restlessness, with which the conqueror from the East seeks to carry through his human plans, and to place himself in the centre of the world's history, is here contrasted the inward composure and deportment of the Servant of God, His equanimity, His freedom from excitement,--all of which are based upon the clear consciousness of His dignity and mission, upon the conviction of the power of the truth which is of God, of the power of the Spirit which opens up the minds and hearts for it, and which has its source in the declaration: "I put my Spirit upon Him," by which the great wall of separation between Him and the conqueror from the East is set up. It is just [Pg 214] because of His not being beat upon carrying through any thing, because of His great confidence, that the Servant of God _gains_ everything, and obtains His object of bringing right to the nations.--Matt., in chap. xii. 15-21, finds the confirmation of the character here assigned to Christ in two circumstances:--_first_, in His not entering into a violent dispute with the Pharisees opposing Him (οἱ δὲ φαρισαῖοι συμβούλιον ἔλαβον κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐξελθόντες, ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν), in His not exciting against them the masses who were devoted to Him, but in withdrawing from them (ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς γνοὺς ἀνεχώρησεν ἐκεῖθεν, ver. 15), being convinced that the cause was not His but God's, and that there was no reason for getting angry with those who were contending against God; just as David said of Shimei: "Let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him, Curse David."--_Secondly_, in the circumstance that instead of availing himself of the excitement of the aroused masses, He charged them that they should not make known His miraculous deeds (καὶ ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ φανερὸν αὐτὸν ποιήσωσιν, ver. 16), being convinced that He did not need to seek to draw attention to himself, but that, by the secret and hidden power of God, His work would be accomplished. Ver. 3. "_The bent reed shall He not break, and the dimly burning wick shall He not quench; in truth shall He bring forth right._"