Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 34:29

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

29. a plant of renown ] a plantation of renown, lit. for a name, i.e. a plantation which shall be (or, so as to be) renowned; cf. for the phrase Eze 39:13; Isa 55:13. The ref. is not to the person of the Messiah, but to the luxuriant fertility and vegetation of the earth in the Messianic age. Comp. Psalms 67, Psa 72:16; Amo 9:13; Hos 2:21; Joe 2:23 seq. The land of Israel was subject to droughts and famine (Eze 36:15; Eze 36:30; 1 Kings 17 seq.; Jer 14:1-6; Jer 14:18; Joel 1). In the regeneration this reproach shall no more fall on it, ch. Eze 36:3; Eze 36:6; Eze 36:15.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Eze 34:29

I will raise up for them a Plant of renown.

The eternal Plant

The symbolism of the Bible forms one of its most interesting and conspicuous features. As children are oft-times taught the alphabet by the assistance of pictures, so ancient Israel, living amid the dim shadows of patriarchal and mosaic times, were instructed in the A B C and rudimental principles of religious worship and godly knowledge and obedience by the help of types, prefigurements, symbols. Ezekiel every now and then swells out in organ strains of grand poetic utterance, calling into use the wealth of natures imagery to embody and symbol forth the wonderful creations of his inspired and sanctified genius. And strange, yet glorious to say, all this wealth of biblical imagery, either directly or indirectly, points to and finds its higher actualisation in the Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega of Scripture. We speak not here of Jesus the Rose or Jesus the Lily; of Jesus the Star or Jesus the Sun; of Jesus the King or Jesus the Servant; of Jesus the Foundation or of Jesus the Stone of Stumbling; of Jesus the Branch or of Jesus the Tree of Life; but of Jesus the Plant–the Eternal Plant, the Plant of Renown–of renown among men, angels, seraphs, God! In thought, memory, and love, let us gather around this Plant to meditate, admire, adore.

I. Jesus is an aromatic Plant. He outbreathes an aroma which fills heaven with ecstasy, and saves earth with its teeming population from moral putrefaction and death. Christ is an eternal perfume. Angels and archangelic ones drink it in as flowers drink in the solar ray. And whenever on human soil He is scented for the first time, it creates an insatiable desire in the soul to daily and hourly drink at this fountain of sweetest odours.

1. The Bible would have no fragrance were it not for Christ. It would be mouldy and mildewed, antiquated and repulsive, without the aroma of this Plant.

2. Preaching would have no refreshing and soul-saving odour without this Plant. It might have persuasive rhetoric, and convincing logic, and charming elocution, and faultless learning, and elegant diction–yea, all the graces and glories of finished composition; nevertheless, devoid of the aromatic odours of the Lamb of God–the one Mediator for and only Saviour of a fallen world–it would be nothing more than a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, or a message surcharged with the savour of death unto death!

3. Prayer, too, would have no effect without the perfume of this Plant. There might be fluency of utterance, beauty of sentence, multiplicity of words, glowing creations of thought, minute descriptions of want, and oratorical outbursts of desire and request; but unless fragrant with the incense of Jesus blood, and death, and intercession, it will be but a bundle of vain repetitions, or a jingle of unmeaning terms, unacceptable to God, and unbenefiting to us.

4. Heaven would have no fragrance but for Christ. Fie is the all of heaven! The music of its songs, the brightness of its skies, the health of its atmosphere, the splendour of its sceneries, the vitality, and glory, and wonder of its inhabitants–ay, the nectar of its unwithering flowers, the eternal perfume of its homage, worship, service, adoration!

II. Christ is a medicinal Plant. His leaves are for the healing of the nations. He is the balm of Gilead, the balm for every wound, the cordial for every fear. A wonderful variety of medicinal virtues is characteristic of this unique Plant. While as a grand specific for the worlds sin it is one; yet, for the Churchs manifold ailments it is a repository of all that is needed, suited, effectual. If you suffer morally from had appetite and indigestion, so that you do not relish the means of grace or the ordinances of the Church, and loathe the food with which Gods servants try to feed you, through its not being dainty enough, or too much spiced, or not cooked to your taste–make application to Christ and He will speedily effect a cure. Or if you suffer from soul dyspepsia, which makes you peevish, discontented, morose, and querulous in the church and in the family and in the business, so that you are an unwholesome sample to the world of our glorious Christianity–come to Christ and tell Him all and He will send you healthy and happy away.

III. Jesus is an unwithering Plant. Not only evergreen, ever-verdant, ever-fresh, but eternally enduring. The frosts of time cannot nip it; the roll of centuries cannot fade it; the heat of a myriad persecution–suns cannot scorch it; the blasts of all storms, and the blights of all winters, and the changes of all seasons, and the sweep and swing of all eternities, cannot sear, shrivel, wither it! In two of its ingredients–qualities–it stands in sublime and unapproachable isolation, namely, immutability and eternity. It is immutable, because eternal from necessity, and eternal from necessity because uncaused and infinite.

IV. Jesus Christ is a universal Plant. In other words, a Plant in every place, being omnipresent; and a Plant for every sinners appropriation, being suitable and sufficient. None can monopolise it, any more than they can monopolise the sunlight, the rain, the dew. It is the property of all in general, but of everyone who believes in particular. He is the Saviour of the world. He is for the healing of the nations. All men are to be blessed in Him. As the old sun shines on every shore, so this Plant shall cast its healing shadow over every land, and drop its sovereign balm in every receptive heart, and be renowned by all languages and peoples. (J. O. Keen, D. D.)

The plant of renown

I. Its nature. There never was such another. The plant has two perfectly distinct natures. In the language of the Song of Solomon it is both white and ruddy. Each of those two natures is complete in all its attributes. Christ was perfect God, and at the same time perfect man.

II. Its beauty. Every believer will acknowledge this. Feeling how exactly suitable the Lord Jesus is to meet your every want, you admire all that concerns Him.

III. Its fruitfulness. The Lord God, who in the beginning gave to man every tree for meat, has given us Christ for the same purpose. Other trees have only one species of fruit, but this produces twelve manners of fruits: fruits for every season: fruits for prosperity; fruits for adversity; fruits for every occasion that can possibly arise; fruits for newborn converts; fruits for those of riper experience; fruits for fathers and mothers in Israel; fruits suited to every individual whom the Holy Spirit leads to Christ.

IV. Its permanency. Its branches will be ever stretching forth, the glory of Paradise. Its leaves will never lose their healing virtues. Its fruits will be as delicious ten thousand ages hence, as they will be in the very commencement of your future eternity. No one that takes shelter beneath its branches will ever be compelled to flee from under it.

V. Its fragrancy. In whatever sanctuary He is preached, how fragrant is He there! In whatever book He is set forth, how fragrant is He there! The leaves of that book all smell of myrrh, aloes, cassia, and all manner of sweet spices. How fragrant, too, is any house which is the abode of even one of the Lords redeemed people! How fragrant is any parish, any country, where believers are multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost!

VI. Its shadow. There will come seasons when you will find the hot winds of severe afflictions beating so vehemently upon your heads, that, without Christs supporting grace, you will be brought to your wits end, and will be at the point to die. Oh, that you would see how sad is your condition compared with that of Christs people in their trials and difficulties!

VII. Its celebrity. In one respect this plant resembled others. In its origin it was tittle accounted of. In His incarnation, humiliation, and death, He was comparatively despised and rejected; but springing up, in His resurrection, ascension and heavenly glory, He has become greatly renowned, and is daily made more so by the spreading of His Gospel throughout all nations. I conclude by a two-fold admonition.

1. Feed upon this plant yourselves.

2. Make it known to others. (C. Clayton, M. A.)

Christ the Plant of renown

I. Some plants are renowned for their rareness. Anything that is rarely to be met with in this world is all the more valued, because it is uncommon. If it be really valuable in itself, it is prized not merely because of its intrinsic excellence, but doubly prized because it is rare. Now, in this respect, Christ may well be called the Plant of renown. He is the only-begotten and well-beloved Son of God. In every view Christ is rare and precious. To be convinced of this, think not merely of His original glory, nor of His mysterious person; but think also of what He is and has done for His people. Truly we must say, He is the unspeakable gift of God–a gift that stands out prominently from all the other gifts of our heavenly Father–a gift with which no other can be compared–yea, with whose infinite value the united value of all other gifts together is not to be put into the balance. As to His love, if we try to speak of it, we must close by saying, that it passeth knowledge. As to His sufferings, if we try to describe them, we must admit that they exceed all our conceptions, and that there never was any sorrow like unto His sorrow. As to His riches, if we try to reckon them, we must end with the confession that they are unsearchable riches. As to His excellence, both in Himself and as the Saviour of His people, if we try to speak of it, we must admit, after all illustrations and comparisons, that it is unparalleled and inconceivably great.

II. Some plants are renowned for their beauty. Some for the gorgeous richness of their colour; others for the delicate paleness of their hue–some for the elegant, form and loveliness of their flower; others for the stately and majestic appearance of the plant itself. And most assuredly Christ may in this respect be called the Plant of renown. In Him we see every variety of colour and shade, which, combined, constitute the perfection of beauty. The most lovely sight which this world ever saw was the character of Jesus. Everything which pure and holy beings can admire, is to be seen in Jesus. View the graces separately, and you see each of them perfect in Christ–humility in His becoming a man–meekness in bearing insults–gentleness in administering reproofs–patience in enduring sufferings–devotedness to His Fathers will, which made Him say, that in the doing of it He had meat to eat which the world knew not of–devotion, which wearied not of whole nights spent in prayer–benevolence, which knew no bounds in the bestowment of blessings–heavenly-mindedness, which made Him, though in the world, not of it. These graces shine each of them gloriously in the character of Jesus, and all of them combined constitute that perfect excellence which saints and angels shall admire forever.

III. Some plants are renowned for their fragrance. Sweet smelling flowers and fragrant plants are felt even here to be most delightful and refreshing; but in the East, there are plants of such rich fragrance, as we can have no conception of at all in these northern climes. To pass a garden of aromatic herbs, when the gentle breeze causes the sweet spices to flow forth, is perfectly delightful to the weary traveller. And in this respect, too, Christ may be called the Plant of renown. What a sweet savour there is about all the graces and excellencies of Christ! You cannot come to the contemplation of His character without feeling that you are breathing a pure and holy atmosphere, grateful as the spicy breezes of the East to those who are faint and weary. The death of Christ is an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savour, and the Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake, seeing He hath magnified the law and made it honourable. And anxious souls feel that it has a delightful fragrance, when their hearts are cheered, and revived, and comforted, as they behold the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world. Never was weary traveller, when like to faint under the burning rays of an eastern sun, so revived and refreshed by the spicy breezes, as poor souls, ready to faint under a burden of sin, and amid the trials of the world, are refreshed and cheered by the sweet savour that there is in Christ.

IV. Some plants are renowned for their healing virtue. It is a proof of the goodness and benevolence of God that, while this world, in consequence of the Fall, is filled with disease and pain, there are medicinal plants whose application has a healing efficacy. And in this respect, as well as those already mentioned, Christ may be called the Plant of renown. From the Saviour on the Cross there flows a healing virtue to cure all the diseases of our souls. The blood and grace of Jesus are the precious balm. It is balm extracted from the wounded Tree of Life–from the pierced side of Immanuel; and it is effectual in curing the envenomed bite of the old serpent, the devil in mortifying the wounds which the arrows of conviction have made in our souls, and in completely healing the loathsome disease of sin.

V. Some plants are renowned for the shelter they afford from the scorching rays of the sun. Even in our own climate it is often most refreshing, when oppressed with heat, to recline under the shade of a spreading tree. And how much more delightful for an eastern traveller to come to a shady tree, under whose wide-spreading branches he may lie down upon the cool ground and rest himself! Flow delightful for the eastern shepherds, when they have conducted their flocks to the place of rest at noon, to lie down and rest themselves in the shade! But, oh, how infinitely more delightful for the poor sinner to sit down under the shadow of the Plant of renown! The branches of the trees of Paradise were no covering to guilty Adam, but under the shadow of the Tree of Life the awakened sinner may lie down and take quiet rest, assured that the wrath of God will never reach him any more.

VI. Some plants are renowned for the excellent fruits which they bear. This is a quality for which the plant here spoken of is renowned; for the consequence of its being raised up to Gods people is, that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land. If it be delightful to a weary traveller to lie down at noon under the cool shade of a spreading tree, it is especially so when the tree is laden with mellow and delicious fruit, which the traveller may pluck and eat for the quenching of his thirst. In this respect, every believer finds Christ to be the Plant of renown, and it is while he feeds upon Christ by faith that he is no more consumed with hunger in this batten land. (John Laird.)

Christ as a Plant of renown

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I. He is renowned in His stately beauty. He towers high above all the trees of the great forests of the world, and His branches, adorned with lovely foliage, spread out in all directions over all. Christ is the incarnation of the highest moral beauty; He is altogether lovely.

II. He is renowned for His wonderful fruitfulness. He is the Tree of Life, His fruits are for the healing of the nations. His fruits are sufficient to feed and bless all hungry souls. Who of all the children of men ever accomplished one-thousandth part of the good that Christ has accomplished?

III. He is renowned for His remedial virtues. He has a sovereign balm for every wound, He binds up the broken-hearted, He is the Great Physician. He is a cure for guilt, for fear, for remorse, and for all the disorders of the mind.

IV. He is renowned for His great durability. All human plants wither, decay, and pass away; but He continues unchanged through the centuries. (Homilist.)

Jesus, a Plant of renown

The Creator has implanted love for the beautiful in our hearts for very wise and beneficent purposes; not that we may be like the briar, creeping along the ground, nor like thorns or nettles, pricking and stinging those who are brave enough to touch us; nor like the poppy, very showy and vain, but very empty and weak; and certainly not like the thistle, full of ill-will to everybody that shall take hold upon us. I think God wanted to show us of His great love to us; for if He had not loved us, He would never have thrown, in their variety, fragrance, and beauty, such proofs of His love all around us. And further, He intended to teach us to imitate the flowers, to try and be beautiful and fragrant, kind and pleasing, and not to live so much for ourselves as to impart joy to others. To an attentive listener, the flowers and plants are quite eloquent as they preach to us the graces and virtues of religion. The flowers are ever speaking to us of Jesus. Isaiah prophesied of the coming of A root of Jesse; Solomon called the Lord Jesus The lily of the valley and the rose of Sharon. So theft if when we next go into a garden we will only think, we shall meet with things to lift up our minds and affections to Jesus.

I. Why Jesus is the Plant of renown.

1. His great beauty. It is impossible for us to say what Jesus was personally, that is, His physical appearance; nor can such a subject concern us much. Many who show little or no physical beauty reveal high intellectual and spiritual worth, and if we look at Jesus through this channel, we shall soon find that He was the most beautiful plant that eyes of man ever looked upon. No one ever said such beautiful things as Jesus. Whether He was on the sea or on a mountain apart, whether at a marriage feast or at a funeral, whether surrounded only by His beloved disciples or by the inquisitive eager multitudes, whether at home with His parents, in the house of Martha and Mary, on the Mount of Olives, or even hanging on the Cross, no one ever uttered such beautiful sayings as He. He was, for beauty, the Plant of renown, if we look at the character Fie possessed. No passion marred it, no sin spotted it, no darkness eclipsed it, no sorrow dimmed it, nor did any combination of forces impair or weaken it,. Then His worthiness to be called the Plant of renown is seen if we call to mind the beautiful deeds He accomplished. It was a beautiful thing for Jesus to leave His home and glory in heaven, and to come to suffer and bleed and die for us. And how full was that life of beautiful acts! Nazareth and Capernaum, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, Bethany and the Mount of Olives, all say His life was crowded with deeds most beautiful; and therefore Ezekiel was quite right when he said that Jesus was a Plant of renown.

2. If we examine His marvellous strength we shall find another right, or title, to the figure. There are some things exceedingly beautiful, but they are so weak that we are afraid of damaging if we only touch them. Had not Jesus been as remarkable for His strength as for His beauty, He would have been destroyed by the rough elements that surged around, and wasted their strength upon Him. The world put forth its energy to destroy this Plant; its prejudice, its envy, its malice, its hate, its unbelief, its authority, and its allurements were all brought forward to destroy Jesus; but His strength was superior to all, and so He said, I have overcome the world. Satan, he who overcame the first Adam, and who since the victory then won has weakened, broken, defaced, and destroyed many and many beautiful plants,–Satan brought his great power to bear upon Jesus, the Plant of renown; but here he was foiled and defeated. So strong was Jesus that he overcame the devil And what for strength this Plant of renown was, it still remains. Not the roll of nineteen hundred years has at all impaired it; neither in root, nor leaf, nor flower has it suffered any decay. This Plant is a strength-giving Plant. Jesus has power to comfort the sorrowful, to help the helpless, to guide the perplexed, to release the prisoner, to make bold the diffident, and to cause the barren to be fruitful. Yes, He is mighty to save, and He travels in the greatness of His strength.

3. His healing properties. I cant think there are many people who would refuse to have in their possession a plant which could cure all their maladies, or turn their maladies into blessings. Certain I am that if any gardener could exhibit such a plant for sale, he could have almost any price for it, and then be utterly unable to meet all demands. Now, Ezekiels Plant of renown is a plant of this character. And yet–oh, marvellous to relate!–men, women, and even young people, are seldom eager to possess it.

4. Jesus is the Plant of renown because of the fruit He bears. Perhaps if you were to search very minutely and very long, you might meet with a boy who does not care for plants because of their beauty, or with a girl who thinks little of them because of any healing virtue they may have; but I dont think any searching would find boy or girl who would care nothing about any fruit you might mention as produced by plants. The possessors of this Plant have Christ formed in their hearts, and they bring forth fruit unto holiness,–they grow in grace, and are pure in heart. No plant, then, for beauty, strength, healing power, and fruit, can compare with Ezekiels Plant of renown.

II. Where Jesus is this Plant of renown. Everything in its place, is a capital maxim. There are places where we might as well search for sunshine at midnight as for this Plant of renown. I shall not ask you to look for this Plant in the writings of infidelity, for if it could be found there, it would only be that it might be insulted and, if possible, destroyed. I shall not ask you to search for it in the multitudinous volumes of light, fictitious literature with which we are almost deluged; such a soft has neither depth nor richness sufficient for this Plant.

1. Jesus is a Plant of renown in the Bible. I want to compare the Bible to a conservatory; and I think we shall find it the very best conservatory the world has ever seen. Let us go inside, for our fathers many years ago opened wide the door, and now we are quite welcome to enter. How beautifully it is fitted up, and what an assemblage of colour and fragrance, what unspeakably rare plants are here; and all preserved in excellent order. But now just listen; what can it be these plants are all saying? We have no root of ourselves, no beauty underived, no fragrance our own, no fruit naturally, no life independent; for all these things we are dependent, and dependent only, upon Ezekiels Plant of renown.

2. Jesus is a Plant of renown in all the intercourse held between man and God. Who has not heard of the missing link? Jesus is the only missing link of union between God and us. Gods character is one of holiness, justice, truth, and love; mans character is one of sin, injustice, falsehood, and hate. Oh, what can bring the two together? Heaven and earth combined, proclaim, Jesus of Nazareth, the Plant of renown.

3. Jesus is a Plant of renown in the hearts of Gods people. The moment Jesus enters the soul, all sickness and darkness, all parchedness and blight, entirely disappear, and, with the Plant of renown right in the centre, the heart becomes like the garden of the Lord.

4. Jesus is a Plant of renown in the history of the entire world. What a great deal that history will have to say about His coming into and His growth in our world; about the influence of Jesus in all cottages and palaces, in all courts and camps, and in all counsels, whether of Churches or of States. How that history will show, in characters of living light, His value as Redeemer, Saviour, Friend, and King. How it will ascribe to Him preeminence in all things–in virtue, truth, goodness, grace, sanctity, glory, and everything else that is lovely and of good report; ever presenting to Him the homage and love of a glorified and saved Church, out of all nations, and peoples, and tongues under heaven.

5. Jesus will be the Plant of renown in heaven. Gabriel, Michael, the whole company of the angelic world, cherubim and seraphim, are all like so many plants of rare excellence; but no plant in heaven like Jesus. Think, too, of the plants that have gone from our garden plots here, from our homes, and from our hearts. All gone: we see them not, we hear them not: the Master hath called them. But whilst they were here they were plants of the Lords right hand planting, trees of righteousness. Then what, after years of holy culture and constant growth, must such be in heaven? Who now shall estimate their beauty or worth? But high above and far beyond all others in heaven, will be the Lord Jesus, the Plant of renown.

(1) He will be renowned for having once left its glory, its society, and its song, in order that He might become a poor man, to suffer, bleed, and die.

(2) He will be renowned for having thrown wide open to the sons of Adam its pearly gates, its everlasting privileges, and its undying glory; and for having by His attractiveness drawn into that holy place millions of the race of man; as the great and only Conqueror of death and sin, of hell and the devil. (J. Goodachre.)

The Plant of renown

I. The glory of the Saviour, as intimated by the metaphorical designation here given to Him–a Plant of renown.

1. The glory that surrounded Him, even amidst the greatest depth of His humiliation.

2. His triumphant resurrection from the grave, and His exaltation to honour and glory at His Fathers right hand.

3. The triumphs of His Gospel, from the earliest period of its proclamation to the present day.

4. The Divine predictions of His millennial glory on earth, and His perpetual reign in heaven.

II. The agency of God the Father in securing all this glory to the Saviour. Jehovah is the Speaker; and He says, I will raise up a Plant of renown (verse 23).

1. God the Father called the Saviour, and set Him apart to His work.

2. God the Father sent our Saviour into our world clothed in our nature.

3. God the Father qualified Him for His work, and assisted Him in it.

4. God the Father, as a proof of His love, and as the reward of His services, gave Him all that renown which He had acquired.

III. The blessedness of Christs people, in consequence of His elevation to glory, or renown for their sakes.

1. In consequence of the work and exaltation of Him who is here denominated a Plant of renown, His people shall be at once freed from want, and blessed with abundance.

2. In consequence of the work and exaltation of Christ, His people shall be at once freed from shame, and loaded with honour.

Application–

1. Give glory to God for raising up for you a Plant of renown.

2. Live constantly by the faith of Him who was once greatly humbled, but is now highly exalted for your sakes.

3. Days of darkness and distress will to believers be succeeded by days of joy and triumph.

4. Use the means of making the Redeemer more renowned.

5. All must be exposed to want and eternal ruin who have no connexion with Christ as the Plant of renown. (A. Thomson, D. D.)

The Plant of renown

I. Premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant.

1. What is here ascribed to Christ, is not to be understood absolutely of Him as God, but officially–as He is Mediator and Redeemer.

2. This Plant is but small and little in the eyes of a blind world.

3. However contemptible this Plant of renown is in the eyes of a blind world, yet He is the tallest plant in all Gods Lebanon.

4. This blessed Plant of renown was cut down in His death, and sprung up gloriously in His resurrection.

5. All the little plants in the garden are ingrafted in this Plant of renown.

II. He is a renowned Plant. He is renowned in heaven, and He is renowned on earth, and will be so (Psa 72:17).

1. He is renowned for His antiquity.

2. He is renowned for His beauty. The glory of a God is in Him Is there any glory in His eternal Father? Why, that glory shines in our Immanuel in the very brightness of it (Heb 1:3).

3. He is renowned for His verdure, for His perpetual greenness. Other plants are fading.

4. He is renowned for His virtue. We read in Rev 22:1-21, That the leaves of the tree of life were for the healing of the nations,–that tree of life is the very same with this Plant of renown; the leaves of this Plant are for the healing of the nations; and we that are ministers are come this day to scatter the leaves of this tree of life, of this Plant of renown; try if you can get a leaf of it applied and set home upon your souls; depend upon it, there is virtue in every word of His.

5. He is renowned for His fertility: He is not a barren Plant; He would not be renowned if He were barren; He brings forth all manner of fruit every month; yea, I may add, every day, every moment. There is the fruit of His incarnation; there is the fruit of His death; there is the fruit of His resurrection; there is the fruit of His ascension; there is the fruit of His intercession, and sitting at the right hand of God; there is the fruit of His prophetic office; there is the fruit of His priestly office; there is the fruit of His kingly office; there is the fruit of His appearing within the vail; there is the fruit of what He did without the vail, and without the camp. Oh, what fruit is here!

6. He is renowned for His scent, and pleasant savour (Son 1:2). The believer finds a scent about Him, he draws a savour from Him. What is the design of us ministers but to cast abroad His scent; and it is by this we win souls.

7. He is renowned for His shadow (Son 2:3). Oh, sit down under His shadow, and you will find shelter there against all deadly; whatever blasts come, you will find safety there; would you be shadowed from the king of terrors, death is a terror to many. Oh, if you would be shadowed against the awful terrors of death and Gods vengeance, get in under this shadow, and you are safe.

8. This Plant is renowned for His stature; He is a high Plant, He is a tall Plant. You see the heavens above you, but they are but creeping things in comparison of Him; but this glorious Plant, He is the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity, you can never see His height.

9. This Plant is renowned for His extent, not only for His stature, but He is a broad Plant. He was planted in the first promise in Paradise, He spread through the Old Testament Church, He came the length of filling the land of Judaea, but at length this Plant has spread among us, and oh, that I could spread Him among you!

III. The raising or upbringing of this Plant.

1. He was raised up in the counsel of Gods peace from eternity.

2. He was raised up in the first promise to Adam and Eve.

3. His actual manifestation in the flesh, when, in the fulness of time, He appeared.

4. This Plant was raised up, even in His death.

5. This Plant was raised up in His resurrection from the dead. For in His resurrection from the dead He was declared to be the Son of God with power, by the Spirit of holiness.

6. This Plant of renown was raised up higher in His ascension into heaven, when He was set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, after He had, by Himself, purged our sins.

7. He is raised up likewise in the revelation of the everlasting Gospel.

8. This Plant of renown is raised up in the day of the Churchs reformation.

9. This Plant of renown will be raised up at His second coming.

10. This Plant of renown will be raised up in the songs of the redeemed through endless eternity.

IV. For whom is it that this Plant is raised up? He is raised up for mankind sinners, not for angel-kind sinners, and every mankind sinner that hears tell of Him should lay claim to Him (Isa 9:6). As the firmament is for you, if you will open your eyes, so the Sun of Righteousness is for you, if you will open your hearts to Him: for the Lords sake do not refuse Him, or else it will not be telling you; you will rue it to eternity.

V. Why is He raised up?

1. He is raised up as a Redeemer to set the captives of the mighty at liberty.

2. He is raised up as a Mediator of the new covenant, to make peace between an offended God, and offending rebellious man, He makes reconciliation for iniquity (Dan 9:24).

3. He is raised up as a Surety, to pay the debt of a company of broken divers, and to bind Himself under a bond to satisfy justice for their crimes, and that He should reduce them to obedience to their offended Lord. Hence He is called (Heb 7:25).

4. He is raised up as a renowned Healer, a non-such Physician. He has opened up a medicinal well (Zec 13:1) that washes from sin and uncleanness, and, whatever be your malady, we invite you to come to this well, and wash and be clean.

5. He is raised up as a Witness to tell the truth, or as a Prophet to reveal it.

6. He is raised up as Leader unto the people, to show us the path of life, and to lead us into it, and, by His leading, He causes the wayfaring man to walk without erring,–I will bring the blind by a way they know not, etc.

7. He is raised up as a Commander unto the people, as the Captain of salvation, to fight our battles for us, and to head the armies of Gods Israel in their way to glory. And, by His skill and conduct, He makes them all conquerors, yea, more than conquerors, etc.

VI. Application. Is it so that Christ is a Plant of renown, raised up by Jehovah? Then–

1. See hence the iniquity and wickedness of these men who study to derogate from the glory of this renowned Plant.

2. See hence how to know a true and faithful minister of Christ. He will have a smell of the Plant of renown about him, whether he be in the pulpit or out of it.

3. See hence whence it is that believers flock to Gospel ordinances, where they can get them dispensed by those that bear Christs commission to dispense them. It is the smell of the Plant of renown that draws them thither.

4. See hence why God the Father is called a Husbandman. He is so called with reference unto His raising up this Plant of renown (Joh 15:1).

5. See hence the regard that God hath for His Church upon earth, as His own garden. Why, He plants this Tree of Life in her, by which she became a new paradise:

6. See hence the excellency of Christ, in His Person, nature, offices, and appearances.

7. See what makes a land or a church pleasant, a Hephzibah or a Beulah unto the Lord. If the Plant of renown and His interest be thriving in a land or Church, it makes her beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, etc.

8. See when it is that a Church loses her beauty and glory, and makes defection. It is when Christ loses His Savour among her ministers and professors.

9. See hence how a person may know whether matters be right or wrong, whether he be thriving and prospering in grace, or if he be decaying and going backward. Is the Plant of renown rising or going back with you? If He be rising, then–

(1) He will be raised up in your esteem (Psa 73:25; Php 3:8-9).

(2) In your affection and love, Whom having not seen, we love, etc.

(3) In your meditation; every thought will be a captive to His obedience.

(4) In your talk and walk, they will have a savour of the Plant of renown, and the chat and common talk of the world will be tasteless, like the white of an egg, to you.

(5) In your religious worship, both public and private; when you go to prayer, when you go to hear the word, or when you go to a communion table, nothing will please but Christ Himself.

(6) In your wishes and endeavours for the advancement of His kingdom and glory, in as far as your power can go.

10. If Christ be the Plant of renown, raised up by His eternal Father, may it not be for matter of lamentation that the Plant of renown is in so little request among us at this day, and that there is such a plucking away of the glory of this blessed Plant?

11. Is it so that Christ is a Plant of renown raised up by Jehovah? Then let all that bear the name of Chris, especially you who have been entertained at His table, and tasted of His special love and goodness, study to answer Gods design, in raising up for us this Plant of renown.

(1) Sit down, and rest your weary souls, under the shadow of this renowned Plant, after the example of the spouse (Son 2:1-17).

(2) Come and behold the glory and beauty of the Plant of renown: O look unto Him, and be saved, all ye ends of the earth.

(3) Come and feed upon the fruit of this Plant of renown: For His flesh is meat indeed, and His blood is drink indeed.

(4) Whenever you find yourselves wounded by temptation, or corruption, or the world, come to the Plant of renown. (E. Erskine.)

The Plant of renown

Christ is frequently spoken of as a tree, a branch, a root, a stem, a rod, a lily, a rose. But the word plant has a signification somewhat different. What we plant we cultivate, sow the seed maybe, watch the growth, and tend in its maturity. And the plant here spoken of would refer to the human work and human nature of our Lord, arranged and developed by Divine wisdom.

I. The seed was sown in the eternal counsels of God. We know that the purpose existed before the world was formed. There was the sowing of the plant.

II. The growing. The plant started above the soil when man fell. Its green leaves showed themselves when the promise was given as to the seed of the woman which was to bruise the serpents head.

III. The developing. In teaching, symbol, ritual, prophecy, the light gradually dawned.

IV. The blossoming. When Christ came visibly into the world, He blossomed like a rose. His words were as fragrance. His acts of mercy and love beautified the earth, and filled all nations with their beauty.

V. The fruit bearing. The plant flowered, and apparently withered when Christ was put to death. But out of that very fact we see the result of ripened seed–The flower abideth alone, except it die, and Christs death caused the seed to be scattered abroad, which should cause the whole world to bloom. The seed of life, joy, hope.

VI. The honour giving eternal glory. A Plant of renown. It is not a mere passing, fading, temporary, useless growth. It is renowned for its beauty–the essence of the Fathers glory; for its usefulness–the covert and shelter of all people; for its continuance–it shall never fade; for its fruitfulness–it shall nourish all mankind. Happy is the man who finds shelter and rest in Him. (Homilist.)

The Messianic conception in the prophets

The attempt is sometimes made to trace a gradual development and enrichment of the Messianic idea in the hands of successive prophets. From that point of view Ezekiels contribution to the doctrine of the Messiah must be felt to be disappointing. No one can imagine that his portrait of the coming King possesses anything like the suggestiveness and religious meaning conveyed by the ideal which stands out so clearly from the pages of Isaiah. And, indeed, no subsequent prophet excels or even equals Isaiah in the clearness and profundity of his directly Messianic conceptions. This fact shows us that the endeavour to find in the Old Testament a regular progress along one particular line proceeds on too narrow a view of the scope of prophecy. The truth is that the figure of the King is only one of the many types of the Christian dispensation which the religious institutions of Israel supplied to the prophets. It is the most perfect of all types, partly because it is personal, and partly because the idea of kingship is the most comprehensive of the offices which Christ executes as our Redeemer. But, after all, it expresses only one aspect of the glorious future of the kingdom of God towards which prophecy steadily points. We must remember also that the order in which these types emerge is determined not altogether by their intrinsic importance, but partly by their adaptation to the needs of the age in which the prophet lived. The main function of prophecy was to furnish present and practical direction to the people of God; and the form under which the ideal was presented to any particular generation was always that best fitted to help it onwards, one stage nearer to the great consummation. Thus while Isaiah idealises the figure of the king, Jeremiah grasps the conception of a new religion under the form of a covenant, the second Isaiah unfolds the idea of the prophetic servant of Jehovah, Zechariah and the writer of the 110th Psalm idealise the priesthood. All these are Messianic prophecies, if we take the word in its widest acceptation; but they are not all cast in one mould, and the attempt to arrange them in a single series is obviously misleading. So with regard to Ezekiel we may say that his chief Messianic ideal (still using the expression in a general sense) is the sanctuary, the symbol of Jehovahs presence in the midst of His people. At the end of chap. 37, the kingdom and the sanctuary are mentioned together as pledges of the glory of the latter days. But while the idea of the Messianic monarchy was a legacy inherited from his prophetic precursors, the Temple was an institution whose typical significance Ezekiel was the first to unfold. It was, moreover, the one that met the religious requirements of the age in which Ezekiel lived. Ultimately the hope of the personal Messiah loses the importance which it still has in the present section of the book; and the prophets vision of the future concentrates itself on the sanctuary as the centre of the restored theocracy, and the source from which the regenerating influences of the Divine grace flow forth to Israel and the world. (John Skinnier, M. A.)

No more consumed with hunger in the land.

Education true and false

What a tempting thing it is to try to put right some of the evils of the world by short and easy methods! To check some of the waste of natural wealth which keeps falling away. To take drastic measures for supplying the wants of the starving, and to cut, off occasion from those who misuse the privilege of plenty! To drain off vice into channels of virtue; to make the weary to lie down, the sufferer to rejoice, the ignorant to know, the oppressed to go free! We are tempted to think that it is, after all, only the involved complications of a novel, which a word of explanation and a mere handful of advice can rectify at once. And so, from time to time, people have descended, and do descend, into the arena of the world, whether sent by God directly, or by the prompting of their own heart. Reformers, statesmen, theorists, philanthropists, each with their schemes of regeneration, amelioration, or progress. But, alas! a great number in the end find that they must retire, baffled by the almost superhuman wrong-headedness of mankind; and perhaps feel that an interference, well meant, has only complicated a problem which was sufficiently difficult before. Now, one of the most imposing panaceas for regenerating society (and rightly so) is education. Education means, I suppose, a drawing forth of the human powers by instruction, by training, by discipline, by rewards, by punishments, by fostering care; education, says the popular voice of utilitarian England, means furnishing a child with useful knowledge. See the waste of material going on in the world, teach him how to use the advantages which come in his path; see the evils of intemperance and vice, show him the beauty of morality; see the political errors of former years, educate our masters in the thin principles of political history; see the squalor and penury and extravagance which is all around us, teach them thrift. And what about religion? Here we are told that there are so many hundred religious sects, and so much disputing, that it is a question which can be approached only with difficulty. It is one of the darkest blots in the religious world in England at the present day, that whereas the Church, the true mother yearning for all her children, is yet willing to give up the child to the mother that claims it, rather than that the child should be taught undenominationalism or no religion at all; there are found those who are not ashamed to betray their lack of true motherly feeling for the little ones of Christs flock, by crying out in all the bitterness of sectarian partisanship, Let the child be neither mine nor thine, divide it. Let it be taught no religion at all, let it be brought up on that desiccated, sterile, lifeless inanity known as undenominational religion–a supposed residuum of Christianity left from the contentious controversies of the sects, to which no one has any particular objection, except the few who are allowed a separate treatment of unusual favour, and the Roman Catholics who are far too wise to be taken in by the offer of a stone which has not even the appearance of bread. The blasts of sectarian controversy ought to be kept away from the education question altogether. In the first place, is it right, is it fair, either to secular or to religious education, practically to divorce them, and to allow the child to see and draw his own conclusions from the fact that the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are planted by different hands? The State ought not to be willing to part with religious teaching, and the Church ought not to be willing to part with secular teaching. They form one sacred responsibility. Again, is it fair that Sunday, the day of religious worship and real recreation, should be made a day of slavery to the child already overpowered by a burden of ever-increasing educational requirements? The question which we are being called upon to decide is really the question as between religious and irreligious education in the long run; between education and that which can only lay claim by sufferance to that name. It has its promise. It, too, says, I will raise up unto you a plant of renown. A great future is in store for an instructed nation. Ye shall no more be consumed with hunger; material progress, intellectual progress, lie at the feet of an enlightened people; ye shall not bear the shame of the heathen any more; ye shall be emancipated from the swaddling bands of an effete superstition. Yes, but the response is inadequate; the uneducated passions rise up in rebellion against the educated reason. There are certain powers within which do not bow to reason. Vice in its rebellious fury, dishonesty, greed, idleness, these are not to be tied down with the two ropes of a mere intellectual education. God puts before the children in our schools a plant of renown–something higher than the example of a successful tradesman, or a provident saver, or a moral improver, or an example of self-help. God puts before each of our children–high and low, rich and poor–a plant of renown, a high and holy example of One who grew up before Him as a tender plant; who knew the sorrows and needs and joys of childhood, the trials and griefs of opening boyhood, the hardships and the triumphs of manhood, and the mystery of death Can you suppose for an instant the perfect man, Jesus Christ, dividing off His life into the sharp division of the religious and useful? His work was religious, and religion ran up into His work. It is an immense thing for children to have an enthusiasm, to read the lives of heroes, of inventors, of philanthropists, of self-elevated men. But of how far greater importance is it to have a life always put before them, in all its supernatural bearing, a life to which they may cling in prayer and praise, a life which shines through the pages of the Bible, as the sun through some painted window, mere lead and glass without it. There is a time when mere useful knowledge ceases to satisfy; there is a hunger for a comforter, for peace, for truth, for a Saviour, for a very present help in trouble. There is a hunger for God. Ah, how sad to think of our great philosopher, with his keen, magnificent intellect–no Atheist, as he himself has told us, because he had never been taught to believe in God, and therefore could not reject Him. With natural affections apparently stamped out of him, with a life written by his own hand, which has in it no mention of a mothers love; yet, strange to say, humanly speaking, sacrifices his life and health at the grave of one whom he loved with an affection which had satisfied his longing, only to leave the pang of a separation behind it, and leave him beating against the bars of death unillumined by a glimpse of eternity. Are we to send our children into the world where there is the famine of uncertainty and doubt and the shadow of death, with the hunger for peace and comfort and pardon unsatisfied; without showing them where alone the food can be found which will still the craving? If we part with our children, we are parting with the young blood of the Church. The Spartans were asked in a day of humiliation to hand over fifty children to be hostages to the enemy, and the answer was, We would rather give you a hundred of our best men. They may succeed where we have failed, they may conquer where we have been beaten, and live to retrieve our honour. So I would say, we would pinch and starve, if necessary, other things which seem almost necessary to the well-being of our parishes–our very beauty of worship itself,–but we will keep our children in our hands. When they are ours we know what to do with them. When we part with them, we part with them to that which is at the best a doubtful future, and then we are parting with the young blood of the Church. The teaching of the Church is something definite. Undenominational teaching, we fear, cannot grapple with the reproach, the famine, and the sin which leaps upon a fallen world. (Canon Newbolt.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 29. I will raise up – a plant of renown] matta leshem, “a plantation to the name;” to the name of CHRIST. A Christian Church composed of men who are Christians, who have the spirit of Christ in them, and do not bear his name in vain. I believe the words might be applied to the Christian Church; but that Christ may be called a plant or plantation here, – as he is elsewhere called a branch and a rod, Isa 4:2; Isa 11:1; so Jer 23:5; Jer 35:15, – is most probable. He is the Person of name, leshem, JESUS; the Saviour, CHRIST; the Anointer, long spoken of before he was manifested in the flesh, and since the daily theme in the Church militant. It is he who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, no other name being given under heaven among men by which we can be saved; he who has a name above every name, and at whose name every knee shall bow; through whose name, by faith in his name, the diseased are healed; and in whose name all our prayers and supplications must be presented to God to make them acceptable. This is the Person of NAME!

They shall be no more consumed with hunger] For this glorious plant of name is the Bread of life; and this is broken in all the assemblies of his people where his name is properly proclaimed.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Raise; establish and settle.

A plant; or plantation, so the word, so the Chaldee paraphrast, and so it best suits new planters as they now were; however, as we read it, it is a promise of honour and fame to their posterity, as in the Maccabees time, and, which is more, it is a promise of the Messiah to be raised for them.

With hunger in the land; by barrenness of a land cursed, or by wastes made by enemies, or by long siege, as formerly.

The shame of the heathen; who reproached them; cast away, rejected of God, and accursed, so that they were a taunt and proverb among the heathen.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

29. plant of renownMessiah,the “Rod” and “Branch” (Isa11:1), the “righteous Branch” (Jer23:5), who shall obtain for them “renown.” FAIRBAIRNless probably translates, “A plantation for a name,” thatis, a flourishing condition, represented as a garden (alluding toEden, Ge 2:8-11, with itsvarious trees, good for food and pleasant to the sight), the plantingof the Lord (Isa 60:21; Isa 61:3),and an object of “renown” among the heathen.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown,…. Or, “for a name”; or, “of a name” t; a famous one: this is to be understood, not of the Jewish nation itself, as the Targum,

“and I will raise up for them a plantation for standing;”

or which shall continue; but of the Messiah, and not of his incarnation, when he sprung up as a tender plant out of the dry ground, and as a branch out of the roots of Jesse, being on that account often spoken of as a branch; see Isa 11:1, but of him in a more raised and exalted state, as grown up to a stately tree, a goodly cedar, as in Eze 17:23 when his interest and kingdom should be great and glorious in the world, as it will be at the time of the conversion of the Jews; and it is spoken of his manifestation to them as a plant of renown, or as a renowned plant, the true vine and tree of life; or as a famous renowned person, one of name; whose glorious names and titles are Shiloh, the Messiah, Immanuel, Jehovah our righteousness, Jesus the Saviour, the Word of God, the King of kings, and Lord of lords:

and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land; the Targum is,

“they shall no more move from place to place through famine in the land;”

and which is to be understood, not of hunger through a famine of bread and water, but of hearing the word of the Lord; which they shall now have, and hear, and believe, and so have food for their souls, and hunger no more; as those do not who believe in Christ, Joh 6:35, for this plant raised up for them, and pointed out to them, the tree of life, Christ Jesus, bears all manner of precious fruit, sweet to the taste, and nourishing to the souls of his people; under his shadow they sit, and his fruit is sweet to them; and with him is bread enough, and to spare; so that there is no want, nor fear of consumption with hunger, where he is:

neither bear the shame of the Heathen any more; being called by them Jews, in away of taunt, a proverb, and a curse; and outcasts, whom none seek after; but now they shall no more be termed forsaken, or called desolate, but instead thereof Hephzibah and Beulah; see

Jer 30:17.

t “plantato in nemen”, Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Starckius; “plantam celebri nomine”, Tigurine version; “plantam in nomen”, Vatablus.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(29) Will raise up for them a plant of renown.Better, a plantation for renown. The same Hebrew word occurs in Eze. 17:7; Eze. 31:4, and means plantation. The thought is that God would provide Israel with such a fair and fruitful land as should make them famous for their blessings. The idea of the word is not that which seems to be implied by our version (with its marginal references to Isa. 11:1; Jer. 23:5), a plant or a branch, referring to the Messiah; a different word is used here, which occurs, besides the places named, only in Isa. 60:21; Isa. 61:3, and Mic. 1:6, in all of which it is translated planting.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

“And I will raise up for them a plantation for renown, and they will no more be consumed with famine in the land, nor bear the shame of the nations any more.”

It would be a time of abundance and plenty. They would have a place for growing fruit and grain which was a wonder to all, and there would be no more famine, nor would the nations be able to mock them for their lack. They would have everything that a man could want. The idea of being in Heaven (in the sense of the ideal existence with God) continues. It is the overflowing abundance of all that a man can want.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Eze 34:29. A plant of renown That is to say, A celebrated posterity; meaning more particularly the Messiah, that branch from the root of David, so frequently foretold by the prophets.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

DISCOURSE: 1116
CHRIST THE PLANT OF RENOWN

Eze 34:29. I will raise up for them a plant of renown.

THE names by which our blessed Lord is designated in the Scriptures are exceeding various. Every one of them illustrates some part of his character, and leads us, as it were, one step towards the knowledge of him; though, as the light of all the stars combined would give but a very faint idea of the sun, so the lustre reflected from every image in the creation conveys a very inadequate notion of the beauty, the excellency, the fulness of Christ.
That the image in the text refers to him, is clear from the whole context. God, having severely reproved the negligence of those whom he had appointed to watch over his flock [Note: ver. 210.], promises that he will raise them up a Shepherd, who shall faithfully discharge all his duties, and execute for their good the trust reposed in him [Note: ver. 1116.]. This, without any further explanation, would have been sufficient to point out to us that good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ: but the subsequent verses mark the name and offices of this Shepherd in such plain terms, that there is not a possibility of doubt respecting the person to whom the prophecy immediately and exclusively relates [Note: ver. 23, 24.]. In the text, the same person is spoken of, only under a different metaphor: in considering which we shall notice,

I.

The representation that is here given of Christ

Christ is often spoken of by the prophets under the figure of a branch [Note: Jer 33:15. Zec 6:12-13.], or rod, growing out of a stem [Note: Isa 11:1.]: and in this view he is represented as contemptible in the eyes of a blind and ungodly world [Note: Isa 53:2.]. But he is deservedly called, A plant of renown,

1.

On account of his mysterious nature

[Never did such a plant as this exist before. Never could the highest archangel have conceived it possible that such a plant should exist, unless God had expressly revealed it to him. Nothing in the whole creation has any resemblance to it, or could convey the smallest idea of it. This plant has two perfectly distinct natures, and each of those natures complete in all its attributes: it is both divine and human: it unites in itself the fulness of the Godhead with all the sinless infirmities of manhood. In short, the Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh: and a most stupendous mystery it is [Note: 1Ti 3:16.]! The manner also in which he assumed our nature was most mysterious. He was not born like other men, but formed in the womb of a pure virgin through the intervention and agency of the Holy Ghost. And in this view, as a child born, and a son given, it was expressly declared that his name should be called, Wonderful [Note: Isa 9:6.].]

2.

