(a) As the pall of darkness is drawn over the world, the fair face of nature fades from the sight; every object becomes indistinct, or is wholly obscured, and all that can cheer the sight or direct the steps of man vanishes. So the gradual accumulation of religious errors, thickening with every age, banished the knowledge of God and His truth from the understandings of men, till all that was sublime in speculation, cheering to the heart, supporting to the hopes, or directive to the actions of men, passed away from the soul, and left the intellectual world like that of nature when deprived of light. The heaven of the soul was hung with blackness, and "their foolish heart was darkened."- Watson. (8) Alexander and several other modern scholars read: "Thou hast enlarged the nation, Thou hast increased its joy," understanding the Prophet to mean that the true Israel had been increased by the calling of the Gentiles, and that this increase had been a cause of great gladness. (7) If the Prophet speaks of the Jewish people, he declares a fact remarkably striking. One of the blessings promised to their founder, Abraham, was, that his seed should be multiplied as the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea-shore. But that which was designed as a blessing, and is described as such in the promise, was made a curse by the wickedness of the Jews. For what end, in the former periods of their history, did they multiply, but to furnish food for captives, slaughter, and oppression In later times, they have multiplied, and spread themselves over the world; but their joy has not been increased. Degraded in character, and despised by the nations where they sojourn, without a country, a temple, or a sacrifice, they bear, like Cain, the marks of God's curse, are vagabonds in the earth, preserved to warn us of the just severity of God. There is nothing, however, in the connection to induce us to suppose that the Prophet particularly contemplated the Jewish nation. The same thing must be affirmed of every nation that abandons itself to wickedness. When nations are multiplied, their political strength is increased; and happiness would be multiplied too, were it not for sin. But in wicked nations the "joy is not increased." This negative expression signifies the misery is increased. God has not added His blessing; and there is no joy.-Watson. The (8) The weakness and insignificance of the instruments used in breaking the rod and yoke of the oppressor is sufficiently marked by the allusion to the destruction of the host of Midian by Gideon and his three hundred men. family of Gideon was poor in Manasseh, and he was the least of his father's house; the number of men assigned him was contemptible; their weapons were no better than an earthen pitcher, a torch, and a trumpet; the men who dreamed of Gideon dreamed of him under the image of a barley-cake. All this meanness was adopted that the deliverance of Israel might appear to be the work of God; and this is the manner in which He has ever wrought in the revival and spread of godliness in the world. Who were the instruments of spreading true religion in the Apostolic age, we know; they were the despised fishermen of Galilee. Feeble and unpromising instruments have also been employed in subsequent revivals; and from the conformity of the present missionary system of this model we augur well of future success.-Watson. THE JOY OF HARVEST. ix. 3. They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, &c. I. The joy of the natural harvest. Harvest was peculiarly interesting to the Jews. (a.) Two things render "the joy of harvest" peculiar and impressive : 1. It is the completion and reward of the anxiety and labours of the year it closes. 2. It furnishes the supply for our needs in the year to come. -We call upon you to rejoice before the Lord to-day (P. D. 1710-1712), and to associate your thanksgiving with the name of Christ (Heb. xiii. 15). Let all outward gifts remind you of that unseen Mediator through whom they flow. Our gratitude should be deep and fervent; it should bear some proportion to the regret we should have felt if God had withheld the blessings in which we now rejoice, and had blighted the promise of the year. Yet now, when those temporal gifts abound, let us remember their inability to satisfy the needs of the soul. The satisfaction for these needs is to be found only in Christ. He who had more corn than his barns could hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue. II. The joy of the spiritual harvest. The vicissitudes of the religious life are often compared to those of the seasons (Ps. cxxvi 5, 6). The Christian husbandman has his anxieties, arising from the badness of the soil, the unfavourableness of the seasons, the delay of harvest, the fear of final loss. Yet he has his reaping seasons of joy even in this world-1. When a consciousness of sin which has long oppressed the soul is exchanged for a sense of pardoning mercy, through the application of the blood of sprinkling. 2. When, after a long period of depression, hope revisits the mind (H. E. I. 313, 314, 1658, 1659, 3041). 3. When there come to us the answers to our prayers that were long delayed (H. E. I. 3895, 3896). "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." 4. When the spiritual triumphs of the gospel are made manifest: to parents in their families; to ministers in their congregations; to missionaries abroad. Just in proportion to the toil and the prolonged anxiety is the rapture of success. The The harvest sometimes comes to us after long delay, after many anxieties, after many fears (Jas. v. 7, 8). God sees fit to exercise His people with the discipline of suspense, but this is for their good (Lam. iii. 26). III. The joy of the eternal harvest. When all Christ's people are gathered into His immediate presence (Matt. xiii. 39); then will the declaration of our text be fulfilled in the highest sense of which it is capable. ransomed will rejoice when they think, 1. Of the grace that reigns in their salvation. By that grace they were transformed from being tares, the end of which is burning, into wheat meet for the garner. 