Isaiah 42:4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. have not been formed by chance; they are part of the wise and far-reaching design of Him who "weighed the mountains in scales," and holds the ocean in "the hollow of His hands." He made for a special purpose those little fragments of the earth, and shut them off from the great continents by the waters of the sea, and placed them exactly where they are. Many islands are the mountain-tops of old submerged lands; and what a wonderful change took place in the old climate and productions in consequence. Instead of snowy and stormy wastes, where only a meagre vegetation struggled for life, there sprang up a lovely paradise of calm blue skies and tropical luxuriance. Many islands have been formed by volcanic outbursts; and it is amazing what a vast number of islands have been created by the labours of soft, tiny creatures, hundreds of which a child's tiny hands would squash, and surrounded with coral reefs which have stood out against the wildest waves of the ocean. Islands are of the most beautiful parts of the world; they have usually milder climates than continents, are less exposed to parching droughts; they have more frequent rain and dew; the sunshine, not so scorching, is tempered by sea breezes and silvery clouds; the vegetation also is of a softer kind; the leaves of the trees, instead of being hard and dry and much divided, as on continental areas, are broad and tender and delicate. Who has not heard of the summer isles where the breezes are fragrant with spices, and birds of the most gorgeous plumage flit through the groves of graceful palm trees? Lace-like waterfalls drip languidly from rocks. The dreams of the most ancient nations placed the heaven of bliss in fabled isles, where they exaggerated and idealised all the favourable conditions in the loveliest landscape with which they were familiar. (H. Macmillan, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. |
    |