1.
Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2.
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3.
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4.
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5.
The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
6.
Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7.
Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
8.
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
9.
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
10.
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11.
For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12.
Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
13.
Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
THE TRIUNE SANCTUARY
‘Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.’
Isaiah 8:13
I. The whole subject of Godhead is one of awe, and if of awe, then ‘dread.’—The more you know of God, the more you feel the unfathomableness of the mystery of Godhead. And all mystery is awe. It is a rule of our being that we must tremble when we stand on the margin of the unknown. Therefore, they who know most of God will most ‘fear,’ not His anger, but simply His amazing greatness.
II. The sense of mercy and benefits heaped upon us has an overwhelming influence upon the mind.—Do not you know what it is to tremble at a danger when you have escaped it much more than you did when you encountered it? That is exactly the ‘fear’ and the ‘dread’ of a pardoned sinner. It is the contemplation of a thunder-cloud which has rolled over your head.
III. Reverence is the great lesson which our age has to learn.—Be suspicious of the love which is without awe. Remember that our best acquaintance with God only shows us more the immensity of the fields of thoughts which no mind can traverse.
IV. ‘He shall be for a sanctuary.’—Do you recoil at the idea of dreading God? That which makes the dread makes the hiding-place. To those who fear He shall be for a sanctuary. (1) To a Jewish mind the first idea of a sanctuary would be refuge. (2) The sanctuary of safety becomes the home of peace. ‘Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.’ (3) God is the fountain of your holiness. The Shechinah shines within the veil; but as you become familiar with the precincts of that holy place you catch some of its rays and reflect its glory.
Rev. Jas. Vaughan.
Illustration
‘What is the measuring-line of our distance from God? The Saviour. What is the Saviour? Infinite. Who, then, knows the actual separation of a man from God, but he who knows the Saviour? Who, then, will be the man, who, having the most knowledge of the distance, will be stricken with the greatest appreciation of the terribleness of Almighty God? The forgiven sinner.’
14.
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15.
And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16.
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17.
And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18.
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
19.
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20.
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21.
And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22.
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.