Chapter Seven: Trees of Righteousness

Chapter 7.
Trees of Righteousness

"That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."—Isaiah 61:3.

"We have now come to our last discourse upon this choice passage: may those who have been mourning enter into the spirit of the text and forget themselves in the glory of God. This is the near way to the surest comfort. When our one all-absorbing desire is the glory of God we rise out of ourselves, and sorrow grows light. May the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, raise us to this state of heart. The main end and object of the whole system of grace is that the Lord might be glorified. This will be the ultimate result of all that God has planned and wrought for the salvation of men. Throughout the whole dispensation of love his attributes shine forth in their meridian splendour: his mercy in forgiving the guilty, his justice in the death of their Substitute, his truth in fulfilling his threatening, and his faithfulness in keeping his promise,—all will be made manifest to the admiring eyes of the intelligent universe. The brightest beams of Jehovah's perfect nature might never have been perceived if sin had not entered upon the scene; but Eden's fall and Calvary's redemption have given scope and occasion for the display of divine pity, mercy, justice, and truth. The Lord has an eye to this fact. Since no motive could be found in us, the Lord dealeth well with us for his own sake, to manifest his own glory. For this end he hath chosen his people: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved"; for this he hath called them, "that he might make known the riches of his glory." For this he preserves, upholds, sustains, sanctifies, and perfects all those whom his sovereign grace has favoured: "to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." The passage before us declares that to glorify Jehovah the Spirit of God rested upon our Lord, and for this cause mourners are the objects of his mercy, and prisoners and brokenhearted ones the witnesses of his saying power. Let us now consider that when the saved ones are delivered from their sorrows and so filled with grace that they are called "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord," it is still with this in view, "that he might be glorified."

I. In the first place, much of the glory of grace is seen in the choice of such lowly persons to become partakers of heavenly blessings. Their humble estate commends the love which chose them to be made "trees of righteousness." The choice of men from the dungeon and the ashpit displays the absolute sovereignty and boundless pity of the Lord. Well may we feel, in thinking it over, as our great Lord and Master did when he said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." The Lord might have chosen to execute his works of grace upon the kings and princes of the earth; but instead thereof he poureth contempt upon princes. As one and another of the Alexanders and Cæsars pass before us we hear a voice, saying, "look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him." Had these been the. sole objects of election, human pride would have imputed their salvation to the superiority of their descent, or the loftiness of their rank: therefore this shall not be. If the Lord had chosen sages and philosophers, if it had been necessary to pass through various grades of scholarship in order to obtain the favour of God, then human learning would have been reckoned the cause of holiness, and the university would have monopolised the glory: this also shall not be. Neither can riches sway the choice of heaven, nor personal beauty, nor courage, nor favour among men: grace, and grace alone, must reign and lift the mourners from the dunghill, while the haughty sons of pride are passed by.

Moreover, the Lord has not made his selection according to natural character, for if he had in every case chosen those who have been excellent in morals from their youth up, then the honour would have been ascribed to good works, and grace would have been elbowed out of the throne. If the good Shepherd had come only to watch over the ninety and nine that went not astray, and not to seek lost sheep, then it would have been said, "After all, these saved ones owe but little to mercy, for their admirable character lies at the root of it all. It is all very well to talk of grace, but what sort of grace is that which comes only to the most deserving?" In such a case the mercy of God would have received no honour; but now as we read the passage before us we see that the choice of God was not directed by any consideration of personal deservings, and we are led to adore the Lord in his condescending love. The divine choice is not such as to manifest the goodness of man—alas! where is it? Nor the wisdom of man—what is it? Nor the greatness of man—where can it be found? But to manifest the greatness, the wisdom, and the grace of God, that thereby "he might be glorified." "What a mine of comfort is hidden in this fact! Mourners in Zion who lament their own unworthiness should remember this and be encouraged.

