Church Postil (sermons on the Gospel & Epistle lessons)

Xo this day, in reg'ard to the pr<*aditiio^ of Christ aud tlte Gvospel. Soisre ^acceptit, and are enlightened; others, the j>Teiiter portion, condenni it as error, and turn aAvay from it. For this reason it is, tkat they are over- ^vhehned in their mibelief | the Gospel is no h;T);»er proclaimed oi' preached to them^ -nor are tfney disposed to •liear it: andfience tl?ey mugt, indeefl, be covered up?again«t tjh-e rising' '(yf this light.

No one shonM be astonished at l^is. The Scri[)tnre i« nnchanrgea^le: — ''^n^arkness sharl>cover the earth, and vgross darkness ^le people*'' If this ^vRs the case ^^^'t!li?the cliosen people, the Jews, the natnTal seed of Abialiani; how much more may it be tlie •case with us heathens, descendants from another blood and nature. We ^see even now, that no one is alloAved to preach to them any thing that the Poi)e. aud the papists have condemned; they will not tolerate it. Thereof ore they lenniin covered up in their ^darkness; they have their own preadbing, with which they prot-ect and coii- -ceai their own blindness; and it ha|)- ^>ens to them as they wi^, like it did Ho the Jev/s.

'" And tlie Geatiles shall come feo thy light, aud Kings to the brightuess of thy •3-i>in<r."

When the grtrnt^r part of the Je^'^s were unwilling to gi'^^e place for the 'iruits of the G ospel, and continued in their blindness, — it could not exist without fiiiit, — it broke forth in all the world, and gathered in the Gentiles. This is what Isaiali says here, ^nd it is cIcMir in itself from the ful- 'tillment. For the heathen nations embra<ied < liristianity, and walked in Christ, the true h^ht, t3arough genuine faith. 'I'his fruit so inx^reased ithat even kings, the mo^t exalted on ^»«;rth, humbled themselv^^s under this faith. This (drttumstance was revealod, la ©rdei* that preachers might not h'Q pufted up when they convert kings or any one else, as if they had a<^complished it themselves. God foresaw it all, caused it to be revealed, and promised the Gospel besides.

This declaration of Isaiah had a vigofou)j sway in former times-, when inany of noble lank and i)ositioii ^^mong the Gentiles embraced Christianity. Now, however, they are so iperverted by the Turks snd the Pope, t^iat this deehiration seems to have little eilect; and, strange to say, even other heathen nations have been per- ^'erted by them. But it is revealed, that Antichrist shall mislead all the woi'ld, that Christ restored.

But what is implied by the phrase^ "To the brightness of thy rising.'^ He styles Christ the glory or brightness of the rising, tiiat is, of the Gospel, because the Gospel will be continually enforced and preached, so that it will always be rising up against human doctrines which are^ in the highest degree, dangerous to kings and those in 4iigh places. Upon these the <evil Spirit seizes first with his i)er\^i^ons and human doctrines, and having these, he can easily dra^ along mth them the oommon, illiterate Brasses. In this way, the Pope first seized upon the kings and princes, and with them the masses. This he could Mot have accomplished, had the Gos|>el continued to rise; nor wa« any such thing ejected, when it first arose. But now dt is set, aiid human do<:'trines have ai^sen. Here, 5io on© walks in God's Irght.

'* Lift ^p thine eyes round about, and see: alJl they gatlier themselves together-^ they come to thee: thy sons shall conio from afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side."

to enumerate th« are converted to the faith. And from the fact that he calls upon Jerusalem t© lilt up her eyes round about, and see, it is easy to i)erceive that he i« speaking of si)iritual sons and daughtersi, men and women who beli*e vein Christ; and hence, too, their cominrg and asfsembling mnst be understood in a spiiituai manner. They did not literally come to Jerusalem, but they believed in that light which had arisen upon her, and which was round about her, with their hearts and spirits. For no one (;an come to this light, by means of his feet; else, all those at Jerusalem would have been enlightened. The greater part of them, how-

Here he begins cx)untries, in which Gentiles

*ever, remained in blindness and darkness, as already stated.

^ow, if the light is spiritual, the conclusion forces itself upon us, that the children, the coming and assembling are also spiritual. But for the force of this conclusion, we would have to understand the children and the assembling, not in a spiritual, but in a real, ijhysical sense, as the words literally imply. But now, since 4;he light is spiritual, the coming and the assembling must be spiritual; so, too, the children must be spiritual. For the natural children and seed of Abraham, did not, in consequence of the fact that they were of his flesh and blood, come to this light, but, be- •€ause they were his spiritual children; as it is stated in the preceding Epistle.

The phrase, ^*Thy so®s shall come from afar," also indicates tliat reference is had to spiritual children from,amoU;g the heathens. The apostles, Peter and Paul, speak of thelieathens as being far off, and of the Jews as 3)eing near. Eph. 2, 13: " Ye who rsometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ;" again, v. 17: '**Came and preached i^eace to you 'VNhich Avere afar off, and to ^em that ^ere nigh." The reason for such rei^- Tesentation seems to be tiiis: The Jews had the la w and the promises of Ood concerning 'Christ, and the heathens did not have them. IS^ow, since the heathens neither are nor can l>e the natural children of Abraham, or Jerusalem, and Isaiah still sj^eaks of them here, he must certainly have x^ference to spiritual children.

In like manner, the Jerusalem,* ^^hich fee admonishes to lift up her «yes and see, is not the material or natural Jerusalem,^ — the natural Je- Tusalem is not the mother of these children, but a murderess of the mother and children and father, — but, it is the spiritual mother j that is, the as- «embl3' of the Apostles and all holy Christians of the Jewish nation, which 'assembly is the Christian Church; and it is called Jerusalem, because it >arose and assembled in that city, and theuce extended throughout the world.

* B. Or the Jewish nation.

There had to be some special place or location in the world, for the beginning of the Gospel and Christianity. This took place in Jerusalem, in the midst of the worst enemies of th« Gospel and Christianity.

Xow, the design of Isaiah seems to be this: Look round alxjut thee, upon ti^e four quarters of tlu' world; vso great and broad will I make thee, that thou shalt be ki all the world, and thy children shall dwell everywiiere. All these w^erds were designed to console the first Christians at Jerusalem, in consequem*e of the fact that their number was small and tlipy were despised, as w^ll as in the midst of their enemies, who should have been their best friends; as it follows m this same chapter of Isaiah. It seemed foolish for sotsniall a band to undertake a matter so great and novel, and to raise itself up in ()i)positioii to suck overwhelming masses.

The Jews thought they would soon exterminate them, and check their efforts; they «commenced their work of slaughter, persecution, and expulsion!, everywhere, presuming that it vrould be an easy matter to root out thest poor, impotent people. Fool-like, they did not see that in this way they fanned the fire already enkindled, and scattered it throughout the world.— Their raging and raving only contributed the more to the fulfillment of this declaration of Isaiah and of the will of God, against themselves. By means of this persecution, Christiana were driven into all the world, and the Gospel was extended, so that everywhere tbe sons and daughters of Jerusalem v-ere gathered to this lights

It is in every respecrt characteristic of divine mastershi]) to accomplish an object most successfully, through the instrumentality of an enemy. Even by their raging to exterminate the word and people of God, persons exterminate themselves, and only perpetuate the word and people of God ^ so that it is advantageous?ind profitable to have|enemies and persecutors, for the sake of the l^tilh and word of God. Incalculable oonsohitions and advantages result from these. In re- *gard to this, it. is said, Ps; 2, 1: *' Why

*lo the lieathen rage, aud the people imagine a vain thing'' against Christ! As if he shoukl any, Tliev strive and rage to exterminate liim, Avithout seeing that, in this way, they even fitrengthen him.

Thus too, here, Isaiah says to his beloved Jerusalem: Fear not, grieve not, east not your eyes down, but lift them up joyfully, and look round about; be not misled by the fact that your nearest relatives are your worst enemies, that they seek to exterminate you, and regaid you as too mean to dwell in their midst; let them rush till and go. AVhere they kill one of you, a thousand shall rise in his i>laee. If tliej^ drive one of you away, lie jshall bruig many thousands in return. If they extinguish the Gospel at one place, it will rise at ten other places, until, independent of their thanks and •consent, you shall have sons and daughteivs every wherein place of those who shonkl be your sons and daughters, and who are your enemies; so that you shall ultimately be strengthened and multiplied, and they sliall be diminished and exterminated; the evil designs which they wished to heap u})on you, shall fall on them, and you shall ou]i)y what they begrudged you. AVe clearly perceive li;)w ail tills was accomi)iished and fullilled.

" Then thou sbalt see, and flow tosethfir, and tliinc heart shall fear, ar»d be enhifged: because the abundance of th^> sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall cooie unto thee."

By " the abundance of the sea,'' we must unch'rstand isere, not its natural watei', but t\w. country lying and the j)eo])le dwelling along the sea; precisely a.s we migbt say in regard to the Kiiine, that the wiioie Khine has risen up, that is, the country and the peoi)le on the llhine. It is customary in the 8cri[)tui'es, altliough there are many and various seas, to call tin^ iMediterranean sea, the Sea, without any surname; whilst the lied sea is designated l)y its surname.

(ieograpluTS call tlie Mediterranean siea by that name, because it lies in tkfd iiMddle of the country, nsing froni the West; on its left are Spain^ France, Italy, Greece, and Asia, an far as Sicily; on the right, Africa and Egypt, as far as Palestine. Thus it is touched on both sides by great and powerful countries and nations, and it is full of islands, as Candia, Khodes,. Cyprus; now, for the most part, under the control of the Turks. The Mediterranean sea is called in the Scriptures the Sea; and the Jewish country lies on the West; Palestine at the end of the sea, and the Jewish countrj^ touches Palestine on the East.

Now the people on this sea, and especially those on the left side, are called by the general name, Gentiles, in the Scriptures. Those on the right side and towiirds the East are designated in the Scriptures by particular names. To these Gentiles we belong* and all who live towards the North* on the left side of the sea. Hence» St. Paul, 2 Tim. 1, II, and in other places, calls himself, ''A preacher and an a])ostle of the Gentiles." To this section of the country on the left sid« of the sea he i)reached and addressed all his Epistles, not having gone beyond the sea, on the right.

To these Gentiles Isaiah refers, when he says, ''Tlie abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall couie unto thee." The abundance of the sea and the forces of the Gentiles are the same tiling; and he shows himself, that we jaust not urideistand water by the abundance of the sea, but people.

Thus too, *' Forces of the Gentiles'* does not mean their strength or power. Of what a^lvantage would these be in the Church t But it has reference to the great multitudes. We are in the habit of saying in regard to a great (piantity of money. Here is a ])ower otiiioney; that is, a great pile of money. So heie the forces of the (Jentiles, tliat is, a great mass or multitude of Gentiles. We also call a h)r<l mighty, when he has a great countiy, much land and many i)eoi>le.

This deciaration of Isaiah was fullilled foi- the most jiart through th<ft instrumentality of St. Paul, our apostle. Through his preiiching the abuu*