Isaiah chapter 11, I'm titling
the message from what is said in verse 1, a branch shall grow
out of his roots. Notice that's capital, talking
about a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the branch. He
is the true vine. And there shall come forth a
rod out of the stem of the family of Jesse. Jesse was David, King
David's father, remember? And the branch shall grow up
or grow out of him. So I'm entitling the message,
The Branch of the Lord. The Branch of the Lord. We read a moment ago in Jeremiah
23, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I'll raise unto
David a righteous branch. And a king shall reign and prosper. Boy, that's Christ, isn't it?
He shall reign and he shall prosper. whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. He shall perform all things for
us and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In
his days, Judah shall be saved. Call his name Jesus. He shall
save his people from their sins. And Israel shall dwell in safety. Talking about his elect, the
elect of God, the Israel of God. And this is the name whereby
he shall be called He's the Lord, our righteousness. The Lord Jesus
Christ has made unto us righteousness. How righteous do we need to be
to stand before God accepted? Perfectly righteous. That's only
realized in Christ, accepted in the beloved, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Remember Jeremiah 33, she shall
be called the Lord Our Righteousness. That's our name. Because we're
married to Him in that covenant of grace. That union we have
in Christ Jesus shall never fail, shall never end. It's an eternal
union. I am my Lord and He is mine.
Now we've seen in our study through Isaiah over the years The prophet
had told us about the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let's turn back a few pages and
read some of them. You remember in chapter 7, verse
14. Turn over there. Chapter 7, verse
14. The Lord himself shall give you
a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. What
does Emmanuel mean? God with us. And that talking
about the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. You remember
in Isaiah 9, turn over there, is another prophecy concerning
our Lord. Isaiah 9, verse 6, where unto
us a child is born, a son is given, the government shall be
upon his shoulders, his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,
At the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no
end. Upon the throne of David, upon his kingdom, to order it,
to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth,
even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform.
He performs these things for us. And then way over in Genesis
49, we won't turn and read this, but dying Jacob, remember as
he blessed his 12 sons? You remember? When he came to
bless, give this last blessing upon Judah, he declared that
the Messiah would come through the tribe of Judah. Remember
we read that in the Revelation. He's a lion of the tribe of Judah,
remember? But Jacob said, the scepter shall
not depart from Judah until Shiloh, the king of peace, the son of
peace, shall come. The Lord Jesus Christ rules and
reigns over all things for us as our king. King of kings and
Lord of lords. Now, Isaiah 11 verse 1, and there
shall come, there shall come forth, A rod out of the stem of Jesse
and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Lord Jesus Christ
in his humanity, the body that was prepared for him to use and
dwell in to accomplish our salvation came through the family of David. He's called many times the son
of David, isn't he? The son of David. In Romans chapter
1, when it talks about the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ, he was made of the seed of David. but he declared to
be the son of God. He's not made the son of God,
he declared to be what he is, God Almighty. So there we see
his deity and his humanity in one blessed person. He is made
of the seed of David, tribe of Judah, house of Jesse, but he's
declared to be the eternal, unchanging, everlasting God. The God-man mediator. I like
that, don't you? I like the positive language
that's used here. There shall come forth. There shall come forth. And he did. In the fullness of
the time, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. You remember in
Psalm 2, God decreed that he would set his king upon his holy
hill Zion. Did it come to pass? Everything
he decrees will come to pass. And he decreed all things from
eternity. Now, he had a very meager beginning
as the God's man mediator. out of a stem, a rod out of a
stem of Jesse. That word rod or stem is twig
or sprig. The Lord Jesus Christ and his
humanity was born very low. He wasn't high born. He was born
in a cow trough, in a cow stable, in a cow trough, born lowly as
a lowly servant. But both Joseph and Mary were
from a tribe of Judah, House of Jesse, family of David. Had to be. Had to be that way. Had to be that way. He took upon
him, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but took
upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness
of sinful flesh. And being made in the likeness
of sinful flesh, he became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Think of it. Very meager beginning,
an infant, the ancient of days. Think about this. The ancient
of days became an infant of a day old. Now, figure that out. It's
a mystery of godliness, isn't it? And then it says, not only
did he have a meager beginning, but it says here, he shall be
a fruitful branch. A branch shall grow out of him.
Remember in John chapter 15, he's called the true vine, and
we are the branches. He is the true vine. I am the
true vine. In Revelation 22, we read, I, Jesus, have sent
my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David. the bright and morning
star. That's who he is, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the fruitful branch. He
is the fruitful branch, and we are one with him. We are one
with him in that branch, in that vine. Let me see if I can find
that and read it for you quickly. He said, I am the vine, you are
the branches. He that abides in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. But without me, you
can do nothing. You can do nothing. The fruit
will branch. And then verse 2 and 3, watch this. The Lord Jesus
Christ is uniquely qualified to execute all of his covenant
offices for us. Verse 2 and 3, the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit
of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might,
the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. And he
shall make him of a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. He shall
not judge after the sight of eyes, neither reprove after the
hearing of the ear. But with righteousness shall
we judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth. And he shall smite the earth
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lip he
shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle
of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, or abide upon him. Turn to Isaiah. You remember
this prophecy concerning Isaiah? Isaiah 61 concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ. You remember our Lord, when He
came to Nazareth, and they gave Him the Word of the Lord to read,
you remember? In Luke chapter 4, the Lord turned
to this scripture in Isaiah 61, and said, This day is this fulfilled
in your hearing. Isaiah 61, look at verse 1. The
Spirit of the Lord The Lord God is upon me because
he has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek. He
has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
and the opening of prisoners to them that are bound, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our
God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn
in Zion, to give unto them the beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the Spirit of heaviness,
that they may be called trees of righteousness. There's that
righteousness again. Trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he may be glorified. The Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him. You remember John the Baptist
said of him that he had the Holy Spirit upon him without measure. And abundantly. Now every believer
has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but in measure. The God-man
mediator had the Holy Spirit without measure. And then it
says here in verse 2, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
or reside upon him. The Spirit of Wisdom. Wisdom. He has all wisdom. He is the
wise, eternal God. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. He only is the only wise God
our Savior. He is a skilled Savior. He knows how to get the job done
for us with all wisdom. The Spirit of the Lord is upon
Him and He acts with the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge. He does
all things right and on time and all things well. Remember,
He said, I must be about my Father's business. That's why He came.
He came upon his father's business to do his business. And then
he said, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and
to finish the work he gave me to do. And then in Calvary 3,
you remember what he said? It is finished. It is finished.
He has the spirit of wisdom to execute all the counsel of God
in accomplishing our salvation for us. Now, I like that scripture
in Isaiah 42 forward where it says, He can't fail. Behold my
elect in whom my soul delights. He cannot fail. He cannot fail
to honor God. He cannot fail to save his people
from their sin. He cannot fail to execute all
righteousness for us. And then it says here also in
verse 2, not only does he have the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy
Spirit upon him without measure, residing upon his ministry always,
and the spirit of wisdom, but also of understanding. The Lord
understands all things, because He knows all things. Known unto
God are all of His works from the beginning. Our blessed Savior
has perfect knowledge of all things. He knows all the terms
of the covenant of grace, and He knows how to perfectly execute
them for us. as our surety, as our mediator,
one God, one mediator between God and men, that is the Lord
Jesus Christ. You remember He's called the
surety of a better covenant, established upon better promises? That's our Savior. Aren't you
glad He's our Savior? Aren't you glad God made him
our Savior, our Lord, our righteousness, our salvation? He has the spirit
of wisdom residing upon him. He has absolute wisdom. He has absolute understanding.
And then it says here, the spirit of counsel. We read just a moment
ago, he's called the Almighty Counselor. The Almighty Counselor. Now, a lot of preachers in our
day have gotten themselves into the counseling business. I'm
not a counselor, I'm a preacher. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
counselor. I just simply tell you to go
see Him. Find out what He said in His Word, what He has revealed
in His Word. He is the Mighty Counselor who
reveals unto us the way of salvation. And that way of salvation is
Himself. He said, what did he say? I am the way, the truth,
the life. No man comes to the Father but
by and through me. He reveals unto us himself as
the way of salvation. He said these things from the
wise and prudent, remember? and has revealed them unto babe. A man doesn't naturally learn
the gospel. It comes by revelation. It's
a revelation, God commanding the light to shine in your darkened
heart that you might see the beauty and glory of Christ. That's
everything in salvation. Neither is there salvation in
any other. No other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. He is the mighty counselor
that we need. You need wisdom. You need understanding. You need counsel. How God can
be just and justify the ungodly. How you can be a just God and
Savior. What did the Lord say? Look unto me. Come unto me. I'll give you rest. And then
he says here, the spirit of might. You see that? The spirit of might. Now how much might does he have?
Remember what we read in the Revelation? He's called the Almighty
God. He's just not mighty, He's almighty. He has all power in heaven and
in earth, for He is the mighty God. Almighty! Almighty! Look over here at Isaiah 63.
I believe it is Isaiah 63. I'm glad that he's almighty because
it takes an almighty God to save such a dead sinner as we are.
Isaiah 63. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with dyed garments from Basra? Isaiah 63. This, that is glorious in his
apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength, I that speak
in righteousness." Boy, there's that righteousness again. You
can't get away from that. Not in the gospel. I that speak
to thee in righteousness, mighty to save. Aren't you glad he has
all power in heaven and earth? He prayed that in John 17. Father,
I thank you, you've given me power over all flesh, that I
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given to me. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what he does in heaven, earth, sea, and all deep places. Why,
he is the Almighty God. He's the Almighty Savior. He's
called God, our Savior. Now, if he's God, and he is,
that means he's Almighty. How many times did we read in
the book of Isaiah, he says, I am God, beside me there is
no one. Over and over, over and over again, we read that in Isaiah,
don't we? And then, it says also, the spirit
of knowledge. That's a pretty good, that whole
verse is a pretty good description of our Lord, isn't it? The Spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him, reside upon him, the Spirit of
wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit
of Almighty God, the Spirit of knowledge. Knowledge! How much
does the Lord know? How much does the Lord know about
us? How much does the Lord know about you? He knows the hearts
of all men. To have a theological term for
that, they call that omniscient. That simply means God knows everything.
He's never learned anything. He never learned anything. He
always has obtained and has all knowledge of all things and all
people. He knows the hearts of all men.
All-knowing. All-knowing. This is the Lord
with whom we have to do. All things are naked and open
before Him with whom we have to do. You remember when Samuel
went down to the house of Jesse to anoint a king? And Jesse had
eight sons. Seven of them came before him.
And the Lord said, Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Jesse,
you got any others left? I got a little runt of a son
named David. He's out here tending the sheep.
Surely, he's not a candidate to be the king, the anointed
of the Lord. And Samuel said, go get him,
fetch him, bring him. And the Lord spoke to the heart
of Samuel and said, that's my king right there. Samuel thought
it was a lie of the oldest son. And the Lord said to Samuel,
you're looking on the outward countenance, I'm looking on the
heart. He saw the heart of David. David's
called a man after God's own heart. We know the story of David. how
God raised him up to be a mighty king. And the Lord Jesus Christ
is the fulfillment of all of David's office. He is the king
of kings. He's David's king. Remember,
he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at thy right hand till
I make all thy enemies up with stool. Remember. And then it
says there, and the fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord shall
be upon him. Jehovah his Father shall rest
upon him as a God-man mediator. The Lord Jesus Christ had the
highest regard and esteem for the holy will of the Father."
Didn't he? The fear of the Lord, the reverence.
You think of the reverence the Lord Jesus Christ had for his
Heavenly Father. Holy and reverent is His name. So much so, that He says this,
He said, I didn't come to do my own will, but the will of
Him that sent me. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that of all which the Father hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. This is
the will of Him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the
Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life, and I'll
raise Him up at the last day, All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. He came to do the will of the
Father, and he hath a reverential fear and awe of his Heavenly
Father. Remember in Isaiah, or rather
in Hebrews 5, verse 7 says, Who in the days of his flesh, Talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. When he offered up prayers and
supplication with strong crying and tears unto him that was able
to save him from death and he was heard in that he feared God. Now he feared and worshipped
God his father perfectly. Now, we desire to worship Him,
and we want to love Him, but we've never... He is the only
man who worshiped God perfectly. He's the only man who loved God
with all his whole heart and spirit. The only one. We never
have. Now, we aspire to that, but we
never have. But the Lord Jesus Christ, He
did love God with all His heart. He did worship God in spirit
and in truth. Now look at verse 3 and verse
4. And he shall make him a quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge
after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing
of his ears. But his judgment is a righteous
judgment. But with righteousness shall
he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth. He shall smite the earth with
the rod of his mouth. That's his word. And with the
breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. He should be in his office and
the government that he exercises and the power that's committed
to him is an exact power. The acts of his government are
true and righteous altogether. Remember we read a moment ago,
the government shall be upon his shoulders. And there shall
be no end of the increase of his government. Aren't you glad
he's in charge? Our Lord works all things after
the counsel of his own will. None can stay his hand or say
unto him, Lord God, what doest thou? He has quick understanding. He has a keen sense of smell. Notice the marginal reference
on the word quick. That is the Lord Jesus Christ
can smell out a phony. He knows a phony. The hypocrite
can't hide from Him. Our Lord has a sharp, discerning
spirit. Remember, He said to those Pharisees,
you or they would justify yourselves before men. God knows your heart. That which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. He said to
those Pharisees, you make the outward clean and you shine it
all up like a pretty gravestone. Remember? But within, he said,
you're full of dead men's bones. Dead men's bones. The Lord has
a discerning spirit. He knows all things. You remember
our study in the Revelation? I can't remember which church
it was, but they said we are rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing. Remember? Remember what the Lord
said? You're blind, wretched, miserable,
poor, naked, and you don't even know it. a understanding of the hearts
of all men. His judgment and reproving and
rebukes are with righteousness, verse four. With righteousness
shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth. He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and
with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Oh, his judgments
are right and true altogether, aren't they? His judgments are
not by outward appearance, but with equity. Equity, impartiality,
and fairness. He's no respect for persons.
He knows that we all have sinned. All have sinned. and come short
of the glory of God. The Lord will justly save His
people and justly condemn every sinner outside of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the only one that's the
just God and Savior. He will justly save His people.
He's the just and the justifier. And He will justly condemn every
sinner outside of Christ. Justice and judgment are the
habitation of His throne. He saves His people in a just,
holy way. He has to deal with our sin,
doesn't He? He dealt with our sin and justice in the Lord Jesus
Christ, bearing our sin and our debt, our guilt in His own body,
and the wrath of God spent itself on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
those in Him Therefore there is now no condemnation to those
who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves us justly, doesn't he?
And he'll condemn every man outside of Christ. The wicked, the guilty,
the wages of sin and death. Thank God the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The poor and the meek,
you see that? The poor and the meek. The needy sinner, He'll
justly save by His grace. You remember Psalm 34 and Psalm
40? He's nigh them of a broken heart,
save as such as be of a contrite spirit. David said, I am poor
and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. The wild and the wicked
and the proud sinner will be justly condemned by His justice. He shall slay the wicked. What
do the wicked deserve? What do we deserve? We're wicked
by nature. We're wicked by birth. What do
we deserve? I don't want what I deserve.
I want His mercy. I know what I deserve. I deserve
and all, me and everyone, they deserve His wrath, don't they? I want mercy. I'm going to take
my place as a mercy beggar before the throne of God. The Lord said of that publican
who cried out for mercy, remember what he said to him? He went
down to his house justified rather than the other. The Pharisee
bragged on himself and was condemned. The Pharisee bragged on himself
and was condemned. The publican condemned himself
and was justified by the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 5, Isaiah 11 verse
5. And righteousness shall be the
girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. I love
those two things right there. Righteousness. Faithfulness. That describes
our Lord Jesus Christ. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Yes, he surely will, and he always
has. He is the king of kings. He's
called the king of righteousness and the king of peace that operates
in all things with absolute holiness. He saves us in a righteous manner,
and He makes us, not only does He put away all our sin, we call
that, what we call that? Redemption through the blood
of Christ. But He also makes us righteous in Himself. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works,
remember? And faithfulness. Faithfulness. Our salvation is based upon whose
faithfulness? A lot of people think their salvation
is based upon their faithfulness. You can't be faithful enough.
Thank God that salvation is based upon His faithfulness, not ours.
His faithfulness, not ours. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. It's his faithfulness, his obedience
unto death, his faithfulness honoring the law of God, establishing
for us perfect righteousness through his faithfulness unto
death, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of
the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. It doesn't say there by faith
in Jesus Christ, does it? By the faith of. You get a modern
translation and they change that word from of to in. Making salvation
conditioned upon you instead of on the obedience of Christ.
But by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. By the
faith of Christ. It says that so many times in
the word of God. Let me find another scripture
here. Remember Romans 3, the law says
it, says to everyone, stop your mouth, you're guilty before God.
Therefore, by the deeds of law shall no flesh be justified in
his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now
the righteousness of God without the laws manifests being witnessed
by the law and the prophet, even the righteousness of God, which
is by the faith of Jesus Christ. Aren't you glad that He's the
faithful God, our Savior? Aren't you glad that salvation
is based upon His faithfulness, His obedience? It couldn't be
based upon ours. That would make salvation conditioned
upon a sinner instead of a Savior. I'll read one other. I'm going
to quit. Philippians 3. says that we count
all things but dung lost and ruined for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things and to count them but dung that I may
win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness
which is of the law flipping three nine but that which is
through the faith of Christ The righteousness which is of
God by faith. Faith does not accomplish righteousness. Our faith that God gives us is
a gift of God, but it does not accomplish righteousness, does
it? Faith receives the Lord Jesus Christ who is our righteousness. Faith doesn't accomplish salvation,
does it? No. My faith didn't die from
my sin. The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
salvation and I receive him by God-given faith. By grace are
we saved through faith, and that knowledge of yourself is a gift
of God, not of works, which any man should boast. Righteousness shall be the girdle
of his loin. Faithfulness, faithfulness. He reigns in righteousness. He
reigns in faithfulness. He reigns. He reigns. He reigns in all things. One more verse here. I just came
to mind here. that as sin has reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness. You can't
get away from that. Grace reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, it's all based
upon, that's why we say salvation, this book says. This book of
God says that salvation is of the Lord. He's the Alpha, the
Omega, the beginning and the end.