"The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God shall stand forever. O you that tell good tidings to Zion, get up into the high mountain; O you that tell good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:6-9,RV) "As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children." (Psalm 103:15-17) "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10) "Let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate: And the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass: and the flower thereof falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings." (James 1:9-11,RV) "Why are you anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: Yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:28-30) "Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is." (Jeremiah 17:5-7) "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing." (Romans 7:18) "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would." (Galatians 5:17) "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6) "Love one another from the heart fervently: Having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God, which lives and abides. For, all flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls: But the Word of the Lord abides for ever. And this is the Word of good tidings which was preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:22-25,RV)
Remember that this is part of the message of comfort. God tells us that our iniquity is pardoned, and we accept the comfort. He tells us that our warfare is accomplished, since He has overcome the world, and we rejoice for the consolation.
Connection Between Grass and Flesh
"The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God shall stand forever." (Isaiah 40:6-8,RV)
We ought to be equally glad when He goes on with His comforting words, and says that "All flesh is grass," that is, that we have no might nor power nor wisdom in ourselves. That is really what is involved in the announcement that our warfare is accomplished, that Jesus has fought the battle for us; for the only reason why He has fought and overcome for us is that we had no power to fight and overcome for ourselves.
The first impulse one has on reading the Lord's words, "All flesh is grass," is to say, "That does not mean actually that all flesh is grass; I know that I am not grass, for I do not resemble grass at all; there is scarcely any likeness between me and grass."
The words are of course used in a figurative sense. It is thus that men make of none effect the words of the Lord, and keep themselves from learning anything. When God tells us something which is entirely new to us, and which we do not understand, the wisest thing for us to do is believe it, and then we shall learn the new thing. He who believes nothing but what he already knows and understands, will have a very limited range of knowledge, and his store of knowledge will continually diminish.
It is astonishing what a wide field opens up to us when we accept some statements of the Lord's as actual fact, and proceed on that basis. Things that before were obscure, suddenly become plain. In the statement that "All flesh is grass," we have in a nutshell the whole science of botany and of physiology, as well as the first part of the key to salvation. "And why take you thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:28-30)
From these verses we learn that the term "grass" is very comprehensive, including many plants not commonly classed as grass. The lilies of the field are by the Lord called grass. There are, however, very many different kinds of grass, that are so called by botanists. Every species of grain is but a kind of grass. A little thought and observation and comparison will show this fact to any who have not known it before.
Man is What He Eats
When this is recognized, it is not difficult to see that all flesh is grass. In fact, the wonder is that anybody should need to be told so simple a thing. Thus, we well know that any animal is composed of what it eats. "Der Mensch ist was er isst," says the old German proverb.
That is, man is what he eats. Now not only all that we eat, but everything that is on the face of the earth, comes from the ground. Most men eat both vegetables and flesh of animals; but the animals which they eat feed only on vegetables, or grass, so that in every case a man's body is composed only of that which he derives from the vegetable creation. Only in the vegetable world can man find the elements prepared for the sustenance of his body; the ox makes no change whatever in the food elements which he finds in the grass; so that when a man eats the ox he is simply taking his food second hand, after it has done service in another body. He gets nothing that he would not get in a purer form if he took it direct from the plant. Therefore, it is a literal fact that: "All flesh is grass." (Isaiah 40:6)
The stream can rise no higher than its source. Nothing can be any better than the material out of which it is made. A strong garment cannot be made out of rotten cloth. The whole cannot be any greater than the sum of all its parts. Therefore since a man's body is composed only of grass, or the fruit of grass, it is evident that there is in man no more power or wisdom than there is in the grass. How can there be, when man himself is but grass? He is not the grass of the field, but he is grass, nevertheless. "Well, this is anything but a comforting doctrine, I must say," I hear somebody exclaim. "If I have no more power or wisdom than the grass, there is no use in my trying to do or be anything; there is no hope for anybody."
God's Power Revealed
Not so fast, please. You have not heard the whole of the story, or at least have forgotten a part of it. "The Word of our God shall stand for ever." (Isaiah 40:8) "[It] lives and abides." (1 Peter 1:23)
It is almighty and everlasting. The comfort of the fact that all flesh is grass is based on the accompanying fact that God's Word, which is the life of the grass, lives and abides, all-powerful. Do not separate these two facts. Let them always be as closely united as the Lord has made them.
Nevertheless someone will say, "I know that I have power that grass has not. I can move at will, and I can do many things that are impossible for grass."
What is the conclusion? Oh, simply this, that you will prove that the Bible is not true. There is not enough prospect of gain in that to make it worthwhile trying. But let us examine your statement. "I can move," you say.
Well, so can the plant. Some plants can even move from place to place, and every plant has certain movements that may be seen by anybody who will take the trouble to look.
Did you ever watch a plant growing in the window? You know how it will turn towards the light. Turn it half-way round, so that it leans away from the window, and you will very soon see that it has turned round, and is reaching out to the light again.
Plant a tree half-way between a well and a dry sand-bank, and watch how the roots grow. Instead of reaching out in every direction, the most of them will turn towards the water. The roots of a plant always set toward the place where there is nourishment for it in solution, and they always go right the first time, and they go the most direct way. They lose no time in "prospecting," and they do not miss the way.
