O house of Jacob – <\/B>This is a direct address, or exhortation, of the prophet to the Jews. It is made in view of the fact that God had gracious purposes toward them. He intended to distinguish them by making them the source of blessings to all nations. As this was to be their high destiny, he exhorts them to devote themselves to him, and to live to his honor. The word house here means the family, or nation. The phrase is applied to the Jews because their tribes were descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.<\/P>
Let us walk – <\/B>Let us live. The word walk is often used to denote human life or conduct; compare Isa 2:3<\/span>; Rom 6:4<\/span>; Rom 8:1<\/span>; 1Co 5:7<\/span>; Gal 6:16<\/span>, …<\/P> In the light of the Lord – <\/B>The sense of this is: Let us obey the commandments of Yahweh; or, as the Chaldee expresses it, Let us walk in the doctrine of the law of the Lord. The idea may be thus expressed: Let us not walk in the darkness and error of sin and idolatry, but in the light or instruction which God sheds upon us by his law. He teaches us what we should do, and let us obey him. Light is often, in the Scriptures, thus put for instruction, or teaching; compare the note at Mat 4:16<\/span>; note at Joh 1:4<\/span>; also, note at Eph 5:8<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Isa 2:5<\/span><\/p>\n O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord<\/em><\/p>\n Mutual encouragement<\/strong><\/p>\n SYMPATHETIC FELLOW FEELING. All who are anxious for their own welfare, desire the welfare of others. <\/p>\n An invitation to repentance<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The prophet commences by quoting (Isa 2:2-4<\/span>) what is probably an ancient prediction, quoted also by Micah (Mic 4:1-3<\/span>). The people would doubt less look eagerly for the fulfilment of this prophecy, so agreeable to their national hopes. But no sign of its accomplishment was to be seen. They were indeed enjoying in the reign of Uzziah a season of secular prosperity, but they were far from being established in the top of the mountains; they were surrounded by watchful foes, and certainly there were no signs of the long foretold reign of peace. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The light of worldly prosperity had not brought them the fulfilment of the prophecy of peace. Isaiah then bids them walk in the light of the Lord; for, as he goes on to show, God had forsaken His people on account of those sins which their prosperity had engendered. Therefore it was that this prophecy was not fulfilled to them. Their very prosperity kept them back from greater prosperity (verses 6-9). <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>But this state of things could not continue. If they refuse to walk in the light of the Lord, He will not only withdraw the promised blessings, but will humble them by taking away the prosperity they already enjoyed (verses 10-21). <\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>We still look for the time when the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and the promised peace on earth shall be realised; but we see no sign of its immediate approach. The Church still continues beset with foes, unable to stem the rising tide of rationalism and unbelief; and certainly these are no signs of the long-foretold reign of peace. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>If we inquire why this is so, the answer is the same as it was in the days of Isaiah. We do not, with a single eye, walk in the light of the Lord. We enjoy a large measure of worldly prosperity. Science and secular knowledge and useful arts make rapid progress, and in their light we walk, too often forgetting that it is but a reflected radiance, borrowed from the one source of all true light. If the Church makes some impression upon the world, the world also makes great inroads upon the Church. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>But this state of things cannot last forever. Isaiah of old spake of the day of the Lord, which would surely overtake His people if they continued to follow their own inventions and to neglect God. A yet greater and more terrible day of the Lord is at hand. In that day all the pride of our modern civilisation, its wisdom and knowledge, will aid us no more than the idols of silver and gold, unless withal we are found walking in the light of the Lord. (A. K. Cherril, M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Walking in the light of the Lord<\/strong><\/p>\n To walk in the light of the Lord implies–<\/p>\n Walking in the light of the Lord<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>As indicative of a cordial reception of His truth. Light is the general emblem of knowledge; and there are many striking points of analogy between religious knowledge and light. The phrase is applicable to the whole body of Divine revelation, which may be viewed as the light of God, that breaks forth, as it were, from His countenance: His countenance, which is the emblem of His immaculate purity, as well as His infinite intelligence. He is said to dwell in the light which no man can approach unto. And this is also significant of the glory of revealed truth–it is the very light in which the perfections of God stand manifested; the light that develops to us His secret counsels, His plans of government, especially His plan of saving mercy; the light, in allusion to