Jesus was the king of beauty

JESUS WAS THE KING OF BEAUTY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah33:17 17Youreyes will see the king in his
beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The ReignOf Hezekiah
Isaiah33:17-24
E. Johnson
Amidst all the agitationcausedby the invasion of Sennacherib, and his
perfidy, "the voices of true prophets were raised with power, pointing to the
imperishable elements in the true community, and proclaiming the approach
of a greatcrisis, the crushing weight of which should alight only on the
faithless, whether among the Assyrians or in Judah" (Ewald). Here we find a
reflectionof the excitement of the time.
I. THE GLORY OF THE KING. His beauty is a moral beauty - that of a just
rule (Isaiah32:1); an "ideal beauty - the evidence of God's extraordinary
favor." The picture should be comparedwith that in Psalm 45. The eyes of the
people shall see a land of distances. Looking northward and southward, and
eastwardand westward, the boundaries of the kingdom shall still be extended,
far as eye can reach.
II. VANISHED TERRORS. The Assyrian officials who registeredthe
amounts of the tribute, who testedthe silver and the gold, who counted the
towers of the city about to fall their prey, shall have vanished. The people

themselves shall proudly and thankfully number those intact towers (Psalm
48:13). No longershall the jarring accents ofthe foreigner's stammering
tongue fall upon their ears.
III. THE STRENGTHAND SPLENDOUR OF ZION. Look upon her! Once
more the festive throngs shall gather there. Once more she shall be a house of
peace, ordwelling of confidence, a quiet resting-place. She had indeed seemed
like the tent of wanderers, the pegs ready to be drawn out, the cords to be
rent, at the bidding of the conqueror. The people had been threatenedwith
removal (Isaiah 36:17). This fear shall have passedaway. The majesty of
Jehovah, like an all-protecting regis, terrifying to his enemies, assuring to his
friends, shall be revealedin Zion's state. Thatpresence, which is "glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders," shallhave returned thither; that
right hand, which is glorious in power, shall againhave been stretchedforth
to deliver and to protect. Jehovah, and he alone, is the Defense ofJerusalem.
What though she be unlike "populous No, situate among the rivers, with the
waters round about it, and the rampart of the sea" (Nahum 3:8), or Babylon,
"seatedonthe waters" (Jeremiah51:13), - he shall be instead of rivers and
canals to his holy city. It is the streams of a spiritual river which "shallmake
glad the city of God" (Psalm46:4).
IV. THE DIVINE RULER. By him kings reign and princes decreedjustice.
The earthly king is but representative of him who is enthroned in heaven, the
"greatKing." Hezekiahis but his vicegerent, his inspired servant. The weak
political powerbecomes strong through him. ThoughZion be like a dismasted
ship, she wilt prevail over the proud, well-riggedships of her foes. Sin will
cease, punishment will be at end, and, with it, bodily suffering and sickness
(Isaiah 35:5, 6; Isaiah 65:20;Mark 2:10, 11). "A people, humbled by
punishment; penitent and therefore pardoned, will dwell in Jerusalem. The
strength of Israel and all its salvationrest upon the forgiveness of its sins."

V. LESSONS.
1. Nationaljudgments will only cease withnational sins. "Humble repentance
is to cure us of our sins and miseries;and there can no cure be wrought unless
the plasterbe as broad as the sore."
2. The most effectualwayto avert national judgments is the way of personal
amendment. Particularsins often bring down generaljudgments. Sin, like a
leprosy, begins in a small compass, yet quickly overspreads the whole.
3. The forsaking of sins begets hope in the mercy of God. Because he has
promised upon that condition to remove them; because he actually often has
so removed them; because, whenmen are thus humbled, God has attained the
end of his judgments (South). - J.
Biblical Illustrator
Thine eyes shall see the King in ms beauty.
Isaiah33:17
The King in His beauty
F. S. Webster, M. A.
Jerusalemwas surrounded by the army of Sennacherib. The relief gained
when Hezekiah paid overthe three hundred talents of silver and the thirty
talents of gold, emptying thereby the royal treasury and stripping the gold
from the doors and pillars of the Temple, had not lastedlong. Rabshakeh, the
chief envoy of Assyria, had been sent with another army to demand the
unconditional surrender of the city. A greatchange, however, had takenplace

in the spirit and faith of the people. No further mention was made of an
alliance with Egypt. The prophet Isaiah, instead of being ridiculed and
despised, was at once appealedto by the king, and his counselfollowed. Hope
and confidence in Jehovahhad been restored, and this secondattack ofthe
treacherous Assyrian, instead of plunging the nation into despair, seemed
rather to rouse them to defiance. It was God's forgiveness which had wrought
the change. The departure of the Assyrian, at a time when Jerusalemwas
absolutely in his power, was a manifest proof of God's forgiving mercy and a
striking confirmation of Isaiah's words. So, though the enemy returned, the
prophet's encouraging and reassuring messages did not fall upon deaf ears.
The chapter opens with a plain forecastofthe speedydestruction that should
overtake the treacherous spoilerof God's people. Then follows a graphic
picture of the disappointment of the ambassadorsofpeace, and the deserted
and downtrodden state of the country districts that had resulted from
Sennacherib's breachof the covenantof peace. Butfrom verse 10 to the end
the sufficiencyof the championship of Jehovahis unfolded, and the chapter
closes withpromises of victory and pardon, "the lame shall take the prey,"
"the people shall be forgiven their iniquity." Yes, the presence and leadership
of Jehovahwould change everything. The glorious Lord would be unto them a
place of broad rivers and streams. But as we read these Scriptures, "Thine
eyes shall see the King in His beauty"; "thine eyes shall see Jerusalema quiet
habitation," we feel that their primary application by no means exhausts their
full meaning. A greaterthan Hezekiah is here. The King in His beauty is for
us the very Prince of PeaceHimself. Once for our sakesHe was coveredwith
shame, mockedand buffeted and handcuffed. Now by faith we see Him
crownedwith glory and honour, and one day our eyes shall see Him as He is
in His beauty. As yet the new Jerusalemis hemmed in by foes. Enemies far
more treacherous and destructive than the Assyrians are seeking to enslave
and despoilthe people of God. But our eyes shall see Jerusalema quiet
habitation, a tabernacle so peacefuland steadfastthat not one of the stakes
thereof shall be removed nor any of its cords broken. Yes, the story of the
siege ofJerusalemis only a parable of the life of God in the soul of man.
"God's forgiveness is much more than a cleanslate." It brings His people into
the joy and strength of a living union with Himself. It gave new national life to
Judah. It gives new spiritual life to the pardoned sinner. Once the Divine

forgiveness is realisedthe whole man is born again. But this does not make us
free from temptation. The Assyrians will surely return and menace the city.
But the Lord is our sure defence.
1. The beauty of the King passes allman's understanding. There is the beauty
of His personalcharacter. It is unfolded to us in the Gospelstory. There we
see His goodness andtruth. His purity is so strong and incandescentwith the
fire of love that it cannotbe marred by the defilements of earth. His sympathy
and compassionare so tender and real that the most needy and outcastare
attractedto Him. Christ has no beauty in the eyes of the carnaland worldly.
He pours contempt on the wisdom of the flesh, the wisdom of this world. Have
ye eyes to see the beauty in Jesus? There is the beauty, too, of His perfect
sacrifice. This was setforth in the Old TestamentScriptures in the passover
lamb, in the brazen serpent, and in all the sacrificesconnectedwith the old
covenant. The Lamb without spot or blemish was slain that His atoning blood
might cover our sins. The beauty and perfectionof the personalcharacter
secures the beauty and perfectionof the precious sacrifice. Is that blood-
stained Cross the most beautiful sight in the world to you? Have you seenthe
love of God triumphing there over the sin of man, and the Son of God
reconciling God and man by the sacrifice of Himself, and laying a righteous
foundation for the exercise towards guilty sinners of God's sovereignmercy
and grace? But, again, there is the beauty of His perpetual intercessionand
His abiding presence in our hearts. Christ is no longeron the Cross — He is
on the Throne, seatedat the right hand of God. From that vantage ground of
infinite powerand resource He watches allthat transpires here below. And He
not only watches from a distance, He is with us to save and succourand
defend. Have you seenthe King in His beauty as He walks with us along life's
highway? Or are your eyes still holden?
2. To see the King in His beauty is the essence ofall true religion. The world
cannot understand the things of God. It cannotreceive the Comforter because
it seethHim not. The veil of sense shuts out the glories ofthe unseen world.
Have you seenthe Son and believed on Him? Or is there still some veil or
prejudice or disobedience upon your heart? Is personalreligion still a mystery

to you? Does conversionseemto you a strange and doubtful experience? Does
the earnestnessofsome Christians seem altogetherextravagantand fanatical?
When you have truly seenthe King you will find it impossible to exaggerate
His beauty, and you will find it equally impossible to seta limit to your
obedience. The King must have all. Loyalty cannot measure out its service. It
delights in sacrifice. As the veil of sense is penetrated by the vision of faith the
victory of life begins. This is the object of all the means of grace. Theyare to
help us to see the King. All life becomes worth living when the humblest duty
performed aright may be rewarded with a sight of Him whom you love. This
gives new zest to worship. Forthis we pray and study our Bibles, for this we
come to church and join in the Lord's Supper, that we may see the King. This
helps us to live a detached and separate life.
(F. S. Webster, M. A.)
The heavenly King and the privileges of His subjects
John Overton.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE KING.
1. The situation of a king is most respectable;he is the head of his people. God
is Head of all things; King of kings, and Lord of lords.
2. Kings ought to be wise men, to rule in wisdom. God is all-wise, omniscient.
3. Kings ought to possess power, to be ready to oppose any foe of their people.
God is Almighty.
4. Kings should he goodmen, kind and benevolent. God is goodand kind; He
feeds, clothes, &c., He is the Fountain of goodness.

5. Kings should be just men, to enforce the laws and punish offenders. God is
just, and will not suffer His laws to be infringed, but will punish the guilty.
II. THE EXTENT OF HIS DOMINION.
1. Heaven is His throne; here He manifests His glorious presence;angels, &c.,
are His servants.
2. Earth is His foot-stool;things animate and inanimate are subjectto His
control.
3. Hell is His prison, where He confines His foes, and here He is enthroned in
vengeance.
4. He has a kingdom among men; this is His universal Church, all who fear
God, and work righteousness.
5. He has a kingdom in men; every true believeris a little kingdom in himself,
the heart is His throne, and the passions and affections are the subjects.
6. He reigns that He may conquer all, save all.
III. THE PERSONSTHIS DECLARATION MAY BE APPLIED TO.
"THEY."

