Isaiah 66 and verse 1. Thus saith the Lord, The heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house
that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my
rest? For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if
he slew a man. He that sacrificeth a lamb as
if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offereth an oblation,
as if he offered swine's blood. He that burneth incense, as if
he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own
ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also
will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon
them. Because when I called, none did answer. When I spake,
they did not hear. but they did evil before mine
eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear the word
of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word. Your brethren that
hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, let
the Lord be glorified, but he shall appear to your joy, and
they shall be ashamed. a voice of noise from the city,
a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense
to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought
forth, before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. Who hath heard such a thing?
Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring
forth in one day, or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon
as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring
to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord?
Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb, saith thy
God? Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and
be glad with her, all ye that love her. Rejoice for joy with
her, all ye that mourn for her. that ye may suck, and be satisfied
with the breasts of her consolations, that ye may milk out, and be
delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith
the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and
the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then shall
ye suck, ye shall be born upon her sides, and be dandled upon
her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will I comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones
shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall
be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his
enemies. For behold, the Lord will come
with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his
anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire
and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the
slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves
and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the
midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination and the mouse
shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. For I know their works
and their thoughts. It shall come that I will gather
all nations on tongues, and they shall come and see my glory.
And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape
of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Poole, and to Lut,
that draw the bone to Tubal and Javin, to the isles afar off
that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory. and
they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall
bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of
all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters,
and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mount in Jerusalem,
saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in
a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. and I will also
take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and the
new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord,
so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to
pass that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath
to another shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the
Lord. and they shall go forth and look
upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against
me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire
be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. From the very beginning of his
prophecy, Isaiah has had the Lord Jesus Christ in mind. From the start to the finish,
this faithful man has ministered to the Lord's elect, few as they
are, and comforted them with views of their Messiah, Christ. In this evil world, in this rebellious
world, God the Holy Spirit points us to the only Saviour. And he declares in the words
of Isaiah, in chapter one, verse nine, right at the start, except
the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Except the Lord Jesus Christ
save our souls, we should all have perished, having no hope
and without God in the world. How blessed we are, brothers
and sisters, that the Lord has done this for us. The Lord is
good. And Isaiah's message has been
gospel to needy people from first to last. And here in our final
chapter, Jesus Christ is again to the fore. Isaiah quotes the
Saviour saying, I will gather all nations and tongues and they
shall come and see my glory. So that from a remnant preserved
in chapter one, amid a violent and oppressive world, to a spiritual
nation brought to life in a day, brought forth at once. This was
the gospel of hope and comfort ministered to the Lord's people
by Isaiah. This was the message that the
remnant people needed to hear to lighten their souls in the
dark centuries until the Christ, until the Messiah be revealed. Now our passage today divides
nicely into three sections, I suggest, and we're going to draw a couple
of lessons from each of those sections as the Lord enables. You don't need to remember the
titles. I haven't put them in any order.
Well, I'm following the order of the passage, but I haven't
given them particularly memorable names. I will relate them as
we are going through. But here are my headings, nevertheless. Number one, we have a suitable
humility. Number two, we're taught about
delusion and confusion. Number three, we are confronted
with God's converting power. We will be spoken to of a happy
consolation. We will be reminded of sure destruction. And we will enjoy the view of
free access in God's worship. So that's the approach that I'm
going to take today. We're going to move quickly through
these six headings and if the Lord will just have a few thoughts
on each of them concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. So number
one, suitable humility. Suitable humility for the Lord's
people as we come before our God. And Isaiah, in writing as
he does in this final chapter of his magnificent prophecy,
he writes with the authority of a faithful prophet. Isaiah begins this vision with,
ah, thus saith the Lord. That's such a weighty, authoritative,
powerful statement. Thus saith the Lord. And that
carries for the whole of his book. He's telling us at the
end what he has said at the beginning. Isaiah was confronted with the
majesty of God and these and this is the word of the Lord. This is the force and the power
of his message. We're not listening to the musings
of a mere man or even to the distilled wisdom of many generations. This message is direct and it
is personal, and it has a much higher and more illustrious origin
than merely Isaiah himself. This is the word of the Lord,
and the authority of this message is reinforced by what the Lord
goes on to tell us in this chapter. The Lord begins by saying, The
heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What a powerful
picture that is. God is seated in heaven with
his feet upon the earth. It's as though Isaiah says, you
people are concerned about the temple. You're concerned for
the temple. You're concerned for the altar. You're concerned for Jerusalem.
