Isaiah 11:10 And 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. This chapter commences with the full Messianic strain. "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse;" and the music swells, in the Hebrew rhythm of thought, into a sublime prophecy of the reign of Christ. This "root of Jesse" is to be "an ensign of the people," and "to it shall the Gentiles seek." We are thus led to understand the words, "his rest," as applying to the triumph of the Savior. I. MANY IDEAS OR FORMS OF REST ARE INGLORIOUS. They are connected with mere military conquest. There is the peace of subjection, or there is the peace of compromise, or there is the peace which belongs to the desert and the wilderness, when they are simply let alone. But Christ's peace is his own beautiful peace of nature. "My peace I give unto you." His rest is not artificial. It is the rest of holy expectation. He sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. II. THIS GLORY IS PROSPECTIVE AS WELL AS PRESENT. It "shall be glorious." The golden age of the gospel is in the future. "From henceforth expecting;" "He must reign." It will be a glorious rest. For truth will conquer error. Right will conquer might. Love will have victory over all forms of division and hate. It shall be; for Christ hath spoken it. It shall be; for he has all power in heaven and earth. It shall be on spiritual grounds; for the mightiest moral force ever and always triumphs in the end. III. THIS REST OF CHRIST IS OUR REST TOO. We have not only received forgiveness through the cross, but newness of life as well. We have rest now, not in its fullness, but in its ideal; for we have the mind of Christ. We have within us the kingdom and patience of Christ; we are one with the Father through Christ. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." - W.M.S. Parallel Verses KJV: And 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. |
    |