(Dean Farrar, D. D.)

(D. Merson, M. A. , B. D.)

(M. H. Seymour, M. A.)

(Prof. Driver, D. D.)

1. Of the prophets that bear it. The Word of the Lord is a heavy burden till they are delivered of it; there is no rest to the surcharged conscience. The ministry is a matter of both honour and burden. Are there none that catch at honour, but will not meddle with the burden.

2. Of the people that were to suffer it. The judgments of God are heavy on whomsoever they light. It is true of them what the philosopher said of himself, Perieram nisi periissem, — they are undone that are not undone. Security is the very suburbs of hell. An insensible heart is the devil's anvil, he fashioneth all sins on it, and the blows are not felt.

(T. Adams.)

II. THE IMPORTUNITY OF THE PEOPLE APPLYING TO HIM.

III. HIS ANSWER.

1. We may tender the prophet's answer to any who would perplex themselves or others with inquiries respecting the existing state of this world's affairs.

2. The wicked, walking after their own lusts and counsels, sometimes, in a scoffing manner, inquire of ministers, "What of the night? What think ye of my state and prospects? What of the truth of religion? What of the uses and importance of godliness? My wickedness thrives, and you said that it would be my ruin; my vices are pleasant, and you said that they would be bitter; my mind is at ease, and you said that I should be harassed in conscience. Where is the truth of your words? where the severity of judgment? — what evidence of a day of retribution?" The awful answer again is, "the morning cometh, and also the night."

3. The prophet's answer was given to persons in trouble; and thus applied, its import is various. To some who demand of us, in seasons of their distress, "Watchman, what of the night?" the answer is, Time is fast passing, and your sorrows are fast passing with it. To others, "The morning cometh," but as yet it is profound night to you, many and heavy sorrows still await you. Your spiritual condition is such, that our Heavenly Father will seek to bring you to Himself by many grievous visitations; hateful indeed, to the natural will, but most salutary for the soul's health. Or else, perhaps, as you have approved yourselves to God in the season of prosperity, it is the Divine pleasure to make experiment of you in the fiery furnace of adversity, to see whether "tribulation can separate you from the love of Christ." To others again, the answer is, It is the seventh hour, the midnight of your affliction is already past, and if passed by a little only, you have already suffered the extreme of your earthly portion of endurance; all that follows shall be comparatively light, and work for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, if in patience ye possess your souls.

(A. Williams, M. A.)

II. THE INQUIRY INSTITUTED.

1. The whole state of the world demands of the servants of God that they should prayerfully and diligently regard the signs and movements of the times.

2. There are personal inquiries which ought to press upon all who are rightly impressed with a sense of their responsibility to God. "How is the period of my probation passing? What is the progress of the night, which is to be succeeded by a morrow which knows no change or ending? How speeds the night in which my soul's salvation is to be determined?"

III. THE WATCHMAN'S REPORT IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION. "The morning cometh, and also the night." This report is most comprehensive, and may convey the following ideas —

1. That there will be nothing settled or permanent: changes may be expected.(1) There has always been a mixture of light and darkness in the Church — in its perceptions of truth, and in the events connected with it.(2) So in the case of the individual Christian, in times of sorrow and distress: darkness has appeared to compass his path; yet he has not been without gleams of comfort and light.

2. But the report without doubt is designed to indicate a period of coming joy to believers, of misery and woe to the wicked — to the one the morning cometh, to the other night.

3. There is one other observation in the watchman's report worthy of attention, namely, that the morning and the night are said to come together; "the morning cometh, and also the night." It may seem strange to many that these periods should be said to come simultaneously. But if you look at the characters to whom they thus come, the difficulty is removed. That which will be a time of light and comfort to the righteous, will be one of darkness and dismay to the ungodly. Indeed, it is partly so in the present imperfect state of things. The very blessings of the impenitent are turned into curses; their day of mercy and grace becomes a night of darkness and calamity; whilst, on the other hand, all that appear night and trouble to the people of God, are means of increased light and joy to them. Their sorrow is turned into joy; their tribulation worketh patience and experience and hope.

IV. THE ADVICE WHICH THE WATCHMAN GIVES IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE REPORT.

1. Inquiry is the first duty recommended. We look for nothing, and expect nothing so long as there is indifference. It was the great sin of God's professing people of old, that "they would not consider." It is only when we can excite a spirit of serious inquiry that we can hope for lasting good from our efforts.

2. But to diligent inquiry, return to God is recommended. All inquiry in fact is for this purpose, and it would be useless if it did not issue in an actual return to your Father.

3. The prophet closes with one more observation, and it is used by way of encouragement — "Come."

(T. Dealtry, D. D.)

