Let us turn again to God's Word
in that portion of Scripture that we read in Isaiah chapter
62. I'll read again from verse 10. The last three verses of the chapter
form the closing paragraph. Isaiah 62 verse 10. Go through, go through the gates,
prepare you the way of the people, cast up the highway, gather out
the stones, lift up the standard for the people. Behold, the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them
the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And they shall be
called, sought out, a city not forsaken it concludes in that
passage that we read we read from the opening verse in chapter
61 right through to the end of the 62nd chapter and it clearly
is speaking of the gospel the opening words of course there
in chapter 61 the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the
Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek and
so forth. It's the very passage that the
Lord Jesus Christ himself read as he commenced his earthly ministry. As we're told there in Luke chapter
4, for example, after his temptations in the wilderness, he returns
to Nazareth and as was his custom, he goes into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day and the minister passes to him this book the book
of the prophet Isaiah and the Lord read those words, those
opening verses of chapter 61 and said this day, is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears? And so what we read this morning
in these two chapters concerns that coming of Christ and that
great way of salvation. In fact, here in verse 10 we
see the way of salvation was to be
prepared, go through, go through the gates, prepare you the way
of the people, cast up, cast up the highway, gather out the
stones, lift up a standard for the people. Now, as I've said,
ultimately, the references to the gospel is to the Lord Jesus
Christ, but there is, as you are well aware, I'm sure, an
historical context There was a certain situation in which
the Lord God first gave this word by the mouth of his servant,
the prophet Isaiah. And he's ministering, as we've
said many a time, about a hundred years before Judah was taken
into exile into Babylon. And he speaks of that terrible
event that came upon them, the destruction of the temple, when
the Babylonians came and besieged Jerusalem and the people being
removed far away. And there they languished for
70 years. But the prophet also speaks of
a restoration and certainly we can understand those words in
verse 10 as speaking of God making a way casting up the highway
and gathering the people out of Babylon that they might return
to Jerusalem as was the case of course in the days of Ezra
and of Nehemiah. In fact there are several references
to God making a way through the wilderness as it were because
Babylon was to the east of Jerusalem. There was waste wilderness between
Jerusalem and Babylon. But God would make a way as it
were that they might be brought directly back to Jerusalem. And those words at the end of
chapter 35 and verse 8, it says, And highway shall be there, and
a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean
shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those awayfaring
men. No fool shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any
ravenous bee shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord
shall return, and come to Zion with sons and everlasting joy
upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away." God would make a way they'd
be kept safe from any ravenous beasts as God in His great goodness
and mercy restored them after those years of exile. There is then an historical context
that we have to take account of, but it is the spiritual significance
that is the primary meaning of the words that we have here and
it all points ultimately then to the Lord Jesus Christ and
his coming and that way of salvation that has been prepared for sinners. Remember how it was John the
Baptist who was to come to be the the forerunner of Christ
and to prepare the way for the Lord's coming. And so, when the
Lord's ministry is about to begin, we have those words in Matthew
chapter 3, for example. In the opening verses there,
in those days, it says, came John the Baptist preaching in
the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken
of by the prophet Isaiah." That is simply the Greek form of the
Hebrew name Isaiah. It's the prophet Isaiah who says,
"...the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight." And those words that
are taken up there in Matthew 3 and verse 3 are taken from
the opening verses here in Isaiah chapter 14. And so we're to recognize
that the principal point and purpose of the passage that we're
coming to this morning really concerns Christ and the coming
of Christ and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I
I want simply to center your attention really on the words
that we find here at verse 11. Our text is found in Isaiah 62
and verse 11. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed
unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold,
thy salvation cometh. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work. before him and I simply want
us to consider these three beholds the three beholds that we have
here in the words of our text and you are I'm sure aware of
the significance of the word behold how many times we find
it in holy scripture and what is the significance of the word
well it's a strong word and it literally means fix the eye Fix
the eye. It's urging an intensity of observation. It's something to be considered,
to be looked at very carefully. And so I want us to consider
the three beholds that we have in this particular verse this
morning. First of all, it concerns a proclamation,
something that was to be pronounced something that was to be said.
Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say
ye to the daughter of Zion. Here then we have a proclamation
and it's a proclamation that is to be made to all and sundry. It is to go out unto the end
of the world. There are no exceptions, it's
to go to all the peoples. And it reminds us, does it not,
of that great commission that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to
his own disciples. Go ye into all the worlds and
preach the gospel to every creature, says Christ there at the end
of Mark's gospel. And those men, they were obedient
because it follows, and they went forth and preached everywhere,
the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs
following. They sought to be faithful to
what the Lord had commanded them to do. And we only have to read
the book of Acts to see how that Those men were faithful. In fact,
one was called specifically later to go even to the Gentiles. And
the Acts of the Apostles, I suppose, is principally taken up with
Paul and his many journeys, his missionary journeys as we call
them, as he goes over all of Asia Minor and other parts preaching
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was interesting recently
at Edge End, our dear friend Paul Tyler was preaching and
he preached both services. I was there to hear him in the
afternoon and he preached from the Acts and I was taken by remarks
that he made in the opening of his sermon when he said, you
know, it's interesting, isn't it? It's not called the Book
of the Apostles, although it concerns the apostles and their
ministry, but it bears that title, The Acts of the Apostles. And
it's a book that's full of action, as these men seek to be so faithful
to what the Lord had commanded. Here is a message that is to
be proclaimed, Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end
of the world. Oh, how shall they hear without
a preacher, says Paul. the importance of preaching,
and that preaching is the office that God himself has ordained. Remember how the great Protestant
reformer and martyr Hugh Latimer said concerning preaching, this
is the office that God has ordained to save us by. Well, let us maintain
this, the preaching, the proclamation of the Gospel. It is a proclamation
to all, but observe this also, it is a promise to believe us. It's a promise to believe us. Say ye to the daughter of Zion
it says. And Zion is a reference to those who are God's spiritual people. Zion is to be understood, well
it speaks of course of Zion there in the Old Testament the temple
built upon the hill of Zion. But when we think of the spiritual
significance, it reminds us of God's true people. And it's to them that this promise
that follows at the end of the verse is to be proclaimed. The proclamation is a universal
proclamation. That is true. But when it comes
to the promise, We have to recognize the importance of discrimination
in the preaching of that message. For many are called, it says,
but few are chosen. Or there is a general call in
the Gospel. But now God's word is always
to be a discriminating, a separating word. And we see it in the Old
Testament, we see it in the ministry of the prophets. Jeremiah is
charged there in Jeremiah 15-19, if they take forth the precious
from the vial, thou shalt be as my mouth. The prophets are
the mouthpiece of God. What is the message that they
proclaim? They say, thus saith the Lord. Thus and thus saith
the Lord. They're God's messengers. And
Jeremiah is told that his ministry is to be separating. He takes
forth the precious from the vile. Lord, there is that grace that
will come to certain individuals. They are the precious. They are
the Lord's jewels. And He will call them all unto
Himself in His own appointed time. And With regards to that
discriminating ministry that Jeremiah is exhorted to, we see
it of course primarily in him who is the greatest of all the
prophets. That is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself. The fulfillment of the prophetic
office, that one who comes to reveal God, that one who is the
image of the invisible God. For no man hath seen God at any
time, whithal the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared Him." And how Christ's ministry,
as we said previously, is such a dividing ministry. There are
three texts in the Gospel according to St. John that indicate that
quite clearly. John 7.43 9, 16 and 10, 19. Chapter 7 verse 43, chapter 9
and verse 16, and chapter 10 and verse 19. And it repeatedly
says in those verses there was a division amongst the people. And why was there a division
amongst the people? It says because of Him, that
is the Lord Jesus Christ, or because of His sayings. What
the Lord says is so discriminating. His ministry is not just a general
sort of ministry. How He separates the precious
from the vile. How He distinguishes between
law and gospel. That's the great thing. There
is a difference made between law and gospel. To some He will
speak in terms of law. to others he will speak in terms
of gospel because law and gospel have very different ministries
both of them are from God and both are important of course
they are by the law is the knowledge of sin but it's only by the gospel
that there is the knowledge of salvation and that's the great
thing that runs right through the Bible sin and salvation and
we have a remarkable example of Christ's discriminating ministry
in the 10th chapter of Mark. There in Mark chapter 10 at verse
17, following, we read of that young man, that rich young man,
the rich young ruler who comes to the Lord Jesus with this question,
what must I do to be saved? He says to Christ's good master,
what must I do to be saved? In another gospel it says, what
good thing must I do to be saved? And the Lord, remember, says
to him, Why callest thou me good? There is one, non-good, but one,
that is God. And I think that's significant
because I don't think this man really recognizes who it is that
he is speaking to. He doesn't really understand
that this very person he is speaking to is God. He has come and he's
addressed the Lord Jesus very respectfully. He's called him
Master, good Master even. But has he really recognized
that this is the Christ, the Son of the Living God? And what
does the Lord say to him, when he begins to answer his question?
Thou knowest the law, he says. Thou knowest the law. And the
Lord repeats certain commandments and the man says, all these have
I kept from my youth up. You see, the Lord deals with
him in terms of the law, because he has come and spoken in terms
of law. What must I do? What good thing
must I do? To be saved. Now in contrast
to that, when we come to the end of that 10th chapter in Mark,
we see the Lord ministering to the blind man, Bartimaeus. And
what does the blind man say as he addresses the Lord Jesus Christ?
He speaks to him as the son of David. Jesus, son of David, have
mercy upon me. Oh, how different it is, you
see. He doesn't say to Christ, what must I do? What good thing
must I do? But he addresses him now as the
son of David. And that is the Messiah. He is
the son of David, he is the son of Abraham. and the Lord asks
him what this man would desire and he desires his sight and
the Lord heals him. In fact, in one of the Gospels
it says that the Lord saved him. The Lord is discriminating. He
doesn't deal with all in the same fashion. He rightly discriminates
and distinguishes law and gospel in his own ministry. and so too
with the apostles. And remember how Paul speaks
of that when he writes there at the end of 2 Corinthians chapter
5. He speaks of that discriminating
ministry. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 15. I think I've got the wrong passage
here it's that passage where he says
we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that perish
and in them that say to the one with the savour of death unto
death to the other the savour of life unto life and who is
sufficient for these things. I didn't want to read it through
exactly, but that's the gist of what the apostle says in that
passage concerning his own ministry and the ministry of the other
apostles. They are the saver of life to some, they are the
saver of death to others. And I think it was Dr. Rowan,
the great Puritan divine, who said that no man, no woman is
ever the same once they've heard the gospel. It has an effect. that either it comes as that
savour of life to them or it comes as that savour of death. All this word you see is to be
proclaimed and is to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. But
the word comes specifically to the daughter of Zion. And then
we're told something of the character of those to whom this word is
really applicable. In verse 12, they shall call
them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. They shall be called
sought out, a city not forsaken. Oh, we see something of their
character then when that word comes to them. What are they?
They're forsaken, they're outcasts. They're outcasts. That's what
Isaiah says in other parts of his prophecy concerning these
characters. Look at chapter 11. And verse
12, He shall say, Set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth. That is God's spiritual
Israel that we are to understand. They are the outcasts. And again,
here in chapter 63 and verse 16, Doubtless thou art our Father,
though Abraham be ignorant of us. And Israel, acknowledge us
not. Thou, O Lord, art our Father,
our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting. And there's a hymn in the book
that seems to be based on those words that we've just read. 223.