which the prophet elsewhere speaks when he says, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, etc. <\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> This expression is applicable to the law–that law which embodied the principles of the truth, indeed the only authenticated truth which then existed in the world. It was the purpose of God that His Church should walk in this light under that preparatory dispensation; that the Church should travel onward to meet the superior splendours of the Gospel dispensation, the dispensation of the Sun of Righteousness. <\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> To the Gospel, especially, the expression the light of the Lord is exceedingly applicable. This is that great light which shines in the midst of the darkness of the world. This is the glory of the Lord which is revealed. And this Gospel also threw its light on the future; it abolished death; it proclaimed a resurrection. The Gospel showed, also, the principles on which God governs the world, both moral and providential; that the whole world is under mediatorial government; and that everything is moved for religious purposes–to support the Church, to diffuse the truth. To walk, then, in the light of the Lord with respect to the Jews, was to retain the faith which had been handed down to the Church; to retain it free from all Gentile delusion, from all pagan intermixture, from all rabbinical subtleties. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>To walk in the light of the Lord, seems to imply the full reception of all the blessings which the light revealed. And there is this idea suggested in this view of the phrase, the light of the Lord, that there is an inseparable connection between the truth of God and the favour of God. Whilst the truth creates piety, the piety of the Church is to react on the Church and preserve it from decline. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>To walk in the light of the Lord implies the zealous prosecution of all those duties which the light unfolds. <\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> It seems to imply that the Church is bound to avow herself, not to put her light under a bushel. <\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> Also that there is to be an aggressive spirit in the Church, arising from those views of evil which the light will give, and which while they concern the purity of the Church, are thrown on the mass of darkness which surrounds the Church. <\/p>\n (3)<\/strong> To walk in the light of the Lord, is to direct the spirit of enterprise in the Church. The ancient Church itself had an office to perform to the world. That Church had to preserve the primitive theology, to protest against the corruptions of paganism: to show, in the connection of religion with public as well as personal happiness, the folly of Gentile paganism, and to show the absolute necessity of submission to the spiritual government of Almighty God. (Isa 2:3<\/span>.<\/em>) The Church in her purest ages walked in this light of evangelical enterprise; and her achievements were noble–in beneficence most splendid, in its results the most excellent of the world. And there are in modern times the same decisive evidences of the Divine will as it respects the Church. <\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>To walk in the light of the Lord is to walk in the calm contemplation of the final fulfilment of prophecy. <\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>There is moral obligation, for what is moral obligation but submission to the will of God–and to Him who is the Sovereign, we being the subjects? Therefore it is incumbent on us to submit to, and to recognise His will, to love His law, to mark His rule, and to feel all the force of the sanctions appended to that rule. This may be very appropriately illustrated by the very phrase itself: it is the light of the Lord–the light of Jehovah, sovereign light; the light dispensed by Him for special purposes and the natural light does not more clearly indicate its office than the moral light indicates the special intentions of the God of heaven. This light is given for a special purpose; it is directing light; and saving light; it regulates the degree of personal as well as collective responsibility. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Then there is also obligation specially induced by conviction of privilege. Privilege exists wherever light exists. There was nothing in the Jewish Church which bore any comparison to the gift of religious truth to that nation. Any nation that has the light of the Lord and the ability to use it, is signally privileged, and attains the very altitude of human glory. All this is not given us for vain glory; it is conferred that we might preach Christ and bring the world under His government. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The blessings attendant on walking in the light of the Lord. There is personal salvation, for instance, diffused to the very greatest possible extent. Then, if you look at the subject simply in reference to Churches, there is a very powerful motive; for, to walk in the light of the Lord is the sole condition for retaining the light. (G. Steward.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Walk in the light<\/strong><\/p>\n From looking into the future Isaiah comes back to his work of trying to amend the present. He neither wastes time in singing funereal dirges over Israels decay, nor spends his life in useless reveries about the future. He saw the sad present, and wept; he saw the bright future, and rejoiced; and then set to work with heart and tongue to arouse the nation, crying, O house of Jacob, etc. So let us all act. <\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> Observe that sin blinds men as to its own nature. Its solicitations to our first parents were such as to hide from their innocent, unsuspecting minds all knowledge of its own hideous features; and not until it was too late did they know what an evil and bitter thing it was to sin against the Lord. Not till sin has done its work does it allow itself to be seen and known It is in the month honey, but when eaten a deadly poison. It changes its shape like Proteus, and its colours like the chameleon. It has the fascinating voice of a siren, luring to destruction. <\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> Sin also deceives men as to their own moral condition. (Isa 5:20<\/span>.<\/em>) <\/p>\n (3)<\/strong> Sin, moreover, hides from man the deep spirituality of the Divine law. He is in the dark as to its inner meaning and far-reaching influence. If he observes the letter of the law he thinks he has done well. He altogether overlooks the fact that whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. <\/p>\n (4)<\/strong> Sin also darkens the mind and heart of man as to the Divine character. This must be so, because it is only the pure in heart who can see God. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>This darkness is wilfully and wickedly incurred. If the house of Jacob were ignorant of the character of God, this was their own fault, for God had revealed Himself in manifold and marvellous ways. And if they had sufficient light who dwelt in the dim dawn of revelation, what shall be said of us who have the accumulated light of intervening centuries? <\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Get into the light. Con version is the passing of the soul out of darkness into His marvellous light. What is this light? <\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> The people to whom this exhortation was first addressed would, I think, understand by it the light of the Divine Word. To Israel the words of the prophet meant, Study the law of the Lord, and so come into the light of that law. To us they mean, Search the Scriptures, and so come into the light of Divine truth. Bible reading of itself will not save, but it reveals the Saviour who can and will. <\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> Isaiah also meant by this exhortation that they should get into the light of communion with God. They bad sought fellowship with idols, but now Isaiah calls them to return to fellowship with Jehovah. Every blessing is born of communion. The diamond which sparkles and flashes out rays of light was once but a piece of black coal It had no inherent light. It is as if by some mysterious process the light has become absorbed until it has transformed that black substance into the likeness of its own essence. Thus the nature of the sinner, black and dark through sin, becomes, in communion with the eternal, pure and beautiful with the light of God. <\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Make progress in the light. Walk in the light. Both the Old Testament and the New speak of the daily life of the godly man as a walk, suggesting that it is to be a progressive life. <\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>Associate with the children of light. Let us<\/em> walk in the light of the Lord, says Isaiah. He will not walk in the light alone, but will seek the company of those like minded with himself. He will use his influence to induce others to walk in the light with him. (W. Williams.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The gentle strength of light<\/strong><\/p>\n I have seen the sun with a little ray of distant light challenge all the powers of darkness, and without violence and noise, climbing up the hill, hath made night so retire that its memory was lost in the joys and sprightliness of the morning. If physical light hath such gentle strength, how much more hath spiritual. (Bp. Taylor.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Walking in the light ensures ever-increasing revelation<\/strong><\/p>\n That is the only preparation for further revelation. Walking in the light, we shall receive increase of illumination; thankful for the morning dawn, we shall see the noontide splendour; faithful in a little, we shall be entrusted with much; honest children of the twilight, we shall yet see things in their largest and grandest reality. If we do the will, we shall know the doctrine. (J. Parker, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Nations prosper as they walk in the light of the Lord<\/strong><\/p>\n There is inscribed upon the pedestal of the statue of Samuel Morley, late M.P. for Bristol, this sentence, quoted from a speech of his, that tallies with the experience of every country, ancient or modern: I believe that the power of England is to be reckoned, not by her wealth or armies, but the purity and virtue of the great mass of her population. (F. Sessions.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n National religion<\/strong><\/p>\n Religious Ideas alone have power to transform a nations tendencies and actions. The religious idea is the very breath of humanity,–its life, soul, conscience, and manifestation. (Mazzini.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The light cure<\/strong><\/p>\n Lately we have discovered a new method by which a terrible disease can be cured. It is called the light method, and the cure is wrought by concentrating upon the scarred and diseased form a powerful and peculiar light. The effect of the light is so great that in time the disease is arrested and the skin becomes healthy and natural. (Sunday School Chronicle.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Best things seen in Gods light<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Charles Berry said, in the last pastoral letter he wrote, There are some things–the best things–that can only be seen when the lights of life are turned low, and the light of God is left to shine alone. <\/p>\n The limitations of earthly light<\/strong><\/p>\n Clear and brilliant light often brings out exquisite colours, as happens among the Alps and also in the north frigid zone, where the humble little plants called lichens and mosses are in many cases dyed of the most brilliant hues, purple and gold predominating. Warmth, in like manner, will stimulate vegetable growth in the most astonishing manner, but it is growth not necessarily accompanied by the secretion of valuable substances, such as give quality and real importance to the plant. In English hot houses, for example, we have plenty of spice trees, those generous plants that yield cinnamon and cassia, the nutmeg and the clove; but although healthy and blossoming freely, they never mature their aromatic secretions. Though they have artificial heat equal to that of their native islands, which burn beneath the sun of the Indian Ocean, we cannot supply them with similar and proportionate solar light. Our cloudy skies shut us in from the full and direct radiance of the sunshine, and wanting this, heat alone will not avail. (Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Come ye; <\/B>seeing the Gentiles are thus ready and resolved to go to the Lords house, let this oblige and provoke you, O ye Israelites, to go with them, or before them. Whereby he secretly intimates their backwardness, and that when the Gentiles did come into the church, they would apostatize from it. Let us walk in the light of the Lord; take heed that you do not reject that light which is so clear that even the blind Gentiles will discern it. <\/P> <\/p>\n 5.<\/B> The connection is: AsIsrael’s high destiny is to be a blessing to all nations (Ge12:3<\/span>), let Israel’s children walk worthy of it (Eph5:8<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n O house of Jacob<\/strong>,…. This is either an exhortation of the prophet to the men of his generation, to attend to the light of the law, which the Lord had given them, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or rather, as the Targum and Jarchi suggest, an exhortation of the nations to the people of Israel, and are indeed the words of the converted Gentiles to the people of the Jews, being concerned for their conversion and spiritual welfare, as will appear in the latter day; when they will not only encourage one another to go up to the house of the Lord, as in the preceding verses, but will be very solicitous that the Jews, the posterity of Jacob, share with them in all that light and glory that shall be risen upon Zion; as follows:<\/p>\n come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord<\/strong>; meaning either Christ, in whom the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is given, and the glory of all the perfections of the divine nature is displayed; who is that light that dwells with the Lord, was sent forth by him, and came into this world as the light of it, and is given for a light to the Gentiles, as well as the glory of the people of Israel; and who is the author of all light; of corporeal light, in the first creation; of the sun, moon, and stars; of the light of nature in every man; of the light of the Gospel of the grace of God; of the spiritual light of grace in the hearts of his people; and of the light of eternal glory: or else the Gospel is intended, called the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, 2Co 4:4<\/span> by which some are only notionally enlightened, and some spiritually and savingly, when it is attended with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ: or rather, the light of the latter day glory, which includes the other two; when Christ and his Gospel will be more clearly revealed and seen, not only by the watchmen, who will see eye to eye, but by all the saints; when the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold as the light of seven days, and the whole earth shall be lightened with its glory, Isa 30:26<\/span> and to “walk” in this light, as it respects Christ, is to walk by faith in him, to go on in believing views of him, and to walk in imitation of him, and as he directs; and as it respects the Gospel, it is to embrace it, profess it, hold it fast, and hold it forth; and to walk as that prescribes and guides, and as becomes it; and to walk as children of the light, wisely and circumspectly; worthy of the calling of God, of the grace he calls by, and the kingdom he calls to: and to walk in the light of the latter day glory is to enjoy it, and share in all the blessings of it, with perseverance therein, through the grace of God; and such walking is pleasant and comfortable; such shall have the communion of God and Christ, and fellowship one with another, and at last enjoy the light of life. Joh 8:12<\/span><\/p>\n Isaiah presents himself to his contemporaries with this older prophecy of the exalted and world-wide calling of the people of Jehovah, holds it up before them as a mirror, and exclaims in Isa 2:5<\/span>, “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of Jehovah.”