The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 223

would do so in nnother, by his overcoming might making the patbwo.y from Egypt and the highway from Assyria, so will he interpose on behalf of the spiritual forces which arc doing bis work in the world. He will make that possible nnd practicable which seems imp,,ssible and imprncticable; will enable the champions of hie .cause to go where it seems hopeless for them to penetrate, and to cou9..uer where vi9tory ~eems utterly out of reach. Therefore (1) let prayer be earnest, (2) let tll.e heal't ·:iie hopeful, (3) let effort be energetic and pcrsistent.-C. , Ver. 1.-(Jlwist the Branch. " But a shoot shall come forth from the stem of Jesse, and a fruitful sprout shall grow up from his roots" (Hcnderson's translation; see eh. iv. 2). 'l'be idea is of a sucker springing up from a hewn stump. The word usec1 (netser) is singularly suggestive of despised Nazareth, with which place the early life of Messiah was associated, and of which it could jeeringly be said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" w· ordsworth remarks on the sublime contrast in this prophecy and the foregoinf', •• The mi:;hty and haughty worldly power of Assyria-the type of impiety and antichristianism-will be hewn down, like e. great forest, in the pride of its strrngth and glory, never to rise again; but the spirit of prophecy here reveals; that when the house of David seemed like a tree hewn down to a stump in the earth, then a sucker would spring up from the stump, and a branch shooting forth from its roots would bear fruit and overshadow the earth. Ancl. so it came to pass. At time a when the house of Dadd seemed to be reduced to the lowest estate, when the Virgin was n poor maiden in a village of despised Galilee, then by God's miraculous agency the Branch sprouted up from the hewn-down stump, and grew up into a mighty Tree, and brought forth much fruit, and received the world under its shade." It has been cleverly suggested that "the cer!ar of Lebanon, the symbol of the Assyrian power; was to be cut down, and, being of the pine genus, which sends forth no suckers, its fall was irretrievable. But the oak, the symbol of Israel, and of the monarchy of the house of DaviJ, had a life remaining in it after it bad been cut down, and the rod or sucker that was to spring from its roots should flourish once again in greater glory than before.'.' We fix attention on the sentiment entertained respecting suckers, which are usually despised, thought to be weak and frail things, from which nothing of value is ever to b_e expected. L THE SURPRISE OF CHBIST's LOWLY DEGIN1''INGS. Bom into a poor"family, at a time when David's race was at its lowest humiliation; bom, as one crowded out by th.e hurry of life, in the courtyard of an inn; brought up in a despised village. There were but a few gleams of glory resting on his infancy. Angels heralded the tidings of ,his birth ; Magi offered worship to him at the Bethlehem cottage. But Herod would, if he could, have broken off that sucker, almost ere it began to show its greenness. It would take a great power of imagination to picture a splendid career and a world-wide renown for that poor Bethlehem babe. " He came to his own, and his own received him not." U. THE HOPE OF CHBIBT's EARLY YEARB. We need not accept the strange and foolish le 6ends of Apocryphal Gospels concerning the infancy and childhood of Jesus. We have one all-sufficient bu;torical incident, presenting the boy of twelve years, and con- vincing us that a wouderful manhood was in its unfolding. His mother observed much, and poudered over many things in her heart, and the story of Christianity has verified every hope which that good mother cherished. III. THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST'S GROWTH. The sucker became strong, grew into a branch, began to put forth branches of its own, became a tree whose beauty attracted the attention of all men. Two passages suggest illustration and detail: "And the Child ~rew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace or God was upon him;" "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." OLber suggestions come from the statements, "All that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers;" and, "Ile went down with them, and carue lo Nazareth, and was subject unto them." fotelligenc,•, 6Ubmissiveness, obedience, were the beautiful features of bis child-time-the splendid promise of after- :years. IV. THE .AIIAZING BICHNEBS OF CHRIST'S FRUIT. When the sucker came to bearing- tiwc, it altogether 1urpassed the old tree of David. Illustrate its fruitage (1) of hol7 CH, XI, 1-10] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 215