448
Prophets and Kings
“Unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given:
And the government shall be upon His shoulder:
And His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David,
And upon His kingdom,
To order it, and to establish it
With judgment and with justice
From henceforth even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Verses 6, 7
.
In the later centuries of Israel’s history prior to the first advent it
was generally understood that the coming of the Messiah was referred
[689]
to in the prophecy, “It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved
of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou
mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.” “The glory of the
Lord shall be revealed,” the prophet had foretold, “and all flesh shall
see it together.”
Isaiah 49:6
;
40:5
. It was of this light of men that John
the Baptist afterward testified so boldly, when he proclaimed, “I am
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”
John 1:23
.
It was to Christ that the prophetic promise was given: “Thus saith
the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom
man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, ... thus saith the
Lord, ... I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the
people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in
darkness, Show yourselves.... They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither
shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall
lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them.”
Isaiah
49:7-10
.