<\/em> This exhortation is formed under the influence of the context, from which Isa 2:2-4<\/span> are taken, as we may see from Mic 4:5<\/span>, and also of the quotation itself. The use of the term Jacob<\/em> instead of Israel<\/em> is not indeed altogether strange to Isaiah (Isa 8:17<\/span>; Isa 10:20-21<\/span>; Isa 29:23<\/span>), but he prefers the use of Israel<\/em> (compare Isa 1:24<\/span> with Gen 49:24<\/span>).With the words “O house of Jacob” he now turns to his people, whom so glorious a future awaits, because Jehovah has made it the scene of His manifested presence and grace, and summons it to walk in the light of such a God, to whom all nations will press at the end of the days. The summons, “Come, let us walk,” is the echo of Isa 2:3<\/span>, “Come, let us go;” and as Hitzig observes, “Isaiah endeavours, like Paul in Rom 11:14<\/span>, to stir up his countrymen to a noble jealousy, by setting before them the example of the heathen.” The “light of Jehovah” ( ‘or <\/em> Jehovah<\/em>, in which the echo of v’yorenu <\/em> in Isa 2:3<\/span> is hardly accidental; cf., Pro 6:23<\/span>) is the knowledge of Jehovah Himself, as furnished by means of positive revelation, His manifested love. It was now high time to walk in the light of Jehovah, i.e., to turn this knowledge into life, and reciprocate this love; and it was especially necessary to exhort Israel to this, now that Jehovah had given up His people, just because in their perverseness they had done the very opposite. This mournful declaration, which the prophet was obliged to make in order to explain his warning cry, he changes into the form of a prayerful sigh.<\/p>\n JUDGMENTS REQUIRED BY A RULE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, (2:5)<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. This is a transitional verse – calling one’s attention away from the glorious millennial rule of Jehovah, to focus on the state of Judah which had turned away from the Lord.<\/p>\n 2. Flickering sparks of human wisdom are not sufficient to illumine one’s path through a world of sin, darkness, doubt and fear, (Jer 10:23<\/span><\/strong>).<\/p>\n 3. To walk with the Lord is to “walk in the light” – for He is “the Light of the world”, (1Jn 1:5-7<\/span><\/strong>; Joh 8:12<\/span><\/strong>).<\/p>\n 4. And the light of His Word so illuminates the future that one may face it with confidence, assurance, and the expectancy of hope, (Psa 119:105<\/span><\/strong>; Psa 119:130<\/span><\/strong>).<\/p>\n 5. O house of Jacob He sharply rebukes the Jews by holding out the example of the Gentiles; for since, in consequence of the spread of his kingdom, God would give law to all nations from Mount Zion, so as to ingraft them into the body of his chosen people, nothing could be more strange than that the house of Jacob should revolt from him, and that, when strangers were drawing near, the members of the household, who ought to have been foremost, should withdraw. This is, therefore, not only an exceedingly vehement exhortation, but also a heavy and sharp complaint. Accordingly, he addresses them by an honorable name, saying, O house of Jacob, come; that he may express more strongly their ingratitude, which appeared in twist that though they were in the Church God’s first-born, they utterly renounced that right of inheritance which they held in common with others. <\/p>\n There is, therefore, an implied comparison, as if he had said, “Lo, the Gentiles flow together to Mount Zion, and every one exhorts and urges on his neighbor; they submit to receive instruction from God, and to be reproved by him and why do you, O Israelites, you who are the inheritance of God, why do you draw back? Shall the Gentiles submit to God, and shall you refuse to acknowledge his authority? Has so great a light been kindled in every part of the world, and shall you not be enlightened by it? Shall so many waters flow, and will you not drink? What madness is this, that when the Gentiles run so eagerly, you sit still in idleness?” <\/p>\n And we will walk in the light of the Lord When he adds we will walk, he means that the light is placed before their feet, but that they disregard it by shutting their eyes, and even extinguish it as far as lies in their power; and yet its brightness draws to it distant nations. <\/p>\n THE LIGHT OF THE LORD<\/p>\n Isa. 2:5<\/span>. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord<\/em>.<\/p>\n The light of the Lord streams upon us from His Word (Psa. 119:105<\/span>). The knowledge of God and of His holy will which the Bible imparts to us is the meridian sun which casts his rays on the cold scenes of our earthly career. <\/p>\n I. The religion of the Bible illumines.<\/strong> Into how many errors did unaided human reason fall, when the nature of God and of His operations was the subject of its inquiries! [508] Did not the wisest grope in darkness? Did they not conceive absurdities, even when man and his fate were the subject of their inquiries? [511] How full, clear, and steady is the light which the Scriptures cast upon these and other great subjects of human thought! <\/p>\n [508] Men who seek God by reason and natural strength (though we do not deny common notions and general impressions of a sovereign power) are like mariners who voyaged before the invention of the compass, who were but coasters, and unwillingly left the sight of the land. Such are they who would arrive at God by this world, and contemplate Him only in His creatures and seeming demonstration. Certainly every creature shows God, as a glass; but glimmeringly and transitorily, by the frailty both of the receiver and beholder; ourselves have His image, as medals, permanently and preciously delivered. But by these meditations we get no further than to know what He doth, not what He is.Donne<\/em>, 15731631.<\/p>\n [511] Reason sees that man is ignorant, guilty, mortal, miserable, transported with vain passions, tormented with accusations of conscience, but it could not redress those evils. Corrupt nature is like an imperfect building that lies in rubbish: the imperfection is visible but not the way to finish it; for through ignorance of the first design every one follows his own fancy, whereas, when the Architect comes to finish His own project, it appears regular and beautiful. Thus the various directions of philosophers to recover fallen man out of his ruins, and to raise him to his first state, were vain. Some glimmerings they had that the happiness of a reasonable nature consisted in its union with God, but in order to this they propounded such means as were not only ineffectual, but opposite. Such is the pride and folly of carnal wisdom, that to bring God and man together, it advances man, but depresses God.Bates<\/em>, 16251699.<\/p>\n All the days of sinful nature are dark night, in which there is no right discerning of spiritual things: some light there is, of reason, to direct natural and civil actions, but no daylight. Till the sun rise it is night still, for all the stars, and the moon to help them.Leighton<\/em>, 16111684.<\/p>\n None but the true God can discover[make known] what the true worship of God is. As that glorious eye of heaven is not to be seen but by its own proper light,a million of torches cannot show us the sun: so it is not all the natural reason in the world that can either discover what God is, or what worship He expects, without Divine and supernatural revelation from Himself.Arrowsmith<\/em>, 16021659.<\/p>\n II. The religion of the Bible warms.<\/strong> That God is great and all-powerful some philosophers imagined before the divine light of inspired truth shone forth; but the human heart remained cold, and felt in itself no point of contact and union with so exalted a Being. Until God said, I am your Father, we were as orphans in a strange land; but then at once the world became to us as a parents dwelling, and our heart began to warm with love towards God and man. <\/p>\n III. The religion of the Bible vivifies.<\/strong> It animates and restores the weary, the dying! <\/p>\n IV. The religion of the Bible blesses<\/strong>now [514] and for ever (1Ti. 4:8<\/span>).G. Salomon, Twelve Sermons<\/em>, pp. 124.<\/p>\n [514] It is a peculiar advantage of piety, that it furnisheth employment fit for us, worthy of us, hugely grateful, and highly beneficial to us. Man is a very busy and active creature, which cannot live and do nothing, whose thoughts are in restless motion, whose desires are ever stretching at somewhat, who perpetually will be working either good or evil to himself: wherefore greatly profitable must that thing be which determineth him to act well, to spend his care and pain on that which is truly advantageous to him; and that is religion only. It alone fasteneth our thoughts, affections, and endeavours upon occupations worthy the dignity of our nature, suiting the excellence of our natural capacities and endowments, tending to the perfection and advancement of our reason, to the enriching and ennobling of our souls. Secluding that, we have nothing in the world to study, to affect, to pursue, not very mean and below us, not very base and unbecoming us, as men of reason and judgment. What have we to do but to eat and drink, like horses or like swine; but to sport and play, like children or apes; but to bicker and scuffle about trifles and impertinences, like idiots? What but to scrape or scramble for useless pelf, to hunt after empty shows and shadows of honour, or the vain fancies or dreams of men? What but to wallow or bask in sordid pleasures, the which soon degenerate into remorse and bitterness? To which sort of employments were a man confined, what a pitiful thing he would be, and how inconsiderable would be his life! Were a man designed only, like a fly, to buzz about here for a time, sucking in the air and licking the dew, then soon to vanish back into nothing, or to be transformed into worms, how sorry and despicable a thing were he! And such without religion we should be. But it supplieth us with business of a most worthy nature and lofty importance; it setteth us upon doing things great and noble as can be; it engageth us to free our minds from all fond conceits, and cleanse our hearts from all corrupt affections,to conform the dispositions of our soul and the actions of our life to the eternal laws of righteousness and goodness: it putteth us upon the imitation of God, upon obtaining a friendship and maintaining a correspondence with the High and Holy One, upon filling our minds for conversation and society with the wisest and purest spirits above, upon providing for our immortal state, upon the acquist of joy and glory everlasting. It employeth us in the divinest actionspromoting virtue, performing beneficence, serving the public, and doing good to all: the being exercised in which things doth indeed render a man highly considerable, and his life excellently valuable.Barrow<\/em>, 16301677.<\/p>\n ATHE WALK OF THE SOUL IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD<\/p>\n Isa. 2:5<\/span>. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord<\/em>.<\/p>\n There are many lights shining upon the paths of men in this world. There are the lights of science and philosophy; they beam out from the human mind, and are kindled by eager research and investigation. These have been advancing in splendour and in value, age by age, and will, no doubt, continue to do so to the end of time. Men walk in these lights, and vainly imagine that they have found the sun of the soul. They seek no higher illumination. They are mistaken. The lights of science are of but little service to the moral nature; they cannot chase away its darkness, or open up to it a vision of destiny. The True Light cometh down from above, and is Divine in its origin. It is bright. It is beauteous. It is sufficient for the guidance of the soul. Wise men will walk in it. O house of Jacob, &c.<\/p>\n I. The walk of the soul.<\/strong> Let us walk. <\/p>\n 1. The moral walk of the soul is a necessity<\/em>. The soul of man is endowed with certain convictions and activities which render inaction an impossibility. It must walk either in one direction or another; either toward moral purity or moral evil; either to Christ or to Satan. The moral sensibilities with which it is gifted, the laws under which it is placed, the influences to which it is subject, and the prospects that are stretched out before the soul, render moral progress a necessity of being. <\/p>\n 2. The moral walk of the soul is educational<\/em>. Men gain knowledge in this world by travel. In this way they augment their mental stores. And the soul gains knowledge, strengthens its capabilities, and deepens its experience, by walking forth into the great moral universe in which it lives. Only the souls that have walked in the paths of truth and life know what things are, and they only are able to guide others. <\/p>\n 3. The moral walk of the soul is healthful<\/em>. Those who are inactive are always physically weak. The soul that never takes moral exercise, that never gets out into the broad acres of truth, and that never climbs the great mountains of God, will ever be sickly. If the soul is to be strong, equal to the duties of life, and to the demands of being, it must not indolently repose in its own quiet hiding-place. It must go forth to meet the Eternal. <\/p>\n 4. The moral walk of the soul is often perilous<\/em>. The traveller has often to walk through dark places, along difficult paths, and near the deep precipice. He is in a strange country. And so in the walk of the soul. It is in a land of which it knows but little. It has to pass through the dark mystery of truth, to traverse the windings of intricate problems, and to find its way, through perplexing circumstances, to the throne of God.<\/p>\n II. The light of the Lord.<\/strong> In the light of the Lord. The soul of man was not constituted to walk in darkness. It was created with keen moral vision; but, alas! its eye is dimmed by sin, and is but seldom open to the light of heaven. <\/p>\n 1. This light is Divine in its origin<\/em>. It does not come from the orb in the heavens. It comes from beyond the cloudsfrom the Sun of Righteousness, whose rays are never lost in night. It is not the light of the finite, but of the Infinite. It is perennial and pure. It is unparalleled in beauty. It is unique in lustre. It is life-giving in its influence. The soul can walk in no better radiance. <\/p>\n 2. This light is clear in its revelation<\/em>. But for the sun we should know nothing of this world. And but for the light of the Lord we should be entirely ignorant of the moral world, in which the soul lives and has its being. This light which shines from the Spirit of God, from the Bible, and from the enlightened conscience, reveals the existence of God, the spirituality of His nature, the purity of His character, and the devotion of which He is worthy. It reveals the soul to itself, and bends it in humility, but in joy, as it unfolds the forgiving mercy of the Cross. But for this light of the Lord we should be ignorant of the things of the moral universe. It illumines the soul in its walk to the great and unknown future. <\/p>\n 3. This light is cheering in its influence<\/em>. The light of the sun is cheering to man, and is ever welcome to him. So the light of the Lord is cheering to the pure soul; it enlivens its energies, and lends new beauty to its visions. <\/p>\n 4. This light is abiding in its duration<\/em>. The light of the Lord will never go down from the pure soul, but will only brighten through death into the perfect day.By what light do we walk? Come ye, now, gladly, devoutly, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.J. S. Exell<\/em>.<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n THE VIOLENCE OF CORRUPTION AND JUDGMENT Isa. 2:5-22<\/span><\/p>\n a. LIGHT UPON THE DARKNESS<\/p>\n TEXT: Isa. 2:5-9<\/span><\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n And their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low: therefore forgive them not.<\/p>\n QUERIES<\/p>\n a.<\/p>\n What is wrong with the customs of the east?<\/p>\n b.<\/p>\n What is striking hands?<\/p>\n c. Who is the mean man?<\/p>\n PARAPHRASE<\/p>\n If the nations are going to seek to walk in His ways, O house of Jacob, then, come, let us walk in the light of Jehovah also! But, thou O Jehovah, hast withdrawn thy mercy from the house of Jacob because they are filled with the superstition and idolatry of the eastern peoples and Gods sons have become like a nation of uncircumcised Philistines; they reject their own godly heritage to fraternize with foreign unbelievers and their pagan life. They have become money mad and filled the land with the machinery of war. More heinous than that, however, is their inordinate, insatiable hunger to practice idolatrythe land is filled with idols. The common men and the great men all bow down before things they have invented with their own hands. Do not forgive them, O lord!<\/p>\n COMMENTS<\/p>\n Isa. 2:5<\/span> THE APPEAL TO WALK IN THE LIGHT: In view of the vision which has just preceded this of the Gentiles voluntarily coming to walk in the ways of Jehovah, Isaiah attempts to provoke the house of Jacob to seek His ways. To walk in the light of Jehovah they would have to give up all their materialism and idolatry.<\/p>\n Isa. 2:6<\/span> GOD HAS FORSAKEN THEM: This does not mean God would not turn and heal them should they repent, but it means He must forsake them as long as they forsake Him. If they will not have Him, He cannot have them. They are granted the freedom to choose whom they will servethey chose the pagan superstition and idolatry of their eastern neighbors (Syrians, Assyrians, Ammonites, Babylonians, etc.) Striking hands (literally, to clap hands with) means to fraternize with, approve or associate with to the extent of cooperation, indulgence appropriation. It is not wrong in itself to be found in the midst of foreigners or sinners, but to participate in their sin is what the house of Jacob was doing and this is a rejection of Him. Judah was filled with heathen customs of all kinds: animism, sexual sins, human sacrifices, divination, etc. (Cf. Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I.<\/strong><\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>MUTUAL PROGRESS. Two together are stronger than two apart. Let us A weak brother at our side will not only get help but will afford us assistance. <\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>APPRECIATIVE KNOWLEDGE. Let us walk in the light of the Lord. The light is the place for safety. Light is life, darkness is death. <\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>UNFAILING PROVISION. The light of the Lord. God is the only source of light, but He is an all-efficient source. He never can fail. God is light. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>THIS IS ISAIAHS INVITATION TO HIS COUNTRYMEN TO REPENT. To feel the full force of his appeal we must notice the connection of the text with its context. <\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>THE SITUATION OF THE CHURCH OF GOD THUS DESCRIBED BY ISAIAH REMAINS ALMOST UNCHANGED TO THE PRESENT DAY. <\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>THAT WE AVAIL OURSELVES OF HIS REVELATION OF TRUTH. <\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>THAT WE ORDER THE COURSE OF OUR LIVES ACCORDING TO HIS EXAMPLE AND THE GUIDANCE OF HIS WORD AND SPIRIT (Jer 10:23<\/span>). <\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>PROGRESS. It supposes that we leave behind our former darkness and sin, our slothfulness and error, and march every day some distance on our road to eternal life. <\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>LIGHT INSPIRES CHEERFULNESS AND JOY; and if we walk in the light of the Lord, we must have the only true happiness and peace. The truth of the Gospel is enough to cause constant exultation. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>THE IMPORT OF THE WORDS, the light of the Lord. There appears here to be an allusion to that striking token of special guardianship which was vouchsafed to the Israelites in the Shechinah as it appeared to the Church in the wilderness; which, while it was the recognised token of special favour from God, indicated also their course of movement. The expression to walk in the light of the Lord, we regard–<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>THE MOTIVES OR PRINCIPLES WHICH ENFORCE THIS EXHORTATION. <\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>THE SECRET CAUSE OF THIS PEOPLES GUILT–moral and spiritual gloom. By implication, at least, we learn from this text that moral darkness is the fruitful mother of every species of iniquity. One master stroke of Pauls pen gives the secret of the sins of Rome in his day–their foolish heart was darkened. The way of the wicked, says Solomon, is as darkness. <\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>Let us dwell upon the natural darkness of men–<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>We have THE ONE REMEDY DECLARED. Walk in the light of the Lord. Like all Divine remedies it is striking in its simplicity. <\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n