II. This road spoken of is A CLEAN ROAD. Many a fine road has become miry and foul because it has not been properly cared for; but the unclean shall not walk on this one.

III. The road spoken of is A PLAIN ROAD. "The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." That is, if a man is three-fourths an idiot, he can find this road just as well as if he were a philosopher. The pardon is plain. The peace is plain. Everything is plain.

IV. The road to heaven is A SAFE ROAD. "No lion shall be there."

V. The road spoken of is A PLEASANT ROAD. God gives a bond of indemnity against all evil to every man that treads it. "All things work together for good to those who love God." No weapon formed against them can prosper.

VI. THIS WAY ENDS IN GLORY. I do not care how fine a road you may put me on, I want to know where it comes out. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion," &c.

(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)

1. Jesus Christ is the way.

2. It is by faith that we enter into, and make progress in this way.

II. THE EXCELLENCY OF THIS WAY. Christ is divinely, infinitely excellent.

III. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO ARE WALKING IN THIS WAY.

1. They are all, by nature, in the same circumstances with the rest of mankind.

2. From this situation they are redeemed by the obedience and death of the Son of God.

3. They are all holy persons.

4. They are constant, regular, and progressive in the way of holiness — they walk there.

5. They are all happy persons. They "come to Zion with songs," &c.

(W. S. Smart.)

1. An open way though narrow.

2. A holy way though gladsome.

3. A safe way though simple.

II. ITS TRAVELLERS.

1. The Lord of the way Himself (see margin).

2. His ransomed ones. Good company, sympathetic, pilgrim songs and converse.

3. Angel-escort. Jacob. "He shall give His angels charge... to keep thee in all thy ways."

III. ITS TERMINATION. Path of just brighter to "completion of day." Heavenly Jerusalem Zion's templed hill. Farewell to pilgrim's staff and worn sandals. Welcome endless rest, wide open gates, greetings of the glorified, the bosom of God, and coronation of joy.

(Homiletic Review.)

I. THE TRAVELLERS of whom it speaks.

1. They were once journeying along a very different path. They are called "the redeemed," and the term implies that they were once in bondage. This is the natural condition of us all.

2. But these travellers have been delivered from this state of bondage.

3. There are three ways of redeeming a captive — by exchange, by a forcible rescue, or by ransom. It is by the last of these that the people of God are here said to have been liberated.

II. THE WAY along which they are journeying.

III. THE HOME to which it is leading them. To return to Zion implies, in the first instance, to be admitted into the visible Church of God, and to a full participation of all its privileges. But it implies also much more. It directs our eyes upward to that holy hill on which the heavenly Jerusalem is built, the city of the living God.' Of this unseen residence of the just, the earthly Zion was a type; and we may find it a profitable subject of meditation to trace —

(1)The resemblance;

(2)the contrast between them.

1. The hill of Zion was the peculiar residence of God. There His temple was erected, and there the mercy-seat, the visible symbol of His presence, stood. In heaven also Jehovah has a temple, and "the way of holiness" leads to it.

2. The Jews were taught to regard their sacred mountain as the source of all their blessings. When salvation was promised them, it was to come "out of Zion"; when they were to be strengthened and blessed, "the Lord out of Zion" was to strengthen and bless them. Hence we find Daniel turning towards Jerusalem when he prayed in Babylon, and Jonah looked towards the holy temple of his God when he cried amidst the waves for deliverance. And what real happiness is there, which comes not from above?

3. Zion also was the place in which the people of the Lord assembled. And who can describe the blessedness which will flow from the fellowship of heaven?

4. The earthly Jerusalem was a splendid city; "beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth, was mount Zion"; but even in the height of her greatness, when the glory of the Lord rested on her tabernacle, she afforded but a poor emblem of the heavenly city. At the time, however, to which the words of the prophet primarily relate, the contrast was peculiarly striking. The Zion to which the liberated Jews so joyfully returned, was "a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desolation." And where is Jerusalem now? Where is its temple? The heavenly Zion, however, knows no destruction and fears no change. It is "a city which hath foundations"; an abiding city.

(C. Bradley, M. A.)

1. There is the great Patriarchal road; travelled by Adam; in bad repair in Noah's time; a broad way of promises to Abram, who travelled along it out of Ur; broader still to his children.

2. Then there is the great Mosaic road. Great pains taken to make it a good road; scores of workmen, called laws, upon it; hedges of immense height to keep people from the dangerous jungles of heathendom. Sign-posts everywhere. Most people murmured at it as rough or steep. But some, like Moses and Aaron, and Caleb and Joshua, saw "Christ" written up all along the way; upon their sacred buildings and altars; upon their religious teachers; even upon the garments of the people.

3. By and by the road widened into the great Prophetical road. David and Solomon, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and others, repaired the road. But after their time the road was sadly neglected. Few were found upon it. The fences were broken, and the people wandered in by-paths, until things became so bad that it seemed as though the road would be shut up altogether.

4. But "suddenly" (Malachi 3:1) the King sent and put it into a thorough state of repair, so that it was like a new road, and it was called "the new and living way"; and though very rugged and narrow at times, it has always,, been kept open until this day.

II. THIS HIGHWAY IS "THE WAY OF HOLINESS." It leads to God. They who travel along it bear His image. Dwelt in, and led by the Holy Ghost, they exercise themselves to have always a conscience void of offence, so that men can see that they walk holily, justly, and unblameably.

III. THIS HIGHWAY IS A SAFE WAY. "The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein."

IV. THIS HIGHWAY IS A WAY OF JOY. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return," &c. The captives of Babylon, concerning whom this was primarily written, rejoiced because they had passed through the wilderness, and had survived the dangers of that journey; because they were re-instated in their former home, and the smile of God once more rested upon them. And we, — delivered from wrath, cleansed from sin, returned from banishment, restored to our proper home in the heart of God, dwelling in peace and safety as members of His household, the church, — have not we abundant cause for rejoicing?

(W. J. Chapman, M. A.)

1. In order to open the high. way of holiness it was necessary that a perfect example should be given to mankind, so that men could understand what perfect holiness means; and that has been presented to us in the human life of Jesus.

2. Christ also imparts to us the secret of all true spiritual power by bringing us into close and blessed connection with God. The same power which rendered it possible for Jesus Christ as a man to be perfectly holy is thus brought within our reach by the Incarnation, and death and resurrection, of Jesus Christ. Thus we may say, not only have we the map and the chart of the highway of holiness placed in our hands, but also the highway itself opened up to us by the communication of a spiritual ability to tread therein. But if those advantages are real, they carry with them enhanced responsibilities.

(W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)

I. It is the WAY OF THE PURIFIED. "The unclean shall not pass over it." Until we are cleansed from our "old sins" we are not in a position to pass over the King's highway of holiness. Some people who desire to live holy lives are no better than legalists. They cannot love much, because they have not had much forgiven them; thus they lose the true motive of a Christian life, while they are crippled in their efforts to attain to the proper standard of holiness, both by the weight of unforgiven sin and by absence of that spiritual power which flows to us through reconciliation. We must pass through the gate before we can pass along the way, and that gate is the Cross, where the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Nor is it difficult to find a mason for this necessity. Indeed, this passage gives us a sufficient reason if we are to accept the marginal rendering — "For He shall be with them." It is quite true that Jesus Christ was the Friend of publicans and sinners; but He was their Friend because He saved them from their sins. And it is so now; those only who hate their sins, and who come to Christ to be delivered from their sins, can walk along the highway of holiness, because He is sojourning with those who sojourn there, and He cannot walk with the unclean. But having called attention to this statement as a reason for the necessity of cleansing, let us now dwell upon it as a characteristic of the way of holiness, and of the experience of those who pass along it.

II. The highway of holiness is THE PATH OF FELLOWSHIP WITH THE DIVINE. When Christ was here on earth He ever moved along this way, and He is still to be found there by those who pass along it. Indeed, so closely is His presence and our fellowship with Him connected with true spiritual holiness, that we can scarcely say whether the holiness is the fruit of the fellowship, or the fellowship the effect of the holiness. It is only while we walk in the light, as He is in the light, that we have fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. These two elements in our experience act and react upon each other.

III. It is THE WAY OF RIGHT DIRECTION. "Wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." Here is a promise that may well comfort us in the perplexities of life. The reason why we make such great mistakes as we sometimes do is surely that we get off the King's highway of holiness. We begin to pursue our own pleasure, or to gratify our ambition, or, we seek to please other people, and to avoid the cross. But when the wayfaring man is on the highway of holiness this promise will be fulfilled. He may seem to make mistakes, but God will overrule what appears to be a blunder to His own glory. There is yet another thought suggested by this clause which may serve to explain some of our errors. The prophet here speaks of those who are fools as being assured of right doctrines. May not one cause of mistakes sometimes be that we are not content to take the place of fools? We feel too much confidence in our own sound judgment and commonsense, and so we scarcely regard it necessary to inquire of the Lord. I do not mean to say that we ought not to use our natural faculties. They are a trust from God, and we are bound to use them. But we are warned not to lean to our own understanding, and he who gives us this advice would have been a much happier man and made much fewer practical mistakes if he had only taken it himself. But there is yet another reason why we sometimes err, suggested to us by this clause. And this other reason brings before our minds the fourth characteristic of the way of holiness.

IV. It is only THE WAY OF RIGHT DIRECTION TO THOSE WHO ARE WAYFARING MEN. Do we not sometimes err because we have so little of the wayfaring man about us? Living as we do in a luxurious age, how many of us surround ourselves with luxury, and lay ourselves out for self-indulgence! We are called to use the world as not abusing it; surely it is the abuse of the world when we allow it to take the place of heaven. There is a quaint old Latin proverb which tells us, "The penniless travellers shall sing before the robbers." No wonder; for what can the robbers take from them? And many a Christian might sing defiance of all enemies — even of the great robber himself, if only we made over our all to its proper Owner, and regarded it as a sacred trust to be used for Him.

V. It is THE WAY OF SAFETY. "No lion shall be there," &c. Is Satan, then, really to lose his power to do us harm? He may come to the hedge which fences in the highway from the rest of the world; he may growl and roar, and do his best to terrify you, but so long as your eye is single, and you are moving on the King's great highway of holiness, the lion cannot lay a paw upon you or inflict a single wound.

VI. It is THE WAY OF JOY. VII. It is THE WAY THAT LEADS HOME.

(W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)

II. Though it is clear that this way is accessible to all sects, classes, and conditions of men, yet THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION, and that one exception is not due to God, but to man himself. "It shall be called the way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those," viz., for the holy.

III. Here is A SPECIAL INVITATION TO THE WAYFARING MEN — men who have not the advantage of learning, education, and accomplishments. It is the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, without which even the best acquirements are nothing, which makes up to wayfaring men for the absence of all the advantages of learning, education, station, and leisure, which are the privileges of those who occupy the higher grades of life.

IV. On this Christmas Day WE CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THAT WAY which Isaiah describes.

V. AT THE VERY END OF THIS GREAT VIADUCT IS HEAVEN.

(E. Girdlestone, M. A.)

1. In that old time the choicest wisdom of the world did little else than puzzle itself over problems which are now known in their solution to the children in our schools. Whether man was anything more than an animal; whether with the death of his body a man did not cease to be, was an undecided question. But the mystery touching fife was almost as great as the mystery touching death. The best impulses of men to do that which was wise and good had no direction. A hundred teachers taught a hundred different ways of living. The interrogation of ages was: What is truth? Men sought it with a patience that would appal a modern disciple; sought it until they died, and died with the infinite sadness of knowing that all their seeking had been in vain — that they were no wiser than they were when they started their career of investigation.

2. The duty of all men that teach or can teach is to make things plain, simple, easily discerned by the popular perception, readily felt by the popular conscience, and easily appropriated by the popular emotion. It was largely because the language of Jesus was easily understood, and hence sympathetic, that the common people heard Him so gladly.

3. Well, the old prophet, looking along the fine of his craving, in which he represented the craving of humanity, the craving for light as to what death meant and of instruction in human duties, saw a happy day ahead. He saw a day when ignorance should give place to understanding, and the fear born of it, and the torment born of the fear, should harass men no more. He saw a day when the way of holiness should be so plain that the wayfaring man, though a fool, should not err therein; that is, when not only the wise should find it readily, but when those whose intellects were unassisted by education, and whose abilities to discern between right and wrong were not extraordinary, should easily distinguish between good and evil. When Christ was born, the sun arose; when Christ came up from the grave and brought life and immortality to light in His resurrection, the clock of ages struck the hour of mid-day, and the Sun of Righteousness stood full-orbed, armed on all sides with beams, in the spiritual zenith of the world.

4. If you desire to see the fulfilment of the old prophet's prediction, look at your own age, and you behold it. In the fact that the Bible lies waiting perusal in your own homes, see and recognise that the day has come in which all that any man can long for in the way of knowledge as to his duty of life, in the way of the destiny of his soul after death, is realised.

5. The way to judge a system of instruction is not by listening to what men say about it, but by studying what the author of it said and did. If you wish to know what the system of salvation is, as included in the coming of the Christ, go to your New Testament record and ascertain from His own lips what it is.

