Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors? Was she killed like those who slayed her? Sermons
I. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN JUDGMENTS AND CHASTISEMENTS. In a sense we may say that judgments are ends in themselves, and chastisements are means to a higher end. Then has God two ways of dealing with men? Thoughtlessly, and misled by appearances, many of us answer, "Yes," and suppose that we can account for some difficult and perplexing things by the help of this supposition. But this answer will not bear the test of either patient thought or Holy Scripture. Thought says, "God is One; truth and right are one; men are one; and, if there be two principles of dealing with the same creatures, both cannot be right." What God does may to us look different; it must really be the same, for the "God of the whole earth shall he be called." Scripture assures us of the Divine unchangeableness. It says, "One event happeneth to the righteous and to the wicked." It expresses the conviction that the "Judge of all the earth will do right." It bids us see that God makes his "sun to rise on the evil and on the good." There is no modification of ordinary natural conditions for the sake of the elect few. Health, accident, disease, death, affect alike the righteous and the wicked. Then comes in another question - Can all judgments be regarded as remedial in their design and tendency? There is a disposition toward the general acceptance of this theory nowadays; in dealing with crime, the reformation of the criminal is put in a first place. We may venture to say that God's final end is always recovery. But he works over indefinitely long periods; and his immediate ends - necessary as stages - may not always be remedial. As a part of the work towards securing the final end, God may stamp by suffering the quality of sin; he may demonstrate his indignations, as in the case of Babylon. It may even be necessary to make us fear lest the consequences of sin may prove irremediable; and this may explain such things as everlasting punishment, the sin against the Holy Ghost that bath never forgiveness, and the day of grace that may be lost. Whether Divine dealings be judgment or chastisement may depend on three things: (1) the point from which they are viewed; (2) the moral condition of those who suffer; and (3) the relations of God being regarded as governmental or as paternal. II. THE PURPOSE OF JUDGMENT APPREHENDED AS CHASTISEMENT. (Ver. 9.) Apprehended as only judgment, our mind is overborne by our calamity. Apprehended as chastisement, the mind is started with new and trustful thoughts. The trouble may at first crush, but soon we learn to accept it calmly. That we are under fatherly chastisements puts the deepest solemnity into life and into sin; it helps us to lift our hearts away from the present and the seen to the future and the unseen. All deaths become gates of life when this sunlight streams on them. (For this figure see Noel Paton's picture, 'Mors Janua Vita.') Prophecy then keeps before us this cheering fact - all anxieties and sufferings are fatherly. Their "fruit is to take away our sin." And as we so little know the subtleties of our sin, we need not wonder that we cannot understand either the subtleties or the severities necessary for taking it away. Our wonder ought to be that "refining fires," so graciously tempered for us, are made to accomplish so great a cleansing. - R.T.
He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root. I. IN RESPECT OF NUMBER. Under the ancient dispensation, the spiritual Israel were comparatively few. But at the commencement of the Christian dispensation the wall of partition was broken down, and the boundaries of the Church were greatly enlarged.II. IN RESPECT OF SPIRITUAL VIGOUR. Others remain in a state of spiritual death. But concerning them "that come of Jacob," it is here asserted that they shall take root. III. IN RESPECT OF BEAUTY. Christ Himself, "the branch of the Lord, is beautiful and glorious" (Isaiah 4:2); and believers in Christ are made comely through His comeliness put upon them (Ezekiel 16:14). IV. IN RESPECT OF FRUITFULNESS. Believers are denominated in Scripture, "trees of righteousness," to intimate that they should "bring forth fruit unto God." They abound "in every good word and work." V. IN RESPECT OF JOY. It is when the dews of heaven "drop upon the pastures of the wilderness" that it is said, "the little hills rejoice on every side." The abundant joy of New Testament times, especially of the times referred to in the passage before us, is often spoken of in Scripture. VI. IN RESPECT OF STABILITY. It is here promised that the Lord "shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root" The vicissitudes which take place in human affairs teach us the vanity of the world, and the perishing nature of all that seems most durable in this region of shadows. The Church of God, however, has been like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. VII. IN RESPECT OF EXTENT. (R. Jack.) People Isaiah, Israelites, JacobPlaces Assyria, Brook of Egypt, Egypt, Euphrates River, JerusalemTopics Dead, Killed, Overcame, Punishment, Slain, Slaughter, Slay, Slayers, Slaying, Smiter, Smiting, Smitten, Smote, Striking, Struck, SwordOutline 1. The Deliverance of IsraelDictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 27:6Library The Grasp that Brings Peace'Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; yea, let him make peace with Me.'--ISAIAH xxvii. 5. Lyrical emotion makes the prophet's language obscure by reason of its swift transitions from one mood of feeling to another. But the main drift here is discernible. God is guarding Israel, His vineyard, and before Him its foes are weak as 'thorns and briers,' whose end is to be burned. With daring anthropomorphism, the prophet puts into God's mouth a longing for the enemies to measure … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Twelfth Day for the Spirit to Convince the World of Sin Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ; The Desire of the Righteous Granted; How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin? "But we are all as an Unclean Thing, and all Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags," Covenanting Confers Obligation. The Mercy of God The River of Egypt, Rhinocorura. The Lake of Sirbon. The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly What Messiah did the Jews Expect? The Great Shepherd Isaiah Links Isaiah 27:7 NIVIsaiah 27:7 NLT Isaiah 27:7 ESV Isaiah 27:7 NASB Isaiah 27:7 KJV Isaiah 27:7 Bible Apps Isaiah 27:7 Parallel Isaiah 27:7 Biblia Paralela Isaiah 27:7 Chinese Bible Isaiah 27:7 French Bible Isaiah 27:7 German Bible Isaiah 27:7 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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