Now, note well, that the anointed Saviour came to bless those who are of a meek and unpretending spirit—"The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek," which Luke renders, "unto the poor." Both expressions point at the same class of persons: those who are despised by others, and look upon themselves with small esteem; persons who have lowly thoughts, and consider themselves to be quite unworthy of a glance from the eye of God. These meek ones of the earth never think of standing in the centre of the temple to thank God that they are not as other men, but take their places in any out-of-the-way corner, and smite on their breasts and confess that they are sinners. These lowly-minded ones our Saviour came to bless, because he knows that they will never advance a claim to the honour of their own salvation. They know themselves too well to dream of boasting, and nobody in the world will ever think of rendering honour to them, for they are despised of their fellows. In the choice of such the Lord's end is answered, "that he might be glorified." Furthermore, the Lord has chosen those who are brokenhearted. When persons are very low in circumstances they may, nevertheless, possess great force of character and wonderful courage, by means of which they may force their way to the front: but the persons who are interested in the blessings which Jesus came to bestow are not described as being of this brave and resolute race; for it is written, "He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted": he is sent to encourage those whose spirit fails them. As for the self-confident, who say, "I may be very poor in spiritual matters, but I can soon make myself better, and lay up a heap of religious wealth," nothing whatever is promised to them; but the broken-down ones, who are crushed in spirit and wounded in heart, are specially spoken of. These are they who feel that if they ever rise it must be God alone who can raise them, for they have no strength left, and these are among the first to own that if ever they are brought to heaven it will be a miracle of divine power and grace. As for themselves, each of these broken hearts cries, "My strength is dried up like a potsherd. I scarcely feel power to pray, or even to think a good thought. Where shall I find foundation for hope? What can I expect but wrath?" Such broken-spirited ones as these the Lord Jesus is anointed to bind up, and from their grateful hearts he will derive unmingled praise, since their natural condition is such as to exclude all boasting, and their deep and conscious obligations to grace will ensure their magnifying the Lord so long as they have any being.

"Perish each thought of human pride, Let God alone be magnified; His glory let the heavens resound, Shouted from earth's remotest bound."

If a poor man has but little spirit, yet there is always hope for him while he has his liberty; but those whom the Lord blesses are in bonds. A brave heart says, "Set me free, and I will hope for some turn of the tide"; but what shall he do who is a captive? There are, doubtless, men who believe that they are by nature morally free. They are always glorying in the freedom of their wills. They do not believe for a moment that free-will is a slave, as some of us know it to be; but they glory in the dignity of their nature, and the soundness of their judgment, and they are persuaded that they are able, whenever they think fit, to climb to any moral or spiritual elevation they may desire. These are not the persons, however, whom the Anointed comes to bless, for they are described as captives and as bound in prison. The objects of divine grace feel that when they would do good evil is present with them; they own that they dare not trust to their own understanding, for it is too much a captive to ignorance and prejudice; neither dare they obey their own will, for it is obstinate and perverse; nor may they indulge their own heart, for it is naturally enthralled by sin and Satan, and even when delivered carries about with it the marks of its fetters. These are the people to whom our Lord proclaims liberty, in order that when they are emancipated they may not be able to glory in themselves even in the slightest degree; for they cannot pride themselves in their freedom, since it was a pure gift procured for them by another's hand when they themselves could not move hand or foot to procure it, seeing that they were bound in chains which they could not break. In their case also the design of God's grace is answered, "that he might be glorified."

Besides that, these people whom the Lord chose to glorify him were bowed down with sorrow. They are described as having ashes on their heads and heaviness in their hearts. These feel the burden of sin, and are crushed under a sense of the wrath of God which they have consciously deserved, and if through rich mercy they at length find forgiveness they are certain to ascribe the work of salvation to God alone. They will be clear and sound upon the doctrines of grace. We have almost wished that certain preachers who are very indistinct in their teachings as to the grace of God had suffered some little of the self-abasement and self-despair which have fallen to the lot of many saints. Lack of law-work in the heart is at the bottom of much mingle-mangle doctrine; if cloudy teachers had felt more of the plague of their own hearts they would be more clear in their declaration that we are saved by grace "througth faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God." Salvation is of the Lord from first to last. It is not of man, neither by man; it is not of the will of man, nor of blood, nor of birth, nor of outward ordinances, nor of anything, but of the sovereign will and power of God alone. What does the Scripture say? "I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another."

Let me, therefore, beseech all who have tasted the love of God to make this point clear as the sun whenever they speak to others, and to make it plain to their own hearts; since to rob God of his honour is treason-felony against the majesty of heaven. As for myself, I protest that I cannot put my finger upon anything in my whole life for which I dare take the least credit before God. Truly, if in any of us there has been any virtue, if there has been any praise, if there has been anything honest or of good repute, if there has been any power in prayer, or usefulness, or consecration, or likeness to Christ, all the honour thereof must be rendered unto the Lord alone. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." This is the spot of God's children; they all, without exception, render all the honour of their salvation, heartily and unreservedly, to the Lord alone, thus is the end of eternal love secured, "that he might be glorified." Mourning friend, what say you? Is not this method of grace as suitable to you as it is glorifying to the Lord, and do you not cheerfully accept it? I know you do.

II. Compelled by our space to be brief, we now note, secondly, God is glorified in their after character; for those poor, humbled, downcast souls become so remarkable in character that the text says, "they shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord." Holy Scripture is very fond of comparing good men to trees. In this place it seems to be a somewhat incongruous metaphor; but this may be intentional, in order to call us away from the letter to the inward sense, which is spiritual. If the meaning had been natural, and moral, no doubt the figures would have run on in a connected series; but here we leap from one to another, as if to show that the outward and external cannot fully set forth the inner and spiritual.

Let us look into the expression, "trees of righteousness." When men, whom God has loved, are saved, they are saved in a righteous way, they are "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord."

True, they are saved by sovereign grace, but yet in a righteous way. They are saved by mercy, but they are not called trees of mercy, because righteousness is the greatest marvel in their salvation, and to compass this the utmost wisdom has been exercised. In a previous sermon I tried to show you how in the life and death of Christ mercy proclaimed acceptance and yet justice meted out vengeance; and therefore we see that those whom grace redeems are so saved that they glorify the divine righteousness more than any other beings. It is a wonderful thing that a sinner should be saved righteously! that God should be "just and yet the justifier of him that believeth"! The grand fact of the substitution of Christ for his people, so that mercy could be exercised without eclipsing justice, is the marvel of eternity. Men may cavil at it, but angels admire it. All adown eternity there will be mighty spirits, educated in heaven itself, who will, notwithstanding their lofty powers, be lost in wonder at the righteous salvation of God. The redeemed shall for ever be signs and wonders to the whole intelligent universe—they shall "be called trees of righteousness," the grandest of all exhibitions of the righteousness of God. There was a tree of knowledge, and by that we fell; there is a tree of life by which we rise; and we ourselves are now trees of righteousness, the immortal embodiments of the rectitude of our glorious God. The text, however, means something more: God is glorified in the character of his people, because they become righteous in their lives. It is no small wonder when a great sinner becomes a great saint. Nothing is more interesting or surprising than the phenomenon of conversion: I am sure we do not make enough of it in answering the worldling. He sneeringly enquires, "Where is your God?" Our answer may well be—"Here we see him divinely transforming the nature of men." We have seen hundreds, if not thousands, converted, in whom there has been a change so extraordinary that they themselves would not have believed that such a transmutation could have been accomplished. The work of conversion in many has been so marked that if the men had actually died and risen again from the dead they could not have been more completely different from their former selves. We have seen the unchaste become delicate in modesty, the thief scrupulous in honesty, the blasphemer devout in heart, and the man of fierce, impetuous temper meek as a lamb. Surely "this is the finger of God." All things do not continue as they were, for here is a new creation going on before our eyes every day. The Lord makes the saved ones to be temperate, upright, and gracious, so that men who look on them are compelled to exclaim, "this is the planting of God, and these are trees of righteousness."

Those who profess to be converted should remember this, and in all things adorn the doctrine of their God and Saviour "that he may be glorified." But what is meant by the expression, "trees of righteousness"? Does it not assure us that the poor and brokenhearted when renewed by grace shall flourish like the trees of the wood? They were like the heath in the desert before, or like a tree cut down whose stump alone is left; but when Jesus visits them they exhibit new life and beauty, and rise to a prominence and continuance which are very wonderful. "He shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water." "As the days of a tree are the days of my people." There is joy in their face, rest in their heart and peace in their life: the barren soul is revived; in holiness it grows and in hope it buds. Does not the expression teach us, also, that those whom Jesus comforts become fixed and established? You could move them about at your pleasure before, for they were likened to "a rolling thing before the whirlwind"; but now they have roots, which hold them firmly, like the oak or the cedar. Rough winds of trial do but strengthen their hold, and the jests and slanders of a cruel world cause them to adhere all the more closely to the truth with the very roots of their soul. What a mercy it is when God gives his people fixity and stability! so that men may call them trees of righteousness. When the saints abide in their steadfastness to the Lord, then is the design accomplished, "that he might be glorified."

Now, also, like trees these renewed ones yield a pleasant shade of gracious influence over others. Under a tree one shelters himself from the burning heat; and God worketh so graciously in believers that the poor soul that was once so brokenhearted as to need comfort from others, now becomes himself a son of consolation. As a tiny plant he needed to be sheltered with care, but now he has become a tree and the birds of the air come and lodge in his branches. Young saints gain knowledge, and tried saints obtain consolation from those very persons who a little while ago sat in ashes, bowed down with heaviness. We may think of them while we remember what the poet said of the trees:

"And ye are strong to shelter all meek things;

All that need home and covert love your shade;

Birds of shy song, and low-voiced quiet springs, And nun-like violets, by the wind betray'd."

Now when the Lord does all this, then he is greatly glorified. When the Lord brings his mourners to be like the blessed man in the first Psalm, "a tree planted by the rivers of waters," then he is had in honour. Never does a growing, flourishing, established, useful believer extol himself; but he lives to show forth the praises of the Lord, to whose right hand planting he owes everything.

III. We must further observe that the text says, "they shall be called trees of righteousness": they not only are so, but they shall be called by that name. This also honours God when his people obtain public recognition of their righteous character both from the willing and the unwilling who observe them. Possibly this may aid us in seeing the suitableness of the figure, for certain trees have become famous in connection with events and qualities as "the oak of weeping," because there Deborah was buried, and the Gospel Oak, under which the gospel was preached in the days of the reformers. Christian men have sometimes become as famous as celebrated trees. For instance, trees have been landmarks; the county terminates at the great oak, or the parish boundary is fixed by the ash-grove. In history trees have been landmarks: the tree of knowledge of good and evil marks the fall, the olive marks the assuagement of the deluge, the tree in Mamre notes the era of Abraham, and the palms of Elim record the age of Moses. You may divide the ages, if you like, by memorable trees, and evidently after the like manner you may name succeeding periods by good men who have thus become "trees of righteousness." Eras may be dated from Adam to Enoch, from Noah to Abraham, from Jacob to Moses, from Joshua to David, and so on. May our Lord take some of you who are brokenhearted and sore afflicted and make you so eminently gracious that you may be the landmarks of your age; or at least landmarks in the history of one and another who shall date their new birth from the hour when you conversed with them.

Some trees are centres of attraction. That great tree at Mamre under which God met with Abraham, has for ages been the centre of a fair; and even so there arc some Christians under whose branches their fellow Christians hold high holiday and commerce. I have known aged and afflicted believers to whom the saints of a whole region have gone to hear their goodly words, and observe their Christian patience. Scarcely can you go into one of our villages but you will hear of some gracious man or woman in whom all believers take pleasure. Happy are they who do not divide and scatter, but become rallying points for the faithful, and so "trees of righteousness." Would you have thought that mourners in Zion could ever have risen to such importance? See what the Holy Spirit has done that the Lord might be glorified. Courage, ye mourners, the like shall be done with you.

Trees frequently become marvels of grandeur. In the New Forest I have wondered as I have measured the girth of the grand old giants, both among beech and oak, that have braved for ages the changeful climate of our isle. There they stand, covering many a rood with their shade. What a history is embodied in those gnarls and knots and twisted branches! How they tell of stormy nights and days of heavy snow! All over the bark and the boughs time has with his pencil written records of sunshine and tempest. Now, such is a Christian when God makes him rich in grace: if you could but know him and read him he is a mass of history. His virtues are the results of severe trial, and the records of sublime joys. All the lines of his face mean something; there is not a scar upon his soul, or a dark memory upon his spirit, or a bright recollection in his mind but what it redounds to the glory of God. He is a wonder unto many, and will be such even among the angels of God. As monuments of the power of spiritual life to endure all kinds of trials, believers shall be called "trees of righteousness."

Trees, also, are often pictures of beauty. Nothing more adorns a landscape than its trees. If you were to cut down every grove and wood, you would produce a horrible dead level. A tree, symmetrical from its root to its highest branch, awakens in the mind of the tasteful observer high delight. Such is the beauty of the Christian character. If you draw near to one who lives near to God, you will be struck with his loveliness; he is the noblest work of God.

"Green as the leaf, and ever fair, Shall his profession shine;

While fruits of holiness appear Like clusters on the vine."

All saints are not alike, but they are all beautiful, for as Dr. M'Cosh observes, "One tree differs from another tree in glory. There is one glory of the oak, which has faced a hundred storms and is ready for as many more; another glory of the sycamore, that 'spreads in gentle pomp its honey'd shade;' another glory of the birch, so graceful in the midst of its maiden tresses; another glory of the elm, throwing out its wide arms as if rejoicing in its strength; and another glory of the lime, with its sheltered shade inviting us to enter and to linger." All these differ, but they all agree in displaying the glory of their Creator. May such beauty yet adorn every mourning soul, that God may be glorified.

IV. Lastly. It is said in the text that God is glorified, because they are not only called "trees of righteousness," but "the planting of the Lord": this marks their evident origin. Men will say, "this is God's work: we know what they once were, and we now see what they have become, and therefore we are sure that the Lord has been at work upon them." I have known persons so desperately bad, so outrageously wicked, that, when they have been converted, their neighbours have said, "Do you mean to say that he is a Christian? Then miracles will never cease." As one said of his old father, "I have scarcely known him a day sober since I was born, and if he has become a sober, praying man, then there is something in religion, I am sure." When the Lord chooses a ringleader among sinners, and saves him, his power and grace are undeniably demonstrated. When the proud man is humbled, when the careless boaster becomes serious, when the argumentative infidel prays, when the persecutor preaches, then men say, "This is the planting of the Lord," and the Most High is glorified.

And, dear friends, when Christians rise to a high degree of grace, and exhibit a gracious character in the common walks of life—especially in times of temptation and trial—then, again, men say, "these are trees of the Lord's planting." When a man discovers that you will not yield to temptation though you might be a great gainer by it, when he sees that you do not lose your temper, but are patient under insult, when he sees you do what it is not ordinary for human nature to do, then he is convinced, and in his conscience praises God. I pray you, then, beloved, if you are indeed the elect of God, in all things endeavour to show the power of the grace which dwells in you. Compel the world to glorify the Lord, who has done such great things for you. You have the promise that you shall accomplish this; rest not till it is fulfilled.

Thus have we seen the mourner led on from step to step till he becomes a grand living monument to the glory of God. Will it be your case, O troubled one? Why should it not be? You are now a mere bramble or thorn, but grace can make you into one of the trees of the Lord, planted in the courts of our God. Why should it not be sought and found by you there and now? There is nothing in the word of God to forbid your coming to God in Christ Jesus, but everything to invite and encourage you. Why not come at this moment, and commit your soul to him who is sent and anointed to save the mourning one? In the name of Jesus I entreat you at this moment to yield yourself unto God and trust in his Son. Do so, and the work of grace is begun in you, and ere long you also shall be called one of the "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."