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Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, etc. The prophet here, without doubt, refers to the carrying away of the Jews to Babylon. He refers to the consternation in which the Jews would be placed on the approach of the Chaldean army, The questions relative to a "king" and a "counsellor" (ver. 9) are, it is thought, put forth in bitter irony, in order to provoke an answer. "Is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished?" The answer, perhaps, would be, "Yes, we have a king, and we have counsellors, but they are utterly worthless; they have power neither to protect us from the terrible calamities nor to invent means for our escape." The metaphor of the parturient woman seems intended to shadow forth the agony of their consternation at the idea of going forth from the city of Jerusalem, being located in the open country, and afterwards conveyed to Babylon. After this comes the promise of emancipation. "There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies." Their restoration is metaphorically represented by a travailing woman. Whilst it is unfair to attach to Scripture a wrong interpretation, it is perfectly fair to use its passages as symbols of truths applicable to man in all ages and all lands. These words may serve to illustrate, therefore, some points in relation to the moral regeneration of the world.

I. THE STATE OF MANKIND REQUIRES IT. "Is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished?" It was more serious for the Jewish people to be deprived of a king than for any other people, for their king was theocratic; he was supposed to be the voice and vicegerent of God. The prophet means to say that when the Chaldeans would come and carry them away, they would have no king and no counsellors. Now, men in an unregenerate state:

1. Have no king. A political ruler is to man, as a spiritual energy, only a king in name. He does not command the moral affections, rule the conscience, or legislate for the inner and primal springs of all activity. Such a king is the deep want of man; he wants some one to be enthroned on his heart, to whom his conscience can render homage. No man in an unregenerate state has such a king; he has gods many and lords many, of a sort, but none to rule him, and to bring all the powers of his soul into one harmonious channel of obedience.

2. Have no counsellor. Society abounds with counsellors who proffer their advice; but some of them are wicked, most of them worthless, few, if any, satisfactory, that is, to conscience. What the soul wants is not the mere book counsellor - though it be the Bible itself - but the spirit of that book, the spirit of reverence, love, Christ-like trust. Such a spirit, when it comes to us, will guide us into all truth; it is the "unction from the Holy One."

3. Have no ease. "Pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail." The unregenerate soul is always liable to consternation, remorse; it often writhes in agony. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Now, moral regeneration brings the man a true King, a true Counsellor, a true Peace - a peace "that passeth all understanding."

II. IT IS OPPOSED BY FORMIDABLE ANTAGONISTS. "Many nations are gathered against thee." The nations here referred to are those that composed the army of Nebuchadnezzar, or those that joined it in the attack against the Jews. What formidable opponents there are to the conversion of man!

1. The depraved elements of the soul. Unbelief, selfishness, carnality, etc. These are Canaanites that battle mightily against the moral Joshua.

2. The corrupt influence of society. How much, in this country and this age especially, is there struggling against man's regeneration custom, fashion, amusements, pleasures! And then, too, acting through all these forces within and without, there are the principalities and powers of darkness; so that it comes to pass that it is no very easy thing to effect the regeneration of men; there are nations of moral forces battling against it.

III. IT IS GUARANTEED BY THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD. "They know not the thoughts of the Lord," etc. The enemies of the Jews were utterly ignorant of God's purpose to deliver his people from Babylonish captivity. "They had not the most distant idea that the object of Jehovah, in permitting his people to be so treated, was to recover them from idolatry, and thus prepare them for a triumphant restoration. The metaphor taken from the process of threshing out grain is frequently used by the prophets to denote the complete destruction of a people."

1. Man in ignorance fights against God's purpose. The Chaldeans and all the enemies of the Jews did so now. Men are always doing this. "Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

2. Man, in fighting against God's purpose, brings ruin on himself. It is here predicted that the enemies of the Jews should be as "sheaves," and that the Jews themselves should be strengthened. "I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass." "When God," says an old writer, "has conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with strength and ability for it - will make the horn iron and the hoofs brass; and when he does so, they must exert the power he gives them, and execute the commission: even the daughter of Zion may arise and thresh." The nations thought to ruin Christianity in its infancy, but it was victorious over them. Those who persisted in their enmity were broken to pieces (Matthew 21:44), particularly the Jewish nation; but multitudes by Divine grace were joined to the Church, and they and their substance were consecrated to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the whole earth. - D.T.

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KJV: Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counseller perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

WEB: Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail?