Isaiah chapter 48. The title of the message is,
The Nature of Israel and the Nature of Grace. The
nature of Israel and the nature of grace. Now, before we get to this chapter,
in the preceding chapter, the previous chapter, God describes
the nation of Babylon. The nation of Babylon. She is a whore, whose nakedness
is exposed and open, whose people are polluted and taken captive,
the chosen people of God, These people trusted in their own strength. They trusted in their own wicked
profession and wisdom. They believed in false gods. In verse 10 of that chapter,
it says, "...for thou hast trusted in thy wickedness." Thou hast
said, none seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge,
it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thine heart, I am."
In other words, I am God. They profess themselves to be
God, and none else beside me. So God swears to them. God promises
them. He declares the truth of his
decree in verse 15 concerning these people. In the last part
he said, none shall save thee. None shall save thee. Now behold, these people surely
are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. These are pictured
by Esau, the man hated of God. before he was born, neither having
done good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election,
might stand. For Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." These
men worshipped other gods, the gods of men, and truly they believed
themselves to be God. And hear the Word of God, none
will save you. You're naked before God. You
are exposed and yet you will not repent. This is the nature
of everyone who does not believe on Jesus Christ, who will not
come to Christ. This is your nature. This is
the nature of everyone who dies in their sins. You would rather
trust in your own flesh, in the false prophets and fortune tellers,
the astrologers, You're like that wicked king
of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's Belteshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's
grandson. You remember what the writing
was of him upon the wall. It says, Thou art weighed in
the balances and found wanting. Wanting. Wanting righteousness. wanting an offering for sin,
and you shall be as stubble before God in the day of His vengeance. If you will not believe on the
Son of God, you are Babylon, and none will save you." None
will save you. But now in our chapter, I have
a brighter message. A message of hope. In this chapter,
in verse 1, we see that God is speaking not to Babylon, but
rather to Israel. He says, Hear this, O house of
Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel. Jacob and Israel. Now, we know surely that this
prophecy concerning Israel was national, and you can definitely
see it in the history of the people of Israel. Now, consider
this. This was written before the Babylonian captivity of Israel,
and yet God is prophesying. He's telling them beforehand
what should happen to them. And so, verses 1 through 8, God
declares the nature of His people. The nature of Jacob and the house
of Jacob, which are called by the name Israel. He says they're hypocrites. Look
at that in verse 1. He says, O house of Jacob, called
by the name Israel, which are come forth from the waters of
Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord and make mention
of the God of Israel. Listen, but not in truth nor
in righteousness. He said you call yourselves Israel,
but you're not. You're a hypocrite. You say you
call on Me, but you don't. Not in truth, not in sincerity,
not in righteousness. And he goes on to tell them,
before I'm going to tell you things that have not yet done.
He said, I've decreed the former things, verse 3, from the beginning.
And they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did
them suddenly, and they came to pass, because I knew that
thou wert obstinate, and thy neck was as iron sinew, and thy
brow was as brass. He told them things before they
were done, and yet they still did not believe. They still did
not trust. And what does He say of their
nature? Here's the conclusion of the nation of Israel. In verse
8, at the very end, He says, Thou was called a transgressor
from the womb. And so then in verses 9 through
10, God declares the reason why He would deliver them from Babylon.
He does it for His own glory. He says, For my name's sake,
I will defer my anger. and for my praise will I refrain
for thee that I cut thee not off." He said, I'm not going
to cut off the nation of Israel. Why? Because remember, Christ
should come from Israel. Because Christ should come from
that nation. That's the reason why He did not cut them off.
Not that they did not deserve it. And in verse 16 through 18,
He commands them to look for the Messiah. He commands them
to look for the Messiah. He says in verse 14, "...all
ye assemble yourselves in here, which among them hath declared
these things, the Lord hath loved him, he will do his pleasure
on Babylon." This is his speaking here nationally of Cyrus. Remember that Cyrus was the one
to come and deliver them from Israel. Verses 12-15, He speaks of His
deity. He said, I, even I have spoken,
I have called Him, I have brought Him, He shall make His way prosperous.
He says, Come near to Me and hear this, I have not spoken
in secret from the beginning, from the time that was, there
I am, and now the Lord God and His Spirit has sent Me. Thus
saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am
the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, and leadeth thee
by the way that thou shouldest go. He commands them to look
for Christ to come, even though he were delivered by Cyrus. Cyrus
was only to be a type of Christ. And in verse 20 through 29, God
tells them of their freedom. He says, Go forth from Babylon
and flee the Chaldeans with a voice of singing. And that's exactly
what happened, isn't it? When Cyrus, by the hand of God,
came in and delivered them from that nation of Babylon, from
that captivity, you remember, the decree was sent forth, go
home, go back to Jerusalem, build the temple that I have commanded
you. But you and I both know that
this is much more than just a historical prophecy, isn't it? It's much
more than just God telling us what He's going to do with that
nation of Israel. But this is speaking of spiritual
Israel. And that's what I want to hear.
