The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 351

the burden and remove the load " (Ps. lxxviii. 38, 39). Why has he smitten them at all? lt is ?.:cause of thei~ sin. Unjust gai~ is put for sin in general (cf. Jcir. vi.13; v.1; Ezek. xxx111. ~I; Ps. cx1x. 36), even, as 1n other places, the shedding of blood. He has seen their ways, both of sin and aberration, of sufferino- and nrnendment. Having hidden himsdf, ~~ will now inte1yose to heal their wound:, and to gnido them by ~.?learer path (eh._ lvm. 11). (For sm as disease, and pardon as healing, cf. Jer. x:xxm. 6; 2 Ch~on. vii. 14; Ps. xli. 4; Jer. iii. 22; xvii. 4; Hos. xiv. 4.) .An<l as the result o~ ~11 this, he. creates the "fruit of the lips" (cf. Hos. xiv. 2), i.e. praise and thanbgi nng; of which the subject would be peace ( cf. Eph. ii. 14-17) to the near and remote, Jew a1:1d Gentile, or _with reference to the holy city; no degree of remote- ness was to disqualify true Israelites from the enjoyment of the promise. IV. THE COh'"TRAST. The !mpu_re and the unpardoned alone shall know no peace. Those who are ma state of alienation from Jehovah shall be, on the contrary, like the restless, ever-shifting sea (Jude 13; cf. Ovid, 'Tristia,' i. 10. 33). They have no fixed happiness, no substantial peace; a rage of passion ever ferments within them • past guilt casts up its mire in memory; fears of the future torment. How different from the scene where" the good man meets his fate, quite in the verge of heaven" I So fades a summer cloud away; So sinks the gale when storms are o'er; So gently shuts the eye of day; So dies a wave a.long the shore. J. Ver. 10.-Tlie weariness of life. "Thou art wearied." What do we mean by " weariness "? Look at the word. H means " to wear;" not to wear out, but to wear away, to exhaust the nervous sensibilities, the tissues of brain and heart. So we use the word in relation to mind. We become worn and weary. St. Paul felt this. It is not lassitude which comes from indifference, but the exhaustion felt by the earnest and the faithful soul. Let us thank God for restorative power. In nature how blessed this is! The weary traYcller, unable to drag his tired limbs one step further through the leaden air and under the copper sky of the East, laves his limbs in the limpid stream, aud lies down to rest. When the sun fills the east with rosy light he is up and off again-the birds sing, the air is full of vitality; freshened and cheered, he is young once more I So with grace. God has provided refreshment for us all. We need nut despair of reaching the goal. '' They shall return, and come to Zion with sonp;s and everlasting joy upon their head." We have the ever-open fountain of a Saviour's precious blood. to which we can come for cleansing and renewal ; the Holy Ghost to quicken and inspire; and the Word of God, which is spirit and life- " Come, let l18 anew our journey pursue." I. WEARTh"ESB COMES WITH TEMPORARY DISAPPOINTMENT AND DEFEAT. I say "temporary," because God himself has promised to perfect that which concerneth us. The top-stone shall be pnt on the temple of character with shoutings of "Grace, grace unto it." The way of perfection is just the way which wearies us. The building for immortality cannot be completed in a day. Moreover, the stones are living stones. We a.re disappointed that the building does not progress quickly and easily. And we are human as well as Divine. We have citizenship and home to deal with. \Ve are related to friends and to children. Think of Rebekah I She ~aid, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth-such as these?" 'l'he motherly anxiety was at work. She knew how slight her power was in such a sphere as that of her boy's love; and she knew what life-issues depended on that. As we get older we feel " limitations" of power. We can counsel and pray, but we cannot command. The mind looks with sorrow on the feeble sceptre of the will! We stand outside events, and all we can do is so little. Disappointment is a school wherein we learn humility and trust in God. Disappointment is a cloud, and we wait till the heavens arc clear and the all-revealing light comes again. But we are defeated, too, in ourselves; in others. "Depart from me," Peter said; "for I am a sinful can, 0 Lord." " Oppressed with sin and woe A burdened heart I bear." mr. LVII. 1-21.J THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 363