xxxv. 8-10. _And a highway shall be there, &c._
Human life is a journey--a journey to the grave. The Christian life
is a journey--a journey to a better country. Abraham journeyed to the
land of Canaan; Israel in the wilderness; their descendants on the
return from Babylon (Ezra viii. 31). If you would reach your
destination, it is necessary to know and traverse the way.
+I. It is a way easily known.+ Some are difficult to find. They are
crossed and intersected so often, and so imperfectly supplied with
guiding-posts, that mistakes are almost inevitable. This is a way in
which "the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err." Serious
mistake is almost impossible. You have a directory so clear that
reference to it settles every question. God's Word is the guide of
life. He may read who runs. It is true there are no difficulties in
the ascertainment of the way of life. The road the child travels to
his home is quite plain and easy, yet he may be ignorant of the means
by which it was made, the materials of which it is constructed, the
sources whence they were obtained, the engineering appliances by
which they were bound together, the quarters from which the cost was
defrayed. At present he has no information, or it is beyond his
comprehension. Thus in the Bible there are many things difficult and
beyond the present knowledge of the student. They diminish with
advancing knowledge and thought. And even if they remain, they do not
affect the matters on which certainty is necessary. The way of
forgiveness through the Saviour's death is written with the clearness
of a sunbeam. The rule of life in its application to all
circumstances is so clearly laid down that all cases in the court of
conscience find an easy settlement; where there is a disposition to
follow it, no practical difficulty exists. It is like the pillar of
cloud and fire which infallibly guided the children of Israel in the
wilderness.
+II. It is a purified way.+ "The unclean shall not pass over it." It
is a holy way. The text fastens attention on those who traverse the
road as giving it its character. They are holy persons in the company
of holy persons. What is holiness? It is separation, setting apart,
purity, always with reference to God. 1. Its meaning is not covered
by morality. That term is ordinarily met by the performance of the
duties that arise between man and man. 2. Nor is the meaning of the
term "holy" covered by humanity. We hear much of what is called "the
religion of humanity," which means a benevolent desire for the
well-being of mankind. Like morality, it is to be commended as far as
it goes. It is, indeed, a step in advance of morality. It is a man's
worldly interest to practise its virtues. Humanity rises higher. It
looks beyond self. In proportion as a man looks out from himself to
the well-being of others, he is ennobled. Holiness includes them
both, but they do not necessarily include holiness. They terminate in
man, whereas holiness is in immediate relation to God. It is the
separation of a man's nature from all sin against God, and is
consecration to Him. God brings a sinner under the power of His
grace, and a saint emerges. The love of God in Christ, which pardons
him, so influences his nature that he comes into sympathy with God,
and desires to be like Him. He makes the Divine will the rule of his
life. He is born anew. He is holy in heart. His growing practical
obedience to the Divine authority is his walk in the way of holiness.
Those who have not experienced such a change cannot walk in it. They
tire. Holiness of heart precedes holiness of life (H. E. I.
2813-2817).
+III. It is a pleasant way.+ There are pilgrim songs. The walk
through the country may be so pleasant that nothing is thought of its
difficulty or its fatigue. The way of holiness is rendered pleasant
by congenial companions, by Divine thoughts, by heavenly communings.
There are difficulties. The way is sometimes steep; here and there
are formidable obstructions. There are temptations to weariness and
abandonment of the way. Yet the difficulties are not insurmountable.
They disappear before the traveller's sanctified determination. The
ability of anything to give pleasure depends on our feeling in
relation to it. Especially in things of a moral nature. The
regenerated nature of a Christian makes every step of his progress a
source of pleasure. Christians are the happiest of men, partly
because happiness is not sought as their main end (H. E. I.
1080-1084, 4161-4163).
And it is safe as it is pleasant. All pleasant paths are not safe.
Some pleasant ones are extremely perilous. The Lord of the way has
cleared it of dangers. "He will keep the feet of His saints." "No
lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon."
+IV. It is a completed way.+ Some roads lead to nothing. They
abruptly terminate, and you must retrace your steps. This is
continued to the destination. "They shall come to Zion." As the Jews
reached the earthly Jerusalem we shall arrive in heaven. The holy
city is a fit termination of the holy way.
Are you in the way? Keep in it. Turn not aside. Advance toward your
destination. Anticipate arrival.
Are you not in the way? Consider whither you are going. Renounce the
world. Enter the road. Do not say it is hard. Do not say you cannot
encounter the difficulties. God will help.--_J. Rawlinson._
There are a thousand wrong roads, but only one right one. 1. The road
of the text is _the King's highway._ It spans all the chasms of human
wretchedness; it tunnels all the mountains of earthly difficulty; it
is wide and strong enough to hold all the millions of the human race.
The King sent His Son to build the road. He put head, and hand, and
heart to it, and after it was completed cried, "It is finished."
2. It is spoken of as a _clean road._ "The unclean shall not pass
over it" (Prov. xiv. 12; Heb. xii. 14). 3. _A plain road._ "The
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." The pardon is
plain. The peace is plain (1 Tim. i. 15). If you are saved, it will
be as a little child (Matt. xviii. 3). 4. _A safe road._ "No lion
shall be there," &c. His soul is safe. His reputation is safe (Ps.
cxxv. 2). 5. _A pleasant road._ God gives a bond of indemnity against
all evil to every man that treads it (Rom. viii. 28; Matt. vi. 26,
28; Prov. iii. 33; 1 Cor. x. 13). He enables him to be glad with a
great joy (Ps. xxvii. 1; Rev. vii. 14, 16, 17; Exod. xv. 1). 6. _What
is its terminus?_ "The ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion." Zion
is the King's palace, a mountain fastness, impregnable. Heaven is the
fastness of the universe. And Jesus is there!--_T. De Witt Talmage,
D.D.: Christian Age,_ vol. ix. pp. 3-5.