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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XLIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Glorious things had been spoken in the previous chapters concerning the
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deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon; but lest any should think, when
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it was accomplished, that it looked much greater and brighter in the
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prophecy than in the performance, and that the return of about 40,000
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Jews in a poor condition out of Babylon to Jerusalem was not an event
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sufficiently answering to the height and grandeur of the expressions
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used in the prophecy, he here comes to show that the prophecy had a
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further intention, and was to have its full accomplishment in a
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redemption that should as far outdo these expressions as the other
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seemed to come short of them, even the redemption of the world by Jesus
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Christ, of whom not only Cyrus, who was God's servant in foretelling
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it, was a type. In this chapter we have,
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I. The designation of Christ, under the type of Isaiah, to his office
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as Mediator,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. The assurance given him of the success of his undertaking among the
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Gentiles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:4-8">ver. 4-8</A>.
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III. The redemption that should be wrought by him, and the progress of
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that redemption,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:9-12">ver. 9-12</A>.
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IV. The encouragement given hence to the afflicted church,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:13-17">ver. 13-17</A>.
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V. The addition of many to it, and the setting up of a church among the
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Gentiles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:18-23">ver. 18-23</A>.
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VI. A ratification of the prophecy of the Jews' release out of Babylon,
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which was to be the figure and type of all these blessings,,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:24-26">
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ver. 24-26</A>.
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If this chapter be rightly understood, we shall see ourselves to be
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more concerned in the prophecies relating to the Jews' deliverance out
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of Babylon than we thought we were.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa49_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Encouragement to the Gentiles.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far;
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The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
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mother hath he made mention of my name.
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2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow
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of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his
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quiver hath he hid me;
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3 And said unto me, Thou <I>art</I> my servant, O Israel, in whom I
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will be glorified.
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4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my
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strength for nought, and in vain: <I>yet</I> surely my judgment <I>is</I>
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with the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and my work with my God.
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5 And now, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that formed me from the womb <I>to be</I>
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his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not
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gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and my
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God shall be my strength.
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6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my
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servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
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preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the
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Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the
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earth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. An auditory is summoned together and attention demanded. The sermon
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in the foregoing chapter was directed to the house of Jacob and the
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people of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:1,12"><I>v.</I> 1, 12</A>.
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But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are
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called <I>the isles of the Gentiles,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+10:5">Gen. x. 5</A>)
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and to <I>the people from far,</I> that were <I>strangers to the
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commonwealth of Israel,</I> and afar off. Let these listen
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>)
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as to a thing at a distance, which yet they are to hear with desire and
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attention. Note,
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1. The tidings of a Redeemer are sent to the Gentiles, and to those
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that lie most remote; and they are concerned to listen to them.
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2. The Gentiles listened to the gospel when the Jews were deaf to
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it.</P>
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<P>
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II. The great author and publisher of the redemption produces his
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authority from heaven for the work he had undertaken.
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1. God had appointed him and set him apart for it: <I>The Lord has
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called me from the womb</I> to this office and <I>made mention of my
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name,</I> nominated me to be the Saviour. By an angel he called him
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<I>Jesus--a Saviour,</I> who <I>should save his people from their
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sins,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+1:21">Matt. i. 21</A>.
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Nay, from the womb of the divine counsels, before all worlds, he was
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called to this service, and help was laid upon him; and he came at the
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call, for he said, <I>Lo, I come,</I> with an eye to what was written
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of him <I>in the volume of the book.</I> This was said of some of the
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prophets, as types of him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:5">Jer. i. 5</A>.
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Paul was separated to the apostleship from his mother's womb,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+1:15">Gal. i. 15</A>.
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2. God had fitted and qualified him for the service to which he
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designed him. He <I>made his mouth like a sharp sword,</I> and <I>made
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him</I> like <I>a polished shaft,</I> or a bright arrow, furnished him
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with every thing necessary to fight God's battles against the powers of
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darkness, to conquer Satan, and bring back God's revolted subjects to
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their allegiance, by his word: that is the <I>two-edged sword</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:12">Heb. iv. 12</A>)
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which comes out of his mouth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:15">Rev. xix. 15</A>.
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The convictions of the word are the arrows that shall be sharp in the
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hearts of sinners,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:5">Ps. xlv. 5</A>.
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3. God had preferred him to the service for which he had reserved him:
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<I>He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand</I> and in his quiver,
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which denotes,
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(1.) Concealment. The gospel of Christ, and the calling in of the
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Gentiles by it, were long hidden from ages and generations, hidden in
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God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+3:5,Ro+16:25">Eph. iii. 5, Rom. xvi. 25</A>),
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hidden in the shadow of the ceremonial law and the Old-Testament types.
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(2.) Protection. The house of David was the particular care of the
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divine Providence, because that blessing was in it. Christ in his
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infancy was sheltered from the rage of Herod.
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4. God had owned him, had said unto him, "<I>Thou art my servant,</I>
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whom I have employed and will prosper; thou art Israel, in effect,
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<I>the prince with God,</I> that hast wrestled and prevailed; and in
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thee I will be glorified." The people of God are <I>Israel,</I> and
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they are all gathered together, summed up, as it were, in Christ, the
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great representative of all Israel, as the high priest who had the
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names of all the tribes on his breastplate; and in him God is and will
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be glorified; so he said by a voice from heaven,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:27,28">John xii. 27, 28</A>.
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Some read the words in two clauses: <I>Thou art my servant</I> (so
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Christ is,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:1"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 1</A>);
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<I>it is Israel in whom I will be glorified by thee;</I> it is the
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spiritual Israel, the elect, in the salvation of whom by Jesus Christ
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God will be glorified, and his free grace for ever admired.</P>
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<P>
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III. He is assured of the good success of his undertaking; for whom God
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calls he will prosper. And as to this,</P>
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<P>
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1. He objects the discouragement he had met with at his first setting
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out
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"Then I said, with a sad heart, <I>I have laboured in vain;</I> those
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that were ignorant, and careless, and strangers to God, are so still:
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<I>I have called, and they have refused;</I> I have <I>stretched out my
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hands to a gainsaying people.</I>" This was Isaiah's complaint, but it
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was no more than he was told to expect,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:9"><I>ch.</I> vi. 9</A>.
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The same was a temptation to Jeremiah to resolve he would labour no
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more,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+20:9">Jer. xx. 9</A>.
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It is the complaint of many a faithful minister, that has not loitered,
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but laboured, not spared, but spent, his strength, and himself with it,
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and yet, as to many, it is all in vain and for nought; they will not be
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prevailed with to repent and believe. But here it seems to point at
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the obstinacy of the Jews, among whom Christ went in person preaching
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the gospel of the kingdom, laboured and spent his strength, and yet the
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rulers and the body of the nation rejected him and his doctrine; so
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very few were brought in, when one would think none should have stood
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out, that he might well say, "<I>I have laboured in vain,</I> preached
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so many sermons, wrought so many miracles, in vain." Let not the
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ministers think it strange that they are slighted when the Master
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himself was.</P>
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<P>
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2. He comforts himself under this discouragement with this
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consideration, that it was the cause of God in which he was engaged and
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the call of God that engaged him in it: <I>Yet surely my judgment is
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with the Lord,</I> who is the Judge of all, <I>and my work with my
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God,</I> whose servant I am. His comfort is, and it may be the comfort
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of all faithful ministers, when they see little success of their
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labours,
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(1.) That, however it be, it is a righteous cause that they are
|
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pleading. They are with God, and for God; they are on his side, and
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workers together with him. They like not their judgment, the rule they
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go by, nor their work, the business they are employed in, ever the
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worse for this. The unbelief of men gives them no cause to suspect the
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truth of their doctrine,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:3">Rom. iii. 3</A>.
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(2.) That their management of this cause, and their prosecution of this
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work, were known to God, and they could appeal to him concerning their
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sincerity, and that it was not through any neglect of theirs that they
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laboured in vain. "<I>He knows the way that I take; my judgment is with
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the Lord,</I> to determine whether I have not delivered my soul and
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left the blood of those that perish on their own heads."
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(3.) Though the labour be in vain as to those that are laboured with,
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yet not as to the labourer himself, if he be faithful: his judgment is
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with the Lord, who will justify him and bear him out, though men
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condemn him and run him down; and his work (the reward of his work) is
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with his God, who will take care he shall be no loser, no, not by his
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lost labour.
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(4.) Though the judgment be not yet brought forth unto victory, nor the
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work to perfection, yet both are with the Lord, to carry them on and
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give them success, according to his purpose, in his own way and
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time.</P>
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<P>
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3. He receives from God a further answer to this objection,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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He knew very well that God had set him on work, had <I>formed him from
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the womb to be his servant,</I> had not only called him so early to it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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but begun so early to fit him for it and dispose him to it. Those whom
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God designs to employ as his servants he is fashioning and preparing to
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be so long before, when perhaps neither themselves nor others are aware
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of it. It is he that forms the spirit of man within him. Christ was to
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be <I>his servant, to bring Jacob again to him,</I> that had
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treacherously departed from him. The seed of Jacob therefore, according
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to the flesh, must first be dealt with, and means used to bring them
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back. Christ, and the word of salvation by him, are sent to them first;
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nay, Christ comes in person to them only, <I>to the lost sheep of the
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house of Israel.</I> But what if Jacob will not be brought back to God
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and Israel will not be gathered? So it proved; but this is a
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satisfaction in that case,
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(1.) Christ will be glorious in the eyes of the Lord; and those are
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truly glorious that are so in God's eyes. Though few of the Jewish
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nation were converted by Christ's preaching and miracles, and many of
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them loaded him with ignominy and disgrace, yet God put honour upon
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him, and made him glorious, at his baptism, and in his transfiguration,
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spoke to him from heaven, sent angels to minister to him, made even his
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shameful death glorious by the many prodigies that attended it, much
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more his resurrection. In his sufferings God was his strength, so that
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though he met with all the discouragement imaginable, by the contempts
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of a people whom he had done so much to oblige, yet he <I>did not fail
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nor was discouraged.</I> An angel was sent from heaven to
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<I>strengthen</I> him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+22:43">Luke xxii. 43</A>.
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Faithful ministers, though they see not the fruit of their labours,
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shall yet be accepted of God, and in that they shall be truly glorious,
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for his favour is our honour; and they shall be assisted to proceed and
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persevere in their labours notwithstanding. This weakens their hands,
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but their God will be their strength.
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(2.) The gospel shall be glorious in the eyes of the world; though it
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be not so in the eyes of the Jews, yet it shall be entertained by the
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nations,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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The Messiah seemed as if he had been primarily designed to <I>bring
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Jacob back,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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But he is here told that it is comparatively but a small matter; a
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higher orb of honour than that, and a larger sphere of usefulness, are
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designed him: "<I>It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant,
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to raise up the tribes of Jacob</I> to the dignity and dominion they
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expect by the Messiah, and to <I>restore the preserved of Israel,</I>
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and make them a flourishing church and state as formerly" (nay,
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considering what a little handful of people they are, it would be but a
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small matter, in comparison, for the Messiah to be the Saviour of them
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only); "and therefore <I>I will give thee for a light to the
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Gentiles</I> (many great and mighty nations by the gospel of Christ
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shall be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God), <I>that
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thou mayest be my salvation,</I> the author of that salvation which I
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have designed for lost man, and this <I>to the end of the earth,</I> to
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nations at the greatest distance." Hence Simeon learned to call Christ
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<I>a light to lighten the Gentiles</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:32">Luke ii. 32</A>),
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and St. Paul's exposition of this text is what we ought to abide by,
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and it serves for a key to the context,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:47">Acts xiii. 47</A>.
