Dear congregation, powerful people throughout history have usually had little or no regard for the weak and for the feeble. It's well known that dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin starved and killed many who were disabled. old or simply poor. And really, in a way, we don't need to look far because in our own society, the helpless, unborn are not protected. And their lives are easily and quickly and often without any protestations snuffed out because people are on the move upward and don't have time for the weak and for the helpless. It's very characteristic for people who are upwardly mobile, who are going places to run right over others who are in their way. People who cannot help them in their quest for greatness. How different it is of the Lord Jesus Christ. Already in the Old Testament it was prophesied concerning Him in Psalm 72, For He shall deliver the needy when He crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. How true this was also of Christ when He lived on our earth. And in our passage this morning, Matthew draws our attention to it in a particular way. By quoting from the prophet Isaiah, and this will be our text in the 20th verse, specifically these words, a bruised reed he shall not break. and smoking flax shall he not quench till he send forth judgment unto victory." Our theme with God's help this morning is Christ's tender care of bruised and smoldering souls. We'll see first of all their traits, secondly, His tenderness, and thirdly, His triumph. Christ's tender care for bruised and smoldering souls. Their traits, His tenderness, and His triumph. First of all then, their traits. Just prior to our text in verse 20, we have two incidents that Matthew records for us that are highly remarkable and highly telling also of Christ's ministry. The first takes place out in the fields where the Lord Jesus Christ is with His disciples. It's the Sabbath day. And the disciples are hungry. And so they reach forth to pluck grain, ears of corn, in order to have something to still the hunger within them. And Christ does not censure them in any way. In fact, when the Pharisees come and censure them for their actions, pointing the finger at them and accusing them, Christ, as it were, stands between the Pharisees and His people, His disciples, and protects them and defends them, and shows that they are guiltless in what they have done. He takes them, as it were, under His wing and shows that He, as the new temple, is feeding His disciples, His people, from off the table of showbread, which is Himself. And He's providing for them in their needs when they are needy. The second incident in our passage is in the synagogue. where Christ finds a man with a withered hand, a disabled man, a crippled man with respect to his hand, it's withered, it's dried up. And the Pharisees are looking to see what will happen. And in fact, there's this provocation, isn't there? They're wanting to see whether Jesus will do anything here against the Pharisaical laws. And Jesus heals this man. He restores the withered limb. New life comes into this dead limb, and He shows His care, His concern, and His life-giving power to this needy man. But the Pharisees cannot abide it. They want Christ's miracles on their terms. Not on His terms. Not in a way that glorifies Him and lifts up His servanthood and His character before them. What a sharp contrast there was between Christ and the Pharisees. The Pharisees stood in the street corners and cried aloud and drew attention to themselves to show people how righteous they were, how acceptable they were before God. And the same time they censured others. They made rules upon rules in order to stifle those around them, especially the weak, the helpless and the needy. They were very quick to drag people before their courts and condemn them, while they themselves often didn't even keep their own rules. What a contrast! Here's man's religion on the one hand that lifts itself up against God. And then there's the other. There's God coming down. to man, to poor, needy, sinful man, showing such meekness and such tenderness. Those two religions, if you can call this one even a religion, but those two are still operating today. They are the principles that govern our lives, don't they? We are either governed by the one or we are governed by the other. Oh, how much pride and conceitedness there is even among professing people of God. The letter killeth, but the Spirit maketh alive. Well, all this comes really into focus when we see the Pharisees next. Because what do they do? On this, their own Sabbath day, they meet together, have a council together, and plot against this Lord of life. This man has done nothing but heal a disabled man. And yet they break all rules, even God's rules. And they take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ. What does the Lord do? Will He unmask it for all that it is? Will He stand up against those Pharisees and enter into their counsel and point the finger at them? He will not strive. He withdraws Himself. And the multitudes follow Him because they are in need of something, aren't they? And the Lord shows Himself here, the true servant of the Lord. And Matthew, after he's painted this picture here under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, he goes back to Old Testament prophecy, to Isaiah 42, verses 1 through 4. And he quotes it and says, look at how this Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfills what was prophesied in the Old Testament. Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, he will not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench. Well, let's look at these two pictures that are given to us here in this statement. First of all, bruised reeds, and then secondly, smoking flax. A bruised reed. Now reeds, children, you understand this too. Reeds are those tall, slender, thin shoots that grow up often in ditches or near water, don't they? You can find them maybe on your way home. You can even see some close to ponds or lakes. And there they come up as slender and tall, but thin and weak stalks. They grow in the mud. They love the moist soil. They need that, in fact. And the sun, the braze of the sun draws forth this life out of the mud. And it goes upward. If for some reason the moisture dissipates or disappears, this reed is in a bad situation. It can easily shrivel up. And this is what the Lord compares his people to here, to reeds. This is not a very pleasant or a very agreeable comparison, isn't it? We would much sooner that the Lord would compare His people to trees, which He sometimes does indeed, or to shrubs or to flowers even. And indeed the Scriptures speak about these things. But here the Lord wants to draw attention to one particular aspect of His people, their weakness in themselves. And notice how He doesn't just speak here about the reed, but He speaks about the bruised reed. Here we have something which has been bruised, battered, if you will. The fibers of that reed somewhere at some point, maybe midway or so, they have been broken or at least strained. They've been battered. And this stalk of reed is bruised. And instead of being able to stand upright and tall, it starts to bend and to bow and even to fall over. That's the bruised reed. Now we know from the culture as well that reeds were used in instruments of shepherds. A flute-like instrument that had a reed mechanism that they would make music with. And as the shepherds would be on the hillsides, they would pluck a reed and fit it into this instrument and they would play with it. But if they played long enough, then the reed might be bruised. And this flute-like instrument would send out a mournful, a groaning sound. And it was useless, really, to the shepherd. And so, as soon as that happened, they would open up their instrument and take out this reed and they would toss it. What good is a bruised reed? And they'd go and find another one, of which there were undoubtedly many. And it would take its place. That was the reed. the bruised reed. Now, secondly, the smoking flax. Now, flax was used in Bible times to make candle wicks. This was, of course, the material that was braided then into a rope and made into a wick. But a lot of times this flax had a lot of impurities in it. And so when it was in the candle, for example, and the flame would come down, amidst the flax there would be all these impurities like dust and dirt and other things too that when the flame would hit those things it would sputter and smolder and smoke. The other thing that could happen was that Especially after some time, a candle, as we know, a lot of wax gets molten, and it pools together, and the wick can go down and down, and the wax can almost cover it. And when you get to that point, then you have this smoldering, this smoking flax inside this candle. And that's what the Lord is speaking of here, the smoking flax. And when that happens, we can somewhat relate to this because if we have a candle that hasn't been trimmed right, it can really send off this horrible smell, can't it? This smoke that if you get in your eyes is offensive and irritating. But that's what the smoking flax does. Now what is Isaiah and what is Matthew? And what is the Lord representing by these pictures, the bruised reed and the smoking flax? Well, when we compare this with the rest of the Scriptures, and when we see to whom the Lord especially had dealings, with whom He had dealings during His ministry, Weren't they exactly people like bruised reeds? People like smoking flax? Didn't the Lord Himself sit on the mountain and preach that sermon and His first words were, blessed are the poor in spirit. I've come to bring the gospel of good news to the poor, to heal up the broken hearted. The people the Lord especially had dealings with during His ministry were the people like that woman who came in and bowed down at Christ's feet and there wept profusely, bowed down, battered and bruised was her life. And she bent down low Like this bruised reed bends low before the Lord. Think of that publican in the temple who did not so much as dare lift up his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast and said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That was a bruised reed. Smoking flax. Think of Mary and Martha who just lost their brother Lazarus. And there they come out of their house as the Lord approaches four days after Lazarus has died. If thou wert here, our brother would not have died. Do you see the smoking flax? They're crying out and it's like it would have been smoke in anyone's eyes to have those taunts, those questions, that confused noise be sent the Savior's way. And yet the Lord did not quench the smoking flax, did He? Or think of Peter, after he had betrayed Christ. and