Isaiah xlix. 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
We claim a special interest in this place of Scripture, and many other places also, look to the first verse of this chapter, Listen, O isles, and hearken ye people from far; it appears as if it had been spoken to Britain:—the Lord is crying to us this day to listen unto him.—You will say, What is the Lord saying? What would the Lord say to us?—We cannot take time to speak to all that is in the chapter, and make application of it; but look to the 13th verse, Sing, O heaven, and be joyful, O earth: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.—He is crying to us to sing, Sing O heavens, that is, sing O church; sing O earth, that is, sing O state; sing both church and state of Scotland; O how should we sing? hath not the Lord forsaken and forgotten us?—Nay, nay, though it appears so, yet it is not so really; the purpose of God is great with child this day, to bring forth a great deliverance to the church and state of Scotland? If we saw the days that our Lord is to bestow upon us: if we had a sight of the ministers that shall be in Scotland, that the Lord is to give this land, it would make us sing. Ye think now that the ministers are gone, and indeed it is so in a great part, and the magistrates are rejected by us; we declare before sun and stars that it is so, but our Lord is to give rulers; he will make out that promise, ver. 23. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers. So, I say, if we saw the good days that are coming upon the back of these troubles, we would not get men and women keeped from singing and dancing for joy, we would all go home with gladness and rejoicing; yea, distracted as it were for joy: but you may say, O how shall this be! for there are two things to be objected against this:
First, The paucity of them who have keeped straight, but ere long that shall be made out, ver. 20. Thechildren
