i. 26. _And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and
thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shall
be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city._
We have in the contest a picture of a dismantled city, a disorganized
community; and here God tells us that He will undertake the work of
its reconstruction. +I. All the arrangements of society are
absolutely in God's hands.+ "_I_ will restore," &c. No man can
overturn, or build up, but by His permission. On Him all projects of
national, social, or ecclesiastical reconstruction depend for their
success. That on which He smiles flourishes; that on which He frowns
withers away. Let reformers and reconstructors of society remember
and recognise this great fact, that God rules on earth as in heaven.
+II. All interruptions of social order are under the control of God.+
Revolutions occur not by chance, nor by the will of man, but by the
will of God. They occur only when, and continue only as long as He
pleases. By Him judges and counsellors are swept away, and by Him
they are restored. No nation is so broken that it cannot be uplifted
by Him to power and glory, "as at the first." +III. No social state
can be purified but by religious processes.+ There are many
philanthropic and political projects which have for their aim
national regeneration, but they are all foredoomed to come to nought,
because they lack the religious element. Moral reformation must go
before social advancement: a return to righteousness is the first
step to national exaltation.[1] +IV. The great name will follow the
true regeneration.+ "_Afterward_ thou shall be called, The city of
righteousness, The faithful city." Not first the exalted title, but
the illustrative character; not first the splendid renown, but the
glorious achievement!--_Joseph Parker, D.D._