That's what I need to hear, is God's Word to His true elect
people. Just as Babylon was a picture
of the vessels of wrath, so now in our chapter, the people of
Israel are here pictured the vessels of mercy. the vessels
of mercy, aforeprepared unto glory. These all pictured by
Jacob, who was loved of God before he was born, having done good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. Therefore, we who now believe,
you, you who now believe on Christ,
you are the Israel of God. You are the Israel of God. And so then, by the Holy Ghost
this morning, I desire that every one of us see if we can see ourselves
in these people. Because they are a type of us.
We who are true believers should most readily see ourselves as
God pictures us by this nation, by this people. If you are a believer such as
a chosen object of God's love and grace, you may by the Spirit
see yourself here and also see the salvation which God has given. to us. So there's four things,
four things in this chapter that we can see. First of all, I want
us to see the nature of Israel. The nature of Israel. The second
thing is the root cause of the salvation of Israel. The third thing is the gospel
of Jesus Christ that is preached to Israel. And the fourth thing
is the freedom and provisions of grace given to Israel. So let's see, first of all, the
nature of Israel. The nature of Israel. Israel,
unlike Babylon, was chosen of God and given the outward blessings
such as the covenant promises, the law, the prophets were all
given to the nation of Israel. But if we look here, as God describes
these, their nature, I want you to see that they were no different
than Babylon by nature. They were no different from Babylon.
Here they are called They are called the house of Jacob, which
are called by the name Israel, and are come forth of the waters
of Judah, and swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention
of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness." You see, in verse 2, 4, they
called themselves of a holy city, and stay themselves upon the
God of Israel." Don't you see the connection here that Babylon
trusted in what? Themselves. And what did Israel trust in?
Themselves. Themselves. The difference is
Babylon was not religious They were religious in false outward,
in false deities. But yet, this nation professed
to believe in the true God. And yet God says, no. They were hypocrites. They were
hypocrites. These are Jews in name only,
and pretense but not in truth or righteousness. God says, I
have declared these things from the beginning, and I suddenly
brought them to pass, But look what he says about their nature
after they heard of what he said, and he brought it to pass. Look!
He says in verse 4, "...because I knew thou art obstinate, and
thy neck is as iron sinew, and thy brow brass." Their nature is one of unrepentance. They're hardened in their heart
and mind. In verse 8 he said, Yea, thou
heardest not. I told you, I told you, but you
did not hear. Yea, you knewest not, thou knewest
not. Yea, from that time thine ear
was not open. For I knew that thou wouldest
deal treacherously and was called a transgressor from the womb Friends we though were chosen
by God in eternity Yet by nature we are hypocrites By nature By nature, our necks
are as iron sinew. We will not turn. We will not
bow. We will not believe on the Son
of God. By nature. We are wicked, even as those
who profess to worship the true God, but only in pretense." Isn't
that your children? Your children, my children, they
profess that they know these things. What do they say? I know, I know. What does God say? You don't
know. I heard that before. No, God
says you have not heard. You have not heard. He declared
the Word unto them. Has He not brought it to pass?
This Word that He declares is of His sovereign grace, that
He has purposed to save and elect people, which are pictured by
the Jewish nation of Israel, that He would save them by the
seed of the woman, that He should be the Passover Lamb, that Christ
should come and make an offering, an atonement for sin. And so
then that all Israel should be saved. Now this is the gospel.
That's the gospel. The gospel message is a sure
message. It is a determined message. It
is a ordained message of God. I have showed you. I have told
you before. And I brought it to pass suddenly. Isn't that what happened? He
shall suddenly come unto His temple. And that's when Christ
came. He came suddenly. He came suddenly. And he accomplished
the salvation of Israel. He says this, "...for I am God,"
in Isaiah 43, "...I am God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
I gave Egypt for thy ransom, and Ethiopia and Sheba for thee,
for thou wast precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable,
and I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men unto
thee, and people for thy life." Fear not, for I am with thee.
I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the
west. I will say to the north, Give up, and the south keep not
back. And bring my sons from afar,
my daughters from the ends of the earth, even everyone that
is called by my name. For I have created him by my
glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him." Is that not plain? God does it
all. That's the gospel message that
he declares throughout the whole book. And yet what do so-called Christians
today think of this gospel that I've just told you? Of God's
sovereign election, of God's effectual redemption. Of God's effectual call upon
the dead sinner to life and faith in Christ. Of God's preservation
of all His elect people. What do Christians think of this
Gospel? They despise it. They reject it. They glory in
a God they cannot save. They stiffen their neck and they
will not bow. They would rather rob God of
his glory and take it for themselves they would rather give the glory
to man's free will than to give it to God even though Christ
told them no man can come unto me yes I
can no you can't except the Father which hath sent me, draw him. For after in the wisdom of God
the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching." Well, I can be saved by any other means. I can
be saved by any other means but preaching. No, God says you can't.
By the foolishness of preaching to save them that belief. Scripture says, "...by nature,
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God
for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them because
he is spiritually judged." And so then, what is the nature of
Israel? Can you identify with this nature?
Listen, if you're a believer in Christ, I know you can. Because
this nature that I'm speaking of is our nature. It is our nature. We heard the
gospel how many times and yet God we refused to believe. We refused. Our ear was not open. We were deaf to the things of
God. We by nature could not and did
not know God. But I want you to see the grace
of God in this. God knew your nature. God was
not surprised by their nature, was He? Matter of fact, we were
ignorant to our nature. The only one who wasn't ignorant
to our nature was God. God knew what kind of people
we were. And I tell you this, we still
haven't fathomed the bottom of our own depravity, and yet God
has. God knows what kind of wicked
person you are. He said, I knew you were treacherous.
Now what he said, look at verse 8. This is what God says. He
says, I knew that you would deal treacherously, and was called a transgressor
from the womb. Even though we by nature were
full of sin and rebellion, full of hypocrisy and idolatry, even
though God knew us like no other, though He searched our hearts
and found only evil and darkness, yet I want you to hear this,
He still chose you. He still loved you, knowing everything
about you. He still purposed to save us
and send His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Why? Why should He have such outpouring
of grace? Why should He overflow with love
to spread and share His message, His gospel, His Son, with such
vile wretches as we are? Why would you? You know you wouldn't. You know you wouldn't. You'd
be honest. You wouldn't save you. for anything. Why would he do this? Should we not have been as Babylon? We most surely should have. What is the motive of God And
that's the second thing, the root cause. Now you see your
nature? You see your nature in Israel?
That was born a transgressor. So this is the nature of all
God's elect. But see the root cause of his salvation in verse
9. For my name's sake will I defer
mine anger. For my praise will I refrain
for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee,
but not with silver. I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine
own sake, will I do it. For how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory
to another. I believe Robert Hawker said
this, the whole of sovereign grace and love is by the Lord
himself traced up to its source. Never, never forget that it was
for Jehovah's glorious namesake that the whole creation and work
of redemption hath been and is and will be accomplished even
to eternity. If God pardons sins, receives
sinners, and passes by their iniquities, the reason is assigned,
be it known to you, O house of Israel, that I do this for mine
own name's sake." Is that not clear why God saved you? Are
you looking for a reason in yourself? You should never look for a reason
in yourself for God to save you. There is none. There is no reason. The world says, well, I'm saved
because I... and fill in the blank. But what
does God say? I will not share my glory with
another. No, you won't have any part in
this. If God saves you, it won't be anything in you. It will be
for His own namesake. His own namesake, His own glory.
If men ascribe salvation to any of their merits of the flesh
or deeds of religion, they are robbing God of His glory, which
He will not give to another. You know, He tells us that wonderful
covenant in Ezekiel. Remember that, Ezekiel 36? He
says, I'm going to take you from the heathen. I'm going to take
you. Isn't that great? I'm going to
take you from the heathen. and gather you. I'm not only
going to take you, I'm going to gather you. Power and grace. And I will bring you into your
own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon
you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness. From all
your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart will I give you.
A new spirit will I put in you. This is it, that new heart. He
said, I'll take away that stony heart and give you a heart of
flesh. A new nature. He said, I will put that new
spirit. He said, I will put my spirit within you and cause you
to walk in my statutes and keep my judgment, which is faith in
Christ, hope and love for the, hope in Christ, love for Christ
and love for the brethren. This is the result of his spirit.
