The ungodly are warned that there is no peace for them. 1 Hear ye this, O house of butnot with silver; I have chosen Jacob, which are called by the thee in the furnace of affliction. name of Israel, and are come 11 For mine own sake, even forth out of the waters of Judah, for mine own sake, will I do which swear by the name of the it: for how should my name be LORD, and make mention of polluted? and I will not give the God of Israel, but not in my glory unto another. truth, nor in righteousness.

flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 And they thirsted not when

he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

LECTURE 1159.

How God has chosen us, and also warned us.

For several chapters past the prophet has been fulfilling the injunction of the Lord, "comfort ye my people." Ch. 40. 1. And now, at the close of this section of his prophecies, he warns them solemnly, in the Lord's name, that the comfort of these gracious promises, though addressed to all, is not meant for those among them who were evil doers: "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." To such He declares, that He had spoken his prophetic word, and done his marvellous acts, well knowing their obstinate perversity of heart, to cut off all occasion of their ascribing their blessings to their idols. He was well aware, He tells them, that they would deal treacherously after all. For his own name's sake alone would He defer the execution of his wrath against them. For the manifestation of his own divine glory, and not for any desert of theirs, would He raise up, as He had foretold, a conqueror to deliver them from Babylon. And yet, little as they had hitherto hearkened to his words, He would continue to teach them by his prophet; who in the midst of God's warnings testifies, "and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me." And still does God continue to intreat them, still work for their conversion, still graciously set before them the inestimable blessings which had all along been within their reach. Still does He invite them to go forth from out of Babylon, with songs of praise to their Redeemer, and to partake of all the joys attending their redemption. This He does, at the very time when He tells them, that for the wicked "there is no peace." Such was God's forbearance towards his people of old. Such was his election of Israel according to the flesh. And such is his election of them that are his people now. Such is his long suffering towards Christians. For no desert of ours, He has chosen us, He has called us. He teaches us, He leads us in the way we ought to walk in. He sends his own Son to be our Saviour. He gives us in his word the most full demonstration of his power, and wisdom, of his truth, his justice, and his love. He refines us in the furnace of affliction. And He invites us to come forth out of a wicked world, singing songs of praise to our Redeemer, and having for our portion "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. 14. 17. But at the same time He most expressly warns us, and in the midst of our rejoicing in his goodness may we ever bear his warning in mind, "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

Christ is to be glorified in the salvation of the Gentiles.

1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.

5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the

earth.

7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man

despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

LECTURE 1160.

How our present privileges and future bliss are foretold. In the remaining portion of the book of Isaiah, we meet with prophecies relating to Christ, and to the Gospel, and to its effect in the world, more full and explicit than those which have gone

before, or than any others in the sacred volume. This prophet indeed still often speaks in terms which are applicable to the temporal deliverance of Jerusalem. But his language is more continually rising to a tone, which indicates, whether he so understood it or not, a state of things very different from that provided for in the Law, and pointing to a dispensation more comprehensive, to ordinances more spiritual, to a deliverance from calamities appertaining to all mankind, and to a Redeemer in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blest.

It is this Redeemer, who in the opening of this chapter calls upon all the isles to listen to Him, "the isles" meaning all those countries which were approached from Judea by sea rather than by land. It is that Jesus, of whom St. Luke observes, that He "was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb." Luke

It is He of whom it is testified in the Revelation, that "out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword." Rev. 1. 16. It is the true Israel, God's servant and his son. See Exod. 4. 22. This is He who "came unto his own, and his own received him not;" John 1. 11; in whose cup of suffering this was doubtless not the least bitter portion; but who nevertheless was enabled to say triumphantly, not long before his chiefest agony, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him." John 13. 31. Here we may note how wonderfully these prophecies agree with the language of the New Testament. And here further we may see how the glory of Christ was promoted by those who would not receive Him. It would not have been enough "to raise up the tribes of Jacob," and therefore Christ is given "for a light to the Gentiles," and to be the salvation of God" unto the end of the earth." He, whom his own people and their rulers rejected with scorn and persecution, is even now worshipped, as here foretold, by the chief kings and princes of the earth. St. Paul, writing to those who dwelt at one of "the desolate heritages" here spoken of, applies this prophecy of an "acceptable time" to the time of the preaching of the Gospel. In the Gospel, Christ says, "Go forth," both to those who are bound in the chains of sin, and to those who are in the prison house of death. See Matt. 9. 6. John 11. 43. And not only are our present privileges here foreshewn, as ministering to Christ's glory; but heaven as well as earth is called upon to rejoice in his great salvation. And our heavenly happiness is described in terms thus adopted for describing it in the New Testament, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev. 7. 16, 17.

PART VII. O. T.

K

Zion shall be replenished from among the Gentiles.

14 But Zion said, The LORD children, and am desolate, a hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

LECTURE 1161.

That we either help or hinder the Gospel cause.

When the Jewish church has rejected Christ, and is in consequence rejected by God, it is heard to complain, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." To this the Almighty replies, that sooner shall a mother "forget her