October 15

Isaiah lx.—1. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

2. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

4. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together; they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

5. Then thou shalt see, and flow together; and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

6. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Mithan and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord.

7. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee; the rains of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

This magnificent hymn of triumph, following close upon the Inquisition of the prophet over the rejection of Israel, is like the accelerated movement of a symphony after the plaintive measure of the audiosis, when, as in the rapids above Niagara, all the waves of sound leap and rush together, crossed with spray, flashing with light, glittering with rainbows, as they whirl toward the tumultuous, deafening plunge of the finale. Yet as, through all the modulations of the symphony, the theme is ever the same; so through the varying keys of this grand prophetic poem runs the theme of redemption by Christ, from the burst of wonder over the child Immanuel, through the humiliation of the Man of sorrows, the anguish of the crucified Saviour, on to his triumph and glory in his Church. To that glory the prophet summons the true Israel,—the spiritual Zion, the Church of living souls. The presence of Christ is her illumination and joy,

8. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

9. Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

10. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.

11. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

12. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee: and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

and, through the brightness of her shining, the nations are gathered to her seat, until her heart throbs and swells with wonder and exultation. I have seen in Egypt dovecots rising, gallery upon gallery, so that thousands of pigeons could flock together to their shelter; and when, at evening, they came flying to their windows, the air was thick as with a cloud. Even so, while neighboring countries shall yield their tributes of flocks and merchandise, the fleets of the ocean, dense as clouds, swirl as doves, shall come freighted with treasures from distant lands. And so spontaneous and universal shall be the homage of the nations to Zion, that the abundance shall require no precautions for its safety. Her gates shall stand wide open the livelong night; her very enemies shall serve her; her old oppressors shall bow at her feet. Such a consummation may well find utterance in such a song.

APPROPRIATE HYMN.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 181, 194, 199.

O God, whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting! we bless thee for all the tokens of promise given us in thy past mercies, for the hope of immortality, the joy unspeakable and full of glory brought to us in thy gospel and in the worship of thy house this day. At the end of the Lord's day, we would thank thee for its hours of rest, and for its means of grace.

Hasten, O Lord! that blessed time when thy kingdom shall have come, and all shall know thee, from the least even to the greatest. Turn unto thyself the hearts of the heathen and the unbelieving. Pour out more and more upon thy people

the spirit of grace and supplication, the spirit of zeal and self-devotion, the spirit of holy fear and Christian love.

To thee, heavenly Father, we commend ourselves this night. O thou Good Shepherd! watch over us, the sheep of thy pasture. O Holy Ghost, the Comforter! guide and hallow our thoughts.

Thou in whom all families are blessed, bless thou our kindred and friends. May all who are united to us be with us united to thee; be with us presented by thee in the presence of thy Father with exceeding joy! And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be glory everlasting. Amen.