The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 526

onco populous scenes from tho sin of man and the withdrawal of the gracious Spirit of God. 'l'nlrn these descriptions as figures of the state oft.be soul ; then power and beauty rem11in. 'l'ho well-kept garden, the sweet fields in the harvest-time, the mirth of ro11pers nnd in-gatherers; these sights, these sounds, provide unsought expression for the soul th11t feels itself" at ease.'' The untilled fields, the signs of wild nature creeping to old ascendency over the works of man,-such sights carry symbolic meaning which depresses the most cheerful heart. "Until the Spirit be outpoured from on high"- that is our state, and that it must remain. II. AFTER THEN-WIIAT? 1. "Justice shall inhabit the pastwre-country, and right- eousness shaU dwell in the garde'll,-land." "Men ought not to be like cattle, which seek nothing but plenty of food and abundance of outward things. We should not, like hogs in a sty, judge of the happiness of life by abundance of bread and wine" (Calvin). Righteousness alone exalts, righteousness alone can uplift a. fallen nation. 2. " The fruit of righteousness shall be peace." This is inwardly and outwardly, subjectively and objectively, true. Peace in the heart is the companion of rectitude; it flows from right order in the home and family, and from just administration in the state. Peace, quiet- ness, confidence: a triple blooming in one; a threefold band of prosperity and condition of all welfare. "Homes of peace, dwellings of confidence, easeful resting-places,-these are the pictures that all men draw in fancy; this the life for which they dream they were made. Such a state depends upon piety, upon personal and social morality. "It is as true now as it was in the time of Isaiah. True religion would put an end to strifes and litigations; to riots and mobs; to oppressions and tumults; to alarms and robbery; to battle and murder and conflict among the nations." 3. These blessings cannot come without suffering. The hail of judgment will fall upon forest and upon city. The refuge of lies and the hiding-place of falsehood must be swept away. Renewing and reforming forces work destructively on one side, as creatively on the other. Upon whom these judgments will fall is not evident froru the text. Hail is an image of Divine judgment ( eh. xxviii. 2, 17; xxx. 30). 4. The happiness of the tiller. He sows beside all waters-a reference to the Oriental custom of casting the seed upon the waters of overflowing streams and rivers, so that, when the waters subside, it will be found again in the spriuging crop and the abundant harvest. The ox and the ass are employed to tread the moistened earth and prepare for the sowing ( cf. Eccles. :ri. 1, 6). In a figura- tive sense-happy those who go steadily on with useful work, the work that lies nearest them, the sowing which looks for a "far-off interest of good," amidst the most troubled times. No troubles of the time should divert us from our daily task, or unsettle ns from the habit of continuous useful labour.-J. Ver. 2.-The sou.l's rest. "The shadow of a great rock in a weary land." This is an Eastern picture. God is described as our Shade. In the glare of a too-garish day we become endangered; the sun of prosperity smites us. Sunlight has its penalties as well as its pleasures. So has success! The human heart cannot bear too much of brightness. We need shadows for the mind to rest under as well as for the body. I. A MAN IS HERE DESCRIBED. The God-Man. One who, knowing our infin:nities and temptations, is able to succour them that are tempted. The true King who is to reign in righteousness is prophesied of. " A man shall be." Christ has been the Refuge and the Rest of hearts wearied of the world and scorched with its radiant beams. We are led to Christ. Not to theological systems; not to human creeds; but to Christ. The shadow I Yes. Shadow of a cross, where we may find forgiveness and peace, Shadow of brotherhood, where we may find true sympathy in our hours of lone- liness and disappointment. Shadow, where we may recline and rest a~ the patriarch did under the oaks of Beersheba, and Moses did under the mountains of old. And Christ's Divinity is proclaimed in the words," a great Rock." High as heaven, having its roots in God's own eternal years. S) great that it offers shelter for all the weary hearts of men. II. A PILGRllUGE IS HERE IMPLIED. "A weary land." The pilgrims are passing on through the scorching heat, the camel-drivers walking then, as they do now, in the shadow cast by these " ships of the desert." Before them stretch miles on miles of burning sand. The blinding sun is above them. Wilh their white cummerbunds nnd their light Eastern drei:s, they ease the heat-burden all they can. A.nd now the IBAIA.B, 2 14 S30 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHE'l' ISATAH, [cu. XXXII, 1-20,