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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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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. LV.</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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As we had much of Christ in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:1-12">53rd chapter</A>,
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and much of the church of Christ in the
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:1-17">54th chapter</A>,
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so in this chapter we have much of the covenant of grace made with us
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in Christ. The "sure mercies of David," which are promised here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:3">ver. 3</A>),
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are applied by the apostle to the benefits which flow to us from the
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resurrection of Christ
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:34">Acts xiii. 34</A>),
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which may serve as a key to this chapter; not but that it was intended
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for the comfort of the people of God that lived then, especially of the
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captives in Babylon, and others of the dispersed of Israel; but unto us
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was this gospel preached as well as unto them, and much more clearly
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and fully in the New Testament. Here is,
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I. A free and gracious invitation to all to come and take the benefit
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of gospel grace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. Pressing arguments to enforce this invitation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:2-4">ver. 2-4</A>.
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III. A promise of the success of this invitation among the Gentiles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:5">ver. 5</A>.
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IV. An exhortation to repentance and reformation, with great
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encouragement given to hope for pardon thereupon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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V. The ratification of all this, with the certain efficacy of the word
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of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:10,11">ver. 10, 11</A>.
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And a particular instance of the accomplishment of it in the return of
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the Jews out of their captivity, which was intended for a sign of the
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accomplishment of all these other promises.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa55_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa55_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa55_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa55_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa55_5"> </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>Evangelical Invitations.</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 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
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that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine
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and milk without money and without price.
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2 Wherefore do ye spend money for <I>that which is</I> not bread?
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and your labour for <I>that which</I> satisfieth not? hearken
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diligently unto me, and eat ye <I>that which is</I> good, and let your
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soul delight itself in fatness.
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3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall
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live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, <I>even</I>
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the sure mercies of David.
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4 Behold, I have given him <I>for</I> a witness to the people, a
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leader and commander to the people.
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5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation <I>that</I> thou knowest not, and
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nations <I>that</I> knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath
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glorified thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. We are all invited to come and take the benefit of that provision
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which the grace of God has made for poor souls in the new covenant, of
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that which is the <I>heritage of the servants of the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:17"><I>ch.</I> liv. 17</A>),
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and not only their heritage hereafter, but their cup now,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. Who are invited: <I>Ho, every one.</I> Not the Jews only, to whom
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first the word of salvation was sent, but the Gentiles, the poor and
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the maimed, the halt and the blind, are called to this marriage supper,
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whoever can be picked up out of the highways and the hedges. It
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intimates that in Christ there is enough for all and enough for each,
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that ministers are to make a general offer of life and salvation to
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all, that in gospel times the invitation should be more largely made
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than it had been and should be sent to the Gentiles, and that the
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gospel covenant excludes none that do not exclude themselves. The
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invitation is published with an <I>Oyez-Ho,</I> take notice of it.
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<I>He that has ears to hear let him hear.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. What is the qualification required in those that shall be
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welcome--they must thirst. All shall be welcome to gospel grace upon
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those terms only that gospel grace be welcome to them. Those that are
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satisfied with the world and its enjoyments for a portion, and seek not
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for a happiness in the favour of God,--those that depend upon the merit
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of their own works for a righteousness, and see no need they have of
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Christ and his righteousness,--these do not thirst; they have no sense
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of their need, are in no pain or uneasiness about their souls, and
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therefore will not condescend so far as to be beholden to Christ. But
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those that thirst are invited to the waters, as those that labour, and
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are heavy-laden, are invited to Christ for rest. Note, Where God gives
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grace he first gives a thirsting after it; and, where he has given a
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thirsting after it, he will give it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+81:10">Ps. lxxxi. 10</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. Whither they are invited: <I>Come you to the waters.</I> Come to the
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water-side, to the ports, and quays, and wharfs, on the navigable
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rivers, into which goods are imported; thither come and buy, for that
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is the market-place of foreign commodities; and to us they would have
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been for ever foreign if Christ had not brought in an everlasting
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righteousness. Come to Christ; for he is the fountain opened; he is the
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rock smitten. Come to holy ordinances, to those streams that make glad
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the city of our God; come to them, and though they may seem to you
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plain and common things, like waters, yet to those who believe in
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Christ the things signified will be as wine and mile, abundantly
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refreshing. Come to the healing waters; come to the living waters.
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Whoever will, let him come, and <I>partake of the waters of life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:17">Rev. xxii. 17</A>.
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Our Saviour referred to it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:37">John vii. 37</A>.
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<I>If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.</I></P>
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<P>
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4. What they are invited to do.
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(1.) <I>Come, and buy.</I> Never did any tradesman court customers that
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he hoped to get by as Christ courts us to that which we only are to be
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gainers by. "Come and buy, and we can assure you you shall have a good
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bargain, which you will never repent of nor lose by. Come and buy; make
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it your own by an application of the grace of the gospel to yourselves;
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make it your own upon Christ's terms, nay, your own upon any terms, nor
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deliberating whether you shall agree to them."
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(2.) "<I>Come, and eat;</I> make it still more your own, as that which
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we eat is more our own than that which we only buy." We must buy the
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truth, not that we may lay it by to be looked at, but that we may feed
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and feast upon it, and that the spiritual life may be nourished and
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strengthened by it. We must buy necessary provisions for our souls, be
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willing to part with any thing, though ever so dear to us, so that we
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may but have Christ and his graces and comforts. We must part with sin,
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because it is an opposition to Christ, part with all opinion of our own
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righteousness, as standing in competition with Christ, and part with
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life itself, and its most necessary supports, rather than quit our
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interest in Christ. And, when we have bought what we need, let us not
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deny ourselves the comfortable use of it, but enjoy it, and eat the
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labour of our hands: <I>Buy, and eat.</I></P>
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<P>
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5. What is the provision they are invited to: "<I>Come, and buy wine
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and milk,</I> which will not only quench the thirst" (fair water would
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do that), "but nourish the body, and revive the spirits." The world
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comes short of our expectations. We promise ourselves, at least, water
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in it, but we are disappointed of that, as <I>the troops of Tema,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+6:19">Job vi. 19</A>.
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But Christ outdoes our expectations. We come to the waters, and would
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be glad of them, but we find there wine and milk, which were the staple
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commodities of the tribe of Judah, and which the Shiloh of that tribe
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is furnished with to entertain the <I>gathering of the people to
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him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:10,12">Gen. xlix. 10, 12</A>.
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<I>His eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk.</I>
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We must come to Christ, to have milk for babes, to nourish and cherish
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those that are but lately born again; and with him strong men shall
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find that which will be a cordial to them: they shall have wine to make
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glad their hearts. We must part with our puddle-water, nay, with our
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poison, that we may procure this wine and milk.</P>
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<P>
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6. The free communication of this provision: <I>Buy it without money,
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and without price.</I> A strange way of buying, not only without ready
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money (that is common enough), but without any money, or the promise of
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any; yet it seems not so strange to those who have observed Christ's
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counsel to Laodicea, that was wretchedly poor, to <I>come and buy,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:17,18">Rev. iii. 17, 18</A>.
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Our buying without money intimates,
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(1.) That the gifts offered us are invaluable and such as no price can
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be set upon. Wisdom is that which cannot be gotten for gold.
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(2.) That he who offers them has no need of us, nor of any returns we
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can make him. He makes us these proposals, not because he has occasion
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to sell, but because he has a disposition to give.
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(3.) That the things offered are already bought and paid for. Christ
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purchased them at the full value, with price, not with money, but with
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<I>his own blood,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:19">1 Pet. i. 19</A>.
