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… 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 can't 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, Ezekiel's "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 don't 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 Ezekiel's "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 Ezekiel's '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. God's character is one of holiness, justice, truth, and love; man's 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 God's 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 Lord's 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.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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