Vere. 10-14.-How Godfeelsand why he acts. The revolt or disobedience of Israel is said to have "vexed [grieved) his Holy Spirit." We learn from this and from a similar expression in Eph. iv. 30- I. THE GRIEF TO WHICH Goo IS SUBJECT. Men have argued thus. God is a blessed or happy Being; he is infinite in all his attributes; therefore he is infinitely, perfectly happy; therefore there is no possibility of sorrow in bis Divine nature. But such reasoning is very precarious and unrelil1.ble. ,ve can argue little from infinity of which we know nothing, and we must not think of weighing any inference thus obtained against plain statements of Scripture. We are there assured that God is capable of grief, and we must believe that he is, our logical conclusions notwithstanding. And, lookin" from another point of view, we might well conclude that he is and must be so. For is he not a Divine Father? And has he not undutiful, rebellions children? How, then, could he fail to be grieved at heart? The fact of God's fatherhood is the most certain of all truths established by Divine revelation; no ground is more solid than that. Our human fatherhood is indicative of the Divine; it is the reflection of it; it is immeasurably less than it; its best, its tenderest, its most holy and generous feelings, are hints and shadows of corresponding fee~s in the heart of the heavenly 452 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [oa. LXIII. 1-19,
Father. .l, then, in our thought, we purify, magnify, multiply that parental gricfwhioh a father f~l~ when hie children go astray, we understand something of the grief of God, 1. Our D1vme Father has expended on us boundles8 thought, affection treasure trnining, patience-a "multitude of loving-kindnesses." He has" given him;elr for us,: i11 one supr~rue act _of se_lf-sacrificing love. 2. He looks for filial response from us, for eager _attention to his v01ce _when he speaks_; for the acceptance of his pardoning love, for daily remembrance of him and commumon with him; for cheerful obedience to his holy_ will. 3. He too often finds stubborn and protracted inattention, persistent refusal of hie overtures of mercy, forgetfulness and neglect, a painful disregard of his will in onr relations with one another-disobedience. 4. 'l'hen his heart is grieved. He who should be satisfied with us ( eh. liii. 11) is disappointed in us; looking for fruit he finds none; his Holy Spirit is vexed, is grieved, in a way and in a degree beyond o~ human understanding, with a grief which is Divine. II. TrrE ACTIO~ WHICH ~~ TAK~s. "_'l'herefore he W:'-s turned to be their enemy, and he fought agamst them. God s attitude towards his people, consequent on theiL- guilt, seemed that of an enemy. He was as one who strove with them; he sent them discomfiture, calamity, exile. God may seem to be our enemy, to contend with us. He may send us: 1. U nbappiness of heart, a sense of the insufficiency and uselessness of our life, dreariness and despondency of spirit. 2. Failure of our temporal plans and schemes, and sense of miserable defeat. 3. Bereavement. 4. A wounded heart tbroucrh the inconstancy or the unfaithfulness of a friend; or some other blow which bends a~d threatens to break our spirit. God is against us, we feel. III. THE EKD HE HAS IN VIEW. However we read ver. 11, It ie clear that the purpose of God in thus striving with his people was restorative. He meant to give them rest, thus filling their hearts with joy and "making to himself a glorious Name." This is the meaning of all his adverse action toward us. He seeks our restoration to himself and to his service. There are with us, as with Israel, two strong securities. I. His past loving-kindnesses. He who had bound his people to his heart as the God of Israel had done (vers. 11-14) could not and would not desert them in their distress. 2. The honour of his holy Name. God is establishing a kingdom of peace and right- eousness, and he wants us as his loyal citizens. This is the meaning of all we are enduring. It is a summons from God to return to ourselves, to enter on our true heritage, to have fellowship with him.-O. Vers. 15-17.-The 11:nvarying Father. The habitation of God's holiness is the habitation of his glory; his glory is in hie goodness, in his faithfulness (Exod. xxxiii. 19). His fatherhood of man remains and may be c-0unted upon most confidently, although tbere may appear great obstacles in the way of it. L Oux INSIGh"'IFICANCE AMONG MEN is no indication of the absence of God's interest in ns. Abraham might be ignorant of any one of his children; our illustrious ancestors, our honoured contemporaries, may know nothing of us; we may be dwelling in the humblest obscurity; but that need not diminish in the very ema.llest degree our assurance that God is interesting himself in us. Doubtless he is our Father. "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me." II. Oux STANDING AMONG lLEN is no measure of God's regard for us. Israel might not be prepared to acknowledge one of his descendants. Men in high authority may withhold from us the licrbt of their countenance; but if there be integrity in our heart and soundness in our life, that need not greatly move us. It is better to have than to lack the confidence of such men, but we can do without it, if necessary. With God for our Father, with Christ for our Divine Friend, we can dispense with "the honour that cometh from man only." Ill. GoD's DISCIPLINE OF us is no disproof of hie desire or determination to bless us. God may seem to bal"e forsaken us. He once seemed to have forsaken his well-beloved Son. We may be inclined to use such language as he then used (Matt. xxvii. 46), or as that of the text (ver. 15; and see P,. Ix vii. 7-9). But we ma.y be reassured. Everything he has done or is doing is consistent with his unchanging love, with a fatherhood that never fails. God is only searching, pruning, purifying ue. He smites that he may heal us with a wholeness that will make us truly blessed, moet excellently established and enriched. 1. Therefore let the voice of prayer bo heard in dark and Ou. Lxtu. 1-19.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET IS.A.I.AH. 453
distressing hours. "Look down from heaven." 2. Therefore let the tried and stricken heart anticipate relief and recovery, God's Name is, from everlasting, that of ." a Redeemer,"-0.