The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 534

always begun in neglect of God, and eelf-i.ndulgence. The first love fades out; am! then epiritue.l death waits, "crouching at the door." Dead, for there are no expressions indicating the life of trust and love. II. ONLY GoD CAN QUICKEN THE DEAD. This une thing is always and altogether out of human reach. Man can do much; but he cannot make anything live. God quickens dead souls, and dead Churches, by the gift of his Spirit. Life wakens life. The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, and brought forth life. That Spirit of God comes down, like refreshing rains, upon the thirsty fields. That Spirit of God enters the temple of a human soul, and the response is life, finding all due expression in activity: "'fhe wilderness becomes a. fruitful field." "The kingdom of Messiah was brought in, and set up, by the pouring out of the Spirit; and so it is still kept up, and will be to the end." Then, with unceasing constancy and earnestness it becomes us to pray for the quickening, reviving grace of God the Holy Ghost.-R. T. Ver, 17.-Righteousness and peace. Christianity means "righteousness," and "righteousness" is an active power, ever working towards the production of peace, quietness, and mutual confidence. "The element of peace is that by which order is established and perpetuated, people are brought to cordial agreement and willing sub- mission, unity is made a living and growing fact, and all the arts of domestic life and of civilized communities are promoted." The great Napoleon said, "War is the business of barbarians." Our own Wellington said," Men who have nice notions of religion have no business to be soldiers." Lord Brougham said, "I abominate war a8 unchristian. I hold it the greatest of human crimes. I deem it to include all others- violence, blood, rapine, fraud, everything that can deform the character, alter the nature, and debase the name of man." John Howe wrote in this way, "Very plain it is that war is a mark of the apostasy, and stigmatizes man as fallen from God, in a degenerated, revolted state; it is the horrid issue of men's having forsaken God, and of their being abandoned by him to the hurry of their own furious lusts and passions." L CBBISTIANITY IS, DISTINCTIVELY, RIGHTEOUSNESS. This is its essential character- istic, and its necessary work. In this it stands a.lone, differing from all other religions. :Matthew Arnold finds an expression for God which, though it has been well scorne<l, is really suggestive and helpful. He speaks of him as "the Eternal which makes for righteousness," which is always working towards this end, and regards this as the highest of all attainments. Other religions propose methods for propitiating God; in Christianity God proposes to make men good. Jesus Christ is the first, the model Christian, and he is good-" holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.~ His requirement, of all his disciple·s, is personal character-righteousness. Apostles say of this religion, "Herein is the righteousness of God revealed, from faith to faith." Christ's personal call is, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Christian growth is "changing into his image from glory to glory." We must "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which none can see the Lord." Prophets pictured the Christian ages, and saw holiness so pervading that it was even engraven on the bells of the horses. Let the Christian faith come to our hearts, and it will work out into righteous- neSB. Let it go forth into society, and it will establish right principles, show right ways, give right impulses, tone with a right spirit, and work on until righteousness flows over all the land, like the waves of the sea. II. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS LINKED CLOSELY WITH PEA0E. "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace." These two things can never be separated. Find the one,'and you will soon find also the other. Unrighteousness, uncharily, selfish passions, and war go naturally together, hand-in-hand. Begin "righteousness" anywhere, and you have started on its working an active power that makes for peace. Every soldier that walks our streets, every cannon forged in our arsenals, is a testimony that the sin-curse yet hangs over us. We are not yet "all righteous," or the sight and the sound of war would be heard no more. When, as individuals, we are set right with God, peace comes at once into our hearts, 1111d peaceableness gives tone and character to all our relations. 'l'he inner conflicts are stayed; the struggles between the flesh and tho spirit are checked; the fever-heat of ambition is soothed; charity and brotherhoo,l bring us into peace with all men, The gospel comes, "preaching poace by Jesll:I 638 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHE'J\ ISAIAH, [cu, :xxxn. 1-20,