And he shall, you shall dwell in the land that I gave your
fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God and I
will save you from all your uncleanness. I'll call the court and increase
it and lay no famine upon you. No famine of righteousness, no
famine of forgiveness. Isn't that wonderful? That this
forgiveness and righteousness is a constant, perpetual gift,
and it's so full that you can't add anything to it, and it's
so full that you can't take anything from it. It's all there in the
covenant of grace. Now why? not for your sakes or
house of israel but for my own name uh... will not i'm not not maybe i will
i will do it for my own namesake Why must we never forget this? Because our salvation is tied
to the glory of God. It's vitally linked to the glory
of God. Do you realize that the glory
of God And our salvation are so linked that if one of those
that Christ died for fail to enter glory, then God's glory
should fail. But we know for sure that God's
glory will not fail. This gives us hope, assurance
that we shall not fail. of the glory of God. So that's
why it's rude. So you see your nature, you're
a transgressor, yet you see why Israel was chosen and to be saved? Because God did it for his own
glory. Now number three, the gospel
of Christ as it is preached to Israel. Look at verse 12. He
said, hearken unto me, who? O Jacob and Israel my called. Now listen, at first they were
calling themselves that. But now God says, look, I'm talking
to those who are My call, called by Me. I am He, the first and the last. Mine hand also hath laid the
foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the
heavens. When I call unto them, they stand
up together. All ye assemble yourselves in
here, which among them hath declared these things. The Lord hath loved
him. He will do all his pleasure on
Babylon, and his arms shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I,
have spoken, yea, I have called him, I have brought him, and
he shall make his way prosperous." In these verses God calls his
people Israel the elect who alone will hear the gospel. Now listen,
I'm always called to preach to everyone. Why is that? Because I have no clue who the
elect are. That's not my business. It's not your business to pick
them out. We're usually wrong, aren't we? How many times have
we been wrong thinking, yeah, surely that person is. But by
and by, they're gone. Where are they at? They're gone.
They've fallen away. You missed it. And so we are
called to preach to everyone. We are compelled to call every
one of you to Christ, for God is willing to save all who come
to God by Him. Isn't that right? Everyone who
comes to God by Christ, He will save. But we ask with Israel, We ask with Isaiah, who hath
believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? I'll tell you who it's revealed
to. Only Israel. Only those who are called of
God from the dead shall hear and believe. By what means are
we to use only the preaching of the gospel? And by preaching,
what do we first do in preaching? We must declare God in His deity. And that wasn't the first thing
He did here in preaching the Gospel to us. Look at that again.
What is the first thing He calls Israel to say? He says, I am
God. I am God. I am the first and the last.
Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth. My right hand hath
spanned the heavens, and I call them, and they stand up together. And so, by His sovereign power,
He calls His saints to assemble and hear His gospel, even as
He called the heavens and the earth. Was there any resistance
when He called the heavens and the earth into existence? Any
resistance at all? Who opposed His hand when He
said, Let there be light? Was there any to oppose Him?
No, light was. When He called the earth up out
of the waters, was there anything to withhold Him? And listen,
even so it is when He calls His people. They all stand up together. When He called you, you could
do nothing but come. Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus came forth, bound
hand and foot. That's impossible, isn't it?
Wasn't that impossible? Lazarus was bound. How could
he come forth with no legs that could move? He was bound! And
yet he came forth. Same with us. We were bound hand
and foot and God said, You, come. You, come. You, come. And we came. No resistance. No resistance. And the next thing I want you
to see is that when we know who He is and know who we are, He
declares to us Christ. That's what He did in verse 14.
He said, "...assemble yourselves in here, which among them hath
declared these things, The Lord hath loved..." Who? Him. He will do His pleasure
on Babylon, and His arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even
I have spoken it, yea, I have called..." Who? "...Him. I have
called Him, and He shall make His way prosperous." Who is this? Who is this that God loved? Who
is this that God called? Who is this that shall be prosperous
and shall defeat Babylon? This is Christ. This is Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is who
this is. It is the Lord Jesus Christ is the
sum and substance of the gospel by which all his elect are called. He calls us by the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Behold the deity of Christ, that
this one is speaking here. Can you not see the one speaking
here even is Christ? Look in that verse 12 again.
He says, I am the first and I am the last. Isn't that exactly
what he said to John in the book of Revelation? I am the first
and the last. He is speaking of His deity,
the deity of Christ. He is God, but He is also God
manifest in the flesh. He alone was loved and chosen
of the Father. He alone was loved and chosen
of the Father. Therefore, all the love of God
is fixed only on the Son, and thus Only those who are in the Son
are loved of God. Do you see that? Only those who are in union with
the Son can be loved of God. Since all the love of God is
fixated on His Son, only those who are in His Son shall be recipients
of the love of God. And see, His purpose was to destroy
Babylon. What is that? All our sin. All our unrighteousness. He, by His hand, was to destroy
all of those things that opposed us from coming to God. Satan,
the world, death, hell, sin, everything. That was His arm
that was to do that. And how is he to do it? By fulfilling
the will of his Father. By the which will, Paul says
in Hebrews 10, we are sanctified, made holy through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Isn't that what he said? I have brought him and he shall
make his way prosperous. Prosperous. The pleasure of the Lord shall,
what? Prosper in his hand. Scripture tells us that our Lord,
he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Now was he prosperous? Any Christ who is not prosperous
is not Christ. What is it to prosper? It means
to win, to be victorious, to be successful. Was Christ successful
in His work? He declares that in the next
few verses that come near to me, and hear this, I have spoken
in secret, not spoken in secret from the beginning, from the
time that it was, There am I, and now the Lord God by His Spirit
hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth
thee to profit, and leadeth thee, which leadeth
thee by the way that thou shouldest go. It is the Lord thy Redeemer who
teaches us. Who taught you to come to Christ?
Who? Thy Redeemer. The One who redeemed
you. He's the One that taught you
to profit. Isn't it a profit to come to Christ? I tell you
what, what is it if man profited, if he gained the whole world
and lose his own soul? But what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul? But see, we profit by coming
to Christ. What do we profit? Righteousness. peace, joy, life, heaven. All of these are our profit,
our benefit. And listen, He leads us. This
is the gospel, isn't it? That He leads us. He leadeth
me. Oh, blessed thought. Words with
heavenly comfort fraught. Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
it is my God that leadeth me." This is the gospel by which he
calls, and we believe, Christ and Christ alone. And all who
believe shall be saved. Now the last thing is the provisions
of God's grace. to Israel. Look now at verse
20. This is the command to all who
believe on Christ. Go you forth of Babylon, flee. Flee ye from the Chaldeans. Isn't this what the Apostle told
him, the young pastor? Flee fornication. Flee uncleanness. Why? Because you're free. They
could not flee unless they were freed. And listen, you and I
have been freed. We have been set free. Free from
the guilt of sin, and listen, free from the power of sin. Friends, let us not hold on to
the things of this world, but rather flee them. Would you not flee a burning
house? If you were wise, you would. This world is a burning house. Our families are a burning house. Our sins are a burning house. Flee! How? We're singing. That's why you
flee. You flee with singing. We flee singing and preaching
and declaring the gospel of God's grace. We go about singing by preaching
the gospel of freedom. I read this, I thought it was
good, I'll read it to you quickly and I'll close. He said, I heard,
this man said, I heard of a sailor who had been in prison and after
his release he had a little money in his pocket and on a bridge
in London he saw some birds, a man selling some birds and
larks and things and he said, what do you, what do you take
for the birds? The man told him and he had that
much money in his pocket and he gave the man the money. And
as soon as he owned the birds, he opened all the cages. He opened all the cages. The
merchant said, why would you let them go? He said, if you'd
been in prison as I have, you would be sure to set everything
free that you possibly could. You and I ought to display the
same kind of feeling towards all poor sinners in bondage. Set them free. Where's freedom? In Christ. Only in Christ is there freedom. And look what He says to us about
our provisions in verse 21, "...and they thirsted not. When He led
them through the deserts, He caused the waters to flow out
of the rock for them. He claimed the rock also, and
the waters gushed out." As He provided for Israel in that desert,
that is exactly how He provides for you today. Who is the rock?
It's Christ. Do you get thirsty? Not physically,
spiritually. Do you get thirsty? Are you dry
and parched? Well, where's the refreshment?
Where's the water? It's in Christ. And if a believer's
thirsty, it's our own fault. The water gusheth forth from
the rock. There's plenty! at the rock. How much time do we spend in
prayer? How much time do we spend in the Word? And you wonder why we're thirsty.
There's plenty in the rock. Provisions are made. But He leaves us with a warning,
not so for the wicked. The wicked shall be damned. The
wicked shall not be saved. All who are outside of Christ
shall not be saved. So if you're outside of Christ,
why? Why will you die? Asks our God. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him cleave unto the Lord. And He will abundantly pardon.
Isn't that grace? So what's your nature? Now we're
to transgressor from the womb. What's the root cause of our
salvation? I do this for mine own namesake. What is the gospel? It is Christ. I have loved Him.
He is prosperous. He is thy Redeemer. He calls
you. He leads you. And what is our
command? Go, flee from Babylon. What's
our provision? The rock. The rock. Isn't that
full of grace? The whole chapter is full of
grace, isn't it? Even though He knew who you were,
yet He still did it. He's still doing it. Still saving
you. Pray God give you comfort.