The men of Judah were guilty of another sin-the sin of hypocrisy. They wished to be thought good, so they brought their offerings of lambs and of bullocks; they burnt the sweet-smelling incense on the golden altar; they drew near to God with their mouth, and with their lips did honour Him, but removed their hearts far from Him. Ah! did they forget that God would rather have mercy than sacrifice? Did they forget that He looks on the heart, and not on the outward appearance?

Yet another sin was Judah charged with-the dreadful sin of idolatry. In that beautiful land which God had given to their fathers, they had planted groves of trees, and in these groves had reared up idols-some of gold, some of wood and of stone. God's people "worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." "The land is full of idols."

And what does God say to the women of Judah? Is God pleased with them? Alas, no! Pride is filling their hearts. They are haughty, as they walk with outstretched necks, " mincing as they go." The bangles tinkle on their feet; the bracelets glitter on their arms; the nose jewels and golden ornaments shine on their faces and well-set hair. Alas! for the time spent in adorning themselves. How different are they from those willing-hearted and wise-hearted women, who gave their jewels so freely for the tabernacle, and who parted with their polished lookingglasses to make the laver, with its brazen foot. Now they sit at ease and careless, forgetting God, never dreaming of coming evil.

(Read Isa. i. 2-4, 10-18; ii. 7-8; iii. 16-26; Exod. XXXV. 29; xxxviii. 8.)

5. GOD'S JUDGMENTS ON JUDAH.

But will God leave these sins unpunished? Surely not. The Lord will enter into judgment with the princes and with the ancient men." They have never thanked Him for all He has done for them, They have never given of their bread to the poor. Now they shall know what hunger is. "The Lord shall take away from Jerusalem the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water."

And what punishment has God in store for the hypocrites? Their swift judgment was coming. He will send the Assyrian against the hypocritical nation, "to tread them down like the mire in the streets." Little did the King of Assyria in his pride know that he was only "the rod of God's anger" brought to chastise His people. Little did He know that after God had performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and Jerusalem, the time would come when his stout heart would be punished, his proud looks brought low.

And would God suffer the idols to remain to defile His land? No, indeed. Hear His word of power: "The idols He shall utterly abolish." They shall be flung away, even the most precious of them, "to the moles and to the bats," despised and dishonoured.

And what was to befall the women of Judah? No more beautiful raiment for them; they go clothed in sackcloth. Their long, dark, well-set hair, of which they were so proud, is fallen off. They sit on the ground weeping for their children, and mourning the loss of their pleasant fields and vineyards.

The curse hath devoured the earth; the inhabitants are burned, and few men. left. All joy is

darkened; the mirth of the land is gone." In the city is only desolation left. The gate is smitten with destruction.

Alas for poor, sinful, desolate Judah! Forsaker of God, has she been forsaken by Him?

(Read Isa. iii. 24-26; ii. 17-20; xxiv. 11, 12).

6. PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD.

You remember how often the Lord Jesus taught the people by parables? Isaiah was sent by God to try this plan with the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Listen to His beautiful parable of the vineyard.

"My Well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill." You know who this Well-beloved is? The very same who hundreds of years after was pointed out to John the Baptist as He came out of the waters of Jordan. "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

What care this Well-beloved took of His vineyard! He fenced it round lest the wild boars should trample down the tender vine. He gathered out the stones which prevented the roots from striking deep into the ground. He planted only the choicest vine. He watered it every moment. Lest any should hurt it, He kept it night and day. A watch-tower was built in the middle of the vineyard, and a wine-press was prepared for squeezing out the juice of the grapes.

But after all this care, after all this labour, when He looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth only wild grapes! Grapes so bad and sour that no one could eat them.

How grieved was the owner of the vineyard! Hear

His sad complaint: "What could have been done more to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes."

What is to become of this vineyard? No need to let it to other husbandmen; they could do no more for it. No use to spend more labour and time on it. No pruning, no digging will do it good. It must be -let alone.

And with its hedge torn, its walls destroyed, it will be trodden down and wasted by every beast of the field. No rain will water it; and prickly thorns and briars will spring where the fruitful vine was planted. Isaiah leaves the people in no doubt as to the meaning of the parable. For he says, "The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant." The fruits the Lord looked for were judgment; that is, fair dealing between man and man, and righteousness; the heart true to God, and loving to their fellows.

But instead of judgment there was oppression; instead of righteousness a cry of misery.

(Read Isa. v. 1-7; Matt. iii. 16, 17.)

7. GOD'S BURDENS ON THE HEATHEN NATIONS.

What is a burden?

Is it not a very heavy weight?

Then what was this burden laid on the heathen nations? It was the weight of God's anger—a burden so heavy that the people would stagger and fall under it. “The great day of His wrath had come, and who should be able to stand?”

If you look at the map you will see the lands Isaiah spoke of. I shall tell you the burdens laid on some of them. There in the north was the country of the Sidonians, with its famous seaport Tyre.

There, too, was Syria, with its capital Damascus, in the midst of its rose gardens; to the south, Moab with its mountains, and that lonely valley where Moses was laid to rest.

There, too, is the land of Egypt, the land of bondage and of wonderful deliverance. And far to the east Chaldea.

There was the mighty city Babylon, whose hanging gardens and broad walls were the wonder of the world.

I shall not tell you the names of more of these burdened lands just now.

But when you hear what Isaiah spoke of them in his day, and when you hear of their state in our day, you will see that not one word of God's has failed-all has come to pass.

(Read Isa. xxii. I; xvii. I; xv. I; xix. I; xiii. 1.)

8. THE Burden of BABYLON.

In the days of Isaiah Babylon was in the height of her glory. She ruled over all the other nations of the East. In her pride she said in her heart, "I will sit upon the Mount of the Congregation" (that is on Mount Zion). Nay, her haughtiness went further, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." Then, oh wicked, blasphemous thought, "I will be like the Most High!" So she imagined.