Isaiah 57:15-16 - Homilies By W. Clarkson

The greatness of God and the hope of the humble.

The prophet presents us with a most noble contrast as he draws for us the surpassing greatness of the infinite God, and then pictures him to us as resident in a humble human soul—

I. THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF GOD . And this whether we have regard to

II. THE HOPE OF THE HUMBLE IN REGARD TO HIM . We naturally ask—What hope is there that finite and guilty men can ever be brought into a close relationship with this infinite and holy God? what chance is there of anything like happy fellowship with him? Our text provides the answer.

1 . The conclusion to which our philosophy and our experience point us—this is to a hopeless separation from him. Our human thought (see Isaiah 55:8 ) would lead, has continually led, to the conclusion that God would dwell apart from man in some remote, select region of illimitable space, not concerning himself with creatures so small and insignificant as we are. Our experience of guilt would lead us to the conclusion that we are hopelessly barred from his presence, and that those who have grieved and wronged him, as we have done, must be content to be banished for ever from his royal presence. But against this reasoning and this instinctive dread we have to place:

2 . The fact which Divine revelation establishes; "with him also [does God dwell] who is of a contrite and humble spirit." It is a well-established fact , built on sure premises, on words which are stronger than the hills and the skies ( Matthew 24:35 ), that God abides with all penitent souls, manifesting himself to them as their Father and their Friend, inviting their trust, their love, their joy in himself and in his near presence (see text; Isaiah 66:2 ; Psalms 34:18 ; Psalms 51:17 ; Psalms 138:6 ; Matthew 5:3 ; Matthew 18:4 ; 1 Peter 5:5 ).

3 . The explanation of this fact lies in two Divine attributes: