Vere. 3-5.-7Vie indispensable blessing. We may well speak of water in the natural realm and of its antitype in the spiritual as- I. THE INDISPENSABLE BLESSING. There may be abundance of earth, and it may be of the most valuable quality; there may be the utmost diligence in the field, and the latest agricultural science; but if the rain be withheld, if no water can be obtained to nourish the sown seed, there can be no harvest,-the indispensable blessing is not bestowed. So is it in the sphere which is more sacred and more serious. You may have the soil of spiritual human nature, you may ba.ve the seed of Divine truth, you may have the diligent and watchful culture of the Christian pastor; but if the influences of the Holy Spirit do not descend, there will be no ingathering for the Husbandman. God must pour down his rich blessing, or all our labours in the Master's vineyard will be barren of result; there will be nothing for Heaven to see but thirsty land, dry groui;d, fruitl,·ss farming. ll THE FIELD WHERE WE MOST DESIBE THAT THESE RAINS SHOULD FALL. "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." We desire that God should be blessing the ministry we reuder to the aged; we are more solicitous that words of Divine wisdom should penetrate the minds a11d affect the lives of men of middle life, on whom such duties devolve, with whom so many issues rest; but we are most concerned that the truth of Christ should enter the understanding, cleanse the conscience, possess the soul, of the young. 1. They are, in a peculiar degree, the objects of our love; they may be "our seed, our offspring." But 1f not, we are strongly attached to them, and therefore interesce<l in their spiritual welfare. 2. They staud at a point where religious decision will ma.ke the very greatest difference. If now they seek God a.nd surrender themselves to his service, they will have a large and noble contribution to make to the ea.use of righteousness, to the service of mankind. 3. Unaffected and unwon in youth, the obstacles in the way of decision and devotion are continually increasing. III. 'l'HE BU:SSED RESULT OF THE DIVINE BESTOWAL. There will be a glorious spiritual upspringing. "They shall spring up," etc. There shall be the signs of abound- ing life. The life that will be seen when the floods of heavenly influence are poured forth will be manifest in: 1. The stem of sacred conviction. God's truth revealed by J(•sus Christ will be the staple of huruan thou~bt. 2. The flower of fitting utterance. (Ver. 6.) (1) The Name of Christ will be honoured by a ClJristian profession; and ('.l) the people of God will be honow·ed by close association with them. 3. The fruit of holy wefulness.-C.
Vera. 9-18.-7Vie irrational and the religious. 'l'his passage is interesting, as containing the most pungent and effective sarcasm in holy writ. 'l'here are indeed the finest conceivable materials for the sarcastic in the practice of idolatry; i.e. in all those ea.see in which idolatry ha.s sunk into its lowest stage. Where a statue is understood to be nothing more than the memorial or visible representation of the Divine, the language of the Hebrew prophet would not apply; but where it is regarded, as it ha.s been a.nd still is regarded by millions of mankind, as not only suggestive of but identical with the Deity, then these strong and scorching words are most appropriate, most crushing. They may suggest to us thoughts respecting- !. RELIGION TRAVESTIED BY IRRA1'10NALISM. Some caricatures a.re clever a.nd amusing enough, but a caricature of the sacred and the religious is both sinful and hurtful. Idolatry bas gone far to dishonour a.nd to discredit religion. The fact tha.t 166 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHE1' ISAIAH. [en. xuv. 1-28,
men have committed such gross absurdities in connection with religion as these which Isaiah exposes and ridicules, and the fact that they have thus associated the utmost cm:lulity with religious faith for hundreds of years under many skies,-this has done much to prejudice the minds of men against the highest and purest forms of piety. So far is ignorance from being the "mother of devotion," that it is the prolific parent of infiJelit)', The irrational is the best friend of the sceptical and the atheistic. It is well that we understand and appreciate this now. For though the grosser forms of incre- ,lulity have disappeared, the superstitious is with us still; and superstition, though it be baptized with a Christian name and wear Christian garments, will be recognized as the irrational thing it is; it will be transfixed by the modern reformer, and be shown in its true colours, and it will weigh down the truth which it was supposed to be sustaining. II. RELIGION REPRESENTED BY REASONABLE SERVICE, As nothing can be more utterly irrational than the conduct here described and satirized, so, on the other hand, nothing can be more reasonable, more perfectly conformed to tho fitness of things, than intelligent, spiritual devotion. What can be more right anrt reasonable than that the creature should worship the Creator; than that the finite mind of man shoul,l seek to be instructed in the wisdom of God; than that the recipient of innumerable and inestimable mercies should offer deepest gratitude and render heartiest thanksgiving to the Author of all his mercies; than that they who have most serious duties to dis- charge, difficulties to surmount, burdens to bear, obligations to meet, should seek the guidance and support of the Lord of life, the Source of strength and righteousness; than that they who are daily travelling to the grave, and have no light of experience to tell them what is beyond it, should make their appeal to One who bas given us such strong reasons to accept him as the Resurrection and the Life ?-C.