5“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
5 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
KJVKing James Version
5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD is our righteousness.
What was Jesus H. Christ's real name?The New Testament gives Jesus a long string of names and titles — Jesus, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, the Word, Son of Man, Son of the Highest, Son of David, Son of…
Isaiah 4:2(v5)In that day, Yahweh’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of…
Luke 1:32-33(v5)He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign…
1 Corinthians 1:30(v6)Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
Isaiah 52:13(v5)Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.
Philippians 3:9(v6)and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the…
Show all 69 cross-references
Isaiah 9:7(v5)Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
Jeremiah 33:16(v6)In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. This is the name by which she will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.”
Zechariah 6:12-13(v5)and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he…
Matthew 1:21-23(v6)She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” Now all this has happened…
Zechariah 3:8(v5)Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men who are a sign: for, behold, I will bring out…
Isaiah 11:1-5(v5)A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of…
Daniel 9:24(vv5–6)“Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make…
Isaiah 7:14(v6)Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 32:1-2(v5)Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice. A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a…
Isaiah 53:2(v5)For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no…
Isaiah 54:17(v6)No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the…
Jeremiah 31:31-38(v5)“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according…
Jeremiah 33:14-16(v5)“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning…
Zechariah 9:9(v5)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation;…
Romans 3:22(v6)even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,
Romans 11:26-27(v6)and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from…
Deuteronomy 33:28-29(v6)Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drop down dew. You are happy,…
Psalms 130:7-8(v6)Israel, hope in Yahweh, for there is loving kindness with Yahweh. Abundant redemption is with him. He will redeem Israel from all their…
Jeremiah 23:6(v5)In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
Jeremiah 32:37(v6)“Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I…
Isaiah 9:6(v6)For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
Jeremiah 30:10(v6)Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh. Don’t be dismayed, Israel. For, behold, I will save you from afar, and save…
Zechariah 14:9-11(v6)Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one. All the land will be made like the Arabah, from…
Luke 19:9-10(v6)Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to…
2 Corinthians 5:21(v6)For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Isaiah 40:9-11(v5)You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it…
Jeremiah 30:3(v5)For, behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will reverse the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh. ‘I will cause…
Jeremiah 30:9(v5)but they will serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.
Amos 9:11(v5)In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it…
Zechariah 2:4-5(v6)and said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of…
Zechariah 10:6(v6)“I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back; for I have mercy on them; and they…
Luke 1:71-74(v6)salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, the oath…
John 1:45(v5)Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son…
Revelation 19:11(v5)I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes…
Isaiah 12:1-2(v6)In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort…
Isaiah 35:9(v6)No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous animal go up on it. They will not be found there; but the redeemed will walk there.
Isaiah 45:24-25(v6)They will say of me, ‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’ ” Even to him will men come. All those who raged against him…
Isaiah 53:10(v5)Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He…
Jeremiah 22:3(v5)Yahweh says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no…
Jeremiah 31:27(v5)“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of…
Ezekiel 34:25-28(v6)“ ‘I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land. They will dwell securely in the…
Ezekiel 37:24-28(v6)“ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my…
Hosea 1:7(v6)But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses,…
Hosea 2:18(v6)In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of…
Hosea 3:5(v5)Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and…
Obadiah 1:17(v6)But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
Obadiah 1:21(v6)Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.
Zephaniah 3:13(v6)The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will feed and…
Zechariah 3:10(v6)In that day,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’ ”
John 1:49(v5)Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
Hebrews 8:8(v5)For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and…
1 Kings 4:25(v6)Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
Psalms 45:4(v5)In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds.
Psalms 72:1-2(v5)God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with…
Psalms 80:15(v5)the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself.
Isaiah 2:4(v6)He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears…
Isaiah 33:22(v6)For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.
Isaiah 45:17(v6)Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.
Ezekiel 17:2-10(v5)“Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “A great eagle with great wings and…
Ezekiel 17:22-24(v5)“The Lord Yahweh says: ‘I will also take some of the lofty top of the cedar, and will plant it. I will crop off from the topmost of its…
Ezekiel 34:29(v5)I will raise up to them a plantation for renown, and they will no more be consumed with famine in the land, and not bear the shame of the…
Matthew 2:2(v5)“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
Jeremiah 22:15(v5)“Should you reign, because you strive to excel in cedar? Didn’t your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was…
Jeremiah 22:30(v5)Yahweh says, “Record this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no more will a man of his offspring prosper,…
69 distinct cross-references across this passage (70 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv5–6The Prophet confirms what he had before said of…
The Prophet confirms what he had before said of the renewal of the Church; for it would not have been in itself sufficiently strong to say “I have promised pastors who shall faithfully perform their duty,” except the only true Pastor had been set before them, on whom God’s covenant was founded, and from whom was to be expected the accomplishment of the promises which were hoped for. And it was usual with all the prophets, whenever they gave the people the hope of salvation, to bring forward the coming of the Messiah, for in him have God’s promises always been, yea, and amen. (2 Corinthians 1:20.) This, indeed, appears now, under the Gospel, more clear than formerly; but the faith of the Fathers could not have been complete except they directed their thoughts to the Messiah. As, then, neither the love of God could have been made certain to the Fathers, nor the testimony of his kindness and paternal favor be confirmed without Christ, this is the reason why the prophets were wont to set Christ before their eyes whenever they sought to inspire the miserable with a good hope, who otherwise must have been overwhelmed with sorrow and driven into despair.
What, therefore, so often occurs in the prophets is deserving of special notice, so that we may know that God’s promises will become ineffectual to us, or be suspended, or even vanish away, except we raise all our thoughts to Christ, and seek in him what would not be otherwise certain and sure to us.
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According to this principle the Prophet now says, that the days would come in which God would raise up to David a righteous branch He had spoken generally of pastors; but the Jews might have still been in doubt, and hesitated to believe that any such thing could be hoped for; hence God calls here their attention to the Messiah; as though he had said, that no hope of salvation could be entertained except through the Mediator who had been promised to them, and that therefore they were not sufficiently wise except they turned their minds to him. Moreover, as the accomplishment of salvation was to be expected through the Mediator, God shews that the promise, that he would give them pastors, ought not to be doubted. Hence it appears that I rightly stated at the beginning, that the former doctrine is confirmed by this passage in which God promises the coming of the Mediator. And the demonstrative particle, behold, as we have elsewhere seen, is intended to shew certainty; and it was necessary for the Jews to be thus confirmed, because the time had not as yet arrived, and we know that their faith must have been grievously shaken by so many and so long trials, had they not some support. God, then, seems to point out the event as by the finger, though it was as yet very remote. He does not intimate a short time, but he thus speaks for the sake of making the thing certain, so that they might not faint through a long expectation. Come, then, he says, shall the days in which he will raise up to David a righteous branch
Though the preposition ל, lamed, is often redundant, yet in this place it seems to me that God has a reference to the covenant which he had made with David. And the Prophet did this designedly, because the Jews were unworthy of being at all regarded by God; but he here promises that he would be faithful to that covenant which he had once made with David, because David himself was also faithful and embraced with true faith the promise made to him. God then, as though he would have nothing to do with that perverse and irreclaimable people, but with his servant David, says, “I will raise up to David a righteous branch;” as though he had said, “Though ye were even a hundred times unworthy of having a Deliverer, yet the memory of David shall ever remain complete with me, as he was perfect and faithful in keeping my covenant.” Now, it cannot be doubted but that the Prophet speaks here of Christ.
The Jews, in order to obscure this prophecy, will have this to be applied to all the descendants of David; and thus they imagine an earthly kingdom, such as it was under Solomon and others. But such a thing cannot certainly be gathered from the words of the Prophet; for he does not speak here of many kings, but of one only. The word “branch,” I allow, may be taken in a collective sense; but what is afterwards said? A king shall reign They may also pervert this, for the word “king” is often taken for successors in a kingdom. This is indeed true; but we ought to consider the whole context. It is said, in his days Hence it appears evident that some particular king is intended, and that the words ought not to be applied to many. And the last clause is a further confirmation, This shall be his name, by which they shall call him, Jehovah our righteousness Here also the Jews pervert the words, for they make God the nominative case to the verb, as though the words were, “Jehovah shall call him our righteousness;” but this is contrary to all reason, for all must see that it is a forced and strained version. Thus these miserable men betray their own perverseness; for they pervert, without any shame, all the testimonies in favor of Christ; and they think it enough to elude whatever presses hard on them.
We must now, then, understand that this passage cannot be explained of any but of Christ only. The design of the Holy Spirit we have already explained; God had from the beginning introduced this pledge whenever he intended to confirm faith in his promises; for without Christ God cannot be a Father and a Savior to men; nor could he have been reconciled to the Jews, because they had departed from him. How, indeed, could they have been received into favor without expiation? and how could they have hoped that God would become a Father to them, except they were reconciled to him? Hence without Christ they could not rely on the promises of salvation. Rightly, then, have I said, that this passage ought to be confined to the person of Christ.
And we know of a certainty that he alone was a righteous branch; for though Hezekiah and Josiah were lawful successors, yet when we think of others, we must say, that they were monsters. Doubtless, with the exception of three or four, they were all spurious and covenant-breakers; yea, I say, spurious, for they had nothing in common with David, whom they ought to have taken as an example of piety. Since, then, they were wholly unlike their father David, they could not have been called righteous branches. They were, indeed, perfidious and apostates, for they had departed from God and his law. We hence see that there is here an implied contrast between Christ and all those spurious children who yet had descended from David, though wholly unworthy of such an honor on account of their impiety. Therefore as these kings had roused God’s wrath against the people, and had been the cause of their exile, the Prophet says now, that there would be at length a righteous branch; that is, that though those did all they could to subvert God’s covenant by their wicked deeds, there would come at length the true and the only Son, who is elsewhere called the first-born in the whole world, (Psalm 89:27,) and that he would be a righteous branch.
And this ought to be carefully noticed; for neither Hezekiah nor Josiah, nor any like them, when viewed in themselves, were worthy of this sacred distinction,
“I will make him the first-born in the earth;” and further, “My Son art thou.” (Psalm 2:7.)
This could not have been said of any mortal man, viewed in himself. And then it is said,
“I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son;”
and the Apostle tells us, that this cannot be applied even to angels. (Hebrews 1:5.) As, then, this dignity is higher than angels’ glory, it is certain that none of David’s successors were worthy of such an honor. Hence Christ is justly called a righteous Branch. At the same time, the Prophet, as I have already reminded you, seems to set the perfect integrity of Christ in opposition to the impiety of those who under a false pretense had exercised authority, as though they were of that sacred race of whom it had been said, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.”
It follows, — And reign shall a king This also has not been added without reason, shortly after Jeconiah had been driven into exile, and also the whole royal family had been exposed to every kind of reproach. The crown, indeed, was cast on the ground, as it has already appeared, and was trodden under feet. There was, therefore, no hope of a future kingdom when the seed of Abraham had become, as it were, extinct. This is the reason why God promises what we now hear of the restoration of the throne; and we may easily infer from what all the prophets have said, that the salvation of the people was dependent on the person of their king; and whenever God bade the people to entertain hope, he set a king before their eyes. A king was to be their head under God’s government. We now see the design of the Prophet in saying, that a king would reign
Some think that a king is to be understood as in opposition to a tyrant, because many kings had departed from their duty, and committed robbery under that specious authority. I have no doubt but that the word king was expressed, lest the people should doubt the fulfillment of this prophecy; for if it had been only said, “I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign,” they might, indeed, have entertained some hope, but it would have been small, and not full and complete. We, indeed, know that Zerubbabel and others excelled in some things, and were highly regarded for David’s sake; but there was then no kingdom. God therefore intended here expressly to testify that there would be the high privilege of a kingdom, that there might be nothing wanting to the Jews, as the power of Christ would not be inferior to the power of David. Reign, then, shall a king; that is, he shall reign gloriously, so that there would not be merely some remnants of pristine dignity, but that a king would flourish, become strong, and attain perfection, such as it was under David and Solomon, and much more excellent.
It follows, — And shall act prudently, and shall do judgment and justice in the land; or, “he shall prosper,” for שכל, shecal, means both; yet the Prophet seems here to speak of right judgment rather than of success, for the two clauses ought to be read together, “he shall act prudently,” and “he shall do judgment and justice.” It seems then that he means this in short, — that Christ would be endued with the spirit of wisdom as well as of uprightness and equity, so that he would possess all the qualifications, and fulfill all the duties of a good and perfect king.
And in the first place, wisdom or prudence is necessary; for probity alone would not be sufficient in a king. In private individuals indeed it is of no small value; but probity in a king, without wisdom, will avail but little, hence, the Prophet here commends Christ for his good discernment, and then mentions his zeal for equity and justice. It is indeed true that Christ’s excellences are not sufficiently set forth by expressions such as these; but the similitude is taken from men; for the first endowment of a king is wisdom, and then integrity in the second place. And we know that Christ is often compared to earthly kings, or set forth to us under the image of an earthly king, in which we may see him; for God accommodates himself to our ignorance. As, then, we cannot comprehend the unspeakable justice of Christ or his wisdom, hence God, that he may by degrees lead us to the knowledge of Christ, shadows him forth to us under these figures or types. Though, then, what is said here does not come up to the perfection of Christ, yet the comparison ought not to be deemed improper; for God speaks to us according to the measure of our capacities, and could not at once in a few words fully express what Christ is. But we must bear in mind that from earthly kings we must ascend to Christ; for though he is compared to them, yet there is no equality; after having contemplated in the type what our minds can comprehend, we ought to ascend farther and much higher.
Hence, the difference between the righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of kings ought to be here noticed. They who rule well can in no other way administer righteousness and judgment than by being careful to render to every one his own, and that by checking the audacity of the wicked, and by defending the good and the innocent; this only is what can be expected from earthly kings. But Christ is far different; for he is not only wise so as to know what is right and best, but he also endues his own people with wisdom and knowledge; he executes judgment and righteousness, not only because he defends the innocent, aids them who are oppressed, gives help to the miserable, and restrains the wicked; but he doeth righteousness, because he regenerates us by his Spirit, and he also doeth judgment, because he bridles, as it were, the devil. We now then understand the design of what I said, that we ought to mark the transcendency of Christ over earthly kings, and also the analogy; for there is some likeness and some difference: the difference between Christ and other kings is very great, and yet there is a likeness in some things; and earthly kings are set forth to us as figures and types of him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v5This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church…
This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church in the time of Jesus Christ, who is the true branch, read Isa. 11:1 and 45:8; Jer. 35:15; Dan. 9:24.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,…
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Ver. 5. I will raise to David a righteous branch.] Who shall raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, {Amo 9:11} who shall also sit upon the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. {Luk 1:32-33} Annon hoc probe sarcitur, &c. Is not this a good amends for that which is to befall Coniah and his posterity, put beside the kingdom? Of Christ the "righteous branch," see Isa 11:1; Isa 4:2 Zec 3:8 {See Trapp on "Isa 11:1"} {See Trapp on "Isa 4:2"} {See Trapp on "Zec 3:8"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Though some interpreters think that Zorobabel may be here…
Though some interpreters think that Zorobabel may be here intended, who was descended from David, and ruled the people when they came out of Babylon, yet even the Jewish doctors themselves, as well as the Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy and promise of the Messiah; the prophecies and promises of whom are usually ushered in with this particle
behold to stir up people’s attention; and who also was the Son of David, and who is called the Branch, Isa 4:2; 53:2; Zec 3:8; Isa 11:1, where the reason is also given, he being there called a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, a Branch out of his root; besides that, the application to him of the name King, ordinarily applied to Christ, never given to Zerobabel, and the term righteous, make it evident. Jer 33:15, he is called a Branch of righteousness, which is the same with the righteous Branch here mentioned. He is called the
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righteous Branch, not only because himself was righteous, therefore called the righteous One, Act 3:14; 13:35, but because he maketh his people righteous, Isa 53:11; 60:21. Jesus Christ, answering the type of Melchisedec the king of Salem, and who is the King of kings, 1Ti 6:15, shall reign spiritually, and shall not be like Jeconiah, of whom God said he should not prosper; but he shall prosper, and shall execute justice and judgment, protecting the innocent, and defending his people throughout the world, judging the prince of the world, and by his Spirit governing his people. So as the prophet relieveth the people of God, under their oppressions by these latter kings of Judah, with the promise of the kingdom of Christ, a usual argument made use of by the prophets to comfort the people of God in those days against any evils come or coming upon them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are…
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are coming" (d); and will soon be here, a few days, months, and years more; so it was usual with the prophets to represent the coming of Christ as near at hand, to comfort the saints, and keep up their faith and expectation of him, and especially the latter prophets; see Hag 2:6, Mal 3:1; as also to usher in their prophecies of this sort with a behold, as a note of admiration, attention, and asseveration; see Isa 7:14;
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch; the Messiah; so it is explained by the Targum, which calls him the Messiah of the righteous; and by Kimchi and Ben Melech; and by the ancient Jews (e) also; who is frequently by the prophets spoken of as a branch, Isa 4:2, Zac 3:8; which respects his incarnation, his springing up and appearance in the earth, and the meanness and weakness of it; and here, his descent from the family of David, when that was in a low and mean condition, to be his successor in his throne and kingdom, not in a temporal, but in a spiritual sense; and is a branch and plant not of man's raising, but of the Lord's, his human nature being formed without the help of man; and is that tabernacle which God pitched, and not man; and is therefore elsewhere called the Branch of the Lord, and said to be brought forth by him, Isa 4:2; the epithet of "righteous" is given him, because righteous in himself, and the author of righteousness to others; a branch that brings forth and bears the fruits of righteousness, from whence all those that are ingrafted in him come to have righteousness;
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and a King shall reign and prosper; the King Messiah, the same with David's righteous Branch, his son and offspring; who was appointed by God the Father "King" over Zion, the church, from all eternity; was always promised and spoken of as a King, and came as such, though his kingdom was not with observation, it being not of this world; and when he ascended to heaven, he was declared Lord and Christ; and now "reigns" on the same throne with his Father, and will till all enemies are put under his footstool: and as he prospered in his priestly office, by obtaining the redemption and salvation of his people, which is the "pleasure of the Lord" that was to "prosper in his hand", Isa 53:10; so likewise in his kingly and prophetic offices, by going forth in his Gospel conquering and to conquer; riding forth therein prosperously, and subduing his enemies, and causing his ministers to triumph in him: or, "shall deal prudently" (f), as the word is rendered in Isa 52:13; See Gill on Isa 52:13;
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth: in his church, and among his people, by governing them with righteous laws, and by protecting and defending them from their enemies; for "all judgment is committed to the Son"; who will judge one day the whole world in righteousness; see Joh 5:22.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Behold - Even the Jewish doctors, as well as…
Behold - Even the Jewish doctors, as well as the Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah who is called the branch, Isaiah iv, 2; liii, 2. And here, he is called the righteous branch, not only because himself was righteous, but because he maketh his people righteous. Shall execute - Protecting the innocent, and defending his people throughout the world, judging the prince of the world, and by his spirit governing his people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous…
Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous Branch] As there has been no age, from the Babylonish captivity to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, in which such a state of prosperity existed, and no king or governor who could answer at all to the character here given, the passage has been understood to refer to our blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, who was a branch out of the stem of Jesse; a righteous king; by the power of his Spirit and influence of his religion reigning, prospering, and executing judgment and justice in the earth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v5Jer 23:5-6. I will raise unto David a righteous…
Jer 23:5-6. I will raise unto David a righteous branch — The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by the threatening pronounced against Jeconiah, (Jer 22:30,) that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David: but here we have a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David, notwithstanding that threatening; for by it his house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter than it did even in the days of Solomon. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the Prophet Isaiah. But here we have a very illustrious one. Of him, doubtless, the prophet here speaks, and of no other person. Even the Jewish doctors, as well as Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah, who is called the branch: Isa 4:2; Isa 53:2; and the man the branch, Zec 3:8. And here he is termed the righteous branch, not only because he himself was righteous, but because he makes his people righteous; and a king that shall reign and prosper — Not like kings that now were of the house of David, going backward in all their affairs, but one that shall set up a kingdom in the world, which shall be victorious over all opposition; one to whose hands the good pleasure of the Lord shall be committed, and under whose care and management it shall prosper; one who shall execute judgment and justice in the earth — All the world over, Psa 96:13. The present kings of David’s line were unjust and oppressive, and their affairs therefore did not prosper; but this king shall break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and in due time make all the world righteous. In his days — That is, under his dominion, when his kingdom shall be set up and established upon earth; Judah shall be saved, &c. — The people of God, typified by Judah and Israel, shall be saved with a spiritual and eternal salvation, a salvation from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God here, and into the kingdom of his glory hereafter. At which kingdom, till they arrive, God will be a special protection to them, their refuge and strength, and very present help in trouble; so that they shall dwell safely — Confiding in the care of their strong helper, and preserved in perfect peace. And this is his name whereby he shall be called — Namely, by his people, and by God; the name whereby he shall be known, and which shall at once be descriptive both of his person and office. THE LORD, Hebrew, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS — Though of the seed of David according to the flesh, he shall indeed be JEHOVAH, God in human nature, and OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS; namely, justifying us by his merits, sanctifying us by his Spirit, and directing us in every part of our duty by his doctrine and example; the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth in him with a faith that worketh by love.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Even with the temporal kingship abolished, David’s mercies are…
Even with the temporal kingship abolished, David’s mercies are still sure.
A righteous Branch - Or, sprout, germ (see Isa 4:2 note). The sprout is that in which the root springs up and grows, and which, if it be destroyed, makes the root perish also.
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And a king shall reign ... - Rather, and he shall reign as king. David’s family is to be dethroned (temporally), that it may reign gloriously (spiritually). But compare Jer 33:17, note; Jer 33:25, note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v6Saved: less disturbed. The world shall be redeemed, Luke…
Saved: less disturbed. The world shall be redeemed, Luke ii. 14., and Ephesians ii. 14. --- Just. Hebrew, "Justice," by whom we are made just. He is the true God, Colossians ii. 9, 14. No man could bear this title: and Grotius insidiously attempts to apply it to the Jews, though the Chaldean, &c., clearly speak of the Messias. He [Grotius] must be read with great caution. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "This is his name, which the Lord will call him, Josedech. In the prophets. (9.) My," &c. (Haydock) --- Josedech means "the Lord justice." (Calmet) --- Symmachus, "Lord, justify us."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv5–6As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which…
As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which many political changes took place in harmony with these, it displayed its riches by a variety more effective than if it had been manifested all at once. As the moral condition of the Jews required in each instance, so Messiah was exhibited in a corresponding phase, thus becoming more and more the soul of the nation's life: so that He is represented as the antitypical Israel (Isa 49:3).
unto David--HENGSTENBERG observes that Isaiah dwells more on His prophetical and priestly office, which had already been partly set forth (Deu 18:18; Psa 110:4). Other prophets dwell more on His kingly office. Therefore here He is associated with "David" the king: but in Isa 11:1 with the then poor and unknown "Jesse."
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righteous Branch--"the Branch of righteousness" (Jer 33:15); "The Branch" simply (Zac 3:8; Zac 6:12); "The Branch of the Lord" (Isa 4:2).
prosper--the very term applied to Messiah's undertaking (Isa 52:13, Margin; Isa 53:10). Righteousness or justice is the characteristic of Messiah elsewhere, too, in connection with our salvation or justification (Isa 53:11; Dan 9:24; Zac 9:9). So in the New Testament He is not merely "righteous" Himself, but "righteousness to us" (Co1 1:30), so that we become "the righteousness of God in Him" (Rom 10:3-4; Co2 5:19-21; Phi 3:9).
execute judgment and justice in the earth-- (Psa 72:2; Isa 9:7; Isa 32:1, Isa 32:18). Not merely a spiritual reign in the sense in which He is "our righteousness," but a righteous reign "in the earth" (Jer 3:17-18). In some passages He is said to come to judge, in others to reign. In Mat 25:34, He is called "the King." Psa 9:7 unites them. Compare Dan 7:22, Dan 7:26-27.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv5–65. In the midst of this fearful gloom, most…
5. In the midst of this fearful gloom, most unexpectedly and refreshingly are we favoured with a vision of supernal glory. The words of this passage break upon our ears sweetly and cheeringly as the angels’ song upon the ears of the shepherds. In this extremity of despair the light of God’s blessed consolation beams with ineffable beauty. In none of the prophets, not even in Isaiah, “the evangelic prophet,” is there a brighter gleam of the “latter-day glory.”
Behold — A formal opening, indicating the importance of what is announced.
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Days come — Literally, days (are) coming: pointing to some indefinite future.
Branch — See Isa_4:2; and, for the force of the word, Gen_19:25; Isa_61:11; Eze_16:7; Eze_17:9; Hos_8:7. The original in Isa_11:1, is a different word, and quite distinct in meaning. It is unfortunate that both are represented by the same word in the Authorized Version. The term here employed signifies a sprout or shoot sent up from the root, and is strikingly expressive of the Messiah’s relation to the Davidic dynasty. Of this line nothing was left but the vital root, and yet from this Christ came. The branches had been cut off, the stately trunk was prostrate and dead, but from the hidden root a new shoot came forth of supernal beauty and immortal vigour.
A King shall reign — Rather, that shall reign as king, the sentence resting directly on the word “branch.” Isa_52:13; Dan_9:24, etc.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv5–65. the days come] The phrase (first occurring in…
5. the days come] The phrase (first occurring in Amo_4:2), according to Jeremiah’s employment of it (cp. Jer_23:7, Jer_30:3, Jer_31:27; Jer_31:31; Jer_31:38, Jer_33:14), implies a special call to note the announcement thus introduced. In spite of the troubles which are now gathering round them there are none the less surely days of deliverance coming.
Branch] mg. Or, Shoot Or, Bud. While the word designating the Messiah in Isa_11:1 is rightly translated Branch, the Heb. substantive here (Ṣemach) can only mean shoot, that which springs immediately out of the ground. In Isa_4:2 the word is used in a more general sense, not as here of the individual Messianic Ruler, but of the produce of the soil in the blissful age of the Messiah. See further in Dr. p. 364 and on Isa_4:2 (Skinner) in C.B.
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deal wisely] For mg. prosper see on Jer_20:11.
execute judgement and justice] Cp. the same expression as used of David, the ancestor of the Messiah, in 2Sa_8:15.
