vii. 9. _If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established._
Thus closes the address of Isaiah to Ahaz and his people on a very
memorable and trying occasion. . . . Its meaning is, Take God at His
word; place entire reliance upon Him, and not upon an arm of flesh.
If ye will not do this as a country, the state cannot be safe; and if
you will not do this as individuals, your minds cannot be composed
and established. Now, let us pass from the house of David naturally
to the house of David spiritually, and pursue the train of thought
set in motion. Let us consider the stability of faith, and the peace
it induces. In the Christian's life there are three kinds of
stability. +I. There is a stability of judgment.+ This regards the
_truths_ of religion. It is of great importance to have a judgment
clear and fixed, as it respects the great concerns of the soul and
eternity, and the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ; for as we
think we feel, as we feel we desire, and as we desire we act, and as
we act our characters are formed and our conditions determined.
Instability concerning these great truths is both perilous and
painful; but whence is stability to come? Not through human
authority; for what one patronises, another denies. Not through human
reason (H. E. I. 537, 1087, 2022-2024; P. D. 2926, 2929, 2931, 2934).
There must be a revelation received by faith; Divine declarations,
believed because God has made them. This leads to an experience which
tends still further to establish the Christian in the faith (H. E. I.
1087, 1142-1148). +II. There is a stability of practice.+ This
regards the _duties_ of religion (1 Pet. i. 5). In order to see the
strength and beauty of the sentiment contained in the text, let us
place the believer in three positions. 1. In a place of _secrecy._ To
many this is a place of temptation. Not so to the believer. Faith
brings God and places Him before us (Gen. xvi. 13; xxxix. 9). 2. _In
prosperity and indulgence_ (Prov. i. 32). But faith brings to the
Christian the earnests of a better country, the first-fruits and
foretastes of it, and thus gives him a victory which others can never
achieve (1 John v. 4). 3. In a condition of _suffering and danger_
(Heb. xi. 24-27; Dan. vi. 10; H. E. I. 1911-1919). +III. There is a
stability of hope.+ This regards the _comforts_ of religion (Rom.
xv. 13; 1 Pet. i. 8; Ps. xxiii. 1, 4, 6). 1. _Beware of unbelief._ It
is a grievous offence against God; it is hurtful and perilous to man.
Every sin renders our salvation impossible by the law, but only one
sin renders it impossible by the Gospel, and that is unbelief; not by
any desire or threatening of God, but by its natural tendency and
result. For there is only one remedy that can restore a perishing
sinner, and if this be rejected, destruction is inevitable (H. E. I.
443). 2. _Labour and pray for an increase of faith_ (Mark ix. 23;
2 Chron. xx. 20).--_William Jay: Sunday Morning Sermons,_ pp. 101-109.