things t-0 serve ~ii!1, t,o 1;0inister to his people and to establish his kingdom. 8. The perfectness of D1Vine wtsdom, Who shall measure " the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God"? H. THE POVERTY OF SPIRITUAL RESULTS. In how many instances have we oooasion to be profoundly discontented with the condition of things, spiritually considered I It is so in reyard to: I. Individual character. Considering the resources at command, men do no~ make t~e pr~gress in spiritual growth, in moral attainment, or in excellency of behaviour, which might be expected of them; they remain where they were, or move backward and forward, making no substantial progress toward " the mark [goal] which is set before them." 2. Christian Churches, Taking into account the num her of privi- leges which are theirs, a.nd the variety of opportunities which are within reach, there is a very considerable proportion of Churches compelled to acknowledge retrogression rather than advancement, defeat rather than success. 3. M'UJSi(Yll,(1,ry operations. After all that has been done through the centuries, by all societies of Christian men, how much land " remains to be possessed "I III. THE FALSE AND THE TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE MATTER. It is not Divine neali- gence that explains our position. It is not that God's band is shortened or that his ~ar is heavy; it is not that his power is diminished or that his pity has failed in the very smallest d~crree. He abideth faithful and omnipotent. We are not straitened in him, but in ourselves. It is sin that has come between our praying lip and his hearing ear between our pressing need and his opened hand. 1. Rej'USal of his righteousness makes our prayer ineffectual, his interposition impossible. If we" regard iniquity in our heart, he will not hear us;" i.tJ. if we decline to enter his service, if we "will not have him to reign" over us, if we stubbornly and haughtily reject the salvation which he offers us in Jesus Christ (Rom. L 3), we take an attitude in which we have no right to expect any answer t.o our petitions. The first thing, the only right and acceptable thing, for one that has not yet returnea. to God in self-surrender, is to "arise and go to the Father" in pe!li.tent submission; then he may call, and the Lord will answer. 2. Special sins may prove a stumbling-block; some are specified in the following verses-cruel violence, falsehood, litigiousness. We are expressly told in the later, revelation that some particular sins are absolutely inconsistent with personal piety, and therefore with the efficacy of prayer-impurity (Eph. v. 5); strife (Gal. v, 20); drunkenness; lying (Rev. xxi. 8). 3. The absence of essential Christian. graces will account for the non- intervention of God on behalf of a Christian Church: of unity (Ps. cxxxiii. 3); of faith (Heb. xi. 6; Matt. xiii. 58); of zeal (Rev. ii. 4; iii. 15, 16); of fidelity to the truth (Rev. ii. 14). The true account of our failure is not in Divine indifference, but in human shortcoming.-C.
Ver. 6.- Webs that will not malre garments. It is the virtue of a garment that it covers. The ideas of covering and of atoning were very closely allied in Hebrew thought. The prophet intimates that there were webs of their own spinning which would never hide their sin from the sight of God. Such are there now. We look at- L 'l'HE souL's SUPREME NECESSITY. The presence of sin is the sternest of all facts; the mark which it has made on our manhood is by far the deepest and darkest of any; all others are mere touches, mere scratches in comparison. 'l'his is true of. the indivirlual as well as of the community. The thing that we have done, more serious and of greater consequence than any other, is that we have sinned against the Lord and come beneath his condemnation. What we most urgently want is a covering for our liOul. Our naked and guilty soul imperatively and sorely needs that under which it may appear before God without shame and shrinking, and take its place, in this world or in any other, among the pure, the holy, the righteous. The question is-What is that garment which will cover the sinful human soul? 11 THE INSUFFICIENcY OF THE PROVISION Wfil0H SOME MEN ABE MAKING. Many are providing for themselves that which is utterly inadequate; they are spinning webs- poor, thin, gossamer productions-which '' will not become garmentH" available for this purpose. There is: 1. The web of Christian profession. Some find comfort and ~om- placency of ROul in the fact that they are acknowledged members of a Church, ancient, or catholic, or estabhshed, or scriptural. Desirable, in many ways, as is an avowal of attachment to Christ, it is not a thing in which to put any trust; a man may be a on. LIX. 1-21.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 395