5–8. Du. and others reject these vv., which are also viewed with suspicion by Co. The use of the term “the Shoot” for the Messiah by Zechariah (Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12) shews that in his time it was an established expression, and therefore might naturally be employed as early as pre-exilic times in connexion with Messianic expectations which were even then current. Moreover, there can be little doubt that “our righteousness” (Heb. Ṣidḳenu) is an appellation chosen by the prophet as hinting (see on Jer_23:1-8) at the name of the reigning king, Zedekiah (Heb. Ṣidḳiyahu). “What Zedekiah’s name, received at his accession, set forth as an ideal, would be a realized fact in the time of the Messianic King” (Peake). Contrast the Messianic picture in Psalms 2 (specially Jer_23:9) with that (so much more consonant with Jeremiah’s character) given here of a wise and just ruler over a nation united and at peace. We have a prophecy less plainly Messianic in Jer_30:9, where see note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv5–6(5) Behold, the days come.—The words point to an…
(5) Behold, the days come.—The words point to an undefined, far-off future, following on the provisional order implied in Jer_23:4, when the kingdom should once more rest in one of the house of David.
A righteous Branch.—The idea is the same, though the word is different (here Zemach, and there Netzer), as in Isa_11:1. In both cases, however, the word means a “sprout” or “scion,” springing up from the root even after the tree had been cut down (Isa_6:13), and not a branch growing from the trunk. It is probably in reference to this prophecy that we find the name of “the Branch” (Zemach) so prominent in Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12. Here, it is obvious, the prophet speaks of the one great Shepherd.
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A King shall reign.—Better, he shall reign as King, the Branch or Sprout being the subject of the sentence. As with all the Messianic prophecies of this class, the thoughts of the prophet dwell on the acts and attributes of a sovereignty exercised personally on earth. Such a sovereignty, “all power in heaven and on earth” (Mat_28:18), was indeed given to the Christ, but not after the fashion that men expected.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv5–6Vers. 5, 6. (Comp. the parallel passage, Jer_33:15, Jer_33:16)
Vers. 5, 6. (Comp. the parallel passage, Jer_33:15, Jer_33:16)
Behold, the days come. The use of the analogous phrase, "And it shall come to pass in that day," would lead us to suppose that this verse describes a fresh stage in the progress of events, as if the faithful shepherds (ver. 4) were to precede the "righteous Branch" (ver. 5). Such a view, however, is not very plausible, for the Messtab, according to prophecy, is to appear in the darkest of times. The prophet simply means to impress upon us the greatness of the revelation which he is about to communicate. I will raise unto David. The promised Messiah, then, is certainly to be of the family of David. (comp. Isa_9:7 Isa_11:1 Mic_5:2) A righteous Branch; rather, a righteous Plant: the root means "to bud, or sprout." This is the first time in which the title the Plant is unmistakably applied to the Messianic King (possibly, but less probably, to the Messianic kings). It indicates that this great personage stands in connection with the divinely ordained and ancient royal family, but that he is in some way unique, and far surpasses his human ancestors. He "springs forth;" therefore he is not a sort of meteoric appearance, without any natural home among men, but rather the blossom of the Jewish nation, the embodiment of its highest qualities. And yet there is something extraordinary about him, for it is needful that Jehovah himself should "raise" this Plant from the almost worn-out stock of David. Note that the word rendered here in the Authorized Version "Branch" is not the same as that in the parallel passage in Isaiah. (Isa_11:1) It is, however, the word employed in Isa_4:2, which is taken by many, especially the elder interpreters (but with very doubtful justice), to be a prophecy of the Messiah. It is also the word used by Zechariah, (Zec_3:8 Zec_6:12) as a proper name of the Messiah, which is one strong reason for rejecting the view mentioned above that the word rendered "the Branch," or "the Plant," is to be taken collectively as equivalent to "branches," or rather "plants" (the article is not expressed in the Hebrew). In short, this passage and the prophecies referred to in Jeremiah are exceptions to the general Old Testament usage of the Hebrew word (cemakh), which is elsewhere a collective term equivalent to "plantation." It is true that in ver. 4 "shepherds," in the plural, are spoken of, but there is no reason why this title should be confined to kings it may as fairly be extended to the chief rulers under a king as the term "king" itself (see on Jer_17:20); and true, further, that ill Jer_33:17 a continuous succession is promised of Davidic heirs to the throne, but this is not decisive in favor of the collective meaning, any more than Isaiah"s later prophecy that "the reigning Davidic king shall reign in righteousness" disproves the strictly Messianic reference of his earlier promise in Isa_11:1. All prophecy is conditional; there may have been moral reasons why a continuance of the Davidic dynasty was held out by Jeremiah at one time as a possible prospect. (It is, however, extremely probable that Jer_33:14-26 is the work of some other inspired writer; see ad loc.) The thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, which is so closely parallel to this section, appears to interpret the prophecy of a single Messianic king. (Eze_34:23) And a King shall reign; rather, and he shall reign as king; i.e. he shall be the realized ideal of an Israelitish king a second David. And prosper; or, and deal wisely. There is the same doubt as to the rendering of the verb in Isa_52:13 a. The radical idea is that of wisdom, and the analogy of Isa_11:2 favors the alternative rendering here. Shall execute judgment; in contrast to the neglectful conduct of Jehoiakim. (Jer_22:3)
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The Branch of David.
The glorious prophecy of the Messianic future which here bursts forth from Jeremiah, after his denunciation of his nation"s sin and lamentation over its approaching calamities, is necessarily clothed in the language of the age, and viewed in an especial relation to contemporary wants. The people are suffering from bad rulers and an unrighteous government. A good king, administering his kingdom happily and justly, is promised for the golden age of the future. Associated with this king is, no doubt, that succession of righteous sovereigns referred to in the fourth verse. It was not given to anticipatory visions to show how unique and solitary and eternal was to be the kingship of the Messiah. Yet even there he stands forth in marked prominence, and towers above his successors, who are only regarded as following his initiative. Regarding the prophecy with the fuller light of Christian times, we may see how it is a true foreshadowing of the nature and work of Christ, though, of course, only partial and limited, as the shadow can only indicate the general form of its object, and that in but one aspect.
I THE ORIGIN OF THE MESSIAH.
1. He comes from a human stock. He is called a "Branch," or, rather, a "Sprout." Christ entered the world by birth; he was "made of a woman." Hence his oneness with us, his human sympathy, true example, and representative character as the High Priest of the race.
2. He comes of the family of David. This historical fact is significant. Christ is a born King, a rightful Sovereign. He realizes the ideal which the kings of the Jews had failed to attain, but which the best of them had aimed at.
3. He comes quietly and gradually. The sprout springs from a bud by slow growth. Christ began his life as an infant, and grew in physical, mental, and spiritual powers. (Luk_2:52) He did not astonish the world with a sudden apparition of majesty. His kingship is like his kingdom, a quiet and gradual growth as that of a tree from a seed. (Mat_13:31-32)
4. He comes with close relations to the circumstances of the world. The sprout is vitally connected with the earth and the atmosphere. It grows in the natural season of growth. Christ is associated with all human interests. The ages before his advent were preparing for him. He is the representative of their highest aspirations, the satisfaction of their deepest needs. He comes in the "fullness of time.
5. He comes from a Divine origin. God raises up the righteous Branch. The text tells us no more than that the coming of Christ is providential and through special Divine influences; but we know that God not only raised him, but was in him, as one with his very being.
II THE OFFICE OF THE MESSIAH. He is to be a King. It was natural that the Jews should anticipate a temporal sovereign, and natural, therefore, that they should have been disappointed at the appearance and conduct of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet was he not, is he not, a King? He professed to be a King. (Joh_18:37) The apostles claimed submission to him as to a King. (Act_17:7) His influence is kingly. The essence of kingship is not seen in the sitting on a material throne and wearing a visible crown, but in the exercise of power over men. Christ is the one true King, because he rules the thoughts and affections and wills of men. Human sovereigns can only command external obedience. While the slave cringes before the throne he may be cursing his master in his heart. Christ is satisfied with no such superficial loyalty. He seeks the allegiance of the heart, and he wins it from all his people. We must, therefore, recognize this great fact Christ is a King as well as a Savior. While he delivers us from ruin, he expects submission to his authority. He is a Savior partly by being a King, for his royal influence is one means of his deliverance of mankind. Therefore the selfish Christianity which would accept escape from ruin, but would not accord loyal obedience, is a delusion. We cannot even be safe, cannot even escape from the ruin of our sin, except by bowing to the rule of Christ. We can only find rest unto our souls by taking on us his yoke. True faith, therefore, includes trust in the kingship as well as in the redemption of Christ, i.e. active fidelity in addition to passive confidence.
III THE CHARACTER OF THE MESSIAH.
1. He is righteous. This was much in contrast to the unrighteousness of contemporary rulers. Taking the word "righteous" in the largest sense, we have assurance of the truth, justice, holiness, and goodness of Christ. If this righteousness of the Messiah is a ground of rejoicing to the prophet, how much more shall we Christians rejoice in witnessing his gentleness, compassion, and love?
2. He rules righteously. The character of the government is necessarily determined by that of the ruler. The great King comes to live not for himself, but for his people, and not to execute stern judgments upon them, but to secure their highest good. Christ reigns for the good of his people. If we submit to his rule we find our own blessedness secured thereby.
Vers. 5, 6. "The Lord our Righteousness.
I THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WOULD RULE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE. The question of the singular or plural interpretation of the word "scion" need not trouble us. To the prophet it was enough to declare that the offspring of David would yet reign in righteousness. All lesser fulfillments of this prophecy are thrown into insignificance by the great Son of David, who so grandly fulfilled the essential conditions of the prediction.
1. Righteousness would yet become the law of human life.
2. This would be achieved through a personal influence. The King of men will wield a spiritual scepter, but his influence will be the more real. Righteousness will be manifested as a life and vindicated in sacrificial death.
3. The house of David would be restored in him as its offspring.
II THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO HIS PEOPLE. "The Lord our Righteousness," be it the title of Prince or people, is sufficiently significant to explain its own essential meaning. There would be a transfer of the righteous character of the Ruler to the ruled; their spirit and aims would be identical with his; and he would embody their ideal life and present it to God. Through him the Divine righteousness would be the possession of the least saint. This evidently could only be perfectly accomplished in Christ. Nothing less than a unity of spirit and life with Jesus Christ, through faith, could achieve such a result.
III THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD THUS EMBODIED AND COMMUNICATED WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE.
1. The power of this righteousness.
2. Its desirability.
3. Its attainableness. The ideal future of Israel and the Church. M.
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE Vers. 5, 6. Jehovah-Tsidkenu.
It is in his kingly character that the uprising of the Messiah is here predicted. The shepherds that destroyed and scattered the flock of God were the corrupt rulers of the line of David. God was visiting upon them one after another "the evil of their doings;" and after them he would raise up men of a nobler sort men like Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees, who should be true leaders and commanders of the people (ver. 4). But these, again, would but prepare the way for One far greater. Beyond all these changes the eye of the prophet is fixed on the time when out of the seemingly withered root of David a sapling shall arise, "the righteous Branch;" One who shall perfectly realize the Divine (idea of "a ruler" of 2Sa_23:3, 2Sa_23:4) rather King who shall "reign in righteousness," and of the "increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end". (Isa_9:6, 7 11:1-6 32:1 Zec_9:9) Towards him the hopes of loyal, hearts, through, every previous age reached forth in him the "desire of all nations finds its glorious fulfillment. "And this is the name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness." In unfolding the full significance of this name, consider
(1) the personal righteousness of Christ,
(2) the way in which that righteousness becomes ours.
I HIS PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. He is emphatically "Jesus Christ the Righteous," the one only absolutely righteous being ever born into the world. Our human nature, the beauty and harmony of which, in the person of Adam, the father of oar race, the touch of moral evil had defaced and destroyed, appeared again in him, the "second Adam," in all its sinless, faultless perfection, absolutely free from the taint of evil. And this not as a development, but as a new Divine revelation; not as the consummate product of moral forces inherent in our nature, but as a supernatural phenomenon, a miracle, in the sphere of man"s moral life. In him the "righteousness of God" appeared, embodied and illustrated in human form. Our faith in this historic fact rests on different grounds.
1. The angelic testimony. (Luk_1:35)
2. The direct testimony of the Father. (Mat_3:17 Mat_17:5)
4. The witness of his enemies (Judas, Herod, Pilate and his wife, the Roman centurion).
5. The apostolic testimony. (Act_3:14 2Co_5:21 Heb_7:26 1Pe_2:22 1Jn_2:1 1Jn_3:5)
6. The profound impression left on our spirits by a careful study of the Gospel records. The absolute sinlessness of Jesus is one of the foundation stones in the fabric of Christian doctrine, and to doubt or deny it is to undermine and destroy the whole. But his righteousness means more than faultless personal character. It includes the positive fulfillment of the Father"s purposes and of the work the Father had given him to do. I have glorified thee on the earth," etc. (Joh_17:4) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering," etc. (Heb_10:5-10) His was a righteousness wrought out through all the patient obedience of a blameless life, consummated in the vicarious shame and sorrow of the cross. As the sunbeam receives no contamination from the foulest thing on which it may chance to fall, so did he pass triumphantly through all the evil of the world and go back to the bosom of the Father with a purity as unsullied as that in which he came. "Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead". (Rom_1:4)
II HOW HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS BECOMES OURS.
1. As the ground of our forgiveness. Faith in him as our righteous "Advocate with the Father" delivers us from condemnation. We believe in no "transference of a moral quality." As a man"s sins are his own and not another"s, so whatever of virtue there may be in him belongs to himself alone. But is it incredible that God should deal with sinful men in the way of mercy because of the perfect righteousness of "the man Christ Jesus?" "He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". (2Co_5:21) There is an instinctive witness in our souls to the fact that if "grace reigns" towards us it must be through righteousness. This is God"s answer to that instruct: "By the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life". (Rom_5:18)
2. As the inspiring cause of our personal sanctification. The gospel is God"s method of making men righteous, not a scheme by virtue of which he reckons them to be so when they are not. Faith in Christ"s mediatorial work as the ground of forgiveness draws the soul irresistibly into living sympathy with himself. It is impossible to dwell in fellowship with him without sharing his spirit and becoming "righteous even as he is righteous." Not more surely does the prepared surface receive the picture the sun"s rays paint upon it, than does the reverent, trustful, loving soul reflect his image. "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass," etc. (2Co_3:18) Thus does his righteousness become ours.
3. As the rectifying power in the general life of the world. "A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom," and wherever he reigns the discords of the world are resolved into a blessed harmony. He is the Creator of "the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. W.
Vers. 5, 6. The righteous Scion of David.
What is general in vers. 3 and 4 now becomes exceedingly definite. Attention is directed to one particular person in whom shall center all the blessings that can come through a king worthy of the name. The days are coming in which he will rule in the midst of a kingdom worthy of him. Jehovah sees these days coming as a watchman might observe people approaching in the far distance and moving steadily in the right direction. These days are on the way, and the actual experience of them is only a matter of time. In these days will appear
I A SCION OF DAVID. "Branch" is a somewhat misleading word here, especially considering the use which is made of the branch in the New Testament. The branch is properly taken in relation to the trunk, both being parts of a living whole. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." Instead of the Christ being spoken of as a Branch from David, David is rather to be spoken of, by virtue of his faith in the coming One, as a branch of the Christ. The real meaning, of course, is that, at some time in the future, one of the lineal descendants of David will fulfill these purposes of God and the consequent hopes of devout men. Hence the importance which belongs to the genealogies in Matthew and Luke. The more the Gospels are looked into, the more it will be seen how they are constructed on certain lines indicated in the prophecies. The two Gospel genealogies become additionally credible when we reflect what a motive there was to preserve the record of lineal succession from David. Considering how uncertain it is that any man will have lineal descendants centuries after his own times, it is a peculiarly noticeable miracle that he who appeared something like a thousand years after David to do such great works, should have been unquestionably David"s descendant, born at Bethlehem and named as Son of David by the common people.
II A RIGHTEOUS SCION OF DAVID. In a not unreasonable sense of the word, David was himself a righteous man. We cannot say anything for him, any more than for ourselves, if we contrast him with the righteous God. But we have also to look at him over against the vile men with whom he was so often in conflict, men who appear not to have had one generous feeling or upward aspiration. Especially we must contrast him with some of his own descendants. When we look down the line as far as history gives the opportunity, we see first good men and then bad men. And it is a great mystery in the Christ"s human nature that he should have been a Scion of the bad as well as the good in this line. We are, therefore, obliged to recollect:
1. That David, who was righteous in a modified sense, was in due time followed by a descendant who was completely righteous. He who was ever reaching forward, trying to approximate more and more to the will of God, was followed by One who revealed that will in all the conduct of his life on earth.
2. That even as a bad father had a good son (or take, as a very striking illustration, the bad grandfather Manasseh and the good grandson Josiah), so all these bad kings had in due time a successor in Jesus of Nazareth, who was undefiled by any taint that might reasonably be supposed to have come down from them. As we think of the contrasts thus furnished, the use of all these deplorable records in the Books of Kings and Chronicles comes manifestly out. The mischief and misery which wicked kings can work must be seen in all their hideousness, so that all the more a disposition may be excited to attend to the blessings which Jesus will secure and multiply when he comes to reign as King.
III THE PROSPERITY OF THIS RIGHTEOUS KING. It must be made clear in some great and everlastingly conspicuous instance that practical righteousness is followed by prosperity, and that nowhere is the connection more sure between a cause allowed fully to operate and its full effect. The most hurtful kind of wickedness, the men who commit it do not. delight in for its own sake. Their aim is outward prosperity, to secure riches in the easiest, and most rapid way; and this may necessitate a degree of wickedness of which oftentimes they seem not in the least conscious. Then, of course, in the end the prosperity proves corrupt and ruins the man who risked everything for it. But now turn to the individual experience of Jesus. His course in this world had nothing in it of prosperity as some count prosperity. He lived in poverty; he did not live long; and he died as criminals die. All these experiences, however, only bring out the real prosperity. After the cross the manifestation of his glory and power bedaub, in the acceptance of him by hearts that he had completely subdued. There never has been such a king as Jesus of Nazareth; never any one who has elicited such whole-hearted homage, such complete, faithful, self-denying service. He prospers and he makes his servants prosper. The more his glory shines, the more their lives are brightened. This surely is indeed a royal prosperity.
IV THE PROSPERITY OF THE PEOPLE IS INDICATED:
1. By the king"s own action in judgment and righteousness, or, as we might otherwise put it, in righteous judgment. As one in authority and power, he has to give decisions, and these decisions are always righteous. Human kings were arbitrary and capricious; their likes and dislikes, their political necessities, had much to do with the decisions they gave. But with this righteous Scion of David it is very different. He lays down great principles which, if men would only attend to them and take in the spirit of them, would stop all disputings and litigations.
2. By the security of the people. The subjects of Jesus have true safety. They are safe in themselves and safe in their spiritual possessions. He who enables them to acquire the true riches shows also how to hold them fast; else the riches would not be true riches at all. And it is not the least boon that he gives them the power, if only they have faith to exercise it, of living without anxiety and distraction. It is very dishonoring to our great King not to believe that all our best interests are perfectly safe in his charge. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v5I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.
Jer_23:5
I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.
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Christs Divine titles: the righteous Branch; and the Lord our Righteousness
Some of the grandest productions of nature appear small or feeble in their origin; though nothing is little or feeble with God. The majestic oak, the pride of the forest, that breasts the heavens in power, springs from a little acorn-cup; the mighty ,river, that creates life, health, beauty, and fertility in a realm, rises from some feeble well-spring beside the mountain. Now the wonderful fact of growth in life, or progress in nature or grace, was pre-eminently a profound truth with Christ, in His pure human nature. He that was Davids Root, as God, the almighty cause of all life, was yet Davids Offspring and Branch, as Man.
I. Christ is the Righteous Branch. He is called by this remarkable name by the prophets (Isa_11:1; Isa_4:2; Jeremiah, in my text, and 33:15, 16; Eze_17:22-24; Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12).
1. The Divine titles of our Redeemer in Scripture are most expressive, and are full of spiritual truth and beauty. Among other glorious titles, He is called the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, including all the letters of the Greek Alphabet, to denote His Eternal nature; as the Beginning and End of all things; as the Author and Finisher of our faith; as the origin, centre, and circle of all blessings for His people. He is the only and true Foundation on which the whole Church of God is built, and the chief Corner-stone of its perfection and beauty. He is our great Captain of salvation, and our Counsellor and Mediator before God in heaven; He is the Mystical Vine to give us Divine life; and the Heavenly Manna to feed and nourish our souls; as well as the living Water of purity and celestial joy. He is our Day-spring and Day-star from on high, to enlighten and guide us; as well as to give Divine knowledge and glory; and our Daysman and Deliverer to reconcile us to God. He is the Child born as man, to be our sacrifice; and the Son given as God, the Eternal Son of God, to impart infinite value to His work of salvation. He is the Prince of Peace, the King of Zion, our Great Prophet and High Priest; and our Peacemaker with Jehovah; our Redeemer from all sin; our Refuge in all danger; our Strong Rock in every storm; our Divine Saviour and Shepherd, who died to deliver us, and lead us to heaven; our Almighty Sun and Shield; in fine, the Righteous Branch, the Branch of Renown, the Righteous Branch of Jehovah, the Lord our Righteousness.
2. Christ is the Righteous Branch, as the cause of all Divine light and life in the Church. The word rendered the Branch, has a double meaning; it signifies both a shoot from an old stock, or a branch springing from a tree, vigorous in life, with rich blossoms and fruits; as well as the splendour of dawn, or the sun rising in eastern glory. This double emblem is most appropriately applied to our Redeemer; both in the sense of His human origin, as springing like a branch into perfect and glorious life from the family of David; and in His Divine nature as God, displaying the splendour of His majesty like the full-orbed sun rising over the earth and dispelling all darkness.
3. As the Righteous Branch Christ fills all His Church with Divine life and blessings. This may be illustrated thus: when a tree is transplanted from one field to another, it belongs, in civil law, to the ground where it has root, and receives nourishment and growth; for though it may be the same tree still in its roots, stock and branches, yet, as all these derive new and continued life from the place where it grows, it therefore belongs, in civil law, by right to the lord of the soil. So Christ, in taking our pure human nature into union with His Divine nature, made ours His own by lawful right, and He gives infinite value to humanity. His Divine and human nature are distinct, though united--separate, though in connection, like our own soul and body. And all of our Divine life, and all the blessings we spiritually enjoy, must come and be derived from Christ, and vivify and nourish our spiritual life, as sap rising from the roots of a tree gives all the stock, branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit their support, beauty, and sweetness!
II. How is Christ truly the Lord our Righteousness?
1. He only can restore righteousness to our fallen nature.
2. No sinner can ever be saved unless in some way by this righteousness of Jesus.
3. Christ is the Lord our righteousness in a twofold sense. He is the Cause, by His active and passive obedience to all the demands of Divine justice, and the Fountain of all our righteousness by His sacrifice on the cross. And as our Mediator in heaven, His continual intercession, and the blessed work of His Holy Spirit produce in our hearts holiness of life. This great work and doctrine may thus be illustrated. Suppose a powerful monarch goes to a prison-cell, where some favourite, who has been condemned for treason, lies expecting death. Royal mercy rises above law; royal affection remembers a friends doom. The sovereign opens the prison door and bestows on him a full pardon. This frees the offender from all just demands of the law. But the monarch does more: he takes him again into his favour; he exalts him even to higher honours than he forfeited, and he admits him to an the communion of a friend, and to all the dignities of the state, and he bestows on him a royal title to an inheritance which nothing can destroy.
4. This scriptural doctrine, that Christ is our righteousness, must be implicitly the firm reliance of faith, and of all the heart. The natural man cannot receive this great truth. Like other things of the Spirit, it must be spiritually discerned.
Remarks--
1. How Divine and comforting are the Scripture titles of Christ! This one of the Righteous Branch is most expressive and just for our Redeemer. Many kings and rulers have been unjust and unholy, but the Lord Jesus never! for all His own nature, all His moral government of the world are perfectly righteous, holy, and just, and all of His dealings among men shall shine forth as the rays of a full-orbed sun in glory!
2. How great and glorious are the blessings bestowed on Christians by the Redeemers work as the ever-living and righteous Branch of Jehovah! Take heed, then, of being in Christ for Divine life and fruitfulness. The leaves and blossoms on any fruitful branch or tree, though all various, must derive all their life and beauty from the living stock. All real Christians have all their continued spiritual life, holiness, and perfection from Jesus. And as no flower nor blossom can he without a branch, nor no ray of light without a star or sun, so no beauty nor brightness can be without Christ, the righteous Branch and Sundawn of eternal blessedness.
3. What a blissful and long day of peace and happiness shall that be for all the gathered Church of God! Gentile and Jew, all nations shall join hands in perfect amity and goodwill No more discord, no more destruction, no more death. (J. G. Angley, M. A.)
The Lord our righteousness
I. Inquire who is the person here spoken of; and whether any individual has appeared, since the days of Jeremiah, answering this description. Jeremiah, we find, flourished in the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. In vain shall we look either to the times of the prophets, or to the commencement of the Christian era, for any individual answering the description in the text.
1. He was to be of the stock of David: to this description Christ exactly corresponded. He was born of a virgin, of the house and lineage of David.
2. He was to be righteous. To this part of me description, also, Christ exactly corresponded. He did no sin, and in Him no guile was found.
3. He was to be a King. To this, also, the character of Jesus of Nazareth corresponded. He was born King of the Jews; He was so called by the wise men who came from afar to worship Him. When asked by Pontius Pilate if He were a King, He did not deny it; and when He was pressed, He replied in the affirmative--Thou sayest that I am a King. A King He was, but in disguise--a King, but wearing the garb of a servant.
4. It is here predicted that He should reign and prosper. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction before us. To reign and to prosper, is to have victory over all open enemies, and to see his friends in peace, and happiness, and prosperity around him. But mark the history of Jesus of Nazareth. Being in disguise, He hid Himself: He refused to be made a King when the people would have done so; and, instead of reigning and prospering, He was despised, scorned, crucified, and slain; instead of having the victory over His enemies, they had the victory over Him; and though, from the inherent dignity of His person, they could not hold Him, for He was a King, yet He left the world under a disguise, and left His foes in apparent triumph, to rejoice in the success of their rebellion.
