Isaiah 14:16-17

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" Isa 14:16-17

The prophet is not thinking of the shadow-world, which we know by the name of Hades; he is rather looking upon the field of battle and observing the corpse of some mighty conqueror. So far as the words relate to the king of Babylon, or any other king, they are of small consequence to us. They become, however, immensely significant, when we look at them as suggesting that the mightiest power is weaker than weakness itself when pitted against the throne of God. Enemies appear to be great in the distance. They are actually great when they are looked at simply within their own limits: see what learning they have; see what iron instruments the soldiers bring to the field of war; see what mighty captains ride forth as if plumed already with victory before the battle begins; yet hear this voice of sarcasm, which says to them when they are stretched out upon the field of war, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble?" How small he is, how weak, how utterly helpless now! And this is the fate of all who set themselves to counterwork the purposes of Providence. History enables us to look back and to measure events by the right standard. Regarded in this light, history is a continual testimony to the almightiness and the all-goodness of heaven. Where are the enemies of the faith? Mighty men have risen to put down the Cross: where are they today? Ponderous works have been written in order to disprove the Christian argument, or to divest it of its moral appeals: where are those works? Negation builds no churches. Destruction can point to no temple of paradise, no asylum of protection, no Bethlehem of promise. Christianity itself has a work of destruction to do; but it would be comparatively powerless if it did not connect its constructive with its destructive vocation. The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. When Christ kills, he kills that he may make alive. This is the difference between Christianity and all its opposing theories; the theories live in opposition only, but Christianity lives in positive and helpful faith.