mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 11.xml

<div2 id="Is.xii" n="xii" next="Is.xiii" prev="Is.xi" progress="5.27%" title="Chapter XI">
<h2 id="Is.xii-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xii-p0.2">CHAP. XI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xii-p1" shownumber="no">It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether
it be so in rhetoric or no), and a very common one, to pass from
the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the church to that
of the great salvation, which in the fulness of time should be
wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the other were types and
figures, to which all the prophets bore witness; and so the ancient
Jews understood them. For what else was it that raised so great an
expectation of the Messiah at the time he came. Upon occasion of
the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, here
comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince. I. His rise out
of the house of David, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.1" parsed="|Isa|11|1|0|0" passage="Isa 11:1">ver.
1</scripRef>. II. His qualifications for his great undertaking,
<scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.2-Isa.11.3" parsed="|Isa|11|2|11|3" passage="Isa 11:2,3">ver. 2, 3</scripRef>. III. The
justice and equity of his government, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.3-Isa.11.5" parsed="|Isa|11|3|11|5" passage="Isa 11:3-5">ver. 3-5</scripRef>. IV. The peaceableness of his
kingdom, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.6-Isa.11.9" parsed="|Isa|11|6|11|9" passage="Isa 11:6-9">ver. 6-9</scripRef>. V. The
accession of the Gentiles to it (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.10" parsed="|Isa|11|10|0|0" passage="Isa 11:10">ver.
10</scripRef>), and with them the remnant of the Jews, that should
be united with them in the Messiah's kingdom (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.11-Isa.11.16" parsed="|Isa|11|11|11|16" passage="Isa 11:11-16">ver. 11-16</scripRef>) and of all this God would now
shortly give them a type, and some dark representation, in the
excellent government of Hezekiah, the great peace which the nation
should enjoy under him, after the ruin of Sennacherib's design, and
the return of many of the ten tribes out of their dispersion to
their brethren of the land of Judah, when they enjoyed that great
tranquility.</p>
<scripCom id="Is.xii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11" parsed="|Isa|11|0|0|0" passage="Isa 11" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.1-Isa.11.9" parsed="|Isa|11|1|11|9" passage="Isa 11:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xii-p1.9">
<h4 id="Is.xii-p1.10">Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of
Messiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p1.11">b. c.</span> 740.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xii-p2" shownumber="no">1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the
stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:   2
And the spirit of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p2.1">Lord</span> shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p2.2">Lord</span>;   3 And shall make
him of quick understanding in the fear of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p2.3">Lord</span>: and he shall not judge after the sight of
his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:   4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with
equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with
the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay
the wicked.   5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.   6 The wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.   7 And the cow and the
bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox.   8 And the sucking child
shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the cockatrice' den.   9 They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p2.4">Lord</span>, as the waters
cover the sea.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p3" shownumber="no">The prophet had before, in this sermon,
spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given,
on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the
comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob,
many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the
comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said
(<scripRef id="Is.xii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.27" parsed="|Isa|10|27|0|0" passage="Isa 10:27"><i>ch.</i> x. 27</scripRef>) that
<i>the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing;</i> now
here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He
foretels,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p4" shownumber="no">I. That the Messiah should, in due time,
arise out of the house of David, as that <i>branch</i> of the Lord
which he had said (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.4.2" parsed="|Isa|4|2|0|0" passage="Isa 4:2"><i>ch.</i> iv.
2</scripRef>) should be excellent and glorious; the word is
<i>Netzer,</i> which some think is referred to in <scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.2.23" parsed="|Matt|2|23|0|0" passage="Mt 2:23">Matt. ii. 23</scripRef>, where it is said to be
spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he <i>should be called a
Nazarene.</i> Observe here, 1. Whence this branch should arise-from
<i>Jesse.</i> He should be the son of David, with whom the covenant
of royalty was made, and to whom it was promised with an oath that
<i>of the fruit of his loins God would raise of Christ,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.30" parsed="|Acts|2|30|0|0" passage="Ac 2:30">Acts ii. 30</scripRef>. David is often
called <i>the son of Jesse,</i> and Christ is called so, because he
was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Hos.3.5" parsed="|Hos|3|5|0|0" passage="Ho 3:5">Hos. iii. 5</scripRef>. 2. The meanness of his
appearance. (1.) He is called a <i>rod,</i> and a <i>branch;</i>
both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a
<i>twig</i> and a <i>sprig</i> (so some render them), such as is
easily broken off. The enemies of God's church were just before
compared to strong and stately boughs (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.33" parsed="|Isa|10|33|0|0" passage="Isa 10:33"><i>ch.</i> x. 33</scripRef>), which will not, without
great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a tender branch
(<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.53.2" parsed="|Isa|53|2|0|0" passage="Isa 53:2"><i>ch.</i> liii. 2</scripRef>); yet
he shall be victorious over them. (2.) He is said to come out of
Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in meanness
and obscurity; his family was of small account (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.18.18" parsed="|1Sam|18|18|0|0" passage="1Sa 18:18">1 Sam. xviii. 18</scripRef>), and it was in a way of
contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the <i>son of
Jesse,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.22.7" parsed="|1Sam|22|7|0|0" passage="1Sa 22:7">1 Sam. xxii. 7</scripRef>.
(3.) He comes forth out of the <i>stem,</i> or <i>stump,</i> of
Jesse. When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut
down, and only the stump of it left, almost levelled with the
ground and lost in the grass of the field (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.15" parsed="|Dan|4|15|0|0" passage="Da 4:15">Dan. iv. 15</scripRef>), yet it shall sprout again
(<scripRef id="Is.xii-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Job.14.7" parsed="|Job|14|7|0|0" passage="Job 14:7">Job xiv. 7</scripRef>); nay, it
<i>shall grow out of his roots,</i> which are quite buried in the
earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem
appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought
very low at the time of Christ's birth, witness the obscurity and
poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his
estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly
exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not
of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, <i>There shall
come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah</i> (or
Christ) <i>shall be anointed out of his sons' sons.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p5" shownumber="no">II. That he should be every way qualified
for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender
branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a
strong rod for a sceptre to rule, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.2" parsed="|Isa|11|2|0|0" passage="Isa 11:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. 1. In general, <i>the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon him.</i> The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts
and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he
shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the
fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Col.1.19 Bible:Col.2.9" parsed="|Col|1|19|0|0;|Col|2|9|0|0" passage="Col 1:19,2:9">Col. i. 19; ii. 9</scripRef>. He began his preaching
with this (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.4.18" parsed="|Luke|4|18|0|0" passage="Lu 4:18">Luke iv. 18</scripRef>),
<i>The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.</i> 2. In particular, the
spirit of government, by which he should be every way fitted for
that judgment which the Father has committed to him and <i>given
him authority to execute</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:John.5.22 Bible:John.5.27" parsed="|John|5|22|0|0;|John|5|27|0|0" passage="Joh 5:22,27">John
v. 22, 27</scripRef>), and not only so, but should be made the
fountain and treasury of all grace to believers, that from his
fulness they might all receive the Spirit of grace, as all the
members of the body derive animal spirits from the head. (1.) He
shall have <i>the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel
and knowledge;</i> he shall thoroughly understand the business he
is to be employed in. <i>No man knows the Father but the Son,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.11.27" parsed="|Matt|11|27|0|0" passage="Mt 11:27">Matt. xi. 27</scripRef>. What he is to
make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and
will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of,
<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:John.1.18" parsed="|John|1|18|0|0" passage="Joh 1:18">John i. 18</scripRef>. He shall know
how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the
branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great
intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children
of men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and
ordinances instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid
in him; he shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us
wisdom. (2.) <i>The spirit of courage,</i> or <i>might,</i> or
fortitude. The undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty
must be broken through, and therefore it was necessary that he
should be so endowed that he <i>might not fail or be
discouraged,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.4" parsed="|Isa|42|4|0|0" passage="Isa 42:4"><i>ch.</i> xlii.
4</scripRef>. He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of
God in truth, and not caring for any man, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.16" parsed="|Matt|22|16|0|0" passage="Mt 22:16">Matt. xxii. 16</scripRef>. (3.) The spirit of religion,
or <i>the fear of the Lord;</i> not only he shall himself have a
reverent affection for his Father, as his servant (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.1" parsed="|Isa|42|1|0|0" passage="Isa 42:1"><i>ch.</i> xlii. 1</scripRef>), and he was heard
in <i>that he feared</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:Heb.5.7" parsed="|Heb|5|7|0|0" passage="Heb 5:7">Heb. v.
