THE PLACE OF GOD’S FEET GLORIOUS
Isaiah 60:13. I will make the place of My feet glorious.
These promises, while serving the purpose of sustaining the heart of God’s faithful people throughout their dismal captivity, took a far grander range than their restoration and revival, &c.
I. THE SCENE OF THIS SPECIAL DIVINE GLORY. “The place of My feet.” This is the language of figure, but plain and intelligible. God has no bodily parts, yet the sacred writers speak of His eye, &c., as indicating His personal presence. Such language deceives no one, and it gives a lively representation of the actual spiritual fact. “The place of God’s feet,” or His “footstool,” was in ancient times the temple (1 Chronicles 28:2). This was His rest, where He had chosen to put His name, where in a special sense Jehovah dwelt between the Cherubim over the mercy-seat. The allusion is to a royal throne. God’s throne is in heaven, but His footstool in the earthly temple whither His subjects repair. It was for Israel the place of reception, of communion, and of worship. And all this was in turn a figure of the better things reserved for us. No place of worship on earth may claim to be, in preference to others, the footstool of Jehovah. The true Church, composed of all believers of whatever name or nation, is God’s temple, “the place of His feet.” It is no particular altar or edifice; it is the living stones. In a real sense the wide earth is His footstool, marked by the footprints of His glory; but it is in the new creation that he has given the most perfect manifestation of His glory.
II. THE GLORY OF THE SCENE. It was the glory of Eden that God talked there with man, and it is the glory of the Church that it has the clearest manifestations of His presence and grace.
1. The worship there rendered and accepted.
2. The glory that is there created (Isaiah 60:13). Many can see no glory in the Church. They admire the beauty of the palace, the splendour of a mighty monarchy, but conclude that the Church has no glory. This is not to be wondered at: they see only what they have the power of seeing—they have no spiritual discernment. The true purpose of the Church is to be a living witness, an embodied protest against money-worship, &c. Her grandest glory consists in the image of Christ: she is the true home of holiness.
3. The multitudes attracted to her. The Gospel is for the world, and the Church is the light-bearer. In proportion as she is healthy will she bestir herself in this great service of humanity, and commend the Gospel by her own high-toned character (Isaiah 60:1-2). The nations come to her in procession (Isaiah 60:8-9). This is a spiritual movement, the approach of souls, the submission of hearts to Christ, and much of it is already fact.
4. The blessedness there conferred—the blessedness of inviolable security (Isaiah 60:12; Isaiah 60:18). A nation not in alliance with God has a canker eating at the heart of its power. What vitality the Church has shown! How vainly the powers of earth have conspired to trample her down! What is the ground of this security? Not her own strength but God’s salvation. Hers is the glory of purity. Let the world see that the Church is what she claims to be—a society unselfish and benevolent. As she is holy she will be joyful. She has forsaken the pleasures of sin, and unless she has the joy of salvation, she has no comfort of any kind. Let us partake of the true joy, and we will walk in the light of God’s face; and that joy will prove a grand attraction to the nations of the world, and reveal to them a blessedness which the world cannot bestow.—John Riddell Moffat: Discourses, pp. 222–241.
Isaiah 60:14. I. The sorrows of Zion. Afflicted. Despised. II. Their relief. By the subjection of her foes. By the acknowledgment of her claims. By the presence and favour of God.
Isaiah 60:15-22. The happy condition of Zion. I. Temporal blessings. Once forsaken and despised, now held in universal honour. All the advantages of commerce, civilisation, and wealth. Just government—peace and protection. II. Spiritual blessings. Knowledge of God and Christ. Salvation. Divine light and comfort. Universal righteousness. Permanent increase.
Isaiah 60:15-16. I. The desolations of Zion. II. Her restoration. III. Prosperity. IV. Acknowledgment of God.
Isaiah 60:16-17. Iron. I. All things must be laid under contribution for the accomplishment of the Divine purpose in His Church. All the achievements of the human mind. All the conveniences of wealth and civilisation. All the influence of human power. II. In the subjection and sanctification of human resources God develops His own character in relation to His Church. As Saviour, Redeemer, the Might One of Jacob.
Isaiah 60:17-18. The exaltation of the Church secures the best interests of a nation. I. Social peace and order. II. Honesty and integrity in the transactions of business and commerce. III. Protection from violence within and foes without. IV. Happiness in the blessings of salvation, and the spirit of praise.—J. Lyth, D.D.