The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 265

Ver. !.-Lessons of the pa.st. This passage has been somewhat misused. The appeal is not made to the miserablenes3 of our spiritual condition before receiving the Divine redemption. It is simply a recalling of the early history of the race, and an appeal that the goodne,s, care, and mercy of God to the first progenitors of the race should be recognized. The wonder involved in the origin of Israel may be treated as a groun'd of faith in its restoration and perpetuity. Cheyne gives the meaning thus: "Unlikely as the fulfilment of such exceeding great and precious promises may seem, it is not more unlikely tban the original wonder of a great nation being descended from one man, 2.nd him as good as dead." Abraham may be understood by the "rock," and Sarah by the "pit." Look unto Abraham, and see what he got by trusting in the promise of God, and take example by him to follow God with an implicit faith. The metaphors are taken from the quarry, and express the general idea of extraction or descent. Retrospection is an important, though difficult and dangerous, Christian duty. It ought to (1) doopen our humility; (2) inflame our love; (3) stimulate our obedi- ence: and (4) perfect our dependence aud trust. But it may, and often does, nourish that subtle form of spiritual pride which poisons the soul, and which is peculiarly diflkult to cure. We only recall the past healthily when it is our set purpose to find the traces of God's gracious working in it all. Studied aright- ., I. 'fnE PAST TELLS OF OUB INSIGNIFICANCE. Compare the wonder over the insigni- ficance of Israel in its beginnings. So of the Christian Church. It began with the one or two who responded to the call of Christ. Some of us began our Christian lives in childhood, some in ignorance, and some when self-indulgence had ma1Ted the powers we posscSSf'd. All of us can say, "Chosen not for good in me." II. TII.E PAST TELLS OF GoD's CARE AND MEROY. We have been led, guided, pro- Tided for, chastised, and taught, even as Israel wes. God's first dealings seem to us a key to all his dealings. Ill. THE PA.ST TELLS OF OUB WILFULNESSES. Israel could never look back without remembering bis "way in the wilderness."' Their past was full of murmurings and rebellions. IV. Trrn PAST TELLS OF GoD's REDEMPTIONS. Exactly the name for God ie wr Redeemer. And the long aud varied past assures us that he will ever be to us, in all times of need, what he always has been.-R. T. Ver. 4.-God's revdation a light. "I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people." The terms "law" and "judgment" are designed to include all forms of Divine revelation-the various ways in which the Divine will is made known to man. HevelatioI! means ligl,t. It ie a mistake to assume that there are things revealed which are not intended for our comprehension; they are revealed precisely with the purpose of unfolding so that we might understand them. There are hidden and secret things, but Moses carefully distinguishes them from the revealed things, saying thus: OB. LI. 1-23.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 275