April 10
The Character and Exaltation of Christ
The Christian's Daily Treasury"Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high."—Isa. 34. 13.
THUS God the Father speaks of his Son; the sacred writers seem to vie with each other in laying laurels at the stem of Jesse. Jesus is here represented both in his humiliation and exaltation. Note
HIS CHARACTER. "My Servant." There is in Christ an inferiority to the Father, of office, but not of person. He is here spoken of in his mediatorial capacity, as a servant. As God, he gave the law; as man, he obeyed it. He was divinely appointed to, and fully qualified for, the mighty and stupendous work he came to perform.
HIS CONDUCT. "He shall deal prudently." Prudence is wisdom applied to action; its value is great, its want is much to be deplored. If prudence is required in the statesman, the general, and the mariner, how much more in the Christian! Two things, especially, show the prudence of the Saviour; his conflict with the enemy, and his intercourse with man. If his course was characterized by zeal, it was marked by prudence.
HIS GLORY. Three expressions are employed to denote it.
He shall be exalted. This implies abasement, and he humbled himself. Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, and many others mentioned in Scripture, were exalted, but none so high as Christ. His name is above every other name.
He shall be extolled. By whom? By the Father, and all the holy angels; in the anthems of the temple above, and the praises of the church below.
He shall be very high. He is so, dwelling in the heaven of heavens, as a Prince and a mighty Champion; he is so in the estimation of every Christian. Is he so in your experience? The dearest object of your regard on earth must only occupy the footstool of your affections; but he must have the throne.
Extol his kingly power;
Adore the exalted Son,
Who died, but lives, to die no more,
High on his Father's throne.