Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them, Sermons
I. THE MEMORY OF GOD. If God is thought of, as he must be thought of, after the analogy of human experiences, he must be thought of as remembering, calling the past to mind, and as undergoing changes of mind in consequence. These are ways of representing first to thought, then in language, an infinite love, which must be capable of all the scale and gamut of feeling - anger, wrath, jealousy, and the revulsion almost to the tenderness of tears. So in the wilderness, he, being full of compassion, forgave the iniquity of the rebels in the wilderness, turning his anger away, because he remembered that they were flesh, or but as the passing wind; he called to mind his covenant; he repented according to the multitude of his mercies (Leviticus 26:45; Psalm 78:39; Psalm 106:45). In the history of Israel there was nothing more memorable than the coming up out of Egypt, and the leadership of Moses and Aaron. II. THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL EXPLAINED FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The outward wonders, the deeds of might, were but the manifestation of an inward waking of his Spirit in the breast el the people. A Spirit of instruction, of "providential guidance and sagacious government" - "Thy good Spirit to instruct them" (Nehemiah 9:20). A holy light seemed in the retrospect to rest upon that period. It was said that the people "served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived Joshua," for "they had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel." The next generation knew not the works of the Lord, nor the works he bad done for Israel (Joshua 24:31; Judges 2:6-10). The Spirit of Jehovah appears to mean much the same as the face of Jehovah above (cf. Exodus 33:14; Haggai 2:4, 5; cf. Numbers 11:10-30). The term "holiness" reminds of the covenant, and the covenant of the obligations of fidelity on the part of the people, in response to the oath-keeping of God. Another image, almost carrying the same meaning, is that of the "arm of Jehovah's splendour" (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 45:1), ready to support Moses, to hold him up from falling (Isaiah 41:10-13). Then the sublime picture of the crossing of the Red Sea rises up in imagination (Exodus 14:21; cf. Psalm 106:9; Psalm 77:16), and the wide and dreary steppe. Finally, as a herd goes down from the mountain-side into the pasture-land of the plain, so, under the same guidance, the people came to their rest - a beloved word (Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 3:20; Deuteronomy 12:9; Joshua 1:13; Joshua 22:4; Psalm 95:11; Jeremiah 31:2; Hebrews 4:1, 9). The spiritual sum and substance of all is, "Thus thou didst guide thy people to make unto thyself a monument of glory." By his work he became for ever known among the heathen. It was a work not to be executed by any false god, nor by any human arm. "Egypt was at this time the centre of all science, art, and culture; arid what occurred there would be known in other lands. God designed to make a signal demonstration of his existence and power, that should be known in all lands and should never be forgotten." God's glory is the grand end of all he does, and consequently ought to be likewise of all that we either do or suffer. And whatever, therefore, befalls any man makes for God's glory and for his own good, if he be a child of God. We should learn, then, to estimate things by their use and tendency. Poison may enter into the composition of an antidote; and things essentially good may, under certain circumstances, become pernicious. Prosperity may harden and adversity may humble us; the one may prepare us for judgment, the other for mercy. - J. Then he remembered the days of old. It is possible that the words "Moses" and "His people" are marginal explanations, the former to "shepherd" and the latter to "he": "Then he" (Israel) "remembered the days of old, saying, Where is He" (God)... "with the shepherd of flock" (Moses).... "His holy Spirit within it!" (the flock). () I. A SACRED, LOVING REMEMBRANCE. The people remembered what God did to them. What was it? 1. He gave them leaders. "Where is He that brought them up out of the sea?" etc. Moses and Aaron, and a band of godly men who were with them, were the leaders of the people, through the sea and through the wilderness. We are apt to think too little of our leaders. First of all we think too much of them. We seem to swing like a pendulum between these two extremes. There have been epochs in history that were prolific of great leaders of the Christian Church. No sooner did Luther give his clarion call, than God seemed to have a bird in every bush; and Calvin, and Farel, and Melancthon, and Zwingle, and many besides joined him in his brave protest against the harlot-church of Rome. The Church remembers those happy days, with earnest longing for their return. 2. God put His Spirit within these shepherds. They would have been nothing without it. A man with God's Holy Spirit within him, can anybody estimate his worth? 3. Then there was, as a happy memory for the Church, a great manifestation of the Divine power. "That let them by the right hand of Moses." "The right hand of Moses," by itself, was no more than your right hand or mine; but when God's glorious arm worked by the right hand of Moses, the sea divided, and made a way for the hosts of Israel to pass over. What we want to-day is a manifestation of Divine power. 4. Then there came to God's people a very marvellous deliverance: "That led them,, through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble. Understand by the word "wilderness here, an expansive grassy plain; a place of wild grass and Kerbs, for so it means. And as a horse is led where it is flat and level, and he does not stumble, so were the hosts of Israel led through the Red Sea. God has done so with His Church in all time. Her seas of difficulty have had no difficulty about them. 5. As a blessed ending to their trials, God brought them into a place of rest: "As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord causeth him to rest: so didst Thou lead Thy people. In the desert they rested a good deal; but in Canaan they rested altogether. As the cattle come down from the mountains, where they have been picking up their food, when the plains are fat with grass, and they feed to their full, and lie down and rest, so did God deal with His people. I read it, first, literally as a sketch of Israel's history; next, as a sketch of the Church a history. The same thing has happened to us as individuals. II. AN OBJECT CLEARLY SHINING, like the morning star I see, through the text, God's great motive in working these wonders for His people. 1. It was God who did it all. But then, why had God done all this? Did He do it because of His peoples merits, or numbers, or capacities? 2. God works His great wonders of grace with the high motive of making known to His creatures His own glory, manifesting what He is and who He is, that they may worship Him. III. AN ANXIOUS INQUIRY, which I find twice over in my text. Believing in what God "has done" and believing that His motive "still" remains" the same, we begin to cry, Where as He that brought them up out of the sea with the she herd of His flock?" etc. 1. This question suggests that there is some faith left. "Where is He?" He is somewhere, Then, He lives. 2. The question implies that some were beginning to seek Him. Where is He? 3. It shows that she has begun to mourn over His absence. I like the reduplicated word. "Where is He? Where is He?" Not, "Where is Moses? Where are the leaders? The fathers, where are they? But where is He that made the fathers? Where is He that sent us Moses and Aaron? Where is He that divided the waters, and led His people safely?" Oh, if He were here! One hour of His glorious arm; just a day of His almighty working, and what should we not see? 4. Where is He, then? Well, He is hidden because of our sins. 5. For your comfort, the next verse (ver. 15) tells you where He is. He is in heaven. They cannot expel Him from His throne. 6. "Where is He?" Well, He is Himself making an inquiry; for, as some read the whole passage, it is God Himself speaking. He remembered the days of old, Moses and His people; and when He hid Himself, and would not work in wrath, yet He said to Himself, "Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock?" When God Himself begins to ask where He is and to regret those happier days, something will come of it. () People IsaiahPlaces Bozrah, Edom, ZionTopics Bringing, Early, Flock, Holy, Keeper, Midst, Minds, Putting, Remembered, Remembereth, Saying, Servant, Shepherd, Shepherds, Spirit, WithinOutline 1. Christ shows who he is
2. What his victory over his enemies
7. And what his mercy toward his church
10. In his just wrath he remembers his free mercy
15. The church, in her prayer
17. And complaint, professes her faith
Dictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 63:11 1220 God, as shepherd
3040 Holy Spirit, promise of
7130 flock, God's Isaiah 63:10-11 3110 Holy Spirit, titles of Isaiah 63:10-14 3035 Holy Spirit, presence of
3272 Holy Spirit, in OT
8138 monotheism Isaiah 63:11-12 3030 Holy Spirit, power Isaiah 63:11-14 3263 Holy Spirit, guidance
5857 fame
8129 guidance, examples Library Mighty to Save
'Mighty to save.'--ISAIAH lxiii. 1. We have here a singularly vivid and dramatic prophecy, thrown into the form of a dialogue between the prophet and a stranger whom he sees from afar striding along from the mountains of Edom, with elastic step, and dyed garments. The prophet does not recognise him, and asks who he is. The Unknown answers, 'I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.' Another question follows, seeking explanation of the splashed crimson garments of the stranger, and its answer …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Sympathy of God
'In all their afflictions He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them'--ISAIAH lxiii. 9. I. The wonderful glimpse opened here into the heart of God. It is not necessary to touch upon the difference between the text and margin of the Revised Version, or to enter on the reason for preferring the former. And what a deep and wonderful thought that is, of divine sympathy with human sorrow! We feel that this transcends the prevalent tone of the Old Testament. It is made the more striking …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Winepress and Its Treader
'Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone.'--ISAIAH lxiii. 2, 3. The structure of these closing chapters is chronological, and this is the final scene. What follows is epilogue. The reference of this magnificent imagery to the sufferings of Jesus is a complete misapprehension. These sufferings were dealt with once for all in chapter liii., and it is Messiah triumphant who has filled the prophet's vision since …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture A Mighty Saviour
That he is mighty we need not inform you; for as readers of the Scriptures you all believe in the might and majesty of the Incarnate Son of God. You believe him to be the Regent of providence, the King of death, the Conqueror of hell, the Lord of angels, the Master of storms, and the God of battles, and, therefore, you can need no proof that he is mighty. The subject of this morning is one part of his mightiness. He is "mighty to save." May God the Holy Spirit help us in briefly entering upon this …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 Where is the Lord?
"Then he remembered the days of old Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892 Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Organic and Individual.
"Where is He that put His Holy Spirit among them?" --Isa. lxiii. 11. The subsequent activity of the Holy Spirit lies in the realm of grace. In nature the Spirit of God appears as creating, in grace as re-creating. We call it re-creation, because God's grace creates not something inherently new, but a new life in an old and degraded nature. But this must not be understood as tho grace restored only what sin had destroyed. For then the child of God, born anew and sanctified, must be as Adam was in …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Temporary Hardening.
"Lord, why hast Thou hardened our heart? "--Isa. lxiii. 17. That there is a hardening of heart which culminates in the sin against the Holy Spirit can not be denied. When dealing with spiritual things we must take account of it; for it is one of the most fearful instruments of the divine wrath. For, whether we say that Satan or David or the Lord tempted the king, it amounts to the same thing. The cause is always in man's sin; and in each of these three cases the destructive fatality whereby sin poisons …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Additional Note.
(Passage not easy to identify, p. 390, note 14.) Easy enough, by the LXX. See Isaiah lxiii. 3. kai ton ethnon ouk estin aner met' emou. The first verse, referring to Edom, leads our author to accentuate this point of Gentile ignorance. …
Tertullian—The Five Books Against Marcion The First Thing Suggested at the Very Outset Is...
The first thing suggested at the very outset is, as we have already said (sec. 17-19), that all our prayers to God ought only to be presented in the name of Christ, as there is no other name which can recommend them. In calling God our Father, we certainly plead the name of Christ. For with what confidence could any man call God his Father? Who would have the presumption to arrogate to himself the honour of a son of God were we not gratuitously adopted as his sons in Christ? He being the true Son, …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith The Holy Spirit in the New Testament Other than in the Old.
"By His Spirit which dwelleth in you."--Rom. viii. 11. In order to understand the change inaugurated on Pentecost we must distinguish between the various ways in which the Holy Ghost enters into relationship with the creature. With the Christian Church we confess that the Holy Spirit is true and eternal God, and therefore omnipresent; hence no creature, stone or animal, man or angel, is excluded from His presence. With reference to His omniscience and omnipresence, David sings: "Whither shall I go …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Perea. Beyond Jordan.
"The length of Perea was from Macherus to Pella: the breadth from Philadelphia to Jordan." "The mountainous part of it was mount Macvar, and Gedor," &c. "The plain of it was Heshbon, with all its cities, which are in the plain, Dibon, and Bamoth-Baal, and Beth-Baal-Meon," &c. "The valley of it is Beth-Haran, and Beth-Nimrah, and Succoth," &c. The mention of the mountains of Macvar occurs in that hyperbolical tradition of R. Eleazar Ben Diglai, saying, "The goats in the mountains of Macvar sneezed …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Some Man May Say: "If There be not in the Dead any Care For...
17. Some man may say: "If there be not in the dead any care for the living, how is it that the rich man, who was tormented in hell, asked father Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers not as yet dead, and to take course with them, that they should not come themselves also into the same place of torments?" [2750] But does it follow, that because the rich man said this, he knew what his brethren were doing, or what they were suffering at that time? Just in that same way had he care for the living, …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead. God Seeks Intercessors
"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, keep not silence, and give Him no rest till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."--ISA. lxii. 6, 7. "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor."--ISA. lix. 16. "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered, and there was none to uphold."--ISA. lxiii. 5. "There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession Why Should we not Believe These to be Angelic Operations through Dispensation of The...
16. Why should we not believe these to be angelic operations through dispensation of the providence of God, Who maketh good use of both good things and evil, according to the unsearchable depth of His judgments? whether thereby the minds of mortals be instructed, or whether deceived; whether consoled, or whether terrified: according as unto each one there is to be either a showing of mercy, or a taking of vengeance, by Him to Whom, not without a meaning, the Church doth sing "of mercy and of judgment." …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead. Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Wonderful.
Isaiah ix:6. HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long before Isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord had announced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah. And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel of Jehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah, the Person who …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory His Passion and Crucifixion.
AS all active virtues meet in Jesus, so he unites the active or heroic virtues with the passive and gentle. He is the highest standard of all true martyrdom. No character can become complete without trial and suffering; and a noble death is the crowning act of a noble life. Edmund Burke said to Fox, in the English Parliament, "Obloquy is a necessary ingredient of all true glory, Calumny and abuse are essential parts of triumph." The ancient Greeks and Romans admired a good man struggling with misfortune, …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ Sense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son.
For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Malachy's Pity for his Deceased Sister. He Restores the Monastery of Bangor. His First Miracles.
11. (6). Meanwhile Malachy's sister, whom we mentioned before,[271] died: and we must not pass over the visions which he saw about her. For the saint indeed abhorred her carnal life, and with such intensity that he vowed he would never see her alive in the flesh. But now that her flesh was destroyed his vow was also destroyed, and he began to see in spirit her whom in the body he would not see. One night he heard in a dream the voice of one saying to him that his sister was standing outside in the …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh The Ascension of Messiah to Glory
Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. T he institutions of the Levitical law were a "shadow" or "sketch" of good things to come. They exhibited a faint and general outline …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life A Divine Colloquy Between the Soul and Her Saviour Upon the Effectual Merits of his Dolorous Passion.
Soul. Lord, wherefore didst thou wash thy disciples' feet? Christ. To teach thee how thou shouldst prepare thyself to come to my supper. Soul. Lord, why shouldst thou wash them thyself? (John xiii. 4.) Christ. To teach thee humility, if thou wilt be my disciple. Soul. Lord, wherefore didst thou before thy death institute thy last supper? (Luke xxii. 19, 20.) Christ. That thou mightst the better remember my death, and be assured that all the merits thereof are thine. Soul. Lord, wherefore wouldst …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Links Isaiah 63:11 NIV
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