7</scripRef>), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall
design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in
Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to
increase and support, our fear of the Lord.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p6" shownumber="no">III. That he should be accurate, and
critical, and very exact in the administration of his government
and the exercise of the power committed to him (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.3" parsed="|Isa|11|3|0|0" passage="Isa 11:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): The Spirit wherewith he shall
be clothed <i>shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of
the Lord</i>—of an acute smell or scent (so the word is), for the
apprehensions of the mind are often expressed by the sensations of
the body. Note, 1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent
that are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of religion,
for that is both the foundation and top-stone of wisdom. 2. By this
it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual
senses exercised, and are of <i>quick understanding in the fear of
the lord.</i> Those have divine illumination that know their duty
and know how to go about it. 3. <i>Therefore</i> Jesus Christ had
the spirit without measure, that he might perfectly understand his
undertaking; and he did so, as appears not only in the admirable
answers he gave to all that questioned with him, which proved him
to be of <i>quick understanding in the fear of the Lord,</i> but in
the management of his whole undertaking. He has settled the great
affair of religion so unexpectedly well (so as effectually to
secure both God's honour and man's happiness) that, it must be
owned, he thoroughly understood it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p7" shownumber="no">IV. That he should be just and righteous in
all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as
much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself,
and as he himself would be judged of, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:John.7.24" parsed="|John|7|24|0|0" passage="Joh 7:24">John vii. 24</scripRef>. 1. Not according to outward
appearance (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.3" parsed="|Isa|11|3|0|0" passage="Isa 11:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>):
<i>he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,</i> with respect
of persons (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.34.19" parsed="|Job|34|19|0|0" passage="Job 34:19">Job xxxiv. 19</scripRef>)
and according to outward shows and appearances, not <i>reprove
after the hearing of his ears,</i> by common fame and report, and
the representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he
judge of men by the fair words they speak, <i>calling him, Lord,
Lord,</i> or their plausible actions before the eye of the world,
which they do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hidden
man of the heart, and the inward principles men are governed by, of
which he is an infallible witness. Christ will judge the secrets of
men (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.2.16" parsed="|Rom|2|16|0|0" passage="Ro 2:16">Rom. ii. 16</scripRef>), will
determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions
and appearances (that were to <i>judge after the sight of the
eyes</i>), not according to the opinion others have of them (that
were to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that
<i>his judgment is according to truth.</i> 2. He will judge
righteous judgment (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.5" parsed="|Isa|11|5|0|0" passage="Isa 11:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>Righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins.</i> He shall be righteous in the administration of his
government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall
constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and
honour; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his
sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his
strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a
man with his loins girt. In conformity to Christ, his followers
must have the girdle of truth (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Eph.6.14" parsed="|Eph|6|14|0|0" passage="Eph 6:14">Eph.
vi. 14</scripRef>) and it will be the stability of the times.
Particularly, (1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people
that are poor and oppressed; he will be their protector (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.4" parsed="|Isa|11|4|0|0" passage="Isa 11:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>With righteousness
shall he judge the poor;</i> he shall judge in favour and defence
of those that have right on their side, though they are poor in the
world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the duty of
princes to defend and deliver the poor (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.82.3-Ps.82.4" parsed="|Ps|82|3|82|4" passage="Ps 82:3,4">Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4</scripRef>), and the honour of Christ
that he is the poor man's King, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.2 Bible:Ps.72.4" parsed="|Ps|72|2|0|0;|Ps|72|4|0|0" passage="Ps 72:2,4">Ps.
lxxii. 2, 4</scripRef>. He shall <i>debate with evenness for the
meek of the earth,</i> or of the land; those that bear the injuries
done them with meekness and patience are in a special manner
entitled to the divine care and protection. <i>I, as a deaf man,
heard not, for thou wilt hear,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.38.13-Ps.38.14" parsed="|Ps|38|13|38|14" passage="Ps 38:13,14">Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14</scripRef>. Some read it, <i>He
shall reprove or correct the meek of the earth with equity.</i> If
his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he will <i>visit
their transgression with the rod.</i> (2.) He shall in
righteousness plead against his enemies that are proud and
oppressors (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.4" parsed="|Isa|11|4|0|0" passage="Isa 11:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>):
<i>But he shall smite the earth,</i> the man of the earth, that
doth oppress (see <scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.12" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.18" parsed="|Ps|10|18|0|0" passage="Ps 10:18">Ps. x.
