The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 163

excellency of holy service, of the claims of Divine benefaction; when they are 90 far off the true track that the voices of heavenly wisrlom no longer reach their ear ;-they are ·helpless, they are lost. 'l'he deceived aod del,1ded pilgrim" cannot deliver his soul." III. A LIFE OF PRAC'l'IOAL FALSITY. "ls there nut a lie in my right band?'' Mee are often li11i11g falsehoods when they are cot putting them into words; the lie is cot on their lips but in their right hand. The man who is withholding his heart from God and his life from his service is saying, by his chosen course, by his daily doings, by his deliberate action, that it is better to live a selfish than a devoted life; that the claims of Christ may be neglected; that the temporal is of more consequence than the eternal, the material than the spiritual; that happiness is more worth seeking than blessedne.,s, the honour that cometh from man than the approval of the heavenly Father. 'l'heoe are fatal falsehoods, which lure men to sin and lead them down to death. Happy is that wandering soul who sees a form that comes to rescue, who hears a voice that summons to redeem-that One who says, "Man shall not Ii ve by bread alone;" "He that cometh to me shall never hunger;" that voice which says, "Return unto me, and I will return unto you;" "In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death" (Prov. xii. 28).-C. Vers. 23-28.-Joy in God's redeemi11g power. We have here- I. THE REACH OF ALMIGHTY POWER. l t ex tends : 1. Over all visiole nature. (Ver. 24.) He makes "all things." The heavens and the earth are the work of his hand. 2. Over individual men. He can (1) direct the indifferent, 90 that Cyrus performs his pleasure (ver. 28), although that king was living in spiritual ignorance ( eh. xiv. 5); (2) confound the rebellious, so that the impostor is discredited and ashamed (ver. 25); (3) establish the faithful, so that his servant, however be may have been disregarded, is honoured in the eyes of men (ver. 26). 3. Over men in their collective capacity. Jehovah had fashioned Israel, making her all she had become, giving her strength to do all she bad accomplished; it was he that "formed" her from the beginning, that shaped her life (ver. 24). And he would yet restore the cities of Judah; they should be populous and powerful again (ver. 2G). 4. Over the most formidable difficulties. Things that seem impossible of achievement are found, under his power, to Le effected. At the touch of his hand the waters of the great deep disappear; at the sound of bis voice the river-beds are dry (ver. 27). "With God all things are possible." Mouotains of difficulty are removed, and seas of impediment are swept away. Nothing is "too bard for the Lord." II. ITS BENEFICENT RESULTS. It is a question of the greatest importance-What are the results of the power which is exercised by the strong? The world bas had some terrible illustrations of the miseries of malevolent force. Power seeking selfish gratification at the expense of righteousness and of human happiness is the most deplorable as it is the most damnable thing under the heavens. On the other hand, power put forth to elevate and bless is the most admirable and beneficent thing. God works toward two ends (1) the exaltation of his own holy Name; and (2) the redemp- tion and restoration of mankind (ver. 23). The two become one; for it is by bringing men back to himself and to his service that he redeems them from all that is ruinous, and that be raises them to nil that is elevating and ennobling. Man finds bis worst calamity in distance from his heavenly Father; he finds bis highest good, his fullest blessedness, in the honour he pays, in the love be cherishes, in the obedience he renders, in the resemblance he reaches, to his Divine Saviour, his living Lord and Frieod. III. UNSPEAKABLE JOY 'rHEREIN. "Sing, 0 yo heavens," etc. (ver. ~3). Joy at its very fullest is uncontainablc, inexpressible. He wrote well who soid, "I were little happy could I say how much." There are times when we feel that wo want e1·ery one and everything to be vocal with the gladness of om own soul. If the children did not shout, the very stones would have to speak the joy of that glad hour (Luke xix. 40). When the great and gracious purposes of God are accomplished in the redemption of one human soul from sin and its restoration to the love and the likeness of God, there is occasion for more joy than human songs can celebrate; how much more so when a nation is redeemed I and how much more yet will there be when tho wholo race is transformed, and when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ 1--0,  lGS THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [err. XLiv.1-28,