1. Those who have an experimental knowledge ofthe King's favour.
2. Such as feel a profound reverence towards Him.
3. Who love Him, from a sense of His love to them.
4. And obey Him from this principle of love.
IV. WHAT IS IMPLIED BY THE DECLARATION, "Theyshall see the
King."
1. Notwith their bodily eye. God is a Spirit.
2. If we could see Him as a Spirit with our bodily eye, yet we could not as God.
He is immensity.
3. They shall see Him by the eye of faith — in creation, providence and grace.
(John Overton.)
The blessednessofheaven
B. Beddome, M. A.

These words may more immediately refer to the restorationof Hezekiahto his
former splendour and dignity, by the destruction of Sennacherib's army,
which would establishpeace in the land of Judea, and enable the exiles to
return home, without fear or danger. But the Holy Spirit in this passage seems
also to refer to the initial happiness of all true believers in this world, and
their complete felicity in the world to come.
I. THE SOURCES OF HAPPINESS PROVIDEDFOR TRUE BELIEVERS.
These in generalare two —
1. The King in His beauty. All that is to be seenof God with joy and
satisfaction, is visible only in the Mediator.
2. The land that is very far off. In the present life our chief happiness arises
from hope; hereafter it will consist in vision, and in full fruition. The heavenly
glory is here compared to the land of promise, which abounded in population,
and yet was so fruitful as to be well able to support all its inhabitants.
(1)It is a land that is very far off from the earth, and farther still from hell.
(2)The views which goodpeople have of the Land of Promise are at present
very distant and imperfect.
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SAINTS SHALL ENJOYTHE BLISS
THAT IS PREPARED FOR THEM. "Theyshallsee and behold it."
1. This may either refer to the partial view which Christians have of future
glory upon earth, or to the beatific vision of heaven. We see something of God
in the works ofcreationand providence, and especiallyin the greatwork of

human redemption. We have also seenthe power and glory of God in the
sanctuary, in the Word and ordinances, and have sometimes been filled with
joy unspeakable and full of glory. But these views, howeverrefreshing, are not
only transient, but very narrow and contracted, in comparisonof what they
will be hereafter. Then the powers of perceptionwill be raisedto the highest
pitch, our contractedminds will be enlargedand rendered more retentive,
and we shall be able to "gaze in thought on what all thought transcends."
2. The sight which believers have of spiritual objects is essentiallydifferent
from that of the unregenerate, eitherin this world or that which is to come.
3. There is an intuitive certainty in the knowledge whichChristians have of
invisible realities, and which is peculiar to themselves only.
4. A sight of the King in His beauty will be attended with a clearnessand a
comprehensionfar surpassing all that we have experiencedin the present life.
5. The celestialvision will be ardent and intense.
6. Views of heaven will take place immediately after death, and more fully
after the resurrection.
7. There will also be a possessive intuition, or such a sight as includes converse
and enjoyment.
8. The vision will be perpetual and without end. There is an entrance into
heaven, but no exit out of it.

(B. Beddome, M. A.)
Christ's life a poem
Stopford A. Brooke, D. D.
There are human lives which are poems, as there are lives which are prose.
They give pleasure, as poetry gives it by the expressionof the beautiful. Such a
life, at its very highestrange, was the life of Christ. We seek its poetry to-day,
and we weave our thoughts of it round that profound phrase of Milton's, that
poetry must be simple, sensuous, and passionate.
I. That which is SIMPLICITY in art is purity in a perfectcharacter. The
beauty of Christ's purity was in this —
1. That those who saw it saw in it the glory of moral victory.
2. From this purity, so tried and so victorious, arose two other elements of
moral beauty — perfect justice and perfect mercy.
II. The word "SENSUOUSNESS," inMilton's sense ofit, was entirely noble in
meaning. As the poet produces beautiful work out of the multitudinous world
of images and things which he has received, so the exquisiteness of the
parables and of the words of Christ, both in form and expression, was the
direct result of the knowledge He had gained from the quality of sensibility.
III. The third element of greatpoetry is PASSION. We may transfer it
directly to a characteras an element of beauty. It is best defined as the power
of intense feeling capable of perfectexpression. It was intense feeling of the

weakness andsin of man, and intense joy in His Father's powerto redeem,
which produced the story of the "ProdigalSon," where every word is on fire
with tender passion. See how it comes home, even now, to men; see how its
profound humanity has made it universal! "Come unto Me, all ye that are
wearyand heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." How that goes home to the
deepestwant of the race;how deep the passionwhich generalisedthat want
into a single sentence;how intense, yet how pathetic, the expressionof it; how
noble the temperance which stayed at the single sentence and felt that it was
enough!
(Stopford A. Brooke, D. D.)
The beautiful God
R. Macculloch.
The blessedGodwho infinitely possesseseveryamiable excellency, and from
whom proceeds all that is lovely in the universe, must Himself be adorned
with the most exquisite beauty. In Him is concentredthe sweetestassemblage
of every Divine perfection. In Him, they all shine forth with the brightest
lustre, without any superfluity or deficiency. He is consummatelyrighteous,
yet full of compassion;He is perfectly holy, yet rich in mercy; He is supreme
in majesty, yet infinitely gracious;wisdom, power, and faithfulness, with
every glorious attribute that can excite admiration and love, are united in the
supreme Lord of heaven and earth. In the various important characters He
sustains, He acts with the most endearing condescensionand approved
fidelity, assiduouslyperforming every office and duty that love can dictate.
(R. Macculloch.)
Is beauty ascribedto Jehovah
H. Crosby, D. D.

"Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty." Cheyne asserts that this king
cannot be Jehovah, for beauty is never ascribedto Him. This is a shallow
argument. Can an epithet never be given to God once, but must every epithet
be repeated in order to be true? But if one sees Jehovahin Jesus there will be
no trouble in finding beauty ascribedto the Messiah, andso to JehovahJesus
is Jehovah, and we find in the Messiaheveryform of beauty ascribedto Him
in the Canticles, whichthe Church has always cherishedas the song of
Christ's love and loveliness to His redeemedpeople. Again in the forty-fifth
Psalmwe find the King Messiahdescribedas "fairer than the children of
men"; and there is no greatdifference betweenassigning beauty to holiness
(Psalm 29:2 and Psalms 96:9) and assigning beauty to the holy God.
Moreover, in Zechariah 9:17 we find Jehovahthus referred to by the prophet,
"How great is His goodness, andhow greatis His beauty." Here the identical
word is used (yephi) that is found in our Isaiah text. In this last passageto
refer the singular pronoun to God's people when they are spokenof with
plural pronouns and verbs in the whole context is hardly a fair way to prove
the proposition that beauty is never ascribed to Jehovah, But even if beauty is
never ascribedto Jehovahanywhere else, is that a substantial reasonwhy it
cannot be here so ascribed?
(H. Crosby, D. D.)
The beautiful Christ
F. W. Farrar, D. D.
I cannot but regard it as a greatmisfortune that in all ages the art, the
literature, and the worship of the Churches should not only have fallen so far
short of the true ideal of our blessedLord and Master, but should even have
gone so far astrayin their conceptions ofHim. They have representedHim as
a partial Christ, whereas He is the universal Christ; as an ecclesiastical
Christ, whereas He is a spiritual Christ; as a Christ of gloomand anguish,
whereas He is a Christ of love, and joy, and peace in believing; as a dead
Christ, whereas He is the risen, the living, the ascendedSaviour; as a distant
Christ, a Christ who has gone far awayinto the dim realms of space, whereas

He is a presentChrist, with us now, with us always, with us individually, with
us as a perpetual comforter, a very present help in trouble, with us even to the
end of the world; as a Christ of wrath, and vengeance, anddreadfulness,
whereas He is loving, tender, and of infinite compassion.
(F. W. Farrar, D. D.)
Prof. A. B. Davidson, LL. D.
The "King" is probably the Messiah"Theyshallbehold a far-stretching
land" — Messiah's kingdomis from sea to sea.
(Prof. A. B. Davidson, LL. D.)
The Jews'deliverance from the Assyrian invasion
When the Assyrians had invaded Judea with an immense army, and were
about to attack Jerusalem, Rabshakehwas sentwith a railing message to the
king and his people. When Hezekiahheard of the blasphemies of the proud
Assyrian, he rent his clothes and put on sackcloth, and went into the house of
the Lord, and sent the elders of the priests coveredwith sackclothto consult
with Isaiahthe prophet. The people of Jerusalem, therefore, had seentheir
king in most mournful array, wearing the garments of sorrow, and the weeds
of mourning; they were, however, cheeredby the promise that there should be
so complete a defeatto Sennacherib, that the king should againadorn himself
with the robes of state, and appear with a smiling countenance in all the
beauty of joy. Moreover, through the invasion of Sennacherib, the people had
not been able to travel; they had been coopedup within the walls of Jerusalem
like prisoners. No journeys had been made, either in the direction of Dan or
Beersheba, eventhe nearestvillages could not be reached;but the promise is
given, that so completely should the country be rid of the enemy, that
wayfarers should be able to see the whole of their territory, even that part of
the land which was very far off; it should be safe for them to make the longest

voyages;they should no longer be afraid of the oppressor, but should find the
highways, which once lay waste, to be again open and safe for traffic.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ victorious:His people free
We have seenour well-belovedMonarch, in the days of His flesh, humiliated
and sore vexed; for He was "despisedand rejectedof men, a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief." He whose brightness is as the morning, wore the
sackclothof sorrow as His daily dress; shame was His mantle, and reproach
was His vesture. None more afflicted and sorrowfulthan He. Yet now,
inasmuch as He has triumphed over all the powers ofdarkness upon the
bloody tree, our faith beholds our King in His beauty, returning with dyed
garments from Edom, robed in the splendour of victory. We also, His joyful
subjects who were once shut up and could not come forth, are now possessed
of boundless Gospelliberty. Now that we see Jesus crownedwith glory and
honour, we freely possessto its utmost bounds the covenantblessings which
He has given to us; and we rejoice that if the land of happiness should
sometimes seemto be very far off, it is nevertheless our own, and we shall
stand in our lot in the end of the days.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
I. WE HAIL THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS OUR KING.
1. His right to royalty lies in His exalted nature as the Son of God.
2. Jesus has a right to reign because He is the Creator.
3. The Preserverof all men.

