Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1904-12-23

]: Great darkness Tvs /, D.. !. "Nev.
ertheless." A transition word from the
dark picture of chapter 1922, describing
| the woes from Assyrian predomlnance to
the bright dawn and consummation VI the
Messanic era. Shall not be such" The
! darkness shall not be as great as it has
| been. There was ray of encouragement
prophets word. 'Zebuun." The country
of Galilee around the Sea of Galilee was
the land that principally suffered in the
hrst Assyrlan invasion.
=. The peOple-in darkness" The peo-
pie of Judah. They were at this time I'M
der twofold darkness. /. The darkness
OF outward trouble. See Kings 1871; Is:
4-S, IL; 2 Chron. 1858 2. They were in
moral darkness. Ahaz had led the people
into the most abOminable practices in
honor of the heather divinities whose
worship he had established in his kingdom
The worship of Molech, the savage god of
Ammon, was now established, not only on
the heights of Olivet, but in the valley of
Hinnom, on spot known by the name of
Tophet, close under the walls of Jerusalem.
There the brazen statue OF the god was
erected, with the furnace within or at his
feet into which the children were thrown
e Kings l6). Superstitions appeared in
every part of the country. Gold and silver
statues glittered throughout Judah. Sooth-
savers, spirits, ghosts were consulted lisa.
2:6, s, 20; $40. Finally, towards the close
of the reign, he shut up the great doors
of the temple q Chron. 28:24, discon-
tinued the offering of incense and the
morning and evening sacrifice, and left
the whole interior to decay, neglect, ruin.
II. A great light Tvs. 2-5). .. "A great
light" The sudden change from dense
darkness to the shining light which the
,lo@ 10 1-ohl hat
light was this? The promise of redemp-
ton; the prospect of the coming of I'm.
manuel.
3. Hast multiplied the nation" Isaiah
with prophetic eye pierces the centuries
and sees the hosts that would come under
the reign of the Messiah and be numbered
with the true spiritual Israel. And not
increased" See r. V. for correct render
ing. "They JOY before Thee" The prophet
notes it TO be religious JOY because 1t IS
said to be before God-that Is, in His pres
ence and with grateful acknowledge
ment of His benefits.
4. Thou hast broken the yoke" The
Jews we're successfully delivered from the
burdensome and CALLING yoke of the AS
syrians, Chaldeans, Persians and Mace
domains; but these deliverances were only
a shadow of redemption from the yoke
of Satan; and that redemption seems here
especially predicted as if already accom-
phshed. "As in the day of INDIAN" AS
Gideon with handful of men conquered
the hosts of INDIAN, so Messiah, the
"child" ". g., shall prove to be the
"Prince of Peace" and the small com
pany under him shall overcome the mighty
hosts of hntichrist. See the same con
trast in Micah 5:2-5.
5. "For every battle" 1t was the GUS
tom of antiquity to pile the arms of pros.
trate enemies, the spoils of less value, and
their spotted garments, into heap and
then burn them. All that belongs to war
shall be swept away; the war itself shall
die. The Messiah abolishes all war, but
not until His foes are either swept away by
His judgments or melted into penltence and
won over to submission by His love.
iii. A vision of the Messiah ". o.. 6.
"Unto u.s. The prophet spake of the
predicted blessings as if already communl-
Gated. Angels say, Unto YOU" but this
child was born for the benefit OF us men,
of us sinners, of all believers. to the end
of the world. I'm the far distance the
prophet foresaw the Redeemer Of the
world. A little later came the vision Of
the suffering Savior lisa. So; then the
town where He should be born (tNlicah
52); more complete revelation came
through Daniel" "A son was given
Gods gratuitous gift, upon which man
had no claim John 3:l6). A gift of love,
of Joy, OF universal fitness to our needs,
of eternal enrichment. of forever increas-
ing value: and this gift insures all other
gifts from. S:32). As Son of man Jesus
was "a child born" as Son of God He was
'Son given Government" The en-
sign of government, the scepter, the
sword. Or key was borne upon or hung
from the shoulder. All government shall
be vested in Him His name" name
stands for all that the man is and has-hls
character. his principles and his property.
Wonderful" Because his nature was
both human and divine. Whoever pauses
to believe in the supernatural must pause
at the manger. He could go no farther.
How Godhood and manhood could be
knit together in the person of Christ, IS
beyond us. But things incomprehenslble
are not incredible. All divine works are
wonderful. There are marvels enough IN
drop of water to bewilder the .wisest.
Counsellor" One who has wisdom to
guide himself and others. Jesus was the
embodiment of the wisdom of God. he
was Savior, both God and man, per-
sona revelation of Gods love, perfect
character and example. He is our Counsel
Tor, never guiding us astray, but always
by the best ways to the best e mis-
Mighty NOu. OOu tDC uiiShty Oi.N'
As He has wisdom. so He has strength:
He is able to save to the uttermost; and
such is the work of the Mediator that no
less power than that of the mighty God
could accomplish it. Everlasting Father.
Expressing the divine love and pity for
men, love that can never fail, for it Is
everlasting "Prince of Peace" As
King He preserves, commands, creates
peace. His peace both keeps the hearts
of His people and rules in them.
". The Messianic kingdom ". y. Z.
"Ot the increase" etc. The government
shall cease in numbers, in power, in the
completeness Of its rule. 1t shall increase
in the blessings it bestows. 1t is like, the
powers of nature, which are exhaustless.
There is no limit to their application to
the use of man. With all our marvellous
inventions and discoveries of what nature
can do. we have yet gathered but few
rays from the world of light, few sprays
from the ocean of blessings God has in
store for man. Throne of David" 70
sit upon the throne of David means. to
reign over the true people of God; and In
this sense Christ sat on David's throne.
ITO order it," To rule it. PRONE hence
forth even forever" Only such kingdom
can endure. Nothing is really settled till
it is settled right The powers of evil
seem very strong, but every one is
doomed to fall before Christ. The forces
of intemperance shall be destroyed, or.
ganized oppression shall be broken, heath.
f-1l e LII hn flnx.,