Clearing the Way: Jehovah's Royal Preparation for His People

Isaiah 57:14 presents Jehovah as righteous yet gracious, shifting from the menacing tone of verse 3 to promise salvation for the true Israel. The prophet employs striking, elevated language to convey God's gracious thoughts toward His erring but repentant people.

The passage deploys a royal metaphor: "Cast ye up, cast ye up—prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of My people." As monarchs demanded smooth paths cleared of dangers and obstructions, so the soul journeying toward God receives the sovereignty of that approach. A mysterious voice cries, "Clear the way! Heap up! Cast out the stumbling-stones!"

Two spiritual obstructions impede this journey. First, the want of a true ideal of Christian life—the substitution of inward, spiritual, Divine disposition with mere conformity to rules and social moralities. Living by regulations and conventions impoverishes the Christian walk. Paul's definition stands firm: "a new creature in Christ Jesus." Our exertion rises proportionally to the dignity and ideality of our conception of religion. Second, attempting the Christian life with low spiritual tone prevents progress. The New Testament demands fervour and intensity in every feeling. We require not merely moralities but Christian graces—those orchid-like epiphytes that bloom only in earnest devotion.

Jehovah clears the obstacles. Our response: recognizing His sovereign preparation and walking the way He has consecrated.