words and a great show of force, but we may well remember that God does .not. He reckons it all at its true worth, and goes on with his Divine working quite unmoved by all th_e rage. The figure in this verse needs careful explanation, The allusio11, is to the boastmgs e.nd threatenings of Sennacherib. God has undertaken to defend the oi~y of Jerusalem. As the lion will not give up bis prey, so Jehovah will not allow..the Assyrians to rob him of his "peculiar tre&sure," Jerusalem. ':tlhe vast armies of the Assyrians were as nothing in the estimation of Jehovah. He viewed unper- turbed their attempt to seize the locality which he had chosen os his , sp~ial residence. Matthew Henry, with quaint force, says," Whoever appear against God, they are but like a multitude of poor simple shepherds shouting at a lion,· who scorns to take notice of them, or so much a.s to alter his pace for them. 11 Taking an illustration from another sphere of nature, the Di vine calmness under excitement that alarms men may be illustrated by the following passage from Gosse: "'.!.'here was a hea'l"y swell from the westward, which, coming on in broadly heavi.ng .undulations, gave the idea of power indeed, but of power in repose, as when a lion crouches in his lair with sheathed talons and smoothed mane and half-closed eyes. But no sooner does each broad swell, dark and polished, come into contact with these wa,lls and towers of solid rock, than its aspect is instantly changed. It rears itself in fury, dashes with hoarse roar, and apparently resistless might, against the opposition, breaks in a cloud of snowy foam, which hides the rocky eminence, and makes us for a moment think .the sea has conquered. But the next, the baffled assailant is recoiling in a hundred casca,des, or writhing and grovelling in swirls around the feet of those strong pillars which still ~tand in their majesty, unmoved, immovable, ready to receive and to repel the su9C0s- sive assaults of wave after wave with ever the same result." There is. a q_uality or power in man, which we call in a good sense sang-froi~a power of keeping ca,lm in times of excitement, which we are accustomed to admire, and which may help us to realize the figure of God given in this passage. A remarkable story is, told in connection with Prince Bismarck, who is a striking example of persistent keeping on at bis designs, however loud may be the howlings around him. It is said that he wears an. iron ring, on which is inscribed the Russian word" Nitschewo," or "It does not matter.'' In :th.e· winter of 1862 he was hurriedly journeying in Russia, and in answer to various appeals to his driver, he could get nothing from him save this one word, "Nitschewo." At .last the sledge was upset, and taking an iron bar which had become detached from the sledge, Bismarck, in his annoyance, thought of striking the man, but feeling he had. learned a life-lesson from the frequent repetition of this word, he kept the b~r, and had a ring made of it to remind him, in the worryful times. of life that "it does not matter," Consider- L TB£ THING!! WRICH GoD DOES NOT BEED. They go under this hea.d,ing-the boasts of the proud. Empty wor<ls. Noisy deeds. The material forces which lie at the command of men. These greatly alarm us. Let but a sound of threateni!].g rise into the air, e.nd we cry in our fright, "The Church is in danger I..' God is not disturbed. His Church is safe ; the " gates of hell shall not prevail against her." Let but the nations unite for some act of violence towards the Lord's Jerusalem, and in fright her statesmen run off to Egypt for help. Jerusalem is in no real danger-a wall of Divine guardian fire is all round about her, and God will defend his own. . II. THE THINGS wmCB GoD DOES nEED. '.l.'hese will go under the heading-the cry of the humble. He who is best heard by man when he speaks with a "still, small Yoice," best hears man when he speaks to him with a" still, small voice." Not the thunder of men's anger, but the quiet evening breeze of mel}'s humble prayer, goes right in to the throne of God. We may learn from this figure of God's patient indiffer- ence to "ba.t seems so alarming, how we may rightly estimate opposing forces and persons who ~how enmity to us. Most of such forces and persons had better just be passed by, left alone. "Nitschewo "-" It does not matter." We all of us make too much of evil things and noisy oppositions. We magnify them until they fret and weary and hinder Ull. Would that we were more like God, who- " Moves on his undisturbed 11fi'airs "I B. T. Ver, 6.-Turning to God in giving up ,tn. Connect with ver, 7, Here Is wdicated oH, x:itxn. l•-20.J 'l'HE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 1i2l
one essential characteristic of a genuine conversion or reformation. Two kinds of " turning" are suggested. I. TURNING TO GOD AB A VOIOELEBB SENTIMENT. Merely good sentiments, revi- valistic emotions, gushing fervours, temporary excitements, have no voice that can reach to God. IL TURNING TO Goo BPEAXING THROUGH ACTS. Putting away idols-God can hear that. He knows what that means. Giving up sins-God can hear that. Cutting off right hands-God ·can hear that. Plucking out right eyes-God can hear that. This is the voice for which God asks, and to which he so graciously responds. " Wash you, make you clean; put a.way the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;- learn to .do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."-R. T. Ver. 8.-The surprise of fhe Lord's deliverances. No inhabitant of Jerusalem could have imagined how God intended to deliver the city from Sennacherib. God's way is in the sea, his footsteps are not known ; but he leads his people safely like a flock. The following points will recall familiar illustrations. I. Gon's PROMISED DELIVERANCES ALWAYS DO COME. "If it tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not -tarry." "No good thing has failed God's people of all that he has promised." " This poor man cried, and the Lord heard, and saved him out of all his.troubles." II. THEY COME WHEN WE DO NOT EXPECT THEM. And therefore we are constantly urged to keep watchful and expectant. Disraeli truly remarked that" the unexpected is the thing that happens." m. THEY COME IN WAYS THAT SEEM STRANGE, In some cases not seeming at all to be the _deliverances which they really are. IV; THE SURPRISE THEY BRING IS USUALLY FULL OF GRATITUDE A.ND JOY, For in most cases it is manifestly better than our thought. Then let God save us and deliver us .just in his own way and time. Enough for us to wait earnestly on him in our prayer, and wait patiently/or him, trustingly sure that he always has his "set time in which to favour Zion.''-R. 'l'.