Beneath the Banner of the Beautiful One
And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people, for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10
Union, intones Jonathan Edwards, is spoken of in Scripture as the peculiar beauty of the Church of Christ.
Likewise, Isaiah 11:10 finds the very essence of testimony there. As the old prophet has in that chapter already proclaimed Christ the sustaining Root beneath sustaining manifold flowering's of new growth, so he does again. But the root can operate unnoticed and unappreciated by men. Isaiah simultaneously declares Christ's glory, His reputation as the sustenance below AND the banner which lofts over and draws together Jews and Gentiles.
The standard, the banner, is usually associated with martial glory. So it is in Song of Solomon, designating an army fearsome with banners. Isaiah sees such coiled might in this verse, however, that the gathered host is glorious even in rest. The strength which can draw together former enemies is well able, at the discretion of the Captain of the host, to stir otherwise distinct people against a common enemy, against principalities and powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. CS Lewis's fictional demon Screwtape says even veteran tempters quake beholding Christ's Church as she is.
That banner is so high and lifted up, in fact, that designation of being under Christ's cross and covered by His effectual righteousness, that it marks for eternity those drawn into His service, even before we are gathered to know that as a physical reality. His elect this day speak different dialects in different districts across His globe. Our only uniform is the sheer variety with which He clothes us for today's deployment.
Yet, before charging at His behest, we look to the same banner. We reflect on the same call. We are conscious of the same primal and persevering Root. We charge, at least as conscious of the opportunity to salute brothers and sisters in arms as we are of the temporary works of the enemy.
Union, intones Jonathan Edwards, is spoken of in Scripture as the peculiar beauty of the Church of Christ.
Likewise, Isaiah 11:10 finds the very essence of testimony there. As the old prophet has in that chapter already proclaimed Christ the sustaining Root beneath sustaining manifold flowering's of new growth, so he does again. But the root can operate unnoticed and unappreciated by men. Isaiah simultaneously declares Christ's glory, His reputation as the sustenance below AND the banner which lofts over and draws together Jews and Gentiles.
The standard, the banner, is usually associated with martial glory. So it is in Song of Solomon, designating an army fearsome with banners. Isaiah sees such coiled might in this verse, however, that the gathered host is glorious even in rest. The strength which can draw together former enemies is well able, at the discretion of the Captain of the host, to stir otherwise distinct people against a common enemy, against principalities and powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. CS Lewis's fictional demon Screwtape says even veteran tempters quake beholding Christ's Church as she is.
That banner is so high and lifted up, in fact, that designation of being under Christ's cross and covered by His effectual righteousness, that it marks for eternity those drawn into His service, even before we are gathered to know that as a physical reality. His elect this day speak different dialects in different districts across His globe. Our only uniform is the sheer variety with which He clothes us for today's deployment.
Yet, before charging at His behest, we look to the same banner. We reflect on the same call. We are conscious of the same primal and persevering Root. We charge, at least as conscious of the opportunity to salute brothers and sisters in arms as we are of the temporary works of the enemy.
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