALINGS WITH ARIEL, Here we must distinguish between the issue which God designs, and for the accomplishment of which the means he uses are appropriate, and the issue which is actually attained in consequence of man's resistant wilfulnt>ss. One of the saddest things in all human lives is the contrast between the results of distressful dispensations and the gracious designs contemplated by God in sending them. Corrections that fail to humble succeed in hardening,-R. T. Ver.11.-God's Word a sealed Book. Reference is to the prophecies of Isaiah, which were evidently circulated in writing among the people; but, by reason of prevailing hypocrisy, pride, and obstinacy, they were not uuderstood-they were like a sealed book (compare the figure in Rev, v. 2). The connection of the text may be stated thus : "The hearers stare in astonishment at a prophecy seemingly so out of relation to facts. The prophet warns them that, if they wilfully deaden their spiritual faculties, there will be no emerging afterwards from this state of blindness and stupefaction. Jehovah will judicially Sx them in it. The ruling class is mainly addressed. They are spiritualJy asleep, with eyes closed and head, wrapped up (in Oriental fashion)." I. GoD'~ WORD IS NOT A SEALED BooK BY DIVINE DESIGN'. A cnrious notion bas gained acceptance that the Bible could not be the Word of God if it did not contain mysteries quite beyond the possibility of man's apprehension. On the other band, it bas been well urged that God can have no need thus to "show off" his superiority; and that revelation ·must mean " light," " unfolding;" it can never be intended to me3.IJ. "bewildering." Of this we may be sure-there is nothing in the Bible sealed from mau. Whatever is there is for our understanding, for our instruction. Isaiah's prophecies, given by God's inspiration, are plain enough; he may read them who rues. II. Goo's WORD BECOMES A SEALED BooK THROUGH HUM.\N PERVERSITY. This mav be shown: 1. In the blinding influence of prejudice. We cannot find in the Word what we do not want to find. This may be applied to national prejudice, sectarian prejuclice, anci personal prejudice. 2. In the closing of men's minds to the incomings and gracious illuminations and inspirations of God's Spirit. He who gives the Word gives the keys to its meanings and applications, through the guiding Spirit. It is a sealed Book if we have not the key. 3. In the judicial sealing which comes as a judgment on the per- versity. This is the precise case associated with the text. These wilful rulers were determined to treat Isaiah's prophecies as a sealed book: then to them it shall be a. sealed book; and when they want to understand it, they shall" weary themselves to find the door." Apply to our own relations with God's Word. The openness and suggestiveness of it is a test of our spiritual state. We must never think that God has closed it; the fact can only be that we have closed ourselves to it.-R. T.
Ver.13.-Lip-service; or, the peril of losing the heart out of our piety. There was a time when Israel rendered heart-service to God. There was a life in the Mosaic system. Taking a figure from the sacrifice which Noah offered as consecrating a regenerate earth unto God, there was "a savour of a sweet smell" to rise up to God. The reproach of Isaiah is that the sacrifice was left, but the savour was gone; the husk was left, but the kornel was gone; the form was left, the heart was gone ; the voice still spoke, but it had no message to deliver. "'l'hey draw near with lip, but heart is far away." And still, whensoever personal piety is failing, men fall back on some past experiences, or else they c,mggerate the ·mere formalities of religious worship and ordinance. Ages of strong faith are very independent of forms. Ages of failing faith always exaggerate forms. If we have little heart for obedience, we put in its place 1 rBE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [ou. x.xxx. 1-24.