5. He was to execute judgment and justice in the earth. Here, again, the history does not correspond with the prediction. He was, indeed, just; but He did not execute justice; He did not establish an ascendency of righteousness. On the contrary, injustice, violence, and deceit remain to this day.
6. In the reign of the King here spoken of, Judah is to be saved, and Israel is to dwell safely. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction. In His days, Judah was despised and trodden down: according to their own confession, they had no king but Caesar:--to Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, they paid tribute.
7. His name was to be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Now, what shall we say to this? Why, instead of all acknowledging Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, the bulk of professing Christians scoff at the very doctrine connected with this name! But I dwell not on this:--the speaker is a Jew, and the words must apply to Jews;--the Lord our Righteousness;--the Righteousness of the Jewish nation. Now I ask, Has the Jewish nation ever acknowledged the Messiah to be the Lord their Righteousness? Certainly not: therefore, the prophecy of Jeremiah has not been fulfilled. In examining this prophecy, we have seen that three points of the description have been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; that three other points of His description have not been fulfilled in Him; and that the seventh has been fulfilled in a very partial manner, and not in a peculiar application to the Jewish nation. Now, it is an acknowledged truth, by all who believe the Word of God, that Christ, who, for a season, dwelt upon earth, shall come again. So that between what He did and what He shall do, all the parts of the prophecy shall be fulfilled in Him. Now, it is very remarkable that what we should expect from this prophecy He would be, we are told from other prophecies He shall be. For we are told that He will execute judgment and justice in the earth; and that He will reign as a King in the earth.
II. Consider one or two of the important particulars which are revealed concerning this King, so prospering and reigning.
1. Concerning the reality and identity of the Kings person. The human nature of Jesus, returning to earth as He quitted it from Mount Olivet,--the nature that was degraded, persecuted when on earth,--this same human nature shall be exalted in Zion; calling His brethren after the flesh, the Jews, to rally around Him, and to acknowledge Him as Jehovah their Righteousness in that day.
2. Concerning the appearance of the King in that day. On this subject the history of the Transfiguration was, I think, intended to instruct us.
3. Concerning the manner of His administration in His kingdom: the manner, I mean, of His interference in this kingdom. It was a Theocracy under which the Jews were placed. All difficult questions were referred to God Himself; and He gave answers by the Urim and Thummim on the breast of the High Priest. He either spake to the people by Moses, or by some visible appearance. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign by a visible interference; by stretching out His arm to award and to punish. And then will be said that which is written in the Psalms: So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; there is a God that judgeth in the earth. (H. MNeile.)
The kingdom of the Messiah
I. The person of the Messiah.
1. His human incarnation--A Branch. This term is often used by the prophets, to represent Christs assumption of our nature.
2. His personal perfection--A righteous Branch.
(1) In His essential nature as God, Jesus Christ was infinitely pure, holy, just, and good.
(2) In His human nature as man, He was perfectly righteous, and free from everything sinful and impure.
3. His sovereign character--A King shall reign. He possessed every qualification requisite for the dignity of His character. He is infinite in wisdom, righteousness, power, and goodness. He is not only a Prophet to instruct, a Priest to atone, but also a King to rule and save His people.
II. The nature of His kingdom. A King shall reign and prosper, &c.
1. A universal kingdom. His presence fills all space, and His power is unlimited.
2. A mediatorial kingdom. This refers to Christs official character, as the Mediator between God and man.
3. A spiritual kingdom. The kingdom which Christ established in the work of redemption, is designed in its personal influence to destroy sin, that grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life.
4. A celestial kingdom. Heaven is often denominated a kingdom, and is the promised inheritance of the Lords faithful people (Luk_12:32). (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The nature and prosperity of the Messiahs reign
I. The character of Christ. A King (Num_24:17; Psa_2:6; Psa_45:1; Isa_32:1; Zec_9:9; Luk_19:38; Joh_18:37; Rev_17:14). There are three things we look for in a King.
1. Supreme power (Eph_1:21; Rom_9:5; Php_2:9; Col_1:18).
2. Legislative authority.
(1) Christ s authority to govern all arises out of His being the proprietor of all (Joh_1:10; Col_1:16).
(2) His legislative authority is still more confirmed by virtue of His redeeming acts: He has bought us with a price, and redeemed us to God by His blood.
3. Righteous administration; or the exercise of certain qualities essential to good government.
(1) In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; He knows all His subjects--is acquainted with their infinitely diversified necessities. And such is His immaculate purity, that it is impossible for Him to enact any laws that will not subserve the interests of His creatures.
(2) His justice is equal to His wisdom; justice and judgment are the habitation of His seat.
(3) He is so merciful as to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
II. The nature of His reign. A King shall reign, &c.
1. The reign of Christ is spiritual (Luk_17:20; Rom_14:17).
2. The reign of Christ is benevolent. Look at the Alexanders, or Caesars, or mighty chiefs of antiquity, marching at the head of vast armies, while every battle of these warriors is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. How violent their operations! how cruel and sanguinary their triumphs! Oh, how unlike the means used by the Lord Jesus to subdue the world to the obedience of Himself! (Isa_42:2.)
3. The reign of Christ is equitable. It is founded on principles of justice, reason, and truth (Heb_1:8). The laws by which He governs are holy, just, and good: the obedience which He requires is not only right in itself, but essentially connected with human happiness.
4. The reign of Christ is perpetual. Earthly kingdoms have their rise, progress, perfection, declension, and ruin (Isa_9:7; Heb_1:8).
III. The prosperity with which that reign shall be attended. The word prosper is always used in a favourable sense. To prosper as a king implies--
1. To have an increase of willing subjects.
2. To have adequate provision for the supply of all their wants. Our heavenly King possesses infinite treasures of grace and glory.
3. To secure their real happiness. Christs subjects are all happy--by the indulgence of benevolent dispositions--by the conformity to righteous laws--by the practice of holy duties--by the anticipation of future felicities (Psa_72:7-8; Isa_11:4-9; Isa_52:9).
4. To subjugate or destroy His enemies (Psa_2:9; Psa_2:12; Isa_60:12). But as Christ came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, He is employing means to conquer its prejudice, and slay its enmity.
Observe--
1. If Christ shall reign and prosper, how great is the folly and madness of infidels, sceptics, and sinners of all descriptions, who attempt to prop the tottering throne of infidelity!
2. This subject should inspire the souls of Christs devoted subjects with joy and gladness. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Jer_23:5-6
The Lord our Righteousness.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
After his conversion the apostle Paul must continually have been meditating on the state of Israel. Much as he loved the Gentiles, and clearly as he saw the disposition of God that now the Gentiles should be brought in, he never could forget Israel. What shall we say then? he exclaims. Look at Israel look at the Gentile nation! Israel for centuries has been striving most anxiously after one thing, to be righteous before Jehovah; they have not attained it. Why then has Israel not attained it? Because they sought it not by faith but by works (Rom_10:3). Why have the Gentiles attained it? Because by the grace of God they have been made willing to receive Jesus as their righteousness. Now look at the Jews going about to establish their own righteousness. They wish to be righteous before God. They wish to be such men as God approves--to be counted righteous and just so that He may be pleased. Therefore their idea of righteousness before God entirely depends upon their idea of God and of Gods requirements. God has not left them in ignorance about this. If men who have not the revelation of God form a conception of God according to their own ideas it will be exactly in proportion to their moral condition; therefore the heathen nations made unto themselves gods like unto themselves, as ambitious, as impatient, as self-indulgent, as impure, as changeable as they were themselves. Israel knew the Lord. I am Jehovah; I am God, and not man, spirit and not flesh; I am holy, be ye also holy. And not simply had God revealed Himself unto them, but He had given unto them also the law as a mirror in which they should see what His idea of men was. Israel had the law of God, and in the law of God they had the character of the righteous One described. And now Israel went about to establish a righteousness of their own. In this process those of them who were sincere in themselves and those of them who really sought not merely to be righteous, but to be righteous before God in order that they might have communion with God, very soon came into the knowledge of their sin, and into the most painful consciousness of their defilement, and, therefore, wishing to he righteous before God, they soon began to cry unto God out of the depth, and to know that innumerable sins had taken hold upon them, and that woe is unto them because they are undone and of unclean lips, and unto such through the knowledge of the law there came death under the law, a longing after pardon, and after the power of Gods Spirit operating on their hearts. But those were always the exceptions, the small minority, the remnant according to the election of grace. The majority of the nation lowered their standard of God, and lowered their standard of the law, and so far did this deteriorating process go on that they not merely came into the idea that they were able to fulfil the law, but they came even to the idea that they were able to do more than the law commanded; that they were able, by extra exertions and by observing precepts which God never has enjoined, to have a treasury of merits, works of supererogation. Curious inconsistency--as long as men go about establishing their own righteousness they are proud before God. But then you would think that if a man is proud, and if he has got the kind of self-consciousness so that he can stand, as it were, before God, that then he would be sure of his salvation. One of their most celebrated prophets, whom they called the law of the world, was on his death-bed, and one of his disciples asked him, Rabbi, what sayest thou now? The Rabbi said, Heaven and hell are before me, and I know not whither I am going. If I were to be summoned into the presence of an earthly king I might well be afraid, and yet his displeasure would only last a few years, and his punishment, however severe it may be, must come to an end; but I am now going into the presence of the Lord God Most High, whose wrath is everlasting, and His punishment is infinite, and I know not whether I shall be acquitted. Going about establishing a righteousness of their own, lowering the idea of God, lowering the standard of the law, proud and unbroken in spirit, and yet without any peace or assurance of the favour of God. Such a one, also, was the apostle Paul before he was converted; he went about establishing his own righteousness, and afterwards he said that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, according to the law blameless, but now he wishes not to have his own righteousness, which is by the law. There is another righteousness of which both the law and the prophets have continually testified; which is apart from the law, which man does not work out, which is as much given to man as bread is given to a hungry person, and as water is given to a thirsty person. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. What is the sad condition of the Jews? They do not see two things: they do not know that Jesus is Jehovah, and they do not know that this is our only righteousness. Jesus our Righteousness. And what is the lamentable condition of Christians who do not know the Lord? Simply the same thing, for if they knew Jehovah-Tsidkenu then they would have the knowledge of salvation, they would put no confidence in the works of the law, they would simply rejoice in Christ Jesus. Then this Jesus is Jehovah When He was an infant He had angels already calling Him Lord, and it was quite right that the wise men of the East worshipped Him. He is Jehovah, but He is God manifest in the flesh There is in all human beings, however far they may be from God, this peculiarity: that without union with God they cannot have life. When we think of this union with God, that God should be all in all, that we should be one with God, unless we go by the Word of God we may fall into great depths of error, and into that which is very ungodly. And here is a very peculiar thing, that you find among all the Eastern nations a striving after this being absorbed in God. You find it in India, you find it in China--almost wherever you go; you find it among the Arabs and the Persians. Mystics in all nations, what do they want? They have a feeling that there is in God the only true existence, the only life and blessedness; that everything else apart from God is transitory, is imperfect, is unsatisfactory; they wish to be one with Him; they wish to be absorbed in Him. But the great error which they commit, the great evil into which they are landed is this, that they do not see that sin is sin, that it is wrong, that it is evil. They imagine that sin is necessary, something through which we have to pass, something for which we are not accountable; and thus they deafen the voice of conscience, and declare evil not to be evil, and that there can be no real difference between good and evil. But round it is the truth which God has taught us, that we are to be one with God; we are to be in such a close union with Jehovah that it may be said, We live, yet not we, but Jehovah lives in us. But how union with God? Because we believe in Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us, and in this faith in Jesus submitting to the righteousness of God there are three elements. No boasting. You can judge any religion, simply by that one point--is all the glory given to God and no glory to man? Secondly, there is no uncertainty, for we have a perfect and Divine righteousness. Thirdly, there is no compromise with sin, because, if we believe that Jesus died for us, we believe that God condemned sin in the flesh. We must depart from all unrighteousness, nay, we are crucified unto the world, and the world unto us. (A. Saphir, D. D.)
The Lord our Righteousness
If, as it seems probable, Zedekiah had already begun to reign, it is perfectly certain that he could not be the person to whom the prophet referred when he looked forward to the advent of the righteous Branch. If he wrote shortly before the commencement of his reign it would be just possible so to interpret the prophecy. In the former case the very allusion which there might have been to the name of the reigning king would show all the more plainly that it was not in him that the promise was fulfilled; in the latter case, the want of precise correspondence between the two names would only bring out into higher relief the non-correspondence of the prophecy with the fact. As a matter of fact the name of Mattaniah was changed to Zedekiah, and not to Jehovah-Tsidkenu. Neither could it be said that in his days, when the captivity was fast hastening on, and the dark shadow of Babylon must have hung like a thundercloud over the land, Judah should be saved and Israel should dwell safely. We are constrained to infer from the known historical conditions of the writing, that the prophet must have meant to depict circumstances not immediately before his eyes when he wrote. Moreover, this conclusion is forced upon us from the fact that some eight or ten years later Jeremiah repeated this promise, in a slightly altered form, when he was shut up in prison,--In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, or, this is that which men shall proclaim to her; or, as Bishop Pearson has it, He which calleth her is the Lord our Righteousness. Enforced as that promise was by the remarkable addition at the very lowest ebb of the national hope, Thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually; it is inconceivable that the same prophet who had declared the seventy years captivity of the whole nation as well as the captivity of Zedekiah himself should have spoken in this way, believing that the hopes he cherished for Judah were fulfilled in Zedekiah. His words, therefore, are a standing monument of an onward-looking hope. The main point which we have to grasp firmly, is that here, if anywhere, there is a prophecy of the times of the Messiah, which is known to have been given before the Captivity, and was undeniably not fulfilled for many centuries to come after it. It is insisted, however, that the analogy of similar names in Scripture, such as Jehovah-Messiah, Jehovah-Shalom, and Jehovah-Shammah, and the like, makes it needful for us to render this name, The Lord is our Righteousness. Let us assume, then, that we are to understand it, The Lord is our Righteousness. If that, then, was His name, the name by which He was to be called, I see not how it can be applicable to Him unless He is Himself the Lord Jehovah. The proposition, The Lord is our Righteousness, is to be His name, however awkward and uncouth that may; but if men are to say to Him or of Him, if they are to call Him The Lord is our Righteousness, it is hard to escape from the conclusion that He must be the Lord. But believing, as we do most firmly, that this is the prophetic name of Christ, and of Christ alone, what is it designed to teach us?
1. It teaches us that Christ is to us the realisation of righteousness; it is no longer an unattainable conception or an abstract idea which we find it hard to grasp or to fulfil, but in Him it becomes a concrete fact on which we can lay hold, and a thing which we can appropriate and possess. He becomes first righteousness, and then our righteousness; first, the visible, incarnate and reeled exhibition of righteousness, and then something of which we can claim possession, and in which we can participate.
2. If this is the obverse presentation or positive statement of the truth, it has also its reverse or negative side. If the name whereby Christ is called is The Lord is our Righteousness, that fact is destructive to all other hopes, prospects, or sources of righteousness; it gives the lie to them, and asserts their vanity, for we can have no righteousness but what we find in the Lord. Behold in Him your righteousness; look away from and out of yourselves to Him and be righteous. The apprehension of that blessed fact will be the harbinger of peace and joy and fruition of righteousness in you. Whereas before there was nothing but continual delusive hope and abortive effort, together with painful disappointment and self-reproach, now there is the fulness and the fatness of a satisfied soul, the soundness and strength of a heart that is at peace with God, the quietness and assurance, the blessedness and calm confidence of a mind that is at rest in Christ. To know that the Lord is our Righteousness, is to have and to know that which can alone enable us to contemplate the past with equanimity or serenity; it is to have and to know that which is alone the antidote for care and anguish and remorse, that which can alone take the sting out of sin and rob even the broken law of its just terror. But we have to face the future as well as to look back upon the past, and in that future there sits the shadow, fear of man, and we know not what besides may lurk there. It may be loss, bereavement, sickness, pain, disgrace, infamy; but if the Lord is our righteousness, and if He who is our righteousness is the Lord, the very and eternal God Himself, then, come what may, we must be safe with Him (Prof. Stanley Leathes.)
The Lord our Righteousness
Man by the fall sustained an infinite loss in the matter of righteousness: the loss of a righteous nature, and then a twofold loss of legal righteousness in the sight of God. Man sinned; he was therefore no longer innocent of transgression. Man did not keep the command; he therefore was guilty of the sin omission. In that which he committed, and in that which he omitted, his original character for uprightness was completely wrecked. Jesus Christ came to undo the mischief of the fall for His people. So far as their sin concerned their breach of the command, that He has removed by His precious blood. Still it is not enough for s man to be pardoned. He of course is then in the eye of God without sin. But it was required of man that he should actually keep the command. Where, then, is the righteousness with which the pardoned man shall be completely covered, so that God can regard him as having kept the law, and reward him for so doing? The righteousness in which we must be clothed, and through which we must be accepted, and by which we are made meet to inherit eternal life, can be no other than the work of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, assert, believing that Scripture fully warrants us, that the life of Christ constitutes the righteousness in which His people are to be clothed. His death washed away their sins, His life covered them from head to foot; His death was the sacrifice to God, His life was the gift to man, by which man satisfies the demands of the law. Herein the law is honoured and the soul is accepted. You have as much to thank Christ for living as for dying, and you should be as devoutly grateful for His spotless life as for His terrible death. The text speaking of Christ, the son of David, the Branch out of the root of Jesse, styles Him, the Lord our Righteousness.
I. First, then, He is so. Jesus Christ is the Lord our Righteousness. There are but three words, Jehovah--for so it is in the original--our Righteousness. He is Jehovah, or, mark you, the whole of Gods Word is false, and there is no ground whatever for a sinners hope. He who walked in pain over the flinty acres of Palestine, was at the same time possessor of heaven and earth He who had not where to lay His head, and was despised and rejected of men, was at the same instant God over all, blessed for evermore. He who did hang upon the tree had the creation hanging upon Him. He who died on the Cross was the ever living, the everlasting One. As a man He died, as God He lives. Bow before Him, for He made you, and should not the creatures acknowledge their Creator? Providence attests His Godhead. He upholdeth all things by the word of His power. Creatures that are animate have their breath from His nostrils; inanimate creatures that are strong and mighty stand only by His strength. Who less than God could have carried your sins and mine and cast them all away? How can He be less than God, when He says, Lo I am with you always unto the end of the world? How could He be omnipresent if He were not God? How could He hear our prayers, the prayers of millions, scattered through the leagues of earth, and attend to them all, and give acceptance to all, if He were not infinite in understanding and infinite in merit? How were this if He were less than God? But the text speaks about righteousness too--Jehovah our Righteousness. And He is so. Christ in His life was so righteous, that we may say of the life, taken as a whole, that it is righteousness itself. Christ is the law incarnate. He lived out the law of God to the very full, and while you see Gods precepts written in fire on Sinais brow, you see them written in flesh in the person of Christ. No one that I know of has dared to charge Christ with unrighteousness to man, or with a want of devotedness to God. See then, it is so. The pith, however, of the title, lies in the little word our,--Jehovah our Righteousness. This is the grappling iron with which we get a hold on Him--this is the anchor which dives into the bottom of this great deep of His immaculate righteousness. This is the sacred rivet by which our souls are joined to Him. This is the blessed hand with which our soul toucheth Him, and He becometh to us all in all, Jehovah our Righteousness. You will now observe that there is a most precious doctrine unfolded in this title of our Lord and Saviour. As the merit of His blood takes away our sin, so the merit of His obedience is imputed to us for righteousness. Imputation, so far from being an exceptional case with regard to the righteousness of Christ, lies at the very bottom of the entire teaching of Scripture. The root of the fall is found in the federal relationship of Adam to his seed; thus we fell by imputation. Is it any wonder that we should rise by imputation? Deny this doctrine, and I ask you--How are men pardoned at all? Are they not pardoned because satisfaction has been offered for sin by Christ? Very well, then, but that satisfaction must be imputed to them, or else how is God just in giving to them the results of the death of another, unless that death of the other be first of all imputed to them? I must give up justification by faith if I give up imputed righteousness. True justification by faith is the surface soil, but then imputed righteousness is the granite rock which lies underneath it; and if you dig down through the great truth of a sinners being justified by faith in Christ, you must, as I believe, inevitably come to the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ as the basis and foundation on which that simple doctrine rests. The Lord our Righteousness. The Lawgiver has Himself obeyed the law. Do you not think that His obedience will be sufficient? Jehovah has Himself become man that so He may do mans work: think you that He has done it imperfectly? You have a better righteousness than Adam had. He had a human righteousness; your garments are Divine. He had a robe complete, it is true, but the earth had woven it. You have a garment as complete, but heaven has made it for you to wear. You will remember that in Scripture, Christs righteousness is compared to fair white linen; then I am, if I wear it, without spot. It is compared to wrought gold; then I am, if I wear it, dignified and beautiful, and worthy to sit at the wedding feast of the King of kings. It is compared, in the parable of the prodigal son, to the best robe; then I wear a better robe than angels have, for they have not the best; but I, poor prodigal, once clothed in rags, companion to the nobility of the stye,--I, fresh from the husks that swine do eat, am nevertheless clothed in the best robe, and am so accepted in the Beloved. Moreover, it is also everlasting righteousness. Oh! this is, perhaps, the fairest point of it--that the robe shall never be worn out; no thread of it shall ever give way.
II. Having thus expounded and vindicated this title of our Saviour, I would now appeal to your faith. Let us call Him so. This is the name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Let us call Him by this great name, which the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath named. Let us call Him--poor sinners!--even we, who are to-day smitten down with grief on account, of sin. I have no good thing of my own, sayest thou? Here is every good thing in Him. I have broken the law, sayest thou? There is His blood for thee. Believe in Him; He will wash thee. But then I have not kept the law. There is His keeping of the law for thee. Take it, sinner, take it. Believe on Him. Oh, but I dare not, saith one. Do Him the honour to dare it. Oh, but it seems impossible. Honour Him by believing the impossibility then. Oh, but how can He save such a wretch as I am? Soul! Christ is glorified in saving wretches. Only do thou trust Him, and say, He shall be my righteousness to-day. But suppose I should do it and be presumptuous? It is impossible. He bids you; He commands you. Let that be your warrant. This is the commandment, that ye believe on Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. And some of us can say it yet better than that; for we can say it not merely by faith, but by fruition. We have had the privilege of reconciliation with God; and He could not be reconciled to one that had not a perfect righteousness; we have had access with boldness to God Himself, and He would never have suffered us to have access if we had not worn our brothers garments. We have had adoption into the family, and the Spirit of adoption, and God could not have adopted into His family any but righteous ones. How should the righteous Father be God of an unrighteous family?
III. I appeal to your gratitude. Let us admire that wonderful and reigning grace which has led you and me to call Him, The Lord our Righteousness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ the righteousness of those who believe in Him
I. Christ becomes the righteousness of those who believe in Him--as their atoning Mediator. Sprinkled with that blood which the Godhead hath enriched, the penitent sinner fears not the wrath of the destroying angel of justice. Covered with that righteousness with which the Godhead hath invested him, the true believer can stand even the searching beams of Divine holiness. Behold, then, both the way by which we are to be justified from our sins, and our encouragement to apply for mercy. In this part of the process of justification, no qualifications are required on the part of man, but a lively sense of his need of mercy, and a full reliance on the propitiation of the Lord his righteousness. But as he is to be fitted for eternal happiness by the love and service of his Maker, a rule of duty must be prescribed and imposed on him. Christ therefore becomes the righteousness of His people--
II. As their Lawgiver--imposing on them a law of evangelical holiness and perfection. The destiny of man which the scheme of redemption is designed to further and to secure, is to be eternally happy in the presence of God. For this presence, holiness is an indispensable qualification. In the justification of those who believe, therefore, Christ acts not only as Mediator, procuring their pardon, but also as Lawgiver, delineating the nature and extent, and enforcing the obligations of the Divine law. In this character, we are to acknowledge, receive, and obey Him, and He thus becomes the Lord our Righteousness.
III. As our Almighty Sanctifier who impresses on our hearts the obligations of the Divine law, and enables us to obey it. Thus is complete provision made for our release from the bondage of sin, and our being reinstated in all the graces and virtues of the Divine image. Let us then learn--
1. To ascribe our salvation to the free and unmerited grace of God.
2. But while we humbly acknowledge and adore the free grace of God in our salvation, let us remember that there are qualifications on our part. (Bp. Hobart.)
Christ, the Lord our Righteousness
So could none speak, save God. If man would condense his words, he says too little, or he says it obscurely or untruly. The characteristic of this Divine saying, is, that in the two Hebrew words it contains a summary of the whole supernatural relation of God to man under the Gospel, and of man to God. It contains the whole hidden life of the Christian: it is the substance of sacraments: the unseen spring of self-sacrificing holy action; the fountain of his inward peace; the surest contentment of his soul; the enkindling of burning zeal; the soul of devotion, the fervour of love. It matters little, as to the great outline of the prophecy, whether He, through whom this was to be wrought, is here declared to be the Lord our Righteousness or whether the Lord our Righteousness were simply a title given to designate His character, that this would be His characteristic, His watchword, the centre of His teaching, His life, His being; this the end of His toils and tears; this the passion of His heart; this He should labour to bring about, that the Almighty God should be our righteousness. In contrast to the evil shepherds, who, misleading the people, had encouraged them in their sins, and so had brought Gods judgments upon them, He was to do away Gods judgments, and outwardly to restore them to His favour; but He was also inwardly to remove the cause of that disfavour, their unrighteousness, and to he their righteousness. The change was to be, not without man, but within. It was to be an inward closeness of relation of God to man, and of man to his God. The words presupposed all the teaching of the law, orally or through ritual, as to sin. Create in me a new heart, O God, and make anew a stayed spirit within me. Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. It was the universal cry of our fallen nature; the deepest trace of that original righteousness, wherewith God endowed Adam, as soon as He created him. But, though felt more or less, weakly or mightily, disguised or clearly or corruptly, the belief that it could, that it would, be satisfied, was given, where alone it could be given, among the people to whom God revealed Himself, by those whom He sent to promise what He alone could fulfil. This union Jeremiah spoke of under those two words, the Lord our Righteousness. As unrighteous, we could not be united with Him. God s aweful holiness and mans sinfulness are incompatibles. Your sins have been abidingly severing between you and your God, was expressed in act by the whole Hebrew ritual. The truth ever lived before their eyes; it was enforced by the prophets; it was chanted in the Psalms; it was confessed in their prayers. But there was a Deliverer yet to come, a deliverance larger, wider, deeper, more inward, than any before, which should stretch out and encompass the human race, through One despised and rejected by those who were despised of all. He Himself was personally to restore our race, personally to be our righteousness. And has it not been? Is it not? This was the faith of the barbarous nations from the first, written not with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of God upon the hearts. This was the hope and strength of martyrs; this was the virtue of the continent; this was the victory of the young; this, the triumph over the worlds seductions; this, the peace with God and the full contentment of the soul, the Lord our Righteousness. In Christ Jesus, the Holy Ghost saith, we are chosen; in Christ Jesus we are called to eternal glory; in Him we have redemption; in Christ Jesus we are created, are a new creation in Christ Jesus we are alive unto God; in Christ Jesus we are accepted; in Him we are justified; in Him we are sanctified; in Him we are accepted; in Christ Jesus we are of God; in Christ, it is the will of God that we should be perfected; in Christ Jesus, those who are His, have fallen asleep; in Christ Jesus they shall be made alive. This supernatural life antedated our use of reason. Antedating, then, the use of reason, His first act, in our Christian land, is to unite the soul to Himself. As we are really sons of man by physical birth, so are we as really and as actually sons of God by spiritual birth; sons of man, by being born of man; sons of God, by being members of Him, who is the Son of God. Blessed they who so remain, in whom the hidden life in Christ unfolds with the life of sense and reason. But if this has not been so, if the soul have gone away from God into a far country, forgetting Him, squandering in pleasures of sense the gift of God, can such an one be the object of the love of God, can to such an one Jesus be the Lord our Righteousness? God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost long to communicate Themselves to the creature, which they made for Themselves. They long anew to sanctify him, anew to make him that wherein They may take pleasure; to fit him, by the renewed gift of righteousness, for Their gracious engracing Presence; to make the soul, which has been the abode and sport of devils, the dwelling-place of the Trinity. And whether He works this in those who know no more, by creating in the soul a penitent sorrow, for love of their God, that they had so offended God, or whether He teach the soul, over and above, that He gives superabundant grace through an ordinance of His own appointing, and that He has still left power with His Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and turn to Him, no sooner is His work accomplished, sooner has his Saviour absolved him through His own words, pronounced at His command by his creature s lips, than the dark catalogue of sins is blotted out by the precious blood, the soul is again transfigured with light; it is not forgiven only, it is arrayed anew with the righteousness of Christ. Yet there is a higher closer union still, on which Jesus Himself dwelt with greater fulness and greater complacency of love towards us; which, in different words, He presented again and again; which, when contradicted or misapprehended, He dwelt on the more; which He seems in His love to have been loath to cease to speak of, that mystery whereby He is, above all, our righteousness, because He, who is righteousness itself, comes to dwell in us, that we may dwell in Him; to be one with us, that we may be one with Him. In other sacraments He gives us grace; in this, Himself. By no less condescension could He satisfy His love towards us. They are His own words, he that eateth Me. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Christ is our Righteousness
I. What is meant by His being our righteousness?
1. That it is in Him alone that God the Father is well pleased (Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5). Not only with whom, but in whom, I am well pleased, atoned, pacified, satisfied. He is Gods all in all, and why then should He not be ours?
2. That it is by and through Him alone that we are justified; that is, acquitted from guilt, and accepted into favour, which are the ingredients of justification.
3. It is through His merit and mediation alone that our performances are made acceptable (1Pe_2:5),
4. It is by Him alone that we have right and title to the heavenly inheritance.
II. Call Jesus Christ by this sweet name, the Lord our Righteousness; each one with application to himself---as David. And would you think an Old Testament saint, that lived under that dark dispensation, should have such clearness in this matter? A shame to us that are not clear in it, that live under Gospel light (Psa_4:1).
1. The misery they are in who never yet called Jesus Christ by this name, and the blessed and happy condition they are in that have done so.
(1) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, that is, heartily owned Him as such, our condition is a shameful, naked condition, and that is a wretched, miserable condition (Rev_3:17), because, till clothed with Christs righteousness, our shame appears in the sight of God.
(2) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, ours is a dismal, dark condition. When we call the Lord our Righteousness, then He rises upon our souls as a Sun of Righteousness, and that which follows is the light of comfort, and peace, and joy; such joy as none knows but they that feel it. It is hidden manna (Psa_85:10).
(3) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, we are in a perilous, perishing condition. Christs righteousness is to us as Noahs ark.
2. The difficulty, nay, the impossibility, of being pardoned and justified, accepted and saved, in any other way, and the facility and easiness of obtaining it in this way.
(1) It is impossible we should be accepted of God without a righteousness, one or other, because He is a righteousness God; that is, He is of pure eyes, and, therefore, cannot endure to look upon iniquity (Psa_5:4; Psa_11:7).
(2) It is impossible that either our own righteousness, or the righteousness of any of our fellow-creatures, one or other, in heaven or earth, should bear us out and bring us off before God. On the other hand, how easy is it to obtain peace, and pardon, and salvation, by the merit and righteousness of the Lord Jesus, by calling Him by this name. Easy, did I say? mistake me not. I mean easy to grace, easy where God is pleased to give a willing mind, as knowledge is easy to him that understandeth (Pro_14:6; Mat_11:28-30; 1Jn_5:3). Easy; that is, it is a ready way to justification and salvation, whereas seeking it by our own righteousness is a round-about way. We can never while we live know in any other way that one sin is pardoned, because perseverance to the end is required. Oh, then, be persuaded; and you that have called Him by this name, call Him so still.
There are four special times and seasons when this should be done.
1. When we have done amiss, and are under guilt, and wrath threatens. And when is it not that it is so?
2. When we have well done, after some good work, and pride of heart rises, and we begin to expect from God as if we were something. No, Jesus Christ is the Lord my Righteousness. I am an unprofitable servant when I have done all
3. When we ask anything of God (Joh_14:23).
4. When we come to look death and judgment in the face, which will be shortly; when sick and dying. Oh, then, for Christ, and His righteousness--it will be the cordial of cordials. (Philip Henry.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. When the people of Christ address Him by this name, it implies a contrite acknowledgment that they have no righteousness of their own,--that they are destitute of all personal righteousness in which to appear before a holy God.
II. When the people of Christ give this name to Him, they declare their solemn persuasion that they require a righteousness, though they have none of their own, in which to appear before the Holy One of Israel; they not only confess their entire destitution, but acknowledge their indispensable need, of a true and perfect righteousness.
III. When the people of Christ address Him by this name, they express and profess their faith, that Messiah being in one person God and man, has brought in a righteousness in their behalf, which is by God accepted for them, and imputed unto them, for their justification.
IV. When the people of Christ call Him by this name, they are seen in the act of embracing, appropriating, and rejoicing in him, as the Lord their Righteousness. The Lord our Righteousness. It is the language of joy and triumph, as well as of reliance and faith. It is not tile spirit only of the drowning man laying hold of the plank, but of the safe and happy, rich and joyful man, realising his safety, and rejoicing in his treasures. My Beloved is mine, and I am His. Conclusion--
1. See here how wondrous a provision the Gospel has made for at once humbling the sinner and exalting him,--laying him low in his own eyes, and yet gloriously ennobling him.
2. See what a ground of security, of peace, and of everlasting blessedness, the believer in Christ enjoys.
3. Use the subject in the way of self-inquiry, and of direction, according to the result of it. (C. J. Brown, D. D.)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
I. A righteousness that is absolutely perfect.
1. It has passed through every test (Joh_14:30; Joh_8:46; Heb_4:15; Heb_7:26; 1Pe_2:22).
2. It has fulfilled every requirement (Php_2:8; Mat_3:15; Mat_5:17).
3. It has satisfied the highest claims (Mat_3:17; Rom_4:25; Php_2:9).
II. A righteousness that is identified with Christ Himself.
1. Christ--Gods gift of righteousness (Rom_5:17).
2. Christ for us, in the presence of God (Heb_9:24).
3. He is made unto us righteousness (1Co_1:30).
4. The Lord our Righteousness (Jer_23:6; Isa_40:1-31; Isa_42:1-25; 1Jn_2:1).
III. A righteousness that is put to our account.
1. Not the reward of our obedience (Tit_3:5; Eph_2:8-9; Gal_2:16).
2. Not something we have to wait for (Rom_3:22; Rom_10:4).
3. But a righteousness that is ours now by faith (Rom_5:1; Rom_3:28; Php_3:9).
4. Christ for us, our righteousness, to be distinguished but not separated from Christ in us, our sanctification (1Co_1:30). (E. H. Hopkins.)
The Lord our Righteousness
In journeying through a mountain region, we find ourselves, at times, on the top of a gentle hill which will give us a delightful view of the picturesque scenery of the landscape that immediately surrounds us. But, now and then, we may reach the summit of some towering mountain. That lifts us far above all other points of view. As we stand there and gaze, we can look down on hills, and plains, and valleys, and take in the geography of all the surrounding country. In the mountain range of Scripture truth, we reach such an elevated summit in our text. The righteousness here spoken of may be looked at from five different points of view.
I. Its author. We see from the connection in which our text is found, that the person here called Jehovah our Righteousness, is the same as the righteous Branch, the prosperous King, promised to be raised up unto David. This proves that the Jehovah of our text is Jehovah-Jesus. Isaiah (Isa_11:1), in speaking of Him, says, There shall come forth a rod, &c. Ezekiel (Eze_34:29) calls Him the Plant of renown Zechariah (Zec_6:12-13), speaking of Him, says, Behold the man whose name is the Branch, &c. When the angel Gabriel foretold His birth, he applied this very prophecy to Him, saying, The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. And then, to complete the testimony of Scripture on this point, and prove to a demonstration that the Jehovah of our text is Jesus, it is only necessary to turn to a single passage in the New Testament (1Co_1:13).
II. Its foundation. It is spoken of in the New Testament as the righteousness of Christ. And the foundation on which it rests--that of which it is made up--is the active and passive obedience of our Lord and Saviour. It embraces all that He did, to honour Gods law, when He obeyed its every precept to the uttermost, in thought and feeling, in purpose, word, and action; and all that He suffered, when the tremendous penalties of Gods broken law were visited upon Him. The righteousness of Christ means simply the benefit of all that He did and suffered. This benefit, or righteousness, belongs to His people. It is made over to them. It is reckoned as theirs.
III. Its nature. No miser ever felt half the joy in counting over his hoarded gold, and no monarch ever experienced half the rapture in gazing admiringly on the magnificence of the crown jewelry he inherits, than the intelligent- Christian experiences in dwelling on the nature of that all-perfect righteousness that Jesus, his glorious Saviour, has wrought out for him.
1. It is a gracious righteousness. It was of Gods good pleasure alone, that ever a plan for working out such a righteousness was devised. It is grace alone which makes men feel their need of this righteousness, inclines them to seek it, and makes them willing to cast sin and self, and everything else away, and to rest on this righteousness, on this only, on this now, and on this for ever, as the ground of their acceptance with God.
2. It is a perfect righteousness. Gods perfect law was the standard by which this righteousness was to be measured; and it came fully up to that standard. It was the scrutiny of Gods holy and penetrating eye to which this righteousness was subjected. He weighed it in the balances of the heavenly sanctuary, and declared Himself well pleased with it. It is because of His connection with this righteousness that God the Father loves His Son with a love that is unspeakable. This was what the Psalmist meant (Psa_45:7). And it is because Christs people share in this righteousness that God cherishes towards them the same affection that He entertains towards His only-begotten Son. Nothing less than this will meet our wants. A robe I must have, says an old writer, of a whole piece; broad as the law, spotless as the light, and richer than ever an angel wore; and such a robe I have in the righteousness of Christ. It is a perfect righteousness.
3. It is an uniform righteousness. Where the sun shines at noonday, I have the benefit of his shining, as fully as though there were none around me to share his beams, and he shone for me alone. Yet each of my neighbours has, or may have, the same benefit of his beams that I have. And so it is with the righteousness of Christ. The dying thief who turned in penitence and faith, and was accepted in the last hour, had just the same title to enter heaven that the apostle Paul had, or Peter, or John, or Isaiah, or Elijah, or David, or Moses, or Abraham, or Enoch.
4. It is an unchanging righteousness. If the whole world, with its contents, were given at once to you or me, in fee-simple ownership, of course it would be impossible to add to our worldly possessions. There might be much that was new for us to discover; but there could be nothing new for us to own. We might proceed to lay bare the rich mines in our inheritance, and to search out their hid treasures. But this would only be adding to the knowledge of our possessions; it would not be enlarging them. And so when Christ gives Himself and His righteousness to His people, He gives them a world of spiritual treasures, which it will take all eternity for them fully to explore and find out. But all this is given to them from the start. The soul once justified is justified fully. The righteousness which secures justification will remain without changing what it was at first.
5. It is a glorious righteousness. We see this in the peculiar position which the ransomed people of Christ will occupy among the creatures of God, in possessing this righteousness. They will stand on higher ground in the scale of being than even angels and archangels can ever reach. We have no reason to suppose that there is another tribe or race of creatures in all the boundless universe who will rise to a point of elevation like this. This is what is meant when we are told that Christs ransomed ones are to be a peculiar treasure unto Him. They are to be to the praise of the glory of His grace, as none other of His creatures shall be. Their peculiar, distinguishing privilege will be that Jehovah-Jesus is their righteousness.
IV. Its importance.
1. It is not possible that we can have the comfort of being Christians, unless we have a clear knowledge of this great truth. Suppose that, in a week from to-morrow, you have a note of a large amount to take up, and you have nothing with which to meet it. Of course, under such circumstances, you must feel very uncomfortable. And suppose that, under these circumstances, a friend should deposit, in your name, at the bank a sum of money more than sufficient to meet all your indebtedness. The fact that the money was there would put you in a position of safety. But unless you have a clear knowledge and a full assurance of this fact, you cannot be in a position of comfort in reference to it. Now, in our natural condition as sinners, we are all overwhelmingly in debt to God. We are liable at any moment to be called to a settlement, and we have nothing to say. But when we are led to repent of our sins, and believe in Jesus as our Saviour, His infinite and all-perfect righteousness is entered in the bank of heaven in our name, and to our account. It is reckoned as belonging unto us. If we are able to understand this truth, and grasp it, in the exercise of a firm faith, we shall have access to the most full and flowing fountain of comfort which the Gospel affords.
2. Our confidence for the future must depend entirely on our knowledge of this doctrine, and our belief in it. It is only by sharing in the righteousness of Christ that any child of Adam ever has entered heaven, or ever will. And the robes which the ransomed wear who entered that blessed abode are robes that have been washed, and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
V. Its possession. It is faith in Christ, alone, which can make this righteousness ours. Show me one, therefore, who is exercising simple faith in Christ as his Saviour, and I will show you one who has a gracious, covenant, inalienable right to say, This little word our in the text takes me in. I belong to the company here spoken of. Jehovah-Jesus is my Righteousness. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Jehovah our Righteousness
In that day, when we all shall stand before God, there will be a great multitude whom no man can number, perfectly spotless even in His searching sight. He who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, will look on them without offence. Nay, more than this: He will delight in them. These very men came from the world where we live--out of sin and imperfection--out of disease and decay--out of doubts and fears--out of murmurings and backslidings, and a thousand infirmities and errors. And whence came this change? Where nothing approaches that is not perfectly holy, how entered this uncounted multitude of sinners? First, I think we shall be able to make it manifest that such a change cannot come from a mans self. We all can do much for ourselves in the way of self-government. But will any one be bold enough to say that self-government will make a man perfectly holy in Gods sight? Everything human is imperfect; and no imperfect thing will suit our present purpose. We must have a perfect principle of righteousness, a perfect fount of holiness, something into the image of which the saints may be changed, each in his measure and degree, but all without spot or flaw of any kind. I answer that I cannot believe death to bring with it any such radical and total change. On what is the change at death dependent, in the case of Gods saints? Why, entirely on the reality, and on the amount of progress, of that other change of which we are speaking. According as they are holy here below, so will that change be glorious. Again, what sort of a change is it that death brings about? Not a change of heart--not a change of desires, affections, principles--but merely, great as it is, a change of circumstances. The righteousness of the saints remains after death what it was before, with this difference, that every circumstance which before hindered its development will then be removed, and all will be replaced by circumstances the most favourable possible. Sin and imperfection will have been left behind in the grave; perfection and spotlessness put on in the resurrection. But the spiritual life goes on throughout, before and after death, one and the same in principle, in nature, in acceptability with God. Mankind is a tree tainted at the root. It is not that there are not fair branches--goodly leaves--bright blossoms--vitality and sap in abundance:--but that a taint lies at the root and infects all, so that it brings forth no fruit fit for the Masters use. What power can heal this tree? Manifestly, no power from without. All the suns, showers, and dews of heaven will never eradicate that taint from its root. The only conceivable way would be, if by some wonderful process its vital sap could be renewed; if some better and healthier influence could enter into its very root and core, and permeate all its branches with wholesome and fruit-bearing vigour. Such was the state of our humanity. Our race laboured under two disabilities before God: guilt, and powerlessness for good. He that created first, must create anew. By the same power, which made the first man a living soul, must the second Adam become a life-giving spirit. And all this within the limits of our race,--that the God whom man had offended, man might satisfy; that as by the disobedience of one man all were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man might all he made righteous. And this mighty thing was undertaken and achieved by the eternal Son of God Himself. He became man: not an individual human person, bounded by His own responsibilities, accountable to God for Himself and Himself only, which would have done us no good, whatever were the result of His Incarnation: but He took our nature upon Him--our nature entire: as entire as it was in Adam: He entered into its very root and core, and became its second Head. Now mark--He did not take that nature in its sinful development, as it then was, and now is, in each member of the human family; this would have been against His very essence and attributes as God, and was unnecessary for His work, nay, would have nullified that work: but He did take it subject to all the consequences of the state in which He found it--to temptation,--to infirmity,--to bodily appetites,--to decay,--to death. In our nature, He wrought out a perfect righteousness: and He presented Himself before the Father at the end of His course on earth, as the holy and righteous Head of our race, claiming of right, and by the terms of the everlasting covenant, that gift of the Holy Spirit, due by His merits, and become possible by His perfect human righteousness now united to the Godhead. So, then, the Lord Jesus becomes the Justifier of our race,--i.e., our clearer from guilt: and the Sanctifier of our race,--i.e., the giver of the Holy Spirit from the Father, by whom we become holy and changed into the image of God. Now, let us contemplate the effect on those who believe. Entering into Christs finished work, they know Him as Jehovah their Righteousness. In themselves, they are as others. They carry about with them the remnants of a body of sin, and are in conflict with it as long as they are here below. But sin has no dominion over them, nor shall it condemn them in that day. They are accepted in the Beloved. Christs righteousness is their righteousness, because they are living members of Him the righteous Head, and are regarded by the Father as in Him with whom He is well pleased. Do you call Christ, Jehovah your Righteousness? What, then, is your estimate of your own duties, and your performance of them? (Dean Alford.)
The Lord our righteousness
I. The Lord is our Righteousness, because He is our pardon. We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Our amendment--our often too partial, superficial amendment--is not our pardon; for how can amendment cancel the past? Neither is our repentance our pardon; it neither is nor can be the meritorious cause for which God pardons. In the words of one of our greatest saints: Our repentance needs to be repented of, our tears want washing, and the very washing of our tears needs still to be washed over again in the blood of our Redeemer.
II. He is the Lord our Righteousness in the sense of our acceptance with God. It is solely through His merits that we are first received, and are afterwards continued in the favour of God. Just as His righteousness is the meritorious cause of the remission of those sins which we repent of, so His righteousness is the meritorious cause of the acceptance of our service, notwithstanding its imperfections.
III. In ordaining His Son to be the Lord our Righteousness, God has also ordained in His wisdom that He should be the source of righteousness in us. He, our great Head, our second Adam, is the Lord, our renewal in righteousness.
1. We partake of an evil nature, because we have naturally transmitted to us Adams weak and sinful nature, and those who are savingly in Christ have had, and yet have, supernaturally transmitted to them Christs nature, as the seed in them of spiritual and eternal life.
2. He is the Lord our Righteousness, inasmuch as He is the Lord our strength to serve God and subdue Satan.
IV. In what respect Christ is not, and never can be, our righteousness. He never can be our righteousness, so as to supersede the necessity, in any one particular, of our own personal holiness and righteousness. Righteousness is the order, the harmony, of Gods intelligent creation, just as sin is its disorder, its confusion. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, because He loves order, He loves harmony, He loves to see His creatures truly and permanently happy, which they only can be so long as they understand and fulfil the conditions of the particular place in His creation which He, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, has assigned to them. The love of God is righteousness. It is our inmost heart and affections being disposed towards God, as they should be when we consider who God is, and what He has done for us, and what claims His goodness has on us as spiritual beings redeemed by His Sons blood. Reverence to God is another branch of righteousness. It is our souls knowing and realising their place in the presence of so great and terrible a God. Obedience to rulers is righteousness; it is acting in accordance with the requirements of the place in which God has set us in human society. Obedience to parents, honouring and reverencing our parents, loving our brothers and sisters, is righteousness; it is realising the duties of our condition as members of families and households. Feeling for, assisting, judiciously and generously relieving the poor, is righteousness; it is fulfilling our position in a world left by God full of inequalities of estate and condition; which God has left full of these inequalities, in order that those servants of His to whom He has lent some superfluities, may grow in the grace of Christian charity by lessening the misery they see around them. Bearing distress with patience is another branch of righteousness; it is our hearts not revolting under, but submitting to, the dispensation of a God who always orders all things for the very best. (M. F. Sadler, M. A.)
The Lord our Righteous
I. To whom does this passage refer? It is vain to inquire whether the reference here be to the Jews literally, or to Christians; for the thing comes to the very same result.
II. His personal title. He shall be called the Lord our Righteousness. The word is Jehovah. Hence the amazing importance of the preceding inquiry; for whoever the person, intended may be, here is a name applied to Him which is above every name.
1. The language is strong; but His perfections allow it. His omniscience allows it. Peter said to Him, Thou knowest all things; and He said, The Churches shell know that I am He who searcheth the reins and the heart. His omnipresence allows it. Where two or three are gathered together, &c. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. His unchangeableness allows it. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
2. The language is strong; but His operations justify it. By Him were all things created, &c. Without Him was not anything made that was made.
3. The language is strong; but it accords with the worship demanded of Him and received by Him.
4. The language is strong, but the occasion requires it. His greatness must he carried into every of His work as a Saviour.
III. His relative character, or what He is to us. The Lord our Righteousness. The former would have filled us with terror; but this softens down the effulgency; this throws a rainbow around His head, and tells us we need not be afraid of a deluge. How is He, then, our Righteousness? We answer, generally, He is so in two ways: by His making us righteous by a change in our state, and by a change in our nature; for the latter is as really derived from Him as the former.
IV. The knowledge of this. For names are designed to distinguish and to make their owners known. Persons, more than things, are always called by their proper names.
1. This is considered His greatest work and honour. When a man takes a name from any of his actions, you may be assured that he will do it from the most peculiar, the most eminent, the most glorious of them.
2. It means that He is to be approached under this character. This is always to be the great subject of the Christian ministry.
3. That all His people would own Him as such. (W. Jay.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. The law has shut us all up under sin.
1. This law having been given, and being expressive of Gods nature and holiness, He must require that it be perfectly obeyed. He can allow of no deviation from it, no coming short in any one jot or tittle. A lawgiver conniving at the breach of his own laws, though in the smallest particular, would be to make them despicable.
2. Who can declare, that never in thought, word, or deed, he has come short of what he owed to God and his neighbour? Who can say, I am clean, I am pure from sin? Yet the slightest imperfection, though but in thought, exposes us to the curse of Gods righteous law.
3. But some perhaps will say, I have not, it is true, done all I should have done; but I have done my best. The law replies, Tell me not of your best; have you done all? if not, the curse is upon you. But I have repented of what has been amiss. Tell me not of your repentance: you have transgressed; the curse is upon you. But I will do better. Tell me not of doing better: you must do all. Could you render full obedience for the-time to come, the past is still against you. That debt is unpaid: you are under condemnation.
II. How, then, shall man escape? He has transgressed, and he must die, unless he can find one to answer the utmost rigour of its demands, to bear the fiercest vengeance of its curse. But no creature can do this. What hope, then, unless God Himself should find a substitute? What hope, unless God Himself should obey the law which He had given, and suffer in our stead? But is this probable? nay, is it possible? Yes. God Himself has done it. Jehovah has become our Righteousness. God has given His only-begotten Son--In Christ, and in Him only, have we righteousness and strength.
III. Apply these truths.
1. Has the law wrought in us its convincing humbling work? Have we seen ourselves lost?
2. Have we, under a deep sense of our own undone condition, betaken ourselves to Christ for help? Have we, without reserve, fixed our hope of salvation upon Him? (E. Blencowe, M.A.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. An announcement of an important truth.
1. The Lord is our Righteousness inasmuch as the purpose and plan of justifying sinners originated with Him.
2. Inasmuch as He Himself has alone procured righteousness for us.
3. Inasmuch as it is through His grace and by his free donation that we receive righteousness.
II. An utterance of personal belief and confidence. The language of faith, hope, joy, gratitude.
III. A directory to the spiritual inquirer. Anxious sinners wish to know the way of acceptance with God. The text is a brief but satisfactory answer. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
Christs supreme name
I. Exhibit the delightful character under which Christ is here presented.
1. His essential dignity.
2. His mediatorial office.
3. The spiritual relation in which He stands to His people.
II. Specify some considerations which put an emphasis and value upon redemption, and heighten our sense of its importance.
1. The work of redemption has ennobled our nature and shed a lustre over the annals of our world.
2. It eclipses and throws into the shade the greatest of the Divine works.
3. It enhances the value of temporal blessings following in its train.
4. It forms a permanent bond of union among subjects of grace.
5. Judge of the grandeur of the work by the doom denounced against those who despise and reject it. (S. Thodey.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v5(See Scofield "Isa 4:2").
Branch
(See Scofield "Isa 4:2").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v5This word alerts us to pay attention to the…
See
This word alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows.
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days are coming
A future time is spoken of as if it were an object coming toward the speaker or the hearers. AT: "the time will happen" (See: Idiom)
this is Yahweh's declaration
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 1:8. AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
I will raise up
This idiom means he will appoint a successor. (See: Idiom)
a righteous branch
This future king descended from David is spoken of as if he were a branch grown on a tree. AT: "a righteous descendant" (See: Metaphor)
a righteous branch
Some modern versions translate this as "a legitimate successor to the throne."
cause justice and righteousness in the land
The abstract nouns "justice" and "righteousness" can be stated as actions. AT: "cause people to act justly and rightly" (See: Abstract Nouns)
in the land
Here "land" refers to the people who live in the land. AT: "for all the people in the nation" (See: Metonymy)
Judah will be rescued
Here "Judah" refers to the people of Judah. AT: "the people of Judah will be rescued" (See: Metonymy)
Judah will be rescued
This can be stated in active form. AT: "He will rescue Judah from their enemies" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Israel will live in security
Here "Israel" refers to the people of Israel. AT: "the people of Israel will live in security" (See: Metonymy)
he will be called
this refers to the king
Yahweh is our righteousness
The abstract noun "righteousness" can be stated as an action. AT: "Yahweh, the one who does what is right for us" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv5–623:5 A righteous descendant of King David’s line, whose…
23:5 A righteous descendant of King David’s line, whose ruling power had temporarily come to an end, would be a King. In stark contrast to the three kings the Lord had just rebuked (ch 22), this King would have wisdom and act in a way that is just and right (33:15; Isa 11:1-5; 53:2; Zech 3:8; Luke 1:32-33).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv5–6 The Prophet confirms what he had before said of…
The Prophet confirms what he had before said of the renewal of the Church; for it would not have been in itself sufficiently strong to say “I have promised pastors who shall faithfully perform their duty,” except the only true Pastor had been set before them, on whom God’s covenant was founded, and from whom was to be expected the accomplishment of the promises which were hoped for. And it was usual with all the prophets, whenever they gave the people the hope of salvation, to bring forward the coming of the Messiah, for in him have God’s promises always been, yea, and amen. (2 Corinthians 1:20.) This, indeed, appears now, under the Gospel, more clear than formerly; but the faith of the Fathers could not have been complete except they directed their thoughts to the Messiah. As, then, neither the love of God could have been made certain to the Fathers, nor the testimony of his kindness and paternal favor be confirmed without Christ, this is the reason why the prophets were wont to set Christ before their eyes whenever they sought to inspire the miserable with a good hope, who otherwise must have been overwhelmed with sorrow and driven into despair.
What, therefore, so often occurs in the prophets is deserving of special notice, so that we may know that God’s promises will become ineffectual to us, or be suspended, or even vanish away, except we raise all our thoughts to Christ, and seek in him what would not be otherwise certain and sure to us.
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According to this principle the Prophet now says, that the days would come in which God would raise up to David a righteous branch He had spoken generally of pastors; but the Jews might have still been in doubt, and hesitated to believe that any such thing could be hoped for; hence God calls here their attention to the Messiah; as though he had said, that no hope of salvation could be entertained except through the Mediator who had been promised to them, and that therefore they were not sufficiently wise except they turned their minds to him. Moreover, as the accomplishment of salvation was to be expected through the Mediator, God shews that the promise, that he would give them pastors, ought not to be doubted. Hence it appears that I rightly stated at the beginning, that the former doctrine is confirmed by this passage in which God promises the coming of the Mediator. And the demonstrative particle, behold, as we have elsewhere seen, is intended to shew certainty; and it was necessary for the Jews to be thus confirmed, because the time had not as yet arrived, and we know that their faith must have been grievously shaken by so many and so long trials, had they not some support. God, then, seems to point out the event as by the finger, though it was as yet very remote. He does not intimate a short time, but he thus speaks for the sake of making the thing certain, so that they might not faint through a long expectation. Come, then, he says, shall the days in which he will raise up to David a righteous branch
Though the preposition ל, lamed, is often redundant, yet in this place it seems to me that God has a reference to the covenant which he had made with David. And the Prophet did this designedly, because the Jews were unworthy of being at all regarded by God; but he here promises that he would be faithful to that covenant which he had once made with David, because David himself was also faithful and embraced with true faith the promise made to him. God then, as though he would have nothing to do with that perverse and irreclaimable people, but with his servant David, says, “I will raise up to David a righteous branch;” as though he had said, “Though ye were even a hundred times unworthy of having a Deliverer, yet the memory of David shall ever remain complete with me, as he was perfect and faithful in keeping my covenant.” Now, it cannot be doubted but that the Prophet speaks here of Christ.
The Jews, in order to obscure this prophecy, will have this to be applied to all the descendants of David; and thus they imagine an earthly kingdom, such as it was under Solomon and others. But such a thing cannot certainly be gathered from the words of the Prophet; for he does not speak here of many kings, but of one only. The word “branch,” I allow, may be taken in a collective sense; but what is afterwards said? A king shall reign They may also pervert this, for the word “king” is often taken for successors in a kingdom. This is indeed true; but we ought to consider the whole context. It is said, in his days Hence it appears evident that some particular king is intended, and that the words ought not to be applied to many. And the last clause is a further confirmation, This shall be his name, by which they shall call him, Jehovah our righteousness Here also the Jews pervert the words, for they make God the nominative case to the verb, as though the words were, “Jehovah shall call him our righteousness;” but this is contrary to all reason, for all must see that it is a forced and strained version. Thus these miserable men betray their own perverseness; for they pervert, without any shame, all the testimonies in favor of Christ; and they think it enough to elude whatever presses hard on them.
We must now, then, understand that this passage cannot be explained of any but of Christ only. The design of the Holy Spirit we have already explained; God had from the beginning introduced this pledge whenever he intended to confirm faith in his promises; for without Christ God cannot be a Father and a Savior to men; nor could he have been reconciled to the Jews, because they had departed from him. How, indeed, could they have been received into favor without expiation? and how could they have hoped that God would become a Father to them, except they were reconciled to him? Hence without Christ they could not rely on the promises of salvation. Rightly, then, have I said, that this passage ought to be confined to the person of Christ.
And we know of a certainty that he alone was a righteous branch; for though Hezekiah and Josiah were lawful successors, yet when we think of others, we must say, that they were monsters. Doubtless, with the exception of three or four, they were all spurious and covenant-breakers; yea, I say, spurious, for they had nothing in common with David, whom they ought to have taken as an example of piety. Since, then, they were wholly unlike their father David, they could not have been called righteous branches. They were, indeed, perfidious and apostates, for they had departed from God and his law. We hence see that there is here an implied contrast between Christ and all those spurious children who yet had descended from David, though wholly unworthy of such an honor on account of their impiety. Therefore as these kings had roused God’s wrath against the people, and had been the cause of their exile, the Prophet says now, that there would be at length a righteous branch; that is, that though those did all they could to subvert God’s covenant by their wicked deeds, there would come at length the true and the only Son, who is elsewhere called the first-born in the whole world, (Psalm 89:27,) and that he would be a righteous branch.
And this ought to be carefully noticed; for neither Hezekiah nor Josiah, nor any like them, when viewed in themselves, were worthy of this sacred distinction,
“I will make him the first-born in the earth;” and further, “My Son art thou.” (Psalm 2:7.)
This could not have been said of any mortal man, viewed in himself. And then it is said,
“I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son;”
and the Apostle tells us, that this cannot be applied even to angels. (Hebrews 1:5.) As, then, this dignity is higher than angels’ glory, it is certain that none of David’s successors were worthy of such an honor. Hence Christ is justly called a righteous Branch. At the same time, the Prophet, as I have already reminded you, seems to set the perfect integrity of Christ in opposition to the impiety of those who under a false pretense had exercised authority, as though they were of that sacred race of whom it had been said, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.”
It follows, — And reign shall a king This also has not been added without reason, shortly after Jeconiah had been driven into exile, and also the whole royal family had been exposed to every kind of reproach. The crown, indeed, was cast on the ground, as it has already appeared, and was trodden under feet. There was, therefore, no hope of a future kingdom when the seed of Abraham had become, as it were, extinct. This is the reason why God promises what we now hear of the restoration of the throne; and we may easily infer from what all the prophets have said, that the salvation of the people was dependent on the person of their king; and whenever God bade the people to entertain hope, he set a king before their eyes. A king was to be their head under God’s government. We now see the design of the Prophet in saying, that a king would reign
Some think that a king is to be understood as in opposition to a tyrant, because many kings had departed from their duty, and committed robbery under that specious authority. I have no doubt but that the word king was expressed, lest the people should doubt the fulfillment of this prophecy; for if it had been only said, “I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign,” they might, indeed, have entertained some hope, but it would have been small, and not full and complete. We, indeed, know that Zerubbabel and others excelled in some things, and were highly regarded for David’s sake; but there was then no kingdom. God therefore intended here expressly to testify that there would be the high privilege of a kingdom, that there might be nothing wanting to the Jews, as the power of Christ would not be inferior to the power of David. Reign, then, shall a king; that is, he shall reign gloriously, so that there would not be merely some remnants of pristine dignity, but that a king would flourish, become strong, and attain perfection, such as it was under David and Solomon, and much more excellent.
It follows, — And shall act prudently, and shall do judgment and justice in the land; or, “he shall prosper,” for שכל, shecal, means both; yet the Prophet seems here to speak of right judgment rather than of success, for the two clauses ought to be read together, “he shall act prudently,” and “he shall do judgment and justice.” It seems then that he means this in short, — that Christ would be endued with the spirit of wisdom as well as of uprightness and equity, so that he would possess all the qualifications, and fulfill all the duties of a good and perfect king.
And in the first place, wisdom or prudence is necessary; for probity alone would not be sufficient in a king. In private individuals indeed it is of no small value; but probity in a king, without wisdom, will avail but little, hence, the Prophet here commends Christ for his good discernment, and then mentions his zeal for equity and justice. It is indeed true that Christ’s excellences are not sufficiently set forth by expressions such as these; but the similitude is taken from men; for the first endowment of a king is wisdom, and then integrity in the second place. And we know that Christ is often compared to earthly kings, or set forth to us under the image of an earthly king, in which we may see him; for God accommodates himself to our ignorance. As, then, we cannot comprehend the unspeakable justice of Christ or his wisdom, hence God, that he may by degrees lead us to the knowledge of Christ, shadows him forth to us under these figures or types. Though, then, what is said here does not come up to the perfection of Christ, yet the comparison ought not to be deemed improper; for God speaks to us according to the measure of our capacities, and could not at once in a few words fully express what Christ is. But we must bear in mind that from earthly kings we must ascend to Christ; for though he is compared to them, yet there is no equality; after having contemplated in the type what our minds can comprehend, we ought to ascend farther and much higher.
Hence, the difference between the righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of kings ought to be here noticed. They who rule well can in no other way administer righteousness and judgment than by being careful to render to every one his own, and that by checking the audacity of the wicked, and by defending the good and the innocent; this only is what can be expected from earthly kings. But Christ is far different; for he is not only wise so as to know what is right and best, but he also endues his own people with wisdom and knowledge; he executes judgment and righteousness, not only because he defends the innocent, aids them who are oppressed, gives help to the miserable, and restrains the wicked; but he doeth righteousness, because he regenerates us by his Spirit, and he also doeth judgment, because he bridles, as it were, the devil. We now then understand the design of what I said, that we ought to mark the transcendency of Christ over earthly kings, and also the analogy; for there is some likeness and some difference: the difference between Christ and other kings is very great, and yet there is a likeness in some things; and earthly kings are set forth to us as figures and types of him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v5 This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church…
This prophecy is of the restitution of the Church in the time of Jesus Christ, who is the true branch, read Isa. 11:1 and 45:8; Jer. 35:15; Dan. 9:24.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,…
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Ver. 5. I will raise to David a righteous branch.] Who shall raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, {Amo 9:11} who shall also sit upon the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. {Luk 1:32-33} Annon hoc probe sarcitur, &c. Is not this a good amends for that which is to befall Coniah and his posterity, put beside the kingdom? Of Christ the "righteous branch," see Isa 11:1; Isa 4:2 Zec 3:8 {See Trapp on "Isa 11:1"} {See Trapp on "Isa 4:2"} {See Trapp on "Zec 3:8"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Though some interpreters think that Zorobabel may be here…
Though some interpreters think that Zorobabel may be here intended, who was descended from David, and ruled the people when they came out of Babylon, yet even the Jewish doctors themselves, as well as the Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy and promise of the Messiah; the prophecies and promises of whom are usually ushered in with this particle
behold to stir up people’s attention; and who also was the Son of David, and who is called the Branch, Isa 4:2; 53:2; Zec 3:8; Isa 11:1, where the reason is also given, he being there called a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, a Branch out of his root; besides that, the application to him of the name King, ordinarily applied to Christ, never given to Zerobabel, and the term righteous, make it evident. Jer 33:15, he is called a Branch of righteousness, which is the same with the righteous Branch here mentioned. He is called the
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righteous Branch, not only because himself was righteous, therefore called the righteous One, Act 3:14; 13:35, but because he maketh his people righteous, Isa 53:11; 60:21. Jesus Christ, answering the type of Melchisedec the king of Salem, and who is the King of kings, 1Ti 6:15, shall reign spiritually, and shall not be like Jeconiah, of whom God said he should not prosper; but he shall prosper, and shall execute justice and judgment, protecting the innocent, and defending his people throughout the world, judging the prince of the world, and by his Spirit governing his people. So as the prophet relieveth the people of God, under their oppressions by these latter kings of Judah, with the promise of the kingdom of Christ, a usual argument made use of by the prophets to comfort the people of God in those days against any evils come or coming upon them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are…
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... Or, "are coming" (d); and will soon be here, a few days, months, and years more; so it was usual with the prophets to represent the coming of Christ as near at hand, to comfort the saints, and keep up their faith and expectation of him, and especially the latter prophets; see Hag 2:6, Mal 3:1; as also to usher in their prophecies of this sort with a behold, as a note of admiration, attention, and asseveration; see Isa 7:14;
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch; the Messiah; so it is explained by the Targum, which calls him the Messiah of the righteous; and by Kimchi and Ben Melech; and by the ancient Jews (e) also; who is frequently by the prophets spoken of as a branch, Isa 4:2, Zac 3:8; which respects his incarnation, his springing up and appearance in the earth, and the meanness and weakness of it; and here, his descent from the family of David, when that was in a low and mean condition, to be his successor in his throne and kingdom, not in a temporal, but in a spiritual sense; and is a branch and plant not of man's raising, but of the Lord's, his human nature being formed without the help of man; and is that tabernacle which God pitched, and not man; and is therefore elsewhere called the Branch of the Lord, and said to be brought forth by him, Isa 4:2; the epithet of "righteous" is given him, because righteous in himself, and the author of righteousness to others; a branch that brings forth and bears the fruits of righteousness, from whence all those that are ingrafted in him come to have righteousness;
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and a King shall reign and prosper; the King Messiah, the same with David's righteous Branch, his son and offspring; who was appointed by God the Father "King" over Zion, the church, from all eternity; was always promised and spoken of as a King, and came as such, though his kingdom was not with observation, it being not of this world; and when he ascended to heaven, he was declared Lord and Christ; and now "reigns" on the same throne with his Father, and will till all enemies are put under his footstool: and as he prospered in his priestly office, by obtaining the redemption and salvation of his people, which is the "pleasure of the Lord" that was to "prosper in his hand", Isa 53:10; so likewise in his kingly and prophetic offices, by going forth in his Gospel conquering and to conquer; riding forth therein prosperously, and subduing his enemies, and causing his ministers to triumph in him: or, "shall deal prudently" (f), as the word is rendered in Isa 52:13; See Gill on Isa 52:13;
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth: in his church, and among his people, by governing them with righteous laws, and by protecting and defending them from their enemies; for "all judgment is committed to the Son"; who will judge one day the whole world in righteousness; see Joh 5:22.
(d) "dies sunt venientes", Montanus, Schmidt. (e) Bemidbar Rabba, parash. 18. fol. 223. 2. (f) "et prudenter aget", Calvin, Tigurine version; "aget intelligenter", Montanus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Behold - Even the Jewish doctors, as well as…
Behold - Even the Jewish doctors, as well as the Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah who is called the branch, Isaiah iv, 2; liii, 2. And here, he is called the righteous branch, not only because himself was righteous, but because he maketh his people righteous. Shall execute - Protecting the innocent, and defending his people throughout the world, judging the prince of the world, and by his spirit governing his people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous…
Verse 5. I will raise unto David a righteous Branch] As there has been no age, from the Babylonish captivity to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, in which such a state of prosperity existed, and no king or governor who could answer at all to the character here given, the passage has been understood to refer to our blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, who was a branch out of the stem of Jesse; a righteous king; by the power of his Spirit and influence of his religion reigning, prospering, and executing judgment and justice in the earth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v5 Jer 23:5-6. I will raise unto David a righteous…
Jer 23:5-6. I will raise unto David a righteous branch — The house of David seemed to be quite sunk and ruined by the threatening pronounced against Jeconiah, (Jer 22:30,) that none of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David: but here we have a promise which effectually secures the honour of the covenant made with David, notwithstanding that threatening; for by it his house will be raised out of its ruins to a greater lustre than ever, and shine brighter than it did even in the days of Solomon. We have not so many prophecies of Christ in this book as we had in that of the Prophet Isaiah. But here we have a very illustrious one. Of him, doubtless, the prophet here speaks, and of no other person. Even the Jewish doctors, as well as Christian interpreters, understand this as a prophecy of the Messiah, who is called the branch: Isa 4:2; Isa 53:2; and the man the branch, Zec 3:8. And here he is termed the righteous branch, not only because he himself was righteous, but because he makes his people righteous; and a king that shall reign and prosper — Not like kings that now were of the house of David, going backward in all their affairs, but one that shall set up a kingdom in the world, which shall be victorious over all opposition; one to whose hands the good pleasure of the Lord shall be committed, and under whose care and management it shall prosper; one who shall execute judgment and justice in the earth — All the world over, Psa 96:13. The present kings of David’s line were unjust and oppressive, and their affairs therefore did not prosper; but this king shall break the usurped power of Satan, institute a perfect rule of holy living, and in due time make all the world righteous. In his days — That is, under his dominion, when his kingdom shall be set up and established upon earth; Judah shall be saved, &c. — The people of God, typified by Judah and Israel, shall be saved with a spiritual and eternal salvation, a salvation from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God here, and into the kingdom of his glory hereafter. At which kingdom, till they arrive, God will be a special protection to them, their refuge and strength, and very present help in trouble; so that they shall dwell safely — Confiding in the care of their strong helper, and preserved in perfect peace. And this is his name whereby he shall be called — Namely, by his people, and by God; the name whereby he shall be known, and which shall at once be descriptive both of his person and office. THE LORD, Hebrew, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS — Though of the seed of David according to the flesh, he shall indeed be JEHOVAH, God in human nature, and OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS; namely, justifying us by his merits, sanctifying us by his Spirit, and directing us in every part of our duty by his doctrine and example; the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth in him with a faith that worketh by love.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Even with the temporal kingship abolished, David’s mercies are…
Even with the temporal kingship abolished, David’s mercies are still sure.
A righteous Branch - Or, sprout, germ (see Isa 4:2 note). The sprout is that in which the root springs up and grows, and which, if it be destroyed, makes the root perish also.
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And a king shall reign ... - Rather, and he shall reign as king. David’s family is to be dethroned (temporally), that it may reign gloriously (spiritually). But compare Jer 33:17, note; Jer 33:25, note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v6 Saved: less disturbed. The world shall be redeemed, Luke…
Saved: less disturbed. The world shall be redeemed, Luke ii. 14., and Ephesians ii. 14. --- Just. Hebrew, "Justice," by whom we are made just. He is the true God, Colossians ii. 9, 14. No man could bear this title: and Grotius insidiously attempts to apply it to the Jews, though the Chaldean, &c., clearly speak of the Messias. He [Grotius] must be read with great caution. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "This is his name, which the Lord will call him, Josedech. In the prophets. (9.) My," &c. (Haydock) --- Josedech means "the Lord justice." (Calmet) --- Symmachus, "Lord, justify us."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5–6 As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which…
As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which many political changes took place in harmony with these, it displayed its riches by a variety more effective than if it had been manifested all at once. As the moral condition of the Jews required in each instance, so Messiah was exhibited in a corresponding phase, thus becoming more and more the soul of the nation's life: so that He is represented as the antitypical Israel (Isa 49:3).
unto David--HENGSTENBERG observes that Isaiah dwells more on His prophetical and priestly office, which had already been partly set forth (Deu 18:18; Psa 110:4). Other prophets dwell more on His kingly office. Therefore here He is associated with "David" the king: but in Isa 11:1 with the then poor and unknown "Jesse."
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righteous Branch--"the Branch of righteousness" (Jer 33:15); "The Branch" simply (Zac 3:8; Zac 6:12); "The Branch of the Lord" (Isa 4:2).
prosper--the very term applied to Messiah's undertaking (Isa 52:13, Margin; Isa 53:10). Righteousness or justice is the characteristic of Messiah elsewhere, too, in connection with our salvation or justification (Isa 53:11; Dan 9:24; Zac 9:9). So in the New Testament He is not merely "righteous" Himself, but "righteousness to us" (Co1 1:30), so that we become "the righteousness of God in Him" (Rom 10:3-4; Co2 5:19-21; Phi 3:9).
execute judgment and justice in the earth-- (Psa 72:2; Isa 9:7; Isa 32:1, Isa 32:18). Not merely a spiritual reign in the sense in which He is "our righteousness," but a righteous reign "in the earth" (Jer 3:17-18). In some passages He is said to come to judge, in others to reign. In Mat 25:34, He is called "the King." Psa 9:7 unites them. Compare Dan 7:22, Dan 7:26-27.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5–6 5. In the midst of this fearful gloom, most…
5. In the midst of this fearful gloom, most unexpectedly and refreshingly are we favoured with a vision of supernal glory. The words of this passage break upon our ears sweetly and cheeringly as the angels’ song upon the ears of the shepherds. In this extremity of despair the light of God’s blessed consolation beams with ineffable beauty. In none of the prophets, not even in Isaiah, “the evangelic prophet,” is there a brighter gleam of the “latter-day glory.”
Behold — A formal opening, indicating the importance of what is announced.
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Days come — Literally, days (are) coming: pointing to some indefinite future.
Branch — See Isa_4:2; and, for the force of the word, Gen_19:25; Isa_61:11; Eze_16:7; Eze_17:9; Hos_8:7. The original in Isa_11:1, is a different word, and quite distinct in meaning. It is unfortunate that both are represented by the same word in the Authorized Version. The term here employed signifies a sprout or shoot sent up from the root, and is strikingly expressive of the Messiah’s relation to the Davidic dynasty. Of this line nothing was left but the vital root, and yet from this Christ came. The branches had been cut off, the stately trunk was prostrate and dead, but from the hidden root a new shoot came forth of supernal beauty and immortal vigour.
A King shall reign — Rather, that shall reign as king, the sentence resting directly on the word “branch.” Isa_52:13; Dan_9:24, etc.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–6 5. the days come] The phrase (first occurring in…
5. the days come] The phrase (first occurring in Amo_4:2), according to Jeremiah’s employment of it (cp. Jer_23:7, Jer_30:3, Jer_31:27; Jer_31:31; Jer_31:38, Jer_33:14), implies a special call to note the announcement thus introduced. In spite of the troubles which are now gathering round them there are none the less surely days of deliverance coming.
Branch] mg. Or, Shoot Or, Bud. While the word designating the Messiah in Isa_11:1 is rightly translated Branch, the Heb. substantive here (Ṣemach) can only mean shoot, that which springs immediately out of the ground. In Isa_4:2 the word is used in a more general sense, not as here of the individual Messianic Ruler, but of the produce of the soil in the blissful age of the Messiah. See further in Dr. p. 364 and on Isa_4:2 (Skinner) in C.B.
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deal wisely] For mg. prosper see on Jer_20:11.
execute judgement and justice] Cp. the same expression as used of David, the ancestor of the Messiah, in 2Sa_8:15.
5–8. Du. and others reject these vv., which are also viewed with suspicion by Co. The use of the term “the Shoot” for the Messiah by Zechariah (Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12) shews that in his time it was an established expression, and therefore might naturally be employed as early as pre-exilic times in connexion with Messianic expectations which were even then current. Moreover, there can be little doubt that “our righteousness” (Heb. Ṣidḳenu) is an appellation chosen by the prophet as hinting (see on Jer_23:1-8) at the name of the reigning king, Zedekiah (Heb. Ṣidḳiyahu). “What Zedekiah’s name, received at his accession, set forth as an ideal, would be a realized fact in the time of the Messianic King” (Peake). Contrast the Messianic picture in Psalms 2 (specially Jer_23:9) with that (so much more consonant with Jeremiah’s character) given here of a wise and just ruler over a nation united and at peace. We have a prophecy less plainly Messianic in Jer_30:9, where see note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–6 (5) Behold, the days come.—The words point to an…
(5) Behold, the days come.—The words point to an undefined, far-off future, following on the provisional order implied in Jer_23:4, when the kingdom should once more rest in one of the house of David.
A righteous Branch.—The idea is the same, though the word is different (here Zemach, and there Netzer), as in Isa_11:1. In both cases, however, the word means a “sprout” or “scion,” springing up from the root even after the tree had been cut down (Isa_6:13), and not a branch growing from the trunk. It is probably in reference to this prophecy that we find the name of “the Branch” (Zemach) so prominent in Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12. Here, it is obvious, the prophet speaks of the one great Shepherd.
