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Notes on Sermon by G. Campbell Morgan “Christian Citizenship 1: No Abiding City”
I read a sermon by G. Campbell Morgan last night called Christian Citizenship 1: No Abiding City | G. Campbell Morgan. There were several quotes from it I wanted to share. Sometimes when I am studying I make an outline of a sermon or I summarize it, and sometimes I just have time to write down quotes from it. I keep them in a notebook and look at them again later. For this sermon, I will share several quotes with you. This is a sermon about Hebrews 13:14, which says, “For we have not here an abiding city.” Here are the quotes:
“The letter to the Hebrews is a letter written in order to warn men against the specific sin of unbelief. It illuminates for us, therefore, as perhaps no other writing in the Bible does, the true meaning of faith. It reveals the fact that faith is not merely intellectual apprehension and conviction of truth; and shows that faith is the assent (approval, or agreement) of the will, and the yielding of the life, to the claim of the truth of which the mind is convinced. It is the letter, if I may say so, which more than any other writing of the Bible gives Biblical force and warrant to the suggestion of the title of Professor James’s essay, “The Will to Believe”; showing forevermore that belief in its profoundest sense is not conviction merely, but conduct proceeding out of conviction, and harmonizing with the conviction. From beginning to end the writer has but one sin in mind, the sin of unbelief; that is, the sin of refusing to yield obedience to the claim of the truth, when the truth has brought conviction to the mind.”
Remember that Spurgeon said the 3 elements of faith are knowledge, belief, and trust. So we hear information…we gain knowledge. Then, as Christians, we hear the information and believe it to be true…in other words, we feel convicted of the truth of it. And then we place our trust in it. Morgan is here saying that our belief and trust in God results in an assent (or agreement) of our will…which leads to us yielding our life to God…and righteous conduct flows out from that. So you could think of it like this: conviction –> behaviors that harmonize with our conviction. (that’s supposed to be an arrow after conviction) He is emphasizing that faith is not only conviction…but a conviction that leads to obedience. That is saving faith…saving belief…recognizing that what God says is true…and then serving Him as your King. Morgan says that sin of unbelief is refusing to yield obedience to the claim of the truth after the mind has been convicted that what God said is true. So again, saving conviction leads to behaviors that harmonize with our conviction. You can spend time working with imagery for that. You could envision your heart being convicted of the truth of God…feel your heart being transformed…and then beginning to follow in Christ’s footsteps on the pathway to heaven.
Here is the next quote: “The first essential element of the Christian character is the death of self — so easily said, so imperfectly understood, so little realized — the death of self; not the destruction of self, but the death of self, so far as self is a separate personality thinking only of itself and making all outside forces minister to its own well-being and advancement. The Lord Christ begins by saying to men, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself… and follow Me.” That is the central fact of Christian experience, denial of self.
The result in the economy of grace is holiness of character; purity of motive; holiness and righteousness, the two sides of the one great pure Christly character; holiness, rectitude of character; righteousness, rectitude of conduct springing out of rectitude of character. Add to these two things that one inclusive word which has in it the fire of holiness and the passion of self-denial, the great word love. These are the distinctive elements of Christian character.
What is the result wherever these things are realized? A new refinement; life finding self realization according to the original purpose of God through self denial; life set free from all the vulgarities that spoil, and coming into realization of all the refinement and beauty of character which once had its manifestation in human history in the Person of our Lord Christ, the Man of Nazareth. And not refinement only; but that permanence which defies decay, which realizes that the things of past failure are things of no moment; which enables a man to think of death as transition merely, and to challenge the rider upon the pale horse, ‘O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’”
So here Morgan says that the first essential element of the Christian character is the death of self. I think it is correct to think of self in terms of that self is anything in us that is opposed to God…because when you deny yourself…or empty yourself of self…it results in holiness. You are made more and more like Christ. You might have heard it said that we are supposed to be emptied of ourselves and filled with Christ. That is imagery you can use in your meditation time…envision that process taking place of being refined by God and conformed to character of Christ. I thought it was interesting when Morgan said that holiness is rectitude of character and that righteousness is rectitude of conduct springing out of rectitude of character. So that would be…holy character –> righteous conduct. (that’s supposed to be an arrow, too). You can take time thinking about that imagery. You could envision a light energy as holy character is being formed in the heart…and then envision righteous actions springing from that character. What Morgan is emphasizing is the importance of a change of heart. Saving faith results in a heart of stone being changed into a heart of flesh…and then righteous actions spring out of that heart.
Here is the next quote: “Out of our supreme content and rest in God and in His will, arises the restlessness of perpetual protest against everything that is unlike God.”
I posted a hymn on here recently called “Beside the Still Waters with Jesus” by Fanny Crosby – Learning to Live by Faith. The 3rd verse says, “Beside the still waters with Jesus I walk in the glory of noon; His light is the Daystar of gladness that wakens my heart into tune.” We have been talking about the importance of spending time in God’s presence and how that when you do…you will be transformed by it. God makes you more and more like Him…He brings your heart into tune with His. When that happens…you will find yourself more and more in tune with God…and more and more out of tune with the world around you. That’s what Morgan is talking about when he says that out of our rest in God arises a restlessness towards the world around us. So that would be…rest in God –> restlessness with the world. (that’s supposed to be an arrow).
So to summarize…righteous actions should spring out of a saving faith. Once you are saved, you begin to go through the sanctification process…through which your life will be cleansed and transformed and you will be made more like Christ. As this takes place, you become more in tune with God and you begin to see the world around you differently. Earlier in the sermon Morgan explains that, “The presence and work of our Lord in the world was for the creation of these characteristics, and of this character. I go further, and say that the presence and work of our Lord in the world has resulted in the creation of these characteristics and of this character. Dealing with individual men, He communicates the dynamic force which produces the change; and those who are so converted, turned back again to the Divine ideal for humanity, born again, find their life centered no longer in self but in God, and are conscious of the passion for holiness without which no man can see the Lord, and feel within them the thrill and throb and driving of this great eternal life. Those who partake of these characteristics become men and women who are constrained to say, ‘We have not here an abiding city.’ The men of faith are homeless in this world, having no place where they can perfectly rest; having no place where the surroundings are in harmony with the mysterious and mighty forces of their own life, as created by their contact with this Lord Christ Himself.” He says that in this sermon, “We are looking at the ultimate desire, the ultimate passion, of the men of faith. It is a passion for the establishment of the Divine order, or in figurative language, for the building of the city of God.” He says, “We are not fighting to build heaven. The living Lord passed out of sight saying in infinite tenderness and pity and love and compassion to His fearful followers, “I go to prepare a place for you”; and that He will assuredly do. What then is this pilgrimage, what is this warfare? What is the consuming passion of the men of faith? I answer that inquiry superlatively, that I may state it briefly. He has gone to prepare a place for us beyond; our business is to prepare this place for Him.” Earlier in the sermon Morgan said, “The supreme passion of faith is not the selfish desire to win heaven, but the self-emptying desire and devotion to win the earth for God.”
These are the notes I had time to make after reading the sermon last night. I hope it gives you an idea of what the sermon is about. It’s very interesting if you have time to read it. The hymn “Beyond Our Sight” by D. W. Whittle – Learning to Live by Faith talks about the heavenly city and would be helpful to listen to during your meditation time. We are waiting to go to that heavenly city and we are working to prepare this place, this earth for Jesus.
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The Polyvagal Theory: Deactivation and Releasing Action Energy
I have been writing on here about the Polyvagal Theory (fight/flight and freeze) and that I am trying to get out of immobility. I posted a video in this post Voice Note: Talking about collapsed immobility, being able to take in new information, calendar imagery, and anger defined as dissonance – Learning to Live by Faith of an impala getting out of immobility. And in a recent post Chakra Crystals; Imagery of absorbing and processing energy – Learning to Live by Faith, I was writing about compressed, stored energy. It’s like having a balloon full of toxic energy stored inside you. Anything can trigger the energy in that balloon, but you can’t regulate that energy. And that reminded me of a quote by Calvin where he said we carry within ourselves many forms of destruction.
I think what’s happening is that those balloons are holding the energy of incomplete, or not completed, threat responses. So in the video of the impala…I don’t think it shows it…but before the impala went into immobility like that, it would have been running as fast as it could. Then when it realized it was going to be caught, it went limp…and all of that running energy got compressed and stored away. The energy is stored away for safety…so that it won’t hurt the impala…and then the impala wakes up not too long after going into immobility…and starts shaking. It shakes that compressed energy off, and then starts running again.
Fight/flight and freeze responses are intended to be used for something like what happened to the impala – another animal was chasing it. But for people, fight/flight and freeze responses can be triggered by emotional threats, not just physical ones…and the energy can be compressed and then never released. So imagine that the impala went into immobility and then stayed immobile for a very long time…you could see how that would be harmful to the impala…and that the longer it stayed in immobility, the harder it would be to recover from it. And for people whose brains process information this way, of going into fight/flight-freeze over and over…even when there might not be a threat…you can see how that action energy (the energy of the uncompleted response) would get stored again and again. So I have been working with titration for the energy in that balloon…working with it a little at a time…trying to let the steam off of it. I am finding that I am experiencing resistance to releasing that action energy. I think it’s that you are used to it being there…so it changes everything…changes the balance of things to release it. Also, because threat response energy (fight/flight-freeze) can be triggered by emotional stressors, energy would get compressed and locked away when I could not process what happened in an event that happened during the day…or couldn’t resolve it. I would just say, “That didn’t happen” and set the energy aside. I had a response to a certain situation that I couldn’t act out, so I just had to pretend it didn’t happen and keep that energy stored away because I couldn’t adjust to what had happened yet…things happened that changed your life in ways you were not ready for is what I’m trying to say. It doesn’t always have to be from a physical threat…it can be from an emotional one, too. So I’m working on learning how to process life exactly how it happened – not amplified or minimized…just exactly how it happened. Can I feel ok once I see that those things did happen? Can I release that energy now and say that I wasn’t able to resolve things the way I had hoped but I will be ok because my life is in God’s hands? That’s what I’m working on.
So again, action energy is the energy of an uncompleted threat response. That impala had all the energy cued up to keep running, but had to go into a freeze…so that action energy got locked away. When the impala woke up, it had to shake it off. My counselor said that it’s energy that’s all dressed up with no place to go. And you have to release that energy safely. I’m still learning about how to do that…how to go through the deactivation process and will write more about it soon. It helped me process my thoughts to write this out. I hope you found it helpful, too. Basically, I think how it works is that you release the uncompleted action energy…and then live off of life energy…new life energy that flows through you. I might not be saying that right. I have been in a fight-flight-freeze loop for a long time…so I am used to letting the adrenaline of that threat response pull me through the day if that makes sense. But if you can release that stored action energy and learn to live off of regulated life energy…not adrenaline…then you can stay in ventral vagal and be in daily-living mode…which has a healthy, regulated energy that goes with it. I’ll stop here for today and post again sometime soon.
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“Alone with God” by Johnson Oatman Jr.
Hymnal Page Scan: Evening Light Songs page 496 | Hymnary.org
Piano Recording:
1. When storms of life are round me beating,
When rough the path that I have trod,
Within my closet door retreating,
I love to be alone with God.Refrain
Alone with God, the world forbidden,
Alone with God, O blest retreat!
Alone with God, and in Him hidden,
To hold with Him communion sweet.2. What tho’ the clouds have gathered o’er me?
What tho’ I’ve passed beneath the rod?
God’s perfect will there lies before me,
When I am thus alone with God. [Refrain]3. ’Tis there I find new strength for duty,
As o’er the sands of time I plod;
I see the King in all His beauty,
While resting there alone with God. [Refrain]4. And when I see the moment nearing
When I shall sleep beneath the sod,
When time with me is disappearing,
I want to be alone with God. [Refrain] -
“Day by Day In Love and Favor” by Fanny Crosby
Hymnal Page Scan: Gloria Deo: a Collection of Hymns and Tunes for Public Worship in all Departments of the Church 238. Day by day in love and favor | Hymnary.org
Piano Recording:
1 Day by day in love and favor
With my Saviour would I grow;
Day by day of His compassion
More and more I long to know.Refrain:
Day by day to my deliv’rer,
Him who died that I might live;
For His tender, loving kindness
All the glory would I give.2 Day by day to Him who saves me
I would come by faith and prayer;
Nearer to His throne approaching,
I would leave my burden there. [Refrain]3 Day by day with Him who leads me
I would hold communion sweet;
Then, with all the ransomed army,
Bow adoring at His feet. [Refrain] -
“Will You Come to the Cross?” by Fanny Crosby
Hymnal Page Scan: Will You Come to the Cross?
Piano Recording:
1 O burdened soul no longer wait,
But give your wand’rings o’er;
Now humbly kneel at Jesus’ feet
And slight his call no more.Refrain:
Will you come to the cross
Where happy you may be?
Will you come to the cross,
His blood your only plea?
In the cross, blessed cross,
Is pardon full and free;
Will you come, he will save you there?2 Behold a fountain filled with blood,
He opened long ago;
And there your sins, tho’ crimson red,
Shall be as white as snow. [Refrain]3 Behold a straight and narrow path,
That leads to endless day;
O seek it now thro’ Christ the Lord,
There is no other way. [Refrain]4 Then turn to him in simple faith,
Accept his promise true;
And O! believe with all your heart
That Jesus died for you. [Refrain] -
“Beyond Our Sight” by D. W. Whittle
Hymnal Page Scan: Favorite Sacred Songs: containing Solos, Duetts, Quartettes and Choruses for the Church and Home 30. Beyond our sight a city foursquare lieth | Hymnary.org
Piano Recording:
1 Beyond our sight a city four-square lieth,
Above the clouds, the fogs and mists of earth;
And none but souls that Jesus purifieth
Can see its walls, or hear its holy mirth.Refrain:
Beyond our sight, beyond our night,
Beyond this world’s sad story;
That city bright, it stands in light,
The home of all the holy.2 Secure and strong, this heav’nly city builded
By Christ the Lamb for all the blood-wash’d throng,
Gleams fair and bright, with golden glory gilded,
For ever thrilling with triumphant song. [Refrain]3 There, on the throne, the Lamb, once slain is seated,
The Shepherd’s joy upon His holy face;
While countless hosts, their warfare all completed,
In circling bands, lift ceaseless songs of praise. [Refrain]4 O sor’wing souls, beneath earth’s burdens bending,
Lift up your eyes to yonder city fair;
And thro’ your tears let praise be still ascending
For rest, and home, and loved ones waiting there. [Refrain] -
“Beside the Still Waters with Jesus” by Fanny Crosby
Piano Recording of 2 verses of the hymn:
1 Beside the still waters with Jesus
I walk when the morning is new,
His goodness and mercy sustain me,
His grace is as fresh as the dew;
The calm of His presence surrounds me,
I know I have nothing to fear:
I’m safe in the midst of temptation
When Jesus my Savior is near.Refrain:
Beside the still waters He leads me,
Through pastures of verdure so fair,
With heavenly manna He feeds me,
What rapture with mine can compare?2 Beside the still waters with Jesus
I walk in the glory of noon;
His light is the Daystar of gladness
That wakens my heart into tune;
I’m thrilled with His wonderful kindness,
His tender compassion and love,
Oh, when I am walking with Jesus,
I’m nearer the mansions above! [Refrain]3 Beside the still waters with Jesus
I walk at the close of the day,
‘Tis sweet to remember at even
His presence has brightened my way;
Oh, blessed and holy commission,
Upheld by His staff and His rod,
Beside the still waters with Jesus,
I’m journeying homeward to God. [Refrain] -
Chakra Crystals; Imagery of absorbing and processing energy
I have been working on balancing my heart chakra. With the techniques I’ve been using to try to get out of this flare up, they say to pay attention to the words and phrases you use associated with your symptoms. There can be messages or clues in them. I’ve written about how I’m having trouble with acid reflux. I have had trouble with acid reflux over the years as part of having Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Gastroparesis…but I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it as having heartburn. I always thought of it as reflux…and I wrote a post about how I was using the word reflux recently and it made me think of the word influx…and how an influx can lead to a reflux…and how all of that has to do with processing. And about a week ago, for the first time I started thinking of it as heartburn. I think my mind was trying to communicate something to me…a new way of thinking about it that can be helpful. It’s called heartburn because you have pain in your chest but the pain is actually in your esophagus, not your heart. But it does feel like your heart is burning. And that helped me think in terms of my heart energy…it’s burning…in pain…not nourished. So I was listening to heart chakra meditations trying to balance my heart chakra and was having trouble…or feeling resistance to balancing, so I thought I would try getting a set of chakra crystals to see if they would help.
When I got the crystals out of the bag, I immediately felt an energy shift…a balancing of this energy I’ve been trying to work with during the flare up. That was really encouraging. It was like the crystals absorbed some of my energy…and I felt a healing energy flow into my body from the crystals, too. I only know a little bit about using the crystals, but they do absorb people’s energy. And you have to clear the energy out of the crystals regularly. Some people have had the experience of the crystals cracking if they take on too much energy. And that made me think, “That’s what my body is doing!” It clicked. There’s just too much energy…I can’t process it…and I am having trouble clearing it. What I’m trying to say is that feeling the crystals absorb my energy helped me see how my body absorbs energy that is in my environment…and it absorbs too much. I’ve written before that I am a Highly Sensitive Person and am neurodivergent. I did not learn to meditate until I was 29 years old. Up until then, my mind/body was going through the process of absorbing too much energy without clearing it and getting sick. Then I learned to meditate and learned how to process and clear energy. I did really well for about 12 years, and then I started having this flare up. Something connected with, or triggered, unconscious energy…unconscious energy is from when you were 2 years old or younger…which was a time when you didn’t have words to put with things…and you won’t have clear memories of what happened. But it’s during those years that you form the pathways for how you are going to process information for the rest of your life…unless you can learn how to get new pathways. So I’m trying to get my mind to update to the present moment and process this energy with the new pathways I have instead of with the pathways I had when I was little.
So the point I’m trying to make is that now I have a good visual…good imagery…of what I’ve been working with during this flare up. It’s like there is a tank, or balloon, of energy that is holding a lot of toxic energy in it. It has been triggered and all of this stuff has bubbled up and is causing serious symptoms. I am working with titration with this energy and it has been helping…trying to let a little bit of steam off of it at a time…taking things in steps. But when I felt the crystals absorb the negative energy and then almost push back at me with a healing energy…I realized that those healing energies in my body are not as active as they should be. And again, I’m talking as a patient, not a practitioner…so I hope I am explaining it correctly. Peter Levine talks about 2 vortexes…a trauma vortex and a healing vortex. And you need to strengthen the healing vortex in order to be able to get out of the trauma vortex. I might not be saying that correctly. But I think what’s going on for me is that the trauma vortex related to this energy that has been triggered is stronger than the healing vortex. The healing properties in the crystals were very strong. So I am going to keep working with techniques for building capacity and resilience…and working on developing that sense of feeling safe…and see if I can strengthen my healing vortex.
In John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, in the section about Providence, he was writing about how “Though human life is beset with innumerable evils, the righteous, trusting to Divine Providence, feel perfectly secure.” In the 10th paragraph, he writes about that as humans we are beset by many ills/threats in our external environment, and that within our own bodies, because they are susceptible to illness, we “cannot move without carrying along with us many forms of destruction.” He was talking about that life is interwoven with death. He writes about how Christians can still feel perfectly secure in the care of God even though they are in the midst of these threats. So he was making a different point…but sometimes a phrase will make you think of an image…so this isn’t exactly what he was talking about…but I kept remembering that phrase, “cannot move without carrying along with us many forms of destruction” because that is what it feels like to have PTSD. I’m carrying around all of this compressed energy…like in that video I posted with Peter Levine when he is demonstrating with the sphere that expands and contracts. The difficulty with these energies is that anything can trigger it, but you cannot regulate it. So it feels like I am walking around carrying this destructive energy that could bubble up at any time. Before I had the tools to know how to work with it, I just kept locking it away…or compressing it. Thankfully now I have learned a lot about how to work with this energy and have hopes of being able to heal. And it really is in knowing that I am in the loving care of the Good Shepherd that I can feel totally safe and secure…which helps create an environment for healing. I just thought it was an interesting image…and you might connect with it if you are struggling with the same thing…that feeling of not being in control of your own body…having those energies that are so harmful but you are having trouble resolving. So it feels like you are carrying destructive energies around with you…but thankfully those energies can be transformed and released…and there are techniques that help you process things in the moment and prevent those energies from building up in the future. So I’m going to keep working on strengthening that healing vortex and hope to see improvements soon.
Links: John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion – Christian Classics Ethereal Library
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Notes/Outline of G. Campell Morgan’s Commentary on Isaiah 40:1-11; Imagery of Fixing Our Eyes on God, Peace after Judgment, and the Highway of the Lord
I was looking up commentaries on Isaiah 55, and I found a commentary by G. Morgan Campbell. Here is a link to it: The Bible Book of Isaiah – Commentary by Rev. G. Campbell Morgan (Full Text and PDF). Morgan starts Part C of his commentary at Isaiah 40, which is the first chapter in the second section of Isaiah. The first section (Isaiah 1-39) contains Prophecies of Judgment. The second section (Isaiah 40-66) contains Prophecies of Peace. I think it will be helpful to start here at Isaiah 40 and make some notes on Morgan’s commentary, which will lead up to Isaiah 55 and then we can keep talking about Isaiah 55 and the imagery of the fountain that we have been working with. I will only make a few notes or an outline of these chapters. Most of it will be making an outline of quotes of Morgan’s commentary. That is how I study. It’s important to read things in the words of the authors…exactly how they wrote it…because God was with them showing them insights into the scriptures. So that is why I use quotes…because the way they say it is so powerful. It helps me to make an outline of the main points because there is so much information in these commentaries. After reading through it, I make an outline to help process the information. Most of my outline will be quotes from Morgan so you can read it in his words. I hope you find it helpful. This part of his commentary is about Isaiah 40:1-11, which says:
Comfort for God’s People
1Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord a ;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. b
4Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem, c
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
Prophecies of Peace:
“We now commence the study of the Prophecies of Peace which, like the Prophecies of Judgment, fall into three sections, dealing in turn with the 1) purpose of peace; 2) the Prince of peace; and 3) the programme of peace.”
Theme: When God’s judgment is accomplished, peace will be the result.
- After the prophecies of judgment, Isaiah is instructed to comfort God’s people…telling them that judgment leads to peace
- “The opening words of this section, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye My people,’ reveal the burden (or theme) of all that is to follow to the end of the book. As in the first division all the messages were based upon the fact that the judgment of God proceeds to peace, so in this third, the master-thought is that of the establishment of peace by the processes of judgment. The supreme note of the first division was that of judgment. The supreme note of the last is that of peace.”
- “In the prophecies of judgment the final outlook was upon world-wide desolation, followed by world-wide restoration. The last words of that section were, ‘Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ The first words of the present division are, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.’ The connection and relation is self-evident.”
- “In all the earlier messages the dominant thought was that the purpose of judgment is peace. The burden (or theme) of this last division is that when judgment is accomplished, peace will be the result.”
The Highway:
- “In figurative language the prophet then described the way by which Jehovah would proceed to the accomplishment of this purpose.”
- “the Lord is to pass through the wilderness, and find in the desert a highway for His progress.” Morgan calls it “the highway of His purpose”
- All obstructions will be removed: “The valleys of depression are to be lifted; and the obstructing mountains and hills are to be lowered; all is to be made straight and plain for the progress of Jehovah.”
- “Without entering into any details, the prophet then declared what the coming of Jehovah would mean. His glory would be revealed, and all flesh would see. The absolute certainty of these things lay in the fact that the mouth of the Lord had spoken it.”
The Commission: Ascend the high mountain to the place of vision and declare with strength, “Behold, your God.”
- “The final movement in the Prologue is one which chronicles the fact of the commission given to the prophet, and of his obedience thereto.
- Two things were necessary to the declaration of the message.
- 1) Isaiah should ascend the high mountain, that is, that he should come to the place of vision.
- 2) Isaiah should deliver his message with strength, and without fear
- “The whole burden of the message was then given to him in the one brief and inclusive declaration, ‘Behold, your God’.”
- “The eyes of the people had all too long been fixed, either upon their foes, or upon their own princes and rulers. The former had proved too strong for the latter. The latter had failed to fulfil their duties toward God and toward His people. Therefore the supreme and inclusive word of the prophecy of hope and comfort was, ‘Behold, your God’.”
- Isaiah immediately gave utterance to a twofold truth concerning Jehovah:
- 1) The Mighty One: Who is coming for active administration, and Whose might is irresistible
- This settles the question of the foes, who will be unable to stand before Him
- 2) Shepherd: is prophetic of the restoration of the people who are scattered and wounded
So we see here God instructing Isaiah to comfort His people that the process of judgment that had been prophesied would result in peace. Their desolation would be restored. And it is explained that the Lord will accomplish this restoration by finding a highway that has been prepared for Him in the desert…the highway of His purpose…the highway by which He would accomplish His purpose. All of this is imagery that we can work with. Envision the desolation…envision the mountains and the valleys…then envision everything being leveled out…the mountains are brought low…and the valleys are lifted up. As Campbell said, “all is to be made straight and plain for the progress of Jehovah.”
Throughout the Bible, there are many times that God called His people to return to Him or look to Him. Isaiah was here instructed to tell the people, “Behold, your God.”
The quote that really stood out to me when I was reading this commentary today was that the eyes of the people had been fixed on their foes and their princes…on something other than God. I think what he is talking about is that they had been longing for deliverance and had been looking anxiously at their foes and had been looking to their princes. Isaiah says, “Behold, your God.” Look to Him for deliverance. Behold Him coming to you on the highway of His purpose. In the Old Testament, when a prophet gave Israel a declaration from God, they could rest assured that whatever God declared would surely happen…they could rest in the certainty of it…they could know that it would happen simply because God had said that it would. So we are learning to fix our eyes on Him and trust in Him…trust in His Word.
But again, what I was saying about the quote that their eyes had been fixed too long in the wrong place…it made me think of the word fixed in a new way. That happens a lot when I am studying. A word that I thought I was familiar with…or thought I had a good concept of, will register in a new way…and I can form a new image associated with it in my mind. The imagery I am using gets new depth. Something about the way Morgan wrote that part of his commentary helped me think of the word “fixed” in terms of being “fixated” on something. So I started thinking about how that before we can fix our eyes on the unseen…we first need to check and see what our eyes are fixed, or fixated, on now. God saw that Israel’s eyes were fixed somewhere other than on Him…and they needed to look up and turn their attention to Him. So we can take time in our meditation today and think about that – What are our eyes fixed on? They might be fixed or fixated on something we are worried about. I am still struggling to get out of this flare up and my mind/eyes stay fixed on my health. Take time to think about if you are fixated on anything. Then remember the words of God to Isaiah, “Behold, your God.” Look up to God for help. See Him there on His throne waiting to hear from you. That’s one of the most amazing parts of praying…that when you look up to God to ask Him for help…He is already looking at you. He never takes His eyes off of you. So He is there waiting for you to ask Him. And He is ready to help you. He will show you something or give you a new insight. And when I was working with this imagery today, God was showing me that if my eyes are fixated on something else, they can’t also be fixed on Him. So I first have to develop some flexibility of thinking and start lifting my eyes up to Him…and then fix them on Him. Fix in the sense of stopping on Him…you’re looking around and you stop when you are looking at God…or you set your eyes on Him could be another way to say it. I can still think about my health…but I will think about it from a perspective of having my eyes fixed on God while I am thinking about it.
There is a hymn that is based on Isaiah 40:1 called, “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” by Johann Olearius, Translated by Catherine Winkworth – Learning to Live by Faith. You could listen to it for your meditation time with that imagery of a warm, healing light shining…or the imagery of the highway of the Lord…looking up and waiting for Jesus.
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“Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” by Johann Olearius, Translated by Catherine Winkworth
Hymnal Page Scan: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God page 272 | Hymnary.org
Keyboard Recording:
1. Comfort, comfort ye my people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God.
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning neath their sorrows’ load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them,
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.2. Yes, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved his anger
He will no more see nor heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.3. For the herald’s voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all to true repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey,
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
And the hills bow down to greet him.4. Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign;
For the glory of the Lord
Now o’er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That his Word is never broken.
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