Lord, pity outcasts. vile and vice, the poor dependents
on thy grace, whom men disturb as call, by sinners and by saints
withstood, for these too bad, for those too good, condemned
or shunned by all. Though faithful Abraham must
reject, and though his ransomed race elect a greeting of us up,
thou art our father. and thy name from everlasting
is the same, on that we build our hope." Oftentimes God's true
Israel feel themselves to be like speckled birds with their
sparrows alone upon the housetop. They're those you see who need
to be sought out, they're a city forsaken. These are the ones
to whom the gospel comes, they feel their need of it and it
comes to them in all that gracious power And isn't the promise that
we have there in Ezekiel 35 that the Lord will come? He is that
one who is the Good Shepherd. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold,
I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. Oh, there's a message then to
be proclaimed. It's to be proclaimed everywhere,
to all peoples. But the promise belongs to that
particular people. And they are those who will come
to know the blessings of that great redemption. They are sought
out. They are no more forsaken people. First of all then, the
Behold introduces us to this that is to be proclaimed. Secondly,
what does it say? Behold, thy salvation cometh. And so I want us to consider
for a while the salvation. The salvation that is being spoken
of. And this salvation certainly
has within it the idea of deliverance. When we think of the historical
context in which the word is first given. It's being addressed
of course to those who are in exile. They've been taken away
into captivity. And we ought to say that those
who were removed into exile, those were the true Israel. We
know they're not all Israel, they're not of Israel. There
were those who were left behind by the Babylonians and they mingled
and mixed with the other nations round about and so forth, but
the true Israel, God's true seed was to be found there in the
exiles to those of course that Ezekiel is sent to minister it
is those that we find Daniel ministering amongst and they
needed deliverance Behold thy salvation cometh and those to
whom the gospel is meaningful are those who know the truth
about themselves They are brought to that understanding. They need
to be delivered. They need to be saved. They need to be sought out. And
we see all of these things here. Look at what we have here in
verse 11. Say unto the daughter of Zion,
Behold, thy salvation cometh. What is this salvation? It's
the forgiveness of sins. These are sinners who need salvation. And then again in verse 12, we
read of the redeemed, of the Lord. Who are those who need
redemption? Well, what is redemption? It's
the paying of that price that the Holy Lord of God demands. There's a ransom price to be
paid. Those who need redemption then
are such as recognize that they owe a great debt to the Lord
of God. They're guilty sinners. The guilty
need to be redeemed. And then also of course it's
the lost who needs to be sought out And the Lord does seek them out.
They shall be called, sought out, a city not forsaken. Or the Gospel. When the Gospel
comes, it comes to case and to condition. That's evident, is
it not? Who does the Lord Jesus Christ
come to minister to? Well, he tells us that a whole
have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners. to repentance. All these self-righteous Pharisees,
they did not want that ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is the man who receives sinners and eateth with them. The Gospel
is for sinners. We sometimes sing those words
in M89, to such as these our Lord was sent. They're only sinners
who repent. those who are brought to the
realization of their sinnership, how the Gospel comes to them.
God gives His promise then, and the promise is salvation.
Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, all consider this, look
upon this, thy salvation cometh. All this gospel is for sinners
who are captive in their sins, who feel themselves to be in
the very thraldrum of Satan. All we read of those who are
in the snare of the devil, taken captive by him at his will. And
what a blessed thing it is when the gospel comes to those poor
sinners, in that awful snare, to be delivered from him who
is the great adversary of Saul's rule. How he hoodwinks men. What do we read here? Behold
his reward is with him and his work before him. You see they
cannot prepare themselves, they cannot deliver themselves. They
can do nothing at all for themselves. Again, language that we have
previously here in this book. Chapter 26 and verse 12. Lord,
it says, Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for Thou hast wrought
all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside
Thee have had dominion over us, but by Thee only will we make
mention of Thy name. O behold, thy salvation cometh
and then the third behold that we have here it says behold his
reward is with him and his work before him what do we see we
see that the salvation centers in a person we have the personal
pronoun behold His rewards. Behold His work. Who is this person that is being
spoken of that we are to principally consider? It's all building up
to this really, these three beholds. We have the proclamation, which
contains the promise, and then we have the salvation, and then
ultimately we're brought to think of a particular person. Oh, he's not named here, but
it's certainly a masculine pronoun, isn't it? His reward. With Him. And His work before
Him. It's the Savior Himself. It's
the Saviour Himself. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
that One who is spoken of back in chapter 14. There in chapter 40 verse 10. Observe
again the Behold. Behold the Lord God will come
with strong hand and His arm shall rule for Him. Behold His
reward is with Him and His work before Him. It's the same person,
obviously. He shall feed His flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
His arm and carry them in His bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. It's that one who is the good
shepherd of the sheep. That one that we read of in John
chapter 10. Who gives His life for the sheep. Here we read of him then at the
end of our text. And what do we read concerning
him? Well, he is strong, he is sovereign, he is that one who
accomplishes salvation, and he is that one who also applies
salvation. And we see these two things here,
really. His reward, and his work. His reward, and his work. His reward is with Him. All remember the promise that
the Lord God gave to him in the eternal covenant back in chapter
53, He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. That was to be the reward of
all his sufferings. He would not suffer and bleed
and die in vain. The Father had committed a people
to him in the eternal covenant. Behold I and the children which
God hath given me, he says. And he would receive these as
his blessed inheritance. Dear dying Lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. His rewards then was with him
as he undertook that great work of redemption and then we read
of his work his work was before him and it's the idea being before
him here it's that that is within his power it's a work that he
is able to accomplish it's a work that he will accomplish And what
does he say himself in the Gospel? Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me. I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father. All His work is before
Him. It's within His power. It's a
work that He can and a work that He will accomplish. It's an accomplished salvation
there. He hasn't just made salvation
something that is a possibility for all to whom the message is
being proclaimed. It's not just a possible salvation.
or even a probable salvation. No, it's a sure and it's a certain
salvation and it's for those to whom the promise is addressed,
say you to the daughter of Zion. Salvation is for the daughter
of Zion. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Savior of Zion. He has accomplished that salvation
and He also is the one who will apply that salvation and yet
you know sometimes is it not like this with us we we imagine
we we vainly imagine that we must have certain qualifications
before ever Christ would come to us or we could come to the
Lord Jesus Christ surely there is got to be something something
as a qualification if we're going to have an interest in this great
salvation an interest in the Lord Jesus Christ himself and
I think when people are awakened at first they do tend to think
like that we see it in the acts so many times they are awakened
and they say what must I do to be saved? and there's nothing to be done
why is it that men when they're awake and speak such language,
because by nature we're wedded to the very idea of works. We're
wedded to that covenant, the covenant of works. It's the law,
isn't it? I know God gave the law to Israel
at Mount Sinai, but doesn't Paul say there in Romans chapter 1
that that law is written on the heart of all men? even the Gentiles
who never heard the law it was written on their hearts, it's
on all of our hearts that Lord of God and we want to do something
we think there's something to be done we're so legal and I
was struck by this verse or rather this sentence in William Huntington
he says this, thou art too legal thou art too legal, expecting
things in thyself as welcome to Christ, which Christ when
He comes brings with Him to make Himself welcome to us. You see,
it's all of the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes Himself welcome to us.
We don't have to prepare ourselves to welcome Him. Behold, His reward
is with Him. It's all with Him. And His work
is before Him. What are we told to do in this
verse? Time and again, three times we are told, behold, behold,
behold. In other words, look. Fear ye not, stand still, and
see the salvation of God, which He will show to you today. Well, that's the Word of God,
isn't it? Exodus 14, 13. Fear ye not, stand still, and
see the salvation of God which He will show you today. And so, what does Isaiah say
back in chapter 12 and verse 2? Behold, God is my salvation. God is my salvation, I will trust
and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song, and He also has become my salvation. All this is a message
then that has to be proclaimed. That's what we see so clearly
here. The Gospel is something to be
proclaimed. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed
unto the end of the world say ye to the daughter of Zion and then we have those two other
beholds but there's a proclamation and we see it don't we in the
New Testament the ministry of the Apostles when Paul writes
to the Corinthians what does he say we preach Christ crucified
All those two words say it's all Christ, crucified. It's the person. It's the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It's His work, crucified. He's obedient, and He's obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And it's all so, so
objective. We're not to be looking to ourselves. It says, Behold! Behold! Behold! We're to look, and where
are we to look? It's looking on to Jesus. Remember
the words there in Hebrews 12 to looking away on to Jesus,
looking only on to Jesus. The author and finisher of our
faith. Do we want faith? Or you say to me, I wish I had
saving faith. I want faith. Where can I obtain
faith? There's only one place. It's
looking. It's beholding. Behold, the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. Oh, it's all together in
and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the Lord bless His Word
to us. Amen. Now as soon as I'm concluding
hymns for me, hymn number 837, the tune is Ponderously at 385.
Repent, awaken, souls repent. Hear the good tidings God has
sent. God ascends, all sinners saved,
and sings forgiven, and beggars free. Died to redeem us from the curse
He took our weakness for our love But Jesus answered, set them
free, and pardoned them, and punished me. And he that gave his song, she
believed, Will freely give us all we need. He believed that God stood and
rejoiced, His goodness praise, his wonders
tell, The ransomed our poor souls from hell.