Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many… I. THE ASPECT IN WHICH THAT WORK IS HERE REPRESENTED BY WHICH OUR SAVIOUR ACCOMPLISHED HIS GREAT UNDERTAKING. The sufferings of Christ were — 1. Expiatory and piacular. 2. Voluntary. 3. Most intense and awful.The travail of His soul. He had a spirit unequalled for sensibility and affection, and keenness of feeling. To form a just conception of His sorrow, we must unite the ideas of compassion for the grief of the distressed, and horror at what was cruel and unjust; of indignation at the oppressor, and pity for the oppressed; of a wish to deliver the guilty, and an abhorrence of their sin. We must connect all the iniquity which He witnessed, and all the knowledge He had of the human heart. We must think of all the wickedness, the hardness of heart, the unbelief of man. We know nothing of the nature of this sacrifice; but this we know, that it was an act of amazing energy, of strenuous labour. It was not submission merely; it was a direct and positive consecration of His whole being; as if He would place Himself on the altar, and become Himself the sacrificing Priest. II. THE SUBLIME AND HEAVENLY SATISFACTION ARISING TO THE REDEEMER IN CONTEMPLATING THE EFFECT OF HIS SUFFERINGS. 1. It is the pleasure arising from the expectation of success. 2. It is the pleasure of the most pure and exalted benevolence. 3. It is such satisfaction as springs from the great importance and difficulty of the event brought to an accomplishment. 4. It is satisfaction arising from the peculiar relation of His character and work, to the event itself, and all its consequences. III. THE CERTAINTY THAT THIS SALVATION SHALL BE FINALLY REALIZED. 1. The sufferings of Christ are assumed as the basis of this assurance, and lead us to observe the natural and inherent attraction of this doctrine. But this certainty arises — 2. From the tendency of the Gospel to an unlimited and ceaseless diffusion. 3. From its conferring, wherever it is embraced, the greatest temporal advantages in connection with its spiritual benefits. 4. From its amazing progress. 5. From the promises of final success, and the encouraging appearances in the circumstances of the Church in the present day. (R. S. McAll, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. |
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