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A King shall reign.—Better, he shall reign as King, the Branch or Sprout being the subject of the sentence. As with all the Messianic prophecies of this class, the thoughts of the prophet dwell on the acts and attributes of a sovereignty exercised personally on earth. Such a sovereignty, “all power in heaven and on earth” (Mat_28:18), was indeed given to the Christ, but not after the fashion that men expected.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Vers. 5, 6. (Comp. the parallel passage, Jer_33:15, Jer_33:16)
Vers. 5, 6. (Comp. the parallel passage, Jer_33:15, Jer_33:16)
Behold, the days come. The use of the analogous phrase, "And it shall come to pass in that day," would lead us to suppose that this verse describes a fresh stage in the progress of events, as if the faithful shepherds (ver. 4) were to precede the "righteous Branch" (ver. 5). Such a view, however, is not very plausible, for the Messtab, according to prophecy, is to appear in the darkest of times. The prophet simply means to impress upon us the greatness of the revelation which he is about to communicate. I will raise unto David. The promised Messiah, then, is certainly to be of the family of David. (comp. Isa_9:7 Isa_11:1 Mic_5:2) A righteous Branch; rather, a righteous Plant: the root means "to bud, or sprout." This is the first time in which the title the Plant is unmistakably applied to the Messianic King (possibly, but less probably, to the Messianic kings). It indicates that this great personage stands in connection with the divinely ordained and ancient royal family, but that he is in some way unique, and far surpasses his human ancestors. He "springs forth;" therefore he is not a sort of meteoric appearance, without any natural home among men, but rather the blossom of the Jewish nation, the embodiment of its highest qualities. And yet there is something extraordinary about him, for it is needful that Jehovah himself should "raise" this Plant from the almost worn-out stock of David. Note that the word rendered here in the Authorized Version "Branch" is not the same as that in the parallel passage in Isaiah. (Isa_11:1) It is, however, the word employed in Isa_4:2, which is taken by many, especially the elder interpreters (but with very doubtful justice), to be a prophecy of the Messiah. It is also the word used by Zechariah, (Zec_3:8 Zec_6:12) as a proper name of the Messiah, which is one strong reason for rejecting the view mentioned above that the word rendered "the Branch," or "the Plant," is to be taken collectively as equivalent to "branches," or rather "plants" (the article is not expressed in the Hebrew). In short, this passage and the prophecies referred to in Jeremiah are exceptions to the general Old Testament usage of the Hebrew word (cemakh), which is elsewhere a collective term equivalent to "plantation." It is true that in ver. 4 "shepherds," in the plural, are spoken of, but there is no reason why this title should be confined to kings it may as fairly be extended to the chief rulers under a king as the term "king" itself (see on Jer_17:20); and true, further, that ill Jer_33:17 a continuous succession is promised of Davidic heirs to the throne, but this is not decisive in favor of the collective meaning, any more than Isaiah"s later prophecy that "the reigning Davidic king shall reign in righteousness" disproves the strictly Messianic reference of his earlier promise in Isa_11:1. All prophecy is conditional; there may have been moral reasons why a continuance of the Davidic dynasty was held out by Jeremiah at one time as a possible prospect. (It is, however, extremely probable that Jer_33:14-26 is the work of some other inspired writer; see ad loc.) The thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, which is so closely parallel to this section, appears to interpret the prophecy of a single Messianic king. (Eze_34:23) And a King shall reign; rather, and he shall reign as king; i.e. he shall be the realized ideal of an Israelitish king a second David. And prosper; or, and deal wisely. There is the same doubt as to the rendering of the verb in Isa_52:13 a. The radical idea is that of wisdom, and the analogy of Isa_11:2 favors the alternative rendering here. Shall execute judgment; in contrast to the neglectful conduct of Jehoiakim. (Jer_22:3)
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The Branch of David.
The glorious prophecy of the Messianic future which here bursts forth from Jeremiah, after his denunciation of his nation"s sin and lamentation over its approaching calamities, is necessarily clothed in the language of the age, and viewed in an especial relation to contemporary wants. The people are suffering from bad rulers and an unrighteous government. A good king, administering his kingdom happily and justly, is promised for the golden age of the future. Associated with this king is, no doubt, that succession of righteous sovereigns referred to in the fourth verse. It was not given to anticipatory visions to show how unique and solitary and eternal was to be the kingship of the Messiah. Yet even there he stands forth in marked prominence, and towers above his successors, who are only regarded as following his initiative. Regarding the prophecy with the fuller light of Christian times, we may see how it is a true foreshadowing of the nature and work of Christ, though, of course, only partial and limited, as the shadow can only indicate the general form of its object, and that in but one aspect.
I THE ORIGIN OF THE MESSIAH.
1. He comes from a human stock. He is called a "Branch," or, rather, a "Sprout." Christ entered the world by birth; he was "made of a woman." Hence his oneness with us, his human sympathy, true example, and representative character as the High Priest of the race.
2. He comes of the family of David. This historical fact is significant. Christ is a born King, a rightful Sovereign. He realizes the ideal which the kings of the Jews had failed to attain, but which the best of them had aimed at.
3. He comes quietly and gradually. The sprout springs from a bud by slow growth. Christ began his life as an infant, and grew in physical, mental, and spiritual powers. (Luk_2:52) He did not astonish the world with a sudden apparition of majesty. His kingship is like his kingdom, a quiet and gradual growth as that of a tree from a seed. (Mat_13:31-32)
4. He comes with close relations to the circumstances of the world. The sprout is vitally connected with the earth and the atmosphere. It grows in the natural season of growth. Christ is associated with all human interests. The ages before his advent were preparing for him. He is the representative of their highest aspirations, the satisfaction of their deepest needs. He comes in the "fullness of time.
5. He comes from a Divine origin. God raises up the righteous Branch. The text tells us no more than that the coming of Christ is providential and through special Divine influences; but we know that God not only raised him, but was in him, as one with his very being.
II THE OFFICE OF THE MESSIAH. He is to be a King. It was natural that the Jews should anticipate a temporal sovereign, and natural, therefore, that they should have been disappointed at the appearance and conduct of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet was he not, is he not, a King? He professed to be a King. (Joh_18:37) The apostles claimed submission to him as to a King. (Act_17:7) His influence is kingly. The essence of kingship is not seen in the sitting on a material throne and wearing a visible crown, but in the exercise of power over men. Christ is the one true King, because he rules the thoughts and affections and wills of men. Human sovereigns can only command external obedience. While the slave cringes before the throne he may be cursing his master in his heart. Christ is satisfied with no such superficial loyalty. He seeks the allegiance of the heart, and he wins it from all his people. We must, therefore, recognize this great fact Christ is a King as well as a Savior. While he delivers us from ruin, he expects submission to his authority. He is a Savior partly by being a King, for his royal influence is one means of his deliverance of mankind. Therefore the selfish Christianity which would accept escape from ruin, but would not accord loyal obedience, is a delusion. We cannot even be safe, cannot even escape from the ruin of our sin, except by bowing to the rule of Christ. We can only find rest unto our souls by taking on us his yoke. True faith, therefore, includes trust in the kingship as well as in the redemption of Christ, i.e. active fidelity in addition to passive confidence.
III THE CHARACTER OF THE MESSIAH.
1. He is righteous. This was much in contrast to the unrighteousness of contemporary rulers. Taking the word "righteous" in the largest sense, we have assurance of the truth, justice, holiness, and goodness of Christ. If this righteousness of the Messiah is a ground of rejoicing to the prophet, how much more shall we Christians rejoice in witnessing his gentleness, compassion, and love?
2. He rules righteously. The character of the government is necessarily determined by that of the ruler. The great King comes to live not for himself, but for his people, and not to execute stern judgments upon them, but to secure their highest good. Christ reigns for the good of his people. If we submit to his rule we find our own blessedness secured thereby.
Vers. 5, 6. "The Lord our Righteousness.
I THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WOULD RULE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE. The question of the singular or plural interpretation of the word "scion" need not trouble us. To the prophet it was enough to declare that the offspring of David would yet reign in righteousness. All lesser fulfillments of this prophecy are thrown into insignificance by the great Son of David, who so grandly fulfilled the essential conditions of the prediction.
1. Righteousness would yet become the law of human life.
2. This would be achieved through a personal influence. The King of men will wield a spiritual scepter, but his influence will be the more real. Righteousness will be manifested as a life and vindicated in sacrificial death.
3. The house of David would be restored in him as its offspring.
II THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO HIS PEOPLE. "The Lord our Righteousness," be it the title of Prince or people, is sufficiently significant to explain its own essential meaning. There would be a transfer of the righteous character of the Ruler to the ruled; their spirit and aims would be identical with his; and he would embody their ideal life and present it to God. Through him the Divine righteousness would be the possession of the least saint. This evidently could only be perfectly accomplished in Christ. Nothing less than a unity of spirit and life with Jesus Christ, through faith, could achieve such a result.
III THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD THUS EMBODIED AND COMMUNICATED WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE.
1. The power of this righteousness.
2. Its desirability.
3. Its attainableness. The ideal future of Israel and the Church. M.
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE Vers. 5, 6. Jehovah-Tsidkenu.
It is in his kingly character that the uprising of the Messiah is here predicted. The shepherds that destroyed and scattered the flock of God were the corrupt rulers of the line of David. God was visiting upon them one after another "the evil of their doings;" and after them he would raise up men of a nobler sort men like Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees, who should be true leaders and commanders of the people (ver. 4). But these, again, would but prepare the way for One far greater. Beyond all these changes the eye of the prophet is fixed on the time when out of the seemingly withered root of David a sapling shall arise, "the righteous Branch;" One who shall perfectly realize the Divine (idea of "a ruler" of 2Sa_23:3, 2Sa_23:4) rather King who shall "reign in righteousness," and of the "increase of whose government and peace there shall be no end". (Isa_9:6, 7 11:1-6 32:1 Zec_9:9) Towards him the hopes of loyal, hearts, through, every previous age reached forth in him the "desire of all nations finds its glorious fulfillment. "And this is the name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness." In unfolding the full significance of this name, consider
(1) the personal righteousness of Christ,
(2) the way in which that righteousness becomes ours.
I HIS PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. He is emphatically "Jesus Christ the Righteous," the one only absolutely righteous being ever born into the world. Our human nature, the beauty and harmony of which, in the person of Adam, the father of oar race, the touch of moral evil had defaced and destroyed, appeared again in him, the "second Adam," in all its sinless, faultless perfection, absolutely free from the taint of evil. And this not as a development, but as a new Divine revelation; not as the consummate product of moral forces inherent in our nature, but as a supernatural phenomenon, a miracle, in the sphere of man"s moral life. In him the "righteousness of God" appeared, embodied and illustrated in human form. Our faith in this historic fact rests on different grounds.
1. The angelic testimony. (Luk_1:35)
2. The direct testimony of the Father. (Mat_3:17 Mat_17:5)
3. His declarations respecting himself. (Joh_8:29, 46 14, 30 15:10 17:4)
4. The witness of his enemies (Judas, Herod, Pilate and his wife, the Roman centurion).
5. The apostolic testimony. (Act_3:14 2Co_5:21 Heb_7:26 1Pe_2:22 1Jn_2:1 1Jn_3:5)
6. The profound impression left on our spirits by a careful study of the Gospel records. The absolute sinlessness of Jesus is one of the foundation stones in the fabric of Christian doctrine, and to doubt or deny it is to undermine and destroy the whole. But his righteousness means more than faultless personal character. It includes the positive fulfillment of the Father"s purposes and of the work the Father had given him to do. I have glorified thee on the earth," etc. (Joh_17:4) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering," etc. (Heb_10:5-10) His was a righteousness wrought out through all the patient obedience of a blameless life, consummated in the vicarious shame and sorrow of the cross. As the sunbeam receives no contamination from the foulest thing on which it may chance to fall, so did he pass triumphantly through all the evil of the world and go back to the bosom of the Father with a purity as unsullied as that in which he came. "Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead". (Rom_1:4)
II HOW HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS BECOMES OURS.
1. As the ground of our forgiveness. Faith in him as our righteous "Advocate with the Father" delivers us from condemnation. We believe in no "transference of a moral quality." As a man"s sins are his own and not another"s, so whatever of virtue there may be in him belongs to himself alone. But is it incredible that God should deal with sinful men in the way of mercy because of the perfect righteousness of "the man Christ Jesus?" "He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". (2Co_5:21) There is an instinctive witness in our souls to the fact that if "grace reigns" towards us it must be through righteousness. This is God"s answer to that instruct: "By the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life". (Rom_5:18)
2. As the inspiring cause of our personal sanctification. The gospel is God"s method of making men righteous, not a scheme by virtue of which he reckons them to be so when they are not. Faith in Christ"s mediatorial work as the ground of forgiveness draws the soul irresistibly into living sympathy with himself. It is impossible to dwell in fellowship with him without sharing his spirit and becoming "righteous even as he is righteous." Not more surely does the prepared surface receive the picture the sun"s rays paint upon it, than does the reverent, trustful, loving soul reflect his image. "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass," etc. (2Co_3:18) Thus does his righteousness become ours.
3. As the rectifying power in the general life of the world. "A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom," and wherever he reigns the discords of the world are resolved into a blessed harmony. He is the Creator of "the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. W.
Vers. 5, 6. The righteous Scion of David.
What is general in vers. 3 and 4 now becomes exceedingly definite. Attention is directed to one particular person in whom shall center all the blessings that can come through a king worthy of the name. The days are coming in which he will rule in the midst of a kingdom worthy of him. Jehovah sees these days coming as a watchman might observe people approaching in the far distance and moving steadily in the right direction. These days are on the way, and the actual experience of them is only a matter of time. In these days will appear
I A SCION OF DAVID. "Branch" is a somewhat misleading word here, especially considering the use which is made of the branch in the New Testament. The branch is properly taken in relation to the trunk, both being parts of a living whole. "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." Instead of the Christ being spoken of as a Branch from David, David is rather to be spoken of, by virtue of his faith in the coming One, as a branch of the Christ. The real meaning, of course, is that, at some time in the future, one of the lineal descendants of David will fulfill these purposes of God and the consequent hopes of devout men. Hence the importance which belongs to the genealogies in Matthew and Luke. The more the Gospels are looked into, the more it will be seen how they are constructed on certain lines indicated in the prophecies. The two Gospel genealogies become additionally credible when we reflect what a motive there was to preserve the record of lineal succession from David. Considering how uncertain it is that any man will have lineal descendants centuries after his own times, it is a peculiarly noticeable miracle that he who appeared something like a thousand years after David to do such great works, should have been unquestionably David"s descendant, born at Bethlehem and named as Son of David by the common people.
II A RIGHTEOUS SCION OF DAVID. In a not unreasonable sense of the word, David was himself a righteous man. We cannot say anything for him, any more than for ourselves, if we contrast him with the righteous God. But we have also to look at him over against the vile men with whom he was so often in conflict, men who appear not to have had one generous feeling or upward aspiration. Especially we must contrast him with some of his own descendants. When we look down the line as far as history gives the opportunity, we see first good men and then bad men. And it is a great mystery in the Christ"s human nature that he should have been a Scion of the bad as well as the good in this line. We are, therefore, obliged to recollect:
1. That David, who was righteous in a modified sense, was in due time followed by a descendant who was completely righteous. He who was ever reaching forward, trying to approximate more and more to the will of God, was followed by One who revealed that will in all the conduct of his life on earth.
2. That even as a bad father had a good son (or take, as a very striking illustration, the bad grandfather Manasseh and the good grandson Josiah), so all these bad kings had in due time a successor in Jesus of Nazareth, who was undefiled by any taint that might reasonably be supposed to have come down from them. As we think of the contrasts thus furnished, the use of all these deplorable records in the Books of Kings and Chronicles comes manifestly out. The mischief and misery which wicked kings can work must be seen in all their hideousness, so that all the more a disposition may be excited to attend to the blessings which Jesus will secure and multiply when he comes to reign as King.
III THE PROSPERITY OF THIS RIGHTEOUS KING. It must be made clear in some great and everlastingly conspicuous instance that practical righteousness is followed by prosperity, and that nowhere is the connection more sure between a cause allowed fully to operate and its full effect. The most hurtful kind of wickedness, the men who commit it do not. delight in for its own sake. Their aim is outward prosperity, to secure riches in the easiest, and most rapid way; and this may necessitate a degree of wickedness of which oftentimes they seem not in the least conscious. Then, of course, in the end the prosperity proves corrupt and ruins the man who risked everything for it. But now turn to the individual experience of Jesus. His course in this world had nothing in it of prosperity as some count prosperity. He lived in poverty; he did not live long; and he died as criminals die. All these experiences, however, only bring out the real prosperity. After the cross the manifestation of his glory and power bedaub, in the acceptance of him by hearts that he had completely subdued. There never has been such a king as Jesus of Nazareth; never any one who has elicited such whole-hearted homage, such complete, faithful, self-denying service. He prospers and he makes his servants prosper. The more his glory shines, the more their lives are brightened. This surely is indeed a royal prosperity.
IV THE PROSPERITY OF THE PEOPLE IS INDICATED:
1. By the king"s own action in judgment and righteousness, or, as we might otherwise put it, in righteous judgment. As one in authority and power, he has to give decisions, and these decisions are always righteous. Human kings were arbitrary and capricious; their likes and dislikes, their political necessities, had much to do with the decisions they gave. But with this righteous Scion of David it is very different. He lays down great principles which, if men would only attend to them and take in the spirit of them, would stop all disputings and litigations.
2. By the security of the people. The subjects of Jesus have true safety. They are safe in themselves and safe in their spiritual possessions. He who enables them to acquire the true riches shows also how to hold them fast; else the riches would not be true riches at all. And it is not the least boon that he gives them the power, if only they have faith to exercise it, of living without anxiety and distraction. It is very dishonoring to our great King not to believe that all our best interests are perfectly safe in his charge. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v5 I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.
Jer_23:5
I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.
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Christs Divine titles: the righteous Branch; and the Lord our Righteousness
Some of the grandest productions of nature appear small or feeble in their origin; though nothing is little or feeble with God. The majestic oak, the pride of the forest, that breasts the heavens in power, springs from a little acorn-cup; the mighty ,river, that creates life, health, beauty, and fertility in a realm, rises from some feeble well-spring beside the mountain. Now the wonderful fact of growth in life, or progress in nature or grace, was pre-eminently a profound truth with Christ, in His pure human nature. He that was Davids Root, as God, the almighty cause of all life, was yet Davids Offspring and Branch, as Man.
I. Christ is the Righteous Branch. He is called by this remarkable name by the prophets (Isa_11:1; Isa_4:2; Jeremiah, in my text, and 33:15, 16; Eze_17:22-24; Zec_3:8; Zec_6:12).
1. The Divine titles of our Redeemer in Scripture are most expressive, and are full of spiritual truth and beauty. Among other glorious titles, He is called the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, including all the letters of the Greek Alphabet, to denote His Eternal nature; as the Beginning and End of all things; as the Author and Finisher of our faith; as the origin, centre, and circle of all blessings for His people. He is the only and true Foundation on which the whole Church of God is built, and the chief Corner-stone of its perfection and beauty. He is our great Captain of salvation, and our Counsellor and Mediator before God in heaven; He is the Mystical Vine to give us Divine life; and the Heavenly Manna to feed and nourish our souls; as well as the living Water of purity and celestial joy. He is our Day-spring and Day-star from on high, to enlighten and guide us; as well as to give Divine knowledge and glory; and our Daysman and Deliverer to reconcile us to God. He is the Child born as man, to be our sacrifice; and the Son given as God, the Eternal Son of God, to impart infinite value to His work of salvation. He is the Prince of Peace, the King of Zion, our Great Prophet and High Priest; and our Peacemaker with Jehovah; our Redeemer from all sin; our Refuge in all danger; our Strong Rock in every storm; our Divine Saviour and Shepherd, who died to deliver us, and lead us to heaven; our Almighty Sun and Shield; in fine, the Righteous Branch, the Branch of Renown, the Righteous Branch of Jehovah, the Lord our Righteousness.
2. Christ is the Righteous Branch, as the cause of all Divine light and life in the Church. The word rendered the Branch, has a double meaning; it signifies both a shoot from an old stock, or a branch springing from a tree, vigorous in life, with rich blossoms and fruits; as well as the splendour of dawn, or the sun rising in eastern glory. This double emblem is most appropriately applied to our Redeemer; both in the sense of His human origin, as springing like a branch into perfect and glorious life from the family of David; and in His Divine nature as God, displaying the splendour of His majesty like the full-orbed sun rising over the earth and dispelling all darkness.
3. As the Righteous Branch Christ fills all His Church with Divine life and blessings. This may be illustrated thus: when a tree is transplanted from one field to another, it belongs, in civil law, to the ground where it has root, and receives nourishment and growth; for though it may be the same tree still in its roots, stock and branches, yet, as all these derive new and continued life from the place where it grows, it therefore belongs, in civil law, by right to the lord of the soil. So Christ, in taking our pure human nature into union with His Divine nature, made ours His own by lawful right, and He gives infinite value to humanity. His Divine and human nature are distinct, though united--separate, though in connection, like our own soul and body. And all of our Divine life, and all the blessings we spiritually enjoy, must come and be derived from Christ, and vivify and nourish our spiritual life, as sap rising from the roots of a tree gives all the stock, branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit their support, beauty, and sweetness!
II. How is Christ truly the Lord our Righteousness?
1. He only can restore righteousness to our fallen nature.
2. No sinner can ever be saved unless in some way by this righteousness of Jesus.
3. Christ is the Lord our righteousness in a twofold sense. He is the Cause, by His active and passive obedience to all the demands of Divine justice, and the Fountain of all our righteousness by His sacrifice on the cross. And as our Mediator in heaven, His continual intercession, and the blessed work of His Holy Spirit produce in our hearts holiness of life. This great work and doctrine may thus be illustrated. Suppose a powerful monarch goes to a prison-cell, where some favourite, who has been condemned for treason, lies expecting death. Royal mercy rises above law; royal affection remembers a friends doom. The sovereign opens the prison door and bestows on him a full pardon. This frees the offender from all just demands of the law. But the monarch does more: he takes him again into his favour; he exalts him even to higher honours than he forfeited, and he admits him to an the communion of a friend, and to all the dignities of the state, and he bestows on him a royal title to an inheritance which nothing can destroy.
4. This scriptural doctrine, that Christ is our righteousness, must be implicitly the firm reliance of faith, and of all the heart. The natural man cannot receive this great truth. Like other things of the Spirit, it must be spiritually discerned.
Remarks--
1. How Divine and comforting are the Scripture titles of Christ! This one of the Righteous Branch is most expressive and just for our Redeemer. Many kings and rulers have been unjust and unholy, but the Lord Jesus never! for all His own nature, all His moral government of the world are perfectly righteous, holy, and just, and all of His dealings among men shall shine forth as the rays of a full-orbed sun in glory!
2. How great and glorious are the blessings bestowed on Christians by the Redeemers work as the ever-living and righteous Branch of Jehovah! Take heed, then, of being in Christ for Divine life and fruitfulness. The leaves and blossoms on any fruitful branch or tree, though all various, must derive all their life and beauty from the living stock. All real Christians have all their continued spiritual life, holiness, and perfection from Jesus. And as no flower nor blossom can he without a branch, nor no ray of light without a star or sun, so no beauty nor brightness can be without Christ, the righteous Branch and Sundawn of eternal blessedness.
3. What a blissful and long day of peace and happiness shall that be for all the gathered Church of God! Gentile and Jew, all nations shall join hands in perfect amity and goodwill No more discord, no more destruction, no more death. (J. G. Angley, M. A.)
The Lord our righteousness
I. Inquire who is the person here spoken of; and whether any individual has appeared, since the days of Jeremiah, answering this description. Jeremiah, we find, flourished in the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. In vain shall we look either to the times of the prophets, or to the commencement of the Christian era, for any individual answering the description in the text.
1. He was to be of the stock of David: to this description Christ exactly corresponded. He was born of a virgin, of the house and lineage of David.
2. He was to be righteous. To this part of me description, also, Christ exactly corresponded. He did no sin, and in Him no guile was found.
3. He was to be a King. To this, also, the character of Jesus of Nazareth corresponded. He was born King of the Jews; He was so called by the wise men who came from afar to worship Him. When asked by Pontius Pilate if He were a King, He did not deny it; and when He was pressed, He replied in the affirmative--Thou sayest that I am a King. A King He was, but in disguise--a King, but wearing the garb of a servant.
4. It is here predicted that He should reign and prosper. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction before us. To reign and to prosper, is to have victory over all open enemies, and to see his friends in peace, and happiness, and prosperity around him. But mark the history of Jesus of Nazareth. Being in disguise, He hid Himself: He refused to be made a King when the people would have done so; and, instead of reigning and prospering, He was despised, scorned, crucified, and slain; instead of having the victory over His enemies, they had the victory over Him; and though, from the inherent dignity of His person, they could not hold Him, for He was a King, yet He left the world under a disguise, and left His foes in apparent triumph, to rejoice in the success of their rebellion.
5. He was to execute judgment and justice in the earth. Here, again, the history does not correspond with the prediction. He was, indeed, just; but He did not execute justice; He did not establish an ascendency of righteousness. On the contrary, injustice, violence, and deceit remain to this day.
6. In the reign of the King here spoken of, Judah is to be saved, and Israel is to dwell safely. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction. In His days, Judah was despised and trodden down: according to their own confession, they had no king but Caesar:--to Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, they paid tribute.
7. His name was to be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Now, what shall we say to this? Why, instead of all acknowledging Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, the bulk of professing Christians scoff at the very doctrine connected with this name! But I dwell not on this:--the speaker is a Jew, and the words must apply to Jews;--the Lord our Righteousness;--the Righteousness of the Jewish nation. Now I ask, Has the Jewish nation ever acknowledged the Messiah to be the Lord their Righteousness? Certainly not: therefore, the prophecy of Jeremiah has not been fulfilled. In examining this prophecy, we have seen that three points of the description have been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; that three other points of His description have not been fulfilled in Him; and that the seventh has been fulfilled in a very partial manner, and not in a peculiar application to the Jewish nation. Now, it is an acknowledged truth, by all who believe the Word of God, that Christ, who, for a season, dwelt upon earth, shall come again. So that between what He did and what He shall do, all the parts of the prophecy shall be fulfilled in Him. Now, it is very remarkable that what we should expect from this prophecy He would be, we are told from other prophecies He shall be. For we are told that He will execute judgment and justice in the earth; and that He will reign as a King in the earth.
II. Consider one or two of the important particulars which are revealed concerning this King, so prospering and reigning.
1. Concerning the reality and identity of the Kings person. The human nature of Jesus, returning to earth as He quitted it from Mount Olivet,--the nature that was degraded, persecuted when on earth,--this same human nature shall be exalted in Zion; calling His brethren after the flesh, the Jews, to rally around Him, and to acknowledge Him as Jehovah their Righteousness in that day.