You're concerned for the land of Israel. You're concerned for
the trappings of religious practices. Don't you see how much bigger
God is than all of this? Don't be preoccupied with the
form and the structures of worship. Not the forms and the structures. These things will pass. And they
did. They did pass because Babylon
destroyed the first temple. Babylon destroyed Solomon's temple. What the Jews took so much pride
in was destroyed prior to the Babylonian captivity. The Romans
destroyed the second temple that had been built in the days of
Ezra and Nehemiah. It was still to be built because
the Babylonian captivity had not yet taken place. But Isaiah
was writing to a people that would see and face all these
troubles coming upon them. But he tells them God is still
in his heaven. God is sitting upon his throne
in the heavens and his feet upon the earth. This is not out of
his control. The Messiah would come. and the
coming Messiah requires neither for true, acceptable spiritual
worship, either the temple or the religious practices of the
Jews at that time. By referring to an ox, by referring
to a lamb in verse two, Isaiah is showing that even sacrifices
so central to that Old Testament worship would pass away when
the Messiah came. Indeed, not only would Christ
prove to be the fulfilment and the antitype of all sacrificial
systems, but after Christ had made his sacrifice, all subsequent
sacrifices would be an abomination because they would detract from
what Christ's sacrifice on the cross had accomplished. Anyone
who offered a sacrifice, whether it was an animal, whether it
was any other kind of action, whether it was any other kind
of offering, to God. Anyone who did that as adding
in any way to Christ's work would be an abomination before
God. They would be doing something
abominable and unthinkable. as unthinkable as offering a
dog's head in worship, as unthinkable as spilling unclean pig blood
on the altar, the very worst of despicable things. So that
even people offering their good works, even people offering a
holy lifestyle to God as in some way contributing to the work
of Christ, It's the epitome of vile, despicable actions against
God. And it is tantamount to treading
underfoot the blood of Christ. And so here we are reminded that
there is a need for suitable humility in worship, as we come
to God. We must come in the right way.
We must come by his way. We must discern the value of
the sacrifice that Christ has made for us. We must understand
the preciousness of the blood that he spilled and the uniqueness
of faith for acceptance. Who will be accepted? The Lord
says, to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. This poor man, in
the first instance, is Christ himself, and thereafter every
poor and contrite sinner, every poor and contrite creature, everyone
who is poor in spirit who comes to God by faith in Jesus Christ. So that's our first thought,
the need for a suitable humility in coming before the Lord in
worship and coming before the Lord only and in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Second thing I want to pick up
from the passage as we move through it is a few thoughts on the Lord's
reference to delusion and confusion. And I didn't want to pass this
reference by. It's in verse four. I also will
choose their delusions. and will bring their fears upon
them. I didn't want to pass by this
reference to delusion because I feel that it sheds light on
so much of the confusion that exists today in all spheres. whether that's religion or whether
that's national, political, educational, scientific, the entertainment
world, the medical world, it doesn't really matter. You name
it, there's a confusion, there's a delusion everywhere we look. And the Lord says of this Christless
world, Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul
delighteth in their abominations. And that's what we see at work
today. That's what we see in the spirit
of the age. Men and women have chosen their
own ways, and their soul delighteth in
their abominations. Sinful men and women revel in
their folly. So what does the Lord say of
this? He says something interesting.
He says, I will choose their delusions. I will bring their
fears upon them. Now the word delusions here is
only used twice in scripture and both times it is by Isaiah. It's used right at the very beginning
and it's used here at the end. In chapter three, verse four,
it is translated Babes will rule over them. Children will be their
princes. But it's this idea of babes ruling
over them. So that the nations and the systems
and the structures of this world are ruled by fickle, unreliable,
capricious people who act on a whim, who act on impulse. who act for wrong reasons and
have no true sense of right and wrong. And what the Lord is telling
us here, what Isaiah is telling us here that the Lord is going
to do, he says is, I have placed these people in positions of
influence and authority in order to bring upon the nations and
the systems and the structures of this world the very things
that they fear most. Now I'm not going to make any
more of this because I've got better things to talk about.
But I'd like you to think about this comment that the Lord makes
about bringing their delusions upon them, ruling them by babies
if you like. I'd like you to think about that. comment from Isaiah the next
time you find yourself complaining about politics or some social
problem or some frustration that you have. Remember that God has
said, I will choose their delusions. I will appoint childish leaders. I will appoint big babies. With this express purpose, that
I bring the very things that they most fear upon them. Let's move on to my third point,
because this is one of the better things that we have to talk about.
The converting power of the Lord. And we see this in verses seven
to nine. These verses speak to us of Christ's
coming. Christ's coming in the incarnation
when he came into this world at the time of Bethlehem to marry
his mother. This is speaking about Christ's
coming. And the great burst of conversions
that occurred following his coming and his life and his ministry
and his return to heaven. It's speaking in anticipation
of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And what it says
here is, before she travailed, she brought forth. Before her
pain came, she was delivered of a man child. And what Isaiah
is referring to with the context of his prophetic ministry on
behalf of the remnant people, the faithful Old Testament people
to whom he wrote, what he is referring to is that before Jerusalem
was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, Christ the Messiah came
to the nation. God's people were given a man-child,
the man-child that they'd longed for, so that Simeon and Anna
and those that waited for the consolation of Israel, he speaks
about the breasts of consolation in this chapter, these who waited
for the consolation of Israel, Before Jerusalem was destroyed,
this man-child was produced amongst the Jews. God's people were given
the man-child that they had long sought. When Christ came, the
effect of him coming and his redemptive work was instant. Vast numbers were converted. more than 3,000 in a day. More yet under the apostolic
ministry. Churches arose in Gentile cities
all over and around the Mediterranean, spreading down into Africa, upwards
into Europe. Gentile cities and towns, and
as it seemed, a nation was born in one day. And note how Isaiah
gives God the glory for all this, as indeed he should. There's
no free will spoken of in this passage. This is a divine work.
This is a divine promise being fulfilled. Look at verse nine. He says, shall I bring to birth,
I, this is the Lord, shall I bring to birth a not cause to bring
forth? saith the Lord, shall I cause
to bring forth and shut the womb, saith thy God? This was sovereign
grace at work. This was the accomplishing of
the promise that had been given 700, 800 years before to Isaiah. This was what had comforted the
Lord's people all through those years, as first the Babylonians
came, then, or the, Assyrians came and then the Babylonians
came and as the nation was destroyed and taken into exile and their
enemies surrounded and all the troubles afflicted Israel, still
the people held this promise. And here we see the converting
power of God being promised as it was indeed fulfilled at the
coming of Christ and at the establishment of the apostolic ministry following
his return to heaven. Here's the fourth thing that
we find ourselves being directed to in this little passage. I've
called it a happy consolation. And Isaiah turns, as it were,
to the remnant people in the Old Testament, the remnant believers
of his day, and he encourages them to rejoice in this happy
consolation of the things that are yet to take place. He encourages
them to be consoled with a joyful anticipation. Do you see what he's doing? He's
comforting a people who are hard pressed and struggling. He is
comforting them with views of Christ, Christ the Messiah. He's comforting them with views
of the successes that will follow his coming. And I don't know
what hardship any particular individual reader would face. But in the period between Isaiah's
writing and Christ's coming, the Jewish nation was beaten
and battered. And yet through it all, For these
individual believers, for these men and women of faith, the promises
never dimmed and the elect of God amongst the Old Testament
people, reading these prophecies by faith, were given cause to
hope and to share in the consolation of Jerusalem. That is the consolation
of the church. They were given cause to share
in it by faith. And that is an application for
us too. Is that not what we do as well? We are looking forward
to Christ coming again. We are looking forward to his
second coming. We are looking forward to his
coming for us. The promise of Christ's return
for his church and for his people is a daily encouragement. and
be that collectively for the whole church or individually
for one and another at their individual passing into eternity. What lies ahead is for our comfort
in these trying days just as it was for the comfort of the
Old Testament saints. So then, this is the happy consolation. Number five, he also speaks of
a sure destruction. Verses 15 to 17 particularly
caught my attention in this context. These are references to the punishment
of sinners and judgment coming upon those who despise and corrupt
and pollute the Lord's truth. The descriptions that are here
given of chariots of fire and whirlwinds and swords they seem
designed to press home the fierceness of God's indignation and wrath,
to show how severe his rebukes will be and to show how great
the slaughter of God's enemies, his foes and ours will be. Now I confess that I recoil at
these verses and the implications of these verses. Just like I
recoil at the thought of hell and of everlasting judgment that
is threatened on all who reject Christ and the way of salvation. Nevertheless, I bow to the Lord's
wisdom and holiness. I read in the scriptures of the
fearsome prospect of judgment against those who are outside
of Christ. And what can I say about this? I fear for those who I love who
want nothing to do with Christ. I fear for those who are ignorant
and captive in Satan's chains. And I wish, even if they cannot
see anything of the beauty of Christ and the wonder of the
gospel and the joy of mercy, I wish, I wish that they could
at least grasp by verses like these how fearful it is to fall
into the hands of the living God. I wish they would flee the wrath
to come. What else can I say? I witness
as I can. I ask the Lord to be merciful. And then I hold my peace. Here's my sixth heading. It is the access in worship that
Isaiah points to here in the closing verses of this wonderful
prophecy. Isaiah's final point is a beautiful
summary of gospel promise and assurance to these Old Testament
saints constrained under the types and the symbols and the
shadows of the Old Testament, while longing for a glimpse of
Christ in the Gospel age. Isaiah was telling them about
things that they wrestled to comprehend. They were still dominated
by the temple worship and the sacrifices and the altar and
the priesthood and all of these things. That still was front
and foremost in their minds. But yet there was a crack, there
was a glimmer, there was a light, there was in Isaiah's gospel
a message about the coming Messiah who would change all that. And when they saw Christ, when
they saw Christ by faith, gone are the sacrifices and the altars
and the priests and the Levites. Gone is the temple and the Sabbaths
and the robes. Gone are the feasts and the pilgrimages. Gone is the waiting. And in place
of all this is Jesus Christ crucified. risen and ascended into glory
with a promise of salvation for all who trust in his name. And it isn't just temple walls
that will be knocked down. Christ's coming inaugurated such
a radical transformation as turned the whole world upside down. Jew and Gentile are united in
one body in Christ. It isn't just that the blood
of animals is staunched. The whole sacrificial system
is gone forever. Jesus Christ has become a richer
blood. Jesus Christ has come and a richer
blood has flowed from nobler veins to purge the soul from
guilt and cleanse the reddest stains. The Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is a church of saints. It is a church of sanctified
and set apart and holy people. set apart for constant, frequent
and intimate fellowship with God in Christ. Our prayers, your
prayers, our prayers brothers and sisters, our praise, our
worship, our fellowship is immediate. It is free. It is ever acceptable
in heaven where our saviour mediates for his children. And what a
fine picture Isaiah has painted for these Old Testament souls. What lovely thoughts he has inspired
and what lovely thoughts they still evoke for the people of
God. Through Christ we have access
by one Spirit unto the Father. In Christ we have boldness and
access with confidence and by faith of Him. This is the consolation,
this is the joy that we have as the Lord's people. Isaiah
points us then, just in summary, Isaiah points us to Christ. Throughout this book, Isaiah
has proved to be a truthful prophet, a wise counsellor, a comforter
to Christ's church. From first to last, he has testified
of the Lord Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his substitutionary
sacrifice, his atoning death, his gracious gospel, his glorious
success in gathering his church and saving his people, both Jew
and Gentile, from all over the world, from the nations and from
the isles. And he has reminded us of God's
sovereignty in creation, in history, in providence, and of course,
sovereignty and salvation. In Isaiah 52 verse 7 the Prophet
wrote, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth. Well, Isaiah has run well upon
the slopes of gospel revelation in the mountain of Christ's church. He has the most exquisite feet
if the measure of their beauty is the clarity with which Christ
is discovered in the messenger's words. Isaiah has shown us that
the Lord God sits upon his throne, exercising dominion on his earth. His message has humbled us while
elevating the Saviour. Isaiah is a true prophet of God,
a faithful minister and preacher of Jesus Christ. And we are grateful
to the messenger who being dead yet speaketh. We are grateful
to his Master who sent him to preach in his name. And we are
grateful to our Saviour with whom Isaiah now lives and reigns
forevermore. May the Lord take us all to join
him soon. Amen.