The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 545

There is much ofl1e&uty in this world. And by Christ Jesus God created the worlds, f;() that he is the Archetype of all beauty. Everything lovely wa.s first a thought of Christ before it became a fact in life. These eyes of ours have seen glorious spectacles: the sun rising to nm his race ; the tender greens and purples of the sens ; the magnificence of Carmel and Lebanon. How much also have we all seen of moral beauty !-the gentleness of pity; the heroism of endurance; the sublimity of sacrifice, Yet tMSe have all been mingled with some elements of worldliuess and sin. I. THrs PROPHECY IB FULFILLED IN CHRIST AS THE TRUE KING. Think of the kings of every age: the Pharaohs; the Cresars. There we see power, pageantry, and, alas! too often criminality and cruelty. Here we see the true King. One whose ,-:ovemment is Divine, because it is within, holding in supremacy the conscience and the heart. One who is a King who "reigns in righteousness, mighty to save." II. A l'ROPHEOY FULFILLED IN THE BEAUTY OF CRRIST's CHARACTER. Deauty lies in symmetry and completeness; he was perfectly holy, without spot or blemish. Beauty lies in subtle harmonies; and in Christ justice, Jove, and wisdom were all united in one. Beauty lies in conformity with moral Jaw; and he W88 "harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." Beauty is not to be found in mere sentiment alone. Character is not to be tested simply by exquisite feeling or profound teaching, but by a life where truth fe1,t and truth spoken and truth lived are all embodied in one. He who spake as never man spake could also say," Which of you convinceth me of sin ?n III. A PROPHECY FULFILLED THROUGH THE POWEB OF SPIRITUAL VISION. "Thine eyes shall see." The beauty of Christ can be seen only through the lens of moral disposition. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." It is distinctly said of the wicked, concerning their view of Christ, " They shall see no beauty in him that they should desire him." We may have the artistic eye to see the beauty of Grecian capitol and Roman arch, but we may not have the spiritual eye whereby alone we discern spiritual things. IV. A PROPHECY FULFILLED IN PERSONAL EXPEBIENOE. "Thine eyes." Powers of vision cannot be transferred. How we have longed, perhaps, that those we love should 8•'c this beauty too I Nor can they be intellectually willed. We must have the spiritual henrt before we can enjoy the spiritual eye. V. A PROPREcY TO BE PERFECTLY FULFILLED IN THE FINAL REVELATION OJ, REA VEN. Whatever we may see there of new displays of God's creative energy and power, however fair and lovely our own beloved ones may be now that they are ., without fault before the throne of God,"-we may be sure of this, that Christ will be "the Altogether Lovely." The eye will be perfectly purged from sin, and the soul perfectly alive to God. Then Christ's own prayer will be fulfilled, " That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.''-W. M. S. Ver. 1.-Aggravated evil,. I. THAT BIN 1B OFTEN FOUND m AN AGGRAVATED FORM. It may take the forms of which the prophet here complains. 1. Unprovoked aggression. "Thou spoilest, and (though) thou wast not spoiled." Men may go so far as to assail their fellow-men without the slightest justification ; this may be in the shape of open war, or of brutal individual assault, or of unlawful appropriation, or of shameful slander. 2. Inexcusable treachery. "And dealeth treacherously, and (though) they dealt not," etc. Men will go so far in iniquity as to deceive, entrap, and even ruin-and that not only in a pecuniary, but even in a moral sense-those who are guileless and unsuspicioue; they will take a mean and execrable advantage of the innocence which sho1;1ld not appeal in vain for the protection of the strong. T~ose thus _wantonly ~nd hemously guilty may beguile others from the paths of (1) faith and piety; (2) virtue; (3) the practical wisdom on which depend the maintenance and comfort of the home. II. TlliT WHEN THUS FOUND IT EXCITES GOD'S DEEP DISPLEASURE. The Divine " woe" is pronounced against it. And this "woe" is only one note in e. large and full outpouring of Divine indignation in all parts of the sacred Scriptures. Prophet and psalmist aod apostle, yes, and the Lord of love himself (see especially Matt. x:11:iii.), unite to utter the awful anger of God "against them who commit such things." It includes: 1. His holy indignation directed against the evil-doers themselves; not the sin, but the sinner (Ps. vii. 11; Rom. ii. 81 9). 2. His boundless hatred of the evil ueed; not the ~ent, but the act (Jer. xliv. 4; Bab, L 13). All sin is a leproue, & llll, XXXIII. 1-24.J THE BOOK OF THm PROPHlllT ts.AIAH. 519