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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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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. XLII.</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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The prophet seems here to launch out yet further into the prophecy of
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the Messiah and his kingdom under the type of Cyrus; and, having the
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great work of man's salvation by him yet more in view, he almost
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forgets the occasion that led him into it and drops the return out of
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Babylon; for indeed the prospect of this would be a greater comfort and
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support to the believing pious Jews, in their captivity, than the hope
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of that. And (as Mr. Gataker well observes) in this and similar
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prophecies of Christ, that are couched in types, as of David and
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Solomon, some passages agree to the type and not to the truth, other to
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the truth and not to the type, and many to the type in one sense and
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the truth in another. Here is,
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I. A prophecy of the Messiah's coming with meekness, and yet with
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power, to do the Redeemer's work,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. His commission opened, which he received from the Father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:5-9">ver. 5-9</A>.
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III. The joy and rejoicing with which the glad tidings of this should
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be received,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>.
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IV. The wonderful success of the gospel, for the overthrow of the
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devil's kingdom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:13-17">ver. 13-17</A>.
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V. The rejection and ruin of the Jews for their unbelief,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:18-25">ver. 18-25</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa42_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_4"> </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>The Messiah's Approach.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 708.</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 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, <I>in whom</I> my
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soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring
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forth judgment to the Gentiles.
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2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be
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heard in the street.
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3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall
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he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
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4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set
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judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are sure that these verses are to be understood of Christ, for the
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evangelist tells us expressly that in him this prophecy was fulfilled,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:17-21">Matt. xii. 17-21</A>.
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<I>Behold</I> with an eye of faith, behold and observe, behold and
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admire, <I>my servant, whom I uphold.</I> Let the Old-Testament saints
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behold and remember him. Now what must we behold and consider
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concerning him?</P>
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<P>
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I. The Father's concern for him and relation to him, the confidence he
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put and the complacency he took in him. This put an honour upon him,
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and made him remarkable, above any other circumstance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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1. God owns him as one employed for him: He is <I>my servant.</I>
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Though he was a Son, yet, as a Mediator, he <I>took upon him the form
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of a servant,</I> learned obedience to the will of God and practised
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it, and laid out himself to advance the interests of God's kingdom, and
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so he was God's servant.
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2. As one chosen by him: He is <I>my elect.</I> He did not thrust
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himself into the service, but was called of God, and pitched upon as
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the fittest person for it. Infinite Wisdom made the choice and then
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avowed it.
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3. As one he put a confidence in: He is <I>my servant on whom I
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lean;</I> so some read it. The Father put a confidence in him that he
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would go through with his undertaking, and, in that confidence, brought
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many sons to glory. It was a great trust which the Father reposed in
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the Son, but he knew him to be <I>par negotio--equal to it,</I> both
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able and faithful.
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4. As one he took care of: He is <I>my servant whom I uphold;</I> so we
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read it. The Father bore him up, and bore him out, in his upholding
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him; he stood by him and strengthened him.
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5. As one whom he took an entire complacency in: <I>My elect, in whom
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my soul delights.</I> His delight was in him from eternity, when he was
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<I>by him as one brought up with him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:30">Prov. viii. 30</A>.
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He had a particular satisfaction in his undertaking: he declared
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himself <I>well pleased in him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+3:17,17:5">Matt. iii. 17; xvii. 5</A>),
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and <I>therefore</I> loved him, because he laid down his life for the
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sheep. Let our souls delight in Christ, rely on him, and rejoice in
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him; and thus let us be united to him, and then, for his sake, the
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Father will be well pleased with us.</P>
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<P>
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II. The qualification of him for his office: <I>I have put my Spirit
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upon him,</I> to enable him to go through his undertaking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:1"><I>ch.</I> lxi. 1</A>.
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The Spirit did not only come, but rest, upon him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:2"><I>ch.</I> xi. 2</A>),
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not by measure, as on others of God's servants, but without measure.
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Those whom God employs as his servants; as he will uphold them and be
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well pleased with them, so he will put his Spirit upon them.</P>
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<P>
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III. The work to which he is appointed; it is to <I>bring forth
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judgment to the Gentiles,</I> that is, in infinite wisdom, holiness,
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and equity, to set up a religion in the world under the bonds of which
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the Gentiles should come and the blessings of which they should enjoy.
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The judgments of the Lord, which had been hidden from the Gentiles
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:20">Ps. cxlvii. 20</A>),
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he came to bring forth to the Gentiles, for he was <I>to be a light to
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lighten them.</I></P>
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<P>
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IV. The mildness and tenderness with which he should pursue this
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undertaking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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He shall carry it on,
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1. In silence, and without noise: <I>He shall not strive nor cry.</I>
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It shall not be proclaimed, <I>Lo, here, is Christ</I> or <I>Lo, he is
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there;</I> as when great princes ride in progress or make a public
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entry. He shall have no trumpet sounded before him, nor any noisy
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retinue to follow him. The opposition he meets with he shall not strive
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against, but patiently <I>endure the contradiction of sinners against
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himself.</I> His kingdom is spiritual, and therefore its weapons are
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not carnal, nor is its appearance pompous; it comes not with
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observation.
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2. Gently, and without rigour. Those that are wicked he will be
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patient with; when he has begun to crush them, so that they are as
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bruised reeds, he will give them space to repent and not immediately
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break them; though they are very offensive, as smoking flax
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:5"><I>ch.</I> lxv. 5</A>),
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yet he will bear with them, as he did with Jerusalem. Those that are
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weak he will be tender of; those that have but a little life, a little
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heat, that are weak as a reed, oppressed with doubts and fears, <I>as a
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bruised reed,</I> that are as <I>smoking flax,</I> as the wick of a
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candle newly lighted, which is ready to go out again, he will not
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despise them, will not plead against them with his great power, nor lay
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upon them more work or more suffering than they can bear, which would
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break and quench them, but will graciously consider their frame. More
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is implied than is expressed. <I>He will not break the bruised
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reed,</I> but will strengthen it, that it may become a cedar in the
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courts of our God. <I>He will not quench the smoking flax,</I> but
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blow it up into a flame. Note, Jesus Christ is very tender toward those
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that have true grace, though they are but weak in it, and accepts the
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willingness of the spirit, pardoning and passing by the weakness of the
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flesh.</P>
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<P>
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V. The courage and constancy with which he should persevere in this
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undertaking, so as to carry his point at last
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>He shall not fail nor be discouraged.</I> Though he meets with hard
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service and much opposition, and foresees how ungrateful the world will
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be, yet he goes on with his part of the work, till he is able to say,
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<I>Is is finished;</I> and he enables his apostles and ministers to go
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on with theirs too, and not to fail nor be discouraged, till they also
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have finished their testimony. And thus he accomplishes what he
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undertook.
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1. <I>He brings forth judgment unto truth.</I> By a long course of
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miracles, and his resurrection at last, he shall fully evince the truth
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of his doctrine and the divine origin and authority of that holy
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religion which he came to establish.
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2. He <I>sets judgment in the earth.</I> He erects his government in
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the world, a church for himself among men, reforms the world, and by
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the power of his gospel and grace fixes such principles in the minds of
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men as tend to make them wise and just.
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3. <I>The isles</I> of the Gentiles <I>wait for his law,</I> wait for
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his gospel, that is, bid it welcome as if it had been a thing they had
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long waited for. They shall become his disciples, shall sit at his
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feet, and be ready to receive the law from his mouth. <I>What wilt thou
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have us to do?</I></P>
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<A NAME="Isa42_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa42_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Messiah's Approach.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 708.</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>5 Thus saith God the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, he that created the heavens, and
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stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that
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which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people
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upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
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6 I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have called thee in righteousness, and will hold
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thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of
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the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
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7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the
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prison, <I>and</I> them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
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8 I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: that <I>is</I> my name: and my glory will I not
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give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
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9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do
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I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
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10 Sing unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> a new song, <I>and</I> his praise from the end
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of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is
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therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
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11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up <I>their
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voice,</I> the villages <I>that</I> Kedar doth inhabit: let the
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inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the
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mountains.
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12 Let them give glory unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and declare his praise in
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the islands.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is
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I. The covenant God made with and the commission he gave to the
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Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:5-7"><I>v.</I> 5-7</A>,
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which are an exposition of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>,
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<I>Behold my servant, whom I uphold.</I></P>
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<P>
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1. The royal titles by which the great God here makes himself known,
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and distinguishes himself from all pretenders, speak very much his
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glory
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Thus saith God the Lord.</I> And who are thou, Lord? Why, he is the
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fountain of all being and therefore the fountain of all power. He is
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the fountain of being,
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1. In the upper world; for <I>he created the heavens and stretched them
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out</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:22"><I>ch.</I> xl. 22</A>),
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and keeps the vast expanse still upon the stretch.