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(4.) That we shall be welcome to the benefits of the promise, though we
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are utterly unworthy of them, and cannot make a tender of any thing
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that looks like a valuable consideration. We ourselves are not of any
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value, nor is any thing we have or can do, and we must own it, that, if
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Christ and heaven be ours, we may see ourselves for ever indebted to
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free grace.</P>
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<P>
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II. We are earnestly pressed and persuaded (and O that we would be
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prevailed with!) to accept this invitation, and make this good bargain
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for ourselves.</P>
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<P>
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1. That which we are persuaded to is to hearken to God and to his
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proposals: "<I>Hearken diligently unto me,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Not only give me the hearing, but approve of what I say, and apply it
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to yourselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Incline your ear,</I> as you do to that which you find yourselves
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concerned in and pleased with; bow the ear, and let the proud heart
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stoop to the humbling methods of the gospel; bend the ear this way,
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that you may hear with attention and remark; hear, <I>and come unto
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me;</I> not only come and treat with me, but comply with me, come up to
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my terms;" accept God's offers as very advantageous; answer his demands
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as very fit and reasonable.</P>
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<P>
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2. The arguments used to persuade us to this are taken,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) From the unspeakable wrong we do to ourselves if we neglect and
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refuse this invitation: "<I>Wherefore do you spend money for that which
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is not bread,</I> which will not yield you, no, not beggar's food, dry
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bread, when with me you may have wine and milk without money?
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<I>Wherefore do you spend your labour</I> and toil <I>for that
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which</I> will not be so much as dry bread to you, for it <I>satisfies
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not?</I>" See here,
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[1.] The vanity of the things of this world. They are not bread, not
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proper food for a soul; they afford no suitable nourishment or
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refreshment. Bread is the staff of the natural life, but it affords no
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support at all to the spiritual life. All the wealth and pleasure in
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the world will not make one meal's meat for a soul. Eternal truth and
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eternal good are the only food for a rational and immortal soul, the
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life of which consists in reconciliation and conformity to God, and in
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union and communion with him, which the things of the world will not at
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all befriend. <I>They satisfy not;</I> they yield not any solid comfort
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and content to the soul, nor enable it to say, "Now I have what I would
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have." Nay, they do not satisfy even the appetites of the body. The
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more men have the more they would have,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:8">Eccl. i. 8</A>.
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Haman was unsatisfied in the midst of his abundance. They flatter, but
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they do not fill; they please for a while, like the dream of a hungry
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man, who awakes and his soul is empty. They soon surfeit, but they
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never satisfy; they cloy a man, but do not content him, or make him
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truly easy. It is all vanity and vexation.
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[2.] The folly of the children of this world. They spend their money
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and labour for these uncertain unsatisfying things. Rich people live by
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their money, poor people by their labour; but both mistake their truest
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interest, while the one is trading, the other toiling, for the world,
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both promising themselves satisfaction and happiness in it, but both
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miserably disappointed. God vouchsafes compassionately to reason with
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them: "Wherefore do you thus act against your own interest? Why do you
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suffer yourselves to be thus imposed upon?" Let us reason with
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ourselves, and let the result of these reasonings be a holy resolution
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not to <I>labour for the meat that perishes, but for that which endures
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to everlasting life,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:27">John vi. 27</A>.
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Let all the disappointments we meet with in the world help to drive us
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to Christ, and lead us to seek for satisfaction in him only. This is
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the way to make sure which will be made sure.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) From the unspeakable kindness we do to ourselves if we accept this
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invitation and comply with it.
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[1.] hereby we secure to ourselves present pleasure and satisfaction:
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"If you hearken to Christ, you <I>eat that which is good,</I> which is
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both wholesome and pleasant, good in itself and good for you." God's
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good word and promise, a good conscience, and the comforts of God's
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good Spirit, are a continual feast to those that hearken diligently and
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obediently to Christ. Their souls shall <I>delight themselves in
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fatness,</I> that is, in the riches and most grateful delights. Here
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the invitation is not, "Come, and <I>buy,</I>" lest that should
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discourage, but, "Come, and <I>eat;</I> come and entertain yourselves
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with that which will be abundantly pleasing; eat, O friends!" It is sad
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to think that men should need to be courted thus to their own bliss.
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[2.] Hereby we secure to ourselves lasting happiness: "<I>Hear, and
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your soul shall live;</I> you shall not only be saved from perishing
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eternally, but you shall be eternally blessed:" for less than that
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cannot be the life of an immortal soul. The words of Christ are spirit
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and life, life to spirits
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:33,63">John vi. 33, 63</A>),
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the words of this life,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+5:20">Acts v. 20</A>.
