Christ JESUS & His Escaped people, 'The Fruit of the earth'

"And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel." -Isaiah 4:2 [KJV]

By "the fruit of the earth" we may understand that gracious and holy fruit which grew upon the Branch: and it seems to be called "the fruit of the earth," because it appeared on earth when our Lord was there. Thus not only all His words, works, and ways, all the parables, doctrines, precepts, and promises uttered by the mouth of the Son of God in the days of His flesh, but all the benefits and blessings that spring in the way of redemption out of His complex Person, and grow as it were a holy fruit out of Him as the Branch, such as His atoning blood, His glorious righteousness, His dying love, His resurrection and ascension, and His power to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him, may all be considered as "the fruit of the earth," because wrought by Him in and upon the earth, and done in the days of His flesh when His gracious feet were upon this earthly ball.

This fruit is "excellent" to the escaped of Israel. There is seen in it to be a divine excellency. Therefore, there is not a shadow of a fault to be found with it. It is perfect in all its parts; complete to the very centre, and therefore seen to be excellent, as so glorifying to God, and so adapted to every want and woe of those that are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem.

And "comely" too. In His sufferings, in His blood-shedding, obedience, holy life and expiatory death, there is a surpassing comeliness, because in them shine forth a divine glory and a heavenly beauty. It is indeed the same word as is translated "beauty" in the holy garments made for Aaron by Moses (Exodus 28:2), and clothed in which he ministered before the Lord when he went into the holy place.

So our great High Priest now ministers within the veil in the holiness and beauty of His glorified humanity; and as this is seen and apprehended by faith, the Church sings, I sat under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste. His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast Thou laid upon Him.


-preacher J.C. Philpot (1802–1869 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Putrid Cup of Tolerance: When Evil Poses as Progress

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." -Psalm 97:10 [KJV] "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Thomas Mann's chilling words pierce through the fog of modern moral relativism like a shard of ice. It's a warning that echoes through the blood-soaked pages of history, a truth we ignore at our peril. The Seduction of False Neutrality We live in an age where tolerance is held up as the supreme virtue, the golden idol before which we must all bow. We're told to accept everything, question nothing, and embrace a faux-unity that sacrifices truth on the altar of political correctness. But what happens when this tolerance becomes a blindfold, obscuring the stark reality of evil lurking in our midst? Like a ravenous wolf, evil doesn't care for our carefully crafted social constructs. It doesn't respect boundaries, it doesn't play fair, and it ce...
Read more

LORD JESUS, Be Merciful...

" LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee." -Psalm 41:4 [KJV] Is this the language of the man after God’s own heart? Was David a saint when he uttered it? Yes, he was a holy man of God. This confession and prayer shew it. His heart was not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, nor blinded by self-righteous pride, so as to say, “I have no sin.”   Self-righteous hearts cannot away with this, that all the Lord’s saints are yet in themselves miserable sinners; that they daily see need to confess this; and to sue for mercy and healing from the Lord. Here is a confession, a plea, and a prayer.  (1st.) A confession, “I have sinned against Thee.” Thus we must come and confess to the Lord to-day, to-morrow, and every day, till the sun of life sets. Sense of sin, whether fresh contracted, or long since committed, abides with us. It wounds and pains a gracious soul. Here grace discovers itself. That soul waits not for time to efface the m...
Read more

Great Encouragement in Christ JESUS ~ 19 October, 2025 A.D.

"Behold, he prayeth!"   -Acts 9:11 [KJV] In many trades, it is customary to shew samples or patterns. By these men judge of the goodness or quality of the whole. St. Paul sets himself forth as a sample, or pattern, of the free, distinguishing, sovereign, unmerited grace of God, that we should judge of its nature by its efficacy upon him. “I obtained mercy, for this cause, that in me first   (-a first rate sinner) Jesus Christ may shew forth His all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting”   (I Timothy 1:16.) Thou hast seen this pattern of free grace. What dost thou think of it?  The whole is alike with the pattern. It cometh alike upon elect sinners. It finds no more prerequisites, fitness, qualifications, or conditions in any, than it did in St. Paul. Whenever it takes place upon any, it produceth the same effects as it did in him. Grace and mercy from Jesus, makes Saul pray to Jesus. There is the ...
Read more