Prophets and Kings [240]
Redeemer had prophesied of Himself:
"Reproach hath broken My heart; And I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, But there was none; And for comforters, But I found none. They gave Me also gall for My meat; And in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:20, 21.
Of the treatment He was to receive, He prophesied, "Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture." Psalm 22:16-18.
692
These portrayals of the bitter suffering and cruel death of the Promised One, sad though they were, were rich in promise; for of Him whom "it pleased the Lord to bruise" and to put to grief, in order that He might become "an offering for sin," Jehovah declared:
"He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied:
"By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because He hath poured out His soul unto death: And He was numbered with the transgressors; And He bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:10-12.
It was love for sinners that led Christ to pay the price of redemption. "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor," none other could ransom men and women from the power of the enemy; "therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him." Isaiah 59:16.
"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Isaiah 42:1.
In His life no self-assertion was to be mingled. The homage which the world gives to position, to wealth, and to talent, was to be foreign to the Son of God. None of the means that men employ to win allegiance or to command
693
homage, was the Messiah to use. His utter renunciation of self was foreshadowed in the words:
"He shall not cry, Nor lift up, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, And the smoking flax shall He not quench." Verses 2, 3.
In marked contrast to the teachers of His day was the Saviour to conduct Himself among men. In His life no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause, was ever to be witnessed. The Messiah was to be hid in God, and God was to be revealed in the character of His Son. Without a knowledge of God, humanity would be eternally lost. Without divine help, men and women would sink lower and lower. Life and power must be imparted by Him who made the world. Man's necessities could be met in no other way.
It was further prophesied of the Messiah: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law." The Son of God was to "magnify the law, and make it honorable." Verses 4, 21. He was not to lessen its importance and binding claims; He was rather to exalt it. At the same time He was to free the divine precepts from those burdensome exactions placed upon them by man, whereby many were brought to discouragement in their efforts to serve God acceptably.
Of the mission of the Saviour the word of Jehovah was: "I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for
694
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
"Reproach hath broken My heart; And I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, But there was none; And for comforters, But I found none. They gave Me also gall for My meat; And in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:20, 21.
Of the treatment He was to receive, He prophesied, "Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture." Psalm 22:16-18.
692
These portrayals of the bitter suffering and cruel death of the Promised One, sad though they were, were rich in promise; for of Him whom "it pleased the Lord to bruise" and to put to grief, in order that He might become "an offering for sin," Jehovah declared:
"He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied:
"By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because He hath poured out His soul unto death: And He was numbered with the transgressors; And He bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:10-12.
It was love for sinners that led Christ to pay the price of redemption. "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor," none other could ransom men and women from the power of the enemy; "therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him." Isaiah 59:16.
"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Isaiah 42:1.
In His life no self-assertion was to be mingled. The homage which the world gives to position, to wealth, and to talent, was to be foreign to the Son of God. None of the means that men employ to win allegiance or to command
693
homage, was the Messiah to use. His utter renunciation of self was foreshadowed in the words:
"He shall not cry, Nor lift up, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, And the smoking flax shall He not quench." Verses 2, 3.
In marked contrast to the teachers of His day was the Saviour to conduct Himself among men. In His life no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause, was ever to be witnessed. The Messiah was to be hid in God, and God was to be revealed in the character of His Son. Without a knowledge of God, humanity would be eternally lost. Without divine help, men and women would sink lower and lower. Life and power must be imparted by Him who made the world. Man's necessities could be met in no other way.
It was further prophesied of the Messiah: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law." The Son of God was to "magnify the law, and make it honorable." Verses 4, 21. He was not to lessen its importance and binding claims; He was rather to exalt it. At the same time He was to free the divine precepts from those burdensome exactions placed upon them by man, whereby many were brought to discouragement in their efforts to serve God acceptably.
Of the mission of the Saviour the word of Jehovah was: "I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for
694
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;