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<I>Therefore,</I> says he, we turn to the Gentiles, to preach the
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|
gospel to them, <I>because so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have
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|
set thee to be a light to the Gentiles.</I> In this the Redeemer was
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|
truly glorious, though Israel was not gathered; the setting up of his
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|
kingdom in the Gentile world was more his honour than if he had raised
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up all the tribes of Jacob. This promise is in part fulfilled already,
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|
and will have a further accomplishment, if that time be yet to come
|
|
which the apostle speaks of, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be
|
|
brought in. Observe, God calls it his salvation, which some think
|
|
intimates how well pleased he was with it, how he gloried in it, and
|
|
(if I may so say) how much his heart was upon it. They further observe
|
|
that Christ is given for a light to all those to whom he is given for
|
|
salvation. It is in darkness that men perish. Christ enlightens men's
|
|
eyes, and so makes them holy and happy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_7"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_12"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Encouragement to the Gentiles.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the Redeemer of Israel, <I>and</I> his Holy
|
|
One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,
|
|
to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also
|
|
shall worship, because of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that is faithful, <I>and</I> the
|
|
Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
|
|
8 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
|
|
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve
|
|
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish
|
|
the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
|
|
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that
|
|
<I>are</I> in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways,
|
|
and their pastures <I>shall be</I> in all high places.
|
|
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor
|
|
sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
|
|
even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
|
|
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways
|
|
shall be exalted.
|
|
12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the
|
|
north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The humiliation and exaltation of the Messiah
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and Israel's Holy One,</I> who had
|
|
always taken care of the Jewish church and wrought out for them those
|
|
deliverances that were typical of the great salvation, speaks here to
|
|
him, who was the undertaker of that salvation. And,
|
|
|
|
1. He takes notice of his humiliation, the instances of which were
|
|
uncommon, nay, unparalleled. He was one <I>whom man despised.</I> He
|
|
is <I>despised and rejected of men,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:3"><I>ch.</I> liii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
To be despised by so mean a creature (man, who is himself a worm)
|
|
bespeaks the lowest and most contemptible condition imaginable. Man,
|
|
whom he came to save and to put honour upon, yet despised him and put
|
|
contempt upon him; so wretchedly ungrateful were his persecutors. The
|
|
ignominy he underwent was not the least of his sufferings. They not
|
|
only made him despicable, but odious. He was <I>one whom the nation
|
|
abhorred;</I> they treated him as the worst of men, and cried out,
|
|
<I>Crucify him, crucify him.</I> The nation did it, the Gentiles as
|
|
well as Jews, and the Jews herein worse than Gentiles; for his cross
|
|
was <I>to the one a stumbling-block</I> and <I>to the other
|
|
foolishness.</I> He was <I>a servant of rulers;</I> he was trampled
|
|
upon, abused, scourged, and crucified as a slave. Pilate boasted of his
|
|
power over him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+19:10">John xix. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
This he submitted to for our salvation.
|
|
|
|
2. He promises him his exaltation. Honour was done him even in the
|
|
depth of his humiliation. Herod the king stood in awe of him, saying,
|
|
<I>I it John the Baptist;</I> noblemen, rulers, centurions came and
|
|
kneeled to him. But this was more fully accomplished when kings
|
|
received his gospel, and submitted to his yoke, and joined in the
|
|
worship of him, and called themselves the vassals of Christ. Not that
|
|
Christ values the rich more than the poor (they stand upon a level with
|
|
him), but it is for the honour of his kingdom among men when the great
|
|
ones of the earth appear for him and do homage to him. This shall be
|
|
the accomplishment of God's promise, and he will give him the heathen
|
|
for his inheritance, and <I>therefore</I> it shall be done, <I>because
|
|
of the Lord who is faithful</I> and true to his promise; and this shall
|
|
be an evidence that Christ had a commission for what he did, and that
|
|
God had chosen him, and would own the choice he had made.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The blessings he has in store for all those to whom he is made
|
|
salvation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. God will own and stand by him in his undertaking
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>In an acceptable time have I heard thee,</I> that is, I will hear
|
|
thee. Christ, <I>in the days of his flesh, offered up strong cries,
|
|
and was heard,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+5:7">Heb. v. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
He knew that the <I>Father heard him always</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:42">John xi. 42</A>),
|
|
|
|
heard him for himself (for, though the cup might not pass from him, yet
|
|
he was enabled to drink it), heard him for all that are his, and
|
|
therefore he interceded for them as one having authority. <I>Father, I
|
|
will,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:24">John xvii. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
All our happiness results from the Son's interest in the Father and the
|
|
prevalency of his intercession, that he always heard him; and this
|
|
makes the gospel time an acceptable time, welcome to us, because we are
|
|
accepted of God, both reconciled and recommended to him, that God hears
|
|
the Redeemer for us,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+7:25">Heb. vii. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nor will he hear him only, but help him to go through with his
|
|
undertaking. The Father was always with him at his right hand, and did
|
|
not leave him when his disciples did. Violent attacks were made upon
|
|
our Lord Jesus by the powers of darkness, when it was their hour, to
|
|
drive him off from his undertakings, but God promises to preserve him
|
|
and enable him to persevere in it; on that <I>one stone were seven
|
|
eyes,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+3:9">Zech. iii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
God would preserve him, would preserve his interest, his kingdom among
|
|
men, though fought against on all sides. Christ is preserved while
|
|
Christianity is.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. God will authorize him to apply to his church the benefits of the
|
|
redemption he is to work out. God's preserving and helping him was to
|
|
make the day of his gospel a day of salvation. And so the apostle
|
|
understands it: <I>Behold, now is the day of salvation,</I> now the
|
|
word of reconciliation by Christ is preached,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+6:2">2 Cor. vi. 2</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He shall be guarantee of the treaty of peace between God and man:
|
|
I will <I>give thee for a covenant of the people.</I> This we had
|
|
before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:6"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it is here repeated as faithful, and well worthy of all acceptation
|
|
and observation. He is given for a covenant, that is, for a pledge of
|
|
all the blessings of the covenant. It was in him that God was
|
|
<I>reconciling the world to himself;</I> and he that <I>spared not his
|
|
own Son</I> will deny us nothing. He is given for a covenant, not only
|
|
as he is the Mediator of the covenant, the blessed <I>days-man who has
|
|
laid his hand upon us both,</I> but as he is all in all in the
|
|
covenant. All the duty of the covenant is summed up in our being his;
|
|
and all the privilege and happiness of the covenant are summed up in
|
|
his being ours.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He shall repair the decays of the church and build it upon a rock.
|
|
He shall <I>establish the earth,</I> or rather the <I>land,</I> the
|
|
land of Judea, a type of the church. He shall <I>cause the desolate
|
|
heritages to be inherited;</I> so the cities of Judah were after the
|
|
return out of captivity, and so the church, which in the last and
|
|
degenerate ages of the Jewish nation had been as a country laid waste,
|
|
but was again replenished by the fruits of the preaching of the
|
|
gospel.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) He shall free the souls of men from the bondage of guilt and
|
|
corruption and bring them into the glorious liberty of God's children.
|
|
He shall <I>say to the prisoners</I> that were bound over to the
|
|
justice of God, and bound under the power of Satan, <I>Go forth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Pardoning mercy is a release from the curse of the law, and renewing
|
|
grace is a release from the dominion of sin. Both are from Christ, and
|
|
are branches of the great salvation. It is he that says, <I>Go
|
|
forth;</I> it is the Son that makes us free, and then we are free
|
|
indeed. He saith <I>to those that are in darkness, Show yourselves;</I>
|
|
"not only <I>see,</I> but <I>be seen,</I> to the glory of God and your
|
|
own comfort." When he discharged the lepers from their confinement, he
|
|
said, <I>Go show yourselves to the priest.</I> When we see the light,
|
|
let our light shine.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) He shall provide for the comfortable passage of those whom he sets
|
|
at liberty to the place of their rest and happy settlement,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:9-11"><I>v.</I> 9-11</A>.
|
|
|
|
These verses refer to the provision made for the Jews' return out of
|
|
their captivity, who were taken under the particular care of the divine
|
|
Providence, as favourites of Heaven, and now so in a special manner;
|
|
but they are applicable to that guidance of divine grace which all
|
|
God's spiritual Israel are under, from their release out of bondage to
|
|
their settlement in the heavenly Canaan.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They shall have their charges borne and shall be fed at free cost
|
|
with food convenient: <I>They shall feed in the ways,</I> as sheep; for
|
|
now, as formerly, God <I>leads Joseph like a flock.</I> When God
|
|
pleases even highway ground shall be good ground for the sheep of his
|
|
pasture to feed in. Their pastures shall be not only in the valleys,
|
|
but <I>in all high places,</I> which are commonly dry and barren.
|
|
Wherever God brings his people he will take care they shall want
|
|
nothing that is good for them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:10">Ps. xxxiv. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
And so well shall they be provided for that they shall not hunger nor
|
|
thirst, for what they need they shall have seasonably, before their
|
|
need of it comes to an extremity.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They shall be sheltered and protected from every thing that would
|
|
incommode them: <I>Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them,</I> or
|
|
God causes <I>his flock to rest at noon,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+1:7">Cant. i. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
No evil thing shall befal those that put themselves under a divine
|
|
protection; they shall be enabled to <I>bear the burden and heat of the
|
|
day.</I>
|
|
|
|
[3.] They shall be under God's gracious guidance: <I>He that has mercy
|
|
on them,</I> in bringing them out of their captivity, <I>shall lead
|
|
them,</I> as he did their fathers in the wilderness, by a pillar of
|
|
cloud and fire. <I>Even by springs of water,</I> which will be ready to
|
|
them in their march, <I>shall he guide them.</I> God will furnish them
|
|
with suitable and seasonable comforts, not like the pools of rainwater
|
|
in the valley of Baca, but like the water out of the rock which
|
|
followed Israel. Those who are under a divine guidance, and follow that
|
|
closely, while they do so, may, upon good grounds, hope for divine
|
|
comforts and cordials. The world leads its followers by broken
|
|
cisterns, or brooks that fail in summer; but God leads those that are
|
|
his by springs of water. And those whom God guides shall find a ready
|
|
road and all obstacles removed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will make all my mountains a way.</I> He that in times past made
|
|
the sea a way, now with as much ease will make the mountains a way,
|
|
though they seemed impassable. The highway, or causeway, shall be
|
|
raised, to make it both the plainer and the fairer. Note, The ways in
|
|
which God leads his people he himself will be the overseer of, and will
|
|
take care that they be well mended and kept in repair, as of old the
|
|
ways that led to the cities of refuge. The levelling of the roads from
|
|
Babylon, as it was foretold
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:2,3"><I>ch.</I> xl. 2, 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
was applied to gospel work, and so may this be. Though there be
|
|
difficulties in the way to heaven, which we cannot by our own strength
|
|
get over, yet the grace of God shall be sufficient to help us over them
|
|
and to make even the mountains a way,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+35:8"><I>ch.</I> xxxv. 8</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(5.) He shall bring them all together from all parts, that they may
|
|
return in a body, that they may encourage one another and be the more
|
|
taken notice of. They were dispersed into several parts of the country
|
|
of Babylon, as their enemies pleased, to prevent any combination among
|
|
themselves. But, when God's time shall come to bring them home
|
|
together, one spirit shall animate them all, all that lie at the
|
|
greatest distance from each other, and those also that had taken
|
|
shelter in other countries shall meet them in the land of Judah,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here shall a party <I>come from far,</I> some <I>from the north,</I>
|
|
some <I>from the west,</I> some <I>from the land of Sinim,</I> which
|
|
probably is some province of Babylon not elsewhere named in scripture,
|
|
but some make it to be a country belonging to one of the chief cities
|
|
of Egypt, called <I>Sin,</I> of which we read,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+30:15,16">Ezek. xxx. 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now this promise was to have a further accomplishment in the great
|
|
confluence of converts to the gospel church, and its full
|
|
accomplishment when God's chosen shall come from the east and from the
|
|
west to sit down with the patriarchs in the kingdom of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+8:11">Matt. viii. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_17"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Encouragement to Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth
|
|
into singing, O mountains: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath comforted his
|
|
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
|
|
14 But Zion said, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath
|
|
forgotten me.