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On what easy terms is happiness offered to us! It is but "Hear, and you
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shall live."
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[3.] The great God graciously secures all this to us: "Come to me,
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<I>and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,</I> will put
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myself into covenant-relations and under covenant-engagements to you,
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and thereby settle upon you <I>the sure mercies of David.</I>" Note,
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<I>First,</I> If we come to God to serve him, he will covenant with us
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to do us good and make us happy; such are his condescension to us and
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concern for us. <I>Secondly,</I> God's covenant with us is an
|
|
everlasting covenant--its contrivance from everlasting, its continuance
|
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to everlasting. <I>Thirdly,</I> The benefits of this covenant are
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|
mercies suited to our case, who, being miserable, are the proper
|
|
objects of mercy. They come from God's mercy, and are ordered every way
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in kindness to us. <I>Fourthly,</I> They are the mercies of David, such
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mercies as God promised to David
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|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:28,29">Ps. lxxxix. 28, 29</A>,
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&c.), which are called <I>the mercies of David his servant,</I> and are
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appealed to by Solomon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+6:42">2 Chron. vi. 42</A>.
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It shall be a covenant as sure as that with David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:25,26">Jer. xxxiii. 25, 26</A>.
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The covenant of royalty was a figure of the covenant of grace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+23:5">2 Sam. xxiii. 5</A>.
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Or, rather, by David here we are to understand the Messiah.
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Covenant-mercies are all <I>his</I> mercies; they are purchased by him;
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they are promised in him; they are treasured up in his hand, and out of
|
|
his hand they are dispensed to us. He is the Mediator and trustee of
|
|
the covenant; to him this is applied,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:34">Acts xiii. 34</A>.
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They are the <B><I>ta hosia</I></B> (the word used there, and by the
|
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Septuagint here)--<I>the holy things</I> of David, for they are
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confirmed by the holiness of God
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:35">Ps. lxxxix. 35</A>)
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and are intended to advance holiness among men. <I>Fifthly,</I> They
|
|
are sure mercies. The covenant, being well-ordered in all things, is
|
|
sure. It is sure in the general proposal of it; God is real and
|
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sincere, serious and in earnest, in the offer of these mercies. It is
|
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sure in the particular application of it to believers; God's gifts and
|
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callings are without repentance. They are the mercies of David, and
|
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therefore sure, for in Christ the promises are all yea and amen.</P>
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<P>
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III. Jesus Christ is promised for the making good of all the other
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promises which we are here invited to accept of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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He is that David whose sure mercies all the blessings and benefits of
|
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the covenant are. "And God has <I>given him</I> in his purpose and
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promise, has constituted and appointed him, and in the fulness of time
|
|
will as surely send him as if he had already come, to be all that to us
|
|
which is necessary to our having the benefit of these preparations." He
|
|
has given him freely; for what more free than a gift? There was nothing
|
|
in us to merit such a favour, but Christ is the gift of God. We want
|
|
one,
|
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|
|
1. To attest the truth of the promises which we are invited to take the
|
|
benefit of; and Christ is given <I>for a witness</I> that God is
|
|
willing to receive us into his favour upon gospel terms, to confirm the
|
|
promises made unto the fathers, that we may venture our souls upon
|
|
those promises with entire satisfaction. Christ is a faithful witness,
|
|
we may take his word--a competent witness, for he lay in the bosom of
|
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the Father from eternity, and was perfectly apprised of the whole
|
|
matter. Christ, as a prophet, testifies the will of God to the world;
|
|
and to believe is to receive his testimony.