On account of his transcendent qualities

[Other trees have one species of fruit, and are useful chiefly, if not entirely, in one view only. But behold, this plant bears twelve manner of fruits; fruit for every season, whether of prosperity or adversity; fruit for every occasion that can possibly arise; and suited to every person who desires to partake of it [Note: Rev 22:2.]. Moreover, the leaves of this tree are as salubrious as its fruit; and are an infallible remedy for all the maladies to which our souls are exposed. Its virtues have been proved in every age. Its fame has been spread throughout the whole universe: and the more it has been tried, the more, without one single exception, has it been valued. The tree cast into the waters of Marah, was but a faint shadow of this, which, if properly used, would heal the fountains of iniquity that diffuse their deadly poison through the whole world [Note: Exo 15:23-25.]. This branch is of yet further use to build the temple of the Lord [Note: Zec 6:12-13.]: well then might the prophet say of it, that it should be excellent and glorious [Note: Isa 4:2.].]

3.

On account of the estimation in which he is held

[See in what light he is viewed by his heavenly Father: Behold my servant whom I uphold: mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth [Note: Isa 42:1. Pro 8:30. Mat 3:17.]! See what the angels think of him: no sooner did they see him planted in the earth, than they came down from heaven to announce the glad tidings, and ascribed Glory to God in the highest [Note: Luk 2:7-14.]. Shall I need to tell you how he is regarded by man? By those who know him not, he is despised and rejected: but to them that know him, he is precious [Note: 1Pe 2:7.]. What joy was excited in Abrahams heart, when he only got a glimpse of him, two thousand years before his incarnation [Note: Joh 8:56.]! With what ecstatic fervour did the prophets call upon the whole creation to rejoice in the prospect of his advent [Note: Isa 44:23.]! When he was come, and his excellencies were more fully known, his disciples counted all things but dung for the knowledge of him [Note: Php 3:8.], and were ready, at all times, and in any manner, to lay down their lives for him [Note: Act 20:24.]. There are multitudes also in the present day, in whose eyes he is chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely [Note: Son 5:10; Son 5:16.]. But how will they express their admiration of him in the day when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe [Note: 2Th 1:10.]! In heaven too, when all that have eaten of his fruits, and felt the healing efficacy of his leaves, shall surround that tree of life, and unite in ascribing to it their whole salvation; what a plant of renown will it then appear!]

As God has fulfilled to us this gracious promise, and raised up for us this plant of renown, let us consider,

II.

Our duty towards him

In allusion to the metaphor, of which we ought not to lose sight, it may he observed, that we should,

1.

Abide under his shadow

[Many are the storms and tempests to which we are exposed, and from which nothing but this tree can shelter us. It is planted on purpose that it may be an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land [Note: Isa 32:2.]. If we flee to him, we are as safe as the Israelites were in their blood-sprinkled houses, from the sword of the destroying angel [Note: Exo 12:21-23.]. When God shall rain down fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest on the wicked [Note: Psa 11:6.], we shall have no cause for fear; for though a thousand shall fall on our side, and ten thousand at our right hand [Note: Psa 91:1; Psa 91:4; Psa 91:7; Psa 91:10.], no evil whatsoever shall befall us; he will cover us with his foliage; and his truth shall be our shield and buckler. Let us then draw nigh to him; and we shall experience the blessedness of the Church of old, who sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto her taste [Note: Son 2:3.].]

2.

Live upon his fruits

[We have before observed, that every kind of fruit is to be found in him: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, peace, and whatever else we can desire, are to be obtained from him in rich abundance [Note: Eze 34:30.]. And every one may get access to him. We need not go up to heaven, or down to hell, or travel to a remote country: he is nigh to us: he is in the Church; he is in our closet; he is in our very hearts [Note: Rom 10:6-8.]: wherever we go, there he is, ever present with us, ever ready to supply our wants. No fiery sword prohibits our approach to him [Note: Gen 3:24.]: on the contrary, he invites us to come to him, to cease from feeding upon ashes, and to take of his fruits freely [Note: Isa 55:2.]. None are shut out from this right. There is no wall about him, no exclusive privilege to those who by national, or even personal, relation may be considered as nigh to him: but all who are afar off, whether they be old or young, rich or poor, moral or immoral, are invited to partake of all his benefits [Note: Act 2:39. with Rom 10:12-13.]. Moreover, there is no price required, as there is for the fruits of other trees: we are told to eat abundantly [Note: Son 5:1.], and to take it all without money and without price [Note: Isa 55:1.]

Let us then accept this gracious invitation, and eat, and live for ever [Note: Isa 55:3.].]

3.

Bless God for him

[What a mercy would the fallen angels account it, if such a plant were to be raised up for them! And how thankful would they be, who are now out of the reach of this tree, if they might return to this world for a single hour with a permission to gather its fruits! Surely then we who have liberty of access to it, and especially those of us who are daily eating its fruits, should bless and adore our God for his unspeakable gift [Note: 2Co 9:15.]. If, only on the eve of its being planted in this world, the pious Elizabeth, the blessed Virgin, and the divinely inspired Zacharias brake forth into such exalted strains of praise and thanksgiving [Note: Luk 1:68-69.], surely we should not be silent, but should call upon our souls, and all that is within us, to bless his holy name [Note: Psa 103:1.].]

4.

Commend him to others

[The lepers who found abundance in the Syrian camp, could not forbear going to acquaint their famished countrymen with the good tidings [Note: 2Ki 7:9.]: and shall we be backward to inform our neighbours respecting this tree, whereby all their diseases may be healed, and all their wants supplied? The moment that Andrew and Philip had discovered it, they endeavoured to bring their friends to a participation of their bliss [Note: Joh 1:40-41; Joh 1:43; Joh 1:45.]. Let us do the same. Our enjoyment of its fruits will be enhanced, rather than diminished, by a communication of them to others. Let us, I say, in compliance with the direction given us, exert ourselves to the uttermost, if peradventure we may introduce them to the knowledge of Christ, and be instrumental to the salvation of their souls [Note: Isa 12:4-6.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

Christ himself is this plant of renown, which Jehovah hath raised up for a blessing to his Church and people. And oh! how truly renowned, in his person, office, character, and relations! Hail thou glorious Lord! be thou everlastingly known and loved, and adored, by all the nations of the earth: and may thy saving health be to all thy people!

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Eze 34:29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

Ver. 29. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, ] a i.e., Christ the true tree of life. Or the Church planted and rooted in Christ, and much renowned all the world over. Christ mystical is a vine covering the whole earth.

And they shall be no more consumed with hunger. ] They shall have enough of all good things, a sufficiency, though not a superfluity; a David’s sat habeo, because the Lord hath heard the voice of my supplications. Psa 116:1

Neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. ] God will bring them in credit with those which formerly slighted and reproached them. God fashioneth men’s opinions, ruleth their tongues, promiseth to them who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life, where the saints shall shine as the sun in his strength. Rom 2:7 Mat 13:43

a Plantam pacis. – Sept.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)