THE ORIGIN AND THE END OF SIN Isaiah 30:1. _Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me, &c._ The policy inculcated by the Divine Ruler on the Jewish nation was a policy of isolation. Now, this would be a self-destructive policy. But the circumstances of that na... [ Continue Reading ]
STRENGTH IN QUIETNESS [1120] [1120] See also CHRISTIAN QUIETNESS, Isaiah 30:15. Isaiah 30:7. _Their strength is to sit still_. There is a sense in which “sitting still” is not our strength, but our destruction. To sit still in sin and unbelief is the practice and the ruin of the unconverted. To su... [ Continue Reading ]
DISLIKE TO MINISTERIAL FIDELITY Isaiah 30:9. _This is a rebellious people, &c._ Many wish to be deceived. They have made truth their enemy and shrink from the light, desiring present relief and peace, even at the expense of future happiness. Many a man does not like to be told the truth about his b... [ Continue Reading ]
CHRISTIAN QUIETNESS. [1123] [1123] See also STRENGTH IN QUIETNESS, Isaiah 30:7. Isaiah 30:15. _In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength_. The principle of our text is, that “strength,” safety, success, happiness, is the fruit of self-control and of reliance upon God. I. It requires l... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VANITY OF EARTHLY HELP IN TIME OF TRIAL, AND THE PROFIT OF PATIENT WAITING Isaiah 30:15. _For thus saith the Lord God, &c._ The history of the Jews a striking proof of human depravity. That people at once the most favoured by God, and the most obstinate in rebellion against God. Ever hankering... [ Continue Reading ]
WAITING, DIVINE AND HUMAN Isaiah 30:18. _Therefore will the Lord wait_. [1126] [1126] In these outlines the Authorised Version has been followed, but the translations in which Delitzsch, Kay, and Cheyne substantially agree is noteworthy and worthy of study. “_And therefore_—because your sins requir... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S READINESS TO LISTEN TO THE NEEDY Isaiah 30:19. _He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry_. I. THERE ARE PERSONS BEFORE ME FOR WHOM THIS GRACIOUS ASSURANCE IS PARTICULARLY SUITABLE. It is most comforting— 1. _To all afflicted people_. You are depressed; things have gone ami... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BREAD OF ADVERSITY Isaiah 30:20. _And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, &c._ [1129] [1129] The Authorised Version, upon which these outlines are founded, is supported by Mr. Cheyne, who translates: _“And though the Lord give you bread in short measure and water in scant quantity... [ Continue Reading ]
RIVERS OF WATERS Isaiah 30:25. _And there shall be upon every high mountain, &c._ These are symbols of the blessings God will confer upon His people when He returns to them in mercy. These are vivid presentations of two characteristics of these blessings, their copiousness and their universality.... [ Continue Reading ]
GROWING LIGHT Isaiah 30:26. _Moreover, the light of the moon, &c._ These words, doubtless, look forward to the restoration of Israel. But there are spiritual truths implied in them, which are of present and immediate application. We have here different _kinds_ of light; different _degrees_ of the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EARTHLY SONG AND THE HEAVENLY VOICE Isaiah 30:29. _Ye shall have a song … and the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, &c._ The fulfilment of this prophecy is recorded in Isaiah 37:36. The Assyrian power, hitherto unopposed in its march of conquest, sustained a severe check when it... [ Continue Reading ]
TOPHET ORDAINED OF OLD Isaiah 30:33. _For Tophet is ordained of old, &c._ Some of us have often admired the expression, “Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men;” implying that the law of persuasion should be the law of the Christian pulpit. Some would _alarm_ men, some would bitterly _ra... [ Continue Reading ]