|
|
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not
|
|
have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet
|
|
will I not forget thee.
|
|
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of <I>my</I> hands; thy
|
|
walls <I>are</I> continually before me.
|
|
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that
|
|
made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The scope of these verses is to show that the return of the people of
|
|
God out of their captivity, and the eternal redemption to be wrought
|
|
out by Christ (of which that was a type), would be great occasions of
|
|
joy to the church and great proofs of the tender care God has of the
|
|
church.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Nothing can furnish us with better matter for songs of praise and
|
|
thanksgiving,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let the whole creation join with us in songs of joy, for it shares with
|
|
us in the benefits of the redemption, and all they can contribute to
|
|
this sacred melody is little enough in return for such inestimable
|
|
favours,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+96:11">Ps. xcvi. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let there be joy in heaven, and let the angels of God celebrate the
|
|
praises of the great Redeemer; let the earth and the mountains,
|
|
particularly the great ones of the earth, <I>be joyful,</I> and
|
|
<I>break forth into singing, for the earnest expectation of the
|
|
creature</I> that <I>waits for the glorious liberty of the children of
|
|
God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:19,21">Rom. viii. 19, 21</A>)
|
|
|
|
shall now be <I>abundantly answered.</I> God's people are the blessings
|
|
and ornaments of the world, and therefore let there be universal joy,
|
|
for <I>God has comforted his people</I> that were in sorrow and <I>he
|
|
will have mercy upon the afflicted</I> because of his compassion, upon
|
|
<I>his</I> afflicted because of his covenant.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Nothing can furnish us with more convincing arguments to prove the
|
|
most tender and affectionate concern God has for his church, and her
|
|
interests and comforts.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The troubles of the church have given some occasion to question
|
|
God's care and concern for it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Zion,</I> in distress, <I>said, The Lord has forsaken me,</I> and
|
|
looks after me no more; <I>my Lord has forgotten me,</I> and
|
|
<I>will</I> look after me no more. See how deplorable the case of
|
|
God's people may be sometimes, such that they may seem to be forsaken
|
|
and forgotten of their God; and at such a time their temptations may be
|
|
alarmingly violent. Infidels, in their presumption, say <I>God has
|
|
forsaken the earth</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+8:12">Ezek. viii. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
and has <I>forgotten their sins,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:11">Ps. x. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Weak believers, in their despondency, are ready to say, "God has
|
|
forsaken his church and forgotten the sorrows of his people." But we
|
|
have no more reason to question his promise and grace than we have to
|
|
question his providence and justice. He is as sure a rewarder as he is
|
|
a revenger. Away therefore with these distrusts and jealousies, which
|
|
are the bane of friendship.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The triumphs of the church, after her troubles, will in due time put
|
|
the matter out of question.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) What God will do for Zion we are told,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] Her friends, who had deserted her, shall be gathered to her, and
|
|
shall contribute their utmost to her assistance and comfort: <I>Thy
|
|
children shall make haste.</I> Converts to the faith of Christ are the
|
|
children of the church; they shall join themselves to her with great
|
|
readiness and cheerfulness, and flock into the communion of saints, as
|
|
doves to their windows. "<I>Thy builders shall make haste</I>" (so some
|
|
read it), "who shall build up thy houses, thy walls, especially thy
|
|
temple; they shall do it with expedition." Church work is usually slow
|
|
work; but, when God's time shall come, it shall be done suddenly.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Her enemies, who had threatened and assaulted her, shall be forced
|
|
to withdraw from her: <I>Thy destroyers, and those who made thee
|
|
waste,</I> who had made themselves masters of the country and ravaged
|
|
it, <I>shall go forth of thee.</I> By Christ the prince of this world,
|
|
the great destroyer, is cast out, is dispossessed, has his power broken
|
|
and his attempts quite baffled.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Now by this it will appear that Zion's suggestions were altogether
|
|
groundless, that God has not forsaken her, nor forgotten her, nor ever
|
|
will. Be assured,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That God has a tender affection for his church and people,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
In answer to Zion's fears, God speaks as one concerned for his own
|
|
glory (he takes himself to be reflected upon if Zion say, <I>The Lord
|
|
has forsaken me,</I> and he will clear himself), as one concerned also
|
|
for his people's comfort; he would not have them droop, and be
|
|
discouraged, and give way to any uneasy thoughts. "You think that I
|
|
have forgotten you. <I>Can a woman forget her sucking child?"
|
|
First,</I> It is not likely that she should. A woman, whose honour it
|
|
is to be of the tender sex as well as the fair one, cannot but have
|
|
compassion for a child, which, being both harmless and helpless, is a
|
|
proper object of compassion. A mother, especially, cannot but be
|
|
concerned for her own child; for it is her own, a piece of herself, and
|
|
very lately one with her. A nursing mother, most of all, cannot but be
|
|
tender of her sucking child; her own breasts will soon put her in mind
|
|
of it if she should forget it. But, <I>Secondly,</I> It is possible
|
|
that she may forget. A woman may perhaps be so unhappy as not to be
|
|
able to remember her sucking child (she may be sick, and dying, and
|
|
going to the land of forgetfulness), or she may be so unnatural as not
|
|
to have <I>compassion on the son of her womb,</I> as those who, to
|
|
conceal their shame, are the death of their children as soon as they
|
|
are their life,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:10,De+28:57">Lam. iv. 10; Deut. xxviii. 57</A>.
|
|
|
|
But, says God, <I>I will not forget thee.</I> Note, God's compassions
|
|
to his people infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents towards
|
|
their children. What are the affections of nature to those of the God
|
|
of nature!
|
|
|
|
[2.] That he has a constant care of his church and people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands.</I> This does not
|
|
allude to the foolish art of palmistry, which imagines every man's fate
|
|
to be engraved in the palms of his hands and to be legible in the lines
|
|
there, but to the custom of those who tie a string upon their hands or
|
|
fingers to put them in mind of things which they are afraid they shall
|
|
forget, or to the wearing of signet or locket-rings in remembrance of
|
|
some dear friend. His setting them thus as a seal upon his arm denotes
|
|
his setting them as a seal upon his heart, and his being ever mindful
|
|
of them and their interests,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+8:6">Cant. viii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
If we <I>bind God's law as a sign upon our hand</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+6:8,11,18">Deut. vi. 8, 11, 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
he will engrave our interests as a sign on his hand, and will look upon
|
|
that and remember the covenant. He adds, "<I>Thy walls shall be
|
|
continually before me;</I> thy ruined walls, though no pleasing
|
|
spectacle, shall be in my thoughts of compassion." Do Zions' friends
|
|
<I>favour her dust?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:14">Ps. cii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
So does her God. Or, "The plan and model of thy walls, that are to be
|
|
rebuilt, is before me, and they shall certainly be built according to
|
|
it." Or, "Thy walls (that is, thy safety) are my continual care; so are
|
|
the watchmen on thy walls." Some apply his engraving his church on the
|
|
palms of his hands to the wounds in Christ's hands when he was
|
|
crucified; he will look on the marks of them, and remember those for
|
|
whom he suffered and died.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa49_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Encouragement to Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather
|
|
themselves together, <I>and</I> come to thee. <I>As</I> I live, saith the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an
|
|
ornament, and bind them <I>on thee,</I> as a bride <I>doeth.</I>
|
|
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy
|
|
destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the
|
|
inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
|
|
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the
|
|
other, shall say again in thine ears, The place <I>is</I> too strait
|
|
for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
|
|
21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me
|
|
these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a
|
|
captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these?
|
|
Behold, I was left alone; these, where <I>had</I> they <I>been?</I>
|
|
22 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to
|
|
the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they
|
|
shall bring thy sons in <I>their</I> arms, and thy daughters shall be
|
|
carried upon <I>their</I> shoulders.
|
|
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy
|
|
nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with <I>their</I> face
|
|
toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou
|
|
shalt know that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for they shall not be ashamed
|
|
that wait for me.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Two things are here promised, which were to be in part accomplished in
|
|
the reviving of the Jewish church after its return out of captivity,
|
|
but more fully in the planting of the Christian church by the preaching
|
|
of the gospel of Christ; and we may take the comfort of these
|
|
promises.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That the church shall be replenished with great numbers added to it.
|
|
It was promised
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>her children should make haste;</I> that promise is here
|
|
enlarged upon, and is made very encouraging. It is promised,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. That multitudes shall flock to the church from all parts. <I>Look
|
|
round, and see how they gather themselves to thee</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
by a local accession to the Jewish church. They come to Jerusalem from
|
|
all the adjacent countries, for that was then the centre of their
|
|
unity; but, under the gospel, it is by a spiritual accession to the
|
|
mystical body of Christ in faith and love. Those that <I>come to Jesus
|
|
as the Mediator of the new covenant</I> do thereby <I>come to the Mount
|
|
Zion,</I> the <I>church of the first-born,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:22,23">Heb. xii. 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Lift up thy eyes, and behold</I> how <I>the fields are white unto
|
|
the harvest,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:35">John iv. 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is matter of joy to the church to see a multitude of converts
|
|
to Christ.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That such as are added to the church shall not be a burden and
|
|
blemish to her, but her strength and ornament. This part of the promise
|
|
is confirmed with an oath: <I>As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt
|
|
surely clothe thyself with them all.</I> The addition of such numbers
|
|
to the church shall complete her clothing; and, when all that were
|
|
chosen are effectually called, then the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall
|
|
have made herself ready, shall be quite dressed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:7">Rev. xix. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall make her to appear comely and considerable; and she shall
|
|
therefore bind them on with as much care and complacency as a bride
|
|
does her ornaments. When those that are added to the church are
|
|
serious, and holy, and exemplary in their conversation, they are an
|
|
ornament to it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. That thus the country which was waste and desolate, and <I>without
|
|
inhabitant</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+5:9,6:11"><I>ch.</I> v. 9; vi. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
shall be again peopled, nay, it shall be over-peopled
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thy waste and thy desolate places,</I> that have long lain so,
|
|
<I>and the land of thy destruction,</I> that land of thine which was
|
|
destroyed with thee and which nobody cared for dwelling in, shall now
|
|
be so full of people that there shall be no room for the inhabitants."
|
|
Here is blessing poured out till there be not <I>room enough to receive
|
|
it,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+3:10">Mal. iii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Not that they shall be crowded by their enemies, or straitened for
|
|
room, as Abraham and Lot were, because of the Canaanite in the land.
|
|
"No, <I>those that swallow thee up,</I> and took possession of thy land
|
|
when thy possession of it was discontinued, <I>shall be far away.</I>
|
|
Thy people shall be numerous, and there shall be no stranger, no enemy,
|
|
among them." Thus the <I>kingdom of God among men,</I> which had been
|
|
impoverished and almost depopulated, partly by the corruptions of the
|
|
Jewish church and partly by the abominations of the Gentile world, was
|
|
again peopled and enriched by the setting up of the Christian church,
|
|
and by its graces and glories.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. That the new converts shall strangely increase and multiply.
