The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 260

I. THE TBUE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE 18 LIFE m CHRIST. Not in self. Not in society. But in Christ. We must go out of ourselves, out of our "moods" and "feelings," that we may look unto Christ and be saved I I am speaking of those who are ever nervously anxious and sensitive. First of all about their salvation, which, alas I is like a "vari- able quantity" with them. But I wish, also, to apply the idea to human life. Obrist is a perfect Brother as well as a perfect Saviour. Redemption is his. Yes; and so is common home-life; so is the gift of daily bread. The great realm of providence is under his sceptre. 1. Meditate well on this dual aspect of the su'f,:ject. Fir8t of all, when you are tempted to be morbid analysts of your own spiritual state, to use the scales of weight and measurement for the depth of your love and the height of your faith. 'l'here can be no escape from trepidatory alarms so long as we apply aqnaforLis to the gold of our affection, so long as we microscopically survey the minutim of our neglected duties and our multitudinous sins. We must ponder the consolatory words," As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." And thiB argument applies as much to the ordinary life of every day. Do things happen to us, or are our times in God's hands? Our dread of fatalism, with its results of inertia and indifference, has sometimes hindered that quiet trust in God which is the secret of all true strength. Events are in his hand. You cannot make one hair black or white, or add one cubit to your stature. You will become worn and weary by retrospective fe.i.rs. And what power have you over the dark, deep waves of coming tribulation, or over the advent- hours of grief and death? Be wise. Resolve with promptitude. Persevere with energy. Rise early with alacrity for the service of the day, but cast all anxious thoughts of to-morrow on your Lord. 2. I do not say that so doing all your fears will cease. No act of faith is so complete as to shut out all weakness of the soul. But I do say this will be your most perfect anodyne. Other things will help. The bracing air, the oxygen and ozone of the sea-coast, may tone your nerves, but it cannot create new ones. The gospel can do the most, but even that cannot reorganize the physical frame, so fearfully and wonderfully made; but its atmosphere is the best one for bracing the heart and soothing the fretted, irritated nerve. II. THERE IS CONTINUITY OF FEAR. We none of us know bow frail we are till trial comes. The blooming maiden little thought that care would so soon write itself on her forehead, and that the silvery lkes would so early be discovered in her hair. Yet so it is. A mother now, she has had to endure the anxieties of home and the agonies of bereavement. There are some constitutions that can brave much; they keep hale and well, with the pulse even nnd the eye bright, amid difficulties that would overwhelm others. Let them thank God for the perfectness of the physical frame. But there are some that only look robust and bright, and when tribulation comes their strength gives way with marvellous rapidit_y. 'l'he physician says the vascular system is excel- lent, the muscles strong, the frame perfect, but the nervous system is fragility itself. 1. "'1dvent-days of trouble do come. Eveu sin in its first consciousness overwhelms some with fear and trembling. A great horror overwhelms them. The invisible realm of the spirit is suddenly revealed to them, and where before they saw nothing hideous or evil, now reptiles crawl! Yes; there is a revelation of sin now as of old. We know what the first sight of accident or death is : how severely it shocks the senses of a child! So sin may, and does, come with an overwhelming consciousness of guilt on some minds. The old cry is beard, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord!" How terrible, then, if such souls fall into the hands, not of wise physicians, but of unwise irritators of the evil I The nerves will break down, and have broken down in thousands of cases, and mania ensues. Study the history of monasteries and convents. Study the history of some revivals. The medirevalists worked upon many delicate nervous systems by their hideous pictures of hell and by their fearful harangues concerning it. Nor has the modern Church escaped the clanger. ..il.t once the anxious soul should be led to him who says," Daughter, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." 2. There are seasons when unforeseen calamity comes. No fleecy cloud presages the coming storm, no floating seaweed tells how near the vessel is to the rocks ; but swift as the "bore" that rushes up the Hooghly from the Ganges, the water sweeps in with a swell, and engulfs the precious freights of tmanchored vessels in its broadening wave. There are seasons when the nerves are made intensely sensitive. The heart is pierced  270 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISA.IAH. [cH. LI.1-23,