29 NOVEMBER (PREACHED CHRISTMAS MORNING 1769)
Till Shiloh come
‘The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.’ Genesis 49:10–12
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Genesis 49:8–12
Among Jacob’s dying words, the prophecy concerning Judah is the most eminent. The victories and the blessings of this tribe, as well as its perpetuity, are all applicable to the person here spoken of—who is the Messiah, the Lord Christ. The land of Judah was to be, and so it proved, fruitful in wine and milk, under which emblems the abundance of gospel blessings is set forth by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 [verse 1]. The time of his [Messiah’s] appearance is marked out by the Sceptre, or, as the word signifies, the tribeship. Judah was a distinct tribe and had the government—till he appeared. Then, or very soon after, they were destroyed out of their land, and their genealogies were lost, so that none of the Jews at present or for many ages past, have been able to prove their descent from any particular tribe.
To him shall the gathering of the people be. This clause is expounded by John’s exposition of what Caiaphas unwittingly delivered (John 11:52 [And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad]). The people whom God had chosen for himself were not confined to the Jewish nation but dispersed; by the preaching of the gospel revealing his love, they should be called out of ignorance. Note he is the desire of all nations. Some of all people and languages, when they hear of him and feel their need of a Saviour, shall be enabled to look to him and put their trust in his name, renouncing every other (see Isaiah 45:14). Note also the efficacy of his love and grace: they shall not be overlooked or disappointed. Whatever difficulties are in the way, they shall be surely gathered unto him, and not one of them lost.
FOR MEDITATION: ‘And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof’ (Revelation 5:5).
SERMON: GENESIS 49:10–12 [2/3] [ALSO PREACHED CHRISTMAS 1780]
Milo 