2. Concerning the appearance of the King in that day. On this subject the history of the Transfiguration was, I think, intended to instruct us.
3. Concerning the manner of His administration in His kingdom: the manner, I mean, of His interference in this kingdom. It was a Theocracy under which the Jews were placed. All difficult questions were referred to God Himself; and He gave answers by the Urim and Thummim on the breast of the High Priest. He either spake to the people by Moses, or by some visible appearance. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign by a visible interference; by stretching out His arm to award and to punish. And then will be said that which is written in the Psalms: So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; there is a God that judgeth in the earth. (H. MNeile.)
The kingdom of the Messiah
I. The person of the Messiah.
1. His human incarnation--A Branch. This term is often used by the prophets, to represent Christs assumption of our nature.
2. His personal perfection--A righteous Branch.
(1) In His essential nature as God, Jesus Christ was infinitely pure, holy, just, and good.
(2) In His human nature as man, He was perfectly righteous, and free from everything sinful and impure.
3. His sovereign character--A King shall reign. He possessed every qualification requisite for the dignity of His character. He is infinite in wisdom, righteousness, power, and goodness. He is not only a Prophet to instruct, a Priest to atone, but also a King to rule and save His people.
II. The nature of His kingdom. A King shall reign and prosper, &c.
1. A universal kingdom. His presence fills all space, and His power is unlimited.
2. A mediatorial kingdom. This refers to Christs official character, as the Mediator between God and man.
3. A spiritual kingdom. The kingdom which Christ established in the work of redemption, is designed in its personal influence to destroy sin, that grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life.
4. A celestial kingdom. Heaven is often denominated a kingdom, and is the promised inheritance of the Lords faithful people (Luk_12:32). (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The nature and prosperity of the Messiahs reign
I. The character of Christ. A King (Num_24:17; Psa_2:6; Psa_45:1; Isa_32:1; Zec_9:9; Luk_19:38; Joh_18:37; Rev_17:14). There are three things we look for in a King.
1. Supreme power (Eph_1:21; Rom_9:5; Php_2:9; Col_1:18).
2. Legislative authority.
(1) Christ s authority to govern all arises out of His being the proprietor of all (Joh_1:10; Col_1:16).
(2) His legislative authority is still more confirmed by virtue of His redeeming acts: He has bought us with a price, and redeemed us to God by His blood.
3. Righteous administration; or the exercise of certain qualities essential to good government.
(1) In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; He knows all His subjects--is acquainted with their infinitely diversified necessities. And such is His immaculate purity, that it is impossible for Him to enact any laws that will not subserve the interests of His creatures.
(2) His justice is equal to His wisdom; justice and judgment are the habitation of His seat.
(3) He is so merciful as to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
II. The nature of His reign. A King shall reign, &c.
1. The reign of Christ is spiritual (Luk_17:20; Rom_14:17).
2. The reign of Christ is benevolent. Look at the Alexanders, or Caesars, or mighty chiefs of antiquity, marching at the head of vast armies, while every battle of these warriors is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. How violent their operations! how cruel and sanguinary their triumphs! Oh, how unlike the means used by the Lord Jesus to subdue the world to the obedience of Himself! (Isa_42:2.)
3. The reign of Christ is equitable. It is founded on principles of justice, reason, and truth (Heb_1:8). The laws by which He governs are holy, just, and good: the obedience which He requires is not only right in itself, but essentially connected with human happiness.
4. The reign of Christ is perpetual. Earthly kingdoms have their rise, progress, perfection, declension, and ruin (Isa_9:7; Heb_1:8).
III. The prosperity with which that reign shall be attended. The word prosper is always used in a favourable sense. To prosper as a king implies--
1. To have an increase of willing subjects.
2. To have adequate provision for the supply of all their wants. Our heavenly King possesses infinite treasures of grace and glory.
3. To secure their real happiness. Christs subjects are all happy--by the indulgence of benevolent dispositions--by the conformity to righteous laws--by the practice of holy duties--by the anticipation of future felicities (Psa_72:7-8; Isa_11:4-9; Isa_52:9).
4. To subjugate or destroy His enemies (Psa_2:9; Psa_2:12; Isa_60:12). But as Christ came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, He is employing means to conquer its prejudice, and slay its enmity.
Observe--
1. If Christ shall reign and prosper, how great is the folly and madness of infidels, sceptics, and sinners of all descriptions, who attempt to prop the tottering throne of infidelity!
2. This subject should inspire the souls of Christs devoted subjects with joy and gladness. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Jer_23:5-6
The Lord our Righteousness.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
After his conversion the apostle Paul must continually have been meditating on the state of Israel. Much as he loved the Gentiles, and clearly as he saw the disposition of God that now the Gentiles should be brought in, he never could forget Israel. What shall we say then? he exclaims. Look at Israel look at the Gentile nation! Israel for centuries has been striving most anxiously after one thing, to be righteous before Jehovah; they have not attained it. Why then has Israel not attained it? Because they sought it not by faith but by works (Rom_10:3). Why have the Gentiles attained it? Because by the grace of God they have been made willing to receive Jesus as their righteousness. Now look at the Jews going about to establish their own righteousness. They wish to be righteous before God. They wish to be such men as God approves--to be counted righteous and just so that He may be pleased. Therefore their idea of righteousness before God entirely depends upon their idea of God and of Gods requirements. God has not left them in ignorance about this. If men who have not the revelation of God form a conception of God according to their own ideas it will be exactly in proportion to their moral condition; therefore the heathen nations made unto themselves gods like unto themselves, as ambitious, as impatient, as self-indulgent, as impure, as changeable as they were themselves. Israel knew the Lord. I am Jehovah; I am God, and not man, spirit and not flesh; I am holy, be ye also holy. And not simply had God revealed Himself unto them, but He had given unto them also the law as a mirror in which they should see what His idea of men was. Israel had the law of God, and in the law of God they had the character of the righteous One described. And now Israel went about to establish a righteousness of their own. In this process those of them who were sincere in themselves and those of them who really sought not merely to be righteous, but to be righteous before God in order that they might have communion with God, very soon came into the knowledge of their sin, and into the most painful consciousness of their defilement, and, therefore, wishing to he righteous before God, they soon began to cry unto God out of the depth, and to know that innumerable sins had taken hold upon them, and that woe is unto them because they are undone and of unclean lips, and unto such through the knowledge of the law there came death under the law, a longing after pardon, and after the power of Gods Spirit operating on their hearts. But those were always the exceptions, the small minority, the remnant according to the election of grace. The majority of the nation lowered their standard of God, and lowered their standard of the law, and so far did this deteriorating process go on that they not merely came into the idea that they were able to fulfil the law, but they came even to the idea that they were able to do more than the law commanded; that they were able, by extra exertions and by observing precepts which God never has enjoined, to have a treasury of merits, works of supererogation. Curious inconsistency--as long as men go about establishing their own righteousness they are proud before God. But then you would think that if a man is proud, and if he has got the kind of self-consciousness so that he can stand, as it were, before God, that then he would be sure of his salvation. One of their most celebrated prophets, whom they called the law of the world, was on his death-bed, and one of his disciples asked him, Rabbi, what sayest thou now? The Rabbi said, Heaven and hell are before me, and I know not whither I am going. If I were to be summoned into the presence of an earthly king I might well be afraid, and yet his displeasure would only last a few years, and his punishment, however severe it may be, must come to an end; but I am now going into the presence of the Lord God Most High, whose wrath is everlasting, and His punishment is infinite, and I know not whether I shall be acquitted. Going about establishing a righteousness of their own, lowering the idea of God, lowering the standard of the law, proud and unbroken in spirit, and yet without any peace or assurance of the favour of God. Such a one, also, was the apostle Paul before he was converted; he went about establishing his own righteousness, and afterwards he said that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, according to the law blameless, but now he wishes not to have his own righteousness, which is by the law. There is another righteousness of which both the law and the prophets have continually testified; which is apart from the law, which man does not work out, which is as much given to man as bread is given to a hungry person, and as water is given to a thirsty person. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. What is the sad condition of the Jews? They do not see two things: they do not know that Jesus is Jehovah, and they do not know that this is our only righteousness. Jesus our Righteousness. And what is the lamentable condition of Christians who do not know the Lord? Simply the same thing, for if they knew Jehovah-Tsidkenu then they would have the knowledge of salvation, they would put no confidence in the works of the law, they would simply rejoice in Christ Jesus. Then this Jesus is Jehovah When He was an infant He had angels already calling Him Lord, and it was quite right that the wise men of the East worshipped Him. He is Jehovah, but He is God manifest in the flesh There is in all human beings, however far they may be from God, this peculiarity: that without union with God they cannot have life. When we think of this union with God, that God should be all in all, that we should be one with God, unless we go by the Word of God we may fall into great depths of error, and into that which is very ungodly. And here is a very peculiar thing, that you find among all the Eastern nations a striving after this being absorbed in God. You find it in India, you find it in China--almost wherever you go; you find it among the Arabs and the Persians. Mystics in all nations, what do they want? They have a feeling that there is in God the only true existence, the only life and blessedness; that everything else apart from God is transitory, is imperfect, is unsatisfactory; they wish to be one with Him; they wish to be absorbed in Him. But the great error which they commit, the great evil into which they are landed is this, that they do not see that sin is sin, that it is wrong, that it is evil. They imagine that sin is necessary, something through which we have to pass, something for which we are not accountable; and thus they deafen the voice of conscience, and declare evil not to be evil, and that there can be no real difference between good and evil. But round it is the truth which God has taught us, that we are to be one with God; we are to be in such a close union with Jehovah that it may be said, We live, yet not we, but Jehovah lives in us. But how union with God? Because we believe in Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us, and in this faith in Jesus submitting to the righteousness of God there are three elements. No boasting. You can judge any religion, simply by that one point--is all the glory given to God and no glory to man? Secondly, there is no uncertainty, for we have a perfect and Divine righteousness. Thirdly, there is no compromise with sin, because, if we believe that Jesus died for us, we believe that God condemned sin in the flesh. We must depart from all unrighteousness, nay, we are crucified unto the world, and the world unto us. (A. Saphir, D. D.)
The Lord our Righteousness
If, as it seems probable, Zedekiah had already begun to reign, it is perfectly certain that he could not be the person to whom the prophet referred when he looked forward to the advent of the righteous Branch. If he wrote shortly before the commencement of his reign it would be just possible so to interpret the prophecy. In the former case the very allusion which there might have been to the name of the reigning king would show all the more plainly that it was not in him that the promise was fulfilled; in the latter case, the want of precise correspondence between the two names would only bring out into higher relief the non-correspondence of the prophecy with the fact. As a matter of fact the name of Mattaniah was changed to Zedekiah, and not to Jehovah-Tsidkenu. Neither could it be said that in his days, when the captivity was fast hastening on, and the dark shadow of Babylon must have hung like a thundercloud over the land, Judah should be saved and Israel should dwell safely. We are constrained to infer from the known historical conditions of the writing, that the prophet must have meant to depict circumstances not immediately before his eyes when he wrote. Moreover, this conclusion is forced upon us from the fact that some eight or ten years later Jeremiah repeated this promise, in a slightly altered form, when he was shut up in prison,--In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, or, this is that which men shall proclaim to her; or, as Bishop Pearson has it, He which calleth her is the Lord our Righteousness. Enforced as that promise was by the remarkable addition at the very lowest ebb of the national hope, Thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually; it is inconceivable that the same prophet who had declared the seventy years captivity of the whole nation as well as the captivity of Zedekiah himself should have spoken in this way, believing that the hopes he cherished for Judah were fulfilled in Zedekiah. His words, therefore, are a standing monument of an onward-looking hope. The main point which we have to grasp firmly, is that here, if anywhere, there is a prophecy of the times of the Messiah, which is known to have been given before the Captivity, and was undeniably not fulfilled for many centuries to come after it. It is insisted, however, that the analogy of similar names in Scripture, such as Jehovah-Messiah, Jehovah-Shalom, and Jehovah-Shammah, and the like, makes it needful for us to render this name, The Lord is our Righteousness. Let us assume, then, that we are to understand it, The Lord is our Righteousness. If that, then, was His name, the name by which He was to be called, I see not how it can be applicable to Him unless He is Himself the Lord Jehovah. The proposition, The Lord is our Righteousness, is to be His name, however awkward and uncouth that may; but if men are to say to Him or of Him, if they are to call Him The Lord is our Righteousness, it is hard to escape from the conclusion that He must be the Lord. But believing, as we do most firmly, that this is the prophetic name of Christ, and of Christ alone, what is it designed to teach us?
1. It teaches us that Christ is to us the realisation of righteousness; it is no longer an unattainable conception or an abstract idea which we find it hard to grasp or to fulfil, but in Him it becomes a concrete fact on which we can lay hold, and a thing which we can appropriate and possess. He becomes first righteousness, and then our righteousness; first, the visible, incarnate and reeled exhibition of righteousness, and then something of which we can claim possession, and in which we can participate.
2. If this is the obverse presentation or positive statement of the truth, it has also its reverse or negative side. If the name whereby Christ is called is The Lord is our Righteousness, that fact is destructive to all other hopes, prospects, or sources of righteousness; it gives the lie to them, and asserts their vanity, for we can have no righteousness but what we find in the Lord. Behold in Him your righteousness; look away from and out of yourselves to Him and be righteous. The apprehension of that blessed fact will be the harbinger of peace and joy and fruition of righteousness in you. Whereas before there was nothing but continual delusive hope and abortive effort, together with painful disappointment and self-reproach, now there is the fulness and the fatness of a satisfied soul, the soundness and strength of a heart that is at peace with God, the quietness and assurance, the blessedness and calm confidence of a mind that is at rest in Christ. To know that the Lord is our Righteousness, is to have and to know that which can alone enable us to contemplate the past with equanimity or serenity; it is to have and to know that which is alone the antidote for care and anguish and remorse, that which can alone take the sting out of sin and rob even the broken law of its just terror. But we have to face the future as well as to look back upon the past, and in that future there sits the shadow, fear of man, and we know not what besides may lurk there. It may be loss, bereavement, sickness, pain, disgrace, infamy; but if the Lord is our righteousness, and if He who is our righteousness is the Lord, the very and eternal God Himself, then, come what may, we must be safe with Him (Prof. Stanley Leathes.)
The Lord our Righteousness
Man by the fall sustained an infinite loss in the matter of righteousness: the loss of a righteous nature, and then a twofold loss of legal righteousness in the sight of God. Man sinned; he was therefore no longer innocent of transgression. Man did not keep the command; he therefore was guilty of the sin omission. In that which he committed, and in that which he omitted, his original character for uprightness was completely wrecked. Jesus Christ came to undo the mischief of the fall for His people. So far as their sin concerned their breach of the command, that He has removed by His precious blood. Still it is not enough for s man to be pardoned. He of course is then in the eye of God without sin. But it was required of man that he should actually keep the command. Where, then, is the righteousness with which the pardoned man shall be completely covered, so that God can regard him as having kept the law, and reward him for so doing? The righteousness in which we must be clothed, and through which we must be accepted, and by which we are made meet to inherit eternal life, can be no other than the work of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, assert, believing that Scripture fully warrants us, that the life of Christ constitutes the righteousness in which His people are to be clothed. His death washed away their sins, His life covered them from head to foot; His death was the sacrifice to God, His life was the gift to man, by which man satisfies the demands of the law. Herein the law is honoured and the soul is accepted. You have as much to thank Christ for living as for dying, and you should be as devoutly grateful for His spotless life as for His terrible death. The text speaking of Christ, the son of David, the Branch out of the root of Jesse, styles Him, the Lord our Righteousness.
I. First, then, He is so. Jesus Christ is the Lord our Righteousness. There are but three words, Jehovah--for so it is in the original--our Righteousness. He is Jehovah, or, mark you, the whole of Gods Word is false, and there is no ground whatever for a sinners hope. He who walked in pain over the flinty acres of Palestine, was at the same time possessor of heaven and earth He who had not where to lay His head, and was despised and rejected of men, was at the same instant God over all, blessed for evermore. He who did hang upon the tree had the creation hanging upon Him. He who died on the Cross was the ever living, the everlasting One. As a man He died, as God He lives. Bow before Him, for He made you, and should not the creatures acknowledge their Creator? Providence attests His Godhead. He upholdeth all things by the word of His power. Creatures that are animate have their breath from His nostrils; inanimate creatures that are strong and mighty stand only by His strength. Who less than God could have carried your sins and mine and cast them all away? How can He be less than God, when He says, Lo I am with you always unto the end of the world? How could He be omnipresent if He were not God? How could He hear our prayers, the prayers of millions, scattered through the leagues of earth, and attend to them all, and give acceptance to all, if He were not infinite in understanding and infinite in merit? How were this if He were less than God? But the text speaks about righteousness too--Jehovah our Righteousness. And He is so. Christ in His life was so righteous, that we may say of the life, taken as a whole, that it is righteousness itself. Christ is the law incarnate. He lived out the law of God to the very full, and while you see Gods precepts written in fire on Sinais brow, you see them written in flesh in the person of Christ. No one that I know of has dared to charge Christ with unrighteousness to man, or with a want of devotedness to God. See then, it is so. The pith, however, of the title, lies in the little word our,--Jehovah our Righteousness. This is the grappling iron with which we get a hold on Him--this is the anchor which dives into the bottom of this great deep of His immaculate righteousness. This is the sacred rivet by which our souls are joined to Him. This is the blessed hand with which our soul toucheth Him, and He becometh to us all in all, Jehovah our Righteousness. You will now observe that there is a most precious doctrine unfolded in this title of our Lord and Saviour. As the merit of His blood takes away our sin, so the merit of His obedience is imputed to us for righteousness. Imputation, so far from being an exceptional case with regard to the righteousness of Christ, lies at the very bottom of the entire teaching of Scripture. The root of the fall is found in the federal relationship of Adam to his seed; thus we fell by imputation. Is it any wonder that we should rise by imputation? Deny this doctrine, and I ask you--How are men pardoned at all? Are they not pardoned because satisfaction has been offered for sin by Christ? Very well, then, but that satisfaction must be imputed to them, or else how is God just in giving to them the results of the death of another, unless that death of the other be first of all imputed to them? I must give up justification by faith if I give up imputed righteousness. True justification by faith is the surface soil, but then imputed righteousness is the granite rock which lies underneath it; and if you dig down through the great truth of a sinners being justified by faith in Christ, you must, as I believe, inevitably come to the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ as the basis and foundation on which that simple doctrine rests. The Lord our Righteousness. The Lawgiver has Himself obeyed the law. Do you not think that His obedience will be sufficient? Jehovah has Himself become man that so He may do mans work: think you that He has done it imperfectly? You have a better righteousness than Adam had. He had a human righteousness; your garments are Divine. He had a robe complete, it is true, but the earth had woven it. You have a garment as complete, but heaven has made it for you to wear. You will remember that in Scripture, Christs righteousness is compared to fair white linen; then I am, if I wear it, without spot. It is compared to wrought gold; then I am, if I wear it, dignified and beautiful, and worthy to sit at the wedding feast of the King of kings. It is compared, in the parable of the prodigal son, to the best robe; then I wear a better robe than angels have, for they have not the best; but I, poor prodigal, once clothed in rags, companion to the nobility of the stye,--I, fresh from the husks that swine do eat, am nevertheless clothed in the best robe, and am so accepted in the Beloved. Moreover, it is also everlasting righteousness. Oh! this is, perhaps, the fairest point of it--that the robe shall never be worn out; no thread of it shall ever give way.
II. Having thus expounded and vindicated this title of our Saviour, I would now appeal to your faith. Let us call Him so. This is the name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Let us call Him by this great name, which the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath named. Let us call Him--poor sinners!--even we, who are to-day smitten down with grief on account, of sin. I have no good thing of my own, sayest thou? Here is every good thing in Him. I have broken the law, sayest thou? There is His blood for thee. Believe in Him; He will wash thee. But then I have not kept the law. There is His keeping of the law for thee. Take it, sinner, take it. Believe on Him. Oh, but I dare not, saith one. Do Him the honour to dare it. Oh, but it seems impossible. Honour Him by believing the impossibility then. Oh, but how can He save such a wretch as I am? Soul! Christ is glorified in saving wretches. Only do thou trust Him, and say, He shall be my righteousness to-day. But suppose I should do it and be presumptuous? It is impossible. He bids you; He commands you. Let that be your warrant. This is the commandment, that ye believe on Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. And some of us can say it yet better than that; for we can say it not merely by faith, but by fruition. We have had the privilege of reconciliation with God; and He could not be reconciled to one that had not a perfect righteousness; we have had access with boldness to God Himself, and He would never have suffered us to have access if we had not worn our brothers garments. We have had adoption into the family, and the Spirit of adoption, and God could not have adopted into His family any but righteous ones. How should the righteous Father be God of an unrighteous family?
III. I appeal to your gratitude. Let us admire that wonderful and reigning grace which has led you and me to call Him, The Lord our Righteousness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ the righteousness of those who believe in Him
I. Christ becomes the righteousness of those who believe in Him--as their atoning Mediator. Sprinkled with that blood which the Godhead hath enriched, the penitent sinner fears not the wrath of the destroying angel of justice. Covered with that righteousness with which the Godhead hath invested him, the true believer can stand even the searching beams of Divine holiness. Behold, then, both the way by which we are to be justified from our sins, and our encouragement to apply for mercy. In this part of the process of justification, no qualifications are required on the part of man, but a lively sense of his need of mercy, and a full reliance on the propitiation of the Lord his righteousness. But as he is to be fitted for eternal happiness by the love and service of his Maker, a rule of duty must be prescribed and imposed on him. Christ therefore becomes the righteousness of His people--
II. As their Lawgiver--imposing on them a law of evangelical holiness and perfection. The destiny of man which the scheme of redemption is designed to further and to secure, is to be eternally happy in the presence of God. For this presence, holiness is an indispensable qualification. In the justification of those who believe, therefore, Christ acts not only as Mediator, procuring their pardon, but also as Lawgiver, delineating the nature and extent, and enforcing the obligations of the Divine law. In this character, we are to acknowledge, receive, and obey Him, and He thus becomes the Lord our Righteousness.
III. As our Almighty Sanctifier who impresses on our hearts the obligations of the Divine law, and enables us to obey it. Thus is complete provision made for our release from the bondage of sin, and our being reinstated in all the graces and virtues of the Divine image. Let us then learn--
1. To ascribe our salvation to the free and unmerited grace of God.
2. But while we humbly acknowledge and adore the free grace of God in our salvation, let us remember that there are qualifications on our part. (Bp. Hobart.)
Christ, the Lord our Righteousness
So could none speak, save God. If man would condense his words, he says too little, or he says it obscurely or untruly. The characteristic of this Divine saying, is, that in the two Hebrew words it contains a summary of the whole supernatural relation of God to man under the Gospel, and of man to God. It contains the whole hidden life of the Christian: it is the substance of sacraments: the unseen spring of self-sacrificing holy action; the fountain of his inward peace; the surest contentment of his soul; the enkindling of burning zeal; the soul of devotion, the fervour of love. It matters little, as to the great outline of the prophecy, whether He, through whom this was to be wrought, is here declared to be the Lord our Righteousness or whether the Lord our Righteousness were simply a title given to designate His character, that this would be His characteristic, His watchword, the centre of His teaching, His life, His being; this the end of His toils and tears; this the passion of His heart; this He should labour to bring about, that the Almighty God should be our righteousness. In contrast to the evil shepherds, who, misleading the people, had encouraged them in their sins, and so had brought Gods judgments upon them, He was to do away Gods judgments, and outwardly to restore them to His favour; but He was also inwardly to remove the cause of that disfavour, their unrighteousness, and to he their righteousness. The change was to be, not without man, but within. It was to be an inward closeness of relation of God to man, and of man to his God. The words presupposed all the teaching of the law, orally or through ritual, as to sin. Create in me a new heart, O God, and make anew a stayed spirit within me. Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. It was the universal cry of our fallen nature; the deepest trace of that original righteousness, wherewith God endowed Adam, as soon as He created him. But, though felt more or less, weakly or mightily, disguised or clearly or corruptly, the belief that it could, that it would, be satisfied, was given, where alone it could be given, among the people to whom God revealed Himself, by those whom He sent to promise what He alone could fulfil. This union Jeremiah spoke of under those two words, the Lord our Righteousness. As unrighteous, we could not be united with Him. God s aweful holiness and mans sinfulness are incompatibles. Your sins have been abidingly severing between you and your God, was expressed in act by the whole Hebrew ritual. The truth ever lived before their eyes; it was enforced by the prophets; it was chanted in the Psalms; it was confessed in their prayers. But there was a Deliverer yet to come, a deliverance larger, wider, deeper, more inward, than any before, which should stretch out and encompass the human race, through One despised and rejected by those who were despised of all. He Himself was personally to restore our race, personally to be our righteousness. And has it not been? Is it not? This was the faith of the barbarous nations from the first, written not with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of God upon the hearts. This was the hope and strength of martyrs; this was the virtue of the continent; this was the victory of the young; this, the triumph over the worlds seductions; this, the peace with God and the full contentment of the soul, the Lord our Righteousness. In Christ Jesus, the Holy Ghost saith, we are chosen; in Christ Jesus we are called to eternal glory; in Him we have redemption; in Christ Jesus we are created, are a new creation in Christ Jesus we are alive unto God; in Christ Jesus we are accepted; in Him we are justified; in Him we are sanctified; in Him we are accepted; in Christ Jesus we are of God; in Christ, it is the will of God that we should be perfected; in Christ Jesus, those who are His, have fallen asleep; in Christ Jesus they shall be made alive. This supernatural life antedated our use of reason. Antedating, then, the use of reason, His first act, in our Christian land, is to unite the soul to Himself. As we are really sons of man by physical birth, so are we as really and as actually sons of God by spiritual birth; sons of man, by being born of man; sons of God, by being members of Him, who is the Son of God. Blessed they who so remain, in whom the hidden life in Christ unfolds with the life of sense and reason. But if this has not been so, if the soul have gone away from God into a far country, forgetting Him, squandering in pleasures of sense the gift of God, can such an one be the object of the love of God, can to such an one Jesus be the Lord our Righteousness? God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost long to communicate Themselves to the creature, which they made for Themselves. They long anew to sanctify him, anew to make him that wherein They may take pleasure; to fit him, by the renewed gift of righteousness, for Their gracious engracing Presence; to make the soul, which has been the abode and sport of devils, the dwelling-place of the Trinity. And whether He works this in those who know no more, by creating in the soul a penitent sorrow, for love of their God, that they had so offended God, or whether He teach the soul, over and above, that He gives superabundant grace through an ordinance of His own appointing, and that He has still left power with His Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and turn to Him, no sooner is His work accomplished, sooner has his Saviour absolved him through His own words, pronounced at His command by his creature s lips, than the dark catalogue of sins is blotted out by the precious blood, the soul is again transfigured with light; it is not forgiven only, it is arrayed anew with the righteousness of Christ. Yet there is a higher closer union still, on which Jesus Himself dwelt with greater fulness and greater complacency of love towards us; which, in different words, He presented again and again; which, when contradicted or misapprehended, He dwelt on the more; which He seems in His love to have been loath to cease to speak of, that mystery whereby He is, above all, our righteousness, because He, who is righteousness itself, comes to dwell in us, that we may dwell in Him; to be one with us, that we may be one with Him. In other sacraments He gives us grace; in this, Himself. By no less condescension could He satisfy His love towards us. They are His own words, he that eateth Me. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Christ is our Righteousness
I. What is meant by His being our righteousness?
1. That it is in Him alone that God the Father is well pleased (Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5). Not only with whom, but in whom, I am well pleased, atoned, pacified, satisfied. He is Gods all in all, and why then should He not be ours?
2. That it is by and through Him alone that we are justified; that is, acquitted from guilt, and accepted into favour, which are the ingredients of justification.
3. It is through His merit and mediation alone that our performances are made acceptable (1Pe_2:5),
4. It is by Him alone that we have right and title to the heavenly inheritance.
II. Call Jesus Christ by this sweet name, the Lord our Righteousness; each one with application to himself---as David. And would you think an Old Testament saint, that lived under that dark dispensation, should have such clearness in this matter? A shame to us that are not clear in it, that live under Gospel light (Psa_4:1).
1. The misery they are in who never yet called Jesus Christ by this name, and the blessed and happy condition they are in that have done so.
(1) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, that is, heartily owned Him as such, our condition is a shameful, naked condition, and that is a wretched, miserable condition (Rev_3:17), because, till clothed with Christs righteousness, our shame appears in the sight of God.
(2) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, ours is a dismal, dark condition. When we call the Lord our Righteousness, then He rises upon our souls as a Sun of Righteousness, and that which follows is the light of comfort, and peace, and joy; such joy as none knows but they that feel it. It is hidden manna (Psa_85:10).
(3) Till we have called Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness, we are in a perilous, perishing condition. Christs righteousness is to us as Noahs ark.
2. The difficulty, nay, the impossibility, of being pardoned and justified, accepted and saved, in any other way, and the facility and easiness of obtaining it in this way.
(1) It is impossible we should be accepted of God without a righteousness, one or other, because He is a righteousness God; that is, He is of pure eyes, and, therefore, cannot endure to look upon iniquity (Psa_5:4; Psa_11:7).
(2) It is impossible that either our own righteousness, or the righteousness of any of our fellow-creatures, one or other, in heaven or earth, should bear us out and bring us off before God. On the other hand, how easy is it to obtain peace, and pardon, and salvation, by the merit and righteousness of the Lord Jesus, by calling Him by this name. Easy, did I say? mistake me not. I mean easy to grace, easy where God is pleased to give a willing mind, as knowledge is easy to him that understandeth (Pro_14:6; Mat_11:28-30; 1Jn_5:3). Easy; that is, it is a ready way to justification and salvation, whereas seeking it by our own righteousness is a round-about way. We can never while we live know in any other way that one sin is pardoned, because perseverance to the end is required. Oh, then, be persuaded; and you that have called Him by this name, call Him so still.
There are four special times and seasons when this should be done.
1. When we have done amiss, and are under guilt, and wrath threatens. And when is it not that it is so?
2. When we have well done, after some good work, and pride of heart rises, and we begin to expect from God as if we were something. No, Jesus Christ is the Lord my Righteousness. I am an unprofitable servant when I have done all
3. When we ask anything of God (Joh_14:23).
4. When we come to look death and judgment in the face, which will be shortly; when sick and dying. Oh, then, for Christ, and His righteousness--it will be the cordial of cordials. (Philip Henry.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. When the people of Christ address Him by this name, it implies a contrite acknowledgment that they have no righteousness of their own,--that they are destitute of all personal righteousness in which to appear before a holy God.
II. When the people of Christ give this name to Him, they declare their solemn persuasion that they require a righteousness, though they have none of their own, in which to appear before the Holy One of Israel; they not only confess their entire destitution, but acknowledge their indispensable need, of a true and perfect righteousness.
III. When the people of Christ address Him by this name, they express and profess their faith, that Messiah being in one person God and man, has brought in a righteousness in their behalf, which is by God accepted for them, and imputed unto them, for their justification.
IV. When the people of Christ call Him by this name, they are seen in the act of embracing, appropriating, and rejoicing in him, as the Lord their Righteousness. The Lord our Righteousness. It is the language of joy and triumph, as well as of reliance and faith. It is not tile spirit only of the drowning man laying hold of the plank, but of the safe and happy, rich and joyful man, realising his safety, and rejoicing in his treasures. My Beloved is mine, and I am His. Conclusion--
1. See here how wondrous a provision the Gospel has made for at once humbling the sinner and exalting him,--laying him low in his own eyes, and yet gloriously ennobling him.
2. See what a ground of security, of peace, and of everlasting blessedness, the believer in Christ enjoys.
3. Use the subject in the way of self-inquiry, and of direction, according to the result of it. (C. J. Brown, D. D.)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu
I. A righteousness that is absolutely perfect.
1. It has passed through every test (Joh_14:30; Joh_8:46; Heb_4:15; Heb_7:26; 1Pe_2:22).
2. It has fulfilled every requirement (Php_2:8; Mat_3:15; Mat_5:17).
3. It has satisfied the highest claims (Mat_3:17; Rom_4:25; Php_2:9).
II. A righteousness that is identified with Christ Himself.
1. Christ--Gods gift of righteousness (Rom_5:17).
2. Christ for us, in the presence of God (Heb_9:24).
3. He is made unto us righteousness (1Co_1:30).
4. The Lord our Righteousness (Jer_23:6; Isa_40:1-31; Isa_42:1-25; 1Jn_2:1).
III. A righteousness that is put to our account.
1. Not the reward of our obedience (Tit_3:5; Eph_2:8-9; Gal_2:16).
2. Not something we have to wait for (Rom_3:22; Rom_10:4).
3. But a righteousness that is ours now by faith (Rom_5:1; Rom_3:28; Php_3:9).
4. Christ for us, our righteousness, to be distinguished but not separated from Christ in us, our sanctification (1Co_1:30). (E. H. Hopkins.)
The Lord our Righteousness
In journeying through a mountain region, we find ourselves, at times, on the top of a gentle hill which will give us a delightful view of the picturesque scenery of the landscape that immediately surrounds us. But, now and then, we may reach the summit of some towering mountain. That lifts us far above all other points of view. As we stand there and gaze, we can look down on hills, and plains, and valleys, and take in the geography of all the surrounding country. In the mountain range of Scripture truth, we reach such an elevated summit in our text. The righteousness here spoken of may be looked at from five different points of view.
I. Its author. We see from the connection in which our text is found, that the person here called Jehovah our Righteousness, is the same as the righteous Branch, the prosperous King, promised to be raised up unto David. This proves that the Jehovah of our text is Jehovah-Jesus. Isaiah (Isa_11:1), in speaking of Him, says, There shall come forth a rod, &c. Ezekiel (Eze_34:29) calls Him the Plant of renown Zechariah (Zec_6:12-13), speaking of Him, says, Behold the man whose name is the Branch, &c. When the angel Gabriel foretold His birth, he applied this very prophecy to Him, saying, The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. And then, to complete the testimony of Scripture on this point, and prove to a demonstration that the Jehovah of our text is Jesus, it is only necessary to turn to a single passage in the New Testament (1Co_1:13).
II. Its foundation. It is spoken of in the New Testament as the righteousness of Christ. And the foundation on which it rests--that of which it is made up--is the active and passive obedience of our Lord and Saviour. It embraces all that He did, to honour Gods law, when He obeyed its every precept to the uttermost, in thought and feeling, in purpose, word, and action; and all that He suffered, when the tremendous penalties of Gods broken law were visited upon Him. The righteousness of Christ means simply the benefit of all that He did and suffered. This benefit, or righteousness, belongs to His people. It is made over to them. It is reckoned as theirs.
III. Its nature. No miser ever felt half the joy in counting over his hoarded gold, and no monarch ever experienced half the rapture in gazing admiringly on the magnificence of the crown jewelry he inherits, than the intelligent- Christian experiences in dwelling on the nature of that all-perfect righteousness that Jesus, his glorious Saviour, has wrought out for him.
1. It is a gracious righteousness. It was of Gods good pleasure alone, that ever a plan for working out such a righteousness was devised. It is grace alone which makes men feel their need of this righteousness, inclines them to seek it, and makes them willing to cast sin and self, and everything else away, and to rest on this righteousness, on this only, on this now, and on this for ever, as the ground of their acceptance with God.
2. It is a perfect righteousness. Gods perfect law was the standard by which this righteousness was to be measured; and it came fully up to that standard. It was the scrutiny of Gods holy and penetrating eye to which this righteousness was subjected. He weighed it in the balances of the heavenly sanctuary, and declared Himself well pleased with it. It is because of His connection with this righteousness that God the Father loves His Son with a love that is unspeakable. This was what the Psalmist meant (Psa_45:7). And it is because Christs people share in this righteousness that God cherishes towards them the same affection that He entertains towards His only-begotten Son. Nothing less than this will meet our wants. A robe I must have, says an old writer, of a whole piece; broad as the law, spotless as the light, and richer than ever an angel wore; and such a robe I have in the righteousness of Christ. It is a perfect righteousness.
3. It is an uniform righteousness. Where the sun shines at noonday, I have the benefit of his shining, as fully as though there were none around me to share his beams, and he shone for me alone. Yet each of my neighbours has, or may have, the same benefit of his beams that I have. And so it is with the righteousness of Christ. The dying thief who turned in penitence and faith, and was accepted in the last hour, had just the same title to enter heaven that the apostle Paul had, or Peter, or John, or Isaiah, or Elijah, or David, or Moses, or Abraham, or Enoch.
4. It is an unchanging righteousness. If the whole world, with its contents, were given at once to you or me, in fee-simple ownership, of course it would be impossible to add to our worldly possessions. There might be much that was new for us to discover; but there could be nothing new for us to own. We might proceed to lay bare the rich mines in our inheritance, and to search out their hid treasures. But this would only be adding to the knowledge of our possessions; it would not be enlarging them. And so when Christ gives Himself and His righteousness to His people, He gives them a world of spiritual treasures, which it will take all eternity for them fully to explore and find out. But all this is given to them from the start. The soul once justified is justified fully. The righteousness which secures justification will remain without changing what it was at first.
5. It is a glorious righteousness. We see this in the peculiar position which the ransomed people of Christ will occupy among the creatures of God, in possessing this righteousness. They will stand on higher ground in the scale of being than even angels and archangels can ever reach. We have no reason to suppose that there is another tribe or race of creatures in all the boundless universe who will rise to a point of elevation like this. This is what is meant when we are told that Christs ransomed ones are to be a peculiar treasure unto Him. They are to be to the praise of the glory of His grace, as none other of His creatures shall be. Their peculiar, distinguishing privilege will be that Jehovah-Jesus is their righteousness.
IV. Its importance.
1. It is not possible that we can have the comfort of being Christians, unless we have a clear knowledge of this great truth. Suppose that, in a week from to-morrow, you have a note of a large amount to take up, and you have nothing with which to meet it. Of course, under such circumstances, you must feel very uncomfortable. And suppose that, under these circumstances, a friend should deposit, in your name, at the bank a sum of money more than sufficient to meet all your indebtedness. The fact that the money was there would put you in a position of safety. But unless you have a clear knowledge and a full assurance of this fact, you cannot be in a position of comfort in reference to it. Now, in our natural condition as sinners, we are all overwhelmingly in debt to God. We are liable at any moment to be called to a settlement, and we have nothing to say. But when we are led to repent of our sins, and believe in Jesus as our Saviour, His infinite and all-perfect righteousness is entered in the bank of heaven in our name, and to our account. It is reckoned as belonging unto us. If we are able to understand this truth, and grasp it, in the exercise of a firm faith, we shall have access to the most full and flowing fountain of comfort which the Gospel affords.
2. Our confidence for the future must depend entirely on our knowledge of this doctrine, and our belief in it. It is only by sharing in the righteousness of Christ that any child of Adam ever has entered heaven, or ever will. And the robes which the ransomed wear who entered that blessed abode are robes that have been washed, and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
V. Its possession. It is faith in Christ, alone, which can make this righteousness ours. Show me one, therefore, who is exercising simple faith in Christ as his Saviour, and I will show you one who has a gracious, covenant, inalienable right to say, This little word our in the text takes me in. I belong to the company here spoken of. Jehovah-Jesus is my Righteousness. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Jehovah our Righteousness
In that day, when we all shall stand before God, there will be a great multitude whom no man can number, perfectly spotless even in His searching sight. He who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, will look on them without offence. Nay, more than this: He will delight in them. These very men came from the world where we live--out of sin and imperfection--out of disease and decay--out of doubts and fears--out of murmurings and backslidings, and a thousand infirmities and errors. And whence came this change? Where nothing approaches that is not perfectly holy, how entered this uncounted multitude of sinners? First, I think we shall be able to make it manifest that such a change cannot come from a mans self. We all can do much for ourselves in the way of self-government. But will any one be bold enough to say that self-government will make a man perfectly holy in Gods sight? Everything human is imperfect; and no imperfect thing will suit our present purpose. We must have a perfect principle of righteousness, a perfect fount of holiness, something into the image of which the saints may be changed, each in his measure and degree, but all without spot or flaw of any kind. I answer that I cannot believe death to bring with it any such radical and total change. On what is the change at death dependent, in the case of Gods saints? Why, entirely on the reality, and on the amount of progress, of that other change of which we are speaking. According as they are holy here below, so will that change be glorious. Again, what sort of a change is it that death brings about? Not a change of heart--not a change of desires, affections, principles--but merely, great as it is, a change of circumstances. The righteousness of the saints remains after death what it was before, with this difference, that every circumstance which before hindered its development will then be removed, and all will be replaced by circumstances the most favourable possible. Sin and imperfection will have been left behind in the grave; perfection and spotlessness put on in the resurrection. But the spiritual life goes on throughout, before and after death, one and the same in principle, in nature, in acceptability with God. Mankind is a tree tainted at the root. It is not that there are not fair branches--goodly leaves--bright blossoms--vitality and sap in abundance:--but that a taint lies at the root and infects all, so that it brings forth no fruit fit for the Masters use. What power can heal this tree? Manifestly, no power from without. All the suns, showers, and dews of heaven will never eradicate that taint from its root. The only conceivable way would be, if by some wonderful process its vital sap could be renewed; if some better and healthier influence could enter into its very root and core, and permeate all its branches with wholesome and fruit-bearing vigour. Such was the state of our humanity. Our race laboured under two disabilities before God: guilt, and powerlessness for good. He that created first, must create anew. By the same power, which made the first man a living soul, must the second Adam become a life-giving spirit. And all this within the limits of our race,--that the God whom man had offended, man might satisfy; that as by the disobedience of one man all were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man might all he made righteous. And this mighty thing was undertaken and achieved by the eternal Son of God Himself. He became man: not an individual human person, bounded by His own responsibilities, accountable to God for Himself and Himself only, which would have done us no good, whatever were the result of His Incarnation: but He took our nature upon Him--our nature entire: as entire as it was in Adam: He entered into its very root and core, and became its second Head. Now mark--He did not take that nature in its sinful development, as it then was, and now is, in each member of the human family; this would have been against His very essence and attributes as God, and was unnecessary for His work, nay, would have nullified that work: but He did take it subject to all the consequences of the state in which He found it--to temptation,--to infirmity,--to bodily appetites,--to decay,--to death. In our nature, He wrought out a perfect righteousness: and He presented Himself before the Father at the end of His course on earth, as the holy and righteous Head of our race, claiming of right, and by the terms of the everlasting covenant, that gift of the Holy Spirit, due by His merits, and become possible by His perfect human righteousness now united to the Godhead. So, then, the Lord Jesus becomes the Justifier of our race,--i.e., our clearer from guilt: and the Sanctifier of our race,--i.e., the giver of the Holy Spirit from the Father, by whom we become holy and changed into the image of God. Now, let us contemplate the effect on those who believe. Entering into Christs finished work, they know Him as Jehovah their Righteousness. In themselves, they are as others. They carry about with them the remnants of a body of sin, and are in conflict with it as long as they are here below. But sin has no dominion over them, nor shall it condemn them in that day. They are accepted in the Beloved. Christs righteousness is their righteousness, because they are living members of Him the righteous Head, and are regarded by the Father as in Him with whom He is well pleased. Do you call Christ, Jehovah your Righteousness? What, then, is your estimate of your own duties, and your performance of them? (Dean Alford.)
The Lord our righteousness
I. The Lord is our Righteousness, because He is our pardon. We have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Our amendment--our often too partial, superficial amendment--is not our pardon; for how can amendment cancel the past? Neither is our repentance our pardon; it neither is nor can be the meritorious cause for which God pardons. In the words of one of our greatest saints: Our repentance needs to be repented of, our tears want washing, and the very washing of our tears needs still to be washed over again in the blood of our Redeemer.
II. He is the Lord our Righteousness in the sense of our acceptance with God. It is solely through His merits that we are first received, and are afterwards continued in the favour of God. Just as His righteousness is the meritorious cause of the remission of those sins which we repent of, so His righteousness is the meritorious cause of the acceptance of our service, notwithstanding its imperfections.
III. In ordaining His Son to be the Lord our Righteousness, God has also ordained in His wisdom that He should be the source of righteousness in us. He, our great Head, our second Adam, is the Lord, our renewal in righteousness.
1. We partake of an evil nature, because we have naturally transmitted to us Adams weak and sinful nature, and those who are savingly in Christ have had, and yet have, supernaturally transmitted to them Christs nature, as the seed in them of spiritual and eternal life.
2. He is the Lord our Righteousness, inasmuch as He is the Lord our strength to serve God and subdue Satan.
IV. In what respect Christ is not, and never can be, our righteousness. He never can be our righteousness, so as to supersede the necessity, in any one particular, of our own personal holiness and righteousness. Righteousness is the order, the harmony, of Gods intelligent creation, just as sin is its disorder, its confusion. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, because He loves order, He loves harmony, He loves to see His creatures truly and permanently happy, which they only can be so long as they understand and fulfil the conditions of the particular place in His creation which He, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, has assigned to them. The love of God is righteousness. It is our inmost heart and affections being disposed towards God, as they should be when we consider who God is, and what He has done for us, and what claims His goodness has on us as spiritual beings redeemed by His Sons blood. Reverence to God is another branch of righteousness. It is our souls knowing and realising their place in the presence of so great and terrible a God. Obedience to rulers is righteousness; it is acting in accordance with the requirements of the place in which God has set us in human society. Obedience to parents, honouring and reverencing our parents, loving our brothers and sisters, is righteousness; it is realising the duties of our condition as members of families and households. Feeling for, assisting, judiciously and generously relieving the poor, is righteousness; it is fulfilling our position in a world left by God full of inequalities of estate and condition; which God has left full of these inequalities, in order that those servants of His to whom He has lent some superfluities, may grow in the grace of Christian charity by lessening the misery they see around them. Bearing distress with patience is another branch of righteousness; it is our hearts not revolting under, but submitting to, the dispensation of a God who always orders all things for the very best. (M. F. Sadler, M. A.)
The Lord our Righteous
I. To whom does this passage refer? It is vain to inquire whether the reference here be to the Jews literally, or to Christians; for the thing comes to the very same result.
II. His personal title. He shall be called the Lord our Righteousness. The word is Jehovah. Hence the amazing importance of the preceding inquiry; for whoever the person, intended may be, here is a name applied to Him which is above every name.
1. The language is strong; but His perfections allow it. His omniscience allows it. Peter said to Him, Thou knowest all things; and He said, The Churches shell know that I am He who searcheth the reins and the heart. His omnipresence allows it. Where two or three are gathered together, &c. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. His unchangeableness allows it. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
2. The language is strong; but His operations justify it. By Him were all things created, &c. Without Him was not anything made that was made.
3. The language is strong; but it accords with the worship demanded of Him and received by Him.
4. The language is strong, but the occasion requires it. His greatness must he carried into every of His work as a Saviour.
III. His relative character, or what He is to us. The Lord our Righteousness. The former would have filled us with terror; but this softens down the effulgency; this throws a rainbow around His head, and tells us we need not be afraid of a deluge. How is He, then, our Righteousness? We answer, generally, He is so in two ways: by His making us righteous by a change in our state, and by a change in our nature; for the latter is as really derived from Him as the former.
IV. The knowledge of this. For names are designed to distinguish and to make their owners known. Persons, more than things, are always called by their proper names.
1. This is considered His greatest work and honour. When a man takes a name from any of his actions, you may be assured that he will do it from the most peculiar, the most eminent, the most glorious of them.
2. It means that He is to be approached under this character. This is always to be the great subject of the Christian ministry.
3. That all His people would own Him as such. (W. Jay.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. The law has shut us all up under sin.
1. This law having been given, and being expressive of Gods nature and holiness, He must require that it be perfectly obeyed. He can allow of no deviation from it, no coming short in any one jot or tittle. A lawgiver conniving at the breach of his own laws, though in the smallest particular, would be to make them despicable.
2. Who can declare, that never in thought, word, or deed, he has come short of what he owed to God and his neighbour? Who can say, I am clean, I am pure from sin? Yet the slightest imperfection, though but in thought, exposes us to the curse of Gods righteous law.
3. But some perhaps will say, I have not, it is true, done all I should have done; but I have done my best. The law replies, Tell me not of your best; have you done all? if not, the curse is upon you. But I have repented of what has been amiss. Tell me not of your repentance: you have transgressed; the curse is upon you. But I will do better. Tell me not of doing better: you must do all. Could you render full obedience for the-time to come, the past is still against you. That debt is unpaid: you are under condemnation.
II. How, then, shall man escape? He has transgressed, and he must die, unless he can find one to answer the utmost rigour of its demands, to bear the fiercest vengeance of its curse. But no creature can do this. What hope, then, unless God Himself should find a substitute? What hope, unless God Himself should obey the law which He had given, and suffer in our stead? But is this probable? nay, is it possible? Yes. God Himself has done it. Jehovah has become our Righteousness. God has given His only-begotten Son--In Christ, and in Him only, have we righteousness and strength.
III. Apply these truths.
1. Has the law wrought in us its convincing humbling work? Have we seen ourselves lost?
2. Have we, under a deep sense of our own undone condition, betaken ourselves to Christ for help? Have we, without reserve, fixed our hope of salvation upon Him? (E. Blencowe, M.A.)
The Lord our Righteousness
I. An announcement of an important truth.
1. The Lord is our Righteousness inasmuch as the purpose and plan of justifying sinners originated with Him.
2. Inasmuch as He Himself has alone procured righteousness for us.
3. Inasmuch as it is through His grace and by his free donation that we receive righteousness.
II. An utterance of personal belief and confidence. The language of faith, hope, joy, gratitude.
III. A directory to the spiritual inquirer. Anxious sinners wish to know the way of acceptance with God. The text is a brief but satisfactory answer. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
Christs supreme name
I. Exhibit the delightful character under which Christ is here presented.
1. His essential dignity.
2. His mediatorial office.
3. The spiritual relation in which He stands to His people.
II. Specify some considerations which put an emphasis and value upon redemption, and heighten our sense of its importance.
1. The work of redemption has ennobled our nature and shed a lustre over the annals of our world.
2. It eclipses and throws into the shade the greatest of the Divine works.
3. It enhances the value of temporal blessings following in its train.
4. It forms a permanent bond of union among subjects of grace.
5. Judge of the grandeur of the work by the doom denounced against those who despise and reject it. (S. Thodey.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v5 (See Scofield "Isa 4:2").
Branch
(See Scofield "Isa 4:2").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v5 This word alerts us to pay attention to the…
See
This word alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows.
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days are coming
A future time is spoken of as if it were an object coming toward the speaker or the hearers. AT: "the time will happen" (See: Idiom)
this is Yahweh's declaration
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 1:8. AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
I will raise up
This idiom means he will appoint a successor. (See: Idiom)
a righteous branch
This future king descended from David is spoken of as if he were a branch grown on a tree. AT: "a righteous descendant" (See: Metaphor)
a righteous branch
Some modern versions translate this as "a legitimate successor to the throne."
cause justice and righteousness in the land
The abstract nouns "justice" and "righteousness" can be stated as actions. AT: "cause people to act justly and rightly" (See: Abstract Nouns)
in the land
Here "land" refers to the people who live in the land. AT: "for all the people in the nation" (See: Metonymy)
Judah will be rescued
Here "Judah" refers to the people of Judah. AT: "the people of Judah will be rescued" (See: Metonymy)
Judah will be rescued
This can be stated in active form. AT: "He will rescue Judah from their enemies" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Israel will live in security
Here "Israel" refers to the people of Israel. AT: "the people of Israel will live in security" (See: Metonymy)
he will be called
this refers to the king
Yahweh is our righteousness
The abstract noun "righteousness" can be stated as an action. AT: "Yahweh, the one who does what is right for us" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
raise
David
righteous
reign
king
just
kingdom of Judah
life
name
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5–6 23:5 A righteous descendant of King David’s line, whose…
23:5 A righteous descendant of King David’s line, whose ruling power had temporarily come to an end, would be a King. In stark contrast to the three kings the Lord had just rebuked (ch 22), this King would have wisdom and act in a way that is just and right (33:15; Isa 11:1-5; 53:2; Zech 3:8; Luke 1:32-33).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.