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2. In the lower world: for <I>he spread forth the earth,</I> and made
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it a capacious habitation, <I>and that which comes out of it</I> is
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produced by his power.
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3. In the world of mankind: <I>He gives breath to the people upon
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it,</I> not only air to breathe in, but the breath of life itself and
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organs to breathe with; nay, he gives <I>spirit,</I> the powers and
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faculties of a rational soul, to those that walk therein. Now this is
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prefixed to God's covenant with the Messiah, and the commission given
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him, not only to show that he has authority to make such a covenant and
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give such a commission, and had power sufficient to bear him out, but
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that the design of the work of redemption was to maintain the honour of
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the Creator, and to restore man to the allegiance he owes to God as his
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Maker.</P>
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<P>
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2. The assurances which he gives to the Messiah of his presence with
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him in all he did pursuant to his undertaking speak much encouragement
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to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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(1.) God owns that the Messiah did not take the honour of being
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Mediator to himself, but was called of God, that he was no intruder, no
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usurper, but was fairly brought to it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+5:4">Heb. v. 4</A>):
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<I>I have called thee in righteousness.</I> God not only did him no
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wrong in calling him to this hard service, he having voluntarily
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offered himself to it, but did himself right in providing for his own
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honour and performing the word which he had spoken.
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(2.) He promises to stand by him and strengthen him in it, to hold his
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hand, not only to his work, but in it, to hold his hand, that it might
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not shake, that it might not fail, and so to keep him. When an angel
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was sent from heaven to strengthen him in his agonies, and the Father
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himself was with him, then this promise was fulfilled. Note, Those whom
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God calls he will own and help, and will hold their hands.</P>
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<P>
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3. The great intentions of this commission speak abundance of comfort
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to the children of men. He was given <I>for a covenant of the
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people,</I> for a mediator, or guarantee, of the covenant of grace,
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which is all summed up in him. God, in giving us Christ, has with him
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freely given us all the blessings of the new covenant. Two glorious
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blessings Christ, in his gospel, brings with him to the Gentile
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world--light and liberty.
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(1.) He is given <I>for a light to the Gentiles,</I> not only to reveal
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to them what they were concerned to know, and which otherwise they
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could not have known, but to open the blind eyes, that they might know
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it. By his Spirit in the word he presents the object; by his Spirit in
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the heart he prepared the organ. When the gospel came light came, a
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great light, to those that sat in darkness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+4:16,Joh+3:19">Matt. iv. 16; John iii. 19</A>.
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And St. Paul was sent to the Gentiles <I>to open their eyes,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+26:18">Acts xxvi. 18</A>.
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Christ is the light of the world.
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(2.) He is sent to proclaim liberty to the captives, as Cyrus did,
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<I>to bring out the prisoners;</I> not only to open the prison-doors,
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and give them leave to go out, which was all that Cyrus could do, but
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to bring them out, to induce and enable them to make use of their
|
|
liberty, which none did but those whose spirits God stirred up. This
|
|
Christ does by his grace.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The ratification and confirmation of this grant. That we may be
|
|
assured of the validity of it consider,
|
|
|
|
1. The authority of him that makes the promise
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I am the Lord, Jehovah, that is my name,</I> and that was the name
|
|
by which he made himself known when he began to perform the promise
|
|
made to the patriarchs; whereas, before, he manifested himself by the
|
|
name of God Almighty,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+6:3">Exod. vi. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
If he is the Lord that gives being and birth to all things, he will
|
|
give being and birth to this promise. If his name be <I>Jehovah,</I>
|
|
which speaks him God alone, we may be sure his name is <I>jealous,</I>
|
|
and he <I>will not give his glory to another,</I> whoever it is that
|
|
stands in competition with him, especially not to <I>graven images.</I>
|
|
He will send the Messiah to open men's eyes, that so he may turn them
|
|
from the service of dumb idols to serve the living God, because, though
|
|
he has long winked at the times of ignorance, he will now maintain his
|
|
prerogative, and will not give his glory to graven images. He will
|
|
perform his word because he will not lose the honour of being true to
|
|
it, nor be ever charged with falsehood by the worshippers of false
|
|
gods. He will deliver his people from under the power of idolaters
|
|
because it looks as if he had given his praise to graven images when he
|
|
gives up his own worshippers to be worshippers of images.
