with their unworthinefs and infufficiency, difcovered, at first, fome reluctance in undertaking the difficult fervices to which God appointed them; whereas Ifaiah, after his iniquity was taken away, like the angels who excel in ftrength, and do his commandments, hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and stood in readinefs to fulfil his pleasure.What a noble example is here prefented to view, of the cheerful fubmiffion of a Christian, whose heart and mouth ought always to echo obedience to the calls and commands of God! When thou, O Lord, didit fay, Seek ye my face; my heart replied, Thy face, Lord, will I feek above all things. When thou calleft, I will anfwer; when thou ftretcheft out thy hand, I will regard; when thou commandeft, I will obey. When thou faidft, Whom shall I fend? Then faid I, Here am I, fend me. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth. Such ought to be the language of each of our hearts, and fuch the obedience of every one of us through every period of life.

9. And he faid, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and fee ye indeed, but perceive not.

Ifaiah's offer of fervices is accepted, and he receives his commiffion and authority from the Lord of hosts, who acquaints him with the meffage which he orders. him to go and deliver to the Jews.I am going to remark what fome of you may perhaps have obferved, that the apostle Paul, when at Rome, expounding the kingdom of God to thofe who came to his lodg ing, concluded his difcourfes by quoting this fcripture, with a remarkable variation: Well ipake the Holy Ghoft, by Efaias the prophet, unto our fathers, faying, Go unto this people, and fay,' &c. As the glory of Jehovah, which our prophet faw, was the glory of

.Acts xxviii. 23, 26, 27.

Jefus

Jefus Chrift, according to the apostle John; fo the voice of the Lord, which he heard, was the voice of the Holy Ghoft, according to the apostle Paul. The commiffion given to Ifaiah is in thefe words, Go tell this people. Every word here merits our attention, Go from this place, in which thou haft been favoured with a vifion of my glory, of the fublime exercifes and cheerful obedience of my minifters; in which alfo thou haft received fuch marks of my favour, and communications of my grace, as may furnish thee for the important fervices upon which I now fend thee to this people among whom thou dwelleft. Remark, God does not call them, as on many other occafions, his people, but this people; thus difowning his rela tion to them, and teftifying his juft difpleasure against them, on account of their wicked abufe of the high privileges which for long time they had enjoyed. In a fimilar manner he had formerly fpoken of them to his fervant Mofes, after they had fallen into idolatry; 'Go,' faid he, 'get thee down: for thy people which thou broughteft out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves *.' Here our prophet is ordered faithfully to inform his countrymen, by word or writing, of the meffage with which he is intrufted; to conceal no part of it, however fevere it might feem to him; but to deliver the whole with courage and firmnefs, as became the meffenger of the Lord of hofts.

Hear ye indeed, but understand not. What is contained in this and the following verfe, is five times cited by the writers of the New Testament, beside being once referred to in the Epiftle to the Romans. The people to whom the prophet was fent with this meffage, had been intrufted for many ages with the oracles of God. To them were made known his ftatutes and his judgments, his ordinances and his laws. With the greatest magnificence and folemnity, he publifhed his law from Mount Sinai in the ears of

*Exod. xxxii. 7.

their fathers, who were commanded diligently to teach what they heard to their children, and their childrens children. They had alfo enjoyed for a long period the ministry of the prophets, whom God raifed up among them in continued fucceffion, from Mofes to John the Baptift, who were employed in communicating, explaining, and inculcating the will of God; and with fuch affiduity, that they rofe up early, and fat up late. As this prophetic vifion looked forward to times which were then future, to thefe important advantages I must add, the glorious miniftry of the Son of God, who came to the loft fheep of the house of lfrael, and acted as a minifter of the circumcifion, for the truth of God to the fathers. Juftly did Mofes, contemplating the privileges they had already enjoyed, and those which they had in profpect, addrefs them in this animated manner: Afk now of the days that are past, which were before thee, fince the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask ⚫ from the one fide of heaven unto the other, whether 'there hath been any fuch thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the "voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire,

6

as thou hast heard, and live? To the most important fubjects their attention was frequently demanded, and urged by the most interesting confiderations, which the prophets never failed to fuggeft.

Notwithstanding thefe fignal advantages, Ifrael was a people of no understanding. They enjoyed the best means of inftruction, but they reaped little or no real benefit from them: they neither understood the import, nor confidered the defign of what they heard. To hear with understanding is indifpenfably neceffary, in order to mens profiting by what they hear; for unless divine truths are in fome meafure understood, they can neither be believed nor practifed as they ought. Spiritual understanding of the will of God

*Deut, iv. 32, 33.

is abfolutely requifite to walking worthy of him unto all well-pleafing, and to fhew, that, in affection and practice, objects occupy their proper place and order. The vaft importance of people's understanding what they hear, our bleffed Saviour frequently inculcated upon those who attended his miniftry. He often introduced his fubject, by calling upon them to hear and understand: after difcourfing to them, he fometimes asked, If they understood what they heard? he blamed them if they did not understand, and commended thofe who were fo happy as know the things which were freely given them of God. The bulk of the Jewish nation correfponded to the defcription here given of them: they were deftitute of fpiritual understanding in the law of God, which they mifinterpreted, and made void through their traditions; they had little or no acquaintance with the reality and excellence of heavenly objects.Alarmed by the awful judgments to which this people expofed themfelves, by not understanding what they heard, do you, my brethren, ftudy to be attentive, intelligent hearers of divine truths, and well acquainted with the word of God, and the feveral parts of which it is compofed. For this purpose, never interpret fcripture in a fenfe contrary to the dictates of found reafon, inconfiftent with the plain drift of the paffage, compared with other texts, or the connection in which it stands. Explain words and phrases not always in the meaning they bear in common converfation, but that in which they are ufed in other places of fcripture: understand them literally, when they will bear this fenfe; and figuratively, when you find it neceflary. Make fuch abatements from general expreflions, fuch exceptions to them, and allowances for the whole manner of fpeaking, as you perceive the nature of the fubject, and the custom of the facred writers demand. Think not you have done with a paffage of fcripture as foon as you underfland it; your principal work is yet before you, to feel its divine influence, and difplay

its divine efficacy, to have an experimental fenfe and feeling of the interefting fubjects of which it treats*. With the greateft earneftnefs fupplicate the Father of lights, to illuminate your understanding in the knowledge of his truth; adopting the words of the royal pfalmift, Give me underítanding, and I fhall keep thy law, yea, I fhall obferve it with my whole heart. Then may you hope to read and hear with underftanding.

And jee ye indeed, but perceive not. The great objects which were presented to the view of this people, to which the prophet here refers, were, the astonishing wonders which were wrought before their eyes, the many terrible judgments inflicted upon their enemies, the fignal victories with which they were crowned, the glorious deliverances and remarkable interpofitions of kind providence in their behalf. Of these things Mofes often reminded them; and especially before his death, when he called unto all Ifrael, and faid unto them, Ye have feen all that the Lord ' did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, unto Pharaoh, and unto all his fervants, and unto all 'his land; the great temptations which thine eyes

have seen, the signs and thofe great miracles +.' In after periods, new wonders were from time to time exhibited to their view; furprifing conquests, through the favour of heaven, they obtained; many narrow escapes did they make from deftruction, and unexpected ways were opened for their return from captivity. And in the latter days, after the great Meffiah made his appearance among them, they were eyewitneffes of his ftupendous miracles of grace for the falvation of men, and the establishment of his kingdom upon earth: they beheld illuftrious difplays of omnipotence and compaffion, confpicuous proofs of the. divine prefence and glory, and the great light of the glorious gospel which then fprung up. They faw and + Deut. xxix. 2, 3. heard

* See Secker, vol. vi. ferm. v.