6. Do not go expecting that His system is mysterious, for we often fail to see the simplicity of a thing, by having a previous impression that it is profoundly complex. This is the old blunder which both Jew and Greek made centuries ago. The ritualists of our day match the Jew, and the man of supreme culture types the aesthetic Greek. If you will go to the Master Himself, and not to His disciples, past or present, you will be struck as much by what is not in His system, as by what is in it.

7. One of the proofs of the fine wisdom of the Saviour is seen in His studiously keeping out of sight whatever would lead the minds of His followers in speculative directions. All questions of casuistry, such as the scribes and lawyers were continually tempting Him to discuss, He brushed aside as incompatible with the object of His mission. He came simply to establish divine connections with men, to teach the race virtues, and implant in their souls the germ of simple piety.

(W. H. H. Murray.)

1. There is a way to God and heaven. It is noteworthy that this road is one, a highway and a way. Many roads lead to ruin, but only one to salvation. Years at the University of Utrecht, several Christian students met together from various nations, and on one occasion it was agreed that four persons, representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, should describe the work of grace upon their hearts. The earnest brother from New England, and the friend from the Cape of Good Hope, and the missionary student from India, all found that their stories agreed with that of a young nobleman of Holland. Scenes and circumstances widely differed, but the joys and sorrows, the struggles and the victories of each, were the same, and one hope filled every heart. We differ in the pace with which we traverse the way, but the way itself is one. Jesus saith, "I am the way." He is not only way, but end to all who put their trust in Him. This way is made through the wilderness: "a highway shall be there" — where the sand is always shifting, where if the traveller once loses his bearings he is doomed to certain death, with the vulture's maw as his only sepulchre. A way is made for us through the deserts of sin, and the wildernesses of sorrow, over hills of doubt and mountains of fear. That way runs close at thy feet, poor wanderer! This way was cast up at great expense; for road-making over a long and rugged country is a costly business. Who could make a way over the mountains of our iniquities but Almighty God? It cost the great God the Jewel of heaven. This road has lasted now these thousands of years; it is still in good travelling condition, nor will it ever be closed till all the chosen wayfarers shall have reached the many mansions of the Father's house. This way, being made by Divine power, is appointed by Divine authority to be the King's highway. Whosoever travels by this road is under the protection of the King of kings. This highway has conducted already to God. It is said to be "a highway and a way": it is not only a highway by appointment, but it is a way by use and traffic.

2. The name of this way. The way of faith is not contrary to holiness, but it is "the way of holiness." If you are ever in a doubt about which is the right path, remember those words of the Saviour: "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it." Prefer strictness to laxity. God's way is the way of holiness, for He has founded it upon holy truth. He is not unholy in the saving of any sinner. Those who follow that road do so by a holy trust. We must not believe that Christ will save us in our sins — that would be unholy faith; but we must look to Him to save us from our sins; for that is holy faith. It is also the way of holy living.

3. This way is a select way. "The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those." Literally this may mean, "The uncircumcised and the unclean." These were excluded from the house of the Lord, and here they are excluded from the sacred way of Israel: of this the spiritual meaning is that unless we are washed in the blood of Christ, and renewed in the spirit of our minds by the Holy Spirit, we are not in the way of God. It is a select way, for it is reserved for a select people "it shall be for those." Who are they? Look backward, and you will read of memo who make the wilderness and the solitary place to be glad: of some whoso blind eyes were opened, whose deaf ears were unstopped. You read of the lame men who were made to leap as an hart, and of dumb men who began to sing. This highway is reserved for those upon whom a miracle of grace has been performed. This way is for the ransomed. "The redeemed of the Lord shall walk there." Another fact makes it very select. "He shall be with them" (marg.).

4. It is a plain way. The true Gospel is as plain as a pikestaff.

5. It is a safe way. "No lion shall be there." There is one lion which those who make Jesus their way need never be afraid of: that is, the lion of unpardoned sin. Another lion also roars upon us, but cannot devour us, namely, temptation: you shall not be tempted above what you are able to bear. As for that grim lion of death of which some speak, it does not exist.

II. OUR DUTY IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WAY OF HOLINESS.

1. The first thing is carefully to discriminate between road and road. When you see a road which looks broad, smooth, pleasant, and well-bordered with flowers, say to yourself, "There are many ways, but since only one of them leads to eternal life, I must be careful. I will pray, 'Lord, be my guide, even unto death.'" Do not believe that sincerity is enough; you need truth as well.