18</scripRef>), the men of the world, that <i>mind earthly
things</i> only (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.13" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.14" parsed="|Ps|17|14|0|0" passage="Ps 17:14">Ps. xvii.
14</scripRef>); these he shall smite <i>with the rod of his
mouth,</i> the word of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them;
his threatenings shall take hold of them, and be executed upon
them. <i>With the breath of his lips,</i> by the operation of his
Spirit, according to his word, and working with and by it, <i>he
shall slay the wicked.</i> He will do it easily, with a word's
speaking, as he laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying
<i>I am he,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.14" osisRef="Bible:John.18.6" parsed="|John|18|6|0|0" passage="Joh 18:6">John xviii.
6</scripRef>. Killing terrors shall arrest their consciences,
killing judgments shall ruin them, their power, and all their
interests; and in the other world everlasting tribulation will be
recompensed to those that trouble his poor people. The apostle
applies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom he calls
<i>that wicked one</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p7.15" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.2.8" parsed="|2Thess|2|8|0|0" passage="2Th 2:8">2 Thess. ii.
8</scripRef>) <i>whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his
mouth.</i> And the Chaldee here reads it, <i>He shall slay that
wicked Romulus,</i> or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Broughton understands
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p8" shownumber="no">V. That there should be great peace and
tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what
was said in <scripRef id="Is.xii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.9.6" parsed="|Isa|9|6|0|0" passage="Isa 9:6"><i>ch.</i> ix.
6</scripRef>, that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace
signifies two things:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p9" shownumber="no">1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in
these figurative promises, that even <i>the wolf shall dwell</i>
peaceably <i>with the lamb;</i> men of the most fierce and furious
dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall
have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the
gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with
the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey
of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as
sometimes they have done (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.34.20-Ezek.34.21" parsed="|Ezek|34|20|34|21" passage="Eze 34:20,21">Ezek.
xxxiv. 20, 21</scripRef>), that even the wolves shall agree with
them. Christ, who is our peace, came to slay all enmities and to
settle lasting friendships among his followers, particularly
between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes of both, being converted
to the faith of Christ, united in one sheep-fold, then the wolf and
the lamb dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threaten the
lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf. <i>The leopard shall</i>
not only not tear the kid, but shall <i>lie down with her:</i> even
<i>their young ones shall lie down together,</i> and shall be
trained up in a blessed amity, in order to the perpetuating of it.
<i>The lion</i> shall cease to be ravenous and <i>shall eat straw
like the ox,</i> as some think all the beasts of prey did before
the fall. <i>The asp</i> and <i>the cockatrice</i> shall cease to
be venomous, so that parents shall let their children <i>play</i>
with them and <i>put their hands</i> among them. A generation of
vipers shall become a seed of saints, and the old complaint of
<i>homo homini lupus—man is a wolf to man,</i> shall be at an end.
Those that inhabit the holy mountain shall live as amicably as the
creatures did that were with Noah in the ark, and it shall be a
means of their preservation, for <i>they shall not hurt nor
destroy</i> one another as they have done. Now, (1.) This is
fulfilled in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds of
those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the nature, and makes
those that trampled on the meek of the earth, not only meek like
them, but affectionate towards them. When Paul, who had persecuted
the saints, joined himself to them, then the <i>wolf dwelt with the
lamb.</i> (2.) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have a further
accomplishment in the latter days, when <i>swords shall be beaten
into ploughshares.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p10" shownumber="no">2. Safety or security. Christ, the great
Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would
hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another,
but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any
molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall
be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less
shall they be the destruction of, any that <i>have their
conversation in the holy mountain,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.13" parsed="|1Pet|3|13|0|0" passage="1Pe 3:13">1 Pet. iii. 13</scripRef>. <i>Who,</i> or what, <i>can
harm us, if we be followers of him that is good?</i> God's people
shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it.
Even <i>the sucking child</i> shall without any terror <i>play upon
the hole of the asp;</i> blessed Paul does so when he says, <i>Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?</i> and, <i>O death!
where is thy sting?</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p11" shownumber="no">Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect,
and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of
men's tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be
tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: <i>A
little child shall lead those</i> who formerly scorned to be
controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their
willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct
with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as
<i>little children,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.18.3" parsed="|Matt|18|3|0|0" passage="Mt 18:3">Matt. xviii.
3</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Is.xii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.8.5" parsed="|2Cor|8|5|0|0" passage="2Co 8:5">2 Cor. viii.
5</scripRef>. 2. The cause of it shall be the knowledge of God. The
more there is of that the more there is of a disposition to peace.
They shall thus live in love, <i>for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord,</i> which shall extinguish men's heats and
animosities. The better acquainted we are with the God of love the
more shall we be changed into the same image and the better
affected shall we be to all those that bear his image. The earth
shall be as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea are
of water—so broad and extensive shall this knowledge be and so far
shall it spread—so deep and substantial shall this knowledge be,
and so long shall it last. There is much more of the knowledge of
God to be got by the gospel of Christ than could be got by the law
of Moses; and, whereas <i>then</i> in <i>Judah</i> only was God
known, now <i>all shall know him,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.8.11" parsed="|Heb|8|11|0|0" passage="Heb 8:11">Heb. viii. 11</scripRef>. But that is knowledge falsely
so called which sows discord among men; the right knowledge of God
settles peace.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.10-Isa.11.16" parsed="|Isa|11|10|11|16" passage="Isa 11:10-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xii-p11.5">
<h4 id="Is.xii-p11.6">Advancement of Messiah's
Kingdom. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p11.7">b. c.</span> 740.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xii-p12" shownumber="no">10 And in that day there shall be a root of
Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall
the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.   11 And it
shall come to pass in that day, <i>that</i> the Lord shall set his
hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from
Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from
Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.   12 And he shall set
up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of
Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.   13 The envy also of Ephraim shall
depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim
shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.   14
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the
west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay
their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey
them.   15 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xii-p12.1">Lord</span> shall
utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty
wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in
the seven streams, and make <i>men</i> go over dry-shod.   16
And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which
shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day
that he came up out of the land of Egypt.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p13" shownumber="no">We have here a further prophecy of the
enlargement and advancement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under
the type and figure of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of
Judah in the latter end of Hezekiah's reign, after the defeat of
Sennacherib.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p14" shownumber="no">I. This prediction was in part accomplished
when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as
an ensign, inviting the neighbouring nations to them <i>to enquire
of the wonders done in the land,</i> on which errand the king of
Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and
Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious,
<scripRef id="Is.xii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.10" parsed="|Isa|11|10|0|0" passage="Isa 11:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Then many of
the Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who
upon the destruction of that kingdom by the king of Assyria were
forced to flee for shelter into all the countries about and to some
that lay very remote, even to the islands of the sea, were
encouraged to return to their own country and put themselves under
the protection and government of the king of Judah, the rather
because it was an Assyrian army by which their country had been
ruined and that was not routed. This is said to be a recovery of
them <i>the second time</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.11" parsed="|Isa|11|11|0|0" passage="Isa 11:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), such an instance of the power
and goodness of God, and such a reviving to them, as their first
deliverance out of Egypt was. Then the <i>outcasts of Israel</i>
should be gathered in, and brought home, and those of Judah too,
who, upon the approach of the Assyrian army, shifted for their own
safety. Then the old feud between Ephraim and Judah shall be
forgotten, and they shall join against the Philistines and their
other common enemies, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.13-Isa.11.14" parsed="|Isa|11|13|11|14" passage="Isa 11:13,14"><i>v.</i>
13, 14</scripRef>. Note, Those who have been sharers with each
other in afflictions and mercies, dangers and deliverances, ought
in consideration thereof to unite for their joint and mutual safety
and protection; and it is likely to be well with the church when
Ephraim and Judah are one against the Philistines. Then, whatever
difficulties there may be in the way of the return of the
dispersed, the Lord shall find out some way or other to remove
them, as when he brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red
Sea and Jordan (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.15" parsed="|Isa|11|15|0|0" passage="Isa 11:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>) and led them to Canaan through the invincible
embarrassments of a vast howling wilderness, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.16" parsed="|Isa|11|16|0|0" passage="Isa 11:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. The like will he do this
second time, or that which shall be equivalent. When God's time has
come for the deliverance of his people mountains of opposition
shall become plain before him. Let us not despair therefore when
the interests of the church seem to be brought very low; God can
soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p15" shownumber="no">II. It had a further reference to the days
of the Messiah and the accession of the Gentiles to his kingdom;
for to these the apostle applies <scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.10" parsed="|Isa|11|10|0|0" passage="Isa 11:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>, of which the following verses
are a continuation. <scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.15.12" parsed="|Rom|15|12|0|0" passage="Ro 15:12">Rom. xv.
12</scripRef>, <i>There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall
rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles
trust.</i> That is a key to this prophecy, which speaks of Christ
as the root of Jesse, or <i>a branch out of his roots</i>
(<scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.1" parsed="|Isa|11|1|0|0" passage="Isa 11:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), <i>a root
out of a dry ground,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.53.2" parsed="|Isa|53|2|0|0" passage="Isa 53:2"><i>ch.</i>
liii. 2</scripRef>. He is the <i>root of David</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.5.5" parsed="|Rev|5|5|0|0" passage="Re 5:5">Rev. v. 5</scripRef>), the <i>root and offspring
of David</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.22.16" parsed="|Rev|22|16|0|0" passage="Re 22:16">Rev. xxii.
16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p16" shownumber="no">1. <i>He shall stand,</i> or be set up,
<i>for an ensign of the people.</i> When he was crucified he was
<i>lifted up from the earth,</i> that, as an ensign of beacon, he
might <i>draw</i> the eyes and the hearts of <i>all men unto
him,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:John.12.32" parsed="|John|12|32|0|0" passage="Joh 12:32">John xii. 32</scripRef>. He
is set up as an ensign in the preaching of the everlasting gospel,
in which the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the banner of
his love, to allure us to him (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.4" parsed="|Song|1|4|0|0" passage="So 1:4">Cant. i.
4</scripRef>), the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist
ourselves, to engage in a holy war against sin and Satan. Christ is
the ensign to which <i>the children of God that were scattered
abroad are gathered together</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:John.11.51" parsed="|John|11|51|0|0" passage="Joh 11:51">John xi. 51</scripRef>), and in him they meet as the
centre of their unity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p17" shownumber="no">2. <i>To him shall the Gentiles seek.</i>
We read of Greeks that did so (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:John.12.21" parsed="|John|12|21|0|0" passage="Joh 12:21">John
xii. 21</scripRef>, <i>We would see Jesus</i>), and upon that
occasion Christ spoke of his being lifted up, to draw all men to
him. The apostle, from the LXX. (or perhaps the LXX. from the
apostle, in the editions after Christ) reads it (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.15.12" parsed="|Rom|15|12|0|0" passage="Ro 15:12">Rom. xv. 12</scripRef>), <i>In him shall the Gentiles
trust;</i> they shall seek to him with a dependence on him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p18" shownumber="no">3. <i>His rest shall be glorious.</i> Some
understand this of the death of Christ (the triumphs of the cross
made even that glorious), others of his ascension, when he sat down
to rest at the right hand of God. Or rather it is meant of the
gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, <i>This is
my rest,</i> and in which he resides. This, though despised by the
world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a
<i>glorious high throne,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.17.12" parsed="|Jer|17|12|0|0" passage="Jer 17:12">Jer.
xvii. 12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p19" shownumber="no">4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered
to him, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.11" parsed="|Isa|11|11|0|0" passage="Isa 11:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. A
remnant of both, a little remnant in comparison, which shall be
recovered, as it were, with great difficulty and hazard. As
formerly God delivered his people, and gathered them out of all the
countries whither they were scattered (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.106.47 Bible:Jer.16.15-Jer.16.16" parsed="|Ps|106|47|0|0;|Jer|16|15|16|16" passage="Ps 106:47,Jer 16:15,16">Ps. cvi. 47; Jer. xvi. 15, 16</scripRef>),
so he will a second time, in another way, by the powerful working
of the Spirit of grace with the word. He <i>shall set his hand</i>
to do it; he shall exert his power, the <i>arm of the Lord shall be
revealed</i> to do it. (1.) There shall be a remnant of the Jews
gathered in: <i>The outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of
Judah</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.12" parsed="|Isa|11|12|0|0" passage="Isa 11:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>),
many of whom, at the time of the bringing of them in to Christ,
were <i>Jews of the dispersion, the twelve tribes that were
scattered abroad</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.1 Bible:1Pet.1.1" parsed="|Jas|1|1|0|0;|1Pet|1|1|0|0" passage="Jam 1:1,1Pe 1:1">James i.
1; 1 Pet. i. 1</scripRef>), shall flock to Christ; and probably
more of those scattered Jews were brought into the church, in
proportion, than of those which remained in their own land. (2.)
Many of <i>the nations,</i> the Gentiles, shall be brought in by
the lifting up of the ensign. Jacob foretold concerning Shiloh that
<i>to him should the gathering of the people be.</i> Those that
were strangers and foreigners shall be made nigh. The Jews were
jealous of Christ's going to the dispersed among the Gentiles and
of his <i>teaching the Gentiles,</i> <scripRef id="Is.xii-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:John.7.35" parsed="|John|7|35|0|0" passage="Joh 7:35">John vii. 35</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p20" shownumber="no">5. There shall be a happy accommodation
between Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from their
adversaries and have dominion over them, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.13-Isa.11.14" parsed="|Isa|11|13|11|14" passage="Isa 11:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>. The coalescence between
Judah and Israel at that time was a type and figure of the uniting
of Jews and Gentiles, who had been so long at variance in the
gospel church. <i>The house of Judah shall walk with the house of
Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.18" parsed="|Jer|3|18|0|0" passage="Jer 3:18">Jer. iii. 18</scripRef>)
and become <i>one nation</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.37.22" parsed="|Ezek|37|22|0|0" passage="Eze 37:22">Ezek.
xxxvii. 22</scripRef>); so the Jews and Gentiles are made of
<i>twain one new man</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.15" parsed="|Eph|2|15|0|0" passage="Eph 2:15">Eph. ii.
15</scripRef>), and, being at peace one with another, those that
are adversaries to them both shall be cut off; for <i>they shall
fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines,</i> as an eagle strikes
at her prey, shall spoil those on the west side of them, and then
they shall extend their conquests eastward over the Edomites,
Moabites, and Ammonites. The gospel of Christ shall be successful
in all parts, and some of all nations shall become obedient to the
faith.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xii-p21" shownumber="no">6. Every thing that might hinder the
progress and success of the gospel shall be taken out of the way.
As when God brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and
Jordan before them (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.11-Isa.63.12" parsed="|Isa|63|11|63|12" passage="Isa 63:11,12"><i>ch.</i>
lxiii. 11, 12</scripRef>), and as afterwards when he brought up the
Jews out of Babylon he <i>prepared them their way</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.62.10" parsed="|Isa|62|10|0|0" passage="Isa 62:10"><i>ch.</i> lxii. 10</scripRef>), so when Jews
and Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel church all
obstructions shall be removed (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.15-Isa.11.16" parsed="|Isa|11|15|11|16" passage="Isa 11:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>), difficulties that
seemed insuperable shall be strangely got over, <i>the blind shall
be led by a way that they knew not.</i> See <scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.42.15-Isa.42.16 Bible:Isa.43.19-Isa.43.20" parsed="|Isa|42|15|42|16;|Isa|43|19|43|20" passage="Isa 42:15,16,43:19,20"><i>ch.</i> xlii. 15, 16; xliii. 19,
20</scripRef>. Converts shall be brought in chariots and in
litters, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.20" parsed="|Isa|66|20|0|0" passage="Isa 66:20"><i>ch.</i> lxvi.
20</scripRef>. Some think it is the further accession of multitudes
to the church that is pointed at in that obscure prophecy of the
drying up of the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the
east may be prepared (<scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.16.12" parsed="|Rev|16|12|0|0" passage="Re 16:12">Rev. xvi.
12</scripRef>), which seems to refer to this prophecy. Note, When
God's time has come for the bringing of nations, or particular
persons, home to himself, divine grace will be victorious over all
opposition. At the presence of the Lord the sea shall flee and
Jordan be driven back; and those who set their faces heavenward
will find there are not such difficulties in the way as they
thought there were, for there is a highway thither, <scripRef id="Is.xii-p21.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.8" parsed="|Isa|35|8|0|0" passage="Isa 35:8"><i>ch.</i> xxxv. 8</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>