we look for Him? With faith-zealenergy-determination (Job xxxv. 10; Jer. xxix. 13). 2. As to waiting for Him. This is a state of mind frequently enjoined and commended in the Bible. Waiting implies faith-desire -patience (P. D. 2643). When you have found Him, fall at His feet and confess your unworthiness. Resolve

to follow Him fully. Cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Pray, "Abide with me!"-George Smith, D.D.

(a) For details and suggestions under this division, see outline: THE HIDDEN THINGS OF GOD, chap. xlv. 15.

(8) For various suggestions and illustrations, see H. E. I. 200, 1644-1659, and P. D. 815.

PENITENTIAL WAITING ON GOD.
viii. 17. And I will wait upon the Lord, &c.

Believers are in the Scriptures abundantly encouraged to wait upon God (Ps. xxxvii. 14; Isa. xxv. 9). In Ps. Ìxii. 5, it is suggested that this waiting upon God is connected with hopeful expectation of receiving a blessing. The same truth is taught us by our Lord in His parable on prayer (Luke xviii. 1-8). However long God delays, we must wait expectantly. In our text, however, we have the idea of waiting upon God while He is hiding His face from His people. The very possibility that He should assume this attitude towards us is depressing, and not unfrequently in our religious exercises we are haunted by the fear that this is the attitude He has assumed towards us. Through fears and doubts that intercept our vision of Him, we look up to see the face of our Father, and behold only a cloud! In such & case our faith needs quickening, that our hopes may be raised and

our courage renewed. The following thoughts may conduce to this end. I. God does not hide His face from us because His blessings have diminished (Isa. xl. 26-31; Jer. ii. 13; xvii. 13). II. God does not hide His face from us on account of any weariness in His love (John xiii. 1; Isa. xlix. 15). III. God does not hide His face from us because of any caprice in His nature (Jas. i. 16–17). IV. If God does hide His face from us, it is only on account of our sinfulness. This is the dark atmosphere in which God becomes lost to us (chap. lix. 1, 2). V. Consequently, if God's face is hidden from us, it is at once our only hope and our positive duty to wait upon Him (Jas. iv. 8). Let us wait for Him and look for Him. 1. Penitently. 2. Believingly. 3. Patiently. Then will the Lord turn us again; He will cause His face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved.William Manning.

NECROMANCY.
Seek unto them, &c.

viii. 19-22.

As bearing upon the doctrine of necromancy, an exhaustive discussion of these verses would invove the following points: 1. Under the instigation of a prurient curiosity, or under the pressure of affliction, godless men are wont to seek knowledge and help from the spirits of the dead. 2. Hence, in every age of the world and in every nation of universal history, there have been necromancers, wizards, &c., known by various

names, practising various arts of
divination and legerdemain; play-
ing with the credulity of men and
women, and claiming access to super-
natural knowledge and power. The
spirits of modern times are the latest
species of this genus of necromancers.
3. This passage implies irresistibly
that God frowns upon and condemns
necromancy in whatever form.
The expostulations, rebukes, and
threatenings of the Lord, through

4.

His prophet in this passage, assumes it to be impossible for man to get knowledge or help for the living from the dead. The power of God to send back to earth the spirits of the dead is quite another thing; yet as to this the practical question is-Does He see fit to use it? 5. Hence, to discard the light of God's revealed Word and to seek light and help from the dead, is to hurl oneself against the impermeable and impassable wall with which God has shut in the living of our world, and involves both positive conflict against God and contemptuous rejection of His Divine Word. 6. As Satan has a natural sympathy with

everything abhorrent to God and ruinous to man, we ought to look for his hand in these agencies of necromancy, to whatever extent God may give him scope and range for action. What these limits may be, who can tell? It is man's wisdom to keep himself utterly aloof from the sphere. of Satan's agencies and temptations. 7. Necromancers and spirits practically league themselves with Satan against God, and should be aware that his lot must be theirs, and their end be as their works, no dawn of day ever breaking forth on the midnight of their gloom.-Henry Cowles, D.D. Commentary on Isaiah, pp. 68, 69.

THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY.
viii. 20. To the law and to the testimony, &c.

This was one of the watchwords of the Reformation, and since then it has been a favourite text with Protestants. The noble Sixth Article of the Church of England (a) is but an expansion of it. It assumes that there is one standard of truth, one infallible oracle, to which in all their moral perplexities and spiritual difficulties, it is the wisdom, if not the duty, of all men to appeal. And we are persuaded that we have this standard, this oracle, in the Bible (H. E. I. 543). If men neglect it, if they strive to construct a creed or direct their conduct without it, two things are certain: 1. They lack the knowledge and wisdom essential to success in life. Their neglect of it shows that they have no light in them (B). 2. There await them disappointment, disaster, and despair. This is the teaching of the other beautiful translation which many eminent scholars have adopted: "To the teaching of God, and to the testimony! If they do not according to this word, they are a people for whom no morning dawns" (H. E. I. 641).

"But all who consult the Bible do not obtain from it sure guidance: the proof of this is the differences among those who consult it, both as to belief and practice. In support of the most

absurd doctrines and the most pernicious practices, the authority of Scripture is claimed." True, but the error lies not in "the law," but in the men who refer to it (7). If the Bible is to be really helpful to us, we must consult it honestly (H. E. I. 573, 574, 4854). Humbly (H. E. I. 387-389, 562-567, 587, 599). With a constant recognition of our help of the Holy Spirit (H. E. I. 622, 623, 2877-2882). Prayerfully (H. E. I. 570, 571, 598, 4856). Diligently (H. E. I. 576-580; P.D. 315). Intelligently (1) In regard to the subjects concerning which we seek instruction (H. E. I. 540-542, 558-560). (2.) In regard to our interpretation (d) and application of its utterances (H. E. I. 544-550, 568, 569). The man who thus uses the Bible () will be cheered as he advances in life by a dawn that will brighten and broaden into perfect day. He will be led by it to Christ, "The Light of the world," and following Him in loving obedience and unswerving loyalty, he will find the declaration for ever true, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

(a) "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby,

is not to be required of any man, that it should he believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation."

Here also may be quoted the declaration of the Westminster Assembly of divines:—

"VI. The whole counsel of God, con. cerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are so ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.

VII. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded or offered in some scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them..

X. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we

are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture."-The Confession of Faith.

(8) Just as it would be conclusive proof of ignorance of geology if a prospecting party of miners left unexplored the very spot concerning which the character of the rocks and soil cried loudly, Gold! Or if some professional man, perplexed by a serious and embarrassing case, should leave unconsulted the standard works containing the solution of the problem.

(7) Lawyers and doctors, professedly consulting the standard works of their profession, have misled their clients and killed their patients; but the fault has not been in those standard works, but in the men who failed to use them aright. Bradshaw's Railway Guide is not a safe guide in the hands of every traveller.

(8) The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly. The Confession of Faith.

(e) The Holy Scriptures are to be read with an high and reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very Word of God, and that He only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence and atention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.-The Larger Catechism.

UNSANCTIFIED SUFFERING.

viii. 21, and ix. 13. And they shall pass through it, &c.

I. Sin leads to suffering. 1. This is true of individuals (H. E. I. 46034612). But because there is another life and a future retribution, the full results of sin are frequently not seen in this life. Nay, the sinner often appears prosperous even to the end (Ps. lxxiii. 3-5). 2. But in the case of nations, which as such have no immortality, it is otherwise (P. D. 2544); it is more prompt; it is often exceedingly terrible. This fact should make those who have any love for their children hostile to any national policy that is unrighteous, however politically "expedient" it may seem. II. There is in suffering no sanctifying power. God may use

We,

it as a means of arresting the careless,
or of making good men better, but
there is in it no certain reformative
energy. On the contrary, it may
harden men in iniquity (a). III. Suffer-
ing does nothing in itself to abate
God's anger against sinners.
when we are wronged, often yield to
a passion of vindictiveness, which is
sated when we have succeeded in in-
flicting a certain amount of pain on
the wrong-doer. But God's anger is
not vindictive, but righteous (H. E. I.
2288-2294); hence its terribleness.
As it does not thirst for suffering, it
is not satisfied by suffering. As long
as the sinner holds to his sin, God's
anger will burn against him, irrespec-

tive altogether of the suffering he may have endured. Nothing will turn away that anger but a genuine repentance (ix. 13).

1. In the hour of temptation, let us think of sin not as it then presents itself to us, but as it will certainly appear to us when its results are

2.

manifested (H. E. I. 4673-4676). When suffering has come upon us, let us regard it as God's summons to repentance (H. E. I. 56-59); and let us obey it with thankfulness that God is willing to deal with us in the way of mercy.

(a) See outline: MOBAL OBDURACY, p. 16.

THE REMEDY OF THE WORLD'S MISERY.
(Missionary Sermon.)

ix. 2-7. The people that walked in darkness, &c.

The prophecies contained in this text are of a mixed kind; they are partly fulfilled and partly unfulfilled. We have the authority of the Evangelists to apply the passage to Gospel times, and to prevent it from being restricted to the Jews (Matt. iv. 1416; Luke i. 79; ii. 32). Let us consider

I. The view taken by the Prophet of the moral state of the world previous to the glorious change which makes the subject of his prophecy. 1. The people are represented as walking in darkness. Darkness is an emblem of ignorance and error; and an emblem the most striking (a). 2. But darkness alone appears to the mind of the Prophet only a faint emblem of the state of the heathen he adds, therefore," the shadow of death." In Scripture this expression is used for the darkness. of that subterranean mansion into which the Jews supposed the souls of men went after death. Figuratively, the expression is used for great distress; a state of danger and terror. It is an amplification, therefore, of the Prophet's thought. The predominant idea is that of a sense of insecurity, accompanied by fear. Darkness increases danger and fear at the same time. Such is the state of the heathen. The religion of the heathen has ever been gloomy and horrible. 3. The Prophet adds another note of the state of the heathen: Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy (8). He beholdeth them increasing in number only to multiply their

misery (7). Universal experience proves that misery is multiplied when God and truth are unknown. In this case there is no redeeming principle; the remedy is lost; despair completes the wretchedness of the people, and were it not for the prospects opened by the Gospel, that despair would be final and absolute. Here, however, the text breaks upon us with a glorious and cheering view. The Prophet beholds a light rising in obscurity; a great light dispels the heavy gloom; comfort, joy, and salvation dawn upon the earth (ver. 2).

II. On this blessed visitation we would now fix your attention. 1. As darkness is an emblem of the religious sorrow which had overcast the world, so light is an emblem of the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is "light." (1.) This marks its origin from heaven. (2.) This notes its truth. It is fitting that what is truth, without mixture of error, should be compared to what is the most simple substance in nature. (3.) It is called "light" because of its penetrating and subtle nature. (4.) Because of the discoveries which it makes. (5.) Because it is life and health to the world. 2. As in the vision light succeeds to darkness, so also joy succeeds to fear and misery (ver. 3). The joy here described is no common feeling; it is the joy of harvest, the joy of victory. The effect of the diffusion of the Gospel in producing joy is a constant theme of prophecy (chap. xxiv. 16; Ps. xcviii. 8 Luke ii. 10). True joy, as yet, there is none