The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes, Vol. 1

Behold my servant, whom I have chosen ; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased : I will put my Spint upon him, and he shall sheiv judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets, &c. — Matt. XII. 18.

The words are the accoraplishment of a prophecy, taken out of Isaiali xlii. 1, 2, as we may see by the former verse, ' that it might be fulfilled.' Now the occasion of bringing them in here in this verse, it is a charge that Christ gives, verse 16, that they should not discover and make him known for the miracles he did. He withdraws himself; he was desirous to be concealed, he would not live to the view over much, for he knew the rebellious disposition of the Jews, that were willing to change their government, and to make him king ; therefore, he laboured to conceal himself all kind of ways. Now, upon this charge, that they should tell nobody, he brings in the prophet Isaiah prophespng of him, ' Behold my servant, &c. ; he shall not strive nor cry, neither shaU any man hear his voice in the streets.' Other kings labour that their pomp and magnificence may be seen ; but he shall not mind ostentation, he shall not be contentious nor clamorous. For these three things are meant when he saith, * he shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall his voice be heard in the streets ;' he shall not yield to any ostentation, for he came in an abased state to work our salvation ; he shall not be contentious, nor yet clamorous in matter of wrong ; there shall be no boasting any kind of way, as we shall see when we come to the words. You see, then, the inference here.

The inference in the prophet Isaiah is to comfort the people, and to direct them how to come to worship the true God, after he had declaimed against their idoMry, as we see in the former chapter, ' Behold my servant,' &c. Great princes have their ambassadors, and the great God of heaven hath his Son, his servant in whom he deUghts, through whom, and by whom, aU intercourse between God and man is.

It is usual in the prophecies, especially of Isaiah, that evangelical prophet, when he foretells anything comfortable to the people, in the promise of temporal things, he riseth to stablish their faith in better things, by adding thereto a prophecy, and promise of Christ the Messiah, to insinuate thus much, I will send you the Messiah, that is a greater gift than this that I have promised you ; therefore you may be sure of the less, as the apostle reasons excellently, ' If he spared not his own son, but delivered him to death for us all, how shall he not with him give us all things ?' Eom. viii. 32. So here, I have promised you deliverance out of Babylon, and this and that ; do you doubt of the performance ? Alas ! what is that in comparison of a greater favour I intend you in Christ, that shall deHver you out of another manner of Babylon ? ' Behold my servant whom I have chosen ;' and in Isaiah vii. 14, ' Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,' &c. I will send you the Messiah ; God shall become man ; therefore, I will not stand for any outward favour or deUverance whatsoever. So he goes to the grand promise, that they might reason from the greater to the less.

There is another end, why in other promises there is mention of the promise of the Messiah, to uphold their faith. Alas ! we are unworthy of these promises, we are laden with sin and iniquity. It is no matter, I will send you the Messiah. ' Behold my servant in whom my soul delighteth,' and for his sake I wiU dehght m you. I am well pleased with you, because I am well pleased in him; therefore, be not discouraged. 'All the promises are yea and amen in Jesus Christ,' 2 Cor. i. 19 ; for all the promises that be, though they be for the things of this life, they are made for Christ, they are yea in him, and they are performed for his sake, they are amen in him. So much for the occasion of the inference in the evangeUst St Matthew, and likewise in the prophet Isaiah.

To come more directly to the words, ' Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased,' &c.

In the words you have a description of Christ, his nearness to God: ' Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.' And then his calling and qualification : ' I will put my Spirit upon him.' ^And the execution of that calling : ' He shall shewjudgment to the Gentiles.' Then the quiet and peaceable manner of the execution of his callmg : ' He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets,' &c.

Behold ! — This word is as it were a beacon lighted up to all the rest. In all the evangelists you have this word often repeated, and the prophets likewise when they speak of Christ ; there is no prophecy almost but there is this word, ^ Behold.'

Why ? Not to spend time in the variety of acceptions (= acceptations), but to speak of it as may serve for the present purpose. The use of it in the prophet, especially out of which these words are taken, was to present Christ to the hearts of the people of God then ; therefore, he saith, ' Behold,' for Christ was present to the believers then; he did profit before he was, he did good before he was exhibited, because he was ' the Lamb of God slain from the beginning of the world,' Rev. xiii. 8; he was yesterday as well as to-day, and to-morrow as well as to-day, ' yesterday, to-day, and the same for ever,' Heb. xiii. 8; he was present to their faith, and present to them in types and sacrifices, and present in God's acceptation of him for them ; therefore, the prophets mount up with the wing of prophecy, and in regard of the certamty of the things to come, they speak as if they were present, as if they had looked on Christ present, ' Behold my servant,' and ' Behold a virgin,' &c.