618. ISA 27:6. THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH THE EFFECTS OF DIVINE INFLUENCE
Isa_27:6. The Future Prosperity of the Church the Effects of Divine Influence
By Rev. Robert Jack, Of Manchester.
"He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit."’97Isa_27:6.
The text is supposed to have had its literal accomplishment when Jerusalem was delivered from the destroying army of Sennacherib. But the grace of which it speaks did not terminate in that great temporal deliverance. It is understood, by Christian interpreters, to extend to the times of the gospel; and to lay a foundation for our hope of nobler blessings, and of better days. The posterity of Jacob were a highly-favored people, and were distinguished from the other nations of the earth by the most honorable appellations, and by the most exalted privileges. After, however, many vicissitudes, for disowning and rejecting the Messiah when he came, they were disinherited by the offended God of their fathers, deprived of all their peculiar privileges, expelled from the land of promise, and are become miserable wanderers among the nations. What shall we say, then, to these things? Is there no Israel now to be found, among whom God’s name is great? Yea, verily, though Israel, according to the flesh, be no more the people of God, still there is "a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people," a true circumcision, "which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh," Php_3:3. Many sinners of the Gentiles, "who sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ," Eph_2:13; and have become, through faith, the spiritual children of Abraham’97the true Israel of God. Such, the Scriptures assure us, are "Israelites indeed," Joh_1:47; though Abraham be ignorant of them, and Israel, according to the flesh, acknowledge them not, Isa_63:16; for "if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise," Gal_3:29.
There is a period, however, announced in ancient prophecy, a happy period, when "Israel shall be a blessing in the midst of the land," Isa_19:24. Converted to the faith of Christ, and restored to their own land, we have ground to believe that they shall be incorporated with the Christian church in one spiritual society, of which Israel according to the flesh was a figure. No remaining distinction shall then subsist betwixt Jew and Gentile, Barbarian and Scythian, bond and free. They shall all be one in Christ Jesus, Col_3:11. No longer shall they regard each other as "strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God," Eph_2:19.
The text may be considered as a promise of prosperity to the church; first, in respect of number; secondly, in respect of spiritual vigor; thirdly, in respect of beauty; fourthly, in respect of fruitfulness; fifthly, in respect of joy; and, lastly, in respect of stability, and in respect of extent. These particulars, in dependence upon Divine aid, we flow propose to illustrate.
I. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of number.
Under the ancient dispensation, the spiritual Israel were comparatively few. The walls of the church then inclosed but a small portion of the earth. "Salvation," at that time, was only "of the Jews," Joh_4:22; and the joyful sound was never heard beyond the precincts of the promised land. But, at the commencement of the Christian dispensation, the wall of partition was broken down, and the boundaries of the church were greatly enlarged. Even among the Jews, multitudes were made "a willing people." New creatures were hourly born in Zion, and came forth to "newness of life," numerous, or rather innumerable, as the drops of dew "from the womb of the morning." Yea, what shall we say? By the diligence of the apostles, the sound of the gospel soon went "into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world," Rom_10:18. And the Gentiles received the word gladly.
II. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of spiritual vigor.
Others remain in a state of spiritual death. They are, as the Scripture emphatically expresses it, dead while they live, 1Ti_5:6. But concerning them "that come of Jacob," it is here asserted, that they shall take root. They are not like the tender herb, which springeth up in a night, and withereth in a night; for "the righteous," it is promised, "shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon," Psa_92:12. The reason is plain’97the root to which they are united by a living faith, is firm and immovable. Though the branches may be violently shaken, and their blossoms blighted by the rude blasts of corruption and temptation, yet "the root of the righteous shall not be moved," Pro_12:3.
And may not all this be expected to be more completely realized in the case of those who shall live in the happy period to which the promise in the text particularly refers. "He shall come down," it is promised, "like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth," Psa_72:6. "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem," Isa_2:3. May it not be supposed, therefore, that believers shall make rapid progress, amidst all this extraordinary cultivation?
III. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of beauty.
Christ himself, "the branch of the Lord, is beautiful and glorious," Isa_4:2; and believers in Christ are made comely through his comeliness put upon them, Eze_16:14. How beautiful are the trees of the field when adorned with the leaves of spring! Thus beautiful are the spiritual children of Jacob. We cannot contemplate but with wonder and delight, the transforming energy of the gospel in the days of the apostles. The believers not only increased in number, but flourished in grace. How beautiful must the daughters of Zion have appeared, when their knowledge was sound and spiritual, when their faith was firm, their repentance deep, their hope steadfast, their zeal fervent, their love abounding; when the gentleness of Christ spread an amiable lustre around them; when humility, as a veil, at once clothed and adorned them; "when the peace of God, which passeth all understanding," kept "their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus," Php_4:7; and when patience under suffering had its perfect work in them.
The beauty of believers, evidently, is of an internal nature, for "the king’s daughter is all glorious within," Psa_45:13; and with this the greatest beauty of external form is not worthy to be compared. "Solomon, in all his glory," was not so elegantly arrayed as "the lilies of the field;" and yet, what is the beauty of the fairest flower, to that of a saint adorned with the robe of the Redeemer’s righteousness, and decked out with the fair flowers of implanted grace? There can be no doubt that the gospel still produces the same happy effects in all by whom it is truly believed. Wherever "the incorruptible seed" of the word, is sown by the hand of the Spirit, it changes the unkindly soil of the human heart, and restores, in some degree, the moral beauty of our nature. And how much more may this be expected to take place at that happy period, when God "shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root, and when Israel shall blossom and bud." How delightful the prospect, that a time shall arrive when "pure and undefiled religion" shall universally prevail; when love to God and to man, when truth and righteousness and peace shall be generally and powerfully diffused; and when the evils shall cease with which men, by the indulgence of their guilty passions, have been grieved and tormented.
IV. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of fruitfulness.
Believers are denominated in Scripture, "trees of righteousness," Isa_61:3, to intimate that they should "bring forth fruit unto God." It is not enough that they are covered with the leaves of a holy profession; and blossom with the flowers of pious resolutions, and good endeavors. It is necessary, also, that in their season they be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God," Php_1:11. Among the branches ingrafted into Christ, there is, indeed, a considerable variety. Some are slender, and others strong; some more, and others less, productive. All, it is true, bear good fruit: but even in this respect a variety is less or more observable. They flourish not all in the same way. Some are eminent for one virtue, and some for another; neither is any of them equally fruitful at all times. Such fruits, however, as they do at any time produce, are of excellent quality. Nor are their fruits more distinguished by their perfection of excellence, than they are often by their greatness of number. They abound "in every good word and work."
V. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of joy.
It is when the dews of heaven "drop upon the pastures of the wilderness," that it is said, "the little hills rejoice on every side." It is when "the valleys also are covered over with corn, that they shout for joy, and they also sing," Psa_65:12, Psa_65:13. The abundant joy of New Testament times, especially of the times referred to in the passage before us, is often spoken of in Scripture. "Behold," saith the Lord, "I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying,’97for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise," Isa_65:18-19, Isa_65:22; Isa_60:18.
VI. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of stability.
It is here promised, that the Lord "shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root." The vicissitudes which take place in human affairs, teach us the vanity of the world, and the perishing nature of all that seems most durable in this region of shadows. When we read the history of nations, what do we read but the history of incessant revolution, one dominion erecting itself upon the ruins of another? Those kingdoms and empires which seemed established on the firmest foundations, have long since crumbled down, and have left not a wreck behind. Sunk beneath the weight of years, the most venerable institutions have, at length, mouldered into dust. The church of God, however, has been like mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth forever,’97built upon "the Rock of Ages," the emissaries of hell, after all their malicious attacks, have found themselves utterly unable to prevail against her. "Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken," Isa_33:20.
VII. The promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of extent.
We have already seen that the promise relates to the prosperity of the church in respect of number. We have, also, seen that this number shall be exceeding great. It follows, of course, that the boundaries of the visible church must be enlarged; and, indeed, the text leads us to expect that her walls shall encompass the whole habitable world. "His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow down before him,’97all nations shall serve him," Psa_72:17, Psa_72:8, Psa_72:11. He "will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name," Isa_43:6, V.
From the manner in which it is expressed, it is evident that in all the happy events to which it refers, the agency of God shall be signally conspicuous. Mark the phraseology’97"He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root." In his works of providence and grace, God frequently sees it meet to employ secondary causes as the instruments of his operation; yet here, efficacy depends entirely on his superintending influence. It is his hand which sustains the great chain of causes and effects; and his agency which pervades and animates the worlds of nature and of grace. It is "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts," Zec_4:6.
Application
1. What gratitude ought we to feel, that we have been favored with the gospel! "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace," Luk_1:78; Luk_1:19.
2. How little reason have Christians to complain that they have no prospect of seeing, in their day, the happy period to which the text refers. Have they not heaven in prospect? There they shall enjoy happiness, boundless as their largest wishes, and lasting as their immortal souls!
3. What powerful encouragement does this subject afford to missionary exertions! We have seen that the Scriptures abound with promises of great prosperity to the church in the latter days; and we know that higher security cannot, in the nature of things, be given, than a Divine promise. "The heavens and the earth may pass away," but one word which the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, cannot fail of accomplishment.
4. How careful ought we to be, to attend to the state of our own souls in the sight of God. Have we the greatest reason to be thankful that "to us is the word of this salvation sent?" And should we not be earnestly concerned to improve it to our own salvation? How apt we are to undervalue our privileges, because we have never known what it is to be deprived of them! May God make us "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus;" and may we, at last, reap the fruit of this heavenly wisdom, in "receiving the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls!" Amen and Amen.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS