Vera. 16, 17.-The invitation of the enemy. The King of Assyria, by the mouth of his general, appeals to the citizens of Jerusalem to abandon their allegiance to Hezekiah and "go out to him," promising them great advantages for their disloyalty. It is closely analogous to the invitation of our !lpiritual enemy to go over to him and receive the wages of sin which he offers to our souls. I. IT IS A VERY PLAUSIBLE OFFER. 1. Under the circumstances in which they then were, loyalty waR threatened with decided disadvantage: (1) with privation, for there was the probability of a long siege and its attendant scarcities; (2) with suffering, or even death, for attRcks would be made and missiles would be hurled against the city. 2. On the other hand, surrender promised material good: (1) present exemption from exigency and assault (ver. 16); and (2) abundance of comfort in future days (ver. 17). So is it in the spiritual realm. Our great Adversary seeks to allure us from the true citizenship, and he has a plausible proposal to make. He says (1) that to serve God is to suffer loss; is to be shut out rrom many sources of wealth and joy; is to be starved and beggared; is to be exl'osod to the dislike, the derision, the hostile action of those who are the strongest and rnost l!umerous among men. He says also (2) that to be on the side of evil is to be in the wayofprospo1it.y; that its land is "a land of corn and wine," of strength and joy, of material prosperity and sensual enjoyment: bo selfish and unscrupulous, and the prizes of life and the pleasures of sense are yours. But in regard to each of these propo~als, the historical and the existing, it must be considered that- II. IT IB ESSENTIALLY FALSE. 1. Rahshakeh and his royal master were both mis- taken in their ca.lculations. Jerusalem was not to be reduced to the severe straits of a protracted siege, was not to be taken by assault; neither want nor sword was to devastate the oity. And they left the most important consideration out of their account; for even if their military projects had succeeded, and if the Jews had been defeated and had found the plains of the 'l'igris as fruitful as the ve.lley of the Jordan, yet would 12 THE BOOK OF TH'R PROPHET ISAIAH. [on xx:nt.1-22.
they have missed and mourned the liberty, the s11ored services, the natrual lndepen- d,·nce of their own beloved country,-tbey would have hun11: their harps upon the willows instead of making them sound the joyous strains of patriotism and piety. 2, Ou; spirit.mt.l. enemy is also essentially wrong in his representations; he, too leaves the principal considerations out of his reckoning. (1) All that we lose by ou~ loyalty to God is that which no wise man would accept-iniquitous gain, injurious friendship demoralizin!! pleasure, etc.; it is well, indeed, to be without these. (2) All that w; could g.,in by subservience to his unholy will would leave us unblessed with the true :iches:-wit~ the favour and frien~ship of God: with a se~so of _moral and spiritulll rntcgr1ty, with the power of rendenng holy service to our kmd, with the joy of sacred intercourse with a Divine Redeemer and with like-minded fellow-servo.nts with the elevating and sustaining hopes that "enter within the veil."-C. '
Ver. 2.-Right attitude in times of threatening. This general of the Assyrian army ~corns to have been a rude, violent, boastful man, who thought to du his work by means of great swelling words. He was big in threatening; and it is not often that such men prove big in deeds. Dean Plumptre says that "his words, in their brutal coarseness, have hardly a parallel in history, till we come to Ilismarck's telling the Parisians that they may 'stew in their own gravy.'• The Rabshakeh, it should be observed, stood in the position, while he thus threatened, which intimated his power to destroy the aqueduct which supplied the city with water. Times of threatening a.re to. be clearly distinguished from times of actual calamity. Trouble threatened is apt to relax our natures and weaken us with fears. Trouble actually come calls out our powers of endurance, and braces us for bearing and battling. And so, sometimes, trouble threatened, taking bigger shape in appearance than it ever can take in reality, has a special work of testing to do. He must be well centred in God who holds fast his calmness and trust, even in times of fright. Society is peculiarly liable-more especially highly ci,ilized i;ocicty-to sudden fears, which very easily become helpless panic. A few criminals in a great city get an hour's licence, and loot the shops in one district, and the whole city goes into a panic, stops its business, and pours its wealth into a fund to quiet the people who had little or nothing to do with the looting. So it has been again and again in the world's history. Tbreatenings have been more morally mischievous than actual cal&mity. The godly man should be easily ID.3St"r ev"n of such circum- stances. L IIE KNOWS WELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOAST AND PEBFOBlllANOE, Observa- tion teaches him that the man who threatens much accomplishes little; the man who swears and yields to passion is always weak in action. There is" sound, and nothing more." There is always room for tbis good advice," Let not him that putteth on his armour boast as be that putteth it off.'' !L fu KNOWS TH.AT THIS CONDITION APPLIES TO ALL THREATENINGB AND AT,ARMS: "IF THE LoBD WILL." Men cannot., any more than tidal waves, go beyond their appointed bounds. Threats may do the Lord's will, but they can do nothing beyond the Lord's will. 'l'he godly man, therefore, waits to rea<l God's will behind the threats or the fears, and can afford to be quite calm, and master of a.II circumstanC;es. Ill. HE KNOWS TH.AT GOD 1B ALWAYS ON THE BIDE OF THE PERMANENTLY GOOD, AND IS ALWAYS WORKING TOW.ARDS IT. The way to ihe good is often like the twist.ing and winding of the stream of Jordan; but the godly man does not make too much of the rushes and rapids in the twists and falls-he knows J orda.u moves steadily on to the sea, and life, however ruffled may be its euiface, moves on to fulfil the good purpose of God. We may do as did the apostolic company when its leaders were threatened-we may bend before our God, and pray," Now, Lord, behold their threa.tenings "(Acts iv. 29, 30).-R. T. Ver. 6.-Satire on our human conjideMu. Evidently the Rabsha.keh was informed concerning the parties that divided the people of Jerusalem at this time. Hezekiah seems to have been so far persuaded as to give hie reluctant assent to sending the embasRy to Egypt. The complaints which Sennacherib had to make against Hezekiah were (1) iha.t be bad refused tribute (2 Kings xviii. 14); (2) that he had opened negotiations with Babylon and Egypt (2 Kings xviii. 24), with a view to an alliance OH, x.xxv1, 1-22.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 13