4. He governs by virtue of His Headship of the mediatorial kingdom.
5. He has the rights of Divine designation, for God has made Him King.
6. Certain princes have delighted to call themselves kings by the popular will,
and certainly our Lord Jesus Christ is such in His Church. Now it behoves us,
since we thus verbally acknowledgeHim to be King, distinctly to understand
what this involves.(1) We look upon the Lord Jesus as being to us the fountain
of all spiritual legislation. He is a King in His own right — no limited monarch
— but an autocratin the midst of His Church, and in the Church all laws
proceedfrom Christ and Christ only.(2) He alone gives authority to that
legislation.(3)He is the Captain in all our warfare.
II. WE DELIGHT TO KNOW THAT OUR KING POSSESSES
SUPERLATIVE BEAUTY.
III. THERE ARE SEASONS WHEN WE SEE THE KING IN HIS BEAUTY.
1. We saw Him in that day when He pardoned all our sins.
2. Jesus Christwas in His beauty seenby us more fully, when, after being
pardoned, we found how much He had done for us.
3. There are times when, in our contemplations, we see His beauty.

4. It is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as
we never had before, when we come to die.
IV. THE EXCEEDING GLORYOF THIS SIGHT.
V. THIS SIGHT OF CHRIST EMINENTLYAFFORDS LIBERTYTO THE
SOUL.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Seeing the King in His beauty
H. E. Manning, D. D.
These words plainly promise to every followerof Christ, if he shall persevere
unto the end, that in the resurrectionhe shall see the Lord Jesus Christ in His
beauty, and in the glory of His kingdom. What, then, is this beauty which shall
be revealedto all who attain that world and the resurrectionof the holy dead?
I. It would seemto be THE BEAUTY OF HIS HEAVENLY COURT. About
Him and before Him are the companies of heaven, the hosts and hierarchies of
the blessed, and the saintly multitude of God's new creation. Armies of
martyrs, companies of prophets, the majesty of patriarchs, the glory of
apostles, eachone in the full transfigured beauty of his own perfect spirit, and
all revealing the warfare of faith, the triumph of the Church, the powerof the
Cross, the electionof God, — these are the degrees andascents leading
upward to the throne of bliss.
II. But if such be the beauty of the King's court, what is THE BEAUTY OF
THE KING HIMSELF? We shall not be dangerously out of the way if we
believe that He who is the brightness of His Father's glory and the express

image of His person, did take unto Himself our manhood as His revealed
presence for ever, in its most perfect image and likeness;that in Him two
natures were united, and both were perfect, both were beautiful. There is a
beauty we know Him to possess in fulness — the beauty of perfect love. In His
face will be revealedall the love of His holy incarnation, of His life of sorrow,
of His agonyand passion, of His cross and death. The wounds of His hands
and feetand of His pierced side are eternal seals and countersigns ofthe love
which has redeemed us for Himself.
1. The King whose beauty is the bliss of heavenis ever drawing and preparing
us for His presence by all the mysteries of His Church.
2. By a specialand particular discipline, varied and measuredfor the
necessitiesofevery faithful soul, He is making us ready for the vision of His
presence.
(H. E. Manning, D. D.)
The beautiful King and the far-off land
F. Ferguson, D. D.
I. THE SUPREME OBJECTOF VISION. "The King in His beauty."
II. THE ULTIMATE POSSESSION."The land that is very far off."
(F. Ferguson, D. D.)

F. Ferguson, D. D.
It is astonishing how much comfort can be packedup in a few words. If one
were askedto put into a single sentence the entire body of Scriptural
prophecy, of Old and New Testamentprophecy combined, he could not easily
find a more complete condensationof the whole than in the text. There are
two points of view from which we may look at the text.
I. THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT, orthe vision as it is setbefore us; the moral
and spiritual ideal yet to be realised.
1. The text is a prediction as to a glorious Personand a far-off land, both of
them entirely beyond the calculations of men. "The King in His beauty" is
Jesus Christ, The words are striking. It is not exactlythe King in His majesty,
or grandeur, or glory, or power, but "the King in His beauty." We speak of
the goodand the beautiful and the true. And there is a singular accordance
betweenthose three super-excellentrealities. We think of them in connection
with the Persons in the Godhead. While it is true that all glory and powerof
the one aspectof the Divine Being belongs to the other, still we are permitted
to make a distinction in our thoughts, and we think of the Father as that One
in whom we see pre-eminently the good;and the Sonas that One in whom we
see specificallythe beautiful; and the Spirit as that One in whom we see pre-
eminently the true.
2. When we turn our thoughts to the beautiful alone, we are met by this
conception— that the beautiful is but anotherword for the becoming. A
beautiful action is an action which it becomes one to do. A beautiful character
is one, all the elements of which are in sweetaccordance;when part is adapted
to part, as the colours of the rainbow blend together;when one line of the
form gracefully runs into another; when one sound is the harmonious
concomitantand perfect sequelof another — there you have beauty, the
beauty as a spirit breathing through the whole and informing all its parts —
such a whole that one part may become the other, and pass and repass into

the other. The beauty is translucent, elastic, perfect. Now apply this
conceptionto Jesus Christ, and you will see with what amazing propriety the
beautiful in Him is the same as the becoming. Consider the harmony of the
Divine Being as the eternalsource of all the beauty we can ever know.
Considerthe essentialbeauty of our human nature as made in the image and
after the likeness ofGod; consider, further, the absolutelyharmonious
combination and indissoluble union of those two natures in Christ with the
amazing self-sacrifice ofthe Son of God for our redemption, and the
adaptation of His work to all the wants of our case, and you have such a
conceptionof the becoming — of all that it becomes both God and man to do
— as explains to us the emphasis and the propriety with which Christ is
spokenof as "the King in His beauty." No one can be beautiful apart from
Him.
3. Societyis at present a hideous discord, at leastto a very large extent. We
cannot saythat it is beautiful. But it is not more certain that Jesus Christ is
King; it is not more certain that He is the centre of heaven's harmony, than it
is certain that the far-off land will yet be brought nigh and made visible upon
the earth; and that God's will shall be done upon the earth, even as it is done
in heaven.
II. THE SUBJECTIVE ASPECT,orwhat is implied in seeing the vision, in
realising the ideal. The time is coming when every human being shall actually
look upon Jesus Christ. But to look is not always to see all that canbe seen. To
see the King in His beauty implies a deeper seeing than that of merely looking
upon Him. It implies a being made like Him. In order to see the kingdom of
God, or to enter into it, we must actually be born again. We must ourselves (in
other words) be a part of that which we truly see. We shall see Him at last
because we shallhave been made like Him. It is the pure in heart who see God
This seeing of God is our heaven in its highestand most complete form; and it
is by faith in Christ that we are brought to this perception. As faith grows and
develops, as it passes into the life, it turns the abstractideal into the concrete

reality. On the other hand, the result is certain from the Divine side. It is
securedby the fact that the King in His beauty is there. The heavenly
Bridegroomis waiting for the perfection of His Bride. And as He waits He
works, tie rules overall things for the accomplishment of the Divine purpose.
Make, then, the goalof your life quite clear, and lay down all your lines of
thought and actiondirectly for that goal. Let us thank God that such is the
Christianity of Jesus Christ.
(F. Ferguson, D. D.)
Reverence, a belief in God's presence
J. H. Newman, B. D.
1. Though Moseswas notpermitted to enter the land of promise, he was
vouchsafeda sight of it from a distance. We too, though as yet we are not
admitted to heavenly glory, yet are given to see much, in preparation for
seeing more. Christ dwells among us in His Church really though invisibly,
and through its Ordinances fulfils towards us, in a true and sufficient sense,
the promise of the text. We are even now permitted to "see the King in His
beauty," to "behold the land that is very far off." The words of the Prophet
relate to our present state as well as to the state of saints hereafter. Of the
future glory it is said by St. John, "Theyshall see His face, and His name shall
be in their foreheads."And of the present, Isaiah himself speaksin passages
which may be takenin explanation of the text: "The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together";and again, "Theyshall see the
glory of the Lord and the excellencyof our God."
2. Such a view is strange to most men; they do not realise the presence of
Christ, nor admit the duty of realising it. Even those who are not without
habits of seriousness, have almostor quite forgotten the duty. This is plain at
once:for, unless they had, they would not be so very deficient in reverence as
they are. There are two classes ofmen who are deficient in awe and fear, and,
lamentable to say, taken together, they go far to make up the religious portion

of the community. It is not wonderful that sinners should live without the fear
of God; but what shall we sayof an age or country in which even the more
serious classes maintain, or at leastactas if they maintained, that "the spirit
of God's holy fear" is no part of religion?(1)Those who think that they never
were greatly under God's displeasure.(2)Those who think that, though they
once were, they are net at all now, for all sin has been forgiven them; — those
on the one hand who considerthat sin is no greatevil in itself, those on the
other who considerthat it is no greatevil in them, because their persons are
acceptedin Christ for their faith's sake.
(J. H. Newman, B. D.)
The land that is very far off.
"The land that is very far off
Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.
"A far-stretching land," i.e., a land no longer"diminished" (to use
Sennacherib's own expression)by spoliationor hemmed in by foes.
(Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
The distant land
J. Hoyle.
As it is in the margin, "the land of far distances."A land clearedof enemies as
far as the eye can reachand the foot carry.
I. THIS WILL APPLY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, WHICH THE
REDEEMED SOULSHALL POSSESSIN HEAVEN. Here we know but little
of the great Father of our spirits. But in heavenwe shall know God more fully.
Know Him not in His essence, but in the glorified human nature of Christ; in
His relation to ourselves and the universe.

II. THIS WILL APPLY TO THE VIEWS WHICH HEAVEN WILL GIVE
US OF THE REDEEMING WORKOF CHRIST. At present there are many
questions which the devout soul proposes in relation to this mighty work, but
no response is given. What disclosures willheaven make on these points!
III. THIS WILL APPLY TO THE EXPLANATIONS WHICH HEAVEN
WILL AFFORD OF THE SECRETS OF NATURE. Nature, like the fabled
traveller, has given the casketto the highwayman, but kept the jewels. She has
given us names, but kept the power.
IV. THIS WILL APPLY TO THE SOLUTION WHICH HEAVEN WILL
GIVE OF THE MYSTERIES OF PROVIDENCE.
V. THIS WILL APPLY TO OUR EXPERIENCE OF DIVINE GOODNESS.
Here the vesselis narrowed by its conditions. It cannotreceive much, it cannot
bear much. Here we sip of the river of God, there we shall drink of its fulness.
1. Learn the limitations of this life. We know in part. It doth not yet appear
what we shall be.
2. The boundless wisdom and goodnessofGod. The bestthings are yet in
store.
3. See here the encouragementsto a life of faith
(J. Hoyle.)

Glances atthe future
U. R. Thomas, B. A.
Do you ask what are the waving outlines of this "land of far distances" that
begins directly a man begins to live a Christly life, and that stretches away
after death into the Infinite? I answer —
I. UNENDING EXISTENCE.
II. UNDECAYING ACTIVITY. Our work here is bounded by many things.
1. There is the finishing of the enterprise.
2. There is the failure of our powers.
3. There is the ceasing ofinclination.Sometimes fuel has not been added to fire
of flickering motive; sometimes fellow-workershave been cold, unwelcome, or
harshly discouraging;sometimes repeatedfailure and mocking
disappointments have driven a man back from seeking his own higher
educationor the world's welfare, and "desire ceases,"andthere is an end of
work. But in contrastwith all this that is of the earth earthy, the true worker
for himself and for others, yearns after and will inherit "a land of far
distances." There the work will never be completed, for a universe is the
sphere of labour, eternity is the period, and the infinite the problem. Labour
— the putting forth of power: sacrificiallabour — the putting forth of power
in the spirit of the Lamb, who is the central life of the heavenly world; this is
the far-reaching hope of every Christly soul. And this without the decayof
powers, for then will be fulfilled the promise of perpetual morning dew,
immortal youth, a world without pain, and never needing a night. Nor will

want of inclination bring these occupations to an end, for there is realisedthe
full powerof the quenchless inspiration of love to the Lamb who was slain. So,
for our highest, noblestlabours, there is a limitless hope.
III. UNFETTERED THOUGHT. Forthe inquirer this human life is not "a
land of far distances."Thinkers oftenweep in their sense ofmental poverty.
But we are to believe in the lifting of veil after veil as we go on through the
ages, till the fair face of Truth shall be seenin Divinest beauty.
IV. UNBOUNDED AFFECTIONS.
(U. R. Thomas, B. A.)
Thos. Spurgeon.
I. Our first concernis with THE HISTORICAL SETTING ofthis verse.
II. THE SPIRITUAL PARALLEL. To see the King, — Jesus, I mean, — is
one of the best blessings of His people. There is a further promise, "Thine eyes
shall behold the land that is very far off," i.e., "a far-stretching tract of
country." We must abide by the metaphor; this stands, I think, for the great
multitude of exceeding greatand precious privileges which God has given us
in Jesus Christ.
III. THE FINAL FULFILMENT OR THIS PROMISE. All the things God's
people know on earth are but feeble foretastes ofthe joys of heaven.
(Thos. Spurgeon.)

Heaven anticipated
Light in the Dwelling.
It is recorded of the celebratedJohn Howe, that in his latter days he greatly
desired to attain such a knowledge ofChrist, and feel such a sense ofHis love,
as might be a foretaste ofthe joys of heaven. After his death, a paper was
found in his Bible recording how God had answeredhis prayer. One morning
(and he noted the day) he awoke, with his eyes swimming with tears,
overwhelmed with a sense of God's goodness in shedding down His grace into
the hearts of men. He never could forget the joy of these moments: they made
him long still more ardently for that heaven which, from his youth, he had
panted to behold.
(Light in the Dwelling.)
Samuel Rutherford's dying utterances
King's Highway.
Some days before he died, he said: "I shall shine, I shall see Him as He is, I
shall see Him reign, and all His fair company with Him; and I shall have my
large share, my eyes shallsee my Redeemer, these very eyes of mine, and no
other for me; this may seema wide word, but it is no fancy or delusion; it is
true, it is true; let my Lord's name be exalted, and if He will, let my name be
grinded to pieces, that He may be all in all. If He should slay me ten thousand
times ten thousand times, I'll trust." One of his friends, Mr. RobertBlair, who
stoodby, his bed, said to him: "What think ye now of Christ?" To this he
replied: I shall live and adore Him; glory, glory, to my Creator, and to my
Redeemerfor ever; glory shines in Immanuel's land." In the afternoonof the
same day he said: "Oh, that all my brethren in the public may know what a
MasterI have served, and what peace I have this day; I shall sleepin Christ,
and when I awake Ishall be satisfiedwith His likeness. This night shall close
the door, and put my anchor within the veil, and I shall go away in a sleepby

five of the clock in the morning." Words which receivedtheir exactfulfilment.
His soul was filled with rapture as he lay dying, and he cried, "Oh, for arms to
embrace Him! Oh, for a well-tuned harp!" So he passedaway, declaring as he
went that in the love and presence of his Lord he had found heaven before he
entered within the gates.
(King's Highway.)
"Notall
W. Adamson, D. D.
over": — When a medical man visited a young woman who was on her death-
bed, he uttered the common thought of the world when he said to her weeping
mother as he graspedher hand, "It will soonbe all over with your daughter."
She who was about to depart heard the announcement, and, raising herself on
her arm, drew aside the curtain, and looking into the face of the doctor with
that peculiar look that characterisesthose who are being loosenedfrom the
hither side of existence said, "All over, sir! all over — no, mother, believe him
not. When I die, it will not be all over with your daughter, it will only be all
beginning. For this presentspan of existence is not worthy of being compared
with the life which shall thrill my whole being in the presence ofHim who sits
on the throne, and the Lamb."
(W. Adamson, D. D.)
Deatha mean, of vision
R. J. Campbell, M. A.
One Sunday morning a friend — a deaconof my church — came to me and
said, speaking ofhis father, a dear old minister and a blind man, "My father
can see this morning." "I congratulate you!" I exclaimed; "I am glad and
surprised to hear it." "Ah," he replied, "you misunderstand me. My father is
dead."

(R. J. Campbell, M. A.)
The beautiful God
"How beautiful it is to be with God!" Miss Willard whisperedas she died.
Miss Havergal's experience
King's Highway.
A most interesting chapter in the biography describes her visit to Switzerland.
On her return home she had typhoid fever, and was laid aside for a long time.
This is how she talkedof her experience during her illness: F. "Sometimes I
could not quite see His face;yet there was His promise, 'I will never leave
thee.' I knew He said it, and that He was there." M. "Had you any fear at all
to die?" F. "Oh no, not a shadow. It was on the first day of this illness I
dictated to Constance, 'Justas Thou wilt, O Master, call!'" M. "Thenwas it
delightful to think you were going home, dear Fan?" F. "No, it was not the
idea of going home, but that He was coming for me, and that I should see my
King. I never thought of death as going through the dark valley or down to
the river; it often seemedto me a going up to the golden gates and lying there
in the brightness, just waiting for the gate to open for me." She was brought
back, in answerto many prayers, from the gates of the grave.
(King's Highway.)
The Delectable Mountain
Then they went on till they came to the Delectable Mountains, whichbelong to
the Lord of the country towards which they were journeying. So they went up
the mountains to behold the gardens and orchards, the vineyards and
fountains of water. Now there were on the top of these mountains shepherds
feeding their flocks. The pilgrims, therefore, went to them and asked:"Whose
Delectable Mountains are these? and whose sheepbe they that feed on them?"
And the shepherds answered"These mountains are Emmanuel's Land: and

they are within sight of His city; the sheep are His. 'He laid down His life for
them.'" Then saidthe shepherds one to another, "Let us show the pilgrims the
gates to the celestialcity, if they have skill to look through our perspective-
glass."Thenthe pilgrims lovingly acceptedthe motion; so they led them to the
top of a hill called Clear, and gave them the glass to look through. Then they
tried to look;but the remembrance of the last things that the shepherds had
showedthem made their hands shake;by means of which impediment they
could not look steadily through the glass:yet they thought they saw something
like the gate, and also some of the glory of the place.
( Bunyans Pilgrim's Progress.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(17) Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty . . .—Torn from their context,
the words have been not unfitly used to describe the beatific vision of the
saints of Godin the far-off land of heaven. So the Targum gives “Thine eyes
shall see the Shekinah of the King of Ages.” Theirprimary meaning is,
however, obviously historical. The “king” is Hezekiah, who shall be seenno
longerin sackclothand ashes, and with downcasteyes (Isaiah37:1), but in all
the “beauty” of triumph and of majesty, of a youth and health renewedlike
the eagle;and the “land that is very far off” is the whole land of Israel, all
prosperous and peaceful, as contrastedwith the narrow range of view which
the people had had during the siege, pent up within the walls of Jerusalem.
(Comp. Genesis 13:14-15.)Comp. as to form, Isaiah29:18;Isaiah 30:20.
BensonCommentary
Isaiah33:17-18. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty — Hezekiah, in a
more prosperous condition than formerly. Having put off his sackcloth, and
all the sadness ofhis countenance, he shall appear publicly in his beauty, in

his royal robes, and with a pleasing aspect, to the greatjoy of all his loving
subjects. Thine eyes shall see the King Messiah, (typified by Hezekiah,)
triumphing over all his enemies, and ruling his own people with righteousness.
Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread given them, and their
watersure, but they shall see, by faith, the King of kings, in his beauty, the
beauty of holiness, and that beauty shall be upon them. They shall behold the
land that is very far off — The siege being raised, by which they were kept
close within the walls of Jerusalem, they shall be at liberty to go abroad
without danger of falling into the enemies’hands, and they shall visit the
utmost corners of the nation, and take a prospectof the adjacentcountry,
which will be the more pleasantafter so long a confinement. Bishop Lowth
renders it, They (thine eyes)shall see thine own land far extended. We may
apply the words to the heavenly Canaan, that land which is very far off, which
believers behold by faith, and comfort themselves with the prospectof it in
evil times. Thy heart shall meditate terror — Bishop Lowth reads, Thy heart
shall reflecton the past terror. Thou shalt callto mind, with delight and
thankfulness, the former troubles and distresses in which thou wastinvolved.
Where is the scribe, &c. — Every one shall, with pleasure, reflecton the
dangers they have escaped, andshall ask, in a triumphant manner, Where is
the scribe, or muster-master, of the Assyrian army? Where is the receiver —
Their weigher, or treasurer? Where is he that counted the towers — “That
is,” says Bishop Lowth, “The commander of the enemy’s forces, who surveyed
the fortifications of the city, and took an accountof the height, strength, and
situation of the walls and towers;that he might know where to make the
assaultwith the greatestadvantage.”Thus understood, the words are
consideredas containing Jerusalem’s triumph over the vanquished army of
the Assyrians;and the rather, because the apostle alludes to them in his
triumphs over the learning of this world; when it was baffled by the gospelof
Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:20. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despises alltheir
military preparations. Poole, however, with some others, thinks these words
are rather to be consideredas the language of the Jews in the time of their
distress, and that they are here recordedto give a lively representationof it;
the officers here mentioned not seeming to be those of the Assyrian army, but
rather those of the Jews, who, upon the approach of the Assyrians, beganto
be more active in making military preparations for the defence of the city, and

