The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 450

admirable-but there is no inward soundness; it is not the excellency of growing life we are looking upon, but the melancholy beauty of decay. III. THE INEVITABLENESS OF DECLINE, A psalmist and a prophet speak poetically of" trees whose leaves do not fade." But such trees, we know, are not found in the vegetable kingdom. Human hearts need not fade. They who are ever drinking in the sunshine of Divine truth, who bat.he in the waters of Divine wisdom, on whom fall con- tinually the dews of the Divine Spirit-these are "trees planted by the rivers of water," and " their leaf does not wither;" they keep their freshness, their purity, their joy to the last ; they never lose it. But human lives must. We all do fade as a leaf; the time must be reached when the physical and mental powers begin to decline, and then life lessens in its force and its range from year to year, until the gust comes which brings down the faded leaf to the earth. Prudence mn.y put off the date but the experience is inevitable and must be fa.~ed. We must be provided with a tru~ and real consolation. IV. THE MINGLING OF THE GRADUAL WITH THE SUDDEN IN TilE DEOLINE OF LIFE. Everything, in the history of the leaf, is a gradual process, until the last killing frost or pelting rain detaches it from the bough. Death is seldom quite sudden, usually much less so than it seems. It is generally the case that the vigour of the frame has been impaired and the vital powers lessened before the attack proves fatal. We all do fade as a leaf ; we decline before we die, we fade before we fall, we walk down the hill by many paces before we take the last step and touch the bottom. Yet is there, almost always, something sudden in the great removal. The day of the Lord still comes as a thief in the night. V. HUMAN LIFE, UNLIKE THE LEAF, RAS NO FIXED TIME TO DROOP AND DIE. We know the season of the falling leaf, but the time of failing health and of the departing spirit we do not know. Well sings Mrs. Hemans- " Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, And stars to set ; but all- Thou hast all 1108110ns for thine own, 0 Death." 0. Ver. 7.-Taking ho7,d of God. We do well to associate with the words of the text those of eh. xxvii. 5, " Let him take hold of my strength; " thus connected, we have before us- I. THAT WHICH OONBTITUTEB Gon's STRENGTH TO us, or that in him of which we have the greatest need. The strength of the father is, to the family, his providing and directing power; the strength of tbe mother is her affection and her unfailing sympathy; the strength of tbe elder brother is bis protection, of the elder sister her example. The strength of any one to whom we are related is that in him which most powerfully affects our well-being. 'l'here may be in creation many millions of beings to whom God's strength appears to be that of hie majesty, bis infinity, bis omniscience, his holiness. We also, the chililren of men, have a very large and deep interest in these, especially in his holiness. We give thanks at the remembrance of it (vide Ps. xxx. 4; xcvii. 12). Without it we should not be what we are, and should have no hope of rising to the noble heights we have before us. But that in God of which we have most conscious need is (1) Divine mercy; (2) Divine bounty and guiilance; (3) Divine suc- cour. Tbe one hope we have is in the assurance that God is strong in these, and we feel that if they are but directed toward us and embrace us in their beneficent course, all will be well with us. IL 'l'HE NECESSITY WE ARE UNDER TO APPROPRIATE IT. It may be said that God is so generous a Being that he does not wait for any action on our part to bestow his blessiogs upon us; that, notwithstanding human disregard and rebellion, he multiplies his mercies unto us; that the magnanimous Father in heaven makes his sun to shine on the evil as well as on the good. Thie is true, but it is far from exhausting the truth. To what extent we sha.Il be recipients of Divine mercy depends on whether or not we "take hold" upon it. God is 80 strong, 80 abundant in mercy, that his grace overflows to those who seek not for it, and they are not "dealt with according to their sins;" they derive great benefit from the abundance of God's patience, But if we wish to OH, LXIV.1-12.J THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 4.67