The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 483

indignRtions, who can cast body and soul into hell. How wick('d it is for any of us to go on in sin, presuming upon God's mercifulness I What sinners hl\ve to do with la Goa's indignation.-R. T. Ver. 17.- Vain attempts to sanctify self. "They that sanctify themselves , , , shall be consumed together." The prophetic allusion is to those who attempted to secure themselves by "fearinii; the Lord, and serving other gods." They wanted to secure all possible Israelite privileges, yet wanted to sanctify themselves by means of the heathen rites which were the fashion of their times. "Such a blending of incom- patible elements was eminently characteristic of the reign of Manasseh." The things specially noticed are wilful throwings off of all the restraints of the Mosaic Law, 'l'hese mistaken ones dared to indulge in swine's flesh, and eat even other unclean foods. Van Lennep hns a c11rious note on eating the mouse. "The mouse is extremely common in Western Asia, and the Mosaic prohibition of its flesh continues to be generally observed. We have reason to believe that those who have tasted the flesh of the mouse acquire as great a relish for it as the Frenchman does for his frog diet, or the German for scruerkraut. \Ve once had a servant from one of the Greek islands who was addicted to this habit, a11d could he induced to relinqnish it neither by expostula- tion nor hy ridicule." Swine are always spoken of in both the Old and New Testa- ments with horror and disgust, especially for their close association with pagan rites. I. ATTEMPTS TO SANCTIFY SELF. Explain the forms such work has taken in old times, and is taking now. There is a proper sanctifying of self, which goes with due dependence on God's sanctifying, and is our "working out our own salvation with fear and trembling;" but what is reproved here is trying to sanctify one's self in one's own strength, in one's own way, and for one's own ends. II. THE VANITY OF AT'l'EMPTS TO SANCTIFY SELF. We cannot. It is running after a. "Will-o'-the-wisp." It is hurrying to drink of the "mirage." Solomon tried to satisfy, if we may not say to sanctify, himself, and ended with a wail, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity I" Ill. THE DEr.RADATION OF ATTEMPTS TO SANCTIFY SELF. We a.re sure to come down from trying high things to trying low ones. We come at last to making much of some tree, or eating swine's flesh, or abominable mice, or counting beads, or grovel- ling among stones, or drinking of so-called "holy wells." And there is no hope in God for e.ny of us until we are wholly willing to give up a.II these attempts, and just take God's way of sanctifying us, which is at once the only way, and the best way,-R. •r. Ver. 23.-Tlie universal worship. "From one sabLath to another, shall e.11 flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." l. IN MJl:ETING TOGETHER FOB PUDLIO WORSHIP WE FOLLOW THE NATURAL IMPULSE OF OUB OWN HEARTS, AS WELL AS OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS OF OUB Goo. To look up e.nd pray is one of the most original and essential impulses of humanity, one of the com- monest characteristics of the race. Prayer is properly aRsociated with the whole circle of our relations with God. As spirits we are God's children, and God't1 erring, wilful children; we must find expression for our conscious need of spiritual blessings. Our bodies are the Divine creation, the care of Divine Provirleuce, and out of the sense of the relation of our borlily life to God we are impelled to pray for temporal blessings, We are set in close associations one with another, as families; and as those having similar preferences and convictions; out of such relations come our united family and sanctuary worship. There are even larger e.ssociations into which we cuter as fellow- citizens, follow-countrymen, fellow-men, Our welfare in all these relationships directly depen<lB on him who is Lord of natnral laws, Lord of storms, Lord of pestilences, Lord of harvests, Lord of sunshine, Lord of the wrath of men, and Lord of their wee.Ith. So far as we feel this aright we sh"ll he impelled to ~ay to every fellow-creature, made in the image of God, and made for God even as we are, "0 come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." We have not to seek for reasons that may prove persuasions to worship. 'What men have to seek for is excuse for their neglect of the universal worship. It is not sufficiently recognized that God deals with us collectively here on earth. We have no reason for assuming that there are separate r,hurches m heaven ; or organized families; or towns with local interosts; or nations 01t. tn1. 1-24.J 'l'ltE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIA.Et. 501