And l will turn My hand upon thee
True reformation the work of God
I. THE REFORMATION OF A PEOPLE IS GOD’S OWN WORK.
II. HE DOTH IT BY BLESSING THEM WITH GOOD MAGISTRATES AND GOOD MINISTERS OF STATE (Isaiah 1:26).
III. HE DOTH IT BY RESTORING JUDGMENT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AMONG THEM (Isaiah 1:27).
IV. THE REFORMATION OF A PEOPLE WILL BE THEIR REDEMPTION. Sin is the worst captivity, the worst slavery.
V. THE REVIVING OF A PEOPLE’S VIRTUE IS THE RESTORING OF THEIR HONOUR. “Afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” (Matthew Henry.)
And purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin
Purging away dross
“Purely”; R.V. “thoroughly”; lit. “as with lye,” i.e., potash, which was used as a flux to facilitate the separation of the metals. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Dross and alloy
Notice the imagery. Here is a community, an individual, that knows and belongs to God; redeemed of the Lord; His own. Yet into life, and into work, and into testimony and service, there has come that which He compares to dross and to alloy in metal The two words in the imagery (dross and alloy) are not precisely the same in idea, Dross suggests to us that which is repulsive, as well as worthless--the glaring inconsistency, crude, and ugly. In the alloy or tin, which looks so much like silver, and yet is different, we see rather the ore, specious and subtle ingredients of evil that enter into the Christian’s work and life--not crying inconsistencies so much as the more interior and hidden evil of silent self-complacency; of a tacit search for our own glory under colour of the Lord’s; things which the soul has never fairly traced out, but which it may plainly trace if it will firmly use God’s tests. And these are the things of which we read: “I will turn my hand upon them and thoroughly purge them.” (Bp. H. C. G. Moule, D. D.)
Dross and alloy
“I will purge away thy dross.” What is the dross? That which is openly flagrant in the life. It is different from the metal, and is comparatively easily separated from it. But God goes further. He says, “I will take sway all thy alloy.” This is far more wonderful, because the alloy is something which enters into the nature of me metal, as is were, and it requires a chemical process to separate them. God says that He will deal not only with the outcrop of sin in act, but He will deal with the sin of which the act is the outcrop. (G. H. C. Macgregor, M. A.)
Moral dross
What is the dross which God sees in our heart and life? Lack of truthfulness, showing itself in simple lying, in exaggeration, in fraud, in deceit, in slander, in gossiping, in prevarication, in equivocation, in guile, in evil speaking. Lack of justice and due regard to the rights of others, showing itself in a spiteful temper, in unwillingness to give up our own way to others, in incivility, in rudeness, in disregard of the comfort of others, in thoughtlessness, in ingratitude, in unthankfulness. Lack of wisdom, showing itself in the misuse of the opportunities God gives us, in our ignorance, in our thoughtlessness, in our stupidity, in our blindness to the things of God. Lack of love, showing itself in our pride, in envy, in malice, in hate, in unwillingness to forgive, in unwillingness to apologise for evils which we have done. Lack of self-control, showing itself in our avarice, in covetousness, in sloth, in lethargy, in laziness, in sleepiness, in lust, in sensuality, in gluttony, in self-indulgence in all sorts of ways. What shall we say about our sins against God, our want of prayerfulness, our want of knowledge of God’s Word, our want of trust in God, showing itself in our worry; our want of love to God, showing itself in our shameful hankering after the things of this world? The case is indeed desperate, and calls for the Divine interference. I should go mad at the sight of my own heart if I did not believe in the power of God to cleanse that heart. (G. H. C. Macgregor, M. A.)