|
|
|
|
2. The accomplishment of the promises he had formerly made concerning
|
|
his church, which are proofs of the truth of his word and the kindness
|
|
he bears to his people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Behold, the former things have come to pass;</I> hitherto the Lord
|
|
has helped his church, has supported her under former burdens, relieved
|
|
her in former straits; and this in performance of the promises made to
|
|
the fathers. <I>There has not failed one word,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:56">1 Kings viii. 56</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>And</I> now <I>new things do I declare.</I> Now I will make new
|
|
promises, which shall as certainly be fulfilled in their season as old
|
|
ones were; now I will bestow new favours, such as have not been
|
|
conferred formerly. Old-Testament blessings you have had abundantly;
|
|
now I declare New-Testament blessings, not a fruitful country and
|
|
dominion over your neighbours, but <I>spiritual blessings in heavenly
|
|
things. Before they spring forth</I> in the preaching of the gospel
|
|
<I>I tell you of them,</I> under the type and figure of the former
|
|
things." Note, The receipt of former mercies may encourage us to hope
|
|
for further mercies; for God is constant in his care for his people,
|
|
and his compassions are still new.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The song of joy and praise which should be sung hereupon to the
|
|
glory of God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Sing unto the Lord a new song,</I> a New-Testament song. The giving
|
|
of Christ for <I>a light to the Gentiles</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
|
|
|
|
was a new thing, and very surprising.
|
|
|
|
The apostle speaks of it as a mystery which, in other ages, was not
|
|
made known, as it is now revealed, <I>that the Gentiles should be
|
|
fellow-heirs,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+3:5,6">Eph. iii. 5, 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now, this being the new thing which God declares, the newness of the
|
|
song which is to be sung on this occasion is this, that whereas,
|
|
before, the songs of the Lord were very much confined to the temple at
|
|
Jerusalem (David's psalms were in the language of the Jews only, and
|
|
sung by them in their own country only; for, when they were in a
|
|
strange land, they hung their harps on the willow-trees and could not
|
|
sing the Lord's song, as we find,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:2-4">Ps. cxxxvii. 2-4</A>),
|
|
|
|
now the songs of holy joy and praise shall be sung all the world over.
|
|
The Gentile nations shall share equally with the Jews in New-Testament
|
|
blessings, and therefore shall join in New-Testament praises and acts
|
|
of worship. There shall be churches set up in Gentile nations and they
|
|
shall sing a new song. The conversion of the Gentiles is often foretold
|
|
under this notion, as appears,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:9-11">Rom. xv. 9-11</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is here promised that the praises of God's grace shall be sung with
|
|
joy and thankfulness,
|
|
|
|
1. By those that live in <I>the end of the earth,</I> in countries that
|
|
lie most remote from Jerusalem. <I>From the uttermost parts of the
|
|
earth have we heard songs,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+24:16"><I>ch.</I> xxiv. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was fulfilled when Christianity was planted in our land.
|
|
|
|
2. By mariners and merchants, and those that <I>go down to the sea,</I>
|
|
that do business in great waters, and suck the riches of the sea, and
|
|
so make themselves masters of the fulness thereof and all that is
|
|
therein, with which they shall praise God, and justly, for it is his,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+24:1,95:5">Ps. xxiv. 1; xcv. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews traded little at sea; if therefore God's praises be sung by
|
|
those that go down to the sea, it must be by Gentiles. Sea-faring men
|
|
are called upon to praise God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:23">Ps. cvii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. By <I>the islands and the inhabitants thereof,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
and again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let them <I>declare his praise in the islands,</I> the isles of the
|
|
Gentiles, probably referring to the islands of Greece.
|
|
|
|
4. <I>By the wilderness and the cities thereof, and the villages of
|
|
Kedar.</I> These lay east from Jerusalem, as the islands lay west, so
|
|
that the gospel songs should be sung from the rising of the sun to the
|
|
going down of the same. The whole Gentile world had been like an
|
|
island, cut off from communication with God's church, and like a
|
|
wilderness, uncultivated and bringing forth no fruit to God; but now
|
|
the islands and the wilderness shall praise God.
|
|
|
|
5. By <I>the inhabitants of the rock,</I> and those that dwell <I>on
|
|
the tops of the mountains,</I> not only the Gentiles, but the poorest
|
|
and meanest and most despicable, those that dwell in cottages, as well
|
|
as those that inhabit cities and villages. The rude and most
|
|
barbarous, as the mountaineers commonly are, shall be civilized by the
|
|
gospel. Or by the inhabitants of the rock may be meant the inhabitants
|
|
of that part of Arabia which is called <I>Petræa--the rocky.</I>
|
|
Perhaps the neighbouring countries shared in the joy of the Israelites
|
|
when they returned out of Babylon and some of them came and joined with
|
|
them in their praises; but we find not that it was to any such degree
|
|
as might fully answer this illustrious prophecy, and must conclude that
|
|
it reaches further, and was fulfilled in that which many other
|
|
prophecies of the joy of the nations are said in the New-Testament to
|
|
be fulfilled in, the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ.
|
|
When they are brought into the church they are brought to give glory to
|
|
the Lord; then they are to him for a name and a praise, and they make
|
|
it their business to praise him. He is glorified in them and by
|
|
them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_17"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgment and Mercy.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 708.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up
|
|
jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall
|
|
prevail against his enemies.
|
|
14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, <I>and</I>
|
|
refrained myself: <I>now</I> will I cry like a travailing woman; I
|
|
will destroy and devour at once.
|
|
15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their
|
|
herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the
|
|
pools.
|
|
16 And I will bring the blind by a way <I>that</I> they knew not; I
|
|
will lead them in paths <I>that</I> they have not known: I will make
|
|
darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These
|
|
things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
|
|
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed,
|
|
that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye
|
|
<I>are</I> our gods.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
It comes all to one whether we make these verses (as some do) the song
|
|
itself that is to be sung by the Gentile world or a prophecy of what
|
|
God will do to make way for the singing of that song, that evangelical
|
|
new song.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He will appear in his power and glory more than ever. So he did in
|
|
the preaching of his gospel, in the divine power and energy which went
|
|
along with it, and in the wonderful success it had in the <I>pulling
|
|
down of Satan's stronghold,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>He had long held his peace, and been still, and refrained himself,
|
|
while he winked at the times of the ignorance of the Gentile world</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+17:30">Acts xvii. 30</A>),
|
|
|
|
and <I>suffered all nations to walk in their own ways</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+14:16">Acts xiv. 16</A>);
|
|
|
|
but now <I>he shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war,</I> to
|
|
attack the devil's kingdom and give it a fatal blow. The going forth of
|
|
the gospel is thus represented,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:2">Rev. vi. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Christ, in it, went forth conquering and to conquer. The ministry of
|
|
the apostles is called their <I>warfare;</I> and they were the soldiers
|
|
of Jesus Christ. <I>He shall stir up jealousy,</I> shall appear more
|
|
jealous than ever for the glory of his own name and against idolatry.
|
|
|
|
1. <I>He shall cry,</I> in the preaching of his word, <I>cry like a
|
|
travailing woman;</I> for the ministers of Christ preached as men in
|
|
earnest, and that travailed in birth again till they saw Christ formed
|
|
in the souls of the people,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:19">Gal. iv. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>He shall cry, yea, roar,</I> in the gospel woes, which are more
|
|
terrible than the roaring of a lion, and which must be preached along
|
|
with gospel blessings to awaken a sleeping world.