the wick of the candle of his soul was smoldering, was flickering, and almost seemed like it would be snuffed out altogether. So much inward corruption in the soul of Peter, denying his Savior, the fear of man, his own pride getting in the way. It almost snuffed out the wick of life in his soul. What did the Savior do? He looked upon Peter. And after he was risen from the dead, he took Peter apart. He didn't quench the smoking flax, but he brought it into a full flame once again. Or think of doubting Thomas, similarly, after the resurrection. Oh, that poor soul. How his life was just, his religion, his grace in his soul was almost ready to be quenched. All this smoke of doubt filling his life. And yet the Lord did not quench the smoking flax. Reach hither Thy hand. Reach hither Thy fingers. Do you see how He's fanning the flame in this smoking flax? This is life. He is the God of the bruised reed. He is the Savior of the smoking flax. And people of God, can't you see yourself at all in this picture? How often we too are bruised and battered. How does that happen, spiritually speaking, in our lives? Well, isn't it so that often we're going along strong and the reed of our life, as it were, is pointing upwards. We're strong in every possible way. But then the Lord sends the convicting power of His law into our lives, like He did with the Apostle Paul. And Paul said, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, bruising me and battering me, Then I died, something within me, in this conviction over my sins. It died. I became this bruised reed. I had to bow down low before the Lord and condemn myself before Him and say, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me? You know, these Pharisees in our text, they were the people who stood up straight. No reason to bow before the Lord. No reason to need the Lord. They didn't realize that their own souls, by their sin, were as crippled as this man's hand and needed that life-giving touch of the Savior. And so the Lord has to bruise us often, doesn't He? In order to show us how weak, how slender, how frail we are. The Lord can also do it by sending winds of providence into our lives that beat against the reeds of our soul that are standing tall. And after a while, The reeds have to come down. The fibers in our life, they get bruised, they get battered. And we have to stoop and bow before the Lord. The Lord can bring us into seasons of temptation. in which the Lord shows us how weak we are in ourselves and we cannot stand against Him. That's what happened to Peter when he was tempted there in the sieve of Satan and began to realize that he, without the Lord, could not stand one moment and that he, like a bruised reed, would fall down without the Lord. That like smoking flax, the grace in his life would soon go out. Many bruised wreaths are tipping over and bending down because the load of sin in their consciences and in their lives are pressing them down. They cannot bear it. And like Christian and pilgrim's progress, they go mourning all the day long with this heavy burden and they're feeling it and they can't stand up straight in the presence of God, but they have to bow. on account of the weight of their sins, which is burdening them and crushing them. This is the picture of those with whom the Lord is dealing. They are weak, but He is strong. They are sinful, but He is a surety for the sinner. They are drowning in their corruptions, but He can lift them up. The light of their life is about to go out, but He is brighter than the sun. He is the light of the world. And this is what we want to see in our second point, having seen the traits of the people of God, we see now, secondly, Christ's tenderness. Because the Lord doesn't simply say here that his people are bruised reeds and smoking flax, but the focus is actually different. The focus is this, the bruised reed, the smoking flax, he will not break, he will not quench. These people are bruised, yes, but they're not broken. They are smoldering, yes, but they're not smothered. And that is the picture of the Christian life, isn't it? Isn't this what Paul says elsewhere in the Scriptures? He says, troubled on every side, yet not distressed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Cast down. but not destroyed. Bruised, but not broken. Smoking, but not quenched. Oh, no wonder the Lord says here in this text, Behold My servant. It is He who explains the fact that people can be bruised and not broken. smoking and not quenched. It's not because of them. It's not because of these reeds or this flax. Behold my servant. It is he who explains this mystery that otherwise cannot be explained. Behold my servant. Notice here how the Lord puts His tenderness on display. It's a displayed tenderness, first of all. The Lord displays it far and wide. Behold, My servant. He displayed it in the Old Testament. He displays it in the New. He displays it for you and for me today in the Scriptures, in His Word. to bruise reeds and smoking flax among us today. Behold, my servant." Do you see how he's dealing here with his disciples? Do you see how he's dealing here with this disabled man? It's on display. Are you like those multitudes? that follow after this servant wherever he goes. He is the one my soul needs. Let the Pharisees do their censuring and have their counsels and whatever they may be, it is Him that I need. His tenderness is on display. It is secondly such a miraculous and marvelous tenderness, isn't it? I mean, imagine this scene. A powerful king comes through a country. He's come here to defeat the princes that are in control over that country and to take this people to himself. But as he's going there with his chariots and horses and his army following him, there are some reeds in the middle of his path. Some bruise reeds even. What's this general, what's this king going to do? He'll ride right over them, won't he? That's what happens in our world, in our society. No time for the bruise, no time for the smoking flax. But not so this Prince Emmanuel. He sees these bruised reeds there before his chariot. And almighty power stoops down from off His chariot. And He takes those bruised reeds and those smoking candles. And He does something so tender. It's miraculous. It's marvelous. It's unheard of in all the world. It's a miraculous, an unexpected tenderness. He stops for the bruised reed. But it's thirdly also a full and a complete tenderness. Notice our text says it negatively. It says, a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench. But this is a Hebrew way of speaking. There's a word for it. It's called litotes. It's a figure of speech. And the Hebrews often use this. They say the negative, but you're supposed to think the positive as well as the negative. And so this is a full tenderness in this sense. It's not just that He doesn't break the bruised reed. It isn't just that He doesn't quench the smoking flax. But He takes that reed that's bruised and bowed down. And in His almighty and in His tender hands, He takes it. And He gives it life. He gives it strength. He binds up the broken-hearted and heals that which is broken. He takes that candle, that wick that everyone else would just push out because of the smell, because of the offensive sight. And He moves away the wax and He blows upon it. and it's a candle again. It shines its light again. He trims it. He does whatever He needs. He cleans it so that it burns brightly. You know, He does that at an individual and a personal level, but He also does that with His church. Ever read in the Scriptures that the Lord moves among the candlesticks of His church? And there where He sees them almost ready to go out, He reprimands them. He rebukes them tenderly. He gives them promises and supports them. And He sends His Holy Spirit. And He does what is necessary for a smoldering church, for a bruised church to be restored and to be healed once again. He says to one of the churches in the book of Revelation, he says, strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. To another church he says, ye have little strength. You're bruised, you're smoldering, but I have set before you an open door. See, that's how the Lord deals with His bruised people, whether personally or corporately. It's a full tenderness. But it is at its depths. It is a Calvary tenderness. It is a redemption tenderness. Because the reason why this servant does not break the bruised reed, and does not quench the smoking flax, is because He, as the King of kings and Lord of lords, is not only stooping off His chariot to take these reeds and to take this flax, but He is going in His meekness and His tenderness to the place of bruising Himself. He was bruised for our iniquities. He gave His back to the smiters. And there on the cross, He bowed His head under the judgment of God, which these bruised wreaths deserve. in which the smoking flax deserves. And he takes it. Oh, this tenderness is a Calvary tenderness. Behold, my servant whom I appoint. A bruised reed he shall not break, but he himself will be bruised for them. And he will take of his ointment and heal from out of his cross and resurrection. And He will give light to those who need it once again. He will procure a spirit from on high who will breathe down upon that smoking flax and give it new life again. Behold, my servant, I ask you this morning, are you Beholding this servant. Are your eyes, your spiritual eyes fixed upon him? Are you like these multitudes that go after this servant wherever he goes? It is him my soul needs. Let the Pharisees have what they have. It cannot help my poor, my bruised, my needy soul. It is this servant that I need. You know, if your soul is bruised, if it's smoking, smoldering in this sense, you will behold him. You cannot but behold him. He comes so low. Even that bruised reed that is down all the way, the servant is lower than him. It is Him you need, Bruce reads among us this morning. It is Him you need, smoldering flax among us this morning. He is your servant, appointed by the Father, going all the way to the cross and sending forth His Spirit for people like for you. Oh, is it then an adored tenderness in your soul this morning? Do you see this tenderness of Christ, the servant of the Lord? You say, why? For such a bruised reed as me, why would he stop his chariot? Why would he stoop this low? Why would he lift up the reed of my life? Why would He put my mournful soul to His mouth in His flute and use my life to bring glory to Himself? Oh, what a tender servant the Lord brings before us this morning. You know, the Pharisees had no use for Him. Is that true of you? No use for this tender Savior. But He is not only tender, but He will also triumph. And this is what we see briefly in our third and final point. Until He send forth judgment unto victory, this servant is most tender. But tenderness is not the final word. It is a victory, a triumph through tenderness. Notice that the text says here, he will send forth judgment unto victory. What does that mean? What is this judgment? Let me say briefly three things about this. This is, first of all, a judgment in the court of the conscience. A judgment in which God, through His Holy Spirit, sets up court session in His people's conscience. And He brings them there. These bruised wreaths and the smoking flax, and He brings them there. And they are made to confess against Thee, Thee only have I sinned." Oh, the Lord brings our sins to our minds, doesn't He? He makes us to see them clearly. Read the Psalms that we sang even this morning. My sins are more than I can count. They have gone over my head. It's like a corruption. It's like a wax that goes over my head and the candle of my life is about to go out. But miracle of all miracles, when the Lord brings a person to condemn Himself. You know what happens? That man went to his home justified, rather than the other. When the publican condemns himself before the Lord and says, Sinner Lord! Sinner! Have mercy upon me." He goes justified. But when the Pharisee stands before God and justifies himself, oh, he leaves condemned. You see, that's the judgment that the Lord uses in the lives of His bruised and smoldering people to bring them to victory. This publican gains the victory while the Pharisee gains the defeat. He doesn't know it. One day He'll know it. He will send forth judgment unto victory. But it's not just a judgment in the court of the conscience. More importantly, it is a judgment on Calvary. Where, like I said, this king, this servant of the Lord, hangs under the judgment of God for every bruised reed of his, for every smoldering fat flax, and says to his father, Lord, let me bear it. so that these bruised wreaths need not be broken. For Peter, Lord, for Thomas, for Mary, for Martha, for all saints, for all these sinners whom I am redeeming from the beginning of the world till the end thereof, Lord, let me have the judgment. Zion shall be redeemed through judgment. through Calvary judgment, the mystery of God's appointed redemption. Because it is there where the judgment falls upon the king. in order that He might have what it takes to raise up these bruised reeds, whereby He may fan the flame in the lives of the smoking flax. And so He looks at the bruised reed and He says, Bruised reed, you're bruised, but you're not dead. There's still life even in your bruised soul. smoking flax, there is still light. No matter how easily it seems it will be put out, there's still light. There's life, there's light. It's me in you, the hope of glory. Bruce reads this morning, your life is hid with Christ in God. No matter how the winds of providence are blowing against you today, and will blow for however long the Lord sees fit, no matter how much the law comes and accuses you and batters on you, no matter how much the devil comes and tries to snuff out the candle of your soul, the Lord Jesus says, because I live. You shall live also. It's Calvary judgment. The smoking flax, he will not quench. The bruised reed, he will not break. Because I live, you shall live also. Judgment in the court of the conscience. Judgment on Calvary. But there's one last and final judgment. that I must bring forth. And this is especially for those of you who are still standing so tall, who, like these Pharisees, don't really need a tender Savior who stoops down. You've never seen your guilt, never seen your sin truly. You've never bowed down in the dust. You've never gone down before the Lord. In fact, in your heart of hearts, you may not realize this, but really there's a counsel going on against the Lord. You're judging Him. You're judging Him. But He's judging you. The day is coming when He will not come as a tender servant of the Lord. But the chariot wheels then will ride over all those tall wreaths that stand tall before the Lord, and He will destroy them forever. Oh, behold, my servant! You need Him today. Do not go on anymore without Him. Today is still the day in which He shows His tenderness to troubled and tried souls. Oh, bow today and behold Him and need Him. And you too will experience the bruised reed. He will not break. the smoking flax, He will not quench till He sends forth judgment unto victory for His own namesake. Amen. Let us pray together. O great, tender, and yet triumphant King of kings, servant of the Lord, make Thyself attractive to souls today. May we need Thee in the bruisings of our life, in the smolderings of the flax of our soul. May we follow Thee. May we need Thee. And may we take comfort from this Thine own Word. that the bruised reed thou shalt not break. No matter what the devil whispers into our ears, no matter what our own hearts say to accuse us, nevertheless, thou wilt now not break us, nor put us out, but through judgment, through Calvary, through thine own work in our souls, that will bring forth victory. O Lord, grant thy people to believe it. and to hope in Thee, and even today to say, unto Thee is the victory, unto Thee alone the triumph, for Thou hast bought us, Thou hast loved us, such unlovable sinners that we are. Oh, to Thee be praise and glory forevermore. We ask this in the pardon of every sin. In Jesus' name, amen.