Isaiah 60:15 - Homilies By W.m. Statham

A promise to Israel.

"I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." God's estimate of honour is the only real and permanent one. Nations have sought other excellences. The Egyptians excelled in architecture; the Greeks in art and beauty; the Romans in government and military prowess. The Jew was to excel in righteousness and religion.

I. GOD 'S IDEAL IS IMMORTAL . "An eternal excellency."

1 . Military empire passes from kingdom to kingdom.

2 . Taste changes alike in art and architecture. But the moral law is eternal.

II. THE CONTRAST IS COMPLETE . The "forsaken" shall have arise among them One who shall fulfil the words of the sixteenth verse, "Thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." The "hated" shall find and feel the tender love of God; for (verse 10) "In my favour have I had mercy on thee." Scorn and contumely, what are they when the heart glows with the love of God, and the character wins his everlasting favour?—W.M.S.