[2] The knowledge of God comes into the soul as a king is born into a country over which he is ultimately to rule; at the beginning it is but a babe; for a long time it is weak, and needs to be defended and nurtured; many years elapse before it rules; rarely in this life does it exercise full power and undisputed sway.
[3] Many evils continue to exist and flourish even in Christian lands, because their contrariety to the character of God has not yet been apprehended and felt. Many godly men were slave-holders and slave-dealers, because they did not fully know God. But now the knowledge of God has so grown among men, that it is no longer possible in a Christian land for a godly man to be a slave-holder. So with polygamy, which was once practised without scruple by some of the noblest and most devout men who ever lived. This practice has been killed, not by any express prohibition, but by growth among men of the knowledge of God. That knowledge is predestined still further to grow, and to kill many things more.
[4] The text for this footnote was omitted. Transcriber.
The Ensign of the Nations.
xi. 10. And in that day there shall be, &c.
I. In the two parts of this verse we have a twofold metaphorical representation of the Redeemer: one expressed, one implied. 1. An ensign of the people = banner or standard, such as is set up as a rallying-point around which, (1) the subjects of a king assemble to do him homage; and (2) the soldiers of an army gather to receive the commands and exhortations of their general. 2. This second use of a standard leads to the second metaphorical representation of the Redeemer, that of a victorious general: “His rest shall be glorious.” We are thus directed to the final result of the uplifting of Christ as an ensign: the great campaign brought to a successful conclusion, the Victor in it rests gloriously, surrounded by the soldiers whom He has led on to triumph, and the people to whom He has given liberty and peace.
II. Consider how these predictions have been fulfilled. 1. By the preaching of the gospel Christ has been lifted up, and as the result men of all nations have sought unto Him, and will seek Him more and more. 2. Having done and suffered all that was necessary ultimately to secure the final victory, He has taken His place at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and rests there gloriously; the glory of His rest arising from the number of the subjects who do Him homage, and of the soldiers who delight to fight His battles, from the triumphs which He has already enabled them to achieve, and from the prosperity and peace of all His people.
We shall make a great mistake if we end by thus admiringly noting how the ancient prophecy has been, and is being, fulfilled in the history of the world. We are among the Gentiles of whom our text speaks: Have we sought unto the glorious Person of whom it speaks? You desire to do so. Do so, then, 1. For right purposes; not merely that you may be delivered from suffering, but that you may be delivered from sin; not merely that you may ultimately gain admission to heaven, but that you may have and now render to Him the homage and the service to which He is entitled. 2. In a right spirit; not vainly dreaming that you have, or can win, any claim upon His regard, but recognising that you can appeal only to His mercy, and that without it you are lost; and making this appeal penitently and believingly. So coming to Him, He will be found of you. He will cause you to share in His rest, by causing you to share in His triumphs; inspired and upheld by Him, you shall trample under foot the world, the flesh, the devil, and the fear of death. Your whole being will be at rest; your understanding no longer harassed by perplexing doubts; your conscience stilled and gladdened by a righteous peace; your affections centred at last around Him who alone is worthy of their supreme love; and this threefold rest, so sweet and blessed now, shall be perfected and perpetuated in heaven.—George Smith, D.D.
The prophet here foresees that the Saviour’s mission and work will so exalt Him in the eyes of the nations, that they will turn to Him as the one object and desire of their souls. (Compare John xii. 32.) This prediction declares that Christ would be a banner to attract men, that He would be the object of universal search, and that men in finding Him would attain to true rest and glory.
I. The banner. 1. A banner is naturally “lifted up;” only thus can its purpose be accomplished (chap. xiii. 2; xviii. 3). Apt image this of Christ. Not merely in His death on Calvary. That exaltation was followed by His being lifted higher still by the preaching of the gospel, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John xvi. 14), by the devout lives of all His true followers. 2. A banner has usually some emblem or device representative of some great cause, or expressive of some great truth. (Give instances.) So when “Christ and Him crucified” are uplifted clearly in the view of men, they see God’s hatred of sin, His love of man, and His provision for man’s future happiness and glory.