639. LUK 2:32. THE GLORY OF ISRAEL

Luk_2:32. The Glory of Israel

By Rev. William Bengo Collyer, D. D.

"The glory of thy people Israel."’97Luk_2:32.

I am well aware that the text, unsupported by other authority, will have no weight, in the present discussion, with some part of this numerous auditory. It is of moment that we should settle the basis of our reasoning, by determining the parts of the Scripture, which will be respectively regarded as a standard of truth. The former part of the subject must deduce its evidences from Moses and the prophets: these every Jew, who deserves the name, admits to contain a revelation of the will of God. The latter part of our engagement, may, perhaps, be better established by an appeal to the New Testament; not that Christians reject the old covenant, but that it seems right to stimulate them to acts of benevolence towards the remnant of Israel, by the principles of their most holy religion; and by demonstrating that our attentions to his "brethren after the flesh" are strictly in conformity to the spirit of our Master. Simeon announced Jesus, the reputed son of Joseph, as the Messiah, by declaring him "the glory of his people Israel."

I. We are to establish the fact, in addressing the descendants of Israel.

1. The nature of the fact advanced is to be established.

The Messiah was to be "the glory of his people Israel." The evidences of this fact are to be brought from the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah, the clearness of whose predictions is rivalled only by the sublimity of his language, kindles into more than ordinary fire, when he contemplates the restoration of Israel under the Messiah. He says, "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," Isa_11:10. When the prophet Haggai, in speaking of the second temple, writes’97"The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts," Hag_2:9; he explains himself as referring to the splendor which it should derive from the Messiah. "For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet, once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house (that is, the second temple) with glory, saith the Lord of hosts," Hag_2:6, Hag_2:7. Again, in respect of the latter day glory, Zechariah writes’97"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both," Zec_6:12, Zec_6:13. These predictions, and a variety of others too numerous to produce, correspond with the testimony of the text’97that the Messiah is to be the "glory of his people Israel."

2. That the glory predicted was not confined to a temporal splendor.

Here, as it appears to us, is the root of the mistake of the Jews. In saying, that the glory predicted was not confined to a temporal splendor, it becomes my duty to justify this assumption by the testimony of the prophets. In order to do this, I must direct your attention to predictions which seem to have been altogether forgotten, or, to say the least, disregarded by the Jews when they formed their estimate of the character of Jesus Christ: they did not take into the account, that he was to suffer as well as to reign; and that humiliation was to precede his glory. Yet so was it predicted respecting the promised Messiah; and the prophecies, which relate to his depression, are as explicit and as ample as those which describe his triumphs. If this be true, it will follow that the indignity offered to the Messiah was as essential to the evidence of his character, and to the establishment of his claims, as any future glory can be. See Isaiah liii. &c. The next remark which I have to make, will explain why I have said, that the glory of the Messiah was not confined to a temporal splendor; for, it is certain, the existence of the Jewish nation, as such, depended upon the Messiah; and this also constitutes a powerful argument in favor of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. We observe,

3. The Jews lost their distinction as a nation, and their privilege as the people of God, with their rejection of Christ.

A reference to history would prove all providence bowed to subserve the scheme of redemption; and the obscure carpenter’s son, born at Bethlehem, bred at Nazareth, crucified on Calvary, is the Being for whom, and by whom, the world was created; and whose mission opens and terminates the period of the existence of the universe. As to the sentiment advanced,’97we find certain individuals occupying a place of importance in the volume of inspiration, till they separated their interest from the line of the Messiah, and then punished with merited oblivion. The uncertainty attending the ten tribes of Israel, appears to arise from the formal renunciation of their interest in the Messiah. "What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David!" was their cry, 1Ki_12:16. The house of David was protected according to the Divine promise, and because of its connection with the Messiah; while it is to this day a disputed point, as well with Jews as Gentiles, whether even a remnant of the ten tribes, excepting that which returned with Judah and Benjamin from captivity, exists. It is most certain, that from the time of the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth by the Jews, they ceased to be a nation. "His blood be upon us and upon our children!" was their imprecation, Mat_27:25. Upon them and upon their children has it rested to the present hour. "Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts: but I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not," Zec_7:13, Zec_7:14.

4. Their restoration is predicted in connection with the Messiah.

I cannot withhold from you the affecting language of the prophet Zechariah, and it shall be in the place of many passages, which might be produced from the Old Testament to establish the position advanced. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born," Zec_12:10. Two things are apparent here: there must be, on the part of Israel, a deep and unfeigned sorrow for the wrongs done to the Messiah; and, in connection with the homage which they shall be induced to pay to their injured Saviour, is their restoration to their pristine dignity. It follows, that so long as they reject Christ, they are the authors of their own ignominy; and that he is waiting to manifest himself, "The glory of his people Israel."

II. The claims of this Society upon your cordial support: and in so doing we shall endeavor to point out your duty, as Christians.

(1.) This Institution deserves your patronage from its spirit. It is not the tool of a party. It moves not in a narrow, sectarian circle. It is open to all "those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." It proceeds upon the broad basis of universal cooperation, among good men of every denomination.

(2.) As the spirit of the Society recommends it to your benevolent patronage, so especially does its object. "The lost sheep of the house of Israel" are sought by its measures; and Jesus commanded his disciples to go first to them, Mat_10:6. As Christians, we are bound to pay a particular regard to the Jewish nation.

1. Gratitude to them for the oracles of truth.

They were the ark in which God deposited his law and his ordinances: and to the care which they took of the inspired records do we owe the accuracy, extent, and variety of our knowledge of inspiration.

2. Love to Christ and to the first preachers of the gospel, ought to teach us to love the Jewish nation.

The hatred of mankind exercised towards that afflicted people, can be accounted for only on the ground of their own imprecation. Their own desire is accomplished, and the blood of Jesus pursues them everywhere’97the rejection of the Messiah is visited upon them in every nation under heaven.

3. Faith in the Divine promises should stimulate our efforts.

The restoration of the Jews is the subject of many animated predictions both in the Old and in the New Testaments. Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

4. Concern for their condition’97connected, with a sense of our obligations and our happiness.

Should we not pity the branches, which, because of unbelief, were cut off? and should we not recollect that we occupy their place in the living Vine? They perish through unbelief’97and we stand by faith: let us not be "high-minded, but fear," Rom_11:20. Shall we not, exulting as we do in our privileges, remember those who once possessed, but who have sadly forfeited them? especially when we know "that blindness (only) in part is happened unto Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved," Rom_11:25. Then the "light to lighten the Gentiles," shall also be "the glory of his people Israel."

Autor: JABEZ BURNS