Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 4.djvu/63

Rh be in servitude, and thou hast broken the staff of his shoulder, and the rod of his oppressor, that rod of the wicked which rested long on the lot of the righteous;" as the Midianites' yoke was broken from off the neck of Israel by the agency of Gideon. If God makes former deliverances his patterns in working for us, we ought to make them our encouragements to hope in him, and to seek to him; (Ps. lxxxiii. 9.) Do unto them as to the Midianites. What temporal deliverance this refers to, is not clear, probably, the preventing of Sennacherib from making himself master of Jerusalem, which was done, as in the day of Midian, by the immediate hand of God; and whereas other battles were usually won with a great deal of noise, and by the expense of much blood, this shall be done silently and without noise; Under his glory God shall kindle a burning; (ch. x. 16.) a fire not blown shall consume him, Job xx. 26. But doubtless it looks further, to the blessed fruits and effects of that great light which should visit them that sat in darkness; it would bring liberty along with it, deliverance to the captives, Luke iv. 18. 1. The design of the gospel, and the grace of it, is, to break the yoke of sin and Satan, to remove the burthen of guilt and corruption, and to free us from the rod of those oppressors, that we might be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Christ brake the yoke of the ceremonial law, (Acts xv. 10. Gal. v. 1.) and delivered us out of the hands of our enemies, that we might serve him without fear, Luke i. 74, 75. 2. This is done by the Spirit working like fire, (Matth. iii. 11.) not as the battle of the warrior is fought, with confused noise; no, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but it is done with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, ch. iv. 4. It is done as in the day of Midian, by a work of God upon the hearts of men. Christ is our Gideon; it is his sword that doeth wonders.

But who, where is he that shall undertake and accomplish these great things for the church? He tells us, (v. 6, 7.) they shall be done by the Messiah, Immanuel, that son of a virgin, whose birth he had foretold, (ch. vii. 14.) and now speaks of, in the prophetic style, as a thing already done: the Child is born; not only because it was as certain, and he was as certain of it, as if it had been done already; but because the church, before his incarnation, reaped great benefit and advantage by his undertaking in the virtue of that first promise concerning the Seed of the woman, Gen. iii. 15. As he was the Lamb slain, so he was the Child born, from the foundation of the world, Rev. xiii. 8. All the great things that God did for the Old Testament church, were done by him as the eternal Word, and for his sake as the Mediator. He was the Anointed, to whom God had respect, (Ps. lxxxiv. 9.) and it was for the Lord's sake, for the Lord Christ's sake, that God caused his face to shine upon his sanctuary, Dan. ix. 17. Therefore the Jewish nation, and particularly the house of David, were preserved many a time from imminent ruin, because that blessing was in them. What greater security therefore could be given to the church of God then, that it should be preserved, and be the special care of Divine Providence, than this, that God had so great a mercy in reserve for it? The Chaldee Paraphrase understands it of the Man that shall endure for ever, even Christ. And it is an illustrious prophecy of him and of his kingdom, which doubtless they that waited for the consolation of Israel built much upon, often turned to, and read with pleasure.

(1.) See him in his humiliation; the same that is the mighty God, is a Child born; the Ancient of Days becomes the Infant of a span long; the everlasting Father is a Son given. Such was his condescension in taking our nature upon him; thus did he humble and empty himself, to exalt and fill us. He is born into our world; the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. He is given, freely given, to be all that to us, which our case, in our fallen state, calls for; God so loved the world, that he gave him. He is born to us, he is given to us, us men, and not to the angels that sinned; it is spoken with an air of triumph, and the angel seems to refer to these words in the notice he gives to the shepherds of the Messiah's being come; (Luke ii. 11.) unto you is born, this day, a Saviour. Note, Christ's being born and given to us, is the great foundation of our hopes, and fountain of our joys, in times of greatest grief and fear.

(2.) See him in his exaltation; this Child, this Son, this Son of God, this Son of man, that is given to us, in a capacity to do us a great deal of kindness; for he is invested with the highest honour and power, so that we cannot but be happy if he be our Friend.

[1.] See the dignity he is advanced to, and the name he has above every name. He shall be called (and therefore we are sure he is, and shall be,) Wonderful, Counsellor, &c. His people shall know him, and worship him, by these names; and as one that fully answers them, they shall submit to him, and depend upon him.

First, He is Wonderful, Counsellor. Justly he is called Wonderful, for he is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints; in his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, he was wonderful. A constant series of wonders attended him, and, without controversy, great was the mystery of godliness concerning him. He is the Counsellor, for he was intimately acquainted with the counsels of God from eternity, and he gives counsel to the children of men, in which he consults our welfare. It is by him that God has given us counsel, Ps. xvi. 7. Rev. iii. 18. He is the Wisdom of the Father, and is made of God to us Wisdom. Some join these together; He is the Wonderful Counsellor, a wonder or miracle of a counsellor; in this, as in other things, he has the pre-eminence; none teaches like him.

Secondly, He is the mighty God; God, the mighty One. As he has wisdom, so he has strength, to go through with his undertaking; he is able to save to the utmost; and such is the work of the Mediator, that no less a power than that of the mighty God could accomplish it.

Thirdly, He is the everlasting Father, or the Father of eternity; he is God, one with the Father, who is from everlasting to everlasting. His fatherly care of his people and tenderness toward them are everlasting. He is the Author of everlasting life and tenderness to them, and so is the Father of a blessed eternity to them. He is the Father of the world to come; so the LXX read it; the Father of the gospel-state, which is put in subjection to him, not to the angels, Heb. ii. 5. He was, from eternity, Father of the great work of Redemption: his heart was upon it; it was the product of his wisdom, as the Counsellor; of his love, as the everlasting Father.

Fourthly, He is the Prince of Peace: as a King, he preserves the peace, commands peace, nay, he creates peace, in his kingdom. He is our Peace, and it is his peace that both keeps the hearts of his people, and rules in them. He is not only a peaceable Prince, and his reign peaceable, but he is the Author and Giver of all good, all that peace which is the present and future bliss of his subjects.

[2.] See the dominion he is advanced to, and the throne he has, above every throne; (v. 6.) The government shall be upon his shoulder; his only: he shall not only wear the badge of it upon his