1. As it may be supposed to respect the public affairs of our country.

2. The state of virtue and piety among us.

II. THE WATCHMAN'S ADVICE. The doom of Dumah was not inevitably fixed; she would yet be indulged with a morning of opportunities; and the only sure ground of hope was in a returning to God. We have as a nation something of Dumah's morning — some farther space for reflection and repentance. It must be of the greatest moment to know what an offended God expects. "Inquire; return; come." The inquiring, returning, coming, so kindly and seasonably urged on Dumah, in her night, are recommended to us on every ground, whether human or Divine.

1. Nothing can be more fit and proper in itself.

2. It is the subject of a Divine command.

3. In the patience and forbearance of God, and in the wonderful method He has devised for the pardon and salvation of a guilty people, we have a loud call and a most powerful motive to "inquire, return, and come."

4. And there are important and happy consequences resulting from a sinful people's inquiring, returning', and coming to God.

(N. Hill.)

1. Some ask the report of the night with utter carelessness as to the reply.

2. Some ask in contempt.

3. Some ask in horror and anguish of heart.

II. WHAT IS STILL THE DUTY OF HIM WHO HOLDS THE MOMENTOUS POSITION OF WATCHMAN IN THE CITY OF GOD?

1. He did not turn away from the question, in whatever spirit it was asked.

2. He uttered with equal assurance a threat and a promise.

3. He pressed the necessity of care in the study and earnest inquiry after the nature of the truth.

4. He summed up all by an anxious, a cordial, and a reiterated invitation to repentance and reconciliation with an offended but pardoning God. Thus, the single verse might be regarded as an abstract of the duties of the ministerial office.

(W. Archer Butler, D. D.)

1. The cry of scepticism. The scepticism of our day is, in some instances, evidently the error of noble but misguided spirits, who, having discovered that in some matters of belief concerning which they had thought themselves very sure, they were wholly in the wrong, and having in other cases been baffled in the search for certainty, have too hastily given up all hope of obtaining saris. faction and rest with respect to many of the most momentous questions of human life. There is, however, a shallower scepticism. It addresses the Church in tones of equal incredulity, but breathing the spirit of vanity, hostility, and contempt.

2. The cry of the world's worldliness. Men who are living for this life only, ask the question. There is a terribly close connection between worldliness and scepticism of the scoffing and contemptuous sort. The tendency of a life in which there is no regard for God and eternity, is to produce an unbelief far more blighting than that disbelief which is the result of misguided thinking. And with all the wild recklessness or supercilious scorn or stolid indifference of old times, they ask, "What of the night? You prophets of darkness, who take so gloomy a view of the condition of the world, who warn us of a perpetual darkness for those who live so heedlessly, what of the night? You who profess to believe that your religion can do such great things, where are the signs of its power, and of the accomplishment of its work? What signs of the dissipation of the darkness of which you speak, and of the coming of the day?"

3. The cry of the world's agony. From the darkness of the sin which is shutting out of the life all joy and purity and hope, from the woe which is crushing them, men make their appeal to the Church of God. They ask for the causes of this darkness and for the means by which it may be removed. But there are many who are conscious that the agony they feel is attributable to their sin; and in the sense of their alienation from God they ask of the Church, pleadingly, What of the night? It is not simply the apprehension of darkness, but the consciousness of it, the darkness of being sinful. "Oh tell us if there be forgiveness, peace, purity, and rest, for guilty, storm-tossed, polluted, and wearied hearts!"

4. The cry of the world's hope. Many have felt the dawn of a new day in their own hearts, and now they continually pray, "Thy kingdom come." Although they have light within, they see the darkness around them. But because of what they have themselves experienced, they cannot despair of the case of humanity.

II. THE RESPONSE WITH WHICH THE CHURCH IS ENTRUSTED, and which she is bound urgently and confidently to deliver. "The morning cometh, and also the night."

1. The Church's message to the world is a message of mingled mercy and severity, of joyous and of sad import. We look at what Christianity has done and is doing in the world; and the result of the examination is a deep and growing conviction that the evidences of Christianity never were so strong or convincing as today.(1) And this is our answer to scepticism. Account for Christianity. See what it has done for nations, what for a single life!(2) This, too, is our answer to the cry of the worldly. However blind men may be to the fact, however incapable of reading the signs of the times, assuredly the course of human history proclaims "the morning cometh"; the morning of a day which shall reveal the falseness of every mode of life which involves forgetfulness of God; the morning of a day when every heart unconsecrated to God shall declare its dissatisfaction, and when every cherished lust of wrong shall reveal its insatiable appetite, by the cry, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."(3) And this is the message of the Church to the agonised: "The morning cometh" of the day when the wounds of humanity shall be forever healed; when the sorrow of men shall be turned into joy. We see signs of this already, in the present amelioration of man's condition which Christianity produces.(4) And in the brightness of that morning, which many signs proclaim cometh for the world, the hopeful shall find all, and more than all, for which their hearts have ever yearned, and more than all of which their imagination ever dreamed.

2. But alas! if it be true that the morning cometh, it is not less necessary that we should add, "and also the night." The dawning of the day of Christ will leave some in profounder darkness.

3. Therefore, we close with the urgent personal appeal of the prophet: "If ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come." Let this be the commencement of an earnest inquiry as to the claims Christianity, and we do not fear for the result. Let the value of the world be estimated, and compared with the value of the favour and the life of God; and there can be but one issue. Let this be the day of earnest seeking for the light, the peace and the pardon of God; and the agony of a troubled heart and the burden of a guilty conscience shall be taken away, and the spirit shall know the life and liberty of Christ Jesus. "Inquire ye," and in this truth as it is in Jesus ye shall find all you need.

(T. Stephenson.)

II. EXHIBIT THE LESSONS WHICH IT TEACHES; or, apply it to the friends and the foes of God.

1. We have an illustration of the conduct of a taunting world; a world often disposed not to reason, but to make derision of religion; a world always finding occasions, in some peculiar state of the Church, or in some aspect of religion, for the exhibition of irony or scorn.

2. We have in the response of the watchman, "The morning cometh," an illustration of the times of light and prosperity in the Church destined to succeed those of calamity. We may apply it to the individual Christian in the midst of calamity. Thus, too, it is of the Church universal. In her darkest hours, it was true that brighter days were to dawn. So it is now. The night of sin is to be succeeded by a long bright day. There is one thing only that is certain in the future history of this world — its conversion to God and to the true religion.

3. In like manner we have an illustration of a third important fact — the night of calamity that is coming on a sinful and scoffing world.

4. There remains one other idea. That is, if you — the despiser — will inquire in a humble manner; if you will come with proper reverence, and will turn from your sins, light will stream along your path; and the sun of prosperity will ride up your sky, and pour down his noontide radiance upon you also.

( A. Barnes, D. D.)

1. He occupied vantage ground. He was selected for the office; placed in an appropriate position — where, unhindered, he could carry on his observations.

2. He possessed knowledge of the ground he surveyed a mere enthusiast would not do, nor a novice, nor an enemy; a patriot would be the best, with a clear head and a warm heart.

3. He would expect implicit obedience to his cries. If he said "All well!" people might rest; if, "To arms!" people must be up. Apply these points to the office of the Christian ministry.

II. THE INQUIRER OF THE WATCHMAN AS TYPICAL OF THE ANXIOUS SEEKER AFTER SALVATION.

1. He was painfully conscious of the darkness. Every awakened sinner feels the darkness of ignorance, and danger, and guilt, and wonders what of the night — how, and when will it end?

2. He was anxiously desirous of the light. The anxious seeker after salvation longs for the Light of the world — the light of the glorious Gospel to shine into his heart.

III. THE ANSWER OF THE WATCHMAN AS TYPICAL OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE SOUL IN RELIGION.

1. The morning cometh — the morning of day, of newness of life, of glorious opportunity.

2. "Also the night." The day will not last forever, let us work while it is called day.

(F. W. Brown.)

II. And the fact is, the world realises this; for note as the next thought we deduce from the passage, THAT IN THE MIDST OF THIS COMMON NIGHT, ENVELOPING BOTH CHURCH AND WORLD, THE WORLD TURNS TO THE CHURCH FOR LIGHT. It is very suggestive that in the general pressure of the general gloom the Edomite is represented as appealing to the Jew, a representative of the Jewish God., Was there none to consult nearer home? Where were the seers of Idumea? Through all ages the principle is the same. Ever, in the midst of the cloud that surrounds us all, the world puts its questions to the Church. Sometimes, indeed, the question is ironical. Sometimes it is curious. Often, however, the question is earnest.

III. And thus we come up to the next plain lesson, THAT WHEN THE WORLD QUESTIONS THE CHURCH, THE CHURCH MUST BE READY TO ANSWER. That implies —

1. That the Church has an answer to give. It is conceivable that, in some cases, professing Christian men may have no answer. When the question comes, they are nonplussed; it embarrasses, puzzles them. What is the reason? With one class, want of perception of the difficulty. And for another class, the reason may be that, while feeling the pressure of the difficulty, they have not obtained a solution for themselves. Wherefore, when face to face with the world's questions, let us see to it that we have material for an answer.

2. And let us give the answer we have. Let the possession of truth be followed by the communication of it, as often as opportunity arises.

IV. And yet, let it always be remembered that WHILE THE CHURCH SHOULD BE READY TO ANSWER THE WORLD'S QUESTIONINGS, THE NATURE OF THE ANSWER MUST BE CONDITIONED BY THE MORAL STATE OF THE QUESTIONER. Look once more at the prophet. So long as the attitude of Edom is an attitude of general inquiry, the prophet has only a general statement. "The morning cometh," he says, "and also the night." It is when this attitude of general inquiry passes into the attitude of personal repentance, that he promises a personal and particular revelation corresponding. "Cleanse your hearts," he says, "reform your ways, turn to the Lord, and then come back again, and I will tell you more." And here we turn from the duty and responsibility of those that are questioned to the spirit and character of those that question them. You ask if sorrow will pass, doubt dissolve, providence unfold itself, Scripture become plain, heaven be won. Our answer is, "Yes — in the experience of some"; whether in your experience we cannot say, until we know more. If yours is the sensitive conscience, the tender heart, the submissive will, if you sorrow for sin, if you turn to righteousness, if you cleave to God, then we can tell. For you the night is departing, but if the night is not vanishing in your own heart, it is useless, it is trifling, to ask how the night goes elsewhere. How apt are some men to divert attention from the state of matters within by directing it to the state of matters without — the prospects of neighbours, the words of Scripture, the controversies of the Church, the mysteries of Providence! He who will know of the doctrine must do the will.

(W. A. Gray.)

1. That you may see that both these answers to the question which the world and the Church have so long been asking are true, and in what sense they are true, let us consider how far St. Paul's answer to it has been fulfilled; whether the day which he foresaw did not really come, but also whether this day was not followed by a night and the promise of its dawn overcast. When he stood on his watchtower and surveyed the horizon, he had much reason to believe that the night of heathenism was far spent; that the day of the Lord, the day on which Christ would take to Himself His great power and rule in all the earth, was close at hand. But as we look back on the period to which he looked forward with such confident hope, we can see that the end was not yet, although it seemed so near; that, though a morning came, a night came also. The apostolic day, or age, was hardly over before the night came rushing back; and in a few centuries the dogmas and superstitions, the vices and crimes, of heathenism were to be found in the very Church itself, where, alas, too many of them still linger. Yet even in "the dark ages there was a remnant who had light in their dwellings, and did not altogether lose hope. And when the day of the Reformation dawned on Europe, Luther and his compeers had little doubt that the true day of the Lord had come at last, that a light had arisen which would speedily renew the face of the earth. And a day had come, but not the great day of Christ. The end was not even yet. Over its larger spaces, even Europe still lies in darkness, the darkness of superstition, or sensuality, or indifference; while in Africa, Asia with its teeming millions, and South America, we can discern only distant and twinkling points of light which are all but lost in the surrounding darkness. So that when we in our turn ask, "Watchman, what of the night? Is it almost gone? Will it soon pass?" we, too, can often hear none but the old reply, "If a morning is coming, so also is a night." We try to hope, but the verdict of history is against us. Analogy is against us. How long it took to make the world! how slowly it was built up, inch by inch, before it was ready for the foot of man! And how intolerably slow is man's growth and development! Reason and experience are against us. Think what the world is like, — how nation makes war on nation, and class on class, how common and unblushing vice is even among those who should be best fortified against it by education and position, how much of our virtue is but a prudent and calculating selfishness! Think how hard we ourselves know it to be to wean even one heart from selfishness and self-indulgence, and to fix it in the love and pursuit of whatsoever is true and fair, good and kind; how slowly we advance in godliness even when we have the grace of God to help us and are working together with Him! And then tell me whether you must not say, "The dawn may be coming, but as surely as the day comes, the night will come also; many days and many nights must still pass, many alternations of light and darkness must sweep across the face of the earth, before the great day of the Lord can arise and shine upon us."

2. If that be your conclusion I have good tidings for you. The very meaning and message of advent is, that all these mornings and evenings are gradually leading in the day of the Lord; that He is preparing for the coming of His kingdom in the darkness as well as in the light, by every night through which we pass as well as every day, by every disappointment and every postponement of hope as well as by every fulfilment. Many forms of wrong, cruelty, and vice are impossible now which were possible, and even common, before the Son of God and Son of man dwelt among us; nay, even before the Reformation carried through Europe a light by which such deeds of darkness were reproved. The individual man may stand little higher, whether in wisdom or in goodness, than of old; but the number of men capable of high thoughts, noble alms, and lives devoted to the service of truth and righteousness, incomparably larger. The world took long to make, and may take still longer to remake; but its re-creation in the image of God is just as certain as its creation. The darkness of ignorance and superstition may still lie heavily over the larger spaces of the world; but the points of light are rapidly increasing. As we count time, the end is not yet; but as God counts time, the end is not far off.

(S. Cox, D. D.)

(Archbishop Reichel, D. D.)

II. WICKED MEN TAUNTING. The voice from Mount Seir was, "What of the night?" The language is sarcastic and contemptuous. The wicked, instead of sympathising with the good in their sufferings, often treat them with heartless ridicule. The spirit is seen now in various questions that are addressed to the Church.

(1)Where is your superior happiness?

(2)Where are the triumphs of your cause?

(3)Where is your spiritual superiority to other men?

III. THE GREAT GOD SPEAKING TO BOTH. "The morning cometh and also the night."

1. His voice to the good. "The morning cometh." There is a morning for the Church on this earth. There is a morning to the good in eternity.

2. The voice to the wicked. "The night cometh." "Where is Edom now? The night cometh, sinner: the shadows are gathering already," etc.

(Homilist.)

II. "Watchman, what of the night" of SUFFERING AND SORROW? "The morning cometh." "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." "Also the night" — the night of eternal suffering and sorrow.

III. "Watchman, what of the night" of MOCKING AND MYSTERY? "The morning cometh," when the mocking mystery will vanish. "They shall see His face." "Also the night" — "the outer darkness," the black profound, where the soul wanders forever Christless, restless, lost.

IV. "Watchman, what of the night" of SOLITUDE AND SEPARATION? In this world we have never met. Men of science tell us that there are in this universe no two atoms in real contact. "The morning cometh," the morning of meeting for the first time in the never parting of the revelation of God. "Now we see in a mirror darkly," etc. "Also the night," the night of a separation eternal. Let another natural law be traced in this spiritual world. If you took away all contrary and opposing forces from a propelled cannonball, and if you secured a perfect vacuum in boundless space, by vis inertiae, the ball would go on forever. If this is the first law of motion in mechanics, it is as really the first law of motion in the wrath of God on an eternally separated lost soul.

(J. Bailey, M. A.)

I. THE QUESTION in our text. Night is the emblem of ignorance, sorrow, sin, crime, danger, and disaster; as in the natural night there are different degrees of light and shade, of gloom and darkness, so it is with the spiritual night.

II. THE ANSWER. "The morning cometh."

1. To nations.

2. To individuals. It comes to the awakened and accepted sinner in the form of pardon and deliverance from the power and burden of sin and guilt. It comes to others in the form of deliverance from some secret, instinctive, but crushing sorrow, which has pressed the poor heart down for years; which has made them, some from physical and some from spiritual weakness, walk for a long period in gloom and darkness, crying, "Oh! when will it end?"

3. The morning cometh to others in declining years; to the aged, the afflicted, the dying.

4. "And the night cometh," when the long-abused love and compassion, and patience of God shall be at length exhausted; when the plea of mercy shall be exchanged for the penalty of justice, and the shield of the Advocate give way to the sword of the Avenger. It cometh to nations; it cometh to individuals.

(G. Davenport.)

(W. Taylor.)

I. If we adopt the first, we must suppose the Jews to be in captivity and the Edomites prospering, and we know from history that they did prosper during the Babylonish captivity, At that time they got possession of a portion of Jewish territory in southern Palestine, having been permitted to settle there as a reward for their services to the Babylonians during the struggle that preceded the captivity. While occupying this new settlement, their fortunes rose, and in the exuberance of success they retaliated on their now oppressed brethren, as much as to say, You who boasted of being the special favourites of Heaven, where is now your God? Your night of oppression has continued long enough, is there any sign of deliverance? Surely it is time for your God to show His hand! The picture is something like this: On Mount Seir, the highest eminence in the land, the Edomites are convened, elated by their fleeting prosperity; while in a foreign land are the captive Jews, groaning under the yoke of the oppressor, and their watchman or prophet standing on his watchtower, eager to catch the first ray of deliverance. From the one to the other passes the taunting, call, "Watchman, what of the night?" And the watchman returns the reply, "The morning is coming, and also the night. Do not deceive yourselves, ye taunting Edomites, your momentary prosperity will become a night of gloom and our present calamities will be followed by a glorious day. The morning of deliverance will come to the captive Jews, but the night of desolation to the mocking Edomites." The question is still thrown out by the unbeliever with a fling of scorn, "Watchman, what of the night?" "Tell us what progress you are making, etc. There are not wanting in these days men who affect to throw discredit on Christian and missionary effort. Look, say they, how little has been accomplished by these means in the past, and how much remains to be done. Instead of the Gospel, let us try civilisation, the spread of commerce, and the wider diffusion of knowledge, and the morning will soon dawn. Now, if this were so, it would indeed be a serious charge. But what are the facts! Let it he conceded that the visible marks of Christian progress are not overwhelming; at the same time no one who will cast his eyes over the earth can fail to see that the nations most advanced in civilisation and what is called modern culture are also the most Christian.

2. Let us think of the question as being asked in a spirit of anxious inquiry. In this case, the once captive Jews must be regarded as a prosperous people, living in their own land, and the once prosperous Edomites as an oppressed People. In their distress they cry to those whom they previously mocked. But their cry has a different meaning now that the tables have been turned. "What of the night" now means an earnest desire to know how long their calamities are likely to last. As if they had said, It has been a night of dire adversity with us, tell us, you who are a watchman in Zion, is that night nearly past? We have suffered much, and are longing for relief. Are our sufferings nearly at an end? If this view is adopted, it is still a question addressed by the world to the Church; no longer, however, in mockery, but in a spirit of anxious inquiry. There do come times in the history of godless nations and individuals, when, in the midst of trouble, they are constrained to pay homage to the Church, and call upon her for advice. There are in the Bible several instances of the wicked consulting God's ministers in times of calamity. And have we not seen examples of men calling on God in the hour of calamity, who never bowed a knee to Him in the hour of their prosperity! When such a question is asked with a true motive, that of itself is an indication to the watchman that the morning is coming. It is the duty of the spiritual watchman to declare to the people the whole counsel of the King, to discern wisely the signs of the times, so as to be able to impart the needed instruction.

II. THE CHURCH'S REPLY, whether the question is asked by way of taunt or in an earnest spirit. In either case, the inquirer is assured that the morning of a glorious deliverance will come to the. oppressed Church, while a night of awful desolation will fall upon her foes.

1. This prophecy was unmistakably fulfilled in the after history of the Edomites. The morning did come, as the watchman said, and for a short period the Edomites were a flourishing people in the land of Seir; but they refused to inquire, they did not return, they wandered further from the path of righteousness, and the long night of desolation overtook them. The prophecy regarding it, in Isaiah 34:12, 13, has been literally fulfilled. And this is the inevitable doom of those who will not improve the day of their merciful visitation — "the night cometh."

2. But while the watchman's message to the enemies of the Gospel is one of woe and warning, he has a message of encouragement to the people of God. "The morning cometh." Night and morning! Unlike air, and yet they go hand in hand. What will be morning to some will be night to others.

3. Yet again, the watchman says, "If ye will inquire, inquire ye." Addressed originally to the inquiring Edomites, the words still apply to their modern successors whether they put their questions in jest or in earnest. The inquiring spirit here meets with no rebuff, for it is a healthy sign. History records instances of men who studied the Christian evidences in order to refute them, and ended by becoming devoted Christians. Religion, so far from shunning investigation, rather invites it. And if there is a sure solution of his -perplexities awaiting the critical investigator, there is also an answer that will satisfy the inquirer after salvation.

4. There is another class of persons to whom the watchman's commission extends. To them he says, "return" — a word which may he taken to refer to backsliders.

5. The text contains one other word — a word of encouragement to all. This word is, "come"; a word that Jesus, when on earth, was never weary of uttering, and which He has left behind Him as the Church's invitation call to Gospel privileges.

(D. Merson, M. A. , B. D.)

(D. March, D. D.)

(W. A. Gray.)

(Dean Patter, D. D.)

(T. Adams.)

1. Atheists: such as have voluntarily, violently, extinguished to them. selves the sunlight of the Scripture, moonlight of the creature, nay, the sparks and cinders of nature, that the more securely, as unseen and unhidden of their own hearts, they might prodigally act the works of darkness

2. Epicures: that deny not a God and a day of judgment, but put it far off (Amos 6:3), with, Give me the present, take thou the hope of future joys.

3. Libertines: that neither affirm no night, nor put it far off, but only the strength of sin prevails over all; and, come sorrow, death, grave, hell, they must have their pleasures.

4. Common profane persons: that will suffer themselves to wear God's livery, though they serve the devil.

(T. Adams.)

II. However discouraging the aspect of things may, in many points, appear, "THE MORNING COMETH" — a day of unprecedented brilliancy and joy, when the kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven shall be given to the Son of man, and when, emancipated from the strife and turmoil of incessant wars, and enjoying and exhibiting a foretaste and emblem of the heavenly state, the rest of Zion shall be glorious.

III. WE MUST REJOICE WITH TREMBLING, FOR WHILE THE MORNING COMETH, THERE COMETH ALSO THE NIGHT. When the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion shall have come, it will be a night to her adversaries and oppressors; but to Zion herself it will be a bright and glorious day.

(R. Buchanan, D. D.)

II. A watchman ought to be SAGACIOUS AND QUICK-SIGHTED. A simpleton, or a blind man (Luke 6:39), would be altogether unfit for a watchman. He could neither descry the enemy as he approached the city, nor penetrate his mischievous designs, nor alarm the citizens of the impending danger. The ministers of Christ are accordingly represented in the Revelation as "full of eyes"; and they have need of all the eyes ascribed to them, that they may take heed to themselves, and watch over others.

III. VIGILANT. An indolent and sleepy watchman is a most dangerous officer in a city, especially in a period of warfare. For, while men sleep, the enemy may occupy the gates, or mount the walls. The ministers of Christ ought to be very vigilant in watching over the people; and other officers are to exert themselves in watching along with them. For, "while men sleep," the enemy sows his tares of error, of heresy, and division.

IV. SPIRITED. A spirited watchman, ever upon the alert, to detect the disorderly, and to suppress them in their first appearances, is an eminent blessing in his station. By the spirited exertions of an active watchman, much disorder and tumult in the streets of a city may be prevented, especially during the night. So ought the minister of Christ to display a firm and spirited determination to suppress disorder and vice of every kind, although it should cost him much trouble, and the strife of tongues against him, in accomplishing his object. It is also part of the constitutional duty of every good citizen, to assist the watchman, by all the means in his power, to suppress riot, and check the unruly. Let private Church members attend to this.

V. Watchmen ought to be STEADY. They are to occupy their station, to maintain their post, and in no instance to neglect their duty. The ministers of Christ, in like manner, are to "be steadfast, unmovable," etc. (1 Corinthians 15:58). They are "to watch, to stand fast in the faith, to quit themselves like men and to be strong."

VI. Watchmen are to be COURAGEOUS. A coward would, of all others, be a most unfit person for a watchman, especially in the night, and when the enemy was at the gates. Such ought unquestionably to be a prominent qualification of the minister of Christ, and of all who bear rule in the Church along with him. A trimming, truckling, temporising humour, to please men, and a dread of giving offence in the discharge of positive duty, is altogether unsuitable to the condition of those whose chief attention is to please and honour God.

VII. Watchmen are to be FAITHFUL. They are neither to betray their trust, by conniving with the disorderly, nor to expose the city, by keeping silence, while they perceive danger approaching. This part of the watchman's character may be often perverted, as, indeed, what part of it may not? Men may make a great noise and parade about being faithful and honest, who, in truth, have nothing so much at heart, as to gratify their own vanity, interest, pride, humour, or favourite plans of action. But the faithfulness intended by this particular chiefly respect? plain and honest dealing with the consciences of men. The faithful servant of the Lord is to warn the transgressor of the error of his ways, and of the danger of persisting in error.

VIII. Watchmen are to be FRANK IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE, either to inform the citizen of the hour of the night, or to guide him on his way. The watchmen of the Old Testament gave the time of night under that dispensation, and laid themselves out to collect every information (1 Peter 1:11). The watchmen of the New Testament are to continue the inquiry into the mind of the Spirit; that they may tell what of the night — what is the part of prophecy which applies to the present times — and what the signs of the breaking light of the coming glory. Such is a very tender and useful department of the spiritual watchman. He is to guide the bewildered — to encourage and protect such as apprehend themselves in danger — and to tell them, to the best of his information, concerning the Friend of sinners.

(W. Taylor.)

II. The Christian man has MUCH IN HIS OWN HISTORY THAT SPEAKS OF THE NIGHT, and yet there is morning there too.

III. The Christian man sees that IN NATIONS WHERE THE PURE GOSPEL OF CHRIST PERVADES THE PEOPLE, WE HAVE THE HOPE OF THE WORLD.

IV. THE CHRISTLESS MAN MAY ASK, "WHAT OF THE NIGHT?" as well as the Christian.

(W. M. Statham.)

II. How will the inquiry of our text apply to ISAIAH'S TIME? It was indeed for the chosen people a time of darkness. The Jews were captives in Babylon. Isaiah had a grander vision and saw another morning. He saw the breaking day, and told of the advent of the promised Messiah, who was to be the light and the glory of the world. The vision which Isaiah saw we also are permitted to see. We see the complete fulfilment of many of the predictions of the prophet. And there are the signs, which will not fail, that his grandest visions will be realised.

III. How will this inquiry, "Watchman, what of the night?" apply to our OWN TIMES?

1. Glance for a moment at the progress that has been made in our times in science and in art.

2. Ours has been a time of moral progress.

3. The religious progress of the world is remarkable.

4. All around us are signs of improvement.

IV. How will this inquiry, "Watchman, what of the night?" apply to OURSELVES PERSONALLY?

1. There is the night of scepticism, or partial scepticism, in which some are involved. To the earnest and sincere inquirer the response must be, "The morning cometh,"

2. There is a night of worldliness. For the worldly the morning waiteth. Christ stands at the door and knocks. He is the light and the life of men.

3. There is a night of penitential sorrow. For every awakened, penitent, and believing one the morning cometh.

4. There is the night of suffering. The morning cometh, when the wounds of the sorrowing shall be healed, and when their sorrow shall be turned into joy.

5. The Christian worker may sometimes inquire, "Watchman, what of the night?" Learn to labour faithfully and to wait.

6. While the morning cometh for all who willingly hear and obey the Gospel, the night also cometh for the disobedient and unbelieving.

(D. D. Currie.)

2. But looking at the dark night of heathendom in answer to the question, What of the night? it is scarcely possible to present its condition in colours that are too dark. We speak of the wickedness of our home population, and bad enough it is; but if you remember how much is done to discourage it; how a healthy public opinion rebukes it; how Christianity grapples with it, and creates an atmosphere which is inimical to its existence, so that those who practise it are made to feel ashamed; and when you consider, on the other hand, how in many parts of heathendom wickedness is actually deified, how the very gods they worship are incarnations of vice, and personifications of every evil passion; how in many instances licentiousness and cruelty are enjoined as part of their religious rites, — when you think of all that, you can understand that the wickedness at home is nothing compared with that which exists in heathen lands. To some minds the most affecting consideration of all is the dishonour done to the Almighty by their religious beliefs and ceremonies.

3. But is the Gospel an appropriate remedy for the evils of which we speak? You want the world to be brought back to God, and nothing but the Gospel of Christ will suffice for that. Let men say what they will, the world is not today what it was when Christianity dawned upon it. Then it was wrapt in total darkness — a darkness that might be felt. Now the light of the Gospel is penetrating the darkest parts of the earth, and many nations of the world are being permeated with and moulded by the influence which it exerts. Moreover, it is advancing.

4. When the Church enters on her work with the zeal and enthusiasm which it ought to excite; when she drains her resources, and strains every nerve to secure success; when she prays, and labours, and toils for it; when she gives the bulk of her property to it; when she sends out her noblest sons, and puts forth her best energies, then, perhaps, she may begin to talk about expecting the conversion of the world! Think of what Christ has done for you, and then bestir yourselves to take an active interest in this stupendous work, and to make some sacrifices for its extension.

(W. Landels, D. D.)

1. Where? Where should a people inquire, but at their God? (Isaiah 8:19, 20).

2. How? With humility, reverence, and desire of knowledge.

3. When? In the morning of thy years. The devil is a false sexton, and sets the clock too slow, that the night comes ere we be aware. Tarry not, then, till your piles of usuries, heaps of deceits, mountains of blasphemies, have caused God to hide Himself, and will not be found. There is a sera nimis hora, time too late, which Esau fell unluckily into, when "he sought the blessing with tears, and could not find it."

II. RETURN from your sins by repentance.

III. COME home to God by obedience.

(T. Adams.)

(Dean Farrar, D. D.)

     4918   dawn

Isaiah 21:1-17

     1421   oracles

Isaiah 21:11-12

     4954   morning

In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Cæsar and under the Pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas - a Voice in the Wilderness
THERE is something grand, even awful, in the almost absolute silence which lies upon the thirty years between the Birth and the first Messianic Manifestation of Jesus. In a narrative like that of the Gospels, this must have been designed; and, if so, affords presumptive evidence of the authenticity of what follows, and is intended to teach, that what had preceded concerned only the inner History of Jesus, and the preparation of the Christ. At last that solemn silence was broken by an appearance, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Letter Xlii to the Illustrious Youth, Geoffrey De Perrone, and his Comrades.
To the Illustrious Youth, Geoffrey de Perrone, and His Comrades. He pronounces the youths noble because they purpose to lead the religious life, and exhorts them to perseverance. To his beloved sons, Geoffrey and his companions, Bernard, called Abbot of Clairvaux, wishes the spirit of counsel and strength. 1. The news of your conversion that has got abroad is edifying many, nay, is making glad the whole Church of God, so that The heavens rejoice and the earth is glad (Ps. xcvi. 11), and every tongue …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament