Isaiah 11:1-16 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:… repeating His acts of mercy and love, uttering His eternal truths, scorching hypocrisy and error with the breath of His mouth, changing unruly wills ever into docile ones, cleansing and making glad everything everywhere. There is no reign of Christ of which we can form any idea but this. When men are holy, through His indwelling among them, that is Christ's reign. Let us forget the scenic and dramatic elements in millennial glories and simply think of the kingdom as being the presence of the King. Here we see the difference between His reign and that of any earthly monarch who can transmit his power to his son and he to his posterity, and so, with precedent and law and tradition, there may be some approach to security and peace Frederick the Great dies, but his empire goes on and holds him in memory. But Christ has no successors, and there is no royal family save that which is made from all who are named after His name. Christ must be as truly among men at one age as another, and where He is not a living and controlling presence there is nothing but a name. What we call Christianity — the sum total of the influences that emanate from Christ and touch the complex life of man — has no inherent vitality of its own. It cannot abide upon traditions of One who founded it ages ago. Christ's perpetual presence alone makes Christianity possible. The same is true of the Church. (E. N. Packard.) Parallel Verses KJV: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:WEB: A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. |
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