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2. To assist us in closing with the invitation, and coming up to the
|
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terms of it. We know not how to find the way to the waters where we are
|
|
to be supplied, but Christ is given to be <I>a leader.</I> We know not
|
|
what to do that we may be qualified or it, and become sharers in it,
|
|
but he is given for <I>a commander,</I> to show us what to do and
|
|
enable us to do it. Much difficulty and opposition lie in our way to
|
|
Christ; we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, but, to animate us
|
|
for the conflict, we have a good captain, like Joshua, a leader and
|
|
commander to tread our enemies under our feet and to put us in
|
|
possession of the land of promise. Christ is a commander by his
|
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precept and a leader by his example; our business is to obey him and
|
|
follow him.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The Master of the feast being fixed, it is next to be furnished
|
|
with guests, for the provision shall not be lost, nor made in vain,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
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|
1. The Gentiles shall be called to this feast, shall be invited out of
|
|
the highways and the hedges: "<I>Thou shalt call a nation that thou
|
|
knowest not,</I> that is, that was not formerly called and owned as thy
|
|
nation, that thou didst not send prophets to as to Israel, the people
|
|
whom God knew above all the families of the earth." The Gentiles shall
|
|
now be favoured as they never were before; their knowing God is said to
|
|
be rather their <I>being known of God,</I>
|
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:9">Gal. iv. 9</A>.
|
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2. They shall come at the call: <I>Nations that knew not thee shall run
|
|
unto thee;</I> those that had long been afar off from Christ shall be
|
|
made nigh; those that had been running from him shall run to him, with
|
|
the greatest speed and alacrity imaginable. There shall be a concourse
|
|
of believing Gentiles to Christ, who, being lifted up from the earth,
|
|
will draw all men to him. Now see the reason,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Why the Gentiles will thus flock to Christ; it is <I>because of
|
|
the Lord his God,</I> because he is the Son of God, and is declared to
|
|
be so with power, because they now see his God is one with whom they
|
|
have to do, and there is no coming to him as their God but by making an
|
|
interest in his Son. Those that are brought to be acquainted with God,
|
|
and understand how the concern lies between them and him, cannot but
|
|
run to Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, and
|
|
there is no coming to God but by him.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Why God will bring them to him; it is because he is the Holy One
|
|
of Israel, true to his promises, and he has promised to glorify him by
|
|
giving him the heathen for his inheritance. When Greeks began to
|
|
enquire after Christ he said, <I>The hour has come that the Son of man
|
|
should be glorified,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:22,23">John xii. 22, 23</A>.
|
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|
|
And his being glorified in his resurrection and ascension was the great
|
|
argument by which multitudes were wrought upon to run to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_6"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_7"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa55_13"> </A>
|
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|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Evangelical Invitations.</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>
|
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|
<P>
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|
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Seek ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> while he may be found, call ye upon him
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|
while he is near:
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|
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
|
|
thoughts: and let him return unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and he will have
|
|
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
|
|
8 For my thoughts <I>are</I> not your thoughts, neither <I>are</I> your
|
|
ways my ways, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
9 For <I>as</I> the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
|
|
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
|
|
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
|
|
returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
|
|
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
|
|
bread to the eater:
|
|
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
|
|
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
|
|
I please, and it shall prosper <I>in the thing</I> whereto I sent it.
|
|
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:
|
|
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into
|
|
singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap <I>their</I> hands.
|
|
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead
|
|
of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> for a name, for an everlasting sign <I>that</I> shall not be
|
|
cut off.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here a further account of that covenant of grace which is made
|
|
with us in Jesus Christ, both what is required and what is promised in
|
|
the covenant, and of those considerations that are sufficient
|
|
abundantly to confirm our believing compliance with and reliance on
|
|
that covenant. This gracious discovery of God's good-will to the
|
|
children of men is not to be confined either to the Jew or to the
|
|
Gentile, to the Old Testament or to the New, much less to the captives
|
|
in Babylon. No, both the precepts and the promises are here given to
|
|
all, to <I>every one that thirsts after happiness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
And who does not? Hear this, and live.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Here is a gracious offer made of pardon, and peace, and all
|
|
happiness, to poor sinners, upon gospel terms,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Let them pray, and their prayers shall be heard and answered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Seek the Lord while he may be found.</I> Seek him whom you have
|
|
left by revolting from your allegiance to him and whom you have lost by
|
|
provoking him to withdraw his favour from you. <I>Call upon him</I> now
|
|
<I>while he is near,</I> and within call." Observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The duties required.