|
|
Jerusalem, after she has lost abundance of her children by the sword,
|
|
famine, and captivity, shall have a new family growing up instead of
|
|
them, children which she <I>shall have after she has lost the other</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
as Seth, who was <I>appointed another seed instead of Abel,</I> and
|
|
Job's children, which God blessed him with instead of those that were
|
|
killed in the ruins of the house. God will repair his church's losses
|
|
and secure to himself a seed to serve him in it. It is promised to the
|
|
Jews, after their return, that <I>Jerusalem shall be full of boys and
|
|
girls playing in the streets,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:5">Zech. viii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
The church, after it has lost the Jews, who will be cut off by their
|
|
own infidelity, shall have abundance of children still, more than she
|
|
had when the Jews belonged to her. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:27">Gal. iv. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall be so numerous that,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The Children shall complain for want of room; they shall say (and
|
|
it is a good hearing), "Our numbers increase so fast that <I>the place
|
|
is too strait for us;</I>" as the sons of the prophets complained,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+6:1">2 Kings vi. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
But, strait as the place is, still more shall desire to be admitted,
|
|
and the church shall gladly admit them, and the inconvenient straitness
|
|
of the place shall be no hindrance to either; for it will be found,
|
|
whatever we think, that even when the <I>poor and the maimed, the halt
|
|
and the blind,</I> are brought in, <I>yet still there is room,</I> room
|
|
enough for those that are in and room for more,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+14:21,22">Luke xiv. 21, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The mother shall stand amazed at the increase of her family,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
She shall say, <I>Who has begotten me these?</I> and, <I>Who has
|
|
brought up these?</I> They come to her with all the duty, affection,
|
|
and submission of children; and yet she never bore any pain for them,
|
|
nor took any pains with them, but has them ready reared to her hand.
|
|
This gives her a pleasing surprise, and she cannot but be astonished at
|
|
it, considering what her condition had been very lately and very long.
|
|
The Jewish nation had left her children; they were cut off. She had
|
|
been desolate, without ark, and altar, and temple-service, those tokens
|
|
of God's espousals to them; nay, she had been a captive, and
|
|
continually removing to and fro, in an unsettled condition, and not
|
|
likely to bring up children either for God or herself. She was left
|
|
alone in obscurity (<I>this is Zion whom no man seeks after</I>), left
|
|
in all the solitude and sorrow of a widowed state. How then came she to
|
|
be thus replenished? See here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That the church is not perpetually visible, but there are times
|
|
when it is desolate, and left alone, and made few in number.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That yet on the other hand its desolations shall not be perpetual,
|
|
nor will it be found too hard for God to repair them, and out of stones
|
|
to raise up children unto Abraham.
|
|
|
|
[3.] That sometimes this is done in a very surprising way, as when a
|
|
nation is born at once,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:8"><I>ch.</I> lxvi. 8</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. That this shall be done with the help of the Gentiles,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews were cast off, among whom it was expected that the church
|
|
should be built up; but God will <I>sow it to himself in the earth,</I>
|
|
and will thence reap a plentiful crop,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:23">Hos. ii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) How the Gentiles shall be called in. God will <I>lift up his hand
|
|
to them,</I> to invite or beckon them, having all the day stretched it
|
|
out in vain to the Jews,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:2"><I>ch.</I> lxv. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or it denotes the exerting of an almighty power, that of his Spirit and
|
|
grace, to compel them to come in, to make them willing. And he will
|
|
<I>set up his standard to them,</I> the preaching of the everlasting
|
|
gospel, to which they shall gather, and under which they shall enlist
|
|
themselves.
|
|
|
|
(2.) How they shall come: <I>They shall bring thy sons in their
|
|
arms.</I> They shall assist the sons of Zion, which are found among
|
|
them, in their return to their own country, and shall forward them with
|
|
as much tenderness as ever any parent carried a child that was weak and
|
|
helpless. God can raise up friends for returning Israelites even among
|
|
Gentiles. <I>The earth helped the woman,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+12:16">Rev. xii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or, "When they come themselves, they shall bring their children, and
|
|
make them thy children;" compare
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:4"><I>ch.</I> lx. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Dost thou ask, <I>Who has begotten and brought up these?</I> Know that
|
|
they were begotten and brought up among the Gentiles, but they are now
|
|
brought into thy family." Let all that are concerned about young
|
|
converts, and young beginners in religion, learn hence to deal very
|
|
tenderly and carefully with them, as Christ does with the lambs which
|
|
he <I>gathers with his arms and carries in his bosom.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. That the church shall have a great and prevailing interest in the
|
|
nations,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. Some of the princes of the nations shall become patrons and
|
|
protectors to the church: <I>King shall be thy nursing fathers,</I> to
|
|
carry thy sons in their arms (as Moses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+11:12">Num. xi. 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
and, because women are the most proper nurses, <I>their queens shall be
|
|
thy nursing mothers.</I> This promise was in part fulfilled to the
|
|
Jews, after their return out of captivity. Several of the kings of
|
|
Persia were very tender of their interests, countenanced and encouraged
|
|
them, as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes; Esther the queen was a nursing
|
|
mother to the Jews that remained in their captivity, putting her life
|
|
in her hand to snatch the child out of the flames. The Christian
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church, after a long captivity, was happy in some such kings and queens
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as Constantine and his mother Helena, and afterwards Theodosius, and
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others, who nursed the church with all possible care and tenderness.
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Whenever the sceptre of government is put into the hands of religious
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princes, then this promise is fulfilled. The church in this world is in
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an infant state, and it is in the power of princes and magistrates to
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do it a great deal of service; it is happy when they do so, when their
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power is a praise to those that do well.
