Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-01-29
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
LESSON V, FIRST CJA7Tr7, lNTs q
NJ o.. 5EI "A 81

DRY Verses, 3 j-Golden Text, lisa. iii,
documentary by the Rev u. VI.
Stearns.
l. "Who hath believed our report2 And
10 whom is the arm of the Lord revealedS"
Some one has said that this section, chap
ter Iii, 10 to lii, H. reads rs if written he
meath the cross on Golgotha. 1t is the I'm
raveliug of Psalms xxi and OK; and is the
most central deepest and loftiest portion
of Old Testament prophecy. From the
first intimation of Delverer Gen. iii, 10y
onward, He is repeatedly foretod as "A suf
fering Saviour duke xiv. 26), but here
we have the most complete description of
His sulTerings in the whole Old Tesla
ment
2. He hath no form nor comeliness: and
when we shall see Him. there is no beauty
that we should desire Him" Like the
tabernacle in the wilderness, there was no
outward beauty to the surrounding ma
tions, but Israel could tell of the holy
place. and the holy of holies, with vessels
of pure gold, and the glory Of God between
the cheruhim. 70 the uusaved Jesus is
still unattractive, while they eagerly fol
low the attractions of the world, the flesh
and the devil
B. ole is despised and rejected of men,
a nun of sorrows and acquainted with
grief" He was so unlike other men; He
never considered him-rif did not His own
will, sought not his own glory, never
sought To be made much of, but WAS
always honoring His Father Self sacri
fee CONSUMED him as Il fever. a man of
constant and painful endurance misun.
derstood slandered, despised and rejected,
how all this will come home to Israel
when they see Him coming in power and
glory CIech xii, lO)
4. "Surely He hath borne our gri is and
carried our SORROWS yet we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God and af
dicted." He was our substitute, in our
stead, a vicarous sacrifice, but we, like
jobs friends, thought He deserved it, thus
will Israel confess in that day
3. But He was wounded for our trans
gressions, He was bruised for our iniqu
ties, and with His stripes we are healed"
Could there be any stronger expressions to
denote a violent and painful death? The
precise manner of it is more fully described
in Ps. xxi, 16, "rhey pierced My hands
and my feet" Read this verse with my"
instead of our" in the first three clauses,
and read 81 am" instead of Eve are" in the
/ fourth clause. and with all your heart
| thank Him tnat it is so.
G. "All we, like sheep, have gone astray,
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity
of us all" Many readily believe the first
two clauses, but how few receive the last.
:. "lle is brought as lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shear
ers is dumb, so He openeth not his mouth"
Shorn of comfort, honor, good name, life,
a lamb led out to die, see how He was OPP
pressed and afflicted, and still let your
heart say, "All for me?" When He suffer
ed He threatened not, thus leaving us an
example.
s. "lIe was taken from prison and from
Judgment, and who shall declare his gen
eration?' Taken away by distress and
judgment is the marginal reading, which
agrees nearly with the r. V.
0. "And He made His grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in His DEATH be
cause He had done no violence, neither was
any deceit in His mouth" Not only do
we read of His cruel treatment, sufTerings,
and death as if recorded by an eye witness,
but also the events of His burial; and how
literally all was fulfilled we know The
kindness and devotion of Joseph of Ari
mathea rescues His body from the authori-
ties and from the grave prepared with
those of the malefactors, and gives it burial
in His own new tomb (John xix, 3S-4?)
10 yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him, He shall prolong His days and the
pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His
hand.' Not only His sulferings, death and
burial, but also His resurrection is here re-
corded: for how could ones days be pro-
longed who was dead and buried except
by resurrection. See the same great truth
II n
the first sentence of this verse from
whence came His greatest sufferings. AL
though the sinless one, He became our sin
Offering, and our sins being laid on Him
God spared not His own Son. The wrath
of God against sin fell on him.
II. "He shall see of the travail of His
SOUL and shall be satisfied" Not only His
resurrection, but His future glory clearly
foretold. He shall in due time see the full
result of all His sulferings and He shall
be satisfied This is all clear to Him, and
He is not discouraged by things as they
have been or are now for He is sure OF
final triumph (Num. xiv, 21 Rev. ri, l5)
Let us with eyes and heart fixed on Hin
go calmly on, diligently serving Him, and
like Him rejoicing in the contamination
lisa. xiii, a Pet. w. l3).
IL. therefore will divide Him por
ton with the great, and He shall divide
the spoil with the strong; because He hatl
poured out His soul unto death" Observe
how often He is spoken of in this lesson as
suffering for iniquity, transgression anC
sin. Compare the blessing of Ps. xxi, |
g. and see in Acts viii, 5000, how certain
man entered into this blessedness by tn,
opening up to him of this very chapter il
Isaiah. n we enjoy the forgiveness of sin.
i, through His finished work (and there is N,
7 other way, then we shall share with Hin
+ the glory of His kingdom dan. vii, 81
Rev. v, 8, 10; iii, 2D, But if not hid il
Him who suffered in our stead, then Their,
, must come to all such the everlasting
; torment of Math. XIV, Al; ii Thess. i
10; Rev. xiv, Oil; XXX, 10; xxi, s. Tn,
sufferings Of the seed of the woman
D., the seed of Abraham and of David, tn.
Son of Man and Son of God, are the scar
: let line running through the whole Bibl,
9 from beginning to end, and we canno
place too much emphasis upon the fac
: that these sufferngs were substitution
airy. He suffered in our stead will