Isaiah 42:3

(Verse 3) A bruised reed he will not break: a smoldering wick he will not put out: he will faithfully bring forth justice. LXX: A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not extinguish: he will bring forth justice in truth. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. For he will be merciful to all and will grant forgiveness to sinners, saying to the woman: Have confidence, daughter, your sins are forgiven (Luke VII, 48). And the smoking flax, or as the others have translated it, dim and gloomy, will not be extinguished: those who were near to being extinguished were saved by the mercy of the Lord (which we have discussed about the Jews and the nations in the aforementioned writings); but with truth He will judge all things; not fearing the Scribes and Pharisees, whom He boldly called hypocrites (Mat. VII, XV, XXII, XXIII throughout, and Luc. VI, XII).

[The abbot] must be aware of his own frailty and remember that it is forbidden to break the already bruised reed. We do not mean that he should countenance the growth of vice but that he use discretion and tenderness as he sees it expedient …

It appears that Matthew the Evangelist did not by preferring the authority of the old interpretation ignore the truth of the Hebrew text. Rather, as a Hebrew among Hebrews and deeply taught in the law of the Lord, Matthew distributed his Hebrew learning to the nations. For if the Septuagint translators are accepted when they write, "Jacob my son, I will lift him up; Israel my chosen, my soul has lifted him up," then how can we understand the text fulfilled in Jesus, since it was obviously written about Jacob and Israel? We read that the blessed Matthew, not only in this verse but in another, has done this: "Out of Egypt I have called my son," while the Septuagint translated, "Out of Egypt he has called his sons.

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench," that is, [Christ] will not be hard or angered with those who have a feeble spirit. He will not render powerless that strength that is left to them, but …

And in dissembling: the bruised reed, namely, the kingdom of the Jews, smoking flax, of the priests: that which was broken you have not bound up (Ezek 34:4). Third, he shows the truth of his judgment: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth: he shall …

A bruised reed shall not break,....

He shall have no trumpet sounded before him, nor any noisy retinue to follow him. The opposition he meets with he shall not strive against, but patiently endure the contradiction of sinners against himself. His kingdom is spiritual, and therefore its weapons are not carnal, nor is its appearance pompous; it comes not with observation.

Isa 42:13, 14, here, and Mt 12:32, 36, 41, 42, show that there is reference to the judicial aspect of the Gospel, especially finally: besides the mild triumph of Jesus coming in mercy to the penitent now (Isa 42:2), there shall be finally the judgment on His enemies, when the "truth" shall be perfectly developed.

I BELIEVE that the first sense of these words is not the one usually given to them, nor yet the one upon which I intend to preach tonight. We read in the 12th of Matthew that our Divine Lord was assailed by the scribes and Pharisees, but He did not enter, at that time, into controversy with them, neither did He make them the perpetual target of His observations. Considering what hypocrites they were and what boundless mischief they were doing, He treated them very gently, indeed.

I BELIEVE that the first sense of these words is not the one usually given to them, nor yet the one upon which I intend to preach tonight. We read in the 12th of Matthew that our Divine Lord was assailed by the scribes and Pharisees, but He did not enter, at that time, into controversy with them, neither did He make them the perpetual target of His observations. Considering what hypocrites they were and what boundless mischief they were doing, He treated them very gently, indeed. They were, compared to Him, but as bruised reeds and as the smoking flax, and He could, if He had pleased, have broken them up altogether, or have altogether quenched them—but He did not come to be a mere controversialist. He was, in truth, the greatest of all Reformers, but He was not so much a breaker-down as He was a builder-up. He came not so much to drive out error by reason, as to expel it by the natural and efficient process of putting the Truth of God into its place. So, to a large extent, He left these scribes and Pharisees, and other opponents, alone, and He went quietly on with His own work of healing the sick and saving the sinful—a very good lesson to us. We get a little pugnacious, sometimes, and seek religious controversy. But our Savior did not strive, nor cry, nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets—a bruised reed He did not break and a smoking flax He did not quench. The best way to put out the twinkling light of a smoking flax was to let the sun shine. Then nobody could see it! Instead of talking down these bruised reeds, He set up the higher claim of sure and certain truth, for men would not care to trust in bruised reeds when they had once seen something more stable and worthy to be relied upon. You and I will best put down error by preaching the Truth of God. If we preach up Christ, the devil goes down.