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简体中文
英語原文
It is a very good transition in prophecy (whether it be so in rhetoric or no), and a very common one, to pass from the prediction of the temporal deliverances of the church to that of the great salvation, which in the fulness of time should be wrought out by Jesus Christ, of which the other were types and figures, to which all the prophets bore witness; and so the ancient Jews understood them. For what else was it that raised so great an expectation of the Messiah at the time he came. Upon occasion of the prophecy of the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, here comes in a prophecy concerning Messiah the Prince. I. His rise out of the house of David, Isa 11:1. II. His qualifications for his great undertaking, Isa 11:2,3. III. The justice and equity of his government, Isa 11:3-5. IV. The peaceableness of his kingdom, Isa 11:6-9. V. The accession of the Gentiles to it (Isa 11:10), and with them the remnant of the Jews, that should be united with them in the Messiah's kingdom (Isa 11:11-16) and of all this God would now shortly give them a type, and some dark representation, in the excellent government of Hezekiah, the great peace which the nation should enjoy under him, after the ruin of Sennacherib's design, and the return of many of the ten tribes out of their dispersion to their brethren of the land of Judah, when they enjoyed that great tranquility.
1-9
Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of Messiah (740 BC)
简体中文
弥赛亚的预言；弥赛亚的治理（公元前740年）
¹ 从耶西的本必发一条，从他根生的枝子必结果实。 ² 耶和华的灵必安息在他身上，就是使他有智慧和聪明的灵、谋略和能力的灵、知识和敬畏耶和华的灵。 ³ 他必以敬畏耶和华为乐。行审判不凭眼见，断是非也不凭耳闻； ⁴ 却要以公义审判贫穷人，以正直判断世上的谦卑人；以口中的杖击打世界，以嘴里的气杀戮恶人。 ⁵ 公义必当他的腰带，信实必当他胁下的带子。 ⁶ 豺狼必与绵羊羔同居，豹子与山羊羔同卧；牛犊、肥畜和狮子同群，小孩子要牵引它们。 ⁷ 牛必与熊同食，牛犊必与小熊同卧；狮子必吃草与牛一样。 ⁸ 吃奶的孩子必玩耍在虺蛇的洞口，断奶的婴儿必按手在毒蛇的穴上。 ⁹ 在我圣山的遍处，这一切都不伤人，不害物；因为认识耶和华的知识要充满遍地，好像水充满洋海一般。
先知先前在这篇讲论中论到一个将要生的婴孩，一个将要赐的儿子，政权必担在他肩头上——他以此作为神百姓在患难之时得安慰的凭借，正如许多年前濒死的雅各，将示罗的指望作为他后裔在埃及受苦中的安慰。他曾说（赛 10:27）那轭必因膏油而折断；如今此处他告诉我们那膏油要临到谁身上。他预言，
一、弥赛亚必按着定时从大卫家兴起，正如他曾说（赛 4:2）那耶和华的苗裔必显为华美尊荣；那希伯来词是涅策尔（Netzer），有人认为这与太 2:23 有关——经上记着先知论到弥赛亚说他将称为拿撒勒人。请在此留意：1. 这苗裔要从何处兴起——从耶西。他必为大卫的子孙——王室的圣约是与大卫立的，又起誓应许神要从他后裔中立一位基督坐在他宝座上（徒 2:30）。大卫常被称为耶西的儿子，基督也被称为如此，因为他不但要作大卫的子孙，更要作大卫自己（何 3:5）。2. 他显现的卑微。（1）他被称为一条、一个枝子——此处所用的两个词都表明柔弱、细小、娇嫩的产物，是小枝和嫩芽（有人如此译），是易于折断的。神教会的仇敌刚才被比作强壮高大的枝子（赛 10:33），非费大力不能砍下；基督却比作嫩芽（赛 53:2）；然而他必胜过他们。（2）经上说他是从耶西出来，而不是从大卫出来，因为耶西一世贫穷无名，他的家族微不足道（撒上 18:18）；大卫有时被称为耶西的儿子，是带着轻视和责备的口吻（撒上 22:7）。（3）他是从耶西的本或树桩出来。当那曾如香柏树般的王室被砍下，只剩树桩，几乎与地相平，湮没在田野的草中（但 4:15）时，它却要再发芽（伯 14:7）；不但如此，它要从他的根发出——根完全埋在土里，如同冬天的花根，地上看不见茎。大卫家在基督降生之时已经衰微至极——约瑟和马利亚的卑微贫寒就是明证。弥赛亚正是这样开始他降卑的境地，他既顺服于此，就必被升为至高；他也借此早早宣告他的国不属这世界。迦勒底意译本如此读：有王从耶西的众子出来，弥赛亚要从他子孙中受膏。
二、他必全然合格于所定要他作的那大工——这嫩芽必蒙天上的甘露浇灌，成为掌权的坚强杖（赛 11:2）。1. 总而言之，耶和华的灵必安息在他身上。 圣灵带着他一切的恩赐和恩典，不但要临到他，更要安息常住在他身上；他所得的圣灵不是有限量的，而是没有限量的——神本性一切的丰盛都有形有体地住在他里面（西 1:19；2:9）。他开始传道时就说（路 4:18）：主的灵在我身上。 2. 具体而言，治理的灵——借此他必全然合乎父所交付他的审判，并赐给他权柄执行（约 5:22,27）；不但如此，他必成为信徒一切恩典的源头和宝库，使他们从他丰盛中都得着恩典之灵，正如身体一切肢体从头部得着生命的灵。（1）他必有智慧和聪明的灵、谋略和知识的灵；他必完全明白他所要从事的事工。除了子，没有人认识父（太 11:27）。他当向人显明的关于神的事，以及神的心意旨意，他自己必先知道、先得着启示（约 1:18）。他必晓得如何治理他属灵国度的各项事务，使其在两个伟大目标——神的荣耀和世人的福祉上——有效达成。圣约的条款必由他定夺，礼仪必凭智慧设立；智慧的宝库必藏在他里面；他必作我们的策士，神必使他成为我们的智慧。（2）能力之灵，或作勇力，或作坚忍。所承担的工极大，必须突破重重艰难，所以他必须如此蒙赐，以致不灰心，也不丧胆（赛 42:4）。他以诚实传神的道、不顾人情面而著称的勇气为人所知（太 22:16）。（3）宗教之灵，即敬畏耶和华的灵；他不但自己要怀着对父的敬畏之情，如同他的仆人（赛 42:1），并因他的虔诚蒙了应允（来 5:7）；他更要为信仰热心，并定意在他一切所行上促进信仰。我们因信基督，原不是要取代并挤掉、乃是要加增并支持我们对耶和华的敬畏。
三、他在治理国家、运用所托的权柄上必精确、明察、极其严谨（赛 11:3）。他所披带的圣灵必使他以敬畏耶和华为乐——原文之意为嗅觉敏锐，因为心思的领悟常以身体的感官来表达。注意：1. 那些在敬畏耶和华、在宗教之事上聪明的，才是真正有价值的聪明人，因为那既是智慧的根基，也是智慧的冠冕。2. 我们若蒙了属灵的感官操练，并在敬畏耶和华上嗅觉敏锐，这就证明我们有神的灵。那有神圣光照的人，认识自己的本分，也晓得如何去行。3. 因此耶稣基督无限量地得着圣灵，使他完全明白他所承担的事工；他确是如此——不但从他对一切盘问之人所给的精彩答覆中可见，这证明他在敬畏耶和华上嗅觉敏锐；更从他对整个事工的处理中可见。他将宗教这件大事安排得如此出人意料地妥当（既有效保全了神的尊荣，又使人得着福祉），以致必须承认他完全明白这事。
四、他在治理的一切作为上必公义正直，其中所显的公平与智慧一样多。他必照他对自己所说、并照他愿意人所行的那样审判（约 7:24）。1. 不照外貌（赛 11:3）：他行审判不凭眼见——不顾人情面（伯 34:19），不照外表的样式和现象；断是非也不凭耳闻——不照风闻报告，不照别人的陈述，如同常人所行；他也不凭人所说的好听的话——「主啊，主啊」——或他们在世人眼前所作的表面功夫（他们如此行是要人看见）来判定人；他必照人心隐秘的人、人心中所循的原则来判断——他对此是无误的见证人。基督必审判人的隐秘事（罗 2:16），必按他们所是而定——不照他们自己的自称和外表（那是凭眼见审判），不照别人对他们的看法（那是凭耳闻审判），我们确知他的审判是照真理。2. 他必行公义的审判（赛 11:5）：公义必当他的腰带。 他必在治理上公义，他的公义就是他的腰带——它必常常环绕他、紧贴他，作他的装饰和尊荣；他必为每一次行动束腰，必在公义中佩剑出战；他的公义必作他的力量，必使他在所作的事上敏捷，如同束腰的人。为效法基督，他的跟随者也当以真理束腰（弗 6:14），这也必作时代的安稳。特别地：（1）他必在公义中为贫穷受欺压的人申辩；他必作他们的保护者（赛 11:4）：他却要以公义审判贫穷人——他要为那有理却贫穷的人申辩护卫，并因他们灵里贫穷而眷顾他们。君王的本分是保护搭救贫穷人（诗 82:3,4）；基督的尊荣在于他是穷人的王（诗 72:2,4）。他要以正直判断世上的谦卑人——那以温柔忍耐忍受冤屈之人的，特别有资格蒙神圣的看顾和保护。我如不听见，如同聋子，因为你必听见（诗 38:13,14）。有人如此读：他要正直地责备世上的谦卑人。 若他自己的百姓——地上的谦卑人——行了错事，他必以杖责罚他们的过犯。（2）他必在公义中抵挡那骄傲欺压人的仇敌（赛 11:4）：他却以口中的杖击打世界——那地上欺压人的（参诗 10:18），那只以地上之事为念的世人（诗 17:14）；他必以口中的杖——他口中的道，向他们宣告 惊吓和毁灭——击打他们；他的威吓必抓住他们，并执行在他们身上。以嘴里的气——借他圣灵的运行，照他的话并与他的道同工——杀戮恶人。 他必轻易行这事，只一句话——正如他使那些来捉拿他的人仆倒，只说*「我就是」（约 18:6）。杀人的恐惧必抓住他们的良心，杀人的审判必毁灭他们、他们的权势和一切利益；在另一个世界，那扰乱他穷苦百姓的，必有永远的患难报应他们。使徒将这话应用于那不法之人的毁灭——他称之为那沉沦之子*（帖后 2:8）主必用他口中的气灭绝他。 此处迦勒底意译本如此读：他必杀戮那恶人罗慕路斯（Romulus）——即罗马，如休·布劳顿先生（Mr. Hugh Broughton）所理解的。
五、在他的治理下必有大平安和安稳——这是赛 9:6 所说他必作和平之君的说明。平安含有二意：
1. 合一与和睦——这在那些比喻性的应许中有所暗示：连豺狼也与羊羔和睦同居；性情最凶猛残暴、向来咬伤吞吃四围一切的人，因基督福音和恩典的效力的奇妙改变，竟要与最软弱的、他们从前轻易可作猎物的，在爱中同居。羊群不但不彼此伤害（他们有时如此行，结 34:20,21），连狼也与他们相和。基督是我们的和睦，他来要除灭一切仇恨，并在他的跟随者中建立持久的友谊——尤其是犹太人与外邦人之间：当两下许多人因信归主，合成一群，那时豺狼与羊羔同居；狼毫不威胁羊羔，羊羔也不怕狼。豹子不但不撕裂山羊羔，反而与它同卧；连它们的幼崽也一同躺卧，并被培养在蒙福的友谊之中，为使这友谊永存。狮子不再贪婪，必如牛一样吃草——如有人所信，一切猛兽在堕落之前都是如此。虺蛇和毒蛇不再有毒，以致父母可以让孩子在它们洞口玩耍、把手伸入其中。毒蛇的种类要成为圣徒的种子，那古老的怨言*「人对人是狼」必告终止。住在这圣山上的人必如挪亚方舟里同处的那些活物一样和睦同居，这也必成为他们得保全的途径——因为他们不伤人，不害物*。如今：（1）这话应验于福音对那些诚心接受之人心思的奇妙功效——它改变了本性，使那些曾践踏地上谦卑人的人，不但变得像他们一样谦卑，更对他们存着爱心。当从前逼迫圣徒的保罗与他们联合时，豺狼就与羊羔同居了。（2）有人愿意盼望这话在后日还要进一步应验——那时刀剑要打成犁头。
2. 安全和稳妥。基督这位大牧者必这样看顾羊群，使那要伤害他们的不能伤害；他们不但不彼此毁灭，连外面的仇敌也不得骚扰他们。患难甚至死亡本身的性质必如此改变，以致不能对那些在圣山上往来的人造成真正的伤害（彼前 3:13），更不能毁灭他们。若我们是那行善之人的跟随者，谁能、何事能害我们呢？ 神的百姓不但要脱离恶事，也要脱离对恶事的恐惧。连吃奶的孩子也毫无惊惧地在虺蛇的洞口玩耍；蒙福的保罗正是如此行，他说：谁能使我们与基督的爱隔绝呢？ 死啊，你的毒钩在哪里？
最后，请留意这恩典对人脾气的奇妙软化甘甜的功效是什么，其原因又是什么。1. 其效果是驯良，并乐于领受教训：小孩子要牵引他们——那些从前藐视最强壮之人管辖的人。加尔文（Calvin）将这话理解为指他们甘心顺服基督的仆人——仆人当以温柔教导，不可使用任何强制的权柄，而要如同小孩子（太 18:3）。参林后 8:5。2. 其原因在于对神的认识。认识越多，倾向和平的心也越多。他们如此在爱中同居，因为认识耶和华的知识要充满遍地——这要熄灭人心的狂热和敌意。我们越认识那位爱的神，就越被改变成他同样的形像，也越向一切身上有他形像的人怀着好感。这地要充满这认识，如同海的水充满其中的水道——这认识要如此广阔远及，如此深广充实，又如此长久。借基督的福音能得着的对神的认识，远比借摩西的律法能得着的更多；那时在犹大神被人认识，如今都必认识他（来 8:11）。但那制造人间纷争的、所谓「知识」，是虚假地被称为知识；真正对神的认识确立平安。
英語原文
Prophecy of the Messiah; The Government of Messiah (740 BC)
¹ And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
² And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
³ And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
⁴ But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
⁵ And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
The prophet had before, in this sermon, spoken of a child that should be born, a son that should be given, on whose shoulders the government should be, intending this for the comfort of the people of God in times of trouble, as dying Jacob, many ages before, had intended the prospect of Shiloh for the comfort of his seed in their affliction in Egypt. He had said (Isa 10:27) that the yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing; now here he tells us on whom that anointing should rest. He foretels,
I. That the Messiah should, in due time, arise out of the house of David, as that branch of the Lord which he had said (Isa 4:2) should be excellent and glorious; the word is Netzer, which some think is referred to in Mt 2:23, where it is said to be spoken by the prophets of the Messiah that he should be called a Nazarene. Observe here, 1. Whence this branch should arise-from Jesse. He should be the son of David, with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and to whom it was promised with an oath that of the fruit of his loins God would raise of Christ, Ac 2:30. David is often called the son of Jesse, and Christ is called so, because he was to be not only the Son of David, but David himself, Ho 3:5. 2. The meanness of his appearance. (1.) He is called a rod, and a branch; both the words here used signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig (so some render them), such as is easily broken off. The enemies of God's church were just before compared to strong and stately boughs (Isa 10:33), which will not, without great labour, be hewn down, but Christ to a tender branch (Isa 53:2); yet he shall be victorious over them. (2.) He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in meanness and obscurity; his family was of small account (1Sa 18:18), and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse, 1Sa 22:7. (3.) He comes forth out of the stem, or stump, of Jesse. When the royal family, that had been as a cedar, was cut down, and only the stump of it left, almost levelled with the ground and lost in the grass of the field (Da 4:15), yet it shall sprout again (Job 14:7); nay, it shall grow out of his roots, which are quite buried in the earth, and, like the roots of flowers in the winter, have no stem appearing above ground. The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ's birth, witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph and Mary. The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, There shall come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons' sons.
II. That he should be every way qualified for that great work to which he was designed, that this tender branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a strong rod for a sceptre to rule, Isa 11:2. 1. In general, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him, Col 1:19,2:9. He began his preaching with this (Lu 4:18), The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. 2. In particular, the spirit of government, by which he should be every way fitted for that judgment which the Father has committed to him and given him authority to execute (Joh 5:22,27), and not only so, but should be made the fountain and treasury of all grace to believers, that from his fulness they might all receive the Spirit of grace, as all the members of the body derive animal spirits from the head. (1.) He shall have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business he is to be employed in. No man knows the Father but the Son, Mt 11:27. What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of, Joh 1:18. He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom in all the branches of it, so as effectually to answer the two great intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of men. The terms of the covenant shall be settled by him, and ordinances instituted, in wisdom: treasures of wisdom shall be hid in him; he shall be our counsellor, and shall be made of God to us wisdom. (2.) The spirit of courage, or might, or fortitude. The undertaking was very great, abundance of difficulty must be broken through, and therefore it was necessary that he should be so endowed that he might not fail or be discouraged, Isa 42:4. He was famed for courage in his teaching the way of God in truth, and not caring for any man, Mt 22:16. (3.) The spirit of religion, or the fear of the Lord; not only he shall himself have a reverent affection for his Father, as his servant (Isa 42:1), and he was heard in that he feared (Heb 5:7), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.
III. That he should be accurate, and critical, and very exact in the administration of his government and the exercise of the power committed to him (Isa 11:3): The Spirit wherewith he shall be clothed shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord—of an acute smell or scent (so the word is), for the apprehensions of the mind are often expressed by the sensations of the body. Note, 1. Those are most truly and valuably intelligent that are so in the fear of the Lord, in the business of religion, for that is both the foundation and top-stone of wisdom. 2. By this it will appear that we have the Spirit of God, if we have spiritual senses exercised, and are of quick understanding in the fear of the lord. Those have divine illumination that know their duty and know how to go about it. 3. Therefore Jesus Christ had the spirit without measure, that he might perfectly understand his undertaking; and he did so, as appears not only in the admirable answers he gave to all that questioned with him, which proved him to be of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, but in the management of his whole undertaking. He has settled the great affair of religion so unexpectedly well (so as effectually to secure both God's honour and man's happiness) that, it must be owned, he thoroughly understood it.
IV. That he should be just and righteous in all the acts of his government, and there should appear in it as much equity as wisdom. He shall judge as he expresses it himself, and as he himself would be judged of, Joh 7:24. 1. Not according to outward appearance (Isa 11:3): he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, with respect of persons (Job 34:19) and according to outward shows and appearances, not reprove after the hearing of his ears, by common fame and report, and the representations of others, as men commonly do; nor does he judge of men by the fair words they speak, calling him, Lord, Lord, or their plausible actions before the eye of the world, which they do to be seen of men; but he will judge by the hidden man of the heart, and the inward principles men are governed by, of which he is an infallible witness. Christ will judge the secrets of men (Ro 2:16), will determine concerning them, not according to their own pretensions and appearances (that were to judge after the sight of the eyes), not according to the opinion others have of them (that were to judge after the hearing of the ears), but we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. 2. He will judge righteous judgment (Isa 11:5): Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins. He shall be righteous in the administration of his government, and his righteousness shall be his girdle; it shall constantly compass him and cleave to him, shall be his ornament and honour; he shall gird himself for every action, shall gird on his sword for war in righteousness; his righteousness shall be his strength, and shall make him expeditious in his undertakings, as a man with his loins girt. In conformity to Christ, his followers must have the girdle of truth (Eph 6:14) and it will be the stability of the times. Particularly, (1.) He shall in righteousness plead for the people that are poor and oppressed; he will be their protector (Isa 11:4): With righteousness shall he judge the poor; he shall judge in favour and defence of those that have right on their side, though they are poor in the world, and because they are poor in spirit. It is the duty of princes to defend and deliver the poor (Ps 82:3,4), and the honour of Christ that he is the poor man's King, Ps 72:2,4. He shall debate with evenness for the meek of the earth, or of the land; those that bear the injuries done them with meekness and patience are in a special manner entitled to the divine care and protection. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear, Ps 38:13,14. Some read it, He shall reprove or correct the meek of the earth with equity. If his own people, the meek of the land, do amiss, he will visit their transgression with the rod. (2.) He shall in righteousness plead against his enemies that are proud and oppressors (Isa 11:4): But he shall smite the earth, the man of the earth, that doth oppress (see Ps 10:18), the men of the world, that mind earthly things only (Ps 17:14); these he shall smite with the rod of his mouth, the word of his mouth, speaking terror and ruin to them; his threatenings shall take hold of them, and be executed upon them. With the breath of his lips, by the operation of his Spirit, according to his word, and working with and by it, he shall slay the wicked. He will do it easily, with a word's speaking, as he laid those flat who came to seize him, by saying I am he, Joh 18:6. Killing terrors shall arrest their consciences, killing judgments shall ruin them, their power, and all their interests; and in the other world everlasting tribulation will be recompensed to those that trouble his poor people. The apostle applies this to the destruction of the man of sin, whom he calls that wicked one (2Th 2:8) whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth. And the Chaldee here reads it, He shall slay that wicked Romulus, or Rome, as Mr. Hugh Broughton understands it.
V. That there should be great peace and tranquillity under his government; this is an explication of what was said in Isa 9:6, that he should be the Prince of peace. Peace signifies two things:—
1. Unity or concord, which is intimated in these figurative promises, that even the wolf shall dwell peaceably with the lamb; men of the most fierce and furious dispositions, who used to bite and devour all about them, shall have their temper so strangely altered by the efficacy of the gospel and grace of Christ that they shall live in love even with the weakest and such as formerly they would have made an easy prey of. So far shall the sheep be from hurting one another, as sometimes they have done (Eze 34:20,21), that even the wolves shall agree with them. Christ, who is our peace, came to slay all enmities and to settle lasting friendships among his followers, particularly between Jews and Gentiles: when multitudes of both, being converted to the faith of Christ, united in one sheep-fold, then the wolf and the lamb dwelt together; the wolf did not so much as threaten the lamb, nor was the lamb afraid of the wolf. The leopard shall not only not tear the kid, but shall lie down with her: even their young ones shall lie down together, and shall be trained up in a blessed amity, in order to the perpetuating of it. The lion shall cease to be ravenous and shall eat straw like the ox, as some think all the beasts of prey did before the fall. The asp and the cockatrice shall cease to be venomous, so that parents shall let their children play with them and put their hands among them. A generation of vipers shall become a seed of saints, and the old complaint of homo homini lupus—man is a wolf to man, shall be at an end. Those that inhabit the holy mountain shall live as amicably as the creatures did that were with Noah in the ark, and it shall be a means of their preservation, for they shall not hurt nor destroy one another as they have done. Now, (1.) This is fulfilled in the wonderful effect of the gospel upon the minds of those that sincerely embrace it; it changes the nature, and makes those that trampled on the meek of the earth, not only meek like them, but affectionate towards them. When Paul, who had persecuted the saints, joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the lamb. (2.) Some are willing to hope it shall yet have a further accomplishment in the latter days, when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares.
2. Safety or security. Christ, the great Shepherd, shall take such care of the flock that those who would hurt them shall not; they shall not only not destroy one another, but no enemy from without shall be permitted to give them any molestation. The property of troubles, and of death itself, shall be so altered that they shall not do any real hurt to, much less shall they be the destruction of, any that have their conversation in the holy mountain, 1Pe 3:13. Who, or what, can harm us, if we be followers of him that is good? God's people shall be delivered, not only from evil, but from the fear of it. Even the sucking child shall without any terror play upon the hole of the asp; blessed Paul does so when he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? and, O death! where is thy sting?
Lastly, Observe what shall be the effect, and what the cause, of this wonderful softening and sweetening of men's tempers by the grace of God. 1. The effect of it shall be tractableness, and a willingness to receive instruction: A little child shall lead those who formerly scorned to be controlled by the strongest man. Calvin understands it of their willing submission to the ministers of Christ, who are to instruct with meekness and not to use any coercive power, but to be as little children, Mt 18:3. See 2Co 8:5. 2. The cause of it shall be the knowledge of God. The more there is of that the more there is of a disposition to peace. They shall thus live in love, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, which shall extinguish men's heats and animosities. The better acquainted we are with the God of love the more shall we be changed into the same image and the better affected shall we be to all those that bear his image. The earth shall be as full of this knowledge as the channels of the sea are of water—so broad and extensive shall this knowledge be and so far shall it spread—so deep and substantial shall this knowledge be, and so long shall it last. There is much more of the knowledge of God to be got by the gospel of Christ than could be got by the law of Moses; and, whereas then in Judah only was God known, now all shall know him, Heb 8:11. But that is knowledge falsely so called which sows discord among men; the right knowledge of God settles peace.
10-16
Advancement of Messiah's Kingdom (740 BC)
简体中文
弥赛亚国度的进展（主前740年）
¹⁰ 到那日，耶西的根立作万民的大旗；外邦人必寻求他；他安息之所大有荣耀。
¹¹ 当那日，主必再次伸手救回自己百姓中所余剩的，就是留在亚述、埃及、巴忒罗、古实、以拦、示拿、哈马并海岛各地的余民。
¹² 他必向列国竖立大旗，招回以色列被赶散的人，又从地的四方聚集犹大人。
¹³ 以法莲的嫉妒必消散，犹大的仇敌必被剪除；以法莲必不嫉妒犹大，犹大也必不扰害以法莲。
¹⁴ 他们要向西飞，扑在非利士人的肩头上；他们要一同掳掠东方人；他们要伸手按住以东和摩押；亚扪人也必顺服他们。
¹⁵ 耶和华必使埃及海汊枯干；他必用大能的手在河上挥动，把它分为七条溪流，使人穿鞋过去。
¹⁶ 必为他的余民，就是所剩下的，从亚述修筑一条大道，如当日他为以色列从埃及地上来之日所行的一样。
此处我们读到一段进一步的预言，论弥赛亚国度的扩张和兴旺——以希西家晚年击败西拿基立之后犹大国的繁荣光景为预表和形象。
一、这预言部分应验于神为希西家和他的百姓所行的大事成了大旗，吸引邻国前来「查问那地所行的奇事」——巴比伦王的使者正是为此而来。外邦人向他们寻求；耶路撒冷——犹大人的安息之处或居所——那时大有荣耀（赛 11:10）。那时，许多属十支派国度的以色列人——那国被亚述王毁灭之后，他们被迫逃到周围各国，有的逃到极远的、甚至海岛之地去避难——都受鼓励归回本国，归在犹大王保护治理之下，特别是因为毁他们国的正是亚述大军，而那大军如今已被击溃。这被称为「第二次」招回他们（赛 11:11）——如此显明神的大能和美善，如此振兴他们，正如他们初次从埃及出来那次的拯救。那时「以色列被赶散的人」必被招回、被带回，犹大人也是如此——亚述大军临近时他们各自逃命。那时以法莲和犹大之间的旧仇必被遗忘，他们必联合对抗非利士人和其他共同仇敌（赛 11:13,14）。当注意，凡彼此同享苦难和怜悯、危险和解救的人，理当借此同心合意为彼此共同的、相互的安全和保护而联合；当以法莲和犹大合而为一对抗非利士人之时，教会的境况便可能良好。那时无论被分散者归路有何难处，主必找出这样或那样的方法清除——正如他领以色列出埃所未曾行的：他使红海和约旦河干涸（赛 11:15），领他们经过一片广阔可怕之旷野那不可克服的难关，进入迦南（赛 11:16）。第二次他也必这样行，或行与之相等的事。当神解救他百姓之时来到，反对的诸山在他面前必变为平原。所以当教会的利益看似极低之时，我们也不要绝望；神能很快把阴郁之日变为荣耀之日。
二、这话更指弥赛亚的日子和外邦人归入他的国；因为使徒把赛 11:10 应用于这些事，而其后的几节是它的延续。罗 15:12：「将来有耶西的根；那兴起来治理外邦的，外邦人必仰望他。」那是本预言的钥匙，本预言论基督为耶西的根，或「从他根所发的枝条」（赛 11:1），「从干地所长出来的根」（赛 53:2）。他是「大卫的根」（启 5:5），「大卫的根和后裔」（启 22:16）。
1.「他必立作」——被设立——「万民的大旗」。他被钉十字架之时，「被举起来离开地面」，好使他如灯塔的大旗，「吸引万人来归他」（约 12:32）。他在永远福音的传讲中被设立为大旗，在其中传道人如旗手，展示他爱的旗帜以吸引我们归他（歌 1:4），又展示他真理的旗帜，我们可在其下从军，与罪和撒但展开圣战。基督就是「那分散的神的儿女被招聚归向」的大旗（约 11:51），他们在其中相聚，以他为合一的中心。
2.「外邦人必寻求他。」我们读到有希腊人如此行（约 12:21：「我们愿意见耶稣」），基督就在那个场合谈到他被举起来，要吸引万人来归他。使徒从七十士译本（或也许是七十士译本从使徒——在基督之后的版本中）读作（罗 15:12）：「外邦人必仰望他」；他们必以倚靠之心寻求他。
3.「他安息之所大有荣耀。」有人将此理解为基督的死（十字架的得胜使连死也有荣耀），也有人理解为他的升天——那时他坐在神的右边安息。更可能的是指福音教会——那锡安山，基督曾说：「这是我安息之所」，并在其中居住。这教会虽被世界藐视，却因有圣洁之美，实在荣耀，是「荣耀的高台」（耶 17:12）。
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犹太人和外邦人都必被招聚归他（赛 11:11）。两下都有余民——比较而言少有的余民——他们要被招回，似乎带着极大的困难和危险。从前神曾拯救他的百姓，从他们被分散的一切国家中招聚他们（诗 106:47；耶 16:15,16），照样他也必第二次、以另一种方式——借他恩典之灵在圣道中大能的运行——招聚他们。「他必伸手」行这事；他必运用他的能力，「主的膀臂必被显露」行这事。（1）犹太人必有余民被招回：「以色列被赶散的人和犹大的分散者」（赛 11:12），他们中间许多人在他们被带入基督之时，是「分散中的犹太人、分散的十二支派」（雅 1:1；彼前 1:1），他们必涌向基督；很可能那些分散的犹太人按比例归入教会的，比留在本国的更多。（2）外邦人中也有许多「列国的人」要被借大旗的举起带入。雅各曾论及示罗预言：「万民都必归顺他。」那原为外人、为客旅的，必得亲近。犹太人曾嫉妒基督到散居外邦人中间去、「教训外邦人」（约 7:35）。
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犹大和以法莲之间必有可喜的和睦，两下都必脱离仇敌之手得安全，并管辖他们（赛 11:13,14）。那时犹大和以色列之间的联合，是犹太人和外邦人——他们在福音教会中长久为仇——联合的预表和形象。「犹大家必与以色列家同行」（耶 3:18），并成为「一国」（结 37:22）；照样犹太人和外邦人被「造成一个新人」（弗 2:15），既彼此和睦，那些与他们两下为敌的人必被剪除；因为他们「要向西飞，扑在非利士人的肩头上」，如鹰击其猎物，要掳掠他们西边的人；然后他们要把征服之地向东扩展到以东人、摩押人、亚扪人之地。基督的福音必在各地顺利，万国之中必有人信而顺服。
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凡可能阻碍福音进展和成功的事都必被除掉。如神领以色列出埃未曾使红海和约旦河在他们面前干涸（赛 63:11,12），又如他后来领犹太人出巴比伦之时为他们「预备道路」（赛 62:10），照样当犹太人和外邦人要被一同带入福音教会之时，一切阻碍都必被除掉（赛 11:15,16），似乎不可克服的难处必奇异地被越过，「瞎子必被领上他所不知道的路」。参赛 42:15,16；43:19,20。归正的人必被用车和坐轿载来（赛 66:20）。有人认为，启示录中使幼发拉底河枯干、好预备东方诸王之路的晦涩预言（启 16:12），正是指着教会进一步的加增，那预言似乎引用了本预言。当注意，当神的时候来到，要使列国或某些人归回他自己之时，神恩典必胜过一切反对。主一显现，海就奔逃，约旦河也倒流；凡向天举目的人，必发现路途并不如他所想象的那么难，因为那里有一条通往那里的大道（赛 35:8）。
英語原文
Advancement of Messiah's Kingdom (740 BC)
¹⁰ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
¹¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
¹² And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
¹³ The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
¹⁴ But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
¹⁵ And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod.
¹⁶ And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
We have here a further prophecy of the enlargement and advancement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under the type and figure of the flourishing condition of the kingdom of Judah in the latter end of Hezekiah's reign, after the defeat of Sennacherib.
I. This prediction was in part accomplished when the great things God did for Hezekiah and his people proved as an ensign, inviting the neighbouring nations to them to enquire of the wonders done in the land, on which errand the king of Babylon's ambassadors came. To them the Gentiles sought; and Jerusalem, the rest or habitation of the Jews, was then glorious, Isa 11:10. Then many of the Israelites who belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who upon the destruction of that kingdom by the king of Assyria were forced to flee for shelter into all the countries about and to some that lay very remote, even to the islands of the sea, were encouraged to return to their own country and put themselves under the protection and government of the king of Judah, the rather because it was an Assyrian army by which their country had been ruined and that was not routed. This is said to be a recovery of them the second time (Isa 11:11), such an instance of the power and goodness of God, and such a reviving to them, as their first deliverance out of Egypt was. Then the outcasts of Israel should be gathered in, and brought home, and those of Judah too, who, upon the approach of the Assyrian army, shifted for their own safety. Then the old feud between Ephraim and Judah shall be forgotten, and they shall join against the Philistines and their other common enemies, Isa 11:13,14. Note, Those who have been sharers with each other in afflictions and mercies, dangers and deliverances, ought in consideration thereof to unite for their joint and mutual safety and protection; and it is likely to be well with the church when Ephraim and Judah are one against the Philistines. Then, whatever difficulties there may be in the way of the return of the dispersed, the Lord shall find out some way or other to remove them, as when he brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan (Isa 11:15) and led them to Canaan through the invincible embarrassments of a vast howling wilderness, Isa 11:16. The like will he do this second time, or that which shall be equivalent. When God's time has come for the deliverance of his people mountains of opposition shall become plain before him. Let us not despair therefore when the interests of the church seem to be brought very low; God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones.
II. It had a further reference to the days of the Messiah and the accession of the Gentiles to his kingdom; for to these the apostle applies Isa 11:10, of which the following verses are a continuation. Ro 15:12, There shall be a root of Jesse; and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. That is a key to this prophecy, which speaks of Christ as the root of Jesse, or a branch out of his roots (Isa 11:1), a root out of a dry ground, Isa 53:2. He is the root of David (Re 5:5), the root and offspring of David Re 22:16.
1. He shall stand, or be set up, for an ensign of the people. When he was crucified he was lifted up from the earth, that, as an ensign of beacon, he might draw the eyes and the hearts of all men unto him, Joh 12:32. He is set up as an ensign in the preaching of the everlasting gospel, in which the ministers, as standard-bearers, display the banner of his love, to allure us to him (So 1:4), the banner of his truth, under which we may enlist ourselves, to engage in a holy war against sin and Satan. Christ is the ensign to which the children of God that were scattered abroad are gathered together (Joh 11:51), and in him they meet as the centre of their unity.
2. To him shall the Gentiles seek. We read of Greeks that did so (Joh 12:21, We would see Jesus), and upon that occasion Christ spoke of his being lifted up, to draw all men to him. The apostle, from the LXX. (or perhaps the LXX. from the apostle, in the editions after Christ) reads it (Ro 15:12), In him shall the Gentiles trust; they shall seek to him with a dependence on him.
3. His rest shall be glorious. Some understand this of the death of Christ (the triumphs of the cross made even that glorious), others of his ascension, when he sat down to rest at the right hand of God. Or rather it is meant of the gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, This is my rest, and in which he resides. This, though despised by the world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a glorious high throne, Jer 17:12.
4. Both Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered to him, Isa 11:11. A remnant of both, a little remnant in comparison, which shall be recovered, as it were, with great difficulty and hazard. As formerly God delivered his people, and gathered them out of all the countries whither they were scattered (Ps 106:47, Jer 16:15,16), so he will a second time, in another way, by the powerful working of the Spirit of grace with the word. He shall set his hand to do it; he shall exert his power, the arm of the Lord shall be revealed to do it. (1.) There shall be a remnant of the Jews gathered in: The outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah (Isa 11:12), many of whom, at the time of the bringing of them in to Christ, were Jews of the dispersion, the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad (Jam 1:1, 1Pe 1:1), shall flock to Christ; and probably more of those scattered Jews were brought into the church, in proportion, than of those which remained in their own land. (2.) Many of the nations, the Gentiles, shall be brought in by the lifting up of the ensign. Jacob foretold concerning Shiloh that to him should the gathering of the people be. Those that were strangers and foreigners shall be made nigh. The Jews were jealous of Christ's going to the dispersed among the Gentiles and of his teaching the Gentiles, Joh 7:35.
5. There shall be a happy accommodation between Judah and Ephraim, and both shall be safe from their adversaries and have dominion over them, Isa 11:13,14. The coalescence between Judah and Israel at that time was a type and figure of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, who had been so long at variance in the gospel church. The house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel (Jer 3:18) and become one nation (Eze 37:22); so the Jews and Gentiles are made of twain one new man (Eph 2:15), and, being at peace one with another, those that are adversaries to them both shall be cut off; for they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines, as an eagle strikes at her prey, shall spoil those on the west side of them, and then they shall extend their conquests eastward over the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. The gospel of Christ shall be successful in all parts, and some of all nations shall become obedient to the faith.
6. Every thing that might hinder the progress and success of the gospel shall be taken out of the way. As when God brought Israel out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea and Jordan before them (Isa 63:11,12), and as afterwards when he brought up the Jews out of Babylon he prepared them their way (Isa 62:10), so when Jews and Gentiles are to be brought together into the gospel church all obstructions shall be removed (Isa 11:15,16), difficulties that seemed insuperable shall be strangely got over, the blind shall be led by a way that they knew not. See Isa 42:15,16,43:19,20. Converts shall be brought in chariots and in litters, Isa 66:20. Some think it is the further accession of multitudes to the church that is pointed at in that obscure prophecy of the drying up of the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared (Re 16:12), which seems to refer to this prophecy. Note, When God's time has come for the bringing of nations, or particular persons, home to himself, divine grace will be victorious over all opposition. At the presence of the Lord the sea shall flee and Jordan be driven back; and those who set their faces heavenward will find there are not such difficulties in the way as they thought there were, for there is a highway thither, Isa 35:8.
在预言之中（无论在修辞上是否如此），从教会暂时得拯救的预言，转入论及那在日期满足之时借耶稣基督所成就之伟大救恩的预言——这些前者乃是后者的预表与影儿，众先知都为此作见证，古时的犹太人也是这样领会——这乃是一种极为恰当且极为常见的过渡。因为若非如此，在弥赛亚来临之时，那对弥赛亚如此殷切的期望，又是从何而生的呢？借着预言耶路撒冷将从西拿基立手下得蒙拯救，此处便引出了一段关乎弥赛亚君王的预言。 I. 论及祂从大卫家而出的兴起，赛11:1。 II. 论及祂为承担那伟大使命所有的资格，赛11:2,3。 III. 论及祂政权的公义与正直，赛11:3-5。 IV. 论及祂国度的和平，赛11:6-9。 V. 论及外邦人的归附（赛11:10），以及犹太人的余民与他们联合于弥赛亚国度之中（赛11:11-16）。 关于这一切，神此时不久就要在希西家优良的治理之中、在西拿基立阴谋倾覆之后全国所享受的大平安之中、并在十个支派中许多人从流散之地归回他们在犹大地的弟兄之处享受那大安宁之时，赐给他们一个预表，并一个模糊的影像。