Isaiah 4:2-6 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious… I. THE GENERAL MEANING OF THE PASSAGE. The time spoken of by the prophet is clearly the time of the Christian dispensation, called "the last days" (ch. 2). And we need not stop to prove that "the Branch of the Lord" is a name or title of the Messiah. We have, therefore, a prophecy of the glory of Christ's kingdom. II. THE INNER MEANING OF THE PASSAGE. (1) Why is it said "In that day," specifying a particular time, "the Branch of the Lord shall be glorious"? And(2) what is the special force or meaning of the title, "the Branch of the Lord"? 1. The glory of Christ is surely the glory which He had with the Father from the beginning. How then can it be said of Him that at any assigned time He is glorious, rather than at another? The word glory, when spoken of God or Christ, cannot have precisely the same sense as when spoken of a man. A man may gain glory by some act above the average of human nature. But starting from infinite perfection, nothing greater or nobler can be conceived. Glory, therefore, with reference to God is not the gaining of any higher excellence, but the manifestation of excellence which existed already. The creation was the first manifestation of the glory of God. And if the glory of God was made manifest in creation, it is yet more fully revealed in those mysteries of redemption which angels desired to look into. 2. But why in this connection is the Saviour called the Branch of the Lord? If the appropriateness of the figure does not at once appear, it will at least remind us of — "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." The expression thus sets Christ before us in His character as the Mediator — Himself the Branch of the Lord, and His people branches of that true Vine. Thus we are enabled further to connect the title with the glory spoken of. The glory and beauty of the vine is in its fruit (John 15:8). (A. K. Cherrill, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. |
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