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HOMILETIC COMMENTARY MILET

ON

ISAIAH.

COMFORT FOR THE SUFFERING.
xl. 1-5. Comfort ye, &c.

IT is generally agreed that these last twenty-six chapters relate to the restoration of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. They are the Gospel of the Old Testament. This is their value to us.

Put into the briefest words, the ideas contained in the first five verses of this chapter are-That a glorious change awaits the exiles, consisting of a new and generous manifestation of Jehovah's presence, for which His people are exhorted to prepare.

The prophet is commanded to speak words of comfort to those captives from Jerusalem-to assure them that her warfare, her time of slavery, is about to end; that her sins are pardoned, abundantly expiated by her sufferings; that her God is coming to deliver her from the oppressor; and that she must prepare the way for His coming, as heralds ride before a conquering king.

The comforting announcement which the prophet was to make to Jerusalem was-1. That her affliction had become full, and had therefore come to an end. 2. Her iniquity is atoned for and the justice of God is satisfied. 3. The third clause repeats the substance of the previous ones with greater emphasis and in a fuller tone.

The double punishment which she had endured is not to be taken in VOL. II.

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a judicial sense, in which case God would appear over-rigid, and therefore unjust. The compassion of God regarded what His justice had been obliged to inflict upon Jerusalem as superabundant.

But this is only the negative side of the consolation. What positive salvation is to be expected? "Hark, the voice of one crying!" The summons proceeds in a commanding tone: "Let every valley be exalted," &c. Spiritually interpreted, the command. points to the encouragement of those that are cast down, the humiliation of the self-righteous and self-secure, the changing of dishonesty into simplicity, and of haughtiness into submission. Israel is to take care that God shall find them in such an inward and outward state as shall enable Him to

fulfil His purpose. "And the glory of Jehovah," &c. When the way is prepared for the coming One, the glory of the God of salvation will be unveiled; and this revelation is made for the sake of Israel, but not secretly or exclusively, for "all flesh" will come to see the salvation of God. "For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it," is the confirmation of the foregoing prophecy.

Suffering endured through a long period, comfort promised, the elements of that comfort and the preparation

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for receiving it-these are the chief thoughts and main topics of the pas

sage.

I. We all have to suffer, and to suffer for our own sins and for the sins of one another, in one way or another, and in a greater or less degree. It is part of the mystery of the world that some lives, even in the morning of their days, are overhung with dark clouds of sorrow. how many is life a continual struggle with feeble health; in others, mental cares, cares of business, anxieties; in others, pangs suffered over sins committed and things left undone.

With

II. The Old and New Testaments say that there is Divine comfort for the sorrowful sufferers. This teaching casts a new light upon human grief. It puts to shame all ancient and modern philosophy. The Divine Physician uses suffering as a medicine (Ps.

exix. 67, 71). 1. We feel ourselves drawn into the true path of life. 2. Then the comfort of another message begins to be felt-that our iniquity is pardoned. 3. Then His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

III. God is coming over the desert of our lives to reveal His glory to us (ver. 5).

IV. But, for coming into the possession of this privilege, we must prepare the way of the Lord (ver. 4; Matt. iii. 2). The conditions of comfort are here laid down., Christian comfort comes by raising up the whole soul of a man; by bringing down every proud thought; by straightening every crooked course; by chastening and refining all that is rugged in character or conduct. It is thus we prepare ourselves for the incoming of God.Charles Short: Sermons, pp. 255–269.

THE LORD'S PEOPLE COMFORTED.

xl. 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

I. God has a people in the world. In one sense, all whom the Lord designs to create anew by His Holy Spirit, and who, though at present afar off, will at length be brought nigh unto Him, are His people (Acts xviii. 10). But these are not the persons referred to in our text, for they cannot at present be known or addressed as God's people; neither at present are they capable of being comforted, according to the direction here given. The 66 people" to whom the text refers are those who have fled to Christ for refuge from the wrath to come, and who are earnestly desiring to walk in newness of life.

II. It is the will of God that His people should enjoy the comforts of religion. The very nature of the religion He has given is to inspire comfort, as it is the very nature of the sun to diffuse light and heat. If His

people are sorrowful or dejected, it is not because of their religion, but because they have too little religion, or because they do not know how to use

the religion which they have. But it is desirable that they should be comforted-1. For their own sakes. While they lack peace and joy they can never be as diligent as they ought to be in the duties of religion (H. E. I. 306– 308). 2. For the honour of religion. The despondency and gloom of professors affords a handle to those who speak evil of the Christian life, and misrepresent it as a life of melancholy (H. E. I. 756-762). For these reasons God's people should lay aside all unreasonable fears, and preachers of the Gospel should consider it an essential part of their office to minister to the people of God that consolation which belongs to them, and which they are capable of receiving. "Comfort ye," &c.

III. Let us examine a few of the most common causes of that want of comfort of which God's people frequently complain.

1. Their misunderstanding the nature and extent of that pardon of sin which the Gospel provides. Reclaimed from a

worldly course, the recollection of their former sins is very painful to them. It often overspreads their minds like a thick cloud, and fills them with darkness and alarm. They are not indeed without a hope that they shall obtain forgiveness at last for Christ's sake; but still they ask themselves, "What if God should not pardon me at last?" (H. E. I. 1268). But God does not offer to pardon you at some distant day. He offers, in the Gospel, to forgive you now; nay, He tells you, that if you have in your heart come to Christ and believed in Him, your sins. are already forgiven (Rom. viii. 1; Luke vii. 47; Col. ii. 13; 1 John ii. 12; Isa. xliv. 22). The pardon vouchsafed is a present pardon (H. E. I. 2332-2339). When the prodigal returned to his father's house a penitent, were not his offences fully and instantly forgiven and his self-reproaches stopped? Was he told, amid all the pleasures of the feast provided for him, that he must not enjoy himself too much, because perhaps his father might some years afterwards remember his past misconduct and visit it upon him? An apprehension of this kind would doubtless have much diminished his comfort; but would it not have been groundless and unreasonable? Equally groundless and unreasonable are your apprehensions, if you have indeed come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Put them away and rejoice in a present salvation (2 Cor. iv. 19; John v. 24).

2. Their seeking comfort where it is not to be found. It is one of their privileges that they are renewed in the spirit of their minds, but this renewal is not, and cannot be, at present perfect. But they forget this, and when they look within themselves they find so many imperfections that they are greatly distressed. If you are never to partake of the peace and consolations of Christianity so long as you fall short of the spiritual standard of obedience, you must go mourning all your days: for the more spiritually minded you grow, the more spiritual will that standard become in your estimation,

and consequently the more unholy you will appear in your own eyes. You can never find comfort by poring into your own heart. Peace and joy come by believing. Christ is the only source of consolation to the soul. If you wanted light, would you expect to find it by looking downwards on the ground, or upwards to the sun? Would the Israelite, when bitten by the serpents, have found relief by meditating on his wounds and lamenting the violence and deadly nature of his disease? No; it was by looking on the serpent of brass that he found a cure, and had his heart filled with hope and joy. Look unto Jesus, rejoice in the sufficiency of His grace to redeem you from all evil (Jude 24; H. E. I. 4470-4474).

3. Their mistaking the proofs and marks of a really religious state. They say, "If we were the Lord's people, we should feel it in our hearts." But who has told you that warm and rapturous feelings are sure proofs of a truly religious state? (1.) As a matter of fact, they are really reasons for suspicion when they are experienced at the outset of a religious life (Matt. xiii. 5). There is a religion that is like a bundle of thorns on fire; for a little time there is noise and light and some measure of heat, but presently the flame subsides, the fire goes out, and all is dark and chill. (2.) Even when feelings are real, it is not possible for them to be long wound up to one high pitch (H. E. I. 2073, 2074). (3.) The Bible never bids you judge of your religious state by your own feelings. You are there told that you are to walk, not by sight, but by faith; and if by faith, not by feelings. The promises are not made to feeling, but to faith. St. Paul did not say to the jailer who asked what he must do to be saved, "Feel that you have Christ in your heart, and you shall be saved;" but, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," &c. Are you humbly believing in Jesus Christ as your only Saviour? Are you living in dependence on the Divine promises, and in a faithful use of the means of grace? Are you doing the duties of your station in depen

dence on God, and with a desire to please, serve, and honour Him? Are you walking in Christian holiness? Then the comforts of Christianity belong to you. Receive them in faith. Be not discouraged because you cannot find in yourself this or that feeling. Rejoice in the Lord; believe His promises, because they are His. Abraham against hope believed in hope. He had nothing but the bare word of the Almighty on which he could confide. But what other ground of confidence

could he desire? word; confide in that. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." You believe on Him, therefore you have everlasting life. What you may feel is nothing to the purpose. Your salvation is grounded, not on the changeable feelings of a frail and mutable creature, but on the faithfulness of Him who cannot lie (H. E. I. 2064-2067).-Edward Cooper: Practi cal and Familiar Sermons, vol. vii 345-362.

You have the same

THE CURE FOR ANXIETY.

xl. 1, 2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God, &c.

The skill of a physician is shown-1. In detecting the disease under which his patient suffers; and, 2. In choosing the best remedy.

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There is as great variety in the diseases of the soul as in those of the body there is the moral palsy, fever, consumption, answering in their symptoms to the corporeal maladies similarly designated; and some souls require quite a different regimen from all others.

I. A PREVALENT SICKNESS.

1. This is pointed out in the words, "Cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished," &c. The condition of Jerusalem is one of distress, anxiety, and distraction; and this so well accords with a passage in the Psalms that it may be connected with it: "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Thy comforts delight my soul." The disease is here more clearly described a "multitude of thoughts." An old translation has it, "In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed my soul;" and Bishop Austin's version is, "In the multitude of my anxieties within me;" whilst the representation in the original Hebrew would seem that of a man involved in a labyrinth from whose intricacies there was no way of escape. All this agrees precisely with the case of Jerusalem in the text; and what cause of distressing anxiety would

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there be whilst there was warfare unfinished and sin unforgiven! case of sickness, then, so emphatically prescribed for, is that under which the righteous may be labouring from the difficulties which encompass him.

2. Who labour most under this disease? The persons supposed are they who strive to walk according to the precepts of religion. A man may be

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a man after God's own heart," and yet subject to the invasion of a crowd of anxieties; and it is never a part of our business to lessen the extent of what is blameworthy, nor to endeavour to persuade the righteous that freedom from anxiety is not a privilege to be sought after. The Christian may rise superior to all intruders, and prove that they do but heighten the blessedness of the blessing (H. E. I. 2053, 4054-4056).

II. IS THE PRESCRIPTION SUFFICIENT? The disease incapacitates for any process of argument; it were of little use to prescribe dark sayings, mysterious dogmas, as though God, in His dealings with His distracted people, did but prescribe the application of "things hard to be understood." With David, recourse was not had to the mysteries of God, but only to His comfort-and with these the Psalmist found that he could delight his soul. Of what does this comfort consist? Of the rich assurances of His forgiving and accepting love; of

the gracious declarations of His everlasting purpose to preserve to the end those chosen in Christ; the multiplied promises of spiritual guidance, protection, victory; the foretastes of immortality; the glimpses of things "within the veil." It is the part of a righteous man, in his season of anxiety and distraction, to confine himself to those comforts, regarding them as a sick man does the medicines given him, as the cordial specially adapted to his state.

Observe that the comforting message is to be delivered to Jerusalem, and that annexed is a statement of "her warfare" being "accomplished." Connect with the exclamation of Paul, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course." It is no farfetched application of the text to affirm it as specially appropriate on the approach of the last enemydeath. It is here that the power of all mere human resources must eventually fail; for when a man thinks on what it is to die; when he reflects that die he must, so inevitable is the doom; and yet, that die he cannot, so

certain is his immortality,-in vain does the world offer its richest possessions, or philosophy its conclusions. It can only be what emanates from another world, what comes with authority from another world, that can have a solacing power, when it is the loosening of our connection with this world which causes the confused tumult in the soul; and Christianity furnishes an abundance of what is needed for allaying the fear of death and soothing man's passage to the tomb.

The anxious believer has then only to give himself meekly over into the Good Shepherd's hands. Let him not argue, let him not debate, let him not sit in judgment; let him simply have recourse to the comforts of God. "None," says Christ, "can pluck them out of my hands." Christ holds His sheep; it is not the sheep that hold Christ, and God has caused it to be said of him, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my servant, and tell him that his warfare is accomplished."-Henry Melvill, B.D.; Golden Lectures, 1851, pp. 737-744.

THE DIVINE GLORY REVEALED IN CHRIST.

(Preached on Christmas Day.)

xl. 3-5. The voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness, &c. (a)

I take the text to be prophecy, in the first and lowest sense, of the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon; then of the appearance of Christ in the flesh; of the manifestation, also, of Christ in the believer's soul; and of the manner in which He will set up His spiritual kingdom in the world (8).

I. ITS LITERAL ACCOMPLISHMENT. This prophecy was literally accomplished,-1. In the appearance of John the Baptist. 2. Following the footsteps of the servant comes the Master. Here the glory of God was manifested, and all flesh living at that time in Judea saw it together. Jesus Christ was the visible image of the power, the truth, the holiness of God.

II ITS SPIRITUAL ACCOMPLISH

MENT. This is seen in the work of God in the human soul. In this there is both preparation and manifestation. For Christ no more bursts upon the soul at once than He did upon the world; He sends His messenger to prepare the way before Him. That preparing herald, figured by John the Baptist, is repentance. Consider what repentance is, and you will see how it prepares the soul for Christ, for pardon, happiness, and purity. 1. The first element in repentance is a deep and serious conviction of the fact of our sin. 2. The second is a conviction of the extreme danger of sin and its infinite desert. 3. The third is a burdened and disquieted spirit. When these convictions and feelings have been produced in the soul, it is prepared

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