|
|
|
|
[1.] "Seek the Lord. Seek to him, and enquire of him, as your oracle.
|
|
<I>Ask the law at his mouth. What wilt thou have me to do?</I> Seek for
|
|
him, and enquire after him, as your portion and happiness; seek to be
|
|
reconciled to him and acquainted with him, and to be happy in his
|
|
favour. Be sorry that you have lost him; be solicitous to find him;
|
|
take the appointed method of finding him, making use of Christ as your
|
|
way, the Spirit as your guide, and the word as your rule."
|
|
|
|
[2.] "Call upon him. Pray to him, to be reconciled, and, being
|
|
reconciled, pray to him for every thing else you have need of."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The motives made use of to press these duties upon us: <I>While he
|
|
may be found--while he is near.</I>
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is implied that now God is near and will be found, so that it
|
|
shall not be in vain to seek him and to call upon him. Now his patience
|
|
is waiting on us, his word is calling to us, and his Spirit striving
|
|
with us. Let us now improve our advantages and opportunities; for now
|
|
is the accepted time. But,
|
|
|
|
[2.] There is a day coming when he will be afar off, and will not be
|
|
found, when the day of his patience is over, and his Spirit will strive
|
|
no more. There may come such a time in this life, when the heart is
|
|
incurably hardened; it is certain that at death and judgment the door
|
|
will be <I>shut,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:26,13:25,26">Luke xvi. 26; xiii. 25, 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
Mercy is now offered, but then judgment without mercy will take
|
|
place.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Let them repent and reform, and their sins shall be pardoned,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here is a call to the unconverted, to <I>the wicked and the
|
|
unrighteous</I>--to the wicked, who live in known gross sins, to the
|
|
unrighteous, who live in the neglect of plain duties: to them is the
|
|
word of this salvation sent, and all possible assurance given that
|
|
penitent sinners shall find God a pardoning God. Observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) What it is to repent. There are two things involved in
|
|
repentance:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is to turn from sin; it is to forsake it. It is to leave it,
|
|
and to leave it with loathing and abhorrence, never to return to it
|
|
again. The wicked must <I>forsake his way,</I> his evil way, as we
|
|
would forsake a false way that will never bring us to the happiness we
|
|
aim at, and a dangerous way, that leads to destruction. Let him not
|
|
take one step more in that way. Nay, there must be not only a change of
|
|
the way, but a change of the mind; the unrighteous must <I>forsake his
|
|
thoughts.</I> Repentance, if it be true, strikes at the root, and
|
|
washes the heart from wickedness. We must alter our judgments
|
|
concerning persons and things, dislodge the corrupt imaginations and
|
|
quit the vain pretences under which an unsanctified heart shelters
|
|
itself. Note, It is not enough to break off from evil practices, but we
|
|
must enter a caveat against evil thoughts. Yet this is not all:
|
|
|
|
[2.] To repent is to <I>return to the Lord;</I> to return to him as our
|
|
God, our sovereign Lord, against whom we have rebelled, and to whom we
|
|
are concerned to reconcile ourselves; it is to return to the Lord as
|
|
the fountain of life and living waters, which we had forsaken for
|
|
broken cisterns.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) What encouragement we have thus to repent. If we do so,
|
|
|
|
[1.] God <I>will have mercy.</I> He will not deal with us as our sins
|
|
have deserved, but will have compassion on us. Misery is the object of
|
|
mercy. Now both the consequences of sin, by which we have become truly
|
|
miserable
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+16:5,6">Ezek. xvi. 5, 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the nature of repentance, by which we are made sensible of our
|
|
misery and are brought to bemoan ourselves
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:18">Jer. xxxi. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
both these make us objects of pity, and with God there are tender
|
|
mercies.
