The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 451

k~o_w all the fulneee of Divine mercy ae it is to be known by any seeking human spmt, we must lay hold on God's strength in this direction. We must" call upon his Name" with penitential spirit and with true faith in Jesus Christ, and we shall ~ave not merely the overflow, but the full cup of Divine mercy, his grace in all its richness and fulness outpoured upon our own heart-the forgiveness of all past sin and all present unworthiness, admission to his full friendship, fr,·c,lom to p:c..rtake of all the privileges which belong to the child at home, heirship of tlie heavenly kingdom. In the same way, it is necessary, if we would experience the fulness, the height and depth, and length, and breadth, open to us of God's bCYUnty and guidance, or of his succour in a. time of special need, that we ~hould "lay hold on him," on "his stren~th," in all these things; and we do lay hold by (1) maintaining toward him the attitude of sonship, and (2) going to him in the act of earnest, believing prayer. Ill. THE NEED FOR HOLY ENERGY IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE. "There is none that etirreth up himself," etc. If men complain that they have not felt the peace and joy, or found the provision and the guid,mce, or experienced the delivering succour which they looked for from waiting on God, the answer and the explanation may be this- that they have been cold in their approach and their requests to God, when they should · have been eager and ardent; formal, when tbey should have been spiritual; unex- pectant, when they should have been full of faith and hope; languid, when they should have been energetic; easily daunted, when they should have been earnestly persistent. They have made a feeble and futile effort, when they should have thrown their whole soul into the sacred exercise, into the spiritual work. They must arouse themselves, "stir themselves up."-C. Vera. 8-12.-A twofold plea. The prophet addresses himself to God in earnest prayer for Divine interposition, and he uses a twofold plea. I. THE INTIMACY AND FULNESB OF Goo's RELATIONSHIP. 1. God was their Creator. He made them as truly as the potter fashions the clay; they were his workmanship (ver. 8). 2. God was their Father. He had cared for them and bestowed on them his parental love; would he abandon his own children? 3. God was their Redeemer. He had rescued them from bondage, had given them their heritage, had made them "his people" (ver. 9). So fully and so intimately is God related to us now, and we can use the same terms with a deeper and larger meaning, taught of Christ and redeemed by his blood. II. 'l'HE SEVERITY OF THEIR DISTRESS. Zion a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation, "the holy and beautiful house" a calcined ruin, the beauty of the land a barrenness and a blot. 'l'he extremity of the Church's misery, its utter helplessness without Divine relief, is a strong plea with which to come to him who gave himself for it and lives to establish it.-C. Ver. 1.-Prayer for humbling manifestations of God. "Vers.1-3 are parallel to eh. !xiii. 16, but grander and bolder. There the prophet, in the name of the Church, petitioned that Jehovah would look down on the misery of his people. Here a look is felt to be insufficient, so widely yawns the gulf between Israel and his God. A revela- tion on the largest possible scale is necessary to smite down unbelief and annihilate opposition; God himself must appear" (Naegelsbach). 'l'he prayer is for a Divine mani- festation suited to the circumstances and necessities of God's people as truly as th~ fire-manifestation of Sinai had been. The prophet seems to think that some over- whelming manifestation of God would silence the unbelievers, and put the hinderers out of the way, as nothing else could. There is always a tendency to trust in the extraordinary rather than in the ordinary methods of Divine working. We think men will repent, if only some one woulcl rise from the dead and witness of eternal thiugs to them; and God's answer in every age is, " If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.n J. Suoo PRAYER OFTEN BHOW8 THAT WE FAIL TO NOTIOE Goo's WORKING IN QUIETER WAYS. Men do not pray for "lightning" who duly recognize what the "light:• is doin"'. Yet the silent forces are the mighty ones. Atmo■phere does more than wrnd; dew does more than storms; moisture does more than rains. God works 11is best work ailently, quietly. We think big things must make a big noise. It is true uf our every-  468 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [oa. LXIV. 1-12.