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2. Others of them, who stand it out against the church's interests,
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will be forced to yield and to repent of their opposition: <I>They
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shall bow down to thee and lick the dust.</I> The promise to the church
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of Philadelphia seems to be borrowed from this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:9">Rev. iii. 9</A>):
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<I>I will make those of the synagogue of Satan to come and worship
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before thy feet.</I> Or it may be meant of the willing subjection which
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kings and kingdoms shall pay to Christ the church's King, as he
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manifests himself in the church
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:11">Ps. lxxii. 11</A>):
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<I>All kings shall fall down before him.</I> And by all this it shall
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be made to appear,
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(1.) That God is the Lord, the sovereign Lord of all, against whom
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there is no standing out nor rising up.
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(2.) That those who wait for him, in a dependence upon his promise and
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|
a resignation to his will, shall not be made ashamed of their hope; for
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the vision of peace is for an appointed time, and at the end <I>it
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shall speak and shall not lie.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Isa49_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa49_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Encouragement to Zion.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 706.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful
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captive delivered?
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25 But thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Even the captives of the mighty
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shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be
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delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
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and I will save thy children.
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26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;
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and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet
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wine: and all flesh shall know that I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>am</I> thy Saviour
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and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
|
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I. An objection started against the promise of the Jews' release out of
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their captivity in Babylon, suggesting that it was a thing not to be
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expected; for
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>)
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they were a prey in the hand of the mighty, of such as were then the
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greatest potentates on earth, and therefore it was not likely they
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should be rescued by force. Yet that was not all: they were lawful
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captives; by the law of God, having offended, they were justly
|
|
delivered into captivity; and by the law of nations, being taken in
|
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war, they were justly detained in captivity till they should be
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ransomed or exchanged. Now this is spoken either,
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1. By the enemies, as justifying themselves in their refusal to let
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them go. They plead both might and right. Proud men think all their own
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that they can lay their hands on and their title good if they have but
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the longest sword. Or,
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2. By their friends, either in a way of distrust, despairing of the
|
|
deliverance ("for who is able to deal with those that detain us, either
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|
by force of arms or a treaty of peace?"), or in a way of thankfulness,
|
|
admiring the deliverance. "Who would have thought that ever the prey
|
|
should be <I>taken from the mighty?</I> Yet it is done." This is
|
|
applicable to our redemption by Christ. As to Satan, we were a prey in
|
|
the hand of the mighty, and yet delivered even from him that had the
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|
power of death, by him that had the power of life. As to the justice of
|
|
God, we were lawful captives, and yet delivered by a price of
|
|
inestimable value.</P>
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<P>
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|
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II. This objection answered by an express promise, and a further
|
|
promise; for God's promises being all yea, and amen, they may well
|
|
serve to corroborate one another.
|
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|
1. Here is an express promise with a
|
|
<I>non-obstante--notwithstanding</I> to the strength of the enemy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
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"<I>Even the captives of the mighty,</I> though they are mighty, shall
|
|
be taken away, and it is to no purpose for them to oppose it; <I>and
|
|
the prey of the terrible,</I> though they are terrible, shall be
|
|
delivered; and, as they cannot with all their strength outforce, so
|
|
they cannot with all their impudence outface, the deliverance, and the
|
|
counsels of God concerning it." <I>The Lord saith thus,</I> who, having
|
|
all power and all hearts in his hands is able to make his words good.
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|
|
|
2. Here is a further promise, showing how, and in what way, God will
|
|
bring about the deliverance. He will bring judgments upon the
|
|
oppressors, and so will work salvation for the oppressed: "<I>I will
|
|
contend with him that contends with thee,</I> will plead thy cause
|
|
against those that justify themselves in oppressing thee; whoever it
|
|
be, though but a single person, that contends with thee, he shall know
|
|
that it is at his peril, and thus <I>I will save thy children.</I>" The
|
|
captives shall be delivered by <I>leading captivity captive,</I> that
|
|
is, sending those into captivity that had held God's people captive,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+13:10">Rev. xiii. 10</A>.
|
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|
Nay, they shall have blood for blood
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I will feed those that oppress thee with their own flesh,</I> and
|
|
<I>they shall be drunken with their own blood.</I> The proud
|
|
Babylonians shall become not only an easy, but an acceptable, prey to
|
|
one another. God will send a dividing spirit among them, and their
|
|
ruin, which was begun by a foreign invasion, shall be completed by
|
|
their intestine divisions. They shall <I>bite and devour one
|
|
another,</I> till they are <I>consumed one of another.</I> They shall
|
|
greedily and with delight prey upon those that are their own flesh and
|
|
blood." God can make the oppressors of his church to be their own
|
|
tormentors and their own destroyers. The New-Testament Babylon, having
|
|
made herself drunk with the blood of the saints, shall have <I>blood
|
|
given her to drink, for she is worthy.</I> See how cruel men sometimes
|
|
are to themselves and to one another: indeed those who are so to others
|
|
are so to themselves, for God's justice and men's revenge will mete to
|
|
them what they have measured to others. They not only thirst after
|
|
blood, but drink it so greedily that they are drunken with it, and with
|
|
as much pleasure as if it were sweet wine. If God had not more mercy on
|
|
sinners than they would have one upon another were their passions let
|
|
loose, the world would be soon an <I>Aceldama,</I> nay, a
|
|
desolation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. See what will be the effect of Babylon's ruin: <I>All flesh shall
|
|
know that I the Lord am thy Saviour.</I> God will make it to appear, to
|
|
the conviction of all the world, that, though Israel seem lost and cast
|
|
off, they have a Redeemer, and, though they are made a prey to the
|
|
mighty, Jacob has a mighty One, who is able to deal with all his
|
|
enemies. God intends, by the deliverances of his church, both to notify
|
|
and to magnify his own name.</P>
|
|
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