|
|
|
|
2. He shall conquer by the power of his Spirit: <I>He shall prevail
|
|
against his enemies,</I> shall prevail to make them friends,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:21">Col. i. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that contradict and blaspheme his gospel, he shall prevail to put
|
|
them to silence and shame. He will destroy and devour at once all the
|
|
oppositions of the powers of darkness. Satan shall fall as lightning
|
|
from heaven, and he that had the power of death shall be destroyed. As
|
|
a type and figure of this, to make way for the redemption of the Jews
|
|
out of Babylon, God will humble the pride, and break the power, of
|
|
their oppressors, and <I>will at once destroy and devour</I> the
|
|
Babylonian monarchy. In accomplishing this destruction of Babylon by
|
|
the Persian army under the command of Cyrus, <I>he will make waste
|
|
mountains and hills,</I> level the country, and <I>dry up all their
|
|
herbs.</I> The army, as usual, shall either carry off the forage or
|
|
destroy it, and by laying bridges of boats over rivers shall turn them
|
|
into islands, and so drain the fens and low grounds, to make way for
|
|
the march of their army, that the pools shall be dried up. Thus, when
|
|
the gospel shall be preached, it shall have a free course, and that
|
|
which hinders the progress of it shall be taken out of the way.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He will manifest his favour and grace towards those whose spirits
|
|
he had stirred up to follow him, as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+1:5">Ezra i. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those who ask the way to Zion he will show the way, and lead in it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those who by nature were blind, and those who, being under convictions
|
|
of sin and wrath are quite at a loss and know not what to do with
|
|
themselves, God will <I>lead by a way that they knew not,</I> will show
|
|
them the way to life and happiness by Jesus Christ, who is the way, and
|
|
will conduct and carry them on in that way, which before they were
|
|
strangers to. Thus, in the conversion of Paul, he was struck blind
|
|
first, and then God revealed his Son in him, and made the scales to
|
|
fall from his eyes. They are weak in knowledge, and the truths of God
|
|
at first seem unintelligible; but God will <I>make darkness light
|
|
before them,</I> and knowledge shall be easy to them. They are weak in
|
|
duty, the commands of God seem impracticable, and insuperable
|
|
difficulties are in the way of their obedience; but God will make
|
|
<I>crooked things straight;</I> their way shall be plain, and the yoke
|
|
easy. Those whom God brings into the right way he will guide in it. As
|
|
a type of this, he will lead the Jews, when they return out of
|
|
captivity, in a ready road to their own land again, and nothing shall
|
|
occur to perplex or embarrass them in their journey. These are great
|
|
things, and kind things, very great and very kind; but lest any should
|
|
say, "They are too great, too kind, to be expected from God by such an
|
|
undeserving people as that of the Jews, such an undeserving world as
|
|
that of the Gentiles," he adds, <I>These things will I do unto
|
|
them,</I> take my word for it I will, and <I>I will not forsake
|
|
them;</I> he that begins to show this great mercy will go on to do them
|
|
good.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He will particularly put those to confusion who adhere to idols
|
|
notwithstanding the attempts made by the preaching of the gospel to
|
|
turn them from idols
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall be turned back, and greatly ashamed, that trust in graven
|
|
images.</I> The Babylonians shall when they see how the Jews, who
|
|
despise their images, are owned and delivered by the God they worship
|
|
without images, and the Gentiles when they see how idolatry falls
|
|
before the preaching of the gospel, is scattered like darkness before
|
|
the light of the sun, and melts like snow before its heat. They shall
|
|
be ashamed that ever they said to these molten images, <I>You are our
|
|
gods;</I> for how can those help their worshippers who cannot help
|
|
themselves, nor save themselves from falling into contempt? In times of
|
|
reformation, when many turn from iniquity, and sin, being generally
|
|
deserted, becomes unfashionable, it may be hoped that those who will
|
|
not otherwise be reclaimed will be wrought upon by that consideration
|
|
to be ashamed of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa42_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Blindness of the Jews.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 708.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
|
|
19 Who <I>is</I> blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger
|
|
<I>that</I> I sent? who <I>is</I> blind as <I>he that is</I> perfect, and blind
|
|
as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s servant?
|
|
20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the
|
|
ears, but he heareth not.
|
|
21 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he
|
|
will magnify the law, and make <I>it</I> honourable.
|
|
22 But this <I>is</I> a people robbed and spoiled; <I>they are</I> all of
|
|
them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are
|
|
for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith,
|
|
Restore.
|
|
23 Who among you will give ear to this? <I>who</I> will hearken and
|
|
hear for the time to come?
|
|
24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did
|
|
not the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not
|
|
walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
|
|
25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and
|
|
the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about,
|
|
yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid <I>it</I> not to
|
|
heart.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The prophet, having spoken by way of comfort and encouragement to the
|
|
believing Jews who waited for the consolation of Israel, here turns to
|
|
those among them who were unbelieving, for their conviction and
|
|
humiliation. Among those who were in captivity in Babylon there were
|
|
some who were as the evil figs in Jeremiah's vision, who were sent
|
|
thither <I>for their hurt, to be removed into all the kingdoms of the
|
|
earth, for a reproach and a proverb,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:9">Jer. xxiv. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
In them there was a type of the Jews who rejected Christ and were
|
|
rejected by him, and then fell more than ever under the curse, when
|
|
those who believed were inheriting the blessing; for they were broken,
|
|
and ruined, and remain dispersed unto this day. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The call that is given to this people
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Hear, you deaf,</I> and attend to the joyful sound, <I>and look you
|
|
blind, that you may see</I> the joyful light." There is no absurdity in
|
|
this command, nor is it unbecoming the wisdom and goodness of God to
|
|
call us to do that good which yet of ourselves we are not sufficient
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for; for those have natural powers which they may employ so as to do
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|
better than they do, and may have supernatural grace if it be not their
|
|
own fault, who yet labour under a moral impotency to that which is
|
|
good. This call to the deaf to hear and the blind to see is like the
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|
command given to the man that had the withered hand to stretch it
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|
forth; though he could not do this, because it was withered, yet, if he
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|
had not attempted to do it, he would not have been healed, and his
|
|
being healed thereupon was owing, not to his act, but to the divine
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|
power.</P>
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|
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<P>
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II. The character that is given of them
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>):
|
|
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<I>Who is blind, but my servant, or deaf as my messenger?</I> The
|
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people of the Jews were in profession God's servants, and their priests
|
|
and elders his messengers
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:7">Mal. ii. 7</A>);
|
|
|
|
but they were deaf and blind. The
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:18">verse before</A>
|
|
|
|
may be understood as spoken to the Gentile idolaters, whom he calls
|
|
<I>deaf</I> and <I>blind,</I> because they worshipped gods that were
|
|
so. "But," says he, "no wonder you are deaf and blind when my own
|
|
people are as bad as you, and many of them as much set upon
|
|
idolatry."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He complains of their sottishness--they are blind; and of their
|
|
stubbornness--they are deaf. They were even worse than the Gentiles
|
|
themselves. <I>Corruptio optimi est pessima--What is best becomes, when
|
|
corrupted, the worst.</I> "Who is so wilfully, so scandalously, blind
|
|
and deaf as my servant and my messenger, as Jacob who is my servant
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+41:8"><I>ch.</I> xli. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and as their prophets and teachers who are my messengers? Who is blind
|
|
as he that in profession and pretension is perfect, that should come
|
|
nearer to perfection than other people, their priests and prophets? The
|
|
one prophesies falsely, and the other bears rule by their means; and
|
|
who so blind as those that will not see when they have the light
|
|
shining in their faces?" Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is a common thing, but a very sad thing, for those that in
|
|
profession are God's servants and messengers to be themselves blind and
|
|
deaf in spiritual things, ignorant, erroneous, and very careless.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Blindness and deafness in spiritual things are worse in those that
|
|
profess themselves to be God's servants and messengers than in others.
|
|
It is in them the greater sin and shame, the greater dishonour to God,
|
|
and to themselves a greater damnation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The prophet goes on
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>)
|
|
|
|
to describe the blindness and obstinacy of the Jewish nation, just as
|
|
our Saviour describes it in his time
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:14,15">Matt. xiii. 14, 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Seeing many things, but thou observest not.</I> Multitudes are
|
|
ruined for want of observing that which they cannot but see; they
|
|
perish, not through ignorance, but mere carelessness. The Jews in our
|
|
Saviour's time saw many proofs of his divine mission, but they did not
|
|
observe them; they seemed to open their ears to him, but they did not
|
|
hear, that is, they did not heed, did not understand, or believe, or
|
|
obey, and then it was all one as if they had not heard.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The care God will take of the honour of his own name,
|
|
notwithstanding their blindness and deafness, especially of his word,
|
|
which he has magnified above all his name. <I>Shall the unbelief and
|
|
obstinacy of men make the promise of God of no effect? God forbid,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:3,4">Rom. iii. 3, 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
No, though they are blind and deaf, God will be no loser in his glory
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake;</I> not well
|
|
pleased with their sin, but well pleased in the manifestation of his
|
|
own righteousness, in rejecting them for rejecting the great salvation.
|
|
He speaks as one well pleased,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:24"><I>ch.</I> i. 24</A>:
|
|
|
|
<I>Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries;</I> and
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+5:13">Ezek. v. 13</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>I will be comforted.</I> The scripture was fulfilled in the casting
|
|
off of the Jews as well as in the calling in of the Gentiles, and
|
|
therein the Lord will be well pleased. <I>He will magnify the law</I>
|
|
(divine revelation in all the parts of it) <I>and will make it
|
|
honourable.</I> The law is truly honourable, and the things of it are
|
|
great things; and, if men will not magnify it by their obedience to it,
|
|
God will magnify it himself by punishing them for their disobedience.
|
|
He will magnify the law by accomplishing what is written in it, will
|
|
magnify its authority, its efficacy, its equity. He will do it at
|
|
last, when all men shall be judged by the law of liberty,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:12">James ii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He is doing it every day. What is it that God is doing in the world,
|
|
but magnifying the law and making it honourable?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The calamities God will bring upon the Jewish nation for their
|
|
wilful blindness and deafness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are <I>robbed and spoiled.</I> Those that were impenitent and
|
|
unreformed in Babylon were sentenced to perpetual captivity. It was for
|
|
their sins that they were spoiled of all their possessions, not only in
|
|
their own land, but in the land of their enemies. They were some of
|
|
them <I>snared in holes,</I> and others <I>hidden in prison-houses.</I>
|
|
They cannot help themselves, for they are snared. Their friends cannot
|
|
help them, for they are hidden; and their enemies have forgotten them
|
|
in their prisons. They, and all they have, are for a prey and for a
|
|
spoil; and there is none that delivers either by force or ransom, nor
|
|
any that dares say to the proud oppressors, <I>Restore.</I> There they
|
|
lie, and there they are likely to lie. This had its full accomplishment
|
|
in the final destruction of the Jewish nation by the Romans, which God
|
|
brought upon them for rejecting the gospel of Christ.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The counsel given them in order to their relief; for, though their
|
|
case be sad, it is not desperate.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The generality of them are deaf; they will not hearken to the voice
|
|
of God's word. He will therefore try his rod, and see <I>who among them
|
|
will give ear to that,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
We must not despair concerning those who have been long reasoned with
|
|
in vain; some of them may, at length, give ear and hearken. If one
|
|
method not take effect, another may, and sinners shall be left
|
|
inexcusable. Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) We may all of us, if we will, hear the voice of God, and we are
|
|
called and invited to hear it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It is worth while to enquire who they are that perceive God
|
|
speaking to them and are willing to hear him.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Of the many that hear the voice of God there are very few that
|
|
hearken to it or heed it, that hear it with attention and application.
|
|
|
|
(4.) In hearing the word we must have an eye to the time to come. We
|
|
must hear for hereafter, for what may occur between us and the grave;
|
|
we must especially hear for eternity. We must hear the word with
|
|
another world in our eye.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The counsel is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To acknowledge the hand of God in their afflictions, and, whoever
|
|
were the instruments, to have an eye to him as the principal agent
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Who gave Jacob and Israel,</I> that people that used to have such
|
|
an interest in heaven and such a dominion on earth, who gave them
|
|
<I>for a spoil to the robbers,</I> as they are now to the Babylonians
|
|
and to the Romans? <I>Did not the Lord?</I> You know he did; consider
|
|
it then, and hear his voice in these judgments."
|
|
|
|
(2.) To acknowledge that they had provoked God thus to abandon them,
|
|
and had brought all these calamities upon themselves.
|
|
|
|
[1.] These punishments were first inflicted on them for their
|
|
disobedience to the laws of God: It is he <I>against whom we have
|
|
sinned;</I> the prophet puts himself into the number of the sinners, As
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+9:7,8">Dan. ix. 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
"<I>We have sinned;</I> we have all brought fuel to the fire; and there
|
|
are those among us that have wilfully refused to walk in his ways."
|
|
Jacob and Israel would never have been given up to the robbers if they
|
|
had not by their iniquities sold themselves. <I>Therefore</I> it is,
|
|
because they have violated the commands of the law, that God has
|
|
brought upon them the curses of the law; he has not dropped, but
|
|
<I>poured upon him the fury of his anger and the strength of
|
|
battle,</I> all the desolations of war, which have <I>set him on fire
|
|
round about;</I> for God surrounds the wicked with his favours. See
|
|
the power of God's anger; there is no resisting it, no escaping it.
|
|
See the mischief that sin makes; it provokes God to anger against a
|
|
people, and so kindles a universal conflagration, sets all on fire.
|
|
|
|
[2.] These judgments were continued upon them for their senselessness
|
|
and incorrigibleness under the rod of God. The fire of God's wrath
|
|
kindled upon him, and <I>he knew it not,</I> was not aware of it, took
|
|
no notice of the judgments, at least not of the hand of God in them.
|
|
Nay, <I>it burned him,</I> and, though he could not then but know it
|
|
and feel it, yet he <I>laid it not to heart,</I> was not awakened by
|
|
the fiery rebukes he was under nor at all affected with them. Those who
|
|
are not humbled by less judgments must expect greater; for when God
|
|
judges he will overcome.</P>
|
|
|
|
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