2. Of the great cost and care bestowed upon their culture, that they might be ripened for the heavenly kingdom. 3. How often they despaired of their own safety. 4. Of their deliverance from the fearful fate of the tares and chaf, whose end is to be burned. -Samuel Thodey. (a) They had scarcely any foreign tradenone till Solomon's time. Every family lived upon its own inheritance and upon the produce of its own land. Consequently if harvest failed, all failed. They expressed their joy by solemn offerings to the Lord. Not a field was reaped before the wave-sheaf was placed upon the altar; and when it had been waved there, amidst the loud thanksgiving of the people, before the Lord of the whole land, the messengers from the Temple carried the proclamation to the busbandmen in the field, "Put ye in the sickle and reap !"-Thodey. THE TITLES AND GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST. ix. 6. For unto us a Child is born, &c. "Unto I. The Incarnation and Government of Jesus Christ. Let us contemplate Him, 1. As the Incarnate One. us a child is born "(H. E. I. 846-853). 2. As a gift of Heaven to a fallen world. "Unto us a Son is given." 3. As advanced to supreme rule and authority. "The government shall be upon His shoulder. II. The names and characters by which He is distinguished. "His name," &c. III. The adaptation of these qualities to the purposes of His spiritual reign. 1. We need wisdom, and He is the "Counsellor." 2. We need reconciliation to God, and He is our "Peace." 3. We need support under the calamities of life, and this He gives us, for He is the "Mighty God." 4. We need comfort under the fears of death, and this He gives as "The Father of the Everlasting Age."George Smith, D.D. THE GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST. ix. 6. The government shall be on His shoulder, &c. Let me caution you against mistaking this government for that essential dominion which belongeth to our blessed Lord as God. To suppose that this had been given to our Lord would be to deny His essential Godhead. The government here spoken of is one that He receives: a delegated government as the Mediator of the covenant that which we are told (1 Cor. xv. 24-28) He will hereafter deliver up to the Father. Three particulars we may point out, in which He exercises this dominion. I. He rules for His Church, as "The Lamb in the midst of the throne." II. He rules in His Church, being its alone King and Lawgiver. The Church is never for one moment to assume the power of legislation; it belongs not to her, but to Him: she has the executive-nothing more-to obey His laws, to carry them out according to the mind of Him who framed them. III. There is a third power-that which He exercises in the souls of His true subjects, ruling in and over them by the power of His own blessed Spirit. J. H. Evans, M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii. p. 337. incarnation, in His government, in the counsels He originates, in the divinity of His nature, in the eternity of His existence, in the results of His mediatorial rule, for He is "the Prince of Peace," swaying the sceptre of mercy over an apostate and disordered world. There is a beautiful consistency in all this; for if the government of earth and heaven, the sovereignty of the Church and of the world, is to be exercised by the Redeemer, it is necessary that He should be possessed of attributes equal to its immense responsibilities. But these attributes are His, and hence the command, "Rejoice, for the Lord reigneth!" I. It is a cause of peculiar rejoicing to all good men that the government of the world is in the hands of Christ. Their in terest and joy in this fact arise-1. From the near and sacred relation in which Jesus stands to them. 2. From the glorious perfectness of His character, which guarantees the wisdom and blessedness of His sway. 3. From the changelessness, perpetuity, and destined universality of His rule. II. The sovereignty of Christ affords great relief in contemplating the abject condition of the heathen world. The heathen have been given to Him for His inheritance, and He will certainly deliver them from the superstitions and miseries by which they are oppressed. III. This fact gives us a deep interest in beholding the vast extent of the universe of God. Every part of it is but a province in Christ's boundless empire.—Samuel Thodey. WONDERFUL. ix. 6. His name shall be called Wonderful, &c. I. Christ is wonderful in His nature. He is wonderful, 1. in respect of His essential Godhead. 2. In respect of His perfect manhood. All excellences were combined in him as a man, unlike even His most eminent servants, who are distinguished for the possession of special graces, which too often are clouded by some opposite defect. 3. In respect of the union in Him of Deity and humanity (1 Tim. iii. 16). II. Christ is wonderful in His offices, at once Prophet, Priest, and King. III. Christ is wonderful in His relation to His people. 1. In the care He exercises over them (Ezek. xxxiv. 11-16). 2. In the abundance of the grace which He ministers to them (2 Cor. xii. 9; John i. 16; H. E. I. 936). 3. In His condescending thoughtfulness for each one of them (John x. 3, 14, 15) (a). 4. In the perfectness of His sympathy with them. He identifies Himself so entirely with His people, that they have not a single care, trial, or temptation of any sort, but it is as much His as it is theirs (H. E. I. 952961).-J. H. Evans, M.A.: Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii. pp. 336-348. We are continually struck with between the one marked contrast Behold Him, and 1. Never hesitate to acknowledge Him as your Saviour and Lord. 2. Yield a ready obedience to His authority. 3. Anticipate His coming in glory.-Samuel Thodey. (a) Oh, how "wonderful " must He be, that suits Himself to the cares of all, as if He had but one! cares for each as much as He cares for all, and cares for each as if he were all ! We are lost in this deep. I sometimes get some light from this thought:-Why, the sun can shine into the attic as well as into the Queen's palace; it occasions no difficulty to the sun. Blessed Jesus! there is no difficulty for Thee to supply all our minutest wants; in Thee there is the abundance of power, and quite as great an abundance of love.J. H. Evans, M.A. CHRIST OUR COUNSELLOR. ix. 6. His name shall be called. . . . Counsellor, &c. I. How Christ may be our Counsellor. Immediate, close, and confidential intercourse is involved in our idea of taking counsel. When we are in perplexity, we lay the whole. matter before a friend in whose wisdom we trust. So we may spread our difficulties before Christ in prayer. Thus far, all is clear. But how can we receive from Christ the answer and guidance we seek? How does an earthly friend help us in such a case? By producing a certain impression on our mind. He may do it by spoken words, by letter, or even by a gesture. The manner is unimportant. So Christ guides us by producing us by producing impression on our mind; how, we know not, nor does it matter greatly. The well-instructed Christian seeks counsel from Christ in all things. He prays for daily guidance. Special difficulties he makes matter of special prayer. Then, upon the mind previously made calm and willing, there comes a sense of rectitude, and a feeling of resolution. One course, generally that which involves most self-denial and manifests least selfdependence, comes prominently forth in strong relief, as most to be preferred. Its advantages each moment look clearer and brighter; its consistency with his religious profession, conformity to the will of God, and true wisdom, are more and more strongly impressed upon his mind. He doubts no more. He has arrived at a decision. Christ's counsel has prevailed. It is our privilege thus to be directed at every stage and in every vicissitude of life. II. Why we should take Christ for our Counsellor. Because in Him are all the qualities that would cause us to value and seek the counsel of an earthly friend-tenderness, wisdom, and power. He can help us to carry out His counsels. III What will be the effects of making Christ the Man of our counsel ?" 1. A general consistency of Christian conduct. Inconsistency arises from listening to contradictory advisers; sometimes going to Christ, and sometimes taking counsel with flesh and blood. 2. A conformity and likeness to Christ. You will learn to love what He loves, and to desire what He promises. In the man who constantly makes Christ his counsellor, there is begotten a spirituality of mind, a deadness to the world, a fixedness of purpose, a cheerfulness of temper, a self-possession and patience, which are scarcely conceivable and quite invaluable. A man is powerfully influenced by the company he keeps-whether it be refined and moral, or coarse and profligate. What, then, must be the effect of habitual intercourse with the Lord of light and grace and glory? 3. A preparedness for Christ's presence in heaven? What is the bliss of heaven? It is the vision of the Almighty; unclouded and uninterrupted intercourse with the Saviour and Lord of all. The more we have cultivated this here, the more fitted we shall be for it hereafter.-Josiah Bateman, M.A.: Sermons, pp. 1-18. THE MIGHTY GOD. ix. 6. His name shall be called... The Mighty God. Various devices to escape from the force of this declaration have been tried (a). But after a discussion prolonged through centuries, it is now conceded by the foremost Hebrew scholars of our time, that, whether we accept or reject it, Isaiah's declaration is that the Person concerning whom he wrote should be called "The mighty God;" which is merely the Scriptural way of asserting that He should be "The mighty God," for names divinely given represent realities. That the Person concerning whom this declaration was made is our Lord Jesus Christ is the conviction of the whole Christian Church. He is the "Child," the "Son," the "Mighty God," concerning whom Isaiah wrote. Let us do more than give our assent to this statement: let us think about it. I It is essential to soundness of creed, and to any full realisation of the Christian life, to hold firmly to the doctrine of the perfect humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was a man in the same sense that this is true of any man here; whatever was essential to perfectness of manhood existed in Him. Unless we grasp this great truth intelligently and firmly, 1. His example can be of no considerable help to us (H. E. I. 898). The example of an angel, though it might excite our admiration, would also smite us with despair. 2. His sympathy with men, because of His identity with them in their experience, can never be to us, what it has been to millions, one of the most comforting and strengthening of all thoughts (Heb. ii. 17, 18; iv. 15; H. E. I. 872, 954). II. It is equally necessary that we should hold firmly the doctrine of His Deity. That He is "the mighty God" is the testimony, 1. Of His works (Matt. xiv. 32, 33, &c.). 2. Of His words (John vi. 48; vii. 37; viii. 12, &c.; H. E. I. 836, 840-842). This doctrine pervades the New Testament (H. E. I. 835, 838.) The sum of its teaching concerning Him is, that in Him God was manifest, that He is the true God (1 |