to choose suchofficers as were necessaryand useful for that end, such as
these, here mentioned were; namely, the scribe, or, muster-master, who was to
make and keepa list of the soldiers, and to call them togetheras occasion
required; the receiver, who receivedand laid out the money for the charges of
the war, and he that counted the towers, who surveyed all the parts of the city,
and consideredwhat towers or fortifications were to be made or repaired for
the security of it. And unto these severalofficers the people resortedwith
greatdistraction and confusion, to acquaint them with all occurrences, orto
transactbusiness with them, as occasionrequired.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
33:15-24 The true believer watches againstalloccasionsofsin. The Divine
powerwill keephim safe, and his faith in that powerwill keephim easy. He
shall want nothing needful for him. Every blessing of salvation is freely
bestowedon all that ask with humble, believing prayer; and the believeris
safe in time and for ever. Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread
given, and their watersure, but they shall, by faith, see the King of kings in
his beauty, the beauty of holiness. The remembrance of the terror they were
in, shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance. It is desirable to be quiet in
our own houses, but much more so to be quiet in God's house;and in every
age Christ will have a seedto serve him. Jerusalemhad no large river running
by it, but the presence and power of God make up all wants. We have all in
God, all we need, or can desire. By faith we take Christ for our Prince and
Saviour; he reigns over his redeemed people. All that refuse to have Him to
reign over them, make shipwreck of their souls. Sicknessis takenaway in
mercy, when the fruit of it is the taking away of sin. If iniquity be taken away,
we have little reasonto complain of outward affliction. This lastverse leads
our thoughts, not only to the most glorious state of the gospelchurch on earth,
but to heaven, where no sicknessortrouble can enter. He that blotteth out our
transgressions, willheal our souls.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Thine eyes - The eyes of the righteous, describedin Isaiah 33:15.

Shall see the king in his beauty - Some understand this of the Assyrian king.
Thus Kimchi understands it, and supposes it means that they shall see him at
the walls of Jerusalem;that is, shall see him destroyed. Vitringa supposes it
means Yahweh himself as the king of his people, and that they should see him
in his glory. Others suppose it relates to the Messiah. Butthe immediate
connectionrequires us to understand it of Hezekiah (compare the note at
Isaiah32:1-2). The sense is, 'You shall be defended from the hostile army of
the Assyrian. You shall be permitted to live under the peacefuland
prosperous reign of your pious monarch, and shall see him, not with
diminished territory and resources,but with the appropriate magnificence
which becomes a monarch of Israel.'
The land that is very far off - You shall be permitted to look to the remotest
part of the land of Judea as delivered from enemies, and as still under the
happy scepterofyour king. You shall not be confined by a siege, and
straitened within the narrow walls of Jerusalem. The empire of Hezekiahshall
be extended over the wide dominions that appropriately belong to him, and
you shall be permitted to range freely over the whole land, even over the parts
that are now occupied by the forces of the Assyrian. Virgil has a beautiful
passageremarkablysimilar to this:
- jurat ire, et Dorica castra,
Desertosque videre locos, litusque relicturn.
AEn. ii. 28.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
17. Thine—the saints'.

king in … beauty—not as now, Hezekiahin sackcloth, oppressedby the
enemy, but King Messiah(Isa 32:1) "in His beauty" (So 5:10, 16; Re 4:3).
land … very far off—rather, "the land in its remotestextent" (no longer pent
up as Hezekiahwas with the siege);see Margin. For Jerusalemis made the
scene ofthe king's glory (Isa 33:20, &c.), and it could not be said to be "very
far off," unless the far-off land be heaven, the Jerusalemabove, which is to
follow the earthly reign of Messiahatliteral Jerusalem(Isa 65:17-19;Jer
3:17; Re 21:1, 2, 10).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Shall see the king; first Hezekiah, and then Christ, as before.
In his beauty; triumphing over all enemies, and ruling his own people with
righteousness;in which two things the beauty and glory of a king and
kingdom doth chiefly consist.
They shall behold the land that is very far off; thou shalt not be shut up in
Jerusalem, and confined to thine ownnarrow borders, as thou hast been; but
thou shalt have free liberty to go abroad with honour and safety, where thou
pleasest, eveninto the remotestcountries, because ofthe greatrenown of thy
king, and the enlargementof his dominions.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty,.... Not merely Hezekiahin his
royal robes, and with a cheerful countenance, having put off his sackclothand
his sadness,upon the breaking up of the siege;but a greaterthan he, even the
King Messiah, in the glory of his personand office, especiallyas a King
reigning gloriously before his ancients in Jerusalem: the apostles saw him in
his glory, in the days of his flesh, corporeallyand spiritually; believers now see

him by faith, crowdedwith glory and honour, as wellas see his beauty,
fulness, and suitableness, as a Saviour; and, before long, their eyes shall see
him personallyin his own and his Father's glory. This is to be understood of
the eyes of goodmen, before described. The Targum is,
"thine eyes shallsee the glory of the Majestyof the King of worlds in his
praise;''
and Jarchiinterprets it of the glory of the Majestyof God; so, according to
both, a divine Personis meant, and indeed no other than Christ:
they shall behold the land that is very far off; not the land of hell, as the
Targum, which paraphrases it thus;
"thou shalt behold and see those that go down into the land of hell;''
but rather the heavenly country, the better one, the land of uprightness,
typified by the land of Canaan;and may be said to be "a land afar off", with
respectto the earth on which the saints now are, and with regard to the
present sight of it, which is a distant one, and will be always afar off to wicked
men; this now the saints have at times a view of by faith, which is very
delightful, and greatly supports them under their present trials: though it may
be that an enlargementof Christ's kingdom all over the world, to the distant
parts of it, may be here meant; which may be called, as the words may be
rendered, "a land of distances",or"of far distances" (d); that reaches far and
near, from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; which will
be the case whenthe kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's, and the
kingdom, and the greatness ofit under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
saints of the most High; a glorious sight this will be. And this sense agrees
with the context, and declares whatwill be after the destruction of antichrist.

(d) "terram distantiarum", Vatablus, Montanus, Gataker.
Geneva Study Bible
Thy eyes shall {u} see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the {x} land
that is very far off.
(u) They will see Hezekiahdelivered from his enemies and restoredto honour
and glory.
(x) They will be no more shut in as they were by Sennacherib, but go where it
pleases them.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
17. the (or a) king in his beauty] The reluctance of many expositors to
interpret this phrase of the Messiahis incomprehensible. Delitzschsays that
“the king of Isaiah 33:17 is no more the Messiahthan the Messiahin Micah
5:1 [E.V. Isaiah33:2] is the same person as the king who is smitten on the
cheek in Isa 4:14 [E.V. Isaiah 33:1].” But in Micahthe humiliated king is
replacedby the Messiah, and surely the same conceptionwould be in place
here. That the king is Jehovah(Vitringa) is no doubt a possible alternative in
view of Isaiah 33:22, but since whatever be the date of the passagethe
Messianic hope must have been a living idea of Jewishreligion, there seems no
reasonfor trying to evade what seems the most natural explanation. On the
“beauty” of the king see Psalm45:2.

the land that is very far off] Ratheras R.V., a far stretching land (lit. “a land
of distances”), the spacious and ever-extending dominions of the Messiah. Few
verses of the O.T. have been more misapplied than this.
17–24.The idea of the perfect security of the righteous man leads by an easy
transition to more positive features of the goldenage.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 17. - Thine eyes. Another transition. Here from the third person to the
second, the prophet now addressing those righteous ones of whom he has been
speaking in the two preceding verses. Shall see the King in his beauty. The
Messianic King, whoeverhe might be, and wheneverhe might make his
appearance. It has been saidthat beauty is not predicatedof the heavenly
King (Cheyne); but Zechariah 9:17; Psalm45:2; and Canticles, passim,
contradict this assertion. "How greatis his beauty;" "Thouart fairer than the
children of men;" "His mouth is most sweet;yea, he is altogetherlovely." The
land that is very far off; literally, the land of far distances. BishopLowth
renders, "Thine own land far extended," and so Delitzschand Mr. Cheyne.
But if "the King" is Messianic, so doubtless is "the land" - the world-wide
tract over which Messiahwill reign (Revelation21:1).
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
After the prophet has heard this from Jehovah, he knows how it will fare with
them. He therefore cries out to them in triumph (Isaiah 33:11), "Ye are
pregnant with hay, ye bring forth stubble! Your snorting is the fire that will
devour you." Their vain purpose to destroy Jerusalemcomes to nothing; their
burning wrath againstJerusalembecomes the fire of wrath, which consumes
them (for chashashand qash, see atIsaiah 5:24).

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
IRONSIDE
“He that walkethrighteously, and speakethuprightly; he that despiseththe
gain of
oppressions, that shakethhis hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his
ears from
hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on
high: his place of
defence shall be the munitions of rocks:bread shall be given him; his waters
shall be sure.
Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is
very far oft”
(verses 16-17).
Here we have the only possible answerto the question of the verses above.
This is in full accord
with Psalm15:1-3. While in every dispensation all who are savedwill owe
everything for
eternity to the propitiatory work of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet the proof that
one has really been
born of God and justified before His face is seenin a righteous life and in
humble submission to
His holy will. To the remnant, who will be characterizedby subjectionto God
and integrity in
their dealings with their fellows, these promises will be made real. These shall
behold the King

in all His beauty and glory when He returns to fulfill prophetic scripture.
They shall behold the
land, that is, the land promised by Godof old to Abraham’s seed, far
extended. From the River
of Egypt to the Euphrates, all will be the inheritance of Israelwhen restored
to God.
S LEWIS JOHNSON
And furthermore notice the blessings of verse 16. “He shall dwell on high”
security, elevation“his place of defence shall be the strongholds of rocks
“that’s realsecurity there” and furthermore he says, “breadshall be given
him and his waters shall be sure.” To be in His will is to be in His love and to
be in His love is to have His protection and care. Now then in verse 17 through
verse 20, he goes onto say the pure shall see the king. “Blessedare the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.” You see these truths which are expressedso
beautifully by our Lord and the beatitudes are truths that are found through
all of the Bible, and so we read“Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty:
they shall behold the land that is very far off.” Who is referred to in thine
eyes? WellI think it’s the believers of the future, primarily. Then eyes shall
see the king in his beauty. ProfessorDelitzchsays “the church of the future.”
Well I wouldn’t like to say the church of the future, but at leastthe believers
of the future, there I shall see the king in his beauty. Who is the king? Well the
king of course is king Messiah. Whatdo you think Isaiah’s listeners first
thought when they saw the king thine I shall see the king in his beauty? Well, I
think they thought first of all what king. Who was King Hezekiah? Why do
you think Isaiahmight have been led by the Holy Spirit to say thine eyes shall
see the king in his beauty. Well I haven’t really talked about this because we
when we getto Isaiah 36, 37, 38, 39, we are going to have the story of
Hezekiah. We are going to spend one night on it. But if you remember the
story of this king and it’s very important because I think it’s about the only

story of any greatking in the Old Testamentof this period of time at least
which is recordedin three places in Chronicles, in Kings and also in the
Prophet Isaiah.
But you remember that Hezekiahwas deeply disturbed by the fact that the
Assyrians came to the very walls of Jerusalemand then taunted the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. He was so disturbed that he went into the presence
God and rent his clothes and got down upon his face before God. If you had
been living in those days, the text would have read thine eyes shall see the king
in his desolation, in his humiliation, and so Isaiah’s words first of all are a
prophecy of the ultimate deliverance of Hezekiah in the eyes of the people.
Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. You are going to see Hezekiah
exalted through the deliverance that I am going to accomplish, but there is
more to it than that.
I think we could also saythat this text typically applies to our Lord and his
first coming because yousee at the first coming of the Lord Jesus, whenthe
king came then he came and every stepof his coming was in humiliation. Mr.
Spurgeonsays somewhere that he came from heavens glory undressing all the
way, and what he meant of course was that as he went toward that cross, he
took off the garment of this glory, he took off the garment of that glory, he
took off the jewelof this glory, he took off the jewelof anotherglory until
finally he hung as a criminal on a Roman gibbet, but then on the third day, he
arose from the dead; he put on the garment of glory. He ascendedto the right
hand of the Father, he put on the jewelof exaltation, he sat down at the right
hand of the throne of the Majestyon high, and began his work of intersession
and advocacy, and the jewels and the garments of glory and beauty had
become his now. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty and by faith as we
look off to the right hand of the Father, that’s what we see now, but the
greatestgloryand the greatestbeauty of our Lord shall be seenin his second
advent and then this text I think reaches its fulfillment.

By F C Jennings
17: Thine eyes shall behold the King in His beauty,
The land of far distances they surely shall see.
For this last line does not mean, as our Authorized Version intimates, that the
land is far away;but when in it, the boundaries shall not be contracted, but as
far as their eye can see or foot cancarry, shall be theirs: as it was saidto their
father Abraham, "Lift up now thine eyes, for all the land that thou seest, to
thee I will give it" (Gen. 15:14, 15).
We may have no personalpart in that land; that is not our country but this
promise is of the deepestinterest to us, for we too shall see the King. He is
ours by more than one indissoluble tie. He has literally loved us, bought us
with His blood: we are infinitely precious to Him as the dear purchase of those
sufferings: to Him we are united by the Holy Spirit; identified with Him by
sharing His very life, we are thus the members of His Body. Ours too is His
present position, castout by this world, whilst all the love of God the Fatherin
which He is enwrapped, enwraps us too in Him. His future too we fully share.
And, to come back to our scripture, our ownvery eyes shall see Him in His
beauty, with eyes adapted to that glory, as are these to the inferior beauties of
this scene. We shallsee Him in His perfectloveliness, and greatly shall we
desire Him, a desire that He will be there to fill. This was patterned for us in
the holy mount, where, although Peter, James and John might then fear,
Moses andElias did not; and our place shall be that of those heavenly
visitants.
He, the King, was then to be the Object of every eye; every ear was to be
attentive to His lips; so ever today, do we not getat times (but so rarely, alas,
if one may speak for others), foretastes ofthat time when we shall see with our

eyes without a cloud, the beauty of the King, and hear the music of that Voice
whose faintestwhisper gives us here joy for many days.
GreatTexts of the Bible
The King and the Country
Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a far stretching
land [R.V.m. a land of far distances].—Isaiah33:17.
The circumstances thatgave rise to this saying were those connectedwith the
memorable siege ofJerusalemin the days of Hezekiah. The tents of the
Assyrians were blackening all the heights round the sacredcity, and the
inhabitants were reduced to the greateststraits. Hezekiahduring this siege
coveredhimself with sackclothand ashes, andhumbled himself before God.
He was also disfigured with the boils of a severe and dangerous illness, and
prayed earnestlyfor relief. In these trying circumstances, a cheering promise
of deliverance came by the mouth of the prophet, conveyed in imagery derived
from the circumstances ofthe siege. The fierce invader, Sennacherib, would
be routed, the besieging troops would be withdrawn, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalemwould see the king in his beauty—restoredto health, and clothed
againwith the gorgeousrobes ofstate which he had laid aside during the
period of his humiliation. They would also behold the land of farnesses.
Hitherto, for a long period, they had been shut up in the besiegedcity; they
were confined within the walls and closedgates ofJerusalem;their horizon
was bounded by the narrow streets and houses around them; they could see
nothing beyond—no greentree, or field, or garden. But when the siege would
be ended, they would be able to go out at will into the country, and feasttheir
eyes upon its fair landscapes and far-extending prospects. Theywould be

brought out into a free and large place, and their horizon would stretch into
illimitable distances.
This, then, is the first application of the text; and so interpreted, what a
beautiful image it is. But it has a further application than this. The text is
undoubtedly Messianic, although, as Dr. Skinner says, some commentators
have been unaccountably slow in perceiving this. And when we have reached
the Messianicsphere, it is legitimate, even although it may be no part of the
original prophecy, to pass yet further and use the text to introduce us to the
beauty of the ascendedLord, and to the limitless stretches of that heaven
where the redeemeddwell whom no man can number. Thus there will be
three stages ofexposition—(1)the ideal kingly beauty of the commonplace
and the enlargement of the narrow and the near; (2) the beauty of the Lord
Jesus Christ on earth and the far-stretching Kingdom of God; (3) the beauty
of the King of Glory and the emancipationof Heaven.
I
The Beautyof the Commonplace and the Enlargement of the Narrow
How persons or things appearto us depends as much upon our own eyesight
as upon the persons or things themselves. While the people saw Hezekiah
humiliated and unlovely, Isaiah saw him a king in his beauty. For the soul of
Isaiahwas emancipated from the earthly. His eye had the spiritual insight.
This lifted him up so that he saw the king from a heavenly height,
transformed in the purpose of God to the beauty of true kingliness. And at the
same time he saw the kingdom ever widening till it fulfilled the utmost reach
of the promise—from sea to sea, and from the River unto the ends of the
earth.

The bold aeronautwho ascends through the invisible air not only looks up and
beholds the ever-nearing blue heavens, but he also looks down, and lo!
because ofhis ascent, allhe is leaving below him changes andbecomes
transfigured. Not only has the horizon of his outlook vastly extended, but the
inequalities of level and the natural boundaries and differences of earth that
seemedso insuperable when he walkedthereonhave vanished away. Hill and
dale have melted into one dead level. City and country, field and moor, land
and sea fade into eachother. The towering mountain shrinks into a veritable
molehill, and the broad, deep-flowing river dwindles to a silver thread. Such, I
think, is no unfaithful symbol and picture of the inevitable twofoldeffect on
those happy souls who ascendin the atmosphere of the spiritual. Nay, may I
not go further in this analogyand say that just as the aeronaut proves and
measures his ascenttowards the blue skyby the altering appearance of the
earth he looks downupon—being so much nearer to the latter than he is to
the former—so a man’s upward approachto Godis most surely measured by
his altering view of humanity? We know that Isaiah had ascendedinto the
heavenlies because he wrote this text.1 [Note:C. E. P. Antram.]
i. The King in His Beauty
What is beauty? The best definition is an old one. “The essenceofthe
beautiful consists in amplitude and order” (Arist. Poet. vii.). The sublime and
the pretty are two opposite modifications. The sublime is the beautiful with its
amplitude pushed into indefinite vastness andthe tender smile, which is the
inevitable tribute, exchangedfor a certain awe. The pretty is at the opposite
end of the measurement. It is beauty so reduced on the scale as to want the
nobility of seriousness;so petty that our admiration is not without a certain
intermixture of contempt. The beautiful, when it approaches the verge of
terror at one extreme or of contempt at the other, when it begins to be feared
or patronised, may soonhave to be called by another name. The souland the
actions of man are properly, and not merely by analogy, termed beautiful.
There are natures so large and so conformed to moral harmony that we

instinctively term them beautiful. There are actions which show so much of
the beauty of the soul from which they proceedthat we call them also
beautiful.
To the carnal eye, John Bunyan dwelt within the narrow walls of Bedford jail,
with only coarse andpainful things to contemplate and suffer; but his
spiritual imagination made him live in a country where it was summer the
year round. He dwelt in the PalaceBeautiful, climbed the Hill Beulah, heard
golden trumpets, saw the city of gems and glass lightedwith the glory of God.
1. We are so framed by God as to experience delight in the contemplation of
objects which we term beautiful. Take, for instance, the beauties of nature, as
they are called. With dimmed vision and burdened heart man can snatch from
the faded loveliness ofa sin-stained earth moments of refreshment that make
him purer and strongerfor the task he has to perform here. Who does not feel
this? Who does not take pleasure in form and colour? Who does not love to
look at a greenfield or a gardenof flowers;at a clump of trees, or a stream of
watergliding and sparkling through the thickness ofoverhanging leaves?
Which of us has not been sometimes drawn awayfrom busy or anxious
thoughts to look at an evening sky when the sun went down amidst piles of
clouds that glowedand glittered as if they were mountains of jewels, or the
far-off pinnacles of the goldencity?
2. The beauty of humanity transcends all other beauty, and in the human
countenance Godhas, as it were, sealedup the sum of its perfection. There is
nothing in visible nature, in earth or sky, so beautiful to look upon as a
beautiful face. The feeling is common to man everywhere, and at all time; and
it is a holy feeling. The admiration inspired by earthly beauty has something
very sacredand mysterious in it, as all our deeper emotions have; although
for us, who know the truth of the Incarnation, the union of our nature with
the Divine in the person of Christ, the mystery is cleared.

3. What, then, is that aspector attribute of the human soul from which
outward beauty springs? It is not life only, nor mind, nor intellectual power.
What is it? To answerthis question we have only to consider what is the
characteristic attribute of the soulitself—that which is supreme over all
others, which is inseparable from it, and belongs to its very essence.To us
Christians, at any rate, the reply is at hand. That which distinguishes the soul,
and makes it to be what it is, is its moral nature. Man was first createdin the
image of God, and when he lostit the Son of God became incarnate in order to
restore it; and that image the Scripture describes as consisting in
righteousness andtrue holiness. The centralattribute of the soul, then, is its
moral character, and in this at last we find the source of outward beauty. In a
word, it is goodness,and goodnessalone, that sheds over the countenance this
Divine lustre which men call beauty.
4. Dare we advance higher? Nature is beautiful because it reveals thought; the
human face is more beautiful because it reveals that moral goodness ofwhich
thought is only a condition; the soul is more beautiful, for in it dwells the
goodness thatlights the countenance;but all these, and the highestof them all,
are but dim and broken reflections ofa beauty which is beyond and above all,
as it is the source of all. “Thine eyes shallsee the king in his beauty.” To see
the King in His beauty is to see the beauty of His glorified humanity takenfor
ever into the Godhead. It is to see that form which the Son of God took to
Himself in the womb of the Virgin, bore while He dwelt on earth, raised from
the grave, ascendedwith into heaven, and in which He now stands at the right
hand of the Father. It is to see with the eyes the perfect manhood of God
incarnate; it is to see the face of God; it is to see with the soul the beauty from
which it derives any beauty—the beauty of holiness, of purity, of truth, of
love, of mercy, of justice, of wisdom, of all perfection. It is to see this, not
through cloud, or in vision, or broken by any medium, but as directly as it is
possible for the creature to see the uncreated. It is for the soul to see by
participation, to see the more the more it partakes;to bathe in the abysses of
that glory, beholding and becoming itself beautiful in beholding, even as the

light of the sun imparts its light to the objectit falls upon, and glorifies that on
which it shines.
Shall we follow for a day one who has gotthe true perspective? Here is the
outer side: a humble home, a narrow circle, measuring goods, chopping a
typewriter, checking a ledger, feeding the swift machinery, tiresome
examination papers; and all the rest of the endless, endless doing, day by day,
of the commonplace treadmill things that must be done, that fill out the day of
the greatmajority of human lives. This one whom we are following unseen is
doing quietly, cheerily, his daily round, with a bit of sunshine in his face, a
light in his eye, and lightness in his step. He is working for God. No, better, he
is working with God. He has an unseen friend at his side. Now, hold your
breath and look, for here is the inner side, where the largerwork of life is
being done. Here is the quiet bit of time alone with God. God Himself is here.
The angels are here. This room opens out into, and is in direct touch with, a
spirit space as wide as the earth. To-day a half-hour is spent in China, for its
missionaries, its native Christians, its millions. And so this man pushes his
spirit through Japan, India, Persia, the home-land, the city; in and out; out
and in. This is the true Christian life. The true followerof Jesus has as broad
a horizon as his Master.1 [Note:S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer.]
Three worlds there are:—the first of Sense—
That sensuous earth which round us lies;
The next of Faith’s Intelligence:
The third of Glory in the skies.

The first is palpable but base:
The secondheavenly, but obscure;
The third is star-like in the face—
But ah! remote that world as pure!
Yet, glancing through our misty clime,
Some sparkles from that loftier sphere
Make wayto earth; then most what time
The annual spring flowers appear.
Amid the coarserneeds ofearth
All shapes ofbrightness, what are they
But wanderers, exiledfrom their birth,
Or pledges of a happier day?

Yea, what is beauty, judged aright,
But some surpassing transient gleam;
Some smile from Heaven, in waves of light,
Rippling o’er life’s distempered dream?
Or broken memories of that bliss
Which rushed through first-born Nature’s blood
When He who ever was, and is,
Lookeddown and saw that all was good?2 [Note:Sir Aubrey de Vere.]
ii. The Land of Far Distances
The land of far distances was notfor Isaiahin some foreigncountry, to which
a long and toilsome pilgrimage had to be made. It was simply the region
round Jerusalem, the fair open country, fading awayin the far-off aerial
perspective;the land of clearlights and distant views, as contrastedwith the
narrow streets and the strait boundaries of the besiegedcity. And all that was

necessaryto enable the inhabitants to see it was that the siege shouldbe
ended, and that they should be delivered and allowedto go out of the city to
behold it. And so the spiritual land of far distances which it symbolises, is not
a land removed from us into the remote depths of heaven, like a fixed star. It
is round about us; our being is in it now; our souls are the inhabitants of it
here. It is our Fatherland. This world itself is the land of far distances. Its
things that are unseen and eternal are only eclipsedby the shadow of
ourselves. All that is necessaryis that our eyes should be opened, and that we
should be delivered from the bondage of sin, and made heavenly-minded in
order to see it.
The land of far distances!The image could only have originated in an Eastern
country, where the atmosphere is so crystal clearthat the remotestdistances
are visible. Our cloudy northern skies limit the horizon and circumscribe the
view, and bring the heavens like a roof close to the earth. But in Easternlands
the brilliant sunshine and the translucent air give the feeling of vast aerial
space, and the heavens ascendto an infinite height. It is a large, open, radiant
world, where, as in the old description of the Celtic heaven, “distance fades
not on the sight, and nearness fatigues not the eye.” Wandering recently over
a moorland in Perthshire, on one of those perfectautumn days which are so
rare in our climate, when earth seems a suburb of the celestialcity, I saw,
upwards of a hundred miles away, behind the blue hills that bounded the
horizon, the summit of Ben Macdhui, which I had never seenbefore from this
point, with the snow patches on it glancing white in the sun. That vision of the
far-off mountain land glorified the whole landscape, introduced into it an
element of grandeur and immensity before unknown. It reminded me
irresistibly of the land of far distances of Isaiah, and gave a wonderful
impressiveness to the beautiful image.1 [Note:1 Hugh Macmillan.]
1. We live for the most part in a land that is narrow and confined. The walls of
life hem us in. The freedom which the most favourably situated of us imagine
we enjoy is only the length of our chain. We are limited by our natures, by our

faculties, by our weaknesses, by our circumstances. Human nature, made in
the image of God, and destined for eternity, is in itself a large thing, and it
needs a large world to live in. But we are eachshut up in a small world; and,
small as it is at the best, we make it still smaller by our sins and our follies. We
enclose ourselvesin straits, and confine ourselves in prisons of our own
making. We dwarf our natures and belittle our powers by the insecttasks to
which we devote ourselves. We paralyse our faculty of enjoyment by undue
indulgence. We lay waste our powers by over-exertion;we narrow our
faculties by concentrating them upon the one aim and end of becoming
successfulin the world. We are short-sighted, looking only at the things that
are seenand temporal.
It is one of our everyday trials,—a trial that partly explains the modern
passionfor holidays—that life consists so largelyof foreground. It is the bane
of the greatcity that it smothers backgrounds out of view—the backgroundof
cloud and horizon, of large thought and quiet meditation, of great motives and
high interests. We are imprisoned in the office, the alley, the day, the moment.
So many people to see, so many things to be done, so many visits to pay, so
many letters to be written, so many orders to be dispatched, so much domestic
detail to be attended to,—suchis the daily routine of the majority of mankind.
The best that Mr. Dick Swivellercould boast of, when trying to let his room to
the little old gentleman, was that it afforded “an uninterrupted view across
the street.”1[Note:E. Griffith-Jones.]
2. How are we to have our horizon enlarged? Satancomes and promises that
our eyes shall behold the land of far distances if we will only obey him. He
took up our Lord to the top of an exceeding high mountain, and showedto
Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and promised that
they should be His if He would fall down and worship him. He offered to
transport our first parents beyond the limits of their narrow garden and give
them a godlike freedom to enjoy, if they would eatof the forbidden fruit. And
as he tempted the first and the secondAdam, so he tempts every man. He

knows that the eye of man was made for far distances—thatthe soul of man
longs instinctively for wider and more varied experiences than canbe found in
the little round of daily life; and therefore he cunningly adapts his temptation
to this godlike instinct. He offers a freer and a largerworld. But the
disenchantment sooncomes. The eyes are opened, and they see that the
promise of the vision is a mere mirage of the desert, which has changedfor the
moment the thirsty land and the arid air into the appearance ofliving waters
and refreshing verdure. Instead of far distances and boundless prospects, the
transgressorfinds himself in straits which become narroweras he advances,
until at last, like the prison-house of the mediæval story—constructedwith
fiendish ingenuity to contractits walls every day—they close in upon him and
crush him, and his prison becomes his grave. Sin inevitably cripples the
energy and restricts the freedom of the human powers. To that longing for
freedom and enlargementwhich is the chief element of fascinationin every
sin, the tempter has nothing to give but the experience ofa drearier
imprisonment.
3. The true enlargement comes only when the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death. Then are we brought out from
the confining bars of the prison-house of the soul; then have we the vision and
the faculty Divine, and become far-sighted indeed. We feellike one who has
been transferred from the dark, dreary depths of a cavernto the summit of a
lofty mountain, from which the eye takes in at a glance a boundless horizon.
We have a sense ofrecoveredfreedom which quickens and enlarges the soul.
Old familiar things acquire a new aspectand meaning. The vastness and glory
of the universe fill us with joy, because it all belongs to our Father, and is ours
by virtue of our Divine sonship. We behold the things that are unseenand
eternal. Both worlds, the earthly and the heavenly, come within our horizon,
and are visible in one view to the eye of faith. All things are ours—life and
death, things present and things to come.

We speak ofa prisoner being “setat large”;but we little realise what the
phrase means to him—the new and thrilling sense of largenessaround him;
air and space and light, and God’s greatworld, with its lofty skyoverhead;
nothing confining his movements or intercepting his view but the horizon,
which, in the far distance, comes down upon the earth with walls of blue air,
opening up into farther distances as he moves on. His eye, hitherto
accustomedto the semi-opaque gloom of the narrow prison-cell, beholds with
rapture the wide, open country. In such new circumstances his soul expands
within him, and he feels himself a part of the infinite light and liberty
around.1 [Note:Hugh Macmillan.]
4. There is no promise more pronounced in the Scriptures than just this
promise of the enlargementand intensification of the sight. We are to be
delivered from petty outlooks, fromnarrow and confined horizons, and we
are to see things in large relationships, and to behold the far-off issues. It is
the will of our God that we should be spiritually endowedwith a sort of
prairie sight, with eyes that can scanmighty areas and see things when they
are far away. Long sight is what the majority of us lack, and it is what we all
need. It is essentialto the healthiness of our spirits that we should be able to
see things before they are quite at our doors.
(1) I want to be able to see temptation when it is a long way off. I need to
distinguish sin in its small and apparently innocent beginnings. I want the
perception which can detectit when it is in the germ, when it is a mere infant,
when it is a playful cub. Yes, I need to be able to read the fatality that dwells
in the cub long before it becomes a full-grown and overpowering beast. I am
so easily deceived, and I hear the world say to me, “There is no harm in it,”
and the specious utterance frequently leads to my undoing. I want long sight.
Some of you know the old Greek storydescribing how Ulysses slew the
monster Proteus. You know how he had been forewarnedthat it would be of

no use to kill it only in its first form, because the monster would change itself
from shape to shape, appearing now as a seal, now as a lion, now as a bear.
Only by recognising it in its first form, and killing it in eachdifferent shape,
could he hope to conquer it in the end. And you remember how, by following
this advice, Ulysses was able to conquer, though only after a very long
struggle.
It is only an old Greek legend, I know;but perhaps it will bring out more
clearly what we mean by sins “in disguise.” Sometimes a temptation to sin
comes to you—so small that it seems hardly worth your while to fight against
it. But if you do not recognise it as a sin in its first form, and try to overcome it
at once, then it, too, will change from shape to shape, until at last it will
become a giant sin, bearing, perhaps, no likeness atall to the first little sin
which as boys you allowedto enter your mind, but a giant sin so huge that you
cannot castit out.1 [Note: F. de W. Lushington, Sermons to the Young Boys,
p. 19.]
It was only the other day that we read in the papers of conceitleading a man
on to commit a brutal murder. When the actor William Terriss was killed, we
thought at first that there must have been some strong motive for the crime:
some cruel injustice, some secretwrong, had been done to the man; it would
all come out at the inquest. But no, at the inquest no particular reasoncould
be assigned. It was only that the man, Prince, from his boyhood up had
thought of himself too highly—always looking for admiration, and angry
when he didn’t get it; failing again and again, but always thinking his failure
undeserved. At last this wrong idea of his powerproduced in him a distorted
view of his abilities, a condition of mind which the doctors describedas a form
of madness, and led him to kill in cold blood a man who, he thought, had
slighted him, but who had really done him no single wrong.1 [Note:F. de W.
Lushington, Sermons to the Young Boys, p. 19.]

