“He shall not strive nor cry”
Jesus withdraws to the Sea of Galilee. Many miracles.
(The Gospel History, Section 41)
And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from thence with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed, and he healed them all: and from Judæa, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumæa, and beyond Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him: for he had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon him that they might touch him. And the unclean spirits, whensoever they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he charged them much that they should not make him known: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
Behold, my servant whom I have chosen;
My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased:
I will put my Spirit upon him,
And he shall declare judgement to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive, nor cry aloud;
Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break,
And smoking flax shall he not quench,
Till he send forth judgement unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles hope.
“He shall not strive nor cry”
(The Saviour of the World, Vol II Book II Poem XXIV)
Once more to lake Gennesareth He came;
Did fair expanse of water mirroring sky,
Mountains and villages, and ways of men
Engaged in business of this inland sea,
The fisher-folk and they on traffic bent,
Did simple things like these solace a Mind
Outworn with conflict? Or, was it that here
Dwelt those disciples whom He held most dear?
He came, and of His coming rumour spread
With suddenness, mysterious, of the East;
Great multitude from Galilee followed Him;
And, sick or sinning, lo, He healed them all!
From Judah, too, they came, a mighty host,
From desert region beyond Jordan, crowds
From Tyre and Sidon, cities of old fame,
And from about the brisk Phœnician coasts,—
In multitudes they came; the Kingdom spreads;
That ripple made by weight of truth cast in
Life’s torpid waters, much increased and grew.
Equipped with wings, springs hope in every breast;
See, all men bring their sick, and who have plagues,
And press upon Him so they may but touch,
And go home whole; they, too, possessed of fiends:
All see this day the Son and Servant, One,
And know the Father pleased in His Beloved!
He, strong in power of God, that day declared
To Gentiles gathered from the furthest coasts
How God had given all judgment to the Son;
Nor need they fear, for He was pitiful,
Wherefore the Father trusted Him to judge!
They knew Him meek, nor heard Him cry aloud
Nor strive for right of His with any man;
No clamant tones of His heard they in street;
Bruisèd, they knew them strengthened and not broke
By gracious words from His lips; poor smoking flax,
Their smouldering thoughts brake into flame of love:
And all those Gentiles hoped upon His Name!
“Behold my servant, He whom I have chosen;
My beloved in whom well pleaséd is my soul!
My spirit will I upon him pour out,
And judgment to the Gentiles shall he deal.
He shall not strive, nor cry aloud in the streets;
Neither shall any man hear him cry out.
A bruised reed shall he not break,
And smoking flax shall he not quench,
Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles hope.”
St. Mark iii. 7-12;
St. Matthew xii. 15-21;
Isaiah xlii. 1-4