|
|
|
|
[2.] <I>He will abundantly pardon. He will multiply to pardon</I> (so
|
|
the word is), as we have multiplied to offend. Though our sins have
|
|
been very great and very many, and though we have often backslidden and
|
|
are still prone to offend, yet God will repeat his pardon, and welcome
|
|
even backsliding children that return to him in sincerity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here are encouragements given us to accept this offer and to
|
|
venture our souls upon it. For, look which way we will, we find enough
|
|
to confirm us in our belief of its validity and value.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. If we look up to heaven, we find God's counsels there high and
|
|
transcendent, his thoughts and ways infinitely above ours,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
The wicked are urged to forsake their evil ways and thoughts
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>)
|
|
|
|
and to return to God, that is, to bring their ways and thoughts to
|
|
concur and comply with his; "for" (says he) "my thoughts and ways are
|
|
not as yours. Yours are conversant only about things beneath; they are
|
|
of the earth earthy: but mine are above, <I>as the heaven is high above
|
|
the earth;</I> and, if you would approve yourselves true penitents,
|
|
yours must be so too, and your affections must be set on things above."
|
|
Or, rather, it is to be understood as an encouragement to us to depend
|
|
upon God's promise to pardon sin, upon repentance. Sinners may be ready
|
|
to fear that God will not be reconciled to them, because they could not
|
|
find in their hearts to be reconciled to one who should have so basely
|
|
and so frequently offended them. "But" (says God) "my thoughts in this
|
|
matter are not as yours, but as far above them as the heaven is above
|
|
the earth." They are so in other things. Men's sentiments concerning
|
|
sin, and Christ, and holiness, concerning this world and the other, are
|
|
vastly different from God's; but in nothing more than in the matter of
|
|
reconciliation. We think God apt to take offence and backward to
|
|
forgive--that, if he forgives once, he will not forgive a second time.
|
|
Peter thought it a great deal to <I>forgive seven times</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+18:21">Matt. xviii. 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
and a hundred pence go far with us; but God meets returning sinners
|
|
with pardoning mercy; he forgives freely, and as he gives: it is
|
|
without upbraiding. We forgive and cannot forget; but, when God
|
|
forgives sin, he remembers it no more. Thus God invites sinners to
|
|
return to him, by possessing them with good thoughts of him, as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:20">Jer. xxxi. 20</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. If we look down to this earth, we find God's word there powerful and
|
|
effectual, and answering all its great intentions,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The efficacy of God's word in the kingdom of nature. He saith to
|
|
the snow, Be thou on the earth; he appoints when it shall come, to what
|
|
degree, and how long it shall lie there; he saith so <I>to the small
|
|
rain and the great rain of his strength,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+37:6">Job xxxvii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
And according to his order they come down from heaven, and do
|
|
<I>whatsoever he commands them upon the face of the world, whether it
|
|
be for correction, or for his land, or for mercy,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
It returns not <I>re infectâ--without having accomplished its
|
|
end,</I> but waters the earth, which he is therefore said to do <I>from
|
|
his chambers,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+104:13">Ps. civ. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
And the watering of the earth is in order to its fruitfulness. Thus he
|
|
makes it to <I>bring forth and bud,</I> for the products of the earth
|
|
depend upon the dews of heaven; and thus it gives not only <I>bread to
|
|
the eater,</I> present maintenance to the owner and his family, but
|
|
<I>seed</I> likewise <I>to the sower,</I> that he may have food for
|
|
another year. The husbandman must be a sower as well as an eater, else
|
|
he will soon see the end of what he has.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The efficacy of his word in the kingdom of providence and grace,
|
|
which is as certain as the former: "<I>So shall my word be,</I> as
|
|
powerful in the mouth of prophets as it is in the hand of providence;
|
|
<I>it shall not return unto me void,</I> as unable to effect what it
|
|
was sent for, or meeting with an insuperable opposition; no, <I>it
|
|
shall accomplish that which I please</I>" (for it is the declaration of
|
|
his will, according to the counsel of which he works all things)
|
|
"<I>and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.</I>" This
|
|
assures us,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That the promises of God shall all have their full accomplishment
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in due time, and not one iota or tittle of them shall fail,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:56">1 Kings viii. 56</A>.
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These promises of mercy and grace shall have as real an effect upon the
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souls of believers, for their sanctification and comfort, as ever the
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rain had upon the earth, to make it fruitful.
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[2.] That according to the different errands on which the word is sent
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it will have its different effects. If it be not a savour of life unto
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life, it will be a savour of death unto death; if it do not convince
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the conscience and soften the heart, it will sear the conscience and
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harden the heart; if it do not ripen for heaven, it will ripen for
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hell. See
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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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One way or other, it will take effect.
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[3.] That Christ's coming into the world, as the dew from heaven
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:5">Hos. xiv. 5</A>),
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will not be in vain. For, if Israel be not gathered, he will be
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glorious in the conversion of the Gentiles; to them therefore the
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tenders of grace must be made when the Jews refuse them, that the
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wedding may be furnished with guests and the gospel not return
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void.</P>
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<P>
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3. If we take a special view of the church, we shall find what great
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things God has done, and will do, for it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>):
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<I>You shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.</I> This
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refers,
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(1.) To the deliverance and return of the Jews out of Babylon. They
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shall go out of their captivity, and be led forth towards their own
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land again. God will go before them as surely, though not as sensibly,
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as before their fathers in the pillar of cloud and fire. They shall go
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out, not with trembling, but with triumph, not with any regret to part
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with Babylon, or any fear of being fetched back, but <I>with joy</I>
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and <I>peace.</I> Their journey home over the mountains shall be
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pleasant, and they shall have the good-will and good wishes of all the
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countries they pass through. <I>The hills</I> and their inhabitants
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<I>shall,</I> as in a transport of joy, <I>break forth into
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singing;</I> and, if the people should altogether hold their peace,
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even <I>the trees of the field</I> would attend them with their
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applauses and acclamations. And, when they come to their own land, it
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shall be ready to bid them welcome; for, whereas they expected to find
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it all overgrown with briers and thorns, it shall be set with
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<I>fir-trees and myrtle-trees:</I> for, though it lay desolate, yet it
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<I>enjoyed its sabbaths</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+26:34">Lev. xxvi. 34</A>),
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which, when they were over, like the land after the sabbatical year, it
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was the better for. And this shall redound much to the honour of God
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and be to him <I>for a name.</I> But,
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(2.) Without doubt it looks further. This shall be <I>for an
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everlasting sign,</I> that it,
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[1.] The redemption of the Jews out of Babylon shall be a ratification
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of those promises that relate to gospel times. The accomplishment of
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the predictions relating to that great deliverance would be a pledge
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and earnest of the performance of all the other promises; for thereby
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it shall appear that <I>he is faithful who has promised.</I>
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[2.] It shall be a representation of the blessings promised and a type
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and figure of them. <I>First,</I> Gospel grace will set those at
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liberty that were in bondage to sin and Satan. They <I>shall go out and
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be led forth.</I> Christ shall make them free, and then they shall be
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free indeed. <I>Secondly,</I> It will fill those with joy that were
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melancholy.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:7">Ps. xiv. 7</A>,
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<I>Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.</I> The earth and the
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inferior part of the creation shall share in the joy of this salvation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+94:11,12">Ps. xciv. 11, 12</A>.
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<I>Thirdly,</I> It will make a great change in men's characters. Those
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that were as thorns and briers, good for nothing but the fire, nay,
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hurtful and vexatious, shall become graceful and useful as the fir-tree
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and the myrtle-tree. Thorns and briers came in with sin and were the
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fruits of the curse,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:18">Gen. iii. 18</A>.
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The raising of pleasant trees in the room of them signifies the removal
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of the curse of the law and the introduction of gospel blessings. The
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church's enemies were as thorns and briers; but, instead of them, God
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will raise up friends to be her protection and ornament. Or it may
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denote the world's growing better; instead of a generation of thorns
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and briers, there shall come up a generation of fir-trees and myrtles;
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the children shall be wiser and better than the parents. And,
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<I>fourthly,</I> in all this God shall be glorified. It shall be to
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him for a name, by which he will be made known and praised, and by it
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the people of God shall be encouraged. It shall be for an everlasting
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sign of God's favour to them, assuring them that, though it may for a
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time be clouded, it shall never <I>be cut off.</I> The covenant of
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grace is an everlasting covenant; for the present blessings of it are
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signs of everlasting ones.</P>
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