(2) I would like the power to see homesick prodigals whenthey are still away
in the far country. This was the characteristic sightof the Father:“When he
was yet a greatway off, his father saw him!” It is the pathos and tragedy of
the Church, and of so many of the Lord’s disciples, that we see the prodigal
only when he knocks atthe door and when the long return is over. We know
him when he kneels at the penitent bench, or expresses himselfin some
outward confession. We do not see him before confessionsprings to his lips,
and while a sullen indifference appears still to sit upon his face. I would have
the sight which can see the beginnings of the better life, while the outside still
seems violently antagonistic.
(3) I would like to have the power of seeing the far-off significance of
seemingly insignificant events. I covetthe gift of a sanctified imagination,
which can look down long highways into distant futurity. Forinstance, when
an apostle like Paul walks into imperial Rome, utterly unheeded and ignored,
I would like the powerof being able to foresee some ofthe amazing
possibilities of that lonely entrance. When a few women are met togetherfor
prayer by the riverside at Philippi, entirely unnoticed in the busy, hurrying
life of the greatcity, I would have the powerof tracing in sanctified
imagination the far-reaching, healthy currents proceeding from that
consecratedcircle. WhenJames Gilmour crossesthe frontier into Mongolia,
and sets his single plough to the upturning of the soil in that mighty land, I
would have the eyes that cansee coming harvests, vastreaches ofwaving corn,
shining ripe before the face of my Lord. When the New Testamentis
translated into a new language I would have the power of seeing the
tremendous influence of the modest book, the light it will bring, and the
warmth, and the moving air, and the genial liberty.
(4) I would like to see the distant and glorious possibilities which are the
purposed inheritance of my children. When I look at my boy I want the eyes
which can see beyond what he is to what he canbe, and I want to live in the
inspiration of that splendid prospect. It is altogetherneedful that I should see

my child other than he is if I am to lead him into something better. My
imagination must rivet itself upon the contemplation of his splendid
possibilities, and I must work upon the immediate while I gaze upon the
distant. With the ideal in my eyes I must turn to present training, and the
strength and glory of the possibility will get into my moulding fingers and
determine the quality of my immediate work. The “far-away” shalllend its
influence to the near, and something of the glory of the goalshall shine upon
the very beginnings.1 [Note: J. H. Jowett.]
II
The text is now to be regardedin its application to the Messiahandthe
Messianic Kingdom.
i. The Beauty of the Son of Man
Christian thinkers have expressedtwo different conceptions ofthe personal
presence ofJesus. Some have inferred from such words as those in the 53rd
chapter of Isaiah, “He hath no form nor comeliness;and when we shall see
him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.… Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carriedour sorrows:yet we did esteemhim stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted,” that the Messiahwas weakand suffering, strickenwith
disease;nay, even, from the expression“smittenof God,” that He was a leper.
But others again, seeking whatthey have felt to be a natural association
betweenphysical and moral beauty in the Divine life on earth, have pictured
Him as fairer than the children of men, full of grace and glory, yea, altogether
lovely. Perhaps the two lines of prophetic utterance are not wholly
irreconcilable. It is difficult to believe that beauty of soul such as was seenin
Him alone should not have expresseditself in physical attractiveness. There is
no mention of His suffering from disease.Yet who canthink of Him—the Man

of Sorrows—the Supreme Sufferer, exceptas showing in His physical aspect
something of the burden of the world’s sinfulness? But it seems, if the Gospels
are justly interpreted, that the might—the majesty—ofHis Divine Nature
flashed ever and again through the vesture of His human life. Let us recall
only the passage where St. John relates how the soldiers who came to arrest
Him in Gethsemane, atHis words, “I am he,” immediately “went backward
and fell to the ground.” The evangelistmay well have been thinking of that
incident or of others like it, of which he had been an eye-witness, whenhe
wrote in the preface of his Gospel:“We beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begottenof the Father.”
It is surely no light thing that the Christian world in its universal tradition of
half a hundred generations, has piously and intimately believed that the
secondAdam, like the first, bore the outward signature of God’s perfect hand.
It is not without some deep reason, dwelling in universal belief among those
countless things which, if written, should have filled the whole world with
Scriptures; or in the intuitions of the Spirit, or in the instinct of love, or in the
self-evident harmonies of God’s works;it is not, I say, without some or all of
these reasons, thatthe world has believed that prophets, psalmists, and seers
knew what they spake, and spake whatthey beheld. It is a pardonable fault to
take them in the letter of their words, and a harmless error to go astray with
the belief of Christendom. We shall not be dangerouslyout of the way, if we
lovingly and humbly believe that He who is the brightness of His Father’s
glory, and the express image of His person, did take unto Himself our
manhood as His revealedpresence for ever, in its most perfect image and
likeness;that where two natures were united, as both were perfect, so both
were beautiful. I know not what he may be to whom such a thought is not
blessed.1 [Note:H. E. Manning, Sermons, iii. p. 439.]
Among all the artists who representedChrist’s life, one stands alone for his
unique, unconventional, and manifold treatment of it and its subject. Others
have representedHim in the common humanities of life, but they have lacked

the powerto give with equal grandeur the awful moments in which His
mission was concentrated. Others have representedHim ideally and with
sublimity, but they have not been able to touch such subjects as the Supper at
Cana without either making it too ideal or too vulgar. One man alone has
mingled, without a trace of effort, and with a profound conceptionat the root
of his work, the heavenly with the earthly, the Divine with the human, the
common with the wonderful, the poeticalwith the prose of daily life, in his
representationof the human existence of Christ. That man was Tintoret. In
his “LastSupper,” for example, it is a common room in which the Apostles
and the Mastermeet. Servants hurry to and fro; the evening has fallen dark,
and the lamps are lit; those who eatthe meal are really fishermen and
unlearned men; here and there, there are incidents which prove that the artist
wished to make us feel that it was just such a meal as was eatenthat night by
every one else in Jerusalem. We are in the midst of common human life. But
the upper air of the chamber is filled with a drift of cherubim, and the haze of
the lamp light takes that azure tint with which the artist afterwards filled the
recessesofthe “Paradise,” andthe whole soft radiance of the lamp falls on
and envelops the upright figure of Christ, worn and beautiful, and bending
down to offer to one of His disciples the broken bread. It is common human
life filled with the Divine. It is the conceptionof Christ’s personality which
modern theologyought to possess,becauseit ought to be the ideal of our own
life.1 [Note:Stopford A. Brooke.]
In his volume on Christ in Modern Life Stopford Brooke makesaneffort to
analyse the characterof Jesus as a man. He finds that it contains these
elements.
1. Sensibility.—Notsensitiveness, whichis too passive. Sensibility is
sensitiveness withthe addition of activity of soul exercisedupon the
impressions received. Jesus manifested(1) sensibility to natural beauty. He
had watchedthe tall “lilies” arrayed more gloriouslythan Solomon; He had
marked the reed shakenin the wind, and the tender greenof the first shoot of

the fig tree. (2) Sensibility to human feeling. This is the highest touch of
beauty in a character. He saw Nathanaelunder the fig tree and recognisedthe
long effort of the man to be true. He met Peterin the morning light, and
seeing through all the surface impetuosity of his characterdeepinto the
strength of his nature, calledhim Cephas the rock.
2. Sympathy.—When sensibility to human feeling is translatedinto actionit
becomes sympathy. The examples are innumerable. How discriminating was
the sympathy which gave to Martha and to Mary their severalmeed of praise.
With what forgetfulness of His own pain did He speak the distinctive word to
mother and apostle:Behold thy son! Behold thy mother!
But, as Dr. Guthrie says, there is no sight in the wide world like Jesus Christ,
with forgiveness onHis lips, and a crownin His blessedhand! This is worth
labouring for; praying for; living for; suffering for; dying for. You remember
how the prophet’s servant climbed the steeps of Carmel. Three years, and
never cloud had dappled the burning sky; three long years, and never a
dewdrop had glistenedon the grass, orwet the lips of a dying flower;but the
cloud came at last. No bigger than a man’s hand, it rose from the sea;it
spread; and as he saw the first lightnings flash, and heard the first thunders
roll, how did he forget all his toils! and would have climbed the hill, not seven
but seventytimes seven, to hail that welcome sight! It is so with sinners as
soonas their eyes are gladdenedwith a believing sight of Christ; when they
have got Christ; and with Him peace.
When the lights of life are gleaming,
Where its blossoms bud and bloom;

When eachbrow is bound with roses,
As we bask in their perfume:
Just beyond the smiles and sunshine,
All unseenthe Masterstands,
Waiting ever, everwaiting,
Holding out His pierced hands.
When the lights of life are darkened,
As its flowers fall and fade,
And we watch our loved ones vanish
Thro’ the silence, and the shade:
Then the Masterdraweth nearer,
Thro’ the circling shadow lands;

Holding out His pierced hands,
When the shades of night are falling,
Where eachheart must stand alone,
And the world has left us nothing
We cancall or claim our own:
Then we turn to meet the Master,
Where a halo lights the past,
Till we claspHis hands at last.
ii. The Far-stretching Kingdom

Jesus was the king of beauty

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