2. When you know the road, you should scrupulously keep in it, for many ways branch from it.

3. Are we in the way? Then let us be very earnest in telling other people of it. Travelling the other day by a country road the traveller wished to know the way to a certain spot. He inquired of one who sat by the roadside, but all the answer he got from him was a vacant stare, and a shake of the head. A little time after he found that the poor man was deaf and dumb. I am afraid there are many such Christians nowadays: they are spiritually deaf to the woes of others, and dumb as to giving them either instruction or encouragement. All they seem to do is to shake their wise heads, as if they knew a great deal more than they meant to tell. I asked a person, the other day, the road to a certain place, and in the politest possible manner he answered, "I beg your pardon, but I am quite a stranger in these parts." That was a very sufficient reason for not directing me. He could not tell what he did not know. If any of you do not know the way, and are strangers in these parts, do not tell anybody; bat let this mournful reflection go home to your consciences: "I cannot tell another the way to heaven because I am a stranger in these parts." God grant that we may never stretch the arm of our testimony beyond the sleeve of our experience!

4. If you are not in the road, may the Lord help you to get into it this morning.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)

(J. N. Norton.)

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

(W. G. Pascoe.)

(M. G. Pearse.)

     4020   life, of faith
     5505   roads
     8168   way, the
     8325   purity, nature of
     8757   folly, effects of

Isaiah 35:1-10

     4209   land, spiritual aspects
     4824   famine, spiritual
     8149   revival, nature of

Isaiah 35:3-10

     6659   freedom, acts in OT

Isaiah 35:4-10

     1315   God, as redeemer

Isaiah 35:8-10

     5336   highway
     7145   remnant

Miracles of Healing
'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.'--ISAIAH xxxv. 5,6. 'Then'--when? The previous verse answers, 'Behold, your God will come, He will come and save you.' And what or when is that 'coming'? A glance at the place which this grand hymn occupies in the series of Isaiah's prophecies answers that question. It stands at the close of the first part of these, and is the limit of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Mirage or Lake
'For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.' ISAIAH xxxv. 6, 7. What a picture is painted in these verses! The dreary wilderness stretches before us, monotonous, treeless, in some parts bearing a scanty vegetation which flourishes in early spring and dies before fierce summer heats, but for the most part utterly desolate, the sand blinding the eyes, the ground cracked and gaping as if …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The King's Highway
'And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there.'--ISAIAH xxxv. 8, 9. We can fancy what it is to be lost in a forest where a traveller may ride round in a circle, thinking he is advancing, till he dies. But it is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Effects of Messiah's Appearance
The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. H ow beautiful and magnificent is the imagery, by which the Prophet, in this chapter, represents the effects of MESSIAH'S appearance! The scene, proposed to our view, is a barren and desolate wilderness. But when He, who in the beginning said, Let there be light, and there was light, condescends to visit this wilderness, the face of nature is …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Weak Hands and Feeble Knees
But my text, especially commands the minister to deal tenderly with those of Christ's people who are in such a condition, and these are not a few, for although religion changes the moral temperament of men, it does not change the physical. A man who is weak in health before conversion will probably be as weak afterwards, and many a spirit that has a tendency to despondency, has exhibited that tendency after conversion. We do not profess that the religion of Christ will so thoroughly change a man …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

The Pathway of the Holy
An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness.' (Isaiah xxxv. 8.) One would think that Isaiah was speaking of two separate roads, for his prophetic eye sees 'a highway and a way' along which the course of God's people runs. Perhaps we may interpret the prophet's distinction as referring to the higher and lower paths along some of the roadways in the Holy City; but he makes it quite plain that the course of the truly godly may be correctly described as 'The …
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

The Highway of Holiness
One of the things that we must learn if we are to live the victorious Christian life is its utter simplicity. How complicated we have made it! Great volumes are written, all sorts of technical phrases are used, we are told the secret lies in this, or that and so on. But to most of us, it is all so complicated that, although we know it in theory, we are unable to relate what we know to our practical daily living. In order to make the simple truths we have been considering even clearer, we want in …
Roy Hession and Revel Hession—The Calvary Road

The Blessed Country
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."--Is. xxxv. 1. C. P. C. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 O glad the wilderness for me, And glad the solitary place, Since Thou hast made mine eyes to see, To see Thy Face. Not heavenly fields, but desert sands Rejoice and blossom as the rose; For through the dry and thirsty lands Thy River flows. O Way beside that living tide. The Way, the Truth, the Life art Thou; I drink, and I …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Light and Sound
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped."--Is. xxxv. 5. C. P. C. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Thou glorious Lord! mine eyes at last unsealed Behold Thee now-- In sudden radiance to my soul revealed, Light, sight, art Thou. One moment--and the night has passed away, Unbarred the prison; And I pass forth to God's eternal day, The dead arisen. One moment--and I see Thy glorious Face Look down on me, Unutterable love that fills all space, Where'er I …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Oil and Wine
Gerhard Ter Steegen Is. xxxv. 10 There is a balm for every pain, A medicine for all sorrow; The eye turned backward to the Cross, And forward to the morrow. The morrow of the glory and the psalm, When He shall come; The morrow of the harping and the palm, The welcome home. Meantime in His beloved hands our ways, And on His Heart the wandering heart at rest; And comfort for the weary one who lays His head upon His Breast. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

John's Doubts and Christ's Praise
'And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. 19. And John calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou He that should come? or look we for another? 20. When the men were come unto Him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto Thee, saying, Art Thou He that should come? or look we for another? 21. And in the same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight. 22. Then Jesus, answering, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

John's Doubts of Jesus, and Jesus' Praise of John
'Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3. And said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another? 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me. 7. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Hedge of Thorns and the Plain Way
A sermon (No. 1948) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain."--Proverbs 15:19. You must have noticed how frequently godly people almost wear out their Bibles in certain places. The Psalms, the Gospel of John, and parts of the Epistles are favourite portions, and are thumbed in many an old believer's Bible till the fact is very noticeable. There are certain sheep-tracks …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Healed by Divine Power
I have now to relate what to me is one of the most important events of my life. Up to this time I had been a hopeless invalid. The doctors could not cure me. Under the care of some, my health would improve for a short time; but others would not undertake to do anything for me. After inquiring into my condition, they would say that it would be as easy to make a world as to restore me to health. I remember especially that this remark was made by the doctor who was attending me shortly before my healing. …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

Blind Bartimeus
Mark 10:52 -- "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." When the apostle Peter was recommending Jesus of Nazareth, in one of his sermons to the Jews, he gave him a short, but withal a glorious and exalted character, "That we went about doing good." He went about, he sought occasions of doing good; it was his meat and drink to do the works of him that sent him, whilst the day of his public administration …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

Last Journey and Death, 1858 --Concluding Remarks.
We are now arrived at the closing scene of John Yeardley's labors. The impression which he had received, during his visit to Turkey in 1853, of the opening for the work of the Gospel in the Eastern countries, had never been obliterated; it had rather grown deeper with time, although his ability to accomplish such an undertaking had proportionately diminished. This consideration, however, could not satisfy his awakened sympathies, and, according to his apprehension, no other course remained for him …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Fifthly, as this Revelation, to the Judgment of Right and Sober Reason,
appears of itself highly credible and probable, and abundantly recommends itself in its native simplicity, merely by its own intrinsic goodness and excellency, to the practice of the most rational and considering men, who are desirous in all their actions to have satisfaction and comfort and good hope within themselves, from the conscience of what they do: So it is moreover positively and directly proved to be actually and immediately sent to us from God, by the many infallible signs and miracles …
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

How Christ is to be Made Use of as Our Life, in Case of Heartlessness and Fainting through Discouragements.
There is another evil and distemper which believers are subject to, and that is a case of fainting through manifold discouragements, which make them so heartless that they can do nothing; yea, and to sit up, as if they were dead. The question then is, how such a soul shall make use of Christ as in the end it may be freed from that fit of fainting, and win over those discouragements: for satisfaction to which we shall, 1. Name some of those discouragements which occasion this. 2. Show what Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

In Judaea
If Galilee could boast of the beauty of its scenery and the fruitfulness of its soil; of being the mart of a busy life, and the highway of intercourse with the great world outside Palestine, Judaea would neither covet nor envy such advantages. Hers was quite another and a peculiar claim. Galilee might be the outer court, but Judaea was like the inner sanctuary of Israel. True, its landscapes were comparatively barren, its hills bare and rocky, its wilderness lonely; but around those grey limestone …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Christian Behavior
Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Advertisement by the Editor This valuable practical treatise, was first published as a pocket volume about the year 1674, soon after the author's final release from his long and dangerous imprisonment. It is evident from the concluding paragraph that he considered his liberty and even his life to be still in a very …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament