Voice in the Wilderness
73
Alone in the silent night he read God’s promise to Abraham of a
seed numberless as the stars. The light of dawn, gilding the mountains
of Moab, told of Him who should be as “the light of the morning, when
the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.”
2 Samuel 23:4
. And in
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the brightness of noontide he saw the splendor of His manifestation,
when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together.”
Isaiah 40:5
.
With awed yet exultant spirit he searched in the prophetic scrolls
the revelations of the Messiah’s coming,—the promised seed that
should bruise the serpent’s head; Shiloh, “the peace giver,” who was
to appear before a king should cease to reign on David’s throne. Now
the time had come. A Roman ruler sat in the palace upon Mount Zion.
By the sure word of the Lord, already the Christ was born.
Isaiah’s rapt portrayals of the Messiah’s glory were his study by
day and by night,—the Branch from the root of Jesse; a King to reign
in righteousness, judging “with equity for the meek of the earth;” “a
covert from the tempest; ... the shadow of a great rock in a weary land;”
Israel no longer to be termed “Forsaken,” nor her land “Desolate,” but
to be called of the Lord, “My Delight,” and her land “Beulah.”
Isaiah
11:4
;
32:2
;
62:4
, margin. The heart of the lonely exile was filled with
the glorious vision.
He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He
beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and
unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven’s messenger, unawed
by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand
erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had
bowed low before the King of kings.
John did not fully understand the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom.
He looked for Israel to be delivered from her national foes; but the
coming of a King in righteousness, and the establishment of Israel as a
holy nation, was the great object of his hope. Thus he believed would
be accomplished the prophecy given at his birth,—