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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>I S A I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether it be so in rhetoric
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or no), and a very common one, to pass from the prediction of the
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temporal deliverances of the church to that of the great salvation,
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which in the fulness of time should be wrought out by Jesus Christ, of
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which the other were types and figures, to which all the prophets bore
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witness; and so the ancient Jews understood them. For what else was it
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that raised so great an expectation of the Messiah at the time he came.
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Upon occasion of the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from
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Sennacherib, here comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince.
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I. His rise out of the house of David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. His qualifications for his great undertaking,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>.
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III. The justice and equity of his government,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:3-5">ver. 3-5</A>.
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IV. The peaceableness of his kingdom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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V. The accession of the Gentiles to it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:10">ver. 10</A>),
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and with them the remnant of the Jews, that should be united with them
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in the Messiah's kingdom
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:11-16">ver. 11-16</A>)
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and of all this God would now shortly give them a type, and some dark
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representation, in the excellent government of Hezekiah, the great
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peace which the nation should enjoy under him, after the ruin of
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Sennacherib's design, and the return of many of the ten tribes out of
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their dispersion to their brethren of the land of Judah, when they
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enjoyed that great tranquility.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Isa11_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Isa11_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 740.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
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and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
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2 And the spirit of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall rest upon him, the spirit of
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wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the
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spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
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3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither
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reprove after the hearing of his ears:
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4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove
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with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the
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earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips
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shall he slay the wicked.
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5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and
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faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
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6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
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shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and
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the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
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7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall
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lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
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8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
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the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
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9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for
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the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, as the
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waters cover the sea.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should
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be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government
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should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times
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of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect
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of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He
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had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:27"><I>ch.</I> x. 27</A>)
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that <I>the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing;</I> now
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here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels,</P>
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<P>
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I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of
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David, as that <I>branch</I> of the Lord which he had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:2"><I>ch.</I> iv. 2</A>)
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should be excellent and glorious; the word is <I>Netzer,</I> which some
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think is referred to in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:23">Matt. ii. 23</A>,
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where it is said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he
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<I>should be called a Nazarene.</I> Observe here,
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1. Whence this branch should arise-from <I>Jesse.</I> He should be the
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son of David, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and to whom
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it was promised with an oath that <I>of the fruit of his loins God
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would raise of Christ,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:30">Acts ii. 30</A>.
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David is often called <I>the son of Jesse,</I> and Christ is called so,
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because he was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+3:5">Hos. iii. 5</A>.
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2. The meanness of his appearance.
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(1.) He is called a <I>rod,</I> and a <I>branch;</I> both the words
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here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a <I>twig</I> and a
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<I>sprig</I> (so some render them), such as is easily broken off. The
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enemies of God's church were just before compared to strong and stately
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boughs
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:33"><I>ch.</I> x. 33</A>),
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which will not, without great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a
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tender branch
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:2"><I>ch.</I> liii. 2</A>);
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yet he shall be victorious over them.
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(2.) He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse
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lived and died in meanness and obscurity; his family was of small
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account
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+18:18">1 Sam. xviii. 18</A>),
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and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes
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called the <I>son of Jesse,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+22:7">1 Sam. xxii. 7</A>.
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(3.) He comes forth out of the <I>stem,</I> or <I>stump,</I> of Jesse.
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When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut down, and only
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the stump of it left, almost levelled with the ground and lost in the
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grass of the field
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+4:15">Dan. iv. 15</A>),
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yet it shall sprout again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+14:7">Job xiv. 7</A>);
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nay, it <I>shall grow out of his roots,</I> which are quite buried in
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the earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem
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appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought
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very low at the time of Christ's birth, witness the obscurity and
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poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his estate
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of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted,
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and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this
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world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, <I>There shall come forth a
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King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah</I> (or Christ) <I>shall
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be anointed out of his sons' sons.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. That he should be every way qualified for that great work to which
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he was designed, that this tender branch should be so watered with the
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dews of heaven as to become a strong rod for a sceptre to rule,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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1. In general, <I>the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.</I> The
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Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest
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and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but
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without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:19,2:9">Col. i. 19; ii. 9</A>.
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He began his preaching with this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+4:18">Luke iv. 18</A>),
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<I>The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.</I>
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2. In particular, the spirit of government, by which he should be every
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way fitted for that judgment which the Father has committed to him and
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<I>given him authority to execute</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:22,27">John v. 22, 27</A>),
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and not only so, but should be made the fountain and treasury of all
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grace to believers, that from his fulness they might all receive the
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Spirit of grace, as all the members of the body derive animal spirits
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from the head.
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(1.) He shall have <I>the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of
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counsel and knowledge;</I> he shall thoroughly understand the business
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he is to be employed in. <I>No man knows the Father but the Son,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:27">Matt. xi. 27</A>.
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What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his
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mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:18">John i. 18</A>.
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He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in
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all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great
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intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of
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men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances
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instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid in him; he
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shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us wisdom.
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(2.) <I>The spirit of courage,</I> or <I>might,</I> or fortitude. The
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undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty must be broken
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through, and therefore it was necessary that he should be so endowed
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that he <I>might not fail or be discouraged,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:4"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 4</A>.
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He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and
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not caring for any man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+22:16">Matt. xxii. 16</A>.
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(3.) The spirit of religion, or <I>the fear of the Lord;</I> not only
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he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Father, as his
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servant
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:1"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 1</A>),
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and he was heard in <I>that he feared</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+5:7">Heb. v. 7</A>),
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but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement
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of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed
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to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of
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the Lord.</P>
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<P>
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III. That he should be accurate, and critical, and very exact in the
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administration of his government and the exercise of the power
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committed to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed <I>shall make him of quick
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understanding in the fear of the Lord</I>--of an acute smell or scent
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(so the word is), for the apprehensions of the mind are often expressed
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by the sensations of the body. Note,
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1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent that are so in the
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fear of the Lord, in the business of religion, for that is both the
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foundation and top-stone of wisdom.
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2. By this it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have
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spiritual senses exercised, and are of <I>quick understanding in the
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fear of the lord.</I> Those have divine illumination that know their
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duty and know how to go about it.
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3. <I>Therefore</I> Jesus Christ had the spirit without measure, that
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he might perfectly understand his undertaking; and he did so, as
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appears not only in the admirable answers he gave to all that
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questioned with him, which proved him to be of <I>quick understanding
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in the fear of the Lord,</I> but in the management of his whole
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undertaking. He has settled the great affair of religion so
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unexpectedly well (so as effectually to secure both God's honour and
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man's happiness) that, it must be owned, he thoroughly understood
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it.</P>
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<P>
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IV. That he should be just and righteous in all the acts of his
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government, and there should appear in it as much equity as wisdom. He
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shall judge as he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be
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judged of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:24">John vii. 24</A>.
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1. Not according to outward appearance
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,</I> with respect of
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persons
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+34:19">Job xxxiv. 19</A>)
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and according to outward shows and appearances, not <I>reprove after
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the hearing of his ears,</I> by common fame and report, and the
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representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he judge of men
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by the fair words they speak, <I>calling him, Lord, Lord,</I> or their
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plausible actions before the eye of the world, which they do to be seen
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of men; but he will judge by the hidden man of the heart, and the
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inward principles men are governed by, of which he is an infallible
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witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+2:16">Rom. ii. 16</A>),
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will determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions
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and appearances (that were to <I>judge after the sight of the
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eyes</I>), not according to the opinion others have of them (that were
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to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that <I>his
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judgment is according to truth.</I>
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2. He will judge righteous judgment
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins.</I> He shall be
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righteous in the administration of his government, and his
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righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and
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cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird himself
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for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his
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righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in
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his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In conformity to
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Christ, his followers must have the girdle of truth
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+6:14">Eph. vi. 14</A>)
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and it will be the stability of the times. Particularly,
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(1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people that are poor and
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oppressed; he will be their protector
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>With righteousness shall he judge the poor;</I> he shall judge in
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favour and defence of those that have right on their side, though they
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are poor in the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the
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duty of princes to defend and deliver the poor
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+82:3,4">Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4</A>),
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and the honour of Christ that he is the poor man's King,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:2,4">Ps. lxxii. 2, 4</A>.
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He shall <I>debate with evenness for the meek of the earth,</I> or of
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the land; those that bear the injuries done them with meekness and
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patience are in a special manner entitled to the divine care and
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protection. <I>I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear,</I>
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|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:13,14">Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>But he shall smite the earth,</I> the man of the earth, that doth
|
|
oppress (see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:18">Ps. x. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
the men of the world, that <I>mind earthly things</I> only
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:6">John xviii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+2:8">2 Thess. ii. 8</A>)
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
V. That there should be great peace and tranquillity under his
|
|
government; this is an explication of what was said in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+9:6"><I>ch.</I> ix. 6</A>,
|
|
|
|
that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace signifies two things:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+34:20,21">Ezek. xxxiv. 20, 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:13">1 Pet. iii. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+18:3">Matt. xviii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+8:5">2 Cor. viii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+8:11">Heb. viii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
But that is knowledge falsely so called which sows discord among men;
|
|
the right knowledge of God settles peace.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Isa11_16"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Advancement of Messiah's Kingdom.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 740.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
|
|
|
|
and led them to Canaan through the invincible embarrassments of a vast
|
|
howling wilderness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
of which the following verses are a continuation.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:12">Rom. xv. 12</A>,
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>a root out of a dry ground,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:2"><I>ch.</I> liii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
He is the <I>root of David</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+5:5">Rev. v. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
the <I>root and offspring of David</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:16">Rev. xxii. 16</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:32">John xii. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+1:4">Cant. i. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:51">John xi. 51</A>),
|
|
|
|
and in him they meet as the centre of their unity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. <I>To him shall the Gentiles seek.</I> We read of Greeks that did so
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:21">John xii. 21</A>,
|
|
|
|
<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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+15:12">Rom. xv. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>In him shall the Gentiles trust;</I> they shall seek to him with a
|
|
dependence on him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+17:12">Jer. xvii. 12</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered to him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:47,Jer+16:15,16">Ps. cvi. 47; Jer. xvi. 15, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:1,1Pe+1:1">James i. 1; 1 Pet. i. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:35">John vii. 35</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. There shall be a happy accommodation between Judah and Ephraim, and
|
|
both shall be safe from their adversaries and have dominion over them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
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The coalescence between Judah and Israel at that time was a type and
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figure of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, who had been so long at
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variance in the gospel church. <I>The house of Judah shall walk with
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the house of Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+3:18">Jer. iii. 18</A>)
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and become <I>one nation</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+37:22">Ezek. xxxvii. 22</A>);
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so the Jews and Gentiles are made of <I>twain one new man</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:15">Eph. ii. 15</A>),
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and, being at peace one with another, those that are adversaries to
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them both shall be cut off; for <I>they shall fly upon the shoulders of
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the Philistines,</I> as an eagle strikes at her prey, shall spoil those
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on the west side of them, and then they shall extend their conquests
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eastward over the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. The gospel of
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Christ shall be successful in all parts, and some of all nations shall
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become obedient to the faith.</P>
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<P>
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6. Every thing that might hinder the progress and success of the gospel
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shall be taken out of the way. As when God brought Israel out of Egypt
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he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan before them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+63:11,12"><I>ch.</I> lxiii. 11, 12</A>),
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and as afterwards when he brought up the Jews out of Babylon he
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<I>prepared them their way</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+62:10"><I>ch.</I> lxii. 10</A>),
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so when Jews and Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel
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church all obstructions shall be removed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>),
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difficulties that seemed insuperable shall be strangely got over,
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<I>the blind shall be led by a way that they knew not.</I> See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:15,16,43:19,20"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 15, 16; xliii. 19, 20</A>.
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Converts shall be brought in chariots and in litters,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:20"><I>ch.</I> lxvi. 20</A>.
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Some think it is the further accession of multitudes to the church that
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is pointed at in that obscure prophecy of the drying up of the river
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Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+16:12">Rev. xvi. 12</A>),
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which seems to refer to this prophecy. Note, When God's time has come
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for the bringing of nations, or particular persons, home to himself,
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divine grace will be victorious over all opposition. At the presence
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of the Lord the sea shall flee and Jordan be driven back; and those who
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|
set their faces heavenward will find there are not such difficulties in
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the way as they thought there were, for there is a highway thither,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+35:8"><I>ch.</I> xxxv. 8</A>.</P>
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