What is the plant doing? Just what the man does--trying to get into the best possible circumstance for living; and it accomplishes its purpose more successfully then the man does.
Watch the plant, and you will also see that it is capable of bearing a great burden. In the first place, the seed must often exert wonderful power, in order to escape from the shell that encases it. Then think how great a weight of earth the tender shoot must push out of its way before it can reach the surface of the ground. Think how great a weight the growing tree lifts up every year. Then above all, remember that the strength of which you are wont to boast is derived from these same despised plants.
You have often been hungry and faint. You have often felt so weak that you could not think of working any longer, and have had your strength and courage come back to you after eating a bit of bread. Did you not connect your increased strength with the bread that you ate? Of course you did, for you said, "I cannot do anything more until I have had something to eat."
Yet for all that, you did not think that all the new strength that you received from eating was formerly in that which you ate. If it had not been, how could you have derived any strength from eating it? "Speak well of the bridge that carries you over."
Instead of being so much superior in power to the grass of the field, you are absolutely dependent upon it. Shall we then worship the grass of the field, as being superior to us? By no means, for you were right in a sense, that the grass has no power. It is used as a symbol of weakness and frailty. Today it is and tomorrow it is not. Whence then comes that wonderful power that is manifested in its growth, and which we derive by eating and assimilating it? From the word of God, which lives and abides. "The word of God is living and active." (Hebrews 4:12,RV)
It is force and energy. It is wisdom. "Christ upholds all things by the word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)
His word in the beginning said, "Let the earth bring forth grass," (Genesis 1:11) and in obedience to that word the earth brings forth grass to this day. All the life and energy that is manifested in the growing plant is the life of the word that is in it. The everlasting power and Divinity of God are clearly seen in every living plant. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)
The seeds of the grass, which we eat made into bread, are but the means of conveying to us the life and power of God.
Give Glory to Him
Only God is great: "For You are great, and do wondrous things: You are God alone." (Psalm 86:10)
Only He has life, and wisdom and strength: "Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength." (Proverbs 8:14) "Worship God." (Revelation 19:10)
This is the lesson that we are to learn from the statement that all flesh is grass. It is the simple truth, and there is no comfort in anything but the truth. A lie may deceive us, and make us think that all is right, but it can give no real comfort. The man who tells us that there is no danger, when there is danger, is not a comforter. The comforter is the man who points out the danger and the way of escape.
Now as the result of not recognizing the fact that we are grass, we are all engaged in making gods of ourselves. We imagine that we have power in ourselves. The fact is that: "Power belongs to God." (Psalm 62:11)
Just to the extent that we think that we have any power, do we regard ourselves as God. We propose at the very best to divide honors with God, saying, "I have so little strength," and think that we have made a wonderfully humble confession. In reality we have said, "I am not so great a god as the One in heaven."
That is not fearing God, and giving glory to Him. God tells us the plain truth, that we have no strength at all, in order that we may learn to say, "Behold, God ... is my strength." (Isaiah 12:2)
Variety of Expression
"That which you sow is not quickened, except it die: And that which you sow, you sow not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat or some other grain: But God gives it a body as it has pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another in glory." (1 Corinthians 15:36-41)
Even so there is a difference in plants. Indeed, that is what the text says, for God gives to every seed such a body as pleases Him. All plants have not the same purpose. There is infinite variety in the vegetable world, yet the same life is in all plants. The same life in all brings each to the state of perfection which God designs for it. Even so the same life in the human plant will, if given free course, bring the man to the state of perfection designed for him.
Nothing is too hard for the Lord, and nothing is too small to escape His attention. The grass of the field is passive in the hands of God, for Him to do with it as He will, and wonderful things are accomplished. If we will but be as passive in God's hands, He will do infinitely greater things for us, inasmuch as He created us for a higher place.
But we cannot reach that higher place by striving to lift up ourselves, any more than the ivy could by its own wisdom and power climb to the top of the tower, or split the walls asunder. "It is God that works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
Salvation by Creation
"This is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:25)
The Gospel presents God as Creator, as supreme. It presents an Almighty Saviour, who saves by His power to create, inasmuch as He saves by creating us anew. Therefore we must expect that the nearer we approach the end, the plainer will this Gospel be presented. More and more loudly must the cry be uttered, which shows men that they are in themselves absolutely nothing, but that God is everything. In Him is all fullness, "For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell," (Colossians 1:1) "And of His fullness have all we received." (John 1:16)
We are nothing, but He gives us everything in giving us himself. The Gospel does not tell us to look at ourselves, but at God. It tells us what we are, and then says, "Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:9)
We are to accept God's statement of what we are, and that is not difficult when we have it so patent to our senses. But knowing that we are nothing, we do not need to waste any time looking at ourselves, for it is certainly a waste of time to look at nothing. Our charge is, "Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:9)
Where shall we look, in order to see Him? Look at everything that He has made,--at the heavens, the seas, the earth, and all that is in them. When we see ourselves, as we must every day, let it be only to recognize the fact that "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:28)
Let no flesh glory in man, but instead, "Fear God, and give glory to Him ... and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:7)--Present Truth, September 7, 1899--Isaiah 40:6-9.